《A Nascent Kaleidoscope.》


 Chapter 1 - 1

    <h4>Chapter 1:</h4>


    I was in the middle of ss when I couldn''t help but just stare at the ceiling. People talking around me, I heard my teacher lecture about something irrelevant, but my mind waspletely unfocused. Even as everyone got up and left, I was still stuck in a daze.


    It felt like I had foreign thoughts in my head. I don''t know when it started, sometime recently, but I would catch myself thinking of something I had no idea about, in too vivid a recollection to think them mere daydreams.


    Was I going crazy? I knew what schizophrenia was, but didn''t thate on gradually, not just out of the blue? Maybe I took some really bad drugs.....without knowing? I know I haven''t been sleeping well, but it''s not like I''ve missed out on that much sleep... weird things just kept popping into my head. What did vampires have to do with anything? And it didn''t'' stop there.....why did an image of a red moon keep showing up as well?


    "Shimoda-san."


    My thoughts were broken as I heard someone call my name, only for my expression to darken as I saw the person.


    "Kaichou." I answered automatically.


    Souna Shitori, the student council president, she basically ran the school, and everyone knew it. Hell, there were times when she could ''convince'' the principal of certain matters. There were rumors that her parents actually owned the entire thing.


    But....why did something about her suddenly feel off?


    I just ignored the funny feeling I had in the back of my head and pushed down all these strange images that sprang up.


    "I need to speak with you, Shimoda-san, please follow me to my office."


    With a sigh, I gestured for her to lead the way. I don''t really know what this about, but generally people don''t like being called to ''her office''. It wasn''t exactly far but for some reason I felt a bit of unease with every step I took, though that could be attributed to my current mental state.


    "Please have a seat, Shimoda-san." She gestured.


    I could only blink as I realized we were already standing in the student council office, and I didn''t even notice another member to the side going through some stacks of paper, and a chess board off to the side that caught my eye. I just feelpletely disconnected from myself right now.


    "What exactly¡ª"


    "We need to talk about your school trip application." She cut me off and I could only just shut my mouth at her authoritative tone.


    My school trip application.....oh, yeah the Drama Club was going to Kyoto to see a y with the proceeds we earned the past couple years from various school ys we put on. That was...next week I think...sounds about right.


    "Your guardian did not give permission for you to attend."


    "Pardon?" I blurted out.


    "I contacted your guardian after you submitted your application as you are a special case and permission was not granted. I''m afraid you will not be permitted to attend." She said inly.


    Wait what? There was a lot to digest there but I started with the most obvious question.


    "What do you mean my guardian?" I had a strange feeling bubbling in my chest. I hadn''t ''met'' my guardian in the years I lived in this shitty town.


    "The one who enrolled you in the school, we contacted him, and he revoked your application." She once again said it as a matter of fact.


    "Who?"


    "Excuse me?"


    "Who is my guardian." I pressed.


    "That...is private information, I''m afraid I can''t divulge." She replied.


    "You can''t divulge to me my guardian''s information....that sounds like bullshit."


    "Shimoda-san, I advise you to watch yournguage." She narrowed her eyes. "Regardless, you will not be attending the Kyoto trip with your club."


    "As the Vice-Director of the Drama club, you''re not allowing me to go?"


    "The decision is not mine; my hands are tied. I''m sorry Shimoda-san." Her reply didn''t sound very convincing.


    "Whatever." I spit out, gritting my teeth and balling my fists. I spent a lot of time with my club working hard to raise the money for this trip and suddenly it was all shot to hell.


    "Shimoda-san¡ª"


    I didn''t want to hear anymore; I didn''t want to lose my temper, so I just got up and left. Thankfully the school day was over so I didn''t have to sit around here anymore, I was supposed to go to my club after ss but.....fuck it.


    I''m in no mood nor mental state to deal with any of this right now.


    I just grabbed my stuff and headed home.


    ***


    I was angry, even as I walked through the door and threw my stuff on the table. I wasn''t worried as I let out a shout of frustration, it''s not like anyone was here to scold me.


    All alone in this empty house.


    I had a ''caretaker'' that woulde every once in a while, I think it''s been about a month since herst visit where she merely walked inside, took note of things, and made sure I was still living before leaving again.


    The contemptuous gaze she always gave me was very memorable. I was under the assumption that she worked for my ''father'', my illustrious ''guardian'' that Souna mentioned earlier. That fact that she dressed as a maid gave that theory more credence. After my mother passed away, I was suddenly whisked away here and set up with a living ce and my needs taken care of. I don''t even have a name to go with his nonexistent face, I''ve never met the man, nor do I have even the inkling to anymore.


    Fuck him, he wasn''t there when mother was passing, he doesn''t get to be a part of my life.


    ''Hands tied'' my ass. I was looking forward to that trip for a long time. I love the theatre; it was one of the few things my mother and I did together as a child. We weren''t exactly ''wealthy'' but any stretch of the imagination, money was extremely tight so she would often find some activities that were cheap or free. Finding theatre groups that had free admission was something we did several times.


    No, her hands are tied unless you''re a pervert with a dragon in his soul. The Idiot and his friends literally break not just school rules but the fuckingw, yet she sweeps it all away. Hell, most the school thinks him, and his group are ckmailing her in some way, even if that is a load of bollocks.


    Fuck off Sitri.


    I just snorted, at her voice still echoing in my mind again.


    .....wait what? Where did thate from, a dragon? And her name is Shitori.


    I just sat down, rubbing my temples in confusion.


    Fuck me, I am not in good shape at the moment. Where is all this nonsenseing from. I leaned back in the chair I found myself in, staring at the ceiling again.


    It was easier to focus on my anger than on anything else.


    I didn''t even want to go to Kuoh Academy, stupid eptation letter came after I was denied at another school in the next town over. Kuoh Academy was one of the most exclusive private schools in the prefect, but I had my eyes set elsewhere....now that I think about it, why wasn''t I epted where I wanted?


    Kuoh Academy is objectively better, but it hasn''t been a coed school for long, which is why I didn''t want to go there. I didn''t know if there would be any weird favoritisms towards the female poption. Considering I got into the ''better'' school, why wasn''t I considered for the others? I sent out several applications but all of them were denied.....


    No...It started to make sense now.


    So this wasn''t the first time....I took a deep breath to calm myself. Why wasn''t I allowed to go to Kyoto, why was I forced to attend Kuoh?


    Why is a ''father'' I don''t know forcing me to stay here? What else was being manipted about my life from behind my back, what else don''t I know!?


    I refuse to follow your ns.


    I can''t go to school I choose? You won''t let me even leave the town? Fuck it, I quit. Do something about that you asshole. Trying to control my life after being absent for eighteen years, good riddance.


    I felt the need to get away, something about this house was suddenly very stifling. Without even thinking I stormed out the front door and hurriedly made my way down the street, not even bothering to take note of the direction I went.


    Even as the sky turned dark, I kept moving my feet. I don''t really know where I was, it''s not like I memorized the entireyout of Kuoh, it was a ratherrge town. But as I kept going, I got strangely drawn to something, it was a feeling that was nostalgic, but also somewhat foreign. A few turns down an alley and I came upon a scene that was hard to describe.


    "The hell?" I heard a shout from a white-haired man, a foreigner? He was standing over the corpse of a.....I don''t know how to describe it, a monster? He turned to look at me. "How the fuck did a normie get past my barrier?"


    The ''thing'' on the ground started to squirm, and without even taking his eyes away from me he held up a weird looking gun and shot it a few times in the head. I couldn''t help but take a step back as he eyed me viciously.


    I don''t know what surprised me more, the fact that he was carrying a real gun or the fact that the corpse of the monster started glowing from the shots and began dposing at an rming rate.


    "Hmmm...." He rubbed his gun against his head. "I don''t really feel on my A-game tonight, usually I got bunch of one-liners ready, but I don''t really go out of my way to kill normies." He shrugged and after a blink, he was no longer standing a few dozen yards infront of me but was at my side and a buzzing sound next to my ear.


    IS that a fucking lightsaber!?


    "I know what you''re thinking, is this a fucking lightsaber?"


    Wait, what?


    "And the answer....is a bit of a letdown. Just know that George Lucas is one litigious motherfucker. And now¡ª" He stopped, the ''lightsaber'' pushed against my skin slightly and I felt an almost unbearable pain permeate my body. "Oooh, ooooooooh, oooooooooooh. And just like that, Father Freed is reeling to go for round two."


    I couldn''t hear him, I fell to the ground clutching the small wound on my neck, the pain left quickly, but the aftereffects left me almost breathless. Was I screaming for a few moments there? I couldn''t even focus properly, whatever that lightsaber did messed me up.


    "Thought you were some fucking normie, but looks like you some devil bitch. My night just got a lot fucking better. The other bastard stray didn''t even say anything when I cut it up, just screamed like a cunt, but you look all put together still." He smiled wide, clearly out of his mind.


    I heard what he said, but it basically passed through one ear and out the other. I only had one thought in my mind; was I going to die?


    He started swinging his sword all over the ce, cutting up a nearby wall and looking at me with his strange smile.


    I don''t want to die.


    As his sword of light hovered above me, I felt something indescribable. It was like, a dam in my head that had been slowly leaking had copsed. I let out a scream I had been holding in, clutching my head. The world around me seemed to disappear, the only thing left were a multitude of colors that I could only describe as a Kaleidoscope.

 Chapter 2 - 2

    <h4>Chapter 2:</h4>


    As the cascading colors faded from my vision, I noticed the familiar ceiling of my home. Even without getting up, my hands started to roam my body, making sure I was still in one piece. There was light peeking through the windows already, had I fallen asleep.... was it all a dream?


    I brought my hand up to my neck where there was a faint burning sensation. My stomach dropped as I realized where it was from.


    Memories of a previous self had flooded my mind.


    There was no thunderous awakening, the heavens didn''t part to bestow this enlightenment upon me. There were no earth-shattering effects that came with my newfound wisdom.


    I simply remembered a life before this one.


    Last night, the high stress situation was more or less a catalyst. A lot of questions I had previously were now answered. Standing up and looking in the mirror, I couldn''t help but run my hand through my hair. My red hair that I inherited from my father. I do truly look like him.


    I touched my neck again, there was no scar but the phantom sensation was still there. Holy power, practically poison to my ''kind'', I''ll need to be careful in future.


    Who even am I?


    My feeling towards my father didn''t change, even after knowing who he was now. These newfound memories, I could close my eyes and see the progression of this world-line, secrets became my domain, I now knew things I couldn''t possibly have known previously.


    I stretched my back slightly and felt something I hadn''t in eighteen years of my life. Two bat-like wings exploded out behind me.


    What a refreshing feeling.


    Wings, howical. They in no way allowed for the physical sensation of flight. They were almost frail-like in their aesthetic, but their power didn''te from their manifestation. They were more conceptual in nature than physical.


    I have wings ¨C therefore I can fly. It''s the same with Angels and a lot of other races that have wings. Shifting through my memories, and there were quite a bit to look at, I was apparently a half devil. It exined why I was just now realizing I had wings in the first ce, even though normal devilse into them as children. They were magical, and previously I had such a pitiable amount of ''magic'' be it magical energy or the devil''s equivalent of demonic energy, that they simply couldn''t manifest.


    Was it perhaps because of my Magic Circuits? No magical energy would leak out from my being because of the pseudo-magical organ so I was thought of as almost a cripple.


    I sat down and hummed to myself for a moment. Half Devils in general were looked down on, they usually got the short end of the stick whenpared to normal devils. Considering most Half Devils came from a human parent, they usually inherited the talent, or rather theck there of, from them. No noticeable activation of my ''bloodline'' nor magical energy on the surface.


    I guess there was no surprise that I was tossed to the side.


    Even as I rationalized my situation, it didn''t abate my anger. Maybe if they dug any deeper, they would have discovered my Magic circuits? No, it didn''t matter, they chose to not be a part of my life, so I don''t care about that side of my family. I''ve been alone for a while now, I''ll just keep trudging on as I am.


    Though I was curious about my bloodline, even as I tried, I couldn''t find anything but the tiniest speck of the exalted ''power of destruction'' that my bloodline boasts about. I couldn''t even bring it to the surface, what a shame, it would have been a wonderful boon.


    It made my feel just ever so much weaker. I was almost killed by a psycho exorcist. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.


    I was lucky I activated my Magic out of habit. I''ve lived in this house enough that I was able to overturn space and pop into my bedroom on pure instinct using the Kaleidoscope.


    I feel so weak, and I hate it. It went beyond just almost being killed like that. I was pushing away my anxiety about almost dying but there was more to it. I didn''t feel in control of my life. I hated it; I didn''t want to be this ''me'' anymore.


    Takao Shimoda, that was my name. The name my mother gave to me, but I couldn''t be this person anymore. Even as I thought my own name, it seems like the ''older memories'' were taking precedence. Family namese first in Japanese society, and I was starting to think in western terms.


    How strange, I didn''t even notice until now. Not only that, if I recall correctly, Devils can speak and understand anynguage fluently, was that also having an impact on my mental state? Those racial abilities should be blooming now....


    Small victories and all that.


    I looked myself over in the mirror one more time, letting my wings disappear.


    "Sorry mom, I can''t be this anymore." I quietly apologized.


    I wanted a new name, for a new beginning. I would take a page out of my previous self''s book. Who was I now?


    Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg.


    As I name myself, my name defines me. This is who I would be for now on, the powerless boy I was previously is gone.


    Looking at the morning sun, my thoughts drifted back from the more whimsical ideas. What was I going to do in the immediate time frame?


    Hell, what even time was it right now?


    I moved my hands around my pockets and couldn''t even find my phone. Did I seriously leave my housest night without my phone? I don''t know what I was thinking. Well, I wasn''t in my right mind if I were to be honest. I think a lot of stuff just all came boiling to the surface and I had a small episode. Having more context to look at my life now, I wouldn''t get so caught up in myself like previously.


    Going downstairs, it was sitting on the table. Oof, school started an hour ago, whatever. I''m done with that nonsense anyways. My attitude didn''t change much I still didn''t care to go back under the thumb of people I don''t like.


    Sona Sitri, she was probably just following orders from her sister or my father. Still....fuck them.


    What to do what to do. I need some things to get started, my Circuits weren''t even properly open yet, only a few were forced to activatest night which allowed me to run away. I need....materials, hmm.


    But right now, I am limited.


    I don''t possess my favored Mystic Code.


    My jeweled sword, the beauty that went into its creation.....how dearly do I miss it right now. It helped me channel the neigh-infinite power that I could draw from parallel worlds, It was an amazing tool to ovee many of the limitation that Magic Circuits imposed. Not to mention It did a lot of the heavy lifting with calctions. Despite what people may think I can''t just rip open a portal and jump from one world-line to the next. Last night was a fluke that I doubt I could do consciously without prior preparations.


    Having to calcte the trajectory of the in rtion to the stars to determine a fixed point in space while also considering both the ''Y'' and ''Z'' axis. That was barely even scratching the surface. My beautiful old sword could do that in moments.


    Bleh.


    Now though, I would have to rely on the meagre amount of mana I can channel myself and do all the calctions by hand, lest I overstep my own bodily means and idently kill myself.


    But I can manage until I find some materials to craft myself something capable of synergizing with my Magic.


    I have no delusions about making something on the same level as my old sword, I would need to find my way back to my previous dimension to even begin that endeavor, no, I would just need something to propel me over the limitations of my current body.


    I have some meagre funds avable, an allowance provided by my caretakers. A good n of action, but there was one important question that needed answering before I departed.


    What exactly do I wear?


    I seemed to inherit my previous-self''s tastes in fashion, and I couldn''t help but cringe at my current attire. I wasn''t even sure I had any clothing that could meet my standards, and Icked the funds to properly address my current grievances.


    Regardless, I did my best to uplift my normal dress to something that passes as reasonable.


    Now, where to go?


    Someone my age may just dart right towards the nearest shopping center, but my current needs require something a bit more ''unique''.


    Hmm.


    Perhaps there is one boon for living this far east, the residents of this country ce a bit more truth into the ''old ways''. That is to say, they have a healthy appreciation for legends, myths, and traditions. Even in a more modern town like this, there are ces that sell the stranger variety of goods.


    I could vaguely recall a district that had things like antique shops and traditional medicines.


    That would be a good a ce as any to begin.


    ***


    On the eastern side of town, where more shops and stalls pop up, usually the ''stranger'' side ofmerce appears here. Not to say that I found some mystical treasure trove, the vast majority of things here are knick-knacks or scams. It was like a tourist trap, without the touristy part. I could see hawkers trying to sell their ''miracle cures'' that came from various animal body parts. Or people shouted on the corners about warding away evil spirits with such and such charms.


    Though there was one truth about this area that made me feel rxed, I could feel some mystical elements in the air, perhaps not any tant disys, but more the presence of thicker mana.


    More.....Mystery.


    If that is even an applicable term for this world-line. Though contextually speaking it should be about the same regardless.


    Even with the high concentration of magical energy that permeates this world, such things were easy to sense when you were close.


    My eyes darted around; a content smile stered my face as I noticed many things I had to stop myself from impulse buying. A few gems hidden among the trash in the area, but nothing that would immediately help my circumstances.


    I had a decent amount of pocket change readily avable. An amount I had saved up over the course of a decade or so.


    If my math was correct, it should be about 347 pounds, or roughly 37000 yen.


    My mind still defaults to pounds, the years spent in London taking precedence. I wonder if that nifty little food cart is present in this world? I usually visited it every time I returned to the Clock Tower, only being a few minutes'' walk from the entrance.


    Thoughts forter.


    My eye caught a nice little prize in the corner.


    A woman selling various ginseng. I looked over a handful of them, admiring the health and age. Thankfully I had a couple circuits open, enough to cast a few minor cantrips such as Structural Analysis. While I couldn''t immediately know all the information of what I was looking at, I could more or less estimate the age of these herbs within a couple decades. Most were less than twenty years old, but one stood out.


    The woman didn''t even bat an eye as I picked it out of the basket, she clearly didn''t know it''s worth. She probably thought I was a sucker, but I kept a straight face as I paid a decent price. A hundred years or so ginseng was worth its weight in gold or more.


    Those years of learning eastern magics was paying off already. There were several concoctions I could brew that would help forge my body with readily avable ingredients, an older Ginseng being the hardest to procure.


    Even those old stuffy magi in the tower knew that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. While my body wasn''t exactly in bad condition, I was a bit of a shut-in teenager, I could stand to be in better physical shape.


    A good find regardless, and something that probably made this trip worth it.


    Wandering around a fair bit more, I stumbled upon an antique shop.


    A creaky door met a small bell at the top to alert the owner that I entered, he only gave me an inquisitive eye as I nodded in his direction.


    I suppose a young man would be a rare sight for his shop, especially this time of day. I''m d I took the effort to alteast appear somewhat well-kept as opposed to a normal student.


    In that small exchange, I didn''t sense any magical capabilities from him something easy to discover with a little ring of mana in the immediate vicinity. That being said, I could immediately sense several objects in the shop pulse with slight waves of magical energy as I did so.


    My eyes drawn to an old revolver inside a case.


    This thing was extremely out of ce, besides being a gun in Japan, it had a very strange design and what looked like Aztec.....no, Mayan, sigils carved into it. There didn''t appear to be a way to even dislodge the chamber to add bullets, no wonder he was able to put it on disy.


    My attempts to Structural Grasp it was met with resistance.


    Some kind of anti-scrying spells attached on? The ''magic'' of this world was much more ambiguous, attaching an ''anti scrying'' concept probably fought against my spell as it did something simr.


    I could probably brute force through the protections, but I had no idea what the oue would be.


    But, regardless, I want it..


    If nothing else, my curiosity was piqued.


    Unfortunately, the price tag was a bit too steep for me.


    85,000 Yen.


    Sad day when my funds were so miniscule.


    There were some other, odd items.


    A hairclip that protected against the weather, a goblet that would gradually duplicate mundane liquids over time if supplied with a steady stream of mana.


    A...what?


    Who would make something like this?


    I stared at the strange object before remembering what world I lived in. The age and essibility of magic had suddenly hit me, a bit of culture shock.


    A butter knife that can''t cut anything.


    Just.....why?


    Probably a learning instrument for Mystic Code craft, or even a gag gift.


    I was leaning towards thetter after observing it''s make up. It was a bit too expertly made to be an apprentice''s work.


    How wasteful, even if its outward design was beautifully done.


    Something like this would never be created back home. I could only sigh in resignation at how easy the magic-users of this world had it.


    Well, technically, I am now one of their number, if a bit constrained by my circuits.


    I quickly pushed the knife out of my mind, lest Iment more than I already have.


    My eyes finallynded on a new prize.


    A hat and canebo.


    The price tag made me frown.


    20,000 Yen for both.


    I noticed their quality immediately, Victorian Era and made with sterner materials than whatid on the surface.


    The price was worth it from what I gleamed from the items, not to mention they fit my tastes.


    "See anything that caught your eye?"


    I snapped out of my thoughts as the owner stood next to me. "Yes, I''m curious about this cane and hat."


    The older man just nodded, picking them up to inspect them. "If I recall correctly, they were owned by an old stage magician who moonlit as a thief back in London Ennd, roughly two hundred years ago."


    I mentally nodded, that was about the timeframe I concluded. "Anything interesting about the original owner?"


    "Hmmm." The man looked thoughtful for a moment. "Supposedly, the magician got caught after robbing a museum and stealing a rather priceless gem, but when the authorities caught him, the gem was nowhere to be found."


    I reached my hand over and ran my finder along the cane, pulsing a little bit of mana and casting a minor alteration. "Unfortunately, it seems as though the cane as be rusted."


    The old man raises and eyebrow and picks up the old item, desperately trying to pull the pieces apart.


    I held back a small smile. It wasn''t just a cane, it was a cane sword. I slightly altered the mechanism to stop It from pulling out.


    "So, it seems." The shopkeep gave up and set it down.


    "I don''t mind getting it fixedter, so how about 18,000 yen for the pair?" I inquired.


    "Very well, I''ll ring you up at the counter."


    ***


    Maybe I should feel bad about cheating the man out of a couple thousand yen? I still think I gave a reasonable price, all things considered, and I was taking a couple of magically imbued items off his hands. Truthfully, I''m doing him a favor in case anyone else discovered what was hidden in these little beauties.


    My funds were drastically low at this point, the little bit I saved in my....''bartering'' had allowed me to procure a few more necessities without bing destitute.


    The market from before had almost everything that skirted what was considered mundane, I only had to spend a couple hours to find everything else within my price range. I had to make a few alterations to my concoctions I was going to brew due to avability, but overall, it should turn out alright.


    I was a bit giddy at my finds.


    Arriving home and cing my items on the counter, I removed the ingredients first.


    My lovely Ginseng, I set aside carefully, along with some other ingredients.


    Strangely enough, what stood out the most was the small container of blueberries.


    For some reason, the recipe called for something that the taker dislikes. Not the exact wording, but that''s the gist of it and I never bothered to experiment enough with these things, they were rather finicky as it were.


    Cutting everything up, throwing it into the blender.


    I couldn''t help but stop and appreciate modern conveniences. I left a little bit of the ginseng to the side, to use in another form to help awaken the remainder of my circuits.


    Lastly, I added a bit of my own blood to bring it all together and invoke the inherit mysteries within my little potion.


    Yes, an old recipe from China, I believe.


    If I recall correctly, it was rathermon for cultivators back in the day, something to start them on their paths of cultivation. It clears the body of impurities and jump starts certain physical growths that help build muscles and such. The only reason it wasn''t more widely used was because western and eastern ''magical arts'' weren''tpatible, at least in my old world and I had no time to research here. If I had already embarked on the path of Magecraft to a certain extent and tried this, it most likely wouldn''t have worked.


    Technically, this body was still ''immature'' in the mystical side of the world even considering the couple circuits that opened the other day.


    It tasted awful, as it was supposed to. Something philosophical about not liking the taste.


    Well, regardless, I moved onto my next little project. The concoction would work its way through my body and I should see results when I wake up in the morning.


    For now, though, I stare at the two items that cost me the majority of my funds.


    I pick up the cane, undoing my slight alteration, and withdrawing the de hidden within.


    Marvelous.


    The weapon was of much higher quality than what one could see on the surface. It looked like ordinary steel in its making, but a quick grasp of its structure showed quite a bit of silver went into its forging. Not only that, but it was also not a mundane weapon either, as there were a few runes carved at its base.


    Nothing too fancy, I could easily deduce their purpose to strengthen the sword. Were they Celtic in origin?


    Almost like a primitive reinforcement.


    It would be perfect for my purposes in creating a temporary mystic code.


    The hat though....the hat had surprised me when I first saw it.


    It lookedpletely mundane at first nce, but that was far from the truth.


    Who would ever suspect that this little essory had a small pocket dimension attached to it?


    ring my couple circuits, I reached inside as my arm disappeared into its depths to withdraw what was hidden within.


    I couldn''t help my eyes widening as I practically dumped the contents onto the table.


    First off, there were several bundles of paper, old bills from the era that probably weren''t worth much, especially this far east.


    A few pieces of jewelry that I could easily find uses for.


    And finally, arge gem that could fit into my palm and haphazardly fallen down with everything else.


    It''s ghastly green reflecting my wide smile.


    Wonderful, but I will need some way to sell this thing off without attracting attention.

 Chapter 3 - 3

    <h4>Chapter 3:</h4>


    All of this wasing together nicely, but I noticed something immediately as I started working. There were gaping holes in mybat ability, I wasn''t nearly at the level of my previous self I couldn''t just Ether Cannon the moon back into orbit, nor do I have the millennium''s worth of experience to go with my knowledge that was pouring in.


    Where do I go from here? I will need to begin my calctions if I truly wanted to utilize the Kaleidoscope, but some of them need to be done at night when I can see the stars.


    Runecraft, perhaps?


    Knowledge is half the battle with that bit of magecraft.


    I always did have a fondness for the runic arts.


    Makes me wish I followed up on some of those rumors regarding primordial runes, but it seemed like I was always busy with one project or another. Missed opportunities, but now I have a chance to do some different things.


    Perhaps even look into words of power of other cultures?


    Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Mayan and Aztec symbols, old Hebrew Script, even Japanese Kanji carries mysteries within if you know where to look.


    Ah, I think I''m getting ahead of myself here. Let''s just settle on basic runecraft to supplement my abilities at the moment.


    I knew runes, I knew their identities, their definitions, their meanings, but it was a bit more than that.


    One of thergest aspects of runecraft was interpretation.


    Knowledge, understanding, and interpretation.


    Those three were the foundation of any rune-master.


    Runes were both extremely narrow and unbelievably broad in what they can do. A single rune can only do so much, but with runic sentences, a simple string of three runes could have thousands of different effects. One needed a good amount of imagination to innovate in the field, that''s the main aspect of where interpretationes in. A strength rune on the surface may seem obvious, to strengthen something, but does that only mean physically? Are there not mental strengths? Could the same thing not apply to one''s emotional strength?


    Runes also had a lot of ''weight'' behind them, being an art that was passed down from Odin, even if the modern version is but a hollow shell inparison. That being said, the current world I found myself in could allow me to bridge the gap, seeing as gods still walked the earth.


    Well, a path was settled on, there was no point in anymore mental debate, I wascking time as it were and putting it off merely another day might be unwise.


    Though a few wayward thoughts did sh across my mind, I hurriedly made my way to the study, a room I rarely used. I had once gone through its contents and if I remembered correctly....


    Ah, there is it.


    In one of the cabs, a calligraphy set. It came with a container of high-quality ink and paper to test a theory of mine with.


    I made my way back to the kitchen, picking up the knife I had used earlier, I began to cut my palm to draw out a portion of my own blood. Once I had gathered a sufficient amount, I had dumped in the ink, mixing it quite thoroughly.


    Nodding to myself, I made use of the higher-quality paper and before I started writing, I made sure to make a small prayer. It was an important aspect, to barrow the power of a mythological figure and imbue it into the ink. My magical energy acting as a conduit between the power of the entity and the paper.


    I did study eastern magics in my previous life; my intent was just to understand its broad applications without truly delving into its unique mysteries. So, if my studies were indeed correct ¨C There we go.


    Finishing up my delicate writing, I held up the thick piece of paper and injected my mana into it once again.


    It had begun to hum with certain property that any magic-user would recognize.


    An Ofuda Talisman.


    Basically, a one-use mystic code.


    There was a certain sense of satisfaction that flowed through my body. The value of this talisman was negligible, at best, but it was the fact that I made it. A branch of magecraft that the previous me had never delved into, merely touching on the surface for references in his other research.


    It was a system, reminiscent of the Church able to call upon miracles and the holy power of Heaven. The entities I called upon weren''t actually paying any attention, it was a drop of water in a vast ocean for them. It was a good thing that the Shinto faction apparently didn''t discriminate against devils.


    I hurriedly took the remainder of my materials and began to draw out more talismans. While I was anxious to finish them all in my excitement, I made sure to be gentle and precise with each stroke of my brush. Before I knew it, I had a stack of talismans sitting on the table and the sun had already disappeared from the sky.


    I fiddled through the stack of 17 talismans that were now on my table, before finally gathering them up and putting them inside my storage space. In the future, I''ll need to tweak it a bit so I can draw things without having to reach inside the hat. Or alteast find a better means of storage, maybe like a ring or something where I can just swipe my hand?


    Realizing how badly I got sidetracked, I put the talisman supplies to the side. It was another direction that would synergize well with Runecraft, but I need to test other things for now.


    There was still so much I had to do, even with this little bit of progress, I couldn''t help but feel a little bit of anxiety. With a sigh, I flipped my hand through the air, a trail of mana in its wake, as symbols began to form in the air.


    "What separates a novice from a practitioner in runecraft, the ability to draw runes in the air." I mumbled the words, verbatim from the time I had learned the runic crafts in my past life. The memories were a bit vague, but I could somewhat recall earning a favor from one of the Fraga n scions and used it for some lessons. Not that I learned any secret information, it was more so that I was taught their own personal thoughts and understandings based on their long history.


    I stared at the several floating figures in the air, it would only require a thought to invoke the suspended mysteries that were infront of me. Unfortunately, I was still in my home and didn''t wish to blow a hole in the house. With another wave of my hand, the runes were dismissed, dissipating back into mana and returning to the world.


    The next step would be creating my own spells within the Runic systems. There was a step between this and being able to draw them in the air, but I could already do that in my sleep. Being able to augment myself through the application of runes.


    The basics are simr to Reinforcement to a degree, there is a limit to how much the body can handle without exploding, the benefit is that Runic enhancement operates on a different paradigm than the Reinforcement spell. It was one of the reasons why the Fraga n often produced such terrifying Enforcers. While most Magi looked down on the Runic Arts, they couldn''t argue the effectiveness in battle. It''s a shame that they only cared about research results, not battle capability.


    By now, I was already going off on a mental tangent and I needed to stay focused. While I was dreading what wasing next, it couldn''t be put off any longer less my procrastination overtakes me.


    Acquiring a marker from my room, I look around the kitchen. I would need a lot of space to figure this out. Atleast I won''t have to do this too often, once I finalize my Mystic Code, it will be able to calcte these things without my direct input.


    I began to write across the walls, mathematical forms and figures started to cover the kitchen space. I was looking at a long night ahead of me, I had already decided to forgo school tomorrow anyways, alteast I will be able to sleep in at my leisure.


    ***


    I woke up in perhaps the most disgusting way. The smell that permeated my room had caused me to almost gag. I''ll admit, Ipletely forgot about my potion after getting engrossed in my researchst night, and now I was paying the price. It wasn''t just a smell; my body had pushed out all the impurities that were inside. The ck sludge-like substance was all over my bedsheets, there was no salvaging them.


    Quickly discarding all the bed-stuffs, I made my way to the shower to finally get this stuff off of me.


    Only, as I looked in the mirror, I couldn''t help my eyes widening. I don''t remember the potion working this well.


    My muscles were much more defined than they should be. Not to say I''m overly muscr, but it should have taken me a few months to reach this level with hard work. How was this possible, the potion should have only been a small push towards the peak of human fitness....


    Oh....I seem to have made a mistake.


    I still think of myself as purely human, as I have for the past 18 years of my life.


    I''m a half devil, a phantasmal species. Not only that, but I also used my own blood as an ingredient, it would have influenced the concoction. There shouldn''t be any negative side effect, as the blood was from my own body, but the results speak for themselves. Did my minor shapeshifting ability intermingle with the magical aspect of the potion to give me the optimal body shape I was after?


    What an amateurish mistake, this isn''t something I would have done in my previous life. Frankly, I''m embarrassed that I could overlook something so obvious.


    I could only sigh in resignation. I guess it can''t be helped, as much as I look back on my previous life''s experience, it''s not me. I need to remember that I''m not as infallible as the me from before, I''m still very much a novice in almost every aspect.


    One step at a time, no need to rush through everything. I''ll umte my own experience, while also drawing on my past life as a reference. We are different people; I don''t need to behold myself to the standards of someone who lived an uncountable number of years.


    I''ve just been so busy that I haven''t had time to truly contemte my current mental state. My thoughts were all jumbled, I would need to take some time to sit down and figure everything out, unfortunately I''m on a rather tight schedule.


    My thoughts were interrupted as my stomach grumbled in agitation.


    I hadpletely forgotten to even eat a mealst night.


    I guess I''ll have to make myself breakfast then. Hmm, I''m oddly in the mood for something of the western variety, another thing I''ve inherited I suppose? My other self didn''t dislike eastern food by any means, but he preferred his own countries'' cuisine. Not that I could me him, almost everyone is partial to their homnd''s food.


    I didn''t stop my practice even if I was doing something as mundane as cooking, as I searched the cabs for what I need I was turning off and on my circuits. It wasn''t particrly difficult to open them fullyst night before I went to sleep, having the experience from my previous life, but I still needed to be able to turn them on and off at a moment''s notice.


    What to make, what to make. I guess I''ll just have to settle on a couple of eggs and some toast, I don''t have the stuff to really go all out.


    Hmm, a thought urs. I was already a big eater, like noticeably bigger than anyone I could think of, was that a side effect of my Devil heritage? I only thought of it now because of the fact that I was always a bit scrawny before, I should definitely have gained some weight with my eating habits.


    Minor shapeshifting ability bleeding through?


    Meh, doesn''t matter.


    I like eating, so why bother over the details? Blessed Dopamine, fill the void in my heart with food. The sizzling of eggs on the skillet almost made my mouth water, thankfully my meal only took a few moments to prepare.


    Now.....what else am I to do today? I contemted my next move as took a very satisfying bite. Physically, my tastebuds haven''t'' changed, but my mind remembers certain things differently, it''s making eating an interesting experience each time I try something for the first time since I''ve awoken.


    Going over my schedule, my calctions weren''tpletely done, but I had some confidence in at least a local portal if I needed to get away for a bit. It''s funny considering that my kitchen looked like a child scribbled all over the walls...


    What to do, what to do. Mybat ability isn''t quite up to a level I''mfortable with, but I also felt like I could run away from almost anything if I needed to. Worse case, I rip a portal to a random world if this one gets burned for me. No idea where or when I''ll end up, but it''s most likely better than death.


    I still feel a bit weak thought if only there was a way to get stronger quickly....


    OH.


    There is a way.


    The face of a certain pervert came to the forefront of my mind.

 Chapter 4 - 4

    <h4>Chapter 4:</h4>


    Finding where Issei Hyoudou lived was easy enough. I saw him and his two ''friends'' running home together screaming about a porn game they were going to y. Just like me, the people on the street didn''t even bat an eye at their behavior.


    I never had any meaningful interaction with him, especially with his reputation at school. Him and his two friends, whose names I couldn''t care to remember, they were known as the perverted trio. They often did things like peeping on the kendo club changing clothes.


    Bold as hell on their part. Maybe theck of true disciplinary action emboldened their efforts further? I really am curious how to the two devil heiresses stopped any outsiders from meddling. I mean, it would only take one of the girls there toin to the right person, their parent or something for shit to hit the fan. Arge portion of the school came from wealthy and powerful backgrounds, there was only so much mental maniptions could do before something slips through the cracks.


    But I digress.


    I think most people were well aware of this trio''s tastes at this point. It''s not that I''m a prude or anything, I''m a healthy young man, and like most my age, girls probably take up at least half my thoughts on average, I just don''t go around shouting about my proclivities in public. It''s not even that I have an issue with their tastes or ''dreams''. Issei for example wants a harem, good for him I wish him all the luck. Hell, he isn''t even objectively ugly, if anything he would be in the upper percentile of looks, but the way he acts just makes people disgusted.


    Is there really a need to act like a creep?


    Maybe I''m just still a bit angry that he never gets in trouble or has to face the consequences of his actions. I can take a few guesses why everything was turning up for his benefit. No doubt the two devil heirs at the school had been either turning a blind eye or actively dissuading any form of punishment. Of course, potentially recruiting an idiot with a powerful dragon in his soul was more important.


    I briefly wondered how many ''pieces'' it would take to reincarnate Issei without his sacred gear.


    I didn''t know how to feel about the whole system that Devils use to reincarnate other species into their own. I''ve always been an advocate for humanity, even if my previous life I stood on humanities side against what went bump in the night.


    Literal chess pieces that turn other species into Devils, aptly named ''Evil Pieces''. It wasical to think about, only made funnier by the fact that they were a masterwork of magical engineering.


    A king and their ''peerage'' of chess pieces.


    My thoughts briefly drifted towards Sona then to the other Devil heir at the school. I never had any contact with her, not that I''mining.


    Rias Gremory, my.....aunt. I''m curious why she never bothered to even meet me, I guess she didn''t want to get involved in whatever issues sprang up because of my presence. I can more or less understand the situation she was in; my existence was probably a sore point between several parties and involved some political fallout if things escted. And if my perception of this world-line was correct, she had her own worries to deal with.


    Now that I think about it, I think I caught some of her ''peerage'' watching me sometimes. Not that I knew about them previously, but hindsight and all that. I guess she was responsible for ''babysitting'' me, along with the Sitri Heiress.


    Speaking of babysitting, I noticed a small bat-like creature hiding under a corner of Issei''s roof. I guess he''s already being scouted, do they know about his ''dragon''? I could roughly guess that was one of their familiars.


    Well, firste first serve.


    I held a hand on my sword for a moment before letting go, I decided against killing the familiar. It didn''t have anybat power and I''m not heartless.


    Reaching into my hat, I pulled out the stack of talismans. I only had a bit of knowledge, barely more than a novice so I couldn''t create but a few different types. Looking through the stack, I withdrew the one I wanted and with quick toss, I supplied the required mana and the paper glowed, flying towards the little creature.


    A simple binding, more like a paralysis. I don''t know how this will affect something being fed a stream of magical energy from a Devil, at best I probably had only a few minutes before someone came to investigate.


    It may seem obvious to do something like this at night but.....I would rather do it with ''witnesses'' so to speak. Also, I don''t think anyone will question some strange noises with these three in one room together.


    Oh gods, I hope they don''t subscribe to the philosophy of giving each other a ''hand''.


    ***


    "Dude right there, if you make your way through her route, you can unlock the harem ending."


    "No way, I''ve done her route like a hundred times. She always gets pissed and breaks up with me when I get more girls."


    "You need to fill her H-meter before the second act."


    "That''s impossible!"


    "I''ll show you; you need to seduce her mom first."


    "Y-you genius!"


    Okay, a lot milder than I thought. To be honest I thought they were going to have their backs together and wanking it. Well, I still don''t want to stay in here any longer than I have to, I feel icky just thinking about what''s happened in this room.


    They don''t even notice me open the window, I guess one doesn''t expect someone to enter through a second-story window. On a side note, wings are amazing.


    I thought about making ament or grabbing their attention....but fuck it. I just threw three more talismans, sealing their movements.


    Of course they couldn''t speak while paralyzed.....and they just fell over, looking at me in confusion


    "I''m here for your porn." Yeah.... I couldn''t help it.


    The looks of utter horror had me inwardly cackling.


    Alright, lets do this. I tapped the two mooks on the head, knocking them out with a small bit of hypnosis and slightly altering their perception. Despite what most people may think, hypnosis isn''t some catch-all mind altering. It''s best used to confuse and lead the mind to making certain decisions or filling in nks as opposed to controlling someone.


    They were going to wake up in a few minutes thinking they fell back in their chairs and hit their heads.


    Now though, I looked at Issei Hyoudou. A part of me did feel a ''little'' bad about taking this from him, he could potentially awaken his power and go on to lead an interesting life. Though, that wasn''t a one-hundred percent probability. Even I didn''t know exactly how this world would turn out even after seeing the world-line''s probabilities. I basically knew how things would ''most likely'' y out not anything with certainty and that didn''t consider my own interference. It was basically aplex form of modeling, my previous self had ''peered'' into this world''s progression to predict future events.


    Even with this, I wasn''t omnipotent or all knowing by any means. My information may be faulty, or fate might be overturned and events that could seem predetermined are possibly halted. On top of that, my past memories were a little....vague.


    It''s like I''m doing him a favor, I''d give it even odds that he would die in a few weeks without my help.


    Anyways, let''s get started.


    I ced my hand on his chest, even as he tried his best to squirm, I ignored him. I pulsed mana into his body and was immediately met with resistance. Even without awakening his ''power'' he had certain passive traits that were starting to seep into his body.


    But it was no use, he had no idea what I was doing and couldn''t fight me. I found what I was looking for after a few moments. A red gauntlet that was basically wrapped around his soul. Poking someone''s soul was dangerous, I didn''t want to kill him I had more pride than that. But the more I looked at this the more I didn''t like what I saw. If I had to create a mental image, it''s like someone took some wire and wrapped a red gauntlet all around his soul in an attempt tobine the two.


    I could only hope this was unintentional, and knowing some secrets of the world, I could guess that this wasn''t as thorough as the ''system'' that distributed these powers was supposed to be. A certain side-effect one the system not operating efficiently, perhaps?


    No wonder most hosts die when someone tries to extract such a thing, I''m sure they just yank away the outside power and the soul gets mutted in response. Then again, when has anyone tried to ''nicely'' steal one of these things? They probably intentionally did the equivalent of a smash and grab.


    Whatever, I''m better than them. I started to unravel the ''wires'' that were binding the gauntlet to the pervert''s soul. It wasn''t difficult just a bit tedious, and I had a lot of experience messing with people''s souls, the previously me wasn''t a psycho but he also didn''t have qualms about using any resources, such as idiots who try to mess with him, in his research.


    Issei''s body started to shine as I pulled the object and materialized it into the physical ne of existence.


    Beautiful.


    Well..... I just quickly shoved it into my own chest. No point in pussy footing around.


    Better skedaddle before any unwanted guests arrive.


    Well, Issei, lets make sure you have a good dream at least. I flicked his forehead and gave him something to distract him from a few gaps in his memories. He''ll wake up fine in a few minutes, in fact, he''ll probably be better than fine. I think this thing probably left behind a dragon aspect that would start to awaken.


    With a shrug I started destroying any evidence and removing my talismans I quickly left the scene.


    ***


    Sneaking back home was a bit of rush, I didn''t think anyone was following me, but it was fun to pretend regardless.


    I also felt my confidence soar after getting this little trinket.


    A Sacred Gear.


    An item of power created by the God from the bible to give humanity a form of protection from the supernatural. They usually seal powerful entities inside so the host can make use of their abilites. Honestly, their strength wasparable to that of Noble Phantasms. They are part of a ''system'' that follows newly born souls and reincarnates with them.


    This one in particr, the Boosted Gear. It was one of several ''Longinus'' series, meaning they were potential god killers. A powerful item that could be devastating in the right hands. It housed the soul of Y Ddraig Goch, the Welsh Dragon.


    [Hello.]


    I paused, hearing the foreign voice in my head.


    "Hello."


    [This is new.]


    "For me as well." I realized who the voice belonged to immediately.


    [You got some interesting things in here.]


    "Thanks?" I cleared my throat. "So, uh...didn''t expect you to wake up already thought I would have to do something about thatter?"


    [Taking me out of my host was enough of a shock to wake me up prematurely.]


    "Ah, you saw that." I hope he isn''t angry....


    [I haven''t decided yet.]


    Oh, you can hear me. Of course you can, you''re in my soul.


    [Well, you are interesting. Though, I don''t particrly like being stolen from my rightful host.]


    "That''s...understandable. But there was a good chance you would have been nicked by a fallen angel with abandonment issues if I hadn''te along."


    I could sense him doing the equivalent of narrowing his eyes. [Do you think I didn''t look through your memories? There was also a fairly high chance my host would have gone on to be someone powerful and even defeat my rival.]


    "Oppai Dragon." I countered.


    I could physically hear him wince.


    [Touch¨¦]


    "Do you dislike me as your host?" I asked, I didn''t really know his preferences.


    [You wouldn''t be the worst one I''ve had. The opposite actually, you have a lot of potential.] He conceded. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up again. [I am curious about what you''re going to do from here, if nothing else your life will be a fun drama.]


    I couldn''t help but frown, I was about to retort but he cut me off. [Don''t get all mopey on me, let me finish. Whatever you did, you jiggled me around enough that some restraints are a bit loosened].


    That doesn''t sound good, all I got was a snort in response as he continued. [I''m unsealed from my fake Twice-critical state, but I can force myself back down to those restrictions. I''ll give you a trial period.]


    Well, this is going better than I was expecting, I''ll take it. "Okay, I can work with that."


    I felt a bit of reassurance, even if I wasn''t as strong as I would like right now, being able to double my abilities at a moments notice was a huge boon.


    [I''m going to sleep, you didn''t awaken me correctly so I''m still tired. Do something impressive and I''ll undo the seals]


    I could feel him give me the ''shoo'' motion in my soul as his voice disappeared. Once a dragon always a dragon, not much I could do about his attitude. The fact that he didn''t just go ''fuck you'' and shut himself away was a big enough deal.


    Well, it still had more work to do, better get going.

 Chapter 5 - 5

    <h4>Chapter 5:</h4>


    I was a bit giddy at my newfound toy. The red gauntlet, my Boosted Gear appeared on my arm. I flexed my muscles, wiggled my fingers and made sure to go through the full range of motions to get an idea of how it would feel.


    I have to admit, this thing felt great. On the surface, it looked rather bulky, but it moved almost like a skin-tight glove. Its weight wasn''t anything worth mentioning, yet I knew it was unbelievably durable. If nothing else, it would make a great shield.


    A part of me dearly wanted to test out its more esoteric abilities, but I was still keeping a low profile. I didn''t know if throwing around dragon-based powers would draw any attention I didn''t want.


    Once the initial excitement ran out, I did put it away back into my soul. Aforting feeling knowing that it would be hard for most people to disarm me.....hehe.


    [That was bad, and you should feel bad]


    "Go to sleep, you stupid dragon." My joke was great.


    Anyways, I still had things I needed to take care of before I started doing anything of importance. I still haven''t finished my calctions for my Magic.


    ncing at the walls filled up with my scribbles and forms, I was thankful that most of this would only have to be done once. Sure, I would have to do some more calctions when I went to different world-lines, but at that point I could basically cut and paste the majority of this to fit me needs. Atleast until I can ovee this problem with sufficient equipment.


    Still though, I just couldn''t help but groan at the work I still needed done. It''s not like I enjoyed sitting here for hours and hours doing math.


    I could still do some other stuff while I focused on my annoying forms.


    I still had some left-over ink mixed with my blood; I could ''recycle'' it so to speak. I withdrew my cane-de from my hat and once again reminded myself to find a better storage method. There wasn''t much I go do with this thing; the materials of its crafting only made it slightly better than to use nothing as a magical foci. I could do a primitive method of soaking the weapon in my mana-infused blood. It would somewhat increase thepetency of my casting through the sword.


    The ink actually came in handy here, I would need to make a note of this for the future. The method was a bit simple, if not stupid, but it was a good for an emergency or if someone is severelycking in resources.


    10 tricks and tips for a stranded magus.


    Well, mostpetent magi knew the power of blood. It didn''t have much ''staying power'' as other materials, but what itcked in continued use and throughput, it made up for in avability and ease of application.


    I just made a make-shift container out of paper and tinfoil and let my de soak for a few hours.


    There was the idea to maybe carve some more runes onto the weapon...but I scrapped that for now. I didn''t feel the need to invest anymore into something that was clearly temporary. Not just that, it already had been enchanted with an effect many years ago, there''s no telling what reactions would ur if I tried to tamper with that. And finding another real weapon in this ce was unlikely unless I venture into the more supernatural parts of the world.


    I looked at the time on my phone and saw it was gettingte again, after another few moments of grumbling, I decided to get to work. I couldn''t just procrastinate for the entire night.


    ***


    I lifted my head with a yawn, realizing I had fallen asleep on the table. I felt my back pop a few times as I stretched, sleeping in such a position made me feel all stiff.


    My mind immediately traced where I left offst night in my calctions, with an exasperated sigh I threw the nearby marker at the wall. Stupid math wasn''t being cooperative, I hit a bit of a mental wall with my forms, and I was starting to get aggravated.


    Maybe I just needed to get away from it for a while? I lost track of how many hours I had actually being working through it, probably about fourteen when all was said and done. I wanted to make something for breakfast....but I remembered I didn''t have much left and I haven''t gone to the store in several days. I do have some shitty stuff like some quick microwave ramens for an emergency¡ª


    The sound of someone knocking on my door drew my attention away from my cupboards.


    Who the devil could be knocking at my door so early in the morning?


    "Shimoda-san" A familiar voice greeted me as I open the door.


    I blink at her for a moment. "No soliciting." I go to shut the door, but a foot catches it. I just sighed as I opened it again. "What do you want, Shitori?"


    I thought I would have a couple more days before I got bothered. Was I caught in the act yesterday, or is this just coincidence?


    "You''ve been absent from school for several days now. I''m authorized by your guardian to check up on you in case of emergency." She exins.


    Ah, more babysitting duties, I should have expected this.


    "Well, as you can seen I''m in perfect health, Goodbye."


    Take a hint.


    I was about to close the door again, but I felt something tingle at the back of my head, did this bitch just try to fucking hypnotize me? Well, I was going to be nice....


    "Shimoda-san, why haven''t you been to ss the past few days?" She pushed up her sses, staring at my expectantly.


    Call me skeptical, but I don''t think she''ll take a ''because, fuck you'' as an answer.


    "You''ve caught me, I''ve seemed to develop an odd ailment and it makes it awkward to attend ss. You see, whenever I see a girl with sses, my pants just get really tight...." I saw her eyes widen and her mouth slightly open. I guess this came out of left field for her, I''ve always been rather soft spoken and mostly polite. "I have decided to live the life of a hermit for now on, goodbye Shitori." I mmed the door and locked it.


    I snickered as I went for my stuff, not even bothering to give her my full attention as she apparently opened my door even though it was locked.


    "Oh my, breaking and entering, what would the rest of the school say?"


    "What''s gotten into you Shimoda." She eyed me with a bit of skepticism, and she dropped some of the formalities, hmm. "W-what is all of this?" She took a few steps inside and looked at my scribbles covering the walls.


    "I have taken the drugs." I answered simply.


    I wonder how long until she puts two and two together, no matter it''s time for me to bounce.


    "Hey Sitri, wanna see a magic trick?"


    "What are you¡ª"


    I reached into my hat and pulled out one of the pieces of jewelry in in view. It was a shame I would have to waste this; it was a pretty nice little bracelet.


    "Now for my next trick, I''m going to make an asshole devil disappear." I pulled on the kaleidoscope and pumped everything I could into one of the jewels encased in the bracelet. Specifically, a topaz, and while I wasn''t as experienced at jewelcraft like my previous-self, I still retained enough knowledge to make certain minerals ''explosive'' at a whim.


    "SHIMODA." The devil heiress shouted as I tossed the trinket in her direction.


    It looked beautiful for a moment, its iridescent glow illuminating the house before the magical energies inside the jewel cracked the surface and spilled out causing a reaction.


    *BOOOM*


    I had reinforced my body a moment before and jumped behind the table. It wasn''t a strong explosion, and it wouldn''t harm Sona in any meaningful capacity, but I saw her body get blown out the door.


    The satisfaction of seeing her get the magical equivalent of a p in the face.


    My ears were ringing slightly as I gathered everything else I needed, shakily moving towards a back wall where I had a single picture of me and my mother. With onest goodbye, I put the picture into my storage space and tossed a couple talismans into the kitchen. They ignited, starting a fire as all evidence of my magic started to be consumed.


    Magical fire burns hot and fast. It wouldn''tst long, time to leg it.


    I pulled on the kaleidoscope once more, having memorized all the calctions to this point. They weren''t perfect and there were some holes in my equations.... but I had a good feeling. I was aiming for the world-line my previous-self came from, let''s see how close I get.


    The multi-colored portal opened up before me and I jumped in without hesitation.

 Chapter 6 - 6 Welcome to Skyrim.

    <h4>Chapter 6: Wee to Skyrim.</h4>


    Ow, my fucking head. I wanted to reach up and rub it, but I found my hands bound.


    "Careful there, friend." I looked up at the source of the voice, my eyes adjusting to the scene around me. "You took a nasty tumble and hit your head."


    I heard the words, but they took a moment to register. Where was I, how did I even get here? Last thing I remember I went through a portal, and it felt like I hit something and next thing I know, here I am. Were my calctions wrong? Impossible, they weren''t....plete'' but there''s no way they were so incorrect.


    My instincts were telling me I was very far from home. This was so unfamiliar yet a pricking feeling in my mind felt somewhat reminiscent of this whole thing. If it wasn''t enough to notice the abundant magical energy in the air, the cat-person walking parallel to the cart I was in was a dead giveaway.


    "Fuck me." I blurted out.


    "Exactly how I feel." The owner of the voice gave a small snort in amusement.


    There were a few other faces, on the opposite side next to the nice stranger, his clothes were rags, and he looked a bit on the poorer end. There was also someone bound and awake but with his mouth gagged to my right, and on the other side of a stranger was another normal looking man still passed out. Not to mention all the guards wearing identical armor walking alongside us.


    And most of these guys were huge, like holy shit I wouldn''t want to get into a bar fight with any of them.


    "I don''t suppose you could tell me where we are?" I questioned.


    "Helgen, I think. I wasn''t awake for the whole ride, but it looks like we''re a bit out from Helgen."


    "That doesn''t help." I sighed. "So, you got a name?"


    "Ralof." He gave a calm smile. Not something I expected from an apparent prisoner. "You some sort of mage?"


    The question took me by surprise, I guess magic wasn''t umon here though I wonder how he knew. "Sure, but how did you know?"


    "Your strange clothes, seems like something a mage without a lick of sense would wear around Skyrim." He gave a good-naturedugh. "Also, seeing you fall out of a magic portal into the mud was a bit of giveaway."


    "Oof, no wonder my head hurts." Wish I packed some basic medicine with me. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. "Any particr reason I''m in being held as a prisoner?"


    "Unlucky, I''d wager. Imperials caught us after we had you resting in a bed. I guess they assumed you were one of ours."


    "Damn Stormcloaks, Skyrim was fine until you all came along." The man in rags spat out. "If it wasn''t for you lot, I would have stolen a horse and been far away from here."


    "Quiet, horse thief." Ralof sneered. The apparent thief was too timid to reply, his eyes turned to thest little member of our cart. "You''re awake."


    He looked just as confused as I was. "Where...?"


    "You walked right into that Imperial ambush, trying to cross the border, eh?" Ralof asked. "Another unlucky friend to join with us on our journey."


    "Do the.....''imperials'' make a habit of abducting uninvolved people?" I mutter. The guy with his mouth gagged mumbled something I was uncertain of, but it didn''t seem too polite towards them.


    "Imperials, they would rather hang a hundred innocent men than allow one guilty to escape." Ralof grunted. "What''s your name, friend?" He turned towards the neer.


    "Thorum." He gave a blunt reply.


    "A fine Nord name." Ralof nodded. "What about you, horse thief?"


    "Why do you care!?" The horse thief spat.


    "We''re all brothers and sisters in binds, now, thief." He answered, but just shook his head when the thief looked away.


    Ralof turned towards me. "Wilhelm, you can call me Will." I did like the way it rolled off the tongue, introducing myself with my new name for the first time.


    Ralof was about to say something, but the thief cut him off. "You! Mage. You can get us out of here, we shouldn''t even be here. Use your magic or something!"


    "Yes, why don''t you just keep shouting about my magic, it''s not like there are guards surrounding us." I rolled my eyes, but I did hear the driver of the cart chuckle. It wasn''t just me who noticed, I saw Ralof and Thorum both eye the guards who had their hands on their weapons. I guess they were ready if I did anything.


    "Ahh, Helgen, this ce brings back memories. I was sweet on a girl here, she used to make mead using juniper berries." Ralof looked oddly rxed despite everything.


    "I''ve never had juniper berries before." I mused; I think I was a bit of a glutton because that somehow took precedence over the fact that I was bound. "What do they taste like?"


    "They''re nice and fruity with a little bit of a piney aftertaste. They''re best used to bake when a little underripe." It was Thorum who answered. He leaned back and looked up into the air. "My mother used to make pastries with them, I would help her when I was ad."


    "Why are you all so calm!? The imperials are taking us to one of their dungeons, who knows what''s going to happen!?" The horse thief raised his voice, looking at thest member of our motely crew who hasn''t spoken. "And who are you supposed to be?"


    He was justshing out at anything right now. Well, everyone handles stressful situations differently.


    "Watch your tongue, that''s Ulfric Stormcloak, true king of Skyrim." Ralof had a surprising growl in his voice, making the thief cower again.


    "NO! Nononono. It can''t be you, that means.....oh divines, Mara, Dibe, Kynareth, Akatosh save me!" The man started to panic. "Where are they taking us!?"


    "I don''t know where we''re going, but Sovngarde awaits."


    I kind of just tuned out the rest of the ramblings. I didn''t want to hear the thief start crying to his gods. I found some interesting information though. Also, he was a decent distraction, I could see the guards just turning away or getting annoyed at themotion. It was one of those things you cringed at, making it hard to keep watching.


    I activated my circuits, using a small bit of alteration on my bindings. I gave Ralof a small wink when he noticed my circuits light up under my skin. I could just see him raise an eyebrow and a small nod. Thorum looked like he held back a small smile and looked away. Well, it looks like I could count on these two at least. Ulfric wasn''t really paying attention, he seemed like the kind of person who would have his head up his own ass.


    Whatever.


    "By the way, what happened to my hat?"


    "ck, about yea big" Ralof used the cart bench and his hands to gesture the size, I just nodded at the description. "You were clutching it tight when we dragged you back to camp, it''s probably with the supplies that the Imperials ''confiscated'' a few carts ahead."


    Hmm, I need to get closer. My circuits were still on, I pulsed mana into the cart to get me a mental image of the structure. I focused on the left wheels, in particr they looked to be a bit weathered. It wasn''t difficult to destroy them with a botched reinforcement, only a bit mana intensive. The further my magical energy was pushed away from my body, the harder it was to shape and control.


    There were a few surprised shouts as the cart tipped over.


    "Divines damn it." The person driving the cart cursed, flopping out of his seat. The sight was somewhat amusing, his armor was probably making his tumble a bit awkward. I took a step out, catching myself from falling.


    "EVERYONE STOP." Anothermanding voice shouted. "PRISONERS, DON''T MOVE"


    There was a woman on a horse calmly trotting over, several guards began to draw their weapons, some more shouting and cursing. I tried to look as innocent as possible, Ralof took my que and just took a step back holding his hands up in surrender.


    Some guards stepped forward, but they seemed a bit calmed by ourck of desire to initiate conflict.


    "Oi, can we just like...stand to the side, this kid next to me is making me nervous with his weapon drawn." He looked even younger than me, when did these imperials start recruiting? His hand was shaking as he held his sword. I doubt he''s ever been in a fight in his life.


    A more senior looking man walked over, pushing me to the back, behind the now-downed cart. "Get over there and stay still."


    I was next to Ralof now, I met his eyes and looked down. I started using my foot to etch out a rune in the dirt. I doubt he knew exactly what I was doing, but he knew a signal when he saw one.


    He elbowed Ulfric, who also saw and also gave a grunt in confirmation. Good man Ralof, now I just need to make a few more preparations¡ª


    "NO, YOU''LL NEVER TAKE ME AGAIN." The horse thief shouted as he turned and made a run for it.


    "RUNNER" The woman on the horse yelled, kicking her steed as she flew after him.


    God dammit you moron!!!


    Fuck it. I ripped my bindings apart and mmed my hand onto the rune on the ground. The mystery actualized without issue and the bottom of the cart flipped up, smacking away several of the guards standing infront of us. The horse pulling the thing freaked out and bolted forward knocking past several more guards.


    The nearest to me just looked at the scene, dumbfounded as I punched him in the face and stole his sword.


    "MY BINDINGS, QUICK." Ralof shouted.


    Don''t need to tell me twice, I cut through his bindings with ease. "Take it." I said, tossing him the stolen weapon.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Thorum headbutt another guard before stealing his weapon.


    As if on que, the other carts started to rebel as well, attacking guards even with their hands bound.


    The guard I had punched a moment ago had gotten up, with a dagger drawn from his boot. He awkwardly tried to sh me with it, and I could only look at him incredulously, such a small de was a stabbing weapon, dumbass.


    I reinforced my body, this time giving a good knock to his noggin. I saw his eyes roll back and his dagger drop to the ground. "Rally with the others or scatter?" I questioned.


    "Help ourrades, the more we have scattered the more chance we have to escape. Their base isn''t that far, reinforcements would be here soon." It was Ulfric who spoke.


    "Works for me." Thorum grunted. He waved a mace in one hand, testing its weight.


    Where did that evene from? I thought they were only using swords.... Whatever let''s do this.


    I flicked my hand, igniting a few runes in the air, nothing more than a few cantrips that shot towards a couple guards.


    Some other prisoners nodded at me as I ran past.


    "FOR SKYRIM" A few of them shouted. I just ignored the cries and slipped by the more preupied guards. There were a couple that took a swing at me, but my magically increased reaction speed was easily able to ovee their clumsy attacks. A few hits in spots without armor and they went down hard. A lot of these guys seemed remarkably untrained.


    The only immediate threat...I looked forward, there were a couple with bows, sniping away at the front. I saw a few ''allies'' fall with arrows pieced into their bellies. I twirled the dagger I had nicked from the downed guard a few moments ago and used my reinforced strength to throw it at one of the archers.


    And contrary to my expectations.....throwing a dagger is not easy. The handle ended up mming into his head, I could hear the ringing of metal where it hit his helmet from here. But at least it knocked him down for a moment.


    Close enough, the dirt under my foot exploded as I bolted towards a both of them, sliding to the left to avoid an arrow passing over my shoulder. I stepped on the downed one as hard as I could before diving towards the other so he couldn''t knock another arrow. He tried to draw his melee weapon, but I was quick to startying into his head with an elbow.


    Reinforcement isn''t something a run of a mill guard could handle.


    "Well done my friend!" A hand sped me on the shoulder. I saw Ralof looking proud behind me.


    "We''re these really the men who beat you?" I as skeptical on how they got captured in the first ce.


    "No, we fought the real soldiers, these are the ones they just parade around town. The sons and daughters of politicians and wealthy families."


    "Ah, I see. Let them pretend to be soldiers and bask in the ''glory'' of capturing prisoners without the risk of realbat so their parents don''t get upset." Though I saw a few battle hardened warriors among them.


    Ulfric walked up as well, giving a grunt of acknowledgement. A few of his men were limping over and a few more looked bloodied. Not many survived, but it was better than going to the gallows, or whatever was going to happen to them.


    "We need to go." The supposed king stated. "Grab what you can without being weighed down."


    I looked at the cart full of goods and found my hat. Was it lucky they didn''t toss It away? I guess its novelty made them curious, I doubt there''s another like it in this world.


    "Where will you go, my friend?" Ralof asked.


    "No idea, I didn''t exactlye here on purpose. Though, I wouldn''t mind any suggestions." He seemed a bit trustworthy.


    "If you can, head to Riften." The man answered after a moment. "It''s full of scum and thieves, but it''s also a good ce to hide for outsiders. The guards will take bribes without batting an eye, and you can buy almost anything you need." He flipped open a small chest full of coins on the cart.


    "I''ve been there before." Thorum walked over. "Look for Brynjolf, he owes me a favor. Should be part of the Thief''s Guild if he hasn''t turned up in a ditch somewhere."


    "We need to get moving." Ulfric urged.


    "Aye, I don''t doubt that some imperial coward ran away during the fight and is getting help." Ralof nodded. "It''s a shame we have to leave so much of this here." He picked up an axe and tied it to his belt before grabbing a handful of potatoes from a box on the cart and putting them in his pocket.


    "I''ll burn it before I leave." I waved him off, earning a nod of thanks. "I guess this is where we part, good luck."


    "And you, my friend." Ralof gave me onest look before he and Ulfric took into the nearby forest. The other ''stormcloakes'' went in other directions as they scattered into the distance.


    "What about you, Thorum?" I asked.


    He scratched his head for a moment in thought. "I''ll head to Whiterun, I hear the Jarl there is neutral and I always wanted to join thepanions."


    I don''t know what thepanions are but.... "I wish you luck." I held out my hand that he grabbed in acknowledgement, he gave onest smile before grabbing some supplies and heading out.


    It would indeed be a shame to leave so much of this stuff here. There was a small chest filled with gold and jewels, a couple crates of weapons and even a few that looked magical in nature. Not to mention the food, I was curious what it tastes like in this world. I just shrugged and started emptying a lot of it into my hat. I didn''t take everything; the pocket dimension wasn''t particrlyrge.


    I did withdraw a talisman and p it on the cart, at the very least a lot of the food would burn up.


    As I was about to pick a direction to run in, a thought crossed my mind.


    Where the fuck is Riften?

 Chapter 7 - 7

    <h4>Chapter 7:</h4>


    "Wee, wee!" I heard the shopkeep excitedly shout as I opened the door.


    "Greetings." I gave a curt reply. I was getting a bit of a slimy feeling from him. He looked normal enough, nothing inhuman about his appearance. Not that I had anything against non humans....just an observation.


    He gave me a once over, I would have assumed he would be displeased by my current state of dress. My clothes were a bit torn and ruffled and perhaps even dirty. But I guess under all of that they were something he hasn''t seen before.


    Well, might as well y off that. "As you can see, I''m in need of some....supplies." I gestured to my own unkempt appearance.


    I had arrived in townst night, having flown away yesterday to avoid any pursuers; everything was basically closed so I just shacked up in the nearby stables to get a few hours of sleep. I saw an Inn...but there were a few guards walking around and I didn''t want any potential issues.


    "Of course." Heughed happily. "The Riverwood Trader has everything you need, especially for someone who''s new to the Skyrim life."


    "That obvious, huh?" I gave a good-natured smile, I wondered if he would try to scam me.


    "It''s practically a right of passage for foreigners. I remember my first time traveling Skyrim before settling down. I was lucky enough to get an old Nord to give me some advice. Once you get the respect of the locals, everything seems to get much smoother, especially for Imperials like you and me."


    "Well, I got the coin if you got the supplies." I''m apparently an Imperial? Good to know.


    "Wonderful!" He sped his hands. "I run the best general store in the province, just tell me what you need."


    I thought for a moment and my eyes were drawn to a strange golden w on the counter.... curious looking thing. "Well, some clothes would be appreciated."


    He lowered his head under the counter, pulling up two stacks of clothing. "Let''s see here, I got some run of the mill tunics, nothing too fancy. And I also have a set of ''finer'' clothing if you''re interested."


    I stepped forward to inspect them. They were about what one would assume considering the technological level of this ce. I ran my hand through the higher-end trousers and tunic. The material would be.... eptable but holding it up to my chest, the design made me want to vomit.


    "Is this the fashion around here for the wealthy?"


    He just shrugged. "I don''t keep up with those trends, that''s my sister''s department and she convinced me to buy these a few months back."


    "They are...not to my tastes." That was the politest way I could say it. "I''ll just take the basics for now."


    He nodded reaching under the counter again. "You''re going to need some good boots as well. The Skyrim terrain is a bit treacherous if you''re out exploring."


    I felt the material and just nodded. Boots were boots, there wasn''t much to say about them. "Lets see...." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, taking a look at the shelves around us. "What about these?" I picked a red-looking potion off the shelf.


    "It''s always good to carry a few health potions for an emergency."


    I felt my breath hitch at the nonchnt way he described the alchemic creation. Was the mystical side of the world so open here that ''health potions'' were something easily acquired by the mundane?


    It''s not that equivalent couldn''t be found in my old world, but the ingredients were hard toe by and almost extinct. Did I hit the jackpot?


    "How many do you have in stock?"


    "Last I counted, seven potions of minor healing."


    "I''ll take them all." I didn''t even ask the price, I should be quite wealthy if some of the tags I saw around the shop were urate, apparently the gold coins I acquired are the default currency here. "Do you have any other types of potions?"


    "Well....if you asked any town around us they may have said no." He put an elbow on the table, giving me a prideful grin. "It''s a good thing you came to me." He hefted arge crate from under the counter, carefully setting them down. "Nord''s don''t really like anything beyond a simple health potion, so I''ve been sitting on this stock for the right buyer."


    "Well...their loss." I muttered picking up a small red vial, it looked like a health potion....simr properties perhaps?


    "A regeneration potion, not as quick as a health potion so many people don''t really like them. But they''re better for blood loss or a bunch of smaller wounds." He stated, shifted through the various containers. "Let''s see here... A strength potion that''s always good in a pinch. A Water breathing potion, I doubt anyone would want to swim in these freezing waters but another thing that''s nice to have. A few stamina and Magicka potions, they should still be good, though they don''tst as long as health potions."


    Magicka potions? I quickly grabbed one of the blue containers on the counter he set to the side, inspecting the contents. This was filled with magical energy...is this supposed to restore magical energy to someone? If so....I could make so much money selling these back home.


    Not everyone is like me, able to pull on the Kaleidoscope to refill my reserves. These would require testing, but if nothing else they might have some interesting concepts I could steal.


    There were some other misceneous ones, like cure poison or cure disease. But frankly..... "I''ll take them all."


    The shop keep just blinked at me. "I don''t want to be rude but can you¡ª"


    I turned my hat upside down, a small pile of gold poured out onto the counter. "I have more where that came from.


    He pped his hands. "Well then, what else can I do for you?"


    "You also buy here?" I inquired.


    "Let me see what you got; I''ll tell you if I can take it."


    He didn''t even bat an eye the first time I used my hat, I guess magic really isn''t something umon around here. I started to set a few swords on the table, not much just to empty a bit of space.


    He picked one up to examine it. "Pretty standard, looks in good shape. I don''t deal much in weapons, but I can sell this pretty easily. I''ll give you.....30 septims each."


    Not quite sure if that''s good or not, but they were basically taking up space and hey, I now know the name of this currency. Besides, I still have my cane sword, which is much better than ordinary iron.


    "What about this?" I set arge, green emerald on the table. It was the one that I had originally found inside the hat when I bought it.


    "Divines....." He whispers, picking it up. "Where did you..." He muttered again, inspecting the jewel.


    Yeah, I was guessing that even a couple hundred years ago, the people from earth could sculpt jewels better than anyone here. "Interested?"


    "Of course!" He cleared his throat. "I mean, yes, how much would you like for it?"


    "Let''s knock off the price of the goods first."


    "So, an even trade, the stuff for your jewel?" He eyed me


    "Oh no, that''s just the first step, we still need to talk about how many septims you are paying after that." Nice try, but I could guess this jewel was worth much more than that.


    "You want me to tie up all my coin and goods in single jewel?" He frowned, crossing his arms. "What if I get robbed? The best I can do is maybe a few more items added on and a straight trade."


    "I don''t really need anything else¡ª"


    "How about some spell books?" He smiled, and just like that we both knew he had me.


    ***


    I was....not unhappy with my exchange, but I felt like I got yed a bit. Did I tilt my hand when I looked confused at the potions? Was that when he knew I was novice in his eyes?


    It''s not like I needed the gold, I still have a hefty amount it''s just..... I like having more.


    I was able to finagle some more goods from him, even if he fought me every step of the way. I have no doubt that the jewel would be making him a huge profit I just didn''t want to go through the effort of selling it through the proper channels.


    Also got some information while I was at it, he gave me a very basic map of Skyrim, along with a heads up that a cart would being by tomorrow and I could buy a ride to Riften for a small fee. Not only that, apparently some soldiers came byst night, but the guards drove them away. I don''t really understand the political structure of this ce but apparently the ''Jarl'' that oversees Riverwood is neutral or something and he has enough clout to tell them to bugger off.


    So, I had some time to kill I was sitting at a table in the Inn next door. They had some decent drinks, I wasn''t expecting much from the Mead here, but damn was I surprised. I would definitely need to grab some before I left this world.


    Laid out on the table were the ''spell books'' that were mentioned. This world.... they have some interesting ideas on magic, and I could thoroughly reap the benefits of such open learning.


    From what I was told, these were mainly just basic spells along with one ''adept'' spell.


    Lesser ward, a small barrier that blocks attacks. Nothing too crazy, but its application was insane, it was elementally neutral so anyone could use it. The effort in its casting was a bit meh, but I could experiment to make it a worthwhile spell.


    Oak Flesh, a strengthening spell that can ovep with my reinforcement, it leans more towards defense, but it does have a physical power application as well. Always good to have additional strengthening abilities. Instead of applying an enhancement through my body, it sort of envelops my body in its effect. A bit mana intensive, but it was something I would enjoy working with.


    Frostbite was neat, it basically channels a stream of cold air from your hand, freezing anything, it touches. Well, it could be resisted easily, it wasn''t like it was absolute zero temperatures. But still, an interesting spell I would love to dissect it for further study.


    There was even a basic healing spell, aptly named ''Healing''. This had been a good find, while the effects were apparently less than a basic regeneration potion, having a healing spell so easily applicable was a huge boon.


    Thest basic spell book was Telekinesis. A bit of a surprise there, the equivalent in my old home was a guarded secret by several families. Not something unattainable, but it was such a useful spell that those who had it guarded it did so fiercely.


    The real gem was the ''adept'' spell book, named Distort. From what I understand about the magical system here, so far, it''s a spell that falls under the ''illusion'' school. Aptly named I suppose, since the spell is a basic physical illusion application.


    Basically, I can make illusions that appear real on the surface, though any interference will break them.


    A useful spell and I''m quite happy with my purchase. I''ll need to find more books like these and add to my repertoire.


    With a yawn I picked up another bottle of mead, well I still had some time to kill, and this drink is pretty good at least.

 Chapter 8 - 8

    <h4>Chapter 8:</h4>


    "What do you mean you''re not going to Riften!?"


    "All the rumorsing from that ce, I aint going near it for the time bein."


    I could only just sigh is frustration. "Look, if it''s a matter of money¡ª"


    "It aint about the coin boy, did you not hear my words? I Aint going near it." The cart driver seemed adamant about staying away from that town for some reason.


    "What exactly are these ''rumors''?"


    "A dragon." He puffed out smoke from his mouth, tapping his pipe on the cart. "First one to be sighted in centuries. I wouldn''t believe in the tales if I hadn''t met the folks fleeing with fear still in their eyes."


    [Oh, that sounds interesting.]


    I don''t think I''m adequately equipped to deal with a dragon at the moment, maybe if someone loosened the restrictions....


    [How about, you fight the dragon and if you do good, I''ll unlock it?]


    Fuck off.


    "Alright, so Riften was besieged by a dragon, that isn''t the worst reason to stay away. Where am I supposed to go now..." I mean, I didn''t really ''need'' to go to Riften, it was merely a suggestion by those guys, if anything I''m not really afraid of being captured or anything. I was just kinda going with the flow and was curious about thend I found myself in.


    "How about Winterhold?" The driver spoke up.


    "Sounds cold, what exactly is worth it there?"


    "The college. You looked like the learning sorts." He shrugged.


    "A college you say?" Okay my interest was piqued; I wonder what I could learn there...


    "Aye, just don''t expect the towns folk to give you a good time, they don''t like them mages very much."


    Mages....a college for mages. A magical learning institute....sweet christ. "You sir, have just earned a bonus, take me to Winterhold."


    I heard him chuckle, adjusting himself in his seat. "Climb aboard, it''ll take about a day to reach there."


    Oh joy, riding in a wooden cart for a day. My butt would be sore tomorrow, but it would be worth it, I guess.


    Well, at least it would give me time to think, I had a lot on my mind right now.


    Like, how the hell did I even end up here!? This isn''t a parallel world of Earth, if I''m not mistaken this is apletely alternate dimension, separated from the world-line my magic should be able to ess. I know for a damn fact that my Calctions weren''t that imprecise, I should have at leastnded on a line that housed the spirit of Gaia.


    Something went wrong, something I did wrong. I know that my previous-self had some knowledge of the world I was born in, otherwise I wouldn''t have the memories of the world-line''s progression model in my head.


    What did I feel when I left, almost like I hit something?


    If I had to exin it, I was practically a fly being smacked by a car. No, that isn''t quite right, that would imply I hit something ''moving'' in the normal sense. I basically smacked into a wall and got knocked off course.


    But what ''wall'' would there be?


    Think idiot, think. I just smacked my head in frustration. What was I missing?


    [Heh, idiot is right.]


    Not helping Ddraig. I thought you were asleep.


    [Eh, I was too curious about your memories so I couldn''t go back to sleep. Been watching them for a few days now.]


    Joy....does that mean you have some insight to my current issue?


    [Hmm, let me see, what race are you?]


    Human-half-devil, what does that have to do with anything? My physical species shouldn''t have a negative effect on either the casting or the effect on the actualization. If anything, my half-phantasmal nature should make it smoother, since I''m a being closer to the concept of ''magic''.


    [And where do devilse from?]


    I mean, their parents....but if you mean in a more philosophical sense, their demonic origins can be traced to the negative cumtions of dreams, desires and human imagination all catalyzed with the advent of the God of the bible. Good and evil, yin and yang, one exists so the other must exist to bnce it out as a cosmic rule. Every culture, every pantheon has their own ''good and evil'' though the terms can be more muddled. The Asgardians and the Giants of Jotunheim and Muspelheim. Olympians with their Titan counterparts and the various ''giants'' that exist in their cultures too.


    Asuras and Devas of the Indian pantheons ¨C


    The Youkai of the Shinto factions, with the Yamata-no-Orochi¡ª


    The Sumerian Gods and the children of Tiamat ¨C


    Hell, even ¨C


    I paused, blinking in realization.


    [Thought you missed the point there, but you came back around.]


    I''m a fuckin idiot, I face palmed


    I didn''t take into ount all the secondary realms still attached to the ''world''.


    To put it into perspective, if the ''world'' was a house in the middle of the forest, it would be surrounded with trees, trying to run into a single direction, in a straight line, you would smack into a tree. The trees being secondary realms, like Olympus, Hell, Heaven, Asgard, Takamagahara, etc. Whereas my previous world basically had all the trees cut down, the forest only had a few sparse trees left because the Age of Gods hade and gone.


    So, I smacked into another realm and got blown off course and somehow stepped out of the world-line I was ustomed to.


    Okay, nothing I can''t solve I can find my way back easily enough.


    Well, that solves that mystery.


    Truthfully, it would only take a few minor modifications to my calctions, if they wereplete. I''ll need to finish them proper at some point. Now that I think about it, I can probably find the stuff to make my mystic code here, no doubt there''s going to be some interesting materials I can find.


    Well, this trip wouldn''t be wasted. It''s not like I''m under any kind of time restraints, the opposite in fact.


    I''m free.


    No responsibilities, no one controlling my life. I can go wherever the wind takes me, speaking of wind, the scene here is breathtaking


    I was bitching about the ride earlier, but once we started going, what a sight.


    ***


    "Oi, old man, want a drink?" I wasying down in the back of the cart, watching the snowkes fall from the sky.


    It had gotten rather cold as we started going north, luckily, I had some stuff packed away inside my storage space for the cold weather when I grabbed practically everything I could from that cart of ''confiscated'' goods earlier.


    "What is that, ck Briar?" He hollered.


    Well, the man knows his drink. "Yup, got some Honningbrew too if you want that."


    "None of that pisswater stuff, a real nord drinks ck Briar or something a bit stronger." The old man snorted, I justughed and handed him a bottle.


    It seems like no matter the world, people will defend their drink brands. "What''s the word around Skyrim, recently?"


    "Besides dragon attacks?" He took a swig.


    "Well, I wouldn''t mind hearing more about that, but I''m a bit out of the loop for everything."


    "Hmm, there were stories that Meridia''s statue near Solitude has been acting up." He scoffed. "Folks gettin rightful panicked too. Them Daedra are never up to any good." He turned back towards me. "Never let some fool tell you nothin about a ''good'' Daedra, you hear med? Nothin goodes from assorting with them things."


    "Aye, grabbing the eyes of higher powers never ends well for mortals." I didn''t know what a Daedra was, but I could guess it was something ''godly'' in nature or something like that.


    "Damn straight, you got a good head on your shoulders." He nodded. "I also hear the war is heating up after Ulfric escaped some Imperial ambush or somethin. Heard they had him bound and ready for the block, only to escape from right under their noses. Got them Imperials up in a frenzy trying to look less foolish to the masses."


    What? It''s only been like three days....how? Atleast there was no mention of associates or anything jeese. Well, I wouldn''t be surprised if this man was spreading half these rumors, he sure travels enough to do so.


    He started talking about some other nonsense but I didn''t'' really pay much attention, I think he was rambling about some elves or something. Frankly, I think I would have fallen asleep if the lights in the distance didn''t draw my attention.


    "Looks like we''re here" The old man said.


    As we got closer, I could see the swaying of torches. The snow made it kind of hard to make out, but the outline of buildings started toe into view.


    "Wee to Winterhold."


    It was a town, to be expected from what I saw of Riverwood yesterday, but a bit in the distance I saw it. A massive stone structure connected by a small bridge.


    Beautiful.


    The college of Winterhold.


    "Halt, outsiders." My attention was taken by one of the guardsing towards us. "State your business."


    "I was going to check out the College." Was there any reason to hide it?


    The guard scowled under his helmet. "Another mage." His voice practically dripping with venom.


    "I''m sorry?" I said in confusion. "I''ve only been in Skyrim for less than a week, did I do something wrong?"


    The guard looked me over once before sighing. "Look, just.....the Mages in the college have caused a lot of trouble for the town. Experiments gone wrong.....or right, magical idents and such aren''t umon. Try to keep your nose clean if you join them."


    "That sounds incredibly irresponsible. Even disregarding the morality of such things, do they not realize they rely on you all for even the basic necessities?" They''re in the middle of nowhere, the town is the only reason they can probably even operate without constant suppliesing and going. The logistics would be an absolute nightmare for something of that size.


    I think he was about to respond but we both got distracted by a sudden shout.


    "ICE WRAITHS!"


    "Shit, get in formation!"


    The guard looked at me again. "Some assistance would be appreciated, mage."


    Well, I wouldn''t mind helping fix the disconnect between the mages and mundane folk here. Especially if I''m going to spend any extended time at the college.


    I nodded, following behind, they make a quick shield wall at the town gates. I didn''t know what an Ice wraith was, but it looked like some kind of elemental mixed with a scaled sea creature.


    The old man had hurried into town, good. I didn''t want to have to worry about him, he was good to me.


    They all looked nervous, even I felt a certain chill as a few dozen of those things approached. I quickly grabbed my sword out of my hat and drew it from its sheath.


    A few of the creatures in the front spewed frost st from their mouth. It seemed like the guards were somewhat used to this because several shields pushed together and blocked it.


    I''m not the most moral person in the world, I can be petty, vindictive and I usually care about my needs over others....but I''m also not heartless. Seeing them fight like this.....I just sighed and drew upon my mana


    My circuits opened and I felt my magical energy swell into both hands, and I pushed it together "Distort."


    A momentter, a hundred more guards formed up along side us and rushed towards the iing mass of ice wraiths.


    They were nothing but facsimiles, lifeless illusions that dissipated at the slightest touch, I was concerned that the snowstorm would break them before they could do anything, so I overloaded the spell a bit.


    I was taking several guesses here, but it seemed like the Ice Wraith''s sensory organs deemed them ''real'' whether it was sight or something else. Maybe they sensed the magical energy that all life forms have, their "od'' so to speak and confused the mana I imnted in each copy as that?


    Questions forter, I began drawing my runes in the air.


    If I were a betting man, these things were most likely weak to fire.


    I withdrew a few talismans from my hat, I didn''t have many left and I was unsure if I could craft more outside of Earth, but it felt like a good time to use them.


    The spell I wanted to cast required five specific ones, but I was missing two of the required elemental talismans, I would rece them with a corresponding rune.


    "Metal Enriches Water. Water Nurtures Wood. Wood feeds Fire. Fire dries Earth. Earth refines Metal."


    A pentagram formed, suspending, and connecting them all in the air. Using the creation cycle to bolster another spell to an absurd level, even my sword bolstering it by a slight degree.


    Fire magecraft wasn''t my forte, but I had thought about a few spells I wanted to create through the usage of the runic arts.


    The runes swirled around my hand, invoking in the sequence I envisioned. Too many to say individually, it was simpler to link the sentence under a single spell name.


    "Fires of Muspelheim."


    Thend was dyed red.


    ***


    Infront of the gates of Winterhold, if you looked out, there was no fresh snow for about 80 yards, possibly more.


    I think the guards were a bit surprised.


    Surely, they couldn''t think this was much? I mean, I felt this wasn''t up to par with my standards. I noticed several irregrities when I cast the spell for the first time. I did make a mental note to fix them, but I lost maybe 30-40% power in the final cast.


    "Thank you." A guard pat me on the shoulder, I recognized him from earlier. "You saved the lives of many good men."


    I guess I did. "Why exactly were those things attacking?"


    He slumped his shoulders, letting out a sigh. "It''s that time of the year that they reproduce, I''m not sure the exact.... mechanism behind how they give birth, only that they need a source of heat. They usually swarm us when the sun is at its peak, drag a few people off then do it again the next day. This repeats for a couple weeks."


    Oh...heat, I see what he means.


    Eww.


    Though I am a little intrigued. Does the act of reproduction need to syphon the heat from a living being in order for them to generate offspring?


    Everyone around me looked immediately at ease with therge swarm gone. Arge weight off their shoulders in the meantime. There were a couple sporting wounds, well a bit of ice got around the shields.


    I one in specific rip a thorn of ice out of his arm. What a badass, that must have hurt.


    "Oi." I sped him in the shoulder, casting a Healing spell.


    He just started at me, almost in utter confusion.


    How can they be so surprised at my magic....magecraft, when they live next to a college of mages? Jeese, my terminology is getting all mixed up.


    I guess they mean the same thing, contextually speaking.


    "Thanks." The guard grunted out.


    "No problem, though you may want to get yourself check, I don''t know much about Ice wraiths, admittedly, if there are any lingering effects inside your body."


    "I owe you a drink.....mage" The guard moved his arm around.


    "Think we all do." The other guard, possibly the leader? He walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you, truly. Many of my men were ready to die today."


    "Well, I wouldn''t say no to a mug, your Skyrim Mead has grown on me."


    "Alright, you head him boys. Batur, Tolsmar, you both are staying on duty at the gate since you were bothte. Otherwise, first round is on me, boys!"


    There was some good-natured cheering


    "My name is Svord and if anyone gives you problems in Winterhold, tell them my name." He practically dragged me off towards the tavern, his posse of armed guards following along,ughing and jeering.


    It was, not unpleasant.


    Seeing everyone make way as we pushed open the doors of what I presumed was the tavern. The locals greeted the guards happily, I guess they would have an applied interest in the guards returning back victorious.


    "Dagur!" Svord eximed to a man behind the counter.


    "Svord, it''s good to see you made it, how were the....?"


    "Every guard alive and ounted for, you can thank my new friend here." Heughed happily, sping my shoulder.


    "A mage?" Dagur eyed me skeptically. "You from the college,d?"


    "I came here wanting to check it out, saw they needed a hand." I shrugged. "Just did what anyone would do."


    I took a quick nce around, the old cart driver was chatting up a woman in the corner, she looked about his age. He saw me out of the corner of his eye, I gave him a nod and smile.


    "Aye, he''s a good one, the college would do good to add him to their number." Svord added. "Now." He pped his hands. "I promised a round for everyone, and Svord doesn''t'' go back on his word."


    The ce erupted in cheers; it was really lively. I wasn''t used to getting this kind of attention when people all gave me acknowledgement and such. But...it wasn''t an ufortable feeling.


    "What''ll you getd, the hero gets the first drink." Dagur


    "I''ve only had a few drinks from Skyrim so far, ck Briar, Honningbrew, what else you got for me?" I sat at the counter.


    Svord and Dagur shared a look, a smile showing on their faces. "Let''s get you a true Nord drink." He poured out a bottle I didn''t recognize into arge mug.


    "Alright,d we won''tugh if you can''t handle something a bit stronger than the milk you''re used to.....at least not too much." Svord pped my back.


    "Oh, is that a challenge?" I eyed him.


    He crossed his arms, staring at me, a grin on his face. "This is a man''s drink, son."


    I took the hat off my head, reaching inside to grab a handful of coins and mmed them on the table.


    "The balls on thisd, eh?" Svord snorted in amusement we were gathering a little show. He pulled out a few coins and matched me.


    "Bottoms up." I took swig, eyeing Svord as I downed the entire thing in one drink. Granted, a bit of it spilled out onto my shirt, and I almost coughed it back up when it first went down my throat, but I mmed the empty mug on the counter.


    "Tasted like piss mixed with honey..." I coughed slightly, meeting the silence of the crowd. "Fuck it, give me another."


    There were woops andughter as Svord pat my shoulder. "Well doned." Heughed happily. "You earned this." He pushed the gold towards me.


    "Alright, just keep the drinks flowing." I waved my hand around the room, pushing both piles of gold towards Dagur.


    More cheers and thanks were shouted my way.


    It was a wonderful feeling.

 Chapter 9 - 9

    <h4>Chapter 9:</h4>


    "Wake up." I felt a prodding in my shoulder, I was still drowsy, and my head was killing me.


    "Wake. up." I heard and felt it again.


    I groggily lifted my head up to look at the...person poking me. He was, not a race I had seen before. An elf of some sort, the people weren''t freaking out, so I was assuming that his species wasn''t umon.


    "The fuck do you want?" He was dressed well, too well. He had a permanent look on his face that screamed, ''I''m better than you''.


    "How uncouth, not that I expected any more from a two-bit mage." He scoffed.


    What time was it? I don''t think it was noon yet, maybe early morning. I fell asleep at the counter....that''s a bit embarrassing. It didn''t look like the owner minded though, I think I paid him enough as it was. I think we were celebrating far into the night.


    Even as I looked around there appeared to be a few more people passed out here and there. I guess this wasn''t an umon urrence.


    My eyes focused back on the man who had been poking and insulting me. "Who are you, and why should I care?"


    Again, that little scoff he gave made me want to punch him. "I am Ancano, Thalmor emissary and council to the Arch Mage of the College." He proimed, perking up like a peacock.


    "Neat."


    "Yes, quite." It looked like he tried his best to not appear annoyed at my remark, failing horrendously. "I have heard of your feats yesterday and am gracious enough to offer you a ce at the College."


    This feels all kinds of wrong, I can''t quite put my finger on it, but I''m too curious to see where this goes. "Oh, how kind of you, good sir. How could I ever repay such ''generosity''?"


    "I see, you do indeed have some manners befitting someone more learned than these barbarians. I will ignore your earlier outbursts." He turned his nose up. "You are lucky to have caught the eye of some very powerful mages, they are curious about the spells you evoked in your battle."


    Ah, there it is. I guess some descriptions of what I had done were spread around, some idiot heard the rumors. I guess my ''foreign'' magic would be interesting to those who devote themselves to the magical studies.


    "You said your name was; Ancano?" I wanted to make sure.


    "Indeed." He nodded, clearly pleased with himself for some reason.


    "Good, I didn''t want to get your name wrong, that would just be embarrassing." I cleared my throat, drawing a bit of attention on myself. "Go fuck yourself, Ancano."


    Trying to learn my mysteries? Do I look like I was born yesterday? If this was the Clock Tower he would have been killed trying this shit on someone else.


    There was some snicker andughter around the room. I saw Dagur try his best to hold back his ownugh, I just tipped my hat at the man and smirked.


    "Y-you!" He eximed in surprise. "How dare you!?"


    I think I saw his hands light up, ready to cast a spell. Only, the sound of steel being drawn from its sheath filled the room.


    It looked like several guards had woken up from their naps and were all pointing des at Ancano. He paused, looking at me, then looking over the room.


    The magical energy he gathered had dissipated and he just scoffed. "I expected nothing less from such uncivilized barbarians."


    "Says the idiot that was about to invoke a spell in the middle of a tavern....a fire spell, in a building made of wood. Do you need a lesson on what happens to wood when it catches fire?"


    He narrowed his eyes. "No wonder the Thalmor are needed in Skyrim. Truly you all need a strong, guiding hand."


    I didn''t really get the gist of what he was saying, but the guards around me were...enraged, forck of a better term. The looks on their faces, I could only admire their control as they clenched their weapons.


    But, I drank with themst night, sort of built a bond with them. Is it weird that I felt annoyed because they were insulted?


    "You wanted to cast magic? Let''s step outside then, you and me." I stood up, looking him in the eyes.


    "Hoh, you wish to duel me?" He looked on at me with disdain. "Hmm, I haven''t the time to waste with the riffraff...."


    "I''ll give you the knowledge of my spells if you win." I cut him off, I knew what he was doing, didn''t really care either.


    He paused looking at me before smiling. "Is this the part where you make a demand of me, if you win?" He waived his hand nonchntly. "Go ahead, demand whatever nonsensical thing you wish if a miracle urs."


    "Your clothes."


    The whole room was silent.


    "....pardon?" The elven mage looked at me in confusion.


    "I. Want. Your. Clothes." I enunciated. "You will walk back to the college, buck-ass-naked when I win."


    This was two-fold, first I wanted to humiliate him, I already felt that there would be nomon ground between us and he was utterly insufferable. Second, I actually wanted his clothes. They looked high-quality and I thought I could take them to a tailor and maybe use their materials for something to my tastes.


    He snorted, holding back his anger. "You will rue the day you angered me." He stomped out of the inn.


    I just followed after him ,along with the entirety of the Tavern who came to watch the show.


    He atleast had the good sense to walk outside of town to avoid any....coteral damage in the immediate vicinity.


    The townsfolk started lining up, more than were in the Tavern, I guess news travels fast here. I think I saw Svord give me a thumbs up in the back.


    "Well, let us discuss the rules of this duel." Ancano stated.


    "No killing, no maiming, norge-scale coteral damage. You hurt the spectators; I''m taking your head." He seemed like the kind of person who would ''idently'' cast too powerful a spell near people he disliked.


    "Fine, your terms are epted. Shall we have someone give a countdown or would you like to make the first move?" He said arrogantly.


    I just raised an eyebrow, I withdrew my sword-cane from my hat and unsheathed it.


    "How uncivilized, a mage wielding a sword." He rolled his eyes, summoning a staff from....somewhere? I wasn''t really paying attention. "I shall be magnanimous, feel free to cast your spell, I shall not respond until you are finished"


    Should I just run up and stab him? Nah, I got a better idea.


    [Oh, this is going to be good.]


    I just smirked after hearing Ddraig.


    Leveling my sword at him, spellcircles began to envelope the de.


    The dimensional refraction phenomenon, an aspect of the Kaleidoscope that allows me to pull an infinite amount of magical energy from parallel worlds. The circles thrummed with power, collecting and condensing the mana, ready for use.


    "Ether Cannon."


    My sword shuddered, I briefly panicked that it would explode at the power, I had kept the output of the spell at the bare minimum and even so, the weapon couldn''t handle this kind of spell.


    I saw my Ancano''s eyes widen as he pulled on an impressive amount of magical energy to cast a spell simr to Lesser Warding. Was it a higher tier variant of the same spell?


    It didn''t matter, my beam of iridescent light tore through his barriers like they were paper.


    His cry of pain was heard, deafening the crowd. He fell to the ground, clutching his lower stomach, screaming out in pain as blood seeped from his mouth and poured through his fingers.


    I calmly strode over to his prone position, I saw a white light erupt from his hands, trying to heal himself. It would be slow going, but my aim was impable, there would be nosting damage if he got healed, so I didn''t vite the rules.


    I withdrew a couple potions from my storage, I practically shoved the regeneration down his throat and dumped a healing potion on the wound. This wasn''t out of mercy, mind you, he still had part of his wager to uphold.


    "You lost." I said inly, as the bleeding began to stop


    He wobbled to his feet, taking a few steps back form. "Y-you dare!?"


    I raised an eyebrow, did he think I wouldn''t notice what he was doing? I saw him channeling his own magical energy into spell, trying to hide it. I just began casting my own spells, bringing runes into existence with a hand behind my back.


    "Strip." I ordered again.


    I saw him contort in rage, hands clenched. "I am a Thalmor Emmisary, you dare toy a hand on me!? Your punishment is death!" He threw his hands up and arge amount of mana was expanded, something came into existence.


    Arge, towering, ice-figure stood between me and the arrogant elf.


    Another sort of elemental?


    No matter, I pushed my hand to the ground and brought all the runes together.


    "Bindings of Gaia."


    Massive roots sprang from the frozen tundra, shooting up and wrapping around the ice-creature, binding it in ce. They didn''t stop, shooting towards Ancano, grabbing, and pulling him prone to the ground.


    "The duel had been concluded and you tried to kill me, I wonder what the punishment for attempted murder is?" My de pressed against his neck, and I leaned down next to him. "A two-bit mage, huh?" I whispered.


    "The Jarl would enjoy having the Thalmor Emissary in his dungeons." Svord walked up next to me, clearly hearing the exchange.


    "Would he now?" I raised an eyebrow, a smile shared between me and Svord. It seems like this Jarl doesn''t like the Thalmor, whatever they are, and Ancano looked rather pale at the thought.


    As I contemted what to do, a teleportation-type spell had activated a few feet away and a man walked out. Another elf, it looked like a different.... species though.


    "May I request you remand him into my custody?" The man had an authoritative voice to him, yet at the same time he gave the aura of a sort of kindly old man.


    "Archmage" Svord greeted, maybe even with a little respect.


    "Svord, it''s been a while." The Archmage returned.


    Archmage, someone high up in the College, perhaps?


    "I apologize for themotion he''s caused." The mage looked at me. "I can promise that he was operating under no authority of the College and his views and words in no way reflect upon us."


    I looked towards Svord who just gave me a nod. I didn''t really care either way, dump him in the river, throw him in jail, his existence meant little to me. "He''s all yours." A bit of good will towards my future ''home'' wouldn''t be too bad either.


    I was about to undo my spell until...


    *Snap*


    The Archmage snapped his fingers, and my roots began to unravel and returned to the ground. The summoned being was dispersed and returned to whatever realm it was summoned from.


    I couldn''t help but blink and stare at this ''Archmage'' frankly.....he was giving me a familiar feeling, like I was staring at my previous self. That well of knowledge that seems unfathomable and the quiet confidence that he could handle anything that came his way.


    Of course, the Archmage only just gave me a kind smile...though I think he was smirking a bit, but I didn''t feel any amount of arrogance from it.


    Well yed.


    [He''s strong.]


    Can you tell how much?


    [The current you can''t handle him. Using those devil terms....at least ultimate ss.]


    Ah yes, the devil''s way of measuring power. Lower-ss, middle-ss, high-ss, ultimate-ss, Satan-ss, and Super-ss.


    Godly beings tend to be operating at a minimum of Satan-ss power, usually in the realm of what is referred to as Super-ss.


    "I thank you, young man." He pulled Ancano up from the ground and applied his own healing spells. They were strong, I could see they were many fold stronger than the basic one I knew. He turned his gaze towards the bloodied elf. "Now, I believe you have a wager to uphold."


    I paused and I think everyone around us stopped too, I don''t think they expected that.


    "Y-you can''t be serious, Archmage. I''m an Emissary of the Thalmor!" He eximed.


    "Then perhaps you should act like it in the future." He narrowed his eyes.


    "I''m your...confidant, how would it look on the college if I were to parade around in the nude?"


    "Oh, it will look very poorly on us, I can you tell that already." He conceded, but power began to swell up, and his eyes glowed faintly. "But it would forever taint our pride if we didn''t uphold our own agreements and were known as untrustworthy. Do I make myself clear?"


    You know, it didn''t feel like a ''y'', or just making a scene to save face. It seemed genuine on the surface, and I usually trusted my instincts with such things.


    He kept spouting nonsense about being an ''Emissary'' no doubt there would be political fallout if he died, even if he was the one at fault. I could concede that point, which was why the Archmage was probably thanking me. Even Svord was willing to allow the Archmage to take him, and his own men appeared to loath the man.


    I really need to learn the political situations of thisnd.


    The Thalmor Emissary shuddered, sweating profusely under the Archmage''s gaze. "Of course...." He spit out as he began undressing and tossing his clothes on the ground.


    He was shivering as eachyer was taken off and he began to put his hands on his underwear, but I decided to stop him.


    "That''s enough." I stated, earning their attention. "I don''t think anyone wants to see that."


    "Indeed." The Archmage smiled in amusement. "Make your way back to the College, Ancano. We will be having wordster about your assumption of power over the College''s decisions." Oof, sounds like someone was going to get a spanking. "And you had best be properly clothed by the time I return."


    No one spoke as the elf began his walk of shame. Truthfully, I expected a lot ofughter and jeering, but I think the townspeople were just too stunned to say anything.


    The Archmage once again turned towards me. "You are an interesting young man." He flicked his wrist and a parchment appeared in his hand. "I would hate for us to be called liars, while Ancano did not have the authority to do so... I would like to officially extend this invitation to join the College."


    I grabbed the parchment, opening it up to read. "This just says. ''He can join'' with your signature." I deadpanned.


    "Did you think it was difficult to join the college? There is only the basic requirement to be able to cast a few beginner spells and the guard would let you in." Heughed, flexing his hand and disappearing from the spot. Only the distortion of magical energy leaving a tell sign that he had teleported away.


    "What just happened?" I asked Svord.


    "That would be Archmage Savos Aren, head of the College."


    "He seemed....." Frankly I didn''t know the word to use. What was thebination of powerful, quirky, funny, scary, grandfatherly.....oh. "entric."


    "Aren''t all mages?" Svord chuckled. "But he is respected."


    "Really, I thought everyone here hated mages?"


    "Yes, that should tell you something." He pat my shoulder and walked back towards town.


    I picked up the clothes off the ground, now let''s see if I can find a tailor.

 Chapter 10 - 10

    <h4>Chapter 10:</h4>


    I was staring over the side of a cliff, at the edge of Winterhold. I could see houses, buildings, and all kinds of infrastructure poking out of the side of the mountain, all the way down to the gorge below. Not only that, but I could also see the bridge into the College, it didn''t look like it should be standing, let alone being used.


    What did they call it, the great copse?


    I got the cliff notes version of what happened, but seeing it still like this was something else.


    Apparently, the rtionship between the college and the town was already rather strained when it urred, only for the people to me the college once again when the incident did happen, though from what I could tell they didn''t do it.


    It was tragic, but nothing I could do about it. It seems like everyone had already picked up and carried on. The town had started expanding again in the other direction, I could still see houses being built when the snowstorms weren''t as bad.


    Does my devil biology give me some resistance against weather? I could only guess so considering I''m lightlyyeredpared to the people who live here.


    I looked up at the sun in the sky, it was heard to get a concept of time here, especially when the sun barely peaked through the snowy air, but I could guess it was midafternoon, leaning towards sunset. I had just been walking around town for a few hours, getting acquainted with it. Basically, I needed to kill some time.


    It seems like she should be close to done..... I twirled my hat and put it on my head, I guess I''ll go check in with the tailor again.


    The guards gave me nods as I passed, I seemed to develop a sort of rampart with the town. It was nice, the ce wasn''t too big, probably a few hundred people all-in-all, small enough that everyone knew everyone, and news traveled faster than the speed of light.


    I walked up to the tailor''s shop, pushing the door open.


    I wasn''t surprised at the scene of needles hovering in the air, moving every which way on a piece of fabric.


    "Eveth." I greet.


    "Will" The older woman smiled.


    It was a good idea to get to know your tailor. Anyone who takes pride in their clothing would tell you as much.


    I sat in a nearby chair, I didn''t want to disturb her too much.


    Too be honest we weren''t ''too'' acquainted, only having met earlier this morning when I put in my order, but we hit it off decently well. She was curious about the clothing I described, and I even used some parchment for some sketches.


    The most surprising thing was her application of magic. She was using Telekinesis to move the needles all about as she worked through the seams. It was one of the reasons she could pump out quality work so quickly. If it were anyone else, this would have probably taken days, if not over a week to aplish.


    She told me a mage and been sweet on her in her youth, teaching her a few spells. Basic cantrips and what-not but perfect for someone who is running a business. She could light a fire, heat water, freeze food.


    Things of that nature.


    "This should about....do it" She moved her hands away, admiring her work. "What do you think?"


    I walked over, standing beside her. "Amazing, I can''t believe how well this turned out from my horrible sketches and exnations. Truly you are an artist."


    My praise was genuine, it was astonishing how well this turned out. I mean, I could tell the materials weren''t the same as what I was used to back home, but it looked phenomenal.


    I took the clothes into the back room to change. She had already gotten my measurements before.....she was quite ''thorough'' with that as well, especially around my groin area. Not that I dislike older women, if it were any other time.....


    Unfortunately, I had wanted to get to the college as quickly as I could.


    I zipped up my pants, having donated the clothes from my previous world as additional material. She was quite perplexed by the little mechanism until I showed her how it worked. Suffice to say she''s really curious to where I acquired such a thing.


    The buttons on my shirt were nice, decorated, but ssy. No ufortable tightness anywhere, it was just the perfect size. Of course I made sure everything was nice and tidy as I tucked in my shirt.


    Andsty, I put on the vest, or waistcoat, depending on where you live.


    I ran my hands down the fabric, making sure there are no loose seams or snags anywhere.


    No, it was all perfect.


    Thest piece, and probably the easiest for her to make. A ck tie to go along with everything. I and briefly considered a white tie, but it looked best as ck against my white vest along with my ck shirt.


    There was a mirror here, though not to the standards I was used to. The ss was milky and hard to see, but I could make out my figure enough to like what I saw.


    Finally, adjusting my tie up, and putting my hat on my head. I walked out of the room, meeting the eyes of Eveth.


    "Oh my.....if I were 10 years younger.."


    Yeah, I looked good.


    The clothes make the man and all that. It was a nice confidence boost as well.


    My only regret, she didn''t have enough material to make the jacket.


    I set arge stack of gold on the counter. "Will this cover everything?"


    "T-that is way too much." She stuttered, staring at the pile.


    "I wonder if this is too little, actually." I adjusted my tie slightly, making sure it was straight.


    Yes, I''m a clothes snob, I find it physically annoying to wear something so...unsightly as I was before.


    "With this much...I''ll be able to order some higher quality fabrics from the next caravan.." She muttered.


    I stopped in my tracks and turned to her, a thought crossing my mind. I set another stack of coins on the counter, earning her surprise. "Then I will request your services in the future, I want a few more outfits and I hope you can get the stuff soon."


    "Of course!" She said pridefully. "I''ll take care of all your tailoring needs."


    Well then, now that I''m properly dressed, it''s time to visit the college.


    ***


    Walking towards the entrance, I could feel the magical energy in the air get denser. Right as the ground me the stone pathway, I put my hand out and pulsed some mana.


    A shimmering blue barrier was revealed infront of me, I saw my magical energy cascade in every direction, showing the form of the barrier before dissipating.


    Amazing, a bounded field of that size must have taken an astronomical amount of magical energy to sustain.


    I hesitantly stepped through, normally I wouldn''t have been sockadaisical about going into a bounded field of unknown origins, but the college was weing so I took the small risk.


    "State your business." An elf leaning against the brick railing, walked up, blocking my path.


    "Here to join the college." I produced the letter from the Archmage.


    She opened the letter, staring at its contents for a moment. "What..?"


    "Yeah, I don''t know either." I just shrugged.


    "OH." He snapped her fingers. "You''re the mage that dueled Ancano!"


    "That would be me." I don''t think he dueled anyone else in the meantime....so probably?


    "Amazing, how were you able to prate his Greater Ward with a single spell and without arge cast time? Was it some kind of Master-level destruction spell? Or did it bypass the properties of the ward entirely with a curse? No...that shouldn''t be it, he said his Greater Ward was pierced through, ignoring the absorption effects... was it a spell that elerated a physical object at high speeds?" She started to ramble on, I could guess some things, but I felt like I was missing a bit of context.


    "I''m sorry, I think I''m missing something here, miss...?"


    "Oh, I''m sorry, I just got excited. My name is Faralda, I sometimes work as the guard for the college, screening potential recruits."


    "I see." I said simply. "And what was this about Ancano?"


    "Oh, the duel has been the talk of the college since the Archmage had brought Ancano back."


    Really? "Ancano doesn''t strike me as the type of person who would.... discuss his defeat."


    "We were surprised too." Faralda admitted. "Ancano isn''t exactly the most likeable person in the college. So, all of us were surprised when the Archmage announced that Ancano was kind enough to give a lecture on magical dueling using his experience as an example."


    Oh, okay that makes more sense. I could only imagine Ancano''s face with the Archmage standing there, making him give a very detailed exnation on how he was defeated.


    I mean, it wasn''t just because I took him down in one shot. There were several variables that led to me defeating him with such ease. His arrogance was probably the highest factor, he sat there and let me cast a spell at him. He acknowledged that he didn''t know about my ''magic'' and still let me set the pace.


    Gods I could imagine the whole lecture, Ancano having to thoroughly describe the entire thing in detail then the Archmage going ''okay ss, what did Ancano do wrong here?''. And the arrogant elf having to stand there and let a bunch of mages below his skill level criticize him.


    "Even the Archmage said he didn''t know what spell you used." Faralda looked at me expectantly.


    "It''s a secret." I gave a smile.


    "Worth a shot." She mumbled. "Alright, go ahead. I''ll look you up once you get settled, I wouldn''t mind exchanging pointers."


    ***


    As I approached closer to the college, in noticed the temperature getting noticeably warmer, there wasn''t even any snow on the walk-way the further I went.


    An effect of the bounded field around the college? That was my first assumption, and considering the sheer amount of magical energy being pumped around here, it wasn''t probably far off. I noticed several ''wells'' along the walkway, they looked like small openings to the nearby leylines, they pushed out so much magical energy that it was visible to the naked eye.


    Incredible, I knew this whole trip was going to be worth it. Hell, falling into this world was worth it just for this. The things I could learn here, I was excited just imagining it.


    The path led to a sort of ''rotunda'' that circled around, leading to several towers, all before therge doors of the main building.


    There were mages all around, some were casting spells, some were just chatting happily or reading a book on a bench.


    I got barely spared a nce, everyone was deep in their own studies or experiments. It reminded my heavily of the Clock Tower, if a bit more whimsical in nature.


    Pushing the doors open, I was greeted with the faces of about a dozen mages, gathering in a circle with an older man in the middle.


    "Greetings" The older man stepped out of the group, walking over with a smile on his face. "You appear to be a new face." He said, giving me a once over.


    "Indeed, I just joined today? Or I will hope to be joining? I''m not entirely sure on the process."


    "No problem, you''ve basically joined once you past the threshold, we just need to get you squared away with lodging and a schedule of when sses are." He nodded. "For now, though, what about joining our lesson? It''s for beginners, but a refresher is always a good idea."


    "That would be lovely, thank you." Did he know I wasn''t a beginner? Well....I guess the term is subjective here, I wasn''t familiar with their magic in depth yet.


    "Alright everyone, it seems like we got one more student, mister...." He looked at me.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. I look forward to learning alongside all of you." I introduced myself.


    "Wonderful." The older mage smiled. "We were just going over the Lesser Warding spell and how to apply it in a practical situation."


    I stood to the back, it seemed like everyone here were a bit younger than me, probably by about 3-4 years.


    "Most people think of Lesser Ward as a ''wall''." He pushed out the spell infront of him with an ease that was impressive. He no doubt had much experience under his belt. "Which it may seem like on the outside, but such thinking is incorrect. Yes, it is a protection, it stops spells from reaching you, but understanding how it works is just as important as knowing how to cast it. Our spells are directly tied to our imagination and willpower. If we force the spell into such narrow understanding, its abilities are greatly weakened, the ''wall'' bes brittle and easily demolished."


    Was Lesser Ward the ''basics'' here, there was a greater version of the spell were they the bread and butter of defensive spellcasting?


    He looked around the room, I guess he wanted to see if anyone understood. Maybe this was a bit too advanced, to talk about the concepts behind spellcasting? Well, it was extremely simplified, but still, he was talking about how to modify the spell, albeit indirectly.


    "Wilhelm, was it? Can I hear your thoughts?" The mage called me, as all the heads towards back to face me.


    "About understanding spells in general or my thoughts towards Lesser Ward?"


    "Just Lesser Ward, for now." He smiled.


    "I suppose it''s a very efficient spell if you copy it straight from the book. Its cost and effort to cast are below average and it''s a very sturdy shield for what you get. It won''t block anything high-tier, but fights don''t always involve castingrge-scale destruction, a quick fireball is often times much more dangerous than summoning a lightning storm, yet can be blocked quite easily with a quick Lesser Ward."


    "All correct." He turned toward the others. "As he said, simple and efficient spells are often better than big and destructive. That being said, it is unlikely you''ll run into anyone able to cast such spells, meaning a Lesser Ward will probably be able to counter almost anything an enemy mage can throw at you." He turned towards me again. "If I can ask for your assistance, again, would you mind casting a Lesser Ward while I shoot a ball of light at it?"


    "Of course." I nod, stepping out of the group, getting a little distance from him. This was supposed to be a ''learning'' thing, so I very tantly held my hand up and pushed the spell outward, giving everyone else in the hall a good look.


    "I can already see you understand the spell quite thoroughly." He held a ball of light in his hand and basically tossed it at my ward. It sshed across, before dissipating against my magical barrier.


    "Now, you see how his held? I used the same strength against all of yours earlier, yet none of yours could take it without breaking. And I know what you all want to say, that he is more experienced or more powerful since he''s older, but is that true?" He looked towards me. "Wilhelm, how much Magicka did you push into your Lesser Ward when you cast it?"


    Magicka, if I recall that was the term they used for mana here. "The bare minimum for the spell to cast."


    "So, what was the difference between your ward and the ward he cast?" He asked the ss, but no one answer. "The answer is simple, really. It isn''t even experience, it''s just knowledge. He understood how the spell worked and was able to apply its properties correctly when casting." He gestured over to me. "Tell me, Wilhelm, what do you picture when you cast the spell?"


    "A bag." I said after a moment. I wasn''t really at the level where I had to force an image when casting, I was pretty far ahead of that, but it was a step any novice would go through. But the spell reminded me more of a bag than a wall.


    "Wonderful!" He eximed. "A bag, not a wall. If you read the spell tome properly, you would have seen that the Lesser Ward ''absorbs'' the magicka of the spell that it blocks, rendering it moot. A wall cannot ''absorb'', it prevents, it is static and unyielding. Whereas a bag can take into itself, yes it can rip when too much is put in, but that is the limit of the spell itself."


    He looked around the room, noticing the faces of his student light up in understanding, smiling in good nature. "Alright, lets leave it here for today. I want you all to practice casting your Lesser Ward every morning until you can do it without effort."


    The students dispersed, chatting, and whispering to each other as they scattered to the ends of the college.


    "Thank you for your assistance." The mage walked towards me. "I find it helpful when the students have someone closer to their age topare themselves to."


    "I was happy to help." I smiled, it was a nice experience again, being in a ''ssroom''. Hell, I even learned a thing or two while I was here.


    "The room registration is kept by Urag Gro-Shab, our resident Librarian. Just introduce yourself to him and he''ll set you straight." The old mage pat me on the shoulder. "Oh, where are my manners, Ipletely forgot to introduce myself. I am Tolfdir, the Master Alteration Mage for the college, along with the teacher for defensive magics."


    He walked me over towards the door. "Here we are, these stairs lead up to the Arcanaeum, be polite to Urag Gro-Shab, he takes his job as librarian very seriously."


    I just stared at the stairs going up, a library, a library in a magical college. It was just there, open for anyone to enter without prior authorization. Was it really this simple, could I ess the school''s library without anyone stopping me!?


    I was practically dancing with excitement. Forget a room, I want to just live in the library.

 Chapter 11: Interlude 1

    <h4>Chapter 11: Interlude 1</h4>


    POV Sona Sitri.


    ***************


    I was....not having a good day.


    Where did it all go wrong? Was it yesterday, when I was blown up? No, I think I can go further back, it wasn''t even when I agreed to watch over Lord Lucifer''s.... bastard. Truthfully, I think it was when I was born.


    Yes, everything started to go wrong when I met my sister.


    I love Serafall, dearly, but Satans below, I want to strangle that girl sometimes....often.


    "Sister, please." I begged, quietly of course, I didn''t want to ruin my image.


    "My poor Sona-tan, don''t worry I''ll find the meanie who blew up all over you and beat him up!"


    Of course, she would phrase it that way, while trying to molest my rear.


    "Serafall." Lord Beelzebub spoke up.


    I thanked whatever higher beings that listened, there was at least one sane Satan left. And no, I didn''t count Lord Lucifer or Lord Asmodeus, wherever he was.


    "Fine~" My sister happily skipped back to her seat.


    "Okay, as I was saying, can you please start from the beginning, Sona?" Lord Beelzebub asked again.


    I took a deep breath and began. "I was heading over to Shimoda''s house, because he had been absent from school for three days at that point, counting that morning." I took a nce at Lord Lucifer, he was serious, but seemed to look almost disconnected from this meeting. "As I was tasked to do, I needed to check up on him to make sure he was....safe."


    "And how did he act, like a different person, maybe like someone was controlling him?" Lord Beelzebub asked, jotting down some notes.


    "He made ament that I didn''t expect from him, but if I was to question if it was him or not, it sounded like how he would say it? If that makes sense, Lord Beelzebub."


    "I see, and you didn''t find any magical anomalies?"


    "No, sir. I didn''t sense any magic in the area."


    "Okay, continue."


    "I had to ''force'' my way inside and I was going to confront him again, possibly use a more thorough hypnosis to figure out what was going on, but I was surprised when I saw all the ''drawings'' covering the walls."


    "Yes, I have several pictures here." He picked them up. "And you have no idea where these came from?"


    "I do not have the faintest clue, if I had to guess it was some kind of magic? I''m only aware of human magic by rumor, knowing that it involves a lot of calctions." And isn''t that a revtion, apparently Shimoda knew magic.


    "I''m not surprised." He stared at the pictures intently. "I had to sit down and figure some of these out myself. It looks like he was calcting the position of the stars in this one.....and over here was the gravitational force exerted on an object moving at the speed of light..." He began to mumble serval more things before coughing and looking back up. "Unfortunately, most of it was destroyed and I''m unable to piece it together."


    "So, he''s smart, then?" Serafall added.


    "This Is some high-level stuff; I can tell there are a few magic forms mixed in, so its nature isn''t in question. If he''s able to use this appropriately, well, I wouldn''t deny him the title of genius." Ajuka Beelzebub admitted.


    "And there is no evidence of him using magic before this?" I was surprised when Lord Lucifer finally spoke, I didn''t think he was listening.


    "No, sir." I said calmy, just earning a hum from him.


    "Continue on, Miss Sitri." Lord Beelzebub gestured.


    "When I asked him about it all he said..... ''I have taken the drugs'', then asked me if I wanted to see a magic trick."


    "Pffft" My sister snorted inughter, holding her mouth shut.


    "It looked like he pulled some kind of bracelet out of his hat....it appeared expensive, not something I would think he had? I don''t know where he got it. Then he said, ''For my next trick, I''ll make an asshole devil disappear.'' Before turning the bracelet into a bomb and throwing it at me."


    "So, he knew you were a devil." Lord Beelzebub mumbled.


    Admittedly, I didn''t focus on that part, I guess he did know I was a devil. That brings into question many things I didn''t think about previously.


    I am still angry he tried to blow me up, but thinking about it now, it wasn''t a very powerful explosion, even if I didn''t cast a shield in time, it wouldn''t have done anysting damage. But that didn''t mean I would forgive him either...


    "After I recollected myself, I saw the house on fire and ran back inside, using my water magic to douse the mes. But at that point nearly everything was destroyed and Shimoda was nowhere to be seen."


    "He most likely knew a teleportation spell." Lord Beelzebub Sighed. "Thank you for your report, Miss Sitri."


    I looked around the room, Lord Lucifer and my sister didn''t look like they had anything to say so I stood up, gave a bow, and left.


    There was already a teleportation circle on the floor, outside of the meeting room that I stepped into and was taken back to the school, directly into the student council''s office.


    The burst of light died down and I saw Rias pacing around the room.


    "Rias?" I questioned.


    "Sona!" She hugged me, I guess this whole thing had been a bit stressful on her as well. Well, it wasn''t like she was reaching for my butt, I didn''t mind returning the hug.


    "Rias, are you okay?"


    "Yeah, yeah." She waved off my concerns, walking over to the couch and plopping into the seat. "How did it go?"


    "I already told you everything that happened, they didn''t really express their thoughts either." I just shrugged; this wasn''t something I could really interfere with, nor could I add any insight.


    Rias groaned. "How was my brother?"


    I paused, not knowing how I should answer. Rias was Sirzechs Lucifer''s sister, but was I supposed to speak ill of Lord Lucifer to his own sister? "He seemed.... distant."


    My red-haired friend sighed, mumbling something about her ''stupid brother''. "Of course." She said curtly. "Him and Grayfia were fightingst time I went over."


    It was hard to separate political issues from friendship when both our siblings were part of the ruling body, but at this point in our rtionship, it wasn''t difficult to know when something was meant ''just for us''. "What happened?"


    "You know, she got mad at him when he finally told her about Takao. There was a big fight and everything, I think mom took Millicas in for a week or so."


    "Grayfia and Lucifer''s story is well known, it''s rare for them to love each other so much that Lord Lucifer didn''t get a harem."


    Rias smiled slightly. "Grayfia wouldn''t mind if brother had a harem. I think she was more pissed that he hid his son from her rather than finding out that he had sex with some other woman. There might also be a little jealously from how hard they had to try to have their child and he idently had one with a human."


    That did fit in what I knew about the strongest Queen, Grayfia Lucifuge.


    "Then there was the fact that he pushed the responsibilities on to her too, I don''t think he once even checked up on Takao. It was Grayfia that had to tell Millicas that he had a brother in the first ce." Rias let out a groan in frustration. "I love my brother... but he never was really good at being a ''father''. I think Grayfia does most of the parenting as it is."


    I can see how that would anger Grayfia. It seemed like Lord Lucifer just wanted to put him out of sight and out of mind, even if others had to look after him. I could understand a bit, it would be difficult if the Old Satan faction found out that the strongest devil had a bastard that didn''t have any power. Be it for political reasons or using him as a hostage or something, it was probably better that Takao just stayed away from the whole of devil society.


    Well, I guess that n had all gone up in mes.....quite literally too.


    "And don''t even get me started on mother." Rias threw her arms up. "I don''t think she''s even talking to brother right now. She is and has been pissed to find out she had a grandchild she never got to meet."


    I couldn''t help but quirk a small smile. That sounded exactly like Rias''s mom, Lady Gremory. It''s no secret how much she dotes on Millicas. She wouldn''t care if Takao was reborn as an Angel, she would have dote on him all the same.


    "What are we going to do, Sona?" Rias asked.


    "What do you mean?"


    "We have to find him, right? What if he was kidnapped or..."


    "Rias, I don''t think he was kidnapped, it looked like he left willingly."


    "I just..." She slumped down in her seat.


    I could tell this was eating at her. She never interacted with Takao in any capacity, I think she was too...scared, no that probably isn''t the right word. I guess it was just difficult to get involved in the conflicts between those she considered family. "Our siblings are already going to look around, you know we can''t blow this up or it would make everything worse."


    "Yeah." She said quietly.


    "How about you, Rias? Did you ever find out what happened to your familiar?" I wanted to change the subject, thankfully Rias was pretty good about reading the mood.


    "She insists that she doesn''t remember how she passed out. I''m betting she was probably attacked by a bird or something and didn''t want to admit it." Rias huffed. "I checked up on Issei too, just to be sure. Nothing seemed wrong, but Koneko said his dragon smell was getting stronger. He might be close to activating his Sacred Gear by ident soon."


    A dragon-type Sacred Gear, Rias really did luck out sometimes. I was happy that she was going to add another member to her peerage with potential, but I was still a bit miffed that I was emotionally ckmailed to ''hand him over'' to her even if it was for a good cause. She needed all the help she could get right now.


    "You should hurry, if it activates before you add him to your peerage, he may not want to join..." Rias was many things, but proactive was not one of them. She would procrastinate until things either fell into ce or blew up in her face.


    "I''m still working out on how to approach him." She waved me off.


    I just rolled my eyes, that was code for ''I''ll deal with itter''. Rias may be my friend, but I can''t hold her hand her entire life.


    "How about a game of chess?" I offered.


    "I guess, it would be nice to take my mind off everything."

 Chapter 12 - 11

    <h4>Chapter 12: Chapter 11</h4>


    The library was massive, there were shelves that ascended to the ceiling, all filled with books. Beautiful, beautiful books, each one holding information on a subject I didn''t know.


    I found a table in a back corner; I didn''t want to be disturbed. There were probably a hundred books all stacked up around me.


    ''History of Skyrim''


    ''The Aedra and Daedra, A Look Into the Divine.''


    ''Schools of magic, a Beginner''s guide.''


    The titles continued, everything I could possibly want to know about the ce I found myself in. I don''t know how long I sat here reading through the books, sometimes not even finishing one before seeking out answers from another.


    It wasn''t just mundane books either, I found many¡ªmany spellbooks all mixed in. There were sections dedicated entirely to a single spell, both its applications, theory, origins, and counters. It was marvelous just how much knowledge was stored in these ancient halls.


    I wish I knew some magecraft for memory retention other than memory partition. I wasn''t crazy enough to attempt that on myself without hundreds of variables ounted for.


    No, I just had to settle on the old-fashioned way of reading through each book one-by-one and taking notes as I go. If there was one thing aggravating it was having to use a quill and ink. I made a promise to myself to bring ball-point pens back to this world in the future, or at least keep several hundred on me at all times.


    "I was wondering where our newest, wayward student had disappeared to." I heard the voice and looked up; a bit surprised to see the Archmage standing a few feet away from me. I hadn''t even sensed him nor heard his approach.....what a monster.


    I rubbed my eyes, looking up. "Err, I think I may have lost track of time?"


    "I would say, do you even know what time of day it is?"


    ".....night?"


    "That is correct." He said augh. "It is night, of the following day you arrived."


    "Oh." I guess I really did lose track of time.


    "I am merely giving you a hard time; it is no problem." He said lightly. "Tolfdir was just worried you had be lost somewhere."


    "I see, I suppose I should go make sure he knows I''m alright." I paused. "But I''m curious, do all new students get the attention of the Archmage?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "I would like to say yes, but my schedule can be rather hectic at times. It is hard to greet and teach every student in the College. I can barely manage with one lecture a month."


    "So, what makes me so special?"


    He sat down in a chair at my table, picking up one of the books and giving it a once over. "You are an enigma."


    "You''ve been watching me." I guess it was obvious, considering how quickly he responded to Ancanos defeat.


    "I cast my gaze at every new face thates to our little corner of Skyrim."


    He was being awfully open about everything, I guess it isn''t really something he should be ashamed of. But there was one question I wanted an answer to. "Why didn''t you help them with the Ice Wraiths?"


    "That is a difficult question to answer, it would take awhile to exin the intricate history between the College and the Town. To put it simply, they didn''t ask." He sighed, closing the book in his hands. "The Jarl is a very....prideful man."


    Ah, that makes more sense. The leader of the town didn''t want to have to as the College for help, it would be an insult to his pride.


    "What exactly, do you want from me?"


    "I''m curious about those Runes you used in your fight." He said, raising his hand in the air. He invoked characters that looked like runes but were not any I was familiar with. "This is a standard Lightning Rune, I don''t think I need to point out the differences to you."


    I see, they have their own Runguage here. But it was quite different, it looked like a single rune housed all the power and then created a spell circle to modify its intent and meaning.


    I moved my hand into the air and drew a Uruz Rune, letting it start to channel my mana and take on the properties of lightning.


    "Fascinating." The Archmage said.


    I shared his thoughts. "A spell circle to amplify and actualize your intent behind the rune, that is quite interesting." Both spells dissipated back into magical energy and dispersed.


    "Hooh." He raised an eyebrow. "You understand the mechanisms of the spell with merely a nce? You just get more and more interesting."


    "You want an exchange of knowledge, is it?" I usually hold my mysteries close to my chest, but I don''t mind a fair exchange.


    "If you''re wanting my knowledge on the Runes I know, then you will be disappointed." I frowned at his sentence. Did he not want to share his knowledge? "I can''t in good conscious trade something that is already avable." He reached out his hand and a book flew out from a nearby bookcase. He didn''t even look as he ced it infront of me.


    I just blinked, looking at the title. ''How to Apply Runes.'' And the author was one ¨C Savos Aren. "You know, where Ie from, other mages would have happily taken this offer, andughed at me for getting tricked."


    "It wasn''t too different here, at one time. When I was younger...it had to be over a hundred years ago, thepetition was much more....aggressive." He shook his head and sighed. "Those days are long behind us,petition is good, but I make sure there are lines drawn so nothing gets out of hand." He gave a genuine smile. "So, what can I bribe you with?"


    I liked how up front he was, made things much easier.


    "To be honest....I don''t know. Money really doesn''t have much of a value, maybe some raw materials to create my own magical foci, but even then, I''m not quite sure what I need." I thought out loud. He was being rather open with me, I wasn''t against speaking my mind.


    "Oh, crafting a staff?" He looked at me inquisitively.


    "Actually, I was thinking of making a sword that could be used as a staff." I pictured my old, Jeweled Sword. It felt more ''right'' than just a staff or something simr.


    "Interesting." He rubbed his beard. "I have a few ideas." He turned over his hand, and something appeared in his palm, a small ck ring without any engravings. "I saw your hat the other day and it inspired me to make thisst night."


    He offered it to me, and I inspected the ring. "Did you..."


    "Indeed." A smirk grew on his face. "The idea of attaching a folded spatial dimension onto an object. What a novel concept, I don''t know why I haven''t heard of it before. Most mages, when they get adept enough, just create their own little ''pocket'' carved out in the void of oblivion. There are concerns doing such a thing, and it''s not particrly difficult to seal off another mage''s ess temporarily. But this, it would be incredibly hard for outside interference with essing the contents. Granted, the space created is more limited, but it''s a safety precaution that can''t be denied."


    I heard his description and nodded along. I wouldn''t trust their method of storage if I had anything precious to store. IT seems like someone would be able to ''break into'' another''s storage ''dimension'' if they were experienced enough.


    "What''s all this?" I asked in confusion as I peered into the ring, looking at the space inside.


    "Did you think my offer was only the ring? I added in all sorts of materials, there should be enough to figure out what you want to do."


    There were many ores inside that I didn''t recognize, along with many other items I had no idea what to do with. "Wait, how did you already have this prepared?"


    "I didn''t, I just put that together now."


    Ah, one I keep forgetting, this whole College is probably his ''workshop''. I doubt there is anything that goes on that he doesn''t know about, nor anything he can''t meddle in. "You are one scary old man."


    "Why, thank you." He took mypliment with grace.


    "You''re not even here right now, are you?" I looked at him, truly looked at him and something felt off.


    His smile grew wide. "Interesting, exin to me how I''m not here and I''ll give you something good."


    I thought for a moment, looking him over. "A thought projection, oveyed with a physical illusion using the college as an anchor...no that isn''t right. The Magical energy....the Magicka that permeates the entire College, if I had to guess, I would say the source flows through somewhere close to your body, the wellspring so to speak. You can use it to project your consciousness or maybe astral project yourself anywhere by piggybacking off the dense flow of Magicka."


    "You are a scary young man." Heughed, setting a b of what looked like ss on the table.


    "Why, thank you." I smiled back. "What is this?" I picked up the ''ss''.


    "It''s called blue ss; I don''t know if it is official or not. Its counterpart, ''green ss'' or just ''ss'' is a material used in making ss armaments.


    "I take it this is rare?" I peered at it closely, channeling a bit of my mana inside.


    "Unbelievably so. That is all I''ve found in the past decade when I first heard of it."


    Interesting, the material practically ate my mana as if it was starving. This would make a wonderful material for crafting. And the term ''ss'' seemed like a bit of misnomer, just holding it in my hand, I could tell this wouldn''t lose out to steel in toughness.


    "Is the College against students leaving for extended periods of time?" I felt like I now had a goal to strive towards. The image of my sword was starting toe into focus.


    "We like all our initiates to be able to defend themselves otherwise, we don''t really restrict their freedoms. Most students don''t leave for journeys until theirter years, but I guess your circumstances is a bit out of the norm." He said with a good-natured chuckle. "But perhaps there is a better avenue for you, I''m guessing you haven''t had a chance to see our job board yet?"


    "Yeah..." I just scratched my cheek, looking around. I pretty much came straight for the library and haven''t left.


    "As the name implies, it''s a board in themon room that lists all the jobs avable. We provide the necessities here, food, board and even some novice-level ingredients and materials. Otherwise, you are required to provide for everything else you need. We often get job requests throughout Skyrim, a lot of which is just enchanting weapons or making potions and we let our younger members handle it, paying a smallmission fee to the college, otherwise taking the pay for themselves."


    "Interesting, I wouldn''t mindpleting a few jobs while I look around for some materials."


    "Wonderful, we''re quite backed up on requests as is, any experienced mage would be a boon." He hummed to himself before pulling a few more books off the shelves. "I believe you will need these."


    I looked at the titles; ''Enchanting for Novices'', ''Herbalist''s Guide to Skyrim'', ''Mixing Ingredients, a Potion Master''s Memoire''. Well then, I guess there''s no point in hiding my ignorance. "Thank you."


    "I said it before, young man. I look forward to seeing the things you aplish." He withdrew an apple from...somewhere and brought forth a knife from the same ce. He cut a piece off, putting it in his mouth while setting the rest on the table. "Make sure you eat." He gave me a wink, chewing on the fruit.


    "You were here the entire time, weren''t you?" Or did he rece this ''projection'' with his real body when I wasn''t paying attention.


    "Who knows?" He chuckled, walking away.


    Once again, well yed.


    "I''ll write down some notes and send them to you." I said, to the empty area, but I''m almost entirely sure he heard me.

 Chapter 13 - 12

    <h4>Chapter 13: Chapter 12</h4>


    I happily bit into the apple as I put the books away. Urag or is it Urag Gro-Shub, is it all one name? Well, I''m just going to keep calling him Urag in my head.


    Urag just gave me a grunt when he walked by. From my interactions with the man so far, that is the highest of praises this he can give.


    I did read, err skim a book on the Races found in this world. An Orc or Orismer, how interesting. They were made out to be berserks, not in the insulting sense, but the warrior-type. I guess it''s rare for an Orc to pursue the path of a Mage, especially to find one running a library. Well, one thing was for sure, I don''t think anyone would have any idea about messing around with his books.


    Cleaning everything up, all that was left was my notes on Runes that I was going to hand over to the Archmage. It was already gone when I took my eyes off it, but I expected that.


    You won''t get one over on me again.


    Well, my debt has been paid....what should I do now? I did have a schedule for lectures but nothing interesting wasing up in the next few days. Though, next week the Enchanting Master was going to do a live demonstration, I was looking forward to that.


    Well, to the job board it is.


    It was a lovely night. Even if I hadn''t slept in over a day, I still felt really refreshed. I think devils can operate on less sleep, so that is a boon to me as well.


    Also, does my minor shapeshifting counteract things like poor hygiene? I knew some small spells to deal with such issues in a pinch, but even after a couple days....I didn''t feel particrly icky.


    Still though....I felt like a bath would be wee.


    I fiddled with my new storage ring, it was truly a good piece, just seeing this up close, I knew that the enchanting practices of this world would be a benefit to me. The terminology wasn''t a one-to-one transfer from what I knew, but the Mystic Code crafters back home did simr things. And these materials were very interesting as well, I didn''t recognize any of them, no doubt they were all native to this dimension.


    I would have to grab a book on metallurgy when I have the chance.


    "Oh, Tolfdir." I called out, seeing the older mage walking down the path.


    "Hello, Wilhelm, I see you''ve managed to escape from the confines of the library." He gave a smallugh.


    "Ah, yes." I said awkwardly. "I seemed to have lost track of time."


    "It is no problem, my boy." He pat me on the shoulder. "I wish more students had the same ''issue''. It''s hard enough to get them to study through the tomes when I assign specific work. All the young ones these days just want to get straight to throwing fireballs."


    Well, to be fair, I remember doing that as well when I was young, I think we all did. "The Archmage was kind enough to point me towards some specific fields of study. I was actually just going over to the job board so I could get some things done while I gather materials outside."


    "Well, I don''t think anyone would say no to another hand with those, we have a few that are starting to get impatient." He scratched his chin in thought. "I don''t think I need to question your ability either; I believe Ancano will vouch for your magical prowess inbat." His lips curled up slightly.


    Jeese, Ancano must really be hated. Tolfdires off as someone who doesn''t dislike anyone and always happy to help, yet even he is willing to take a jab at Ancano.


    "I have a few moments before I need to head to my next lecture, why don''t I show you where everything is?"


    "I would appreciate it." I thanked the old mage; he was a really kind man.


    I actually didn''t really know where the mon room'' was, I was guessing it was connected to the living quarters. He led me towards the rotunda, in the corner, there was a door that led to the tower on the left side. It wasrge, going both up and down many levels.


    "Here we are." He gestured.


    I looked around, there were a few bookcases, some chairs, and tables, even some students quietly reading to themselves.


    Quite cozy, if nothing else.


    "And this is the Job board, it''s nothing extravagant but it gets the job done." He smiled brightly at his own joke.


    It brought a small smile to my face too.


    The job board was....overflowing. I could see why they needed a hand, I guess their services are never in low demand.


    "Any jobs I can''t take, or is it all fair game?"


    "You will have to bring it up with Sergius Turrianus. He overlooks all jobs and requests for the college."


    "I heard my name." A man walked over. He was also on the older side, an ''Imperial'', bald and wearing standard mage robes.


    "Ah yes, here we are. Wilhelm, meet our resident Master Enchant, Sergius Turrianus."


    "It''s a pleasure, I look forward to your lecture next week." I held out my hand and he grabbed it without any fanfare.


    "It''s always good to see new blood in the college. So, what can I do for you both?"


    "I was just going to take a job or two while I go out for a bit." I spoke. "I wanted to know if there were any stringent requirements on what I could pick."


    "As long as you''re able to aplish the jobs, I won''t make any unnecessary demands." He came off as a no-nonsense kind of guy, straight to the point and didn''t mince his words.


    I turned towards the board; I saw one that stood out the most. After hearing about this and seeing it here ...my interest is piqued. I tore it from the board, still looking for another. I saw an older one, a bit ruffled in the corner and saw whomissioned it and where I was required to go, well I could choose worse ces. Taking it as well, I handed them towards Sergius.


    "An enchanting request by the Companions over in Whiterun." He eyed me, then looked back towards the paper. "There is a reason this one has gone undone for so long, even if the Companions are famous throughout Skyrim. They tend to not be very friendly towards mages, the quintessential Nord, if you will."


    "I got a friend who went to Whiterun and wanted to joint he Companions; I want to see how he''s doing." I exined.


    "I see, well the requirements are just basic Enchanting, nothing a novice can''t do. Nord, especially the Companions, don''t like anything over the basics. They''ll want sharpening, durability, and anti-rusting, maybe a few other requests, but they shouldn''t vary much."


    "I think I can handle that." I can just read the enchanting book on the way there.


    "As for this one....this one is a bit moreplicated. You aren''t the first to take this request. We had an Adept Mage give up this request halfway through, saying that a powerful Necromancer had taken up residence under the Statue of Meridia, which is why it has been acting up." He gave me an inspecting look. "Are you sure you can handle this?"


    "I''m confident in mybat ability."


    He just shrugged, I guess it wasn''t his job to dissuade people from taking jobs. "He also left this." He flipped his hand over and I could tell he pulled on his own personal ''space'' to pull out an object. It was a crystal-life object, spherical in nature with many t sides. "He said it was a ''key'', not exining anything else. Oh, and before I forget, the materials for the enchanting job, which will be deducted from your earnings when you return." He handed me a small bag.


    I just put all the stuff into my ring.


    "Well, if there''s nothing else, I want to get these jobs done as soon as possible." I wasn''t even brown-nosing before. I really want to listen to his lecture on enchanting next week.


    "I''ll make a note of your departure, there aren''t any time limits but don''t dawdle." He walked away, seemingly content with everything.


    "Make sure you have plenty of supplies." Tolfdir looked slightly concerned. "Potions, Magicka and Healing are a must. A good Stamina potion if you need to run away, maybe even a few scrolls..." He rambled on, but his intentions were appreciated.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure I''m properly prepared before engaging an unknown mage." I smiled.


    "Yes, of course. I''m sure you are no stranger to the more dangerous side of our profession." He just nodded and I couldn''t help but wonder what he''d heard about me. I mean, I only showed off ackluster duel between me and Ancano, that couldn''t mean much. I guess there were also the Ice Wraiths....


    Maybe the Archmage said some things I didn''t know about?


    He said his goodbyes and walked off towards ss, but my attention was turned elsewhere. "Are you going to skulk forever?'' I called out, taking a few steps out of themon room.


    I saw an elf, a Bosmer, I believe. There were many kinds of elves here and it was almost hard to keep track. I noticed him trailing me from the time I had met up with Tolfdir.


    "Greetings, friend." He gave me a strange look. "I couldn''t help but overhear that you are searching for some....materials."


    Ah, that''s what this is about. He must be trying to make some coin off me.... well I don''t really care as long as I can get what I want. "So it seems, and what can you do for me?"


    "You''re new around here, so I thought I would introduce myself. You see, I''m someone who can.....acquire things, maybe even of a dubious nature."


    Oh, well now this just got worth it. "Are you now? Well, I''m in need of something particr, something that may be rare and might be hard to acquire by normal means."


    "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Enthir, Schr and humble Merchant. How could I be of service?"


    I thought for a moment before pulling the blue ss out of my ring. "Can you get me more of this, I don''t care if it''s been forged or not."


    "Hmm, a type of ss I''ve never seen before....I can put my feelers out but I don''t know if¡ª"


    "Money isn''t an issue."


    "I know just who to ask. I look forward to any future business." He said happily, walking away.


    What a strange guy, though I don''t dislike that sort of person. Well, even if it turns into nothing, I would rather fail and try than to ignore a possible lead.


    This ss will be important for my sword.


    *****


    Author''s note.


    Sorry everyone for missing yesterday, I wasn''t feeling well and was in bed all day. Think I had some food poisoning or something. Anyways, here''s todays chapter and I threw up a Pat reon if anyone wants to support me, its a few chapters ahead with rough drafts.


    Pat /AStoryForOne

 Chapter 14 - 13

    <h4>Chapter 14: Chapter 13</h4>


    I was lucky enough to catch the old man before he left on his cart. Apparently, he had spent all the money I paid him before, so he was going back to work.


    That was his life, he would take travelers here and there, then shack up in thetest Tavern, spend all his coin and do it all over again.


    I can''t really me him either, that sounded like an easy-going life.


    It wasn''t very hard to convince him to go to Whiterun, originally, he was going to Windhelm, but a bit of gold changes his ns easy enough. Though we did pass by and I saw it at a distance. I would like to check it out at some point.


    That being said, I did take a note of how much gold I had left, about a couple thousand Septims, the currency they use here. One gold meaning one Septim, obviously. I wasn''t quite sure how much gold I would need, I met that weird guy earlier and he was searching his sources for any blue ss. And gods know how much that is going to cost, and I was also on the lookout for any other materials that caught my eye.


    Well, I just pushed such thoughts to the side for now and cracked open one of my books. It would take a little more than half a day to reach Whiterun, so I may as well learn the basics of enchanting here.


    The text was a bit dry, but there seemed to be a lot of simrities between this and what I was used to.


    Even Runes made another appearance, albeit not in the farm I was familiar with. One of the mostmon methods to craft a Mystic Code was to carve runes onto the object, my cane sword being one such example, here they do things a bit differently.


    Runes are carved onto an ''enchanting table'' and then used to imbue an object with their concepts as opposed to being used directly.


    It made the enchantments somewhat weaker than what Ipared to my memories, but it made it so almost anyone could pick up the craft without much trouble. What an interesting method, I''ll have to do experiments with this when I get back home.


    One of the key ingredients, a ''soul stone''.


    On the surface, this thing seemed repulsive. I wasn''t against using ''things'' as materials to further my own goals, but even I wouldn''t take someone''s soul and use it for crafting.....normally.


    Anyways, these were a bit different than what I expected on the surface. The name was apt, they housed ''souls'' but not anything sapient. These stones absorbed the souls of defeated foes like rabbits, deer''s, bears things of that nature.


    And it didn''t even consume the soul to use, they acted more like batteries than materials in of themselves. After being used, the souls would simply dissipate from the stone, returning to the natural cycle of the world without any harm done.


    The runes and enchanting table made use of the soul''s power to both apply and even recharge enchantments on items.


    It was a simple, yet robust system they created. I was genuinely impressed at the ingenuity.


    The basics were easy enough to understand, I felt confidant enough to put them to useter, but now I was curious about the next levels. Was it just more of the same, but harder enchantments, or were there other steps that needed to be taken?


    It was questions forter. I just wanted to finish this book for now before arriving in Whiterun.


    ***


    "We''re here,d." I felt a hand lightly pat my shoulder.


    I opened my eyes and saw the old man standing over me. "Already?"


    "You were fast asleep there, didn''t even wake up when I pulled into the stables." Heughed. "Now hurry up, I want to head to the Tavern and I can''t get going until I make sure my horses don''t run, so that means you need to move."


    "Yeah, yeah." You old drunk, there wasn''t really any venom in his voice, just his personality.


    Didn''t even realize I fell asleep; it was a nice little nap.


    I stretched my body as I took in the view. I could see arge building poking over the walls that surrounded the city. It was impressive, for what they had to work with. The town in general looked a lot livelier than Winterhold, but it was also much warmer.


    "Greeting." I waved at the guards who were watching over the entrance. "I don''t suppose I could ask for directions to the Companions?"


    They both looked at each other before one stepped forward. "You lookin to join the Companions, son? Their annual recruitment ended two days ago."


    "Oh no, I''m just here for a job and to see if a friend of mine was able to make it."


    He shrugged, stepped to my side. "You see that path there." He held out his hand, pointing towards the inner city. "You''re gonna wanna follow that path and you''lle to an open market, if you keep going and take a right, you''ll see a building with an overturned boat on top, that''s the Jorrvaskr, the Companions mead hall and residence."


    "I appreciate your help, here drinks are on me tonight." I handed him a few coins.


    "You''re alright,d." He pped my shoulder andughed.


    Always a good idea to be friendly with the residentw enforcement.


    It was a nice stroll through a little hamlet, children were much more active here and people just kepting and going.


    Yeah, there were quite a few more people here, many more shops and things to look at. I pulled out the job description that had more detailed instructions.


    So, I''m supposed to enchant some weapons for the Companions, basically these super mercenaries that are like celebrities around here. To do that, the College actually has a contract with the local enchanter. It may seem odd that I would be using another person''s enchanting station to enchant objects for a job in the city they preside, but it looked like the actual enchanter there is out of Skyrim for the next few years and his daughter is looking over the ce.


    So, we just pay a small fee on an annual basis, and she lets us use the enchanting station when wee around. It saves time and money from the clients sending their items to us and potentially get backlogged that way.


    Honestly, the logistics just seem like a nightmare everywhere, but what can you do in this age.


    Finding the ''boat'' building wasn''t hard, it was exactly as described, a building using a boat as a roof. Pretty neat, I don''t'' know the history behind it, but all the same it looked important.


    I pushed therge doors open, walking inside. Most eyes in the building turned to me, but one in particr was familiar.


    "Will!" The voice of Thorum echoed out.


    Jeese man, if you look so excited to see me, I''ll get embarrassed. "Thorum." I greet therge man who came over and practically enveloped me in a hug. Okay, I was happy to see him too, and with how he was treating me I couldn''t help but smile. I didn''t have many friends, so this was always weed.


    "I had heard what happened in Riften and feared the worst." He said, giving me a once over.


    "I never actually made it to Riften." I chuckled. "Rumors started spreading right before I left, no carts wanted to take me, so I headed over to the College instead."


    "A stroke of good fortune then." He nodded.


    "What about you, I guess you managed to join the Companions?"


    "Aye, I''ve been a Companion for about two days now. Come! Take a seat, tell me how you joined the College."


    He gestured me over to a seat, there was a bar or something it didn''t seem like anyone was ''bartending'' as it were, but he walked up behind the counter and grabbed a couple drinks, setting one infront of me and sitting down.


    I noticed a few more people in the room, taking quick nces our way...curious. Were outsiders allowed in here? I mean, Thorum wasn''t showing any signs of difort, and I doubt he would disobey rules like that.


    "I made my way to Riverwood after well...." I look around.


    "No need for that, I''ve already told my brethren my story. We are brothers in bonds who had fought and escaped unjust capture together."


    I just shrugged, if it trusted these people, I would trust his judgement. "Alright, so I arrive Riverwood, not much happened the Cart driver tells me stories of a Dragon in Riften, you know anything about that?"


    "Yes, even Kok Whiteman, the Harbringer of the Companions has been going to meetings with the Jarl to discuss this." He exined, shaking his head. "Riften was hit hard, almost half the town was burned down before the beast flew away. They say that not even one warrior managed to pierce that dragon''s ck hide."


    I guess Harbinger was some kind of leadership position. Well, he knew I wasn''t from Skyrim, probably gave the full name and title for my benefit. The dragon bits were interesting too, seemed to align with what I knew about dragons.


    "Dragons.....crazy. Are the Companions looking to get in on some dragon ying?"


    "There had been talk, but so far we don''t know if more dragons are going to start showing up. There haven''t been any more sightings since, but everyone is on edge."


    I nodded and continued. "I picked up some supplies and headed towards the College, the trip wasn''t too exciting, it was nice to get a view of the Skyrim countryside. But when I arrived, the town was under siege."


    "Bandits?" He questioned.


    I shook my head. "Ice Wraiths."


    "Those scaly ice-things from further north?"


    "Yup, scary little bastards. They''re elementals, highly attuned to their element so they can use ice-based magic with ease."


    "It''s that time of the year." It wasn''t Thorum who spoke, but a woman who walked up behind him.


    "Ah, Will, this is A, A this is Will."


    "Pleasure." I smiled.


    She grunted. "I was there a few winters ago, had an job and we stayed and helped."


    I turned back to Thorum. "She''s right, the guard captain, Svord, exined that it was the time of the year that they produce offspring which involved taking people and dragging them off to who knows where."


    "I assume you joined the defense." Thorum asked.


    "Indeed. Svord the guard captain, and the other guards were quick to act as the wraiths came, forming a strong shield wall to stop their magics from a distance. It gave me enough time to create about a hundred illusionary guards to draw their attention."


    "And that worked? Aren''t Ice Wraiths...erm, magical?" He said without much confidence. I couldn''t me him; he probably didn''t know much about how magic worked.


    "I had taken a few guesses myself, I''m not quite familiar with Ice Wraiths either, but they didn''t have normal senses, no noses, eyes, ears or what have you, so they had to be able to sense their prey somehow. My first thought was some kind of Heat sense, but theypletely ignored things like torches, so I guessed they could sense ''magic''."


    "Are all the guards at Winterhold Mages?" He tilted his head in confusion.


    I shook my head. "Every living person has magic inside of them, whether they use it or not. I assume the Ice Wraiths sought that out and the magic I put into each illusion was enough to trick them."


    "Fascinating." Thorum looked at me in awe, and it didn''t seem like he was being condescending, he took a genuine interest in what I was saying. "I wonder if i''m capable of maigc."


    "I think everyone is capable of it, just the extent of talent. I wouldn''t advise you against learning a basic healing spell or maybe even conjuring a quick me for fire in Skyrim''s weather."


    Thorum let out augh. "Aye, those would be handy."


    "Well, in the future, if you''re hunting Ice Wraiths, maybe take a few Magicka potions with you and use them as traps or distractions? It may or may not work." I shrugged; it would need more testing in the future. "Those illusions, along with the guards keeping them off me, I was able to cast arge fire spell and turn them to ash."


    I took a drink of my ale, wasn''t as good as the mead I''ve had previously, but it was decent. "It was a good party afterwords, tried my first Nord Mead too."


    Thorum snorted inughter and I saw A chuckled too.


    "I guess we can''t call your friend a milk-drinker then." A pped Thorum''s shoulder.


    "It was after the party that things got a bit more interesting as well. I get woken up by some arrogant ass who is ''interested'' in my spells." I scoffed.


    "That''s just wrong, you don''t'' wake a man after drinking through a celebration."


    "Yes, Ancano, the Thalmor Emissary." I rolled my eyes. It was weird, as soon as I said that the ce got deathly quiet. "Something wrong?"


    "You had a run in with the Thalmor?" A questioned.


    Jeese does everyone here hate the Thalmor? "Just some pompous mage who couldn''t go through a single sentence without using his status as a Thalmor Emissary to make himself seem special." I looked around the room and people were now paying a lot more attention. "I''m still not very familiar with Skyrim, how hated are the Thalmor here?"


    "We don''t get involved with politics." A stated, I guess she was meaning them as ''mercenaries''. "But we would happily join in any battle that was opposite the Thalmor." There were several cheers and woops inside the room.


    Well, guess that answers that question. Screw it, I''m onboard the fuck the Thalmor train. Even what i read about them makes them seem likepletel assholes.


    "Yeah, he mentioned something about ''the Thalmor giving Skyrim a strong, guiding hand'' or some such nonsense. Got everyone in the tavern all pissed at him."


    "Aye, that sounds about right." Thorum even looked unamused. "Please tell me he didn''t get away with something like that."


    "Of course not, I couldn''t let the people who fought beside me get insulted like that. I was a mage he was a mage, I did the obvious thing." I took another drink. "We had a duel outside of the town, I think most of them were watching as well."


    "Good man." Thorum gave me a solute with his drink I heard a few grunts of acknowledgement.


    "Well, he gave me some nonsense like ''Cast your spell, I won''t do anything until then''. And to be honest.....I really had to resist the urge to walk up and stab him with my sword."


    That got a reaction out of them, I saw Thorum crack up, holding back the drink he just took.


    "But well, I had my own pride as a mage." I withdrew a coin from my ring and held it up. "Put a hole in his stomach about that big."


    "You should have killed him." I heard a gruff voice join up next to A.


    "I was tempted, but we did put restrictions on the duel, no killing, maiming, or hurting spectators. I didn''t want to taint my own honor." It was true, I had my pride I wouldn''t allow anyone to step on it, a few looked disappointed but it got better. "But what I didn''t tell you is that we also put stakes on the oue." They leaned in and I just smiled. "I of course healed him up, I didn''t want him to forgo his end of the deal because of injuries. He had a long walk back to the college, without any clothes."


    There was a small bit of silence as they processed beforeughter erupted from the hall. I guess the Thalmor are really fucking hated if this gets everyone so happy. Then again, the Thalmor did ''ouw'' the worship of one of the Nord''s deities.


    "That''s all my adventuring for the past few days, what about you Thorum?"


    The man calmed down, still a fit of giggles though. "My time hasn''t been as exciting, I joined a couple days ago it wasn''t too difficult."


    "The guard at the gate said the Companions do an annual recruitment, shouldn''t there be more people here if it wasn''t difficult?"


    "Well ¨C"


    "Not every recruit is willing to punch a Companion in the face after the first meeting." A mused.


    "My jaw is still sore." The man next to A said, in a good natured way, and looked at me. "It was my turn for the recruitment this time around, I just insulted them all and wanted to see if any had that fire in their bellies. Thorum here is the only one who had the balls to do anything about it."


    Thorum chuckled. "He insulted my mom, so of course I swung. He exined it was just a ruse though, no hard feelings are kept."


    "Thank you, brother."


    Thorum nodded. "Oh, Farkas, this is Will, Will this Farkas."


    "It''s good to meet a friend of Thorums." He gave me a nod. "Especially one who put a Thalmor on his ass."


    "Ah, that reminds me. While I dide here to check up on Thorum, I also took a job dealing with enchantments for the Companions?"


    A looked at me and then to Farkas. "I had forgotten about that, after thest one that came by I thought the College was ignoring us."


    "Sorry I don''t know anything about that." I shrugged.


    "Scrawny little mage came in, acting like we should worship the ground he stepped on." Farkas grunted.


    "I can guess how that went. And when he went back, probably told some bullshit story about you guys." I just sighed, while I doubt they were meless it seems like things just escted on both ends. "Well, I wouldn''t mind doing the enchantments you lot need."


    "If dragons are really going to be popping up, it''s probably a good idea to get our weapons and armor in the best condition." A answered. "Its just....we didn''t expect anyone toe after a while, several of the inner circle are still in a meeting with the Jarl."


    "I don''t mind waiting a day or so, I''m in no hurry." I waived her off. "I wanted to do some shopping and exploring anyways."


    "Oh, why don''t I show you around Whiterun, what are you looking for?" Thorum looked happy at myment.


    "I was going to craft my own magical foci, but I''m not too familiar with specific metals and their properties, though maybe I should stop by the cksmith in town and see what''s what."


    "Actually.....my Da was a cksmith, I know a thing or two if you need a hand."


    I just blinked looking at my friend. He really is a nice guy, I''m d to be friends with him.

 Chapter 15 - 14

    <h4>Chapter 15: Chapter 14</h4>


    I startedying out various metals on the table, watching Thorum give each a keen eye, inspecting and moving on to the next.


    "Okay, I think I recognize all of these, it''s been a few years since I''ve heard my Da''s talks about metals."


    "Any help is better than none." I replied.


    "Lets see." He picked up the ck ore that looked smooth to the touch. "This is ebony, very expensive, and hard to get ahold of. I hear the Orcs run most Ebony mines in Skyrim and they guard the stuff and rarely sell to outsiders. I think my Da''s word were ''Ebony doesn''t like magic''."


    That went with what I knew, I had tried to push my magical energy into the ore and I felt heavy resistance. But that gave me another question, does that mean magical resistance or immunity? Could I force enchantments on Ebony with enough effort or was it aplete lost cause? Would Ebony also be something that could prate magic as well?


    I didn''t want to hammer Thorum with these questions, I don''t think he would know the magical applications of the metal.


    "This here is Orichalcum. A bit less rare than Ebony, but more widely avable. I think it''s easier to enchant and use magic with, and a good hardy metal." The metal almost had a green tint to it, and readily epted any mana.


    The thing that stood out the most, was how efficiently it took in my magical energy. There would usually be ''waste'' or ''run off'' from trying to push magical energy into something, but this would dly take it all. It wasn''t he most conductive, but it was the least wasteful, there was the small issue that it tended to not want to let go of any magical energy it got, meaning using it purely as a catalyst for casting was detrimental. I would need something else added in to overe this.


    "Oh, this one I''ve seen once in my youth." He picked up the white-like ore and looked at it fondly. "Moonstone ore, it''s rarely found in Skyrim, butmon in other parts of the world. It''s probably the exact opposite of Ebony. It is one of the best metals for mages, but its durability and strength arecking."


    Interesting, I hadn''t experimented with this one yet. I made a metal note to y around with the moonstone when I had time.


    "Well, that answer pretty much all my questions, I can actually start thinking up my weapon now." I hummed thoughtfully. "Now I''m just missing one ingredient. I don''t suppose you''ve ever heard of blue ss?" I asked producing the small amount I had.


    He took the lump and gave it an inquisitive eye. "Can''t say I have, looks like normal ss to me, just blue."


    "Supposed to be much better." I just shrugged, putting it away again. Oh well, can''t expect Thorum to solve all my problems, he''s already been an amazing help.


    "You could always ask Eorlund Grey-Mane, he is considered the best smith in Skyrim, he also personally crafts the weapons for the Companions."


    "That''s convenient, is he around?" Well, Thorum, you just keep surprising me.


    "I heard he went out of town for something, should be back in a few days." Thorum shook his head.


    "Unfortunate, but what can you do?" I shrugged. "You think he would be up to forging the final piece if I gather anything? Money really wouldn''t be an issue."


    "He doesmission work sometimes; I don''t see why not."


    We just idly chatted about a few things, I mentioned my job after this which raised a concern look from Thorum. I would make sure to have decent preparations first before going in, I guess dealing with any Daedra shrines or temples should always be taken with the upmost precaution.


    Yeah, the current me can''t evene close to dealing with a godly being.


    The conversation just shifted, I think we started talking about women when the doors suddenly flung open with a ''bang'' and severalrge men walked inside.


    "Harbinger."


    "Harbinger!"


    "Greetings, Harbinger."


    Everyone in the hall practically stood up and greeted the oldest man among the group. Even Thorum stood up respectfully.


    Well, I would mostly contribute it to respect. But there was also an underlining feeling of tension in the air. Like everyone was waiting for a shoe to drop.


    "We''re calling a meeting." Arge, bald Nord Dered.


    "Who''s that?" I whisper to Thorum.


    "Skjor, one of the inner circle, he acts as the leader on the battlefield sometimes." Thorum Whispered back.


    "And who are you?" Skjor suddenly looked over to me, frowning. There seemed to be a bit of disced annoyance in his voice, like he was just projecting whatever anger he had on me.


    Well, I think I''m the only nonpanion in the room, so I guess I do stick out a bit, especially with what I''m wearingpared to everyone else. I''m surprised Thorum didn''t say anything....well I could contribute that to them thinking Mages are weird.


    The older man, the one they called the Harbinger, just put a hand on his shoulder. "Skjor, there is no need for that." He turned towards me. "And who''re you, stranger?" He looked at me strangely, though his tone much more even, looking between me and Thorum.


    "Wilhelm, I''m a friend of Thoruming to check to see how he was doing. I also took a job from the college to enchant the weapons for you all."


    There were some mumblings of ''finally'' but nothing too annoying.


    "That temper of yours always causes problems, Skjor." The supposed Harbinger looked at the other Nord.


    "You''re right, Kok." He just sighed. "Thank you, Mage, foring. If there was ever a time to get our arms readied it would be now."


    I guess the Harbinger''s name is Kok?


    Well, it was admirable that he could let go of his annoyance and acknowledge me with respect. But there was something that put him on edge, and I had one guess why. "There was another dragon attack, wasn''t there?"


    Thorum did mention that the higher-ups were talking with the local Jarl about this.


    There was silence in the room I saw Skjor scowl, seems like I hit the mark.


    "Your eyes show more years than your body." The Harbingermented, staring at me intently seemingly unperturbed by my ownment.


    I paused, returning the stare of the old man. I held back a frown at his words, I didn''t like being poked like this, especially in public. There was certain decorum that should be observed, blurting out someone''s personal matters like that was just rude.


    [Can you feel it?]


    I heard the dragon ask me, but I could roughly guess what I was sensing from the man.


    [It''s because he''s closer to death that it''s more apparent, some of the others have it as well. The stench of beasts and rage roll off of him, I''m surprised no one else noticed.]


    Was he cursed?


    [I think something has a im on his soul, something powerful.]


    Well, I wasn''t one to let a dig at me without returning in kind. "And you smell like a wolf."


    There was another long pause. Some looked confused, possibly even angry at my ''insult'' yet only a few others winced and looked at me intently.


    Well, you started it by saying something like that, old man.


    My eyes traced down to Skjor who slowly put a hand on his weapon. I looked back up and met his eyes, daring him to draw it. My hand flicked with the familiar feeling of magical energy; I was ready to cast a spell if need be.


    "Skjor, what did I just say?" The Harbinger admonished his ownpanion. "Mage, you are well learned, what do you know of dragons?"


    Did he just ignore my jab? No, I think he just didn''t truly care at the moment, I guess this whole dragon thing has got him a bit concerned.


    I withdrew my magical energy and contemted the question. "Dragons are...power given form." I said after a moment. "Their scales are tougher than steel and they boast a natural magic resistance that would leave the best enchantments jealous."


    "And what of the enchantments you can provide, are they any help against such creatures?"


    Was he testing me, or did he want to know my worth? I don''t know this old man was a strange one. Regardless, it was a logical question to ask in these circumstances. "A lot of the shier enchantments act more like spells, which will just ssh helplessly against a dragon''s hide. Ironically enough, the basics would probably have the best effect. Enchanting a sword to be sharper wouldn''t be interfered with against a dragon''s magical resistance, opposed to say, igniting in mes."


    "It will be done then." He nodded. "Skjor, make sure allpanion''s weapons are enchanted and ready for battle. The Jarl is calling all banners and prepping Whiterun in case of disaster."


    "I''ll get it done." Skjor grunted, not looking too pleased but I think he knew to look at the bigger picture.


    "Mage." The Harbinger called out. "How much do you know?"


    I had a feeling he wasn''t talking about the dragons at this point. "I can take a few guesses.....how much time do you have?"


    "Not enough." He sighed.


    "You can always seek out the Archmage." I offered.


    "We''ve never gotten along with the College." He frowned.


    "Yes, I''ve heard that excuse many times now from both sides. I''m on pretty good terms with the Winterhold guards, I even drink together with them at the tavern." I took out a quill from my ring and a piece of parchment, scribbling down a few lines on it. "Perhaps someone just needs to extend their hand." I rolled it up and offered it to the older man. I saw him unroll it and stare at the contents.


    "This..." He said in confusion.


    It was a form for some medicine, should stave off his death for a couple months. I was using my knowledge from my home, but it should transfer here rtively well.


    "Should buy one or two months, at most. Consider it an apology for my words." I waved him off. "I''ll get out of your hair and wait at the local enchanter for your weapons."


    ***


    Thorum was staring at me, expectantly, as I started enchanting the various weapons that were given to me. Luckily, the enchanting station was in a back room so I didn''t have much to interrupt me, but his gaze was eating into the back of my head. I guess it made the most sense for Thorum to bring me all thepanion''s weapons, him knowing me and everything.


    "It''s not like you to hold something in. If I''ve done something you don''t like, just say it." I picked up a sword, it felt different than regr steel, but I couldn''t find anything specific that made it different.


    "The Harbinger said he was cursed and close to dying." Thorum finally admitted.


    "Ah, that was a smart decision on his part. Everyone is entitled to their secrets, but some things can cause rifts in friendships." I honestly didn''t expect him to say anything, maybe I''m just cynical.


    "Do you know what''s wrong with him?"


    There it is. "I have a general idea, but I hope you''re not asking him to tell you." I''d rather not have aplete falling out with these Companions.


    "...No" He sighed. "Even if it wasn''t the Harbinger, I don''t wish to pry into matters that I don''t belong."


    That''s why Thorum is a great guy. "I can''t do anything to help him if he doesn''t want it." I could predict his next question easily enough.


    "Do you think the Archmage at the College can help?" He asked me, a bit of hope in his voice.


    "I give it even odds, that man is frightfullypetent at what he does." Which was true, my few interactions with the Archmage led me to give him such an evaluation. I don''t doubt he would be a high ranking member of the Clock Tower if he were back home. Not to mention the sheer vastness of knowledge the College as collected in its years.


    "So, there''s nothing I can do?" Thorum asked, a bit disappointed.


    I was going to ask why he cared so much, but then I realized I had known Thorum for about the same amount of time Thorum had know the old man. Yet, I still developed a bond of friendship with him that wouldpel me to act to save his life all the same. "I''ll tell you what, I''ll make some inquires when I get back to the college, see if I can speed anything up on the chance that the Harbinger listens to my advice.


    "Thank you." Thorum blurted out immediately, giving a big goofy smile.


    "Just tell him to not overexert himself after he drinks the potions with the ingredient list I gave him. It only stimtes sometent potential in the body to give him sort of ''second wind''. If he starts being active, it will drain it away faster."


    "I''ll make sure to pass on your words." He said happily.

 Chapter 16 - 15

    <h4>Chapter 16: Chapter 15</h4>


    I said my goodbyes to Thorum and departed at dawn, the old cart driver was waiting for me, having paid him for a few days to stay here.


    I had a second job to take care of, the enchantments on the Companion''s weapons only took the better part of a day and I even had some supplies left. The pay was decent as well, a good chunk to add to my savings.


    Perhaps I should have handled the whole thing better....well I guess everything turned out well enough. It seemed like no one harbored any grudges against me, I probably bought a bunch of good will by giving that form to the Harbinger.


    Well, let the pieces fall where they may.


    Still, though, that old man had some frighteningly perceptive eyes. Felt like he could see right through me in some capacity.


    The enchanting was a good experience as well.


    It gave me some inspiration for a few spells, using the runes of thisnd, that is.


    They create a spell circle around a single rune, modifying it to a certain extent to perform actions. It''s like a runic sentence in practice, now what I if I couldbine the two applications? Wait, I should deal with the first steps before jumping ahead.


    A thought popped into my head as I formed the magic infront of my hand. Instead of the native rune I used the ones passed down by Odin.


    A single rune, a Sowilo, actualized and modified with the native variants to change its intent. The spell was brought forth, floating in the air infront of me.


    With a thought, a huge bolt of lightning was discharged, tearing apart a chunk of earth behind the carriage.


    "What in oblivion!?" The old man shouted in surprise.


    "Sorry, sorry was testing something." I hurriedly shouted.


    "A little warning next time." He mumbled in annoyance, I handed him a couple bottles of mead, he seemed content with that.


    It was a good spell, but the most interesting thing....the runic circle still persisted and I knew I could use several more times before the mystery faded. The stored power was impressive, maybe I could even overload it in a single burst or lower the output and keep it continuously firing over a long period?


    This had a lot of potential. It was only my first attempt; I knew I could modify them better for varied use. Now, what do I call them? Tradition dictates I give them a sufficiently edgy name withouting off too ridiculous.


    Meh, I''ll think of er, I''ve never been very good with names.


    What do you think, Ddraig?


    [Asking for my advice?]


    I just shrugged, I didn''t have any else to talk to about this stuff, you''ve been around awhile and probably knowing a thing or two.


    [True. It looks decent, has potential but I wouldn''t ever call it a trump card as it is now. I think you should focus on seeing how many of those runic circles you can create in a single moment.]


    That aligns with my own thoughts. It would be good for clearing away a lot of bugs, maybe even a good pressuring spell. But against someone powerful, like say the Archmage, it wouldn''t do anysting damage.


    [Who knows about in the future, it has potential. Never liked those Norse guys, but they had some pretty decent magic.]


    That was high praise from him.


    Well, it shouldn''t be difficult to actualize several simultaneously. I could modify the existing spell to basicallye into existence with the corresponding runic circle already attached, the only issue would be the singr rune that starts the process, which I''m already proficient in drawing. Hell, drawing is more of a misnomer these days, really its more of a gesture that bring it forth.


    "Hey is that it?" I stood up, looking a bit over the next cliff.


    "Aye, that''s the statue of Meridia. And here is where you get off." He said bluntly.


    I just blinked at him. "You can''t go any closer...?"


    "What have I told ya about Daedra, boy? Did you listen to none of my words? And here you are doing something in one of their shrines" He threw his hands up.


    "Well, If I don''t do it someone else will." I shrugged.


    "Do what you need to." He snorted. "Just make sure not to make any damn deals."


    I guess he''s kind in his own way. "Alright, old man, wait for me at solitude I may be a day or so."


    "Don''t need to be tellin me twice. Them solitudedies needin somepany." He whistled.


    I couldn''t help butugh, he was really a character.


    ***


    I walked up to the statue, it was a bit bigger in person, though not as intimidating as I thought.


    "MORTAL" A voice boomed out. "Listen. Hear me and obey. A foul darkness has seeped into my temple. A darkness that you will destroy. But first, you must restore to me my Beacon. I shall guide you unto it. Find it and return here. And great shall be your rewards."


    I stood there for a moment, letting the words wash over me, it sounds kind of...scripted, like a magically recorded message. There was also no ''presence'' behind the words.....strange.


    Curiously I stepped off the temple and back onto the mountain. And after a few more moments I stepped back on.


    "MORTAL. Listen. Hear me and obey. A foul¡ª"


    I stepped away again, then stepped back up.


    Is this magic that triggers whenever someone steps past a certain point?


    That''s hrious.


    "MORTAL. Listen. Hear me and ob¡ª"


    I think I heard Ddraigughing in my soul as I kept doing it.


    "MORT¡ª"


    "MOR¡ª"


    "MORTAL¡ª"


    "WOULD YOU STOP IT." That familiar voice finally changed, something around me stirred as well, like a pair of eyes were now staring at me.


    "...."


    [...]


    "Why are you not approaching!?" The female voice once again echoed out.


    "You told me to stop."


    ".....Approach, mortal."


    "Okay." I said happily, walking towards the statue.


    "MORTAL. Listen. Hear me and ¨C"


    "...."


    It wasn''t me who cut it off that time, and I tried my best to hold back augh. Though the voice was being ominously quiet.


    "If it makes you feel better, I think you have a lovely voice."


    There was an awkward silence.


    I couldn''t really me....her for the whole thing. I mean, why watch over the statue day in and day out, why not just make a spell that automatically tells anyone approaching of what she needs? It was the efficient thing to do. How many people came here, just to bugger off? It would be annoying to have to personally ''greet'' every random person that showed up.


    [I think you need to work on your flirting.]


    Fuck you, my game is on point.


    [On a serious note, are you not afraid of pissing off this god-like being?]


    Eh, from what I read, they can''t really interact with the world in any meaningful way. I can probably get out of any situation their power wills me into. As long as I don''t sell my soul or something stupid like that.


    Heh, a devil selling their soul.


    I think I heard a sighing from the ''voice''. "An evil has invaded my temple. You must find my beacon so that my light may reenter Skyrim and I will make you my instrument of judgement. I can¡ª"


    "Is this your beacon?" I questioned, taking out the crystal-like thingy holding it up.


    "....."


    [I''m really enjoying my life right now.]


    "....ce the beacon on the pedestal." Her voice echoed out again.


    I just shrugged and set it down, the area began to fill with light as a beam shot up into air.


    Pretty, I guess.


    The temple below shook, and I think I heard the sound of doors opening.


    "Mortal, your work is yet done. An evil necromancer has taken hold of my artifact and profanes it with his tainted magics. He wishes to unleash an army of undead upon Skyrim. Be my sword of judgement, cast his soul into oblivion and rid my sanctum of his filth."


    Well, I was promised rewards and the job did specify this necromancer. "I''ll do it."


    I wasn''t unprepared for this, regardless of how nonchnt I was acting. I had several healing potions, a couple magicka and stamina potions along with some misceneous stuff.


    I flicked my hand, drawing forth my cane and removed the sword from its sheath. Stepping down the stairs, I entered into the depths below.


    It was a bit deep, the stairs winding down until they opened up to a room with a beam of light shooting down. It was connecting to a crystal that looked really simr to the beacon I had left up top....


    Hmm, If I had to guess....it looked like I was supposed to redirect this light using the mirrors in this ce...for some reason.


    I walked towards the doors, they wouldn''t budge, and I didn''t see any keyholes.


    A magical trap type lock then? Would the doors unlock when the light was correctly directed? But then, how did the necromancer get in, or did he arm the ''locks'' in the first ce.


    Fuck it.


    I reinforced my body, cast an Oak Flesh on myself and kicked the door open. To no one''s surprises it practically swung off its hinges, merely being wood in make and nothing else.


    Well, I seemed to attract the attention of the necromancer, because several undead walked out from the surroundings.


    They looked...weak. Were they zombies? Their eyes glowed slightly, and they carried themselves better than most low-level undead I was familiar with.


    Well, I always wee targets.


    I waved my hand, invoking several runes in the air and actualizing my Runic-circles.


    "Lightning" I called out, and they all discharged towards my intended targets.


    All the zombies except one fell to the ground, motionless as their bodies were charred and burnt thoroughly.


    The one left had a shield, blocking the attack somewhat.


    Annoying I stabbed my sword into the stone and I picked up an axe off the ground and as the thing approached me, I just caught the handle of its weapon and pulled it out of its grip, tossing it to the side. It tried to bash me with its shield, but I just pushed that away and mmed the axe into its skull, watching it kneel over and stop moving.


    The door around me triggered some kind of mechanism, iron bars dropped in the doorways, blocking all exists as a bunch of specters appeared in the room. I don''t know what type of ghosts they were, but they were pitch ck and looked rather spooky.


    My circles discharged again, letting out a volley of lightning, taking several down. The spell had good powerpared to continued use, but these would require a bit more oomph to disperse.


    "Fireball" A simple aria was invoked as several balls of fire swirled around my hand and grew in size until theyunched at a few more of these ghosts.


    I suppose this would be difficult if someone came in here only swinging normal steel. But a lot of this shit could be downed with magic without much effort.


    Then again, I guess the necromancer expected more Nords than anything.


    I saw another of those ''beacons'' I was supposed to do something again....


    Whatever, I walked over to the iron bars and lifted them up. Even with reinforcement, it was a bit heavy, though they were probably pure iron so that wasn''t surprising.


    Well, nothing else really jumped out at me, there was another room, but I just kicked open that wooden door too then made my way further inside.


    "I see, my uninvited guest finally arrived." I heard a voice call out as I entered the inner sanctum.


    I looked around, it was a wide room, several dozen coffins everywhere and the supposed necromancer standing overhead at the top of the stairs.


    "Yes, yes. Banter is had, I introduce myself as Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, you give your name that I care ''so much'' about then you say something stupid, and I retort with something witty. Can we get on with this?"


    Honestly, this was feeling like a chore more so than anything else. How could fighting undead be this boring?


    He looked at me, annoyance shed across his face as he raised his hand and arcs of magical energy exploded out towards each coffin.


    Their lids opened and more zombies began to pour out.


    "Lightning Cloak." I recited, my body was enveloped in shroud of lightning and even my weapon took on lightning-based properties.


    A nifty little spell I read about the other day.


    The first few of the zombies walked towards me, weapons raised high. I just rolled my eyes. "Earth Wall"


    As the spell suggests, a wall of earth rose up from the ground, blocking a handful of them while I dealt with the rest.


    I kept a Ward, ready to cast in one hand as I kept the necromancer in the corner of my eye. He wasn''t doing anything, just watching me intently. I had no idea of his magical prowess, It was good to keep on guard.


    If I acted more flippantly, would that lure him into making a move?


    My sword swung through their desecrated remains with rtive ease, both reinforced and crackling with lightning. These types of undead were nothing more that fodder, I don''t see how these would be able to take over Skyrim.


    I grabbed another by the head. "Ice Spear."


    Arge spear left my hand, carrying the zombie and impaling it to the nearby wall.


    "Annoying." I said, as I stabbed thest through the heart, discharging the remains of my lighting cloak inside it, letting the thing burn to a crisp.


    There were a few more on the other side of the wall, I began to draw a few runes in the air as the wall whittled away into regr earth devoid of my magical energy.


    "Fires of Muspelheim." I invoked.


    The fires from the realm of giants spread out, enveloping the remaining zombies and burning them to ash. Without the creation cycle bolstering it like with the ice wraiths, it was a much more manageable size for this room I was in.


    That''s not to say that the me were any less intense, they raged and burned anything in their paths, even the stones on the floor were scorched ck.


    The only sounds left wereing from the necromancer, pping his hands.


    "Well done, you are better than that mage that came here before. I guess I''ll show you my greatest creation." He snapped his fingers and onest coffin at the top of the stairs opened.


    It walked out with haggard steps before adjusting itself. It was fully armored, and its eyes glowed with a perception that I didn''t recognize in the previous undead.


    A single axe in one hand, I think it was made from ebony.


    It looked at me and I felt something shiver down my back.


    "FUS RO DAH"

 Chapter 17 - 16

    <h4>Chapter 17: Chapter 16</h4>


    Maybe it was instinct or just blind luck that I summoned the boosted gear and used it as a shield while applying all my short-term buffs.


    I was blown away, barely catching myself before mming into the back wall, practically all of my defenses failed and even my Boosted Gear was pushed back.


    What the fuck!?


    [That was interesting.]


    The fuck did it just do? That wasn''t like normal magic, the world bent when it shouted...almost like a marble phantasm, but that isn''t right either. My oak flesh was torn apart at impact too, if I get hit by that, I won''te out unscathed....better finish it quickly.


    Okay, serious time.


    "Ddraig, lets do this."


    [Finally, I thought I would never see any action.]


    "BOOST" The echoing roar of the gauntlet shot out. My body was filled with overwhelming power as everything about me was doubled.


    What a rush.


    A few spells flew towards me, I saw the necromancer in the corner began joining the fight. I moved, and it felt like the world around me turned slower. Reinforcement along with my physical abilities doubled, I had long surpassed the physical limits of normal humans.


    My gauntlet-d fist found the cheek of the zombie, picking it off its feet and knocking it back into the wall. It dropped its weapon, the ebony axe as my eyes darted towards my next target.


    I think the necromancer got scared because he started throwing around wide-range spells, ignoring everything else.


    "Firestorm" He screamed, as the entire area was enveloped in a red-hue. At the focal point near the ceiling, a cascade of fire began to rain from above. He dove behind a nearby pir, casting a shield spell along with anything else he probably would have time for.


    Annoying, but not anything I can''t deal with. I had a couple more Runic Spells I had created, waiting to be used. The first of the mes fell towards me, I sidestepped them but the air above me continued to ignite with ming projectiles.


    I waved my hands, forcing the Runes into existence around me, gathering, and stringing them in the correct sequence.


    "Freezing winds of Jotunheim" I pped my hands together. The runes spun around me like a tornado, cold air bellowed out freezing everything in all directions. My spell overwhelmed his fire even as they collided. Magically, my spells should have been on the losing side when they fought due to his natural advantage from the elemental properties. But mine was invoked with much stronger power both from origin and amount of magical energy pushed in.


    His pitiful fires were extinguished in a cascade of wintery air. The entire area was filled with a cold frost that permeated every inch of stone.


    I calmly walked towards the pir the necromancer was hiding behind. I saw him jump out, hands aze and throw a few fireballs at me. It looked like he was predisposed towards fire-based spells. Not that they were anything impressive, his true specialty was most likely necromancy. I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn''t used to fighting ''head on'' in magical conflict.


    With a flick of my own hand, I conjured a Lesser Ward and swat away the weak spells.


    Kicking off the ground, I moved faster than he could react, and my sword impaled him through the heart. The life died in his eyes, and I made sure to flick an ''Ansuz'' rune onto his corpse, no telling what he had hiding inside his body.


    Necromancers tended to be strange people, no point in taking any risks and just burn the whole thing.


    I was about to look over his burnt ashes, but my instincts red and I quickly ducked down. I felt a sharp edge wiz past my head, mming into the stone wall.


    "You''re still alive." I mumbled, pulling my sword back ,ready to stab him.


    "Zun Haal Viik" The thing shouted again and my sword went flying. The grip I had on it pointless as whatever urred, the world ''forced'' the weapon to dislodge from my hand.


    It quickly followed up with another swing of its weapon as I used the gauntlet to block. Whatever intelligence it had, I don''t think he could realize that my Gauntlet would win against its Ebony. No doubt if it were regr steel, I may have lost an arm here.


    Using my greater strength, I knocked its weapon away, giving me an opening.


    I cast Telekinesis in one hand and Turn Undead in the other. Both basic spells in their respective schools and, pushed them together at the center of the zombie.


    Turn Undead, didn''t make undead flee as one would think. Granted, that was the most likely oue, no, it ''forced'' and undead away from you. It was just the path of least resistance for the undead to walk away on its own feet to satisfy the underlining concepts of the spell.


    Butbining with a Telekinesis, I pulled the undead in, forcing it to fight against the Turn Undead spell. Like using a single finger to knock something away as opposed to ''flicking'' it with two fingers. The conflict onlysted a moment between my two spells, Turn Undead winning out with ease.


    The undead''s stomach caved in, I felt its weathered bones cracking as the thing''s body broke down and exploded backwards.


    Stones broke and shattered at the impact; I saw pieces of its body get flown across the room but even still...it still had a little bit of light in its eyes.


    I just shook my head. "Rest in peace." I ignited the remains of its body, letting it turn to ash.


    Looking around the room, I felt like I could have handled that better. I never felt out of control, except that one moment where I forgot about the zombie and assumed it died. Its just.....I can''t help but keepparing myself to the old me. The one who had lived for an uncountable number of years and went through many life or death situations. Yeah, even with the weird ''magic'' the zombie was using, I just didn''t like how I handled it.


    I could only click my tongue with a mental promise to get some decent training in.


    Well, lets see what treasure is left behind?


    I of course took the ebony axe, from what I understand, it should be wroth a good chunk of coin. There was a side room I opened up, inside was a bed, table and some containers, most notably a chest.


    Opening it up I just stared, dumbfounded at it being filled with gold. Why was it filled with gold, besides the obvious I mean. I picked up a nearby journal, skimming over a few pages, he was apparently going to be raising an army to ''conquer'' Skyrim or some other nonsense, what did he need so much gold for? I highly doubt he would be paying his undead for their services...probably. I had met weirder people in my memories.


    There were a few ces marked on an ugly drawn map of the surrounding area. Were these graveyards.....okay so he did have a n and didn''t expect to take over Skyrim with a handful of shitty undead.


    I reached for another book on the table and I felt my body almost fall to the ground. I caught myself and took a few deep breaths.


    [Careful there, the first time is the hardest.]


    Shit did not expect that. My boost had worn out and my body returned to normal. I ached a tiny bit, moving in ways I shouldn''t have been able to. It felt like I had just gone through a good workout.


    [It should get easier the more you use it, and it will build up your strength in turn so you can push your limits further]


    Interesting, another thing I need to spend time training with. Obvious in hindsight, but it was good to experience it firsthand.


    I grabbed everything not bolted to the floor and threw it into my ring, if it could be sold it wasing with me!


    All that was left....inside a sort of shrine was the handle of a sword. There were engravings and remains of spells being cast all around it.


    I assume this is the artifact in question? I drew the sword without any fanfare and inspected the oddly shaped weapon.


    It looked remarkably sharp, but I could barely feel any powering from it. Well, I guess I better head back.


    I made sure to burn all the other corpses along the way, don''t want any more necromancers to get any ideas.


    ***


    "Killed the necromancer, got the sword." I waved the thing around infront of the giant statue.


    "But, my light hasn''t cleansed my temple." The voice said in confusion.


    "Oh, you mean those other beacon things? I just ignored those." Was I supposed to use those? Woops.


    "....my light needs to cleanse the sword."


    I just shrugged and put the light inside the giant beam that was shooting up into the sky. The sword began to glow bright, a holy light enveloped it and I felt something take hold of me and sweep me way up in the sky.


    Before I realized it, I was probably several miles up in the air, overlooking Skyrim and there was a ball of light floating infront of me.


    "Malkoran is vanquished. Skyrim''s dead shall remain at rest as it should be. This is because of you. A new day is dawning, and you shall be its herald. Take the mighty Dawnbreaker and with it purge corruption from the dark corners of the world. Wield it in my name, that my influence may grow."


    "You want me to be your....champion?" I hazard a guess, and I guess the sword was called Dawnbreaker.


    "Yes." She answered simple, the ball of light pulsed.


    "What about my reward?"


    "Your reward?"


    "Was I not promised great rewards? I''m pretty sure it was repeated.....numerous times."


    "You will wield my artifact, Dawnbreaker." She chose to ignore thetter part myment.


    "You mean the item that was the spoils of my battle after cleansing your temple. Something I would have gotten regardless?"


    "...."


    There was a bit of silence, I think she was contemting what I said. But I was curious and reached out the poke the ball of light. Nothing happened, but.....I kept poking it.


    Was this a ''projection'' of sorts.... I''m aware that these Daedra couldn''t enter the world normally, they could only do something like this, but does this lead back to her ''realm''. My academic mind was overwhelmed with curiosity, or that''s how I rationalized it to myself.


    I followed the ''thread'' that linked to this little ball of light and touched on the Kaleidoscope. I wouldn''t really need any calctions, using the ''thread'' as a sort of bridge, I opened a portal.


    I looked forward, and a woman on a throne staring back at me,pletely dumbfounded. She radiated power, enough to make me freeze in ce, but I was also overwhelmed by what I saw.


    Beautiful.


    She had bright blonde hair that flowed down past her shoulders, and glossy skin that was free from any blemishes. Blue robes that hugged every curve of her body, and long legs that my eyes refused to look away from. The robes were cut just high enough to see her legs in all their glory.


    Oh my.


    [Did....your heart just skip a beat?]


    Noment.


    "Sorry, wrong address." I quickly closed the portal, realizing what I had just done.


    [That was stupid.]


    Yup.


    [This is going to blow up in your face.]


    Oh, spectacrly.


    "You! How did you just....you opened a portal to my realm of oblivion, HOW?" Her voice carried her confusion, annoyance, and surprise.


    "Portal, what portal? Anyways, I was promised rewards, I think ''great'' was mentioned as well. So....." I masterfully changed the subject.


    "Fine! But I will have answers to my questions. What rewards do you wish, I will grant anything in my power. Gold, knowledge ¨C "


    "Really, anything in your power?" I questioned.


    [Don''t do it.]


    I''m sorry Ddraig.


    [No! Don''t you dare!]


    "I said I would, and so I shall." She said with a bit more power in her voice.


    "Be my woman." I answered without a shred of hesitation whatsoever.


    [GOD DAMMIT.]


    "...what?" Her confused voice echoed out


    [Why? This can only end badly.]


    Poor impulse controlbined with the fact that I''m a teenage devil.


    [Excuses.]


    You''re right, those legs were just too much for me to resist.


    [Well, it was a short partnership, but it was fun. Nice knowing you.]


    I would dly die between those thighs of hers.

 Chapter 18 - 17

    <h4>Chapter 18: Chapter 17</h4>


    [I can''t believe you did this.]


    I can''t believe I did this.


    [You have a n here?]


    Yeah, don''t die.


    [Good n, are there any other steps?]


    Yeah, part two is where I bury my head betwee--"


    [Okay, so no follow up then.]


    Admittedly, part two is a work in progress.


    "You know, this is where either a rejection or an eptancees. Usually a rejection in my experience....." I mumbled.


    Okay, to be fair it only happened once, I wasn''t exactly the most social person when I was younger, and I asked a girl out. Got rejected, h h teenage angst, then I wallowed in self pity for like two weeks before getting over it.


    I blinked and a momentter I was back on the ground, standing infront of Meridia''s statue. Gone was the glowing orb of light, reced with the familiar outline of a woman I had previously seen.


    "Huh, I didn''t think you could project such a thorough copy of yourself across dimensions." I admired.....her power. Yeah, lets go with that. But in seriousness, the aspect of her that was present wasn''t any more powerful than that glowing orb, it just seemed like ''more'' of her was there.


    "Rarely do I find a situation that requires my undivided attention so that I show myself in such a way." She answered, eye boring into me with quite a bit of pressure.


    Oh boy, I may have fucked up.


    [You think!?]


    So...uh how we looking on Juggernaut drive there, Ddraig?


    [Sure, if you want to go out with a bang.]


    Think she''ll ask me ''how I want to die''? Hint hint, it has to do with those amazing, milky white legs.


    [I wouldn''t even be mad if that happened.]


    You know what? I got this. I adjusted my tie, brushed off any dust on my clothing and fixed my hat. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, face to face."


    "I believe this is the second time we are meeting, after you had torn a hole into my realm." She said dryly.


    "Doesn''t ring a bell." I just shrugged. "Anyways, does a rejection need a meeting like this? My feelings won''t be hurt.....maybe my pride a little bit but that''s life."


    "Do you think my words are a jest?" She raised an eyebrow and the temperature got a little bit warmer around me.


    "To be fair.... I didn''t really think this through." I guess she''s someone who doesn''t or can''t go back on her oaths. Her word being beyond reproach and all that. "Frankly I''m surprised you didn''t have some kind of contingency for a situation like this, or even offered such an open reward."


    "I usually don''t." She practically hissed. "But I was understandably distracted, having just witnessed a mortal tear a HOLE INTO MY REALM."


    Is it weird that even her angry face looks cute....ah getting distracted. "Perhaps I should have checked to make sure you weren''t in a rtionship first?"


    Gods I hope she wasn''t that would just make this a million times worse.


    "I don''t spend my time chasing after mortal whimsies." She crossed her arms, frowning.


    "Hmm, do you dislike me then?" Okay, not a bad start,munication is good!


    "There are no physical traits of yours that I find particrly distasteful." And eyed me again, seemingly rxing just a bit. "Your lifespan.....mortals only exist for a blink of an eye, we are eternal, we will watch this world burn and turn to ash as every soul eventually returns to the void." She was surprisingly gentle in her tone.


    "My base lifespan is at least 10,000 years. And It isn''t very hard to prolong it past that." I replied.


    "I was already ancient when this world was still young. You haven''t even seen two decades yet." She said bluntly.


    "I like older women." I countered with a smile. And isn''t that something to suddenly discover about myself, it seems I do have a preference.


    "This isn''t even my true form; I have no set gender. I could look however I wanted."


    "But it''s the form you chose to identify yourself with, it''s who you think yourself as and who I find physically attractive." She wouldn''t have looked like that in thefort of her own ''home'' if she didn''t ''want'' to look like that.


    "I have enemies, other Lords who wouldn''t hesitate to strike out at you for even speaking to me. Those who would take your soul and torture it for eternity."


    "I''m pretty strong, and I''ll get even stronger."


    "I could end your life with a snap of my fingers." She hissed.


    There was no killing intent in her voice, no true desire to harm me.


    "I have confidence to take you with me." I summoned my boosted gear and let Ddraig''s power flow out.


    She looked at me and then at the gauntlet. "Akatosh''s child? No..." I don''t think she really cared too much about it for the moment, she looked lost in her own thoughts. "Why?" She finally asked me as if all the momentum she built up had suddenly deted.


    "You''re going to need to be more specific."


    "Why are you intent on making me your ''woman'' as you so aptly put it. Is it some sort of twisted fantasy of yours to have me under you? Or maybe you are under some delusions that this will give you some control over my spheres of influence."


    "If you''re looking for some underlining scheme or rational reason, I don''t have one." I just stared into her eyes for a moment. "I simply like you."


    "You like me." She repeated, almost in disbelief. "Are you not going to profess your undying devotion and love for me?" She waved her hand flippantly.


    "Don''t be ridiculous, I don''t love you."


    [Oh shit, I hope you''re going somewhere with this]


    I saw her frown, possibly even get close to getting annoyed.


    "Love isn''t something so hollow, nor do I believe in that nonsense about love at first sight. It''s something built through a bond shared between two people, from trust andmunicationbined with a mutual affection. I don''t love you, I like you. I have romantic feelings towards you that have started budding from the moment we met. I have the desire to spend time with you and get to know you better. If and only if our rtionship ever progressed to that point, then I will say those words to you and mean them from the bottom of my heart."


    Huh, I guess I never put my own feelings into words before.


    "....Do you think all it takes is some honeyed words to win my affection?" Her voice was quiet and for some reason she didn''t look at me in the eyes.


    "No. I think you deserve to be properly courted." I took a step forward, she nced at me but didn''t show any difort as I got closer.


    "I can''t always leave my realm like this. There may even be days...weeks that we wouldn''t be able to meet."


    "I also have responsibilities that would take me far and force me away." I slowly reached out and took one of her hands, she was hesitant but allowed me. "But I''m willing to put in the work."


    She looked town at our hands, and I may have been seeing things, but it looked like the faintest color of pink dusting her cheeks. She lightly pulled hers away, taking a step back. "I must return...keep my sword with you at all times...so that I may keep an eye on you and contact you if needed." She quietly said, looking rather distracted.


    "Does that mean you ept?"


    She looked back at me onest time, I didn''t see any anger, difort or even annoyance on her face. I think she was at most, conflicted and unsure of what to do. "I do not go back on my word." And she suddenly left.


    I felt a thump in my heart, watching her depart.


    [How the hell did that work out?]


    Refuge in Audacity.


    [No, seriously, that was some bullshit, you are lucky as hell.]


    Yes, yes I am.


    ***


    I was humming to myself, and I had a small pep in my step as I walked towards solitude. I had been prepared to go find the old man at the tavern, but I saw him sitting down in his cart, looking a might pissed off.


    "You don''t look too good." I said.


    "Ohd, yer back." He stood up. "Aye, I lost me a good bit of coin betting on dice. You look like you''re in a good mood, deal with that stuff at the temple?"


    "Yup, just a necromancer causing trouble."


    "That can''t be all, I''ve seen that look before,d. Ady was involved, eh?"


    Jeese what a horndog. "Fine, I may have gotten myself a woman."


    Heughed at pat me on the shoulder. "Gotta give an old man more than that, what was she like, how was big was her ¨C "


    "Alright!" I quickly cut him off, something told me he would have gotten a bit...smitten if he continued. "I''ll say this....she had legs for days."


    "Legs for days?'' He raised an eyebrow.


    "They were magnificent."


    I heard the old man just burst outughing. But I didn''t care, I was more focused on my new sword burning just a little bit brighter all of the sudden.


    "Alrightd, where you headin next?"


    "How about we go back to Winterhold, I need to check back in at the college."


    "Well, if you got the coin, I got the cart. To Winterhold then, but we''re talking the long way round, I don''t trust the mountain paths this time a year and them Trolls being out of their caves, hungry something fierce."


    "No problem, I have all the time in the world."

 Chapter 19 - 18

    <h4>Chapter 19: Chapter 18</h4>


    I walked towards the very familiar towers of the college. The bounded field around the whole building was a much-weed reprieve from the harsh weather outside. The trip had been long and rather dull. Too long to do a single straight shot, we had to rest a few times so all in all, it was about three days before I got back here.


    I carried my new sword, Dawnbreaker in my hand. I had wrapped it up with some cloth, I didn''t want an obviously magical de shining everywhere I went. I also felt a bit awkward about putting it into my storage ring for now, I didn''t know how that would react with Meridia''s...sight, or whatever she was doing to watch over me. I would need to get a scabbard made at some point.


    "Ah, just the person I wanted to see." I heard a familiar voice and turned around.


    "Enthir." I greeted. "Did you make any progress on what I had asked?" It should have been, what, almost a week ago that west met?


    "Indeed, I was lucky and someone answered back on my inquiries. It seems that I found someone in possession of an entire sword made out of the ss material you are looking for."


    "A whole sword....thats more that I expected, but weed nheless." I thought for a moment, dimensions, size and estimated how much I actually needed. "How much?"


    "I hadn''t received a price yet, the seller is of.....certain status, I didn''t yet wish to approach without a firm understanding of your needs."


    "I see. Buy the sword if you can, as I said, money isn''t much of an issue." I swiped my ring and took out a bag of jewelry and the Ebony axe from the undead I killed. "Think you can sell this all for me?"


    "Oh my, is that Ebony?" He quickly took the axe to begin examining it. "What wonderful craftsmanship, if I had to guess this is a very old piece yet it is still marvelously well kept."


    "Fought an undead swinging it around." I shrugged.


    "Oh, a draugr with an ebony axe, he must have been a powerful one with status before he died." The elf nodded in understanding as he peeked inside the bag. It was just some trinkets that were scattered around the loot I had taken as well. "Nothing too interesting.....what''s this?" He picked out a ring in particr and inspected it. "Hmm, this is enchanted."


    Is it? I didn''t even notice, not that I had paid it much attention to begin with. "Woops, I guess I left that in there."


    He just hummed, handing the ring to me and looking at the bag again. "The jewelry will probably run about a thousand septims, after I take mymission, of course."


    "Of course." I epted that he would be making coin off me, it was the nature of the business.


    "The axe though, well, Ebony isn''t readily avable on the market, even the Nord warriors all over will want this piece. I can estimate, probably around five to six thousand septims at the lower end."


    That''s better than I thought. "I''m in no rush yet, but get a hold of that ss sword as soon as possible." The sooner I have it the sooner I can truly start nning out my mystic code.


    "I''ll reach out to my contacts right away." He gave a nod and wrapped everything up, taking it to who knows where.


    I didn''t think he would cheat me, he was too ''open'' about his practices for that. If it got around that he was cheating his customers, the people in the college would stop trusting him. No doubt the Archmage also keeps an eye on his dealings, if anything crossed certain lines, I don''t think he would stay on the sidelines.


    Regardless, it seems like everything ising together. I can''t wait to finally get started, though I don''t think I''ll be doing the actual forging. Guess I''ll need to check back in on the Companions for that, hopefully they aren''t too pissed.


    I really need to keep my temper in check. It shouldn''t have bothered me as much as it did.


    ***


    I flopped onto my bed, and that was something nice to think about.


    My bed, the first time I had actually been into ''my room'' in the college sinceing here. It was just a small little room with a few shelves, a tables and my bed inside. Nothing extravagant, but it got the job done and it''s not like I would need to spend lots of time in here.


    "Well, it beats sleeping outside in the snow."


    "Barely." Another voice replied.


    I tilted my head up to see the familiar from of Meridia, sitting on the edge of my bed. "Hello." I''m d I shut my door, would have been a bit awkward otherwise. "I''m happy to see you again." Even if I didn''t expect our next meeting to be so soon.


    She crossed her arms and snorted. "Is this the hole that you live in?"


    "For now, I guess. I don''t really need much else while studying here at the college."


    "I suppose this ''college'' is impressive enough.....by mortal standards." She gazed up at the ceiling. "I can only recall a handful of ces in this world that have better protections than here."


    "I''m d it gets your seal of approval." I lightly chuckled.


    "Of course I want you to...." She cut herself off. "I expect certain standards from you."


    "Well, I do have a question while you''re here. Would it be okay to store your sword inside my ring?" I wiggled my finger.


    "Let me see." She gestured, I walked around my bed and sat next to her. I felt her hand stroke the metal band, inspecting it. "It would not be a problem."


    Her hand started to pull away but I lightly grabbed it, there was only a slight surprise on her end, but she allowed it all the same. "Can I ask why you''re here?"


    "....do you not wee me?" She said quietly.


    "I''ll always be happy to have you here, I''m just wondering if something is wrong or¡ª"


    "I merely had a few moments free." She replied bluntly.


    "I see, it must be time consuming, having to overlook all your followers in addition to your duties that involves your domain." She was a god in all but name, I can somewhat guess that she had a lot of things she did on a daily basis.


    "I do not have much influence in Skyrim, but in other parts of Tamriel, I have entire congregations waiting on my word and acting as extensions of my will." She sighed, and I saw her rx more than I had before. "Unfortunately, that also means I end up with some particrly stupid mortals."


    "Well, that''s inevitable, people are stupid in general." I rolled my eyes as the thought of ''believers'' not because I was looking down on her, but those groups tend to attract the ''idiots'' by nature of their inception. "But you seem upset over something particr, what happened?"


    she looked...conflicted. I don''t think she was used to ''talking'' to people or rather opening up in any capacity. I mean, from what I heard about her ''peers'' they weren''t the most friendly sort.


    "One of my ''priests'' had the idea that I would be pleased if he raised a group of undead, then sacrificed them to me at one of my temples." Her words were venomous as she spat them out.


    "Of course, overturn the natural order to gain favor with one who''s domain is ''Life''. What a genius n." I deadpanned. "Want me to go beat him up for you?" I gave her a smirk.


    I heard a smallugh from her for the first time, and it was adorable. "His own actions had already seen to that. While still disgusting abominations, he only managed to raise a few dozen skeletons and improperly at that. They proceeded to attack him before his followers could intervene."


    She calmed her self, her stoic expression returned after a few moments of silence she spoke again. "I am not....I am unsure of how I am supposed to proceed with this....foolishness."


    Ah, she''s still unsure of how to act or what to do. The fact that she hasn''t taken her hand away is a good sign though. "To be honest, I don''t know either, I''m kind of making it up as I go along. Why don''t you tell me more about yourself?"


    "What do you wish to know?"


    "Tell me something silly, like your favorite color, flower, food, animal, anything. I want to know more about you than what I''ve read in a book."


    She looked a bit surprised. "You don''t wish to ask me about the time before Nirn or of my origins?"


    "Did you think I was trying to pry some ''secret'' information from you?"


    "....the thought crossed my mind." She replied honestly.


    "I see." I couldn''t help but sigh. "I guess there is still too much distance between us for something like --"


    "Dragon''s Tongue." She cut me off. "My favorite flower is Dragon''s Tongue. Yellow is the color I enjoy the most. And... I find ducks pleasant to watch."


    I just stared for a moment, a small smile creeping up on my face. "What about food?"


    "I have no preferences for mortal sustenance."


    Well, we''ll have to fix that in the future. I''m happy that she''s willing to meet me halfway here. "Thank you for telling me." I gave her hand a little squeeze.


    She looked down to where our fingers were intertwined, staring for a moment. "I am confused."


    "Is that why you came back so soon?" Even if she had a few moments, It seemed like she came here with a purpose.


    She didn''t answer, but instead stood up. "I wish to.....test something."


    I was going to respond, but I quickly felt something I was unfamiliar with, her lips pressed against mine ever so slightly and only for a brief moment. After that brief moment, saw her trace her finger across her lips, like she was unsure of what happened. She turned to look at me, maybe even somewhat sadly. "I need to return."


    "I see." I said, standing up as well. "I''ll be waiting until next time."


    "My time spent with you so far has been... agreeable." She said quietly. "Before I can step away from my duties again...I expect you to remain whole and in good health."


    I took a step forward, my hands reached for hers. She looked a bit hesitant, and dare I say ¨C bashful, as I felt her soft hands in mine for another moment before she disappeared.


    I took a deep breath to calm my beating heart.


    What a woman.


    I grabbed my sword and put it into my ring and as I took a step out of my room, I was suddenly teleported away.


    ***


    I blinked, looking around.


    I was in a room I didn''t recognize, circr in nature so I assumed in one of the college''s towers. There were books everywhere and various magical doodads. At the center of the room, was a small garden with all sorts of herbs growing with an artificial light right above.


    "Wilhelm, d you coulde." Archmage Aren popped up next to me.


    "Well, I didn''t really have a choice." I said dryly.


    "Oh? Indeed, I suppose you are correct. It was my fault, but I''m sure you can understand, because you see, I was quite frantic when I found out a Daedric Lord had appeared in My School."


    He didn''t yell, but his words carried a lot of weight, I could tell he was upset. "Woops."


    "Yes, woops." He frowned. "What did you do, Wilhelm? Did you make a deal with one of them? Please tell me you didn''t sell your soul."


    "I didn''t, I''m perfectly fine." I denied.


    "Then what did you do to get the attention of one of their ilk?" He paced around the room. "Your job, you went to the Statue of Meridia, that''s who appeared, I see. Did you be her champion then? I heard about her champions in the past, wielding her holy sword."


    "I have the sword¡ª" I brought it out from my ring. "¡ªBut I didn''t be her champion."


    "Oh, Wilhelm...divines, you didn''t steal it from her temple, did you?" He sighed. "It''s okay, this is fixable, at least you aren''t bound to her. She''ll want to be appeased; she hates undead fiercely. Perhaps we should find some rogue necromancers around Skyrim and offer them up?" He stroked his beard, looking around the room and pulled several books to him. "No...no.....hmm a few crypts are around here, no doubt they have draugr walking the halls, perhaps she''ll take that as a peace offering."


    "Erm... I didn''t steal it either, she willingly gave it to me." I scratched my cheek, gods this was embarrassing. It''s like trying to tell my mom that I finally got a girlfriend.


    "I believe I am missing something then." He mmed a book shut.


    "Yeah.....how do I put this?" I thought about how to phrase this properly. "I cleared out her temple from a necromancer, and she offered me a reward something like ''I''ll give you anything in my power''."


    "Oh, brilliant, so you asked for the sword then." He pped his hands. "Well done, Dawnbreaker is marvelous sword, especially when diving into the ancient tombs that litter Skyrim."


    "Not quite....."


    He stopped, staring at me as his eyes narrowed. "Wilhelm, what did you do?"


    "So I may have.....askedhertobemywoman."


    "Pardon? I believe I misheard you." He lost pretty much all light in his eyes as he just looked at me, utterly dumbfounded.


    "I asked her to be my woman."


    "Ah, I thought that''s what I heard you say." He pped his hands, casting a spell and summoning....a bottle of ale into his hand, before downing it quite quickly. "So, you are in a romantic rtionship with the Daedric Lord, Meridia."


    "Yup."


    "Okay."


    "Okay?" I questioned.


    He nodded his hands, summoning a staff into his hand. He walked up to me, gave me a reassuring smile, and bopped me on the head.


    "Oww." I rubbed my head. "I''m not apologizing."


    "Of course not, you''re still a young man, I doubt the head on your shoulders has even taken back your thought process yet."


    I raised a finger up, about to respond but closed my mouth. "....that''s actually fair."


    "Indeed." He sighed. "I suppose.....this is substantially better than the worst case I was preparing for."


    "So....would it be okay if she appeared here more?"


    "Are you....asking me for permission for your Daedric Lord girlfriend to tear her way into this realm from oblivion and pop into the college....for a social visit?"


    "Okay, when you spell it out like that, it sounds kind of weird."


    "You know, this isn''t the strangest conversation I''ve ever had. I have met Sheogorath before." He rubbed his temples. "Even with the power of the college backing me, I don''t think I have the ability to stop her, if I wanted to that is. Mind you, I don''t wish to do battle against an entity like her. My only request....is that no harme to my college and its people."


    "I will make sure nothing happens." I gave my word.


    "Okay." He nodded. "Now it''s time for your punishment."


    "What?"


    "Did you think you could summon a Daedric Lord into my college without any consequences?" He pulled out a map and handed it to me. "Tolfdir was heading an expedition marked on the map, he finally uncovered the entrance to some ancient ruins and it''s crawling with undead. I think it appropriate that you help deal with that considering your new.... Lady friend." He looked at the sword still in my hand.


    "Fine." I agreed. "And....I''m sorry I didn''t really think things through."


    He sighed and pat my shoulder. "Believe it or not, I understand. While I never fell for someone quite so...I did have my own love when I was younger. Sometimes we can''t control who makes us feel that way."


    "Now." He pped his hands. "Off you go."


    I suddenly felt myself be pulled away again, falling down into a pile of snow in the courtyard.


    ....Okay, I''ll admit I deserved that.

 Chapter 20 - 19

    <h4>Chapter 20: Chapter 19</h4>


    "So....Tolfdir, can you give me an idea of what I can expect?"


    We were quietly riding along in the small caravan that departed from the College. Only the necessities had beenpleted over at the excavation sight. Basically, setting up some stairways, reinforcing the immediate paths to stop cave ins. They had to stop when they somehow triggered a bunch of the mummified remains in the ce to start rising.


    There were actually a few people from Winterholding along. A couple guards and a few of the Jarl''s people. This whole thing was conducted with the support of the Jarl, surprisingly, considering the strained rtionship. But I guess gold can mend all kinds of bridges.


    Yeah, they agreed to a 60-40 split with the Jarl, as in the College getting the 40% for all gold and items of immediate mary value. The terms were more specific than that, but I didn''t really bother to listen to all of that.


    Basically, we would get the historical artifacts, a decent sum, and the blessing from the Jarl since this thing was still on hisnd.


    I recognized the guardsing along, not really knowing their names, but hey, we shared a drink and that was something important in this ce. They were happy enough that I wasing along to clear the ce of undead. They were more so just to make sure everything goes smoothly and what-not.


    There were probably another dozen people of various backgrounds. Schrs, mages, or people who were just academically interesting in the ancient ruins.


    So, yeah, several carts carrying supplies and everything braving these blizzards-like winds. Thankfully the ruins were only about an hour out of the city.


    "Draugr." He said idly, producing a me in his hand for warmth. "They seemed to be the basic variety, but there are quite a few of them."


    "I ran into some of them on my job. Actually I''d been meaning to ask a question about that, one of the undead that the Necromancer used was a bit stronger than the rest he even did this ''magic'' where he shouted and blew me away....."


    "You faced a Draugr that could use the Thu''um?" Tolfdir looked at me in surprise.


    "No idea what that is."


    "Oh yes, I forgot you are new to Skyrim, I suppose this knowledge isn''t as widespread outside. The Thu''um at its basic, is thenguage of Dragons." He said, molding his hands around his small me, keeping it contained and radiating heat. "The Thu''um isn''t like magic as you would probably know it, when a dragon speaks, the world listens."


    "Oh, that makes sense. They aren''t ''casting'' spells, they are forcing their will onto reality." I mused. It sounded more like Divine Words from back home. Actually, that''s also quite simr to how Primordial Runes work as well.


    "That is exactly correctly." He blinked giving a smile. "Even the fires that spout from their mouths, it is merely a few words for a dragon, yet not much a mortal can do to match it. I have heard legends that when two dragons do battle, it is actually them having an argument."


    [Hoh, that sounds interesting, I wonder...]


    I think me and Ddraig shared a simr thought there. "Is there a way to learn the Thu''um?"


    "There is, though it takes decades of intense study to even master a single word. There is actually an order of monks on the Throat of the World that devote themselves entirely to do so."


    Interesting....very, very interesting.


    "Well, I don''t believe you should have to worry about such things here. In my research, I haven''t been able to pinpoint this ce as anywhere of great importance." Tolfdir reassured. "Not to say that the ruins hold no academic purpose. We can only guess at what history is underground here."


    "ROOOOAARRR" a voice boomed out over the snow.


    "...is that at troll?" I questioned, seeing the outline of an ape-like creature smashing its hands into the ground.


    "So, It appears." Tolfdir nodded.


    "Huh, I haven''t actually seen one before. Ugly things, aren''t they?"


    He hummed in agreement. "And they serve no true purpose, if it were a bear or some sort of animal, I may have just deemed it appropriate to scare them away. But a troll just burdens whatever region it decides to settle down in."


    "You want this one?" I eyed him; I wouldn''t mind taking care of it but....


    He gave a small chuckle. "I wouldn''t mind stretching these old bones for a moment." The me in his hand danced around his fingers, and with a flick of his wrist it shot towards the Troll who was still trying to intimidate the caravan.


    I was expecting a fireball of some sorts, maybe even something that would disintegrate the creature, but no, the ball erupted into a pir that shot a good twenty feet into the air and consumed everything in that small area.


    I guess the title of ''master'' isn''t just for show, even if it is for a different school of magic.


    "That should do it." He smiled lightly.


    Not even a mild roadblock, but then again, the College really does have some monsters in it.


    ***


    "Here we are." Tolfdir eximed, as the excavation site came into view.


    It wasn''t particrlyrge, about what you would imagine. The people all around me started to unload their carts, several began setting up tents and making a camp that was livable.


    The weather hadn''t let up, even now, the snowstorm made it hard to see more than fifty yards infront of yourself.


    "Is there even a name to go along with this ce?" I looked down into the dug out pit that revealed just a single door and some stone structures protruding out of the ground. Clearly It had been swallowed by the ravages of time.


    "We didn''t have time to research anything inside yet. The Draugr came onto us rather quickly and I was more concerned about evacuating my students and the non-mages that had apanied us on the project." Tolfdir stated.


    Ah, that''s why he didn''t just deal with them all by himself. I''m probably not even needed here, but this is my ''punishment'', I guess I''ll do the grunt work.


    And I don''t mind helping out Tolfdir, he probably needs to oversee the camp as well.


    "I guess I''ll get started then."


    "Make sure you''re probably prepared. Even if you have full confidence, you should always have the basics with you." Tolfdir lightly chastised me, almost in a grandfatherly way.


    "I have potions, food and a lot of other supplies for emergencies."


    He just nodded, smiling. "It''s just an old man''s worries. If you don''t feel like you can handle it, juste back out." He gave me a small pat on the back.


    "I can handle this." I waved him off.


    "Alright, off you go then." He gestured me away, letting out a smallugh.


    What a nice guy. Definitely my favorite teacher at the College so far.


    Well, here we go.


    I walked down and opened the doors, leading to a half-caved entrance way. It looked like it had been reinforced already, allowing for people toe and go.


    There were a few light sources everywhere, some magical-looking candles, a fewnterns here or there with what looked like fireflies inside. I think there was some lighting from the ceiling as well? I couldn''t quite see how it was working, but I think it was magical.


    Well, when in doubt assume its magic.


    The first true ''room'' was a bit odd, like a huge stone pir with a winding staircase and a bunch of doors everywhere. The staircase looked very weather, practically falling apart at the seams. I think this room was about as far as the previous expedition got before being chased away.


    There were a couple scaffoldings around, keeping the walls nice and sturdy. I did admire their precautions, it wasn''t like this in the olden days of my old home. They were more concerned about finding treasure than securing something for historical significance.


    Well, it would suck...for people without wings.


    The refreshing feeling of my wings being exposed to air was always nice after not using them for some time.


    I did make a mental note to give them some more exercise every now and then. They were technically a ''body part'' even if they were magical in nature.


    A simple glide down to the bottom and I was met with the immediate attention of a dozen or so entities.


    They were already up and about, skulking out from the corners of the room. Their armor nking with each step, metal weapons being drawn from weathered sheaths.


    I did make sure to put my wings away, don''t want a luck hit to nip them. It seems like something that would be excruciatingly painful.


    Well...show time.


    My body circuits red, Reinforcement covered my body and I drew Dawnbreaker from my ring. It''s warm me was very reassuring, even if I wasn''t at all intimidated by the situation, it was soothing to hold in my hand.


    "Hey, Meridia, are you watching?" I whispered lightly.


    The light at the center of my sword pulsed with a faintly ethereal glow.


    "Well the, I offer these to you." Does this count as being romantic if she hated undead with a burning passion?


    The first Draugr ran up to me, hand fully extended back in a swinging motion. I barely paid it any mind as my sword swung out before it could finish.


    Its body was cleaved in two, and practically disintegrated into ash on contact. I had barely felt any resistance, even with its metal armor in the way. I realized just now how powerful this sword truly was in the correct circumstances.


    The nature to be Anti-Undead, to be conceptually stronger when facing opponents that meet those criteria. Even if the steel armor wasn''t anyway ''necrotic'' it was still but paper infront of my weapon. Meridia loathed undead with a passion, I could practically feel her jubtion transfer from the sword.


    "If this really makes you so happy, we should make a date of it." Iughed as they mored towards me.


    My sword pierced through another undead, bursting it into mes. This was the bare minimum of what the weapon could do, yet it was such an overwhelming weapon for its fated enemy.


    There were further enchantments on it though, ones I couldn''t even begin to unravel without years of research. It was a weapon created by a goddess, intended to be wielded by mortal hands. Perhaps not a divine construct, but it was something that could trade blows with a Noble Phantasm and not lose.


    I moved through the mob of undead creatures, their swinging not much more than childish iling. Every swing of my sword, and another walking-corpse was released from the prison of un-life and whatever powers bound were free.


    It was exhrating, wielding such a powerful weapon, and it was all mine.


    With a few short moves, the group of zombies had disappeared from the world, and my sword sung with happiness, light filling the room and removing any stain of corruption.

 Chapter 21 - 20

    <h4>Chapter 21: Chapter 20</h4>


    Dungeon diving was apparently a pastime in Skyrim.


    The traps, undead, winding tombs and mazes that stood between an adventurer and the loot at the end. What no one wanted to talk about, was how fucking annoying it was going through everything.


    I was probably pissed off by the third room. After killing all the draugr, and finding the ''secret'' passage through that little area, it led me into more of a ''crypt''. There were coffins lining the walls with a weird pedestal at the end of a narrow chamber with a magical looking ne on it and some metal bars stopping me from going forward.


    I had tried to do the obvious thing, pull the metal bars up like I had done previously, but it looked like they weren''t budging. I mean, I could probably st me way out of here, but this whole ce coulde down on me.


    What a situation I found myself.


    The only thing of significance in this little area was an obviously magical ne on the pedestal right near the metal bars.


    Can you say ''trap''?


    I picked it up, waiting for something to happen.....and nothing.


    So...am I missing something here or ¨C


    An ethereal figure appeared infront of me, almost like someone was projecting their consciousness across a far distance "Hold, Mage, and listen well ¨C " He paused, taking another look at me, seemingly surprised by what he saw. "No, who are you? How.....you aren''t the one who was supposed toe...."


    "Pardon?" I question the odd person.


    "This is all wrong, you shouldn''t be here, the predictions foretold the dragonborn" He muttered. "Why have youe here?"


    "I was asked to clear this ce of the undead for the College expedition." I tilted my head. "And who are you to question mying here? Who exactly are you?" I narrowed my eyes.


    "I am of the Psijic Order." He said, once again staring at me. "You shouldn''t be here.....Leave, Mage, there are powers at work that you tamper with. Things that no mortal should put their hands on."


    Never heard of the Psijic Order, but the way he said it, he made it sound like just giving that name would answer all my questions. I suppose they might be famous or something around here? Regardless..... "I don''t answer to you."


    "You''ve been warned." He said ominously before dispersing.


    Well, fuck you too.


    So, this ce isn''t as mundane as Tolfdir thought. Well mundane I guess is rtive with magical zombies walking around.


    I just looked around this little room I was still in, metal bars barred my way but there had to be someway through.


    I put my hand on the wall and pulsed some mana, looking for maybe a trick somewhere, until my eyesnding on a coffin sitting upright against the wall. It looked a little too ''straight'' to be just haphazardly left there...


    I inspected it, cing my hand on the metal covering. It was empty and the wall behind it was missing.


    Aha!


    I kept my reinforcement up and pulled the lid off, it fought me the entire way, I was apparently going about this incorrectly, but whatever. I didn''t care about the traps in this ce and just ripped the thing off.


    Neat.


    The rest of the dungeon had been a bit more of the same. A level that had arrow traps if you put in a wrongbination with these weird, spinning obelisks with certain figures on them. I just froze the little holes where the arrows came out with a spell and got through it with trial and error.


    Swinging des that swung out from the edges of rooms, magical traps that exploded if you stepped on them, and even spikes that shot up from the ground.


    Someone really didn''t want this ce to be discovered.


    But the further I went, the more a strange feeling crept up in my heart, a foreboding sensation that something was awaiting me. Something that tickled my danger sense.


    There was one more room ahead, the magical energy I felt was palpable, getting through the ''traps barely even inconvenienced me. I don''t think they ount for magic when creating them, or maybe whatever was waiting for me was much more dangerous and these were supposed to just keep out the idiots?


    As I walked through, I saw it, massive blue orb, slowing spinning in ce. I could feel it, the pure, unadultered power it emitted.


    [That thing is dangerous.] Ddraig spoke up immediately. [I would be cautious of that thing even if I was here in my prime.]


    That''s not good.


    So much magical energy in the air here, it was practically stifling. I was a bit cautious to even cast a spell, I had no idea what reaction would ur.


    I took a step down the stairs, and as soon as my foot touched the wood I heard a cracking sound, as something ancient had just moved for the first time in many years.


    It stood up from a chair, the familiar figure of a Draugr, but immediately I could tell this one was different, like the one I fought at Meridia''s temple.


    I hurriedly threw up a ward as mes spouted from its hands.


    It can cast magic, okay.


    With another thought, Oak flesh covered my body and I made sure to double check my Reinforcement. My ward met its torrent of mes as I closed the distance, Dawnbreaker in my other hand. As we got close enough it tried to swing its own axe at me, but I ducked, overloading the Ward and dispersing his mes spell.


    Its over, I swung my magical sword underneath him..... only to be intercepted by a magical barrier.


    A magical barrier strong enough to fight against the weapon a literal goddess gave to me. It pushed back the cleansing mes of my sword and a small explosion erupted at the focal point, blowing the sword out of my hand and causing me to stutter back.


    I saw it clearly, the torrent of power that was being streamed into this undead from the floating orb nearby. It was siphoning power from the thing, pure magical energy enveloping its body making it practically invulnerable to damage.


    I tried my trick from before, pushing a Turn Undead and a Telekinesis together but they fizzled out when the barrier touched them.


    The steel axe in its hand swung with a furry as I stepped back, its free hand summoned ice that rained from the sky.


    Runic letters spun around my arm as I pushed them into the ground "Bindings of Gaia."


    But it wasn''t working, even with the roots springing forth, they withered and drained of any magical energy inside of them as they tried to grab ahold of the undead.


    Even physical damage was negated by the shield of magical energy, my attempt to restrain the undead had been repulsed.


    Maybe an explosion that doesn''t directly target him?


    I swiped my ring, pulling out a couple jewels of varying quality. I overloaded them with magical energy and actualized my intent, throwing them towards the undead walking to me. Jumping back enough to not get caught, or so i thought.


    The explosion wasrger than I had anticipated, feeling the shockwave and almost getting blown back. But once again the undead shrugged it off like it was nothing. I had....hundreds of spells I could call upon yet my mind raced trying to think of a solution, It seemed like I only had one option left.


    I withdrew my cane-sword from my ring. It was soaked in my blood, so it was perhaps the best thing I could use as a catalyst for my True Magic without using my body, which would be the height of foolishness.


    I pulled on the Kaleidoscope, filling my sword with the dimensional magics. It shuddered under the strain, but I kept pulling from a multitude of parallel worlds all filling inside. Condensing, collecting and synthesizing the correct spell sequence.


    Pointing the tip of my de at the undead, several spell circles spun around the metal, amplifying the sequence.


    "Ether Cannon." I let it all go.


    The de shattered in my hand as the beam of light fired off, exploding into tiny pieces as even the handle burst open in my palm.


    It struck the barrier of magic, fighting against it, but it looked as if my hypothesis turned out correct, the barrier was pieced through and the undead''s chest was blown open.


    I caught myself from falling forward. My body arched before stabilizing myself, I had to do something stupid there at thest moment and partial shoulder some of the burden from the actualization of the spell, otherwise my sword would have blown up prematurely.


    I don''t know what happened, but the energy of this orb started going crazy. The magical energy in the room fluctuated, bursting in every which-way.


    Was it because of my use of the Kaleidoscope, did it have some adverse reaction on this strange orb?


    "What have you done!?" I turned around and saw that ''person'' appear again. He looked more ''whole'' than before.


    Just as he said it, a beam of light shot up from the orb and pierced the ceiling. The whole underground ruins shook, rocks and debris began falling everywhere.


    "You have potentially doomed the world, have you any idea what your meddling had caused?" He shouted in anger. Several more figured appeared around the orb, gesturing to it as if they were about to cast something. "We will take this away and deal with the aftermath of your ipetence."


    What?


    I took a step forward but was hit by abined spell from several of the figures. I found myself unable to move and I just watched as their gathered in a circle around the orb and were about to transport it away.


    You want to steal from me? This is mine, I won it bybat.


    "No." I said firmly, summoning my boosted gear. "BOOST" Me and Ddraig roared at the same time, drawing their attention.


    "You....this doesn''t concern you anymore, Mage." The ''leader'' I suppose, the one who had spoken before stood in my way. "You were not destined to be here and you have ruined everything."


    "You aren''t even truly here, trying to y with spatial distortions infront of me? Come back in another thousand years." I looked him dead in the eye and snapped my fingers.


    The spell, the folding of space and time that allowed them to ''be here'' while also not being here, shattered when I pulled over the correct world-flow with the help of the Kaleidoscope. Cowered didn''t even have the courage to show up in person.


    The ethereal figures had all disappeared in a blink of an eye, pulled back to where their real bodies were as time and space synced back up correctly. The only one left was the one who spoke to me.


    "You want to steal my spoils after I had cleaned everything up?" Maybe if he had spoken to me with some manner of respect, exined to me his circumstances, this might have ended differently.


    I looked at him, the way he projected himself was different, like how Meridia did, I looked at the ''tether'' that was acting as a bridge.


    Cute.


    "Begone." I did the equivalent of yanking him back towards the source, sending him hurling through space back to his point of origin.


    [You got a n?] Ddraig asked.


    "I do have a n...it isn''t a very good n, but it is a n."


    [What do you need?]


    He was being oddly cooperative. "I just need your help, you should know what my Magic does, the Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon?"


    [Being able to pull an infinite amount of magical power from an infinite number of worlds.]


    "Indeed, we''re going to do the opposite here. This thing is also drawing in an unfathomable amount of magical energy, possibly even infinite in scope, but it''s all from this singr world, it might drain this ce dry if we let it...or it could blow up, I have no idea."


    [You want to use the gauntlet.]


    "Sorry, it''s all I got."


    [Okay, lets do this, I''ll help where I can from inside.]


    I just nodded at the dragon, ying my gauntlet-d hand on the magical orb and pulled open the Kaleidoscope.

 Chapter 22 - 21

    <h4>Chapter 22: Chapter 21</h4>


    I opened my eyes, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.


    My body ached something fierce, and I felt a burning sensation in my chest, like I had put a heavy toll on my Magic Circuits.


    "You are finally awake, then." I looked up to see Meridia sitting next to my bed. Well, this wasn''t my bed, I''ve been here before, this was the Archmage''s quarters.


    "Hey there." I smiled only for her to scowl back at me.


    "I find myself conflicted." She didn''t look pleased. "Usually if a mortal does something to anger me or disregards my words, I can merely punish them. But what am I supposed to do now?" She looked at me expecting an answer to her query.


    "What?"


    "I told you to remain whole and healthy before I departedst. Tell me, what part does being bed ridden constitute healthy?"


    I....what happened, my head was pounding as I recalled what I had done.


    The magical sphere....it was discharging so much magical energy that it became a danger so I had to divert the ''flood'' out of the world-line. Oh....the strain on my body that was particrly painful and I think I passed out as I finished.


    Well, since everything is still standing, then I suppose it worked out.


    But... "Were you worried about me?"


    Her scowl deepened and she looked away. "I am a goddess; I do not worry." She said firmly.


    "Would a goddess ept a hug and apology for making her ''not worry''?" I sat up on the edge of the bed.


    "....Such a thing may make a goddess less angry." She whispered.


    My legs were still a bit wobbly, but I stood up and wrapped my arms around her, letting her head rest against my chest, I felt her own arms squeeze around me. "I''m sorry."


    "Do not think you will escape my ire with just a few words."


    "Of course, I will ept any punishment you give." I chuckled.


    "Hmph, to make light of my words, you are bold."


    "I can''t help it, you''re too cute." I gave her a kiss on the forehead.


    "C-cute?" She whispered. "Once again you dare say something so flippantly to me. No mortal has ever had to courage to say such words to my face." She huffed, adorably.


    "Was I also the first one to confess to you as well?" I smirked at her.


    "Of course not, I am known far and wide through the realms. I have had kings and great warriors profess their undying love and admiration towards me over the centuries. Many have attempted to woo me with such treasures and gifts that the world would wage war over."


    "And what makes me so special?" I lowed my head closer to hers, our lips were just a breath apart.


    "Never had I met a man with such audacity to say they simply ''like me''." She looked a bit bashful.


    I hummed thoughtfully. "Has any man had the audacity to steal a kiss from the goddess Meridia?" I stared into her eyes, they glowed slightly with recognition from my words.


    I think I saw her breathing hitch just ever so slightly. "No man has ever dared." She said with nothing more than a whisper.


    Well, she didn''t reject me, so I took that as confirmation. I ced my hand on her cheek, seeing her act almost expectantly like this, why are you so cute!?


    I pushed my lips against her lightly, letting her dictate how far she wanted to take it. She reciprocated and met mine. This wasn''t like before where she just gave a peck on my lips and left. This one was full of affection and perhaps even longing.


    "You conflict me, Wilhelm." She said quietly as our lips separated. "I should have been happy to see you possibly die, to escape from the ''oath'' I had given to a mortal. I should have demanded answers from you about the odd circumstances you seem to perpetrate. I should....not be longing for your presence when we are separated nor get flustered when I''m finally standing with you."


    I tilt my head at her words, a bit surprised. I see, I''m actually her first real ''boyfriend'' her first time having a romantic rtionship. She doesn''t quite know how to act upon her feelings. Regardless of her status as a ''goddess'' she is still a being with emotions, feelings, and some havee to the surface that she is unused to.


    Even if the time had been short, it didn''t seem to mitigate all these suppressed feelings suddenly rearing their head.


    Or maybe it was something a bit more than that...?


    "You''ve been by yourself all this time, haven''t you?" I gently pushed a strand of hair out of her face.


    She paused, staring at me. I don''t think she quite knew how to answer that question. Only giving a cute little sound in confirmation.


    "Well, I''m not going to let you be alone anymore." I smiled at her. "You''re my woman after all.....and I don''t want to be alone anymore either."


    Maybe that''s why we both were so taken with each other?


    We were both lonely.


    "...I suppose It can''t be helped then." She said quietly. "But do you truly wish to pursue this ''courtship''?"


    "Are you asking me this now? I think I made my feelings quite clear."


    "I''m not....a mortal. There are things I won''t be able to give you that someone of your own kind can."


    "Are you not capable of love?" I lightly poked her cheek, much to her chagrin.


    "Of course, I am!" She gave a little squeak of embarrassment. I think she was feeling much morefortable in my presence now. I guess we had been floating around what our rtionship truly was until this moment and she finally epted it in her own heart.


    "Then what''s the issue¡ª"


    "I can''t give you children." She said inly. "Is it not the desire for mortals to carry on their own lines with offspring?"


    I guess that is something important to people who live in a world like this. "It''s true....I guess I even had thoughts about a big family in my future. But....I care more about you than something like that."


    "I don''t...." She paused, having trouble finding the words. "I will not get angry if you find a mortal to produce offspring with."


    I just blinked, trying to process what she said. I think this was perhaps a sore point for her and something she may have had on her mind for a bit now? I''ll deal with itter.


    "Can you...say those words to me again like our first meeting?" She leaned into me.


    "I like you, Meridia." I whispered gently into her ear.


    "I like you too, Wilhelm." She replied.


    ***


    "I see Lady Meridia has finally departed." The Archamage popped in only moments after Meridia had left.


    "Sorry?" I said sheepishly. No doubt she pretty much took over the area while she was here.


    He pursed his lips. "Well, I can''t quite fault her, you gave several of us quite the scare." His lips curled upwards. "I dare say even Lady Meridia did not leave your side for the entire two days you were unconscious."


    *CRASSSHHH*


    We both looked over at the origin of the noise. My Dawnbreaker was sitting on a shelf, now cleared of any other items, that had just so happened to fall onto the floor.


    I couldn''t help but smile, knowing she probably got all flustered at hisment. She really was cute when that side of her came out.


    The Archmage wisely chose to ignore it. "The phenomenon that urred, I think all of Skyrim saw it."


    "Yeah....I wouldn''t be surprised." I rubbed the back of my head. "What happened to the.....orb?"


    "You mean the Eye of Magnus? I was going to ask you that question." He looked at my with a thoughtful expression. "All we had to go on were some very ancient tomes in the tomb that described the artifact in question and they called it ''The Eye of Magnus''."


    "Sorry, I don''t have a clue." I shrugged. "I think I passed out trying to stop it from either exploding or sucking up all the Magicka in the world." Or maybe it was doing neither and I overreacted.


    "Well, the world is still spinning, and no one died. It seems you were sessful in your endeavors. Well done, Wilhelm." He was only being slightly sarcastic.


    I just snorted. "Well, there was another party there, they called themselves the ¨C"


    "Psijic Order." The Archmage finished for me. "I had one of them visit me and try to request my aid in apprehending you."


    "Oh..."


    "I don''t suppose you know who the Psijic Order are?"


    "I don''t."


    "Hmm, I guess you could call them an ancient order of Mystics, they generally don''t interfere in the world''s affairs, usually only keeping dangerous things away from those who would misuse them." He rubbed his beard. "I was excited when one popped into the College for the first time in a hundred years, they actually would give counsel to previous Archmages before they went into hiding."


    "He''s here right now?" I scowled. Well if he wants a round two...


    "No, I kicked him out when he didn''t seem to see a problem with attacking one of my students without proper justification other than ''Ruining everything''." He sneered, but quickly recovered. "Remember this, Wilhelm, you are a part of this College, and you will have my support." He pat my shoulder. "Unless you try to destroy the world, then we may have a problem."


    I let out a smallugh. "Thank you, for helping me with everything." It was genuine thanks as well, he had been constantly giving me support since I arrived.


    He nodded. "With that being said, you should know that you have drawn quite a bit of attention. I have no doubt that Ancano has already sent word to the Thalmor and while I can deny them at the College, they will most likely try something when you are out and about."


    "Him again." I frowned. "Well, if they wish to start a conflict with me, they best be prepared."


    "Quite." He smirked. "But don''t be arrogant." He lightly flicked my forehead. "For all their hot air, the Thalmor are very aplished in magic. Don''t give them a chance to overwhelm you." He waved his hand, fixing everything that had fallen to the floor earlier. "Well then, I have satiated my curiosity. And it''s such a shame you don''t possess the Eye of Magnus, because I just so happened to know where another Artifact bearing the name of Magnus dwells." He nodded to himself. "Indeed it is a shame, for I believe they wouldpliment each other wonderfully. Too bad, for I guess the Staff of Magnus will forever dwell within the ruins of Labyrinthian, guarded by very power entities that one should not venture into with proper concern and preparations."


    He gave me onest wink before teleporting away.


    He wasying it on pretty thick there, but I don''t actually have this ''Eye of Magnus''....


    [About that....]


    Hey Ddraig.


    [So, I guess it''s my turn now?]


    Something you want to tell me?


    [I may have grabbed the Eye and took it inside the Boosted Gear.]


    I just blinked, letting the words process for a moment. "Oh."


    [Yeah, so it''s here if you want to do something with it? I''m kinda just keeping it segregated in a corner.]


    Huh....well, since I have it then, I do have an idea of what to do with it. So....did Meridia really watch over me for two days?


    [Oh yes, she was fussing all over you, it was amusing to see this ''goddess'' act like a blushing schoolgirl.]


    Wow...


    [It''s impressive how quickly you managed to steal her heart.]


    I told you before, I got game.


    [Hmm, I think it had more to do with her being lonely and you giving the first genuine confession she''s ever received.]


    ....Thats a fair point.


    Wait, since when could you take things into the Boosted Gear?!

 Chapter 23 - 22

    <h4>Chapter 23: Chapter 22</h4>


    While I wasn''t bedridden anymore, I still didn''t adventure out of the college for another couple days, just deciding to take it easy and do some studying. I was also pleased to find out that the College did in fact have a dining area. Actually, the College had a lot of things I didn''t know about until now. It took me sitting down to realize I had been bouncing all around the ce without resting.


    I''m certainly not against being on the move and with a purpose, but it''s good to sit down and reflect sometimes.


    My only purpose right now was to just get as strong as possible. I did not like the feeling of weakness, being unable to choose my own paths in life, having to actually avoid certain foes because of their power.


    What could I do if a dragon pops up right now? It ashamed me to admit, not much. Well, not much without sacrificing myself either crippling my potential or just outright giving ast hurrah.


    "Wilhelm, just the person I was looking for!"


    I turned around and saw Enthir walking towards me. "Enthir, you look like you bring good news."


    "I do, I do. But first it''s good to see you up and about. The whole college is in a tizzy about what happened." He slid into a chair at my table. "I have a few....friends that are particrly interested."


    "I see, and I''m sure these interested parties have been most generous with their patronage in the past?" I lightly tapped my fingers on the table, studying his expression.


    "Oh yes, most generous. One might even call them repeat customers." He held back a toothy smile.


    "And no doubt they would pay quite a sum for information of such an unnatural phenomenon."


    "Who knows." He smirked at me.


    "Well, I suppose I could say a few things, from one friend to another." He''s being very overt in asking me for information. I prefer this than trying to pick apart my words or trying to subtly get me to say things by ident. "It seems there was a magical artifact that would absorb magicka nonstop in the depths. I was able to discharge all the stored power safely, but I don''t know what happened to the artifact after that."


    "Hmm, not much different than the official reports then." He sighed.


    "Well, I have one little bit of information that was left out....." I leaned in. "The Psijic Order made an appearance."


    His eyes widened, mouth opened about to say something then closed. "That is a very....valuable piece of information."


    "Indeed, I''m sure you will be able to report back to your very generous patrons with good news."


    Yeah, go fuck yourself, Psijic Order.


    He nodded vigorously. "I do have more business with you though." He reached into a bag he was carrying on his back and took out a wooden box, cing it on the table. "I am man who can get things." He boasted, removing the lid. Thereid a sword, made of a familiar blue ss. "Its name is Chillrend."


    "How beautiful." I ran my finger across the surface, it was exactly the same as the sample the Archmage gave me. "Where did you find it?" I doubt the excited look on my face was missed by him, but I was too happy to finally have this here.


    "Well...." He looked around, and I wasn''t quite sure why the dining area was rarely ever upied, people were always busy, never having time to sit down here and waste time. "You''ve heard about Riften, yes?"


    "I did, dragon attack, nasty thing." I nodded along, I did feel sympathy for those people at Riften.


    "Yes, but did you know the Thieves Guild is based in Riften?" He whispered.


    "I did not." Actually, I barely knew anything about the Thieves guild, really only their name referenced once or twice in a book.


    "Well, you didn''t hear this from me, but their previous leader had put his hands on the guild''s treasure. This only came out due to the aftermath of the dragon attack. One thing led to another, and a new master took his ce. I hear she''s been picking apart all of his possessions, trying to sell them away to refill the guild coffers."


    "And this was one of his?" I eyed the weapon.


    "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn''t." He gave an exaggerated shrug.


    "I see, and what is this costing me?"


    "Well, considering how much the gems and the axe sold for, you would owe me a little over a thousand septims...but, why don''t I just make it an even trade." He gave me a smirk. "Call it, the ''friend'' discount."


    "I believe this has been a mutually beneficial rtionship, and I look forward to your services for any future endeavors." I held out my hand, sharing the same smiling as him.


    He grabbed it, giving it a shake. "Yes, it has been most rewarding." With that he got up and left the room.


    I lifted the sword out of the box, putting it eye level, getting a feel for the weight.


    A light swing and it left behind a chilly mist in its wake. "It''s beautiful, right?" I asked, turning my head, eyeing Meridia sitting at the table. She had been appearing more oftentely, even if it was only for a few moments. Not that I''mining, I just hope she wasn''t disregarding anything important toe see me. These past two days she had popped in probably half a dozen times to merely exchange a few words before departing again.


    "My sword is better." She gave a small grunt.


    "Of course." I replied without a second thought. "Dawnbreaker is also much more powerful, you made it after all."


    "ttery will get you nowhere." She said, but her happy expression betrayed her words.


    I put the sword back away and put it all in my ring. "Would you like to go for a walk?" I offered my hand.


    "I....would like that." She stood up, taking my hand.


    I took her out of the dining area, through the may halls that housed arge font of magicka and out to the courtyard. "I suppose you don''t get much of a chance to walk among mortals?"


    "I never had a reason to before." She sniffed. "It generally caused more of a ruckus when I appeared in the past before my followers. I learned to keep my dealings more.... impersonal." She admired the view, peering over one of the ledges. "But I suppose there is a certain.... satisfaction, walking through Nirn with my own feet."


    "You know, you don''t have to always be the oneing to see me." I gave her hand a little squeeze, and a small smile.


    She paused at looked at me. "Are you referring to how you were able to connect to my realm of Oblivion without my permission?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "What ever could you be talking about?" I looked at her in mock confusion written all over my face.


    "Of course." She pursed her lips.


    "Hmm, I may know a thing or two.....perhaps I could even be susceptible to a bribe."


    "A bribe is it? Am I to assume the nature of this ''bribe'' involves my legs in some manner?" She eyed me suspiciously.


    "I can neither confirm nor deny that your magnificent legs might y a part in loosening my lips." I gave her a smirk.


    ***


    "Admittedly, this is not what I expected you to request."


    I looked up, staring into her Meridia''s beautiful eyes as my head rested on herp. "Oh, what did you expect? Please give a very detailed exnation."


    "Hmph, I won''t fall for your games." She huffed cutely. "To find out that my man is a deviant."


    I couldn''t help butugh a little. "So, I''m your man now?"


    "Is there any need to deny it?" She looked away with an ever so slight blush on her cheeks. So cute, it was too much and I gave her thigh a little squeeze. She gave a small yelp in surprise, looking back down at me and huffing again. "Is it about time to uphold your end of the bargain?" She crossed her arms.


    "It''s called the Kaleidoscope; A magic that allows me some manner of control over space and dimensions." Which was true.


    "I''ve never heard of such a thing." She looked at me thoughtfully. "How many people know about this ''magic'' of yours?"


    "Just me and my.....Grandfather." I guess I''ll just refer to my previous self as ''grandfather'' for now, makes it lessplicated.


    Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, I briefly wondered about him then pushed such thoughts aside, I was more focused on the beautiful woman whosep I now upied.


    "Perhaps that is for the best, the method in which you tore into my realm....I do not wish for it to be widespread. I shudder to think what would ur if one of the ''others'' could make use of such a method and possibly enter Nirn fully."


    I finally set up, adjusting myself next to her. "You know, I wasn''t joking when I said I coulde to you as well..."


    "You would venture into my realm of oblivion?" She looked at me incredulously. "I am not lessened there like I am here. I could do....anything to you I desired."


    "Anything, huh?" I raised an eyebrow. "As long as you''re gentle about it. It would be my first time after all."


    "That isn''t what I meant!" She puffed up. "Truly, your mind is only filled with perversions."


    "I me the goddess who seduced me." I wiggled my eyebrows for extra effect.


    "I did not seduce you!" She huffed out with exasperation.


    "I still remember that beautiful woman beckoning me, disying her legs in all their glory, offering me ''anything'' I wished with that e hither'' look." I gently ran my hand down her leg. I looked up into her eyes, they were not unweing but also a bit hesitant. If I wanted to push I probably could, but it didn''t feel right. Instead, I leaned over and ced my lips against hers.


    She was the one who broke the kiss, reluctance was written all over he face. "Will....."


    "Ah, is it time already?" She probably had to head back.


    "I must return." I could feel the hint of sadness she gave off.


    "I see." I stood up, taking her hands into mine as she followed. "I''ll miss you." I gave her a reassuring smile.


    "...Your absence will be noticeable." She replied, trying ever so hard to keep her expression neutral.


    Gods it was so adorable when she acted like this. I guess some things were still difficult for her to say out loud. I briefly wondered what would happen if I pinched her cheeks....but I didn''t want to ruin the mood.


    She looked down at our hands then back up to me. "I wouldn''t be remiss if you found yourself in my realm." She said quietly, disappearing back into oblivion. But I saw that small rosyplexion on her cheeks.


    That woman.....how can she be so cute and so scarily powerful at the same time? I just want to bully her a bit and see her reactions.


    Well, she probably would be able to step away again for a few days, at least. I may as well head to Whiterun and see if I can finally get this sword made now that I have all the pieces.

 Chapter 24 - 23

    <h4>Chapter 24: Chapter 23</h4>


    I casually strode through the entrance of Whiterun.


    It was about midday, the sun was high in the air and the temperature was actually veryfortable. I had flown all the way down from Winterhold, something I was a bit hesitant to due because of the ws'' surrounding flight. For some reason they ouwed flight-based magics pretty much over the entire empire, yet allowed various forms of teleportation. Bugger if I know why, I just didn''t want someone to spot me and get in trouble just because I was being impatient.


    And that wasn''t even considering my wings, it was usually just a good idea to not do it unless an emergency. Well, I saw Ancano skulking around and decided to head off that little annoyance and just sneak out and fly away from the college without any notice. I didnd a bit away from the city and walked the little distance in-between.


    It was a nice little trip, minus the giant fucking rat that tried to attack me. Creepy little bugger got blown the fuck up, but otherwise it was rxing.


    I waved to the guards who gave me a nod. I don''t know if it was the same ones, but they seemed friendly enough. Maybe it was and they noticed my clothing? I guess I''m rather memorable when most people wear robes and animal skins.


    What a lovely day it was, I was in a great mood! I had a wonderful woman that returned my affections, I was going to see a friend I hadn''t seen in a few days, and I was finally going to get my mystic code made.


    I put a few coins on a stall with some fresh produce up for sale, grabbing a couple apples with a wink towards the woman running it.


    Skyrim apples are really good, they tasted like a honeycrisps, if slightly sweeter. I wonder if I could grow some at home? Maybe open the market for a new kind of apple, build an apple empire, be the tyrant of produce!


    Eh, that sounds like too much work. Though I wouldn''t mind a tree or two for my own enjoyment. These would probably be even better if they were chilled, cold fruit is the way to go.


    I walked up to the....what was it called again, Jorrvaskr, the Companions building.


    The boat building.


    "Thorum, think fast" I shouted, as I opened the door spotting my friend, and tossing him an apple.


    He was sitting at a table, holding what looked like some ice to his head. He barely even looked at he caught the apple, before taking a confused look. "Will!" He greeted me happily.


    There were a few others in the building, but it seemed rather quiet overall.


    "Heya." I sat down next to him. "You look....not too good?"


    "Aye, took a bit of a hit on the noggin in thest mission." He flexed his hand and the ice.... disappeared.


    "Thorum! Did you learn magic?" I was genuinely surprised.,


    He smiled bright. "I took your advice and picked up a few books at the market."


    "Well done." I was impressed. "What have you learned?" I took another bite of my apple.


    "Just Frostbite and mes." He replied. "I tried the basic healing spell, but I''ve been having trouble with it. I''m officially in charge of chilling all the mead now." He gave a good-naturedugh.


    Well....that is a good use of magic. "Tell me, what happened to you?" I cast my own healing spell on him.


    "Farengar, the Jarl''s Court-Wizard, paid for the Companions to seek out a tablet from the Bleak Falls Barrow."


    "Bleak Falls Barrow.....where have I heard that name before?"


    "It''s the ancient ruins between Whiterun and Helgen."


    "Ah, I remember seeing it on a map now. Lots of Draugr I presume?"


    "Aye, they were many, but the Companions couldn''t be stopped by a few undead." He said with pride. "It wasn''t until we met Deathlord at the end that we finally met a worthy opponent. Even in undeath, the masters of the Thu''um are not to be trifled with."


    "I''ve run into one of those. A necromancer raised one under Meridia''s statue when I took that job."


    "You''ve fought one by yourself!?" Thorum sped my shoulder. "My friend that was mighty dangerous of you."


    "It worked out." I waved him off. "What about you?"


    "The Companions fought hard, with our teamwork we managed to subdue the undead. I merely got clipped by one of its shouts." He looked a little sheepish. "But we returned with the tablet, something to do about the dragons that the Court-Wizard is using to study."


    "How was the loot, both times I''ve delved into an old tomb or temple I''ve gotten a lot of good stuff."


    "A few enchanted weapons and some treasure. Shouldst the Companions several months if rationed well." He brushed off his apple before taking a bite. "What brings you around Whiterun again, my friend."


    "I finally got all the stuff to make my magical foci, I just need a good smith to help me forge it."


    "Eorlund Gray-Mane is at the forge right now, and I think you''re in luck, he doesn''t have anyrgemissions."


    I stood up from my seat quickly. "As always Thorum, you are the best." I pat him on the shoulder as I head out the back doors towards the forge.


    ***


    "Waddya want, boy?" The old smith looked at me as I walked up the steps towards the supposed ''sky forge''.


    I''ve only heard a few things about this forge, supposed to make really good steel weapons, good enough that they have their own name to differentiate them. As one would assume ''skyforge steel''


    "Well, I was hoping you''d be willing to take on a very specificmission for me."


    "Hmm, whatcha need?" He didn''t look too interested, barely sparing my a nce.


    "A magical Foci in the shape of a sword."


    He paused his working and turned to face me. "Do I look like a mage, boy?"


    "I don''t need you to be a mage, I need you to do the forging, I can do all the magical aspects."


    He let out a snort. "You want me to work around you, then?" He raised an eyebrow. "I don''t just let anyone into my forge when I''m working."


    "2,000 septims." I just threw out my savings.


    Once again he just paused and blinked at me. "Exin to me what it is you actually need."


    "I''ll do you one better." I withdrew a few pieces of parchment from my ring. Just because I had been resting a few days, didn''t mean Ized around. "These are the schematics." I rolled them out on the nearby table.


    He dropped the hammer and plyers in his hand and walked over, ttening the rolled pages and getting a good look. "This is mad." He finally said.


    "Can you not do it?" I challenged.


    "You want the de part to be made of ss?"


    "Not just any ss." I took out Chillrend and the small chunk I had stored.


    "What is....." He picked up the sword. "I don''t think I''ve ever heard of ss like this." He admired the weapon. "And you want me to.....reforge this?"


    "Yup." I said with a gleeful smile.


    "It''s a pity, this sword is beautiful." He sighed, setting it down. "You''re luckyd, not many Nords can work with ss like I can. But the other stuff, you must be mad if you think this will work. You want the handle made out of ebony, with Orichalcum enamel and what looks like Moonstone running inside all the way to the de from the base of the hilt...and there is a little spherical section at the base where something should go, an ornament of sorts."


    "Can you do it?"


    "....Son, this is the most ridiculous sword I''ve ever seen....and I''m now too curious to see how it turns out."


    Well, the pride of a cksmith is an interesting thing.


    "And I''m sure a couple thousand septims doesn''t hurt."


    "Aye, the money is well worth it." He nodded without a second thought.


    "I''m going to have to smelt this sword down first, and this ss isn''t what I''m more used to it may take some trial and error."


    I took off my vest, and unbuttoned my shirt, and rolled up my sleeves. "I''m here to assist."


    "You ever assist in smithing, son?"


    "I know a thing or two." I smirked. "I''ll get on the bellows, tell me when the temperature is good."


    "Alright, it''s your money and materials, don''t be cryin to me when something goes wrong." He shrugged.


    **********************


    "HOLD IT, THIS GLASS IS DAMN FINNICKY, ANY HIGHER AND IT''LL SHATTER."


    "Fuck, this wood is burning too quick, I''ll throw some frost magic at it."


    "Steady! It''s melting good now. Good, slowly lower the temperature..."


    **********************


    "Did you not see my drawing!? The Moonstone needs to be iid at the base of the ss."


    "I''m tellin you, the ss will get too brittle if you try to add the moonstone after it fully settles!"


    "Then how the hells are you going to cast the ebony and orichalcum overtop if you do the moonstone first!?"


    "Brat I''ve been doing this before your mother even thought about conceiving you! Moonstone has a higher melting point due to its purer magic nature, we can put a mold of the Ebony on after we get this bit in first!"


    "Alright, fine, you''re the expert."


    ************************


    "Hold it steady, boy. I don''t need you fucking it up at thest part."


    "Just pour the Orichalcum in, old man, make sure you mix some more of my blood in."


    "First line is done....second line is done......and there''s thest one. So, get ready to quench...now!"


    ************************


    "Amazing." I blurted out as Eorlund put the finishing touches on my weapon.


    He held it in a pair of tongs, the steam stilling from the cooled metal. Carefully, he set down to fully cool off. "This turned out well." he admired his work. "Exin to me how this works."


    "Ebony rejects magicka, so it gets all funneled into to Orichalcum. Orichalcum eats up all the magical energy, but doesn''t like letting it go, so the Moonstone takes it and carries it to the ss de which can be used for spells." I listed off my thoughts on its creation.


    I couldn''t just use the Orichalcum for the handle, if I had too much Orichalcum then my magical energy would never be pushed off into the moonstone to the ss. And any other metal would general takee magical energy into it, essentially wasting the runoff, whereas Ebony is both extremely durable and doesn''t want my magical energy. And moonstone suffers from being to weak a material for a more physical use. A good hit on the handle and it would have been damaged. The ss itself was stronger than steel and took in magical energy like it was starving, but it would be dangerous to make the entire thing out of pure ss. I needed to separate the part that handles spellcasting from what I was ''holding''.


    "But there''s onest material to add..."


    Right, Ddraig?


    [You want this now?]


    Yeah, I''m ready for it.


    I summoned my boosted gear, earning a look from the cksmith but I ignored it for now. It came out without any fanfare, no huge world-changing events.


    The Eye of Magnus.


    It was just a small little orb in the palm of my hand, smaller than even a gold coin. And that wasn''t because of the excess magicka I drained from it. This thing was still going strong, just less vtile. No, the size waspletely irrelevant. Its ''physical'' form didn''t truly exist it was an exertion into this ne of existence, and it was how we perceived it. I could therefore ''shrink'' it down to something manageable.


    Carefully, I inserted the Eye into the base of the pommel, a small opening that allowed it to ''click'' into ce.


    My sword hummed as the Eye filled the entire thing with power.


    I picked up my finished sword, giving it a careful swing. With another swing, I pulled upon the Kaleidoscope and filled it with the dimensional energies as it lit up in a rainbow light. For some reason the ss retained that ''chill'' like fog every time I swung, the light let off a sort of ''afterimage'' because of the cold air.


    "The weapon needs a name." Eorlund spoke up. "It''s too good a work of mine to be nameless."


    Well, I thought of name immediately. "Mirage."


    ****


    Author''s Notes: I''ll add a picture of the sword in thements.

 Chapter 25 - 24

    <h4>Chapter 25: Chapter 24</h4>


    I wasn''t giggling to myself like a child, regardless of what Ddraig would say. I was merely appreciating my amazing new sword.


    Mirage.


    I repeated the name several times in my head as I swung the sword about. The afterimage that blurred every time it cut through the air just made it all the more beautiful.


    My instinct was telling me that this sword would be able to fully handle the might of my Magic. The addition of the Eye of Magus....well, I would even put it on par with my old jeweled sword. Maybe slightly different in application, but topare them side by side, I don''t think mine would lose out.


    Truthfully, I felt more whole than I had since my memories had surfaced. The feeling that I''m no longer ''constrained''.


    I had to stop myself from thoroughly testing this thing here and now, I was getting some ''looks'' as I swung it around near the cksmith area.


    One of the things I did in the immediate timeframe was sort of program my Calctions into my sword. The Eye of Magus was many things, some which I had yet to still decipher, but it was more than capable of acting as a sort of magical puter'' to process what I needed and help along my Magic. Perhaps its nature as a higher dimensional object had led to its ability of synchronize with those aspects of the Kaleidoscope.


    Not just that, the sword itself was powered to an impressive level with the inclusion of the Eye in the hilt. There was also the side benefit of being able to draw in magical energy faster than I could with my old jeweled sword, though further testing was required.


    It really felt good toplete this thing after working towards it for about a bit now.


    A thought did cross my mind, I really need to brush up on my swordsmanship. Since I''ll probably be using my sword as an actual sword.....it would be better to perhaps find a teacher somewhere.


    Now though...I''m kinda at a loss on what to do.


    Well...there''s always that one ce that the Archmage told me about. I wouldn''t mind picking up another ridiculously powerful object. I did find a map of where the ruins were when I was bored the other day.....and I really wanted to get some practice in with this thing.


    With a shrug, I shed open infront of me as the immediate air distorted and a vibrant disy of colors formed a portal.


    I''m back baby.


    ***


    As I reaffirmed my spot on the world-line and reentered the normal flow of the world, the view came forward and the cold air once more hit my face.


    "ROOOOARR"


    A familiar sound vibrated infront of me as I apparently appeared right into the nests of a few trolls.


    Well....I did want some test subjects.


    I was curious about thebat applications of my weapon. I pulled on the kaleidoscope, and I felt a weird sensation vibrate from the Eye, I had felt it previously, but I was in no position to test it. Here though, it looks like these trolls were volunteering, how considerate.


    They were dozens of feet away and I swung Mirage with a slow overhead sh.


    The space infront of me distorted....no that isn''t quite right. The space was fine, it didn''t shatter nor break in any way. It''s more like.....what did they call this in the east....sword phantom? Attaching your intent on your de and releasing it in a sh to extend the range. I was sort of doing something like that.....but with magical energy apparently.


    I think the Eye was doing it somehow.


    Oh, I see now. I think the Eye can''t ''exist'' in multiple realities simultaneously when all connected, therefore when I attempt to use something like the Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, there is a sort of physical reaction where the magical energy generated Is amplified and then kind of ''solidified'' onto the sword. To pull on magical energy from multiple realities, my sword has to simultaneously exist within those realities at the same time, I don''t just open a portal and let my sword drink its fill. That would require too much time.


    My sword acts as a ''nexus'' bridging and ovepping between how many worlds I wish to pull from and to gather the required amount without harming the native dimensions. It was one of the reasons I need a ''foci'' to perform this feat, while I could technically do so without my sword, my body would expload pretty quickly. Even using this method, It can be very straining on my body. The amount my previous self had to pull on to push back the moon was a good indicator of this, his body never recovered even though he''s practically immortal.


    The Eye essentially ''sees'' itself even though only one exists, and thus tries to pull on its own magical energy creating this effect.


    Basically, I can cheat and use this to my advantage. There is no true harm done, just something I need to take into consideration for the future.


    I''m reminded of that one Heroic Spirit that used a Sword Technique to mimic Magic. And here I am using Magic to mimic a sword technique.


    Needless to say, the Troll was bisected with ease.


    There were two more and I was suddenly filled with inspiration. That Heroic Spirit, he used the dimensional Refraction Phenomenon to attack three times in a single breath. I have true ess to the Kaleidoscope....couldn''t I figure out something simr? Granted I don''t have the confidence to im his skills with a sword, but I would dare anyone to say my Magic doesn''t reach the standard.


    I mentally began to run some calctions in my head as another Troll roared and charged towards me with itsnky body.


    I rxed my own body, taking Mirage with two hands and going into a loose stance.


    When it got close enough I simply moved to stab it through the chest and as its wed-hands swung down, my sword pieced its heart but I was also behind it, stabbing it through the back.


    I felt a pulling sensation and a sudden stifling feeling as I walked a few feet away from the now-dead troll. It wasn''t exactly painful, but not something pleasant to feel either, perhaps I''m just not used to the sensation.


    I was in two ces at once as I both stabbed the troll from the front and back. Neither were ''me'' yet both of them were true until my own ''presence'' was reaffirmed and realigned unto the world.


    What a strange feeling, is this how that Heroic Spirit felt when he uses his technique? It seemed like a sess on the surface, my body was a little stiff, though nothing beyond that, but I think I just need to train it more.


    I waved my sword casually to the side, cutting the head off thest troll as it got close. The power behind the umted energy was impressive even after seeing it once more.


    What should I call this technique?


    I suppose I should pay homage to my inspiration, what did that guy call his own attack --- Tsubame Gaeshi, The Swallow Reversal. If I remember correctly, he made a cage of three sword strikes whereas I attack twice, once from the front and once from the back.....


    I''ll call it Swallow Returns to pay homage.


    Well, if I''m ying off the theme I may as well all my ''flying sh'' in the same way as well. One sh ¨C one bird? I should be able to actualize more with further training.


    I looked towards a nearby cliff. "Two Birds" I said as I swung forward, and two more magical sword phantoms flew off and cleaved a chunk out of the rock. Oveying multiple swings using the Kaleidoscope, I could perform this technique multiple times to truly copy those eastern sword skills that were lost to time.


    Well, I was never good at naming things but this should do for now.


    It still took a bit of concentration to pull these moves off, maybe attaching a trigger word and calling out their names would help. I could certainly hypnotize myself to streamline the whole thing. Arias existed for a reason, a trigger phrase often helped one focus even without resorting to hypnotizing on yourself. Especially when belief was such a crucial element in any spellcasting.


    I should put all that on hold for the moment, I don''t want to get sidetracked, gods know I do easily.


    Now where''s that entrance....


    ***


    Fuck, this ce was confusing, I must have run around for twenty minutes trying to find the entrance. These big stone doors were surprisingly difficult to find.


    Oh, how cute, it''s magically locked.


    I put my hand on the door that didn''t have any key. "Boop."


    With a thought I appeared on the other side, only having to cast a Structural Grasp to see how far the stone door extended so I could know the distance I had to teleport from.


    As I took a few steps inside therge chamber, it began to rumble and shake. There wererge bones in the area that were lifted up off the ground, all shooting towards the center of the area as theybined into arge, familiar shape.


    "Is that a fucking skeleton dragon?" I couldn''t help but blurt out.


    It was....decentlyrge and a bit intimidating. Except, it was a skeleton. If it were a zombie, I may be a bit more rmed, but it was literally just bones that were reanimated and forced into the figure of a dragon.


    I drew Dawnbreaker from my ring and with Telekinesis guiding it, I threw the de at the undead. Easily piercing through the necromantic magics holding the thing together as a burst of white-light red up and exploded outwards.


    I pulled the sword back to me, looking at it. "How was that, I just yed a dragon, your man is amazing, right?" I spoke to the sword.


    There was no response, clearly, she was too awestruck at my mighty figure.


    On a side note, free dragon bones! These are mine now.


    "Wo meyz wah dii vul junaar?"


    I stopped looking around as I felt something shudder around me. It sounded like someone just spoke.... projecting their voice from far away. Hell, the magical energy in the surroundings werepletely drained just from the pressure.


    It says a lot that I couldn''t understand whatevernguage was spoken, even though I can technically speak anynguage due to my devil heritage. It sounded somewhat simr to those shouts the Draugr used on me, was this thing speaking in dragon...was there a dragon here?


    Such a thought did give me pause, but at the same time I dismissed the idea. The Archmage had apparently been here before, I doubt he wouldn''t have warned me of a dragon.


    Though he did say there were some extraordinary foes here.... I best be on my guard.


    "Nivahriin muz fen siiv nid aaz het."


    Again, the voice sounded out and the magical energy in the air stirred, in fact, it felt like it tried to drain MY mana.


    No.


    I felt the origin of the voice and used it as a reference and sliced open a portal.


    I opened my eyes to find myself in a new chamber. There was a strange magical phenomenon in here. It looked like two ghosts were channeling a spell to keep an undead mage in stasis.


    Weird.


    I took a closer look at the undead mage, it was holding something that made my hair stand up on my arms. That was definitely not a normal staff, it even had simr markings as the Eye of Magnus.....is this the Staff of Magnus or something?


    If someone else were here, they would probably have to release the undead if they wanted to im the staff...well unlucky for them.


    A mere stasis spell? Pfft, I could get around this in my diapers. I withdrew Mirage and sliced through the little bubble, cutting off the zombie''s hand holding the staff and pulling it out, all without disturbing the quaint little spell.


    So much power I felt swell up inside me. If the Eye channeled infinite magical energy, this staff was one big amplifier. No wonder the Archmage said these wouldplement one another. Though a normal person would probably burn themselves inside and out trying to use them in tandem. I, myself, had to be careful until I could test these further.


    Better stash this away for now in my ring.


    Now that I think about it....why didn''t he want toe get it for himself?


    I didn''t really think he was nning anything nefarious, my instincts told me he was being sincere in all our dealings, and I usually trusted my gut on such things.


    Well, I guess I won''t find out unless I asked him.


    Nothing else I need here. I just tossed the little zombie hand to the side and teleported away.

 Chapter 26 - 25

    <h4>Chapter 26: Chapter 25</h4>


    I popped over in Whiterun again, just finding a back alley to not draw attention, I felt like I left a bit abruptly after finishing my sword and I wanted to check back in with Thorum and.....show it off if I was being honest.


    I wonder if he would know anyone who was a good sword trainer? I wouldn''t call myself a novice, but I was in no way a master. Even if the previous me was a master, which he wasn''t, these kinds of things need to be physically built up, things like muscle memory and instinct thoroughly trained throughbat.


    But until then I had a few more thoughts regarding my magecraft, specifically towards my application of runes. I had three spells so far that I considered ''mine''.


    Bindings of Gaia, using the earth to bind the target with roots/vines. It corresponded to Midgard in the Norse Mythology.


    Fires of Muspelheim, exactly as it sounds, intense fire that basically goes ''fuck everything in that direction''.


    And the third one was Freezing Winds of Jotunheim, that produced a cascading freezing wind that emanated out from my position.


    This wasn''t just to stay on a certain theme either, three spells so far that correspond to three of the Norse Mythologies'' Nine Realms. Once Ipleted them, there should be a noticeable increase in their abilities as I''m borrowing the weight of an entire world-view. There was a reason that Mages tend to name things under godly domains or corresponding to certain figures when applicable. The concepts still existed and could be tapped into, as diminished as they were in the current era. There was a downside as well, they would then also be open to weaknesses thate with their borrowed identity.


    If I were to say, fight someone with a lineage that could be traced back to the Jotun, or giants, of Jotunheim, my freezing spell would have little to no effect even if you discounted any immunities that the individual possessed inherently.


    Conceptually, why would a ''Jotun'' be frozen by ''Jotunheim'' cold? That is one of the essences of ''Mystery'' it takes on apletely different form of ''logic'' than the human perception that is prevalent today.


    But I digress, I had a few more thoughts on some more spells. A shield based on Asgard, was one of my new choices, I wascking in the defense department.


    Maybe I should wait until I head back to my home reality before Iplete these. I think I would be able to find better reference material there.


    I was lost in my own thoughts, but something stood out enough in the streets to give me pause.....where was everyone? I''ve only been gone a few hours, not even five by my count, yet there was no one here.


    "Oi, you, what are you doing outside!?" A turned the corner, immediately shouting at me.


    "What? I was.....preupied for a few hours and I just came out, what''s wrong?"


    "Did you not hear, you daft boy? A dragon attacked the western watch tower! Most of the Guards are already over there fighting it. Even the Companions moved out." He eximed.


    "Thepanions, all of them!?" That means....Thorum is out there fighting a god damn dragon.


    "Aye, even the Jarl''s personal guard is out there." He shook his head. "Hurry and get somewhere inside, if ites overhere¡ª"


    "I''m a mage, I can help."


    He paused for a moment, barely even giving the time to think. "Fine, alright. There''s another group to reinforce them about to head out, follow me." He hurriedly waved his hand over.


    There were probably less than twenty overall, I had no idea how long they had been fighting or how many had already been sent, but it seemed like it was all hands on deck here. There were even a few that didn''t look like soldiers, not that they didn''t carry themselves like they could hold a weapon, but clearly different attire.


    The ''leader'' didn''t even bat an eye as I followed, I guess they were quite desperate here. "Follow me, we''re there to grab the wounded and provide relief. That means arrows on the flying lizard and potions to the main fighters. Don''t crowd around the Companions, let them do their job."


    Hell, there wasn''t even a loose formation we were practically sprinting towards the west, I saw the Watchtower in the distance, I cast a Reinforcement on my eyes to get a better view.


    I could see someone at the top of a half-demolished tower jump off onto the dragon as it shouted.


    "FUS RO DAH" The dragon bellowed loud enough to be heard this far away, blowing apart the remains of therge stone structure.


    "Thorum!?" I shouted in disbelief, seeing the familiar figure of my friend having the brilliant idea to try and mount the god damn dragon.


    "Divines, that man is crazy." A man next to my shouted.


    "Aye, he''s a fearless one, which Companion was that?"


    "Maybe he can hurt the thing from on top?"


    The dragon took to the skies practically piercing the clouds, spinning and flipping. It didn''t take long for Thorum to lose his grip and fall, and it was a long way down so much so that he was barely even a dot with my reinforced eyes.


    I saw a few of the guards look away, not wanting to watch.


    I tensed up, was this shock? For a brief moment my body wouldn''t even respond.


    Wait....why was I even hesitating? Who cares if people know I''m a half-devil why was I even hiding this aspect of myself? Because I was embarrassed? Because I didn''t like their origin?. Who the fuck cares about any of that crap, I actually have people I care about now.


    My wings exploded out from behind me.


    My body reinforced, and I didn''t stop there.


    "BOOST" Me and Ddraig roared as the Gauntlet appeared on my hand.


    I pushed off the ground and the air around me distorted, pushing the guards next to me away. Fast, that was all I could think about.


    Faster.


    I saw his body falling, helpless iling in the air.


    FASTER.


    "BOOST"


    I had no time to even consider the second boost as a boom erupted behind my back, elerating to a speed unprecedented.


    "YOU DAMN IDIOT" I yelled, catching Thorum only a few dozen feet off the ground, my momentum all disjointed as I crashed with him in my grasp. The dirt kicked up, stone and rubble burst out from ournding as I took the brunt of it.


    "Will!?" He coughed, blood leaking from his mouth.


    I felt my wing bend at an angle it wasn''t ustomed to as I stood up. The pain was....something hard to describe. I don''t think I can fly with it like this, no I definitely can''t. Even dismissing my wings was excruciatingly painful.


    Thorum also stood up, shacking, knees almost buckling under the strain as I shoved a healing potion in his hands. He looked at it, then to me, eyeing my wings before gulping it down. "You....have wings." He just said dumbly.


    "Yeah." It was all I could say in response, looking away.


    Is it weird that I have enough self reflection to realize I''m self conscious about my wings but can''t actively get over it even If I recognize how stupid it is?


    Fuck my wings hurt, no time to think about dumb things right now, I''ll have a pity partyter.


    He shook his head, wiping some dirt from his eyes. "The others.....the dragon went up into the clouds. It picks off anyone who tries to run away. We had to keep the wounded here." He pointed towards behind arge piece of rubble where I saw dozens of people sitting, standing,ying as wounds covered their bodies. That wasn''t to mention all the corpses I could see and chose not toment on, they were everywhere.


    Burned, frozen, impaled, or simply squashed under weight of a several ton dragon.


    "It''s ying around." I could only helplessly admit. The way it destroyed the watchtower, it had the kind of power to do that, there was no reason it would leave these people here like this otherwise.


    "We figured that out already." He grit out.


    "I can....put a shield up around them, how many others can fight?"


    "There is no one else." Thorum lowered his head. "It only let mest this long because it found me.....amusing, in its own words."


    I''ve never seen Thorum like this before, it''s like all the hope died in his heart.


    I felt an indescribable rage in my heart, itpletely overshowed the pain I was feeling. How dare this damn dragon harm MY friend like this? IT DARES TO TOUCH SOMETHING OF MINE?


    "You have me now." I reassured him gritting my teeth and pushing down my anger.


    He gave a sad smile. "What''s the n?"


    "It''s probably watching us now....I''ll put a shield around the wounded so we can fight it out." I wasn''t lying it was probably watching us, if it was really just ying around, it would probably let us ''set up'' for more amusement.


    I withdrew the Staff of Magnus from my ring.


    Moving to the center of the wounded, I saw their eyes fall on me. I recognized a few guards I had met before, the Companions who I had talked with and even the old man who was close to death hade up. He looked bad.....running on fumes here. How many of them were even conscious, how many faces did I recognize that were now missing body parts?


    My mana swelled and burst out, enough to affect everyone around me.


    I liked these people, they were good to me. Skyrim, in general was a ce I wouldn''t have mind calling home and now something dares to make a mess here, right infront of me!?


    The Runes emerged, dozens, hundreds of them all floating around as I coalesced the spell. Using the underlying concepts of Greater Ward, applying it in the same manner as a Bound Field.


    "This mongrel, I''ll tear all its scales off one by one." I tried my best to hold back a snarl as my spell came together.


    My calctions were quick and rough, this spell would not be any masterpiece, but it would be actualized to my needs, I would force it to a suitable level. I was more prone to using finesse, but in this circumstance I''m willing to brute force it.


    I anchored it with a Divine Construct.


    "Shield of Asgard!" I mmed the Staff of Magnus into the ground.


    The Runes shimmered and actualized forming a translucent shield all around us. The dome giving a rejuvenating effect as a warmth overcame everything inside.


    The Staff was absurd, amplifying the properties of the spell to a whole new level. I don''t think I could break this spell without some serious effort and cheating. If it were any other situation, I may have been embarrassed by such sloppy spellcasting. It was quite literally being help up by divine might.


    There was nothing I could do for now, my repertoire wasn''t excellent when it came to defensive spells.


    I grabbed Thorum and cast the best Healing Spell I could muster. I saw his pale face visibly get more healthy. "Give me your sword."


    Thorum looked at me in confusion but handed over his steel weapon. It still had my original enchantments on it but I swept my hand across the t casting a Reinforcement. "This is temporary but shouldst long enough. It''s a lot more durable and sharper now." I tossed it back.


    "This isn''t the worst way to die." Thorum chuckled, staring at his weapon.


    "Haaah." I let out a long breath. "I never did tell you, I got myself a woman....and she''s going to kill me when she finds out I picked a fight with a dragon."


    Thorum snorted inughter. "If we could I would give you a toast.....what''s her name?"


    "Meridia." I smiled, picturing her face.


    "Is she named after the Daedric Lord...?" He asked.


    "No."


    He tilted his head, a look of understanding slowing covering his face. "Oh.....you did have that job back at Meridia''s statue by Solitude, didn''t you...."


    "Yup." My lips slowly curled up as I knew he put two and two together.


    "....I think that deserved two drinks at least." Heughed harder. "It may be better to die by the dragon''s hands then."


    I couldn''t help but chuckle. "Well, her angry face is cute, it alteast gives me something to look forward to."


    If there was something that could calm me down, it was the thought of her.


    "It''sing." He suddenly jerked his head up.


    I blinked, looking up. Thorum somehow detected the dragon before me?


    The colossal beast of scales and deathnded on arge piece of rubble that had been the destroyed tower, opposite of us.


    "Hi Kos new." The dragon...spoke, looking towards me. "Hi smell do dovah, kos hi dii zeymah? Or los nii aan dovahkiin... niid."


    I stared at the dragon, looking at it''s body while it wasted time. There were some marks and even some blood draw here and there. It looks like the people here did some work on the beast, but it was still practically unscathed.


    "Must I use thisnguage, then?" The dragon once more took my attention. "Why do you smell like Dovah, little mortal?"


    "Because I fucked your mother." I replied without skipping a beat. Truly my days on the inte had not been wasted.


    Thorum looked at me, absolutely shocked.


    The dragon looked at me, just as surprised I blurted that out.


    "You mortals, such bravery in the face of death." The dragon finally spoke with augh. "It is why hunting you is so much fun."


    "Fun? All this is because of fun?" I hissed, hearing it actually speak those words made my blood boil. "You will beg for death by the time I''m done with you." I growled.


    "Little not-dovah, does this make you angry? Thene, battle me, sh your steel against my scales!"


    You didn''t need to tell me, I moved as the ground below me burst apart. Grabbing Mirage from my ring. "One bird." I shouted, slicing the air infront of me as the sword phantom shot out.


    "What!?" The dragon shouted in confusion as a few of its scales were torn apart at the impact, drawing blood from the creature who no doubt hadn''t expected it.


    "Two Birds!" I focused again, swinging my de as two more shot off.


    "Wuld Nah Kest" The dragon shouted, moving from the ground up into the air high above within the blink of an eye.


    It dodged with ease as it gained speed and flew around the battlefield. "Yol Toor Shul." It''s loud voice echoing in my ears, the mes spouted from its mouth and burned towards me.


    "10 Birds!" I shouted again, swinging my sword. It was ten swings oveid upon one another. No, it should have been so, but only a half dozen manifested, flying towards the dragon as I clenched my hand as tightly as possible as to not drop my sword. I felt muscles tearing in my arm at the strain, blood vessels rupturing under the surface.


    Arrogant fucking dumbass!!! I couldn''t help but chastise myself, I hadn''t even fully tested this yet my calctions on the initial creation were bare fucking bones. I was too caught up in my own bullshit and didn''t think it through properly.


    The dragon seemed content on ''trading'' letting its scales get split in several ces as it swooped down, avoiding any true damage and bellowed out its mes.


    I hurriedly grabbed Thorum and moved out of the way, the me turning the stone to g as it passed over.


    "Let me see if I can bring him down, wait for a chance." I told him as he nodded and ducked for cover. He didn''t have much long range, so he would have to y the role of ast resort. I had a few cards to y if I had someone waiting in the rear.


    I aimed Mirage at the flying dragon, spell circles spun around my de. "Ether Canon" It was the biggest one I''ve performed since my memories returned. It was big enough to blow the head off the dragon.


    Perhaps that''s why the dragon realized the danger. "Tiid Klo Ui"


    I could feel time distort around the dragon as its wings tucked it and it rolled under my spell, dodging it within a hair''s breath before unfurling its wings again and taking back higher into the skies.


    I frowned in annoyance, flicking my hand and sending another dozen spells soaring to it, all helplessly sshing against its scales. My runic circles were doing nothing but distracting it for now as lightning shot forth, fire crashed against its body and ice spears tried to impale it, all to no avail.


    My scowl deepened, I didn''t have any more talismans to utilize the creation cycle and bolster something worth a damn and it was keenly aware of my Ether Canon now, something that would most definitely be able to harm it.


    Dammit, this was one of the worse opponents for the current me. Most my magic does nothing and my Ether cannon is useless if I can''t hit it, my wings making it so I couldn''t take the fight into the air. I had thoughts about perhaps portaling high up then casting something but that would just leave me to susceptible to counter attacks. I briefly thought about grabbing the Staff again....but the thought of Thorum losing all his friends made me hesitate.


    "Distort" I quickly cast, allowing a few dozen copies of me to flood out in every direction, giving me a moments of breathing room.


    "Fuck me" I cursed under my breath, because I could swear I saw it ''smile'' as it intentionally went after all the fakes.


    Motherfucking lizard was ying with ME.


    [There is an obvious choice here.] Ddraig finally spoke up.


    "I didn''t think you would offer it to me." I reined in my temper, getting impaired due to my anger would be unwise.


    [I hadn''t nned to.... until recently.]


    I pulled out a health potion, drinking it to thest drop. I kept my spell barrage up on the dragon, to at least keep its attention. This would be easier if my wing wasn''t crippled for the moment, this health potion not doing much to mend a metaphysical limb.


    "And what changed?" I grit out.


    [The way you rushed in to save your friend.]


    "Really? I didn''t think you cared about such things, is that why you allowed me a second boost. Were you inspired by the power friendship?" I snorted, my body was already aching from that little tidbit, but I was ignoring it for now. It''s not like I wasn''t hurt in other ces worse.


    [I didn''t allow it, you did it yourself. I told you before, I forced the Boosted Gear back into its Twice-Critical status, that meant the normal conditions still applied. Desire and willpower, those are the two aspects that trigger Sacred Gears. You were acknowledged by the Boosted Gear, you pushed past the false fa?ade and were able to ess MY power.]


    [I acknowledge you, Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. Not because of who you were, but because of who you are now. You are still rough around the edges, but I don''t regret being taken by you. Now, there is a path open to you right now, do you wish to take it?]


    I couldn''t help butugh a smile forming on my face. "All it takes is giving up a piece of myself to you, isn''t that right?"


    [Indeed, that is the condition for using the Bnce Breaker before you can unlock it the normal way, but that isn''t much of a detriment for you, now is it? My normal host would need help to expel the draconic power from his body at certain intervals less he goes wild, but you are not a normal host.]


    I could take Thorum and run, but then the others would die. I could maybe buy time and send them away as well, but then the dragon would attack the town.


    I didn''t consider myself a hero, but I had my own pride. And at this particr moment, I wanted to pull that dragon down from the skies and make it beg for mercy.


    There was only one option.


    "My heart, take my heart." I said without hesitation.


    [Good choice.]


    As he said that I screamed in pain. My heart physically changing inside my body. I could only w at the ground beneath me, my fingers dyed in blood as the skin was ripped at the tips and my eyes almost rolled back from the alteration to my heart. I swung my body wildly, doing anything to keep myself conscious. It seemed like an eternity, yet I doubt even a minute had passed before I finally regained some manner of my self control.


    "Little whelp, you asked why he smelled like a dragon?" Ddraig spoke outside the Boosted Gear for the first time as I did my best to regain my senses and control over my body.


    The dragon paused his assault, gliding overhead and staring down.


    "I AM Y DDRAIG GOCH, THE RED DRAGON EMPEROR, AND HE IS THE ONE I HAVE CHOSEN AS MY PARTNER."


    [Show him, show this little whelp our power.]


    I stood up straight, eyes locking with the flying beast who had force me into this state.


    We shouted as one.


    "WELSH DRAGON, BALANCE BREAKER."

 Chapter 27 - 26

    <h4>Chapter 27: Chapter 26</h4>


    ****


    It echoed out all across thend, the birds dispersed, the trees swayed, and any animal with a modicum of intelligence hid for their lives, carried on the winds throughout the corners of Skyrim.


    A roar that could shake heaven and earth.


    Ddraig let the entire world know of his presence here.


    [You don''t have much time, and the more moves beyond regr boosting you use, the shorter the time will be.]


    "I need wings." I grit out, this was already taking a major toll on my body.


    [Done.]


    As he said that, I felt the draconic wings sprout behind my shoulders. They were simr to my devil wings and I instinctively knew how to use them.


    "Boost." I said quietly, letting the feeling wash over me. I looked up at the dragon again, he was still staring at me, utterly confused by what he had just witnessed. Perhaps it was the novelty of the whole situation that it couldn''tprehend, something new it its life, that made it just want to watch me for a few moments. Well, I would use this time well then.


    "Boost."


    "Boost."


    "Boost, Boost, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST."


    The limits on my boosting were gone. At the base stage, the gauntlet can only let me boost every 10 seconds, and before I could only do it once, but now, the only limits where what I could physically handle. Which admittedly, were not much when taking into consideration that I was not physically at my best.


    What a rush of power, it was almost intoxicating. If I didn''t have experience wielding such massive amounts of raw magic, I may have been lost in my own temporary strength.


    I shot up, one moment I was on the ground, next I was staring into the dragon''s eyes from only a foot away. The world was almost slow in my eyes at the speed I could now move at.


    Its eyes dted ever so slightly, surprised was over its face "Tii¡ª"


    "None of that." I said calmly grabbing its neck, allowing my hand to dig into its skin, distorting the smaller scales around its neck. I held it for a moment before pulling on my newfound strength and introducing it to the ground, hard enough that a new crater formed on impact.


    "YOU!" The Dragon spoke in rage and confusion. The dust and grime kicked up from the impact had been swept away at the p of its wings. "You are no Dovah! There is none of Father''s spirit within you!"


    A boom erupted as I moved again, colliding with its prone form. I felt its scales crack under the force of my blow, the spikes that littered its spine were smashed and blown apart. I still held my sword in hand, and I flipped it upside down, stabbing it down into the dragon''s hide. Slowly, pushing down into the dragon''s body inch by inch.


    It roared, no true wordsing out, but the recognizable sound of pain.


    "Lightning Cloak." I cast the simple spell, filling my sword with lightning and forcing it into the body of the dragon. "This is fun, right?" The spell faded and I cast another. "me Cloak." The fires poured down my de and went inside the dragon''s body. Its outer body was nearly invulnerable to normal spells, but its inside weren''t quite as indomitable.


    "What are you!? Thdro los impossible!"


    I twisted my de ignoring its words, pulling up more of its scales as blood poured out of its wound. "ARE YOU ANGRY?" I shouted over its roars as it tried to force its body up, only to be met with a stomp of mine, forcing it back down, possibly even breaking a few bones. "Then fight me, test your scales against my steel!" I hissed. My gauntlet-d hand reached down, digging into its hide and ripping off a section of scales from its body.


    "I WILL DEVOUR YOU, MORTAL." It shouted its fury to the heavens. "THIS TOWN WILL KNOW MY ANGER, THE FLAMES WILL NOT DISPERSE UNTIL EVERYTHING IS ASH."


    The sounds of scales and flesh ripping apart was only ovee by the anger and agony produced by the dragon.


    "I said you would beg, I don''t like being made a liar." I grabbed hold of its wing, and I began to pull.


    "Alduin damn hi wah oblivion hi insolent joor ant!!!" It screamed, its arrogant voice practically dying as the pain was all that remained.


    I twisted and tore apart the tendons, flesh and muscle connecting the wings to the dragon ripping, pulling apart the bones that held it in ce. It was with a final tug and burst of strength that I ripped it free, tossing it to the side.


    My arm went almost limp, I felt an immense pain, stronger than I had before. It was the same arm that was hurt earlier and I put too much pressure on it. It made me hesitate ever so slightly, forcing me to take a moment to center myself.


    "Feim Zii Gron" The dragon spoke as its entire body be ethereal. "I have seen through you! This power is not yours, abomination! Let us see which one of ussts longer."


    Did it notice in that brief moment my weakness?


    I guess a dragon is still a dragon.


    It was a good n, I could tell its body didn''t exist on the physical ne of existence anymore. I doubt even regr spells would be able to harm its body at this point, some kind of conceptual immunity that surrounded its body. I could perhaps ovee it with a sufficient Ether Canon, but I didn''t have the rity of mind to cast something soplicated at the moment.


    I held my hand over the dragon''s head. "Prate"


    One of Ddraig''s abilities he developed in response to his rival, Albion, creating an ability to Reflect any attack. Prate does actually as it sounds, conceptually pierces through defenses.


    The orb of energy formed in my hand as it coalesced and discharged straight down through the head of the beast in a beam of crimson light. There was no wailing as its body thumped to the ground, the ethereal light slowly fading away as I all but fell off its back, entirely spent.


    I could barely stand, trying to push myself up off the dirt. My breathing was erratic, and I couldn''t even use my circuits to pull out any magical energy. Thest bit of my physical strength was used to merely turn over on my back.


    "No." I said in but a whisper as I saw the dragon''s body twitch.


    It shuddered under its own weight, slowing turned to me as life still flickered in its eyes.


    Impossible, I blew a hole through its fucking brain! Unless.....its body was immaterial? Wait, was its soul animating its own body!? The spell it cast, the ''ethereal'' thing it did, did that perhaps turn it into some kind of spiritual being for the duration, and since I ''killed'' it in such a state, the soul just stuck around in its body?


    The scale mail around my body began to unravel, starting at my feet. My Bnce Breaker wasing to an end...


    Ddraig!


    [I can''t stop it, you''re at your limit.]


    Fuck! I wasted too much time.


    "You must perish." The dragon spoke, though its ''mouth'' didn''t move. It was like.... its thoughts echoed out.


    Well, it was good to have a backup n in times like these. I of course held out my hand and gave him the middle finger before turning my palm towards the side. "Transfer."


    The ability to ''transfer'' the boosts to another person or target.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Thorum rushing over, and he just disappeared from the spot as his sword was now found in the eye of the dragon.


    His muscles bulges as blood vessels popped. His whole body shuddered under the strain as blood leaked from his pours, he couldn''t handle this much power for long.


    The dragon''s head whipped around, opening its massive jaw to try and bite down on Thorum. If i had to guess the dragon was also under a time limit for whatever it was doing. Luckily its body was barely able to move.


    With thest bit of my magical energy, I pulled on the Kaleidoscope and opened a portal right under Thorum.


    The dragon looked confused, swinging its limp head around looking for him, only for my friend to appear above and m his sword down into the dragon''s neck. He pushed and pulled with all his strength, I was certain I heard one of his bones audibly crack as he yanked his sword down, decapitating the beast.


    Even if the dragon''s soul was animating his own body, there was a limit to that.


    The ''sound'' the ''voice'' of the dragon''s soul could still echo out. "No! Mortal, you may have in me, but my soul is eternal and Alduin will burn this world."


    Its soul was a very physical thing as a golden light floated around the dragon''s corpse. And the strangest phenomenon happened, the ''light'' swelled and pushed into Thorum''s body.


    "WHAT!? DOVAHKIIN!!? NOOOOOO!" It screamed out as the light disappeared and the dragon''s flesh evaporated, only leaving a set of bones on the ground in its ce.


    Thorum fell to the ground, clutching his heart as he spit out mouthfuls of blood.


    "Release" I quietly whispered as the remains of the scale mail disappeared and I removed the boosts from Thorum.


    He would be fine, he was still breathing even if his body was in a terrible state. He stumbled towards me, fumbling a health potion in his hand as he lightly drizzled it into my mouth. The warm sensation washed through my body, but it merely alleviated some of the more dire concerns.


    "Did you just eat that dragon''s soul?" I asked my friend, finishing thest of the drink.


    Heughed clutching his side in pain, falling down right beside me. "I think so, I have some strange memories in my head now."


    "Huh.....did it taste good?"


    He looked thoughtful. "Like the best mead I''ve ever had."


    "Wow....I''m a bit jealous now."


    "We can always share the next one." He smiled brightly.


    "I don''t think it works that way, but what the hell, lets do it." I chuckled. "Oww....hurts tough."


    "Is it strange if I can''t feel my arm?" He lifted the limp limb up into the air. "Oh wait, there''s the pain."


    "Idiot...." I sighed, rolling closer to him and doing my best to fetch a health potion out of my ring. "Drink."


    "I hope it tastes like apples." He gave his signature goofy smile; I think he''s a bit delirious right now...do dragon souls count as narcotics?


    "Yeah, yeah. Just drink up, big guy."

 Chapter 28 - 27

    <h4>Chapter 28: Chapter 27</h4>


    Thorum POV


    People were too busy tending to the dead and wounded to care that the dragon is dead. I think everyone is more concerned with how much damage it caused before we were finally able to put it down and even then, well, I don''t know what would have happened if we didn''t.


    I was up and about after some healing, I was still hurting something fierce, and my arm couldn''t be moved, but there were others in much worse condition than I.


    How many didn''t make it back?


    I only know the barest of details with what the Harbinger had talked with the Jarl about. He had reinforced the surrounding towns as much as possible withoutpromising Whiterun''s defenses, but even if the full army was here, something tells me that it would have just been like trying to snuff out a fire with tinder.


    Divines...a dragon.


    I was man enough to admit that I was scared, I was scared that all my shield-brethren would die. Many would im it a glorious death and await their calls to Sovngarde, but there was nothing glorious about that fight.


    There was no glory that came from ying that beast, only the relief that it hadn''t set its eyes on the city and the people.


    How many of Skyrim''s children would have met their ends under that tyrant''s mes?


    Even now, thepanions had been reduced by a good third, and maybe up to half would never see true battle again.


    Dragonborn, they called me. I somehow took in that fallen dragon''s soul....I now had memories of its powers, its Thu''um. A feeling in my gut told me that I could make use of their shouts, but I found no will to draw upon to perform such a feat. Had it been a few days ago, how excited and proud I would have been to have been chosen as one of the legends, but now, all I can feel is ashamed.


    I could only clench my fists in anger. Why couldn''t I have been more help before?


    Do I even deserve this? Didn''t Will fight that beast and defeat it inbat? All I did was run in and finish off the wounded foe.


    My friend, he saved me from certain death when I foolishly tried to attack the thing from its back. I was not in the best state of mind at the time, maybe I had already resigned myself to death at that moment.


    I just shook my head, pushing away such dreary thoughts. A true Nord does not admit defeat so easily, I would have fought to the death, but even then, I had held no true hope for victory.


    Aye, that was until my friend came flying in and caught me at the cost of his....wings. It was a strange sight, but I didn''t care to question it. I knew not his circumstances; every man had a story and he was still the same person I''ve know this time.


    Then he did something I don''t understand, that armor that enveloped him and allowed him to overpower a creature of legends and treat it.....like it had treated us. I felt no small amount of pride in my friend in that moment.


    Da always said that you can always tell a lot about a man by his friends, but this is the first time I questioned his words. How am I supposed to measure up to something like that? He was an aplished Mage, he fought bravely and overcame the beast that almost brought ruin to Whiterun, and he even defended all the wounded while doing it.


    Talos willing, I just want to drown myself in some mead for the night and maybe think things through clearly in the morning. He must have been watching over me, because I managed to reach the Jorrvaskr without anyone throwing more questions at me.


    ''Dragonborn! Did you really kill the dragon!?''


    ''Dragonborn is it true, can you ''shout'' for us?''


    ''Dragonborn.''


    ''Dragonborn.''


    ''Dragonborn.''


    I had more than enough of that while I was getting tended to. A good drink will also make the pain go away, for a bit at least.


    "Will?" I was surprised to see my friend here, blurting it out while opening therge doors. H was sitting there quietly in the corner, nursing his own drink. One would have been a fool to also not see the ck wings that sprang out of his back.


    "Thorum." He smiled brightly at me.


    Even now he looks happy to see me when I nearly cost him his life. "How are you doing....?" I knew my eyes were drawn to his wings and he looked a bit...uneasy as I stared for a moment.


    "Not dying at least." He chuckled lightly, holding his sides, clearly still in pain. "Though....my wings need to be out to heal properly.....I hope you don''t mind?"


    Maybe that''s why he never revealed them before? The look on his face said it all, he didn''t seem to like them very much. Was he maybe some kind of Daedra.... or Divines forbid, I hope one his parents hadn''t been forced...


    It would exin why he dislikes them, but I did not like to make assumptions about people. My da taught me better than that, a few of the lessons involved the belt when I was a little Shite about it as ad.


    Every man has a story, I reminded myself. "Is that magic?" I never understood the mystical arts very well, even the basics were a bit hard for me.


    "No...I was born with them." He took a drink. "I just don''t like showing them off in public."


    "If I hear anyone start some shit, I''ll ram my foot down their throat." I heard A shout from the table she was drinking from. I hadn''t even noticed her at first, she''s walking around, covered in bandages, but at least she''s alive. I just wish I could say the same about many other bothers....and how many of them were truly close to A....she must be suffering much worse than I.


    I smiled lightly at her words, aye, she would do just that, she was one to follow up on her threats. I have no doubts that a good portion of the Companions would do the same, not to mention the soldiers would not look favorably upon anyone harassing Will. "Has anyone...?"


    A answered again. "Some idiots yelling about some Daedra shite, saying things like sending the ''monster'' back to oblivion."


    I saw Will wince out of the corner of my eye. It seemed obvious, to even someone like me, that he didn''t feelfortable about his wings, yet.... "You revealed them to save me.?" I felt a pit in my stomach, how much more was I going to bring him down?


    Will usually had a confidant look on his face, even staring at death in the face he only showed rage or focus, never cowardice, never fear. But the way he looked right now, well, It was only at this moment that I was reminded I had several years on him. He wasn''t much older than a boy, not that I could speak much myself.


    "You''re my friend." He mumbled, looking a bit embarrassed. "I don''t really.....have any other friends."


    Oh..... I hadn''t realized. He seemed so..... like there was nothing in the world he wasn''t capable of. Hearing him say that though, it makes him seem so...human.


    I''m his only friend, to think he thought so highly of me and here I was wallowing in my own pity while my friend had risked his life and his reputation to save me, even having my own thoughts of not approaching him anymore due to my own cowardice and envy.


    I will not be a burden to you, my friend. I will get stronger, I am a Dragonborn, I will get strong enough to stand at your side.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    Jeese, I can''t believe I said that out loud. I think I may be a bit more into my drinks than I thought. Can devils get drunk on alcohol like this? I''m going to say yes and argue with anyone who says otherwise. It could also have to due with the massive headache I was sporting as well.


    Now Thorum is looking at me like I had two heads...fuck me, gods I really hope I''m not blushing.


    "So, I heard you''re a dragonborn?" I flipped my hand, letting a book flop on the table. Stole it from some asshole snarking to me about ''never being to the cloud district''. Bitch do I look like I''m some kind of peasant?


    "The Book of the Dragonborn." Thorum looked over the title, nodded to himself. "Aye, it seems you''re always prepared, I haven''t thought about this book since my Da read it to me when I was a child."


    I rubbed my eyes, feeling the fatigue from the fight still bearing down on me. "From what I read, it seems you can empower yourself by absorbing the souls of defeated dragons. It also means you can naturally use the ''Thu''um'' or the dragonnguage at will."


    "Then, I should be stronger now?" He looked down at his non-broken hand for a moment. "I don''t feel any different?"


    I rubbed my chin, truly taking a look at his body. "If I had to make an educated guess, I think a lot of the power is going to healing you right now before your physical attributes receive the ''upgrade'' so to speak. The body is a reflection of the soul, since your soul essentially got ''bigger'' there will be a qualitive increase in your abilities. Hell, I think you may be better at magic in a few days as well."


    "Does that mean....I should be able to fight the next dragon without almost dying?" I don''t think he was saying that at me but more so to himself. I just closed my eyes and signed for a moment, I knew how he felt.


    I myself felt rather....weak in this particr moment. I had many forms of ''strength'' I could rely on, but it all felt so disjointed and widespread. I needed to head home soon and find a teacher, maybe get my ''grandfather'' to train me a bit if he''s still around.


    "You need to learn the Thu''um like the dragons, it should even the ying field if you do." I gave my honest opinion. I saw the look in his eyes, he wouldn''t back down from the next dragon attack. The best thing I could do was point him in the right direction.


    I also wanted to check out this ''dragonnguage'' before I left.


    If he was willing to push himself like this, how could I even think about stagnating? I resolved myself to head home in the next few days and get better. I don''t want to lose the only friend I had.....


    A small bit of realizaiton dawned on me.


    Hey, Ddraig, I wasn''t really acting like myself earlier....I felt like, increasingly angry. I mean, I was absolutely livid, but in hindsight I was noticeably less in control of my emotions than I normally am.


    [Oh, you finally noticed, that''s good.]


    Okay, I think I''m missing something here....


    [You''ve had me inside your soul for how long now? Things like that have an effect on you.]


    Realization dawned on me. I guess it wasn''t wrong to call me part dragon before I turned my heart to a dragon one. That came with all the downsides as well, I guess I was particrly possessive of what was ''mine''. Even my devil nature might have been an influence as well. While not really the ''caricature'' depicted in media or the like, devils are creatures of sin, we''re more in tune with the ''evil'' emotions, like greed, lust, wrath, etc.


    [A dragon being the cause also didn''t help, either.]


    Yeah, my ''dragon aspect'' probably took particr exception to that little tidbit. Well, I don''t expect it to be like it was before, perhaps I should some time to meditate or even rx a bit when I get back home?


    """DO-VA-KIIN!"""


    A shout shook the city, literally, as bottles rumbled and the tables vibrated.


    "The hell was that?" I sounded like the dragonnguage, but it felt sort of...human?


    "That was the Greybeards, I think they were calling Thorum." A said, a rather surprising amount of reverence in her voice.


    Didn''t Tolfdir tell me about them, masters of the voice that lived like monks on the throat of the world? Well....I suppose the timing was impable.


    "Thorum." Skjor burst through the door, he was missing a couple fingers on his left hand and his right eye bandaged. He took a cursory nce at Thorum, then stared at me. "You''re here as well, the Jarl calls for both of you."


    ***


    Author''s note: Sorry for not posting yesterday, work was absolutely crazy. It was my second week on this job and I came right as the ''busy'' day of the month arrived. Didn''t get home until almost eleven and I got about 500 words into thetest chapter and just crashed.


    Something something, hey I''m 5 chapters ahead on Pat /Astoryforone. This is my hobby that I usually do to rx afterwork and to release my muse, but if you want to pay for my morning coffee and bagel, then I won''t stop you.

 Chapter 29 - 28

    <h4>Chapter 29: Chapter 28</h4>


    "Thank you all foring, I know this isn''t the most celebratory of circumstances."


    The building was almost like a mead hall if I were being honest, but banquets and celebrations were a major part of their culture. There were some massive tables that sat on a lower level, overlooked by a throne.


    I looked up towards the man sitting on the throne, one Jarl Balgruuf. The ''leadership'' of Skyrim was not something unheard of, if only called things by different names than I was used to. Essentially there was one ''high king'' and the respective Jarls who all oversaw their own territory and swore loyalty to the King.


    I was easy to forget that there was a civil war going on right now. Apparently, Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak had killed the previous king but imed it was an honorable duel. One thing led to another, now one side is supporting Ulfric and the other is against him with the backup of the ''Empire'' another power that sits above even the High King.


    Frankly, it was all a mess. Atleast Balgruuf had themon sense not to jump to either side and was remaining neutral.


    The Jarl stood up from his throne. "We honor the dead and the living, both of whom had made it possible to have survived to this point." He held a drink up and everyone else followed suit, I also raised my own drink as everyone took a sip. "Let us not mourn too long for the dead, let us instead look forward to seeing them once again in Sovngarde! Now, eat your fill, drink until you can no longer and relish in hard fought victory."


    There were many cheers and just as many who quietly slumped in their seats. I sat next to Thorum as we shared a look and down our drinks together. The ''celebration'' wasn''t just something to keep up morale, it was more so a send off to their fallenrades. To trade stories and remember those who no longer will fight beside you.


    "To surviving." I said quietly.


    "Aye, I''ll drink another to that." Thorum nodded.


    I withdrew another healing potion from my ring and down it, giving Thorum another as well. Taking too many too quickly diluted their effects astronomically. It was better to keep a solid schedule of one every hour or so for sustained injuries.


    I kept an eye on the Jarl and he looked around the room with a content look on his face, possible gauging the reactions of everyone here.


    The Companions were in....not high spirits but they weren''t dwelling on everything. There were a few missing limbs but they didn''t look at all diminished in fighting spirit.


    "Friends, as we start the feast, let us honor the warriors who truly stood out in battle." The Jarl''s voice was loud and authoritative but without any of the arrogance that one would usually associate with someone in his positions, I suppose you could call it Charismatic.


    "Thorum, of the Companions." He waved Thorum over until my friend stood infront of the crowded tables and infront of the throne. "To have a Dragonborn appear in such a dire time, truly we are blessed by the divines."


    That actually got a lot of cheers, there had been many whispers of Thorum decapitating the dragon.


    "Tell me, Thorum are the stories true, you beheaded that mighty beast?" Jarl asked as his voice carried throughout the entire room.


    I saw several eyes nce at me but I didn''t make any noise ormotion. I didn''t really share these people''s idea of ''glory'' and ''honor''. I was fine being regted to the background.


    "Those tales are untrue." Thorum grunted earning some surprised looks and a few nods. "I did cut the head off the dragon, but it was no more the killing of a wounded beast on itsst breaths. The glory goes to my friend Wilhelm." Thorum looked over to me a smile on his face.


    I wanted to facepalm, but I knew that he only did this with pure intentions. That was the kind of man Thorum was.


    "Ah yes, the Mage." Jarl eyed me. "Come, recant to us the battle." He ushered me over and I could only down my drink before standing up.


    "Jarl." I lightly bowed my head to pay respects. He looked pleased as he gestured to me.


    "I have heard many fantastical stories so far, I''m curious which are true. Even my Court-Wizard had been investigating these rumors." As if on cue a man in a mage''s attire walked over and he was carrying a very familiar staff.


    "I was curious to where my staff got off to after the battle." I made sure to explicitly confirm my ownership. I would rather not have to remove any heads to retrieve my property.


    I had left it there to continue to watch over the wounded. I didn''t exactly fear it being stolen, but someone ''trying'' to steal it would be quite annoying to deal with.


    "Indeed." The Court-Wizard spoke up. "A curious artifact, I had run only the simplest of tests, yet the output of any spell was extraordinarily greater than the staff I use normally."


    I held back my eye twitching in annoyance, who did he think he was ''experimenting'' with something that belonged to me? "I appreciate you returning it to me." I said as bluntly as possible


    His hand tightened around the shaft, I could tell right now he had no desire to truly give it back. "I feel this staff will be very beneficial to my research against the dragons, I would not be against buying it off you."


    "Not for sale." I frowned.


    "Surely¡ª"


    "Farengar, enough." The Jarl spoke up. "There is a time and ce for such business."


    I could almost hear him clench his teeth in frustration. I think he was about to try and sneak away with it while I was busy dealing with the Jarl, cute. I reached out with Telekinesis and yanked it out of his hand. "Thank you for returning it to me." I gave the most innocent smile possible.


    The Jarl just raised an eyebrow but didn''t speak up, he seemed smart enough to realize what was going on and Farengar was fuming, mumbling something under this breath and stepping back.


    Well, the Jarl seemed like an honorable man.


    "Mage, I would have your name." He requested.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, though most people call me Will."


    "Will then." He smiled, epting the introduction. "I''ve heard tales of a red armor that allowed you to fly and even trade blows with a dragon."


    "I do have something like that, unfortunately I can''t bring it out as it takes arge toll on my body." I waved to myself, clearing wrapped in bandages in several parts.


    "I wouldn''t ask such a thing." The Jarl waved me off. "Though I am curious about the origins."


    Was he wanting more if they were man made or maybe just feeling me out? "It is a weapon with a dragon soul sealed inside, I could temporarily borrow the dragon''s power."


    hushed murmers filled the room, some open questions filled the void of silence.


    "Another Dragonborn?"


    "Is he even a man, I heard he''s a Daedra."


    "We should take the weapon for Whiterun."


    The Jarl sent a re to everyone, they all promptly shut their mouths. "A dragon you say? No wonder you were able to match the dragon that attacked if you were using the power of another." He said in awe.


    "Aye a dragon, that does make more sense." Thorum spoke up and gently pat me on the shoulder.


    "I''ve never heard of such a thing." Farengar grumbled. "We should study this contraption and see if it can be used against any other dragons that may appear."


    "There were a few shouts of agreement around the room, mostly from people I didn''t recognize. In fact they looked mostly whole and healthy, I don''t think they even participated in the battle.


    "And how exactly would you aplish that?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Hmph of course we would seize it for the good of the realm then it would be turned over to the proper expert in the arcane and they would unlock its mysteries." Farengar red.


    "How curious, I look around the room yet I see no such expert, unless you have a mirror for me to use?"


    "A novice like you would be unable to understand such intricacies as my research, such an item of power is wasted on you."


    I just rolled my eyes, this guy.... I really don''t have the mind for this right now, I''m definitely off my A-game. "Well, regardless, I can''t remove it as it is wrapped around my soul and I don''t fancy dying to fuel your delusions of grandeur." Better just nip this in the bud right here and I didn''t really owe an exnation past this.


    "Jarl, I propose taking the item in question and allowing me to study it. If it is true that such an object can trap the soul of a dragon we may be able to defeat these creatures." He seemingly ignored myment, opting to instead push the stick way further up his ass.


    "Oi, did you not hear me? I said I would die if you tried to take it." I just shook my head, what an idiot.


    "One life vs the lives of many." He said simply, over the hushes silence in the room.


    I think I practically froze at thement. It wasn''t some kind of anger that overflowed, no, it was the sheer stupidity of saying something like that so inly in the gathering of so many people that made me utterly dumbfounded.


    Foot, meet mouth.


    It was at the moment that many people stood up, hands on their weapons, all staring at Farengar. Thorum took a step forward, getting between us. I was not feeling any danger from this mage but the fact that Thorum stepped up like that was pretty cool. Not to mention many others around the room were ready to make a move.


    But my attention was focused mainly on the Jarl. He didn''t stop Farengar from spouting all that nonsense, while I don''t think he agreed with his Court Wizard, I think he wanted to see how it would y it.


    "Farengar, why you you go back to your research." The Jarl finally spoke up, easing the tension that filled the area.


    Farengar grunted in acknowledgement, leaving the room for who knows where.


    This man was a good leader, he was feeling out all his options beforemitting.


    "Forgive my Court Wizard, he tends to forget his ce sometimes after studying his dusty tomes for so many hours a day." The Jarl gave a smallugh. "Why don''t we go back to the festivities?"


    "Well, if you want a recount of the battle, I only showed up near the end why don''t you have Thorum start, and I''ll pick up where I arrived?" May as well move past this, I just wanted to finish this up and head out.


    ***


    Thorum...I don''t think he was really in the mood to celebrate, but heughed and joked with everyone as he retold the battle. I guess it was important to honor hisrades even against his own desires.


    I nodded along and interjected at a few points here or there but never full exined what I did. I was kind of put on the spot to give some context, but it didn''t mean I had to reveal my entire hand and no one seemed to call me out on my ''non-human'' nature. I guess actions speak much louder than words here.


    "Fascinating." The Jarl eximed. "You both had done a great service to Whiterun, how should I reward you?"


    Oh, a reward, I hadn''t even thought of that.


    "I wouldn''t mind somend outside the city." I spoke up after a moment. A ce to set up a house and maybe even a workshop for the future. I nned on leaving this world soon, but that didn''t mean I wasn''ting back. There was no way I was leaving my friend and girlfriend forever. And I had quite a few ideas for a plot ofnd that I could call me own.


    There were some preliminary thoughts for maybe anchoring the same space over several ''worlds'' sort of linking that area together.


    I''ll think on it moreter.


    "That is doable, I can bring you a parchment that shows the avablendter." He nodded and even looked a bit grateful at my request. I think the gold was a bit tight for him right now, so I didn''t ask anything that would be a drain on his resources, earning me a bit of goodwill in addition to actually wanting thend.


    "And you, Dragonborn?" The Jarl asked.


    "I''m not sure I deserve a reward, Jarl. I merely finished off the dragon while Will did most of the work."


    "None of that." I smacked his shoulder.


    Jarl snorted inughter. "Aye, Thorum, your humble nature does you well, but you proved invaluable in the fight, It would bring me dishonor to not award you anything." He tapped his chin. "How about I name you Thane of Whiterun?"


    There was an abrupt murmuring and whispering going on.


    Thane, I think I remember something like that. Almost like a ''knighted'' position, no real influence but sort of an honorary title that acknowledges great services to the city.


    Well yed, Jarl. It would tie him to you without forcing him under your thumb.


    "I would be honored, Jarl." Thorum tilted his head down in eptance.


    "Wonderful!" The Jarl eximed to the excitement of the crowd. There were many congrattions being shouted towards Thorum. I could already see the greed in some of their eyes, they would try to get close to the ''dragonborn'' and new Thane.


    From the looks of some of the Companions, I felt like I didn''t need to worry about him though. They probably dealt with these kinds of politics before, or rather how to avoid them in the first ce. If I had to guess, I think it involved a lot of punching.


    "Now, what are the ns for both of you, now?" The Jarl asked.


    Ah, there it is. He''s probably wanting to make sure his city is still defended or knows that he can call upon us.


    Thorum looked at me a bit unsure of himself before answering. "I...want to head to the Greybeards." He dered.


    "Ah, yes, I believe everyone in Skyrim heard their call earlier." Jarl nodded and I don''t think he could argue with him on that. "What about you, Will?''


    "I was going to seek out my....Grandfather for training." I kept my expression even, not giving him an open to try and weasel me into staying here.


    "You''re going to leave?" It was Thorum who spoke up, realization dawning on him. "You told me you aren''t from skyrim." He said with a small bit of understanding.


    "Yeah, my Grandfather lives far way." I sighed, I believe he should be around or some iteration of him on the timeline if I can calcte everything correctly. "I don''t'' like how weak I felt during the fight so I need to get stronger."


    Thinking about it, I''m really just all over the ce right now.


    "I see." Thorum looked a bit dejected but I think he understood.


    "Don''t look so down." I pped his shoulder. "I''ll take you up the mountain and check out these Greybeards with you before I leave." I gave him a smile.


    "Aye, what about your....erm... woman?"


    "Yeah, going to have to deal with that at some point." I grunted, I did not enjoy seeing Meridia upset, not angry, but genuinely upset that I was in danger again. "Would rather fight another dragon again."


    "Smart man, fear your woman over a dragon." Jarlughed, seemingly epted that we would both be gone, some smallughter over the crowd. I think he felt relief that Thorum would be ''close by''.


    "I''ll be back in....a month at thetest." I reassured Thorum who nodded.


    "Well, this is all settled." The Jarl pped his hands. "Everyone, drink, be merry, and make sure you don''t leave my keep sober!"


    ***


    I managed to disappear a bit into the festivities. I thought I saw the Court-Wizard eyeing me some more and didn''t want to be annoyed by him. I also had a few interesting things I noticed about myself.


    "Hey Ddraig, did giving up my heart make me stronger, because I noticeably different."


    [Yes, but you should also be noticing your devil nature finally kicking in.]


    "My devil nature...." My devil nature! I see how could I forget! It seems like the more physical aspects of my body is finally limating to being a ''half devil'' as opposed to being just a human. Devils are ''magical'' creatures as observed by how their wings operate, I never had any ''magic'' due to my unique circumstances, I guess everything was suppressed below the surface and now I''m slowlying into it all. Enhanced physical attributes are basically the tip of the iceberg.


    Yeah, Devils are much stronger than a standard human, I should see a qualitive increase in strength. I guess having my heart taken by a dragon and using the Bnce Breaker may have elerated everything. Well this was a much weed windfall, and I didn''t even have to do anything.


    Thinking about it, I believe my devil magic may have had an influence on me as well, and I hadn''t even noticed until now. When I used my Onymodo Arts along with my Runes, they werebined with much more ease than I had anticipated. Perhaps the ''imagination'' part of the devil''s demonic power came into y, it was facilitating the synchronization of my spells and abilities.


    I would need to do some extensive study on this forter. What a wonderful find this has been, I can''t believe I overlooked something so obvious, though I can attribute that to my current circumstances. I''ve been forgivably busy recently with everything going on.


    My thoughts drifted towards my bloodline power, My ''Power of Destruction'' as they called it. It was still but a tiny seed, unable to be actualized, but it existed. I could only sigh with a promise to look more into it at ater date, I refused to believe there was nothing I could do with it.


    Shaking my head I looked inward at Ddraig. "Hey, do you ever get the feeling like...the world is waiting for everything to blow up?"


    [What do you mean?]


    "I just have this strange feeling, like I lit a powder keg and it''s going to explode soon."

 Chapter 30 - 29

    <h4>Chapter 30: Chapter 29</h4>


    Thorum and I had departed early in the morning, he wasn''t as intoxicated as he appearedst night. Thorum could have quite the slight of hand when he wanted, now that I think about it, he did point me towards someone in the thieves guild when we first met.


    Curious past is curious.


    I had done a round through the market, most were setting up about that time and they were happy enough to sell some goods early to me. Of course, what I could buy in mass was somewhat limited, the Jarl had been keeping a firm hand on goodsing and going with such a danger hanging over their heads. Who knew how many potions or food rations they would need in theing days?


    There was the brief thought to pop back over to Winterhold real quick and visit my Tailor, my clothes had taken quite the beating recently and some quick Alteration could only do so much. My clothes were quite literally wearing a bit thin here.


    So much to do, so little time.


    Proper presentation, my Achilles heel.


    I should be fine for now, though I did find a nice cloak I could wear up in the mountains. Gods know that''s going to be freezing.


    My body started to feel better too, I was still aching and sore with countless bruises all over my body, but I don''t think any bones were broken, perhaps a fracture here or there but they were mending with a noticeable pace. Perhaps my heart had an increase effect on that as well?


    My devil heritage popping back up no doubt was ying a part in it, my wings were back to normal as well. My strength too, I ''felt'' stronger than I had previously, I think my eyesight was a bit clearer and my senses overall were somewhat sharper.


    "How far did you say you wanted to get out from the city?" Thorum spoke up, breaking me from my thoughts.


    I tapped my chin, pondering for a moment. "I think this is far enough." I had told him I had a way to get us up the mountain quickly, but I didn''t want to show it off. Lets see..I''m basically eyeballing this, but some quick calctions.....I withdrew Mirage and sliced it into the air, allowing the multitude of colors to burst forth into a portal. "After you." I gestured.


    "Amazing." He praised, looking it over before walking through.


    I couldn''t help but smile, seeing how much he trusted me to not even test to make sure it wasn''t dangerous. I walked through, only to not feel the ground under me, and I fell a couple of feet into arge pile of snow.


    "That could have been worse." I snorted, sitting up.


    "Well, I''m fully awake now." Thorum shared a smile as we bothughed.


    "That should be it?" I looked just a little bit ahead and there was a structure built into the top of the mountain.


    "Aye...I''m surprised I''m standing here. I heard the stories since I was ad, but truly be here." He stood up, staring at the entrance.


    "You deserve it." Put my hand on his shoulders. "You are a good man, Thorum, and if there was anyone who became this ''Dragonborn'' I''m d it''s you."


    "Thank you, Will." He gave me that big goofy smile he was known for.


    "Well, stop being a big baby." I gave him a ''kick on the rear''.


    He justughed as we walked forward. He took a deep breath as he pushed therge doors open. What greeted us were several monks, standing all, almost as if they were waiting for us.


    "We''ve been expecting you, Dragonborn." The one infront spoke up, practically answering my thoughts. "....though we thought you would take longer to climb the mountain." He seemed a bit bemused.


    "Greybeards." Thorum actually bowed. "I am honored to be here, I also brought my friend who wished to see me safe passage, this is ¨C "


    "Yes, we know who he is." They looked...not angry but more cautions of me as all eyes on the roomnded on my figure. "There have been words spoken on the winds, words that made many tremble and powers given pause. Many dragons who had been resurrected have decided to wait and watch, beings who had done nothing but rampage and destroy in the past had decided to cower."


    Uh oh.


    "Resurrected? More dragons?" Thorum questioned.


    "Alduin, the world eater has returned. He was the first, the reason Riften had burned and he has been set on course to bring back his siblings to life." The Greybeard answered, seemingly in resignation. "Do you think it chance that a Dragonborn appear, now, when dragons once more returned to the world?"


    I could see several emotions sh across Thorum''s face. It seems those words were preupying him for the moment, so I spoke up. "What do you mean by ''words spoken on the wind''?"


    "You should know better than I, they originated from you." He said, sounding like he was using me of something. "Alduin is the oldest and strongest of Akatosh''s spawn, he has been the Lord and Master of the dragon race since their inception, never had his status been challenged before. These words held true until a few days ago."


    Well.....shit.


    Akatosh was one of the....divines or gods here. The books I read said that he was one of the ones responsible for the creation of the world, basically the pantheon leader, he is the Dragon-God of time. Basically, all the dragons are pieces of his essence, souls born from his own.


    There was silence as no one else spoke. I think Thorum realized what the old man meant and sent me a questioning look.


    "Y Ddraig Goch." I let the words roll out of my mouth.


    The Greybeard sucked in a cold breath of air. "Yes. That name has been echoing throughout, in hushed whispers and dark corners.


    I think I understand. Ddraig called out his most famous title ''Red Dragon Emperor'' when he revealed himself. He is a dragon, even if his existence differed from the dragons here, a dragon is a dragon. He told all those who could hear, that he was at the top of the pecking order.


    This ''Alduin'' apparently heard, as did the other dragons around Skyrim andbined with the burst of power with Ddraig''s own presence backing it up.....yeah, everyone''s waiting for the other shoe to drop.


    "It is an unprecedented time, the Dragonborn of legend appears, one who is destined to battle Alduin for the fate of the world, now another dragon also appears, one who''s name has never been heard before, yet makes the others cower before it." The Greybeard just shook his head. "I do not know what the future lies in store for you both, but I presume you''re here to learn the way of the Thu''um?"


    "Yes, Masters, I wish to learn the way of the voice." Thorum answered them back, still as politely as before.


    The old man nodded with a bit of appreciation in his eyes. "Then we will teach you, Dragonborn." He then turned to me. "And what of you, Red Dragon Emperor?"


    What?


    [Nice, even they know who you are now.]


    I held back a sigh at Ddraig words, It wasn''t entirely incorrect. Ddraig''s users did inherit his title each time they popped up, I''m just suprised they opted for calling me that. "I''ll stick around and see for a bit." May as well own up to it.


    [YES! Let everyone here know my name!]


    ****


    There wasn''t much fanfare to be had, no tests for ''worthiness''. ording to Arngeir, the Greybeard who had spoken to us, they usually proposed a test to neers, but the direness of the situation they forewent such formalities at this time.


    "Legends speak that when a Dragonborn takes the souls of another dragon, they also consume their ''history'', their memories. You should have some knowledge of their Thu''um, do you not?" Arngeir asked as the other monks took spots around the courtyard he led us to.


    "I do, I wasn''t quite sure what to make of them." He scratched his head. "It also left me a bit dizzy and acting unlike myself."


    Oh yeah, he was acting like his was extremely drunk for a while. "Foreign memories getting shoved into your head, it would make you somewhat erratic for a while before they settle down and you limate to them." I had firsthand experience with that. I wouldn''t say I had the best attention span, but for the first couple days for me, I could barely concentrate on a single thing, new ideas and inspiration kept dragging me every which way.


    "I do feel better now." Thorum looked thoughtful. "Should I try to use those ''shouts'' now or is it best to leave them forter?"


    "Physically you should be fine." I shrugged, I don''t know exactly how this Thu''um operates I would need to see it.


    "As he says, let us test one of the more basic shouts, The Unrelenting Force." Arngeir stated, turning around at a practice dummy in the corner. "FUS RO DAH" He shouted and an invisible force ripped across the space between them, uprooting the dummy and the surrounding foliage, expelling it.


    I''ve experienced that one before, first the Draugr from that Necromancer....but it wasn''t nearly as powerful. "I had a Draugr use that shout and it was much weaker than yours, does that juste down to experience?"


    Arngeir looked at me, thoughtful for a moment before answering. "Experience doese into y, but if you fought one of those undead, then they are merely an echo of the true Thu''um, their real souls are what powered the ''voice'' without that, they are but a hollow copy."


    Hmm, that makes sense, I''ll make a mental note to check thatter. It was more likely that the Necromancer just stuck any ol'' soul into the body and it could only pull on the bodies'' past ''memories'' so to speak and use the shout.


    "The dragon also blew away the watchtower with that shout." Thorum said quietly, clearly remembering that fight.


    Yeah, that was extraordinarily more powerful that what was just shown.


    "Indeed, the power can be adjusted, I held back as much as possible as to not cause an Avnche." Arngeir smirked, just ever so slightly. They were monks who did not use the voice to fight, but that didn''t mean they couldn''t take pride in their own hard-earned skills. "Now, Dragonborn, why don''t you give it a try." He gestured to another dummy.


    Thorum scratched his head. "I''ll try." He said without much confidence. "FUS RO DAH" He shouted as nothing happened, mostly.


    I think Arngeir picked it up, and I did slightly as well. The snow around him had dispersed for a moment, so he was on the right track.


    "The shout can be divided into three parts, three words. FUS, meaning Force. Ro, meaning Bnce. Dah, meaning Push." He lined himself up with the practice dummy again. "FUS" He shouted, another invisible force rippled out, pushing away all the snow, but the dummy still stood, a clear force washing over it but causing nosting damage. "The ''power'' is greatly lessened as opposed tobining the three words. But it is also an easier starting point."


    My initial hypothesis was correct, this Thu''um is the same as Divine Words and Primordial Runes. I took a step forward, Arngeir just raising an eyebrow but stepping out of the way, and Thorum looked at me expectantly.


    [I think I understand, trying tugging on me slightly and then shouting]


    Yeah I was thinking something similiar. Using Ddraig''s ''concept of a dragon'' and then focusing on the application.


    It was a bit more than that though, I thought about the ''concept'' behind the word Force. To actualize my intent without casting a spell, but forcing my will upon reality. Ddraig''s nature should allow me to ovee many hurdles that someone without any ''dragon aspect'' would have. "FUS" I shouted, and a small vibration shot out and smacked into the dummy, no damage was caused but a clear indication of something happening made me smile.


    [Did you feel that?]


    I did, it was a weird synchronizing between us as the ''spell'' was actualized upon the world. I was the conduit you were the source, it was almost like using the boosted gear. This would require more testing before using haphazardly, I learned my lesson from before.


    "Well done!" Thorum shouted with excitement


    "Indeed." Arngeir looked at me with uncertainty in his eyes.


    I smiled and walked up to Thorum. Before he could ask me what I was doing, I pushed him into the snow on the ground. That may have been a bit too hard, still not used to my new ''base strength''. Luckily I had him chugging Health Potions all night so he was almost back to 100%.


    He made a surprised noise as he fell down, only to look up at me in confusion. "Will...?"


    I held out my hand to help him up. "Force." I said, pulling him up. "You need a clear mental image of the ''concept''. Remember how I just pushed you down, use that ''feeling'' and try again." It was a bit simple on the surface, but image would do him all the world of good right now, something very specific to focus on.


    It said something about the trust he had in me that he didn''t get mad nor question my actions only epting my words once again and trying.


    "FUS" He shouted, a more visible phenomenon urred, even slightly better than mine as it rippled out and smacked into the dummy. "I DID IT!" He shouted, pumping his hands in the air. "Thank you, will!" He wrapped me up in a hug before I even realized it.


    Dragonborn, a mortal with the soul of a dragon. He should be able to pick this up much easier than I can.


    I couldn''t help but smile sheepishly, as I pat him on the back. Thorum was definitely someone who learned best by ''experience''. "That should give you some idea of how the other shouts go, while not the same ''concepts'' behind their meaning and inception, it''s a good bridging point." I stated as he let go.


    "Well done, Dragonborn." Arngeir looked pleased.


    "Thank you, elder." He bowed ever so politely.


    He would be in good hands, and if Arngeir was as intelligent as he looked, he should have picked up on the trick to teaching Thorum. "I believe it''s time I head out."


    "Are you not going to stick around and learn more shouts?" Thorum looked...reluctant.


    "I have a feeling that this shout will take me awhile to learn by itself. Besides, I have so much on my te right now, I need to.....settle everything else first before adding more." It didn''t actually want to leave, but at the same time I was a bit anxious to get going.


    "My friend, then I shall master the Thu''um and when we meet next, I''ll be the one giving you instructions!" He sped my hand with resolve in his eyes.


    "I''ll look forward to it then. Let''s see how much you can master in a month." I could only smile at his passion. I looked over to Arngeir and my smile returned to a neutral expression as I stared at him intently. "Take care of my friend."


    I think the Elder understood me as he nodded sincerely. "I do not know what your presence means for this world, Red Dragon Emperor, but I shall make sure the Dragonborn does notg behind."


    I just nodded, I wasn''t one for teary goodbyes I would rather leave it at a mutual desire to get stronger when we next meet. I waved onest time and ripped open a portal before jumping through.


    ***


    I popped out near Winterhold, seeing the town and Mages Guild in the distance. I had two more stops before I headed back home. I figured I would get the College out of the way first.


    A month, that''s when I said I''ll return, truthfully I may be gone longer than a month, actually it was very likely. The thing is I coulde back at to this world-line before a month passed. A little thing people don''t know is that ''True Magic'' oveps with the others in some capacity. My Kaleidoscope allows me some manner of ''Time Travel'' that should exist under the domain of the 5th, or ''The Blue''.


    It isn''t ''real'' time travel, I merely leave and reenter a world-line at an earlier point. While still not ''traveling'' through the time axis, it is still something that should not be used lightly, hell, my other self was even put off on using it.


    Dangerous wasn''t even a powerful enough word to describe it.


    If I entered an ''Earth'' at the year, 2000, then reentered somewhere before that point of time, things be extremelyplicated, because the past then became my future. I wouldn''t be doing quite that, I would just being back not long after I left, my ''future'' would still be my ''future'' even if it wasn''t the same length of time that everyone here experienced.


    It kept the flow of the world stable.


    All things remaining the same, even if I was away for ''years'' I could probably renter this world-line and have only about a month passed.


    For now, though, I just wanted to clear up any loose ends at the College before going to see Meridia.

 Chapter 31 - 30

    <h4>Chapter 31: Chapter 30</h4>


    I took one more look around the College, my time here was...short but I enjoyed it. The casualness of the institute dedicated to magical knowledge. Ipared it once to the clocktower, just more...whimsical. Perhaps I exaggerated a bit, the clocktower was much more cutthroat, death and worse were a real possibility everyday that one studied.


    No lords here that hoarded everything substantial, new blood was weed and even desired. I could understand the differences between needs that each world had, but I couldn''t help but admire this ce more.


    Oh, and I was not looking forward to the overt racism at the Clock Tower. Something told me I would need to quite thoroughly establish the pecking order once I return home.


    "Archmage, I wish to speak." I said, walking the courtyard idlily. I could feel the magics take hold of me and I didn''t resist as I was teleported.


    "Wilhelm." The Archmage greeted, as my vision opened up to his quarters. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"


    "I suppose there are a few things I wanted to speak to you about." I flicked my hand, retrieving the Staff from my ring. "I got this thing, I assume this is what you were speaking about?"


    "Marvelous." He admired, I could see his magicka pulsate every so slightly, truly taking in the sight of the staff. "The Staff of Magnus, just as powerful as I remember it." He sighed, moving his hands as various objects, books, and materials began to sort themselves around the room. "I assume that you found out the truth then...."


    I tilted my head in confusion. "Pardon?"


    "You don''t have to spare me your thoughts, I''m well aware of my own sins." He casually waved me off but I still confused.


    "I really have no idea what you''re talking about."


    He seemed to understand that we were on different wavelengths. "You traveled through Labyrinthian, did you not?"


    "Kinda?" I gave a sheepish look.


    He let out a long sigh. "What exactly happened when you went there?"


    "Fought a skeleton dragon.....some undead mage started talking to me, tried to drain my magicka so I cut off his hand and took the staff while he was trapped in a stasis spell powered by a couple ghosts."


    He just stood there for a moment and blinked before erupting inughter. "I see, truly you do not do things as one predicts." He wiped a tear from his eye. "Those ghosts were my old colleagues, my school mates back when I was a novice mage."


    "You ventured into those ruins when you were a novice?" I mean, I cleared it easily, but as a novice.....well that was a deathwish for him.


    "I was young, foolish, and arrogant beyond measure. The same as all those who went with me, we all thought unlimited power awaited us there and we started to lose member after member." He looked distant, reminiscing of the past. "I was a different person back then, I was willing to do nearly anything for more power, more knowledge. The school was the same, it wasn''t umon for another student to turn up dead in the morning and no one bothered to do anything past a minor investigation." He shook his head.


    "Why did you get the staff all this time then? Surely you are powerful enough now?" I didn''t know how strong the undead mage was, but the Archmage was definitely a powerhouse, with time and preparation I don''t think he would lose out.


    "Those two ''ghosts'' they were the other two survivors that reached the end, what awaited us was that ''undead mage'' as you called it." He Pursed his lips. "A dragon priest, a terrifyingly powerful mage who existed in the era where dragons ruled the world. To add onto that, he possessed the Staff of Magnus."


    "Those ghosts, your former schoolmates...they didn''t willingly stay back, did they?" I eyed him.


    "They did not." He didn''t even deny the usation. "As I said before, it is both my sin and my regret. I won''t bore you with my life story, it was after that incident that I vowed to be better. I studied, I gathered power and knowledge, but no more did I lust after some unattainable concept as ''unlimited power'' or such other nonsense. I did it all with a purpose, I became Archmage and forced the College to change with me. I would not allow any new students to suffer like I had or those who had been buried in the shallow graves outside these walls."


    "Why tell me anything of this, why tell me where this staff was?" I was rather confused here.


    "When you first came here, I thought you were the same as the me from back then. I saw your potential, and it terrified me. I wanted to make sure you didn''t walk the same path as I did, I thought a kind hand reached out would remove any need for malicious thoughts." He gave me a genuine smile. "I suppose I was just seeing my old demons in you and got blinded." He shook his head, a smallugh escaping his lips. "You were just a young man trying to find his path in the world, one who was extraordinarily talented so I kept an eye out for when you needed help. I cut off the potential of so many mages, perhaps I thought it was a way to even out my sins by helping your potential blossom."


    A multiple of emotions washed over me, I felt bad for suspecting him. "Thank you." I said quietly.


    He put a hand on my shoulder. "I said it before, you are a member of this College and I will always be on your side." His smile changed to something more neutral. "Now, what is the true reason you returned?"


    "Am I that easy to see through?" I sighed. "I wanted to say goodbye, I''ll be disappearing for about a month and didn''t want anyone to worry."


    "I see, I hope you aren''t in any trouble then?"


    "Not particrly...I''m going to seek out my grandfather for training." I ran a hand through my hair. "I fought a dragon over at Whiterun." I decided to just be blunt about it.


    The Archmage paused staring at me intently. "Wilhelm, that was an exceedingly stupid thing to do."


    "I know, you don''t have to tell me that." I was annoyed, not at him but at myself. "I had to though, my friend was in danger."


    "You''re still alive, I''m assuming you were sessful?"


    "I was, but not without cost and I revealed a few too many of my trump cards. I was made aware that I''ve drawn a bit of attention I didn''t want to, I managed to avoid most ''questions'' but I thought it best to disappear for a bit and get stronger."


    "You are not a child; I don''t think I need to chide you too much. I''m sure yourdy friend will do that more than enough." He gave me an evil smirk and I couldn''t help but wince. "A dragon, first Riften and now Whiterun, I''ll need to speak with the Jarl of Winterhold and prep the college for potentialbat." He didn''t look too thrilled."


    "My friend I mentioned, apparently he is a ''dragonborn''" I didn''t think the Archmage would abuse this knowledge.


    His eyes widened. "Truly?" He looked rather excited as well. "This changes matters." He stroked his beard intently. "I will need to get in contact with Whiterun then, yes it makes sense now. I heard the call from the Greybeards, no doubt he is up there training now. The dragonborn was supposed to be a natural at magic, I''ll send him some books to get him started."


    Well, I guess I don''t need to exin anything about that topic then. "I would suggest ramping up production of potions and get ready forrge scale battles on the horizon. The casualties were high, and the Dragon didn''t even attack the city, just a watchtower."


    "Indeed, you raise a good point. We haverge stocks of supplies for emergencies just like this." He nodded to himself. "Not to mention I have that wheel of cheese that just keeps repopting from Sheogorath, I can probably use that to supply a good amount food to help out during attacks."


    "Thorum is a nice guy, perhaps a bit na?ve. Also he tends to learn better by experience, he also said he was having trouble with the restoration branch." I gave a small smile.


    The Archmage looked at me his gaze softening. "I''ll make sure your friend is taken care of. Since a Dragonborn had popped up with the return of the dragons..... that old prophecy might be in full swing, no it must be. I''ll get in touch with all my contacts, we can pull our resources and weather this storm together." He reached out, grabbing ahold of my hand, the one with my ring on it. He did something that caught me by surprise. "A going away present." He smirked


    My mouth opened slightly, utterly surprised at the ease in which he essed my storage ring and filled it with all manner of supplies and resources. "I don''t know what to say...." When had I ever had someone so nice to me other than my mother?


    "How about you tell me you won''t die before you get back."


    "I don''t think my grandfather would risk my life ¨C"


    "I was speaking of Meridia."


    "Oh....right." Well, I guess I''ll need all the luck there. "Thank you again, I have a goddess to appease."


    "I would say, may the divine bless you, but I doubt even they want to get involved here."


    Yeah, that''s fair.


    ***


    I had cut open a portal, pathing my way through dimensions until I found myself in a strange ce. I knew I had arrived, but my ''location'' wasn''t something I could determine. I believe this realm was called the ''Colored Rooms''. Perhaps named after the Aurora-like lights that constantly flowed overhead. It was rather pretty, something I would expect of Meridia.


    It was almost like floating inds in the void, yet there didn''t seem to be any set direction that I could point and call ''up''. There wasnd upside down above me, but the nts and such acted as if the gravity there was normal for their orientation.


    Truly a strange ce.


    Land began to form infront of me as I approached the end of the littlend mass I was on, urging my in a specific direction.


    I don''t know how long I walked, or if I was even ''going'' anywhere. I think Meridia already knew I was here, in fact I would put money on it, and she was mad at me.


    "Meridia...." I said with a sigh.


    That seemed to be all it took as the scenery around me shifted and I was then standing before arge throne with her staring down at me, displeasure written all over her face.


    "I''m sorry." She didn''t answer, and I continued. "But I also can''t guarantee that I won''t get in more fights like that." I had no doubt she knew what happened, probably watched it through whatever means she employed.


    "Your apologies need work." She snorted, crossing her arms.


    "I won''t ever lie to you and say something like ''This won''t happen again.''" I took a step forward, she and turned her nose up, but my steps weren''t impeded.


    "Stupid man." She hissed, standing up. "You stupid, stupid man!" She tookrge strides forward, getting right close to me and hitting my shoulder. "Do you have any idea how much I worried, watching you fight one of Akatosh''s children!?"


    I wrapped my hands around her, even as she continued to pound her fists into me. A goddess in strength, but they were light as a feather. "I''m sorry." I just continued to whisper.


    "I couldn''t intervene!" She spat out. "There were others watching, that Dragonborn being shown for the first time. That damn prophecy that may be the end of Nirn has everyone looking at what will happen." She calmed her anger and looked me straight in the eyes, poking me in the chest. "And then theres what YOU did."


    "So even you were troubled by that...." I winced, only realizing recently the repercussion of using Ddraig''s bnce breaker.


    I could understand her stance. Ddraig used to fight gods, and win. He was one of the strongest things in the world he originated, that kind of power draws attention even if I only used a fraction of it.


    "OF COURSE!" She shouted. "Do you think I was the only one as well? A being suddenly awoke, shouting its name to the heavens and the world SHOOK." She quieted down looking at me intently. "You are keeping a great many secrets."


    "I am." I answered without hesitation as I grabbed her hands in mine.


    She just snorted, epting my gesture. "Would you tell me if I asked?"


    "I would." I replied without hesitation.


    ".....I want to know, but I want you to tell me of your own volition." She said quietly. "Stay in my realm, you will be safe here."


    My gaze softened as I saw her worry. "I can''t."


    "Stupid." She spat out, pulling away. "What will you do then? I fear that it isn''t only just the other Daedra that will seek you out, perhaps even the ''Divines'' will also make an appearance."


    "I was going to disappear for a bit, seek out my grandfather for training." I didn''t hide my ns from her.


    "And you would be safe there, undiscovered by those that wield the same power as I?" She raised an eyebrow, allowing her presence full flow out.


    I steadied myself as I basked in her full presence. "I''ll be fine." I cupped her cheek, bring my face up to hers. "I can guarantee they won''t be able to reach me."


    "Fine." She turned her head away. "I will trust you on this....and I will be most upset if you betray this trust of mine....how long will you be away?"


    "No more than a month." I was certain that I could return before that much time passed in this world. "And I promise to tell you everything when I get back."


    "Never before had I ever had to contemte the passing of such a small figure of time. I have lived longer than this world and yet.....suddenly something as insignificant as ''days'' brings me heartache." Her words were quiet, only spoken for me to hear. It was rare for her to be so open about her affections like this.


    I didn''t know what to respond with, what words to answer her affection, I could do the only thing I knew how. I gently pushed my lips against hers to convey my feeling physically. She reciprocated, wrapping her hands around my neck as I held her waist.


    "I will miss you every moment." I whispered as our lips parted.


    She was unwilling, I could tell by the look in her eyes and I knew the feeling all too well. "Go, leave my realm." She finally said, putting distance between us. ".....do not return until you have seeded in your objective and you intend to stay with me for an extended period of time."


    I could only smile sadly as I shed open another portal. I had long prepared the required calctions to fix the issues I had when I first came to this world. No fanfare, no huge mess this time a simple portal and I would be back home.


    "I will miss you as well....my dear." She said ever so quietly, like a whisper, the small breeze almost obscuring her voice, I looked back in surprise only for her to use her power and push me through my portal.

 Chapter 32 - 31 (Fate)

    <h4>Chapter 32: Chapter 31 (Fate)</h4>


    "I''m home...." I muttered, staring up at the sky, recognizing the familiar constetions and the singr moon in orbit.


    As beautiful as the two Skyrim moons were, I much preferred my own.


    Now, where exactly was I? My sword was already filling up with the required calctions, the ones I used previously were more so just to get myself to this world-line. Well, I just need to make one more jump, and its not even across realities.


    As my sword finished up, I shed the air again and walked through a new portal, turning up in a familiar area, the architecture a mix of modern and Victorian. There were many people, some who gave me looks of surprise or intrigue but I ignored it.


    If they were normal people there might have been an issue, but the number of Bounded Fields surrounding us was a clear indication that I was in the correct ce.


    The Clock Tower.


    I didn''t particrly n on keeping a low profile.


    The area thatposed of this branch of the Mages Association was massive, there were hundreds of buildings, thousands of acres of property and all manner of privately owned enterprises all in the surrounding area. It wouldn''t be incorrect to say it was almost like a college town, but all owned by Mages.


    At its core, the Clock Tower was essentially a college, albeit one where they teach magecraft and you can die if you walk down the wrong hallway.


    [So this is it?] Ddraig spoke. [I can feel it from here.]


    Oh, I had forgotten. The Clock Tower was built upon the Spirit Tomb of Albion, a dragon the size of a small mountain. It was obvious what he was speaking about, it must have been odd to know his ''rival'' was dead below the ground they walked.


    [All the gods are gone, creatures retreating to another aspect of the world, and the only remnants of our legacy are our pieces being used by humans.] Ddraig had a strange tone in his voice, I sensed no anger only.... resignation. [I suppose that is the way of the world].


    I let him quietly contemte as I walked, I wasn''t in any hurry, I may as wall go for a nostalgic walk through the area. But something caught my attention, a smallmotion in an open building to the north. If I had to put a word to it, I guess it would be a gymnasium? It was a bit too.... Exquisite though. The tiles on the floor looked extraordinarily expensive, yet people were breaking them apart like they were nothing. I mean, they can be repaired easily enough through magical means, but it just seems so....unnecessary.


    I walked past a few at the doors to get a better look.


    "Gori, Gori! Good, Miss Gori!" A blonde woman with impressive ring curls was wearing a leotard and she spared with a rather familiar face.


    "Damn you, bitch!" Her opponent, a Japanese woman shouted back as they traded blows.


    That should be Rin Tohsaka, I guess I''m not far off from where I wanted to enter the timeline. I could have sworn I recognized the blonde.....Luvia or something? Kind of lucky running into her here....you know now that I think about it I''ve had quite a few lucky encounters. Maybe I inherited that ''luck'' from a certain side of my family?


    [Oi, look over to the right.]


    I blinked, hearing Ddraigs words and my eyesnded on another face I didn''t think I would see here. She was also blonde, perhaps a bit short as well. She had her hair up in a bun and wore a white blouse and a blue skirt.


    She was quite pretty.


    Yeah, no wonder Ddraig pointed her out. "She give off a familiar presence to you?" I whispered to myself.


    [Yeah, I didn''t realize it until we got closer.]


    It''s to be expected, she carries ''your'' core after all. Almost as if she could hear me, she turned to look at me in confusion.


    Maybe she sensed Ddraig as well? I could theorize that her Dragon''s Core was having some kind of reaction to the owner in my soul even if they were technically different dragons.


    Well, now I''m a bit curious so I walked over. "May I sit here?" I asked, very politely, she was royalty and I did have manners.


    There were bleachers set up, seemingly out of ce when this building looked so extravagant, but I didn''t dwell on it. What caught my attention was how almost everyone was avoiding her, she was sitting quietly in the corner here and the few dozen people were no less than probably 20 feet away.


    "I do not own these seats." She replied curtly.


    I sat down, not too close, but enough to make it obvious that I was in her presence. We sat in silence for a moment or two, watching the fight but I could see her nce at me a couple times. "It''s a shame that Miss Tohsaka is going to lose." I said idly.


    My newpanion froze, but she didn''t look upset, I could guess that she realized the oue of this little spat as well. "How can you tell?" She asked, not as an usation against me, but more in a curious way.


    "Her martial arts aren''t bad, Bajiquan if I''m not mistaken." I nodded to myself reaffirming some of the vague memories I had in my head. She was prominent, how many versions of my previous-self had a ''Tohsaka'' as their student? "Maybe I would even call her good, but it''s unfortunate that her opponent had mastered Reinforcement to a higher degree."


    "Magecraft isn''t always the definitive indicator inbat." She furrowed her brow slightly, before getting her expression neutral.


    "That is true, especially in this case. If all was equal, I would say that Miss Tohsaka would win 9 out of 10 times. Her style of martial arts is a good counter to her opponent who focuses on grabs, throws and locks in wide movements. While Miss Tohsaka seems to favor suchrge attacks herself, she also was keen enough to mix in some subtle jabs, and smaller movements to grab the momentum."


    Myposedpanion smiled ever so slightly. "If it''s as you say, then shouldn''t Ri¡ªTohsaka win this bout?"


    "Ites back down to Reinforcement. Her opponent is on a higher level of mastery with that little spell, meaning her reaction speed is slightly higher, her body is sturdier, and her attacks hit just a little bit harder." I shared her small smile. "You should know better than most how much that little advantage can mean in a fight."


    She pursed her lips, I think she was mulling over what I meant by that. I doubt with her nature, she would have revealed her true identity, especially in this ce. "It is as you say, I do not believe Tohsaka can win this fight." She sighed.


    "What are they even fighting about?" I asked.


    "I believe Miss Edelfelt is still unhappy that Tohsaka had be the Wizard-Marshall''s student when she had not."


    Ah, that''s her name. Luviagelita Edelfelt, member of the Edelfelt family.


    Hmm, that means she''s been here for a bit at least, she''s probably around my age. "Ah, some scheme to maybe draw the Wizard-Marshall''s attention? Or is Miss Edelfelt just venting her frustration?"


    "Mayhaps it is both?" Her lips quirked upward slightly. "I do not partake in the politics that happen here, so I would not be able toment on it anymore."


    Not partaking in the politics, yet you are so easily able to navigate them. Years of practice don''t just disappear it seems.


    "Of course, I can only guess that thest thing you would want to do as a Servant would be to delve back into politics again." I smirked, eyeing her reaction.


    It was small, but I could tell she was surprised at what I said. "Not many magi here are able to identify me as a servant on the first meeting." She said evenly. "Or maybe you sought me out specifically?" Her attention was me was more...focused than before.


    Oh, it seems she maybe has a sort of reputation here? Perhaps that is why people were avoiding her. I guess if Rin was my ''Grandfather''s student she would garner enough attention that having a servant around her would be something ofmon knowledge.


    "It was by chance." I waived off her questioning. "I was on the way to see my grandfather and I just so happened to catch this little spat going on. When I saw Miss Tohsaka participating, I though it suitable to watch."


    "And what is your intention with Rin?" She gazed sharpened considerably and her words like a sword at my neck. I wouldn''t be surprised if she had to ''dissuade'' quite a few people here in the past. As far as a Magus goes, Rin''s talent was indeed monstrous, add on herck of family backing and being Zelretch''s student, she''s probably been hounded by all types in this ce.


    "I was curious about the student my grandfather took in." I said simply, a smile creeping on my face as realization dawned on her. "Ah, I believe I forgot to introduce myself, how rude of me." I of course followed proper etiquette for someone of her status. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Pendragon."

 Chapter 33 - 32

    <h4>Chapter 33: Chapter 32</h4>


    "How.." The servant''s eyes shed in suprise


    "You''re a smart girl, figure it out." I winked, leaving her dumbfounded. "And don''t worry, I made sure no one was eavesdropping." A rune appeared at the tip of my index finger. It seemed pretty obvious that her true name be kept a secret.


    She visible calmed down, she wasn''t one to show all her emotions on her sleeve. "You are the Wizard-Marshall''s grandson, or so you im. I could only suspect that you have ess to his Magic as well, perhaps knowledge from a parallel world?"


    "Well done." I gave her a small p, withdrawing an item from my ring. "Here''s your prize." I presented her with a flower, one I was a bit familiar with after learning it was Meridia''s favorite.


    She hesitantly took it, staring at the flower oddly. "This is not a normal flower."


    Artoria was indeed perceptive. "It''s called Dragon''s Tongue, it grows in ces with a lot of heat. It got its name because of its likelihood to bloom in dragon''s nests for obvious reasons. There is also the added benefit of being soothing for dragons when they sleep." I was kind of curious to see if would have the same effect on her as it did on me.


    Technically a magic flower, but it didn''t have any impressive overt effects, mainly used as Alchemy ingredients.


    She actually seemed to like it; I had just assumed to see her merely acknowledge the ''gift'' and nothing more but she looked genuinely interested. I wonder if having Ddraig in my made her more inclined to have a good impression of me?


    I was a little surprised when she schooled her expression, pushing back towards me. "I thank you for your generous gift, but I will have to decline, if you¡ª" Her words sounded extremely rehearsed, and I realized what was going on.


    "Stop." I held my hand up interrupting, realizing what was going on. "This is a small gift without any thought of recourse or attempt at garnering some kind of ''debt''." While the mages here weren''t exactly on par with the Fae folk, it was a good idea to follow the same principles when dealing with unknowns. I''m sure Artoria memorized the lines regarding ''epting'' gifts and she resorted right to those. "Rin is my grandfather''s student, practically family, consider this a hand extended in friendship."


    It was just a small thing, not even a romantic gesture, not that I didn''t find her attractive, but such things aren''t meant for a first meeting. No, it was genuinely supposed to be just a way to perhaps bridge the gap and maybe be something close to friendly since we would probably be around each other more often.


    I wasn''t lying about the effects of Dragon''s Tongue either, it was soothing for the dragon species to sleep around. With Artoria''s nature, having the magical core of this world''s Ddraig, it would probably be just as effective. I''m sure she could even ''feel'' its effects right now. Hell, I could feel the subtle soothing feeling from it, and I wanted to make a good impression. Not like it was something nefarious either, and it was quite pretty if I did say so myself.


    "I see..." She still looked a bit unsure.


    I could only sigh. I couldn''t really me her; this ce was a nest of vipers. Most here were willing to do anything to get ahead.


    "Saber." A familiar voice called out, walking towards us.


    Both me and Artoria turned to look at Rin who had already changed back into her normal clothes and walked over. It seems we were a bit distracted. She was sporting a few bruises around her face but nothing too bad.


    "Who''re you?" Her eyes narrowed as she stood infront of me. Her tone was...even, not too disrespectful but definitely suspicious.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, I am your teacher''s grandson." I stood up and introduced myself proper. There was no need to be pompous or difficult, I wasn''t lying with myment about us practically being family. I have it on good authority that Zelretch considers her a granddaughter.


    She just blinked, looking between me and Artoria who gave a small nod. "He never told me he had a grandson, I didn''t think he had any rtives." She looked at me intently, as if trying grasp any deceit.


    Ah, trying to use me of being a liar without insulting me, she''s learned well so far. "I''m sure there are many things he hasn''t told you yet, he has lived a long life after all."


    She looked skeptical, but it was also one of those circumstances where she couldn''t really call me out on it.


    "Reeeen" Another voice shouted, walking over. Luvia strode over, nked by several ''guards'' who looked like they belonged to her family. They all had some ridiculous hairstyles, and basically walking with that ''aristocrat'' stride, like they knew they were important and everyone should know it too.


    "What do you want." Rin all but growled.


    "Don''t be like that Reen!" Luviaughed haughtily. "It was just a friendly spar, I''m sure you''ll do better next time." She covered her mouth and continued tough in that obnoxious way.


    Was she pronouncing Rin''s name like that on purpose...?


    Rin audibly twitched and I wanted to sit down and watch the fun, but Artoria put a hand on Rin''s shoulder to visibly calm her down.


    "Whatever, I need to get back to work." She flipped her hair up, dismissing the insult.


    Luvia didn''t look happy, probably wanted to goad a reaction out of Rin. Her eyes turned to me as her lips curled up. "Reen, who''s your new friend?"


    "He''s ¨C"


    "Wilhelm, first-generation Magus." I answered, earning a look from Rin, we exchanged a nce before I answered again. "Me and Rin just so happened to have share a circle for magical research and would be seeing much more of each other in the future, so I wanted to introduce myself."


    See looked at me strangely, perhaps because of my ''first-generation magus'' remark.


    Luvia''s eyes practically sparkled. "Ohoho, Reen I thought you had standards, but I suppose that is another aspect you arecking in." Luvia gave the very definition of a haughtyugh.


    Oh yes, herees the hazing. If it wasn''t the subtle racism directed to those with Asian descent, everyone loved to look down on the new blood. Technically, I was a first-generation magus, but on the other hand, my bloodline could be traced back to before humanity. On my father''s side of course, hell I''m technically rted to big G himself.


    Rin narrowed her eyes slightly, staring for a moment before she smiled brightly, holding back augh.


    "It''s actually my first timeing to the Clock Tower" I said ''enthusiastically''. My acting skills were top notch, and now that I''m back in my home, I should really check out the local theatre scene, it would be a good break from what I''ve been doing recently.


    "I see, and what may I ask, is your Magecraft focus?" Luvia could barely hold back the glee in her voice as she kept ncing at Rin.


    It wasn''t exactly a secret what one specializes in, though digging anymore than that could be seen as rude or even downright malicious.


    Well, if she wanted to keep making her hole deeper, who was I to stop her. "Well, I quite enjoy Runecraft." I smiled brightly.


    "Hohoho." She covered her mouth,ughing some more. "Runecraft is it? What an.....old craft to pursue."


    Yeah, the older families here look down on Runecraft due to its inability to perceivably reach the ''Root''. The Akashic Records,monly referred to as the Root, is the origin of all existence, containing all knowledge past, present and future. It is the focus of every ''true'' magus and the purpose of their research.


    I just nodded along,pletely ''ignorant'' of her subtle jabs. "Indeed, Runes are a craft that dates back to the age of gods, they are a truly powerful avenue of research."


    "Yes yes, of course." She continued to snicker, stealing nces at Rin who just scowled and crossed her arms.


    Though I saw a small glint in Artoria''s eye, I think she noticed what I was doing and didn''t make a move to stop me. I guess even she was a bit put off by this girl''s attitude, yet she had too much pride to step past her own position to do something.


    "It''s always nice to meet someone who appreciates my craft." I smiled happily, trying to mimic Thorum''s own smile. "I''m really impressed with the facilities here, they even allow for such vigorous sparing between colleagues."


    Luvia''s eyes seemed to brighten. "You''re right, they do allow for sparing between ''colleagues''. Since you''re knew to the Clock Tower, why don''t you introduce yourself with a spar? Alistair here does so love a friendly bout." She tapped therge gentlemen standing next to her on the arm. He was a little bit bigger than most Nords, practically all muscle. It was impressive, really.


    "Well...it''s my first day here, I don''t know...."


    "You are Reen''s friend, I''m sure you know your way around a fight." She snickered.


    There was a crowd gathering around us at this point, a bunch of whispers directed at me and some not so subtleughs echoing Luvia''s. Well, it looks like she took the bait. "Okay, you convinced me! Let''s have a friendly fight." I held out my hand and smiled towards ''Alistair''.


    He stared down at me, not saying a word. It was rather...intense. I don''t think he''s allowed to speak unless Luvia gives him permission. Such is the way some of these families raise their extra members.


    "Alistair, dear, why don''t you repair the arena while I give our new ''friend'' a run down of the rules." Luvia said ever so ''kindly''.


    "Do whatever you want." Rin snorted.


    "Reen, don''t be like that. How about we make a friendly wager? I have a few recently cut gems." She took a couple of shiny gems out of her sleeve, practically waving them around. They appeared to have not been ''used'' yet, meaning that her families magic hasn''t touched them, so they were safe for ''outsiders'' to acquire. "Unless of course, you don''t have anymore yourself? But how could that be, I''m sure someone of your ''stature'' has many resources avable."


    I could tell Rin was about to lose her temper, she did a could job of keeping a straight face so far.


    "Actually, I forgot to give a present for our first meeting, how rude of me." I withdrew a bag from my ring and presented it to Rin. To be honest I did want to give her a gift for our first meeting since she was ''grandfathers'' student, I just didn''t n on doing it so openly.


    Rin hesitantly opened the bag, I could tell she cast her own diagnostic spell on the fabric before opening. Good girl, make sure no one tries to pull a fast one on you.


    "This!?" She eximed looking down in shock. Artoria even peeked over and her eyes widened ever so slightly.


    "I heard you specialize in Jewelcraft, I believe these may help you in your research."


    Rin lifted a handful of jewels out of the bag, I think shepletely forgot where she was as even Luvia lookedpletely shocked, staring at the bag, then at me, and even down at my ring. I guess she noticed where I took the bag from.


    Toote, you dug your hole, time to get buried. I don''t hate Luvia, merely more of a dislike, which is why I wasn''t plotting her death or anything like that. I would settle for a small bit of humiliation, I knew she wasn''t a ''bad person'' but she also wasn''t the picture of innocence either.


    "Why don''t we increase our wager a little bit." Rin''s lips formed a malicious smirk. "Of course, I wouldpletely understand if you couldn''t match up to my wealth." She flipped her hair haughtily, mimicking Luvia''s mannerisms.


    Luvia practically snarled in frustration. "Hmph, I don''t keep that many gems on me like some kind of....peasant trying to show off their wealth." She scoffed. "I can match any wager you put forth."


    Rin very reluctantly handed the bag over to Saber. "Saber, you keep hold of this until the fight is over."


    "Of course, I shall make sure all dues are paid out." She nodded.


    "It is good to know at least one of you is up to a certain standard." Luvia turned her nose up, handing over the few gems she currently had. "Miss Saber~ Why don''t you be my servant? You''re wasted on such a gori like Reen."


    "I told you before! She''s my Servant." Rin practically shouted in annoyance.


    "Hohoho, you see this Saber, your master is such a barbarian, not that I could expect much else from an Asian."


    "You wanna go blondie!?"


    "I wouldn''t mind a second fight today, the first one left me unfulfilled."


    "RAAAA!"


    "Gori, keeping roaring, Miss Gori."


    "Rin."


    "No! Stay out of It Saber, this bitch has iting!"


    "Ahem." I cleared my throat, earning their attention and a small nod of thanks from Saber.


    "Of course, only someone uncouth would interrupt a fight that is already predetermined." Luvia waved her hand flippantly towards Rin.


    "Just get your gems ready, bitch." Rin snorted.


    "How uncivilized." Luvia scoffed. "Now, I believe it is time to exin the rules of this battle." She turned to look at me. "The rules are simple, no killing." She pped her hands happily. "And that is it."


    Yeah they don''t really babysit people here, but they also don''t like to do the ''dirty deeds'' out in public like this. They at least want their students to not kill each other so openly.


    "I believe my opponent is ready for me?" I saw Alistair waiting patiently at one end of the arena, the entire thing looking brand new as all the tiles were now fixed and in ce and there wasn''t a speck of dust to be seen.


    Well, time to establish the pecking order.

 Chapter 34 - 33

    <h4>Chapter 34: Chapter 33</h4>


    There was actually more to the fight than just ''don''t kill your opponent'', no doubt Luvia was trying to be dramatic. Really, it was just basic etiquette things, like don''t purposely blow up the building, don''t hurt spectators h h,mon sense things.


    "This will be an open match, any spells are eptable as long as the rules are followed." Luvia stated, facing the crowd, hyping it up.


    She was really trying to embarrass Rin here, honestly this just went past amusing and fell tly on annoying. I''m sure in her mind, this Alistair would defeat me then she would gloat and blow it up saying how ''Rin''s Friend'' was so easily defeated. Basically, just twisting in the knife after she won their earlier spar. Honestly, this is pretty tame for ''plots'' go in this ce.


    "Can we just get on with this? I need to get back to my workshop." Rin replied with detachment, much to Luvia''s annoyance. I smiled slightly, realizing that Rin also knew exactly what buttons to push on Luvia.


    "Hmph, Lets see how long you can stay so rxed." Luvia frowned, turning back to the arena. "Let me introduce our fighters! On the left we have Alistair Edelfelt, third son of the second branch family. Even with being the third child of the second branch family with no Crest of his own, he was able to pioneer a new path for his own Thaumaturgy only using the basics of our families'' specialty."


    Hoh? His own path, maybe that''s why he was ''elevated'' to the position of Luvia''s bodyguard? She''s the most talented of her family or did she have a sister? I vaguely recall that she was someone extremely important to their family line, basically one of or the next in line to lead. That''s probably why she had several bodyguards following her around.


    A branch family member, and not even the first child, no doubt he received very few resources and had to rely purely on his own skills and talent.


    My interest was piqued now, a ''new path'' I''m curious what he''s used their Jewelcraft as a foundation to achieve? The barest of basics was known about Jewelcraft across the magicalmunity, the non-scions would probably have a little bit more than that to work with.


    "And how about a wee to a new member of our prestigious institute,ing from the East, a first-generation magus and a Runecraft Practitioner, Wilhelm!" She eximed, intentionally iterating my background.


    Well, wasn''t that the unholy fucking trifecta of nonsense that the people here look down on. I could hear theughs and jeers directed toward me and feigned ignorance, but I definitely remembered faces.


    I looked around and caught Artoria''s eyes. I raised an eyebrow as she looked back at me. Only receiving a small nod, but I could pretty much understand her message. It seems like I have her ''blessing'' and I do want to leave a good impression.


    Bounded Fields sprang up around us, a defense mechanism that allowed the fighting to not carry over to any bystander. Not something absolute but it was the bare necessary for a type of facility like this. Well, the facilities here were something admire, while not all that impressive on the surface, the ease of use and application was noteworthy.


    "Begin!" Luvia shouted as all the mechanisms fell into ce.


    Well, bonus points to my opponent, he didn''t act cocky and immediately acted, Reinforcement covered his body and I mimicked the action, but instead of charging right at me, he dashed to the side and threw a handful of gems into the center of the area.


    No that wasn''t quite right, they weren''t quite ''gemstones'' they were pieces, like a few were shattered into dozens of smaller ones, Topaz''s if my eyes didn''t fail me.


    They sunk into the ground as their mysteries actualized, ignoring the tiles and other barriers to their target. It only took a moment for something to rise up.


    "Golems, now that''s a surprise." I said honestly. "And they even looked above average, curious, I know it takes a bit of effort to makes golems of this quality, and you did so instantly."


    Alistair came from my side, every step he took practically dug into the ground as he charged with an overhead fist. I ducked, knocking his fist away and used his own momentum to throw him towards the wall.


    Surprisingly, he was able to fold into my own ''attack'' and reorganized his fall to catch himself from suffering any damage.


    I suppose it has been a while since I''ve fought someone in hand-to-hand that could move at these kinds of speeds, perhaps I''m rusty? I felt a small smile form on my face as he moved back in ducking close to the ground and trying to sweep my legs by swinging both arms.


    With a stomp on the ground I cast an Earth Wall right infront of me as his arms smashed it to pieces. With a wave of my hand, several runes appeared, floating in air infront of me. As the wall crumbled, they actualized, forming into mes and firing off like bullets towards my opponent who nimbly dodged each one.


    Once again, I''m impressed. He shouldn''t be any more than one or two years ahead of me yet he has a good amount of experience and spellcraft under his belt.


    This time he chose to duck behind the pirs holding the ceiling up. Hats off to my opponent, his Golems didn''t allow me breathing room as they also moved to surround and attack.


    He also didn''t reengage, opting to allow his disposable minions to wear me down and gauge my reaction. Say what you will about the Edelfelt, but they sure train theirs well.


    Harass, immobilize, swarm. I could tell his strategy and it was both well made and a solid n.


    "Curious thing you are." I said idly as a massive stone ''fist'' swept down at me. These things lumbered one or two heads over me, but they were a bit impressive on their feet. Their coordination wasn''t bad either, were they perhaps mentalmands from their caster or ''preprogrammed'' already? They weren''t stumbling over one another as they all closed in on me. Well, this would be ufortable if I allowed this to happen. I allowed runes to swirl around my hand, forming into a dozen Runic circles covering every side. "Lightning" Izily called out as therge bolts discharged towards the closest ones, demolishing them with a frightening ease.


    There were shouts of astonishment from the peanut gallery, I held back a smirk as I noticed Luvia''s surprise.


    "Now aren''t you a gift that keeps on giving." I couldn''t help but grin as I saw the bodies reform without any inherent damage to the golems. I loved to see new spells, especially ones like this that were very ingenious in their applications, but I think all good things muste to an end. "I believe I understand now." I stated, weaving throw the mass of stone limbs swung at me. "Distort" A simple illusion spell I learned from Skyrim, the numbers of me in the arena now number in the twenties as I confused the animated earth constructs.


    This spell was quickly turning into one of my favorites.


    "Topazes." I said decently loud, making sure to gather attention on me. "Jewelcraft and the Kabbh. You use the connection Topazes have to Yesod of the Sefirot, amon enough application but quite intelligent. Specifically, you pull on the ''Tree of Life'' to grant the golems ''life'' at the obvious cost of the magical energy supplied via the Topazes. This also has the added benefit of not allowing them to ''die'' while the Topazs still supply them with magical energy, but at the same time they are ''time-limited'' but in a trade off their abilities are almost ''super charged'' for the duration. This concept is mostly used in healing, but you are using it to sustain ''life'' via magical battery and thus they are essentially ''immortal'' until either the gem is removed or the magical energy runs out."


    My praise wasn''t unwarranted, this guy was truly talented. Well, since he showed me something so nice, I won''t be too harsh, I think a week or so bedridden is enough of a punishment. I materialized the runes around me, moving my hands fast enough to string the sentences together, I intentionally chose something rather showy. I made a few calctions and first summoned arge Runic Circle under my feet to help facilitate casting and control the output to a more precise degree.


    "Freezing winds of Jotunheim." I let my voice carry all across the arena.


    The cold air exploded out from me, instantly freezing everything in the vicinity. It even crashed against the Bounded Fields in the area, cascading and threatening to break free from the confines. I made sure to reel back all the excess, but this was a spell that didn''t want to be caged.


    The Golems froze solid, unable to move and I assume I burned through their magical energy supply as they didn''t even fight it after a bit.


    The cold continued and the Bounded Field began to crack as the winds swept across the entire building. I reined it in as they rushed out, but I only allowed everyone here to get a little cold, forcing the spell to dissipate a few momentster.


    The ce was freezing and there was a deathly quiet in the air now. Every step I took on the new-found frost practically echoed throughout the arena as I approached the lump of Ice that was my opponent.


    A small tap and it shattered, Alistair falling to the ground on his back, his breathing a little haggard, but he still tried to jump up. I merely mmed my foot on his stomach, causing him to slightly cough blood.


    "You lost." I narrowed my eyes down at him, daring him to say otherwise.


    He just responded with a meek nod.


    I let off him, taking a step back and sweeping my gaze across the crowd, I met the eyes of anyone who dared to look back.


    By all means, insult me based on my craft or heritage, I wee it.


    But it seemed like no one was keen on speaking.


    "Well, Alistair should be fine if you want to go retrieve him." I walked over to Luvia with a smirk on my face. I didn''t want the guy to die, he hasn''t even said a word to me, merely following the directions of his ''family head'' or whatever. And he was quite talented, it would be a shame if he died like this.


    "You.....how?" Luvia looked utterly dumfounded.


    "How unthoughtful I seemed to have forgotten to full introduce myself again." I gave an exaggerated bow. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." Gods I loved saying that.


    "S-Schweinorg?" She stuttered as her face paled.


    And there it is. The peanut gallery also was having a conniption I think I saw a few that were throwing around insults previously bolt out of the area. Good luck with that, I can be a right petty bastard sometimes, pray you don''t meet me again.


    "How was that, pretty good, right?" I looked towards Rin and Artoria. Thetter of whom just nodded like she expected it. Yeah, she probably saw through me already, but Rin seemed a bit surprised at my power.


    But I think she just pushed all that away as an evil smile grew on her face and she turned towards Luvia.


    ***


    "Her face! It was priceless!!" Rinughed heartily as we walked down the halls. "And then you were like ''Excuse me I wouldn''t want my Asian Barbarianism to contaminate you any longer'' when she tried to apologize after hearing your name!"


    "Yeah she was getting on my nerves." I just nodded, I wasn''t going to hold Rin''s hand all the time and try to meddle with her issues, but some lines needed to be drawn.


    "She should keep her head down for a while now, alteast I won''t have to hear that bitch''sugh until her family is done punishing her." Rin happily jiggled the bag full of jewels. "And she has to pay me even more gems! I wish I could see the look on her face when she has to go to her family and beg."


    "Well, I''m d you like my present." I just smiled, recalling a few memories of this girl from myst life. It was amusing how she never even considered ''declining'' the gift I gave her.


    ".....are you really Zelretch''s grandson? You said you were a first-generation." She looked at me as we turned a corner.


    "We have no blood connection, if that''s what you''re wondering." I said honestly. "But yes, we are rted and the best way I chose to address it was being his Grandson, it makes it simpler for all involved."


    She just signed. "You have that same ''I know more than you'' look that the old man does."


    Really? I need to check that out in the mirror and learn how to do it intentionally.


    "I wonder if he''s home...." I said quietly as we approached his ''room''. It was more like an underground mansion. The ce was hard to describe, a lot of the infrastructure was actually underground as it got closer to the tomb with the better atmosphere for experiments. "Lets see if I remember how to do this." I began tapping the door in various ces. There was no ''handle'' it was magically locked in a very intricate way, but it seemed like it was the same as I recalled. " There we are." I said as the doors disengaged and all the traps and defense turned off.


    "I guess you really do know him then." Rin finally acknowledged "I don''t think anyone would be brave enough or stupid enough to actually try to break into here."


    "You''d be surprised." I said with a small chuckle. ''He'' didn''t get that mask of a Prankster without good reason. In fact, it all started with some idiot breaking into his(my) workshop and stealing an old prototype for his jeweled sword. You throw one guy into a dimension filled with some very affectionate tentacle monsters and suddenly you''re a ''prankster''. "Wonderful, he isn''t here yet!"


    "Why is that wonderful?" Rin looked at me in confusion and Artoria followed us inside. She seemed rxed enough, I guess they''ve both been here long enough to not tip toe around everything. But she also seemed rather rxed in my presence, not nearly as on guard as I would have imagined.


    This was technically Zelretch''s ''Workshop'' but really only one room was dedicated to that, another was for Rin''s own workshop and various other living spaces. Hell, there was a room that was specifically Zelretch''s office, the target of my attention. "Because I can now raid his liquor cabs."


    "Will you now?" A voice grabbed all our attention, and I felt a chill run up my spine as my eyes widened. The family face that I saw a thousand times when I peered into the mirror of my memories, the same eyes, the same ''look''.


    I didn''t even fucking sense him, I didn''t feel any speck of his presence as he used the Kaleidoscope to appear here.


    "Master." Rin said respectfully.


    "Rin, I hear you got into a fight today." He smiled ever so gently, but dear god did it give me anxiety for some reason.


    It was like an invisible pressure weighing down on me.


    [He''s strong] Ddraig spoke up. [Your memories don''t really do it justice.]


    Yeah, I was really a monster in my previous life.


    "It was nothing, just a stupid spar." Rin huffed in annoyance and Zelretch just chuckled, turning towards Artoria.


    "What a beautiful flower." He flipped his hand revealing an elegant vase with some water already inside it. "It would make a lovely decoration."


    "Thank you, Wizard-Marshall." Artoria said respectfully.


    "And my ''Grandson.''" His eyes bore down on me, I felt so insignificant for the briefest of moments before he pulled back, I was moments away from doing something to diminish the pressure myself. "I see." He stroked his chin. "I assume we have quite a bit to discuss."

 Chapter 35 - 34

    <h4>Chapter 35: Chapter 34</h4>


    We sat in his office, the familiar walls and furniture were ying heavily on my nostalgia. Rin and Artoria sat next to me, all three of us facing Zelretch who sat behind his desk as he casually browsed a few documents, seemingly content with the silence in the room.


    "Which one is it?" Zelretch spoke softly, barely even ncing up but I felt the question directed towards me.


    "Pardon?" I asked in confusion.


    "Which of my collection were you so keen on helping yourself to."


    Ah, I see. "The 300 year old Whiskey." There wasn''t really a point in hiding it.


    "That is a good choice." He nodded. "I''m curious, how does it rate?"


    "Easily a 9/10, one of my favorites."


    Zelretch slowly got up from his seat and walked over to the cab holding his various alcohol. "I was saving this for a special asion, and I believe this qualifies." There was no rush to his movements as he carefully looked over the selected bottle. He took four identical sses and set them up each infront of us. "How would you suggest taking it?" He inspected the bottle and the liquid within.


    "It''s not bad clean, but I prefer it with a couple drops of water." I thought for a moment before mentally checking my ring. "I have some cial water, never touched by pollution or human hands." I offered, taking out a bottle I filled back in Skyrim. It was just a whim back then I had some free time, and such pure water was a bit hard toe by without decent effort to produce.


    "Wonderful." He took the container and admired it for a moment before pouring everyone a smidge into their sses.


    "It''s an acquired taste, don''t force yourself if you don''t like it." I saidzily towards Rin and Artoria.


    "I admit, I have not tried any Alcohol from this time period besides some of the more readily-avable stock." Artoria lightly picked up her ss, giving it a curiously sniff.


    She probably only had anything cheap so far, probably Sake considering where she was summoned to and Rin didn''t strike me as someone who would be a connoisseur of the harder varieties of liquor.


    "This is supposed to be 300 years old." Rin looked at her ss.


    "There doesn''t exist a Whiskey over 200 years old." I said with a small smile. "Atleast, one known to the public."


    "From a parallel world-line then?" Rin hazard a guess.


    "Actually, it''s native here." Zelretch corrected, taking a sip, leaning back and appreciating the taste. "Your rmendation was spot on." His eyes nced to me but for a moment.


    "Then how is it 300 years old." Her eyebrows furrowed, hesitantly taking her own sip. I saw her struggle to keep it down and I didn''t want tough. I wouldn''t make fun of her for that, some people simply don''t like the taste.


    "When Miss Aozaki joined the Clock Tower, I approached her for a joint experiment. I had some thoughts that needed confirming and the application of her own Magic would be invaluable." Zelretch quietly exined. "You may know her better as the Blue, but being as one of the few prominent figures of Asian descent I don''t doubt you''ve heard her name a few times."


    The Blue, the 5th True Magic, the name for the other Magician just as Zelretch is called the Kaleidoscope. Truthfully, I don''t know much about the Blue but I do know that Time-Travel lies in its domain.


    "What, so you sent some alcohol back in time?" She muttered, looking a bit put off by the taste


    Zelretch let out a small chuckle. "Indeed, though the objects we sent back were irrelevant, but that didn''t mean we couldn''t benefit from the procedure as well. I believe Miss Aozaki also still has her own bottle she hasn''t opened yet. I will need to make a note and giver her my rmendation."


    "Wait, if this was the first time you opened it, how did he know what it tastes like?" Rin pointed her figure towards me.


    "Oh, she picked up on that. I thought for sure she wouldn''t notice." I praised with a smile.


    Zelretch also smiled. "I had chosen her as my student for a reason."


    "Time travel?" Artoria asked, tilting her head.


    "A good guess, and while technically correct, is wrong." I replied. "I''m not native to this world-line and I was born about a decade from now, year-wise. I have some investment knowledge if you''re interested." I said with augh.


    "That maye in handy." Zelretch shared my amusement. "I noticed your Runecraft application, I''m surprised you chose that path."


    "It was something I could immediately achieve something of note with and my resources at the time were...cking." I frowned, thinking back to the world I was born in. I felt a bit of...regret that I had so quickly ''abandoned'' it. "Though I do not regret my decision, I have found myself content with the craft so far."


    "The runic arts are a very practical path to choose, I don''t me you for that decision." Zelretch acknowledged, not looking at all put off by my choice.


    "I''ve never seen someone utilize Runes like that before." Rin furrowed her eyebrows. "Mostly just for single enhancements or small spells."


    "Most Rune users don''t have nearly infinite magical energy like we do." I pointed out. "A single rune is akin to a spell that requires a couple words to actualize. I had put forth dozens to hundreds of runes into a single spell. Others can achieve this, but most can''t throw them around like I can when I can just refill my reserve so quickly."


    Rin let out a long winded sigh. "I still haven''t gotten that far in my studies."


    She was talking about the ''infinite magical energy'' I was assuming. Technically its not infinite magical energy in the way that the Heaven''s Feel is used. It could be said that once you master the Kaleidoscope to a certain degree your ''Mana Regeneration'' is basically -- Yes.


    Really, it''s only limited by our own physical ability to handle. It was the reason Magic Circuits lost a lot of their relevance. Most mages had to be conscious of their spell usage, but a master of the Kaleidoscope can throw around spells all day until their body finally copses under the strain


    I finished off my ss and Zelretch was kind enough to pour me another ss as I finished my first. I noticed Rin pushing hers away whereas Artoria didn''t seem to prefer the taste either. "Here." I said, offering two bottles of mead I withdrew from my ring.


    "How do you keep doing that?" Rin asked, inspecting the bottle.


    "Taking stuff from nowhere?" I smirked. "I''m sure your teacher can do something simr."


    "I''ve been working on the Kaleidoscope for months now and I still have no idea! He won''t tell me anything, except to figure it out myself." Rin huffed. "This is good." She took a a second sip.


    "Mead from the world I came from, found nowhere on earth."


    "It reminds me of the drinks from my time." Artoria spoke softly, also enjoying the beverage.


    I''m d they like them, this is a joyous asion so it should be celebrated with drinks at least. I felt a little bit of pity for Rin, she''s still in that learning stage. There needs a bit of self-discovery before he could actually start pointing her in specific directions, otherwise her own potential could be stymied.


    "To answer your question, It''s my Ring." I wiggled my finger.


    "It is an impressive piece of work, the space is folded seamlessly, if a bit amateurishly as well." Zelretch praised.


    "It was the Archmage at a College I joined in another world. It was apparently his first attempt at such a thing."


    "Impressive for a novice then."


    "Well, he was a rather impressive mage, all things considered."


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about." Rin frowned in annoyance.


    "A folded special dimension attached to my ring. Essentially I have a pocket space I can ess that stores stuff." I said simply. "I even have this too." I took out my hat to show off.


    "May I?" Zelretch asked as I gave a nod and handed it over. He inspected the workmanship and even stuck his hand inside the space. "What an amusing piece of work. If the ring was amateurish, this is childish at best, yet someone managed to finagle it together into something that works."


    He handed it back to me. "Thank you, for the drink." I finally said, it wasn''t good to hold back on etiquette even if it was towards ''myself''.


    "How could I hold back with such a sincere gift towards my student?" He smiled lightly, conveying his gratitude.


    "Oh, that reminds me, I was going to give something else." I forgot about the other stuff. "I didn''t really want to hand this over in public...lets see." I shifted through a few things, taking a couple books out, inspecting them and setting them on the table. "[Jewelcraft] is a good path, but it alsocks in some areas. Lets see, [Lesser Ward] would be good for a shield that doesn''t need to waste gems on. A basic healing spell is good for every mage''s repertoire." I set down a spell tome on [Healing] as well. "Ah, [Oak Flesh], a body strengthening spell that works on a different paradigm than [Reinforcement] so they can be used in tandem." I set that on the desk as well. I actually have a couple versions superior to [Oak Flesh], but it was a good starting point. "[Detect Life], good for dangerous situations." Another good spell I grabbed on my way out.


    Rin looked at me like I had two heads, Zelretch just blinked, taking a book and cracking it open, reading a few words.


    "Interesting, I don''t recognize the origin." He looked genuinely happy. I could understand, finding new and interesting things was always a happy asion at that point in my life.


    "I may have fudged my first application of dimensional travel and ended up on a world-line outside of Gaia." I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head.


    He closed the book, giving me a deadpanned look. "You''re lucky you didn''t die. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to travel to a world not parallel to our own? What am I saying, of course you know."


    "Actually.....I think there may be some holes in my memories, I don''t have any knowledge of going outside of Earth." With some self reflection, I realized there were quite a few holes in my memories.


    Zelretch tilted his head, seemingly shifting through several thoughts before thinking about something intently. "I see, I suppose that might be expected considering your unique circumstances."


    Well, it was already pretty clear he had an idea of what was going on. It was to be expected of ''myself''.


    "I guess it''s time to have this conversation." I sighed, bracing myself.


    "It was going toe eventually." It was odd to see him, me, from ''this side'' the presence he gave off was surprisingly gentle. "Here you go, Rin, take good care of these and put them in my Library when you finish."


    "Uh.....thanks?" She was still out of it.


    "Its nothing." I waved her off. "I had copies anyways and they are just the basics." I looked over to my previous-self. "So....how much do you know?"


    "I can make several educated guesses. I wouldn''t be remiss to hear it all from the beginning."


    Yeah, that''s what I was assuming at this point.


    Rin and Artoria looked at me intently, I guess they were loss and were curious as well. "I guess it started about a month ago when I awoke memories from my previous life and realized I was reincarnated."


    "Reincarnation?" Rin and Artoria shared the same remark, astonishment clear on their faces.


    "Yeah, it was a bit wild for me when I realized what was happening. A lifetimes worth of memories flooding into the mind of a normal 18 year old kid." I was a bit of a mess those first few days. I just ran a hand through my hair, thinking back to it.


    "How did your memories awaken?" Zelretch asked.


    "Do you not know, didn''t you set this up?" I my eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. I had no memories of this myself, but I attributed it to the holes but this was in no way by chance. Something like this could not be anything but artificial intervention.


    "To be honest, I haven''t done more than just write down some thoughts on what you went through, I haven''t even developed a proper hypothesis yet for testing" He admitted without any fanfare.


    That is.....not what I wanted to hear, is it possible a ''future'' him or rather ''me'' did this? While I doubt he would have had events y out like they did, I had assumed he had a more ''direct'' hand in my existence.


    "I think we''re both missing context then, I guess we''ll figure this out together." I sighed, getting answers to my questions wouldn''t be as easy as I thought. "It started when an Exorcist attacked me after I idently walked up on him."


    "An exorcist? Why would an exorcist attack you if you were just a normal person then?" Rin blurted out.


    "Oh, did I forget to mention that? My mother is human, my father is not." I shared a look with Zelretch, apparently, he didn''t know what I was either if I was reading his expression correctly.


    "A phantasmal species in the modern era?" Artoria looked a bit surprised, but I didn''t see any judgmental looks, interesting.


    "Well, the world I came from, the Age of Gods never ended, even if the world was pretty simr to this one." It wasn''t that simple, but it was enough to describe the situation.


    "Curious." Zelretch scratched his chin in thought.


    "How!? The Age of Gods, doesn''t that mean Magic and miracles should be more open and wide-spread? Should Thaumaturgy even exist there since humanity would be closer to the Root, but then how would it be modernized to something resembling this world if that was the case? Where there newyers of Reality that overrode preexisting world-views into something that allowed for coherence? Did the Phantasmal Species develop alongside humanity, would the collective unconscious still favor us?" Rin blurted out. "That would exin your non-human blood, are you an Oni then? A Youkai of some sort?"


    "Eh...kind of close, but you are thinking incorrectly." Wow she really was wrapping her head around this. Those were some good questions, its sad that the answer is kind ofckluster.


    "Are you a demigod?" Artoria asked.


    "Divinity!" Rin practically eximed, reiterating the question. "Are you a demigod!?"


    "Ermm, wrong direction." I snorted, holding back a smallugh.


    "What do you mean, wrong direction?" Rin questioned.


    "You are thinking me something ''divine'', and you are thinking in the wrong direction."


    "Are you part demon then?" Artoria said inly. I admired her ability to hold her emotions in check, I don''t think most people would look so natural using someone of being a demon and actually believing it.


    "Well....not really." I wasn''t but the difference was mostly academic.


    I watched Artoria furrow he brow, trying to think through it. Rin wasn''t faring any better, I waited until she started taking a drink to answer. "My biological father is Satan, I''m a half-devil."


    "PPPPFFFFFFTTTT" Arge amount of liquid squirted across the table,nding on Zelretch''s face.


    There was a pregnant silence, Zelretch just blinked as liquid dropped down his face. Artoria looked utterly dumbfounded as she looked at me and even Zelretch seemed a bit taken back.


    I just smiled innocently.


    It was technically correct, the best kind of correct.

 Chapter 36 - 35

    <h4>Chapter 36: Chapter 35</h4>


    Zelretch quietly wiped his face with a piece cloth he pulled from wherever he stored things. "Exin properly." He said evenly.


    "Fine." I shrugged, It wasn''t like I was just going to leave it there. "The world I was born in, the original demons are all dead, the term ''Satan'' is used simrly as ''President or Prime Minister''. There are four Satans, of which my biological father is one of. I''m actually descended primarily through the Bael and Gremory lines of Solomon''s 72 pirs."


    "I don''t know how to handle this." Rin said tly.


    "If it makes you feel better, modern day devils aren''t much different than humans, they don''t go around stealing souls or anything." Well, mostly, I''d rather not get into the whole mess with evil pieces. But they''re honestly better than their demon ancestors.


    "I''ll freak out over thister then." Rin snorted. "I''m pretty sure the church would go ballistic if they found out."


    "Yeah, probably not a good idea to mention outside." The church does have a few monsters I would rather not tangle with right now. "It would probably be worse than the world-lines that the old man is a Dead Apostle."


    "Wait, what?" Rin blinked in confusion again.


    "Not relevant right now." Zelretch cut me off. "I believe we are getting sidetracked."


    "Well, there isn''t much more to my story, that was basically a month ago and I found myself in a world I didn''t recognize, but I was able to gather some resources and figure some things out."


    "Curious." Zelretch looked thoughtful. "I had some preliminary thoughts about such a phenomenon, but I had yet to truly put any effort into researching it as a usible avenue."


    "Why were you even looking into that?" Rin asked.


    "That''s...a good question I hadn''t thought about yet." I was more concerned on the ''how'' and hadn''t even touched the ''why'' yet. Nice job, Rin, you really are perceptive.


    Zelretch stood up, moving towards a shelf in the corner, looking through a few books. "The Spider." He said simply.


    My eyes widened, I hesitated ever so slightly. That answer caught mepletely off guard. I thought it through and a realization dawned on me. "Was I supposed to be some kind of weapon then!?" I balled my fists, gritting the words out, but there was an obvious amount of venom present.


    "Watch your tone." His said stoically, staring down at me.


    I stood up, matching his gaze. "Is that why you decided to finally take in a student, is she another bullet in the chamber?"


    Why did I have no memories of why I took Rin in as a student in my past life, unless it was intentional.


    "I do not make disposable pawns." His words were direct and cut straight through all my rampant thoughts.


    Fuck!


    I knew that, I knew it.


    Why am I acting like this? Jumping to conclusions is not something I do! It was just my old insecurities acting up.


    Zelretch was many things, a liar was not one of them. I calmed myself down, lets hear everything out first, no need to just make assumptions with missing knowledge.


    "I would like an exnation." Rin interjected, clearly unsure of what we were talking about.


    "Have you not told her about the Spider yet?" I questioned him only for Zelretch to look slightly unsure. It was surprising to see that look if only for a moment.


    "I have not, I did not wish to burden her with something like that before she was strong enough."


    Yeah.....he did care about Rin I was jumping to conclusions here. I let out a breath I was holding in and fell back into my chair. "The Spider, also known as the Ultimate one of Mercury, or just Type-Mercury, it exists in the same realm as the Crimson Moon. The strongest creature born from the it originates from."


    "An Aristoteles?" Rin whispered. "What does that have to do with anything?"


    "Is it going to awaken soon?" Artoria spoke for the first time in awhile.


    "You would have information on it based on the Grail''s systems." I muttered. "Yes, it should be awakening by the end of next century if nothing interferes."


    "There''s an Aristoteles on earth!?" Rin stood up, mming her hands on the desk. "Why did no one tell me about this!?"


    "It''s not widely spread." Zelretch spoke up. "It was better to keep any foolish enough to approach it from getting ideas."


    I stood up again, and started pacing around the room, I usually do my best thinking on my feet. "Is the Beast of Gaia active....and what about the White Princess?"


    "Arcueid is sleeping, and the Beast is sealed for the moment." Zelretch responded.


    The Beast of Gaia, the White Wolf. One of the''s creations meant to ''destroy'' humanity. It had absolutely authority over human life, Primate Murder. It being sealed for now was good, a variable like that would be able to flip any boards we set up.


    Arcueid Brunestud was another. The White Princess, thest True Ancestor and the only thing on the that could im the title of ''Archetype Earth'', or the ultimate one of the Earth. When fully awakened with her power, she was something on the same level as the Spider. It was basically a creation of the Crimson Moon, Type-Moon, as a means to ''reincarnate'' onto Gaia without interference from the. Didn''t work out in the end, but we got another powerful entity that could flip the board.


    "How bad is the situation?" I finally asked.


    "All my simtions have either failed or resulted in a pyrrhic victory." Zelretch admitted with no small amount of concern shing across his face.


    "Can someone please tell me what''s going on?" Rin sighed. "I feel like everyone is talking around me."


    I looked at her and then to Zelretch who gave a small nod. "It started when the Age of Gods began to decline. The foresaw that Humanity would kill it in the far future, eventually living on its dead husk. It sought out the only other figure that could judge it, another celestial body, and the Moon answered. That''s where the story ends for most people as they all know the tale of Zelretch defeating the Crimson Moon. What most don''t know about is a prophecy into the far future, where on itsst breath, Gaia calls to the other Celestial Bodies to purge humanity from its corpse. Type-Mercury received the call thousands of years too early and crashed in the Rainforests of South America where it now slumbers."


    "All data gathered so far indicates that the Spider will awaken within the next hundred years or so. I''ve run countless simtions, creating new variables, and nning new strategies. But it seems like everything I have done so far only manages to trade the whole of humanity for its destruction in the best-case scenario." Zelretch finished.


    "Which is where I apparentlye in." I sighed, rubbing my temples.


    "You''re a reincarnation of Zelretch." Rin replied quietly. "It makes sense now."


    Zelretch smiled. "Indeed." He looked over to me. "I had a thought a few years ago, about a ''me'' that wasn''t bound to the same ''rules'' as I was."


    Rules. That was it, that was what I was missing, so obvious! Zelretch is the Kaleidoscope, he has a certain ''authority'' thates with that, things I couldn''t do while he still exists. He can choose certain possibilities and force them toe true, that is one of his greatest ''treasures''. A time-line he ''views'' will be the true one among the infinite possibilities. That''s why he has to ''simte'' instead of simply watching.


    "I''m not bound by the same rules, Ick your ''authority'' but I can do things you can''t." I shared a look with him, he apparently already thought this out. "No wonder." I whispered.


    "It''s more than that, you aren''t me" He smiled, almost grandfatherly.


    "I''m not you." I repeated, not quite sure how to feel after hearing that.


    "What are we but our experiences? You have my memories but haven''t lived through it, you are you and I am me." He said gently. "You will therefore think differently, do things I didn''t and thuse to different conclusions."


    I am not Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.


    I am just me.


    And I was okay with that.


    "I guess its toote to ask you for some training?" I snorted inughter.


    He smiled but shook his head. "It would be best for you to develop without my input."


    Yeah, I already realized that, well fuck I''m back to square one, but now the damn Spider is hanging over my head. "I guess that''s why my memories end around here. How many other variables have you tried to introduce?"


    I doubt I was the only ''thing'' he tried so far. Hell, I can only imagine he threw everything at the wall and hoped something stuck.


    "Too many to count." He rubbed his eyes, looking much more tired that normal. "I''ve wasted many resources with almost nothing to show for it. If you are here now though, that means something worked, and how knows, maybe others may alsoe to fruition at some point."


    Rin was probably one of the easiest variables to introduce, a well trained apprentice adept at the Kaleidoscope would be invaluable.


    No wonder he had her sit in on this discussion, it was better for everyone to be on the same page. He truly does not do things for no reason. Even Artoria being here, no doubt he meddled with the Grail War somehow, her Noble Phantasm would be invaluable in the future.


    A sudden realization hit me. "The Holy Grail." Rin and Artoria both stared at me abruptly. "That''s why you helped create it initially, allowed for its creation and why it persisted until now." No wonder that was another hole in my memories.


    "Good." He nodded his head. "It is as you say, I had to suffer that infernal contraption because it allowed us some miniscule sess against the Spider in some simtions."


    It was unlikely the Counter Force would put any showing against the Spider if this world wasn''t worth saving, it was just removing its direct interference and allow this ''branch'' to be cut from the ''tree''. Being able to summon Heroic Spirits, servants, would be invaluable in the inevitable fight.


    "What about the strategies from other world-lines, there are plenty that managed to survive past the spider''s awakening."


    He shook his head. "This world-line is....not unique but different than most. While either Gaia or ya are usually favored, this one is almost even, just barely in ya''s favor. Most other strategies do not work because of this."


    "...You made sure this was the world-line I popped into, didn''t you?" I stopped in my tracks, and turned towards him.


    His lips curled up into a smirk. "Well done."


    "Since when have you been aware of me?" He said he hadn''t even began to experiment with whatever allowed me to exist, so when did he notice me?


    "The first time you used the Kaleidoscope." He didn''t hide the truth.


    "So, you know where to look for your future experiments then." I just nodded, I wasn''t exactly upset, he was acting exactly as I would after all. It was a good world; the reincarnation cycle was much easier to meddle with since things like ''Sacred Gears'' were being reborn alongside human souls. I was willing to bet that was the system he piggybacked on to do this initially. "Well, I guess you wouldn''t mind supporting me with resources?"


    "What kind of grandfather would I be if I didn''t give my little grandson some pocket change?" He raised an eyebrow, and we shared a smallugh.


    Well, shit, now I need to find someone else to teach me....

 Chapter 37 - 36

    <h4>Chapter 37: Chapter 36</h4>


    It didn''t take much convincing, really none actually, to get ess to ''grandfathers'' library. I guess he epting that familial connection so I don''t really need to keep thinking about it like I have. I am not Zelretch, I have arge portion of his memories, but I''m just Wilhelm. I''m okay with thinking of the old man as my grandfather.


    He had quit the collection, not nearly as big as the library back at the College, but there was a lot more applicable to my situation.


    There were a few things I wanted to grab, I wasn''t looking to thoroughly extend my repertoire but I didn''t believe in keeping things I already learned at a low level.


    Lets see now.....his books are sorted by region and there is a decent sized section on eastern arts.


    Ah! Here we are.


    A book on Onmyouji Arts. Wonderful this is exactly one of the things I was looking for, in fact this may even be the book I recalled from my previous life. I''ll need to do more than just take a cursory nce at it.


    That also reminds me, I need to gather a lot of supplies for Talisman making and also create a good stockpile while I''m here. There are a lot of interesting and unique ways that Talismans can be employed to further boost or amplify my other spells.


    "You know, If you want to ask me questions, I wouldn''t get mad." I saw Rin and Artoria sitting by out of the corner of my eye. They had been like this since Zelretch left for business and I came in here to browse.


    Interesting there are some sword techniques here as well, Grandfather really outdid himself on his collection. Hmm, should I also pat myself on the back? It weird how familiar all of this is, but the details are just empty.


    "Are you really a devil?"


    I stopped, turning towards Rin who asked. I took a nce at the cross adorning her neck. "I found out about my heritage a little over a month ago. For most of my life I thought I was a normal human."


    If I recalled correctly, she was some manner of Christian, probably Catholic? Or alteast she was raised as such, some ideas probably stuck with her even as she delved into Magecraft.


    "Does it bother you?" I might as well cut to the point.


    "....no, I just...don''t know what to think. I never would have guessed I''d be meeting a literal devil before." Rin said quietly, her eyelids drooping. "....did what you mean what you said about the old man thinking of me as a disposable piece?"


    Well crap, did I make her feel like this because of my own poor words?


    "Rin, why do you think you were even there to listen in on that conversation?" I looked at her, but she showed no signs of answering, just dropping her eyes down. "It''s because we both trust you. I don''t go around shouting my secrets to the heavens, I don''t make it a habit of telling people that I''m a half-devil." I fully turned towards her, giving me full attentions. "You are more important than you realize."


    "How? I''m barely making an progress on my research and here you are mastering everything and you haven''t even had ess to it for more than a month!?" She threw her hands up in anger. She shimmered down, voice quieting. "What am I even doing here?"


    Oh.....did me being here make her self conscious? Or perhaps I''m just the catalyst for all her bottled emotionsing to the forefront? Just how much stress has she been under this past few months?


    "How many students do you think Zelretch has taken in his lifetime?"


    "I don''t know, maybe a few dozen." She sighed.


    "Try over a few hundred. Do you not understand how amazing it is that you are here, right now? You have heard the stories about Zelretch''s students, how they all turn mad or have a bad ending, correct?" I saw her nod meekly so I continued. "Every student he''s ever taken in has had the protentional to use the Kaleidoscope, yet you are the only one to ever reach this point. Does Zelretch think of you as a ''piece'' to use, well sure. I''m piece, you''re a piece, even he''s a piece, whether we like it or not, we''re all stuck on this chessboard, but that does not mean he doesn''t care about you. Now a ''disposable'' piece would not be privy to his secrets, not be told of what his ns are for the future and how bleak it was looking. You are one of his ''people'', take pride in that fact."


    She looked deep in thought I just left it there for her to mull over, changing the conversation back to where it was previously. "What about you, Miss Pendragon, does my heritage bother you?" I questioned, turning back towards the bookshelf.


    "I do not see how it changes anything. I had non-human knights serving me during my rule. If I could survive Merlin being a half-incubus, I don''t have any trouble being around someone who is a half-devil." Her tone even.


    "Huh, are those stories about one of your knights being a giant true?" I turned around rather excitedly; I was quite the fan, but I didn''t want toe off too strong.


    She smiled slightly, almost reminiscent. "A half-giant actually." She corrected. It seemed like a lot of that going around. Though I guess those with human blood are more prone to interact with humanity. "He was quite gentle, he didn''t like to hurt people and stayed away from the front lines. He liked to hunt the phantasmal species that invaded human viges. I remember meeting his parents once and was surprised to see them happily married."


    "What about you?" Rin interjected, sliding her knees up to her chest while sitting. "What''s a devil family like?"


    "I wouldn''t know, Human Mom died when I was young and I''m a bastard, Father never made an appearance." I shrugged.


    "Mmm, my parents died too." Rin said quietly. "But I guess you already knew that."


    And awkward silence.


    She was being rather open with me, now that I think about it her time here was probably.....hard. I''m like 90% sure that one Shirou Emiya doesn''t exist on this world-line, how her Holy Grail War went, I have only guesses to work on. I think Artoria may be her only friend here.....I could only imagine all the shit she''s had to put up with here.


    "Well this conversation got depressing." I broke the awkward silence that was in the room. "Alright, I''ve decided."


    "Decided what?" Rin picked her head up.


    "We''re friends for now on." I just nodded to myself.


    "Wait, what?"


    "Indeed, you have upied the coveted third spot on my friends list, if you perform better, you may be promoted."


    "What do you mean you decided we''re friends!?" She stopped for a moment. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN THIRD PLACE? I''m alteast first ce material." She flipped her hair back. "Do you have any idea how many people would kill for me to be in their ''first ce''." She crossed her arms. "Third ce." She scoffed, but it wasn''t hard to see that little upcurve of her lips.


    "Perhaps you should take notes from second ce." I waved my hand towards Artoria.


    I saw Artoria''s lips curl up ever so slightly. "I can provide you pointers, Rin."


    "When the hell did you two get so close!?"


    "Maybe if you were a more attentive friend, you would have noticed." I shook my head, clicking my tongue. "We have even shared each other''s deepest darkest secrets, like how Artoria steals your shampoo every morning."


    "How dare you." Artoria stood up, ''scandalized''. "I told you that inplete confidence. You have been demoted to second ce on my friends list for this treachery." She turned towards her femalepanion. "Congrattions, Rin, you have been promoted."


    It seems like the King of Knights can joke.


    "You both are stupid." Rin muttered, a small smile on her face, and I heard Artoria give a one of the cutest littleughs. "Better not be stealing my shampoo." She grumbled, only getting a bigger smile from us.


    I ran my finger across several book spines, reading thebels before stopping on one that sounded interesting.


    ''Splitting the Sky'', it was a martial technique from.....China? Interesting, lets add this to the pile I''m taking.


    Alright! No more adding stuff, I got enough to work on. I was going to be firm in my resolve, damn my short attention span! Well, I got pretty much all the books I wanted, a few more I grabbed off the shelf while I was talking to them, what else?


    Basically I just need supplies.....any equipment I can find on short notice that''s worth taking? I could probably check out my Grandfather''s stockpile of mystic codes but I don''t think there''s anything up to what I ne¡ª"


    Sudden realization hit me. "Hey Rin, you''re still the second owner of Fuyuki, right?"


    Second owner, basically the hidden-side authority for the designated area. Any outsiders had toe through her if they did anything in her territory and she was tasked with watching over the Leylines.


    "Yeah, why?" She scrunched her eyebrows, seemingly trying to figure out my thought process.


    Well, shit, if she wasn''t I would just ignore any other owner, but I already dered her my friend, I can''t really cheat her now. "Hypothetically, if there were items of value, ownerless, in Fuyuki, how would you propose splitting such a bounty if I were to uncover them?"


    "Hypothetically....." She narrowed her eyes. "I would be demand 70% in payment for whatever you start digging up in my territory."


    Damn, what a heartless bitch. I approve! "40%."


    "65%"


    "30%"


    "What, you can''t go back down!"


    "You know what, I feel like going on a midnight walk, I do so wonder where I''ll end up, perhaps a nice sea-side city out east?"


    "Dammit, fine! 50%"


    "50%, but I get first pick."


    "Hmph, whatever, its not like I''m doing any work." She huffed. "What are you even getting, I don''t think there''s anything impressive there, the old man already confiscated all remains of the Grail."


    "Well since you already agreed, I would direct you to yourpanion who fought in the 4th Grail War." I handed the floor over to Artoria.


    She just blinked at me in confusion. "I recall my time in that war, but I do not know what you speak of.


    "You don''t recall a certain blonde Archer shooting Noble Phantasms into the river.....possibly deciding not to recover them for some reason?" I smirked.


    "Noble Phantasms!?" Rin practically shouted. "NO! I demand a redo!"


    "No take backs!" I quickly opened up a portal and jumped in.


    I heard an angry shout on my way through, probably nothing important.

 Chapter 38 - 37

    <h4>Chapter 38: Chapter 37</h4>


    I stepped out onto the roof of one of the tallest buildings in Fuyuki, staring up at the bright moon in the sky. What a beautiful night it was, breathing in the air of my home just made it all the better. I may have been born on that other Earth, but I would forever consider this ce my one true home.


    [You know, when I was still a whelp, I once tried to fly to the moon.]


    A smile crossed my face. "How did that turn out?"


    [I got pretty high, until I couldn''t breathe anymore and passed out, falling back to the earth. Luckily, I was still durable enough to survive, even if I wasn''t all that strong back then.]


    Okay the thought was amusing, imaging a small Ddraig trying to fly up into space then crash back down. "Why did you even try to fly up?"


    [A human told me a story about a rabbit living on the moon, and I was hungry.]


    I paused asughter escaped from my lips, I could even feel Ddraigughing along with me. "What were you doing that far east?" I finally calmed myself. The story of the Jade rabbit, or moon rabbit, whatever, there are several stories concerning rabbits on the moon, but they all originated around here.


    [I liked to fly around in my youth, visiting everywhere. I only became famous after settling down in the British Isles for a while]


    Huh, you learn something new every day. With a smile on my face, I looked down towards the river that split the city in two. It didn''t take much effort to open a portal down there, one moment I was high up in the sky and the next I was walking next to the riverbed.


    It was surprisingly unpolluted for being a river in the middle of a city. If I had to guess, I think Rin may have had something to do with it. The cities'' nature would be worse if the river became disgusting, effecting all other aspects, including the leylines. There were other aspects to consider as well, such as why this city had such a low unemployment and crime rate. Negative emotions festering can also be troubling for those who practice the magical crafts. So many little things that one must take into ount when setting up a foundation for generations.


    It was a miracle that the corruption of the grail was pretty much contained to only a small part of the city and was content to not spread out. Actually, there were so many little miracles that urred here, I had to wonder if the old man, did something? My memories in general were blurred when it came to a lot of things around this particr period of time and I don''t think this world-line is one I was too familiar with. I don''t know if that was intentional or just cosmic chance, but I only could vaguely remember the general outline of things, or some unimportant details.


    [Stop.] Ddraig spoke, as he practically stood up inside my soul. [Something strange is around here.]


    Curious could it be what we''re looking for?


    [I don''t know, but I can tell its...dangerous like it especially hates me. Can you feel it? Like a prickling feeling on your neck and your hairs standing up on your arms?]


    I stopped and sat down cross-legged, letting my eyes shut and trying to filter out all the other sensations in the night.


    I felt something, almost like a small thorn in my heart as I reached out towards it. "I see it." I finally spoke. I stood up, facing the direction the feeling wasing from, with a sigh I mentally prepared myself to dive in.


    Well, I need some new clothes anyways.


    ***


    I breached the surface of the river, swimming back over tond, tossing a couple objects onto the grass. [Water Breathing] I didn''t think that spell woulde in handy so soon, quite a unique little piece of magic. Really made you feel uneasy though, breathing in oxygen from the water through your skin.


    "What a good haul" I admired the two weapons I managed to dredge up.


    [Impressive, so these are Noble Phantasms.]


    Yup, though only one of them has a legacy that remained over the years. The other is just a no-name spear.


    Don''t get me wrong, it is something that could be called a heavenly treasure, but it just fallspletely short whenpared to the sword that left its mark on human history.


    The origin of these, is a bit winded to exin. Gilgamesh, the first hero, in his epic he had collected all the treasures of the world and that was conceptualized after his death into his Noble Phantasm ¨C The Gate of Babylon. Basically, as a Heroic Spirit, his treasury houses every ''prototype'' of Noble Phantasms.


    The Spear never was handed down, obscured by history. The other weapon, the Sword was different. It was the reason Ddraig could detect it so easily, why we felt uneasy near it.


    Ascalon, the sword that wouldter be wielded by Saint George to y a dragon. It possessed impressive Anti-Dragon capabilities, meaning that dragons were its natural enemy. The reason we could feel it as it was technically our ''predator''....for now.


    [You''re going to make this sword yours?]


    "Of course, I favor a sword over the spear any day."


    And also, those were just its ''passive'' abilities. It could be ''activated'' by calling out its name. It held the title of ''Blessed de by which Force is in'', it was almost an absolute defense, able to defend from all harm.


    What an amazing find, this will serve me well.


    [Can''t wait to see the look on Albion''s face] Ddraig was feeling pretty gleeful too. [You know, I''ve been cut by the Ascalon from my world, it isn''t nearly this powerful. That one also contains what you call ''Anti-Dragon'' properties, but it''s.....different. It exists more ''physically'' whereas this is a ''miracle'' backed up by humanities belief.]


    Noble Phantasms are crystallized legends, I would be surprised if your version could stand on equal footing. I mean, look at how the Excalibur there broke, I think Artoria would have a fit if I told her something like that.


    "Ara Ara~" I heard a voice coo from nearby, I was surprised at having not noticed another presence. "What do we have here?"


    I turned around to see a woman standing casually above me at ground level. Most of her figure was obscured by arge cloak, I was only able to see her blue hair flow out from under her hood. I knew who this was, I was just surprised she was still around. "Curious I thought Artoria was the only servant to survive the war."


    The woman, the Magus, stared at me for a moment before sighing. "And here I thought I was going to have some fun. I guess you know that brat then if you can spout Saber''s name so casually."


    "Well, we can still have some fun." I smirked.


    "Oh my~ saying something like that to a married woman, what would people think?" Her smile was filled with the promise of death if I pushed down this path.


    "Hey now, I''m no home wrecker." I held my hands up in surrender. I wasn''t one to destroy loving rtionships.


    "Booo." She deted crossing her arms. "Can''t you be more slimey, maybe threaten to ''capture'' me or something? I haven''t stretched my legs in months."


    "I mean, if you want to spar or something? I wouldn''t mind testing myself against such an illustrious magus." I offered.


    "The moments ruined." She pouted, flipping off her hood. "So, who are you and why are you here? You obviously know the brat, but you looked surprised when you saw me." She stared at me for a moment. "She probably forgot to tell you anything.....not that I would expect anything different from that stupid girl." She sighed again.


    "Oh, let me guess. You''re looking over the leylines in her stead, protecting the territory and in return you get her ''protection'' as the second owner, dissuading any other magical involvement while also pulling on the Leylines to sustain yourself."


    "Got it in one, boyo"


    "Hmm, you know I thought you would be more...defensive about me being here?"


    "Eh" she waved her hand flippantly. "You knew saber''s name, I don''t think anyone outside of a select few know that, I suppose it''s a possibility that you ''forced'' the information from the brat about her servant somehow. In which case I would have reacted ordingly, but then there is the fact that you bypassed all of my defenses, my bounded fields and familiars thaty all over the city, and I only know of a few possibilities for that."


    "Ah so you know she''s apprenticed under Zelretch then." I just nodded along. She was a rather infamous figure in history, perhaps one of the greatest mages to ever exist, no doubt she could divine the reasons for how I was able to get through everything so easily without triggering her rms. The Kaleidoscope can bypass most means of magical detection after all.


    "Obviously." She said curtly. "So, who''re you and why should I care?"


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, Zelretch is my grandfather and I befriended Rin recent. I had the idea not long ago to check for discarded Noble Phantasms in the river from Archer." No use in hiding it, she already saw what I pulled up.


    She also didn''t seem the least bit interested in them.


    "Whatever, don''t cause trouble here and disturb my home life and we won''t have issues." She turned around to walk away but I spoke up again.


    "How about I walk you home?" I offered.


    She turned her head eyeing me. "I wasn''t kidding before, kid, I have a husband....well fianc¨¦ but same thing. I''m not going to abandon the man I love just because you sh that cute smile."


    "I promise my intentions are entirely friendly without any intentions of romance" I actually want to have a conversation. She was a Magus that lived in the Age of Gods, when will an opportunity like thise again?


    "...alright. If you were lying to me, I would have sted you back into the river." She shrugged. "Actually, I am a bit curious about the Magic of this era, I wouldn''t mind having a discussion while I walk back...it is a bit away."


    Medea of Colchis, also known as the witch of betrayal. It might seem weird that I was being so ''friendly'' to someone with that moniker, but I knew for a fact that she wasn''t needlessly cruel. She found her own happiness she wasn''t going to be some caricature of an evil witch for no reason.


    ***


    "That''s a shame, she would look quite good in a dress like that."


    Our talks took a strange turn.


    "I know! But she''s so stubborn! If I could just get my hands on Saber one more time." Medea cackled evilly.


    "How have the sales been otherwise?" A bit surprising that Medea has gotten into clothing design, but hey, if it makes her happy more power to her.


    "Eh, I get a few orders every now and then, enough to pay a few bills but my Darling~ pays for mostly everything still. The modern identification systems are very inconvenient for me finding work somewhere." She frowned.


    "You can always contact Rin, the Mages Association no doubt has ways to get you an identity that the country recognizes." I offered.


    "And be forced to owe her a favor?" She looked at me like I was an idiot.


    Ah, the price was probably expensive for a service like that.


    I just shrugged. "Well, how''s your talent with men''s clothing?"


    "Fair, I guess, why?"


    "Well....I was going to start looking for a Tailor here and one who could work with exotic materials I bring back would be convenient. Gods know I need some new suites."


    She raised an eyebrow. "I expect payment for something like that."


    "Of course, what do you take me for?" Do I seem like a cheapskate?


    "Hmm, well this night hasn''t been aplete waste then. I''ll start thinking up some designs and start working on sketches." We approached the stairs leading up to the temple she made her home/workshop. "Well, here we are, thank you for apanying me home, your presence wasn''t as revolting as I assumed it would have been. And I may even wee you back if you return."


    What a poisonous tongue she has, I''m a bit jealous of her fianc¨¦ right about now.


    "Mistress you''re back." A figure walked down a few stairs to greet us.


    "Oh, if it isn''t my drunk guard, did you scare away more birds today?" Medea said sarcastically.


    "Your words cut deeper than any de, mistress." He stated.


    I knew who this was as well, I didn''t expect Medea to exist, but him to be here also? "You guard the entrance?" I eyed the man dressed as a samurai. His presence practically screamed ''deadly'' like a de that would be drawn at any moment.


    I felt my blood boil just being in his presence. I wanted to test myself against him.


    "Of course, I keep out all who would intrude on my mistress''sir." Okay he was fucking with her, I could tell by his tone and the way Medea looked at him in annoyance.


    "And what if I insist on intruding?" I took a step forward.


    "Why, I would be forced to physically stop you." His eyes shed; I could see the desire to fight as it mimicked my own.


    Interesting.


    "Boys." Medea rolled her eyes. "Whatever, don''t destroy my yard." She said casually ascending the stairs.


    "It''s the temple''s yard." The samurai spat back.


    "Semantics" She flipped her hand, dismissing him.


    We both watched her disappeared up above before turned back to one another.


    "So.....want to fight?" I asked.


    "Please, I''ve been dreadfully bored." He materialized a sword in his hand.


    "Good." I pulled out Mirage from my ring. "I really wanted to fight you." I couldn''t help but smirk as the air around him changed, ready for battle.


    Sasaki Kojiro, the ''fake'' Assassin servant summoned by Caster Medea during the War.


    Maybe this I the person I was looking for?


    ***


    If you want to read 5 chapters ahead, go visit my Pat /Astoryforone

 Chapter 39 - 38

    <h4>Chapter 39: Chapter 38</h4>


    It was obvious that we were both looking for a fight here, nothing malicious, but I think we could both tell what the other wanted almost immediately.


    A heroic spirit, even a fake one, wasn''t something to be trifled with. The man who ''epassed'' the legend of Sasaki Kojiro enough to be summoned as a wraith. He was donned in samurai garb and had a long sword in his hand. Actually, I don''t think ''long'' does it justice, it was longer than even my Mirage by a good amount.


    It looked deceptively brittle, like all it would take was a simple swing to shatter the thing piece of metal, yet I knew without even relying on any past knowledge that the de was more the enough to slice through steel without issue.


    I flipped my hand over, bringing out my own de, its light humming softly under the moon''s glow.


    "Nice sword." Heplimented, taking a step forward.


    "Thanks, I put some work into getting the materials for it to be crafted." I smiled, mimicking his movement.


    "Well, lets test it, shall we?" He smirked, practically disappearing from his spot only to appear overhead, bringing his sword down.


    My eyes dted as I instinctively cast [Reinforcement] and [Ebony Flesh] a much higher tier version of [Oak Flesh].


    I brought up Mirage to meet the choreographed attack, it was nothing more than a greeting yet the stones beneath my feet cracked and my arms shuddered. I was a half-devil in strength with a dragon''s heart and multiple strengthening spells on me, yet he was overwhelming me in strength.


    As expected of a Servant.


    I couldn''t help but smile brightly as the desire for battle grew.


    His feet touched the ground briefly as his hands readjusted on the grip of his sword, pushing mine down as sparks flew, maneuvering enough to try and stab me over the edge of Mirage.


    I quickly pushed it off, narrowly dodging the tip if his de from piercing through me. I took a step forward to make use of his overextension, but I found the tip of his de infront of my eyes once again. I was forced to abandon my attack, bringing up Mirage to block, the force knocking me back a step.


    He casually withdrew the sword to his side, lightly holding it in one hand, practically goading me into attacking.


    "Well done, you have a good danger sense....but what if I do this?" As the words left his mouth, his de was already next to my head.


    My eyes widened in surprise as I frantically brought up my sword to block, even using my other hand to push against the t of my own weapon to hold against the attack.


    I was able to hold and this time for sure I had an opening. I pushed my sword down the edge of his, keeping it away from me, only to find no resistance and his sword once again right between my eyes.


    My hands moved faster than my thoughts, Mirage deflecting the narrow tip.


    He didn''t follow up the attack this time. "Oho, you do have a little bit of skill, I thought you would get too confidant after blocking my first attack and miss my follow up."


    He gave no indication of an attack, merely his arm moving and his de sweeping towards me. So fast that I barely kept up with each sessive parry or block. How many moves did he initiate? I couldn''t give it even a moments worth of thought or else I would miss the gleaming edge that seemed to snake its way into any opening I made.


    I couldn''t help but furrow my brow as I looked for openings, regardless of how nonchntly he stood there, I couldn''t predict an avenue of attack. I suppose I would need to make my own.


    Maybe I can disrupting his foo--


    No, I just now realized, he hadn''t moved from the spot he started in.


    I see, so this is the difference in realms we are in. I would need to do something to change up the pace if I wanted any hope.


    With a step forward, the ground shattered as I exploded forward. His weapon had longer reach, that meant I would have the advantage closer up....or so I thought. As I made a sh upwards, he mmed the hilt of his sword down, knocking my de into the stone and stomping on it, following up with a quick cut towards my neck.


    I had no choice but to jump back, letting go of my weapon.


    "Hooh, you decided to abandon your sword so quickly~" He slowly knelt down picking up my sword.


    I tensed as someone else grabbed my weapon for the first time.


    "What a good sword." He swung it around watching the effects of the light in the air. "It''s a shame that its owner can''t do it justice." He smirked, tossing it back to me.


    His words caused me to frown, I took in a deep breath, catching my sword from the air. "Three birds." I swung out, the sword-phantoms manifested.


    He looked slightly surprised as his sword practically burred to intercept them, a testament to his true speed, but I was already upon him. My horizontal swing met his de, he blocked pushing my sword to the side.


    This continued, my stab was caught by the tip of his de and deflected. My overhead sh was sidestepped and knocked away. Every attack I made was countered with the most minimal effort or to utterly keep me off bnce. I at no point could grab and hold onto any momentum in this spar, he controlled mepletely from start to finish.


    He just smirked at me when I grabbed some distance again, taunting me to enter his range once more.


    I centered myself, I was....angry, but I don''t think it was at him. I was dissatisfied with myself as all my ws were bing more and more apparent each times our swords met. Call me petty, but even when I knew that I had no chance of winning this duel of des, I wanted to at least see him bleed.


    I took a stance, my sword held by both hands infront of me.


    He seemed to notice a change his own eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened.


    "Swallow Returns." I attacked.


    It happened so quickly, a stab both from the front and back, an attack that should be nearly undefeatable yet...


    "I lost." I said quietly as the tip of my sword fought against the t of his de, he held the sword over his shoulder, stopping me from piercing him from behind.


    He stopped them both.


    He killed the ''me'' that stabbed from the front, making the ''me'' from behind the ''real'' one and only had to block one attack. Doing that in the split second that was required, what a monster.


    "What a scary kid, attacking me from the front and back at the same time." Heughed, pulling his sword away as I let up.


    "Really, you of all people are going to say that?" I raised an eyebrow. "You yed around with me like I was a child." I just shook my head.


    "Mmm, your attacks could be described as nearly textbook." He looked at me intently. "I could tell right away you don''t have much actual experience fighting with or against a sword. You probably rely mostly on your magecraft or superior physical abilities."


    "Yeah.....I realized that myself." I just sighed, being seen through so easily. I usually could just overwhelm most opponents I''ve met in the past.


    "Thatst attack of yours was pretty good though." He praised with a smile. "Good name too!" Heughed.


    "Yeah yeah, I named it after yours since it inspired me. An attack that replicates Magic, so I did the opposite and used Magic to replicate a sword."


    "Interesting." He tapped his finger against his chin. "It was wed though, I saw several openings in the attack that I could make use of, I just went with the most direct method of countering it. I couldn''tment on any magical aspects, but it looked very immature."


    "It is a rtively new development." I said evenly, giving him another once over. "Actually....I was looking for a teacher.."


    "oh?" He looked surprised. "And you thought of me?"


    "The thought crossed my mind, I don''t know if you would be open to the idea...."


    "Well, that depends, how keen are you on spending your life trying to cut a bird in the mountains?" He smiled. "I had no formal teacher myself, I don''t think I could pass on anything of worth. Besides, it seems like the de isn''t your ''true'' path, you are clearly adept enough in magic, why do you care about swordsmanship?"


    "I don''t have a reason in particr.....I just like using a sword." I shrugged.


    Heughed again, sheathing his de. "That isn''t the worst reason I''ve ever heard. Well, it seems like you need to find someone who has both martial might and magical knowledge that can guide you."


    Martial arts and adept at magecraft, who the hell had that in this era¡ª" It hit me like a tidal wave as I realized just who I could seek out.


    "Thank you." I bowed in respect.


    "Alright." He waved me off. "It was a good time waster, you don''t need to thank me."


    "How about a drink then?" I offered.


    "Well if you insist!" He epted happily as I took out a crate of mead I had kept from Skyrim. There was much more where that came from as well, if there was anything in abundance it was mead and wine there.


    "Western alcohol, is it?" He admired one of the bottles before flicking the top open and taking a drink. "What an interesting vor, very light and a nice honey taste mixed in." He nodded in appreciation.


    "Can I bribe you with more spars in the future then?" I opened my own bottle to take a sip.


    "Bring me enough Sake in the future and I would even teach you my greatest technique." He replied without hesitation. "Seriously, it gets really boring here and the witch won''t buy me any more."

 Chapter 40 - 39

    <h4>Chapter 40: Chapter 39</h4>


    I popped back into the Clocktower, specifically the ''library'' where I had disappeared from earlier, it seems like Rin and Artoria had cleared out. It wasn''t all surprising I seemed to have lost track of time and a few hours had already passed.


    [Why did you challenge that Servant with purely swordsmanship?] I heard Ddraig ask me.


    "I wanted to test myself." I looked down at Mirage still in my hands. "If I am going to do something, I''m not going to half-ass it. I needed to see where I stood rtive to someone who reached the peak.... unfortunately, he was so far away I couldn''t even do that properly. It just went to show how much I have to learn."


    Just because I was disappointed in my showing, didn''t mean I was going to get depressed. If anything, I had a bit more drive now to improve myself. Failure is a part of life, I just got to not let it effect me for too long and keep carrying on.


    [Interesting, I''ve never had a wielder be a master with the de before. I can see the truth in the samurai''s words, you don''t have any experience, you were mostly relying on your memories to know ''how'' to attack and such.]


    "Yeah, he treated me like a child iling around a pointy stick. I''ve just been forcing my way through every issue either through superior magical prowess or just pure throughput power." I wasn''t one to shy away from my own faults or failures.


    [Magic and Sword, each one takes a lifetime to truly master, yet you are intent of using them both?]


    "Well, I have a long life ahead of me." It was a strange thought to the ''18-year old'' me, the fact that I was ''at least'' going to live 10,000 years if nothing happened.


    What''s that saying.....a journey of a thousands miles begins with one step?


    May as well start now, I have nothing but time on my side.


    [So where are you going from here?]


    "The Servant gave me an idea to pursue, while Grandfather can''t train me, he can help me find someone who can, its just going to be a bit tricky even for us." My lips curled upward. "Tell, me, have you ever heard of the Immortal Witch of Dun Scaith?"


    [Well, you don''t aim small. This is good though, my wielder should have this much courage.]


    Yeah, one doesn''t posses the title of ''God yer'' without good reason.


    Thoughts forter, though, for now I found myself the ''guest room'' in the old man''s building and copsed onto the bed.


    ****


    You know, I generally do enjoy cooking, it''s a bit calming. Don''t get me wrong, I''m not what someone would call an expert chief nor am I someone content to cook his every meal, but the times I do pick up the spat, I do enjoy it.


    The sound of eggs sizzling was refreshing, and the smells were wafting throughout the ''house''. I''ll need to get some other supplies at some point to keep with me, maybe some mobile cooking equipment? And rice, I haven''t had a good Japanese breakfast in a long while. In general, I need to stock up on modern-day amenities.


    "You made breakfast?" I noticed Rin walk out of her little area, nked by Saber.


    "Yeah, figured it would be a decent apology for disappearing so longst night." I did feel a little bad about getting caught up in my own things.


    "Who cares about your smelly apology, I want my Noble Phantasms!" Rin huffed, sitting down.


    "Rin is cranky in the morning." Artoria said lightly, sitting down next to her.


    "Well, if someone didn''t wake me up at this ungodly hour, I wouldn''t be cranky."


    "It is past eight, my knights would have been up and training hours ago."


    Rin just grumbled something ineligible and began digging in to the food I set on the table. "This is good, thank you."


    It was amusing how she can be both cranky, yet polite.


    "I did pick up a couple Noble Phantasmsst night." Imented Idly, finishing up everything and joining them at the table. I''m sure she was waiting for this anyways.


    "show me!" Rin sprang up, clearly awake now.


    "Fine, fine." I waved my hand letting the spear set on the table.


    She stood up, grabbing hold of it, bringing it up for inspection. Even Artoria eyed it with obvious interest.


    "It even has a presence to it." The King of Knights marveled. "I would have thought it might have dimmed after being lost in the human world for so long without an owner, but the power still radiates."


    That would be a fair assumption, an ownerless Noble Phantasm isn''t exactly something one can determine due to the absolute scarcity. Who knows if the Noble Phantasm would even exist in a few more years? Their nature makes them rather finicky and its impossible to actually test such a thing.


    Rin reluctantly handed it over to Artoria for further inspection. "Good spear." She bnced and weighed it before setting it back down gently.


    "And this one is mine." Rin looked over to me expectantly.


    "Yup, all yours."


    She made a small noise of approval, practically hugging the thing. "What about yours?" She looked back to me once the immediate love of her new weapon wore off.


    I pulled out my new sword, showing it around the table.


    Artoria unconsciously reeled back. "Dangerous." She said quietly.


    Simr reaction to Ddraig, amusing. But yeah even I could feel the effects and I wasn''t as ''dragony'' as they were.


    "Ascalon." I said with a bit of pride in my voice. "Wielded by Saint George to y a dragon, it has impressive Anti-Dragon properties."


    "No fair." Rin pouted.


    "Well, you could have none right now." I just shrugged. If it weren''t for our rtionship I would have said nothing and just excavated them by myself. I don''t wield a spear regrly, but it''s not like I would pass up a Noble Phantasm.


    "It is a good sword, I was taken back by its first appearance. I would be reluctant to face its wielder in battle." Artoria gave her honest appraisal.


    "Impressive." A new voice joined the discussion as Zelretch walked in. "And I see you made breakfast for everyone, thank you." He calm voice was quite a bit different than our first meeting. There was no looming ''pressure'' it was gentle as if he was trying not to break anything around him.


    "It does bring up a question though." The Old Man said, pulling up his own seat and getting himself a te. "Does it not feel ufortable with that dragon in your soul?"


    I sucked in a cold breath while Rin and Artoria snapped their heads towards me. "A dragon in my soul, what nonsense are you talking about?" I replied without a second thought, my expression betraying nothing.


    [No point, you''re busted.]


    I chose to ignore Ddraig and pretend I had no idea what Zelretch was talking about. There was speaking of my secrets to confidants, and then there was just revealing all my trump cards, which I would have to show a thing or two eventually, but I would keep some things close to my chest.


    Nice try, old man.


    "Hoho, deny it all you want, I know the truth." He smiled widely. "I had some time to take a peek at world you were born in, it was quite interesting." He rubbed his beard. "It has given me quite a few ideas and I have a clue as to how we aplished such a daring experiment."


    "Did you simte it fully?" I changed the subject away from Ddraig.


    "No, there were some variables that started to appear a few years down the time-line that you would be born to that made some things ''foggy''. More research would be required."


    Well, I did have a pretty good idea of what would happen, so it means that he would seed at some point.


    "Whats this about a dragon in your soul?" Rin wasn''t one to mince words when she didn''t have to.


    [Let me talk to them.]


    No way.


    "A dragon in my soul? I have no idea." I replied nonchntly. "By the way, Old Man, I have an idea about something and I need your help."


    "Oh? What could you need my help with?" Zelretch looked a me, a small smile on his face. "Does it have anything to do with the dragon in your soul?"


    I could feel my eye twitching, and I held back the urge to respond with something sarcastic. He clearly wanted to poke at it.


    "I want to go to the Land of Shadows." I didn''t mince words, better to just get straight to the point.


    There was a small clinging sound as Zelretch set his silverware down. "I don''t think I need to remind you of what that entails?"


    "I''m aware of the difficulties." I nodded.


    "Isn''t that where the teacher of Cu Chinn lives?" Rin chimed in.


    "Yup, the teacher of the Lancer you fought in the war. She is a master at Spearmanship and Runecraft. She is perhaps the best teacher I could ask for considering my circumstances." No doubt she is proficient in all forms ofbat, even if she hasn''t mastered a Sword she can teach me to use a weapon well enough. Same for other forms of Magecraft, she could probably teach me how to battle with what I already know. "The only issue is getting there."


    "The Land of Shadows, does such a ce still exist with the advent of Humanities era?" Artoria asked.


    "Yes." Zelretch answered simply. "It is one of the few ces that is technically still attached to the world that Mystery still holds dominance."


    "Then why do you need help getting there, shouldn''t you be able to use the Kaleidoscope?" Rin turned to me and asked.


    "Yes and no....its a bit hard to exin." I tapped my finger against my chin for a moment. "The Land of Shadows no longer exists on the Time Axis and holds just the smallest connection to what we consider the ''world'' still. There are no physical entrances remaining, but it still exists without having been forced to the Reverse Side."


    "Think of it like a fly, buzzing around everywhere. While we can technically ''catch'' it via the Kaleidoscope, it is infinitely harder than merely stepping over to another world that can be calcted precisely." Zelretch added. "The materials to construct the required ''gateway'' to connect to the Land of shadows aren''t going to be the easiest to obtain I have some with me but....."


    "I have quite a few materials I gained from that world I visited; it should fill in several holes your missing." I cut him off, mentally going over the metals and other stuff I still had in my ring.


    Rin actually took out a paper and pen and was writing a few notes. I didn''t begrudge her, if I were still learning the Kaleidoscope from scratch, I would hoard every scrap of knowledge that came up. "I see." She looked up with some understanding. "Time and space no longer hold sway there, the gate isn''t merely connecting two points in space, it crosses over the time axis as well, otherwise the return time wouldn''t be close to the when you initially left. Like a tether, if the Realm was still bouncing around it would at least be stuck within a certain margin that allows for some means of calctions. Because the ''position'' of the realm is erratic, using this ''gateway'' you can iste it unto something resembling coherence, we can plot certain points and determine that the realm exists within ''here''. It won''t be perfect, but it will be enough to find your way there and back without too much deviance. Otherwise, you''re basically blind jumping, which would not end well."


    I was about to exin it, but Rin apparently beat me to it. I shot a look over at Zelretch who just nodded with a small hint of pride on his face. I don''t think I could have said it better myself.


    "Well done, continue." Zelretch ushered


    Rin looked a little unsure of herself but kept talking "The most important piece would be something to sustain that kind of powerful connection." She seemed a little pensive, like she was deep in thought. "I''m sure the old man could do it, or even use his sword as a ''battery'', but I doubt he would want to stand there for so long. Otherwise....something is needed that can not only sustain that kind of power being transferred and maintained, but would also not break down under the constraints that a realm operating with Mystery would present. I don''t know how the ''world'' will react to such arge influx of Mystery, but I doubt it would be pleasant."


    "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful." Zelretch gave a small p. "You have made marvelous progress on your studies so far." I think I saw Rin blush ever so slightly. "It is almost exactly as you said, we require a powerful item to maintain the connection taking into ount all those variables. Well, there is also the option of using disposable materials, but the amount of resources we would have to throw at that...." He rubbed his chin in thought.


    "Well..." I scratched my head, wincing and pulling out one of my other trump cards. "I do have this." I presented the Staff of Magnus.


    The power that swept over the room was impossible to ignore, all eyes fell on the staff I set on the table


    I didn''t want to reveal this, but it appears as though I don''t have much of a choice. I need this badly, more so than keeping one more card hidden.


    "That would do it." Zelretch responded, not missing a beat,pletely ignoring the sudden torrent of power that washed over everyone.

 Chapter 41 - 40

    <h4>Chapter 41: Chapter 40</h4>


    "A Divine Construct." Artoria spoke with a bit of reverence in her voice.


    A Divine Construct, it was a bit of a misnomer, there were divine weapons not considered Divine Constructs and even weapons crafted by non-deities that are Divine constructs. Frankly, it''s a catch-all term for something not producible by mortal hands.


    For example, Excalibur. It was crafted by the Fae in the heart of the, yet it is a Divine Weapon due to the nature of its conception. My Dawnbreaker is a weapon forged by a divine entity, but it couldn''t be considered a Divine Construct as it hadn''t transcended a certain level. This was to be expected since Meridia made it for mortals to wield.


    It wasn''t surprising that Artoria could recognize its origins since she herself wielded several in her life. My staff, without even being used, radiated a power that was hard to diminish, impossible to ignore, and demanded attention.


    "I picked it up in my travels in the world I stumbled upon." I said inly.


    Rin let out a snort, crossing her arms. "Is this the power of the Kaleidoscope then? Being able to pick up things like this as if they''re vegetables? When I get good enough can I just go around and take Divine Constructions like they''re nothing?"


    It''s not too surprising, her attitude that is. I casually strode in and acquired a Noble Phantasm, now I randomly picked up a Divine Construct. Ascalon, Staff of Magnus, some vague mention of a dragon in my soul, that was quite the lineup that happened upon for one reason or another, all basicallying back to my Kaleidoscope, and if I did nothing else, they could carry me through many difficult situations.


    Yeah, my current power level didn''t match the degree of my equipment. In hindsight, it wasn''t wrong to say that my weapons are currently holding me back and if I didn''t recognize this my potential would have been heavily lowered as a result. Luckily I have ns to rectify my current shortings.


    "No." Zelretch replied, his voice stern. "If it were so easy, do you think I wouldn''t have dozens at my disposal?" He eyed his apprentice, lightly chastising her. "With every Magic, with every Magician, there are....rules, things that must not be done. Do you think The Blue can just meddle with the Time-Line however she wants? Do you think that the past master of the Heaven''s Feel could just resurrect souls on a whim?"


    Rin frowned, mulling it over. "What''s the big deal about taking something like that then? I can understand messing up Time or bringing the dead back to life, but who cares if¡ª"


    "Because it''s stealing the potential of other worlds." Zelretch cut her off, I wasn''t interjecting yet because he was clearly in teaching mode, and I didn''t want to ruin the lesson. "What would have happened if he never took that staff? Would someone else have stumbled upon it, used it and became a pir of support, a virtuous mage that left their mark on history? Or would they be a demon; someone feared across the eons. That world will now never know, that potential was taken away from it."


    There was a new silence that permeated the room. Rin looked deep in thought, casting a few nces at me.


    He never does miss a learning opportunity, even at my expense. Then again, he would often use his own failures to point out the correct paths.


    "How different do you think the world would be if I had decided to take Caliburn before Saber had pulled it from the stone?" He swept his gaze around the room. "I can guarantee you that the magics that held it would have been unraveled by me with some effort." His eyesnded on me. "I do not need to tell you of the debt now owed to the worlds you have taken these items from."


    "Karma that has been sowed must be reaped." I knew this, maybe my greed had gotten the better of me at certain points, but it didn''t mean I was unaware of what I was doing.


    Every action has an opposite and equal reaction. Equivalent exchange. Karma. It was practically a cosmic rule that permeated every corner of existence. If I just ignored everything and continued to be greedy then I would probably meet a bad end.


    Zelretch nodded. "I won''t lecture you on the morality thates with your Magic. You know what you should do and what you shouldn''t do, what debts need to be paid back."


    I could only sigh, slumping my shoulders. "I get it." I waived him off. "I already had ns on going back and making sure everything was fine."


    "Good." He acknowledged my intent. He turned back towards Rin. "Don''t mistake this for not being able to gather your own resources. There is a difference between taking a Divine Construct and acquiring treasures." He gave a small smirk.


    "That''s true, I have gathered quite a few spell tomes, treasure, and magical reagents just from thest world I visited." I had a simr look on my face, one we both knew all too well.


    How much alchemy materials did I have in my ring right now? Potions, metals, gold, jewels, so many things of value that I could take without a second thought.


    "Now you''re just rubbing it in." Rin grumbled. "But why can he do it and you can''t?"


    "Zelretch operates on a slightly different set of rules....he has a certain ''authority'' but at the same time he can''t leave in any meaningful way, and his actions ripple across reality." I exined, choosing my words carefully. Yeah, he couldn''t step off of ''Earth'' or ''Gaia'' as it were.


    "Which set of ''rules'' will I be under then?" Rin asked. It was a fair question on her part.


    "You will be more like me, Zelretch is simply different. You can attribute it to him basically zing this trail."


    "Alright, alright, no need to delve into those topics yet, that''s too far ahead for her." Zelretch put his hands up, turning to Rin. "I''ll give you a few pointers, you''ve been doing well by yourself so far." He picked up the staff. "With this....I think we would be able to manage, let me gather everything I have on my end and then we can see about putting together a gate." The staff practically became docile in his hands.


    Show off.


    Well, I do get my ir for the theatric from somewhere.


    "No rush, go help Rin we can do thister."


    I was truly in no rush here, better to let Rin get some more stuff to work on. It was already going to take a few days to properly set everything up anyways.


    Rin didn''t waste any time chasing after Zelretch as he walked towards the workshop in the back, obviously excited to make some progress in her Magic. I didn''t begrudge her, I could recall the early days of delving into the mysteries of the Kaleidoscope myself.


    Well, now there was only two.


    I nced over at Artoria who didn''t seem to have anything to do as well. So far, all I''ve seen her do is just apany Rin everywhere. I know she''s a Servant and takes this duty seriously, but is this all she does, day in and day out?


    "I have nothing particrly nned for today and it looks like Rin will be busy for the foreseeable future, would you apany me for a stroll? I would love to have a conversation with you." I asked towards the Saber servant.


    There were actually quite a few things I wanted to speak with her about. The stories she could tell only made it that much more appealing.


    Artoria looked at me a little surprised it appeared. "I would like that." She gave me a smile that I could get lost in.


    ***


    "How have you liked the modern era so far?" I asked mypanion as we traveled around the courtyards surrounding the association.


    She should have been here for a few years, no doubt Grandfather had done something to ease the burden for her to sustain herself here. Probably using some pieces of the grail? That''s a curious thought, I wonder about the exact mechanisms, I''ll need to make a note and ask him about itter.


    "There are many things foreign to me that the Grail had not seen fit to provide information on beyond the very basics." She frowned. "Learning the applications of the technology here has been trying."


    Ah, and it''s a bit behind what I''m used to. "Speaking as someone from a couple decades ahead, it''s only going to get worse, you may as well get started now." Yeah, just wait until things like smart phones start popping up.


    "Joy." She deadpanned. "Though there are many marvels that people here take for granted that I would have traded much of my treasury for in the past."


    "Let me guess, hot water?" Iughed, remembering my time in Skyrim.


    "Indeed, the essibility of hot water, and even running water in general is something I still find most pleasing every day." She gave a small smile.


    "What about hobbies, anything you like doing in your free time?"


    "I spend most of my time guarding Rin." She shook her head. "It is my duty to make sure she is safe."


    I guess it was unneeded to say how dangerous it was here for her to believe such a thing. But..... "Does she need your protection every moment of the day. Are you not out here right now without here?"


    "She is with the Wizard-Marshall, it is unlikely I would be able to do anything he would not so she is safe."


    "So, what would you have done if I didn''t invite you out?"


    "....I would have waited for when next she required me."


    "You would have just sat there all day waiting for her, maybe even a few days?" Gods know we mages can get lost in our own research for long periods of time.


    "It is my duty....." She said quietly.


    "You''re allowed to enjoy your life in addition to your duties."


    She evened her expression. "I am a servant, my only duties are to my master."


    "The Holy Grail War is over." I countered.


    "The Dead should not lead the living."


    "You would not be leading the living; you would merely be living your own life. Caster is getting married, and she apparently started her own clothing designs and sells them." I pointed out.


    Artoria furrowed her brow, looking deep in thought before letting out a sigh. "Rin as said simr words in the past."


    "Oh, what has she said?" I''m curious now.


    "Merely....that I should find something to upy my time." Her face turned a little red. "Mayhaps.... the mention of me finding a romantic partner was spoken by her on a few asions."


    Huh, Rin is indeed observant. "How has that worked out for you so far?"


    She shook her head. "It would be difficult to ever find someone romantically interested in me."


    "Wait, what?" I couldn''t help bute abruptly to a stop. "Why would it be difficult for you?"


    She just blinked for a moment in confusion. "You need not spare me my feelings; I am aware of my own appeal."


    .....what? "I''m sorry, what? Do you think you are.... unattractive?"


    She looked unamused but continued. "If you wish me to be blunt about it, I''m ¨C"


    "No." I cut her off. "I''m going to stop you right there because I know where this is going." Wow, why hasn''t Rin nipped this in the bud? "You are a very attractive woman. I am attracted to you, and I would be overjoyed to invite you out to a romantic evening, a date, if you were so inclined."


    This is not how I thought this evening would go...but I did have a bit of a liking on her. I would love to get to know her better. Well, strike while the iron is hot, they say.


    Who knows if we would ever amount to anything, but I would rather try and fail than have a small regret.


    "I do not require pity." There seemed to be a small bit of....anger in her voice.


    Did she think I was actually pitying her? I rubbed my temples, trying to think this through, my memories on Saber''s life weren''t super detailed.... but I could piece some stuff together. She lived her life as a man, did that skew her own self-perception? Did she think she was undesirable as a woman because of that?


    It seems drastic measures must be taken. "A wager." I stated.


    "Pardon?"


    "A spar with a wager. If I win, then I''m taking you out on a date with romantic intentions and you will have to acknowledge that I find you attractive and want to get to know you better." It seems like I would need to be as subtle as a wrecking ball here.


    I saw her eyes widen slightly and her cheeks flush a bit. "Y-you cannot be serious."


    "Does the King of Knights dare ept?" I challenged her pride, which did illicit a reaction. If nothing elsees from this, I would hope she might rethink this weird sense of self loathing.


    "I am a servant, even if you are a Magician, you are not on Zelretch''s level yet. Not to mention those ridiculous terms!" She turned a bit redder. "Why would you desire such a thing?"


    "I though it was obvious, I like you." I smiled sincerely.


    Was just kind of simple really, there are things about her that I found attractive and wished to pursue and see if something buds.


    "I.....Fine." She resolved herself. "We shall deal with this nonsense through battle." She let out an adorable huff, crossing her arms. I think it was the most emotion I''ve seen out of her since.


    So cute.

 Chapter 42 - 41

    <h4>Chapter 42: Chapter 41</h4>


    We walked in silence towards one of the arenas in the vicinity. There were several ces that one could go for the more physical applications of testing or sparing. Not all of them were wide open like where Rin or Luvia fought, many were private, and you merely needed to pay a fee to ''rent'' them.


    I of course swept the entire room for any third parties trying to peek.


    "It is not toote to recant." Artoria gave me a look, stepping to one side of the arena.


    "Then ept my words as truth." I retorted.


    She frowned. "It seems I must end this foolishness with action."


    "It seems I must beat some sense into you then." I replied, realizing that she was quite the stubborn woman.


    There was no call to action, no indication of the battle starting, she stared at me and I could see that she was content to allow me to make the first move. Of course, she was a Servant she probably felt it would be bullying if she immediately came after me.


    I raised an eyebrow, bringing out Mirage.


    My ss sword beamed with enthusiasm as the iridescent colors cascaded from a small swing.


    She responded by summoning her armaments, the attire of a knight covering her body, her regal form looking all the more splendid covered in steel. She held something in her hand, something impossible to see with the naked eyes. A weapon, a Noble Phantasm, only by using my acute senses could I just see the faintest glimmer, the smallest fluttering of wind around her true weapon.


    Invisible Air.


    Elevated to the level of a Noble Phantasm, used as almost a ''sheath'' for her True Sword. It was condensed wind-based Magecraft, so manyyers applied upon one another that it made the weapon invisible.


    I shook my head; it wasn''t time to get lost in thought regarding her weapons.


    [Reinforcement]


    [Ebony Flesh]


    I didn''t stop, the Boosted Gear appeared on my hand. "Boost."


    My body was filled with power, strength beyond what should be possible for a mortal.


    She looked at me in surprise for a brief moment before steadying her expression,


    I frowned slightly as she just sat there, allowed me to cast all these spells. She wasn''t taking me seriously.


    This wouldn''t be a repeat of the fight against the samurai, I was ying to win now.


    I had a strange thought, I pointed my finger right at her. "Turn Undead."


    Her body twitched ever so slightly, and I just tilted my head in amusement. Honestly, I didn''t think that world work, I was just curious at the result.


    It seemed like that was enough of a call to action, because she moved.


    Fast.


    It was all I could think about as I pushed myself backwards and cast a [Distort]. Images of me filled the room, surrounding her.


    I summoned hundreds of Ice Spears in the air to fly down at her. She swung her sword up, knocking them away with a burst of magical energy, only a few even getting close but her innate magical resistance made it so she could shrug them off without a conscious effort.


    Every movement of her sword, dozens of my illusions dispersed. She unveiled an unfathomable level of swordsmanship; I merely touched the tip of the iceberg with my spar before.


    Abruptly, her eyes turned right towards me, even with copies of me everywhere she could find me so easily.


    What a frightening instinct.


    "Haah!" Artoria swung her sword down on me, so quickly that I had no time to retreat, instead I met her attack with my own weapon, a shockwave bursting from the epicenter.


    The ground under me cracked and splintered as I was pushed, my knee touched the ground, barely fending off her strike with my own sword.


    "Surrender." She pushed her sword down just a bit harder, my arms tensed under the strain.


    "You surrender." I grunted, forcing a smile on my face. "Boost."


    Her eyes widened as I got a second wind and knocked her weapon back with the new burst of strength I had.


    Spell circles began to swirl around my de, lighting up with the obvious signs of spellcasting. A multitude of colors burst out as I tilted the point of my sword right at her in that narrow opening.


    "Ether Canon."


    A golden light met my spell as a cascade of different colors flew out in every direction.


    The conclusion was obvious, I had barely pushed her back a few feet and her golden sword shined bright. I hadn''t had time to charge up anything substantial, but it was still an impressive spell, unfortunately it was all for naught.


    "Beautiful." I admired the naked sword before my eyes.


    Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory.


    "I see you''re taking me seriously then?"


    "You have a surprising number of tricks, but they will not defeat me." She gripped her weapon with both hands.


    We moved simultaneously; swords blurred at insane speeds. Every swing, I was on the losing end of the exchange. This wasn''t surprising, I knew she was still faster and stronger than me, how many more boosts would I need to match her?


    I could onlyment myck of skillpared to her. I was practically cheating using my equipment to catch up.


    An overhead sh, I blocked it with my Gauntlet, sweeping Mirage from the side even if my arm shuddered under the force. She simply countered by sliding her sword off and deflecting my blow. She pushed into my space, shouldering me in the chest, the force almost made me spit blood.


    My feet dug into the ground in an attempt to keep my bnce, I had a small window so I gathered Runes on my hand. "Bindings of Gaia."


    The roots sprang up, surrounding her but I didn''t finish. Several Runic Circles ignited around me, crackling with powerful magics.


    "Lightning!" I called out again, not even giving the roots time to fully actuate.


    I rained all manner of spells down, Fire sprang up from the ground, Ice bombarded from the sky. My lightning bolts continued to fire off as each spell circle finally ran out of magical energy. In that brief moment, dozens of spells are collided with that singr location.


    Her form obscured by all the magical effects, only for a golden de cut through everything, I could barely see her spin her body, slicing through her bindings and mitigating every spell that came her way.


    What ridiculous magical resistance.


    "You are a very impressive mage. If I were not a servant, perhaps your spells would have reached me." She looked at me, the ground torn asunder where she stood, but otherwise untouched.


    I felt the ring on my ring and pulled out another item. I saw her eyes narrow as she saw the second sword I was holding.


    She took a true stance this time, her weapon lifting up to her side, parallel to the ground. A momentter, she moved, using her bodies momentum and spinning on her heel to put all her weight into an overhead swing.


    I had no choice but to block with both weapons, I could feel her small hesitance towards my second sword. I knew how she felt as it was also something I could feel just holding it, but it was able to provide some sort of suppression on her.


    "Boost." I surprised her again, gaining the momentum back. She must have been wondering the limits of my gauntlet at this point, but I doubt I can take her by surprise again.


    I knocked back her sword, stepping into a stab that was without her usual strength and speed, deflecting with Mirage and swinging at her with Ascalon. She recovered faster than expected, blocking my new Noble Phantasm, the sword she deemed the bigger threat, but Mirage followed up, moving towards her neck at insane speeds.


    She took a half step back, the tip of my weapon missing her by a hair''s breadth. To her absolute skill, she did not even dwell on it, knowing the path of my sword without a second nce.


    But this was my only chance, I dropped Mirage, much to her astonishment as I opened my Gauntlet-d hand.


    "Pierce."


    Her guard waspletely destroyed, she twisted herself in an odd way to avoid the nearly point-nk burst of power.


    I wasn''t done. "FUS" My voice bellowed out,pletely disabling her footing with the invisible force rippling out and mming into her. Her back legged stomped into the ground, as to not be blown away.


    I followed up with a swing of Ascalon.


    What happened next was so quick it was a blur even to my eyesight. She moved at a much higher speed than she had previously, able to regain herposure so quick.


    My sword flung into the air, trailing down a fair distance away, stabbing into the ground and I felt the warm touch of her sword at my nape.


    "You have lost." Artoria said with no small amount of pride in her voice.


    I think she''s really thepetitive sort.


    "You went easy on me." I just sighed, realizing to the extent that she held back. Every time I took it up a notch, she matched me and even at the end she pushed way past my limits.


    "Perhaps...but you reached me regardless." She replied, the smallest line of blood dripping down her cheek. "Fighting a Servant and managing to draw blood.....it is no small feat."


    If I were willing to blow this ce up, I may have been able to do more than that, but s this is my current limit. And it wasn''t like she couldn''t do the same, if she wanted to, her casual swings could easily bring this building down. In hindsight there were a few more things I could have done, perhaps more kic force behind some physical attacks? It made me wish I had the staff for this particr moment, but what can you do.


    "Well, I lost." I fully admitted.


    "We had never agreed on a prize if I had won." She dismissed her armor and sword, returning back to her normal clothes.


    "What do you want?" I tilted my head, it wasn''t like I would duck out of a true defeat. If I lost, I lost, I would pay up any reward she wanted at this point and its not like she would ask something ridiculous from me.


    "You fought valiantly...I have been forced to revaluate some thoughts I have had." She said quietly, contemting various thoughts.


    Well, at least I got through to her a bit.


    "Rin exined to me some concepts about this era.....what a ''date'' is. An evening spent in the apany of another to see if both parties desire to further a romantic rtionship. For my prize.....I have never experienced such a thing before and I find myself curious." Her cheeks turned the slightest pink, her gaze turning away from mine.


    I''m pretty sure that wasn''t Rin''s exact wording, but it wasn''t exactly wrong either. Well, the pain I''m feeling suddenly felt worth it.

 Chapter 43 - 42

    <h4>Chapter 43: Chapter 42</h4>


    So, funny thing, on the writers portion of this website, to upload a new chapter you simply put everything on a page and hit the ''publish'' button and boom, chapter gets uploaded. Well, here''s the thing, there is a ''save'' button right next to it that does exactly as you would assume, saves the chapter. Guess which one I hit yesterday and didn''t realize until now! So here''s both chapters, yesterday and today, just wait a few minutes for the second one.


    ***


    [Thatss, she is practically a dragon in human form.]


    Tell me about it....I think I have new bruises now. And I don''t think there is in doubt about what she is. You know, I''m starting to think I like women who can beat me up.


    [Wouldn''t be surprising, Devils in general worship strength, dragons also do the same.]


    Yeah, that makes sense.


    [How are you feeling?]


    "Pretty decent, all things considered." I moved my body around, still a little sore after boosting so many times and my stamina was drained pretty heavily.


    [You''re getting better, and with your bloodline fullying out it seems like your overall strength has gotten a nice increase, otherwise you wouldn''t have been able to hold your own in physicalbat so well.]


    Yeah, Servants are ridiculous, and she wasn''t even going all out. If she were serious, a single swing of her sword would have demolish the building with ease. And that wasn''t even taking into ount her unleashing her Noble Phantasm or utilizing her other skills. I seem to recall she has an ability that could give her arge boost for a few moments at the cost of a chunk of Magical energy.


    It was also good to get another perspective, adding in my magical repertoire showed me a few more ws in mybat abilities. The most obvious thing, there was such a huge divide between my martial and magical abilities and I don''t mean in the realm of strength. It was like, I couldn''tbine them in any meaningful way, they both were just....there.


    I had walked around the campus here for a while, just enjoying the day. It seemed like several people saw me and just turned and walked away. I guess knowledge of me has started to spread, good. I wonder how long it will take for someone to do something stupid.


    Well, it''s not like I''ll be staying specifically here for that much longer, only a few days and I should be making my trip to the Land of Shadows, and who knows how long I''ll be there. Though I will be here back and forth quite a bit, well, we''ll see what happens in the future. I think anyone would would want to approach me is just watching and waiting for now. I''ll deal with that nonsense when ites.


    Speaking of, I should go back and check in. Maybe the old man needs some stuff from me? I would rather the project not get dyed because I was absent.


    A hop, skip and the upscale living areas were not far away. No way Zelretch would be living among the mon'' folk. He wasn''t exactly the snooty sort, but he did appreciate the finer things and he would acquire the best if it were avable.


    "You!" Rin shouted as I walked inside, grabbing me and pulling me into grandfather''s office.


    I just blinked, getting forced down in a seat as the man himself turned around in his chair, staring at me.... menacingly.


    "Does the defendant have any words to speak in their defense?" He tapped his fingers together.


    "I want awyer?"


    "Denied." Rin answered, looming over me. "You have some exining to do."


    "You know, I have the strangest urge to flee at the moment....funny thing...." I flex my hand, feeling around in my ring, until I felt the connection shut off.


    Zelretch just wagged his finger. "There will be no Magic in my courtroom."


    Oh poo. "I believe I have a right to know what charges are against me?"


    "May the prosecution present her case." Zelretch ushered to Rin, seemingly ignoring me.


    Rin nodded, pacing around the room. "A couple hours ago I was deep into my research when I was interrupted by my Servant, the victim, stating that she required my help." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Apparently, she was asked out on date."


    "A date?" Zelretch repeated. "And which dastardly viin seeks to corrupt our pure and innocent Saber?"


    "He is sitting here in this courtroom right at this moment!" She mmed her hands on the desk.


    "I see." Zelretch nodded. "And what does the prosecution rmend for punishment?"


    "Immediate execution." She dered, pointing towards me.


    "....epted." He leaned back.


    I gave him a deadpan look, sitting up I flicked Rin on the forehead.


    "Oww" She whined, rubbing the spot.


    "Is this really necessary?" I asked.


    Zelretch just shrugged. "Is anything necessary?"


    "Oi, don''t start going all philosophical." I sighed. "Why are you both acting like I''m asking for her hand in marriage? It''s a first date, it''s entirely possible that nothing evenes of this."


    "How did you even get Saber to agree to date?" Rin asked.


    "Let me answer your question with another question. Why the hell does she think she has no charm or appeal?"


    Rin threw her hands up. "I have no idea! I''ve been trying to get her to stop thinking that way, but she just won''t ept anything I''ve said. How did you convince her to go on a date!?"


    "She started some bullshit about not being attractive, I denied it was so, but she doubled down. I had no choice but to force the issue, challenging her to a duel and if I won, I get to take her out." I exined.


    "You won against her?" Rin looked surprised.


    "Fuck no." Iughed. "She kicked my ass, but I think I got through enough. She seemed to ept I wasn''t trying to pity her or any other weird thoughts she has." Yeah, regardless of the oue, I just want to take her out and have some fun.


    "Well, this is wonderful news." Zelretch said happily. "Rin had approached me not long ago about this very issue, and I admit this isn''t exactly my area of expertise." He then turned towards me. "I hope I don''t need to exin how cross with you I will be if you are merely ying around with the young woman. I admire Miss Pendragon very much and I would hate to have a very different conversation about her with you."


    "Really, a shovel speech?" I raised and eyebrow. "Besides do you really think I''m that kind of person? I do actually like her you know..." Rin looked at me, eyes slightly narrowed. "Her physical attractiveness aside, I find her temperament very charming." Did there have to be more than that? I don''t think there''s a threshold where you must reach to be allowed to like another person, it''s not like I was confessing my love or anything.


    "Good." Rin acknowledged. "What are your ns?"


    "Well....I haven''t really thought much past this point." I scratched my cheek. "I have a few ideas I''ll need to double check on."


    "What kind of clothes will she need? Is it inside or outside? Will she need special shoes, maybe some kind of dancing? Or are you going for something ssic, maybe just a movie and dinner?" Rin started to bombard me with questions.


    "Uh....mostly outside, a bit of walking, and somewhat warm weather." I listed off, thinking about it. "Oh shit."


    "What?"


    "....I don''t actually have any money." Well, at least mundane currency.


    "...Idiot." Rin sighed.


    I turned towards the old man. "So how about that pocket change you mentioned?" He justughed waving his hand, making a piece of parchment fly towards me. I read it over, furrowing my brow a few times. "Are you seriously trying to extort me?" I grumbled taking out a few items in my ring. "These metals should work fine, though you may want to double check....and here''s a few more gems, the quality should be about what you need."


    I looked over everything I sat on the table. "How is the project progressing, do you have all the resources you require or do you need me to fetch some other stuff?" I really wanted my staff back...I felt weird not having it with me. Not like I was feeling vulnerable, but maybe I just didn''t like my things being out of my grasp.


    "It''s Good, I should be able to get the gateway up and running in a few days if these work as intended." Zelretch stated, rubbing his chin. "I''ll give you ess to my ounts here in Ennd, it should be much more than you will need."


    Yeah, that''s a bit of an understatement. Just his mundane currency was in the millions, that wasn''t even touching things like stock or other forms of wealth. Actually, I think he has a garage somewhere with a couple dozen cars.....definitely going to raid that at some point.


    "Now I need to take her shopping." She started giggling to herself. "Shoes, dresses, what else?"


    Well, it seems like Saber will be in good hands.


    Actually, I need new clothes too! And Shoes. Now that I think about it, my whole wardrobe needs an upgrade.....from this singr outfit I''ve been wearing for a whole month. Magic or not, I''m sick of it, I will want to look my best when I take Artoria out.


    Now the thought of her in a cute dress won''t disappear from my mind.

 Chapter 44 - 43

    <h4>Chapter 44: Chapter 43</h4>


    I had been running around for a couple days now, getting several things sorted and making some preparations. To say I wasn''t the least bit excited for my date would be a lie. Truthfully, I''ve never been on a ''date'' before, so sue me. Well, at least in the context that someone my age and origin would recognize as a date.


    "Old man." I entered my grandfather''s office.


    "Have a seat." He said smoothly, gesturing towards one of the chairs. There was a pleasant silence as he finished up whatever work he was doing. "We haven''t had a chance to sit down and talk."


    "That''s true." I admitted. "You used our first meeting as a learning experience for Rin." I let out a small sigh. "Not that I''mining, but if it were anyone else, I would have been extremely upset."


    He hummed in agreement. "She''s still a bit immature, I wanted to expand her world view a bit." He stroked his beard. "And there was no good way to let her see the ''wider world'', I think this method had the least effect on her mentality."


    "Except for that inferiorityplex she has going on." I snorted.


    "Yes, well, that isn''t something that can be handled overnight." He smiled slightly. "You did a wonderful job of opening her eyes though, I am infinity grateful or that."


    Yeah, she would have to work through some of her own issues by herself, we can only help so much.


    "I don''t need your gratitude; I care about her just as you do." I waived him off. "I still have some memories of her before, I couldn''t just sit back."


    She was a good girl, still a bit hardheaded and arrogant right now, but she matures quickly. Not that I could exactly throw stones from my ss house over here.


    "I''m tempted to ask about that, but I think I would like to look forward to the years toe before the world bes a bit more chaotic." A small smile graced his face.


    "A hundred years, give or take. It''s not long to prepare, even when we can bullshit the time-line a bit."


    "Language." He chided lightly. "You have a bit more freedom than I do in that regard. You have more freedom than I do to explore other worlds, I can only give a few cursory nces at World-Lines away from Gaia, while you can walk upon them."


    "And you think that our ''salvation'' may be out there?"


    "Salvation?'' Heughed. "I never believed in anything like that when I was devising my strategies. I never thought something like ''you'' would even exist. I''m just ying any card I can get my hands on to keep the world spinning." He shook his head, an aged smile gracing his face. "You weren''t my first attempt at skewing fate in my favor, I tried many ridiculous experiments. There was one point where I even theorized the resurrection of Albion, or maybe refining its corpse into a Mystic Code."


    "Yeah right, you just wanted a dragon to ride on." I called him out, because that is exactly what I would want.


    "....that was only 10% of my intention." He admitted.


    Yeah, yeah, you can''t lie to me old man, I know exactly how you think.


    "What about your ''granddaughters''?" I used air quotes to emphasis.


    "Why ask questions you already know." He was the one to sigh this time. "Altrouge Brunestud is just as rebellious, even if the Dead Apostle Ancestors aren''t present here. She still hasn''t forgiven me for tricking her pet into being sealed. Thankfully, she stopped acting up a few centuries ago, but only god knows what she''ll do when the board finally gets set."


    Maybe I should go pay her a visit? The daughter of a True Ancestor and a Dead Apostle, one of only two remaining beings that are allowed to carry the name ''Brunestud'', after the Crimson Moon Brunestud. She was frighteningly powerful, even if she wasn''t a True Ancestor herself.


    "And Arcueid is sleeping, which is the best case for everyone." I said quietly. I saw his expression, he truly cared for thest True Ancestor. We both knew that if the forces dwelling deep within that carefree girl could potentially awaken if she got swept up in the battle that maye. "It almost seems unfair how much easier it is to destroy the world than to protect it."


    "Even if it seems unfair, there is still a chance."


    "What''s the saying, the Heavens never block all paths?" I smiled lightly. "Once Rin gets up to standard, she can also start traveling, searching for her own fortune." Which will be another decent skew of fate in our favor.


    "I give it ten years before she is ready, maybe twenty at the most." He looked distant, calcting in his head, I agreed with his thoughts, that seemed about what I would expect if she didn''t make any surprising leaps in that time frame. Well, who knows, she''s a smart girl, some lucky chance could propel her years ahead of schedule.


    "I could give her a hand, thest world I went to had some good opportunities for her to spread her wings." I offered. "I also have some people back there that could watch over her, but....I may have also left some dangers in my wake." Lots of good stuff for someone in Rin''s situation, I''m sure she could bloom quite well in that environment.


    "I haven''t had a chance to peek over there." He looked a bit interested.


    "I''ve only explored a small fraction, but I couldn''t help but fall in love with the ce. I even got myself a woman over there waiting for me." I smiled.


    "And you''re trying to woo dear Artoria, bold, aren''t you?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "If anything seriouses after this date, I''ll be forthright, but for now I just want her to enjoy her time and maybe get a new perspective on her second life." I wasn''t one to lie about something significant like that. A healthy rtionship can''t be built on lies.


    "As long as you understand." He nodded. "That reminds me." He sat up, shuffling over to a cab and searching through some papers. "Here we are." He sat the parchment on the desk. "I made a little list of some world-lines and their coordinates if you wish to visit them in the future, I think some of them may have some things you might want."


    I just quietly put it away in my ring. "No need to get distracted right now, I still need to go find my teacher before I start treading this path."


    "Mmm, your foundation is a mess." He said without any sympathy for my feelings.


    "I know, I''ve been made abundantly clear how disorganized I am. I was so focused on just grabbing anything that I fancied that I''m a mess."


    "Well, the Immortal Witch should be able to sort you out." He chuckled. "I''m a bit interested in the Land of Shadows, I do hope you will regale me with some tales when you return." He smiled wistfully. "Do you have any ns of returning to your birthce?"


    I couldn''t help but wince, choosing not to answer.


    "It''s going to remain a thorn in your heart if you don''t go back." He exined. "Not to mention the debt you owe."


    "I know." I said curtly. "Its just....I don''t have many good memories there and no one to go back to.....maybe I can visit mother, put some flowers on her grave."


    His expression softened. "Well, think about it another way, there are plenty of good things there for you to grab." He shrugged. "You already stole something of significance, what more harm could you cause?"


    "You don''t'' need to remind me. My reluctance does not mean I''m ignoring my debt." My tick presented itself again as I ran a hand through my hair unconsciously. "I''ll head back and take a look after I get back from the Land of Shadows."


    "When you return after that, I do have something I need done if you''re interested."


    "Like what?"


    "There is a world-line near us that is cut off from my view, I have some ideas of what''s happening and the general outline, but I would like a more in depth look and you would be the perfect person to investigate."


    ''Close to us'' is a very rtive thing to say. Distance is a misnomer, a concept we attach because it makes us feel morefortable. Other World-lines are both infinitely close and infinitely far away.


    "Rin not ready for something like that?" She''s usually good about running errands.


    "No." He shook his head lightly. "This is beyond her abilities, even if Saber ventures with her, I don''t know if she would survive."


    "Oh? Color me curious now, I don''t recall something like this in my memories." Little surprises are life''s joy.


    He perked up a bit. "There''s this organization called Chaldea.....actually why don''t we wait until you get back, it''s a very long winded exnation."


    "Whatever, I''ll hear the rest of the exnationter, I already have a lot on my te."


    "That is true, you have a date with Miss Pendragon soon." He smiled, teasingly. "I wonder if I''ll have some great-grandchildren to spoil in the future."


    "Fuck off." I snorted. "Besides, it''s highly unlikely for a Servant to even have children, to call it one in a million would be generous. Adding on my heritage, make that one in a billion."


    As strange as it was, Servants can have children with humans. The concepts inherent in their sublimation onto our realm of existence. They are emboldened by the Collective Human Unconscious, and the idea of reproduction is so far ingrained on us as a race that it stays within them even with Ether-based vessels.


    "Are children something you would want in the future?" He asked me with some interest.


    Now that I think about it, Zelretch can''t have children himself anymore. A side effect of his battle with the Crimson Moon, he burnt through a lot of his life force. Maybe this was a desire I kept over from my previous life?


    I scrunched my eyebrows, mulling the question over. "I do.....I want a big family." I couldn''t help but smile picturing Meridia trying wrangle a few of our kids even if it was something not possible.


    I felt a strange resolve in my heart.


    So what if it wasn''t possible? When did that ever stop me from doing things? I''ll make it possible, there has to be some method across the infinite expanse that has a method.


    It would be a long term goal for now, but first...."Well, I need to make some final preparations for my date, I''ll catch youter, old man."

 Chapter 45 - 44

    <h4>Chapter 45: Chapter 44</h4>


    I looked myself over in the mirror.


    Hair was nice and tidy, clothes were clean even if they weren''t exactly as high quality as I usually enjoy, but my old ones were almost ripping in certain ces. Otherwise, everything looked rather good.


    It''s kind of weird that I hadn''t seen Artoria in the past couple days, almost like she disappeared after I told her what time I would be taking her out.


    Well, Rin wasn''t to be seen either, I think she took Artoria out shopping and what-not.


    Speak of the devil, I heard the door opening to their private quarters just as I stepped out of my own area.


    Rin stepped out first, giving me a smirk as Artoria followed behind her.


    "Saber wanted to know your thoughts." Rin said with a smile.


    "Rin!" Saber, squeaked, her face turning red.


    It''s amusing because she was wearing just normal clothes, jeans, a blue blouse and a scarf around her neck. Except this was probably a big step for her, someone who never cared about her casual dress before.


    "You look good." I said honestly


    I heard Artoria let out a cute little noise as her flush deepened.


    Rin just shot me a thumbs up, one I returned.


    I offered my hand. "Ready to go?"


    "Yes." She smiled brilliantly, offering her own up.


    I opened up a portal, taking her through with me. There was norge pause between movements, one moment we were at the ''house'' and the next we were in between some buildings in another part of the world.


    "Wee to America." I said, helping her through.


    She blinked looking around. "I am curious, what ns have you in store for us this evening?" She looked up at me as we walked out from our secluded little alley.


    "Well, I had several thoughts initially." I admitted. "Maybe a romantic dinner somewhere? Perhaps something a bit more modern, like a movie or something, but then I realized that I just wanted you to have fun."


    "Fun?" She questioned.


    "Regardless of how our rtionship turns out, whether it be staying as friends after today or maybe we pursue something more, I wanted you to enjoy yourself." We turned another corner, encountering arge crowd of people, fences up high and tents spread out everywhere with many decorations set up. "And I thought you would find this amusing."


    It was a renaissance fair.


    "W-why are they dressed like this?" She looked around in confusion, looking at people dressed, or at least attempting to, dress like people from her era. Some walking around in chainmail, others in fabrics that wouldn''t look out of ce on peasants.


    "For fun." I replied with a chuckle. "You can consider the people to be actors of sorts, they y their parts and allow people to experience a culture long past." I exined "Realistically, it''s far off from what you would be familiar with, but I thought you would get a kick to see how people interpret what you lived and how they enjoy it."


    "Can we...?" She took a step towards the entrance, clearly interested.


    "Of course, why else are we here?" I smiled, seeing the small bit of excitement on her face.


    There was no entrance fee, one of those types of ces that kills you on all the other costs.


    "Mutton, fresh mutton for sale!" Arger man behind a stall shouted.


    "Come test your luck, can you pull the sword from the stone!?" Another dressed as a knight was handing out fliers to passerby''s. "Be our lucky winner and sit in the King''s seat during the Joust!"


    "Three tries, ten dors, can you hit the bullseyes thrice and win the prize?" A third waved around his axes as he tried to goad people into ying his game.


    A few women dressed in borate dresses passed by, nked by a couple knights, giving us winks and flirtatious smiles as they passed, doing rounds about the fair ground.


    There were a cavalcade of horribly fake ents and wrongly used ''old'' words that seemed to apany every person dressed up.


    "This is...." She said quietly, not quite finding the right words. "Do the modern people truly look back at us like this?" She let out a smallugh, growing quite a bit louder as she ced a hand over her mouth. "It is like I''m watching a y from back home." She took a moment to calm back down. "This is wonderful." She finally said.


    Good, I was hoping she would like the idea behind this. "What do you want to do first?"


    She looked at me then turned her head every which way before finally pointing. "There."


    She pulled me along towards the stables, offering horse rides.


    "Ten dors per person." The man standing at the entrance said as we approached. "Only got one in right now, the others are being used. You can wait or ride together, if you need help we have a trainer on standby."


    Ah, the days before people needed to protect themselves so thoroughly from litigation. Give it a couple decades and I would have to sign a contract before even seeing a live horse in a ce like this.


    We stepped inside, a woman greeted us, brushing the mane of a beautiful stallion. She looked at us, setting it down. "Are you both riding together or separately?"


    "Together." Artoria said.


    I just blinked in surprise but didn''t dissuade it.


    "And have you ever ridden before?" the trainer asked.


    "Yes, I am very familiar with horses, I raised several and rode them all my life." She nodded, clearly excited.


    "Good, well, Pebbles here isn''t he fastest, but he has a good temper and enjoys a nice ride." She gentle pat the big horse that gave a small noise at her ushering.


    Artoria, with grace that was hard to describe, climbed up the horse. She looked at me, ushering me up as well. "I''ve ridden horses before, but never as the second." I mused, setting myself up behind her. "How tightly do you want me to hang on, my knight." I teased as her face turned a tad red.


    "M-make sure you wrap your arms around me tightly, I do not wish for you to fall off." She didn''t turn around, but I could see her cute little blush.


    I of course followed directions. There was the urge to tease her, not sexually mind you, I had standards, but maybe see her get more flustered. But...she was really excited for this whole thing, who knows how long it''s been since she''s been on a horse? I would rather not distract her too much and allow her to enjoy the experience again.


    The horse practically stood at attention, it straightened up and moved out with a grace I could only assume came from Artoria''s servant nature.


    Did she having a riding skill? I''m like 90% sure she did.


    The specialist led us out into an open field behind the building. There were a couple other riders, gently trotting around, I think I spotted a little girl riding a horse with her mom walking right beside her.


    Artoria was gentle on the reins as she ran a hand down the horses'' mane. "Hello Pebbles." I heard Artoria whisper. "Let us see what you can do, shall we?"


    Almost as if understanding her, Pebbles made a noise ofpliment. The horse began trotting lightly, slowly picking up speed.


    There were a few hurdles set up I don''t think we were intended to use them? But that didn''t seem to deter Artoria any.


    "Yah!" She called out, giving the horse amand as it took off.


    A little surprise made me hold onto her a little tighter.


    Without any effort the stallion cleared the first hurdle, jumping it with no issue. Moving between each one, clearing all of them as the majestic animal excitedly did ap around the field at Artoria''s ushering.


    She expertly led the horse to continue several maneuvers and parade around the entire arena as if he owned it.


    "Well done, Pebbles, you are a fine steed, and I would have been honored to ride you into battle." She pated the animal who seemed overjoyed at her affection. She just allowed the horse to trot around, moving him in any which direction, just enjoying the ride a bit longer before returning.


    "Want to feed him?" I poked mypanion, as we slid of the horse, getting her to eye the carrots in the corner.


    "Yes, he did well, he deserves a reward." She grabbed a couple carrots, slowly feeding them to her new friend. "You may have a few years on you, but you ride like a young stallion." She cooed to the happy animal.


    "Where to next?" She asked as we left the stables, smiling brightly.


    I could only imagine, riding horses were an intrinsic part of her past, probably something she grew up doing and loving as a result. How long had it actually been since she''s sat behind the reins?


    "I saw something interesting before." I smiled, walking at her side down the fair grounds.


    "Three throws for 10 dors!" A man shouted, wearing some kind of wool or leather clothing. "Hit the bullseye three times and win a prize!"


    "What''s the prize?" I asked, as we got close.


    He gestured towards his stand with somerge stuffed animals. "A pick of the lot."


    I smiled, handing him the money for two sets as I handed one over Artoria, giving her a look. "Apetition, then?"


    Her lips curled up. "You dare to challenge me after ourst bout? Mayhaps you intend to propose more terms for thispetition once again?"


    "Well, I hadn''t nned on it, how about you make the stakes then?"


    "Your arrogance shall be your undoing." She beamed with confidence. "If I win, I shall sample all the food-stuffs here at the cost of your purse."


    Well, technically its Zelretch''s purse, but okay. "Then if I win....I want Rin to pick out another outfit for you to wear." Rin has good taste and I wanted to help Artoria break out of her shell without being too forward.


    She stiffened, her face turning red again. "T-the terms are eptable." She said quietly, taking up a position.


    Huh, was I missing something here?


    "Ladies first?" I offered, gesturing for her to step ahead.


    She nodded politely, standing still holding one axe up. With a casual throw, it imbedded itself deep within of the targets, a cut off log with a painted bullseye on it. "It seems I have taken the lead."


    I tossed my axe up, getting a feel for the weight, aiming towards the same target. I turned my heads towards her, making eye contact as I threw it.


    There was a loud ''thump'' as I knew I hit the target and saw her brow furrow. "Well then." I smirked.


    She huffed cutely, getting a bit more serious. She truly is a verypetitive person, but it is still just as adorable as everything else about her. "Haah!" She threw with a bit more force, the axe burying deep inside the log.


    I gave no fanfare this time, copying her motion and also hitting the bullseye, though mine barely made it inside.


    "Careful, one misstep and you may very well lose." She smirked herself.


    "Someone sounds confidant, why don''t I go first on thisst one then?"


    "I do not mind, may you have any perceived advantage, you shall need it." She said simply.


    Well, alrighty then. I aimed up, and my foot dug into the ground as I pulled on more strength than before. My axe hurled towards the target, burying deep inside and cracking the piece of wood, making it fall to the ground.


    "Oh no, it looks like the target is destroyed, I guess I win by default."


    "You cheat!" She eximed.


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about." I looked away.


    "Dastardly cheater."


    "Oh look, prizes." I ignored herints, moving towards the booth.


    "Well....I guess that counts." The man at the counter just shrugged. "Which one you want?"


    I turned towards Artoria. "Well?"


    "..The Lion" She looked at it a bit expectantly.


    The man smiled, picking therge, stuffed lion, off the wall. "For your girlfriend." He handed it over to me.


    Artoria turned just a bit redder, making meugh a little. "Can I offer my prize as a peace offering, mydy?" I bowed my head in an exaggerated manner.


    "....You are forgiven for this transgression." She happily grabbed the stuffed animal, inspecting and prodding it with a bit of glee.


    "Well then, I believe you have a wager to upholdter." I smirked.


    "Rin is going to be relentless with her teasing."


    "How about we get something to eat then? I wanted to try all the foods here, I heard fair food has its own charm."


    "I would like that." She gave a smile that could melt ice.


    *****


    "What is that?" A dainty little hand pointed towards a food stall.


    "Looks like a turkey leg wrapped in bacon."


    "How obscenely decadent"


    "...want one?"


    "Yes."


    This is about how the next hour or so went. As we tried the various foods all around the fair grounds.


    "What are those?"


    "Deep fried bananas."


    Surprisingly yummy.


    "What about these?"


    "Looks like a cheeseburger with donuts for buns."


    Once again, my gluttonous side thanked me.


    I think we got through all the staple foods at the fair and even moved through their own little niche of ''medieval foods'' as well. I thought I could hold my stomach well, but this little girl out ate me at every turn. Not that I really cared, if it made her happy, I would keep going.


    "I''m a little curious, why did you agree to go on this date with me?" I was honestly curious.


    "You were willing to fight me " She replied. "Mayhaps.....I was moved, to be willing to go to such length." She stopped for a moment, deep in thought. "I wished to understand..." Her head ducked down, unable to grasp the correct words.


    "Are those caramel apples?" She suddenly grabbed me hand, dragging me towards another food stall. "I wish to partake."


    Subtlety, thy name is not Artoria. Well, I wouldn''t push if she didn''t seem to understand it herself. Just let the chips fall where they may.


    Regardless, it was pleasing to see the sheer joyful expression that Artoria wore for most of the day. It made this entirely worth it without any secondary thoughts.


    "Oh, lets y this one." I pulled on her this time, she followed my direction without anyint.


    "Five darts, pop as many balloons are you can." The man sitting behind the counter casually said, grabbing a few bills I put down.


    Artoria eyed one of the darts, moving it between her fingers before aiming and tossing. "I missed." She seemed annoyed with herself.


    "I don''t suppose you''ve ever used darts before?"


    "Nay, it was something that never came up in my life." She shook her head, throwing another and popping a balloon. "Yes!" She happily blurt out, before regaining herposure, and tossing another with a loud ''pop'' following.


    *pop*


    *pop*


    Her few more darts finished up.


    "Good job, you got the small prize." The man said, gesturing towards the back. "Which one you want."


    "The dragon." She pointed out, towards a green stuffed animal.


    I guess it''s not surprising that it follows a certain theme based on the ce.


    "This one is yours." Artoria handed it to me, clutching her own Lion, cheeks just the slightest pink. "You had gifted me with one, so it is only proper that I return the favor." She looked rather pleased with herself.


    "I love it" I said with a smile, happily epting the gift. He shall be named Ddraig junior.


    Today was one of the most fun days I''ve had, but all good things had toe to an end. We both noticed the sun starting to dip in the sky, the people begin to head out as stalls and shops began to close up for the evening.


    "Thank you." Artoria said quietly, dipping her head. "This....I have not had so much enjoyment for a very long time."


    "Believe me, the pleasure was truly mine." It''s not like my life was filled with days like these.


    "Rin had exined to me what Dates were the other day, differentiating between this and what courtship was back from my Era." She looked pensive. "I find the idea agreeable, a preliminary outing to see if individuals would be good matches to further pursue romantic goals." She stopped looking up at me.


    Oh, was that my que to ask her out again? "Artoria." I said firmly. "I would like to make it clear that I like you. If you want to keep going, do more dates, get to know each other better and maybe go a step further, I would be overjoyed." I gave her hand a little squeeze. "But I do have some things you need to know if you want to walk this path. Take some time to yourself, figure out your own feelings then get back to me when you''re ready."


    She didn''t look put off in the slightest, maybe even a bit relieved. I think she was under the misconception that she had to give me an ''answer'' right here and now.


    "Thank you." She said lightly, seemingly content.


    "Why don''t I take you home then?" I chuckled softly, taking her to a secluded corner and opening a portal for both of us.


    We stepped through to an empty ''house'' it looks like Rin and Zelretch were no where to be found.


    "Well, usually it would be my job to walk you home, but that whole procedure is a bit wonky here." I just shook my head,


    She looked up at me, cheeks sshed with the faintest pink that I recognized all to well at this point. "I had a wonderful time." She turned her head looking every which way before standing up on her toes and cing her lips against my cheek ever so quickly.


    She disappeared almost immediately into her room, leaving me there brushing my hand against my cheek.


    ***


    Author''s note.


    Just realized we passed 100k words, woot! Anyways, there may or may not be a chapter tomorrow i''m going to be super busy.


    Also, if you want to read ahead 5 unedited chapters, or maybe just encourage my coffee addiction, visit my pat /Astoryforone

 Chapter 46 - 45

    <h4>Chapter 46: Chapter 45</h4>


    Short Chapter today, a bit tired.


    ******


    Artoria Pendragon POV.


    I kissed him.


    The image continued to overtake all my thoughts.


    It was only on the cheek, but it was a kiss nheless. Was he put off by my forwardness? Do men dislike women who take the initiative? Rin Told me that it was amon urrence at the end of one of these ''dates''.


    What do I do now? Do I request for further courtship? No, that isn''t the correct word any longer. Dating, bing one''s girlfriend, there are different steps in this era.


    I was unsure of how to proceed; do I wait for him....do I wish to continue this ''dating''? My heart was beating rapidly, but I was unsure of myself.


    Is this even the proper path to take? I am technically a fleeting existence, though with Wilhelm or Zelretch present, I do not doubt their means to keep me anchored. Even still....


    He said that he likes me.


    Never have I had a man confess affection for me.....and I would be lying if I said it did not make me happy.


    "Saber!" I turned around to see Rin enter the room, I was too lost in my own thoughts to even notice her. "Girl, you better spill all the details."


    "We had a lovely time." I stated inly.


    "Yeah, no. I need more than that." Rin replied. "Where did you go, what did you do? Did he wear protection?"


    "RIN!" I shouted uncontrobly; I could feel my face heating up.


    "Fine, but spill everything, start from the beginning." She smirked.


    "He took me to a fair over in the colonies."


    "All the way over in America? What kind of fair?"


    "They were dressed up in attire reminiscent of my era." I exined, without getting into the details.


    "Oh, one of those!" She eximed. "How was it, did you have fun?"


    I suppose such a thing ismon knowledge then? The Holy Grail deposited memories unto me of the era, but there simply too many details it did not fill in. It would have been most embarrassing thinking an automobile was some type of beast had the information been less avable.


    "It was, amusing to see them act out their parts." I smiled. "And yes, it was an enjoyable evening." I had not had such an enjoyable time in many years.


    "Well, what did you do?"


    "They had a stable prepared for their patrons to ride horses." I exined. "We.....shared a horse together, he sat behind me." There was nothing wrong with two people riding together on a horse.


    Rin''s lips curled up, giving me a look that I knew all too well. "Ohoh, did his hands roam?" She made a lewd grabbing motion with her hands.


    "Rin." I let out an indignantint. Truly Rin''s perversionse out in private. "He was a perfect gentleman."


    "Boring, so he didn''t take advantage of you?" She said a bit more seriously, perhaps with some concern.


    "No, his hands never attempted to molest me." I noticed her concerns and I did not want her to think incorrectly.


    "Good, otherwise I would cut off his D¡ª"


    "Rin." I huffed.


    "Only one date and you''re already so attached~" Sheughed. "So, what else did you do?"


    "We merely partook in the facilities." I stated. "There were many activities, we evenpeted in axe throwing."


    "Did you throw him off with howpetitive you get?"


    "I am notpetitive." I said evenly. "I merely have a healthy interest in winning." I am not overlypetitive, regardless of what Rin, Kay, Sir Ector...and especially Merlin, have said.


    "Uh huh." Rin looked unconvinced.


    "If I were aspetitive as you say, then I should have held a grudge for losing, even if he did cheat." He had escaped my ire with his gift. Thankfully I had managed to hide my bounty before Rin had seen, less her unceasing teasing continue.


    "Did you wager anything, maybe a steamy night in a hotel somewhere?" Rin wiggled her eyebrows.


    "We did no such thing!" I crossed my arms. "He merely...."


    "What?"


    "....It is unimportant." said quietly. The thoughts on some of the outfits Rin made me try on, I would die of embarrassment if I were to wear them in public.


    "Look at you, going all red!" Rinughed. "It must have been something good."


    Rin''s relentless teasing. I should have expected it to make aeback at this moment.


    "So what are your ns? One and done or are you thinking of being his girlfriend?" She asked, her tones bing a bit more sincere. "He doesn''t seem like a bad guy, even if I have trouble coping with his.... race, I don''t want to judge him based on that. I''m sure you can judge him better than I can."


    Yes, his nature still gives me pause. I do not judge him on his family, one cannot control the circumstances of their birth, but knowing he is born of those from hell is still an odd thought to consider. I have believed in my own instinct for my entire life, it has yet to fail me and so far, Wilhelm has been nothing but sincere.


    I also believe that the Wizard-Marshall would not allow a dangerous individual so much ess to his home


    "I....do not know." I said honestly. "I have never considered a romantic pursuit in my life, much less this second one I have been gifted with. I was not aware I had any appeal as a woman until he thoroughly crushed that thought."


    "I''ve been telling you this for years!" Rin threw her arms up. "But noooo, all it takes is one cute guy to tell you you''re pretty and suddenly you''re all hunky dory!" She sighed, slumping her shoulders. "Do you want something like this? Something more than just a friend?"


    "I....would not be against it." I said quietly. "He has many attributes that I find attractive in a partner. He is objectively...handsome." I focused as to not blush infront of Rin less she tease me again. "I enjoyed spending time with him, and learning the few things he has shared. But I still don''t know much about him..."


    Indeed, we did not delve much into our pasts, merely enjoying our time together.


    "Then go on more dates, spend more time with him. You don''t have to get engaged or anything like that."


    Is it truly that simple?


    Mayhaps I am simply over thinking everything.


    ****


    Wilhelm POV


    It had been a bit over a day since my date with Artoria. I haven''t seen either her or Rin in this time, merely helping the old man set things up and run some errands.


    "Hey, Old Man." I walked up towards Zelretch; he was standing over a table full of materials.


    "Perfect, I was going to contact you soon." He didn''t even look up. "I believe I have made a breakthrough; we should be up and running very soon."


    I took a look around this abandoned courtyard, one of Zelretch''s properties somewhere in the world he purchased many centuries ago. A nice spot for some experiments and one of his ''safe houses'' that litter the.


    The Staff of Magnus was floating in the center of a Ritual Circle on the ground, filled with many materials, most of which I recognized at a nce. Some would require actual inspection to ascertain their properties.


    "Curious, you reced the Blessed Iron with Ebony." I looked over the Ritual site, mentally tracing the spell''s intent.


    "Well spotted. I realized that I would need to recalibrate several mechanisms with the addition of your materials, otherwise it would have taken much too long to find something more suitable." He stepped next to me. "If you look towards the center, you would notice I inversed the flow, instead of the magical energy flowing where the Blessed Iron should have been, instead, this Ebony is acting as a ''Dam'' to redirect it to the other corners."


    "Yes, you did simr things with Orichalcum, and is that a paste made from Deathbell, Troll''s Fat, and Fire Salts?" I admired his work.


    "Indeed, you brought back some interesting stuff." He gave a small smile. "If Rin ever does head over there, I''m going to have to give her an assignment to bring back arge portion of ingredients." He chuckled, though I could tell he was not kidding.


    "Remind me to show you their Enchanting system, I think you will find it particrly intriguing." I blinked, almost forgetting an important bit. "I almost forgot." I withdrew several soul stones, bigger than I have used in the past. "These should help stabilize the portal''s initial actualization."


    "Fascinating." He held one up to his eye. "I would very much like to investigate these at ater time."


    I could understand, a foreign ''system'' was always something fun to discover. "Soul Stones are rather interesting; I wouldn''t mind looking over any notes if you research the subject."


    "That is a fair trade if you provide me with suitable resources." Zelretch nodded.


    Equivalent exchange, one of the driving forces in the magicalmunity. It was the reason Rin even made it into Zelretch''s eye in the first ce. Her ancestor did him a small favor so he gave the man a little something to work on for future generations.


    Speaking of a certain magus. "You want to grab Rin to help us with the finishing touches? It would be a good hands-on experience."


    "If you wouldn''t mind." He asked sincerely.


    "Of course." I simply smiled, watching him disappear into a porta.


    Almost time, everything is here and ready.


    Next stop, the Land of Shadows.


    ***


    I did manage to get a chapter out today, even if its a little shorter than the norm.


    Anyways, same shit as always, if you want 5 chapters ahead, check out Pat /Astoryforone.

 Chapter 47 - 46

    <h4>Chapter 47: Chapter 46</h4>


    The courtyard was built into the side of a mountain, I could peer over and see the surrounding foliage that littered the valley below. It was a beautiful sight, practically devoid of any kind of human touch.


    I wouldn''t be surprised if it were a monastery in the past.


    Many of the amenities had been weathered and grounded from the passage of time, but it was still a wonderful location for some secretive experiments.


    I turned my head, seeing the familiar scene of a portal created by the application of the Kaleidoscope opening up.


    Zelretch walked out, followed by both Rin and Artoria.


    I gave Rin a nod and I looked towards Artoria who met my eyes, there was only a quick nce before she looked away.


    Cute.


    I have no idea what our current ''status'' is or if we''ll even have anything more in the future, I don''t want to rush anything, so I didn''t mind taking it slow.


    If it was meant to be, it was meant to be. Perhaps by the time I return she''ll have her own heart settled.


    I pped my hands. "Everyone ready?"


    "I wasn''t really told what I would be doing besides the basics." Rin stated, taking out a very familiar looking wand.


    "Well isn''t that a st from the past." I eyed it with a smile forming on my face. "Is she still as rambunctious?"


    Rin sighed, drooping her shoulders. "There''s a reason I keep her turned ''off'' most of the time."


    I gently pat her shoulder. I know Zelretch doesn''t particrly enjoy Ruby being around even if he created her. Funnily enough, he does enjoy annoying other people with her antics. "Don''t worry, you''ll be able to craft your own personal mystic code in the future."


    "Yeah, the old man said I would need to gather the materials by myself though." She deadpanned. "That would require me traveling around with Ruby." She waved the ''stick'' in annoyance.


    "I''ll keep a lookout for anything useful for you." I offered.


    Her expression quickly turned around. "Thanks!" She beamed, sincerely thankful. "What about you, have you made your own yet? I know you both can''t exactly share..."


    "Truthfully, I''m a tad curious as well." Zelretch chimed in. "I personally wouldn''t settle for anything below a certain level and your resources were far inferior to mine."


    "True, and I was quite lucky being able to find somepatible materials." I nced over to Artoria. "I think Saber is the only one that''s seen it before."


    "It was a good sword." Shemented evenly.


    I withdrew my prized de from my ring, allowing it to glisten under the light of the stars. "I named it Mirage." With that I did a small movement, allowing the colors to flow out.


    "ss?" Zelretch mumbled, eyeing it carefully. "No, that isn''t quite right....but then how did you connect, OH! Wonderful, what an intuitive design, and the craftsmanship is excellent." He eximed. "Brilliant, just as I would expect from myself." He chuckled. "Though if it weren''t for the bauble at the end, it would still fall short of my Jeweled sword."


    Really can''t hide anything from you.


    Zelretch just gave me a cheeky smile, bringing out his own sword.


    I had a small urge to swipe it, and I think he noticed because he gave me an ''I dare you'' look.


    "Well, it''s your turn, Rin." I held back a smirk.


    As much as I cared about Rin, I would forever enjoy these next few moments.


    Rin sighed, activating her wand.


    "I''M BACK!" The wand took to the air, flying in circles beforending before us. "Master, I have awakened once more, it''s time to rid the world of evil. Magical Girl Rin will dispense justice!"


    "Dammit Ruby." Rin pped her palm to her face.


    "Saber!" Ruby happily flew towards our resident knight.


    "Hello, Ruby." Artoria gave a small smile.


    One of Zelretch''s creations, a Kaleidostick. Basically a ''sapient'' wand with the ability to ess the Kaleidoscope, and an excellent tool for a beginner like Rin. Despite what one may think, this thing was a very beautiful work of art.


    "Ruby, it''s time to calm down." Zelretch didn''t raise his voice, but Ruby practically snapped to attention.


    "Yes, creator." The wand stopped zipping around and hovered right next to Rin.


    "Also, meet my grandson." Zelretch gestured to me.


    "Hello Ruby, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you." I couldn''t help my lips curling up.


    "Grandson!?" Ruby''s voice sounded shocked. "Since when?"


    "About a week or so ago." Rin snorted.


    "Sounds about right." I shrugged.


    "Hmm." The magical wand came over to inspect me. "My magical girl senses are tingling, you''re either the super-secret masked male-hero that saves magical girls at thest possible moment, or a demon in disguise."


    I couldn''t help but blink. "Why not both?"


    "Ohoh, you walk the path of the anti-hero then? Forever shrouded in darkness, only the true love of a pure maiden can bring you towards the light!" Ruby flew back towards Rin. "Rin, we must recruit him to our cause."


    Rin looked at me in exasperation. "Ruby, lets put a pin in that for now, we have a job to do and I think the Old man is going to get impatient."


    "Fine, fine." Ruby deted. "But I want to braid Saber''s hair againter."


    "I would not be against it, you did a wonderful job thest time." Artoria chimed in.


    How does that even work? Did she use magic or is she just that good at it? And now I want to see Artoria with her hair braided.


    "Awesome! Sleep over is decided, we shall eat lots of ice cream and talk about boys." Ruby dered.


    Rin finally grabbed the talking wand. "Yeah, lets do that." Her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Take these calctions and start running your simtion."


    "Don''t forget to scan the ritual site." Zelretch helpfully added.


    "You got it, Master!" Ruby somehow saluted regardless of not having any limbs. She hovered over the magical circle, light emitted from her point and washing over the area. "Materials categorized, begin conceptual simtion."


    "Well, the moment of truth." I said to no one in particr.


    Zelretch was having Rin run the calctions, I didn''t particr mind, it''s not like she could ''ruin'' anything, if I were to be blunt about it. Again, I don''t mind stepping back and allow Rin to have a learning experience.


    "Master, your calctions show a 42.38% chance of sess."


    "Only 42%?" Rin looked a bit defeated.


    "Not too bad." Zelretch interrupted her dejection. "Realistically, neither me or my Grandson would have broke 60% without some anciry means or just brute forcing the issue." He pulled a small stone shard out of his pocket. "Lets add this and recalcte, Ruby."


    "Scanning." She looked over the shard. "97.93% chance of sess."


    "A shard from the original Gate of Skye, do I even want to know where you got that?" I just shook my head. "Well, Rin, you heard thedy, let the show begin."


    "Okay, I got this." She said to herself, quietly.


    I saw her circuits light up and her amateurish pulling on the Kaleidoscope. I wasn''t insulting her ability, it was merely a description of her current skill. To even be called an amateur was actually quite thepliment when it came to this specific Magic.


    "Ruby, lend me a hand." Rin waved the wand around, forming the gate up as the materials responded to her call and floated into the air. They started revolving, mish-mashing and fell into a ''formation'' that resembling an archway. "I think I got it." She finally said after a few moments.


    Zelretch nodded towards me, walking to the Staff of Magnus. "Hold it for a moment." He grabbed the shaft and pulled on Rin''s own spell work to anchor the spell to the Divine Construct.


    The portal stabilized as Rin slowly backed off.


    "What a cheeky little Staff." Rubymented. "I should show it who''s the boss." She harrumphed.


    I could tell that the Portal was a sess, it should hold for two uses, one there and the return trip.


    "Well done, Rin." Iplimented.


    "Of course" She tried to show off a haughty attitude, but she was preening under the praise.


    "Well, looks like its time." I swept my gaze around.


    "Got everything you need?" Zelretch asked, more of a formality really.


    "Yeah, that and then some."


    "Rin, why don''t I show you some stuff I hid inside, in case you ever need to here again for any reason." Zelretch put a hand on her shoulder, leading them inside the building, giving me and Artoria a moments of privacy. "Come along, Ruby."


    "Yes, Creator~" The wand also floated with them.


    I just shook my head, realizing what he was doing. Rin apparently did too as she didn''t say anything and followed.


    I looked towards Artoria who returned my gaze briefly. "I guess this is goodbye for a little bit."


    "Do you know how long your trip willst?" She took a few steps closer, idly ying with her hands.


    "Inside for me? A while probably, for outside....I would say not any longer than two weeks." I hazard a guess, only doing a few mental calctions.


    "I see....I..." She cut herself off not sure what to say.


    "There isn''t a need to push yourself." I said gently. giving her a smile. "I''ll be back in a bit, and we can have a talk about how to go from here, be it friends or something more. The important thing is to figure out what you want."


    She took a hesitant step forward, grabbing onto my sleeve. "I will look forward to your return." I saw the faintest pink on her cheeks.


    There weren''t anymore words that needed to be said, with a step forward, I pushed into the portal.


    ***


    Death.


    Cold.


    Resentment.


    I was bombarded with these feeling as soon as I walked through.


    The coldness of this realm wasn''t natural....it was tainted with the feeling of death and the resentment of souls that refused to rest. I could stand on mountains in Skyrim, in the blizzards and not be as cold as I was right now. The term ''deathly cold'' never held more truth than it did hear, the cold air literally prated my skin.


    Ironically, I was standing over a pit of moltenva. From where it came, I had no idea. Only a small, stone bridge holding me up, and allowing me passage over safely.


    One might think, just fly over! Except, normal ws'' no longer apply. Trying to fly ''up'' will not necessarily take me to the sky.


    I wanted to continue my muse, take in my surroundings, but I was disturbed by the most rude undead that stumbled from whatever hiding ces theyid.


    Skeletons, zombies, some other types of abominations that breath necrotic energy from their pores.


    I wasted no time, several Runic Circles hovered over my head, expelling volleys of spells at any undead that dared to get in my way.


    These couldn''t evenpared to the Draugrs I fought back in Skyrim, especially not those really strong ones, though I had the feeling that dangers lurked near by.


    My casual stroll off the bridge was met with the cliff of a mountain as I overlooked the valley below. I couldn''t help my eyes widening as I saw an uncountable number of entities limping about, undead creatures of all kinds refusing to stay dead as they continued their mockery of life.


    Well, I guess it was time for a certain sword to shine.


    Dawnbreaker was freed from the confines of my ring. It''s holy light exploded out, grabbing the attention of every undead in the area, they all stared up, some with more intelligence than others.


    I would have to go through them regardless.


    Sliding down the rocky terrain, many came up to meet my assault. Stumbling through stones, cracked and rusted weapons in hands. The former figures of warriors, from ages past, they meant nothing under the light of Dawnbreaker.


    My holy sword cutting clean through any undead it came across. Holy light exploded on contact, blowing away those that got too close.


    I had gotten a bit better at handling this weapon, I realized that it had a few more uses than just being good against undead. It''s light, the Anti-Undead properties, could be utilized more malleably.


    I dove into arge group, no coordination as they tried to climb over one another to get to me. I could only assume they despised the living, their resentment allowed only themselves and those like them to exist.


    Dawnbreaker was mming into the ground, the holy light pulsed out like a dome, the walls of golden energy disintegrating everything it touched.


    The tide seemed endless, as even I killed dozens, hundreds, double that would take the space.


    "ROOOOOAAARR" A loud shout echoed, the ground shaking and the mountains trembled.


    A massive hand broke through the earth, grabbing any undead unlucky enough to be in its grasp and pulling them down. I was pretty sure I heard chewing, and the earth began to crack, something was breaking through.


    It was massive, I don''t think I could call it a zombie, but something with that nature. It still possessed flesh, and I doubt its former life was a human one. Some kind of Phantasmal species, I was betting a giant of some sort.


    It towards over me, maybe thirty or forty meters in height.


    With a thought, Mirage appeared from my ring in my empty hand. The Spell circles lit up, filling with magical energy.


    The monstrosity lumbered towards me, its rotten flesh filling my nose with its putrid scent. Pieces of its body could be seen falling off, other ces where the bones could be seen.


    It almost fell down, trying to reach me at its fastest speed. I didn''t move, continuously pulling on the Kaleidoscope to empower my spell.


    The tip of my de slowly moved up, hovering center mass of the abomination as it tried to reach for me.


    "Ether Canon." My voice echoed around the valley.


    It was massive, the biggest one I''ve done in this life.


    The undead''s arm disappeared, as did most of its body. My spell carried on, cleaving through an army of undead that followed in its wake.


    I small smile rose on my face, it felt good to cut loose like this and not worry about coteral damage.


    I didn''t have time to dwell on it as my eyes noticed something at the end of the path I had just opened up in the tide of undead. There was a pathway that opened up between the mountainous cliffs, it was paved with stone and an archway, clearly indicating the correct way to go.


    "Rooooar!"


    "Screeeech!"


    A few more earth-shattering roars shook he valley, huge body parts began to break through the icy tundra, reentering the world after their slumber.


    Well, time to skedaddle.


    Reinforcement fill my body and I shot off, not allowing myself to be swarmed any longer. As my feet carried me past the threshold, the smaller undead refused to enter and I could only look back in confusion.


    I decided not to dwell on it any longer and kept going in the dark tunnel.


    A ball of fire lit up above my hand, giving me some light. I was somewhat on edge, I would be a full to let my guard down after all, but I didn''t sense the presence of anything here.


    The tunnel carried on, maybe for another mile or so until I saw a light at the end where it opened up.


    The air was slightly more....pristine, like the undead essences were thinner over here.


    My eyes immediately were taken by the sight of a castle not too far away, but more than that, I saw someone mediating on the ground, the snow even refusing to stain her visage.


    She had Purple hair with the faintest red-hue, she was a beauty almost beyondpare. Impaled in the ground next to her was a spear that radiated bloodlust, enough to give me pause this far away.


    I trembled though when her eyes slowly opened, their red irises focusing solely on me.


    I''m pretty sure I found my teacher.


    ***


    Okay, fair warning to everyone, I won''t be releasing any chapters starting Friday and through the weekend. I''m going out of town to visit family, so noputer.


    Anyways, Scathach appears.


    If you want to support me or read up to five chapters ahead, visit my pat /astoryforone

 Chapter 48 - 47

    <h4>Chapter 48: Chapter 47</h4>


    There was a forceful silence that permeated every corner of this area. This little ''haven'' that seemed to exist within this realm of death and cold.


    Was it fear? One so ingrained on the inhabitants of this deste realm, those abominations that continue to exist through malice and regret? It seemed like the lingering touch of death even refused toe anywhere near this woman, the true ruler of this realm.


    She stared at me, not making a sound as I approached, my feet breaching the otherwise pristine snow was the only sound that existed in these moments.


    Every step I took was evaluated, judged, and weighed. I felt the gaze of Zelretch, my previous self, and I could only attribute it to that same feeling. As if I was beingpletely seen through, all my secretsid bare before her eyes.


    It almost made me pause, give a second thought to my objective. If Zelretch was ''gentle'' then this woman threw away all conventions of civility with nothing but her gaze.


    The feeling rising up in my chest, anxiety, repressed feelings I didn''t want to acknowledge. I felt as if I would be found wanting.


    How many times in one''s life are your worst partsid bare, shown to something to be judged?


    Under her intense stare, all of it was bubbling up to the surface.


    I wasn''t unaware of my own issues, my shorings and my faults. Despite what one may think, having another lifetime''s worth of memories doesn''t mean I don''t feel emotions, that I don''t have problems and fears. Irrational some of them may be, but I was still only eighteens years old.


    I am petty sometimes, perhaps a bit too whimsical and prone to flights of fancy. My greed gets the better of me and I can admit at being a tad lustful. No, my memories don''t stop these things, they give me perspective.


    Someone who is depressed can''t just fix themselves by knowing they''re depressed. Wisdom is not the same as maturity, I knew that, along with all my own issues.


    This didn''t stop me; it didn''t halt my steps as each one felt heavier.


    Even now, I don''t know the true reason I''m here. The obvious answer was that I wanted to be stronger, but why?


    Did it have to do with the Spider? Did I perhaps perceive some kind of debt to my past self and this world? The cynical part of myself could tell this world to fuck off and I could go anywhere.


    No, it was much more selfish, childish even.


    I wanted to prove something, prove my existence to the world. It was foolish, stupid even, but I felt the need to be relevant.


    My steps finally halted, only a few feet away from the legendary woman, still in the same positions, her eyes never leaving me.


    I dropped to the ground, forehead touching the cold tundra underneath as I prostrated. "Please, teach me."


    She didn''t answer and I stayed prone. There was only the slightest fluctuation, like vitality returned to thisnd and I heard the sound of long breath being taken and the world shifting. I tilted my head up to see her taking a breath of cold air.


    "So old, yet still so young." Her words sounded.....tired. "Raise your head, child."


    I lifted myself up, into a position on my knees. "Will you be my teacher, then?"


    "Toe so far, the effort itself is a gesture I cannot ignore." She stood up slowly. "You have potential." Her worlds were simple and direct.


    I followed suite, standing up. I brushed the snow off my clothes, only pausing as I felt an intense bloodlust lock onto me.


    Scathach ced a hand on her spear, looking back towards me. "Defend yourself." Were the only words of warning I received.


    Her cursed spear rocketed towards my heart, no sympathy for my wellbeing. Bloodlust and magical energy surged around like it a torrent.


    The Boosted Gear appeared in my hand, blocking the impossibly sharp weapon, but I was still flung back several yards before regaining my footing. I wasted no time in pulling out Mirage. "Four Birds."


    My sword phantomsunched towards the still form of my new ''teacher''. "Curious." Was her response, merely staring at the iing attack, leveling her spear and thrusting four times in a single breath.


    Magical thorns filled the air, piercing and stabbing in the direction of her thrusts. Simr to my sword phantoms, they tore apart my own attacks and came through to me.


    "Shield of Asgard." I quickly actualized a handful of runes, creating a not-so-great application of my shielding spell.


    It cracked under the strain, shattering with ease but the attack seemed to dissipate with that much defense.


    "Foolish." Scathach said with a slight frown. "Your application of Runes is an insult." I didn''t have time to register her words, she was infront of me, spear piercing through my lower stomach.


    I wanted to say something, but my throat was now filled with blood.


    Pain was an old friend, but that didn''t mean I wasn''t happy to see it again.


    "Your instinct is underdeveloped." There was no mercy in her eyes.


    "Boost." I grit out, blood dripping out of my mouth as I grabbed onto her spear and swung my sword towards her neck.


    Her response was to crack me across the face with her fist, dislodged her spear, and follow up with a kick to my new wound.


    It happened quickly, I was taken down in but a moment.


    "Too young." She sighed.


    She just looked at me, allowing me time to stand back up. "Distort." I said quietly, tens of illusions surrounded me now.


    "A bit interesting." She looked around, and I could tell she saw through them all with but a nce. She mmed the butt of her spear onto the cold ground, a wave of magical energy burst out, dissipating all my clones.


    I created several runic circles overhead. "Lightning." I knew it wouldn''t be much, but I didn''t want to give up so easily.


    "Better, but far from enough." Her spear met the iing magical attacks, a quick twirl left the lightningpletely defeated against her might.


    My body filled up with enhancement magics, and I pushed it forward again. "Boost". I kicked off the ground, sword in hand as Ished out towards her. My sword seeking the exposed skin of her neck, but a familiar spear popped up, diverting my de with minimal effort, it seemed toe alive as I couldn''t even recover from my swing and the butt of her spear already met the side of my head, dazing me.


    "Again." She stated.


    I steadied my erratic breathing, my body was starting to feel faint, possibly from the blood lust. I don''t think the pain had quite caught up with me yet.


    My de was held evenly, as I readied myself. "Swallow Returns."


    "Oh?" She just made the smallest sound as I moved. It did not fill me with confidence, and I think my de reflected that. Because when I should have made contact, I instead felt the feeling of death approach. There was no time to think, the familiar darkness of unconsciousness imed me.


    ***


    I awoke to strange surroundings, stone walls all around me and a scene that wouldn''t be misced in a different era.


    "About time." A familiar, feminine voice rang out. "I had thought I hit you too hard on the head for a bit."


    My thoughts returned to me, blinking in realization as to what happened. I don''t even know how she defeated me. Sasaki Kojiro told me there were holes in the technique, no doubt she could see through it so easily as well.


    But thats why I''m here, to get better.


    "He has a hard head; he can take it." Another voice I recognized sounded, I instinctively looked at my hand for Ddraig...but it wasn''t there.


    I gathered my wits, looking around, I wasid back in a chair at arge table that could amodate dozens of people, at the other end was Scathach...with the Boosted gear sitting in front of her. But that wasn''t all, Dawnbreaker, Ascalon, Mirage. All of my armaments, my stuff was sitting about as she went over it all.


    I looked down at my ringpletely missing.


    "Did you...take my stuff?" I couldn''t help but asked.


    "Yes." She said with no reservations.


    "Can I have it back?"


    "No."


    "...please?"


    "It''s mine now." Her lips curled up as Ddriag let out augh.


    She took the boosted gear out of my soul when I was unconscious, the realization dawned on me even after seeing the gauntlet sitting there.


    "Dammit Ddraig, what''ve you been telling her?"


    "Everything." He said with amusement.


    I couldn''t help but scowl, I did not like my stuff being taken. It almost gave me an itchy feeling seeing someone else y with my stuff. "You know, if you wanted a ring from me that badly there are different ways of going about it."


    "He defaults to flirting when he''s embarrassed."


    "Fuck off Ddraig."


    "Hmm, it''s alright, I don''t have much interest in boys. I prefer men." Scathach''s words went straight of the jugr.


    "Damn, I would have loved to fight you in my prime." The dragon said happily.


    Scathach smiled lightly at thement, turning her attention fully towards me. "You have some potential." She said inly. "But your foundation is abysmal. We will have to build it up from the ground, that is why I sealed your magical ability for now."


    Wait what? I tried to pull on any amount of magical energy, my circuits refused to respond.


    "I have devised a n; we shall begin tomorrow." Her words authoritative, leaving no room for response. "Relish this peace, there shall be none once we begin."


    I am starting to have second thoughts. Maybe I should just make a break for it? Grab my stuff, and hope for the best? I think I like my chances better with that horde of undead....Ddriag can go fuck himself and can stay here with the scarydy.


    "Hit him." Ddraig said, across the room. "I recognize that face, he said something about one of us in his head."


    God dammit Ddraig.


    Scathach nodded her head. "I shall remedy his attitude through training."


    Well, what''s the worse that could happen?


    ***


    Well, Christmas ns were ruined because someone got Covid (Not me). Fun fun, anyways here''s the final chapter for the weekend, the next one will be on monday. Happy holidays everyone!


    If you want to support me or get five chapters ahead, visit my Pat /Astoryforone.

 Chapter 49 - 48

    <h4>Chapter 49: Chapter 48</h4>


    I felt much colder than I had yesterday, one doesn''t realize how good they have it until its gone. My innate magical abilities were sealed along with my ability to generate magical energy. I couldn''t even bring out my wings at the moment.


    Despite what one may think, the usage of the Kaleidoscope did require being able to draw in magical energy to use. It just so happened that once one got good enough, it became a secondary thought as you had ess to a near infinite amount.


    My only thought on how she achieved this was through the use of Primordial Runes. To also take Ddraig out of my soul without me even feeling or knowing about it, how scary. I don''t think I could even do that; it just goes to show how absurd her magical abilities are.


    "Change." My new teacher threw a mess of clothes at me.


    "Pardon?" I caught them awkwardly.


    "Did I stutter? Change out of your clothes into these."


    I looked them over, coarse and not the best but they would probably hold better than my current garb and they looked a fair bit warmer. "Fine."


    "...Well?" She looked at me expectantly.


    "Are you not going to give me privacy?"


    "You have nothing I haven''t seen before, boyo."


    "Ah, so my teacher is a per-" My words were cut off by a spear smacking me on the head.


    "What was that?" She raised her deadly spear at me with an eyebrow raised.


    "I said my teacher is a pervert." I rubbed where I had just been smacked, giving her a look.


    A small smile curled up on her face. "Well, you have some balls at least." She gave turned around and walked out of the room.


    What a hard woman to read, I thought for sure she would kick my ass there....perhaps not the best decision on my part, but I am nothing if not stubborn.


    I quickly changed, setting my clothes to the side, because I don''t have my fucking ring anymore.


    Which I still am livid about.


    Walking out of the room, Scathach was waiting for me. "Come, daylight wanes and you will require all the help you can get."


    Daylight? This ce was a perpetual twilight, covered in clouds and snow storms. Actually, I haven''t experience the ''night'' here....I think I was unconscious for that... or maybe the day/night cycle isn''t the same as outside.


    "There." She heaved her spear up, pointing towards a mountain on the horizon.


    "What?" I had no idea what she was talking about it.


    "Start climbing." She said simply.


    "One more time?"


    "You will climb that mountain or die on it, if I see you before you finish, you will meet the end of my spear."


    I opened my mouth to retort, but the bloodlust she was emitting through off any sarcastic remark I had....mostly. "Why that mountain?" I mean, there were plenty of mountains, that wasn''t even the biggest or the smallest, it just seemed odd is all.


    "Because I said so, get going." She tossed me a sack full of food.


    I caught it, peering inside, looked like enough tost me a few weeks if I rationed it well. Strangely enough, there was no water, was there a reason for that?


    "Hmm, the dragon shall apany you as well." She thought for a moment, retrieving Ddraig from MY RING that she was holding on her finger, as if taunting me. "He expressed his desire to witness your training, no aid shall be given." She pushed Ddraig back into my soul without even considering me current state.


    I felt the breath getting knocked out of me as she roughly shoved the dragon back inside, falling to the ground, gasping for air. "Bitch." I couldn''t help but grit out under my breath. "Do I at least get one of my weapons?" I would really appreciate Dawnbreaker right about now, who knows what kind of things are lurking up there?


    "Of course, what do you take me for?" She gave the most innocent smile.


    "Dare I ask where it is?"


    Her expression turned sharp. "Top of the mountain, get going."


    "Of course."


    [Probably shouldn''t have called her a bitch.] Ddraig said, ''helpfully''.


    Yeah, thanks, Ddraig, my traitorous partner.


    [Are you still on about that?]


    Betrayed, by the one I trusted most in this world.


    [Trusted the most?] I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.


    Literally gave my soul.....


    [Alright, just get it out of your system.]


    "Hmm, I think I''m done" I started walking, the base of the mountain was a fair distance away and I was no longer ''superhuman'' in all my physical abilities. I would actually have to pace myself, how sluggish I felt was horrible.


    I looked back a few times, but Scathach just disappeared and it''s not like I had any ability to detect her right now. "What exactly did you two talk about?"


    [Just some random stuff, then we talked about and how best to train you. I filled in some gaps as she devised some things, but most stuff she could gleam by herself. Did you really think I just gave away all your secrets?]


    "Nah, I''m just annoyed at the situation more than anyone in particr." I simply don''t like other people having my ''stuff''. I could understand it, but that didn''t mean I enjoyed it happening.


    My whole purpose here was for training, I was throwing myself at her mercy for that. I would bitch andin, but I would keep trudging on.


    I came upon a forest, is what I would usually call such a thing. Except, this was and of the dead, filled with death and resentment, there would be nothing growing here that was ''safe''. Even these trees, were they qualified to be called trees? They were dead, they existed in a perpetual death state, I had no idea how they continued to exist, something inherent for this realm, but I didn''t question it for the moment.


    I looked around, finding a few branches that weren''t drenched in snow, somewhat dryer than the others. They would have to work; I could only assume that I would need some tinder for fires when I got higher up. Maybe even a makeshift torch, if I could find some other stuff to fasten along with it...


    Unfortunately, my load had to be light, I was basically human right now.


    Luckily there was a part starting at the base, something resembling a stone iy that ascended the mountain.


    My first step onto what could be considered the mountain and I felt a sense of dread wash over me. There was something here, something watching me now, I could feel it even with my current power. No wonder I was supposed to climb this mountain, something was very, very wrong with this particr peak.


    Was this fear?


    Something here could actually illicit fear in me. An unfathomable existence, the current me was but a tiny insect in its eyes.


    "Ddraig." I whispered.


    [Yeah, I feel it too.]


    That was all the confirmation I needed, and he didn''t borate further. He probably knew more than he was saying but as Scathach said, he wouldn''t be giving any help.


    I barely got up the slope when a skeleton came stumbling down right towards me, missing and arm and one if its feet was facing the wrong way.


    The most noticeable feature was the sword still carried in its hand. Rusted and chipped in various ces, but it looked to be a weapon not made with mundane materials. I doubt it would break even if I spent days hitting a rock.


    The glow in its eyes settled specifically on me, nothing else in the world mattered.


    Its feet carried him, stumbles and missteps, but it remained upright. There was no martial prowess in its strike, no intent or probing maneuvers. Simply a creature with minimal intelligence acting on its baser instincts.


    Even still, I was purely human right now.


    This little skeleton, something I could kill with a flick of my finger previously, it could end my life.


    It was a humbling thought.


    But I refused to allow something so small dictate my heart. I wasn''t beret of emotions, fear was something all living things face, but it would not swallow me.


    I took a step forward, watching its arm. Theckadaisical swing, easily able to cut through stone, came towards my side.


    I took a step to the right, allow it to pass safely by me. The skeleton stumbled forward, breaking its own momentum and tumbling to the ground.


    I stomped on its hand and pull apart the arm. The necrotic power holding it together crumbled easily enough, this was perhaps the most basic of the undead species.


    The sword felt wrong in my hand, the weight was off, the design was something not suited for my preferences. It was no masterpiece, something haphazardly created by someone with barely an idea of what they were doing, but it would serve my purpose.


    Mainly, survival.


    I scavenged what else I could, some strips of fabric still clinging to the bones would be usefulter on.


    Finishing up, I lifted my head, staring up at top, it pierced through the cloud, my eyes were unable to see the peak.


    Still a long ways to go.


    I continued my ascent.


    The air grew noticeably colder as I went up, and not just because of the altitude. This mountain, I could only call it cursed, and that was saying something in this retchednd.


    There were a few strange phenomena, stones were hovering in the air, no sign of ever falling down. I stared at it for a few moments, finding my own rock to toss up. I only furrowed my brow when it came right back down without any issue.


    With another though I grabbed a second stone and threw it towards one of the ones stuck in the air, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, right as the two stones collided, the one that was suspended in the air rocketed straight down like aet, creating a hole that I could not see the bottom of.


    ....Yeah, lets not mess with those anymore.


    This ce is fucking weird, and not in a fun way.


    "RETURN" A voice bellowed out, my head swiftly turned to the origin.


    There was a half-frozen corpse sitting at the entrance to a smallnd-bridge that connected two cliff sides. It was the only way forward, and this hulking undead was filled with hatred, eyes locked onto me.


    Frankly, I was surprised it could talk.


    "Can I pass?" I tried.


    "RETURN!" The ice around it shattered as it stood up, grasping at its massive sword impaled in the ground.


    It took a step forward, the snow disced at its weight. The ground shuddered under each step, its metal armor still holding strong over its body regardless of its weathered look. I gripped my sword tightly, staring at the hulking undead. This thing was on an entirely different levelpared to the one I took out a bit ago.


    "RETURN" It continued to bellow, swinging its massive sword recklessly toward me with each step.


    I instinctively took a few steps back as it continued to approach, gripping my sword tightly I tried to move in-between the swings, getting up into its guard, but I realized that most of its body was stillpletely covered in armor, could I even prate this?


    The moment I took to contemte, it swung down its empty hand, the massive fist baring down at me was met with the t of my de.


    It knocked me to the ground, the force enough to make me cough blood.


    I quickly rolled to the side, a massive steel de prating the earth where I was a moment prior. I wobbly got to my feet and retreated dozens of yards back to regain myposure.


    I eyed the monstrosity, it looked at me. "RETURN" It shouted one final time before turning around and going back to where it was before.


    "Fuck." I slumped down., feeling the spot where I got hit. Definitely going to be bruisedter.


    How was I supposed to get past that thing?


    Really, the only spot I could do any chance of damage was the eye slots in its helmet...but that was such a small opening in the midst of its iling.


    I stood there lost in thought before some realization dawned on me.


    "I''m an idiot, aren''t I?"


    [Yup.]


    Usually, I would retort something towards the dragon, but I couldn''t find it in myself to do so right now.


    I looked up towards the sky, letting the snownd on my face.


    "When was thest time I simply swung my sword?" I just sighed.


    Was I relying too much on my past knowledge? I always thought it my greatest boon, but at this moment, it was more of a crutch. A simple stab through the helmet and I thought of it as some great hurdle.


    I knew I was all messed up, unfocused, magic and martial ability just flung about, but why have I never just practiced swinging my sword before? It seemed like the simplest thing in the world.....was it arrogance? Did I feel it was beneath me? The ''master'' of the Kaleidoscope, a ''Magician''?


    I couldn''t help butugh at my own stupidity.


    My feet nted firmly in the ground; I held my sword with both hands.


    sh.


    sh.


    Thrust.


    sh.


    sh.


    Thrust.


    I was here to train; I need to start from the very basics.


    ***


    And we''re back, I hope everyone had a good holiday! Que the training montage!


    If anyone wants to support me or is interested in reading 5 chapters ahead, visit Pat /Astoryforone

 Chapter 50 - 49

    <h4>Chapter 50: Chapter 49</h4>


    Step forward, overhead sh.


    Bend knees, thrust.


    Left.


    Right.


    Deep breath, release and swing.


    My hands dropped to my side, sword still clutched tight in my fingers.


    [You need to eat.] Ddraig''s, word breaking me from my fugue.


    "How long was it this time?" I dropped down, gettingfortable on the ground and allowed my breathing to settle as I closed my eyes. I felt the cold air scrape across my face, it was hard to stay focused in such situation, but I had much practice at this point.


    [About two days if my estimation is correct.]


    This ce, it make you lose track of time. No, maybe it was even more than that. It makes you lose your sense of ''self''.


    How many days have I stayed back here, and just continued my practice? I think we were almost up to two months now. The day-night cycle was not the same outside, it almost seemed random, perhaps there was a ''order'' that would reveal itself if I continued to pay attention for several more months, but at the moment it just seemed to change based on its own mood.


    Not just that either, it seems as though the longer I spend in this realm, the more I change along to match its properties. My need to consume food had decreased exponentially, to the fact that I had to be reminded to eat after a couple days. That isn''t even mentioning water, I havn''t felt the need to drink anything.


    What a strange ce.


    I swept my gaze around the area, hundreds of skeletal bodies littered my little haven. They hadn''t stoppeding for me in these past weeks, though they only came from below. It seemed like besides that one weird guard, no other undead were above me.


    "I think it''s about time I moved on." I wasn''t talking to anyone in particr, even Ddraig was silent. There wasn''t much to pack up, I kept my food safe and secure, my de had stayed with me this entire time and I only grab scraps from the things I''ve fought before.


    Lets see if these past days have been good to me.


    It didn''t take long to meet my familiar friend once again. I had probed him a couple of times since our first meeting, just seeing what exactly he was.


    Dropping my sack to the ground I took a step towards his position.


    "RETURN" It bellowed, standing up.


    Maybe the magics holding it together force it to say such a thing instead of being the only word it can actually speak?


    I was much less nervous this time, my hands extremely steady as I continued to walk forward, matching its lumbering steps.


    It swung its sword in the same way, a haphazard swing horizontally to cleave me in half, I merely took a step back, watching it miss. I think my previous thinking process was wed, I continued to think of it in a manner of just brute forcing me way through this thing.


    It recovered its swing, ready to cleave me in twain yet again, I stepped to the side, waiting.


    The inevitable edge of the de came towards me, I ducked down, allow it to pass safely over my head and impale itself onto the cliff-side.


    I looked up, seeing the thing trying to pull free its massive de to no avail.


    "Well, that''s one way to do it." I muttered, lifting my own weapon.


    The undead''s free hand tried to swing at me, but I deflected it much better this time, and I followed up with a swift stab through into the eye socket of its helmet.


    The magics dispersed with a visible effect, the animated corpse falling to the ground.


    "That was...much easier than I had built it up to be."


    [You aren''t exactly a beginner. Your issue was having a shallow foundation yet possess exceptionally powerful abilities.]


    Yeah, that''s true. If I had to describe it, I was perhaps an up-side-down pyramid. These past months have been me slowly added more bricks on the bottom to even it out, even just a little bit.


    Well, lets keep going then.


    I hesitantly put a foot on the brittle looking rock ''bridge'' that allowed one to cross from one cliff side to another. Natural in formation, but it appeared as though it would break at any moment.


    I guess it would beical to die in such a mundane way instead of all the other nonsense going on here.


    There was a cave up ahead, dark and eerie. Now, in a normal circumstance, I would have explored this, but the me right now was overly cautious. If that undead was guarding something it was most likely in here.


    Not only that, I had a very bad feeling crawl up my spine even looking down that ck hole.


    Staying the hell away.


    I just continued on a bit longer, only to visibly shudder when my clear path came to an end. The iys that I hoped would take me to the top, stopped here. All that was facing me was the rocky side of the snowy cliff.


    Well, fuck.


    I resolved myself, finding a good spot, and I began truly climbing.


    No turning back now.


    The sharp stones were quick to tear into my hands, only a few dozen feet up and my skin had already been punctured. My blood seeping out made the stones all the more difficult to grab onto.


    I could only wrap them in cloth to continue my ascent. The air was getting noticeably thinner with every few dozen feet I continued up and more strange phenomena started urring.


    The cold didn''t even have to be mentioned, my vision was significantly lowered in this blizzard weather, I maybe had a four or five meters I could see in any direction, the only exception was something strange off to the side.


    "FUCK" The words escaped my lips as my foothold crumbled and my hand slipped. I tumbled down, hitting several rocks beforending on a small, protruded edge that allowed me to regain my hold.


    Blood ran down the corner of my lips, I felt my throat full of the stuff.


    I hit that ledge hard, and the fall wasn''t exactly soft. Sucking in a cold breath of air, I steadied my legs and grabbed onto another jagged edge to pull myself up again.


    How many feet did I reclimb? Everything looked the same and my vision was heavily impaired. I think the only valid measurement of distance was the fact that I was getting noticeably colder the higher I went. Which, you may expect, climbing a mountain, but this was ''noticeably'' colder, as in every few feet it dropped a couple degrees.


    I don''t think I even got far, practically impossible to measure actual distance, when I heard a sound above me, things were falling down, smacking against the cliff anding right towards me.


    As quickly as I could, I stabbed my sword into the mountain as hard as I could and grabbed onto it, ducking my head under my arms.


    Rocks fell down on me, some merely hurt, intent to leave bruises, others sliced open my skin on their descent. Luckily, none managed to hit my head, less my skull take a beating.


    When thest boulders and rocks finally passed, I only climbed a few more feet until I saw a familiar sight. The strange thing that caught my attention before I fell the first time.


    I saw a castle,pletely upside down. It was perhaps, the source of those stones from earlier. Did it exist in a state of perpetual falling? Such a thing goes against the logic of humanity, but here that can be true.


    If it was ''always'' falling, that meant as soon as something ''disturbed'' its stasis, the momentum would carry it downwards, like those rocks. No wonder they buried themselves so deep, perhaps there was a ceiling on their velocity, but I did not want to test that.


    My breathing was bing too ragged, I didn''t dwell on it. The only sce was that I found a ''tree'' jetting out of a small cliff nearby that I could sit down and rest.


    I took out some word and some pieces of scrap metal. I hit my sword against the scraps, trying to light up some tinder I bundled together.


    "Come on." My hands shook slightly, I was freezing, and a little fire would do me good. "Just a little spark, please." I whispered.


    I continued until my fingers became numb, nothing. I couldn''t get a single ember to appear.


    A sudden urge to throw my sword off the cliff appeared, but I quickly squashed it down. No point in torturing myself more than this ce is already doing.


    There were thoughts in the back of my head, little whispers telling me to just go back down and continue with what I was doing before.


    Fuck this mountain.


    I stood up, feet a little wobbly. I took my sword in both hands and began to swing it again. The same rhythmic movements that I have spent the past couple months mastering. It was soothing, perhaps even a little warm in its familiarity. It allowed me to just ever so slightly take my mind off this biting cold.


    ***


    My eyes slowly opened, ice literally falling off my eyshes as I moved them. I had somehow managed to catch a few hours of sleep in this god forsaken weather.


    I can only thank the remnants of my devil physiology that I didn''t freeze to death. Even with most everything being sealed away, there were some things just inherit to my physical body. I''m not even sure how she went about ''sealing'' some of my racial abilities, perhaps she more so ''shackled'' certain aspect of my physiology in addition to my source of magical energy?


    I wouldn''t die of hypothermia.... probably. And I don''t think any of my body parts would be frozen.


    The snowstorm did die down, a little bit. I could see maybe a few more feet infront of me now, small mercies.


    Wait...I abruptly turned my head and looked at the tree that was providing me with some manner of shelter.


    I reached up to grab something hanging off on a small string. "Teacher?" I whispered lightly, holding a piece of flint in my hand.


    I cradled the small object like it was the most precious treasure, I gathered my stuff back up again and struck my sword against the small piece of flint. It was much easier to light a fire now, a quick strike of my sword and sparks flew, turning into little embers.


    These pieces of scraps I''ve kept dry all this time, and some tinder I found at the base of the mountain.


    Warmth.


    The tree hanging over head blocked most of the snow fall, allowing my little fire to persist through this deathly air.


    I needed this, it filled me with resolve to Keep going, that''s all I could do right now. I would stay here for a bit longer and warm up then continue on. Maybe another day or so, to allow this fire to run its course. How likely was I to find another little area like this to take another break?


    Cooking a potato over the fire, I allowed myself to enjoy this little prize. But all good things couldn''t continue, I noticed the storms starting to pick up again and I didn''t know if I should continue staying here for longer or not.


    Almost as if the world to give me a boot, arge swath of cold air blew in from the side,pletely enveloping the fire and snuffing it out with an ovey of snow.


    Fuck this mountain.


    I wanted to rant and rave, but I couldn''t even find the energy to do that right now. I slowly grabbed all my stuff once again and searched for another foothold to continue on.


    My hands already numb to the pain, I couldn''t even feel the sharp rocks anymore. Moments after leaving the safety of my fire, and I couldn''t even recall the sensation of warmth.


    After a while I think I saw a cloud pass by, how high up was I exactly? Did the ''sky'' even have the same concept here as I was used to?


    I don''t know how long I continued forward, my stamina was starting to deplete until I rolled up onto a protruding cliff, able to sit down and rest for a moment.


    How long did I continue to climb after this?


    My memories started to blur together and I caught myself almost stumbling off the side of the cliff. I could recall skirting alongside the cliff side, barely enough room to stand on, a veryrge and strange mushroom that I avoided, and even what appeared to be fish, flying through the air.


    Wait, did I imagine thatst one....? Did it not sing me a song as it passed by?


    "Will~" I heard a voice, and I looked up to see what looked like Meridia waving her legs over the side of the cliff.


    ....what?


    Am I really that far gone or is something else going on? I''m pretty sure I haven''t crossed into crazy territory yet.


    Perhaps I would have continued this question, had the figure not dispersed into a strange mist.


    I think this mountain was doing something to my consciousness, or rather something here was messing with me. Well, I just had to ignore it for now.


    Looking up, I couldn''t find a good vantage point to keep going. It seemed as though I would need to find another way. My eyes darted everywhere and I noticed a small chasm to the side, the opposite end looked to be a decent ce to continue upwards.


    I walked up, wiping away the copious amounts of snow at the ledge, getting an idea of the distance and taking a few steps back to get a running start.


    Leaping across, I managed to get most of my body on the ledge, able to slowly pull myself up after finding a good ce to grab.


    "Wilhelm." Another voice grabbed my attention. I saw Artoria squatting down, offering her hand.


    Perhaps it was a moment of weakness, because I reached out instinctively, only for my hand to go through hers and she dispersed into more mist.


    "Fuck" I shouted, sliding down, almost falling off the side of the cliff. My foot managed to stop on a good foothold so I didn''t fall down. With more strength than I wanted to muster, I was able to pull myself up and over, rolling on my back as I peered over the edge.


    "Stupid, stupid." I whispered to myself.


    What the hell was going on? Was something raiding my memories or was I projecting my own towards whatever source was fucking with me?


    This kept going on, Days, weeks? I think time began to lose meaning to me, the only semnce of the passage of time was me running low on food.


    "Oh, it''s Teacher this time." I muttered, seeing a clearly fake Scathach trying to lure me somewhere. Seriously, who would fall for this.....again.


    "Maybe put you''re a-game into it next time?'' I threw a rock at the little mirage, the illusion that seemed to emanate out of this mountain. I rolled my eyes as it burst into mist again, only for it to reemerge back into her form.


    I just sighed, deciding to ignore whatever was going on. If it could physically affect me, it probably would have by n ¨C


    "Oh my." I did a double take as this time the illusion started to strip. "Okay, bonus points here." I gave it a shaky thumbs up, as it tried to get me to follow it in a specific direction. I did take a few moments to just watch. "Nice, I wonder how urate that ispared to the real thing." I nodded.


    Huh, if I stick around long enough, will it try to do this looking like Meridia? It would be a lie to say that I didn''t enjoy it when her image showed up....it had been quite a while since I''ve seen her.


    Truly, this thing is a formidable opponent.


    This little distraction did help relieve a small amount of mental fatigue, but my body was reaching its limit.


    I was exhausted, I don''t know how much longer I could keep going, the only thing that kept me moving was the fact that I could see the top of the peek from here.


    Roughly 400 meters, if I eyed that correctly. The snow storms seemed almostpletely gone here.


    I could do it, I could do this.


    Was it getting harder as I got closer or was, I just imagining it? It was almost like a dream, each foot up I took, I don''t even remember doing it, but I saw the toping closer and closer into view.


    "Will,e with me?" Meridia looked at me coquettishly, her familiar dress drooping slightly past her shoulder.


    "You better pray I don''t find youter." I growled, throwing a rock through the illusion. As much as I would like to see that scene.....for some reason I''m actually pissed off that Meridia was being used like that.


    300 meters.


    "Wil, stay with me or I''ll jump off." Meridia once again appeared at the edge of the cliff.


    I just blinked, looking at ''it''. "Seriously? You really don''t have any idea who that is then? Just borrowing the image from my subconscious? If she were truly here, this entire realm would tremble with each of her steps." I don''t know why I wasted the breath saying this, but the look the ''illusion'' gave me was satisfying.


    A hint of annoyance on her face before dispersing.


    "A little more." I spoke even at the cost of my dwindling energy.


    200 meters.


    The stones I gripped were pulled out, maybe I would have been fine, but I saw the illusion of Meridia killing Artoria making me tumble a way back down in my very brief distraction. My arms got cut up from the jagged protrusions, but I was able to stop myself from falling further.


    Maybe my anger was now fueling me, I think I climbed back up faster than the first time.


    100 meters.


    I no longer had any feeling in my arms. I looked around, but I saw nothing, so I kept going.


    50 meters.


    Coming to the final cliff, I almost fell down again as my footing crumbled, grabbing tight I hefted myself up, pushing over the edge and rolling onto the top.


    There was something there, I could almost roll my eyes, but my energy wascking right now. I pulled myself up not recognizing the lower half of the figure, only to pause when I saw its face.


    "You." I said quietly, my body trembling.


    A man with a familiar shade of hair, I almost ran a hand through my own out of instinct. My shaking hands forcibly curled into fists.


    My father.


    Sirzechs Lucifer.


    "Why don''t youe back with me?" He gave a disarming smile. "We can be a family."


    "No." I said calming down., much to the Thing''s annoyance. An audible frown on its face due to myck of reaction. "Do you expect me tosh out? Or maybe jump with joy at your words? Even if you were real, I''m not that little child living by himself anymore."


    Was I still angry at him? Sure, I think anyone in my situation would hold onto some anger. But I''m not going to dictate any more than that towards this person, to actively hate someone requires effort, he is not worth it.


    I took a step forward. "Neither you nor the person you imitate has any control over me." I flicked the illusion, watching it disappear for thest time. "You are irrelevant."


    Good riddance.


    There was a small path up to the actual peak, the ''climbing'' was more so heaving my tired body up some stone cliffsides.


    "I did it." I said quietly, falling to the ground, barely sitting up and taking in the view from the top.


    "You did." Another voice answered.


    I looked over to see Scathach standing next to me. "You''ve been watching me the entire time."


    "Mmm, you did good." She nodded. "I didn''t think you would realize your own faults early on, I was nning on having you fight your way up arge portion of the mountain. Perhaps set some stronger variants at certain locations to provide walls you had to work to break down. But it wasn''t needed in the end." She shook her head with a small smile.


    "You set the undead there?" I tilted my head. That made an rming amount of sense.


    "Of course." She said inly.


    "What about those illusions?"


    "Remnants of something that I sealed here long ago, something that is neither living nor dead, yet still clings onto a chance at life by consuming the essence of anything it can get its hands on."


    "What was the point of this?" I tried to wave my arms around, but I just copsed onto the ground.


    "You needed to suffer." She replied without a hint of remorse.


    "Ah, so you''re a sadist."


    She walked up to my, lightly tapping the butt of her spear on my forehead. "If I wasn''t pleased with your progress, I would have smacked you for that." She frowned slightly. "The dragon spoke of me at length of your issues, I agreed with him after some deliberation. You have never ''suffered'' before, nor have you ever needed to. Some battles may have pushed you to your limits, but it is not the same."


    "I never swung my sword until my arms hurt, I never cast my spells until my voice was hoarse. I never truly trained in any capacity."


    "You understand." She looked pleased. "You were arrogant because of what you inherited, thinking never to push beyond your own limits. You had never truly suffered before. I have never had a student with your particr situation, I needed to devise a new strategy."


    "Does that mean you''ll unseal my power?" I asked.


    "Mmm, it would be pointless to keep you from utilizing your strengths any longer. We shall begin your true training tomorrow, for now though." She ced her hand on my forehead. "Rest, you have earned a small reprieve."


    My eyes closed, involuntarily and I weed the darkness.


    ***


    Here''s chapter 49, and if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or just support me, visit my Pat /AstoryForone

 Chapter 51 - 50

    <h4>Chapter 51: Chapter 50</h4>


    Scathach POV


    I carried my new student to an empty bed in the castle, such thoughts I did not think I would have ever again.


    How long has it been since another living being had stepped foot inside thisnd of shadows? I no longer took note of the passing days, it became meaningless after a certain time. To actually have someone seek me out once more, to venture into this deathly ce for my tutge, it was a strange feeling.


    I epted him immediately, something I had not done often in the past. It was supposed to be a test to simply arrive here, the treacherous perils that awaited one who stepped into my realm. If they couldn''t even appear before me, why must I teach them? I suppose there had been a few exceptions in the past, not all my students were like Setanta, some had moved me purely on their own willpower and valor, even if they did not record their names in the myths and legends.


    But toe here, in this time from his ce, I believed that to be testament enough. This realm no longer was connected to the wider world, I have merely guesses as to how he arrived, the dragon filling in some pieces.


    What do they call the great magics outside, ''True Magic''? Such things are something I am ipatible with, in my time all magic was just ''magic''. Thest visitors were those undead things that started sprouting in the world once the Age of Gods finally came to its end. Those disgusting creatures that subside from human blood to continue their cursed existence. Yes, the dragon helped fill in several details, telling me some things about the outside world in our chat.


    A dragon... I couldn''t help but chuckle at the thought. I have met dragons before, I have killed dragons, never had I shared a conversation with one, not to mention one who boasted such power. How I would have loved to test my spear against its mighty scales....maybe it would have been able to kill me.


    Was I excited when my new student arrived infront of me? I wanted to test his worth, to see what I was working with so I engaged him in battle, my spear seeking his heart on the first thrust. He was.....not the worst I''ve taught so far.


    Potential.


    That was the best way to describe it. The dragon had told me some things, the boy''s situation, to be rted to such a grand figure, he would go very far in life. But he was wasting it, relying too much on who he ''was'' as opposed to who he is now.


    There was no fire in his belly, no drive to truly surpass himself, to be something ''more''.


    But even so, feelings I hadn''t felt in a very long time swelled up. My hands itched, my desire to groom him into a warrior.


    I decided to toss him on that cursed mountain. I wished to see him push himself and work to achieve his first results, otherwise he would take everything further for granted. To have him suffer, to experience hardship to achieve his goals. He wasn''t as bad as my other brat who I had to beat the arrogance out of, but I saw the seeds beginning to sprout, it was better to nip those in the bud.


    I was....delighted to see him understand his own ws by himself. My intention was to continuously send undead at him, forge him throughbat, but he decided to stay at the base of the mountain and hone his own de.


    Less than a month, yet the progress he made in that short amount of time was substantial. It was to be expected, he had so much bubbling under the surface, waiting to be let loose.


    I allowed him his time to hone his own skill, not interfering. It was amusing to watch him swing his sword for days on end, focusing so intently for the first time.


    How his movements be sharper and cleaner with each hour that passes.


    Certainly, no master yet, but he took arge step forward.


    Watching him climb the mountain, for others it may have been monotonous, but I watched every moment without a hint of boredom.


    Even when that wretched divine spirit tried its games again, persisting through time purely on resentment, not even a proper undead abomination, something in between and forever sealed inside the mountain.


    It projects illusions to lure things into it, or to kill them so it can absorb their essence.


    I could only sigh thinking back to how Setanta was tricked the very first time. The most infuriating part was that he knew they were fake, but he still wanted toy with it regardless.


    How amusing it was to see me show up, was that from my student''s own desires or simply barrowing a familiar form?


    Maybe I shall have to teach him more than justbat...


    I frowned, shaking my head.


    Maybe he could also....


    No.


    There was no need to think such thoughts.


    Young, too young. It was the same with Setanta, he was born toote.


    Why bother creating hope, I have resolved myself to watch the end of time from here.


    ****


    Wilhelm POV


    I woke up to the unfamiliar ceiling, castle walls on all sides and a soft bed underneath me. Howfortable after sleeping on that mountain for so long, and the warmth....how one doesn''t realize how good they have it until its gone.


    My body was sore, but my fatigue seemed gone, did she heal me? I checked myself over, no noticeable scars on my body from where I had gotten hurt.


    I opened my Magic Circuits immediately, feeling the soothing pain of magical energy running through my body.


    My ring was sitting on a table, I looked it over before slipping it back on, slipping my mind into it I saw all my stuff there.....except I was missing arge about of mead and wine I grabbed from Skyrim


    This tragedy will not go unanswered.


    I walked out of my room, looking around an heading outside.


    I saw here, mediating in the same ce she was from before.


    "You are awake." She said simply.


    "Thank you for healing me." I bowed politely,pletely forgetting my faux anger.


    "Am I not your teacher?" She turned around to look at me, an ephemeral smile on her face. "You have gained quite a few things."


    "I don''t really feel different." I furrowed my brow. I mean, I feel great after having climbed that thing after so long, to actually achieve that, but I don''t feel noticeably stronger or anything.


    She hummed, sitting up fully, grabbing her spear that always remained within arm''s reach.


    I brought out Mirage, the safe feeling of handing it in my hand again.


    How I missed you my beautiful sword.


    Without warning, she jumped into the air and lunged at me, erupting in magical energy and bloodlust as her deathly spear once again sought out my heart.


    As her spear approached, I stepped to the side, bring my de up to meet her instead, sword moving horizontally under her spear.


    She leaned back, riding the momentum to slide under my attack, only a few strands of hair flying off from her head. She adjusted her grip on her spear, digging her feet into the ground and utilizing her lower center of gravity to swipe at my legs with arge sweep.


    I quickly spun my sword, recovering from my own attack, and mmed the tip into the tundra, blocking her strike.


    Scathach abandoned that avenue attack quicker than it took me to blink, her Elbow swinging towards my face, only to meet the palm of my hand.


    My hand struggled to hold her back.


    "Still think you gained nothing?" She raised an eyebrow.


    I released my grip, and she lowered her arm. "I....didn''t even realize where that came from." That was....wow, it felt so fluid and easy. I mean, it wasn''t anything spectacr, Scathach was holding back substantially, but it just all felt right.


    "Don''t get cocky!" A fist found my face, disrupting my thoughts.


    "SON OF A BITCH." I shouted, clutching my nose, blood running down my face. I swear to every god, she did something to make it particrly painful.


    "You are just arger insect now; you wouldn''t evenst a few moves from me if I were going all out." She said coldly. "You are merely at the step where it is worthwhile to teach you."


    White light erupted from my hand, healing my broken nose. I stared at her in annoyance, she didn''t seem the least bit remorseful. "Only a few moves?"


    "Hmph, that was being generous." She dismissed me easily. "If you couldnd a true hit on me, I would even allow you into my bed."


    Wait, what?


    "Don''t daydream, boyo." She smacked me upside the head. "You are too far away to even considerying with me." Sheughed. "I shall begin passing down my teachings, your usage of Runes was an abomination, I will not allow someone under my tutge such disgrace."


    "That is...fair. I''ve been mainly abusing my near infinite magical energy to do what I wanted." I thought it through.


    "Your swordsmanship too, it leaves much to be desired. I have seen women trained by their maids having better sword skills than you." She shook her head with a frown.


    I chose not toment on that.


    "My final student..." She turned around, looking towards the horizon. "I shall forge you into a great warrior. Your magic, your martial ability. I will help you master your weapons and pull out your potential." She turned back to me again. "Let us start with your Runes, when you move to a standard that satisfies me, I shall pass down the Primordial Runes."


    I froze, hearing what she said.


    Primordial Runes, they were so much stronger than the modern runes used in today''s magecraft. An art passed down by Odin, a path created by a pantheon head. It was something that can be used against divine beings, something dragons and servants couldn''t just shrug off.


    There was a reason they were no where to be found in the modern day, they literally had to be passed down. A few years ago, the magicalmunity went crazy when a Primordial Rune was discovered in an old pat unearthed in Norway. Yet, even the person who obtained that object, they only gained an iplete understanding.


    "I''m ready when you are."


    She smiled at me. "Those are the words I wished to hear the most."


    ***


    Alright, chapter over, some real talk now. It seems like we need a discussion on ''True Magic''. I''ll exin my thoughts about what I wrote before, considering there is very little actually avable on how Magic operates, I''ve made up stuff as I went along. Now, my reasons and thoughts from before. When Scathach sealed the Mc she sealed his ''magical energy'', not his ''Magic'' as so many people were seemingly intent on saying. True Magic is a type of ''Mystery'', a powering from the Root. Magical energy is a means to realize the mystery, basically a spark to start a fire. I know some people were vehemently against the idea that True Magic requires the utilization of Magical energy, and frankly, we don''t know one way or the other, but if it didn''t require magical energy, then couldn''t mundane people theoretically realize the Mystery? There are billions of humans on the, has none ever touched upon the mystery if it didn''t require a certain valuablemodity only possessed by a very small portion of the people?


    That''s my thoughts on the matter, whether I''m right or wrong, Meh. I do enjoy the discussion, so don''t take this as me being angry or anything, I just wanted to clear up some possible misconceptions without delving too heavily into Nasu-lore. That is a rabbit hole I don''t have time to properly talk about in a meaningful capacity right now.


    Anyways, if you want to read five chapters ahead or support me, visit Pat /Astoryforone

 Chapter 52 - 51

    <h4>Chapter 52: Chapter 51</h4>


    "Like this?....no." Scathach weaved Runes through the air, before dismissing them and starting over. She seemed solely focused on her experiments that nothing could disturb her.


    I had exined to her my Rune usage, my path I was taking and what spells I was developing. It was a surreal experience, watching her reverse engineer my spells from some basic hints.....usually I''m the one doing that. I only told her my thoughts and what I had created already, and she started trying to replicate them.


    "Ansuz into Kennaz then Raido? No that wouldn''t work either, they would diminish each other...unless!" She quickly swiped her hand, allowing a spell to actualize. "What did you call it, ''Fires of Muspelhiem?" Sheughed, creating a massive torrent of me infront of her, burning everything in that direction.


    I could only sigh, it had taken her less than an hour to recreate my spell.


    "Your turn." Scathach turned to me abruptly, hands on hips, expectant.


    Did she want topare them? Whatever, lets just trample all over my self esteem while we''re at it. I activated my circuits, gathered my magical energy and actualized my Runes.


    "Foolish." She scoffed, flicking a rune into my sequence disrupting the whole thing and making the magical energy go wild and disperse. "Again."


    I grit my teeth and started up the spell sequence once again, I stared at her intently, as the spell was about to actualize, she moved.


    Another flicked towards me, but I dodged out of the way this time, only to blink as several more collided not just with my spell but my body as well, hurling me back into a snow pile.


    "Foolish boy." She frowned. "Do you think I am just disrupting you because I find it amusing?"


    "Yes." I said without hesitation.


    She raised an eyebrow as several more Runes surrounded her.


    "Only proving my point." I wiped the snow off my clothes, standing back up. "Sadist." I muttered under my breath.


    *Bang*


    "Mother fucker." I blurted out, getting smacked in the head again, face nting back into the snow.


    "You remind me of Setanta, one of my other students." She bore down on me. "He often required that I beat my lessons into him. It is making me very ''nostalgic''."


    "That sounds, about right for him. He probably just doubled down even then." I snorted.


    She tilted her head in confusion. "You know my student?"


    Oh right, she wouldn''t know about that. "He was summoned as a Servant due to a ritual some mage families created, the Holy Grail." I waved my hand dismissively. "Supposedly capable of granting a wish."


    "What a ridiculous notion, a ''wish''" She scowled. "...How did he die?"


    Well, she can read between the lines. "As a hero, protecting someone close to me." Atleast, he did in many world-lines, safe to assume he would go out in a ze of glory here as well. If it weren''t for him, Rin would have probably died in some iterations of the war.


    "That foolish boy." She said quietly, a small smile on her face. The runes around her were dismissed, and her ''pressure'' returned to normal, her expression turning neutral. "Answer my previous question, or you will be going back up the mountain." Her stern attitude returned.


    "You were targeting specific parts of my spell, certain links in my runic sentence. Maybe they were weak points, easily disruptable, or maybe my sentence is wed, bloated even, and you were picking off excess?"


    She blinked at me, a small bit of surprise on her face. "I suppose you are not as stupid as I first assumed."


    Gee, thanks. "I can only hope to continue to live up to your praise." I deadpanned.


    "Don''t get wise with me, boyo." She took her spear, carving runes into the ground. "Your runic sentences are needlesslyplex, look." She gestured to the symbols on the ground with an astonishing speed, yet they were immactely done.


    I walked over next to her, looking at them, mulling over thebinations. "Wouldn''t you want an Ingwaz rune here?" I pointed in between a few runes.


    "No, you are simply used to over thinking things." She shook her head. "Dagaz would provide the mes with ''steady growth'', whereas adding Ingwaz here would make the mes burn slightly hotter, but only for a split moment and then snuff out."


    "I see, it would overload the spell''s ''potential'' without any meaningful effective increase." I understood where she wasing from. "Yes, yes, also this Thurisaz here, that is brilliant, I can''t believe I did not notice it until now. To see my ws so quickly, you truly are a master of your craft." I couldn''t help but admit.


    Thurisaz has many meanings, one of which is ''Giant''. It has significance with Muspelheim as a whole, being that I was a realm that was home to a certain kind of Giant race. Weaving in stronger concepts will make the spell stronger overall, especially if ''clutter'' is removed to make it actualize better.


    "It''s good you understand." She snorted. "You have other spells, corresponding to the nine realms, are they just as bad as this one?"


    "Probably worse." I admitted with a wince. "You saw my shield spell before."


    "Yes....that." She scowled. "I will advise you to fix it out of my presence, less I get the urge to beat you up for even creating something so pathetic."


    Well, she doesn''t mince words, and it wasn''t entirely unfair. "Noted."


    "Good." She stated. "Now, fix them and cast each one a thousand times."


    "Did you just say a thousand times!?" I stared at her in disbelief.


    "Yes, a thousand times, each." She nodded. "If you want me to spread my legs, brat, you should be able to this much at a minimum." Sheughed, walking away.


    Making a lot of assumptions there....is what I would like to say, but I am a healthy young man.


    She even swayed her hips as she left.....bitch.


    "I''m conflicted, Ddraig." I said, mesmerized by the sight.


    [Being on the other side of the fence this time?]


    Huh....I guess that does put it into perspective, with Meridia it was practically the opposite situation. "The stubborn side of me doesn''t want to give in, to give her the satisfaction."


    [And what does the other side of you say?]


    "Them legs."


    [Yeah, thought so.]


    ***


    "Alright that''s enough." Scathach appeared before more, how much time passed, I didn''t know. Several days at the earliest, possibly over a week since I started casting.


    The days started to blend together at some point.


    "I hadn''tpleted a thousand for each spell yet." I rubbed my hands together, keeping them warm.


    "Hmm, its enough." She dismissed my concerns. "Your casting is up to an eptable level now, we can move on to the next part." She withdrew a parchment, handing it over to me. "I have made some notes regarding your spells."


    I looked it over, reading each line very carefully. "You theorized thepleted form of my 9-realms?" I didn''t really know what else to call this spell-school.


    Nine realms, nine spells.


    She had created six more spells for me,plete with their entire runic structure and even had notes on their uses and thoughts on their inception. She used my bare thoughts to conceptualize these, merely the basis of my random ideas. Not only that, they were just about what I had envisioned as well.


    What a scary woman.


    "I had some free time." She said nonchntly.


    This was....a very nice gesture. "Thank you, teacher." Honestly, seeing this gentle side of her made it really hard to hold any kind of resentment, even knowing she would kick my asster if I said or did something she didn''t like.


    "No need for that." She had a small smile on her face. "I had one final thought regarding this method you are creating. You are missing one very important concept to link them all together."


    One final concept? Link them all together....oh. "I see where you''re going with this." I rubbed my chin, thinking it through. "Yggdrasil, the world tree. The conceptual basis for the entirety of the Norse Cosmetology and what physically linked all the realms in thatyer of reality."


    "Good, but you will need toplete this yourself, I fear I may stymie your growth if I give you an answer here." She shook her head.


    Hmm, I already theorized the other spells at a prior time, but I had to even consider this aspect. I guess she wouldn''tpletely give me any answer like that. Some time of linking mechanism? Perhaps tobine multiple spells together?


    No, that would grind under the original concept, the world tree links but it doesn''t bine''. Maybe some sort of amplification, using the world tree as a basis to ''spread'' a single spell over arge distance or maybe to just empower a single spell to an absurd level?


    There were many paths I could take here, much more testing was required.


    "You have helped me a lot already." I waved the parchment. "This has saved me many days of research." It matched my initial thoughts as well, this is more or less what I would have created when I had time and sat down.


    "Very well." She didn''t dwell on it any longer. "Now, swing your sword ten thousand times."


    I just sighed, I guess we''re back to this now. "Yes, teacher."


    "I expect perfect form on each swing, otherwise you will be starting over. You worked your mind and your magic, now you shall work your body." She said with no room for argument, not that I disagreed with her assessment. "Finish this and we will spar again, I will even allow you to use your magic."


    Another spar, huh? Honestly, the thought was exciting, it was one of the best ways to get stronger. And I would be lying if I said that I don''t enjoy fighting, I just hope I don''t turn into a battle maniac in the future.


    ***


    Well, another chapter is done. I hope everyone enjoys new years tomorrow, I should be releasing a chapter, but don''t hold your breath.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my pat /Astoryforone

 Chapter 53 - 52

    <h4>Chapter 53: Chapter 52</h4>


    I sprinted along the tundra, explosions erupting in my wake, magical attacksunched at obscene speeds, and I was barely managing to dodge.


    "Slow!" A shout was heard behind me, I narrowly ducked to avoid a bloodthirsty spear from impaling me from behind.


    My back foot pivoted, turning around I retaliated, swordshing out towards the woman aiming for my life.


    Her feral grin almost made me waver, but I forced all my strength into my blow, locking against the shaft of her spear.


    "Lightning Cloak." My weapon crackled with power.


    Scathach looked surprised, jumping back, staring at me as she clutched her hand a few times. "Cute." She narrowed her eyes, taking a few steps round me.


    I smirked, mimicking her movements in the other direction as we circled each other. My grip on Mirage tightened, and I moved. "10 Birds."


    My de shed out, des of magical energy flew out towards the Immortal Witch.


    I saw her adjust her grip on her spear, hand down near the tip, using it almost like a sword. With a full body motion, she swung her spear at the iing barrage, her own version of sword phantoms collided with my attack, the air crackling with magical effects at the epicenter.


    Neither of us were deterred, our eyes stay focused solely on each other. We moved at the same time, leaping through the air, spear meeting sword at our highest point. An explosion pulsed out, blowing away all debris and snow on the ground.


    "Better." Scathach loudly dered, thrusting her spear several times in a blink of an eye. "Do not stay t footed! Weave each movement into your follow up attack, or use your footwork to retreat without opening yourself up!"


    Her spear slipped past my guard, cutting into my shoulder, but she did not relent. It continued to pour onto me, the smallest opening was another wound on my body, and my clothes were already torn at this point, and I was bleeding from several ces.


    "I SAID DON''T STAY FLAT FOOTED" She shouted, increasing her speed several notches and sweeping my legs out from under me, I didn''t even have time to hit the ground before she pivoted andshed out with her foot, sending me spiraling into the distance.


    The world around me spun, my body skipping across the ground before I could regain my footing, she wouldn''t give me the chance to get back up. My danger sense was already telling me a lethal attack was heading for me again.


    I raised my sword up overhead, her spear mming down like a club, the ground cracking under me from the blow. I think one of my ribs was broken, a sharp pain permeated my body from my chest.


    "Did anyone every tell you that men don''t like abrasive women." I grit out, blood seeping from my mouth.


    "What does a virgin boy like you know about women?" She retorted, knee mming into my chest, the exact spot I was hurting. She let go of her spear, grabbing my arm, pushing her shoulder into me, and flipping me over onto the ground.


    I rolled to the side, just barely dodging a spear form skewering a very important part of my lower body. "Low blow!" I shouted, getting up as quickly as I could to gain some distance.


    Scary fucking bitch.


    "It''s not like you would ever need it." Sheughed. Already on my ass, spearshing out.


    It took everything I had to deflect her iing barrage, not even having a moment to retaliate. I stomped on the ground, erecting dozens of earthen walls between us, merely only good for buying the briefest of moments.


    I quickly took a handful of Talismans out of my ring.


    I didn''t sit idle before this spar, I prepared several things beforehand.


    "Metal Enriches Water!" I threw my first Talisman up into the air. I saw the look on my teacher''s face, she didn''t recognize what I was doing, I guess she didn''t'' read through that book when she had my stuff.


    "Fuck." I spat out, dodging another spear strike. Was she keeping me frompleting the creation cycle? She probably didn''t know what it did, but for the intentions of training, she probably wasn''t going to allow me to cast it without effort.


    My sword swept towards her haphazardly, almost like I had regressed a step.


    I saw her frown, about to tonguesh me, one of the few times she would pause in her assault.


    "Water Nurtures Wood" I threw the second out into the sky, allowing the partial spell to further enhance.


    She narrowed her eyes at me, realizing I had tricked her. I smirked, lunging at her with a thrust, she stepped in, knocking my sword away with the shaft of her spear, flicking the butt of it at my head. It was practically instinct at this point to duck out of the way, but her knee caught my chin, knocking me off me feet.


    I felt the world spin around me, briefly dazed as my back hit the cold ground. I felt my hand empty, sword fallen down somewhere, I didn''t have time to search for it, so I reached out and pulled Dawnbreaker from my ring.


    She came at me with a basic thrust, but her whole body was behind it, punishing me for staying t footed again. I had no choice but to meet her head on.


    I grabbed Dawnbreaker with both hands, and with all my strength I swung down at the tip of her spear, knocking it into the dirt on her charge.


    This didn''t stop her at all, she followed the movement, putting her own strength into the new direction her spear went and used it to pole-vault up into the air, redirecting her spear with a spin, she twirled it up and swung down on me overhead.


    I didn''t have time to bring up Dawnbreaker, I abandoned it in favor of summoning the Boosted Gear to use as a shield.


    My legs shuddered under the weight of the blow, she clearly put more into it than normal.


    I grit my teeth in annoyance, I didn''t want to use the Boosted Gear in this spar. I nned on training with itter, but for now I just wanted to keeping improving myself.


    "Wood Feeds Fire" The words were forcibly pushed out, my Talisman thrown to the side as it flew up into the air along with the others. Slowly actualizing the spell, way up in the air, piece by piece.


    Several more Talismans enter my hand, different than the elemental ones used to forge the spell, I held them between my fingers and thrust towards Scathach.


    She seemed to sense the danger, removing one hand from her spear, she snaked her hand around my own, pushing my attack out of the way. It was the opening I needed to her own spear out from on top of me.


    I held my Gauntlet up like a shield, and my other hand up to act as a sword. In fact, that''s exactly what these Talisman were doing, they became enhanced to a supernatural degree, sharper than most steel. Usually meant to be thrown, but I needed a makeshift weapon or the moment, and Ascalon was one of my final trump cards, I didn''t want to reveal it just yet, even if she knew the de itself existed.


    She prodded me, a quick thrust towards my head, I deflected with my gauntlet, following up with a swipe of my other hand.


    Teacher only took a half step back, allowing them to pass by her less than an inch, she spun on her heel, swinging her spear in arge arc towards the side opposite my gauntlet. It was no surprise how quickly she noticed my openings.


    I decided to do something stupid, I thrust towards her body, opting to allow her blow tond. She looked at me with no small amount of surprise on her face, slowing turning into a smile.


    I felt something in my arm ''crack'' as my talismans were halted a breath away from her chest, a single Rune blocking them as they started to tear and fall to the ground.


    No doubt my arm was at the very least, fractured.


    "Nice try." She smirked, swinging her leg up towards my head.


    I clutched my hand, forcing another earth wall to erupt from the ground, hitting the bottom of her leg, disbncing her.


    "Fire dries Earth" I threw another talisman, as thest entered my hand. "And finally, Earth Refines Metal" Thest of the Talismans shot into the air, finalizing the spell sequence, a visual phenomenon appears in the sky.


    Scathach paused easily recovering from my disruption of her rhythm, curiously looking up, then back down to me. Confusion written all over her face. "...Did you cast it correctly?"


    With ast smile, I summoned all the Runes around my hand, thrusting my arm to the sky. I think I finally got a serious reaction out of her, for the first time I could tell she felt a foreboding sense of danger. She didn''t attack me, all I saw her do was flick her hand and summon her own Runes.


    No time to dwell on it.


    The two spells harmonized, the Talismans representing the eastern creation cycle, bolstering my runic spell to an obscene degree. There was a resonance, simr concepts intertwined between the creation cycle and the application of my Nine Realms. Both the basis of their cosmetology, the origins of life form where they originated.


    The first time I was casting this spell inbat.


    "Light of Alfheim."


    The clouds parted, a massive pir of light mmed down into the area,pletely enveloping me and everything in the visible distance.


    I was fine, it was a spell that target all those I deemed as enemies.


    "Take that, you old hag." I finallyughed, as thest vestiges of my spell finally faded, and the realm return to eternal twilight.


    Myughing abruptly stopped as I saw Scathach, standing therepletely unharmed, a shield surrounding her.


    Primordial Runes.


    She fending off my attack by utilizing Primordial Runes....I suppose I should take that as apliment.


    She didn''t answer, the clear dissatisfaction of myment written on her face. Her spell faded and she gripped her spear, reeling her arm back, she threw it with all her might right at me.


    The ground shattered at the force of the spear sailing through the air, leaving a track of magical energy and bloodlust in its wake.


    It wasn''t hard to dodge, but I fell on my butt out of instinct, letting it sail harmlessly past me.


    "An old hag, am I?" She took a step forward. "Curious as to why you have been staring at this ''old hags'' rear all this time then."


    She moved, extremely fast, I had no time to even stand up, her foot was nted firmly on my chest, pushing me further into the ground. "Those paper-spells need work, they are too slow, but they have potential."


    Yeah, I need to practice them a bit more, weave them into mybat style.


    "Anyst words?" She eyed me, putting just a bit more pressure on my chest, my ribs shuddering.


    I couldn''t stop myself from wheezing. "I think.....you''re awakening something in me."


    "You have chosen poorly." She deadpanned.


    "Wait!" I shouted. She paused for a moment, looking down at me. "For the record, I was staring at your legs." I smiled innocently.


    "Death it is then." She held up her hand, and her demonic spear jutted out from where it had been thrown, crisscrossing through the air and returned to her hand.


    What the hell?


    "How did you do that?"


    She released me, stepping to the side. "Do what?" She didn''t seem to understand.


    "Summon your spear back like that, to control it so well through telekinesis." I cast a healing spell, holding it over my chest.


    "It was not telekinesis, though I suppose it has simrities. It is an aspect of weapon refinement." She started, twirling her spear before stabbing it into the ground. "Is this an avenue that interests you?" She asked, clearly in teacher mode again, as opposed to ''kick my ass'' mode.


    "Well yes, but I was talking specifically about how you could control it like that. Can you do more than that, say move it with your will in the air?"


    "If I exert much effort, I can move it about, but for abat technique, it iscking." She furrowed her brow, unsure of where I was going with this.


    "Please teach me this, I think this is exactly what I''ve been looking for."


    This is not how I expected this sparing session to end, fighting almost nonstop for almost two days. But this may be exactly what I was looking for to help bridge my martial and magical abilities, to allow them to coexist in the samebat style.


    ***


    Almost didn''t get this out today, was rather busy, but hey it''s 7 minutes before midnight so it counts!


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, check out my /astoryforone

 Chapter 54 - 53

    <h4>Chapter 54: Chapter 53</h4>


    "This is the issue." I gestured with my hand, a sword flew out of the ground towards me, I caught it with ease, but its movement was too static, unmoving. I did the equivalent of wrapping an invisiblesso around it and yanked it toward me.


    Scathach tapped her finger against her chin, squatting down and poking at another sword I had stabbed into the ground. "Do it again."


    I shrugged, tossing the sword into the ground a distance away and pulled it to me again with telekinesis.


    "Wrap it in your magical energy and keep it floating infront of you." She said, standing up and walking next to me.


    I did as she said, allowing Mirage to float infront of me, as my magical energy wrapped around it like a nket. "Clearly, movement is not the problem, at least one dimensionally. I''ve used it in the past, thrown one of my swords and guided it with Telekinesis and such, but never for any maneuvers beyond straight lines.


    She stared at it for a moment, muttering something under her breath then gave it a flick, the sword flew out of my ''control'' andnded on the ground.


    "Conceptually, it may be different due to the weapons used, a spear is meant to be thrown, so it may be more open to maniption this way." I started thinking out loud. "It shouldn''t be impossible, I''ve heard stories of simr things in the east, swordsman who could control their swords with their wills in a far off era."


    Yeah, Taoism and the like were very popr in the distant era. There were many stories of those people using swords in some magical ways.


    I started pacing, taking another look at my hovering sword and walked back and forth. I made sure not to lose focus and keep the weapon suspended, now what abou¡ª


    *Smack*


    "SON OF A BITCH" I clutched the side of my head, falling to the ground. "What the hell?!?"


    Scathach stood over me, looking down, frowning. "Your pacing was distracting me." Her lips curled up. "I guess we can discard some kind of mental limitation."''


    I let out a breath, calming down. I suppose she was testing to see if I would subconsciously do something with the sword to block her ''attack''?


    Or maybe she just liked to beat me up, both are usible exnations.


    She ignored me, going back to the hover sword, squatting down and looking at it intently. I could tell she was clearly focused, possibly thinking of solutions.


    I smiled lightly, with all the force I could muster, I mmed the hovering sword into the ground, kicking up all the snow around it.


    Scathach slowly stood up, wiping the snow from her face. "If you wanted to bleed some more, you merely had to ask." Her voice was even, which only added even more presence to her words.


    "We''ll see whose bleeding after this." I grabbed my sword raising it up. It would definitely be me....but I refuse to back down. I wipped some dried blood off my forehead from the previous bout, when sudden realization hit me.


    I think Scathach noticed something too because she looked less ''bloodthirsty'' and stared more inquisitive towards the red spotted liquid on my hand. "Blood." She said.


    "Blood." I nodded. Her breath of knowledge was truly impressive, she could arrive at the same conclusion so quickly as I did. "Blood is the answer, I did something with my first sword awhile back, I soaked it in my blood to make it a better catalyst."


    "But that won''t be enough, if it was merely an issue of blood, such a ''technique'' would be more readily avable." She shook her head. "You must create a stronger ''bond'' with the weapons you wish to utilize. I could perform such actions because I personally forged these spears after ying the beast from whence they originated."


    "Not an option for me." I frowned slightly. No way was I going to try and reforge Mirage, and I doubt Dawnbreaker could even be reforged, let alone Ascalon, a Noble Phantasm. I took a look inside my ring, mentally looking over everything and certain ideas began to form. "I have a thought." I stated, withdrawing a couple books.


    Scathach stepped over, taking them in hand, and started to flip the pages over quickly enough. I saw her do ''something'' with a rune, seemingly so she could read thenguage of the texts. "This is the spell you used earlier." She stated, continuing reading. "I see...."


    Lighting Cloak was the spell book she was holding. To imbue my weapon with lightning, a very basic spell on the surface, but it held a surprising amount of depth. "Basically, a temporary enchantment, the only issue is using my blood instead of lightning and making it more permanent."


    "My refining methods, you wish to learn them?" She looked at me, waiting for an answer.


    "I...want to know everything you''re willing to teach." I replied honestly.


    She smiled, it was a very genuine and beautiful smile, devoid of any spiteful feelings she had moments prior. "I will show you how I forged my spears then."


    ***


    "Interesting design." Scathach looked over my enchanting table. She had given me a rundown on how her forging process went, her additions over the years and other things she''s tinkered with in the past. I don''t know how much time had passed, but we had somehow migrated back to the castle in one of her storerooms she kept many materials and other objects.


    Taking the concepts used in Lightning Cloak, recing the lightning with my blood, and using the enchanting table to make the effect ''stick''.


    Mirage sat on the table, it was be the easiest to do first, to ''refine'' the weapon, add my ''touch'' onto it so it was more susceptible to my control. This was by no means my area of expertise, in fact my experience could be summarized as ''dabbling'' throughout both my lives.


    Lights filled the room, my enchanting table lit up each runes and my sword was drinking in the multitude of colors. My blood seeped down into the grooves of the table, spilling off the de as it drank up almost all the excess.


    But it didn''t take hold, the magical energy had gathered and fluttered out, the enchanting failed.


    "Do you know what you did wrong?" She asked, peering over my shoulder.


    This wasn''t something I was specialized in, even my general knowledge wascking, frankly she was the expert here. "I have a few ideas...."


    "Good, try again." She stated, not giving any advice, but ushering me to continue.


    I nodded, focusing again on my enchanting. I ran a finger along the t of my sword, thinking about how to proceed. Is it merely a matter of too much blood, or maybe not enough?


    I willingly cut myself, allowing blood to drip out into a wooden bowl, filling it up about half-way.


    This time, I would try less blood, less magical energy and do it slowly.


    My enchanting started, but I could feel the effects not taking hold almost immediately, different from before where it all kinda puffed out, this just wouldn''t even start.


    "Failure." I said, dismissing it all.


    What if I changed on my application? Instead of trying to ''cast'' the spell over the sword and thus making it a permanent enchantment, why don''t I try enchanting it with my blood then casting the spell?


    ...Failure.


    Perhaps another wrong sequence of applications? Let''s try casting the original spell, then try changing it during the enchantment process.


    Failure.


    Hmm, lets adjust a few things and try that sequence again, I felt as if the process did something different and want to watch it again.


    Failure.


    Stupid, it merely prolonged the disruption between the magical energy and the materials. But now I know the threshold to work with.


    Failure.


    What about using some anciry materials? Soul stones, perhaps?


    Failure.


    Maybe it''s an issue of not enough magical energy after finding the correct ratio of blood? What could go wrong with flooding in more.


    Failure.


    What if I....


    Failure.


    How about...?


    Failure.


    Maybe...


    Failure.


    How long had I been at this? Time seemed to lose meaning in this realm and it was difficult to keep track. Especially with how focused I was, I lost track of how many times I tried this ''enchantment'' to refine this sword so it would obey mymands.


    I felt hair touching my face as Scathach leaned over my shoulder, close enough that I could hear her breathing, as she started to direct me. "Here." she said quietly. "You are losing much of the process from magical leakage. A normal enchantment from this table would not suffer this issue, but you arebining the application of a spell, modifying it with your blood, and forcibly attaching it to your weapon." She gently drew a rune over my sword, seeing it pulse ever so slightly I could see it having an effect on my weapon. "We often times look over the simplest solutions."


    She withdrew, standing off to the side, giving me an encouraging smile.


    I held back a sigh, realizing what I had been doing wrong at this point.


    I didn''t want to get distracted, so I focused back on my table, regardless of how many times I failed, for some reason I was feeling rather confident now.


    How much blood had I spilt for this little project at this point?


    Once more, I poured my blood over my sword, allowing it to drink it up for the enchantment. This time, though, my magical energy swirled around the sword instead of merely bring ''applied'' like it was filling every nook and cranny. I could see the immediate difference in what was happening. It seemed obvious in hindsight, but I just simply did not think of it during this time.


    There was no thunderous sound to apuse my sess, but as it all finalize my sword just pulsed slightly, taking in the enchantment.


    I stood up, almost not daring to touch my sword.


    Moment of truth?


    I reached out with my telekinesis, it was merely a ''bridging'' of intent, once I connected to my sword, the spell wasn''t necessary. The ''enchantment'' did most of the work I merely needed to ''activate'' it.


    My sword lifted off the ground, and I gestured with my hand for it to fly up and down, and I spun my hand in a circle, only to watch with amazement as the sword followed mymands.


    "Well done." Scathach sneaked up on me.


    I couldn''t help but turn around and wrap my hands around her in a hug. "I did it!" It was only when I heard a soft giggle in my ear that I realized what I was doing, quickly separating from her.


    Smooth, Will, smooth.


    Forgot myself for a moment, don''t even know how long I had been at this and then it was finished...and I will ignore how nice she smelled.


    When was thest time I aplished something after working on it so diligently?


    It was an exhrating feeling.


    Scathach looked at me, an amused smile on her face. "Good, now since ourst sparring was interrupted, we make up these past few days with another one."


    Few days? God damn, no wonder my back felt stiff.


    "Well....I really do want to test this out." And I''m never really against sparring with someone stronger than me, case and point, Artoria and Sasaki Kojiro.


    "Let''s hope you can keep that confidence." She smirked. "Because you will not be allowed to touch your weapons throughout."


    Regrets?


    Many.


    "That''s fine, you''ll need the handicap." When in doubt, double down.


    A vicious grin emerged on her face, one that promised quite a bit of pain. "My little student, all grown, up. I guess I will not need to hold back anymore." She turned around, flipping her hair back and walking out the door.


    [You fucked up.]


    I may have fucked up.


    ***


    Yeah, looks like this training arc is wrapping up at chapter 60.


    anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my pat /astoryforone

 Chapter 55 - 54

    <h4>Chapter 55: Chapter 54</h4>


    I stared at my teacher, the environment around us waspletely destroyed. Craters littered the ground, any kind of ''foliage'' was devastated, and nothing more than scraps. There were ces charred from intense mes, other ces where ice had exploded out in hazardous thorns.


    My clothes were ragged, my breathing was uneven and sweat mixed with blood as it dripped down my face.


    A white light emitted from my hand, holding it up to my face to heal my swollen eye so I could see better.


    Scathach walked towards me, each step the same length, almost like a predator who finally cornered their prey.


    Despite theckadaisical nature of her movements, there were absolutely no openings for me to exploit. This woman had not been going all out, but certainly not been going easy on me either, my body ached and hurt in every which ce. Not to mention he several times she had just stabbed me without any remorse.


    [Regret making her go this hard?] I heard my partner ask.


    My lips curled up, even with my heavy breathing, I couldn''t help but smile. "Never."


    [Well said.] Ddraig mirrored my sentiments.


    "Is that all you got!?" I shouted the distance towards her menacing figure. My sword slowly circled around me, never touching the ground.


    Ascalon.


    Mirage.


    Dawnbreaker.


    I relied on them heavily before, but now....I felt like I was the one in control. My connection to them, it gave me a certain confidence.


    I steadied my legs, they were a little shaky, but I had enough in me to keep going.


    Lightning danced across my hands, perhaps one of my favorite ''elements'', one I defaulted to quite easily. I gestured with my hand and my three swords shot off like meteors, one from above and two from the side.


    How much trial and error did it take toe this far? Teacher quite literally beat the techniques into me as we continued to spar until it reached a ''satisfactory'' level, ording to her. Well, stabbed the techniques into me.....mostly.


    She deflected them with ease, even as their trajectory was disrupted, and their forms going flying in every which way, it merely took a thought to grab them again, bringing them back towards me, with lightning flying towards her face.


    Scathach leaned down, ignoring my spells as they harmlessly passed over here and she broke into a sprint that disced all the snow around her, and a shockwave appeared where she had been previously.


    So fast, and this wasn''t even her fastest.


    Her spear was infront of my eyes, I narrowly dodged, her spear slicing the side of my head, blood flowing through the thin line opened up.


    I moved towards her, our faces only a breath apart, my hand moving up to grab her spear.


    She quickly shot her knee towards my chest, only for her to pull back as Ascalon rocketed from the side, ready to skewer her leg if she continued the attack. She was quick to adjust her footing, allowing it to pass in between us, only the fabrics on her clothing to get the slightest bit severed on its passing.


    Scathach narrowed her eyes, casting a Rune with such speed that I barely even noticed, taking the initiative to flick it towards Dawnbreaker before I could follow up on my attack.


    The spell collided with my sword, enveloping it in magical energy, and forcing it to drop to the ground. I could feel my connection to it still, but all my effort to call it were met with insane resistance.


    Was it a gravitational increase? I had no experience dealing with such a thing, not something I could unravel at moment''s notice in this situation.


    Definitely something I''ll need to be conscious of in the future.


    "Lightning Cloak." I smirked at her as my handing holding her spear erupted in magical lightning.


    I saw her grit her teeth, refusing to let go of her spear, and I used every strengthening spell I knew to keep it held back.


    She dug her feet into the ground, and her free fist went straight for my face.


    I caught it with my palm, the force made me almost shudder and I felt my hand getting numb at the initially contact.


    With a thought, my final sword flew towards the back of her head.


    I did not expect such an attack to work on a woman whose instinct and ability had been honed over the course of thousands of years.


    So it didn''t surprise me when she slightly moved her head to the side, letting it pass by without even breaking eye contact.


    But she must have noticed something amiss when I smirked, letting go of her fist and grabbing the hilt before it could fully fly by. I then shed down at her, redirecting all the momentum.


    Her pupils dted ever so slightly, her attack retreated, and a Rune appeared in her open palm as she used it to block my sword.


    A Primordial Rune.


    The second time I''ve forced her to use them so tantly.


    It wasn''t actualized in arge capacity, merely used to absolutely defend against my singr attack. I could only specte on the uses and requirements for her to cast such a powerful spell. I was currently working on the theory that they took a heavy toll to produce.


    This was it!


    I let go of her spear.


    She noticed immediately, moving her nimble leg up to probably intercept me and disrupt my own attack.


    Except....


    *st*


    She stopped.


    I stopped.


    I think she took a moment to reboot, trying to realize what just happened.


    Half her face was now covered in snow.


    "Did you just...." She finally said.


    "I think that counts as a solid hit." I chuckled.


    I had conjured a snowball in my open hand and tossed it at her face in that small opening. She, who had been spreading her awareness out to an obscene degree to notice any attacking at her. Lethal des showering down on her, magical attacks that would destroy thending from angles she couldn''t perceive. And I merely threw a snowball in-between all of that, was it any wonder why she was confused?


    A hit, is a hit.


    No danger to her, no killing intent. I doubted it would even register on her radar in the middle of a spar.


    "You..." She reached up, and grabbed my cheeks. "You cheeky brat" She pulled.


    My legs finally gave out as I fell to the ground pulling her with me.


    She made....a sound I could only describe as cute.


    I could feel her breath on my cheek, her nose almost touching mine.


    "You have made great progress." She said quietly, eyes not leaving mine.


    It was an honestpliment; one I couldn''t help but take pride in her words. It seemed hard to gauge how much stronger I became when she just continued to stay at a pace that was just above mine regardless of what I did. It just went to show what a monster this woman was.


    "You can get off me now." I responded, turning my eyes away. I definitely was not blushing.


    "Hmm, what if I don''t wish to move?"


    "I can''t feel my lower body." I quickly said.


    "Don''t worry, there''s not much to feel down here." She wiggled her butt over my groin for added effect.


    [Ouch.] Ddraig chimed in, sharing my sentiments.


    What''s sharper, her spear or her tongue?


    Scathach''s lips curled into a smirk,ughter escaped her lips. "You dare tease your teacher, huh?" She poked my cheek. "A snowball? I ought to beat your arse for that."


    Well, turnabout Is fair y I suppose. On the other hand....I grabbed two handfuls of snow and smooshed them against her face.


    "Brat!" She flicked my forehead, a small smile on her face, amusement clear in her eyes. "Fine, fine. I will allow you a moments respite due to your progress. We shall convene again on the morrow."


    She slowly began to sit up, but I yanked her back down. She caught herself, hands digging into the snow to prop herself up over me. "What if I don''t want you to go?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "You y a dangerous game, boyo." Her tonecking her usual aloofness. There was something else mixed in, her face wasn''t so hardened, perhaps even possesing a small bit of longing, but she also was hesitant.


    "I seem to recall you starting this game."


    She shied away first, slowly pulling herself up and I didn''t stop her this time. "Let us end this here." She stood up, wiping the snow from her body. "Take the remainder of the day to yourself." She said quietly, before walking away.


    "Jeese, what am I even doing?" I sat up, staring at my empty surroundings.


    I cast another healing spell, hovering over myself, feeling the warm sensation flow through my body. Oh gods that feels amazing, I didn''t realize how much I was forcing myself at the end there. Her days-long sparring sessions are brutal.


    "Did I do something wrong, Ddraig?" I let my body fall back into the snow, staring up at the clouded sky.


    [I don''t think there''s any right or wrong there, just choices to be made.]


    "Why do I feel so conflicted then?" I sighed, not knowing how to handle this situation. "Whatever, lets go beat some undead up, we can take the opportunity to train again."


    The time I could sneak away to train with the boosted gear was not much. Not that I was keeping it a secret, but it wasn''t really something she could help with much, so we never really focused on it much.


    [Alright. I can feel it, we''re getting close, maybe we can take those one to two steps needed to reach Bnce Breaker today.]


    And I can focus on just beating up undead things instead of worrying about other nonsense for now.


    ***


    Alrighty slowly making our way to the end. Just a heads up, i may or may not have a chapter tomorrow, going to check out an apartment after work and don''t know how long i''ll be gone.


    As always, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead, or just support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 56 - 55

    <h4>Chapter 56: Chapter 55</h4>


    "Look, what if we change the design?"


    "[You want to achieve a sub-species for the scale mail? Not even having achieved Bnce Breaker for a month and you''re already wanting something different?]"


    I pushed myself up off the ground, arm shaking as it was the only thing keeping me from falling on my face. I blew infront of my face to clear a few strands of hair out of my eyes as my arm bent down and my nose just barely touched the ground, only to push myself up again.


    "Not a sub-species, I like how the original Scale Mail works, I want to change out it looks, cosmetically." I breathed out, continuing my pushups.


    A sub-species, it was a description on sacred gears. Essentially, they can change based on their user''s needs and desires, bing something unique to that current wielder, thus called a ''sub-species''. For instance, if Ddraig''s Scail mail, his bnce breaker, evolved to grow multiple arms to allow me to wield all my swords, that would be a sub-species of his bnce breaker then. It would a specific addition or alteration unique to me across all his wielders.


    My eyes looked up towards Ddraig, or rather the Gauntlet sitting on a table with Scathach as she kicked her feet up and was reading one of the spell books I brought with me. The one on Onmyoji arts, she was curious about that particr school of magecraft and wanted to understand it better.


    She probably shares simr thoughts with me in this regard, new information is always interesting.


    I actually asked her to take Ddraig out, I wanted to see the process by which she did it. And Ddraig enjoyed being out and about sometimes as well, actually being able to have conversations with other people, or just Scathach.


    It didn''t hurt me any, and why not make my partner happy when I can?


    "[What makes you think I can even do that?]" The gem on the gauntlet lit up as his words echoed out.


    "You told me some restrictions were ''loosened'', I''m just taking a shot in the dark here." Not end of the world if this doesn''t work, but may as well see what options I have.


    "[That design is iconic, everyone knows it belongs to me!]"


    Well, that''s not a denial.


    "I''m not dissing your look, I''m just saying.....it isn''t optimal for me, it''s too....bulky."


    "[Are you calling me fat?]"


    "Yes." I said without hesitation, unable to stop myself from smiling.


    "[More weight.]"


    "More weight?" Scathach looked up from her book.


    "[More weight.]" He confirmed.


    Scathach nodded, picking up arge boulder sitting next to her chair and tossed it on the one already weighing down on my back.


    "Dick!" I shouted as the weight almost made me copse. I was about to bring my other hand down to catch myself but ¨C


    "Either keep one hand off the ground or you can lose one permanently." Scathach didn''t even look up, flipping another page.


    Yes ma''am!


    "[Oh, take his right, that''s the one he uses to ¨C]"


    "Shut up you fat dragon!" I quickly cut him off. "I''ll paint the boosted gear white and call it divine boosting, don''t test me."


    "[I dare you.]"


    "Boys." Scathach interrupted, not even raising her voice.


    "Fine." I calmed down. "But seriously, It''s not good if I''m going to be wielding a sword."


    "[Whats wrong with it, you did fine against that dragon before.]"


    "Please, I could have beat it up with adle and the results would have been the same." I rolled my eyes. "It was designed for a brawler, how many wielders of yours were proper martial artists or did more than just punch things harder?"


    "[...I hate that you have a point.]" He conceded


    Yeah, the vast majority of his previous wielders joined the club of lets punch things as hard as possible. It wasn''t particrly their fault, the Boosted Gear lent itself towards that development right from the get-go. Adding on to the fact that almost all his previous wielders started out as mundane humans, they didn''t really have any other options at the start.


    Sacred gears usually awaken under great stress, not many mundanes are going to take the time to learn something like martial arts or swordsmanship if their lives are being threatened like that. Fastest way to power was the way to go for the majority.


    "Look, I''m not trying to remove your style, it will still be simr, just less bulky and more....armorishy.....to be more like actual armor and not like a Gundam. Like the spikes at the elbows? They limit my full range of motion and interfere with my sword. Have you ever heard about elegance in simplicity?"


    Don''t get me wrong, I actually like how the Bnce Breaker looks, but it''s just not practical for me. Changing it into something resembling armor-armor is the best course of action. I already have a few thoughts in my head on how to go about it.


    "[Fine, I will consider your words.....draw me some sketches and maybe I will change the design.]" Ddraig grumbled.


    "I''m sure we can find something you like and will work well with my abilities."


    "What are you up to?" Scathach asked.


    "Just passed 1300." I replied, pushing myself up.


    "You were supposed to do a thousand." She just stared up, blinking.


    I shook the rocks off of me with a loud ''thump'' and stood up, my arms were sore and I moved them around to get the stiffness out. "meh." I shrugged.


    She just shook her head with a small smile on her face. "Well, that is a good warmup I suppose." She reached out and her spear jetted towards her open palm. "Prepare yourself."


    I smiled, letting my swords fly out.


    ***


    I leaned back, enjoying the feeling of hot water washing over my entire body. The feeling of my bruises being subsumed under the warmth was something I couldn''t quite describe.


    There was a hot spring behind teacher''s castle...and I apparently just now found out, after being here almost a year because someone didn''t tell me!


    Bitch!


    "How''s the water?" I opened my eyes, looking up, unable to keep the surprise off my face.


    My teacher stood there, Scathach, right above pletely naked.


    Error.


    Reboot in progress.


    "How long do you intend to stare?" Sheughed, walking over to the ledge and dipping her feet in.


    It would be difficult to describe how beautiful this woman was. And the confidence she walked around under my gaze; she truly did not feel any amount of shyness to be naked infront of me.


    "As long as I can." I shot back.


    On a side note, that illusion did do her justice.


    Her lips curled up, amused at my words. "Perhaps there is hope for you yet." She slid down into the water, allowing her ample cleavage to stay just above the water line.


    I have seen heaven, death no longer scares me.


    "Are you just here to tease me?" I asked, turning my gaze away, but the image was forever burned into my mind. I doubt any healthy men with a desire for the fairer sex would forget something like that.


    "Perhaps it is just a side benefit?" She smirked, scooting closer to me. "Does it...make you ufortable?" She said ''shyly'', using her arms to push her breasts together. Her eyes locked with mine for a moment before she broke down and startedughing. "You''re so simr to Setanta yet so different, he wouldn''t have waited even a moment to jump me."


    "Don''tpare me to that mutt." I scowled. The very epitome of ''every hole is a goal''. I thought with a certain part of my body...often, but I at least had some standards.


    "Hmm, shall I also teach you my friendship of the thighs then?" She stood up, looking right at me. "Isn''t that what you said before, you were taken by my legs?" She gave a sultry look. "It is my duty to teach you ''everything'' I can."


    I.....don''t know how to answer that question.


    I don''t think I''ve ever been in a situation like this before, and I find myself uncertain on how to proceed. I''m no stranger to a woman''s touch, but this was just something else.


    "I believe I owe you a reward after all." She got close enough to whisper in my ear. "How about it, do you wish to share my bed tonight? You merely have to say the words."


    Was she trying to get me to give in? Was it just some sort of game to her?


    I was tempted, oh I was I so tempted, but I also had my own pride.


    I turned to face her, my handing up to gently caress her check, our faces were a breath apart.


    Gently, I ced my lips against hers for a brief moment.


    "No thank you." I replied, breaking away.


    The look on her face was one I would treasure, the look of utter bewilderment at my deration. Has anyone ever said ''no'' to her like this? I''m sure she''s used to any man she propositions to practically jump at the chance.


    Hell, It took a lot more willpower than I was willing to admit to decline.


    Even so, I couldn''t help but smile at her dumbfounded expression.


    [I''m proud of you.] Ddraig said I got out of the hot springs, leaving my teacher to her own thoughts. [Though I am curious as to why you didn''t....you know.]


    "Fuck?" I couldn''t help but chuckle. "I''m not a child." I said, shaking my head. "But to be honest, I''m not one hundred percent sure myself....I think it just feels kind of cheap, like she wasn''t really ''into'' it beyond pure fucking, and if we crossed that line..... I don''t think I could stop myself from falling, and it would be make our rtionship awkward if it was just my one sided affections."


    ***


    Alright, another chapter is out. Sorry for missing yesterday was out and about doing some apartment hunting. The market right now is just so fucking brutal, every ce i find has like a billion applicants ahead of me, so frustrating.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my pat /Astoryforone

 Chapter 57 - 56

    <h4>Chapter 57: Chapter 56</h4>


    The past few days had been....odd.


    Particrly, the rtionship between me and Scathach had taken a strange turn. She was acting different than usual, well, somewhat different than usual.


    Touches that lingered a little bit longer, excuses to get closer, less.... venomous with her words when the mood struck her. I mean, she would still go for the metaphorical juggr when the opportunity presented itself, but there was no ''bite'' there like before.


    I thought for sure she would be more distance, or perhaps even annoyance, yet it seemed like the exact opposite.


    Don''t get me wrong, she still kicked my ass without any remorse, her spear still drilled holes in me when I revealed any openings...and even when I didn''t. She at no point was willing to concede a defeat to massage my ego, her spear remained ruthless and precise.


    Her job as a ''teacher'' was neverpromised.


    It''s just...I suppose she was acting more ''gentle''.


    Truthfully, I didn''t know how to take it. When did I even start feeling this way towards her?


    I had no intention of even starting something like this, it isn''t like I seek out anything with a nice pair of legs to woo or develop feelings for.


    With Meridia, I liked her immediately, so I took a chance, even against better judgment. There was no need toplicate things, I was even prepared for rejection. It all worked out in the end, and I still care about her dearly, this time away was something that grated on me. I looked forward to when I can see her again, to hear her voice, hold her in my arms.


    I could only sigh, shaking my head.


    Artoria was a bit simr but also different. That rtionship is still rather ambiguous, and I don''t know if it will even develop further, but after about a year away, I still think of her fondly and these lingering feelings still persist, so more than willing to give it a shot if she''s open to it as well.


    I suppose I started off with a good opinion of her from my childhood. Having my mother take me to watch a King Arthur y, something rare in Japan, and I became obsessed with that until some other whimsical thing took my attention. Some of my fondest memories, I would be lying if I said that didn''t skew my initial perception of her.


    But I quite enjoyed her temperament, her dry sense of humor and her overall personality.


    Rtionships have been started on less. But I still need to talk to her about ''everything'', and I don''t know what her thoughts will be.


    I refuse to start a rtionship on lies.


    Scathach is.....I don''t know.


    Physically, I can objectively say she is one of the most beautiful women I''ve everid my eyes on. From that alone, she garners a certain amount of attraction, and anyone who tells you that physical attraction is irrelevant is a liar. It''s not the most important thing in a rtionship, but its damn well important to be attracted to your partner.


    She can be extremely vicious, bloodthirsty, and down right fierce when she gets into certain moods. Yet, she''s never wantonly cruel....and I can''t help but find that side of her attractive as well. Not to mention those times where she can just act rather cutely.


    "Ddraig, what do I do?" I asked my partner.


    [You seriously asking me?] He said incredulously.


    "I don''t really have anyone else right now." I grumbled.


    [Dragon rtionships aren''t really something you would want to imitate.] I think I heard Ddraig sigh. [I''ve been around humanity enough to understand them better than most of my kind, but I still don''t care about a lot of issues you lot face in such things.]


    "That''s true, I guess a dragon wouldn''t really care about such things like dating or courting."


    [Actually, you would be surprised. My first mate, I courted her with treasures and powerful prey.]


    "Huh....how did that turn out?" I actually didn''t know much about Ddraigs past.


    [She was a wonderful mate, strong, with glistening purple scales.] Ddriag began to reminisce [Her fire had this purple hue to it as well, it was beautiful even if it couldn''t match my own. Even our daughter inherited her mom''s coloring.]


    "Daughter?" I was genuinely surprised.


    [Did you think I haven''t had children in the past?] Ddraig chuckled. [I am very old, brat. I can''t boast about the age some of these gods walking around with, but even your teacher is still youngpared to me.]


    "What about your kids, what happened to them?" I truly never heard of this before, his children should have been powerful.


    [They died many centuries ago. My son and daughter, barely more than whelps when they were killed.] His voice turned....quiet. [I have not had children since then, after that, I suppose I never found a proper mate again. Though....I think I may havee close with Tiamat, but then I screwed that up.]


    "Tiamat, the goddess of life and creation, specifically of salt water.." I was surprised to hear about that as well.


    [Mmm, not so much a goddess these days, she no longer has any Divinity. The whole separating her body to make heaven and earth was somewhat literal. It was ''half'' of her, her divine half that was used to make what the ancient Mesopotamians considered the ''world'' she only retained her draconic nature. Honestly, the era back then was simr to your yers'' that existed in this world.]


    An interesting thought, I hadn''t even contemted how that world operated that long ago, what ''logic'' dictated things.


    [I wasn''t around back then, but from what I understand, the world was quite literally ''bigger'' before humanity took over.]


    That''s to be expected, belief and imagination drive many metaphysical concepts. If humanity started turning away from ''divine'' exnations, then things world react ordingly, especially if the more ''wonderous'' side of the world was prominent among the more prolific race.


    Though I also had one thought clear in my mind. "Tiamat, one of the ''Dragon Kings'' perhaps one of the most powerful beings in that world, is ''diminished''?"


    There was a hierarchy for dragons back in Ddraig''s world. At the very top you have Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God and Great Red, The Apocalypse Dragon of Dreams the undisputed most powerful dragons. Then you have the Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig and Albion. Right below them you have the Dragon Kings, of which Tiamat is the strongest, just barely beneath the level of a ''Heavenly Dragon''.


    [Yup, if she had her divinity still....maybe only Ophis and Great Red could boast about being stronger dragons.]


    Wow, it''s not often that even Ddraig would admit being inferior, even if it were a tant truth.


    It really is a scary thought about how many powerful things are running around over there. Granted, most of them retreated from the greater world and usually just stay in their own little realms, but still...there are so many potential cmities that maye up, its kind of absurd. Even if most of them can''t hold a handle to the Spider or the Wolf, is there a really a need to measure the difference if either side can start an extinction event for humanity?


    To make an extreme example, who cares If one side can blow up a continent while the other can blow up a country if you''re staring either in the face.


    Well, I''m not quite at that level right now, unless I was willing to sacrifice myself that is. A limitless Ether canon is a fairly nice deterrent for such things.


    And Juggernaut Drive. I think most things there would hesitate if I threaten them with that.


    I pushed such thoughts aside and continued on with what I came out over here to do before I got sidetracked.


    A swipe of my sword, and a dead tree fell to the ground. I grabbed a hold of it and started pulling it back towards the castle and infront where I dug a nice little pit.


    Cutting it up into smaller pieces for fire wood, I started to get a nice little bonfire going while I took out some foods-stuff I grabbed back in Skyrim


    I forgot about this, some of the beef I managed to pick up from a butcher before I left. I wonder if it''ll taste different from the beef I''m used to? Skyrim cows are a different breed, almost like yaks with their long hair coats for the winter weather.


    Hmm, how to cook these...barbeque would be great, some nice beef ribs, but unfortunately, I don''t have any good sauce, I guess I''ll go with a dry rub then.


    "Are you cooking something?" Scathach sneaked up on me, peering over my shoulder, lips only am inch away from my ear. I tensed up slightly, only for her tough and inspect what I was setting up. "You have a lot of things I haven''t seen before." She poked some of the herbs I set out in a pile to taste them.


    "They came from a world not of Gaia." I said simply.


    "Fascinating." Her eyes lit up at such a thing. "That sword you use as well, it seemed different, am I to assume it did note from ''here''?"


    I assume she was talking about Dawnbreaker.


    "Yeah, it was a gift from a.....goddess over there." It was rather difficult to exin exactly what Meridia was, but to call her a goddess wasn''t incorrect.


    She sat there, watching me intently as I prepared everything. "You would make a good wife, I''m sure any man would be happy to have you." Her lips curled up as I nced over to her.


    "Well, alteast one of us would be." I shot back, raising my eyebrow.


    "Oho, it seems your tongue has be sharper than your sword, but I suppose that is not much of a threshold to ovee." She replied without hesitation.


    [Damn, she is ruthless.]


    "I don''t think this is a battle I can win."


    "Hmm, you appear to be used to those by now." She smirked


    [Good, just keep kicking him while he''s down.] Ddraig startedughing.


    "Yeah, yeah. Wilhelm gets beat up, funny." I rolled my eyes, used to her ''insults'' at this point, though I felt no malice in her words.


    Getting your assed kicked many times by the same person has a way of blunting certain parts of your ego.


    "Aww, is your pride wounded, shall it kiss it better?" She walked up practically draping herself off me. "You''re blushing." Sheughed, poking my cheek.


    "I am not." I refuted pping her hand away. She onlyughed harder as I huffed in embarrassment. Why does she get me so easily...I''m usually the one doing this, not used to being on the other side of the fence "There will be turnabout eventually." I grumbled.


    "Good luck with that, boyo, I''m not some blushing virgin." She chuckled.


    Oh, I will find out your weakness, and exploit it ruthlessly.


    "Whatever." I shrugged, regaining myposure, and shifted the conversation "You know, I don''t really know much about you."


    "Hmm?" She looked up from the fire. "What exactly is there to know? Have my tales not survived in the outside world?"


    "I''m aware of the legends and myths, the Immortal Witch of Dun Scaith, but beyond that, I have no idea who Scathach is."


    "There is not much to speak of." She gotfortable, sitting down and enjoying the warmth of the mes. "I was born nobility, a mother, a father, and a sister. I ruled as one should, and then I eventually took this realm as my own." Her words were blunt, glossing over my intent.


    "I see, forget I asked then." I just sighed, it seemed like she didn''t want to speak about the past.


    Her gaze seemed to soften slightly. "I suppose there are a few things I recall." She looked up at the sky. "I spent many days of my youth walking along the shores of my home. I guess I still miss the salty air that one breathes in by the ocean. "She smiled slightly. "My sister and I never got along. Back then it wasn''t as extreme as it waster in life, but we always fought over the simplest things, mother always had to intervene while father tried to sneak us wooden weapons when they got particrly intense."


    I couldn''t help but smile lightly, it wasn''t much but it was something. "Looks like the food is done." I said calmly, removing it from atop the fire and dividing it evenly.


    There were not many words spoken as we enjoyed our meal in peace, yet, the silence did not seem to hold any awkwardness, nor any negativity. It was pleasant, and it appeared she enjoyed it as well.


    "It has been....many years since I have partook in a cooked meal." She smiled wistfully, a genuine smile appearing on her face. "Thank you."


    That smile, it made my heart skip a beat. "I would be d to cook for you anytime."


    "Hmm, I guess I need to make you my wife then." She said quietly, a small chuckle escaping from her lips as she leaned back.


    "Well....I can''t say I would hate it."


    "Careful there, to tease an old woman like me with something like that, I may just make good on my words." She shook her head, her smile disappearing into something more neutral as she stood up, brushing herself off. "I think it''s finally time to pass down my Runes to you."


    ***


    Alright, it''s almost time for Primordial Runes! Wooo! I wonder whats gonna happen!?


    Well, if you want to find out, you can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on my Pat /astoryforone , or just support me if you want to. My coffee addiction must be fed.


    Oh, and before i forget, if anyone has any idea on armor designs they want to share for Ddraig''s Bnce breaker, feel free to post them on thisment, i''ll check them all out becuase I am still in the market.

 Chapter 58 - 57

    <h4>Chapter 58: Chapter 57</h4>


    One thing that seemed to take me by surprise, was out intimate the ''ritual'' to pass down the Primordial Runes was. Very little was known about Primordial runes, even between me and Zelretch, who boasted knowledge that some people couldn''t fathom, we knew striking little. Yet, that was still leagues ahead of mages in the modern era.


    First off, we were naked.


    I may have had something to say, perhaps she was just messing with me?


    No.


    She was serious, that kind of look you get when you know not to mess around.


    Every action she performed, every movement she took, they were precise, calcted, and done with the upmost sincerity.


    We started off with a sacrifice, to Odin.


    To say the gods of old are gone is a bit.....wrong. Yes, the Age of Gods has ended, and all divine spirits that remained retreated to the reverse side of the world where fantasy still reins, but that didn''t mean they were technically gone. Even with those ones who actually died in history.


    Maniption over the world-axis.


    It was something divine beings were capable of. Well, I suppose the more powerful of the lot were. You wouldn''t see a mountain god or something like that from the east having the kind of power to manipte the world line.


    The time axis was the same.


    Yes, gods of old could reach across the time axis to mess with the current era, it wasn''t a good idea because of the counter force retaliating, but it was possible.


    Well, this ce might be a tad different, it was pretty much separated from the normal world, interference here wouldn''t even garner much attention of the wrong sort.


    She didn''t exin exactly what was going on, but I could only assume she was trying to win the Norse god''s favor or blessing. Perhaps it was rather automated, like certain systems back in my old world, or maybe it requires actually grabbing the god''s attention so he can send his blessings across the time-axis?


    Several fires, pyres, were set up to burn offerings. We had no ''living beings'' to offer up, and I think we both would vehemently refuse a human sacrifice, but there also weren''t any animals around to give up either.


    Instead, we would be appealing to the war god aspect of Odin, for the ritual, we each hunted prey, captured them, and offered those up.


    Undead that could fight servants.


    Not win, mind you, but they could trade some blows with beings of that caliber before getting crushed.


    I guess that only served to add the immensity of the whole situation. I know for a fact she would have gloated or made fun of me for getting ''less'' than her. No doubt she had quite the easy time finding several while I only brought back one.


    Did I mention we were naked?


    It was weird, I didn''t'' understand the exact reason, but I could tell it was a necessity here.


    After we grabbed our ''living'' sacrifices, we added more things. I was advised to add ''knowledge'' unto the offering, secrets I could part with that the god would find worthy. An easy enough thing, I supplied knowledge from worlds outside the One-eyed god''s purview, that should give him something to look at.


    There were other things, certain ideas and items that corresponded to his particr authorities, his domains of influence.


    Fear, War, Death, Poetry, Warriors, Magic, Wisdom, Rage, and many other domains he can im as his own.


    Symbols were drawn on our bodies with blood, lines, words with meanings have been lost to time. After she was done, most of our skin waspletely covered with these strange things.


    We sat down, my back facing her as she ced a hand on my back.


    It was only at this point that I realized what it meant for Primordial Runes to be passed down.


    She was engraving them onto my soul.


    It was painful, different than most would experience pain. She wasn''t harming me, wasn''t mutting my soul, it was more like a tattoo. And each time she moved, the blood on my body was absorbed, seemingly connected to her writings.


    As she finished the first one, I now understand many things that were lost on me previously.


    Primordial Runes, they were basically purer concepts. Theye infinitely closer to the ''truth'', that is to say, they draw their power directly from the Root.


    Almost like cheat codes to reality.


    It was a bit more than that as well, they were basically imbued with Odin''s own Authority. When he sacrificed his eye in the well to gain his wisdom, he developed these Runes, thisnguage that allows one to fundamentally alter the world around them. It made sense why they had to be passed down in such a manner, to be literally inscribed onto my soul.


    The materialization of concepts, it was the most apt description of their use.


    The modern runes, the ones derived from these, the version I was familiar with, I could see just how hollow they were inparison. To say they were mere knockoffs, it didn''t do it justice.


    It was like taking a masterpiece of Art andparing it to something a toddler threw paint on.


    It was beautiful.


    But they weren''t omnipotent, despite their obscene power.


    Equivalent exchange.


    There was a reason that even Scathach didn''t use them lightly, and stuck to the derivative version, the ones called ''modern runes'' for most situations.


    How long did she work? I don''t know, I got too lost in the process, looking inward to see her draw each and every Primordial Rune onto me, even being careful to work around Ddraig that was housed right next door.


    I could hear her heavy breathing on my skin, her arm on my back putting on more weight to prop herself up.


    "Finished." She said lightly, the words barely registering my ear as thest rune as added.


    Almost on que, she practically fell over, I caught her, bringing her to her feet, making sure she didn''t kneel over.


    Her legs wobbled as she braced herself on my shoulders. "I''m fine lets ¨C"


    Something shifted, something was happening. Scathach looked up at the sky, being indistinctly connected to the realm, she probably knew what was happening more than me.


    I could feel something, I didn''t know how to change it, but something wasing.


    The clouds in the sky began to swirl, shift and change until they began to form a face.


    One that bared right down on us.


    "All-Father, King of Gods, Odin." Scathach, shouted, with an amount of respect in her voice I had yet to see. "May I ask why you have graced my realm with your presence?"


    My eyes widened at the promation.


    I dared not utter a single word, his presence was heavy, just merely existing in this minimal capacity, his gaze on me, I couldn''t help but shudder under the ''weight''.


    He didn''t speak for a moment, just merely looking until his ''head'' the projection of his face in the sky abruptly turned towards a very familiar mountain.


    *BOOOOOOM*


    The peak of the mountain I climbed, it shattered, a massive ck hand, seemingly made entirely of shadows and death shot out towards the sky.


    The King of Gods stared, contempt clear on its face. "Wretched thing, die with some dignity at least." He snorted. The words echoing every corner of this deste realm.


    As the words rang in my ears, the mountain disappeared, a massive crater now in its ce.


    The thing that gave me pause, possibly a divine creature that was killed and or sealed under the mountain, was seemingly destroyed with but a thought.


    Odin, King of Gods.


    A head of a pantheon, he was unfathomably powerful.


    "Witch that resides in the shadownds." Odin''s voice reached our ears again, his eyes turning back to us. "Another pitiful existence, do you also wish for death?" His wordscked the obvious contempt from before, it was almost like pity, but he didn''t borate.


    He visibly shifted from Scathach and looked at me now. "Child from another world." He spoke with no small amount of interest. "Wielder of your age''s great Magics."


    "What have youe here for, Odin?" Scathach stepped infront of me, grabbing his attention once again. She was still respectful in her tone, but more direct.


    "Unknown knowledge drew my attention." He seemed.... amused by Scathach''s frankness.


    Scathach summoned her spear, I didn''t understand what was going on, but she seemed ready for battle. Even with her face flushed red, sweat dripping down, and her breathing ragged, she would dare point her spear at the King of gods. "He is my student." She dered. "You cannot have him."


    Oh....shit, that''s what''s happening.


    "This is not for you to decide." He narrowed his ''eyes''. "I have granted my blessings for the ritual."


    "We have provided remuneration, offerings of every kind."


    "Hmph." He snorted; the realm literally shook. "Undead creatures and trinkets. I will take my price, you may stand to the side, witch." As soon as he spoke, a pressure fell down on me, like something was drilling into my body.


    "Begone." Another voice joined in on this already absurd situation. A familiar golden light erupted from inside me.


    "Meridia?" I said quietly, looking at a new figure that bore the full brunt of Odin''s ''touch''.


    When, how? As much as I wanted answer, now clearly was not the time.


    "Foreign god, you dare?" Odin''s voice filled with anger, the sky changed color, the ground rippled. "A mere blessing stands infront of me?"


    A blessing, she blessed me without me even knowing. A small amount of power that activated to protect me, did she assume that another ''god'' would focus on me at some point and did this without my knowledge?


    I looked at Meridia, she was.... lifeless. I don''t think there was any kind of sentience, more like a protection protocol hardwired into this bit of divine might.


    Odin showed obvious anger, yet he didn''t make a move. I don''t think he was here in any capacity that could ovee Meridia''s own ''power'' that was currently enveloping me. He was projecting himself from a different time period, that in of itself must have drawn an insane amount of power and effort to aplish. It was unlikely he could do much more than that in this current situation.


    No, he was already pushing his ''permissions'' if he tried to do more than this, I don''t think the world would stay silent, even if this was the Land of Shadows. The small strand still connecting this ce to the world made certain actions...undesirable.


    The giant face in the sky basically sneered. "I shall have what I desire, even if I must take a different route." He looked towards Scathach.


    He wanted the things I knew, why?


    I didn''t know any secrets that could possibly sway him this much....I couldn''t even begin to understand how this god thought.


    I looked over to Scathach again, she was barely standing up, my heart sunk.


    My eyes turned up towards Odin, I felt a rage inside that I hadn''t in many months.


    "Ddraig!" I shouted, the gauntlet appearing on my hand.


    Something came for her, probably so sweep her up and perhaps use her as a negotiation for whatever it is he wanted since he couldn''t take it from me by force.


    "Pierce" I growled shooting whatever magics or divine power wereing towards Scathach, my conceptual attack strong enough to disperse whatever it was he was doing.


    "Mortal." He gaze once again turned to me. "A dragon in a gauntlet, thou dares raise arms against me?"


    ''Meridia'' did nothing, almost just like a shield. She wasn''t truly here, just a wisp of power to protect me that will probably only react to an attack.


    "Child don''t do ¨C" Scathach tried to speak, but I cut her off.


    I took another step forward, clearly between her and the god in the sky, drawing a metaphorical line in the sand.


    "Ddraig, how powerful is he." I said quietly, but I had no doubt Odin heard me because the face contorted in anger. The only reason he didn''t try to smite me right there and then, was Meridia watching over me.


    The amount of power this sliver of him possessed, it was clearly limited.


    [I would have torn apart this divine projection with ease in my prime, unfortunately I don''t know if you would be able to even with Bnce Breaker unlocked.]


    Doesn''t matter, I refuse to allow her toe to harm, if I must fight a god, so be it.


    I took a deep breath, staring right up at the god who looked down on me. "I, who am about to awaken...."


    [You''ve barely awakened bnce breaker, if you try to force this too.....brat, juggernaut drive isn''t something the current you can handle, it''s a death wish, this won''t be a repeat of you forcing bnce breaker like before.] Ddraigs words echoed in the back of my mind.


    But an invisible force seemed to carry along with my words, like a pressure of its own to match what was already emitting from the sky.


    A god of wisdom, he could understand my intentions immediately, to see through what I was about to do.


    What caught me off guard, was the fact that the god began tough. It was hearty, almost whimsical in a nature as he let out his long bellows.


    "Mortal, you amuse me." He final spoke, and the pressure he was emitting almost immediately disappeared. "Take my blessing." The eyes on the projection lit up, and something shot into my body.


    Nothing harmful I could assume, as ''Meridia'' did not move either.


    At that, the clouds dispersed, whatever was peering over the vast distance of time and space had gone with it and the realm returned to its peace.


    When the god disappeared, so too did the fake Meridia that stood in my presence, but try as I did, I could not find any source of her divine touch inside of me. Something to think about forter.


    "Foolish boy!" Scathach grabbed my shoulders. "Do you understand how close you havee to death just now!?"


    "Yes....but how could I live with myself if he did something to you?" I said quietly.


    "You....silly child." Her expression softened considerably, only for her to shake her head. "A god''s greed is not something so easily dissuaded. I should have considered such a thing, to present unknown knowledge to a god who rules over ''wisdom''. The only thing that can stop it is their own fickle nature, if you hadn''t earned his approval by daring to challenge him....if he was in a different mood the same actions could have just as well condemned you."


    Yeah, many ''ifs'' were there, many things could have gone wrong, but there wasn''t really any chance to think things through.


    Scary.


    I don''t ever want to be in a situation like that again, to feel my existence continues only at the whim of another being.


    My thoughts were broken as I quickly went to catch Scathach who almost fell to the ground, her spear escaped her grip,nding on the cold soil below.


    Her eyes were closed, her breathing still just as heavy, almost swaying in ce.


    She was very much overextending herself. To even have considered defending me in this situation.....it made my heart beat just a little faster.


    I picked her up, cradling her gently in my arms and keeping her spear in my ring for now. I took her back to her castle, finding the master bedroom, almostpletely untouched. Iid her gently in the bed, pulling the covers over her.


    "Stay." A hand gently grabbed on my hand. I saw her eyes half opening, peering into my own. "Please." Her voice was gentle and sweet in a way I had trouble processing. She looked so vulnerable,pletely different than how she normally portrays herself.


    The ritual must have taken so much out of her to perform, even ignoring what came after and the stress that she probably felt at the time.


    I didn''t need to speak, I think I answered her back with my actions. I slowly climbed into the bed with her, I felt her arms wrap around me, her face burying in my chest. Her heartbeat could be felt, and her breath tickled against my skin.


    I couldn''t help but push a few strands of hair out of her face, and she made a noise I doubt she was conscious off.


    Why was she so cute like this?


    She fell asleep almost immediately, and I wasn''t far behind her.


    ***


    Another chapter is here. Primordial Runes, Woot! But some uninvited guests appear, and let me be clear, the gods in nasuverse and like 99% assholes. So my thoughts right now are Odin wanted the Eye of Magnus and knowledge rted to it for ''reasons'' that may or may not involve words like ''lost belt''. Whether i use that plot point in the future, i''m still unsure. And a surprise Meridia appears, if only a small little divine blessing. Sneaking a little bit of her power into him when he didn''t notice. Mc threatening to use juggernaut drive and trade with Odin''s projection across the time axis, seemingly brought respect from the old god, and they are rather fickle creatures. And hey, having the personal blessing of one ''odin'' couldn''t possibly cause any issues in other worlds, right?


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or just support me visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 59 - 58

    <h4>Chapter 59: Chapter 58</h4>


    I woke up with hair tickling my nose. That familiar purple hair, resting right below my chin, burying itself deep into my body, only a few strands swaying at the movement of my breath.


    Scathach was surprisingly clingy when she slept, I don''t think she let me go even once during the night, and even now, she was wrapped around me. I didn''t particrly mind, I suppose I prefer being the big spoon.


    I reluctantly decided to dislodge myself from her embrace, quickly putting a pillow in her arms as I slipped away.


    I put some spare clothes on I had in my ring, quietly as not to disrupt her sleeping form, but ns don''t always pan out.


    Turning around, I already saw her sitting up, her eyes a little drowsy, by otherwise full aware and awake.


    "Erm....good morning?" I offered to break the awkward silence. "Are you....okay?"


    She looked at me for a moment before sighing, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I am not at one hundred percent, but I recovered a fair amount. The ritual took a lot out of me.....spiritually."


    That was understandable, my mind was still on overdrive trying to analyze these things. What was the phrase often used in various literature, a frog in a well? Yeah, it felt like I saw the true sky for the first time, with regards to Runecraft.


    "Come here." Shemanded.


    I just tilted my head, wondering what she was wanting, as I walked over. She pulled my sleeve, almost making me stumble and flicked my forehead, rather hard. "O." I rubbed the spot.


    "The hell do you think you were doing!?" She stabbed her finger in my chest. "I''m your teacher, it''s my duty to protect you while under my tutge." She hissed, hands balling into fists. "You stupid boy! Standing up to a fucking divine spirit, a head of a damn pantheon!?" She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Setanta had been stupid, but you''re damn near suicidal. No, you''re worse, you''re a smart idiot!"


    "I don''t know what romanticize shite you''ve read about in your era regarding gods, but they are greedy, maniptive, and vengeful. It is never a good thing to get within their sights, and you waved your cock around like it meant something. You were lucky, extremely lucky." She sneered, looking at me but looking away again with clear anger on her face.


    "I''m sorry, I just ¨C " My words cut off as she grabbed me again.


    She pulled me in, lips pressed against mine, I couldn''t help but widen my eyes as I felt her tongue invade my mouth. It was long and passionate, it only ended when she finally decided it was enough.


    "Don''t you dare take this the wrong way, I am still absolutely livid with you." She huffed, still clearly angry at my actions. "But I''m not so cold that such actions can''t move me either." She crossed her arms, looking away from my eyes, and perhaps I was seeing things, but she looked the slightest bit bashful. "Get out of my room, go train or something, I don''t care."


    She quite literally kicked me out.


    I just sighed walking away, it seems like she had a lot on her mind and didn''t want me around right now.


    I found a nice spot outside, and just plopped down, allowing my swords to fly out as I mentallymanded them in the air.


    "Ddraig, I have no idea what I''m doing."


    [Well, I don''t think anyone really is in situations like these.] He was silent for a moment before continuing. [She seemed pleased that you were willing to stand up for her, even if she hid it behind her anger.]


    "Haaaah." I let out a long breath, falling onto my back, letting snowkes lightly touch down on my skin. "One step forward, two steps back. At this point, do I even ask her whats going on between us?"


    I still could recall the kiss, vividly, and I doubt that was going away anytime soon.


    I just shook my head, pushing those thoughts away for now and retrieved a book from my ring, deciding to read it while I let my swords dance around.


    ***


    Scathach POV


    Stupid boy.


    Stupid, stupid, stupid!


    I ought to tan his hide, kick his face in until it''s entirely unrecognizable.


    I''m his teacher! When I took him in, it was my duty to watch over him, if I had to die so he lived while under my tutge, then so be it.


    How dare he!?


    How dare he...willingly put himself in harms way to merely save this old life.


    How dare he make me feel things like this, to have my heart beat faster in my chest. He refuses my bed, then he goes as does some nonsense like that, infuriating brat!


    Maybe we could.... no...I can''t, to even consider something like that. It would merely be a cruel joke.


    Regardless, we can''t be anything more than teacher or student. I have no continued existence beyond this realm, and to even consider having him stay here....how it would make my heart flutter, but such a thing is cruel beyond measure.


    How vicious fate is, to dangle something like this, right now, infront of me again.


    If only he appeared all those years ago, perhaps I would not have decided to venture here and spend eternity in thends of death and shadow.


    Such thoughts are no longer allowed to me, I am destined for the loneliness of ice and void. He would not want this old woman''s affection anyways.


    I retrieved sufficient clothing; a small smile rose on my face when I remember the first time he saw me naked.


    What a cute face he made.


    I wanted to devour him right there.


    I could only shake my head and continue to dismiss those thoughts.


    Regrets.


    Why does this continue to happen?


    A pair of red eyes still haunt my memories, I used to see them when I closed my own. History repeating itself, another one came here, and my heart was once again shaken.


    How many times have I held back now?


    My desires, my wanting in for both life and death. Do I wish for something? For a way to calm this beating heart with his presence, the warmth to ovee me?


    Yet, I also wish for death.


    Dare I ask it of him? To kill me.....would it be cruel?


    Perhaps it is a desire of mine, greater than any other.


    Would he hate me if I requested this of him? For some reason, the thought of him despising me makes me feel ill, yet.....


    I shook my head, why bother dwelling on such things.


    He needs...a proper reward. This old heart of mine is worth nothing, I will need to think of a way to aid him in his journey after he leaves this realm. I passed on my knowledge, it yet requires refinement, but I do not have much more to teach him.


    I would give him one of my spears like I had in the past, but he does not wield one.


    Vexing.


    I suppose I have not crafted something in quite some time....and I have several spears remaining. Why could I not mold one of them into a sword for him to use?


    ***


    I stepped outside into the cold, the air familiar yet still bites at my skin.


    He notices me, immediately smiling as I approach. Please don''t look at me in such way, my resolve will be shaken. "Wipe that smile off your face." I hissed. "I told you to train, and you are ying around in the snow!" Ished out, kicking him with my full strength, his body bouncing off the ground as itnded a fair distance away.


    "Gods dammit!" He shouted, standing up.


    If nothing else, he is very adept at taking a beating. It seems my training has been paying off.


    "Stop messing around ande over here." I yelled, holding a wooden box in my arms.


    "Bitch!" I heard him shout from the distance, I held back a smile. I was supposed to be angry with him still, it will do no good if I break that mask so easily. "I have something for you." I stated as he approached, his annoyance was reced with interest.


    "A box, amazing!" He said, his sarcasm practically dripping from his words.


    Cheeky little brat, see if I don''t beat you upter. Well.... I don''t dislike his rebellious side, even finding it rather cute. But, as his teacher, such words cannot be allowed to slide.


    I of course mmed his face into the dirt again. "Are you going to behave like a child? Do I need to put you in time out?"


    "Are you going to spank me?"


    Careful with your words, I just may....it has been many years since I''ve had the touch of a man, and you continue to y this dangerous game.


    "Have I hit you too hard, do you think you are still dreaming?" I smirked, biting back at his words. "Now, open this." I shoved the thing into his arms before he continued with his nonsense.


    "This....." He lost the correct words to say as he peered inside. A small part of me was taken with pride at his reaction. "You made this for me....?" He looked at me with those eyes again....and my heart felt as if it would jump out of my chest.


    Why must you continue to torture me like this?


    "No, I nned on giving it to my ''other'' student." I rolled my eyes. "You daft boy, of course it is for you."


    Maybe with this you will remember me long after you leave? I guess if I remained in someone''s memories in the passing years, it wouldn''t be so bad.


    "I thought of your techniques, your sword maniption ability as well as your runic spells. I used one of my extra spears as the base and modified it into a sword. Rune''s are carved all along the de, so it works just as well to stab as it does to cast spells. You should be able to cast runes with it from a distance now."


    "Thank you." He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me,


    The sudden action surprised me. He is usually more conservative with things like this.....but I don''t dislike the frankness either.


    Yet...I hesitated.


    I wanted to return such affections, but I did not believe I should. Was it okay to be greedy? Was I allowed to indulge even if it was fleeting?


    I still had some to teach him.....he will remain here for the foreseeable future.


    My arms returned the gesture. The warm feeling flowing through my body. I guess I can enjoy this even if it won''tst forever...


    ***


    Sorry for the no chapter yesterday, I ended up working over 16 hours and didn''t get home until after midnight. Some colossal amount of fuck ups happened at work. Keep in mind that I do mostly administration work with a focus on payroll, so when fuckups reach over to me like that, then things truly hit the fan. I''ll try my best to get a second chapter out tomorrow, but don''t hold your breath.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 60 - 59

    <h4>Chapter 60: Chapter 59</h4>


    I jumped from a tall peak, allowing my wings to glide me down.


    My swords flew out, cleaving hordes of undead before they could even react. I mmed down into the center, rotten bodies and old bones blown away at my impact. The remaining numbers all turned towards me like a tide.


    I reached out, Mirage flew into my hand as Dawnbreaker and Ascalon hovered nearby. My newest sword, shot up into the air.


    Whisper, I had been calling it.


    It was the way it cut through the air due to the runic engravings, it almost sounded like a whisper on the wind.


    "30 birds." I swung Mirage, the sword phantoms shot out, cleaving more oing abominations. Dawnbreaker didn''t stay still, it''s golden light exploding out, burning away all that came into its path.


    "Roooar!" A big one came stomping over, half its body skeleton, the other made of rotten flesh with several additional appendages haphazardly attached to its body.


    Ascalon impaled it in the head, so fast and powerful that its head was utterly blown away at the impact. The undead body falling over, crushing smaller ones.


    Behind me, a massive spider-like creature emerged from the ground dozens of arms adorned its body. It began to spit out a corrosive acid, I stepped back, dodging the stters liquid with ease.


    Withdrawing a talisman from my ring, I mmed it onto the ground. "ORDER!" I activated it, a pentagram formed under the spider, connecting to another one a few feet above it in the sky. They connected and obliterated the undead that was stuck inside.


    "Seems wasteful for something on that level." I muttered, flinging a handful of talismans at some oing undead. They zipped through, turning into lights and shooting like stars across the distance before dispersing.


    Hundreds fallen, yet even greater numbers took their ce.


    My body tilted down and I burst forward, shing into anotherrger thing, it''s rusted armor cleaved through in a single swing, I pivoted on my momentum andshed out with a horizontal swing, decapitating a dozen or so more.


    It was easy to dance around the archaic weapons that swung towards me, I could do it quite literally with my eyes closed.


    Flicking a Rune here or there to destroy any who annoyed me in particr. I continued my assault on their endless numbers, my sword never stopping, body parts and more corpses'' piled up, only to be trampled on by their kin.


    My eyes shot up, I looked over my work and I realized it was time. My magical energy burst out, and I began to draw a single rune in the air.


    A Primordial Rune.


    It was a shield that Scathach performed against me in a duel all those months ago.


    This attack of mine would be indiscriminate, but I wanted to test it out.


    The runes way up in the sky began to actualize, my Whisper taking the job of drawing them under my mentalmands.


    It became darker, clouds gathered, and lightning crackled.


    A massive figure formed in the air,pletely made out of lightning that discharged from these intimidating storm clouds.


    "Thor''s Hammer."


    The figured raised up it''s ''hammer'' and mmed it down onto the area.


    Everything went white, bodies disintegrated, those capable howled in terror and distress and even as the power began to die down, only a scorched crater remained.


    "Whew" I let out a breath, my shield fading and Whisper returning to my side. "Primordial Runes still take some out of me. And thatst attack looked good, what do you think, Ddraig?"


    [It had good power, thebination of Whisper to cast the spell while also not hampering yourbat ability is impressive.]


    I shared simr thoughts. If I tried to cast that spell before I came to this realm, well.....it would be nearly impossible to actually get off if someone just sat on me and pressured me enough.


    I ran a hand over Whisper, feeling each Rune that was engraved.


    What a wonderful idea, I still can''t get over how well this sword worked out.


    And my new spell worked out amazingly.


    It wasn''t connected to any of the nine realms as one may think, I already solidified those spells together into their own little category, this was merely another one I created. Different than the Light of Alfheim, Thor''s hammer is pure destruction, whereas my Alfheim spell is more....''cleansing'' in nature. I don''t think it would have any effect on something like...an Angel. But there are good and bad points about every spell, I wasn''t too worried about that little tidbit.


    I thought for a moment, taking out a piece of parchment and a writing utensil, jotting down a few notes on how the battle went.


    Well, everything here was cleaning up nicely, time to head back.


    ***


    I walked through the massive castle doors, and I could immediately smell something delectable emanating through the entirety of the stone building.


    "Are you cooking?" I saw Scathach turn around, seeing me walk into the ''kitchen''. To call it a kitchen was like calling a mansion a ''shelter''.


    "I was in the mood." She replied, setting her woodendle down next to arge pot. She walked up to me, rather closely and began running her hand through my air. "It is getting very long, do you wish to cut it?"


    I was a little surprised by her abrupt touches, but I calmed down immediately. This was pretty much par for the course these past several months.


    I tugged at the length, almost going past my shoulders. "Huh, I didn''t realize I could even have my hair grow, I''m supposed to be a minor shapeshifter."


    "Mmm, perhaps an unconscious thought?" She offered.


    "Probably. In the back of my mind, I assume it should grow, therefore I do it over time." I pushed my bangs out of my eyes. To be fair, I did like how full my hair felt right now.


    I watched her step just a tad closer, reach her hands around my head and start fiddling with my hair. She bound it in a small little piece of fabric, giving me a ponytail.


    "How do I look?" I asked, our eyes meeting.


    "You will no longer be mistaken for a vagabond." She said evenly, turning around.


    I quickly wrapped my arms around her. "Does that mean you like it?"


    I felt her lean back just ever so slightly, allowing me this moment of closeness. "It is something I find attractive." She admitted. "Now, release me." She poked my arm. "I must finish the meal."


    I let go allowing her back to her work, sitting down at the table. Though I think she was messing with me, bending over just a little more than she needed, shaking her rear right infront of my view.


    "You know what would go good with this meal? Some alcohol." I saw her freeze up for the briefest moment before continuing her work. "How unfortunate that someone had drank it all!"


    "I recall no such thing." She replied without giving anything away on her face


    "Maybe that''s the side effect of drinking all my alcohol in one sitting." I snorted.


    And I meant that quite literally. I don''t even really remember how it started, we had a drinking contest or something like that. To say she out drank me, that would be like saying the ocean was a nice little puddle.


    There were times where I was drunk and she did something to make me sober up, just so she could continue to beat me.


    She is really onery when she''s intoxicated too. I wouldn''t say mean, but she definitely is more aggressive in her...desires, be they fighting or something else. Not to mention her words get very sharp as well.


    Since the ''incident'', our rtionship had just be this strange thing and we didn''t put anybels on it. When she wasn''t in ''teacher mode'' she was...almost bashful if I were to give it a term. She was willing to be close, to ept affection. Otherwise, it was Warrior Queen that did not hold back and was more than willing to kick my ass at the slightest offense, of which I admittedly gave her many reasons.


    Frankly, it was more of a game at this point.


    Scathach walked over to me, setting a te down, and a bowl of soup she made. I wasn''t aware what ingredients she made it with, but it smelled wonderful.


    Before I could dig in, she plopped herself right down on myp, looking at me smugly.


    Yeah, this is how this woman did things. If she wanted something, she merely took it, there was very little hesitation on her part. Not to say she didn''t respect boundaries, but she didn''t pussyfoot around with her desires.


    "Are you not hungry?" She tilted her head to get a look at me in the eyes. " Or perhaps, are you hungry for something else?" Her lips curled up as she wiggled her butt in myp.


    Dangerous.


    This woman is absolutely dangerous in more ways than one.


    Truthfully, at this point, I don''t know why I still didn''t give in. It wasn''t really my pride anymore, its just.....for some reason I didn''t want to cross that line until something was more official? Not like I was at all a prude...I still was perhaps holding out.


    Yes, the irony of the reverse in gender roles for this specific situation wasn''t lost on me.


    My hand slid down, grabbing hers lightly as I brought it up, giving it a small kiss. "Thank you for making this for me. Maybe you can be a decent housewife after all."


    She let out a small huff. "You would be lucky to have me as your wife." She gently poked me, leaning back into me.


    I saw her frown slightly and couldn''t help but feel a little concerned. "Is something wrong?" I asked her as she just gazed off into space for a moment.


    "I merely have some thoughts on my mind." She shook her head. "Don''t mind it, some things I wish to discuss with youter. Enjoy my meal, no other man has ever boasted about this Scathach cooking for them before."


    ***


    Scathach trusted forward with her spear, the air distorting with the sheer force. Again, and again, in the time it took one to blink, her spear covered my vision.


    I stood my ground, swording up to deflect each one out of the way, at most only a few small cuts on my outer body.


    Following up, my swordshed out, sweeping her from side to side, thrust that predicted her movements and attempted to create openings.


    Her spear spun in ways that almost seemed impossible, her focus was taken to the next level, she practically moved before I even made my attack.


    Expertly, every attack was also knocked away, deflected or parried, even with the use of a spear this close, she was easily able to defend against me.


    There was no need to fanciful attacks or destroying thend. This was a match of pure skill, and I wasn''t ashamed to admit, I was still far behind her.


    I don''t know how long we continued this little dance, our feet barely moving. I stepped forward to enter range, she defended, and I was pushed back for her onught. I barely made it through almost unscathed and pushed my own advantage again.


    The joyful expression on her face was mirrored with my own, the thrill ofbat, my sword moving towards her neck, only for her spear to try and find my heart. Yet, there was no murderous air, no intent to truly kill each other.


    She was truly a battle maniac. Not in the berserker sense, but the fact that she felt so at home on a battlefield. To trade blows with worthy opponents brought her so much satisfaction.


    "Excellent" She dered, stabbing her spear into the ground. "You would have died a hundred time in that exchange if it were the you when we met all those months ago."


    Genuine praise from her while she was in her teacher mode was far and few in-between. She didn''t mince words, if she said you did a good job, you must have done something right.


    "Praise me more." I said cheekily.


    She raised an eyebrow, her fisting up in a threatening manner. "Yes, you have graduated from an insect into a mouse. Congrattions."


    "Yes, I couldn''t have done it without you." I nodded. "Scathach, the trainer of mice."


    "I see, you wish for a beating." She said simply, not being provoked at my words. "At this point, I am more than aware at your proclivities."


    I of course did the most mature thing in the world and flipped her the bird.


    "Alright, get over here you dandy boy, time to take your beating." She deadpanned, cracking her knuckles


    "Eat a dick." I strategically retreated...very fast, and far away. Herughter was beautiful, even if it did send shivers down my back.


    ***


    Superduper busy, don''t think i''ll be able to get that second chapter out today, sorry. Barely was able to get today''s chapter out as it was.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my pat /astoryforone

 Chapter 61 - 60

    <h4>Chapter 61: Chapter 60</h4>


    I don''t know how much time has passed.


    A simr thought had popped into my head numerous times throughout my stay in this deste realm. Yet, I couldn''t find myself particrly caring anymore.


    Days, weeks, months?


    None of that mattered, because I was with someone I havee to care for greatly. Even the cold and death of this ce seemed insignificant, every time I saw her smile, it was iparably warm.


    Gradually, the amount of training began to decrease. That is to say, she would beat me up less if I were being honest. I don''t think that had anything to do with ''us'', she would show no mercy when in teacher mode regardless of everything going on.


    Demands for certain physical exercises ceased, and her desire to engage in sparring had dropped to a bare minimum. To say it didn''t give me pause for concern would be a lie.


    Still, she would stay by my side whenever possible. Even if we had no words to each other, we were content to merely stay within arms reach.


    There began to be days where I didn''t even touch my sword. Times when she took me on adventures throughout thend of shadows, or times when I told her stories of the outside world.


    I don''t know how much time had passed...is something I kept telling myself at this point. Because if I kept count I knew I would regret it.


    But I suppose it didn''t matter, certain words I dreaded eventually came, words that made my heart drop in my chest.


    "It is time for you to leave." She didn''t even look at me while saying it.


    Was it a courtesy for me? I don''t know if I would want her to see me when those words reached my ears.


    "I still haven''t learned enough, I still can''t beat you, I ¨C"


    She turned around, cing a finger on my lips. "Silly boy, do you expect to be trained until you surpass me?" She gave me a sad smile. "You will never be able to surpass me if you stay here. You exist for the outside, to spread your wings there and live your life. You no longer require my tutge; you can venture forth on your own path now."


    I wanted to argue, but the look on her face.... She didn''t gave me any room. "Come with me" I grabbed her hand, letting my fingers brush against hers. She looked at me, her eyes...I could tell what she was going to say but I couldn''t help myself. "Please?"


    Her eyes softened considerably, squeezing my hand. "I cannot." She pulled away.


    "It''s easy, juste with me, I can take you out of here."


    "It''s not that simple...." She said quietly.


    "You were originally guarding this ce, not allowing the dead here to escape, but it''s not connected to the world anymore, nothing can escape. Your duty is over, you don''t have to stay here any longer." I pointed out.


    "Yes, nothing here can leave anymore." She mimicked my words.


    I just stared at her in confusion before a horrifying realization came across me. "You can''t leave either..."


    "My age has passed, I persisted because I became something no longer human." She quietly exined.


    "You''re bound here, not in a metaphorical way.....if I were to forcefully take you from this ce....."


    Scathach shook her head. "It would be the most unpleasant death one could imagine."


    Bound, it was quite literal. This ce sustained her existence, but it also was her prison as much as any of the abominations that still walked its snowy tundra. A death by being forcibly separated, maybe it would be worse than persisting here through eternity.


    No..... "There has to be a way, we can think of something!" I quickly tried to reassure her, but she had a resigned look on her face. "I don''t want to lose you." I couldn''t help but have some tears form at the corners of my eyes.


    "You sweet boy." She gently moved her hand up, cupping my cheek, thumb wiping away the liquid. "Just because it wasn''t for a lifetime, it doesn''t mean this time we spent together wasn''t wonderful. You need to let go, I no longer belong outside."


    "I don''t care." I clenched my teeth. "Fuck the world, fuck that nonsense. I''ll think of something." I clenched my fists, and my mind was turning up nk. "What If I ¨C"


    She flicked my forehead, a scowl forced on my face. "If you were about to suggest staying here with me, I will be very angry." She shook her head again, a bittersweet smile reced her previous annoyance. "I won''t allow you to waste your life searching for something that does not exist." She looked, hesitant, she wanted to say something, but the words didn''t seem to form. "Don''t let this old woman drag you down."


    "There''s something you''re not telling me." I immediately pressed. Such a thing was unlike her, to actually not speak her mind and look so...reluctant.


    "Please don''t ask, my resolve will shatter." Her words barely a whisper to my ears.


    "Tell me." I pressed again.


    She turned away. "Kill me."


    "W-what?" I couldn''t help but have my eyes widen in surprise.


    "Kill me." Her eyes hardened. "Take your de, and defeat me, plunge your sword through my heart."


    "I.....how could I possibly do something like that?" I was taken back by her sudden request, my brain practicallying to a halt, unable to properly process her words.


    "I am no longer human, I exist as something that will never die a natural death. My existence turned into curse" She stated. "I have killed gods, men, demons, and everything in between. I no longer age, I will no longer die, I have turned into something that is immortal. My happiness is that I was able to raise warriors such as you throughout my existence. No one will ever reach here again, my purpose has thoroughly been extinguished."


    No....nonononono....


    Her words were heavy, filled with countless emotions she had been holding in for who knows how long. "Please, allow me to die as a person, spear held high, the warrior I wish to be."


    "To ask of me something like this.....knowing how I feel..." I couldn''t find the correct words. "You...you are..."


    "I know, I am a cruel woman."


    There were tears streaking down my face at this point. "If....if it were possible, for you to exist outside this realm, would you go with me, content to stay by my side?"


    "Yes." She answered immediately, no hesitation in her voice.


    I wiped away my own tears, regaining myposure. I clenched my fists. I was ovee with anger, sadness and almost everything in-between. I wanted to shout and scream, but the thought of ruining the possiblyst few moments with her made me crush those impulses. "To ask something like this from me, are you ready to pay the price?" My mind raced, I tried to think of many different solutions to this problem, but one thing stuck in my mind for now. I started to create a n in the back of my head.


    "Anything you want is yours."


    "You." I dered. "For now on, you are mine."


    "Of course, this Scathach will forever be yours." She smiled brightly, enough to make me almost break down.


    "Good, because I''m greedy and possessive. You''re my woman, and I refuse to ever give you up." I stepped forward, cing my lips against hers, she returned my kiss just as passionately.


    This wasn''t how it was supposed to go.....


    To finally have her, for her to be mine and yet, it felt so hollow.


    Fine.


    I''ll kill you then, if you want to die like this, even if a part of my dies along with you. I couldn''t ever deny a request when you look at me like that anyways.


    But this will not be goodbye, you promised me.


    You are my woman now, and I refuse to ever give you up.


    Our lips parted, and a mutual understand formed between us. I don''t think either of us would drag this out, my resolve was already starting to crumble just from seeing her face.


    I withdrew my swords, Boosted gear appear on my hand and all my enhancement spells covered my body. I remember the words she first said to me when I entered this realm. "Defend yourself." But there was no excitement on my face, only a bitter look of determination.


    ***


    I limped across the snow, pulling along several wooden logs. Stacking them up nice and tidily, into a funeral pyre.


    There was dried and frozen blood all over my body. Clothes had been torn to shreds, and I had new holes in several ces. Even with copious amounts of magical healing, I was barely on my feet, yet, I couldn''t stop moving.


    Even if it was painful, even if the tears wouldn''t stop falling, I couldn''t cease my steps.


    I set everything up, taking out flowers to set along side the pyre, to make it eptable for someone like her, a proper send off. Alchemic resources, preciousmodities, but this was far more important.


    I retrieved her body, eyes closed, a content smile on her face and I almost dropped to my knees along side her.


    In my heart, I knew this was only temporary, I was already devising ns....but I couldn''t help it.


    Gently, I ced my lips on her forehead, giving her onest goodbye. I made sure to tidy up her body, wipe away any blood stains, not that were many. A small stream that had dripped down her lips, and a small wound right above her heart.


    Onest time for who knows how long, I held her in the arms and carried her to thest leg of her journey involving this wretched ce.


    I would not allow this ce to im her corpse, for it to be defiled by the disgusting things here.


    Setting everything up, putting her on the pyre and finishing myst touches I looked over her again.


    "Fuck you." I spat out. I tried to be angry, but I think the tears made me look just pathetic.


    "Fuck you for making me love you then asking me to do something like this." I wiped my hand across my eyes again.


    I slowly drew a single Rune in the air, and flicked it towards the pyre.


    It ignited without any effort, the mes overtaking the wood in matter of seconds and the fire reaching high up into the air.


    "And fuck you for letting me win." We both know I lost that fight.


    I was going to kick her ass the next time I saw her. I don''t care what I have to do, I will bring you back and I''ll never allow you to leave me again.


    I just need to get my hands on a Holy Grail.


    ***


    Author''s notes.


    Bring on the hate.


    But seriously, I had this nned since day 1. Alright, spoilers ahead, i''ll share my thoughts on why I did what I did.


    So, I wanted a training Arc for the MC, introduce Scathach and such, but I didn''t quite want a travelingpanion for him just yet. And lets be clear, Scathach ising back, I don''t think I was at all ambiguous about that. It also segues into a few other character introductions and plot points for the future. I.e. heading to Apocrypha for the super mega ultra Holy Grail War, or something like that. Also, i thought Scathach being a servant would be more interesting to write, given her noble phantasms and such, even if she is weaker than her living version.


    So i also chose not to include a fight scene, i did in fact start to write one out at some point and then i realized, ''whats the point?''. To drag out the angst? It really served no purpose, it was clear what was going to happen and he basically said at the end that Scathach let him win, which he is angry about. So, yeah, training arc ends on a low note, couple more chapters spent in Fate, then we head back to DxD for a bit and introduce some more characters and some stuff happens.


    Anyways, thoughts, concerns, or if you just want to bitch at me, i do read the stuff if you post it. Honestly, I love reading the memes that people post, really brightens up my day.


    If you want to read 5 chapters ahead, support me, or get angry at me on different medium, check out my pat /astoryforone

 Chapter 62 - 61

    <h4>Chapter 62: Chapter 61</h4>


    I walked through the half-broken castle one final time. I''ve spent many days here, not ever fully exploring it, yet I couldn''t bring myself to do so even now.


    Neither of us seemed to care for this structure in our battle, it being an early casualty.


    I wasn''t looting, some things I had a small urge to grab, but my current emotions eroded any excessive greed I may usually contain.


    No, I only took one item throughout the entire estate.


    A painting of Scathach along with her family. How young she looked then.....


    She never spoke much about them, but in the master bedroom, in her room, she had a single painting hanging over the mantle.


    I figured she would appreciate this at some point.


    The other item, I still kept in my hand, never letting it out of my grip once I sent her off on her final mortal journey.


    Her cursed spear.


    Gae Bolg.


    There were many ''Gae Bolgs'', the beast she crafted them from was ratherrge. The most famous one she gave to Cu Chinn, while keeping the remainder for herself. I have no idea where the others are, at least one went into the making of my sword but other than that I had no idea.


    I didn''t know what to do with it.....I didn''t want to leave it here for something to pick up and desecrate, so I took it as well. Even if it brought me more unpleasant feelings, keeping it so close.


    With a sigh, I put it into my ring along with the painting.


    I didn''t want to stay here any longer, it was hurting too much.


    With a thought, I pulled on the kaleidoscope and appeared at the spot from which I entered this realm. The tether was still in ce, even if the obvious portal was gone. Don''t want anything to leave that wasn''t suppose to. While I doubt anything could survive for any meaningful time outside, something strong enough could still cause issues for a little bit.


    With a wave of my hand, the portal reformed and I stepped through.


    The harsh cold, the scent of death and decay disappeared. I didn''t realize how used to it I actually was until I finally left.


    No longer did it feel like something was looking over my shoulder constantly. No more did I feel a biting could into my skin every time I stepped outside.


    Even if I was high up on a mountain, it was warmer than I had felt in...years at this point.


    "How long was it?" I looked up into the sky, seeing the Sun had long disappeared and reced with the moon. Both of which were something I hadn''t seen in a long time.


    [A little over two years If my guess is correct.] Ddraig answered. He had been.....quiet since the fight.


    "How were you even able to keep track of time?" I asked in mild surprise.


    [Experience.].


    Oh.....right.


    I turned my eye, seeing the familiar signs of the Kaleidoscope being used.


    Zelretch stepped out, nked by both Artoria and Rin.


    There were several Bounded Fields around this area, several of them probably detected me and alerted him of my return.


    "Hey old man, it''s been awhile." I forced a smile, greeting my grandfather.


    "You''ve changed." He stared at me intently. Simr to before yet....it felts less intimidating, perhaps even the pressure was something I could ignore now.


    "Indeed." Artoria chimed in. "Your presence is significantly ''sharper'' and much more calm."


    "Well, I''ve had a productive time....how long as it been on your end?" I swept my gaze around, not noticing any major changes, so I don''t think it''s been that long.


    "A little over two weeks." Rin stated, giving me a look. "Nice hair."


    That got a small chuckle out of me. "Thanks, I kinda like it, what do you think, Artoria?" I eyed her with a small smile on my face. I didn''t realize how much it would alleviate my current emotions to see her again.


    "I-it is pleasant to see." She replied.


    Oh gods, how I missed teasing her.


    Rin just gave me a smirk and a quick thumbs up.


    Was she rooting for me? Isn''t it supposed to be the other way around, telling her friend that I''m not good enough, etc etc.


    Or maybe I''ve seen too many teen dramas.


    "What was the Land of Shadows like? How long were you there? Did you get anything good?" It seemed Rin finally started to bombard me with questions.


    "Cold, a bit over two years, and yes." I said bluntly, much to her annoyance. She made a scrunched face that I couldn''t help but smile at.


    Teasing Rin was always fun too.


    I walked over to my Staff, still sitting there keeping the spell from puttering out.


    How I missed you, my beautiful.


    I grabbed it from the ritual site, destroying the spell sequence in the process and allowing the portal to disperse.


    "How''s everything, anything exciting happen while I was gone?" I shifted the conversation away from the topic of the Land of Shadows.


    Zelretch eyed me for a moment before answering. "Rin has been making great progress. In fact, I had been heavily considering your words regarding the world you mentioned before."


    Rin seemed to brighten up, I guess she was aware of the situation. "I''ve been studying the underlining Thaumaturgical principals of the magecraft you gave me." She furrowed her eyebrows. "It''s.....odd, but I guess that''s to be expected, considering its from another world."


    "They also don''t differentiate between magecraft and Magic. To them, all of what they do is Magic, even something as simple as lighting a candle with a small me." I Shot a look at Zelretch and his face told me he was keeping his hands out of Rin''s research. Something I could agree with, allow her to venture out and learn from her own failures and sesses.


    "How dangerous is that world?" Artoria asked, her tone very protective. No doubt She intended to follow along, not that I had any expectations to the opposite.


    Hmm, they seemed really excited about this trip, perhaps they''ve been waiting for my answers for awhile now.


    "Fairly dangerous at the moment, apparently dragons have started to resurface for the first time in many centuries, and divine spirits are active here and there. Not to mention all the phantasmal species that still run about." I used terms they were familiar with to make it easier to understand. I would also give a more detailed exnationter, but this would suffice for now.


    "I fear we''re getting into a topic that may need to be discussed in a more leisurely setting." Zelretch interrupted. "Perhaps we should convene at ater date to discuss this more?"


    "Fine, I can tell when I''m being shooed away." Rin sighed. "I also want to show you what I''ve been working on when you have some time." Rin directed her words at me. "The old man said you would be a better help with my project."


    "Sure." I said happily, turning my gaze towards Artoria. "So..."


    "Erm." She coughed lightly into her hand, steeling her face. "Would you like to get coffee with me sometime?" Her words sounded extremely rehearsed and I saw her nce at Rin while she said it.


    "That would be lovely." I couldn''t help but genuinely smile for the first time this evening. One way or another, she deserved some answers and exnations.


    Artoria quickly caught up with Rin who walked through a portal Zelretch opened, only giving me a quick look before departing again.


    "Well, I hope you don''t drag your feet with her." He spoke up after they disappeared.


    "Yeah....I hope I don''t do something stupid." I sighed.


    Zelretch raised his eyebrow at me, a small smile rising on his face. "It seems you''ve grown in a few ways."


    I was about to respond, until he waved his hand and we were then in his office. I only rolled my eyes, taking a seat in the familiar chair. "Showoff."


    "Well, what''s the point in being this powerful if I can''t show it off?" He looked at me smugly, I could tell he was just being mboyant on purpose, he usually isn''t this flippant about his ''strength'' unless he gets pissed off. "Now, why don''t you tell me what''s really going on?"


    "What do you mean?" I said evenly.


    "Boy, do you think I''m blind?" He expression turned serious. "You may not be me, but that doesn''t mean I don''t see enough of my own mannerisms in you. I can count on one hand the amount of times I''ve had that look, and none of them are good."


    "You....really are an asshole sometimes." I snorted. "Can''t you just leave it well enough alone?"


    "I suppose I could. Next time I get stabbed in the chest, why don''t I just leave that alone as well, I''m sure nothing will ¨C" He paused, watching me flinch at his words. "Oh my child, I am so sorry."


    He didn''t say anything anymore, going to his cab and retrieving some sses and a bottle of scotch. We sat there and drank in silence, until the bottle was almost empty.


    I really can''t hide anything from him....


    "I want a Holy Grail." I finally spoke.


    The look on his face seemed to ry that he understood what I was asking for. "The one here isn''t.....suitable." He chose the words carefully.


    "Still corrupted?" I was aware of that leech that original inhabited in the past centuries.


    "The systems are heavily contaminated, even if the thing is gone, they were corrupted for so long....i''m trying to see what''s salvageable." He shook his head. "Frankly, I''ll be happy if the summoning function still persists when I''m done."


    That means nomand seals, no wish, and no failsafes. Neither of us would care about the ''wish'' but it was more than that. It was the ability to use the magical energy stored for more malleable intents. The ''Wishcraft'' that was imbedded and powered by an almost unlimited amount of magical energy, it allowed the grail to do almost anything, even punch a hole straight to the Root.


    "There are other worlds, other grail wars."


    "Indeed, that is an option. But it is unlikely I can just wave my hand and cancel those huge events to present you the grail."


    "I don''t need it handed to me." I resolved myself. "I will take it, servants or not."


    Zelretch raised an eyebrow, a smile formed. "Well, if that''s the case, I have a few things I can look into. Some ces that would be better off without a grail."


    "Really? You''re not going to give me another speech about taking things when I shouldn''t?"


    "I never said you can''t take things." He shook his head. "I just told you to take responsibility. The debts you owe will continue to umte, if you wish to even the scales more actively, so to speak, I won''t say anything in opposition."


    "I know." I sighed. "I guess....I just wanted the words to be said."


    He looked thoughtful, tapped his chin for a moment. "I do have a lot on my te right now, and it will take some time to find a suitable world-line, unless you want to do that yourself."


    I couldn''t help but scowl at the thought. "Your nature makes it substantially easier to do that. It would take me years to find what I''m looking for, you can probably do it in days."


    "That is true." He agreed. "Regardless, it seems you can''t do anything for the time being, what are your ns?"


    "I wanted to stay around for a few more days...clearing the air with Artoria is probably one of the priorities, see where we go from here." I sighed again, looking up at the ceiling. "I''ll give Rin any help she needs, maybe point her on certain paths if she''s going to explore Skyrim." Keep myself preupied with something.


    "I only took a cursory nce at this Skyrim you mentioned, I''ve already started prepping her a bit but I was thinking about having her attend that college you mentioned."


    "Yeah, that''s probably the best bet. The Archmage there is a good man, I would trust him with my life." I nodded, a small smile on my face as I recalled my time there. "I know you''re worried, but I have some people there that can give her some protection, not to mention I''ll also give her a hand." I hesitated for a moment, rubbing my hands together. "I can lend her my staff for an emergency." I practically winced at my own words.


    I hated the thought of parting with my staff again, but at least that''s for the future. And it was for a good cause, Rin was family, I would make sure she''s safe, not to mention Artoria who would be beside her the entire time.


    "That is appreciated." He gave a genuine smile, making me feel better. "Though I''m sure Ruby will be.....not pleased." He let out a smallugh, before evening himself. "But until then, what do you n to do?"


    "I...will probably head back to my birth world for a bit." I frowned, running a hand through my hair.


    "Do you think it''s wise, you don''t have particrly fond memories of that ce, adding on...." He trailed off, but I know what he was asking.


    "Well...." I could only smile bitterly. "I can''t exactly feel any worse than I do now." Maybe some closure over there will help me in every aspect.


    ****


    Not much happened, setting up the future through some plot points and what-not. As I said before, DxD is next, and wouldn''t you know, he''s already there over on my pat.reon if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead.


    /Astoryforone

 Chapter 63 - 62

    <h4>Chapter 63: Chapter 62</h4>


    "You ready?" I asked mypanion, seeing Artoria...not standing awkwardly, but I could tell she was the tiniest bit nervous.


    "I am." She nodded. "I have selected one of these ''coffee shops'' that Rin has shown me."


    I couldn''t help but smile at her antics. "You look nice." I eyed her new wardrobe. It was....more of the same, but slightly different stylization and perhaps a new sweater.


    "T-thank you." She lowered her head slightly; I could tell she was a little bit of pink on her cheeks. I knew she was still unused to beingplimented in this capacity, yet I couldn''t resist. "I picked these clothes out myself." She added on quietly.


    Well, she had good taste, even if she didn''t deviate much. She knew what she looked good in.....which to be fair was practically anything. But far be it from me to dissuade her from what she likes.


    "So, I''m curious, did Rin introduce you to coffee?" It was practically a necessity for most mages. Even those who despised the stuff learned to bare it for their continued experiments when they were working on little sleep.


    Now that I think about it, coffee makers are one of the few items that the residents here actually pay attention to when new models and upgrades are produced. I wouldn''t be surprised if the industry was being propped up almost entirely by mage families.


    "Rin had introduced me to the beverage." She confirmed.


    But something about her expression was a little off...."Artoria, do you even like coffee?" I eyed her suspiciously.


    "...It is not the most unpleasant thing I have ever partook in." she admitted, looking away.


    "You know, we don''t actually have to get coffee, right?"


    "But...." She hesitated slightly. "Rin told me it is an important social ritual for this ''dating''."


    Cute.


    "Artoria, I don''t want you to have to suffer something as mundane as not liking a drink." I deadpanned. "Why don''t I take you to one of my favorite Cafes they have some interesting alternatives."


    She tiled her head slightly, nodding with a bit more enthusiasm that i had anticipated. I guess she really doesn''t like coffee.


    "Alright, I''m hijacking this outing." I put my hand on her shoulder and she let out a cute little sound when I pulled her through the Kaleidoscope. Our surroundings changed, and we appeared in a spot that was no doubt only familiar with myself. "Here we are." I gestured.


    She looked curiously at a little caf¨¦ that didn''t even have a worded sign on the front. She looked genuinely interested, seemingly a bit more intent on going to inspect the ce. We walked inside, and the ce was rtively empty, one or two patrons when the ce could easily fit fifty to sixty.


    It was one of my little favorites, actually, I think Zelretch is pretty much single handedly keeping it running at this point. And to be honest, this isn''t the only ce like that in this world.


    I saw her eyes dart to the menu, a lot of things perhaps were rather strange for her.


    "Would you mind if I order for us? I think I can get something you''ll like." I offered.


    Her face brightened and she gave me a good natured smile. "Yes, that would be wonderful.


    "Two hot choctes, with the works, please." I set some money down on the counter, seeing the barista nod at me.


    We walked over to a secluded booth at the corner, for a little bit of privacy. It didn''t take long for someone to follow up with our drinks.


    Artoria''s eyes widened at the monstrosity that was set before us. And I use that term in a very endearing way.


    "Whipped cream, topped with caramel, chocte shaving bits, and arge marshmallow and a few graham crackers." I narrated.


    "How decadent" She marveled, taking a sip. "It is delicious." I could see her practically glow in the aftertaste.


    Yeah, this kind of ce would be obsolete in a couple decades, when things like this be very much a fad all around the world. But for this time period, it''s not exactly something you can find easily.


    Seeing her happy like this, it really did quell a lot of my turbulent emotions.


    "Perhaps we should finally have that talk?" I offered an in for conversation, quickly creating a shoddy bounded field around us, preventing any ease-droppers and the like.


    She tucked a few strands behind her ear, looking at me with a small smile. "I am unsure of how to properly proceed." She admitted, not nearly as unsure of herself as before though. A confidence that shown through even in ignorance.


    "Well, before anything morees about.....you may rethink me after today." I sighed, seeing her expression turn...pensive. "I won''t mince words, nor will I lead you on. I''ll just be blunt, I have multiple women already."


    There really was no correct way to go about this, beingpletely honest was perhaps the best course of action though. She deserved nothing but my honesty, and I would not y with her emotions.


    Her expression hardened, and she reverted to her emotionless mask she often wore. It made it exceedingly difficult to get any kind of read on her.


    "You...." She stopped herself, seemingly unable to find the correct words before opening her mouth again. "Why did you tell me.....couldn''t you have...?" She seemed.....dejected and slightly confused.


    "Do you think this is something I would hide?" I questioned. Do people really think the worse of me? Or maybe she was bringing some of her own self esteem issues to light and making jumps in conclusions? I just shook my head. "Artoria, what do you think the most important things in a rtionship are?"


    "I am unsure....I have never had a proper rtionship before." She said quietly, and my gut practically wretched at her words.


    Yeah, if I recall correctly, even her marriage was a sham....something basically done to hide her gender during those days.


    "In my opinion, there are three facets that determine a rtionship, with their importance in order. Trust,munication, and love." I exined. "I refuse to start any kind of romantic rtionship on a lie, if you couldn''t trust me, then what was the point if anything more bloomed?"


    "...what happens if I....did not wish to pursue anything more?" She hesitantly asked.


    "Then we simply don''t have anything more." I shrugged. "There is no consequence, I won''t get angry, I''m not going to pressure you in any way." I said simply. "You have an obligation to find your own happiness. If you don''t believe it to be with me, then you are free to find someone else. I would be more than willing to continue with just our friendship."


    She looked rather contemtive at my words, clearly deep in thought. "I have a question." Her words rather even. "Do you truly like me?"


    "I do. There are several things about you that I find attractive beyond just your physical appearance." My words werepletely honest.


    Was she looking for some reassurance?


    "Oh." Her cheeks flushed slightly again. "I see." We sat in silence for a few more moments before she spoke again. "I admit, this isn''t something I would have preferred.....but it also is not a concept foreign to me."


    I tilted my head in confusion. "Pardon?"


    "Hmm?" She looked at me. "Did I say something strange?"


    "Did you not live in an era where Christianity was predominant and their tenants followed closely?"


    She looked at me for a moment before actually bursting outughing. "I see, you seem to hold some incorrect thoughts about my era." She giggled a few more times before finally settling down. "Yes, in public the ''upper ss'' held to certain standards, but they were by no means priests or nuns." She pursed her lips. "Many of my nobles had dozens of mistresses and lovers even if they only had a single wife." She looked rather wistful for a moment. "I often used such things to shield myself away from those unscrupulous individuals who wished to offer up their daughters, sisters...and wives, for political gains."


    "Um, did you just say --"


    "Yes." She deadpanned and I held back....many questions.


    "You know, I am actually unsurprised." I sighed. "Rules for thee, not for me." I waved my hand flippantly. Perhaps I romanticized that time period too much in my head.


    "Your other.....women." She chose her words carefully. "Who are they?"


    "Meridia, she is a ''goddess'' from Skyrim, the ce that the old man was speaking about sending you and Rin to." I exined. Well, technically Skyrim was just a province, but I didn''t really want to delve into geography.


    "A goddess?" She seemed rather surprised.


    "It''s a close enough exnation before you actually read some books from there. Her ''authority'' is over life, or rather the ''energy'' of life. She holds a vehement dislike for the undead, so I would advise Rin to not practice any necromancy, seeing as how I was going to ask her to make sure no other higher powers poke around."


    Her eyebrows furrowed. "I am a spirit....."


    "Different concepts, she hates the things that make a mockery of ''life'', a heroic spirit is more of a holy existence, which there is a little precedent for over there." I waved off her concerns. "Truthfully....I think she would like you."


    They have simr temperaments, and I think Meridia would find Artoria rather refreshing in someone she could confide in.


    "And she is okay with you....." She nced at herself, but I could see what she was implying.


    "She is the one who brought it up." I shrugged.


    "Oh...I would have assumed..." She stopped herself abruptly.


    "My devil nature?" Iughed lightly.


    "I...didn''t mean it like that." She looked away briefly.


    "It''s not something I take offense in, you''re probably right that my nature does have an influence on it. Actually, being a half devil makes my inhibitions much lower than a normal human." I thought about it for a moment, realizing I need to take a better note of what my devil side actually does to me. "But It''s not like I even go out looking to pick up girls." I sighed. "Even if harems and such are extremelymon in my..... culture.... surprisingly on the opposite end of the spectrum as well."


    "Wait, you mean women with multiple partners?" Artoria looked bbergasted, I guess being in male dominated societies made such things unheard of, I only nodded at her. "Oh my." She turned a bright pink.


    Well, the devil society is male dominated as well, but strength rules over all else. There are plenty of strong women who have harems, albeit a bit rarer than men, but still not something one would bat an eye at.


    "And...who else?" She questioned again.


    "Scathach." I said simply, just bringing up her name still made me experience things I was trying to suppress.


    "I should have expected that." She deadpanned.


    "I can''t counter those words." I couldn''t help but smile slightly. Yeah, Scathach''s reputation was....known.


    "Would I....be able to meet them?" She looked a little unsure of herself.


    "Of course, though it may not be for a bit.....Meridia can''t leave her realm willy-nilly and Scathach is currently....indisposed."


    "I see.....you truly are keeping no secrets from me, and I wouldn''t be able to find out even if you were, yet you are being so open." Her expression softened slightly, looking at me again. "I still don''t'' know what to do, even before this...revtion, I still was conflicted. But....I want to give it a chance, mayhap our paths will part at some point, but I do not want to live with a regret in my heart anymore."


    Huh, well, what do you know?


    This brought a genuine smile to my face, even if my heart was still in shambles.


    ***


    Author''s notes.


    Still not much, these couple of chapters at the end of the first Fate Arc are basically tieing up loose ends and setting up future plot points. So canon Artoria was someone who had many regrets in life, it basically led to her wanting to make a wish to undo her own existence, put someone else on the throne. To me, it would be one of the major points in her meeting the MC half way in this, aftering to terms with everything, trying not to live with any regrets, even if the feelings are still rtively small. And bonus points in her book for beingpletely upfront about his rtions. Regardless of how she perceived her ''marriage'' it still left a huge mark of betrayal on her when it all came out. But yeah, I nned on taking this particr rtionship slow. And even canon Artoria didn''t seem to have any negative thoughts on someone having multiple partners as long as everyone involved was happy.


    Now, I see a lot of people asking about MC''s current powerlevel using DxD terms, and to be honest it''s hard to put a ''number'' on it, so to speak. The thing about DxD power levels, is that they don''t matter until they do. For example; Person A and Person B are both Ultimate ss, yet person A could defeat a thousand of person B without breaking a sweat. Without considering True Magic and Boosted Gear and Primordial Runes to make it super confusing, assume his strength is Ultimate ss if it makes you feel better.


    That being said, I will probably try to streamline the ''rankings'' a bit more so they actually mean something in the future.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read up to 5 chapters ahead, feel free to visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 64 - 63

    <h4>Chapter 64: Chapter 63</h4>


    Clearing the air with Artoria had been surprisingly.....therapeutic.


    Maybe, I wanted to say it was a nice distraction from my other issues, but that would not be fair to the budding rtionship I have with Artoria. I just kept reminding myself that Scathach wasn''t gone forever, and she was going to get an ass kicking when I brought her back.


    But seeing Artoria''s bright smile when we would meet, it would easily push away any mncholic thoughts I currently had.


    I let out a grunt as I finished up my small workout. It was almost ingrained on me at this point to start the day with several hundred swings of my sword.


    At some point, I pulled out Gae Bolg and started thrusting it for the reason.


    I don''t know why I continued to torture myself like this, and I had no desire to truly learn the spear, its just....I think it made me feel more at ease?


    Perhaps...I just wanted to feel closer to her now that we were so far apart?


    ....and I was swinging around Dawnbreaker just moments prior to that, I really am just a helpless idiot sometimes.


    Now that I think about it, I should really switch between all my swords to make sure I''mpletelyfortable to wield any of them ins any circumstance.


    I looked up into the air, and my swords flew back down to me.


    Whisper, Mirage, Dawnbreaker, Ascalon.


    I did feel a slight tinge of greed when I beheld them. Was it odd that I felt the need to get more? Perhaps it was my nature as a Devil talking, I liked the thoughts of having my own armory, a collection to show off....hmm.


    Thoughts forter.


    Another random thought, I will surely need to test how the Staff of Magnus interacts with my new magical abilities, primarily my 9-Realms and my Primordial Runes. Lots of stuff to do, and my time seems just as limited as before.


    It never seems to stop.


    ***


    I walked back to Zelretch''s home...office, workshop thing. What even was the proper way to describe this? I suppose that most mages would refer to it as his workshop, simply because that is the most important facet inside....


    "There you are!" Rin eximed as soon as I walked inside. "Come here, I''m going to show what I''ve been working on."


    Artoria nked her form behind, a familiar sight at this point. She just looked rather amused by the whole thing as we shared a look.


    "Alright, lead the way." I offered no resistance as she practically dragged me into her workshop.


    It just went to show how much she seemingly trusted me this quickly if she was letting me in here. Realistically, I coulde and go whenever I wanted, there was nothing she could do to stop me, yet she was willing to let me in here. The gesture though, was heavily appreciated.


    "Old man." I greeted my grandfather who was already taking a seat inside. He looked rather interested in what was going on. "Any idea what she''s been up to."


    A smile rose on his face. "I have absolutely no idea." He looked rather excited at the notion. "She hasn''t told me any details and the help she''se to me for hasn''t given any clues either."


    Rin was just ignoring us, setting things here or there, making sure she had everything presented and ready to go.


    Artoria pulled up a seat and sat right next to me. She seemed rather rxed in my presence, more so than previously which I couldn''t help but be happy about.


    "Any sneak speaks?" I asked her.


    "I have been sworn to secrecy." She gave a small smile.


    "Well, she seems really proud of what she''s done so far, I really am curious what''s gotten her so excited."


    "All I know is that she''s been preparing for some adventuring in other worlds." Zelretch added.


    That reminds me, I will need to give her some reading material, so she isn''t quite so surprised by everything that she sees in Skyrim. I do have several historical texts and various biographies of the races there. Artoria too, they both needed to know what exactly they were walking into. I was going to ask Meridia to keep an eye on them, not to mention the Archmage would no doubt be excited to have a talent like Rin in her school. I could also put the word out to Thorum and anyone else who owes me favors.


    Thorum...I do miss my friend. I''m curious to see how much he''s grown in our time apart. My delving into the ''shout'' had been....slow going. I did get some practice and thoughts in my training though, and my new knowledge of Primordial Runes gives me a new perspective to work with as well.


    "Alright!" Rin suddenly stopped, pulled out several papers and a strange device she had in her hand.


    "A phone?" I hazard a guess at what she was holding, though it looked nothing like what I would picture a modern phone as. It was rather bulky, and a few misshapen protrusions.


    "Kind of." She admitted. "I wanted a way to contact people across multiple world-lines in real-time."


    Me and Zelretch shared a look, and we both facepalmed in the same way.


    "So this is how it feels to be on the other end?" I asked the old man.


    "Indeed, to think we missed something so simple." He shook his head.


    "What? Did I do something wrong?" Rin looked a little.....uneasy at our reaction.


    "No, the opposite in fact." I assured her and Zelretch just nodded along. "We just never had the need for a ''Kaleidophone'' before.....there was never a reason to contact other people through such a method...." I couldn''t help but chuckle. Yeah, with several of us running around all in different ces, this seems like an obvious step in hindsight.


    "This will be a wonderful addition to our lives." Zelretch stood up, walking towards her to inspect everything. "The means to hold conversations across worlds is nonexistent at this point, I''m happy to admit that you took a step we never considered."


    "Seriously, I''ll bankroll all your research on this." I wanted to see her designs and notes as well. "I have several people I am on good terms with across world-lines, being able to keep in touch will be....extraordinary."


    I could be able to speak with Meridia whenever I wanted, be able to talk with Artoria even when I''m away....why had I never thought of something like this before?"


    "I''m curious how you came up with such a thing?" I looked over Zelretch''s shoulder as he inspected the device, something we could call a prototype.


    To call it a device though, was a bit of a misnomer. There was no....''technology'' involved. The outer frame looked to be made with some kind of steelposition. There were spell forms carved inside and several small gems acting as certain magical batteries and spell holders.


    "Ruby." I said suddenly, remembering the kaleidostick.


    "Indeed, my thoughts exactly." Zelretch looked at Rin. "You used some concepts inside Ruby''s own make and created something like this?"


    "I....nced at some of her magical forms and systems." She said hesitantly.


    "Rin....despite how I feel about the device, Ruby is one of my greatest creations, and you were able to reverse engineer very specific parts of her makeup and create a thing like this?" He held out the ''phone''. "I am proud of you." He finally said.


    I shared the same sentiments. Ruby did have the ability to contact Zelretch across time and space, but it was difficult at the best of times. For Rin to use such an ability and reverse engineer it like this for a greater purpose.....she really is a genius.


    "At just a cursory look, I''m guessing the materials have a hard time withstanding the spells?" I asked.


    "Y-yeah." Rin said absentmindedly, arge grin on her face. "I''ve gone through several frames already."


    "I got some metals you will like better....and they can be found in Skyrim forter." I nodded, probably some orichalcum mixed with some ebony here and there to protect specific parts. But, I''ll let her handle that, this is her project, I''ll only provided materials and such, maybe some suggestions on application here and there.


    "Were you serious about the money?" She asked.


    I just raised an eyebrow, lifting my hand up and allowing the gold coins to literally flow out of my ring onto the floor until arge pile formed.


    She stared at it, taking a hesitant step forward, dropping to her knees then face nting right into it and hugging it like it was the most precious thing in the world.


    "Well, then." I just chuckled. "I''m sure the old man would have done the same thing, I think I just beat him to the punch. And, well, I have a greater desire in their application than he does. Money, materials, just tell me what you need and I''ll provide it, though I may need to actually go out and find some things."


    I returned to my seat with an amused smile on my face, as Zelretch and Rin were having some wholesome student-teacher time together has he practically picked her up off the pile of coins.


    I didn''t want to disturb then, this was a good chance for them to bond and a great learning experience.


    "I apologize for Rin''s...." Artoria spoke up but the worlds were left unsaid.


    "Rinness?" I offered.


    A small smile emerged on her face. "Indeed."


    "I''m excited, I never even considered something like this before. I can''t wait until she can provide several more, then we can still talk and keep in touch even if we''re worlds apart."


    "Truly?" She said quietly.


    "Of course, do you think I won''t miss you when we''re away?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Well ¨C"


    "Nope." I cut her off. "I am forbidding you from doing that any longer." I poked her shoulder. "No more questioning your worth, no more self-deprecating thoughts." I could see how she still some-what defaults into certain mindsets quite easily.


    Ah, the familiar sight of her cheeks turning the faintest pink. And I was surprised at her sudden boldness, her handed reached over ever so gently and took mine own into hers.


    I guess doing something like this was easier than speaking certain words or trying to convey things one feels.


    She didn''t look me in the eyes, opting to continue watching Zelretch and Rin go about their own business, and we didn''t speak much more, but this was a moment that I felt entirely at peace.


    Is this what having a family is like?


    ***


    Alrighty, so another one of those ''may or may not'' release a chapter tomorrow, need to deal with apartment-rted stuff, fingers crossed! So, one more ''Fate'' chapter before heading over to DxD for a bit. And since many people have been asking, the world after DxD, MC''s Power of Destruction will finallye into y, and it''s not a ''Fate'' world, nor is it Skyrim, feel free to guess, i''m curious what people are considering.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone , second interlude is finally up.

 Chapter 65 - 64 DxD

    <h4>Chapter 65: Chapter 64 DxD</h4>


    Time flew by rather quickly, but not much actually happened in the few days I spent just hanging around the Clock Tower.


    Truthfully, I didn''t really have the will to do anything worth remembering. I kind of wanted to sit in on some lectures that were open to anyone, but I just couldn''t find it in me to go.


    Maybe I just didn''t want to deal with anyone outside of my immediate circle right now?


    "You''re moping."


    I turned to look at Zelretch who was sorting through some things in the library while I had an open book infront of me.


    "I''m not moping." I replied.


    "Mhmm." He just hummed idly.


    "I''m not."


    "Sure."


    "Stop it, I know what you''re doing, I do that!"


    "Alright."


    "Fuck off." I finally scowled.


    "Oh, hello Saber." Zelretch turned his head. I followed his gaze, only to see no one. "And you immediately brightened up when you thought she was there." He chuckled.


    "I hate you."


    "Mhmm."


    Gods dammit.


    "So what if I''m happy to see her, it proves nothing." I snorted, going back to my book.


    "Because, you''re moping unless she''s near by, well, you seem to be happy around Rin too and I hope you''re not thinking about my precious student in that way."


    "Rin is...." I chose my words carefully. "An objectively beautiful woman and someone I enjoy being around, but I do not posses the slightest romantic inclinations towards her." I would very much like to not make this ambiguous.


    He just continued to hum nonchntly, making my scowl deeper. He knew I didn''t feel about Rin that way, just poking at me more. Gods he can be really infuriating sometimes.


    "When do you n on leaving?" He finally asked.


    "Why, getting tired of me?"


    "Just curious, I want to try and get a time frame of when I need to finish up several projects." He said calmly. "I did narrow down a few dozen world-lines that may serve your purpose as well."


    Holy Grail.


    It had been on my mind for awhile now, and it looks like he''s getting close to finding a good one so I can just take it without any major issues.


    I just sighed, setting my book down. "Alright, I am moping." I admitted. "It''s just hard to find the energy to anything right now."


    "Well, it''s good to admit it, just keeping it bottled up is never healthy." Zelretch nodded. "Why don''t you set out?"


    I just blinked for a moment. "Just like that? Open a portal and pop back to my birth world?"


    "Sure." He shrugged. "It''s not like you have anything tying you down here."


    "That''s not¡ª"


    "Let me rephrase, you have nothing demanding your immediate attention." He corrected himself. "And you''re making assumptions that you can''t just pop back over whenever you want."


    Oh.....I really am stupid sometimes.


    I wanted to facepalm but I held myself back. This wasn''t like back in Skyrim where I was missing some important things, nor like the Land of Shadows where I was stuck for training. I can literallye and go as I please.,..


    Zelretch looked at me, a pleased smile on his face. "It often requires someone else stating the obvious to us." Clearly knowing my thoughts.


    I ran a hand through my hair, thinking about my birth world again. I already decided to head back, but it felt like this huge hill to climb, yet it was as simple as snapping my fingers.


    "Fine, I''ll check back in within a few days I guess." I decided, standing up. I would rather not give myself any more time to think excuses to not go at this point. "Lets see, anything in particr I need to grab before I go?"


    I still have a significant amount of rare minerals, gold, jewels and the like. I doubt my mundane currency will be...usable, mostly because it came from another world. Lets not get any governments on my ass because of ''counterfeit'' money.


    I have a nice array of potions avable as well.....a lot of things for emergencies like food-stuffs.


    Oh, I need to pick up some my alcohol, I''m basically out....but I guess I can do that over there.


    Talismans? I have a..rge amount, but that''s something I could always use more. In fact....why don''t I head over to Japan, specifically the center for Japan''s supernaturalmunity, Kyoto. No doubt I can pick up some decent materials over there for my purpose.


    And no one would really give me a second look considering I am Japanese on my mother''s side.


    Perhaps I should go check up on Artoria and Rin....but I think Rin is deep in her research right now and I don''t want to disturb them.


    Meh, I''ll check back in a few days anyways, no big deal.


    "Alright, I''m convinced, and I seem to have everything I''ll need already....do you by chance have that world simted yet?"


    "Only some small things, why, any specific ce you want to go?"


    "Well, I could probably eyeball it, but some specific location would be appreciated." I didn''t want toe back right into Kuoh again....that would be awkward.


    "Sure, sure, where do you want to go?"


    "Kyoto."


    "Hmm, nice choice, I''ve been meaning to take a look at the Youkai there, such an interesting group." He muttered, flipped his hand, allowing a portal to form.


    "Well, guess I''m off then" I said, somewhat surprised at the small bit of excitement I found swelling up in my chest.


    Without anymore lingering thoughts, I jumped through the portal.


    ***


    I felt many thingsing back here, my tick almost made me run my hand through my hair again, but I caught myself before doing so. I started my calctions immediately, perhaps some part of me paranoid and still.....self conscious about this whole thing.


    As ridiculous as it is, I still can''t shake the feelings I buried deep down. Logically I know they don''t make much sense, but they still shake me.


    But I''m much better than I was years ago. They''re more of an echo of what they once were, and I am in a much better ce, even if my heart is still in tatters over other matters.


    Going from my home back to my birth world, there were many things made clear right away, like the state of the mana in the air.


    Even though it''s a ''modern'' world, pollution and all that running rampant, the world seemed much more...vibrant with magical energy.


    I guess having so many godly beings with nature authorities does wonder for the.


    Hmm, what to do now. The old man was kind enough to literally drop me inside the little ''pocket dimension'' that is supernatural Kyoto, I think its called ¨C Urakyoto.


    West Kyoto and East Kyoto. They were ruled over by two powerful Youkai, one of them a Nine-tailed fox, and Miko for Amaterasu. From what I recall, she also watches over the immensely powerful ley-lines for the area. On the opposite end, is a rather famous Youkai ¨C Nurarihyon.


    There is this weird coexistence between all the parties, East and West Kyoto, then all the major human families that practice various exorcism and Onmyoji arts. The board is surprisingly sturdy for some many factions existing within each other, not threatening to tip over at nearly any point.


    I headed towards the nearest looking bar, somewhat western theme based on the d¨¦cor, it would suite my needs perfectly.


    Walking in, there were only a couple ''people'' none of them humans. I was only given a cursory nce, but from what I could see so far, humans weren''t ''umon'' and I doubt my heritage made anyone annoyed.


    Setting down, the bartender gave me once ago. "Whatcha want kid?"


    I couldn''t see what species of Youkai he was immediately, he seemed pretty good at blending in.


    "Give me something strong." I set a couple gold coins on the table.


    He hesitantly picked one up, inspecting it and giving me a nod. "What else you want?" He asked, pulling something up from the back to start pouring.


    Well, he has good sense, knowing I overpaid for a reason. "Been out of country for awhile, some information would be nice." I set a few more coins down, he didn''t even do a double take before sliding them off the table. "Some ce to get some money for gold would be appreciated, and maybe some news from the past few weeks."


    Surprisingly, most magicalmunities and supernatural species stuck to human currency. Frankly, it just made everything easier of them, for the most part. There were also supernatural authorities who monitored the stock market and such for any magical abuse. Not to mention America literally has a whole section of government dedicated to the supernatural with several Sacred Gear users.


    The fantastical side of the world surviving to modern day, some really strange things seemed to evolve from necessity.


    "Few blocks down, on the right, you can''t miss it. They take anything for trade and offer almost any kind of human money if you want." He said bluntly. "As for news....." He thought for a moment. "Odin was making a mess of things around here not too long ago, the Shinto gods were getting a bit displeased."


    Odin.....I thought back to what happened it the Land of Shadows and clenched my fists.


    I won''t be put in that situation again.


    "Oh, the Church lost some of their little toys, been all in a tizzy over that, heard they started to poke around even here." He snorted, obviously dislike for the Christian institution. "Hmm, oh and we got a celebrity back in town." He gave a smallugh. "Okita Souji was around, he''s usually down in hell serving his King."


    I blinked at thatst one. "Okita Souji?"


    "Mhmm, one of our ''heroes'' I guess. You know about him, kid?"


    "I know about his legend, I suppose." Among other things.....


    "Ah, well, he got turned into a devil by the big man himself, Lucifer. Serves as one of his ''knights'' or something. Even with our strained rtionship with the devils, it seems like most people still like the former Shinsengumi."


    Yeah, pretty much what I thought.


    Well, this is interesting, I''ll be sure to keep my eyes peeled then. I doubt this has anything to do with me....is what I would like to say, but it''s only been a couple weeks in this world since I''ve left.


    "Thanks for the info." I gave him a final tip and finished my drink.


    "Thanks, kid." He waved me off, clearly satisfied with his haul.


    I guess I should go get some money, perhaps I should buy a house here as well? I wanted somewhere permanent, and that idea of oveying the ce on multiple world-lines keeps popping up in the back of my mind.


    ***


    Not super exciting, but hey, we''re back in DxD. Sorry for no chapter yesterday, but on the bright side, i finally found a ce! It''s just I had to be quick to snap it up, so moving had been a bit chaotic trying to do everything so quickly.


    On a side note, I enjoyed reading everyone''s predictions, and no i wasn''t using it as a way to think of a next world, I already had one chosen weeks ago. But hey, a couple people guessed it correctly....and no it''s not kuroinu. And several more future worlds were guessed beyond just the next one, but i guess when i made the MC obsessed with grabbing nice swords, some things became obvious.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my pat /Astoryforone

 Chapter 66 - 65

    <h4>Chapter 66: Chapter 65</h4>


    I could understand what the bartender meant when he said ''you can''t miss it''.


    Yeah, if gaudy was a something in style, this would still be over the top.


    Perhaps they''re doing something right though, if they''re so easily recognizable. Still though, just looking at these ''golden doors'' encrusted with ''jewels'' is just....bleh. Well, seeing the Cornucopia engraved right above the entrance, I could tell who was backing such a ce. No doubt there were probably many branches all around the world.


    Plutus, Greek god of wealth and abundance.


    Need anymore be said?


    The inside wasn''t much different from the outside, even if there were many interesting things I might actually want at some point.


    "Greetings, sir." A woman bowed as I entered. "May I ask if you are selling or buying?"


    "Little of both." I replied. "Though I would like to change some gold to Yen if possible as well."


    "Of course, Sir." She gestured towards the counter. "Please follow me."


    Well, service is good.


    "Wee to the World''s Cornucopia, we have everything and anything you could want, how may we be of service." I was led towards an older gentleman, he appeared to be the true ''representative''.


    "Gold exchange, then I wouldn''t mind seeing some goods." I thought for a moment. "Also, do you all deal in real estate?"


    "Yes, we have many plots ofnds, buildings, and other such things if needed." He nodded. "We also posses a catalogue of our showrooms, though some may need to take a couple days to transfer from elsewhere. Andstly, we do provide an exchange of gold to your desired currency, but we do take a 1% fee."


    "Sounds fair. Do you have somewhere I can empty arge amount of gold coins into...?"


    He held out a bucket, pulled from under the table. I just eyed him and lifted my hand up, allowing a couple thousands septims to fall out. They never overflowed, seemingly a bottomless enchantment.


    "Very good, sir. I will have these sorted and priced in a few moments, please browse our selections while you wait." He bowed and ducked out to what I assumed was the back room.


    Whatever, I''m kind of curious what they have for sale....lets take a look at swords.


    This ''catalogue'' was enchanted as well, I could apparently search things up and it was much bigger than it appeared on the surface. Without much effort, it filtered for weapons, then towards swords.


    Hmmm....some good stuff already.


    Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegar, an Anti-Demon weapon from the middle east, interesting, but not my style.


    A nameless katana forged by Sengo Muramasa, my interest was slightly more piqued, but I once again disregarded it after another thought. It didn''t quite match up to my other weapons, regardless of it''s creator''s status, it was still a failed product.


    Oh, there''s a sword I recognize, Dyrnwyn. A holy sword that ignites with holy mes when wielded by the worthy, with a Celtic origin. I''m surprised the church hasn''t snapped this up, they usually hoard any and all ''holy'' items that originated from Europe, even if they have ''pagan'' births.


    There were some more, that managed to grab my attention, but none that really brought about my ''greed''. Mostly they were all about this level, which wasn''t too surprising, anything more than this and they would be grabbed immediately or nevere up in a market like this one in the first ce.


    Well, I mostly just made a mental note of anything I thought was interesting forter. They did have more than just weapons, ingredients and alchemic supplies were among their best sellers apparently.


    "Excuse me, sir." The man bowed again, and I never caught him name, but I think that was on purpose. "Your gold has been weighed and measured. This is the total." He handed me a slip of paper, and my eyes briefly widened. I had forgotten how much gold was worth here again.


    Well, I can make some nice money by bringing gold back from Skyrim if I were inclined.


    "Very good." I tapped a ce on the catalogue. "Would it be possible to give this ce a look through?" I gestured towards a specific house within West Kyoto."


    "Of course." He said without a second thought. "I''ll make all necessary preparations."


    Outside of the d¨¦cor....this ce is alright. I''ll definitely being back here if the need arises.


    ***


    With a hefty amount of cash in my ring, I held onto a piece of paper that gave me directions on where to go. Surprisingly, they had that much cash on hand, I would have thought they do bank transfers or something.


    Fun side note, there are supernaturally inclined banks in the world. Granted, the ones that cater to specific supernatural entities are limited, most just have a few branches here or there for that purpose.


    I''m really learning a lot of fun little things about this ce that I didn''t know before.


    You know, today has been a good day....


    *BOOOOOOM*


    .....is what I would have loved to say, had not everything started exploding around me.


    I just sighed as a building down the street literally caught fire after what looked like a man in a mask ran out of it, throwing something inside and having it explode into pieces.


    Literally, almost everything was on fire at this point.


    There were many groups of people running around, what looked like armed guardS, civilians, and a third group in masks and cloaks that were causing all sorts of chaos and damage.


    I just continued to walk, staring at the destruction around me, practically apathetic to it all. I hade here to essentially rx. To some small errands, walk around my birth world, and perhaps find some kind of spiritual peace while working through my own issues.


    Fuck it, this doesn''t concern me, I''ll just¡ª


    "MOMMY!"


    I stopped in my tracks, turning to the side, some masked individuals were dragging off a female youkai, a little child being held away by another. They began pawing at her clothing, still almost in the middle of the street.


    Between that brief moment it took me to contemte what was happening, and allowing anger to set it, my swords already shed out.


    I withdrew my hat, putting over the kids eyes in time so he didn''t see the bloody scene. The woman looked at my fearfully as I quickly cleaned up the new-decapitated bodies around her with a few fire talismans.


    Magical fire, great for getting rid of bodies.


    "Mommy" The little boy whispered as he hugged his mom, but the mother still eyed my warily.


    "Go." I ushered, flipping my hat up and putting it onto my head.


    "Thank you." She said quietly, picked up her son and running at speeds more in line with a non-human.


    I sighed again, my swords floating around me. I seemed to draw more attention onto myself as well, I saw a few people shouting and pointing at me, but their voices were lost in the background somewhere.


    I don''t consider myself a hero, but some things I can''t let slide.


    There are lines, ones I won''t cross and ones I will not allow others to cross as well.


    "YOU BASTARD!" One of the masked people attacked me, blood literally covering his hands yet he said something like that.


    I just shook my head, not giving him any attention as his head also rolled on the ground after Whisper passed by.


    "Kill him!" Another shouted as a dozen or more followed his words, some started casting spells, a few ran at me with weapons and a couple relied on their enhanced physiologies to attack me. The first one to reach me, I merely knocked his weapon away after reinforcing my body. It almost made me pause, to see how strong I''ve actually be in a physical sense.


    I''ve been training with someone who could kick my ass, so I wasn''t used to fighting mooks like this. I just grabbed his throat with my hand, keeping him locked in ce.


    Snapped my fingers, several Runic Circles appeared behind me. "Lightning" I saidzily. The volley of magically enhanced lightning discharged towards my enemies, burning and sting them to shreds. One or two managed to escape this initially bombardment, but my swords made short work of them.


    Not even enough to warm me up, hell, not even enough for me to actually wield one of my swords.


    I dropped the only living one to the ground, pulling a chair out of my ring and sitting down.


    He rolled on the ground, gasping for breath until his face had some color return to it. He saw me as he tried to stand up and run away, only for Ascalon to fly down from the sky and impale him through the chest and onto the concrete.


    "AAAAHHHHH!" He screamed in pain, my sword not budging from its spot regardless of how he tried to pull at it.


    I withdrew an apply, staring at him intently while I took a bite.


    "WHAT DO YOU¡ª"


    "Shhh." I held a finger to my mouth, shushing him.


    Ascalon pushed slightly deeper into the ground. Making him whimper even more in pain, I saw his body flicker, the illusion he was apparently wearing seemed to dissipate. Ears appeared on his head, two tails poked out from behind him, pushed out either side from his smooshed form.


    "A kitsune." I spoke, not to him but to myself, taking another bite. "Who are you?" I finally asked.


    "You''ll never ¨C"


    A second sword fell from the sky, impaling his right thigh. His screams echoed out again. "I asked a question."


    "B-bastard." He grit out, blood flowing from his mouth.


    "Ah" I wagged my finger at him, making him shut up. "My question."


    "W-we are the¡ª" He coughed, blood flying from his throat. "T-true rulers of the night, we serve the true¡ª"


    Mirage finished him off, his eyes widened as my sword stuck out of his head.


    "Cult of Tamamo-no-Mae, got it." I sighed, trying to pick through the vast amount of information I usually ignored that got added when my memories returned.


    I do vaguely recall this annoying bunch, particrly because they are active in the country I was born in. It was pretty cut and dry, a cult dedicated to Tamamo-no-Mae. Their main purpose is to resurrect her...somehow, and then have her usher in a new age of....something. Honestly, I''m not entirely sure on their motivations, only that they''re stupid and their goals are probably equally stupid.


    But, well, now I have some target to work out some pent of frustrations on I suppose. Sometimes you just need to look at the bright side of thi¡ª


    "ROOOOOOARRRRR" A massive figure burst out of the ground a few hundred meters away. Several heads swayed back and forth, dark green scaly skin almost consuming all light in the area. Slit-eyes took in the surrounding, multiple serpent heads opened their mouths and exhaled a deadly miasma.


    This thing was huge, alteast three times the size of that dragon I fought back in Skyrim.


    A hydra....no. From Greece mythology, there exists ''The Hydra'', the divine beast that Herakles took care of. In Japanese mythology there is a simr beast, perhaps superior to its western counterpart.


    Yamata-no-Orochi, the divine serpent that required the skills of Susano''o, the storm god to y. It possessed eight heads and eight tails, a beast massive and deadly, and even considered a dragon in every meaningful regard. Perhaps that''s why it differed from the Hydra.


    This one isn''t the divine creature, the dragon serpent.


    But if I had to guess, this had some rtion with it, what specifically, I don''t know. It had 5 heads and 6 tails. Was it like a kitsune where its appendages represented its strength? I actually didn''t know much about the physiology of this creature.


    Well, regardless.


    "A volunteer." I smiled lightly.


    ***


    Oh baby, what the fuck is going on in Kyoto?


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my /Astoryforone.

 Chapter 67 - 66

    <h4>Chapter 67: Chapter 66</h4>


    The...thing didn''t immediately rampage.


    I mean, it caused wanton destruction by merely existing, being bigger than most buildings, naturally emitting a poisonous miasma that looked very deadly, and just the sheer confusion at where it found itself.


    I could see the buildings begin to erode and the concrete literally disintegrate as the venom seeped into the surroundings.


    Frankly, I think someone summoned It in the sewers or something. Easily a premeditated action, no way someone could ''idently'' summoning this thing right at this moment.


    I unfurled my wings and took to the highest building I could get to within a few breaths to get a better idea of what was going on, because frankly, this whole thing was absurd.


    I saw in a few directions, there were more pockets of chaos, buildings on fire, and magical attacks soaring through the air as several groups shed. My attention was turned back to therge dragon-hydra thing that was starting to get rather ornery.


    I just sighed as I saw some ''heroes'' try to attack it, throwing what I considered to be cantrips at the thing. I spun my hat on my finger, watching the scene unfold with umting annoyance.


    "What do you think Ddraig?"


    [I met Yamata-No-Orochi on a few asions, this thing''s definitely pumping out poison reminiscent of it, though it''s a very paleparison.]


    "Probably some kind of magical snake-creature-youkai, that was experimented on? Perhaps force fed some remains of the serpent dragon?"


    [I wouldn''t be surprised if it was originally a very ¨C very distant rtive, and they pushed some of that inside it to begin with.] Ddraig agreed. [Look at its heads and tails, they should be even, yet it has only 5 heads to its six tails, that is heavily mutated, and not in a good way.]


    "Now that I take a closer look, some of its scales are.....dislocated and jutting out at weird angles, and there are some odd growths on parts of its body that look like bones."


    [As much as I hate that stupid snake.....this thing just makes me angry. Even if left alone, it would probably die by itself in a few weeks.]


    Just as Ddraig finished, one of the mouths opened up, and a condenses stream of green fire spewed out down the street. The surroundings didn''t catch fire and burn, they dissolved.


    "Is that...."


    [Poison, yeah. Maybe it has some Hydra ancestry as well?] Ddraig pondered and I could only nod my head.


    "Some unholybination.....that isn''t really unholy if I think about it. I mean, the serpent dragon was poisonous, but the Hydra, it was ''known'' for its poison, even to an extent that gods feared it.....maybe whatever happened to this thing it merelytched onto Orochi''s poison concept and that''s how it mutated the way it did?"


    Just as Ddraig said, this thing was breaking down and wouldn''tst long by itself, I would put money that its own poison was eating away at it on the inside.


    [Your guess is as good as mine, even as is, it couldn''tpare in any way to that stupid snake.]


    Hmm, yeah, Ddriag didn''t really get along with other dragons.


    I shook my head, I wasted enough time. I focused on my heart, allowing my magical energy to explode out. It only took a moment for all 5 heads of that things to dart towards my directions, eyes staring at me menacingly.


    Having an artificial dragon heart does have its boons outside of the physical enhancements.


    This snake-dragon-youkai abomination ignored the little insects that were trying to bite it as it started moving towards me. I suppose I was acting as a challenge, even if neither of us was a ''real'' dragon certain instincts were still ingrained.


    Even I could feel an annoyance at its presence, as miniscule as that creeping sensation was.


    Well, one thing was for sure, whatever origin this thing imed, it was a strictly malevolent being. "May as well flex my Onmyoji since I''m in the neighborhood." That and apparently Odin was around, don''t want to use too many runic spells for the moment. This has already been a shit show, don''t need to drag him into it.


    Flicking my hand, several talismans ovepped between my fingers.


    "God of the east sea, Amei. God of the west sea, Shukuryou. God of the south sea, Kyojou. God of the north sea, Gukyou. Gods of the seven seas, fend off a hundred demons and drive back the fierce disaster. ORDER!" My voice carried from top the building, my magical energy fluctuated out as a massive pentagram formed both in the sky and on the ground under the malevolent snake-creature.


    They both lit up and the miasma seeping from its pores began to vanish, the venomous liquid that spewed from its mouths onto the surroundings were doused and dissipated. Even the creature itself looked up to the sky and shrieked in pain and anger.


    This was to stop it''s corrupted presence from spoiling the area. Damage can be rebuilt, but its infinitely harder to cleanse an area after something like this lingers here for too long.


    I admired my work briefly; it seems my practicing has indeed paid of in spades. While not my main focus when I was training, I definitely spend many hours I toiled away to learn this craft...especially when Scathach read up on it and realized how much I was ignoring it.


    I held back a shudder.


    With a small smile, I jumped down from high up and squared up against the beast. It seemed content to entirely focus on my movements, not rampaging about.


    Of course, it roared with all five heads, anger clear on its many faces.


    "Noisy." I dismissed him.


    It was intelligent enough to understand I wasn''t intimidated, but it would be difficult to test how sapient it actually is.


    I shook my head, Dawnbreaker flew out at lightning speed, it''s golden light shining bright as it decapitated one of the heads in that brief moment where it was not on its guard.


    It hissed in pain, roared in fury, and stared at me with madness. I only raised an eyebrow when the fallen head physically dissolved into a toxic puddle and a new head grew in its pace at a visible pace.


    Did it trade physical ability for enhanced regeneration? I didn''t expect my sword to cut off that head with such ease.....


    It was by no means instantaneous like the dragon serpent would be, but that regeneration was top notch for nearly anything else in the world.


    Its mouths opened up and the miasmic fires sprayed at me.


    As they approached, I continued my pace unperturbed. The space around me shattered, like ss, and I was a few feet out of the way, still continuing at an even pace, each step unabated. The heads swept, melting the surroundings, and I would always appear in safe spot, much to the creature''s annoyance.


    It may look like a cute little trick, but it was actually an advanced technique utilizing the Kaleidoscope. I was essentially pulling myself to another dimension and allowing the world''s natural flow to force me back into the correct path, but the time it took to do that allowed me to essentially side-step attacks.


    Eventually, it got close enough to just try and pounce at me with one of its heads. Probably a smarter option, but still useless.


    "Ascalon." I called gently. The anti-dragon sword flew out of my ring, taking the head off at the base of the neck, except this time, there was no regeneration.


    The head flopped to the ground, lifeless.


    [Impressive to actually see it in action.] Ddraigmented. [The anti-dragon concepts really do devour anything remotely draconic. Perhaps, it is even worse for this ''lesser'' dragon because it can''t defend against such a thing even if it is slightly less effective in the end.]


    I held out my hand, and Ascalon flew to me, fingers clutched around its grip. My knees bent and the air behind my exploded at my abrupt increase in speed. My arms moved with a speed that had taken this creature by surprise, I rained down shes on its body before it could reach.


    Several more heads dropped the ground around me and the whole creature finally fell over. Its tainted blood seeping out and creating an entirely toxic environment. Even my spell was having trouble containing this malevolent venom.


    Well, not much I can do about that....still better than letting it roam free.


    I sighed, kicking the corpse to make sure it was truly dead, but I doubt I would miss something like that again.


    Call it a small bit of self-consciousness after that whole dragon fiasco.


    [Feel better?]


    "Meh." I replied, I just wasn''t really into it. I mean I had fun.....I always like to test various magical things, but...


    [It wasn''t a challenge?]


    ".....maybe?" I thought over his words for a moment. "Do I desire a ''real'' fight?" Or maybe I''m still just moping....honestly it could be both as well.


    I don''t know, I''m still just so...bleh.


    I looked up around me and noticed people peeking out from hiding ces. Magical barriersing down, and heads poked out of windows.


    But what I noticed immediately, were the phones taking pictures and being held up like they were recording.


    Ah.....I forgot that was a thing here.


    Devi or something, basically the supernatural version of the inte and various social medias. Yeah, devil basically corner the market on such things, and most other species are content to just use their products.


    Well....fuck.


    [Damn, should have used the Boosted Gear.]


    Yeah, fuck that.


    So...uh...what are the chances that no one got a good look at my face?


    Ddraig justughed.


    ***


    So I moved everything today, and god damn am I exhausted, so today''s chapter is pretty short. Mc remembers that he''s in a modern world even if he''s surrounded by supernatural. Time to be inte-famous.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my /Astoryforone

 Chapter 68 - 67

    <h4>Chapter 68: Chapter 67</h4>


    "Oh, this one is good too." I let out a chuckle "Bitch Please." A caption with a picture of me backhanding some random mook who tried to sneak attack me.


    Thements were great too.


    Oh god, I''ve missed the inte.


    I stayed around a little longer after killing the hydra-dragon-snake thing, I was already pretty much revealed at that point, so I put out some fires, both metaphorically, and literally.


    Afterwards, it wasn''t particrly hard to get my hands on a magic phone, or well, several of them. A few of which were currently in pieces infront of me as I was seeing how they worked.


    Interesting pieces of magic. The ''shell'' was kinda fake, only made to look mundane and technological. The magical mechanisms were quite well done though. I had to tip my hat to whoever created these things, they were a sturdy and well thought out piece of magic.


    I of course took several to pass onto Rin for her own studies, they would go a long ways in helping her project.


    But what got my attention, was the attention I had gotten.


    Frankly, from what I could piece together, what happened was aplete shit show. Even only several hours afterwards, things were still hitting the fan.


    Oh the age of information, how it permeates even the supernaturalmunities. Many leaks and ''secrets'' revealed straight onto the ''devi''.


    So, my assumption was right, some idiots operating under the Cult of Tamamo-no-Mae started causing chaos to draw attention away from a ritual site a few miles away from where I was at. Don''t'' know the specifics of that, its really hush-hush. Word on the street is that they were responsible for the big beastie I fought.


    Apparently, they brought in a few Human ns who were on the zealous side with regards to their stance on coexistence. That is to say, the only good youkai is a dead youkai, ironic considering who they worked with. 50-50 chance each side was going to betray the other after everything was done. Well, some of the more liberal ns saw what was going on, stepped in, only to be mistaken for the zealots.


    There are reports of a third unknown entity that also joined the fray, what appeared to be mostly humans wielding some interesting weapons. There were sightings of them infiltrating a few guarded locations and sneaking away in the chaos.


    What an eventful evening, and that wasn''t even the end of it!


    Almost on que, an explosion erupted a little way away, and the massive form of a 9-tailed fox stepping on some very deserving people.


    Some idiots thought it was a good opportunity to stage a coup.


    Yup.


    I was on a forum basically getting the y-by-y.


    No way was I getting my feet wet in that whole mess. I did enough to ease my conscious as it was, but it made for some interesting entertainment.


    Now, with all of this going on, it may be a wonder how I somehow drew attention.


    Apparently there was a nice picture of me with my wings out, and someone asked the simple question ¨C ''Is that Lucifer?''.


    Regardless of my thoughts on ''him''....I couldn''t deny the resemnce.


    The immediate assumption was that another side suddenly joined in, the devils, but that was quickly disproven by no other devils appearing and me actually helping people.


    But, no, it just kinda spiraled out from there.


    My favorite theory someone put up is that I''m the time-traveling-younger-Lucifer.


    Oh, inte, never change.


    Species, magic, mundane, the more things change, the more they stay the same.


    Unfortunately, cooler heads prevailed in the discussions, and it started to trend on various media sites. Not too surprising when one of the strongest beings in the world suddenly has a hitherto new rtive.


    Truthfully, I still didn''t'' know how to feel about my.....father.


    Hate?


    Did I hate him.....that is a distinct possibility. I didn''t exactly me him for mother''s death, it''s not like they were close in any capacity. I doubt he even knew I existed for my early life. Hell, my mother didn''t even know who he was.


    I wasn''t ashamed to admit that my mother was a prostitute, rather, an escort.


    She did everything she could to give me a life, to provide for me.


    I am proud to have had her as my mother.


    Even still, I don''t know if I could even spare enough to truly despise him. Was it lesser than that? A more mild dislike, perhaps even apathy.


    I did not care for him, I disliked him.....he was irrelevant to me.


    And most of that stemmed from how I was being forced into a certain little box for my life. Was I still angry about that? Oh most definitely, but I have calmed down from those years ago. It''s not like I''m going to jump down to hell and start a killing spree in some insane vengeance-induced rage.


    Am I allowed to just want to move on with my life and not dwell on it anymore?


    I sighed, cleaning up my mess and gathering everything I had.


    "I guess I shouldn''t put this off any longer." I muttered, opening a portal to a destination I was both dreading and aching for.


    ***


    It was a small walk away. I didn''t want to pop right in, for some reason I felt it would be impolite, especially since I haven''t seen her in a very long time.


    "Hey.....mom." I said quietly, stopping infront of a certain grave mark as Mieko Shimoda.


    It was a fair distance away from Kuoh, so I rarely had an opportunity to visit.


    I was feeling things I thought I had gotten over many years ago, yet it seems like they reopen the moment I''m here.


    There were some weeds overgrown here and there, I got on my knees and started tidying up cing some fresh flowers along with a few sticks of incense to properly pay my respects.


    "It''s been a while." I finally spoke, sitting on my butt. "A lot has changed...I don''t even know where to begin." I sighed, my eyes drifting up to the sky. "I...have a new name now." I squeezed out. "New name for a new person....or something like that. I don''t know, it seems like my reasoning back then was mostly out of spite and anger. I didn''t want any connection to my old self, I felt so powerless back then. I don''t really regret what happened....more so the reason for why I did it."


    I couldn''t help but run a hand through my hair. "Your son is strong now....." I paused twiddling my fingers. "I''m also a Magician." I let out augh. "I think I said I wanted to be that when I was younger after we saw that ''magic'' show. Well, I suppose dreams doe true, even if it turned out a bit differently."


    I smiled faintly at that old memory. I also made a small promise to myself to learn stage magic.


    "I also have a girl in my life...rather three." I felt oddly bashful at saying that infront of my mothers grave. "I wonder if you would be annoyed at me for that...but I care for all of them."


    "I''m sure they would love you, they''re all wonderful girls. The first one I met was Meridia, she''s....not human, but she is really sweet." I smiled as I reminiscence about my first meeting with her. "She''s strong too, could basically tell the world to f-" I caught myself. "Sorry.....tell the world to ''sod off''." I corrected.


    "Then there''s Artoria...I''m sure you would absolutely get a kick out of meeting her." Yes, I had my ''knight phase'' as a kid as well. "We started to date more ''seriously'' recently, well, kinda just ept our rtionship as something more than a one-off I guess." I nced back down at my mother''s grave. "Don''t worry, I''m not keeping any major secrets from any of them, nor do I n to."


    "Lastly though.....she...."I stopped myself. "It''s hard to talk about her right now. It still hurts mom. I know it''s not a final goodbye, but I miss her so much." I wiped away a little wetness in my eyes. "Excuse mynguage, but I''m going to kick her ass the next time I see her."


    "If I keep talking about them I don''t think I''ll ever stop." I felt a small sense of genuine contentment at this moment. "Why don''t I tell you about some of my adventures instead? How about that time I fought a dragon with my friend Thorum?"


    ***


    I took onest look at my mother''s grave.


    I felt...relief.


    I didn''t realize how much I needed to get some things off my chest. It honestly felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.


    Scathach was still a sore spot, I still almost wept when I thought about her.....but I felt okay at this moment.


    I was content for the moment, and I felt like I could properly mourn without bing aplete wreck.


    Even being gone for over a decade, Mom still knows how to make me feel better.


    Well, regardless, I could really use a drink right about now. My whole purpose foring back here was to find some kind of closure, for my own mental health. I would just enjoy my time while itsted, no responsibilities, just have some fun and finish some projects that didn''t need my immediate attention before.


    I stepped through a portal back over to Kyoto, close by where I left before. It was an area that was rtively untouched, so some ces were still open for business. I recalled seeing a pub around here somewhere....or rather an Izakaya. I wouldn''t mind somefort food as well....been awhile since I''ve had proper Japanese cuisine, even if it is the bar variety.


    My mind wondered as I just enjoyed my stroll.


    I was pretty much set on buying that property I took a few looks at. The house didn''t really matter much, but thend was prime real estate for my need. And I wanted to get testing on this, I was quite interested on how this would turn out.


    To anchor a single location and spread it across several world-lines and make it stable enough to support several different time flows.


    It will be.....fun and I couldn''t help but smile at the thought.


    Perhaps I should do a smaller test once I work the kinks out, maybe buy somend over in America, see if I can''t do this small connection first.


    My muse brought me to the little bar I saw before. I saw the lights still on so I happily walked inside, though I felt something both strange and familiar as I got close.


    It almost felt like.....I was in thend of shadows again, except it wasn''t nearly as oppressive.


    I just shook my head, this was a supernatural ce, many species and people lived here, it wouldn''t be good to judge someone based on what they ''are'' or where theye from.


    Though when I entered, I only saw a single person sitting at the counter, and only the bartender off to the side.


    A woman with grayish-silver hair. She turned her head to look at me, red eyes almost seemingly capable of prating my soul.


    I raised an eyebrow, keeping my power bubbling under the surface.


    [Wilhelm..]


    I know.


    Strong.


    This woman was extremely strong, but she was keeping it extremely contained. Like only the absolute barest of her ''presence'' was leaking out, and even then I couldn''t tell what she was.


    She didn''t seem hostile, so I ignored it and she was content to enjoy her own drink.


    The man behind the counter eyed me warily, and I noticed he was kind of keeping his distance from the woman....as much as he could without being rude.


    Odd...


    "Start me off with some Yakitori and a beer." He didn''t even answer me before getting started.


    What a strange atmosphere...and I couldn''t quite help myself.


    I nced over to the woman drinking by herself a few seats down. "Hello, I''m Wilhelm." I introduced myself.


    I noticed the man freeze briefly behind the counter.


    The woman turned to me a little surprised at my words, she stared for a moment before answering. "Izzy." She said inly.


    Huh, strange name for a Japanese woman, but who am I to judge. Who knows what her actual ancestry is like, I try not to judge based on appearances.


    Well, I wouldn''t mind some conversation while I drink.


    ***


    So in retrospect, I should have written the Interlude before this chapter, would probably have been better, but i was rather busy the few days I pumped these out. doesn''t really detract from much, but i know people were looking forward to reactions, so sorry, those are next chapter from a few perspectives. If people really want, I can do a PHO-esq addition to the chapter after the interlude, or at some point in the next few chapters.


    Well, regardless, setting up some future plot points andying down some motivations. Also, do people want me to add pictures when I introduce characters that will appear more than some ''npc'' in the backround? I don''t mind adding them in the paragraphments.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead, or support me, go to my /Astoryforone.

 Chapter 69: Interlude 2

    <h4>Chapter 69: Interlude 2</h4>


    Interlude 2


    POV Okita Souji, Knight of Lucifer.


    Walking out of the of room where I gave my report, I noticed a rather familiar face approaching me. I could already feel a headacheing on, no doubt she was here to speak to my king.


    "Lady Gremory." I greeted the mother of my king, and Lady of house Gremory.


    "Okita, a pleasure as always." He neutral expression was something of familiarity at this point. "Tell me, has my stupid son done something productive recently?"


    I held back a wince at her words. If it were anyone else, maybe I would have some words to say about them insulting my King. I of course had many things to say about him myself, but I was loyal to a fault and I would never betray his trust, not after he saved me all those years ago.


    "I am unsure of what you are referring to, Lady Gremory." As loathed as I was to learn how to navigate through the devil''s political spectrum, I can''t help but admit it has done me a world of good.


    Unfortunately, such things seemed to fail against Lady Gremory, I may as well be unequipped in a duel of words with this woman.


    She just stared at me, expression never changing. "Has my wayward grandson been found yet?"


    "I believe Young lord Milicas is with his mother, Lady Grayfia at the moment, Lady Gremory." I replied without any hesitation.


    "Do I look like a fool to you, Okita Souji?" She asked me.


    "No, Lady Gremory."


    "No, so then, who were you trying to fool with such nonsense? Since there are only the two of us here, and I am no fool, then it must be you?"


    ".....as you say, Lady Gremory." I''m sorry my lord, your mother is scary.


    She hummed to herself, eyes never leaving mine. "I could have sworn you were in Japan for.....unrted reasons, correct?"


    "Of course." I affirmed her words.


    "So why have youe back so suddenly?"


    "I''m afraid I''m not allowed to speak of such matters, mydy." Yes, regardless of the familial connections between lord Lucifer and Lady Gremory, she wasn''t ''allowed'' to push such matters, less bounds be overstepped. The same reason my Lord couldn''t simply annul his sister''s engagement, otherwise the political fallout may result in rebellion.


    Sorry my lord, I''m using you as a shield.


    "I see, then it has nothing to do with the situation in Kyoto right now?" She asked.


    I paused ever so briefly, and I realized that she caught me there. "It appears the situation there has be known." I could only sigh.


    "Please." She rolled her eyes. "You really need to get with the times, Okita. That whole mess was already posted online hours ago. I was aware of what was going on before you even came back."


    Ah yes.....this devi thing. I never cared for it if I were to be honest. The only reason I even started on those ''social medias'' was because Lady Leviathan was adamant about ''friending'' me or some other nonsense.


    I was there when the chaos started, and I of course lent a hand, to better mend bridges and such. Serafall was overjoyed that I received much goodwill in that small timeframe by assisting Lady Yasaka. I believe this was the first time that Lady Yasaka willingly corresponded with Serafall in decades.


    Even still, they were keen to ''kick me out'', albeit more politely than that. They had much house cleaning to do and it wouldn''t do any good for an ''outsider'' to be there while it happened.


    I certainly could not fault them for that.


    Besides, I was needed toe back and give my report. Even though our rtions are very strained, we are still considered ''allies'' with the Youkai. Granted, they are unlikely to lend us any meaningful help unless the more dire of emergencies urs....and even that is iffy.


    "Well, a shame. I was looking forward to meeting my grandson, he is such a cutie." She actually smiled for the first time. "And the way he fought that snake, so dashing." She practically cooed.


    I blinked for a moment, registering the words. "What?"


    She tilted her head ever so slightly. "You don''t know?" She withdrew her ''phone'' pressed a few buttons and flipped it around to show me a video.


    I stared at it in shock as the target of my search was right there fighting against some hydra monster in the middle of Kyoto...where I had just been mere hours ago.


    A small smile rose on her face. "It appears as though my idiot son''s little indiscretion has bemon knowledge."


    I was utterly speechless, yet she continued to prod me. "I''m curious how he got so strong so quickly. If Rias and Sona are to be believed, he was either able to hide his power so expertly that they couldn''t detect anything, or he was truly powerless back then." She mused. "What do you think, Okita, how did he get so strong right under your noses?"


    I steeled my expression. "I guess the blood of My Lor¡ª"


    Lady Gremory snorted, cutting me off. "Yeah, his blood." She deadpanned. "I''m sure that''s it, as you can see his tant use of our power of destruction?" The sarcasm dripping from her words. "That stupid son of mine." She scowled. "This would have never happened had he just let me raise the boy instead of putting him off to satans know where for years."


    "I couldn''t possiblyment." Which was a lie, and we both knew that. I was aware of the boy for many years, finding out after his mother had passed. I had offered to take him in and teach him to defend himself, but my Lord refused.


    He seemed more intent to simply wash his hands of the entire situation with doing the bare minimum to secure the boy''s continued existence.


    "Yes, I''m sure." She drawled. "Would he even want toe meet me at this point? Or did my idiot son poison my cute little grandson already?"


    "I''m sure we can convince him to return home." I said earnestly.


    "Home?" She raised an eyebrow. "I doubt he considers anywhere near us to be his home." She let out an uncharacteristic sigh. "I know that father is going to make a big deal out of this as well. ''Another'' one of our bloodline without the Power of Destruction."


    We''ll only be so lucky if that''s all that happens. While I stay away from politics as much as possible, I am unfortunately forced to keep abreast of the many things that go on in the upperss of the devil society.


    No doubt my lord wille under fire regarding his bastard son. Thankfully, Grayfia is atleast showing solidarity in public, even if they are still fighting behind closed doors.


    I need to find Beowulf and ask him toe make himself visible to help keep off the pressure. Unfortunately, I don''t know where he is at the moment, he put in his vacation request a week ago and disappeared somewhere in Scandinavia, the only words back was he checked around for the boy in his free time.


    Surtr could help as well...he is quite the hit with children these days. I believe I heard his action figures are a top seller among children under 12.


    "Well, maybe I should seduce him then."


    I almost choked as the words entered my ears and I stared at Lady Gremory, my thoughtspletely shattered. "Lady Gremory!?"


    "Hmm, you think he likes milfs?" She smirked, pushing herrge chest up. "I heard that''s what the young ones are saying these days."


    Oh, she''s just doing this to get a reaction out of me...hopefully.


    ***


    POV Sona Sitri


    "Buchou, I''m done!" I watched as Issei Hyoudou burst through the door. He paused staring at me sitting next to Rias. "Oh, Kaichou, you''re here too."


    "Indeed." I said evenly, even if I was annoyed at his actions. It seems that turning into a devil did nothing to diminish his inability to read a room.


    Rias just sighed. It basically the default reaction she had whenever she paid attention to Issei. I couldn''t help but feel sorry for her, finding out that Issei didn''t have a sacred gear at all. No, he just seemed to have some draconic bloodline that seemed to suddenly manifest.


    Honestly, it was an easy mistake to make. Rias''s Rook, Shirone was their only means of ''sensing'' sacred gears, and that was mainly due to her very attentive nose and very conservative use of senjutsu. It was almost safe to assume that if a normal kid started smelling like a dragon, he likely had a dragon-based sacred gear.....which there are a lot of.


    Unfortunately for everyone involved.....Issei was barely better than a standard human, only requiring a normal pawn to reincarnate. His ''dragon'' bloodline did mean he had some decent potential to tap in to...eventually, but that was slow going.


    His stamina for instance, it was several times better than even Rias''s knight. Too bad his other aspects aren''t on the same level. But small mercies, that means he can train many times harder as well.


    "We''re having a meeting, Issei, sit down." Riasmanded her pawn, though with less force than I would have.


    "Yes, Bunchou!" Issei said happily taking a seat near his king.


    "How did he get so strong so quickly?" Rias bit her thumb, staring at the video being yed.


    Oh Shimoda, what have you gotten yourself into? "Was it possible he was this strong before?" I asked.


    "I mean....it''s possible, if he was that strong, then wouldn''t be able to hide his power from us....or something." Rias was grasping at straws and even I was confused by what I was witnessing.


    "Who is that? And what''s he fighting? Is that a youkai?" Issei started spitting out every question that entered his head.


    "That''s.....my nephew." Rias said quietly.


    "Awsome, Buchou''s nephew is so strong! You can handle that thing too, right?" Issei spoke without filter, but his questions weren''t exactly inappropriate either. He was still knew to all of this, I think anyone would excuse such questions here.


    "Well....."


    "No." I answered for her.


    "Sona!" Rias whined at my blunt dismissal. "I could easily handle that thing." She huffed.


    "Rias, you can kill it, that doesn''t mean you can beat it. Youck almost any kind of defensive ability, and your spell repertoire consists of throwing your destruction at any enemy." Rias needed a wake up call sometimes. I''ll admit, she is a genius, but she relies way too heavily on her bloodline and thinks nothing else matters. "Could you kill it before it spewed any of that venom from its mouths? A single hit of that and you''re done."


    Rias favored overwhelming destruction above all else, forging even basic defensive means. If I had to guess, it''s because her bother can get away with such a thing, yet she is nowhere near his level and it would hurt her pride to admit that to herself.


    Rias crossed her arms in annoyance. "And I''m sure you can beat it?"


    "Yes." I replied without hesitation. "I have more than just pure power, my ice will be able to immobilize it while I could implement a gori-style attacks." Though I didn''t admit that I would probably take everything I had to beat such a creature...and even then, it wasn''t a hundred percent guarantee. Who knows how much resistance to magic it has?


    And Shimoda was able to y it with an ease like he was going for a walk...it was a hit to my pride. I watched almost all the material I could get my hands on regarding Shimoda''s little debut in Kyoto. Some powerful looking swords that flew around him, taking down enemies that I would need conscious effort to deal with. Magic that I couldn''t understand as space around him shattered at his whims and therge-scale eastern magics he employed with rtive ease...how...?


    The way he moved, the way he acted.....so calm, like it was merely another day, not literal chaos and pandemonium erupting around him, not a giant snake-dragon-youkai thing barring down on him with the intent to kill.


    I could only clench my hands in frustration as Rias and I tried to analyze everything we saw, trying to dig out the secrets of Shimoda''s newfound strength.


    Suddenly, I question my ability to get ''even'' with him for blowing me up.....


    ***


    Oh boy, lots of stuff going on in the background. Mama Gremory is not happy with her son right now, and is taking it out on his knight. Rias and Sona are surprised at what they are watching, and hey, a wild Issei appears! Something, something, Boosted gear left a small bit of ''dragon'' behind in his soul giving him a small dragon aspect. I''ll see if i can''t do that ''PHO'' chapter this weekend at some point.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /Astoryforone

 Chapter 70 - 68

    <h4>Chapter 70: Chapter 68</h4>


    I happily dug into the many dishes presented before me. How I really missed my homnd''s cuisine, even if I enjoy variety about half the time.


    Of course the sake was probably making it even better. I need to remember to grab a few bottles and bring them back to Sasaki.


    And I suppose thepany didn''t hurt.


    "Oh, here is an amusing one." My panion'' had moved closer after we started talking. "Do you think he wants a sugar momma?" She read over her phone, some randomments about my adventures earlier.


    I snorted, holding in the drink I took. "Well, did she include a picture?"


    "Oh yes." She flipped it around revealing a veryrge woman in some very skimpy clothing. "Should I reply on your behalf? An opportunity like this does note every day, one must seize chances like this."


    "I could have sworn I killed that snake monster earlier today." I squinted my eyes at the picture before taking a look at Izzy as we both shared augh.


    "I can see where you are confused." She nodded with a small smile on her face. "Perhaps we should ask for more pictures? I''m sure she has some more....ttering shots.... somewhere."


    Frankly, how this all started was kind of a blur....I was pretty far into my drinks at this point.


    I think we somehow started talking about what happened earlier in the city, then she recognized me and we somehow got to where we are now.


    "Sure, as long as you filter everything before I see it." I offered.


    "Oh no, I seemed to have closed the page, I guess we''ll never know now." She said rather smoothly. "s, your dreams of waking up every night in her arms are now dashed."


    "How convenient." I rolled my eyes.


    "Quite." She held a small smile. "I''m curious what someone of your....origin, is doing here while this whole mess happened?"


    My heritage wasn''t exactly a secret anymore.


    Well, that''s a polite way of asking me why I was here I guess. "Eh, just got back to Japan after being away for a while. Thought I would pay respects to my mother and wanted to buy some things while I was up and about." I exined, not really feeling the need to hide anything. She didn''t sound like she was using me of anything so I humored it.


    And I believe my actions spoke much louder than my words. Probably the fact that any ''authorities'' haven''t been tant about searching for me, even with all the crap going on for them.


    "Mmm, a dutiful son then." She nodded in eptance. "My children could learn a thing or too" She frowned.


    "Children trouble?" I asked, she seemed like she wanted to just vent, and she listened to my ramblings for a while.


    She let out a sigh, downing the remainder of her drink. "I have not seen my children in years." She shook her head, finishing off a ss of her own. "Just because we live longs lives doesn''t mean I don''t miss them....."


    "Have you tried reaching out on your end?" I offered.


    She pursed her lips, staring at the ceiling. "It would be.....unwise for me to pop in on them." She seemed rather mncholic. "They have rather high positions, and I don''t want to cause them any more issues like I have in the past. Whether they would be happy to see me, I don''t know, but I know for a fact that their subordinates and allies would be very much on edge with my appearance."


    "Simply call them then?"


    "I don''t think they even use such things; they are a bit old fashioned." She admitted. "I only learned because I''ve been....." She cut herself off and sighed.


    Ah, not too surprising, considering she wasn''t human herself, though I had no idea what she was.


    "A letter then, it doesn''t even have to be anything important. Just say you miss them and haven''t heard from then in a while."


    She tilted her head at me. "And you think that will work?" She said quietly. "I was not the best mother in the past."


    "Then start off small, ask them how they''ve been doing, maybe they just need someone to vent to or want to talk about some small stuff." I shrugged. "You''ll never know if you don''t at least make an effort." I pointed out. "Besides, what is the worse that could happen, they continue to not speak with you?"


    "I see....I suppose you are correct." Her expression turned a little bit brighter, maybe even excited "I think....I will get started on that right away."


    I was happy she looked a little better now. She kept me upied from my own issues, so I''m d I could return the favor. "Well, it was fun." I smiled. "It''s always nice to find someone to drink with." I raised myst ss up and finished it off.


    "Oh....of course. Yes, it was a pleasurable night." She returned the small smile. "Rarely do I find someone to speak to these days." She paused briefly, looking slightly unsure. "Would you like to exchange numbers? I find myself wishing forpany sometimes." She seemed rather hesitant.


    "That would be lovely." I genuinely replied, withdrawing a piece of paper and writing my new number on it.


    She grabbed it and looked rather happy, I couldn''t help but smile at her sincerity.


    Huh, I guess I made a new friend....not like I have many of those.


    Today was turning out to be not so bad, maybe I would go as far as to call it a good day.


    ***


    I woke up and it was practically noon already, I groggily stood up, rubbing my head. It was throbbing slightly, I didn''t have the biggest hangover, but It was definitely there.


    I''m in...the house I was going to buy, did buy? I think I went over to that ce and purchased itst night.


    Yeah....that sounds about right.


    I shook my head and rubbed my eyes.


    "Ddraig, this is my house, right?"


    [Yeah, you bought it yesterday.]


    "Good, good." I nodded to myself. Would have been awkward otherwise.


    Also, thankfully I had some furniture stored. I stared at the couch I just woke up on that was in the idlee of an empty room.


    I blinked, looking at my phone, using it as a mirror as best as I could. "Hey Ddraig, did I get angry at the clerk at that storest night?"


    [What do you mean?]


    "Did I attack him, or was that a dream?"


    [No you got annoyed at him for mentioning your ''father'' and making you an ''esteemed client'' or some other nonsense, but you didn''t do anything else.]


    "Oh okay." I let out a breath. I''m d I''m not someone who does stuff like that. "Thanks Ddraig." I stretched my arms, having slept on them weirdly.


    [No problem, it''s fun to watch regardless.]


    Hmm, I did drink a lotst night, more than I intended. I rarely ever get drunk, especially around people I didn''t know too well.


    "Hey Ddraig...do you know who Izzy is?" I questioned mypanion.


    [I have a few guesses, but it doesn''t really matter. She didn''t seem at all hostile.]


    "Huh....i guess you''re right." I smiled slightly.


    Well, no need to be suspicious, it was merely chance we met and sorta became friends. If it''s something important, I''m sure she''ll tell me if we get closer. It was always nice to have more friends.


    "Now, if I remember correctly......" I sent my gaze into my ring, looking for a very specific item¡ª"aha" I quickly grabbed a thermos out and uncapped it, steam filling the air. "d I kept this with me." I muttered, pouring myself some coffee I kept.


    "Well then, what''s on the agenda today?" I casually sipped my hot beverage, peeking out the window and admiring the view. I had a fair little property right here in the city. The house was a more western style, two stories and a half dozen bedrooms. I guess you could even call it a mansion by some standards, cost quite a bit too.


    Housing prices here are ridiculous.


    "You know, this is an odd feeling, Ddraig."


    [What?]


    "Not having anything to do, no pressing matters to take care of." I looked up at the false sky, the fake clouds and sun that fall and rise like the outside. "Even when I was in Skyrim, there were always something I was working towards...in the Land of Shadows, I never felt like I stopped ''training'' even when I was rxing. Here, right at this moment, I have nothing I have to do."


    [This is what you wanted, right?]


    "Yeah." I admitted. "I''m notining, I suppose I''m just.....realizing how much I''ve been working since my memories appeared. Honestly, I feel off, almost guilty that I''m not doing something." I let out a small chuckle.


    [Well, what do you want to do?.]


    "I haven''t asked myself that question in awhile." I smiled again, taking another sip. "I think, I want to y around with the house, set up some bounded fields, and maybe get started on the ''phasing'' I''ve been thinking about."


    The ''phasing'' I didn''t know what to call it right now, but it wasn''t a bad name. To have my house existing at multiple spots in different worlds.


    Finishing off my drink, I walked outside getting a better look at the property line. I summoned Gae Bolg into my hand, giving it a twirl as I held it over my shoulder and walked to corner by a tree.


    I held the shaft of the spear up to my eye, using it as a reference point and measure some distance.


    "I think I have an idea." I muttered, stabbing the spear into the ground then counting my paces as I walked to the other end of the property. I held my hands up, closing one eye trying to picture certain things in my head.


    I took out Mirage and stabbed it into the ground right where I was, then went to another corner and did the same thing again with Dawnbreaker then thest corner with Ascalon.


    Walking to my porch, I sat down on my steps and took out my notebook and a pen as I began some preliminary calctions.


    "A square then?" I muttered, drawing a quick sketch of the area with he four points plotted. I tapped my pen against my chin. "No, the power would be too unevenly distributed, there needs to be a centralized location while the four areas act as anchors."


    Curious, the Kaleidoscope doesn''t like to be spread out....the dimensional energies tend to dissipate rather quickly if they aren''t being ''forced'' into very specific ces with a firm hand, so using the basis of square to create this matrix of bounded fields will be undesirable.


    "OH." I suddenly had inspiration. "Equteral Triangles." I snapped my fingers. "Four points that make a square, but we add a fifth right at the center. Then using that we make four triangles, using the four outer points as the bases." I began scribbling some more notes and calctions. "Now we have four triangles, but there is a more direct link if they''re all powered by the centralized point instead of being spread out in arge square."


    I looked around the yard, fences on either side and nodded to myself. This ce already has a concept of boundaries, and I can hijack that to reinforce my own bounded fields to better stabilize the anchor points.


    "What do you think, Ddraig?"


    [You''re asking me? You know I don''t really know how magic works, especially something asplicated as what you''re doing.]


    "Give yourself some credit, you seem to follow my trains of thought usually."


    He grumbled for a moment before speaking [So we have four points, A, B, C, D that correspond to where your weapons are. If I''m understanding this correctly, instead of just connecting them all in a square to create this ''bounded field'' you are opting to instead create four triangles by adding a fifth spot at the center ¨C E. So we would have something like E-A-B linked together, the same with the other points. While the final shape will still be a square, it is actuallypromised of triangles.]


    "That''s correct so far." I nodded at his words.


    [So if I''m understanding correctly, that would mean the overall power of the bounded field would rise at least another level because the magical energy would bounce around two less points before running back to the ''source'' before once again being pushed out. The current would be firmer, and the waste would be overall much less. Not to mention, it would take overall less magical energy to achieve simr results than if you went with just a square.]


    I couldn''t help but smile. "Nailed it all." I just needed to get started on the major calctions. Really, the main hurdle would be the huge supply of magical energy required, which isn''t a problem to someone like me.


    [Well, there is one issue.]


    I paused briefly, a small grimace on my face. "Yeah...."


    [What will you use to sustain and power such a strong bounded field?]


    I sighed thinking about it. Mirage could do it, easily. As could my Staff of Magnus, but I didn''t want to separate from either of those for long periods of time again. Yeah, producing that much magical energy is easy, sustaining it is a whole different matter. Usually one can just anchor a bounded field to the ''world'' and maybe absorb ambient mana or some other approach, but here....i''m ying with dimensions and my needs are much greater.


    "Well, questions forter." I pushed those thoughts to the side for now. "At the moment, I just need to figure out the theory and outline for everything.....then I''ll head to new York and test a couple of them out. In the interim I can just use the staff as a temporary solution."


    As annoying as finding ''another'' powerful object would be.....I couldn''t help but smile. I was having fun figuring out this piece of magic, and I was excited to get it going.


    ***


    Mc is making friends! I''m sure this will have no negative consequences whatsoever. MC also ys with magic and rxes. A nice little vacation for him, and absolutely nothing could interrupt his quiet time.


    On a side note for all you Genshin Impact fans, guess who just rolled Shenhe, Her spear, and Mona within 20 wishes. Yup, i give you all permission to be jealous. Time to build a Chongyun freezep, wishing I had Ayaka.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /Astoryforone

 Chapter 71 - 69

    <h4>Chapter 71: Chapter 69</h4>


    I, unfortunately, had to go back to that ridiculous store to purchase some materials. They way they treated me really grated on my nerves, and I couldn''t actually get angry because they were nothing but polite.


    Realistically, I knew they couldn''t possibly know my feelings, but my annoyance still simmered under the surface. It''s not like I would take it out on people only doing their jobs.....but it just made me not want to be there and perhaps that shone through my expressions.


    Well, it wasn''t entirely bad.....I did find something interesting and got it on an impulse.


    I did make a promise to myself to learn stage magic, I figured it could be a little hobby of mine....but I seemed to put the cart before the horse.


    "I shall name you ¨C Sir Wigglesbottom fluffytail Octavius Benedict III." I held a rabbit up to the sky as it scrunched its little nose cutely. "Or just Sir Wiggles for short."


    Because it wiggled its little butt at me when I first saw it.


    Did I mention this thing was intelligent?


    [Really?]


    "Fuck you, it''s a good name."


    [What happened to the other two?]


    "We don''t speak of them."


    I sat Sir Wiggles down next to me and he was content to stay by my side. I asked him previously if he wanted toe with me, I promised to take care of all his needs and find him a worthy mate, so he seemed to ept.


    From what the salesperson told me, his mother was a Jackrabbit, which was obvious by the small little antlers growing on his head. But apparently on his father''s side, he is a very ¨C very distant rtion to Tepoztecatl.


    [I can''t believe you made him your familiar.]


    "I can''t believe you even question something like that at this point."


    [Touch¨¦.]


    It''s not like I ''need'' a familiar....and I can''t help that I fell in love with the little guy the moment I saw him. Frankly, I''m a cat person, but that doesn''t mean I don''t appreciate other little animals.


    I took out a head of lettuce that I still had from Skyrim and peeled off a few pieces to ce down infront of him.


    "Alright, just don''t go too far out, I''m setting up some magic stuff I don''t want you to get hurt or anything." I rubbed its little head with my finger.


    I think it nodded at me, and the ''link'' I had with him due to making him my familiar kind of gave the impression he understood.


    I just nodded and moved to the spots I marked yesterday.


    Surprisingly, it wasn''t hard to turn something into a familiar. If it didn''t have enough sapience, then it couldn''t resist you at all, if it was intelligent enough, it simply had to agree and boom, new familiar. Hell, the magical forms were known practically world-wide.


    [You know what? I hope you make him the most powerful rabbit that ever lived.]


    I paused. "Ddraig.....that is one of the greatest ideas you''ve ever had." I resolved to teach him magic in the future.....after I learned how to pull him out of my hat.


    Is it considered cheating if I use actual magical to pull him out?


    Taking out arge steel pir, I hefted it up and mmed it into the marked location, making sure it was nice and steady.


    Making sure it was all perfect, I did the same to the other four points around my house to set up the first boundaryyer.


    I would start off by drawing Runes on each pir to reinforce several concepts around my home. Both to protect it from the outside and inside.


    Should I include a geass that forciblytches onto anyone I invite inside? A contract that is epted when an invitation is extended, and they agree to cross my threshold.


    Guest rites.


    It was amon notion across many civilizations, even if it usually goes by other names.


    A curious thought, I could probably force people to act within certain bounds if they are invited inside....on the flip side I would also be bound by such limitations. But then again, I wouldn''t exactly start a battle with anyone I willingly invited inside.


    Well, I should probably focused on external defenses right, hell, I don''t even have any furniture yet.


    My thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as I felt space near me vibrate and bend in certain ways that indicated someone manipting it.


    My head snapped to the side as I saw a young man pop over, the vibrations along the world were very hard to miss. There was no teleportation circle, no tant magical phenomena as he appeared.


    He wore what looked like a school uniform with a clich¨¦ wizard''s robe over it. Honestly, he appeared rather mundane, like if you told any random kid he was a wizard, that was how he would pretty much dress.


    "Hello." He greeted me, with a surprisingly amount of openness.


    I raised an eyebrow. "Greetings."


    "I''m Georg Faust." He said simply.


    I blinked for a moment, searching my memories. "Named after the historical one?"


    "Yup, I''m his descendant." He seemed rather happy to say that little tidbit.


    Well, I can''t exactly fault him for having pride in his origin. I mean, I named myself Schweinorg.....but even still, I don''t go around calling myself Zelretch.


    I remembered.....some things about this kid, some kind of magical prodigy, and he had a Sacred Gear....one I couldn''t quite recall off the top of my head. It''s not like I have a perfect memory, and I had quite a few things shoved in my head from my ''awakening''.


    "What can I do for you, Georg?" I stood up, giving him my full attention.


    "Well....." He paused for a moment. "Sorry, I''m not really good at this, usually it''s someone else doing this part." He scratched the back of his head. "I kind of wanted to invite you to join the faction I''m in?" He seemed unsure of himself, yet he still had a strange amount of confidence in the way he stood there.


    "Pardon?" I was a bit confused here.


    "Well, I''m a part of the ''Hero Faction'' we''re basically descendants of heroes or reincarnations. Or just ''humans'' that want to protect humanity from the supernatural." He exined.


    "Okay.....some issues with that. I''m not a ''hero'' or whatever, and I''m only half human." Hero Faction? I seemed to recall them now...not something I gave much thought until this moment.


    "Well, you''re still half." He said with a smile. "We care more about like-minded people. And from what I could find out, you aren''t part of the devil faction and even suffered at their hands."


    "Suffered?" I repeated the word. "What exactly do you know about me, I''m not really famous."


    "Actually ¨C" He pushed up his sses. " ¨CYou got rather popr recently. Your father is one of the strongest in the world, do you think being his son isn''t going to draw attention? We''re not the only ones that were gathering information on you..."


    Well, fuck. Who is spreading information on me? Hell, who could possibly even know where I''m¡ª "That fucking golden store is selling info on me?"


    George chuckled. "You didn''t know? They literally sell anything; information is amodity."


    "Bastards even had the gall to call me a ''esteemed customer'' to my face and do this behind my back." I scowled. "And I think there is some misinformation there ¨C ''suffered at their hands''? A bit edgy there, don''t you think? I was neglected and controlled, I wasn''t exactly tortured or beaten."


    As much as I dislike them, I''m not going to go around saying stupid nonsense like he''s spouting.


    He seemed a bit surprised at my words, I couldn''t help butugh. "Did you think all it would take is pushing some of my buttons and I would hop on your ''hero'' train for some ''revenge'' against my birth father?" I looked at him incredulously. "Kid, I''m well aware of my own issues that came with my upbringing, but that doesn''t mean I''m frothing at the mouth to get ''even''."


    He frowned, hearing my words. "Well, that usually works for some people." He said awkwardly. "Would you still consider it? There aren''t many magicians in our faction, and I would love to have someone to talk magic with." He sighed. "I''m tired of those other idiots too concerned with how hard they can punch."


    Okay, I sympathize with him slightly there. "I''ll pass, I''m busy with my own stuff right now."


    "We have a lot of resources, magical grimoires, rare materials....girls?" He looked a bit shy as he said thatst part.


    "Are you...pimping out your faction members to me....?"


    "...boys?"


    "I''m considering smacking you."


    "....Sorry I have a habit of sticking my foot in my mouth when I get nervous." He admitted with an awkward smile and red cheeks.


    "Yeah, definitely giving this a hard pass." I''m not going to touch that dumpster fire with a hundred-foot pole.


    "Well....no one can''t say I didn''t try." He slumped his shoulders. "Sorry, but, boss said he needs you for some future ns regardless." He regained hisposure, and a strange mist began to swirl around his body. "I would have rather you worked with us willingly, but that''s not a necessity."


    "Hoh.....are you going to fight me?" I raised an eyebrow at him.


    "I would rather just grab you and bring you back to the boss." He smiled. As the mist exploded out.


    The world around my changed, rewritten by this kid''s ability. I realized now what I was dealing with, the informationing to the forefront of my mind. "Dimension Lost." I said evenly.


    "Oh, you know it? I thought you hadn''t been in the supernatural world that long." His voiced echoed out around me, even if his form disappeared. "But, that''s one of the reasons we wanted you, I guess."


    The space around me had been changed from the normal flow of the world, a new dimension forcibly created overtop the existing one. It was like a bastardized version of a reality marble, except instead of projecting one''s inner world, its this false one.


    Granted, it''s nowhere near the level of a true Reality Marble, merely the feeling I first got when it appeared.


    A small smiled curled up on my lips. "ying with space infront of me, you''re a thousand years too early." I withdrew Mirage from my ring and pulled on the Kaleidoscope.


    The multitude of colors burst out, the iridescent light cascaded in every direction, pushing against the barriers of this ''dimension'' that Georg had created.


    There were many ¨C many ways I could have gone about breaking this space, but I chose the most straight forward one.


    "W-what are you doing!?" I heard his panicked cries ring out from the surroundings as my Magic began to usurp over his own dominion.


    "I guess a Longinus only amounts to this much." I smirked as I reached out my hand, the colors scaled up the ''walls'' of this reality, consuming it entirely and then I clenched my fingers.


    It shattered.


    Cracks rang out, reality shifted back to normal as everything was realigned I was once again in the outside world, staring down at the now shaking kid.


    "Y-you.....how? How did you break through my Dimension Lost!?" He looked at my fearfully. Yeah, these kids rely super heavily on their sacred gears, must be a real kick in the balls to see it nosold like I just did.


    I ignored his question, and continued walking towards him. "You know, I was content to end things where they were, but then you had to go and attack me." I shook my head.


    He almost fell to the ground as he turned around and began to run, several spell circles created in his wake with magical spellsunching towards me.


    I frowned, my sword batting away most of them.


    "Cao Cao" Georg shouted, mist shooting out of his hand towards the distance and a rip in the fabric of space opening up, connecting to another point.


    I felt something tingle on the back of my neck, a danger sense I had developed in the time with Scathach attempting to take my life if I was careless.


    A spear burst out of that little hole, the portal that connected to who-knows-where. Something shot right for me at a speed that was impressive. It didn''t escape my notice, the feeling I got wasn''t from the intense speed, no, it was from the presence of what wasing for me.


    Death.


    I felt death from this thing, it was antithetical to my existence.


    Something ingrained so deep into my very being.


    I brought up Mirage to block, my hand on the t of my de as the tip of a spear collided with it. I put my full strength behind my weapon, feet digging into the ground and I felt myself get pushed back before finally stopping.


    I looked up, Georg was gone and I saw a face in the distance, the one who attacked me and his spear, extended several hundred feet as it retracted back into the portal.


    My eyes narrowed as we shared onest look and I mouthed a few words to him. His eyes widened and I couldn''t help but smile as he retreated with hispanion.


    I let out a breath. I wasn''t tired, nor was I even hurt in the slightest, but I was exhausted because I kept getting involved in all this crap that I didn''t want to.


    Mirage returned to my ring and I looked down at the ground.


    "He managed to push me back a couple steps." It was impressive. "Ddraig, was that what I think it was?"


    [The True Longinus.] He replied.


    "Well, things are going to get moreplicated, aren''t they?" Is it too much for me to just get some fucking time to rx? "Assholes destroyed part of mywn." I muttered, looking at where I was standing previously.


    ***


    Oh boy, someone done fucked up. Well, Hero faction is known for clutching the idiot ball and absolutely refusing to let it go. And MC looks like a nice target for people who are antagonistic towards the devil faction. Well, MC saw a new shiny, and his hands a little itchy. On the bright side, MC got a familiar! So the name came about because i was talking over with someone about it, and it somehow devolved into us just continuously making it longer and more grandiose so I was like ''fuck it'' we''re doing that.


    On a side note, I was thinking about setting up a discord, is that something people would be interesting in?


    Anyways, to finish this off, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or just support me, visit my /Astoryforone

 Chapter 72 - 70

    <h4>Chapter 72: Chapter 70</h4>


    The True Longinus.


    It had been on my mind for a couple days now. I had set up many ¨C many bounded fields around my home. Frankly, I think it would take even me some effort to break them down by brute force. And that''s about all I could ask. They wouldn''t keep anyone out that could truly threaten my life, but there were basically there to buy me time in an emergency.


    The True Longinus.


    It left an...impression on me.


    Fear?


    I don''t know if I would call it fear. It felt more.... primal, something that literally was antithetical to my existence, to my very core of being.


    It was like facing my mortality straight on.


    Was I scared? I don''t think so, but I was definitely wary.


    The Spear of Destiny, it was an odd weapon. Any other weapon that went through what it did would have been ssified as evil or demonic. Yet, it stands at the pinnacle of holy weapons in this world, even eclipsing the Caliburn that boasts superiority of their broken Excalibur.


    The spear personally crafted and meant to be the personal armament of the God of the bible. How much divine blood did it drink? I don''t think there is a pantheon still in existence that didn''t ''donate'' their divine blood unto that weapon''s spear-tip.


    After wounding or killing divine beings all over the, it became something evil, something desiring more blood. It was through this that it developed its ''anti-divine'' properties, it has the abilities to push through divinity like it was nonexistent to truly wound divine beings.


    It was not a weapon fitting one who sat upon the heavenly throne, regardless of how powerful it was. So the God of the bible is perhaps the most obvious thing to rectify it, yet also the most ridiculous.


    He impaled himself upon his own spear.


    The spear thirsted for blood, divine blood, so why not give his own? His holy attribute was devoured and turned the spear into something more neutral, perhaps even bordering holy. But that was it, the amount of divine blood it drank from other pantheons was only stalemated by his own holiness added on.


    And again, it was turned into a proper weapon, but he still didn''t take it back as his own.


    It was the first Sacred Gear, the ''test'' so to speak. He sent it off to the mortal world and centuries passed before someone managed to awaken it.


    This story was much more known, the man whose name was lost to history, was the spear named after him or was he named after the spear?


    He who impaled Christ upon the cross.


    Saint Longinus.


    Hell, other sacred gears use the name ''Longinus'' to corrte to their god-killing ability. That just went to show how absurd the spear actually was when used against divine beings.


    Possessing no divinity, yet still retaining all the holiness of the heavenly father, the son of God.


    Cleansed, amplified, and sanctified.


    The ritual that Jesus, king of the Jews, actualized upon his suffering, it changed the spear once again into its final form. It was supposed to be God sacrificing himself to relieve humanity of their sins, a grand ritual that spanned the entire world, powered by the sacrifice of a divine being. It would skew humanity in favor of ''good'' over ''evil'' as humans naturally are neutral at birth. It was actually the reason that humans could naturally be born with the ''holy attribute'' from that point on.


    Was it nned?


    Honestly, I have no idea beyond just the cliff notes of what happened. I wouldn''t put it past Big G to have nned that entire situation out, it would be killing multiple birds with a single stone.


    "What a scary spear." I said to myself.


    Not just divine beings or devils, anything with a ''dark'' attribute was prey for the holy spear.


    [There is a reason it''s rated as the strongest Sacred Gear.] Ddraig added making me pause again.


    "Oh, you''re admitting defeat?"


    I heard him snort in annoyance. [I''m reliant on my partner, the spear.....the spear can y gods even with a novice if he gets lucky.]


    I let out a smallugh. "What a ridiculous weapon...."


    He was exaggerating a little bit, perhaps it could kill those lesser divine beings, like mountain or river gods. Hell, it could probably even wound a ''real'' god to a certain extent, but take any Olympian and put them in the path of the spear with a novice at the back, and they''re getting bitch pped into the moon.


    But his point stands.


    Usually, divinity is almost like a ''barrier'' or ''wall'' that a mortal has trouble oveing. It is a higher state of being, it naturally has advantages over those who are lesser. It''s one of the reason that if everything else is equal, two beings, one with divinity and the other without, the one with divinity would win in a fight hands down.


    It is one of the many reasons that mortal god yers are so exalted throughout history. It isn''t merely a matter of ''punching harder'', though that can technically work. You need to ovee the natural state of a divine being existing above you, something that wields part of the ''world'' in their authority.


    Of course there are exceptions, devils for instance, they are ''counter'' to divine beings. Simr to other races in the world. The giants of Norse and Greek myths, they could y gods because they are the ''opposite'' side of the coin, so to speak.


    "OP, please nerf." Iughed, standing up from where I had been sitting on my porch.


    Perhaps...my blood was even boiling a little bit. The idea that the spear could take my life if it gets any meaningful hit on me.....


    Gods...I think Scathach corrupted me.


    I wondered how Gae Bolg would match up to it inbat? The spear my teacher crafted, that demonic spear that erupts in bloodlust every time it''s used versus the holy spear that has in gods.


    Well, I guess both spears have in gods before.


    It''s no sword yet.....I felt some desire to possess it....was it merely my greed acting up? Or maybe it was my nature as a devil that wanted to ''corrupt'' something holy? I mean, not really corrupt....but just add it to my growing collection.


    Honestly, I had no overarching issue with the Heaven faction. As long as I''m left alone, I''m not going to go seek out conflict with them for no reason. The same goes for destroying their ''images'' or idols. But hey, if some idiot wants to donate their spear to me, who am I to refuse?


    Hmm, Mr. Wiggles was off ying somewhere, I could faintly feel him through our connection, honestly, all I nned for today was to pet ¨C I mean train him.


    Indeed, I will make him the fiercest rabbit this world has ever seen.


    *Ding*


    I blinked, pulling out my phone from my pocket.


    ''Hello, this is Izzy, I don''t know if you remember me....'' ¨C Izzy


    Hmm, I stared at it for a moment before replying.


    ''Of course I remember you, have you heard back from your kids yet?'' ¨C Wilhelm


    ''Yes, I must thank you, your advice has worked well. My youngest had responded and he said he would visit me next month.'' ¨C Izzy


    Aww, I''m d when things work out. Huh, I think I needed some good news like this, even if it doesn''t'' really affect me.


    ''I''m happy for you.'' ¨C Wilhelm


    ''Thank you....I was wondering if you wished to meet up again tonight, I enjoyed the cest time.'' ¨C Izzy


    I mulled it over, perhaps I''ve been feeling more stressed than I need to? I mean, I just came back to this world to essentially rx and I keep getting roped into conflicts....


    Fuck it, any reason to escape my dreary thoughts is good enough for me.


    ''That would be lovely.'' ¨C Wilhelm


    ''Yes, I look forward to seeing you again.'' ¨C Izzy


    ''See you then :)'' ¨C Wilhelm.


    Having friends is nice.


    Oh! I can show off the stage magic I''ve been learning!


    "Sir. Wiggles!" I shouted, and almost immediately I felt him bolt back towards me.


    Damn he''s fast.


    Well, what I should expect from a supernatural rabbit. I wonder what magics I should teach him? Maybe start off with elemental maniption? He should be closer to nature, so perhaps that would be the best ce to start.


    I admit, seeing him flinging fireballs around would be most amusing. Or perhaps freezing entire areas with vast arrays of ice magic?


    Hmm....then that would be difficult for him to move.


    Lightning is also an option, but then again, I use lightning a lot too, shouldn''t I teach him something to supplement me? Some druidism may work as well.....it was where I derived the initial concepts for my Bindings of Gaia spell.


    "Hey there, buddy." I held out my arms as he jumped right into them. "You have fun?"


    Images of him exploring the property and surroundings came through our link.


    Huh, he went pretty far out and even found someone to give him a carrot and he was being smug about it. Hmm, aren''t carrots technically bad for rabbits? Well.....maybe him being a ''magic'' rabbit means that doesn''t matter?


    I''m not his mother, he should know what he can and cannot eat.


    "Ready to go meet my friend? We''ll show her what we''ve been practicing."


    I did share my thoughts with him, I wouldn''t just shove him in my hat and force him to perform with me. Who knew the little fluffball had dreams of grandeur? Granted, he didn''t exactly tell me that, more so sending feelings and impressions.


    Having a connection like this was odd, if I focused, I could feel what he was feeling basically through images and somehow that would trante into something I could understand.


    I just shook my head, what an amusing familiar I picked up.


    I still need to create costumes for the future...especially one for Sir Wiggles, matching hat of course. Pulling a rabbit out of my hat, while he wears a hat. Maybe even a little suite and vest too?


    Well, this would be a good distraction, I need to stop stressing while on my little ''vacation''.


    ***


    Alright, i started working on that ''PHO'' chapter thingy. It won''t take up a slot in the ''normal'' chapter release, so i''ll probably do it some time tomorrow.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead of support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 73 - 71

    <h4>Chapter 73: Chapter 71</h4>


    I fixed my cuffs, pulled on my cor to make sure it was nice and straight, and I ran a finger along my tie to make sure there were no creases.


    My hand sneaked back and tugged lightly on my ponytail to make sure it was still nice and snug, bound by that little piece of fabric that Scathach used all those days ago and I couldn''t help but smile slightly at the memory.


    "Hmm..." I fiddled with the buttons on my vest. "Jacket or no jacket? I usually go with no jacket....." I turned around to see how it looked from the back.


    [How about Juggernaut drive, that way you can die and put me out of my misery?]


    "If you''re not going to be helpful...."


    [You know what? Go butt-ass naked, I''m sure that will draw lots of attention.]


    "You''re being really aggressive."


    [I have to live through this every day. I''ve never had a host be so obsessed with what they''re wearing, and let me be clear, I have had female hosts before.]


    "Mildly sexist....."


    [Oh,e off it, I''m technically genderless.]


    "Females can be sexist against their own gender, that means nothing." I pointed out. "And besides, you''ve never had a host look as good as I do." I smirked.


    [Oh, there''s the patented devil pride I''ve heard about.]


    "Sorry, the dragon says what?"


    [The dragon says you''re a little bitch.]


    "Yes, I, The Red Dragon Emperor, am a little bitch." I dered.


    [I hate you.]


    I snorted, holding back augh. "Well, it could be worse, Ddraig." I set down a box I withdrew from my ring, opening it up to reveal several pairs of cufflinks. "I could go around dering myself ''Oppai Dragon''."


    .....[Little bitch it is then.]


    "No, what am I doing?" I shut the small box. "Way too gaudy for a casual get together." I shook my head putting them away.


    [You need new shoes.]


    I blinked looking down out of instinct. "You know what? I do need new shoes.....I mean its not noticeable, but they were slightly scuffed in that little tussle I had the other day." Another reason to be annoyed with that idiot. "I''m surprised."


    [Why? Do you think I don''t understand how to look good?] Ddraig snorted. [You know, I used to roll around in gold and jewels so they would get stuck between my scales and make me glitter and shine better.]


    Huh....you learn something new every day.


    [Why are you even trying so hard? Are you nning on iming her as well?]


    "First, I would use almost any excuse to dress up." It''s enjoyable, is that such a crime? And I want to look nice when I meet with my friend, I want to make a good impression. "Second, we barely know each other." I rolled my eyes. I''m not trying to bang every girl I trade words with, regardless of how pretty was was.


    [Didn''t stop you with Artoria.]


    "That....." I stopped for a moment. "Touch¨¦." I admit he had a point there, but... "It was a little different, I knew her before I ''knew'' her." I would be lying if I said my knowledge of her didn''t skew my perceptions and perhaps give me a sort of idol in my mind. Regardless, I did not have any regrets with how things turned out.


    And now I couldn''t help but think of her.


    Nope!


    No moping, I''m going out to have drinks with a new friend.


    I flipped my hat sitting nearby and set it on my head before adjusting it just right.


    "Time to go."


    ***


    "Izzy." I smiled brightly, walking into the bar. It was once again empty minus us three. The owner just gave me a look before going about his business again.


    "Hello, Wilhelm." She nodded at me, a small smile on her face.


    I took a seat next to her, the man behind the bar already cing a drink infront of me. I couldn''t help but chuckle as I took a sip, almost coughing it up. "Damn that''s strong." I forced it down, and it was not enjoyable that way. Needs to be sipped to appreciate more. "How have you been?"


    "I have been doing very well." She turned towards me, fingering her own ss. "I am excited that my youngest has decided to respond to my inquires. As I mentioned in our correspondence over the phone, he will be visiting me next month."


    She keeps herself well reserved, but the excitement in her tone was palpable.


    "Oh, I''m curious, what''s he like?"


    "Hmm, abrasive, rash, prone to using his fists when he should use his words." She listed off. "But he can be really sweet too. Even when his....father and I separated, he was willing to express his intent to visit me, much to his father''s anger."


    "Ah, isn''t it usually the youngest that acts out the most?"


    "I suppose you are right., he is definitely a momma''s boy." She smiled. "His elder siblings are much more reserved, even if they have they usually cause just as many messes."


    "And how have you been?" She inquired. "Has your new-found fame been detrimental at all?"


    Oof, I took another sip. "Got attacked by highschooler who looked like he was getting ready to y some DnD in his mom''s basement. He also happened to actually know magic."


    She blinked at me, mulling over my statement. "Are you...hurt?" She questioned.


    "Oh no, kid was as green as my grass" I waived her off. "Well, at least before the little shit tore up a part of my yard. He had a sacred gear as well, as did his friend who tried to kill me too."


    "I feel as though you are leaving out several important details." She deadpanned. "Do not try to gloss over the important bits."


    "Fine, fine." I sighed. "Wizard kides trying to recruit me, called himself the descendant of Georg Faust, I don''t know if you know who tha ¨C"


    "The famous magician who had a contract with Mephistopheles." She stated, to my surprise. She rolled her eyes at my look. "I do know what goes on outside of my country."


    "Of course." I smiled lightly. "Anyways, kid is named Georg Faust, don''t know if he''s actually named that or is trying to seem better than he really is." I shook my head. "Tried to recruit me to his ''hero faction'' or some such nonsense. Basically, humans, heroes, descendants and whatnot who are trying to ''protect'' the human race from the supernatural."


    "Did the idea of being a ''hero'' not catch your fancy?" She propped her chin up with her hand.


    "I mean...." I sighed again. "Who doesn''t admire the idea of a ''hero'', but reality is often much more disappointing." I fingered my ss for a moment. "Besides, he tried to use my ''heritage'' as a reason to join. Something about suffering at the hands of the devils." I waived my hand flippantly. "He seemed to jump straight to emotional maniption to get me to join, pretty weird for a first meeting."


    "I take it he did not appreciate your rejection?" She smiled in slight amusement.


    "Nope, tried to use his Sacred Gear ¨C Dimension Lost to imprison me." I snorted, a smallugh escaping my lips. "Went crying back home is what he did."


    "Pardon." She interrupted me. "Did you say you countered his Dimension Lost? One of those sted things that is said to have the ability to kill gods?"


    "Mhmm."


    "I see.....you are stronger than I expected then."


    "Long story short, hispanion tried to impale me with his True Longinus."


    Izzy almost spit out her drink, mming the cup back down before forcing the drink down her throat. "The True Longinus!?"


    "Ah, you''ve heard of it?"


    "Yes, I''ve heard of the divine spear that can kill gods with the ease that one can kill chickens." She deadpanned. "Not only that, but is it not absolute poison to your kind?"


    "It is, but I didn''t touch it." Huh, she knows more that I thought.


    "You y a dangerous game." She shook her head. "You should take your safety more seriously." Her words were rather gentle, and it seemed like she was.....upset that I acted in the way I did.


    "I was not as flippant in how I acted in battle." I exined. "I could feel the deadliness the spear threatened me with and I acted appropriately." I wasn''t intentionally trying to court death or anything. "Anyways, lets talk about something more interesting.....like my hat!" I quickly set my hat on the table, upside-down.


    "Your hat?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Yes, you see, it has an interesting little function...." I reached my hand deep insinde and... "W!" I pulled out Mr.Wiggles, setting him on the counter.


    She stared at me, I shot her a cocky smile right back.


    The bartender looked unamused by the prospect of having an ''animal'' on his bar. I slid a few gold coins his way and he just shrugged.


    It was another moment before Izzy finally broke out in giggles. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have seen in quite some time." She calmed herself down. "Whatever could possess you to do this?" Her hand hesitantly reached over to touch the ball of floof.


    "Well.....my mom took me to see a stage magician when I was younger." I smiled at the memory. "And I wanted to learn how to do those tricks as a sort of hobby. I actually came back to Japan as a sort of vacation, thought it would be a nice way to unwind and just enjoy myself."


    "What is its name?" By the look in her eyes, I could tell she wanted to hold him, so I allowed him to hop over to her a bit. She looked surprised that he was willing to get so close to her. I guess I was used to her aura of ''death'' that I sometimes forgot it was even there. Staying in the Land of Shadows kind of desensitized me to such things.


    "He is Sir Wigglesbottom fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, crown prince of the Emerald Kingdom."


    [You just keep adding more onto it every time you say his name.]


    Yup.


    "Or just Sir Wiggles for short."


    She had a warm smile on her face as Sir Wiggles allowed her to embrace him. "Hello your highness." She cooed, gently rubbing his little head.


    I could tell through the link that he was enjoying himself even if her presence was intimidating to him. I think the fact that I was calm in her presence kind of trickled down to him.


    "I also made him my familiar."


    She let out a cute littleugh as he scrunched his nose. "It seems you were intelligent enough to bind such an immacte creature to you."


    Hmm, was that her way of saying I was smart to get such a cute little thing as my familiar? I did find the way she switched between the way she talked sometimes. Like she was used to speaking in a more archaic fashion, yet sometimes talked like she was on the inte.


    "What you like to see the picture I took since I got him?"


    "YES!" She blinked, staring at me bashfully. "I mean, yes I would enjoying seeing them."


    ***


    Just a nice fluffy chapter, nothing too exceptional happened.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or just support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 74: Omake 1 (Canon)

    <h4>Chapter 74: Omake 1 (Canon)</h4>


    Wee to the Supernatural Online Message Boards


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    ?Topic: War in Kyoto.


    In: Boards ? News ? Events ? Kyoto


    Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on March 18, 2009:


    Holy shit.


    Okay, so most people know what''s going on in Kyoto right now, and if not they can look out the fucking window and see the explosions.


    I was talking to my girlfriend on the phone, then suddenly a building down the street just copsed and some idiot in a mask ran down the street throwing magic at anyone and anything he saw. I did the most obvious thing, threw up any and every barrier spell I knew, then hid under my bed. I''m not particrly good at magic, but I''m hoping for the best.


    (Showing Page 1 of 295)


    ? Ghost_With_A_Gun


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    Fucking fuck, I can see fires all over the city. Where the fuck are the guards and what the fuck is going on?


    ? SlipperyTengu (Verified Guard)


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    Okay, so I only have a few moments to post anything, and this was the first thread I saw. I asked my boss and he gave me permission, if you can see this, bunker down and get ready to weather the storm. We don''t know what exactly is going on, but some terrorists are attacking. If you know magic, throw up any barriers you can, we''re about to head down town now to engage them.


    ? BillyMaysHere (Verified Magician)


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    Yo, so I was on vacation over here and suddenly everything start sploadin.


    Da fuck, Japan?


    But seriously, this shit is bad. My hotel has some pretty decent magical protections, but it''s been shaking almost nonstop for thirty minutes now. I started prepping my own spells incase I have to throw hands...but I''m honestly more of a researcher.


    ? Levi-Tan_Fan


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    My mom isn''t answering her phone....


    ? SmallMountain


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    The Humans joined the fight, I saw them fighting the masked people. Included pictures.


    [Link]


    [Link]


    [Link]


    ? BabyBlue


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    @SmallMountain.


    What the fuck, are they on our side or not? I saw some humans start killing Youkai then some other humans started killing the other humans. Does anybody have any idea what''s going on!?!


    ? XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    Devils are here too!!!!


    [Link]


    [Link]


    [Link]


    ? Big_Bad_Wolf


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    @BabyBlue


    Fuck the humans, let them kill themselves.


    ? Lasers4Days (Verified Magician)


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    @XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Doesn''t he look familiar?


    ? Two_Tails


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    Fuck the devils they always behind this shit. First the ''evil pieces'' they use to kidnapp our people and now this fucking shit! Are we just going to keep letting them get away with this!?


    ? Magic_Propelled_Grenade


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    @Two_Tails


    Calm the fuck down, there''s only been one devil sighted so far and he''s been helping, you dumbass. People like you just start calling for heads and make everything worse.


    @Lasers4Days


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    He does look familiar....doesn''t he kinda look like Lucifer?


    ? Two_Tails (Temp-banned)


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    [Deleted]


    She_Who_Invites: If you have nothing to add to the discussion, keep it to yourself.


    ?


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 293 , 294, 295


    (Showing Page 19 of 295)


    ? Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    Okay, did anyone else see that fucking Hydra start tearing apart the city before it got sliced n diced?


    ? DiggingDeep


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    @Just_A_Muffin


    Isn''t that the same devil from before? Yeah he looked really simr to Lucifer, I have a picture of them side by side.....I think they''re rted.


    ? Frosty


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    I almost pissed myself, I got a front row seat to Lucifer-Junior cut down that fucking snake monster. I couldn''t help but cry when it finally fell the ground, it was about to tear through my home.


    ? Mr.Fabulous


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    My heart goes out to my Youkai Brethren, but did anyone see those spells he was throwing around? I didn''t know devils knew any Onmy¨­d¨­, much less were aplished Onmy¨­ji? That spell was impressive, anyone got some insight on it?


    ? Shikigami42 (Verified Shikigami)


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    @Mr.Fabulous


    I have some insight (My name should be enough proof). Yeah, that was a powerful spell meant for warding off disasters and evil, he used it to keep the snake''s miasma and corruption contained while he fought the thing.


    If he didn''t do that...a good chunk of the city over there wouldn''t be habitable for several decades. It isn''t a particrly noteworthy spell in of itself, but the ease he threw it out then went on to fight without even looking winded is turning some heads.


    ? 9_Lives.


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    Think he would give me kittens?


    ? SecretlySecret


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    So, uh, are we gonna talk about why the son(?) of Lucifer is fighting in our town? Aren''t we supposed to be mad at them?


    ? Plotting_the_Past


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    @SecretlySecret


    Are we just assuming he''s lucifer''s son now? I mean, I was looking up their family tree and his only son is still a brat and I don''t see anyone else in the family tree that matches his description. While their hair color is pretty much a Gremory family specialty, I don''t want to assume anything, but if it quacks like a duck and looks very simr to Lucifer.....


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 293 , 294, 295


    (Showing Page 102 of 295)


    ? xXVoid_SamuraiXx


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    @Supershot221


    Look, all I''m saying is...he''s probably a time traveler.


    ? Supershot221


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    @xXVoid_SamuraiXx


    Void, you''re an idiot. There''s no way he''s the time traveling younger Lucifer. The most likely exnation is that the man has a bastard. He''s a devil, the fact that he was supposedly married to only one woman is already pretty sus.


    ? She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami)


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    @xXVoid_SamuraiXx


    You also seem to think I''m Izanami, regardless of what you''re told.


    Enough is enough, Void. I personally know him, he''s not a time traveling Lucifer. If you keep posting that, I''ll have to give you a temp ban.


    ? I_Like_Swords


    Replied on March 18, 2009.


    So if you couldn''t tell by my name.....anyways, anyone recognize those swords he had flying around him? That one he used to cut the heads off the hydra (which was fucking awsome) did it do something to make them not grow back? I didn''t see him cast any magic to stop the regrowth.


    ? Hooded_One


    Replied on March 18, 2009.


    Oho, those Rune spells he used were interesting. He seems to know our magic system, why didn''t he use more of it?


    Maybe I should stick around in Japan a little while longer.


    @I_Like_Swords


    Some of them may be newly created. If you look at that red sword flying around, you can see Runes carved all over it. An interesting idea, I can think of several uses for such thing.


    @She_Who_Invites


    How about letting me meet him? He seems pretty interesting.


    ? She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami)


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    Go back home, old man.


    ? Hooded_One (Temp-banned)


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    [Deleted]


    She_Who_Invites: No one asked you, enjoy your two week ban.


    ? Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    Okay, we''re getting a little off topic, but I guess it still has to do with what the fuck is going on in Kyoto. I know some people who know some people, so here''s what we got;


    So you all heard about the cult of Tamamo-No-Mae? Yeah, them crazies doing their usual stuff, except they grabbed some help from a couple human ns. And no, that isn''t a reason to start bashing the humans, the other side their own to help us out, which is why we saw them shing.


    So, big thanks to Lucifer Jr (Is that what we''re officially calling him now?). Anyways, Lucifer Jr helped out more than he realizes. That snake thing was supposed to be a ''big'' distraction or something, draw away the guards attention so the crazies could do thisrge scale ritual at the other end of the city. Didn''t work out well for them, so kudos to our illustrious leader for (Quite literally) stomping on the bad guys.


    Also, big thanks to Okita Souji, Knight of Lucifer. He was around and helped out quite a bit. No word on the rtionship between the two, but I''m not looking a gift horse in the mouth.


    ? Bag_on_my_head


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    Lady Yasaka, step on me too~


    ? NotAKo


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    And heree the simps, I swear, these guys ruin every thread that Lady Yasaka appears in.


    Also, step on me too.


    (Never said I wasn''t one of them.)


    ? EnthusiasticMelon


    Replied on March 18, 2009


    Okay, so I was doing some calctions, and my numbers are basically telling me Luficer Jr (And I think this name is stupid) is a wizard. Now, I know what you''re thinking -- Obviously! Except, no. I mean the shit he was doing when moving, how space around him seemed to shatter as he moved? Yeah, my math is basically telling me ''purple'' when I try to calcte how he''s doing that so easily. Seriously, all my formse alive and be sentient just so they can kill themselves.


    What.The.Fuck.


    ***


    Just a fun little thing I wanted to do. If anyone was wondering what ''PHO'' was when i was talking about it, basically like this.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pat /astoryforone


    ?

 Chapter 75 - 72

    <h4>Chapter 75: Chapter 72</h4>


    I had materials thrown about all around my house, floorboards ripped up, holes in the walls as cables and support beams jutted out at all angles.


    Notes were tapped to the wall, and scattered all around the floor. All kinds of scribbles, calctions and otherwise nonsense if you had no idea what it meant.


    At the center was a strange scaffolding, almost like a holster for a familiar sword.


    Mirage was propped up, several spell circles oveyed underneath, and runes carved all along the wooden and steel frame that held it aloft. But it wasn''t just mundane materials, intertwined with all the many pieces were bones ¨C Dragon bones.


    The ones piges from that undead dragon back in Skyrim.


    There were also a few books stacked to the side, bookmarked or haphazardly thrown open to certain pages and marked.


    "Three days." I scowled. "Three days, and I''m still not any closer to cracking this." I huffed in annoyance, tossing a book to the side. "I don''t understand, I''m doing everything the directions say, yet I can''t seem to do it correctly!"


    [Have you tried not sucking?]


    "Wonderful advice." I drawled. "I can literally overturn the world''sws...yet I can''t do something so simple!"


    [Why don''t you take a break? Do something easier, like y with your magic.]


    I sighed, looking at Sir Wiggles sleeping soundly on a little bed I bought him. I had the urge to go pet him, but I would respect his nap.


    "Yeah, I''ll just take a break and do something easier.....like mess with both the time and world axis to ovey multiple spacial folds across world-lines." I set down the deck of cards I was fiddling with and kicked away the book on card-magic I had picked up from a store the other day. "Can do real Magic, can''t even fucking do a sleight of hand thing with cards" I threw my hands up in exasperation.


    [How''s the project going?]


    "Oh this?" I flicked my sword, still bound into the mechanism of the spell formtion. "Solved this the other day."


    [You going to test it?]


    "Yeah, I need another location, my first thought was New York, it was a good distance away and a good centralized spot for supernatural shenanigans, but..."


    [Isn''t that Angel territory.]


    I crossed my arms with a frown. "I''m pretty sure Angels im dominion over the entire earth."


    [Don''t be a smart ass.]


    "Fine, fine." I waved him off. "Yeah, the Angels basically im America....and Canada. Except for the areas where the Native Americans took up residence."


    Really, I don''t think there are any groups in the world who would pick a fight with thest vestiges of the Native American supernaturalmunity....and that''s entirely out of pity.


    What happened in the early days of colonization.....lets just say the mundane side was not nearly as bad as the supernatural one.


    I think it was the first time the world saw gods be tortured to death by mortals. Not even assholeish deities, just your average divine beings, being pulled apart at the metaphysical seams and returned to the void of creation.


    Yeah....even the Angels, back when they were much more zealous, actually felt bad for the Native American ''pagans'' to the point where they put out decrees to never harm them unless absolutely necessary.


    That whole thing led to the South American pantheons basically waging war against the ''invaders''.


    What a shit-show that was.


    My sword began to '' power up'' so to speak, the strange mechanisms reacted, even if it looked utterly absurd in creation.


    It''s not my fault that I''m trying to deal with 5 dimensions and keeping it anchored into this lower dimension.


    I wanted to sit down, but my sofa was currently littered with materials and other doodads.


    "I really need to get more furniture." I muttered, withdrawing a chair from my ring.


    The Rune lit up, the cables snapped to attentions. I couldn''t help but smile as I watched the dragon bones hold firm.


    Even if they were decayed by necromantic magics, they were still extremely sturdy, and more durable than nearly any material I could get my hands on in the immediate time-frame.


    "Well, I''ll let the initial calctions start up." I eyed it onest time. "While I won''t be using my sword as the true focus, it can still be used temporarily to get everything started."


    Hmm, the calctions would be annoying if I had to do them by hand. Much worse than simply popping over from one world to the next, and that took me days to finish.


    But.....I couldn''t help but smile at as everything came together.


    My project, more so just a small bit of passion, was working. No deadlines, no incessant need, merely the desire to create this.


    "Now I want to celebrate, should I order in?" I tilted my head back, staring at the ceiling.


    [I''m in the mood for some pizza.]


    "Hmm....that sounds good actually, how about some pineapple?"


    [I will divorce you if you put pineapple on my pizza.]


    I snorted, a small smile on my face. "I''m kidding, rx." Frankly, I don''t like pineapple on my pizza, nor do I care about people who do, I just like the joke. "And what do you mean your pizza? It''s all going into my belly."


    [Well, I get to taste it atleast.]


    "Wait, what?"


    Ddraig made an amused noise. [You didn''t know?]


    "If I knew, I wouldn''t be confused." I deadpanned.


    [Hmm, this is rare. I know something you don''t. I don''t think I''ll exin.]


    "Alright, where did I put that white spraypaint."


    [Someone pissed in your cheerios.]


    "How do you even know those words?"


    [Have you forgotten that I watch through your memories?]


    ....maybe. "Fuck off."


    [Hmm, well, with a little bit of effort, I can share some of your senses, predominantly, taste.]


    "Oh, that is significantly less bad than I was assuming you were going to say." That raised a few interesting questions. "What''s your favorite food?"


    [Oh, I havn''t really thought about that.] Ddraig seemed genuinely interested. [Remember your date with Artoria, the fair in America?]


    "Oh." I eximed,. "The turkey wrapped in bacon?"


    [Oh that was good, but no, almost though.] I felt like I saw him shake his head. [It was that really thick bacon, fried in that little dash of brown sugar.....that was amazing.]


    "That was good." I briefly recalled that particr memory. "Americans sure know how to make tasty food." And now I''m craving that again, dammit Ddraig.


    Hmm, what a strange conversation his has be.


    I felt my phone buzz, I took it out to read a new message.


    ''Hello, Wilhelm, how are you doing?''¡ªIzzy


    I smiled lightly as I began to text back.


    ''I''m good, what''s up?'' ¨C Wilhelm.


    ''I have a....hypothetical question.'' ¨C Izzy


    ''And I have a hypothetical answer, what''s wrong?'' ¨C Wilhelm


    ''Say that a child was intended to be sacrificed to bring back a spirit from Yomi, and I noticed what was going on, and perhaps I may have distorted the ritual ever so slightly, but I waste by a single breath....'' ¨C Izzy


    I paused, reading what she wrote several times.


    ''I would say you are a good person for stopping that.'' ¨C Wilhelm.


    ''....I appreciate your words, but I wasn''t finished. Hypothetically, what if said child fell into Yomi, unconscious, while the ritual imploded on itself.'' ¨C Izzy


    ''I would say, this is a bad situation, and would require immediate attention.'' ¨C Wilhelm.


    Just as I sent the message, there was a knock on my door. I blinked for a moment before going to answer.


    "Ah, hello," A very familiar face answered.


    "Izzy.....how bad is the situation?" I eyed her uneasiness. How did she even know where i lived?


    Questions forter.


    "Oh, it is very bad." She said almostically straight. "The child is the only daughter of Yasaka."


    I facepalmed rather hard. "As in the Youkai leader, Nine-tailed fox, Miko for Amaterasu?"


    "Indeed." She replied.


    "...And you came to me?" I questioned her thoughts. "Why not go to Yasaka, I''m sure she would be....not thrilled, but also not angry at your for bringing her such information."


    "I am...." She looked down. "Not exactly weed in her court....and I do not believe I would retain any trust if I told her what happened. And.....I do not have anyone else."


    Oh.....now I feel bad.


    I smiled gently. "Alright, we just have to go rescue a little kitsune from Yomi, right? No big deal." I tried to cheer her up.


    "So, do you know where the ritual site is? I can probably force back open a portal, piggybacking off the initially link." I tapped my finger against my chin.


    I don''t really want to get involved in nonsense like this again, but my weak spots were hit quite hard. I really do have a soft spot for children, and my friend was asking me for help, how could I say no?


    "No need, I can create a portal anywhere." She said with confidence.


    "Oh, that''s convenient." Huh, I wonder how? I''m curious to see how it works.


    I just hope Izanami is not as the myths describe her. I did have cards to y against her if it came to blows. The deities here were much weaker than those from my home, so I had some amount of confidence.


    She waved her hand, the ground literally deformed, jutted out and burst forth as a stone scaffold raised from the ground and a portal formed in between the stone pirs.


    "Reminds me of the Land of Shadows." I couldn''t help but mutter.


    "Land of Shadows?" Izzy''s head jerked towards me. "Is that not thend of the dead over in the United Kingdom?


    "One of them." I smiled. "Anyways, how do you wish to do this? Have you experience going into Yomi?"


    I still had no idea ''what'' she was, to be able to go into Yomi so easily, she is no doubt powerful. Perhaps some kind of spiritual beings?


    "....I will lead the way."


    I just shrugged, holding my hand out as Mirage flew into it.


    "Lets go, Sir Wiggles." I said quietly, he bolted up and jumped into my hat, which I was holding upside down for him.


    I briefly saw the desire in Izzy''s eyes to pet him again, but she held back.


    "Follow my steps closely." She ushered me forward as we stepped through.


    It was a familiar setting, yet so different. The air was thick with death and decay, yet the coldness wasn''t as pronounced. It was....darker, like shadows making their own shadows, as ridiculous as that sounds.


    Izzy navigated it expertly, knowing where to walk, where to avoid as to not idently get swept up in the void between spaces.


    We finally came to what looked like a house, which was surprisingly, because I knew of only one being who would have a house here...


    "Um, does you-know-who live there?"


    "Yes." Izzy replied.


    "Is it wise to go there?"


    "Nothing happens here without her knowledge; don''t worry she already knows we are here and is weing." She stepped up, opening the door.


    "I''m curious how you would kn¡ª"


    "Wee to my home." She cut me off.


    ".....oh."


    Ddraig just startedughing at me.


    ***


    Hindsight is always 20/20.


    So I got some good feedback from the PHO chapter, so i''ll do more in the future. It pretty much can only happen on world''s that have technology at a certain level, but i also thought the idea amusing, when he gets those multiversal phones, to start handing them out to the people he knows so they can get in on the fun. So, Mc finds out Izzy''s identity, seems pretty obvious in hindsight, but I don''t think people in his situation would immediately jump to divine conclusion. While there were many red gs near there end there, he was understandably preupied with the idea of having to rescue a little girl in Yomi. Might have another interludeing up soon, perspective from the hero faction.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /Astoryforone

 Chapter 76 - 73

    <h4>Chapter 76: Chapter 73</h4>


    There was a rather awkward silence that filled the room.


    I was sitting on her sofa and she sat in a chair nearby. To make it even worse, there was an unconscious little girl next to me.


    The missing little kitsune. Her nine tails moved ever so slightly with her breathing.


    I feel like an idiot not realizing who Izzy was before. I mean.....it was staring at me right in the face.


    Looking up at Izzy ¨C Izanami, she looked away the moment our eyes met.


    "So.....Izanami." I finally spoke, the silence was starting to grate on me.


    Her head snapped towards me, wanting to say something but she held herself back. "I''m...I apologize for hiding my identity." She said quietly.


    "Okay."


    She paused, looking at me in surprise. "You aren''t angry or...?"


    "Did you think I would be?" I questioned here. "I''m not going to get angry for you hiding your ''true'' name." I rolled my eyes. "Izzy ¨C " I intentionally used her fake name. "Are you not the same person I was spending time with? What exactly changed between then and now?"


    "Is it really that simple to you?" She looked at me in shock. "I am Izanami-no-Mikoto, goddess of death, she who beckons. I havemitted heinous sins in my life, the world curses my very existence."


    "Literally the son of Satan over here." I deadpanned.


    "It is not the same and you know it." She pursed her lips, crossing her arms in annoyance. "I am condemned by the verynd I helped create."


    "Yeah, that''s not fair." I sighed, thinking about what she''s been through. She wasn''t lying about her ''sins'' if the stories are anything to go by. But, at this moment, I don''t see that hateful goddess portrayed in myths and legends, all I see is a lonely women who misses her family. "Should I call you Mother Izanami?" I smiled towards her. She was Japan''s mother goddess.


    "Y-you....." She actually looked bashful at the words. "Don''t tease me." She added on quietly.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle at her reaction, definitely going to call her that in the future. "I''m not upset, Izzy." I said gently. "I am surprised, and more annoyed at myself for not realizing. But I don''t have the faintest negative perception of you right now."


    "It could be a ruse, a n to trick you into this ce.....for you to never leave."


    "Aren''t you supposed to trick me into consuming something of this ce, so I would be forever bound?" I raised an eyebrow. That myth regarding Persephone and Hades did have some kernels of truth to it. My lips curled up as I saw her huff. "Now that I think about it, aren''t you supposed to be stuck here?"


    She scoffed. "I am a goddess, do you think a rock can keep me sealed for that long?"


    Hmm, makes sense. I wonder if any other deities know she gets up and walks around the surface whenever she wants.


    I just shrugged. "Well, regardless, you are my friend and I don''t care who you ''are''." And what a funny thought that is right now. I somehow became friends with Izanami. "Unless you don''t want to be anymore?"


    She actually tensed up at my words, clearly unsettled by my implication. "I enjoy our time spent together." She squeezed out.


    "Well, then nothing else needs to be said." I pped my hands. "So, what''s the issue with little fox over here?"


    I don''t think she knew how to respond to my dismissal of her ''status'', but she seemed willing to shift the conversation. "You are more than familiar with those miscreants that caused chaos in the city not that long ago?"


    "Tamamo-no-Mae cult?"


    "Yes." She rolled her eyes. "Those idiots did not stop their initial attempts, apparently they had a few backup ns in ce incase of failure....how they managed to actually devise a strategy of that level I can''t fathom, because they certainly do not seem to possess the modicum of intelligence needed for that small amount of forward thinking."


    Ouch, yeah, they didn''t seem too bright. Perhaps they managed to find a child to poke holes in their borate schemes? "I actually don''t know more than the bare basics." I scratched the back of my head. "Honestly, I''ve been keeping myself out of that whole mess."


    Izanami looked embarrassed, I guess she must have thought she was dragging me into this against my wills, but I was more than willing to help her to.


    "They were trying to use a ritual to resurrect Tamamo-no-Mae using another 9-tailed fox." Izanami gestured towards the sleeping little kitsune. "Once the connected to Yomi was made, I saw what was happening.....and I took exception."


    Hmm, Tamamo-no-Mae is actually an aspect of Amaterasu, practically her daughter....I dare not ask what the rtionship is like there, because she seems really distant with the concept.


    "Curious." I tapped my chin, thinking about the course of actions. "If I had to guess, they were trying to create a symbolic link due to heritage, then drag out Tamamo-no-Mae''s soul, use the kid''s body as a catalyst to revitalize the dead spirit''s flesh with her own essence."


    "That is.....frighteningly close to what was happening." She seemed mildly surprised by my insight. "There is only one issue that remained though...."


    "She feels of death, but isn''t actually dead." I said, staring at the little girl.


    "Yes." Izanamis said quietly. "She was invaded by the power of Yomi, her soul.....it was ''touched'' by this realm. I''m doing what I can to keep anymore from seeping into her....but it is already acting like poison."


    "And you can''t simply remove or cleanse it?" I asked. She was also a goddess of creation....


    "I can, if I didn''t care about her continued existence." Izanami replied. "I am Yomi, anything I try to do ''inside'' of her will leave more traces of me and the same issues will persist."


    "Ah, like trying to put out a fire with more fire."


    "You understand." She nodded. "That is why I required.....outside help."


    "Outside help am i? And here I thought we were friends."


    "That''s.....not what I meant." She pouted, and it was cute I couldn''t help but tease her.


    I sighed, thinking about the headache this would be. "I understand why you couldn''t simply drop her off at her mother''s now..." I said idly. Yeah, quite a fewments she made started to make more sense.


    Oh gods, I gave her advice on how to deal with her godly children.


    Her youngest is Susano''o....


    Izanami looked away, a sad smile on her face. "I have not seen my daughter for many years...I don''t want our reunion to be her assuming I schemed against her Miko."


    The fact that Amaterasu would probably not listen to reason and assume the worst of Izzy was left unsaid. It would most definitely cause more issues than it solves.


    "Well, you''re in luck, I am perhaps one of the most knowledgeable Magicians in the world."


    "Aren''t you barely an adult?"


    "Irrelevant." I waived her off.


    "I think it is very relevant."


    I ignored her and turned towards the little kitsune. The immediate solutions was perhaps to use a healing spell. My hand ignited with that familiar white light as I raised it over the little girl. Her pale face turned slightly healthier.....but I could tell she wasn''t actually ''getting better''.


    No, the ''infection'' still remained.


    "A normal healing spell won''t do anything." I didn''t really expect it to, but I wasn''t to see the extent of damage. "Perhaps a sealing? Gathering it all up, seal it in a corner of her body forter purification?"


    "Any sealing spell would be eroded within hours." Izanami added.


    "Yeah, this stuff is very corrosive. It isn''t merely ''deathly'' energy mixed in, it''s like abination of death and necrotic power." I murmured, stroking my chin. There is a difference between the two. Death is a natural state of being, the end result for everything. Necrotic energies are....unnatural, they twist life energies and propagate through corruption. While both are antithetical to continue living,bing them makes matters several fold worse.


    "If you continued to keep her ''steady'' how long do you think before she crosses the point of no return?"


    "Several hours at the most." She answered without a second thought.


    And there wasn''t much we could do to slow that down. Even sealing it away for a few hours may have an adverse effect when the energies break free. Yeah, it would buy some time, but the energies might rampage when they finally break out, causing more damage before settling down, essentially elerating the process.


    I suddenly had a thought. "I may have a solution, but I require something from you."


    She tilted her head. "What do you need?"


    "Permission to bring someone in here and help me. I''m close to someone who can most likely heal her fully."


    "That''s it?" She questioned. "And would they be....fortableing here?"


    "Actually, I''m sure she would love to meet you. I want her to meet all my friends actually." I couldn''t help but smiled at her.


    "I see." She looked rather unsure of herself, but she relented. "I will not block you from bringing someone to aid me."


    I held back the urge to give her a hug. I don''t know why it made me feel bad seeing her like that, but we weren''t really close enough for something that ''intimate''. But still, I wanted to cheer her up. "Would you like to hold Sir Wiggles while I''m gone?''


    She looked at me, holding back an eager expression. "...yes."


    I chuckled, flipping my hat off and allowing my familiar hop on out. I mentally sent him my ''feelings'' telling him to watch over Izzy while I go run an errand.


    He happily hopped into herp, allowing her to dote on him.


    Spoiled little rabbit.


    Well, I''m d he doesn''t feel intimidated by her anymore. Even this realm seemed not to bother him as long as he was nearby one of us.


    "I can open up Yomi to almost anywhere in Japan.....where do you need to go?"


    "No worries, I got this." I waived her off, bringing out Mirage.


    "What are you ¨C"


    I shed my sword, creating a portal back home. I gave onest look over at Izzy, her eyes widened in disbelief. Yeah, if even Meridia was surprised that I could do this, I can only imagine Izzy will be too.


    I gave her a wink, jumping through.


    Lets just hope Artoria still has Avalon on her.


    ***


    Girlfriend about to meet new friend. I''m sure nothing bad will happen. And we''re almost at the part where different world characters being to interact. It''s honestly one of the parts i''m looking forward to writing the most, characters that should never meet finally interacting. But that''s mostly still a bit down the road.


    So I was going to write another Interlude tomorrow, which would be 5 chapters from tomorrow for you guys, from the perspective of the hero faction. Are there any other perspectives that people want for the future? I don''t n on touching Sirzechs anytime soon, but those around him are fair game. Hell, i''m open to omake ideas too, if anyone wants to throw some stuff out, canon or non-canon is fine.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /storyforone

 Chapter 77 - 74

    <h4>Chapter 77: Chapter 74</h4>


    My home world appeared before my eyes, the familiar magical energy in the air told me exactly where I was.


    There was something one learned with traveling to other worlds, each one had it''s own ''taste'' so to speak. A vor that was hard to describe unless you actually experienced it for yourself.


    I shook my head, that small bit of lightheadedness that appeared for the briefest moments when you jumped from different levels of magical energy.


    The familiar walls around me came more into focus and I stepped out of my ''room'' at Zelretch''s workshop.


    I did hear someone, exactly the person I was looking for.


    I saw her standing on her tip-toes trying to reach something in a high cabs.


    "Need a hand?" I asked, seeing her head snap towards me, her body reeling back like she was doing something she wasn''t supposed.


    "Wilhelm." Artoria squeaked out. "I was.....just....." She cleared her throat. "I thought you would be gone for a few more days? Zelretch said you were dealing with something in another world."


    "Yeah, something came up and I need help." I sighed, walking close to her. I saw her look rather shy as I inspected what she was trying to grab.


    Our eyes met and she looked away with a small blush on her cheeks. I couldn''t help but chuckle, reaching up and grabbing the box of cookies down for her.


    I think I heard a small ''thank you'' out from under her breath.


    Gods she''s so cute.


    She held the box to her chest, I could tell she wanted to get into them right away but she held back. "What did you need help with?"


    "Actually..." I scratched the back of my head. "I need your help specifically."


    "I would be more than happy to lend you assistance." She smiled at me, a genuine way I could tell she meant it.


    "Would it be prying if I asked if you currently possessed Avalon?"


    She blinked at me for a moment. "You wish to know if I currently possess my Sheath?" She reiterated. "Am I to assume that someone requires healing?"


    "Yeah....a little girl."


    Avalon is quite the powerful Noble Phantasm. It provided Artoria with a form of immortality as long as she possessed it, her brain being her only weakness. Rumors were that it could even regrow a heart if it got destroyed, but I don''t quite know about that.


    "I see." She nodded. "I do indeed have my sheath on me, and it is my duty as a knight to aid those in need."


    "Thank you." I let out a long breath. "Honestly, I didn''t know what I would do if this didn''t work out."


    She smiled at me. "I will never turn down the opportunity to save innocent lives. And...I admit I find this part of you trying to help others to be endearing." She added on quietly, turn her eyes away for a moment. "Though I suspect there is more to this if you need the help of my Noble Phantasm."


    I winced slightly. "What do you know of Yomi?"


    "The realm of the dead in Japan?" She tilted her head, almost speaking to herself. "The realm of Izanami-no-mikoto, goddess of death." She practically recited the words out of her memories.


    "So...said goddess, is my friend. She''s the one asking me for help." I decided to just be blunt about it.


    Artoria just had her eyes widen, staring at me, unable to find the correct words for several moments. "I do not know how to respond to that."


    I could onlyugh awkwardly at her statement. "Yeah, it kinda just happened. Honestly, I didn''t even know she was Izanami when we first met. Kinda revealed herself when this little girl basically got dropped into herp and the energies of Yomi are invading her body and soul."


    "I see." She furrowed her brow. "This is a strange request."


    "Well, I can pay you in anyway you want for your service, or if you want something else I''m sure ¨C"


    "Will." She interrupted me. "I merely said it was strange, not that I would not do it." She said gently, cing a hand on my arm. "I trust you, I do not think you would lead me into a precarious situation.....without atleast informing me ahead of time."


    Oh.....and suddenly I felt much more at ease and my heart was beating slightly faster.


    That is true. For both informing her and leading her into precarious situations, she can handle herself, she doesn''t need for me to treat her like a damsel in distress.....unless she wants to be.


    "And...as your...girlfriend, I wish to meet someone you call a friend." She added, her cheeks a fresh tint of pink.


    Huh....I guess we did be boyfriend and girlfriend. I mean, it''s obvious, it''s jsut we never put a name on it until now.


    "Did I ever tell you how amazing you are?" She made a small noise in embarrassment. "Time is of the essence here, is it okay to leave immediately or do you need some time to prepare?"


    "Rin and the Wizard Marshall are currently working on something..." She looked uncertain. I knew she took her duties to being Rin''s ''servant'' very seriously.


    "I can time it so regardless you''ll be back within the next couple hours." I pointed out.


    "Oh, then I believe we should make haste."


    I held out my hand. "Well then, shall we?"


    She took it without any hesitation, that bright smile on her face as I opened a new portal and led her through.


    ***


    Artoria held my hand much tighter as we stepped through the portal. I think regardless of everything, she was a little bit nervous.


    I have shared my birth world with her in the past. She knew that divine beings still persisted here, that magic and such was known by a much widermunity, but to experience it was a whole different matter.


    "Wilhelm." Izzy''s voice called out, she stood up from her seat to greet us. "And this is?" She asked, looking at Artoria.


    "Greetings, Lady Izanami." Artoria with the expertise she developed in life immediately slipped into her regal persona. Almost as if judging the woman infront of her. "I am Artoria Pendragon, Will''s girlfriend."


    I was mildly surprised she provided her true name, but I guess it didn''t really matter across worlds.


    "A member of the Pendragon n? I only heard the vaguest things about them in the western world." She muttered. "Yes, you do look like the heir I''ve seen a picture of."


    Artoria, to her credit, kept her expression extremely neutral. Merely shooting me a look and I could only convey that I would exinter with my eyes.


    Izanami''s eyes narrowed, practically drilling into Artoria, like she saw something that interested her. "You are not a living being.....or rather, you are but are not, how strange. A living spirit, is that not a paradox?"


    Artoria didn''t react. "It is as you say." She merely confirmed Izanami''s views without adding anything.


    There was a strange.... atmosphere between them. I didn''t quite know how to exin it, like both of them were sizing each other up.


    Weird.


    "Ladies?" I interjected, their heads snapped to me. "The girl?"


    "Yes, of course." Izanami turned away, looking towards the little kitsune on the couch. "I have managed to keep the worst of it away, but still, some enters her body and lingers."


    Yeah, I knew exactly what she was talking about. This ce was almost like an infection it kept trying to grab me. I could keep it off with ease, but the same couldn''t be said about this little unconscious girl.


    "I see, and this is the one you wish me to heal?" Artoria walked forward, cing her hand gently on the Youkai''s forehead. "She is not human." She said quietly, not any kind of usation, but more of a mild surprise.


    Even with the obvious non human features, I think it was more just the incredulity of it. For her, phantasmal species were something extremely rare, and to see one so tantlyying about must have been quite the cultural shock.


    "Will that be an issue?" Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind.


    "It shouldn''t be." Artoria shook her head.


    "How exactly do you n on healing her." Izanami crossed her arms, staring at Artoria.


    Artoria''s lips twitched as she kept herslf even. She pushed against her own chest, a bright light suddenly filled the room, bursting out in every direction. The vicious energies of this realm practically fled away from it. "With this." She replied, and I felt like I could make out the vaguest amount of smugness in her voice.


    "What is...." Izanami held her breath, drinking in the holy light. "It is beautiful."


    Artoria ced it on the little Kitsune''s chest, the holy energies enveloping her, attacking and consuming all deathly and necrotic power that had seeped into her body and soul.


    "Avalon, the hallowed scabbard of Excalibur." Artoria said, peeking over at Izanami, like she was gauging her reaction.


    I was surprised she was being so forthing.


    "Excalibur''s scabbard?" Izanami repeated. "Why is the scabbard so much stronger than that broken sword?" She said in a confused voice.


    "Broken?" Artoria''s voice raised slightly, an audible reaction on her face.


    Ooof, I knew I was forgetting something.


    "You sound as if that is something new to you?" Izanami''s eyes narrowed. "How could you possibly not know that, are you really one of the Pendragon n?" Izanami''s eyes began to glow. "Now that I take a closer look, you are much older than you appear, and you are not a normal spirit. You are nothing like I have ever seen before, almost reminiscent of those Einherjar that the Norse keep, but even that pales inparison. What are you?" She slowly raised her hand.


    Artoria frowned, I could feel her ready to fight at a moments notice.


    "Izzy." I said gently, grabbing her attention.


    "I...." She looked at at her hands, they were glowing slightly and she quickly dismissed whatever power she was drawing upon. "I am sorry." She took a step back, looking rather skittish. "I''m.....not used to speaking with others and I believe I overreacted. I shall wait in another room while you finish up." She turned to away but another voice range out.


    I just sighed.


    "Wait" Artoria called out ncing at me. Izanami halted her steps turning back. "How about we start over?" Artoria also pulled back her battle sense, herbat focus and became almost docile again. "I am Artoria Pendragon, it is a pleasure to meet Will''s friend."


    Izanami hesitated, clearly unsure. "I am....Izanami. It is nice to meet you, Miss Pendragon."


    ***


    Could have been worse! And Artoria can be rather petitive'', even unintentionally. Izanami almost fell back into some old habits, but she doesn''t want to do stuff like that anymore. Got the next interlude up and ready in five chapters, POV from Arthur Pendragon in the hero faction. Trying to keep their super arrogance, but also trying to make their stupid ns smart, if that makes sense. Don''t want idiot ball clutching for the sake of it.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 78 - 75

    <h4>Chapter 78: Chapter 75</h4>


    There were no more power spikes, no divine authority being called upon and no Noble Phantasms being swung around, so things were going okay.


    I was d that Artoria and Izanami were getting along now. Frankly, I don''t really know what happened earlier. They were sort of antagonistic when they first met, now though, they were happily chatting. I saw them out of the corner of my eye, in the kitchen. And every so often, they would look my way and giggle to themselves.


    I felt a disturbance in the force.


    I could only imagine what would happen with my girls meet each other.


    Well, atleast Sir Wiggles was keeping them midly distracted.


    Good job, Sir Wiggles.


    I even reinforced my ears to easedr -- make sure nothing was wrong.


    "Yes, he is a very good boy." Izanami held Sir Wiggled in her arms as Artoria cooed over the small animal.


    "He is a goodpanion." Izanami nodded. "So smart, yes you are." She gentle rubbed his head.


    I couldn''t help but smile, even under the awkward spot I was in. Well, Artoria put the Sheath inside of the little kitsune girl, to further purge her body of all that corruption. She got noticeably better in the time frame, her face now flushed with color instead of a pale deathly state.


    Only, she seemed totch onto me.


    I don''t know why, but when I went to check on her, she quite literally grabbed onto me and wouldn''t let go.


    To be honest, I couldn''t even bring forth the effort to pull myself away because ¨C


    "Daddy." She said quietly, pushing her head into my stomach, headbutting me every so often, like she was trying to grab my attention.


    That.


    Izanami and Artoria just looked at me in amusement, content to not even help me. I was on my own here, and I had no idea how to handle this.


    She wasn''t even conscious.


    She sounded so scared, tightly grabbing onto me. There was...arge part of me that felt something deep down.


    Sympathy?


    I don''t know, but I couldn''t stop myself from reacting. "Shhh." I quietly whispered, running my hand through her hair. "Daddy is here, you don''t have to be scared anymore." No idea what I said thing, it was like my protective instincts were on overdrive.


    I hummed a song my mother used to sing to me when I was a bit younger than her, trying to calm her down.


    I have no idea what she actually went through, she must have been absolutely frightened, to suffer such a thing, to be made a living sacrifice. An instinctual response, I have no idea. Now that I think about it, I only heard about a mother, no father.....perhaps it was something she held back in her heart?


    Regardless, even if she is a 9-tailed fox, she is but a child, this event most likely traumatized her severely. If I could offer this small amount offort, then so be it.


    She just curled up into me more, just as a fox would. Practically a small ball of floof in humanoid form.


    This.....was something I didn''t realize I wanted so much.


    A family? Children, something just like this.


    I''ve yed with the Idea of Meridia running around with our children, perhaps the thought was premature at this point, but I couldn''t help but feel warm from the picture. Scathach too.....would she ever want children?


    Scathach being a mother, I don''t know why I found the idea equal parts humorous and heartwarming.


    And Artoria.....I couldn''t help but nce up to her, she didn''t notice me but I looked away with a small amount of embarrasment.


    That was certainly much too early to think about.


    I don''t know, my own feelings were all over the ce. But for now, I just wanted to make sure this child wasn''t scared any longer.


    "You are surprisingly good at that." Izanamimented.


    Do foxes purr? Because I could vaguely feel something vibrate from her body, like a content noise. "Am I? I really have no idea what I''m doing."


    "Most parents don''t."


    "Since when am I a parent?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Since she started called you ''daddy''." Izanami curled her lips us, finding amusement in my suffering. Once the girl was out of danger, the mood had rxed substantially.


    Is it weird how I want to destroy anything that makes this little girl sad now? Have I randomlytched onto her so easily?


    What an odd sensation.


    "At the rate you are going, children may be inevitable in your future." Artoria gave a small smile, taking a quick nce towards Izanami.


    Was there some kind of inside joke between the two of them that I was unaware of?


    "Oh yes, Artoria here has been telling me about your other paramours." Izanami smirked. "So young and you already have a harem?"


    Ah, that''s what they''ve been talking about when I wasn''t paying attention. Well, I''m d Artoria is on good terms with Izanami, even if it is at my own expense. I''m sure Izanami had been filling in some of the gaps in knowledge that Artoria has regarding devils.


    Joy.


    "I don''t think its technically a harem if I haven''t slept with anyone before." I pointed out.


    "Wait, really?" Izanami looked at my in surprise.


    "Is that really so hard to believe?" I rolled my eyes.


    "Yes." Artoria looked at me with a small grin on her face, finding this whole thing funny.


    "A devil, and a young devil at that." Izanami looked skeptical.


    "Racist."


    "Oh, shush you." Izzy smiled. "How is the child?"


    "I think all the nasty stuff is gone." I smiled lightly, running my hand through her hair again. "You can probably take back your sheath now, Artoria."


    With a nod, the Knight walked over, gently cing a hand on her and pulling out the conceptual armament.


    The little kitsune shuddered slightly, and I felt her grab just a tad tighter.


    "Amazing." Iizzymented. "I can''t even sense the smallest inkling of Yomi''s power inside of her any longer. What a powerful sheath you possess.


    "Of course." Artoria seemed happy to receive the praise, and it wasn''t veiled with prodding this time. "It is the embodiment of humanities desire for utopia."


    I could tell that Izanami was holding herself back, perhaps if this was her many centuries ago, she would have simply forced out any answers she desired, but at this moment, she was not pushing it.


    "I would advise you not to broadcast your possession of such a thing...." Izanami looked a small bit concerned.


    "Mmm, the church would probably stop at nothing to acquire it." I thought out loud.


    "Not just that institution." Izanami shook her head. "There are many beings, even divine, who would wish to have that thing."


    Artoria smiled brightly. "Thank you for your concern, I have confidence to keep it away from those who wish malicious intent." She looked over at the goddess. "It only works with my magical energy, stealing it would be pointless."


    Izanami paused. "Regardless....if you ever find yourself in trouble....contact me I should be able to lend a hand."


    "Thank you, your kindness is appreciated." Artoria replied, genuine in her words.


    "We should probably get going, I don''t think it''s fair to make this girl''s mother wait any longer." I didn''t really want to stop their interaction, but I really wanted to get her back home. As the words left my mouth, Sir Wiggles jumped down where he was sitting and I held my hat out with one hand for him to jump inside.


    He seemed to like it, perhaps I''ll connect it to the yard back home so it acts as more of a portal or something.


    "Yes, of course." Izanami said. "I would not like to keep a child away from her mother longer than necessary."


    "I look forward to the next time we can speak." Artoria stated.


    "Next time...?" Izanami said quietly to herself. "I....too look forward to that."


    I finally hefted up the little kitsune, her head happily over my shoulder and I carried her in my arms. "I''ll get you home first." I told Artoria.


    "Thank you for everything." Izanami said.


    "It was my pleasure to aid you, Izanami." Artoria smiled back towards the goddess of death who looked genuinely happy.


    "I''m sorry I couldn''t stick around longer." I also said my piece.


    "No, the circumstances are understandable....I shall contact you at ater date."


    We walked out the door, I thought it would be rude to leave from the middle of her home.


    "I''m also sorry for bringing you here then suddenly shutting you back home." I looked down to Artoria.


    "I understand the situation, and I still enjoyed my time here." Artoria shook her head, staring out into the distance. "I.....did enjoy spending time with Izanami." She looked rather contemtive. "I also apologize for how I acted, I just.....I started thinking of her exactly like my sister and certain things suddenly swelled to the surface."


    Morgan Le Fay....yeah I could see it.


    The King of Knights shook her head. "I am happy that we left on good terms....and I would not be remiss to return, I quite enjoyed herpany."


    Yeah, it''s almost easy to forget that Izanami is a goddess...she was so happy to sit around and chat with us.


    I felt almost bad to bring back Sir Wiggles, but I promised I would meet up with her again.


    Overall, I''m happy. My girlfriend was getting along with my new friend, even if the start was rather rough.


    "I still owe you a proper outing." I looked at her in the eyes and smiled.


    "I suppose you do." She pursed her lips. "I will wait until you resolve this mess." She tiptoed over to me, gently cing her lips to my cheek, being careful not to wake the little fox. "I enjoy this side of you Wilhelm."


    "ying dad?" I chuckled.


    A small smile rose on her face. "The side of you that is willing to lend aid to others, this honorable aspect of yours. I know you appear aloof most of the time, but I enjoy watching you care about others, to be honorable like this." She pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. "Izanami showed me how you lent aid when Kyoto was attacked."


    Oh, introducing Artoria to the inte, I''m sure that can only end well.


    "...I only helped because it was right there." I dismissed.


    "Mmm, is there an issue with only helping those you can see that are in trouble?" She looked at me. "No one is expected to travel the world, to right every wrong in existence, but to see evilmitted infront of your eyes and choose to act, that is what makes someone honorable."


    "You know, when you say something like that to me, it just makes it harder for me to let you go." I sighed, feeling a warmness in my heart at her words.


    "It is unfortunate, but other matters require your attention."


    "Yeah, I need to get this little girl home." I gave a wry smile, waiving my hand, a new portal formed, linking back to Zelretch''s workshop.


    She gave oncest goodbye before turning and walking through the portal, going home.


    "Oh." Her words echoed out right as she was disappearing. "I very much would like to hear about how my sword is ''destroyed'' from you at ater date."


    Oof. The venom in her voice was palpable.


    That is not going to be a fun conversation to have.


    Even still....why does it always feel so bitter when I have to separate? I made a small resolve to finally finish my home so I could link up everywhere and not have to deal with this so much.


    Well, regardless, I readjusted my hold on the little fox. "Time to get you back home to mommy." I whispered, opening a new portal to the surface.


    ***


    Momma fox is next. Mc awkwardly tries to console traumatized kitsune as he contemtes what he wants in the future, with a healthy amount of girl time gossip between Artoria and Izzy.


    So, I would have gotten this out earlier, except I was distracted. Now, you may be wondering, what could possibly distract me like this? Well, I may have rediscovered an anime I saw many years ago. And I think back then, I simply couldn''t appreciate it. So, it''s a Mecha anime, but it''s sort of a ''parody'' The name is Star Driver, and apparently the pilots of said mechas, their strength corresponds to their libido. The Mc is the ''super spechsal'' protagonist that has his own transformation scene, and theres even a title for people like him -- Gctic Pretty Boy. Yup, and it''s fucking fabulous. Not to mention the sound track has no right to be as good as it is. It honestly made my omake instinct kick in.


    I want.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 79 - 76

    <h4>Chapter 79: Chapter 76</h4>


    I hummed lightly as I walked towards the estate that Yasaka lived. Her daughter still grabbing onto my tightly, refusing to budge.


    Her tails swayed gently, and I could feel the vibrations of content, certain sounds that I assumed were because of her being a kitsune. If she were some species of ''cat'' I would assume it was a purr. Even her ears would twitch every so often.


    So cute, I just wanted to rub those little furry appendages.


    Really, the only thing stopping me was that I didn''t know if that would be considered ''intimate'' or not. If it was something meant only for family or lovers, I wouldn''t want to start touching tails and ears.


    As I got close to thepound, therge Japanese-style mansion, I felt something suddenly lock onto me. A powerful pair of eyes practically pierced through the building and refused to leave me.


    Killing intent oozed out and I felt whatever it was start moving at me with blinding speed.


    A very distraught 9-tailed fox practically burst out the front gates, nked by dozens of guards. All of which appeared to be Youkai, but the vast majority looked to be Tengu by the wings from their backs.


    Weapons were drawn, spells were ready, they were a moments away from initiating battle.


    Hello awkward silence.


    "I think this belongs to you?" I gestured at the little girl still held in my arms.


    I think the guard at the front was about to speak, but Yasaka was already infront of me, grabbing her daughter from my arms.


    "Nooooo Daddy!" The little kitsune whined even as Yasaka pulled her away. But that didn''t stop her from giving me a very intense gaze.


    I held my hands up as if to say I''m innocent.


    She just ignored me for now, content to worry over her daughter. I saw her cast many spells in that moment, checking on her health and what-not, but she should be perfectly fine.


    "My baby girl, mommy is so sorry." Yasaka whispered to the still unconscious kitsune, hugging her tight."


    I couldn''t even get annoyed at the res I was receiving from this woman.....I really have a soft spot for mothers.


    It took a few more moments before Yasaka calmed down. "I have questions." Her gazended on me again.


    "I expected as much." I said, I mean, I knew this wasing. And I didn''t exactly want to get on the bad side of the ruling powers here since I kind of ¨C you know ¨C live here.


    "Escort him to the main hall, I will be taking my daughter to the healers." Yasaka gave outmands as I was suddenly nked by several Tengu.


    Not that I was taken by surprise or anything, but I admired the speed at which they moved. Then again, Tengu are known for being rather fast.


    It was another awkward silence, I didn''t even try to start a conversation or anything, these guys still seemed very on edge. And I couldn''t really me them for that, just looking around, this ce looked like it had been a warzone....which it probably was.


    Literally parts of the building were copsed, the inner courtyard waspletely destroyed, and I think I saw bodies still being cleaned up.


    Even as we entered the hall, the ce where they greeted guests, the guards merely took positions off to the side as I sat in the center, waiting for something to happen.


    Yasaka came barging in almost an hourter, barely sparing me a nce as she took up her seat on an elevated little tform, overlooking the area.


    I could tell she was still antsy, most likely still worried about her daughter. I can only assume the fact that nothing was wrong with her is what was keeping her from staying at her side. I mean, I wasn''t exactly someone she could ignore at the moment. I brought her daughter back, and she had to get to the bottom of that.


    "How did youe across my daughter?" Yasaka''s authoritative voice filled the hall.


    "A friend found her, and asked for my aid in healing her." I replied.


    "Who?"


    "She didn''t wish to give her name."


    Yeah, Izzy didn''t want make herself known here. And I didn''t mind taking the heat like this for her.


    Yasaka just narrowed her eyes at me. "Exin from the beginning."


    I just sighed. "My friend discovered that some people were going to sacrifice your daugt¡ª"


    Yasaka growled, the floor cracked and the building shook at her immediate rage. "Sacrifice my daughter?" Her voice was deceptively calm.


    "They needed a simr body to resurrect Tamamo-no-Mae, to pull her soul from Yomi, then use your daughter''s body as material for a new one to be crafted to house the deceased''s soul. The ritual had already been underway, a hole into Yomi forced open when my friend interfered, stopping it."


    She sucked in a deep breath, reining in her temper. She turned to the side, snapping her fingers and a guard popped down from the ceiling. "Do we still have those prisoners we captured a few days ago?"


    "Yes, Lady Yasaka." The guard bowed.


    "Good, I will be having words with themter." Her icy tone dropped the temperature in the entire room. Her gaze once again turned to me. "You said she was involved in a ritual that connected to Yomi, were there no other issues?"


    "I had to seek out someone specifically to heal her.....it''s why it took so long to get her back to you."


    "I see." Her face betrayed nothing as she swept her gaze around the room. "Leave us, I would speak with him in private."


    One of the guards stepped forward. "But Lady Yasaka w ¨C"


    "If he wished to harm me, he merely had to kill my daughter. Now leave us." Shemanded.


    They all bowed and disappeared from the room. A couple of them I had to especially pay attention to notice their presence were now gone.


    She stood up, walking towards me. I was about to speak until she suddenly enveloped me with her body, my head getting smooshed into her ratherrge chest. "Thank you." I could hear the pained way her voice carried. "ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou." She kept repeating "I thought I lost my Kunou forever."


    I couldn''t even appreciate my current situation. If it were any other time....I would have most certainly reacted differently. I don''t think ''voluputous'' was even enough to describe this woman. But seeing the tears literally falling down her face... "You''re a good mother." I just awkwardly pat her back.


    She let out a self-depreciativeugh, pulling herself back as she wiped away the tears in her eyes. "I''m sorry." She finally straightened herself out. "To see me like this...."


    "It''s understandable." I smiled lightly. "You were worried for your daughter."


    She regained herposure after a few more moments and gave a small smile, looking over me again. "You look familiar..." She tilted her head curiously.


    "Perhaps I have one of those faces?"


    "No." She furrowed her brow. "I feel like I''ve seen you befo ¨C" Her eyes widened slightly. "I see, it seems I will have to speak with Serafall again." Her smile turned into a scowl.


    Serafall, as in Serafall Leviathan, one of four Satans that rule over the devils and the one who deals with foreign affairs. I scrunched my eyebrows, a small amount of annoyance on my face. "I''m not a part of the devil faction."


    She looked at me for a moment before realization dawned on her. "Well, that makes matters simple then." She seemed happy once again. "Regardless, you saved my daughter, I am in your debt."


    "What actually happened, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    She frowned slightly. "We thought we dealt with those disgusting things, that damn cult." She hissed. "We thought we stopped their ns, then some idiots decided it was a good idea to use the chaos to try and usurp my position. While we were weeding out all the traitors, they contacted the remnants of the cult and worked together to distract us long enough for my Kunou to be kidnapped."


    I see, if my history of this ce was correct, Tamamo-no-Mae should have been more than enough to contend with Yasaka if she were revived. Were the ones plotting rebellion just hoping that they would take each other out or weaken each other enough that they could finish off any winner?


    What a shitshow.


    "Your help was appreciated as well." Shemented. "I intended to reach out at some point..." She trailed off and I knew she was understandably distracted by other events.


    Mmm, yeah It isn''t surprising that she knew that I stepped in and dealt with some of those idiots causing issues.


    Well, I didn''t really have any other questions.....except. "Why did Kunou keep calling me ''daddy''?"


    Yasaka let out a smallugh, covering her face with her sleeve. "Her father...passed away when she was young. Perhaps one of her only memories was when she was small and was having nightmares. Her father would alwayse running in when she woke up in the middle of the night and she would alwaystch onto him, not allowing him to leave."


    I see..i guess it dredged up those old memories and she reacted out of instinct.


    She hummed to herself. "Do you dislike her calling you that?" She smiled at me. "I do need to reward you, how about I make it official~?" She bounced her chest, looking at me slyly.


    "You''re teasing me." I didn''t react. Nice try, I survived Scathach.


    "Maybe I am, maybe I''m not." Sheughed. "How about it? All you need to do is ask, I am at your mercy, you saved my daughter."


    "Mhmm." I hummed nomittedly.


    "Oh, you''re no fun." She huffed.


    Was this how she coped with the stress, or was it merely in her nature as a fox? The offer was...tempting, but well....maybe if this was back before I went to the Land of Shadows I would have said ''yes'' without hesitation.


    I think I learned my lesson with Meridia, even if that worked out well.


    It would justplicate things in my life and there are no true feelings there beyond physical attraction.


    "Well, a debt owed by the West Youkai leader, I think I''ll just keep it in my pocket for now." I stated.


    "Fine, fine, be that way." She pursed her lips. "Are you really not going to tell me who else saved my daughter?"


    I sighed, rubbed my temple. plicated." I ran a hand through my hair. "She doesn''t want to cause any issues and she doesn''t exactly have the best reputation."


    "Do I seem like someone who would bare ill will towards someone who saved my daughter?"


    "Izanami." I said bluntly and her eyes widened, and she almost fell back where she was sitting. She opened her mouth several times, but no words came out. "Do you see how it could be perceived if she publicly revealed herself?"


    "Are you sure....." She stopped herself. "Friends....." She paused again. "Izanami really saved my daughter?"


    "Yes, to all of those." I gave a small smile. "She also didn''t want a potentially fight with her daughter, your patron."


    "Yes.....I can see how an issue may arise there." She furrowed her brow. "I don''t care. Please pass on my words next you see Lady Izanami, she is always wee in my home and I would be more than willing to thank her in person." Yasaka snorted, a small frown on her face. "I beseeched my ''patron'' for aid, days ago, and I was refused. Yet, the most unlikely goddess is the one who answered my prayers. You said there was a third person, a healer you sought out?"


    "Yeah, Izanami couldn''t do much because of the deathly energies that were inside Kunou, her being a resident of Yomi herself.....so I brought in someone else who cleansed and healed her."


    "I see....and would it be possible for me to express my thanks to this person as well?"


    "I can bring her around at some point, I think. She is...not a goddess or anything like that, but she doesn''t want to reveal her identity publicly. A certain n in the west, one that is connected to a particr set of holy swords might be a bother."


    "Holy sword..." She looked thoughtful for a moment before realization dawned on her. "I see, and I would like to say regardless of how powerful that particr n is, they would not be able to act up in my territory as they please."


    Well, that''s a relief. I mean, I''m not scared of them or anything, but an annoyance is an annoyance. Rather just not have to deal with them at all. Yeah, the Pendragon family is particrly powerful for a human ''n''. Enough that their names are still known world-wide and the Church doesn''t just take all their ''holy weapons'' for themselves.


    I couldn''t help but let out a long breath. I just keep getting mixed up in more and more nonsense, I should probably distance myself from this whole thing. "Well, that should be everything? Unless you have other questions for me?"


    "Hmm, I have a general idea of what happened, and my Kunou is back, perfectly safe and healthy." She smiled towards me again. "Are you sure you don''t want a reward~?"


    This woman is dangerous.


    ***


    Sorry for missing yesterday, had something for lunch that just did not sit well and I was hovering my toilet after I got off from work. I''ll see about doing another chapter this weekend. On a side note, Zhongli in 30 wishes, Come @ me.


    So MC''s first meeting with momma fox. So I had it pointed out to me that I was meandering too much on the ''vacation'' aspect of this arc, so I decided to move time tables up and finish this first DxD trip a bit earlier than I initially intended. Probably in 2-4 chapters, over on my pat re on. Then it''s back on the grind for the next world.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /Astoryforone

 Chapter 80 - 77

    <h4>Chapter 80: Chapter 77</h4>


    [HAHAHAHAHA]


    "Gods dammit."


    [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]


    "It''s not that funny!"


    [It''s fucking hrious.]


    "I hate you so much right now."


    [This is the best day.]


    "Raaah!" I threw the washcloth I held in my hand to the ground.


    [She got you good.]


    "Fuck me, she did." Honestly, I couldn''t even be mad.


    Annoyed? Sure.


    But not mad.


    Who knew Yasaka could be so petty. Well, add in a ssh of mischief and here we are. Was it pay back for not ying around with her ''seductions''? Honestly, they didn''t'' seem ''genuine'' more so her just messing with me for the hell of it.


    I looked at myself in the mirror, a bright pink lipstick mark on my forehead, where she gave me a ''going away kiss''


    "She fucking cursed me." I threw my hands up.


    [You didn''t even notice until we got back! And people were staring at you the whole way.]


    "I was preupied!"


    [Yeah, it seems someone found your weakness. You better watch out in the future, some voluptuous woman may take advantage of you.]


    I was not distracted by her boobs, even if my face we pressed firmly between them.


    Nope.


    Clearly, she is a master at misdirection and took me be surprised.


    She did something with her Touki and magical energy that ''cursed'' the spot she kissed me, making it so I can''t wipe it away.


    Completely harmless, except to my pride.


    My knowledge of Touki is.... minimal. I would need time to unravel what she did, trying to force my magical energy it just made it violent and essentially absorb my mana to strengthen itself.


    Perhaps I should seek help from an ''expert''?


    I thought for a moment before tearing open a hole back to Yomi, right onto a familiar doorstep.


    I didn''t even get a chance to knock before Izzy swung the door open, surprised to see me.


    "Yo."


    "Hello, Wilhelm." Her eyes staring right at my current issue. "Do I want to know?"


    "Yasaka can be mischievous." I shrugged. "So, what do you know of Touki?"


    "A bit." She answered, stepping away, and gesturing forward. "Come in."


    "Thank you." I was polite, it was my first time truly ''visiting''. I would say that previous time didn''t count as it was more of an emergency.


    "I admit, I did not expect you to willinglye back...." She said quietly.


    "Why?"


    "Don''t y coy." She rolled her eyes. "You know why."


    "Mmm, nope." I shrugged, plopping down on her couch. "You''re my friend." I shot her a smile.


    "....you can be infuriatingly wholesome sometimes." She sighed. "Would you like refreshments?"


    "Tea would be lovely." I answered taking my hat off. Honestly, I missed Japanese tea. Not that I hat some English variants, but variety is the spice of life. "Do you want Sir. Wiggles toe out?"


    She looked back at me, the way her house was designed, I could see her in the kitchen from the living room. "Yes, please."


    I just smiled, tapping on my hat and Sir. Wiggles happily came out to greet the goddess of death. Knowing who she was now, I could understand why she acted the way she did when she first met him. No doubt it was the first time an animal allowed her to touch them in a very long time.


    He happy joined her in the kitchen, almost reading my thoughts.


    A few minutester, she walked out of the kitchen, rabbit hugged closely, and two cups of tea floating right next to her as they slowly set themselves down on the table infront of me.


    "Smells wonderful." I couldn''t help but admire the aroma. I picked it up and took a sip, my eyes widening slightly at the taste. "Gyokuro?" I asked, it was a very expensive tea....though I suppose money doesn''t have much value to people like us. "How generous." Iughed.


    She looked away with a small huff, taking a sip of her own. "It''s not like I have anyone else to make it for."


    "This is nice." I sat back, enjoying the peace.


    "You are in the middle of Yomi." She deadpanned.


    "Honestly, the Land of Shadows was worse.....somewhat. Atleast the air here doesn''t cut you from being so cold."


    "Do you have a habit of staying innds of death?"


    "Well, I intend to keep visiting you, so maybe?"


    "Who said you would have permission to keeping here?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Who said I need permission?" I smirked.


    Her lips curled up into a small smile. "What exactly happened to you? You haven''t been gone even a day and here you are, marked by the fox herself."


    I rubbed my forehead, frowning slightly. "I didn''t react to her ying. Who knew she could be petty?"


    "That actually exins just about everything." She pursed her lips. "I had hoped there would be a more amusing story."


    "What, hoping you could post something more juicy online?"


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about." Her face gave nothing away as she took another drink.


    "Uh huh." I don''t believe you. "By the way, Yasaka wanted me to pass on my thanks. She says you''re wee in her home whenever you want."


    Izanami paused, staring at me incredulously. "That foolish woman, does she not realize what could happen by ''inviting'' me into her home?" The goddess scowled. "I have free rein now toe and go whenever I wish! I could simply go there and steal her daughter, did she never think of that!?"


    "Are you going to?"


    "Of course not." She crossed her arms with a huff.


    "Then why are you even bringing it up?" I rolled my eyes. "Drama queen. She obviously doesn''t think badly of you, take the good will, stop thinking the worse of yourself."


    She ''harrumphed'' but didn''t argue. "Do you require help with that curse?"


    I just blinked for a moment. "You could tell it was a curse that easily?"


    She rolled her eyes this time. "Who do you think I am?"


    "Fair." Yeah, I forgot for a moment. "Oh great goddess Izanami!" I held my arms out. "Please remove this lipstick mark from my forehead."


    "I''m regretting offering my help."


    "Help me, Izanami, you''re my only hope."


    "Are you sure? The darkness I wield is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be.....unnatural."


    My eyes widened and I couldn''t help but startughing, I even caught Izzy let out a small giggle at the amusement.


    "Fine, fine." Sheposed herself. "Before you start quoting anything else." She walked up to me, raising her hand. "Be aware though, I do have to push my power into you briefly to dissolve this."


    "It''s fine." I smiled at her. "I trust you."


    She paused briefly, her hand shaking slightly. "Is that so..." she lightly pushed her finger against my forehead and I felt her invade the area that was cursed and her power briefly pulsed around my body. "Why do you have Odin''s blessing?" Her tone turned sharp.


    "Err.....reasons?"


    "That wrinkled.....perverted..." She growled. "I told him to go away!" She huffed, ring at me. "Did he do anything to you?"


    "Um, no?"


    "Good." Her nostrils red. "I suppose I won''t need to castrate him this time then."


    Thankfully, I did have a mirror on me to check out the spot. "Thanks for the help."


    "Of course." She gave a small smile. "....I did notice another blessing you had."


    "Meridia''s blessing." I nodded. Still don''t know how she snuck that in me without noticing. And Ddraig hadn''t been much help.


    "Artoria spoke of her, I did not realize she was a goddess." Izanami seemed deep in thought for a moment. "It did not like me, I felt as if it would attack me if I did anything malicious."


    "I guess that''s to be expected, she is a goddess of life." I exined.


    "I see, that makes sense." She muttered. "Though I have never heard of a goddess by that name....and she appeared quite powerful if a mere blessing was that potent."


    I just shrugged. "Yeah, she''s pretty great."


    "Would you....." She paused. "Nevermind."


    "Izzy." I said gently.


    "What?"


    "Don''t ''what'' me." I crossed my arms. "Finish what you were going to say."


    "It doesn''t matter."


    "It matters to me."


    "Fine!" She scowled. "Would you like my blessing too?"


    "I would love your blessing."


    She didn''t reply, but took a step forward and quickly ced her lips against my forehead. I felt something warm flow through my body before settling down.


    "There."


    "Thank you." I said sincerely.


    "Whatever." She tried to look uncaring, but I could tell she was happy.


    How many people had willingly sought out Izanami-no-Mikoto''s blessing in the past?


    It should provide a small bit of warding against evil spirits and deathly powers, among other things. Basically the smallest touch of her authority provided.


    It made me curious what Odin''s blessing did....even if I did not particr like receiving it, I still was curious. Not to mention Meridia''s.....no idea how that is working. Perhaps it''s so alien it''s something I cant'' recognize?


    I looked up, her eyes were glowing slightly. I couldn''t help but stare for a moment.


    She just blinked and they were back to normal.


    "Pretty." I blurted out


    Her cheeks turned slightly red.


    Seeing her act like that just brought a smile to my face. "I need to head out, got a couple things to speak with my grandfather about." I stood up. "Would you like me to leave Sir Wiggles here with you?"


    She looked down where the rabbit had taken up residence on her seat. "Can I.....?"


    "Of course."


    "Thank you." She mumbled, scooping him up once again and holding him close.


    I''m d she gets along well with him.


    Emotional support rabbit?


    ------


    I walked through a portal back into Zelretch''s workshop. "Hey old man ¨C " I stopped, he turned around, staring at me and I stared back. "What are you doing?"


    He looked down at his hands. "Oh.....just dealing with some stuff."


    "I see." I nodded. "What requires the use of water balloons?" He was filling them up at the faucet.


    "Some brat made a move against Rin."


    "Ah, say no more." I raised my hand. "Need help?"


    "Why not?" He nodded. "Can you add this to the ones filled up already?" He passed me a small vial.


    "Oh, what''s this?" I eyed it curiously.


    "You know those dye packs that usually sit insiderge stacks of cash for when it get stolen?"


    I couldn''t help but smile. "Neat, so I assume it reacts with the water to produce a simr result."


    "Indeed." He smiled.


    Hmm, curious to see who thought it was a good idea to fuck with us. "Oh, by the way, I have something I want you to look at."


    "I figured it was something like that." He tied one of the balloons tight. "Give me the cliff notes."


    "Mmm, I wanted to make my house ovep on several world lines so anyone cane and go there regardless of which world they''re in."


    "Oh? Ambitious." We loaded the balloons in a bucket. "Lets speak more somewhere else." He waived his hand and a new portal opened up.


    We walked through and we were on the rooftop of a building I didn''t recognize off the top of my head.


    "So what exactly did these idiots do?"


    "Tried to strongarm Rin into some nonsense or another." He stood at the ledge, casting his gaze. "They didn''t push too far past any lines.....but I don''t appreciate my apprentice being used in such a way."


    "I see." I muttered. "I suppose it doesn''t quite warrant a death penalty then. But still, such a thing cannot be allowed without rpense."


    He nodded along with a smile. "Ah, there they are, you see that Rolls Royce flying down the road?"


    "The one ignoring the speed limits?" I squinted and reinforced my eyes. "Well, I guess it doesn''t really matter, this is still clocktower territory."


    "You want the honors?" I asked.


    "Oh, I would be delighted." He picked up one of the balloons, staring for a moment before reeling his arm back and throwing it with impressive power.


    The balloon didn''t pop until it collided with the car''s windshield and sttered into a sticky blue liquid that covered their vision. The car swerved a few times across the empty street before mming into a light pole.


    "What issues are you having with your little project?" He asked, staring at his handiwork.


    "Not so much an issue, but I wanted a second opinion before I took the next step." I took out my notebook and handed it to him. "I would rather not waste resources if it won''t work, and this is just a fun project at the moment."


    He flipped it open, stroking his beard for a few moments. "Hmm, I see your train of thought." His flexed his fingers and grabbed a pen from the air, writing a few things here and there. "You''re turn, by the way."


    "Oh, right." I nodded, picking up my own balloon. I reinforced the outeryer so it wouldn''t pop with the velocity I would be throwing it with. I closed one eye to get a good idea of the distance and with a shutter step, I threw it as hard as I could.


    The red balloon soared through the air as a man wobbly stepped out of the car. It collided with his head, knocking him off his feet andpletely covering him in the blue dye.


    "Good hit."


    "Thanks." I smiled brightly. "So, thoughts?"


    "I like it." He inspected a few more pages. "I''m d you''re also enjoying your time." He started writing a few more things. "Ah, I believe you missed a step here, honestly it''s an easily forgettable step." He circled something with a red marker.


    "Jeese, feels like I''m being graded back in school."


    "Hah!" He abruptly stopped and let out augh.


    "What?" I looked at him in confusion.


    "I just remembered, you technically didn''t finish high school"


    "Oh, fuck me." I facepalmed. "Rin will never let me live this down."


    Zelretch cackled, grabbing another balloon. "Oh look, more targets."


    "Hmm, seems there are a few more for each of us?" Yeah, a few more got out of the car and were trying to either help the other man up or search around for attackers.


    Honestly, we were a surprising distance away for tossing water balloons.


    "Want to see who gets the best hit?" I asked.


    "Hmm, loser buys dinner?"


    "You''re on, old man."


    ***


    I''ll start on another chapter sometimeter, but need to get some stuff done today and I wanted to y some Genshin.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, check out my /@astoryforone. Mc finally met Okita in the recent chapter.

 Chapter 81 - 78

    <h4>Chapter 81: Chapter 78</h4>


    Gramps and I walked back into his home, a small smile on my face and a frown on his.


    "Why are you both covered in blue paint?" Rin stopped, staring at us.


    "No reason." Zelretch smoothly replied.


    "He''s a sore loser." I corrected. "How you doing, Rin?" I asked, seeing Artoria also join her.


    Zelretch disappeared when I wasn''t looking, probably off to fulfill his side of the wager.


    "I''m good." She shrugged. "You want a status update or something? I thought you were in another world."


    "I was and sure, but I''m not really here to pressure you or anything, just wanted some notes looked at by the old man." I tried to wipe away the blue dye on my face as best as possible. "Oh, by the way, picked these up over there." I tossed a couple of the magical phones on the nearby table. "Ah, and before I forgot." I turned to Artoria. "Izzy wants to hang out some time, if you''re interested."


    The dye was easy enough to remove with some magical applications.


    "I would like that very much." Artoria beamed.


    Rin held one of the phones in her hand, eyeing them. "Huh, I''ll take these apartters." She set them back down, honestly, she looked rather out of it. A look rather familiar to most mages, you can only shut yourself in your workshop for so long. "Who''s Izzy?"


    "You didn''t tell her?" I asked Artoria.


    "I did not wish to reveal any private matters." Artoria replied.


    "You are ridiculously sweet, but it''s fine to tell Rin stuff like that." I couldn''t help but wrap my arms around her. The sound she made was so cute and she returned my hug. "I still owe you another date, anything in particr you want to do?"


    "I.....will think on it." She looked rather thoughtful at the notion. I was the one who basically lead the other dates, so I figured it would be good to allow her to take the lead here.


    "Bleh, flirt somewhere else." Rin made a gagging noise. "Anyways, who''s Izzy?"


    "Izanami-no-Mikoto, Japan''s goddess of Death and creation. I happened to befriend her in my birth world, Artoria helped me with a matter involving her, and they apparently became friends as well."


    "I feel like I''m missing a lot of context."


    "Actually, that is very much what happened." Artoriamented. "Izanami is nice, we spent awhile chatting."


    "I''m not even surprised, this is pretty much the norm around here." Rin sighed.


    "You''ll like her." I smiled. "She''s a lot different than how her legends portrays, honestly she''s a bit of a shut in, spends a lot of time on the inte." Honestly, the image is still amusing. "Oh, TLDR; they have supernatural inte over there." Learned that little tidbit the hard way.


    "Well, if I ever get to the point where I cane and go across world-lines, I would like to visit." She shrugged. "Do you have more info on that one world we were supposed to go to soon?"


    "Oh, Skyrim?" Well, Skyrim was the name of the province, but I didn''t really intend to venture beyond those borders for the moment.


    "Yeah, that ce." She sent me a tired dismissal. "I think I should be finished with my kaleidophone soon ¨C and are we really calling it that?"


    "You gonna tell the old man he can''t?" I eyed her.


    "Point." She agreed.


    "You okay?" She seemed so out of it, more than just being tired.


    "Mmm tired." She yawned. "And hungry, I haven''t slept in......60 hours and eaten in almost as long."


    "I had to drag her away from her work." Artoria sighed.


    "Perfect timing then." Zelretch popped in right at that moment, carrying a few bags that gave off a tantalizing smell.


    "Bullshit, you did that on purpose." I rolled my eyes. Though I would have done the same thing. "What did you get?"


    "Authentic Cajun from New Orleans Louisiana." He set the stuff on the table.


    "Oh, good choice." I nodded, putting my hat on Artoria''s head, much to her amusement. "Hope you brought some bibs."


    "Hah" He smiled, taking them out with little cartoonish pictures of lobsters on them. "If you aren''t covered in a mess, you aren''t eating it right."


    I just smiled as Artoria didn''t take my hat off and happy started digging in.


    "So what are you doing after this?" Zelretch looked at me and asked.


    "Figured I''d go swing by and see Sasaki Kojiro, promised him I would bring some Sake." I took a bite of food. "Maybe check in on Medea too, see how it''s going. After, though, probably head back over to my birth world, got some stuff going on."


    "How is Assassin? I have not spoken to him in ¨C " Artoria scrunched her brow. " ¨C Well over a year."


    "He''s doing well I suppose. But he seems dreadfully bored." Should I spar with him again? "Actually, Rin, when you finally finish your project, I was thinking about maybe linking it up to the supernatural inte back in my birth world, and perhaps giving a few of them away to friends?" I think Sasaki would appreciate that quite a bit.


    "Whatever, just pay me." She shrugged, clearly not caring.


    "Fair enough." I turned back to Artoria. "Want toe with me?"


    She tilted her head, ncing over at Rin.


    "Go, go." Rin made a ''shooing'' motion. "Go have fun with your boyfriend, I''m gonna nap after I eat."


    I think hearing Rin calling her that, Artoria started to blush. "I would like to join, if it is okay."


    "Of course." I reached over, squeezing her hand briefly. "Though.....will you be okay seeing Medea?"


    Artoria pursed her lips. "We have an.....understanding."


    Ominous.


    ***


    "The air here is quite nice." Artoriamented as we stepped out of a portal at the base of the Ryuudou Temple in Fuyuki. "I had missed it."


    "Yeah, thisnd is saturated with magical energy due to the ley paratively to most of the world that is." I nodded, and the air here was much cleaner than in London. "Ah, that reminds me, has Rin been practicing with her Noble Phantasm?"


    The corners of Artoria''s lips curled up. "I have managed to drag her out a few times to practice, she is a fast learner." She looked pleased with herself. "Ah, I also had a question I had been meaning to ask." She ran her fingers along the brim of my hat she was still wearing. "Where is Sir Wiggles?"


    I held back augh at her saying the name with a serious face. "Izzy and him are having a sleep over." I smiled. "It seemed like she needed somepany."


    "I see." She nodded with what I heard of a ''lucky'' under her breath.


    Seems like I chose well for my familiar.


    "Oh, some familiar faces." I heard certain voice call out, walking down the steps.


    "Hello, Sasaki." Artoria greeted him like an old friend.


    "Saber, a please as always." He nodded towards her. "And if it isn''t Wilhelm...." He looked at me intently. "You''ve changed quite a bit."


    Well, I do preen under praise. "I have." No point in hiding it.


    "Curious....you''ve only been gone weeks at this point, yet....." His hands almost made an unconscious grasping motion, practically looking for his sword.


    "Time is rtive." My fingers twitched simrly.


    "Oho, an interesting answer well, why don''t we test that out then?"


    I paused, sighing. "Sorry, can''t fight this time." I held my hands up in surrender.


    His face rxed, almost looking sad. "Unfortunate."


    "Hey, I did bring some good stuff though." I replied, taking out a few jars of Sake.


    "You are the best kind of visitor." All battle intent seemed to dissipate as he almost skipped towards me and happily took the jars. "Next time, we will cross des." He replied. "And you are wee to join as well, Saber."


    "I thank you for the invitation." Saber looked amused at the prospect.


    "My, my, what a cute couple you two make." Heughed.


    Artoria looked bashful at his statement. "How did you know?"


    "Hmm, the way you seem so rxed around him I suppose." He replied. "You look happier than thest time I saw you as well."


    "hmm, no use in hiding it." My hand reached over, interlocking fingers with Artoria''s. She didn''t reel back nor hesitate, but her face was clearly red.


    "Haha!" Sasakiughed. "Little Lion, this you is a much better sight than the one all those years ago."


    Ah, embarrassed Artoria, this is my favorite.


    "Is Medea in?"


    "The Witch is up there." He waved me off. "She probably knows you''re here already."


    "Thanks, Samurai."


    He sat downzily, uncorking a bottle of Sake. "Bring me some more next time"


    "No problem, enjoy" I said my goodbyes as Artoria and I began to scale the steps. Honestly, I would make ament about them be never ending, had we not entered an illusion and them literally never ending.


    "Medea?" I asked.


    Artoria was clearly aware of what was going on and but seem nervous.


    "Sa~ber~. You came back to me." A voice echoed out.


    "Caster, we had an agreement." Artoria said evenly.


    "Boo, how about we ¨C"


    "Caster."


    "Fine~" She said, and the surroundings returned to normal, Caster standing at the top of the stairs. "Hey there, Boy, heard you managed to snag Saber as your woman, good job!" She gave me a thumbs up.


    Huh, was expecting her to not be on board with that. More of the ''how dare you corrupt my saber'' kind of thing. But I guess that''s a Greek for you. "Thanks!" I replied happily with Artoria making embarrassed Artoria noises.


    "Youe here to get wedding dress designs? I got tons, perfectly in saber''s size!" She sounded so giddy.


    "Caster." Artoria sighed.


    "Saberrrrr, just a few dresses!"


    "Actually, I wouldn''t mind seeing some of your designs." Imented. I doubt all she had were wedding dresses...or that would be a bit weird. But I was honestly interested in what she''s made, the fact that she indeed sells some of her designs speaks of her ability.


    "Hehehe." Medea muttered to herself.


    "I also got some materials I want you to take a look at, see if you can do anything with them because my wardrobe is looking rather nonexistent right now."


    "You''re in luck, I was bored the past couple weeks and designed a line of men''s clothing. I wouldn''t mind a second opinion." She nodded to herself. "As much as I love my hubby....he''s a bit dense when ites to fashion."


    Well, I had some time to spare before I went back to my birth world.


    ***


    Second chapter for the day. Wrapping up this DxD arc in the next few chapters, probably about 7 from this point onward.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapter ahead or support me, visit my /Astoryforone.

 Chapter 82: Interlude 3

    <h4>Chapter 82: Interlude 3</h4>


    Arthur Pendragon (Hero Faction) POV.


    "I''m d everyone could make time to show up." Cao Caomented, sweeping his gaze around the room. His smile grated on my nerves these days. "Before we begin, any new business anyone wants to bring up?"


    There were a few grunts and head shakes, nobody seemed to want to say anything. Frankly, nobody seemed to want to even be here.


    I certainly did not.


    "Okay, moving on." Cao Cao paced a bit, a clipboard held in his hand. "Hercules, how did your recruitment go?"


    "He was a weakling." The big oaf of a man leaned back and spat the words out, not even caring at the looks he was receiving.


    "So, we can take it you failed?" Georg spoke up, he had been rather quiet recently, but I hadn''t cared enough to ask.


    "What''s that, you brat?" Hercules sneered. "Didn''t'' you fuck up your little ''recruitment''?"


    Georg pushed his sses up. "My one to your dozens. How many of them even survive your encounters?"


    "Not my fault none of them can match me." He already looked bored with the whole argument. "If they die so easily, then they weren''t good enough to join us."


    Yes, quite the logic.


    A faction that goes out recruiting under the guise of ''protecting'' humanity and my fellow members seem content to kill potential recruits, other humans, on a whim. How many of them simply didn''t want a life of conflict? Or how many were too early into their ''career''s, their marital paths, and weren''t on the level of someone who ''inherited'' the spirit of Hercules many years ago.


    It''s not like everyone was given such a high starting point that this big idiot did. The only thingrger than his idiocy is his ego, which never ceases to blind him to the obvious facts.


    "It''s pretty much expected for Hercules to fail, but how did you not even manage to capture the half devil, Georg?" The inheritor of Jean D Arc''s will lightly spoke. Her vacant expression could be mistaken for aloofness, but if I unfortunately knew her well enough to know she hit several stereotypes of those with blonde hair.


    "What was that, you bitch?" Hercules stood up, baring his fist.


    "Hercules." Cao Cao''s voice range out.


    The big oaf just grumbled and sat back down.


    They even knew Hercules''s reputation, yet they still send him out on these kinds of missions. I suppose he sometimes gives results....but more often then not, he makes things infinity worse.


    "I''m also, curious, Georg." Cao Cao stopped his pacing, ncing over at Georg. "I only saw the end of the meeting when you called for me."


    Well, I suppose I am slightly interested now. Was it not just a recruitment? That''s all I heard about at thest meeting, not that I cared much but I try to keep abreast of everyone''s activities. Then again, it wasn''t the first time Cao Cao decided not to inform me of his ns.


    I guess I''ve ''messed up'' one too many missions in the past.


    Well, I was interested in the swords he used, I didn''t recognize them at all and no one else I spoke to either. I did enjoy the discussions taking ce online, I even met someone who enjoyed talking about swords and weapons as much as I did, what was his name ¨C Hooded one?


    He was very knowledgeable on the subject; I quite enjoyed the talks we had.


    A hobby if nothing else.


    "He somehow stopped my Dimension Lost. I don''t know how, but when I tried to trap him in dimension I created, he took control and shattered it." Georg looked uncharacteristically shaken.


    "Some kind of Sacred Gear that interferes with Dimension Lost?" Jeanne asked.


    "Possibly, but I consider the notion unlikely." Cao Cao shook his head. "If he had a Sacred Gear, he would have been kept under tighter lock and key by the devils."


    Well, that isn''t exactly wrong. Though it isn''t that right either, while I am no fan of devil society, it isn''t quite so easy to brush them all the same color. The Gremorys generally treat theirs well.....and I have no doubt he would have been checked for a Sacred Gear since he was half human. So the only exnation ¨C "Magic." I spoke inly.


    Several eyes turned to me, but I just ignored them with a tired expression.


    "Pfft." Herculed rolled his eyes. "Magicians are all squishy. You should have just sent me."


    "He was needed alive as a hostage." I Pointed out.


    Cao Cao shot me a look.


    Yes, you arrogant twat, I can put two and two together.


    Did he really think I wouldn''t understand that he wanted to get ahold of Lucifer''s son to use as leverage? It was distasteful, but I could not deny the opportunity it would bring from a resources standpoint. Was there an easier target to get to the Devil''s leader?


    Well, there are ns in the works to kidnap his other son, mostly by those ''Old Satan Faction'' louts, but I didn''t want to be involved with their nonsense.


    What''s the terms used ¨C Hate boner?


    Yeah, they truly have a hate boner for the new devil leaders.


    "It''s good we have talented Magicians among our numbers." Cao Cao narrowed his eyes. "I''m sure Le Fay would be a big help on this matter."


    I didn''t react.


    I didn''t draw Caliburn and cleave him in twain.


    The only thing stopping me at this moment was the debt I owed him. He managed to get Le Fay out from under the Pendragon family, for that reason I have continued to along with this nonsense. My honor demanded I repay him, but he also knows that if he tried to use Le Fay as leverage over me, I would not hesitate to cut him down.


    And he knowingly straddles the lines I''ve drawn in the sand.


    "She''s busy."


    "How unfortunate." Cao Cao replied instantaneously, knowing I would dismiss his request.


    He knew I would not allow it to happen, he was simply reminding me of my ce. Fortunately, i''ve kept Le Fay mostly in the dark with regards to what we do. She merely thinks we go around protecting humanity....though that brings about its own set of problems.


    Regardless, what an arrogant arse.


    "Are we going to make another move on the half-devil?" Jeanne asked, seemingly barely paying attention to the matters at hand.


    "No, we have other things to worry about for the moment." Cao Cao finally turned away from me and back to Georg. "If you would?"


    Georg just nodded, holding his hand out and allowing Dimension Lost to dispense someone onto the floor.


    "W-what? Where am I!?" He shakily stood up and looked around. "A-aren''t you ¨C" He was cut off as a hand gripped his throat.


    "We had an agreement, vermin." Cao Cao said inly, choking the Youkai. "We would help you with your ritual, you resurrect Tamamo-No-Mae, and she usurps Yasaka''s positions over the ley lines, and then we be allowed to use them for our own purpose."


    Ah, that''s why Con was still in the infirmary and Perseus is still unconscious.


    This isn''t the first time Cao Cao moved on Kyoto....why does he want ess to the leylines so much? There are other Leylines in the world....but admittedly they are more or less better defended. And if youpare their quality, many of them can''t bepared to Kyoto.


    The only real reason that the Youkai remains in control of theirs is because of the Shinto pantheon dissuading the heavy hitters.


    "You didn''t even keep that little fox." Cao Cao shook his head.


    I held back a sigh. What was with them and kidnapping children?


    "It wasn''t our fault!" He blurt out as Cao Cao let up his grip allowing him to fall to the floor. "Someone interfered and she fell into Yomi! All I know is that someone brought her back to Yasaka."


    "Who?"


    "I don''t, he had red hair and didn''t look like a Youkai."


    "Was it in a ponytail, and was he dressed up?"


    "Erm, yes?"


    Cao Cao sighed. "It seems he held a grudge."


    "Was it Lucfier''s bastard?" Georg frowned.


    The tone almost made me smile. It seemed that whatever this half devil did, it really left a mark on him.


    "Sounds like it." Cao Cao looked annoyed.


    "How can you be sure?" I asked innocently.


    "He mouthed the words ¨C Khaos Brigade -- to me after blocking my strike."


    That made me pause. "He blocked your strike?" Cao Cao wasn''t exactly the most martially talented....but his spear was the very definition of over powered. Especially against the likes of a devil, even a half, it should have been a much different oue.


    Apparently he also knew of our ''allies'' as well....curious.


    "Oh, sounds like he might be able to actually fight back." Hercules punched his palm.


    "Wasn''t he supposed to only be like, a couple weeks into the supernatural world?" Jeanne sat up straighter. "He''s getting pretty popr online." She took out her phone. "There are rumors that his mom is a goddess."


    "No, he possessed no divinity." Cao Cao shook his head.


    Can the spear of destiny allow its wielders to sense such a thing?


    Regardless, this guy is turning out to be rather interesting. Knowledgeable in magics unrecognizable and powerful that are known. A good handle on swordsmanship if those few clips were anything to go by.


    I would very much like to cross des with him.


    "So, what''s the n then." Georg asked.


    "We still move forward." Cao Cao dered. "We just have to....cut out the middle men." His gaze drifted down to the youkai who didn''t dare stand up. With a swift motion, his holy spear pierced through the Youkai and retracted as if nothing happened. "Those cult members can still be useful." He pondered. "I guess we can do the same thing we did before, grab the girl again, force her mom to cooperate." He finally shrugged.


    As much as I didn''t want to admit it, that was probably the best choice. Not one I would ever take....but it was the path of least resistance. To assault Yasaka in her home would be foolhardy, even if her daughter would be under much tighter guard, her mother can''t be near her forever. If Cao Cao mobilized all of us, it wouldn''t be very hard to capture her without Yasaka catching wind in time.


    And there was no way she would fight us with her daughter behind held.


    Once again I feel my honor getting stained.


    Can I even call myself a knight after all of this?


    I can''t help but think of my sister as times like these, and my resolve reaffirms itself.


    If I must walk into the depts of hell to preserve her smile, then hell I shall go.


    ***


    Just a little interlude showing some thoughts and actions from the Hero faction. I also changed motivations slightly. I hate how the author seemed to gloss over the pendragon n. The fact that the church didn''t possess Excalibur Ruler and Caliburn, yet knew they were in the hands of the pendragon family, does that not speak of their strength? Who knows what other things they have stored away and the church didn''t even go poking around.


    On a side note, i''ll probably be taking this weekend off as a break. Been uploading a chapter nearly every day for like three months now, jsut want a few days to rx. Also, I started ns for the next interlude, it seems people enjoy those. It''s just going to be a nice and wholesome gremory family dinner :).


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /Astoryforone.

 Chapter 83 - 79

    <h4>Chapter 83: Chapter 79</h4>


    "Connect the Magical converter to the takion elerator." I attached two cables together. "Applying conceptual terraforming." I pulled on my magic and my house began to shake. "Activating flux capacitor!"


    "Okay, you''re just saying random words to make your magic seem more spectacr."


    "Could be." Iughed as Izzy sat on the nearby couch, Sir Wiggles in herp.


    "I have seen back to the future." She deadpanned. "And I find it highly unlikely this building will be time traveling."


    "Uh.....want to bet money on that?" I turned at smirked at her.


    ".....No, no I do not." She hardened her expression. "Please don''t send us back in time. Even gods whose domain revolves in temporal maniption don''t mess with it unless necessary."


    "Toote!" I activated may equipment and the house exploded in a multitude of colors.


    "What did you do?"


    "Nothin."


    "Wilhelm." She said sternly, almost like my mother used to.


    "Look out the window" I told her.


    She looked at me in exasperation, standing up and pulling the curtains apart. "Why can I see the Empire State Building in the distance."


    "Praise me, I am a genius."


    "Did you teleport the house to New York?"


    "Nope."


    She tilted her head. "Why do I still feel like we''re in Japan.....I helped create the verynd and I can still feel that connection."


    "Because we are." I smirked.


    She paused giving the ce a once over again, except this time her eyes were glowing. Honestly, it was very pretty, the way the power pulsed off her red pupils. "We exist in both ces simultaneously."


    "Nailed it." I said smugly.


    "You....." She sighed. "I have no words." She sat back down next to me. "I guess we technically are time traveling."


    Ahh, the feeling of a job well done. I had been pretty much working on this the entire time I''ve been in this world. Even this past week after I came back, I pretty much entirely focused on this project, all leading up to this moment.


    I wanted Artoria to also be here, but she was with Rin at the moment running an errand for Zelretch. I epted a long time ago that she would have responsibilities that kept both of us away, hell I do too, doesn''t make me miss her any less. Well, atleast I got to spend that time with her that I did. And it was nice to see Caster and Assassin again, not to mention I got some new clothes in the making.


    Also managed to convince Artoria she would look good in one of the dresses Caster made.


    On that same note, I really miss Meridia right now as well. Not to mention She-who-shall-not-be-named. I tried to keep myself upied, but the feelings just burst out sometimes. As easy as it would be to pop back to Skyrim....I wanted to wait for Rin and Artoria. And I had a few more things to take care of, I actually wanted to stay there for a bit before disappearing again, so I was prepping for that eventuality.


    Regardless, It was nice having Izzy around though, I enjoyed her friendship.


    "Praise me."


    "I refuse."


    "Mean." I pursed my lips. "My intention was to link my house in several locations so I can be a literal step away from all my friends and family." I smiled at her.


    "I see.....does that mean Artoria would also be able toe and go?"


    "Hopefully." I nodded.


    Izzy hummed, a small smile on her face.


    I couldn''t me her, there where a total of like three people who actively spoke to her. And her son barely counts, as harsh as that is to say. I am of course her friend and take every opportunity to spend time with her, but she seemingly hit it off with Artoria after their little debacle, and I suppose she wanted to see her more.


    And there is the aspect of more ''girl'' friends. There are some things I just can''t give her in a friendship.


    And I still haven''t told her the ''truth'' yet....I trust her a lot, perhaps more than I should, but that''s still a difficult topic to approach.


    "Well, since we''re here, want to get some pizza?"


    "Why do I have the feeling you did this just for easier ess to their food?"


    "Because you are a smart woman." I nodded sagely. "Is that a no, then?"


    "Will, we''re in new York, that question is like asking me if water is wet." She rolled her eyes. "Of course I wish to partake." She stood up but hesitated again. "Will there be an issue if I walk around....here, this isn''t my home..."


    Hmm, this is technically Heaven''s territory, but.... "Fuck''em."


    "What?"


    "Fuck them." I shrugged. "Who cares? IF they want to make an issue of it, I''ll beat them up."


    Izzy shook her head with a small smile. "You are going to make many enemies if you keep going around with that attitude."


    ***


    "Today is a good day." I finished off the slice of pizza on my te.


    "Yes." Izzy smiled lightly. "It has been enjoyable."


    I heard a ding and took out my phone. I read the message and furrowed my brow. "It seems Kunou finally woke up."


    "You are in contact with them?"


    "Yasaka asked for my number before I leftst time. She sends my the asional message....or rather picture." Saved in a very special ce. "Apparently Kunou is asking about us, Yasaka invited me over, asked if I would extend it to you as well."


    "Is that so." Izzy looked deep in thought.


    "You don''t have to." I didn''t want to pressure her into anything. "But she genuinely wished to thank you, and I don''t think Kunou would have any negative perceptions."


    "I will think on it." Izanami said hesitantly.


    "That''s all I ask." I nodded, setting my phone down and taking a look out the window as something caught my eye.


    "Hey izzy, we''re still in New York, right?"


    She just blinked at me in confusion. "Yes?"


    "Then why is there a Gundam fighting Godzi in the distance?" I pointed out the window.


    "What are you talking ¨C " She stopped, mouth ajar as she stared at the same scene as me.


    A giant robot justnded a haymaker on a giant lizard monster.


    "Are you sure we''re still not in Japan?"


    "I find that mildly racist." Izanami huffed. "Just because there is a giant robot, and a Godzi look alike ¨C " She let out a breath. "Okay I can''t finish that sentence. I have so many questions right now."


    Huh. "If I recall, the head of the government''s supernatural division has a Sacred Gear dealing with technology or something." I recalled some tidbits, admiring the fight.


    Best Sacred Gear ever.


    [Hey!]


    Make me a giant robot and I''ll take my words back.


    [Fuck you.]


    "That is the most ridiculous thing I''ve ever heard." She scoffed. "And yet I find it entirely believable."


    What a silly ce this is.


    "It''s so fucking cool though."


    "Agreed."


    I sometimes forget that the goddess Izanami is kind of a neet. She gets practically all my references and knows pop culture like the back of her hand.


    Well, I suppose it isn''t too surprisingly considering the inte was one of her only avenues to interact with the world.


    "Hey." I looked towards her.


    "What?"


    "Can you use your goddess powers to make a giant robot?"


    "Why would you assume that?"


    "I mean, you literally created a country." I crossed my arms. "I think it''s a fair question....considering."


    "Those are two entirely different things. And besides, I also had help, and a divine spear, and was lent power from the Kotoamatsukami, primordial deities."


    "So, you''re saying your goddess powers areme."


    "My goddess powers are notme!"


    Note to self, find a world with giant robots walking around...for scientific purposes, of course.


    "Mhmm."


    "They aren''t!"


    "Sure."


    She huffed, crossing her arms. Looking between me and the fight happening in the distance. We could even feel shockwaves from this far away. "How are they even going to hide this nonsense?"


    "Oh, the Americans are very good at wiping short term memories. All major cities haverge-scale spells ready to go for such situations. Honestly, this isn''t the first stupid thing that''s happened in recent years that threatened to blow the masquerade."


    And other ces lend a hand, they have an actual interest in keeping the secret going, so even other factions help keep everything concealed.


    "...wanna go fight the giant Godzi look alike?"


    "Are you seriously asking me that question?" She raised an eyebrow. "Of course I do."


    "Sweet jebus, lets go!"


    I saw a big smile on Izzy''s face, I could tell she was having fun with this whole thing just as much as I was.


    "Can''t wait to brag about this to my gramps."


    "I wonder if Susano''o will be amused by this story." Izzy tilted her head, waving her hands as shadows began to crawl along the ground next to her.


    "You think they''ll let me keep the robot if I stop the monster from causing any major damage?"


    "It couldn''t hurt to ask."


    ***


    I walked out of a veryrge portal, Izzy right behind me as she literally dragged two giant bone-like spikes from behind her.


    "Where do you want yours?"


    "I''m thinking...." I tapped my chin, looking around my front yard. "Opposite the tree, gives the yard some nice symmetry."


    She nodded, helping me heave the massive spike into the ground and adjusting it in ce.


    A souvenir we took off the thing''s corpse. It wasn''t that strong, all things considered. I mean, a fully grown dragon would probably beat it, it was mostly just muscle and sheer mass that made it cause a mess.


    My guess was some kind of magical experiment.


    "Well, I suppose it will make an interesting conversation piece." Izzy admired it, wiping some ash off her sleeve.


    Her clothes were singed in some ces, and perhaps slightly disheveled.


    My clothes didn''t fair much better, perhaps even worse. Who knew that lizard could breath fire? Atleast it wasn''t an atomic breath, even if that would be fucking amazing.


    "Would you like a hand as well?"


    "If it wouldn''t be too much trouble."


    I opened up a second portal. "That should be a little bit infront of your house."


    "wonderful." She hefted it up, and the image was very humorous as her tiny stature held up something half the size of my home and tossed it through.


    "Don''t forget to share those picture you took."


    "Of course, I''ll also be posting them online."


    "Well, at least people will forget about me now. I think a Godzi lookalike attacking New York is a much more interesting story."


    "You do realize that a good number of people saw you and most likely too pictures, yes?"


    "You know, I keep forgetting the inte is a thing when it''s inconvenient for me."


    Izzy just gently pat my shoulder. "I''m not blurring your face."


    "Yeah, yeah." I waived her off. "So, you want to see Yasaka tomorrow?"


    Izzy paused, the fun smile turned more neutral. "You said you will be there, correct?"


    "Yup."


    "Okay, I do not mind attending along with you."


    I couldn''t help but smile. Getting her to go out and have fun with me was one thing, having her interact with other people was a whole other. I wanted her to be more open, but I knew that was going to be a slow process.


    "Tomorrow then."


    "Tomorrow." She nodded, heading through the portal I already had open.


    Today has been very strange, but perhaps one of the best days I''ve ever had.


    ***


    Alright, a fun little thing before stuff starts happening to end the arc. And my head canon is that America has to deal with all the ''weird'' stuff that happens in the supernatural world. Giant robot fighting godzi wannabe is more or less just another Tuesday for them.


    Anyways, just finished the hero faction meeting MC proper. They had a nice and respectful conversation and everyone left without fighting.


    If you would like to read about this peaceful encounter, or just read 5 chapters ahead and support me, visit my /Astoryforone

 Chapter 84 - 80

    <h4>Chapter 84: Chapter 80</h4>


    "You know, Ddraig, I think it''s almost time to leave." I strolled down the horrific paths that made up Yomi. I may have been less carefree if I did not know Izanami was watching over me.


    [Yomi or this world?]


    "The world." I hummed, reaching down and grabbing a handful of soil. I didn''t actually have a chance to inspect this ce before.


    It was rather interesting, from a research standpoint.


    I added some of the soil into a little baggy and put in my ring.


    [I can see it. You did pretty much everything you set out to do here, which wasn''t much.]


    "True. I finally got my little project up and running." I nodded at his words. My house was ready for further world-line expansion....hopefully. You never know what could go wrong down the line. On the surface, it seems to work.


    [I think this whole trip did you good.]


    "Yeah, it was a nice vacation....even if I had to meddle in some annoying stuff." I felt extremely refreshed. It was a nice load off, especially from seeing mom again.


    And I have a new friend that I''ve grown close to these past few weeks.


    Being able to just rx and deal with my own shit for awhile, it was very therapeutic. But, I really need to get back to ''work''.


    I''m not nearly as strong as I want to be, and I have yet to push my current strength to its limits. Hell, I haven''t had a proper fight in what feels like forever. I''ll need to check back in with everyone back home, see where they are with that.....but my gut is telling my they won''t be done anytime soon.


    Perhaps I should look over that list of worlds the old man gave me? I''m sure there''s something there I can find useful.


    Izzy appeared infront of me as her house came into view. "You know, you didn''t have toe here I¡ª"


    "Nope." I cut her off. "I really don''t minding here to visit you, Izzy." This silly goddess, but I''ll keep reinforcing it every time I see her. Her default mindset to think the worse of herself.


    She let out a small huff. "Do what you want."


    I couldn''t help but smile.


    She looked slightly different, perhaps a little dressed up without ''appearing'' to have dressed up, if that makes sense. Equal parts excited for the meeting with a dash of uncertainty mixed in?


    "Ready to go?" I offered my hand as I created a new portal.


    "As I''ll ever be." She took it as I guided her on through.


    ***


    "Your method if traversing space is still as vexing as the first time I saw it." Izzymented as we appeared outside thepound where Yasaka lived.


    "Oh, are you curious?"


    "Mildly." She said dryly. "But I will not pry if you don''t wish to share."


    I paused at her words. "It''s something difficult to talk about." I said quietly.


    "Does it involve Artoria?" Izzy asked, though I knew she wanted to say other things.


    "Somewhat." I confirmed.


    "I see."


    Did she notice the strangeness surrounding us?


    No, she would have to be a fool to not notice something so obvious. The fact that she hasn''t brought it up beyond this....


    The gates of the fortified mansion opened up, Yasaka walked out, garbed in a more regal outfit nked by several guards who all looked wary, some eyes ncing towards Izzy.


    But what grabbed my attention was the little fox hiding behind Yasaka.


    She stared at both me and Izzy curiously, not a hint of fear in her eyes.


    "Lady Izanami, we thank you for your gracious visit." Yasaka bowed lightly. "If you would please follow me inside, I have prepared amodations."


    "Very well." Izzy said evenly.


    It seems I was regted as the side character here. Not that I minded that much, if I was merely here for Izzy''s moral support, that would have been fine as well.


    The ce seemed a bit more fixed uppared tost time. No bodies littering the floor, no blood sshed across the building and no more huge craters from battle.


    Yasaka led us to a different part of the building, not really her meeting area, but a more personal space.


    The guard didn''t even argue when she dismissed them. Honestly, it looked like they would rather be any other ce than there.


    And if I noticed, then Izzy most definitely did, even if she didn''t say or do anything.


    ***


    Izanami POV


    "Thank you foring, Lady Izanami." Yasaka said once again.


    "It was no trouble." I said calmly. Though I would never hade had Wilhelm not convinced me.....does he think I can''t see through is intentions?


    I suppose it is endearing in its own way, to have someone fuss over my wellbeing.


    "You saved my daughter''s life." Yasaka replied. "I am forever gratefully for your intervention."


    "It was merely a whim."


    Her expression didn''t change. "Regardless, if it were not for you, I would be without my daughter. And no other deities answered my requests."


    Oh, did my daughter ignore her Miko? I couldn''t help but frown, I would have to chastise her the next time we met.....if we ever meet again.


    "If there is anything you require, I am at your service." Yasaka dipped her head down again.


    There isn''t anything I need, but I had a curious thought. "Did you offer the same reward to Wilhelm?"


    Yasaka blinked for a moment, a sly smile forming on her face. "The only thing of worth I had to offer him was myself, s he turned this old woman down." She feigned heartbreak, but I felt my own lips curl up.


    Oh, Artoria was correct then, he certainly does attract women easily. Though how much of that is sincere I wonder? I had this strange, albeit small, twinge of possessiveness emerge.....I just shook my head and squashed such thoughts.


    Regardless, I held back augh at the look on Wil''s face and continued. "Perhaps he is just embarrassed?" I held my expression even, but the look on his face just made it all the harder.


    "Well, now that you mention it....." Yasaka looked thoughtful.


    "It''s understandable." I nodded. "He has never experienced the touch of a woman; he probably did not know how to react to your forwardness."


    "I see, I guess I will have to be more persuasive in the future then."


    Wilhelm even looked a little red, how cute.


    Call my ''goddess powers''me, will you?


    Humph.


    "Indeed, you will have to work harder, he already has a harem."


    "Ara Ara~" She cooed. "At that age and he already has multiple women? I really do have my work cut out for me." Yasaka looked over to her daughter, who seemed slightly embarrassed by the conversation. "Sweetie, why don''t you take ''Daddy'' and show him around while me and Lady Izanami have some girl talk?"


    "Mooooom!" The little kitsune squeaked out, her cheeks flushed red.


    "You know what? I would ''love'' to see the ce." Wilhelm stood up, eager to escape this conversation.


    "F-fine." The little kitsune''s expression betrayed her tone, she looked rather excited to spend time with Wilhelm.


    How adorable.


    We both watched for a moment as they left the room.


    "Did you wish a moment to ask for advice on how to better seduce him?" I eyed the Youkai leader.


    She let out aughed. "Oh my, no. Just because I enjoy showing off a bit... I''m not that easy." She waived her hand flippantly. "And he''s a bit fun to tease, but I''m not going to literally throw myself at him."


    "I hope you don''t n on leading him on then." I calmly stated.


    Yasaka paused for a moment giving me another look. "I never said I was against the idea." She smirked. "If he had actually reciprocated the other day, I would have probably shown him my personal quarters, I was extremely grateful for the safe return of my daughter."


    "Well, I don''t think he would be against it either." I replied. "Heaven''s know I caught him taking nces at my rear every now and then."


    "Oho~ He is a young man after all." Yasakaughed. "He is handsome as well, and my daughter is quite taken with him." She hummed to herself. "I could certainly do worse, and the most important thing would be my daughter''s approval." Her eyes softened at the mention of her daughter. "If shetches on anymore, I''ll probably be seeing a lot of him regardless, who knows what will happen in the future."


    "I''m surprised you do not already have a lover; your beauty is not unknown even to the divine realm." Or what I have read online.....many -- many stories regarding her.


    Yasaka seemed mild surprised. "I have tried once or twice since Kunou''s father passed, but they never ended well. Either Kunou disliked them or they were seeking some kind of political gain from me." She had a mncholic smile on her face. "Will though, he didn''t even react when I buried his face between my breasts." She huffed. "That hurt my pride a little."


    "How forward." I couldn''t help butment. Her breasts were quite magnificent if I were to be honest....not that I was envious. I do think my bosom was quite ample as well....just not to that level. Does he prefer women withrger breasts...? "I do not think It had anything to do with your appeal, I think he was more taken back by your daughter at the time. He appeared rather concerned and meticulous when caring for her."


    "You say something like that, and any hesitance I have will start to crumble." Yasaka had a smile on her face. "Are you sure you want me stealing him away from you?"


    I blinked in confusion. "Pardon? Do you think we are in a rtionship?"


    She tilted her head. "Are you not? You both appeared rather close....I just assumed."


    Me and Will....?


    "No." I said quietly. "...We are merely friends." I shook my head, dismissing some fanciful thoughts. "You did not wish to speak of these matters when you sought my audience."


    Her expression changed from yful to serious. "Yes, Lady Izanami." She said with her more regal tone. "I wish to properly thank you for your help. I was truthful when I said that I owe you a great debt for saving my daughter."


    "Child, be careful with your words, do not forget who I am."


    "I am aware who you are, and I will not take back what I have said. You have my eternal gratitude, my...patron refused my request, yet you helped me, words cannot express how grateful I am."


    "You are being very candid with your willingness to associate with me, will it not cause problems?"


    "I had a good portion of my retinue try to overthrow me not that long ago, at this point I am willing to stomp on anyone who say any words that displease me." She said dryly. "You are wee in mynds, my home and my daughter''s life." She stated. "Wilhelm isn''t the only one she wanted to see."


    "You are trusting your daughter with me?" I eyed her suspiciously.


    "I''d like to think I am a good judge of character."


    "Clearly not." I frowned, only for her to let out a smallugh.


    "Then do I have to rethink my stance on Wilhelm as well?" Her lips curled up. "It''s a shame, I think she called you ''Auntie Izanami'' the other day as well."


    I paused and felt something in my heart that was foreign.


    You sly fox...


    I was about to respond but both our eyes turned towards a new face that entered. "Lady Yasaka, I apologize for the disturbance." One of her guards appeared. "But you have a visitor and he was quite adamant about seeing you."


    Yasaka narrowed her eyes as a person walked right in behind the guard.


    Rather rude of him. I nearly scoffed until I recognized the face of the person.


    "Okita Souji." Yasaka''s expression steeled.


    Well, this certainly wasn''t good. I only had the vaguest idea of Wilhelm''s rtionship with his father, never borating past ''estranged''.


    "Lady Yasaka, I apologize foring abruptly, but I have a miss¡ª"


    Almost as if que, Wilhelm walked back in from another door, lead by the little kitsune herself.


    There was a silence that permeated the ce now as Okita''s eyes widened at the sight of Wilhelm.


    Will narrowed his eyes at the man, a tension filled the air.


    "Hey there, Kiddo." Okita broke the silence. "Been looking everywhere for you."


    ***


    Oh wow, I''m sure there will be a nice peaceful talk next chapter with absolutely no fighting involved whatsoever :).


    Anyways, just a reminder, i''m probably taking the weekend off from writing, just need a small break. If you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /Astoryforone, next world was leaked and tomorrow is the new interlude for them.

 Chapter 85 - 81

    <h4>Chapter 85: Chapter 81</h4>


    Another awkward silence filled the room as everything felt rather suffocating all of the sudden.


    I''m sure the others could feel the tension in the air.


    And a lot of things I thought I didn''t have to deal with came bursting back up to the surface. Feelings I thought I had gotten over, repressed, or merely outgrew.


    I was a whole mix of emotions right now. Yet, I was surprisingly calm. I did notsh out, get overwhelmed with rage or simply sneer and dismiss the man infront of me.


    I guess I have grown up a tad in the past couple years.


    "Who are you?" I asked, withplete ''confusion''.


    He blinked for a moment, a gentle smile appearing on his face. "I''m Okita Souji, your fath ¨C"


    "Never heard of you." I cut him off, clearly to his dissatisfaction, even if he didn''t outwardly react.


    Well, I never said I wasn''t a petty asshole sometimes.


    "Okita Souji." Yasaka interrupted. "What is the meaning of this?" Her voice sounded very authoritative, and even Okita almost stood at attention.


    He seemed rather sheepish with his response. "I am under orders to bring back my King''s son." He replied.


    "So you stroll into a meeting I''m having, uninvited, with the ones who rescued my daughter?" She narrowed her eyes.


    "Rescued your daughter?" He repeated, slightly confused as realization dawned on him. "I....I apologize for my rudeness, Lady Yasaka, I mean no disrespect." He bowed, perhaps lower than he should have being an emissary of a foreign dignitary.


    "And there is a ''but''ing." Yasaka interrupted.


    He winced slightly. "I am under direct orders to bring him back, please step aside, Lady Yasaka."


    "And what if I do not." She stood up, her tails swayed behind her dangerously. Her ears no longer had azy droop to them, they stood at attention and she was ready to fight.


    Gone was her flirtatious fa?ade she usually keeps, now was the destructive fox who boasted the acknowledgement as one of the strongest Youkai who ever existed.


    "It isn''t just me you would have to contend with." He replied.


    "Are you threatening me, boy?" Yasaka growled out and the room shook, the faintest manifestation of her Touki began to leak into the surroundings.


    I ced a hand on Kunou''s shoulder as she trembled slightly. She looked up at me and I gave her a quick wink.


    Only a light sigh cut away all the tension that was umting. All eyes turned to Izanami who sat there quietly.


    "Rarely have I ever found myself in a situation where I am ignored so tantly." Her voice was quiet, yet it could grab the attention of the world if she so wished it.


    Okita''s eyes widened his hand gripped his sword instinctively as he took several steps back. "Who are you?" His voice didn''t tremble, but there was the clear distinction of hesitance present.


    "You were born upon thisnd that I created, and you ask who I am?" Her head turned slowly. Shadows began climbing up the walls, reminiscent of hands as all the light in the area was consumed, snuffed out, and otherwise refused to even persist within her presence.


    Her red eyes glowed, the shadowy tendrils wrapping around her.


    Yasaka was already right next to me, wrapping up Kunou protectively. I couldn''t help but step infront of them, just in case.


    Watching this scene as the shadows were getting ready to practically strangle him.....I couldn''t help but feel something odd.


    With a sigh I opened my mouth. "Izzy....stop." Abruptly as they came the shadows dispersed and Izzy was sitting there as if nothing happened. Her eyes turned to me, clearly wanting an answer. "This is my mess, let me clean it up."


    "I do not fear the ''strongest devil''." Izzy snorted.


    "Never said you did, but it''s not your problem."


    "....If you are involved then it is my problem."


    "Trust me, please?"


    She let out another snort, turning her head. "Do what you want."


    Words can''t express how happy I am that someone would stand up for me, regardless of my strength or my ability to handle the situation.


    But on the flip side, I didn''t want to get you wrapped up in this if I didn''t have to. Fear him you may not, but it would still be annoying for you and I don''t want you to have to deal with that annoyance on my behalf. Not to mention how Yasaka would be swept up in this if anything happened to Okita in such a situation.


    Okita didn''t rx as he stared at us conversing as if nothing had happened. It was clear by the look on his face that he had no idea what was going on.


    "You want to take me back? I refuse." I took a step forward, staring him in the eyes.


    "Even if there are people that want to see you?" He was apparently trying a different approach. "Your grandmother had expressed desire in meeting you." He tried to give me a disarming smile. "Not to mention your bother has been asking about you."


    That....did give me pause.


    I was not blinded by hate or anything like that. I was able to recognize that they were not involved in any nonsense around me.


    I knew about them, but I guess this is the first time I''m truly contemting them.


    I have a brother.


    What an odd thought.


    And my grandmother apparently wished to meet me? I don''t have much in the way of knowledge about them.


    Regardless, I only had one response for emotional ckmail. "Fuck off."


    He let out another sigh. "You''re pretty skilled with your de, why not bet on that?" He tried a third approach.


    Well, I can''t say I didn''t see thising. "Oh, you want to wager on the oue of a duel?"


    "If I win, youe with me." He nodded.


    It was most certainly the path of least resistance. It may just seem like the obvious choice for a warrior like him, but doing this he also worked around all the politics revolved around taking one of Yasaka''s ''guests''.


    Everyone had their own pride, could the Youkai even raise their heads to express dissatisfaction if both sides agreed on a duel?


    "And what if I win?"


    He paused a moment, deep in thought. "What do you want?"


    "You want me to relinquish my life into your hands? Is it not appropriate for you to do the same?"


    He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Very well."


    Yasaka still looked annoyed as she gazed at Okita. "I have somewhere you can fight, and I will be judge." Her words leaving no room for argument. She nced back down at Kunou who seemed to want to stay by my side and I held back a smallugh at Yasaka''s defeated expression. "Come along, Okita. It will be onest stroll through Kyoto, for regardless of the oue, you will no longer be wee here."


    Okita looked resolved. "Please." He bowed again, but Yasaka didn''t even spare him another nce.


    As the left the room, a little kitsune started grabbing onto my sleeve, giving me a worried look. "He''s strong." She said quietly.


    My heart melted at the way she looked at me. I couldn''t help but pat her on the head. "Don''t worry, your daddy is the strongest." Her cheeks reddened, and it just made me want to tease her even more.


    "Men and their stupid pride." Izzy muttered, standing up. "In the ssifications that devils use, Okita Souji is an ultimate ss."


    "Indeed." I was well aware of where he ranked. As far as ''knight pieces'' go, he was one of the top.


    "And you have qualms about his strength?" She asked. "This is not like the nonsense we got up to the other day." She looked uncharacteristically worried. "Even if you have several blessings...he has lived a long life by mortal standards, that isn''t something one can ovee with ease."


    I gave her a reassuring smile. "Don''t worry, I was trained by the best."


    ***


    There was an arena nearby, I wasn''t too surprised, Youkai in general are a bit on the aggressive side so it made sense for there to be a ce for them to fight without causing disturbances.


    It was rather empty though, minus a few guards here and there keeping watch, Yasaka acting as referee, and Izzy standing to the side with Kunou right next to her. It was slightly amusing to see Izzy acting all protective of the little kitsune.


    There was no great derations as I walked to my side of the arena, opposite of Okita. Yasaka being the judge was more a formality than anything, her duty as the leading of the area this was taking ce.


    She didn''t need to incite us to battle, nor give us the que to fight.


    I looked at my opponent, he ced a hand on his sheathed sword.


    I tilted my head, and brought out Mirage from my ring. The glowing de caught his immediate interest, but his eyes turned back to me.


    A part of me was genuinely curious how he matched up against those I''ve fought in the past. Where his skill levelid even if his pure power wasn''t a match for the likes of those I knew.


    My Circuits ignited.


    Reinforcement filled my body.


    Ebony Flesh was cast over me.


    My Dragon''s Heart red.


    My Magical energy burst out in a torrent.


    The boosted gear stayed hidden in my soul, and my Primordial Runes still remained in reserve. I did not wish to reveal all my trump cards for something of this level.


    "A lion gives birth to a lion." Okita let out a smallugh as he drew his sword.


    Well, I would start then.


    With a flick of my wrist, Mirage swung out. "10 birds."


    Okita reacted immediately, his body moving in a practiced manner that indicated decades upon decades of honing.


    Left, right, up, down. His sword collided with all my sword phantoms, dispersing them with rtive ease. He moved right as the final sh ended, his speed was very impressive to the point where I had to actually focus.


    I nted my foot, and swung using my entire body, our swords collided at the space where nothing had been a half second prior, filling the entire arena with a massive shockwave.


    His strength was also worth noting. I think he may even be physically stronger than me, which was very surprising. Though it wasn''t enough topletely overpower my blow, just more of a slight advantage on his part.


    He pushed forward, sliding under the blow as he recalled his de from the sh, trying to get under my guard.


    Flipping Mirage up side down, I caught the quick sh and followed up with a crackle of lightning that erupted from my hand, pointing right at his face.


    He didn''t even budge as something emerged from his skin. An insect-like creature emerged, intercepting the blow and trying to bite at me.


    I was momentarily surprised at such a thing before I recalled what exactly was going on. I grabbed it before it could reach me, turning it into dust with my free hand. "So it is true, you incubate mindless Youkai in your body."


    Not all Youkai are the sentient species that walk around Kyoto. Some are mindless monsters, that rely on their baser instincts.


    Okita Souji raises them within his body and uses them for his own purposes.


    "Sorry Kiddo, can''t really go too easy on you here." He chuckled, jumping back and gaining some distance. "I''ll have to get serious then."


    All of a sudden his presence shifted.


    He stepped, and vanished.


    I couldn''t help but have my eyes widened as I felt the air next to me distort. I moved my head back as a de swept right where it had been a moment prior.


    That was probably 10 times faster than his previous movements.


    And I just smiled.


    Another sword swept at me, his body not even visible to the naked eye anymore. It would have actually been easier if he was teleporting, I had a sense for the fluctuation of space, but no. This was pure speed and I had to rely on my honed skill to meet him.


    As his de touched my skin, space shattered and I was behind him, sword lunging for his heart. With a burst of speed, he vanished again, only to reappear a foot to the side, and counter attacking.


    What ridiculous speed, but it wasn''t something I was unused to, he still fell short to Scathach. His thrusts were sharp and quick, if i showed any opening, his de tip was already digging into my skin. I was sporting small cuts all over my body now, but nothing more than flesh wounds. I gave as much as I recieved, he only smiled when my sword cut into his cheek, and narrowly missed his neck, only to draw a thing line of blood.


    I shared his expression when his sword stabbed towards my eye and I moved the least amount necessary to avoid any major damage, getting the side of my head cut in the process.


    To create an opening, I allowed him to Knick my arm a bit deeper than I normally would have allowed, but I returned with a follow up sh.


    His eyes widened at my attack, but he burst out in Touki for a brief moment, eclipsing his normal use to move quicker than before and enhance his physical ability but even so, he didn''t anticipate the power behind my attack, and his footing got blown away before regaining himself on the other side of the arena.


    "100 birds." Mirage glowed as I swung.


    The sky filled with my sword phantoms and Okita looked surprised for the first time in this fight, but he smiled a momentter.


    "A numbers game? I can do that too." His body shuddered and hundreds upon hundreds of Youkai burst out and overcame my numerous sword phantoms, but they continued on towards me.


    I couldn''t count how many there were in this short moment, nor if I even had a few hours to work with. Serpents, insects, poisonous creatures of many kinds. They allposed of this swarm that bared down on me.


    I held out my hand and another sword answered my call.


    Without even moving, I held it up and called its name.


    "Ascalon."


    My Noble Phantasm activated. The blessed de by which force is in. A nearly imprable defense swept around me, my sword moving in ways that was nearly impossible, but struck down every Youkai that attempted to reach me.


    Body parts fell down onto the arena, blood sprinkled down almost like rain.


    "What a monster." Okita sighed. "You know, I had been raising those for years."


    "I''m the monster?" I raised an eyebrow. "You aren''t even using your Tennin Rishin-Ryu" I snorted. "Not to mention any of the stronger Youkai you keep in your body. In fact, you''re only using your Touki for basic enhancements."


    Heughed awkwardly at my statement. "Those sword techniques are meant for nothin but killin." He scratched his cheek. "Besides, I ain''t the only one holdin back." He didn''t deny my other usations.


    "Guilty." I smirked.


    Honestly, it was hard to hate this man. Even when he was trying to take me back, he didn''t really seem to like what he was doing. If anything, I was say his biggest w is his loyalty to his master.


    Call it my own pride, but I didn''t want to stomp on someone whose heart wasn''t even in the fight. I could easily see he did not wish to be fighting me under these circumstances.


    I shook my head, my other swords shed out and hovered around me.


    Okita moved again, an understanding between us that the fight resumed.


    His swings were now infused heavily with Touki, where he had been using it sparingly before, every strike now was backed with a huge force.


    From the other side of the Arena he swung overhead and my Mirage blocked as my other swords shed forward.


    He dodged them without even looking, but they changed directions and came back. He seemed a little annoyed at their persistence as they kept aiming for his openings.


    I gestured with my hand, and Dawnbreaker exploded in light, swinging horizontally through the air. He was forced to raise his sword to block, and was even pushed back a few feet. Ducking his head, Whisper passed by, and he had to quickly step back before Ascalon pierced through his arm.


    "That is surprisingly annoying. It''s like I''m fighting several people at once." He grunted, knocking away Dawnbreaker for a second time. Just as he said that, his eyes nced to me and suddenly my swords were attacking empty air.


    A katana pierced towards me through the arena, a tiny opening was all he needed to escape and even counter attack. "6th form, fluttering petals."


    As the words left his mouth, all that was left in his wake were a few flower petals that fell to the ground.


    A sword technique, not his vaunted style, but powerful nheless.


    The tip of his sword met the t of Mirage, and I pushed with my full weight to bare the brunt of his attack. Even so, my sword was pushed back into my chest and with a shout his Touki expanded at the sword point, causing an explosion as he retreated.


    The dust settled, and I saw Okita waiting for me on the other side of the arena. My sleeves were destroyed, as was a good portion of my clothes. A few nasty burns here or there, but I was otherwise okay.


    He gave me a cocky little smile as he raised his sword above his his head and his body snaked down, low to the ground. "Third form, lightning sigil."


    His sword came at me from several directions, like arcs of lightning, jagged and hard to path as they tried to pierce me. My flying swords shot out, intercepting the blows with ease.


    "Hah, didn''t think that one would work." He hopped back a few steps again, readying his de.


    Annoying "Izzy, shield please." I called out.


    "What?" Okita asked in confusion as I smiled my eyes looking up to the sky and he followed my gaze.


    "Thor''s Hammer." I called out as the sky collected lightning and a massive figure appeared above us in the cloudy heavens,posed entirely of the crackling element. The massive figure brought his hammer down and Okita tried to escape the attack.


    I just smiled innocently as he looked at my apparent ''suicidal attack''.


    The area was enveloped in lightning the arena almostpletely gone. I even limited the wide-scaled attack to target this more narrowed area.


    My Primordial Rune shimmered and faded; my protection disappeared before the smoke cleared up. I nced around and saw that Izzy did protect everyone, but she looked rather annoyed at my sudden request.


    My eyes turned back to my opponent though. I would have been disappointed if this did end him, even if he wasn''t taking this seriously.


    "Haah." He let out a breath, some blood trailing down his lips. "Can''t believe I let you get one over on me like that, I feel like I''m getting really old." His entire right arm lookedpletely scorched, clearly using it to block the brunt of the attack, even if other parts of him were hurt. The spell probably broke through his Touki briefly.


    Whisper floated down from the sky where it had cast the spell, his eyes following the trail of its red glow.


    "Crafty." Hemented, not at all off put by my hidden attack. "I don''t suppose you''d want to stick only to sword-y?" He smiled awkwardly, rubbing his charred arm.


    "I''ll tell you what, I''ll end this with a sword technique." I nodded at his request, even if it were more of a joke.


    He blinked andughed. "I wish I had been able to teach you all those years ago." Turning his expression into a sigh.


    I kept my expression neutral but that struck a small chord with me.


    Really making it hard to hate you right now.


    My swords returned to my ring, and I deactivated any magics I was preparing for. Even my physical enhancements were gone. To others, it may have looked like I had given up, but Okita looked extremely focused.


    I leveled Mirage next to me, taking in a deep breath I closed my eyes before opening them slowly.


    The infinite paths opening up before me, showing all avenues of attack. The multicolor glow of the Kaleidoscope burst out before my eyes.


    "Swallow Returns."


    Okita didn''t react, the words only met his ears as my sword was being pulled out from his body, our backs only a few inches apart as I straightened myself up and pulled my weapon free, taking a few steps away.


    He fell to the ground, his sword nking against the remains of the arena as it dropped from his hands.


    He was still breathing.


    I didn''t know how to treat him, part of me wanted to just kill him and be done with it, an act of deviance against those who wronged me.....but I also couldn''t bring myself to hate this man. I looked down at him again. "Don''te after me anymore." I said quietly.


    But that didn''t also mean I wasn''t feeling ecstatic. Like I was finally untangled with some baggage I had been carrying around with me. A weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I felt truly free.


    A song came to my head, one I heard when I was a child.


    "I had strings, but now I''m free." I hummed, and as I left the arena. "There are no strings on me."


    ****


    Didn''t want to make Okita like ''lol stupid'' kind of thing. More or less just forced to obey some orders he didn''t want to. And he wasn''t really trying his best to ''take back'' MC. A mix of holding back and underestimating his opponent, and he got pped at the end.


    Anyways, Just another reminder that I probably won''t be posting this weekend, though I may look into setting up a discord. Which may or may not lead to me bouncing ideas off people in chat. If that interests anyone i''ll post the info here.


    If you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /aStoryforone

 Chapter 86 - 82

    <h4>Chapter 86: Chapter 82</h4>


    Izanami POV


    Well, that was certainly something.


    I set my phone down to stop recording.


    I nced over at Yasaka, and she seemed quite surprised by what had just urred. I can''t really me her, I did not expect the fight to end so abruptly. There were several things that I wanted to seek out answers on.


    They seemed content to just match each other for many exchanges. Then Will decided to bring out arge scale magical attack out of nowhere.


    Brat, telling me abruptly to put a shield up around us.


    It was a good tactic, and he seemed unharmed from his own spell, so I can''t really say anything against what he did.


    But that final attack, I don''t know what he did. It was like.....fate rewound and then fast-forwarded ording to his whims.


    That is most certainly not something a mortal should be capable of.


    At one point, there appeared to be two of him attacking simultaneously. Okita defended against the one attack him from the front, but it didn''t matter as he was pierced by the Wilhelm from behind.


    I could tell that both of them were ''real'' as opposed to some kind of illusion or a creation of sheer speed.


    You have quite a few secrets, Wilhelm.


    I looked down and Kunou''s eyes practically sparkled as she watched her ''daddy'' fight.


    It was still amusing to think about, yet I couldpletely see him acting as a father.


    It seems like it''s my turn now.


    I stepped forward towards Yasaka. "I shall take him."


    She was broken from whatever stupor she was in. "Lady Izanami, are you ¨C"


    "I do not intend to harm him. I will make sure he does not die and deliver him back to his master." I stated inly.


    My annoyance with him aside....that look on Will''s face when the man appeared still made me upset. That stupid boy, telling me that him and his father are merely estranged. It is clearly much more than that.


    "Is that so." Yasaka steeled her expression. "A message is it?" She raised her eyebrow.


    "I do not like others touching things I care about."


    While the strongest of the Devils is someone I begrudgingly admit is stronger than me, it does not mean his people can do whatever they want. I may not win against him in a fight, but I more than capable of making him lose. Those ridiculous ''world''s strongest'' ratings are mostly nonsense. Yes I would not be able to win against someone like Indra in battle, but it is not like he would be able to destroy me with ease just because he is ranked above me.


    I watched Yasaka''s lips curled up, giving me a ''knowing smile''. "He looked quite good, didn''t he? Fighting against someone whose name is world-renown." She fanned her face exaggeratedly, giving me another sly look.


    "He performed adequately." I responded.


    She pursed her lips. "I may need to stake my im sooner than I thought, if he goes around and does this more often, imagine how many women would want a piece of him?"


    This fox, trying to even tease me is she?


    "Are you that intent of us bing ''sisters''?" I turned towards her, take a step closer. "Perhaps you wish to get more ''familiar'' with one another?"


    Yasaka''s eyes widened briefly, before arge grin emerged on her face and she started to giggle. "Fine." She waived me off. "Point taken, I won''t meddle anymore."


    "Hmph" I crossed my arms, a small smile on my face.


    "But I wouldn''t be against it either." She smirked at me, almost making me react.


    "You are one horny fox."


    "Girl, thest time I was with a man can be measured in years." She deadpanned.


    I guess it would be difficult to bring any kind of lover around Kunou if they weren''t going to be a permanent figure in her life.


    I tilted my head, mentally calcting the time for me. "Centuries." I muttered. "Do women count?"


    "Well, if we do then, it''s a lot shorter than that." Sheughed.


    Well, I do appreciate how she is rxed in my presence....I don''t exactly hate her being friendly with me. It''s nice to not have someone reeling back because of my existence.


    "I should probably grab him.....before he bleeds out." I sighed.


    "That would be bad." She nodded. "I don''t think I could wash my hands of this if he bled out on my front yard."


    I walked over to him, letting my shadows grab him and bring him somewhere else for now. Keeping him in tact wasn''t hard. He wouldn''t die on my watch, and I needed him alive to send my message. "I enjoyed my time with you, thank you for your hospitality."


    She smiled. "You are wee back anytime. I''m sure my little Kunou wouldn''t mind seeing her ''Auntie Izzy'' in the future."


    "Moom!" Kunou gave another little squeak and I had to resist the urge to scoop her up from where she was sitting and hug her. "Thank you, Miss Izanami." She stood up and bowed, her ears twitching slightly on her head.


    Cute.


    I headed off in the direction where Will went.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    Wow.


    I was going to be riding his high for a long, long time.


    "Wilhelm." Izzy''s voice sounded off behind me.


    I straightened myself up, the bench I was sitting on not veryrge as I made room. She walked over, sitting right next to me.


    "How are you doing?"


    "Good." I said almost absentmindedly. "I mean, rtively speaking. I think I''m doing better than I have been for awhile now."


    "Would you like a hug?" She asked.


    "What?" I was a bit surprised by her request.


    "You seemed a bit distressed earlier before the fight, and I did not know if you were still upset.....I apologize if I was too forward, I know we haven''t known each other for that long and ¨C"


    "Izzy." I cut her off. "I would love a hug." She made a small little noise as I wrapped my arms around her. She was a bit hesitant but she reciprocated all the same. "I guess I held some stuff back." I spoke as we separated.


    "Only some very important details." She rolled her eyes.


    I could tell she was annoyed at me, but not angry.


    "I was born Takao Shimoda." I leaned back, looking up at the sky. "My mother died when I was young, and I was taken in by my father''s people. I lived in a house by myself, I grew up all alone and when I finally left that life behind, I changed my name to match my grandfather''s." It was one of the first times I''ve ever talked about this. "I was pretty much forced into a certain ''box'' to live my life. Every time I attempted to leave that little neat box I was forced back into it. That''s probably where my resentment of my fatheres in. They didn''t know I knew magic, so one day I just up and left.....with a bit of fanfare."


    Wow, just kind of blurted it all out.


    I saw her smile faintly, not so much appreciating my little back story, but more so that I was trusting her with something personal.


    "I honestly cannot picture you going about mundane schooling." She mused.


    I let out a small snort. "To be truthful, it really grated on me at some points." I shook my head. Not all of my memories of that timewere something to dismiss. "But it wasn''t all bad, I was also in the theatre club."


    "That I can believe." She said almost instantly.


    "Oi, what''s that supposed to mean?"


    "Well, I don''t want to stereotype....."


    "Are you implying....?"


    "I am implying nothing."


    "I''m petty sure you are."


    "It must be your imagination." She smiled lightly. "I was merely saying that you can be rather mboyant sometimes."


    "Sure, that''s what you were thinking about." I rolled my eyes. "I think someone''s miffed about the whole ''barrier'' thing earlier."


    "Hmm, I suppose you are smarter than you look." She pursed her lips.


    "Yeah, yeah." I yawned stretching my arms. "What''s going to happen with Okita?"


    I kinda just left him there, too caught up in my own head.


    "I took him."


    "Oh." I paused. "And what are your ns with him?"


    "I was going to send him back to his master." She said inly.


    "Well, alrighty then."


    She looked at me. "Are you not curious?"


    "What? Did you think I would assume you were going to torture him or something?" I leaned my head onto her shoulder. "You know I trust you, right?"


    "So it appears." She whispered. "I was going to take him back to Yomi, so I could send him to the devil''s underworld. Easier that way."


    "Metaphysically, I guess Yomi is closer than earth to hell?"


    "That is correct, though I would have to ''go through'' Hades'' realm." She paused. "It has been a while since I''ve contacted him, Persephone is generally okay to speak with."


    "I haven''t heard good things about Hades, you sure that''s a good idea?"


    "The rtionships between death deities is different than that of the corresponding pantheons." She exined. "Perhaps it is a sort of kinship, but most pantheons don''t have much contact with their deathly realms, minus those reward-based afterlives like Valha." She sighed. "Hel, Hades, Me, Yama, Anubis, Ereshkigal etc. While pantheons for the most part like to pretend other gods do not exist, we keep in touch with a cordial rtionship."


    "Huh, I did not know that." I was actually surprised, but it made quite a bit of sense.


    "Now that I think about it, we general gather every few centuries and we haven''t in quite a long time." She hummed. "I wonder if there will be another gathering soon?"


    "Really? What do you all talk about?"


    "We mostly just bitch about whatever happened recently." She let out a smallugh. "Hades talks about his idiot brothers, Yama doesn''t shut up about how overworked he is, Ereshkigal about how barely any soulse to her realm anymore."


    "Hmm, I should probably seek out Persephone instead of hades, that girl gets jealous so easily." Izzy shook her head. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked me again.


    I sat up and took a deep breath. "I''m good, really." I paused for a moment. "And I may disappear for a bit, probably won''t be reachable by phone. I have some things I need to take care of."


    "Is that so? How long do you intend to be ''gone''?" She asked.


    "No more than a couple weeks, probably" I did some mental calctions in my head.


    She stood up, waving her hand and summoning a portal down to Yomi. "I will see you at ater time."


    "See youter." I waived her off.


    I''m really happy I met her.


    [I''m annoyed you didn''t use me.]


    "Really? Why don''t I just paint a giant target on my back, I''m sure that would be the easier option."


    [No one knows I''m even here! What if Albion shows up, he''ll think he''s ahead of me.]


    "Or, what if we wait until shit really hits the fan, then bam! Boosted Geares out and saves the day, would be cooler than just a duel where nobody saw."


    Ddraig grumbled but relented [You better not be blue balling me here.]


    "There is some shit I have to deal with here in the future." I sighed, thinking about the messes my presence will have likely caused.


    [Are we going to a new world soon?]


    "Yeah, I wanted to spend some time with Kunou, then I was going to leave."


    [You sound like such a dad already.]


    "Fuck off." I rolled my eyes. I couldn''t help it.....I honestly don''t know what came over me when ites to that little girl. "Though I want to look for a way to develop my Power of Destruction." I yawned again, standing up from my seat. "I''ve been thinking about a lot of stuff, and I think it''s time to stop holding myself back from that."


    [Power of Destruction is pretty good, it would do you well to develop it.]


    "Yeah." I scratched my cheek. "I probably could have done something by now....but betterte than never."


    ***


    The chapter for yesterday, got home from work and just didn''t feel good, slept it off and here I am. I still don''t intend to post this weekend, so don''t expect anything until Monday. Probably will do another PHO Chapter again soon, people really seemed to enjoy it.


    So, I set up a discord for anyone interested. If you want toe and chat about the story or whatever, i''ll be there pretty much all weekend and generally when I''m online for updates and when I''m starting chapters and what-not. I''ll mostly be ying Genshin all weekend, so feel free toe bug me.


    https://discord.gg/TRDZTRKfVf


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my /Astoryforone the next arc finally started

 Chapter 87 - 83

    <h4>Chapter 87: Chapter 83</h4>


    The more I think about it, the more confused I am about how this even came about.


    But, honestly, I wasn''tining.


    "Alright, now pick anyone you want." I held out a stack of cards.


    "Mm, this one." Kunou pulled one out of the deck.


    "Alright, make sure you remember it." I shuffled the deck of cards. "Now, show your mother, but absolutely don''t let me see it."


    "Mom." Kunou called out to Yasaka who was sitting nearby, watching with a small smile on her face.


    "I see it, sweetie."


    "Okay, now remember, don''t tell me what it is, okay?"


    "Okay." She nodded.


    "What card is it?"


    "It''s ¨C"


    "Don''t tell me." I teased her with a little boop her on the forehead. "Now, put it back in the deck." I turned away. "Okay, you remember what is was, right?"


    "Yes." She nodded.


    After shuffling for a moment I held the deck up.


    "Now!" I wiggled my fingers. "Abra Cadabra!" I eximed pulled the card off the top. "Is this your card!?"


    "...no." Kunou looked confused.


    "Oops, my mistake." I shook my head, drawing another card. "It''s this one!" I eximed again, showing the next card.


    "Nope."


    "Hmm, this one?"


    "No."


    "What about this one?"


    "Nu huh."


    I started going through each and every card until there was only one left. "Okay, then this one must be your card." I pulled out thest card and waived it around.


    "That''s not it." Kunou pouted.


    I scratched my head as all the cards from the deck were now in a messy pile on the ground. "Huh, you know what? I think you mom might have your card." I looked over to her, and she just blinked in confusion then looked down at the table she was sitting at to see a card face down next to her.


    Kunou ran over and picked it up for both her and Yasaka to see.


    "This is it!" She shouted excitedly.


    "How?" Yasaka looked at me with eyes widened.


    I cheated, but it''s fine as long as Kunou is happy. And I got to get one over on Yasaka.


    Ha! Curse me, will you?


    "A magician doesn''t reveal their secrets." I took my hat off and bowed. Standing straight, I held my hat out and all the cards flew off the ground into my little storage space.


    "Hmph, I''ll get your secrets eventually~" Yasaka gave me a look that promised she would get her way.


    "Mom, don''t ruin the magic!" Kunou pulled on her mom''s sleeve.


    "Yeah, don''t ruin the magic." I held back augh.


    "Oh, being ganged up on by both my daughter and her father, woe is me."


    "Moom!" Kunou whined again. It seems like that still embarrasses her.


    She''s so cute, I can''t even.


    "Lady Yasaka." A Tengu dropped down from the sky, kneeling before the Youkai leader. He bowed his head and presented a letter.


    She unfolded it, reading it intently as her expression turned into a scowl. "Wilhelm, would you please watch Kunou for a little bit? I have something that requires my undivided attention."


    "No problem." I nodded. The amount of trust I managed to garner that she would willingly leave her daughter in my hands. Though I guess it was unlikely I would do anything form her perspective, having brought her daughter back in the first ce.


    "Be a good girl for your daddy." Yasaka gave a kiss on Kunou''s forehead, much to the little girl''s chagrin. "I''ll be back in a little bit." She shed me a smile and disappeared away with the Tengu.


    "Well, now that your mom is gone, I can show you my super secret magic trick." I winked at the little kitsune who looked a tiny bit hesitant with her mom no longer there.


    "Super secret?"


    I held my hat upside down. "You ready?" I smiled as I reached inside and pulled out Sir Wiggles.


    Kunou practically squealed as she pounced on the rabbit. "He''s so cute!"


    Sir Wiggles took it in stride, allowing himself to be picked up by the unknown girl and his fur stroked.


    "What''s his name?"


    "He is Sir Wigglesbottom fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, crown prince of the Emerald Kingdom. Duke of Carrot Ind."


    [Oh god dammit.]


    Hehe.


    "Or, Sir Wiggles for short."


    She squeed, pushing her face into his fur.


    If only for this singr moment, making Sir Wiggles my familiar was worth it. It makes me not want to leave after this....but I suppose having something toe back to is nice as well.


    Seeing her y around with Sir Wiggles, it gave me something I didn''t know I needed before now.


    Izzy, Kunou....I guess I have some important people bonding me to this world, I can''t very well abandon it now, even if I wanted to before.


    My intent was just to take a passive approach, deal with threats to the world as they popped up the sort of curve my karmic debt here.....but that doesn''t really seem like an option anymore. I don''t want to allow anything to exist that could threaten them.


    I couldn''t help but sigh, even as a smile never faded from my face. This was supposed to be a vacation....but I seemed to have found something amazing.


    "Princess." A few Youkai walked out into the courtyard, calling out towards Kunou. "Your mother requests you."


    Hmm, was it that time already? I looked up at the sky and the Sun was already setting.


    Time really does fly....


    "Shall I take you back to your mom?" I smiled down at Kunou who didn''t look like she wanted to leave.


    "That will not be necessary, you are dismissed, human." One of the guards stepped forward.


    I paused, then just sighed again. I guess something happened and they don''t want an outside here for the time being?


    "Well, this is goodbye." I pat Kunou on the head.


    "No." She said quietly, hugging Sir Wiggles tighter.


    "Hey, I''ll be back, okay?" I kneeled down next to her.


    "Promise?"


    "Of course." I held out my pinkie. "Pinkie promise." She giggled slightly as we interlocked them.


    She let Sir Wiggles jump out of her hands and into my hat again. The look she gave me was frankly, heartbreaking.


    Gods, how did I get attached to this girl so quickly? I just don''t understand it.


    "This way." One of the guards ushered me, a little annoyance on his face.


    Odd.


    Well, whatever.


    I stepped out of the courtyard, the guard following close behind me. "Would you pass on my goodbyes to Lady Yasaka, I''m going away for a bit and won''t have a chance to speak again for awhile."


    He just snorted. "Get moving, human."


    I paused, my instinct was ring that something was wrong. I turned around and narrowed my eyes at him. "What exactly is your ¨C"


    "NOOOO! DADDY!" A loud scream echoed out across thepound


    My head snapped to the direction of the voice. I didn''t even look as the ''guard'' escorting me drew a weapon, aiming for my neck. It never reached me as his head started rolling on the ground and Mirage flew next to me.


    What happened next was sort of a blur.


    I Burst back to where I was before, Seeing a Youkai trying to rein in a struggling Kunou with several more standing around.


    It only took a moment for her to be in my arms again, and about a dozen bodies falling to the ground.


    An explosion erupted not too far away, the shockwave managing to ruffle my hair.


    "She''s over here!" A shout was heard as a few more people burst into the courtyard.


    "Human!, Hand over ¨C "


    The others stared at shock as the one speaking fell to the ground, his head bouncing onto the grass, my sword floating next to me with a small trail of blood down the edge of the de.


    "Daddy, where''s mom!?" Kunou looked like she was about to have a panic attack.


    This could not be healthy for a girl this young who had been through something traumatic not too long ago.


    "I''ll go get her, okay?" I pat her head.


    "No, don''t leave me." She cried.


    "I''ll put you somewhere safe." I whispered gently. "My grandfather can watch over you, and he has a very nice student who is like a sister to me, she''ll love to meet you." I opened a portal and quickly ushered her in. She was in shock and I didn''t want to make things worse.


    Fuck.


    [Did you just send her to another world?]


    "Yeah." I said quietly, running a hand through my hair, staring at the few remaining Youkai who were watching my warily.


    I griped my hand, using Telekinesis to yank one off the building ledge he was standing on, bring him down to the ground with a thump.


    I quickly stomped on his back as my swords shed out and made quick work of his friends. "You have 10 seconds, speak."


    He coughed out some blood. "Disgusting human, your time wille."


    I sneered, holding out my hand for Mirage to fly back into my grip then mming the de down onto his neck.


    I turned around as another portal opened up, a very familiar application of the Kaleidoscope. "Artoria?" I blurted out as she walked from the portal.


    "Will." She nodded.


    "What are you doing here, did gramps send you?"


    "You dropped a crying child into the kitchen, do you think we wouldn''t be worried?" She raised an eyebrow. "It isn''t too hard to make the leap to assume that whatever is happening, was enough that you couldn''t guarantee her safety."


    "It''s not as bad as it looks...I may have panicked and reacted on instinct to one of the only ces I could think of that was safe." I admitted. "Is she...?"


    Artoria gave a small smile. "Zelretch was quick to calm her down, and Rin is good at distracting her."


    "I see." I ran a hand over my face. "Good, that''s good."


    "Will, what''s going on?"


    "Someone attacked....uh probably some remnants who are pissed off? I don''t know everything, but I think Yasaka may be in danger....or she is the danger, I don''t exactly know what''s going on. Someone tried to grab Kunou again and....." I paused for a moment thinking everything through rationally. "She was betrayed, no doubt someone close to her was able to pull some strings so she was separated from her daughter." I muttered


    Why?


    Why go after Kunou, again. I mean....it was the easiest target if you wanted to get to Yasaka, but what''s so important that you needed that kind of leverage?


    "Will, focus."


    I snapped out of my thoughts. "Right, right." I clenched my fists. "Well, you''re already here.....and it isn''t quite what I had in mind for a date, but would you like to take care of some would-be kidnappers with me?"


    She steeled her expression, a look on her face that promised pain for whoever was behind this. "I would be delighted."


    Someone was going to fucking pay for making my daughter cry.


    ***


    Wrapping up the DxD arc for now, clearing up some loose ends (Read: Hero faction). So, Artoria and MC going to have words with the Hero faction.....taking all bets?


    Anyways, I you didn''t seest chapter, got a discord up,e chat, ask me questions, whatever -- https://discord.gg/TRDZTRKfVf


    If you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my /Astoryforone

 Chapter 88 - 84

    <h4>Chapter 88: Chapter 84</h4>


    Artoria followed behind me as we moved through thepound. I actually didn''t know where Yasaka was, nor where the main fights were happening.


    Every so often, I could find some people, usually able to tell who is the enemy and who isn''t.


    There were some surprisingly powerful foes that popped up. And equally surprising, there were friendlies who engaged them. Honestly, I did not expect this faction to have such powerfulbatants waiting in reserve like they were.


    Several who would fit under the banner of ''ultimate ss'', even if that whole system of measurement was basically mrkey.


    "How you doing on mana?" I quickly asked as we scaled a rooftop to get a better view.


    "I''m full, and I was given this." She took out a jewel I didn''t recognize, but I could see it was full of Rin''s magical energy. "Zelretch said it should work for an emergency."


    Ah, good thinking. Though, it wasn''t a perfect recovery tool for her magical energy. Since she was a servant, a spiritual being, she couldn''t generate magical energy as if she were ''alive''. And trying to forcefully drain the jewel of its contents would cause much of it to go to waste, simply running off in the process.


    I looked around and noticed a much bigger fight in the distance. Tengu were taking to the skies, and several groups shing while somerge explosions lit up the sky.


    Many types of Youkai I couldn''t recognize at a nce were joining the fray.


    "Wilhelm, there." She pointed a little off to the side, a swirling pir of mist burst out. "I briefly saw a women with nine tails, I assume that is the woman you are looking for?"


    "Yeah....and that should be dimension lost." I muttered.


    "Dimension lost?" She asked in confusion.


    "Shit, I never did talk about the sacred gears here.....think of them as noble phantasms." I didn''t really have time to exin the differences, but I would rather he be wary of the strange weapons than not.


    "Noted." She nodded. "Do you have a n?"


    "Yeah." I took in a deep breath. "Teach some kids a lesson they will not forget." I frowned, trying to wrack my brain around who all was in that little faction of theirs.


    "Kids?"


    "Idiots who think they can do whatever they want because of some stuff they inherited from their ancestors or some other nonsense."


    "I will follow your lead."


    I smiled, holding out my hand as she took it and I pulled us both through a portal right to the big dome of mist.


    I put my hand on therge dome and cast my gaze inside briefly. I saw Yasaka battling a group of people and somewhat handling herself, but she was slightly wounded here and there...


    Without a second thought, I drew Mirage and pulled on the Kaleidoscope.


    With a sh, I cut through the false dimension that was cutting off the fight from the outside world.


    The mist dispersed aggressively, stopping the fight as all eyes turned to us.


    "Wilhelm!?" Yasaka called out as she retreated several yards back.


    "YOU!" I saw Georg shout from the corner of my eye.


    The ''hero'' faction.


    More of them that I didn''t recognize off the top of my head.


    "I guess the lesson I taught youst time wasn''t enough." Izily replied, not giving him much attention.


    Yasaka quickly reached our side, perhaps trying to buy herself a moments respite. "Kunou, where is she!?" Her eyes practically dting.


    "She''s with my grandfather,pletely safe." I gave her a reassuring smile.


    Yasaka let out a long breath. "Good." She said quietly.


    A big boulder a bit away started trembling and arge man climbed out of some umted rubble. "Fucking bitch." He spat as he stood up, dusting himself off.


    "Friend of yours?" I raised an eyebrow, ncing at Yasaka.


    She sneered. "Idiot calling himself Hercules, said he was going to harm my daughter."


    Ah, the idiot who boasts about having inherited the spirit of Hercules, and i looked around and noticed a blonde girl. If I recalled correctly, she is the same but with Jeanne D''Arc.


    I paused, reining in my quickly ring temper. "Did he now?"


    "What about you?" Her eyes turned to Artoria, standing to the side. "I don''t believe we met."


    "She''s the one who I grabbed to heal Kunou before."


    "Greetings, I am Artoria." Artoria stated.


    "Wilhelm, is it?" Another voice cut through the tension in the air. I recognize the person and the spear he held at a nce.


    "Cao Cao, are you trying to run your ancestor''s name through the mud even more than you have already?" I didn''t want to hear any spiel he was going to give.


    "So you do know me."


    "Well, usually I don''t remember dumbasses, but kudos, you are leagues above themon rabble."


    He frowned, I don''t think he was used to people insulting him so tantly. "This doesn''t concern you, why are you risking your life for these.....Youkai?"


    "Are you trying to findmon ground with me, perhaps convince me to step to the side?" I rolled my eyes. "Besides, saying I''m ''risking my life'' implies anyone in your little posse can even take it."


    I was going to break him.


    "I could snap you like a twig!" Hercules shouted. "A little magician and a little girl he brought with him, why are we even talking?"


    "A little girl?" Artoria quietly repeated, a small twitch of her eyes told me exactly how she felt right now.


    I grew up on the inte, insults don''t really phase me.....but I''m sure it''s an entirely different matter for her.


    "He''s all yours." I smiled towards my girlfriend, eyes not leaving Cao Cao.


    I wanted this little faction of his to be destroyed before I finish dealing with him.


    "What, am I supposed to be scared of her?" Heughed. "Come on then, little girl, I''ll show you a real man." He threw his head back, posing like an idiot. "You can even have the first hit." He didn''t even try to hide hisughter.


    Artoria didn''t answer, instead her magical energy exploded off her. Armor formed around her body, her armaments manifesting from within. Her Dragon''s core practically roared to life as everyone in the area felt her presence.


    She moved before most people here could even understand what was going on, a fist buried itself deep into Hercules''s stomach.


    I saw everything as I reinforced my eyes. Every moment as his eyes widened, blood flowed out of his throat, and his body practically crumbled and lifted off the ground, only to be blown into the side of the building.


    "Oh." Yasaka said quietly, perhaps readjusting some thoughts she had about Artoria.


    Honestly, I should have been paying more attention, but one thought was distracting me.


    I fucking want her right now.


    [Rein in the dragon.]


    I don''t even care if anyone is watching.


    I want to make her mine.


    [Maybe she''s having some sort of effect on you because of her magical core''s origin?]


    Probably.


    I reluctantly pushed down those thoughts, with a mental promise forter, when we eventually get to that part in a rtionship.


    [Watch out.]


    I ducked to the side as a certain holy spear passed by my head.


    Oh shit, yeah, god killing holy spear, need to pay attention.


    A kid covered in shadows suddenly charged, swiping his hands in the air, shadows rose up from the ground like des and swept the area. "Oh, sacred gear, noted."


    Yasaka bat them away easily enough, the Touki pulsing off her was palpable. "I don''t suppose you know anything about them?"


    "Edgy kid wearing the sunsses maniptes shadows with a sacred gear, equally edge name." I spoke, dodging another swipe of the True Longinus.


    "That''s barely helpful." She deadpanned, stomping on the ground, creating many boulders that she grabbed with her Touki and threw at the shadow maniptor.


    My sword swung out, as holy sworda burst out of the ground like thorns. None were powerful by themselves, but holy power was still practically lethal to me. "Discount Jeanne D''Arc can create holy swords, forget the name of that one too."


    "I noticed." Yasaka shouted, throwing arge waft of fox fire at edgy-shadow-guy before cracking him across the face with her fist.


    That''s gotta hurt.


    "Words can be hurtful." Discount Jeanne spoke, creating many more Holy swords that burst out of the ground.


    Seems like she can do that on any surface.


    "Well, you should give it a try, would be a better shot at actually damaging me." I retorted, stomping on the ground myself , raising an earth wall between us. I ducked under the True Longinus, but this time Cao Cao entered my range, using his spear as an actual spear with some degree of mastery.


    Despite my dislike for the guy, he was quite good....but he was no Scathach. I gripped Mirage in my hand, deflecting each blow, knocking any his thrusts, and any attempts he made to inject holy power into me.


    There was no hesitance to get close to me, he was adept enough to fight with such a long spear in closebat. Hell, he was actually fairly quick.


    I wouldn''t say he was on par with Okita in terms of pure speed, but his eyes were able to follow my movements.


    When I attempted to exploit his openings, he was able to react in time to not be skewered. What an annoying opponent though, he only had to lean into his spear''s power to eventually defeat me....from his perspective that is. A decent hit from that thing''s edge and I would go down like a sack of potatoes.


    "Bindings of Gaia." I invoked one of my 9-realms spells, Whisper doing the casting so I didn''t have to distract myself.


    The roots burst out of the ground, almost as if they were alive and shot out towards all the enemies in the area. Cao Cao swung his spear around, cutting them, only for more to burst out as he grabbed some distance.


    Jeanne flicked her sword attacking the iing tide with her own barrage of holy swords. Seemingly putting them into a temporary stalemate as it took many swords to fell onerge root.


    I wasn''t done.


    "Freezing winds of Jotunheim" I spread my arms out as the deathly cold cascaded out in all directions, taking caution not to encroach on my allies.


    Cao Cao mmed his spear into the ground, his holy light surrounding him like a barrier but Jeanne took the brunt of it, a Root grabbing her leg and the cold air catching a stray limb before she could escape.


    Her arm did not look to be in good shape, a deep blue color as if all heat in it had died. I didn''t have time to mull over the thought as Cao Cao''s spear extended towards me again, taking off a few stray hairs.


    I decided to cast all my physical enhancement spells, earning a surprise noise from him as I closed the distance and mmed my sword down on his spear, cracking the ground under the blow.


    "What!?" He spat out, arms shuddering under the blow.


    "Ansuz." I invoked a Rune, shooting it into the distance as the space sort of vibrated, revealing a Georg who was preparing arge-scale spell in a tiny sub-dimension.


    Whisperunched up to the sky where he was preparing to cast it, disrupting it with my own runic insertions.


    I took a step back as Yasakaunched a kick at Cao Cao who brought up his Spear to block, knocking him back several yards.


    "Handle the magician, please." Yasaka looked towards me, bursting from the spot she was in towards Cao Cao and Jean.


    "Fine." I muttered, focusing on Georg. Yasaka probably would want her own time beating the crap out of these guys and it was kind of hard to do with a kid who could manipte dimenions interfereing.


    Georg snorted, waving his hand and bringing forth dozens of magical circles, a small smirk on his face.


    I raised up Mirage, spell circles began to spin around the de, my magical energy soared, and the Kaleidoscope vibrated.


    "Ether Cannon." Georg''s eyes widened as all his spells iled hopelessly against my cannon, and he shot out the Dimension Lost in an attempt to seal the attack, only for it to push through like the sacred gear was paper.


    "GEORG" Cao Cao shouted, an expression of shock on his face for the first time this fight. He tried to run to where the collision happened, but Yasaka intercepted him,ying down attacks with enough force to shatter the area.


    Cao Cao took a few good hits, blood running down his face before he regained his footing.


    "You don''t get to flee from me after attacking my daughter." She growled, the area literally quaking with her steps, even as she reined herself in. She was after her own pound of flesh, the fact that she wasn''t going full on fox was telling of how much she wanted to handle this intimately.


    "Fuck off, bitch." The shadow kid ran at her, arms wrapped in his shadowy power and started pulling all the shadows along with him.


    Thorn of inky darkness shot up out of the ground, they coalesced and reshaped to his whims, all aiming for Yasaka so Cao Cao could disengage.


    I looked over to the side and saw Artoria handing Hercules his ass even as he used his sacred gear to attack her.


    "Is that all?" Her words echoed across the battlefield as an explosion rang out in her palm where she caught his fist, not even budging.


    "What the hell!?" Hercules shouted, his muscled visibly tightening and straining to try and move her but failing miserably.


    "Clench your teeth, boy." The only warning his got before she reeled back her fist again.


    Oof, those sounds he made sent a shiver down my spine.


    If I remembered correctly, his sacred gear caused explosions on impact. She caught the explosion at point nk and didn''t even react, must have thrown him for a loop.


    I shook my head with a smalls mile, turning my attention back to Jeanne.


    Jeanne mmed her sword into the ground with her good arm, a massive dome of holy swords started forming around me.


    Cute trick, actually pretty smart, but hopeless.


    "200 Birds." I swung Mirage in all directions, destroying the holy sword prison before it could fully form.


    She didn''t relent, every swing of her sword, many more holy swords followed in its wake, but she was trying to ovee quality with quantity, and she most certainly was not in the best of shape.


    I snapped my fingers, several Runic circles appeared above me. "Lightning." I called out, one of my simple arias to invoke my spell as bolts of lightning cascaded down on the one who hosted the spirit of Jeanne D Arc.


    Her sword, her rapier, thrust quickly in my directions, intercepting the magical lightning.


    Impressive.


    Flicking my hand, a few talismans appeared between my fingers. "Three Elements Sealing Formation." I invoked as my three talisman flew out to surround her. They formed a triangr sealing spell, her body became visible stiff as her movements became hampered.


    Runes spun around my arm as I pushed them on the ground next to her, reinforcing the spell to a further degree.


    "Can you not handle this little girl''s blows?" Artoria''s fight seemed to get near us as she began taunting him, not even drawing her weapon. I saw her look over here many times, but she didn''t move to interfere, probably because we weren''t really in any danger.


    The shadow guy was keeping Yasaka distracted, purely because he would not stay down. If any sufficiently lethal attack was about tond on him, he would kind of fuse with the shadows and mitigate the damage.


    I could tell Yasaka was starting to get annoyed, and I would rather she not start throwing around blows that topple buildings in this constrained area.


    I withdrew a certain bloodthirsty spear from my ring, aiming for a moment, the muscles in my arms bulged as I threw it with all my might.


    It shot across the battlefield, the magical energy mixed with the intense bloodlust drew eyes from everyone but the shadow user couldn''t even react in time as it caught him, carrying him to the side of the building, impaling him through the chest.


    I turned to look at Cao Cao who was supporting a very hurt Georg. Mildly surprised he was still alive, even if it wasn''t a very strong Either canon, was still an Ether Cannon.


    "The irony of impaling the spiritual sessor of Con with Gae Bolg." I spoke towards the holy spear wielder who grit his teeth.


    Yeah, Shadow kid inherited the spirit of Cu Chinn''s son, who died to his father''s spear. He was kind of forgettable so I didn''t remember until a few moments ago.


    If looks could kill.


    Well, I doubt he''s even a fraction as furious as I am about Kunou.


    I looked at Jeanne who still couldn''t move and nodded to myself. It wasn''t the strongest sealing spell I knew, but it was fairly robust.


    Artoria threw the beaten body of Hercules on the ground near us. Striding over without even being winded.


    Cao Cao was silent, looking around at his defeatedrades.


    "Georg, we need Sieg and Arthur." He looked at his barely consciouspanion.


    Georg was not in good shape, half his body was burnt pretty bad, and I don''t think his right arm could even be called an arm anymore.


    Cao Cao pulled off a ne he kept under his cor, a small vial in his hand as he poured It on Georg. A visible phenomenon alighted over the boy''s mangled body.


    A phoenix tear, interesting.


    The tears of the devil phoenix''s that live in the underworld, that so called pir n. One of the most potent healing items that can be purchased on the market. But even with that, he didn''t look all that good.


    But he still responded, the Dimension Lost connecting space as two more people walked out.


    The aforementioned Arthur and Sieg looked around.


    One looked like a typical ''English gentleman'' the other wore a priest''s coat.


    "I''ll take the one dressed as a priest." Yasaka walked up next to me, she was looking a bit better, even if she still had dried blood on her.


    Sieg looked at her, pulling out two swords. "Bnce Breaker: Chaos Edge Asura Ravage" He called out as four more arms sprouted from his back, each wielding a demonic sword, well one was holding a light-sword. "I''ll handle the Fox, you get the other one, Arthur." He called out.


    Twice Critical?


    A sub species, I believe.


    Neat.


    "I guess I am your opponent then?" The other one turned towards Artoria. "I am Arthur Pendragon. I suppose I cannot hold back anything." His gaze briefly swept the broken bodies of his teammates.


    Artoria paused, hearing his name. "Are you one of.....his descendants?"


    "I am." He nodded, almost uncaring about the battlefield. "It is tradition in my family to name each sessive generation after the King, I am not the first Arthur Pendragon. But I have grown ustomed to the name, even if I think the convention is droll." A light erupted from his body, and a holy sword appeared in his hand. "I wield the strongest Holy Sword ¨C Caliburn, prepare yourself."


    Artoria narrowed her eyes at the promation, I couldn''t dare to even guess her thoughts right now. She took her own stance, invisible sword summoned.


    The sword this Arthur wielded, it wasrge, like a great sword, but he wielded it expertly. I could tell even Artoria was mildly impressed by his swordsmanship as she didn''t stomp him right from the beginning. But, you could begin to see Arthur getting a bit restless, nearly every move he made was countered with ease and experience he couldn''t ovee.


    Even with Artoria''s smaller stature, he was being dealt blows with far greater weight behind them then anything he could muster. He had to practically retreat on every collision.


    They shed many times, Arthur never even making ament on her invisible sword as he gradually got used to its dimensions, even able to counterattack every now and then.


    I knew Artoria enough to see she was holding back, but I didn''t understand why.


    In fact, it seemed like they were sticking to purely swordsmanship, like an unspoken agreement between both of them.


    Actually....something strange was happening. I wanted to say that Arthur was hesitant to attack, but even looked rather perplexed at what was happening.


    After a moment, Artoria even stopped as Arthur''s sword swept towards her head. A clean strike, the which could have decapitated her, stopped.


    Arthur was straining himself, trying his best to force the de forward, but it refused to budge.


    It wouldn''t even touch her skin with its edge.


    The sword started to vibrate in Arthur''s hands, the holy glow intensified, and Arthur showed a painful look as he suddenly shouted, jumping away, sword falling to the ground and sporting some nasty burns on his hands.


    The sword sticking up out of the ground, Artoria stared at it, Arthur looked on in shock as she hesitantly ced a hand on the hilt.


    The de burst out with a golden light, blindingly bright as it began to shift.


    "Does it change shape to fit the wielder''s desire?" Artoria muttered at the now much smaller de still impaled into the ground. "Hello, old friend, it has been awhile."


    It did in fact do that if I recalled correctly. One of the sword''s many abilities.


    The new golden words engraved on the sword were easy to read.


    Whosoever pulleth out this sword from the stone is rightwise king of all Ennd.


    Artoria dismissed her invisible sword, gripping Caliburn tight and pulling it from the ground without any resistance.


    "What?" Arthur whispered, clearly in shock. "How? Not even the Church...!? Only someone of his blood should be able to wield that sword..."


    "I will be taking this for now, whether you can regain it in the future has yet to be determined." She dered, almost inviting him to disagree with her. "Surrender, this fight is not worth continuing."


    Arthur looked down at the sword being pointed at him and raised his arms in the air in surrender seemingly no will to fight in his eyes.


    "Well, isn''t that something?" Yasaka practically snuck up on me, throwing the body of her opponent ontop of Hercules''s prone form. "I believe a few secrets have been hidden from me." She mused.


    I guess I was distracted.


    "What? How did you defeat Siegfried?" Cao Cao looked at Yasaka in shock.


    "Did you seriously believe this brat who hasn''t even seen three decades could match me?" She scoffed. "I have ruled over the Youkai in this region for centuries, boy. The only reason I hadn''t crushed you all so easily before was that boy manipting Dimensions, and my unwillingness to cause coteral damage."


    "Do you truly think I am defeated?" Cao Cao stood up an edge in his voice, gripping his spear tightly. "The hero always ys the monster in the end."


    "By all means, use your bnce breaker." Izily replied. "Make this interesting for me."


    He sneered at me. "Bnce Breaker: Pr Night Longinus Chakravartin."


    The Holy Aura around him exploded out, it became suffocating for someone like me to stand here. Arge halo-like ring floated behind him with several orbs. I''m pretty sure each of those orbs corresponds to a specific ability, but the details escape me.


    Mirage flew into my hand, Dawnbreaker, Whisper, and Ascalon spun around me, waiting.


    I snapped my fingers, A circle of runes burst out underneath Cao Cao, he looked down as they glowed and exploded.


    "What an absurd holy power." I couldn''t help butment, as he waspletely enveloped in a shield. It was almost like fighting an Archangel.


    "Astsusa Ratana" Cao Cao dered as my head snapped behind me, spear being thrust into my back. A pure teleportation, able to slip through my perception, I barely even noticed the space around me shudder.


    Was it because of the holy power?


    No time to contemte.


    The spire didn''t pierce my, my form shattered as I appeared to the side and swiped my sword at him.


    "Hmph, lets see how you deal with your weapon being destroyed ¨C Chatsuka Ratana." His spear moved towards my sword, a collision of energy burst out at the meeting point of our two weapons. His eyes narrowed and his expression changed. "WHY WON''T YOUR SWORD BREAK?" He suddenly shouted as he broke off the attack.


    "Isn''t it obvious?" I sneered. "You''re too weak."


    He tried to use a weapon breaking ability on me, how adorable. With the Eye of Magnus basically keeping it all together as a Lynchpin, he''s essentially trying to destroy a Divine Construct.


    "Fine, I will end this in one blow then." He calmed himself, but killing intent was still in his eyes. The holy power around him went another qualitive change, if it was intense before, it was almost obscene now.


    I felt a sense of danger at this.


    "Balinayaka Ratana" He roared as all the umted holy power gathered and released right at me.


    "Shield of Asgard" I put out my strongest defensive spell, and I included a Primordial Rune in the creation. It was big enough to envelop both Yasaka and Artoria so they didn''t get swept up in our battle.


    The buildings behind me were obliterated, and even through the shield, I felt the intense light try to prate into me.


    "Impossible." Cao Cao muttered as the attack finally died down, to see me standing strong after what was probably his strongest attack. His arms sagged, and his spear no longer holding its powerful killing intent.


    Good, his spirit has broken just as his faction has.


    Shouldn''t have targeted my daughter.


    "GAAh" He let out a scream as my swords pierced him from all directions, falling to the ground.


    His spear spell next to him with a ''nk''.


    ....I want it.


    [You might be able to take it, it has it''s own amount of intelligence.]


    Really?"


    [That or kill you, call it a coin flip.]


    I''ll tryter...maybe. I shook my head, putting it into my ring without touching it.


    "Well, that takes care of that then." Yasaka walked up to Cao Cao, staring at his unmoving body. My swords returned to my ring, but he still didn''t move. I''m pretty sure he''s still alive, but none of my business anymore, and I''m sure Yasaka also wants her pound of flesh.


    "All yours to deal with." I said towards the Youkai leader.


    "You give me the best presents." She cooed.


    "Lady Yasaka, I request suitable imprisonment for this one." Artoria walked up, Arthur awkwardly following behind her.


    Yasaka stared at him, her rage very much still apparent. "I will.....not execute him, but he will be punished."


    "That is all I ask." She nodded.


    I didn''t speak up, the look in her eyes was rather telling. I could see that Artoria felt some sense of responsibility for the one who imed to be her alternate''s descendant. I would leave it to her to deal with him then.


    "Actually, I think they''re all still alive?" I muttered looking around and saw Con still breathing haggardly, having been unable to free himself. Jeanne was still bound, her body a mess and her arm looked dead. Hercules was broken underneath the other one --- Sieg, or rather Siegfried? Pretty sure he might be dead, actually. Georg was a bit better if handicap now, but unconscious and Cao Cao....well fuck him. I paid no mind to the growing pool of blood forming around him.


    All''s well that ends well.


    I guess it''s time to clean up this mess.


    ***


    First off, big shoutout to TheMadLad over on discord who created the new cover art.


    So, the chapter. I know a lot of people were hoping for Artoria going full King Arthur or Excaliburing the lot, but honestly, it seemed like a waste back when I first wrote this chapter. I had her ''reveal'' nned forter when the Excalibur swords are more prominent. I think, in character, Artoria wouldn''t deem them worthy of facing her real sword, especially releasing its true name. All, in all, they weren''t a group that required everyone pulling out all the stops and canon kind of just throws power levels all over the ce so its hard to get an actual gauge on people''s strength. Like, one moment Cao Cao is matching Azazel in his fake sacred gear, you know, an angel who is older than humanity, then next he can get randomly pped by some brat still in highschool.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 89 - 85

    <h4>Chapter 89: Chapter 85</h4>


    The remnants of the attack were dealt with swiftly, the only reason they managed this level of destruction and chaos was due to the nature of their attack. I didn''t really listen on the details, but apparently one of the ''elders'' who was close to Yasaka was apparently a spy, or just fed up with her in general and aligned himself with the rabble.


    The ''hero'' faction were taken, and confined to wherever Yasaka keeps her dungeon. Only Siegfried died, several others are in critical condition. They are keeping them alive, mostly for questioning, but alive they are. Unfortunately, I couldn''t ''remove'' their sacred gears.....without killing them, that is. All of them except for Jeanne, they were more like ''concepts'' that wrapped around their souls than actual items like the Boosted Gear. Less tangible, and I didn''t know if they would die or not, and Yasaka seemed to want them alive for some very advanced interrogation. Perhaps I''ll get the chance to do something with theter. Jeanne though, I just couldn''t touch her sacred gear due to the holy nature. But I helped seal them tight.....Georg''s was surprisingly difficult to keep down. It seemed to want to escape whatever i did at any moment.


    Well, one of the lot was up and about.


    "And he won''t do anything?" Yasaka questioned Artoria.


    "He gave me his word he will not forgo his punishment nor will he bring you any harm." Artoria nodded.


    Yasaka looked at me. "I trust her with my life." And her instinct was frighteningly urate.


    She seemed to ept that and just turned to the one prisoner who was not bound. "You plotted against me and many of my people are dead."


    "Yes." Arthur spoke, not even speaking anything in his defense.


    "The only reason you haven''t been thoroughly forced to speak everything you know is your thin rtions with Artoria." Yasaka added.


    Artoria never spoke of her connection with him and by extension the Pendragon family, but the physical simrities between the two of them was rather hard to miss. Not to mention the glowing holy sword that denoted her the true king of Ennd.


    "Why?" Yasaka finally asked, seemingly exasperated.


    "To protect my sister."


    "Do you expect me to sympathize with you?" Yasaka scoffed.


    "No, I merely gave an answer." Arthur shook his head.


    Yasaka seemed annoyed with his answer but wanted more information regardless. "What happened to your sister?"


    "My family would not relinquish her, and I was already doing everything I could to pressure them into not hurting my lover." Arthur exined. "She is a genius magician, perhaps only matched by her namesake. Since I left, they had doubled down on their control over here. I don''t know how it happened, but Cao Cao made them back off and brought her out from under them."


    Yasaka huffed, clenching her fists in anger, then letting out a long sigh. "You didn''t actually harm any of my people, nor did you have a direct hand in my daughter''s suffering.....I can more or less guess what your rtionship is with this Cao Cao." She rubbed her temples. "Twenty years of servitude. No doubt with your abilities, living past a normal human''s lifespan would be a simple matter."


    "I will serve to the best of my abilities." Arthur dropped his head in a bow.


    "A knight does make a vow like this lightly." Artoria said sternly.


    "My word is my bond." He replied. "I would offer my sword, but I feel like I would get beaten up if I take it out."


    "You have another weapon?" Artoria asked.


    "Yes, I only used Caliburn under dire circumstances." He stated. "I usually stuck to using Excalibur Ruler."


    "Excalibur.....ruler." Artoria repeated the words, almost like they were poison in her mouth. "Take it out."


    Arthur just blinked, not seeing any negative looks from Yasaka and nodded, pulling out the sword from wherever he kept it.


    Artoria snatched it, her expression unreadable, but I could tell her emotions were very turbulent. "This is not Excalibur." She sighed, cing her hands on either end and snapping the de like it was made of wood. "Let it rest in peace." She said quietly, cing the pieces back into his hands.


    Arthur just stared at the pieces his sword had once been. Even Yasaka looked genuinely surprised at what Artoria had just done.


    "You said your family, the Pendragon family, is holding your lover hostage?" She spoke up again.


    "Yes." Arthur said quietly. "I fell in love with one of the maids working at the family estate."


    Dammit, I''m not really in the mood to make a joke with that.


    "Perform your duties well and I shall go retrieve her at ater date." Artoria turned around and walked away. Apparently, she needed a moment to herself, not that I could me her.


    "Well...." I broke the small silence. "I guess that puts an end to this matter?"


    Yasaka looked....unamused, pacing back and forth for a few more moments. I think she wanted to ask some things, but she refrained for now.


    It also seems Yasaka still has much to say to this young man who is on the wrong end of her ire.


    "Wilhelm, bring me to see my daughter before I start kicking him out of annoyance." Yasaka finally turned away from the blonde knight.


    "With pleasure."


    Gathering both Artoria and Yasaka, we entered Zelretch''s living room. It was rather spacious all things considered, and there wasn''t anything particrly private in the area, so I felt fine bringing a guest here.


    "Mommy!" a shout across the building drew all our attentions.


    "My little fox." Yasaka swept her daughter up in her arms.


    Zelretch and Rin followed right after her.


    "Thank you so much." Yasaka turned her eyes towards the two unfamiliar people.


    "Think nothing of it." Zelretch gave a gentle smile. "I was more than happy to meet my great granddaughter." He said with augh.


    Oh goddammit....whatever.


    "Wilhelm spoke of you briefly, it''s good to finally meet you." Yasaka gave a polite bow towards Zelretch.


    Oh, here we go.


    "It seems my grandson is still up to no good with thedies." Zelretch chuckled. "Do I have yet another granddaughter now?"


    "I''m trying." Yasaka replied. "He just continues to heartlessly reject my confessions." Yasaka dramatically feigned heartache.


    "Daddy." Kunou slipped out of Yasaka''s grasp and collided with with me, I couldn''t help but wrap my arms around her.


    "Did you have fun with gramps?"


    "Uh huh, he showed me some toys he made, Ruby was really nice too."


    Oh, that could only end well.


    "Whose Ruby?" Yasaka asked, turning towards Rin.


    "No, no." Rin denied. "I''m Rin Tohsaka."


    "Another of Wilhelm''s harem, is it?"


    "What!? NO." Rin shouted shock. Before turning towards me. "Wait, you have a harem!?"


    "You didn''t know?" Yasaka tilt her head, eyeing me.


    "You didn''t tell her?" I pushed this question off to Artoria.


    "I-I never found the time to bring it up." She turned slightly red.


    Zelretch just cackled.


    "Was Saber not enough for you, ¨C you -- You manwhore!" Rin pointed at me.


    "Rin, jealously isn''t a good look on you."


    "Who would be jealous of you!?"


    "Kids." Zelretch stepped forward.


    "Hmph." Rin crossed her arms, clearly ovee with jealously.


    "What a fun bunch you are." Yasaka smiled. "I really can''t you all enough, Kyoto is always open to you and I would love to host you at some point." She stopped for a moment, taking in her surroundings. "Why does it feel so strange here?"


    "Never been to Kyoto." Rin mused, seemingly changing the subject with haste. "Actually, I never been to anywhere in Japan outside of Fuyuki."


    "Hmm, isn''t that in the Oita Prefecture?" She tilted her head.


    "Yeah, I''m the second over there." Rin beamed.


    "Second owner?" Yasaka asked in confusion.


    "Erm.." Rin paused. "It''s a mage thing." She waived her hand dismissively.


    Yasaka didn''t dwell on it thankfully.


    "A trip would be lovely, I''ll see if I can squeeze in the time for a future visit." Zelretch lied with practiced ease.


    How much effort would it take for him to leave this world line like that?


    "I apologize for the suddenness of my visit and now I''m leaving abruptly as well, but with the recent attack on my territory, I have a great many things I need to take care of." Yasaka spoke, clearly indicating that she needed to leave.


    "My dear, is itpletely understandable." Zelretch quickly eased her difort. "I''m sure we''ll be seeing much more of each other. I do of course wish for my great granddaughter to visit as well."


    He is really enjoying this. "Yeah, yeah, keep ying it up." I rolled my eyes. "I''ll take you both back." Kunou was still grabbing me as I pat her head and Yasaka gave me a smile.


    Yasaka said her goodbyes we I opened a portal for us right back where we left.


    "You going to be okay?" I looked towards Yasaka briefly, before taking in the damage around the area.


    "We should be fine paratively." She sighed. "I thought we cleaned up enoughst time, and here we are again doing this all over again. Atleast I''m positive we weeded out all the traitors this time."


    I thought for a moment before taking out several Talismans. "Kunou, sweetie." I knelt down next to her. "Would you do daddy a favor and keep this on you at all times?"


    "What do they do?"


    "They''re good luck charms, I made them especially for you." I gave her a smile. Experimental, but they should trigger upon receiving an attack of sufficient damage.


    "Okay!" She happily took them.


    Yasaka looked me over and sighed again. "You really are a good man..." She gave a small smile, watching her daughter''s happy expression. "Before and now... how am I supposed to pay you back if you keep rejecting me?" She gave a lightugh.


    To say I don''t have a soft spot for her would be a lie. "We barely know each other." I know I''m being hypocritical for saying that, but it just felt different this time. It makes it even weirder considering I have basically epted Kunou as my daughter....


    She justughed. "Maybe I''ve been going about this wrong then?"


    "I like the mischievous side of you." I admitted. "But I can rarely tell if you''re being sincere or not and I don''t want my heart yed with."


    She paused, her expression changing. "I see....is that how you''ve felt?" She muttered to herself seemingly lost in thought before sighing again. "Kunou, sweetie, say goodbye to Daddy."


    "Come back soon." She wrapped me up tight again.


    "Of course." I hugged her back.


    "Pleasee back and visit soon.....Kunou has grown rather attached." Yasaka rubbed her daughter''s head. "Though she isn''t the only one wanting you to visit more."


    "Perhaps.....we can spend some time togetherter." I offered.


    "I would like that." Yasaka brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, giving a bright smile as I left through a portal.


    ***


    I let out a long breath as I stepped back into Zelretch''s workshop.


    "Long day?" He asked, gesturing for me to have a seat.


    "Has Artoria told you everything?" I sat right next to the mentioned woman.


    "Some things." He replied. "But filling in the nks would be helpful."


    "Yeah, like why was there a Phantasmal beast, a 9 tailed fox dropped ontop of me." Rin deadpanned.


    "You mean that literally or ¨C"


    "Quite literal." Zelretch chuckled.


    "Damn, I''m good."


    "I hate you." Rin drolled.


    "Alright, alright, I got some goodies for you from my trip, I''ll give them to youter."


    "Hmph, you better." Rin huffed.


    I looked at Artoria and I couldn''t help but put my arm around her shoulder. She gave a small smile as she nudged herserf closer to me. "So, basically, that was Yasaka, she rules over half the Youkai in Japan. I''m on pretty friendly terms with her."


    "Friendly terms?" Rin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I can think of two BIG reasons for that."


    Ah, well, her breasts are magnificent, I can''t deny that. "Anyways!" I expertly changed the subject. "Long story short, saved her daughter, h h, that was the first time Artoria came over, met Izanami things happened. Next thing I know, they are attacked again and I kind of panicked and sent Kunou here because it was the safest ce I knew."


    "That''s....actually really adorably." Rin sighed. "Howe she was calling you ''daddy''?"


    "I may have been adopted by her." I admitted.


    "Well, I approve." Zelretch nodded. "She is a wonderful little girl, I look forward to spoiling her."


    "I guess she handled Ruby well too..." Rin muttered something about how cute Kunou was and how she was called ''auntie''.


    "But....thanks for the help and looking after her." I said sincerely. "Honestly.....I don''t think I could handle anything happening to Kunou."


    "You''ve known her for how long?" Rin looked surprised.


    "I know." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Don''t know what happened, just got rather attached so quickly." Am I projecting my own father issues onto this situation?


    Zelretch shrugged. "Why even question it? It doesn''t'' harm anything, and everyone involved is happier for it."


    That....is a good way to look at it.


    Fuck it, then.


    She''s my daughter, I''m adopting her.


    "How you doing?" I turned towards Artoria.


    "I am....still processing what happened." She looked down at her hands. "I know it is not the same as our world, but still, some things still weigh on my mind." She waved her hand bring out Caliburn.


    "Is that what I think it is?" Rin''s eyes widened.


    "Indeed, atleast that world''s version.....it is a very peculiar de."


    "Yeah, I think the god of the bible even had a hand in its creation." I added.


    Zelretch rubbed his chin. "Curious, I wouldn''t mind taking a look at itter."


    "Speaking of.....I also have this, but it''s refusing to obey me." I took out Gram and set it on the coffee table. Yasaka didn''t even question my intent to take ''spoils'' but the others didn''t really grab my attention.


    I prefer quality over quantity.


    "Oh my, that is a nasty sword." Zelretch admired it. "Feels rather demonic."


    "Mmm, Gram, so it''s about what you would expect, just not a Noble Phantasm." I left the others with Yasaka, none of them really caught my fancy, and Gram is being verybative with me.


    "It''s weird seeing a legendary sword like this, and it not being a Noble Phantasm." Rin hesitantly touched the t of the de, a small whiff of demonic power pricked her finger as she gave a small yelp. "Stupid sword." She muttered. "


    "So, how''s your projects going?" I asked.


    "Eh." Rin gave a so-so gesture. "Probably need a couple more weeks to finish up."


    Damn, a few weeks.....I don''t want to rush her, but.....ugh. I want to see Meridia again, but heading there before without them just feels like it would lead to more issues. I mean, time isn''t flowing the same for her, so it''s only on my end I''m feeling the time, I guess I can keep putting up with this for a bit longer.


    "That''s fine, I guess I can see to some other matters." I turned back to Zelretch. "Been feeling a bit restless, figured I would end my little ''vacation'' here. And I still have that list you gave me, I was thinking of investigating one of the worlds you left notes on, something there caught my interest."


    "Oh, which one?" He asked.


    "Uh...honestly the name escapes me, but you made a note of it having a broken moon?"


    ***


    Well, DxD arc is practically wrapped up, got one more interlude next then it''s on to the next world, which should be obvious to some people now. And to assuage some worries, I don''t n on the Hero faction bing some reurring viins after this. The next DxD arc is more plot stuff, and he will be meeting the gremory family in full, this was basically a mini vacation for him and just his toes touching the water. With this, it opens more plot points for other factions to take notice -- Heaven knowing he will have the True Longinus now, Azazeling around wanting to poke the sacred gears, those kinds of things.


    Before i forget, big shoutout to Virdan-TheCrazedGamer for helping set up the discord.


    Edit: Almost forgot, I''m sorry for missing yesterday, was too tired to write when I got home, my current n is to do an extra chapter this weekend.


    If you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 90: Interlude 4

    <h4>Chapter 90: Interlude 4</h4>


    Rias Gremory POV


    "Mother." I greeted as I entered the house, she gave a warm smile, wrapping me up in a hug. It was nice to see her, going to the human world for school made it so I would sometimes go days without even visiting mom or dad.


    "Father." I looked towards the man who sold me away.


    "Rias." He replied curtly, not even looking the least upset that I''m still barely speaking to him.


    Well, I''ve known about the arranged marriage since I was a child, but recently he''spletely stonewalled me from even bringing up any alternatives.


    I wasn''t against marrying someone....but why did it have to be that idiot Riser? He only sees me for either my Gremory name or my body. He couldn''t even make a half-assed effort to get to know me before drooling all over my boobs.


    Even if I didn''t want to be here...mostly because of Dad, it was the first time we''ve all gotten together in weeks....since Takao went missing and everyone started fighting.


    I walked into the dining room, seeing the maids start setting out dishes and silverware everywhere.


    "Hello, Rias."


    I turned, recognizing the voice. "Brother." I smiled towards Sirzechs who strolled in with Grayfia right behind him.


    "How are you doing, Rias?" Sirzechs smiled, opening his arms for a hug. He wasn''t wearing his formal ''Satan'' clothing, that was a good sign.


    "Good...considering." I embraced him briefly. "Grayfia." I looked towards my sister inw.


    "Hello Rias." Grayfia gave a neutral smile, clearly not in her ''maid'' mode. She prioritizes being a Queen and Maid over being brother''s wife. Still though, she never takes off her maid outfit.


    I was happy to see them.....but it just felt so awkward.


    It was like everyone was forces themselves to keep up appearances.


    The table was prepared rather quickly, everyone filling in. "Where''s Millicas?"


    "Father wanted to spend some time with him." Mother responded politely.


    Oh, he''s with Grandfather.


    "Rias, we have some news." Dad broke the new silence. "The Phenex family is pushing to move up the marriage date."


    "WHAT!?" I stood up mming my hands on the table. "I was told I could wait until I''m done with College!"


    "Rias, behave." Mother lightly chided. "Listen to everything before you get upset."


    I took a deep breath, settling back down. Mother was actually on my side, not wanting me to be forced into a marriage I didn''t want.


    "As I was saying, the Phenex family was pushing to move up the date, we were talking about it in a few weeks.....but after everything that''s happened ¨C " He nced towards brother. "It''s going to be a few months instead, possibly up to half a year."


    "I was promised until after college."


    "No, you were not." Father sternly replied. "You were told we would let you continue through your schooling as long as you kept up with all your responsibilities."


    "I have! I''m gone to every gathering you wanted me to, every party and every stupid political dinner." I threw my hands up.


    "You have." He nodded. "But that''s not everything, is it? Tell me, how''s your peerage doing? How''s your traininging along? It''s been ¨C a year, I believe, since thest time you showed off your power. I''m excited to see how much you''ve grown." He said dryly.


    I winced at what he was implying. "I train every day." I countered.


    "Rias, doing the same pitiful exercises every day does not count as training." He shook his head. "Not to mention your peerage."


    "What''s wrong with my peerage!?"


    "Rias, your peerage is aplete mess. It''s a reflection of you as a devil, and in essence, a reflection of our family. To call them dysfunctional would be generous." He sighed. "And I hear you added another piece, a pawn? How did that turn out?"


    "I...made a mistake." I shrunk in my seat. "He was supposed to have a Sacred Gear...But he still has a dragon bloodline!"


    "A dragon bloodline is impressive." Father agreed. "So what are you doing to bring out his full potential?"


    "....training?"


    "The same training you subject yourself to every day?" He raised an eyebrow. He picked up a napkin, wiping his mouth. "Rias, I know you don''t agree with this marriage, and I have given you ample time to prepare, to fight for yourself, yet you squandered it ying around in the human world."


    "What?" I looked at him in shock.


    "Rias, it''s obvious you were nning on using a rating game to decide your fate." He rolled his eyes. "Do you think I''m stupid? I didn''t interfere because If you could get out of this mess yourself, then I would have no qualms about your future partner. Unfortunately, you seem intent on just wasting all your time away and just whining that life isn''t fair, even with all the tools avable for you to seed."


    "What tools!? You stopped anyone from helping me!" I raised my voice.


    "I stopped your brother from using his political power because it would set a VERY bad precedent. And we both know he would have helped you without a second thought." We both nced at Sirzechs who just gave a small smile and nodded. "And tools? Rias, I''m tempted to walk over there and smack you upside the head." He deadpanned. "You have nearly unlimited resources avable to you in the form of money and manpower. You could have hired tutors, bought weapons, hell you could have found peerage members by just broadcasting your name all over the world!" He stood up mming his hands on the table this time. "BUT YOU''VE DONE NOTHING! So you don''t get to whine about this marriage, you don''t get to prance around and pretend like you''re some caged bird. You made your bed, it''s time toy in it." He sat back down. "You''ve been given a set allowance for now on. And any requests will be going through me."


    My eyes widened as I stared at my father, he didn''t even lift his head up to look at me and I turned towards mother. "Mom...?"


    "Rias, I love you dearly, but you need to understand that actions have consequences." She calmly stated. "You have been toocent for far too long."


    "But...I''m the heir, wouldn''t it look bad if I be some kind of...trophy wife for Riser of all people?" I tried to lean on the family angle.


    "Rias, you will always be taken care of, but you are far from the only one able to shoulder the family." Mother replied. "Millicas is just as talented as you when ites to his Power of Destruction, who knows how strong he''ll be in the future." She exined. "Not to mention my other grandson...." She shot a look at Sirzechs, making him frown.


    I didn''t know what to say.....it seems like everything was suddenly falling apart.


    "That reminds me, how is Okita, Sirzechs?" Mother stared intently at brother.


    He took a deep breath. "He is recovering." Sirzechs said evenly.


    "What happened to Uncle Okita?" I couldn''t help but ask. Recovering? We have a store of Phoenix tears for things like this, are they not enough?


    "Okita got in a bit of a scuffle...with your nephew." Mother spoke.


    I turned towards Sirzechs who just stared down at his ce and Grayfia who looked like she no longer wanted to be here.


    "The news is spreading quite fast, though most people don''t know who was able to put Okita into the hospital, even after a few Phoenix Tears were used he''s still bedridden." Mother continued. "I''ve only been able to get a few pictures so far, but they show a lot of magic being thrown around."


    "Yes, it''s hard to miss a Goddess delivering the body of one of our most popr devils onto our front door." Grayfia spoke for the first time this evening, and it was only to take a jab at brother.


    I guess they''re still fighting.


    "What happened?" I asked quietly.


    "The details are a bit vague, but Okita and your nephew fought over in Kyoto, under the supervision of one of the Youkai Leaders, apparently Izanami-no-Mikoto was there as well and is quite close to our wayward grandson. She did not take too kindly to Okita being aggressive as he was."


    "Japan''s death goddess attacked Okita?" I couldn''t help but ask in shock.


    "No." Mother shook her head. "She merely delivered his body to us. He was beaten in a duel by Wilhelm."


    "Whose Wilhelm?" I asked.


    "Ah, that is your nephew, apparently he has a new name." Mother exined. "Don''t worry, this is the first time I am learning of this as well." She shot another re at brother.


    "WHAT!?" I shouted in surprise. "How did he beat Okita!? Okita is like.....one of the strongest in the underworld!?" I mean, he can''tpared to brother and Surtr....but he''s still one of the strongest knights even if he isn''t at the top.


    "That is quite the mystery, isn''t it? How did my grandson beat someone with centuries of experience and power under his belt? Unfortunately, we''ll never know because he does not wish toe back."


    "Mother." Sirzechs sighed. "Are you really going to do this right now?"


    "What, do you expect me to stop bringing it up? To ignore the fact that I have a grandson whom I will probably never meet?" Mother narrowed her eyes. "Is it that he wasn''t strong enough for you? That he didn''t have any power of destruction. That didn''t seem to matter when he promptly handed Okita his ass." She huffed. "You told me when you were first sending him away that he would be looked after and lead a normal life, not that he would be shuttled away to a corner in Kuoh and forgotten about."


    "Okita held back." Sirzechs spat out, ignoring everything else she said. "There was no way he would have lost if he was fighting at his best."


    "Oh, then why did he say that Wilhelm held back substantially as well?" Mother countered, earning a re from brother. "I did go meet him you now, just because I am annoyed at you and by extension, him, doesn''t mean I don''t care for his wellbeing." She didn''t back down form brother''s clearly annoyed expression. "ording to Okita, he was well versed in magic, and had a mastery of swordy well beyond what his age and experience should have allowed."


    "Your SON defeated your knight in singlebat, and it''s only a matter of time before everyone knows this. So, what exactly is your n now? What even was your n then? Grab him, force him back here where he clearly didn''t want to be?"


    "I would think of something." He muttered. "As long as he''s back, then things would be fine."


    "Because everything would fit back into your picturesque idea of a life? Strongest Devil, with the Strongest Queen as his wife, a genius son, sitting high up on his throne. What''s missing from that picture? You have everything you could want, but here''s this little ck spot called Wilhelm, and you see it and can''t help but try and hide it."


    Sirzechs stood up, the screeching of his chair silenced the room. He took the napkin in hisp and threw it on the table, walking out of the room.


    Mother just sighed. "That stupid son of mine, just doubles down with his stubbornness." She shook her head.


    "You tried." Father gently pat her shoulder.


    "I''ll go try and stop him from doing anything foolish." Grayfia sighed, following after him.


    How?


    How did Takao.....Wilhelm get so strong? Okita wasn''t the strongest, nor even in the top twenty of the underworld, but he was definitely up there. I''ve seen him train Kiba a bit, I''ve watched videos of him fighting, yet....the thought of him losing to someone my age seemed impossible.


    And now I have to deal with my marriage moving up.....what am I going to do?


    ***


    Another interlude to see what''s going on in the Gremory family right now. Also kind of sets a time table for events if they weren''t derailed by the MC so far. Never nned on making Sirzechs some lol!evil father kind of thing, he did what he did out of some weird logic, but I don''t n on whitewashing that either. Basically, people do stupid things for stupid reasons, even if they aren''t malicious in nature. So no ns on like ''redeeming'' the rtionship between the two. And I didn''t want toe across as bashing Rias but the more I looked at it the more I was just like ''WTF Rias?''.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /Astoryforone

 Chapter 91 - 86

    <h4>Chapter 91: Chapter 86</h4>


    "You know, I feel like a divorced dad whose EX got the kids." I propped my head up with my arm, sitting at the table watching Artoria hold both the True Longinus and Gram.


    Artoria seemed amused by that, shing me a smile as she lightly swung both weapons. "This demonic sword doesn''t like me." She gave it a few more swings.


    Yeah, it wasn''t exactly ''sapient'' but it had its own intelligence. It was more like it was putting up with her as opposed to wanting her to wield it. Almost like it could recognize Excalibur and begrudgingly admitted its inferiority and just stayed quiet in her hands.


    Honestly, it almostpletely ignored the fact that she was a ''dragon'' even though the sword vehemently hated dragons. My Ascalon has more powerful Anti-Dragon properties due to its nature as a Noble Phantasm, yet holding it did not bring about nearly the same feeling as this Gram did.


    "But the Spear won''t stop glowing." I pointed out.


    She furrowed her brow as she stared intently at the Spear, setting the sword down next to her. "This Spear, it is not a Noble Phantasm but I feel uneasy with it in my hand." She ran a finger along the t of the spear tip. "It feels like something is watching me intently, judging each of my actions. And other facets remind me of my own Lance."


    "Really? It reminds you of that ridiculous thing?" I was surprised by her admission.


    "You know of mynce?" She tilted her head.


    "I do...I suppose I am one of the few alive that does, Zelretch being an obvious addition." I sat back in my seat. "The pir that fastens theyers of reality to the world." I waved my hand flippantly.


    "Not even my knights knew of it''s true nature." She said quietly. "Merlin warned me very early on not to overuse its power,parable to my sword it was, but it''s nature made it ipatible for mortals to wield over time."


    "Hmm....the spear, do you like it?" I shot her a smile.


    She looked at me with a little surprise on her face. "Are you....asking me if I was interested in keeping it?"


    "If you liked it, I wouldn''t mind giving it to you."


    A smile crept up on her face as she shook her head. "No, it''s giving me an uneasy feeling. It would not reject me but I feel like I would lose something precious if it took it as my weapon." She sat it down next to Gram. "But...your intent is very much appreciated." She turned her head away, a small red tint on her cheeks. "Besides, it is your spoils of battle, I have already taken Caliburn, and I feel uneasy about that decision."


    "Worried about your ''descendant''?" I asked.


    "It is a strange feeling." She admitted. "I know I am not technically rted to him, but I somehow feel responsible for his actions....as deplorable they were, yet he did them for a good reason." She took a seat at the table. "I am conflicted, what should I do?"


    "Well, he seemed to realize he was in the wrong, that means he''s isn''t beyond saving." I pointed out.


    "And you are not angry he had a hand in...." She didn''t finish but I knew she was speaking about Kunou.


    "I am furious." I replied, which wasn''t a lie. I would not bat an eye if Yasaka ''dealt'' with him. "But I''m not unreasonable. He didn''t directly involve himself, and my heart isn''t made of stone. I can recognize the reasoning for working with Cao Cao, I can''t say what I would or wouldn''t do for my sister, I don''t have one....but I don''t know what I would do to save someone I care about."


    "I wish to have words with this ''Pendragon Family'' at someter point." She stated, her expression hardening.


    "I will happily go with you." I offered. "It seems like there are several more reasons to go back to the world now." I sighed. "I never intended to get attached there...."


    Artoria got up from her seat, walking over to me before pushing herself in myp. She looked up at me, rather bashfully.


    "Hello." I couldn''t help butugh as I wrapped my arms around her.


    She leaned back, meeting me eyes. "Is this ufortable?"


    "No, I was just surprised." Someone is getting more confidant.


    "Hmm." She hummed lightly, I could feel her head against my chest. "It''s true, I also have things there that upy my thoughts."


    "Izzy?" I asked.


    "Yes, I admit I do not have many people I can call friends, and I did enjoy my time spent with her. Rin was different....with Izanami it felt like I connected with someone on my own. " Artoria said quietly.


    "You know, Zelretch probably wouldn''t mind shuffling you back and forth when I''m away." I already told her that I would be heading out soon, and she was there when I spoke a little bit about the world I was going to.


    "It would not be inconvenient for the Wizard Marshall?" She looked up at me again.


    "Of course not, he already considered you part of the family, even without us dating."


    "Oh." She looked rather happy at thatment. "I see....I suppose I should make preparations then." A small pep in her tone gave away at her excitement. Maybe she''s been feeling a bit stifled staying in the Clock Tower for so long?


    "I felt bad telling Izzy I wouldn''t see her for a bit." I sighed. "I think it would do her good if someone popped in every now or then." I could tell that Artoria wasn''t trying to be overly sexual when she sat on myp like this, but her shifting her butt over my groin every now and then....


    "Izanami is not the only one either." Artoria spoke. "Your bond with Kunou was rather sudden, but it was no less heartwarming to see you so taken with her."


    "I can''t help it, she adopted me." I chuckled.


    "And Yasaka?" She asked.


    "What about Yasaka?"


    "I''m curious on your thoughts of her."


    "She is a good mother; it must be hard to juggle that along with ruling over arge portion of Japan''s Youkai."


    "I meant as a woman."


    "Oh...really?"


    "I have seen the looks you''ve given her. I was merely curious if there would be another woman in your life or not."


    I thought about it and I still wasn''t quite sure myself. "No idea, I doubt I will ever abandon Kunou so something may happen in the future, but I''m not really on the look out for more women to add to my growing ....."


    "Harem?" She finished for me, a slight twitch of amusement on her face.


    "Someone is being bold today."


    She looked up at me, her face a little flushed as she reached up and pulled my head down into a kiss. It wasn''t very deep, but it was much more than a slight peck on the lips.


    "Okay, what''s going on with you?" I enjoyed the brief moment of intimacy, but she was definitely acting strange.


    "I am perfectly fine." She turned away.


    "Yeah, no." I poked her cheek. "As much as I enjoy this closeness, you are acting strange. Spill."


    "It''s nothing, just when...." Her face turned a much brighter red than before. "When we engaged in battle and I fought that....Hercules person, I felt some things."


    "Well, I could only imagine what it was like to fight someone calling themselves Hercules after facing the real thi ¨C "


    "From you." She rified.


    "From me?" I looked at her in confusion until realization dawned on me.


    I think there was some sort of sympathetic link when her Dragon''s core roared to life and the Boosted Gear that was inside my soul.


    Does that mean I basically sted her with all my lust for those few moments?


    "Whelp, time to go kill myself."


    She tugged on my sleeve to grab my attention. "I was surprised, and perhaps a little unsure of how to process those feelings at the time.....but I am happy you feel that way about me." She said quietly. "Compared to someone like Yasaka I was worried that you didn''t..." She trailed off but didn''t finish.


    Oh, that''s why she was feeling emboldened.


    Awkwardness aside, at least she is happy, I guess. On the flip side, if I felt things like that from someone I was attracted to, it would definitely give me a confidence boost.


    I ran my hand down her arm until her fingers intertwined with me. I had to leaveter, but I would just enjoy these few moments for now.


    ***


    I flipped my hat, setting it neatly on my head, looking around the room. "I suppose this is goodbye again."


    "Don''t forget to bring back souvenirs." Rin barely gave me a look.


    "Love you too Rin, and yes I''ll be very careful, thank you for your kind words." I ignored her and turned to Artoria. "Take care of yourself, make sure Rin eats at least twice a day, also don''t forget to change her dia¡ª"


    "Fuck you Schweinorg." Rin shout from the other side of the room. I smirked at her and her lips curled up as well. "Try not to be too much of a manwhore."


    "A herculean task, but I shall try." Seems like her and Artoria had a chat. Well, I''m d she isn''t making any false assumptions on our rtionship then.


    "Be careful, you do not know what dangers are awaiting you." Artoria stepped forward towards me expectantly. "Do you have everything you require?"


    "Foodstuffs, healing materials, alchemic ingredients, Onmyoji supplies." I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her in close. "I have more than enough. Besides, this world isn''t supposed to be very dangerous, all things considered."


    "Do not be overconfident." She lightly chided, she stood up on her tip toes and ced her lips against mine briefly.


    "Yes ma''am." I shot her a smile, which she reciprocated.


    "Usually, I''m the one having to make sure he''s prepared." Zelretch stepped in. "It''s good to have someone to keep his head on straight." He gave a gentle smile towards both me and Artoria. "Her words ring true, I only know some vague outlines of this world-line you are going to, having only glimpsed it in the past by mere chance."


    "Yeah, I read the notes. There are humans there, so I should be able to wing it." Stood up straight as Artoria removed herself. "My acting skills are quite good. Anything you want me to grab while I''m out and about?"


    "Oh, now that you mention it, I do have a small list with me." He waved his hand and a piece of paper flew right over to me, bundled up into many pages.


    I looked it over and gave him re. "You are the worst." I deadpanned.


    He just cackled. "Do what you can." He waived me off. "Other mundane things as well, I wouldn''t mind some soil samples from various ces, perhaps some foliage as well. If they have any interesting foods or varieties, I wouldn''t mind expanding the garden."


    Hmm, I forgot he had his own garden. If I remembered correctly, he traded favors with the Blue to adjust the growth rate there, a mild adjustment to the temporal flow, basically a bounded field that elerates time.


    "Well, I have the coordinates already, but would you mind giving me a lift, old man?" I asked.


    "Sure." He smiled, waiving his hand, allowing a new portal to open. "This should get you rtively close to civilization, though how urate it is I don''t know."


    "Good enough for me." I gave onest look around the room. "Off I go." And I jumped in.


    ***


    The split second between the two points had me merely blinking as I started falling through the air, smacking into tree branches before I hit the ground.


    "Oww." I whined, face nting into the dirt.


    [10/10 nice face nt]


    Well, what do the other judges have to say?


    I rolled over to stare at a young woman looking at me a few feet away. "Hello."


    She blinked at me. "Are you okay?"


    "Probably." I stood up, brushing myself off. "Did you see a hat anywhere?"


    "I saw it fall over ¨C " She disappeared in burst of rose petals. " ¨C Here you go." She happily handed it back to me.


    "Thanks." I brushed it off as well, putting it back on my head. Not the weirdest thing I''ve seen before. "You''re pretty fast." I took another look. She was wearing a red cape with a hood, and her hair had some red highlights. Were those natural or not? Curious.


    She seemed to beam at my praise. "It''s my semnce." She said excitedly. "What about you, what was yours? I saw that bright light suddenly fill the sky you were like ''WOAH'' and fell and then ''Smack'' hit the ground." She started gesturing with her hands. "Was that your semnce?!"


    "Sure, why not." The fuck is a semnce?


    "That must mean you''re a huntsman!" She practically squealed.


    "What''s a huntsman?" I asked in confusion. Some kind of hunter?


    She tilted her head. "Someone who fights Grimm, duh." She looked at me weirdly. "How do you not know that?"


    "Erm....I''m from very far away?"


    "How far away? Like Mistral? But even mistral has Huntsman, maybe As, but they''re everywhere and there''s no way you wouldn''t know about them then. I guess you must be from Vacuo, I heard its all desert over there. Did youe from the desert; is it really as hot as people say? I heard that there are a lot of Grimm that hide under the sands and make it hard to travel."


    "Further away." I said without really thinking about it, getting a better look at the broken moon in the sky.


    She gasped. "ARE YOU AN ALIEN!?"


    Wait, what? Why would she even reach that conclusion. I mean....it isn''t technically wrong....just kind of a weird train of thought to randomly reach. "Sure, kid."


    "OH MY GOSH!" She threw her hands up in excitement. "I can''t wait to tell Yang, and dad! Uncle Qrow too!" Rose petals began to fall around her as she practically vibrated in the spot she was standing.


    "Well, some directions to town wouldn''t be remiss." She seems fun, probably no older than 15, maybe a little bit younger than that.


    "Awesome! I can show you Patch, and you can meet Dad he''s home right now."


    I just shrugged. Wasn''t like I was going to get a better offer anytime soon. Would give me an opportunity to get some actual information from her about this world.


    "Oh, by the way, I''m Ruby -- Ruby Rose" She turned around waving at me. "Oh right, it''s R-U-B-Y R-O-S-E" Enunciating her name like I couldn''t understand her.


    "Ruby, we''ve been speaking the samenguage this whole time." I deadpanned. "I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, it''s a pleasure."


    ***


    Here we are, RWBY is a go. Probably going to do another Interlude where Artoria goes and hangs out with Izzy, checks up on Arthur and all that. Since more and more characters are bing ''permanent'' parts of the story, interludes will probably starting more frequently. I''ll probably startbeling them in the title from the perspective of the person.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /Astoryforone. Also, we have a discord -- https://discord.gg/N8bDxwwapb ,e hang out, ask me questions or whatever.

 Chapter 92 - 87

    <h4>Chapter 92: Chapter 87</h4>


    I picked a leaf from a nearby tree, looking at it for a moment before tossing it away. Nothing too spectacr about it, not that I was expecting anything different. It was surprising how many worlds seemingly evolved in such simr ways. I''m pretty sure this tree had a corresponding twin back on earth somewhere, at least enough on the surface to be unnoticeable of either world''s habitants.


    Even the grass didn''t look anything impressive, but I did grab a sample of dirt and added it to a little baggy forter.


    "Oh, oh!" Ruby shot infront of me. "Are you taking samples back to your mothership forter!?" She looked at me expectantly.


    "Yup, my gramps wanted samples from this world." In for a penny, in for a pound.


    "Y-you don''t need samples of people....right?" She shrunk down slightly.


    I couldn''t help but smile at her antics. I wondered if Kunou would be like her in a few years? "I''m not here to kidnap anyone." I shook my head with a smallugh as something caught my eyes in the distance. "What''s that?" I pointed over towards a clearing.


    Ruby''s head snapped, eyes squinting. "Beowolf!" The words barely left her mouth as her form disappeared, leaving behind a small outline of rose petals.


    "What an excitable girl." I muttered, looking where she burst off to. I saw the metal contraption on her back, which I was assuming to be a gun, transform into a veryrge Scythe. "Okay then." I just blinked as she swung around a weaponrger than herself.


    A couple more of these ''Beowolfs'' stumbled out of the woods, running at her. She slid under their attacks with ease, using the momentum of her own swings to weave into the bodies of the creatures, easily dismembering them.


    They felt to the ground, dissolving into nothingness.


    Curious.


    I tapped my chin, taking out the notes the old man gave me about this world.


    "Grimm, was it?" I scratched my head, trying to make sense of what Zelretch wrote.


    Some kind of malevolent constructs that popte the world and are inclined to seek out and kill people, seeminglypletely ignoring animals. Zelretch wasn''t sure of their origin, nor of how they ''exists'', so to speak.


    Something to look into.


    There were a few drawings to go along with what he wrote. Apparently, they all have these weird bone protrusions all over their body, also each have these bone masks on their faces, otherwise their bodies are almostpletely ck with weird red markings.


    "All done!" Ruby appeared next to me again.


    "You''re pretty good."


    "Uh huh, I''m going to be a huntress." Ruby nodded happily.


    "You have a lot of wasted movements though." I idlymented, writing a couple things in the margin of the notes I was given.


    "What?" She looked at me with a little surprise on her face.


    I could see through herbat style at a nce. "You rely too much on being quicker than your opponents, your attacks had a lot of ir, but you had too many openings. If you were to go against an intelligent opponent, someone used to fighting people, you would probably lose as you are." I walked over to a nearby tree and found a good length branch, giving it a few swings I nodded to myself. "Come at me." I ushered her forward.


    "Wait, you want to spar? With a stick?"


    I just smiled, turning around, I filled the stick with my magical energy and swept it against the tree. Her eyes practically bugged out of her head as therge object began to fall out with a clean cut through its trunk.


    "How did you do that!? Was that your semnce?" she practically shouted. "Wait, do Aliens have Aura? Do they have souls? Wait, is it rude to assume that aliens don''t have souls? Am I being idently Racist? Yang said I need to be careful about that."


    "You can assume it''s my semnce." I just nodded, more amused than anything at her ramblings. I honestly wanted to pat her head, but I refrained. "So,e, try to attack me."


    "Alright, but tell me when your Aura gets low I don''t want to hurt you." She pulled her weapon out and it shifted from a gun-like object into a full on Scythe again. Almostckadaisical with her attention, as if she didn''t see me as a threat and this was merely for fun.


    "Well, Miss Huntress, are you going to attack or not?" Izily leveled my stick at her.


    That got her attention, as she moved quickly at me, petals showing her advanced speed activating. It didn''t look like she was taking me seriously as she used a blunt part of her weapon to sweep at me.


    I stepped forward, raising my stick up and piercing right towards her shoulder. Her entirely attack got stopped, she was lifted off her feet and knocked back several yards.


    Curious, a red shimmering barrier appeared over her, stopping me from making contact. I actually put more force into it than I intended to test its actual strength.


    I flipped open the book again, turning to page I recalled.


    Ah, was this the ''Aura'' I heard about? She did mention something about that as well. The power of the soul made manifest...or something like that. Seriously, Zelretch''s notes are really fucking vague. Kinda feel like he did that on purpose to mess with me.


    "Oww." Ruby stood up rubbing her shoulder. "I felt that through my Aura."


    Hmm, maybe I should hold back a little bit. "Again?"


    Ruby shook herself off, standing back up. "I''ll get you this time." She took a stance, somewhat better than before, like she was taking this moderately series. Granted, I didn''t know much about wielding a Scythe, but her legs were steady, and she had a solid center of gravity.


    She moved, her scythe sweeping towards my torso, she used her whole body to spin therge weapon at me.


    My stick made contact, acting like a wall as it blocked her de. But she apparently anticipated this and her scythe shifted slightly, acting more like a ive, twisting it around she used her momentum to continue her assault. I met each of her attacks with the slightest movement, while she danced around me with huge sweeping attacks, I merely flicked my stick to block.


    The petals around me started to pile up, and I notice that she was only ''sprinting'' in straight lines, it made following her movements even easier, if I couldn''t already see them easily from before.


    She had a good rhythm going, and against one of those ''grimm'' creatures it would have been a sufficient strategy, s..... "Yield." I stepped forward, disrupting her entire movement, cing my stick at the nape of her neck.


    She blinked, looking down. "You''re good." She whispered "Only Uncle Qrow is able to beat me that easily."


    "You''re simply not used to fighting other people." I tossed my stick to the side.


    "Yeah." She pouted, refolding her Scythe back into itspacted form and putting it away on her back. "But I want to be a Huntress! To fight Grimm and be a hero, I don''t need to fight people." She beamed.


    I really didn''t want to kill that innocence she had.....so I held my tongue. "It seems you can only use your burst of speed in straight lines too."


    "What? Noooooooo." She looked away awkwardly. "What gave it away?"


    "You only moved in straight lines with it." Iughed. "Keep practicing, you''ll be able to ovee that limitation in the future." I smiled.


    "Hmph, I keep practicing until I can beat you." She Huffed. "But that was so cool!" She quickly changed her tone. "How did you do that?"


    Her attitude was really contagious. "I trained with a good teacher." I smiled happily, thinking of Scathach again. The memories were bing less and less bitter as time passed, but I still missed her something fierce.


    "Aww, I can''t wait until I can go to beacon."


    "Is beacon a school?" I hazarded a guess as we continue on through the forest.


    "Oh I forgot you aren''t from ''around here''" She said with the subtlety of a dragon. "Beacon is the best huntsman school in Vale. My dad and Uncle Qrow went there, and my mom too!"


    More to mentally file away.


    "Theres my home!" She hand gestured towards the end of another clearing.


    It wasn''t what I was expecting, but it looked rather homey. Arge, log cabin with a few others in the distance. And a bit further away, I could vaguely see something resembling a town with some buildings that peeked over the treeline. "So, as grateful as I am....is it a good idea to lead a stranger to your home like this?"


    "I''m supposed to help people." She smiled brightly. "And Dad''s home, and I''m a Huntress in training."


    I just shrugged, different social norms based on how they developed here.


    "Daaaad!" Ruby shouted. "I''m home and I have a guest."


    "It better not be a boy." Another shout came from deeping in the house.


    "Dad!" Ruby shouted in indignation as the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching.


    A tall blonde man walked out of a nearby room. He stared at me for a moment. "Hmm....where did I put my shovel? I have the strangest feeling I''ll be needing to dig a grave."


    I couldn''t help but have my lips curl up, he seems fun.


    "Dad! Stop being mean, I''m not a child." She puffed up. "I''m going to tell Uncle Qrow."


    "Fine, fine" He held his hands up in surrender. "Go get your Uncle, he should be sleeping off a hangover.....somewhere."


    "Uhgg, alright." She pouted. "I wanted to show Qrow the Alien anyways." She disappeared in a burst of petals.


    "Ruby" He turned and shouted in the directions he ran off to. "I said no semnce in the house, you''re cleaning these up when you get back!" He turned back towards me. "An alien?" He eyed me suspiciously. "Is that some kind of pick up line the kids are using these days?"


    "Your daughter has an active imagination, so I just yed along." I shrugged.


    "That girl." He sighed in exasperation. "So, who are you and why shouldn''t I be actively be looking for my shovel?"


    "Oh gods, will this be how I react when my daughter starts dating?" I couldn''t help but thinking about that and shuddered. "Sorry to ruin your fun, I don''t have those kind of intentions, besides, she''s a bit young for me, I prefer older women."


    The man let out augh. "Taiyang Xiao-long." He held out his hand which I shook. "Everyone calls me Tai."


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I returned the greeting. "Your daughter was kind enough to lead me here after I got a bit loss after a Semnce mishap."


    "Semnce mishap?" He eyed me.


    I just shrugged, choosing to be vague. "She is quite excitable."


    "She gets that from her mom." Tai smiled. "So what''s this about being an Alien?" He raised an eyebrow, clearly wanting to know the joke.


    "Lots of colors in the sky, fell down andnded infront of your daughter, ergo Alien." I summarized.


    Tai snorted. "She gets into the weirdest situations." Heughed.


    "Well, at least she can handle herself." I pointed out taking a seat as he gestured to a chair. "Took care of a handful of Beowolfs with rtive ease."


    "A handful?" He rubbed his chin. "How far away were you?"


    "Eh, less than an hour out? Ruby would know better than me." I scratched my head.


    "I''ll need to talk to some people." He sighed. "We usually keep the grimm really thinned on the ind, a group of Beowolfs isn''t really a huge red g....but regardless, especially this close to town." He shook his head. "So what''re you here for? Not many people visit patch just to visit. Basically its where us old hunters retire to raise our kids."


    "Well, I was intending to go to Vale, but well..." I lied through my teeth, using terms I just learned minutes ago.


    "Semnce mishap." He nodded. "How does that work?"


    I thought for a moment, taking my hat off and reached inside, taking out an apple, tossing it to him.


    Could more or less guess what a ''semnce'' was at this point, was just going to pass of my use of ''space'' as my ''semnce'' for now. No idea if this would work, but it was worth a try.


    He seemed surprised, staring at the piece of fruit and down back at my hat. "Oh.....cool."


    ***


    So alot of people don''t know about RWBY, i''ll try to add enough exposition when it matters, but the MC is new around here so he''ll be learning things as he goes as well. I have another chapter nned for the day, but I was also considering throwing up a Character sheet, so don''t get annoyed if you see that assuming it''s a new chapter.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.


    We also have a discord server if you want to hang out or just ask me questions about w/e. https://discord.gg/N8bDxwwapb

 Chapter 93 - 88

    <h4>Chapter 93: Chapter 88</h4>


    "So Qrow picks up a banana, and I know what you''re thinking, he''s going to do something hrious with it right?"


    I nodded along a small smile on my face as Tai recounts a story with him and his best friend.


    "Maybe throw it at one of the gangsters, maybe toss the banana peel and some weirdedic timing makes one of them slips on it?" He raised his eyebrow. "Nope." He barely held in augh. "He stops fighting, right in the middle of the brawl, and starts peeling that banana. I look at him inplete shock, wondering what the hell he''s doing, the guys we''re fighting stop and stare at him too wondering what the hell was wrong with this guy." Tai shook his head. "Qrow just stares the one thug he was fighting with a moment ago, right in the eyes, and shoves the banana all the way down his throat and swallows it."


    I barely held in my drink as I held my nose so nothing would shoot out, keeping myughter stifled.


    "Dammit Tai, I thought you said you weren''t going to tell that story anymore." A man nursing a bag of ice walked into the room followed by Ruby. He was a it different then Tai, a tall and well built blonde. This dude was a bit slimmer, ck hair and red eyes.


    "Story? What story?" Ruby popped up.


    "Nothing you need to know, shorty." Qrow pulled her cape over her head.


    "I''m not short!" She whined, grabbing his hand and trying to push it away.


    Qrow seemed to ignore her as he took a sk out of his pocket, taking a swig then eyeing me. "So this is the ''Alien''?"


    "Yo." I greeted.


    "Sup." He nodded at me, turning back to Ruby. "He looks pretty human to me."


    "Qrow! Don''t be racist." Ruby hurriedly chastised him.


    "Actually, I''m not an alien." I felt like the joke had gone on long enough, I didn''t want to use her naivety cruelty. "I''m a magician" I waved my hands enthusiastically. Okay, I couldn''t resist.


    "Really? Gonna to pull a rabbit out of your hat?" Qrow snorted.


    "Maybe I will." Was that a thing here too?


    "Pfft, I''d stop drinking for..... a month if you could do that."


    My lips curled up and I flipped my hat upside-down. I stared right into his eyes as my arm went into my hat, much further than it should have, pulling out Sir Wiggles in all his glory.


    Silence filled the room.


    "He''s so cute!" Ruby gushed as I let the rabbit out of my hands and into hers


    "Huh." Tai just looked surprised as he reached over and stole Qrow''s sk. "Sober for a month, that''s gotta suck."


    "Bite me." Qrow groaned. "Who are you exactly?" He looked at me.


    "Just a lost person your....niece? Found and brought to town." I replied. "Was actually on my way to Vale and had a little semnce misshap."


    "What''s your semnce, some kind of space maniption?" Qrow raised an eyebrow.


    "Something like that." I smiled.


    "I knew a chick who could do something like that, but create portals." Qrow sat down next to Tai. "Sound familiar?"


    I was surprised by his question and noticed Tai tense of slightly. "Sorry, no idea." I shrugged, some kind of story there I guess.


    "Hmm, long shot anyways." He didn''t dwell on it. "So what brings you to Vale, if you got so long, you''re probably not a native?"


    "Yeah, bit of an outsider, just want to visit the big city for some personal projects. Wanted to start a research project on the nature of Dust and Aura." Was there even a need to hide my intents?


    "Sounds boring." Qrow clearly looked disinterested.


    "Well....if I remember right, there should be a Bullhead heading over to Vale in the next couple hours?" Tai seemed unsure, but I guess the timeframe was something to look into.


    "I guess I should head over then, don''t want to miss my chance." I stood up. "Thank you for your hospitality, I know it was a surprise to have a stranger suddenly drop in like this."


    Tai let out a smallugh. "Don''t worry about it, you are hardly the weirdest thing Ruby brought home." He looked at his daughter warmly. "Besides, I''m proud of her for helping someone like this, she''s going to be a great huntress."


    I couldn''t help but admire the little girl too. She was willing to bring me to her home because she thought I was in need of aid. "You have a good daughter, I can only hope mine grows up to be like her."


    Jeese, look at me thinking of Kunou''s future...


    "How old is yours?"


    "Eleven."


    Qrow spit out the drink he was sneaking. "Damn, they start earlier and earlier now."


    I rolled my eyes. "Not by blood, obviously."


    "Adopted?" Tai asked.


    "Well, she adopted me." I let out a smallugh. "Regardless, I want to offer a gift as thanks."


    "I only did my duty as a Huntress." Ruby chimed in with a bit of pride in her voice, clearly paying attention to our conversation. "I''m suppose to help people."


    "Hey now, Short stuff, lets see what he''s offering, weren''t you eyeing that new upgrade for your weapon?" Qrow chimed in.


    "Qrow, stop being a bad influence." Tai sighed, only to see the sparkles in Ruby''s eyes and realize it was futile.


    I couldn''t help butugh. "Your weapon has a lot of moving parts, small ones at that, I can only imagine the maintenance costs and time that go into it."


    "Ugg, I know." Ruby huffed rubbing her face into Sir Wiggles. "But it''s fun too ya''know? Tinkering with my baby, getting her perfect and upgrading her."


    "Wait, you repair it?" I looked surprised. "Did you make it too?"


    "Yup! Her name is Crescent Rose, she''s my baby." Ruby beamed with pride.


    Wow....I can say without a shadow of a doubt, I could not do that. My specialty is not in mechanical engineering, especially with firearms. I thought for a moment, taking out a couple ingots of Orichalcum from my ring. "These should be useful to you then, think of it as a thank you."


    "Woah! What are these, I''ve never seen metal like this before!?" Ruby eyes them curiously.


    "It''s called Orichalcum, a very rare metal, it may take some trial and error to smelt them, but they''re much more durable than steel, I dare say they won''t suffer any damage inbat even if you use your weapon every day for your entire life."


    Ruby squeed, opting to hug the metal over Sir Wiggles, thetter of whom seemed upset by this betrayal.


    "Well, she''s going to disappear into her workshop for a few days now." Tai shook his head as I scooped up Sir Wiggles and put him back inside my little hat where he was resting. "Thank you, she really does love tinkering with her weapon."


    "Good deeds deserve a reward." I held out my hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you, but I should be on my way."


    "If you''re ever in the neighborhood."


    "I''ll look you up." I gave him oncest goodbye and a nod towards Qrow who was paying more attention to Ruby than me.


    What a nice family. I wonder if this is the standard or the exception to the people in this world?


    Well, time to hit the road.


    ****


    I looked out the window of this supposed ''Bullhead'', it was basically a ne. Well, as much as the term could fit this vehicle. It had theserge propeller wings that allowed for vertical and horizontal takeoff, it was a neat design.


    I saw out the window as a massive ocean creature pierce through the water below, only to dive back down when it looked up and saw we were too high.


    That was a grimm.


    A veryrge grimm, and it looked like a type of sea serpent.


    How interesting, and barely anyone even batted an eye. Just more stuff to look intoter.


    What should I do first? Probably find a library or bookstore of some sorts....don''t want to go around asking questions that are supposed to bemon sense around here.


    Kind of want to try the local food as well, but I also don''t'' have any of their currency....Lien they called it? I may or may not have illegally boarded the bullhead using magic.


    Definitely want to find somewhere to buy some of this dust. I''ve seen it used in almost everymercial aspect of their technological base, and it''s just making me all the more interested in how it works. I noticed the lights being powered by that strange material back at Tai''s house and some other appliances.


    Really, it seems like they have all kinds of goodies here that I can acquire.


    Not to mention his Aura everyone has, I don''t actually know the exact mechanism on how one goes about acquiring it. But the vague notes Zelretch left indicate it could be a small force multiplier ontop of everything I have right now.


    More power?


    Sure.


    On that note, I really need to have a talk with the old man about taking better records. Then again, I know his train of thought at the time was probably that he would be the only one reading it so they were basically reminders.


    Perhaps I should look for gifts for my girls as well? Rin did say souvenirs, I really should get something for Kunou...


    Haaah.


    I miss that little fox already.


    Good news is that I can pop on over and scoop her up whenever I want, bad new is I would have to exin what I''m actually doing if the time difference is too wonky.


    My idle musings stopped as I saw the outline of arge citye into view. It was frankly, massive and the huge walls that surrounded it just emphasized that even more.


    I could see huge guns and fortifications all over the walls. Pointing out towards the forest and what-not.


    Damn, how much of a problem are these grimm that they literally require fortifications of this degree?


    Honestly, I was a bit giddy to finally arrive. One doesn''t'' explore apletely new world so often, and a hub of activity like this was even more exciting. I ended up falling in love with Skyrim, I wondered if anything like that would pull me here?


    ''Wee to Vale, please respect your fellow passengers in your boarding and unboarding procedures.'' An automated voice came over the intes.


    The vehicle touched down a lot smoother than nes I''ve flow on in the past, I made the idle note to find a design for these bullheads and bring it back with me at some point.


    Well, that was my que. With a quick spell, I disillusioned myself to quickly disappear without any fanfare.


    I had a new city to explore!


    ***


    Alright, second chapter that was supposed to be released sunday, even if it''s like 1 in the morning monday. I took a nap and set my rm to AM instead of PM so I was a littlete. And just a heads up, i don''t n on this arc taking like 60+ chapters or anything. This first round in RWBY is basically him killing time until Rin is ready to go to Skyrim. Acquiring a few materials, getting PoD and what-not. Maybe leaving behind a little chaos in his wake :). And i''m sure there will be no issue with giving Ruby a magical metal.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 94 - 89

    <h4>Chapter 94: Chapter 89</h4>


    "It looks good, I''ll give you 4,500 Lien."


    "4500?" I rolled my eyes. "Why don''t you just rob me. 10,000." I countered.


    "I can''t make a profit with 10000, it''s gotta be 5,500 at the most."


    "9500."


    "6000."


    "Look, can we just skip this song and dance and meet at 7500?" I offered. "And throw in an old Scroll." I thought for a moment, looking around. "Also, I''ll take a small box of your fire dust." I pointed over to a disy with several vials of ''dust'' shown off.


    He mulled that over for a moment. "Fine, it''s easy Lien even if it takes a bit to sell, and you can pick out one of the old scroll models" He grumbled giving me a stack of money from this world.


    I pushed a small stack of gold coins his way. "Pleasure doing business." I happily epted the money and walked out of the little pawn shop, new phone in hand. Granted, it wasn''t called that here, but that was pretty much what it was.


    A scroll, I walked past one of those stores that explicitly only sold these items, as well as seeing people walking around with them, it wasn''t hard to put two and two together to realize it''s their version of phones.


    Pretty neat, I''m excited to see how it works.


    Found this ce fast after I left the ''airport'' or whatever they call that here as well. Unfortunately, gold isn''t as valuable here as it is in other worlds. While still a ''precious metal'' that most would kill over, I would say it only retains about a third of its valuepared to Earth. Maybe I would be better off selling some jewels and jewelry?


    Regardless, I doubt I can keep going around selling gold without attracting attention, probably going to need to find a secondary source of revenue because there are many things I n on buying and I have to fully explore this ce.


    Walking out the ce, I did remember a book store I passed about a block down.


    "Tukson''s Book Trade ¨C Every book under the sun." I muttered, staring at the sign outside.


    Sounds like my kind of ce.


    The little bell on the door signaled me walking inside, the owner behind the counter immediately perked up to look at me. "Wee, feel free to browse or ask if you want anything specific." He gave a smile that I couldn''t help but notice the sharper teeth.


    Interesting.


    "Thanks, just browsing for now, but I''ll probably ask for a few thingster." I gave a polite reply as I made my way into the rows of bookshelves.


    Oh man, I love this feeling, so many things I simply don''t know, and they''re all here, avable for me.


    I pulled a random book off the shelf --- Ninjas of Love 3


    [I''m sure you could learn a lot from that book]


    I rolled my eyes and pulled open a random page, flipping through a few until I stopped and read a quick passage.


    "Wow." I whispered.


    I mean, he was being sarcastic, but he wasn''t wrong.....


    [Oh, that is some surprisingly hardcore porn for a book with that name.]


    And how would you know that?


    [I''ve seen your memories.]


    ....touch¨¦.


    Lets just put that away for now....


    Hmm, what else...fiction, fiction and more fiction.


    Ah, here we go.


    ''Proper handling of Dust''


    Not exactly what I was looking for but anything is good right now.


    I began taking a few more books off the shelves here or there, before deciding to put one or two back.


    ''The nature of Aura''


    ''What semnces mean, a look into our souls''


    ''The history of Vale.''


    A few looked a bit dry, but I wanted to know some more about this ce. I hefted my stack of books up and brought them up to the counter.


    Tukson sat up straight, pushing a book he had open to the side. "Hoh." He smiled. "Found everything you wanted?"


    "Eh, more or less. Unless, you got anything more scientific on the nature of Dust, Aura, Semnces, and Grimm?"


    He blinked for a moment, seemingly mulling over my question. "I do have a few things in the back, some textbooks and some other stuff, they don''t really sell so I didn''t set them out."


    "Oh, wonderful." I was happily surprised.


    He stepped away, only to return a momentter with three more books to add to my pile. "Sorry, most people here are looking for fiction, or the asional beacon student wanting to find a textbook second hand. "


    "Huh, when does the next year start?" I knew very little about Beacon, figured I should know a thing or two since the topic hase up a couple times now.


    "Time really flies, what month is it now?" He looked up, lost in thought for a moment. "Should be about 8 months give or take. This current year is wrapping up, most sses are pretty much done, but end of year exams and things like that usually take up a bit of time."


    "That''s probably why I saw a bunch of kids with weapons walking around."


    "Ah, neer?" He rubbed his chin. "Yeah, beacon kids aren''t a rare sight, and it''s pretty easy to pick them out of a crowd. But around this time they all seem to ''let loose'' a bit since the school year is practically over."


    "Am I that easy to read?" I gave a small smile. "Came from outside the city, just a small vige." I wanted to test my ''backround'' see if I needed to amend it at all.


    "Yeah, that''ll do it." He nodded "You got that ''new guy'' look about you." He let out augh. "Atleast you aint snapping your head around like a tourist, pickpockets would be all over you."


    "Well, I do have some street smarts." I chuckled.


    "Good, just stay out of the rougher neighborhoods, most human gangs around here won''t bother you past maybe taking some Lien, but if you find some Faunus with a bone to pick...." He sighed.


    "How bad are the racial tensions here?" I questioned. I didn''t really know what was going on between these Faunus and humans, but I could take some depressingly urate guesses off what he said.


    "Outside of Menagerie, probably the best ce for Faunus.....but it''s still not great." He frowned.


    "Yeah, I don''t really understand it." I shook my head. "Got a cute little foxy daughter myself." The hell is Menagerie? That sounds like a ce, but the name seems kind of offensive.


    He blinked a bit of surprise on his face turning into genuine happiness. "Really? It''s rare for humans and Faunus to have children."


    I just shrugged. Race isn''t really a big deal with me, even before I reincarnated and became a half-devil. "What do I owe you?" I changed the subject.


    "Oh, I almost forgot." He chuckled. "Lets see, it should be about 217 Lien all together, lets call it an even 210."


    "210 it is then, thank you." I happily offered up the money.


    "Pleasee back if you ever need another book." He replied with a genuine smile on his face.


    Nice guy.


    "Oh." I stopped before I pushed open the door. "Would you perhaps have a good rmendation for somewhere I can sit down and eat with a book in peace?"


    "I know several ces, any other specific requests?"


    "Hmm, by chance do you know one that would allow a pet to apany me?"


    ****


    "Wee, have you been here before or is it your first time?" I was greeted by a woman in, I wouldn''t call it a maid''s outfit, but it was close. But what stuck out were her rabbit ears ontop of her head,pletely real as they had a little bounce to them.


    "First time, Tukson rmended me." I replied. "He said that pets weren''t frowned on?" I tried to gauge her reaction.


    "As long as they aren''t too big." She said quietly, perhaps looking for said pet.


    I of course took off my hat, flipped it upside down and let Sir Wiggles pop his head out.


    That got a small giggle out of the girl. "Right this way." She gestured towards an open table.


    I let Sir Wiggles out, he happily sat at one end of the of the table, not running around.


    "I''m Velvet, I''ll be your waitress." Her voice wasn''t very loud, honestly her demeanor in general screamed unconfident. "Can I start you off with anything to drink?"


    "Hmm.." I hummed as I opened the menu, look at what they had. "I''ll start off with the Mistralian Dark Roast coffee.....two sugars and a squirt of milk. Oh, and one of those strawberry pastries." I looked up at Sir Wiggles. "And would it be possible to get a small bowl of water and perhaps some veggies for mypanion?"


    She actually perked up with a small smile, looking over at Sir Wiggles.


    I know that feeling all too well, his floof is hard to resist.


    "I''ll get him something from the back." She replied, scribbling a few things down and walking away.


    Figured Sir Wiggles deserved a treat. I keep stuff in my hat to upy him, but it might get cramped every now and then. Really need to see about expanding the space or connecting it to my home, especially for when he gets ady friend.


    I took out one of the books, it was the textbook on Aura. I started reading, but a lot of the material was a bit streamlines, I could only roll my eyes when they just emphasized the ''power of the soul''. I wanted to know more than that, like how was this power activated? How did they discover a way to actualize their soul in the physical world?


    I was about to close the book when one line caught my attention.


    ''.....While the act of awakening another person''s Aura is usually one of intimacy and reserved for friends and family, it can be done by any other person with their Aura already awakened....''


    Oh, well isn''t that interesting?


    Should I find someone to ''awaken'' my aura then. I don''t even know if I''mpatible with this mystical phenomenon, and apparently someone needs to poke my soul with their aura for it to happen.


    A curious thought crossed my mind, how did the first person awaken their aura if it needs someone to awaken it for them?


    "Sir, your coffee and pastry....also I have a small te of lettuce for your.....pet." Velvet said quietly, holding a couple tes.


    "Thank you." I smiled at her, mentally reminding myself to give her a decent tip, seems like she needs a win today.


    I feel like a lot of information is still left out.


    I closed it for now, most of the remainder was meant for kids studying it underbat intentions, I could already devise many uses of the nature of aura without a book.


    With a sigh, I took out the book on Dust. It was perhaps an equally curious avenue of research whenpared to aura.


    What exactly was dust?


    I could tell immediately it was somewhat magical in nature, but I didn''t delve into that yet. Hell, I could feel the magical energy from the few small vials of the dust I had just purchased.


    ''Nature''s Wrath'' is what the book described it as, but all I could think about was that it basically mimicked elemental magecraft corresponding to the ''element'' of the dust.


    Red ¨C Fire.


    Blue ¨C Ice


    Those were obvious for anyone, but the more I read the more I was intrigued.


    Gravity dust?


    It seems this ''dust'' branched out from just the basic elements....


    Curiouser and curiouser...I bet gramps would love to get his hands on some of this infact ¨C"


    "P-please don''t move those....ah" I looked up to see Velvet trying to rein in a few guys pulling chairs from all over as they put two tables together so they could all sit down.


    "Why are we even here? They let animals just walk around." He swept his gaze around, eyesnding on me. The other seemed to notice as well.


    "U-um sir...the policy ¨C "


    "Oh hey, there''s a rabbit in here too." He cut her off much to theughter of his friends.


    Ah, they were calling Velvet an animal....


    Annoying.


    I slid my foot across the around, pulsing magical energy all into the floor. I targeted a leg on the idiot''s chare and overloaded it.


    A small crashing sound and he rolled on the ground as the chair fell backwards.


    I despise baseless hate like this. If you hate someone, you hate someone, why does it have to be because of something beyond their control?


    It''s just....the pointlessness of it all that really drive home the annoyance in me.


    "I think these chairs have an upper weight limit." I said idly, but my voice carried.


    The gentleman who rolled on his ass was a bit heavy set, I wouldn''t call him obese and even say he has quite a bit of muscle, but he definitely spends a lot of his time sitting down with a beer in his hand.


    Velvet stepped away from the fuming racist. He surprisingly didn''t'' direct his annoyance at the target of his racism, instead looked at me, fuming. "You think you''re funny?"


    My lips curled up. "As funny as you are fat." I wonder if that was a nerve for him. Not particrly witty, but this really didn''t deserve my best.


    "You some kind of tourist brat? Don''t you know who we are?" His other friends stood up, following his lead. "We don''t like your types around here."


    Did he really just say that? How clich¨¦.....


    "Funny, handsome, fit?" I hazarded a guess.


    By the looks of them pulling weapons out, that is indeed not what they meant.


    I hope some of them had Aura, I wanted to stress test that a bit before getting some of that for myself.


    ***


    Not much to say, just the Mc essentially getting his bearings and trying to figure out where to go from there while getting a secondhand dose of that sweet sweet racism so prevalent in RWBY. Mostly to try and find someone to unlock his aura.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 95 - 90

    <h4>Chapter 95: Chapter 90</h4>


    "Really, you draw weapons after a little insult?" I rolled my eyes. "Did I hurt your feelings?" I think my sarcasm was obvious enough to even get through to him.


    "You''re going to be hurting a lot more in a second." One of hispanions sneered, earning an angry look from the apparent ''leader''.


    I couldn''t help but smile at hisment. I eyed their weapons, not so much from a threat analysis standpoint, but just pure curiosity. They did not look like normal weapons, they reminded me of Ruby''s and by extension, quite a few other hunters. Like they can all take on several different forms by shifting mechanisms.


    I took a sip of my coffee. "Fromughter? Otherwise I fail to see how I''ll be suffering any kind of pain."


    "Tough talk from a brat with a bunny for a pet."


    "Tough talk from an old man that can''t see his dick when he looks down."


    "YOU''RE DEAD" He roared, charging at me with his fist reeled back, some kind of sword in his other.


    The looks around the room told me they expected me to get quite the beating as his fist approached my face. I just shook my head and held out my index finger, stopping the man''s fist from moving any further.


    A small bit of energy shimmered where my finger touched his fist, the signs of this ''Aura'' surrounding him.


    He looked at me shocked when his fist wouldn''t budge, even his buddies were speechless. There was a moment of hesitation as the hand holding his ''sword'' swept up towards me. Getting a better look I could see a revolving mechanism that held bullets and a barrel on the topside of the de.


    So slow....well he had a decent amount of strength behind his fist, all things considered. He probably wasn''t putting everything into it, but it was still beyond a normal human''s means.


    I knocked his hand holding the sword/gun away with my other hand, and put quite a bit of strength in my fist as it made contact with his face.


    His aura exploded on impact, cascading in all directions from the point where I should have met his skin. It wasn''t red like Ruby''s it was yellowish. Is it different based on the person?


    The kic force seemed to seep through somewhat as he stumbled backwards, clutching his face, weapon falling to the ground.


    Not a perfect defense, I noted. But still, a shield that will maintain itself permanently without nearly any conscious effort on the users part?


    Sign me the hell up.


    Even if it only blocked 1% of an attack''s damage, that was still something I wanted to get my hands on. Not to mention it clearly has an effect on their physical abilities.


    I grabbed his hand before he could recover, twisting it as he let out a scream.


    It seems Aura doesn''t protect from this kind of damage as I got no reaction, another note to file away.


    Throws, pins, Joint locks, that sort of thing is probably able to get around Aura.


    I yanked up his gun-sword with a little bit of telekinesis, getting a firm grip on it I couldn''t help but notice how uneven the weight was distributed.


    It felt cheap....


    I shook my head again, stabbing towards his torso, watching as his Aura didn''t quite distort, but itpensated for the sharp edge and reacted ordingly.


    Fascinating.


    Was it a mental calction on the user''s part, or did it react to changes on contact? Perhaps even an unconscious mental change?


    "YOU IDIOTS, WHAT''RE YOU DOING?" The big lug shouted towards hispanions who were broken from their stupor and starteding towards me.


    Well, this has gone on long enough, I got enough answers to some questions for now.


    I threw the gun-sword at the closest goon, the handle smacking him in the head.


    Ducking down, I dodged a fist as I uppercut a second in the jaw, elbowing a third in the side of the head and kneeing a fourth in the stomach.


    They all fell to the ground groaning in pain.


    Surprisingly, they did not have aura, so they got quite the little beating.


    "W-what?" The big guy looked at the scene in shock.


    I looked up to see Velvet staring at the whole thing with a mix of surprise and uneasiness. The way she stood, I could tell she had some amount of training, though I didn''t care enough to pry. Was she going to step in if I got hurt?


    I twisted the guy''s arm just a little bit more as he out let a pained shout. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"


    "I want a lot of things." I mused. "But I''ll settle for some information. Particrly, I want to know where I can find someone who can ''get things''."


    "I-I know a guy!" He quickly answered, catching my meaning.


    I lowered my head as he whispered the information in my ear. With a hum, I let go of him, he shakily stood back up taking several steps back. "I''m curious what the punishment is for someone with Aura to attack someone without?"


    He blinked at me in confusion as realization dawned on his face. "Y-you don''t have aura?" Seemingly not believing me.


    The corners of my lips curled up. I looked around and was thankful that the ce was rather empty at the moment, basically just us and the staff. I saw a couple heads poke out from the employee area, not keen on getting involved. "Well, why don''t you run them pockets?"


    "What?"


    "Take out your money, you idiot." I rolled my eyes.


    "Are you robbing me....?" He seemed surprised by this development.


    I chose not to answer him, walking up as he awkwardly shuffled for his wallet and snatched it out of his hands. I took out his Id getting a good look before putting it back and taking out all the Lien he had and mming it on the table. "Now, fuck off."


    "R-right." He nodded, his goons having recovered at this point. They hastily retreated from the premise.


    "Um sir..." Velvet quietly tried to grab my attention. "D-do you want me to call the police?"


    "Don''t worry about it." I waived her off. It was pretty clearly self-defense...until I robbed him at the end, but whatever. "Thank you for the service." I set my own stack of Lien on the table, a nice big tip in addition to what the dumbass gave. "Take care of yourself Velvet." I hope she gets some more self-confidence, call it instinct, but she probably could have smacked those idiots around with ease herself.


    I really dislike that kind of obscene hatred.


    Grabbing Sir Wiggles, he had finished his te and was just watching me calmly.


    Well, I had a lead now.


    ***


    It wasn''t that far away, about 7 blocks down, but the area gradually changed to resemble a more ''night'' life kind of vibe, it was still rtively early in the day so I didn''t see anyone out and about beyond just normal matters.


    The ce was rather spacious, only a few sparse people inside as I pushed open the doors, not even a bouncer outside to stop people froming in. Then again, I doubt the owners would care at this point, if someone wanted toe drink in the middle of the day, more power to them.


    Well, eyes were on me as I entered, but they turned away after a few good looks.


    I approached the bar, giving the bartender a once over, he looked like the description I was given.


    "What can I get you?" Hezily put his arms up, giving me a look.


    "I wouldn''t mind someone on the lighter side, got any unique drinks here?" I asked.


    "Hmm, Strawberry Sunrise." He grunted, getting the stuff all prepped. While he looked a bit lethargic, his skill was undeniable as he set the drink infront of me.


    I took a tip and admired the taste. "Not bad." I nodded. "But I''m here for something else, if you don''t mind."


    "Well, no one''s gonna be dancing untilter tonight." He eyed me warily.


    So it''s going to be like that? I took out a hundred Lien and pushed it towards him.


    "We do offer some....other services." He perked up, pocketing the money. "Name''s Junior, what can I do for you?"


    "I want information." I decided to delve right into it. "New to town, wanted to know the rules on getting my Aura unlocked."


    He blinked for a moment, mulling over my question. "Technically....it''s illegal to offer your services to unlock someone''s aura. Honestly, it''s a bit like prostitution, if money is ''exchanged'' then it''s a no go, but they can''t really moderate consensual acts."


    Huh, that''s a surprisingparison, yet I can believe it. "Another question, got anyone who would like to unlock my aura ''free of charge''." I put up air quotes. I do want other things of questionable legality, but this would be a good start.


    Junior snorted, a small smile tugging on his face. "I''d offer to do it, but I don''t got much myself,st time I unlocked someone''s, knocked me on my ass all day and I already have a killer headache."


    "Eh, I don''t really care who does it." I waived my hand dismissively.


    He rubbed his hand. "Well, I do know a guy, he should be around, got a decent chunk of the stuff himself, I doubt he would pass up the easy Lien, but the price is up to him."


    I just shrugged. "As long as it''s somewhere around reasonable, I don''t mind paying a premium."


    Junior let out a small chuckle. "That attitude will get you far around here." He stepped out from behind the bar. "Come on, I''ll take you to the back." He snapped his fingers, grabbing the attention of what looked one of his employees and gestured for him to take over.


    He led me to a door to the side, almost unnoticeable.


    "Oh Junior, whose the kid?" A manzing on a couch tilted his head up giving us a look.


    "A client." He grunted. "Kid wants his Aura unlocked."


    "And you came to me?" The man sat up, adjusting a bowlers hat on his head. He had a strikingly orange color of hair, and surprisingly well dressed.


    "I would do it myself, but thest time I passed out the girls drew dicks on my face." Junior deadpanned.


    The man snorted, a small smile on his face. "I''ll do it for 400 Lien."


    "Done." I didn''t even argue.


    "Well, aren''t you in a hurry." The man took a cigar out of his pocket, lighting it up and taking a puff.


    "Kid, meet Roman Torchwick, he likes to introduce himself as a ''gentleman thief''." Junior rolled his eyes.


    "Hey, I''ll have you know, I am officially not a Thief anymore." Roman adjusted his cor, looking rather insulted.


    "Yeah, how long is that going tost this time?" Junior sighed. "What''s this, the third time you had the courts expunge your records?"


    "Fourth, actually." Roman smirked. "I am officially a free man!"


    "Whatever." Junior didn''tment further. "Where''s your little psycho?"


    "Oh, Neo went to go rob an Ice cream shop or something." Roman replied, eyes turning back to me. "Now, my well dressed friend, Junior says you want your Aura unlocked?"


    "Indeed." I admitted, tilting my head as I examined his own clothes. "And if it wouldn''t be too much trouble, could I get your tailors name and address?"


    "Oh, you can recognize quality." Roman perked up.


    "It''s not my particr style, but I can appreciate the high grade materials and skill that went into its making. The seams of course stick out the most, they are rather elegant in their weave."


    Roman paused for a moment, a genuine smile on his face. "I like you kid. No one ever appreciates the effort I go to look this good." Roman stood up. "What''s your name?"


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself, maybe with a dash of re on my end.


    "Wilhelm, I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful rtionship."


    ***


    MC meets Roman, truly nothing bad can happen from their interactions.


    On a side note, probably won''t be posting on Friday, going to be super busy at work and might be working a 12 hour shift.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 5 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 96 - 91

    <h4>Chapter 96: Chapter 91</h4>


    "So, kid, you want your Aura unlocked." Roman sat back on the couch, rtively rxed.


    "That''s the n." I shrugged, sitting opposite of him.


    "Usually, I don''t'' really care why, but color me interested. You don''t really look the Huntsman type, and you''re definitely not one of those thugs."


    "I could give some reasons, but honestly, why not?" I replied.


    "Well...." Roman mulled over a thought. "Realistically sure. But it doese with some downsides, not that I would ever give up my Aura to get away from them." He tapped his cigar on an ashtray. "Prison sentences are heavier for Aura users, certain taxes for Aura users, but on the flip side more tax write offs for weapons and stuff." He idly started to go over some random details. "Heavier regtion on moving across Kingdoms, certain licenses needed for certain jobs.....but there is also the ability to carry weapons openly without much fuss."


    "Huh, that''s a little interesting actually." I rubbed my chin. A society with a mythical phenomenon interweaved into its foundation. The closest I could think of was Skyrim, and that was very underdeveloped technologically, so it was hard topare. "Must make being a Thief harder than, the governmenting down on you harder because your Aura?"


    "Makes it a bit more fun." He smirked. "But I''m pretty low on their priority all things considered, especially with the White Fang doing their usually idiocy." He adjusted his legs. "Really, just stay away from the SDC, Government Property, and Huntsman, and at most the police will be on my ass. Oh, and don''t kill." He made sure to exemplify that point. "Murder esctes into Beacon taking notice. If the general public start getting upset about ''Aura Users'' running rampant, Beacon has a sudden interest in taking you down."


    White Fang, SDCD, some more terms I was unfamiliar with. Perhaps I should browse their version of the inte when I have more time.


    "So, what, rob a bank, insurance covers everything, no one really takes a hit except thosepanies who the public already hates, and no one high up really cares enough to blow the issues up?"


    "Pretty much but being too heavy handed also starts drawing too much attention. If the politicians start looking bad, then they''ll start doing stuff for publicity and what-not. It''s one of the reasons I keep my ''public persona'' so mboyant. The public loves to cheer on a ''criminal'', if you get what I''m saying."


    I was honestly surprised by how well he thought this out. "I''m impressed."


    Roman let out a small chuckle. "Been in the game a long time, kid. I learned a thing or two along the way." He sat himself up straight. "Anyways!" He pped his hands. "I''m sure you didn''te here to hear my life story."


    "Well, it was entertaining if nothing else." I gave a small smile. "But yeah, I am a bit excited to see my Aura unlocked."


    "Well, you get what you paid for." He stood up walking towards me. "It''s going to feel ufortable, like someone is poking you in ces you didn''t know about, but then some weird stuff is going to happen."


    "Weird, how weird?"


    "Ever done drugs before?"


    "Which drugs?"


    "All of them." Heughed, putting his hand on my chest. "For it is in Aspiration that we Achieve Immortality....."


    As the words left his mouth, I felt something enter my body. I was careful not to interrupt it or cut he connection. The words seemed to die down and silence filled my entire being.


    My soul, it ignited.


    The world around me became unimportant as my entire selfid bare.


    Every part that made me ¨C me.


    All my ws and good parts intertwined into the little spark that made my soul, and whatever happened, it burst out into a raging inferno.


    I saw it.


    The good, the bad. The ugly, and the beautiful. The parts that weighed heavily on me, and things I thought I had move on from. All the scars that still persisted, and opposite of them were the pieces that found purpose and affection.


    All of it was actualized unto the physical world. I almost felt like I could touch the parts of me that were Zelretch, the past life that I regted to the past. It didn''t quite feel so heavy anymore. Everything I had been through before and now, every heart ache, every time my heart fluttered. All the pain I felt in thend of shadows, and the happiness I felt when close to those I cherished. The first time I held Meridia close, and the first kiss I shared with Artoria.


    It all coalesced and enveloped me.


    "....I release your soul, and by my hand, set thee free."


    The whispering of words met my ears, and the world exploded in a kaleidoscope of colors.


    ***


    "Shit, kid." I blinked, regaining myposure as my focus came back on the room I was in. I looked towards Roman who was wobbling back onto his seat. "Never seen someone with so much Aura before."


    I stared at my hands, the faintest glimmer of the iridescent colors flowed around them with but thought. "That was...wow."


    "Hahaha." Roman let out a tiredugh. "I heard that adults get hit by it harder than kids, something about seeing ''yourself'' as a fully developed person makes it a weird experience.....or something, never really cared about the science."


    I flexed my hands, feeling the newfound power swelling inside me. Thefort and warmness of my actual soul protecting me from harm.


    "What was that chant you used?" I regained my thoughts after a moment to ask.


    "Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess you wouldn''t know." He rubbed his temples, looking like he had just woken up from drinking all night. "It''s something kind of personal I guess, something that needs to resonate with your soul in order to awaken someone elses. Don''t really know much about it, but everyone eventually develops their own and they all follow a simr format."


    "Really? Everyone justes to a simr conclusion on their own?"


    Roman just shrugged. "Never cared enough to look into it."


    More and more stuff to figure out.


    "I feel great." I muttered. "What a rush."


    "Haah, I remember my first time." Roman let out another chuckle. "The highsts pretty much all day. But you''ll get used to it eventually." He let out a sigh. "Shit, kid, you did a number on me. It shouldn''t have taken me that much Aura to unlock yours, its not a 1 to 1 ratio, Y''know? I''m not an amateur that would need to brute force it with my entire reserves. Should have only need a spark to ignite yours." He let out a breath.


    I wonder what factors y into one having a lot of Aura? Actually... "What does the color of one''s Aura mean?"


    "Who knows." Roman shrugged. "Never seen one with multiple colors though, pretty neat."


    "Thanks." I finally said. "For doing this for me, I know it isn''t the most....clean job." I mean, he basically touched my soul with his own.


    He just snorted. "I''m not one of those who think its this --" He held his hands out for emphasis "-- Sacred mumbo-jumbo. Yeah it''s a bit weird, but at the end of a day, it''s a job. You paid, I delivered, simple as that."


    "Well, that''s an interesting perspective I guess."


    He stood up, his legs less shaky, but he used a cane leaning against the side of the couch to support himself. "I can''t say it hasn''t been interesting, kid, but I''m going to pass out in my bed....If you ever want a job, or maybe you''re interesting in the darker parts of the city, look me up."


    "You looking to recruit with a job?" I raised an eyebrow, I can''t say the prospect didn''t sound interesting.


    "Hey now....I''m aw abiding citizen." He smirked. "But, as strange as it is, I like you. Can''t say that about many people....you remind me a young me, so maybe I''m feeling nostalgic." He evened out any creases in his clothing. "But I''m actually just rxing for now, got nothing nned for a couple months at least, need to let some heat die down and all that."


    "So, what, want to train me to be the next ''Roman Torchwick?''"


    "Sorry to break this to you, kid, but you''ll never be me." He turned his head. "But maybe.....just maybe, you can have a fraction of my style and skill¡ª"


    "Yeah, yeah, get out of here, ''old man''."


    "Youngsters these days, tsk tsk." He smirked again, waiving his hand. "Hope to see you around kid." He left leaving me alone. I realize now that Junior bailed awhile ago, not that I cared that much.


    Sweet Christ, this feeling was euphoria. He said it would onlyst the day or so, but damn I wish I could feel this more often.


    [That was an interesting experience.]


    I blinked, realizing that I currently had a dragon inside my soul. "So, I may have forgotten about you."


    [I feel all the love.] He said dryly. [You''re lucky I was paying attention, I sort of shifted whatever he was doing away from me, because he almost tried to unlock MY ''Aura''.]


    "''Tried'' being the primary word there?"


    [Yeah, don''t think that would have turned out well for him. No idea if I would even have this ''aura'' as I''m basically only a soul inside this thing.]


    "Yeah....I don''t think any of us wants to figure out what would happen there." I sighed, staring at the ceiling. "Anything new you noticed?"


    [My senses are expanded...and I feel less.....confined than before. Not like I can break out or anything like that, but like my jail cell increased in size. Feels pretty nice actually.]


    "Huh....I''m happy you''re feeling better then." I said genuinely.


    Now though.....I honestly need to give this a test.


    [Actually, we should probably check the Boosted Gear too, make sure it''s still fine.]


    "That....is a valid point, but I feel like you just want toe out and y."


    [Yeah.]


    "You''re not even going to deny it." I chuckled. "Well, thankfully this world has lots of things to punch, and I really wanted to investigate these grimm first hand anyways."


    ***


    Aura is a go, and get a look at the Grimm next chapter.


    On a side note, I have a nice new foxy Waifu in Genshin.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 97 - 92

    <h4>Chapter 97: Chapter 92</h4>


    "You get all sorted?" Junior rested his head in his palm as he leaned on the bar, giving me a look when I left the back area.


    "Yeah, Roman is a bit out ofmission though." I replied.


    Junior let out snort, a small smile on his face. "Well, good thing I didn''t do it" He sat himself up straighter. "Well, I introduced myself before, names Junior, I know a few things if you got the Lien."


    I thought for a moment, putting some more Lien on the table. "Know anywhere close by where I can go punch some Grimm without a hassle?"


    Junior looked at my oddly. "Well, I guess we all wanted to do that when we got our Aura for the first time." He scooped up the money. "Word of warning, kid. Don''t let the new strength go to your head, Grimm have been killing trained Huntsman for centuries."


    "I didn''t know you cared." I shed him a cheeky smile.


    "I would rather your Lien end up in my pocket than some Grimm''s stomach." He rolled his eyes. "But you got two options if you don''t want to go venturing out of the city." He pulled out his scroll, widening it to show a map of the kingdom. "Over by Beacon, and to the North we got the Forever Fall forest. Opposite, to the south, we got the Emerald Forest. Both are more or less the same, but the Emerald Forest gets culled more frequently than the Forever Fall, but both are rtively ''safe''pared to the wilds."


    "Why does the Emerald Forest get more attention?"


    "Beacon uses it for their entry tests. Throw a bunch of kids in there, fight their way out or something." He waived his hand. "They don''t technically own it.....but most folks who would even consider going there stay away around that time of the year."


    Beacon, the Huntsman Academy, where they train kids to fight Grimm.


    "Ah." I rubbed my chin. "I guess if they''re going to train kids to fight monsters, the best test is to in fact, fight said monsters in a contained environment." I nodded my head. Can''t really me them for putting kids through a thing like that when monsters literally beat on their doors. "What''s up with Forever Fall then?"


    "Another ce Beacon likes to take their students for training. The tree sap there is really expensive, but not many people are willing to go into Grimm territory to get it. Teachers take a few sses there in their early years, gather a bunch of sap, and sell it to interested buyers to fund some school stuff." Junior exined.


    Actually, that sounds interesting. "The sap, anything particrly noteworthy about it?"


    "Very sweet, apparently not that unhealthy either. Something about it makes it better than regr sugar or otherparable things around. Other than that I don''t know much." He scratched his head. "Usually always a market for it if you want to grab some jars."


    He really does know a lot of stuff off the top of his head. Information broker indeed.


    "Alright, thanks for the info." I tossed a bit more Lien on the table before leaving.


    ***


    It was surprisingly easy to make it to this ''Forever Falls'' forest. The entrance to and from that connected to the city wasn''t particrly ''guarded''. Granted, there were huge fuck off guns on the walls, and guards at the gate, but they didn''t even bat an eye when I said I want to go in.


    Guess it''s moremon than I thought.


    "Beautiful." I muttered as the forest came into view.


    It was red.


    Almost unnaturally so.


    The grass on the ground, the leaves on the trees, all of it was the same red coloring. There was no way in hell this was a natural evolution.


    Still, it was a breathtaking sight.


    I contemted taking Artoria here for a date, a pic would be absolutely lovely. I don''t think Meridia or Scathach would be interested in that kind of thing.


    Taking in the surroundings, I eyed a tree with a small nozzleing out of it, looking primed for sap harvesting. Though, as I got closer, it looked a tad rusted, perhaps worm as well. Well, it seems like this was abandoned some time ago.


    I jiggled it slightly, and turned the nozzle on with a bit of force to ovee the rusted mechanism.


    I stared at it intently as finally, a small drop of sap emerged from the faucet. Quickly, I scooped it up with my finger and brought it closer to my eyes for inspection, the bright red color of the sap was surprising, but otherwise it didn''t look offputting. Hesitantly, I licked it.


    "Holy shit."


    [Yeah, that''s sweet.]


    "It was like....I had eaten an entire candy bar in a single drop, but without that bloated feeling." I took out a small jar, putting it under the faucet and giving it little tap to get the sap flowing a little better. "What do you think, Waffles or Pancakes?"


    [Waffles, definitely. Would go better with that little bit of crunch.]


    "I can just imagine all the possibilities...." I didn''t have that much of a sweet tooth, but I definitely enjoyed sweet things. "Would go well with some Ice cream, maybe even some varieties of cake like cheesecake." Which was odd because sweet on sweet usually detracted from either dish, but this sap was something wonderful.


    [Grab more of it.]


    "Don''t gotta tell me twice." I took out a few more jars, cutting some small holes into the trees and tried my best to wedge a sort of ''extractor'' into it so the sap would drip down into my jars. Basically a piece of metal to direct the flow of the drip.


    "Ooh, need to find some acorns to bring back." In looked around, brushing away the leaves on the ground. "Hopefully these trees are something that can be replicated back home." No idea what mechanisms created this kind of tree, but perhaps I can research it when I have more time.


    I brought out Sir Wiggles, having a bright idea. "Think you can grab me more of these?" I held out an acorn for him to get a good look.


    The familiar link between us told me he understood as he bolted off in another direction.


    [I take back what I said about Sir Wiggles.]


    "You''re such a glutton."


    [Pot, meet kettle.]


    "Never said I wasn''t." I said with augh, kneeling I scooped up a soil sample, both around a tree and a bit further away. Ibeled them before putting them away in my hat.


    [Look alive, we gotpany]


    "Yeah, I noticed it too." I grumbled, standing up as a familiar ck creature approached me. "Though only when it got surprisingly close to me."


    It doesn''t posses the normal ''feelings'' of a living being.


    [What did thess call this, a beowolf?]


    "Yeah, and I only skimmed the book I got. Supposedly a weakling in the Grimm Hierarchy." It kind of looked like a traditional werewolf portrayed in popr media. I watched its lumbering steps as it broke out into a sprint at me.


    "Well, lets test some stuff out." I summoned the boosted gear and immediately noticed a small change. It felt ''lighter'' was probably the best word. Not it''s weight, but its existence wasn''t as constrained. It felt like, if I hadn''t achieved Bnce Breaker already, it would have been much easier.


    The thing snarled as it got close, wed hand swiping at me.


    I didn''t move, my Aura red into a shield as its w tried to cleave into my flesh. It stopped without any effort on my part, and I just admired the mystical phenomenon up close.


    With my Aura out in full throttle, I red my Circuits.


    With a nod to myself, I made the mental note that nothing felt out of ce there. If anything, they burned less from use than normal.


    It makes sense, I suppose. Magic Circuits are a pseudo nerve system that extends from the soul. Aura is the manifestation of the Soul, and supposedly provides a certain healing factor on activation. It''s probably offsetting the ''pain'' and ''burning'' from using the mystical organ. Was so used to it at this point that this didn''t really mean anything.


    Interesting interaction though.


    [Weird, I kind of felt that.]


    "The Grimm attacking or the Aura in general?"


    [The Grimm, it was like an echo, but yeah...]


    Odd.


    I grabbed the thing and mmed it to the ground with enough force to indent the hard surface. "Decently sturdy, blunt damage probably not the preferred method of dealing with then." I muttered.


    It struggled, snarled, or otherwise thrashed under my grip. "Intelligence seemscking, perhaps a sort of preprogrammed instinct?" I twisted its arm back slowly, watching it still struggle but it didn''t even change its ''expression'' as I pulled it back much further than it should have been able to. "Doesn''t react to pain, or perhaps it cannot feel pain?"


    Pain is an evolutionary trait for living beings to survive. While I can''t say that every living thing across the infinite realities feels pain, it is a dominant trait in every world I know about.


    "Boost." I said quietly as my physical abilities doubled and I ripped the arm off its body.


    An inky ck liquid dropped to the ground, seemingly its blood.


    "Thoughts, Ddraig?"


    [Nothing wrong with the boost, nor anything extraordinary. Seems we''re good to go there.]


    I nodded along, inspecting the arm. "This thing doesn''t have proper bone structure...I mean, It has bones, but they look like an afterthought in its whole design." I threw the arm to the side and picked up the Grimm again. It tried to bite at me, but my aura blocked any kind of haphazard attack on its part.


    "Yeah, this thing is definitely not alive. The old man was correct in calling it a ''construct'' but that probably didn''t do it justice. It is a facsimile of life." Dawnbreaker flew out of my ring, hovering nearby, not reacting. "Yeah, no life nor ''unlife'' to be found here." Grabbing the sword, I stabbed into its stomach. "Magical energy." I muttered. "This thing exists from magic." The faint sensation of magical energy wafted from its body


    It makes sense....but to have confirmation that magic is prevalent here was something to mull over. "The magics holding it together, they bring together the ''container'' to mimic life, organs, bones, that sort of thing. I can only imagine when the corresponding parts like the ''heart'' take damage, the magics that make up the creature try to ''heal'' or sustain it but are unable and it copses. It isn''t that any of its internals are vital, but it was designed to be a reflection of a true living creature."


    Fascinating.


    Who made these things, and for what purpose? I suddenly had the eerie though that whatever created something like this on such a world-wide scale was not a simple being.


    Yeah, this world isn''t as simple as I first thought.


    Dawnbreaker mmed down into its head, letting it dissipate back into magical energy and drift back to the world.


    I was lost in thought for a moment before taking out the Vial of Dust, uncorking it and letting a tiny bit spill out onto my palm.


    "Jesus fucking Christ." I felt a sharp pain in my head at invoking the name of ''God''. The taboo woven into my devil bloodline.


    [Whats wrong, you''re usually good about not saying his name?]


    I clenched my fist, throwing the bit of dust into the wind. "This dust, it''s crystallized Mana." I fell to the ground, staring up at the sky.


    [I don''t understand.]


    "Crystallized Mana....is not a natural phenomenon. Mana, the lifeblood of a world, the most abundant form of magical energy. It pulsates out, spreads and returns to the. It is NOT supposed to clot up and ''crystallize'' like this. Something is seriously wrong here."


    [What does it mean?]


    "Well.....I don''t think I''ve ever walked on a dead before." I stared up at the broken moon in the sky, an oddly apt reflection of the world I now found myself on.


    ***


    Just a reminder, i''m not posting tomorrow.


    MC discovers some stuff about the world which just brings up more questiosn.


    Anyways, if you want to read ahead 5 chapter or just support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 98 - 93

    <h4>Chapter 98: Chapter 93</h4>


    I looked up at the broken moon, admiring its surprising beauty. I think it was closer to the than I was used to, that or muchrger than my own back home.


    [You okay?]


    "Yeah, yeah." I ran hand through my wet hair. "I''m good." I found a nice little pond to take a dip in. Put up a bounded field and just wanted to rx. "Just surprising. Like knowing people die, then see a dead body for the first time in person."


    Worlds died. Just like every other living thing in existence, they eventually meet their end. Be it the heat death of the universe they exist in, or their natural time is over. Natural causes, or something kills them.


    Worlds eventually die.


    I''ve known about parallel worlds that get pruned every second of the day while new worlds are then created to fill their ce.


    But I''ve never walked on a that was on itsst gasping breath.


    [How much longer does this ce have?]


    I mulled the question over. "I''d be conservative and say a few thousand years."


    [That''s not too bad.]


    "When a looks at billions of years as a blink of an eye, a couple thousand is absolutely miniscule" I shook my head.


    [Shouldn''t it be more noticeable?]


    "It depends." I pursed my lips. "Don''t know what happened here, but the ''dust'' is basically like clotting blood. There is still enough mana in the air from the dust sprouting out of the ground everywhere that it''s nearly impossible to tell on a first look that anything is wrong. Give it a few more centuries, I''m sure people will start to notice that crops are growing less, forests are starting to decline, deserts expanding, that sort of thing."


    Then again, many people don''t venture out of the Kingdoms much from what I''ve seen. Perhaps that''s already happening and they''re just oblivious. The poption here is much lower than my home presumably, so it probably won''t even be an issue for a very long time.


    [It''s sad, but it doesn''t seem like anything worth dwelling on.]


    While blunt, it''s true. "Yeah, I''m just processing is all. Not like I''m going to sit here and mourn a world I never knew." I dipped my head under the water. Very clean and refreshing, I had made sure to check it before getting in. "And, well, Dust is quite the find. It should be sprouting for a few more centuries before it starts to show signs of diminishing in a noticeable capacity."


    [Going to load up on it to bring back home?]


    "That was the thought." I Stood up, grabbing a towel I had hanging on a tree nearby. "Should be good for Rin, and I think Zelretch would be excited for the find. Crystallized Mana is something findable back home, but it is EXTREMELY rare. Granted, the stuff back home would be much more potent than the stuff here due to the fact that our world is still going strong."


    Quality vs quantity.


    Putting my clothes back on, Iid out a bed roll. I didn''t really feel like heading back to the city and finding a hotel or something. I would enjoy the clear sky and sleep under the stars tonight.


    ****


    I yawned, opening my eyes up to the morning sun.


    Still couldn''t get over how stunning this area was. Definitely one of my favorite ces I''ve discovered away from home. Going to show off so many pictures when I get back.


    Oh, that reminds me.


    I gathered all my stuff and went to check on my little jars of Sap. They were practically overflowing as I got to them.


    Waiving my hand, I created a portal that brought me back to a little alley near Junior''s club.


    I know it was early, but I kind of wanted a drink.


    "It''s 6:00 PM in some world, right?"


    [That''s a healthy way to look at it.] Ddraig said dryly.


    Not like I''m going to kill my liver or anything. Devil biology to the rescue.


    Walking in the familiar door, some eyes shot towards me but they seemed slightly less intrusive than before. There were tons of people running around, setting up posters, redecorating, that sort of thing.


    I sat down at Junior''s bar, watching from the corner as he was directing people every which way beforeing to me.


    "Didn''t think I''d see you for awhile, kid." He sat his hands on the counter. "Whatcha need?"


    "Can I get a drink?" I asked. "Wouldn''t mind another of those Strawberry Sunrises, maybe a hit of something stronger added?"


    "Strawberry Sunset then." He nodded. "Little more oomph in it." He said idly, fetching all the stuff with practiced ease as I set some money on the counter. "Y''know, we don''t usually have peopleing in this early for drinks, even if we''re open."


    "Eh, just coincidence, I don''t usually get started this early even when I do drink." I waived him off. "Just had a long day yesterday."


    "Well, you made it back in one piece." He shrugged. "Grimm give you any trouble?"


    "Asking if I saw any abnormal activity?" I raised an eyebrow.


    He smirked slightly. "I wouldn''t be remiss to hear something like that, but it''s not like I got peopleing to me for stuff like that."


    "Sorry to disappoint, only saw a few Beowolfs here or there." My fingers wrapped around the ss he set infront of me. "Got some Sap though, pretty tasty stuff, thanks for the rmendation." I put a small jar on the counter, pushing it towards him. "A little thanks."


    He blinked looking it over. "Hey, kid, I appreciate it." He seemed genuinely enthused.


    "What''s up with he redecorating?"


    "Mistral Tournament ising up, always draws a crowd."


    "Mistral Tournament?" I asked. I''m pretty sure Mistral is the name of the ''kingdom'' on a continent to the east.


    He looked at me weirdly. "You haven''t heard of the Mistral Tournament? It''s probably the biggest event on Remnant next to the Vital Festival."


    Ah, Remnant, that was the name of this world, I remember now. "From a small vige, didn''t really hear about the outside that much."


    "Huh." Hemented. "Well, basically it''s ¨C"


    "Junior." Roman burst out the back room. "My boys managed to snag the preliminary odds for the ¨C" He paused staring at both me and Junior. "Oh, hey kid."


    Junior took of his sses, rubbing his eyes. "Roman, why don''t you just broadcast to the entire kingdom."


    "Oh, quit your whining, Kid won''t spill the beans, right kid?" Roman pulled up a stool next to me.


    "Betting pool?" I asked.


    "Ha, quick on the uptake." Roman smirked. "Keep this under wraps and I''ll give you some good betting advice." He tipped his hat.


    "Pfft, who am I gonna tell?" I rolled my eyes. "Besides, everyone knows Roman Torchwick is aw abiding citizen, there''s no way he would engage in some illegal betting."


    Roman let out a smallugh, gesturing for Junior to get him a drink. "Well, cats out of the bag now." He took a sip of his own drink and spun around in his stool, putting his elbows on the counter as he stared at the club. "One of my favorite times of the year, so many suckers wanting to get separated from their hard earned Lien."


    "Is this tournament every year?"


    Roman turned to look at me, then at Junior who just shrugged. "I was telling the kid about the tournament when you came over. Vige boy over here never heard of it before."


    "Well well." Roman took his hat off, setting it on the counter. "Let Uncle Roman tell you all about this beautiful time of the year."


    "By all means." I gestured for him to continue.


    "Alright, so you got this world-wide tournament hosted in Mistral, and it''s got these brackets for age groups, but no one gives a crap about most of them. Most eyes are on the Youth division ages 16 to 20. It''s considered the ce to look for the up anders, where the young huntsman in training can prove their worth. Where the less.....''connected'' may get an invitation to attend one of the ''prestigious'' Academies around the world."


    "Ah, poor kids and those with hopes of grandeur go topete to maybe grab a higher-ups attention?" I hazarded a guess.


    "Got it in one." He nodded. "The Academies aren''t exactly cheap. Most can''t afford them if they don''t'' get schrships or what-not." Roman added. "Anyways, we get the kids in those age groups go and beat the crap out of each other for entertainment."


    "Why that Age group though?"


    "16 is generally the earliest one can get epted into an Academy with 17 being the norm. And the schools don''t really take in students past 20 years old, considering it not worth teaching them thatte since most graduate by the time they''re 20 or 21 anyways."


    That made sense, they''re looking for the best age to teach kids how to fight.


    "The prize money is pretty nice too." Roman added.


    "Prize money?" I perked up.


    "30,000 Lien." Roman nodded. "Nice and tidy little bit there, could set someone up for a decade if they were conservative."


    "How''s thepetition look?" I rubbed my chin.


    "There''s a favorite, one Pyrrha Nikos the ¨C " He Waived his hands flippantly. "¡ªInvincible Girl." With an eye roll he took another drink. "Well, she''s decent for her age, but as green as the grass in the emerald forest."


    "Does she attend an Academy?"


    Roman blinked for a moment. "Oh right, keep forgetting you''re a bumpkin." Heughed. "It''s ''frowned upon'' for kids already in academies topete." There was a bit of contempt in his words. "Miss Invincible Girl already racked up three consecutive wins, one more and she sets the new record, one of the reasons this tournament is so popr this year."


    "Huh." I had some thoughts. "What are the requirements to enter this tournament?"


    "Open to any challengers." Roman eyed me. "What? Want to try your luck?" Heughed.


    "Hey, I could win." I huffed, taking a drink.


    "Sure, kid." Romanughed.


    "Do you need some kind of identification to participate?" I asked.


    "Just standard stuff, why?" Roman asked.


    "I may or may not have entered the Kingdom illegally?"


    "Well, I never!" Roman dramatically ced his hand over his heart. "Who would have thought I was consorting with such unsavory elements?"


    Junior just shook his head. "Listen, kid, you don''t seem like the bad sort so I''ll give you some advice." He leaned forward. "The mistral tournament isn''t the ce for our kind. It''s where the future huntsman go, those who are paraded around the Kingdom as their ''heroes''." He turned around and walked away.


    I feel like there''s a story there. "Did I say something wrong?"


    Roman just snorted. "Not everyone wakes up one day and wants this life, kid." He lit a cigar, taking a long drag before letting it out. "Junior isn''t any different." He Leaned back in his seat. "Most of us had the same dreams these kids did. Seeing these fights broadcast all over the world, all wide-eyed before reality hit us in the face."


    "Us?" I eyed him.


    Roman''s light smile faded into something resembling mncholy. "Everyone''s got a story, kid. Don''t go around prying in this ce." He pulled over an ashtray, stamping out his cigar. "But if you need papers, I''m your guy."


    Well, regardless, it would be nice to have some kind of identification.


    "What''re you charging?" I raised an eyebrow, earning a smirk from him.


    ***


    So, uh, i''m not making Remnant a sort of ''Land of Steel''. Yeah the is pretty borked, all things considered, but Land of Steel was much worse than that. Just wanted a way from MC''s perspective to exin what''s going on with Remnant.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 99 - 94

    <h4>Chapter 99: Chapter 94</h4>


    Roman kind of bailed right after I paid my Lien for his ''services''. The skeptical part of me wants to say I was just tricked out of my money, but I also feel like he would be genuinely offended to be associated with such a low-brow scheme.


    What an interesting character he is.


    He just left and gave me an address to check out in a few hours while he deals with all the logistics. I downed my drink and was about to leave when a strong perfume hit my nostrils.


    "Hey there cutie, haven''t seen you here before."


    "Mnie, do you have to flirt with every new guy thates in?" Another simr voice nked me.


    I turned to see a set of twins take a seat on either side of me, their dress a bit eye catching, but matching all the same.


    "Ladies." I greeted.


    "Don''t be like that, Miltia, he''s your type." The one who spoke seemed to be named Mnie.


    "Doesn''t mean I''m going to just throw myself at him, you can be such a slut sometimes." The one named Militia rolled her eyes.


    "Can I help either of you?" I asked, wondering what they wanted from me.


    "You can buy me a drink." Mnie winked.


    "What''re you doing here?" Miltia demanded.


    I just blinked at the suddenments. "I was talking to Junior and Roman, but they had things to take care of so I was about to leave."


    "Junior just left you alone at his bar?" Miltia seemed surprised.


    "I guess? I think I may have said something to offend him." I just shrugged.


    "Junior doesn''t get offended, he gets annoyed." Mnie interjected. "What''d you say to get his panties in a twist?"


    "I made ament about joining the Mistral tournament?"


    "Brothers." Mnie rolled her eyes. "He can be such a drama queen about that." She got up and walked around to the bar, pulling out a bottle and started pouring herself a drink. "Boohoo daddy wouldn''t let me be a huntsman."


    "Mnie." Miltia growled.


    "What? He''s not the only one who got fucked over, but he mopes around every year when the tournamentes around." She scowled unrepentantly. "Not like it''s a big fucking secret."


    "Really, are you gonna do this now?" Miltia sighed.


    "What? No ones here yet, I''ll get into character when more people start showing up." She downed her drink, turning around and disappearing into the back.


    "Well....that was something." Imented.


    "My sister can be a bitch sometimes." Miltia said with clear annoyance in her voice, she took off her heels, setting them on the counter before rubbing her feet. "Had to walk around Vale all damn morning passing out fliers, and that bitch probably dumped them in the trash somewhere to fuck off for the day."


    "Work for Junior then?" I asked. "What''s that like?" Well, I didn''t have anything to do for the moment, wouldn''t mind knowing a bit more about this whole thing.


    "It''s money." She shrugged. "We basically just y the club scene, get idiot boys to throw around Lien after shing some leg and if anyone gets too rowdy, we put them down." She put her feet up on another stool. "What about you?"


    "First time in Vale, Junior and Roman have been helpful." I said idly, fingering my empty ss. "Not much of a story there, just got my Aura awakened, so that''s something I guess."


    "Roman and helpful in the same sentence?" She snorted. "How many drinks you in?"


    "What, is that unusual? I mean....he can be a bit sarcastic and flippant, but otherwise he wasn''t really...." I didn''t know quite the right word --- mean?


    "I think I only know two people who can put up with Roman, Junior and that midget. He barely goes a single word without insulting someone enough that weapons starting out."


    "Huh..." I just scratched my cheek. "He said I reminded him of himself, maybe that''s it." I shrugged.


    "Yeah...I can see it." She gave me a once over. "You have that same ''I''m better than you'' look, but less punchable."


    "Only ''less''.?" I raised an eyebrow.


    She shrugged, her lips curling up. "I call it like I see it."


    I couldn''t help butugh, I liked her snark even if that''s practically aplimentpared to Scathach''s sharp tongue. "Well, I like to think I pull of the ''punchable face'' look pretty well." I adjusted my hat.


    "Mmm, 6/10."


    "Well, there goes my self-esteem."


    "You hang around Roman, I doubt you had any to begin with."


    "Ouch, you really just go for the jugr every time." I clutched my heart dramatically. "By the way, I''m Wilhelm, don''t think I introduced myself."


    "It''s part of my charm." She shed a smile. "Miltia."


    Well, she isn''t wrong. "I should be heading out, need to find Roman to make my stay here legal."


    "Whatever." She nonchntly replied. "But if youe backter, maybe I''ll have time for a dance."


    "Tempting, but I''m spoken for."


    "Ugh, of course you are." She groaned.


    "I wouldn''t mind being a friend though." I offered. I did enjoy her personality.


    "Brothers that''s so corny." She rolled her eyes.


    I just shrugged again; I''m not going to broken up that she didn''t want to be friends. "Well see you around." I began to walk away.


    "I didn''t say no." She said just loud enough for me to hear.


    I couldn''t help but smile slightly. I had a feeling I would get along with her like a house on fire.


    ***


    I walked a fair distance away towards the ''industrial'' district. It was nice to know that each district was so obviously segregated.


    But the fact that I was only given an address and nothing else made me realize, I had no idea where the fuck I was going.


    Now that I think about it, he probably did that on purpose.


    Roman seems like the kind of person who likes to fuck with people.


    "Hands up!"


    I blinked, hearing a shout from behind me. I turned around to see a man holding a gun up towards me. My eyes swept the surroundings and no one else was around. He was a bit scraggly, but his clothes weren''t unkempt enough for me to assume he''s homeless.


    "Are you robbing me?" I couldn''t help but ask.


    "No, I want to know what shampoo you use." His sarcasm clear in his voice. "Of course I am, now, wallet and scroll."


    Is this Karma? Is it because I robbed that guy the other day? "Don''t wanna."


    "What do you mean ''don''t wanna?''" He stared at me incredulously, "Empty your pockets or I''ll shoot!" He shook his gun for emphasis.


    "Nice gun, what kind of bullets it got?"


    "Why the hell should I tell you!?" He seemed more and more confused with my manner of speech.


    "So not dust bullets, and looks like a run of the mill small arm." I nodded. "Tell me, why did you think it was a good idea to point a shitty gun like that at someone with Aura?"


    He paused, realization dawning on him. "Oh."


    "''Oh'' indeed." I deadpanned.


    "Well, this is awkward." He lowered his hand. "Can we pretend this didn''t happen?"


    You know, I appreciated the balls on this guy. "Tell you what, you help me find this address and I''ll walk away without you having to swallow each bullet one by one." I held out my piece of paper.


    He took the piece of paper happily and stared at it. "Why do you need to go to Roman''s hideout." He looked up at me blinking. "I mean....i''ve never heard of this ce?"


    "Wait....are you one of Roman''s henchmen?"


    "...no."


    "Sweet merciful gods." I sighed. "I...just take me there, I have business with him."


    "Yes sir!" He saluted, and I followed him down a few alleys.


    It was surprisingly not very far, I probably could have found it if I searched around a little, but whatever. It was pretty nondescript, a warehouse in a sea of warehouses and simr looking buildings.


    The idiot led me inside and I was immediately greeted to the familiar sight of a orange-haired thief. "Oh, kid, you made it." He was leaning on a table, smoking a cignar. "And you found one of my minions."


    "More like he found me." I said dryly.


    Roman sighed. "Red, what did you do?"


    "N-nothing, sir. I was just ¨C"


    "He tried to rob me at gunpoint." I deadpanned, interrupting the now named ''Red''.


    Roman face palmed. "Just.....go back to work."


    "Yes sir." Red happily took the chance to run away.


    "I hope that isn''t the bar for your employees."


    Roman actually let out augh. "This is the ¨C" He had the face of someone counting in their head. "12th time, he''s done something like this."


    "Really? And you still keep him around." I was a bit bbergasted.


    "Nono, you don''t understand." He chuckled before continuing. "I''m waiting until it blows up in his face, that guy is the luckiest son of a bitch I''ve ever met in my life. This wasn''t even the dumbest stunt he''s pulled and so far, there isn''t even a whisper of his face being shed around any police station."


    "Seriously?"


    "Let me put it like this." He cleared his throat. "He tried to rob the Deputy Headmistress of Beacon." Roman could barely keep a straight face. "Never arrested, never even handcuffed before. The authorities don''t even know his name."


    "Have you tried¡ª"


    "Using his ridiculous luck to my advantage? Of course." He sighed. "Didn''t seem to work. No, his luck only kicks in to save himself. Honestly, the only reason I''ve kept him on is because the betting pool we have going on. Got a lot of Lien riding on some turnouts and I want my money." He seemed in a genuine good mood. "Anyways, I''m sure you didn''te here to talk about my little minions. You want your papers, right?"


    "Well, my money certainly wasn''t a donation."


    Roman smirked, gesturing for me to follow as he led me furth in towards another room in the warehouse. We walked in and it was like apletely different building. Cubicles everywhere, printers, their version ofputers, people walking around like it was an office. "This is where the magic happens. Where all our raiding the Vale Bureaucracy for our illicit gains urs."


    "Question." I raised my finger up. "Why are you showing me this, seems a bit..."


    "Stupid? Arrogant?" Roman finished my thought. "Kid, do you really think anything here can lead back to me?" He raised an eyebrow. "Worst case the policee here and shut everything down. Spend a MINIMUM of six months filing through everything to get a few simple charges on my minions who would be out on bail and disappearing under new names before anything could happen."


    "Huh, I guess I shouldn''t have doubted you there.....but why are you showing ME this." I questioned him again. Seems like a hassle and trusting even if nothing could harm him. It would still cost some money and be a hit if his operation got taken down.


    "Alright, alright." He held his hands up. "I was wanting to recruit you, thought maybe showing you the business would be enticing, but maybe I yed this wrong."


    "Recruit me, really? You hardly know anything about me."


    "Well, when I say recruit, I meant build you into someone I could use." He leaded against a nearby desk. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find useful minions?"


    "I have met Red." I deadpanned.


    "That is true." He nodded. "But, you got a lot of Aura, and you seem like you got a good head on your shoulders. Honestly, that would take you pretty damn far in this city. But you also remind me of a young me, that''s priceless right there."


    "I think your priorities are a bit skewed." I sighed." So, what....you want someone else to watch your back? I heard you got a partner or something already."


    "Watch my back?" He let out a chuckle. "That''s a good one, kid. There''s only one person I trust with my back, and he''s standing right in front of you."


    "What about your partner?"


    "I trust the Lien I pay her with." He replied.


    "So you have no one then?"


    "I don''t need anyone else, kid. You''ll learn someday, the only person you need to care about is yourself." He shook his head like I was na?ve. "But I had another reason for wanting you here."


    "Well, I''m all ears." I crossed my arms.


    "Okay, so how serious were you about the Mistral Tournament?"


    "Eh, about half serious. I wouldn''t mind going for the prize money, why?"


    "I''m d you asked, my young prot¨¦g¨¦." He stood up, swinging his cane, hitting a ckboard that spun around showing lots of numbers and several pictures and dates.


    "Not your prot¨¦g¨¦."


    "Not with that attitude." He didn''t seem phased by my denial. "You see, the Mistral Tournament uses a certain ''system'' to randomize the fights ¨C"


    "You hacked the system and want to rig the fights, maybe set me up in a position to take advantage of it for some reason?"


    He paused, staring at me. "You just have to steal my thunder, don''t you?" He raised an eyebrow and a smirk rose up on your face. "Just what I would expect from my prot¨¦g¨¦." He nodded in approval. "Got it in one, kiddo! I just need a face to ster everywhere, and yours is decent enough. It helps that I like your style too."


    Because it''s simr to his.


    "I''m ttered." I drolled. "But isn''t there the issue of ''winning'' the fights?" I''m sure from his perspective I''m a vige boy who just got Aura.


    "I''m d you asked." He waived his hand. "You see, there are always a set number of ''Byes'' in the tournament every year, up until the top 18 that is."


    "Isn''t that going to draw a ridiculous amount of attention?"


    "That is the n." He said happily. "You see, I want you to grab all the attention for one moment." He took out a piece of paper, handing it to me. "When all the cameras are on you, I want you to say that then you can forfeit or whatever."


    I unfolded the piece of paper. "Go fuck yourself, Lil''Miss Mchite. ¨C Roman Torchwick."


    A smile crept up on Roman''s face, it was clear he was stopping himself from bursting outughing.


    "Let me get this straight, you are hacking one of the most popr sporting events of the year, just so you can tell someone to go fuck off?" I asked incredulously.


    "I know, I know." He raised his hands. "Not to mention she''s the crime boss of Mistral''srgest gang. I know the concerns you have, like what happens if you¡ª"


    "I''m in."


    Roman just looked at me in confusion. "What?"


    "I''m in." I pocketed the piece of paper.


    "She''s a very powerful person, someone who would be able to grab you way before you could get out of Mistral, and she isn''t someone to be lightly crossed."


    "You are going through so much effort just to tell someone to fuck off.....how could I not be a part of this?" I said in all honesty.


    "Kid...you really are one of a kind." He let out a deepugh, more genuine than I''ve heard before. "Seriously, I''ll make you my prot¨¦g¨¦, you''re perfect."


    "I''d rather be paid."


    "Brothers damn it, you''re perfect!" Heughed even harder. "Alright, alright. I do have ns in ce to get you out. I don''t leave my people high and dry like somemon vagrant."


    "Wait, you only need me to get to the top 16, right?"


    "Yeah, literally no work on your part."


    "What If I want to win?"


    "Kid, I know you''re feeling pumped up from getting your Aura ¨C "


    I rolled my eyes. "I''ll agree to your terms if you don''t interfere with my fighting after I say my part for you."


    He paused, mulling over my words. "Whatever kid." He shook his head. "I''m not your babysitter, she won''t be able to touch you during the tournament, too many cameras, I guess I''ll have my people ready for when you get your ass kicked."


    "I feel like there are a ton more details to work out....but why are you going through all this trouble?"


    "Because, fuck her." He replied.


    "Fair." I nodded. "But what''s the real reason?" I raised an eyebrow.


    The corners of Roman''s lips curled up. "Now, why would I go and spoil that?"


    "So, I''m basically a distraction." I mused.


    "If it makes you feel better, I will very much look forward to your role in this little job."


    "That does make me feel better."


    "Really?"


    "No, lets talk about how much I''m getting paid."


    ***


    Oh boy, Roman pulled MC in for a job, this will end well. So, i forgot to say thisst chapter regarding the ''saying Gods name'' thing with him being devil. I totally thought it was a Taboo woven into the devil bloodline, not something the Heaven system in DxD just kind of bopped devils on the head for invoking God''s name. Personally, I like the idea of a ''curse'' better, and already nned some stuff out because of that so..... Hand waiving that little tidbit.


    Anyways, If you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.


    Also, we have a discord if you want toe hang out or just ask me questions about the story. https://discord.gg/N8bDxwwapb

 Chapter 100 - 95

    <h4>Chapter 100: Chapter 95</h4>


    I woke up with a yawn, the sun just barely peeking in through the curtains. I felt my arm pop as I stretched my arms. With a thought, I brought down all the bounded fields I set around my room out of habit.


    I rented just a random hotel room for a few days, it wasn''t particrly difficult to find somewhere and my new information came in handy.


    Apparently, hotels and the like have to verify residence status or the equivalent for visitors....which I didn''t have beforest night.


    So, good timing I suppose.


    Besides my hat and clothes, I didn''t have any belongingsying about.


    Pulling my hair back, I got it how I preferred and wrapped it in the piece of cloth that Scathach gave me, giving it a little tug to make sure it was nice and snug.


    I stretched a little bit more. "I feel kinda stiff." I rolled my head.


    [Probably because you haven''t done your morning exercises in several days.]


    I paused, mulling Ddraig''s words over. "That''s a distinct possibility." I couldn''t help but agree. "And I don''t really want to get in the habit of forgoing them for long periods of time." Even if it was just swinging my sword a few hundred times, it was good to do something.


    Not anything I would essentially call training, but it kept my body warmed up.


    Without much more thought, I walked out the door and headed out the hotel. It was right at the center of arge square. People were setting up with carts and such. Fresh produce, or bread that hade almost right out of the oven. Perhaps they were advertising for shops from other parts of the city?


    [I''m curious, why are you going along with that thief''s ns?]


    I walked up to a little food cart, taking out about 20 Lien. "Half dozen, please." I ced it down, grabbing the bag of bagels I was handed. I bit into one, and it was the perfect amount of crunch and softness. "Why not?" I mumbled between chews, directed towards Ddraig.


    [Just seems odd.]


    "Well, I have a few reasons, beyond just thinking it''ll be a fun experience." I finished off my baked delight. "First, I want to see Mistral, while I can go there anymore, this is a good excuse." I waved in and out of the crowd.


    I stopped for a moment, watching a human hand a little treat down to a girl with cat ears on her head. I couldn''t help but smile at the scene.


    So far, I''ve seen several instances of overt racism, or rather speciesism, here, but that is definitely a weed reprieve. I wonder if they just call it Racism, since the term evolved so many times over my own history, it''s the first term thates to my mind anyways.


    "Second, the money would be nice." I admitted. "I''m not particrly fond of robbing dust or stuff like that frommon folks." Find me a dick and I''ll dly alleviate him of his goods, but I''m not going to hurt a decent person. And sellingrge quantities of gold just seems like more of a hassle than its worth.


    [That can''t be all, I admit those reasons are probably enough to get you moving since you''re not really focusing on anything important right now.]


    "I need data." I replied. And it was probably my biggest reason. "I could probably go find some scum somewhere, some criminals that even I would find distasteful to poke at, but I don''t really care to do that right now." I exined. "The nature of Aura and Semnces is really.....unrefined in most texts I''ve read so far. How long would it take for me to find something worth noting if this is the norm? I would rather get a good look at Aura and by extension, Semnces, being used. Where else would there be an opportunity like this?"


    [So, go beat up some kids so you can see how they bleed?]


    "I know, it excites me too." I snorted at his sarcasm.


    [We still haven''t figured out how Aura affects you overall, beyond the physical boosts it gives.]


    "That''s true too." I agreed, moving towards a familiar gate that led towards the Forever Fall Forest. "But all impressions so far show no negative effects, which isn''t surprising considering its my soul and all." But you can never be too careful with things like this.


    [I guess seeing how the locals have adapted the use of their Aura would be a good learning experience. Could probably shave of months of learning if you can gleam something worthwhile.]


    "And, honestly, I really want to see how this whole n of Roman''s turns out."


    [Really? Seems kind of tritepared to what you normally deal with.]


    "Well, not everything can be magical terrorists or legendary figures." Took out my swords, letting them hover infront of my before tapping my hand against my cheek. Which one, hm...you. I gripped Dawnbreaker in my hand and began to swing it in the air. "Besides, he interests me."


    [Thought you only like girls.]


    I couldn''t help but roll my eyes. "He wasn''t spouting crap when he said that I reminded him of himself. I do see several simrities between us." It did make me think on several things. "A different set of circumstances, a different life led, would I have turned out like him?" I took a step forward, swinging my sword overhead, before stepping back.


    [A thief?]


    "Alone." I corrected. The way he just dismissed any kind of bond...it really did make me think over some stuff myself. "I won''t deny that a lot of my actions resulted in those subconscious feelings from when I was still back in my birth world, but to see someone whom ¨C I don''t quite mirror, but still resemble ¨C turned out like that, it just makes me pause and consider my life."


    [You are being surprisingly introspective and mature.] I could hear Ddraig sigh. [I remember when you were still a brat running around like nothing could touch you, getting into all kinds of trouble.]


    "Well things happen and ¨C "


    [Oh wait, that wasst week.]


    "Yup, there it is." I deadpanned, mentallymanding one of my swords to fly off and impale a grimm that was getting too close. I shook my head at his antics, a small smile on my face. "I also wanted to see the interactions of my Aura when in conflict with another Aura user, so It justes back to more data I guess."


    [This Semnce thing sounds interesting. What do you think yours is?]


    "From what I understand, it''s suppose to be a unique expression of one''s self." I put my hand against my chest, letting my Aura flow out, appreciating the coloring aurora that spread over me. "Honestly, I was wondering if it would awaken my Power of Destruction."


    I walked over to a tree, channeling the Aura into my hand and striking it within the force of a normal human. The Aura sort of vibrated, pulsing out and destroying the trunk, the tree falling over with a loud ''crack''.


    "Reacts to intent, but hard to control." I muttered, making a mental note as I started to trying and control of my Aura to get a better idea of how to utilize it.


    [I remember you mentioning something about that beforeing here. You feel anything different with that?]


    "Maybe? It''s hard to tell because it''s not purely something connected with my soul, but with my bloodline as well." I mumbled. "I said before, it was basically a seed deep inside, unable for me to harness in any meaningful capacity." I paused for a moment choosing my words. "Using that same analogy, I think it just now germinated? I feel like I''m just missing something to actualize it, to have it grow into something."


    [Some kind of catalyst....and your Aura isn''tpatible?]


    I scratched my head, letting go of my sword as it drifted towards the others. "Not quite, I think my Aura awakening may have done the equivalent of sshing some water on the seed, but otherwise it''s not doing much."


    It was frustrating, I could almost feel it, yet it was still slightly out of my reach.


    [Maybe you need a good fight, get the blood flowing.] Ddraig replied. [Remember that big sea serpent we sawing into the city?]


    I was about to say something snarky but..... "Honestly, that sounds kind of fun." I wonder if I could get information on any big grimm near here, because fighting someone in the ocean just sounded like a bad idea with regards to logistics.


    [I wonder if there are any Dragon Grimm.]


    "That''s a thought." I agreed. "We''ve seen a few now with some pictures in books, they seem toe in all shapes and sizes."


    Well, some thoughts forter. "Roman said to head over to the Club before I leftst night. Something about gong over the final details before I''m supposed to head over to Mistral."


    [I feel like this n is going to go horribly wrong.]


    "Think I should back out?"


    [I''m actually kind of invested in it now. Way too curious to see how it all ys out, especially since your role is a distraction.]


    "First you were against it, now you''re all for it." I could only shake my head with a chuckle. "Who needs an angel or a devil on my shoulder when I have you whispering in my ear."


    [I''m not your babysitter, I''m here for the ride. Crashing and burning is still fun on the way down.]


    "Your confidence in me is astounding." I said dryly. "Well, Roman said his partner should be around this time, guess I''ll go meet her then and get a better idea of his so called ''job''."


    ***


    Noncanon Omake ¨C A secret technique. (Fate /Grand Order -- Temple of Solomon)


    My swords flew all around, only to be knocked away with rtive ease. The armor around my body receding, returning to the normal form of the Gauntlet, the boosted gear.


    I was breathing heavily at this point, the dozens of boosts I used wearing off all at once and blood was already flowing down my lips. I looked to the side, mypanions weren''t faring much better.


    "Don''t suppose you got anymand seals left?" I asked. Ritsuka Fujimaru looked at me with sadness. "What about you, miss eggnt?"


    Mashu turned her head, a mncholic smile on her face as she shook her head. She wasn''t in much better shape than I was.


    "Chaldeans." The voice of our opponent boomed over this realm that existed outside of time and space. This workshop owned by the King of Magecraft, Solomon. "This is the end, this is where you ideals and your fate has brought you. You have fought against the inevitable, it is time to end this farce."


    The 72 demon pirs of Solomon, the Human Order Correction Ritual left behind by the King of Magecraft who turned into one of humanities evils.


    A beast.


    Ars Goetia.


    The demon held out his arms, the orbs ¨C the eyes all over his body turned to face us as they discharged magical energy in the form ofsers.


    I stood up, grabbing Ascalon.


    "Foolish." Goetia sneered. "Do you think I have forgotten about your little tricks, Magician?" They arced around me, aiming right for Ritsuka.


    Mashu jumped in the way with her shield, shing against her noble phantasm, but not all decided to initiate a war of attrition with he young shielder.


    "My banner, Protect my brethren." A familiar blond head of hair stepped forward, armor almost in smithereens and body barely standing. "Luminosite Eternelle!" Jeanne D Arc mmed her war banner on the ground, a shining golden banner enveloped all of us, blocking the attack.


    "Jeanne!" Ritsuka called out as the heroic spirits'' footing began to wane.


    "Absurd." Goetia bellowed. "A heroic spirit who can barely stand wished to stand against me?" As the words left him, the pressure intensified, shattering the protections, blowing away the saintess. "Join the remainder of humanities final protectors." He dered, sweeping his arms at the bodies of heroic spirits littering the area. Some dead, some unconscious or simply unable to move, their spiritual bodies unable to cope with the damage sustained.


    I reached out towards thest master of Chaldea with a grabbing motion, ripping and tearing the space around him. The attacks moved around him in a manner that was impossible. Zig Zagging, moving back and forth at different points in time and simple appearing on the wrong side of the battlefield.


    Blood flowed out of my throat as I fell to the ground.


    "Will!" Ritsuka ran to me, catching me from falling down.


    "Once again, you are a thorn in my side ¨C ''Devil''." His eyes focusing on me.


    I stood upughing, eyes all drawn on me. "It seems I must use my final technique." I shakily stood straight.


    The beast scoffed. "You have no hope, no chance for victory. You act as these ¨C humans, foolish perseverance."


    I nced to the side, Jeanne wobbled over, using her banner as a crutch, Mashu quick to support her.


    "If you got something, now''s the time, Wilhelm." The voice of Da Vinci from chaldea sounded through the mystic code Ritsuka wore.


    "Fine. Bring about yourst shred of hope, I shall crush it all the same." He held his arms out, weing me to make a move.


    "Fine, you asked for this." With thest of my strength, I opened a portal, a connection between two vastly different dimensions.


    "I''m detecting some strange readings, what did you do!?" Da Vinci seemed erratic as a strange feeling began to fill the area.


    Goetia, for the first time, seemed....hesitant.


    I turned and looked at the portal. "Meridia, help, I''m being bullied." I called out.


    A strange silence now filled the whole realm.


    "...what?" Ritsuka voiced out.


    Seemingly answering his question, the whole ce SHOOK.


    A woman walked out of the iridescent portal, blond hair and a blue robe that hug her body in all the right ces.


    A pair of legs I would always recognize.


    Her very presence demanded attention, and her gaze turned right to me.


    "Wilhelm." Her voice icy. "It is our anniversity, you were supposed to be home hours ago." She hissed before finally realizing the state I was in. "What happened?" A softness now filled her tone.


    "I wanted to be home, but." I held my hand out, pointing towards Goeita. "He did it!"


    Her head snapped towards the Demon God, who was showing a look of fear for the first time.


    ***


    Finally reach a hundred actual chapters (Over on patreon that is.) and wanted to just right a fun little omake.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 101 - 96

    <h4>Chapter 101: Chapter 96</h4>


    I walked up to Junior''s club, something that had be almost a habit at this point. Honestly, I think I spent more time here than any other building since arriving in this world.


    I was about to go towards the doors, but arge man standing to the side stepped infront of me. I blinked for a moment before looking up at him. "Excuse me?"


    He didn''t respond, crossing his arms, clearly set on preventing me from going inside.


    "Um....Roman is expecting me?" I offered. ".....Wilhelm?" Again, he didn''t react and it was hard to gauge his reaction. "Well, I guess I''m going through you then ¨C"


    "He''s cool." Another voice snuck up behind me as in notice Miltia walking over. "Junior knows him." She said and the big guy just nodded, stepping to the side. She walked past me, going inside.


    "Hey Miltia, how you doing?" I caught the door before it could close, walking inside. There were no other people visible, almost deathly silent.


    "Tired, annoyed, and tired." She scowled, walking up to the bar.


    "Not much sleep?" I took the same seat I had sat at before multiple times.


    "It was supposed to be my day off." She scoffed, crossing her arms as she made her way behind the counter. "Junior calls me in, offers triple my rate, doesn''t tell me what''s going on, so I throw on whatever I had ande running and I look like aplete mess."


    Well, she didn''t look like a mess, but she clearly didn''t put as much effort into her dresspared to thest time we met, but.... "You look good." I offered apliment. She was wearing just normal jeans and a hoody with her hair in a loose ponytail.


    "You''re such a dork." She rolled her eyes, a small smile forming on her face. "I don''t always dress up like a peacock, y''know?"


    "I assumed it was mostly for your job." I replied. "Wouldn''t say it looked bad, but you clearly were trying to grab attention in a crowded building. You can do casual just as well as dressed up." Just because I wasn''t interested in her romantically didn''t mean I wasn''t aware of her appeal.


    She huffed, crossing her arms. It seems her default reaction topliments was to feign annoyance. "You were serious about before?"


    "What, about being friend? Why wouldn''t I be?"


    "Most guys that say stuff like that are trying to get in my pants." She eyed me skeptically. "


    "I am upfront about any of my romantic intentions." Probably wasn''t a good idea to mention that I had three girls in my life right now....and possibly a forth in the future.


    She snorted. "My job is to do rounds in a club, get guys to spend a bit more Lien in hopes of me taking them upstairs." She started rummaging for stuff under the bar, setting supplies on the counter. "I''m not a whore....but I do decide to spend a night with a guy every now and then."


    "Are you trying to scare me away?" I raised an eyebrow.


    She shrugged. "Most people don''t like to hang around people like me." He took a few bottles out, mixing them with a decent amount of skill, though no where near the level of Junior. She pour me a ss, pushing it towards me.


    I picked it up, taking a sip. "My mother was a prostitute." I stated, enjoying the taste. "I''m not going to think you''re icky because you like to have sex with someone who catches your interest."


    She just blinked at my statement, staring down at her drink before taking arge gulp. "You''re annoyingly nice." She ran the tip of her finger around the mouth of her ss. "It''s not just looking pretty. Me and Mnie also work as bouncers, making sure no guys get too frisky, or no one starts slipping anything in any drinks." She seemed to open up a little bit. "The asional Aura-useres make trouble too, so me and Mel handle those idiots."


    "I should stop by some night." I offered.


    "What, you want toe hang out, dance, maybe talk about boys with me?" She said sarcastically, but itcked any kind of venom in her tone. It seemed like it was one of her default reactions.


    "Sure, I''ll be your wingman if you want." I smirked.


    She looked a little amused by myment, probably about to say something until the front doors burst open, a familiar orange haired man walking in.


    "Kid, you made it." He eximed. Trailing a little behind him, a woman casual strode inside as well.


    She had an eye-catching hair color, half brown and half pink, yet it seemingly worked quite well on her. She was rather short, even with the heels she wore, and a parasol in her hand.


    "Let me introduce you to my partner in crime ¨C Neopolitan, or just Neo for shot." His partner gave a little wave. "She doesn''t speak." He added.


    "Like the ice cream?" I raised an eyebrow.


    The little girl smirked, and the area around her shattered, disappearing. I blinked for a moment, gripping my drink tightly right as another hand reached for it. The seat next to me shattered like ss, the girl appearing, trying to steal my drink from me.


    "Huh, good instincts." Romanmented, earning a pout from his partner.


    "Shorty." Miltia just scowled.


    Neo turned to her, gestured with her hands and Miltia looked pale, turning away with a huff.


    "Well..." Roman approached, leaning against the counter. "She hasn''t stabbed you, that''s always a good sign."


    I eyed Neo who blinked innocently.


    "If you''re done drinking all my alcohol, we have a job to discuss." Junior''s voice carried over the area, standing at the doorway into his back room


    "Alright, front and center, kiddo, time to put your big boy pants on, you''re about to hit the big times." Roman pped my back as he went to the back, Neo giving me a wink as she skipped behind.


    Technically, I havn''t even done the small time stuff yet.


    "Well, that was interesting."


    "Be careful with Neo, she''s a lot stronger than she looks." Meltia scowled. "Don''t believe her innocent little girl act."


    "Little girl? With those hips, she''s definitely a woman."


    Meltia stopped for a moment, looking at me in surprise.


    "What?" I asked her in confusion.


    Her lips curled up slightly. "Didn''t expect something like that from such a dork."


    "What, didn''t expect me to admire the view?" I raised an eyebrow.


    She shrugged. "You came off as the goody two-shoes type, didn''t know your brain could even think like that."


    "Wow, do I really give off that vibe?" I was honestly surprised.


    She let out augh. "Come on, choir boy, Junior''s waiting."


    ***


    "Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen." Roman pped his hands, grabbing everyone''s attention.


    I looked around the room, it was me, Roman, Junior, Mnie, Meltia, and Neo all sitting around a white board.


    "The name of the game is robbery." He swept his gaze around. "Anyone who doesn''t want to be involved, get the fuck out now."


    No one moved, but Mnie made a noise to draw attention. "Who is he and why is he here?" She gestured to me.


    "Actually, that''s a good question." I agreed, much to Mnie''s bemusement.


    "Alright, that''s fair." Roman nodded. "Kid here is a distraction. Honestly, anyone could fill his role, but it''s hard to find someone with his specialty."


    "Punchable face?" Meltia offered.


    Roman smirked, snapping his fingers. "Right you are."


    "Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes. "Can you exin properly."


    "Buzzkill." Roman moved on easily enough. "Alright, so kid here is going to be our patsy to draw attention in the Mistral Tournamenting up. We''re going to Rig the thing up until the top 16, giving him a free win each time. I chose him, because he looks about the right age and within arms reach, I had ckmail, and he seemed smart enough not to fuck it up, which admittedly, is a low bar that many of our minions can''t seem to clear."


    "That''s going to be a lot of attention on him." Junior noted. "I hope I''m paying for more than just some spectacle."


    Ah, was Junior bankrolling this heist?


    "That''s part of the n, and where I need you lot toe in. See, you all are going to promote him."


    Junior looked unamused. "What?"


    "Promote him, put up fliers, tell everyone about the kid who came from ''your'' club that''s going topete." Roman flourished his hands for added effect.


    "Why?" Junior asked.


    "We need Lil''miss Mchite''s spies to notice and give the bossdy time to contemte." Roman exined.


    "Mother?" Meltia looked confused.


    "Wait, mother? You want to fuck with their mom?" I interjected.


    "Oh, we''re doing a job that''s going to piss off ''that woman''?" Mnie picked at her nails. She tried to look uninterested, but the look in her eyes betrayed that.


    Not the reaction I expected with their mother came up, but I can''t exactly toss stones from my ss house over here.


    "Righto, stop skipping ahead." Roman gave me a look. "So, Mchite senior still has spies around to watch us, obviously they can''t really do anything in your turf, Junior."


    Junior just grunted and I realized that he was probably the ''boss'' around these parts and not merely an information broker.


    "As I was saying." Roman continued. "Promote him enough to grab her attention. She''ll be focused on why you¡ª" He pointed towards Junior. "Would bother with a nobody like him." He then pointed towards me. "Of course she''s going to investigate since her spies will no doubt reported to her that I''ve been walking in and out of here a lot more recently."


    "So, you want mother''s eyes on you, why?" Melita asked.


    "I''m d you asked." He snapped his fingers, pointing towards the white board. "Neo, do your thing." The area around the board shattered, and was reced with pictures and such all over. His cane pped at the top corner. "The kid is going to give a signal, one that would force the spider bitch to act. At that time, we''re hitting her two biggest stashes while all her people try to grab the one who pushed her face in the mud for the whole world to see."


    Ah, she would be forced to act to save face.


    "YOU KNOW MOTHER''S STASHES?" Mnie stood up, clear surprise on her face.


    Roman took out a cigar, lighting it up with a smirk. "Honey, who do you think I am?"


    "Where do wee in?" Mnie asked, clearly still excited at the prospect.


    "Muscle" Roman said bluntly. "Believe me when I say, this is going to be a hot exit. Mchite senior holds half of Mistral by the balls, you better believe she''ll ground all outgoing bullheads to stop us. I need you both to keep our getaway clean of pests."


    "Fine." Mnie sat back down. "My cut better be worth it."


    "How far away is the Bullhead from the stashes?" I asked, earning everyone''s attention.


    "Good question kid." Roman nodded in approval. "The answer is ¨C too damn far."


    "How long can she ground all the bullheads?"


    Roman looked thoughtful. "A couple hours, give or take."


    "Wouldn''t it be better to just go to ground for a bit, wait for her hold to wane? Even if the authorities are in her pocket, they can''t keep inter kingdom flights grounded too long, wouldn''t that open up issues with other kingdoms to makements?" I wasn''t too aware of interkingdom politics, but it seemed unwise for Mistral''s government to get any kind of k due to her personal issues on an international scale.


    "Me and Neo would be fine, the sisters would be fine too, but you''ll be all alone, kid."


    "Can she even touch me while the tournament is going on?"


    "Very unlikely, too many cameras, and the government woulde down on her hard for such an overt move on her part. Hell, if the tournament is seen as ''unsafe'' by other Kingdoms...." Roman justughed at the thought and I could fill in the gaps.


    "There you have it, just let me have a go, worst case I''m fucked and you can get out of there without me." I mean, the absolute worse case, I could always just portal back to Vale, but I didn''t want to really reveal that at the moment.


    Roman gave me an appraising look. "You got balls, kid, I''ll give you that." He chuckled. "Alright, if you want to y it like that, it''s your ass." He shook his head. "Alright, the big picture is painted, time to settle the details."


    ***


    Neo arrives, and MC is going to have some fun in Mistral.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 102 - 97

    <h4>Chapter 102: Chapter 97</h4>


    "Right, right now turn to your left." Roman held a camera, snapping pictures.


    "Like this?" I asked.


    "Good, thedies will love this, now why don''t you give a little pout."


    "Wait, what?"


    "Why don''t we try something else." Roman tapped his cheek. "Actually, lets lose the shirt."


    "You''re fucking with me." I deadpanned.


    Roman snorted,ughter escaping his lips. I looked around to see Junior cracking a smile and Miltia with her sister giggling.


    "What? Me? Why, the insinuation leaves me ¨C "


    "Yeah, fuck off." I walked over to the bar, hopping into my seat. "How long ago was he finished?" I asked.


    "About two hours." Miltia answered.


    "What? We''ve barely been here for that long."


    "Roman is a surprisingly good photographer, his first couple shots turned out great, the people printing the posters should have the first stack done any time."


    "DICK." I shouted towards Roman.


    He of course responded with a cheeky smile and wave.


    "Got my people working the online angle too." Junior cleaning one of his sses, still clearly amused. "By the end of the day, half the city will know your name and face. Walter Howard Schweiontorg, the name will be on everyone''s lips."


    "Oh fuck off, you know what my name is." I rolled my eyes, much to hisughter. "What happened to Neo?" I looked around the room.


    "Shorty went to grab some stuff." Mnie replied, filing her nails. "She said ¨C wrote something about you needing a proper weapon."


    "I have a ¨C " I paused staring up as the air cracked and shattered, Neo presenting herself with re, holding something in her hands.


    There was a pregnant silence that took over the whole room, everyone staring at what Neo had brought in.


    "I feel attacked right now."


    At that, nearly everyone broke downughing as Neo wiggled the giant purple Dildo, presumably what was supposed to be my ''weapon''. It even had a giant handle sticking out so you could ''wield it'' with two hands.


    "You know what? I''m going to shout during every match, that Roman Torchwick is my sponsor as I waive that giant ass dildo around."


    Neo silentlyughed as she set it on the counter, pulling up a seat.


    "Alright, kid. Don''t'' get your panties in a twist." Roman lit his signature cigar, turning towards Neo. "How''s the stuffing?"


    Neo started gesturing with her hands, huffing a little then rolled her eyes.


    "Unfortunate, but quality takes time." Roman replied, seemingly able to understand her. He turned towards Junior. "Looks like your guys are already putting up the posters around town."


    "What about the ''stuff.''" Junior said with the subtlety of a bulldozer.


    "As Military Grade Dust Bombs." Roman Smirked. "Got them on the way, should be arriving in the next couple days."


    Junior grunted. "This better be worth it, I''m dropping a lot of Lien to fund this job of yours." He shook his head. "Not to mention all the hardware upgrades I''m giving to my boys to keep the Spider bitch out of the city once everything settles."


    "Even if we only hit one stash house, it would be more than worth it." Roman stated. "I saw her books once, think 10 years of profits all nicely stocked away for a rainy day."


    Junior grunted a nomittal answer. "Atleast we can keep going with the bets."


    "Even if we didn''t make any money, would be best to keep doing it. Charades and all that." Roman nodded.


    "Ugh, this is boring, I''m gonna go shopping." Miltia stood up, ignoring the conversation Roman and Junior were having


    "Want somepany?" I asked, thinking of stepping away myself. This part didn''t really concern me.


    "Whatever." She said immediately, but the smallest amount of a smile appeared on her face.


    ***


    "What about this one?" Miltia held up a tank top.


    "Color good, design is meh." I shook my head. Catching out of the corner of my eye, a kid probably around Kunou''s age was pointing to me excitedly and then pointing at a nearby poster. I gave him a little wave, much to his amusement.


    Junior''s men work fast, I had seen dozens of posters up already as well as several more walking around. Their ''uniforms'' were pretty easy to spot in a crowd. I think I may have underestimated how popr this tournament was.


    I turned back to the rack of clothes. "What about this." I pulled another shirt off the rack, holding it up to her.


    "Really?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Mmm, the asymmetry works well on you, itpliments your hair, and the color matches your eyes." I scrunched my nose, thinking it over. "Would go well with pretty much any kind of jeans, though shoes are an issue."


    She grabbed it, holding it up to herself as she eyed a mirror a few feet away. "It really does." She seemed surprised. "It''s weird how you''re good at this."


    "At looking good?" I raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen me?" I waived my hands, gesturing to my clothes for added effect.


    She let out a small little snort, her lips curling up. "You really do take after Roman."


    "I choose to take that as apliment."


    "It wasn''t."


    "Toote, I have taken your words as praise."


    "Brothers, you''re insufferable just like him."


    "Stop my ego can only get so big."


    She scoffed, crossing her arms before reaching for another article of clothing. "What about this blue one?"


    "Nah, red is definitely your color, matches yourplexion more." I shook my head. "But you already knew that."


    "Wanted a boy''s perspective." She shrugged, putting it back. "Anything you want to do after this?"


    "I got nothing particr I''m keen on doing." I thought it over. "Can always do lunch or something after."


    "I know a good sushi ce nearby." She mumbled. "You do know that the tournament is only like a week away, right?"


    "Yeah, I was there for the meeting." I rolled my eyes.


    "No, you idiot, I mean you''re going to be fighting some of remnant''s best for the age group. You''ve only had your aura for like a week, and you don''t even have a weapon!"


    Huh, was she holding this in for awhile? I couldn''t help but smile at her worried expression. "I''m acting like this, because I have confidence in myself."


    She just scowled again. "There''s a big difference between the thugs running around with Aura and the ones being trained in schools."


    "I have a weapon, and I have been heavily trained. Just because I didn''t have Aura before doesn''t mean I''m weak." I calmly replied.


    "Whatever." She didn''t seem to believe me, but she dropped it. "Just....don''t get caught and die or something." I don''t she was particrly used to having conversations like this.


    "And it''s not like I won''t be preparing." I stated. "I was going to go over the rule book, and maybe procure some stuff to take with me." I saw that Dust came in arger crystallized form opposed to the grounded variety I had on me. More expensive, but it should be much more power.


    It gave me...many ideas.


    Well, we turned to walk towards the register, when a familiar pair of bunny ears caught my attention.


    "Come on, Vel, this would be cute on you." A girl with a peculiar style was talking with the bunny. Why she was wearing sunsses indoors, I couldn''t say.


    Reminded me of that edgy kid back in my birth world


    "Coco! I can''t.....that barely covers my chest."


    "Girl, you need to show off your assets." Her head turned , staring at me. "This would be cute, right?" The aforementioned Coco seemed to hold up the shirt for me to see. "Makes her boobs look nice and perky, right?"


    "Coco!" Velvet turned a bright shade of red.


    "Maybe if she wants to turn tricks on the corner." Miltia interjected.


    Coco went silent, staring at mypanion. "Of course, you would know all about that." Coco harrumphed, "Almost didn''t recognize you without that hideous thing you call a dress on."


    "Atleast I''m noticeable, you look like an extra in a D-list action movie."


    "Noticeable like a clown at a birthday party."


    I picked up the distaste Miltia had for this girl almost immediately. No idea what was going on between them, but sides were easy to choose, so I spoke up. "Really? The girl wearing a beret is going to throw shade?"


    Coco''s head snapped to me, eyeing me up and down. "A vest and tie, what century is this supposed to be? My grandfather wore something like that when I visited himst week."


    "It''s called style, maybe you should ask him for advice." I countered.


    "Style!? Do you have any idea how hard it was to find an outfit that looks good with a beret?" She pulled on her shirt for added effect.


    "It must be pretty hard if you still haven''t found one." I continued. "You look like you''re trying to tell the world you aren''t a conformist, yet thrive on all the attention they give you. The only way you could look any more ''original'' is if you wore sunsses indoors...oh wait."


    Her mouth gaped, her sunsses sliding down her nose. I adjusted my tie and straightened my cor, turning my nose up at her before leaving, Miltia following behind me.


    Miltia started to giggle almost uncontrobly. "Hate that bitch." She managed to get out betweenughs. "Came into the club a few times and just starts trash talking everyone''s clothes. Thinks because her parents are rich, and she spends their money to buy boutiques and fashion stores that she''s better than everyone."


    Well, that answers that question. "Met her friend before, nice girl, bit of a push over though."


    "The bunny faunus?" Miltia asked.


    "Mmm, she was a waiter at a nice caf¨¦ I visited. Though I probably shouldn''t go back there."


    "What happened?"


    "Beat up some idiots, stole their wallets." That was a fun morning.


    Miltia just blinked beforeughing again.


    "Oh, I just had a thought." I stopped my steps. "Would you happen to know somewhere to make scabbards?" If I didn''t want to show off my storage ring, I would need to carry Mirage on me, and my favored sword deserves a good home.


    ***


    MC spending some time with Miltia before doing some important stuff, the tournament a few days away. Thought about how a meeting between MC and Coco would go, and i realized they would not get along. Coco is such a stickler for modern fashion she wouldn''t put up with Mc''s particr style.


    Alright, so starting next week, I''m probably going to stop posting on Wednesdays so i have a mid-week break from writing.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone. Tournament has started over there.

 Chapter 103 - 98

    <h4>Chapter 103: Chapter 98</h4>


    "This is the third one." Miltia Lead more towards another store. She was getting....not annoyed, but not really ''happy'' I suppose? But she was happily swinging another new bag in her hand. Some kind of ''oil'' for keeping her ''ws'' nice and clean.


    She utilizes a type of ws inbat, interesting in of itself.


    The shop looked a bit older than the others, not unkept, but definitely had seen a lot of years.


    We walked in, greeted by the sound of a bell atop the door to alert the owner to customers.


    The man behind the counter was an older gentleman, but he gave a genuine smile when we walked in. "What can I do for you youngsters."


    "He needs a sheath for his imaginary sword." Miltia chimed in, still not believing me.


    "Half of what she said is true." I added. "Do you make customized orders?"


    He sat up from his stool behind the counter, stretching his back a little. "It''s been awhile since I''ve had someone wanting me to make a design from scratch." He chuckled. "Kids these days with their ''mechashift'' weapons don''t seem to appreciate the basics."


    "I can see the utility, but I''m satisfied with just a sword." I nodded. I wasn''t too sold on the mechashift weapons these people usually used, but I could understand where the idea came from and why it was so poprized. It simply wasn''t my cup of tea.


    As a curiosity, I wouldn''t mind having one created, but I couldn''t see utilizing it any a true fight.


    "Well, I have some old works I did, see if anything catches your eye." He slowly bent down, pulling a few items from under the counter.


    Everything he set on the table weren''t all scabbards. There werebat boots, bags, and other items that one may take intobat in the wilds. But, it was a good idea to see his particr skills and style he predominantly used.


    "Oh!" I eximed. "This color is perfect, matches the hilt." I held out a scabbard he set on the table, made for a sword much wider than my own. "What about engravings?"


    "I may be old, but my hands are till steady enough to decorate it how you want." He smiled.


    "What do you think?" I held It up for Miltia to see.


    "Hard to judge without a sword." She rolled her eyes.


    "Fine, fine." I might as well show her. "Just keep it a secret for now."


    "What are ¨C"


    I flipped my hand over, allowing Mirage to appear in my hand.


    Miltia, just stared at me for a moment, blinking in confusion.


    "What a beautiful weapon." The old man stated.


    "Think you can do something with this?"


    "I would be overjoyed." He nodded enthusiastically.


    "You already discovered your semnce?!" Miltia practically shout out.


    I pursed my lips. "Toot toot, no faith in me." Not really, but I didn''t want to reveal all my secrets just yet.


    "Well, maybe you won''t get your ass handed to you so badly now." She crossed her arms with a huff.


    I ignored her turning to the shop keep. "Think you can have this done in a few days? I need it to be ready for the Mistral Tournament."


    "You''re going topete?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "You''re looking at the next Champion" I waived my arms for emphasis.


    "That oness is fairly good, what was her name again....?" The old man lightly replied as I set my sword down to allow him to get measurements.


    "The ''invincible girl''?" Miltia added air quotes with a smalls scowl.


    "That''s the one, she''s won almost all her matches in the past with rtive ease."


    "Should be fun." I smiled.


    "Whatever, not me who''s going to be humiliated infront of all of Remnant." Miltia said.


    "Truly, your support gives me the confidence to win." I drawled.


    "Regardless, I''ll need to take a few more measurements." The old man chimed in. "I can have this made in a couple days if all goes well."


    "Cutting it close." Miltia crossed her arms. "The Tournament is only a few days away, and we have to get you there early to register and all that."


    "To see one of my creations on a stage like that, these old hands will get the job done in time."


    I can''t wait. I hadn''t particrly needed a sheath previously, but I didn''t want to be taking my sword out of my ring every time I needed it. And carrying a weapon open like that would just be rude, not to mention it would make me look so tasteless.


    Getting everything set up, me and Miltia finally left the quaint little shop. "How are things on your end, need to get anything ready?" It wouldn''t be odd for me to assume they needed a lot of supplies for their end as well.


    "Mel should be handling ¨C " She paused. "Why would I trust her to deal with that?" She scowled, talking to herself.


    "Gotta run some errands?"


    She huffed in annoyance. "Mnie always waits to thest minute to do anything. I should probably check to make sure we got everything ready. Besides, Junior''s footing the bill.


    "Alright, it was fun, we should do this again sometime."


    She turned to me briefly. "I didn''t hate it." She stated. But from what I knew of her so far, that seemed like praise from her.


    As she left, I turned and walked in the other direction, finding a secluded area to pull out my scroll. I brought up a map of Remnant.


    [Whatcha doin?] Ddraig asked.


    "I was thinking about paying a visit to Mistral, since I won''t really have time while the tournament is going one, just wanted to walk around for a bit."


    [Is that a good idea?]


    I just shrugged. "It shouldn''t be a big deal, so what if people see me then recognize meter at the tournament? Besides, I doubt anyone would care I''m there before the tournament starts and I start grabbing attention." Besides, I would be back in a few hours, no harm, no foul.


    I already have the calctions stored for this world, it''s just a matter of eyeing where I want to end up with a long-range portal like this. Despite what one may think I don''t just will it to open where I ''want'' to go, there are a lot of variables to consider if I hadn''t already established the ce as a ''go to'' by being there before.


    That''s not to say I can''t just pop in ces I''ve never been before, but it takes a bit more precision to urately appear.


    "Well, here we go." I shed open a portal and walked through.


    ***


    "Wow." I couldn''t help but blurt out, standing on the side of a cliff as I overlooked the aforementioned Mistral.


    It was gorgeous.


    Arge city built into the side of a mountain. The architecture was reminiscent of eastern designs, but I could also see some Greek and roman added in.


    "This alone made the trip worth it." I took out my scroll and started snapping pictures. "Can''t wait to show these off when I go back home."


    Descending the little cliff I was on, it wasn''t particrly difficult to make my way in the city, and boy was it bustling with activity.


    The ce was clearly in celebration mode. Posters everywhere, decorations up and about, I also saw promotions for certainpetitors.


    Guess this would be considered one of those home field advantages.


    "Wow, even the food is simr." I muttered, walking past a Ramen stand.


    [It''s surprising how much some of the stuff here mirrors a world entirely different from theirs.]


    "An infinite universe, applied to the greater multiverse." I shrugged. There was the theory that the collective unconscious of humanity permeated beyond just the cluster of Earth''s that ya was personified in. Sort of like an unconscious psychic connection that humanity had with its counterparts across dimensions. Whether it was true or not was anyone''s guess, but something seemed to connect humanity as a greater whole.


    [Anything that can be imagined is happening somewhere at some time?]


    "Pretty much." I nodded. "Creation is full of wonderful and unimaginable things, this is mundane byparison." Not that it wasn''t interesting.


    Ooh.


    I paused, looking at someone handing out fliers. "Can I have one?" I walked up to the kid who looked to be around 17 to 18.


    "We''re doing tours from 12:00 to 3:00." He handed me the paper.


    Reading it over, I couldn''t help but have my lips curl up in a smile.


    The academy here ¨C Haven Academy, was doing tours. Perhaps in an attempt to bring in talent from other kingdoms?


    I was actually quite interested in one of these supposed ''Huntsman Academies''. I pulled out my scroll and checked the time.


    "Should have a couple more hours, but I guess I''ll head there now and maybe grab a bite to eat afterwards." I spoke quietly to myself, looking up to the peak of the city where I saw the Academy towering over everything.


    The flier said to just head up and I would be weed.


    It was a nice little walk through the city, the hike up top did briefly give me some shbacks to thend of shadows and that despicable mountain I climbed, but otherwise, it was still a very beautiful scene.


    And I wasn''t the only person making the little trek. Of course, I could see there were other avenues to approach, a road that winded down the little peak that vehicles were driving down. I even saw a Bullhead fly up andnd on a tform especially for aircraft.


    But I chose just to take the stairs.


    And boy were there a lot of them.


    Thankfully, I was more than ustomed to something of this level. Frankly, it didn''t even match my morning routine.


    And it was amusing to see all the other guests going up and down, it was quite lively.


    "Right this way, the next tour will begin shorts, if you could all gather in the Grand Hall." A women shouted at the entrance of the gate, perhaps a teacher judging by her age.


    She ushered everyone forwards towards arge building.


    Great Hall was probably an apt name, it was very grandiose. The whole school was very well designed, the just little peaks I took around the area made for a very ttering picture for the academy as a whole.


    I followed a few more heads inside, children and adults looking around with wonder. I couldn''t help but feel something simr. While I wasn''t as in ''awe'' due to the nature of the academy, I was more so appreciating the whole thing as an outsider to this world.


    I walked around a bit, admiring everything until my eyes fell on arge statute that decorated the center of the hall.


    Something pulled on my attention.


    I walked over, cing my hand on it and I felt the faintest feeling of magical energy. Which wasn''t too strange considering the nature of the Dust here, but this thing didn''t look like it had any contact with dust....


    "Alright, everyone we''re about to begin the next tour!" A peppy voice boomed over the building, drawing everyone''s attention.


    I nced back at the statue and hesitantly wove an illusion over myself, watching everyone file out of the building.


    [You think something is here?]


    "Call it instinct." I replied, undoing my little illusion as everyone left. "Maybe it''s nothing, but a mystery is fun to explore."


    I put my hand back on the statue, pulsing magical energy into it. No immediate reaction but I was mildly surprised to find out that the thing was an elevator.


    Taking another look around, and seeing the ce empty, swiped Mirage again, appearing out under the thing in the elevator''s shaft as I started to fall a long distance down.


    My wings unfurled to catch myself,nding quietly at the base near argeke. The tform Inded on was basically connected to arge rock with big tree growing out of it, I looked up the elevator shaft to see the whole thing surrounded by arge cavern.


    I must have been way under the city at this point.


    "Fascinating." I mumbled, taking in my surroundings. " The magical energy here is much more concentrated."


    [This ce gives a strange feeling.]


    "Yeah, something is here." I took a step forward on the tform I found myself on. At the other end, there was a strange orange door. The tform underneath me began to light up, illuminating the whole area. I approached the door, and was surprised to see it not connected to anything, merely sitting perfectly on that location.


    I poked it, prodded it, and nothing happened.


    "Interesting." I tapped my chin.


    [what did you discover?]


    "I think this leads to another realm, or another sub dimension. The feeling is simr to that Dimension Lost Sacred Gear." I hummed.


    [Can''t you break into it then?]


    "Of course, I just wanted to examine it first." I replied. "It''s not every day I can inspect sub spaces created through magical means." The amount of magical energy rolling off this thing, it was clear where its originy.


    I took out Zelretch''s trusty notebook and began to take a few notes, snapping a picture for future reference. "The old man would probably find this interesting too. He didn''t see any magical sources from his own peeks here."


    "Welp, here we go." I ced my hand on the ''gateway''. It didn''t seem to want to budge. "Arrogant little thing." I muttered. There appeared to be a sort of magical ''locking'' mechanism ced, trying to stop me from forcibly activating it.


    I pulled on the Kaleidoscope, oveying the coordinates for the dimension ontop of the door, basically bypassing any seals or locks the creator put on it. Essentially, I used the door as a reference to open a window.


    Could I have just blown through the locks? Sure, but I didn''t know what was on the other side and didn''t want to be responsible for any kind of catastrophe.


    The door began to swirl with the familiar iridescent colors I was used to at this point. I smugly walked through the portal, getting hit by the dry air of a desert, sand basically floating in the air.


    [This is amazing.] Ddraig looked awed by what we saw. [An entire desert inside this ce?]


    I shared simr thoughts. "This would not have been easy to create by the average mage." I couldn''t help but admire how thoroughly this sub dimension was anchored to the real world. It was not at all breaking apart, nor was it unsteady in the slightest. "I am genuinely impressed, the person who made this must have been a genius. This ce would easily be able tost for another thousand years without any interference." Probably more than that, but it was my conservative guess. Hell, it would probably survive until the end of this for good.


    [So, you going to check that thing out?]


    I stopped my admiring, turning towards the ''thing'' he was referring to.


    There was a stone pedestal off to the side, and a very particr object ontop of it. Adorned with gold and a glowing blue ss center.


    Walking over to it, there seemed to be no traps of anything. I suppose the creator of this ce assumed no one could get inside without his ''permission''?


    "Looks like....antern¡ªamp of some sort?" I touched it gently, only to blink in confusion. "This is not a normal magical item." Yeah, no way was this just a mystic code or something simr. "What do you think, Ddraig?"


    [Divine.] He said simply.


    "You think this thing is divine in origin?" I gently ced my hand on it again. "Honestly, it doesn''t give me that overbearing feeling a divine construct would, but then again, Dawnbreaker is also divine in origin, even it was meant for mortal hands." Perhaps this was simr then?


    I pulsed my magical energy inside of it and was hit with immediate resistance, actually, it felt like something looked back at me.


    I reeled back in surprise as the object began to glow bright. A visible magical phenomenon urred where magical energy exploded out.


    A woman appeared, floating above themp. Gold chains rattled on her limbs, blue skin drew my attention, but most importantly.


    "Why are you naked?" I couldn''t help but ask the floating woman.


    Seemingly ignoring my question, she looked down at me with the most confused face I''ve ever seen. "Who are you? How have I never seen you before?"


    ***


    Tournament starts in a few chapters, though MC finally touches on his Power of Destruction next chapter.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 104 - 99

    <h4>Chapter 104: Chapter 99</h4>


    "Isn''t it polite to introduce yourself first before demanding someone''s name?" I looked at this ''genie'' incredulously.


    She just blinked at me in confusion, staring intently as if my face would give away some kind of secret. "I am Jinn, spirit of the Relic of Knowledge." She hovered over themp, seemingly regaining herposure as she crossed her legs and crossed her arms over her breasts.


    "Kay."


    She frowned, as if to expect some other kind of reaction. "Who are you, why can I not see you?" She slowly descended,nding in front of me.


    "First name -- Bob,st name -- The Builder." I was curious what she meant by not being able to see me, though I had some guesses if she was the spirit of this so called ''Relic of Knowledge''. Probably not the best idea to say my name to her before I know what''s going on.


    "No, you''re not." She rubbed her temples, ignoring what ridiculous name I gave her. "You are ¨C y-you¡ªW¡ªWil¡ª" Her eyes began to glow brightly as she stared at me. I could practically taste the magical power flowing around her. "You are infinite." Her eyes rolled back, and she went limp. I quickly moved to catch her, her legs wobbly as she seemed to need a moment to regain her focus. Her eyes unzed, set on me again as her hand hesitantly reached out to cup my cheek. "You''re real." She whispered, as she went to poke my arm and chest.


    "I would hope so."


    She just giggled to herself as her focus drifted back to me and she calmed down. "How did you get here?"


    "Well, I was looking for the restroom, and one thing led to another, here I was."


    She gave me a deadpanned look. "You came to this dimension by ident?" She said dryly.


    "Yup." No idea what she''s talking about.


    "You''re lying." She stated, tilting her head. "I''m being lied to." She whispered to herself again, turning back to me. "Do it again."


    "Do what?" I just blinked in confusion.


    "Lie to me."


    "...I''m a giant purple typus?"


    She let out a cute little giggle. "I can''t tell if you''re speaking the truth or not, I don''t know."


    "I am missing context here." I interjected on her littleughing fit.


    She smiled, turning towards me again. "I am Jinn, Spirit for the relic of Knowledge. I know everything past and present. Every century I can answer three questions about anything not pertaining to the future, two questions remain."


    "Oh." Well, that isn''t good.


    "And you, are unknown to me." Her face invaded my personal space. "There are only two individuals that I cannot see, I cannot ''hear''. You are most certainly not one of the brother gods."


    Welp, looks like you were right Ddraig.


    [Knew it.]


    How much you want to bet these gods are responsible for why the world is fucked up?


    [Suckers bet.]


    "So, like, you can hear people''s thoughts?" She had a form of irvoyance I guess, to see everything that''s going on in the world.


    "I know everything past and present."


    "And you can''t hear my thoughts."


    "Correct."


    "Oh, that''s good, would be awkward otherwise."


    "I don''t have to read your thoughts to know what you''re thinking." She rolled her eyes, her arms pushing against her breasts for added effect.


    "That''s fair." I nodded.


    They were very nice boobs.


    "I have two questions remaining for this Century, you may ask your questions."


    "I''m guessing that I have to ''intend'' to use said questions, otherwise they would have been used up already."


    "That is correct." She stated.


    "Huh, are you allowed to just tell me whatever you want?" If so, that would be a big loophole.


    "I am not allowed to divulge information unknown to you, other than my purpose and my origin and anything that corresponds to my use." She iterated.


    "That seems.....mildly exploitable if you were keen to." I pointed out, earning a small smirk from her. "But I don''t really have any questions that need the use of magic to answer right now." I would think this over a bit, see if anything stuck out. I was not really hung up on any particr issue that needed this method to deliver an answer. "I''ll see youter." I waived at her, turning around, only for her to block my way.


    Probably best to not mess around with this thing if I don''t need to.


    "You''re leaving?"


    "Uh...yes? ces to be, people to see."


    "And you aren''t taking me?" She gestured towards the supposed Relic.


    "I hadn''t nned on it." Felt weird to take it now.....maybe if it were a weapon or something I would be more enthused, but it''s probably useless outside of Remnant.


    "Take me with you." She said sternly.


    "That seems like more trouble than its worth." I replied. "I hesitate to ask why you want toe with me."


    "How long do you think this dimension has existed? How long do you think it has been since another person has found and used me?" She asked, clearly getting around the issue of telling me information I ''wouldn''t know''.


    "So, you''re lonely here?" I hazarded a guess.


    "I looked at you." She pushed her forehead against mine, staring into my eyes. "So many colors, Remnant is just one tiny little speck."


    My face hardened, realizing what she was talking about. "You tried to peek at something you shouldn''t have." My eyes narrowed at her.


    She hesitated for a moment, stepping back. "I am Jinn, Spirit for the Relic of Knowledge, I am supposed to ''know everything''. Never before have I not known something unless it was the hands of my creators, now something like ''that'' was dangled infront of me..." She sounded excited.


    "What exactly are you trying to say?"


    "Take me with you." She reiterated.


    I think I understood what she wanted. "You don''t just mean from this ce, do you?"


    "I don''t know what I saw, but there was so much, and I want to know it all." She moved her arms, letting me see her body fully. "Anything you want, I''ll give it to you, just please take me with you."


    This is not how I expected today go. I guess she more or less parsed that I''m not from ''around here'', even if she couldn''t quite understand what she peeked at. And how she did that in the first ce? Some kind of divine magics woven into her creation, perhaps.


    I rubbed my temples, forcing myself to look away.


    [Are you going to take her?] Ddraig asked.


    I''m considering it.


    [Should I remind you not to think with your dick?]


    Honestly, I''m not.... I actually have an idea of how she would be useful. My home needs something to hold together the magics to ovey it on multiple world-lines. That Lamp is holding this dimension together, my guess is that it would work for my needs. And from what she''s talking about, I don''t think she would mind looking after everything as long as she can continue to learn new things.


    [So, you want her as what, your maid?]


    If she''s fine with that? And that''s a bit pedanticpared to what I exined.


    [And you don''t think there would be any issues in taking her with us?]


    I have no idea what she was created for, what her true purpose is beyond just answering these ''questions''. But, she''s a sapient creature, a ''person'' who expressed her own will, if this is what she wants and she''s okay with the terms, I would have a clear conscious in anything that happens afterwards.


    I turned back towards Jinn. "Are you''re not abandoning your duty by wanting toe with me?" Honestly had no idea what she was intended for, so I was just taking a shot in the dark here.


    "I am only obligated to answer questions when the quota is avable for whoever holds the relic." She stated.


    I rubbed my chin at her words. "So as long as I keep your ''answers'' at 0, that means no one would ever be able to force something out of you." She smiled brightly at my statement as I paced lightly around the area, thinking this through.


    Admittedly, she checked quite a few of my boxes....


    Fuck it, what am I even being hesitant for? "I''m a greedy person." I turned my gaze back at her. "Once you agree to this, you''ll be mine and I don''t give up what''s mine." I made sure she knew what she was getting into.


    "I already said I would give you everything." She smiled. "Take me with you. I want to see everything, know everything out there."


    "Fine." I conceded. "I''ll have a job for you soon, for now, return to the relic, I''ll take it with me."


    She gave me a smile, quickly cing her lips against my cheek before dissipating and turning into smoke that got swept back up into themp. I didn''t take it yet, less this dimensione crashing down on me.


    [I have a thought.]


    "Is it about how I just epted a genie as my employee?"


    [No, its something else.] Ddraig spoke. [I remember looking at the book you read, the one about the Kingdoms.]


    "Yeah?"


    [Well, wasn''t the symbol of this kingdom a Lamp.....simrly to this one you just obtained?]


    "You don''t think....?" I mean, it could be a coincidence. But, then again, it is a divinely created item, hidden under the city of the kingdom that uses it as a symbol....


    [And there was one Kingdom whose symbol was a sword.]


    "Oh." I took a moment to contemte what he just said. "Well, Ddraig, I think I should pay a visit to Vacuo." Coincidence or not, definitely going to check this out. The relic was on the kingdom''s g, under the kingdom''s Academy. Other Kingdoms have objects on their gs as well, each also having a huge Academy....not a big leap in logic.


    [Ah, that was the Kingdom''s name.]


    "Yup, I feel like there are some very educational reasons that I can''t care to make up to rationalize stealing that sword." If It exists, that is. Well, guess it''s time to pay a visit to the big desert to the west.


    [Well, she did say that she doesn''t get visitors, so it''s likely this sword, if it does exist, is also sealed away.]


    "Wait, she said three wishes a century and only two remained, that means she was visited within thest century." I rubbed my chin. I don''t think she can actually lie.....so there appears to be more going on than what I know, but at the same time Jinn wouldn''t be much help unless I used her ''questions''. "The plot thickens." I muttered, pushing away thoughts for now. It really didn''t concern me for the moment.


    I yoinked the Relic quickly, opening up a new passage out of this sub dimension.


    My day was far from over yet.


    ***


    Sorry for thete post, didn''t get home until around midnight from work. Okay, so I may have idently liedst chapter and said Power of Destruction was this chapter, it''s actually next chapter. I me that on how tired I was yesterday when I posted. So Jinn joins up and is going to solve the issue with his house needing something to hold the magics together while also taking care of it for him. She sees a tiny bit of what the MC is hiding, decides she wants some of that, MC is only....partially thinking with a certain part of his anatomy.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 105 - 100

    <h4>Chapter 105: Chapter 100</h4>


    "I hate sand, it''s coarse, rough, and gets everywhere."


    [You deserve to die for that joke.]


    "Hehe"


    I looked around at the endless sand dunes. The sun beating down on me, the dry air that pushed against my face.


    "I''ve been here for like 5 minutes and yet ¨C fuck this ce." If there wasn''t the possibility of a sword in this for me, I would totally have bailed.


    [Hang on, I''m trying to find a memory of cheese so I can enjoy it with all that whine.]


    I just grumbled, kneeling down and grabbing a handful of sand to add to a baggy, putting it away in my ring. Looking up, I could see the Academy on the horizon, it was perhaps the tallest thing on the entire continent. And I knew for a fact I didn''t appear too far away. Actually, I wanted to approach from a distance away, popping up in the middle of a crowded area would probably been a bad idea.


    A little skip, and I was much closer, actually having to tilt my head up to see the whole thing. The cities walls practically in touching distance.


    It was an interesting design, a mix between Egyptian and probably Central America. The Academy itself was a Ziggurat, and instead of a city, it looked like a mobile market that sprang up overnight. While, I doubt that conclusion, it looked like instead of an actual city, this ce was formed by people settling down all around the academy and just continued to grow in that regard.


    I guess I couldn''t me them, this was probably the safest ce on the continent from what I''ve read. Understandably, a desert isn''t really a ce for civilization to thrive, well, this particr desert wascking arge source of constant water like the Nile in Egypt.


    There was almost a straight shot to the academy like a road that no one dared to block.


    In fact, as I walked down it, I drew quite a few eyes. None quite hostile, but I could tell I was being watched intently.


    I paid it no mind, taking my scroll out to start taking pictures. While I did in fact wish to document the sights, I tried my best to seem like an oblivious tourist before ducking out and weaving an illusion over myself and making my way towards the gates.


    While they were ''guarded'' no on even batted an eye as I walked through,rge ''weapon'' on my back andbatish clothes. I could only assume there were several hundred students at a minimum, there was no way the guards would recognize every single one.


    The inside was more.....minimalistic than Haven academy over in Mistral. A product of their environment I could only assume.


    Even the kids didn''t just stand around outside or just do school kid things. Honestly, it seemed like everyone had somewhere to be here, moving with a purpose.


    But what caught my eye, at the center of this ''courtyard'' I walked into, arge statue of a sword.....simr to the one I saw of Jinn at mistral.


    "Well, I''ll be damned." I put a hand on it and felt something very familiar.


    [Hah! Called it.]


    "Well done, Ddraig."


    [I''m deciding dinner tonight.]


    "Fine, fine. You definitely earned this." I quickly pulsed mana and got an idea of the structure and ripped open a portal down the elevator shaft, the feeling of my wingsing out was refreshing as always. "Oh, it''s a bit different." I swept my eyes around my surroundings,nding on a tform reminiscent of the one from Mistral. Except, there wasn''t arge tree here, instead there was this bioluminescence nt everywhere that lit up the cavern.


    I looked around for a moment more before taking out the Relic of Knowledge, giving it a little tap. "Jinn."


    A momentter the naked blue woman came out in a swirl of mist, looking down on me. "Do you have a question?" She asked me happily.


    "No, got something else I wanted your help with."


    "Oh, do you require relief?" She looked at me coquettishly


    "Ye¡ª"


    [Focus.]


    Right, right.


    I shook my head. "Later." I said, clearing my throat. "Actually, thought you may want to be here for this."


    She hummed, notmenting as she took in her surroundings, clearly recognizing where she was.


    "So, I''m assuming that a sword is on the other side of that door." I pointed towards a dimensional door just like Jinn''s.


    She smirked. "Is that a question?" Shezily floated towards me.


    "Ah, I suppose you can''t answer." I grumbled. "This is going to get annoying, I going to have to find a way to ovee that limitation."


    Her eyes brightened immediately, clearly giving me an approving look. I suppose such a limitation is an annoyance on her as well.


    I stepped towards the bright orange door at the other end of the tform. The makeup was almost exactly the same. cing my hand on it, the colors began to swirl and change as I Hijacked it for my own purposes.


    "Amazing." Jinnmented, looking at what I was going.


    "I guess you''re already aware I am capable of magic." I looked towards her.


    "Now that you have confirmed it, I can speak of it freely" She beamed. "I''m curious where you learned such a thing."


    "That is a long answer that would need many drinks for me to exin." I waived her off. "Lets deal with this first." I offered my hand to her as she took it without a second thought and we walked through the portal.


    Immediately, the rush of cold air hit me.


    "What the hells?" I spat out, the cold air a stark contrast from the world outside. Jinn just hovered nearby giggling to herself. I didn''t dwell on it long, my eyes moving towards a sword on a pedestal nearby. "So, am I going to find another naked woman when I touch this one?"


    "Would you be disappointed?" Jinn eyes twinkled in amusement.


    "I...would not be." I came to the conclusion as I nced at her legs. I didn''t hesitate this time, I ced my hand on the Sword...and nothing happened. "Ah, no beautiful sword spirit to tempt me then."


    "Don''t sound so disappointed when I''m right here." She cooed, head right next to my ear.


    Alright, time to stop messing around. I gave the sword another thorough look. The de was almost crystalline in structure, could have even been mistaken for ss, if a different shade of blue than my Mirage. It was decorated in gold, following The Relic of Knowledge''s color scheme and overall design.


    "Good weight." I gave it a swing. "It is amazingly well bnced...so, I have no idea what this does, and I hesitate to mess around with a divine weapon."


    "Hem hem." Jinn sat her head on my shoulder, getting my attention.


    "Fine, I guess I''ll ask a quest ¨C " I paused as something expanded out of Jinn. The snow stopped falling, the world around us freezing as Jinnnded on her feet. "Did you just stop time?"


    Jinn looked at me smugly. "I am allowed to stop time while you ask your question."


    "How!?" I couldn''t help but blurt out. "The amount of power needed to stop time for an entire world....unless that''s not what your doing." I muttered. "No, that''s obvious not what you''re doing. Even your creators couldn''t stop time for the entire for an extended period. A little bubble, a pocket of localized time created around us, we are outside of the normal time and space axis for a brief moment, then you insert us back right at the moment we left."


    Jinn''s eyes widened slightly. "You are frighteningly knowledgeable." She whispered before her look turned something more predatorily. "I look forward to milking~ you for all your secrets." She waived her hands, the Lamp appearing in her hands. "Ask your question."


    "The Relics, I want to know everything about them."


    Jinn smiled as scenes began to emerge through magical means. Images shed through the air, showing their creation, the gods who birthed them and passed them down to humanity. Four relics in total, each representing one of their ''gifts'' to mortals.


    Knowledge, Creation, Choice, Destruction.


    They weren''t just powerful items created by divine hands, they had another purpose. Their creators, these ''brother gods'' they left Remnant for who knows where. But when the four relics are gathered together, they act as a beacon to summon the gods back and they will judge humanity.


    The details on that are vague as they aren''t part of the Relic''s history...but the idea of calling back these gods who so readily abandoned the, it didn''t sit well with me.


    I shook my head,partmentalizing everything I just learned.


    "Four relics, huh?" I looked as the surroundings returned to normal, as we aligned back with the normal flow of time.


    "That''s right. And you now possess the Relic of Knowledge and the Relic of Destruction." Jinn confirmed. I guess since we both know that information, she can speak it openly.


    I looked down at the Sword, the Sword of Destruction.


    It possesses the ability to ''destroy'' anything three times every century. Otherwise it is just a supernaturally good sword, even divine in quality.


    The idea that it could destroy ''anything'' almost made me snort in contempt. I doubt the gods who created it would allow themselves to be destroyed by such a thing. "Let me guess, it utilizes the concept of ''destruction'' and forces it onto a target, thereby ''destroying'' it?"


    Jinn paused again. "You can even understand the conceptual nature of the Relic. Truly I have no regrets about my decision."


    I held the sword out infront of me. "What do you think, Ddraig?"


    "Pardon?" Jinn looked at me in confusion.


    [Might as well let me meet her.]


    "Right, I almost forgot." I smiled at my newpanion, summoning the boosted gear on my hand. She marveled at it, almost hypnotically so.


    "[Hello.]" The gem on the gauntlet lit up, Ddraig''s voiceing through.


    "Hello to you too." Jinn said with clear amusement in her voice. "I do not know who you are, this is bing the best day of my existence."


    "[I am Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon Emperor]" He introduced himself.


    "A Dragon?" Jinn eximed in surprise.


    "I take it dragons are rare?" I hazard a guess.


    Jinn sighed. "Is that a question?" She sighed in annoyance. Not directed at me, it was probably frustrating she couldn''t speak inly about certain topics. She huffed, moving closer to me. "May I?"


    "By all means." I held it out for her to inspect. I wouldn''t hold back with my people, she already gave herself to me, if she wanted to look at my stuff, I wouldn''t stop her.


    "Fascinating. I can tell this was not created by mortal hands." She spoke without much thought in her words. My free hand slip down, moving towards her ample rear and giving her butt a little squeeze. Her head perked up, she gave me a knowing smile as she adjusted herself to give me a better angle.


    "[As much as you both are undoubtedly enjoying this, perhaps we could focus on the important matter at hand?]" He said dryly.


    I wanted to argue that I had a very important matter in hand, but he was right.


    I could molest her butt whenever I wanted, needed to focus on this sword. "So, you thinking what I was thinking with this sword?"


    "[Power of destruction?]"


    "Yup." I nodded. "They work off simr concepts.....I can probably use this sword as a catalyst to bring out my bloodline."


    "What is the ''Power of Destruction''?" Jinn looked at me expectantly.


    "A bloodline ability of my family. It''s simr to the ability of the sword, the power to ''destroy'' anything essentially. Though it varies on strength depending on the user." I sat down cross legged on the cold ground, bringing out my enchanting table from Skyrim and cing The Sword of Destruction on it as Jinn quietly sat down across from me, happy to watch what I was going. "Aura gave my bloodline a little push, but it isn''t enough."


    I closed my eyes and held out a single finger and focused on that little budding seed I had deep within me. My aura red as it tried to coalescence on it, to nourish that tiny little speck. I could feel a bit of sweat pouring down my brow as I forced it to materialize.


    Opening my eyes, there was the tiniest whiff of destruction energy. The ckish energy blowing each way as I focused on reeling in the tiny little manifestation.


    "This is the best I could do. Maybe in a few centuries of trial and effort, it could be usable." I said dryly, though the strain of just maintaining this little thing was visible. I was forcing it out, forcing it to take root.


    "[But what if the Sword nourishes it?]" Ddraig practically voiced my thoughts.


    I didn''t bother with any more words. I held the sword with the Boosted Gear and I pushed my Power of Destruction inside. Using my Aura to guide it, the concepts of the two foreign entities began to react. Using the techniques that Scathach taught me, I began to refine the weapon and my bloodlines into each other while using the Enchanting table to help facilitate the process.


    My eyes shot open as I let out a gasp of breath. My aura was sucked in, my supposedly ridiculous amount of Aura was drained in a second and I felt like I had just been punched in the kidney by a dragon.


    The sword fell to the table as I clutched my heart.


    The next few moments were a blur, as I felt like something was forcibly flowing in and out of me, my body trying to cope with the process.


    When I finally regained my surroundings, I found myself staring up at a familiar blue face. "Well, that was unpleasant." I muttered. Was that what happens when your aura gets drained so rapidly? My soul felt like it was gasping for breath.


    "Are you okay?" Jinn looked down, my head resting in herp.


    "Yeah." I mumbled, sitting up.


    "[That was an interesting experience.]"


    "You''re telling me." I rubbed my eyes. "I think I seeded but.....some unforeseen consequences."


    I looked at the Sword of Destruction float up next to me with a small smile on my face. With another thought, my Aura red, and it ignited in the familiar destructive energy. "The sword is a catalyst, and my Aura is acting as a fuel due to how I merged them together. The only issue is that I don''t think I''ll ever use my Power of Destruction without the sword."


    "[It wasn''t going to be much help anytime soon anyways. While you''re not exactly on a clock...]"


    "Yeah." I knew what he wanted to say. "I have no regrets." The opposite actually. With a thought my Sword shed through the air, cutting in every direction, destructive energy cascading off.


    I was quite happy.


    "I have the Power of Destruction."


    ***


    FGO Omake #2 Solomons Temple (Epilogue)


    "And that''s how I saved the world."


    We all sat around one of Chaldeasrge conference Tables. Servants all filed in the room, looking around. But most gazes were on me and Meridia.


    "Pardon?" Meridia gave me a look. "How exactly did YOU save the world?"


    "Well, obviously if it weren''t for me, you wouldn''t be here. Thus, I will ept everyone''s heartfelt thanks." I mean, she may have pped Goetia around until he started to cry ¨C or turn to horrific rage ¨C but I think I yed a much bigger part in this battle.


    "No." Emiya seemed to answer for everyone.


    He''s just jealous.


    "So....this is your....wife?" Ritsuka spoke up.


    "Yup, it''s our one year anniversary today." I squeezed her hand.


    "How exactly did you two meet?" Da Vinci asked. "Because you said she wasn''t from out world."


    "I''m d you asked!" I loved telling this story.


    "Don''t you dare!" Meridia tried to shush me, but it was inevitable.


    "It all began with a simple boon granted by a goddess." I started to spin my tale. "You see, I cleansed a certain temple for said goddess and she proposed to me ''what do you wish for your reward?''. So, I of course looked her dead in the eyes and said ''Be my woman'' and the rest is history."


    Everyone was silent, except for Gilgamesh who burst outughing at the end of the table "Good, very good mongrel, exactly how one of my citizens should act." He caught his face with his hand, seemingly lost in his ownughter.


    Meridia just turned bright red, covering her face with her own hands.


    "So, you tricked her into being your wife, why am I not surprised." Jeanne hissed.


    I turned my heads toward her, flipping my hand over to retrieve a golden chalice, taking arge drink from it. "Pardon, did you say something?"


    She began to twitch violently. "I-is that ¨C "


    "A holy grail, why I do believe it is, huh." I took another sip of my drink, setting it on the table.


    "Wilhelm....why do you have a holy grail not registered with our systems." Romani, sitting next to Da Vinci sighed.


    "Yes, Jeanne, why do I have a Holy Grail not registered with their systems?" My lips curled up, a smirk on my face as I stared at her.


    She ground her teeth. "BECAUSE YOU STOLE IT!"


    "Um, context please?" Ritsuka raised his hand.


    "Well, I realized one day that I was missing a center piece of my coffee table, and thought ''hey wouldn''t a Holy Grail make a wonderful addition to the decor?'' so I set out onto a grail war."


    The grinding of Jeanne''s teeth filled the room. "I was the Ruler for that War, and hees in and steals it, leave me to clean up the mess!" She pointed at me shouting. "You arrogant, hell spawn, damned perverted, conceited ¨C"


    I lifted the Grail up again, tuning her out as I took another sip. I looked her right in the eyes as she finished. "Spell a single one of those words."


    There was a moment of silence as my words were processed.


    "RAAAAAAH" she screamed, trying to leap over the table at me, only for Mashu to try and hold her back. "LORD, GIVE ME STRENGTH, SO I CAN ¨C MFPHH"


    Saint Martha grabbed the other saint, covering her mouth as she dragged her away, arms still trying to reach for me.


    ***


    Alright, here''s your part two since its 100 chapters over here on Webnovel. Pretty sure it''s canon that Jeanne is illiterate. So, Mc finally has the power of destruction at his disposal, all it took was using a divine weapon to act as a catalyst for the little seed he had inside him.


    One thing i wanted to cover, because this seems to be brought up a lot -- karma. Basically the talk Zelretch had with Mc regarding Karma. Essentially, he was saying that ''If you take something important, be sure the world keeps spinning after you do so'' kind of thing.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 106 - 101

    <h4>Chapter 106: Chapter 101</h4>


    I floated high in the desert, no living being in any direction besides me and Jinn who floated nearby, content to just observe.


    My Sword of Destruction flew around me, a faint glow that even made me hesitate to touch it. That inky energy that ever so slightly pulsed off of the de as I used my Aura to manifest my Power of Destruction.


    With a thought, the sword shot down onto the dunes, a massive pir of sand exploded upwards on the impact, only to visible disintegrate as my sword unleashed its torrent of destruction.


    Grimm were rustled from their sleep, attracted to the attention in droves. Many I did not recognize, those that took refuge under the massive sands had decided to show themselves, baring their fangs and ws at me.


    I couldn''t help but smile as my sword just flew at them, almostical in the way it cut through the horde like a hot knife through butter. Their bodies didn''t even have time to dissipate in their ''normal'' manner, my destructive energies consuming them entirely.


    I wasn''t just ying around, I wanted to see what the drain was like on my Aura reserves. While something that was noticeable with prolonged use, it appears as though I wouldn''t ''burn myself'' out immediately upon using my newfound power.


    My reserves were still more or less around 90% and that was with me intentionally pushing more into it than I needed to just mess around.


    Once all the grimm were dead, I slowly glided to the ground, Jinn following behind.


    "Initial tests looking good."


    "[Unrefined, but the power was definitely there.]" Ddraig replied, the gauntlet still manifested on my arm. "[It might be more important to fine tune your control at this point. Your Power of Destruction can easily go out of control if you aren''t careful.]"


    I scratched my head. "Yeah, I realized that. It was hard to rein in. I''m no where near using it against someone I don''t want topletely obliterate yet." I let my other swords float out. I had another thought, after getting a feel for it, maybe I could make another attempt to utilize it without the sword in the future?


    Well, that''s something to consider down the line.


    I admired my swords.


    Sword of Destruction.


    Mirage.


    Whisper.


    Ascalon.


    Dawnbreaker.


    I admired my growing collection with glee.


    "Any ns on collecting the other relics?" Jinn pressed up against my back, putting her chin on my head.


    "No." I shook my head. "From what I saw, The Relic of Creation is keeping As up in the air." I thought back to the information I was shown.


    As, the Kingdom to the north, a floating city. It was perhaps the technological focal point of Remnant, even drawing my attention by what they were able to create with Dust as the backbone of their technology.


    It was an interesting creation, the Relic of Creation. It wasn''t limited to 3 ''uses'' like the other Relics, but it had other restrictons. It couldn''t be used to directly harm, and it could only create one thing at a time and anything created previously would disappear on the next use. Not to mention not being able to create life, among other things.


    Their entire city was kept suspended in the Air due to the Relic, though in public they imed, ''Gravity Dust''.


    I couldn''t in good conscious take that thing if it was quite literally supporting so many people''s livelihoods.


    "And the Relic of Choice...that just seems worthless to me." I pursed my lips. The Relic of Choice, the ''Crown''. It allowed one to peer into the future three times each century. I could pretty much guess that it would not function properly outside of Remnant, not to mention being utilized on something like me, an outside context it had no way to simte possibilities with.


    Yeah, it wasn''t true ''future sight''. Essentially, it allowed one to peer into future ''possibilities''.


    "What a name ¨C ''Choice''" I snorted. "The best choice would to be to not use it." The future was fleeting, ever changing. Wanting to know the lottery number next month? Sure. Wanting to see who you marry 10 years down the line? Good luck, that future was probably shattered by your choice in viewing it.


    "An interesting thought." Jinn said with a small bit of humor.


    "Besides, it seems like those two Relics may help Remnant if it ever reaches that point. It seems that someone is aware of these things, based on what you''ve told me in the past." I looked up at the pointy-eared genie.


    Jinn just hummed nomittedly.


    "I have a question ¨C" Jinn was about to open her mouth but I stopped her. "About your existence." I rified.


    "Oh? What does my master wish to know~" She cooed.


    "I''m your master now, huh?"


    "I already offered up my everything."


    "Keep that up and I''ll take you right here." I gave her a little p on the butt, hearing a cute little noise from her. "But my question is regarding if you can take anything inside themp with you."


    She tiled her head, clearly thinking. "I have never had to consider this possibility before. I can not take any living creatures inside with me, why?"


    I flipped my hand over, bringing out a stack of books. "Figured you may want some reading material." Jinn sucked in a long breath of air, hands reaching for the book on the top, looking at the title and not recognizing it. She grabbed it, hugging it to her chest. "I have a couple days to kill before I''m needed anywhere, didn''t know if you would prefer to read those inside yourmp or not."


    Jinn look at me then back at the pile of books. She waved her hand, turning them into smoke as they entered themp she held in her hands. She looked like she was about to go in herself, but she paused, peeking her head over her shoulder and running a hand over her rear. "This is yours whenever you want it." She dered, turning into mist and going into her little home.


    I stared at the Lamp as it floated over into my hands. "Well then."


    [Surprised you didn''t follow up on that.]


    "Me too." Gods know my libido is ridiculous, being a healthy young man and part devil. "But honestly....I kinda want my first time to be with one of my girls."


    [That is sickingly wholesome. Doesn''t she count as one of your girls?]


    "It''s not the same thing." I shrugged. "She''s mine but not ''mine''." That was about the best way I could describe it.


    "Anyways..." I willed The Sword of Destruction back over. "Lets find some more targets."


    [Use the Boosted Gear too, I want to try some tricks out.]


    "Sure, lets cut loose." I let out augh, seeing a small herd of Grimm on the horizon. "Plenty of targets."


    ***


    I yawned, walking towards a familiar shop in Vale. The aged building a wee sight as I walked inside, the bell expected. "I''m back." I greeted the old man behind the counter.


    "You''re just in time." He said slowly, looking rather tired himself. "I had to work through the night to finish this up before the deadline." He stated, pulling a wrapped object up from under the counter.


    It was like Christmas as I unwrapped it. "Beautiful." I admired his work. "The ck leather goes perfectly with the handle of my de, and these golden enamel decorations are just amazing" They were simplistic, yet retained a certain elegance thatplimented the sword.


    "Well, don''t keep an old man waiting, try her out." The old man impatiently said.


    Bringing out Mirage, I slowly slid it into its new home. "Nice and snug."


    "Hah." The old manughed. "My wife used to say the same." I almost choked, catching a smirk from the old man. "I saw some youngsters putting posters up all over town of you." He eyed me. "I admit, I didn''t take you seriously before, but you really going topete,d?"


    "Damn right." I acknowledged.


    "Well....in the interest of an earlier retirement." He leaned in. "What do you think your odds of winning are?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "I have.....confidence in myself." I said politely.


    He hummed to himself. "I tell you what, you win this thing, and I won''t charge you, but if you lose, you cover ''all'' of my losses."


    "Alright, I''m in." It was a good deal considering I didn''t n on losing.


    "Ohoh, I look forward to it, young man."


    I smiled, bidding him goodbye as I left, new sheath in hand with Mirage stored inside. Admittedly, it felt a little strange walking around with my sword like this, but there was also a strange confidence that came with it by my side.


    The trek to Junior''s bar was grabbing MUCH more attention thatn before. People all over were turning their heads, pointing fingers, and whispering as I walked by. Hell, there were posters on practically every wall I passed, and I admit that Roman really does do good work with a camera.


    Walking towards the Club, I flipped my hand, taking out the bag of bagels from the other day as I entered.


    "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" I heard a voice shout at me.


    "Happy to see you too, Miltia."I waived.


    All attention was on me now, it seemed like the whole gang was here.


    "Told you, boss man, kid wasn''t going to get cold feet." Romanmented.


    "Yeah, yeah. Can we get this show on the road, I do have to set up for tonight''s preliminaries."


    Miltia walked up to me in a huff. "I''ve been looking everywhere for you! Do you have any idea how much we had to run around because of you? We had to start making ns incase you didn''t show up."


    "Sorry, I was preupied." I held my arms up in surrender, though I offered the bag to her. "Bagel?"


    She snorted, snatching the bag out of my hands, taking a bagel out and menacingly taking a bit out of it while giving me the stink eye. The bag suddenly disappeared from her hands, like ss shattering, Miltia huffed again, turning her gaze towards Neo who offered the bag to Roman while stuffing one in her own mouth.


    "Thanks for the snack, kid." Roman waived happily.


    I just rolled my eyes. "How''ve you been, Miltia?"


    "She was worried about you, couldn''t even sleep, thought you got in trouble." Mnie shouted, ying with an empty ss.


    "Fuck off, Mel" Miltia growled, walking back up to the bar to sit down as I followed behind.


    "Nice weapon, kid. Did you pick it up at an antique store?" Roman asked, eyeing my obvious addition.


    "Yes, actually. And funnily enough, I saw that exact hat there." I pointed at the hat on top of his head.


    "Hah, nice." He chuckled. "Well, at least you look presentable, thought I would have to give you some random mook''s weapon."


    Neo tugged on his sleeve, gesturing.


    "Oh, right. Neo did give you a ''backup'' weapon." He snickered along with his mute partner.


    "Alright, Children." Junior silenced everyone. "Got a private bullhead booked, pilot is on the pay, he''s going to disappear when wend, so don''t expect him as your flight home." He turned to Miltia. "You remember how to fly one of those things."


    "I''m still licensed." Miltia replied. I stared at her incredulously. "What!? I like flying, so sue me." She crossed her arms.


    "When the flights inevitably get grounded, they''ll be looking for our original ''Pilot'' since he''s on the paperwork, which will let Miltia and Mnie slip under the radar for a while. That also means the exit is going to be hot with air control on your asses before you can clear the city." Junior just nodded. "At the kid''s signal, I''m going to move on the spider''s people, clearing out Vale of all her eyes, so you should be safe once you get back with the stuff."


    "Me and Neo will be hitting our spots. Neo''s closer to the third location, but I''ll join her by the time she finishes up, then we''ll go to ground for a while." Roman nodded. "After this, the spider bitch will be on your ass even more, kid. She''ll know you''re rted to me, and she was just robbed, putting two and two together is something she can do with a bit of effort."


    "And the tournament is my best protection." I pointed out.


    "As long as you win you''ll have nothing to fear." He stated.


    Well, I wouldn''t have anything to fear anyways, but they didn''t know that.


    "Well, people." Junior put his hands on the counter. "Let''s get this show on the road."


    ***


    When Junior said ''private Bullhead'' he wasn''t kidding. This thing was luxurious.


    I stared out the window, the ocean cover nearly everything as we passed by. I was surprised by how fast this thing was. Well, the continents didn''t seem that far apart from one another, but even so, we cleared the distance in a few measly hours.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking, we will be arriving in roughly 5 minutes. I hope you all have a wonderful time visiting Mistral and that I never see you again."


    I raised an eyebrow, looking at Roman.


    "I''ll miss this guy." Romanmented. "Always knew when to quip on our getaways." Neo actually looked a bit sad at his words too.


    What a strange pair.


    "You''re not going to kill him, right?" I asked a little worried now.


    "Do you take me for amon thug?" Roman looked genuinely offended. "I booked him a two week vacation in Mistral as a retirement gift."


    "Oh." I just epted that. "Significantly more mundane than I would have thought. That''s actually really nice on your part, I didn''t think you would do something like that."


    "Happy minions means jobs get done right. They get the works, health, dental, retirement package. This guy is dipping out early, he''s been with me for....." He stared off for a moment. "7 years now? Damn it really has been a long time. Good help is hard to find, you have to treat your minions right or they''ll fuck you over quicker than any police will."


    Huh, makes sense I suppose.


    The bull head jerked slightly, I peeked out the window to see the familiar city in the distance as we began tond.


    "Alright kid, this is where we part. I''ll be using Neo''s Semnce for us to sneak away unseen. You can be as mboyant as possible, actually.....take it up a few notches, really rub Mchite''s nose in it." He smirked.


    "Anyst minute advice you want to give me?" I asked.


    He walked up to me, cing his hands on my shoulders. "Don''t fuck up." And he disappeared.


    "Don''t know why I expected any different." I chuckled. "Alright, girls, I suppose we part here?"


    "Whatever." Mnie got up and left.


    Miltia looked at me for a moment. "Try not to get yourself killed." She walked towards the door. "It''s hard to find someone to shop with who isn''t Mel." She left with that.


    The ce was even busier than when I was here the other day. Crowds upon crowds of people were pushing everywhere, but it was easy to spot where I needed to register. There was arge stadium to the north side, which housed many smaller arenas for these preliminary matches.


    Doing my best to weave through the crowds, it took me a bit to finally make my way there.


    Actually, there were people tantly sitting at tables with signs for registration.


    "Hello, I''d like to sign up." I approached.


    "Fill these out." He pushed a couple sheets of paper to me.


    They were basic things, age, name, origin, that sort of thing. And there was also a waiver saying they weren''t responsible for any damage as a result ofpeting in the tournament with a bunch of other stuff I didn''t bother to read.


    I handed the papers back to him and he pulled out another tag and gave it to me. "You''re number 702, pay attention to the screen inside, it''ll announce who''s fighting and when."


    I just shrugged, pinning the little tag on my vest and walking inside.


    The screen he was talking about was pretty eye catching, it was a massive thing that hung from the ceiling that disyed which people were fighting when and in which arenas.


    Looking up and finding my name, I saw that I had about an hour before I would be up to fight, except, suddenly it changed, and I was given a ''bye''.


    "Wow, Roman''s people work fast." I just shrugged, finding afortable spot to sit down in. I would probably be here for a bit.


    ***


    And so, it begins.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 107 - 102

    <h4>Chapter 107: Chapter 102</h4>


    I was a little surprised at how many people actually signed up, while I did not have an exact figure, I did see someone sporting a four digit number appear on the screen.


    Been sitting here for about an hour now, my ''match'' already came and went, I didn''t even have to go to an arena to be told I progressed. Which, was an obvious thing, but I kind of just wished ''something'' happened.


    I looked around at some of the contestants, though none really drew my attention....except one.


    Standing up, I walked over to a nervous kid in the corner, I would guess his age to be around 16, about the same as Ruby give or take.


    He obviously looked nervous, clutching his weapon tight as he looked around, foot constantly tapping on the ground.


    "Hey there, kid." I saw across from him.


    "H-hello?" He looked surprised as I greeted him.


    "No need to be nervous, just wanted to kill some time while I wait." I set my sword down next to me. "Couldn''t help but notice your weapon."


    "What about it?" He said quietly.


    It was a spear.


    But that isn''t what caught my attention, it seems like everyone here has a weapon that can transform, but this kid is using a normal spear. Albeit with some additions that I could only assume was for utilizing Dust, but a normal spear nheless.


    "Just thought I''d strike up a conversation with someone who also didn''t have a mechashift weapon." I tapped my sword.


    "Oh." He seemed less ''on guard''. He just shrugged at my statement. "Never really cared about them, thought all I needed was my spear and I would be fine."


    "That''s a good mentality to have. Some thrive with choices, others just need something simple and reliant." I nodded. "I''m curious, what''re you here for?"


    "Topete?" He answered unsure.


    "I mean, some people want the glory, the thrill, or even the money. I can pretty much spot those all around here and easily guess....you not so much."


    "The money would be nice" He mumbled.


    "But that doesn''t seem like your real reason."


    "I wanted to fight?" He asked more of a question.


    "That''s fair." I nodded at his answer.


    "It is?"


    "Why not? Fighting is fun. It''s not like you''re going out and doing death duels. If you want to prove yourself, go for it, if you want the thrill of a fight, to get your blood pumping as you and your opponent push each other to their limit, awesome." Who was I to judge?


    "Oh." He said quietly. "Yeah." A bright smile formed on his face. "I like to fight, dad taught me since I was a kid. But no one in the vige wants to fight me anymore." He looked a little sad. "But I saw some strong people here so I wanted to give it a shot."


    "I like you, kid." I couldn''t help but admire his pure intentions towards fighting. "The names'' Wilhelm."


    "I''m Rufus."


    "Nice to meet you, Rufus." I gave a smile. Honestly, it seems like the kind of kid Scathach would love to teach. "I hope to see you make it to the top 18."


    "Thanks" He beamed. "I hope we can fight in a round."


    I was about to respond but. "Hey, I think you''re up." I point towards the screen. "Number 443, right?" I eyed the tag on his shirt.


    "Oh, yeah!" He stood up quickly. "I''ll catch youter!" He sprint towards the arena listed.


    Nice kid.


    A little interested in watching him, but I''ll let it be a surprise if he makes it far enough.


    I sighed, leaning back in my seat, until another thing on the screen caught my eye. "What?" I muttered staring at my number being listed for arena 11....with no opponent?


    Did Roman''s guys fuck something up?


    Gods dammit.


    Well, may as well see how this turns out. Worse case I have to fight some rounds, not a big deal.


    I walked out onto the Arena, several more in the immediate vicinity as referees watched kids beat each other up. I nodded to my own, the man standing in the middle of the arena, as I crossed my arms and waiting.


    "Did you happen to see your opponent...?" He eventually asked.


    "Don''t got one."


    "What?"


    "There was no opponent listed for me." I sighed.


    "That''s not right." He muttered, taking out his scroll and tapping away at it for amoment before scratching his head. "I guess you win? I think you were supposed to get a ''bye''."


    "Woo" I said, ''very enthusiastically''.


    I was about to walk out the arena when a voice caught my attention. "Young man, young man!" I turned around to see a woman briskly walking towards me with a cameraman trailing behind her. "Could I have a moment of your time?"


    Press? At this point in the tournament?


    Well, I suppose it makes sense. Getting shots of some potential ck horses, hype up the finals and what-not. Draw up some outrage or any kind of hype regarding events that happened.


    "Sure, I would love to give you a moment." I put on my most charming smile.


    She returned the gesture, fixing her hair and blowse. "Young may, if I may ask you a few questions?"


    "Certainly." I gestured for her to continue.


    "The preliminary rounds are winding down, can you give your thoughts on your fights so far. How hard has it been toe this far?" She asked, leaning her microphone towards me.


    "Well, I havn''t fought yet." I made sure to iterate.


    "Pardon?"


    "Oh, I''m just returning from the arena where I had no opponent, must have been a small glitch or something."


    Seemingly misunderstanding me, she continued. "What about your previous opponents?"


    "Had none."


    "What?"


    "I haven''t had an opponent yet, this was technically my fourth ''Bye''." I smiled.


    Her eyes lit up like she struck gold. "So you mean to tell me that you have made it this far and you have not fought in a single match."


    "That is correct." I nodded.


    "And that doesn''t bother you? That the otherpetitors are fighting with everything they had at a chance to win the crown?"


    "Well, luck is a part of strength, isn''t it?" I asked. "Since my luck is the best, doesn''t that simply mean I''m the best?" I smirked.


    Might as well give her something to show.


    The look on her face said everything.


    ***


    I hadn''t even realized I had fallen asleep until someone started poking me awake.


    "Um....Wilhelm." A familiar voice ushered me as my eyes sprang open.


    "I''m up, I''m up." I quickly readjusted myself to see around me. I saw Rufus standing next to me awkwardly, and arge crowd in the area, many of which were giving me some very unfriendly looks. "Sup?"


    "The preliminaries are almost over....figured you would want to see?" He aske awkwardly.


    "Yeah, yeah." I rubbed my eyes. "Thanks. Anything exciting happen?"


    "Well..." He rubbed the back of his head. "Saw the interview you did."


    "Oh." I realized now why these people were basically giving me a death stare.


    "Yeah, and people started payin attention, wondering why you keep getting the free slots." Rufus looking a little ufortable.


    "We''re wondering how he keeps cheating." Another voice snorted, walking towards us. Arge guy, almost fully donned in armor and a massive mace on his back that clearly took on other forms.


    No idea who this guy was, and honestly didn''t care. "Cheating? Prove it." I smirked.


    "How else can you exin getting every single bye!" He shouted, gathering much more attention.


    "Maybe it''s my Semnce?"


    He crossed his arms, clearly not buying it. "Then what''s your Semnce."


    "Being handsome."


    "That''s not a Semnce!"


    "You''re right, I guess my handsomeness is all natural." I nodded my head.


    The big guy practically growled, reaching for his weapon before stopping. "You better hope you don''t see me further up!" He shouted again, stomping away.


    "Who was that?" I asked Rufus.


    "Y-you don''t know?" He asked in confusion, earning a head shake from me. "That''s Gundy, he made it to the top 8st year."


    "Oh." Imented idly. I guess that''s impressive. "What kind of name is Grundy?"


    "I think it''s short for Burgundy."


    "That doesn''t make any sense¡ª"


    "WILL ALL FIGHTERS REPORT TO THE MAIN ARENA." A voice bellowed out over the inte.


    "Guess it''s showtime, kid." I pped his shoulder, standing up and grabbing my sword.


    "Yeah." He gripped his spear tightly in his hands. "I can''t wait." He beamed.


    How excitable. I look forward to seeing how these people fight, their aura, their Semnces. I wasn''t exactly able to watch the preliminaries.


    I followed behind him, walking through somerge doors to the other side of thergeplex. I could hear the echoes of the crowd in the stands from here. It would literally shake the ce when they cheered.


    My eyes sweeping the ce, I caught a head of red hair that belonged to the supposed ''Invincible girl''. Some other faces I didn''t recognize from the other area as well.


    A man stood at the center as we all gathered around, nked by a couple guards. He was well built, a no nonsense kind of look on his face. "Congrattions on making it this far." His voice was verymanding. "This was no small feat; you all have ovee extraordinary odds to be here. You have all bled and sweat, pushed yourselves to the brink to stand before me." His gaze shifted to me briefly. "Though some more than others." With his gaze, many others followed, and everyone knew who he was talking about.


    "It''s hard to be so handsome." I sighed, much to the annoyance of quite a few people. I saw the red head look at me in confusion and I just shot her a wink, much to her surprise.


    The man looked very unamused. "The first round has been decided." He said evenly as the screen above us changed.


    I looked up at it and rolled my eyes. "What a surprising result."


    "Almost as surprising as iming 9 ''byes'' in a row." He countered immediately.


    "Touche." I couldn''t argue with his logic.


    It seems someone was pulling shenanigans over Roman''s shenanigans. Not that it mattered, I just need to make it to this point in Roman''s mind.


    I looked up at the screen again, and wouldn''t you know it, my opponent was ''Gundy''.


    Still a stupid name.


    Did the organizers have a way to ''force'' matches incase someone like me shows up that just draws a bunch of bad press?


    I wouldn''t put it past these people.


    The big guy eyed me angrily from over yonder, his armor making him stand out where most people just wore some light variants, he was decked out and ready to go to war.


    "When do we go?"


    "Now." The man said sternly, pointing towards the doors to the arena.


    Wow, they must really want to get rid of me.


    I just walked out, the sun meeting my eyes and the crowd''s noise practically overtaking any sound. There must have been at least ten thousand in the stands. And the number of cameras that started shing on me was insane.


    Gundy smacked his shoulder into me as he walked past, ignoring everything and walking to his side of the arena.


    I took a peek above us, the massive screens disying our faces and a brief overview of our fights so far.


    I had to hold back augh when I saw mine saying ''Bye'' ''Bye'' ''Bye'' ''Bye'' ''Bye'' all the way till now. The people in the stands were also not wholly weing of me either. The shouts that were sent my way were very telling.


    Makes me wish I checked the news on my scroll when I had the chance. No doubt the reporter''s little segment on me must have made its rounds.


    An announcer stood between us, tapping on his mic. "LADIES AND GENTLEMAN." He shouted. "THE FIRST ROUND OF THE FINALS IS HERE" He shouted as the crowd cheered wildly.


    "ON ONE END, WE HAVE A FACE KNOWN ALL TOO WELL. HAILING FROM MISTRAL, GUNDY NICKELSON" He pointed towards the man in full armor. Then turned to me. "AND A NEW FIGHTER, MAKING HIS FIRST APPEARANCE WITH AN...UNUSUAL RECORD." He hesitated for a moment. "HAILING FROM VALE, WILHELM SCHWEINORG."


    Huh, he pronounced my name correctly, props to him.


    "Now, now" He calmed the crowd slightly. "It''s tradition for each fighter''s first appearance at the finals to give a few words." He walked over to Gundy, holding his mice out. "Gundy, you''ve been here before, you''re experienced, what do you have to say to your opponent who has yet to fight a match."


    Gundy, with a cocky smirk on his face grabbed the mic. "I''m gonna pound him so hard, his mom is gonna be jealous."


    His eyes met mine and I just raised an eyebrow.


    Well, I was going to be nice.


    The announcer quickly took the mic back. "CLASSIC GUNDY." He tried tough it off, much to the crowd''s amusement. He took a moment to walk over to me. "Now, Wilhelm, a lot of people have some words they probably want to say to you, do you have anything to say to the people watching at home? Howe you were able to avoid every fight until now?"


    "Well, that''s an interesting story." I said happily, leaning towards his extended mic. "Though, if you don''t mind can I give a shout out to someone who supported me all the way here?" The announcer just smiled offering the mic to me. I cleared my throat. "I just wanted to thanks the person who made this all happen. I wouldn''t have made it here if it wasn''t for him. So, in honor of the man who taught me everything I know , I have some words he left me with." I cleared my throat one more time. "Go fuck yourself, lil'' Miss Mchite, Love Roman Torchwick. Thank you." I handed the mic back to the silent announcer. Actually, the Arena became rather quiet as well.


    "Erm.....that was certainly.....a unique thing to say." He had no idea how to handle my words.


    Did they have a filter ready? Part of me wants to say no.


    Even my opponent just looked at me incredulously


    "Well then, when you hear the gong, the match will begin." He stated, clearly trying to move past that. "NOW!" He roared to get the crowd hyped again, moving towards the edge of the arena. "Let the fight begin!"


    The sound of a massive gong vibrated through the arena.


    Big ol Gundy stared at me, about to charge over but I held my hand up. "WAIT!" I shouted, a little surprised I could hear myself over the speakers from the entire arena. Were they able to redirect the sound that well? Remnant''s technology was very interesting.


    "What, wanna beg for mercy?"


    "I have a question."


    He snorted. "What?"


    "Have you ever seen a fire dust crystal this big before?" I pulled a crystal of fire dust about the size of a car key out of my pocket.


    "What the hell does that have to do with any¡ª"


    "Catch." I tossed it to him casually.


    He kind of instinctually caught it in his hand, only to stare at it strangely as it began to glow brilliantly.


    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM* A huge explosion rocked the arena, a figure was seen flying out of the new smoke cloud, mming into the side of the stadium. His body, while clearly hurt, was still able to slightly move, indicating he was living still, even if his armor was in tatters.


    Rune carved on a dust crystal, very effective.


    Without a word, I turned around and began walking back out of the arena.


    Only silence met my leave.


    ***


    Don''t got much to say, the tournament starts.


    If you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone we just wrapped up the tournament over there and the recent chapter was one I really enjoyed writing that it''s almost 4k words.


    Also, we have a discord. https://discord.gg/N8bDxwwapb If you want toe and hang out, ask about the story or want spoilers,e on down.

 Chapter 108 - 103

    <h4>Chapter 108: Chapter 103</h4>


    I walked back into the ''locker room'', the waiting room that the contestants were staying. Was it a smart idea to have all of them staying so close together? I couldn''t say, but the security only had to watch a single area, so there''s that I suppose.


    "Oh man, what a difficult fight, I''m exhausted." I loudly dered as all eyes were immediately on me as I walked in.


    "Do you have any idea what you did?" The organizer from before looked at me with thinly veiled fury in his eyes.


    "Won the match." I grinned.


    "Not that, you moron." He growled, rubbing his temples. "But that was also infuriating to watch." He calmed himself down. "Do you have any idea who ''Lil''Miss Mchite'' is?"


    "Yup."


    He paused, looking at me in surprise. "And you still went through with that little stunt? You won''t make it past today. The only reason her people haven''t gotten you yet is because the tournament."


    "I''m quaking in my boots." I rolled my eyes.


    There were some murmurs around me, some agreeing with the guy, others looking confused at what he was saying.


    Yeah, some really sheltered kids here just looked utterly confused.


    He just snorted. "Guess we know who got you through the preliminaries now."


    Ah, he was referring to me dropping Roman''s name.


    "Your ass." The guy mumbled, turning to the scroll in his hands. "Alright, we go the next match set up." All eyes turned back to the organizer; people eager to get started. "Second match of the finals will be ¨C Rufus Hedge vs Rajah Sun."


    Gods, the names here are just odd.....I know why they did it, just doesn''t really make it any less strange in my mind.


    Something about a dictator in a previous era that sought to eliminate any kind of expression or individuality, so parents started to name their kids after colors in protest. After the regime faded the naming convention had stuck, practically as a reminder.


    Don''t remember if that was the exact reason, but I think that''s about the gist of it.


    I watched the two of them exist through the doors I just came in from. I was a bit excited to see this, but I realized something. "Is there a way to watch in person?" I turned towards the organizer.


    He didn''t deem it necessary to speak to me, merely pointing towards another door in the corner.


    I just shrugged walking through. I saw a little encove under the stadium where the fighters could peek out to watch those on the stage. It was empty, except for one person at the far end, watching the match with no small amount of interest.


    That was some red Hair, could match mine in intensity


    She turned to me as I walked into this area. "Hey there, red." I greeted the so-called invincible girl.


    She looked at me in surprise, registering my nickname for her. "Oh, hello." She immediately replied. "You''re...um..."


    "Wilhelm." I finished for her.


    "Right, Wilhelm." She smiled forcibly, seemingly unsure of how to proceed.


    I just shook my head with an amused smile, taking a notebook and pen out of my pocket as I looked towards the arena.


    The announcer was doing his antics again, the fighters giving a few words. Much more tame than what me and my opponent did, and I could see the hesitance when he put his mic infront of their mouths.


    Looking up at the big monitors, I couldn''t help but notice something I didn''t before. There were ''Aura Gauges'' marked for each fighter. I suppose it slipped my mind regarding the ''rules'' since I wasn''t really paying attention.


    Once someone''s Aura hits a critical state, the match is over, not too surprising in of itself, it was a good way to gauge fights without resulting to possible injury or death.


    No. What caught my attention was that they had machines able to measure someone''s Aura.


    The light of the soul, it was quantified up there for everyone to see, and this was apparently the norm.


    Really....Remnant''s technology just continues to impress.


    I focused on the fight as both Rufus and Rajah took their stances, they were of simr builds and simr styles Rufus of course using his spear, and this Rajah was using a ive with a design that reminded me of China.


    "Interesting." I muttered.


    "What is?" I forgot I was withpany as I turned towards Pyrrha.


    "Simr builds, simr weapons, simr stances. Judging by the way they''re standing, they both realize this themselves and are reacting ordingly. It''lle down to personal skill with a bit of luck." I vocalized my thoughts.


    She tilt her head at me, seemingly taken back by my narration. "But the one with the spear appears to be younger."


    "That''s true." I gave that to her. Rufus was the younger of the two, probably by about a year. "But that doesn''t necessarily mean less trained. He already took a stance to amodate his opponent''s longer reach, but Rajah is still keeping his weapon high, while good against a spear, it isn''t taking into ount Rufus''s lower center of gravity. I''m guessing Rajah has less actual fighting experience, but more or less equal training."


    "That is....a well thought out exnation." She looked at my incredulously. "I had not thought..."


    "That I would actually know what I''m doing and not just making a fool of myself on stage?" I offered.


    Her lips curled up slightly, amused by my statement. "I would not have put it like that."


    "Doesn''t make it any less true." I pointed out as the match began.


    Rufus was the one to seize initiative, rushing his opponent, forcing Rajah on the defensive. Though thetter was quick to regain some semnce of a defense, not allowing Rufus to push him back too far.


    Regardless, Rufus held the advantage, his spear favored over Rajah''s ive with its stabbing attacks at such quick session.


    I saw little bits of Aura clipped away, the screen on top mirroring the sight as Rajah''s gauge began to slowly move down.


    It should have continued like this for a bit, until Rajah made a mistake and Rufus was about to capitalize on it, a straight pierce to the chest, except, when it would have struck, Rajah moved unnaturally quickly to counter the blow, knocking Rufus back and charging him.


    "What?" I voiced quietly.


    "His semnce." Pyrrhamented. "I remember him fromst year, he made it to the top 8. He could retaliate against any blow using his Semnce. But I if I remember correctly, if he uses it too much too quickly, he gets fatigued."


    "Fascinating." I mumbled, writing down some notes. "I wonder how ¨C "


    My eyes widened as Rufus erupted in a torrent of water, a clone of him taking his ce as Rajah tried to sh through him. The ive entered the clones ''body'' made entirely of water as the true body of Rufus stepped back and thrust through the fake body at Rajah''s chest.


    When Rajah tried to step away, the spear burst out in a snow-white color.


    Dust.


    Ice dust to be specific. Itbined with the apparent Semnce usage on Rufus''s part, turning the clone into solid ice, locking Rajah in ce as a good hit knocked Rajah''s Aura down enough for the announcer to dere a winner.


    A semnce that generates water and allows him to make temporary clones of himself? That was an amusing discovery. The possibilities there were endless, and I couldn''t help but contemte how such an ability came about.


    And then there was how dust interacted with it. Like his semnce epted the crystallized mana wholeheartedly and both were greater for it.


    And Rajah''s semnce as well. I only saw it for a moment, but was that some kind of fate maniption?


    I hesitated to give that theory credence.


    Pyrrha said it ''automatically counter attacks'', how else would that be achieved? Unless it was more so a focused defense technique, overloading his bodies'' basic functions on a sole action. Which perhaps might exin why he supposedly got ''fatigued'' easily afterwards.


    "A-are you taking notes?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly.


    "Huh?" I looked up, lost in my own thoughts for a moment. "Oh. I suppose I am."


    "I didn''t expect you to take thepetition this seriously after..." She trailed off but I caught her meaning.


    Hah, she''s trying to be polite and not call me out on my bullshit.


    "Actually, I''m doing it more for my own research." I admitted. "The nature of Aura, Semnces, and dust. I thought the tournament would be a good opportunity to see all three up close and interacting, so here I am."


    "You mean you joined the tournament just to research?"


    "Well, among other things." But that was indeed my main reason. "What about you, red? Why''re youpeting?"


    "What do you mean?" She asked, seemingly surprised by my question, like she had never put thought in it before.


    "Why fight? Do you think its fun, or maybe you want the prize money?"


    She paused, looking rather hesitant. "I want to be a huntress." She said after a moment.


    "So? Plenty of people do but they don''t fight here." I shrugged. "You''re famous enough to get into any school on remnant, why keep going?"


    "Well, I''m only one win away from breaking the record."


    "Glory is it then? Want your name up in spotlights?"


    "I....don''t care for the publicity, admittedly." She said quietly.


    "Ah, that can be a bummer sometimes. It makes forming rtionships difficult. Are people after you for your fame or fortune, or do they genuinely like you? Makes finding friends really hard." I said idily, but the look on her face says that I hit a very sore spot for her. One which I could barely hold back on wincing from. "Sorry, I didn''t mean to ¨C"


    "N-no...." She kept her expression neutral, but I could tell she was a little depressed by my statement hitting a bit too close to home for her. "It''s fine."


    I felt a twinge of guilt in my chest. Perhaps even a bit of sympathy as I remembered where I was a few years ago.


    "Alright, red." I turned towards her. "You got a scroll?"


    "Huh?" She blinked in confusion. "Y-yes, I have one?" She took it out confused by my request.


    I plucked it out of her hands, fiddling with it for a moment, much to her confusion, tossing it back to her which she almost fumbled. "There you go."


    "What did you do?"


    "Added my number." I replied. "Call me, send my messages if you''re bored. I got a lot of free time usually."


    "You mean like ¨C"


    "Yes, like a friend." I chuckled, heading for the exits. I didn''t look at her gob smacked expression, but as soon as I walked back, I felt my scroll buzz with a message, a small smile rising on my face.


    ''Hello.''


    Then it buzzed again.


    ''This is Pyrrha, but I guess you know that.''


    And again.


    ''I wanted to make sure you had my number as well.''


    And again.


    ''If you ever wanted to contact me, that is.''


    And again.


    ''Not that you have to or anything.''


    It continued buzzing several more times.


    And suddenly, I questioned my choice.


    ***


    Pyrrha makes an appearance, and she is a cinnamon roll.


    Anyways, just a reminder, i won''t be posting tomorrow, taking wednesdays off. But, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.


    Also, we got a discord,e hang out or ask questions. ht tp s :// d is cor d .g g/ TRDZTRKfVf

 Chapter 109 - 104

    <h4>Chapter 109: Chapter 104</h4>


    Sixteen fighters, each having a fight, and suddenly there are eight of us left.


    I was reading over my notes at the moment, watching several fighters utilizing their Aura, Semnces, and Dust throughout their fights.


    I had gotten some very valuable data so far. How Dust interacts with Semnces was perhaps one of the biggest boons I''ve gained.


    Semnces ¨C a semnce of Magic. The naming convention wasn''t lost on me after I realized what was going on.


    Dust which is basically Magical Energy, and a Semnce which is essentially a personal little ''spell''. They interact to achieve different results, to essentially cast new ''spells'' based on the user''s Semnce. To infuse their personal soul-based expressions to achieve something simr to a spell, it was quite an interesting phenomenon I''ve stumbled upon here.


    When Rufus ''infused'' his water clone with Ice, he wasn''t merely freezing it. He was changing its underlying principles to be ice.


    It was honestly fascinating. I would love to sit here and research this for a few more month, but I had other priorities right now.


    I took out the Lamp, giving it a little tap as I watched Jinne on out.


    Jinn appeared without much Fanfare this time, looking around inquisitively, practically beaming. "So many people here." Shemented, as people walked by. "Some kind of magic around us so we''re not noticed?"


    "I put up a Bounded Field that kind of filters perception. I''m recognized as ''sitting here'' but not much beyond that." I exined. "How were the books?"


    She turned back from the people, giving me a smile. "Having to read something, what an exquisite experience. I could get used to it." She said happily, taking another nce around. "Why are so many people looking at you in annoyance?"


    "Oh, well....I may have offended some delicate sensibilities."


    She gave me a dry look, like she didn''t think that was everything. "Well, I assume you didn''t call on me because you wanted to be pleasured in front of so many people."


    "Are you going to assume that''s why I call you every time?"


    "Yes." She smiled mirthfully, taking a seat in myp. "So, how may I be of service, Master~"


    I forcibly calmed myself down.


    Neither the time nor the ce.....unfortunately.


    "Tell me what you think." I handed over my notebook


    She epted, reading it over with varying changes in expression. I didn''t interrupt her, but my hands slit down her waist as they ran along her thighs. I gave them a little squeeze and I heard her give a tiny yelp, but otherwise didn''t react.


    This is mine.


    Was it my Devil or Dragon aspects that made me think this way?


    Hell, it may have just been the hormones of someone my age regardless.


    But I didn''t care.


    This was mine.


    "It seems you have figured many things out." She hummed. "And you noticed the joke behind the term -- Semnce." She giggled.


    "I guess you can''t tell me anymore than that?"


    "Would you like to ask me a question?" She rolled her eyes, the phrase almost automatic, but I could catch the very tant hint.


    "I guess I haven''t found everything yet if you still can''t openly talk about secrets." I sighed. "But I suppose that is also fun in of itself. A mystery wouldn''t be enjoyable if it were so easily solvable."


    "Oh, I know the feeling all too well." She purred. "I have yet to read through all the books you''ve given me, I can''t stop this excited beating of my chest. What other secrets are you hiding?" She ran a finger along my chest. "Must I loosen you lips through other means?"


    "Tempting, but I can''t right now." I said reluctantly as my scroll buzzed again.


    She huffed, shifting around. "Annoying contraption, ruining the mood." I justughed, taking it out to look, sighing when I saw who sent me another message. Jinn peered over my shoulder. "My, my, you have a woman in yourp and here you are chatting with another, aren''t you just a shameless man." She stated, though her tone held more amusement than anything else.


    "Well, I technically have a Harem."


    Jinn just blinked at me beforeughing. "I am not surprised."


    "I feel like I should be offended."


    "Shall I be meeting them then?" She asked. "Hell, I am Jinn, your lover''s personal ¨C what do they say these days ¨C Cock sleeve?"


    I practically choked when the words left her mouth. "Where the hell did you hear something like that?"


    "I know everything presently happening, she deadpanned." She pointed towards the scroll in my hand.


    "Oh....that is unfortunate." I admitted. To know everything happening on this world''s equivalent to the inte. I almost want to question her sanity. "I don''t treat you like that thought." I frowned.


    "Mmm, you don''t." She agreed. "It is surprising. I had expected you to bend me over the first opportunity, but you barely even touch me."


    "Did you really think that low of me?"


    "With the way your eyes roamed by body ¨C"


    "You were naked." I interjected.


    "Had I worn clothes, I wonder if that would have made a different." The corners of her lips curled up. "I jest, but you have been good to me so far."


    I huffed. "Of course, you''re mine, I take care of what''s mine."


    "What a good master I''ve found~" She leaned in, kissing my cheek. "But I would not haveined about it either. I am well aware of what I offered when I suggested such a thing. Even had I been spending the majority of time on my knees; I would have noints."


    "You really value this rtionship that much?" I asked skeptically.


    "I have lived a very long ''life''." She said quietly. "I watched the world change over the years, and I was resigned to watch it continue to change in directions I hate watching. The few times I had been called were my only reprieve, to interact with someone or something in any capacity. It was my duty though, my reason for creation, I never questioned it. Then youe along and I peek at something much greater than this little corner that I thought was everything. So, I took a chance, and I do not regret my choice. So, use me, hurt me, do whatever you wish with this body of mine, I will notin."


    "I''m not heartless." I grumbled. "I''m not just going to turn you into some ''toy''."


    "I know." She smiled. "That''s why you''re a good person." She kissed my cheek again before disappearing back into hermp.


    [I like her.]


    "You do?" I paused my thoughts, answering the dragon.


    [She doesn''t pussyfoot around, she saw something she wanted and went for it. I approve.]


    "Huh." I guess that does fit with Ddraig personality, or rather the sentiments of a dragon. "I like her too, I''m d she''s going to being with us."


    ***


    "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET ME INTRODUCE OUR TOP 8 FIGHTERS" The announcer was was up to his usual shenanigans to hype up the crowd.


    I kind of like him.


    He gestured towards a machine in the middle, a button with matching brackets. "WITH THE TOP 8 SELECTED, WE''RE GOING TO BEGING THE NEXT ROUND." He shouted. "EVERY FIGHTER WILL TAKE THEIR TURN TO RANDOMIZE THEIR PLACEMENT. FIRST UP, WE HAVE THE ONE AND ONLY ¨C INVINCIBLE GIRL, PYRHHA NIKOS." He gestured towards Red.


    She looked...uneasy by that nickname. I expected her to hold it with pride, but she really didn''t seem to enjoy the fanfare around her.


    The way she had been blowing up my scroll, I wondered if she even had any friends. Imented on it before and didn''t want to poke much into it, but fame like this must make it hard to connect with people. While not the same issues I had when I was her age, I can sympathize with being alone.


    She walked up, pushed the button as her name and face appeared on one end of the brackets. The cheers from the crowd erupted, though it didn''t really matter yet, no suspense when there were no others present.


    "NEXT, OUR RUNNER UP FROM THE LAST YEARS TOURNMENT, ARSLAN ALTAN" Another woman stepped forward, wearing a more traditional martial artists garb. She gave Pyrrha a death re as she walked forward.


    "What''s that about." I whispered towards the girl as she had taken to stand near me.


    "Oh, we have...history." Pyrrha said quietly.


    "Did you steal her boyfriend or something?"


    "W-why would you think something like that?" Her face turned red.


    "Oh, Red, you''re too easy." I chuckled. "She hold a grudge fromst year?" I asked, as the third person was called up, only for him to fill in an empty spot.


    "And the year before." She confirmed. "We''ve fought a few times so far."


    "And you''ve won every time?"


    "...yes."


    "Oh, nice." I nodded.


    "NEXT UP, WILHELM SCHWEINORG."


    The reactions were....mixed. I definitely heard some booing in there, so I did the obvious thing and waved to the crowd.


    I walked up and smashed the button as my randomizer went off.


    The crowd erupted again as my name was the first to match up with someone elses.


    "LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE OUR FIRST MATCH UP SETTLED." He roared to the crowd. "WILHELM VS COBALT"


    Ah, the guy who was right before me. I barely was paying attention. I did see his match, and he interested me slightly because the main form of his weapon was a sword. Otherwise, he didn''t really grab much of my interest. Blue hair, some leather armor, and a sword on his hip, he was pretty much the norm for the crowd here.


    He looked towards Cobalt and gestured for him toe back up. "As the first fight for the top 8, this is a big honor here. Do either of you have something you want to say?" He asked towards us. "And please keep it appropriate for kids." He eyed me.


    "I do have something to say." I cleared my throat and he looked suddenly unsure of himself. "Do you know the chances of being both the first person to fight in the top 16, then in the top 8?" I asked, making sure his mic was by my face. "3%. Just some food for thought." I smiled innocently.


    "That is....an interestingment." The announcer didn''t quite catch my intended jab at the organizers. "What about you, Cobalt? Anything you wish to say to your opponent, or anything for the listeners out there?"


    Cobalt also eyed me as he leaned in. "This fight will be settled with Skill, nothing else." The look he gave, like he was challenging me.


    Well, consider my pride poked. "If that''s what you want."


    He nodded and walked away. Seemingly a person with few words, I could respect that. He also didn''t start insulting my mom, so I wouldn''t mess around if he wanted an actual fight.


    Well, I guess I could show off a little.


    ***


    Non-canon Omake The Time Variance Authority and why they don''t bother Wilhelm anymore.


    I paced around the room, tie straightened, clothes immacte. "This is it, Sir Wiggles." I nced at mypanion, sitting on the desk, his clothes also looking sharp. "This is the case that will make or break our careers."


    He twitched his nose.


    "I know, but we have to do this." I nodded. "I didn''t spend two weeks taking those online courses, getting a degree, just so I could hang it on my wall as a decoration!" I mmed my fist on the desk.


    He twitched his nose again.


    "Wise word, wise words" Truly my familiar was wise. "Put on your game face, Sir wiggles, we''re heading to the front lines." I opened a portal, grabbing my rabbit.


    We were going to the think of it.


    The view changed abrupt, a courtroom filling our new surroundings.


    "OBJECTION" I shouted, walking in abruptly, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room.


    "What in the hels?" I looked at my new client who reacted shocked at my presence.


    "Loki Odinson, I am your attorney for this kangaroo court!" I Dered at the utter dumbfounded looks of the judge and apparent bailloffs.


    "What!? Who are you!?" The judge shouted as several people came running at me.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, Attorney at Law!" I snapped my fingers, portals opening up at the charging men, strange ''weapons'' in their hands, as they fell into other dimensions.


    "What!?" The judge shouted again.


    "The TVA, Time Variance Authority, I have heard of your miscarriages of justice."


    "Who are you?" She asked again.


    "I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I reiterated. "Master of the Second True Magic, operation and maniption of parallel worlds."


    Her eyes widened, perhapsing to some conclusions.


    "What do you want?" She shifted slightly, I assume she was hitting a panic button, buying some time. No matter.


    "I am here to preside over my client''s trial." I gestured to Loki.


    "I have no idea who you are either." Loki pointed out.


    "Quiet, Criminal." I shushed him. "I''m bullshitting on your behalf."


    "That''s helpful." Loki snarked.


    "Now, we''re all on the same page." I threw Talisman at the door, sealing it shut as people began to bang on it, much to everyone''s shock.


    "How? My magic isn''t working here!" Loki looked aghast.


    "Your honor, I would like to put it on the record that Loki is an amateur and has no idea how to use magic."


    "What!? I am a god of magic you mortal; I know more about magic than you can even conceive!"


    "Your honor, my client wishes to push an insanity plea."


    "Insanity!?"


    "For my first witness, I call Loki Odinson to the stand." I snapped my finger, bringing out a witness booth next to the judge''s stand.


    Suddenly, Loki fell through the floor, a portal opening above the new seat and he fell through.


    The judge almost reeled back by the sudden intrusions.


    "I can walk you buffoon!" He readjusted himself.


    "Your honor, permission to treat the witness as hostile."


    "Hostile, I''ll show you hostile ¨C"


    "Granted." She surprisingly said.


    "Loki Odinson, is it true you once turned into a horse to entice another horse to mount you?"


    "THOSE ARE FILTHY LIES MY OAF OF A BROTHER''S FRIENDS MADE UP." He vehemently denied.


    "Your honor, let the record state that my client had intercourse with a horse."


    "WHAT, NO!"


    "Loki is a known Liar, presume everything he says is a lie."


    "That''s bullshit!"


    "See, he just admitted it."


    "I''m going to stab you."


    Just then, the talisman on the door finally ripped, and another slew of guards ran inside. Their strange staffs glowed as one tried up and tried to stab me with it. Expectance on their faces turned into confusion as nothing happened, a small iridescent ripple covered me.


    "Are you trying to purge me from the time line? What part of Magic that maniptes parallel worlds did you not understand?" I looked at the judge again.


    I snapped my fingers, the neers falling into a new batch of seats, a jury bench off to the side, quickly sealed up to not allow movement.


    "Finally, our jury is here." I walked up to the people that would decide my client''s fate. "Now, I know what you''re all thinking, why is Loki Odinson innocent?" I gave them all a look. "Well, he''s not, and we all know that."


    "You are the worst attorney I''ve ever seen."


    "Some of us take the oath to speak the truth seriously!" I chided him.


    "THAT''S ONLY FOR WITNESSESS." Loki practically lost hisposure.


    "Oh.....I knew that."


    "Are you even an attorney?"


    "Got my online degree yesterday." I puffed up my chest.


    "Sweet Odin, send me to Niflheim now."


    "As I was saying, Loki is innocent of all charges levied against him." I mmed my fist on the bench. "There''s no way he molested that horse, it was concensual!"


    "I never thought I could hate someone so much that I''ve only know for a few minutes." Loki whispered.


    "If the horse dick doesn''t fit, you must acquit!"


    "Seriously, hand me a knife, I''ll kill myself right now, save everyone the trouble."


    "Do you even know what charges Loki Odinson is facing?" The Judge spoke up again, clearly regaining herposure.


    "Okay, honestly, I''m kind of winging it here."


    "Loki is charged with creating a branching timeline, potentially destroying the sacred timeline and starting a multiverse war."


    "Wow." I looked at Loki. "Yeah, fuck this guy."


    "Really, after all that?" Loki looked at me dryly.


    "You''re right, even if you are a piece of shit, I took an oath to defend you." I straightened my tie again. "Your honor, I request we strike the previous conversation from the record."


    "No."


    "Welp, I tried." I shrugged. "I guess you''re going to jail, Loki."


    "We don''t have jail. Punishment is immediate purging."


    "That seemes a bit excessive, he only fucked one horse." I pointed out.


    "I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH A HORSE!"


    "Loki." I looked at him. "You can admit it, I''m going to judge you for it either way."


    "I''m going to dance on your corpse."


    "Oho, get in line." I chuckled. "Don''t worry, I have one finally card to y."


    "I doubt it." Loki rebuttaled.


    "No, my partner is an expert, he actually went tow school and didn''t pay someone in lewd feet pics for a fake degree."


    "That seems like an oddly specific thing to say." Loki reeled back. "Where is this vaunted partner of yours then?"


    "Sir Wiggles, the floor is yours!" I gestured towards the magnificent rabbit on the table.


    He bounced back and forth, wiggled his butt and twitched his nose.


    "Well said." I wiped a tear from my eye. "you always know how to make a moving speech. I didn''t think I would ever feel sympathy for Loki, horse fucker."


    "Word cannot describe the degree of which my anger burns for you right now."


    "This is getting rediculuos." The judge stood up. "Who do you think you are, we ¨C"


    My scroll beeped. "Oh, looks like it''s time."


    "Pardon?" She looked at me strangely.


    I didn''t answer, the building shook as explosions erupted outside.


    "Time to go." I walked over, yanking Loki out of his seat and throwing him through a portal. I turned back to the scrambling TVA members. "You''re all stupid, your jobs are stupid, I find your existence an affront to everything I stand for. Good day." I followed behind, portal closing right as I walked through.


    Loki pushed himself up, sand falling down his face as the heat of the desert hit us.


    "Well, that was a good distraction, nicely done." I praised.


    "Wait, you did all of that.....as a distraction?" He stood up. "So you could blow them up?"


    "Yup."


    ".....You, I like you." He smiled mirthfully. "So, where do we go from here?"


    ***


    I realize people were looking forward to the next fight, and I''m not doing this on purpose, I wrote these chaptersst week. So, here''s an omake to tie you all over, he fights next chapter.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 110 - 105

    <h4>Chapter 110: Chapter 105</h4>


    The remainder had essentially drawn their straws, the new brackets formed up on the screens above. Me, being the first to form a match up was the first to fight.


    I was sitting to the side, idly wasting time until my match started. They first wanted to the usual song and dance, hype up everything, give the sponsors some screen time, and have some expertmentary. I didn''t really care to listen as they were mostly talking about how excited they were for the more poprpetitors.


    Taking my scroll out, I decided to find some forums that talked about me.


    Reading down some titles of threads, I couldn''t help but have my lips curl up. It seems a few people caught my littlement about the ''3%''. Some are calling out the organizers for rigging the tournament, or something like that.


    Of course, the fact that I had a bye all the way to the finals was telling in of itself. There was still a huge amount of outcry about me being a ''cheater'' and that I should be disqualified.


    Can''t prove nothin though.


    Though, most thought I would be knocked out here.


    I actually found quite a bit info on my opponent, one Cobalt Steel.


    Names are still weird, but I digress.


    Cobalt Steel, age 17, should be turning 18 by the end of the year. He has a good record dating back three years. He''s always made it into the top 8 and at one time made it to the top 4.


    His weapon is simple by mechashift standards. A long sword that can turn into a rifle.


    Long rangebined with short range. Pretty useful, I can see why he went with such a thing. Hell, If I were born here, I would probably be using something simr.


    Apparently, he favors his sword usage over his gun.


    He has quite a few fans....most of which are calling for him to kick my ass.


    Well, what can you do? I chose to take this role, I''ll deal with all the negativity projected my way.


    The memes are great though. It seems that certain things are constants across all dimensions. If there is an inte or equivalent, humanity gonna meme.


    "Hey there, Red." I looked to see Pyrrha walking over.


    "Wilhelm." She greeted. "Are you prepared?"


    "For my fight? Yeah, should be fine." I waived her off.


    "You''re not nervous? Cobalt is an excellent fighter, I''ve fought him in the past and it wasn''t an easy match."


    "Nah, I''m feeling confidant."


    "Do you n to do the same thing as yourst fight?" She said, slightly unsure. I doubt she approved of my flippant attitude during that whole thing.


    "Cobalt seems like a decent bloke, so I won''t cheese it." I made sure to assuage her concerns. "But, how much you want to bet they''ll make a new ruling banning what I did anyways?"


    Pyrrha just blinked, looking skeptical. "I don''t think the organizers would do someth¡ª"


    "ATTENTION." A voice boomed over the speakers. "DUE TO SOME CONCERNS REGARDING SAFETY, WE WILL HENCE FORTH BE FORBIDDING ANY EXPLOSIVES USED IN THE COMPETITION."


    The corners of my lips curled up as I stared at a silent Pyrrha. "You were saying?"


    She looked a little embarrased. "I guess I was mistaken."


    "Don''t worry about it." I leaned back against the wall as the promotions and such were still going on. "So, whatcha doing here, Red?"


    "I just wanted to make sure you were prepared for your match." She said quietly.


    What a cinnamon roll, she was worried about me and we barely even knew each other. "Well, may as well tell me about yourself."


    She nervously rubbed her arms, like she was unsure of what to say. "I don''t have much to say. I grew up in Argus, and trained to be a huntress."


    "That''s it?" I raised an eyebrow. "What about hobbies? Thing you do for fun. What''s you''re favorite show, your favorite restaurant." I wasn''t really one to throw stones from my ss house regarding friends, but I still did stuff outside of training and magic.


    "W-well, I just enjoy training."


    "I guess I can agree with that." I nodded along. "There is always a certain satisfaction after my arms give out when I''ve swung my sword too many times."


    Pyrrha seemed to perk up at that. "Yes!" She happily agreed. "I''ve always enjoyed pushing myself to my limits, even when I can''t get up anymore."


    "Fighting too. To push yourself inbat against your opponent, each move and counter taking you one step closer to defeat or victory, it''s intoxicating."


    "Exactly! To be forced to the edge and manage to achieve victory by the skin of your teeth, the hours of training paying off."


    "It''s also nice to have down time, though. To just be able to sit back and rx." I replied. "Personally, I''m a bit of a reader, though I admit I mostly read things rted tobat." Well, magics and stuff usually end up being used for battle on my part.


    "Ah, I like to read as well." Pyrrha stated, smiling brightly. "I''m half way through the second volume of Ninja of Lo¡ª" She paused, her face flushing.


    My lips curled up. "Well, it seems like I found how to get you to open up. I guess there is a normal girl under there." Found something she enjoys, and then she easily kept going. Well, I guess it was a start.


    She crossed her arms face still showing signs of embarrassment. "What about you?"


    I guess she was asking me about myself. "Not much to tell as well. Mom died when I was young, was a bastard so father wasn''t in the picture."


    "Oh....i''m sorry." She quietly apologized.


    "Eh, don''t worry about it." I waived her off. "I''ve had time to mourn for my mom, and people in the world had it worse than I did. I at least was taken care of, shelter, food, education." I recounted. "So I left my home when I was 18 and set out. Met one of my best friends quickly after." I couldn''t help but smile at the thought of Thorum, that big goofy smile of his. "Then found myself a woman."


    Meridia.....I really want to see her right now. Shouldn''t be much longer. "What about you, Red. Any boys in your life?"


    "B-boys?" She flushed again.


    "Or girls." I shrugged. "Nothing wrong with liking girls like that." I couldn''t help but smirk at her, earning another bright red face.


    "I don''t have a boyfriend." She made sure to iterate the gender, much to my amusement.


    "Well, if you evere to Vale, I can be your wingman." I said with a chuckle. I already offered that to Miltia, I wouldn''t mind helping Pyrrha find herself a partner if she were interested. I think I''m a good judge of character, and it seemed like this girl would thrive on some sort ofpanionship.


    "ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT MATCH." The announcer''s shout quickly drew my attention, as well as Pyrrha''s, the crowds'' cheers shaking the entire arena.


    "Well, looks like I''m about to head up." I finally stood up, putting my scroll away and grabbed my sword that was leaning against the wall.


    "Good luck." She quickly said.


    I smiled giving her a thumbs up as I left the little area we secluded ourselves in. Approaching the Arena, I already saw Cobalt waiting. He gave me a single look, but didn''t say anything, stepping over towards the arena himself.


    ***


    We both took our positions on either side, the Announcer still ying up to the crowd. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN." He shouted. "WE''RE BACK AND READY FOR THE NEXT MATCH." He threw his hand over towards Cobalt. "ON ONE END WE HAVE COBALT STEELE, WHO DOESN''T NEED MUCH OF AN INTRODUCTION FOR THOSE WHO SAW THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. AND ON THE OTHER, WE HAVE A BIT OF A BLACKHORSE, WILHELM SCHWEINORG."


    Is it weird that I still enjoy hearing my name spoken?


    Funnily enough, there were a lot less boos thing time around.


    The hurriedly dashed to the edge of the arena. "BEGIN!" He shouted and the same gong rang out across the entire stadium.


    His pulled his sword from behind his back, taking a steady stance. I could immediately tell the amount of practice he''s had. There were close to no opening as he looked me over.


    I raised an eyebrow as he gathered his aura under his feet and exploded towards me. A simple, yet very practical use of aura apparently. Though, I saw the tiniest sliver of it missing when I nced at the screens around the ce.


    Interesting.


    I was aware that there were ''techniques'' that utilized Aura, but they seemed to be out of favor opposed to utilizing one''s semnce to their upmost and regting their Aura to being purely defensive.


    He swiped at my neck, I took a half step back, allowing his de to miss me by a small margin and I followed up with my sheathed de swinging back at him in the same spot.


    To my surprise, he dodged it cleanly.


    He nted his feet and unleashed a series of shes. They were precise and crisp, each one without hesitation and every attack going for a vital area. Utilizing his lower center of gravity, he came from underneath me to disrupt my vision.


    He had been trained well.


    His sword swinging up from below, going for my lower chest, I mmed the hilt of my sword down, knocking it away. He spun his entire body to regain some kind of momentum tounch another attack on my other side, only for the tip of my sheath to collide with the guard of his sword. He was deceptively agile, he looked more like an endurance fighter at first nce.


    Stepping forward, he didn''t stop, de continuing to rain down shing with an admirable speed and precision. His Aura continued to dwindle ever so slightly, not because of my blows, but because he was burning it to enhance his own attacks.


    I could admire his determination, and his skill at such techniques. To elerate his swings he had alreadymitted to in an attempt to throw off my perception. If it were anyone else, I could see how they would have trouble, just how Pyrrha said he was a difficult opponent.


    My own sword shed out, parrying and deflecting each attach. With the final sh, I put a tad more strength into it and knocked his sword away, reeling my hand back and foot nted, I was about to stab him but I noticed right as I did, he took a step back, anticipating my blow.


    Interesting.


    I still followed through, hitting a chunk of his Aura off, but he jumped back right as I connected, mitigating most of the damage and gaining distance as his sword switched to the rife and fired off a few rounds of magical bullets at me. Small red missiles curved through the air as they came at me from both sides.


    With a flick of my sword, still sheathed, the bullets were destroyed before they could reach me. "Curious." I said, earning his attention. "Some kind of precognition?"


    He paused looking at me confusion before some sort of realization dawned on him. "You discovered it already...." He replied, a grin forming on his face. "You really are strong. My semnce.....it gives me a danger sense."


    "Oh, that is interesting." I couldn''t help butment. Not traditional precognition, but a sense that predicts dangers. How I would love to run some experiments on such a thing.


    "I can see the danger anything poses to me." He admitted. "The other fighters, my dad, even trained huntsman I''ve met at Haven, it gives me a sense of how dangerous they are." His hands shook slightly. "So why.....do none of them evene close to the feeling I''m getting from you?"


    Well...that certainly is interesting. Was he able to some-what scry me due to his ''semnce'', was that how it worked?


    He took a deep breath his hands steadied. "But, I can''t help but be excited too. I didn''t think I''d meet someone who gave me this feeling." The fingers around his weapon tightened. "Will you stop holding back?"


    I couldn''t help but grin, he was able to see through that much. "You''re an interesting kid. I''ve asked two others now and it''s making me curious, why did you join the tournament?"


    "I want to be the strongest."


    The genuine way he said it. It was different than Rufus who was more ''pure''. This kid seemed to have that ''drive'' the one to climb to the peak and not settle there, to see the other mountains and be excited that he still had a ways to go.


    "Don''t blink." I stated, my foot sliding back, one hand holding my sheath the other resting on Mirage''s hilt.


    "Don''t hesitate." I let some pressure seep out, to pour down on him, my intent to truly kill him. I saw his knees almost buckle under the sudden feeling of death, but he held firm.


    This world just keeps giving me surprises.


    "I''ll show you briefly, what sky exists above yours."


    As I moved, the world bent around me.


    His body didn''t physically react until he was already falling to the ground, and I was sheathing my sword behind him.


    Blood began to puddle around his prone form, his Aura utterly shattered at the blow. Only a moment persisted until shouts and gasps erupted all around us. Most were unable toprehend what just urred.


    I wanted to throw my head back andugh, he actually managed to slightly anticipate my attack, mitigating a fraction of my blow. Was it because of his Semnce?


    Cobalt groaned as he used the little bit of strength, he had left to flip himself over, to look at me. I couldn''t help but smile because looking down at him was a big smirk on his own face, in fact, he started tough. "Is that the peak?"


    "Does it matter? For now, it''s something for you to work towards." I wonder how far you''ll go if you have something beyond your reach to constantly strive for. Let''s see if he can break through these limits and actually approach me in the future.


    He justughed harder as I began to walk out of the arena.


    A gob smacked announcer and audience left in my wake.


    ***


    Alright, I saw thements, I''ll try to fit the omake into canon somewhere. Mc is taking a liking to this world and the people. Pyrrha opens up a little bit with her awkwardness, and Mc revealed a bit of power to the world.


    Fifth Interlude is up on Pat reon, it''s from Ozpin''s perspective. If you want to read 5 chapter ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 111 - 106

    <h4>Chapter 111: Chapter 106</h4>


    I walked back into the waiting area, the ce much quieter than when I left. The stares this time weren''t filled with contempt, perhaps something bordering hesitance and respect.


    I guess wherever you go, people respect strength.


    "Wilhelm!" Rufus called out, walking towards me. "That was amazing, how did you do that?" He excitedly smiled.


    "Little bit of skill, nothing worth mentioning." I smiled. "I''m more curious about your little water clones."


    "Ah, well.." He scratched his head. "They''re not really that good, they can''t attack."


    "Nonsense, not every move has to deal damage. They provide a lot of utility inbat, look how easily you were able to immobilize your opponent."


    "You think so?" Rufus looked unsure.


    "The field control you could provide if you utilize them well. I don''t know how much control you have of their movements when you create them, but being able to freeze enemies at a whim is noughing matter."


    Rufus wasn''t wasn''t the only one who approached me, a woman in a more traditional marital artist garb followed. "I thought you were just a clown, but you''re actually very skilled." She crossed her arms, not as all intimidated by what happened. "I look forward to fighting you at the end." She stated.


    "Arn, was it?" I looked the woman over. "Aren''t you fighting Pyrrha next?"


    She just snorted. "I''ll beat her this time, you just better be ready."


    "Well, I''ll wait for you then." I grinned. I liked her enthusiasm. Honestly, I really liked the drive that all the people here had. It gave off apletely different vibe than on Earth. Scathach would absolutely love it here. They saw me beat Cobalt like that, and they''re basically like ''fuck it, lets fight'' and don''t lose their confidence.


    I thought I would be bored after a while. I got most of the data I would need, some very interesting things I witnessed regarding aura and Semnces, but I was genuinely having fun. Well, the tournament, I couldn''t much care for, it was the people that made it worth continuing.


    Curious if this girl would beat Pyrrha, she did mention it being a close fight.


    Who knows?


    "Wilhelm Schweinorg?" I turned around to see a handful of people walking right towards me.


    "Yes?" I looked at them, they didn''t look like part of the organization hosting the tournament, nor fighters.


    "We''d like to ask you a few questions." He took a badge out of his pocket, shing it at me.


    Some kind of police? I didn''t recognize the badge, but that was to be expected here. And what exactly are they wanting to question me for? I doubt the tournament rigging is ''illegal'' only against the rules, thus would be kicked out.


    "Sure." I simply answered, I had nothing to hi--


    "What''s your rtionship with Roman Torchwick?"


    I sucked in a breath of air. "Dammit Roman, what did you do?" I couldn''t help but facepalm. "Am I being detained?"


    "We just need to ask you a few questions." One of the guys reassured me.


    Another spoke up. "Kid, we need to know where he''s at, if you got any information...."


    "Sorry, I have no idea." I nced around the room as everyone was staring. "I don''t know who this Roman Torchwick is, I''ve never met the well dressed man in my life." These guys gave me a weird feeling, and not because they were cops.


    "We''re trying to work with you here, we know you''re in the middle of this big tournament." One of the Cops stepped forward, a gentle smile on his face. "And we don''t want to ruin your future by dragging you out under all those eyes."


    "Well, I may know a thing or two." I leaned in as they mimicked me. "You see.....I heard that Roman Torchwick is prone to wearing woman''s underpants, and copious amounts of mascara, why don''t you --"


    "Look, kid." He stepped forward, interrupting me. "I don''t think you understand what''s going on here. Roman Torchwick is wanted by the Mistralian Government. Now, we don''t think you had anything to do with his crimes, but we need you to tell us everything you know."


    "I really have no idea where he is." I reiterated. "I''m just a kid here, trying to leave his mark on the world. What could I possibly know about such a notorious thief? I''m offended you would think so low of me! You offend me, good day, sir!" I turned around, but a hand was ced on my shoulder before I could leave.


    Well, guess my bullshitting didn''t work.


    The man just sighed. "If you''re not going to cooperate, we''ll have to do this the hard way. Wilhelm Schweinorg, you''re being ced under arrest, please put your hands above your head."


    "For what?" I narrowed my eyes, this seemed more and more suspicious by the second.


    "essory to grandrceny." He said sternly, taking a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket.


    Grand Larceny....that means he sessfully robbed that gang boss. But why would they be here trying to grab me if he robbed another criminal? I doubt she would have called the police, unless they''re on her payroll.


    Or something really went wrong and I should just leave anyways.


    Fuck it.


    With a frown, I grabbed his hands as he tried to put cuffs on me. "No." Leaning forward, I grabbed his arm and twist it, making him drop the handcuffs.


    "You made a mistake brat!" One of the guys standing in the rear rushed towards me, a weapon drawn from his coat looked like brass knuckles, but they crackled with electricity.


    The man tried to punch at me, I deflected his fist with the back of my hand and kneed him in the chest, only to be caught by his aura. Letting go of the cop I had in a hold, I pulled the aura-user by the arm and flipped him over my shoulder, throwing him onto the ground.


    "TARGET IS HOSTILE, I REPEAT, TARGET IS HOSTILE." The one nursing a hurt hand started shouting into his scroll.


    That didn''t sound good, why the fuck would they apparently be calling to reinforcements if they thought I was just some mook?


    The others began to move and I gripped my sword tight. They were way too quick to resort to this kind of reaction.


    Something lit a fire under these guys, and I am very much in the dark right now.


    Another dozen or so people burst in through the doors, following behind the ones who moved on me.


    "PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPON, AND GET ON THE GROUND." The new guys shouted, by the ones closest to me still moved.


    This fucking escted fast.


    I shed my sword out, hitting the closest in the face, his aura shuttered, but he still felt a small impact, stuttering in his steps.


    Another retrieved a gun from his holster, but I stepped forward, grabbing hit and twisting it out of his grip, tossing it to the side and chucking him into the nearby wall.


    The other contestants just looked on, dumbstruck by what they were seeing. Rufus, who was closest to me just seemed utterly horrified by what he was watch.


    Seems like I can''t finish the tournament now...


    I didn''t feel good about killing them either....who knows what''s actually going on right now. I decided to just leg it, turning around and looking towards the only exist that wasn''t swarming with people wanting me in handcuffs.


    So, I moved towards the doors that went to the arena.


    Bursting through the open doors, I wasn''t the immediate focus of attention, there was a match going on between two people who I didn''t really care to remember. They were in the heat of it as I ignored them and continue onwards, except, some people began to notice me and even more so when people started running in after me.


    I guess they weren''t really worried about showing up on camera.


    Something was definitely wrong here.


    Well, I just had to go to the other side, there was another exist and I ¨C


    Another dozen people burst through that door too as I slid to a stop.....they must really want to catch me.


    What the fuck did Roman do!?


    The two fighting in the arena paused, the Announcer looked on utterly confused at the spectacle.


    Many of the police took out their weapons and aimed at me, a barrage of projectilesing me way without any warning.


    I didn''t expect kiddy gloves after I downed a few of their number, but they were certainly ready to turn to this kind of response in order to incapacitate me. I allowed my Aura to re, blocking all of them, and it was an interesting experience to see my Aura get impacted like that.


    Data to mull over forter.


    "END OF THE LINE, KID." A familiar voice boomed. It was the man that I had incapacitated first, his arm looking fine. "THROW YOUR SWORD TO THE SIDE AND GET ON THE GROUND.


    I raised my eyebrow. "Which sword are you talking about?" I asked, not giving him time to answer as l had my other swords fly out of my ring and hover around me.


    They moved with a thought, shooting towards both ends of the stadium where the police blocked my exits. Piercing through defenses, chopping off significant chunks of aura until some fell to the ground, blood dripping from wounds.


    These people didn''t seem very well training inbat. I think a trained huntsman would fair better than this. This was more like, they just awakened the aura of a standard police officer, theycked the true experience of a fighter.


    They fell to the ground at the stunned silence of every spectator who had yet to start evacuating in the ensuing fight, along with thepetitors themselves who followed behind to watch the show.


    My swords came back, floating to me gently like they hadn''t just taken out an entire toon of police.


    Dawnbreaker shed to the side, deflecting a bronze-looking shield that was thrown at me. I turned to look at who threw it.


    "Pyrrha?" I was surprised to find her looking at me.


    "W-Wilhelm, what are you doing, what''s going on?" She looked rather confused, and distressed. Her arm trembled slightly, extended to have just thrown her shield.


    Yeah, this didn''t really paint the prettiest picture for me. And Pyrrha was a straight arrow kind of girl, she must be having several thoughts about me right now. "I guess we won''t be fighting in the tournament." I gave out a smallugh.


    "Why are you doing this?" Her tone honestly made me wince.


    "Well, that''s a bit of a long answer..."


    "Please stop." She looked at me with pleading eyes.


    Oof.


    "That''s not much of an option at this point." I gestured around to the unconscious and beaten bodies of many police and government authorities. "Sorry, Red. But I think we need to part ways here."


    "This is just a misunderstanding we can clear this up." She stated, a small bit of hope in her voice.


    I couldn''t help but sigh at her attitude. "Doesn''t matter at this point, the damage has been done. I need to leave, Red."


    Just as I said that, I turned around I felt something approach me. The area behind me shattered in a familiar way, a petite hand grabbed onto my sleeve. "Neo?" I asked in surprise, her looks clearly different, most likely to hide herself from all the eyes currently on us.


    She looked at me with concern in her eyes. She pulled on me and gestured at the exited, quite explicitly.


    "What the hell is going on!?"


    She just quickly gestured; anxiety written on her face. I realized I wouldn''t be getting an in-depth exnation from her.


    "Stop! I won''t let you go!" Pyrrha took a step forward, reaching her hand out, her shield shot across the distance returning to her embrace.


    I blinked in surprise at what she just did. Some kind of telekinesis?


    Impressive.


    "Sorry, Red." I muttered as Neo activated her semnce again as we disappeared from her sight.


    ***


    "Kid, you''re alive!" Roman peeked out of a truck window, hands on the ignition, clearly antsy.


    "Yeah, apparently no thanks to you." I narrowed my eyes. "What the fuck, Roman?"


    "Okay, that''s fair. But it isn''t my fault." He retorted as both me and Neo got in the truck.


    "How is it not your fault, this entire thing was your n!?"


    "I didn''t expect the bitch to have stolen As tech!" He threw his arms up.


    "Wait, what?"


    "I didn''t even notice until after we took it. The schematics for As''stest Mechs and weaponry. I heard this shit was stolen months ago, I didn''t think it''d end up in her hands. Do you have any idea what the As Military will do when they find out someone has this?"


    "Why not just ditch it?"


    "Toote. Too many people know I took it now, better to keep for a bargaining chip." He took out a cigar, lighting it up. "Maybe I can give it to old Irondick so he won''t sick his dogs after me." He sighed. "Fuck, this was supposed to be an easy job."


    "Wait, if you stole it from that gangdy, why did the governmente after me?"


    "Oh, she was going to sell it to them." He turned the key, letting the truck start. "They were negotiating a price, and since there wasn''t much of a rush, they were taking it slow." He pulled out a stack of papers. "Bitch always did keep detailed records." He said, tossing them to the side.


    "And now you lit a damn fire under them because if As finds out they were trying to acquire this stuff, they woulde down on Mistral hard."


    "Wee to politics." He waived his hand flippantly. "They didn''t even care about kicking up a fuss during the tournament to grab you even though they probably thought you were just a patsy."


    Suddenly, all of our scrolls started beeping. "ALERT, PLEASE BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE FOLLOWING." An automated message rang out, both me and Roman''s headshots shown with a ''Dangerous criminal, exercise extreme caution.''


    "Fuck." I cursed. I didn''t want this world to be burnt for me, I like a lot of things here.


    "It''s not as bad as it looks." Roman tried to reassure me as the Truck visible changed, Neo focusing her semnce to disy a different appearance. It looked like we were in a police car now.


    "This seems pretty fucking bad."


    "Okay, it''s bad if we stayed in Mistral, luckily, we live in Vale."


    "That''s....fair." I mulled it over. "Will Vale also throw a hissy fit?"


    "Probably." Roman nodded.


    "The fuck, Roman?"


    "Calm your tits, kid. They''ll just do the bare minimum to support Mistral. Don''t expect any kind of response like we''re getting here." He tossed his cigar out the window. "Just rx, and lets slip out before anyone notices¡ª"


    *CRAAASSSHHHHH*


    A sudden weightlessness came over me before gravity reasserted itself. The truck went tumbling, rolling on the ground beforeing to a stop, something having hit us at extreme speeds.


    We were all fine, the benefits of Aura on their part. Only perhaps a bit jumbled from the sudden jerking sensations.


    "You were saying?" I gave Roman a re.


    ***


    So, I originally did n to go through the whole tournament, but I realized something.....why? I mean, the oue would be kind of obvious, so I''d rather it end on a more fun note? Mc and gang getting the F out of Mistral while the authorities chase them. And this sets up future plot points much better for any second rounds of RWBY when the time line aligns with canon.


    I was asked when RWBY was going to end, and I know that some people don''t like it, so i''ll say it''s within 10 chapters before MC heads out.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 112 - 107

    <h4>Chapter 112: Chapter 107</h4>


    "Mother Fucker." Roman shouted, kicking the door open as Neo climbed through the window on her side, the door practically caved in.


    My door was stuck enough that I just rammed it with my shoulder, breaking it thoroughly off its hinges.


    I got out in time to see Roman Aim his cane up, the bottom sliding open to be a crosshairs as a dust bullet wasunched out the bottom. It collided with the vehicle that just ran into us, several people running out as it blew up.


    "Were those police..?"


    "No, they were wearing Mchite''s colors." Roman snorted, as we both saw Neo bounce over, taking the two goons down with rtive ease.


    "Nice Cane." Imented. "Didn''t realize it''s a gun."


    "Hah, more than a gun." He smirked.


    "Makes me miss mine." I sighed. "Was just a hidden sword, but it had sentimental value."


    Maybe I should get another made at some point? It''s not something I would walk around with all the time, I can''t really pull off a cane like Roman can unless certain events dictate such a showing.


    "As much as I would love ¨C" Roman was interrupted, a bullet whizzed by, nicking his hat. There was a moment of silence as Roman Calmly raised his cane again and unloaded a series of dust-based bullets in the direction of the shot. "Well, I think we should get going."


    "How far away is the bullhead?"


    "Halfway across the city."


    "Joy." I sighed, this was turning into a mess. "Neo, how are your illusions for long term?"


    She shook her hand for a ''so-so'' gesture.


    I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and raised my sword up, a bullet colliding with the t of my de right before it would have connected with Neo ¨C or rather her Aura. "Careful there." I sent her a wink.


    She rolled her eyes, exaggeratedly ''swooning''.


    "Oh,e off it." I shook my head, another shot ringing out as I stepped to the side. "Alright, this is getting annoying, how the fuck did they know where we were?" They apparently set up enough to take pot shots at us.


    "Unfortunately, the spider knows my usual strategies, and Neo used to be one of her best enforcers." He aimed his Cane, using it as a gun and continued to fire away as he noticed more gang members pop up. "Wouldn''t be surprised if she has ambushes set up all over the ce."


    "Yeah, and you had me grab her attention so arge amount of her men were probably in the area already, right?"


    "Well, no one can say you did a bad job as a distraction." Roman offered. "No one could have guessed things turned out this way."


    That''s true, I suppose. Had everything gone as nned, then the tournament would have still been going on and Roman and Neo could haveid low somewhere without the government kicking down doors.


    A few screeching tires echoed out as a handful of cards came around the corner, stopping a distance away. Dozens of people getting out, all armed to the teeth.


    "Mustard!" Roman eximed.


    The man at the forefront growled. He had bleach blonde hair, and a tacky yellow suit on. "MY NAME IS NOT MUSTARD."


    "Hey there Mustard, it''s been a while. Still rocking that same look." Roman casually ignored his indignation. Neo looked amused by the whole thing.


    "Hey mustard, how''s it going?" I waved.


    His head snapped to me, a scowl on his face. "This brat your prot¨¦g¨¦ or something?"


    "No.""Yes."


    "Fuck off Roman."


    "Kid takes after me." Roman chuckled.


    "He has that same punchable face." Mustard grunted.


    "Why do people keep saying that!?" Do I really have a punchable face?


    "Hate to tell you kid ¨C "


    "Roman, enough." Mustard interrupted. "You know why we''re here."


    "Your unconditional surrender?" I interjected. "Perhaps an apology, for interrupting my tournament?"


    "Quiet, brat. The adults are talking."


    I turned to Roman who raised an eyebrow at me. Then I looked at Neo who just hit me with a big grin.


    "Hey Roman, did you see my first match?"


    "What the hell are you talking abou¡ª" Mustard asked in confusion as I tossed arge dust crystal in his direction.


    Roman brought up his Cane, with a practiced ease, he shot the crystal in mid-air, initiating arge explosion right in Mustard''s face.


    My eyes widened slightly as this strange yellow barrier blocked the brunt of it, only the faintest shimmer of Aura around the goon. Several bodies now littered the area, but most of the men were downed, and the remainder mostly consisted of Aura-users.


    The ''barrier'' copsed onto the ground coating it in a strange liquid like texture, almost like ¨C "IS THAT FUCKING MUSTARD?" I couldn''t help but shout.


    "IT''S NOT MUSTARD DAMMIT."


    I couldn''t help but startughing.


    "Did you think I called him that because of his sense of fashion?" Roman snorted, holding back augh himself. "His semnce makes that goopy stuff that looks like mustard."


    Neo was practically falling over herself, silentlyughing along side us.


    "KILL THEM." Mustard shouting as weapons were raised and fired.


    Roman Jumped to the side, Neo disappeared, and I drew my sword.


    I didn''t feel like getting bombarded by a deluge of bullets, so I dashed to the side behind a building.


    A man with a tattoo down his face ran at me, axe in one hand as he swung through a light pole with a surprising ease. His skill was mildly surprising, he wasn''t'' just ovepensating with pure strength, each of his swings that tried to cleave me were followed up with the right movements to capitalize on his build.


    Flicking my sword, I created a sword phantom that collided with his chest. A single bird was easy enough to do without any setup at this point.


    He was knocked off his feet, his Aura''s sheen dipped noticeably as it got much dimmer around his body. Following up with a quick knee to his head, he was knocked down for the count. I noticed so far that Aura-users are still susceptible to concussive blows even through their aura, except in a diminished capacity. Aura is certainly not an absolute defense, even if it''s at 100%.


    I looked over to see Neo dancing between several goons, several of which would appear to be on about the same level as this guy.


    "Damn girl." I couldn''t help butment. Her fighting style was quite fun to watch, actually.


    She turned towards me and give me a wink, using her umbre to p one of the guys in the balls, eyes never leaving my own.


    Yeah, I can see what you mean, Miltia.


    Hefting the downed guy up, I threw him at one of the goons trying to gang up on Neo as I joined her little brawl.


    A quick trust to one holding a hammer as Neo glided behind me, unfurling her umbre to block another''s vision as she swiped at his legs.


    I turned my sword around and stabbed down at him, a shriek filling the area. Neo Vanished with her semnce, appearing behind the one I had attacked previously, Kicking him in the back of the knees, then following up with a smack across his face with her umbre.


    I shed out with my de at the final one, as she slid under and used the hook of her umbre to yank him forward, letting my sword cut just a little more into his reserves.


    The man let out a gargled cry before Neo uppercut him in the chin and I elbowed him in the chest, his eyes rolled back, falling to the ground.


    We turned towards Roman who was having a sort of duel with their leader.


    "Careful Roman, don''t get mustard on your shirt!" I decided to shout helpful advice. Though that seemed to invigorate his opponent for some odd reason, because he just shouted and attacked more recklessly.


    I looked down at Neo. "This was fun, we should do it again sometime."


    Neo looked up at me inquisitively before enthusiastically nodding her head.


    Roman finally cracked the goon across the face with his Cane, the yellow man falling to the ground. He straightened his hat, walking towards us. "Whew, that felt good." He let out a breath. "Always hated that guy, such a kiss ass. If Mchite had a dick, he would have been on his knees every day."


    "I only caught the end of it, looked like it mustard been a hard fight."


    Roman paused, looking at me as I smiled wide. "You just took all the excitement out of my win." He took out a cigar, lighting it up and take a smoke. "Well done."


    "Hey." I looked in the distance. "Are bullheads supposed to be flying that close to the city." I raised my finger to the skyline.


    "No. No they are not." Roman said evenly. "I believe it is time to depart." He turned and very ¨C very briskly broke out into a sprint to the nearest car and turned the key. "Get the fuck inside!"


    Don''t gotta tell me twice, I hopped into the back seat and didn''t even have time to close the door before Roman peeled out and floored it into the opposite direction of what I could only assume was the bullhead. We managed to get several intersections down before the bullhead made it above us.


    "PULL OVER AND GET ON THE GROUND, THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING." A voice boomed out from the speakers connected to the bullhead.


    "Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me." Roman kept chanting as he swerved around a corner, deeming it better to go down streets with no people. Though it seemed like everyone got the message as most had already gone indoors.


    Thankfully, the huntsman academy seemed to be on the other side of the city, so it would take a bit for huntsman response.


    Neo started tugging on my sleeve, pointing towards the bullhead, my eyes widened as I saw what was happening. "ROMAN, PROBLEM."


    "BUSY HERE." He shouted, turning the steering wheel quickly to the side to avoid a police cruiser that just barely missed us, as me and Neo practically tumbled in our seats.


    Apartment on the bullhead following us opened, a damn missile revealed itself. "They''re not really going to fire that in the middle of the city....right?" I asked Neo, who did not have a reassuring look on her face.


    It didunch right at us. My Mirage flew out the widow to meet it, the explosion erupted right behind the car, causing the back tires to pop with Roman doing his best to not flip us as we grinded to a halt.


    "Roman what the hell!?"


    "What did I do!?"


    "They''re firing damn missiles at us in the middle of the city!" I gestured.


    "I don''t know why! They shouldn''t be this gung ho." He kicked open his door and began firing on the bullhead, though without much sess. "Fuck, I''m out." He grunted.


    Me and Neo took cover behind the car, the Bullhead hovered above the buildings, guns pointing at us. She did the obvious thing and shielded us in illusions as our previous selves were torn apart by a rain of bullets.


    "Don''t suppose you got any ammo on you, kid." Roman looked at me.


    "I got something you can use." I reassured him.


    "Great, what is ¨C"


    I took out the giant purple dildo and threw it, smacking him in the face. It fell to the ground as he blinked. "Okay, I''ll give you that one."


    Neo was rolling on the groundughing, yet still managing to keep her illusions going.


    "Actually, give me that back." I held out my hand. "I''ll take down this bullhead with that thing."


    "Kid, if you take out that bullhead with this dildo, I''ll get you unlimited drinks at juniors."


    Well, if I hadn''t already decided on this course of action before.


    I held the thing in my hand, activating my circuits and filling the ''weapon'' with Reinforcement. Something I never thought I would ever do in my life.


    Using it like a Javelin, I reeled back and threw it towards the pilot''s window. It easily prated the ss, hitting the pilot right in the face, causing him to lose control and spiral off into the road.


    Roman and Neo were both silent. "I want to adopt you." He suddenly said.


    Neo looked at me and made a motion of pushing a finger through her other hand with her index finger and thumb making an ''O''.


    "Okay....a lot to process there. Let''s shelve all this for now and get the fuck out of here."


    "Right, right." Roman nodded. "The bullhead shouldn''t be far away."


    ***


    "Roman!?" The familiar voice of Miltia basically shrieked at us as we finally found our ride.


    "Oh brothers. Can we not? I already got an earful from the kid." Roman sighed.


    With mes in her eyes Miltia gestured to the bodies littered on the ground around them.


    "Want a trophy?" Roman just snorted. "We ran into the same crap on the way here."


    "I took down a bullhead with a Dildo." I added.


    "Roman, this isn''t what ¨C" Miltia paused, looking at me. "What?"


    "We gotpany!" Mnie shouted over our bickering. Our eyes followed the direction she was looking. Police cards with their sirens ring down the street.


    Miltia quickly sat down in the pilot''s seat, flicking buttons and starting the engines.


    "Bullhead 7404-A38, you are not clear for take off, turn your engines off." A voicee over thems.


    I rolled my eyes "This is Bullhead 7404-A38." I grabbed themunications link, basically looking like a radio. "I believe there has been a misunderstanding. We were cleared for takeoff ten minutes ago. Over." Wonder if I could stall for a few more moments.


    "Bullhead 7404-A38, you are not clear for takeoff. I repeat, you are not cleared for takeoff. If you vite mistral airspace, you will be considered a hostile entity."


    "This is Bullhead 7404-A38, I have been instructed to inform you that if you do not allow us to safely take off, Roman Torchwick will do to you what he did to thest bullhead that came after us."


    "Oh what the hell?" Roman gawked at me.


    "What did Roman Torchwick do?" An older, gruffer, voice came over the inte this time.


    "He said he took thest bullhead down with nothing but a dildo. And he is still very armed at the moment." I smiled at Roman. "Proceed at your own risk." I clicked it off.


    "Oh fuck you!" Roman scowled.


    I just chuckled. "That''s going to take on a new meaning around you for now on."


    "Brothers dammit, I''m never going to hear the end of this now." He facepalmed.


    "Everyone sit down and shut up, we''re taking off." Miltia raised her voice as we all filed into our seats. The Bullhead took to the air before the cops could arrive and we easily cleared the area, getting up out of the city, but almost immediately three more bullheads followed after us. "We still got some on our tail."


    "Three, no four." I squinted. "Wait, one of them looks different, why is half of it painted yellow?''


    Roman perked up. "Is that a news bullhead?"


    "Are you serious?" I looked at him, taking my scroll out and flipping through it until I came up on the news channel.


    There was a woman with a mic in her hand, hair blowing as her voice was hard to hear over the harsh winds. "This is Pearl checking in with a deadly chase that took to the skies just moments ago." I looked a the bullhead from the window and back down to the scroll. "We received word that notorious criminal Roman Torchwick and his Partner Wilhelm Schweinorg have stolen a bullhead with Mistral authorities in pursuit. We have yet to calcte the damage they''ve caused in their wake, but my sources say that lethal force has been authorized."


    "Roman." Miltia''s voice cold. "Did she just say, lethal force?"


    "I do believe she did."


    "Roman." She said ever so calmly. "Why are they authorized to use lethal force on us."


    "Probably because Roman stole super secret military stuff from your mom, who stole it from As, who then was going to sell it to the government, who is keen on either burying the evidence of the illicit afair, or retrieving said secrets." I exined.


    "I better be getting a huge payout for this." Mnie scowled. "I noticed you didn''t bring any cargo with you." Her eyes narrowed dangerously at Roman.


    "Calm yourself sweetheart, I stashed the good stuff when I realized how hot things got. Besides, if we y this right, we can probably sell this As stuff for several million Lien."


    "Million!?" Mnie balked.


    "That''s a lowball." He smirked. "But we need to clear Mistral territory first."


    Damn, wasn''t the haul estimated to only be a few hundred thousand when everything was said and done?


    "I''m trying, but they''re catching up. We aren''t exactly in a military craft here, Roman." Miltia growled, before her eyes widened. "They''re arming weapons!"


    "Shit, we got anything in this hunk of junk?" Roman started looking around.


    "It''s a civilian airship!" Miltia shouted. "Why would there be weapons!" She turned to me." Wilhelm, do that sword thing."


    "What sword thing?" Roman turned to me.


    "Did you not watch the tournament?"


    "I was preupied!"


    I didn''t answer. "Miltia, can you open the back?"


    "Easy." She flicked a button and the loading door behind us began to open up.


    I stepped to the edge, the sudden air almost made me stumble. I allowed my sword to fly out, shooting at the bullheads like missiles, shing at their wings.


    "Oh shit!" Roman gawked. "When the hell did you learn to do that!?"


    I ignored the question again, staring at the bullheads make a downturn towards the ocean below. "They should be fine." I stated, my swords returning to me. "Though the news is still following."


    "''Eh, they''ll be forced to turn around in a moment, we''re about to leave Mistral airspace." Roman waived it off. "Hell, they''ll probably be forced to ¨C "


    A shadow appeared under the tides, a massive figure breached the surface, huge waves mming against the floating wrecks.


    "That is a big fucking Sea Fei long." Roman looked surprised.


    "I''ve never seen a Grimm that big before, is that a Titan?" Mnie stated.


    "Um guys....it''s looking right at the cops." I pointed out.


    "Shit, nothing we can do, that''s just bad luck." Roman tilt his hat.


    "We''re just going to leave them like that?" I asked. "I don''t mind dealing with the gangs, but they guys were just doing their jobs, and they''re objectively on the right side of thew here..."


    "Kid, we got no weapons, what do you expect to do against something that big?" He waived his hand at the massive creature. "Just be d it isn''t you down there." He went back to his seat.


    I.....


    Dammit.


    I can''t in good conscious leave them there to die. "Sorry." I looked at Miltia who eyed me weirdly.


    "Wilhelm, what are you doing?"


    I stepped towards the edge of the back tform, giving her a smile before I stepped off. A portal opened up below me as I fell through, another appearing high up in the sky, giving me a good look at the Sea Fei long now below me.


    It looked almost draconic in nature. A sea serpent with huge wings.


    Falling through the air, I drew Mirage, and my magical energy exploded out. Spell circles flowed around my de as I pulled on the Kaleidoscope. The sky above me shifted, an Aurora sprang out, a cascade of magical energy that created a torrent of color.


    The thing looked up, focusing on me intently. It unfurrowed its wings, as if to fly up and devour me.


    I held my sword back as I gathered thest of the magical energy I needed from an infinite amount of Parallel worlds.


    "Ether Cannon!" I swung my sword as a massive amount of magic was discharged. It collided straight down on the creature, the water disced and creating a tidal wave in every direction.


    The iridescent beam of light prating the water andpletely obliterating most of the Grimm along with anything else thatid below.


    Whelp, that takes care of that.....The wind almost yanked the binding off my pony tail as I continued to fall through the air.


    I looked to the side to see the Bullhead hovering nearby, Roman at the edge with his cane, when the head suddenly shot off towards me.


    A grappling hook?


    Gods that''s so fucking cool!


    I grabbed it with ease as he began to reel me in. I was surprised at the tensile strength of this thing. Probably some sort of carbon-fiber.


    "You are one crazy mother fucker." Roman huffed, pulling me on board.


    "Hey, thanks for the save." I smiled, even if I could just open a new portal. But it was the thought that counts.


    "Whatever, kid." He snorted. "So....the fuck was that?"


    "What was what?" I smiled innocently.


    "You know...." He took out another cigar, and I was now wondering if his Semnce created them, because I have no idea where he stashed so many. "I''m beyond caring at the moment." He went to his seat and slumped down. "Miltia, takes us home please."


    I just shrugged, Neo looking at me oddly and both sisters giving me nces.


    Well, I guess they share the same sentiments at the moment, this has been an odd adventure.


    Looking out the window, I noticed the news still hovering over there.


    Huh.


    It''s not like things could get even worse after getting shown using my Magic.


    ***


    Alright, I heard everyone''sments about howst chapter went. I can only say i''ll try to not do that again in the future.


    If you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 113 - 108

    <h4>Chapter 113: Chapter 108</h4>


    "I need a drink." Roman slumped out of the bullhead as wended.


    "Juniors?" I asked.


    "Yup." He popped. "Need to give the big guy a heads up on what happened."


    "Junior''s going to be pissed." Mnie added. "He expected an immediate return."


    "Yeah, well, he knew the risks." Roman seemed uncaring. "Besides, it''s not like he isn''t getting ahead here, it just won''t be immediate."


    "Won''t the police stop us?" I mean, we could easily sneak there, but we were just casually walking down the street at this point.


    "Pfft, like the Kingdoms are that cooperative. It''ll take at least several days before Vale even considers warrants." Roman bit down on his cigar. "And I doubt any of them with a brain wille knocking with you around, kid."


    "That''s...." I paused considering what he said. "That''s fair, I suppose."


    Roman snorted. "Yeah, just expect the As military if they really want your ass." He shook his head, clearly fatigued after everything that happened. "Hey, it''s your adoring fans." He chuckled as crowds of people began to point at us, scrolls out recording.


    I, of course, waved at them happily. "Do you guys not care that you''re basically being recorded?"


    "It''s good for my persona." Roman said flippantly.


    And that was also fair.


    "Me and Mel work for Junior." Miltia added. "There''s a reason he''s never overtly touched by the government."


    "Copious amounts of ckmail?" I asked. He was a information broker, along with his other illicit activities.


    "Yup."


    "Huh, neat." I thought for a moment. "Think people would pay for autographs?"


    "Kid." Roman turned to me with a t expression. "That is a genius idea." A smile grew on his face. "I''ll need to capitalize on this before I get a new warrant."


    "Neo, you good?" I asked the shorter woman, only taking a few nces at how those pants hugged her butt.


    She gave a small smile, seemingly unconcerned.


    "Please, Neo thrives on the attention." Romanughed as we approached the club. It wasn''t very far away, conveniently close to where the Bullheads parked. He swaggered in, pushing the doors open. "Honey, I''m home." He dered to a club full of people.


    Gone was the whole ''dance'' theme he had going on before. No, this was set up to watch the fights from earlier, lots of seating, lots of drinks.


    It only took a moment before people started pping and cheering.


    "Thank you, thank you." Roman took his hat off and bowed. "You''re all too kind, really."


    "What''s up with the standing ovation?" I asked.


    "You got any idea how many people the spider bitch ran out of Mistral or killed friends and family of? Not to mention ¨C fuck the governments. Oh, and a healthy dose of fuck the tournamentmission as well. Basically hit the triple with our little adventure."


    "The people of the hour." Junior opened his arms, weing us back and gesturing to the seats at the bar. The crowd just hollering and whooping even more.


    I happily took my seat, a drink already waiting infront of me. "This is not how I expected our return to be like." I down half my ss in one go.


    "At the moment, you''re not wanted men in Vale." Junior just shrugged, turning back to the huge crowd. "Ladies and Gentleman, we''re closing. So, get the hell out."


    Many booed and threw jeers at Junior, but they didn''t really have any venom behind them. He was weirdly charismatic.


    "Gonna debrief now?" I mused sipping my drink.


    "You think this is a cop drama or something?" Junior grunted.


    "Well, kid isn''t wrong." Roman grinned. "So, how''s everything after we made our escape?"


    Junior took his sses off, rubbing his eyes. "Shit, Roman. I can''t cover you on this one, you''re gonna get A LOT of heat on your for this shit."


    "I figured." Roman sighed. "How bad is the Kid in it?" He jerked his thumb towards me.


    "Up shit creek, the concept of a paddle doesn''t even exist for him anymore."


    "Ouch." I winced. "Didn''t know you cared, Roman."


    "Yeah, well, I need to make sure my people don''t get caught and snitch on me."


    "Sureeeeee." I smiled.


    He chose to ignore me. "But what''s thetest news."


    "Well, you lot are sted all over the news, kid and you taking the spotlight." He took out his scroll, pressing it a few times and tossed it on the counter.


    "Initial estimates are roughly 140,000 Lien in damages ¨C"


    "27 Dead ¨C "


    "¡ªWorried about an unchecked individual with the ability to kill a Grimm of such caliber"


    The Clips changed from time to time as a bunch of people all talked about our escapades.


    "Hmm, I wonder if Vacuo is nice this time of the year?" I asked.


    "If you like sand, sand, and more sand." Miltia rolled her eyes.


    "There''s that nice resort there, though." Mnie added helpfully.


    "Oh?" I was actually surprised by that.


    Neo stood up and excitedly waved her arms.


    "Oh yeah, shorty took a vacation there a few months ago, wouldn''t stop bragging about it." Miltia added, a tired look on her face.


    "We''re getting off topic, lets focus on the important stuff." Junior cut off that sidetrack. "Now....what''s this I hear about Roman downing a bullhead with....a Dildo?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "Pfffft" I held my hands up to my mouth, catching myself from spitting my drink everywhere.


    "Oh fuck me!" Roman let his forehead hit the counter.


    Mnie and Miltia broke into giggles, Neo practically falling out of her seat,ughing silently.


    Even Junior began to cackle at Roman''s misfortune.


    "First off, it was the kid." He used, pointing his finger at me.


    "That''s not what the inte says." I retorted, having brought my own scroll out and started searching up info. "Congrattions, Roman. You''re a meme."


    "I hate you so much right now."


    "Love you too, Dad." I chuckled.


    "You''re disowned."


    I turned to Neo. "Mom, dad''s being mean to me."


    Neo lightly pat my shoulder.


    "Can we talk about the important stuff now?" Roman tried to change the subject.


    "Fine." We did need to figure out what happened.


    "Alright, if you all are done fooling around." Junior put on a serious face. "Honestly, this was a shit show. After we settle everything, I don''t want to see you guys for several months." He swept his gaze at me, Neo, and Roman. "I''m already having to call on several favors to keep the Twins out of the news."


    "That''s fair. I''ll disappear for a bit once we settle everything." I nodded.


    "Yeah, I''ll probably hit up one of my safe houses and take some ''me'' time." Roman sighed. "Neo, you good?" Neo just nodded gesturing to him. "I forgot you had that house." He just hummed.


    I assume Neo was going to crash at her own little safe ce.


    "Well, if you guys got that figured out." Junior set his hands on the counter. "Seriously though, people are asking a LOT of questions here. It''s obvious even to the uneducated masses that more was going on than what''s being said. The government isn''t going to start firing missiles in the middle of the city over a petty thief."


    "Oh shit, I forgot about that. How were people not rioting after that?"


    "Believe me, people are very much upset." He refilled my drink without ament. "That kind of show of force was very unusual, and people noticed. Not to mention what the kid did to that Grimm." He gave me a look, as if trying to see through me.


    "Didn''t you unlock your Aura, like a week ago?" Mniemented, eyes drilling into me, actually everyone was giving me looks.


    "I can''t help that I''m so talented. Truly it''s the only thing that can rival my handsomeness."


    "Oh brothers." Mnie rolled her eyes, only making me smirk.


    I think they realized I wasn''t going to answer questions right now, so they moved on. "Yeah, that''s going viral at the moment. Isn''t doing you any good, kid. People are kind of scared that a criminal is capable of bring that kind of force to bare." He sighed. "Well, they''re also saying how you didn''t use it on the authorities and actually saved them, so it''s about split with regards to calling for your head."


    "Eh, don''t really care at this point." I shrugged. "What happened to the tournament after I left?"


    "Well, after you destroyed all my odds with your second fight, it went about as expected. They kind of forced everything to continue, Nikos winning the finals, but she refused to ept the reward, saying she hadn''t beaten her final opponent yet."


    Oh, Pyrrha, you cinnamon roll.


    "Other than that, you can probably guess the chaos going on right now after all that crap." He took a deep breath. "Now ¨C" he swept his gaze andnded on Roman. "What the fuck happened."


    "Yeah, I knew this wasing." Roman sighed again, nursing his drink. "We raided her stashes like nned, but we didn''t realize she had a VERY hot item hidden in there with all the loot."


    "How hot, Roman?"


    "As''s next generation of Mech and infantry weaponry." Roman answered nonchntly. "I only nced at some of the bitch''s notes, but stuff looked legit."


    "Brothers fucking damn it!" Junior Shouted, turning away and clenching his fists. "Fuck! No wonder they got so damn pissed. If As found out....."


    "Yup, whole shitshow that would be." Roman replied. "But, good news is that I managed to stash the other loot before making it out with this." He took a small chip out of his pocket and ced it on the counter. I assumed it was the same as a USB drive or something.


    "Is that..." He said quietly.


    "Yup, a bunch of super ssified As military secrets" Roman nodded. "Think As would be interested in reacquiring this?"


    "Roman." Junior stared at him. "You are one crazy son of a bitch. Yeah, we can probably do something with this....worse case Vale may want to buy it."


    "As won''t show up with their military?" I asked.


    "Yeah, no. The Vale Council would throw a fit if Ironwood tried to pull a stunt like that. Rtions are already a bit rocky after some issues in the past few years." Junior exined. "Good news, we''ll probably be making a lot of Lien. Bad news, it''s going to take a while to move something this hot."


    "Well, you guys work out the details. I need to make a call." I thought about Pyrrha and felt a small pit in my stomach.


    ***


    I sought some privacy in the Forever Fall Forest as I took out my Scroll, pressed a familiar number. It rang a few times before a redhead appeared on the screen. "Hey there, Red."


    "Wilhelm!?" Pyrrha looked at me in shock. "I thought...I wouldn''t hear from you again."


    "You have my number, you could have called."


    "....I didn''t think you would want to talk to me." She said quietly and I couldn''t help but sigh at what I probably put her through.


    "We''re friends, why wouldn''t I?"


    "Even after what happened?"


    "Red, my woman literally kicked my ass every day for years for training." I deadpanned. "That''s practically a greeting for me." I sighed again. "How you holding up, I know I left a mess behind."


    "That''s an understatement." She frowned, a little bit of venom in her words. "We were threatened to continue the tournament."


    I paused for a moment, remembering what Junior said. "Threatened? Do I need to go have a chat with someone?"


    "My manager is already talking to mywyers."


    "I guess I''ll keep my hands out of it then." I would let it go this time.


    "Also.....I talked to one of the Teachers from Beacon....I epted a schrship."


    "Oh? I hear Beacon is a good school, but won''t you get some k for going to a school outside the Kingdom?" I could only imagine with her poprity back home that they were all expecting her to go to Haven.


    "Maybe, I don''t know." She mumbled. "My manager said something simr but....you were from Vale so I wanted to go there."


    "Oh, Red."


    "I''m going to stop you." She said with a certain amount of confidence in her voice that surprised me.


    "Stop me?" I questioned.


    "I''ll make you stop being a criminal." She dered.


    I couldn''t help but smile at her words, The way she said them was so genuine. "Do you think you can?" I wanted to poke her a little bit.


    She furrowed her brow. "I know you''re strong."


    "Pyrrha, that wasn''t anywhere close to my full strength." I admitted. I wanted to see what her resolve looked like.


    She was quiet for a moment. "A lot of people are trying to specte your semnce, but no one can agree on anything." She looked at me, as if wanting an answer.


    "Semnce, huh?" I eyed her. "Tell you mine if you tell me ¨C"


    "Prity." She interrupted me.


    I blinked at her. "I was kidding." I face palmed. But that was interesting and I had questions regarding the applications.


    "Oh..." She looked down. "That''s fine, just ¨C "


    I sighed, opening up a portal right behind her. "Space Control." I spoke, almost making her jump in fright.


    "Wilhelm!?" She turned around, looking at me in utter shock.


    "Hey, Red," I greeted as I stepped over, the scene revealed was an empty park minus us two.


    "Space Control?" She muttered, connecting several dots. "That''s...scary to think about." She looked up at me. "Is it a good idea for you to be here...?"


    "Are you going to arrest me, miss huntress?"


    She blushed slightly. "I''m not technically a huntress yet.....only bing a Huntress in training, legally, when I start my schooling at Beacon."


    I couldn''t help but smile again at her nervousness. "I never did apologize for what happened." I moved towards a nearby bench, sitting down. She followed me, sitting a little close but I still saw her hesitance.


    "For the damage?"


    "Oh, I don''t really care about that." I admitted. Insurance would most likely cover everything, though I can look into that to clear my conscious incase someone got screwed over due to my flippancy.


    "Wilhelm!"


    "Well, I am a master criminal." I smirked as she just huffed in annoyance. "I was talking about how we left things." I looked up at the sky, the moon was surprisingly beautiful once I got used to it being shattered like that. "I was a lot like you not too long ago."


    "Like me?" She tilt her head, not understanding.


    "I told you I was alone for most of my childhood, I mean that literally. I had no friends, no one to confide in, alone." I exined as she looked like she wanted to crawl under a rock at my statement. I understood it, the embarrassment, the depressing thoughts she must have about herself. I knew them all too well. "I don''t know how I would have felt if I thought my first friend abandoned me." Our situations weren''t a perfect mirror, but it was enough that I can sympathize quite heavily with her.


    "We''re really friends?" Pyrrha asked quietly.


    "Of course." I said genuinely, as she rxed a bit and I saw a bit of smile hiding behind her neutral expression. "Want a hug?"


    "W-what?"


    "A hug." I reiterated. "I''m gonna hug you." She made a little sound as I wrapped my arms around her, but she didn''t seem to dislike it either as she reciprocated all the same.


    "I''m still going to stop you." She whispered.


    "Well, then you need to get stronger, huh?" We finally parted, a small blush on her face. "Try not to focus on only that though. You have a chance to make some more friends." I didn''t want to be the reason she couldn''t have a fun school experience, gods know I missed my chance.


    "That''s....another reason I wanted to go to Beacon." She admitted. "I thought it would allow me to escape the ''fame''. I''m tired of everyone just propping me up like some kind of idol."


    "Hmm, probably, but don''t'' expect it all to just dissipate into the air." It was a good idea. "You can''t expect people to willingly ignore your pedestal, if you won''te down to meet them halfway."


    "I know...." She muttered. "I''ve never been good with people though." She looked embarrassed by the admittance. "I took acting sses when I was younger to help me fake it infront of the cameras."


    "Okay, the thought to of you trying to act in a setting like that is a little funny." I would pay money to see her in a y or something. "Actually, I was a part of the theatre club in my school.


    "Theatre? They have clubs for that?" She looked at me, and I guess it was a foreign concept to her, in a world with monsters like this.


    "It was moremon where I''m from." I waived it off as I sighed again. "I''m going to have to disappear for awhile, Red."


    "Disappear....because of what happened?"


    "Yeah, Vale is probably going to put out a warrant for my arrest. Figured I''d get a head start and hit the road before then."


    "Will I still be able to talk to you?"


    "Where I''m going, it''ll be hard. But I''ll make sure to check in when I can."


    "Oh....I see." She looked a little depressed at that. "How long do you think you have to hide?"


    "Few months, probably. I think I should be able to pop back up in public by the time Beacon''s semester starts."


    "Really!?" She lit up at me words.


    "I promise." I said as I resolved myself to show up even if my face was still being sted everywhere. I saw so much of the old me in her, I couldn''t not be there when she needed moral support.


    But I was running down the clock on my stay here. I wanted to finish up a few more things before I departed.


    ***


    Well, we''re wrapping up RWBY for now, I just wrote the chapter where MC left over on pat reon. Pyrrha continues to be a cinnamon roll, with a few issues solved between them.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 114 - 109

    <h4>Chapter 114: Chapter 109</h4>


    I was walking through the market, a small smile on my face as I just eyed everything around me. There were many stalls, some people hawking their wares, and some legitimate store fronts with opens doors, beckoning people toe and take a look.


    It really was a big difference from the more residential and industrial aspects, which would be expected, except there were plenty of smaller versions of this happening here or there. If there was a demand, then there would be a need.


    I doubt everyone living on the fringes of Vale would want to walk all the way here then back home for some light grocery shopping.


    But I digress.


    I was drawing attention, but I didn''t care so much right now.


    "Isn''t that..."


    "Wasn''t he a criminal, should we call the police?"


    "I heard he killed a titan."


    "...is he single?"


    I almost tripped hearing that thatst whisper, it was an older woman.....a much older woman.


    Nope.


    I wanted to evacuate immediately after that, but something caught me attention out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look at a man siting at a stall, shirts hung everywhere, taking a few steps over, he seemed to notice me. "See anything you like, we have thetest¡ª" He stopped, staring at me, then looking at one of his shirts hanging up. "Uh....."


    I walked up, staring him in the eyes, cing a hand on his shoulder. "You''re doing good work. I''ll take five."


    He turned around and quickly pocketed the money after I picked out a few sizes, eyeballing them. With my new prize, I made my way through the market for a little while longer, grabbing something here or there.


    Saw a couple things I would be grabbing as gifts. Didn''t want to see Kunou again without getting her a little something.


    My cute little daughter.


    Honestly, I kind of want to see Yasaka again as well. Izzy, I wanted to hang out with her some more.


    I couldn''t help but sigh as I thought about everyone I had been away from so far. I really want toplete my project and get my house connected everywhere. To have everyone know each other so I don''t have to keep jumping around when I want to visit the people I care about.


    As I finished up and approached Junior''s club for the final time in the next few months, I stopped my moping, putting on a small smile.


    "I''m back." I pushed open the doors, announcing my presence. The familiar faces of the gang met mine, some half hearted acknowledgements.


    It was sort of a ''going away'' party, if it could be called that.


    More like, sitting around and drinking until we had to skedaddle.


    "Kid, we got an update." Roman waived his hand in the air to grab my attention before pointing to Junior.


    "Got a tip that Vale''s going to make an announcement in solidarity with Mistralter tonight." Junior sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Didn''t think they''d do it this quickly."


    "Well, we prepared for the worst." I shrugged.


    "You have somewhere to go?" Miltia casually asked, though she didn''t do a good job of hiding that worry in her tone.


    "I guess I could go visit my Daughter and her mother for a bit." I waived her off. I would see if i could stop by before heading to Skyrim with Rin and Artoria.


    "You have a daughter!?" Miltia''s shocked expression mirrored everyone else.


    "Is that weird?" I asked.


    "Damn, I have a granddaughter." Roman lit his Cigar.


    "You''re not my dad." I deadpanned.


    "Actually, I put the adoption papers through." Roman retorted. "Wilhelm Torchwhick, it has a nice ring to it."


    "I''m 20 years old." ....I think? Time wasn''t a perfect measurable variable when in the Land of Shadows.


    "Hi ''20 years old'', I''m dad." Roman looked very impressed with himself.


    "I hate you."


    "I know." He smirked.


    "Can we go back to him having a daughter?" Miltia interrupted, even Neo looking interested, poking Roman to stop his shenanigans.


    "What?" I looked around. "Is that so weird?"


    "Yes."


    "Yup."


    "Definitely."


    Neo gave a thumbs up.


    "I don''t care."


    I rolled my eyes, taking out my scroll and revealing a picture of Kunou. It didn''t show her tails thankfully, just her floofy ears. I actually took a picture of my phone''s screen so I would have it on my scroll as well. Didn''t turn out bad at all.


    "A faunus?"


    "She''s too cute to be your daughter."


    "You actually convinced a woman to sleep with you?"


    I looked around the room. "I''m feeling very attacked right now. And she''s not my daughter by blood, kind of got adopted by her awhile ago and this is how it turned out."


    "Yeah, figured since she looks at least 10. Would be weird if you were the father." Miltia admitted.


    The other nodded in agreement as I gave a t look. "Okay so you all just wanted to take shots at me. Why did I expect any different?" I put it away.


    "Stop being a baby." Miltia huffed, tapping her finger on the counter. "You could bring her around...or something when everything dies down."


    "My club isn''t a daycare." Junior grunted, but shrinked down when Miltia gave him a death re. "Whatever." He dropped it pretty easily. "Just don''t bring her around Roman, he''s a bad influence."


    "Pretty sure he''s racist." Mnie added.


    "I''m not Racist." Roman defended himself. "I''m offended that you would think so low of me."


    "Aren''t you constantly saying racist shit towards Faunus?" Mnie asked.


    "First off." He set his cigar on an ashtray. "I do that on purpose because the majority of the Faunus we work with are involved with that white fang terrorist crap."


    "So you just do it to piss them off?" I looked at him.


    The corners of his lips curled up. "Why else? Do you really think I would care that a person has animal features or not?"


    "That''s....a really fair point. You would definitely spout racist shit against humans if it had the same effect."


    "d you understand me, kid." Roman nodded in delight.


    "That being said, if I hear any of your crap around my daughter ¨C if I ever bring her near you, which is very unlikely -- I will break your legs."


    "Oh wow, you really are a dad. You got that whole ¨C " He waived his hands. "Dad aura going on." He stated, letting out a chuckle. "Don''t worry yourself, brat, I don''t go picking on kids for shits n giggles."


    Junior was liberal with the drinks, not that I would ever be paying here again anyways. I make sure to remind Roman of his little deal whenever possible. "By the way, I got going away presents for everyone."


    "Oh, kid, you shouldn''t have." Roman spoke first. "I take cash or check."


    I took one of the shirts out of my ring and tossed it at his face. "So you all can remember me fondly in theseing months." I passed the remainder around.


    "Really?" Junior held the shirt up to himself.


    "I know, I didn''t think it was possible to make a T-shirt so sexy." I shook my head, forcing myself to look away. "Junior, I hope you''ll use this newfound power of yours for good. To wear something that spectacr, panties will drop from just glimpsing it."


    "You''re the worst." Miltia looked at her shirt.


    "Going right in the Trash." Mnie added.


    "Well, I needed a rag for when I changed my car''s oil." Roman nodded.


    I looked at Neo, who was now wearing the shirt. "I knew it, you''re the best." I gave her a thumbs up, she happily reciprocated.


    They were shirts with my face stered all over.


    "You know, I suddenly feel like the club just got significantly more ss.....weird."


    "Fuck off." Junior snorted.


    "Hehe." I lightlyughed as he threw the shirt back in my face.


    "As fun as this is." Roman pushed his Cigar against the ash tray, putting it out. "I really want to skip town before they get smart enough to lock the city down."


    "That''s, probably for the best." Junior nodded, with perhaps a tiny bit of sadness. I don''t think he would admit it, but he likes having people around like this.


    "I guess I''ll head out too." May as well. I had a few more things I wanted to check out here before departing the world for awhile, otherwise I was in the wind.


    "Stop fucking pussyfooting around and go." Miltia huffed, but at this point I could kind of read between the lines. She wanted me to get going before I ran into any trouble.


    "Hug?" I offered, arms open.


    She rolled her eyes. "If it gets you out of my hair faster." She held her arms open as I scooped her up. She made a little noise in embarrassment before I let her go.


    "I''ll see you in a few months."


    "Fine, Whatever." She crossed her arms and turned away.


    I felt a little tug on my sleeve, Neo was looking at me bashfully, holding her arms open. "Really?" I looked at her.


    She tried her best to put on an innocent face.


    "No stabbing." I stated, holding my arms out, she pouted but gave a silent giggled and a quick hug. "We''ll stab people togetherter." Felt like I didn''t get to know her much these past days, though we got along well all things considered.


    That got a genuine smile from her.


    "Sheesh, this mushy crap is going to make me sick." Roman gagged audibly. "And what''s up with you Neo, you don''t usually get attached that easily."


    Neo shrugged her shoulder before flicking her wrist. A wallet appeared in her hand as we all stared at her.


    "You know what? Well done." I admit my defeat there. It was a fake wallet, well, not really ''fake'' but just something I picked up here randomly to store my Lien in so I wouldn''t have everything stored in my ring to retrieve.


    Surprisingly though, she took itpletely without my noticing


    "Mnie." I turned to the other twin.


    "Fuck you." She gave me the bird.


    I nodded. "Fuck you too." I replied, earning a small smile from her. Lastly. "Junior."


    "You were surprisingly....not the most annoying person I''ve ever had to work with." Junior said with a certain amount of honesty in his voice. "That will always be Roman, though you are a in the top 10."


    "Top 10?" I asked. "Roman, I need tips on how to score higher."


    "Get the fuck out of my Club." He snorted, though itcked any kind of venom.


    "What about me?" Roman feigned indignance.


    "Roman." I paused, trying to think of the correct words to say. "Your hat is stupid."


    "That''s it, you''re disowned." He eximed.


    We both sat there for a moment before chuckling.


    "Kid, I can''t believe I''m about to say this, but ¨C You are someone I havee to tolerate." He practically choked up.


    "Thanks dad." I deadpanned.


    "Any time, kiddo." He shot me with a finger gun.


    "Well, time to leave on that utterly low note." Tossed the shirt back at Junior. "See you all, hopefully, in a few months." I opened up a portal and left.


    ****


    I stepped into the Forever Fall Forest one more time.


    Definitely my favorite ce on Remnant so far, I could easily see myself building a home out here.


    Flipping my hand over, I took out themp, summoning my genie.


    "Hello again." Jinn greeted, stretching like she had been sleeping. "How may I service you, my master?" She smiled.


    "You mean, be of service?"


    "No."


    "Of course." I didn''t even question it at this point. "Hey, is it ufortable being in my storage space while you''re in yourmp?"


    She tilt her head at the question. "Hmm, I suppose that falls under my ''uses'' technically." She mused. "It is a strange feeling, like.....finding my house suddenly adrift in the sea without anything on the horizon."


    "I can keep Lamp out for now on if you want?"


    "If that would not be too much trouble." She seemed pleased.


    "You know, you''re allowed to ask things of me. The worst that I can do is say no." I didn''t want her to be afraid of me, it left a strange feeling in my stomach.


    She smiled bright at that. "If that is what my master desires." She walked up, touching themp. "The Relic has certain features to it." She stated, as it began to shrink down to a size which I could fit in my palm.


    "Well, that''s convenient." I blinked at the small object now. "Makes me wonder if I can mess with it some more." I rubbed my chin in thought. "The outer shell seems entirely malleable even with the concepts woven into its creation. Did your brother gods not think anyone would mess with it after it was created?"


    "Is that a question?" The dry look she gave me basically confirmed my guess.


    "They weren''t the most intelligent sort....were they?"


    She let out an uncharacteristic groan. "Is that a question?"


    "I sense some hostility there." Iughed. "But I do have a question to ask.


    She perked up immediately, the area around us freezing in time. She yed it up, magics floating around us, building up the atmosphere. "Ask your final question for this century."


    I thought of something, a mischievous smile formed on my face. "Actually, I changed my mind."


    She just blinked, nodding as the effects around us dissipated.


    "You know what? I actually will have that question now."


    Once again, time paused. "What is your ¨C"


    "Changed my mind."


    Time resumed.


    "On second thought...."


    Time paused.


    "Nah, better not."


    Time resumed.


    "Oh, I suddenly thought of ¨C"


    "NO!" She huffed, crossing her arms, pouting in annoyance.


    "Fine, Fine. I''ll do it for real." I tried to appease her, perhaps I was teasing her too much just now. But she didn''t shake her annoyed expression. I walked up as she turned away, arms wrapping around her. "Jinn." I lightly caressed her cheek. "I''m sorry, I went too far."


    She huffed again, not answering.


    "Jinn~ What can I do to apologize?" I whispered, next to her ear before they truly caught my attention. They were very cute, very pointy, I couldn''t help myself.


    Nom.


    "Hnn" She made a little sound, a squeak in surprise escaped her lips.


    I paused, releasing her ear, looking down at her face which was turning a bright shade of red. "Oh my, are your ears sensitive?" Made me want to keep nibbling.


    "I-is that a question?" She turned even redder. "I want to speak with Ddraig." She changed the subject.


    I raised an eyebrow, summoning the boosted Gear.


    "[Hello, Jinn.]" Ddraig greeted happily.


    "Hello, Ddriag." Jinn was happy to return the greeting. It was probably something she wasn''t used to , an experience that was still novel. " I have a question.


    "[Oh, ask away.]"


    "Is it possible to take things into that gauntlet?" She pointed at the boosted gear.


    "[It is, do you wish toe and stay in here with me?]"


    "Can I truly?" Her eyes lit up.


    Huh, I didn''t think about that. "If he agrees and that''s what you want." I added. It would be a good way for her to havepany instead of me keeping her in her Lamp all the time.


    "[I have never had a roommate before.]" Ddraig seemed amused. "[Though, this is more of a prison for me, you would be sequestered to the side, unfortunately. But we will be able to speak when ever you wish.]"


    Jinn looked excite at the prospect, and I''m d it made her happy. "Does that mean I''m out of the dog house?"


    She turned back at me, a small twitch on her lips. "Ask your question." She still turned slightly red.


    "Alright, I won''t tease you anymore." I put my hands up in surrender.


    "Hmph" She raised her hands and time stopped again.


    "[This is really a nice application of magic.]" Ddraigmented.


    "Thank you." She beamed again. "Atleast someone appreciates my effort." She red at me.


    "Okay, I deserved that." I admitted before getting serious. "Since we''re leaving soon, I figured I would see the origin of the Grimm." It was on the old man''s list. He was curious how they came about, but at this point it was probably an easy to guess at who created them.


    The familiar scene urred, knowledge flooding the surroundings, conveying their contents in more than just words.


    The brother gods. One of Light, and one of Darkness.


    It was the god of darkness who created them grimm. His motivations were hard to discern, I suppose I didn''t word my question as broadly to allow that.


    It shifted as many types of grimm were created, some by hand, some mutations, and others surprisingly evolved over time or with a purpose. The older they became, the more intelligent until they cast off their ''construct'' origins and became something akin to phantasmal species.


    "Fascinating." I made many mental notes until the visions shifted again.


    A woman appeared on the screen, bing the predominant focus. Red eyes, pale skin, cursed marks on her body. She stood above these huge pools of inky darkness as more grimm emerged in new shapes and forms.


    "Salem, the Queen of the Grimm." Jinn revealed. "She is --"


    "Step on me mommy."


    "What?" The scenes copsed abruptly.


    "[What?]"


    "....What?"


    ***


    Just another reminder, I won''t be posting tomorrow, on Wednesdays anymore. But up next is the Ozpin interlude.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 115: Interlude 5

    <h4>Chapter 115: Interlude 5</h4>


    Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon, POV.


    I hummed to myself, stirring my hot cocoa gently, adding a dash of nutmeg to give it a little pop. Taking a sip, I leaned back and admired the taste.


    After living for an uncountable number of years, one learns to appreciate the small pleasures in life. It gave scope, context, to why the fight was worth continuing each day.


    Standing up, I walked towards the rotunda windows that circled my office, my tower that overlooked the school.


    A wizard I may no longer be, but a tower I still built myself.


    No longer did it house arcane secrets, magical facilities, and cosmic powers. Instead, it now overlooked the next generation. The eager, young faces of youth, the heroes of tomorrow. Those who would take up arms and defend humanity from the monsters that go bump in the night.


    It was not a position to lord myself over those below, to create a sense of self importance, despite what my students may think.


    A reminder.


    To see, every day when I look out the window in the morning, what it was I exactly fighting for. Every face that would one day not return to their friends and family, their happy faces carved into my soul, that even after reincarnating, I would never forget.


    The sins I had to bear.


    So that, one day, this would no longer be necessary. Weapons would be let go because monsters no longer banged on their doors.


    Unfortunately, today was not that day, nor would it be tomorrow, and most likely not be grasped within this lifetime.


    My idle muse was broken as the door to the elevator opened. "Hello, Glynda." I greeted my deputy headmistress.


    "Hello, Ozpin." She returned a small smile. "Have you started watching yet?"


    "I was tempted." I smiled lightly. "But you know how James gets when we start without him."


    She didn''t seem to give it much thought herself. "What about Qrow, is he ¨C"


    "I''m here." A slightly slurred voice caught our attention, as the man shifted from his bird-form back into human.


    It almost made me sigh how I couldn''t even sense his magic anymore. Without direct contact, my magical senses were practically nonexistent. Even my own magic that I gifted a few decades prior to him that allowed his transformations.


    "Good morning, Qrow." I greeted politely all the same.


    "Heya, Oz." He raised a sk in greeting.


    "Qrow, do you really need to start drinking this early?" Glynda scowled, though we both knew it was a losing fight at this point.


    No, after Summer Rose died, he never let go of that sk she gave him, its contents always filled.


    I suppose we all cope in our own ways, I certainly can''t throw stones from my ss house. Atleast he can still be productive; it took me several lifetimes to get my act together after....


    I didn''t wish to dwell on those thoughts right now.


    "I didn''t start drinking this early." He smirked. "I haven''t stopped drinking sincest night."


    Well, that is certainly one way to rationalize it, I suppose.


    "Oh, Oz, I got something I wanted you to look at." He fumbled around his pockets until he realized he had a small sling over his shoulder. "Ruby was having trouble smelting this, even the smiths she visited couldn''t make heads or tails of it." He took a rather strange looking ingot of metal out and set it on my desk.


    "I have never seen a metal like this before." Which was certainly a strange thing in of itself. "Where did you acquire it?" I put my hand on it, and I couldn''t help but have my eyes widen, a familiar feeling lightly pulsing out.


    "Eh, some kid was saved by the shorty. Got lost somewhere and she helped him or something, I was barely paying attention." He took another drink from his sk. "Said it was a reward for Ruby. I told her I''d go ask some people if they knew what to do with it."


    "This metal is magical." I stated inly, a mild amount of shock on my face.


    "Wait, what?" Qrow paused mid drink, staring at me.


    "Are you sure, Ozpin?" Glynda gave me a surprised look.


    I couldn''t fault them for their reactions. Anything magical beyond Dust was practically lost to the world. Even finding the most primitive magical tool would be arge boon unheard of in several lifetimes. To actually hold a metal that held magical power in it.....it was a strange feeling. As reduced as I was, I could alteast feel magic from touch.


    "I am almost certain." I nodded, staring at the strange metal. "Where did you acquire it, Qrow?" Hopefully he would have a more thorough exnation.


    He scratched his head, seemingly trying to focus his thoughts. "Some strange kid was helped out by Rubes. She took him home, met Tai and myself. He was thankful for the help, said he got lost due to some ''Semnce misshap'' or something." He paused for a moment. "Oh, and he pulled a rabbit out of his hat, said he was a magician."


    I blinked at his statement, that was certainly not what I expected. "Like stage magic....or something else?"


    "Well, he didn''t seem like a Wizard, Oz. And I didn''t exactly ask him, if that''s what you''re asking."


    That was fair, and I''m merely grasping at straws here anyways.


    "Well, actually....." Qrow paused again. "Ruby did say something about them sparring and he beat her with a stick..."


    "A stick?" Glynda asked. "Ruby is still very young, but her talent is undeniable. She would perhaps match the average at Beacon right now."


    "Well, I didn''t really give it any thought and ¨C" Qrow looked like he just realized something. "She said it was after he cut a tree in half.....with the stick."


    I let out a sigh, but once again, I couldn''t really fault him. How much of what Ruby said could be interpreted as merely her youthful imagination or exaggerations.


    "That''s still not evidence." Glynda raised a very fair point.]


    "She is correct. We''ve been fooled into thinking that a semnce was magic in the past." Well, we''ve fooled ourselves before. It was easy to jump to conclusions about such a thing when you truly hope for it to happen.


    "Oh, right. He said his semnce was space maniption or something." He leaned against the wall. "


    Oh, well. I suppose that is still impressive in of itself. "That exins it then." I nodded. I could think of many ways to utilize a broad semnce like that for the applications witnessed.


    And it isn''t hard to assume he merely found the metal somewhere.


    Magic was dead, it wasn''ting back anytime soon.


    "What kind of space maniption? Raven also has a variation of that." Glynda asked, drawing our thoughts to Qrow''s wayward sister.


    It made tracking her down very difficult when she could open portals to people she had bonds with.


    "I don''t know." Qrow shrugged. "I didn''t really ask him anything other than seeing if he knew Raven."


    Ah, that was be a quick conclusion to jump to for him, even if it was aplete shot in the dark. Just because semnces are rted in some aspect, does not mean the people possessing them are.


    "What was he like?" I asked. If nothing else, it might be beneficial to get him on our side.


    "Dressed well, seemed like he had a sense of humor." Qrow took another drink. "Nice enough, I guess. He gave off the feeling like one of those ''aristocrat'' types in As, but with a lot less snob."


    Qrow was being flippant, but that was helpful information. I would need to check in with James, maybe ask around. "Did you get a name?"


    "Uh...." He scratched his head again. "It was something long, didn''t follow the colors."


    "That''s rare these days." Glynda added, seemingly used to Qrow not giving detailed information.


    I did enjoy the color naming conventions that popped up. A show of unity across both Faunus and Humanity in a dark hour. But the fact that he didn''t use it was good information in of itself. "Just keep an eye open, he could prove useful to pull to our side if he has a powerful semnce."


    "Right-o." Qrow replied nonchntly.


    At that moment, the scroll began to buzz, a familiar man on the other end as I answered, his face showing up on therge screen at the front of my office. "Good morning, James, I hope you are having a wonderful day."


    "I wish, Ozpin." James Ironwood''s stern voice came out of the speakers. "The council is dragging its feet on several issues."


    "Ah, something I know all too well." I nodded at his plight. I too had to deal with the Vale Council too much for my liking.


    "Are we all here and ready?" James asked.


    "You were thest one, Tin-man." Qrow stated.


    James didn''t deem it necessary to respond, his gaze turning to Glynda. "Glynda, a pleasure as always."


    "James." She nodded to him.


    Ah, the tension that never went away after their small tryst a decade ago. I decided it was a good idea to move along. "I am looking forward to this years Tournament we have quite a few good seeds."


    James'' eyes lit up. "Don''t you dare steal all them again, Ozpin." He stared at me, though a small bit of yfulness in his voice. "Lionheart already has a huge advantage, and I heard he was doing tours of Haven as well."


    "Oh, that is smart." I rubbed my chin. "Perhaps we should start doing something simr before the school year begins? Offer tours of the facilities, it may draw up some potential interest."


    "I wouldn''t be against it, but we''re already running around before the year begins, we need to look into hiring more hands." Glynda replied.


    She''s been pushing for more staff for awhile now. "Alright, Glynda. Provide me with a list of potential teachers and I''ll give it a look." It is true we need to expand a bit. And more trusting hands around here would be a boon.


    Glynda practically beamed under my words. "I already have one created, I will deliver it to youter today."


    Of course.


    Just as I would expect from the woman I chose as my sessor for Beacon Headmaster.


    "As fun as this is, can we start." Qrow interjected.


    "Yes, of course." We were getting quite sidetracked. "We''re a little behind as it were." I began to y the stream of the tournament.


    "Go fuck yourself, Lil''Miss Mchite. Love, Roman Torchwick."


    "Pffft!" Qrow spit his drink out in surprise and I had been lucky I also was not sipping my beverage for I fear I may have had a simr reaction.


    "What?" Glynda looked on in shock.


    "Roman Torchwick, isn''t he that Thief in vale, why is he calling out Mchite like that?" James immediately began to contemte the message, seemingly uncaring about the words themselves.


    "Forget that, Oz, that''s the kid!"


    "The Kid?" I questioned until Realization dawned. "He is the one who gave the metal to Ruby?"


    "Yeah, would recognize him anywhere."


    "What metal?" James asked.


    "Magic metal, gift to Ruby." Qrow abbreviated, which was surprisingly urate.


    "I would like a further exnationter." Jamesmented. "But is there anything I should know about him?"


    "Nothing important just yet, he seems to posses a space-based semnce." Imented.


    James''s eyes twinkled. "Is that so?"


    I suppose he would try and get his hands on this person himself. I would not stop him, if he were sessful then it would be beneficial to us as well. I took out my own scroll and looked through the information avable.


    Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg.


    Certainly a unique name in this era.


    "I''m going to pound him so hard, his mom is gonna be jealous."


    His opponent providing some mocking words, and I couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow at Wilhelm''s face. This would not bode well for young Gundy, I could recognize a cold anger well enough.


    "Uh, why does his record say all ''byes''?" Qrow was looking over his own scroll.


    "Looks like someone is messing with the Tournament." Glynda herself was pulling up her own information. "They aren''t even being subtle about it."


    "Roman Torchwick, perhaps?" James offered. "But he usually doesn''t venture out of his ownne. This is a far cry from his thefts."


    Hmm, Roman Torchwick. He''s a very notorious thief here in Vale, but he''s never been close to a priority. He''s smart enough to stay away from anything that drags too much attention, hurting innocents, murder, theft of government property and such.


    Why would he be doing this now?


    "It is a good theory as any." I agreed with James''s initial assumption.


    *BOOOOOM* The cameras shook from the arena, the entire thing filled with smoke as one of the fighters was sted out of the ring. And Wilhelm just casually strode away without another word.


    "A dust bomb?" James muttered. "No, that was just a crystal, how did he achieve that kind of payload with only a single crystal like that?"


    "Most peculiar." I agreed.


    "As much as I hate to admit it....it was a sufficient strategy to deal with an armored opponent like that." Glynda grumbled.


    "Please, we all know he wasn''t doing that as a ''strategy''." Qrow rolled his eyes.


    "Quite. And I do not believe it was technically against the rules." I stroked my chin.


    James didn''t seem to mind either as he kept rather quiet. He was quite the stickler for rules but he also appreciated a creative use around them.


    "If you all wouldn''t mind, how about we fast forward to his next fight, I wish to see this young man again."


    "Whatever." Qrow didn''t seem to care.


    "The next few matches don''t look like they will hold any suspense, if you wish to jump ahead I''m not against it." Glynda also agreed.


    "Go ahead, Ozpin." James agreed as well. "I''m also a bit curious."


    "Very well." I began tapping away at the screen, catching up with the live broadcast a bit until this Wilhelm appeared again for his next match. "Ah, here we are." He took a corner of the ring with a new opponent.


    "That is Cobalt, I believe." James spoke first. "I was eyeing him previously. I thought his Semnce would be quite beneficial as a specialist."


    "I don''t see his Semnce listed anywhere." Glynda frowned, staring at her scroll.


    "I have good people under me." James smirked. "We narrowed it down to a few possibilities, but they all would be a boon to have."


    James was usually quite proficient with his information gathering, I had no reason to doubt him.


    We all silently watched the uing fight.


    Young Cobalt was the first to engage, and I could immediately tell he was out matched. Wilhelm barely moved from his starting position, never unsheathing his unique looking sword. He used the barest effort necessary to deflect or block each attack Cobalt initiated.


    Cobalt eventually retreated back, as they started to exchange some words. Not something rare in these types of matches, but the content was quite interesting.


    "Some kind of precognition?" Wilhelm voiced his thoughts on Cobalt''s Semnce.


    I looked up at James''s face that seemed to confirm the young man''s guesses. "He has good eyes." Imented.


    No, Cobalt revealed it as a sort of Danger Sense. A more whimsical variation of precognition, one I have not heard of before.


    But his next words were the most surprising to hear.


    "Why do none of theme close to the danger you give off?"


    "James, do you have information on Wilhelm?" I asked. It appears as though this young man is going to have my undivided attention for now.


    If what Cobalt said was true, then this young man is someone we need to protect before Salem''s forces are able to get their ws into him.


    Supposedly more dangerous than even Haven''s teachers? I know they aren''t the peak of Huntsman, but they are still extremely well trained and have decades of experience.


    Even if Cobalt was exaggerating, they needed to know more about this Wilhelm, too many things are starting to appear around him that were strange.


    Too many coincidences.


    "I''ll have my people look into the records, but that isn''t a name I can recall off the top of my head." James replied.


    It''s possible he''s from outside the kingdoms, but that is a long shot.


    And Cobalt all but confirmed that Wilhelm was holding back, substantially at that.


    I think we all held our breaths when he finally moved. The cameras didn''t even correctly catch what happened. One moment he drew his sword, the next, Cobalt was falling to the ground in a puddle of blood and Wilhelm was sheathing his de once again.


    "How old did his application say he was?" I asked.


    "20, years old." Glynda replied.


    "What?!" James suddenly shouted, turned away from the screen.


    "James, is something the matter?" I looked up at him.


    "OZ, change the channel to the news."


    I blinked at hisment, we weren''t quite caught up with the live stream yet, but it seemed rather important. I messed with the device until arge ''breaking news'' shed across the screen.


    "We received word that notorious criminal Roman Torchwick and his Partner Wilhelm Schweinorg have stolen a bullhead with Mistral authorities in pursuit. We have yet to calcte the damage they''ve caused in their wake, but my sources say that lethal force has been authorized."


    "What the hell?" Qrow reeled back at the scene of a bullhead being chased by several more of Mistral''s insignia on them.


    His words echoed my own thoughts as well. What happened between the end of hisst match to now that he was now a wanted fugitive?


    The Mistral authorities were gaining on them, prepping their weapons which would be a ughter on that civilian craft they were trying to escape on. That was, until the back hanger door of the criminal''s bullhead opened up, revealing Wilhelm staring at them from the distance.


    Suddenly, several swords appeared around him and shot out at the oing authorities. But that isn''t what grabbed my attention.


    I couldn''t help but abruptly standing up, mming my controls to pause the screen.


    "Ozpin!?" Glynda eximed in shock as all eyes were on me that.


    "That''s the Relic of Destruction!" I pointed towards the screen,pletely bbergasted.


    "Wait, what?" Qrow looked at me.


    "Isn''t it supposed to be locked under shade Academy!?" James mirrored my own expression once he realized the significance of what I had just said. "Are you sure that''s the Relic, Oz?"


    "James, I personally stored the Sword under the Academy, I would never forget what it looks like." How I wish it were that simple. Even its design was something not know to the greater world. The Vacuo symbol not giving the details of their relic away.


    "Oz, how did some brat get his hands on the Relic?" Qrow actually seemed a little worried himself.


    "I don''t know, Qrow. I don''t know." I couldn''t fathom how it was possible. The pocket dimension I created should have been inessible to anyone but the maiden whose magical signature I used to lock it in ce.


    I hesitated, but I continued the video, at this point, we needed all the information we could get.


    The sword cut through the oing bullhead like a scythe through wheat. It made me question the other swords next to the Relic if they were able to keep up like that.


    Magical Items?


    Who was this young man?


    "Holy crap, that is a big fucking Sea Fei long." Qrow muttered as the massive beast appeared on screen, grabbing everyone''s attention.


    "Ozpin, how far away are they from us?" Glynda''s mind immediately went to assistance.


    "Too far." I mumbled. "It would take a couple hours to get there if we left this moment." I watched as she clenched her hands in frustration.


    A Sea Fei Long of that size, it was probably a few centuries away from bing a Titan. Even if we could muster some forces, it would probably take the As Military to put it down, and even then, it was probably smart enough to submerge if the fight looked unfavorable.


    "Ether Canon!" The words of Young Wilhelm echoed out through the video.


    The boy appearing high up in the sky through a portal, a question I had before now answered. But my attention was more on his glowing sword and the unleashed attack that seemed topletely obliterate therge grimm.


    I was left utterly speechless.


    A feeling in my heart I had not thought woulde again.


    A single word jumping to the forefront of my mind.


    "Magic."


    ***


    "Ozpin, are you listening?"


    I was broken from my thoughts. "Yes, Yes." I looked up at the screen with James. "I apologize, my thoughts have been all over the ce these past few days, can you repeat what you said?"


    "I was going over the report by my subordinates in Vale." He grumbled, but let up with a sigh. "It would be easier if I was allowed a full operation."


    "James, we both know the Council would never allow you to wantonly move in their territory with your military assets unless it was an emergency." James was many things, but sometimes aggressive took the top of the list.


    James grunted in agreement but continued. "As I was saying, reports are that Roman Torchwick and Wilhelm Schweinorg were meeting at a ce known as ''Juniors Club'', but we can''t seem to find them after they entered. We searched everywhere, my agents even infiltrated the establishment duringte hours, but there was no sign of any of them."


    "It seems we missed our window of opportunity, they are in the wind already."


    "They have to have left some kind of trail!" James mmed his fist on his desk. He was a prideful man, getting outsmarted by a young man and a lowly ''thief'' probably didn''t do his ego any favors. "Not only that, but I can''t even touch the owner because the council keeps stonewalling me." He practically growled.


    "Junior." I muttered the name. "Ah, I believe he is the ''information broker'' that Qrow sometimes visits? It would make sense that he knows a few secrets the council does not wish to leak."


    "Ozpin, I need you to sign some papers regarding ¨C " Glynda walked into the office and pauses when she noticed Ironwood on the screen. "I apologize, I did not realize you were in meeting, shall Ie back?"


    "It''s fine, Glynda." Ironwood hastily reassured her. "It''s nothing ''official''" He emphasized what they were speaking about, or rather theck there of.


    "I see, I suppose I shall listen in then." She stepped behind me, setting some papers on my desk that I would no doubt be going through in a few minutes.


    James noticeably perked up now that Glynda joined in. I resisted the urge to lightly tease them about it, but I held back the urge. Their rtionship was already an awkward one, I did not wish to rock the boat any more. "And what is your next n of action, James?"


    "Well, I already have my people looking up every suitable physician with the correct credentials." He stated.


    I let out a long sigh, taking my sses off and rubbing my eyes.


    "What?" Glynda looked at me.


    "Qrow decided to contribute the theory that Wilhelm Schweinorg is the Summer Maiden who had a sex change operation. James has taken that theory to heart."


    Glynda blinked at that, before face palming. "James..."


    "I know how it sounds." James cut her off. "But hear me out. We know he possess the Relic of Destruction which requires the summer maiden to ess below shade academy."


    "That doesn''t prove anything, James. Maybe he''s working with the summer maiden? Maybe the maiden stumbled on the sword at some point in the past hundred years or so, and sold it, not knowing what it was." Glynda offered a very valid exnation.


    "Then how do you exin the magic?!" He countered, but neither me nor Glynda had an answer to that, so he continued on.


    James clicked a few buttons on his console, bringing up a close-up of Wilhelm Schweinorg. "Look at his features." He pointed at the screen. "The cheek bones, the angles of his face. They''re too delicate. Not to mention the curvature of his nose. My people analyzed it and they gave a 42% chance of it belonging to a female, based onparisons." He didn''t finish there. "Not to mention the testimony from your own student, Coco Adel."


    "Coco?" Glynda asked. "How does she know him?"


    "They met at a clothing store. ording to Coco, Wilhelm madements regarding her choice in fashion which they had an argument about it." James nodded to himself.


    "James, that is approaching the boundary of sexism." I pointed out, Glynda seemingly raising an eyebrow in response to his words.


    "I know how it sounds, but tell me I''m wrong, that this isn''t behavior predominant for women?"


    "That''s.....not untrue." Glynda admitted. "Objectively, I can agree that is behavior I would expect from a female opposed to a male."


    "Not to mention that Qrow himself said that Wilhelm seemed ''soft'' and ''delicate'' when they first met. You know how much of a womanizer he is. While I would never take his word as gospel, he is technically an expert in this area." James stated.


    James.....he was saying that to mess with you.


    "Oz, admit it, we have ample evidence to at least gives credence to the theory." James turned back to me. "The relic under the watch of Summer in his possession, his apparent ability to use magic! Statistical evidence of his features leaning towards a female variation. His behavior with Coco, even with Glynda''s agreement. And Qrow''s words added on."


    I blinked for a moment, mulling it over.


    Truthfully, it was quite a few coincidences piling up.....all of it mere circumstantial evidence, but when presented all together like that, it started to paint a vague picture.


    I still can''t fathom a way for him to have acquired magic. All tests in the past several centuries shown that my magic could not be passed down gic lines, regardless of if it was me or the maidens I gifted magic to all those years ago.


    Those four girls, I never conceived that they would suffer a fate simr to me. But instead of reincarnated like I do after death, the magic I gifted to them was instead transferred to the person they were thinking about at theirst moments, or rather, the woman. But if no woman was in their thoughts, it drifts through the world and attaches to a woman at random.


    The thought of Salem doing something simr never crossed my mind. I refused to believe she would ever trust someone enough to give up a portion of her magic to them.


    As much as I didn''t want to admit it. "Fine." I acquiesced. "The evidence ¨C and I use that term very loosely here ¨C seems to support the notion."


    James looked rather smug, and Glynda, surprisingly didn''t admonish me for the confirmation of James''s theory.


    Brothers help me, I can''t believe I''m even considering this.


    ***


    So, Ozpin and co now know about Wilhelm, and some misunderstandings ur. So, I got a question for you guys. How would you like ''lewd'' scenesbled in the future, you guys fine with them just popping up, or would you like a heads up, like a --- NSFW Ahead--- kind of warning? I''m asking because i wrote my first kinda lewd scene, but not a lemon and didn''t want to step on any toes if i didn''t have to.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord,e chat with us or ask me questions about the story or whatever. htt ps :/ /d is co rd.g g/ N8bDxwwapb

 Chapter 116 - 110

    <h4>Chapter 116: Chapter 110</h4>


    "What a nice day it is." I turned around to admire the view.


    "[We going to talk about what just happened?]"


    "The sun is shining; the birds are chirping."


    "[Literally no birds out right now, and the Sun is setting as we speak.]"


    "You know? It''s the perfect evening to go for a walk."


    "[To the Grimm Lands, I assume?]" Ddraig''s t voice was quite clear.


    "What a wonderful idea, Ddraig!"


    "[Of course, it has nothing to do with the woman we just saw, right?]"


    "Woman, what women?"


    "[Right, definitely not the woman you proimed you wanted to step on you.]"


    "You say the silliest things, Ddraig."


    "Are you really going to the Grimm Lands to meet Salem?" Jinn looked at me with surprise.


    "Ddraig convinced me." I replied.


    "[I hate you.]"


    "I do not know the extent of your magical capabilities, but she is an aplished witch. Do not underestimate her." Jinn said sternly.


    "Hmm, the fact that you can tell me something like that means it falls in line with my questions." I rubbed my chin.


    She just smiled happily. "I have a little bit of leeway with your wording." She floated towards me through the airzily. "Well, if you can convince her to cease her production of Grimm, it would benefit the world."


    Joking aside, this was somewhat a serious matter. "Would she be so easily convinced?" I would like this ce to stop being a death world if possible.


    "Anything is possible." She shrugged.


    "I assume you would not wish to reveal yourself?" The supposed queen of the Grimm, she probably knew about the Relics.


    She shook her head.


    "Want to go inside the Boosted Gear with Ddraig?"


    "Yes, please." She smiled brightly, turning into a wisp of smoke and returning to themp.


    Cute.


    I would tease her moreter.


    "Ddraig, you ready?"


    [Push it against the gauntlet.]


    I pushed the two divinely-created objects together, the Gauntlet taking in the Lamp.


    {Oh, this is strange.} I heard Jinn''s voice from within the Gauntlet.


    [Hang on, let me move the coffee table so we can set you up properly.]


    "Wait, what?"


    [I''ll show you around, we have the kitchen in the back. A game area in the lounge, and a spare bedroom, but it''s currently full of some stuff I was storing. Give me a little bit and I''ll clear it out for you.]


    "You''re fucking with me."


    {Oh, whats this?}


    [Pool Table.]


    "Nope, not going to fall for it."


    I just heard the both of them start giggling.


    This decision may be one Ie to regret in the future.


    I ignored their antics for now, for I had something much more important to focus on.


    Taking out a mirror, I made sure my hair wasn''t unkept. I straightened my tight and checked for any unwanted creases in my clothes. With a nod of satisfaction, I took out my hat and sat it on my head.


    With Mirage in my hand, I swiped the sword through the air, creating a new portal to a new location on Remnant.


    The darkness practically seeped out as I stepped through.


    As if in a perpetual twilight, the ce I found myself in was nketed in a dense aura of darkness that didn''t allow much light through.


    Immediately, several figures charged at me.


    Grimm,rge ones.


    They were basic Beowolves, except many more bone protrusions, and much bulkier. There was a term for this, I believe they''re called ¨C Alphas? A more advanced version of a very basic breed.


    I didn''t pay them much mind, they looked to be sturdier than the average, but their speed still left much to be desired.


    A slight movement to avoid ws crashing down at me, and a quick swipe of my sword decapitated them all the same.


    I hummed to myself as I gathered another soil sample. I had a feeling this one would be particrly noteworthy when they were all studied together.


    But that was forter, I didn''t want to get sidetracked.


    Turning to the north, I could see arge castle not too far away.


    I casually strode towards it; Grimm being felled in my wake. I don''t think any of the particrly smart ones moved towards me as I felt some unique presences in the nearby forestry, which was surprising in of itself because Grimm were hard to notice. But I was assuming these were the older variety with more of a ''presence'' to them, thus more easily noticeable by such means.


    As I got closer, I noticed how ancient the ce looked, and more importantly, the amount of magical energy that seemed to pulse off the entire structure. I had no doubt in my mind that it was being held together by magical means at this point.


    Whelp, time to walk right into a Magus''s workshop ¨C or rather this world''s equivalent.


    What could possibly go wrong?


    [This is going to end horribly.]


    "Probably."


    [I feel like we''ve been here before, Like a very simr scenario yed out not that long before.]


    "No idea what you''re talking about." I smiled wistfully.


    The massive doors at the entrance creaked something fierce when I pushed them open and as I walked in, the entire castle seemingly came alive.


    Strange crystal growths lit up likemps, the windows took on a strange hue and the whole ce felt like it was watching me.


    I didn''t focus on it too much, because at the end of this huge room was a throne, and a red pair of eyes bore down on me atop it.


    I met her gaze, a small bit of interest was returned, perhaps the novelty of her receiving a visitor all the way out here? Call me skeptical, but I don''t think this ce was exactly a tourist location.


    The Grimm Lands were no-mansnd. There were no settlements here, no life beyond what this woman allowed and the Grimm that roamed. A whole continent forced into perpetual darkness that allowed nothing to thrive.


    I walked forward without hesitation, our gazes never leaving one another. "I havee for the Queen of Grimm." I dered my intentions. I was nothing if not theatrical when the opportunity presented itself.


    She showed a small movement, her head tilting ever so slightly as I called her out, amusement seemingly overtaking her previous interest. "One of Ozma''s champions?" Her voice was calm, but authoritative. It held the same grace that Artoria often presented when she decided to don her regal mask. "I suppose he goes by Ozpin in this era." She continued. "Have youe to throw yourself at me, to test my Immortality? Or did he not even reveal that secret to you? He was ever so good at making sure his pawns only knew the barest bit of information. Or maybe you are ying messenger?" She quirked the smallest smile, one that threatened quite a bit of pain. "Does Ozpin have words to say to me after all these years?"


    No idea who Ozpin was, but it didn''t matter. I walked a few more paces until she was only about a dozen feet infront of me. "Any chance you could stop creating more Grimm?" I mean, it was worth a shot?


    She stared at me for a moment before breaking out inughter.


    It was honestly kind of cute.


    "I will admit, Ozma has never tried that particr approach before." She finally calmed herself down.


    "I guess that''s a ''no'' then?"


    She had a humorous smile on her face. "It has been a great many years since I''ve been made tough such as this. You are granted my mercy and may return to Ozma, though whether you can survive the Grimm outside is left up to fate." She practically shooed me away.


    Huh.


    "Actually, I have another question."


    She raised an eyebrow at me expectantly. "And pray tell, what does Ozma wish to convey?"


    "Are you seeing anyone right now?" Still no idea who the hell this Ozma was, but I would rather not flirt with someone who was in a rtionship, that''s just scummy.


    Whatever she thought I was going to say, that clearly wasn''t it. The tapping of her finger ceased, and she stared at me incredulously. "Are you mocking me? Did Ozma send you to jest in my presence?" Her eyes began to glow, a visible phenomenon of her drawing upon her magic. "I no longer care why you have appeared here, be reduced to ashes along with all his previous champions." She raised her hand and an impressive amount of fire formed, spraying down on me


    Oh boy, I apparently said something wrong.


    I flicked my hand, a Greater Ward cast to block the attack. The torrent onlysted for another moment, enough that she looked on in shock as I was left unmolested by her mes. She stood up from her throne, eyes widened at what she had just witnessed.


    With another wave of her hand, lightning struck out.


    It was easily deflected, another quick Ward absorbing and dispersing it.


    She took a step forward, Ice burst out from her steps, covering the entire room in a thick coat as it began to form up like des from the ground at burst at me.


    Runes flickered around my body, a wall of mes burst out to meet it head on and melt away the magical attack.


    She took a few more steps forward, hand extended and the gravity around me suddenly increased several folds, I instinctively cast a Reinforcement on my body to counterattack the additional gravitational force, but it continued to increase, enough that the ground distorted at the epicenter.


    Mirage gripped in my hand, I swung up, pulling on the Kaleidoscope to distort the space around us, diapering her momentary Gravitational irregrity she created. It was surprising in the ease of which she could mess with gravity, such a thing is considered a very high thaumaturgy back home.


    "You....how is this possible?" She stared at me as if seeing a ghost. "You are no Maiden, and it is not possible for Ozma to gift more magic with his reduced state....how did he acquire a man with magic?"


    "Okay, real talk, I have no idea who Ozma is." I admitted.


    She reached out, almost as if to touch me and pulled away. "You are not one of Ozma''s?"


    "Nope." No idea who the fuck that was.


    She looked at me, studying my face for any kind of deceit. She opened her mouth, perhaps wishing to ask many questions that clearly brought a flurry of emotions to her face, but she hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "Who are you, why have youe to my domain?"


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself, expressing proper etiquette to someone of royalty as I took my hat off. "As for why I came here..." I reached into my hat and pulled out a bouquet of flowers, holding them up for her to take. "I believe I already answered that question."


    Her mouth hung ajar, seemingly incapable of believing what I was doing. With stiff movement, she reached out hesitantly and received the bundle of flowers, unsure of what to do with them. She stared at them for a moment before sweeping her gaze around the room, pursing her lips and mulling over something before speaking again. "You are offered guest rites in my domain." She spoke evenly. "No Grimm will attack you here while you are under my aegis."


    Huh, well this somehow worked out. "I thank you for your protection, your Majesty."


    She looked me over again before turning away, I think I saw a pleased looked on her face at how I addressed her. "You shall follow me to the dining room." She stated, leaving no room for rebuttal.


    I just shrugged, as she led me through her castle.


    Truthfully, I didn''t care where she was leading me right now, as long as I can keep watching that ass sway.


    I don''t think even Scathach had anything on that bounce.


    Eventually, she led me to a room with arge table, as one would expected In such a castle. She gestured for me to sit down at one end, and I obliged as was etiquette. She extended guest rites to me, and I would be polite.


    She sauntered off somewhere, only to return a momentter, a ss vase half filled with water and the flowers I gave her sticking out of it as she sat it down on the center of the table.


    Taking a seat opposite of me, there was an awkward silence that now filled the room.


    "You possess magic." She finale spoke, clearly having many questions.


    "Yes." I said inly.


    "Are there.....others?" She asked hesitantly.


    I shrugged. "Who knows." She pursed her lips, clearly not liking my answer. "Why are you making more Grimm?"


    She raised an eyebrow. "Who knows." She replied, mimicking my tone.


    Touche.


    Well, I could tell right away that this was going to go nowhere fast. Might as well try for a change of pace.


    "How about a game?"


    "A game?"


    I wanted to know some stuff about her, she wanted to know some stuff about me.


    "One person asks a question; the other person has to either answer it or pass, and that question cannot be asked again in any form. If you pass on one question you must answer the next one no matter what. We each take turns ask the other a question."


    "And what is to stop either of us from lying?"


    "Pride?" I offered.


    She paused, mulling that over. "I ept. Who shall be going first?"


    "That was technically a question." I pointed out to a small bit annoyance on her face. "Butdies first." I gave a smile.


    She tapped her finger on the table. "How did you acquire magic?"


    "I was born with it." I replied. "Why did you assume I was with this ''Ozma'' person?"


    "Very few people are aware of my existence, it was a natural assumption to make since he is an enemy I''ve had over the past millennia." She stated. "Are there others like you, born with the capability of magic?"


    "Yup." I said inly. I could tell she was kicking herself for not asking a more thorough question here. "Do you live here all by yourself?"


    "I have.... subordinates whoe and go with my orders." She chose her words carefully. "Who taught you your spells? Such skills are hardly self-learned."


    "My Grandfather." I saidzily, much to her surprise. It wasn''t incorrect, but a lot of contexts was missing. "You never did answer my original question, are you in a rtionship right now?"


    She frowned, possibly irritated with my question. "I am not." She tapped her finger rhythmically, clearly mulling over some thoughts. "Are you aware of the ''relics''?"


    Oh, going straight there. "Yes." I said simply and her eyes brightened. "Do you find me attractive?" I wonder how long I can go before she gets fed up with my questions?


    She paused, perhaps trying to find the correct words. "You are handsome." Was her blunt reply, but it made me smile. "What do you know of the Relics?"


    "I know a lot about the Relics, you''re going to have to be more specific or we''ll be here all day."


    "Fine." She responded. "Where are the Relics located?"


    "The Relic of Creation is being used to keep As floating in the sky, so the center of that whole thing. The Relic of Choice is in a pocket dimension under Beacon, and the Relic of Destruction and Relic of Knowledge are with me." I smirked at her widening eyes. I shed my hand, the Sword of Destruction appearing next to me, floating in the air.


    "You....." She stared at It quietly as I made it go back into my ring.


    "Ah" I wagged my finger. "It''s my turn."


    "Fine, ask your question." She scowled.


    "What''s your rtionship with Ozma?" Honestly, it felt like there was a lot of history there.


    "Pass." She said almost immediately, much to my surprise. "What would it take to acquire those Relics from you?"


    "Pass." I gave a cheeky smile, much to her annoyance. "Did you intentionally do your hair up like that to look like a spider?" It was actually pretty cute.


    She twitched slightly. "Yes." Was her curt reply. "Would your Grandfather be amendable to discourse?"


    "Probably, I can''t speak on his behalf." I said honestly. I''m sure he would enjoy talking about magic if nothing else. "Do you like rabbits?"


    "Do you intend to keep asking these nonsensical questions?" She scowled again. "Yes." She rolled her eyes. "Where is your grandfather located?"


    "Pass." I easily skipped that one. "What''s your favorite color?"


    She seemed increasingly annoyed by my ''non-question'', but answered all the same. "ck." She said clearly, but her lips curled up into a smile. "What is a secret you don''t wish me to know?"


    "That seems like it''s against the spirit of the rules." I pointed out.


    "You had passed your previous question and there were no rules against this course of action." She looked very pleased with herself.


    "Okay, if you want to y it this way." Shame, is that something you can eat? "I was staring at your ass the entire time we walked through your castle." She blinked at me before my words finally settled in, her mouth opened slightly. "What color panties are you wearing?"


    I think I saw her cheeks turn the faintest red for a very brief moment. "What kind of question is that!?" She looked at me indignantly.


    "You don''t have to answer." The corners of my lips twitched upwards. "Feel free to pass, who knows what I''ll ask next, though." I wiggled my eyebrows for added effect.


    She didn''t outwardly react, nor did she make a motion to try and harm me. "I''m not wearing any panties." She grit out.


    "Oh my."


    She stood up, mming her hands on the table. "We are done." She started walking towards the door before pausing at the threshold. "You will receive a guest room for the night." She stated before departing.


    Hah, looks like I won.


    {As amusing as it was to watch Salem get flustered. What was the point of that?} Jinn''s voice echoed out.


    "I wanted to get a feel for her as a person." I shrugged. I wasn''t going to ignore everything about her because I found her physically attractive, nor was I head over heels in love or some other nonsense. I was -- interested, forck of a better word, and I didn''t n on pulling a Meridia again. "To see how thin that veil of civility was. When she realized I was using magic, she changed her entire tone, I wanted to see if it was an act or not. Being a shameless flirt was just a bonus." I expected her to try and st me at the end there, she didn''t, so that speaks a bit about her.


    {And what are your ns now?}


    "She offered me a room for the night, it would be rude to refuse." I chuckled. "I don''t doubt she will try to reinitiate again at ater time, perhaps when she had time to think everything over." Knowing that Magic is basically nonexistent here bar a few, it probably threw her for a loop that I popped up here with the capability.


    I''m curious what she''ll have in store for meter.


    ***


    Mc pops up infront of Salem, wields magic and shamelessly flirts, Salem bes the confused.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 117 - 111

    <h4>Chapter 117: Chapter 111</h4>


    I woke up rather refreshed. Sleep was more something I did because I enjoyed it and to relieve any kind of stress. My body no longer needed to ''physically'' sleep, as in there would be no noticeable detriments to my body, besides mental fatigue and the like.


    It was arge room, a bed that could easily fit 5 people, extravagant would perhaps be too mundane word to describe this room.


    As expected of a person who ims to be royalty.


    Almost out of habit, I pulled out my scroll, poking at it a few times to check the news.


    Just as Junior said, the Vale council came out in support of Mistral. I guess what happened was too high profile for them to stay quiet, especially since we were known to live in Vale. We got thrown under the bus immediately as well, pretty much med for everything that happened.


    I mean, technically we did, but there was also the fact that the authorities were pretty damn aggressive with their actions.


    Atleast they got my good side with my ''wanted'' picture.


    "Wait..." I muttered, staring at my scroll. "How am I getting a signal now out here?" Remnant wasn''t like earth with Satellites in space, they had massive ''towers'' that broadcasted throughout each Kingdom, and I am certainly very far from any Kingdom.


    Curious.


    With a hum, I snapped my fingers, the bounded fields I set around the room came down.


    Contrary to what one may expect, it was considered polite to put up your own defenses like this when inside another Mage''s domain you were invited into. While I don''t know if that particr bit of etiquette carried over here, I did put up some basic defenses.


    It was basically something like ''You are a dangerous person, therefore I will protect myself'', but with a certain politeness to it, as well as it beingpliment to the host.


    Fixing myself up, brushing my hair and making sure my clothes were tidy, I left my room. Immediately greeting me was a strange creature.


    A Grimm, obvious from the looks of it, but it was like a floating octopus. It didn''t react to my presence, just merely floating there...


    I poked it.


    There was no reaction, so I poked it again.


    And again.


    Well, whatever.


    I turned to walk away, and it began following.


    Every step I took, it was there floating behind me.


    "Well, would you happen to know where the kitchens are?" I poked the floating grimm again.


    It made...a sound. I don''t know what it was trying to convey, but one of its tentacles lifted, pointing down the hallway.


    I just shrugged and went off with my new friend following behind me.


    ***


    The kettle hissed, steam shooting out. "Would you like some Tea?" I eyed the person who entered the kitchen out of the corner of my eye.


    Salem walked in, she gave me an inquisitive look before taking a seat at the veryrge table. "I do not require sustenance."


    "Needing and wanting are two different things." I replied, putting a little bit of sugar in my cup before stirring it. "I technically no longer require sustenance either, but enjoying the taste of food and drink is one of life''s pleasures."


    "If you are offering then I shall not refuse." She said inly.


    I poured a second cup and took it down to the table, setting it infront of her as I took a seat nearby. "Oh, before I forget." I waved my hand, allowing a small tter to appear between us. "I have Mint, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, Basil, and Lemon if you prefer any of those, along with some basic sugar if you don''t want yours in."


    Raised Japanese, lived in Ennd, my tea game is always on point, though I''ve been leaning towards English tea standardstely. Honestly, my reserves of the Japanese variety are miniscule inparison, I''ll need to pick up some good tea leaves next time I head back to my home country.


    She looked at them curiously, taking a small spoon and added a couple things to her cup before stirring gently. I saw her take a small sip and a very brief expression of content crossed her face. "It is eptable."


    "I''m d you like it." I took a sip of my own. I looked her over again. She was wearing something slightly different today. It was more or less the same design, but this ck dress she was wearing hugged her body much better than before, not to mention the boob window was much more pronounced. I had to stop myself from staring too much. Her hair appeared to be more ''preen'' as well, like instead of a casual eptance, she took the time to make sure everything was nice and tidy. I think she noticed my looks because a small smile quirked on her face. "You look lovely." I decided to voice my thoughts.


    She didn''t respond to it, but I think she was pleased by my words. "Were the amodations eptable?"


    "They were, I slept very well." I replied. "And my new friend was helpful." I gestured towards the Grimm still floating in the corner.


    She nced at it. "It is one of my more intelligent creations. It can help with basic tasks."


    "Oh, is this one of the ones you made?'' I gave it another look. "It makes me curious as to what abilities it possesses."


    "The Grimm interest you?" She asked, a small look of intrigue on her face.


    "Of course, it was one of the reasons I decided toe here." I admitted.


    "One of the reasons?" She raised an eyebrow, adjusting herself. I was surprised she attempted to show off more of her bosom.


    Was she trying to seduce me? Or at least make me more willing to reveal information this way.....how amusing. "Indeed." I smiled innocent, not reacting to her obvious insinuation. I think she was slightly annoyed as well, rxing back again without her chest puffed out. Was she expecting me to just start drooling with her breasts on disy? I mean, I would normally, but I also don''t like being led around by the nose ¨C or rather the dick in this circumstance. "The Grimm are rather interesting creatures though. A magical construct that mimics lifeforms to the extent that their source of magical energy forces them to exist with the same weaknesses."


    She perked up slightly. "An interesting notion, to im my Grimm have the same weaknesses as normal beasts."


    "Don''t they? Sure, they may be significantly stronger than a normal animal, but if you stab a Grimm through the head, it will ''die'' same as its normal counterpart."


    "Magical Energy ¨C the term you used, if they were sustained on such a thing, why would their existence care about something as mundane as a stab to the head?"


    "The concepts woven in their creation. I can only assume that at their base, they used the temtes of real creatures to build their foundations, to give the magical energy a form to bind and give structure to. Otherwise, each Grimm would need to be created from the ground up, and the effort and time to do so would make such a thing simply inefficient. I don''t doubt you''ve perhaps done so in the past, but to put out the numbers that currently inhabit the world, the simplest method to mass produce them would be required, which would inherentlye with certain detriments."


    She blinked at my response, lost in thought for a moment before responding. "You are quite knowledgeable; I had not expected you to be able to discern such things without experience of their creation."


    "Well, I am a researcher before anything else." I smiled. "Grimm are a curious thing that drew my attention." At my core, and that of Zelretch, we are researchers and I don''t think that would ever change. "I''m curious about the ease at which you were able to manipte gravity as well."


    "Oh, that?" She genuinely seemed happy form my words, like she was unused to receiving praise. "It was just a small trick to condense the natural gravity in the area." She gave a small smile. "But you seemed capable enough to destroy my spell with ease."


    "I was forced to distort the local space to disrupt your gravitational increase, it had caught me by surprise. I don''t know many people capable of manipting gravity with such ease." That was a bit simpler in exnation. I actually had to quickly alter the curvature of the surrounding space to even out the gravitational anomaly she created.


    "So, there are many people you know capable of magic?" She asked, but I gave a nomittal hum. "Perhaps we should restart our ''game'' from where we left off?"


    "You''re not worried about what I may ask?" She seemed a bit flustered yesterday.


    "If you wish to waste questions on asking me about my undergarments, why would I be bothered? Perhaps my answer will have changed since yesterday." She gave a coquettish smile, though it seemed a bit insincere.


    I knew what she was doing, but..... "Alright, same rules as yesterday."


    "Are you my enemy?" She asked me bluntly.


    It was a simple question, but one she probably should have asked yesterday. I think she was just too thrown off by my sudden appearance to clearly think through everything. "At the moment, no. But I can''t im to see the future." She didn''t react, so I assumed she epted that answer. "Do you hate humanity?"


    "What?" She seemed a bit taken back by my question.


    "Well, you create grimm, which are essentially the enemies of humanity --- and Faunus, for that matter. I''m just curious if you hate them."


    She looked contemtive at my question, a scowl formed as she seemingly thought deeper on it. "I do not hate Humanity. These things that exist now are not the humanity I know. Theyck magic, theyck the same things that made humanity whole. They are but a hollow shell of what they are supposed to be."


    She didn''t borate beyond that, but I could understand her sentiments. It also filled in some nks regarding this world''s history, and I think she assumed I knew of it as well. I guess in a previous time, Humanity was capable of magic on a muchrger scale, and they somehow lost it. It would exin why she was fixated on my apparent usage of magic and anyone I knew who could use it as well.


    "What were your intentions ining here?" She finally asked. Which was another question that should have been answered yesterday had she had more time to contemte.


    "I wanted a measure of the person who ruled over the Grimm." I responded. "What is your end goal?"


    "End goal?" She questioned my wording.


    "What do you hope to achieve with all of --" I waived my arms around. "-- this?"


    She was silent for a moment. "Pass." She stated. "What did you mean by a measure?"


    "I used the Relic of knowledge to learn about the Grimm, I saw several images of you and was smitten, so I wished to get an understanding of you better to see if there was a chance in the future." I exined. "But I digress." I stopped her from responding and asked my question. "What would it take for you to stop using the grimm to attack people?"


    "That depends on what you are willing to give. I suppose I can be...persuaded." She stared at me intently.


    My lips quirked up, did she not realize how that could be interpreted? "If my innocence is what is required to stop people from dying, then I shall give myself to you."


    Salem blinked, registering what I said. "I was speaking of the relics!" She huffed. "Do your perversions know no bounds?"


    "Says the woman trying to seduce me." I pointed out.


    "I have done no such thing." She crossed her arms, covering her ample boob window.


    Hah, I don''t think she expected me to call her out on it. "Oh, and if I asked that as my next question?" I decided to prod her again.


    "It is my question." She said, turning away and changing the subject, only taking a nce back at me again when she appeared ready to speak. "Why are you being so....."


    "Blunt?" I finished for her.


    "Yes."


    Actually got her to waste a question for something like this.


    "Hmm, I don''t see the point in being coy or ambiguous. I see something I like so I go for it, simple as that." I guess she was not used to people being so obvious in their attractions. I''d rather not y those games, if someone isn''t interested, I''d rather be told up front rather than waste my time. "Do you dislike it?"


    I think she hesitated for a moment. "I believe I am done for now." She stood up, leaving the room.


    Did I do something wrong there? Did I press a button I shouldn''t have?


    Maybe I should apologize?


    ***


    Admittedly, I don''t think this is one of my best chapters. I think my next one is much better, but that could just be my biased opinion. I''ll give it another look over in the morning after I cleared my head and had a good nights sleep.


    So, MC meets Salem again in the morning. She tries to y off his obvious ''interest'' and that doesn''t go as nned, instead gets a thrown for a loop again at his nonchnt way he just admits he is interested.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 118 - 112

    <h4>Chapter 118: Chapter 112</h4>


    I took out my scroll to look it over again, to see what time it was. I had nned on leavingter today, but I was kinda hesitant now.


    I can y around with time-lines and such, but I have everything lined up perfectly right now, and that would mess up further timings, and the calctions I would need to do would be annoying, even with the help of my sword.


    With a sigh, I slumped down in my chair.


    I looked at mypanion, hovering nearby still. "Hey there Squidward, I don''t suppose you know where she went?"


    It shifted slightly, another strange noise reverberating from it.


    "I''m going to take that as a yes, lead me there?" I stood up and poke it. The squishy Grimm made another noise before it started moving towards the exit. It paused, as if waiting for me to follow, I obliged but it never seemed to want to be further than a few feet from me.


    Outside of this thing being some kind of eldritch horror, it was kind of cute...


    We strode through the castle, passing through a couple long hallways until it took me to a winding staircase, ascending it all the way to the top, which led out onto a balcony overlooking the Grimmnds.


    I saw Salem standing there, hand on the railing overlooking her supposed domain.


    "Are you lost?" She asked.


    "I think it''s impossible to get lost with this little guy not letting me move too far away." I pat the grimm on the head.


    "Is that so." She didn''t bother giving another responding, not even turning around.


    I stepped forward until I could look over the railing, though keeping a few feet away from Salem. "It is a lovely view, all things considered." I decided to take my scroll out and snap a few pictures. "I''m surprised I have a signal all the way out here."


    She nced at the scroll in my hand briefly. "One of my subordinates is talented with such technology. He was able to set up one of those towers on a smaller scale."


    "I guess you don''t use it much?" I asked.


    "No. Why do you ask?"


    "Ah, well." I scratched my cheek. "I may have be a little famous in the past few days. If you didn''t recognize me, it wasn''t a hard guess to make."


    She tilt her head slightly. "I believe one of my subordinates mentioned that a poprpetition was due soon, is that perhaps what you are referring to?"


    "Sure, lets go with that." I chuckled, much to her bemusement, but she didn''t press. I figured she would probably find outter. "But, the tournament is rather popr, do you not know about it?"


    "I do not keep up with the trends of this era beyond what I need for my own purposes."


    "What do you do in your spare time then?" Seems pretty lonely to stay here all by yourself...


    "I read, or I practice my magic." She stated.


    "Huh.....that''s actually not too dissimr to what I do, mostly." I admitted, I raised a finger in the air, giving her a little look. She returned an inquisitive nce as I began to draw a rune in the air. A simple Ansuz actualized, and I flicked up, allowing it to explode without harm further in the sky.


    A small smile formed on her face. She raised her finger, a little me condensed, and she shot it up in the air, as if a mini nova exploded out, it lit up the surrounding area, eclipsing my own little rune.


    "Show off."


    She actually let out a small giggle. "Shall Ifort you and tell you that it is not the size but how you use it?"


    "Did you just....?" I looked at her in shock, a smirk adorned her face. "Well, this means war." I swept my hand, a dozen runes coalesced and integrated into a runic sentence. A massive storm appeared overhead and lightning began to rain down from the sky. It didn''t really have any substance to it, but I was just kind of ying around.


    Salem didn''t look too impressed. She raised her hand and the storm was forcibly dispersed, turning into a fog that enveloped the entire area.


    I snapped my fingers, overtaking the magical fog and turned it back into clouds, but made it start raining, taking my hat out and putting it on my head with a smile.


    She looked unamused, holding her hand out as the rain flowed down into her palm, swirling until it shifted once again into a small tornado, that she let loose into the sky to clear up everything once again.


    Salem continued to smirk as I had to hold my hat down, less it be swept up in the winds.


    Elemental maniption was not my forte, but I could more or less keep up with some clever use of Runes. A new runic sentence formed at my will, aiming at a river that flowed near the castle. I grabbed hold of the water, shaping it into a massive shark-like figure and forcing it to fly at the Tornado.


    She raised an eyebrow, clearly not getting my joke, but it didn''t matter, both magics couldn''t be held together any longer and dissipated back into their elements and fell to the ground, a bit of water sshing on us again.


    She put a hand on her hip, and I admired how her clothes clung to her when damp. "For some reason, I believe you did this on purpose."


    I made no attempt to hide the way I enjoyed the view. "I have no idea what you''re talking about" I smiled wistfully.


    "I''m sure." She drawled, though she didn''t seem particrly upset. She ran her fingers through her hair, removing the bindings that kept it in the shape of a spider. With a flick of her hand a warm air pushed down on her, letting her hair blow out and drying her body.


    "Beautiful." I couldn''t help but utter.


    She let out a huff, giving me a sideways nce. "Don''t spout nonsense." She quickly returned to normal "What was that spellcasting? It appeared as if you were writing letters with your magic."


    "That''s exactly what it is." I nodded. "A Runguage that holds magical power. Instead of casting a spell, each ''symbol'' holds certain concepts imbued in them, which can be invoked through understanding."


    "Fascinating." She seemed to mull over my words. "Much was lost when Humanity was wiped out....." She muttered, looking deep in thought.


    Well, that answers a few questions I had. "Does it interest you?"


    "It is a magic I have never seen before." She admitted, not borating further.


    "Well....." I searched through my ring, taking out a certain book. "Would you ept this gift from me then?"


    It was a book on basic Runecraft, not worth much back home. But she looked at it in shock, taking a hesitant step forward, fingers caressing the cover before pulling back and eyes meeting mine. "What boon do you wish in return?"


    I didn''t really expect anything in return, but I guess this is a good opportunity. "Would you be angry if I asked you to stop using the Grimm to attack humanity?" Worth a shot if nothing else.


    She paused, eyes staring deep into mine. "Fine, I will make no move with them for the foreseeable future."


    "Really?" I asked in shock. Though her words were ambiguous, I didn''t think she would use any ''loopholes'', from what I understood she took pride in her own word.


    "What? Do you think I make a conscious effort to have them attack any humans theye across?" She snorted. "I can control the Grimm, those in my immediate vicinity require no effort on my part tomand, but to control them over a vast distance I must focus intently upon them, especially so if they are of the older variety."


    "I see, most Grimm are just acting on their basic instincts." That made a lot of sense now that I thought about it. How much effort would it actually require to constantly give directions and orders to every grimm on the?


    And it wasn''t like she ''created'' them initially, they were operating under the original directives of that god when she didn''t usurp them for her own intents.


    "Indeed." She replied. "Do you regret your choice? You could have asked for something.....more, instead you asked me to spare those lesser things."


    I could understand her sentiments. Piecing together what she had been through, what she considered humanity was basically gone, these current things were imitations, a mockery of what she was, in her eyes. That''s probably why she wasn''t being so dismissive of me, she viewed me as a ''peer''.


    "Something more, huh?" I raised an eyebrow. "Would you dismiss me if I asked for another boon?"


    "It would depend on what you ask for from this Queen." She turned away. "If a perversion crosses your lips, I shall fling you from the top of my castle." She added quietly, the book being held tight in her arms, having grabbed it almost immediately.


    "I do have to leave soon."


    "Oh. I see." There was a sudden shift in her tone. "You ask for my permission to leave, is it?"


    "No." I said honestly. "If I wanted to leave, not many things can stop me." I gave her a cheeky smile, even as a frown formed on her face. "What I ask, is your permission to return." I didn''t want to just drop in without announcing myself unless I had an open invitation.


    That would just be rude.


    "You wish....toe back?" She looked at me incredulously.


    "Why wouldn''t I?"


    She seemed at a loss for words. "Do what you wish." She said in blunt dismissal, but for the briefest moment, I think I saw her smile.


    ***


    Stepping out of the gates of her castle, I looked up to see Salem watching me.


    I began walking until the Castle was no longer in view. No Grimm dared to approach me, I didn''t even sense any within my vicinity.


    {What did you think of the Grimm Queen?} Jinn asked.


    "Strange." I admitted. "And not what I expected."


    {Hmm, what did you expect?}


    "Evil, I suppose. Frankly, she seemed more apathetic than anything. I don''t know her exact goals, but she didn''t really seem to have a hate on for humanity, more that they were just not worth her time. Seemingly nothing more than ants in her eyes." Her smile was also very pretty, but I kept that to myself. "She was really thrown off by my presence, based on what she said, I can guess that magic-wielding humans are practically nonexistent here."


    {I would do my usual spiel if you wanted to ask a question, but thankfully, I am not forced to utter those words once my questions are used up for the century.} Her happy tone filled my head, basically telling me she wouldn''t answer one way or the other.


    "Well, I''ll be seeing her again." I muttered. "I won''t deny that I''m a bit.....taken with her."


    [No, really?]


    "Maybe I can bribe her intopletely giving up her usage of Grimm, and to stop their production for good?"


    {She did look like she was having fun when you both were ying around with Magic.} Jinn pointed out.


    "Yeah, I doubt she had anyone to do something like that with in a long time." It made me question how old she was. From the information Jinn gave me originally, Salem had some type of immortality. "Well, I''ll just shelf all this for now. I''lle back here in a few months when the heat dies down, and visit Salem again. For now, though, I believe it''s time to take you on a little adventure."


    {I am excited.} Jinn''s words were simple, but the tone in which she said them, was very telling.


    I just chuckled, taking out mirage and opening a Portal back home.


    I missed Artoria, and I was going to see Meridia soon as well.


    I didn''t say it, but I was also very excited.


    ***


    So, I never nned on plopping Salem right in his Harem as soon as he shed a smile her way. This was more so to develop a sort of dynamic between them for when hees back, merely introducing the Grimm Queen to him. And i''m not going to whitewash her history, the things she''s done.


    Anyways, this was thest chapter for RWBY round 1,test chapter had Meridia make a brief appearance again.


    If you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 119 - 113

    <h4>Chapter 119: Chapter 113</h4>


    Jinn''s Lamp hung from my belt as I walked into Zelretch''s home.


    The change in universe was felt immediately, it didn''t hit me as hard anymore, but the change was impossible to ignore in that split moment of aligning yourself with the world-line.


    "Home sweet home." I looked around, eyesnding on the other upant.


    "Will?" Artoria leaned around the corner, head poking out from the kitchen, before stepping over.


    I didn''t wait as I moved towards her and imed her lips. The muffled noise of surprise didn''tst, she returned my affections almost immediately, her arms finding themselves wrapping around my neck. My own made their way down to her hips, I hesitated to explore any further and just decided to enjoy her taste for a few moments longer.


    "Ahem." Someone very vocally cleared their throat behind us.


    Artoria very quickly broke off the kiss, turning to face the neers, her cheeks flushed a deep red. "Lord Zelretch." She managed to squeak out.


    "Hey Gramps." I opted to wrap my arms around her, chin resting on her shoulder.


    "Am I interrupted something." He asked with a twinkle of amusement in his eye.


    "Yes." I replied without any shame.


    "Get a room." Rin gagged aright behind him.


    "If you insist! ~"


    "Will!" Artoria made another noise of embarrassment.


    I could only chuckle, giving her another kiss on the cheek. It was too fun to tease Artoria.


    "Regardless, your timing is impable." Zelretch stated, taking a seat on the nearby sofa. "Come, I''m curious of your time spent on that world." He gestured to the seats as Rin also took one.


    "It was fun." I plopped down in a seat, Artoria sliding in next to me. ''Well, I''m a bit tired, but it was a good experience. I also gained some nice stuff." I waived my hand, the Sword of Destruction hovered nearby.


    "New sword?" Zelretch looked intrigued as he leaned in to get a better look.


    Artoria inspected it as well. "It doesn''t appear to have seen much use inbat, I would assume it to be a decorative piece at first nce.....if it did not have such arge presence to it."


    "Divine in creation." I said inly.


    "Oh, so there were divine beings in that world." Zelretch muttered to himself. "I had a theory, but no evidence to back it up."


    "Yeah, they apparently left the world for a long time."


    "What do you mean, ''left the world''?" Rin Asked. "Like did they leave the dimension, world-line, or did they leave the and go somewhere else in the universe?"


    I blinked for a moment. "You know, that''s a good question." I rubbed my chin. "I hadn''t actually given it much thought since they left the ce in a pretty bad state." I sighed thinking about how the people there didn''t even know what was going on. "The isn''t going tost much longer, it''s already showing signs of being on itsst leg." I withdrew a few dust Crystals floated one over to each of them.


    "Ah." Zelretch didn''t react outwardly, but I suppose he had a simr reaction to me. "Thisposition is interesting though, it''s weaker than I would suspect something like this to be."


    "Yeah, but it makes up for that in quantity." I put a container of dust crystals on the table infront of us. "Easily essible, can buy it at pretty much any store since it makes up the basis of their technology."


    "Is this crystallized Mana." Rin looked at hers inquisitively. "I thought this was something exceedingly rare."


    "Yeah, it''s more prominent when certains are reaching the end of their lives. The ''Life Blood'' of the world beings to essentially clot." I gave a very brief exnation. "It''s being mined from the ground like we drill for oil."


    "I feel as if I can absorb this much easier than obtaining magical energy from a Jewel." Artoriamented.


    "Huh." I tilted my head, mulling that over. "I hadn''t actually thought of that. It''s more ''pure'' so it would be easier for you to assimte."


    Artoria smiled lightly. "I do have a question going back to your sword." She gestured at it still floating there. "It''s giving me a strange feeling."


    "Oh, I almost forgot." I snapped my fingers. "Old man, I managed to get my Bloodline power out using the sword as a catalyst."


    "Oh?" He perked up.


    "Yeah, it was actually called the ''Relic of Destruction'' before I.....acquired it. It held simr concepts so I was able to finagle a means to do so."


    "Bloodline." Artoria asked.


    "Does it have to do with you being a half-devil?" Rin looked at me. "And it''s still strange to think about, you''re so..."


    "Human?" I finished for her with a small smile.


    "I didn''t mean anything by it..." She said defensively.


    "I take it as apliment." I assured her. "But, to answer yours and Artoria''s question. I''m descended from the Bael house, one of Solomon''s 72 pirs. I ''inherited'' something called the Power of Destruction from my Bael line. Exactly as the name implies, it destroys things on a conceptual level." I reached out, grabbing the sword. I channeled my Aura to ignite my Power of Destruction, letting it coat the de. "I''m still learning to control it properly, it''s not something that likes to be contained." I dismissed it with a focused thought.


    "Fascinating." Zelretch looked intrigued. "We must do some research on thister."


    "Oh definitely. But perhaps when I have a better handle on it. I don''t'' even want to use it in spars right now, incase the worse happens."


    "Understandable." Zelretch nodded. "I noticed you also acquired Aura." He grinned.


    "Was getting to that." I replied, allowing my Aura to re up, the iridescent colors that mimicked the application of the Kaleidoscope shimmered around me.


    "I read the notes Zelretch had on that." Rin walked over, poking the ''barrier'' around me. "This is supposed to be easy to awaken, right?"


    "Kinda, it requires me to touch your soul with my own, to ignite that part that''s able to manifest outwardly. To do so requires some specific circumstance, an Aria that resonates with my own soul to act as a conduit. I''m still figuring it out, there was not much material on it avable in the public when I went shopping."


    "What benefits are there to this ''Aura''?" Artoria looked at me with interest.


    "Force multiplier on physical capabilities. The people who awaken Aura can be considered super-human. I would say....it''s less than a Full Reinforcement, but it''s absurdly easy to utilize at a basic level. Not to mention it provides an innate healing faction, while not amazing, is still noticeable. Also, when someone awakens their Aura, they also gain ability, an outward expression of their person called a ''Semnce''. I haven''t figured mine out yet, but there are some interesting ones I''vee across. A kid who had a ''Danger Sense'' that allowed him to react to my attacks was perhaps the more intriguing."


    The data I gathered did help fill in many gaps since most books I read seemed to be intentionally vague about the subject.


    "You''re not able to awaken this Aura yet?" Rin asked.


    "Don''t worry I''m, not forgetting about you. I did bring a bunch of books back and intended to figure it out. Worst case, I know some people back on Remnant that can hook you up with a quick trip."


    "And there no side effects?" Zelretch inquired.


    "Not that I had tested for. Granted, I mostly checked for the obvious things over a short time period, but my Magecraft was unaffected, and my circuits actually activated with a slighter ease and without much of the usual burning."


    "What an interesting interaction, I assume you documented everything?"


    "Of course." I rolled my eyes, producing the notebook I used. I tossed it on the table for him to peruseter. "Oh, I also discovered that Magic exists there, though not in the capacity that we''re used to. Apparently the ''original'' humanity that could utilize it like in our Age of Gods was wiped out and only a handful of users remain, pretty much none of which were male."


    "Why were there no Male Magi?" Rin asked.


    "No idea." I shrugged. "I only pieced together a few things after meeting with an immortal witch there." I decided not to delve into the time I spent with Salem. "I did also acquire some interesting things other than magical applicable stuff." I withdrew a jar of Syrup and took out my scroll. "Their technology was interesting as well; they were able to measure people''s ''Aura'' down to a ''number'' and track how much someone had based on percentage at any given time. Also, I found this sap in a ce called the ''Forever Fall'' Forest, was a beautiful ce."


    "Did you acquire the stuff I asked for?" Zelretch eyed the jar, but turned back towards me.


    "Yeah, I got most of your samples, and some other neat things. Like the Acorns for the trees that produce this." I gestured towards the jar.


    "Well done." Zelretch gave me a nod of appreciation.


    Artoria inspected the jar of sap, I gave her a nudge, a go ahead to try it. She dabbed her finger into it before bringing it to her mouth. "It is delicious." She muttered, eyeing it dangerously.


    I was very tempted to take her lips again, they seemed even more invited as she licked them after enjoying the sweet treat.


    Pushing those thoughts away for now, I piled up some books I acquired forter reading. It was probably better they get a more in-depth info dump themselves than my brief exnations.


    "And now." I pped my hands, gaining the attention of everyone. "I brought someone back with me." I took the Lamp off my belt, holding it up. "Jinn, why don''t youe out and meet everyone." I gave it a little tap.


    The blue smoke bellowed out, the Genie-girl floated down onto the ground. They all looked at her in mixes of surprise and interest, but there was one thing that threw me off.


    "Why are you wearing clothes?" She was wearing rather stunning blue dress that matched herplexion quite well.


    Everyone turned to look at me.


    "Um....that came out wrong?" I said sheepishly.


    "Oh my, if my master wishes me to present myself in a state of undress.....I will have to ept." Jinn barely held back the amusement in her voice.


    "Schweinorg, I gave you one job." Rin deadpanned.


    "Oh, do I have yet another granddaughter?" Zelretch ginned happily.


    "Will." Artoria looked at me, a very thin smile on her face. "Exin, please."


    "Um, she always popped out naked from hermp, it caught me by surprise...." I offered.


    Jinn just giggled and I think Artoria realized I was being taken in for a jest. "It''s a pleasure to meet all of you." Jinn looked ecstatic to see all the new faces.


    "The pleasure is most definitely ours." Zelretch stood up, walking towards the Genie. "I am Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg." He offered a hand to Jinn who epted it heartily. "I am this boy''s Grandfather. He''s a bit wet behind the ears, I hope you take care of him in the future."


    "I am Jinn, Spirit for the Relic of Knowledge." She gestured to hermp still in my hand. "Every century I can answer three questions not pertaining to the future, there are currently no questions avable remaining." She introduced herself.


    "Amazing." Zelretch admired her. If it were anyone else, perhaps I would be upset about the ''ogling'' something that was mine, but I knew for a fact that he was interested in her makeup, not her appearance.


    Artoria spoke up next. "Greetings Jinn, I am Artoria Pendragon, please refer to me as Saber in public. I am Wilhelm''s girlfriend and Servant to Rin."


    "So many new and interesting things here." She looked at Artoria in wonder. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Artoria, I''m sure we''ll get along great in the future." She smiled mirthfully, giving me a wink.


    "I''m Rin Tohsaka, Zelretch''s apprentice." Rin''s introduction was blunt, but she wasn''t impolite.


    "Apprentice, in what?" Jinn tilt her head.


    "He''s teaching me his Magic." Rin said with a small bit of pride in her voice.


    Jinn''s eyes lit up. "So magic is widely avable here?"


    "Eh, sorta." I interjected. "Don''t worry, we''ll get you caught up in no time." I assured my cute genie.


    "Wonderful, I wish to hear more about you as well, Miss Jinn." Zelretch finally broke from his deep thoughts. "And the adventures my Grandson got up to over in your world."


    Jinn paused for a moment, eyeing me, then looking down at her hands. "I think, I am less restricted than I was before."


    "Really? Perhaps some kind of limitation that was imposed based on the world you were on? The gods that created you clearly did not foresee you being whisked away to another universe....some kind of loophole in your ''programming''?" Fascinating, we''ll need to test this outter.


    The corners of Jinn''s lips curled up as she faced Zelretch. "I would love to tell you all about Wilhelm''s adventure in Remnant." The tone in which she said that made me hesitate.


    "There''s no need to talk about everything, it''s a rather bor ¨C "


    "Oh, wonderful. Why don''t you regale us with tales from your home?" Zelretch looked at me, mirroring the look Jinn had. He clearly knew something, that shit eating grin was mine and I recognized it immediately.


    Well....fuck.


    "I would be delighted~" Jinn replied.


    ***


    MC is back home, and will be heading to Skyrim in a few chapters after settling a few more things.


    A wild Meridia finally appeared in mytest chapter, if you want to read it along with 5 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 120 - 114

    <h4>Chapter 120: Chapter 114</h4>


    ***********This Chapter is slightly NSFW, but there are no lemons. The part will be given another warning.***********


    "And then he threw the dildo at the Bullhead, making it crash into the street."


    The words were met with silence, Jinn had a wide grin on her face, eyes meeting mine.


    I let out a sigh, head falling into my palms.


    Going to spank herter.


    Fuck me, she''s going to fit in perfectly with us.


    "Well....you had an.....interesting adventure." Zelretch didn''t even hide the amusement in his eyes as he looked my way.


    "I have no words." Rin added. "I don''t have the state of mind to properlyprehend the words I just heard."


    "What is a Dildo?" Artoria asked,plete seriousness on her face.


    We all turned to her, as she started to turn a little embarrassed. Rin leaned over, whispering something into her ear, progressively, Artoria''s face got more and more red.


    Honestly, I thought steam was going to shoot out of her ears at some point.


    Truthfully, Jinn really did know how to weave a tale. She merely retold everything that happened, but it was captivatinging from her. I wonder if that had to do with her nature as a ''spirit of knowledge''?


    "As fun as this is, I think this is where I step out." Rin stood up. "I need to finish up a couple more things before I''m ready to head out from here."


    Well, I don''t fault her for that. She''s probably excited for her trip off world. "I''ll take a look at what you''ve preparedter."


    Rin gave a nod as she headed towards her workshop.


    "Well, it was an interesting story." Zelretch smiled mirthfully. "I do look forward to hearing the rest of it another time." Zelretch sent me another look like he knew she hadn''t told him ''everything'' yet.


    Fuck.


    I''ll never live thatment about Salem down.


    "Why don''t I show you to my library, Miss Jinn." Zelretch offered, turning to my genie.


    Honestly, even if he wasn''t on board almost immediately with her being a new constant in our lives, when she revealed her origins and desire to break away from remnant, none of them could help but have sympathy for her situation.


    "Grandfather, I would be delighted." Jinn clearly held herself back from squealing in delight.


    I ignored the grandfatherment, I''ve pretty muche to ept that part of Jinn''s personality at this point. And Zelretch just enables her even more, and I seriously think it''s because he enjoys being called that.


    Knowing his life, I can''t really fault him either. Family was a foreign concept for us throughout our existence, we found it where we could in Arc and Rin, but we had no blood rtions. Hell, he tried totch onto Altrouge, even with her nature he couldn''t give up on her.


    Regardless, still going to give that blue butt a spanking.


    As they left, I turned to Artoria who still turned beat red and looked away.


    So freaking cute.


    ****Warning, Slightly NSFW Ahead****


    Couldn''t help myself, I inched closer to her, clearly grabbing her attention. She tried to appear nochnt, but I saw the desire in her eyes. I leaned in and imed her lips as mine once again.


    "Will." She let out a small whine, breaking out kiss after a few moments. "Not here...." She whispered; a small bit of reluctance shed across her face. "Mayhaps...your room?" She added quietly.


    I was surprised that I stalled for a moment. But my brain rebooted in seconds as I grabbed her hand and led her to my personal space.


    It wasn''t anything fancy, and I had yet to decorate or anything here. Really, the only thing of note was Ddraig Jr sitting on my nightstand.


    Despite part of me wanting to, I didn''t throw her on my bed right then and there. "You know..."I sat down on the edge, inviting her over. "This could be interpreted several ways."


    She grabbed the hem of her skirt, looking more bashful than I''ve ever seen her. She can get flustered easily when things of romantic nature pop up, but this was a genuine nervousness. "I....wished to try and be more intimate." She sat down right next to me, eyes barely able to keep in my direction.


    "Artoria." I said gently. "There are no ''expectations'' from me, I don''t want you to push yourself faster than you''refortable with." Again, I would love nothing more than tearing her clothes off, but the thought of her showing me a face of fear or displeasure made my heart ache.


    Her breathing hitched and she took a moment to steady herself. "I want this." She said firmly. "But.....I am not ready to take that step yet."


    ''That step'', I assume she was speaking of sex, or perhaps full nudity and sexual acts beyond just some light touching. "It''s okay to be firm about your boundaries, I won''t push them."


    "I.....don''t wish for my undergarments to be removed." She stated with a bit of confidence in her voice.


    I gave her a reassuring smile, cing my hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her down on the bed. She didn''t fight me, taking a spot on her back, looking up at me expectantly. I moved on top of her, our faces only inches apart, her breath even tickling my nose. My left hand moved down as I ced a gentle kiss on her lips.


    Artoria''s body shuddered when my hand squeezed right above her knee. Her bare skin was warm to the touch, nowhere were her leggings to be seen. She had worn something simr if a bit different than her usual attire. Branching out but staying within a certain scope of familiarity.


    Slowly, my hand crept up her leg until her skirt began to push up with it. Her unblemished skin being caressed all the way up her thigh. I took a brief moment to enjoy the way she squirmed under my touch; the anticipation written clear on her face.


    She made a tiny sound when my hand finally met the soft fabric hidden underneath her skirt. My thumb brushed against the waistband of her panties, I wasn''t going to push any boundaries of hers here, and I doubt she made the consideration of my rubbing between her legs regardless of the cloth blocking me. Instead, my hand went below, grabbing a handful of flesh as I gave her rear a nice squeeze.


    Despite her petite size, she had a very ample butt, the extent which was hidden beneath her usual skirts was made clear when I stared to knead into her behind.


    "Will..." Her eyes stared into mine, before she wrapped her arms around my neck, bringing me down into a deep kiss. For the first time, I felt her tongue push into my mouth.


    It was clumsy, maybe evenically so, but it didn''t detract from the affection she put forward, eventually we got in synch as our tongues intertwined. I don''t'' know how long we got lost in that kiss, until eventually we had to break apart to breathe again, our deep breaths mirrored so closely to each other''s faces.


    cing another gentle kiss on her lips, I began to work my way down her neck as she leaned back with a small gasp, her inner thigh receiving my attention for but a moment. I decided not to move any further there, taking my hand out from under her skirt, I sat up, overlooking her flushed face, my hands moving to grasp at her waist.


    Her eyes followed mine as I stared down at her modest chest. She gave me a slight nod and I started to undo the buttons on her blouse.


    Artoria turned away as I unbuttoned them one by one, the only thing left being the blue and white bra that clung to her breasts.


    "They''re not very big." She whispered, seemingly unsure of herself in this regard.


    "They''re beautiful." I said in honesty, earning a bashful smile from her. It wasn''t hard to guess that she was probably a little self-conscious about her size, but frankly they were wonderful and I wanted to assure her that I found every aspect of her attractive.


    My hands slid up, gently squeezing them through her undergarment. There was definitely enough here to fill my palms.


    "Hn." She bit her lip as I began to y around with her cleavage. Even through the fabric of her Bra, I could vaguely see the outline of her nipples, her arousal. It only further emboldened me to massage them all around the fabric. She started rubbing her knees together, biting on her thumb. I was careful not to go too far, to push past where she was ready for, but even still, the way she was squirming under my grasp made me realize how sensitive this area was for her. "Wilhelm." She held her arms out, beckoning me back down to her. "I want you again." She was surprisingly direct, and I obliged all the same as our lips met again for another intimate kiss.


    ****NSFW Over.****


    ***


    There was no rm, no sun peeking in through the windows when I finally opened my eyes. Realization of what had just happeneding back to me. I looked at the woman I had wrapped up in my arms under a nket, her eyes haggardly blinking open at my sudden movement.


    "Morning." I whispered to my girlfriend.


    "Good morning." She smiled brightly back at me.


    Her hair was a bit of a mess, and I think I even had some drool on my chest, yet, this picture of her was absolutely breathtaking. "What are the chances that they didn''t notice you stayed the night in my room?" pressed my forehead to hers, closing my eyes.


    "Rin is going to be insufferable." Artoria groaned, her hands pulling on me tightly, not wanting to separate.


    "As is grandfather." I agreed.


    And it''s not like we did anything...well, we did stuff, but clothes stayed on...mostly. It was almost all kissing, or some light touching without being overly sexual.


    "Stop time." She muttered.


    "I wish." I kissed her nose. "But we can stay here as long as you want."


    "That will only make matters worse." She sighed, finally pulling away, she managed to roll out of the covers, standing up. I was greeted by the sight of her in nothing but her undergarments. I sat up myself as she walked over to where her clothes were folded. She picked up her blouse, only stopping to look at me. "D-did not you see enoughst night." Her beautiful face turning red again, even after everything that happened.


    I made no attempt to hide my wandering eyes. "I''m never going to get tired of looking." I gave her a cheeky smile. Especially with the way her panties stretched across her deceptively small rear. She had an extraordinary bounce to her even though she was a bit petite.


    She let out a small huff, doing up her buttons, but she didn''t shy away from my gaze.


    I could only chuckle, standing up to find my clothes as well. I was only in my briefs at this point, earning a few looks from her as well, though she still hurriedly turned her head away when I noticed.


    Her mixture of bashfulness and fleeting moments of confidence were still so cute.


    This was really a big step in our rtionship. While we didn''t partake in each other''s bodies beyond some cuddling, we did sleep together in the same bed. She knew all my facilities were offered to her, but I think she was still a bit too shy to use my shower and I didn''t want to make it awkward myself, so I would hold off on it for now as well.


    "Well, time to face the music?" I raised an eyebrow, holding my hand out, letting her take a moment to fix her hair to the best of her ability.


    "It is inevitable." She reached out and interlocked her fingers with mine.


    I pushed the door open, leading her out to the greater house. Immediately a couple pairs of eyes were on us.


    "Well, well, well." Zelretch tapped his fingers together.


    Rin also joined in a knowing look on her face. "Good morning, Saber. It''s strange, you''re wearing the same clothes asst night, why is that?"


    "Rin." Artoria let out a small whine.


    "Ohoh." Rin let out a haughtyugh. "Look how refreshed you look, was it as good as you thought it would be?"


    "RIN!" Artoria squeaked with indignation, before huffing, a blush adorning her beautiful face. "We didn''t do that." She added on quietly.


    "Boo." Rin pouted. "Could Schweinorg not get it up?"


    I almost choked at that one. "I can get it up very easily, thank you very much."


    Artoria looked like she wanted to crawl under a rock, I gave her hand a little squeeze in solidarity.


    "Now now, Rin." Zelretch interjected. "Let the two love birds enjoy their first morning together." He said with a gentle voice.


    "Thanks gramps, you ¨C"


    "You can tease them after breakfast."


    "Yup." I just nodded, that was about right for him.


    "I''ll get the juicy detailster~" Rin smirked.


    Artoria tried to hide her face, pressing her forehead onto my shoulder. I gave her head a small pat, much to her continued embarrassment. "In an attempt to change the subject, how''s everything looking for our trip?" I asked.


    "Good, I should be ready by tomorrow, just wanted to double check everything before we set out." Rin looked rather eager.


    "Well done." I nodded. I didn''t think I would have to baby sit her on this matter, she was an intelligent young woman. "Where''s Jinn?"


    "Asking about your side girl already, Schweinorg?" Rin snorted.


    Artoria seemed content to stay out of it, buried into my side, away from Rin''s teasing.


    "Rin, just because I have a Harem and you don''t, it doesn''t mean ¨C"


    "I''m not jealous!"


    "Well, me thinks thedy doth protest too much."


    "I will Gandr you!"


    "Come at me, Tohsaka" I made a ''bring it on'' gesture.


    "I swear, you two are like siblings." Zelretch appeared genuinely happy watching us bicker, the looks he sent us were very disarming in its sincerity. It really brought home the fact that he thought of us as his grandchildren. "Jinn is still in the library." He answered. "I did not want to separate her from that ce with how happy she appeared with her nose buried within the volumes."


    "Yeah, I can imagine." If she was happy, I wouldn''t disturb her for mundane matters. Despite my desire to give her a little punishment, she was someone I would take care of so her happiness was paramount to me.


    She gave herself to me, I would do right by her.


    "When you finished up, Wilhelm, I have some matters I wish to speak with you about." Zelretch stated, his tone made me realize that they were perhaps something important.


    Well, I would deal with itter.


    For now, I just enjoyed having a nice breakfast with people I considered my family.


    ****


    Just a heads up, I won''t be posting on Saturday, have too much i have going on and won''t be able to find the time. On a side note, i think i''ve gotten the second part of Wilhelm, Attorney at Law figured out.


    So, i didn''t know how appropriate it would be tobel this ''nsfw'' so I just chose the safe option, even if no nudity was even depicted.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone. Meridia and Artoria finally meet.

 Chapter 121 - 115

    <h4>Chapter 121: Chapter 115</h4>


    "This is a lovely taste, where did you find these tea leaves?" Sitting across from Zelretch, I set down my teacup.


    "I''m surprised you don''t recognize them." Zelretch took a sip of his own. "They''re from an ''extinct'' Came Sinensis strain found in Korea around the turn of thest millennia century. I couldn''t help but fall in love with the taste, so I happened to pick up some seeds forter nting. Well, a few centuriester, they all but disappear due to a famine that swept the country."


    "Ah, so you have some growing in your garden." I nodded my head, making a mental note to acquisition some for myself when he is distracted. "I feel like I should know that, even this taste is slightly nostalgic, but even with the story added on, I simply can''t recall the origin from memory."


    "Well, that''s to be expected in all honestly. How long have I lived? It would simply be impossible for you to recall every single detail, ignoring any of the side effects of trying to transfer memories through such a way. I highly doubt that everything transferred appropriately from the start."


    "True." His logic was sound. "It just makes me a little annoyed, I suppose. That feeling like something on the tip of your tongue but you can''t quite speak it.... that''s what''s happening when something like this urs." It merely stayed in the domain of annoying, but still. "I guess there are upsides. Knowing I like certain things without knowing why and rediscovering them all over again. It''s been a really interesting experience."


    Picking up my teacup again, I briefly closed my eyes to enjoy the taste passing down my throat. "It feels like forever since we''ve sat down and had a talk like this."


    "Well, it has been quite a while for you. We had some words here and there before you left for Remnant, but nothing worth mentioning since you left for the Land of Shadows. How are you doing regarding that?" He asked.


    "Good.....as best as I could be I guess." I admitted. There was no point to either lie to myself or him here. "I try to keep myself distracted, and spending time with my other girls helps quite a bit, but it still stings even though I know I''ll get her back."


    A small smile rose on his face. "Speaking of, you spent the night with dear Artoria, huh?"


    I let out a sigh, though I couldn''t help but smile. Rin practically dragged Artoria off after breakfast, no doubt a simr situation is happening in her workshop. "Yeah, it was a little surprising. She''s the one who suggested we move to my room, In the first ce."


    "My, she''s getting more confidant then?" Zelretch seemed pleased.


    He was well aware of her own self esteem issues about certain aspects of herself. "She is, and I won''t lie and say I don''t love it. She even was blunt about her boundaries, telling me how far she was willing to go."


    "Good." Zelretch nodded. "That girl deserves to be happy, and that attitude she had was not indicative of a fulfilling life." He hummed to himself lightly, enjoying the moment. "And what of your other paramours?"


    I winced slightly. "Which ones?"


    He let out an amused snort. "Shall I ask how many granddaughters I have running around now?"


    "Artoria, Scathach, Meridia." I stated. "Those are the only ones I''m in a rtionship with at the moment."


    "At the moment? And where does Jinn fit in here, as well as any other girls, I hope you haven''t forgotten about Kunou and her mother."


    "I haven''t forgotten about Kunou or Yasaka." I huffed. "You know very well how I feel about Kunou." I gave him a pointed look. "Yasaka though....I don''t know, that''s hard to answer. I obviously find her attractive, but..." I paused, looking up at Zelretch and back down. "I guess I''m kind of paranoid that she''s just going to y with my feelings? She seemed flippant with her flirting, and it felt so hollow like it was her default setting. It makes it hard to try to emotionally invest myself." I ran a hand through my hair. "I know it''s stupid, she doesn''t seem like the kind of women to do that, but some insecurities are hard to just shrug off. I told her I would like to spend more time with her when I head back to my birth world, because I do enjoy herpany." I sighed, it was hard to put my feelings into words right now.


    "She is a 9-tailed fox, you should be aware of her nature as much as I am." Zelretch pointed out.


    "I know, I know." I admitted.


    "I get it, some things just aren''t rational, just work through your own feelings at your own pace." Zelretch gently smiled. "And what of Jinn, she hasn''t been exactly forting with your rtionship beyond her being bound to you now."


    "That...." I thought it over. "She gave herself to me fully."


    "Oh?" Zelretch raised an eyebrow.


    "She''s mine, so I''ll take care of her no matter what."


    "Careful, your devil nature is showing." Zelretch chuckled. "Or perhaps it''s your added Dragon nature? Not all hoardsprise glittering gold and jewels."


    "Both, probably. I feel really possessive about what''s ''mine'' so there is definitely a factor at y there." While I wasn''t some caricature of a ''possessive boyfriend'', I looked at all of my girls as mine. "I also like to collect and take things that catch my interest." I mused.


    "Speaking of, how is your hoarding along?"


    "Funny." I said dryly. "But I have some good stuff. True Longinus, Staff of Magnus, that''s two divine constructs among my other things." I mentally went over everything I had currently. "Should be beneficial for when the timees. Any movements?"


    Zelretch''s expression turned hard. "A few minor things here or there, but they''re within expected parameters. It''s very unlikely the spider with awaken before the time we calcted."


    "Yeah, I know you''re right, it''s just hearing it being said is a bit of a stress relief." I finished off my tea. "What are your ns for the future when we''re away?"


    "Haah" He let out an uncharacteristic long breath. "Act like a worried grandfather?" Heughed. "It makes me nervous if I''m being honest, to finally see Rin off on her first big adventure."


    "It''ll be good for her, to finally step out of yours and a lesser extension, my shadow." It was obvious she was feeling a little insecure when I first popped up, while we slotted into something resembling siblings, she still somewhat grates under my presence. The ease at which I am able to achieve what she''s been trying for for awhile now.


    "Yes, I tell myself the same thing, but this old man can''t help but worry." Zelretch gave a gentle smile. "I shall endeavor to keep my hands preupied. That dust is something I will most likely fiddle with in the mean time."


    I would make sure to leave a good amount here with him.


    "A word of warning don''t take it into an environment without magical energy. I heard they tried to use the stuff to leave the atmosphere back on Remnant and there was a violent reaction, I could more or less guess that it bes unstable without an abundance of magical energy in the air to catalyze its existence."


    "Interesting." He rubbed his chin. "I shall see if I can do something about that."


    Ah, I know that look. Something had piqued his interest and he would probably lose himself in his research for quite a while.


    "I assume you are going to bring Jinn with you as well?" He asked.


    "Yeah." I blinked for a moment. "I just realized; I never did fully exin what I had nned for her."


    "Well, you are a young man and she is a beautiful women ¨C"


    "Oh,e off it." I scowled, earning augh from him. "Hermp is simr to my sword I picked up. It was supporting a pocket dimension by itself after the magics were already woven. I was going to use hermp as the focal point for my house."


    "Oh, that is a novel idea." He looked genuinely interested. "And a pocket dimension created through magical means, did you analyze it before leaving?"


    "Eh, I got a few looks at it. Nothing game breaking, but they were solidly done."


    "Fascinating, I really seemed to miss some important bits from my looks over there."


    "Couldn''t really be helped, a couple of idiot gods messed up a lot of things, you had no way of knowing."


    He epted my words, his expression turning a bit more serious. "I believe I should speak of the heavy stuff now. I found a world that would do well without a Grail."


    I felt my hands clench into fist unconsciously before releasing them, letting out a long breath. "Is that so...."


    "Would you like the information?"


    "I.....keep it for now." I couldn''t help but run a hand through my hair again, this physical tick of my ever present. "I really want to see Scathach again, but I also need to see Meridia as well." I want to hold my goddess in my arms again. "Besides, I promised Rin and Artoria an adventure, I won''t go back on my words." I don''t think I needed to say that I would be too tempted with that information right now.


    "Good, we can speak of this when you return." He nodded, a smile on his face. "I have no other issues I wish to bring up, perhaps we should check on Rin and see what preparations she has made and if she requires any help?" He got up, beckoning me to follow.


    I looked at him for a moment, his eyes widened as I stood up and wrapped my arms around him. "Thank you." I said. He was always so helpful to me, helping me with my issues, letting me vent about things that bothered me. "You''re a good grandfather."


    He didn''t respond, he didn''t need to. I knew how much those words probably meant to him. Instead, I felt him return the gesture, and nothing else needed to be said.


    ***


    Zelretch and I walked into Rin''s workshop after receiving permission to enter, even having grabbed Jinn toe with us, as hard as it was to separate her from the library.


    "Is Rin bullying you, Artoria?" I walked up to my girlfriend, giving her a quick pat on the head, earning a small noise from her in confirmation.


    "She found my Lion." Artoria muttered.


    Oh, the one I got her on our first date? I''m sure Rin must have been relentless with her teasing. And the fact that she sounded so possessive of it made me want to do some very intimate things with her right her and right now, but cooler heads prevailed. "Cute." I settled on a quick kiss to her forehead.


    "If you guys are done flirting." Rin huffed.


    "Never!"


    "I think I''m ready to head out." She ignored my witty retort.


    "Walk me through everything then." I decided to get a bit more serious.


    "I have about a hundred Jewels ready for use. I read through all the books you brought back so I know a the basic history there and what I''m walking into." She stated. "The magecraft, I have a decent understanding of, and I can cast the basic spells with some proficiency."


    "Where are you keeping everything?" I couldn''t help but ask.


    "The old man made me this." She held up a bag for me to inspect.


    "Oh, this is well done." I nodded; it was basically as I would expect from Zelretch.


    "I made one for Saber as well." Zelretch gave a gentle smile.


    Artoria beamed. "I have stored the essentials I would require."


    "It''s full of food, isn''t it?" I asked Rin who nodded, Artoria turning red and start stuttering denials. "So, I wanted to stop by the College first, get you both settled. The Archmage there is someone I trust quite a bit, and several teachers I know decently well, but there are a few people I would keep my guard around."


    "You made enemies there?" Rin asked.


    "Something like that." I sighed. "An elf named Ancano, don''t be alone with him, don''t let him get you to do anything. Treat him like a magus trying to delve into your craft."


    "Easy enough." Rin nodded.


    "He will not approach Rin without my presence." Artoria said firmly.


    "He''s a schemer and he is old, as in past a hundred years at a minimum. I ended up humiliating him, so he might try something on you both as ''revenge'', don''t underestimate him and don''t believe anything he tries to spout."


    They were more or less safe within the College, but extra caution would not be remiss.


    "Do not make any deals with Daedra, consider them demons and stay the hell away. I have one I''m on good terms with, so if you must, pray to her and mention my name."


    "Your other girlfriend?" Rin raised an eyebrow.


    "Yes." I said simply.


    "I am interested in meeting her." Artoria voiced.


    "Don''t worry, you will." I gave her a reassuring smile. "The Guards at the town bordering the college are good people, I know them well, if anything happens then mention my name to them and our rtionship. But I should be giving them a heads up anyways."


    Sheesh, I sound like a parent.


    I withdrew the Staff of Magnus from my ring. "Rin, take this."


    "W-why are you giving this to me?" She looked surprised. She knew it was divine in nature, so I guess she was taken back.


    "Just want to make sure you stay safe." I smiled.


    "Idiot." She huffed, taking the staff from my, giving it a once over and stuffing it in her bag.


    Kind ofical how things were put inside.


    "Artoria." I nced at her, swiping my ring and letting the True Longinus fall out.


    She didn''t argue with me, taking the spear and stuffing it in her own bag. "I shall use it if an emergency urs."


    While I don''t think it would do much in case that her Sword fails, it was still something. I couldn''t wield it at the moment without potentially killing myself, I''d rather she hold onto it for now as a peace of mind.


    Besides, there was a piece of Big G inside, that had to count for something. She also had Caliburn, which weaker than both the spear and her sword, still possessed some nifty abilities.


    "Oi." Rin grabbed my attention, holding a familiar device in her hand. "I finally finished this, it works only about 90% of the time, but I figured it was better than nothing for now." She shoved one of her ''Kaleidophones'' into my hand.


    Iughed, hugging her.


    "Idiot!" She squeaked at my sudden contact, but she didn''t push me away, returning the gesture with a little embarrassment.


    I finally let up, stepping out of her personal space. "Anything we''re forgetting? You got your Noble Phantasm, Rin?"


    "Of course." She said inly.


    "Rin has gotten proficient in its use." Artoria added. "Mayhaps there will be some people to practice against there, she needs sparring experience now."


    "Plenty of people who survive with a sword in hand there, just a matter of finding them and paying the coin."


    Zelretch, who had been quiet thus far, finally spoke. "I believe we have every base covered. Rin has been preparing for quite a bit now and she knows the dangers she faces in this strangend."


    "Dragons." Rin muttered.


    "Yeah, I had to fight one when I was much weaker." I sighed, remembering that particr memory. "But the College is well protected, many powerful mages there and the defenses are top notch."


    Not to mention Artoria would be by her side.


    "There are also a plethora of strange and magical creatures, so never let your guard down." I added.


    "I get it, can we get going already?" Rin was starting to be impatient, but I couldn''t me her.


    "Alright, but onest question."


    "Fine, what?"


    "You got Ruby, right?" I gave her a smirk.


    Rin scowled, crossing her arms. "Unfortunately."


    "Alright, just wanted to make sure." I held out my hand, opening a portal to the familiar coldnds of Skyrim.


    They didn''t need to change, Rin was already wearing clothing made for cold weather, Artoria also wearing something simr.


    "Well, lets go." I gestured as Rin practically skipped through the portal.


    Artoria gave me a smile as she followed behind.


    Jinn who had just been watching idly at the side opened her mouth. "Do you want me toe with you?"


    "While I will always enjoy yourpany, if you wish to stay here, you can." Her happiness was something I would prioritize in situations like these.


    She paused for a moment before walking up and giving me a quick kiss on the cheek, stuffing hermp into my hands. "I want to follow you." She smiled brightly, turning into smoke and returning to her abode.


    "She''s ridiculously cute." Makes me almost not want to spank her anymore.


    I gave onest look at Zelretch who nodded at me.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure theye back in one piece."


    We shared a simr look as I finally stepped through the portal.


    Skyrim, here wee.


    ***


    Oh boy, sorry for howte I''m getting this one out, but I was dyed due to having my care towed, yay! Power steering pump went poof. Luckily it happened when I was driving back to work from my lunch break and not on my 45 minutemute to or from work.


    Anyways, Skyrim round two here wee.


    If you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 122 - 116 Skyrim 2 Electric Boogaloo

    <h4>Chapter 122: Chapter 116 Skyrim 2 Electric Boogaloo</h4>


    I walked through the portal, the cold air weed me and I couldn''t help but smile even as snow fell on my face.


    I swept my gaze around, seeing the tall peaks reaching up to the heavens around us, the frozen tundra that met the horizon.


    "It''s good to be back." I allowed myself to take a deep breath of cold Skyrim air before finally taking a look at my twopanions.


    "I thought you said it would be cold, not Antarctic weather!" Rin huffed.


    She was exaggerating, but it was to be expected. I had some resistance against the weather due to my devil nature, but even with that I was subtly keeping myself morefortable through magical means.


    "It is quite chilly." Artoriamented. "We should further look into heavier clothing once we reach our destination."


    "I took us right outside of town." I squint my eyes through the thick snow. It was by no means a snowstorm, but the natural weather here made it hard to see at points. Not to mention the erratic nature, sometimes it would be a light snowfall, other times it would distort all vision in the area. "I think I can see the torches from here." I pointed over a bit.


    "I believe I see them as well." Artoria nodded.


    Rin already had a magical me hovering above her palm. "What''re we waiting for? Lets go."


    Artoria looked at me and we shared a quick smile before setting off after her. I''ve known Artoria long enough to know she was ''ready'' for any situation at the moment, even with herx outer appearance. There was a certain air about her, a nervousness you could call it, a healthy respect for the unknown, especially when Rin was in her care.


    If I looked closely, I could vaguely see her grasping at something, not quite her sword, but like at any moment it would appear in her hand and swing at any threat that appeared.


    "Rin, you said you practiced the basics I gave you?" I asked, drawing their attention.


    "Yeah, what about it?" She answered.


    "Try your detect life spell." Such a nifty little thing, while easy to fool if you knew what to look for, it was good for situations like this or scoping out the more obvious ambushes, and animalistic foes.


    Basically, it detected the power that pulsed off souls, and essentially pinged it and brought back the information to the caster.


    Soul Sonar.


    A little red light pulsed lightly in Rin''s hand. I couldn''t help but admire her ability as she didn''t even require an Aria to cast the spell.


    "12 Signatures detected infront of us."


    "Probably the town guards." Maybe a hundred meters away. Her range was pretty good.


    Artoria looked at me, then nced off to the side with an eyebrow raised.


    I put my finger to my mouth to silently shush her while Rin focused ahead.


    Stepping forward, I lightly tugged on herrge coat, almost making her fall.


    "What the hell!?" She looked at me with annoyance.


    "Rin." I said gently. "You''re being a bit thoughtless with your surroundings."


    "What? There''s nothing around except those people head."


    I turned towards my girlfriend. "Artoria would you please go bring our little friend to us?"


    She nodded, disappearing into the thick snowfall a hissed cry rang out loud enough to reach us, Artoria''s feet shuffling through the snow quickly recing the high-pitched noise.


    "W-what is that?" Rin practically reeled back.


    "It is an Ice Wraith, Rin." Artoria answered, much to my surprise.


    "You read the books?" I asked, mildly impressed.


    "Yes, I wished to understand what potential foes I would meet here. I found the topic interesting, so I read over it a few times." She exined, said Ice Wraith writhing in her grip, making some unholy sounds as it tried to break free.


    "But... I didn''t detect it." She said quietly.


    "Because it isn''t technically a ''living creature''." I wasn''t trying to tease or demean her here. "It is an elemental; it does not possess what we qualify as a ''soul''."


    "Oh." She drooped her shoulders, making my heart drop a little.


    "Rin, I''m not trying to baby you here." I tried to exin. "I understand what you''re feeling, believe me, I do." The need to prove herself, I knew that all too well. It was no wonder she was being so frivolous with such things.


    "I''m not weak." She countered with a scoff. "I can handle this myself."


    "Yes, you are." I decided to be blunt, I nced at Artoria, she merely closed her eyes not interrupting.


    "What''s that supposed to mean." She walked up, stabbing her finger into my chest, eyes narrowing.


    "Rin, you are significantly weaker than me or Artoria." She was about to angrily retort, but I stopped her. "And that''s okay. We all start somewhere; you should have seen me when I first came here. I almost got my ass kicked by some zombie in a tomb. But, this isn''t Earth, there are different threats here you have no idea about, yet you''re walking around like you own the ce."


    I knew how much of a hypocrite I was being here, but I promised Zelretch I would look after them, and I wanted to make sure Rin didn''t get into trouble like I did. Call me a hypocrite all day as long as Rin wouldn''t make the same mistakes I did.


    "You''re going to have ess to an entire school of magic, you''re going to get stronger. Then, when you''re ready, you''ll move on, find somewhere else that draws your interest and you''ll keep improving, keep getting stronger." I tried to sooth her bruised ego. "But you can''t ignore where you are right now. And Rin, you are weak at the moment."


    Her battle experience is very limited, even with surviving the Holy Grail War, she was not a warrior. She didn''t even notice the Ice Wraith a dozen feet away. Her spars with Artoria, I don''t doubt they''ve done wonders, but I wonder how far she truly pushes Rin due to their bond.


    The fact that Artoria wasn''t speaking up in Rin''s defense said all I needed to know there.


    Rin, to my surprise, didn''t get upset anymore or argue. Her face was flushed with embarrassment, perhaps a little bit of shame mixed in, but she didn''t speak against my words. She wasn''t an idiot, she was probably well aware of her own shorings, but sometimes they just need to be spoken by someone else before they truly sink in.


    "You''re a Genius, Rin. I''m sure you''ll be up to snuff in no time." I gave her a genuine smile. And I noticed the corners of her lips twitch upwards ever so slightly.


    "Of course." She seemed to regain her usual confident look, flipping her hair back. "I''ll catch up in no time, just watch me." She was more than willing totch onto my words of praise in this situation.


    I said what I needed to. I would keep my words and not continue to baby her, she needed to either fall or fly with her own effort from this point on. Though I knew she would soar with very little effort.


    "You''re going to love the College." I couldn''t help but reminisce with a smile.


    "They really have a whole library that anyone can ess?" Rin looked rather excited, shaking off those previous feelings.


    "It''s massive" I waived my arms for emphasis. "I stayed in there for an entire day before I realized how much time passed."


    Rin all but squealed in delight.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Artoria crush the Ice Wraith with her hand, letting it''s strange physiology disperse with a bit of effort on her part.


    "Thank you." She whispered, walking up next to me, sneaking a quick kiss on my cheek.


    That woman....if we were alone I would definitely be seeing what she was hiding under those heavy clothes~


    "Halt, who goes there!?" A deep voice reverberated, several figures approaching as as we neared the gates of the town.


    "Well, that''s a voice I haven''t heard in a awhile." I got a good look at the man who spoke. "Svord, how''ve you been?"


    The man paused, looking me over briefly before a wide grin overcame him. "Lad!" Heughed, walking towards me, hands sped my shoulders. "Where in oblivion did you disappear to? Half my men been poking around the mages asking and no one knew!" His bright smile turned a little dimmer. "Word was that the Thalmor scum did something."


    "Ha, like that slimey elf could do anything to me." I chuckled. "No, I simply went back home for a bit. Speaking of." I gestured towards them. "This is Rin Tohsaka."


    "A pleasure." Rin gave a small smile.


    "Miss Tohsaka." He nodded, a little slow on the pronunciation, but it was a foreign word.


    "She''s my grandfather''s student, and she''sing here to learn at the college." I exined. "And this is Artoria Pendragon." I gestured again towards Artoria.


    "Well met." Artoria also gave a polite greeting.


    "And to you, Miss Pendragon." Svord returned.


    "She''s Rin''s bodyguard, and my girlfriend."


    Svord blinked, letting out augh with a p on my shoulder. "Well done,d, getting yourself such a beautiful woman."


    Artoria did turn the slightest red at his remarks, and I admittedly mirrored her a little in that regard.


    "I''ll make sure to tell my men to keep an eye out for them." Svord could more or less read between the lines here with my introductions. He turned towards both of them. "If anyone gives you any trouble up here in Winterhold, feel free to use my name. As Guard Captain, I have a little bit of influence around here." She smiled.


    "Thank you, Svord." Artoria acknowledged his good intentions.


    "None of that." He waived off her disys of etiquette. "Thed''s people are my people!" He let out a heartyugh again. "You probably need to be heading to the college, but you better make sure to visit the tavern with uster!"


    "Of course." I nodded at his enthusiastic words.


    "Aye, now get going." He yfully shooed us away.


    "I didn''t realize you were so popr." Rinmented as we got out of ear shot from them, having walked inside the town at this point.


    "The Nords here a simple people, they respect honor above almost all else. If you win their favor or get into their good graces, they would literally move infront of an arrow for you. I stepped in to help them with an issue when I first arrived, we celebrated afterwards and bonded." I trailed off as I saw around the town, certain things drawing my attention. There were houses that were burned down.....buildings that were demolished.


    What happened?


    As we got closer to the college, and therge towers came into view, Rin voiced her glee at the whole thing. Artoria made somements about it as well, but my focus was more so on the fact that there was a tower missing, and some noticeable damage around the exterior.


    There was no one at the entrance to the bridge, which was still standing thankfully.


    "Wilhelm." A voice spoke behind us, even Artoria reacted with surprise, her invisible de already in her hand as she turned around.


    "Archmage." I greeted after quickly recovering. Artoria was also fast to withdraw her Invisible Air, acknowledging my nonchnt attitude.


    I think I heard Rin yelp too.


    Heh.


    "It''s been awhile."


    "Indeed, I believe you said a month and you weren''t far off." He nodded.


    Was my aim off by a little bit?


    I hope Meridia isn''t angry.


    "Let me introduce you, this is ¨C"


    "Miss Tohsaka, and Miss Pendragon." He interrupted me. "I was watching when you approached the town."


    "I never noticed you." Artoria spoke up, her brow furrowed.


    The Archmage''s eyes twinkled with amusement. "I am quite adept at what I do, Miss Pendragon."


    "His way of monitoring the area is....unique. I doubt you would be able to sense him even if you knew what to look for." It would take effort on my end and I was adept at the magical arts, even with Artoria''s scary instinct, I don''t think she would be able to pick up that she was being watched.


    He just hummed, not borating himself. "Usually there is a little test for new students, to be able to cast some simple spells so they can prove they aren''t justing here to cause problems. But my instinct is telling me that would be pointless in this case." He paused staring up at the sky. "My, the weather is just dreadful out here." He said lightly, raising his hand, and giving it a casual flick. The snow was visibly dispersed all around us, the sun suddenly shining bright in the sky as the clouds above us had disappeared.


    Rin looked up with eyes widened. "Amazing."


    Even Artoria gave a respectful look towards the Archmage.


    "Show off." I rolled my eyes, much to his amusement.


    He ignored my words and continued. "Now, I must apologize, but I require young Wilhelm''s presence for a little bit. I have already ryed to Tolfdir, one of our esteemed teachers, of your arrival, you merely have to follow the path to the main hall."


    "Thank you, Archmage." Rin gave a slight bow, her words very polite. She was clearly awed by the power he disyed.


    "I have high hopes for you, Miss Tohsaka. If you require anything, please don''t hesitate to ask."


    Artoria silently followed behind Rin as they started heading inside. I resisted the urge to force my presence on them, but they needed this, to step out by themselves.


    Was it my possessiveness rearing its ugly head? I thought of them as ''mine'' in different aspects, but they also had their own paths to walk outside of my immediate vicinity.


    This would be good for both of them.


    "So, what did you need to talk about?" I was assuming it had something to do with the state of the college, even if such things perhaps weren''t immediately obvious to any new eyes.


    "Yes, about that." He looked at me dryly. "We have quite a few things to speak of, Wilhelm."


    ***


    We back in Skyrim. Meridia is just around the corner, fluff cannons are at the ready.


    MC can''t help but sort of ''mentor'' Rin even though he''s the same as his previous life. Rin and Artoria getting their first look at Skyrim, and the Archmage abruptly appearing before them.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 123 - 117

    <h4>Chapter 123: Chapter 117</h4>


    The Archmage took us right into his personal quarters, the room looking the same since I had been away. I had to keep reminding myself that for them it had only been a month, yet years have passed for me.


    "You''re different." Hemented, sorting some stuff around. I could only assume we arrived here while he was in the middle of something. "Very different." He turned around, staring at me while rubbing his beard.


    "It''s my ¨C"


    A book fell onto my head.


    "Oww." I gently rubbed the spot I was just smacked on. "You didn''t even hear what I was going to say."


    "I could take a guess." He said dryly, though a small smile quirked on his face.


    I let out a small chuckle, sharing his sentiment. "I had a productive time away."


    "I''d say." He didn''t borate and I was curious what he was referring to here. This man was very perceptive and had a keen eye, though he was still hard to read at time. "Especially with you bringing another woman back when a Daedric Lord is waiting for you."


    My smile dropped. "To be fair, Meridia suggest such a thing in the first ce."


    Again, he just looked at me dryly again. "Well, I''m not the one you need to appease." He shook his head.


    "Wait, how did you know she was waiting for me and didn''t just visit me while I was away?"


    "She came and visit a handful of times." The Archmage exined. "Near gave me a heart attack when she appeared in my school, merely sitting to the side and watching as a teacher of mine taught a ss."


    "That is...extremely cute." I muttered.


    "Not the word I would use to describe it." He snorted. "Though she did aid us when we were attacked."


    I paused, contemting that. "I was going to ask about the damage to the area."


    "Dragons." He said simply.


    My eyes widened at the implication. "How bad was it?"


    "A few Winterhold guards died and we lost an older member of the college who retired from active teaching duty, and many injuries everywhere, but most are recovered in full at this point." He said solemnly.


    "That.....is surprisingly less than I would have assumed." I didn''t want to be cynical, but dragons were very dangerous creatures, I don''t think the one I fought was indicative of their overall strength.


    "It''s thanks to you, actually." He began to move things around the room again with a mental thought. "As soon as you left, I activated the War-time defenses. They were created for the purposes of withstanding long sieges and cataclysmic events."


    "They were able to withstand the attack of a dragon?" I was very curious now, I knew this ce was well defended, but to actually hear it.


    "Two dragons." He corrected, much to my surprise. "They attacked in tandem, I was able to focus the offensive magics to down the dragon who thought to attack the town, but the second one then focused on the college."


    "And the second one was brought down as well?"


    "It was a hard fought battle, Tolfdir was wounded heavily, but we were able to finally beat it in the end, but the College has yet to fully recover." He exined. "Admittedly, most of our effort was focused on keeping everyone safe, while the dragon could bombard the ce from the safety of the sky."


    I winced as he mentioned Tolfdir. "This is probably my fault." I mumbled. If I hadn''t been so stupidst time.....maybe they wouldn''t have been here.


    "Wilhelm." He stopped forward, cing a hand on my shoulder. "I am aware of what transpired at Whiterun, and none of this is your fault." He said gently.


    I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Atleast the College made it through almost unscathed."


    "Indeed. Damage can be repaired; I am infinitely grateful that the students were not harmed in any significant manner."


    "Any chance the dragon''s bodynded on Ancano?"


    The Archmage snorted. "I''m afraid that it was quite impossible for him to suffer nay degree of injury with how far away he retreated in the conflict."


    "I am disappointed, but otherwise not surprised." I frowned, before blinkinging in realization. "Wait, you said Meridia helped?"


    "Oh, yes." He nodded. "It was when we were attacked the second time."


    "Wait, what?"


    "I will admit, the situation did not look favorable. Many of us were preparing to evacuate the students in full this time while us teacher would make a stand. To be honest, one of the dragons gave me a very dangerous feeling, much more than those previous ones."


    I couldn''t help but sigh again, thinking how bad the situation was. "You guys couldn''t leave, otherwise Winterhold would most likely be lost."


    The Archmage didn''t speak, merely a nod in affirmation.


    This man would have fought all those dragons by himself if needed. "You''re a good person, Savos." I replied, earning a small smile from him. "But how did Meridiae into y?"


    "She appeared at the top of the College, merely ring at the imposing Dragons and they quickly scurried away." He let out an honestugh. "I don''t believe anyone else witnessed the scene."


    The things I''m going to do to that woman. "I''ll be sure to thank her properly,ter." I gave a cheeky smile.


    "Yes, I''m sure." He deadpanned, but seemed genuinely cheerier than he was a moment ago.


    "How''s the situation everywhere else?" He should be decently informed.


    "Not too good, Wilhelm. Not too good." He sighed himself. "Some ces got hit hard by stray Dragons, or some other nonsense with people taking advantage of the situation. Thankfully, nothing like Riften has happened a second time yet."


    I clenched my fists. Maybe it was irrational, but I still felt like this was my fault in some way. "What of Thorum?" I finally got up the confidence to ask. Once I heard him start speaking of dragons, I had a small pit in my stomach.


    He perked up slightly. "I did as I said, I sent him many introductory materials for various branches of magic. To my surprise, he sent me a letter nearly a week after you left giving his thanks and rmendations because he had already be proficient with all those."


    "Thorum, Really?" I couldn''t help but smile.


    "Indeed, your friend appears to be quite the magical genius. Perhaps his nature as the ''Dragonborn'' is not the only faceting into y here." He exined. "But, otherwise, Whiterun has been hit hard, perhaps the worst since Riften." He looked at my expression and began to exin properly. "They hadn''t suffered quite as severely, the city is still standing tall, but they''ve been attacked at least half a dozen times now. Maybe that''s to be expected since it''s known throughout Skyrim that the Dragonborn lives there."


    "That..." I stopped for a moment, rubbing my chin. "The dragons would no doubt find out about him, their pride wouldn''t allow them to leave him alone. I couldn''t im to know their thoughts, but I don''t think they would care about the city, only focusing on Thorum for their own weird sense of honor and pride."


    "It''s exactly as you say." He responded. "While there has been damage here and there, it''s mainly been outside the walls. Farms burned, livestock killed and devoured, but otherwise the city is unmolested, they seemed content to call out the Dragonborn."


    "And he''s been okay?" I wouldn''t put it past them to enjoy the ''audience'' for their fight. If Ddraig was anything to go by, that would just make it more exciting.


    "From what I''ve heard, he''s been thriving. I hear he''s in 4 dragons since you''ve left."


    "That''s no small feat." I whispered, a small bit of pride swelling in my chest at the thought of my friend bing so strong. "I can''t wait to go see him again." I beamed.


    "That isn''t all." The Archmage interrupted my thoughts. "From what I understand, these dragons have been calling out some other of their kind, one who goes by the name of ''Y Ddraig Goch''."


    I slightly winced again.


    [YES!!!]


    Dammit Ddraig.


    {Do they know about Ddraig?}


    [The Red Dragon Emperor is known everywhere!]


    {Does that mean it would be okay for me toe out?} She sounded hesitant.


    "Wilhelm?" I was broken from my thoughts again, The Archmage looking at me strangely.


    "Well, I guess it isn''t much a secret then." I scratched my head. "Was talking to said Dragon, he was shouting happily in my ear." I sighed.


    "Fascinating." His eyes twinkled in amusement again.


    "A quick question, does Urag Gro-Shub need an extra hand around the Library?"


    He paused, blinking at me in confusion. "Well, he had asked for an assistant many years ago, but all those who we attempted to help him were eventually chased out. I hesitate to ask why."


    "Ddraig, if you would." I spoke, holding me hand out, letting the Gauntlet appear on my hand. The Archmage''s eyes widened, a clear interest appeared on his face, but he didn''t make any actions to inspect it. I touched the Jewel on the back, taking out the Lamp. "Jinn." I said gently.


    My blue genie appeared in a wisp of smoke, floating behind me happily, The Archmage bing more and more curious.


    "Well, this is quite interesting." He gave Jinn an up and down nce, though it was more academic than any kind of lustful thoughts. She was wearing her dress as well. Maybe she knew my sentiments that I didn''t want anyone else to see what''s mine. "Hello, I am Savos Aren, The Archmage for the College of Winterhold."


    Just as always, Jinn happily reciprocated the greeting. "I am Jinn, I am the spirit for the Relic of Knowledge." She gestured to the smallmp still in my hand.


    "I am assume you wish to install her as the assistant Librarian?" He chuckled.


    I gave a look at Jinn, she looked absolutely ecstatic at the idea. "She would treat the ce with as much respect as Urag would."


    "A spirit housed in an artifact referred to the ''Relic of Knowledge''." He rubbed his beard. "I can make some guesses on what that entails." He seemed amused by the whole prospect. "If I may ask, what are your capabilities?"


    "I have perfect recall of any information I learn." She stated, as if she were in an interview and providing her resume. I didn''t interrupt, I wanted her to socialize more when she had the opportunity. And it would be lying if I said that seeing her happy like this didn''t bring a warmness in my chest. "I am also knowledgeable on magic, and quite proficient if I do say so myself."


    I blinked at that, it seemed obvious in hindsight, but the fact that she is capable of magic beyond her ''abilities'' tied to her uses had caught me off guard.


    "Oho, yes, I think this may work out quite nicely." He turned back to me. "You keep continuing to bring me so many interesting things, Wilhelm. I would be happy to ept her. Even if Urag didn''t wish her assistance, she is more than weed in my college."


    Jinn let out a squeal of delight, engulfing me in a hug and I felt her lips make contact with my cheek.


    The Archmage just chuckled. "Your otherpanions are quite interesting as well."


    I took Jinn into my arms, happily having her nesting her head under my chin. "Rin is my grandfather''s student, she''s here to broaden her horizons, so to speak." He wasn''t something I had to hide much form, even if I didn''t like to particrly reveal secrets if I didn''t'' have to. Though, I trust him, revealing Jinn spoke just of how much. "She has some.....insecurities." I wanted to choose my words carefully without speaking ill of her or revealing her own secrets. "So she may try and bite off more than she can chew."


    "I will keep an eye on her, don''t you worry." He nodded. "And Miss Pendragon, her....bodyguard?"


    "She''s a knight, she''s sworn her sword to Rin''s service. While she is capable of magic, and probably extremely talented in that regard....she doesn''t seem to possess any significant desire to learn the arts."


    "A shame." He sighed. "But, if someone doesn''t want to learn, there''s no point in forcing the issue."


    "Also...."I once again tried to choose my words carefully. "Artoria is....strong. I want to make it clear that her priorities are Rin''s safety, but in the worse case scenario... a dragon may not be an issue for her."


    The Archmage paused, giving me a contemtive look. "Thank you for the information. I will not take advantage of her presence." He seemed to read between the lines there.


    If the College was in danger, she would probably take action even if she had to leave Rin''s immediate presence. If in a situation the Archmage guaranteed Rin''s safety, Artoria would probably be more than willing to lend a hand without coercion.


    It was me trusting him even more here. That piece of information would allow him to manipte someone capable of killing dragons.


    "Otherwise, I expect them to run into trouble get into some sticky situations. Unless there Is genuine danger to their lives, I hope you let them settle it themselves." The worry wort in me couldn''t help itself. "Although, I hope certain political entities keep their distance."


    His expression turned just a tad darker. "Don''t worry, I''ve already turned away certain ''political entities'' from further encroaching on my school. And the ones currently present are on very thin ice."


    Interesting, the Thalmor tried to gain a bigger foothold here? And it looks like Ancano is very close to being kicked out.


    Good.


    "Honestly, I feel like there''s more I should ask, but...."


    "You have a very powerful Lady to appease, and I''m sure you are worried about your Dragonborn friend." He smiled mirthfully.


    "Yeah." I just nodded, not hiding anything.


    "Go, go." He yfully shooed my away. "I will look after yourpanions and paramours."


    I guess he realized what rtionship I also have with Jinn.


    Well, not like I was ashamed.


    "Take care of yourself." I gave Jinn a kiss on the cheek. She was happily watching our exchange in my arms.


    "Thank you." She said quietly, but I felt like she meant it more than just for this specific instance.


    "I told you, didn''t I? You''re mine, I''ll take care of you." For the first time, I ced my lips against hers, and she weed a deeper kiss.


    The Archmage cleared his throat, earning a slightly blush from both me and jinn.


    Forgot where I was for a moment there. Though he seemed more amused than anything.


    And the contrasting red on her blue cheeks just made her look even cuter.


    I gave her onest look, then nodded towards the Archmage. To his sheer surprise, I opened a portal right infront of him. His eyes widened at how easily I got around the impressive magical protections on his College.


    He didn''t get upset, he didn''t demand questions, no. Instead, he just started loudlyughing.


    I couldn''t help but admire this man even more.


    With another thought, I walked through the portal.


    ****


    A familiar colorful sky greeted me as I looked up. Thend masses that didn''t make sense as they floated in several directions all around me. I didn''t dwell on them for but a moment because my attention immediately turned to a woman sitting on a throne not far away.


    She raised her head as soon as I stepped through.


    Our eyes met and she stood up, stepping off her throne, taking slow steps down towards me.


    I took equal steps to meet her, no words were yet exchanged as she glided into my arms. Her head buried into the crook of my neck, my arms wrapped around her waist.


    "I''m back." I whispered.


    "Wee back." The quiet words barely reaching my ears.


    ***


    Early chapter! I didn''t procrastinate nearly as long today. So, Mc got a quick rundown on what happened at the college. Archmage throwing down with two powerful dragons like its nothing. Keep in mind there is a sliding powerscale for dragons, not all of them are ''equal''. The one from the first skyrim run was perhaps one of the weakest. MC and Meridia finally reunite, but you''ll have to wait for the next time on Dragon Ball Z!


    Anyways if you want to read 5 chapters ahead -- wink wink -- or just support me, visit my /astoryforone


    Also, we have a discord, heres the code -- N8bDxwwapb

 Chapter 124 - 118

    <h4>Chapter 124: Chapter 118</h4>


    I don''t know how long we stood there, time bing insignificant in this brief moment. I just enjoyed the warmth of her touch, the feeling of her breath on my neck and the nice smell that filled my nose.


    "Did you miss me?" I couldn''t help but lightly tease her, this goddess in my arms just invoked these feelings.


    "You were only gone a month." She grumbled.


    "That wasn''t a no~"


    The muffled huff as she pushed herself into me a little bit harder was extremely cute. "Yes." She finally said.


    I couldn''t help but squeeze her just a little bit tighter. "I missed you too." I whispered.


    It felt like an eternity before we finally separated, she was looking over me curiously. I don''t know what she say, but she was clearly surprised by what she found. "I could not sense my sword after you left." She finally spoke.


    "I told you I would be disappearing for a bit and I would be safe."


    "I did not think you could escape my gaze, just some bravado I dismissed." She did not look all that happy, something borderline sadness in her eyes. "I had thought the worst until it reappeared."


    That look she gave me, it made my heart hurt to know she thought something like that. I reached my hand up, cupping her cheek, my forehead pressed gently against hers. "I''m sorry."


    "Hmph." she pouted ever so slightly


    "Cute."


    "You are ridiculous."


    "And you are ridiculously cute." I chuckled, moving to meet her lips with mine. She epted my advance, our lips meeting for a moment.


    "To say that not once but twice to me. You are brave." She snorted, pulling away, though the tiniest flush on her face.


    I reached out, taking her hands in mine. "Well, I''m nothing if not bold, otherwise, how would I have gotten such an amazing woman."


    She dipped her head. "Do not speak of that nonsense. To trick me into such a thing..."


    Embarrassed Meridia is something I need eternally in my life. "I tricked you, did I?" I lightly pulled on her, my hands moved to wrap around her waist, her body pressed up to mine. "Shall I rescind my ''boon'' then? Maybe I should ask for something else?"


    She made the cutest sound in response, seemingly distressed at the notion. "Don''t tease me." She whispered, giving my hand a little pinch of annoyance. "I have already given my word." She looked up meeting my eyes. "You are not allowed to make me a liar."


    "That''s right, I believe you said you were my woman." I gave her a cheeky smile.


    "So I have." She turned away with another small huff.


    "To admit it, I might not be able to stop myself from taking liberties." My hands moved down, grasping at her waist. I wasn''t going to push her on anything, but I couldn''t help but tease her.


    "Y-you have nothing but perversions on your mind." She didn''t reject me though. "How you managed to earn my affections I will never understand."


    "Perhaps a demonstration is in order?" She was about to speak but I imed her lips. It was deeper than our previous kiss,den with affection and longing. Her surprised quickly turned into desire as she returned the passion, enough so that it matched my own.


    We our lips parted, she leaned back into my chest. "Say those words to me again."


    "Words?"


    "From earlier."


    Ah.


    I rest my chin atop her head, wrapping her up tightly. "I''m back."


    I felt her hands grasp at my clothing. "Don''t leave again."


    My sweet goddess. I couldn''t help myself. "I won''t leave again." I cooed.


    She made another small noise. "Good." Her tone holding a hint of sadness.


    It wasn''t the truth, and we both knew it. But if it made her feel even a little bit better I would say it again. Regardless, as much as I wanted to stay like this, there was clearly some stuff that needed to be aired. "I guess we should talk about the important bits now."


    There was clearly no small part of her that wanted questions answered. I could feel her shift under my grasp, and the way she looked up at me with clear longing. "You are hiding a great many secrets."


    "I am." I gave her a small smile, this conversation seemingly a repeat ofst time. "Would you like to hear them?"


    "Yes."


    I chuckled kissing her forehead. "It''s hard to pick a ce to begin." I sighed, looking off into the colorful distance. "I guess it started when I awakened memories from my past life."


    ***


    My legs gently kicked off the edge of a floatingndmass, an empty void beneath my feet, yet I felt no fear in this ce. A reassuring hand literally wrapped around my own, our fingers tightly linked together.


    Meridia was....silent.


    I guess what I shared had shattered her world view.


    Her, a being that witnessed and had a hand in the creation of this world. She who was basically born at the dawn of existence, had for the first time, been left utterly confused.


    It took some convincing, my swords were all stabbed into the ground around us where she inspected each and every one, the concepts of their existencepletely foreign to her.


    "I have questions."


    I turned towards her, an unsure look on her face. "I have no secrets infront of you, Meridia." I tried my best to give her a reassuring smile.


    "This.....Odin." Her tone was even, but as the words left her mouth, the realm Shook. "Where can I find him?"


    Yeah, I had told her of my time in the Land of Shadows. I had told her everything, leaving nothing out. All the other girls in my life, and she listened intently, not interrupting me except for the asional rification until I finally ended up back here.


    No doubt, she was somewhat aware of the little bit of divinity she put inside of me having been ''activated'' so to speak. Perhaps she didn''t have context of what happened until now, but the picture was probably apparent.


    "He''s already dead." I pull her hand up, giving it a kiss in an attempt to calm her. The area seemed to go back to some semnce of normal, Meridia clearly calming down slightly. "Though, I thought you would be upset about other things."


    Her head snapped to me. "Oh, and what should I have been upset about?"


    "Well ¨C"


    "Maybe the other women you have taken in?" She looked at me, I felt a certain intensity in her gaze before pulling back. "Do you wish to breed with them?"


    I wanted to make a joke about the phrasing, but I decided against it in this circumstance. "Maybe in the future." I said honestly.


    "Hmph."


    "I think you would like them."


    She raised an eyebrow at me. "You would have them meet with me? Do you not fear I would do something?"


    "Nope." I replied almost immediately. "I trust you."


    She let out a snort, turning away, though her hand never left mine. "I did say you could." She admitted. "You were gone, far longer than you said you would be." She frowned.


    "I said I would be back in a month."


    "That implied you would only be back in a months time." She sent a nasty re my way. "Tell me that you were not gone longer than that."


    "I''m sorry." I gave her hand a little squeeze, not much else I could do in this situation.


    "You shall make this up to me." She said sternly.


    "Whatever you want."


    "Hmph." She huffed. "You are never allowed to hide things from me again. I demand that you reveal anything of important and share with me your thoughts...at every opportunity avable. You are toe here and reveal your intentions."


    "So my punishment is toe here and spend time with you?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "C-cease your foolishness. That is far from what I have stated." She denied, quickly changing the subject. "Speak to me of these other women. If they are going to be a presence in your life, they will be known to me."


    "Two of them are here, on Nirn right now." I stated, earning a sh of surprise from her.


    "Are they in that....College, of yours?"


    "Yup."


    She held her free hand up, waving it gently in the air as the colors coalesced into a sort of screen that allowed viewing in the College.


    "Didn''t know you were a voyeur."


    "As if I would use my power for something so...!" I just chuckled, pulling her in close for a kiss on the cheek.


    "You can watch me any time you want."


    That got another small flush out of her, one which she quickly squashed down. "Here, is it one of these two? I do not recognize them." The images shed until Artoria and Rin appeared on the screen.


    "The ck haired girl is Rin Tohsaka, she''s from the same country as me, but a different World-line." I exined. She would understand my terminology at this point. "She''s what we call a ''Magus'' back home."


    "This Magecraft you mentioned." She pursed her lips. While I did tell her everything, it would take a while to fully exin the details.


    "I don''t mind exining it all, but I think we should focus on the bigger things first." I gently focused her back at the matter on hand.


    "I agree." She said simply. "What is her rtionship with you?"


    "I guess I would consider her like a sister. She is my Grandfather''s student, whom he considers a granddaughter."


    "Your grandfather, the term you use to describe the person you were in your past life." She reiterated.


    "You know, it sounds really strange when said out loud."


    "If you were anyone else, I would have assumed you were mocking me with your story." She deadpanned.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle at her words. "If you want, he would love if you called him Grandfather as well." I gave her a wink.


    "I am older than your of birth!"


    "Technically, Zelretch is infinitely old" I countered.


    "That is nonsense and you know it."


    "Prove it."


    "You!"


    "Hehe."


    She just huffed again, unable to refute my words.


    So cute.


    "Back on topic." I drew her attention again. "That''s Rin, if you see her, please take care of her."


    "I will make sure nothing happens" She stated, almost flippantly, but from someone like her, something like her, that was worth a lot. "I assume the blonde one is yours?"


    Mine.


    That thought shed inside my head before I pushed the possessive side of me back down.


    "That''s Artoria Pendragon, she''s my girlfriend."


    Meridia stared at her intently, enough that I was surprised Artoria didn''t perk up from the other side of the dimension. "She is pretty." Meridia said simply.


    "She is." I nodded.


    "She is....a spirit." Meridia chose her words carefully.


    "She''s what is known as a Heroic Spirit." I wanted to rify this right away. "She is not undead in the way you would find offensive."


    "Yes, I can tell she is a higher existence. Not a god...." She paused. "It is strange to consider other beings outside of what I know to be of such that can im that title."


    "If you want, I can take you away from here, to go see other worlds." I offered.


    She looked at me again. "That...." She looked deep in thought. "I will think of this matterter. I wish to focus back on your other woman."


    "What do you want to know?"


    "You said she is a....knight?"


    "Yes, though I don''t wish to speak much on her story, it''s rather personal." Though being a knight is something she would never be ashamed of, so I felt fine divulging that little tidbit.


    "I see." She seemed to ept those words.


    "It just means you have to meet her and get to know her yourself." I beamed.


    It was odd, but I think that made Meridia feel nervous, and I couldn''t help but marvel at the fact that this super powerful goddess was nervous at the thought of meeting Artoria.


    She quick swiped her hand moving the voyeurism. "Where is the other woman?"


    "Check the library." No doubt that''s where Jinn would have gone.


    "What is her description, I ¨C" She stopped almost immediately, seeing a Blue-skinned woman appearing on the screen. "I retract my words. I believe I have found her."


    Funnily enough, jinn on the other end stopped what she doing, turned to face us. Looking inquisitively at our direction, clearly knowing something was wrong.


    "So, how hard are you making it to detect your little voyeurism?"


    "Don''t call it that!" She let out an indignant huff again. "Your Archmage should be able to notice my eyes if he were in the vicinity."


    "Ah, that''s probably why Jinn knows. She''s very adept at manipting the ''world''." Her ability to mess with the time axis was impressive.


    "Jinn." Meridia let the word roll off her tongue. "She is a strange creature. Created by gods of another universe. And this is another woman you wish to bear your children?"


    "Well..... yes." The thought of Jinn having a swollen belly did many things to my libido. She was mine, if I wanted her to have my children, would she protest?


    Though there was the issue of ''what'' she was, which didn''t exactly lend itself to procreation.


    Admittedly, I would much prefer the woman next to me to have a big belly first.


    "She''s mine." I said simply, ignoring those thoughts about Jinn. Meridia deserved my undivided attention right now.


    "Hmm." Meridia didn''tment further. Honestly, I think that statement was more conclusive to her than me saying Artoria was my girlfriend.


    I had to remember that Meridia wasn''t human, she wasn''t mortal in any sense of the word. Her view of existence was vastly different than mine. To say Jinn was mine was probably a very simple thing in her eyes.


    "I have more questions." Meridia stated.


    "And I have answers." I gave her hand another squeeze. "I have nowhere to be right now except with you."


    A small smile grew on her face as she leaned her head on my shoulder.


    For her, I would have all the time in the world.


    ****


    Meridia returns and fluff is had. Should be a meeting up with Artoria and Rin soon.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 125 - 119

    <h4>Chapter 125: Chapter 119</h4>


    "And what is this ''Land of Shadows''?"


    "Well." That was a difficult question to answer. "To put it bluntly, it''s and of the dead. Where things refuse to truly die, all kinds of undead abominations wandering around, uncountable in numbers."


    I had been sitting here with Meridia for awhile now. I hadn''t even bothered to keep track of time as we merely talked. If she had a question I answered it to the best of my ability, throwing in some light teasing and stealing a kiss every now and then.


    She didn''t look too pleased with my exnation. "Scathach stopped them from spilling out into the mortal world. She conquered thend by pure might, guarding the gates for millennia."


    "Scathach." Meridia allowed the name to pass her lips. "She spent her existence ying undead?"


    "More or less." There was more to her story, but she did stop the undead from leaking outside for over two thousand years. "It wasn''t just that though, she was very famous for having in gods."


    Meridia raised an eyebrow at that. "in gods?"


    "Yup." I excitedly exined. "Gods, demons, dragon, monsters. If anything walked into her domain without her permission, it met the end of her spear."


    Her expression was hard to read, and I couldn''t even begin to guess her current thoughts.


    "And you trained under her?"


    "Oh yes. She was a very....brutal teacher."


    "I can imagine." Meridia said dryly. "It sounds like she was quite powerful for a mortal."


    That was in fact high praise from Meridia. She only had the barest idea of what it meant to be a ''god'' from my home. But being a god yer is impressive nheless, even if they wereckingpared to herself.


    "What about you, what''ve you been up to when I was gone?" I pretty much talked about my adventures until this point.


    "I have been dealing with issues thate with my position." Meridia stated. "....I suppose I have ventured out every so often to keep watch over that dragonborn whom you call a friend. And that pitiful hovel you call a college."


    "I heard you helped out when dragons attacked."


    "I did nothing." She denied.


    "Uh huh."


    "I merely watched."


    "Sure."


    "Cease your foolishness." She huffed.


    She doesn''t want to admit she helped them out.


    So cute.


    "There''s one way to quiet me~"


    "Have you not had enough?" She looked at me with exasperation, but that faint pink still dusted her cheeks. Very quickly, she ced her lips on mine then pulled away.


    She still had trouble initiating, though she didn''t dislike our intimacy.


    Still, I couldn''t help but tease her. "Bribe epted."


    "You are ridiculous." She crossed her arms with another cute little huff.


    It was getting very hard to not push her down right here, right now. Even if she epted thatrge step, I didn''t what that to be our first time together. I was going to make sure it was romantic, and let her experience it properly for the first time.


    But I digress. It was hard to stop my thoughts from wandering when with her.


    "What about Thorum?"


    "Yes, your dragonborn friend." She pursed her lips. "He has many eyes on him, I couldn''t overtly reveal myself. But he has yet to contract with any other higher power."


    "How''s he been?"


    "Many of Akatosh''s other children have been felled by his hand."


    "That''s good. The Archmage told me something simr."


    "You worry for him?" She asked.


    "Of course, he....is my first friend." I turned my gaze towards her. "After my mom died he was the first person I created a bond with, and you were the first person I developed feelings for."


    "I see." She said quietly, an undiscernible expression on her face. "I shall....make sure no others interfere then."


    How much has she done already? I had a feeling she had been making moves just so I wouldn''t be upset that Thorum was harmed while I was away. The fact that she made an appearance at the College during the fight already said a lot.


    "How''d you like to go meet Artoria?" I finally stood up from my spot, brushing off my pants.


    "Right at this moment?" She seemed taken back.


    "Why not?"


    "There is...much to do, things I need to prepare...."


    "Are....you nervous?" I looked at her in surprise.


    She tensed up slightly. " I am a goddess, I do not get nervous!"


    I raised an eyebrow at the way she said that. It was amusing at what actually got a reaction out of her. I wrapped my arms around her from behind. "Of course." I assured her. "You are my amazing, beautiful, wonderful, powerful, Goddess."


    "There is no need to state the obvious." She clearly preened under my praise, which was all the cuter.


    "And Artoria will see everything that I do in you." I could find the humor in the fact that I was coaxing the most powerful member of my ''harem'' to meet the objectively weakest member, if we excluded Jinn. But, when had Meridia ever had to deal with these kinds of feelings before?


    Nervousness?


    What did that taste like?


    Hell, something like ''love'' was probably foreign to her as well. The way she became so unsure of herself sometimes, yet, I knew for a fact she could easily wage war, fight and destroy her enemies. To engage in battle that could facture the by ident.


    I wouldn''t be surprised if many of the entities in this world shared simr thoughts or rather theck thereof.


    They were so divorced from mortals that even if they allowed themselves to indulge in the ''world'' there was still a huge disconnect from what their true feelings.


    Well, thankfully Artoria shared a simr temperament when ites to this kind of rtionship. If it were Scathach, my poor Meridia would be eaten alive....perhaps in more ways than one.


    "Hold hands?" I offered, holding it out for her.


    "Hmph." She snorted, turning away. But her hand creeped over, sliding into mine.


    "Ready?"


    "Lets get this over with." She put on a face of nonchnce, but I could see through it.


    Opening a new portal, she watched intently as we exited.


    I knew not how ''much'' she was brining with her, but I could more or less guess she knew the limits before something went wrong.


    We appeared on a slightly snowy path, the courtyard of the College


    Almost immediately, the space near us ruptured and a figure walked out. "Wilhelm, wonderful. I need ¨C" The Archmage looked at me, then at Meridia. "I confused you for someone else, excuse me." He abruptly turned around and teleported away.


    Well then.


    Well, Meridia was quick to forgo that initial nervousness. She easily hid her emotions, something I attributed to her non-mortal nature. Her stride was confident, and her gaze alone scared away anything that may have wanted to approach


    I head to resist the urge to get her to blush.


    She seemed to lead me more than I her as she lightly pulled me in certain directions. I was assuming she knew where Artoria was as she was navigating with extreme ease.


    I shouldn''t have been surprised when we made it to the cafeteria.


    The scene with Artoria having her cheeks stuffed, lidden with surprise at our entrance. It was another memory I would cherish for the remainder of my existence.


    Rin also looked up, sitting right next to her with a stack of books nearby and one cracked open.


    Perhaps I was imagining it, but Meridia''s grip on my hand just got the teeniest bit tighter.


    The awkward silence.


    Thankfully, there were no there people in this room.


    "Yo." I finally decided to speak.


    "Hey." Rin said without much thought.


    I was the one to lead Meridia towards the table, sitting opposite them two.


    Artoria and Meridia never stopped staring at one another.


    After a few more moments of silence, my cute knight spoke up. "I''m Artoria Pendragon, it''s a pleasure to meet you." While I had yet to introduce her to Meridia, I''m sure she could take a very close guess, with my hand holding hers and everything.


    "Meridia." My cute goddess said inly. "It is....a pleasure for me as well."


    Again, another awkward silence filled the table.


    "Well, this is nice." I decided to fill it this time. "A table filled with people I care about." I turned towards the ck-haired magus. "And Rin."


    "Fuck you, Schweinorg." Her remarkcked any kind of scathing notions as I saw a small smile quirk on her face.


    "Careful, you''re going to make my girls jealous." I winked towards Meridia and Artoria, both of which shared a very simr expression.


    Artoria ducked her head, trying her best to even her expression. "I admit, I have had thoughts on how this would go, but I find myself without the correct words."


    Meridia shifted her expression slightly, almost as if agreeing. "I had just recently found out about Wilhelm''s other paramours. I am too not sure how to handle this."


    "Do you.....dislike my presence?" Artoria asked.


    "I had given him permission." Meridia pursed her lips. "You are....beyond adequate as far as my standards are concerned."


    "Oh." Artoria quietly responded. "I...thank you for thepliment?" There was another brief silence, awkwardness filled the table again. "Mayhaps we should have a conversation on how to proceed from here?"


    "I would like that very much." Meridia nodded.


    They both got up, moving towards the far corner, a silent agreement for them to gain some privacy.


    I didn''t feel offended in the slightest, I knew there was some things they needed to speak between themselves. If I couldn''t even have this small amount of trust in them, I had no business having a harem.


    "Damn, I wanted to hear everything." Rin bit on a spin in her mouth before stabbing it down into a bowl.


    "I''m sure you can coax something out of Artoriater." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, they need to sort some stuff out in private."


    Rin grunted in response. "I could barely get anything out of her form the other night." She gave me a narrowed look. "Makes me think something did happen."


    "Nah, we literally just slept together. Clothes didn''t even fullye off." I admitted. Though I did explore quite a bit of her body. Definitely not thest time I have that butt in my hands.


    "For a devil, you''re really boring."


    "Believe me, I had to thoroughly restrain myself. Have you seen that ass of hers? And those legs? Artoria hides them really well."


    "I know! I keep telling her to show her legs off more, get something that makes her butt look good." Rin sighed.


    I couldn''t help but picture the scene of Rin forcing her to try on different kinds of clothes. My thoughts only broken by them ncing back at me, Artoria saying something with a clear blush on her face and Meridia looking surprised.


    I shook my head with a small smile. "So how''ve you been?"


    "Good." She said inly. "After you disappeared, me and Saber got settled. I''ve attended a couple sses and looked through the library."


    "Huh, how long was I gone for?"


    "Little over a day."


    "Oh, longer than I expected." I muttered. "Any branch of magic here catch your interest?"


    "I thought their Alchemy and Enchanting looked interesting."


    "You mean you thought you could make a lot of money off it?" I grinned.


    She flushed slightly. "It''s a practical path to study."


    "I''m just teasing you." I replied. "It is a good thing to study. I''ve barely touched them, admittedly, I wish I had spent a bit more in the past. But if you get good, then I can juste to you with any needs."


    "Hmph." She crossed her arms. "You''re not getting any discounts."


    "Of course, I always pay for quality." I winked, much to her further embarrassment.


    She really wasn''t used to praise.


    She was about to respond when suddenly our attention was pulled back to my two girls further away. A golden light filled the room, a familiar de held in Artoria''s hands.


    "Wow, didn''t think she would show that off so soon." I whistled.


    Excalibur was truly a beautiful weapon to behold.


    "I never get tired of seeing it." Rin let herself slump down into her n, arm propping her head up.


    "What about you, Shorty?"


    "Who''re you calling short!?" She snapped her head at me, ring intently before calming down. "And what do you mean?"


    "Talking about rtionships." I rified. "Got any boy you''re interested in. Or girls, either is fine and I''m sure Zelretch would love more grandchildren to dote on." I gave her another big grin. "Anyone here get the courage to talk to you yet?"


    Again, her cheeks red red. It was a bit too easy to tease her sometimes. "What''s it to you?"


    "I have no ulterior motive. I''m just genuinely curious and wondering if you''ve found someone you''re interested in."


    "I don''t have anyone." She grumbled,ying her head on the table.


    "Don''t get depressed, Skyrim''srge and even outside of here there are an infinite amount of worlds out there. If you really want someone. You are a beautiful and intelligent young woman, I have no doubts you could find someone if you truly wanted to."


    The look she gave me was a mix of embarrassment and genuine thanks. She didn''t voice it, but I think she wanted to hear those words.


    I just propped my head up, watching my two girls interact for the first time, a feeling of contentment filling my heart.


    ****


    Artoria and Meridia meet, they''re going to hash out how to handle the rtionship. Stuff starts happening again next chapter, so fluff is put back on standby for now.


    Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my patreon. Just did another Interlude from Artoria'' POV.

 Chapter 126 - 120

    <h4>Chapter 126: Chapter 120</h4>


    "Generally, both fire and lightning like to run rampant. Because we''re using magical energy to invoke the natural phenomena, the ''concepts'' are more interlinked into their creation than the true natural phenomena. How the elements are perceived is how they will act even in situations where factors may actually limit such things. Like it''s extremely hard to ''ground'' a bolt of magical lightning, or another example ¨C maybe theck of oxygen in a room where you create a magical fire. The fire will still rage as long as its supply of magical energy hasn''t dissipated even if the ''scientific'' process would deny such a thing. That''s also a reason why magical fires generally don''t run keep going even if there is a lot of foliage to burn, they run their course and then dissipate, unless of course someone made them keep going intentionally through other means."


    "I get that." Rin nodded along. "But why Lightning over Fire? Lightning seems more.....unwieldy? I don''t know, fire just seems easier to use I guess."


    "There are pros and cons for every element. Elemental maniption isn''t exactly my forte, though I would say I''m fairly decent at the lightning element. It has the easiest ''direct'' use." I waived my hand, and a Runic circle appear. "A thought and a bolt of lightning discharges. It''s simple, easy and straight forward. To use mes, it would need a continuous torrent to truly be a threatening spell." Fireballs were good and all, but they didn''t have much stopping powerpared to a bolt of lightning. On the flip side, Fireballs were easier to invoke and actualize, not to mention the magical energy cost was much lower.


    "That''s why you use Lightning over fire?" Rin asked.


    "More or less." I nodded. "And I can''t deny I simply have a liking for the lightning element thates from a mere preference."


    Rin looked deep in thought. "What about ice?"


    "Ice is definitely a close second on my list. Whilecking the direct damage capabilities of Lightning, it has astounding battlefield control applications. Why, I met a young man on Remnant who could produce water clones and used Ice dust to an amusing effect."


    "Do you think ¨C " Rin paused, looking at the two of my girls finally finish up and start walking back over.


    I have no idea what they spoke about, but I still couldn''t help but smile as the thought of them getting along.


    Artoria sat down next to Rin and Meridia took a seat right next to me.


    "Anything I should be worried about?" I asked, a small smile stered on my face.


    "We merely.....discussed a few issues." Artoria replied.


    "There is no need to dwell on it." Meridia added.


    "Suspicious~" I was teasing. I''m not going to pry into something they clearly wish to keep secret.


    Meridia decided to ignore me. "I do not believe we properly met." She turned to Rin.


    Rin gained a rather passive expression. "I''m Rin Tohsaka, I''m a student under Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, this idiot''s grandfather." She jabbed her thumb at me.


    "Oi." I pursed my lips, turning toward Meridia. "Defend your man." I poked her.


    "What do you expect me to do when someone speaks the truth?"


    "Betrayed by my own woman."


    She rolled her eyes. "I''m Meridia." She gave Rin a small acknowledgement. "I am this idiot''s woman, as he so aptly put it." She said rather drily.


    "How did that happen?" Rin asked.


    "I ask myself that question every passing minute."


    "My charming smile and winning personality."


    Meridia lips curled up into a small smile. "A few of the words in that sentence are correct."


    "Hmm, maybe we need a second opinion?" I turned towards Artoria.


    "I was moved by your ability to receive a sufficient beating." Artoria replied, an amused smile on her face as well.


    "Are there proclivities of yours I am unaware of, Wilhelm?" Meridia eyed me.


    Oh, so that''s how it''s going to be? I moved my hand down and squeezed her thigh under the table, she stiffened, but otherwise didn''t react. "You just have to ask and I''m sure you can be intimately familiar with them."


    "Schweinorg, stop perving in public." Rin threw an apple at me.


    I dodged out of the way, only for it to be caught by a neer. "I must agree with Miss Tohsaka."


    I turned around to see the Archmage standing there. Actually, the only one who wasn''t surprised was Meridia.


    "Lady Meridia." The Archmage lightly bowed. "I apologize for interrupting your....personal time." Clearly he was choosing his words carefully.


    Meridia didn''t seem annoyed, that was good. "Your presence is inconvenient, but not uneptable." She merely replied, giving him permission to continue.


    He took the que. "Wilhelm, I had received a message from some people I''ve been corresponding to in Whiterun, apparently there had been another Dragon sighting. They requested an additional ry of resources. I thought since your friend would be involved, perhaps you would like to deliver it?"


    "And I''m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I can get there much quicker than any other people you send.?"


    His lips curled up. "Just a nice happenstance."


    "Well, I did want to see Thorum again." I admitted, casting a quick gaze around the table.


    "We will be fine here, go see your friend." Artoria gave me a smile.


    "You don''t have to babysit us." Rin huffed.


    "You''re going to fight a dragon again." Meridia crossed her arms, giving me a re.


    "I promise it won''t be likest time."


    She didn''t seem to ept that answer, frowning deeper. "If you go after those spawn of Akatosh, I will be keeping watch."


    Well, then I just have to give a good show. I turned back to the Archmage. "What did you mean by supplies?" Was kind of curious what they''ve been up to.


    "We''ve been working overtime to produce potions and other magical reagents tobat these dragon attacks. And we''ve had a solid supply of food to help out the area that have been hit hard on their farnds." The Archmage exined.


    I could more or less read between the lines here. "How thinly are you stretched?"


    "How many teachers and students have you seen running around?" He raised an eyebrow.


    And now that he mentioned it, I didn''t see any on the way inside.


    He didn''t want for me to speak and continued. "We keep a certain number of teachers here at all times unless something drastic urs. This is a school afterall, but we also must do our duty as residents of this fairnd. "


    "An honorable position, Archmage." Artoria praised.


    "Why, thank you, Miss Pendragon." He smiled gently.


    "What about the students?" I wasn''t going to assume he was throwing them at the front lines.


    "They make wonderful shields for dragon fire."


    Artoria almost choked on the food she had stuffed in her mouth when the attention was off her and I couldn''t help but let out a snort.


    "I jest." The Archmage said with a small chuckle. "We''re making sure to keep our students away from battle as much as possible until they arepetent enough and old enough to venture out on their own." Artoria gave him a little look, but he justughed it off. "We''ve been forced to raise our prices due to the dwindling supply of materials. The budding Alchemists and Enchanters here are making quite a bit of gold. While not all of them are learned in those particr schools, most of them are more than capable of gathering the materials out in the world whilepleting some jobs."


    "How much are they making!?" Rin stood up, mming her hands on the table.


    "Rin, bring it down like two notches." I deadpanned.


    "Not all of us has a literal mountain of gold, Schweinorg." She huffed.


    Well, I can''t fault her logic. "So, the kids are running around making tons of gold, which is actually helping everyone else to supply the needed materials and get potions and enchantments everywhere they need them."


    "It was surprising how well it all worked out." The Archmage nodded.


    Huh.


    "Alright, I''ll head over there in a bit." I may as well. Just as Rin said, I don''t need to babysit them.


    "Wonderful." He waived her hand, setting down several crates, sacks, and all manner of containers on the ground near us. "If you need anything from me, just call out." He gave onest nod to Meridia before disappearing.


    "He is bearable....for a mortal." Meridia said idly.


    "Am I bearable too?" I shot her a smile.


    "Hmph." She crossed her arms. "Perhaps if your hands didn''t wander." She said evenly, even as I squeezed her thigh again.


    "And with that, I''m out." Rin stood up. "If you need me, you know how to get a hold of me, Schweinorg." She grabbed her books and sauntered off.


    "Yeah, Yeah." I ignored her ''indignation''. She was looking for any reason to head out now that she smelled gold. But maybe I was being a little bit rude with my affection. I''ll keep it down a bit when she''s around. I don''t want to rub it in her face. "Take care of her, Artoria."


    "Of course." Artoria puffed up her chest. "It is my duty."


    "I guess I''ll be off." I gave both of them a look. "So.....dare I ask who I kiss first without making it awkward?"


    "W-we decided that Meridia will be your first." Artoria blushed looking away. "In situations like these." She added on quietly.


    Huh, I guess the just wanted to not step on each other toes with the little things. "You''re my first, huh?" I looked at my goddess.


    She wasn''t as red as Artoria was, but that faint dusting of her cheeks was hard to miss.


    I leaned in, giving her a kiss, she put some affection into it, but I don''t think she was used to other people watching. I think she was slightly embarrassed by this whole thing. Frankly, she was less talkative than I assumed she would be.


    "Artoria?" I asked, walking around the corner.


    She held out her arms, apparently more weing and not as shy to thepany as Meridia was, I weed her unique vor all the same.


    "I shall make sure our.....man does not get in over his head." Meridia nced towards Artoria as we finally separated


    Artoria gave a bright smile, a quick nod of thanks as she ran off towards Rin. There was defentiyl some hidden words traded between them with the gesture. I really wanted to know what they talked about, but I would refrain from imposing.


    "What do you think?" I asked her now that we were alone.


    "Artoria is eptable." She said bluntly, but from her, that was high praise. Slightly, her expression shifted to something softer. "She was not deterred by my existence. She was respectful for the sake of being respectful, regardless of my status. It was....refreshing to chat with another person who did not put on airs around me who I did not have to keep up my guard around."


    "I''m d you two get along." My arms found themselves wrapped around her in a very familiar way at this point.


    "Enough of your nonsense." She huffed. "Go deal with your business and cease your molestation of me."


    So cute.


    I chuckled, walking over and sweeping up the supplies and putting them all in my ring. I would want her to meet Jinn soon as well, but we weren''t really in a ''rtionship'' the same way, so that probably took less priority in Meridia''s eyes. Besides, Jinn was probably having the time of her life in the library right now.


    I pulled out Mirage, the familiar glowing energy wrapped around my de. "Ready to go?"


    Meridia gave me a curt nod. "I''m already watching your friend, he has engaged a duo of dragons."


    Sometimes I forgot how powerful she was, or moreso exactly ''what'' she was. This ''her'' right here, right now, wasn''t the only sense of self she was projecting.


    Honestly, I didn''t really care. Call me selfish, but as long as she was mine, that was fine with me. What she was weighed very little on the scale of importance, she cared for me, I cared for her, that''s all that truly mattered.


    I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is he doing okay?"


    "He is holding his own and does not appear to be struggling in any meaningful way. If i had to make a judgement, these two spawn of Akatosh do not seem particrly strong for their race."


    "Are you giving me your blessing to go fight?" I asked.


    "You will do so regardless; I may as well inform you of your opponents." She scoffed, but her look betrayed her tone.


    She was worried about me.


    "Hey." I moved closer, hand rubbing her cheek. "I''m not so arrogant to think I can take on the world, but I can handle this."


    "It is not the dragons that I am only worried about." She whispered.


    "I''m confidant in running away, if that makes you feel better.


    "...slightly." She muttered, dipping her head, allowing herself to be wrapped by me again.


    With onest kiss on her forehead, I stepped back. My sword shed out, creating a portal over towards Whiterun, getting a glimpse of where I wanted to go, I redirected it a tad closer to my friend.. With another look, I nodded at her and walked through.


    ***


    I walked out of my portal, the immediate battle scene greeting my eyes. "Well well, this doesn''t look too fair. How about we even the odds, eh, Thorum?"


    "Will!?" Thorum, my friend who I hadn''t seen in what felt like forever turned towards me.


    The battle seemed to pause at my sudden arrival. The two dragons looked at me strangely. One of them was pping its wings a bit in the air, the another on the ground, having traded a few blows with Thorum. They looked slightly different from one another. The one in the sky having a slight red sheen to it, wings a little bulkier, whereas the one on the ground had an earthlier color, spikes protruding from its body in more ces.


    I think the only thing stopping Thorum from running over and hugging me was his battle sense.


    He had definitely gone through some changes. His mere presences screamed ''more''. At this point I was rather adept at feeling draconic power, and he was certainly shining bright.


    "Abomination!" The dragon on the ground roared.


    "Usurper!" The one in the sky followed.


    [Those aren''t my titles.] Ddraig grumbled, though I just ignored him for now.


    "Well, they don''t seem to like me." I chuckled, taking a few steps towards Thorum since they seemed to want to watch me for the moment. "It''s been a while, Thorum."


    "Aye, my friend. You''vee at the best time; I believe I have a promise to make true on." Thorumughed heartily, a bold confidence to him that he certainly wascking in before.


    "I don''t'' think I can actually eat dragon souls." I pointed out.


    "Have you tried?"


    "Admittedly, I have not."


    "Do mages not like to experiment?"


    "Fuck it, lets see what happens then." I couldn''t argue against this logic.


    "Aye, that''s the spirit!" Heughed again. "But....I don''t suppose you have an extra weapon on you?" He held up a sword that was missing about a foot of de on it, cracks running down the remainder.


    I do have many weapons on me....but a thought crossed my mind. I took a look at the dragons who still continued to watch me and Thorum intently, like they were waiting for some big secret to be revealed. Were they waiting for Ddraig to make an appearance?


    Doesn''t matter.


    "Try this." I took out Gram and tossed it over to him.


    He tensed up as the de was produced, even the dragons looked shocked from out of the corner of my eye.


    "This...." He gripped the de tight, its baleful red aura red up, practically surrounding Thorum like it wanted to devour him. I knew it couldn''t truly harm him on its own, but I had a theory about it.


    The red aura raged widely, until it finally started to settle down into something resemblingpliance.


    "A dragon who''s existence means to kill and devour other dragons." I muttered. "Of course that sword would find you an eptable wielder and overlook your dragon nature."


    "Will." He looked towards me. "What''s going on?"


    "Thorum, meet Gram, the dragon ying sword. It detests anything Draconic in nature and has special properties that allows it to harms dragons more readily than a normal weapon."


    "This is not a Daedric Artifact, is it?"


    "Nope, purely created by mortal hands." Kinda, sorta, depending on the myths. "And it''s all yours." It doesn''t like me anyways due to Ddraig in my soul, butcking the ''munching dragons'' portion that Thorum had.


    "I....thank you Will." He gave his big signature goofy smile.


    "How about you thank me by taking one of their heads?" I stood by him, Mirage in my hand.


    "Only one?" I hefted his new de with a surprising ease, giving it a few swings.


    "Well, I want one as well." I smirked.


    "Aye, that seems fair." He brought Gram up, resting on his shoulder.


    Well, by the roar of the dragons who apparently grew tired of our little chat, they too were ready to dance.


    ***


    Thorum and MC, together atst <3. But seriously, i''m not shipping them together, no need to keep makingments about their rtionship. He''s literally the MC''s first friend, MC, yes he cares about him a lot but it''s purely tonic, or perhaps brotherly. Meridia and Artoria have a secret conversation, which will be a little talked about in Artoria''s interludeing up. Rin smells gold in the air, and Some dragons about to be eaten.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 6, yes I said 6 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone. I''m slowly increasing the amount of chapters avable for my subs over there.

 Chapter 127 - 121

    <h4>Chapter 127: Chapter 121</h4>


    I gave the dragons another nce, while they roared a challenge, neither side made the first move. My instincts were telling me that this pair were a level above that one we fought previously. It was hard to gauge where they fell on a sliding power scale for the moment, but I was on guard.


    Not to mention their Thu''um would always give me cause for concern.


    Meridia said that Thorum had many eyes on him, and I only knew the vague details about a sort of prophecy regarding him as a ''Dragonborn'' that affected the world.


    "Wuld Nah Kest!" Thorum shouted, making the first move as he turned into a whirlwind, charging at his chosen opponent with a very impressive speed. The baleful aura of Gram covering him, soaking the air in its hate, its desire to y these draconic foes


    It made me shudder slightly. I had underestimated this weapon from my birth world. While I would still call it inferior to my Ascalon, it was still impressive by itself.


    "Fo Krah Diin!" The Dragon countered, not taken off guard by Thorum''s sudden attack. A cold air manifested, bursting out of the dragon''s mouth. The cold rivaling my own Freezing Winds of Jotunheim, perhaps even a little colder. It hampered Thorum enough that his sudden burst of speed didn''t give him the initiative.


    "STRUN BA QO" A shout bellowed from above, echoing throughout the area. The sudden shift of weather immediately grabbed my attention as I had to look away from Thorum''s fight.


    My wings burst out from my back, and I shot into the air. Massive bolts of lightning having thorn up the spot I was in a moment prior.


    The lightning weaved around the air, arcing and jolting in every direction as it attempted to connect with me. The sky above was ovee with this Dragon''s magics, an impressive disy that I would have admired had I had time to mull it over.


    I climbed high up, the dragon mirroring my ascent as it came after me, snarling and rage in its eyes.


    I don''t know what happened for these dragons to despise me so much, but they clearly wished to end me.


    A greater ward manifested in my free hand, dispersing a bolt of lightning. It gave me a moment to cast an Ebony Flesh and a Reinforcement over my body. My Dragon Heart beat fast in my chest and my devil blood anticipated the fight with glee.


    With another thought, I willed the Boosted Gear onto my hand.


    "[Finally]" Ddraig happily eximed as we continued to move into the unnatural clouds above. I rolled to the side, the unrelenting storm of lightning still descended on me as I got closer. The angry dragon was fast, it was already biting on my heels since I had to take a moment or two to dodge every time a bolt of lightning came at me.


    My Aura red, the iridescent light cascading all around me as the lightning sshed against the phenomena that enveloped my entire body. With Aura and my enhancement spells in full effect, I could practically ignore the smaller assaults.


    "Boost" I added on a single boost to enhance my physical abilities a step further. The dragon that was nipping on my heels was suddenly befuddled when a boom erupted behind me. With a wave of my hand, Whisper shot out of my ring and towards the gathered clouds.


    "ABOMINATION, YOU HAVE APPEARED." The dragon roared at Ddraig''s presence. "GAAH LAH HAAS" It shouted again.


    A red aura burst out from the dragon and came at me with a speed I couldn''t dodge. No, it was like it was undodgeable, speed was not a factor.


    Suddenly, I felt slightly weakened, my Aura red in response but noticably dimmed.


    Did.....it curse me?


    That was the only summarization I coulde to in this brief moment.


    It wasn''t just my physical abilities it felt like my soul got heavier as well, more lethargic, as if my vitality was being drained.


    It was enough that dozens of lightning bolts fell from clouds above, shattering my Ebony Flesh and taking a chunk out of my aura. I even felt some faint burning on my arms.


    A type of power that bends the will of the world, targeting someone as a curse.


    Scary.


    I growled in annoyance.


    That caught me off guard.


    I stopped my ascent, turning to face the oing dragon.


    "Boost" I called out again, letting my physical abilities double once again, regaining some sense of normalcy with this strange magic epassing me.


    My swords shed out, hovering around me and sweeping out at oing lightning bolts. This spell or whatever the dragon used wasing increasingly annoying. Something I wanted to emte in the future, but annoying all the same.


    More shouts left its mouth, mes spewed forth in torrents, and we continued to y a small came of tag, where a single misstep left either of us impaled or turned to ash.


    It was surprisingly nimble in the air with its body size, and I had to admit, it had more experience fighting this way then I did.


    A mental note to get more flying experience was filed away forter.


    Letting go of Mirage to hover nearby, Ascalon entered my hand. Sword shining bright, the most recent torrent of fire was shed through and I dived towards my airborn foe.


    "WHAT IS THAT?" It roared in confusion, it''s face looking a mixture of shock and fear.


    Ascalon''s dragon ying properties sang forth in that moment of opening as I stabbed into its open chest.


    The scales and tough hide were irrelevant as my sword pierced into the dragon. It let out another roar of anger and confusion, its nearly imprable, hide by mortal standards, had been found wanting with an ease that could cause pause in the strongest dragons.


    It didn''t betray its age nor strength, it recovered quickly, sweeping its entire body in an air, forcing me to either dislodge the de or abandon it. Pulling my de free, I ducked back, barely dodging a swipe of its tail as it flipped in the air.


    An admirable ability to keep its moment and not start hurling down to the ground from such a maneuver.


    "FUS ROH DAH" It bellowed, a shout I was more than familiar with.


    The force rippled through the air, an invisible shockwave. Perhaps it was my inexperience that left me vulnerable in this position, not having time to move out of the way with its linked attacks.


    I instead brought my sword up and channeled my magical energy "Ascalon!"


    The Noble Phantasm, the blessed de by which force is in. It moved in ways that seemed impossible to counteract this invisible force that pressed on me. The conceptual sword met the world-bending attack, of which could blow away a stone tower with rtive ease.


    I felt a recoil in my arms, a side effect of the abilities'' nature not being a singr direct attack but rather an all epassing force. But my sword held strong, and my bodyid unmolested besides some minor aching.


    "My turn." I grabbed the dragon''s attention, it''s confusion still written on its face, but it was snapped out of its stupor by my words. My arms waved in the air and the clouds above us distorted.


    They, who had been coalesced out of the intent left behind by the dragon''s Thu''um.


    They were usurped by me. My Whisper returning to my side after the Runic spell had actualized.


    The magics the dragonid onto the world to force their cohesion was broken apart by me and repurposed for my spell. A familiar silhouette formed of lightning,rge hammer in hand as I gestured and it raised it high in the sky.


    "Thor''s Hammer!"


    The massive lightning hammer was brought down, dwarfing the figure of the dragon as I moved out of the way at my quickest speed.


    The lightning crackled, the scales and skin of the dragon charred and burst open at the powerful attack.


    "L-LOK VAH KOR" It shouted once again, strained and full of pain. As the words left its maw, an invisible force spread out and all the clouds, the lightning, all weathering effects in the area dissipated at an astonishing speed. For as far as I could see, this high up in the air, there were no clouds in the sky, all the way up to the horizon.


    The dragon began falling backwards towards the ground, its wings not looking too good but they tried to p to regain some kind of momentum for continued flight.


    I shot down, sword nearby.


    "Boost" I called out onest time, colliding with its underbelly. My swords followed suit, impaling themselves on its exposed underside.


    Wounds littered its tattered hide, its vibrant red hue was dampened and charred at the high heat and voltage of my lightning


    The dragon elerated to the ground as I jumped off at thest moment. A huge mound of earth disced and bursting into the surroundings as a new crater was created.


    I floated downzily, the dragon still barely moving, twitching, trying to force itself into an upright position.


    Tenacious if nothing else. I don''t think its wings could provide flight anymore.


    Landing on its underside again, it let out a pained groan. I reached forward, grasping my Sword of Destruction and fed it my Aura.


    It erupted in my bloodline ability, my Power of Destruction and the dragon began to wither away and dissipate at the point of origin.


    It failed and roared, but it was on itsst legs.


    While being stronger than that other one, this one didn''t seem too impressive by itself. Maybe that''s why it joined up with the other to target Thorum?


    My gut was telling me that this one wasn''t indicative of their race''s overall strength.


    "RED DRAGON EMPEROR" It roared one final time, as my Power of Destruction took its life.


    I was slightly surprised it called me by that title, but I could only sigh remembering the conversation with that Grey Beard fromst time I was here.


    [Hehehehehe]


    It was hard to resist the urge to face palm from heading Ddraig''s giggling.


    I withdrew my Power of Destruction with a forceful thought. It was still a little difficult to control and not always wanted to listen to me when I needed a gentler touch. I didn''t wish to start destroying this things soul, at the very least, I wanted to help Thorum get a little stronger.


    I made sure this dragon was dead, Ascalon shed out and severed its head.


    Thest time did make me a bit cautious in that regard.


    Never thought I would be using a dragon''s head as a seat, but here I was. I got a littlefortable as I watched the end of Thorum''s fight.


    The dragon never took too high off the ground, almost like it was brawling with my friend.


    Actually, that''s exactly how I could describe this fight. Magical brawling. The Dragon''s tail whipping out, Thorum swinging his sword to cleave chunks out of its skin, only to be daught by the dredges of some Dragon Fire.


    They were just trading attacks like....., I wanted to call them idiots, but ss houses and all that.


    I just sighed, as Thorum finally ran his sword through the dragon.


    There were no words of anger or taunting. The dragon looked almost respectful towards him, arge difference from my fight.


    Thorum also gave a respectful nod to the dragon as its body dissipated and the soul flowed into his body. Almost immediately, though, he turned to me with that big goofy smile, like he wanted to show off his kill.


    He walked towards me happily, Gram lifted up on his shoulder. "It looks like I lost." Though there was only happiness in his voice.


    "It was close." I offered, though my fight consisted of a lot more running around.


    He gave a good naturedugh, approaching the dragon I was sitting caused it to dpose simr to the ones I''ve seen previously.


    The golden light that I assumed was it soul flew out into Thorum almost unnaturally quickly, like it was desperate to get away from me.


    "Oh, I didn''t mean to..."


    "It''s alright." I waived him off, I honestly didn''t think I could ''drink'' a dragon soul anyways. "Besides, you owe me a proper drinkter."


    "Aye! I sure do."


    We shared a look for a moment before Thorum moved over and wrapped his arms around me in one quick motion.


    "My friend it''s been too long, you have been sorely missed."


    You big idiot. "I missed you too, Thorum." I pat his back as he tried to squeeze the life out of me.


    "You must tell me of your adventures in this past month! Especially over a cold mead among friends, I''m sure the others will wee your return!" He loudly proimed.


    Well, I''m sure some people will be happy. I wasn''t exactly looking forward to stepping into Whiterun''s political scene again, but that seemed inevitable at this point.


    "Alright, alright. I''ll tell you what I''ve been up to." I smiled. "But you gotta tell me what''s happened to you as well,."


    "Haha, fair is fair." He nodded, patting me on the shoulder. "Come, the drinks are waiting."


    Gods I missed this.


    Though, I eyed the dragon bones on the ground.


    I would happily grab those first.


    ***


    Sorry for thete release, got a bit distracted. So, Mc and Thorum going ot catch up after taking care of a couple lower end dragons. MC gets a kick in the shin as a reminder that things that bend the world deserve a bit more respect even if the opponent is weaker than himself.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 128 - 122

    <h4>Chapter 128: Chapter 122</h4>


    I quickly scooped up all the dragon remains and put them inside my ring. Thorum didn''tment, just watching me as I took the spoils from my kill. I don''t know what he was going to do with the other one, but I didn''t make a move on it, it was he to do with as he pleases.


    My swords hovered behind me, and I couldn''t help but want to show them off to my friend who was in fact taking a good look at them. After a few moments or so, I did return them to my ring. I was distracted by a few more looks I took of my surroundings, burnt farnd all around us. Thest time I was here, there were fields and fields of various crops nted all around the area, farm houses, watermills, yet....I could see nothing outside the walls of Whiterun.


    Was this also my fault? The sheer breath of farnd that was nothing more than burnt earth....


    Would things have turned out different if I didn''t act out like I did?


    I forced myself to think of other things, turning back to my friend.


    "How''d the dragon souls taste this time?" I asked.


    "About the same." He smiled. "But the one I got from your dragon, it sorta had this ''cooked'' taste to it."


    While he isn''t actually eating the dragon souls in the way one would assume, I could more or less guess that was my Power of Destruction nipping it a little before I withdrew. Perhaps it was just how his mortal mind was coping with the metaphysical concepts colliding with him. It made sense to him in the simplest way he could understand.


    I just let out a small chuckle. "So, what''s this I hear about you learning some more advanced magic?" We started walking back towards the city, only being about as far away as the watch tower from the first time we fought.


    Thorum had a prideful grin on his face. "I managed to learn the Restoration spells." A light burst out from his hand as he started to heal the minor wounds around his body. Looking at my own arms, I did something simr. I wasn''t wounded in any meaningful way, but I allowed some things to affect me more than I should have.


    Thankfully, that thing the dragon did wasn''t a curse in the normal sense, merely parsed like one while in effect. As soon as the dragon died, the lingering effects vanished.


    "Impressive, that should be an intermediate version of the basic healing spell, yes?"


    "Aye, they were the most difficult for me to learn, but after I absorbed a couple Dragon souls, it started toe easier."


    That makes sense, he was gaining the experience from the dragons he yed. One of them was bound to give him a better understanding towards magic in general.


    "What about you, my friend? That spell you used was mighty impressive, I doubt there was anyone inside the city who didn''t witness it." He pped my shoulder.


    "You like it?" I couldn''t help but beam under his praise. "It was a spell I created under the help of my teacher. One of many more I have yet to use outside of training."


    "A teacher? For you to want to train under someone, they must be quite the mage or warrior."


    "She was.....special." I sighed.


    "Sounds like there''s more of a story there than I thought." He looked at me strangely.


    "Well, by the end, she wasn''t ''just'' my teacher." I shot him a smirk.


    He bellowed out augh, taking a moment to regain hisposure. "I envy you, my friend. As much as I revered the Grey Beards, they were no beautiful woman."


    "Yeah, I could admire her beauty every day as she kicked my ass." I snorted.


    "Ah, a powerful woman at that. As a Nord that just makes it even more impressive."


    "Admittedly, I do like that she could beat me up. Strong women definitely fall into my ''type."


    "That reminds me, what about your other....woman. Me ¨C "


    I quickly covered his mouth, shushing him. He didn''t react overtly, more so just confused at what I was doing. "Careful, lots of prying eyes around here." I looked up into the sky. If I focused, I could just barely sense some invisible fluctuations of space around us where entities were peeking through higher dimensions.


    I dared not poke them any.


    "I understand." Thorum nodded, while I don''t think he thoroughly knew what I was speaking about, he could probably guess that people were eavesdropping. Telling all those other higher entities that Meridia and I were in a rtionship would probably bring her trouble, and I didn''t want that for her.


    Even if I did tantly use Dawnbreaker. At the very least, I wanted all those who watched to know that I belonged to her, even if they didn''t know that she was also mine.


    "Tell me about this other women then, who could match up to the one you spoke of before?" He questioned, a big smile on his face.


    "Sc¨¢thach is her name." I stated, a small smile forming as I reminisced about her. "A right bitch, but I wouldn''t have her any other way. Kicked my ass for a couple years to get me into fighting shape. Helped me with my magic and....had the cutestugh. A very sharp tongue, but was also very sweet when she wanted to be." I had to force myself from running a hand through my hair, my tick ever present. "She wielded a spear, doubt there will ever be a person I meet who could match her in that regard."


    "She sounds like an amazing women, I would be happy to meet her one day." Thorum nodded along at my exnation. "And what do you mean years? You were gone a month, was she your teacher before?"


    "Well, that''s a bit hard to exin. Time is...rtive." I paused for a moment considering how to exin this but decided to give up. "I''ll give a better exnationter." This would be a whole other conversation to have. "Unfortunately, she''s.... preupied for now, but in the future I''ll definitely being her around here. I have no doubt you''ll get along well with her. Hell, she could drink everyone at thepanions under the table."


    He didn''t seem to at all dwell on my dismissal of his question. "Oh, those are some strong words there, my friend."


    "I will put money on it."


    He let out a bigugh. "We will have to see then." He clearly took it as a challenge.


    "In the meantime, how about I introduce you to my other woman when she has some free time?" The corners of my lips curled up at his confused expression.


    "My friend, just how many women do you have?"


    "Four." Iughed.


    "Four!?" He looked at me in shock. "That deserves many drinks." He shook his head in exasperation. "And they are all aware of each other?"


    "Of course, do you think I would y around with them like that?"


    "I did not mean to imply anything, I know you are honorable and would not take advantage of their hearts in such a way." Thorum hastily replied. "But four!? You must teach me this magic."


    "The Magic of being handsome." I shed him a cheeky smile.


    "Being handsome is it?" He grabbed me and got me into a headlock. "Are you saying I am not handsome? Shall we go ask the fair maidens in the local tavern who is better looking?"


    "No way, my girl would have my hide if I did something like that." I squirmed under his grip. Meridia would definitely be upset if I did something as provocative as that.


    "I will take this as you admitting defeat then." Thorum said triumphantly. "But tell me of these others, who else had managed to catch your eye?"


    "Artoria is wonderful." I couldn''t help but smile. "Strong, honorable, a knight. If Scathach could drink us all under the able, Artoria could do the same with food." I let out a chuckle. "She''s also very kind and gentle, always willing to help people in need. Jinn is, difficult to describe. But I wouldn''t trade her for the world. She''s the mage type, likes to keep her head buried in books. She''s a bit mischievous, likes to tease or generally just have conversations. She''s adventurous, willing to try almost any new thing. But you''ll be able to see that for yourself soon."


    "Aye, they sound like good women as well, I continue envy you." He pped my shoulder again. "You say they here as well?"


    "Yeah, they''re currently at the college. My grandfather''s student is here too, Rin. She''s like a sister to me and I wanted her to get some experience outside of her ''workshop''."


    "Another mage type? I can''t wait to meet them." Thorum gave his big goofy smile.


    "What about you, how many women did the Dragonborn manage to woo? I raised an eyebrow.


    He coughed awkwardly, and I couldn''t help butugh at the way he got flustered. "I may have spent a night or two with a women, but nothing beyond that."


    "There''s no way I''m just leaving it at that, give me more details."


    "Oh, we''re back." Thorum changed the subject.


    "You''re not getting out of this that easily." I pursed my lips, but I would allow him his respite. He was clearly embarrassed in some capacity, so I wouldn''t bring it up in public.


    "Dragonborn!" Several voices shouted out as we approached the gates, but one carried a bit more. A guard walked forward, greeting us. "Thank you again for dealing with the dragons." He turned to me. "And wee back to Whiterun, Red Dragon Emperor."


    "What?" I couldn''t help but blurt out.


    "Did I say something wrong?" The guard looked at me in confusion.


    "....Why did you call me Red Dragon Emperor?"


    "Did you not know, my friend? That''s the name everyone has taken to calling you." Thorumughed.


    I just blinked at his words. "How....why?" I mean, it was technically correct, but how did even the people here start calling me that?


    "Ever since the dragons started showing up and calling for the Dragonborn and the Red Dragon Emperor...." The Guard replied. "Folks have just started calling you that since most don''t know your name."


    "That''s fair I suppose." Rin is going to make fun of me for this.


    [I have decided, Skyrim is a beautifulnd and you will cherish it.]


    Thanks for your input, Ddraig.


    "The Jarl called for the Dragonborn once the fight finished, I believe he would wish to speak with you as well." The armored man stated, giving me a look that basically told me to follow Thorum.


    "That''s fine, I was here to drop off supplies from the College anyways." Bleh, didn''t want to deal with the Jarl any more than I had to. I could probably use the College as a shield if he tried to rope me into anything though.


    I took a look around the fortifications. There were many armed guards manning the walls, bows and arrows ready for an emergency, but it looked like they were cing quite a bit of trust on Thorum to have handled the dragons.


    Well, from what I''ve been told so far, he''s been doing a great job of it.


    Out of the corner of my eyes, I think I spotted a few mages walking around with the guards as well. They stood out due to their different preferences in clothing and defensive wear.


    "Where did the magese form." I asked Thorum as we continued on our way.


    "I thought you came from the college?" He looked at me. "We had some mages from theree aid us, most cities received support from the College."


    "The Archmage did mention something about that." I rubbed my chin. "I guess just seeing them not being so tantly despised threw me off."


    "Aye, these dragons have forced many people toe together in these troubling times. Even the stormcloaks have been working along side other races in their defense of Skyrim."


    "Stormcloaks, haven''t thought of them since our first meeting." I sighed, remembering how I first came to Skyrim.


    "How odd it is to think of being bound and headed for the block as simpler times." Thorum snorted. "Not just dragons, there had been whispers of vampires making more appearances in the east. Mostly just talk in the taverns, but the Jarl hasn''t denied them even after they''re on everyone''s lips, so most people are taking them as fact."


    "Vampires, huh." I briefly thought about what I knew of the Vampires here. "Nasty bunch."


    "Right they are. Never heard nothin good said about a vampire, but I hope they''re just rumors people don''t need to be worry about their neighbor''s being monsters." Thorum sighed.


    That would just add more onto this already depressing situation. I decided to shift the subject away from them for now. "Feels like a lifetime ago when we first met on that cart.." I muttered. "How have things been, Thorum?" I only asked him a question or two, but I still don''t know how exactly he''s been holding up.


    "Surviving." He had a calm smile on his face. "Thepanions are still going, a few more members have been lost here or there, but they''ve picked up on recruitment though."


    We approached the Jarl''s hall, Guards respectfully ushering us forward.


    "I guess we can talk about the big stuffter." I mused, admiring the familiar building. I still had a lot of questions, how his training went, what he''s been up to in more detail, his previous fights, what magics he''s learned. But those would be best left for when we can talk over some drinks.


    "Big stuff? Should I be prepared for more women you haven''t told me about?" He gave a good naturedugh.


    I cleared my throat awkwardly. "About that...."


    Hisughing stopped and he stared at me. "You, my friend, are an admirable man." He sped my shoulders. "Atleast I shan''t be surprised anymore at this point."


    "Did I mention I have a daughter now?"


    His reaction did give me a genuine smile.


    ****


    Best buddies are reunited atst as they catch up on what''s been going on. On a side note, i''m going to try and get the second part of the Wilhelm Schweinorg, Attorney at Law Omake up tomorow, but no promises.


    If you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    Or if you want toe chat, ask about the story or even talk about future stuff, visit our discord, code is -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 129 - 123

    <h4>Chapter 129: Chapter 123</h4>


    We drew the attention of the entire hall as we walked in without anyone even announcing our presences. At this point, I think everyone was familiar with Thorum, but I had been absent for about a month, so I had quite a few eyes on me.


    Well, there were also a few people giving Thorum''s new sword a look over. I couldn''t me them, it had a baleful red hue that was hard to miss. While it didn''tsh out its hate towards non-dragons, the ''demonic nature'' of the sword was clear to people who didn''t even know the proper terminology.


    I could appreciate the culture here, the fact that the Jarl''s people weren''t kicking up a fuss about him be so tantly armed.


    A warrior culture.


    The Jarl held up his hand to his advisor who was whispering in his ear, sitting up straighter on his ''throne''. "Thorum, I hope you bring good tidings."


    "Aye, my Jarl. The dragons have been in." Thorum nodded as we took center stage. At his words, the room quieted down, intent on hearing the conversation.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Farengar hiding in the back near the entrance of his little workshop.


    I briefly remembered what happenedst time and I held back a sigh. Perhaps I was bit too abrasive, I don''t need to go around making enemies when I don''t have to.


    I won''t purposely antagonize him, but I also won''t put up with his nonsense.


    My thoughts broken when the surrounding people pped and cheered his name, Thorum just giving a bashful smile.


    "Well done, Thorum. Truly we are blessed by the Divines to have you here." Jarl Balgruuf said with a grin on his face. "But there appears to be more to the story this time." His gaze turned to me. "Wee back to Whiterun, Wilhelm, I take it you also participated in the fight?"


    Thorum pped my back. "Will appeared short after the fight began, aided me in defeating them. It would have been a much harder battle had I been alone."


    Well, no use in denying it. I opened a portal in in view of many people, I''m sure word will reach his ears eventually anyways.


    "That''s right, I recently came back to Skyrim and stopped by the College first. I intended to head back down here in a few more days, but the Archmage was alerted that Whiterun needed some supplies and that some more Dragons were spotted, so I hurried on over." I briefly exined.


    A few small expressions shed across the Jarl''s face, clearly picking apart my words. I made sure to mention the College and indicate that I was a part of that ''faction'' so he wouldn''t keep trying to bind me to Whiterun.


    Not to mention, me bringing some much needed supplies, he couldn''t very well start poking or prodding me for information without appearing crass infront of his subjects. Also the fact that I helped Thorum y the dragons, I was probably very popr with his retinue right now.


    "Yes, it was hard to miss your addition to the battle, until you had just showed up, we were wondering what had happened. While we could not see much from here, the magical phenomenon was clear to everyone in the province." Balgruuf''s tone was light but there was a hidden edge there as if he was letting me know that he was ''aware'' of my strength. "I admit, I have heard tales of your magical ability, but to see the effects, it leaves me in awe. The spell you used was humbling to see from the distance."


    Ah, my Hammer of Thor. I could only imagine it looked particrly frightening from the distance.


    "I had good teachers." I said simply. And now I somewhat understood why Farengar was standing to the side and not speaking. Maybe my skill left him feeling a bit intimidated.


    I think he was hoping for a little bit more information, but he settled on something resembling happiness after a moment. "Regardless, we wee any aid that the College could lend." He stood up. "Tell me, where are these supplies, are there carts waiting outside the city?"


    "I have them here with me, if you have somewhere you want me to unload them." I let my hand glow with the obvious signs of magic, allowing him to draw conclusions.


    He just blinked, a genuine smile on his face. "Well, that makes matters easier. Right here would be fine, it saves my men from having to move things too far."


    I just shrugged as Thorum stepped back, he''d seen me making things appear and disappear so I guess he knew I could store things. Waving my hand, I let the supplies unload onto the floor infront of his throne. "It should all be here, but if you think anything might be missing, I won''t be offended if you want me here while you check."


    "That will not be necessary, just the fact that the Archmage sent you would have been more than enough. Savos Aren has been nothing but selfless in these trying times, I don''t think there has ever been a mage so well liked among the Jarls in Skyrim''s history." Jarl Balgruuf let out augh. "That''s ignoring the honor and valor you showed in Whiterun''s defense."


    There were a few stomps and pounding on the table in agreement.


    The Jarl paused, looking at some of the supplies. "What''s this." He walked over, opening a sack and reaching inside. "Rice? I have not seen this since my days in the imperial Legion."


    "You recognize it, that makes things easier." I mused.


    "I was not aware the Archmage had stores of rice, I would have purchased some before this whole dragon fiasco urred."


    "That''s my contribution." I corrected, earning his attention again, scratching my head awkwardly. I had bought arge amount back in Kyoto for my own use since I often found myself outside of Japan and often missed my homnds cuisine. "I saw the damage outside the walls and wanted to lend a hand."


    Honestly, I didn''t dislike the Jarl, I understood his position even if I had to take steps to avoid his authority. If anything, I respected him. He didn''t abuse his position and try to force me when I showed clear displeasure at certain things. He seemed like an honorable and realistic man.


    Perhaps I felt a little guilty as well. If I could alleviate some of the cities'' pressure for food needs, I wouldn''t mind lending a hand. It was only money for me, but it was food on the table for some unlucky families.


    The Jarl looked over the sacks of Rice, while not as much as everything else, there were several dozen all together. Enough to feed quite a few people for a long while if rationed well.


    "Rice is not the usual pte of Nords." Jarl had a small smile on his face. "But I''m sure I can show some of my men how to enjoy such robust grain. Aye, I wonder if my cooks could recreate some of those dishes in my memory." He slightly reminisced before turning back to me. "Once again, you have shown your honorable side, Wilhelm. You are neither Nord nor a Skyrim native, yet you continue to offer support to Skyrim''s children."


    "My friend, the Jarl speaks the truth, you continue to impress me with your good will." Thorum looked at me with a little bit of awe.


    Oh Thorum, I''m not as good a person as you think me.


    "Aveni." The Jarl called out, and a non-nord man walked over from the side, greatsword on his back.


    "Yes, my Jarl?" He asked.


    "Would you please start organizing the supplies and send them where necessary." Jarl moved back to his throne.


    "Of course, Jarl." Aveni, walked forward looking over everything. "I just require some manpower, I''ve already taken note of who needs what."


    The Jarl looked please, with a nod he ignored Aveni start calling people over and began ordering them around. "I understand you both probably wish to celebrate at the Jorrvaskr with thepanions, but I have one question that is merely a curiosity. Where did you acquire that de, Thorum?" He pointed towards the new sword politely kept to his side.


    Thorum blinked, pulling it up. "Will gave it to me when he appeared."


    "Truly?" The Jarl scratched his beard. "It looks like a mighty fine weapon, though it gives me an eerie feeling...."


    "It''s not a Daedra artifact, if you''re wondering." I wanted to nip that in the bud right now. "Its name is Gram, it was wielded by a warrior named Sigurd in the past. He once used it to y a powerful curse that took on the form of a dragon. The weapon, bathing in the ''dragons'' blood gained an absolute hate towards them, as a result, it''s very strong against draconic enemies." I exined.


    Fanfir was a strange thing in my home, while it was an actual dragon in my birth world. It was easier to exin it as a ''curse'' given form then to get into the concepts at y if I went by the one I''m more familiar with.


    "Fascinating." The Jarl looked impressed. "I don''t quite understand some of that, but a sword that ys dragons, it is a wonderful weapon for our Dragonborn."


    Thorum was looking at me with a strange expression on his face. I think he wanted to say something but was holding back.


    "I will not hold you two up any longer." The Jarl finally leaned back, rxing. I think I sessfully distracted him well enough with the supplies. "Go, celebrate with yourpanions." He dismissed us with a smile. "Lest I forget, please pass on my thanks to the Archmage, Wilhelm, next you see him. I will write a letter of thanks, but I wish him to understand my gratitude."


    "I will make sure the Archmage receives your words." I offered a polite bow, which he gave a nod towards.


    Well, I wouldn''t hold him up. He was pleasant enough, but I didn''t wish to involve myself in the political spectrum here. I would y nice though, didn''t want to step on too many toes when I enjoyed this ce so much.


    ***


    "My friends, look who has returned." Thorum burst through the doors of the Companion''s building, practically pulling me along.


    There was a sudden quiet at his abrupt entrance, but then cheers and shouts filled the building. Some were from Thorum''s return, others for my appearance after an a month''s absence.


    Actually, I saw quite a few happy faces sent my way. I guess I underestimated how much good will I had built up here previously.


    "Wilhelm." A female voice sounded behind me and I recalled this woman immediately as me and Thorum pulled up a chair at an empty table.


    "A." I greeted with a small smile. While I wouldn''t even call her an acquaintance, we were polite enough and Thorum was a shared friend.


    "Hey, don''t forget me." Another gruff voice joined in.


    "Farkas!" Thorum let out a shout. "I had not heard you returned."


    "Thorum, my brother, I heard of your battle with the dragons." They shared a greeting. "I got back while you were meeting the Jarl."


    "This idiot stopped at a tavern on the way back so he waste." A grumbled.


    Farkas just let out a small chuckle. "I''m doing my duty to lessen the strain on Whiterun''s mead supply."


    "And what about the wenches you decided to bed?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Also doing my duty." He gave a cheeky smile, causing those around us tough. "Enough about me, Thorum, Wilhelm, share your tale of the fight."


    I rolled my eyes and Thorum excitingly gestured towards me to start. Okay, admittedly I missed this atmosphere, these people were so genuine, it was hard to not like them. "I was at the College when the Archmage told me about a some dragons being sighted at Whiterun, obviously I knew this idiot would fight them so I came to lend a hand, otherwise he might try to jump on the back of another."


    "Oh, it will be like that then?" Thorum took the jab with augh. "How many dragons have you in my friend, shall wepare numbers?"


    "It''s not about the number ¨C "


    "Yes, with all your women, I can guess you''ve heard simr words before." Thorum interrupted, that big goofy smile on his face. That got a round of jeers andughs from everyone.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle as well.


    "Oh, so you finally got jokes? Honestly, I thought the only joke you knew was the one about your magic ability." I raised an eyebrow. While most Nords didn''t care for magic, they sure did erupt at my retort.


    Thorum, for all his good nature, justughed along with them. "My friend, my honor demands I take revenge for this insult." He mmed his elbow on the table, propped up with his palm open.


    "Oh, am I being challenged?" I loosened my tie, giving me a cocky look.


    "Aye, if you have the stones." Thorum returned my smirk, though he was ying it up, I couldn''t miss the humorous tone in his words.


    "Arm wrestling, huh?" I eyes his admittedly muscled arm.


    "No one would fault you for backing down, Wilhelm. This is a true Nord''s strength right here." He pped his bicep, earning a whoop form the crowd.


    "I feel like I''m being looked down on." I began to unbutton my vest, setting it to the side, taking my tie off I ced it down and finally, I unbuttoned my shirt and tossed it into the pile with my other clothes. I stood up straight, letting everyone get a good look. "Want to talk about strength? I earned all of this." I gestured to my body, while I wasn''t particrly muscr like most Nords, I damn well was cut into shape and thoroughly remodeled from Scathach''s teachings. I was leaner, perhaps closer to a swimmer''s build, but I was not at all scrawny.


    That got a reaction from our crowd.


    "Didn''t think you were hiding something like that under there, Mage boy." A gave me a once over, a clear bit of interest in what she saw.


    "You should see what I''m hiding under my pants." I sent her a wink, earning a snort andugh from her.


    "You''re alright, milk drinker." She finally gave a genuine smile.


    "Well, my friend, you continue to impress me." Thorummented.


    I just realized, was Meridia still watching? I''m definitely going to tease her with thister on.


    "As you should be." I put on my best faux arrogance. "So, what are the rules?"


    "I got this." Farkas stepped forward, hushing the crowd. "For those not familiar, the rules are simple. No outside help, no magic, no potions. We rely on physical strength, loser buys a round of drinks for everyone."


    "Do you guys pay for drinks here?" I blinked in confusion.


    "We have to restock somehow." He shrugged.


    Made sense.


    "Well, Dragonborn, ready to lose?" I put my arm on the table, sping it to his own.


    "Red Dragon Emperor, it will be you losing." He returned my little taunt with a smile.


    Farkas ced his hands over ours. "Being." He let go, taking a step back.


    Immediately we began pushing in opposite directions, trying to force the other''s hand down. My eyes widened as I felt his physical strength for the first time.


    "Damn, how many dragons did you eat, fatty." I grit out, feeling my muscles bulge under the strain.


    He looked a lot more rxed, but I could still feel the tension from his end. "Enough to take a mage or two down." He smiled again, putting more strength out and my arm began to fall towards the table.


    I had a dragon''s heart, Aura, and my own devil physiology, yet he was beating me in pure physical strength. I knew he got stronger by munching on dragon souls, but hot damn was this impressive.


    No wonder he killed that other dragon so easily.


    "THORUM."


    "THORUM."


    "DRAGONBORN!"


    "THORUM!"


    Most of the shouts were for Thorum, not that I could me them, I was a bit of an outside here even if I had a lot of good will from these people.


    "H-hey, Thorum." I earned his attention again. "Did I ever tell you I got a familiar?" I was doing everything I could to keep my arm from going down any further.


    "A familiar?" He questioned. I suppose he wasn''t too knowledgeable on mage practices.


    "A contract with a creature or animal, a bond that makes them be a sort ofpanion." I briefly exined. With my free hand I took my hat and turned it upside down, letting Sir Wiggles walk out onto a fee corner of the table.


    That earned a bewildered look from Thorum, enough that I pushed him back slightly, but he regained his wits and stopped me from moving any further. "Behold, Sir Wigglesbottom Fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, Crown Prince of Emerald Kingdom. Duke of Carrot Ind, General of the Northern Armies."


    "...what?" Thorum just looked at me nky, then at the rabbit on the table. A sentiment shared by most of the people in the building.


    "Sir Wiggles, attack." I ushered as my familiar hopped towards Thorum, and started getting up in his face.


    "Hey, what are you¡ª" Thorum started honest to god giggling as Sir Wiggle''s rubbed up on him.


    I of course took this chance to push him arm back, taking him by surprise once again. His eye''s widened as I felt another surge of strength ovee me, he stopped me mid push and slowly I began to be pushed back again, no break this time until the back of my palm hit the table.


    "Winner, Thorum!" Farkas yelled and the crowd cheered.


    "Little fe." Thorum seemed more amused by Sir Wiggles.


    "Alright, alright." I held my hands up in defeated, taking out some gold and setting it on the table. "Drinks for the evening are on me." A lot of faces I didn''t know gave me genuine cheer and thanks.


    It was nice, I did forget how weing the people here were once you got in with them.


    I didn''t even have to move as drinks started being shoved into everyone''s hands, people happily chatting andugh about. It didn''t matter that dragons were constantly attacking the city, as long as there was a moment of respite, these people would celebrate. Atleast I didn''t have to move for drinks toe to me.


    I quickly got started into my mead, the taste nostalgic, considering Scathach drank my stash.


    "I guess my secret technique didn''t work." I grinned at Thorum who was happily giving Sir Wiggles attention.


    "Aye, but it was a good try." Thorum happily replied.


    I blinked for a moment, realization dawned on me. "Weren''t we supposed to tell about the fight with the dragon?"


    Even A and Farkas seemed caught up in their own little thing at the side.


    Thorum looked around and realized they weren''t being paid attention to much anymore, and just shrugged. "They look more caught up in their next drink." He mused.


    Well, whatever.


    "But I would like to hear about this daughter of yours." He grinned right back at me.


    "Well, that''s a bit of a story, I guess I''ll start from the very beginning." I took another drink, and I could guess this was far from thest one for the night.


    ***


    Non-canon Omake Wilhelm Attorney atw Round 2 part 1.


    Some old song filled the room, the smell of alcohol adding to the ambience. I took a drink of my beer, staring at the T.V. screen above me. There was no sound, but the subtitles were shing across the screen.


    I paused, setting my drink down as the doors behind me were thrown open, metal d boots filling the area. Golden, glistening armor radiating power as several figures stepped inside.


    "Well, this is an odd ce to meet godly royalty." I idly stated, not bothering to turn around.


    "I require your services." The woman at the front, nked by armored guards stated.


    I sighed, spinning around in my stool, leaning my arms back on the bar counter. "And what, pray tell, does the All-Mother want with little ol'' me?"


    I gave her a once over. Frigga, the All-Mother, or so she''s called when Odin is in his Odin-sleep to recuperate his power. She was certainly a beautiful woman and certainly had the motherly vibe to her.


    "Word has reached my ears of your exploits. I have a task that no other can aplish." She replied.


    "You mean Loki told you about what happened. And why should I help you?" I raised an eyebrow. Well, I guess after learning about how I got Loki out of that other mess, she woulde to me with this whole thing.


    "Asgard does notck material wealth. Or perhaps knowledge and wisdom is your desire? We also boast a sizable armory, housing many a legendary armament."


    "Tempting, but I know what you want me to do, and I don''t think any of that is worth the hassle." I shook my head.


    "I suppose I shall seek someone more worthy out then." She sniffed.


    I snorted in response. "Please, if you came to me, then we both know there''s no one else. I can guess that your ''son'' probably has no idea you''re here and would vehemently disagree with this idea even at the cost of his life." He didn''t seem too pleased when I dropped him back off in that desert, and took the cube with me.


    "What do you want?"


    "Honestly, nothing. I don''t want to deal with that whole mess. Have you seen how much trouble he''s already caused?"


    She sighed, turning to her guards. "Leave us."


    They didn''t respond, but they walked around, pulling and pushing every other patron out of the bar with them until it was just me and Frigga.


    To my absolute surprise, once everyone had left, she tugged at the sashes holding her robes together, letting them fall to the ground. "I will offer up myself for as long as I am All-Mother if you can secure my son and return him home."


    I gaped at her. "Aren''t you married?" I blurted out, though my eyes never left her naked body.


    She rolled her eyes. "Do you think my husband does not have dalliances? He is well aware that I findfort when he is indisposed."


    "I am still confused. Not against it, but confused." I replied.


    "Do you think I don''t know what you are? I was raised by witches, I see more than with my eyes. It is simply the easiest method to entice someone of your race."


    Huh.


    They are the Norse gods, I guess I don''t'' have to worry there. "Okay, but I want payment in advance."


    "As I thought you would." She didn''t even argue and I quickly discarded my clothes.


    I chuckled, taking onest nce up at the T.V. screen.


    ''The Trial for Loki Odinson has been pushed back another three days as the most recent Attorney for him had quit citing hostile work environment. This is the 17th attorney that has either dropped him or been removed. ''


    I shook my head to focus on the woman infront of me instead.


    Loki can have my attention when I''m done with his mom~.


    ****


    I hummed to myself, straightened my tie, and made sure Sir Wiggles was sitting snugly on my shoulder. "Here we go again, Sir Wiggles, the big times."


    He twitched his nose in response.


    "Well said, it seems like our duty never ends." I nodded. "But this time, we can''t merely blow up the idiots. This will be a by the books, clean court case!" I mmed my hand down on a desk I had purchased just for this reason. "This will take all of our cunning, Sir Wiggles, but....I have faith in us and the system."


    With onest look at each other, I opened a new portal, appearing right outside the courtroom. The immediate guards didn''t even notice me as I mmed the doors open, drawing all eyes on me.


    "Who the hell are you!?" Voices shouted out, simr trains of thought.


    "NO, GO AWAY!" Loki''s voice the easiest to pick out of the crowd.


    "SECURITY!"


    The guards ran at me, and they weren''t run of the mill bailiffs. They had state of the art weaponry and were carrying some big guns.


    "I''m Loki''s Attorney." I introduced myself, earning a startled muttering among the crowd all gathered inside. It was quite the showing.


    Apparently, they were having the case tried in New York since...well....the battle happened here. After I ditched Loki back on earth after rescuing from the TVA, he was picked up and arrested again. Thor couldn''t get to him in time before the government got involved. And he couldn''t just start swinging his hammer when the public was so intent on this, and they weren''t budging on handing Loki over.


    In fact, I''m fairly sure I saw him sitting in the corner, a long with Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. It didn''t look like any of them were armed though, wearing mostly formal clothing.


    The Judge mmed his mallet down, quieting everyone. "Approach the bench." He called out to me as I walked through everyone''s gazes. "Do you have proof of your employment as Loki Odinson''s legal council?"


    "No, he does not!" Loki stood up shouting.


    Everyone looked at him, then at me.


    "Son, if this is a prank...." The judge narrowed his eyes.


    "I have a note from his mother, if that helps. I request that I pass it onto my client, so he''s on the same page." I offered up.


    "Fine, let him see it." The Judge waived me off.


    I walked over to Loki who reeled back, practically snatching the parchment out of my hands and reading it over. "No.no.no.no.no. I refuse. Nope."


    The judge looked at me then at him. "Loki Odinson, does this man represent you as your legal council?"


    Loki grit his teeth. "Yes." He hissed.


    I smiled smugly at him. No idea what the note said, but from Frigga''s words, he would agree if he knew what was good for him.


    "Wonderful, I''m d we have all that sorted." I pped my hands. "Oh, and my second." I held up Sir Wiggles, introducing him to the room.


    "Pardon?" The judge asked.


    "Sir Wiggles over here will be my second for Loki." I reiterated.


    "Are you saying that this....Rabbit is going to participate as Loki''s legal council?"


    "He''s legally allowed to practicew in the state of New York." I replied, producing more papers, the judge gesturing for the bailiff to bring them to him.


    "Your honor, this is getting ridiculous." The prosecution stood up, pointing at me.


    "Wow, the racism is alreadying out and we haven''t started yet." I rolled my eyes.


    "What are you talking about, it''s a rabbit!"


    "He''s a sapient being who went through the same slog we did to get certified, and I would ask you to respect his existence."


    "It''s a Rabbit!"


    "Oh, so because he''s not human he doesn''t have the right to practicew?" I scoffed. "Why not just forgo the trial entirely, Loki here isn''t human." I raised my voice so everyone heard me, especially the jury.


    "That''s different, he''s¡ª"


    "He''s what? ''human looking''" I put air quotes for him. "Am I not allowed to practicew either, I''m only half human, what if I show off my non-human features am I suddenly unqualified?" I didn''t let him respond. "You disgust me, sir." I scoffed, turning away.


    "To my utter confusion, these are legitimate." The Judge interjected, tilting his sses down and staring at us. "Sir...Wiggles?"


    "That''s him." I nodded. "Oh, and I am Wilhelm Schweinorg." I made sure to introduce myself proper.


    "You can''t be serious, your honor!?" The Prosecutor ¨C Walker something stood up in annoyance.


    The Judge also didn''t look too amused. "I am hesitant to even humor this thought, Mr. Schweinorg, even if everything is above board, this very unorthodox."


    "Your honor, everything about this case is unorthodox, we have a Norse God from another being tried for an alien invasion of New York." I stated. "Besides, how long would it take to get ''another'' attorney to willingly represent him? How many has he been through by this point?"


    The Judge blinked. "I will allow it." He mmed his mallet.


    "Sweet Odin, how did this happen?" Loki dropped his head into his palms.


    "Lots of bad decision making, I would assume." I responded.


    "Is that how you describe your legal career?" Loki scoffed, taking a verbal jab.


    "Oh, I thought we were talking about your life."


    Loki just grumbled in annoyance. "At least it won''t be as bad as thest trial."


    "Well....now that just sounds like a challenge."


    Let the trial begin.


    ***


    Didn''t have time to do a second part of the omake, so expect it sometime this week....probably. I''ll also be doing the first lewd of Meridia over on my pat reon next chapter.


    If you want to read 6 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 130: Interlude 6

    <h4>Chapter 130: Interlude 6</h4>


    Interlude 6 Artoria POV


    I walked the stone steps up to the library. It was still an odd thought, to have so much magical knowledge freely avable.


    I was not a Magus, nor would I ever describe myself as one, yet I could still appreciate the atmosphere this College created. There were many things reminiscent of the Clock Tower, yet this ce felt much more alive even if it only had a fraction of the people walking the halls.


    There were no tant political schemes woven into every conversation, no attempts at subterfuge when someone walks around the wrong corner. While I would not say every person I''ve met here to be pleasing, they are leagues above the average Magus back home.


    It was a pleasant experience.


    Mayhaps, a small part of me considered learning a little bit of magic if this was what I had to look forward too. Such thoughts quickly died down, Merlin''s lessons still haunt me to this day. I often thought about him, about the others in the past. I wonder, would they approve of how I now live my life? No crown upon my head, no gilded throne to elevate myself above themon folk. I simply was another person in the crowd.


    But, I felt a happiness I could only vaguely recall from my childhood. Mayhaps It was not merely ''happiness'' it was that I felt content, that I enjoyed my life and was free from those harsh burdens.


    My duty to Rin still remained, yet I was almost free to do what I wished, to pursue any whimsy that came to the forefront of my mind. Well, most of my time was spent with Rin, she is my closest friend and some I trust absolutely. The Wizard Marshal has also been very weing and I feelfortable in his presence. Not to mention I have recently made a new friend in Izanami, something I had never expected I would ever utter.


    I couldn''t help but furrow my brow when I recalled that I had yet to tell Wilhelm of my time with Izzy when he was away. Lord Zelretch being kind enough to allow me to visit her. She had been teaching me about all the wonderous technology of their era, something we would be discovering in a few decades.


    Then, there is Wilhelm.


    I could still feel my cheeks heat up and my heart beat a little faster when his face appears in my mind. That night we spent together, feeling of his gentle touch on my skin. The way he looked at me so hungrily still sends shudders down my spine. I do not know if I would have been able to resist him had he tried to be more assertive. But he never crossed the lines I did not wish to just yet, and this warmness in my chest still persists from that night.


    The way he can just turn me into a stuttering foolish girl with but a few words. Yet, I look forward to it all the same.


    Was this what Kay always spoke of, was this love?


    I shook my head, dismissing the thought and doing my best to rid my cheeks of this pink tint. Pushing the nearby door open, I was weed with rows upon rows of bookshelves, filled to the brim and overflowing onto the tables and ground. Stacks and stacks books in every direction.


    My eyes only wandered a moment before finding the target of my search. The very distinct blue colored skin of the women I was looking for.


    "Artoria." Jinn happily greeted me, setting down several books in her hands.


    "Hello, Jinn." I replied courteously. I was still unwholly sure of how to treat this woman. With Meridia, we had somewhat found amon ground to work from, but Jinn I still did not know much about. "How are you?"


    She gave a big smile. "I''m doing great!" She lightlynded on her feet, having been floating slightly above the ground this whole time. I briefly admired her shoes and wondered where she acquired them. "How about you, what brings you up to my library?" Jinn took a seat at a nearby table, gesturing for me to join her.


    I obliged, sliding onto the wooden chair. "I was running an errand for Rin and I wished to perhaps trade some words with you." I answered simply.


    "Did I do something you don''t like?" She looked at me, head tilt in confusion.


    "No!" I quickly dissuaded her of that notion. Maybe I came off a little bit aggressive? "I merely wished, to speak with you." I held back a sigh, I was never proficient at this kind ofckadaisical conversation.


    "This was a long timeing I guess. You wanted to know where I stand with regards to our shared interest?" She gave me a knowing smile, and I refrained from showing any bashfulness.


    "It was a thought on my mind." I admitted. "I had a conversation with Meridia before, we were able to talk about how to handle being in a rtionship with the same person. It was an.....interesting experience."


    "Oh, the goddess, huh?" Jinn seemed interested at the notion. "What''s she like?"


    I mulled that over. I did not spend a long while in her presence, but I did not find anything about her particrly distasteful. "She was as one would expect a goddess to be." I had not met many divine spirits, but Merlin did give me teachings on them, and how to approach a conversation with one if I had ever been unlucky enough to garner their attention. But I doubt he ever foresaw this situation...unless he had and wasughing himself silly right now. "She was surprisingly polite." I noted. Not as an insult, but a being of her stature, I would assume she possessed a certain arrogance to her. "She was willing to speak to me as an equal in this regard."


    While blunt with her questions and own wants, she did note off as mean. I was merely attributing that to her ''personality''. Though, it was amusing to see her give simr reactions to me when Wilhelm teased her.


    "Hmm...I wonder if I''ll get the chance to meet her. Such an enigma, these foreign ''gods'' how much they must know." Jinn seemed enthused by the idea.


    "I would assume she will appear before you at some point. The only reason she departed so quickly before was that Wilhelm had some immediate business to attend to and she wished to watch over him." I gave her a brief exnation of what urred.


    "Watch over him, or make sure no more sisters are added to our little group?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Sisters...." I whispered to myself, earning a small giggle from Jinn. It was....an appropriate term, considering I was now apart of a harem. Another thought I never believed I would have in my life. But, once again, I find myself not opposed to the arrangement. "Unfortunately, I fear that will be an endeavor destined to fail."


    "Don''t I know it." Jinn giggled again. "He did tell me all about the women in his life, or supposedly he did. I wonder, did he leave out any little details~?"


    "Meridia, Scathach, You and Me." I stared off for a moment, thinking it through. "It is likely another will end up in this grouping before long. Has he mentioned his daughter yet?"


    "Oh yes, he would not stop talking about his cute little fox." Jinn smiled pleasantly. "I assume you are referring to her mother?"


    "Mmm, Yasaka. She is a very.....attractive women." I said inly.


    "Big on both ends?" Jinn gestured to her chest, but I could assume her intent.


    "That is not inurate." I held back a smallugh at her response. "Yasaka is a very voluptuous woman."


    "Well, he doesn''t seem to be the type to be led around purely by a big chest or a big rear." Jinn didn''t seem worried.


    "W-well....he seems content with me." I said quietly.


    "Oh, sweetie." Jinn looked at me with a strange mix of pity and sympathy. "You know damn well he wants you just as much as any of us."


    "Yes.....he has made that abundantly clear." I refuse to believe my cheeks were red once again.


    "Oh my~" Jinn cooed. "Sounds like someone had a little fun. Should I ask about his size?" She gave ascivious smile.


    "We did not go that far...." I muttered, regaining my steady fa?ade.


    "What a shame." She sighed.


    "But...I did see him in his under cloth" I added lightly. "I may have noticed a certain part of him pushing against the fabric."


    "Ohoh." Jinn let out a smallugh. "How did it look?"


    "I did not know they could be thatrge."


    "Well, maybe I have something to look forward to." Her voice full of anticipation. "If he ever epts my advances."


    "Your advances...?" I questioned her. "Have you tried to....?"


    "Did he not tell you what I proposed to him when we first met?" She asked, earning a headshake from me. "I told him I would be his, with everything that entails. I expected much more than a few gropes on my rear from someone his age. Practically threw myself at him a few times and barely a response, started to make me question my appeal."


    "Truly?" I looked at her in surprise. I have very strong feelings towards Wilhelm, but I would not have ever been bold enough to suggest such a thing when we first met. "Do you not regret such actions?"


    "Regret? I don''t think I would ever regret that decision I made, even if I lived each day chained to his bed." She let out a sigh. "I never even contemted my existence beyond what I was ''designed'' for until he came along and I glimpsed at whatid beyond my little corner of reality." She gestured to the surroundings. "Look where we are. So much knowledge, so many things I simply don''t know, all avable for me at my leisure. If I dropped dead right at this moment, It would be with a smile on my face." She looked content, truly at peace and a happiness in her eyes that I found envious. "I gave him my body, and if this keeps going on, I think my heart will belong to him eventually as well. And I can''t say I don''t feel something when he so tantly calls me ''his''." She pushed her cheeks up with a bashful smile.


    I see, that does give a lot of context to this woman that I had not understood. I can''t fault her on her choices and reasoning, and she seems genuinely happy with how her existence turned out. She looked to be thriving here, and from what I understand, she had certain restrictions lifted from being away from Remnant. I was d she found her happiness so easily.


    "But, I think I''m rambling, something I seem to enjoy doing now." She gave a wistful smile. "I don''t think you came here to hear about all of that. What did you need?"


    "I did intend toe and share some word with you....but I did have another matter that required me toe to the library."


    "You are so cute, I can see how Wilhelm fell for you~" She chuckled. "What do you need, Artoria?"


    I mumbled under my breath, reaching into my bag and taking out a sheet of paper. "Rin asked me to find these books if you possess them here."


    She reached over, reading from the parchment. "That''s easy." She waived her hand and books flew out from all over the library,nding on the table. "This should be all of them, except I changed the ''Introduction to Alchemic Practices'' to ''A Beginner''s Guide to Alchemy''. Thetter has a more thorough exnation on the basics, the former assumes you are familiar with the basic concept and considering where we came from...."


    "I see, thank you very much, Jinn." I gave my heartfelt thanks.


    "Oh, think nothing of it. I enjoyed talking with you, I hope we can do it again sometime." She beamed, and I recalled that such a thing was very umon for her. I made a mental note to alsoe to her more in the future.


    "I would like that very much, mayhaps along with Rin we can have one of those ''girl nights out'' she speaks of."


    Jinn blinked, a big smile growing on her face. "That sounds very enjoyable, do you think Rin would bring her Artifact with her as well?"


    "Artifact?" I questioned, before realization dawned on me. "I had forgotten about Ruby, I think Rin can be convinced to let her out for a bit."


    Yes, I believe Ruby and Jinn would get along well.


    ***


    I walked out of the main hall, the Arcanaeum as it is called. The cold air greeted me immediately, but the spells woven over the school made them bearable to the mundane person walking around the courtyard. The amount of magic this college had in every corner, it would never cease to amaze me.


    Instead of light fixtures or candles, there were magic spells that lit up the area, Candlelight spell, I believe it''s called. A glowing orb of light that floated in a spot. Not to mention the spells that prevented people from jumping off the balconies, that kept the temperature moderate, and a plethora of other uses that I hadn''t bothered to investigate.


    There was no doubt in my mind that this building was filled with defensive and offensive measures woven into the very foundation.


    One thing that grabbed my attention over all of that was therge statue of a hooded silhouette standing before a font of mana ¨C or magicka as they called it here. It was palpable to the point there was a pir of it that rose to the sky, visible without any auxiliary means.


    "What do mean ''add more fire'', that doesn''t make sense! What concepts are added to the actualization of the spell, am I supposed to focus on thebustion, or is the chemical makeup of fire more important?" I turned to see Rin arguing with a....cat person. No, that wasn''t correct, and I felt a bit embarrassed for even thinking of this person in such a way. His species was called ''khajiit''.


    "J''zargo, doesn''t understand what you speak of. To make fire spell better, just add more fire." I did not know what I had walked into, but he demonstrated by throwing an impressive fireball into the air, letting it explode high above.


    "That doesn''t make any sense! How does adding fire make the fire ''better''?" Rin looked like she was going to pull her hair out.


    "J''zargo thinks you should practice the basics again."


    Rin audible twitched at hisment, I can only assume this conversation had been going back and forth for awhile now.


    "Alright, J''zargo, I believe your teasing has gone on long enough. Miss Tohsoka may show you what ''adding more fire, to the fire'' will actually do if you push her any more." Once again, I was surprised at the sudden appearance of the Archmage, merely stepping into the courtyard from another ce.


    Rin looked at him in a bit of shock and confusion then back to this J''zargo. "You what?" She narrowed her eyes.


    The Khajiit let out a smallugh. "J''zargo apologizes. It is tradition to haze new student, J''zargo finally had his own turn after being teased when he first entered. "J''zargo will answer your question truthfull. Miss Tohsaka is focusing too much on final result of the spell. J''zargo thinks you should focus more on the initial casting."


    "Initial casting?" Rin muttered. "You mean the structure I used to formte the spell was wed?" Rin seemed to be lost in her own world again for a moment. "Got it!" She waved her hand and shot a fireball up into the sky, mirroring the Khajiit''s own as it exploded.


    "Well done, Miss Tohsaka." The Archmage praised.


    "You!" Rin turned around, pointing at the Khajiit. "You were teasing me by telling me the truth. ''Add more fire''" she scoffed. "I wasn''t using enough magical energy aligned with the fire element, opting for something more neutral, since I was more used to that."


    "J''Zargo does not know what you speak of." He smiled wistfully.


    "I''m watching you, kitty cat." She pursed her lips, earning another small chuckle from J''Zargo.


    "J''Zargo looks forward to learning with you. J''Zargo is envious of your talent. It took J''zargo a month to learn that spell, and Miss Tohsaka learned it in a few hours. J''zargo hopes that he will be able to learn the secrets of your sess."


    "Wait, are you telling me you want to steal my ''secrets'' right to my face?" Rin looked at him oddly.


    "J''Zargo does not steal. J''Zargo will watch, learn, and acquire by skill."


    Rin didn''t seem to know how to process that information. I think she was too used to all the subetfuge and backstabbing in the clock tower. Someone tantly saying they were going to try and learn from her sess was probably something entirely new to her.


    "You know what? Alright." She tossed her hair back. "Let see if you can keep up."


    "J''Zargo has taken that as a challenge, he hopes you will be prepared for J''Zargo is also a genius."


    Rin let out a genuineugh.


    The Archmage cleared his throat, grabbing their attention. "I am sorry to interrupt, but I have your documents ready and the supplies you requested, J''Zargo." The Archmage held out a satchel to the Khajiit.


    "Oh, J''Zargo is excited, he will depart tomorrow morning and return in a weeks time with a sessful mission."


    "I have no doubt." The Archmage nodded with a small smile as they all watched the young Khajiit hastily make for themon rooms.


    "Lucky." Rin muttered under her breath as I approached them. "Saber?"


    "I''m back, Rin. I have the books you requested, Jinn was a big help." I gave her a smile. "And greetings, Archmage."


    "Miss Pendragon." He nodded back. "Yes, Jinn has been a wonderful addition to the staff. Why, Urag actually praised her when we had a meeting earlier. Never once have I ever had that old Orc say anything nice like that about another person in my life." The Archmage chuckled. "But I digress, I did not appear here to talk about Miss Jinn''s wonderful performance." He produced a piece of parchment in his hand and with what looked like a ne. "I have heard you were looking for a Job to take but none of them caught your interest?"


    Rin blinked for a moment, hesitantly taking the document, giving it a once over. "A field research job?"


    "Indeed." The Archmage nodded. "It was actually Wilhelm who brought this little trinket back, or rather, he unearthed it in a rather explosive manner."


    "Are you being literal?"


    "Very." The Archmage deadpanned.


    "That sounds like him." Rin snorted. "So what do you need done?"


    "Well, this Amulet apparentlyes in three parts from what we could dig up in a few tomes. Supposedly it should be fairly powerful when put back together."


    "And you want us to go get the pieces and bring them back to you?" Rin asked.


    "Oh, well, I don''t care too much for the Amulet itself, I was more interested in the ancient knowledge found in apany of this thing."


    Again, Rin seemed a bit bbergasted. "You don''t care about this supposedly ''powerful Amulet''?"


    "Well, my interest is piqued, I wouldn''t mind taking a look at it." He admitted. "But I have no desire to make it mine, if that''s what you''re asking. If you take the job, there will be no payment In mary value, but the Amulet would be yours to keep, along with what wealth you can dig up during your trip. All I ask for is things of historic value to be given to the College."


    Rin''s jaw hung open for several moments before she regained her wits. "Okay." She said bluntly, still shocked at what she was hearing.


    "Wonderful." The Archmage pped his hands, producing a few other items, a book and a staff. "Wilhelm also ''dug'' this staff up in his little adventure. While it would technically belong to him I don''t think he would care that I''m giving it to you."


    "You''re giving this to me as well?" Rin couldn''t believe what she was hearing.


    "Do you not want it? It''s a fairly good staff, I think my personal one is only a little bit better." He mused.


    "No! I''ll take it." Rin happily grabbed it, earning augh from him.


    "It should more or less double the output of your offensive spells." He revealed.


    Definitely a boon to receive. I understood why Wilhelm had such a high opinion of this mage. If there were more people like this back home, mayhaps the world would have been a much better ce.


    "Does it have a name?"


    "The texts only referred to it as the ''Staff of Jyrik Gauldurson'' feel free to rename it as you wish. The previous owner was not what one would call a ''role model''." He chuckled, disappearing back from wherever he came from.


    "Rin, do you wish to take this job?" I asked her.


    "Well, I kinda already did. But, yeah, I wanna do this. Think about all the good stuff we can find! Money, magical items, this Amulet!" She shook it in her hand for added effect.


    "You remember what we spoke about? What enemiesy beneath the tombs that litter thisnd? Undead, magic creatures of all kinds, Giant Spiders." I emphasized thatst one for added effect.


    She visibly shuddered. "We need to prepare." She stated, earning a small smile from me. It''s good she was excited, but I did not wish for her to get ahead of herself.


    "Potions are a must." She muttered and I agreed whole heartedly. The potions here were quite phenomenal. "You have food covered."


    "H-hunger is the enemy." I looked away, hearing a snort from her.


    "What else do you think? Maybe pick up a dagger or something. Some leather armor maybe? The College might have some mystic codes avable for purchase, I still have a lot of gold left over that Wilhelm gave me. I should probably get started on a few dozen gems I have stored, get them ready for spells."


    "It seems like you have thought this through." I nodded, pleased with her foresight this time. It was as Wilhelm spoke before, she wanted to rush off, perhaps some blind notion of ''proving herself'' but she was willing to slow down in this instance. "Let us make a list of things we could possibly need while adventuring into the wilderness and delving into tombs. Then we shall acquire everything needed and set out."


    "Yes! Finally going on a real adventure." Rin pumped her fists in the air, her excitement very contagious.


    ***


    Just an interlude from Artoria''s POV of whats going on with them, and an adventure they will go on. So, finally wrote my first bit of smut, Meridia and Wilhelm finally do the horizontal Tango, very vani sex, but it was their first time. Should be a bit lewder in the future. Well, jury is still out on if it''s badly written or not, i''m half falling alseep over here so anythings possible. Worse case i rewrite it when i have a fresh mind to me.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 131 - 124

    <h4>Chapter 131: Chapter 124</h4>


    I groaned; eyes shuttered open. I felt a kink in my neck and a hard surface below my head, the light straining my eyes as I focused on my surroundings. I picked myself up from being sprawled across a wooden table, ss bottles falling onto the floor as I set myself upright.


    I almost slipped, steadying myself as I grabbed onto the table. I cast a curious nce around the room, I was not the only one who had apparently passed out in apromising position.


    "Fucking hell." I muttered, running my hand down my face, letting my eyes focus better.


    How much did I drinkst night?"


    [Yes.]


    "Thanks, Ddraig." I sighed.


    [No problem.]


    Well, at least I had the sense to put my clothes back on before I got passed out drunk. Which was something I don''t usually do, even that one time with Izzy, I still made it back home before copsing on my couch.


    I ran a hand through my hair, noticing something very peculiar. It was not up in a pony tail, while not something I would be overly picky about, I couldn''t find the binding I used.


    I started looking all around, under the table and between the chairs.....nothing.


    The piece of cloth was practically worthless, except, it was the one that Sc¨¢thach used to bind my hair the first time. I felt a small pit in my stomach at the thought of losing it.


    To say I slightly panicked would be an understatement, I didn''t care how frantic I looked as I started practically crawling on the ground looking for it. Every nook and cranny I checked and found empty just increased my growing anxiety. I paused, doing the obvious thing and checking inside my storage space both my ring and my hat, but it was not there either.


    I leaned against the table, staring off into the ceiling, a pit in my stomach. I couldn''t help but clench my fists in frustration, the only thing stopping me from shouting was that I was in public with other people sleeping off their drinks.


    Fuck.


    Rather forcibly, I pushed all these raging emotions down.


    I need a distraction.


    Look around, it was quietly and it was only a few momentster that I felt something grab my attention in my ring, I took out my new phone. It had apparently been buzzing me since yesterday. The way it alerted my through my storage device was interesting, and I had to give credit to Rin, she really did a good job.


    ''Saber and me are going exploring, be backter.'' ¨C Rin.


    Huh.


    Good for them.


    Even though I copsed back into a chair and let out a sigh, I was happy for them. I didn''t want to drive a wedge between the rtionship they developed over the years they''ve been together. I briefly wondered if I was ''taking'' Saber away from Rin when I first sought out a rtionship, but I honestly never saw anything resembling romantic inclinations between them. Honestly, they seemed to be almost like sisters, and I didn''t wish for Rin to feel like a third wheel when me and Saber are around.


    So, I was happy for them. Let them go out, have fun, explore and get into dangerous situations. I know for a fact that Artoria wouldn''t let Rin go running around unless they made ample preparations. Not to mention, the Archmage was probably keeping an eye on her, so everything should be on the up and up, and I would not be babysitting her.


    Sitting up again, I stretched my arms, leaning side to side to give my back a good crack as well.


    Would it be overstepping if I tried to set Rin up with someone?


    I mean, not like in the creepy way. But maybe see if any of my friends would check any of her boxes? Granted, my male friends list isckingpared to my females, but then again, I think Rin swings both ways.


    Perhaps I should ask Artoria first, get a feel for that situation. It''s not like she ''needs'' a romantic partner, and I certainly don''t want to force anything like that on her.


    Bleh.


    Let''s see how she is in a few months of finally getting a sense of ''freedom'' and adventure.


    Well, I have some time to focus on some tasks I wanted to aplish while here again. As much as I wanted to see Meridia and give Rin an avenue for further strengthening, I did have some things I wished to get done.


    Speaking of my beautiful goddess, I should go see her before I set off anywhere important. But, before then, I guess I should see Thorum and make sure he''s good before I head off.


    I turned around, eyeing Sir Wiggles in the corner, he was curled up into a little floof ball, but his eyes were open, as if he had woken up recently.


    "Hat or with me?" I asked, giving a feeling through the bond of what I was offering, either going back in the hat, or apany me.


    He hopped over, and quickly scaling my arm, onto my shoulder.


    I just chuckled, lightly patting his head before grabbing anything else of importance and heading out the back door.


    There was arge courtyard, well moreso just an open area, behind thepanions building. Benches all around, an area that had seen a lot of feet trampling any kind of foliage into just a hard dirt ground. What caught my attention were the soundsing from the forge where I had Mirage created. Well, I wouldn''t mind paying a visit to the smith again, he did good work.


    Sir Wiggles sent a sort of displeasure through the link about this ce. I don''t know what it was, but apparently the ''fire'' here was distressing him. I gave him a mental affirmation that he could go run around.


    He had been cooped up for a bit, I wouldn''t mind him having fund around Whiterun.


    "I''m telling you, this doesn''t make a lick of sense!"


    "Sorry, Greymane, I don''t know." Thorums apologetic voice responded to the Smith''s irate words.


    Eyes fell on me immediately as I climbed the stone path up to the sky forge. A, Thorum, and Eorlund were all sitting around, Eorlund holding Gram in his hand and a few broken swords on the ground beneath them.


    "Hey." I greeted with azy wave.


    "Will." Thorum happily returned. "I had not thought you would be up this early."


    A let out a snort of amusement. It felt like some distance was closed between us. I still wouldn''t call us friends, but she was much more friendly. "Maybe you should stick to something lighter next time, milk boy."


    "Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes. "I''m not used to drinking that much."


    "Lad, are you the one who gave Thorum this ¨C thing?" Eorlund waved around Gram.


    "Yes....?" I answered in confusion. "What''s wrong with it?"


    "What''s wrong with it!? What''s wrong with it is that I can''t find a single indication of any forging techniques! It split my steel like it was wood!" He looked exasperated.


    "Ah, I see. It wasn''t purely made by mundane means, I''m not exactly privy to the details, but powerful magics were construed in the creation process." Didn''t feel like giving a lecture on Alchemy from my birth world.


    Eorlund just scowled, pushing the sword back into Thorum''s hands. "Atleast my work is still better." He grumbled. "How is my de doing,d? Have you in any memorable foes with it yet?"


    I brought Mirage out, floating next to me. I got a few eye raised as it slowly moved towards Eorlund.


    "Beautiful." He praised. "The edge is still pristine, the grip is well maintained. If I didn''t know any better I''d say it''s never seen a proper battle."


    "I have some other swords, if you want to take a look." As much as I felt I needed to hide secrets, I really had this strange desire to show off my collection.


    "If they''re anything like this ''Gram'', I wouldn''t mind taking a gander." He carefully set Mirage down on a nearby table. "Alright, Lad, show me your weapons."


    I smiled, waiving my hand and my other swords flew out. I started pointing to each one. "Whisper, Ascalon, Sword of Destruction, Dawnbreaker."


    Eorlund looked intrigued, he didn''t immediately grab them, but walked up close and began to analyze them with a keen eye. "I would ask what you would want with so many swords, but I heard about how you fought that dragon earlier." He said idly.


    "Aye, my friend. It was a strange way to fight, but it was impressive." Thorum pped my shoulder. "This one here, it gives me a simr feeling to Gram." He pointed out Ascalon.


    "Another Dragon yer sword." I said simply, earning a nod from him.


    "I''ve never heard of a ''Dragon ying sword'' the way Thorum described it, are these types of weapons rare?" A asked, also inspecting my swords.


    I had to admit, I preened under their inquisitive gazes. The thought of them envying my collection brought some strange feelings inside me.


    "They are. The factors at y to produce one.....it''s not really something you can artificially create unless you have some very rare resources and it might be a waste to use them for such a reason." I exined, earning their attention. "I ran into a brat who was the descendant of Sigurd ¨C the original owner I mentioned."


    "Aye, I recall. A normal man who yed a dragon by skill and wit. I hope to hear the full story another time." Thorum seemed intrigued by the idea, I couldn''t fault him with how his existence seemed to revolve around dragons.


    "Well, Sigurd didn''t only have Gram, merely Gram being the strongest. The others were.....not particrly interesting in my opinion. So, when him and a group of hispanions conspired to kidnap my Daughter to use as leverage against her mother, I took the weapons after we defeated them."


    "You''re little Fox~" A lightly mocked.


    "Pardon?" I blinked in surprise.


    "Oh, my friend, did you not know?" Thorum looked at me, and I just stared at him nkly. "When you were many drinks in.....you would not stop speaking about your daughter, calling her your little fox." Heughed.


    "Oh great." I sighed. Never going to live this down.


    "Fear not, my friend. You are but a good father, even if you will never stop hearing jests." Thorum and A shared augh at my expense.


    Well, I did tell Thorum a sort of abridged story about Kunou before I drank too much.


    "Anyways!" I changed the subject. "I took Gram, left the rest with Kunou''s mother since the damage was a bit extensive, they were decently strong, so they would be good rpose."


    "This is a Daedric Artifact." Eorlund interrupted, poking at Dawnbreaker.


    "Yes, I got it after clearing out Meridia''s Shrine out north." I had nothing to hide, and I think Meridia was pleased as it slowed just a little brighter.


    "Hmm, is that wise to carry such a thing around?" He eyed me.


    "I wouldn''t trade it for anything in the world."


    He grunted, turning to the next sword. "Not any of my business." He looked at Ascalon, scowled again and I can only assume he wasparing it to Gram in how it was made. I decided not to voice any thoughts on that, never knew who was peeking right now and the idea of a Noble Phantasm was way too foreign to properly bullshit my way through. "What is this." He finallynded on Whisper.


    "Whisper, it''s simr to Mirage in that it helps cast my magic."


    "Hmm, these symbols....." He ran a finger over the de.


    Usually, I would be much more tense about someone touching my swords...maybe it was the fact that he was a true smith? A respect for his profession and that he would treat my prized possessions with respect.


    He looked up at me, then back down at the sword. "Did this used to be a spear!?"


    "You can tell?" Iughed awkwardly.


    "Can I tell!? Lad, who do you think I am?" He grumbled. "I would normally call something like this a piece of scrap....but the craftsmanship is astounding." He looked at the sword in awe. "I can only imagine how beautiful the spear must have been, but to turn it into a sword, and be properly weighted, to have all the dimensions aligned like this...."


    "She was good at what she did." I thought briefly of the spear in my ring, but I was extremely possessive of that particr weapon and didn''t want anyone to touch it but me.


    "She?" Eorlund whispered. "Lad, what''s the name of this weapon''s creator?"


    "Sc¨¢thach." I answered simply.


    "Sc¨¢thach." He let the name sink in. "I will remember it."


    I don''t think my Sword of Destruction interested him much. It looked very ceremonial, and I could guess that he was thinking it a magical sword like the others and didn''t care about its creation.


    "These have given me some idea." He immediately went back to his forge. "Get out, I have some work to do."


    Thorum and A didn''t look disturbed at his sudden forcefulness, merely bidding him farewell and I called back my sword as I followed them along down the stairs, back into the Companion''spound.


    "You know, I''m curious. What exactly have you been up to when not fighting Dragons, Thorum?" He told me about his previous fights, but nothing much beyond that. Granted, we hadn''t spoke for too long.


    "Well." He scratched his head. "The Jarl asked me not to venture too far away while the dragons are around."


    Ah, that makes sense. He wanted Thorum in dragon ying distance.


    "Must get boring, being cooped up here for so long."


    "Aye, the Skyrim horizons call me something fierce, but I am needed here, for now." Thorum admitted, somewhat sad, but also a certain amount of resolve in his voice.


    "Well, if everything goes well, it won''t be too long. We just have to find Alduin and stop him." I offered a smile.


    "I am not quite sure it is that simple, but I look forward to the day."


    "What about you, Wilhelm." A spoke up, merely listening in at this point. "Are you going to stick around?"


    "Did you miss me?" I smirked.


    "As if." She rolled her eyes. "I prefer more ''man'' in myys." Aughed.


    "Oi, do I have to take my shirt off again? I''m plenty of man over here."


    "Keep telling that to yourself, milk boy." She said humorously.


    "Well, my self esteem has thoroughly been shattered. But to answer your question, I''m mainly working through the College, with some personal errands I want to run. I''ll keep an eye out when I''m away, if I hear anything about dragons, I''ll hurry on back." I decided to be honest with my intentions. "That reminds me..."


    "What?" Throum asked.


    "The Jarl owes me somend, and I have a use for it now." I rubbed my chin. "You think he''d mind if I set a house up near the city?"


    ***


    I walked up the steps towards the Jarl''s hall again, this time by myself. Thorum and A had some Companion business they needed to take care of and politely told me it was private, so I headed over here.


    The guard just nodded towards me as I approached therge wood doors, their might and stature clearly indicating a fortification mindset when created, yet I was easily ushered inside.


    The ce wasn''t crowded as before, there were a few people at the tables set up, eating, lightly chatting, but ''court'' wasn''t being held.


    The Jarl, his eyes turned to me as I entered, standing next to his attendant that I recalled from the other day.


    "Wilhelm, a pleasant surprise." The Jarl greeted me, and It felt distinctly more casual.


    "Jarl." I once again gave a very slight bow. They weren''t big on ''etiquette'' here, but a token of respect was mostly appreciated.


    He gave a pleased nod. "What can I do for you, Wilhelm?"


    "Well, I wanted to ask about that piece ofnd...."


    He blinked for a moment, realization dawning on him. "Oh, I had forgotten." He pped his hands. "I had the parchment drawn up weeks ago. It is my study if you wouldn''t mind apanying me."


    I furrowed my brow. "By all means, please lead the way." I put on a strained smile as he happily started leading me behind closed door, waiving off his attendants.


    It wasn''t particrly, far, and not exactly what one would call a ''study''. There were several bookcases, arge desk, and another table with a map of Skyrim along with gs showing many different things. There were little dragons on some, the Stormcloaks insignia on others, and what I assume was the Imperial legion on others.


    "Sit." He gestured to a chair infront of his desk as he took the seat behind. I obliged, as we shared a look. He appeared as if trying to read me. "I am at odds on what to do with you, Wilhelm." He spoke up.


    "What do you mean by that?" I feigned ignorance.


    "That." He pointed out, letting out a small sigh. "Realistically, I should do everything I can to put you under my authority, but the actions I''ve made have been sidestepped by you at every turn."


    I was surprised by his candid attitude. "I didn''t expect you to be so blunt about it. I guess we''re dispensing with the song and dance here?"


    He let out a snort ofughter. " I do not enjoy ying the political games when there is no need. You have shone your intentions not to be roped into my ns as it is."


    "That''s true, I like to stay out of politics." I agreed.


    "You are powerful, enough that it frightens many people under mymand."


    "And I''m not a Nord." I pointed out.


    "This is true as well." He didn''t hide it. "I have no issue with other races, but there is a pride in our own heritage that blinds our perceptions."


    I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "It''s to be expected. I''ve been treated very well by you Nords sinceing to Skyrim, but your people are very proud of your culture, it makes sense that they view what they''re familiar with in a better light than a foreigner like me." I remarked. "And I suppose my strange nature doesn''t help as well."


    "Yes, your wings are a strange thing indeed. Many think you some kind of Daedra worshipper or a citizen of Oblivion."


    "If I said neither, would you believe me?"


    "I would." He said without hesitation. "I like to think myself a good judge of character." He continued. "I do not believe you to be like Thorum, not a deceitful bone in his body, but you don''t seem the type to lie to my face. Half-truths, skewing my perspective, I would not put it against you though."


    "That''s a fair assessment." I had nothing against what he''s noted so far. "So, where does that leave us?"


    He leaned back, another sigh escaping his lips. "You being with the College is both annoying and helpful in this situation."


    "Ah, I see. You''re using the fact that I''m with the college to keep any hot heads quiet? With how helpful they''ve been, no one wants to cause any trouble on that front."


    The Jarl smiled lightly. "It is as you say. But, there are still many open voices calling for some more extreme action."


    "Farengar?" I hazard a guess.


    "He is among them." The Jarl confirmed, and I guess there was no need to keep that tidbit a secret. "You possess powerful artifacts, many a thing they would do well in my ''hands''."


    "And what do you think?"


    "I think, many of my people are short sighted and frightened by the attacks. You are not a citizen of Whiterun, nor of Skyrim as a whole. You respect my Authority, but you are not beholden to me outside these walls and if you wished to leave, would I even be able to stop you? Assuming I could, If I truly did wish to confiscate from you, then what kind of picture would that paint of me? Where would it end after that? If a merchantes along with a bit more gold than normal, do I simply take that was well?" He shook his head. "I would rather continue our current rtionship, but I wish for it to be more.....irond."


    "An agreement then?" I thought out loud. "You want a guarantee from me."


    "In simple terms, yes." He didn''t hide it.


    I rubbed my chin, mulling it over. "You are being very open with me, so I''ll return the good will. I do feel guilty somewhat. I heard some of the Dragons that came around have been calling me out as well?" I looked up at him.


    "That is true, I think the name ¨C Red Dragon Emperor ¨C is more known than your true name." He mused. "Most folks believe it to be in reference to your eye catching hair color." He added.


    I ran a hand through my hair at the mention of it. Theck of a ponytail was surprisingly grating on me. "I already decided to help. Not to mention Thorum is my friend, I would always stand by his side. And my heart isn''t made of stone, if Whiterun was in danger, I would lend my aid." I left out that I did think of this ce as almost a second home, Skyrim that is.


    He seemed genuinely pleased by my confession. "A weight is lifted off my chest at your words. I am d I did not think incorrectly of you, Wilhelm." The Jarl rummaged through his draws, fetching a rolled piece of parchment. "This has my mark, I found a particr piece ofnd that matched what you asked for previously. It is a little bit outside the wall, I do not know if it has been damaged by the dragon attacks or not."


    "It doesn''t matter, I can manage that on my own." I waved off his concerns.


    "Out of curiosity, what is your intention for this plot ofnd? It is not particrlyrge, the area is also not suitable for farming."


    "I wanted to build a house." I admitted. Though, technically, I was going to p my current house right on thend there.


    "A house? We do have properties inside the walls for sale, I could find one as a proper reward."


    "I wanted to use my own and be far enough away from other people so my magic stuff wouldn''t bother them."


    He paused, considering my words. "I see. I have no quarrel with the magic arts, but many Nords find it a bad omen since the issues with the College many years ago. The Archmage has done much to revert those thoughts in the mean time, but how long this good willsts, I can not im to know."


    "It''s fine, I don''t'' n on advertising what I''m doing. I''ll set up the proper defenses so nothing could get out of hand by ident."


    The Jarl epted my words, standing up. "Wilhelm, I am thankful for your honest words. I feel more at ease with you around, and I hope you will not take to heart any harmful things spoken about you in my city. You are weed here with my blessing."


    He held a hand out for a shake, I took it dly.


    "I''m d to help." I smiled as he gave me leave to head out.


    It was time to go visit my beautiful genie and get started on my home.


    ***


    Going to make a short trip to DxD to bring the house on over, and visit his little fox while he''s at it. I know some people don''t really care for Skyrim, so i was picking up the pace a little bit, making the chapters longer to get through it a little faster.


    Edit: Just wanted to address this because it''s been said several times now. Thorum isn''t stronger than Wilhelm. They had an arm wrestling contest without any kind of magic or enhancements not passive. Yes, Thorum who is a dragon in human form, who munched on atleast half a dozen dragon souls, is -physically- stronger than MC when he doesn''t use anything to boost himself up further.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 132 - 125

    <h4>Chapter 132: Chapter 125</h4>


    I made sure to find a secluded area before opening a portal, and walking to a new ce before repeating this a few times. I didn''t know what kind of schemes these Daedric Lords had, but I wasn''t going to risk anything on the off chance someone saw that I popped into Meridia''s realm.


    The familiar throne, which at this point I assumed was there for my own benefit. The metaphysical makeup of this realm was something I had troubleprehending in a physical sense, even with my absurd context involved. I could parse it in my head, to understand that I couldn''t understand it, but to see it with my eyes just threw me a loop.


    "Honey, I''m home." I gave her a bright smile, eyeing her milky white legs, crossed as she leaned back on her throne.


    Thankfully, I had a means to make sure I wasn''t icky afterst night, magically scrubbing away filth and any lingering smells of alcohol.


    Meridia looked at me, unamused. "You''re back." She simply replied.


    "Yeah, I just wanted to check up on Thorum and make sure he was good for now." I scratched my cheek. "I may have gotten a bit caught up though."


    "I could tell." She drawled.


    "Is something wrong?" I asked. She seemed a little....I don''t know if upset was the right word, and it didn''t seemed aimed at me in particr.


    She furrowed her brow, frowning a little. "It is nothing to concern yourself with."


    "Meridia." I gently called to her, walking up closer. It was cute how almost expectant she was when my hand reached out for hers. It was like she was trying to keep her stoic expression but was having trouble. With a little bit of effort, I managed to guide her off her throne and into my arms. "You can talk to me. Even if you just want to vent, I''m here for you." I pushed a few strands of hair away from her face that came loose in the sudden movement.


    One of those things I had to remember, she didn''t ''have'' anyone to talk to. Friends, family, lovers, I pretty much introduced her to all of these as a first, as far as I could tell. Atleast within the context that I would recognize these words as.


    She pursed her lips, a little bit of frustration clear on her face. "I am annoyed that the ....others were looking at you when you belong to me!" She hissed.


    "The other Daedric Lords?"


    She grunted in confirmation, opting to pull herself a little closer, head pushed against my chest. "Many of them were watching over the Dragonborn and then you when you came to aid him. I had to listen to their incessant prattling as they treated you as another of their ''things''."


    "Was it bad that I showed off Dawnbreaker? They should all know now that I belong to you." I kissed her forehead, doing what I could to make her feel at ease. She squeezed me a little harder when I confirmed that I was ''hers''. I knew the feeling, and I loved to hear those words just as well.


    "Of course." She said arrogantly. "You are mine." She looked up at me again. "And you are not allowed to approach those others. Do you hear me, Wilhelm Schweinorg? You are mine and those Divines, those Daedric Lords, you are not allowed to consort with them." She stated, leaving no room for retort.


    "Of course." I wasn''t put off by her possessiveness at all. "I am yours, and you are mine."


    "Good." She grumbled, sinking back down into me. "I''m happy." She her mumbling reaching my ears. "You used my sword in the open, and showed them that you are with me." She fully exined. "Thank you."


    "I just hope I didn''t cause you any trouble."


    "Nonsense, what trouble could you cause me. Only the bickering of those idiots in my ears, nothing more."


    Well, if she said so. "Were there a lot of higher powers watching?"


    "Many. What the people here know as the ''Divines'' and many of the Daedric Lords. The prophecy surrounding your friend has been many centuries in the making, since the Dawn of Nirn. His actions will dictate if this iteration of the world ends or not. A reset of the board, in their eyes, so they are paying apt attention to the ones involved." She carefully exined.


    "So that legend of Alduin ''eating'' the world is true then." I hummed.


    "Indeed, though he does not physically eat the."


    "I assumed not. But that raises another question, if he has the kind of ''strength'' to go through with a full eradication of the world, how could Thorum ever be a threat to him?"


    Meridia looked like she was deep in thought for a moment. "I am having trouble putting it into words you would understand. Hecks the...allowance right now."


    "Allowance...perhaps Authority would be a more urate term?" I offered. His situation was reminding me of Arcueids.


    She raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that would be more urate. Hecks the Authority to fully excavate the world from start to finish. Just as the Divines rule over aspects of Nirn, he too has his purpose and since he not currently fulfilling it, his strength is greatly diminished to something ''merely'' the eldest child of Akatosh."


    "Ah, I think I understand. For some reason or another, he''s not doing his job and so he doesn''t get the benefits thate with it. So instead of going full world ender, he''s something resembling a dragon demi-god. No godly ''authority'' that gives him an absolute autonomy over the."


    "That is a decent summarization. To delve further would require talking on ends about the conceptual and underlining principals of Nirn''s existence. Most of which would further require discourse on the birth of all creation.....from our perspective." I felt like she added thatst bit on the end due to knowing that her corner wasn''t everything there was.


    "So, Thorum beats Alduin, world is saved and continues to spin forever?"


    "No." She said curtly. "Alduin is eternal. He can be stopped, destroyed, in this era, and many following it after, but eventually he will return, as well another Dragonborn. It is a cycle; the prophecy dictates it will happen until it finally does. It could be trillions of years from now, but eventually, Alduin will end this world and another will take its ce."


    "All things have their end." I let out a sigh. "Even this universe will end at some point, when thest spark of life finally dies out and everything returns to the chaotic nothingness to be rebirthed into something new."


    "I had thought you would be more upset?" She looked at my oddly.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle. "I''ve seen universes die and be birthed an infinite amount of times in a single moment. It is simply the way of creation, I don''t know why, only that it simply is. I try to help where I can, when something goes bad right in front of me, but I''m not going to stop get upset about the natural order of everything." I pressed my forehead against hers, feeling the warmth of her breath against my cheek. "Does it bother you that I feel that way? That I don''t care that this universe will end along with everything in it at some point?"


    "It does not." Her reply surprisingly simple. "It is....refreshing, in a way. I am pleased that you have a wider perspective than most mortals"


    I felt her hand move up, lightly pressing against my head as she moved in for a kiss on her own ord. It was very weed as we share the passionate moment. My hands also moved, tracing the outline of her hips as I made my way down and felt the ample flesh of her butt. Giving it several good squeezes through her robes, our lips still locked.


    "Pervert." She mumbled, breaking out kiss. But I senses no hostility in her words, as if it was a means to settle her own spiking feelings. "How much longer do you intend to hold my rear?"


    "As long as you let me." I shot her a cheeky smile.


    "....If you wish to do so more often, I will not object."


    And suddenly my pants feel just a tad bit tighter.


    I made a promise to myself as I saw her slightly red face at my light touching. I was going to settle my house then I was going to take her fully. I was going to push her down and discover all the cute sounds she can make when we really get going.


    Having her hand run through my hair sent a shiver down my back. The way she was being intimate, it was getting harder and harder to resist.


    "I prefer your hair up like it was previously." She stated.


    I couldn''t help but sigh. It wasn''t as if her words were harmful, I also thought I looked better with my hari in a pony tail. "I lost my binding." I muttered. "Sc¨¢thach gave it to me."


    "....Do you miss her?" She asked quietly.


    "I do." I did not wish to hide my feelings from her, even if they were for my other girls. "I miss her every day."


    "Did you not say you have a way to bring her back?"


    "I do, but that will take some effort and I wished toe see you first." I pushed my head down into her chest with a groan. "And I''m still angry. I''m pissed at what she had me do, emotionally ckmailed me into doing, but I can''t stop caring for her. And I think I''m still wallowing, moping around." I sighed again, something bing normal in this moment. "Maybe this was good for me, it made me realize how much I was attached to something so simple, just because she casually handed it to me." It was a piece of cloth, and I treated it like a sacred treasure. Hell, I had many other things given to me by her, I didn''t need to obsess over it.


    I tilt my head up looking at me. "Sorry, didn''t mean to ramble about another of my girls when we were sharing a moment." I gave her another quick kiss. "Thanks for listening, though."


    "I am....happy that you are willing to share your sentiments with me, even if they are regarding your other women." Meridia didn''t even seem to be forcing it when she said that. She genuinly didn''t seem at all distressed about the prospect of other women. "I am surprised, you chose toe see me before bringing back your other woman?"


    "Do you think I don''t miss you when I''m away?" I gently poked her cheek. "I care for you just as much as them." Well, sometimes being told the obvious was needed for it to sink in.


    She made a cute sound, but didn''t otherwise respond. Instead, she reached out her hand into the void, grasping at something and pulling it through. "I believe this is what you lost."


    "What, how?" I looked at her in surprise.


    Her eyes turned away slightly. "I noticed you discarded it in your drunken stupor, so I grabbed it."


    "While I appreciate it, I did not expect you to care about something like this." I poked her lightly. "Meridia.....something you want to tell me?"


    "I merely....." She looked a little embarrassed. "Wished for a better way to keep track of you once you leave...to watch over you in some manner when not in this world."


    "You snuck a little something onto this, intended to give it back to me when I ''lost it''?" I rasied an eyebrow.


    "It sounds childish when you put it that way." She grumbled. ".....Are you angry?"


    "I''m not angry." I assured her. "I am...annoyed forck of a better term. I would have agreed without a second thought had you simply told me." I pulled her in for another hug. She must have felt a bit out of herfort zone when I talked about other worlds, making her think of doing something like this. And it wasn''t even a ''betrayal'' or anything like that. It was silly if anything, and it''s not like she was even stealing something from me. "What does it do?"


    "It merely allows me to witness your travels when you return, a piece of my power in there will sync back up with me and ry the information." She informed me.


    Ah. She can''t leave this universe on a whim, I don''t doubt she felt a little ''left out''.


    "You sill girl." I chuckled, leaning in and sharing another kiss with her. The little piece of cloth that Sc¨¢thach gave me. I happily took it, giving her a smile as I did my hair up as I always did. "How does it look?"


    I made a promise to stop kicking myself whenever she''s mentioned. I would be getting her back soon, I didn''t need to wallow in my own self pity.


    "eptable." She appeared happy that I willingly epted her ''meddling''.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle, my hands taking hers again. "You''re too good to me."


    "Yes, and do not forget it."


    "Cute." I squeezed her hands.


    "No one else would ever dare call me ''cute'' as flippantly as you do." She huffed. "If it was anyone else I would be very upset."


    "It''s my privilege as your man."


    "So, it is." She didn''t refute, epting my words. "Are you aware that Artoria and Rin had left that college of yours?"


    "I am, she sent me a message." I took out my phone to give her a look. "It''s a device used for long distancemunications. The origin is mundane in nature, but Rin was working on making it possible to use over world-lines in real time. I was going to have hermission a few more so you could contact me and vice versa."


    Meridia tilt her head, examining the device that must have been very strange in her eyes. "It reminds me of the of some contraptions those Dwenmer created." She hummed. "And you said that Rin Tohsaka was the one who created this device, that she could make more?"


    "Yes...is it something you want?"


    "Indeed." She said without hesitation. "I shall see about procuring one myself, I am sure I can provide sufficient payment."


    Did she want to reach out without my intervention? Was she trying to establish a sort of rtionship with the people in my life? The thought made my heart beat a little bit faster. "Would it be possible to keep an eye on them while they''re out and about?"


    "Do you fear for their safety? From what I had spoken with Artoria about, she is very strong, rtively. Not many things can harm her outside of.....things like me. I dare say that even Alduin would be surprised if he tried to attack her without proper nning."


    That''s true, an Excalibur to the face would give him some second thoughts.


    "I''ll always fear for their safety. But, I just want to make sure no one outside interferes, if possible. My biggest fear is that someone like Mg Bal taking an interest."


    She tensed at the mention of his name, a scowl on her face. "If he attempts to touch them, I will personally disabuse him of that notion."


    "I would also express my...displeasure." While I knew I would not be a match for him in his realm, I was sure I could make him suffer even if it cost me my life.


    Seemingly wanting to change the subject, Meridia spoke up again. "What do you want to do now?" She asked. "If you wish to stay here.....I will not be annoyed for as long as you decide to remain."


    Why are you so cute?


    "I have some errands I have to run." I gave an apologetic smile, cupping her cheek. "I want to set up my house to connect over multiple worlds. Should I be sessful, we won''t be too far apart for long periods of time."


    She blinked at that, processing what I said. "I will have to see what you wish to create."


    "I need to go speak with Jinn, she''s crucial for this part, then hop over to my birth world. I may take a day or so as I check in on my daughter, but otherwise I''m focusing on getting this finished."


    "Your daughter." Meridia mumbled. "Would it be.....can I possibly meet her?"


    "I''m sure Kunou would like to meet her Aunt Meridia." Iughed, sweeping her up close again, much to her chagrin. I think the thought of Kunou calling her Auntie made her flush. "A glimpse into the future? I bet Kunou would love some siblings." I whispered.


    "D-don''t speak nonsense." That had a critical effect on her. "I am incapable of producing with you." She turned away in a huff.


    "Are you sure about that? That there is no way, even outside of this universe that could provide the means?" I raised an eyebrow.


    She paused at that, a sh of realization dawning on her. "Are you saying.....?"


    "I can''t im anything right now, but in the future.....if it''s possible, I always thought having a big family would be nice.....if you wouldn''t be against it, I don''t want to force anything on you."


    She had a look simr to the one when I first broke her world view with my origins. " A child....me?"


    Ah, I think she''s lost in her own thoughts. Perhaps it was wrong to tease her like this, even if I wasn''t sincere in my thoughts. "Meridia, thoughts forter." I pulled on her gently, snapping her from her thoughts.


    "Right." She nodded. "We can discuss thister." She agreed, apparently pushing down those feelings she was having moment prior. "Go, deal with your chores. I shall await your return to inspect whatever it is you wish to aplish."


    I pulled her hand up and gave it a light kiss. "I''ll be back soon."


    "Leave." She huffed.


    "Oh, are you kicking me out?" Iughed, opening a portal to the college.


    She pursed her lips, kicking me through likest time.


    "I will be upset if you dillydally for too long." Her words reached me as the surroundings of her realm changed to that of snow and mountains.


    I stood up, the snow cushioning my fall right outside the college gates. "That woman." I couldn''t help but smile. She really knew how to make my heart flutter.


    Walking through the nostalgic halls, the fact that the Archmage didn''t pop over was probably a good thing. Not that I didn''t enjoy hispany, but there was probably no pressing concerns he needed to speak to me about.


    I paused, seeing a familiar face sitting on a bench in the courtyard, spellbook in one hand, apple in the other. He looked up in surprise and greeted me with a smile. "My friend, it has been awhile."


    "Enthir, it''s been too long." I replied with a polite greeting. We weren''t ''friends'' but we were friendly. "What''s the word on the street?" I sat down next to him.


    "Word on the street?" He repeated, an amused smile on his face. "Interesting phrasing. I have heard some particrly noteworthy rumors as ofte."


    "Rumors, huh?" I could read between the lines. He''s telling me he has some hot info for sale. "And what are the basis of these rumors?"


    "Something about Nightingales, Thalmor appearing in droves, and the Dragonborn over in Whiterun." He gave me a brief overview.


    I tapped my chin. He clearly hasn''t received word of my involvement yet. I guess messages are a little slowed due to the situation around the provenance right now. "Tell me of the Thalmor."


    "The Thalmor" .Even Enthir had to stop himself from scowling. "The Thalmor have supposedly been reported approaching every Jarl that still sides with the Empire. Even my....ears are having trouble getting the details. But so far, only Jarl Balgruuf had been seen kicking the emissaries out of his territory."


    "Interesting. Any idea why?"


    "Well, I may have heard they suggested something about taking the Dragonborn ''under their wing'', in less polite words."


    Yeah, that would do it. What worries me is the fact that the Thalmor are out in force in about half of Skyrim. Something to look out for.


    "And these Nightingales?" I only new the vaguest information, but they were associated with a Daedric Lord, so I wanted to know a bit more just in case.


    "Curious lot. Not much is known beyond legends, but reports of individuals that match the descriptions have been seen in the towns that used to be near Riften."


    "Nightingales, champions of Nocturnal, the patron of thieves, and they appeared near the remains of the thieves guild. What a coincidence." I deadpanned.


    "Quite." He seemed just as amused.


    "Anything to be worried about?"


    "They seem to be going after high value targets, stealing from the rich who can afford the loss, and making it very public to boost their reputation."


    "That''s some interesting insight for mere ''rumors''. Almost as if you were intentionally spreading them." I still remembered how he apparently got in contact with the Thieves Guild so easilyst time.


    "Oh, I''m but a humble purveyor of goods."


    "Of questionable origin." I added.


    Heughed, not even shying away from my insinuation. "Any other information you wish to obtain, or perhaps any good you want?"


    "Well, I had some thoughts, but with the situation around Skyrim, I don''t know if it''s feasible when supplies are being routed to protect towns and cities."


    Enthir let out a small sigh. "Even I gave up arge portion of my supply to help the effort around Skyrim. Stores of weapons and armor are pointless if Skyrim is burned down in dragon fire."


    "Well, I guess it couldn''t hurt to ask." I shrugged. "I''m looking for two things. First, I want staves, magical obviously, but a very specific kind."


    "Powerful Staves are hard toe by, mages guard them jealously." He pointed out.


    "Well, I''m not looking for the powerful variant, atleast what you''re assuming." I corrected. "I want the ones that are imbued with singr spells opposed to enhancing a mage''s magics."


    There are basically two types of staves here. Ones that act as magical foci, like the Staff of Magnus and enhance your spells by existing and being used. And ones that are imbued with a singr spell, like say a fireball. To be cast without dipping into your own magical power, and can be recharged with a soul stone. They are....not as popr as the first iteration, but they have a purpose, mostly for novices when they''re out adventuring.


    "An interesting request. Such a thing can usually be picked up in any kind of general store, why are youing to me?" He seemed confused.


    "I want them inrge quantities. All of them atleast imbued with a mid-level spell, with no upper limit on quality from there. As many as you can get." I thought it over. "I guess I''m adding a third thing to the list, I''ll need soul stones, but they aren''t a priority right now, especially with the supply issues in these times."


    "The staves are feasible, if an odd request. But, yes, soul stones are in short supply with trying to arm every hand in Skyrim with some enchanted steel." He nodded at my statement. "What was thest thing you required?"


    "Simr to the staves, I want Magic Scrolls."


    "Curious." He tapped his cheek. "Magic Scrolls are not very popr. They are generally more powerful than the staff variant even if they serve the same purpose. Not to mention they are rather expensive inparison, and they require a slit bit of magicka to invoke, making them not very popr outside of mages even more. I have quite a few strong ones stored, and I know how to acquire more, but they will not be cheap."


    "Get them all." I said without a second thought.


    "Well, I do like to hear those words." He smiled brightly.


    "I''m sure." I snorted, a small smile formed on my face as well. "What do I owe you for the information?"


    "Well, I wouldn''t mind forgoing it, a friends discount." He looked at me expectantly.


    "Hmm, and what does my ''friend'' want to know?"


    "Why, as your friend, I know nothing about you. Would you be as kind as to tell me about yourself?"


    "Really, am I a hot topic right now?"


    "Hot topic? What ever do you mean, Red Dragon Emperor." He deadpanned.


    I rolled my eyes at hisment. I though it over, deciding on what to basically reveal to the world. "The dragonborn recently acquired a new weapon. Supposedly it is very attuned for killing dragons, one could say it''s their natural enemy, courtesy of his friend."


    "Now, that is particrly interesting." Enthir grinned. "I''m sure many people would be enticed by where such a weapon could be procured in these troubling times."


    It was going to be revealed eventually, may as well benefit from it, and I would rather people focus on me than Thorum.


    "I think that should be sufficient?"


    "Certainly." He nodded.


    "Stay safe, Enthir, it''s crazy out there right now." I pat him on the shoulder, getting up from my seat. I had ns, most importantly was to make sure my home was going to be extremely well defended, especially of my Jinn was going to be looking after it.


    There were a few more faces I saw, but none I was really on good terms with, merely sharing a word or two with in the past. I didn''t see Tolfdir anywhere, but the Archmage said he was in good health, I could only assume he was busy with important matters.


    The spiral staircase leading up to the library was the same as I remembered, and the doors to the grand room were pushed open with haste. I was greeted at the beautiful sight of books upon books all around me.


    Urag looked up from behind his desk, giving me a grunt of acknowledgement, before ignoring my existence.


    A few books floating around in the corner told me where I needed to go. I happily eyed my beautiful genie in the corner, sorting books at an impressive speed.


    I didn''t manage to sneak up on her, as I got close she saw me out of the corner of her eye, but I wrapped her up all the same. "Miss me?" I kissed her cheek.


    "Wilhelm~" She giggled, letting go of the books in her hands.


    "How''ve you been?" I put my chin on her shoulder.


    "Amazing!" She beamed. "This is so wonderful, so many books and I can read them all whenever I want!"


    Seeing her so excited really set me at ease. "Good, as long as you''re happy." I had to resist the urge to nom her ear again, the way they twitched at her excitement was too adorable.


    "Did you need me for something." Her expression turned sultry. "Or do you ''need'' me?"


    Soon, I''ll make you regret those words when you can''t walk under your own strength.


    "I was going to set up my house, it''s finally time to get that sorted."


    "Oh..." She looked depressed, and I think she was misunderstanding this.


    "Hey, hey." I booped her nose. "None of that, you aren''t going to be confined anywhere, nor will your ''life'' change. I had the calctions going already, you just need to go spend about 8 hours every three days there to keep it all up and running, otherwise you can take the Lamp with you whenever you want to go somewhere." I did take her life into consideration. I was going to finagle something to support the ce on a temporary measure when she wasn''t around. The Lamp acting like a battery that reaffirmed the anchors when she came back, and charged them up which would take about 8 hours since I knew she couldn''t move too far away from hermp.


    "That''s it?"


    "That''s all." I nodded.


    "...promise?" She asked very quietly.


    "I promise." I reassured her. Maybe the thought of having her hopes dashed at this point made her a little hesitant. "Why don''t I show you where I was born." I offered. "We can even go meet my daughter."


    Among a few other errands. I wanted arge amount of Talisman making supplies to go along with the Staves and Scroll I was purchasing.


    She perked up at that. "I get to see where you were born?" She seemed genuinely enthused.


    "Yup, and once I get everything done, you can visit over there whenever you want."


    "Let''s go!" She happily fidgeted in my arms.


    "Ahem." A gruff voice grabbed our attention. Both Jinn and I turned around to see who was there.


    "Uh.....sorry for being loud?" I offered the stern looking orc as he looked very unamused by our noise.


    He narrowed his eyes. "Are you leaving?" He asked, though I think the question was directed towards Jinn.


    "I am." Jinn just nodded.


    "Hmm, did you finish organizing the history books about the founding of the empire?"


    "In alphabetical order, with an emphasis on partiality"


    "The Enchanting tomes?"


    "Done."


    "Fire Destruction spells?"


    "Done, and I already started on the Ice ones as well." Jinn said smugly.


    Urug just grunted, turning his attention back to me. "If anything happens to her, I''ll snap you like a twig." He threatened before walking away.


    I just blinked, looking at Jinn. "Did you get adopted?" He felt like a protective father.


    "Maybe?" She seemed bewildered as well.


    ***


    April Fools Omake Non Canon (Obviously) Screw the Rules.


    "Wilhelm, are you sure about this?" Thorum looked at me with clear worry in his eyes.


    "The Dragonborn speaks true, Wilhelm." The Jarl also spoke up. "This is a fool''s endeavor. Alduin is unmatched, he has defeated an uncountable number of warriors over the years, none who faced him could evene close to defeating him."


    "I''ve prepared long and hard for this." I put a hand on Thorum''s shoulder. "I have trained and sought out the best teachers."


    They were right though. Alduin was a monster, to face him, I would need every advantage I could get. I didn''t like my chances if I were to be honest, but I had to do something.


    "What is your n?" Thorum asked.


    "I''ll y on his pride, challenge him to a duel."


    "Aye, that will grab his attention." Thorum didn''t argue. "But are you sure you have everything you need? We have many strong and powerful ¨C "


    I cut him off. "Thorum." I sped his shoulders again. "Believe in me."


    Thorum didn''t speak and just nodded his head. "I will await your victory then, my friend."


    With onest goodbye, I departed from them, making my way outside the walls of Whiterun.


    "ALDUIN." I roared up to the heavens, a massive ck dragon answered my calls as it roared in acknowledgement,nding only a few feet away from me.


    "PRETENDER." It shouted in a tongue I could recognize. "HAVE YOU COME TO DIE?"


    "I will face you, Alduin." I countered. "You and me, a duel to settle the face of this world."


    The dragon bellowed out augh. "YOU WISH TO DUEL ME, PITIFUL CREATURE? AMUSING. I SHALL ACCEPT."


    "Let the divines witness this covenant!" I shouted to the sky. "The loser will forfeit the rights of this world, never to meddle in its affairs again."


    As if agreeing to my request, lighting crackled in the sky.


    "Hmph." His voice lowered. "So be it." He practically scoffed. "And what shall ourpetition intail. Do you wish test your pitiful Thu''um against mine?" He mocked. "Or will test your steel against my de? Perhaps you want to try and ovee me with your magic." He seemed rather amused by himself.


    "Oh, if you''re so confident, how about letting me choose our method ofbat?" I eyed him, goading his pride.


    "Hmph, why not." The dragon practically disregarded me. "Let this world witness your failure as, it matters not. By the end of this day, a false dragon will be destroyed."


    "Well then." I held out my arm, a metallic contraption appearing, lights flickering all around it. "It''s time to duel!" I shouted, sliding my deck of cards into my duel disk. Holographic enablers shout out around us to initiate the duel monsters battle.


    Alduin just stared at me, confusion written all over his face. "....what?"


    ***


    Honestly, forgot about April Fools until i was reminded in Discord and just thought of something stupid like this. I probably won''t have time to do anything tomorrow beyond my normal writing since i''ll be really busy with work.


    Anyways, next chapter foxy mom and daughter make an appearance. MC sets up his house, finally and makes sure it''s well defended.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my  / astoryforone.

 Chapter 133 - 126

    <h4>Chapter 133: Chapter 126</h4>


    I walked out of my portal, my houseing into view and a beautiful women being carried in my arms. Her feet kicked in the air happily, arms around my neck to support herself, and a bright smile on her face.


    She curiously surveyed the area, taking in everything around her, every new piece of information that provided her with a sense of fulfillment.


    "This is your home?" Jinn asked.


    "It''s my house, and the world I was born to." I replied.


    "You don''t consider it your home then?" She cutely tilt her head up at me.


    "I don''t suppose I do. If it wasn''t for a few people here, I would not have an emotional investment in this world, merely keeping an eye on it due to a sense of duty." I lips thinned into a small line as I looked over the ce. "I need to actually get furniture and stuff now that I think about."


    She pat my shoulder, gesturing for me to let her down as I walked through the door. There was no point in locking it, if someone could get past my magical protections, what would a locked wooden door do?


    "It''s empty." She deadpanned.


    "I said I haven''t gotten any furniture."


    She gave me an unamused look. "And you expect me to spend long periods of time here?"


    "Um.....you can do whatever you want with it?" I offered.


    She pursed her lips before giving a small grunt. "Fine. Show me what you want to do."


    I led her to where I had my little mechanism set up. "So, I have the calctions done, mostly. It works in theory but I haven''t tested it beyond just this world. Yourmp is both going to act as an ''battery'' not in the magical power sense, but something to ''charge'' the Anchorage. To make sure the house never tilts off its dimensional axis."


    "I don''t know the underlining principals, but I understand what you want to achieve. To do this would require an obscene amount of magical energy." She tapped her cheek. "From what I''ve seen with your Magic, so far, it can potentially pull on a near infinite amount, how will you sustain that flow when you''re away?"


    I blinked at her well-reasoned question. "Did I ever tell you that I find your impressive magical knowledge extremely attractive?"


    "No, but I very much enjoy thepliment." She beamed. "But you didn''t answer the question." She gently poked me.


    "Right, right." I focused. "It''s actually not too hard....rtively speaking. Basically, since the house is stretched and oveid across so many world-lines, I can make use of that connection to siphon magical energy from each world it passes through. Normally, to do something like that, I would have to directly manipte it, but since the house itself will be existing in multiple ces, it removes the need for my presence."


    "I understand." She nodded, and it seemed genuine. "I wouldn''t know where to begin if you wanted me to look over your calctions, I will simply trust you on this for now."


    "I''ll be making sure everything is safe, and I''ll be adding an obscene amount of defenses here just in case."


    "I do appreciate the thought, but I am quite powerful."


    "Even if you were as strong as Meridia...that wouldn''t stop me from worrying."


    She let out a small huff, annoyance on her face. "If you continue to be this sweet to me, I''m not going to wait until you''re ready and pull you into the nearest bed myself." She grumbled something I didn''t quite make out. "I see what needs to be done, but it shouldn''t take very long to aplish. What else did you wish to do while we''re here?"


    "Visit a couple people." Was missing my Daughter.


    "Would you like to me to stay here....?


    I booped her nose. "Don''t be silly, you''re a part of my life so I want you to know everyone else that is as well."


    She just giggled, holding her arms out. "Well?"


    I couldn''t help but smile, sweeping her off her feet again. She really seemed to like physical contact. "Let''s go see my daughter." I opened another portal and walked back through towards Yasaka''s home.


    ***


    "Daddy!" I turned to see the target of my affection, her fluffy tails swaying happily and her ears twitching on her head.


    I turned to the side to see Yasaka gesturing to some guards who looked ready to attack. They quickly backed off when they realized we weren''t a threat, or they recognized me from before.


    Jinn was already standing next to me and I kneeled on the ground as a fox shaped missile fired into my arms.


    "My little fox, how''ve you been?" My hands easily wrapped around her, hugging her tight.


    "I missed you." She mumbled into my chest, gripping my shirt.


    "I missed you too." I couldn''t help but smile brightly at her antics. I got a good look at her as she pulled away. "Look at you, have you gotten taller?" I pat her head, her ears twitching. She swiped my hand away in embarrassment, causing me to chuckle. "Have you been good for your mother?"


    "I''ve been good." The way she said it betrayed her words.


    "Have you now?" Yasaka finally walked up. I eyed her for a moment, she seemed a tad different. Thest time I saw her, her breasts were on full disy and barely held back by her kimono with an air of flirtation about her, but she looked a lot more reserved right now. "Why don''t you tell your daddy what happened while he was away, hmm?" Yasaka lightly chided her daughter.


    "It was an ident." Kunou looked at the ground.


    "Hey, it''s okay." I put my hand on her shoulder. "Just tell me what happened?"


    "I was practicing my Fox Fire and....." She pouted. "I idently burnt down a building." She looked away. "So mom grounded me."


    "Kunou, we talked about this. I didn''t ground you because you idently burnt the building down. I grounded you because you lied to me about it." Yasaka''s tone was soft, even as she reprimanded Kunou.


    I shared a look with Yasaka, one of exasperation returned to me. "Kunou." I grabbed her attention again. "idents happen, they''re going to happen again. But you have to own up to them. I''ve made many mistakes in my life, we all do, it''s apart of growing up. As long as you learn from them, and ept responsibility, then it''s okay."


    "You''re not mad?" She asked quietly.


    "Sweetie, I''m not mad." I reassured her, gaining another hug.


    Was she afraid I would be disappointed or angry at her for this? Kids don''t really think things through logically at this age, shit like this was going to happen again, and they probably think getting their parents upset is the worst thing in the world and just act without thinking in an attempt to avoid that.


    I flipped my hand over, hiding behind Kunou''s back so only Yasaka could see. I revealed a little hair ornament, tasteful in design without being too fancy. It boasted a little bit of splendor in the form of red leaves, reminiscence of the Forever Fall forest from when I went shopping around Vale in my free time. She looked at it inquisitively and I gestured to Kunou. She realized what I was getting as she rolled her eyes with a small smile and nodded to me.


    "My little fox, I have a present for you." I gentle broke the hug, bringing the piece of jewelry out infront of her.


    "It''s pretty." She reached out to touch it.


    "Would you like to try It on?" I offered.


    "Yes!" She happily replied.


    I smiled as I pushed a few bangs out of the way, helping her set it into her hair. It really didpliment her yellow eyes and the highlights at the tips of her blonde hair.


    I waived my hand, forming a small bit of water to act as a mirror so she could see it.


    "Kunou, what do you say?" Yasaka was quick to make sure Kunou didn''t get lost in her own thoughts.


    "Thank you, daddy!"


    "Of course." Iughed, rubbed her ears for a moment. Standing up, I looked over to Jinn who had patiently been waiting at my side for a few minutes now. "I believe I should introduce mypanion."


    Yasaka gave a good natured smile. "Another one of your harem members?"


    "Yes." Jinn replied without a hint of shame, maybe even happy at the title.


    Yasaka raised an eyebrow, not expecting the tant response it seems.


    "This is Jinn." I snuck my hand into hers. "She''s my woman."


    "Jinn, like the ones from the middle east?" Yasaka looked at my blue genie inquisitively. "Are you named after your species?"


    "I''m not one of those." Jinn replied without any offense. "I''m actually an Artifact Spirit. My creators simply had a sense of humor, it seems."


    "Oh my." She looked at the very obvious miniaturemps around Jinn''s neck. "I admit, I''ve never seen an Artifact spirit so.....life like." Yasaka looked a little more curious about Jinn, but it appeared she held herself back from further questions. "I''m Yasaka, I rule over half the Youkai in Japan. And this little hellion, is my daughter." Yasaka scooped up Kunou, much to Kunou''s fidgeting.


    "Are you my auntie?" The little fox asked.


    Jinn looked surprised by the question, but quickly recovered. "Yes, yes I am." She looked genuinely enthused at the idea. I couldn''t fault her, the idea of ''family'' was probably something that never crossed her mind before. And here Kunou was dering her an ''auntie''.


    "Your skin is very pretty." Kunou looked at Jinn with interest.


    "Why, thank you, little one. Your tails and ears are quite cute as well." Jinn giggled.


    "C-can I touch...?"


    Jinn knelt down next to her, holding her hand up. Kunou reached out and touched her for a moment.


    This was probably one of the most heartwarming things I''ve ever seen in my life. I looked at Yasaka and she smiled back at me, if her expression was anything to go by, she shared my sentiment.


    ***


    "So, how''s Izzy?" I lifted up a Tea cup to my mouth, enjoying a small sip as we shared a table in a quaint little courtyard.


    "She''s doing well. She visited about... a week ago? That was before Kunou decided that ying with fire inside a wooden building was a good idea." Yasaka deadpanned.


    I chuckled, setting down my Tea cup. "Maybe I should drop in before I leave." I mused.


    "I think she said something about meeting up with some other gods?" Yasaka didn''t sound to sure. "When are you leaving, exactly?"


    Ah, I think Izzy did say something about meeting up with the other death gods thest time we chatted. "Few hours, actually." I answered.


    "So soon?" She frowned slightly.


    "Unfortunately, but I''ll be sure to keep dropping by whenever I have time." I eyed Jinn and Kunou out of the corner of my eye. They wereying down on the ground, a few books open infront of them. Apparently, Jinn was helping Kunou with her homework.


    Fucking adorable.


    "Good." Yasaka simply stated. "Kunou would hate for you to be gone too long."


    "Would she be the only one?" I raised an eyebrow, a small smile on my face.


    "No." Yasaka surprisingly didn''t adopt her flirtatious attitude. "I enjoy having you around. You have done.....many things for me that I can''t even begin to exin how grateful I am for. And above all else.....you make my ¨C our daughter happy." She corrected with a small sigh. "Maybe I just didn''t realize how much she had withdrawn into herself over the years, whether you were merely a catalyst or a happenstance, your presence makes her happier."


    "I would be lying if I said it wasn''t surprising for me to suddenly feel so protective of her, to see her as my daughter." I wasn''t blind to what happened. "Maybe it was something both of us needed."


    "Well, whatever the reason.... " Her lips curled up. "You''re stuck with her, with us."


    I mirrored her expression. "I guess I am." And I didn''t have an issue with that. "That reminds me, how''s everything after the attack?"


    She let out a groan, slumping in her chair. "A hassle." She scowled. "Many ns shouting and arguing over the most inane things while we try to reconstruct with minimal difficultly and cost."


    "Would I be overstepping If I offered help?" She was a ruler, I didn''t want to imply anything by an offer of aid.


    "You''re sweet to offer, but there isn''t much you can do, bar beating up the idiots in my court.....which I am close to authorizing." She giggled. "Ironically enough, Arthur had been a big help to sort some things out."


    "Arthur, really?" I''m embarrassed to admit I kind of forgot about him as he was more Artoria''s pet project.


    "Some stray Youkai acting up or causing issues. He''d go in and settle the issues along with an odd mission here or there." Yasaka exined.


    "Artoria will be pleased he''s doing his job." I nodded. "What are your thoughts on him so far?"


    "I don''t want to stomp his face into the dirt every time I see him anymore, I believe that is a good sign." She snorted.


    "Well, I don''t expect you to ever like the kid." I shrugged.


    "I''m.....pleased, I suppose, with how it turned out. He''s not a bad kid, I understand that, but with Kunou being targeted, even if he didn''t act directly, I don''t'' know if I can ever forgive him."


    "You don''t need to exin yourself to me. You''re under no obligation to forgive him, doing what you''ve done already is merciful. Artoria just felt responsible for hi due to their....connection."


    "Hmm, how is Artoria I haven''t had a chance to chat with her much." She idly asked.


    "Good." I smiled. "She''s out on an adventure with Rin, acting as her sword."


    "I do hope theye and visit sometime. I want to properly thank them for keeping Kunou upied during that period."


    "Rin would love toe by, and Artoria as well. But Grandfather is....difficult to get away from his work."


    "You human mages, always so busy." She let out a smallugh. "I do wonder where that even was, the ce felt so strange. I could only assume it was some small realm somewhere remote."


    I just hummed, not answering that question. "I''m only half human." I corrected.


    "You know what I mean." She rolled her eyes. "Jinn also seems to be getting along well with Kunou....I truly did luck out with you, didn''t I?"


    "I think Kunou captured Jinn the moment she called her ''Auntie''." Iughed.


    "Oh my, that look on her face." Yasaka cupped her cheek. "I wish I had a camera when that happened."


    "It''s the first time she''s ever had anything resembling the concept of a family." I sighed. "She lived her entire existence inside the Artifact. She''s much older than you think, so please be gentle with her with these things."


    Yasaka cast Jinn a warm look. "If you brought her near our daughter, I''m more than willing to trust your judgement, and so far, she has been nothing short of exemry towards Kunou. I wonder if your other women will be as taken with her?"


    "Well, Meridia did express her desire to meet my daughter, maybe in the future." I could easily picture Meridia getting flustered at the cute floof.


    "Meridia, huh? I wonder how many you have right now." Yasaka gave a sly look.


    "Counting Jinn, four." It wasn''t really a secret. "You''ve met Artoria already."


    "Hmm, hopefully it will be five soon." She grinned.


    I blinked, it was different than her usual flirtations. "You really are forward." "


    "Do you dislike it?" She asked.


    I paused, giving it some thought. "No, I can''t say that I do."


    "Good." She calmly reached out, taking a sip of her own Tea. "Then I''m going to pursue you."


    "P-pardon?" I was startled at her sudden deration.


    "I''m going to pursue you. You have many things I like in a partner, and you''re already Kunou''s father. What more could I ask for?"


    "I...don''t know how to respond." Is this how my own girls felt?


    [Get a taste of your own medicine!]


    Fuck off.


    [You finally met your match.] Ddraigughed inside my soul.


    I just ignored him.


    "You don''t need to reply. I just wanted you to know for now." Yasaka gave a small smile beret of any kind of insincerity.


    [Just so you know, you''re blushing.]


    Fuck you, I am not!


    Atleast.....I hope I''m not.


    Though, by the looks Yasaka is giving me.....fuck.


    Is this what it''s like on the other side of the fence?


    ***


    We said our goodbyes and began heading back. My little Kunou not wanting to let me go, and I had trouble releasing her as well.


    Yasaka was.....I don''t know.


    How was I supposed to take that? I''ve never been on the receiving end like this before, and I was having trouble responding appropriately.


    I pushed my rampant emotions down for now. There would be time to sort them outter.


    Jinn hummed happily, in fact, I don''t think I''ve ever seen her quite so joyful before. This surpassed the looks she gave when surrounded by the books in the library this was more....heartfelt.


    "Kunou''s a sweetheart, isn''t she?"


    Jinn turned to me, wide grin on her face. "I have a Niece." She giggled to herself, clearly taking the role to heart.


    "Well, soon we''ll have it so you can visit more often." I opened the door to our home. "Lets get started, put yourmp on the pedestal so we can begin."


    She did as I asked, her own magics ring up and analyzing the situation for added precautions. Hermp inserted easily enough, and my calctions seemed to hold strong as I pushed on the Kaleidoscope to begin stretching the boundary.


    "Now, hold it here and I''ll connect to the point over in Skyrim."


    "Be careful." She reached out tugging my sleeve.


    While not that dangerous, her sentiment was appreciated. I leaned forward, stealing her lips for a brief moment and gave her a reassuring smile. "Just give me a second and we''ll get this finally settled."


    "I''ll wait for you." She said warmly, standing guard over hermp.


    I gave her onest look before departing back to Skyrim, the view of Whiteruning into focus, a little in the distance. Flipping my hand over, I took out the parchment that the Jarl gave me, a rough estimation of mynd. While it was a fair bit, I only needed a small portion right now, and rough idea of where to plop my house down.


    Thankfully, there was a crude map drawn on it with somendscape to show where I could put it.


    I surveyed the area briefly, looking for the ttest piece ofnd with a good area to expand from I the future.


    Holding my hands up, I mentally did some calctions on dimensions to see how it would fit.


    Mountains behind, Whiterun in the distance, and no close neighbors. It was a good spot.


    Alrighty then, lets get started.


    Mirage in my hand, I stabbed it into the ground. My hands pulsed with magical energy as I began to expand the Dimensional Refraction Phenomena, reaching out towards the world line that housed Jinn. For someone experienced with this kind of Magic, her Anchor, her existent was a little like a beacon, intentional on my part for now so I could easily identify her.


    Pressing against the Eye of Magnus at the end of my de, I expanded a full three dimensional view of my various calctions and spell equations. Everything that was happening inside the Eye, everything that was currently being processed I was looking over for any anomalies.


    A magicalputer was the most apt description for this trinket that sat on the end of my sword.


    With everything set and having double checked it all, I began.


    Ironically, what I was actually doing was a bit....stupid, despite the absurd nature of my magical prowess being used.


    I was basically just grabbing a corner of the house, and dragging in through an invisible funnel so it touched down here in this world line, then nail it in ce across the world-lines so it wouldn''t budge. Jinn''smp acting as a sort of hammer that pushes the nails back in every time she puts hermp in ce.


    I was including fail safes, that if the ''nails'' came undone, the house would be pulled back to my birth world safely. Actually I made that a defense mechanism, ast resort for Jinn if all else failed, along with anyone else in the house at the time.


    I pped my hand and the bright lights shined out around me. Visibly, a house appeared on thend infront of me, bing less and less ethereal with every passing moment until it was truly reaffirmed on this world-line.


    Letting out a long breath, I admired my work before going to check on Jinn. Her happy expression telling me everything I need to know.


    "It worked?" She asked.


    "Come outside and see for yourself." I offered, stepping out of the door way.


    She peeked outside, the Skyrim weather hitting her right in the face.


    "I have a question."


    "Yes?"


    "How am I supposed to get to the College from here?"


    I raised my finger up before stopping.


    Oh, I forgot about that.....she can''t simply open portals everywhere like I can.


    "Woops." I awkwardlyughed, scratching my head. "Well, It shouldn''t be too hard to find somend near the college I can buy."


    ***


    Littlete because i got home superte from work. I didn''t have time to do any april fools omake like i thought, so sorry for that. So, Mc meets momma and daughter fox. Momma fox scores a critical hit and Kunou has a new auntie.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 134 - 127

    <h4>Chapter 134: Chapter 127</h4>


    "Wilhelm."


    My hand stopped as I looked up to see who spoke. "Oh, hey Jinn." I was caught off guard by a yawn oveing me.


    "You''ve been working for over a day now, you need to stop." Jinn crossed her arms, staring at me intently.


    "It''s fine, I''m a half-devil I can do this for awhile." I started moving my brush again. Dozens of stacks of Talismans all stood around me.


    She walked over, yanking the brush from my hands. "No." She said sternly.


    "Aren''t I supposed to be the Master here?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Do I have to tell Meridia?" Jinn threatened.


    I opened my mouth but shut it. "Fine." I scowled, leaning back in my chair. I took another look around, there were quite a few Talismans ready for use, more than I''ve ever had before. Letting out another yawn, I checked the time with a surprised blink. I guess hearing how long it''s been and actually seeing it was the difference between it sinking in or not.


    Maybe I was working too long.


    Mental exhaustion is still a thing even if I didn''t suffer from any physical ailments from theck of sleep.


    "I guess I''m lucky I have you looking out for me." I smiled.


    "And don''t you forget it." She grinned.


    "Wait." I just realized. "What''s this about Meridia, how would you even contact her?" From what I know, they hadn''t met yet.


    "We chat." She said simply, a smile that shouted ''I know more than you''.


    Huh.


    "Well then....do I dare ask what about?"


    "Any random thing." She moved over, plopping herself in myp. "Thest time she stopped by for a few minutes, we spoke at length about animals. She professed that she had a little pond of ducks she kept hidden away that she sometimes visits to feed. I told her about some animals native to Remnant but not here."


    "That is painfully adorable."


    "I expected something like the brothers. I was pleasantly surprised with how Meridia treated me. I enjoy her presence very much." Jinn admitted.


    "I''m d you''re both getting along." I enjoyed the warmth she brought as my arms wrapped around her and my head rest on her shoulder. It was amusing that despite her body looking as if it was water, it didn''t feel any different than normal skin.


    "She even invited me to see her realm. Apparently, there are many different creatures there that are not native to Nirn."


    "Huh.....I''ve only been to a small little area." Now that I think about it, she should have much more in her realm, not just a throne on a floating little ind. Well, I''m sure she didn''t want any of those she ruled over to see her being teased by me. "I''m going to need to give her a key as well." It was in the shape of a key, but it did more than just unlock the front door.


    It basically checked her into the various bounded fields I had up, and stopped any magical protections from going off.


    With everything I set up so far, I feel confident that not even Meridia could spy in here without me noticing. She could easily tear through the defenses if she wanted, but no peeping without my knowledge.


    Well, I didn''t really care if she did, but It was pretty much all or nothing. She will be able toe and go as she wishes.


    "Got any ns?" I closed my eyes, feeling her beating heart and movements of her breathing. I wondered if she actually needed to breath or was ''created'' to act as a normal human but wouldn''t actually suffer if she stopped.


    "I have a few more sections I need to organize in the library." She I felt her hand gently y with my hair. "I also have some books set to the side for when I''m done." Her little giggle was always pleasing to my ears.


    "The temporary ''door'' in the college is working fine?"


    "Mmm, I haven''t had any troubles and the Archmage was a help in keeping that closest clear."


    "He didn''t ask any questions?" I was a little surprised.


    "I offered him an exnation based on what your told me was fine to reveal. He responded with ''It''s more fun to figure it out myself''."


    "That....sounds like him." I didn''t even question it. The Archmage was entric but a very good person.


    Basically, I requisitioned a random closet in a far off corner that was stricken with dust and cobwebs to be a temporary anchor while I find somewhere to set the house down permanently over there. "Learn any new magics?"


    "I''ve been mostly focusing on work, but I have cracked open a book here or there. I''ve been having fun with the illusionary school. Such magics were rare back in Remnant."


    "I can see that. From what I understand, the magic on Remnant lent itself mostly for destructive purposes, and considering where magic came from, that wasn''t surprising." The God of Darkness was the one who gifted magic onto Humanity in an ancient era. "A focus on Elemental maniption with an emphasis on destruction, to repurpose it for anything else seems to be a task suited for only talented mages."


    "What about you." She gently prodded my cheek. "Any running around to do, or are you going toze about all day?"


    "Laze about? I was fine doing work and until a certain womanes along and drapes herself over me."


    "Excuses, excuses." She sniffed.


    "You''re just asking for a punishment, don''t think I won''t."


    "Don''t make promises you can''t keep~"


    I grumbled as she softly giggled next to my ear. "I''ll probably go see Thorum, I want to catch up with my Thu''um. I kind of neglected it and I realize it''s a very potent avenue to learn from. I had a dragon do something to me during the fight, I thought it was a curse, but it merely bypassed my normal defenses to start draining my vitality at an rming rate."


    It was an avenue of attack I hadn''t much experience in defending against before. I wouldn''t be quite as taken off guard the next time, but it was still something to be wary of.


    "Sounds like it would be beneficial." She agreed.


    "Yeah, there''s still a lot I can learn here. A few more schools of magic I need to touch up on as well. I would add Alchemy and Enchanting to that list, but since Rin made ament about them I wasn''t really going to encroach on them just yet." Would rather she get more adept and if I had a interestter, I would go to her with questions and help. I think that would be a big confidence boost for her.


    It was already almost noon, I would take a nap in a little bit then go check up on Thorum, see if he had some free time. He was probably just at the Companion''s building, drinking and having fun.


    ***


    I hummed to myself, walking through the street of Whiterun. Most the people had already settled down for the night, but taverns and such were still open and the asional shout or cheer could be heard when you passed by.


    Out of the corner of my eye, a sharp object came hurling towards me. I let out a sigh as a caught an arrow about a foot from hitting me.


    Curiously, it didn''t appear to be targeting a vital spot on me, and I could vaguely see something on the arrow head, a sort of chemical I was unfamiliar with. A poison of some kind?


    That brought up an interesting question of my confidence in avoiding death by poison.


    Most definitely something I''ll look into for the future.


    [Your dragon heart should make you immune to most mundane poisons, along with your devil biology.]


    Yeah, that was my initial thought, but something I should double check and know the limits of in the future.


    Several shrouded silhouettes jumped over the roofs of the buildings, and leaped out from coverings nearby


    The most striking thing about them, was the fact that they all had red eyes. Not only that, but low hisses sounded out, mouths filled with fangs shown under the few lights in the area.


    They looked like rabid beasts, but their movements were strikingly elegant. There was no loss of wisdom in their eyes even if they looked at me like a piece of meat.


    My circuits red to life as the first made a movement, his hand reached out to grab me, sharp nails threatening to burrow into my skin. My Aura burst out without me even moving, the iridescent light blocking the attack, much to its surprise.


    I grabbed him by the throat as the others attacked. With a flick of my free hand, I used Telekinesis to actually grab them and elerate their momentum towards me, making them stumble, practically falling over themselves.


    Sliding my foot across the ground, earthen spikes shot up, a simple cantrip that often proved fairly lethal in situations like these. These....vampires were pierced through, spikes protruding from their backs as they coughed blood and gasped, trying to free themselves


    The one I had in my grip struggled and even tried to pull a dagger out and stab me. I smacked it away with ease, but the nasty feeling on the de gave me pause, like it was heavily cursed.


    Surprisingly, even as the magic dissipated, and the bodies fell down, they didn''t stay down. Even with holes in their chests, they growled and hissed, leaping at me again.


    I side stepped the first lunge, and shattered the space around me at the next, leaving them bewildered as I appeared a few dozen feet away, my prisoner still in tow.


    I was analyzing their capabilities. The vampires in this world were actually somewhat interesting, and their origin wasn''t too different from the ones back home. The fact that I had intimate knowledge on vampiric species since in many iterations in my previous life, I was a Dead Apostle.


    But, enough was enough.


    I snapped my fingers, and discharged a burst of ice from below my feet, freezing everything in the vicinity. We were somewhat secluded, so nothing was harmed no people came running over. Had I started throwing around lightning or fire, I''m sure I would have caused a much biggermotion.


    I grabbed the dagger from the ground, the cursed de that just felt disgusting to hold, and I made sure to stab every one of them in the heart with it before my eyes finally fell on my prisoner who still struggled in my grip, except there was a look of fear in his eyes now.


    Letting out a snort, I toss him onto the ground as he gasped and rolled. I took a moment to flick a few runes in four directions, creating a basic bounded field to keep off sound and vision. "Right now, my curiosity is piqued, but my whims can changed quite easily."


    The thing rolled around, eyes turned back at me as it shuddered up to its feet. "W-what do you want?"


    "Ah, so it can talk." I didn''t know if it could or not if I was being honest. I haven''t exactly delved into research on the subject. "An exnation may relieve any unresolved anger I have at the moment."


    "We were...." He paused like he was going to hyperventte. "Ordered to bring you back...."


    "Someone is interested in me? How did you know I would be here?" I guess I haven''t exactly been subtle about myings and goings.


    "W-we were told you were friends with the Dragonborn. We didn''t know you would be here we were going to take him hostage to lure you out."


    "What." My lips thinned and I felt a faint release of anger. The area got noticeably colder, and it wasn''t because of the remnant ice magic I had used prior.


    "We were going to kidnap the Dragonborn to lure you out so we could ¨C"


    I stomped on his chest, blood spraying from his throat. "Who."


    "I don''t ¨C"


    Mirage appeared in my hand as I thrust it through his thigh. "Who?" I very calmly asked again.


    "AAAAHHHH" He screamed, profanities littering the area. "I can''t!" He managed to spit out.


    Whisper appeared, hovering above his groin. "Last chance."


    "FUCK YOU!"


    I didn''t even bat an eye as it shot down. The scream would have made me wince in any other circumstance, but at this moment, I was absolutely livid.


    "L-Lord Harkon." He cried out. "Lord Harkon made us do it!"


    "Very good." I nodded, withdrawing my swords. "Now...." I growled, pulling him up and staring at him in the eyes. "Where can find this ¨C Lord Harkon?"


    ***


    Wilhelm just wants to have a nice and amicable chat with the Vampire Lord.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone


    We got a discord if you want toe and chat, talk about the story, or just any random stuff. Code is -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 135 - 128

    <h4>Chapter 135: Chapter 128</h4>


    Part of me just wanted to take a nonchnt walk to this little ind that this ''Lord Harkon'' lived on, express my displeasure at his actions, and rectify the situation with some stern words. The other parts, which contributed the vast majority, was extremely angry and was quickly calcting how much power it would take to turn the ind into a smoking crater.


    I wasn''t like before, I wouldn''t blow up like with the dragon that me and Thorum first fought. But that didn''t extinguish the same feelings that were swelling up in my chest.


    Walking through a portal to the approximate location of this castle, I saw a stone bridge that linked the greater ind the where I stood. A stone tower and a gate blocking anyone from simply walking inside. Behind me was a small pier, apparently the only method to trulye and go from this ind without magical means.


    My footsteps echoed out into the surroundings, the rhythmic sounds of my heels against cobblestone pathing. Though, if you listened closely, it was also apanied by the muffled screams and groans by someone else. My prisoner still in my grasp, my hand sped firmly over his mouth.


    It didn''t take long before I garnered attention, but not any normal eyes were upon me. Some kind of undead hounds awoke, staring at me with deathly eyes, and an air of bloodlust and frost.


    "Fuck off." I growled, letting my draconic nature seep out, loud enough for them to hear.


    They paused, perhaps cowed by my threat, but as if something overcame them, their auras shifted, small patches of fur straightened and mouths pulled back in snarls.


    Growls all around me as they began to approach, cautiously, but all the same.


    Each step they took froze the ground, and the ambient temperature in the area noticeably began to lower.


    "Shatter." I cast my go to illusion spell, dozens of copies of me filled the area and the hounds immediately began attack.


    They couldn''t tell the difference, going for the closest ''enemy'' they could find. The illusions would dissipate with nothing but a touch, but there were enough to not bother me.


    "Fire Storm." The area around me was engulfed in fire, turning everything to ashes.


    Whelp, I hope Lord Harkon isn''t upset I killed his dogs.


    I walked forward, cross the stone bridge, and surprisingly the gate to the castle opened.


    Was I expected, or was I already noticed?


    Doesn''t matter.


    There wererge wooden doors ahead of me, leading into the heart of the castle.


    It would be polite to knock.


    Focusing on my prisoner, I started to cast reinforcement on him. It was not a spell you could cast on another person without any trouble, not only is every person''s biology slightly different, but they inherently fight the spell without sufficient preparation.


    The Vampire in my hand starting writhing, parts of his body burst open at my botched attempt, but it was enough.


    I nted my feet, reeling my arm back, and threw the disgusting thing through the wooden doors, shattering them wide open.


    The vampire''s body slid across the ground,ing to a stop infront of a throne, not too dissimr to Jarls Balgruuf''s own. In fact, the whole room looked quite simr to the Jarl''s meeting room,plete withrge tables with many people sitting down at them.


    Really, the only difference was the copious amounts of blood that literally spilled onto the ground.


    Many new eyes were on me, but the leader, the one sitting above them all on an elevated tform with his conspicuous throne, he didn''t look perturbed in the slightest.


    He casually leaned to the side, finger tapping on the hand rest, eyes giving me a once over.


    The air was tense, I could see the other onlookers, the other Vampires giving me deathly res filled with wanton desire, as if I was but a hearty meal for them.


    The lead was a Nord, well at least that was his race before he was a vampire.


    Finally, his eyes fell down to the vampire I had thrown infront of them. He let out a sigh. "I was going to reward him." His dry words the only noise that filled this hall. "Barely above one of those mindless vermin out in the wilds, but he managed toplete his task."


    This was Lord Harkon, I presumed. And he didn''t look the least bit phased that I had thrown his minion onto his floor, dead on arrival.


    "Yes, I have received your ''gracious'' invitation." I drawled. "But I wonder If I''vee to the right ce." I visibly swept my gaze around the room, making eye contact with all the residents, not faltering at their inhuman looks. I walked forward near one of the tables, within arms reach of another vampire, but he didn''t react, just staring at me. I ran a finger along the table, a noticeable amount of blood now dripping off my skin. "When I heard the name ''Lord Harkon'' and came upon this castle, I expected ¨C elegance, regality, resplendence." I paused my words again, meeting back up with Harkon''s gaze. "But all I see is squalor and filth. And I''m not speaking of the horrid unkept nature of your castle."


    Harkon gripped his armrest tight, enough that it noticeably began to indent in his grasp.


    The closest vampire to me leapt, hissing and growling. I didn''t bother even giving him my notice, Mirage already swung out, and his head rolled on the ground before anyone could react. Atleast he had the decency to clean up after himself, turning to ash in mere moments.


    The sound of wooden chairs scrapping against the stone floor filled the area as they all pushed out of their seats, about to attack me. I weed it all the same, but they stopped when Lord Harkon put his hand up.


    "Child, watch your tone." Harkon growled. "Do not think because you have a in a dragon that you are beyond reproach."


    "Oh no." I put my hands up in surrender. "I think there''s a misunderstanding. I don''t think myself beyond reproach, if I did, I wouldn''t have some group of idiots thinking it was a good idea to kidnap my friend in an attempt to lure me here." I took a step forward, meeting his gaze with my own anger disyed openly.


    "It is an honor for a mortal ¨C prey, to be invited here." Harkon stated, seemingly dismissing my anger.


    "Yes, I''m sure every mortal is jumping at the opportunity to sit among these...''distinguished'' people." I rolled my eyes. "For such immediate grandstanding, why do I have the incessant need to wash myself after merely standing in this building?"


    Harkon took a deep breath, it seemed like he was straining himself fromshing out. I was genuinely curious why he hadn''t attacked me yet. He seemed like the kind of person who would kill at the smallest slight.


    His eyes glowed faintly, filled with power. "The only reason you have not been torn to pieces is because my patron has use for you. It would do you well to cease your petty insults before you lose your tongue."


    "Well, that would certainly make it harder for me to please your wife." I replied, without much thought, but a chilly silence enveloped the room.


    Did I touch a sore spot without even knowing it?


    He closed his eyes, frowning deeply. "You only need be alive." He said, opening them. Gently, he raised his hand from his rest, and droplets of blood began to float up from the conglomerated puddles on the floor and tables.


    They filled the air, these tiny droplets, almost miniscule to the naked eye, yet so many of them that they painted arge picture of death which had filled this ce.


    Within a blink of an eye, the droplets distorted, changing shape into needles andunching towards me from every direction.


    I didn''t budge, my eyes didn''t leave Harkon''s, but the air around me shifted, the warm and familiar light surrounded me as a shield. My Aura, my soul given form did not budge under the assault. My reserves dipped a little bit, which was to be expected, but this blood magic did not touch me.


    Harkon, for all his arrogance, merely raised an eyebrow. "Impressive." His expression didn''t otherwise change. "You have some skill, I suppose." He pursed his lips. "Otherwise, a mortal like you would not have garnered his attention."


    Hisment did not bode well, but I didn''t dwell on it for the moment. "Is it my turn then?" I didn''t wait for an answer, Mirage in my hand, I twisted the de ever so slightly, and quickly swung it out. "20 Birds."


    A single motion producing twenty sword phantoms, twenty condensed shes of magical energy oveid in the same space and bursting out towards Harkon.


    An explosion of dust and debris stymied my vision of him, his throne in tatters by the time it began to scatter. I saw him standing tall, but blood dripped onto the ground from several wounds across his body. Yet, his expression didn''t change, his eyes shone with a brighter anger than before, but he didn''t outwardly react again.


    He cracked his neck as his wounds healed at a frightening speed. Even the spots where my attacksnded, they would be merely flesh wounds had he not had such an ridiculous healing factor. I could guess that his vampiric constitution provided him with an obscene physical prowess that allowed him to essentially tank my attacks with disregard.


    "Curious, I have not seen such an attack from a sword before." He stated, actually looking mildly enthused. It was only now that I noticed a sword in his hand, I don''t know where it came from, perhaps nearby, or he kept it hidden in a different pocket space. But what drew my attention was the design.....it was very much reminiscent of a Katana. "Was it magic or...something else?"


    "Interesting sword you have there." I ignored hisment.


    He looked down at his sword, a nostalgic look shed across his face. "It has apanied me for many centuries, even before I had ascended to what I am now." He smirked, waiving it gently in the air, he turned back to me and moved.


    I barely had time to blink before I raised my sword up to intercept. The shockwave blew away everything around us, the other vampire already began to flee and hide behind barriers.


    "Rarely do I ever lower myself to actually draw my weapon upon lower creatures." He pushed more strength into his sword, and I couldn''t help but notice he was physically stronger than even Thorum. "But there is always a certain satisfaction to put upstart brats in their ce." His visage twisted into a snarling hiss, sharp fangs baring at me.


    Reinforcement filled my body proper, and Ebony Flesh covered me. It was enough to push Harkon back, and enough to elicit a small noise of surprise from him as he narrowly dodged a second sh into his chest.


    "All this blustering I''ve heard from outside, this nonsense about a ''Red Dragon Emperor'' perhaps it was not all foolishness." He mused, clenching his hand for a moment.


    Despite him squaring off against me, he really doesn''t seem like the kind of person to handle an issue when he has minions to do it for him. He didn''t even make ament as they fled the area, like he expected this oue to happen.


    "Come then, supposed dragon. Face my de that has in your kin in the past." That caught me by surprise, and he must have noticed my reaction. "Oh yes, this de of mine has severed the heads of dragons in a lost era. A relic of an order that had been lost to time."


    "Well,e on, old man. Maybe you need a cane instead of a sword?"


    "Hmph. Your insolent tongue will be cut from your mouth." He sword his sword, and a deluge of blood swirled around it. Almost like a whip, it shot out at each of his movement, and he didn''t stand still, each step of his covering the distance it would take a normal person several moments to match.


    Tightening my grip around Mirage, I silently sent out dozens of sword phantoms to disperse his blood magics, even summoning up my own Runic circles behind me and discharging bolts of lightning.


    He hissed in annoyance, being lightly scorched by the suddenness, but adapted quite easily. He jerked his hand forward, and the blood coalesced into huge spears and shot towards my circles destroying them before they could finish their sequence.


    He did not give me respite in that brief instance, his sword moving towards my head at astonishing speeds. My foot pivoted, and I met the attack in earnest and my own strength did not lose out, perhaps even surpassing his own.


    "You are skilled for your age." He growled, pushing his de into my, yet my own edge held his off. "My patron will make you stronger. You will never fear the passage of time, you will have no equal. These....dragons, woulde to fear you in his name."


    Was he doing a sales pitch in the middle of battle?


    "Does it alsoe with that gigantic stick up your ass, or did you put it there yourself?" Arrogant dick.


    "Foolish." He sneered. "I offer you an opportunity to be something more, yet you continue to run your mouth."


    "Fine, I''ll give you a genuine response."


    He clenched his mouth, I think he was waiting for me to say something insulting again, but I couldn''t help but smile. I did not practice my Thu''um much, but I was decent enough with a single word. "FUS" I bellowed out, catching him off guard and blowing him into the nearby wall.


    I flicked my hand, summoning a handful of Talismans, I flung them at the vampire, chanting a Buddhist prayer to activate the spell.


    "Mere parchment!?" Harkon looked enraged, he didn''t even look phased as they approached him, having already regained his footing. He moved his hand to swat them away, but as soon as they made contract, his hand burst into mes.


    He roared in pain. It wasn''t a mere physical thing, this was targeting his essence, a karmic me.


    "WHAT IS THIS?" He iled his arm, as it continued to be consumed. He barely even hesitated another moment, taking his sword and severed the entire arm from his body.


    Admittedly, I did not expect that. I guess that''s a good counter to that spell.


    He gasped, blood oozing from his missing limb. His eyes darted around the area until theynded on a cowering member of his court who had taken refuge in the corner. He didn''t waste another moment as he leapt at him, fangs seeking out his follower''s neck, and visibly draining him of his blood until all that was left was a haggard corpse before turning to dust.


    He let out a pained roar as his arm regrew at visible speeds, in but a second a few one was in its ce.


    "You....." He growled, looking back towards me. "Have earned myplete and utter ire." His sword sweep up the blood in the area again, but it the amount eclipsed the previous amount. Blood magic was something I only had a passing familiarity with, I had never seen someone manipte it on this scale before.


    I quickly jumped back as spears of blood filled the spot I was just in, and they continued at me. I dashed and rolled out of the way as more rained form above, but that wasn''t all. Harkon''s sword filled my vision, having predicted my movement, I was forced to block. My free hand shot up and cast a greater ward.


    "Foolish, do you think a Ward Spell can block blood magic?" He sneered.


    My eyes widened as they treated my spell like paper, piercing through and colliding with my aura. The numerous spears of blood pushing into me, and I felt myself colliding with the wall on the opposite side of the room.


    I stood up, pushing a few stones out of my way, a little bit of blood dripped from my mouth. "Well, learning something new every day."


    "Na?ve child. Your inexperience is obvious. Anypetent mage would know that Blood Magic does not work of the same magicka principals as traditional sorcery." He took the opportunity gloat. "Allow me to show you the power you scoffed at." He waived his arms and all the blood on the ground swirled until it turned into a magic circle.


    Dangerous.


    I had no idea what he was doing, but my instinct was screaming at me. "Time to kick it up a notch." I muttered as my other swords burst out of my ring and I grabbed for Dawnbreaker, mming it into the ground.


    A massive burst of light burnt away all the abominable magics, and Harkon reeled back in horror. The magics he quickly summed up manages to shield up, but even they were torn apart before the light died down, revealing a scorched Harkon, coughing up blood.


    "You''re not the only one with a patron." I tapped Dawnbreaker on my shoulder.


    To my bewilderment, his merely smiled. "No, I am not." He stated as a baleful aura began to envelop him. "We have an ord, Lord Mg Bal."


    A presence forcibly made itself known in the room, the castle walls shuddered at the sudden ''weight'' that descended.


    "Mortal." The voice was.....calm, yet the words felt like nails on a chalkboard, they gripped at my soul and threatened me with certain damnation. "Meridia''s Champion." He snorted. "Abandon her. I will offer you anything your heart desires, give yourself to me and this realm will be your y thing."


    I sucked in a cold breath of air. "Fuck off." I steadied myself. He couldn''t do much here, in this realm. He was lessened, he did not have the full might of his power here.


    He didn''t get upset, he merelyughed, and it sent chills down my spine. "I preferred you alive, but death will make you my ve all the same." The presence, the faint outline of a creature, turned to Harkon. "A deal was made, here is the promise." He waived his hand and a Mace appeared, its aura was disgusting, it corroded anything that came nearby. It was misshapen, protruding edges that looked to be made to cause as much pain as possible as opposed to a viable weapon.


    Harkon Grabbed the weapon, the baleful green aura spread all around him, enveloping his form as he began to shift. His humanoid flesh peeled away, and he looked monstrous, with wings spread from his back and towering over me with a new height.


    "Spectacr." He admired the weapon. "I will enjoy breaking this mortal for you, Lord Mg Bal."


    Mg Bal''s....projection did what I could only describe as ''smiled''. "Yes, lets see how he fairs with your vampire form and my own artifact. I will relish the sight of Meridia''s face when I take another of hers."


    My head snapped to him. "So, this is about Meridia?"


    "Of course." He chuckled. "While your existence is amusing, why would I demean myself to waste time on trying to recruit you?"


    "You dare?" I hissed, staring at him, this.....god. He wanted to hurt my Meridia. To make her sad, to anger her to....strike an emotional blow against her.


    He wanted to touch my woman.


    Mg Bal narrowed his/its eyes at me. "Harkon, bring me his soul and I will reward you further."


    That was seemingly all he needed to hear before Harkon moved much faster than before, the Mace he now held swung down with enough force to blow my hair back.


    I held my hand out, red gauntlet manifesting.


    "What?" Harkon''s eyes widened as he struggled to remove the Mace that was now within my grip.


    "BOOST" I roared, apanied by Ddraig''s own.


    He swung his sword at me from his other hand, Dawnbreaker meeting the strike, even as the ground beneath us shattered. The light of Dawnbreaker met his the aura produced by his mace, they seemed to cancel each other on contact.


    My other swords flew out, a manifestation of blood-made weapons meeting them in the air. "Do you think your paltry tricks are something special?" Harkon scowled.


    "Bindings of Gaia." I responded much to his bewilderment as sudden realization dawned on him. Massive roots shot up out of the ground and Whisper rejoined me, creating Runes in the air at mymand.


    He swept his weapons out, destroying the first roots that came after him, dislodging his Mace from arge one in particr and took to the air, but my roots quickly moved after him, his blood weapons turning back into blood and seeped back up around him. His blood magics coalesced once again, and sharp spikes rained down onto the earthen roots, destroying them in chunks.


    I snapped my fingers, a dozen Runic circles appeared behind me, and lightning coiled out through the airshing out against him, but merely charring the outside of his skin and healing momentster. The new aura he had covering him just further enhanced his defenses, not to mention this form his took was also physically enhancing him.


    My sword did not let up either, taking any opportunity to try and strike, but that Aura around him was powerful,shing out to deflect my weapons.


    "ENOUGH." Harkon shouted, shooting up towards the ceiling, bursting through the roof of the castle.


    "If you want to fight in the sky, so be it." My own wings burst out of my back, and I followed suit.


    "Boost!" I shot towards the sky.


    Swords flying around me, Harkon turned around and swung the mace again, its corrosive energyshed out, a deep hunger to consume me. I grabbed the closest sword to me, Dawnbreaker, and brought it up to block, but the force of it knocking me down, causing me to lose my flight for a few moments, before regain my bnce.


    "BEGONE." Harkon shouted, the green aura burst out from all around him, knocking my swords away. I hand to mentally regain them all again. "COME, SERVE ME." Harkon shouted, and portals opened up all around him, things began to pour out.


    They looked like Gargoyles.


    I let go of Dawnbreaker, letting Mirage flow into my hand.


    "1000 birds" I called out, swinging my sword, and the sky filled with sword phantoms. The shes of magical energy meeting each of his summoned creatures, slicing through them with rtive each, pieces of Gargoyle falling to the ground below.


    Those creatures were minced and obliterated in seconds, my arms shuddered under the strain, having pushed the limit of that ability of mine for now.


    Harkon had a shield manifest around him, more of his Blood Magic, while chipped away and cracked all over it held with minimal strength remaining.


    Once again, Dawnbreaker entered my hand and I charge at him, my golden sword bursting with light.


    Harkon roared in defiance, Mg Bal''s mace meeting it head on. The two artifacts shed in a burst of power that lit up the sky.


    The aura around Harkon was keeping the light of Dawnbreaker away, even as it ''touched'' him, it dissipated upon that corrosive energy. And his own baleful aurashed out like tendrils, trying to grab ahold of me, only for Dawnbreaker''s light to attack them when they got close.


    "DRAIN." Harkon shouted, and something struck me, I felt my Aura start to wither. It felt frighteningly simr to the move that Dragon used on me previously.


    "Prate." I countered, my Boosts fading to fuel the ability of Ddraig''s. The conceptual attack pierced through artifact''s defenses and ignored his bodies'' durability. A hole opened up in his chest, able to see through one side to the other.


    With this opening, I thrust Dawnbreaker forward, its holy light stymied by the Mace, but it was weakened, it pierced through and went into Harkon, my de tasting his blood for the first time.


    Harkon screamed and wailed, swinging his mace wildly to push me away. "Lord Mg Bal" Harkon called out.


    The eerie image of the Daedric Lord appeared in the sky next to him. "I do not ept failure, Harkon." He said inly.


    "I HAVN''T FAILED." He shouted. "I just need more power."


    Mg Bal turned to me. "Yes, he is surprising." The thing contemted. "This is yourst chance." He raised his hand towards Harkon and his wounds regressed back to notion. Dawnbreaker''s cleansing light faded from his body and he returned to normal. "Well, I can offer one smaller boon." He smirked, pointing his finger at me.


    Dawnbreaker escaped my grip and shot up above me, it was suddenly enveloped in a malevolent barrier and the feeling I got from it gave me chills.


    "Let''s get that annoying weapon out of the way." He pped his hands with augh. "Now, let''s have a fair fight!" He chuckled, licking his lips in anticipation.


    The urge to fly up and punch him was almost hard to ignore, but I had a more immediate concern at the moment. It seemed like Harkon was a sort of....anchor for Mg Bal''s power. It makes sense since he referred to the Daedric Lord as his ''patron''.


    I grabbed Mirage immediately and didn''t wait for the next bout to initiate, I moved he prepared but I wanted to end this. "Swallow Returns."


    Harkon arched his back, my sword protruding from his heart.


    "What?" Mg Bal looked at me with confusion.


    Harkon began falling from the sky, I didn''t know the true extent of his abilities, but I wanted to end him before Mg Bal decided to boost him even further. I don''t think that attack would have been enough, but it was a good start.


    Spell Circles gathered all around my sword, growing to epic proportions. Magical energy coalesced as I began to spell sequence.


    "ETHER CANNON!" I swung my ss sword, discharging everything I gathered at the falling vampire.


    The rainbow beam of light struck him head on, burrowing into the ind, taking half of it along with eviscerating the undead monster.


    My gaze snapped towards the Daedric Prince still floating nearby.


    "How boring." He snorted. "Well,e along then." He put his hand up as if to im me.


    With a sneer I called upon my Sword of Destruction, saving its true power for this point, it flew out and he didn''t even cast it a second nce, but I fed it my dwindling Aura and the Power of Destruction erupted off it. It sliced into the ''things'' hand eliciting a visible reaction from the Daedric lord, something resembling....pain.


    "MORTAL" He shouted, reeling his arm back. "YOU DARE HARM ME!?" The sky turned at his words, the visible reality around us somewhat distorted.


    "I''ll do more than that." I growled, calling the sword back to me. The ability that could only be active three times a century. I aimed my sword at him, and swung again. "Destroy."


    A roar that shattered reality around me, the sky turned different colors, parts of the terrain shifted as if another world was encroaching here, but I pressed into him. If this was his true self, I knew for a fact that this would have been nothing, but he had to lessen himself toe here, to lower himself to exist in this ne.


    The divine weapon bore into him, and he only realized what I was holding for the first time as the concepts began to eat away at whatever this part of him was.


    "You dared to go after my woman." I sneered. Even with this, I didn''t think it would do anything meaningful, but if his roars were anything to go by, it was certainly painful.


    He was fighting it, quite thoroughly, to the point where it finally gave out, but I wasn''t perturbed, because a new presence joined up.


    "MOLAG BAL." A very familiar voice caused the air to vibrate.


    "Meridia!?" Mg Bal''s surprised tone greeted her.


    She didn''t respond, a resplendent light building up as she let it out towards him. His projection, whatever it was, seemingly destroyed in that sudden burst of strength.


    Well, at least I thought so, because a sigh filled the area, the tone of Mg Bal. "Did you enjoy my present, Meridia?"


    "Retreat back to your realm, Mg Bal, you''ve lost this game." Meridia crossed her arms in annoyance.


    "For now." He replied, almost bored, and it felt as if his presence finally departed.


    Meridia looked at me, and there are many emotions shing across her face. It looked like she was holding herself back a lot.


    "Talk back at my house?" I offered.


    "Do not make me wait." She huffed, disappearing.


    Huh, that didn''t sound good. I don''t know what''s going on, but apparently something happened more than just me fighting that vampire.


    Better go make sure Meridia''s fine.....right after I nab that sword he was swinging around.


    ***


    The first Daedric lord other than Meridia makes a move. Just a heads up, there is a decent chance I won''t be able to post tomorrow, but no guarantees on anything.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone , next chapter is the first lewd.

 Chapter 136 - 129 *Lewd*

    <h4>Chapter 136: Chapter 129 *Lewd*</h4>


    I let out a long breath looking around the rubble that was Harkon''s castle. It had a name, a more grandiose one that was probably intentionally hard to pronounce, but I didn''t care to even consider it. Perhaps I was being a bit dramatic, there was arge hole that caved in probably half the structure, but otherwise it was somewhat standing still.


    I was tired.


    I took a moment to let the fight rey in my head. It was a strange thing, to be so calm and peaceful among this ce littered with corpses..... Well, they were vampires, not that I immediately assign a monstrous status to the species, but this lot elicited no remorse from me.


    Whether any got away or not, I don''t know. But many seemed to be waiting for an opportunity, perhaps to kill the victor and im everything themselves.


    Regardless, there were no other living beings on this ind other than me.


    Harkon was surprisingly strong. Easily stronger than those two dragons, maybe even by several folds. He was skilled too, his movement with his sword shone with experience that required many years to achieve. His mastery of that blood magic.....it was impressive. I''ve never delved into the subject, so it left a small impression on me. Honestly, I feel like the fight may have gone a few more rounds had he not been so.....rusty.


    Rusty, that was perhaps the best way I could describe it. He had the skill and strength, but I could make a few guesses that he hadn''t actually fought or seriously trained in many ¨C many years.


    And I attacked that Daedric Prince.....probably not a smart idea, but the idea of him intentionally trying to harm Meridia set me off.


    My Sword of Destruction, I should have used it previously, not hid its abilities to hurt that thing just for some retribution. Even if I didn''t activate it and merely used my Power of Destruction, it would have been a big help against his regeneration.


    I looked at a familiar sword on the ground, that katana variant that continuously tried to take my head before.


    I didn''t touch it quite yet, it gave me an.....icky feeling. Not really demonic, not even bloodthirsty, just kind of gross.


    Don''t think it''s good enough to match up to my other swords, but my greedy nature still wants me to take it all the same. With a wave of my hand, I took it into my ring, along with the other valuables I acquired here.


    I raided his library and boy was there a lot of stuff. I''m sure Jinn will be overjoyed to shift through everything, especially when we set up our own little library in our house. And he had a treasury, like piles of gold kind of treasury. I was rich, very, very, rich at this point.


    I didn''t find that mace anywhere, not that I wanted it. My first thought was to toss it into a sun, in some random dimension, but I guess that god had the forethought to retrieve it before departing.


    With a sigh I stood up. "I''ming, I''ming." Muttered as Dawnbreaker visibly grew brighter. I could guess that Meridia was telling me to get a move on it.


    With a shake of my head, I quickly made myself presentable with some magical applications and I opened up a portal back home.


    I almost didn''t recognize where I was. The house that was empty before was now suddenly filed with furniture and actually looked lived in. Granted, it didn''t appear modern, but it was definitely giving off a cozy feeling.


    My eyes turned to Meridia who was sitting on the nearby sofa.


    "Jinn really moves quickly." I whistled, eyeing the ce.


    "I lent a hand." Meridia said calmly.


    I blinked at that, opting to take a seat next to her. "She did say you two have been chatting." Meridia seemed.....out of it, forck of a better term.


    "She has an interesting perspective." Merida replied, not borating.


    "She gave you a key too?"


    "Yes, I asked to borrow it. Does that bother you?"


    "Nope, not at all." I gave her a smile. "I intended to give you one. I just wanted to make sure my defenses weren''t broken."


    "Your defenses." She pursed her lips. "They are adequate I suppose."


    "Mmm, well I don''t expect them to hold back someone on your level, but at the very least I don''t think you''d be able to look inside without my knowing."


    Meridia didn''t outwardly react. "It''s as you say."


    "Meridia." I scooted closer. "What''s wrong?"


    "I am....distressed and I don''t know how to feel." She nced at me then back at the ground. "I should be overwhelmingly angry at you, doing something so foolish as to attack Mg Bal like you did."


    I let out a sigh. "I may have not thought that through properly. But what happened? I assumed that you would have popped up as soon as Mg Bal made an appearance, especially with Dawnbreaker in my hand."


    Meridia briefly snarled, before evening her expression. "He managed to y a small trick on me, preventing me from interfering. I appeared as soon as I tore down the ''gift'' he ced. It prevented any other of our kind from approaching the ind."


    "I see...it was a trap from the get-go, not just for me." I ran a hand through my hair. "What''s the chance he''s already making another move?"


    "Unlikely." Meridia pursed her lips. "He expended arge amount of power, he will not be able to manifest anything onto Nirn for many months. It''s.....difficult to exin the shackles ces on us here. Only the smallest bits of our power can fit through the that covers this world. You could say he expended the ''allowance'' he was provided by thews here, and he''s currently destitute."


    I tugged on her gently, she allowed me to pull her in close. "I keep worrying you, huh?"


    She let out a small huff, but otherwise didn''t object to my statement. "I was able to watch...." She said quietly. "To say I did not enjoy you getting angry on my behalf would be a lie. Even if I am angry at your actions....." She pushed her head into my chest, her worlds slightly muffled. "They continue to make my heart beat faster."


    "You''re my woman." I whispered, my fingers running through her hair. "Even if he''s stronger than me, I won''t let someone get away with trying to hurt you."


    She made a small sound, as if she was unsure how to express her emotions. She pulled her head up, looking at me. "Why must you keep doing this to me? To make me act as if I''m a young maiden, to bring a flush to my face and a warmth in my chest? Your previous words have left me locked inside my own thoughts. How often I drift to such whimsies as my belly being swollen, to have infants cradled in my arms."


    "I often daydream of such things too." I couldn''t help but smile. "My Meridia trying to wrangle a handful of mischievous children."


    "You taunt me with something I can''t have." She pouted.


    "For now, but that could change in the future."


    Her breathing hitched ever so slightly, her cheeks showing the faintest pink. "You...better take responsibility for putting such ideas into my head."


    I leaned in stealing her lips for a brief moment. "I''ll show you how I take responsibility." I grinned, quickly sweeping her off her feet. She made another cute noise as shetched onto me to stop from falling.


    "W-what do you think you''re doing?" She huffed.


    "Taking you up to my bedroom." I replied, as I made my way to the stairs. "I want to fully make you mine."


    "Pervert." She whispered, but her expression betrayed any semnce of reluctance.


    ***Warning Lewd Content Ahead***


    Contains vani sex.


    ***


    I held off long enough, I was going to take her and make her mine fully and thoroughly. Sliding into my bedroom, I gently ced her on the mattress, one of the few items I had held over from my birth world in this house.


    Sheid back, looking at me with a mixture of expectance and shyness. Purely on this expression, I could never guess she was a goddess with so much power at her fingertips.


    I didn''t immediately devour her, opting to gently ce my lips against hers. She weed it, her hands finding sanctuary around my head, deepening the kiss. It was clear this was something she was yearning for as much as I was.


    "Meridia." I whispered, breaking out mutual affection. "I''m going to take you, Goddess. You''re going to be mine, now and forever."


    There was a sash, a piece of fabric that held her robes together, to stop them from opening. I gently reached for it, pulling it slowly off. Her breathing picked up as I pulled it free from its confines. Her clothing having nothing else to keep it secure, I began peeling it away.


    I admired everything about her, the sight burned into my memory forever. Her breasts bounced lightly as the fabric was pulled away, revealing her nipples already hard from arousal, but I didn''t stop there. My eyes trailed down, and my hand reached for her milky white legs.


    "Are they everything you thought they would be?" Meridia tried her best to lookposed, but the red cheeks were throwing it off. "Your constant perversions about my legs, they are avable to you now."


    I gave her thigh a squeeze, earning a small yelp from her. "Absolutely beautiful." I kissed her thigh, and continued to every few inches, slowing moving upwards. Every inch I moved up, she shuddered, like a shock going through her body until finally, her legs began to spread open, revealing her most sacred ce.


    She had just the tiniest bit of hair on her mound, the same golden blonde that matched her head. Gently, I moved my hand to trace around her entrance, my thumb brushing against her clit. I continued to caress her inner thigh, and lightly touched around her opening, enough that I noticed her arousal apparent. Looking at her content expression, the way her mouth hung slightly ajar, it emboldened me to continue, and I gently pushed a finger inside.


    "Hn." She let out a small noise in response, her breathing slightly picking up. I watched her reactions, as I slowly moved within her folds. Her visible shutters and jerks at each movement, until I found her most sensitive ces.


    "Ahh." She breathed out, looking at me with a full flush and embarrassment on her face. She quickly turned away when I met her gaze. "Go slowly." She muttered.


    Her response made me question if she''d ever done this herself before. Her walls clenched around me as soon as I pushed inside, and as if they did not wish to let me go. The way she was subtly shaking her hips made me realize how much she was anticipating this. I began to pick up my pace, earning more light moans from my otherwise stoic woman. She tried her best to restrain herself, but the curling of her toes, and the biting on her lip gave away the pleasure she was feeling. I decided to pick it up a notch, pushing another finger inside.


    "Ooh." She jerked at the spreading of her slit.


    Her hands reached down, grabbing into me wherever she could. "W-Wilhelm." She gasped, nails practically digging into my skin. "Cease." She breathed out.


    I stopped at her words, her eyes almost zed over, little pants escaping her lips. "I am sufficiently prepared." She said shyly cheeks bright red. "Remove your garments."


    I was willing to continue, but it seemed like she was ready for the real thing. I started to undo my buttons, but her hand suddenly shot up, grabbing my tie and pulling me down into a passionate kiss. It quickly evolved as her tongue met mine for the first time.


    Her hands were not idle, grasping at the remainder of my buttons and forcibly pulling them apart. I didn''t wish to break the kiss, so I quickly discarded my shirt, only for her hands to start roaming over my bare chest. I returned the favor, reaching out and gently caressing her breasts. It didn''t take much for her to moan into my mouth, clearly unused to physical stimtion.


    I rolled one of her her nipples between my fingers, giving her other breast a squeeze; a visible shutter ran through her body as she jolted in my grasp. Her own hands started to wander as well, one of them reaching between my legs to feel my member already standing up.


    My hands only stopped to start undoing my belt, ever helpful she yanked my pants away without a second thought. As bashful as she was being, there was a certain ferocity in her motions.


    "Are they all supposed to be thisrge?" She gaped, her hand running along my swollen member just as it was freed from my briefs.


    I twitched in her grip, maybe it was from her touch, or the confidence boost she just gave me.


    "Meridia." I whispered, her hand gently moving up and down, not too hard, but enough to have a jolt run through my body. She seemed to find the perfect pressure to elicit a response from me while also not being painful. If the small smirk on her face was anything to go by, she quite liked the reactions she was receiving.


    After a few more moments she paused her movement, letting go and allowing herself to fully fall back. "Come to me, Wilhelm." She opened up, her legs spread and inviting. "im me as no one else has." Her arms wide open.


    I didn''t need to be told twice; I was already as hard as I could be. I leaned into her grasp, my cock lining up with her entrance. Her arms wrapped around me tight as I eased forward.


    She made a small, pained noise as my tip pushed into her, but made no motions to stop. My member slowly continued forward, her wet walls clenching tight around my shaft at even the tiniest movement. I didn''t push myself all the way in, instead pulling back and thrusting a little forward again, easing her into it.


    The feeling was hard to describe, the pleasure was immense as if her insides coiled around me and refused to let go. I don''t know if it was my devil nature, but the feelings were much more intense than I could recall in myst life.


    Every movement was ecstasy, her moans only served to exuberate the pleasure. Her hands foundfort digging into my back, squeezing at each thrust. And with each movement I pushed deeper and deeper into her until finally, my cock was filling her to the brim.


    Her soft moans turned into longer mewls, and she no longer attempted to hide them behind her normal fa?ade. "Ahhh" She let out, voice filling the room, and head ced on my shoulder. "Hnn.....Haah." She was lost in the intimacy, her own hips seeking to meet each of my trusts. "Wilhelm, more." She called out.


    "Meridia." I answered, our lips locking once again. Her tongue was attacked immediately as I entered her mouth swirling them together. I wasn''t going tost long at this rate, my hands found her own, as if an unspoken agreement, they interlocked tightly.


    "Wilhelm, I''m ¨C" She gasped, her back arching, a silent sound released from her throat. I didn''t stop my movements, continuing at the same pace as to help her ride out her first orgasm. Her walls clenched down on me tightly, the pressure increased enough that it was starting to push me over the edge.


    Even when she almost went limp, eyes unfocused, she never stopped moving her hips. I let out a grunt, squeezing her hands as I too began to let it out, pushing my cock all the way inside her.


    "Ahhhhh" She moaned as my seed filled her womb, my cock pulsing with each spurt of semen filling her deepest parts. I thrust several more times, finish off everything I had, making sure every ounce of it was all the way inside her, as if to mark it as mine.


    Letting out a long breath, I fell forward, resting my head between her breasts.


    "That was....." Meridia seemed to catch her breath, the sound of her heartbeat thumping in my ear. She paused as her hand ran along her own stomach and down between her legs where I was still fully sheathed inside her. "You are still erect."


    "I am." I grinned.


    Don''t underestimate a devil, much less a draconic one.


    "I wish to be on top this time." She stated.


    It was going to be a long night, but I was more than happy about that.


    **


    Just some basic vani sex for their first time with an underlining hint of awkwardness about it. Just got done writing the second lewd between Jinn and MC over on pat.reon. Think it was a little better, had more time to practice and....research. But, well, practice makes perfect.


    So, to talk about this Arc. My original intention was to finish up Skyrim in this arc, but i realized that''s going to take far too long, so i''m going to work on finishing up this second round and perhaps do a full third arc at some point, or just have Mc drop in for a few chapters here or there until everything is finished up plot-wise.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 137 - 130

    <h4>Chapter 137: Chapter 130</h4>


    Meridia POV


    Sleep was not something I often partook in, seemingly always have matters that required my undivided attention. Even being able to partition myself off to handle most issues, the core of myself would be in slumber.


    Even as I awoke, and these thoughts briefly drifted through my mind, I did not bother giving them any more heed. How I had, for the first time, truly skirted my duties. I did have capable individuals under me, worshippers who had been taken under my banner, even after death. But there were simply many things that required my presence to continue working.


    Still, my attention was upied by the person who shared the bed I was also sleeping in. Wilhelm, my....man, my lover.


    The warm thought makes my heart beat faster, especially as I recall what had urred the previous night....and much of the morning. We were still covered in a sticky mess, yet I was content, happy. The pleasant ache between my legs a vivid reminder of how we made love far into the early morning hours...and other perverse acts. I resisted the urge to pinch him, daring to use my thighs to pleasure himself...regardless of how it made my loins drip.


    How utterly ridiculous...why he finds my legs so tantalizing, I do not understand.


    This body of mine, as fake as it was, caused me sensations I had never contemted before meeting this ridiculous man. I had created it eons ago, a whim as I wanted to understand mortals better. I spent many days decided how I wished to appear upon my followers, my faithful. It is of course a fully working fleshly body, even if I did not foresee partaking in carnal pleasures with another person, I do not do things by halves. This body is not me, but I may havee to think of myself as this body.


    And never before has someone gazed upon this nude form of mine, and now a single person has that honor.


    Hmph.


    My ridiculous lover, he truly does not know how lucky he is. How many wish to earn even a second nce from yet... yet he willmit perversions upon me without any hesitation. For any other being in existence, I would have destroyed them. I can only swallow my indignation and take pity on him, allowing him his continued sphemy. It is only out of my good will that he is allowed to molest me, to steal my lips at his whim, to ept his touch when he desires it. And I most certainly do not turn into a blushing maiden at his provocations, and I shall smite any who says otherwise.


    His foolish smile certainly did not elicit any reaction from me, neither did the way he refused to allow me out of his embrace as he buried his face into my breasts. Nor did I tenderly run my hand down his ¨C admittedly attractive ¨C chest.


    He stirred from his slumber, opening his eyes and giving me a bright smile, with a hint of his cockiness. That smug look on his face as he admired what he had done to me, even with his eyes half lidden.


    "Ready for round two?" He asked, clearly intent on eliciting a response from me.


    "Were you not satisfied from before?" I huffed in annoyance unable to escape his machinations.


    "Gotta make babies." He mumbled pressing his head further into my bosom.


    "Your seed still fills me, what more could you possible do?" I pursed my lips. This perverse man seeking any excuse to initiate further rtions. I fear I have opened a dam and the torrent will no longer be plugged.


    The matter of me unable to bear his children goes unsaid.


    "Give me an hour and find out." He giggled, squeezing me tighter.


    "As if you wouldst that long." I scoffed, hand running through his striking red hair, hearing his continued giggling into my breasts. "Wilhelm." I quietly called out.


    "Don''t wanna."


    "You do not know what I''m going to say." I poked his forehead.


    "You gotta go." He grumbled.


    "....yes." I didn''t deny, I guess it was an obvious conclusion toe to. "I have ignored many matters in my absence." It was....pleasant, knowing that I was not required to exin myself. My lover had an understand of what I was, what I did so while he would bemoan my leave, he knew I had important duties to attend to.


    A small part of me was happy that he desired me to stay by his side so vehemently. I could only just sigh, I wondered what things would be like if I just threw my hands up and ceased my role. To live by his side, follow him on his adventures through various other universes. My strange man whoes from a distant light of creation.


    "How long you gonna be gone?" His word not matching the usual eloquence he approaches with his speech, I''m sure he was still quite tired from our previous activities. As unique his origin was, I do not believe he would be unaffected by our time together.


    "I do not know, perhaps a few days." I would make sure nothing significant urred....and finish my tasks as quickly as possible.


    "Fine." He stated. "Wanna take a shower before you go?"


    "Shower?" I questioned, confused by what he asked.


    "Running water that''s heated up and sprayed down overhead for cleaning purposes." He exined.


    "I am able to cleanse myself without mortal means." It would take me but a thought to remove all this filth....the only reason I have not done so yet is because I did not wish to disturb his content look. It was certainly not because I wished to enjoy the feeling of being so full for a few moments longer.


    "It''s one of life''s greatest pleasures." He stated, making me pause inconsideration.


    "A few more minutes will not make any substantial difference." I acquiesced, though the way I felt something poking into my belly, I think it may just take a little bit longer.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    I watched Meridia fluff her hair out. I guess I''ve never contemted the idea of Meridia drying herself off after taking a shower, as strange as it was, and I just wanted to admire the scene.


    Merida red over in my direction, but the way she puffed up her cheeks in ''annoyance'' cleared away any sense of true anger she might have. "I should knock that smug grin off your face." She huffed. "Tricking me into doing that.....in such a ce." She grumbled.


    "Oh, and who was refusing to let me go once we started?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Do not speak nonsense." She threw a pillow at me from across the room.


    In the moments I caught the pillow and tossed it to the side, Meridia was already dressed as she had been beforest night. I walked up wrapping my arms around her, even with her ''annoyance'' she epted quite readily. "If you need me for anything, I''m always here."


    She looked at me quietly, a contemtive expression on her face. "I appreciate the gesture." She settled on, and I knew that was something along the lines of ''you will not be able to help''. I wasn''t offended in the slightest, but I wanted her to know I was here for her if she really did need anything. "We need to have a discussion about certain thingster, when I have more time."


    "Is there something wrong....?"


    "No.....it''s just.....now you are in the sights of the other Lords, alteast of Mg Bal, I wish you to further understand." She said quietly. "And for some reason you still deem it appropriate to extend this rtionship with a being known for his very and torturees after you because of me." She snorted.


    "I wonder if he''ll be able to put two and two together based on what I said?" I may not have nned that out well.


    "Mg Bal is many things.....stupid being among them. But he wille to certain conclusions rather quickly, even if the correct one is not the one he will first assume."


    "Ah, he won''t think you''re my woman, but that I''m some kind of boy toy?" I chuckled.


    "Must you say it in such a way?" She huffed. "I suggest you not venture near any of his imednds, or his worshippers. He will have more power among his followers than out here in the open. I do not recall any meaningful encampments in Skyrim beyond those vampires, so we should be safe from his meddling for the time being."


    "I nned on either being with Thorum or the college for a bit." Truthfully, I felt kind of....off since the battle with Harkon. Reying the fight in my head, how Rusty he appeared when truly fighting, it made mee to some conclusions myself.


    "Good." She nodded. "I will keep an eye on Artoria and Rin."


    "You''re the best." I beamed at her.


    "Hmph, I am merely keeping my new.....Harem Sister safe."


    I blinked at her statement. "Did Jinn teach you that term?" It definitely sounds like something she''d say.


    "Yes, Jinn has been helpful in understand different terminology you are used to."


    Oh sweet Christ, what''s Jinn telling her?


    "Now, I must truly leave this time." She stated.


    "Kiss?" I asked.


    She rolled her eyes, but the smallest quirk of her lips betrayed her once again. She leaned in, for a quick kiss, merely a moment before we separated, but it ryed much affection.


    "I''ll miss you." I smiled.


    "And I you." She returned, much of her embarrassment having faded since the first time we uttered those words. With onest nod, she made for the door, disappearing outside as to not blow through my defenses.


    What a woman.


    [Well done.]


    "Oh, I forgot about you."


    [And my feelings are now hurt.]


    "Yeah, okay." I sighed. "What''s up?"


    [Nothing, just wanted to congratte you. It''s not every day a boy bes a man.]


    "Oh fuck off!"


    [hehehe.] Ddraig practically giggled to himself.


    "I forgot you''re basically a voyeur. Honestly, I''m surprised I didn''t hear you act upst night." I scoffed.


    [Did you expect me to start givingmentary?] Ddraigughed. [Or maybe some words of encouragement? Go Wilhelm, go! Show her the power of the Red Dragon Emperor, wooo!]


    "Oh. My. God." I sighed.


    [Nope, it''s Ddraig]


    "To give up the boosted gear, or not to give up the boosted gear." I tapped my chin.


    [Oh, stop being a little bitch.] I think I felt Ddraig roll his eyes.


    I grumbled, but ignored hisment. "Ddraig, I was thinking about some stuff, have I gottencent?"


    [You mean, did you drive decrease?]


    "Yeah....I mean, I''m happier than I''ve ever been in my life, and I feel....strong forck of a better word. Did I just stop trying?"


    [It''s not weird for both Dragon''s and Devils to be content where they are. Hell, even humans are often times fine with just coasting along with some sess in life. If you were happy to stay as is, I wouldn''t make ament.]


    I forget sometimes that Ddraig isn''t here to hold my hand and carry me through life. He sees me as a partner, but my life is mine to live with all the mistakes thate with it. If I asked advice, he would give it, help me work through some things, sure. But my choices were always mine to make in the end, and he never encroached on that.


    "I guess seeing Mg Bal and Harkon made me realize I can''t keep sitting still I guess. I haven''t been practicing my Aura as I should, I''ve just been using it as a shield. My Thu''um fell to the wayside, and I feel like there''s still magic I could learn here."


    [What are you going to do about it?]


    "Go see the Archmage, maybe he has some high end stuff I haven''t touched on. I also want his opinion on some stuff I nabbed from Harkon''s castle. I guess I wouldn''t mind donating a bit to the college as well, maybe keep their prices down since some of this dragon shit is my fault." I paused, running a hand through my hair. "I don''t know how much talent I actually have in utilizing the Thu''um but it''s an avenue I should pursue, seeing how it operates simrly to my Primordial Runes." The shout that Thorum used to move so quickly, that definitely caught my interest. "I need to push myself in training as well. I do my exercises, but I need to take this opportunity to really push my body when I have the chance. My potential hasn''t been realized yet, my physical capabilities still are not at the peak of what a devil can achieve."


    [Well said.]


    I had another firm resolve in my chest. I wanted to continue to get stronger, to not be stagnant in my strength.


    First off, let''s go see the Archmage.


    ***


    I actually didn''t just use the Kaleidoscope to go right in. Instead used the entrance I procured for Jinn.


    "Oh, hello Wilhelm." The Archmage greeted me, a strange contraption pointed at the door.


    "Sup." I blinked at the thing he was tinkering with.


    "Whatcha doin?" I asked.


    "Not much, trying to figure out how this door operates. I''ve tried 17 different theories and all of them proved incorrect." He seemed giddy. "I have high hopes for this one."


    Honestly, it sounds like he was having a lot of fun. With everything going on right now, I''m sure he can''t really leave the college and probably feels cooped up. Well, I don''t'' really care he''s not hurting anything and I trust this man. If he actually asked me for my secrets, I don''t know if I would deny him.


    "You seem in a chipper mood. How were the dragons?" He idly asked, continuing his tinkering.


    "Not too strong. Thorum could have handled them without me, but it was interesting to see their application of the Thu''um. There was one shout that took me by surprised, targeting my vitality which was a noticeable hole in my defenses."


    "Oh yes, I can imagine that." He rubbed his chin. "Not many take precautions against such esoteric effects. Those kinds of attacks are mostly used with blood mages, or their kin. If you evere across a vampire, be sure they don''t take your drain your vitality by surprise."


    "Huh..."


    "What?" He looked up at me.


    "speaking of vampire..."


    The Archmage paused, staring at me. "What did you do."


    "Why do you automatically assume I did something!?"


    "Wilhelm." His lips thinned. "There is a thing called a ''pattern''."


    I opened my mouth then scoffed. "I hate that I can''t argue with you."


    "Indeed." He smirked. "Now, what happened?"


    "Uh, ever heard of a vampire by the name of Harkon?"


    "Why yes, I have heard of the strongest Vampire in Skyrim, whom I have personally had to return the head of a vampire to because he sought out something in my library by turning one of my students into a thrall." He deadpanned.


    "Oh, well that makes things easier."


    "Does it?" He asked, skeptically.


    "He''s dead, so you tell me."


    The Archmage let out a long sigh, reaching his hand out and summon forth a bottle of mead, once again, downing it with vigor.


    "That can''t be healthy." I pointed out.


    "Neither is your existence in my life, but here we are."


    I couldn''t help butugh, one shared by him.


    "I do hope you were not harmed." The Archmage stated.


    "Nothing significant, even if Mg Bal showed up to lend him a hand." I had to stop myself from growling. "I was just a pawn to strike a blow at Meridia. I guess they saw me waiving Dawnbreaker around and put two and two together."


    "Ah, yes. The conflicts between your paramour and the Lord of Rape are well documented." He didn''t seem phased by what I said. "He should have been a master blood mage, I''m curious how the fight went."


    "I won, but it felt like he let himself go, kinda rusty all around if I were to be honest."


    "Well I won''t say it''s a ''shame'' but I do so wish his magics were passed down to someone not so...."


    "Arrogant, genocidal, stuck up, vampiric?" I offered.


    "Quite." He pursed his lips.


    "If it makes you feel better, I raided his castle of everything important, including his library."


    "That does make me feel better." He perked up immediately. "I don''t suppose you would be willing to share some of the tomes hoarded by that old vampire?''


    "Sure, I was going to have Jinn sort everything, set up my own little library. Anything of importance I''m sure we could duplicate so the Library has some copies as well. Though, I wanted to make sure nothing too.....absurd is made readily avable."


    "Wilhelm, do you really think I allow free ess to the most powerful and self-destructive spells allowed to beings of our caliber?"


    "So you do have a hidden stash." I raised an eyebrow.


    "Of course. It''s not so hidden though, once a member of the college reaches a certain level...and maturity." He looked at me intently. "I allow them to peruse."


    I held my hand out, gold literally began to flow out like water, filling the area between us into arge pile and continued to spill outwards.


    The Archmage stared at me, then the gold and back at me again. "As I was saying, you are a highly valued member of our College ¨C" We shared a look and startedughing again. "In seriousness, Wilhelm, you merely had to ask."


    "I figured, but I also wanted to make a donation." I scratched my cheek. "I still feel kind of guilty and I hope you can maybe keep prices down a bit, maybe coordinate some help for themon folk who were affected?"


    "Wilhelm....that is a very admirable thing to do." His eyes softened. "I would be delighted to ensure this happens. I still have many contact outside of Skyrim, it may take a few days, but I believe I can bring some fresh supplies inbound to Skyrim even with their absurd costs right now."


    "Yeah, yeah." I definitely didn''t preen under his praise. "So, about those spells you keep locked away?" I grinned.


    ***


    Oh boy this week has been kicking my butt. First half I was bogged down with Work, and now I have a family member in the ER. Everything is fine, but there was a lot of stress and time I spent dealing with all of that, so this chapter came out a bitte.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 138 - 131

    <h4>Chapter 138: Chapter 131</h4>


    I took a deep breath, sweat dripped down my brow. I ignored the few stray strands of hair that fell down on my face. My legs crossed, wings out as I hovered about ten feet into the air, a floating book in front of me and the Boosted Gear on my arm.


    I ignored the pain in my body as I turned the page. There was a small twitch in one of my wings and I fell about an inch before catching myself. My swords floated around me, my mental strength also keeping them afloat. But that was not all, my Sword of Destruction was channeling my aura so my Power of Destruction was activated around the de. It didn''t run wild, instead, it was coherent,cent. It was evenly distributed all around, coating it in the ckish hue, only instigated into action by my will.


    [Do it again.]


    I took another deep breath. "Boost." I called out, doubling my capabilities once more. This must have been the 8th boost now, and I felt my body grow stronger, but at the same time, the strain was enough that I let out a growl. As the power flowed through my, another force was exerted, the Runes I set up all around this room lit up, and a torrent of gravity descended upon me, threatening to force me onto the ground.


    I grit my teeth, adjusting to the new force, not letting myself fall too far, and not allowing my swords to fall either. My focus did not waver, my Power of Destruction did not go out of control and I adjusted to the new weight around me.


    This room, an empty ce I had found in the college to train. I had received permission from the Archmage to set this little ce up. All around me were Runes, designed to adjust the force of gravity on an individual. It was a bit annoying getting set up right, but I couldn''tin about the results.


    Normally, such a thing would have been tedious, but otherwise simple. What I had done, was add a secondary sequence that increases every time I use ''Boost'', except it doesn''t merely match my new strength. If I used the boosted gear to increase my abilities by a factor of 2, the gravitational exertion is creased by 2.1, meaning I could train myself in multiple ways, both from the stress of the Boosted Gear, and the force exerted on me. And that didn''t even take into ount my mental exertion to keep my swords up, my flight up, and my power of destruction going.


    I pushed off the thoughts of pain, instead focusing on the book infront of me. One of several I had acquired from the Archmage''s personal library, or rather the books he keeps segregated so new initiates can''t just get their hands on them by ident.


    They weren''t all ''blow this city up'' kind of thing. A lot of them were spells that an initiate could use, but were extremely dangerous and needed a firmer grasp on magical arts to fully understand and utilize without harming yourself. And then there were others that were just....malicious by design.


    I''m not one that likes tobel spells ''evil'', but there were certainly some horrible spells in his collection. Not that I faulted him for keeping them, they were useful for understand and learning from, even if you never intended to use them.


    Like there was a spell that forced another person to fall in love with you. It was a disgusting amalgamation of different mind control magics with an unhealthy dose of brain chemistry altering. But on the flip side, it had a very interesting thought process onbining spells without conflicting with one another, but instead bing greater than the sum of its parts.


    The spell I was studying at the moment was called ''Lightning Form''. It was a spell derived from the Lightning Cloak spell I was quite familiar with.


    To put it bluntly, it forces the body to take on the properties of ''lightning'' so to speak. It would heavily increase my affinity to the element, but it was irreversible, from what I read. The down side, was the fact that the process was extremely painful and dangerous, not to mention I wouldn''t be able to use a simr spell otherwise I''d probably die.


    Using terms from my home world, it would force the concept of ''Lightning'' onto my being with everything good and bad thates with that. My Element would thus change, not recing the old one, but adding a second. There were many factors thate into y when dealing with something like this, but I had many tools at my disposal to mitigate the detriments.


    "What do you think, Ddraig?"


    [It''s not a bad idea. I''m sure I don''t need to tell you about all the dangers and everything. But you seem more particr towards the element of Lightning. It will make other elements a little harder to utilize, but that doesn''t mean much. And since your Runes aren''t direct elemental maniption, they won''t be affected, but would be enhanced due to your Lightning affinity when using some of your personal spells.]


    "Yeah, most of the detriments are about ''gaining'' the ability, not the effects of simply having it." Which admittedly, were a long list, not many mages could boast what I could when it came to preparation. Hell, my Aura mitigated an awful lot of problems talked about in the book.


    [You''re up again.]


    I grunted, gritting my teeth, preparing. "Boost" I called out, holding it for a moment until the gravity descended upon me again. I let out a pained cry as I mmed into the stone floor below, cracking the surface.


    The magics turned off by, a safety measure built in by design.


    "....Release..." I breathed out, letting the boosts fade and leaving my body aching. My swords impaled themselves onto the ground near me, my power of destruction dissipating and retreating along the linkage of my Aura, returning to me.


    [Not bad, yousted longer than yesterday by a noticeable margin.]


    I rolled over, back onto the ground, letting my body sprawl out. "This is the ....4th day?


    [5th Day.] Ddraig corrected


    "Oh....time just seemed to blend together." I muttered, letting my breath return to something normal. " I moved my arms but was only greeted by an aching pain.


    No pain, no gain as they say.


    I let out a sigh, sitting myself up.


    "Wilhelm." I heard a familiar voice call out, opening the wooden door.


    Turning around, I saw the Archmage enter. "Have youe to check up on your prisoner?'' I asked.


    "Wilhelm." The Archmage gave me a dry look. "Just because this room was a holding cell some centuries ago does not make you a prisoner." He deadpanned.


    "The outside world, I can''t handle it anymore. Let me stay here, it''s all I know." I gasped.


    "Okay." He didn''t even bat at eye at my antics. "Shall I tell Miss Artoria and Tohsaka that you have opted for a life behind bars?"


    "Boo." I pursed my lips rolling back over gain. My arms were shaking and my legs wobblily as I stood up.


    "Oh, Wilhelm." The Archmage came over to steady me. "How much did you push yourself?"


    "Well, I''m still breathing, so probably not enough." I chuckled. Atleast, I think that''s how Sc¨¢thach would look at it.


    The Archmage sighed. "Wilhelm, I can''t im to know much about your biology...." He cast a look at my wings still out. "But this can''t be healthy to sustain over long periods."


    "[Long periods mean different things for dragons.]" Ddraig chimed in.


    The Archmage blinked, staring at my gauntlet. "I can''t argue with that logic. Still, perhaps a break is in order? As I said, Miss Artoria and Miss Tohsaka have returned, and they have had a wonderful experience if their excitement is anything to go by."


    "Alright, I''ll head there in a moment." I nodded. I hadn''t seen Artoria in over a week.....I miss my little knight. And I wanted to hear about Rin''s adventures, I hope she had a fulfilling time.


    The Archmage nodded. "I see you were reading Lightning Form, what do you think?"


    "It''s....an interesting avenue to pursue, and I can seemingly sidestep many of the detriments with some effort and preparation."


    "Yes, I thought that one may catch your eye." He rubbed his chin, a small smile on his face. "I had to take it from the library when I had a pair of brothers try to learn it together some decades ago."


    "Oh jeeze, how bad did that end?"


    "Well, they at least managed to get a basic lightning bolt down before attempting it." He sighed. "I managed to save their lives, but their ability to manipte Magicka was thoroughly shattered." He eyed me sternly.


    "I appreciate the cautionary tale, but I''m not going to just jump head first into this." I tried to alleviate his concerns. "I have many things avable to me to not suffer any horrific setbacks even if I decided to throw caution to the wind."


    "As long as you are careful." He nodded, clearly pleased with my words. "I also look forward to your thoughts after you seed. If we could tweak it, it would be a wonderful spell for those who specialize in lightning destruction."


    That''s true. He probably didn''t have any data to even start an endeavor. Well, I wouldn''t mind helping him out, if nothing else I do love to discuss magic. "Sure, I''ll make sure to note my attempts down and to have everything document so we can go over it at some point."


    "Wonderful!" He cheerfully replied. "Now, let''s not keep yourdy friends waiting."


    ****


    I happily pushed over the doors to the cafeteria, because where else would I find Artoria? Joking aside, I think they were just here to unwind with some space to set some stuff out.


    The Archmage was already here and as soon as I walked in I drew their attention.


    "Wilhelm." Artoria perked up, a smile on her face and my heart just melted.


    I held my arms out and she happily moved forward into my embrace. "Artoria." I did squeeze her tight. "Missed you. Did you have fun?"


    "Un." She let out a small noise in confirmation. Only breaking our hug after another moment. "Come, we have a grand tale to regale you with." She grabbed my hand, pulling me over to the table.


    I took another look at them. Artoria wasn''t in her usual armor, she was sporting some local leathers with some otherfortable looking furs to not stand out so much. Along with a hooded cloak adorning her back.


    Rin too looked interesting.


    I met her eyes briefly and she returned a haughty smile, hand on her hip and a happy gleam in her eye. She looked much different. Full leather armor, but with what looked like a mages robe fitted over, acting like a cloak. I could only tell because of the parts not covered, Her arms, a bit of her chest, her legs. She was clearly decked out in armor and from what I could tell, it was clearly enchanted. I briefly wondered if it was by her own hand or not.


    She had a staff in her hand I did not recognize, but it seemed pretty decent. Her Noble Phantasm was on her back, for ease of use. She had a dagger at her hip and other essories all around. But the most eye-catching item was the Amulet that hung from her neck.


    What a feeling it gave when I inspected it. Obviously, she was allowing me this kind of ''poking'' otherwise such an action could be easily differed.


    "I think I''m Jealous." I blinked as I eyed that ridiculous thing around her neck. "Am I allowed to be jealous?" I looked down at Artoria.


    She just let out a smallugh.


    "I''ll allow it." Rin flipped her hair back, obviously emphasizing the thing even more.


    I rolled my eyes, but I was happy Rin seemed a lot more....''alive'' than when I saw herst. "Alright, I want answers." I jabber my finger at her amulet. "The hell is that thing, because it''s frankly, ridiculous. I almost thought it was a Daedric Artifact."


    "No, but it is an item of legendary proportions." The Archmage chimed in. "Miss Tohsaka was kind enough to allow me a few cursory looks."


    "I said you could look at it as much as you wanted." Rin huffed.


    The Archmage chuckled. "I have enough. I merely was interested in its overall creation, without breaking it apart, I can''t get much more from it unless you were willing to part from it for a few years."


    Rin looked aghast at the thought, earning another chuckle from the old mage.


    "Alright, you can show off. Tell me what it does." I sat down at the table, Rin joining me quite quickly.


    The Archmage just stood nearby, content on watching and hearing the story while Artoria slid in next to me, as we shared another small smile.


    "From what I''ve discovered so far." Rin began. "It provides a potent passive healing effect. A small cut would heal in moments, a broken arms would probably take a few hours and I haven''t tested any missing limbs for obvious reasons." She stated, clearly in a type of lecture mode.


    "Interesting, have you tried other avenues of healing. Like is Hair restored, or fingernails? It would be interesting if it stops the process of aging." I asked.


    Rin paused pondering those questions. "I''ll need to test it more." She admitted and I just nodded as she continued. "My physical stamina is higher. I noticed I could hike through the mountains a lot longer before feeling winded."


    "I can vouch for this one." Artoria chimed in. "She went from needing a break every few hours to going nearly all day without issue."


    "Fascinating." I rubbed my chin. "I''m sure that isn''t it though." I ginned at her. I could tell she was holding something back.


    "My capacity for Magical Energy at least doubled while wearing this thing." She looked rather smug. "It has a sort of.....Magicka Pool I can draw from and refills separately from my own, but doesn''t conflict when I actualize any of my spells."


    "Now that is really interesting. Does it refill separately from your own, or does it fill up by siphoning your own magical energy?"


    "It draws from the world; my own Od is left untouched." Rin confirmed.


    I admit to being a little jealous, maybe it was just my hoarding nature acting up infront of a treasure. But I was honestly happy for her too. She also looked a lot more spirited, like a weight was off her shoulders.


    "The treasures are good and all, but how abut the details. Tell me of your adventure." I shot her a smile and she beamed back at me.


    "Well, it started when we went looking for a tomb called Folgunthur over by Solitude....."


    Artoria reached out under the table, sliding her hand into mine as our fingers intertwined and sheid her head on my shoulder as we let Rin began to recount the tales of her adventure.


    Seeing Rin excitedly start to recant the tale, I couldn''t help but smile. Even with how fatigued I was feeling at this moment, everything just felt right in the world.


    ***


    Skyrim Arc is wrapping up soon, then we''re heading to fate/apocrypha to participate in a grail war.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 139 - 132

    <h4>Chapter 139: Chapter 132</h4>


    "So we made it to this big tomb, lots of undead everywhere." Rin had exined their journey to delve into this lost crypts. "I thought the ce was already cleared out, because there were no zombies walking around ¨C"


    "Draugr" I corrected.


    "¡ªDraugr." She nodded. "So there were no Draugr walking around, we walk into a new room, lots of coffins, and there was a treasure chest."


    "Oh gods did you go straight for it?" I face palmed.


    "She went straight for it." Artoria said dryly.


    Rin turned a little red. "As soon as I touched it, all the coffins in the room had their lids kicked opened and a stupid amount of Draugrs all stepped out."


    "So, you engaged them." I nodded to her words. "In such an enclosed space, I assume you stuck to your spear and perhaps some small cantrips?"


    "No." Artoria deadpanned.


    "They startled. Me." Rin defended herself, casting a huff towards Artoria.


    "They startled you?" I gave her a dry look. "And what happened when they ''startled you''."


    "Blew them the hell up." Rin preened.


    I looked towards Artoria.


    "That is an unfortunately apt description of what urred." Artoria sighed. "She screamed and threw one of her Rubies into the middle of the room, destroying most of them in the st."


    "Saber!" Rin huffed.


    We shared augh at her expense, but she didn''t seem particr distressed. I think this trip of hers was the best thing that''s happened to her in many months. "How about the traps, those ces are usually infested with the things."


    "Oh god, tell me about it." Rin groaned. "Who puts jars of oil hanging on the ceiling!?"


    "I just started saying ''fuck it'' and forced my way through them all."


    "Yes, Rin shared a simr mindset." Artoria sighed again.


    "Blew them up?" I hazarded a guess.


    "Hehe." Rin let out an awkwardugh.


    "Alright, so navigated the ancient tomb filled with undead and traps, what was at the end?" I asked.


    "Well ording to the Journal''s, these ces were actually prisons for the sons of this amulet''s original owner and maker." Rin exined. "I don''t know the specifics, but they took the amulet when he died, and broke it up into three pieces. They were tyrants, ruling over thend until they were finally put down and sealed away."


    "Fascinating." The Archmage finally spoke up, content to just listen in with amusement. "You still possess these journals?"


    "Of course." Rin puffed up. "I knew you would want them. But....everything''s kind of jumbled together in my bag after an.....ident. If you don''t mind I can get them to you after sorting everything."


    "No rush." The Archmage waived her off. "Please continue."


    "This Draugr was able to use magic, and he was really good. He was able to teleport short distances, and his elemental mastery was surprising." Rin let out a sigh. "Honestly, I was taken by surprise. If not for Saber''s magic resistance, I don''t know if It would''ve gone as smoothly."


    "Well, you know better now, right? I doubt any more magic wielding undead took you by surprise from then on." I tried to sooth.


    "She did well." Artoria also chimed in. "The fight was not long, but she was able to support me as we took it down and imed the amulet piece and its treasure as our own."


    "They were durable, but not very fast." Rin added.


    Ah, Reinforcement is quite the good spell. Most people using magic here had just bluntly forced the magical energy to elevate their body beyond normal means. That, or they simply exist at a much higher starting ce simr to how humans were back home in the Age of Gods. Really, the most thorough strengthening spell I found here was Ebony Flesh, and its lesser equivalents. And even that mainly ''strengthened'' as opposed to Reinforcement that increased every aspect of the body.


    It''s quite curious now that I think about it, but thoughts forter.


    "Draugr have an innate resistance against magic themselves, as well." I tapped my chin. "Their necrotic nature simply makes spells have a lesser effect, though I suppose it''s slightly different than actual magic resistance."


    "Well, they burned well enough." Rin shrugged.


    "Yup, that''ll do it. They''re weak against fire, for obvious reasons. There are probably some spells in the restoration school that also repel and harm them. Since the healing magic is the antithesis to undead, they should be able to deal quite a bit of damage."


    "I didn''t think about that." Rin look lost in thought for a moment. "I''ll have to test that at some point." She muttered to herself.


    "Well, regardless, what happened next?"


    "We basically did the same thing again. Took a couple days of traveling, though we found someone willing to take us in cart most of the way there for some gold. Same kind of crypt, but this one had a bow and teleported around, was kind of annoying because it made clones of itself, but none of them were actually real until only one remained."


    "Uh, did you find any books or anything about a spell like that?"


    "No." Rin Grumbled. "And I looked all over, turned up every stone."


    "She means that literally." Artoria added.


    "Well done." I gave Rina thumbs up, one she mirrored with a grin. "More treasure, though?"


    "Hell yes!" Rin pumped her fist in the air. "Lots of good things, gold, jewels, weapons, that kind of stuff. You''re going to be so jealous~"


    "Am I now?" I raised an eyebrow. "Shall I tell you of my adventure when you''re done?" My lips curled up.


    "What? What''d you do when we were gone?"


    "Not much, just killed the oldest vampire in Skyrim, looted his castle." I casually inspected my nails.


    "Bullshit!" Rin mmed her hands on the table. "I call bullshit!"


    I let Harkon''s sword fall onto the table. "Oh no, the de I got off that vampire lord..." I feigned surprise. "How did that get there!?"


    "One of these days, Schweinorg, you and me!" She raised her fist up threateningly. "And put that thing away, it feels really weird."


    "Yeah, it does." I didn''t argue putting it back in my ring. "Was going to have Meridia see if she could ''cleanse'' it of all the icky stuff."


    "Are you going to add it to your growing arsenal?" Artoria asked.


    "Eh, maybe just my collection, not to something I use for truebat." I scratched my cheek. "I was just interested in the fact that it was a ''katana'' or something simr. A bit straighter and shorter, but also not a wakizashi, if slightly bigger than a normal one."


    "That is true, I think Gram was a better sword and you opted to not set it to the side." Artoria agreed.


    "Speaking of, I actually gave it to Thorum. It liked that fact that he apparently eats dragon souls."


    "Curious, I would like to meet him at some point." Artoria gave a small smile.


    "Of course, I think both of you would like him. He''s a great guy."


    "Yeah yeah we can meet your guy crushter. Let me finish my story." Rin interjected.


    "Alright, Miss Grumpy, continue on." I gestured for her to continue.


    Funnily enough, she wasn''t actually upset or even put off by our little back and forth. I think before she held back some thinly veiled jealousy, but now it was just sort of our dynamic.


    "Alright, so we got thest two pieces of the Amulet, but we needed to find a way to put them together. There was actually some notes and stuff left behind, a third tomb we were led to. Some sort of ritual site that required the pieces of the Amulet to actualize. Once we did that, it seems like the spirits of those brothers were stilltched onto the pieces, so the sort of piggy backed off the ritual to create a ghost-like body."


    "Can you describe the ritual in detail?" The Archmage asked?


    I had forgotten he was there briefly, actually, I don''t think he was all the way here, like a sort of avatar merely listening in when something interesting came up.


    "I made a rough sketch before we left a long with the notes to it and I wrote down some of my own observations as well." Rin stated.


    "Oh my, well done Miss Tohsaka." The Archmage gave out well deserved praise. "It truly is a boon to have you in my college."


    Rin puffed up happily. "Of course!"


    "The fight was a little difficult." Artoria began. "There were three opponents who were adept in magic and had some amount of martial skill behind them. Not to mention theycked several weaknesses a living person would have, such as stamina. But they alsocked any kind of coordination, there were points where they almost fell over one another."


    Rin let out a little snort. "The one with the bow actually shot the one with a sword in the head."


    "The most difficult aspect was their teleporting." Artoria had a slight smile on her face. "The room we fought them in was ratherrge so they had quite a bit of room to maneuver."


    "I took out the one with the bow and Artoria took out the other two. Once we finished, the ritualbined the Amulet and here we are." Rin finished.


    Well, it doesn''t sound like they had any major issues, but they also left out a lot of details. But it would probably take hours to recount every little thing. "And you guys didn''t face anything outside of these tombs, no dragons?"


    "The skies were clear the entire time. I made sure to keep a watch out." Artoria reassured me.


    "Yeah, the worse we ran into was a Troll but ¨C"


    "You blew It the fuck up?" I finished for her.


    "Damn straight." Rin smirked. "What about you, was this vampire strong?"


    "Yeah." I let out a sigh. "And he was backed by a Daedric Lord, someone whose an enemy of Meridia and wanted to lure me out." A trap I walked right into. "He was a bit rusty though, so I was able to defeat him without much issue, but his mastery over blood magic was eye opening."


    "Blood magic?" Rin repeated.


    "Exactly as it sound, to manipte blood. You can think of it as a branching school of thought from water maniption. Though ites with its own good and bad points due to the nature of blood."


    "Will~" A person suddenly burst through the doors, her eye catching blue skin making me recognize her immediately.


    "Jinn." I smiled brightly at her.


    Her eyes swept at those of us gathered. "Rin, Artoria!" She practically squealed in delight, running over and giving each a big hug. Rin looked a little surprised at first, but happy all the same, Artoria weed it without any fuss.


    "Hello Jinn." Artoria greeted.


    "Jinn." Rin nodded her way.


    "I''m d you both are back." Jinn''s smile was really contagious. "Did you have fun, were there new books you found? What''s that around your neck? Did you fight any of those undead? What about spells, did you learn anything new? Or did you find any good treasure?" She immediately began bombarding them with questions.


    Was always happy to see my genie this bright and ecstatic.


    "Oh." Jinn interrupted her own rambling. "I actually had a quick question." She looked at me. "I was going through the notes and journals from Harkon''s stuff you left at the house, and I got kind of stuck because it mentioned something about an ''Elder Scroll'' but I can''t find ¨C"


    "Pardon." The Archmage interrupted. "Did you say an Elder Scroll?" He seemed much more contracted on us than he was previously.


    But honestly, the hell was an Elder Scroll?


    ***


    I have no excuse for howte this chapter was released, just kind of got caught up reading a new novel.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 140 - 133

    <h4>Chapter 140: Chapter 133</h4>


    "An Elder Scroll." The Archmage rubbed his beard. "I am surprised to find out that none of you have heard of them. While most knowledge has entered the realm of legends, people these days at least know the barest whispers."


    Uh, I guess they''remon knowledge around here?


    He closed his eyes for a moment, before setting arge book down on the table that appeared out of nowhere. Opening it up, he skimmed several pages, finger running down the lines of the page. "Here we are." He eximed. "Also called the Aedric Prophecies, are scrolls of unknown origin which simultaneously archive both the past and future events. The number of the Scrolls is unknown not necessarily due to their immense quantity, but because the number itself is unknowable, as the scrolls ''do not exist in countable form''. They are fragments of creation from outside time and space, and their use in divining prophecies is but a small part of their power. They simultaneously do not exist, yet always have existed."


    Fascinating. These Scrolls exist outside of time and space, thus are able to chronicle the flow of the world somehow. That poses an interesting question, if someone reads from one of these ''Elder Scrolls'' does that make the future or is the scroll merely describing inevitable events? The chicken or the Egg. Does bringing the scroll''s content into reality force that recorded prophetic oue to ur?


    "So, they are basically cast off power from the divines when this world was created. Perhaps they crystallized and took on a new form? Existing outside of time and space means they can see the whole of flow of events,tch onto something of some significance, something that has enough ''power'' or ''consequence'' in the world''s existence to draw these wisps of divine power. Maybe the scrolls don''t even exist as ''scrolls'' but are merely perceived as such based on limited mortalprehension?"


    The Archmage blinked at me, seemingly surprised by my words. "An interesting theory." He nodded. "s, it is one of the mysteries of our world. All we know is that they contain valuable information, and cause anyone who reads them to lose their sight, a curse from the divines they say, for peering into the future."


    "Is it a curse or is it just a side effect of looking into something mortals weren''t supposed to see?" Artoria asked.


    "An interesting question." The Archmage smiled, but he just shrugged. "We don''t know. The nature of these Elder Scrolls simply makes them nearly impossible to study. Even in the past when there was a library full of them in the Empire, their nature simply made it unfeasible.


    I had a sudden thought. "The prophecy regarding Thorum, it came from an Elder Scroll, didn''t it?"


    The Archmage gave a huge grin. "I was wondering if you would guess that before I mentioned anything." He stroked his beard. "Yes, it is an old prophecy, so much so that even the Nordic legends speak of it. I do not know when the scroll mentioning it was read, but it was many centuries ago."


    "As interesting as this is, why is it important?" Rin asked.


    "Harkon was the name of the vampire lord I killed." I answered, tapping my chin. "The question is, why was he looking for something like that?"


    "His notes are vague....at best." Jinn sighed. "Some of them are coded, some are just rantings and a few actually provide any insight. But knowing what I do now, there are a few more things I can look up."


    The Archmage suddenly turned around, like his attention was taken away. "Something requires my undivided attention, pardon me." He disappeared.


    I just shrugged at his sudden departure. I didn''t question it, he was undeniably very busy with everything going on. "Any inkling on why Harkon was looking for an Elder Scroll?"


    "Well, some of his notes that talked about the Elder scroll also mentioned their ''great enemy'' and referenced the sun, but otherwise I don''t know." Jinn replied.


    "You sure he wasn''t just bonkers?" Rin asked.


    "It''s entirely possible, he did think consorting with Mg Bal ¨C a second time ¨C was a good idea, so who knows." I shrugged.


    "I''m actually interested in this and everything, but I''m super out of it right now. Any chance we can go over this in the morning?" Rin stated, and after taking another look she looked rather sluggish.


    "I''m a bit weary from our travels as well." Artoria added.


    "I want an actual bed, I''m tired of sleeping on the ground." Rin whined, head falling to the table.


    "Well, I finally got my house anchored here, I have plenty of rooms over there." I offered.


    "Oh, I can show you what I''ve done with the ce!" Jinn said gleefully.


    "You did more?"


    "Uh huh." Jinn nodded happily. "Meridia was very helpful when getting everything sorted and helping me decorate!"


    Huh.


    As strange as that is, I''m d Meridia is spending time with Jinn, they both need more friends.


    "That reminds me...."I turned to Rin. "Did Meridia approach you about getting a phone made?"


    "No, was she supposed to?"


    "Eh, she mentioned it but may have gotten busy. Do you have the materials to start making more?"


    "I got most of the stuff, I just need some raw materials, most of which I can find here somewhere." Rin nodded.


    "Probably going to need several more...."


    "God, you''re such a man whore." Rin rolled her eyes. "Jinn needs one, obviously, The old man too, even if he probably already made one himself. Saber need her own." She began listing them off, making Artoria smile. "Meridia like you said. You want a couple for Yasaka and your daughter?"


    "And maybe one for Izzy in the future." I thought about it. "You know, it might just be easier to make a sort of ''routing'' device, a mystic code that can direct real-time calls to us regardless of where we are due to the phones instead of everyone needing a phone." The thought just entered my head.


    Rin paused for a moment, deliberating. "That.....would probably be more efficient, but I''m no where close to being able to do that right now. I''ll need more data from this kaleidophones before I start creating any theories."


    "That''s fair." I couldn''t really ask for much more. It would be a decent undertaking if the thought turned out to be fruitful. "Just a random thought forter." I shrugged. It wasn''t my attention to just heap some stuff onto her te. "Well, why don''t we go check out my house?"


    "Please, I wasn''t looking forward to sleeping on the beds here." Rin looked rather grateful.


    ***


    We walked through the front door, Rin and Artoria inspecting the area immediately.


    "Did you really link it up with a closet at the College?" Rin deadpanned.


    "Well....you see....¡ª"


    "He put the house down over by Whiterun and forgot I can''t open portals like he can." Jinn said dryly.


    "I''m not even surprised." Rin didn''t react otherwise. "So how does the plumbing and lights work here? I can''t imagine the infrastructure would stay intact after using the Kaleidoscope to pull it across several worlds."


    "Magic." I smiled.


    She gave me a t look.


    "Fine." I grumbled. "Actually, the house is in Yasaka''s little pocket dimension that houses West Kyoto, home to arge portion of Japan''s supernatural poption. Mostly everything there is built through magical means, including the houses. The hot water heater, is powered by magic. The lighting in here, is powered by magic. There are severalrge scale rituals all around the property that focus on pulling in magical energy and converting to for the house''s purpose."


    "Wait, really? Aren''t those kinds of rituals rare back home?" Rin looked surprised.


    "Not in the way you think, there just isn''t much a need for that kind of thing. Magical energy doesn''t immediately denote ''Mystery'' which is why the Mages Association was built where it is. While the magical energy there is much denser than most other parts of the Earth, it''s the fact that Albion''s corpse also exudes a very dense amount of ''Mystery'' to saturate the area. Yes, such rituals are ''rare'' simply because everything is rare back home, not even because of resource problems. Every scrap of knowledge is hoarded like it''s a treasure."


    I paused for a moment collecting my thoughts. "If you think about it, many types of magic circles act just as these do, but on a smaller and more specific scale."


    "I get it." Rin yawned, stretching her arms. "I''ll care more in the morning when I get a better look. For now, can you just show us around?"


    "Sure." I smiled, getting my bearings. "Jinn did a wonderful job decorating."


    "It have a very weing feel." Artoria added as well.


    "Meridia needs credit too, she did help me." Jinn preened under the praise.


    "Of course, when she''s not busy, I''ll make sure to pass it on." Really, I''m very lucky that all my girls are getting along like this. "Anyways, lets start the tour." I began to lead them to the back. "This is where I''m keeping my treasury." I pushed open a door, revealing an absurd amount of material wealth.


    "I fucking hate you." Rin hissed.


    "Your anger fuels my existence." I smiled, continuing onwards. A few doors down, I pushed into another room. "And this is the Library."


    "My Library." Jinn corrected.


    "Jinn''s library." I didn''t argue. "She''s been doing a wonderful job of getting everything sorted and set up." There was even a table where she had been going over a bunch of Journals, what I''m assuming were the ones that led her to us in the first ce.


    "Oh, it''s still a mess. Wilhelm left me with a bunch of stuff to handle, and I''ve been going through it in my spare time."


    "I would offer to help if I didn''t know you enjoyed it." I gave her hand a little squeeze.


    Jinn just giggled, leaning over to ce a kiss on my cheek. "Feel free to browse and take anything that catches your interest."


    Rin took a few looks around. "Yeah, I''ll definitely take you up on that." She mumbled, still clearly tired but a bit expectant.


    "Alright, only one more important ce to check out." I led them out once again. We moved towards the center of the house, where my anchor was located. It was moved to a less open location once everything settled.


    "This is the heart of the house." I gestured as they all entered. "The magics that keep it afloat, and where all the defenses pull their strength from. Speaking of, I might as well go over what I''ve got going on so far." There were stacks of Talismans lined up, dozens of Spell Scrolls, and about 50 Staves lined up on the walls, with much more of each to being. "Basically, you got the standard package of bounded fields and anything else like that I thought to throw in. Then we have the nextyer, if something can make it past those, then all of these activate at the whims of whoever is here at the time, most likely Jinn, and they are bombarded with an uncountable number of spells."


    "What happens if these are not enough?" Artoria eyed everything.


    "At that point, we''re dealing with something beyond mortal abilities, so the final fail safe pulls the house back to my birth world."


    "I see." Artoria nodded.


    "I''m also adding more. Got a guy who''s scouring the market for more of the same to add to my arsenal." I exined. "Several thousand Staves all firing in tandem will slow down most things below a god."


    "How much magical energy will that take?" Rin also looked around.


    "A lot, but not as much as you would first assume." I smiled.


    "Again, interesting, but I''m running on fumes here." Rin yawned once more. "Bed?"


    "I have a few rooms set up, I''ll show them to you so you may pick one." Jinn happily suggested.


    "And like that, you''re my favorite Genie." Rin epted immediately, barely even waiting for acknowledgement before pulling Jinn away.


    "You going with her?" I asked Artoria.


    "I....admit to being mentally exhausted through the adventure." She looked a little hesitant. "I know I have been away for awhile and we have not spent much time together..."


    I flicked her forehead, earning a little surprised noise from her. "You don''t need to exin yourself to me. Just because we''re in a rtionship doesn''t mean we have to involve ourselves with every moment of each other''s lives." I did wrap my arms around her. The time we spent apart did make me miss her. "You get to have your own time, your own adventures. I''ll always be here waiting for you, just like how you were for me when I was jumping around."


    "Will." She whispered, burying her head in my chest. "You have been very good to me. I don''t know what to say.....I am very happy with you as my boyfriend."


    "You''re so cute it makes it hard for me to let you go." I kissed her forehead. "Once you''ve rested for a bit and Rin regains her baring, I hope you can join me in some sparring."


    "Sparring?" She perked up.


    "Mmm, I''ve been picking up my training recently. I was going to head over to Thorum and work on my Thu''um with him as well."


    "I would be happy to spar with you, Wilhelm." She smiled brightly. "Mayhaps we seek out Sasaki Kojiro for some bouts with him as well?"


    "That....is a brilliant idea." Ipletely forgot about him. "I suppose Rin is probably getting impatient, waiting for you."


    "En." She grunted. "Rin is still very....on guard."


    "Oh." I blinked at her statement. "Having to constantly be on the look out for days at a time, I hadn''t even considered how she was still stressing over certain things like that even now that she is rtively safe and could let her guard down."


    "It is to be expected. Herst time in such a situation was the Grail War but she was a bit more.....na?ve then. Mayhaps this experience brought up some memories of then."


    "Even so, I think she''s handling it well. She only looked tired, not anything else I could see on the surface. I guess we should just keep an eye out.....therapy isn''t a bad choice if she does have some issues to work through." Gods know I probably need it as well.


    "Something to consider." Artoria nodded. "I should probably go." She looked at me expectantly.


    I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, her arm moving up to cup my cheek.


    "Sleep well." I said my goodbyes as we separated. She gave onest smile before shuttling off up the stairs towards the bedrooms.


    Peeking out the window, the Sun was still high up in the sky because it was barely past noon.


    I just chuckled, opting to go get some training done.


    I hope Thorum was avable.


    ***


    I popped over to Whiterun and practically made a beeline for the Companions building. As I got close, I heard noise, the sound of steel against steel from behind the building in the courtyard. Opting to go check it out, I saw my friend sitting to the side with a cup of water in his hand and sweat dripping down his brow.


    There were others there, some I recognized and others I didn''t. Actually, there looked to be a few in some guard outfits, partially taken off, training with thepanions.


    "My friend!" Thorum eximed, grabbing everyone''s attention.


    "Hey, Thorum." I greeted, even at his sudden shout and the attention that I now had on me, seeing how happy he was to see me always brought a smile to my face.


    "You disappeared for several days, I had wondered where you had run off to." He stood up, sping me on the shoulder.


    "Oh, some idiots wanted to make a move on me. Decided to go have a chat with their leader." I briefly exined. I didn''t really want to go into the details, I feel like Thorum would be upset that I went and fought the vampires on my own. "I also got in some good training."


    "Wonderful. It''s always good to keep up with your exercises." Thorum nodded in approval.


    "Red Dragon Emperor." One of the faces I didn''t recognize greeted.


    "Wilhelm." A nodded to me as well, propping herself up with a warhammer. I thought she used a sword and bow, but I didn''t question it.


    "Good to see you again, mage." Farkas also greeted beside her. The way he called me that didn''t hold any kind of insult behind it. Perhaps just a simple nickname or acknowledgement on his part.


    "Good to see you lot in good shape." Though I haven''t seen some of their other numbers, even when we partied before. I guess they''re out on missions ere or there throughout Skyrim.


    Thorum hefted Gram over his shoulder. "My Friend, have youe to join us in training?" He gestured to the area. "We wee all who wish to better themselves in these troubling times."


    Huh, that makes sense then. The Companions are probably some of the best this ce has to offer for mundane warriors....besides those odd ones. It would do good for the average guard toe on over during their free time. Not to mention the morale boost it would give the troops.


    I wondered if this was the Jarl''s idea or Thorum just coincidentally setting it up by being a good guy.


    Honestly, I''d give it 50/50 odds.


    "Actually, I did."


    "Oh?" Thorum didn''t seem to expect my answer. "Do you wish to test your de against me then?" He smiled, holding his own sword up in a good natured taunt.


    "Actually that sounds like fun." Now that I thought about it, I should make sure I use this opportunity to train with him too. "Artoria will probablye by soon, I don''t doubt she''d also like to cross des with you."


    "Your woman, huh?" Thorum nodded. "Aye, I will dly greet her with my de when the timees. But that does not appear to be the reason you are here."


    "You''re right." I replied. "I wanted your help on my Thu''um. To be honest, I''ve kind of neglected it for other avenues of training."


    "Oh, I would be honored." Thorum let out augh. "I did say I would teach you a thing or two when we first separated from the Throat of the world."


    It might be a better idea to go to see the Greybeards, they didn''t seem to dislike me. But for some reason I felt it more appropriate to learn from Thorum.


    "Someone sounds cocky." I gave a smallugh. "How about I teach you a couple things about magic while we''re at it?"


    "That would be great, I was stuck on my studies and did not know how to proceed." Thorum didn''t even hide it.


    Idiot....if you needed help you just had to ask.


    "Got somewhere we can make a mess?" I asked.


    "Well, we can always do it outside the city." Thorum offered.


    I shrugged. "Why not. We can give them a little show too."


    Might raise the overall spirits of the people here if they can see the Dragonborn shouting without the threat of a dragon burning them.


    I was looking forward to this. Besides the training, I did have some time to kill. I was waiting for Jinn to give me a lead on this so called ''Elder Scroll'', and for Artoria and Rin toe on over when they''re up and rested.


    "Aye, I will make sure not to embarrass you too much." He had that big goofy smile on his face.


    "Them be fighting words." I snorted, my lips curling up. "Let''s see if you can keep up."


    ***


    This fucking week, if it wasn''t one thing it was another. Felt like crap all day.


    People asking me what I was reading. I was reading ''trash of the count''s family'', about a hundred chapters in and it''s a fun read.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 141 - 134

    <h4>Chapter 141: Chapter 134</h4>


    Thorum POV


    "This should be far enough." I took a look at our surroundings. It was a fair distance away from the walls of Whiterun, but also far enough away from the farnd that can be resowed when this crisis has ended.


    "This whole area used to be untouched ins." Wilhelm looked around as well. "It was actually quite beautiful. Now it''s been reduced to ashes and craters."


    "Aye, I do miss the sight before the dragons came. Now when I look out from atop the walls, all I see is destruction."


    He looked sad as he stared off into the distance. I did not know he cared so much about thisnd havinge from far away. "I almost forgot, how''s Sir Wiggles?"


    "He has been seen running around Whiterun, at this point most folks know not to harm him, even if they were able to." I let out augh. "He was ying with the children the other day, letting them chase him around the streets."


    "That''s good, I''m d he''s getting out and having some fun." Wilhelm had a content smile on his face. "So, how do you want to do this?"


    "Well...." I scratched my head. "I don''t know." I chuckled.


    "That''s fair, I don''t think you''ve ever had to think about teaching someone before." Wilhelm didn''t begrudge my ignorance. "To be honest, I don''t think I''m ever going to master this Thu''um like you will. I''m just hoping to be proficient with a few shouts."


    The Greybeards did tell me that it was very hard for other people to learn the way of the voice. Even for them, they had stayed away from the world and spent their whole lives learning atop that mountain. And they were still not very good whenpared to the average dragon, at least in understanding.


    "Any shouts you wish to practice?" I asked.


    "Well.....there was that one you used against that dragon where you had a huge burst of speed." He replied.


    "Ah, the Whirlwind sprint. That was one of the earliest shouts I learned with the Greybeards."


    "Yeah, I wouldn''t mind being able to have that kind of speed. But I''m curious about the limitations, is it a constant effect, is there a limited duration?"


    "It depends on how much power is put into the Shout." I tried my best to exin, but this kind of stuff wasn''t my strong suit. "It''s.....err.....the shouts don''t use Magicka, but they draw power from the soul." I sighed, this was difficult to put into words.


    "I understand." Wilhelm spoke. "All the variables from duration to power are dependent on how much ''strength'' is put into each shout, along with other things like understanding the words and such. Which would exin why this ability isn''t more widespread like magic is. It requires a very powerful soul to shoulder the burden, or years and years of practice and meditation."


    I blinked at his sudden words, how he was able to exin everything I knew instinctively. It briefly made me envious of him before I pushed down those thoughts. "Yes, that sounds correct." I nodded at his exnation. "Is there any way you want to go about this, or should I tell you the words?"


    "Let''s start with the words." Wilhelm nodded.


    "First is ''Wuld'', meaning Whirlwind. Second is ''Nah'', meaning fury. Third is ''Kest'', meaning tempest."


    "Huh, that''s different than I thought." Wilhelm rubbed his chin.


    "Is it bad?" I tilt my head at his question, trying to guess his thoughts.


    "Not bad, just.....different, I suppose. The phrasing makes it seem more aggressive than I first anticipated. Regardless, mind showing me the first word?"


    "Of course, my friend." I smiled at his request, taking a few steps away. "WULD" I shouted, feeling the world bend around my words. He watched me and I moved around him, disying my increased speed.


    "That''s pretty good." Wilhelm said, watching my movements. "So the first word means Whirlwind.....alright, I''ll give this a shot."


    I stopped my movements and the effect wore off with a little bit of effort. Wilhelm readied himself as he called upon the voice. "WULD." He shouted and I felt....something. It didn''t seem ''right'' but there was something there.


    "Alright, let''s see how this goes ¨C" Wilhelm took a step forward, and suddenly his face was nted in the dirt several paces away. There was a silence as he slowly stood up, turning back towards me.


    I couldn''t help butugh as a string of curses left his mouth. "My friend, that was an interesting shout, what is it called, eating dirt?"


    "Alright, I''ll remember this when I start teaching you some magic." He smiled innocently.


    Perhaps I will regret this in a few hours, but for now, it was still very humorous to me. "Will you try again?"


    "I think I know what I did wrong." He brushed himself off. "Lets try this again ¨C WULD" He once more shouted, and there was another effect. My instincts were telling me it was incorrect again, but even my eyes could see that clearly as arge gust of wind burst out and flung him in the opposite direction.


    "Wilhelm are you okay?" He gave me a shaky thumbs up before climbing to his feet. Let no one say you cannot take a hit, thatnding looked like it hurt.


    "I have an idea." He brushed himself off again spitting out some dirt from his mouth.


    "Does it involve you bing intimate with the ground again?" Iughed.


    "Just keep it up, big guy, we''ll see whoseughingter." Wilhelm pursed his lips. "But I was thinking, what if I try it while I''m flying, that way I can get the hang of it without smashing my face into the ground."


    "That sounds like a good n to me." Atleast there will be no obstacles for him and he can get used to the shout this way.


    "Alright." He nodded and his wings burst out of his back. It was a strange sight like always, but I was more used to them now. He had not told me their origin, but I also did not ask. He also did not appear to be as self-conscious about showing them either. "Here we go." He took to the skies, about a dozen feet into the air. "WULD." He shouted.


    I watched as he burst forward, doing a flip and flying right into the ground.


    There was silence again as he pulled his head out of the soil, spitting out more dirt, his eyes locking with mine.


    And I couldn''t hold it in, I fell to the ground, clutching my stomach as I bellowed outughs.


    "Stupid shout is broken." He huffed in annoyance. "That or someone is fucking with me."


    It was odd to see Wilhelm having difficulties. I had thought it woulde easy to him, he always seemed so confidant when a challenge appeared. I always thought of him as a point to strive towards, but seeing like this....it was refreshing. It felt like the space between us had lessened to a degree.


    "WULD."


    "MOTHER FUCKER."


    "WULD."


    "GODS DAMMIT."


    "WULD, WULD."


    "FUCKING HELL, THAT''S WORSE."


    I sat on the ground, a big smile on my face as I watched my friend il around trying to get a good grasp on the shout.


    Divines, I needed this. I haven''t felt this rxed in.....a month? I always felt like we teetered on the edge of oblivion, a single mistake and everything was gone. When Wilhelm came back, It was like a weight off my shoulders. The people kept looking up to me, their ''dragonborn'' but I never felt that I had earned such praise. A part of me just wanted to disappear, to escape away from all the eyes of hope ced on me.


    Things were tense even with thepanions. With the Harbinger still in the stasis spell the Archmage from the college helped cast on him, everyone had been running around to try and find a way to help him while also dealing with the jobs that were overflowing.


    I couldn''t even leave to help them because of the threat of a dragon attack. I had sworn myself as a Thane of Whiterun, I couldn''t abandon the city in this time.


    It just seems like things kept piling up. Trying to deal with the dragons while also scouring Skyrim for a cure for the Harbinger. Finding out that he was a werewolf had been...odd. But I don''t like to judge people based on things like that. He was an honorable man, as were the others who came out with the same affliction. I would not even think of vampires that way. Da always said to judge a man by his actions, not his heritage. Speaking of vampires, that was another mess that was causing issues, especially with the vampiric dust they found in what looked like a battle inside the city.


    There have been rumors of the Dawn Guard gathering again, and I found myself disappointed I could not go and take a look.


    I sighed, watching my friend once more. It filled me with a strange confidence when we told me we merely had to ''kill Alduin'' as if that course of action would be inevitable.


    Truly, I envied his confidence.


    But I would not think of that right now, for this moment, I was just enjoy watching him continuously fly into the ground with a wide grin on my face.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    [I think I know what you''re doing wrong.]


    "Really?" I got up for the millionth time, wiping away the dirt. I was filthy at this point and I had dirt in ces I did not want to think about. "By all means." I ushered him to continue.


    [Okay, so hear me out on this ¨C]


    "Oh fuck off."


    [Have you tried not mming into the ground?]


    "Knew exactly where you were going with that."


    [Hahahahah] Ddriag continued to enjoy my torture from within my soul.


    "Are you alright, Wilhelm?" Thorum looked at me with a little worry on his face.


    "I''m fine, just dealing with a sarcastic dragon whispering in my ear." I scowled.


    "Dragon?" Thorum looked at me strangely.


    "Oh, I forgot to introduce you both." I smacked my head, summoning the Boosted Gear. "Ddraig, meet Thorum. Thorum, meet Ddraig."


    "[Hello.]" The boosted gear lit up, projecting Ddraig''s voice.


    "Oh, I was not aware you could speak." Thorum looked shocked. "Well Met, Y Ddraig Goch." He said politely.


    "[I like him, he shows proper respect to me.]"


    "And once he knows you, it''ll stop." I rolled my eyes.


    "[You see what I have to deal with here? Me, the Red Dragon Emperor and this brat is my wielder.]"


    "I could always give you back to Issei..."


    "[And what a great wielder he is, best I''ve ever had.]"


    "Yeah, thought so." I deadpanned.


    "It sounds like you two are close." Thorum smiled. "I wish the other dragons were as good natured."


    Ddraig let out a snort, catching his attention. "[Brat, don''t mistake my current attitude for my overall nature. I would never have bothered talking to someone like you as you are now. You would have been beneath my notice as much as you don''t care about the ants on the ground when you walk.]"


    "Oh...." Thorum looked depressed by his words.


    "Ddraig." I hissed, looking down at my gauntlet.


    "[What? You want me to baby him? He''s a dragon, he needs to grow up. I''m not saying he has to change who he is, but as he is now, he''s not worth even a second nce from my old self. If he wants to be ''nice'', if he wants to protect all the people in this city, he needs to get stronger.]"


    Oh, this was Ddraig actually trying to motivate him. I think he liked Thorum just as I did, but as a dragon, he probably found Thorumcking.


    "[Dragons do what they want.]" Ddraig grumbled. "[But you better make sure you''re strong enough to continue doing it.]"


    Thorum was silent, his expression shifted a few times. "Thank you for your words, Dragon." Thorum still was respectful.


    "[Hmph, as long as you learned something. The idiot wielding me at least does what the wants, even if it''s flirting with every girl that catches his eye.]"


    "Hey, Thorum, don''t you think this gauntlet would look better if it was white?"


    "[I WILL DESTROY YOU]"


    Thorum''s lips curled up. "Aye, I do believe we have some pigment at the tailors."


    "[Bastard, go back to eating dirt!]"


    "You know what!? I''m going to do it right now!" straightened my back, and adjusted my tie, throwing it to the side. I rolled up my sleeves and pushed my hair back.


    "I believe in you, Wilhelm" Thorum cheered with that big goofy smile of his.


    I closed my eyes, letting my Aura spread out. Using the Thu''um was applicable by forcing one''s will onto reality, the words were the driving force while one''s soul needed to actualize the intent. If my theory was correct, I could get a better feel for everything since my Aura was the physical manifestation of my soul.


    I think I knew what was wrong. It was the fact that Ddraig was in my soul, as ironic as that was. It wasn''t the same where Thorum had the soul of a dragon, I was going about it differently. Not to mention Ddraig''s otherworldly origins, and notpletely matching the same concept as ''dragon'' that this world has.


    The shout was separated into three parts, but the first word was the most important to me. Wuld, meaning Whirlwind. It was the piece that increased one''s movement speed. While the other parts added to it, possibly further increasing the speed, their main intent was something else, to make the user into a true Whirlwind, an actual nature phenomenon while they moved.


    Ddraig, while also causing me issues, was crucial, if he wasn''t in my soul, I don''t know if I would have any talent in this particr branch of magic, even if it bore striking resemnce to Primordial Runes.


    My eyes snapped open. And my legs tensed in anticipation as I took a deep breath. "Wuld!"


    I blinked as the magic actualized, the world bending. I expected many things, none of which were me cartwheeling through the air, losing my sense of up and down as everything blended together before I smacked into the ground once more, skipping several time before I came to a rest in a new hole.


    "Ow." I whined, my Aura ring to start healing me.


    "Wilhelm!" Thorum ran after me, clearly concerned, probably because this was my worse tumble yet.


    Damn, I must look like a mess now. I dare not even check to see how bad my clothes were. The prideful part of me was really annoyed at the thought. "Thorum, I''m good." I put my hands up to calm him down. "Just a little tumble, it wasn''t too bad." Well my Aura stopped me from any side effects, just a little jumbled.


    Though, I felt something when I used my Aura and the Shout that time, like I saw the correct ''path to take''.


    "Hey, Thorum, want to see something cool?" I asked him, my lips quirking up.


    "What do ¨C"


    "Wuld." I whispered, a burst of wind and I was right at him, my hand on his shoulder to stop myself from falling.


    He had a big grin on his face. "Well done."


    I couldn''t help but smile too. It wasn''t nearly as good as his, and I had to really focus on several aspects to get it sorta right, but it was progress.


    ***


    Man i feel like crap since yesterday.


    Thorum helps MC get practical experience with the Thu''um. So, as i told the people over on my pat.reon, I''m looking to finish this arc by the weekend, with their schedule, for a sort of time frame. Jinn lewd is next chapter, just a heads up.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 142 - 135 ***Lewd***

    <h4>Chapter 142: Chapter 135 ***Lewd***</h4>


    I let out a long breath, letting warm water fall onto my head. My body ached a bit, having been practicing different shouts with Thorum all day. Just getting the first part of the Whirlwind sprint had taken me a few hours, but after that, I managed to finagle together a sort of approach to studying the strange magicalnguage.


    My Aura was bring surprisingly helpful. The fact that having Ddraig in my soul was one of the factors letting me el as much as I was, and Aura was my soul''s physical manifestation onto the world. I could monitor how my Aura reacted when I used each shout to sort of eliminate different variables until I got something resembling coherence in each use.


    That quote by Thomas Edisones to mind, something about discovering a thousand ways not to make a lightbulb. That''s pretty much what I did, found every way I wasn''t ''supposed'' to actualize the shout, how ''not'' to go about it until it somehow felt correct enough to bring about the effect I was intending.


    Still, I don''t think I have any noteworthy talent in the area. I was cheating, heavily so, and even then, I was barely managing to scrape by. But, what I was gaining was still phenomenal. Just the first part of the Whirlwind Sprint was worth it, and that wasn''t even the only one I learned. Granted, it was meant to be used in burst, but it was a great movement ability.


    There were a few other Shouts that I took particr interest in; Elemental Fury, Disarm, Aura Whisper. They were what Thorum referred to as ''the basics'', and what the Greybeards first taught him.


    The basics of the basics, that was where I was at right now, but it still made me super happy to even have this much. How long did it take a normal person to learn these shouts?


    And I had many thoughts on how to incorporate other abilities to synergize with them. I haven''t gotten much chance to use my Primordial Runes, but I wondered how they would mesh with such a simr ability.


    I turned the shower off, stepping out to dry myself. I stared at the hair binding that Sc¨¢thach gave me briefly, and instead of the mncholic feeling, I smiled faintly. It weighed on my mind, how much longer I was going to stay here, in Skyrim. It''s not as if I couldn''t leave or return whenever I wanted, but it felt like I had many things going on here. Besides the dragon in the room, I couldn''t help but worry about Rin, Artoria, Jinn, and Thorum.


    The idea that a dragon known as the ''World Eater'' was running loose around here really did give me pause for concern. I didn''t think he was going to suddenly pop up and kill those I cared about, if Thorum still hadn''t been challenged yet, then I doubt anything was going to suddenly ur.


    What did the Greybeards say...they were mostly bunkered down, waiting for the storm to settle.


    And Meridia was here, she could definitely keep them safe, I had no doubt about that. Well, anything below Alduin, and the godly figures here, I don''t think they were face much trouble.


    I would give it a little longer, I was genuinely curious about this supposed ''Elder Scroll'' and I wanted to check that out before leaving. And the cautious part of me wanted to set a few more preparations in the house before leaving everyone to their own devices.


    Well, I just needed to trust them more. I couldn''t always be around, as much as they meant to me, they had their lives to live as well.


    "Haaaah." I let out another breath, tying my hair up. I wiped away the fog in the mirror, looking at my clothes that were folded to the side. "Maybe it''s time I start extending my wardrobe?" It was an odd thought amidst this heavy stuff, but it took my mind off other matters.


    Maybe I was a little stressed out? That isn''t exactly something umon for me, past or present life. It always felt like I was worrying about something or another, even when I appeared rather carefree.


    The only difference is now.... "Maybe I should find my little genie." A grin crept up on my face.


    I did make her a promise, and I intend to fulfill it.


    ***


    Warning: Lewd scene ahead, contains Blowjob and some minor anal y (Female)


    ***


    "Hello Jinn~" I popped up right behind her.


    "Wilhelm!" She almost dropped what she was holding, clearly startled. Taking a deep breath, she gave me a little frown. "Be careful, this is valuable stuff." She huffed, poking me.


    "Is it now." I swept my arms around her, giving her a little hug.


    "What do you want?" She asked, allowing herself to lean into my arms. "I''m not done with my research yet, I needed to ask the Archmage about stuff, but I think I narrowed it down to a few locations."


    "Interesting, but not what I came here for."


    "What did youe h¡ª"


    I gave her butt a nice squeeze, earning a little surprised yelp from her. "Can you take a guess?" I whispered.


    "Artoria and Rin are in the house." She breathed out.


    "Mmm, they are." My hand crept down her thigh. "Does that bother you?"


    "Hnn." She pushed her legs together as my hand reached between them. "Do you intend to do it right here?" Her voice quiet, but there was a certain.... excitement in it.


    "Well, I''m just the tiniest bit stressed." I whispered. "And someone''s been teasing me for far too long."


    "Do you require my services, master~?" Jinn practically threw the items in her hands to the ground, looking up at me lustfully.


    "I do."


    "I am yours to do with you as please."


    "Good, on your knees." Imanded.


    She didn''t hesitate as she dropped down infront of me, nor did she ask what I wanted, her hands already moving to undo my belt. She let out a small gasp when my cock was freed, springing out infront of her face.


    She took a moment to stare at it, it was her first time seeing one in person. She reached out, grabbing a hold of my shaft, gently at first before applying just a little pressure. She gave it a few strokes, as if to get a feeling for it.


    Jinn paused, looking up at me, eyes meeting. She moved her head down, tongueing out as she licked up from under the base all the way to the tip. I couldn''t help but shudder, a small grin on her face. She began to work all around my member, tongue moving up and down, hitting every spot on my cock, carefully caressing every inch of it with her tongue.


    Finally, she moved to the tip, her mouth opening just enough to let it start moving in. Her tonguepped up my underside as she continued to take me further. and every so often she tilts her head to a certain angle to get down on it just a bit more until her nose was pushed all the up into my groin.


    I felt my toes curl, the feeling of my cock being massaged by her throat. I could barely see her eyes look up at me, wanting, expecting. I reached my hands out, fingers mixing in with her hair as I got a firm grip. I let out a groan as I took charge and pulled her head back and pushed it back down again. She didn''t resist it, allowing me to use her for my own pleasure. In fact, her own hand snaked between her legs, and if her movements were anything to go by, she was getting off on it.


    I think that was her kink, getting ''used''.


    I didn''t dwell on it, her throat continued to contort around my cock, being turned into my own personal fuck hole, thrusting in and out to purely satiate my own desire.


    "Jinn." I breathed out, my hands releasing her head.


    She paused in her sucking, letting my Cock escape from her throat, heading out with a loud pop. She looked up at me again, watery eyes, a few tears streaming down her face. Her hand quickly grabbed my shaft and started pumping. "I''ve never tasted anything before." Her free hand moving up to fondle my balls. "Even now, I''ve never eaten nor drank a single item, waiting for this." She hungrily stared. "Will you fill my belly for the first time? make it so I always remember the taste of your seed?"


    It was enough to push me over the edge, my member twitched, and she noticed, enough totch onto the tip, my cum bursting out into her mouth. Her eyes didn''t leave mine and she continued to suck everything out. Her hand slowly pumped my full length, squeezing everyst drop until I finally stopped, spent. My cock fell out of her lips again, but they shut tight, not letting anything leak. She adjusted her head for me to see, her throat visibly swallowing everything I gave her.


    She opened her mouth for me to see, nothing remained. "Thank you for the meal." She licked her lips happily, patting her stomach. "So, this is what it''s like to have a warm meal fill me up." The sultry look she gave me was enough if I wanted to go for another round but....


    "I think you''re misunderstanding something." I grabbed up, lifting her up to her feet. "This is your punishment, bend over." Imanded her again.


    Once again, she didn''t hesitate, steadying herself on the nearby bookcase, ass extended towards me. I moved my hands to the hem of her dress and pulled it up over her butt. Her bare rear greeting me. "No panties, what a naughty girl." I gave her a little spank.


    "Ahh." She let out a small noise.


    "And look at this." I ran my hand between her legs, brushing against her pussy. I moved it up for her to see. "Look how wet you are, were you expecting something, hmm?"


    "Y-yes." She breathed out haggardly. "I want it."


    "You want it, wouldn''t that be a reward?" I hummed, running a hand through her hair. She looked at my warily as I gently took the Lamp off her neck, hanging like a ne. It was small, like an ornament that one wouldn''t take a second look at. The interesting thing about this little trinket, is that its outside form was almost irrelevant, the magics holding it together malleable as long as its principals aren''t interfered with.


    Just apply a little bit of Alteration magecraft, and changing its shape was quite easy.


    Her eyes widened as it visible shifted. "You...." She blushed, quite visibly, the red contrasting against her blue cheeks. "H-how debauched."


    Themp, in its new form, I moved it down, rubbing it against her slit, letting it get coated in her juices. "What kind of master would I be if I didn''t make sure this was nice and secure, right?"


    "Of course." She groaned, hermp moving against her sensitive ce. "I am yours to us¡ª AH" She let out another surprised shout, my finger prodding her other, taunt hole "If you wish it, even that ce exists for your pleasure." She leaned forward a little, spreading her cheeks.


    Thankfully, there isn''t any kind of ''mess'' associated here due to her existence. She doesn''t produce waste of any kind. "I think that''s enough." I stated, the Lamp, in the form of a butt plug and soaked in her own arousal, began to push against her little blue rosebud.


    She arched her back, a small whine escaping her lips


    "Good." I soothed her. "It''s going in."


    She groaned as her ass was prated, her ownmp used to spread her open for the first time. It was slow going, or perhaps I was doing it slowly just to get a reaction from her. Her gritting her teeth, juices literally dripping to the ground, her own fingers sinking into those plump cheeks, but it didn''t take long for it to fully push in to the base.


    Another small whimper left her mouth as she almost copsed onto the ground, panting heavily, legs shaking. "Master, it''s inside."


    "Good girl." I praised her, much to her continued pleasure. "Now, you''re not allowed to take it out unless I give you permission." I made sure to push on the plug and wiggle it for added effect.


    "AHH." She let out a sudden moan, fully falling to the ground, a small puddle forming underneath her, having been finally pushed over the edge herself.


    Well, I''ll take that as an acknowledgement.


    ***


    Jinn gets her punishment, and her Lamp will be nice and secure for the future.


    Still not feeling too well, been throwing up and left work early. Think I have food poisoning, probably not going into work tomorrow.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 143 - 136

    <h4>Chapter 143: Chapter 136</h4>


    I woke up some hourster with a yawn, rising from the couch in the living room. I decided to take a nap and seemingly lost track of time, but I felt rather refreshed. Was it the actual sleep or what I did right before it?


    Running a hand through my hair, I sat up looking around, seeing no one else around I decided to make my way to the kitchen where I heard some soundsing from.


    I wasn''t too surprised to see who was in there, Artoria and Rin had apparently woken up a little while ago and already had something infront of them, eating.


    "Yo." I greeted, giving a halfhearted wave.


    "Schweinorg." Rin looked a bit tired still, and I recalled, she wasn''t really a morning person, or whatever time it is when she woke up.


    Artoria perked up, fork in her mouth and cheeks a little swollen. She made a noise of acknowledgement.


    Cute.


    I couldn''t help but pat her head, earning another muffled noise from her.


    Thankfully, the house came with a fridge and other amenities, magical in nature, so they could still work in this world. Best of all was the coffee maker, already having a pot ready from what I saw infront of Rin, I could guess who I had to thank for that. I enjoyed my first sip, sitting down infront of them. "Sleep good after your adventure?" I asked.


    "I forgot what a bed was until now." Rin exaggerated, but she was clearly refreshed.


    "The softness of a bed is always weed, but I am more than used to sleeping out under the stars on the ground." Artoria added. "There are many things taken for granted in this era that I did not have."


    It''s easy to forget sometimes, how much Artoria actually spent at war, camping and moving from battlefield to battlefield.


    "And the food, I''m sure." I chuckled.


    "The horror." Artoria whispered, shuddering.


    My and Rin just shared a look as she reached over and pat Artoria on the shoulder.


    "Seconds?" Rin offered her own te.


    "Yes, thank you." The King of Knights happily epted.


    If things went differently, I wonder if I could have just won her heart through food?


    ''Be me woman and I''ll let you eat whatever you want whenever you want''


    Well, the thought if amusing if nothing else.


    "You two up for a little trip after breakfast?" I took another sip of my coffee, while I don''t prefer it this ck, I could still appreciate the high quality.


    "Like what?" Rin asked, setting down her own cup.


    "Whiterun is only like a twenty minute walk from the house if we go that way. It should be almost noon now." I scratched my cheek mentally calcting the time. I took a nap that turned into a sleep, and they slept for over a day, so it should be thereabouts.


    "We have not seen one of these towns besides Winterhold and for that we merely sought out supplies for our trip." Artoria expressed her thoughts. "What do you think, Rin?"


    "I wouldn''t mind checking it out, I have enough money to go on a shopping spree and not feel bad." Rin sighed, staring up at the ceiling.


    "Something wrong?" I asked.


    "It''s just...a weird feeling being Rich."


    "I have an exorbitant amount of money right now and I feel like you need a smack upside the head for being depressed about being rich." I deadpanned.


    "Bite me, Schweinorg." Rin snorted. "But....it''s more like all my previous times saving, trying to scrounge what little resources I had and hoarding everything so tightly.....and now, here I am with mountains of gold to my name."


    "Ah, I know the feeling." I smiled lightly. "Perhaps not with material wealth, but other things." I could recall how starved for different kinds of affection I was, and here I was now with friends, lovers, and family. "Are you happy?"


    "Huh?"


    "Are you happy, having arrived at this point? Was it worth it? Looking back now, would you have changed anything?" I looked down at my coffee, perhaps projecting some of my own thoughts onto the question.


    "Yeah, I''m pretty happy right now." She had a content smile on her face. "I have some things I would probably change, but not many regrets."


    I nced at Artoria who looked pleased at Rin''s words, a sentiment I shared. I was happy Rin finally had some sort of peace, some happiness of her own making to hold onto. That look in her eyes, I didn''t see that veiled stress or self-consciousness that permeated all her actions and words.


    The quiet and peaceful atmosphere was suddenly interrupted as Jinn burst into the kitchen, holding several scrolls. "You''re all here!" She eximed, dumping them on the table.


    "Hello Jinn." Artoria was the first to speak up.


    "Artoria~" Jinn practically jumped over to, grabbing her in a quick hug.


    "Jinn." Artoria smiled at the affection, returning the hug.


    "How''s my sister?"


    "S-sister!?" Artoria stammered out.


    "Are we not?" jinn pulled back, looking confused. "I believe the term was Harem sisters for when we share the same man?"


    I held back a chuckle, sipping my coffee. I don''t know if Jinn was intentionally teasing Artoria, or this was her default personality, but it was hrious to watch. Now that I think about it, Jinn was saying the same thing to Meridia, getting her on board with the whole idea.


    "That.....is not incorrect." Artoria didn''t look upset at the term, more just taken back by the suddenness. Perhaps the negative connotation of ''sister'' in her mind was giving her pause.


    Jinn just beamed at the admittance, and I think she''s doing it on purpose at this point.


    Rin cleared her throat, drawing our attention. "What''s with all this stuff, does it have to do with the Elder Scroll?" She gestured towards the documents and scrolls set on the table.


    "Yes" Jinn nodded enthusiastically. "I was able to reference several things in the library at the college to help me." Jinn moved over, taking a seat next to me.


    I watched her shift, ever so slightly in her seat. The movement of her behind to better make herselffortable.


    I guess she listened to my words.


    "Did you find any leads?" I asked, standing up to get a refill. "And would you like a cup of coffee?"


    "Coffee?" She tilt her head. "I would love to try some. I have knowledge of the taste, at least the Remnant variety, but I am curious to actually experience it."


    "You''ve never had coffee before?" Rin looked surprised.


    "Well, I''ve lived almost my entire existence in mymp. There have been many first times in these past weeks." Jinn admitted.


    "You poor thing." Rin looked aghast at the thought, turning to me. "Schweinorg, you get her all the coffee!"


    "Yes ma''am!" I saluted.


    Rin definitely was a magus, if nothing else, she had their same thoughts regarding coffee.


    "How do you take it?" I asked.


    "I don''t know." Jinn quirked a smile. "I shall try whatever you rmend."


    "I was having mine just in ck, I guess that''s a good starting point." I hummed to myself.


    "I do not recall ever seeing you partake in a meal either, have you not tried eating before, Jinn?" Artoria added.


    "Well...." I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Jinn nced at me, a very faint pink on her cheeks. "I have tried something rather recently. I suppose I should branch out some more though." She smiled innocently.


    "Your first meal, was is good?" Artoria questioned.


    "Oh my, it was delicious~"


    Oh Jinn, you really are a glutton for punishment.


    "I shall help you try all the foodstuffs in thesends." Artoria decided, her eyes shining bright.


    "You sure you just aren''t looking for a reason to stuff yourself?" Rin deadpanned.


    "Nonsense, it is my duty as her sister to help her experience the joys in life." Artoria denied seamlessly, minus her turning her eyes away and blushing a little.


    "Sure, Ipletely believe you." Rin rolled her eyes. "Well it''s not like we don''t have enough money to feed your appetite.....for a few days."


    "Rin!" Artoria huffed. "I''m not that bad." She muttered.


    "Here you are." I interrupted, cing a cup infront of Jinn. They both seemed to stop, watching her take it into her hands, hesitantly taking a sip for herself. "Well, what do you think?"


    "Hmm, there is a pleasant bitterness to it. I don''t think I prefer it this way though." Jinn inspected it again before taking another sip.


    "Well, I don''t think most people like it this ck."


    "The only way to drink it is ck!" Rin eximed.


    "As Rin says, some misguided people think ''ck'' is the only way to drink coffee. There are many things to add to enhance the vor beyond such a plebian pte."


    "This is a hill I''ll die on, Schweinorg, you better be ready to fight after that." Rin raised her fist at me.


    Artoria bopped her on the head.


    "Oww." Rin whined, rubbing the spot.


    "You''re always so cranky in the morning, Rin." Artoria sighed.


    Rin blew a raspberry then pushed her head into her arm on the table. "Too little sleep."


    "You slept for like....a day and a half." I pointed out.


    "Too little sleep." Rin reiterated with a yawn. "Anyways, what''s this about the thingy or something, Jinn?"


    "Oh, yes." Jinn perked up, content to watch from the side. "With some resources from the college, and some help from the Archmage, we are about to narrow down a few location that we think the Elder Scroll is at."


    "Well done."


    "Awsome!"


    "Good job, Jinn." I reached for her hand, taking it in mine. "You''ve been doing a lot of good work, thank you." I want her to know that I appreciate her, perhaps I should show It more often.


    "Um.....yes, of course." She looked a little bashful under the sudden praise, but she made no attempt to move her hand from mine.


    "So, what are we looking at exactly?" I asked, wanting to know some details.


    "Well, Harkon''s journals were.... a mess. If they weren''t coded, then they were almost nonsense to anyone but him. But from what was pieced together ¨C His daughter either stole or was sent out to retrieve an Elder Scroll and she disappeared with it or looking for it. We have a few locations we think she''s at or the scroll is at based on movements and some old stories and legends."


    I let go so she could roll out a map, showing a basic view of Skyrim. "Well, there were about a dozen ces, but we think these three are the highest probability." She pointed at three markings, bigger than several more on the map.


    "They are not too far apart." Artoria took a good look. "We can devise a route to hit all three in one trip."


    "Could probably do them all in a day. Schweinorg is better at utilizing the Kaleidoscope, how many issues did we run into just because we couldn''t strong arm a door or trap because it might have brought the ce down on our heads?" Rin voiced her own thoughts.


    "Why didn''t you just take Ruby out?" I grinned.


    "Fuck you, you know why." Rin huffed.


    "Oh, the next time Rubyes out, pleasee and get me, I very much want to meet her." Jinn said, earning Rin''s attention.


    "S-sure." Rin sighed.


    Well, I couldn''t fault her, it was hard to decline a request like that when Jinn gave such a look.


    "Anyways, what are these spots marked?" I asked.


    "This one is the Ice harrow cavern." She pointed to the southern most one. "This one over here is a The Nameless Sanctuary, andstly is the Dimhollow Crypt. Now I think the most likely ¨C"


    "It''s the crypt." I cut her off.


    "What?" She looked confused.


    "Definitely the crypt." Rin just nodded.


    "I would wager much that it is indeed the Crypt." Artoria didn''t even bat an eye.


    "How are you all so sure?"


    "Oh, I forgot you aren''t familiar with vampires." Iughed. "Something you need to understand about them...they are very....stereotypical."


    "What do you mean?" Jinn still looked confused.


    "All the lore, the stories, even popr media.....yeah, lots of that is depressingly urate. Even back in our home world, the Dead Apostles act very much like a stereotypical vampire you might read about in a novel. Complete with some edgy naming convention and a castle of edginess. A ce named after a crypt? That''s 100% guaranteed to be some vampire activity."


    "It''s sad that it''s so true." Rin just shook her head.


    "Such things were known even in my time." Artoria added.


    "But.....my notes all point to The Nameless Sanctuary being the most likely...."


    I pat her shoulder. "I''ll tell you what, we''ll check the crypt first, and if we''re wrong, you can act smug all you want and I won''t argue with you about these kinds of matters in the future."


    "Hmph, I''ll hold you to this." She crossed her arms with a huff.


    Oh you poor girl. Maybe if vampires were something known in her home world, she would understand. Even Harkon acted like a stereotypical vampire, it was sad to think about.


    Especially since I had to interact with the Dead Apostle Ancestors in many iterations of my past life.


    Not to mention Altrouge...that emo girl is off throwing a tantrum somewhere.


    "Well, before we go, I wanted to head back over to Whiterun."


    "Whiterun? That is the city with the Dragonborn ¨C your friend, correct?"


    "That''s the one." I nodded. "Rin and Artoria expressed their desire to go, do you want toe as well?"


    "You wouldn''t mind having me there? I don''t exactly....blend in." She gestured to herself. "I get many looks even at the College, I do not know how I will be treated in an open city like Whiterun."


    "Please, we both know those looks aren''t because you''re blue."


    "Oh, hush you." She smiled brightly, pping my shoulder. "I''m being serious, from what I''ve read, Nords aren''t the most open sort to new things."


    "Well, Its'' pretty much known I have wings there, haven''t faced many issues....openly. Some idiots or something kicking up a fuss, but otherwise I get a long great with them." I exined.


    "Alright." She agreed. "I''ll go, I do wish to meet this friend that you speak of and get a look at the city."


    "Indeed, I too wish to meet this Thorum, this Dragonborn for myself." Artoria nodded at Jinn''s statement.


    "I wouldn''t mind getting some supplies while we''re out." Rin added.


    "We can get anything we need before setting off to look for the Elder Scroll." I was a little excited, I wanted to see what this so-called Elder Scroll really was. And I wanted my them to finally meet my best friend.


    ***


    It was weird, I don''t think I''ve ever seen Jinn nervous before. It wasn''t obvious, but I knew her enough now to pick up on a few things. Large crowds like this, she hasn''t ever had any experience dealing with before.


    In the College, she was probably only seeing a handful of people at most at a single time, here, there were dozens of people around every corner, and oh boy did they take looks at her.


    It was hard to miss.


    Her skin was blue, a very beautiful blue that I found extremely attractive, but blue all the same. That was not a normal look around here.....at least her shade of blue. I think there were some Elves that had blue skin, but it was much more subdued.


    Almost immediately, I grabbed her hand to ease her nervousness. And if I''m being honest, I think she appreciate that more than she let on. Artoria didn''t seem to mind either, and I continue to thank my lucky stars that they don''t seem to be the jealous type.


    Made another mental note to give Artoria some affectionter as well.


    "Oh, these look nice." Rin was staring at a stand filled with jewelry along with some uncut stones in a basket. "No obvious mistakes ¨C " She held up an emerald ne to the sky, letting some light shine into it. "Cuts are clean, Jewel has barely any impurities."


    I stopped listening as she started haggling with the owner, beating down the poor woman until she got the item for somewhat a deal.


    "Oh, I like these." Jinn pulled me over to another stand, the customer giving her a quick look, but didn''t say anything. "The fur on these boots is just splendid, and the design is lovely."


    Would it be sexist to make a ''girls''ment about her immediately going over some shoes?


    "12 Septims for your girlfriend." The elderly woman said, a gentle tone in her voice.


    "Sure." I happily set the coins on the counter, letting Jinn her hug new boots. "See anything else you want?"


    "Well...." She took a nce at a scarf hanging from above.


    I chuckled, squeezing her hand. "The Scarf as well." I looked up and saw another one that piqued my interest "That one too." I pointed to it.


    "7 Septims." The old woman said inly.


    "How do I look?" Jinn quickly put the scarf on around her neck as I added more coins to the counter, pocketing the second one for now.


    "Oh darling, if you didn''t have a man, you would have to beat them back with a shovel." Th older womanughed.


    Jinn looked ted at thepliment; I think doubly so because it was from someone outside of our ''circle''. A strangerplimented her and wasn''t put off by her ''uniqueness''.


    "I''m a lucky man." I kissed her cheek, earning a bright smile from her.


    The old woman just cooed. "Reminds me of my husband, bless his soul in Sovngard. You take care of her, young man." She wagged her finger.


    "Well, I think she takes more care of me." Iughed.


    "And don''t you forget it." Jinn poked me yfully, turning back to the older woman. "Thank you for the items."


    "Oh don''t mention it dearie, I just make them to pass the time these days. Now shoo, go spend time with your boyfriend away from this old woman." She gave a warm smile.


    Jinn giggled, pulling me along to where Artoria was.


    "Find anything good?" I asked as we got closer.


    "I have yet to find any item that I wish to procure." Artoria admitted as we walked around. She did a good job of always keeping Rin in her sights.


    "Is that so?" I hummed as she turned to look at something else.


    "Yes I ¨C "


    I gently wrapped the second scarf around her, earning a startled look from her.


    "Wilhelm?" She touched the fabric, looking up at me and at Jinn who wore a simr one, if a different color.


    "Do you like it?"


    "It is lovely." Her cheeks turned a faint pink. "Thank you."


    "Of course." I smiled.


    "Wilhelm!" We all turned around to see who shouted. I recognized the voice immediately, but no one else did.


    "Thorum." I greeted with a wave, having noticed Rin creep back up at my name being dropped so loudly.


    I guess it wasn''t this weird running into him, the Companion''s building isn''t very far away and this is the biggest market in Whiterun, not to mention we probably stick out like a sore thumb.


    "My friend, you are looking better after our training, much less dirt on your face." He came up, pping my shoulder. "And who are these beautifuldies?"


    I twitched slightly at the mention of our training. It was mostly me eating dirt, or getting embarrassed by myck of skill in the area. Well, I guessck of skill is rtive.


    "You must be Thorum, I am Artoria Pendragon, Wilhelm''s girlfriend and Rin''s guard." Artoria was the first to introduce herself.


    "Well met, Lady Pendragon." Thorum gave a polite greeting. "Will has spoken much about you.


    "I''m Jinn, also Wilhelm''s woman." She smiled at my friend.


    "Lady Jinn, you have also been spoken of, but he didn''t mention your exotic and lovely coloring." Thorum was smooth with thepliment, and if I didn''t know any better, I may have been worried.


    "Oh, you are just as sweet as he said." Jinn giggled.


    "Rin Tohsaka." Rin finally spoke. "I''m his grandfather''s student." She was polite, if a little blunt.


    "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Tohsaka." Thorum greeted, having a little trouble with the naming convention. "Come, let me buy you all a meal and drink, we can exchange stories at Will''s expense." Thorumughed.


    "You know what? I would love to hear some stories." Rin looked at me evilly. "What''s this you said about training?"


    ***


    So i wanted Skyrim Arc to wrap up this weekend (On my pat reon that is) but with everything going on, my being sick, and the fact that i have to suddenly work this weekend, and it being a holiday, it may be pushed back a couple days.


    So, the gang finally meeting Thorum with a Elder Scroll Hunt in the near future.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 144 - 137

    <h4>Chapter 144: Chapter 137</h4>


    "Yes, then Will did a flip in the air and flies straight into the ground." Thorum burst out inughter, mming his mug of mead onto the table.


    I shook my head and sighed. The others wereughing at my expense, but it wasn''t upsetting. Rin was really squeezing out every bit of information from Thorum that she could, basically starting from thest training session.


    "How long did he keep going at it?" Rin grinned, eyeing me.


    "Oh, an hour at least, maybe more." Thorum chuckled. "Never in the same way, but for some reason, he always ended up with his face in the ground every single time."


    "Well, he does always like to brag about how talented he is." Rin snickered.


    "I''m d my genius is finally recognized by you." I raised my own mug up, before taking a drink. "Honestly, it''s only rivaled by my handsomeness." I smirked.


    "Boo." Rin blew me a raspberry.


    "Aye, he has been getting a mite prideful these days, maybe we should have another training session?" Thorumughed.


    "Mayhaps it is appropriate to remind him and keep his ego grounded." Artoria added, surprisingly holding a mug of her own. I did not think she really enjoyed alcohol much...or maybe she just has specific tastes. I could imagine that this stuff was much closer to what she could remember form her era, and she was probably used to it from the first time I brought some around.


    "Well, I would not say no to more people." Thorum rubbed his chin. "Your beauty and grace hide such prowess, Miss Pendragon. Just the thought of fighting you makes me shiver, as if my instincts are screaming that it is a bad idea."


    Artoria looked very happy from his words. I think she was d he didn''t mention that she was....''delicate'' or ''small''. "You are Wilhelm''s friend, you can call me by my name." She smiled at him, though not arguing with his words.


    His dragon instincts were fairly good if he could tell that much.


    "Another!" Jinn threw her hand up, mming an empty mug onto the table, her fifth one so far. Maybe letting her drink so much alcohol so soon was a bad idea....


    "Agreed!" Thorum followed suit, downing thest of his, mimicking her actions.


    "Oh jeeze." Rin face palmed. "I didn''t think she could even get drunk....can she get drunk, is she drunk?" Rin just shook her head.


    Jinn just giggled. "Lighten up~"


    "There is no harm, Rin." Artoria agreed. "We are among friends." Artoria followed suit with a smile herself. It was rare for her to indulge herself like this.


    "Uggg, fine." Rin rolled her eyes, but smiled brightly as well. "Get me one with the next round."


    "Woo!" Jinn cheered. "Waiter, another round!"


    "Coming up!" A shout was heard behind the counter.


    Honestly, at this point, half the tavern was stealing nces at us. Maybe because Jinn was very eye catching, maybe because they were very beautiful and exotic as far as looks went, or perhaps because of Thorum, and to a lesser extent me. But, for whatever reason, we were basically the center of attention here.


    "I''m curious, how did the two of you actually meet?" Rin asked as a woman came by, setting some fresh mugs on the table for us and taking our dishes away.


    "Oh, that''s actually kinda funny.." I scratched my cheek.


    "Aye, it was a strange situation." Thorum nodded.


    "You want to or...?"


    "You go ahead, my friend, I''m curious how it was from your perspective." He gestured for me to go on.


    "Alright." I took a big drink, letting the honeyed taste pour down my throat. "Well, it started off with that mishap with my magic." I nced around, Rin and Artoria nodded, but Jinn looked confused and Thorum was, contemtive. "My portal ability." I rified. "First time using it, had a bit of an ident with my calctions."


    "Oh, I see." Thorum nodded in understanding.


    "Yeah...did the magical equivalent of hitting a tree when I used it for the first time."


    "So this is nothing new then." Thorum grinned.


    "Yeah yeah,ugh it up." I lightly hit his shoulder. "So, I had a bit of a tumble, head hurting, these guys find me and patch me up. The Storm cloaks." I paused again. "You know about the political situation in Skyrim at the moment?"


    "I read it." Jinn interjected. "Stormcloaks, rebelling against the Empire, to summarize it."


    "That works." I nodded. "Anyways, got found by the stormcloaks, they patched me up, but apparently the camp got raided by the empire, everyone gets tied up, including me because they had no idea who I was."


    "Why would they tie you up too, you were unconscious and probably hurt?" Rin looked confused.


    "It is admittedly the intelligent course of actions." Artoria rified. "He could have been abatant injured in previous battle. Honestly, there were an uncountable number of possibilities, it was the safe action to take when dealing with enemies."


    "Aye, I don''t fault them for treating me with caution when I was pulled into everything as well. I was crossing the border at a bad time, and they assumed I was with the Stormcloaks as well." Thorum took a drink of his mead. "I do not think it helped that I was a Nord as are the majority of the Storm cloaks"


    "Anyways, I wake up, hands bound, a killer headache and we''re on the back of a cart escorted by a bunch of armed guards." I started to weave the tale. "I look around and the first words out of my mouth are ''fuck me''." I gestured over to Thorum. "I share a conversation with some Stormcloak guy, he gives me some information, and apparently, we''re sitting right next to the guy who started the rebellion and murdered the king. Or something like that, I haven''t really looked into it much."


    "That sounds...super unlucky, like holy shit." Rin started at me incredulously.


    Thorum let out augh. "It could have been. There have been tales of the Empire forgoing legal rights and sending prisoners straight to the block."


    "I can guess you both escaped your binds?" Artoria looked....unamused by the insinuation.


    Jinn, as if sobering up for a moment seemed angry, a look I hadn''t ever seen on her face before. "Maybe we should go pay a visit to the Empire." She gave a very innocent smile.


    "You''re sweet." I kissed her cheek.


    "Hehe~" She giggled, as if forgetting her previous words, and went back to drinking.


    Thorum gave his big goofy smile, shooting me a thumbs up. "I am still waiting to learn this powerful magic of yours, my friend."


    "Oh, fuck off." I waved my hand at him.


    "Magic, what magic?" Rin perked up.


    "This idiot keeps spouting some nonsense about my natural charm being some sort of magic." I rolled my eyes.


    "Well, I think it would make more sense." Rin snorted.


    "Indeed my friend. I believe you should share your secrets." Thorum joined in.


    "Oh screw you both." I huffed. "I can''t help it if I can just charm the panties off thedies" I wiggled my eyebrows.


    "Oh, can you now?" Artoria raised an eyebrow.


    "Erm...." I cleared my throat.


    "Please, do go on." Rin had a wide grin on her face.


    "Yes, Will, please borate." Thorum also chimed in.


    "I''m not wearing panties!" Jinn dered.


    We all turned to her, who just started going into a giggle fit. Drunk Jinn is precious, and I want to cherish her forever.


    I dipped my finger into my drink, using the liquid to draw a few runes onto the table, creating a simplistic and unsteady bounded field, something that can be wiped away quite easily. Its only purpose was to muffle our conversation to anyone outside of our table.


    "Anyways, we were tied up, right?" My ability to change the subject was masterful as always.


    "Smooth." Rin deadpanned. "But I am curious, go on."


    Well, I was mostly joking, and Artoria knew that if her smile was anything to go by.


    "I don''t particrly like the Stormcloaks, but they were good to have at my back. I was able tomunicate with some looks to one of them that I could use magic, Thorum picked up on it easily as well. So, I burst a wheel of the cart with a botched Reinforcement, and in the sudden confusion we staged a break out."


    "A botched reinforcement? That''s pretty smart and something I''ll need to remember." Rin muttered.


    "I remember." Thorum took a drink. "The ones guarding us, the majority of them were green. Probably never seeing a true battle before, just there to bask in the ''glory'' of defeating a group of stormcloaks. They were disorganized in the mess and panicked."


    "There was nomander to take charge?" Artoria looked at me in surprise.


    "Now that I think about it....there was a woman on a horse giving orders, and there was another prisoner with us, a horse thief who tried to make a run for it before we moved, but after I blew the cart up. She went after him since he bolted into the nearby forest."


    Artoria furrowed her brow, looking a little annoyed. "She should have sent out some of her men, not go herself. She left them without a clear chain ofmand, and chaos ensued without anyone to rally them."


    "I won''t say anything in her defense." I held my arms up.,


    "Aye, in hindsight, it was a bad idea on their part, but I will not lose any sleep over their decisions." Thorum added.


    "So, you guys fought, anything interesting happen?" Rin asked.


    "About what you would expect." I shrugged. "I was a bit....weaker back then, but they still didn''t have any mages, so I could have free rein with my own magic. Really, the most annoying thing was a couple archers."


    Suddenly Thorum broke out inugher. "I remember! You threw a dagger at one of them, but it only clonked him in the head and he fell over!"


    I snorted,ughing myself a I recalled what happened. "Ipletely forgot about that. I never had much a talent for throwing knives or the like." I let out a small sigh, as the image of it was still fresh in my mind now. "Afterwards, we went our separate ways, only meeting back up again when I went to Whiterun."


    "Oh, oh! Tell them how you met Meridia!" Jinn looked excited at the idea.


    "She told you?" I was mildly surprised.


    "Uh huh." Jinn nodded.


    "I''m curious now." Artoria spoke.


    "There is definitely a story here and I have to know." Rin looked at me.


    Thorum sat up a little straighter. "You never did tell me the full story of how you met, only that you met her at her temple."


    "It''s not that interesting." I waived it off. "I just met her after clearing her temple of some necromancer. We clicked and the rest is history."


    "Li-ar~" Jinn poked me. "Tell the truth, mister" She continued to poke me.


    "You''re really going to make me say it?" I groaned.


    "Oh god I really want to hear this now." Rin looked rather gleeful.


    "She asked me what I wanted as my reward after defeating the necromancer and cleansing her temple" I sighed.


    "You didn''t." Rin broke out inughs.


    "I did."


    "I don''t know if I shouldugh or admire your bravery." Thorum seemed a bit speechless.


    "Why not both?" Rin shared a look with him.


    "Aye, both sounds good."


    "Hate you, hate you both."


    "I don''t understand." Artoria spoke up.


    Damn you and your adorable naivety.


    "Say it." Jinn leaned in, poking me further.


    "I asked her to be my woman." I dropped my head to the table.


    "He''s blushing!" Rin cried inughter.


    "Oh, I see." Artoria turned a little pink. "How bold."


    "Truly you are an inspiration." Thorum toasted, holding back his own bellowingughter with a drink.


    "I think it''s cute." Jinn cooed


    "Yeah, yeah." I sighed. "Let''s change the subject, what''s going on with you, Thorum?"


    "I was thinking of heading out, seeing some of Skyrim for a bit." He calmed down, seemingly adopting a somewhat serious expression.


    "You''re not worried about a dragon attack?" I asked. I wouldn''t have stuck around like he had, but his sense was duty was admirable if nothing else.


    "I am, but I can''t just sit here forever." He admitted. "Ddraig''s words spoke true to my heart. At the very least, I wish to step out of the city for a few days." He let out a sigh. "I had spoken to the Jarl, he did give his blessing."


    The jarl agreed huh? Well, from a pragmatic view, it would be smart of him to not run afoul the Dragonborn when he''s already being so helpful and listening to the Jarl''smands. "Any idea on where you want to go?"


    "I have not thought that far ahead." He scratched his head. "The college would be an interesting ce to visit. I would not mind seeing where you have studied and maybe learn a thing or two myself."


    "The college is great." Rin beamed. "They''ll happily ept you. I heard some things about this ''Dragonborn'' you''re supposed to be able to pick up magic really easily. I''m curious how that works, is it some kind of enhanced spiritual wisdom? Or maybe a magical phenomenon simr to Mystic Eyes that breaks down any magic knowledge you learn to better assimte it?"


    "I understood....some of those words." Thorum chuckled.


    "I would not fret, she sometimes speaks in such riddles." Artoria gave a light smile. "I find it appropriate to just nod along whenever she addresses me in such a way."


    "Saber!"


    "Aye, I will take your advice to heart." The shared a small chuckle between them at Rin''s expense. "But the College does sound enticing, I will have to visit sometime."


    "I also work there." Jinn opened her eyes, having been resting on my shoulder for awhile now.


    "Oh, Miss Jinn, what job do you have at the college?" Thorum asked.


    Jinn perked up; she did so love to talk about the books there. "I''m the assistant Librarian! If you need anything found, any knowledge, I can find it for you." She puffed up her chest.


    "I will be in your care then, Miss Jinn." Thorum nodded at her with a smile.


    "She''s right, and the Archmage would set you up with anything you really wanted. I have it on good authority that they recent received a sizable donation, more supplies should be rolling in from outside Skyrim soon."


    "Hoh, a sizable donation?" Thorum looked at me. "The person who donated it sounds very generous and honorable."


    "Hopefully prices will be kept down a certain extent from this." I didn''t borate, but he could read between the lines. "But....if you want something to do in the immediate time frame...." I shared a look around the table. Rin and Artoria were clued in on what I was talking about, and they gave me their silent approval. "We had a little excursion nned in a little bit, shouldn''t take more than a day, could give you a chance to stretch your legs."


    "Sure, what do you need?" Thorum said without hesitation.


    "You''re not even going to ask?"


    He shrugged. "If you require my aid, I will lend it."


    "You are a good man, Thorum." Artoria nodded approvingly. "We seek one of those fabled Elder Scrolls, do you wish to join us in this quest?"


    "An Elder Scroll!?" Thorum looked shocked. "I have only heard tales" He rubbed his chin. "To seek one out, I would regret it for the rest of my life if I did not apany you on such a mission."


    "Sweet, one more person to help kill giant spiders while I stand back." Rin approved in her own way.


    Thorum didn''t take offense. "I shall y any spiders that approach you, Miss Tohsaka"


    "You can call me Rin." She grumbled, but she didn''t like displeased by his attitude at all.


    "What about you?" I poked my blue genie. "Do you want to take some time to sober up ande?"


    "Sleepy." She yawned.


    "I''ll take that as a no." Well, I don''t think she would have wanted toe anyways, she''s much more at home surrounded by books than out in the thick of it. "Well, we can drop her off at home, and pick up any supplies we need there. As I said, It shouldn''t be more than a day if everything goes well, two at the most."


    "Good, I look forward to seeing your battle prowess, Thorum." Artoria nodded. "I have head stories of the Dragonborn, and I am curious to see it in person."


    Artoria approved as well, that''s always good.


    "Miss ¨C Artoria." He corrected himself. "I do look forward to wielding my de at your side. Wilhelm has told me tale of your knighthood, I will see it firsthand."


    "Oi, don''t forget me." Rin huffed.


    "Of course, Rin." Thorum smiled. "I am expecting to see your magical talent in action."


    Jeeze, I don''t think he''s even doing that on purpose, buttering them up in all the right ways. Really, he''s just a genuinely nice guy, always trying to make people around him happy.


    I put my arm around Jinn, her giving a happy grunt at my action. "Alright, let''s drop Jinn off and then head out." I pulled her up into my arms, picking her up off the chair.


    "Weee~" She kicked her legs in my arms happily.


    Damn, she really is a lightweight. Though, I can''t really me her, like one of the few times she ever even drank anything and she downed half a dozen mugs of Mead.


    Well, I was looking forward to this little adventure. It will be my first time doing this whole thing in a party. Perhaps I should take on a more traditional mage role?


    I won''t deny that a younger me is absolutely gleeful at the idea of forming a party and exploring a dungeon.


    ***


    Should be two chapters tomorrow to make up for missing Friday.


    Happy Easter to everyone.


    If you want to read 6 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 145 - 138

    <h4>Chapter 145: Chapter 138</h4>


    I hummed, walking down the stairs of my house.


    "And what is this?" I heard Thorum''s voice, pointing at a device from within the kitchen.


    "A magical device that stores things within and keeps them cold." Artoria answered and I assumed she was talking about the refrigerator.


    Rin, who was sitting on the couch, looked up from a book in her hands. "Jinn in bed?"


    "Yeah, I put her down and she went out fast." I chuckled. "She''s going to have fun with that hangover when she wakes up." I could only shake my head thinking about it. I made sure to leave a note just in case we aren''t back in time.


    "So....any reason you''re wearing that?" She raised an eyebrow staring at the robe I put on.


    "Well, I am a mage."


    "Yeah, but you''re almost always wearing the same thing. Actually, I don''t think I''ve ever seen you wear anything but those formal clothes of yours."


    "I have a style and I rock it." I shrugged.


    "Sure, lets go with that." She snorted.


    "And...maybe I need to change it up every once in awhile." I originally stuck to those clothe,s that style because he made me feel a little more confidant when I was less....sure of myself. My earlier days were hectic. But I also liked how I looked, so I generally just wore simr stuff. "And I was going to y the role of a mage, so I thought I should dress the part."


    "Want your staff back?" She asked.


    "Oh, yes please." I nodded enthusiastically. She didn''t hesitate to pull it out of her bag and toss it to me. As soon as it entered my hand, I felt the magical energy swirl before I had to forcefully calm it down. I briefly forgot how.... assertive this staff was. Well, I guess that was as expected of a divine construct.


    "God that thing is still just as absurd." Rin looked at it warily.


    "Didn''t use it?" I wouldn''t have been mad if she wanted to....test it.


    "Hell no." She crossed her arms. "That thing gives me a bad feeling."


    Yeah, I could see that. Artoria''s Divine Construct was more...peaceful, subdued, until used. The Staff of Magnus wanted to be used, and it made that apparent.


    "So, on an unrted matter. How would you feel about getting Aura?"


    "Is that even a question?" She looked at me like I was an idiot.


    "Fair. But I felt like I should ask regardless, I don''t want to assume on stuff like this." Honestly, it was just polite. "I''m not quite at the point where I canfortably awaken someones with any confidence.....but if you wanted to be a sort of test subject, it might make everything faster."


    "You want to test it on me?" She looked skeptical.


    "You know I would never do anything to hurt you."


    "I know, I know." She sighed. "Some habits are hard to break." She pulled her knees up to her chest. "What do you need to do?"


    "I just want to get a feel for my Aura entering your body." I exined.


    "That''s it? And there won''t be any side effects?"


    "Nope,pletely harmless."


    "Alright, fine." She shrugged. "How do you want to do this?"


    "Eh, I just want to put my hand on your back and push some Aura into you." I walked forward and she turned, her back facing me. "Ready?" I asked putting my hand on her.


    "Go slowly, I want to see what happens too." Rin gave me the go ahead.


    I took a deep breath, focusing on my Aura. It red around me, but I calmed it down. It focused onto my hand, more than the passive barrier that negates damage, this was me pulling forth the power of my soul as it began to seep into Rin.


    "Oh, that''s weird." Rin shifted slightly but calmed down


    "Good weird or bad weird?"


    "Yes, no? It''s like.....you''re trying to hug my soul. Not bad, but a little ufortable, honestly it seems kind of....." She trailed off.


    "Intimate?"


    "Yeah." She said quietly.


    "I''ve heard simr things back on Remnant. I''m basically poking your soul with my Aura to awaken your own." Much moreplicated than that. From what I''ve gathered so far, basically my Aura will deposit the ''concept'' onto her own soul, essentially imnting the ability into her core being. I had several theories about Aura so far, that the souls of those on Remnant are a tad different, in that they can awaken theirs without another person doing the deed, whereas we need someone to initiate it.


    After a few more moments, I pulled back.


    "Feels even weirder when you stop." Rin let out a breath.


    "Yeah, almost depressing....."


    "Right? It felt like you were breaking up with me." Rin let out a chuckle.


    "Aura is seemingly tied with certain emotions as well, and how a Semnce is manifested."


    "After feeling that, I can believe it." She sighed. "So, you found your Semnce yet?"


    "Nope." I fell onto the couch. "I haven''t been really ''trying'' to either. I kind of want it toe organically. Call it instinct, but I think it manifesting based on need or desire would be more beneficial than if I attempted to being it out forcefully."


    "Will." Thorum smiled as he walked back into the room with Artoria.


    "Hey, you guys ready, or do you need to do anything before we head over?" I swept my gaze around the room.


    "I am ready." Thorum replied. "Artoria told me that you all have the basic supplies stored away magically." He pat the sword on his back. "And I have my Sword with me, so I need nothing else."


    "Still surprised that Sword isn''t acting up." Rin muttered.


    There were two dragons right next to it, and it was being very quiet. It was quelled by Artoria''s presence, and it epted Thorum.


    What a strange sword.


    "Well, I''m ready." Rin stood up, and she was still dressed in her gear, but she took her Staff and Spear out, putting the Spear on her back and Staff in her hand.


    "As am I." Artoria nodded, summoning her armor.


    "Amazing." Thorum looked surprised. "I wish to learn how to do that." Heughed.


    "Well, at the very least, we can probably set you up with something that you can store stuff inside." I''m sure the Archmage had the college start making some storage items. But, we can do thatter, lets get going!"


    ***


    We all walked out of a portal I created, depositing us close to the base of a mountain. Snow began hitting us right in the face with a drastic drop in temperature.


    "Hang on, lets get our bearings." Rin called out as we started looking around, map in her hands. "From what Jinn wrote.....it should be up a few hundred feet?"


    "ROOOARRR" A furious shout bellowed out, shaking the area. It was loud, and menacing, but it was no dragon.


    Just by eyesight, it was hard to make out under these snowy conditions.


    "A troll." I tiled my head. "I don''t think I''ve ever seen one that big before." It had to be atleast three times the size of the ones I''ve ran into in the past.


    "Wilhelm." Artoria spoke up. "That is not a troll." She clenched her invisible sword in her hand.


    "Something.....feels off about it." Thorum added.


    "Eww." Rin helpfullymented as well.


    I raised my staff up. "Fire ball." I cast, therge ball of fire, much bigger than I intended, flew off, smacking it square in the chest.


    It didn''t even stutter its steps, and the fire lit up the area, revealing its true nature. It had disgusting growths all over its body along with decayed patches and protruding additions that certainly did not belong to a troll.


    "Necromancy." I sighed. It was definitely a branch of necromancy, focused on sculpting abominations. I didn''t particrly agree with the magical craft, especially with who I was in a rtionship with, but the thought of using a troll with their ridiculous regenerative abilities was certainly an interesting concept.


    Well, I was Meridia''s lover, I couldn''t exactly allow these things to exist.


    I raised my staff once again, a spell circle forming at the top as I pointed it at the approaching abomination. "Lightning Bolt." A simple spell, but with the staff and me intentionally putting a little ''oomph'' into it, a huge bolt discharged, blowing a hole through the creature.


    It stumbled, practically sliding onto the ground but it didn''t die.


    Thorum ran up and sliced its head off with an ease that showed his experience. "What a strange thing." Hemented.


    "Guess we can make the assumption that vampires are here, they are known to bepetent Necromancers." I twirled my staff.


    "Joy, more undead crap." Rin sighed. "Atleast I have enough jewels on me to blow them up."


    "Please don''t cause an avnche." Artoria pleaded.


    "No promises."


    "It looked like it was guarding the path." I pointed out. "Don''t know if there will be able more surprises, best be on your guard." Well, I didn''t feel particrly threatened, but I didn''t want to set a bad example.


    I walked over, bopping Rin on the head with my staff. "Ebony Flesh." I cast over her.


    "Oww!" She rubbed her head, staring at me angrily.


    "How about some light?." I grinned at her.


    "Fine." She huffed, growing arge fireball at the point of her staff and holding it up in the air. It was a pleasant warmth as well as providing some light. It also was a quick spell that she didn''t need to prepare for immediately.


    I followed suit, keeping in the rear to give us more vision all around. Artoria took point, and Thorum infront of me, with Rin to the side of him.


    We didn''t make it far before we found the entrance, a long with dozens of skeletons all turning around to face us.


    And suddenly, I was having a shback to Sc¨¢thach''s training on that particr mountain.


    Why is it always undead?


    Artoria and Thorum ran out, cleaving their way through the decrepit skeletons. I hung back with Rin, flicking a spell here or there, but I was letting them have their fun, merely focusing on the ranged.


    Rin seemed content to just sit back as well, not even bothering to cast. She didn''t have any kind of pensive look, so I think she just didn''t feel bothered to contribute, not that it was needed.


    "Whew." Thorum let out a small breath, hefting his sword onto his shoulder. "It was a nice warm up." He beamed, scattered bones all around him.


    "They were not strong foes, but their numbers would have been disadvantageous for any unsuspecting traveler who approached." Artoria furrowed her brow. "I fear that their numbers were not always thisrge...."


    Thorum''s expression turned dark. "Aye, we shall make sure they are properlyid to rest after clearing any vermin inside."


    "Muffle." I turned to look at Rin, a simr action shared by the others as it enveloped us. A simple spell that removed almost all noise from walking. "Detect life." She muttered again, looking a bit....annoyed. "4 life signatures, near the entrance. They look weird, I''m guessing that''s how vampires show up on this spell since they''re technically ''undead'' but still have a life force."


    She didn''t pause and continued walking forward. I just raised an eyebrow, looking at both Thorum and Artoria, they didn''t speak either and continued. I guess they all were a bit put off by the situation. Necromancers generally need materials to work with, it isn''t hard to guess where those came from.


    "I''m telling you, we were ordered by Harkon to stay here until he sent someone!" We all stopped, a few voices arguing back and forth. The first being a female.


    "That was months ago, something must have happened." A male voice answered back.


    "You know Harkon doesn''t make quick decisions. We might be here for another year before he finally sends someone." The female voice scoffed.


    "You can stay here, I''m leaving."


    "Fine, I''ll just tell Harkon you disobeyed his orders."


    "You bitch!"


    We inched closer, and could see the two arguing with another two sitting down at a table in the corner. This cave looked like it had been hollowed out a long time ago, and even their stuff being here for awhile.


    Rin paused in her steps, reaching into her bag and withdrawing a veryrge Ruby. She held it up with a dangerous smile on her face.


    Artoria let out a silent sigh, not even bothering to stop her.


    Thorum looked confused and I didn''t argue wither.


    I felt the magical energy inside it collide with her own as she tossed it in between all of the vampires standing around. It didn''t explode like mine had done in the past, she was much more sophisticated than that. A hexagonal energy expanded out, condensed magical energy that took form and enveloped the immediate area before unleashing an explosion inside. It then absorbed the st, grabbing the shockwaves and reeling them in, forcing them down, and dissipating without making much fuss.


    It was loud, but not to the extent of a normal bomb, and it was much less dangerous to be around.


    "Nice." I admired the spellwork.


    "Hmph." Rin flipped her hair back. "I created that awhile back. Wanted a more controlled explosion since we were going to be in tight ces a lot of times."


    "How long did it take you to create that spell?"


    "Few days." She shrugged. "I already had all the concepts devised in other uses for my jewels, it was just a matter ofbining them appropriately."


    You make it sound so simple. She really is a genius.


    "Impressive work, Rin." Thorum smiled.


    "Thanks!" she threw a thumbs up.


    "I guess we aren''t being stealthy anymore." I tapped my staff against the ground. A few skeletons came running towards us and a few spikes shot out of the ground, impaling them, destroying the necrotic energies that kept them active.


    Seemingly, at my words, growling could be hearting from the nearby shadows. "Oh, undead doggies, did we trigger some kind of trap?" They looked like the ones I killed at Harkon''s castle.


    Rin''s spear impaled one easily as Thorum and Artoria also began making short work of these undead mutts.


    "Chain lightning." Izily called out, my lightning spell arcing between multiple beasts, incinerating them with rtive ease.


    Still too much power, more than I intended.


    What an absurd staff you are. Well, it''s good I''m getting some more testing with it now, I''ll probably need to be more familiar with it when I go to get that Grail.


    "Shall we continue?" Artoria gestured to a stone gate after thest of the enemies were finally killed.


    "I''m starting to get sick of this ce." Rin grunted, swinging her spear to get some blood off it. "I really hate undead."


    "Let us go." Thorum began walking towards it, pulling a lever right next to the gate as it slowly opened up.


    We entered a sort of crypt, simr to the ones I''ve been in before. Draugr bodies littered the ground, and I was surprised that they didn''te up to attack.


    "Someone''s been through here." I muttered. "Hey Thorum....would it be rude to destroy the corpses incase they''re used against us?"


    "No, I would think they would appreciate the gesture if they had a say." Thorum shook his head.


    That was all I needed to know. I Threw out a few fireballs, burning away the corpses that were thrown about. Rin followed suite as Artoria inspected the Area.


    "I found a chest." The knight spoke up, grabbing our attention.


    It was next to a table, some journals and notes set to the side as well. "I can store it for now and we can split the spoils after?"


    "Aye, that sounds good." Thorum epted easily.


    "Fine." Rin didn''t argue either and Artoria just gave a small smile and a nod.


    The further we moved in, the less it looked like anyone had been here. "I''m starting to wonder if they even investigated this far."


    "NO. NONONONONO." Rin suddenly shrieks, pointing towards around the corner.


    I quickly ran up to see what she was pointing out. "NOPE! Nopenopenopenopenope."


    There was a big ass spider hanging from the ceiling that we could see through a metal-bar door.


    "Frostbite spiders, nasty things." Thorum eyed them.


    "Mmm, I have encountered them before....I dislike them very much." Artoria didn''t react like me or Rin, but she clearly felt simrly.


    "No one does." Thorumughed. "They are poisonous, and they can get very big."


    "Schweinorg, fire. Fire everywhere" Rin grabbed me by the cor.


    I held out my staff through the openings and didn''t even try to contain my power. "Burn, burn, burn, burn!" A torrent of me shot out, igniting all the webs and creatures that lived there. Their shrieks suddenly fille the halls, they angrily started attack the doors, but they did not budge. "Hate spiders." Is shuddered.


    "That should have done it." Thorum spoke up after a few minutes.


    "More." Rin disagreed.


    Artoria cleared her throat. "Mayhaps we should be cautious and continue a bit longer." She said, not meeting Thorum''s gaze.


    We sat there in silence for several minutes, my fire finally dying out as everything had beenpletely scorched inside.


    "That should be good." I settled. "Where did those spiders evene from, shouldn''t this have been sealed off?"


    "Who knows. Frostbite spiders show up in the strangest ces sometimes." Thorum didn''t question it. "If you all are ufortable, I can take the lead."


    "You''re the best Thorum." I pat his shoulder.


    "If you so desire." Artoria looked a little shy.


    "Schweinorg, you have a good friend." Rin looked very happy.


    Would rather fight dragons than giant spiders.


    Thorum chuckled, Gram held out infront of him. I guess he was used to our antics at this point. As we pushed onwards, it was clear how far my mes actually reached, as the next room waspletely scorched as well and we couldn''t even tell if the spiders had made it this far.


    "You do impressive work, my friend." Thorum looked around.


    I smiled, inspecting the area. "This looks like one of those ''puzzles'' you nords are so fond of making in their tombs." It was another barred entry way, a bunch of metal bars in the form of a gate.


    Thorum went up to it, gripping it tight. "It is a heavy one, but we may be able to lift it without searching around for the mechanism."


    And considering it wasn''t exactly obvious, there was a good chance it got burned....


    "Allow me." Artoria stepped up.


    "It is heavy, I do not know If I can lift it by my ¨C"


    Artoria heaved it up, holding it without issue.


    Rin didn''t even bat an eye, walking through.


    "Is this how you guys did it on your own exploring?" I asked.


    "Of course." Rin grinned.


    Well, damn, I had to use magic on the more absurd ones.


    Is it odd that I find her disys of strength sexy?


    Thorum put his hand on my shoulder. "You sure know how to pick them." He said quietly, before following along.


    I walked through as well, giving Artoria a wink. "You''re mer."


    "D-don''t say something like that here." She turned bright red, dropping the gate down.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle, watching her fidget like that.


    "Schweinorg! Get over here!" Rin voice echoed out.


    "Hold your horses." Me and Artoria hurried on over, as we came up on a staircase leading down to a strange alter-like configuration below where Rin and Thorum were looking around.


    We descended, making sure to inspect it all, but I didn''t see any obvious danger signs.


    "What is this?" Thorum looked confused.


    "Looks like some sort of ritual chamber or something, but I don''t see any tant signs of magical intent." I tapped my chin.


    "A strange pir here in the center." Artoria voiced her own thoughts. "A button for some kind of mechanism?"


    "I wouldn''t touch that." I advised.


    "I spent enough time with Merlin to know not to touch strange magic things." She said dryly.


    That''s fair.


    "Hmm, lets see." Pushed my finger against it my magical energy pulsed as I cant a Structural Analysis. "Hoh, that''s interesting. If you put your hand on it, a spike wille out and steal your blood."


    "God that''s clich¨¦." Rin scowled.


    "Vampires." I didn''t disagree. "Well, it just needs blood. Can I barrow your dagger?"


    "You''re going to pour your blood on it?" Rin looked at me skeptically, handing over the de.


    "Is this wise, Wilhelm?" Artoria looked a little concerned.


    "I couldn''t see all the way to where the mechanism goes to, but it didn''t look dangerous." I exined, using the dagger to cut into the palm of my hand an dripping the blood down on the device. It didn''t activate immediately, but I poked it with the dagger, making a spike shoot up and the blood start to be absorbed.


    The ground beneath us began to shake and shift. "Oh, there''s a second mechanism. Let''s just avoid that." My Structural Analysis was looking at everything going on inside. It was a simple Alteration between movements of gears, a slight shift, and it skipped right beyond that. The ground visibly shook more, and began moving.


    The stone beneath us lowered a little as the monolith rose up out of the ground.


    The front of it started to lower, the grating of stone against stone echoing out in this strange hall. Everyone was a little tense as they saw what was inside.


    A woman fell out, catching herself with her hands, but my eyes were drawn to something else.


    A strange feeling, something inexplicable in the form of a scroll on her back.


    Well, I think we found the Elder Scroll.


    ***


    Chapter 1/2 for today.

 Chapter 146 - 139

    <h4>Chapter 146: Chapter 139</h4>


    The woman pushed herself up, getting on her feet rather quickly once she realized she wasn''t alone. She was understandably disorientated for a moment; gods know how long she had been sealed inside there. Her surprised expression quickly shifted, hidden behind a veil of confidence as she quickly took in the surroundings.


    I saw her eyes dart around the room, briefly looking at all of us and making sure she apparently had an escape route.


    We weren''t surrounding her, but I could tell she felt the slightest bit cornered.


    There were things about her that caught my attention, her eyes for one. The obviousness of her fangs when she gasped for her first breath, and the paleness of her skin.


    A vampire.


    The other ones that were in here elicited no feelings of mercy. But I had no way of knowing if this one was with them, she was apparently sealed here for a very long time if the state of this ce was any indication.


    "Who are you?" She asked, no one in particr but to us as a group.


    Well, words were better than her trying to attack us I suppose. I wasn''t going to kill every vampire I met, if they weren''t the sort to treat other races as cattle, then live and let live.


    "Where I''m from, it''s polite to introduce yourself before asking others the same." I spoke up.


    Her gaze turned to me, calctive and searching for any kind of information she could gleam form sight alone.


    "Serana." She replied. "My name is Serana." She was....polite, if rather neutral in her tone.


    "Wilhelm." I would be courteous as well. "These are mypanions." I gestured to the others, and they seemed content to allow me to do the talking. "Rin, Artoria, and Thorum." I pointed out each one, Rin and Artoria both gave a curt nod in acknowledgement. I don''t think they particrly cared for vampires, but if they weren''t dangerous, they probably didn''t care to kill them either.


    "Well met, Lady Serana." Thorum spoke with a smile.


    [He has that same look you get.]


    What look?


    [When you see a woman who catches your eye.]


    What? I don''t have a look.


    [Sureeeee.] Ddraig replied.


    Serana smiled in response. "Well met to you as well, Thorum."


    Oh my god, Thorum was looking bashful.


    "May I ask how you came to be trapped in this ce, Lady Serana?" Thorum asked.


    "Oh please, call me Serana." She said with a surprising amount of warmth in her tone.


    "Serana then." Thorum had that big goofy smile on his face.


    I looked at Artoria, mouthing some silent words to ask if I was seeing things incorrectly.


    Artoria seemingly shot some quick gestures and mouthed something back at me to confirm my suspicions.


    Sweet Christ.


    [Told you.]


    "That is a long story." Serana sighed.


    "Does it have anything to do with the Elder Scroll on your back?" I asked as her attention shifted back to me. It was a little important to have a conversation about.


    "Yes it does, and it''s mine." She narrowed her eyes.


    "Peace, Serana." Thorum interjected. "We merely wish to understand. There were several vampires we encountered on the way here and they were not the friendliest sort."


    Serana pursed her lips, clearly in thought. "They were probably sent by my father."


    There was a small shift in the air, from silent eptance of her presence to something resembling hostility.


    "So, you are familiar with them?" Artoria spoke for the first time.


    "In passing at most." Serana crossed her arms. "I am not on the best of terms with my father." She scoffed. "If it''s all the same to you, I would rather not talk about it. I don''t know how long I''ve been sealed here, and I would like to head home to get an idea of what''s gone on in my absence."


    "You were hiding from him." I hazarded a guess. "Along with the Elder Scroll." A lot of his notes were starting to make sense now, from what Jinn told me.


    She paused "You are not a vampire, so it''s unlikely you have any rtionship with him." She muttered before shifting her focus back at me once again. "Yes, I was hiding it from him. Does that answer your question?"


    "How about a trade?" I offered.


    "A trade?" She repeated. "You want my Elder Scroll, what could you possibly offer to me?"


    "How about I take care of your father for you?" If my guess was correct, I knew exactly what was going on.


    She actuallyughed at that. "Take care of my father? You? I don''t want to be mean, but my father is an Ancient Vampire, he''s ruled for longer than you can imagine."


    "Well, it doesn''t seem like you''re against the idea." I pointed out.


    She frowned. "If I could, I would have killed him myself already." Her expression shifted into a scowl.


    "So, deal?" I smiled innocently. "It doesn''t seem like you have anything to lose."


    "If you want to walk to your death, that isn''t any of my concern." She didn''t seem to pay it any mind. "This Elder Scroll would be useless to me if my father was dead anyways." Her tone made it out as if she didn''t believe me, but that didn''t matter.


    "Wonderful." I took Harkon''s sword out of my ring and tossed it onto the ground. "Elder Scroll, please."


    She stopped, staring at the weapon I just produced, her expression turning into one of disbelief. "W-what is that?"


    "Fought an old vampire the other day, took his sword after I killed him." I said nonchntly.


    "How is that possible?" She widened her eyes. "You are....a mortal, a man."


    "You can always go take a look at his castle, or what''s left of it." I shrugged. "Besides, how do you think we found this ce? I had someone go through his notes and he talked about an Elder Scroll."


    "My friend, you faced a vampire lord by yourself?" Thorum looked surprised.


    "Yeah, I wasing to Whiterun to see you and got attacked by some vampires. Apparently they were going to try and kidnap you in an attempt to lure me out.....so it got a bit mad and went to confront their leader." I scratched my head. "One thing led to another, and here we are."


    "That exins the traces of battle the guards found not too long ago. We had been concerned because there was evidence of vampires there as well." Thorum responded.


    "Oh....woops. Ipletely forgot about that." I gave an awkwardugh.


    "Atleast the Jarl will be relieved." Thorum shook his head with a small smile.


    "You speak the truth then?" Serana knelt down, picking up the sword. "My father is truly dead?"


    "My friend''s word is trustworthy." Thorum spoke in my defense.


    Serana nced at Thorum then back at me before sighing again. She took the Elder Scroll off her back, holding it in her arms. "My father would never allow a ''mortal'' to wield his sword, even if it was some convoluted scheme to trick me. If you killed him then I can at least give this to you as thanks." She walked forward pushing it into my arms. "I hope you won''t allow any vampires toe into possession of it."


    That was much easier than I thought it would be.....


    "Do you know what''s inside?" I asked.


    "I dared not read it." Serana shook her head. "All I know are my father''s ramblings about how it tells of how we will no longer have to fear the sun."


    Now I''m just getting even more interested.


    "You hid yourself here to escape your father, now that he is dead, what will you do now?" Thorum asked.


    "I....do not know." Serana said quietly. "I haven''t thought what to do after he was finally gone. I am stilling to terms with the fact that he was killed."


    "You cane with me!" Thorum said happily. "I mean....if you wish toe to Whiterun, you can take a look to see how things after changed since you''ve been gone....." He awkwardly stated.


    It''s kind of adorable, the way he''s acting. I don''t know if he even realizes it himself.


    "Whiterun? I don''t believe I recognize the name. It wouldn''t be bad to get an idea of the era now that I don''t have to run and hide anymore." She didn''t seem against the idea, and for some reason, she looked like she had a good impression of Thorum.


    Then again, he really gave off the feeling of being a genuinely good person, maybe she could tell that as well?


    "I will show you around." Thorum beamed.


    "Are you sure it''s a good idea to bring a vampire aroundmon people?" She raised an eyebrow. "If you''re found out, would there not be trouble for you?"


    "It''s alright." Thorumughed. "You''re a good person, I can tell." He easily waived off her concerns.


    Serana just blinked at his words, unsure of how to respond, but I don''t think she disliked them either. "If you insist." She looked away, but I think she was a little....happy.


    No idea what she was feeling right now, but Thorum was pouring on his good guy charm and it looked like it was working.


    "Any kind of short cut out of here?" Rin finally spoke up. "Would rather not go anywhere near where those giant spiders were again if we didn''t have to."


    "Giant spiders?" Serana scowled. "If anything changed in my absence, I wish those things had gone extinct."


    Hah. I guess hating those things is universal.


    "But your guess is as good as mine, this ce looks different from thatst time I was here." She added.


    "Mayhaps we keep going forward, it looks like there is something on the cliff over there." Artoria pointed towards the opposite direction we came from.


    I put Harkon''s sword away and held onto the Elder Scroll under my arm. I didn''t want to put it into my Ring, I had no idea what would happen due to the nature of this absurd thing. Honestly, just holding it gave me a really odd feeling.


    I did notice as we started going that Serana took a spot near Thorum.


    There was an urge to p him on the shoulder and give him a hard time, but I''ve never seen him act this way about a woman before, so I wasn''t going to make it awkward for him. Atleast when she''s nearby, when we''re alone I''m totally going to tease him about it.


    "Wait." Serana stopped, grabbing everyone''s attention. "Those are Gargoyles ahead, they will activate once we get close."


    "Gargoyles?" Thorum questioned.


    "Stone animations that act based on a predetermined will, they usually are used to guard areas from intruders." Serana exined.


    "I have never heard of such a thing." Thorum stroked his chin.


    "They are expensive to make by normal means. They contain many rare materials and jewels ¨C"


    "Mine!" Rin pulled out her spear and burst forward with Reinforcement covering her body. She pierced through one before it could even move, the others in the area started toe alive.


    "Rin." Artoria sighed, before going after the others.


    "Wait!" Serana called out to stop them but stopped when she noticed them tearing apart the ''golems'' with rtive ease. "Or not...."


    It was interesting to see Rin move into physicalbat. It made sense, not to waste her magical energy or jewels, but it was still a little odd to see. She appeared to have some sense in her movements, still a bit amateurish, but had a feel of knowing what she was doing.


    "No need to worry." Thorum hefted his own sword onto his shoulder. "Mypanions are very strong; these things are no match for them."


    "Yes.....I can see that." Serana looked surprised at how easily they dealt with those things.


    "Well, no reason to dally." I walked over as Rin began digging through the remains pulling out some hidden gems.


    [Hey, there''s something strange up there.] Ddraig spoke. [To the side, up the stairs, I feel something calling out.]


    I turned my head, not really able to see anything. "Hey Thorum, do you feel something strange?"


    "Strange?" Thorum repeated. "I suppose there is sort of a whisper I hear every so often, I was thinking it was nothing."


    "Actually, I hear something odd as well." Artoria added.


    "I don''t hear anything." Rin looked confused.


    "I as well hear nothing strange." Serana seemed just as unsure.


    Thorum started walking, Artoria behind him as we all followed. Walking up some nearby stairs, there was a strange stone formation with some words carved into it.


    "Oh." Thorum eximed. "The Greybeards told me of these. They are word walls. Masters of the Thu''um could carve words and put their understanding into them to pass on to future generations. This is the second one I''ve seen yet." Thorum exined.


    "Did you say the Thu''um?" Serana asked. "You know thenguage of dragons?"


    "Aye, I know a little bit." Thorum smiled.


    "I''ve heard thatnguage is astonishingly difficult to learn, you are full of surprises, Thorum." Serana stated.


    "Well, he is the Dragonborn." I helpfully added.


    "Dragonborn!?" Serana was shocked, I guess the term was known to her as well.


    "Ah....well...." Thorum looked a little embarrassed.


    Don''t worry, Thorum, I''ll be your wingman.


    "How interesting." Serana''s lips curled up, giving him a strange look.


    I gave him a thumbs up when Serana wasn''t looking and I think he started blushing.


    "What a strange feeling, it''s like I can understand this, but I can''t." Artoria ced her hand on the wall. "I do not think this was meant for me though."


    Yeah, we aren''t quite the same as the dragons here. "Thorum, how do you acquire the knowledge?"


    "Oh." He cleared his throat. "I just have to ce my hand on it, like so." He walked up, gently touching a certain word that seemed to brighten, a flow of light enveloped him as he closed his eyes. "And like that I now know a new word."


    "What shout did you learn?"


    "It roughly trante to..... Drain Magicka?" He muttered. "Yes, that sounds about right."


    "Fascinating, we''ll have to test thatter." To drain someone''s magical energy, that could be useful.


    "If you will train with itter, I am a little interested as well. Would you mind if I joined in?" Artoria asked.


    "Of course." Thorum said without hesitation.


    "Thank you, Thorum." Artoria smiled.


    Funnily enough, Serana looked at Artoria with a frown.


    I walked up and wrapped my hands around her. "We can all take a lookter." I kissed Artoria on the cheek.


    "Will." She muttered, still getting flustered from public disys of affection.


    "God, get a room." Rin made a choking noise. "Can we get going, this ce isn''t exactly fun to be in."


    "I agree, I think I''ve stayed in this dreary ce long enough." Serana agreed.


    "Well, lets find the exit." I let go of Artoria. "I do want to get back home soon." At worse, I can just open a portal outside, but I didn''t want to reveal too much to this new girl before I got a better feel for her.


    Artoria didn''t say anything, nor did she try to silently ry any message my way and her instinct is usually on point. Not to mention Thorum seemed to have a good impression of her.....who am I kidding, guy ispletely crushing on her.


    I''ll be open minded for now. The vampires here weren''t my favorite people so far, but Serana didn''t set off any rms.


    I just hope Meridia doesn''t get upset.


    ***


    Second chapter for the day. Serana wakes up, Thorum has a little crush.


    Anyways, if you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 147 - 140

    <h4>Chapter 147: Chapter 140</h4>


    "Hey Schweinorg." Rin leisurely had her hands behind her head as we walked down a cobblestone road. "How exactly does the Thu''um work? I read some books on it at the College, but they never really exined anything."


    "Tolfdir originally told me something like ¨C A dragon speaks and the world listens." I replied.


    "Tolfdir, that old mage at the College?"


    "Yeah, did you meet him? I haven''t seen him in a while, not since he was hurt." I really do need to make time and check up on everyone.


    "Yup, he was nice, helped me and Saber get settled." Rin smiled.


    "Indeed, Tolfdir was very kind to us and was very open with any questions we had." Artoria nodded at Rin''s words. "Even with how busy everyone has been, he was always willing to help."


    "That sounds exactly like him." I ran a hand through my hair, looking up at the sky. "To further answer your question, the Thu''um bends the world ording to the ''words'' spoken. In fact, you can equate them to Caster''s High Speed Divine Words if that helps."


    I nced over to Thorum and Serana who were walking right next to us. They seemed to be listening, but otherwise didn''t engage. I wasn''t particrly hesitant to talk about vague things like this without giving any details away.


    "So, it''s not like magic where you force your own will upon the world, but the shout forces the world to perform certain actions." Rin muttered. "Honestly, sounds a lot like a Marble Phantasm."


    "Eh, it''s a bit different." I took a moment to think my words through. "A Marble Phantasm can only force ''natural'' phenomena to ur regardless of the likelihood. The Thu''um ''bends'' the world as I said, forcing oues that otherwise could not be possible. For instance, Alduin is apparently turning back time and reviving dragons, something that is not a natural urrence in the greater world."


    "I get it, just kind of hard to wrap my mind around." Rin sighed. "How hard is it to learn?"


    "I''m cheating and even still having trouble." I said honestly. "Thorum over there is basically fluent." I jabbed my thumb over to my friend.


    "My friend, Jealousy is not a good look on you." He gave a cheeky smile, earning a snicker from Rin.


    I just face palmed. "Shouldn''t have told that story." Basically, throwing my cheeky words I said to Rin right back at me.


    Rin broke out in aughing fit. "Thorum, you''re the best." She threw him a thumbs up.


    "Artoria, I''m being bullied." Iined.


    "There, there." She pat my shoulder. "Rin, please spare him, he is very sensitive."


    "I can feel my fragile ego just shattering every time someone opens their mouth." I deadpanned. "Going back on topic, I found the best way to learn the Thu''um was through experiencing it. Don''t know if that would work for you due to my....unique circumstances, but if you wanted to give it a try...." I trailed off."


    "You know what? Hit me with something, lets see what happens." Rin opened her arms up.


    "Rin, that is not a wise idea." Thorum stepped in. "Most shouts I''ve learned, and thus helped Wilhelm to learn, are dangerous to use on others."


    "I got an idea." I interjected, walking to the side and finding a good size stick. "Here hold this like a weapon." I handed it to Rin who seemed confused.


    "Oh, that is a good idea." Thorum praised.


    "Alright, Rin, you ready?"


    "Hit me, Schweinorg." She held the stick up like a sword.


    I took a deep breath. "Zun Haal Viik" I shouted. The stick in her hard was dislodged,nding on the ground.


    "Okay, that was creepy." Rin clenched her hand a few times. "Like....I was holding it then some force decided I wasn''t."


    "Yup. The world dered that you were no longer holding it so reality bent to make it happen." I exined.


    "That''s so broken....I want it."


    "Well, it''s possible to learn, who knows, you might have talent in it." I shrugged.


    "Will, I am d to see you progressing with your Thu''um, but you used it incorrectly." Thorum spoke up.


    "Did I? It worked, didn''t it?" I questioned him.


    "Yes, well....." He rubbed his chin. "I apologize, I am not skilled at putting this kind of stuff into words."


    "It''s fine." I reassured him. "Just speak your mind."


    "It was like....you were trying to scoop water out of a well with your hands instead of a bucket."


    "Oh, are you saying I was inefficient in my application?"


    "Yes." He nodded at my interpretation.


    "I''m curious now, how about you show me the ''right way'' to do it, big guy?" Rin asked.


    "If you wish." Thorum nodded happily.


    Rin picked her stick up again. Serana was content to keep quiet, looking on curiously and even Artoria was quite keen to see this in action.


    "Zun Haal ViiK" Thorum shouted, and I felt the difference immediately.


    The stick in Rin''s hand didn''t just drop to the ground, it went flying off into the distance and even made her stutter back slightly. "Holy shit." She said absentmindedly.


    "Yeah, It goes to show how better Thorum is at this branch of ''magic'' than I am." I admitted. Thorum was truly skilled at the Thu''um, I don''t think I could ever match him.


    "Don''t sell yourself short." Thorum pped my shoulder. "My friend, you have only been learning a short time and do not have the same benefits that I do."


    "He''s right, You know." Serana spoke up for the first time in awhile. "It doesn''t seem like you''ve been learning it for long, yet all the people I''ve heard about using the Thu''um in the past were old men. Yet, here you are using it fully, if not as well as a dragon in the body of a man."


    I turned to look at Serana. She was hard to get a good read on, I honestly had no idea what she was thinking. Her world seemed to turn upside down, she quickly started ''flirting'' with Thorum ¨C if it could be called that ¨C possibly because he was the easiest target. Maybe it was just a defense reaction on her part, surrounded by ''strong'' people right as she was unsealed, she took an opening that was given to her.


    No part of me ''expected'' her to return any kind of ''affection'' that Thorum seemed to ry, but I also wasn''t particr enthused by the idea of her just leading him on because she felt threatened. Was it possible she wasn''t ying it up and perhaps had some kind of good impression of him? Maybe he was simply her type and struck all the right cords for her. Adding in the fact that her father is dead, something she apparently wanted for awhile, it could have just all fallen into ce.


    Regardless, I didn''t really think it my ce to shove my nose into. If it got bad, then I would obviously do my job as Thorum''s friend, but his rtionships ¨C or attempted ¨C were his business, and I would try my best to support him.


    "I appreciate the kind words" I gave her a small smile. "I know I''m justining when I have it better than a lot of other people." I waived it off. "But you should see this guy in action. It''s like I''m a toddler inparison." I wrapped my arm around his shoulder. "Trading shouts with a genuine dragon like it was nothing, it makes you wonder who had been doing it longer between them."


    "You have mentioned dragons returning in force, have you fought many dragons?" Serana looked at Thorum.


    "Aye, our first bout was the hardest, I had yet known I was a Dragonborn. If it were not for my friend, I fear I would have lost my life."


    "Oh, none of that." I hit his shoulder. "You''re the one who cut off its head in the end." Iughed. I knew he was going to argue, so I kept going. "This big guy had killed half a dozen dragons already, and look at him, not a single scratch to show for it."


    Well, she certainly did look.


    Maybe she was just thirsty.....is more ways than one?


    Who knows, I''m not good at this stuff. I''d rather just be extremely blunt about it and forgo any ambiguity.


    Regardless, I got your back.


    Rin and Artoria looked amused by the whole thing. I didn''t know their opinions on Serana either, we''ve barely known her for a couple hours at this point, but it was progress I suppose.


    Well, Thorum started going into stories of his battles at Serana''s insistence, and I stepped back to allow them their moment.


    We had a long walk back since I didn''t want to show off my portals, I would see what happenster.


    ***


    "Finally, my feet are killing me." Rin whined as Whiterun finally came into focus, the stables just up the road from us.


    Yeah, it felt like we had been walking forever at this point, almost an entire day if I were to guess, and we were moving very briskly.


    "Aye, it''s always a good feeling to arrive home after an adventure." Thorum happily added. "A cold cup of mead would do me well."


    "I swear, you all drink that stuff more than water."


    "Haha, you''ll have no arguments from me." Thorumughed.


    "What''re your ns, Serana?" I asked the vampire. I was curious what she had decided to do after having time to think about it without a perceived threat hanging over her head.


    "Thorum offered to show me around." She nced at him. "I.....am in no rush, for the first time in a very long time, I don''t feel I have to do anything, so I''ll catch up on the time I missed, see what''s changed."


    "Well, a little advice if you are going to be staying long." I guess I would keep an open mind here. "I would introduce yourself to the Jarl, don''t'' try to hide that you''re a vampire, that''s just going to end badly for everyone. He might even be appreciative if you share some knowledge about dragons or other things from your experience."


    She gave me a contemtive look. "I will take your words under consideration."


    I shrugged. "Thorum." I sped his shoulders. "As always, It''s great hanging out with you."


    Thorum looked at me for a moment then wrapped me up in a big hug. "My friend, our time spent is never boring, I wait until you call on me again."


    That big goofy smile of his, it was hard to not smile along with it.


    "I can see why Schweinorg likes you so much." Rin seemed to genuinely like him which was good. "I''ll be up at the College most of the time if you need anything, and I''ll see abouting here to visit sometimes."


    "I look forward to it. If I have any questions regarding magic, I know who to ask."


    And he knew the right buttons to push, if identally, to get people to like him even more. Rin showing even more pride like that, to be considered someone to seek ''help'' from.


    "I may see you out as well, Thorum. These shouts are something that have caught my interest." Artoria spoke up. "I have simr.....advantages that Wilhelm has, I wonder if I can have some sort of sess in it."


    "I would be honored to share what I know, Artoria." Thorum smiled brightly.


    We said our goodbyes as Thorum and Serana walked through the gate, greeted by the enthusiastic guards. Us three began walking away, getting a good distance before I opened a portal and deposited us into the house.


    ***


    "Thank god." Rin copsed onto the couch. "I was going to die if I had to walk any more, and that''s even with this amulet."


    "Can I hear your thoughts on Serana?" I asked, setting the Elder Scroll down from my back onto the table.


    "Worried about your friend?" Rin chuckled.


    "Yeah, I can''t help it." I scratched my cheek.


    "Eh, she came off as kind of fake, but she could have just been nervous." Rin shrugged. "Thorum was crushing haaard though."


    "Indeed, I had thought he might follow in your footsteps with Meridia." Artoria joked.


    "I would kill to see that." Rin threw her head back onto the couch. "Ugh, I need a warm shower. Probably going to bed after, I''ll see you both in the morning." Rin slugged herself up the stairs and disappeared.


    "Well then." I just shook my head, I couldn''t exactly me her, I felt simr. "You tired as well?"


    "I would not mind resting." Artoria gave a small smile. "....even more so if you were to join me."


    "Oh my, Artoria Pendragon, are you trying to tempt me into your bed?!"


    Her face became a little red, she turned around, starting to walk up the stairs until she briefly stopped hand on her dress as she started balling it up. Inch by inch, her dress moved up as much of her under clothing was dematerialized, her metal grieves only further emphasizing her beautiful legs, until she finally pulled the hem up over her rear, revealing a cute pair of pink panties stretched around her round cheeks.


    "J-jinn advised me on matters.....do you wish to apany to bed?" Was this her attempt at seducing me? Did she want some more lewd time?


    I have to admit, her being in herbat attire was definitely doing it for me, even if it wasn''t already. I had wanted to get a start on my Lightning Form....but I suddenly felt like I could put that off until tomorrow.


    "Tempting a devil like that, you sure are bold." I quickly chased after, following her into the bedroom.


    ***


    If you want to read 6 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 148 - 141

    <h4>Chapter 148: Chapter 141</h4>


    "Hmm." I hummed my head resting against Artoria''s. We were still snuggled up on the bed, even as the sun started peeking through the window.


    "Hmm." She mimicked me, giving a small smile.


    "Hmm." I kissed her cheek.


    "Hmm." She kissed mine.


    We shared a littleugh, snuggling a little closer. I don''t think either of us had the intention to continue sleeping any longer, but it was nice to enjoy the moment.


    "Should probably get up soon..." I yawned, closing my eyes for another few moments.


    "Do you have important things you must get done today?" I felt her hand run through my hair, sending a small shiver down my spine.


    "Going to perform arge ritual." I admitted. "Should make me a bit stronger."


    "....is it dangerous?" There was a small amount of worry in her voice.


    "A bit, but I am taking many precautions, and I''m going to see about having the Archmage watching over me."


    "Hn....you''re not allowed to get hurt." She grumbled. "I will be upset with you if something unfortunate urs."


    I let out another yawn, fully opening my eyes again. "I''ll make sure to be whole and healthy when all is said and done."


    Her eyes shot open, then narrowed slightly. "Will, how dangerous is this ritual of yours?"


    "It''s.....only mildly dangerous, as I said, I will be making many preparations."


    "And it will not harm you?"


    "Not....permanently."


    She frowned. "It will be painful then?"


    "A bit, yes."


    "I feel as if you are down ying it for my benefit."


    I let out a sigh. "The biggest detriment to this ritual is the fact that it will be extremely painful....normally. I have Aura, which will mitigate quite a bit, and other stuff, but even then, it''s going to hurt."


    "I do not like the idea of you harming yourself." She said quietly, gripping onto my shirt. "Is this ritual that important?"


    "It will be helpful, and I need everything I can get before I head out."


    "You never mentioned where you were going, if it is going to be so dangerous then I shall apany you." She stated.


    I guess this wasing at some point. "I''m going to participate in a Holy Grail War." I wouldn''t lie to her.


    "You....." Artoria had many expressions sh across her face. "No. Absolutely not."


    "Artoria..."


    "No." She said sternly.


    "I have to."


    "What is so important that you require ¨C"


    "Sc¨¢thach." I said simply.


    Her hands gripped me tight, it was clear she was holding in some choice words, and it made my heart hurt knowing it upset her. "You must miss her a lot."


    "I do." I sighed again. "I keep trying to distract myself, but I can''t stop missing her."


    "I see." Artoria let go, turning around and sitting herself up on the edge of the bed.


    I ran my hands down my face, sitting up next to her. "I would do the same for any of you." I reached out, lighting pulling her close, she allowed it, epting my touch. "Don''t think for a second that I wouldn''t force myself into Avalon to get you if anything happened."


    Her lips twitched slightly, like she wanted to be happy at my words, but held herself back. "I can understand why you must go, but I will not be happy about it. And I will be speaking to Meridia and Jinn about what you will be doing."


    "Of course." I nodded.


    "And you will return to me." She said tly. "The Grail, those Grail Wars.....I have fought in two now, Wilhelm. Both of them had left me hollow by the end, and they had taken things from me that left an evesting mark. I will not allow it to happen a third time." She turned to me, her face stoic. "Are we clear?"


    "Yes Ma''am."


    "Good." She nodded, pulling me into a deep kiss. I didn''t take point, letting her lead and express some stuff she probably had a hard time putting into words. "Mayhaps Sc¨¢thach will be able to rein you in from doing idiotic things like this in the future." She broke the kiss in a huff.


    "It''s going to be dangerous, but I don''t expect to die. If anything, I consider myself unrivaled in running away." I gave a cheeky smile.


    "S-stop that." She let out another cute huff, holding back a smile. "I am upset with you, do not make meugh."


    "In seriousness, I''m making a lot of preparations, and I will be summoning a servant to assist me." I exined.


    "I will....ept your words for now, but this conversation is not finished." Artoria relented. "Go,plete your ritual. I am less upset at you hurting yourself now."


    "I''lle back once it''s finished." I ced a quick kiss on her lips before getting up and grabbing my stuff. "It shouldn''t take more than a day."


    "Good, I will being by the College with Rin, no doubt. So I will be checking in at some point, and I will ry a message to have both Jinn and Meridia also check up on you." Artoria left no room for argument, she seemed a tad more worried now that I exined my ns to her.


    Well, I couldn''t really fault her either. If her or one of my other girls was going to do something dangerous, I would worry nonstop. Not to mention I''m touching on a very sore spot for her, knowing how the 4th Grail War went, and the 5th was probably not much better.


    I still have a bit of time, I''ll make sure I have many things prepared before setting out.


    ***


    I quickly popped over to the College, the door still operating quite easily. I went straight for my little training room, and it appeared to have not been touched, not that anyone could do anything with it since I hid the ''mechanisms'' to it within my own spell castings.


    Walking inside, I started to erase the spell sequences already around. I had them memorized at this point, so setting them back up would be rtively easy.


    I took out the book on Lightning Form, opening it to the page I needed. I had already theorized a modified version of this spell, one crafted for my unique biology as opposed to the imperial who created the spell in the first ce. Not to mention I was filling in some gaps or correcting some errors I found along the way.


    The person who created the spell wasn''t exactly the most prestigious of mages, even if the spell itself was rather ingenious. But then again, new ideas and innovations don''t alwayse from the top, oftening from the average or the lower end of the spectrum.


    Taking out some Talisman''s I set to create a Five Elements Mutual Generation up on the ceiling without invoking it. To utilize the natural cycle to bolster the spell further, since I was beyond most people, I needed it to be stronger.


    I began to draw more Runes onto the walls, mostly to reinforce the concept of ''Lightning'' within the room.


    There were also safety measured installed. If I lost consciousness, the Runes would self-destruct, essentially canceling the spell sequence.


    Taking off my shirt, I tossed it inside my ring along with my vest and tie. I took out a small de and cut my palm, letting my blood spill into a bowl to collect a small amount.


    Dipping my finger in it, I started to draw a Primordial Rune onto my chest.


    The Primordial Rune representing Nature, as lightning is a facet of the natural world. I was doing this to facilitate the spell with the blessing I had of Odin, to lean more onto the Norse Cosmology. It should give this spell a little more ''oomph'' when all was said and done. The conceptual weight added of an entire Cosmology as a foundation would bring my Lightning Form to a whole new level.


    Well, I keep calling it a ''spell'' but that wasn''t quite right. Technically, it was a spell, but it wasn''t something to continuously cast on yourself. The spell was going to force the concept of lightning and merge it with my body, my person. To put it in tant terms, I would add the Element of Lightning next to my current Element.


    "Archmage, please keep an eye on me, make sure no one interferes." I called out, not very loud, but I had no doubt the man heard me. He always knew what was going on in his college.


    I began the final preparations, a spell circle drawn out as described and shown in the book, along with some runic letters native to this world. The circle was ratherrge, all things considered, but it was surprisingly efficient.


    Putting away all the stuff I didn''t need, I sat down cross legged at the center and steadied my breathing.


    In and out, I followed a rhythmetic breathing exercise to calm myself down and to mentally preparing myself as my Aura red up, making sure it was also steady.


    "Ready Ddraig?"


    [Yeah, I''ll keep a look inside on what''s happening.]


    My circuits could be seen, glowing along my upper chest and down my arms. Their warmth was something I had be used to, but it was a sort offorting feeling all the same. I started to channel my magical energy and pushing it down into the spell circle, actualizing everything.


    The spell circle lit up and slowly the room''s atmosphere began to shift. Lightning began to spontaneously arc throughout this stone chamber, bouncing off the walls. It grew, bing more and more numerous, the arcs of lightning filled nearly every corner until they coalesced and I braced myself.


    They all shot right down onto me.


    "AHHHHH." I let out a pained shout, the surprise of it amplifying the feelings and the lightning drilled into my core being, into my soul.


    I clenched my fists tight, and grit my teeth to reel back the outburst.


    "RRRAAHHH." I grit out, my fingers digging into my arms. I felt it, the lightning discharging all around inside of me. There were remnants, pieces that didn''t go straight down into my soul that were content to tear apart the insides of my body.


    My Aura red up, its healing properties offsetting the damage. Even as parts of my skin were burned and torn apart at the rampaging element, my Aura started to dampen and heal the damage.


    I growled, mentally swiping my ring and taking out a potion of regeneration. More potent than a normal healing potion, but not as immediate. I chugged it, letting the alchemic liquid fill my stomach and contribute to the healing.


    The Runes around the room glowed, as tomand the element and force it to where it was supposed to go, they synchronized with the Primordial Rune on my chest. The lightning that bounced around my body, was pulled towards the center and forcibly stuffed into my soul.


    I coughed out blood even as the lightning left my physical body, the brief amount of time I had it inside of me was enough to damage my internals.


    There was no time to consider it though, just because my physical body was no longer being bombarded, it didn''t mean the pain subsided.


    The body is a reflection of the Soul, and currently, there was chaos within my soul. I couldn''t help but start rolling on the ground, wing at the stone flooring, the excruciating pain unrelenting.


    [Hold it, brat, it''s almost over.]


    Ddraig''s words echoed in my ear, but they barely registered, I smashed my head against the ground in an attempt to keep myself conscious under this relentless assault. The stone beneath me having cracked and indented after who knows how many times.


    [Brat, you need to focus. Compress it.]


    I grit my teeth again, lifting my head up, even as my body was violently shaking. I tried to stand up, but copsed back onto my ass, and decided it was good enough. I focused on the Lightning, and began the process of forcing it down.


    I took several haggard breaths as the pain started to subside, the tingling in my body was settling and the Lightning wasn''t rampaging anymore.


    Slowly, I released the Lightning, letting it seep out as I absorbed it properly.


    The spell circle around me glowed bright, the intertwined concepts allowing me to fully take in the element, shifting my core self and adding the concept and making it mine.


    My breathing started evening out as the elemental power ran its course. Slowly, but surely over the course of alteast an hour, I subsumed the remainder.


    Opening my eyes again, I held out my hand, and lightning danced across my palm.


    "Fucking hell." I let out a breath, falling down onto my back.


    [That was intense.]


    "Yeah, hurt like a bitch too." I groaned, looking at my arms where there were still parts of my skin that had burst open.


    [Maybe you should have done without the Five Elements Mutual Generation?]


    "I don''t know if the spell would stick with everything inside of me, besides, I only had one chance at this, I wanted to make it as strong as possible." I sighed. "I didn''t expect it to be that painful, If I were honest. The first burst of it actually made me scream...."


    [With this Element added on, there should be some interesting changes.]


    "Yeah, basically anything affected by my soul should see something ¨C " I paused.


    [What?]


    "I never considered my Power of Destruction." I quickly took out the Sword of Destruction, channeling my Aura to it to ignite my bloodline power. My Power of Destruction, it usually acted almost like fire, to re out and consume everything in its path but now...it crackled.


    [A mutation?]


    "Possibly, more testing is definitely needed." I looked at my power with a wide grin on my face. "But I could really get used to this."


    I was captivated by how it arced and crackled along the de.


    ***


    If you want to read 6 chapter ahead or support me , visit my /astoryforone. Apocrypha is starting proper over there in two chapters.

 Chapter 149 - 142

    <h4>Chapter 149: Chapter 142</h4>


    I let out a deep breath, electricity arcing across my arms. I had several cuts, but they were healing at an obscene speed, even considering my Aura. There was also a feint sound of cracklinging from them, my new additions having the unforeseen side affect of boosting my healing capabilities.


    I don''t think the creator of the spell did it justice, or perhaps I brought it to the next level with my additions. It didn''t simply ''add'' lightning to me, it more or less made the element part of my DNA, to put it in simple terms.


    "Again." Artoriamanded.


    I looked up to see her squaring off against me, there were a few instances of her armor being scuffed, her clothes looking a little disorganized. The telling signs of our sparring for the past few hours, that had been the lesser part of several days at this point.


    Mirage in my hand, my feet dug down into the ground and I pushed off, the crackling of lightning left in my wake as a new speed, dwarfing my previous self''s, took over and I met her, de to de.


    Every swing of my sword, it felt like a p of thunder baring down on her own. I wasn''t even trying to bring out my elemental nature and yet, there was a clear indication of my new alignment.


    "You are letting it go out of control." She stated, unperturbed by the arcing bolts that jutted out randomly.


    I grit my teeth, reeling in the new, but still strange, sensation that enveloped my body. My fingers twitched slightly, gripping my sword, the snapping of lightning through the air slowly fading.


    Artoria swung her sword, a blur of speed as I moved to blow. I met it head up, my own sword deflecting it to the side as I followed up. The trading of attacks as neither of us gave each other an inch, gradually bing quicker and quicker.


    "Good." Artoria stated, knocking my sword away one final time, before dropping her guard. "I believe you have a good handle on this new ability now."


    My arms dropped to my side. "Yeah, I got used to how it felt under stress and fatigue." I put away Mirage into my ring, moving to stretch my arms a little. "Feels a little odd still."


    "It is impressive how much you improved these past few days." She noted.


    [Might be because of your nature. A dragon reacts to desires, so that could be a facet. But then again, Devils operate simrly on a smaller scale. And humans are a race with the most potential.]


    I can also heavily lean on my past life''s memories. That was no doubt giving me a huge leg up. I mean, how long had it been since I left that house? A bit over two years and I''m already at this point? Hell, thest time I actually went all out and fought like my life was on the line was...Sc¨¢thach. Even with Harkon, I could have ended it earlier, but I didn''t pull out some of my bigger stuff. Of course, I didn''t feel majorly threatened at any point until Mg Bal showed up, and then I was just on guard and didn''t want to tip my hand.


    I shook my head. "Well, I had amazing help." I gave her a smile.


    "I suppose you did." She smiled happily.


    "Up for a break?" I asked, though the way her weapon hung at the side pretty much gave away her thoughts.


    "Yes, please." Artoria replied, casting her gaze over towards our two onlookers. "I admit, I am a mite famished."


    "You''re always hungry." I deadpanned.


    "I am not." She puffed up. "I merely required a certain amount of sustenance to fill my stomach." She looked away.


    "Uh huh." I looked at her dryly. "I need to take you on another date to the states, I want to see you have a go at an ''All you can eat'' buffet."


    She paused her steps. "Does such a ce exist?" She practically had stars in her eyes.


    So cute.


    "Well if there''s something American''s do right, it''s food." I would admit I''m a bit of a glutton myself. "Come on." I gently pulled on her free hand. "I think the others have been waiting for us." We began walking towards a little table set up behind the house.


    We had essentially been using the ''back yard'' as a sparring area. And by back yard, I meant the tundra of Skyrim that was wide open and for free use.


    "Hey girls." I greeted both Meridia and Jinn chatting at a table under a tree in the shade.


    "Wilhelm." Meridia gave a smile, looking rather happy. "Jinn was catching me up on what I had missed. I have been told you acquired an Elder Scroll?"


    "Yup, didn''t want to do anything with it yet, thought maybe you would have an idea?" It was apparently very dangerous to use, and while I did act recklessly sometimes, that was more in a calcted manner.


    "You usedmon sense for once." She drawled. "I am honestly surprised."


    "Well, If I usedmon sense more often, would I have such a wonderful woman be my lover?" I shot back with a grin.


    "I am annoyed that this is a valid argument." She huffed, turning towards Artoria. "How was my sword?"


    "Oh." Artoria perked up, holding the sword infront of her. It was my Dawnbreaker. "It served wonderfully. I admit the quality of this weapon leaves me a bit jealous, I would have been delighted to wield such a fine de at any point in my life and trust myself to it." She gave it a few light swings. "The bnce is perfect, and the weight is very well distributed. While it is a bit wider than what I am used to, I can find no faults in it." She gave her honest words.


    We had been sparring for the better part of about four days now, and she had gone through several other swords in our bouts. For obvious reasons she didn''t want to use Excalibur or Caliburn, but using Invisible air defeated some of the purpose of this training.


    Meridia looked pleased at the honest reply. "You are one of the few I allow to touch my sword." Meridia said simply. It was a way I think Meridia was using to acknowledge Artoria.


    "What about me, can I touch your sword." Jinn giggled.


    "Of course." She said inly as if it were obvious.


    "Aww." Jinn bent over giving Meridia a hug.


    It was still amusing, watching Meridia get affection, and awkwardly return it. She was somewhat used to me, but having another ''person'' ignore her ''status'' and just do something like this, it was still odd to her. Not that she disliked it, I could tell she was enjoying the attention.


    "I admit, I''ve been tempted to look at my new Elder Scroll." Jinn stated, sitting back in her seat.


    "I noticed you said ''my new Elder Scroll''." I pointed out.


    "I did in fact say that." She said shamelessly


    "Just checking." I chuckled.


    Jinn held out her hands and the Elder Scroll seemed to pop into them. "Can you read this for me, Meridia?"


    "I can." Meridia acknowledged. "I am not bound by the same rules, though I suspect the.....Divines will be upset. They do so like to control where these little toysnd in situations like this."


    "So they can control them? Interesting." I rubbed my chin, turning towards Jinn. "You already took over my wards an defenses?" She pulled it from the library where it wasst kept, I can only assume she was piggybacking on my established bounded fields and other magical defenses wrapped around this ce.


    "I have an entire world''s worth of magical knowledge in my head, do you think I couldn''t?" She looked amused at my surprise.


    "Fair." I epted. "I admit, I forget how much you actually know sometimes."


    "Magical ¨C Divine ¨C All knowing ¨C Spirit." She pointed to herself. "And of you only use me for ¨C"


    "Alright, alright." I held my hands up in defeat. "I will respect your magical prowess for now on."


    "I''m also interested." Artoria Chimed in. "Are these Elder Scrolls used directly by these gods as a means to interact with the world?"


    "Sometimes." Meridia casually shrugged. "Most of the time, I believe they just bounce around time and space, randomly appearing. But, the prophecies dictated within tend to draw the corresponding Scroll to it. There are times when the ''Divines'' give it a little push....or outright deposit them at certain locations."


    "Huh...did I ruin a prophecy?" That....could be potentially bad.


    "Not all prophecies dictate thepletion of their contents. Some simply reveal what ''will happen'' if something is done, not that it is going to happen." Meridia exined. "But it is entirely possible, I believe the term you used before was ''outside context problem''?"


    "Uh oh, hope I didn''t break anything."


    "It is unlikely you caused any significant harm. But if you''d like, I can take a look." She nced down at the Scroll in Jinn''s hands.


    "My curiosity is getting the better of me...but I believe we should wait for Rin. She dide with us on that adventure, she''s just a much a part of this." I pursed my lips. I was really curious what was inside it.....but I did care about Rin''s feelings on the matter. "Speaking of, where is she?"


    "Meridia had requested a Kaleidophone to be created for her and offered substantial payment. Rin hadmandeered an empty room for her workshop to craft one." Artoria replied. "And I am thankful you are thinking of Rin."


    "Of course, she''s basically my sister at this point." I smiled.


    "Oooh, that means I can call her my sister too!?" Jinn perked up.


    Artoria blinked in surprise. "Actually, I believe she would quite like that. I don''t wish to reveal personal matters, but I do know she has felt the loss of her family much in the past."


    "I.....will make a better attempt at...socializing." Meridia said quietly, which did make me do a double take.


    "Must be weird seeing Mortals as something other than ''just mortals''?"


    "Yes, but it is not a bad feeling." Meridia replied with what seemed to be an honest sentiment.


    "I can appreciate the sentiment as well." Artoria chimed in. "A different circumstance it may have been, but I enjoy not having to ''sit above'' those I am close to like I was in the past as a King."


    "I''m just happy I have friends and family now." Jinn smiled brightly.


    That made us all silent. I couldn''t help but walk over and wrap my arms around her. "You are precious to me, and I am infinitely d you are here with us."


    "Will~ you''re making me blush." She giggled.


    "He speaks the truth. We have not known each other for long, but I am happy you are here, Jinn." Artoria smiled gently.


    "Indeed. I have not had a ''girlfriend'', as you have put it, to chat with before. I enjoy the time we spend together." Meridia also gave her feelings.


    "You both are so sweet." Jinn continued to beam happily. "But, we didn''t gather to talk about me." She looked towards me.


    "You are correct." Artoria agreed.


    "Yes, our mutual target of affection is going to do something foolish again." Meridia said dryly, and the atmosphere was quick to change.


    "I guess we''re having this conversation now." I sighed. "Alright, hit me with it."


    "I will not try to dissuade you." Meridia was the first to speak. "I am aware of how much you care for this Sc¨¢thach." She paused for a moment. "I wish to make sure you are fully prepared for such an endeavor. Artoria exined to me, briefly, the kind of foes you will face. I admit, many things she spoke of were foreign, but I could understand that you would be fighting foes that could even possess godhood, or other ridiculous conceptsparably."


    "Well, that isn''tpletely urate ¨C"


    "I fought Herakles, Wilhelm. I fought Cu Chinn, Medea, Medusa." Artoria started listing off various Heroic spirits. "Gilgamesh." She said pointedly. "Need I go on?"


    "Okay, that''s fair." I acquiesced. "Divinity is a very strong source of power, but I don''tck my own means."


    "Ddraig is strong." Jinn also spoke up. "I had a conversation at length about him, and his capabilities before when we were briefly roommates. But you''re going to be fighting people on the same level of Artoria, possibly stronger." She nced at the mentioned knight.


    "I don''t im to be the strongest, it is entirely possible, if not probable." Artoria nodded.


    Jinn epted that and continued. "These Noble Phantasms scare me. The closest I couldpare are the Relics...but I can''t even bring myself topare the Sword of Destruction to Excalibur."


    "I''ll also being summoning my own servant." I added.


    "Should we preemptively add a new spot in our group?" Meridia deadpanned.


    "It would save time." Artoria stated.


    "Oh, a new sister, I can''t wait." Jinn let out another smallugh.


    "Why do you all think I''m going to get another woman so easily!?" I threw my hands up. "I''m not that bad."


    "Salem." Jinn deadpanned.


    "That was ¨C"


    "We are aware." Artoria said bluntly, but not upset.


    "Well then. This became another level of awkward." And it wasn''t like I did anything beyond flirting.


    "As if we were not aware of your proclivities already, my lover." Meridia rolled her eyes. "Not to mention, Yasaka that I have been informed of."


    "To be fair, Yasaka and I aren''t in a rtionship."


    "It''s adorable that you think that willst long." Jinn pat my shoulder. "The moment Kunou decided you were her daddy your fate was decided."


    "You all aren''t upset?" When pointed out like this, it was a bit....odd I guess.


    "Upset? I do not believe that is the correct phrase." Artoria replied. "Mildly exasperated would perhaps be closer. I was aware of what I was getting into when I agreed to this rtionship, and you were nothing but open about it. I so far have no regrets even if I wish to smack you upside the head on a few asions."


    "She expressed my sentiments well." Meridia crossed her arms.


    "I have no problems." Jinn said inly. "But I think we''re moving off topic."


    "Yes, the Holy Grail War you wish to participate in." Artoria redirected the conversation. "Do you have any idea which servant you are going to summon?"


    "I don''t know. I was going to leave it up to chance, and allow the grail to pick one withpatibility with me." I was honest with my intentions.


    "I can see the logic in your decision. A partner that you get along with is important if you are going to be fighting together." Artoria nodded.


    "What about supplies, strategy, do you have any idea what you''re getting into." Meridia asked with a bit of concern in her tone.


    "I have things I''ve been preparing, but I''ll also make some more preparations beforehand. I haven''t read the notes the old man had ready for me yet, I''ll do that before heading over though."


    "Preparations? Like what? Do you need any help?" Jinn chimed in.


    "Potions, Talismans, equipment. That sort of thing." I replied.


    "I can do some stuff with Dust if you want. Bombs are the most simplest thing, but I can make other things with my knowledge." Jinn stated. "If I have good materials, I can weave some into some sort of Armor."


    "That isn''t a bad idea." I had forgotten about Dust for the moment, but I could see the uses for it. Once the old man said he was going to do some studies, I kind of left it up to him for now.


    "And I can help you with your Talismans." She added.


    "Are you sure you ¨C "


    "Spirit of Knowledge." She deadpanned. "Do you think I haven''t read up on your preferred crafts?"


    I sighed the corners of my lips curling up. "You''re too good for me."


    "Yup." She said without hesitation.


    "I will see if I can find anything to aid you as well." Meridia spoke up. "I may have something, but I will have to retrieve it."


    "Don''t push yourself."


    "Nonsense." She huffed. "You are my man, I will not have you lose to somemon rabble."


    "Never have I heard Heroic Spirits be referred to as mon rabble''." I chuckled.


    "I will help you train until you depart." Artoria also looked eager to participate. "Your new abilities could use some refinement, and I will make sure you are on top shape for your battles."


    "Oh, oh!" Jinn perked up. "I forgot to ask about that! I read the book on that spell ¨C Lighting Form ¨C how is it? The Archmage and I had a discussion on it but he was busy and couldn''t get away to see it himself."


    "Well, it''s really interesting. It was ''supposed'' to merely imbue me with a new Element, but I think my modifications took it a step further and forced the concept through my entire person." I held my hand out and a small bit of electricity crackled across my fingers. "Healing factor increased, some abilities showing a noticeable difference, like my Power of Destruction. A noticeable increase in my physical abilities, especially speed. And I haven''t tested it much yet, but my Lightning spells are a magnitude stronger than before. Not to mention, I leaned on the blessing I got form Odin, and amplified it with a Primordial Rune, so I think my connection to that cosmology was further enhanced as well."


    "Fascinating." Jinn eximed eyes staring at me intently, as if trying to discover all my new hidden traits. "I will make notes of everything then, you just worry about training."


    "It sounds like you have be partly Nature Spirit." Artoria replied.


    "I wouldn''t go that far, but there are some simrities." I definitely took on many physical properties of the element I had imbued myself with.


    "No matter. We have plenty of time ascertain all the peculiars about your new status." She lifted Dawnbreaker up again. "We shall spar for another few hours then break for dinner. Afterwards we will spar again and continue this schedule until I believe you are at a sufficient level."


    "You''re choosing to wait before eating?" I widened my eyes.


    "D-do not act as if that is a strange thought." She huffed cutely.


    "While you are training, I will get started on my projects. I''ll make sure that you have Talismans of every type inrge quantities." Jinn stood up, heading for the house.


    "I will also seek out a few things I believe will be beneficial." Meridia also stood up, but she quickly walked over and snuck a quick kiss. "You maye into my realm when you desire." She disappeared.


    I think that was her way of saying she missed me and wanted me toe over when I had the chance.


    Jeeze, with them all acting like this... "Alright, lets do this. I have a bit before I need to go, we can get some intense training done."


    "Very well, I shall not hold back." Artoria nodded.


    Good, I would need to be at my best.


    ***


    Grail War on the horizon, in fact, it just started over on Pat reon! That''s right, you can read 7 chapters ahead, added another to the pool and my goal is to get the highest tier up to 10 chapters soon.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord, code is -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 150 - 143

    <h4>Chapter 150: Chapter 143</h4>


    "Steady....." I held my hands out as Jinn carefully ced a chunk of Ice Dust on a table, right ontop of several oveid Talismans, which also sat on top a spell circle. "Begin Thaumaturgical Resonance."


    "Beginning in 3...." She ced her hands on the table, the spell circle began to light up. "2.....1" A visible phenomenon overtook the room, shifting the colors around us.


    "Dust appears to be holding steady." I noted, a stopwatch clicked in my hand. "Clocked in at 30 seconds, Dust starts to begin showing signs of instability. Change is gradual, but visible to the naked eye. "


    "Begin second step or abort?" Jinn asked.


    "There are enough shields around the room, may as well attempt even if all parameters aren''t perfect." I quickly took out a notebook and jotted some thoughts down.


    There was a small crack that formed on the surface, a light shining out.


    "Crystalline structure is failing, magical energy is beginning to leak out, it''s only a matter of seconds until a reaction urs."


    Or, it''s going to explode in a few moments.


    I made a hand sign, actualizing the talismans underneath. They stiffened and surrounded the Dust Crystal, wrapping it up tight and sealing it shut. "Time is 57 seconds, estimated a minute forplete failure."


    "The timing is going to be tight."


    Yes, I''m sure you know all about tightness at this point. But I kept my horny thoughts to myself for the moment, as it was important to focus. "We have about three breaths worth of time to figure out how to do this." I set the pocket watch down, putting my palms on the table. "Cancel the ritual." I waved my hand.


    Jinn pulled away, magical energy stopped flowing and the area began returning to normal. "Three seconds to capture the magical reaction. The concept of Ice right at the start of an ''explosion'' where it would be in its purest state and sealing it to further enhance its properties. The most obvious thing to do would be just to carve runes on it and chuck at someone, but that is highly inefficient, especially If I''m going to be up against servants or other mages.


    I walked over to another table, notes scribbled all around and began looking over them again. Dust was the purer form of elemental magical energy I''ve ever seen. Well, I suppose the Crystallized Mana from my home world would be purer, but it was infinitely more rare. If I could somehow discharge ice from a spell and capture that, it would still be magnitudes less viable than the stuff from Remnant. It was the nature of Dust. It was ''untouched'' more or less, it wasn''t intertwined with any other ''magical source'' other than the world''s breath.


    "This would be much harder if I didn''t have such an amazing assistant." I smiled at her.


    "Focus, you silly man." She giggled. "We can flirtter."


    "I''ll hold you to that." I looked back at my notes, letting out a sigh. "All the pieces are here....it''s just, getting them to fit." I groaned.


    "This is only the fifteenth try; we haven''t even gotten this far before."


    "I''m not getting discouraged." I reassured her. "Just slightly frustrated, like it''s looking at me right in the face and I''m missing it."


    "I''m never heard of anything doing something like this before, so my knowledge is limited." Jinn propped her chin up on the table , looking at me. "Dust wasn''t widely avable until ¨C" She paused with a groan.


    "Still can''t reveal Remnant''s secrets?"


    "Yes, it is very annoying" She pouted.


    "Based on what I know, Dust became prominent once Magic disappeared from the world." I stated.


    "Yup, that''s right." She easy replied, basically confirming my thought.


    "So, Logically, experiments containing both magic and dust are practically nonexistent, especially with what we''re attempting." I began thinking out loud. "But there are some things we can pull on, some general experiments, I''m sure of it."


    "Is it so different from the normal application of Dust? How people utilize almost like spellcasting, or in averagebat situations." Jinn pointed out. "Why not use the powder form?" She grinned


    "Powder form....." I pursed my lips. "It''s much more solvent for obvious reasons. But it''s also much less explosive. Not to mention its nature is changed somewhat, it''s much less pure and would be hard to get the kind of oue we want." That''s not to say that it isn''t extremely dangerous by itself, but Powdered Dust and Crystallized Dust aren''t just a different in physical state.


    There are distinct differences, likeparing a stick of dynamite and a hand grenade. They both blow up, but under slightly different circumstances.


    "You''re thinking of using the Powder dust as the primary source." She corrected. "But it doesn''t need to be."


    My eyes widened. "Oh, oh! That is brilliant." I practically skipped over and scooped her up in my arms. "You are absolutely brilliant! Using Powder Dust to act as a stop-gap, an Inhibitor." Powdered dust wouldn''t be vtile like Crystalline Dust in the same situation, it would be used to siphon off some excess energy, while still maintaining the overall reaction.


    It''s not as simple as just throwing Powdered dust at the problem, it''s still a vtile substance whenbined with magical energy. But if used correctly, we can slightly offset the build up to allow a smoother process


    "I have some thoughts." She looked up from between my arms. "If you don''t mind, I could get started on them while you deal with your other issues?"


    "You''re the best." I couldn''t help but smile.


    She grinned. "And don''t you forget it." She leaned up and ced a kiss on my lips. "Now, you have other things you need to do. As much as I enjoy researching together, you need to spend your time productively." She pat my chest.


    "Do you have everything you need?"


    "I have more than enough resources to finish this project." She assured me.


    "What about ¨C"


    "And the defenses in this ce are strong enough to handle issues, even if I couldn''t handle them myself." She cut me off. "I will also be sure to note everything and create a copy for grandfather to peruse when all is said and done."


    "I see you thought of everything." I pursed my lips. "And ''Grandfather''?"


    "Is it wrong for me to call Zelretch that?" She asked.


    "I guess it isn''t." I brought her in for another hug. "You are my woman, after all. That makes you his granddaughter." I''m sure he also enjoys it, actually, I know he enjoys having many grandchildren. "I should connect the house over by him so we can visit more easily."


    "I would like that." She said quietly. "But you have many things on your te at the moment. I''m sure he won''t mind you waiting a little longer." She pulled away. "Shoo shoo, get out of my workshop." She yfully kicked me out.


    "Alright, alright." I held my hands up in surrender. "I''ll get started on my daily training with Artoria."


    "Tell her, if she''s heading to town soon to get some more ingredients from the list I gave herst time, she know''s what I''m talking about."


    "Will do." I waivered her goodbye as I finally left, sealing the room up as I left to not disturb her working.


    ****


    I slid across the ground, the earth and tundra being charred in my wake as arcs of lightning flew off in random directions. It coiled around my body, enveloping my sword and crackling with each movement.


    As Artoria swung her sword and met my own, more of the lightning was discharged at each blow. It was if I had a permanent lightning cloak over my weapon, each blow affixed with my new affinity.


    des locked, I looked up at her my left hande up, finger pointing at her. "Lightning Bolt." I cast the most basic of basic spells for the element.


    She jerked her body, turning away, letting therge bolt of lightning discharge harmlessly into the distance. The way her feet pivoted, regaining her footing with ease and following up her strike allbined into the dodging motion, it caught me slightly off guard, only reminding me how far above me her true skill was.


    My hand, palm extended, moved through the air, forming a string of Runes.


    "Strike Air: Hammer of the Wind King." Artoria swung her invisible sword at me, the activation of her Noble Phantasm, albeit her weakest one.


    The Invisible Air around her sword burst out at the edge, blowing apart my spells and knocking me back. I felt the impact, my Aura mitigating arge amount of the force as I tumbled along the ground, quickly scrambling to my feet.


    Without a second thought, Mirage shed out, sending several Birds at her. The new extension of my elemental nature had imbued them also with the element, an unforeseen, but not unweed, side effects.


    Her invisible sword sted out behind her, propelling her up and over my Sword Phantoms, de falling down on my head.


    Even with my own blocking it, the ground beneath me formed cracks in every direction and stray rubble was kicked up and blow away. We continued to trade blows, though there was never a true killing attacking from either side, merely a spar on our ends.


    "Haaah!" She shouted, spinning on her feet and putting all her weight behind an overhead sh, making me almost buckle under the suddenness. If this was me from before thend of shadows, I would have probably crumpled under the weight and broke several bones, but I only shuddered slightly.


    I gathered my Aura, manipting it around my palm and pushed it against the side of her chest te, the action surprised her enough that she hesitated for a moment. My Aura pushed out, bursting at the contact point and making her take several steps back from the force.


    "That was a surprise." Shemented, rubbing the spot where I hit her. "I felt that, even through my armor."


    "I''ve been practicing my Aura." I grinned. "Didn''t look like It did any damage though."


    "Mayhaps it just requires further refinement?" She offered.


    "It''s possible." I breathed out, putting Mirage away. "But these spars have been a great help."


    "The speed at which you improve is astonishing." She stated. "You have a much better handle on your Lightning now and it has been barely two weeks since we''ve started training. You have also improved on your use of Aura, without me noticing." She furrowed her brow.


    "Well, I wanted to surprise you." I chuckled, walking over to a tree nearby, I slumped down against the trunk, enjoying the cool shade.


    Artoria gave a smile, walking towards me. Her armor dismissed with a burst of light, leaving just her blue dress she wore in addition to it. She took a spot next to me, leaning in with a content look on her face. "It was indeed a surprise. I feel that Aura has much potential, I have thoughts about seeing the natives use it on Remnant if Rin will be acquiring it in the future."


    I took out a bottle of water from my ring, taking a long drink. "It''s too bad Jinn''s a bit limited on what she can reveal with regards to Remnant stuff, otherwise she''d be the perfect teacher." I handed the bottle over to her. "Thest time I tried to get her advice on Aura, she could only huff and give me annoyed looks when I did something wrong." I couldn''t help butugh.


    It''s been roughly two weeks since we''ve started this training regime. I was working on research and preparing for my time in the Holy Grail War, barely having time to keep up with other matters. I only saw Thorum once in this period, he had been understanding when I told him I was caught up in some training stuff.


    He himself was rather busy, running around with Serana. I hadn''t seen them initiate anything I would call romantic gestures in that small time frame, but there were still some smiles exchanged between them. No idea what''s going on, but I''m not going to stick my nose in it beyond my duties as his friend. Which obviously involve teasing in revenge.


    Artoria finished off the battle of water, ying with it between her fingers. "How much longer until you intend to leave?"


    "Few days, probably." I didn''t hide my intentions from her. "I feel.....confidant."


    "I see." She replied, closing her eyes, head leaning on my shoulder. "Would you mayhaps.....attend to the market with me? I require a few supplies Rin asked me to fetch."


    "I would love to go with you." I gently ced my arm around her. "When do you want to go?" This made things easier, Jinn needed some stuff too.


    "In a little bit." She smiled brightly. "Rin requested some time to gather everyone so we could finally deal with the Elder Scroll."


    "Oh, right." I blinked in remembrance. "Honestly, I was so caught up in my own stuff, I forgot about that." I couldn''t help but scratch my cheek. "Whenever I had Free time, Rin seemed busy and vice versa. Or when Meridia couldn''t get pulled away..."


    "I had spoken to Meridia a day prior, she said she could make time, we merely had to call out to her." Artoria replied.


    Huh, that really make things easier. The Elder Scroll really did fall to the wayside, something I seemingly keep doing because I get distracted with other important matters. Perhaps I should start making lists to keep track of things? I know that even in my past life, I wasn''t exactly scatterbrained, but my whimsy took me all over the ce when something wasn''t actively hanging over my head.


    "I do want to see this Elder Scroll in action, it would be a nice break from everything else." I looked up, watching the sun peak through the leaves and branches of the tree. "Want to go do that now or wait?"


    "I would like to enjoy this for a little while longer." She said quietly.


    Well, I also wouldn''t mind sitting here awhile longer.


    ***


    A small time skip for training purposes and getting ready to head out soon.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone , servant has been summoned.

 Chapter 151 - 144

    <h4>Chapter 151: Chapter 144</h4>


    "There you both are, I''ve been looking everyone for you." Rin greeted us at the doorway.


    "We were out training." Artoria said simply.


    Rin nced at down, her eyes going to our hands intertwined. "Is that what they say these days?" Her lips curled up.


    "Rin!" Artoria huffed cutely, as she always does when Rin teases her.


    "Yes." I said shameless


    "Will!" She shot at me as well.


    Me and Rin both shared a smallugh at our blushing knight. It was all too easy to get her flustered, but always worth it.


    "Artoria~ You need to be more honest." Jinn attacked Artoria from the back, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl. "Just the other day you were asking me all about ¨C mmphh."


    Artoria had quickly spun around and held her mouth shut.


    I raised an eyebrow. "Curious."


    "There is nothing to be curious about" She said sternly, but her reddening cheeks begged to differ.


    "Imma get the juicy detailster." Rin said without room for argument.


    "There is nothing to know." Artoria quickly denied. "Let us call Meridia and cease this pointless banter." She quickly tried to change the subject.


    "Alright, lets stop teasing the poor knight." Well if she didn''t want to talk about it, I wouldn''t push it any more. "Meridia, want toe on over?" I spoke out into the open air.


    Seemingly momentster, the door opened again, my beautiful goddess walking inside. "I''m here."


    "Yes you are." I moved to hug her, haven''t seen her in a few days. "How''ve you been?"


    "I have been well." She said with a content sigh escaping her lips. "Merely dealing with some annoying issues, as always. Are we ready to ascertain the contents of the scroll?"


    "God, yes." Rin threw up her arms. "Been waiting forever."


    "I have been very patient." Jinn added. "But I very much want to know what''s inside." Her nature was clearly showing here. She had an almost impulsive desire to ''know'' things. It only required a thought for her to be hugging therge Scroll again. "Here you go, sister." She handed it over to Meridia.


    "I....thank you." Meridia replied, still a little taken back by the nonchnt attitude that Jinn had. From what I could tell, she didn''t hate it though, more so was still adjusting to the idea.


    "So how does this go, some kind of ritual or -- ?" Rin started to speak but Meridia just yanked it open without any fanfare.


    A cascading golden light burst out, threatening to envelop everyone in the room. "You will cease your tantrum less I destroy you permanently, you arrogant little parchment." Meridia growled and it began to calm down.


    "Well, that happened." I muttered.


    "Hmph, arrogant things are not used to beingmanded. Wistfully appearing and disappearing whenever they want across time and space." Meridia snorted. "I have no idea how Hermaeus Mora can put up with these things, I can practically taste the disgust it has towards me because of what I am."


    Huh, a lot to unpack there, but thoughts forter.


    "What''s it say!?" Jinn looked very eager.


    "One moment, it technically does not contain any words, I need to peek at it''s existence" She stared at it, eyes glowing slightly. "Huh, that is actually a bit interesting." She muttered.


    "You''re teasing me." Jinn pouted.


    "Maybe a little." Meridia smiled. "It speaks of Auriel''s bow, something I haven''t heard about in many eons. Also with some nonsense about a Lord of the night rising."


    "That''s it?" Jinn looked..sad.


    "More or less." Meridia pursed her lips, closing the thing. "It did say more information was contained within two other scrolls, and that they should be somewhere here in Skyrim."


    "Oh joy, I guess that''s more tomb raiding we''ll be doing." Rin sighed.


    "Please, like you won''t be the first to sign up to raid some tombs for riches." I rolled my eyes.


    "Just because you''re right, doesn''t mean I can''t be upset." Rin huffed.


    Artoria seemed to ignore us and faced Meridia. "You spoke of a bow?"


    "Yes, Auri-El, you may know him better as Akatosh." Meridia began to exin. "His bow was....is, a rather powerful artifact. I believe the term you use is ''Divine Construct''?"


    "I call dibs." I said immediately.


    "BULLSHIT!" Rin retorted.


    "Respect the ancient rites of dibs."


    "Fuck your ancient Rites, I want a Divine Construct you already have like.... A bajillion!"


    "You make a fair point." I acquiesced


    "Good." Rin nodded.


    "But I have a counter argument." I stated. "I want it."


    "Are you not leaving in a few days?" Artoria chimed in.


    "YES! Saber''s right, so we can get it while you''re gone." Rin Threw her hands up in celebration.


    "Dammit I forgot." I sighed in defeat. "Alright, what were you saying, Meridia?"


    Meridia looked....amused by our little argument. "As I was saying, it''s Akatosh''s ¨C Auri-Els''s ¨C Bow. It has much history in the founding of Nirn and is extraordinarily powerful." She paused looking towards Jinn. "I believe I may have some old records stored away in my realm somewhere, I can give you a better written ount for your library."


    "Kya~ You''re the best." Jinn jumped at the eldritch goddess, grabbing her in a big hug.


    "Y-yes." Meridia epted the affections happily, even if It was awkwardly returned. "Would you like to keep this...?"


    "Of course, this is getting put in a special ce in my library." Jinn grabbed it quickly, hugging it tight. "And you say there are two more in this provenance?"


    "ording to the scroll, yes." Meridia replied.


    "Interesting." Jinn had a big grin on her face. "I shall make room for more then."


    It was kind of funny, when talking about a Divine Weapon of untold power, Jinn cared more about the Scrolls, or the records and knowledge.


    "Question." I grabbed everyone''s attention. "Would Akatosh be upset that we...requisitioned his divine weapon?"


    "Who knows." Meridia shrugged. "I have not spoken to him in.....a very long time. But he generally was not very ''uptight'' forck of a better word. If you abuse its power and damage Nirn, he may take action. Though, it''s highly likely that he may already be aware of what will transpire, being the God of Time."


    "That''s true, and we haven''t had any divine intervention yet, so I can only guess we''re either in the ''watch and wait'' category, or otherwise ignored."


    "I would say the former. You have garnered a not small amount of attention from higher powers." Meridia acknowledged. "Sheogorath actually sent me a letter." She pursed her lips.


    "A letter?" Artoria asked.


    "Well, I use the term ''letter'' very -- very loosely." She sighed.


    "What do you ¨C "


    "It was a cheese wheel with words etched into it." She deadpanned. "And a random bite taken out."


    "I have.....several questions." Artoria spoke.


    "There is a good chance you will only have more if we continue down this route." Meridia said dryly. "Sheogorath''s sphere of influencey in madness, to decipher his mindset, I feel even I am woefully inadequate."


    "What did the ''letter'' say?" Rin asked. "Was it about any of us?"


    "It was, unfortunately." Meridia confirmed with a light grumble in her voice. "Though what specifically, I do not know. Only that it had some of your names carved with some other undecipherable nonsense. I am waiting until he inevitably shows up to make a scene."


    "Will you be okay...?" I asked hesitantly.


    "Oh, he isn''t very aggressive.....normally. We have learned to ignore his madness when it is more benign. He will get tired eventually and move on to the next random thing that catches his attention." She waived off my concerns.


    "So, if we ever meet him...?" I asked.


    "y along, call me, run away if possible." She said bluntly. "If you were going to run into any of the other Daedric lords.....he is perhaps one of the one better ones...rtively speaking." Of course it was implied that we were not to seek them out ourselves, especially me. She made it very clear she did not want me associating with them willingly, and I would honor her feelings.


    "I am curious, have you good rtions with any of the others?" Artoria asked.


    Meridia looked contemtive. "If you evere across Azura or Nocturnal....I have a cordial rtionship with them, I suppose." She pursed her lips. "But even then, I do not advise you to seek them out, or spend time with them at all."


    "I see." Artoria furrowed her brow. "I had been taught by Merlin how to speak to divine spirits on the off chance I ever ran into one, I suppose it is not much different."


    "Well, you can always threaten them with the spear of destiny. They can''t manifest in the world fully, should give them pause since part of Big G is inside the thing." I pointed out.


    "Yes, that is one of thest resorts I have at my disposal."


    Would probably cause a lot of chaos among the higher powers if that was revealed so tantly. I think seeing another world''s ''God'' would definitely throw everyone off bnce beyond what we''ve done already.


    "You should know, The Elder Scrolls also possess power if used correctly." Meridia spoke up. "Alduin only just now reappeared because he was flung from a previous era, through time, into this one by mortals utilizing an Elder Scroll."


    "Wait, seriously?" I looked at her.


    "Yes, have you not wondered why his reemergence was so sudden?"


    "I....hadn''t thought much about it." I tapped my chin. "Does that mean it could be used again?"


    "Unlikely." She shook her head. "That scroll used was.....unique, as they all are. If you could possibly find the same one, but even then, he would be on guard against it. And I do not know if Akatosh would allow his domain to be infringed upon again, or if he would desire the prophecy to continue to be postponed."


    "Hehehe." Jinn started to giggle. "My Elder Scroll." She hugged it.


    So cute. "All yours." I kissed her forehead.


    "I''ll go get started on finding the others, might have a few previous leads to look into." Jinn excitedly said, quickly departing back to her library.


    "Alright, just give us a heads up if you find anything, I''m going to finish the Kaleidophones." Rin responded. "I''ll have them done in a day or so."


    "I am thankful for your assistance." Meridia looked like she was consciously trying to express her thanks.


    "Don''t worry about it, just tell me if need anything else and I''ll do my best." Rin gave a small smile, beginning to walk away.


    "I see.....thank you, again." Meridia said evenly. "I too have things I must get back to...but, maybe we can get together. I believe that it is normal for mortals in situations like this to eat meals at certain times?"


    "We can do dinner together; I''ll whip up a few things for everyone." I happily epted. "I may not be the best cook, but I think I do alright."


    "I will look forward to it." She walked up and ced a quick kiss on my lips. "I will return, my lover." She turned to Artoria. "Please keep him out of trouble in the meantime." She said with a small smile.


    "I shall endeavor, but such a task may be beyond my capabilities." Artoria smirked.


    "As I expected, but I felt the need to say it regardless."


    "I''m right here." I pointed out.


    "I am aware." Meridia said dryly, giving me a look as if daring me to deny her words. "Before I depart..." She turned back to Artoria. "Would it be alright if...." Meridia sort of held up her arms, but I could tell what she was implying.


    Artoria walked up and gave the goddess a hug. "Of course."


    This was ridiculously sweet.


    "Jinn has been helpful in giving me advice on mortal interactions." Meridia exined, as they separated. "I am told this is a step in familiarity for rtionships outside of lovers?"


    "Yes, it''s something those close do." Artoria agreed.


    Meridia just nodded. "I shall returnter."


    "See you soon." I smiled and waved as she walked out the door. "So...." I looked at Artoria. "Market?"


    "Yes." She smiled brightly. "Allow me to go change my clothing, I have something I wish to wear."


    "Take your time."


    Artoria excitedly hurried up the stairs with an amusing pep in her step. I sat down on the couch and waiting for a few minutes, mentally reaching out towards Sir Wiggles who was still in Whiterun. I had checked in every now and then, and from the link, I could tell he was having fun and I more or less asked him if he wanted to leave, he didn''t wish to so I let him keep ying.


    I briefly wondered if it was time I should attempt to awaken his Aura? I had an idea of what I was doing now, and I was confidant I couldn''t hurt him. Worse case, it rebounds on me and I get the soul equivalent of being kicked in the balls from Aura whish. If it all worked out, I could also Awaken Thorum''s and Rin''s Auras. I didn''t know what would happen with Artoria, wasn''t going to touch that until I had much more information.


    "Wilhelm." I looked up, seeing Artoria walk down the stairs, my idle musingsing to an end.


    She was wearing a white dress, thought the materials and design looked like it came from this world. The general look of a normal woman you could find walking around Skyrim. But what caught my attention he most was the fact that her hair was down as well.


    "I....found this while shopping previously, it reminded me of the fashion from my era." She awkwardly fiddled with her fingers. "I had sometimes wondered about wearing such a thing when I was younger, I hope you don''t mind...?"


    "You look beautiful." I said sincerely, offering my arm. "Would you do me the honor of apanying me to the market?"


    She gave a warm smile. "I would be delighted to." She took my arm.


    If she didn''t want to be simply Artoria Pendragon, not The king of knights for this outing, then I would certainly not argue.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 152 - 145

    <h4>Chapter 152: Chapter 145</h4>


    The guards waved to us as we entered therge gates to Whiterun. At this point, I think most of the guards of Whiterun could recognize me out of a crowd. I''m sure my hair color, while not being unique, was eye catching enough, especially my state of dress.


    "Where do you want to go first?" I asked her as we entered the main road of the city. This was her idea, I would let her lead on this little date of ours.


    "Jinn required a variety of Alchemy ingredients. There is a shop not far ahead that has everything she needs." Artoria replied, lightly tugging on my arm to lead me in that direction, her empty hand holding a basket. "I have been here a few times in the past days as I have ran errands."


    "It''s kind of you to do these things for everyone."


    "I do not mind." She smiled. "I enjoy this ce, this city and people are very friendly."


    "I like this here too, I fell in love with it aftering here for the first time." I gave a wistful smile. "If there weren''t dragons running around, this ce would be perfect."


    "Yes, dragons." She pursed her lips. "I do not care to think about them for the moment, I wish to enjoy ourst bit of time together for a while."


    "You''re right, let''s not worry about any of that right now." It wasn''t hard to guess she wished to have a peaceful time together and not create any kind of stress or anxiety about what''s going to be happening in the future. For this moment, we were just out shopping without any other responsibilities. "Is this the ce?" We approached a building near the center of the market, a sign hanging above with a cauldron on it.


    "Indeed, let us enter." She continued to lead up, pushing the door open, a bell greeting us as the person behind the counter perked up.


    "Artoria, back already?" The woman had a gentle smile on her face.


    "I have returned, Arcadia. It is lovely to see you once again." Artoria greeted the woman quite familiarly. Did she make a friend while she was out and about? I was happy for her, even if it was just a passing acquaintance.


    "Oh, and who''s this?" The woman gave me a once over. "The boyfriend you mentioned?"


    "This is Wilhelm, my boyfriend." Artoria nodded and introduced me.


    "A pleasure." I said politely.


    "You weren''t lying, he is quite fetching, isn''t he?" She grinned, making Artoria look a bit bashful. "What can I do for you, darling?"


    "I require another batch of the materials I purchased previously." Artoria stated, handing over a list.


    The older woman took it, pulling it up to her eyes. "Lets see here...Frost Salts just came in and are fresh. The Briar Heart is good for a few more days, if you want it. Otherwise, the other stuff is moremon and I have it all." She set the parchment down on the counter.


    "The Briar Heart will be eptable." Artoria confirmed. "Please wrap everything up and I will pay in full."


    "Right away, sweetheart." The woman went to her shelves and started grabbing various items and setting them all in a pile. "The total should be...314 septims." She stated, wrapping everything up in parchment and putting it all neatly on the table.


    "Thank you, Arcadia, your services are impable as always." Artoria praised, setting the coins onto the table and taking the contents, putting them all in a little basket she was carrying in her empty hand.


    "Come back soon." Arcadia waved us off, Artoria pulling at my arm again as we left the shop.


    "You know her well?" I asked.


    "A passing familiarity." Artoria replied. "I have been to her store several times now, I had thought it appropriate to be friendly with the owner."


    "Hmm...what else do we need?" I looked around. "Rin need some stuff, right?"


    "Indeed, she asked me to get some metals." Artoria nodded.


    We continued walking through the market, people hawking their wares, and various stall owners trying to grab the attention of passerby''s. Every so often we would stop at a corner, or a stall, haggle with the owner or purchase an item, filling up Artoria''s basket further.


    "Oh, these look good." Imented, a stall full of produce. "I''ll take two, please." I set a few coins down as I was handed a couple apples, giving one to Artoria.


    "Thank you." She smiled.


    "The Apples here are always good." I said idly, taking a bite. "Anything else you need, maybe pick some stuff up for dinner tonight?" I asked.


    "The sounds like a wonderful idea." She smiled bright, eating her fruit. "I shall procure some ingredients. Would you please take care of our voyeur?"


    I paused for a moment. "You noticed her too?"


    "Yes, I was content to ignore her, but the constant eyes on the back of my head are starting to be annoying." She let out a small huff.


    "Alright, I''ll go see what she wants."


    "Thank you, Wilhelm." Artoria stood up on her toss, cing a kiss on my cheek.


    "Of course." I smiled at her, stepping back and moving towards an empty area.


    I leaded up against the side of a building, appearing calm while I finished off my little snack. "Are you going toe out or not?" I call out lightly to my surroundings.


    "I''m surprised you knew I was here." A feminine voice approached me, hood over her head, hugging the shade.


    "Serana." I greeted curtly. "I think it would be more surprised if I didn''t notice you. And Artoria noticed you before me, she did not enjoy your constant spying." I turned to face her. "You seem at ease walking around in the open, did you take my advice I wonder?"


    "I did meet the Jarl." She admitted. "He did not appear thrilled to see me or ept my presence, but he was willing to listen to Thorum who pleaded my case. Since then I''ve been free toe and go without being attacked."


    "Well, he is a practical man. I doubt he would have thrown you out or killed you even if Thorum wasn''t there, probably just tried to get something in rpense for letting you stay." I shrugged.


    She pursed her lips, crossing her arms. "I see." She said simply, letting out a sigh. "I...should apologize for spying on you and Artoria." She looked a little sheepish, leading me to believe it wasn''t malicious in nature. "I just.....didn''t know how to approach and was waiting for an opportunity so it wouldn''t be awkward." She revealed.


    "You have my attention now, what do you want?"


    "I wished to know more of what urred when my father died. I visited the castle myself to see what happened, but it was most rubble and nothing important remained." She exined.


    "There wasn''t really much to add." I wasn''t really hiding anything important beyond Meridia''s involvement. "We fought, I killed him and any of his people who still remained, then looted his castle. But now that I have you here, I do have a question myself. What are your intentions with Thorum? I hope you aren''t just leading him on for your own benefit." I didn''t wish to meddle too much, but I would alteast make sure she isn''t just leading him on or something.


    She blinked at me, seemingly surprised by my tant words. "I....don''t know." She said a small bit of hesitance in her voice.


    "You don''t know?" I raised an eyebrow.


    She frowned. "Do you have any idea what its like to have your entire life flipped upside down, everything you know to suddenly change? Then I meet Thorum who was charming, kind, and weing to me when I was lost and unsure of what to do. But I''m....."


    "A vampire?"


    "Yes." She said quietly


    "So, what''s the problem?"


    "What?" She looked at me in confusion.


    "What exactly is the problem? It sounds like you''re just using the fact that you''re a vampire as an excuse. No one''s telling you to suddenly fall in love or even have any kind of rtionship, but if you''re holding yourself back because something stupid like that..."


    "Stupid!? I''m a vampire!" She hissed. "I feed on people, drink their blood, how is that not a problem for someone like him? Have you seen how people around here treat him? He''s a hero and he willinglyes and spends time with someone like me who is reviled just because they exist."


    I looked straight at her, wings sprouting out of my back, giving her a raised eyebrow. "I''m not exactly normal either."


    "W-what?" She looked surprised, I guess Thorum didn''t exactly tell her.


    "You aren''t a monster." I stated. "So what if you''re a vampire? Hell, a lot of thepanions aren''t ''normal'' either."


    "You know about that? Thorum said it was a secret." She muttered.


    "Oh, so Thorum knows as well, that''s interesting." I rubbed my chin. "I never made a big deal about it because it doesn''t matter. They aren''t going around killing innocent people, why the hell should it matter?"


    "It isn''t that simple." She scowled.


    "Meridia, the Daedric Lord, is my lover." I retorted, making her eyes widen. "It''s only asplicated as you''re making it. If it doesn''t work out, it doesn''t work out." I shrugged. "If you don''t want to return his feelings, then be upfront about it. Don''t spout some bullshit about you being a Vampire as a justification."


    I withdrew my wings, and turned around to leave.


    Once again, it wasn''t my ce to meddle. She just needed a bit of a reality check, whether something happens or not is none of my business.


    I let out a sigh, moving back towards the market area.


    Since when did I be the authority on rtionships?


    I walked back up to Artoria as she inspected another stall of goods. "Did you take care of it?" She didn''t look up.


    "I did, she was just a little hesitant toe speak." I replied. "Nothing to worry about, we can just continue our date." I took her hand into mine.


    She smiled brightly at me, the kind that could make my heart beat quicker. "Yes, I have some more ces I wish to visit."


    "Lead the way." I chuckled.


    I didn''t mind spending one of myst couple days here like this, I was going to be away for a while and I wanted Artoria to be happy when I left. Nothing big had happened yet so I didn''t feel stressed about leaving right now. I felt like there were still a lot of things to do in this world, but I wasn''t pressed in any true way at the moment.


    Everything wille to a head eventually, and I''ll be here when that happens.


    ***


    Talos POV


    I watched upon the mortal realm, the various races toiling about their daily lives. It was a small joy in my immortal existence, a remembrance from when I too walked upon thatnd and lived among their number.


    Tiber Septim, Ysmir, Talos, Dragonborn, and many more.


    They were all names, all identities I could im, and they still were spoken upon the winds of Nirn even to this day. But for this particr era, there were only a few that took prominence as the world tilted on the axis of oblivion. An old prophecy which cast two sides against each other, the World Eater and the Last Dragonborn.


    I had watched my brother, barer of a small fragment of Akatosh/Auri-El/Father''s soul. Compared to their other brethren, it was but a small candlelight swaying in the wind. I could see all of my siblings as I watched from upon mine throne, but my youngest brother was perhaps my favorite to view.


    An intrinsic connection I could ess due to our shared origin.


    Memories of when I was mortal, they did not have much baring on my current existence, mine divine person, but that small tinge that remained still brought a certain fondness when I allowed myself the brief moments to submit to the nostalgia.


    Thorum, that was the name of the youngest. It was a good, Nordic name. My Ysmir parts seemingly nodding in approval.


    From the moment he was a babe, I cast my gaze towards him, his entire life but a mere flicker in my eyes. The briefest of moments I could allow myself the amusement of watching him grow, but for him it was the passing of many seasons.


    The little rascal, I admit there were a few moments I chuckled at his antics. A little dragon he certainly was, even as a little milk drinker as the Nords say. His life was not a happy one for much longer, his vige having a run in with a band of brigands and killers.


    He was among only a few survivors.


    There were many ups and downs in his life, even having been a thief for a time. Yet, he somehow grew up to be an admirable man, someone I would wee into Sovngarde when the time came. He had quite a few adventures here and there, finding friends andrades, losing some and parting ways with others, yet he carried on with a smile on his face.


    Things were rtively calm, even when Alduin reemerged....at the incorrect point, Thorum did not garner any more of my attention than I was already giving him.


    Not until the outsider appeared.


    Even at their first meeting, the strange person was a passing curiosity that I deemed unimportant. He was amusing, something I could attribute to many mortals, but nothing beyond that. Well, I will admit I had a small bit of good will towards him after hearing he had embarrassed one of those Thalmor who denounce my existence.


    No, he didn''t make his existence truly known until Mirmulnir descended upon the mortal city for the first time after Alduin returned to the normal flow of time. Just as Alduin was different than the others, I too was different than father''s pieces, yet I could know another dragon''s name just at a nce, even without my divine might.


    Mirmulnir was one of the smallest pieces cast off by Father, one of the weakest. It would have been a good opponent for the youngest, perhaps the closest dragon in strength to him. A coincidence of events that led the weakest dragon to be the first to face off against Thorum, is what I would say if I did not have true knowledge of the world''s workings.


    The threads of fate that intertwined the youngest and the other pieces of father. Events would unravel in a way to give the youngest a fighting chance against the eldest.


    What should have been a battle that forced the youngest to grip victory by the jaws and relish upon his first triumph over another dragon was instead interrupted by the outsider.


    Y Ddraig Goch.


    The name shouted by the dragon hidden in that strange red gauntlet.


    The Red Dragon Emperor he called himself, yet the image of him as he projected himself to anyone with the correct sense, couldn''t deny the visage


    There was but one problem.


    No dragon by that name existed upon Nirn, nor the realms beyond. Mirmulnir was right to call it an abomination, it held none of father''s essence, no piece of the god''s soul. Yet, it could not be denied that the creature was a dragon.


    And a strong one at that.


    This strange person, this outsider. Not even father knew from where he came, the strange creature in the skin of a man. His equally strange magics that seemed utterly foreign to any who beheld them as well.


    If that was not enough, Meridia was keeping a proactive gaze on him. Not the most vile of her brethren, but a Daedric Lord she still remains.


    How amusing it was to hear that Meridia and the outside had be lovers. Beyond the bewilderment at the reveal, I cared not for the Daedric Lord did not seem to reach for the youngest. But it further emphasized the mystery behind the one called Wilhelm.


    The outsider returned after a small period again, when the youngest was face to face with more of his kin. At this point, Thorum was on his way to bing a true dragon amongst father''s pieces, perhaps only equaled by a select few still flying in the world. Besides the oldest of course, Thorum was still no match for the World Eater.


    The outside returned, and with him, strange new things also appeared. Weapons I had no knowledge on, yet held the touch of divine, powers that he could not find the origin of.


    I had sense it, during the battle. When part of father''s soul that resided in the dragon known as Gehvodaak had been utterly destroyed. Luckily, Thorum was able to absorb it before the outsider did any more damage.


    Since that time, I had subtly steered any more of father''s children away from the outsider. Even father had been concerned about the implications behind his pieces being destroyed and not returning eventually.


    It had set a strange precedent. To actively usher dragons, through unconscious means, away from thest dragonborn that should have been hunting them as the outsider was waiting nearby.


    The uncountable number of threads that held fate together began to unravel around this strange creature. Things that should have happened never came to pass, others were forcibly overtaken ¨C usurped, and by some luck, others werepleted by their intended recipient. Thorum meeting the spawn of Mg Bal....yet not acquiring the Elder Scroll for himself. Hidden away in that strange building he calls a house, full of things not known to this world.


    The threads just continued to pull apart when the outsider''spanions appeared. Another dragon unknown to thesends, unknown to the creator and father of dragons. That wasn''t all, a golden light that shined within that smaller dragon''s soul.


    Beautiful was a word that failed to appropriately describe it. The strange person/spirit that walked the world in a way that was simr to the souls of Sovngarde, yet utterly different. The other spirit, the one the outsider called ''Jinn''. It was something touched by divine hands, yet we could not recognize its origin among our fellows. Was it possible the ''others'' had found a way to enter Nirn without our notice?


    No, such a thing wasn''t possible under our notice, and it was unlikely they would willingly return to thesends.


    The outsider just continues to be an anomaly, one that had garnered the attention of others who know the threads of fate. Taken the Eye of Magnus, as the mortals have called it and repurposed it into a sword of great power. The Staff of Magnus also falling into his hands, and there are his other artifacts of unknown origin.


    That sword Thorum was given, ''Anti-Dragon'' the outsider called it and I would believe his ims. It had a pulpable dislike for my kin, enough that I could ''feel'' it through the link, not that it was anywhere strong enough to reach me.


    So many questions and too few answers.


    I continue to watch the youngest, and I hope that this iteration of world does not end, I have grown to quite like it.


    ***


    Wrapping up this part of Skyrim. My original intention was to finish Skyrim up proper in this Arc, but I realized it would take way too long, so i''m either going to do it in smaller bursts or another arc at another point in time. Wanted to do a Talos POV without doing an interlude, to give the perspective of another ''god'' that is watching everything unfold with confusion at what he''s seeing.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.


    Got a discord up,e chat or ask me questions. Code is -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 153 - 146

    <h4>Chapter 153: Chapter 146</h4>


    "Hey." I squeezed Meridia''s thigh, my head resting in herp under a tree.


    "Must you always molest my legs?" She puffed up, looking down at me. "What?"


    "Yes." I said without any shame. "But I got a question."


    "Speak, I shall answer to the best of my ability."


    "You''re a Daedric Lord, also known as a Daedric Prince, right?" I asked.


    "That is themon terminology for me and those like me, yes." She stated.


    "If you''re a prince, does that make me your princess?" I grinned at her, while she just looked at me in surprise.


    "Yup, you''re definitely a princess, Schweinorg." Rin answered for her, sitting by Artoria and across from Jinn as they both ate. "You sure act like one, at least."


    "You''re just jealous." I pursed my lips, looking up at the sun high in the air. It was a lovely day, a perfect and peaceful time before I finally head out.


    Rin snorted. "Yeah right. Besides, isn''t Saber a King, doesn''t that make you her concubine?"


    "Does it?" I turned to look at Artoria sitting peaceful and eating with a grace that shouldn''t be possible with how quickly everything was being cleared.


    "It does." Artoria smiled innocently.


    "Well, I can add Royal Concubine to my titles then." I held my finger up, discharging a bolt of lightning into the air.


    Immediately, another bolt streaked across the sky, intercepting and devouring it.


    Sir Wiggles plopped to the ground, twitching his nose happily with lightning crackling around its body.


    "Can''t believe you awoke its Aura." Rin sighed, staring at the magnificent bunny.


    "Sir Wiggles has ascended." I held out my hands, my familiar happily jumping into them. "Soon, he shall be unrivaled across all creation."


    Meridia just looked at me oddly and reached out to stroke the rabbit. "He can already use this ''semnce'' why can you not?"


    "No idea, maybe Sir Wiggles is just ''purer'' than me in a sense. A semnce is an expression of one''s self brought about by their soul manifesting in the physical world. Sir Wiggles doesn''t ''question'' who he is, his purpose in life. There are no ''whys'' for him, he simple lives."


    "So he can manipte lightning like you because he''s simple?" Rin asked as Sir Wiggles shed out of my hands and hopped over into Artoria''s waiting arms.


    "More or less." I shrugged. "It''s not exact science here." Every book I read about the subject was so vague and nondescript on how it worked. "And he isn''t manipting lightning, he''s absorbing and storing it, then kind of releases it for whatever he wants."


    "Do you know his storage capacity? Semnces usually ¨C " Jinn paused, looking at me with an annoyed expression.


    "Have a limit to stop their users from hurting themselves identally?" I offered.


    "That''s good enough." Jinn nodded, clearly still annoyed about her limitations.


    "Should be only for direct use." I continued. "Like Pyrrha could easily use her prity to smack herself with something, whereas I doubt Cobalt could have drowned himself by activating his water clones inside his lungs or something."


    "That''s a good enough exnation as any." Jinn too was enjoying the meal. Seeing her perk up every time she tried something ''new'' it was cute.


    "Is there a limit on these Semnces?" Meridia spoke up. "They sound simr to magic, and that particr skill set can be taken far."


    "I would guess the Semnce is limited by the person. The soul and body are usually linked, one can''t be too much ''bigger'' without the otherpensating, otherwise death would be a factor. Maybe it''s an evolutionary trait, but the people of Remnant generally have their bodies and souls grow in tandem in an almost 1:1 ratio." I waived my hand flippantly. "Or that was my observation so far, but I''mcking in any significant evidence."


    "I want to say so many things." Jinn grumbled, stuffing a pastry into her mouth. "Mmmhhgphgh."


    Well, I didn''t need to know what she said to understand she was still upset about her limitations. "Well, how about getting your Aura unlocked, Rin?"


    "Do you even need to ask?" She deadpanned. "Gimme that power boost."


    "How does this work, exactly?" Artoria paused in her meticulous eating to ask.


    "We touch souls, the concepts of Aura basically get copied onto hers and I can then pull hers out...metaphysically speaking."


    "That was a very crude exnation, but it wasn''t wrong." Jinn confirmed. "I assume you have created a chant?"


    "A chant, like a spell?" Rin questioned.


    "Sort of an in-between of an actual spell chant and an Aria. It doesn''t have much power in itself, but it resonates with the person''s soul on a conceptual level to actualize everything. There''s a reason that Aura and Semnces are heavily influenced by personal traits."


    "So it''s something personal and unique to each person?"


    Jinn gave the ''so-so'' gesture "It has a little bit of structure to it."


    "So it does have rules?"


    "Probably just stems from the first user, kind of like a trait passed down." I shrugged. "Or maybe it''s all bullshit, I honestly have no idea."


    Several eyesnded on Jinn. "I can answer no more questions this century." She deadpanned.


    "If it bothers you, I can attempt to meddle with you artifact. Perhaps I can loosen the restrictions." Meridia offered, blinking after a moment. "Where is yourmp?"


    "I-it is stored away, I will need some time to fetch it." Jinn had an obvious blush on her face and I couldn''t help but grin remembering where exactly it was at the moment.


    "I''m curious, but my instincts are telling me I don''t want to know the answer." Rin stated, choosing to ignore the obvious flustering Jinn had going on.


    "Is it in a ce that is hard to ess?" Meridia didn''t seem to understand. "I suppose it is wise to make sure it is tucked away somewhere and hard to retrieve in the even that it is discovered and someone wishes to use it against you."


    "I''m sure Jinn wouldn''t mind showing you where it ister." I smirked at my genie, her face a beautiful red.


    The way she shifted on the bench....I really don''t think she would mind.


    "Alright, Schweinorg, how you want to do this?" Rin stood up, walking towards me.


    "Eh, juste and sit cross legged infront." I gestured, sitting up.


    "I am curious about this as well." Meridia also adjusted herself to better look.


    "Alright." Rin replied, taking up her spot. "I think I''m ready."


    "Now, you''re going to feel a bit awkward as I enter deep inside you. Don''t worry, that''spletely natural~"


    "I''m already regretting this." Rin sighed.


    "Honestly, it''s almost tradition to make it into a lewd joke." Jinn snorted.


    "Just...get it over with, I want to have a soul shield."


    "Fine fine." I put my hand on her back and red my Aura. "For it is in ¨C"


    ***


    "It''s red." Meridia admired, poking Rin''s Aura.


    "That feels weird." Rin muttered.


    "Don''t mind me, just a little exhausted over here." I waived my hand,ying on the grass.


    Artoria had stopped her snacking and was also inspecting it. "I believe it changes colors based on the person." Artoria also starting poking. "The structure is very firm, very much like Wilhelms."


    "I feel energized." Rin looked at her hands, clenching them as the red energy flowed around her body. "Definitely feel stronger."


    "Yeah, you had above average reserves. Not as big as mine, but still pretty good." I exined.


    "Above average, like how much above average?" Rin looked at me.


    "Jinn." I called out.


    The Genie threw a thumbs up.


    "About that much." I said.


    "That makes it much clearer, thanks." She said dryly. "Can''t wait to go fight that bitch again."


    "Rin, are you thinking of using your new powers to bully your rival?" I gasped.


    "Yup."


    "Well, if I wanted confirmation that you''re one of the old man''s....." I chuckled. "Make sure to extort her as much as possible.


    Rin scoffed. "Of course, who do you think I am?"


    Artoria let out a sigh. "I don''t know who''s being a bad influence on whom."


    "The answer is: yes." I replied, yoinking Artoria down towards me with some telekinesis.


    "Will!" Artoria let out an indignant squeak, falling into my arms as they wrapped around her.


    "I invoke my authority as the Royal Concubine."


    Mine.


    "Now, as is tradition, you must fight another Aura user in a duel to the death." I pointed towards Sir Wiggles. "Begin!"


    Artoria bonked me on the head. "Don''t initiate death duels between your familiar and Rin."


    "Toote, Sir Wiggles, attack." I called out.


    With a burst of lightning Sir Wiggles plopped himself on Rin''s head.


    "The static is messing up my hair." Rin groaned.


    Meridia was kind enough to grab Sir Wiggles who happily stay in her arms. "Who''s a good boy." She cooed to my familiar. It seemed like everyone was quite taken with him.


    "Sir Wiggles is the best wingman." I chuckled. "I''m going to start teaching him magic soon."


    "Dare I ask why?" Artoria looked at me strangely.


    "Because I would find it hrious."


    "You really are the old man''s reincarnation." Rin sighed again. "That''s still really strange to say out loud."


    "Is it?" Jinn walked up poking Rin''s Aura. "And there are many different meditation techniques for manipting Aura, of which I have some books in the Library."


    "What, is reincarnating normal for you?" Rin raised an eyebrow towards Jinn. "And thank you, I''ll be sure to read themter."


    Jinn let out a long winded sigh. "I can answer no more questions this century."


    "Wait, seriously?" Rin looked surprised.


    "I wouldn''t be surprised, Remnant''s a strange ce." I should visit Salem soon. "They have robots, Rin ¨C Robots! We don''t even have robots."


    "You''re such a nerd."


    "What''s a robot?" Meridia asked.


    "Eh, an advanced form of an automaton." I gave a rough exnation. "I''ll show you one if I ever get my hands on any."


    "Through legal means, correct?" Artoria narrowed her eyes.


    "...."


    "Correct?"


    "um....yes?"


    "I will ept that answer for now."


    Does she know I''m a wanted criminal on Remnant...Jinn never got to that part and it was kinda glossed over.


    "Is it time we speak of the elephant in the room?" Meridia gently scratched Sir Wiggles head.


    I let out a sigh. "Probably, this wasing either way." I pat Artoria on the head, she takes the que to sit up as I followed suite. "Well, it''s not really a secret at this point, but I was going to head out in a little bit."


    "No shit, we''ve been prepping like crazy these past couple weeks." Rin huffed, takin gout a small satchel from her storage bag. "I had some extra jewels so I put some spells in them. You can figure it out." She tossed them to me.


    "Thanks Rin." I smiled towards her.


    "Whatever." She crossed her arms and looked away.


    "Oh, I also have some stuff." Jinn pulled on the house''s magic and handed over a bag. "Lots of Talismans, lots of Dust bombs."


    "I''m excited to see how they do."


    "You better bring back some notes!"


    "Of course." I chuckled.


    "I too have something I wish to give you, Wilhelm." Meridia walked up, setting sir Wiggles on the ground. "It took me some time to track down." She flipped her hand over, revealing a ring. "It is one of my lesser known Relics, it had disappeared some time ago and I didn''t care enough then to retrieve it."


    "It''s pretty." I admired the yellowed gem iid on the silver ring.


    "It''s simply called ¨C The Ring of the Khajiit." She exined. "It has properties to enhance your speed and stealth capabilities."


    "Next time, I''ll be the one to give you a ring." I grinned.


    "I do not have an overt fascination with jewelry." She said inly.


    "In our cultures, presenting someone with a ring is an indication of wanting to get married." Jinn replied.


    "M-married?" Meridia squeaked out, her face turning a light shade of pink. "I.....you...!?" She appeared to be speechless, opting to huff and puff.


    "I wish to also give you something." Artoria spoke, pressing a hand to her chest, a bright light engulfing the area as her sheath appeared. She held it tightly in her hands before pushing it to me. I didn''t have time to protest as it went inside me. "It contains my magical energy, it should be enough to activate once without my presence."


    "Artoria....I can''t, this is..."


    "No." She cut me off. "You will carry it and return it to me when youe back." She said sternly. "And this will apany you as well." She took out the True Longinus from her bag and set it down infront of me.


    "I feel like I won''t be able to argue with you on this."


    "Good, you are learning." She nodded.


    I shook my head with a sigh, taking the Spear back into my ring.


    "What are your ns?" Jinn asked. "Are you heading out immediately....or?"


    "I was going to stop by Thorum, say goodbye, maybe awaken his Aura on the way out. I also wanted to visit Kunou before I head back home and talk to the old man."


    "Good, both Yasaka and Kunou deserve your attention." Artoria nodded in approval.


    "Oh, that reminds me." Rin took a few more things out of her bag. "Finished the Kaleidophones, got 7 in total." She started handing them out, giving the left overs to me.


    "Thank you." Meridia held the device in her hands, but didn''t seem like she knew how to use it.


    "Aww, thanks Rin!" Jinn wrapped up the shorter Magus. "And don''t worry, I''ll show you have to use it,ter Meridia."


    "It was no problem." Rin pat the genie on the shoulder with a small smile.


    I stood up, brushing myself off. "I should probably start heading out.


    "Ughh, heree your mushy goodbyes." She flipped her hair back. "Later Schweinorg, don''t die or I''ll go kick your ass." Rin waived her hand, walking towards the house.


    Rin, you''re such a tsundere.


    "Well, who''s first?"


    Meridia stepped forward. "I expect you to return, whole and healthy." She poked my chest. "And I mean it this time, I will be very upset if you are harmed." I held out my hands, letting her move into my arms.


    "Un, no getting hurt." Jinn joined in with a smile, moving her mouth towards my ear to whisper something. "If youe back without any issues, I''ll let you hide something else where mymp is~"


    What a lewd genie you are, though I suppose that''s what happens when you see the entirety of the inte.


    Artoria walked up and I pulled her in as well with my free hand. "I look forward to meeting Sc¨¢thach." She said evenly.


    "Yes, new sister!" Jinn cheered. "I can''t wait to meet her!"


    "Mmm, as they say." Meridia nodded. "But your safety takes priority."


    "Of course." I couldn''t help but smile at their sincerity. I kissed each of them goodbye. "I''ll be back soon."


    "Please return." Artoria said quietly.


    I briefly thought about anything else I would need to do. There were no pressing matters, Meridia would look over everyone, I had reinforced the house through every means I had avable, even adding Primordial Runes. Enthir hade through, and for a small fortune, I had armed this ce to stand up to a veritable siege.


    "I''ll be back, just wait." I pulled out Mirage, giving them onest look before opening a portal to Whiterun.


    ***


    "Will" Thorum shouted in shock, practically falling down.


    "Yo." I greeted, appearing right in the middle of the training area. I looked around and saw several faces from thepanions I was familiar with, and even Serana was hovering nearby in the shade.


    "Is something wrong, my friend?" Thorum regained hisposure. "You don''t usually pop in like this unless there is a problem."


    "No problem, but I''m going to disappear for a little bit. Going to get Sc¨¢thach." I replied. There wasn''t a need to cause him undue stress by exining further.


    "Oh, you are here to say goodbye then?" Thorum looked, not upset, but somewhere close to it. "How long will you be gone?"


    "Eh, not that long. And if there is an emergency, any of the girls can get a hold of me and I''lle back right away."


    "Oh, that is good." Thorum epted.


    "Before I leave, I wanted to give you something. I did it for Rin, and and I feltfortable doing it for someone else."


    "What is it?"


    "Well, I''m going to awaken your Aura." I red my own for added effect. "It''s the physical manifestation of the soul, it provides an overall boost in physical capabilities, a shield that can mitigate quite a bit of damage, and over time you can develop a singr power that''s based on your personality."


    "Truly? That sounds too good to be true, are there any downsides?"


    "Not really." I scratched my head. "I don''t think it can even be done ''hurtfully''. At worse, I get a rebound, but that''s about it. Honestly, the only ''downside'' is how ''intimate'' the act is. I''m basically touching your soul with mine."


    "Okay, I trust you." Thorum said without a second thought.


    "I just said I''m touching your soul, do you really have no reservations?"


    Thorum justughed. "If you wished to harm me, there were simpler ways."


    "Idiot." I sighed. "Alright, sit down, legs crossed." He followed my instructions and sat down and I followed suit. The onlookers didn''t seem keen on interrupting us, but a quick nce around revealed how interested they were in what was happening. Well, I didn''t really hide it and if Thorum eventually wants to awaken other''s Aura''s, more power to him.


    "Steady yourself, I''m going to push my Aura into you." I stated, ring my Aura up.


    "Oh, that is strange."


    "Yeah, everyone says that the first time." Iughed.


    Now.... "For it is through Freedom that we Achieve Immortality. Through this we be a paragon of Liberation and Choice to rise above fate. Infinite in possibilities and unbound by death, I release your soul and by my shoulder, free thee."


    As soon as I finished the words, Thorum exploded in a golden light. My own Aura reserves dipped exponentially, enough that I felt a shock in my chest.


    [Idiot, he''s a dragon, and he ate other dragon souls.]


    I thought I could handle it!


    I mean, I did, it just felt like I got kicked in the balls.


    "I feel.....amazing." Thorum stood up, light enveloping him. "Is this the Aura you spoke of, it covers my body."


    "What the hell is that?." My eyes widened. He was supposed to have a sort of bubble around him with fully manifested, but Thorum''s aura took on the form of a dragon as it covered his body, there was even an ethereal tail behind him.


    What the fuck?


    ***


    Saying goodbyes, and Thorum''s Aura turns out a little oddly :p


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 154 - 147

    <h4>Chapter 154: Chapter 147</h4>


    "This is amazing." Thorum looked at himself, his arms glowing bright, ethereal scales covering his body and his ghost-like tail swaying around. "I feel significantly stronger."


    "I believe I have made an oopsie." I pursed my lips, inspecting it.


    "Is something wrong?" Serana approached, looking a little concerned.


    "Thorum is a dragon." I said inly. "His soul is indistinguishable from one, even if his body is that of a man. I brought the physical manifestation of his soul out, so It obviously would be different than me own." I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I feel stupid for not even considering this, it''s obvious in hindsight."


    "Is this bad?" Thorum asked.


    "No, not at all. Your Aura can''t be bad, its simply your own soul being more.... proactive. Though I don''t know what exactly is going on, but if you like it, then that''s good enough." I shrugged. Aura was perhaps the safest mystical phenomenon I had ever encountered, as there were literally no detriments here.


    Back in Remnant, Grimm were much more attracted to those with Aura awakened, and I guess an argument could be made that having your soul fluttering about could be potentially hazardous under the right circumstances. But in general, there was no overt danger to the person who had their Aura awakened.


    I quickly withdrew a notebook and pen from my ring and began jotting down notes. Some quick thoughts, some things to be mindful of and some other misceneous stuff. "Here." I ripped the pages out and handed them over to Thorum. "I would advise seeing Jinn in the next few days, give her that. She''s more of an expert on Aura than I am, so she should be able to make sure everything is working correctly."


    "I trust you, my friend." He put the note away in a pocket. "But I shall speak with Jinn at ater date, even if it is merely to speak with a friend." He gave that big goofy smile.


    Well, I''m entirely sure there is actually nothing ''wrong'' just merely some thing that should probably be sorted out by an expert. "Get over here, you big idiot." I surprised him with a hug, usually him being the one to do so.


    He let out a mirthful chuckle, patting me on the back. "I await more stories for when you return. And I hope to meet your woman as well."


    "Of course." I nodded, turning towards Serana. "Take care of him while I''m gone."


    "I''ll take good care of him." She smirked.


    I''m sure you will.


    "Don''t know how long I''ll be gone. Remember, if anything happens, shout for you know who, or get in contact with the girls."


    "I will remember your words. Until you return, my friend." He held his hand had as I grasped it in mine.


    "Later." I smiled as we parted, sweeping Mirage into the air again and departing the world-line.


    ***


    I looked up at the fake sky of Kyoto, this small dimension created to house arge portion of Japan''s Youkai poption.


    Well, I appeared nearby Yasaka''s estate. Walking up the path towards therge gate I took a moment to admire the view all around me. It was nice and peaceful; it didn''t really carry the air of a subspace sectioned off from the world.


    It felt alive.


    The gate was the same as I recalled, guards were still wary from the previous battles that took ce here. I could feel the eyes on me as I made my intentions to approach obvious.


    I was ready to exin myself, be polite and not just barge inside but....


    "Young Lord!" Several Tengu flew down, greeting me respectfully.


    "P-pardon?" I blinked in surprise.


    "Young Lord, we wee you back." They spoke.


    Okay.


    That''s new....


    "Can I enter....?" I hesitantly asked.


    "Of course, Young Lord." They immediately stood up, shouting all around as the gates flung open with a surprising haste. "Young Lord, may I ask what you need, do you need to be escorted anywhere? The reconstruction has just beenpleted recently, there was much remodeling I dare not allow you to get lost." The Tengu at the front, who I assumed was the highest rank was speaking quickly.


    "Erm..."I scratched my head. I wasn''t used to this kind of attention. Even as my time as Zelretch, there was a healthy dose of fear behind the reverence.... "Is Yasaka avable?"


    "Of course, Young Lord." The Tengu bowed lightly. "I can lead you to Lady Yasaka immediately."


    I let out a sigh. "Sure, take me to her please." I gestured him forward.


    "This way." He gestured to the guard who assumed their positions back at the gate, taking direction and leading me through thepound.


    I wanted to ask him a couple questions but.... "I apologize, I don''t believe I know your name."


    "This one is Soma, Young Lord." He replied without a hint of awkwardness. "I am the Thirdmander of the Blue Sparrows, a recent promotion as I had ascended levels a few days prior." He said with no small amount of pride in his voice.


    Ah, there was a little blue bird on his uniform. Some kind of designation for his ''toon'' or whatever it''s called?


    "Ascended?" I questioned. "I think I may be misunderstanding the vernacr."


    "Oh yes, you are a half-devil." He nodded. "It''smon these days to use their measuring system. I believe you would be more familiar if I recently became the equivalent of a high-ss recent?"


    "Oh, I see. Thank you for the exnation." I nodded.


    "It is my duty to see to your needs, Young Lord." He seemed a little less stiff as our conversation progressed.


    "Well, I admit I''m not as familiar with Youkai customs and social norms. I have a few questions if you wouldn''t mind."


    "I would be honored to help you in any way."


    "If you don''t mind me asking....I thought devils weren''t particrly liked over here? I thought I would be receiving a lesser reception if I just appeared like this."


    "I....apologize for any negative receptions due to your heritage, Young Lord." The Tengu looked down. "But any warrior who fought in that bloody battle wouldn''t dare insult you for your devil bloodline." He turned around and mmed his hand on his chest. "We are grateful for the assistance you lent in dealing with the terrorists. Lady Yasaka had revealed the extent of help that we received after everything had been settled."


    "That makes more sense." I muttered. I guess she feltfortable enough to announce a true conclusion to the events. Well, it was neither my ce nor my desire to meddle with any of these affairs. "Thank you, Soma. I have but onest question for the moment."


    "Yes, Young Lord?"


    "Why....am I being referred to as ''Young Lord''?"


    "I don''t understand, what else would we call you?" He looked confused. "It ismon knowledge that the Princess calls you ''father''. Any other title would be an insult."


    Well, okay then. It was hard to argue with that logic when put in perspective.


    "Young Lord, Lady Yasaka awaits you inside." He bowed, gesturing to a door. "She has already been informed of your arrival."


    Oh, I didn''t realize how far we had actually walked. "Thank you, Soma, your assistance has been most helpful"


    "I am here to serve, Young Lord." He gave onest bow, and disappeared, a few feathers fluttering about in his wake.


    Impressive speed, I had to make an effort keep an eye on him if I wanted to see where he went. It was enough to escape my perception if I was beingckadaisical.


    Pushing the door open, I was greeting with a scene that truly made my heart thump.


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka greeted me, sitting at a small table, tea infront of her and a spot across open for me.


    I took my shoes off, and walked over, taking a seat. "Yasaka." I couldn''t help but smile towards her. "You look lovely." She clearly did something with he hair, and her makeup was quite well done. Not to mention it looked like she was dressing up. "What''s the asion?"


    "asion?" She tilt her head. "You''re here, isn''t that asion enough?" She gave a small smile.


    And now my heart wont sit still.


    [Wow, she really knows how to go for the killing blows, doesn''t she?]


    Shush.


    "So, you''re telling me, you did everything in the few minutes it took me to walk over here?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Oho, I am quite skilled at what I do." She let out a small giggle.


    "Would it be insincere ifpliment you again?"


    "I would wee it whole heartedly."


    "You look beautiful." I said with all honesty.


    "Your words do make the effort worth it." She preened under the praise. "Did youe back just topliment me? I wouldn''t be against it if you did so more often."


    "Well, I did juste to visit." I lightly chuckled. "Admittedly, I missed Kunou....and you."


    The fingers around her teacup tightened slightly as she processed my words, though her expression didn''t change. "You''re going to make an old woman like me blush." She quickly donned a mischievous smirk, perhaps something she''s used to ''wearing''.


    "Well, this Young Lord is willing to take responsibility for his words." I raised an eyebrow.


    She let out a barely concealed snort before breaking out into a giggling fit. "Would you believe me if I said I didn''t start that?"


    "Nope." I deadpanned.


    "It''s true!" She whined. "Don''t get me wrong, I would have done it without a second thought had the idea crossed my mind."


    "Seriously?" I was surprised by her admittance, and I could believe her here. She would totally take credit if she had done it. "Who did it then?"


    "Our little Kunou has a little devious side to her." Yasaka smirked.


    "That little.....cute fox." I face palmed, running my hand down my face. "Well, she takes after her mother."


    "Yes, yes she does." Yasaka said with no small amount of pride in her voice.


    Yeah, Kitsune are a really mischievous bunch.


    "I''m assuming she isn''t here at the moment?"


    "She''s in school." Yasaka revealed. "I enrolled her in the school that most of the noble ns and wealthy families in this small world send their children to."


    "A recent development? Jinn did help Kunou with her homeworkst time we were over." I took a sip of my tea. "Oh, this is good." I perked up at the taste.


    "Isn''t it? One of our own special brands." Yasaka gently fingered the rim of her cup. "And yes, Kunou hasn''t been going there long. I enrolled her not long after the attack."


    "Oh, that''s a surprise."


    "You''re not going to admonish me?" Her eyes met my own, as if expecting something.


    "Do you think I would? Kunou is at the age where she needs social interaction, to get friends of her own. The attack was tragic in many ways, but it would be detrimental to hold her back because of it. Not to mention you''re much more experienced with raising her, being a parent."


    Yasaka let out a sigh. "Maybe I''m just projecting my own worries and insecurities." She shook her head. "I still can''t help it. It''s her first time going to a ''real'' school. She had been tutored with private lessons until this point."


    "And it''s hard to let her go?"


    "Extremely." She let out a sad chuckle. "The constant worry about another attack doesn''t help either. I know it isn''t likely, but..."


    "It''s hard to break old habits." I nodded.


    "Yes, that''s exactly right. Ever since her father passed, I haven''t been the most liberal parent." She let out another long winded sigh. "She also retreated into herself, even if she was very young back then. I don''t think she ever fully came back out of her shell, and I never gave her the opportunity to." She looked back up at me. "Then youe along and suddenly she has a new daddy that brightens her smile." Yasaka had that small smirk on her face.


    "She brightened up my world too." I looked down at my tea. "When she first said it to me, I don''t understand why, but I got immediately attached. No regrets since either."


    "I said it before, but I''m d that it was you who took that spot in her heart." Yasaka gave a warm smile. "But enough of this dreary talk." She changed the subject quite easily. "I wish to know how you''ve been doing."


    "I''ve been good, learned a few new things. Took Rin and Artoria to a ce so they could stretch their legs a bit. Rin was able to get some practical experience and that''s done wonders for her." I was willing to switch gears. "Jinn''s been taking care of my house, sorting my library among other things."


    "Oh, Jinn''s at your home? Would it be inappropriate if I asked to visit?"


    "Of course not." I quickly denied such thoughts. "Jinn would love if you came by. I can''t guarantee anyone would be there when you do because of some magic shenanigans, but you''re always wee in my home."


    "Kunou absolutely adores her ''Auntie Jinn''" Yasaka giggled, cupping her own cheek. "And I would like to get to know her better, she seemed like quite the interesting person."


    "Yeah, Jinn''s great. I think she was taken with Kunou just as much." The picture of Jinn and Kunou together still brought a smile to my face. "Jinn seems totch onto the idea of family just as much as I do."


    "Hmm~" She pursed her lips. "You never did tell me how you two met. And you seemed really different thest time I saw you, and even now, there''s something different again." She got up, walking over to me. Her nose twitched as she visible began to sniff me. "You smell good, like nature.....really pure nature."


    Was it because of the Dust Jinn wove into this outfit for me? Dust was crystallized magical energy with an emphasis on the elements. "Jinn made me some special clothes with the elements intertwined in them."


    "Hmm." She got much closer, nose practically touching mine. "There''s something more prominent though...Lightning? I think I smell some Lightning on you and it''s heavy, much heavier than the other scents."


    "Who knows." I grinned.


    "Keep your secrets, I''ll get them eventually~" She giggled "But for now, we should get going?"


    "Get going, where?" I was surprised at her sudden shift in demeanor.


    "To pick up our daughter form school, of course." She stood up again, holding out her hand. "I''m sure Kunou would be ecstatic to have both her mom and dad pick her up."


    I took it, rising to my feet. "Yeah, let''s go get our daughter."


    I don''t know what was in store for me when I enter the Grail War, but I didn''t care for now, I just wanted to see my daughter.


    ***


    Should be one more chapter left before going to Apocrypha.


    On a side note, I don''t really understand the hate for giving Thorum Aura, saying stuff like MC is giving everything away. He''s literally given him only a Sword he couldn''t really use, and Aura.....Like what do you expect friends to do, not help each other? And with regards to power levels, MC is much stronger than Thorum. Without any enhancements, Thorum is Physically stronger than MC, if they fought, Mc would win hands down. Hell, Thorum would lose against Artoria even if she didn''t use her Noble Phantasms.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 155 - 148

    <h4>Chapter 155: Chapter 148</h4>


    Yasaka POV


    When was thest time I felt this rxed?


    One would think the aftermath of the attack would see things calming down, but it just made every annoying entity want to crawl out of their holes and cause trouble for me. How many times did I have to stop some kind of power y for my position?


    And poorly executed ones at that.


    I feel more insulted by the attempts than the fact they were done in the first ce.


    Of course it was mainly the younger ones who hadn''t seen much of the world yet. There was a reason why the previous attack having been orchestrated by one of the elders was such a shocking revtion. Simply put, they knew my position was invible.


    Did they think I was like that old geezer on the other side of the fence who ruled with a strong fist? Well, I do, but it isn''t the reason I''m the ruler like him


    My position isn''t one that someone can simply ''acquire''.


    The Elders know this, which is why I''ve never had to worry about them. Sure, there are power ys, everyone trying to eek out any kind of influence or further their n''s positions. This is expected, and weed for the most part, as long as it doesn''t cross certain lines. Acent retinue causes a whole different set of problems.


    But my position is backed by Amaterasu herself.


    The Leylines I watch over, that I control, are powerful enough that the leader of the Shinto Pantheon had taken an active role in their management. Well, active is rtive here. She makes sure she ces someone to manage them that won''t cause issues for Japan. It was the reason those stupid children tried to attack in the first ce. To have me utilize the leylines so they could power a dragon gate to summon Great Red onto earth.


    If I had any hesitance about what I did, then that removed any possible sympathy remaining.


    Stupid children seemed to think they could take him and ''prove'' they were heroes. They couldn''t even take me and I wasn''t ashamed to say I was much weaker than the Dragon of Dreams.


    Forget about Japan, we would be lucky if the was still habitable after the dragon relented in his rage.


    And there''s still more issues I''m dealing with because of them. The Abrahamic factions are breathing down my neck. Azazel wants to get his hands on some of the Sacred Gears we acquired. Heaven wants to retrieve the True Longinus. And the Devils have been making some not-so-subtle inquires about Wilhelm.....and also wanting to get some of the Sacred Gears we now have.


    Lady Izanami even told me there had been some divine eyes cast our way due to the fight. But I hadn''t gotten any more out of her, mostly because she''s been gone for awhile now. Meeting with some other deities or something. She didn''t specify and I didn''t wish to meddle in her business. She only said she would be gone for a little bit, but beings on her level don''t perceive time the same way we do.


    But that doesn''t matter anymore. I tossed aside any responsibilities for rulership at the moment, the stress thates with it is ignored. Right now, I just wanted to get my daughter and spend time with her father.


    Speaking of.


    I cast a sideways nce at him, a small smirk rising on my face. It was cute how he was reacting to just holding my hand as we walked the streets of Kyoto. The Youkai who turned their heads to stare at us, ah it made my heart flutter just a little bit. But he was barely concealing a blush on those cheeks.


    I just wanted to gobble him up right here~


    I reined that part of me in. I was well aware of how flippant I could be with my flirtations; it was a part of my nature; I would openly admit it. I wanted him to ept that I was serious about pursuing something a little more than that, to maybe make it official down the line. He didn''t say he hated that part of me, but I could also understand his own reservations.


    Because of my position I did not have the luxury of simple ignorance when someone appears and bes a part of my life. I had a duty to understand this person and what threats they could possibly bring to me and mine. I don''t think he would be upset if I revealed that I looked into him, but I still did not bring it up. There were just some things I didn''t want to speak about as they seemed personal in nature and they did paint a certain picture about his own preferences.


    It''s odd, I could never rte this man to the reports I received about a ''Shimoda Takao''. The boy I read reports on, he was introverted, soft spoken, and if the information was urate, probably severely depressed.


    Some digging easily revealed why many of those factors existed.


    It was obvious who his father was at this point, and I don''t think Wilhelm ever tried to hide it. He had no signs of even being a half-devil, and knowing their society, it wasn''t strange at all to have him be pushed to the side in some corner of the world and forgotten.


    It was no wonder when Kunoutched onto him, and hetched right back.


    At the end of the day, I was happy how everything turned out. He really seems to care for Kunou and she just brightens up every time he''s mentioned.


    How foolish I''ve been to not realize how much Kunou wanted a father figure in her life. I''d been so careful about her not seeing me with anyone romantically, and then here shees home with a new father and a man I couldn''t help but find myself attracted to.


    He saved her, a reason I would have dragged him to my bed if he was so inclined, but then goes and helps us further in the battle. For these, I would have been infinity grateful, an ally of his until the end of time, but I couldn''t help but consider if maybe we could be something else. I had nothing holding me back from trying, the fact that Kunou already epted him was the biggest hurdle to dating again, and he undoubtedly checked many of my boxes.


    He was certainly handsome, that would not be denied. Admittedly, I do like how he didn''t just fall into myp even after jiggling my boobs in his face. Maybe my pride stung just the teeniest bit. Not to mention he''s very strong, that''s a major turn on for most Youkai, along with a plethora of other species. He''s been very kind to both me and Kunou, that smile he gives me is just to die for. He''s witty, and has a mischievous streak inside him from what I''ve found out as well.


    Really, the only thing that even slightly hung me up was his age. Not to say I didn''t enjoy the idea of a younger man showering me with affections, but I honestly never thought of bing something more with someone barely into twenty years.


    But.....here we are. His hand in mine as we walked to pick up our daughter from school, and I felt nothing out of ce.


    I raised up one of my tails and wrapped it around his waist. The surprised look he gave me, the little flutter of embarrassment was just too cute, I couldn''t stand it.


    That''s right, I''ve seen you staring at my tails. Not to mention the nces at my chest and rear, but my tails certainly held your attention~.


    You can''t escape the fluffy tail, just ept it.


    There was a slight shiver that ran down my body as his fingers moved through the fur. How long has it been since I allowed a man to touch my tails intimately like this?


    "You know, I''ve been curious...." He spoke up, snapping me from my own musings.


    "You want to know what shampoo I use?" I teased.


    "Well, I would actually, this is incredibly soft." I had to stop myself from just melting to his touch. I wonder if he knew how sensitive our tails were when in this form. "I was wondering if it''s....''impolite'' to touch a kitsunes'' fox parts?"


    "You say as you rub me quite thoroughly." I giggled. "Has that ship not sailed already?"


    "For future reference."


    "For any other Kitsune you seduce?" Another odd thought. I had never been part of a harem before, and yet I found myself okay with the idea. I had met both Artoria and Jinn, and they had taken with Kunou well, if anything, I believe they would be a very positive influence on my little girl.


    "Any other? Am I the one who seduced you?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "Yes, and you should take responsibility." I said without hesitation.


    "You really are a vixen."


    "Compliments will get you everywhere~" I wiggled my tail infront of him. "But yes, touching our Tails and ears is considered something intimate, though not wholly sexual. Honestly, it''s like a kiss, which can be a gesture of love in a tonic way, or a deep and sensual experience."


    "And you''re letting me touch yours?" He seemed surprised.


    "I am." I smiled.


    "I see." He continued to stroke my tail as we walked with his free hand. My ears twitched as I heard him mutter ''floofy'' under his breath.


    Was I too forward? He didn''t appear to be diforted by my gesture, even after learning it was something intimate. Nor did he shy away, if anything, I think he was enjoying the moment.


    I couldn''t help but sigh, when had I be such a worry wort.


    It was quiet between us as Kunou''s school came into view, but it was a pleasant silence.


    ***


    POV Wilhelm


    Fluffy, fluffy tail.


    The possessive part of me was really rearing its ugly head. More than once I had the urge of iming this as mine.


    This woman, she really does know which buttons of mine to push to get me like this. Where I can''t even properly voice things because I get flustered.


    "Wow, this is nice." I admired therge garden outside the apparent school as we approached. I immediately noticed many guards all around the ce, not just the ones who were following us ''stealthily''.


    "Isn''t it?" Yasaka smiled happily. "Kunou was thrilled the first time we came here. She couldn''t stop gushing about the garden and wanted to make one of her own back home."


    "How''s that going?"


    "Oh, you know how children are. Her attention turned somewhere else after a week." Yasaka sighed. "Though I still keep up with it, it was something rxing to do."


    "I wouldn''t mind seeing it."


    "Well, if you want to nt some seeds in my garden, I wouldn''t say no~" She looked rather happy at the innuendo, I feel like she''s been holding it in.


    "Did I ever mention I wanted a big ''garden''?" grinned. "Atleast a dozen little flowers."


    Yasaka let out a small snort. "Call me out, fine~" She put a hand up in defeat. "I can barely handle just one little flower." She smiled. "Speaking of, I don''t want to bete." She picked up the pace, lightly pulling me along.


    "Security here is pretty good." I admired as we passed through several bounded fields ¨C barriers. "I counted over a hundred guards, a long with these impressive magical defenses, it would be enough to at least stall someone strong until reinforcementse."


    "Mmm, I lent a hand in upgraded the defenses." Yasaka admitted with a little sadness in her voice. "After what happened, we needed to make sure all of our children would be safe going to school like this."


    Ah, every important n and their descendants all go here, it was obviously going to need to be well defended after several attempts on Kunou''s life.


    "If it would make you feel better, I could add on to these." I offered.


    "You think you can increase their power?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Well, I know a thing or two." I said with a little pride in my voice. "You should see the defenses around my house." A thought crossed my mind. "If you''re ever in a bad situation, you can always head there. It''s very well fortified and I have a few strong people keeping an eye on the ce incase anything happens."


    "I''ll keep that in mind." She gave my hand a little squeeze, letting go as we entered. Though, her tail was still wrapped around me, as if to tell everyone that I belonged to her.


    I didn''t dislike it.


    "Lady Yasaka." The woman at the front desk greeted her respectfully, casting an odd nce my way.


    "Good afternoon." Yasaka greeted evenly. "I would like to pick up my daughter, and also register her father as an eptable guardian to be able to pick her up whenever he wants." She gestured towards me.


    "Y-yes, right away." She bowed, gathering some papers. "I just need a little blood to bind you to the defenses." She held out a little needle and a magical circle drawn on a piece of parchments.


    I did not like giving people my blood if I didn''t know where it was going, but I could let it go in this case. I took the needle and cast a quick reinforcement on it, otherwise it would never pierce my skin. A little drop of bloodnded on the parchment, igniting the magical circle and actualizing the spell sequence hidden inside.


    I felt the defenses around us sort of tap on me, as if to tell me I was now allowed to be here.


    Almost immediately as it finished, I noticed something rocketing towards me. "Daddy!"


    I knelt down, catching my daughter into my arms. "My little fox." Iughed, her ears twitching happily and tails swaying behind her as we hugged.


    "Just pretend I''m not here." Yasaka teased.


    "Kay." Kunou gave a cheeky reply.


    "Oh, you little cutie." Yasaka walked over, pulling her daughters cheeks.


    "Imm Soowwy." Kunou managed to get out.


    "Hmph, I''ll ept a hug as an apology." Yasaka relented with a small smile, opening her arms and Kunou went to hug her mom.


    "Love you momma." Kunou whispered.


    "I love you too." Yasaka kissed her on the forehead. "You ready to go home?"


    "Uh huh." Kunou nodded happily, turning back to me, eyes practically sparkling, as if waiting for me to acknowledge her.


    I couldn''t help but notice the hair ornament she still had on. Those red leaves that really did go well with her features. "How was school?"


    She perked up immediately. "It was amazing!" She threw her hands up, and it was the most expressive I''ve ever seen her. I nced over at Yasaka who looked so happy to see her daughter like this. "We even practiced magic today!"


    "Oh, Magic you say? Any more buildings that were burned down?"


    Kunou let out a little squawk, face turning red. "It was only that one time!" She pouted.


    Iughed sweeping her up into my arms. "Your dad''s pretty good at magic." We began walking out, Kunou wiggling around like the hyperactive kitsune she was. "Why don''t you show me what you learned?"


    "I....only learned one spell because it''s a lot like my Fox Fire." She said quietly, looking down.


    Self esteem issues, or something else? "A spell already? That''s amazing! Do you have any idea how long it took me to cast my first spell!?" I spun her around, getting a smile out of her.


    Years. Literally years to cast my first time. A little secret in my past life, I wasn''t the most...talented when I was younger.


    "I can''t cast it if I''m spinning!" She whined yfully.


    "Alright, alright, my little sorceress, shoot your spell into the air, I''ll make sure nothing happens." I winked at Yasaka who just rolled her eyes with a smile but didn''t say otherwise. I set Kunou down as she raised her hand in the air, visibly concentrating.


    A little spell circle appeared, rudimentary, amateurish, but it looked functional. "Fire Ball!" She shouted and a little ball of fire haphazardly arced off into the air.


    Was this....pride I was feeling?


    I know I didn''t have a hand in this, but that fact that my daughter learned to cast a spell.....


    With a gesture, I dissipated it before it couldnd and set something on fire.


    "Our daughter is so skilled, isn''t she?" Yasaka cooed, rubbing her head.


    "Moom!" Kunou whined, but didn''t move to stop her mom. "I''m not a baby." She pouted, but she looked like she was enjoying the affection.


    "A little genius." I praised. "It took me years before I could do something simr, and she learned in a single day."


    "I think she deserves a little reward, what do you think?" Yasaka looked up at me.


    "Of course, she did amazing." I nodded.


    "Really!?" Kunou looked excited. "Can I choose?"


    "If that''s what you want" Yasaka let out a smallugh.


    "Choose?" I was confused, seemingly something between the two of them.


    "We have a tradition every second Friday of the month. It was my turn to choose, but since Kunou''s been doing so well....." Yasaka trailed off, and I realized she wasn''t going to say anymore.


    "Daddy''s going to be with us this time." Kunou left no room for argument, not that I would be opposed.


    "Of course." Yasaka didn''t even give it a second thought either, I still had no idea what they were talking about. "Why don''t we keep it a secret and surprise daddy?"


    "Un!" Kunou made a little noise in agreement, grabbing my hand and pulling. "Hurry, let''s go home." Yasaka nked her on the other side, taking her empty hand as we went back home.


    ***


    "I still have no idea what''s going on." I looked around as Yasaka and Kunou had been bouncing around getting stuff ready.


    They had led me back into their living area that was basically off limits to the other people that resided in this ce. "Mommy''s going to go change real quick, why don''t you pick out anything you want." Yasaka told Kunou.


    "Really, anything?"


    "Mmm, today''s a special day, so you can pick anything" Yasaka smiled brightly, stepping away and disappearing into a back room.


    Kunou quickly went into various cupboards, the nearby fridge and started taking out various snacks and treats, setting them on the table. "Oh, this too!" She thought out loud as she kept adding things to the pile.


    I don''t know what''s going on, but it was an impressive pile of sweets and snacks all gathered together.


    "Sweetie." Yasaka reappeared and I turned around, a bit surprised at what I saw. Gone was her ''regal'' appearance. Now she looked much morefortable, sporting a pair for shorts and a t-shirt. "I said anything, not everything." She deadpanned before letting out a sigh. "Just this once." She relented, Kunou''s eyes brightening up.


    Well, she changed rather fast.


    "I am confused." I raised my hand.


    "You haven''t guessed it yet?" Yasaka grinned, still not telling me what''s going on.


    "Mom we forgot the most important part!" Kunou eximed, holding up a bag as realization dawned on me.


    "Popcorn, we''re watching a movie?"


    "Ding, ding" Yasaka lightly cupped my cheek. "How about a prize~"


    "Mom!" Kunou huffed, looking a little red.


    "Don''t worry, mommy will wait until you''re looking away." Yasakaughed.


    "E" Kunou bleched, putting the popcorn packet in the microwave.


    Yasaka snuck one of her tails around my waist again, practically pulling me to her when Kunou was preupied. "Just tell me when you want to im your prize~" She whispered.


    I raised an eyebrow at her teasing, leaning down I ced a quick kiss on her lips, leaving her a mite surprised. I think she even turned a little red for the briefest moment at my sudden attack.


    The corners of my lips curled up and she turned away, not meeting my gaze. I guess she didn''t expect me to be so forward and didn''t know how to immediately respond. Though, her tail didn''t let up it he slightest, and the ones behind her were noticeably swaying.


    The microwave dinged, Kunou pulled out a fresh bag of popcorn and emptied into a bowl. "I get to pick the movie this time." She ushered us over to the family room, arge television set up.


    Kunouid down on the floor, snacks spread all around her.


    Yasaka found a spot on the couch and I went to sit next to her. Almost immediately, her tail was back, and I was beginning to enjoy it''s presence around me. "What movie do you want to watch, honey?"


    "Jurassic Park." She dered.


    I perked up. "That''s one of my favorites."


    "This girl." Yasaka let out a smallugh. "She''s been obsessed with anything remotely simr to dragonstely."


    Well, kids do that. Just focus on something so intently for a period of time before they get bored.


    [Dinosaurs are cool.]


    Wait, really?


    [Of course, I was obsessed with them when I was a whelp too. There are actually still some around if you know where to look.]


    I am intrigued and will look into thatter.


    Yasaka fiddled with the remote until the movie started ying. She scooted a little bit until she was close enough to rest her head on my shoulder and I moved my arm around her.


    This was nice.


    ***


    I believe servant summoning should be next chapter.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 156 - 149 Fate/Apocrypha

    <h4>Chapter 156: Chapter 149 Fate/Apocrypha</h4>


    "Sleep well." Yasaka gave a kiss to Kunou, the little fox had fallen asleep and she carried the little one to her bed and tucked her in.


    I was right behind her, mimicking her actions. "I''ll be back soon." I whispered to my sleeping daughter. I took a moment to watch,the faint rising and falling of her chest as she slept peacefully.


    It was hard to leave like this, but I did have a mission. Besides, I would definitely be spending some time here after finishing up a couple things.


    We left a few momentster, Yasaka leaving the door cracked just a little bit. "Are You leaving?" She asked.


    "Yeah, I need to go." I sighed. "I have something important I need to take care of."


    "Thank you." She gave a small smile. "Foring.....for making Kunou happy like that. It really means a lot to her."


    "It means a lot to me too." I reached forward taking her hands into mine. "And I said it before, she isn''t the only reason I came to visit."


    "I really need to watch myself around you, if you keep saying things like that, I don''t'' know if I can hold back." She yfully swatted my shoulder. There was a brief pause as she looked at me. "I hope whatever it is you''re doing, you cane back soon."


    "Next time Ie back, I''ll make sure to stay awhile. And I won''t be gone too long." I can time things rtively well.


    "I''ll hold you to that." She let go of my hands and opted to wrap them around me instead, pulling herself close. "You really do have a nice scent."


    "An oddpliment, but I''ll take it." Iughed.


    She looked up at me, a grin on her face. "One I wouldn''t mind waking up to every morning~"


    "Honestly, I think I''m the one that needs to watch themselves" I poked her forehead. "Telling me things like that, I don''t know If I can hold back." I mimicked her words with a cheeky smile.


    "We''ll see." She giggled, hand reaching up and cupping my cheek. There was another moment of silence, we stared at one another for a few seconds before she leaned in and pushed her lips onto mine. It wasn''t very deep, and maybe a little quick, but the feelings were enough. "You have this look like you''re about to go off to war." She said quietly. "Whatever it is you''re doing, please be careful. I don''t'' know if Kunou could handle losing her dad again."


    "I''ll make sure toe back safely." I reassured, pulling her in for onest hug. "I won''t be long." I stated, separating after another moment.


    We didn''t'' speak anymore, a silent nod of agreement shared between us as I opened a portal and left.


    ***


    "Well, look who decided to drop in. It''s not like I haven''t seen my grandson in months." Zelretch sat at his desk, a ss of something in his hand, if I had to guess, whisky.


    "Did you redirect me to your office?" My lips thinned.


    "Do you really need me to answer that question?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "It was mostly rhetorical." I groaned, slumping down in one of the chairs. "Want an update?" I hazarded a guess.


    "It would be appreciated. I stopped myself from spying." Zelretch admitted.


    "Rin''s doing really well." I started. "Honestly, she''s a lot more confidant now. She did a bit of dungeon diving, got a nice ancient artifact, learned some new magic. Oh, and she''s on the trail of a Divine Construct, so that''s something." I gave a brief overview.


    "Good." He nodded, looking a little relieved. "That''s good."


    "I got my house set up, I can anchor it to a room here so you can visit."


    Zelretch pondered that. "I would need to add a few things."


    "I figured." I waived my hand flippantly. "I don''t care if you mess with it." I was basically giving him permission to unravel my magic and add some things. In the Magusmunity this would be something practically unheard of.


    He didn''t reply, but the look in his eyes said everything he wanted to ry.


    "Besides, you''re helping me out. It''s the least I could do." Equivalent exchange, it was one of the underlining principals that governed this society. It would also make someone feel at ease if you made it seem like both sides were receiving an even trade.


    He had a smile on his face as I said that. "You spoke of Rin, how are the others?"


    "Artoria''s doing good as well. She''s been having fun, I think. The culture there isn''t too far divorced from some simr things in her era. Jinn''s probably having the best time of her life. I have a library set up now, you should check it out when you head over there." I couldn''t help but feel happy when I thought about them. "You haven''t met Meridia yet, but you might soon."


    "Yes, my Goddess granddaughter." He rubbed his beard with a grin. "I do look forward to meeting her."


    "Please call her your granddaughter, it would make me so happy." I said with all sincerity, causing him tough. "I think she would actually like it even if she just huffs and puffs." I took out a key from my ring, handing it over. "This should be all you need to figure out the anchoring...Oh." I took a Kaleidophone out as well. "Rin made a few extra, didn''t know if you had made one yourself yet."


    He took both things happily. "I had not. I wanted to receive one from her first before I meddled with her idea."


    Ah, I could have guessed that. Would do her confidence even more good to see him using her creation. "So, you got the information on the Grail War?" I asked, as the atmosphere shifted almost immediately.


    Zelretch took a deep breath, waving his hand as a folder appeared on the table. "I won''t ask if you''re sure. I know you would have prepared for this just like I would."


    "The girls helped too." I sighed, a small smile on my face as I leaned back in my chair. "They had several choice words to say about me doing this."


    "Well, you got into this knowing full well what having multiple romantic partners would mean." He didn''t show a shred of sympathy.


    I held my hands up. "I''m not skirting any of my responsibility for taking this path, just.....voicing my thoughts."


    "Ohoh, how many are you up to now, four?" Heughed a little at my expense.


    "Five." I corrected, earning an unticked eyebrow from him. "I may have closed some distance with Yasaka before I came over."


    "I do miss my great granddaughter, I hope you bring her around again soon." Zelretch truly didn''t seem to mind that I was a bit of a yboy.


    "I will. I''m sure Yasaka would love toe by too. She has ess to my home, so you may see her pop in." I exined, reaching for the documents.


    I sorted through them, reading each line intently, I knew my expression was shifting all over the ce as I processed each sentence. "An Apocrypha failsafe!?" I blurted out. "Which dumbass thought that was a good idea to trigger?"


    "An acute choice of words." Zelretch snorted. "There was a group of magi that sought to break away from the Association. They used the Grail as a means to summon Servants and dered their independence. I don''t really care that they want to be left alone, they foolishly triggered the failsafe when the Mages Association responded rather aggressively, and now the Association sent 7 more Masters out to challenge them.


    I rubbed my temples in annoyance.


    The Apocrypha Failsafe.


    It was a mechanism inside the Holy Grail to stop a faction from collecting all the Masters and Servants to a single side. If such a thing urred, then the war would change. Seven more Masters would be chosen, and it became a team vs team fight with a Ruler Servant, an extra ss, being summoned to moderate. "What an absolute cluster fuck." I tossed the folder onto the desk.


    "I couldn''t have said it better." Zelretch tapped his fingers on the desk. "But it should give you an opportunity to run rampant."


    "Yeah, the scale and scope of the battlefield has changed." I agreed, thinking over several strategies. "What''s my entry strategy?"


    "I managed to secure you a spot on the Red team, the Master who was going to summon Berserker of Red had passed over hismand seals after some negotiation." Zelretch exined.


    "Berserker, huh?" I tapped my cheek. "No way in hell I''ll consider summoning ''her'' under the Berserker ss." I shuddered at the thought. "Any catalyst you rmend?"


    "No, you would be best to let the Grail find one suitable based on your own self" He shrugged.


    It was the default summoning method, to choose a servant that could best match the master if no catalyst was used. "Where are the Command Seals?"


    "In the folder."


    I pursed my lips, flipping through to the back. Lo and behold, themand seals were grafted onto a piece of parchment. "Makes me think of those temporary tattoos that kids get."


    "Is it really that different?"


    "Huh...I guess it isn''t." I took it and pped them onto the back of my hand. I let out a grunt as they synchronized with me and moved onto my skin. Tossing the parchment away, I rubbed the spot where the red marks now stuck to me. "I''ll get going."


    "I know I don''t have to say this, but as your grandfather, it''s my duty." He stood up. "Be careful, run away if you have to."


    It did make me happy to know he cared. "As I told Artoria, when ites to running away, I''m unrivaled." I grinned, one he shared at the joke.


    "Go win yourself a Grail, bring me back another Granddaughter." He dered.


    "With pleasure." I nodded to him onest time before departing to the coordinates I read off the documents.


    ***


    I came into a field, an abandoned building to the side. I looked up, the stars shining bright under the night sky.


    Romania, this war was taking ce in Romania. From the information I read, this part of the county was almost solely under the authority of the Yggdmillennia family, the cast offs who wanted to break away from the Mages Association.


    Red and ck, those are the two factions.


    ck was the Yggdmillennia faction''s color, Red is the faction for the Mage''s Association. I should be the only one who has yet to summon a servant. And the Grail War wasn''t allowed to officially start until they were all summoned. While this could be skirted under normal circumstances, if a Ruler Servant was out and about, the rules would be followed to the letter.


    I briefly considered using something as a Catalyst to facilitate the summoning, but I agreed with Zelretch''s thoughts. It was better to have a servant I could get along with than one who was strong but I butted heads against.


    [I''m excited, I''ve never seen a servant summoning before.]


    "To be honest, I''m a little excited too. It''s a bit of a rush, to summon a servant in any situation." I took out some containers I prepared, filled with animal blood to draw up the summoning circle. The actual drawing of it was a little tedious, but I had ample experience doing things like this in the past.


    The Grail does the heavy lifting with the spellcasting, I''m basically acting as an anchor. And with my absurd amount of magical energy I can generate, my servant will be in optimal condition, their vessel overflowing with power.


    Putting my stuff away, I began.


    Raising my arm up, I started the chant.


    "Let Silver and Steel be to the Essence."


    "Let stone and the Archduke of Contracts be the Foundation."


    "Let Red be the color I pay tribute to."


    "Let Rise a Wall Against the Wind that Shall Fall."


    "Let the four Cardinal Gates Close."


    "Let the Three-Forked Road from the Crown Reaching unto the Kingdom Rotate."


    "I Hereby Dere!"


    The wind around my swept up, the magical energy exploded in every direction as the Grand Ritual began to take form, the Grail anchoring the process to its systems.


    "Your Body Shall service under me, but my Fate shall be in thy Sword."


    "Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail!"


    "If you ept this will and Reason, then Answer!"


    "Here is my oath."


    "I shall obtain All the Virtues of Heaven."


    "I Shall Hold Dominion Over all the Evils of Hell."


    "Yet you shall serve with your eyes clouded by Chaos. For you would be one caged in madness. I shall wield your chains."


    "From the Seventh Heaven, Attended by the Three Great Words of Power, Arrive from the ring of Restraint, O''Keeper of the Holy Bnce!"


    The magical energy in the room coalesced as a new figure began to form. The fifth imaginary element visiblying together to form the vessel that would house the part of a Heroic spirit.


    [I hate you, I hate you so much. You ruined this for me.] He grumbled as the Servant came into full view.


    She was tall, wearing skin-tight purple clothing. Clearly Japanese in origin, with arge katana at her side. She had beautiful long hair that almost touched the ground, and her.....assets were enough to almost grab my attention and not let go.


    Legs.


    "I have heeded your summons." A feminine voice sounded out over the dispersing dust that was kicked up. "I will dote on you as your mother, my master." Before I could even respond, she pulled me in, pushing my head between her veryrge breasts.


    Ddraig, I think I have a type.


    [Nooooooooooooo, really!?]


    ***


    Let Apocrypha begin!


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 157 - 150

    <h4>Chapter 157: Chapter 150</h4>


    Is this how I die, suffocated in the bosom of a busty older woman?


    [You just take all the joy in my existence and drag it into a dark alley to do unspeakable things to it. I expected a great warrior of legends, and you summoned a dominatrix.]


    Oppai~


    [Kill yourself.]


    Alright, time to be serious.


    I had to put a little bit of strength into pulling myself away, and not entirely because I didn''t want to move.


    I looked up at the woman who I had just summoned, this servant, a being I could feel the power seep out from, and she just gave me this affectionate look.


    "It''s nice to meet you, Berserker." I introduced myself, though I hadn''t expected to have an actual conversation with a Berserker servant. "I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, I''ll be in your care."


    "My son is so polite" She beamed.


    Had I just been adopted?


    "Can I have your true name so I know who I''m working with?"


    "I am Minamoto-No-Raikou, Leader of the Four Heavenly Kings." She proudly proimed.


    Huh.


    I guess I shouldn''t be surprised, I personally knew the female version of King Arthur, and I had a lot of knowledge about other Servants, some of which did not have their gender recorded correctly into the annals of history.


    Still, it''s pretty neat to meet a hero from my home country.


    I used my authority as a Master, knowing her true name now, to mentally pull up her status to the forefront of my mind.


    -------------------------------


    True Name: Minamoto-no-Raikou


    ss: Berserker


    Alignment: Chaotic Good


    Strength: A+


    Endurance: A


    Agility: B


    Mana: EX


    Luck: C+


    -ss Skills-


    Mad Enhancement: EX


    Riding: A+


    Magic Resistance: D


    Divinity: C


    -Personal Skills-


    Eternal Arms Master: A+


    Genji Arms Mastery: EX


    Mana Burst (Lightning): A


    Mystery-yer: A


    -Noble Phantasm-


    Ox-King Storm Call¡ªThe Inescapable Net of Heaven: Anti-Army A++


    --------------------------------


    Fascinating. The information of her abilities filled my head. "Berserker, how are your statspared to a normal summon?" I asked.


    "My mana rank is far beyond what I would normally have. Otherwise, my other stats are all higher to a certain extent as well." She happily replied.


    As expected, I suppose. My magical energy thoroughly enhanced her upon summoning, and she essentially doesn''t have to worry about depleting my own magical energy through the bond.


    Her Mad Enhancement is ''Ex'' Rank, meaning it surpasses any reasonable measuring system. Yet, she''s standing here having a conversation with me, looking perfectly lucid...


    Atleast she is obscenely strong if these stats are anything to go by. She also has some interesting abilities, and I can see why she was summoned when I just opted for someone that could match me. If my memory on her story is correct, she''s a half-Oni or something like that, the son(daughter) of a god who had ties to Indra, or was Indra that hade to Japan.


    And her elemental alignment was lightning.


    I would have to be an idiot to not see the resemnces there.


    I rubbed my chin as I continued looking them over. Her ''Mystery-yer'' Skill was rather interesting and it should give her a huge leg up against opponents who heavily rely on such things. She''s probably the perfect counter to Casters.


    "Berserker...." I paused my musing, looking up at her. "What wish do you have for the Grail?"


    "Wish? I don''t have one." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.


    "Then why did you ept my summons?" I looked at her in confusion.


    "You were willing to reach out to a demonic being like me, how could I not ept?" The way she looked both sad and happy at the same time, it was tugging at my heart strings. "I will do my best to support my son and dote on him as much as possible." She gave a little fist pump in the air, like she was encouraging herself.


    Cute.


    I let out a sigh. "No wonder the Grail chose you as my servant."


    "Hmm?" She looked at me.


    "If we''re going to be working together, I guess we shouldn''t keep secrets." I ran a hand through the air. "As far as ''demonic beings'' go, I think I have you beat here." I let my wings sprout out of my back, revealing my devil heritage.


    She looked at me in surprise, but oddly enough, there was no trace of hesitance nor scorn. "You''re not an Oni." She muttered, mostly to herself.


    "Devil, actually. Bastard son of Lucifer." I said flippantly. "Mom was a normal human though, so half-Devil."


    Wasn''t really a point in hiding it, she might see them in the Dream Cycle anyways.


    The bond a Master and Servant shared is an odd thing. It''s strong enough that when sleeping, each dreams of the other''s life, called the Dream Cycle.


    With a blink, I was once again being suffocated by her ample cleavage, a distraught Berserker practically crying ontop of me. "Master! It must have been so hard for you. Don''t worry Momma is here and she''ll take care of you for now on."


    I''m starting to think her Mad Enhancement has to do with her clingy personality.


    Despite the weirdness of the situation.....this did bring back memories of my own mother...without the face in boobs part, obviously.


    I had to forcefully pull myself away again, it seems like she was intentionally using more strength this time.


    "Do you know everything that''s going on in this war?" I finally asked, I need to get an idea of what she did and did not know to better n out our next course of action.


    "A Great Grail War, two sides of seven Masters and seven Servants, I am Berserker of Red." She nodded.


    "Good, that makes things easier." It was a bit odd how the Grail imparted knowledge. Even Artoria had some strange holes in her understanding due to the nature of the transference. "I''m not here for a wish, like you." I stated, earning her apt attention. "I''m going to take the Grail, and I don''t n on letting anyone stand in my way."


    "Master, I''ll help however I can."


    "I have a general idea of where it is right now." I could recall the information that Zelretch gave me quite easily. "The ck Faction, the Yggdamillennia family, they''re hiding it somewhere in their fortress. And I doubt I need to tell you how heavily fortified it is." I could easily sneak in, but I had no idea where I was going to find it and I didn''t like my chances with being ganged up on by 7 Servants, and to a lesser extent somepetent Magi.


    Her mood shifted to something more serious. "A frontal assault would be foolish." She paused in her words, looking a little in thought. It was truly strange to see a Berserker servant with such high intelligence and sense of reason. "Do you want form an alliance with the Red Faction?"


    "I doubt they''ll take kindly to me wanting to monopolize the grail." I chuckled. The battle was a seven versus seven, but once a side was destroyed, it turned back into a regr Grail War, so everyone had to be careful of their own teammates. "Perhaps we should meet with our ''team'' before deciding our next move."


    "Do you know where they are?" She asked.


    "I do not." I blinked in realization. "They should be gathering in the nearby town, which sat a little distance away from the ck faction''s seat of power." I tapped my chin. "I''ll let my familiar scout." I pulled out my hat, and Sir Wiggles poked his head from within.


    "Cute." Berserker looked at him, biting her finger as if to hold herself back.


    "You can pet him if you want, he likes the attention." I picked him up. My familiar wiggling his cute little butt in the air.


    "Kya~" She happily epted the rabbit into her arms, immediately loving on the animal.


    It never fails.


    "Will he be alright?" Berserker asked, already smitten with Sir Wiggles.


    "He''s fast." I reassured her, and as the words left my mouth, Sir Wiggles crackled with Lightning, zipping out of her hands and darting all over the room to show off.


    Berserker pped excitedly. "A phantasmal species, my son is so talented."


    I just shook my head at her antics, it would take some getting used to. "Sir Wiggles, you have a mission." I called his attention, he immediately stopped, waiting for me to continue. "I need you to find the nearest town, and search for thergest concentration of Magical Energy." Imanded, adding in some thoughts through the mental link to better help him understand.


    ****


    Of course it''s a church, why wouldn''t it be a church?


    I mentally groaned, walking down the street.


    The town wasn''t very far away, and there was a Church that sat on a hill, practically radiating magical energypared to the remainder of this ce.


    I looked up to see a dove sitting in a nearby tree, it was staring at me intently as I narrowed my eyes at it and shed mymand seals. At the very least, I don''t think I''ll be attacked just for approaching, but I was on guard and Berserker was astralized near me.


    Getting closer, the old wooden doors of the church opened up and a priest walked out. He had an odd look about him, and the fact that he appeared to be Japanese made me do a double take. I didn''t want to make assumptions about people, but it was surprising to see out here like this.


    "Wee." He said politely with a kind smile stered on his face. But....something seemed off about him, I just couldn''t put my finger on it.


    "Are you the representative of the Red Faction?" I stopped a dozen or so feet away.


    "I am Shirou Kotomine, a Master, just like you." He took off a glove to show off themand seals on his hand. "I''m d you''ve finally arrived. Deimlet Pentel was supposed to havee over a week ago, but we were toldst minute that he had sold his position as a master without any further information."


    "How inconvenient for you." My lips tinned. I didn''t know why, but I had a bad impression of him right off the bat. The fact that his family name was ''Kotomine'' was throwing up red gs all over the ce.


    "No matter, you''re here now." His expression didn''t change. "Why don''t you step inside and we can discuss our next step for fighting the ck Faction?" He gestured towards the Church.


    "I quite enjoy this night time air, why don''t we just speak out here?" I countered.


    "Well, you never know what eyes are on us." He smiled innocently. "Magi can be quite the deplorable bunch." Ah, the thinly veiled distaste for those who use Magecraft.


    "Eyes?" I questioned, feigning ignorance about the dozen or so Familiars that were watching me from every angle right now. "Oh, I see what you''re talking about. Why don''t I handle them if it''s making you ufortable?" I mentally called out to Sir Wiggles.


    Shirou was about to speak until a bolt of lightning zipped around everywhere, and he just started at me with a nk look on his face, Sir Wiggles now on my shoulder and chunks of doves falling to the ground all over the ce.


    "Birds are always an excellent choice for a Familiar, but I prefer Rabbits." I gave him a little pat for a job well done.


    {Master, I believe there are several Servants close by in spirit form.} Berserker informed me over the mental link we shared.


    Astralization, or spirit form as it''s often called. It was an ability of servants, almost beingpletely imperceptible to the greater world, requiring another spiritual existence to sense them.


    "I''m curious." I spoke up again. "Where are the other masters?"


    "They''re busy." Shirou said bluntly, seemingly unperturbed about me taking out the obvious familiars. "They deemed it below them to partake in such a task." He exined, taking a step forward. "I would be pleased to have a conversation at length with you, but I feel a more private setting is appropriate."


    I looked at the church and a small shiver went down my spine. For being such a shabby little ce, the holy presence there felt a bit too.....palpable "I''m quite fine where I am."


    "Do you not trust the house of God?" He raised an eyebrow. "All are safe inside these hallowed walls."


    "Oh? Tell that to all the children your priests have ''sheltered''." I snorted. I don''t know why I was being sobative, just something really irked me about this guy. I don''t particrly like priests, but I''m not usually so abrasive for no reason....


    There was a visible twitch on his stoic face. "Is there a reason you don''t want to approach?"


    Did he notice...?


    "Yeah, there''s a priest giving me major ''stranger danger'' vibes." I narrowed my eyes at him. "I thought I would alteast be safe since I was a bit too old for the average clergyman."


    "I''m afraid, I will have to insist regardless." His smile dropped off unto something more neutral, and his whole stance shifted. "I would prefer to do this without any violence."


    Wow, throwing away the charade already?


    "Interesting. Here''s my answer." I held up my middle finger. "Saber!" I called out, having Berserker Materialize. Let them figure that one out. She in no way acts like a Berserker, and she uses a huge sword....if the glove fits.


    "Archer, Rider." The priest responded; two servants appeared by his side. "Don''t kill him, but make sure he can''t escape."


    "Sorry, kid." The apparent ''Rider'' spoke. He held a spear in hand, green hair and a cocky smile on his face.


    "I don''t like being ordered by someone other than my master." The woman, Archer, shot Shirou a sideways nce, sping her bow tightly. She had cat ears and a tail, I wondered if she was some type of Youkai in life.


    Without another word, Archer already sent a handful of arrows flying towards Berserker, who easily deflected them.


    Rider moved, and he was fast. It was enough that I saw Berserker''s eyes widen in surprise. He slipped by her in that brief moment when she was focused on the Archer servant.


    {It''s fine, I got this.} I mentally sent towards Berserker. I didn''t know if her ''clingy'' nature would win out over her more rational side, but she seemed to ept my words and focused on Archer.


    I reinforced my body, and cast all the strengthening spells I knew.


    "It''s nothing personal." The Rider servant said, almost bored, as he got in my face, his spear arching towards me and I could easily see it would be a non-lethal blow, but enough to take me down.


    Lightning crackled along my skin, and I sidestepped, the spear passing through the air and missing me. The utter surprise on his face said everything about the situation, and it shifted toplete shock when I gripped his face, and mmed him into the ground, cracking the stones beneath us.


    "Nothing personal." I smiled at him, summoning Dawnbreaker from my ring, and stabbed it down at him.


    ***


    Well, the war begins. Sorry about missing a chapter yesterday, was having a hard time writing and just couldn''t settle on something I liked. Then it was two in the morning and I just couldn''t keep going at that point.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 158 - 151

    <h4>Chapter 158: Chapter 151</h4>


    Dawnbreaker''s light illuminated the dark night, its razor ship edge falling down onto the servant I had under my grasp. His widened eyes revealing the utter surprise at having found himself in this position. No doubt a Servant would have never expected a ''Master'' to get the better of them like this, even if they wereckadaisical in their approach.


    He muffled something under my hand that was grasped firmly around his mouth, my muscles tensing to keep him on the ground. I had a better position in this brief contest of strength, and I was able to hold him down as Dawnbreaker came down.


    A quick jab by him towards my face was only met by me quickly moving my head to the side. He was in no spot to throw a proper punch either. He growled under my grip as Dawnbreaker touched his armor, pushing through the magical steel that was his Servant Armament and struck true.....is what I would like to say, but my sword would no longer budge even after puncturing through his armor.


    I blinked, looking at my sword, then the fuming Servant. A passive Noble Phantasm...huh, that''s unfortunate. "Errors have been made."


    His eyes twitched in anger, and I could make out a snarl as the magical energy around him visibly exploded.


    "Master!" Berserker called out as I was already a dozen feet away. I turned to see her deflecting several arrows, barely paying Archer any attention, much to the feline Servant''s annoyance.


    "Saber." I still decided to y that little joke as long as I could. "If any other servant activates a Noble Phantasm, immediately use yours on their Master." I pointed towards Shirou who was watching off to the side.


    He seemed a bit frail at first nce, but my instincts were telling me he didn''t join in not because he couldn''t but because he didn''t want to.


    Normally, I would ry information like that over the mental link, but I wanted them to know. Even Shirou frowned at mymand, so it would at least serve its purpose.


    "You!" The Rider servant stood back up, the dust around him clearing as he flicked some dirt off his silver armor.


    "Sup." I greeted, acting as if he was no one in my eyes. I was making some guesses that he was one to get riled up easily, which should be to my benefit. Despite what had just happened, he wasn''t an opponent I could take lightly. And his defenses did give me pause for concern, I had to figure out the limitations or his identity.


    Despite having quite a bit of my former self''s memories'' I didn''t have an encyclopedic knowledge of every servant and their looks. I knew most legends and what not, but I couldn''t identify most by appearances, but I was able to narrow the list down exponentially by our first encounter.


    "Bastard." Rider growled, holding his hand out, his spear erupting in magical energy and jutting back into his hand from where it sat on the ground a few feet away. "I was gonna go easy on you, make it as painless as possible."


    I call bullshit!


    Can everyone do that!? Why was it so hard for me to learn!


    "Calm down, princess. It isn''t like you haven''t had another man stab you with his ''sword'' before." I grinned. "Speaking of, want to give me a very detailed exnation on how you were able to no-sell my sword from piercing you?"


    "Oh, sure." His expression shifted, a nonchnt smile on his face, spear swinging over his shoulder.


    "Wait, really?"


    "Haha. No." His eyes narrowed and the ground below him exploded at his steps, a whirlwind kicked up at his movements.


    It was my turn to be surprised, a very sharp spear only inches away from my eye.


    What insane speed.


    My Aura red up and lightning crackled across my skin, I jerked my head to the side and felt a chunk of aura taken as his spear passed by my head. I thought I had a moment to regain myself, but there were a half a dozen more spears covering my vision.


    I couldn''t help butugh. Hepletely abandoned the idea of ''catching'' me, each of these was meant to take my life. I force myself to swing my sword, to meet each one even if I was barely to catch them all in time, either deflecting them just enough, or dodging by a narrow margin.


    He had me on the back footpletely with this obscene speed of his. It was either start losing ground, or reveal some of my cards, and I don''t think he''s even hitting his top gear right now.


    With a shout, I knocked his spear away with a full swing, as if he found an opening, his speed increased by an entire fold, and its sharp tip found my face again.


    There was a cheeky smile on his face, as if to tell me I lost.


    Instead of a ''desperate'' attempt to block or dodge, I took a deep breath.


    "FUS ROH DAH" My shout bellowed out; the invisible force rippled the very space infront of me.


    The Servant''s spear couldn''t move forward an inch and he was swept up, blown back into the church behind him, copsing the side wall.


    "Rider, you idiot, stop ying around!" A shout grabbed my attention as I looked to the side. Archer had a line of blood down her chest as she managed to get away from my Berserker, a little wounded.


    "Your opponent is me." Berserker swung her sword and a burst of purple lightning shot out in the direction of the Archer servant.


    Archer leapt up into the air, firing off more arrows, dancing around the surroundings to evade more lightning strikes.


    "Hahaha, you bastard." Rider finally walked out of the semi-destroyed church, a grin on his face. "Were those Divine Words? I didn''t think something like that existed anymore."


    Divine Words, weren''t those predominantly used over in Greece during the Age of Gods?


    "And you''re still unharmed." I clicked my tongue.


    "Rider stop ying." Shirou spoke up from the side, he didn''t look all too pleased that the Church was ruined.


    Rider shot him a look of clear annoyance. "You''re not my master." His lips thinned. "Besides, it''s not like I can capture this guy." He jabbed his thumb towards me. "It''s gonna be either killing him or nothing, boss man."


    Shirou let out a sigh. "Fine, deal with him then."


    Really curious what''s gotten going on with him to want to remove me so quickly.


    "Well, you heard him." Rider turned his attention back at me. "I''m surprised, I didn''t expect anyone of this caliber to exist anymore."


    "I drink plenty of milk." I grinned, gripping Dawnbreaker tight.


    "I''m not one for words, usually. I mostly like to just fight, everything else isn''t important, but I''m curious." He cracked his neck and tapped his boots against the ground. "Are you really human?" His eyes narrowed.


    "My mom was human." I rested my sword on my shoulder. "Though, I don''t think you''re one to throw stones. ss houses and all that."


    "Haha, can you tell that much?" He ran a hand through his hair. "You definitely don''t'' have any divinity though."


    "Well, I was taking a shot in the dark, thanks for confirming my suspicions." I smirked.


    Rider let out a grunt in annoyance. "This is why I hate fighting you wordy types, always trying to scheme something."


    And hisment about me ''definitely'' not having divinity....curious. I could put money on his ''armor'' corrting to divinity in some aspect. Well, putting all the pieces together, I think I can guess who he is. "Toote for regrets, I know your true name now."


    Rider raised an eyebrow.


    "That kind of skill, not fully human, and a passive defense I can''t prate? There''s only one person I can think of with those characteristics."


    Rider just let out a sigh, but looked pleased all the same. "I guess it''ll make it more interesting, and I can''t help how famous I am." He held out his arms with a ''what can I do'' expression.


    "You''re Siegfried." I dered.


    He wasn''t.


    Rider paused, staring at me. "What...?"


    "You''re Siegfried. I have seen through your identity."


    "I''m not Siegfried." He looked rather annoyed.


    "Enough, your lies won''t work on me. Who else could have such defenses like that, why you could call them the scales of a dragon."


    "I''m not Siegfried" Rider said more adamantly, a subtle growl encasing his words.


    "Come, Wandering Knight of the Nethends, face me." I held my sword up.


    [Why are you calling him Siegfried, he''s clearly Achilles.]


    Because I find it hrious.


    [Carry on then.]


    "I''m going to stab you. I don''t know when I''ll stop." His expression turned dark.


    "Hmph, you can try. I know your weakness now; I just have to find the spot on your back." I raised my sword leveled with him.


    "Die." He said without much emotion, disappearing from the spot he was in.


    My Aura pulsed, as there was now a Spear trying to push through it into my Stomach. I looked down, then up at the face infront of mine, a sneer of anger only inches away from my eyes.


    How fucking fast is he?


    It was practically instantaneous.


    He didn''t seem to stop, his free hand reeling back, clench fisting for my face.


    {Berserker} I called out through our link and my servant came barreling towards Rider like a force of nature. The Rider Servant, being as fast as he was, was able to intercept my servant''s de, but his arms slightly buckled.


    I waived my hand in the air, summoning several Rune Circles, firing off bolts of lighting at an iing hale of arrows from the Archer servant who had been doing a good job of keeping Berserker upied.


    "You can actually wound me!" Rider shouted in joy, a small bit of blood dripping down his arm as I turned my head for a moment to catch thest moment of their brief exchange. Rider just continued to cackle as they traded blows.


    I was right, divinity is the key to getting around his ''armor'', though I don''t know the true limits.


    {Berserker, get ready, we''re going to retreat.}


    It wasn''t an idea situation at the moment, I wanted to regroup to get a better understanding of what''s going on.


    {I believe there are several more servants waiting around us, do you have a n?} She asked.


    Well, good enough reason as any to leg it. I was confident to take on Rider, maybe even Archer added on by myself, but several more Servants with Noble Phantasms? I wasn''t suicidal.


    {I do, wait for my signal.} I mentally nodded, putting Dawnbreaker away and taking out Mirage. There was no point in hiding Mirage since I would be using it more often.


    "One Hundred Birds." I swung out my sword, the lightning-infused Sword Phantoms filling the space between me and Archer, as she quickly jumped off her sniping position to avoid my attack, giving me a moments reprieve.


    "It''s pretty unfair that your master isn''t participating, Rider." I took out one of the little gifts that Jinn gave me. "I wouldn''t want to leave anyone out." I pivoted and threw it towards Shirou.


    Shirou wasted no time taking out a ck Key, I felt a little shiver down my spine as the conceptual armament of the Church was actualized. A holy weapon that could definitely give me a bad time. Why did this guy give me a worse feeling than Rider?


    He threw the sword-dagger-rapier towards the Dust Bomb I had thrown a moment prior.


    "NO, YOU FOOL." A new voice called out, a servant materializing to grab Shirou. A woman with long ck hair and an elegant dress...I was not staring at her extremely cute pointy ears.


    As soon as the ck Key made contact with the dust bomb, it exploded out in a burst of pure Ice. The element basically given form andpressed down, then further enhanced and turned into a bomb.


    {Now.} I called out as Berserker Astralized and Rider turn to look, dumbfounded.


    "Later, Siegfried."


    I sliced through the air and jumped through a portal while everyone was distracted, heading back to our initial safe house, leaving behind a massive, jutted sphere of ice that had almost instantaneously formed at the point of contact. I was saddened that I couldn''t take the time to truly appreciate Jinn''s hard work.


    ***


    "Are you hurt anywhere!?" Berserker was immediately on me, looking for any kind of wound.


    "I''m fine." I grumbled out, letting her inspect me. It was strange how quickly she went frombat mode to.....doting ''mother''. "More importantly, we should go over what happened." I waved my hand, weaving an illusion in the air to show the images of everyone we had just met.


    "Shirou, the Master, though he doesn''t appear to be the Master of Rider or Archer. Definitely some strange things going on here." It wasn''t particrly hard to guess what was truly going on and why he wanted to capture me. "What did you think of Archer?"


    "I would have defeated her, given more time. I feared if I pressed her too quickly, she may have taken the battle into the city." Berserker stated. "I do not believe she is a Youkai, but I don''t know who she is. There have been many women in history with archery skills like she disyed."


    "Yeah, and I can''t think of any ''cat girls'' off the top of my head like that." I agreed with her thoughts. "Rider is Achilles." I said inly.


    Berserker blinked at me. "Why were you calling him Siegfried?"


    "To rile him up. He seemed like the type to tunnel vision when angry." I shrugged.


    I also thought it was funny.


    "That was very dangerous, what you did. Fighting a servant all by yourself." She crossed her arms, like she was chastising me.


    "I was fine." I waived off her concerns. "I could take him if we kept going." I reassured her, though she still looked worried.


    Well, he wasn''t either. I doubt anyone there was putting all their cards on the table, too much to lose this early on without any kind of decisive victory in view.


    Admittedly, my Aura was running low. Anymore and It would have burst. Hisst attack was very ¨C very fast and I did not anticipate it at all. Something I''ll have to pay attention to in the future.


    I had a handle on the situation, even though I retreated quickly, I didn''t feel too threatened at that moment. There were clearly more Servants around, but it was obvious that the Red faction was trying their best to deal with us without taking any loses. With us not allying with them they were already down one servant, if we managed to even take one with us, in their eyes, they would be down two then. It was in their best interest to slowly wear us down with their other Servants stepping in if it looked bad.


    They also couldn''t recklessly use their Noble Phantasms since I very vocally gave Berserker amand to go all out on Shirou if anyone used theirs. That should have also given them pause for concern.


    Adding onto all of that, who knows if anyone else was peeking. An enemy Assassin, a Magus that specializes in information gathering, or even an expert Caster on the other side. It was one of the reasons I wanted to stay in the open. It hurt them as the greater ''faction'' to reveal their cards than it was for me as a ''singr'' individual.


    I closed my eyes for a moment to check on Sir Wiggles, he was already almost back, having escaped as the fighting started.


    Good boy.


    With a thought, I created some Illusions into the air, weaving them to based on my memories of the people we had just fought. Little screens that showed the Servants and Shirou.


    "We did good." I stated, tapping my chin. "The situation wasn''t as I would have preferred, but we made out with some valuable information." I pointed towards the ''screens''. "Three servants identified, as well as the mastermind behind the Red Faction. We have Rider''s true name, which is also good, so we know his weakness.


    "Was this the servant who appeared at the end?" Berserker was pointing towards the woman.


    "Yup, I''m guessing Assassin or Caster." I nodded. "Though I''m leaning towards caster since she was able to perceive the threat of my bomb that quickly." What a shame, it could have done some damage if she didn''t interfere, though I feel like he still received a little bit of my gift.


    "Did you approach them knowing we would fight?" She looked at me.


    "It was a coin flip, if I were to be honest. A team fight like this, with a guaranteed fight once a single side wins? It was basically asking for someone to take control right off the bat."


    While I would have loved to have taken Rider out in a surprise attack, it was still to my benefit that Red didn''t lose too much strength yet. They would be useful in my ns.


    On a side note. "That lightning of yours, it was very beautiful." I was the teeniest bit jealous of hers.


    "Kya~ You''re so sweet." She grabbed me again, something that was quickly bing normal. "Mommy is going to spoil you."


    Oh, well, I can take a moment to enjoy my face being pushed between a pair of magnificent breasts.


    ***


    Kind of tradition for the first fight of every grail war to just be a probe. To answer some questions, Dawnbreaker is not a Divine Construct. Exined this before. Being created by a ''god'' does not make something a Divine Construct. It''s a bit of a misnomer because even Excalibur, a creation of the Fae, is a Divine Construct. You can just consider the term to mean anything that can''t be attained by mortal craft. Dawnbreaker was created by Meridia, but it was created with the intent to be wielded by Mortals.


    Things will start escting when Noble Phantasms are thrown around.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapter ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone. A wild Mordred recently appeared.

 Chapter 159 - 152

    <h4>Chapter 159: Chapter 152</h4>


    "Master, Momma''s back." Berserker called out, pushing open the door to our little safe house, which was nothing more than a dpidated building barely having four standing walls. "I found the farm to the east, and I retrieved two chickens for dinner." She held up the two limp avians, clearly having been killed.


    "Did you leave the gold?" I asked, turning around from where I was working.


    "I left it just as you asked." She smiled brightly. "I''ll get started on cooking"


    I tried to tell her that I had stuff stored away I could just take out and eat, but she was very insistent on ''providing'' for me. I just chalked it up to a quirk of hers and let her go about it. But I wasn''t going to steal from a farmer if I didn''t have to. The gold should be more than enoughpensation.


    Well, she happily epted some pans, utensils, and seasoning to go along with it. I don''t quite understand her mindset yet, but I think the idea of ''cooking'' for me was the most important thing here. The need to be the one to make sure I was well fed, or something along those lines.


    Regardless of the reasoning...it was a nice gesture and I appreciate the concern.


    I let her go about it, she had started a fire and set up to roast them. For the moment, I was focused on other things.


    Zelretch''s files had two ces set up as the sort of ''battle field''. Trifas was the where the ck Faction was located. The former home of d the Impaler, and also the greatest concentration of Leylines in Romania. There was no doubt in my mind that the Grail was somewhere in that city, for very obvious reasons.


    The City was walled and maintained from the days of the Impaler himself. And there was arge Castle Situated at the city that housed the Yggdamillennia family. As one would expect, the Castle is without a doubt fortified beyond all reasonable thoughts.


    It was safe to assume that the city itself was also heavily regted. I wouldn''t be surprised if the vast majority of the mundane poption worked for them in one way or another.


    City-wide bounded fields are going to be assumed until otherwise disproven. But the fact that they have ess to such potent Leylines would make it rather easy to set up such defenses on arge scale. From what I understood, the Mages Association did try to attack the family before the Apocrypha protocols were initiated. Was it 50 Magi that they sent to their deaths? And they were all killed in a single night by one of the servants. Such a thing led credence to the idea that they could monitor the city on an individual level.


    The good news is, I know for a fact that I''m outside of their monitoring range. There''s no way they would leave a single master and Servant alone, and the fact that the Red faction set up their base in the city I was camping outside. Just to be sure, I did fortify this ce against any kind of peeking I could think of.


    Sighisoara, nothing particrly exceptional about this city, only that it''s the closest ce to Trifas. The most eye-catching thing was the church that sat on top a hill at the center.


    Knowing that it was paste tense did make me a little happy.


    Maybe my Devil heritage was having an effect on me? I had an odd annoyance with the priest from before and I''m usually not so aggressive unless I''m actually pissed off. I kind of expect the turn of events, so I wasn''t angered beyond reason, so I really have no idea why I was acting like that.


    Annoying.


    Speaking of my Devil Heritage, I really need to watch out for any holy attribute opponents. That Priest looked skillful and him wielding the Church''s teachings could be problematic even if I was confident in dealing with him.


    The be honest, I wasn''t entirely sure about the Church''s secrets. There were possibly things they kept secret, even from me or that I simply don''t recall from my previous life. The Zelretch that was a Dead Apostle had some run ins with the church, which was to be expected, but they generally kept out of each other''s way.


    Well, when you save the world, you get a little leeway even if you are their ''enemy''. No one could dispute that Zelretch was on the side of Humanity, even the Church.


    But I digress.


    Aura held up well, it was a good test run against an opponent like Rider. The way he could elerate to higher levels so quickly, it was clear he hadn''t even reached his peak and was holding back. Our next fight would probably not end on such a low note.


    My Runic Circles held up well too. If it was before I performed that ritual of Lightning Form, I don''t know if they would have stopped the Arrows from Archer. The Runic Circles aren''t the most powerful lightning spells I know, being onlyprised of Modern Runes and some Skyrim magical additions, but they are very versatile and easy to actualize. The fact that I was able to stalemate those arrows is an aplishment in of itself.


    It really does put into perspective how far I''vee.


    These were servants, even if they were reserved. Artoria in the past had kicked my ass without breaking a sweat, now look at me. I hadn''t even used the Boosted Gear or my other trump cards and I was holding my own without issue, and I felt like I would have won.


    "What do you think, Ddraig?"


    [Servants are really interesting; I wish I still had my body. To test my skills against these heroes that were able to carve their names so deep onto the world''s history that they ascended after death to such an absurd thing. That a mere piece of them is this strong.]


    "You really think so highly of them? Don''t dragons look down on humans and the like?" Most servants had a ''human'' origin, or otherwise were close enough to humanity that they were able to be heroic spirits after their death.


    [I''ve never hated humans. I don''t care about race, background, gender, or any of that nonsense. I have pride in my dragon nature, and I judge others based on my own view of the world. I think the strong should do what they want, but also the weak should get strong if they are trampled on. These heroes are those who broke the mold, out of the millions and millions of humans who came before and after them, they were able to be remembered, thousands of years after their deaths. Even for the short-lived humans who think a decade is such a long time, who forget eras a mere century after the fact. The likes of Heroic Spirits are still revered and remembered, even if they faded into obscurity.]


    "I didn''t know you felt that way. What about Dragon yers?"


    [How could I not respect them? They were willing to face off against the likes of my kin and through sheer strength of will, managed to y them.]


    Huh, you learn something new every day.


    "Master~ Dinner''s ready." Berserker called out, breaking me from my musings.


    Well, I could eat.


    Actually, I could always eat.


    Thank God for my Devil physiology.....heh.


    I walked outside after putting everything away that I was working on. Berserker was there, waiting for me with a te prepared and an expectant look on her face. It was as if this was a very important moment for her.


    I didn''t wish to keep her waiting, so I sat down infront of the fire and took my first bite. It was just some roasted chicken with some basic seasonings, and was what you would expect, but... "It''s good, thank you." I said with a genuine thankfulness.


    I wasn''t used to people cooking especially for me. Who among my group of people actually knows how to cook well....


    Berserker looked so prideful as I said that, doing a little fist pump into the air.


    "Are you going to eat as well? There''s plenty." I looked at the second chicken still on the skewer.


    "I don''t need to eat." She said simply. "A growing boy needs lots of good food though." A smile adorned her face.


    "Technically, I don''t need to eat either." I pointed out, though still enjoying my meal. "Half-Devil and all that." I could survive since my physiology was extremely resilient. Though the nature of ''gluttony'' that was basically inscribed onto my soul due to being a creature of sin meant that it would be ufortable if I did not eat for long periods.


    Sins are literally a core part of my being, for better or worse. While Devils may only embody one or two more actively, each and every one are intertwined in every devil bloodline due to the nature of our inception.


    "Oh...I see." She immediately looked dejected at my words and I felt a tinge of regret.


    "I only eat because I enjoy good food." I made sure to apany my statement with another bite. "It''s one of my favorite joys in life." She did perk up a little bit.


    "Master." Berserker''s demeanor shifted a little. That almost ditzy personality that she donned when being a ''mother'' was still present, but her eyes looked a little sharper. "Who are you?"


    "Haaah." I let out a breath, setting my te to the side. "I guess this talk wasing."


    "Even if you are a half-phantasmal species, fighting a servant is not something so simple. You say you are the son of Lucifer from the Christian religion. I am only familiar with the legends and stories because of the Grail, but it is that something possible in the current world?" She eyed me suspiciously, even if she still held a fondness in her gaze.


    "You should know about thest True Magics in existence, yes?" I asked.


    "The Grail provided me such information, master." She confirmed.


    "Do you know the names of the current Magicians, the wielders of those sorceries? Specifically, do you know who wields the Second True Magic?"


    "The name of the Kaleidoscope, Zelretch is known to me as well."


    "His full name is Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, he''s my grandfather. I''m also a Magician, able to use the Second True Magic." I replied.


    She blinked in surprise, a warm smile forming. "As expected of my son." She just epted it as if it were natural.


    I let out a sigh, thinking I would have to prove it or something, and she simply went ''okay''. "I''m also not native to this world-line. The world I was born in, the Age of Gods hasn''t ended and everything still exists but is hidden from the greater world. I''ve traveled to several different worlds at this point, collecting some useful stuff along the way."


    I held my hands out, palms facing up. In my left hand, lightning crackled, dancing around my fingers. In my right hand, my Aura red the myriad colors conglomerating and bing visible to the naked eye. "I also know a few Servants from other worlds, I''ve fought and sparred enough to be confident in my skills, I can fight by your side."


    She looked a little lost in thought, perhaps digesting my words. Her expression darkened, though it didn''t appear to be directed at me. "Momma will handle all the insects that appear, Master. You don''t need to worry about them." Her smile was one that promised pain, and I''m immediately reminded that she is a Berserker, her mindset is hard to understand.


    Maybe I can do something about that in the future? If she didn''t have a wish on the Grail, if she wanted to stick around....


    I just shook my head, thoughts for the future.


    "Well this was the easiest version of this conversation I''ve ever had." I chuckled. "You took it a lot better than Meridia."


    "Meridia?" Berserker shifted gears once again.


    "Mmm, she''s my lover."


    "....is that so?" I looked over to see Berserker clenching her fists tight, a forced smile on her face.


    Was there something wrong with what I said? I was about to ask, but I suddenly felt a tick on the mental connection I had with Sir Wiggles.


    I focused on it to see what he was seeing. There were servants squaring off, of which I recognized none.


    "Berserker." I stood up, looking into the distance. "It looks like the night isn''t over yet, another opportunity has presented itself."


    "Master?"


    "Let''s go crash another party." I grinned, taking Mirage out of my ring.


    "There''s no need for you to fight." Berserker said calmly. "I will be enough to step on some insects." She quickly got into her battle ready mood as well.


    ***


    Alright guys, I read what you put. I could sit here and argue, but It''s not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things. I don''t deny the arguments said by those who disagree with me, there are valid points. But at the same time I think it can be argued in my favor as well. I''m just going to leave it at this for now.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.


    I will not be writing this weekend, feel like I''m overdue for a little break since thest one was a couple months ago, I think.

 Chapter 160 - 153

    <h4>Chapter 160: Chapter 153</h4>


    An Invisibility Potion from Skyrimbined with an illusion to hide any marks I make on the ground andstly, a quick Muffle to silence my movements should render me nearly undetectable undetectable. With Berserker remained Astralized at my side, I approached the battle going on ahead.


    From what I could make out, a man in golden armor wielding ance was fighting another silver haired man with a glowing dragon tattoo wielding a sword, while what appeared to be another Servant and Master standing off to the side.


    Curious.


    Though, as I got close, the Servant nced at me out of the corner of her eyes. Damn, even with all that and the Ring of the Khajiit, she could still notice me. She wasn''t interfering at all, was this Ruler?


    She gave off a feeling simr to Shirou.


    I silently waved, causing her to slightly raise her eyebrow but otherwise didn''t react even as I walked up to the ratherrge man standing near her, enthralled by the fight he was watching.


    He was wearing some gaudy white and gold uniform that looked like it barely fit him. He was clenching his fist angrily, staring at the fight, muttering things under his breath.


    I paused as I nced at the fight again, having gotten this close. I couldn''t help but grip my heart, as if something was bearing down on me by merely existing. It was a familiar feeling, one I felt from several weapons I''ve interacted with at this point.


    [Dragon yer]


    Speak of the devil...


    The Silver haired man wielding a greatsword with a glowing Dragon Tattoo on his chest. His existence practically shouted ''danger'' to my dragon nature.


    I wanted to fight him.


    I wanted to defeat him.


    The urge was so much I didn''t realize my fingers were digging into my skin and drawing blood. I took a silent breath, regaining my bearings as I focused on the master.


    Taking a few steps forward, I quickly grabbed his mouth, my invisibility fading at the slightest touch. "Good evening." I was of course polite and offered a greeting to him.


    "MHMMHMPHH" He muffled something, but it was hard to understand. His Circuits visibly lit up as if he was going to cast a spell.


    "None of that" I wagged my finger infront of his face, a little bit of electricity forming at the tip in a threatening manner.


    "Master!" The apparent Saber broke away from the engagement, barreling toward me at an impressive speed.


    "Saber" I called out as my servant materialized, intercepting him midway. I could guess he was the Saber of ck by what was going on. The Dragon yer''s eyes widened as he was pushed back in that quick exchange.


    I wanted to fight him, but I felt like if I did, I wouldn''t stop until one of us died, and that was not in the n at the moment.


    "Insect." Raikou looked at him in contempt, holding her sword up.


    .....It was kind of hot.


    Saber of ck rained down a fury of blows, all of which Berserker matched rtively well.


    My head snapped to the side as the Lancer moved on the tentative Ruler Servant. "What the devil?" I blurted out as the golden armoredncer burst into mes and attacked her.


    "Lancer, attacking me is a vition, are you going to continue this course of action?" Ruler dered, a Banner appeared in her hands, acting like a spear to block his attacks.


    "I''m under orders, Ruler." He said simply, waving hisnce as a burst of fire descended on her.


    Well that answered my question on her identity.


    [That fire is divine.]


    Yeah, I could feel it. Was most certainly not normal fire, held a bit more ''oomph'' to its presence that screamed danger.


    "Whelp, I do believe I may have misinterpreted the situation." I acknowledged my mistake. For some reason the Lancer was attacking Ruler, and Saber of ck was defending her.....


    "Oi, Lancer, are you from the Red Faction?" I asked.


    He briefly turned to me. "I am Lancer of Red." He deemed to acknowledge me at least.


    "Neat." I nodded, pushing the Master down and discharged a burst of lighting, he twitched but otherwise didn''t move. "I''m also from the Red Faction." I grinned turning towards Ruler who looked at me with wariness.


    I withdrew Mirage from my ring. "Let me give you a hand." I smiled, shing my sword up, sending a dozen Birds at Lancer.


    He slid his foot back, spinning hisnce to disperse them on contact. "Impressive." He now looked at me more intently. "Do you intend to protect Ruler? Are you capable of it?" He raised hisncer towards me, not even bothered by my ''betrayal''.


    "Well, two against one." I grinned, raising my sword.


    "I will not interfere." Ruler dered, stepping back.


    "I beg your pardon?"


    "If you wish to battle Lancer of Red, that is part of the War. If I am targeted, then it will be a vition and I will defend myself appropriately." She exined.


    I opened my mouth up, staring at her. "The requirement for being qualified for the Ruler ss is that you need to not have a wish, even one buried deep in your heart. And you must be capable of acting withplete partiality to moderate the war."


    Ruler seemed surprised by my statement. "That is notmon knowledge."


    I let out a snort. "There are very few people in existence that know more about the Grail''s operations than I do. That narrows down your identity quite a bit,bining it with the ''weapon'' you''re wielding, it isn''t hard to know who you are." Not to mention she looked quite a bit like her reincarnation in my birth world.


    "Well." I held my hands up. "I guess it was my fault for expecting something from the French." My lips curled up, I nced at her and saw a small twitch of her eye. "Anyways, thanks for waiting, Lancer." I turned my attention back towards Lancer of Red.


    He looked amused by the whole thing. "The presence I feel from you piqued my interest, It is rare to find someone in this era that is so capable." He took a stance. "Come."


    My other swords flew out, straight at him. He appeared surprised for only the briefest of moments, His Lance blurred with such speed and uracy that they were all deflected with the barest of movements. My true attack didn''t even gain me the initiative as he was able to meet me as if nothing happened.


    I mmed my sword down from above, he twirled his staff, blocking it and counter attacking in all one motion. I narrowly dodged one of the protruding spikes on his weapon from tearing into my Aura.


    His martial arts were very impressive. We barely started, and I could ept that he skill level was above mine without feeling ashamed.


    My swords took flight,shing out from all angles, yet he continued to deflect, dodge, and parry each one with minimal effort. All the while he didn''t allow me to gain an inch and even good push me back.


    "Impressive." Lancer had a small smile on his face. "Your attacks speak of a honed technique. In a decade, the oue might have been different. s, I have received a new order, I must remove Ruler, forgive me for cutting our bout short. I will show my appreciation by utilizing my true power." He looked a bit saddened by his own words. "O''Agni."


    The area around him erupted in divine mes. My Aura red to the peak, just to stave off the activation of his ability. Was it another version of ''Mana burst''? I looked around, and found the perfect cover.


    "Protect me Saintess~" I dived behind Ruler''s back as divine fire poured down on me.


    "W-WHAT!?" She blurted out, but her g moved to defend. The mes bore down on me ¨C her, but she held strong. I could imagine she had some impressive magic resistance due to her ss. A necessity due to her role in moderating the war.


    "Well done, partner." I gave her a thumbs up.


    "That''s not allowed!" She red at me.


    "What''re you talking about? You''re standing here in the middle of a fight, it''s not my fault you get hit." I feigned innocence. "But I suppose it''s time to stop holding back a bit." What point was there in continuously hiding my abilities in a fight like this? My swords returned to me, floating around slowly as I let go of Mirage and took the Sword of Destruction into my hand. It was appropriate to keep trump cards, but it wasn''t wise to keep literally everything back.


    Lightning gathered at my feet, visibly crackling against the ground. My hand grips the sword tight, and I fed it my aura, the Power of Destruction manifesting along its edge, jutting off, arcing and jumping all around.


    Lancer didn''t respond, looking at me intently before kicking off the ground. I responded, meeting him as his Divine mes shed with my Power of Destruction for the first time.


    I poured everything I had into it, to fight against the raging inferno of divinity.


    Lancer''s eyes widened.


    My Power of Destruction began to eat away at his Divine mes.


    ***


    Got home superte when I wrote this chapter the other day, so it''s a on the smaller side.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone Mordred revealed properly.

 Chapter 161 - 154

    <h4>Chapter 161: Chapter 154</h4>


    Minamoto-no-Raikou (Berserker of Red) POV.


    "Insect." I scowled, looking at the trash that dared to raise his de against my Master(son).


    Our des met, he was perceptive enough to respond the moment I revealed myself. His footing was steady, even as he retreated with each step, he did not forgo the initiative as our battle began. He absorbed each of my blows into his own movements, to minimalize the force.


    An endurance fighter.


    Annoying.


    I nced to the side to see Master(son) start a fight with the other servant. The golden one with the strange spear, he made me feel something odd. A sense of rivalry that swelled up when I gazed at him. I did not know where it came from, and a part of me wished to fight him, to prove my superiority. I ignored it, following Master''s(Son''s)mands, to engage this warrior.


    I would chastise him when the fighting was over. He should not be putting himself in harms way to fight a servant, even if he is not a normal human. My Kintoki was the same too, the simrities are truly great whenparing the both of them.


    Perhaps I will have to dote on him in the same way.


    His mother is all he needs.


    "Such strength." The Saber servantmented, feet buried in the ground to block my attack.


    I clicked my tongue as he swiped his greatsword at me, his style swordsmanship not something I was used to, but I adapted rather quickly. Readjusting himself, he trust with great power and speed, momentarily taking me by surprise as I twisted my body to dodge, my battle suit being torn, but no blood drawn.. I summoned my Divine Lightning in return, discharging everything in a quick burst.


    "Impressive." The Saber Servant waved his hand, clearing away the remnants of my attack as I took a step back.


    I could press him, but often discretion is the better answer, especially in a situation where we do not know what enemies may be watching. "I do not enjoy the prattling of insects, merely ept being crushed."


    "Haha." He let out a self-deprecatingugh. "Well, if there''s one thing I''m confident in, it''s my durability." With a quick swing of his sword, the ground was torn asunder.


    I burst through the upturned earth, my Mana Burst enveloping me as I shed down at him once again. His feet dug deep, and his de still held true. I could only click my tongue in annoyance again, increases my speed by another level.


    Twisting my wrist, I changed the direction of my blow, shing upwards after another deflection. He didn''t react in time, my de digging into his skin and my Divine Lightning churning out increased force.


    Instead of retreating, he grit his teeth, holding his sword up high and swinging down and I was forced to side-step, his de destroying the ground beneath us.


    "I was sure I cut you deeper than that." I looked at the blood dripping from his chest. I am positive my de went in much further, yet...it was more like a paper cut than anything.


    The Saber Servant ran a thumb down his chest, wiping away the blood revealing that the wound was already gone. "As I said, I am confident in my durability." He paused looking over to the side. I followed his gaze,nding on his unconscious Master if I had to guess. Therd of a man should be happy that my Master(son) didn''t kill him.


    "You take your eyes of me in the middle of a fight?" I narrowed my eyes at him. An insect actually looks down on me like this. My sword shot out, piercing into his chest, his momentarypse costing him dearly, or so I would like to say.


    No, it was barely two fingers worth inside him, his hand gripped around the edge and stopping me from going further. It''s not that his strength is greater than mine, it was thebination of his strength and his overall durability.


    {Berserker.}


    Master suddenly called through the link, I forgot my foe and turned my head as a massive amount of magical energy suddenly enveloped the area and I immediately disengaged to go after him.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    "What is this!?" Lacer''s expression changed drastically for the first time. His mes, his divine fire was being devoured and destroyed.


    Our weapons locked, My Sword of Destruction pushing against his Golden Spear, his Fire bursting out in all directions and my Power of Destruction Crackled and Arced out, intercepting the mes that sought to harm me. They didn''t stop, there were times it moved and wrapped around him, his skin destroyed at the mere touch before his mes snuffed it out.


    My Aura visibly surged to feed into my Power of Destruction to fight against his relentless mes. My bloodline, it was almost like it was eager to fight against the divine, to reach out and strike at those who dwelled above.


    "You are not an ordinary human." Lancer looked at me, less perturbed by my power. "I see it.....you are something strange."


    Does he have an ability that allows him to glimpse into my true nature?


    I grit my teeth, pushing everyst bit of Aura I could output and he shuddered under the sudden intensity of my Destruction. He almost reeled back as it jutted out towards his body. "I''m just a normal human~" I grinned, mentally calling forth my other des to swing down on him.


    The mes around him increased several fold, the ground under us turning to molten rock, my swords forced away at the sudden explosive power.


    My eyes widened as my Power of Destruction was overtaken in sheer output. I held back a sigh, forcing Whisper into the air. No, I shouldn''t have expected to win a fight like that. If I had more practice, more time with my bloodline ability then maybe...


    There were no ''ifs'' in a fight.


    Noticing myck of reprisal, Lancer''s weapon pushed forward, destroying my guard and shing into my side. My Aura had gone critically low, his weapon tearing into my skin, but it also triggered my defenses in my clothing. a Divine weapon is a Divine weapon.


    The Dust that Jinn had woven into my shirt activated, a burst of elemental power exploded out from the wound.


    "What?" Lancer looked surprised at the sudden retaliation, forcing him back.


    "Is this the time to be losing focus?" I smirked, holding my arms out, the sky having gotten a bit cloudy in thest few moments.


    The Servant looked up, unable to keep that bewildered look off his face.


    "Hammer of Thor."


    The massive lighting figure that conglomerated had raised its hammer into the air, lighting up the night sky. My new attribute, my additional element that I had been imbued with had once again further increased the power of this spell.


    It swung down onto the unsuspecting servant as I retreated away with full speed, grabbing a shocked Ruler Servant with me. "Eeeeh!?" She sputtered out as I threw up several shields I could in that brief moment, and they all broke at the sudden cataclysmic force.


    The earth scorched, the ground sundered, and a huge gorge was now where a highway used to be.


    "Magnificent" The voice of Lancer echoed out as everything settled. I held back a growl as he floated out of the new cavern I made. He was hurt, my spell had managed to reach him, that was something not many mages could boast about. "If I did not have my Armor, I would have been grievously injured." There was blood dripping from several ces, and even charred parts of his body, but nothing I could call critical.


    The Golden armor around his body. No doubt it was also divine in origin, otherwise I couldn''t guess how he managed to walk off my attack. "You bastard." I couldn''t help butugh. "What a monster."


    "Your name." He held out his spear, pointing towards me. "I wish to hear the name of the living person who was able to wound me."


    "Wilhelm. I will refrain from giving my family name as it would reveal something I wish to keep secret for now."


    "Wilhelm." He nodded in understanding. "I will follow my orders, but I will offer Noble Phantasm in thanks for this wonderful battle." Hisnce ignited in fire, but it felt much different. A chill ran down my spine, as if death was descending on me.


    I looked back at Ruler who looked ready to defend herself, but I doubt she would be willing to extend that to me.


    {Berserker.} I could out through the link.


    Should I use amand seal?


    I clenched my fists and let out augh. I had my own pride. I withdrew The Staff of Magnus from inside my storage, and the Boosted Gear appeared on me left hand as a precaution.


    My swords were floating around me protectively.


    "O''Brahma, Curse Me." The world shifted, as his spear ignited in a much denser me. It dyed the entire area in a red hue, my throat burned, and even my skin began to dry at a noticeable rate.


    Runes spun around me. The strongest shield I could make, thepleted form of it. I wasn''t finished, My Primordial Runes appeared, inteying with the spell itself. Forming a conceptual level of defense that further increased the bulwark, all amplified by my Divine Construct.


    "Brahmastra Kund!" He threw his spear, and the space around it was burned away.


    Even as my vision filled with nothing but his Divine Fire, I mmed my Staff down. "Shield of Asgard!"


    My vision became fire, as if the sun enveloped me, my shield. I could feel the initial impact, my spell shuddered under blow. I saw nothing but fire, of this heat that pushed down and threatened to burn me alive.


    My shield, it continued to hold, but cracks could be seen forming. "Haah!" I let out a shout, forcing more magical energy through me into the barrier, to maintain it. The strain was bearable, but I wouldn''t be able to maintain this forever.


    The force of the attack was something else, the Conceptual Weight of a Noble Phantasm baring down on me.


    My translucent golden shield fought back, my Magical energy pouring in. My Primordial Runes Shined bright, even under the intense light of his Divine Fire. Cracked, and barely whole, my shield still stood once his Noble Phantasm dissipated.


    I used the Staff to steady myself from the sudden exertion, staring at the servant who didn''t move, even as his gazended on me. "You withstood my Noble Phantasm." He said with no small amount of awe in his voice.


    I let out a long breath, gathering my magical energy to begin once again.


    {Master!} I heard Berserker''s voice through the link, followed by a crack of thunder, her signature purple lightning crashing down into Lancer''s unsuspecting face.


    He moved his spear up to block, and my eyes widened as his arm holding his weapon went flying through the air, severed clean from his body.


    "Arjuna!?" Lancer blurted out, seemingly more concerned by Berserker''s appearance than the fact that he just lost an arm.


    Berserkernded on the ground, about to attack again but Lancer''s body was enveloped by a burst of magical energy, and he was suddenly teleported away.


    Well, I was going to do something simr, but I guess Berserker doing it is fine too.


    "Amand seal." I grunted, falling to my butt. It was the correct y to make from the other side. I looked to the ground and his weapon also was gone, but his arm turned into magical energy and dissipated.


    "Master!" Berserker was on me immediately.


    "I''m fine." I couldn''t help but pat her head as the atmosphere changed instantaneously. She looked exceedingly happy to receive my touch. I showed her the white light in my hand as it was already working on healing my wound. It wasn''t very deep, I was more concern with the Divine Nature of his weapon, than the wound itself. I hope there are no lingering effects like the weapons from the Abrahamic cosmology.


    "Who''s this?" Her face turned dark again, her sword gripped tight, staring at Ruler.


    I forgot about her in that moment, my shield having protected her as well.


    "I''m Ruler." She hesitantly introduced herself. "I''m the moderator for this Grail War."


    "Master, I''ll remove this woman, just give me a moment." Berserker was about to move, and Ruler looked a mite bit scared.


    "Berserker, stop." I pulled on her. "Her being alive is good for us." I briefly exined. And it didn''t matter if I called her Berserker since a Ruler servant could identify any other servant by just a nce.


    "But Master, how can an insect like that help us at all?"


    Ruler''s eye twitched slightly again as she stood up straighter. "Attacking the moderator is against the rules, if you persist, I will have to punish you."


    "Ohoh." Berserker let out a little augh. "Master, just let me crush this little harlot, it won''t take long."


    "H-harlot!?" Ruler squeaked out


    "Raikou." I called her by her real name, which actually caused her to pause and give me her full attention. "Lets just get back to our hideout so I can rest."


    "Mou~ Whatever my Master wants." She quickly changed tunes.


    I stood up steadily enough, putting everything away but Mirage. It appears that Saber of ck took his Master away at the first opportunity. I looked at Ruler onest time she was a bit on guard, but also looking at me as if trying to give me an appraisal.


    For some strange reason, I had the incessant need to bully her, and I just couldn''t figure out why. With a sigh, I opened a new portal up and pulled Berserker through.


    Thest look at this ce was the sun peeking above a mountain range. Or rather, what was left of it after Lancer''s attack, because I''m pretty sure there were three peaks in total before tonight, and I could only count two now.


    ***


    For those who don''t know, Brahmastra Kund is an Anti-Country Noble Phantasm that basically says -- fuck everything in that direction. Not to be mistaken with Vasavi Shakti that he loses his armor from using.


    Sorry for thete chapter, took a nap when i got home from work. Just a reminder, i''m not posting this weekend, so i''ll see everyone on monday.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 162 - 155

    <h4>Chapter 162: Chapter 155</h4>


    Saber of ck (Siegfried) POV


    I carried my Master back to the ck Faction''s base. I couldn''t help but turn around and see the destruction wrought at the activation of Lancer''s Noble Phantasm. It was impressive and made me wonder if I could survive it without activating my own in response.


    My battle between the other Saber, I managed to pull her far enough away from Master''s unconscious body so that he wouldn''t get swept up in the battle, but even then, I was still able to see the effects of the fight that had taken ce in the area I retreated from. Both far and close enough to keep an eye on Mastery and intervene if he was ever in harm''s way.


    It was the only option I had in that immediate moment when I saw that Saber of Red''s Master had no intention of harming my own.


    Passing through the defenses of the Yggdmillennia castle, I could sense many eyes now on me, but none barred my path. Walking into the Castle, I was greeted by some my fellow Servants and their Masters, all of whom stared at me expectantly.


    "Saber." Lord Darnic Preston Yggdmillennia, the head of the Yggdmillennia family spoke up.


    While he was not my Master, he was my Master''s superior, so I would give him the proper courtesy. "Lord Darnic." As I moved to set my Master down, several Homunculi ran over and began to check him for any injuries.


    I knew he was not severely injured, but I would not be against a more thorough check. Magecraft was never an art I could impetence in, not to mention the inner workings of the human body and how to properly care for someone who had been hurt. He had some burns and cuts in some ces, but I believe he will make a full recovery with ease.


    "We lostmunication and Caster''s Scrying was not sessful." The Master of the Magus family gripped his scepter tightly. "What happened, Saber?"


    I looked at my master who ordered me not to be frivolous with my words.....but the situation was one I could not remain silent in. Perhaps I would be scolded when he awoke as I was also liberal during my fight. "Another Servant appeared, Saber of Red."


    "Saber of Red?" Lancer, who had been standing at Darnic''s side, spoke up. "Do you know their identity?"


    "A woman of the Far East." I shook my head.


    "Saber, speak openly. What can you tell us about the Servant?" Darnic nced at my unconscious master and back to me.


    If it was an order from the one who could hold authority over my master. "She was physically my superior, and her speed was above mine. Her skill was undeniable." I voiced my thoughts. "I''m sorry, that''s all I know."


    "Unfortunate, but not unhelpful." Lord Darnic did not appear to be annoyed with my minimal information. "It''s impressive that you were able to retreat against two servants, and even keep your Master safe." He gave praise.


    "I''m sorry, I did not mention that I was not engaged by both Saber and Lancer." I quickly rified. "I believe the two Servants to be hostile to one another. And It was Saber''s Master who....."I looked at Master Gordes.


    "Can you describe him? What Magecraft did he employ?"


    "He had striking Red Hair pulled into a ponytail, and he appeared to use Lightning Magecraft."


    "Hmm." Lord Darnic tapped his chin. "I don''t recognize a Magus by that description." He swept his gaze around the room.


    "The Byros family?" A young woman in a wheelchair, whom was Archer''s Master, spoke up. "They''re known for their lightning Magecraft."


    "No." Another voice answered. A second woman who stood next to the rather mboyant Rider, whom possessed a rather sadistic personality based on our few interactions. "They don''t have anyone in their family with red hair and they''re small enough that any bastards would be hard to hide."


    "It''s unlikely he would hide his identity as well." The woman in a wheelchair continued. "I find it unlikely a Magus from the association would not want the ''glory'' tied to their families or lineages."


    "Did he support his Servant at all, any hidden spells he could have cast that you didn''t notice during the fight? Even an description of actualization would be helpful." The wheelchaired woman.....her name was Fiore?


    "He did not support Saber as he went off to battle Lancer."


    "What?" Rider''s Master blurted out. "Are you saying Saber''s Master fought a Servant?"


    "I''m sorry, I did not mention that. The battle was noticeable from the distance, I had assumed you knew what I was speaking of when I said he knew Lightning Magecraft. It was clear he did not wish to harm my Master otherwise he would not be alive." I exined properly.


    "Wait, are you implying that the huge lightning strike we saw was Magecraft, from Saber''s Master!?" Fiore blurted out. "I thought that was a Noble Phantasm!"


    "Seriously?" Rider who looked bored seemed to perk up. "Saber of Red''s master did that? I thought Magecraft these days was weak."


    "Rider." His master hissed in annoyance.


    "Oops, teehee~" Rider rubbed his head!


    "A master capable of fighting a Servant in some capacity, Interesting." Lancer of ck let out augh. "And we have no knowledge of his identity? I don''t think such an individual would be unknown in this age. Based on what we did see, the following attack that destroyed the mountain, that was undeniably Lancer."


    "I would suggest the same." I nodded. It was obvious Lancer''s attacks contained the fire element within them, enough that even I felt their heat through my Dragon Armor.


    "If Lancer used his Noble Phantasm, was it meant for the Master, or Ruler?" Archer who held Fiore''s wheelchair voiced his words for the first time.


    Rider''s Master scoffed. "It was obvious to get rid of Ruler. We all saw how he was gunning for her." She crossed her arms. "A Servant having to use a Noble Phantasm against a Master? Ridiculous. And he''s probably dead at this point, there''s no way he could survive that attack that we felt even all the way over here."


    Maybe. And the look in Archer''s eyes said he didn''t fully believe that as well.


    There were some things that didn''t add up. Why wasn''t Saber more concerned about her Master being in the way of a Servant battle between Ruler and Lancer if he was not capable? And why.....did I get this strange feeling in my heart when I gazed at him?


    I wanted to fight Lancer again, our bout was interfered with before we could truly test each other, and I felt as If I found a kindred spirit...but for some reason, the urge to fight Saber''s master kept swelling up inside me.


    "Regardless, Lancer is a foe we can''t ignore. His Noble Phantasm is likewise powerful and destructive, we must start preparing counter measures." Lord Darnic raised his scepter up, addressing the room.


    "Hmph, leave Lancer to me." Our own Lancer stated leaving no room for debate and showing no hesitance about the prowess from Lancer of Red.


    Maybe his own pride was acting up?


    "It''s likely the true battle will start thising night." Archer looked contemtive. "They know our location; we must prepare for a siege."


    "This castle has stood tall for centuries. It will not fall under my watch." Lancer dered. "Send a message to Caster, start preparing the Golems."


    The Caster servant and his master seemed to be quite alike, opting to spend all their time together in their workshop.


    Lord Darnic nodded in agreement. "We will prepare the Homunculi as well. Once Gordes awakens, I''ll have him takemand. Until then, Caules has been managing them well enough even with his inexperience."


    So that is why Berserker, and her Master are not present. Well, I do not believe Berserker could add anything to the discussion.


    The War did not take ce during the day. It was one of the more stringent rules that was ryed by the Grail.


    Thising night would be the first true battle of the war.


    ***


    Archer of Red (Atnta) POV


    "Sis,e on, one drink?" I scowled, looking at Rider who propped himself on up a table, head in his hand. Theziness he was showing betrayed his true alertness. I''ve hunted enough to see when a predator was ready to move, when all their muscles were taunt to spring out and catch a prey.


    "Stop calling me that." I hissed in annoyance.


    Stupid brat.


    I can''t truly be mad at him about it either, I know he''s calling me that affectionately without any hidden agendas.


    Achilles.


    He lives up to being one of the most famous heroes in the world, especially from our homnd. But I couldn''t help but find it a little endearing the way he swooned over me, or rather my life.


    Fanboy? The term form the Grail stuck to the forefront of my mind. When we had free time after our summons, he would regale me with tales his father used to tell him, stories about the Argonauts.


    He said I was his hero as a child.


    Not Herakles, not that buffoon Jason ¨C Me.


    Maybe that''s why I truly couldn''t get mad when he called me something like ''sis''.


    "Hey Sis." He intentionally ignored my dissatisfaction if the small smirk was anything to go by. "What''d you think about that Saber?"


    "Strong." I said pointedly.


    "Come on, sis, gotta give me more than that. I only fought her for like a few seconds." Rider feigned indignation.


    I tapped my finger against my arm, it was annoying to have to wait here like this. We had been given ''orders'' to stand by in this half-destroyed church while that Shirou Kotomine was taken off to be healed.


    Saber of Red''s master had managed to wound him in some regard, but we didn''t see how much.


    "She was fast, maybe only a little bit slower than me. I had to constantly make distance between us, I had no hope of defeating her in closebat. Every one of her strikes would be debilitating, if not lethal. Her technique was without ws, and it seemed like...no nevermind." It seemed like the Arrows I had infused with Magical Energy were treated the same as my normal arrows. Maybe I was just imagining it.


    "She had divinity too, or her weapon was a Divine Construct." Achilles added. "She got through my armor." He grinned.


    "Her weapon didn''t give off that kind of oppressive feeling, like your shield."


    "Not all Divine Constructs are the same." Rider shrugged.


    I guess he would be more of an authoritative figure on that. While my bow was a gift from Lady Artemis, it is not a Divine Construct.


    "But I agree with you." Rider continued. "That woman was definitely a Demi-God of some kind."


    Why are all the boys around me battle maniacs? "What about her Master?"


    Rider paused, holding himself back from getting angry. "I''ll kill him the next time I see him."


    I couldn''t help but let out a sigh. "Rider....no, Achilles." I managed to grab his attention. "You need to watch your temper."


    "I''m fine, it''s fine." He put his hands up in surrender.


    And somehow, I don''t believe you. "You sure about that? Siegfried?"


    The table beneath his hands shattered, even if his expression didn''t change. He didn''t speak, but looked down at the new mess he created. "....Sorry."


    The story of Achilles is well known. Most of the world is aware that he went to war knowing he would die, but to gain fame that wouldst thousands of years. To deny him his ''name'' so tantly, it was an easy way to rile him up.


    I half suspected that Saber''s Master was aware of his true identity and was doing this on purpose.


    "I won''t tell you not to fight him, he''s clearly strong enough to match a Servant, which is odd in of itself. But, you can''t go into it that angry." Honestly, this makes me feel like the times I was with Medea back when she was just a little girl and I had to scold her every so often. "You''re going to have my back, Achilles, I need you to have a clear head."


    I didn''t want him to mess up my wish was left unsaid.


    "Dramatic Entrance!"


    Both me and Rider snapped our heads towards the door that was mmed open, Caster walking inside.


    I felt a headacheing on.


    "Rider, you should have told me you were the legendary Siegfried, I have many tales to write with such new inspiration!" Caster loudly proimed.


    "I''m gonna kill him." Rider said with a frighteningly calm tone.


    "Haha, such an obvious Death g is merely a misdirection." He slid onto a nearby seat. "I have heard some interesting rumors as ofte. What''s this about a Master who was about to fight evenly with you?" Caster''s grin was a little bit grating even to me. "He sounds like a protagonist in the making."


    "He''s alright for someone form this era." Rider grunted out with a begrudged respect.


    Say what you will about Achilles, but he didn''t even hate Paris for killing him. He wouldn''t hesitate to skewer the foppish prince of Troy, but he would not hate the man even after his death.


    "High praise. High praise indeed." Caster nodded in satisfaction, before turning to an empty corner of the building. "Do you have anything to add, Lancer?"


    My eyes widened slightly, and even Rider seemed surprised as Lancer materialized at the spot Caster was ncing.


    Caster was able to notice before both of us.


    "How did you notice me?" Lancer seemed surprised.


    "My good man, if I couldn''t keep track of all the characters, what kind of master ywright would I be?" Caster arrogantly proimed with an exaggerated arm wave.


    "Lancer....." Rider ignored the Caster servant. "What happened to your arm?"


    I would very much like to know as well, why Lancer was missing his arm from below the elbow.


    Lancer nced down, rubbing the stump with his good hand. "I met a worthy foe." He merely replied.


    "For someone with such a legendary tale, your story telling leaves much to be desired, Karna." Caster let out a winded sigh.


    His name was not unknown to us, and that made it all the more unbelievable. Karna was a monster, to put it inly. I knew I would have no chance against him, and I would be hesitant to give Achilles odds better than a coin flip.


    "No matter." Caster stood up. "I ¨C William Shakespeare shall regale you all with a tale of such ¨C "


    "Who''d you fight?" Rider interrupted him, asking Lancer directly. "I have a hard time believing a Ruler did that to you. Kill you with amand seal or something, I would believe, but to take an arm like that? I don''t buy it for a second."


    "I believe you met them." Lancer closed his eyes, seemingly unperturbed about his missing limb. "My master summoned me back with amand seal."


    "Okay, just ignore me." Caster slumped back down in his seat, taking out a pen and began writing on some parchment.


    "The brat or the woman?" Rider asked.


    "Both." Lancer''s reply was curt. "I attempted to follow my orders, eliminate Ruler. But Saber of ck interfered, and he was sessful in keeping me away, he was someone I had to focus on."


    "Oh? Sounds interesting. Maybe I''ll get a chance to have a go at him as well." Rider clenched his fist in expectation.


    Stupid boys, always looking for a fight.


    "Hmm." Lancer just hummed without giving an answer. "Then Saber of Red appeared, interrupting our fight. She descended upon Saber of ck while her Master fought me. He is a strange person, I couldn''t tell what he truly was."


    "Yeah, thought he was a Demi-God at first, but he doesn''t have any divinity in him. Definitely not fully human, though." Rider acknowledged. "Was he responsible for that light show? Saw the lighting, but I''m pretty sure that fire was yours."


    Lancer nodded but was quiet for a moment, a bit contemtive. "He did something, a power I did not understand."


    "Oh?"


    "It was able to contest my Divine mes....and destroy them."


    "That''s....are you sure?" I spoke up. The fact that a Magus had a means to fight Servants and destroy Lancer''s Divine mes.....what in Hades'' name was he? How can someone like that be unknown to the point where the Grail gave no information, nor do our ''masters'' know anything if their silence was indicative of the situation.


    He didn''t reply to me, but he didn''t need to. Lancer was not the kind of person to make false ims like that. "I will give onest piece of information."


    "You''re in a sharing mood, I feel like there''s a catch." Rider looked at him strangely. "Whatcha want?"


    "His Servant, I will face her." Lancer stated.


    "Oh, want some revenge? I didn''t hear you say the brat took your arm, so I''m guessing it was that Eastern Woman, eh?"


    "Revenge?" Lancer whispered the words to himself. "No. She is merely someone...I cannot coexist with." He shook his head as if convincing himself more than us.


    "I will not seek her out, but I will defend myself." I let out a sigh.


    Rider just grunted as well. "Yeah, yeah. I won''t go fight her on purpose, but if she gets in the way, I''ll take her for myself."


    Lancer didn''t outwardly show it, but I think he was pleased with our replies. "The Master of Saber, I believe he is the more dangerous of the pair."


    Rider snorted. "He was strong, but he wasn''t that strong. That Saber of his packed a punch. Even if his Magecraft is impressive, what can it do to us?"


    Lancer shook his head but chose not argue. "He survived my Noble Phantasm, unscathed." Rider spoke onest time before going back into spirit form.


    "Oi, oi. You can''t just say something like that and bounce, Lancer!" Rider stood up, looking around.


    "Oh, he already left." Caster said offhandedly.


    "One armed ass." Rider mmed back down into his seat with an annoyed grunt. "Sis, what ya think?"


    "Rider, don''t dismiss his words because of your anger." I chastised, but I think it wasn''t needed. Rider would huff and puff, but he wouldn''t take Lancer''s words as hot hair. Maybe his pride wouldn''t allow him to admit it out loud, but Rider would take the fight seriously next time.....or as seriously as he wants to.


    At the very least, he won''t treat the living man as irrelevant.


    "Caster, you know something else." I turned towards the ywright.


    "I know many things, my furrypanion."


    "Do you know how painful it will be to have arrows sticking out between your legs if you call me that again?" I narrowed my eyes.


    "Well, Exit stage left it is." Caster quickly got up, about to leave before Rider put a hand on his shoulder.


    "Such a famous ywright graces us with his presence." Rider smiled innocently. "Why don''t you tell us a story or two?" He visibly pushed the weaker servant back into his seat.


    "Haha, well, I have many things to attend to. I am required to aid Lancer in healing his arm, then I must report ¨C"


    Rider''s eyes darkened. "I insist."


    I think I heard Caster''s shoulder crack, and a small smile found its way onto my face.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    "Take off your shirt." Raikoumanded.


    "Um....moving a bit too fast for me." I sputtered out as her hands were pawing at the edges of the fabric.


    "Mommy needs to see if you''re hurt." She whispered, trying to work the buttons, but stumbling from a almost frantic worry.


    "Raikou." I replied, grabbing her hands, making her pause. "Look." I untucked the shirt, revealing where I had been stabbed. "It''s healing fine, just give it a little time."


    She looked at me, pouting and about on the verge of tears.


    I just....want am I suppose to do in this situation?


    I was doing my best to not have Avalon heal me so I wouldn''t waste Artoria''s stored magical energy to go to waste, so that was takin some effort to maintain. So, my natural healing, amped up by both my heritages, my aura, and my Lightning Form, was visibly working its magic even if the wound was decently deep. It should only take a few minutes at worse.


    "....hug?" I offered.


    She practically threw herself into my arms as I awkwardly pat her back.


    I mean, it''s not like I''m not physical attracted to her...in fact, in any other situation I would definitely be hitting on her. But right now, I was more focused on Sc¨¢thach...


    And there was the fact that she probably wasn''t in her right mind because of the Mad Enhancement. Just the teeniest little inkling that maybe her constantly calling me her ''son'' was not the normal thing to do.


    I felt really bad.


    She answered my summons, so I would try to do right by her. If she wanted a son...I would do my best. After the war, I would see about mitigating or outright removing this ''mental pollution'' and go from there.


    "Raikou, tell me about the Saber you fought?"


    She set up, releasing me. A cute little smile on her face as she pat herp. "Momma wants to spoil her master."


    I shrugged, letting my head rest in herp.


    It was nice.


    "Saber was just a bigger insect than most, master. You don''t have to worry, momma will take care of him next time." I felt her fingers run through my hair.


    "How about....just satisfying my curiosity." I offered an alternative.


    "Hmm....." She looked thoughtful. "I believe he''s either Sigurd or Siegfried. The glowing Dragon Tattoo along with his physical resilience.


    ...well, I''ll just call that karma then.


    Is it because I was making fun of Achilles that this happened?


    I did feel that Dragon yer aura from him.


    [Fight him.]


    You sure?


    [I don''t ask for much, brat. But I want you to fight him, and use me when you do.]


    Alright, I''ll do so when the opportunity presents itself.


    Frankly, part of me wanted to fight him as well.


    "Ruler should be Jeanne D''Arc, the Saint of Orleans." I revealed. Probably not good for me, but at least she won''t do anything to me unless I break the rules. So I have some time before an angry saintes and tries to kill me.


    "Is that so." Raikou replied, almost uncaring. "Insects don''t need a name when you step on them, master."


    Yup, totally normal mindset.


    "Lancer was.....interesting." I survived his Noble Phantasm. I felt good about it, I could take pride in that fact. My Spell, even when I added onto it, held up against his Noble Phantasm.


    My Pride as a Magus was stoked.


    "Master." Berserker''s expression turned dark. "I wish to deal with Lancer."


    "You took off his arm already, which was pretty damn awesome." I gave her a thumbs up. She did look happy at my praise, but it wasn''t like before where she noticeably perked up. "What''s wrong?"


    "I don''t know...this feeling in my chest when I met him, it''s like...he''s someone I can''t bare to look at and I have to crush him."


    Strange....but not much I could do with that for now. "Well, there won''t be any fighting during the day, I''ll take a nap to recoup some Aura and stamina, then....why don''t we hit the town and have a little bit of fun?"


    I''ve already made all the preparations before the battle, not much I could do right now. I''d rather spend some time with Raikou and get to know her better, find out why she''s the one who I summoned out of every Heroic Spirit.


    "Oh! A date!?" Raikou squealed in delight. "I''m excited, I can''t wait." She happily eximed, shifting gears so naturally.


    Well, she''s happy, that''s the important bit I guess.


    ***


    Just a POV from both sides as we keep going forward.


    Anyways, i''m back and ready to go!


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone. We have Mordred stuff, and a new Interlude up over there.

 Chapter 163 - 156

    <h4>Chapter 163: Chapter 156</h4>


    I took slow, methodical breaths. Eyes closed, I focused on my Aura as it pulsed around me, following the rhythmic rising and falling of my chest. I lost track of time, how long I had been sitting here, cross legged on the ground, but I could feel my Aura reserves refilling at a noticeable rate.


    Aura was something that resonated with one''s emotions. It''s why meditation was a powerful means of increasing the rate that your Aura recharged at. Being calm and serene, not allowing any negativity into your ''self''. It meant that your Aura was not impeded, your Soul could flow back out unabated.


    That was the theory anyways, and Jinn had helped me with a few things. Well, I could confidently say this worked, just based on my own practice.


    My Aura reserves were rtively high after doing this for a few hours. That and I had gotten about four hours of sleep, which also helped refill them.


    I didn''t even mean to fall asleep in Raikou''sp.....don''t really regret it either.


    Taking a deeper breath than usually, I ''let go'' of my Aura, allowing it to just flow out naturally.


    I opened my eyes to see Raikou sitting silently to the side, eyes never leaving me. She had so much patience, I don''t think I could sit here for hours on end if I wasn''t doing something. At least with my meditation, I had something to focus on.


    Climbing to my feet, I lightly stretched my arms, and felt the side of my stomach. There was no pain, just a tiny bit of tenderness.


    "Any issues while I was busy?" I turned to look at my Servant.


    Raikou shook her head. "I had not sensed anyone approach." She replied happily.


    "Hmm." I pursed my lips. I had thought this ce would have been found out by now, or at least be under watch. Closing my eyes again, I search the link I had with Sir Wiggles, and he was standing near a pile of dead doves again.


    Ah, that exins it.


    Good job, Sir Wiggles.


    I was about to look away until I noticed something about my Familiar. About his feet.....what? I had to call him back because I was surprised. The rabbit burst through the door with an astonishing speed, faster than he was thest time I had seen him and he hopped right into my arms.


    I lifted him up, to get a better look. "Huh.....I never thought of that." I looked at his feet, they were encased in a sort of lightning armor. In that, the Lightning was so condensed that it looked like apletely solidified form.


    My Rabbit is a genius, why am I even surprised anymore? Though it gave me several new ideas for some spells and such. While I''ve trained with my Lightning Form to get it more or less ''under control'', I had yet to push the boundaries with it, to truly see what I could gain from my new ability.


    "Hey, Raikou." I called out as she hopped to her feet. I barely had time to blink before she was behind my arms wrapped around my chest and chin on my shoulder.


    "Hehe~" She lightly giggled. "Does Master need momma''s help?"


    "Could you show me your lightning?" I asked, ignoring her draping herself over me. I was sorta used to her doing stuff like this by now.


    "Like this?" She asked, holding one of her hands out infront of me, her signature purple lightning invoked, and dancing across her fingers.


    I hesitantly reached out, a single finger touching on it. I wasn''t harmed, I think Raikou was consciously reeling it back from harming me. "Interesting, I can immediately tell how much ''denser'' it is than my lightning." I held my hand out, mimicking her own actions as my lightning also manifested.


    "My son takes after his mom." Raikou cooed.


    I have many more thoughts about this now, things I can do that I hadn''t considered previously.


    Sir Wiggles he, well, wiggled out of my grasp, wanting to go out and y some more. I didn''t have an immediate need for him, so I allowed him his fun.


    Strangely, I think he was bing more intelligent. Maybe awakening his aura jump started something inside him? I would need to consult Jinn when I got back.


    I moved out of Raikou''s grasp and took her hand. "Ready to go shopping?"


    ****


    The town was deceptively peaceful.


    Technically, this ce could be called the territory of the Red Faction, but for the moment, we were pretty much safe. One of the information dumps the Grail gives is a very stringent requirement that the fighting must not take ce during the day.


    Most people are willing to abide by the rule, even without the threat of a Ruler Servant, because no one wants the Counter Forceing down on their heads.


    It may seem like a huge jump to make considering the Counter Force very ¨C very rarely makes any overt action, but the Grail Wars are one of the exceptions. I guess another factor would be the world-lines they preside in. If certain realities are important, the Counter Force has a much firmer grasp on allowances.


    The secretive nature of the magical world is often times referred to as the ''Moonlit World'', and that was more than just a poetic naming convention. It had actual baring on the operation of ''Mystery'' during the night time. Even the Counter Force is more.....asleep, forck of a better word, during the hours the moon is in the sky. During the night, the greater masses are more susceptible to suggestions, to allow themselves to ignore or believe lies and fabrications. Conceptually, it''s when things can be ''hidden'' with greater efficiency.


    Obviously, there would be no way a mountain getting removed would be ignored on a wide scale, yet there was no one talking about it or kicking up a fuss.


    The Grail sat on the Leylines in the area it resided, and a small part of its power went to ensuring the secrecy on arger scale.


    Even the Fuyuki Grail worked simrly, to ensure that people ''believed'' that the destruction was caused by something as inane as ''gas leaks''. Or that massive magical phenomenon was just figments of their imagination, that Artoria didn''t unleash her Noble Phantasm to y an Evil God trying to manifest into the world.


    That was one of the Old Man''s contributions to the Grails creation, and one of the few parts about it I remember vividly.


    But I digress.


    "What about this one?" I nced over to Raikou holding up a sweater to herself, asking my opinion.


    "I like it, Purple really is your best color." I nodded in approval.


    She smiled brightly, hugging the piece of clothing like it was the most precious thing in the world. "So sweet." She began looking through the rack of clothing again.


    I didn''t rush her, allowing her to inspect it, to experience this ''culture'' that she was probably unfamiliar with. "Is there anything else you want to do today?" I asked her. "Since we''re not needing to do anything during the day, I wouldn''t mind doing anything that took your fancy." I did wish to get to know her better.


    "Ufufu, my master is caring about his mother." She giggled to herself. "Though my ce is on the battlefield, I enjoy spending my time leisurely, to spend it here with you, just like this. It is refreshing.....to not be a General, but just a woman."


    "Raikou...."I let out a sigh. "You said you didn''t want a wish from the Grail, but....I''ll do what I can to make sure you''re happy." It was the least I could do.


    "Master~" She looked at my coyly. "Be careful what you say to a Berserker like me, I am a rather possessive woman."


    "When you say things like that, it makes it hard to think of you as a Berserker." Like she''spletely aware of her own Madness yet is still afflicted by it.


    How strange.


    She tilted her head cutely at me. "Please do not forget that I am a demon, Master. It may not be wise to keep me by your side."


    "Did you forget what I am?" I raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn''t trade you for any other Servant, Raikou." If She was willing to fight by my side without a second thought, how could I ever betray that kind of loyalty?


    "Oh dear." She looked flustered. "It''s embarrassing for me to say this.....but I am quite happy to hear that from you."


    "Well, I ¨C" I stopped mid sentence, as Raikou looked to the side and I followed her gaze. "This is a surprise." I greeted the neer that hade into this store we were patronizing. "Hey there, Frenchie." I greeted Ruler.


    Ruler stood there, in what looked like a school uniform, watching both of us intently.


    "Master, allow me to deal with the unwanted bug." Raikou''s expression turned dark.


    "Berserker, no fighting during the day." I called her off. She didn''t argue with me, but still gave Ruler the stink eye. "What do you want?" I addressed the Saintess.


    She looked a little embarrassed. "I sensed a Servant nearby¡ª"


    "And you were checking to make sure we weren''t breaking any rules." I finished. "Yeah, I guess I can see that. I can bet the other Servants are holding up and preparing for the battle that will inevitably take ce tonight, so we probably seemed really out of ce just spending some time in the middle of the town."


    "I....apologize for interrupting."


    "Hmph" Raikou just huffed in annoyance.


    "Quick question....why are you in a school uniform?" I was honestly kind of curious.


    "Oh, um....it''s nothing." She said awkwardly.


    "If it''s your fetish, just say so."


    "W-what!?" She squeaked out.


    "I thought Japanese school uniforms were revealing, but those are practically booty shorts." I admired the view. "They really do disy your legs quite well."


    "Eeeeh!?" She turned bright red, like she was unsure of how to react to my words.


    Don''t know why, but I continued to feel like I had to bully her.


    I guess it was lucky we hypnotized the store owner into taking a long break while we shopped in peace.


    "Master likes legs?" Raikou bit her finger, muttering to herself. "I will find some better clothing."


    Well, I wouldn''t talk her out of that course of action....


    "I-I didn''t wear this willingly!" Ruler managed to get out, her face still a bright red.


    "Hmm, curious." I took another look at her, a true look as I analyzed her properly. "Were you even properly summoned?"


    She stepped back. "How did you know?" Ruler said in shock.


    "It was a guess, but you confirmed it." Actually, it was simr to how Artoria was summoned. "How did it happen?"


    "You tricked me." She frowned, before letting out a sigh. "I don''t know, I wasn''t properly summoned by the Grail, so I had to find a vessel." She looked at her hands. "This ¨C person, was the best suited for me." I guess she wanted to keep the name of her ''body'' a secret. It made sense, I know plenty of Mages who would want to dissect her after the war. "But!" She quickly added. "Nothing will happen, she''ll wake up after the war is over with nothing wrong, and even a little gift when everything is done."


    "Huh." I rubbed my chin. "The Grail will be guaranteeing her safety, and probably do the equivalent of giving her some ''good luck'' aspensation, neat." Again, there were very few in existence that had more knowledge about the workings of the Grail than I did. "But why a school girl outfit?"


    "I....lost my luggage when Lancer attacked." Her shoulders slumped.


    ...Now I just feel bad. "Fine, pick out some stuff." I sighed, waiving around. "I''ll cover the costs, penniless saint."


    My Devil ancestors must be rolling in their graves....


    "R-really?" She perked up, looking at me strangely. "I can''t show you favoritism during the War, even if you help me."


    "Do I look like someone who needs your favoritism?" I asked.


    "I guess not." She seemed to ept. "I did not think a Master could fight a Servant like you did." She spoke a little quietly. "Even if you used me as a shield."


    "If it''s any constion, you make a wonderful meat shield."


    "It isn''t." There was a small twitch above her eye, I noticed it before. I think it was a visible indication of her hiding her annoyance.


    Well, I had plenty of time to verify it~


    "Master, how do I look!?" Raikou stepped out of a changing room, I hadn''t even noticed she went in. My eyes practically popped out of my head, she was wearing some very short shorts that disyed her magnificent legs for the world to see.


    Nice.


    Today was turning out to be a good day.


    ***


    I do n on exining the link between Raikou and Karna as it came up properly, I wasn''t going to just assume everyone knew it.


    IF you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.


    We have a discord,e bother me, asking questions or just hang out. -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 164 - 157

    <h4>Chapter 164: Chapter 157</h4>


    "Here, order anything you want." I gestured towards a menu sitting infront of Ruler.


    We did a little bit of shopping, and she picked out a couple things she found more ''appropriate'' for herself to wear. It was probably a bit of a culture shock, to see the variety of things avable in this era she could wear.


    Fun fact, Romania has its own currency, and this ce does not take either American dors or English Pounds.


    May or may not have technically stolen the clothes.....then robbed the store for some loose cash.


    I did leave quite a bit of gold behind as an apology though. I think that that lets me off the moral hook.


    Honestly, I feel like its one of those things I overlooked because I was focusing on the bigger picture.


    I tend to do that a lot.


    The restaurant we were in wasn''t toorge, but I wasn''t particrly picky right now. I could easily grab something out of my Ring and tied myself over, but I was curious about this Ruler Servant. How many times in the future will I be able to sit down and calmly talk to a Saint as a Devil?


    Raikou was behaving herself.....rtively speaking. She no longer was looking at Ruler like she was about to strangle a puppy. I had somehow convinced her I was just trying to get some information out of the Ruler Servant, and I had no other intentions.


    I was not oblivious to the red gs that Raikou had been smacking me in the face with. But there was not much I could do about it for the moment. Once I get the Grail sorted, I should be able to help her with her Mad Enhancement.


    "So many strange dishes, Master, help me decide." Raikou pouted, trying to make sure she kept my attention focused solely on her.


    "I can''t say I''m knowledgeable about the cuisine here." I looked it over. I was not hiding the fact that I was a glutton, so I didn''t mind just splurging. "Lets just try all the big stuff."


    "I''ll feed master." Raikou muttered to herself. "Fufu~"


    Well, if it makes her happy.


    "What do you want, Ruler?"


    "Oh um..." She fidgeted with the menu in front of her. "I''m not really hungry, and I don''t need it..."


    "You''re in an actual body, even if there won''t be any physical repercussions if you forgo eating, you''ll still feel hunger pains." Based on what Artoria told me. Apparently, that was an eye-opening revtion, because there were points where she and Rin were in particrly bad situations, and she went without eating for days on end.


    "No, really. It''s okay, you don''t have to." She politely declined.


    "If you tell me no, I''m not going to push it. But if ites from some weird ce like thinking I''ll expect good will in the future or that I might harm you..." I trailed off, not feeling like I needed to finish that sentence.


    "It''s not that..." She said quietly.


    "Something wrong?"


    "Erm, I..." She awkwardly held the menu in her hands. "Idontknowhowtoread."


    "Pardon?" I blinked at her in confusion.


    "I Can''t read...." She said quietly.


    "But....the Grail should have downloaded the information into your head, not to mention servants have the ability to parse everynguage in the world due to this. Was it a side effect of you not having a proper vessel?" I rubbed my chin. "Perhaps there are other side effects as well." I was lost in thought for a moment. "Wait, you spoke to someone here not too long ago, how were you able to do that if the Grail didn''t give you the knowledge?"


    She turned a little red, a bit embarrassed seemingly and it just made me more confused. "I can understand thenguages fine."


    "Then what are you ¨C" I paused, her meaning finally sinking in. "Pfft." I held back a snort ofughter.


    "It''s not funny!"


    "You''re right, you''re right." I held my hands up. "...It''s hrious." I couldn''t help but burst outughing at the absurdity of the whole thing. "A Heroic Spirit who ascended after their death from worship through the ages, someone written down in the annals of history.....is illiterate because her Legend depicts her as a peasant girl."


    She turned bright red, and her eye was twitching something fierce. "I never had the chance to learn."


    "Too busy fighting wars. Big G didn''t think it a good idea to give you the ability to read and write with your revtions?"


    "B-big G?" She squeaked out. "How could you call the Lord something like that!?"


    "What''s wrong with Big G?"


    "It''s sphemous." She huffed.


    "Says who?"


    "What do you mean, who?"


    "Who says that calling him Big G is sphemous?"


    "Well..." She didn''t appear to know the answer.


    "We can always consult the Bible, just tell me which passage to seek out." The corners of my lips curled up.


    Hah.....couldn''t help it.


    Her eye twitched again, and for some reason, I couldn''t help but enjoy her reaction. I looked over to Raikou, who didn''t even want to acknowledge Ruler if she didn''t have to.


    "I''ll just order a bunch of stuff for all of us." I stated, earning a sigh of relief from Ruler


    ***


    "Master~ Say ''ahh'' " Raikou held a fork up to me as I took a bite.


    "It''s good." I happily replied, earning a bright smile from my Servant. "What about you, Frenchie?"


    "My name isn''t ''Frenchie''" she grumbled taking a bite. "But it is delicious, thank you."


    "Well, I can''t just start calling your real name in public if you want." I chuckled, only to stop in realization. "Huh, I never did properly introduce myself, did I?"


    "I wanted to ask you a question.....but I didn''t know what to call you." She said awkwardly.


    "Hmm." I hummed to myself for a moment. "I''ll obviously keep my family name a secret for the moment, feel free to call me Wilhelm." I introduced.


    I did have a bit of pride in my name, but I was fine to keep it hidden for now.


    "Wilhelm." She spoke with a small smile. "I cannot reveal my True Name as the administrator of the ¨C"


    "Even if you made it rather obvious?"


    Her eye twitched again. "It''s a secret I must keep."


    "Okay, Saintess."


    Eye twitch.


    "Please call me Ruler."


    "Whatever you want, Jeanne."


    Ruler let out a long sigh. "I''ve been curious...." She looked like she wanted to change the subject. "What is your wish for the Grail?" She looked at me intently.


    "Curious? Why would you be curious about my wish?" I waived my hand flippantly. "Shouldn''t you expect me to say something like ''seeking the Root'' as a proper Magus?"


    "Maybe." She pursed her lips. "But you don''t seem to act like how I would expect." She admitted. "My dealings with both sides so far have been...."


    "stressful?" I offered with a chuckle.


    "That is one way to say it." She let out a sigh.


    "Let me guess. Lancer of Red tries to kill you for some reason, Saber of ckes to your rescue and his Master tries to recruit you?"


    "I am impartial, I will not reveal any information to other participants in this war." She said firmly, not acknowledging what I said as either right or wrong.


    But I could read in between the lines here.


    She continued. "You have been.... generous in providing me aid and haven''t sought anything in return. I was merely curious about what you wished to achieve if you gained the Grail."


    "What if I wanted to drown the world in death?" I just thought of the most edgy thing I could think of off the top of my head to see her reaction.


    "I have a duty to be impartial, your wish has no bearing on how I will act unless I''m forced to by the World." She said without hesitation. "But my instinct is telling me you do not wish for such a thing."


    "Instinct, huh? Is that another way of saying that you''re being pinged by Heaven''s system ¨C Revtions as they''re called?"


    "Heaven''s System?" She tilted her head in confusion.


    "Different vernacr I suppose. The means by which followers of the Church can ess the ''power'' of the Heavens. There are rules and requirements, what else to call it but a system?"


    "Oh." She seemed to understand, but otherwise wasn''t offended. "Is that how a Magus understands the Lord''s blessings?"


    I just shrugged. "I can understand it on a theological level, I''m just...ipatible with the teachings."


    "Hmm." She looked at me strangely. "You never answered my question, what is it you wish for?"


    "Hah. I didn''t think you''d notice." I tapped my finger on the table, and for the first time in this conversation, Raikou started to pay attention. Well, she was paying attention to my answer. "I''m a very selfish man. Someone I cared about is gone and I want to bring her back."


    "Someone you cared about?" Ruler''s eyes lit up.


    "Someone you care about?" Raikou mimicked her words, and her expression turned a bit dark.


    "I misjudged you, Wilhelm." Ruler''s eyes brightened. "You are fighting for love!" She proudly dered, briefly ncing to the increasingly annoyed Berserker.


    "W-what?" I sputtered out.


    "How romantic." She eximed, reaching over and cupping my hands. "I can''t help you, Wilhelm. But I will silently support you." She smiled brightly. "To fight for such a pure reason, to willingly fight against Servants out of love."


    There was a crumpling sound next to me where Berserker crushed part of the table in her hand. "Master." Raikou''s smile betrayed the killing intent around her.


    I turned back to look at Ruler. "You''re doing this on purpose."


    "I have no idea what you speak of." Ruler gave a very innocent smile. "As you know, us French are very enamored with such beautiful love stories."


    Did she just....?


    [Are Saints allowed to do that?]


    I have no idea.


    [I like her.]


    "Well yed, Ruler, well yed." I would give her this one, even if the look Raikou was giving sent made shivers go down my spine.


    She must have noticed my Berserker''s affliction since she could see Raikou''s ss and skills.


    "Don''t mind me, I''m just speaking from my heart."


    I couldn''t help butugh. "I wish all Saints were like you." I shook my head at the absurdity of this whole thing. To poke at me using only truthful words, well done. I reached over and pat Raikou on the head, soothing the seething look she was giving me. "Well, you asked me a question, I have one for you too, Ruler."


    "I don''t mind answering as long as no rules are broken." She said with all honesty.


    "Would you despise me if I turned out to be the anti-thesis to your beliefs?" I was honestly curious to know her answer.


    Saint Jeanne D''Arc.


    She was someone who would not lie.


    "Anti-thesis?" She seemed confused.


    "Hmm, lets say it turned out I was a Demon, but nothing else changed. Would you think differently of me?"


    "If you were a Demon?" She seemed surprised by my question. "I don''t see how that would change anything." She looked down at the table. "Humans and Demons are just words, I don''t believe there is any need to differentiate between them. I bear no ill will towards such descriptions and I try to be kind to all."


    "You are a strange woman." Raikou was the one who spoke up. She red at Ruler, as if measuring her. "I strangely do not wish to crush this insect for the moment."


    Huh.


    "I hope we don''t be enemies, Ruler." I stood up from my seat, looking out the window. The Sun was starting to get a bit low.


    "I pray for your sess, Wilhelm." Ruler said with sincerity.


    ***


    "Hey Raikou." I nced at Berserker who was walking at my side.


    "Yes, Master?" She smiled at me.


    "Thanks for answering my summons." I wanted her to know I did appreciate her. She seemed upset about earlier, I at least wanted to sooth her annoyance a little bit.


    "Master~" Raikou quickly wrapped me up in a tight hug.


    Yeah, I was happy it was Raikou who answered my summons. "You ready for what''s toe?" I asked her, as the night approached.


    "Have you devised a n?" She asked.


    "Yes, we need to find where the Grail is specifically held within the Yggdmillennia Castle. I don''t have confidence in infiltrating somewhere so heavily defended without getting discovered." If I simply knew the location, I could pop in and grab it. The only issue thates after is carefully severing all the little bits that are anchored into the local Leylines. Which would take time, and I doubt I would be left alone while doing so. To not do so would be like pulling an engine out of a car with my bare hands. Things were bound to break in the process.


    I really meant it when I said I hope Ruler doesn''t be my enemy, but I feared it may be inevitable


    "No n survives contact with the enemy and all that. But, we need to see how both sides move and go from there. If there is a wide-scale battle, that''s in our best interest. But we can make do with some small shes as well."


    "Are we going to prepare for theing battle?" She asked.


    "I doubt things will immediately escte once the sun fully sets, so we probably have a little more time." I shook my head. "There was one thing I wanted to check out. Sir Wiggles found an abundance of Magical Energy at a nearby cemetery. Based on what he transferred through our link, a Servant summoning might have taken ce there."


    Raikou''s lips thinned. "You believe a Servant is still there along with their Master?"


    "Worth checking out, may also find a clue or two on any Servants we hadn''t seen before. That priest was the only Master of the Red faction we''ve seen so far, and he doesn''t seem like the type to do the summoning in a graveyard. Nor do any of the servants revealed appear to have benefited from such a summons, so I''m guessing we have an unknown here."


    "If there is only one Servant, then you will not need to fight, Master." Raikou stated, and the look on her face left no room for argument.


    I held my hands up in surrender. "If there''s only one servant, I won''t throw myself at them and support you from behind."


    ***


    Omake -- The horrors of the Kaleidoscope.


    Artoria POV


    "There, there, it''s okay." I ran my hand through Wilhelm''s, hair as heid his head on myp. Any other time, I may have enjoyed the intimate exchange, but he was being rather unresponsive.


    "I''ll never sleep again." He cried out.


    I do not know what he saw, but it left him like this and I could do nothing but try and sooth him. He walked out of Zelretch''s office and immediately nted his face into my thigh.


    "Yo, what''s up with Schweinorg?" Rin walked into the room.


    "I do not know, he apparently had witnessed something quite severe to be left like this." It was honestly a bit concerning. Mayhaps I would need to take drastic measures to cheer him up, Jinn taught me a few things I feltfortable doing.


    "Oh, stop being a baby." Rin scoffed. "What even happened?"


    Wilhelm raised his hand up towards Zelretch''s office. "Another Zelretch dropped in to visit."


    "Wait, the Old Man has another version of himself from a parallel world, here? How!? I thought that was impossible." She looked utterly baffled.


    I did not know much about their Magic, but such a thing sounded impressive to me.


    "Hard, not impossible." Wilhelm mumbled into my thigh.....of which he then squeezed, making me shake my head. I guess it wasn''t as bad as I assumed if he was still willing to touch me like so.


    "Oh, I gotta see this." Rin perked up.


    "Don''t go!" Wilhelm shot his head up, staring at my Master.


    "You''re being so dramatic." Rin rolled her eyes. "Seriously, what''s so bad about another Zelretch?"


    Wilhelm huddled himself into a ball. "The horror." He muttered.


    "Yeah, okay." Rin said dryly. "Going to ignore that." She began walking towards his office, and open the door without hesitation. "Hey, Old Man, heard there was another ''you'' around, wanted to see." She said inly.


    "Ara Ara~" A VERY feminine voice answered back. "If it isn''t Rin-Chan." I couldn''t help but pause and stare at Rin''s back. The angle meant I couldn''t see, but a shudder went down my spine. "You can call me Zelretch-chan while I''m here." Her giggle reaching even my ears.


    Rin, very wisely, closed the door and turned around, walking back to us. she didn''t speak, but the nk look on her face said everything as she got on my other side and also curled up into a ball, resting her head on my other thigh.


    "There there." I pat her head, same as my boyfriends.


    "The horror." She whispered.


    ***


    Small omake that popped into my head from chatting in discord.


    So, guess which knight makes an appearance! And Jeanne being snarky without being snarky.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 165 - 158

    <h4>Chapter 165: Chapter 158</h4>


    "Well, isn''t this just lovely?" Almost immediately as I walked into the Cemetery, I triggered the Bounded Fields around the ce. They weren''t... entirely defensive in nature, at least not to another Magus. They were mainly used to keep away the mundane people.


    An illusion formed rather quickly, noticeably darkening the entire area. then a fog rolled in, sparsely covering the ground.


    Raikou was in spirit form, walking close to me, and Sir Wiggles was running around just outside the graveyard.


    I looked around, noticing many odd and hidden things. The creator of this little trap was quite ingenious. At first, I thought the outer defenses were made to scare away mundane people, but the more I walked, I realized this was just anotheryer of the trap.


    {Master, we''ve been walking in circles.} Raikou called out in my mind.


    {I know, don''t worry about it.} I replied, as I continued my steady pace.


    Several illusionsyered on top of each other. It wasn''t particrly hard to discover, even an average Magus would realize what was going on after a little time. A genius though, one of the higher ups of a long lineage? They would notice quickly, and what would someone with such an arrogant attitude and inted ego think about such an idiotic little ''trap''?


    Either have their Servant destroy it or do it themselves.


    I mentally chuckled, looking through Sir Wiggle''s eyes to see Spell Circles carved on many tombstones that were facing away from the path. If the Bounded Fields were disrupted, I was almost certain they would go off.


    "Cause it''s a Thriller." I hummed, continuing my pace without a care. "Really sets the ambience." I nced to the left, at what should have been an empty space distorted.


    There was a man now standing there, leaning against a tombstone, wearing ck leather and smoking a cigarette. "Not many people appreciate the effort." He chuckled. "What gave me away?"


    Kind of hoped for some dancing zombies.


    I wasn''t taken by hisckadaisical attitude; he was clearly still on guard. I could imagine his Servant was nearby as well. "There was only one spot without any traps, wasn''t too hard to figure out." I shrugged.


    "Hoh, you were able to see through everything then?" He took a drag of his cigarette. "You''re pretty talented then, huh?" He flicked his cigarette on the ground before stepping on it. "Here''s a question, howe I''ve never seen your face before?"


    "Have you tried not wearing sunsses at night?" I asked, surprisingly he didn''t make it look douchey.


    He just startedughing. "Alright, you aren''t as bad as those stuffy brats from the Association." He noticeably looked down at my hand with themand seals. "So, what''re you doing here?"


    "Oh well, you know. It was a lovely night, I thought ''why not go for a walk in the local cemetery''?"


    "Wouldn''t be the weirdest thing I''ve heard from another Magus."


    I let out a sigh. "Me too, unfortunately. So, I''m guessing you''re a Master of Red?"


    "Maybe I am, maybe I''m not." He crossed his arms, but I noticed his fingers almost instinctively edged towards the Sawed-off Shotgun at his hip.


    "I''m guessing you haven''t reached out to the others then, considering you''re still up and about." He was silent, staring at me from behind his sunss what I was starting to assume were a Mystic Code. "Ohe one, work with me here." I flung my arms up. "I walked right into your seat of power, at least give me the courtesy. It''s not like you showed yourself to stroke your own ego. You want some information, I want some information."


    "If it''s that simple, why don''t I just force you to give me answers then?" He cocked his head.


    I let out a long sigh. "Really, you want to keep doing this song and dance?" I held out my finger, pointing to a tombstone in the distance and fired off a lightning bolt, shattering it and the illusion around us flickered before itpletely dissipated.


    Though, this man didn''t look perturbed in the slightest, it didn''t even register on his face. "So, you found the anchor, you want a medal?"


    I looked at him again, before pursing my lips. "You''re doing this on purpose to get a reaction out of me." I grumbled. "Well, I can''t fault you. How many Magi are just bat shit insane and hide it behind a thin veil of civility."


    "Hmph." He didn''tment one way or the other. Atleast this man wasn''t throwing red gs like that priest was. "Alright, I''ll hear you out¡ª"


    "Finally."


    "¡ªBut I want to hear about what you said of the other Red members first."


    "That''s fair, I suppose. I was the one who came to you." I just nodded. "Well, I approached a Priest at the Church in the city, his name was Shirou Kotomine." I spoke, watching for a reaction.


    "That name is familiar, but I can''t ce it." He grunted. "Go on."


    "He seemed quite insist on getting me under his thumb and wasn''t slow to ''remove me'' when I wasn''t being cooperative. Fought with Archer and Rider, and one more Servant I couldn''t identify made an appearance, and the Priest was calling the shots."


    He didn''t respond again, opting to reach into his pocket and take out another cigarette. "Well, shit." He ran a hand through his hair. "Guess it was a good thing we held off on reaching out. Something felt off when I got a message from my supposed ''ally'' that was going to meet me here."


    "I''m surprised you believe me."


    "I''d like to think I''m good at reading people. Not that I''m not going to confirm things myself,ter." He shrugged. "So what you want, an alliance?"


    "I wouldn''t be against it."


    "And how do you expect to split the wish at the end, or are you going to give me some trite like ''we won''t fight until only we''re left and settle it then''? Cause that''s just asking for a back stab." He snorted.


    "That depends, what''s your wish, maybe I can grant it without the Grail?" I offered.


    "Don''t recognize you, so I doubt it. Unless you''re some hidden super child of some renown family."


    "You never know." I grinned.


    "I guess I got nothin to lose. I want what most Magus families want, Prosperity for my family." He said almostzily.


    "I could make sure your family is supported and has ample resources without them being attacked for several generals." I offered.


    "Yeah right, pull the other one, brat." He snorted. "But an alliance isn''t a bad idea." He looked to the side and his Servant Materialized. "But you see, my Saber over here thinks we can take on everyone ourselves." At his words, the Servant mmed their sword into the ground.


    The Servant wore full bodied armor, silver with red decorations. A Regal Silver sword in their hand,and their helmet had horns protruding from the side that made them appear a bit more intimidating.


    "Oh, shorty over there thinks they can solo all the other Servants?" I pointed towards the Saber servant.


    "Shorty!?" The Servant spoke for the first time, something garbled their voice that made it impossible to identify their gender. "You wanna say that to my face you limey bean pole?"


    "Take off your helmet and I will." I smirked.


    "Saber." The Master spoke up, calming his servant down.


    "Tsk." The Saber servant clicked their tongue in annoyance but didn''t argue.


    "Well you seem so confident, I''ll just leave then, let you get on with your business" I threw my arms up in ''defeat''. "Though, one quick question. How are you going to deal with Rider''s invincibility to anyone not possessing Divinity?"


    He was obviously being difficult to eek out an advantage in this ''alliance'' I came here to maybe establish. To ''show'' that we needed him more than he needed us. It was also a way to get a clue to his servant''s identity.


    "God dammit." The Master grunted, face palming. "Seriously?"


    "Yup." I nodded. "Achilles." A little bit of good will, and it would hurt that priest''s ns in the long run if I revealed his identity.


    "Fuck."


    "Alright, you ready to talk for real?" I offered. His weakness was obvious, the body part was even named after him. But that didn''t really diminish him much in my eyes, the Servant was obscenely fast and very skilled. Once you started aiming for his heel, he would know right away and be able to counter.


    "Survived two Servants and one of them was Achilles, your Servant must be pretty damn strong then." His hinting was obvious.


    "Well, you showed me yours, I''ll show you mine." I gestured for Raikou toe out as she appeared right next to me. "Meet Saber." I Introduced.


    "You fucking what?" The ''real'' Saber blurted out. As their master just raised an eyebrow.


    "Insects shouldn''t speak unless they want to be stepped upon." Raikou looked at Saber darkly.


    "Bitch, you wanna go!?" The Saber Servant grabbed their sword, pointing it at Raikou.


    "Saber." Their Master sighed, cing a hand on their armor before looking at me again. "I''m sure I have the only Saber Servant for the Red faction."


    "Really? Let''spare the two. My Saber is so refined, elegant, beautiful. She carries herself with such tact and regality, while yours just struts around like a brute. Clearly you must have summoned Berserker."


    Want to jerk me around in a conversation? Turnabout is fair y.


    "Master." Raikou turned red, smiling happily.


    I think I heard Saber growl from this far enough, and surprisingly, Red Lightning began to crackle around them.


    "See? Getting mad at some little words." I gestured towards the Servant


    Saber''s master face palmed.


    Hehe.


    "Hmph." Saber reined herself in, the Lightning dissipating and sword returning to the ground. "I''m the Greatest Knight, I won''t be goaded by some two-bit mboyant spellcaster."


    I ignored her attempts at insults. "Greatest knight, huh? Should I call you Lancelot then?" I hazarded a guess, but I didn''t find it likely.


    The Armor around her helmet shifted and churned. It adjusted itself as the Helmet moved away from her face, revealing what was underneath. "What part of me looks like that disloyal, phndering, adultering bastard!?" She suddenly shouted.


    "Artoria?" I suddenly blurted out as I saw her face for the first time, ignoring her outburst.


    Her head snapped at me, eyes meeting mine. "The fuck did you just call me?"


    ***


    A wild Mordred appears.


    Just a heads up, I may not be able to write tomorrow, been having work issues all weak and there''s a good chance i''ll be working veryte Saturday.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my  / astoryforone


    We have a discord -- ZKxjpPP7

 Chapter 166 - 159

    <h4>Chapter 166: Chapter 159</h4>


    "Well, you bastard!?" Saber raised her voice. "Where the hell did you hear that name?" The venom was practically leaking from her mouth.


    Well...fuck.


    Guess I know who she is....


    Mordred Pendragon, the Knight of Treachery.


    And I have absolutely no idea on how to treat her. Artoria had been.....evasive on her feelings towards Mordred, but I at least think she doesn''t hold an absolute hatred for the younger knight.


    "No idea what you''re talking about." I nced at Saber''s master who remained silent and had made no move to interrupt us. Well, I can''t fault him. It was probably the wisest decision to get information, to let Mordred ''rampage'' a little bit.


    "Bullshit!" She jabbed her finger at me. "You called me that name after seeing my face!" She growled.


    I let out a sigh. "You''re surprisingly perceptive."


    "Perceptive my ass, anyone would have noticed something so obvious." She scowled.


    "That''s why I called it ''surprising."


    "That''s it!" Her gauntlet-d hand crackled with Red Lightning.


    "Really? One of Artoria''s knights is acting like amon thug?" I crossed my arms, staring at her.


    That actually made her stop, but her hands clenched tight and her furious expression didn''t change. "You do know." She spat out. "How do you know about father!? The number of people who knew his true name could be counted on one hand!"


    "Actually, I''m surprised you knew. But I guess Morgan would have told you." I shrugged.


    "Don''t speak that witches name near me." Mordred angry words reverberated in air along with a manifestation of Red Lightning around her.


    Well, don''t touch the Morgan button, got it. "That''s fair, I''ve heard quite a few unkind things about her."


    "Stop spouting bullshit and tell me the truth." She stomped on the ground, cracking the area.


    Raikou made a move, but I held my hand up stopping her. I let out a long sigh, and ran a hand through my hair. Was there a reason not to be truthful? It''s not like this information coulde back to bite me. "Fine, what do you want to know?"


    "Where''s father, how do you know him!?"


    "At my house, and we''re in a rtionship." I said bluntly.


    She blinked, I guess she didn''t expect me to be so forting. "W-what?" She blurted out.


    "She''s at my house." I stated. Which was....technically true.


    "No! The other part, the fuck did you just say?"


    "We''re in a rtionship." I said dryly. "She''s my girlfriend."


    "..."


    "....."


    "Die." She said simply, raising her sword towards me.


    I closed my eyes and sighed, the swinging of her de was caught by Raikou. "Fuck off you cow!" Mordred roared, bursting with lightning.


    "The insects sure or noisy tonight." Raikou smiled innocently towards the knight, as she too crackled with her own purple lightning, overpowering Mordred. With an explosive burst of power, I saw Mordred shoot off into the distance.


    {Don''t kill her.} I sent towards Raikou over our mental link.


    {But Master, it''s hard to not crush such annoying bugs.} Her cheerful voice really did contrast the killing intent that was wafting off her, and I don''t think it entirely had to do with Mordred.


    I should do something nice for herter. Neither of us can help her odd state of mind. {Please?}


    {...I will ensure I do not kill her.} It sounded a bit strained, but I figured that was the best I would get. And I did promise not to fight for now.


    I had a thought though. {That''s Mordred Pendragon. She never had a proper mother.}


    Raikou didn''t respond, but I think I touched a soft spot for her. Atleast, I don''t think she would intentionally do anything to Mordred.


    "Well, that escted." I turned towards Mordred''s Master.


    "I wonder how long it''ll take Saber to realize the holes in what you said?" The older man mused, not upset at the turn of events apparently.


    "Eh, probably just needs to get this out of her system." I shrugged. "Funnily enough, I don''t think she would have actually swung at me if my Servant wasn''t there to stop her."


    The man grunted. "So.....King Arthur?" He raised an eyebrow over his sunsses.


    "What?"


    "Nothing."


    "Is it really that hard to believe? You got a female Mordred running around." I gestured to the fighting happening a little ways away.


    "Nice try, you big cow-tit bimbo!" Mordred''s jeering could be heard quite clearly.


    "Ah, is the child envious of a real woman?" Raikou countered.


    "RAAAH!"


    I turned away, focusing back on Saber''s Master.


    "True." He nodded, seemingly epting that. "I hope my Bounded Fieldsst long enough for them to finish, otherwise we may need to move."


    "Maybe, maybe not. Things might get a bit more exciting in a bit, this is the first true night of the War." I looked up at the sky, the stars shining bright this far away fromrge concentrations of civilization.


    "I guess you''re not as na?ve as I thought." He grunted again. "Never did get your name."


    "It''s polite to introduce yourself first." I pointed out.


    "Kairi Sisigou." He replied.


    "Oh, I have heard of you, just never had the chance to put a face to the name." I rubbed my chin. "A very practical mercenary, very highpletion rate for assignments. I remember something vague about your family being cursed?"


    He snorted. "Your name?"


    I took a jar of Sake out of my ring, along with two cups. "Want a drink?" I offered.


    He raised an eyebrow. "Trying to hide your family?"


    "Haha, not really in the way you think." I scratched my head. "I have no fear of retaliation nor anything like that. But I don''t think you''ll like what I have to say."


    "I''ve worked with the worse sorts, the arrogant brats of the noble families all the way to the lowest scum that like to use children as materials." He flicked his unused cigarette to the side. "And all the Church Executors in-between, there really isn''t any ¨C "


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I cut him off.


    He stopped, processing that little bit of information. He opened his mouth, but I spoke again.


    "Yes, ''that'' Schweinorg."


    His jaw snapped shut, palm quickly connecting to his face. "Fuck me." He groaned before regaining hisposure. "Yeah, I''d like that drink, please." Just like that, he walked over, and plopped himself onto the ground, seemingly uncaring about keeping his guard up.


    I shrugged sitting down with him and poured us drinks.


    "Sake, huh? Haven''t had any good Sake in a few years since I did a job back in Japan." He downed it in one go, letting out a breath. "Oh yeah, that''s some high quality stuff."


    "Genuine Youkai make." I mimicked his actions, drinking from my cup.


    "Of course It is." He didn''t'' question it. "So.....you''re rted to the Kaleidoscope?"


    "Grandson." I responded. "Also a Magician if you''re wondering."


    "Well I expected nothing else with my luck." He rubbed his temples. "I did not ask for enough to do this job."


    "You''re being surprisingly casual."


    "I''m not from a big and noble family that can ignore someone dropping the Kaleidoscope''s name." He gave me a look. "Nor am I stupid enough to cross his apparent Grandson."


    "My offer from before still stands."


    "The one about prosperity for my family? Well....that seems a lot more probable now." He admitted. "But Saber isn''t going to relent, regardless of who you''re rted to."


    "Yeah, I figured. Well, I may have a way to change her mind depending on her wish, so who knows. Did she happen to tell you...?"


    "Even if she did...."


    "Yeah, yeah. Realized as soon as I said it that it was inappropriate to ask like that." It could be something really personal, so it would be rude to go around her back to ask.


    "So....King Arthur?" He quirked a smile.


    "Different World-line, different Grail War. She and her Master won. Her Master is Grandfather''s student, so we met like that. I liked her so I asked her out on a date, and the rest is history."


    "Huh. Sounds more boring than I expected."


    With a shout, Mordred came sliding in towards us, the ground bursting at her steps. "Master! What''s the big idea? I had her!"


    "You called her back?" I raised an eyebrow towards Kairi.


    "That''s enough, Saber. I''m formally epting an alliance." He stated.


    "Master." Raikou also appeared right beside me. "I have fulfilled yourmand at great effort, the insect still remains after receiving my de."


    "And this bitch keeps going!" Mordred looked ready for round two.


    "Alright, lets calm down." I stood up, getting between them.


    "Fuck off you dandy boy! Don''t think I forgot what you said about my Father, like he''d ever look at someone like you!" Mordred angrily shouted, even if her presence sort of dimmed, receding with her intent to fight. "If I hear some crap about you and Father again, I''ll take your head myself." She scoffed.


    "For someone who ended their ''father''s life, you seem really protective of her." Was kind of cute if I were being honest.


    "Fuck you. Father is perfect, you don''t deserve to even say his name." She scowled. "If he was here right now, I would fight him and im my right."


    My lips curled up, and I ignored her outburst. ".....You can call me daddy if you want."


    "I''LL KILL YOU!"


    Kairi grabbed Saber as she iled around angrily.


    "You''re just like that flowery bastard!" Mordred continued. "Saying a bunch of bullshit just to annoy people for a jest. I''m not buying it."


    I took out my phone, pressing on it a few times before holding it up to Mordred.


    "W-what is that?" Her eyes widened.


    It was a simple picture of Artoria. I slid my finger across the screen, changing to a new picture. She hesitantly reached out for it, and I let her take it from my hands as she continued to move through the pictures herself.


    "Father looks...happy." She whispered.


    ***


    Non-canon Omake, I can stop whenever I want, the Harem is never too big.


    "Um, what''s going on here?" I walked in the room, and everyone stopped chatting, immediately staring at me.


    "Wilhelm." Artoria stood up, grabbing my attention. "We need to have a talk."


    "Those words are never good."


    "This is an intervention." She rified.


    "Intervention for what? I''m not addicted to drugs, nor am I an Alcoholic." Admittedly, I do drink a lot, but it isn''t a huge aspect that warps my life or anything.


    "Will." She said dryly. "Look around the room, if you can''t see what''s wrong, then that just exuberates the issue."


    "I see nothing wrong." I crossed my arms. "Just a bunch of my girls all in one ce, what''s the issue?"


    Artoria let out a long sigh. "Then give a role call."


    I rolled my eyes, but yed along. "Artoria." I pointed towards her. Then turned to look at the others. "Artoria Alter." Her Alter version gave me a nod, but she too looked a bit pensive. "Artoria Lancer." Her grown up version gave me a beautiful smile, as always. "Artoria Lancer Alter." How she continues to give me such a sultry look even when not trying, I don''t understand. "Goddess Rhongomyniad." The Goddess version of Artoria gave an expressionless nod. "Mysterious Heroine X, Mysterious Heroine XX, Mysterious Heroine X Alter, Artoria Caster, Artoria Lilly, and...." I paused. "Wait, whose that Artoria in a Lion costume?"


    "We don''t know." My original Artoria answered.


    "And why is there a Male version of you here." I jabbed my finger at the Male King Arthur in the corner.


    "Moral support." He waived.


    "Oh, okay." I waived back. "But I don''t see the issue here."


    "Really?" Artoria said dryly and she swept her hands around the room. "You see no problem with this?" It''s just my harem, I don''t understand.


    I was about to answer, but the door behind me burst open, Rin stomping in. "Are you guys almost done yet? We need our turn too." She huffed. "Ishtar and Space Ishtar keep fighting and My Counter Guardian version just keeps egging them on and Ereshkigal is crying in a corner from both them insulting her."


    Artoria turned and gave me a deadpanned look.


    "What?" I looked at her in confusion.


    ***


    Early chapter again, wooo! Just a heads up, next week is going to be super fucking chaotic for me, I guarantee no chapters these next few days, but I''ll try my best. Also wanted to add a little omake that popped into my head when I was talking about my ns for the Harem with someone.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 167 - 160

    <h4>Chapter 167: Chapter 160</h4>


    Mordred POV


    I don''t understand it.


    Why?


    Whywhywhywhywhy!?


    ...


    Why does Father look so happy?


    I wanted to crush this strange device, this little contraption that showed these ridiculous images. Yet.....I was unable to stop myself from burning every single image into my memory. Why do all of these show Father''s smile when I was never able to receive one?


    I almost choked when the next image appeared.


    How?


    It showed Father and this...Magus....kissing!?


    WHAT!?


    No, I don''t believe it!


    Never, this could never be true! I''ll kill this fucker for trying to deceive me with this bullshit! Even if Father wished to find a suitable Queen, this bastard is far from worthy! Which he definitely isn''t because Father is perfect and wouldn''t ever deem this idiot worth his time.


    Hmph.


    {Saber, you okay?} Master''s voice rang in my ears through our link.


    {I''m fine.}


    {If you ¨C}


    {I SAID I''M FINE.}


    {Alright, then I''m going to start the negotiations for our alliance.}


    {Whatever.} I ignored him as I kept going through all the pictures on this strange thing.


    Other people had started appearing. A woman, a Magus most likely. She had ck hair in twintails. Father looked like he got along with her well. Good, Father already has a new retinue. I would expect nothing less from him.


    A non-human woman with blue skin. An old man who also looks like a Magus and gives me the strangest feeling of D¨¦j¨¤ Vu.


    It was almost as if I was looking at that flowery bastard.


    Another woman with blonde hair and blue robes who looked important. I would also remember their faces so I could find Father after I win this war. When I finally get my wish and pull forth Caliburn and earn my birthright, I can show Father how worthy I am.


    Then he''ll know how wrong he was.


    I couldn''t help gut growl as most of these images were filled with that bastard mage''s face. I had to resist the urge to hit him in his very punchable face.


    "Pretty fancy tech you got there." I looked up as Master eyed the device in my hand, I also took a second look at it. I didn''t really give a shit about things like this, but Master thought it was important or something.


    "Time And Space." The bastard replied with cheeky smile that I wanted to p off his face.


    "Huh.....so how long until...?"


    "Eh, give it twenty years at most." The bastard shrugged.


    "Got any investment advice?" Master chuckled.


    I didn''t know what they were talking about, but Master was no fool. The fact that he was able to summon me proved it. This kind of crap was never my strong suit...even Mother gave up on trying to teach me it, which is an achievement in of itself now that I think about it. Mother was not one to...relent.


    It doesn''t matter. Even Father had subordinates that handle all that bothersome stuff. If it ever became an issue I would just need to find someone like Agravain. Even when running the kingdom, he always found time to help me when I was troubled by something, though we rarely spoke.


    "I can add a list of stuff after we settle our business." The Bastard''s voice grated on my ears again.


    "So, what do you want?" Master asked. "I won''t sign my life away, but I''m willing to work together."


    "I don''t have a wish, I''m nning on taking the Grail itself."


    "What did you just say?" I snapped my head towards that arrogant lout.


    "Would you just calm down and listen?" He sighed. "I swear, you''re exactly like Artoria described."


    "F-father spoke about me?" Not that I care. I know how great I am, I don''t need anyone to sing my praises, especially not him. ".....what did he say?"


    "Arrogant, Rash, Headstrong...." He started listing off.


    Hmph, I didn''t care anyways.


    "But above all, a good knight."


    "O-of course." I turned away to ignore his stupid smile. "I''m the greatest knight, that much is obvious." Stupid Magus, saying shit like that. Why''s there a need to say something so obvious?


    "Just a child." That bastard''s servantughed at me.


    "The fuck you just say? I couldn''t hear over the sound of your cow udders pping together." I sneered at the other Servant.


    "A little girl who doesn''t know the charms of a real woman" she pushed up her breasts and I saw that bastard Magus sneak a nce.


    "Hey you bastard!" I ignored the cow, grabbing my sword and held the tip towards the stupid Magus. "Don''t you dare look at other women. If I ever find out you cheated on Father, I''ll castrate you myself." How dare he even look at another when Father chose him?


    "Is it a bad time to say I have a Harem?"


    My eyes widened as I stared at the foppish asshole. "IS MY FATHER NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?" How dare this lowly scum!


    "Saber." Master spoke up, drawing my attention. "Deal with personal stuffter."


    I let out a grunt but obliged. It was unbing of a knight to go against the word of the one they swore themselves to, even if it was temporary. Atleast I wouldn''t have to find another ce to bury the body when I''m finished. "Fine, but I still want to exnation on the grail." I scowled.


    "That''s a valid point. Saber agreed to the contract with me based on the promise of a wish, I can''t agree to this alliance if that''s denied."


    Good. My Master has honor at least. I hate dealing with people most of the time, just a selfish lot ¨C humans are just disappointing. If there''s one thing I hate the most, it''s humans who forget their debts when it''s convenient for them.


    "I need to know your wish before I can im anything."


    I looked him over, I still couldn''t understand what Father saw in him. He looked frail, weak, and timid. "My wish is to pull the Sword from the Stone and prove my Kingship."


    "Oh."


    "What!?" I snapped at him. "Got a problem with my wish?"


    "On the contrary, actually." He gave a thumbs. "That''s a good wish, I approve."


    "Fuck you, I don''t need your approval." I snorted. Why would I care what anyone else thinks? I''m doing this for me.


    .....would father approve?


    Why am I even thing like that? It doesn''t matter, I''ll do it anyways and prove father wrong.


    "Well, I have two thoughts. First, I know where Caliburn is, and I could get it for you." The annoying Magus spoke, but his words drew my attention.


    "Impossible, the sword was shattered. Even if some fool reforged it, the de would never be the same." I scowled at the thought. Maybe only that flowery asshole could properly put the sword back together, but he rarely did anything useful.


    "Well, the Caliburn in this world, maybe." He smirked. It was the same smirk as the flowery asshole when he knew things others didn''t. "Or I could possibly send you back in time to before Artoria pulled it so you could have a go."


    I rolled my eyes at his bravado. "Not even Merlin or my Mother couldn''t achieve something like that. And you, a Magus in this era think they can time travel?" I was not a Magus, nor did I have the inclination to consider it, but I picked up a few things being around Mother for longer than I liked. "Stupid. Do you think you''re a ¨C"


    "Magician?" He interrupted me. "I never did introduce myself. Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, Grandson to Zelretch, and master of the Second True Magic."


    "Him, a Magician?" The Grail gave my knowledge on the difference between Magic and Magecraft, filling in some gaps that Mother never cared to tell me. I knew what a Magician was, and what the Second True Magic was as well. The specifics were annoying and I didn''t care to think about it, but..... "You''re still not good enough for Father."


    "I''ll get you to call me Daddy someday."


    "I''ll kill myself before that happens." I red.


    "I think we''re getting off topic." Master interjected. "Saber, are these terms okay with you?"


    I didn''t really care where Caliburn was, nor which one it was. As long as it was Caliburn, and it still worked, that was fine with me. And as a bonus, maybe I actually can time travel, go back, get the sword, and kick Merlin in the balls.


    "Fine." I epted. "You better not be lying to me." I narrowed my eyes, sword gripped tight. "And we''re going to have a talkter." This bastard was going to tell me everything, even if I had to beat it out of him.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    It was easy enough to get Mordred to agree. Still having trouble getting a proper read on her though. Admittedly, Artoria had not spoke much of Mordred, but she was described almost perfectly. She''s kind of cute as well, I wanted to keep teasing her. I also wanted to sit down with Mordred and talk to her, maybe get to know her better if Artoria expressed interest in building something with her wayward knight and child.


    "So, what I want is a simple alliance with help for my goals. I''m going to steal the Grail, and would like your help. Before we begin, what do you want?" I asked Kairi.


    "To steal the Grail from the Yggdmillennia family, while the Red Faction also has a vested interest in attaining it." He reiterated, giving me a look.


    "Yes, yes. It''s dangerous and going to be difficult, just shoot me a price. I have rare materials, money, or other things. Want some spells? You''re a necromancer, I do have some stuff you''ve probably never seen about Necromancy before." Since Meridia was my woman, I would respect her wishes and not meddle with the craft. But that didn''t mean I was without the knowledge or resources regarding it.


    "Tempting." He nodded. "How are you with curses?" He asked.


    "Oh right. The curse on your bloodline, or was it your family? I only vaguely know the details, to be honest. But I have confidence in my ability remove it regardless." I tapped my chin, trying to think of any scenario where I couldn''t help him. "Even if I couldn''t do anything about it myself, I know people who could without a doubt."


    "I can ept that." He was quick to believe my words, which caught me by surprise.


    "You''re being awfully trusting." I eyed him suspiciously. "I haven''t even heard you mention a ''geass'' since we started talking. That should have been the first words out of your mouth as a proper Magus."


    He didn''t immediately respond. He took out another cigarette, putting it in his mouth. He didn''t light it, leading me to believe it was more of a physical tick than anything. "More of a spellcaster these days." He chuckled. "But in any other situation, I''d have taken out one of a handful of Geass scrolls I already had prepared. But to a Magician, would that even mean anything? You said you could solve my Curse issue without much hassle, would a Geass really bind you?"


    "No." I admitted. I had several was I could get around it. And if I wanted to, I could just go to Meridia and have her remove it. I doubt it could stand up to the power of a Goddess like that. "What''s the n then, y to my pride?"


    He shrugged. "Better than a powerless piece of paper. I would think you''d at least care about the Schweinorg name being dragged through the mud."


    "You....are a smart man." I praised. "I''ll be sure to drop your name to my Grandfather incase he ever has any jobs."


    "I can''t tell if that''s a punishment or a reward."


    "Yes."


    Kairi chuckled. "Well, an in with the Wizard Marshall couldn''t hurt me at this point I guess. So, Curse taken care of. Can we talk about money?"


    "Four times your payment for epting this job initially."


    He whistled in surprise. "Done. And if possible, can I get some protection for my family? Some vultures have been circling ever since it''s been made public that I was going to be thest generation."


    Theckadaisical way he said it...I don''t know if he was being sincere about his desire or not.


    "I''ll make sure the pests are taken care of." Wouldn''t be too hard. Zelretch mentioning a casual word would have them running for the hills.


    "I''ll ept this deal and formally the Alliance." Kaira dered. "So, what''s the n?"


    ***


    Non-canon Omake ¨C The Secrets of Shishou''s training, Part 1.


    "Well, this is fucking deplorable." I looked around at the wasted city of Fuyuki. "So this is a Singrity."


    "Yeah....it''s pretty scary." The other Master, Ritsuka Fujimaru stood beside me.


    "Senpai." Mashu the Demi-Servant spoke softly. "We''ll get through this together!"


    "Right, Mashu." Ritsuka smiled brightly, only for a white furball to jump on his shoulder.


    "Fou Fou." He squeaked out.


    "You too, Fou." Heughed.


    "And how the hell are we supposed to get through this!? We only have one Servant, and she doesn''t even know the name of her Noble Phantasm" Thest member of our little group spat out The Director of Chaldea, Olga Marie Animusphere.


    "Well, not quite without any Servants." I looked to the side. "How about youe out, you damn mutt."


    "Oh?" A man walked out from the shadows, long blue hair and robes, carrying a wooden staff. "That was a pretty specific insult there."


    "Hmm, it''s almost like I know who you are." I grinned.


    Heughed. "Seriously? I didn''t think I was famous enough to be recognized at first nce." He shrugged. "And what makes you think I''m not your enemy?"


    "Please, like you could hide your bloodlust when facing someone in a fight."


    He burst outughing. "You really know who I am. Alright, I''m curious, how?"


    "Same Teacher." I said bluntly.


    He almost choked as the words reached him. "A-are you fucking with me?"


    "Nope."


    "Shit."


    "Yeah."


    "Huh, I guess that makes us....brothers or something." He scratched his head. "Well, guess I''ll introduce myself proper. Cu Chinn, Caster Servant."


    "What the hell is going on!" Olga screamed.


    "Got a new servant." I shot her a thumbs up.


    She let out a sigh, rubbing her temples. "Okay, okay. This is good. Now we just have to form a contract with Caster, and we have two servants." She bit her thumb. "But this idiot has no idea what he''s doing." She huffed, looking at Ritsuka.


    "Ah....sorry." He apologized.


    "Don''t apologize, be better!" Olga shouted.


    "Director." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me handle this. Between me and Cu over there, we can get Ritsuka up to fighting shape in no time."


    "What nonsense are you speaking!? We''re in the middle of a singrity, what could you possible do?"


    "Oi, brat, you think about doing....the thing?" Cu looked at me.


    "Yeah, with your help, I think we can pull it off." I nodded towards him.


    "I''ve never done it before." He scratched his head.


    "Yeah, but we both experienced it with ''Her''."


    "Experiencing it and doing it are two different things." The corners of his lips curled up. "But shit if this aint something I wanted to do for awhile." Heughed. "What the hell, I''m in."


    "What are you two talking about!?" Olga shouted in frustration.


    Me and Cu shared a look.


    "Training montage." We said at the same time.


    ***


    So something people need to remember. Mordred is only like 10 years old or something like that. Her growth was elerated by Morgan, so she isn''t exactly the most -- I don''t want to say unstable -- but she definitely has a weird thought process. She doesn''t know how to parse her feelings towards Artoria.


    On a side note, I didn''t expect to be able to get something out today. Work is really fucking bad right now. I worked 12 hours and expect to do the same the next few days, so I''m just going to say not to expect a chapter tomorrow or Wednesday.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord for questions about the story or just to hang out -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 168: Interlude 7

    <h4>Chapter 168: Interlude 7</h4>


    Izanami POV


    "Izanami, you made it!" I walked through the veils of reality, and was immediately greeted with Persephone grabbing me into a hug.


    "Hello, Persephone, it''s a pleasure to see you again. You look lovely, is that a new dress?" I kindly greeted the younger deity back. "Am I the first to arrive?"


    "My hubby had it made for me for the asion. Arachne barely eptsmissions from our side of the world these days, but he somehow managed to get this made in time." She beamed with pride. "And a few came early,e on." She eagerly dragged me through the Greek Underworld, easily navigating theyers of this sub reality until we stepped to the area she was ''hosting'' us.


    With the brief pleasantries, Persephone disappeared again, attending to other duties while the other guests arrived.


    It wasn''t particrly extravagant, but then again, there wasn''t a need to ''show off'' to us. It was more appreciated to have a smaller and warmer feel than anything.


    "Izanami!"


    "Lady Izanami."


    Two voices greeted me.


    "Oh Ereshkigal, its been too long." The smaller girl also came for a hug. This girl had always been a loner, even by our standards. It didn''t help that much of her pantheon was gone, faded into oblivion or otherwise killed.


    A quick greeting and I faced the second person. "Lord Yama, it''s always a pleasure." One of the few deities that attends this little event that could im to be my peer in age.


    "Are we strangers? I thought you were calling me just Yama." The manughed.


    "Then what''s with this ''Lady Izanami'' nonsense?" I pursed my lips, earning another chuckle from him.


    "Sorry, been having the big-wigs visiting my little corner so much these past few years, it just slipped out." He held his hands up in apology.


    "Speaking of ''big'', that big-headed, bald buffoon isn''t here, is he?" I took a nce around.


    Yama scratched his head awkwardly. "Ahah.... no. Ksitigarbha isn''t here I wasn''t going to invite him again after thest time."


    "Izanami." Ereshkigal happily tugged on my sleeve. "You''ll never guess what happened!"


    "Something good happen in Kur?" I questioned.


    "Un. I got over a hundred new souls since ourst meeting." She did a fist pump into the air.


    I looked up at Yama who looked away, a little red on his face. I held back a chuckle at the predicament. It was a not-so-subtle secret that Yama kicked a soul or two back to Kur every now and then for the younger deity. Yama''s bosses would get very upset if they found he was doing something like that. Souls for a pantheon means power, none would willingly give up a single one without benefits or a fight.


    Despite his intimidating appearance, he was a big softie at heart.


    "I''m happy for you." I patted the girl on the head, and she smiled brightly.


    I remembered when she came into existence, such a cute little thing. idently stumbled into Yomi in her younger years, it was quite humorous to see her throw out so many apologies. She came to visit several times after that. I could still recall when she was covered in tears because her sister had spread rumors she married that stupid Bull.


    "How''s the turnout look this year?" Yama asked, moving towards a table set out with refreshments and snacks.


    "Haven''t spoken with the others in a while, I have no idea. To be honest, I almost forgot about this meeting until just recently." I shrugged.


    "Arawn isn''ting. He''s going with Lugh and some other Celtic Gods to a meeting with the Angels." Ereshkigal spoke up.


    Ah, I had almost forgotten about that little ''rtionship''. I swear, it''s like watching two teenagers try and flirt. The Celtic god of death, his wife died many centuries ago when the world was pulled into the Great War that took the Lord of Heaven. Him and Ereshkigal had gotten a little bit close since then and it''s a bit cute how those two kids act.


    "I''m here!" The area exploded in a burst of darkness as a jackal-faced man walked into the room.


    "Anubis, good to see you." Yama greeted.


    The Egyptian God shot a thumbs up. "It''s great to finally get a break, been looking forward to this for too long." He grinned. "Izanami, Ereshkigal, youdies are looking great."


    "Dammit you beat me." Another voice filled the room. Hel, the Norse Goddess of Death walked out of her own little portal. She sent a ''re'' towards the Egyptian god.


    "Better luck next time." He grinned.


    I wasn''t quite sure on their rtionship, but they were friends and had been for a long time. I heard they used to y when they were children, but not much more than that.


    "Hel, you''re looking good." I gave the Nordic Goddess a look. Her hair was done up, and her wardrobe was changed.


    "You think?" She looked down at herself. She''d always been a bit of a tomboy, but she was wearing a dress this time. "Thought it was time for a change."


    "Girl you lookin fine." Anubis gestured with some finger guns.


    There was a small silence before Anubis and Hel broke out into fits of giggles. "Nirns, that was horrible."


    "Couldn''t help it." The Jackal-faced manughed along. "But what''s up? Do I need to go kick Bauldr''s ass?"


    Hel let out a tired sigh. "I''m done with him; he won''t bother to even look my way even after everything I''ve done."


    "Honey, you need to find a man who treats you right." I pat her shoulder. Hel was infatuated with Bauldr, but thetter never returned her affections.


    "She''s right, you deserve better." Ereshkigal was quick to offerfort. As anti-social as the Sumerian Goddess was, she could apparently read the room well.


    "Ohoho, just give the word, I know a few kids who would be right up your alley." Yama added, stroking his beard.


    "If you suggest Horse-Face or Ox-Head, I''m going to shave that beard off your chin." Hel deadpanned towards the Eastern Death God.


    Yama cleared his throat and turned away in embarrassment.


    Anubis burst outughing and even Hel started to giggle.


    "Takamagahara above." I face palmed. "Atleast you didn''t bring those two again as well."


    "I liked them." Anubis spoke up.


    "Oh, you would, dog-head." Hel joked.


    "Hey." He ran a hand through his fur. "Don''t diss the head, you know how hard it is to keep my fur this gorgeous? Besides, they''re good deities, even with their.....entricies"


    "Feel free to take them then." Yama said without hesitation. "Heavens know they constantly annoy me about getting a ''vacation''." The older God grumbled. "I give them vacations! Why do they alwaysin about work!?"


    "Don''t listen to them, you''re a good boss, old man. How many other Gods offer Vacation Time, Sick days, and time off like you do? And the pay is well known even over in Egypt." Anubis pat his shoulder.


    "Maybe I should take a page out of their books and just be ALWAYS drunk." His shoulders slumped.


    "Rough few centuries?" I asked.


    "Don''t even get me started." Yama groaned. "I have to juggle several pantheonic underworlds and their respective Heads. The Jade Emperor at least gives me respect as the manager of Huangquang, but Indra just turns his nose up at me whenever hees down, as if I''m so far ''below'' him that I should be happy he even showed up in my presence."


    I don''t envy him having to deal with Indra, while also appeasing the Buddhists and the Heavenly Bureaucracy. There''s a reason he''s the most senior among us and I wouldn''t even dispute that title nor want it.


    "That reminds me. Lightning head came down the other day, looking for the soul of one of his ythings or something. Apparently one of histest toys died over in Japan and he''s a little miffed." He turned towards me. "He couldn''t find it and left in a huff, so be warned he maye over and cause trouble."


    I let out a sigh. "Okay, so I should expect him to arrogantly drop into Yomi and demand a soul from me, joy." I said dryly.


    "Sorry." Yama lowered his head.


    "Not your fault." I gave him a small smile. "If you''re looking to take some stress off, ever consider getting an animal protector? Even just a familiar might breath new life into the ce." I thought of Wilhelm''s Sir Wiggles, and I considered getting myself something to keep mepany as well.


    "Oh, I agree!" Hel eximed. "Garmr is such a good boy, and I couldn''t even think about him not being there with me through everything."


    "I have no divine guardian myself, but I keep many different dogs in my own corner." Anubis added. "It does brighten up the ce to have them all around."


    "Even Hades has his Cerberus." Ereshkigal looked contemtive. "And all this talk makes me want one too."


    "I heard my name." The realm shuddered, voice booming as thest person entered the area. He took on the appearance of a Skeleton, but still looked rather regal.


    "Were you waiting for someone to mention you?" I deadpanned.


    "He was." Persephone answered.


    The regal skeleton slumped his shoulders, the atmosphere returning to normal. "Dear, why must you ruin the mood?" Hades let out a sigh.


    "Leave the posturing for those lesser Gods, sweetie." She yfully pat his shoulder.


    "Can we still talk about that? I still feel kind of bad." Hel silently waived towards Persephone, getting one in return. "It was so awkward; they wouldn''t stop trying to show off or grandstand." Hel waived her hand flippantly. "And when we didn''t respond to it, they just kept doubling down like they thought they were ''winning'' or something."


    We''ve tried to expand this little circle in the past. Death Gods from lesser pantheons and such. But they acted just as she said, continuously trying to one up one another, or show off in some way. Wee here to get away from all that, so it was very much not weed.


    "Ugh, I don''t even want to remember that." Yama groaned again.


    "With how much you drank, can you remember it?" Anubisughed.


    "Unfortunately." Yama huffed. "Anyone else have some of them try to reach out afterwards, trying to win some kind of favor?"


    "Wait, really?" Anubis looked shocked, and we all shook our heads.


    "Of course it was only me. Why do I always get the crazies?" Yama slumped his shoulders again.


    "Let me guess, you were too polite to tell them to go away?" I asked.


    "Haha, you know me too well." Yamaughed. "Well, I found a use for those two idiots at least. They never did return after spending some time with Horse-Face and Ox-head."


    "Forget my torments, just let me borrow those two and I wouldn''t need anything else." Hades shook his head before perking up. "Now that I think about it, it might keep my brothers from just popping in whenever they want." He looked at Yama with a gleam in his eye-sockets.


    "Hey there, bone head, hands off." Yama chuckled. "Those two are my idiots."


    As much as Yamains about them, he would never betray his subordinates like that.


    "Oh." Hades looked down at his hands. "Forgot I still was like this." His body shimmered, a shadowy energy enveloped him and the ''bones'' were peeled away, revealing something underneath. He now looked like a man, albeit handsome with long ck hair. "Ah, that''s better."


    "There''s my handsome man." Persephone kissed him on the cheek. Their rtionship was really cute.


    "It was so strange seeing you like that for the first time." I couldn''t help but respond. "I never did hear the story behind that skeleton form."


    "Bah" He flipped his hand. "Mortals spinning strange tales about me, it just kind of happened."


    "It does add to your underworld ambience." Anubis gestured around. Though he was speaking about the Underworld as a whole, not this small little spot they made to host us. "Did you redecorate?"


    "Persephone convinced me for something more modern." He looked down at his wife happily.


    "The dreary look was sost millennia." She nodded.


    "Perhaps I should give Yomi a makeover?" I thought out loud.


    "Oh, if you do, please call me. I''d love to give a hand." Persephone looked enthused by the idea.


    "I wouldn''t mind helping too, it might give me ideas in the future." Hel smiled. "Thought about changing things up on my end too."


    "Speaking of changing things up." Persephone eyed Hel. "Girl, you''re looking good."


    "Oh, you." Hel beamed. "I wanted to try something new. Going to put myself out there and try to meet someone."


    "Tell me if you want some help, I''ll be your wing-girl." Persephone giggled.


    That girl, ever the social butterfly.


    "Speaking of meeting someone." Anubis spoke up. "Saw something interesting on that Devil." Anubis had a twinkle in his eyes. "Something about a giant monster and robot fight over in America with help from two ''mysterious strangers''."


    "I regret nothing." I said firmly.


    "Oh Ra, it was you! I saw it and couldn''t believe it." Anubis burst outughing.


    "What happened?" Persephone perked up.


    "I was out with a friend, visiting America when a monster appeared. It looked very simr to one that shows up in various Japanese Media....and I wished for a souvenir." I said inly.


    "I heard of that." Hades spoke up.


    "Wait, really?" Ereshkigal looked surprised. "You don''t normally keep up with Mortal dealings, especially with things involving Devils."


    "Those bats." Hades grumbled. "The only good thing toe from their existence is the Devil."


    "Hubby does love his shows." His wife giggled.


    "Well, this is a surprise." I eyed him. "All that talk about annoying Fallen Angels and Devils and here you are."


    "Bah, I still hate them." The Greek God huffed. "So noisy, always causing trouble. Do you have any idea how many times one of them ''idently'' stumbled into my Underworld from theirs?"


    "A lot?"


    "A lot!" He eximed. "And those damned ''Evil Pieces'' of theirs. One particr devil who ''idently'' stumbled into my realm, who just so happened to have one of those abominable things, and just so happened to try and force it on one of my reapers."


    "Oh, don''t even get me started on them." Yama nodded along. "Had a few of them try to sneak into Huangquang when those things first came out. "


    The corners of my lips curled up as his mention of Huangquang. Technically, his Underworld had many names based on him being involved with several pantheons. He specifically calls it Huangquang to annoy Indra. The Hindu equivalent being Naraka.


    "I had the same." Hel looked annoyed as well.


    "They never made it to my Underworld." Anubis didn''t really care much. He hated the Angels more than the Devils by arge margin, and it was understandable why.


    ".....they never came to Kur." Ereshkigal looked dejected.


    "Oh sweetie." Persephone was quick to console the Sumerian goddess who was almost like the little sister of the group. It was amusing because Persephone was the youngest among us and Ereshkigal was technically only below me and Yama in seniority.


    "Cerberus just had some puppies...." Hades muttered. "Too many for me to take care of, if you want one of his pups..."


    "Really?" The Sumerian Goddess perked up.


    "You can pick one outter." The Greek God nodded awkwardly before turning to me. "But speaking of Devils....."


    Oh yes. I forgot I never did exin what I was doing. When I appeared in the Greek Underworld, I merely requested ess to deliver something to the Devils, the bloodied body in my hands. Hades just looked absolutely delighted and easily epted my request with ament hoping we''d catch up at this next meeting.


    "Oh, I heard about that." Yama looked at me with interest as well. "Something about you throwing the broken body of that Lucifer''s subordinate on his door step with a warning? Well done." He praised. "That lot had been getting a bit too arroganttely just because they had that brat enter the top 10."


    "Wait, what happened?" Hel asked.


    "You didn''t know? I sent you the story." Anubis looked towards Hel.


    "I can''t ever figure out how to work those contraptions." She pouted.


    It was funny how quickly we all took with such technology.....except for Hel. I think anything remotely modern just explodes in her hand. Well, when you''re segregated from most others, you tend to find ways to amuse yourself. Something that allows us to connect to the entire supernatural world? That would be weed even for people like Hades that has a very obvious dislike for the propagators.


    "There isn''t much to say." I shrugged. "Okita Souji, his ''Knight'' was causing problems for a friend of mine. They ended up fighting and I delivered him back to his master."


    "Hmm, a friend or a ''friend''." Persephone''s eyes sparkled.


    "We''re just friends." I huffed, crossing my arms.


    "That''s the Satan''s Bastard, right?" Hades ignored his wife''s antics.


    "Indeed." I pursed my lips. "Wilhelm is a Half-Devil, with Japanese ancestry. But he has no dealings with the Abrahamic Factions."


    Hades just grunted and gave a nod. "He has some sense at least."


    "Lucifer''s Bastard, huh?" Anubis rubbed his chin. "He as much a monster as his old man?" Again, everyone looked at me expectantly.


    I guess it couldn''t be helped. As much as most dislike the Devil faction for various reasons, none could deny that Sirzechs Lucifer was one of the strongest beings in the world. "He is still fairly young, but he has shown ability far beyond his age."


    "Apple doesn''t fall from the tree, I suppose." Hel just nodded. "How''d you two meet, seems like an oddbination."


    "It was by chance." I smiled wistfully. "I was drinking at a bar, and he came in himself and started chatting me up. We seemed to get along well enough, so we kept in contact a bit. Even after he found out who I was, he didn''t get scared and run away. He evenes and visits me in Yomi."


    "Aww, that''s so sweet." Persephone cooed.


    "He convinced me to reach out to my children as well. My youngest is evening to visit me after so long."


    "Kya!" Persephone quickly wrapped me up in a hug. "I''m so happy for you!"


    Such an excitable goddess, but it was nice to receive her affectionate hug.


    "That Susanoo." Yama muttered. "Haven''t heard anything from him in a while."


    "Not surprising." Hades sighed. "No one dares to even think about another Lightning God on Olympus, otherwise my brother throws a tantrum. From what I''ve heard, Indra is much the same."


    "Ugh, tell me about it." Hel groaned. "Thor just goes on boastful rants whenever Zeus is mentioned, let alone Indra. I think he actually gets along with Susanoo, but I''m not sure. I don''t get invited to many Asgardian celebrations. Mostly just get secondhand ounts from my father so...grain of salt there."


    "Perhaps I should have a word with my son, I hope he does not act like that." Imented. I don''t know much of what happens in Takamagahara, I couldn''t really say one way or the other.


    "I should visit my mother...." Hades seemed lost in thought at my words, before shaking his head. "Well, how about we get this started?"


    "Get started, you mean start bitching about our respective pantheons?" Hel snorted, already with a drink in her hand.


    "Not an inurate way of saying it." Hades didn''t dispute her words.


    "Well, I need to vent or I''m going to strangle my father the next time I see him." Hel conjured a chair and sat down. "Only ever visits me for one of his schemes! ''Hel I need your help''. Can''t you juste to say hello!?" The Nordic goddess threw her hands up in frustration.


    "Don''t even get me started." Yama followed suit, gettingfortable in his own chair as we sat down as well. "No one ever just visits the King of the Underworld just to visit. Eighteen Hells! Couldn''t they just drop in to say ''hello''? Am I that unapproachable? No, it''s always because they ''need'' me for something. One of their mistresses died, or a distant descendant died and they want them to reincarnate with some good fortune. That damn Monkey is one of the few who just visits me to visit and he beat me up when we first met!"


    "Bah." Hades pped his armrest. "My younger brother always ''summoning'' me up to Olympus like I''m ''beneath'' him. I don''t even have a throne on the mountain ,and they demand Ie and observe their ''council''. When''s thest time he just called me toe up and join in the celebrations!?"


    I let back a smallugh. This was how these things always turned out. We catch up and find out what everyone had been up to recently. Then we justin about our pantheons for a few days, drinking and doing our own little ''celebration''. If there''s one thing we all share, its that we''re pretty much ignored by our respective pantheons, so this is usually a weed reprieve.


    After Hades first rant ended, eyes turned to me. "I haven''t seen my children in centuries. Forget Takamagahara, couldn''t they juste visit me once in a while?" I huffed. They all nodded and offered words of encouragement.


    It was nice to be able to let it out every now and then.


    ***


    And we''re back! It''s been a very tiring week, and it''s not even over yet, woooooooo :(. Had a lot of people asking me about Izanami and where she was, well, here''s what she''s been up to for awhile now.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


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 Chapter 169 - 161

    <h4>Chapter 169: Chapter 161</h4>


    "This should be good...right about here." I made a mark on the ground, and I surveyed the area. In the distance I could see the Yggdemillennia Castle, and it was an impressive sight. Not the greatest, nor the most visually magnificent, but it definitely invoked a feeling of foreboding just by gazing upon it. If I wanted a castle myself, it would be one I took inspiration from.


    Oh well.


    I dug a little bit on the marked spot after mentally calcting the distance from the other spots. Without a second thought, I dropped a Dust Bomb inside.


    This was one of the Fire-Dust Variety. My inner pyromaniac was quite interested to see how this one turned out. I of course trusted in Jinn''s genius to know this would be quite a stunning sight to behold.


    "What is that?" Mordred looked over my shoulder, gazing down at the Dust Bomb. She''d been watching me doing this at several locations now.


    I turned, giving her a look of confusion. "Did.....you not listen to my exnation? Like we spent an hour or so just going over the n and working out everything important."


    "I got bored after you started rambling about annoying shit." She waved her hand flippantly. "Sounded too much like that flowery bastard for me to keep caring."


    I face palmed, dragging my hand down my face in exasperation. "I''m nting magical bombs right outside the territory of the ck Faction." It wasn''t hard to gauge the distance of their Bounded Fields. They kind of forwent subtlety for more power in that regard. And navigating everything else they threw up around the forests surrounding the castle wasn''t little difficult.


    "Won''t do much against a Servant." She yawned, still looking board.


    "Well, they aren''t normal bombs." I rolled my eyes, hiding the spot I dug up and making sure it was set properly. I actually found the perfect little spell back in Skyrim. A remote detonation spell that will trigger the mechanism. Jinn was the one who showed me it, actually.


    "You''d be more of a disappointment if they were." She replied.


    "I have the distinct feeling you''re going to be difficult while we''re working together." I sighed.


    "Hang on, let me pretend to care." She cleared her throat. "Oh gee, what do these ''magical bombs'' do?" She said tly.


    Huh.....I like her snark. What a sharp contrast she is from Artoria even though they look so much alike.


    "I would say I''m not going to stoop to your level, but I don''t think it''s possible to go that low." I gestured to the top of her head and where shepared to me.


    "Height joke, scathing." She didn''t seem fazed. "Mordred is short; I haven''t heard that one a billion times from the other knights already."


    "Huh...I guess once the initial shock wore off, you aren''t acting like a...." I tapped my chin.


    "Like a what?"


    My lips curled up. "A berserker."


    "Fuck you!"


    "Fuck you." I replied without a second thought.


    "...."


    "....."


    "Fucking fine." She threw up her hands. "Tell me about your stupid bombs."


    And this is my life now. The things I''m willing to do for Artoria. "They contain a concentrated Elemental reaction, the closest to each pure concept that could be acquired within short notice. Then they went through a second refining process to turn them into proper bombs." It was a decent enough exnation.


    "....That''s kinda cool." She muttered.


    "You understood what I said?" I was a bit surprised, while it was somewhat dumbed down, I thought she would say something snarky again. I didn''t think she would parse my words properly.


    "I''m not an idiot." She scowled. "I did pick up some shit from my Mother. Instead of explosions, it''s going to be elemental effects. This one is red, does that mean it''s going to shoot out fire or somethin?"


    I perked up a little bit. "Yeah, ites from crystallized Mana that took the form of the elements. This one in particr is Fire, so it should erupt into a sort of Firestorm when actualized."


    She actually started to grin. "That''s fucking metal."


    "I threw an ice one at the Priest-Master I met the other day, it ¨C" I gestured with my hands. "Blew up into this big-jutted icicle conglomeration."


    "You at least get''em?" She asked.


    "Ugh, probably not. Made another Servant appear though. She kind of flipped when it exploded in his face, so there''s that." I grinned. "Oh, that reminds me. If you see Rider of Red ¨C Green hair, uses a spear, and wears a scarf, call him Siegfried."


    "Why? Didn''t you say that was Achilles?"


    "Oh, he tried to stab me while doing this nonchnt ''nothing personal'' attitude. Pissed me off so I intentionally started calling him the wrong name. He''s the really cock sure sort, so calling him Siegfried really got under his skin."


    She let out a snort, trying to hide the smile that was forming on her face. "Wait." She paused, some kind of realization dawned on her. "You actually fought a Servant?"


    "Did you think I left multiple Servants for my Saber to deal with?" I gave her a cheeky smile.


    She scowled, but otherwise didn''t react to my ''Saber''ment. "Pfft, yeah right. I''d be surprised if you didn''t wet yourself when Rider raised his spear towards you."


    "I''ve taken shots at literal gods, like Rider would scare me." I rolled my eyes. "Actually, it''s how I got Artoria to go on a date with me the first time."


    "What?" Her eyes snapped up, listening intently at this point.


    I took out my phone, looking at the time. We were making good progress, I guess it wouldn''t hurt to have a small chat. I did kind of want to maybe find somemon ground with Mordred. "We fought and I offered a wager for the fight. If I won, then I was going to take her out on a date." Well, it was moreplicated than that, but I didn''t want to air Artoria''s issues in public like this.


    "Bullshit you defeated my father in a duel!" She grit her teeth, a visible anger oveing her.


    "Pfft, no I didn''t." Iughed. "She kicked my ass." Still a fond memory. But I was also a lot weaker back then. "She epted anyways."


    {Master, we''vepleted the work you requested, and we are returning now.} Raikou''s voice sounded over the mental link.


    Mordred also went stiff ever so slightly, as if she too received a message.


    "Kairi tell you he''s on the way back?"


    Mordred grunted in confirmation. "Don''t understand why I had to stay here." She kicked a nearby rock.


    "Wait, we''re you really not paying attention?" I looked at her incredulously and she didn''t otherwise react. I let out a long sigh. "I thought you were just fucking with me." I rubbed my temples. "If you had been paying attention." I made sure to be verbose about it. "You would have heard that Your master and I did not have a way to keep in contact with one another at such distances while on the move."


    My Servant goes with him, his with mine, so we canmunicate.


    Not only that...while we finalized an ''alliance'', but there is also no doubt in my mind that Kairi is still a true Magus. He most definitely gave Mordred orders to take my head the moment it looked like I would try and betray them. And it would be no surprise for me if he prepared other contingencies, it was just the smart thing to do.


    The weight and promise of my name aside, he would be an idiot to just blindly trust me that much.


    I felt a twitch over the other mental link, the one I shared with Sir Wiggles. I briefly noted how it was strange they didn''t ovep, and I made a small promise to investigate itter.


    But otherwise, Sir Wiggles came shooting through the forest at blinding speed.


    "The fuck is that!?" Mordred already had her sword in her hand, ready for fight, only for my familiar to dart out of the brush and into my hands. "...what?" She started at the greatest rabbit ever in pure confusion.


    "I went over this." I let out another long sigh. "I said my familiar would be running around the North Eastern side of the castle, closest to the town. He was running interference, taking out familiars and triggering the furthest magical detections away from us."


    Good job, Sir Wiggles. I made sure to send it over the link as well. I think he return a sort of happiness at my praise.


    He''s getting stronger, I''m happy to have picked him up. I slipped the Ring of the Khajiit onto his horn before he left, it really did wonders for his speed and stealthiness.


    "That''s your familiar?" She looked at me with a strange expression.


    "Behold!" I held Sir Wiggles up into the air. "Sir Wigglesbottom Fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, Crown Prince of Emerald Kingdom. Duke of Carrot Ind, General of the Northern Armies, The Lightning Born!" I introduced. "Or just Sir Wiggles for short."


    "That''s fucking stupid."


    "Well then, I guess you don''t want to hold him."


    "....."


    "...."


    "Bastard." She scowled deeper before turning her head away and holding her arms out. Sir Wiggles took that as a que to leap towards her from my grasp.


    Haha, works every time.


    "I''m curious about something." I found a nearby rock and leaned against it, earning her attention, atleast to some degree. She was happily stroking Sir Wiggle''s fur. "Your master was kind of ''uncaring'' when we negotiated price for the alliance."


    "What about it?"


    "I don''t know..." I scratched my head. "You sure that''s what he wants?" The way he went about it, just felt like he was going through the motions.


    "How the hell am I supposed to know what he wants? I aint a Magus, I don''t care about all that crap about bloodlines." She spat out. "Besides, the hell you care for?"


    I shrugged. "I guess it really isn''t any of my business, I just can''t help but meddle sometimes." I ran a hand through my hair, looking up at Mordred. "I take care of my people."


    "Whatever." She didn''t seem to care about what I was saying so I dropped it.


    If her Master wanted something else, an actual wish, I would see what I could do after the war was over.


    I turned my head, seeing the outline of Raikouing into view as she materialized onto the physical aspect of the world.


    "Master~" Raikou ran to me, quickly scooping me up into a hug. "I''m back, did you miss Momma?"


    Well, I think both Mordred and Kairi were used to her entrics now. Speaking off....


    "Wee back." I gave her a smile before turning my attention towards Kairi who appeared not far away. "How''d it go?"


    "No issues." The Older Magus took out a cigarette and immediately lit it. "That ''Invisibility Potion'' you gave me worked great. Curious where you got it." Hemented.


    Hah, he probably kept some of it to researchter. Good luck!


    "I have my sources." I grinned, changing the subject. "Time to move onto the next part." I motioned towards Sir Wiggles who hopped onto the ground.


    "Finally, I was getting tired of all this cloak and dagger shit." Mordred stretched her arms. "I can actually get some action now."


    Yup, it was about time to let loose.


    ***


    Fighting starting up again soon. Sir Wiggles was properly introduced and Mordred opens up a little bit.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a Discord,e and hang out. If you want spoilers for those interested, or any thoughts about the story in general -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 170 - 162

    <h4>Chapter 170: Chapter 162</h4>


    "A full moon, how annoying." I looked up at the sky. Atleast it wasn''t a blood moon, that would have been an ominous sign. But it still felt like I was being looked upon by that celestial body.


    "Oi, Bastard." I turned to see Mordred standing next to her master.


    "What''s up, buttercup?"


    Mordred frowned in annoyance but otherwise didn''tsh out. "After this war is over, I''m gonna kick your ass." She scoffed, before her body started to astralize. ".....don''t die." She added right before she disappeared.


    I couldn''t help but grin. Honestly, I was starting to like her.


    "I think she likes me." Iughed, turning my gaze towards Kairi.


    He raised an eyebrow, but looked rather rxed. "Really...I''m starting to wonder if anyone in your family is normal." He shook his head.


    "Nope." I said without hesitation.


    "Well, not my problem." He shrugged.


    "You good?" I asked onest time.


    "I got everything I need, and even found a nice spot to hide out and watch from." He patted his jacket. "And your Mystic Codes were appreciated. I hope you don''t expect me to pay you back for them if they get used."


    I gave him a dozen or so Talismans in case he came across trouble. While not having the same knowledge of the Onmyoji arts that I have, he could still use them, if a bit amateurishly. To him, they were just one-use Mystic Codes that packed a decent punch.


    "I told Mordred this but, I look after my people." I gave him a sincere smile. "If you run into issues, use yourmand seals, run away, do what you need to." I patted his shoulder. "I''ll do what I can as well if you run into any dangers."


    Kairi barked out augh, dropping his cigarette to the ground and stomping on it. "You''re a strange Magus. Maybe I''m stranger because I actually believe you." He turned around, throwing up his hand in a gesture of goodbye before disappearing into the forest.


    "Master." Berserker appeared next to me. "Why do you ally with them.....I could do this without their help, you don''t need to rely on them." She frowned.


    I walked up, wrapping my arms around her. She let out a little sound in surprise, usually she was the one to do things like this. Maybe it was the bond we shared, but I enjoyed having her by my side. To say I felt a kindship with her wouldn''t be a lie. "It''s true we don''t ''need'' them, but it doesn''t mean the help wouldn''t be appreciated."


    Honestly, I didn''te into this thinking I would have anyone on my side besides Berserker. To find Mordred and Kairi was a boon I was willing to utilize. Not to mention I had a good impression of the Magus, a very pragmatic man, but he didn''t have that same ''ruthlessness'' that the Magus Killer carried around with him. Adding Mordred onto the equation, well...how could I not?


    My life is really strange.


    "I don''t like relying on others." She muttered, but sounded a bit content.


    "We''re not." I smiled, looking up at her. "I''m relying on you, you''re relying on me. They''re here to help, but it''s you I trust to have my back without any hesitation on my part."


    "Ahh, to hear you say those words, Mommy is happy." She smiled so brightly; it was hard not to get taken in by it.


    "If all goes well, this will be thest night of the War." The n wasn''t difficult, the best ns generally weren''t. We just needed the location of the Grail within the Castle, and a big enough distraction to pull their attention and Servants away. "Once we''re done, would you like to stick around with me?"


    "Of course, Master." She said without hesitation. "A son need their Mother always." The happiness was radiating off her.


    I let out a smallugh. "Get ready, we''re going in hot." Sir Wiggles pinged me, he saw an army moving on the Yggdmillennia castle.


    Servants, I was confident to take any of them on. In a fight, I don''t think I''d lose to anyone here, but their Noble Phantasms...it would be a lie to say they didn''t frighten me. Yet, this feeling swelling up in my chest, this excitement, I wanted to fight them regardless.


    I summoned Mirage into my hand, my familiar de easing my beating heart.


    It was time to begin.


    ***


    Lancer of ck (d lll The Impaler) POV


    "Lancer." Darnic addressed me. "Our spies have reported in, the enemies are upon us."


    "Hoh." I sat upright on my horse, a fine stallion that my Master had procured. A nostalgicfort, mounted as I surveyed my troops. "If they''re so bold to openly march on us, it would be rude to not meet them halfway." I couldn''t help but grin.


    They willingly want an open battle such as this? Do they take me for a fool? One of their number attempted to assassinate the Ruler, such actions would not line up with this attack.


    A distraction, or something more?


    Regardless, I can''t say I dislike this kind of battlefield, it is where I thrive the most.


    Five Hundred Homunculi I counted, another two hundred Golems of impressive quality.


    "Do we have numbers, troopposition, and eyes on the enemy Servants?" I directed my question towards Darnic.


    He bowed lightly towards me, answering immediately. "We''ve located three servants moving along with their forces. It appears as though their numbersprisepletely of some kind of Skeletal constructs, as for their numbers....over ten thousand is a conservative guess."


    Hmm, quite a bit. "Skeletal Constructs in such number? Likely to be Dragon Tooth Warriors, amon deployment method of the Caster ss." Or so says the Grail. It was amon enough method of the Casters that such information was not hidden behind identities.


    And the Servants showing themselves so tantly. This could be nothing but a provocation, and one we had to ept.


    It doesn''t matter, in the face of absolute strength, their schemes will be for naught.


    Not that we did not take many precautions for various avenues of attack ourselves. The Castle is a fortress even a Servant would have a hard time prating.


    I frowned, thinking of the Assassin that went silent in another city. We didn''t have time to figure out what happened over there. "Rider." I called out.


    "Yosh, I''m here." The pink haired man appeared.


    "Take to the skies." Imanded.


    "Okey Dokey." He did a mock solute, summoning his mount. As majestic the creature was, it seemed to posses a disposition simr to its master. It liked to.....pose when summoned. He shot off at a blinding speed. If nothing else, Rider was capable, even with his entricities.


    "Saber, remain hidden for now." I nced at the Dragon yer. He was a powerful Servant, he would be crucial in battle. "Berserker, you''re with me." I turned towards the other meleebatant. The Woman-thing that wore a wedding dress.


    "Raaah." She nodded, aware enough to ept orders.


    I turned my head upwards, to the tower sitting aloft the Castle. Archer nced back at me, his gaze meeting mine.


    We both nodded, words not needing to be spoken here. Knowing who he was, I did not feel the need tomand him. Perhaps I would feel awkward if I had to do so, he reminded me too much of the teachers I had when I was a child. Nheless, he knew the role I wished him to partake, as obvious it was.


    "I shall attend to the Castle''s defenses." Darnic bowed again, his words indication of his intent to retreat to safety. Not that I expected more of this man who was so keen to hand over such Authority to his summoned Servant. I wouldn''t balk at the ease I couldmand, but it struck me as odd that he was so willing to forgo his lofty throne.


    It seemed that no Magus wished to apany us to this battle. While I could understand the reasoning, it only lowered my opinion of them even more so. A Master is a part of a Servant''s strength, the pair are to brave the dangers together as per their contract.


    I summoned forth my spear and held it aloft, pointing towards the oing army. "March!" Imanded as our forces began moving.


    Perhaps it was just my own amusement that I went through with this, they were already almost upon us, we truly only needed to wait a moment or two.


    Old habits are hard to break.


    The rattling of bones, and cumtive footsteps upon the earth that made thend tremble, my blood started to boil at the thought.


    The enemy servants, I could see them apany the haphazardly organized skeletons, these ¨C Dragon tooth warriors. A single of our Homunculi could defeat a few of those, and our Golems would need just as many Homunculi to be defeated as well. While the numbers were not in our favor, we were not on the losing end of this exchange.


    In the distance, I spotted a green blur, dashing through the Air. A chariot pulled upon three horses, I could guess whomanded such a contraption. Our Rider would have his work cut out for him.


    And the Lancer Servant that Saber described, he skulked the left side of the army, prepared for battle. He had a good look in his eyes, I was excited to cross my spear with his.


    Finally, there was the Archer Servant, bow in her hand and strange animal features, but I cared not about her circumstance. Unique all three appeared, but first guesses at their identities would be fruitless.


    I held my Spear up, gesturing for my forces to cease movement. "Hmm, lets see what their first move shall ¨C " A sudden crack of thunder filled the area, and a bolt of lightning struck the ground between our two armies.


    My eyes widened at the sudden arrival of two individuals, a Red-haired man that had the same description Saber also gave previously as well as the woman who stood with her back to his, the Servant no doubt.


    "Red Faction, ck Faction." The Magus addressed us, his voice carrying more than it should, a sure sign of Magecraft in use. "If you want to fight, we''ll take you all on." He dered raising his hand up in a beckoning manner.


    "ARROGANT BOY!"


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    "ARROGANT BOY"! The Servant riding a horse, spear in hand, shouted from the ck Faction''s side.


    Well, looks like I have their attention, now to keep it. Let see.....how did Sir Wiggles do it....something like this? I gathered lighting around my hands, condensing into an almost armor-like form.


    Haha, tingly.


    Would need to practice this a little bit, but I had an idea.


    I raised my hand up towards the thousands of Skeletonsing towards us, unperturbed by our sudden appearance even if the Red Faction Servant''s hadn''t reacted yet.


    Condense the Lightning into an attack, channeling through Runic Circles, shall we call this.... "Lightning Rain." I breathed out, dozens of spears of Lightning manifested in the sky above, and began to rain down onto the oing horde.


    Each one that struck the ground discharged the umted power, they unraveled and erupted at the point of impact, creating a storm of electricity at each point.


    {Raikou.} I called out through our mental link. I looked up in the sky and saw Rider''s glowing charioting down at us. {Take care, don''t push yourself too hard and your priority is survival.} I could tell she was going after the Lancer immediately. Whatever strange link she had with him, I would let her settle it on her own if that was her desire.


    A quick nce at her, and her smile did fill me with confidence {I look forward to our lives after we win, Master.} She sent back, gripping her sword tight.


    I turned back towards the killing intent in the distance. A force mmed into the ground, Rider abandoning his chariot that was in the sky. "WILHELM" He let out a roar, Magical Energy erupted from where he stood, a whirlwind following in his wake. He didn''t seem to care about the minions that were utterly annihted as he pushed right through the army towards me.


    A Noble Phantasm?


    I couldn''t help but smile, and I sent a quick thanks to Thorum for what I was about to do. "WULD NAH KEST" My voice bellowed out, the air shifted around me, and I kicked off as well, a second whirlwind firing towards his with me at the center.


    My sword sh out, meeting the tip of a spear aiming for my heart. The surroundings were utterly blown away, the ground ruptured at the sheer impact.


    The Magical energy cascaded off the struggling weapons, each edge not budging from their spots.


    "You bastard, you''re mine now." Achilles had a maniac grin on his face, a mixture of exhration and anger.


    "I''ve been waiting for this rematch, Siegfried." I smirked.


    ***


    Round two.


    Sorry for thete chapter, I didn''t like the first rendition of what I had done so I rewrote it.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my  / astoryforone


    We have a discord,e hand out, ask questions, etc. -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 171 - 163

    <h4>Chapter 171: Chapter 163</h4>


    My Mirage struggled against his spear, neither giving an inch.


    "Haha!" Rider of Red began tough, a wide grin on his face and killing intent pouring out onto me. "I knew it, bastard, you were holding back before."


    I couldn''t help but match his expression. "Like you''re one to talk." I pushed his spear away and shed at his body, he didn''t even bother to dodge, raising his arm and my de pushed against his skin without budging.


    "That shit isn''t gonna work!" He shouted, grabbing onto the edge of my sword, his spear reeled back, the air distorting as it pushed towards my heart again.


    "Zun Haal Viik." I shouted, the words vibrated in the air as they enveloped him. The muscles on his arm bulged as his eyes widened, he did his best to remain a grip on his spear, but it was forced out of his hand and flew to the side.


    Still not a Shout I was particrly adept in, but it did its job.


    To his credit, the moment of confusion was brief, his knee was already sailing towards my stomach. I pped my hand down to block it and his fist moved towards my head, my Aura ring to shield me from the blow, and his hand still gripped tight on my sword.


    "Tricks." He spat out eyeing the shining barrier projected from my soul.


    I held my free hand up towards his face, the lightning still clinging tightly to my arm like armor. "Burst." I let all the lightning uncoil and burst out of my hand, right into his face. I felt the grip on my sword lessen enough that I could pull it free.


    He took a step back, regaining hisposure quickly.


    "As I thought." I tapped my sword on my shoulder. "Your Noble Phantasm prevents ''damage'' not the physical force behind my blow."


    Rider cracked his neck, holding his hand out to retrieve his spear. "The fact that you know that, and still call me Siegfried." He let out a sigh. "You''re doing it just to piss me off."


    "Come, Dragon yer!" I called out with a cheeky smile.


    "And it''s working more than it should." He lost his grin, going into a stance.


    He was about to attack before hundreds of the skeletal monsters began to swarm on me, their battlefield lines had finally been restored and I was quickly reminded where exactly we began our second fight.


    How many eyes were on us right now?


    "Annoying pests!" Rider shouted, Magical Energy coalesced around him as he thrust his spear. Hundreds of thorn-like des made of his Mana stabbed at everything around us, including me.


    My other swords shot out of my ring at blinding speed, arcing and swinging in every which way around me.


    Rider''s gaze met mine and I merely raised an eyebrow at his attack. "Cute." I replied, waving my hand to have my swords hover around me slowly.


    "Well, you do make this more interesting." He tapped his foot on the ground and retook a proper stance.


    Again right as he was about to attack the sky filled with arrows,ing right towards me.


    "Sis!" Rider shouted, an annoyance in his voice.


    "Well, I guess we''re doing this." I muttered, but I couldn''t really fault her. I did step out in the middle of two armies and challenged everyone, it was no ce to expect a duel. "One hundred Birds." I swung Mirage. The oveyed shesprised of Magical Energy to mimic the Sword Phantoms founds in Eastern Ideology.


    I could recall when doing ten of them was straining for me.


    I tilt my head slightly as a few arrows pierced through my attacks, the prative power was surprising enough that I had to have my swords shoot up and block.


    "Rider." Archer of Red appeared next to the Spear-wielder. "This isn''t a duel, get your head out of your ass and focus."


    Right, right. I had to focus too. I nced to the side and noticed that Raikou was already engaging the Lancer Servant of Red. I don''t know what her deal was, or perhaps I did. We hadn''t spoken of Lancer''s identity, but I think we could both guess at it based on the more obvious clues provided. It seemed to be a sore spot for her, and I don''t think even she understood why, so the topic was left alone.


    I turned at nced at the ck Faction out of the corner of my eye. Lancer was staring at me. The look in his eyes, it made me feel as if he wanted to skewer me without hesitation yet....he did not move.


    No, he gestured every now and then, and the forces around him moved at hismand. They began to engage the horde of skeletons --- or rather the Dragon Tooth Warriors. They are a rather inexpensive creation by those from the older Age. They are rather simple to make by nting dragon teeth in the ground. I know Medea can make them easily, but there are probably dozens of other famous Magi who could do the same, so that doesn''t narrow down Caster of Red''s identity.


    Well, to be able to create them on this scale is rather impressive. I think even Medea would have trouble doing something like this. Either the Caster is on her level or has a frightening amount of resources at their disposal.


    Unfortunately, Dawnbreaker won''t be more useful than a normal sword here. While these things were skeletons, they weren''t ''undead''.


    Regardless, the army of Dragon Tooth Warriors engaged the army of Golems and Homunculi.


    I clicked my tongue as I saw the created humanoids fall to the constructs.


    Truthfully, I did not like killing people.


    I could weave some poetic reasoning as to why, but to put it simply, I find it wasteful. That doesn''t mean I hesitate to do it when I have a reason, or I cower away when I have my de to someone''s neck. If someone needs to die, I will take their head without hesitation.


    Homunculi though, raised and bred to be disposal soldiers. Their eyes looked utterly dead, even when they were skewered by several Dragon Tooth Warriors, they didn''t cry out or scream. They just moved to continue as best they could before their lives finally ended.


    Annoying.


    "I believe I said, I was going to take you all on." I turned my head fully towards Lancer of ck who sat upon a horse surveying the battlefield. I wanted their attention fully on me. Taking three Talismans between my fingers, I flung them at the Servant.


    They became shooting stars, crossing the battlefield at amazing speed towards their target.


    The Lancer servant held out his hand, a baleful aura gathered around, a grin rising on his face as he jerked his arm up. Stakes shot out of the ground, piercing through the paper spellworks, stopping them in their tracks.


    "Impressive for a Master." Lancer spoke for the second time this evening. "To think a living being dares to act so arrogantly infront of so many Servants." He stepped off his steed, giving it a pat as it started trotting away.


    I slid to the side, lightning arcing cross the ground in my wake as I looked at the green-haired Rider who resumed our fight. "Don''t ignore me." He said with a cheeky smile.


    "Bindings of Gaia." I pressed my hand to the ground, forming the Runic Sentences to actualize my spell. The roots sprung up around the Rider servant as I swung my sword, destroying another hail of Arrows the Archer of Red shot at me.


    She had already disappeared into the crowd, arrows continuing at me from the shadows.


    Whisper shed through the area, carving out runes, spells forming and shooting off at every appearance of the cat-like woman.


    My attention was on Lancer of ck though, I flicked my hand to cast my own spells. My Runic Circles floated behind me, discharging lightning at the spear-wielding servant. Surprisingly, he didn''t move at theing barrage.


    "Berserker." Hezily called out, a woman wearing a wedding dress with strange limbs jumped infront of him. She crackled with her own lightning, the big mace in her hand erupted to disrupt my attacks with ease.


    "Raaaaaah!" She shouted, the ground bursting beneath her as she ran at me.


    My Bindings of Gaia wore off, Rider staring at me, spear in hand as he thrust it forward, covering the distance within a blink of an eye.


    Arrows filled the sky, some even given me a dreadful feeling, packed full of magical energy.


    Even Lancer swung his hand out, Stakes jutting out of the ground as they threatened to impale me from below.


    I let out a sigh. I guess this is what I get for challenging so many Servants at once, they are a prideful bunch and would make me regret this course.


    But still..... "That''s more like it." I couldn''t help but grin as the Dragon ying de flew into my hand. My Magical energy erupted as I gripped the Noble Phantasm and invoked its true name. "Ascalon!"


    Their surprise was obvious, my sword moved in inhuman ways that defied the conventionalws of the world to block every attack that was aimed at me. A nearly perfect defense. Mace was deflected to the side, Spear was blocked, arrows shattered, and stakes rebuked.


    As my Noble Phantasm''s effect ended, I reached out and grabbed Berserker''s Mace, the lightning dancing up my arm. I forcefully repelled it by recovering my own arm in my own lightning element. mming my foot onto the ground, I hefted her mace up, which she refused to let go of, and threw her towards thest spot I saw Archer.


    I slid my foot against the ground, casting an Earthen Spike spell towards Rider to obscure his vision. In that moment that he was caught off guard, I took out the Staff of Magnus, pointing it at the Rider Servant. A spell circled formed at the tip, actualizing a rather simple spell. "Thunderbolt." It was a stronger variant of a Lightning Bolt, packing a bit more punch. Adding on my lightning affinity, it discharged with an impressive force.


    The spot he was standing on was scorched, my own Earthen Spikes had been utterly reduced to ash.


    "You bastard, you have something like that." The dust settled, Achilles stood there, arms covering his face. He had good instinct to alteast do that in that brief moment. One of his arms had been charred ck. "A Divine Construct?" He narrowed his eyes.


    "So I was right, Divinity is the key." I tapped the staff on my shoulder before pointing it towards Lancer of ck. "Fires of Muspelheim." Whisper wasn''t inactive this time, weaving the spell for me to use. The intense mes came together and erupted in the direction of Lancer.


    I thought about firing it at Rider, but with his speed, even at this distance, I knew he would be able to dodge it now that he knew not to trust his own protections.


    Rider didn''t seem to care, his face was eerily calm. "A Noble Phantasm, and a Divine Construct." His arm was ck, armor having been destroyed, yet he didn''t look phased. I could only praise his martial ability in these circumstances. "Who are you?"


    "I would very much like to know that as well." Lancer''s growl reverberated across the battlefield, the smoke and fire died down to reveal his untouched figure, stakes falling away and disappearing into ashes in the wind as they acted like a shield at my attack.


    No, that wasn''t quite right, he was burned a little bit, but nothing writing home about. Still, my spell harmed him and he had to defend against it, that was something.


    "Raaaaah!" Berserker''s growl also sounded out, apanied by an explosive burst of lightning in the crowd of skeletons. She didn''t look all too pleased with me. Maybe it was the arrows sticking out of her back? Couldn''t see Archer anywhere, but she was a wily one, hard to pin down even with my perception.


    "Shall I properly introduce myself then?" I chuckled. I guess I fully earned the attention of everyone here instead of just being an annoyance. Well, the battlefield clearly warped around my presence, It was hard to ignore me at this point when I was going after everyone and anyone. It would be the smart thing to just deal with a chaotic entity like me before looking at each other.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service." At my words, the sky above crackled ominously.


    ***


    Chaotic battlefield with MC properly introducing himself.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead, visit my / astoryforone


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 Chapter 172 - 164

    <h4>Chapter 172: Chapter 164</h4>


    POV Caster of Red (William Shakespeare)


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service."


    I sat up as he announced his name, the dramatic introduction, the delivery, the ambience. "Wonderful." I gave a small p. "Ah, how I wish I could pick his brain." I bit my thumb, oh how I wished to go learn of his thoughts, to understand this character that entered the stage, front and center.


    Dering he''ll take on both factions, simply marvelous!


    "If you keep speaking, I will be more than happy to toss you off the edge of my Gardens so you can head down and see for yourself." A venomous voice rebuked my appreciation.


    I am surrounded by critics. "My dear Assassin, I am but a humble writer, I''m afraid the mere fall will force me off the stage for good." I bowed.


    "We can only hope." She drawled, flicking her finger to enhance the long-distance magecraft viewing spells she had cast.


    "Schweinorg." I turned my gaze towards the one who spoke. Our ''master'' so to speak. Not the person who had summoned me, but the one who now held my ''leash''. Well, I did find him more interesting than that bore who performed the ritual.


    "Does the name hold significance, my master." I grinned, and twirled my pen.


    He turned to me; his eyes lit with a small fire within. This was a true main character; I was excited to see how this y unfolded before my eyes. "Schweinorg, it''s the name of the Second Magician, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg." Master looked at the man who had wounded him, intently. "I was not aware that the Kaleidoscope had any family members."


    "Ohoh, his character bes even more interesting." A possible rtion to such an illustrious figure? How mysterious this new addition to the stage is.


    "Irrelevant." Assassin spat out, tapping her fingers on her throne. "Inside my Garden, even a Magician can''t move freely." She stared at his face, the Master that was fighting against multiple servants and scowled deeply. "I''ll teach him a lesson if he has the courage to step foot here."


    She had been quite irritable after healing up our master from that little meeting.


    Well, more so than usual.


    Shirou Kotomine suffered no major wounds, but he was still injured and the scars lingered.


    I suppose her arrogance is well earned. My artistic ir started and ended with the written word, but I could appreciate other avenues of expression. And to deny her Noble Phantasm was a work of art would be the height of foolishness.


    The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.


    Would this flying fortress be a stepping stone or an unassable wall for our performers?


    As a Caster-ss Servant I could understand this ce more so than any another ss, even if I never practice Magecraft in my life. Not only was it a fortress high up into the heavens, it was Assassin''s workshop.


    A plot twist it was, to have our Assassin also be our more traditional Magus of the group.


    "I will believe in your ability, Assassin." Our Master said without any hesitation, making our dear Assassin puff up happily.


    Oh, Master, if only you weren''t a man of the cloth, this could have been a fun ro side story. A bit low brow for my tastes, but it''s hard to not enjoy the simplicity every once in awhile, especially since it wouldn''t detract from the main plot.


    "I have been left woefully in the dark, master." I clutched my heart, aghast at this turn of events. "What ns have you devised so I may prepare myself ordingly?" I readied my pen and parchment.


    Master had a small smile on his face, looking at the viewing of the battle. "His entrance has given us a good opportunity to acquire the Grail."


    "Oh my, to assault the enemy''s stronghold while their forces are away?" I began scribbling down my thoughts. "Do you wish to sneak in or openly attack the front." I looked up, waiting for an answer then paused. "Wait, don''t tell me." I stopped myself, I wanted to see how this would y out without any spoilers.


    "You can alwayse along, Caster." Shirou gave a smallugh.


    "I am but a humble ywright, my Master. The battlefield is no ce for me."


    "Gods forbid he does something useful." Assassin added, off handedly.


    "Assassin, I am wounded by such harsh words." I clutched my heart. "Did I not apply my talents in healing Lancer?"


    "I did most of the work." She scoffed in annoyance.


    "Ah, but it would have taken at least another day to fully heal him had I not intervened." I pointed out, much to her chagrin. "And I shall apply my efforts once again." I dered, turning back towards our Master. "I shall provide you with a fine de to fight for your ideals, Master."


    So, struggle.


    Attempt to prove your ideals to the world and I will watch it all.


    ***


    POV Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia (Master of Archer of ck)


    "This location is suitable, thank you." I politely dismissed the Homunculus that was navigating my wheelchair.


    "Fiore." Darnic spoke, his voice was not loud, but it carried across the entire room we upied. "How is the situation with Archer?"


    "Hisst report noted there was no movement around the perimeter, and he was focusing on the battle and waiting for an opportunity to intervene advantageously." I replied.


    Archer¡ªrather Chiron, had taken the highest point on the castle and was rying information to me.


    "Good, well done, Fiore." Darnic praised.


    "Thank you, Lord Darnic." I bowed my head slightly in appreciation. "Is the long-distance scrying ready?" I inquired.


    "It''s done." Gordes, the master of Saber mmed the door open, apparently answering my question. Behind him, Celenike sauntered in. "Is this it?" He looked around with an annoyed expression.


    "I''m here too." Caules arrivedte, as per usual. I swear, If I didn''t keep on him, he wouldn''t ever show up.


    "Everyone else is busy with their own duties." Darnic raised his scepter, and screens appeared at the center of the room, giving us a long-distance scrying of the battle.


    "We''ll take you all on." The Master that Saber had spoken of appeared on the screen, all of us seemed surprised at his arrival and sudden deration.


    "That brat!" Gord mmed his fit on a nearby table.


    "Ohoh." Celenike let out a haughtyugh. "Is this the one who attacked you?"


    "He snuck up on me." Gordes snapped. "If he didn''t sneak attack me, I''d have easily taken him."


    He had conveniently forgetten that this Master had fought with a Servant, per Saber''s words.


    Caules seemed to ignore them, staring at the image. "So that''s his Servant, any guesses?"


    "I do not see any clues besides her being from the East and wielding a sword as a woman. That should narrow it down a little bit, but it still leaves us hopelessly in the dark." I said quietly.


    "Indeed." Darnic nodded towards me again. "It may prove more fruitful to focus on Saber of Red''s Master instead."


    We continued to watch, mostly in bated silence. Insofar there was no need to assumemand over out Servants. Lord Darnic''s Servant ¨C Lancer, was leading them well enough. I was not a military expert, so I could notment beyond what I saw on the surface.


    The army of skeletons was a bit concerning, but they didn''t look very strong. But they seemed utterly insignificant when the Master and the Rider servant shed right in the middle of the army.


    "Ha, he''s attacking his own faction." Gordes sneered. "Let them kill each other, we can clean up the rest."


    That didn''tst long as he also took on Lancer. I didn''t understand this Master''s mindset, why he looked so confident to fight so many Servants by himself. His Thaumaturgy was beyond impressive, I''ve never heard of a Magus with such control over Lightning Magecraft before. "Is he really a nobody?" I whispered.


    "There''s no way." Celenike crossed her arms. "No way in hell a guy like that is unknown. He must be disguised or something."


    I nced at her, but I think she spoke the words on everyone''s minds right now judging by the looks on everyone''s faces.


    It wasmon knowledge that a Magus couldn''t match up to a Servant yet...he was fighting several at the same time....


    The surprises continued.


    A Noble Phantasm.


    He possessed a Noble Phantasm that was not his Servant''s. That would have turned the entire Mages Association upside down if it came out. The Fraga n is the only known owners of a Noble Phantasm, and they are a very unique situation.


    No if that wasn''t enough, Rider dered the Staff the Master pulled out to be a Divine Construct.


    I....how was I supposed to react to that? This war was already something I had a hard time coping with, and now there''s someone like this running around?


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service." The name of the Master was finally revealed, and what should have turned into discourse to n our next course of action instead continued in utter silence.


    "....Like the Wizard Marshall...?" I said quietly.


    "Does he have any family?" Caules, my younger brother, sighed, sitting down.


    Celenike''s hands balled up tight. "Is there an idiot in this world who would dare to use the Kaleidoscope''s name like that otherwise?" She spat out angrily.


    "I...." Gordes just looked lost.


    We all turned towards Lord Darnic for direction. I felt at ease when his reaction didn''t'' change, his Aristocratic expression still hardened and unwavering. There was a reason he presided over the family, why we were all willing to be under him and go against the Mages Association, truly he is ¨C


    "...fuck." The uncharacteristic word left his mouth.


    ...oh


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    Well, based on what Raikou told me, myst name isn''t really noteworthy as the name ''Zelretch'' had taken much higher precedence.


    Oh well.


    Anyways.


    I looked up at the sky, the memory of fighting that dragon hade back and I smiled brightly. "Strun Bah Qo"


    Storm Call.


    The moon was immediately covered, and my storm enveloping the sky. It was smaller than the dragon''s but that was expected I suppose and it wouldn''tst very long. I had less experience with this shout than it did, so it was impressive in its own way.


    I held out my hands andughed as Lightning Bolts began to fall from the sky, targeting the Servants.


    "What the hell!?" Achilles was the first to look confused at the sudden turn of events. Even to the other Servants that didn''t have the same protections, this wouldn''t do much, but it was a good harassment strategy.


    "RAAAAAH!" Berserker roared, getting hit head on.


    "Annoying." Lancer scowled, throwing his arm up, summoning Stakes to intercept the sts.


    Speaking of harassment.


    I saw Archer hopping around, avoiding them entirely.


    I took that moment to grab Mirage and shift the space around me, appearing dozens of yards away and right next to Archer. I could see the fur on her ears stand up, her head turning to me with shock. I revealed my name, there was no point in hiding my Magic.


    Her bow was already facing mye, arrows knocked and pointing towards my head, but I was quicker. Even as the arrow passed by, barely grazing my Aura, my Mirage pierced into her chest.


    "SIS!" I heard Rider''s cry and the battlefield erupted at his sudden movement. I described his movement before as instantaneous, and this put that to shame. His spear came like a meteor as I adjusted myself to defend, my Aura red to its max and my other hand, which held my Staff, moved to block.


    The fury he disyed only exemplified the force behind his spear.


    The force push my Staff back to my chest, his strength impressive with the force of his speed behind it. I let go of Mirage, instead grabbing his Spear with my free hand, and a spell circle formed at the tip of my Staff of Magnus.


    "You think I''d fall for something like that?" Rider howled, as something appeared in his other arm and swung at me.


    A shield, my vision was consumed entirely by the sight of a shield. It was like the world went silent and my heartbeat stopped, my breathing ceased.


    I summoned my Boosted Gear onto my arm and held it up like a shield.


    My vision went momentarily dark as his shield hit me. I blinked and the next moment I was hurling through the air, skipping across the ground. My aura was shattered by the blow, not able to absorb everything, about half of it gone from that single shot. I rose to my feet, a little shaky, as I looked at what happened, the distance I was from where Rider stood, fussing over Archer.


    "I''m fine." Archer hissed, removing my sword and tossing it to the side. "My spirit core is intact."


    [Look at the Gauntlet.] Ddraig''s words echoed in my ear.


    I did as he said, and my eyes widened. There was a crack on it.


    "That''s not good...."


    [It''s not as bad as it looks, it''ll repair itself over time. But you should know what kind of ridiculous thing would be needed to damage the Gauntlet like this.]


    "Yeah." I looked up at Achilles who seemed rather pleased with himself. I wiped away the blood flowing down my nose and the corner of my mouth.


    It felt like I was hit by a mountain, maybe something more.


    Well, he''s already out, no point in hiding it. I put the Staff away, holding my hand out to bring Mirage back to my hand while my other swords returned to my side. Our eyes locked, I held the Gauntlet up. "Boost!" I called out, doubling my physical capabilities.


    The rush was always insane, intoxicating.


    "I''m not used to being ignored." I turned at Lancer who casually strode over. That baleful aura enveloping as he jerked his hand up. The ground was torn apart, hundreds upon hundreds of stakes burst out into the sky, weaving around at hismand.


    Like a torrent, they moved around him, and it was just a flick of his wrist that made them turn ate right at me.


    "Well.....allow me to rectify that." I was unperturbed by the sight. It was certainly impressive, and even dangerous, but I was feeling rather confident right now. My sword of Destruction moved infront of me as I fed it my Aura.


    These were no Divine mes.


    It erupted in my Power of Destruction, pointing towards the mass of Stakes and shooting at them. They were nothing more than paper infront of my sword, infront of my bloodline that could even reach the divine. The crackling of that dark energy jutted out in every direction, engulfing all the stakes that it passed by.


    "What!?" Lancer blurted out, hisposure changing for the first time. "What is this disgusting power!?" He flexed his arm, more stakesing forth, but it was unable to stop my Sword of Destruction from moving forward towards him. He ceased the fruitless endeavor and instead lifted his spear up about to strike, but paused.


    He eyes nced to the side as another figure materialized next to him, great sword in hand colliding with my Sword of Destruction, knocking it away.


    [He''s here.] Ddraig spoke in my soul.


    I could feel him as well.


    With a mentalmand, my sword flew back to me, my Power of Destruction rescinding.


    "I told you to wait for mymand." Lancer looked at the Saber Servant in annoyance.


    "I''m sorry but, he is someone I must face." Saber dered, eyes not leaving mine.


    "Get in line, buddy." Rider stepped forward, that fury he had before seemed to disappear, and I didn''t have the chance to see where Archer went. But by the sounds of battle to the side, and lightning cracking, I think her and Berserker are fighting.


    Funnily enough, fighting all of these Servants actually handicapped them. If one of them wanted to release a wide-range Noble Phantasm, it was likely they would be ganged up on by the other side.


    I looked at saber and let out a sigh, but a smile crept up on my face. "So, you finally noticed?"


    "This feeling I felt in my heart when I first saw you, this burning need to turn my de towards you." Saber gripped his sword tight. "I now know why." He took a proper stance. "You are a dragon."


    ***


    Sorry for thete chapter, was having trouble writing today. Just a heads up, there may not be a chapter tomorrow, more work stuff still not settled. Fingers crossed I get back to normal in the next few days.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 173 - 165

    <h4>Chapter 173: Chapter 165</h4>


    Berserker of Red (Minamoto-no-Raikou) POV


    Master....


    I watched him go headfirst into a battle between many servants, yet, my eyes could not leave the one infront of me. I knew I should have been supporting him, but this feeling inside of me made it impossible to ignore Lancer of Red.


    Even if he told me to move as I wanted, I felt uneasy. A mother should be there to protect her son, especially on a battlefield such as this.


    Is it really okay for me to be greedy?


    I bit my lip ncing back at the battlefield then back at Lancer who I followed this far away. An unconscious action that we both moved away to fight without interruptions.


    "You are distracted." Lancer''s words broke me from my thoughts. Despite this feeling, thispulsion to draw my sword, I was eerily calm and he appeared much the same. "Are you worried about your Master?" He followed my gaze into the distance, a small smile forming on his face. "You are lucky to have him as your Master. I have not spoken with mine since my summoning, yet yours will fight by your side. I still can''t help but feel jealous of you, Arjuna."


    "Arjuna?" I said in confusion.


    Lancer shook his head. "Apologies, that was a slip of the tongue." He didn''t take a battle stance, instead preformed something of a proper greeting. "You have this feeling as well? This pain in my chest that does not allow me to exist while you still breath?"


    "I cannot live while you still draw breath." I ced my hand on my sword''s hilt. "I have never met you before in my life, why do I feel this way?" I couldn''t look at him as an insect, I was more clear minded than I had been since my summoning.


    "I am Karna, son of the Sun God Surya." He introduced himself, spear hefted up. "And you.....appear so simr to my brother. It is almost like a jest. Is it a cruel twist of fate or a boon I should be thankful for?"


    "The Hero of Charity." I whispered, the knowledgeing to the forefront of my mind and many things began to make sense now. "I am Minamoto-no-Raikou, Daughter of Gozu Tennou."


    "Gozu Tennou, an aspect of Indra." A sh of understanding was seen on his face.


    "Yes." I confirmed.


    "Indeed, this battle was inevitable." He shook his head again, but did not look displeased. "Daughter of Indra, sister to my brother and fated foe, Arjuna." mes ignited around him. "Fight me or return to your master''s side and we can continue our battle like so."


    He was letting me choose.....this fight was important to him, more than I could understand even with this strange feelingpelling me to raise my de against them.


    I don''t want him anywhere near my Master. "No, you are dangerous." I shook my head, my sword drawn from its sheath. "I will crush you here. This time it will not end with merely an arm."


    He smiled lightly holding up the arm that had been healed, before letting out a smallugh. "It took a Command Seal, and two other servants to heal me this quickly, your attack was praiseworthy." He gripped his spear back, taking a proper stance this time.


    Instinctively, I summoned forth my Divine Lightning, as if it had the incessant need to disy itself against his mes.


    "Yes, that is the lightning I know." Karna was more expressive than I''ve ever seen of him yet. "Is it the will of the Gods that this fight happens again or just a happenstance of fate." He gave a genuine smile. "Father, watch over me." Karna spoke softly.


    "Father." I felt myself whisper under my breath without even realizing my actions.


    My Light roared, and his mes burst out as we collided for the first time.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    I locked eyes with the Dragon yer, his gaze unwavering. I felt the trepidation, the call for my blood that pulsated off his de. It was the first time I''ve had a Anti-Dragon weapon pointed at me as opposed to being nearby.


    It was different than even the Holy attribute of the Church that''s like poison to my Devil heritage. With them, it carried a ''purifying'' principal, the desire to remove my ''evil'' from the world. For this Dragon yer, I felt a murderous intent baring down, to cut me to pieces and scatter my ashes to the wind.


    His words gave me a moment of respite. Achilles looked at me strangely, hisckadaisical attitude was shifting to something more serious. He briefly exploded in anger when I hurt hispanion, but he shifted back to that fun-loving fool that I''ve seen plenty of times now. Even when he was ''angry'' at my provocations it didn''t feel like he was all that invested beyond just having fun.


    Lancer of ck, he looked like he was mentally advising strategies. He didn''t appear to be the type to run in headfirst like Rider of Red unless overly provoked to do so. Even this ''fight'' I was having with him, he didn''t openly enter my range, taking the opportunity probe and feel me out.


    "Well, if no one''s going to make the first move ¨C" My head jerked up at the clouds and I realized, they were no longer being struck by my Lightning bolts. I held my hand out and static crackled all around me, but it wasn''t of my own make.


    We all turned to see a massive pir of green lighting shoot to the sky. My eyes widened as I realized who had just taken hold of my lightning, the Berserker Servant. My eyes Reinforced, I could make her out of the crowd of disposable minions, her fighting Archer of Red.


    She raised her mace up, and mmed it into the ground.


    Pirs of lightning erupted all over the area, the ground beneath us sundered from the unleashed torrent of power.


    We all moved to dodge, as the battlefield becamepletely chaotic. Out of the corner of my eye, an arrow made its way right for my eye, but it was not from Archer of Red. I caught it with a scowl, tossing it to the side as I continued to move.


    "Annoying." I spat out as another arrowing from the direction of the Yggdmillennia castle came at me. With a swipe of my sword, I deflected it easily, and another was right in the spot where I continued to move in. I dodged to the side, and there were two more right upon me.


    Okay.....he was pretty damn skilled to predict me like this.


    I unleashed two Birds effortlessly to destroy them, yet once again another was right infront of my chest. My Aura red, blocking it, only for a barrage tond in the same exact spot, even as I moved with a burst of lightning.


    One arrow pushed against my Aura, another burst through the base of that one, hitting the same spot, and several more followed suit in the blink of an eye, like they were released with utmost certainty moments before I had even stood here.


    I looked down, and there was an arrow sticking out of my shoulder, my aura having been punctured through.


    I was more impressed than angry.


    I pulled it out, the arrowhead not being very deep. The wound healed almost immediately, but it was the fact that he managed tond a clean blow on me from so far away that really grabbed my attention.


    Well, I suppose I should return the favor.


    At this distance, I could only vague make out the silhouette of an Archer up on the highest tower over at the Castle.


    Arrows for arrows.


    I held my hand out, my Lightning danced around my palms.


    It should go like this....


    Condense. Form. elerate.


    "Lightning. Arrow. Burst."


    My lighting formed into the shape of arrows, aiming far away. With a thunderp, they shot off into the distance. They arced across the sky visibly, nosily colliding with a Bounded Field that sprung up around the Castle.


    The defenses didn''t budge, and I just clicked my tongue in annoyance, but I think the Archer already abandoned that sniping spot, so the effort wasn''t wasted.


    Well, for a hastily made spell, it wasn''t bad.


    I pivoted, foot digging into the ground as Mirage swung up to meet a bloodthirsty deing down on me. "Well, you''re first I suppose." I grinned at the Dragon yer.


    I didn''t react, but I was hesitant about being hit by that sword.


    "Forget me already?" I snapped to the side and held up the Boosted Gear as a shield to block the familiar spear of Rider, as it struggled to move against my Gauntlet. "You''re blocking me with one arm." Rider said with confusion.


    "The strength of a dragon, I don''t know how, but he''s intertwined with one." Saber spoke up.


    "Hoh, both sides working together against me? I''m ttered."


    "Tsk." Rider clicked his tongue. "I don''t need help to beat you, bastard." He said, but didn''t dismiss Saber.


    Saber pushed down on his sword, and I buckled slightly. His strength was no joke, but I wasn''t even at my peak yet.


    "The strength of a dragon, well you''re not wrong. What do you think, Ddraig?"


    "[He has good insight, I can see how he was able to y Fafnir.]" The jewel on the Boosted Gear lit up, his voice projected out.


    "What!?" Rider looked taken back.


    Even Saber''s de hesitated. "You can speak?"


    "[Of course, do you think I''m incapable of it?]" Ddraig scoffed. "[Don''t put me on the same level as that greedy dragon you killed.]"


    "You know who I am?" Saber still seemed utterly shocked that this conversation was happening.


    "[I''ve met that dragon in the past, do you think I wouldn''t recognize the person who carries his scent? Siegfried.]"


    "You''ve got to be fucking kidding me." Rider scowled and I held back augh.


    I stepped forward, push his de away and swung in a wide arc to force both Saber and Rider back.


    "It''s as you say." Siegfried hefted his de up again. "I am Siegfried, The Dragon Blooded Knight. If you can speak, I would ask your name, dragon."


    "[Haha, actually asking my name, I like you. Struggle, Dragon yer. Fight with all your might and test yourself against my wielder." Ddraig dered. "[I am Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon Emperor.]"


    "I will remember your name." Siegfried nodded.


    "[I have one more thing to say.]"


    Siegfried perked up attentively.


    "[Boost]." Me and Ddraig said at the same time.


    Again, Siegfried''s eyes widened, my sword swinging up from below at him, he moved his sword ¨C Balmung to block, but it his guard was destroyed at first contact.


    I ducked down as Rider''s spear moved through the spot my head had just been, no indication that he even moved, his speed still ridiculous, but at this point, it didn''t seem out of my reach anymore.


    He twirled his spear, swinging it down in the same movement to try and catch me, I slid to the side and shed my sword at him, full of magical energy. He quickly brought his spear up to block, only to get blown back at the impact, ground upheavaled as he regained footing.


    I flicked my hand towards Siegfried, Talismans flew out forming a spell around him. "Three Elements Sealing Formation." I didn''t give him another second nce as my Gauntlet-d handunched out, connecting with Achilles face.


    The force of my blow knocked him off his feet, his head jerking to the side.


    To his credit, he didn''t back down, he didn''t get disorientated by the fact that I had just managed tond a solid hit on him even when he''s been having the speed advantage. His own fist snapped back, an otherwise sharp and crisp jab I had narrowly dodged. His speed was still something else, and I was starting to think he had an ability that allowed him to match my own speed in some capacity because it felt like his was keeping pace even after two boosts.


    His knee shot up, but I pushed it down with my palm, followed up by an elbow from his side. His martial arts were indeed impressive, aiming for every opening I had to sneak a jab into. Pankration, I believe it''s called, the most famous bare-handed fighting style of the Ancient Greeks.


    This didn''t mean he abandoned his spear, it tried to sneak in, but was continuously rebuked by my Sword, which had the advantage at this distance. He was losing ground, quickly. At this point, my physical abilities trumped his, each of my blows forced him back, and he buckled under the strain.


    I nced to the side to see Siegfried already tearing through my Seal after only a few breaths worth of time. His physical prowessbined with his innate Magical Resistance did short work to my hastily applied spell. He was already charging at me in a single blink of an eye.


    His overhead sh tore apart the ground, but I held firm as Mirage was brought up to block. With a single hand, I pushed his sword back to his chest as he struggled to fight against me.


    Achilles Spear shot out again, this double teaming was a bit annoying, I guess it was time to do something about it. My other sword flew at him, while not doing much, it was enough to give me a moment as my Gauntlet-d palm opened up towards the Rider servant. "Prate." I called out as a beam burst forth, tearing through his chest."


    Achilles let out a pain shout, perhaps mostly filled with surprise at his defenses being ovee so abruptly.


    I gripped Mirage with two hands, and knocked Siegfried''s de away. Following up, my free hand opened up and Ascalon flew down into it as I shed down his own chest. "You''re not the only one with an Anti-Dragon Noble Phantasm, Dragon-blooded Warrior." I grinned, my sword cutting deep into him.


    "Rider!" It was Archer this time who shouted, arrows flying at me from the distance, my swords darting out to meet them in mid air.


    "Saber." Another voice joining the fray, the Lancer of ck decided to rejoin after backing away in the initial chaos.I guess he couldn''t sit still after I just wounded two Servants simultaneously.


    "Woohoo!" A shout erupted from above as my head snapped up, a person came flying down on a strange creature,nce in hand as he tried to stab at me.


    I swiped my hand, shattering the space around me, appearing a little distance away in a few steps, only to be bombarded by a hail of arrows, this time from the Archer of ck, whom I had yet to get a proper look at. I dodged easily enough, but that just opened me up to new problems.


    "RAAAAAHH." A massive torrent of lightning was discharged my way.


    Stabbing my swords into the ground, The Staff of Magnus appeared infront of me, and I cast a Greater Ward to defend. The residual st scorched the earth around me for dozens of meters in every direction, but I was otherwise unhurt. Letting it go, I allowed it to float around me just like my swords, easier to call upon.


    A loud whistle filled the air, and a chariot shed through the air and a speed that made even Achilles look a bit slow. The three-horse noble phantasm sliding in under everyone''s noses to pick up the Rider Servant as Archer of Red astralized and disappeared.


    The Chariot zipped through the air in a way that was extremely hard to track. In a literal blink, it had already disappeared from sight.


    Unfortunate, I was hoping that blow would have taken him out, but there was good money on him having some variation of Battle Continuation. Some Servants in their legends had survived having their hearts gouged out, and conceptualized into the ability to fight through such things. If they could heal Lancer''s Arm, it was entirely possible that wound was not as debilitating as I would hope.


    But now, I was surrounded by the entirety of the ck Faction, though I''ve seen nothing of their Assassin, which kept me on guard.


    "How long are you going to stand around?" I called out, the Servants look at me warily.


    "Hmph. I was watching you il around like a novice, it was fun to watch." Mordred voice flowed into my ears, her vibrant armor materializing next to me.


    I couldn''t help but grin, sweeping my gaze around at all the enemy Servants. "This is my Berserker Servant." I introduced.


    "Fuck you, I''m a Saber!" She shouted in return.


    "See, a Berserker." Iughed.


    "Grrrr." She just growled, but didn''t keep arguing.


    "You''re outnumbered, surrender and we may work something out." Lancer leveled his spear towards me.


    "It took me a moment to figure out your identity." I replied, looking right at him. "It''s obvious in hindsight, but I was caught up with other things admittedly. Your Majesty, I should have expected the ck Faction to summon you since this is your territory."


    "Hoh, You have good eyes." Lancer looked please.


    No, d the Impaler.


    "You are a King." I nodded. "It was expected that you would try to gain the advantage without any loses on your side as well. To bring us over to yours would be the best oue." I couldn''t fault him, nor did I feel particrly offended at his attempt.


    "Your answer?"


    "My answer." I pursed my lips, holding my hand up. "Here it is." I snapped my fingers, the Dust-Bombs all around the Castle exploded as one, the Bounded Fields shuddered and burst as the numerous elemental effects cascaded in every direction.


    They all snapped their eyes back to their base of operations. I would be the first to admit that their defenses were impressive, it could even keep servants out without relying on Noble Phantasms to brute force in for the most part.


    Mirage swung up, resting on my shoulder. "Should I repeat my answer?" I said with a cocky smile.


    ***


    Work is finally starting to normalize, now I just need to catch up on everything I missed.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 174 - 166

    <h4>Chapter 174: Chapter 166</h4>


    "You!" Lancer ¨C d the Impaler looked furious. "What have you done?"


    "Woops, was that important?" I feigned shock.


    "You''re such an ass." Mordred actually chuckled.


    "Well, they don''t seem happy." I flex my fingers, getting a good feel on how fatigued my body felt with the adrenaline pumping through me. I was still good to go.


    "I wonder why." Mordred''s dry tone was noticeable even through her helmet.


    "Hehe, master keeps screaming in my ear." The pink-haired rider servant said with a giggle.


    "So, quick question." I looked at Rider. "I don''t mean to be offensive, but are you a boy or a girl?"


    "Why don''t you find out." He/she winked at me, tugging on the hem of their skirt.


    "Oh my god." Mordred spat out.


    "Did a shiver run down your spine too?"


    "Fucking yes." Mordred sounded horrified. "Reminds me of when the adulterer cross-dressed."


    "Stop ignoring me!" d mmed his hand on the ground, stakes erupting in the entire area except where his allies stood.


    I scoffed, mming my Staff onto the ground in response, forming a shield around me and Mordred.


    "Good to know you aren''t aplete pansy." Mordred grunted, flicking the shield around us.


    "Do you think a pansy would be able to bed Artoria?" I raised an eyebrow.


    She snorted. "Of course no¡ª" She paused, head slowly turning towards me. "The fuck you just say?"


    "That''s right." I intentionally raised my voice. "I fucked your father!" Well, I will at some point at least. But that didn''t stop me from posing dramatically. Been keeping that one in for too long.


    Though, everyone got really quiet.


    "Nice." Rider shot me a thumbs up.


    To my suprise, Mordred didn''t overtly react. "Should I call you mother then?" She snorted, seemingly pleased with herself at the retort.


    "Yes! No take backs."


    "Wait, what?"


    "Come it''s time for some mother-son bonding!" I let go of my Staff, taking back Mirage.


    "No, seriously, what the fuck!?"


    My attention was drawn elsewhere from Mordred''s balking, gleams of light heading towards us in the distance.


    I cast condensed Lightning over my limbs again, and reapplied all my enhancement spells. "Lightning.Arrow.Burst." I raised my hand over towards the forest, a dozen lightning arrows shot out, intercepting arrows firing right at us as the barrier fell. I would need to work on the casting sequence when I had timeter, but it was actionable for now, I suppose.


    As if on que, they all moved on us.


    I grinned as Mordred erupted in her own Red Lightning, mimicing my own as it crackled around me. The ground was utterly destroyed as she burst forth, sword smacking into Rider''srgence.Sparks flew as they traded blows, Rider being deceptively nimble with thatrge weapon.


    Oh well, I guess I can support her, she''d been patient this long and really wanted to fight apparently.


    Holding out my hand, I cast my Lightning Arrows, dozens upon dozens of them filled the air. The other Servants around me appeared hesitant, and ready for battle, but instead, I pointed towards the forest and fired them off to keep that Archer pinned down.


    "Boost." I called out again, regaining double my abilities after using a Prate on Achilles. The ability itself consumed all my boosts to use.


    "Your presence skyrocketed again." Siegfriedmented, moving at me with a burst of speed. "I see, it is tied to your Gauntlet, and quite literally with your words." His sword swung out fiercely, my own swinging out to meet it. ording to Raikou, he was an endurance fighter, but that didn''t mean he had to be passive.


    Speaking of Raikou, I briefly focused on the link between us. I could sense the turbulent emotions flowing back. She was deep into the fight, and it was important to her so I chose not to distract her.


    "Haah!" Siegfried swung his Dragon-ying sword down and I swung Mirage up to meet it, the impact blowing away the surroundings.


    His de struggled against mine. "This wound you gave me it has yet to heal." His eyes trailed the line of blood that was still dripping down his chest.


    "Ascalon is a pretty good Anti-Dragon weapon. You may not have the soul of a Dragon, but your body may as well be one physically."


    "A Dragon with an Anti-Dragon sword, how amusing." Siegfried actually smiled.


    I let out a chuckle. "Like you''re one to talk, Dragon-blooded warrior."


    "Saber, don''t fall into his rhythm." Lancer sneered, jerking his hand up, the baleful aura surging and stakes attacked me from all sides.


    "Annoying." I grunted, my other swords swung around me, my own Lightning burst out as well, destroying them all. "Are you just going to stand back, mighty king?"


    "Very well." His spear swung at me, the distance closing with a blink of an eye.


    My eyes widened as I blocked with my Gauntlet, the force of it actually made my arm shake. He only grinned savagly as the two Servants pressed the advantage.


    I tumbled slightly, but quickly regained my foot, deflecting attacks from both foes.


    "A physical boost from your legend being intertwined with thend we''re fighting on? No, this is more than that. You are significantly stronger than a Lancer should be." I snapped my fingers, Runic Circles summoned in the air, but not aimed towards me.


    Mordred.... I looked towards her, she was taking on two Servants, no three. Archer was really screwing with her, there were some Arrows sticking out of her armor, even if she was overpowering the Berserker and Rider Servant.


    They began to discharge lightning bolts towards the oing barrage.


    "Hmph, with my Demonic Defender of the State, as long as you remain within my territory, my abilities are unmatched." He waived his arms out, grandstanding.


    "Impressive, but how about......Boost." I called out, shifting through the Kaleidoscope, appearing right in front of him. My Mirage swung at his neck, only to be deflected by Saber.


    They made a goodbo, makes it hard to get a deciding blow without leaning more into my Gauntlet or Magic.


    "I''ve had enough of this foolishness." Lancer''s aura exploded out, the ground shook, and even the sky turned red.


    My eyes widened, the release of his Noble Phantasm was obvious at this point, and I felt arge sense of danger. The lightning around my legs burst out and I moved towards Mordred as fast as I could.


    "Come, savages who trample over my territory! It''s time to discipline you! I''ll turn mypassion and rage into red-hot stakes and skewer you all! And these stakes are not limited, but truly infinite, so despair ¨C and gorge on your own blood!"


    The aura around him reached its peak.


    "Kazikli bey!"


    ***


    Mordred POV


    "Guess I''ll get you pinkie, and the monster over there." I gestured towards the obvious Berserker servant who just growled and roared without speaking. And if that wasn''t obvious enough, only a mad fool would wear a wedding dress to fight in.


    "Raaaaah!" Berserker shout, running towards me without an ounce of martial prowess. Compared to that cow-bitch, this Servant was weak. I knocked her Mace aside with ease, even her discharging of lightning I could ignore with my own Mana Burst. Grabbing her face, I tossed her to the side.


    "Don''t forget me, woohoo!" Rider jumped off his strange mount, the bird-creature going back up into the sky. He ran at me, the tip of his Lancer aiming for the joints of my armor.


    The fool at least knew what he''s doing.


    I stepped to the side, dodging his thrust, his speed was decent on ground, but nothing worth noting. I swung rent up, a casual swing at his side, and he brought his Lance to block it, an annoying grin on his face.


    "Dangerous~"


    I stomped the ground, my Lightning bursting out before kicking him in the side.


    "Raahhhaaaa!" Berserker made herself known easily, her annoying shouting giving away her position every moment.


    I charged my sword with my Magical Energy and swung it in her direction, blowing her away.


    Ducking my head swiftly, several arrows sailed past me, my head jerked towards the forest where the Archer of ck from before was targeting me.


    "Take this!" Rider shouted gleefully, the tip of his Lance intertwined with his own power, piercing through the air towards me.


    The t of my de was brough up to block, but the force was enough to push it back into my chest before I could deflect it away. "Fuck off." I shouted in annoyance as more arrows came at me in that brief moment, swinging my sword in the air I destroyed them from dozens of feet away.


    "Grrrrrr" Berserker was on me again, Mace mmed in the ground and discharged a burst of lightning towards me.


    At the same time, several more arrows came at me, and Rider''s Lance shot towards my face. I mmed rent into the ground, activating my Mana burst again. Rider and Berserker were blown back, but a stream of arrows hit my shoulder, tunneling through my armor.


    I was about to go after the Archer, but suddenly magical lighting fired into the air, destroying another volley of arrows. I turned to see who cast the spell, though I could have guess.


    "Asshole, I didn''t need your help!" I spat out, but it was....nice to have backup. He wasn''t as much a pushover that I thought. I thought he was some smooth talking magus that tricked father, but he''s decently strong. I turned back to Berserker and Rider, a grin forming on my face. I broke the arrows still sticking out of me. "Well, how about round two without the bastard hiding in the back?"


    "How about we talk this out?" Rider offered.


    "Yeah, no." I flicked rent to the side, carving the ground apart. I was ready for another round, but something suddenly felt off, and the sky turned red with the ground shaking. "What the hell!?" I felt someone grab me suddenly, fast enough that I didn''t notice in time.


    "Kazikli bey!"


    "Avalon."


    A golden light surrounded me, a warm light I hadn''t seen in a very long time. All around us, Stakes shot out of the ground, but failed to prate this barrier around us.


    "This is....?" I was at a loss for words.


    "Haaah, made it in time. That was dangerous." The bastard Magusughed. "This is why Servants are scary, Noble Phantasms are just hard to deal with."


    The light took an ethereal form around us and it was something I would forever recognize. "Father''s Sheath?" I whispered.


    "Yeah, she gave it to me to keep me safe." He smiled, holding it up for me to see.


    "....you really are together with Father?" It was hard to imagine, but, why else would he have this Sheath? It only worked with Father''s magical energy as well, he would have to have given it to this basta¡ªI mean this person.


    "I am, she''s someone very important to me." He pat my shoulder. "Talkter, fight now."


    "R-right." I quickly dismissed all those troubling thoughts. I was a knight; I had no business being distracted by such things on the battlefield.


    I looked around again, the red sky started to fade and even the uncountable number of stakes that blocked our vision began to disappear. I gripped my sword tightly, and I couldn''t help but nce at this ¨C man who was beside me


    "Move quick, I''ll support you."


    "Fine." I replied. "...You better keep up."


    "What kind of Mom would I be if I let my son y without any supervision?" He grinned.


    But for some reason...it didn''t feel as annoying like it had been before.


    Father''s Sheath faded just as the other Noble Phantasm returned the world to normal and I burst out, targeting the Berserker Servant, who looked surprised at my sudden appearance.


    "Not so fast!" Rider jumped after me. "Trap of Argalia!" The feeling of his Noble Phantasm activated; his spear lit up with an ethereal light as it stabbed towards my lower body.


    "Bindings of Gaia." That.... Magus''s voice called out, and massive Roots sprung up to wrap the Rider Servant up and bound him.


    Berserker swung her Mace, but I side stepped it easily. I poured a chunk of my magical energy into my sword, and my Mana Burst exploded out. "Die!" I shouted, swinging rent with all my strength right at the Berserker servant, cleaving her in half and utterly destroying the area.


    The ¨C Father''s...lover appeared at my side. "That''s one down, well done."


    "I don''t need your praise." I huffed.


    Of course I could take that Servant down, I''m the best knight under Father.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    Mordred was acting strange, but I guess seeing Avalon might have dredged up some buried feelings. That Noble Phantasm ¨C Kazikli Bey, was dangerous, the entire area, as in literally every square inch, was covered in stakes for its activation. And these weren''t like the normal ones he can use as he wished, these ways gave off a foreboding feeling of death.


    Noble Phantasms are dangerous. I had to use Primordial Runes, a Divine Construct, and my strongest Shield Spell to block that Lancer''s Noble Phantasms from before.


    "You continue to be pests!" d shouted, his face snarled in rage.


    I felt a twinge in my link with Sir Wiggles. Following the link, it looked like he found the Grail. I had him sneak in while we were distracting everyone and find the Grail.


    I looked at Mordred then back at Lancer. "Well my feelings are hurt." I put my hand on Mordred. "Good day sir." I pulled Mordred through a portal opening up within the Castle grounds.


    "The hell!?" Mordred blurted out,nding on the ground from the sudden shift. The area was practically in ruins because of my bombs, elemental effects were still seen everywhere, but there was no one running out to attack us.


    "Sir Wiggles found the grail, one moment." I closed my eyes to follow his senses.


    "I wasn''t done!" She threw her hands up. "I watched you fight for like forever and I barely got a turn!" She whined.


    "You can fightter, let me focus." I tuned her out.


    Lets see, he should be at the right side, a few stories below the ground. Smart, putting it closer to the Leyline, it should be quick to ¨C


    My eyes shot open.


    "And then you ¨C" Mordred stopped, looking at me. "What?"


    "Which bitch dares!?" I shouted to the surroundings, feeling a ping from the familiar link. My face immediately morphed into an expression of rage.


    "Hoho." A haughtyugh answered. "My, my when things happen you don''t foresee, is this how you react? Imagine how we''ve felt this entire time." A woman with long ck hair appeared. I recognized her from before with the priest. She stood upon the castle walls, a good distance away. In any other situation, I may have made a cocky remark, or even flirted, but right now all I felt was unbelievable anger as she held Sir Wiggles, gripped tightly in her hand.


    He didn''t move, his eyes were closed. I could only faintly feel him through the link, he was still alive.


    "Is this rodent yours, hmm?" An evil grin grew on her face as she squeezed a little bit tighter.


    "Assassin." The priest''s voice echoed out, he stepped up right behind her. "There''s no need to be cruel, we''ve got what we came here for." As soon as the words left his mouth, arge skeletal beast touched down from the sky next to them.


    "You..!" I took a step forward but she raised up Sir Wiggles.


    "Ah." She looked at my smugly. "Careful, I may identally squeeze it too tightly."


    I stopped in my tracks, only able to re.


    "There, that''s the perfect look for you." Sheughed, mounting up with the priest who just stared at me without emotion.


    As they took to the skies, she tossed Sir Wiggles down. I moved as quickly as I could to catch him. I immediately called up on the power of Avalon, letting its light wash over him. There were spots on him, green and ck.


    He had been poisoned.


    "Come on, buddy, this is nothing." I ran a hand through his matted fur.


    "Oi, you gonna let them get away with that?" Mordred retracted her helmet, giving me a look.


    "This is more important." I didn''t even harbor the thought.


    "You really care about that rabbit?"


    "He''s family." Was all I said.


    "Wilhelm!" d''s enraged voice filled the area, already havinge back to the castle. "Where is my Grail!?" I guess he had been informed on what happened by someone.


    "I don''t have it." I spat out, cradling my familiar.


    "You''re toote." Mordred rified. "Those other guys stole it."


    He let out an angry grunt. "This is your fault, if you hadn''t ¨C"


    "Quiet." Raikou appeared next to me. "Speak one more word and I shall crush you, insect."


    "Lancer." Siegfried also came to calm hispanion. nked by Rider and whom I believe was Archer since I didn''t recognize him and he had a bow.


    I ignored them for the moment {You''re back.} I sent towards Raikou. With a nce, I could see her condition. She had been fighting with Lancer for awhile now, and it definitely showed, she was sporting many wounds and looked exhausted.


    {Lancer was forcibly recalled.} Raikou didn''t sound too happy.


    {Another Command Seal?}


    {Yes but.....He said that he needed one to regrow his arm in such short time.}


    {That means three had been used...that doesn''t sound right.} Something was definitely up there.


    "What happened, why''s everyone standing around?" Rider mmed theirnce into the ground and leaned against it.


    "Look up into the sky and see." I stated.


    "What do you me¡ª" Rider looked up. "Oh."


    "That''s....." Siegfried looked surprised as well.


    "How did that appear without anyone noticing." Even d shared their reaction.


    "It appears that we''ve underestimated the Red faction." Archer''s voice reached my ears. "Being able to bring something like that out, it would not be simple. For them to do it under our noses, it speaks of detailed nning."


    I noticed it when they flew away.


    High up into the sky was a fortress.


    There was no doubt in my mind that it was a Noble Phantasm. A Noble Phantasm that existed in the normal world, not a single use ability, and it was a flying fortress.


    Things were not simple at all.


    Sir Wiggles opened his eyes, the foreign colors leaving his body.


    Good boy.


    "I''m going to bring it down." I dered.


    "What?" Mordred looked at me. "You''re going to take down that thing? That''s probably Caster''s fucking workshop, and a Noble Phantasm. It probably has more defenses than this ce, and such a stupid thing is probably from the Age of Gods."


    "Yup." I nodded at her words. They were surprisingly well thought out. I turned towards the ck Faction members. "Temporary Truce?" I offered.


    d scowled. "What''s stopping us from taking you now and merely sieging them ourselves?"


    "The fact that they have the Grail and thought it was a good idea to steal it implies they can do something with it, so time is a factor." I pointed out first. "And second, how much longer do you think the night willst?"


    I knew Ruler was skulking nearby, if we tried to do something overtly during the day.....she had plenty ofmand seals for a reason.


    d looked at me before furrowing his brow and clicking his tongue. "Fine, do what you wish to bring it down we will not interfere. If you fail, I''m putting your head on a spike outside my castle."


    "Awesome, team up!" Rider jumped up happily.


    "How do you expect to bring it down." Archer spoke up, his eyes reminded me of Scathach''s.


    "I''m a Magus, what do you think I''ll do?" I took hold of my Staff. "I''m going to cast a spell." I took a few steps forward, each time my foot touched the ground, a Magic Circle formed around a Rune. "I''ll show you, the strongest spell I''ve ever created." Thepleted form of my Nine-Realms.


    ***


    Sorry for thete chapter, took a nap when I got home from work.


    Wilhelm going to calmly express his grievances with the Red Faction. First Servant had been killed, -- Berserker. Sorry to the people asking to take care of Fran :p. For those of you who don''t know, Berserker of ck is Frankenstein''s monster and as is tradition, is a woman.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 175 - 167

    <h4>Chapter 175: Chapter 167</h4>


    I continued my steps, Sir Wiggles watched in my arm, not fretting over the situation. He was a strong rabbit; he would easily recover from this little setback and be stronger for itter.


    My Staff glowed bright, the umted Magical Energy a constant outpour onto the surroundings. Behind me were dozens of Spell Circles on the ground, each spot I had passed by briefly untiling to a stop a little bit away from the others.


    "What''s going on!" A voice shouted,ing from arge entrance deeper into the castle. He held himself upright, a cane in his hand as he swept his gaze around the area. nked by his sides were people in some-what matching uniforms and behind him was the familiar figure of Siegfried''s master.


    d shot him a look. "We have agreed to a cease fire while we retrieve the Grail." He said inly, though the way they looked at each other, I could guess a mental link, meaning this man was Lancer''s master. d was no doubt giving him a more in depth exnation.


    "You''re Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, head of the Yggdmillennia family." I met his eyes.


    "You are Wilhelm ''Schweinorg''." He emphasized my name, perhaps even witha tone of respect.


    "You don''t have to look so afraid, my Grandfather isn''t going to interfere in this war." The pensive look on his face when he spoke could easily be understood if I ced myself in his shoes.


    The Yggdmillennia family broke away from the Mages Association, and if Zelretch wanted to move on them, there was frankly nothing they could realistically do.


    "Now." I raised my Staff up, beginning the important bits of the spell sequence. "I need to concentrate." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raikou look more alert. Despite being a Berserker and having some weird version of Mad Enhancement, she was undoubtedly a warrior. Funnily enough, even Mordred appeared to be keeping an eye on the others while also watching me intently.


    Well, if my Son was watching, I had to show off a bit.


    I swiped the Staff against the ground, creating many more Magic Circles, dozens upon dozens began to cover the ground all around me.


    Stabbing the Staff of Magnus into the ground, I let go and withdrew a handful of Talismans from my ring. "Metal Enriches Water. Water Nurtures Wood. Wood Feeds Fire. Fire Dries Earth. Earth Refines Metal." They shot out, forming a pentagram that covered the entire courtyard.


    The Five Elements Mutual Generation. It was the creation cycle from most Eastern Cosmologies. Usually, this spell had the effect of doubling the output of most other spells, but in this particr instance, it went even further.


    I began the next step, Runes all began to form around me with a flick of my wrist. They shot out and formed arge Runic Circle using the Pentagram as the base. The sequence was reminiscent of the Skyrim Runic spells I hade across and thus repurposed for my own use.


    I wasn''t done.


    Holding my hand up, I steadily began to draw more Runes ¨C Primordial Runes.


    The very air around the castle shuddered at the actualization of these spells that were created during the Age of Gods. This system of symbols that could reach the truth of the world with their hidden meanings.


    Ovepped, my Primordial Runes that represented the Elements oveid with my Five Elements Mutual Generation.


    Putting my hand over the Orb on my Staff of Magnus I continued. "One gives birth to Nine." The ground around the castle shook, as if an earthquake overtook the area. The Magical Energy in the air stirred, and the stars above began to glow just a little bit brighter.


    My Spell Circles lit up immediately, all epassed by therger one that began to shine brighter and brighter.


    Two different systems of world creation, two different cosmologies. The Eastern creation cycle bolstered the Norse''s version of origins, the beginnings of their Nine Realms.


    I felt a swelling in my chest, and I couldn''t help but smile. This was the first time I attempted to cast this spell, and now, the Blessing of Odin burned within me, as if reacting to my intent.


    I was pulling massively on concepts connected to the Norse Cosmology, and who better defined that than the All-Father himself? Who hung himself upon the branches of Yggdrasil to gain wisdom? The Blessing synchronized with the casting, adding ''weight'' to my spell, pulling further upon the concepts.


    "And Nine embraces One." I held my hands out, something began to grow out of the ground. At a visible speed, they came together, merged and expanded.


    A tree.


    The World Tree.


    It grew, shooting up towards the sky, immediately eclipsing the height of the Castle, towering above everything within a hundred miles.


    I finished and the final pieces of the Tree sprouted, its form taking a solidified shape unto the world. Something not seen in millennia, not born of this age. It was fake, a broken image of the past, but for a moment, it would exist again.


    "Blessings of the World Tree ¨C Yggdrasil."


    Still, the flying fortress sat above the clouds, continuing to look down upon us.


    "W-what is that!?" It was Saber''s master who spoke, pointing at the new addition to thendscape.


    "The air...." Archer spoke. "It''s nostalgic."


    "I feel good." Mordred said idly, holding her hands up.


    The Tree just existing is a boon to those who I choose to shelter beneath it.


    "That is impressive Magecraft, to call upon the Sacred Tree in this era like so." Siegfried spoke with praise, I and forgotten that he grew up in a time where the Norse were still adhered to, their teachings followed.


    {Master, I feel energized, and my wounds are healing rapidly.} Raikou spoke through the link. {I feel stronger as well.}


    I wanted to respond, but something caught my attention up into the sky. The flying fortress shifted, and I saw colorful symbols alight around its exterior. Even with Reinforcing my eyesight, I could just barely make out massive Spell Circles charging up.


    "You! Do something." Saber''s master shouted, pointing towards the sky. "Can this stupid Tree stop that!?"


    "Did you think I cast this spell just for aesthetic purposes?" I scoffed, withdrawing Gae Bolg from my ring and stabbing it into the ground. "I call upon the Realm of Gods. The Halls of Immortals, and the All-Father."


    The Tree shuddered and Nine figures appeared around it, located at the same ces they existed along with the Tree. These symbols, each representing their realm, glowed bright, but the one up top glowed the brightest.


    A floating city of gold ¨C the Symbol of the Godly Realm.


    "Asgard." Imanded, tossing Gae Bolg up into it.


    Gae Bolg, it was a spear crafted by Scathach, who was taught her Runic prowess by Odin himself. But that wasn''t all. Gae Bolg could be said to be descended from a certain spear, one wielded by the All-Father, a symbol of his Authority as the King of Gods in this particr world-view.


    Gae Bolg that always strikes the heart, it made for a wonderful Anchor to call upon the image of another spear, supported by my fake Yggdrasil.


    "The Spear which strikes anywhere within the Nine-Realms. Reveal yourself."


    My Gae Bolg filled with power, ovepping its existence with another phantasm, another memory and legend. Odin''s blessing thrummed within my body, the spear solidified, a golden sheen now adorning the night sky, scaled up several fold from its normal size.


    The power of Asgard upon my spell, it gave everything to form this spear. This was the final form of Asgard as represented in my Nine-Realms.


    I looked up,pletely unafraid as I watched the flying fortress gather power. It was clear it thought my spell was a threat, perhaps unknowing of what it does, but the absolute amount of power it radiated probably causes them to worry.


    And I''m sure whoever sat upon the throne within that fortress assumed they held the advantage, that they didn''t even consider themselves in danger.


    I smiled while running a hand through Sir Wiggles fur.


    The Spell Circles reached their peak above the clouds, and a handful of Beams of destruction fired down upon us. Each one would be enough to vaporize the castle in full. I heard shouts behind me to bring back up the shield, to use what spells they could to defend.


    Mordred cast a nce at me, I could tell she was a bit hesitant, but I just winked her way, earning a scoff, but she settled down.


    Raikou did not fret one iota, her faith in me was a warm wee.


    "Strike with Absolution -- Gungnir." Imanded.


    It moved, faster than one would perceive normally. A golden line ascended to the sky, jutting out in directions and moving in ways that should be impossible under the normalws of the world.


    My Spear and the fired magical beams collided with an explosion of Magical Energy. There was no epic stalemate, no fighting between spells, a Golden Spear returned to my side without resistance, the night sky bing serene once again.


    My Nine-Realms spells, they take an aspect of the corresponding realm I imbued them with. I chose Asgard for defense, to have a shield to defend with in using the basic application. But here, Asgard takes on its true principal ¨C The best Defense, is a good offense.


    What better defense was there then Odin''s spear that strikes anywhere and never misses? I could use the spear to strike at them, but it perhaps would not do much, it was not something for wide-speared destruction.


    No, I had something else in mind.


    While I called this my final form of my Nine-Realms, the truth was, there was still much left to do toplete it. At the moment, I wasfortable calling upon two of the Realms within.


    Asgard was the first ¨C the Manifestation of Odin''s spear using Gae Bolg as an anchor and Odin''s blessing to help facilitate the Fake Phantasm.


    "The Fires of Destruction ¨C Muspelheim" I called out, the second Symbol ignited, quite literally. I didn''t require anything to bring forth my concept of Muspelheim, I could do so with everything I had provided into this spell. But at the same time, I was a bit worried because this next one would be a bit.....aggressive.


    I withdrew the Sword of Destruction, and tossed it into the raging fires.


    My sword that held the concept of destruction synergized with my spell that practically shouted with joy. My original application, the lesser version, the Fire Of Muspelheim. It was meant as a purely destructive force, and thispleted form would not be much different


    The mes swirled around my sword, changing shape, oveying it like Gae Bolg and Gungnir. It took a moment for them to solidify into the shape I desired, the False Phantasm that I would be drawing upon.


    "Sun-like Sword that Bes a Cmity." I called upon the new sword, the bane of all Norse Gods. The Sword which seared away the textures that was the Norse Cosmology from theyers of the World ¨C the Sword which brought about Ragnar?k. Wielded by the Fire Giant ¨C Surtr.


    Fake as it was, a mere image of a Phantasm that no longer exists, it still held much weight in this state. The Concepts that brought it together are some that have thoroughly disappeared from the world.


    This ridiculous sword that could match the Pir that fastens together theyers of reality.


    Distance did not matter.


    An absolute authority over life ¨C well this version was significantly weaker, but certain concepts still applied to it. And with my Sword of Destruction acting was a wonderful container for the spell to bring about the true sword''s effects, even severely diminished as they were.


    The space around the sword was burned away. The me that threatened to spew out was forcibly contained at the swords edge, but still, everything in the vicinity became significantly hotter. If Ipsed in focus for even a moment, this spell would run rampant in all directions.


    It floated high up, my arm raising along with it.


    This one is for you, Sir Wiggles.


    "Twilight of the Gods ¨C Laevatein." I swiped my hand through the air.


    The space between the sword and the flying fortress was immaterial, it was all burned away in an instant. A white streak extended from the point of the sh, all the way up to the sky, colliding with the defensive capabilities of the Noble Phantasm


    Theysted only for a moment before a chunk of the Fortress was incinerated, and the rest of it began falling from the sky.


    ***


    Omake ¨C Drac is only a second-rate vampire.


    "You are one tough bastard." I grit my teeth, meeting each of d''s strikes head on.


    He had blood running out the corners of his mouth, but that smile on his face revealed how much he was enjoying this. "To survive against my enhance abilities while in my territory, you are praiseworthy." He swung his spear out.


    "Well, I just need to stall for time, while you''re here, my Servant can take out yourpanions." I began pushing back, my de shing out with increased speed.


    d''s brow furrowed. "No, I simply have to deal with you quickly and go assist in retaking the Grail."


    "Ha, like I''ll let you leave me like that!" My other sword shot out, flying at him from all angles. He was forced to back off, the pressure of his attacks lessing.


    "Annoyinng pest!" He growled, jerking his hand up and summoning hundreds of stakes to pierce towards me. They did nothing infront of my many sword, all of which shot out to defend me.


    The attack abruptly stooped, d looking dazed. "NO!" He shouted, spear nting in the ground. "Darnic, don''t you dare!" His voice filled with rage.


    He clutched his head, gritting his teeth. "I forbid you from making me use this Noble Phantasm! Darnic you back stabbing fool!"


    "What the hell is going on?" I blurted out.


    "I''m not him! I can''t be, this isn''t true." d shouted out with increasing frenzy.


    "No..." I whispered in horror, realizing what was happening. "The legend that attached itself to d the Impaler, that carried itself over to modern times. I didn''t think it was possible..."


    d growled, his features shifting visibly on what appeared to be a Noble Phantasm centered on himself.


    He changed, eyes bloodshot, fangs visible in his simile, and three words that brought sheer horror to every fiber of my being. "It''s Morbin Time."


    ***


    Couldn''t resist the Morbin Omake, I''m sorry.


    So, Mc reveals thepleted form of his Nine-Realms, and Semiramis''s day takes a turn for the worse.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 176 - 168

    <h4>Chapter 176: Chapter 168</h4>


    It was a beautiful sight, the ming wreckage of a Noble Phantasm fortress falling from the heavens. How ironic that my fake Laevatein took out a fortress that could almost be like Asgard if you squint hard enough.


    A reenactment of Myth?


    It was possible that such an action had an effect on the actualization of the Phantasm, to produce a more powerful attack.


    This was my first time casting this spell, there were many things I needed to go over and tweak for the future. It was actually Sc¨¢thach who helped me theorize thispleted form in the first ce, back when I was training.


    The others around didn''t speak as we all watched the fireworks in the distance, the moment the Fortress hit the ground, a colossal wave of Magical Energy cascaded out in every direction, enough that my hair was blown to the side.


    It certainly did bring a smile to my face as I pet Sir Wiggles.


    "Well then, I guess my head isn''t going to end up on a spike anymore?" I said as I turned around towards d. He flinched at my sudden address, maybe shocked a bit at my magical disy. "Perhaps we should negotiate the terms of our ''ceasefire'', hmm?" I raised my hand up and both the Spear and the Sword turned to point towards them.


    All the Servants quickly regained their wits, immediately prepared for battle.


    I just let out augh, waiving my hand and dismissing the spell. The Massive tree, my Yggdrasil started to wither.


    The Sword and Spear began to shrink, their ''presence'' that weighed down upon everyone was receding with the fading of the World Tree.


    Both my Spear and my Sword dropped to the ground, returned to their true forms, -- the Sword of Destruction and Gae Bolg. I retrieved them quickly enough, and returned them to my ring.


    I cast onest gaze towards my Tree, its entirety dissipating back into Magical Energy and dispersing back into the world.


    "I''m kidding." I raised my hand up to show no hostility. "I don''t go back on my word." Once again, my pride would not allow it. Technically, we only agreed to allow me to bring that thing down, but it was the principal of the matter.


    "H-how!" Saber''s master fell to hisrge butt, pointing at me. "How is that possible! That was a Noble Phantasm and you destroyed it with Magecraft!? There shouldn''t be any Mysteries like that left in the world!"


    That man was the only one to speak, but the expressions on the other Mages there seemed to mirror his own. The horror on their faces, and the sheer bewilderment at what they saw.


    Well, his statement wasn''t entirely urate. The Queen of the Clock Tower has Magecraft that''s only a hairs breath away from True Magic. While she probably couldn''t have done same thing as my spell, a different set of circumstances and she could have managed something simr.


    "No, it wasn''t just a spell." Siegfried spoke up.


    "Quiet! Imanded you not to speak unless I ordered it!" His master snapped at him.


    "Yeah, Siegfried, you don''t want to give away any secretive information." I also spoke up.


    His master turned to me, mouth agape.


    "But I''m curious at what you have to say, Dragon yer." I ignored his Master.


    "That was Gungnir, the spear of the All Father, you somehow managed to create an image of it, one that possessed the same properties, if diminished." Siegfried spoke, and his Master seemed cowled by a few res. "And the Sword...."


    "That''s impossible in this Age." Therge Master spat out. "There had to be some other trick to it."


    "Primordial Runes." Siegfried closed his eyes, earning the undivided attention of everyone here.


    My lips curled up. "You noticed, huh?"


    "I thought those were gone from the world?" Archer muttered. "You seem to have many things that should be ''impossible'' in this era, young man."


    "Not impossible if you know where to look." I grinned. "And I had the best teacher."


    "Strange, I don''t recall you being my student." Archer shed a little smile, an obvious joking tone in his voice.


    I raised an eyebrow at him. "You know, that really just revealed your identity."


    Archer justughed. "You focused solely on us Servants when you had opportunities to kill a Master. It''s clear where you stand in this fight, I don''t regret giving my identity, young warrior." He pushed his fist against his chest. "I am Chiron." He said without any fanfare. "Can I know the name of the one who was able to teach you?"


    Surprisingly the other Servants didn''t raise a fuss, even though they were on the same ''team''. Though, the Masters looked annoyed at him. Different mindsets beget different ideals and priorities I suppose.


    Yeah, his identity made a lot of sense now. He had a little Horse Tail as well, no idea on his situation there since he''s supposed to be a Centaur, but whatever. "Clearly Greek with those kind of Bow Skills and a tail like that, I probably would have guessed it eventually."


    The Trainer of Heroes, I guess I shouldn''t be surprised he wanted to know about my teacher. Maybe his own pride as a teacher was poking through.


    He shrugged good-naturedly. "It''s as you say."


    "The Immortal Witch of Dun Scaith." I answered, and it wasn''t much of a secret. Besides, he appealed to my pride like that, how could I not answer in kind?


    There was a look of understanding that shed across his face, epting my answer. "I''ll look forward to seeing how well she taught you."


    "Yeah, well, I don''t look forward to those predictive arrows of yours." I grumbled.


    Heughed happily, and it was bing difficult to dislike these Servants.


    {Master, are you nning to fight?} Raikou asked.


    {No. I proposed the Ceasefire, and I will honor it for the night.} I shook my head.


    {Then perhaps we should withdraw?} Raikou questioned.


    {We''ll see how this ys out.} I wanted to see how this went and perhaps the smart thing to do would be to have my spell still going.....except I was at my limit with it. I chose to dissipate it willingly instead of it fading by itself.


    Made my position seem stronger.


    And it wasn''t fully as fleshed out as I had thought. Many things I need to tweak here and there like I initially thought. Truthfully, I was a bit exhausted after casting that thing, I wanted nothing more than toy my head on her thighs and go to sleep.


    There was a woman holding a whip to the side of Darnic, she looked pensive, her eyes roaming all around me. "Eastern Onmyoji and even Runecraft." She spoke up, clutching her whip tightly. "Youbined them somehow to form the basis of that Spell.....along with those ''Primordial Runes''." She bit her lip.


    "Interesting, does the Yggdmillennia family study such things?" That was a bit of a surprise. Both arts are looked down upon by the greater Magusmunity.


    "I''ve never seen someone utilize Runes like you did." She added, sidestepping my question.


    "It was an impressive disy." Darnic stepped forward, hushing hispanion. "Truly you are the Kaleidoscopes Grandson." He praised.


    Ah, brownnosing, how annoyingly familiar. "Is this the part where you invite me to join you?" I raised an eyebrow, earning a snicker from Mordred. Amusingly, Lancer ¨C d, looked annoyed at the thought.


    "There''s no need to fight, we don''t wish to ¨C"


    I cut him off. "Let''s stop right there and clear up some misconceptions." I held my hand up. "First, I''m not here on behest of the Association to ''crush you'' or any other nonsense. I don''t actually disapprove of your faction or your ideals on paper, and I can say with some certainty, neither does my Grandfather."


    "Then why are you ¨C "


    "The Grail, obviously." I rolled my eyes. "Why else would tubby over there still be alive when I literally had him in the palms of my hands." I jerked my thumbs towards Saber''s master. I simply did not like killing If I had no reason to do so. I''ll fight their Servants all day though.


    "Tubby!?" Saber''s master shouted indignantly.


    "Enough, this is getting nowhere." d interjected, sighing and closing his eyes. "I agreed to your terms before, and my word still stands." He didn''t appear as though he was going to initiate a fight. "Unless you want to extend them further?"


    Well, he had a better temperament than his master. "Siege the Fortress?" I asked, earning a node from him but I merely shook my head. "There''s no point." I turned around to look at the sun just peaking over the horizon.


    d scowled but said nothing. He knew the rules and the abilities that Ruler had to enforce them. "Return, we''re done for the night." He threw his hand to the side,manding everyone.


    "Oh well, it was fun while itsted." Rider held their hands behind their head, casually strolling by, not even concerned about what was going on.


    What a casual person.


    Still can''t tell if they''re a boy or girl. It''s not that I cared either way, even if they wanted to identify as a neither or some other variation. I was just annoyed I couldn''t figure it out!


    "We''re leaving." I looked towards Mordred and Raikou.


    Raikou was quiet, but she didn''t speak to others unless she was forced to, her attention was almost always on me. Mordred though.....she was oddly quiet. She wouldn''t hesitate to throw words at anyone here if she felt like it, but she instead opted to stand by me, menacingly, and deter the others.


    Well, it would be rude to stay here any longer now that the Sun wasing up.


    With a wave of my hand, I opened a portal and they followed me through.


    ***


    "Master~" Raikou immediately grabbed onto me, pushing me between her breasts. "I was so worried. And you were so dashing, momma is proud."


    "You stupid cow, stop it." Mordred spat out.


    "Fufufu." Raikou ignored Mordred. "Master is going to be spoiled."


    "Raikou." I patted her on the head.


    "Mou." She pouted, but epted me leaving her embrace.


    And my heart strings are constantly tugged around her. That''s seriously not fair.


    "You going back to your master?" I asked Mordred.


    "That Necromancer is fine....but I should go make sure." Mordred looked away, towards the direction I assume he was hiding in. "That was impressive....." She muttered.


    "Pardon?" I blinked in confusion.


    She scowled, crossing her arms. "Your spell was cool." She huffed. "Taking down that Noble Phantasm and everything."


    "Is my son praising me?" I couldn''t help but grin.


    "Fuck you." She spat out.


    "Someone''s testy." I pursed my lips. "What''s got you all twisted up? You''re usually less...contained than you are now from what I''ve see so far. And you didn''t even speak when we were at the castle."


    "What''s it to you?" She frowned.


    "Fine, fine." I raised my free hand up. I wouldn''t push her if she had something on her mind. "But you were great out there."


    "What?" She looked confused.


    "You did good." I praised her. "Taking on multiple Servants and even removing that Berserker, you did an amazing job."


    "O-of course I did, who the hell do you think I am?" She clearly preened under my words, even if she tried to appear nonchnt. "And don''t you dare forget what I said." She raised her sword up, pointing at me. "I want some answerster, and you''re going to give them to me." She dered before Astralizing and disappearing.


    "Haaah." I let out a long breath. "What a handful she is." I wonder how Artoria will react. I''ll be sure to contact her in a few hours and get her opinion.


    In the mean time, I was exhausted and there was an emptyp for me toy down on.


    I could think about the important bits after a couple hours of sleep. Definitely going to have a chat with Raikouter as well.


    ***


    So I''ve separated this specific Arc into three parts, and this about wraps up the second part of it. The third will take part during the next day, then back onto the fighting. Will show some POVS next chapter.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my ./astoryforone


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 177 - 169

    <h4>Chapter 177: Chapter 169</h4>


    POV Assassin of Red (Semiramis)


    "Foolish brutes." I hissed as I cast my Healing Spells over Rider''s body. Achilles, the man with a body that was imprable by anything not divine, had a gaping wound in his chest. "Stop hovering over me!" I snapped at Archer who would not cease her invasion of my space.


    I allowed them into this ce, and even left my Throne just to heal him, and they treat me like this? If not for Master, I would have tossed them out already.


    She frowned but took a step back.


    Even with my good mood, I was still annoyed having to deal with these idiots.


    "Fastest Hero." I scoffed, the wound was taking an annoying amount of time to heal. He was lucky that his spirit core was not overly damaged otherwise this would have been fatal.


    "It would have killed me if I wasn''t fast enough." Achilles coughed up some blood, trying tough.


    "Quiet, your prattling makes it increasingly difficult to heal you." At least his passive defenses did not resist ''every'' type of power that it came in contact with, seemingly only hostile ones. But that just made it all the more concerning that he had a massive hole in his stomach.


    "Dear me, what a terrible wound." Caster walked into my Throne Room. I had noticed his approach, but I was otherwise preupied keeping this idiot properly alive.


    "Caster." Archer growled. "Speak your usual nonsense and I''ll fill you with holes."


    Well, one of them has a brain I suppose.


    "Touchy, touchy." Caster seemed unperturbed at the threat. Well, even cockroaches had methods for survival. "What happened?" He asked as he took out his notebook with quill in hand.


    I rolled my eyes at his words, but I was a little curious as well. Achille''s invincibility was something I had pondered how to deal with myself, but I don''t think I could create a wound such as this.


    Rider was about to speak, but I pressed on his chest, giving him a re. "Make it worse and I''ll stop my healing." He should be thankful I allow him this privilege.


    Archer let out a sigh. "He fought Saber''s Master." She revealed.


    "Ohoh!" Caster perked up. "This Wilhelm continues to impress." He began jotting down notes quickly. "I''m very curious about his story now. Do you still have those long-distance Scrying spells active?"


    "If they will keep you quiet." I scowled, swiping my hand through the air, allowing the view to manifest infront of him.


    If watching those ants scramble around after we stole the Grail would keep him quiet, then by all means.


    "Continue speaking." I ushered towards Archer.


    She looked annoyed at mymand, butplied all the same. "My focus was drawn away from the fight many times due to interference, but I caught the important moments." She stated. "Saber of ck appears to be Siegfried the Dragon yer."


    "The information is helpful, but why does that matter?"


    "He called Wilhelm a Dragon." Archer replied.


    "....A dragon?" I repeated her words in confusion. "Preposterous." I scoffed. "Dragons no longer exist in the greater world, there''s no way for one to be walking around under the guise of a human."


    "He had a Gauntlet, it spoke and called itself Y Ddraig Goch." Archer continued, the name eliciting something simr to remembrance in my head. The Grail''s work in giving me information and my subconscious recalling it. "It was able to increase hisbat ability and he somehow used it to pierce through Achille''s protections."


    I wanted to call her a liar, but looking down at this wound, I guessed there was some kernel of truth in her statements. "Some kind of device that has a remnant dragon''s soul inside? Or maybe some small piece of it to utilize." I muttered. Maybe I can take a better look after taking it off his corpse.


    "That wasn''t all." Archer interrupted my musing. "He had a Noble Phantasm and what appeared to be a Divine Construct in the form of a staff as it was capable of harming Achilles."


    "What!?" I blurted out unintentionally. A dragon in a gauntlet, I could possibly believe as something ridiculous but possible. A Noble Phantasm and a Divine Construct being preserved into this era!? Even if he was a Magician or rted to one, that was simply unthinkable. But this Archer servant wasn''t one to spout lies or exaggerate truths. If it was Rider I could imagine him embelishing the tale to seem more impressive, but not this huntress.


    Rider''s breathing returned to normal, enough that I could withdraw my Magecraft. That was the most I would do even on Master''s orders.


    "Bastard was strong." He grunted, sitting up from his position as I stepped away. "Had a lot of tricks too, things I''ve never seen before. Saber called him a dragon, but I don''t even know if that''s the truth."


    "Forgive me for not trusting the insight of a Servant who lost a battle to a living person." I drawled.


    "Atleast I fought." Rider countered. "What did you do? Skulk around and steal the Grail under their noses while we had their attention?"


    "It''s called being productive. We seeded in securing victory while you wallowed around in the mud with that pathetic Master." I sneered. "When I left, It was with him ring up at me. When you left, it was he who was looking down on you. That''s the difference between us."


    That''s right. There was no point in this farce of a War any longer. We have the Grail and Master devised a way to utilize the Grail and attain a wish without the required ''rules'' to be engaged. I assisted, of course, but with this, we had won.


    "What''d you say, witch!?" Rider shot to his feet, regardless of his previous wounds.


    I could feel my poisone to the surface. "Did I stutter, or maybe he beat you a little ''too'' senseless, hmm?"


    "I''ll show you a ''beating''." He growled, spear materialized in his hand.


    "You want to challenge me in my ce of power?" I couldn''t help butugh, snapping my fingers, Magic Circles filling the room. "By all means, make a move." I goaded the demigod. These foolish men, always so easy to rile up.


    "Stop, both of you." Archer stepped between us. "We''re not here to fight each other."


    "Looking down on him, huh?" Caster spoke up for the first time in several minutes now. "You think he might have held a grudge?"


    "What are you talking about?" I barely gave him any attention.


    "Oh, he does not look happy." Caster began to cackle.


    "Let him stew in his anger." It was pleasing to know he was upset after I poisoned his little rodent. He deserved far worse for what he did to my Master.


    "Yeah, don''t think he''s ''stewing'' unless that involves casting a giant tree over that castle." Caster looked much too interested for me to ignore him any longer.


    I quickly swiped my hand to bring the vision up before me. I was taken back by the massive tree that emerged from the castle, towering far above it and towards the heavens.


    That was not an ordinary tree.


    Danger.


    I quickly jumped to my throne, the Mystic Code that assisted in controlling the entirety of the Gardens of Babylon. I began powering up the long-range offensive spells, targeting that overgrown shrubbery.


    "Hmph. I don''t know what you''re up to, but it''s useless. Be reduced to ashes along with that faction." Imanded.


    Master didn''t wish for any unnecessary bloodshed since we already acquired the Grail, but this situation called for action. For some reason, that Tree gave me a foreboding feeling.


    The concentrated beams of Ether and Magical Energy descended upon them like divine judgement. "Still just ¨C" I paused when a golden light shot out, intercepting them, obliterating my magics that held them together into nothingness.


    "And, scene." Caster snarked. In any other situation, I may have had the words to retort, but my attention waspletely upied by this magical phenomenon that was urring below.


    I enhanced the visual scrying, focusing on the tree. It lit up in 9 patterns, and I realized what I was looking at. I mmed my hand on the armrest of my throne, actualizing all the defense capabilities of my Noble Phantasm, shields by the dozens sprang up all around, even at the obscene cost to maintain them.


    It was clear he was doing something aimed at me, but it was useless.


    "Let see you break through my ¨C"


    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*


    "What the hell!?"


    "What''s going on!?"


    The other Servants shouted and panicked at the sudden attack.


    The Garden shook, the sky dyed red, and a fiery hell burst through my gardens.


    "Wonderful, wonderful!" Caster began a mad cackle, the others braced themselves even as the Gardens tilted, and began falling from the sky.


    I pulled up a visual image of my Gardens, to see the damage. A good third of it had been entirely cut off and burned away.


    My hands trembled....was it rage or something else. How could my Noble Phantasm possibly suffer this kind of damage at the hands of a mere boy!?


    Magical propents were deactivated, their sequences destroyed and altitude was dropping quickly.


    Defenses were down, burned away at impact.


    Majority of offensive capabilities were destroyed as well.


    I grit my teeth, expending all the magical energy I could to make sure we didn''t die in a fiery crash.


    ***


    POV Archer of ck (Chiron, Mentor of Heroes)


    "Dammit!" Lancer mmed his fists on the table, cracking the marbled furnishing. "We were made fools of! And to make matters worse, the Grail was stolen from right under our noses!" He snapped his head around the room. "Darnic! What happened to our defenses!?"


    How strange. The rtionship between those two had seemingly been reserved and the Master was being subservient to the Servant.


    "The bombs that erupted around the castle took our full attention to quench. There were lingering effects that persisted long after the initial shock. Most our defenses were brought down in the ensuing chaos." Darnic calmly exined.


    "That damn brat did this." Gordes, Saber''s master, grunted, a clear distaste for that young man on his face. "Who cares if he''s rted to the Kaleidoscope, we should have dealt with him when we had the chance!"


    "As much as I''d like him begging under me." Rider''s Master gripped her whip tightly, her hands straining against the leather. "Did you forget what we just saw? I''ve never seen Runecraft like that! And that''s not even considering the apparent Primordial Runes he used." Her head snapped to Saber. "You, Servant. You said you know about them, exin properly."


    "Don''t order my Servant!" Gordes shouted.


    "Then be a better Master you fatrd!" She countered.


    "Both of you, cease your childish bickering." Lancer mmed his fist down, conveniently forgetting his previous outburst. They were cowled immediately, despite their pride and their assumed status over their own Servants, angering one they did not hold a contract with was unwise. "Saber." Lancer turned to Siegfried. "A proper exnation, please."


    The sword-user had been leaning against the back wall, he perked up after being addressed. "I''m sorry but I''m not a Magus." He quickly apologized, I could recognize him as the type to do so under every circumstance, even if he was not at any fault.


    I never had such a problem with my own students, if anything, they were a bit too prideful and unwavering in their actions.


    "A different perspective then." Lancer added.


    Saber looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "It''s said that Lord Odin hung himself upon the World Tree, and gouged out one of his eyes as a sacrifice in a Ritual to gain Wisdom. This resulted in what''s known as Primordial Runes, keys that interact with the rules of the World."


    Saber paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in. "If I''m not mistaken, he used them as a basis to bring about the world Tree, Yggdrasil, which supported the existence of both Gungnir and Laevatein from legends."


    It would be like calling upon Lord Zues''s Thunder Bolt. It wasn''t the true legend, but it was a Myth overcast on the catalysts he provided to structure the image. Everything was carefully thought out to bring the Old Age onto the Modern World for a brief moment.


    Primordial Runes were a powerful magic. They were simr to the Divine Words that were more prominent over in Ancient Greece during my time. Writtennguages were not something very popr in the magicalmunities in my part of the world, so my knowledge was even more limited here.


    I''m a little d my Master was still in her room, away from this atmosphere, even if she is viewing everything through my eyes.


    "I thought Primordial Runes were all gone! The only rumors I''ve heard about them have been brokens pieces popping up every now and then." Gordes clenched his fists.


    "His teacher." I decided to speak up, drawing their attention. "He said the Immortal Witch of Dun Scaith was his teacher."


    "That title was familiar, but I couldn''t ce it." Darnic look at me.


    "Sc¨¢thach." I said inly. How amusing that she raised the ''Irish Hercules'' and I''m now facing another of her students. I guess one could say she was the ''Irish Chiron'', or perhaps I''m the Greek Sc¨¢thach? It was an amusing idea.


    "It makes sense." Lancer spoke up. "The Grail gave me her information, the basics at least. She was a master of Runes, and a warrior queen who taught Cu Chinn of Irnd."


    "Shouldn''t she be dead? The Age of Gods ended, how did he learn from her?" Rider questioned, standing happily near his master. I think many couldn''t tell his gender, but maybe my teaching days gave me some insight into the matter.


    "The legends say she retreated from the world into the Land of Shadows, nothing about her ever dying." I shook my head. "It''s probable he had gone there if he is rted to the Maniptor of Parallel worlds." I couldn''t im to know what went into that Magic, but it seemed to line up with what we know so far.


    Many strange things about him, from Noble Phantasms to Divine Weapons, and even a dragon. It was strange to see Achilles, another of my former students, suffer such a grievous wound at his hands.


    My hands itched looking at the young man, the desire to give him some instruction.


    Was I a bit envious of his teacher?


    I don''t think I ever had a student who exceled in Magecraft like this young man did. It would have been an interested time teaching him properly if he lived during my era.


    "Tsk." Gordes clicked his tongue. "Maybe if Assassin hadn''t disappeared, we could have used them to kill the bastard."


    Unlikely, but not impossible. Still, having the Assassin Servant around would have been greatly appreciated. We''re already missing our Caster because he''s hold up in his workshop for a project I''m not privy to.


    But I guess we have him to thank for the Golems, otherwise the Dragon tooth warriors would have been an annoyance to deal with along with the Servants.


    "And what would Assassin have done about that spell!?" Rider''s master snapped. "It took down that huge damn fortress in the sky." She was clearly still on edge after that ordeal, I couldn''t me her. Such tant magical sights were notmon these days. "Is the division that researches Onmyoji still around? I want to ask them some questions."


    Darnic shook his head. "They were sent away along with the others for the duration of the war."


    "Archer." Lancer''s voice resounded throughout the room. "You lived during the Age of Gods and had interacted with Greek Pantheon."


    "Yes, I was familiar with various Gods during my years." I was taught my skills by both Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo when I was younger and had spoken with several other gods throughout my long years.


    "That spell." Lancer said quietly. "What are your thoughts?"


    I see, even the King of thisnd was shaken by the disy. "I believe even Hecate would have nothing but praise for that disy." I was honest with my words. If I was his teacher, I would have been proud of him for something like that. To use the Norse''s entire cosmology into a singr spell with multiple branching possibilities, it was impressive. "But there was a fatal w."


    "The casting time." Lancer tapped his finger on the cracked table.


    "Indeed." I nodded. Though I felt that such a problem would be rectified in the future by the young man, just not in this War. "I don''t believe we need to worry about such a thing being turned against us unless we give him time to prepare."


    "So nothing changed." Gordes huffed. "All he has to do it cast it as soon as the sun goes down, and aim at us from wherever he''s hiding. We''re sitting ducks!"


    "He already revealed he would not take that course of action." I held back a sigh. Gordes was the type of person I disliked dealing with the most. Quick to anger, quick to lose their patience, and quick to be helpless in the face of adversary. "If he wished to do something like that, you would have been dead, as he had pointed out in our talk."


    Gordes pursed his lips, as if he wanted to retort, only to mumbled under his breath and back down.


    This Wilhelm had his own pride, and I doubt he would step on it himself.


    "We need a better n of attack." Lancer said, his voice not loud but carried over the room. "He has another Servant allied with him, meaning they have three individuals capable of fighting us head on. Yet, even with our numbers advantage, we can''t deny we lost this night."


    "Is he going to be our focus?" I asked.


    "No." Lancer shook his head. "Retrieving the Grail takes priority. They took it for a clear reason. It''s as the boy said. They could potentially use it for something or maybe bypass the restrictions somehow." He turned to look at Darnic. "Darnic. In your opinion, how long would it take to crack the defenses and restrictions on the Grail in their shoes?"


    He blinked at that questions, looking deep in thought before answering. "Three days, possibly less. But it''s merely theory, even after having examined it myself for many years. We simply did not have the ability knowledge to safely do so, but a Caster ss Servant utilizing resources like that flying fortress....."


    "Good." Lancer looked pleased at Darnic''s expertise. "Then we''ll be the ones attacking thising night, the roles have been reversed."


    "I''ll fight him." Saber spoke up, standing up straight. "Wilhelm. I will bet myself against him."


    "Are you confidant?" Lancer stared at the Dragon yer.


    "No, I cannot'' give my guarantee of victory. He is not like the Evil Dragon I yed in my life. And my instincts are telling me that the dragon within him would easily trample Fafnir, but.....It''s something I must, no....something I wish to do." He looked steadfast in his decision, a look in his eyes that mirrored the resolve within him.


    "I''ll leave him to you then." I couldn''t help but smile. Saber was someone who I would dly fight shoulder to shoulder with.


    Gordes scowled at his Servant''s decision. "You barely held your own with help, and now you want to fight him yourself!?"


    "I will be utilizing my Noble Phantasm to its upmost this time." Saber tried to reassure his master.


    It was perhaps a fatal w in our battle strategy the previous night. We were all too grouped together, it was unlikely that Saber could safely utilize his Noble Phantasm without harming another of our number. Wilhelm certainly made use of our proximity to his advantage. And despite my ability to exploit their openings, I was still hindered to some degree by my teammates being within reach of my targets.


    Lancer leaned, back in his seat, once again surveying the room. "We suffered a defeat, but this War has not ended. It''s time to n our next attack."


    Well, I can''t say Lancer is a bad leader.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    I took Raikou back to our little hideout, my Bounded Fields still active. I yawned and almost immediately I was enveloped by Raikou again. "I''m exhausted." I let out a tired breath.


    "It was an impressive spell, Master." She praised.


    "Well, it''s what they get for hurting Sir Wiggles." I harumphed, allowing myself to fall into her embrace. Sir Wiggles was resting in his little spot inside my hat right now, but he should be fine. "How are you?" I looked up into her eyes.


    "I''m fine, master." She gave a bright smile, but something felt off.


    "Raikou." I poked her. "What happened with the Lancer you fought?"


    "He''s....." Raikou paused. "I will deal with him the next we meet." She stated.


    I looked into her eyes, and she looked away, not wanting to meet my gaze. I pursed my lips and poked her side, and she still didn''t give in. "Raikou, we''re a team."


    She made a little noise, but still didn''t answer.


    "If you tell me you want to fight him, I won''t tell you no. But you need to be honest with me."


    "Karna." She said quietly. "He is Karna, the Indian Hero."


    "Oh." I replied inly, until the truth finally set in. "And you''re the daughter of Gozu Tennou ¨C Who is Indra." It started to make sense now.


    Heroic Spirits were more than just human or mortals. They were their legends, that meant she was being affected by her half-brother''s link with Karna due to sharing Indra as a father, being intertwined in the same ''sphere'' of influence. Was it another reenactment of legend? Concepts so simr that certain oues were inevitable.


    If they were both living people, not Heroic Spirits, this situation wouldn''t have urred. But there was a force basically telling them to fight, deep within their cores.


    Regardless, I would not allow Raikou to die. I''ve enjoyed her presence and I want her to stay by my side even after the War is over. "We can make nster." I let out another yawn.


    That spell took a lot out of me, more than I realized at the time and was probably hopped up on the adrenalin. So many things to do, ns to make, notes to take.


    "Rest your head on momma''sp." She beamed, patting her thighs.


    I''ll call Artoria in a few hours after a nap, and meet up with Mordred at some point during the day. But for now, I would enjoy my Servant''sp pillow.


    ***


    Early chapter, woo.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my  / astoryforone


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 Chapter 178 - 170

    <h4>Chapter 178: Chapter 170</h4>


    I was practicing the breathing technique that Jinn had taught me, my Aura flowing in and out gently, just barely off from filling up to the peak.


    "Haah." I let out a final breath as I openedmy eyes. I was still a bit fatigued, but that should go away by the time I needed to fight again.


    "Hey, Ddraig." I let myself fall back into my bed, staring up at the ceiling. "We haven''t had the chance to talk in a bit."


    [That''s true. You''ve been busy.] Ddraig replied. [Achilles, d, Karna, Siegfried, Chiron, Mordred, Raikou. Quite the lineup of powerful foes here.]


    I let out a snort. "Not all of them are enemies."


    [Oh yes, your Mommy and your Son.] Ddraig taunted.


    "Bite me." I rolled my eyes.


    [I''m sure if you ask your Servant, she''d be into you.]


    "Funny." I turned my head, looking out the window. "However, I don''t want to take advantage of her mental state."


    [You humans.] I practically felt Ddraig roll his eyes. [Just take her, she wouldn''t say no.]


    "Can we not right now?"


    [Fine.] Ddraig grumbled. [You did goodst night. You''vee pretty far from the brat that had trouble with a single undead.]


    "That felt like a lifetime ago." And every time I thought about it, I continued to miss my cane sword. I really do need to look into getting another.


    [It was neat to finally see that spell as well. I know you''ve been thinking about it for some time, but to actually see it in action was spectacr.] Ddraig gave some rare praise. [Even if there were some issues with it.]


    "Yeah, it was a bit ''forced'' forck of a better word. I need to fix some of the Runic sequences for a smoother casting. I also didn''t take into ount certain variables in my haste ¨C like the time of day. Making the World Tree bloom at night, that made it harder than it should have been. Not to mention using both Muspelheim and Asgard together, they kind of grated due to the hostile concepts of their origins."


    Not to mention I had trouble supporting just two of the Nine Realms at once. I guess it''s to be expected, I was bearing the weight of the entire Norse Cosmology for that moment of casting. I would get better at it as I practice some more.


    [A bit excited to see it all in action. But you''re still missing a few pieces to bring out the full power of everything.]


    "Yeah. Gae Bolg is probably the perfect catalyst for Asgard, and The Sword of Destruction is adequate for Muspelheim. But I''m missing the right vessels for the others." I sighed, thinking about my growing collection. While there were some stuff that might fit, it was barely better than casting without a vessel for the Myths to descend into. Well, mostly anyways. My Staff of Magnus fit into one very well, but it was also used to help facilitate the entire casting so I didn''t want to ''sacrifice'' it to a single Realm.


    I could cast the spell fine without any anciry means, otherwise that would just be a huge design w on my part. But adding things to bolster each realm means they can bring about more ''weight'' to each part.


    My spell.


    This was a spell I created, not Zelretch.


    Mine.


    And it was magnificent.


    [You need to work on your Lightning Spells too.]


    "Yeah I can''t argue with that." I nodded at his words. "They were more spur of the moment kind of things, but it just went to show how much work I still have to do." Always something on my te. "The power was fairly decent for the equivalence in casting ease. Not to mention the range and area of effect."


    [Well you won''t be taking out any Servants with that ''Lightning Rain'' or ''Lightning Arrow'' you thought up on the spot, but they might lead into something stronger in the future.]


    "That''s a very good point." I rubbed my chin. "I''ll check the Old Man''s library for any ideas. Hell, I''m sure there''s stuff over at the College of Winterhold that I still haven''t even considered yet. Jinn can definitely help me there."


    [How do you feel about the Dragon yer?]


    "Siegfried, huh?" My thoughts drifted to him. "Well, the real Siegfried, anyways." I let out a chuckle. "But...I don''t think I can get out of fighting him. Not that I would want to. We''ll probably settle things tonight along with the remainder of this war."


    [Any ns on how you''re going to approach this? At this point, both sides are going to be gunning for you, and your tricks were revealed, for the most part.]


    "Well, my n didn''t reallye throughst night. Admittedly, it wasn''t thatplicated of a n. Distract everyone, blow up fortress, Sir Wiggles scouts, I steal grail when found. The Red Faction beat me to it. This time, fuck it. We''re going in from the front. No tricks, no schemes, we''ll fight them all."


    [Well said.] Ddraig seemed pleased. [Make them pay for hurting our rabbit.]


    "Our rabbit?" I raised an eyebrow.


    [....He grew on me.] Ddraig grumbled. [We need to get him stronger so that doesn''t happen again.]


    "Haah." I let out another long breath. "I should probably stop procrastinating."


    [Mmm, that little dragon deserves to know.] Ddraig agreed. [Out of all your women, I think she''s my favorite.]


    "You''re just saying that because she has your Dragon Core inside her." I deadpanned.


    [Hehe.]


    "Regardless, I should stop putting this off." I looked out the window, the sun was shining on the town spread out below.


    After we got back to our ''hideout'' I realized the Red Faction wouldn''t be in the town anymore, so I brought us back here and rented a room. No reason to rough it when we don''t have to. And I managed to convince Raikou to take a bit of time to herself, rx in a nice warm bath. I felt bad about manipting her like that, but I didn''t want her to be here when I called Artoria.


    Even the mention of anyone I was involved with kinda of put her in a ''mood''. I don''t know how she would react to actually ''seeing'' my girlfriend.


    With a flick of my hand, I held the Kaleidophone between my fingers. It was a bit....amateurish, even as I continued to look at it, but I had nothing but praise for Rin in creating this thing. She''s still walking around with training wheels with regards to using the Kaleidoscope. Being able to create something like this just exhibited her natural talent.


    Alright, stop procrastinating.


    It wasn''t difficult to connect to Artoria''s, it was very simr to calling another phone.


    I felt the faint fluctuations of the Kaleidoscope being manipted, pulling on my own Magical Energy to facilitate the process.


    The device shed a few times before an image came into view.


    "Wilhelm?" Artoria appeared on the screen, her voiceing in clear.


    "Hey there." I couldn''t help but smile at seeing her face. It was hard to resist the urge to jump over to her and wrap her up.


    "Are you okay?" She sounded concerned. "I am prepared for battle if you require assistance."


    "I''m fine, really." I reassured her. But it was nice how quickly she was willing to jump in if I was having a difficult time. "I just wanted to talk to you about a few things."


    "A social call?" She tilt her head, her bright smile appearing. "I''m d you are not troubled then. If you wouldn''t mind, I was like to hear about how the War is going."


    "Well, good, I guess. I don''t think it willst past this next night." I replied.


    "Have you figured out the other servant''s identities?" She inquired.


    "Mhmm, some heavy hitters here. Achilles, Karna, Siegfried, to name a few."


    She blinked. "Are you sure you do not require assistance? I am aware of those names, and they only fill me with unease."


    "It''s fine. I''ve already faced them all at some point. Besides, my Servant is a monster herself."


    "Herself?" Artoria raised an eyebrow. "Something you wish to tell me?"


    ".....It''splicated?"


    She pursed her lips. "I expected you to just outright admit to it. I suppose there is something wrong if you are hesitating. You are usually very upfront about these sorts of things."


    "She''s a Berserker, her Madness Enhancement is not the traditional kind." I said simply. "I don''t wish to borate due to personal things on her end."


    "I see....then I will not ask further. But I suppose I owe Jinn twenty septims now."


    "D-did you bet on me?" I was a bit taken back.


    She actually let out a small giggle. "We all made a small wager on the oue. Jinn was adamant that your servant would be a woman. I thought the odds would be in my favor for you to summon a man."


    "Well..." I scratched my head. "She kinda is the same as you in that regard..."


    Artoria blinked again. "Oh, is that so? I will further look forward to meeting her then."


    "You''re so sure I''m bringing her back with me?"


    "Yes."


    "You''re lucky you''re not within my reach right now." I pursed my lips.


    "I fear my rear would not leave unmolested if you were in my presence." She gave a little smile, her face faintly dusted pink. "Mayhaps I should give you an incentive to return without any problems?"


    "Careful there, I may just take you up on that." I smirked.


    She didn''t reply, instead it looked like she set the phone down, and I heard her moving around for a few moment, unable to actually see her. The visuals shed all over the ce before they settled back on Artoria, her holding the phone up to her face again. This time, she was sporting a bright redplexion and she held her hand up for me to see, a pair of panties dangling there.


    I raised an eyebrow. "Someone''s being bold. And consider me incentivized." It''s great how much she''s opened up since we started our rtionship. Maybe this method ofmunication was also giving her some confidence to be a bit more forward since I wasn''t immediately there.


    "Are you ready to speak about the true reason you called me, then?" Her demeanor shifted, catching me off guard.


    "Am I that easy to read?" I let out a sigh, running a hand down my face.


    "I''m not a fool, Wilhelm. I can tell when you''re holding something back." She gave a gentle smile. "If I had to guess it''s something to do with me? Perhaps someone from my past was summoned?"


    "Saber of Red is Mordred." I decided to just rip the Band-Aid off.


    She paused, her expression stiffened. "I see." She managed to eek out. "Has Mordred caused any issues....?"


    "The opposite, actually. She''s been a great help and I''ve been working with her and her Master."


    Fuck, the look she had on her face. I wanted to jump over and hug her this instant.


    "I admit, this possibility was something I considered, but to actually hear it has brought up feelings within me I thought I had long since buried." I could see her kind of shrink back, like she was unsure of herself. It reminded me of when we first met and she was still very self-conscious about everything. "I am unsure of what to say, Wilhelm." She said quietly.


    "Do you hate her?" We might as well start from the beginning.


    "Hate?" She repeated the word to herself. "I do not think I can bring myself to Hate my.....son. I am aware of the many failures I conducted during my life, Mordred''s situation being among them. I have had time to consider all my mistakes, and I realized that I had been the cause of many of them." She clutched her chest. "I feel an anger inside of me, when I recall her wielding rent against me, when she incite a rebellion to overthrow me. But most of all.....It is almostpletely overshadowed by regret."


    "Would you like to meet her again, once this war is done?"


    ".....Does he not despise me?" She muttered.


    "Mordred worships the ground you step on. When I identally blurted out your name when I first saw her, she got super defensive of you. Not to mention when I said you were my girlfriend. She was ready to take my head at the perceived insult."


    She let out a depreciatingugh. "That reckless boy. He always acted without thought, charging in like a berserker in the midst of battle." She shook her head. "Do you know her wish? No.....don''t tell me, I don''t believe I deserve to know."


    "It''s a good wish, I think you would approve of it."


    "If¡ªif Mordred wishes it.....and it would not be too much trouble....mayhaps there is a chance for me to apologize for all the wrongs I''ve done to him."


    "Artoria, I would help you no matter what." You silly girl, do you really think I would deny my help in this situation? "I n on talking to herter today, so I can bring it up." She did perk up at my words. "Is there anything in particr you want me to say?"


    "Yes." Artoria looked firm all of the sudden. "I will await for him to return ¨C victorious from this battle.


    I could imagine that she was hesitant to say anything too personal or any kind of apology. But I think Mordred would be ecstatic to know that Artoria was waiting and believed in her victory.


    "How about I tell you everything in more depth?"


    "Yes, please start from the beginning." She nodded.


    ***


    First off, thanks to TheMadLad for another awesome cover image.


    So Artoria has been ''alive'' for a couple years now since the Grail War before meeting Wilhelm. She''s had time to process some of her own issues ande to her own conclusions.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pat. reon./astoryforone


    We also have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 179 - 171

    <h4>Chapter 179: Chapter 171</h4>


    I sent the Kaleidophone into my ring, and looked out the window at the streets below. I felt much better after talking with Artoria for a bit, and it seemed like she was feeling better by the end as well. It''s good I have her blessing with regards to Mordred. I certainly didn''t want to try and build some bridges if Artoria didn''t want Mordred in her life.


    No idea what''s going to happen on that front, but I hoped they can maybe find some closure.


    Still though....what a mess this is. Trying to bring together two people who probably have very little idea how to have a rtionship between a parent and a child.


    I have no idea if they''ll hug or start punching each other the first time they meet.


    I was betting on thetter.


    "Master." Raikou''s cheerful voice filled the room as she walked out of the bathroom. "Would you like a turn? It was very nice, running hot water is quite a wonderful invention of this era. Do you want mommy to wash your back~"


    Well, Raikou''s happy mood was very contagious. "Well I wouldn''t mind ¨C " I paused, staring at Raikou who stood at the threshold, wearing nothing but a small towel that left nothing to the imagination.


    "Fufu~" Raikou looked at me with a smile. Was she intentionally showing off her legs? "Master, don''t stare at your mother so intently." She said, but I had the faintest inclination that she was being facetious.


    This woman was going to be the death of me.


    Mad Enhancement, I just felt guilt thinking that way while she wasn''t in her right mind. Well, I should probably change the subject. "Raikou, wanna go for a walk before we meet up with Mordred?"


    She scowled for a brief moment at the mention of Saber, but quickly recovered into a bright smile. "I would love to." She happily replied. She turned away to fetch some clothes. "No peeking." She winked towards me before going back into the bathroom.


    Oh well, she at least has some sense of propriety under these circumstances. I would definitely deal with that mental pollution she has going on. I wanted her to be happy after this was all said and done. I haven''t slept much these past couple days, but from what I''ve seen in the Dream Cycle, her life was not what one would call happy.


    Forced to be a ''man'' due to her n''s traditions. It grated on her in ways that was hard for me to fathom. She found her outlets, but it led to her developing an odd sense of affection.


    Waiting in this moment, I mentally check on Sir Wiggles. He was sleeping soundly inside my little Hat space, seemingly content toze about there when he wanted some peace and quiet.


    Good.


    I was a bit worried he''d be more skittish after what happened.


    "I''m Ready." Raikou walked out again, wearing the clothes she picked out when we went shoppingst.


    "You look lovely." Iplimented, even with her figure on full disy.


    ."You''re such a sweet boy." She beamed, linking her arm in mine as we got up to walk out the door.


    ***


    "It''s nice out, almost enough to forget that we''re in a war." I mused, walking down the street with Raikou. I couldn''t im to be familiar with Romania, not a ce I spent much time in either life, but it looked more of the same.


    "It''s interesting." She replied. "Seeing themon folk without any worry about them. There is not threat to their existence, no monster that lurk around the corner. During my life, both the richest and the poorest were almost always on constant guard from Ghosts, Demons, or Youkai."


    "Was it really that bad back then?" I questioned.


    "Mmm." She nodded. "Kyoto was covered in a miasmic depression that continued to give birth to more of the creatures."


    "More incidents just increased the negative emotions and perceptions of the human poption, which in turn continued to fuel their creation." Youkai were generally created through human imagination, mostly from their negative thoughts and feelings. That didn''t mean they couldn''t be something more though. "Were all Youkai evil?" I was curious about her thoughts.


    Her story is known to some degree, and some things I saw from the dream sequence. And her legendary battle with a certain Oni I won''t mention in her presence. I honestly wanted to know if she was the type that couldn''t coexistence with them.


    "Not at all." She said simply. "I was acquainted with many Youkai who would peacefully live amongst humans. But there were also those who wished nothing more than to exist as monsters." Her face darkened for a brief moment.


    "This wasn''t the World I was born in." I stated, which earned an abrupt nce from her. "I told you I can travel to other worlds."


    "You did, was your home different?" She tilt her head cutely.


    Calling that ce my home, it made me unconsciously purse my lips. "The Age of Gods never ended, I believe i mentioned this as well." She nodded so I continued. "The Youkai of Kyoto created a separate dimension over the human cities to house their own."


    "They separated themselves from humans willingly?" She looked a bit surprised.


    "Yup." I smiled. "There are even Humans living among them in the separate dimension. Granted, anyone cane and go, but even still. It''s a fun and lively ce, all types walking around at any given moment."


    "Is this the ce you intend to take me?" She asked.


    "I n on taking you whenever you want." I shot her a grin.


    "Master~" She brightened up but it looked like she was still curious.. "This Kyoto of another world, you brought it up because you want me to go with you, yes?"


    "I thought it would be something both familiar and new enough to be something you''d enjoy." Rin told me some stories on how she had to integrate Artoria into modern society because the Grail was not quite as thorough as she was led to believe in imparting knowledge. Thought I''d get a headstart on that with some nning.


    "I''m willing to follow you anywhere, Master." She smiled.


    "Well...." I wanted to gauge her reaction. "You''ll be able to meet my daughter."


    "D-daughter?" She sputtered in surprise.


    "My cute little daughter." Iughed at the expression she was making. It wasn''t that angry look I half expected, but some kind of bewilderment. "She''s a Youkai, a little fox you might say."


    "But-but...Master!" She grabbed me tight. "I''m not prepared to be a grandmother!"


    Cute.


    I couldn''t help but pat her head. "My Kunou would adore you." I reassured her. Obviously it would be after removing her Madness. "Want to see a picture?" I whispered.


    She bit her lip, but nodded her head.


    I quickly took out my phone and swiped to the pictures of her.


    "A Nine Tailed Fox?" Raikou blurted out, surprised once again. "Master those are cmities." She looked at me with worry in her eyes.


    "Really, you want to tell me this is a Cmity?" I asked as we swiped through pictures of Kunou just being her cute little self. "Besides, her mom is a Miko for Amaterasu and rules over half the Youkai in Japan. If anything, they are keeping everything safe."


    Raikou just made a confused Raikou sound.


    "Want to hear about the time I went to Yomi?"


    "Master." Raikou whined. "I''m going to faint if you keep this up."


    Teasing Raikou was more fun than I thought. "In all seriousness....I''m actually friends with Izanami-no-Mikoto."


    Her mouth hung open, gaping at me. "Master, I forbid you from seeing her again." Her voice be a tone higher. "Y-you are not to associate with Japan''s Death Goddess!" She wagged her finger like she was scolding me. Hah, I could imagine the misconceptions she has about my Izzy as opposed to the legends of the one here.


    "Oh look, its Mordred." I pulled on her arm feigning ignorance.


    "Master!" She pouted, but allowed me to pull her all the same.


    I actually did see Mordred a bit away, I figured it was time to get our little chat out of the way. I''m sure there was a lot that needed to be said, and I wanted to pass on Artoria''s words.


    ***


    Chapter is on the shorter end, I think i wrote this when I was running reallyte from workst week. I wanted to give some time with the Mc and Raikou together since I''ve been focusing on other characters a lot.


    On a side note, Yn came home :).


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my . / astoryforone

 Chapter 180 - 172

    <h4>Chapter 180: Chapter 172</h4>


    I gave Raikou a little hip bump as we walked down the street.


    She shot me a little smile, poking me with a cute littleugh.


    It really did brighten up my mood when she was happy. The area around her seemed to brighten at her upbeat demeanor.


    "That should be them at the end of the street." I nudged her again to gain her attention, jerking my head towards that direction.


    She pursed her lips looking over there. From the outside, it didn''t look like anyone was there, but the faint fluctuations of Magical Energy were hard to miss to those who could sense such things.


    A few Bounded Fieldsyered upon one another. If I had to guess, mostly to keep people out or stall for time if the worse happened.


    "Master." Raikou pouted a little. "Do we need to meet with them again?" Shetched onto my arm."Wouldn''t you rather spend the day with your mother?"


    That smoldering look in her eyes did make me hesitate, but I did need to speak with Mordred. I couldn''t help but put my hand on her head. "I promise we''ll be able to spend lots of time together after."


    "Momma will hold you to that." She beamed happily, but there was still a faint sense of depression in her tone.


    I held back a sigh. It just keeps making me feel bad that she''s like this. I can see the person underneath, but her Mad Enhancement is doing gods know what to her mind.


    It was Frustrating.


    I just shook my head in resignation. I kept telling myself this to settle my own conscience, but I''ll definitely help her once we''re done.


    Approaching the Bounded Field, there were no surprises, and it was obvious they were expecting us. I just did the magical equivalent of knocking on it to let us in without disrupting the spells.The part immediately in front of us pulsed, as if inviting us in.


    Well, no need to refuse a polite invitation.


    Raikou didn''t speak, but followed me inside. We were greet by the sight of both Kairi and Mordred sitting at the table of a little cafe,pletely devoid of people. Well, notpletely devoid, there appeared to be a barista inside and a server who was sitting down due to theck of customers.


    Kairi gave a little gesture of greeting, and I noticed hisck of sunsses, even though it was very bright outsidepared to thest time we met during the night.


    It wasn''t very important, but I was nheless a bit curious.


    Mordred looked at me strangely, and I raised an eyebrow as she almost mechanically yed with a cat in her arms. And, she was sporting some modern day clothes. I wanted toment on how cute it was, but I was going to try and keep the teasing to a minimum for now.


    She didn''t immediately react with any kind of disgust or annoyance when seeing me, so I thought that was progress.


    "Impressive Bounded Field." I decided to speak first. "You couldn''t even tell there was a Cafe from the outside. Using the idea of a mirage over the standard illusion. Would probably throw most Magi for a loop the first time they saw it."


    "Something I picked up doing a job in Egypt." He said nonchntly and gestured towards the open seats across from him and Mordred.


    "Nice little spot you found." I decided to be a gentleman and pulled out Raikou''s chair for her. The smile she gave could melt ice. I joined her quickly enough, taking a nce all over. "Three escape routes, backs to the wall." I tapped the table, pulsing a little bit of Magical Energy. "Oh, an interesting method of Reinforcement. And Perfect to use as a quick shield."


    He didn''t seem at all nonplussed by my discoveries. "You can never be too careful." He said simply. "With all the things going on these days, a bit of paranoia is healthy." He reached into his leather jacket, pulling out a newspaper and tossing it onto the table. The look he gave me basically said to give it a nce.


    I mentally shrugged, picked it up and read the title. I furrowed my brow as I processed it for a moment. "The Return of Jack the Ripper." I repeated the heading out loud, setting it down, and tapped on the table in thought. "You must have some certainty if you''re showing me this. You don''t seem the type to make assumptions."


    "I was contacted by my employers at the Mages Association. A priest in Bucharest reported it up the chain, and since there was a Grail War going on nearby...."


    "Dammit." I pulled my hand down my face. "I haven''t met either of the Assassins yet." I let out a sigh. "Too many coincidences then. Bucharest is the capital of Romania if I''m not mistaken, and it shouldn''t be too far away." Well, I could get close enough with a Portal by eyeballing it regardless.


    "Yeah." Even Kairi let out a sigh. "The higher-ups told me to take care of it. It''s drawing too much unwanted attention."


    "What horrible timing." I pursed my lips. "I doubt the war will still be going by noon tomorrow." Kairi didn''t reply but gave a ''what can you do'' gesture. "Ruler''s probably aware too." I grunted in annoyance. "If we don''t deal with it, it''s entirely possible she puts the war on hold until it''s dealt with." Rulers had that kind of Authority with Command Seals to back it up.


    I had no doubt her skills included some kind of ''Revtion'' or ''irvoyance'' that would alert her to disruptions to the war. Who knows if the real Big G was sending her missives, or the Counter Force was acting through her in some capacity. Either way, we had a pretty damn good reason to nip this in the bud.


    "I''m surprised you''re bringing this to me. Are you asking me for help?" I questioned. He seemed like the kind of person to not like working with others if he had the choice. "I feel like I''m getting an abrupt influx of trust here." Enforcers and Mercenaries in our world had an interesting rtionship with one another.


    You have the camaraderie thates with the job, and the absolute distrust thates with being a Magus. Eventually you learn who the people you work with are, who you know to have your back, who you know will try to stab you in the back it if they get the chance. Frencers, like Kairi, do not like working with people they''re unfamiliar with.


    Better the devil you know.


    Heh.


    "I checked with my Contacts at the Clock Tower." He grunted. "Verifying your story."


    "Wait, how did you check the only way would be through gramps."


    "Imagine my surprise when one of my Contacts messages me saying the Wizard Marshall paid him a little visit." Kairi snorted, whether in amusement or exasperation, I had no idea.


    "Huh, so you trust me now?"


    "I trust who you are at least."


    "That''s fair." Yeah, trust was amodity that was hard toe by in this hidden world. I was kind of an outlier here where I seemed to gather people around me that I would trust nearly unconditionally."I guess it doesn''t hurt that I can take us there and back in a snap of my fingers."


    "Yeah yeah, Magus shit." Mordred finally seemed to get bored with our conversation. "You gonna help or not?" She said directly, making Kairi sigh.


    "Well, if you''re asking." I shot her a smile. Honestly, I would have needed to deal with this either way.


    "Never understood all that back and forth crap. Just spit it out and get it over with." Mordred scowled.


    I guess that''s one way to settle it. "Do you want to head out immediately, or....?"


    "I''m going to get a drink." Kairi suddenly stood up, and didn''t even turn around as he walked into the Cafe.


    I just blinked, watching him leave.


    Well, I guess that just happened.


    I turned to look at Mordred, who seemed a little.....hesitant. She was hugging the cat tightly, which it apparently didn''t mind.


    Raikou still hasn''t spoken, which I figured at this point she simply does not like talking to anyone but me unless she had to.


    "You look good." I wanted to try andpliment her on her choice of dress. She wore some jean shorts, a white tube top and a red jacket over top. Not the most conservative clothing I''ve ever seen.....but if she likes it then who am I to say anything?


    I think she smiled a little, but forced it back down. "The clothing in this era is nice. Not even Nobility had clothes thisfortable. I can even wear it under my armor and it''s easy to move around in." There was a hint of excitement in her voice that was just kinda adorable.


    Though it didn''tst long, she sort of withdrew back into herself. Very odd to see the boisterous girl this reserved.


    "Well,y it on me." I offered her an opening. I did promise to talk with her about whatever she wanted.


    She visibly perked up. And it was a little amusing how this brash person was being so conservative with her obvious desires at the moment.


    "Father.....where is he?" Mordred finally asked.


    I wanted to tease her, but I knew now would be an inappropriate time. "She''s in another world at the moment. She''s running around with Rin ¨C Her Master and friend while they do whatever it is she''s wanting to do for her studies."


    "Another world?" Mordred mumbled. "So I wouldn''t be able to meet him even if I won."


    "Says who?" Imented, breaking her from her thoughts. "I''m here, aren''t I? I can take you there if that''s what you want."


    She frowned. "And what do you want in return." She looked a bit serious. I think her only examples of Magi were her Mother, Merlin, and now Kairi. All of which no doubt emphasized the benefits out of every interaction.


    "Do you n on attacking her when you meet?" I asked.


    Mordred scoffed. "I''m not going to go berserk." There was a joke to be made there, but I held back.


    "Then I don''t mind taking you anywhere you want." I tried my best to reassure her. "If you want a new start somewhere, I know plenty of ces you could thrive. If you wanted to go meet Artoria ¨C "


    "...Would father even wish to see me?" Mordred said quietly, bringing the cat up to sort of hide her face. "I rebelled and killed him. I ended his perfect kingdom and his legacy."


    It was funny in a sad way how they both said the same thing.


    "I spoke with Artoria earlier." I replied, she looked at me intently again. "I exined everything that was going on and all the Servants who were summoned."


    "So father knows I''m here then?" It was a rhetorical question on her part. "Did he tell you to stay away?"


    "Nothing of the sort." I denied. "She was interested in how you''ve been doing. And at the end, she asked me to pass on a message."


    "A message, from father?" Mordred didn''t really seem to know how to react to that.


    "It was something along the lines of ¡ª If you desire, i''ll be waiting for you after you win." I smiled.


    Mordred looked.....surprised at the message. "Father really said that?" There was a trembling in her voice. "Father doesn''t...doesn''t despise me? He actually wants to see me and believes I''ll win?"


    Fucking hell. What had Mordred been through that those few words would elicit such a reaction. "We got a few more minutes to kill, want to hear some stories about Artoria in the meantime?" I offered.


    "Father''s exploits?" Mordred seemed quick to calm down, back to her usual haughtiness. "Sure, I guess." She tried her best to sound uninterested, but the way her eyes sparkled gave away her true feelings.


    It was hard to resist the urge to pat her head.


    ***


    Non-canon Omake. Wilhelm Attorney at Lawn round 2 Part 2.


    The Judge mmed his gavel down, quieting the courtroom. "This court is now in session."


    There was a lot of buildup between when I first came and now, but I wasn''t really paying attention.


    I''m sure it wasn''t anything important.


    I took out my phone and started going through my pictures.


    "Hey." Loki whispered, elbowing me.


    "What?"


    "Pay attention." He hissed.


    "Yeah, yeah." I ignored him, still scrolling through some pictures to pass the time.


    "Hey!" He hissed again, elbowing me a little harder.


    "Wanna see?" I grinned.


    "What in the Nine Realms is so damn interesting that you''re ignoring my trial." He whispered with a little bit of venom in his voice.


    I tilt my phone over for him to see.


    He rolled his eyes. "How uncouth." He said dryly. "Yes, it''s a naked women, very humorous."


    "Fromst night." I smirked.


    "Do you want a trophy?" He scoffed, ncing down again. "Though....she does look familiar. Do you have one of her face?"


    "Nah, just a few shots like this.....or if you want to see something more....intimate."


    "Absolutely not." He scowled.


    "Mr. Schweinorg." The judge''s voice overtook the room. "Are we boring you?"


    I cleared my throat, putting my phone away. "No your honor."


    "Then why do you have your phone out in my courtroom?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "Well your honor...." I straightened my tie. "I''m already having to work from scraps here to build a defense, I needed some ess to the inte. You wouldn''t want this case to be retried because of my ipetence, right?"


    His narrowed his eyes. "And how exactly was this ''helping your case''?" He raised his gavel up towards me.


    "It involved Loki''s mom." I replied without hesitation.


    "What!?" Loki stood up, mming his hands on the table.


    "Loki Odinson, sit down!" The Judge yelled as all the guards raised their weapons.


    There was a furry in his eyes, and I couldn''t for the life of me ce it. But he sat down all the same, promising death with his re.


    I wonder who he hates so much?


    "I will tentatively allow this, Mr. Schweinorg." The Judge grunted. "Do not abuse this privilege. Any other time, I would have you in contempt for such a thing."


    "I''m going to kill you." His whispered words like knifes into my ear.


    "Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed." I hummed. "You know who also ¨C"


    "One more word." Loki Interrupted. "One more, I dare you."


    Hmm.


    I don''t like being threatened.


    "Your honor, I would like to call Loki Odison to the stand." I stood up, pointing at my client.


    "What?" Loki blinked. "I wasn''t prepared for this? Aren''t we supposed to have a back and forth about what questions you''re asking?"


    "You''ll do fine, I promise." I pat him on the shoulder with a smile.


    "I am not filled with Confidence." He drawled.


    "That''s strange, I''m usually a pretty good liar." I appeared thoughtful.


    He started walking towards the stand then stopped. "Wait, what?"


    "Go." I shooed him forward.


    Loki growled but still moved towards the witness chair.


    "Loki Odinson." The Judge asked as he ced his hand on a Bible. Which was odd to ask a Norse God to do. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the whole truth, so help you God?"


    "I swear to tell the truth in my name, yes." He said dryly.


    The judge let out a sigh. "That''s fine. The Defense may proceed."


    I happily jumped to my feet. "Loki Odinson." I grinned, looking at him. "Is it true you once ¨C "


    "I did not have intercourse with a horse!" He mmed his fist on the bench, cracking it.


    The courtroom got silent.


    "....what?" The Judge questioned.


    "Can we ignore that ¨C very strange ¨C outburst from my client?" I asked.


    "Proceed." The Judge rubbed the bridge of his nose. "And Mr. Odinson, no more outburst like that."


    "As I was saying." I pped my hands. "Loki Odinson, is it true you once coveted the throne of Asgard?"


    "Of course." Loki said without hesitation. "It is mine by right." He eyes darted towards Thor who watched from the corner. "And I would have been a much better king than my oaf of a brother."


    "Interesting." I nodded my head. "Then whye to Earth? Is there something here you wanted?"


    Loki visibly scoffed. "Of course not, what would a God like me want from this ball of dirt?"


    "So these ¨C " I swept my hand around the room. "¡ªHumans are beneath you? You didn''t intend on conquering Earth to build up an army and take Asgard?"


    "You mortals trying to siege Asgard?" Loki actuallyughed. "I guess meat shields would be beneficial to any army I roused."


    The people in the courtroom got angry, even the Jury look rather put off by his statements.


    I nced at the Prosecution who seemed just baffled at my line of questioning. I straightened my tie again.


    He was trying to y chess while I was over here ying Mario Party.


    And everyone knows that Mario Party isplete and utter bullshit.


    "So if I''m getting this straight, you attacked Earth for the hell of it?"


    "I am a God. Stepping on ants is not something I do for fun, just a hazard of my existence." He turned up his nose.


    "Mhmm." I nodded. "And why did youe to Earth?"


    "Pardon?"


    "Loki Odinson, why did youe to Earth in the first ce?"


    "I....." He looked nk for a moment. "I do not need to reveal my intentions to this group of primates. I will not be judged by you mortals!"


    Again, everyone turned to him withplete contempt.


    "Wonderful." I replied. "One final question." I withdrew a rolled up piece of Parchment from my pocket, unfolding it for everyone to see. "This is a picture of a Hors¡ª"


    A dagger flew by my face, stabbing through the parchment and impaling it on the nearby wall. Followed by a handful of simr looking daggers.


    There was silence again.


    "Brother!" A hammer came flying through the air and smacked Loki in the face.


    And all hell broke loose.


    ***


    "Order!" The Judge mmed his gavel down several times. "I will have order in my court!"


    Everyone began to settle down.


    "That was a stupid move, Loki." I shook my head. "All my work may have just been for naught. But I can''t believe how thoroughly they checked you for anymore concealed weapons. I mean, I know I suggested a full body cavity search, but I didn''t expect them to go through with it."


    "Mmmppfh" Loki wiggled around in his restraints, mouth gagged, a fire in his eyes. All with Magical restraints added on, courtesy of Thor of course.


    "It''s okay." I pat his shoulder. "I don''t expect you to understand my brilliant n. Maybe when you graduate from an apprentice into an actual sorcerer, I can fill you in." I gave him a good natured smile.


    "MMMPFPMFMFP!" He clearly was touched by my words.


    "Now." The Judge addressed this courtroom. "Once again, I will iterate that this is a highly unusual situation, as we''re taking an unusual approach." He turned towards the Prosecution. "Would you like to cross examine the witness, Mr. Walker?"


    "Um....no your honor." The Prosecution still looked a bit unsure of my scheme. "The Prosecution rests."


    "Okay." The Judge nodded. "You may call your witness now."


    "Yes your honor." Walker stood up. "The Prosecution calls Thor Odinson to the stand."


    "Oof. This does not look good for you, Loki." I pursed my lips. "Well, at least you won''t have to worry about dropping the soap. I''m sure you''re used to worse things."


    I ignored his muffled shouts.


    The God of Thunder walked up, taking his ce at the witness''s seat just like Loki. Going through the same song and dance, if just a bit more polite.


    "Mr. Odinson." Walker addressed the God of Thunder. "Can you tell the court, in your own words, what it was like growing up with Loki?"


    "Well....." Thor scratched his cheek. "We are centuries old, it would take me many days to regale you all with tales of our youth."


    "Let me be more specific then." The Prosecutor rified. "Did your brother ever do anything.....mean?"


    "Mean?" Thor looked surprised by the question. And I could tell he had no idea what was going on as this was probably his first look at our legal system. "Yes, I do remember one particr instance. When we were children, there was this time and Loki transformed himself into a snake. I, loving snakes as I do, when to inspect the creature in my arms. Holding it close to me, he transformed back and went ''Nyahhhhh!'' before stabbing me with his knife."


    All eyes turned to Loki who looked rather proud of himself.


    Walker looked happy as well at Thor''s words. "And were there simr incidents during your childhood?"


    Thor looked thoughtful. "Ah I remember quite a few." He smiled. "There was the time he tried to drown me. The time he pushed me infront of a galloping horse. The time he tripped me off a waterfall. Oh, and there was the time he shot me in the arse with an arrow."


    "Objection, your honor." I called out.


    "Under what grounds?" The Judge asked.


    "Under the grounds that this is bad for my defense."


    The judge looked unamused. "Proceed." He said dryly looking back towards the Prosecution.


    "Sorry Loki, I tried." I shrugged.


    I''m sure his muffled screams were words of encouragement.


    I just kind of ignored the next hour or so of testimony by Thor. Instead, I took out my phone again and began ying on it while Sir Wiggles handled this part. He would keep me abreast of any important turn of events.


    "Hey Loki." I nudged my client when a question popped into my head. "If you were able to magically conceal some knives on you, why did you just escape during the chaos with your magic since it wasn''t sealed away?"


    He turned his head to look at me then mmed it on the table.


    I pat his shoulder again. "It''s okay. We all made those kinds of mistakes when we were at that level. You have nothing to be ashamed of. When you be a master, you''ll be able to look back andugh at this."


    "MMMMPPPPPFFFF" He cried out.


    I was proud of him, he was already able tough so hard at the situation that he began to cry.


    "Defense." The Judge called out.


    "Yes, your honor?" I perked up.


    "It''s your turn to cross examine the witness." He gestured to Thor.


    "Of course." I smiled, getting up from my seat again. I walked up, leaning against the witness chair. "Thor Odinson." I greet politely. "Big fan."


    "Oh, it''s nice to meet fans." Thor gave a smile reminiscent of Thorum.


    "Indeed." I nodded. "I''m a bit of a Sorcerer myself. I even have a lightning spell that I named after you." I was only gushing a tiny bit.


    "A spell named after me?" Thor looked surprised. "I am ttered."


    "Well, just needed to get that out of my system." I ran a hand through my hair. "Well, how about a question, eh?" I gave a small chuckle, one shared by him. "Thor Odin, would you please tell us, in your own words, how you would describe your brother?"


    "Describe Loki?" Thor questioned again. "Well, I suppose cunning would be the best description. Even when we went of foolish quests and might have otherwise met our ends, Loki often saved us by his cunning mind."


    "Cunning." I Repeated, a bit louder, turning towards the Jury. "The man who had been stabbed by his brother as a child, called him cunny." I gestured to the God of Thunder.


    "And Thor." I continued. "What part of his n in taking over the world was ''cunning''?"


    "I....don''t quite understand?" Thor seemed lost.


    "His n, for conquering the Earth. Can you please point out the cunningness of it? To get an alien army to attack a single city, to target a single group of people and focus so intently on them that they were able to defeat said army? Which part of this n was ''cunning''? How about a more recent example, what cunning man would openly mock the very people where going to judge him?"


    "Objection your honor!" The Prosecutor jumped up. "He''s leading the witness."


    The Judge turned to me. "Schweinorg."


    "I''ll be more direct with my questions." I waived it off. "Thor, how would you go about conquering the?"


    "Me?" He looked thoughtful. "As just a thought.....I would besiege your industries of produce. Your does not have ess to resources outside your race. You have no alliances, no talks with other species. Your people have yet to truly leave your own atmosphere. We are a long lived race, we could simply wait you out while removing your sources of sustenance."


    There were murmers amongst the crowd.


    "Schweinorg, you better be going somewhere with this." The Judged grumbled.


    "I am your honor, I would like to request a little leeway here."


    The Judge let out a sigh. "I''ll allow it."


    "Good." I nodded. "As I was saying. Based on your words, we can ept that Loki''s n was not the most brilliant one he''s evere up with?"


    "I would say ¨C no." Thor agreed.


    "So a n to conquer an entire, an entire species was ¨C rushed? Hafl-hearted? Does this sound like the normal Loki to you?" I asked Thor again.


    "When you say it like that, I agree that Loki''s actions are out of the norm." He shot a look at his brother.


    "It''s almost like ¨C" I turned to the Jury again. "He wasn''t in his right mind." I dered. "As if he was being controlled!" I mmed my hand down on the bench.


    "Object your honor, spection!" The Prosecution rose up again.


    "Sustained." The Judge agreed. "Rephrase that, Schweinorg, or move on."


    "Very well." I straightened my tie. "It''s public knowledge that Loki had a scepter that could control people''s minds. So, Thor Odinson, are you aware of where he procured such an item?"


    "I...am not." Thor admitted.


    "So it''s unlikely he just picked it off the street." He hummed. "If his own brother, whom had been stabbed by him in the past, admits that Loki was acting out of character, is it so hard to put two and two together here?"


    "Objection!" The Prosecutor rose again. "It''s been noted that the Staff has to amplify certain emotions to sessful control someone."


    "Yes yes, we all read the report for the trial." I waived him off. "I will better exin." I turned to Thor again. "Thunder God. You mentioned that Loki would often times.....bully you ad children, yes?"


    "That is an adequate way of putting it." He nodded.


    "Pulling your hair, making fun of you, pulling pranks to get augh?"


    "Aye, those weremon urrences." He unconsciously reached for his hair.


    "So, he had been seeking your attention has he not?" I turned towards the Jury once again. "Loki Odinson is someone who sought Thor''s attention ever since they were young." I dered. "And has that ever changed since ''growing up''?"


    "Nay." Thor confirmed. "These have bemon urrences throughout Asgard and no one questioned them anymore."


    "Very interesting."


    "Mr. Schweinorg, this is yourst warning, you are getting off topic." The Judge spoke up.


    "Your honor, I am truly working towards something here."


    "Last warning." He said again before ushering for me to continue.


    I nodded at his meaning, my good will was running short. "Thor Odinson, has Loki ever showed an interest in a woman?"


    "A woman?" Thor mumbled. "Aye, he once tried to court Lady Sif." Thor seemed to reminisce at the memory. "It turned out with him dying her hair ck with magic and unable to reverse the change. I believe she preferred it the darker color, but would never admit it."


    "Lady Sif, huh? And If I may ask, what is your rtionship with this Lady Sif?"


    "Well, we had a few flings over the years, but we had never remained together."


    "Mhmm." I nodded along. "And his behavior towards her, did it start before or after you showed some attraction towards her?"


    "Well it started....." He looked nked for a moment. "After I had expressed some interest in her. But I do not see how that is important."


    "Neither do I." The Judge stated but didn''t stop me.


    "Is it not obvious?" I once again addressed the entire room. "The Staff takes hold of strong emotions and twists them to turn the victim into a puppet. What more powerful emotion is there than love?" I turned towards Loki, giving him a wink.


    His eyes widened in horror as he realized what I was getting at.


    "Loki always wanted your attention." I pointed towards Thor. "He got jealous when you sought out apanion." I looked towards the Jury. "And what happened when you showed such good will towards this? Heshed out and tried to destroy it." I decided to go for the killing blow. "It''s all because Loki Odinson is in love with you."


    "Loki....." Thor looked utterly dumbfounded. "That impossible he....." Thor paused. "But then we..." He looked lost. "And there was the time....." He stopped again. "Dear Odin." Thor whispered, turning towards his brother. "I''m so sorry Loki, I did not know." Thor looked at his brother with sadness in his eyes.


    "MMMMMMMMPPPPPPFFFFFF." Loki visible wretched in his bindings. Even his Magical Energy began to try and tear apart the restraints he had on him.


    "Brother, peace." Thor stood up. "I promise we shall have a true talk about these feelings of yours. I am sorry I never noticed the signs before."


    Loki turned towards me with hatred in his eyes.


    I smirked. "The Defense rests, your honor." I walked back to my seat among the murmurs of the courtroom.


    I even winked towards the cameras that were televising this across the entire world.


    ****


    I leaned back in my chair, hands behind my head as the Jury began to read their verdict. "We, the People of New York, find the Defendant ¨C Not Guilty of all charges levied against him."


    The court room erupted in shouts of indignation.


    Even Loki, who was sporting many more restraints, looked at me withplete shock.


    I let out a content sigh. "I''m good."


    "Brother!" Thor swooped over, quickly tearing off his bindings. "I knew there was reason for these despicable acts. We shall return to Asgard, and our Parents will help you work through all that ails you."


    "Release me you oaf!" Loki screamed. "I am not in love with you!" He snapped his head in my direction. "And you!!!" His hand lit up with a green fire. "I will turn your soul to ¨C"


    I snapped my fingers, dispelling his fire. "Go y somewhere else." I opened a portal and deposited the two brothers outside the courtroom.


    "Huh." Someone walked up to me. "So, how''d you do it?"


    "Tony Stark." I pursed my lips. "What do I owe the pleasure?"


    "Was it ''magic''?" He wiggled his fingers.


    "I am appalled you think I would stoop to such dishonorable means." I huffed.


    "Uh huh." He didn''t believe me. "I don''t believe you. So, how''d you do it?"


    "Eh, I Bribed the right people." I shrugged.


    "..." He looked speechless. "You know I''m going to have to tell someone, why the hell did you tell me that?"


    "Pfft, go ahead. " I snorted. "Tell the world that I bribed Nick Fury, Director of Shield."


    "For real? What could you possibly bribe him with? I have like ¨C a bajillion dors, and there''s no way in hell I could bribe him to not get justice for what Loki did."


    "Tesseract." I stated.


    "That''s where it ended up?" Tony looked annoyed. "I searched the entire for like a week, nonstop, and you had it the entire time!?"


    "Yup." I popped thest letter.


    "God dammit." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Still, didn''t think he''d let this happen. A lot of people are going to be upset he didn''t get in trouble."


    "Oh no." I shook my head. "He still has to face Asgardian justice.


    "Wait, so Loki still gets in trouble, we get the Tesseract...so this is a good thing?" Tony sounded conflicted. "I feel like this is a bad thing, but I can''t find any faults in it. So what was the point of this whole thing with Loki loving Thor, cause I met them both, and that''splete crap."


    "Distraction." I shrugged again. "People are stupid, they''lltch onto this little tidbit more than the ''innocent'' verdict."


    "I hate that I can''t argue with you." Tony snorted. "But what''s the real reason?"


    "Fuck Loki." I crossed my arms. "Dudes an ass."


    "So you make the whole world think that Loki is in love with his brother?"


    "Yup."


    Tony blinked, a smile forming on his face. "Hey, you got a card?"


    I flicked my wrist, a card appearing between my fingers. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg ¨C Attorney at Law." I recited with a grin.


    ***


    Sorry about no chapter yesterday. For those of you not on my discord, I strained my wrist pretty bad. It was swollen and hurting enough that I had to go to an Urgent Care ce. Doing better now, lots of Icing and making sure not to aggravate it any more. So, wanted to finish part two of the trial, and it kind of got away from me.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 181 - 173

    <h4>Chapter 181: Chapter 173</h4>


    "Still a strange feeling." Kairi noted walking out of the portal I created.


    "Really?" I took a nce around to make sure we were unseen. "I guess I''m just used to it at this point." A portal wasn''t as simple as tearing a hole open in space and walking through. There was a reason I required some heavy calctions before I had Mirage created. So, it isn''t strange that someone feels the effects the first few times.


    Nothing disorientating, but there is certainly a sense of ''strangeness'' when utilizing the instantaneous movement. There was the maniption of both the ''X'' and ''Y'' Axis to achieve this result, so one''s body is pulled along these lines then forced to reaffirm itself on the world-line correctly at a different location.


    "Anyways, you got a n?" I asked him. He was the frencer, and had more experience doing this sort of thing.


    "Go check with the local police, see what they''ve found so far." He replied, taking out his sunsses and putting them on.


    "Mmm, at the very least, having the locations of all the killings will help us find some sort of pattern." I nodded. I''d rather get this dealt with quickly, so it didn''t drag on for when the sun went down.


    It was left unsaid that a bit of Hypnosis would be involved. While such things are usually distasteful to use on mundane people without a good reason, butthis would certainly qualify as an exception. Frankly, I prefer methods like bribing opposed to altering someone''s mental state, albeit only temporary.


    "God this is going to be so boring." Mordred scowled, arms up behind her head as she walked next to us.


    Raikou was also walking next to me.....astralized. She did not like spending time with other people and I didn''t want to force her.


    "There''s always a chance a fight will break out." I shrugged.


    "Yeah, but it''s an assassin." She whined. "They''re just going to rely on tricks or run away." The little pout she gave was adorable in its own way.


    It was nice she had regained her usual demeanor, if with a little bit of a pep in her step.


    She looked happy after learning Artoria was waiting at the end of this War.


    "Not always." I replied. "In Artoria''s War, the Assassin was actually Sasaki Kojiro, a swordsman." Well a bit moreplicated than that, but I figured I''d let Artoria tell this story when they meet. I had only told Mordred about some of the adventures we had together as to not overstep.


    "Really?" Mordred perked up. "He strong?"


    "Artoria admitted he was superior to her in swordsmanship." I nodded. "Fought him myself, he''s very skilled, even learned a thing or two from him."


    "What!?" Mordred blurted out. "How''d he manage that!? Father was the best....." She got a little quiet. "Besides that damn adulterer." She added quietly.


    "Well, you''ll just have to meet him. He''s still around and always weing a good fight." Iughed.


    "Speaking of learning." Kairi spoke up. "You said you learned from Sc¨¢thach."


    "The Immortal Witch?" Mordred spoke her thoughts aloud. "Her legends are pretty badass."


    "Yeah, I went to the Land of Shadows to learn from her." I briefly exined. "I was lucky that a ''route'' was still avable with my Magic." It wasn''t that much of a secret, I already announced it regardless and I was in no way ashamed of it. "Though I''m curious, whose asking?" I raised an eyebrow.


    Kairi didn''t look perturbed at my usation. "You think you can throw around that kind of powerst night and not have people ask questions? I think most other folks are going to be eyeing your Primordial Runes. A Magecraft from the Age of Gods that shouldn''t exist anymore."


    "It''s not like they can be just ''learned''." I shrugged. "Even Sc¨¢thach had to pass them down to me in a special way. Any that are discovered nowadays are just superficial at best without the prerequisite teachings."


    "But on a side note" I nced at him. "How much money did you make?"


    He smirked. "More than I should have."


    "Nice." I grinned.


    I didn''t really care if he sold public information like that. Besides, it''s not like this world would be one I came back to, or if I did it would be very sporadic and without any major purpose.


    "Huh, so this is the countries capital?" Mordred looked at the citying into view as we walked down a long road. My portal took us a little bit outside the city limits in the country side to avoid any eyes. "Is this how every city in this era looks?"


    "More or less." I replied.


    "I guess it''s nice enough." She stared at it intently.


    "Can''tpare to Camelot?"


    "Pfft, as if." Mordred scoffed. "But alteast the normal towns don''t spell like piss and shit." Mordred gagged. "The only good thing the flowery bastard every did was sort out the plumbing for Camelot so people didn''t shit in the streets."


    "Eww." I blurted out.


    "You''re telling me. It was fucking horrible going from our pristine city to a random vige somewhere and it smelled so fucking bad. The Stables in Camelot smelt better than most other cities."


    "Never been brought up in conversation with Artoria before." It was an amusing thought.


    "Ha!" Mordred let out a snort. "That''s because the flowery bastard used his Magecraft to filter it and Father made sure to keep him nearby."


    I could honestly see her doing that.


    "Well, lets go get started. I''d like to get this done sooner rather thanter."


    ***


    "This is more than I expected." I eyed a bulletin board with a map of the city and several locations marked up.


    Kairi walked over to where I was. He had just got finished talking to the Romanian Police, spouting some bullshit about being some special investigators or something, I didn''t'' really care to pay much attention. A slight shift in cognitive function, and they were led to believe our obviously fake identities.


    "There are 8 cases so far." Kairi lit up a cigarette and took a quick drag. "The police haven''t been able to find a pattern."


    "Probably because the Servant can Astralize to go unnoticed and cover obscene distances in little time." I rubbed my chin. "Hell, for all we know, if this really is Jack the Ripper, he could have an ability that makes him faceless since his identity was never revealed. Not to mention he most likely has the highest level of Presence Concealment considering how popr his story is, and evading capture."


    Kairi grunted in agreement. "I checked for any Prostitute deaths days and weeks leading up to this killing spree, nothing on that front."


    "Ah, to facilitate the summoning, smart." I nodded. Creating the conditions to better summon a specific Servant, presenting the corpses of some Prostitutes would probably increase the likely hood of summoning the killer with the right catalyst. "The best conditions would have been to summon him in London." I tapped my chin. "If this Servant belonged to the Red Faction, then chances are good that''s what urred, but that Priest called that woman ''Assassin'' so I''m not so sure. Any news on simr things happening over there?"


    "Haven''t heard anything, but one or two instances wouldn''t raise any gs." Kairi shook his head. "It''s more likely it was the Yggdmillennia family since they became hostile to the Mages Association."


    That was the more obvious conclusion, but I wanted to check regardless. There''s no way the Clock Tower would allow that family to perform the Ritual in the middle of their territory like that.


    "The obvious answer would be to check out the slums, but...." I looked over the map. "There aren''t any killing in the area. They mostly happen in the upper scale neighborhoods which kind of goes against the supposed killer''s usual MO."


    "The Master is a Magus." Kairi snorted. "You think he''d allow himself to live in the slums?"


    "That''s a good point." I conceded. "But you''re focusing on the Master''s preferences and not the Servants."


    "You think the Master would concede this to his Servant?" Kairi didn''t sound too convinced. "In my experience, most Magi are too arrogant to allow something like that."


    Again I couldn''t argue his point. "I''ll agree that this is a valid train of thought, but we''re talking about a possible deranged killer." I pointed out. "It''s possible he''s not as deranged as I would assume, and someone of noble origins with a disgusting ''hobby'', but my gut is telling me to check out the slums."


    Well, ''slums'' isn''t probably the right word. The poorer neighborhoods where you can find women soliciting themselves on the corners.


    "How about we split up? You check where you want, I''ll go down south and follow my instincts?" I offered, ncing towards Mordred. "I''m sure your Berserker can handle an Assassin. Worsees to worse, make a big signal and Ie running over."


    "Oi." Mordred called out, perking up at my words. "Fuck you." She flipped me off as shezed on a nearby sofa.


    I just smiled innocently and waived at her.


    "Sounds good." Kaira looked like he thought it over. "It''ll get this job done quicker anyways. Don''t want this hanging over my head for the entire War."


    I couldn''t fault his sentiment.


    And while it was still daytime, some...leeway could be granted if we''re dealing with a rogue servant causing issues in public.


    "Raikou." I called out as she appeared next to me. "Fancy another stroll?" I offered my arm, much to her happiness.


    ***


    I don''t think she cared we were going to look for a serial killer, she just enjoyed the time we spent together, and I honestly felt happy as well.


    A random thought.....I''m pretty sure people were assuming that Raikou was a prostitute as she draped herself on my arm....


    She didn''t seem to care at all the stares when we walked down the street, but I definitely recognized some of those ''res''.


    "Master." Raikou spoke up, drawing my attention. "I feel....something stirring in the air, a familiar feeling."


    I paused. "Can you find it?"


    "Un." She began tugging on me, leading us in another direction. As we got closer, the amount of people on the streets grew fewer and fewer, like they were all unconsciously keeping away.


    "What is that?" I spoke aloud, as we approached an alleyway.


    "Resentment." Raikou replied. "I wasn''t sure until we got close. It''s very concentrated amounts of resentment. In Kyoto, this would be a spot where Youkai or Ghosts woulde into existence if not dealt with. I do not know what will happen if left alone in this era and thisnd. At the very least, it may evolve into a corrosive miasma that will begin to spread."


    I walked in further, and I felt it more abrasively. Something or someone definitely died here, and I had a feeling our rogue Servant was to me. This amount of.....Resentment, could only be facilitated by something notmon to this age. Well, it''s possible that something capable of this was still up and about, but the chances were miniscule. Especially in and like Romania, where there simply was not many supernatural entities remaining, let alone ones with the needed abilities.


    If it were Japan, I could entertain the thought of some half-phantasmal still up and about doing stuff they shouldn''t, but not here.


    "I''m a fairly decent Onmyoji, I can deal with it." I took a few Talismans out of my ring to create a purifying Pentagram.


    "I did see you use Talismans, I am surprised such an Art persisted and is known this far from home." Raikou looked on curiously. "I was not proficient in the arts myself, but I knew many who could make use of the esoteric abilities. It was often easier to have things purified than to simply fight them."


    Not exactly my forte here, but this wasn''t supported by any powerful entity, merely an exertion of unnatural phenomena. Besides, what I did to that Hydra back in Kyoto was much moreplicated than this.


    With a flick of my wrists, my Talismans shot out to the corners of the Alley way and began to glow in a faint light, washing away this feeling.


    Raikou perked up, turning her head to the side. "Master a Servant approaches." She got herself ready for battle before shifting slightly with a look of disdain on her face. "My apologies, it''s just an insect, allow me to go squash it." Raikou was about to head over, but I stopped her.


    I raised an eyebrow as I saw who came over from around the corner, she even paused to look at me in surprise. "Wilhelm?" A certain Saintess called out.


    "Well well well, if it isn''t the penniless Saintess." I greeted with a smile.


    That little eye twitch appeared immediately. "Do you need to address me like that?" She sighed.


    "Yes." I said without hesitation, giving her another look. She was wearing the clothes I bought her before, more conservative with some jeans and a long jacket.


    "Is something the matter?" She caught my gaze.


    "Just a bit sad." I shook my head.


    She nodded. "Yes, this feeling does weigh on my heart." She looked around.


    "Ah, no." I rified. "I meant I was sad I couldn''t watch you walk around in booty shorts anymore."


    "W-what!?" Jeanne blurted out in embarrassment, her face turning bright red.


    Hah!


    Did her irvoyance or Revtions lead her here? Or was the counter force guiding her to take care of this ''threat'' that could cause issues.


    "Anyways!" I changed the subject. "Want to help me catch a serial Killer?"


    ***


    A wild Saintess appears, MC uses bully, it''s super effective. Wrist is hurting a little bit, I don''t think it''ll be a problem, but figured i''d give a heads up incase something happens by tomorrow and I can''t write.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 182 - 174

    <h4>Chapter 182: Chapter 174</h4>


    "A serial Killer?" Jeanne tilted her head in confusion.


    "You don''t know?" I asked.


    She shook her head. "I felt a pull toe here, and I followed." She exined briefly. "I was merely investigating the unpleasant feeling in the vicinity when I noticed the presence of a Servant."


    "So much for Big G giving guidance to his saint." I said dryly.


    "Well, it led me to you." She gave an strainedugh, that little tick ever present. "I can only have faith the Lord hasn''t led me astray."


    "Haha, well, you know, broken clocks and all that." I did my best to give an innocent smile. "I''m surprised you just didn''t read the newspaper to figure out what''s going on." The corners of my lips curled up.


    Her eye twitched again. "I''ve been too busy making sure the war isn''t revealed due torge magical effects that happen over the night sky."


    "Huh, I guess you would be able to usher the Grail''s effects to certain areas to mitigate ''damage'' as a Ruler." I rubbed my chin. The Grail does put effort in ensuring secrecy, and Ruler''s job is to enforce rules.


    She made a noise of annoyance, puffing up rather cutely. "SOMEONE is making my job extremely difficult."


    "Wonder who that could be." I smiled innocently.


    "Yes, I wonder." She twitched again.


    This was fun, I wish I could do this all day. "I''m curious, why didn''t you assume I had a hand in what was going on here? You clearly know something is wrong, the obvious ickiness in the alley and I''m here trying to ''get rid'' of the evidence?"


    Her strained expression quickly shifted into a genuine smile. "The thought never crossed my mind, I think you''re a good person."


    I blinked at the frankness of her response. "A saintess calling me a good person....my ancestors are rolling in their graves." I shook my head. "It could just be a ruse, a mask I put on in public."


    "I trust my judgement." She just continued to smile. "Even when you had the opportunity to kill other Masters, you refrained yourself and focused on their servants. When you were at the Castle of the ck faction, you could have turned that ¨C eyesore ¨C on them in that moment, possibly removing the ck Faction from the war, yet you chose not to."


    "Huh, so you were watching." I chuckled, before pausing. "Wait, what do you mean eyesore!? That was the most impressive piece of Thaumaturgy I''ve ever created! It was built upon several different schools of Magecraft!"


    "Eyesore? what are you talking about?" She clearly feigned ignorance.


    [Haha, this is the best Saintess]


    "Penniless Saint has jokes." I pursed my lips. "How about writing them down for me so I can enjoy themter, hmm?"


    She twitched again.


    "Master." Raikou grabbed our attention. "Ignore the insect, we came here to for a reason."


    "Right, right." I nodded. "Unfortunately, I think she''ll probably be our best bet on finding this person." I rubbed my chin. "Her ability to seek out the ''danger'' or whatever the mechanics are, it''s possibly more precise than our attempts at searching this ce."


    Raikou scowled. "Should we blindfold her and have her point in a random direction?"


    I blinked, looking towards Jeanne then back at Raikou.


    "N-no!?" Jeanne quickly tried to dismiss the idea.


    My lips curled up again as I stared at the saintess. "Raikou, you''re brilliant."


    "It doesn''t work like that!" Jeanne squeaked out.


    "I shall restrain her, Master." Raikou suddenly seemed happier.....perhaps a little too happy. "Fufufu." She giggled. "Come here, little Saintess~"


    "Meep." Jeanne looked afraid, and I didn''t me her.


    ***


    "This is unnecessary!" Jeanne whined.


    I ignored herints. "You know, Raikou." I turned towards my servant. "We just needed her blindfolded not...this." I gestured towards Jeanne who was tied up.....a bit lewdly if I were honest.


    "Master, you''re the one who gave me the rope." She seemed proud of herself.


    "That I did." I just nodded. "Well done, Raikou." I praised.


    "Master!" Raikou enveloped me, pushing my head between her breasts again.


    "I can hear you!" Jeanne wiggled in her bindings.


    "Unfortunately, I can hear you as well." Raikou did not hold back her disdain. "Master, we should use ourpass before we lose daylight."


    "Alrighty, Jeanne." I walked up, putting my hands on her shoulders. "I''m just going to spin ¨C"


    "Waaa, it doesn''t work like that!" Jeanne continued. "And I''m not apass!"


    "¡ªaround a bit, and the direction you decided to stop in, is where we''re going to go."


    "S-stop" She managed to squeak out as I began spinning her.


    "Big G, Work your miracles."


    "Ahh, don''t call him that." She whined,ing to a halt. "I-I''m dizzy." She bobbed her head back and forth.


    "Perfect." I nodded, looking down the street where she stopped at. I began to undo her bindings, and she just puffed up, giving an adorable pout.


    "It doesn''t work like this." She reiterated.


    "To have so little faith, tsk, tsk." I shook my head.


    "Y-you!" She did a little stomp on the ground. "Fine." She pouted. "I intended to search this area of the city anyways."


    Raikou still looked very pleased with herself. "Stay here if you wish, you are not needed." She casually replied, taking my arm and practically dragged me away. "Master, lets go find Assassin so we can spend the rest of the day together~":


    "Wait for me." Jeanne quickly caught up with a huff. "You used me like that and just nned to leave me behind!" She said indignantly. "You didn''t even tell me who we''re looking for."


    "Jack the Ripper." I stated.


    Jeanne''s cute demeanor shifted to something serious. "The Serial Killer from London." She repeated, almost mechanically. "I see, this may be troublesome."


    "Yup. Their legend''s taken on so many forms over the years, they could have a wide array of abilities that correspond to being a good killer." It would really be an annoying opponent, but it would be best to remove them from y now. "Interestingly enough, they haven''t targeted any innocents yet."


    "You said there had been mentions in the newspaper?" She looked at me in confusion.


    "I went to the police station to get a better look at everything that''s happened." I began to exin. "So far, the victims were a handful of Child Traffickers, a serial rapist, a wife beater, and a gang leader. There are more, but you get the idea." They were all killed in the same style as Jack the Ripper, even if his victim pool had extended beyond prostitutes. Perhaps his master had a better rein on him than I anticipated?


    "I see." She said quietly. "Even so....we can''t allow them to run around and kill like this."


    "I agree." I nodded. While I had noints about the victims, it''s not like this could keep going on. It had already grabbed the attention of the Mage''s Association. This wasn''t my world, but I''m here and should clean up the messes around me out of courtesy.


    "Master." Raikou stopped, eyes darting around. "I sense something familiar ahead."


    I turned towards Jeanne, raising an eyebrow.


    "It could be anything." She said sheepishly.


    "It''s simr to the resentment from before." Raikou did not hold back.


    "And this ce is noticeably empty." I muttered. In fact, I had a ''feeling'' in the back of my head telling me to just go away.


    Strange indeed.


    Almost as if on que, a strange fog began rolling in, and we all brought our guards up.


    The sun waspletely blocked in a matter of moments, the fog enveloping every corner of this street.


    "Master." Raikou turned to me out of concern.


    "I noticed, don''t worry." I reassured her, my Aura ring. This fog or whatever it was ¨C it was poisonous. I could feel it slowly eating away at my Aura reserves.


    A glowing pair of eyes was seen not that far infront of us. "Go away." A voice called out amongst the fog.


    I again turned to Jeanne, she nced at me then turned away, refusing to meet my gaze.


    "Assassin Servant." Jeanne quickly donned her Servant Armaments, gs standard in her hand. "You will cease this attack at once. I am Ruler and I''m here to investigate the killings going on."


    The Assassin servant didn''t answer, but disappeared into the surrounding fog.


    "Did you expect that to work?"


    "Shush!" She puffed up again.


    The fog around us sort of ''vibrated'' its presence amplified to a degree that I could through my Aura.


    "I issued a warning." Jeanne stated, grabbing her g with both hand, her entire body filled with a brilliant light.


    I unconsciously took a few steps away, recognizing the threat this ''light'' posed to me. She looked at me strangely as I reeled back from it put didn''t pay it any more mind. "Haaah!" She mmed her g down, the light shooting off in every direction.


    I put up a shield along with my aura to mitigate the corrosive power from touching me.


    The Fog dispersed and a figure came into view.


    "We said to go away!" The Servant held a Dagger in her hand.


    Yes, her.


    But more importantly, it was a child. One that was wearing something very revealing for someone who appeared to be younger than my Daughter, but a child nheless.


    Even Jeanne was caught off guard by the Servant as we were all expecting an old man or some sort.


    "Woah!" I held my hands up. "Lets not fight."


    The Assassin paused, staring at me. "Leave us alone we''re not going to let you hurt mommy!" She disappear, the Fog around her sort of enveloping her form. A momentter, she was stabbing towards me in particr. I guess she noticed I was a ''Master'' in this situation. Well, Assassins specialize in removing Masters since their stats are usually lower than the other sses.


    Raikou swung her sword, deflecting a Dagger that was aiming for my back. It wasn''t beyond my means to block myself, but Raikou was my Servant and she would prefer to handle this on her own if possible.


    "Disgusting thing." Raikou surprisingly showed no fondness for the child-servant. "How many ghosts are you possessed by?"


    I blinked at her words, staring at the Assassin again who skirted away after the first sh. "I see, that''s why this ''resentment'' was so strong."


    "Are you even a Servant or an Amalgamation of specters?" Raikou spat out.


    "We will not allow mommy to be hurt." She didn''t waiver, holding her dagger up.


    I let out a sigh, putting my hand on Raikou''s shoulder. "Let''s not fight."


    Raikou shot me a look, but didn''t dismiss my words.


    The Assassin didn''t budge, still ready to attack. It didn''t look like she was trying to win but scare us off. I suppose she didn''t feel confidant in being able to take us all on, especially since Jeanne dispersed that fog so easily. I can guess she relied on it for her stealthier maneuvers.


    "My name is Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I took a step forward, introducing myself. "Can you tell me your name?"


    "We are Assassin." She said simply, I think she was a bit confused at what I was doing.


    "Can I ask that you don''t attack me? I promise I don''t intend to hurt you or your ''mommy''."


    "Lies." She frowned. "You look like all the ones who hurt mommy before."


    No idea what was going on here, but something didn''t feel right. "We''re not allowed to fight during the day, you know that right?" I tried a different approach.


    She gripped her dagger tightly, but didn''t respond.


    "Look, even Ruler is here. If we try to fight she''ll stop us." I nced up at Jeanne, giving her a wink.


    "Y-yes, that is correct. Fighting during the day is prohibited, I will not allow it to happen regardless of who it is." Jeanne confirmed.


    "You''re not going to hurt us or mommy?" The Assassin looked up at Jeanne.


    "I promise, I will not move on either of you unless a rule is being broken." Jeanne said with upmost sincerity.


    "You''re warm." Assassin brought her dagger down. "The light was nice and warm." She repeated as if it was important. The pauses and the nk stare that happened were almost a dead giveaway in having a mental conversation with someone. "We will trust you."


    "But we still need to have a talk about the people you''ve been killing." Jeanne would not relent on this matter.


    Was it the Saintess''s natural disposition that seemed to sooth this child-like servant? "We had to..." She said quietly.


    I took another step forward, having an idea of what was going on. She raised her Dagger up, ready to attack but I held my hands out as if to tell her I wasn''t going to harm her. "There''s something wrong with your ''mommy'' and her giving you magical energy, isn''t there?" The little sh across her face made me think I hit the mark. So she wasn''t just killing indiscriminately, but siphoning magical energy for her continued existence. I took a few more steps forward, moving down to a knee to get eye level with her. "How about a peace offering?" I took out a Dust Crystal, holding it out for her to take.


    Hey, if we could avoid fighting, then by all means. I didn''t particrly want to move against a child, even if it was a Servant.


    She looked at it, then at me, then at Jeanne. She looked really hesitant but took a step forward and snatched it out of my hand. By the look on her face, I could tell she knew what had just been given to her.


    "With that, you shouldn''t have to drain anyone for awhile right?" I offered a smile.


    "What do you want?" She said bluntly, even if it was a little cute in her childish voice.


    "Can we go speak to your Master?" I asked. This whole situation waspletely not what I expected. At this point I wanted to get a gauge on her Master to figure out how to proceed.


    Again, the Assassin looked at me, then back at Jeanne, even sparing Raikou a nce. "You won''t hurt Mommy?"


    "I promise I won''t do anything but defend myself ¨C Ruler as witness." I gestured towards her.


    "And I will not allow fighting during the day." She nodded.


    Another nk stare, and it looked like Assassin was talking to their master. I guess she had great confidence in her ability to escape if she was being so open around us. But that''s Assassin Servants for you.


    ".....okay, we''ll take you to mommy." Assassin seemingly relented, turning around and usher for us to follow.


    ***


    The Holy Compass.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.


    We have a discord,e talk about the story or really anything. -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 183 - 175

    <h4>Chapter 183: Chapter 175</h4>


    {Master, why will you not let me cleanse this child?} Raikou''s voice came over the links we shared. {Surely you can feel this disgusting feeling as well?}


    {I can.} I said simply as my eyes were drawn to the back of the Assassin Servant. I wasn''t like Raikou where I was so honed to the feeling of Resentment that I could sense it from long distances, but even here, I could practically taste the uncountable number of hate-filled emotions hidden deep inside this child. {Does this child seem strange to you?}


    {Strange? Beyond being a conglomeration of ghosts the likes I''ve never seen before?}


    {For such a creature ¨C a wraith ¨C she seems oddly.....rational.} I briefly thought about Sasaki Kojiro, but his situation was much different. {Frankly, she should be nothing but a mess of hate and death, yet she appeared and tried to scare us off.}


    {It was obvious she did not think she could win.}


    {Then why did she decide to attack instead of running away?} I countered. {An Assassin Servant is one who waits for the most opportune moments to strike considering their lower physical abilities.} Atleast for the most part. Once again, Sasaki Kojiro was an outlier in this regard.


    Raikou looked a little surprised by my retort, her brow furrowed in through. {In her view it could have been an opportunity to remove a Master. She simply could have had confidence in her ability to escape under those circumstances.}


    {We tracked her down easily enough, why wouldn''t we be able to again if she failed?} I replied, shaking my head. {In my opinion, she just cared for the safety of someone else more than herself. You heard her words, and maybe you should give them the due consideration.}


    {Her.....mother?} Raikou''s mental voice went a bit quiet, and I''m pretty sure I poked a sore spot by pointing it out. While she didn''t care about other people much due to her Madness, certain things could still strike a chord with her if they weren''t tantly involving other people infront of her. A story or a situation would perhaps have a great impact, if it was more ambiguous than actually seeing it.


    I put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a smile. {Besides, if the worsees to happen, you''re here to protect me, right?}


    Raikou perked up and that bright smile reappeared on her face {Of course! Mommy will protect you no matter what.}


    The further the Servant led us, the more the creepy feeling emerged from the surroundings. If I didn''t know any better, I''d suspect she was doing it on purpose. But frankly, her existence seems to be spilling out onto the surroundings. The one from before, the alley we initially found and purified, I could guess that she killed someone there, which was why it stood out even though she''d only been there for a brief moment.


    I thought there weren''t any murders in this part of the city, but I guess the police didn''t investigate too far into this area or it had never been discovered. I didn''t find the traces of a corpse anywhere either, only the lingering miasma.


    Eventually, we came upon an apartmentplex that was.....surprisingly ''clean'' as opposed to most of the street.


    Like she intentionally reeled herself in while here.


    "If you hurt mommy, we won''t forgive you." The Assassin shot us another look before pushing the door open.


    The killing intent in her voice made me raise an eyebrow.


    "I promise we will not harm your Master as long as we are not attacked." Jeanne spoke up again, reiterating her position. "You have my word as the Ruler of this war."


    Jack gave her a long stare, and it was hard to guess her thoughts. "Un." She merely made a small noise in acknowledgement.


    "Jackie, is that you?" We pushed open an apartment door behind the Assassin servant, walking inside to meet a woman sitting down at a table. Didn''t look surprised to see us, most likely having been in mental contact with her Servant the entire time.


    She was quite beautiful, a sensual charm that could probably entrap many.


    "Mommy, we''re back." The Assassin servant happily skipped into their Master''s arms.


    "I see that." Her Master smiled lightly at her Servant''s antics. "You did good." She rubbed the Assassin''s head. Before looking up at us. Her expression was one of forced calmness. I''ve dealt with people enough to know when they''re nervous.


    "You weren''t the one who summoned her, were you?" I hazarded a guess, taking the initiative in this conversation. Her overall demeanor, her handling of this situation, it spoke of inexperience. She allowed us to walk right into her home, and it was obviously without any defenses.


    No Magus would allow such a thing.


    She reacted slightly, which told me all I needed to know.


    "If I had to guess, you werepletely unaware of this hidden world before whatever happened tond you as her Master." I continued on, and she didn''t stop me.


    She frowned, and there was a little bit of resentment shing across her face. "Someone else thought I would be a good ''material'' to summon her." She scoffed, a noticeable amount of anger and disgust in her voice.


    Well, I can see she doesn''t have the best impression of magic users at this point then. "I''m sorry you had to go through that." I replied with sincerity.


    She crossed her arms. "You wanted to see me, what do you want?"


    "I''m sure your Servant has told you about the war, yes?" I nced at Jeanne, and I guess she was staying quiet because I was operating as a Master towards another Master. She would probably have words when we settled our own thing outside her purview.


    "She told me enough."


    "You drew a lot of attention to yourself with these killings." I began to exin. "The Mages Association that policies our hidden world, they know something''s going on and sent people to investigate."


    "Is this where you offer me a deal?" She scowled. "That look is the same as all my clients who looked down on me. Are you going to tell me to get on my knees too, like that bastard who tried to kill me?"


    "You''re making an awful lot of assumptions here."


    "Hah." She blurted out an annoyedugh. "I know your type, magic or not. You see me as beneath you and stille here wanting something." She eyed me up and down. "Silver spoon in your mouth, never having to want for anything and I''m just a damn prostitute."


    She might not be the sanest at the moment. Well, her whole world had probably been turned upside down and she''s justshing out for the moment. I usually would be a bit understanding, but I was a little annoyed by her usations. "My mother was a prostitute, and I hold no shame towards that." I said dryly, breaking her from that little triad she was going on. "I would ask that you stop making assumptions about my life. It''s understandable that you''re on edge, having entered this world recently. But if you continue as you are, you''re going to get yourself killed."


    "Don''t threaten mommy." The Assassin practically exploded with killing intent directed on me.


    I turned to her and let my Magical Energy leak out to match her, not backing down from her gaze. "I am not scared of you, Assassin. Even without my own Servant here, I would be confident in dealing with you." I made sure to make my stance known. "I''m here as a courtesy and if I had wanted to bring harm to your Master, she would not be alive right now."


    "Jackie." Her Master put a hand on her Servant. "Let''s hear him out."


    "Okay Mommy." The assassin smiled brightly, like that little incident didn''t happen.


    I let out a sigh, atleast we''re just talking. "If you had killed innocents, we wouldn''t be having a discussion." I made sure to reveal just how much rope they were about to hang themselves with.


    "You people care about ''innocents?" The Master asked with skepticism.


    "Your information probably came entirely from your Servant and your experience with the one who tried to summon her. No doubt it''s wed and full of holes." I rubbed my eyes. "It''s a good assumption to make that all Magi are people you don''t want to cross and will do unspeakable things in the name of their research." I began exining. "But not all of them are like that, but err on the side of caution."


    "Now." I went back on topic. "The way I see it, you have three realistic options avable to you on how you want to proceed with this War."


    "Three options?" She repeated.


    I nodded. "First, you simply fight by yourself, you and your Servant against 11 others. One having been killed so far."


    "The Second." I continued. "Is you ally with someone. But at the end of the day, you''re still going to have to fight until one Servant remains for the Wish.


    "Third." I punctuated onest time. "I can offer you a way out of this war."


    "Wilhelm." Ruler turned to me. "I hope you aren''t going to break any rules." She narrowed her eyes.


    "Yup." I smiled right at her.


    "Don''t tell me so tantly!" Ruler huffed. "If you try, I''ll have to stop you."


    Well, she couldn''t do anything until I actually broke them. "You can try, penniless saintess." Iughed, turning back to Assassin''s master. "You can ignore me and I''ll leave. But then you have to deal with Ruler and she won''t let you go around killing people anymore to support your Servant."


    Assassin''s Master looked at me again, uncertainty clear on her face. "Do I have to fight?" She asked.


    "No." I shook my head. "Sitting here, doing nothing is also an option. But the others wille eventually. The War won''t end unless there is one servant remaining for the Wish." I sighed, seeing the contemtive look she had. "What are you even trying to do here? Do you want a wish?"


    "I just want to live with Jackie." She said quietly. "I never cared before, always going through life with detachment. For the first time, when that Magus tried to kill me I thought ¨C ''I want to live'' and Jackie here saved me."


    "Mommy." The Assassin reached for her Master with a hug.


    The Master smiled, hugging her back. "If we fought, do you think we could win?"


    "Not a chance." I was blunt.


    She started tough, rubbing Assassins'' head. "Then what will you do with me, if I take my ''out''?"


    "I''ll win the Grail, and can bring you two away so you won''t have to deal with any of this again. If you want a quiet life somewhere, I can arrange that. If you want to start overpletely....I can do that as well." It didn''t seem like she had any attachments here, so bringing them to another world, away from all of this might be in their best interest.


    "I thought you said only one Servant can remain. Are you going to kill my Jackie?" She looked at me darkly.


    "That''s for other people." I smiled. "My Grandfather helped create the Grail. I know a few things around such limitations. I can only ask that you trust me not to harm you in the end." I shrugged. There wasn''t much else I could do.


    "Trust?" Sheughed. "It''s basically ckmail."


    "That''s true." I nodded. "But at least it''s not malicious."


    "I can put more faith in you wanting lesspetition than actually wanting to help someone like me." She let out a long sigh. "What do we have to lose?"


    "I never did ask your name." I stated.


    "Reika Rikudou," She said bluntly.


    "So you are Japanese as well." I muttered. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself. "My family name has some weight in the Magus Community, if you run into any issues in the immediate time frame feel free to use it."


    I took out a few Dust Crystal from my ring and set them on the table. "A peace offering, and something to set you at ease for now."


    "What are these?" She reached over without hesitation and picked one up. I twitched involuntarily before I remembered she wasn''t a Magus andcked the same survival instincts to the unknown.


    "Crystallized Magical Energy, your Servant should be able to run on them for awhile, so please don''t go killing, otherwise other people won''t sit still regardless of my input." I replied.


    She set it down, probably notpletely understanding except that it would be good for her Assassin. "Why?" She finally asked.


    "Why what?"


    "Why are you being so...helpful. I''m nobody." She looked down. "You said you don''t care about Jackie, so why are you even going through the effort when no one else ever has?"


    "You didn''t ask for this." It really wasn''t fair to her. "Is it hard to believe I can sympathize with you?" Maybe more that I should, I knew I was drawing parallels to my own upbringing, but I couldn''t help it.


    I turned to Ruler. "Do you have anything to add?"


    She shook her head. "If it happens again, I will return, but I am content for now."


    {Raikou?"} I asked through our link.


    {I have nothing to say, Master. I do not believe it is wise to let this thing remain...but I am conflicted. As a mother, I wish this woman to have the same happiness that I do.}


    Well, she was rationalizing it somehow. As long as she doesn''t react violently, I''ll leave it alone for now. "I''lle around when everything is settled." I said towards Reika.


    The Assassin walked over, tugging on my sleeve. She looked up, smiling cutely. "If you lied to mommy, we''ll cut you open and pull out your insides."


    .....Well okay then.


    ***


    The day before the final night is wrapping up. I should have the fighting settled by the end of this weekend over on my pat.reon.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 184 - 176

    <h4>Chapter 184: Chapter 176</h4>


    "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be." I said idly as we left the little domain that Assassin created around her Master''s home.


    "I was not expecting a child." Jeanne said honestly. "Should I have done something?" She asked, though I don''t know if it was directed at me.


    "At the end of the day, is the world worse off after what happened?" I replied. "I''m not one for killing people for the hell of it, but some people I don''t care if they die and others I think shouldn''t continue living." I''ve seen so much death in my existence ¨C between both lives ¨C that I''m very desensitized to it all. If something happens infront of me, I would do something obviously, but something happening out of my vicinity that has no bearing on me? I don''t know if I could bring myself to action.


    I''m no hero.


    "They.....were still people." Jeanne said quietly.


    "And that''s why you''re revered as a Saintess." I lightly patted her head.


    She made a little noise in embarrassment. "Assassin though, should I have offered to purify their resentment? It wouldn''t be technically against the rules, but it also isn''t something I should meddle in."


    "I am of the same mind." Raikou actually spoke up. "I do not believe that creature should have been made to exist in that continued state."


    Well, that was rare for Raikou to even acknowledge her, for her to agree with Jeanne, maybe I''ve made the wrong decision? I would be lying if I said I didn''t feel pity for both of them. Maybe I was projecting some of my own feelings onto the situation?


    Entirely possible.


    "She isn''t out of control." I closed my eyes briefly, letting out a sigh. "And she''s apparently capable of making rational decisions, I don''t believe I''m in the position to judge what she is when she''s no threat under normal circumstances."


    "You''re right." Jeanne smiled brightly. "The Lord shelters all of his children, regardless of their origin." She nodded happily.


    Eh, if it cheered her up.


    And I wonder if she would still repeat that if she knew what I was.


    Would she despise me?


    "But Wilhelm." She turned towards me. "I didn''t push it because I did not wish to interfere with your talks, but I will stop you if you try to break the rules." The tone of her voice told me how serious she was.


    "Technically ¨C"


    "Nu huh." She cut me off. "There''s no in between, Wilhelm. I will stop you if I have to." She paused, as if realization dawned on her. "You said before that you hoped we wouldn''t be enemies....."


    I let out a sigh. "You''re going to be unmoving on this, aren''t you?"


    "I take my duties seriously." She looked at me pointedly.


    "I guess it''ll be inevitable then." I frowned.


    Jeanne pursed her lips. "I''m the Ruler of this War, and you''re telling me you''re going to break the rules." She sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"


    "Well, you can''t act unless I actually do something." I grinned, poking her.


    She puffed up indignantly. "I''ll just have to keep an extra eye on you then."


    "You can watch all you want." I wiggled my eyebrows.


    "Stop it!" She squeaked out. "I was being serious."


    Heh, she was fun to tease. "Do what you need to do, Jeanne." I pat her shoulder. "Regardless, I''ll win in the end." I smiled.


    "We''ll see." She pursed her lips again, looking like she didn''t believe me.


    "Got any other things you have to do today or are you just wandering around?" I decided to change the subject. Truthfully, I would really not like to fight her...I''d grown fond of this penniless Saintess.


    "I''ve had a feeling pulling me somewhere, but it doesn''t feel as urgent as this situation." She replied.


    "So immediate threat versus something that may happen in time?" I hazarded a guess.


    "That was my thought." She nodded her head. "This nagging feeling keeps pointing me in the direction of the Red Faction."


    "By Red Faction, you mean the flying fortress that fell from the sky?"


    "Yes, the massive fortress that lit up in the middle of the night when someone almost revealed magic to arge part of the country." Her eye twitched.


    "Hmm, what Dashing Magus could have done such a thing?" I feigned ignorance. "Whoever he is, he must be extremely handsome and powerful."


    She looked at me before letting out augh, a genuine one that brought a smile to my face. Seemingly, the tenseness of the previous conversation faded away. "Are you always so boastful?"


    "Boastful?" I looked aghast. "I merely speak the truth." I turned to my quiet Servant. "Right Raikou?"


    "Of course, Master." She smiled happily.


    "See?" I turned back towards the Saintess.


    "A clearly objective opinion, I''m sure." She said dryly.


    I chuckled at her response. "So, nagging feeling telling you to get check out the Red Faction, is that because they stole the Grail?"


    They attacked Jeanne, viting the rules, then stole the grail for a specific reason. It wasn''t hard to put two and two together here. They''re obviously up to something and can somehow manipte the grail if they''re going through the trouble. Hell, Medea pulled some Shenanigans with the Grail back home and she had a lot less resources than these people seemed to have.


    "It intensified briefly, but I''ve had this feeling since I''ve manifested now." She shook her head in response. "I just have not had the opportunity to seek them out since, well...."


    "Being attacked as soon as you got here?" I finished for her.


    "Yes, that."


    "Yeah, probably not a good idea to walk into the territory of people willing to break the rules and try to kill you." I couldn''t fault her hesitance. Even with the Command Seals she possesses, things could happen. Her authority was not absolute, and neither were themands she could issue. "Well, we''ll be heading theree night, you''re wee toe along."


    "You know I cannot offer aid?" She looked at me.


    "That''s fine, you make a good shield even if you just stand there." I gave her a thumbs up.


    "I''m not a shield!"


    "Saint Shield, my strongest Noble Phantasm."


    "Noooo!" She whined. "You''re not allowed to do that again." She puffed up.


    "You know, I need to find the others, and I have no idea where they went." I grinned, looking right at her.


    "No!" She squeaked out again.


    "Raikou, prepare the rope."


    "Fufufu~"


    ****


    "Yo." I raised my hand up, greeting Mordred and Kairi as they came towards us.


    "You find the Assassin?" Kairi pulled a chair at our table as we rxed in the evening sun. His eyesnded on Ruler, but he focused on the more pressing issue apparently.


    "Found, dealt with." I nodded.


    "Kill him then? Was he strong?" Mordred also slid into a chair, propping her chin up. "We just wandered around for like two hours finding nothin." She seemed a little annoyed.


    "Eh, not really." I began to exin. "Turns out it was a child and a Master who had no idea about our world in general. She had some extenuating circumstances."


    "Wait, the Master is a Child?" Mordred looked surprised.


    "No, No. The Servant ¨C Jack the Ripper ¨C was apparently a little girl or something"


    "What do you mean ''or something''." Kairi wanted rification.


    "Basically ¨C" How do I put this... "¡ªShe was a conglomeration of ghosts, forming a wraith, that fit into the vessel that is Jack the Ripper." Atleast as far as I could tell. "Since his identity was never known, she''s probably not the only ''Jack the Ripper'' that could be summoned."


    Wasn''t very hard to put the pieces together when I had a few moments to think about it.


    "And they''re dead...?"


    "Nope." I shook my head. "Left them alone since they didn''t want to fight. I gave them a means to keep their Assassin anchored without having to kill people, so they shouldn''t be a problem again. I offered them an out at the end of the war if they didn''t cause any issues, and they took it."


    "Jeeze." Kairi rubbed his temples. "What am I supposed to tell my employers?"


    "Tell them I can go have a talk with them personally if they''re upset."


    Kairi snorted, but I think he took that to heart.


    Whatever.


    "At the very least, one less Assassin that will try to stab us in the back." I offered as a constion.


    "Yeah, I hate dealing with those types, so its'' fine with me. Sides, I don''t want to have to kill a kid and a Master who didn''t even know what she was doing in the first ce." Mordred didn''t seem to care.


    "Alright, now that that''s settled, introductions." I pped my hands. "This is Ruler" I gestured towards Jeanne. "She''s joining our team."


    "I''m not." She said curtly.


    "Ruler, this is Mordred, my son." I gestured towards the Knight of Rebellion.


    "I''m not." Mordred gave an almost identical response.


    "Good, now that''s settled."


    "Yeah, no." Mordred interjected.


    "I should rify I am not aiding you in the uing battle." Jeanne replied.


    "Aren''t Ruler''s supposed to be neutral?" Mordred asked.


    "We are." She nodded "I am merely spending my time idly." She exined. "Or until Wilhelm decides to start breaking the rules." She added on with a rather dry tone.


    "Oh shit, does that mean I can fight her?" Mordred turned to me a little excited. "I want a real fight, that Berserker didn''t really match up." She paused, giving Ruler a once over. "Hang on. Why does she kinda look like father?"


    "Pardon?" Jeanne seemed confused.


    "Yeah, now that I look at her, she does kind of look like Artoria." I rubbed my chin. "Curious."


    "Hey, are they rted? Are WE rted?" Mordred asked me.


    "Unlikely." I shook my head.


    "How so? I mean.....she doesn''t look that far off."


    "She''s French."


    "Ah, got it." Mordred nodded as if it that was a good enough exnation.


    "What''s that supposed to mean!?" Jeanne huffed.


    I snorted, holding back myughter, even earning a small little chuckle from Mordred. Taking the piss out of the French, it was an English pass time. I may not be English myself, either now or in my past life, but I''ve lived there long enough to pick up certain things.


    Taking a moment to settle down, I look towards Kairi. "Do you have any thoughts about tonight?"


    Kairi, who had a small smile on his face watching us, took of his sunsses and rubbed his eyes. "I''ll being with." He stated. "I can''t stay out of it forever, especially with what remains of that fortress. No idea if they''ll be able to mess with our connection with that thing."


    "That''s a fair point." That flying fortress could have possibly interfered with the Master-Servant link depending on its ability If they went inside.


    "Hell yeah." Mordred pumped her fist.


    Well, she''s certainly excited. "Any ns on how you want to go about it?"


    He took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, lighting one up and taking a smoke. "Is there any point now?"


    "Again, that''s fair." I nodded. "By now, my capabilities are known, as are our servants in some regard. It''s either going to be a scramble to get the Grail, or an all out fight to finish everything. Either way, this war will end tonight."


    "Simplest method is usually the best." Kairi nodded. "We were just unlucky they got the Grail before usst night."


    Yeah, I didn''t think the Red faction would be after the Grail as well like that.


    Oh well, nothing I could do at this point.


    The best course of action would just be a direct attack.


    "I can''t say I''m not a little bit excited." I was sure I had a wide grin on my face.


    ****


    Non-canon Omake ¨C ''Get out of my Universe!'' Doctor who.


    I had the vague recollection that I wasn''t supposed toe to this reality, but I couldn''t quite remember why.


    I looked around, and it was just a normal earth, with normal people walking around. No one even gave me a second nce as I stood to the side.


    Strange.


    Turning to the side, I noticed something that seemed to mess with my perception. It was easily enough to dismiss the passive filter it seemed to house around it, to see whatid beneath. "Is that a Police Box....? Do they even have those anymore?"


    Almost immediately the door to it opened and someone jumped out, turning and staring right at me. "No." He dered pointing right at me. "No, no , no! Get out of my Universe!" He stomped over to me.


    And I recalled why I didn''te here anymore in my past life. "Well, hey there big chin."


    "Big Chin!?" He huffed. "My Chin isn''t big!"


    "It kinda is." A woman nked him, a redhead. I think she''s Scottish.


    "Hey!" He sounded indignant. "My Chin is perfectly normal."


    "It''s not." I denied.


    "Well, no one asked you." He turned his nose up. "Wait, stop distracting me. Get out of my Universe!"


    "Your Universe?" I scoffed. "I don''t see your name on it."


    "Oh, how mature." He rolled his eyes.


    "What, the guy dressed like he''s going to go on sesame street is talking about maturity? You''re like one of those hipsters that intentionally tries to dress like the quintessential ''dork''."


    "Shows what you know." He pulled on his bowtie. "Bowties are cool."


    "No, they aren''t, old man." I crossed my arms.


    "They really aren''t." The girl beside him agreed.


    I turned towards her. "Hello there." I gave a charming.


    "Sup." She gave a smile.


    "No, none of that!" He stepped between us. "Get out of my universe! You agreed to our deal. Shoo, shoo" He gestured for me to leave.


    "I''m not Zelretch." I deadpanned. "I''m his Grandson."


    "Oh, my mistake." He fixed his bowtie. "Nice to meet you. Now, get out of my universe!"


    "Doctor, who is he?" She asked.


    "Someone who doesn''t belong here."


    "Bitch, I''m more human than you are, how about you get off MY."


    "Hey,nguage." He chided.


    "I''m sorry, I forgot how much of a child you are." I retorted. "Ignoring him." I turned to hispanion. "Nice to meet you, Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service." I introduced.


    "Amelia Pond." She gave a smile. "So, who are you?"


    "Just your average Dimensionally traveling Magician." I grinned.


    "Pfft, like magic?" Sheughed.


    "Yes." It was the Doctor who answered.


    "Wait, are you serious?" She snapped her head towards him.


    "Unfortunately." He scowled.


    "I thought magic was fake ¨C like, sufficiently advanced technology or however that saying goes." She looked surprised.


    "That''s true, for this Universe." He perked up. "My people banished magic from the Universe at the Dawn of Creation." He sounded rather pleased with himself. "But that doesn''t mean it can''te from...other ces." He narrowed his eyes.


    "True Magician over here." I waved towards her. "If you''re interested, I wouldn''t mind answering some questions over say --- dinner?"


    "No, no no no!" The Doctor interjected. "Stop...that!"


    "What, Flirting?" My lips curled up. "I''m sorry is it such a foreign concept to you? Am I offending your delicate sensibilities?"


    "As if. I''ll have you know I''m married." He looked rather proud.


    "I don''t believe you." I said immediately.


    "Hah, you''re just jealous." He straightened his bowtie again.


    "Boys, are you really doing this?" Amelia tried to interject


    "I have a Harem." I countered.


    "....And that''s an immediate ''no'' to the dinner." She added.


    "Yeah, well...I''ve kissed the Queen of Ennd." He gave a smug smile.


    "That''s leave me with a lot of questions." She spoke to herself. "But keep ignoring me, I''ll just sit here in my own little world."


    "I fucked King Arthur." I dered.


    "....."


    "....."


    "...."


    "...What do I need to give you?" He finally said.


    "Pardon?" I grinned at him.


    "What." He punctuated. "Do I need to give you, to get you to leave for good?"


    I couldn''t help but widen my grin


    ***


    "And that''s how I got my hands on a Sonic Screwdriver." I held up the little device as it made a buzzing sound.


    "Wilhelm." Zelretch sped his hands on my shoulders. "I have never been so proud of you as I am right now."


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 185: Interlude 8

    <h4>Chapter 185: Interlude 8</h4>


    Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg POV


    Visuals appeared all around me, Magical screens that scryed certain locations based on my calctions.


    Andrew Forlon.


    I looked at the man who appeared on the screen. Mundane by every measurable means, a product of his environment as he somehow developed ties with some local terrorists that could be traced to the IRA. A man filled with hate and wanted tosh out.


    I shook my head, devising the means for the bomb he was carrying to detonate early while he was home alone. If left to his own devices, he would have killed a child that would go on to be a prominent legitive figure, reversing many environmental deficits.


    With a swipe of my hand, I switched screens without watching the effects of the bomb exploding.


    At another location, a young teen held a dog in their arms. The Dog had cancer, a variant that gave the canine about an 80% chance to live after certain surgeries. They were hopeful, so perhaps the chances were a smidge higher in their favor.


    By all ounts, it should live.


    In another time and ce, a few months down the line, the same, but distraught, young teen would enter apetition on a whim. The opportunity to add an object to a capsule that would beunched into space with records and messages to any who found it in the future.


    He would choose his dog''s name tag.


    After being invited to witness theunch, he would be inspired, and at that moment promise himself to also walk among the stars, to be with his best friend again. His career as an astronaut would be short lived, a single mission that took him beyond the. But it would inspire a new generation as he took up teaching, going from school to school to tell of his experiences. An uncountable number of young minds would be set on certain paths from his intervention.


    With a heavy heart, I reached out for the Dog, and with a slight twitch of my fingers, watched as the light left from its soul during surgery.


    I slumped back in my seat, swiping the screens to a new one once again.


    A woman walking down the street, a flip of my hand and she tripped, getting hit by a bicycle, causing her to be paralyzed from the waist down.


    Across the world, an older gentleman momentarily got distracted with a snap of my fingers, the car he was working on now had a small w that would be disastrous for a certain someone who would buy in about ten years down the line.


    Children running around without supervision, and a speeding caring down the street.


    A Boat that sunk at sea, and a single survivor cast adrift. It was all too easy to divert his rescue to another direction....


    I let out a sigh, closing my eyes briefly.


    So much death and suffering.


    How often do I question if these little actions of mine will make a difference?


    I just continue to do what I can to make sure the world kept on spinning.


    The more that pushes humanity forward, the higher the chance that the Counter Force will continue to support this iteration of reality. Even so, all my actions are like tiny grains of sand, that I''m trying to build into a desert.


    I took a moment to reorientate myself before opening my eyes once again, and I couldn''t help but smile as I looked upon thetest scenario before me.


    It had be increasingly umon that I could actually save people to the betterment of humanities'' continued existence. It just seems that there are many people who should not grow old or continue to exist in the world.


    Lets see....I need this gentleman to be about four secondste for his meeting. Quickly untying his shoe should do the trick. He won''t get hit by a truck and die, thus his grandson will go on to discover an alloy that will be quite useful to the world in the future and increases our chances against the Spider by .003% if my calctions are correct.


    The Scales skew just ever so slightly more in our favor.


    A weed surprise.


    "Perhaps I should take a break." I muttered to myself. It was rare I had a small win like this without any.... negative side effects. "How is my wonderful Grandson doing?" I hummed to myself, picking out the world-line he had gone to.


    As much as he inherited from me due to his circumstances, he stillcks quite a bit. It was entirely unlikely he would even know I took a nce his way.


    ''Fufufu, Mommy is going to spoil you.''


    I blinked, then quickly shut off the viewing.


    I let out another sigh as I ran a hand down my face. "Dammit Wilhelm." I muttered, yet my smile wouldn''t fade away.


    Oh, to be young again. Back when I had more freedom....I do miss some of my past paramours. I wonder if he even remembers them with his fragmented memories.


    "Ah..." I blinked again in realization.


    I wondered if Wilhelm would be willing to run an errand for me. I have that old letter I wanted to give, but I could never find the opportunity to leave after getting wrapped up in my own business.


    "Lucretia..." I let the name flow out of my mouth, bringing with it somber memories.


    Just one of many regrets. Many of which are no longer alive.


    Maybe that''s why I enjoyed my Grandson bringing home so many Granddaughters? They certainly do liven the ce up. And by the looks of it, he''ll be adding another to their number.


    I''m d Wilhelm wasn''t like me and is not shy about taking in the ones who make him happy. It took me too many centuries to realize how lonely it had been to reach this point. To look back and see no one standing behind me.


    I was close to breaking the method that I used to send my memories through a reincarnation cycle. How amusing that I was trying to reverse engineer my own work. It was an enjoyable experience if nothing else. Every method so far had ended in failure when I''ve done my experiments, but it''s obvious I seed at some point in the future, even if they''re fragmented as they were when Wilhelm received them.


    "Lets check on Rin." I muttered again, finding the world-line she was in. The world of ''Nirn'' and thisnd of ''Skyrim'' as they called it. I''ve only peered over there a few times, but since she was in possession of Ruby, I could lock onto that easily enough to just peak at her general direction.


    ''Why are you backing away!? I got it this time.'' Rin''s voice was disyed along with her dirtied face and matted hair. Her clothes looked scuffled as well.


    ''Rin, you''ve exploded yourself twice now.'' Artoria replied with a dry tone.


    ''I didn''t explode myself.'' She countered.


    ''Rin, there are literally scorch marks underneath you.''


    ''.....ignore those.'' She huffed. ''...please don''t tell Will, he''ll never let me live this down''.


    ''I promise I will not tell Wilhelm of your continued exploding.'' Artoria stated.


    ''Or Jinn.'' Rin demanded.


    ''Or Jinn.'' Saber said as well.


    ''Good.'' Rin smiled.


    ''You said nothing of Meridia though.'' Artoria quirked a small smile.


    ''Nooo! Saber.'' My young apprentice whined.


    I had a content smile as I watched their antics. How far they''vee from the two young women who entered the Clock Tower those years ago. They were so guarded and pulled into themselves that I feared they would never truly open up again.


    Without Shirou Emiya existing in this World-line I had to move a few things more overtly to make sure Saber was summoned by Rin. I admit, there were high odds that things would not have gone a good way and I might have had to step in, but they seemed to have turned out alright in the end.


    A calcted risk that turned in my favor. And since my usual n of having Rin recreate my Jeweled Sword wasn''t usible in this scenario, I decided to just take her as an apprentice early on.


    Yes, I think I made the correct choice. She did well to prove herself through other means. Teaming up with Caster and her Master, finding the Grail to be corrupted like it was, and even defeating the King of Heroes who persisted from thest war.


    They had done wonderfully.


    And the time that passed since then did them good, they slowly got limatized to the day to day of the Association, and I couldn''t help but see them as my own Granddaughters after a point.


    Then of course my apparent ''Grandson''es along and sweeps Miss Artoria off her feet with his honeyed words and charming smile.


    I wonder if he realizes who he got it from? I had many a femalepanion in my day, more so than he even has now.


    Poor Artoria, did she ever stand a chance?


    With a flick of my wrist, the images of my apprentice disappeared. I did not wish to be a voyeur, merely checking in on her every now and then.


    This old heart of mine couldn''t help but fuss over their safety.


    I readjusted myself in my seat, returning to my previous duties.


    More nameless faces appeared before me as I once again took on the role of the Hand Behind the Curtains. I slowly did my best to guide the fate of humanity away from destruction, to ensure that the world would continue to exist in the future.


    And I continued to add those grains of sand.


    ***


    Wanted to give some perspective on Zelretch. Most people only see him as a Troll and nothing else, and while that is certainly one role he enjoys taking up, its just one mask of many. Just a heads up, I will not be posting on Sunday, I have familying to town and will be busy. I forgot to mention yesterday, so sorry.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 186 - 177

    <h4>Chapter 186: Chapter 177</h4>


    "Damn kid." Kairi pulled his sunsses down. "You really did a number on this thing." He surveyed the area around us.


    "Shit, there are even pieces this far out." Mordred walked up, kicking a huge piece of the fortress that was sticking out of the ground.


    "Praise me more." I preened.


    "Oh fuck off." Mordred rolled her eyes as she continued to poke at the strange structure. "The hell is this even made of? It''s like stone, but also metal."


    "Probably some material originating from the Age of Gods." I shrugged. "I would take some, but I doubt it wouldst for long considering its nature as a Noble Phantasm." Well, considering it belonged to someone else and wasn''t abandoned in the same way that Ascalon was.


    Ascalon was a unique set of circumstances that would be very hard to replicate again. It''s not like a Servant can just permanently give away their Noble Phantasm after they leave the world.


    Now that I thought about it, Avalon is one of the few exceptions as well, but thates from the fact that it was created as a Noble Phantasm and wasn''t elevated into Legends after the death of its wielder.


    But I digress.


    I walked up to another piece that impaled itself into the ground, towering above me by several feet. I withdrew Mirage from my ring and swung it at the strange material.


    I frowned, running my hand along the small groove now carved out of it. It was shallower than I expected, but I could more or less estimate the durability of this stuff. Whether it''s the same strength throughout, I had no idea, but the thought of merely bulldozing me way through the structure itself was not at the top of my ns.


    "Hey Raikou." I looked towards my Servant who stood attentively at my side. Though her gaze was off into the distance, as if something was waiting for her there. I wanted to say something about Karna....but I held back. "How difficult do you think it would be to break through this?" I put a hand on the stone.


    Raikou''s attention shifted to me and to the stone I was touching. "I could guess the amount of strength behind your blow. It would not be difficult for me to cleave that piece apart." She answered. "But if you wish me to assail the fortress that is made of this material, I fear it''s a futile effort."


    Yeah, I figured, but second opinions are always appreciated. She does have the Mystery yer ability, but I guessed this stuff is still just a mineral, even if it''s intertwined with a Mystery from an old age.


    I turned towards Kairi. "You prepared?" I asked the other master who stood nearby.


    He gave me a look. "As much as I could be." He patted the shotgun at his side with a grin.


    I''de been meaning to ask him about that. "Without prying into secrets....what exactly does that do besides normal bullets?" I tried to be polite. Gods know that Magi protect their secrets religiously. While he was not a traditional Magus, If I started trying to pry into his Mysteries, he could be hostile quickly.


    "I''m a Necromancer, what do you think I use?" I couldn''t see, but I could imagine him quirking an eyebrow.


    "Bones?" I hazarded a guess. "I know the Magus Killer did something simr with his own Ribs due to his special Origin." I mumbled rubbing my chin.


    "Huh?" Kairi looked at me strangle. "The Magus Killer has a special origin?"


    "Woops." I blinked I realization. "Forget I said that." He was a mildly interesting subject for Zelretch for various reasons. One reason in particr was his dual Origin of ''Binding and Severing''. He surgically removed some ribs, and turned them into special bullets that severed Magic Circuits on contact, and bound them up like tying together tubes. It made it so your magical ability waspletely crippled. "So probably the use of bones, as the most obvious answer. Perhaps grinding them down? Adding on a curse-based ignition due to their nature to conduct such things easily?"


    "Close enough." He just nodded, and I took that as a que to stop delving into his specific craft.


    "Hmm, that does give me a thought about the bones of different beings." I pursed my lips. "I wonder how well a Dead Apostles bones would work? Or on the other end of the spectrum, the bones of a saint ¨C " A g smacked me ontop the head. "Ooow!?" I rubbed the spot I was just hit, turning towards the source.


    "No digging up the graves of saints!" Jeanne chastised me, waiving her g around menacingly.


    "Message received." I grumbled. "Anyways, I was getting off topic." I turned towards Kairi again. "You know how to use a de?"


    "I''m decent with knifes, butrger ones I can manage."


    I looked through my ring and retrieved one sword in particr. I hadn''t really used it because I didn''t like its origin and overall feel. Not to mention it fell short of my other swords by a noticeable margain. "Took this off an ancient Vampire." I tossed him Harkon''s de.


    He caught it easily enough, inspecting the sword. "Hooh, this is a pretty nice Mystic Code." He gave it a casual swing. "What''s it do? I can tell it''s got some powerful property just by the Magical Energy seeping off."


    "It can syphon Vitality to heal wounds." I exined. "Otherwise, it''s a decent de that shouldn''t suffer damage even if it blocked a Noble Phantasm for a few rounds." That''s not to say it was anywhere on the same tier, but it could survive against one, which was impressive in of itself.


    I had a few other Enchanted weapons from Skyrim in my ring, but that was probably the best of the bunch.


    "I expect that back when we''re done." I added.


    "I could get used to his." He swung it around a few more times with a clear smile on his face. "But I hope you don''t expect me to start taking swings at Servants." He snorted. "Not all of us have that same level of bullshit that you can pull off."


    A smallugh escaped my lips. "At the very least, it''s a goodst resort. And if any of those Dragon Tooth warriors pop up, you don''t have to waste your good stuff on then."


    "Good point." He nodded, epting my reasoning easily enough.


    "Good shit." Mordred agreed. "Means I don''t gotta focus on those small fries when Servants pop up." She grinned savagely.


    I smiled too, taking a look up into the sky, the moon peeking out from behind some clouds. Looking down towards our target, the field the fortress fell into was littered with debris. Pieces of it had fallen in every direction and the fortress itself had crashed into the ground and turned this field absolutely barren.


    "Be Careful, I don''t doubt this whole area is probably boobytrapped." I spoke up.


    With how many pieces were just thrown about, it would be foolish not to set traps with their time since they suddenly became immobile and would obviously be attacked this night.


    "Ready?" I swept my gaze around.


    "As I''ll ever be." Kairi nodded, and a firm nod by everyone else.


    "I believe this is where we will have to part." Jeanne spoke up. "I do not wish to have others think I am not abiding by the rules.


    "Eh, won''t stop me from telling them just that anyways." I replied with a cheeky smile.


    She bopped me on the head with her g, much lighter this time. A small smile on her face even as she admonished me. "Don''t you dare break the rules, Wilhelm." She tried to give a stern look, but failed.


    "Hey, don''t go." I reached out grabbing her shoulder.


    "Wilhelm." She said quietly. "I can''t¡ª"


    "I like my meat shields in bullet blocking distance."


    "....." She gave me a very dry look.


    I couldn''t help butugh before pulling her into a hug, earning a little ''eep'' from her. "No matter what happens, I''ll think of you as a friend."


    Yeah, I''ve gotten rather attached to this Penniless Saintess.


    "Wilhelm." She said quietly, epting the hug. "Thank you." The smile she gave me seemed to bright up the night. We broke away after another moment, a little sad look she gave me. "I will take my leave." She looked at everyone. "Thank you for taking care of me all this time." She lightly bowed her head in thanks.


    Without another word, she turned and headed off towards the Fortress in a different direction.


    Well, she had her duties and wouldn''t budge from them. Not much I could do in these circumstances, and forcing anything on her would just lead to resentment.


    "Shall we head out as well?" I smiled towards Raikou.


    "I am ready for battle, master." Raikou took on an even look, one that truly disyed her alertness.


    "Finally." Mordred punched her palm, summoning up her armor. "This is gonna be great."


    We started moving towards the Fortress in the distance, passing severalrge bs of stone that jutted up from the ground. Watching each piece and looking for any signs of traps or the like.


    "With my Bows and Arrows, I respectfully ask for the Divine Protection of the Moon Goddess Artemis, and the Sun God Apollon." Foreign words echoed throughout the surroundings carrying far more than volume implied.


    Words that carried weight to them as we all seemingly moved at the same time. Instinct driven, we may not have known exactly what wasing, but it was dangerous.


    "I offer thee this cmity....."


    "Phoebus Catastrophe." Not far way, twin arrows shot towards the sky, and a bright light shined in the heavens as an uncountable number of arrows fell down like the wrath of God.


    ***


    I think I wrote this chapter when I wasn''t feeling too well, so it''s a little shorter than my normal ones. But here begins the final leg of this Arc. Just a reminder, No chapter tomorrow.....orter today depending on your time zone.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 187 - 178

    <h4>Chapter 187: Chapter 178</h4>


    Arrows ¨C like beams of light ¨C cascaded from the sky. The first had missed us, sundering the ground and carving out a crater. We all had moved almost immediately; the feeling of a Noble Phantasm activating was known to all of us at this point.


    Even Kairi looked to do something, taking a skeletal hand out of his jacket. It looked Ancient at a nce, possibly a trump card on his part.


    I pulled him back, taking out my Staff of Magnus, and mmed it on the ground. "Shield of Asgard." I spoke the Aria, actualizing the dozens of Runes that flew out at my movement. At this point, I was pretty experienced with this particr spell.


    Both Mordred and Raikou became enveloped in their respective Mana Bursts ¨C their lightning auras as they shot up to intercept the arrows.


    I could feel my Shield being barraged, the strain of each arrow as they collided with my strongest defense spell. I was confident though, this spell had held up against Lancer''s Noble Phantasm, and that thing took out a mountain.


    I would guess that each of these Arrows was probably less than a hundredth of Lancer''s attack. The only issues was ¨C they didn''t seem to be stopping. It would be a foolish endeavor to try and count them, as they fell down like rain.


    No cracks formed in my spell, supported by the Divine Staff, and my Runes, but I could feel the continued impacts even as Mordred and Raikou took some of the brunt.


    "Master." Raikou mmed onto the ground next to us, looking over me. "Are you okay?"


    "I''m good." I nodded as the arrows finally ceased their torrent. I noticed, not too far away, Archer jumping across some particrlyrge pieces of the Fortress and going in a certain direction.


    And I did not believe I was the only one.


    "Fucking bitch." Mordred spat out, hefting her sword up in annoyance. "Uses her Noble Phantasm and runs away as soon as she can."


    "Clearly an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm." I muttered, looking over the area that was now filled with craters. "By the looks of it, she didn''t think it would be enough if she was so quick to retreat like that."


    Anti-Army doesn''t always mean ''more powerful'' whenpared to, say, Anti-Unit. In regards to scale of destruction, Archer''s Noble Phantasm was quite powerful, but each of her Arrows was negligible in and of itself. Excalibur, for instance, would obliterate a person just as well as a fortress. Whereas this Noble Phantasm was more likely very on the nose when called ''Anti-Army'' as in its purpose is to take out armies, not individuals.


    "We''re being led." Kairi spoke up. "Using her Noble Phantasm and herself as ''bait'', they want her to follow her."


    "That was my thought as well." I nodded at his words. "But, that works out for us in the end." There was a reason I didn''t take us closer to the Fortress whening to this deste field. First, it''s a Noble Phantasm, so I''m going to be wary of it, even if it''s in pieces like this. Second, it''s the Workshop of a Caster servant if my guess was urate. Not to mention it''s clearly something from the Age of Gods based on everything we''ve seen so far.


    I had a healthy respect for things that could alter naturalws with the ease of a single word. Things that held the conceptual weight to even contend with True Magic in the correct circumstances.


    With a flick of my wrist, I took a few pot shots in the direction of the cat-girl to make it seem like I was annoyed at the Archer Servant. "Shall we follow?"


    "Trap or not, doesn''t matter." Mordred grunted. "Just cleave through them all anyways."


    "I like your attitude." I grinned. "Let''s go."


    ***


    The Archer Servant''s actions became more and more clear as we delved deeper into this field of debris, until we came upon a particrlyrge chunk that looked kinda like a gate. Though, it was heavily tarnished, and destroyed in many ces.


    However, the fluctuations of ''Space'' and Magical Energy were enough to reveal that it was still operable.


    I made sure to recast all my enhancement spells. My aura pulsed gently around me, a gentle feeling that I could always rely upon. Lightning coated my arms and legs, giving me a feeling of power that I quickly surpressed. My lightning was a little intoxicating to get lost it, perhaps just a side effect of the ritual I went through."


    "All together?" I offered.


    "Yeah." Kairi nodded, though he was grasping his own life-saving means if needed.


    As soon as we stepped inside, I felt a pull on everyone. Like they were all going to be whisked away to separate ces.


    I scoffed, reaching out to the Kaleidoscope and anchored them to the same spot on the world-line as I was. To force my specific ''teleportation'' to envelop them as well.


    We all tumbled out onto the ground, and I reached out to take a handful of dirt, letting it fall out of my fingers.


    "The Hell?" Kairi Cursed, standing up and looked around. "What is this?"


    They all looked around as well, the ''ce'' we found ourselves in was...strange.


    "The owner of this ce tried to separate everyone with teleportation, I made sure we all stuck together." I stated, sweeping my gaze towards the surroundings. "I did not expect the inside of this ce to be its own miniature world though, even as....strange as it is."


    To the side, there were these marble pirs that went off into the distance, unable to see the end as shadows enveloped the horizon. In the opposite direction were teaus and small mountains that littered thendscape.


    Where they met wasplete chaos. Like a child had brokne up pieces of each and threw it back together. Pirs came down from the sky, the ground became a wall, and the sky was the floor in some ces.


    It was all jumbled up.


    I''m probably to me for this. My spell having destroyed a portion of the Fortress, as well as the owner probably trying their best to keep it all together in the end.


    "Master!" Raikou suddenly shouted, drawing her sword. It wasn''t just her, Mordred too reacted quickly to grab her master.


    I took out Mirage as a green blur shot towards me.


    Raikoushed out with her sword, only for a familiar shield to block it.


    My eyes widened as Achilles drove his Chariot right into me, shield easily deflecting Raikou''s attack. The speed and force of it made my Aura shudder under the weight.


    I forced my Aura out at its maximum, shielding me fully as even the Horses that pulled the Chariot looked ready to trample me. I hadn''t gotten a good look at them before, but they were definitely not normal horses.


    I shed my sword, pushing myself to the side to avoid the worse of it. It only took half a breath to regain my footing as his Chariot jutted around in the sky like a sh of light.


    That speed was utterly ridiculous.


    My eyes darted to the side to see fireballsposed of Divine fire rain down on me. Raikou''s eye-catching purple lightning intercepted, causing the two elements to disperse at impact.


    Lancer of Red made his appearance. "The Witch said she would send you to me." He said with a small smile towards my Servant "Even after what happened, she is still too arrogant and looks down upon Modern Magic." He eyes gazed at me briefly before shaking his head.


    Ah, so they were sending us to specially prepared traps then. Makes sense and was probably what I would do in that situation as well.


    "Well, I do enjoy ruining other people''s ns." I joked, eyes still trying to follow Achilles as he stared down at me in the sky.


    "Oi, gold ass." Mordred raised her sword. "You forgetting about us!?" She clearly did not like being ignored in situations like this.


    "We did not." He replied almost good naturedly. "You were supposed to be sent to another battlefield." As soon as the words left his mouth, the space around us trembled, several more figures teleported in.


    "Honorless Kur!" d''s voice echoed out in the surroundings. He did not look all too pleased and I briefly wondered what he''d been up to as he grabbed his spear tightly in his hands, and his face twisted back in a snarl. He paused in his rage filled shouts to look at the surroundings, eyesnding on me and sweeping everywhere else. "I see." Is all he muttered, seemingly epting the circumstances.


    Well, as I would expect from a King. It was a simple, yet practical strategy to ce two enemies in the same room. He was able to read the situation immediately.


    He wasn''t alone either, his whole entourage was here.


    There was a small silence that was broken by Achilles, surprisingly enough. "Teacher!?" His voice sounded a mix of surprise and shame.


    "Achilles." Chiron gave a sad smile.


    The look they shared, it was clear they had many ¨C many things they wished to say to one another, yet neither took the opportunity to do so.


    You raised a good student, Chiron.


    "And Atnta, if I''m not mistaken." He nced to the side and I noticed the Archer skulking in the shadows.


    She didn''t hesitate to pop out onto a nearby pir that jutted out of the air in an awkward manner. "Chiron, It''s been awhile." She greeted with a rather polite tone.


    "It has." He nodded. "I had not seen you since ¨C"


    "Please don''t mention that idiot." She scowled.


    "Of course." He held his hands up in appeasement. "I know how my other student is a sore spot."


    She seemed grateful. The only person I could think of was Jason, but I fear I''m missing some context here.


    Atnta, huh? That makes sense, even if her legend wasn''t quite urate about the whole ''cat girl'' thing, though I guess it''s supposed to be a lion girl?


    Well, Greeks were into some weird shit.


    "And like that, all identities are revealed, except for you, pinkie." I nced at ck''s Rider. Though I still have yet to see either side''s Caster. That did give me a small bit of worry.


    "Oh, I''m Astolfo." The Rider Servant beamed, making everyone pause and stare at them.


    "Dammit Rider." d face palmed.


    {Master.} Raikou spoke to me through our link. {I will fight together with you.} She dered, but even through this mental link.....it sounded strained.


    {Raikou, as your Master, I order you to fight Karna to the best of your ability.} I decided to let her pursue her own desire here, even if it was one born from her heritage and not her own wants.


    She looked at me with a strange look. Like she was both happy I told her to do so, but aghast at the idea of leaving me in this situation again.


    {Trust me, I have one final card to y.} I tried to sooth her conscious.


    {I will trust in my son.}


    The whole ce was filled with this tense air, like everyone was waiting for someone to make a move. Howical, that a war between two factions had devolved into a free for all like this? I wondered how the War would have gone without my interference before pushing such thoughts down.


    "How about we ¨C" My words died in my mouth as everyone moved.


    Arrows flew out from both ends, some at me, some at either side as well. Chiron and Atnta seemingly stalemating each other.


    Raikou exploded off the ground, her Lightning weaved around her whole body, her Mana Burst crackling as it collided with Karna''s divine mes. The eruption of opposing elements pushing anyone else in that immediate vicinity away.


    I summoned the Boosted Gear on my hand, using it as a shield to once again block Achille''s spear, while Mirage was held aloft to intercept Siegfried''s de.


    "Boost." I quickly called out to meet these two powerful servants without being overwhelmed.


    Mordred shot at Astolfo, the pinkette,ughing the entire time, even as hisnce was swept to the side at every blow.


    Chiron was forced to divert some of his attention towards hispanion so they would not be overwhelmed by therge gap in physical ability.


    My other Swords shed out at both Achilles and Siegfried.


    They disengaged, deflecting them with rtive ease, only for d to jumped in, swinging down his spear ontop me. I swung up Mirage to intercept, bracing myself for the force, but I was surprised at how easily I managed to block before realization set in.


    "This isn''t your territory." I grinned. "Your Enhancement only works when you''re in your territory." My back foot slid out, and I gathered Magical Energy into my sword. I deflected his spear to the side and made a move to follow up.


    "One Hundred Birds." My sword Phantoms manifested. the Impaler snarled, swiping his hand to bring out his own Stakes.


    There were much less, and their power was greatly diminished, but it was enough to tear apart my attacks. The Magical constructs that took on the concept of stakes had pierced through them.


    Achilles''s Shield swung at my head in that brief moment, the weight behind it once again felt like the world was going to collide with me. All the while Siegfried swiped his sword at me with gathered power. His Dragon yer sword practically shouting for my blood. Each of the blows made my knees buckle under the sheer force, even as I blocked them.


    I was ready for his shield this time, and my Boosted Gear didn''t suffer any damage as I withstood the force.


    Even still, I felt the ripples of power through my Aura.


    "Enough." I spat out. "Fus Ro Dah!" I bellowed out, the invisible force rippled into my surroundings, knocking them back to give me a moment''s respite.


    They were certainlying at me with full force and if this was to be thest battle, it would be remiss of me to not answer in kind.


    "Ddraig." I called out, the gem on my Gauntlet lighting up. "Let''s end this."


    "[Finally.]" The Dragon''s voice was filled with absolute glee.


    The fluctuations of Aura around me pulsed and I could feel my ''presence'' erge, my existence stepping to a higher level. I grabbed the attention of the whole chaotic battlefield as my power began to skyrocket.


    "What is this..." d choked out.


    "His Dragon aspect is being amplified" Siegfried gripped his sword tight, readying himself.


    I grinned viciously at his words.


    "Welsh Dragon Bnce Breaker." We spoke as one and the world was dyed in a crimson light.


    ***


    And we''re back. So, the count down on the Servant numbers begins. It won''t be much longer now until the war is wrapped up. The current schedule for the story is wrapping up Apocrypha -- Small Campione Arc -- Long DxD arc.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 188 - 179

    <h4>Chapter 188: Chapter 179</h4>


    I opened my eyes, the condensed energy around me dispersed with a twitch of my finger.


    [I created the Boosting ability after Albion created his Dividing. I didn''t have a way to counter it when he first revealed it. Before, we had been rtively even with his Corrosive Poison that could melt souls, and my Great Fire that could burn souls into nothingness. I would have died if we didn''t smash into the Indian Pantheon''s realm during our battle and got separated.]


    I looked down at my hand, I smiled lightly, flexing my muscles to get a feel for the armor around me. The shape was much different than the first time I activated the Bnce Breaker''s Scale Mail.


    Gone was the unwieldly protrusions, and spikes that sprang out at every angle. I was not donned in the armor of a brawler, it had been streamlined and slimmed down to fit my fighting style.


    [The look on his face when he took a chunk out of my strength with his Dividing, only for me to Boost and add it back again.] Ddraig''s voice sounded very smug. [To the foolish, they may think I could have just Pre-Boosted, then sought out Albion for our battle, to win easily, but you know the truth. There''s only so much power our bodies could handle without going through a sort of metamorphosis. There''s a reason why no Gods had sought out my Gauntlet in the many incarnations of my wielders. A God can not simply double their strength on a whim, their forms would explode at the power increase.]


    The Scale Mail was sleek, hugging my body tightly. All the way from the helmet that wrapped around my head, down to the greaves that enveloped my feet. I could feel an extra appendage, a scaled tail that lightly swayed behind me. And I could also feel, with but a thought, I could bring forth my Dragon Wings if needed.


    They were much better than my Devil Wings, able to propel me faster through the air, able to handle the strain of this armor.


    I could feel my Draconic heart begin to beat faster in my chest, synchronizing with the Scale Mail.


    Ddraig let out augh. [That damn God.] Ddraig cursed, even if his tone was jovial. [In the hands of a mortal creature, a human or such, my power bes something to punch above one''s weight ss. I''ve never had a wielder y a god before, but the potential was always there.] He began to cackle like mad [And then something like you got their hands on it. You added a bunch of things that made you ''more'', but you kept all that potential inside that little body of yours. You''re not at your ''peak'' like a god, your ''vessel'' isn''t full.]


    "The Gauntlet is just training wheels." I flexed my hand again. "To barrow a small piece of Ddraig''s power." I looked up at my opponents, these Heroes of Legend. With a thought my Swords floated around me again, all ready at my whim.


    [Hah! You understand then, as expected.] Ddraig sounded so happy. [My previous wielders, I was their crutch, their whole n for fighting. For the first time, I''m turned into a ''Trump Card''. I was annoyed at first, but this feeling isn''t bad either.] Ddraig''s boisterousugh sounded like roars in my soul.


    "Dragon yer." I turned towards Siegfried. "Demi-God." I looked towards Achilles. "And King." My gazended on d. "Come." I gestured with my hand.


    There was perhaps an unspoken agreement between all parties here.


    They all moved at once, almost unnaturally in synch with one another. Their years of fighting experience allowing them to meld into the other''s movements without hinderance.


    Arrows flew between them, from two different directions. They were ignored by the Servants, as it was clear I was the true target.


    "Boost." I called out, looking straight at them. "Boost. Boost. BOOST." I finished with a roar as I burst forth from my spot, the air around utterly exploded, the sound barrier ruptured several times over. Mirage in my hand, its tip mmed into Achilles'' stomach.


    His body arched back, blood spitting out of his mouth even if his skin hadn''t been pierced. The ground cratered at the impact and I reached down with my free hand, gripping his neck.


    I snapped my head to the side, moving slightly to the left to avoid a dangerous sword passing by me. Siegfried sliced through the air, flicking his sword to turn it into a horizontal sh. I tossed Achilles to the side to focus on the Dragon yer aiming for my head.


    I moved Mirage up to block, having no trouble contending with his physical strength. If anything, his arms trembled trying to push through my guard when I was merely using one arm versus this two.


    Still.....the fact that I''m basically oveyed in Ddraig''s power, his sword''s danger just increased further, even if it didn''t touch me. It''s conceptual advantage over anything remotely dragon, and I may as well have been Ddraig himself within its sphere of influence.


    His sword blurred with surprising speed; each sh was one that contained untold hours of practice. Precise and deadly, aiming for every weakness of my body.


    My own Sword connected with his, each time a shockwave emanated out. On each exchange, it was obvious he was on the losing end. His sword continuously lost ground to the point where I started drawing blood from his body before he could regain his guard.


    Small cuts began to appear, blood dripping down his arms and stomach.


    "You healed up nicely." I still couldn''t help but grin, noticing that the wound I gave him the previous night was all but gone.


    Siegfried himself smiled, even as he strained as I pushed back on him, lightly leaning into his guard to put a little pressure. His footing pushed into the dirt in an attempt to hold his ground.


    "The Magecraft of the Yggdmillennia family is impressive." He grit out and with a shout, called forth a burst of Magical Energy and pushed my sword back briefly. "Dragon!" He shouted. "There is no hatred between us, but I will take you down!"


    I guess it was obvious where this was going.


    "Thene, Dragon yer!" Iughed.


    "Oh Sword, let thee be filled." Siegfried pulled down on the hilt of his sword, revealing a strange jewel embedded within. Suddenly, a massive pir of energy burst out, reaching to the sky. His Magical Energy exploded, and I''m fairly sure amand Seal was used.


    "Is that...?" I couldn''t help but widen my eyes.


    [Why is this feeling familiar? What is that stuff?]


    "True Ether." I said quietly. "The stuff Gods are made out of." My grin threatened to split my face. "You crazy bastard, your Noble Phantasm Channels True Ether from the Age of Gods."


    His Sword, it could probably even stalemate Excalibur at its base.


    "The Evil Dragon Shall fall." He didn''t respond but the look on his face told me I hit the nail on the head.


    [Brat, meet him. I want you win against him!]


    "Don''t have to tell me." I gripped Mirage tight. "Beginning Dimensional Refraction." I began pulling on Magical Energy from an uncountable number of parallel worlds. The numerous Magic Circles encircled my sword, amplifying and actualizing my intent. The Spell Sequence linked up with My True Magic. The immense power pouring in and converting into Ether and shaping to my will.


    "Do you think I don''t exist!?" d''s angry voice rose above the chaos. "Kazikli Bey!" This fake world was covered in a malevolent aura as Stakes once again burst of the ground everywhere.


    It was much more diminishedpared to before and the sense of Danger was much lower.


    ["Do you think mere stakes can prate the scales of Y Ddraig Goch?"] Ddraig''s arrogant voice roared out for all to hear.


    The Stakes shot out at my Armor, only to shatter on impact.


    Perhaps if we were still outside, I would have to be worried, but right at this moment, the armor held true.


    "And the World will reach the Twilight." Siegfried''s presence reached its peak, the weight of True Ether, his Noble Phantasmprised of the concept of Dragon ying filled the entire world.


    "Fall, Balmung!" He swung his sword down.


    "Ether Cannon!" I swung my sword up to meet his, my regr Ether versus his True Ether.


    The collision of concepts and power erupted at the focal point, blowing away everything. The ground was torn asunder, the fake sky began to crack under the strain, the marble pirs burst into thousands of pieces, cascading in every direction.


    The force of the collision blew me back, my vision blurred before I regained my footing. "Release." I breathed out, letting my boosts fall off. The weight of the added power fell off my shoulders, giving me a moment to catch my breath. I looked back at where I was a moment before, then down at myself.


    [What a scary bastard.] Ddraigughed.


    It was contagious as a few chuckled escaped from my lips The Scale Mail suffered some noticeable, if minor damage. I was otherwise unharmed, but it was impressive nheless.


    "Haaah." I breathed out again, watching a figure stand up amongst the turned up clouds of dirt.


    Siegfried looked worse for wear, taking a bigger hit than I did. Blood dripped down his body, and he looked like he struggled to move.


    He stabbed his sword into the ground, using it to support himself.


    I gripped Mirage tight as our eyes met again.


    We both shared the same smile, even as his body wobbled to stand firm, he pulled his sword up and faced me. "Come!" He shouted without any hesitation.


    "Boost." I called out, pumping myself up again, burst forward.


    Our Swords connected, and he was lifted off his feet, tumbling across the ground, before skidding to a stop to regain his proper footing. He swung with renewed strength, blood flying off his hands, ignoring his wounds to meet my attacks.


    "Boost, Boost, Boost." I returned to the state I was in before, dodging around his attempts to cleave me in twain.


    As our des shed, he was getting sloppier, enough that he had holes in his guard that were easy to exploit.


    I wanted to give him a proper send off.


    "I''ll end this with onest technique." I stepped back amongst his flurry of shes, pulling on the Kaleidoscope. He deserved at least this much respect from me. I held Mirage to the side, and pulled myself through the world-line to attack.


    He looked at me, that same smile never leaving his face as his guard was raised in anticipation.


    "Swallow Returns." I moved, and blood flowed from Siegfried''s mouth.


    My sword went through his back, out his chest.


    His great sword fell to the ground as he touched the bloodied de sticking out of him. He turned his head to me, that serene smile never leaving his face. "It was a good fight." He managed to get out as I dislodged my de.


    It was out of respect I went for his ''weak spot''. Siegfried the Dragon yer, who bathed in the blood of Fafnir. The only spot that wasn''t as tough as a dragon''s scales was where a leaf fell on his back during the bathing.


    The respect that he was strong enough that I targeted his weakness.


    "[Well done, Dragon yer. You de had managed to reach me.]" Ddraig gave rare praise towards the defeated Servant. Despite being rtively unharmed, he still managed to damage the Scale Mail.


    "To be praised by a dragon." Siegfried let out a bloodiedugh. His body slumped to the ground, it was obvious he was almost done.


    His body began to dissipate and flow back into the world.


    "Dammit, Saber!" d stepped over, grabbing his arm that looked a little hurt in the aftershock of our battle.


    "Sorry....Lancer." Siegfried apologized before finally disappearing.


    The Impaler scowled, looking down at the spot where Saber once was. "You make it hard to hate you when you smile at me like that." He scoffed before turning to me.


    I sighed, watching him go. I felt.....strange after beating him. I was happy, but at the same time.....I didn''t want him to go. It was like there was some form of kinship between us that was hard to describe.


    I pushed those thoughts down for now and faced the Lancer Servant, pointing my de at him.


    "I don''t suppose you would like to rethink an Alliance?" d asked me, looking over almostzily.


    "Seriously?" I couldn''t help but blurt out. "Do you really think I''d agree at this point?" My thoughts were a bit.....disarrayed at the moment, and his words only served to increase my annoyance.


    "No." He grinned. "I just required a few more moments." He said with a cheeky smile. "Darnic!" He shouted, "Do it."


    The already strained miniature world inside this Fortress became even more strained as I felt the space fluctuations. An absolute massive amount of Magical Energy filled the gaps of the cracks that formed in the dimension''s foundations. The sheer amount of Magical Energy that was being thrown around, I could only assume that there were several Command Seals working in unison to make this happen. Because something was teleporting INTO this small world, that which resided within a Noble Phantasm.


    A pir of light descended; a massive figure towered over everything in the vicinity.


    "Behold, my greatest creation!" A voice I hadn''t recognized, and a person that waspletely foreign, stood atop this new monstrosity. A servant I had yet to meet, and by process of elimination, it was Caster of ck. "Golem Keter Malkuth" The neer dered. "Wee my Adam into the world!"


    The thing ¨C the golem -- roared, and the world shook.


    ***


    First one down is Siegfried after bodying Achilles and noselling d. Caster makes his first appeared, and he''ll be exined next chapter. But he opens with his Noble Phantasm.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord if you want toe chat about the story, or anything really. -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 189 - 180

    <h4>Chapter 189: Chapter 180</h4>


    POV Caster of ck (Avicebron)


    "Master, Master~" My ''Master'' gleefully called out, leading in a cartload of materials with the help of golem. "Is this enough?"


    "Those are adequate for this next phase, ce them at the side." I told the child as he ushered his own creation forth.


    Despite the strange situation I found myself in, this ''Master'' of mine turned out to be the most idea of ''students''. I usually hate the praise and admiration, but the genuineness that came from this boy was surprisingly weed.


    Even if I hated humans, this boy was...bearable.


    His pure and inquisitive mind towards Golemmancy was a refreshing distraction from the constant prattling of my ''peers'' during this Grail War. For my summoning, I had prepared myself for the disgust of working alongside one of these modern Magi, but the situation turned out to be favorable for me.


    Speaking of ''peers''. I turned my head towards the door, recognizing the presenceing towards me.


    "Caster!" Lancer mmed the door open.


    I was mildly surprised at the state Lancer found himself in. He clearly was not in good shape, having just gone through a battle and his face was twisted into a barely held back contortion of rage.


    "Lancer." I gave a curt greeting. Despite my dislike towards him, manners were proper for someone of my standing. "I suppose there has been some unforeseen circumstances?"


    Lancer growled, but I could tell it was not meant towards me. "You need to be finished by tonight." He dered.


    "Impossible, I''m missing too many resources. I would need two to three more days with the restrictions you ced on me." I calmly replied.


    Lancer mmed his fist against the wall. "Darnic already gave his order." Lancer stated, his eyes glowing with anger. "The Homunculi, use them."


    "Those inferior creatures?" I scoffed at the mere thought of using them as a basis to bring out my Adam.


    "All of them." Lancer rified.


    I blinked behind my mask. "All of them?" I muttered at the sheer ridiculousness of the statement. "Why not just give me one of those useless Magi?"


    "Any not of note had been evacuated before the start of the war." Lancer replied. "The ones that remain are...important."


    "Berserker died. Give me the Servant''s previous master. They would make a better core than any of those abominations."


    "He still has uses." Lancer denied my request.


    "What uses? He failed. Atleast with me he would have use."


    "His sister is still the Master of Archer." Lancer shook his head. "And he still possesses hismand seals."


    Ah, familial rtions. How annoyingly understandable.


    However, the importance of his Command Seals couldn''t be ignored. A wise decision that I could not find fault with then, as much as I wished for a better specimen. I briefly nced over at my own Master...he would make a good core for my Golem.


    "How did we suffer so grievously that I''m being given free rein over all our Mana batteries?" What else were the Homunculi good for.


    Lancer''s expression twisted into a scowl. "Enough that we are betting everything on tonight." Lancer paused. "Saber of Red''s Master is.... begrudgingly impressive. We''ve been forced to move based on every action he''s taken. We are sieging Red Faction''s base tonight to retrieve the grail."


    I had been kept abreast of the going-ons in the war, but I did not dwell on it. This Master, I had heard in a few reports, some interesting tidbits, but it would be all irrelevant once I finished my work.


    I did not truly care for the Grail, so I held my tongue. "I see." Was all I said in response. "His actions had disrupted my work and set me back by a few hours." If nothing else, I would wish to take my ''pound of flesh'' as they say. When the Castle was attacked, my workshop suffered some minor damage as well.


    Arguing would do my no good, and I wished to get back to my work. "Quantity can be a quality of its own." I muttered. "I am given free rein over all the Homunculi?" I questioned.


    "We have enough stores of Magical Energy to support our battle tonight. You are given every single one you need. If more resources are required, Darnic stated that he has reserved other materials you may peruse." The Lancer Servant reiterated.


    Surprising. They had managed to finagle a means to use Homunculi as spare batteries through some backward system of Magical draining. It was how the Servants were able to operate at near optimal efficiency regardless of output.


    The thought was somewhat amusing. That these things that trespassed upon God''s domain, they would be the foundation that brought Eden to the world.


    "Very well, tell me the n so I may prepare properly." My only goal was to bring Adam onto the world and shape it back into the perfect Eden. But I couldn''t deny I had the small desire to see it for myself, so I would be open to such dialogue.


    ***


    The time should be approaching, the other Servants had left long ago to attack the Red Faction.


    "Roche." I called out to my Master/student.


    "Yes, Master?" He asked me earnestly.


    "This will be our final meeting." I still thought to toss him into the pool that held my beloved creation, yet I restrained. It was Ironic, I despised children, despised Magi, and despised humanity.....yet all three in one presented itself here and I was held by my own whimsy.


    Maybe in other circumstances, I would have done so without hesitation, but with all the materials I was given, my Adam was operable without a proper Magus as a core. There were surprisingly a few Homunculi of decent quality that could ovee many hurdles in the process of operation.


    "Master! I''ll watch you win with your Golem! Show them how awesome Golemmancy is." He beamed so bright.


    How utterly childish.


    But, it was an interesting feeling having someone cheer for me.


    "Caster." Darnic walked into the basement where our workshop resided. "Are your preparationsplete?"


    If I did not have this mask, perhaps I would be smiling. How easy I was able to have them y into my hand. They did not know my true purpose, and I briefly wondered if they would care at this point. They seemed very fixated on ''winning'' more than the consequences of how much they were applying towards their attempt at victory


    "I am prepared." I nodded towards the Lord of this Castle.


    Darnic pulled up his sleeve, revealing another set of Command Seals, of which I knew from whom they came from.


    Admittedly, Command Seals were elegant pieces of Magecraft. Outside of my specialty and usual care, I could not deny their beautiful creation.


    Darnic held his arm up. "By the power of these three Command Seals." He dered as the extra pair were activated and shined bright. "Lancer, be an anchor and open a path in space and time!"


    From what I understood of the situation so far, the Fortress that they were fighting in was its own miniature world, created from something originating from the Age of Gods. If the Fortress in question hadn''t suffered such damage, I do not know if this n would have worked even with so many Command Seals being used to support the operation.


    "Roche." I called out to my Master. "Begin."


    "Yes, Master." He nodded, holding his own arm up. "By the Power of these two Command Seals ¨C Caster, overturn time and space and bring your Golem to Lancer!"


    Three Command Seals to create a Bridge, and two more to border True Magic and teleport me with my Noble Phantasm over.


    My vision was ovee with a cornucopia of color, the instantaneous movement through the World-line that was the Domain of the Kaleidoscope.


    How humorous that the magic we emted was something controlled by one of the Masters present. I opened my eyes and the world around me changed, the strange phenomenon did not take me off guard as I was told of what to expect.


    I felt prideful as I stood on the shoulder of my Golem.


    I was not one for theatrics, but this particr case was the exception among exceptions.


    "Behold my greatest creation!" I dered for all to see. "Golem Keter Malkuth ¨C Wee my Adam into the World!"


    As if wanting to announce himself, my Adam roared towards all that could hear.


    Immediately, just as nned, my Adam shifted.


    It grew.


    Its fifteen meter body doubled into thirty meters.


    "What the hell!?" The voice of the Master, the person everyone had been so cautious of rang out among the others.


    "Wonderful!" Lancerughed with glee at the turn of events. "Caster, destroy them!"


    Hmph, dare to order me and my Adam? I guess your usefulness has yet to run its course. Our goals were aligned for now and nothing else.


    "Adam!" I waived my hand out, ordering the recreation of the Primordial Human.


    Responding to mymand, the Golem raised its mighty fist and smashed it towards the Master.


    "Boost, Boost, Boost!" The words did not quite register as the Master''s presence seemed to skyrocket once again.


    Adam''s fist swung down and to my utter shock, it was stopped in ce. "What...?" I questioned.


    "Adam, is that what you called this?" The Masterughed. "This is very ironic and I don''t feel like exining why." Adam''s body stiffened as he began to be pushed back, his legs trembled at a shout of effort from the Master and Adam stumbled back in a show of sheer strength.


    "Impossible!" I shouted.


    My Adam steadied himself, sweeping his massive arm towards the man d in a red armor.


    "Dragon Shot!" His palm opened up, discharging an umtion of power at the arming at him, utterly destroying it.


    Adam''s hand was disintegrated.


    "Hmm, using Draconic Power as the basis instead of that oppai idiot''s idea." The Armored Master muttered, but I ignored his ramblings. "Not bad."


    "You think you''ve won!?" I mocked his arrogant attitude. "Behold Adam''s greatness." I dered as Adam stood up fully, even with part of his hand missing.


    At a visible speed, Its hand was regrown as if it was never destroyed.


    "Adam" I cackled, ordering it again.


    Its mouth opened and he roared towards the insect below. It''s voice more than just a shout of anger, it carried magical properties that vibrated the very air.


    The ground was torn apart, the Master dodging like the pathetic creature he is. It didn''t matter, Adam turned his head, following along as thendscape was reduced to nothingness.


    ***


    POV Wilhelm.


    I shot in the opposite direction of this things shout, its sonic attack did catch me by surprise. Not to mention the strength behind it. It grew then its aura seemingly multipled at the increased size.


    And that regeneration speed was impressive.


    I nced at the ground, each step the golem took, life began springing up. Foliage, flower, and nts of all manner immediately bloomed where it passed by the ground, even in this fake world.


    "The hell?" I muttered.


    "Caster, Control your Golem!" Lancer shouted in annoyance, having to dodge too, which I held back a chuckle at.


    "OI, YOU BASTARD!" Mordred familiar voice reached my ears as her Red Lightning mmed into the things back. "I almost had that Pink Haired ass and you suddenly shoot this shit at me! Die!" Her Lightning burst out in all directions, rent pushing into its body.


    "Begone, annoyance!" Caster swiped his hand, and the Golem''s body distorted, pushing Mordred out.


    "Tsk." She clicked her tongue, sliding down next to me, but she managed to stop the Golem''s annoying rampage.


    It was annoying if nothing else.


    She gave me a once over. "Nice armor."


    "[Thanks.]" Ddraig said happily.


    "...A dragon just thanked me." Mordred muttered. "Shelving that forter."


    "Yeah, should probably focus on that Golem." I continued to look at the ground where it stepped until realization dawned on me. "Fucking hell, it''s rewriting the Texture of the World."


    "What?" Mordred turned to me in confusion.


    "So you noticed." Caster seemed proud. "My Adam will turn the entire world back into Eden!"ughed.


    "Caster''s a loon, I am thoroughly surprised." The sarcasm dripping from her mouth.


    "Caster, stop your nonsense." Lancer growled towards his teammate. "Destroy these fools and we will secure the Grail."


    "I never cared for the Grail." Caster scoffed. "This was my purpose, my dream. My Adam will finally turn this wretched world into God''s Paradise."


    "You ungrateful cur!" Lancer hissed, summoning up Stakes and shooting them towards the Golem.


    "Pitiful." Caster countered as the Golem opened its mouth again, making Lancer bolt to cover. "Hmph, as expected. Flee, cower, hide in your holes. Those unworthy will face his judgement in the end anyways."


    "Alright, that''s enough." I summoned my swords around me. Whatever this thing was doing, it needed to be destroyed. If left unchecked, who knew how it would alter the world if taken outside.


    "Arrogant child." Caster now turned towards me, his monster also baring down in my direction. "A dragon you may be, but you are nothingpared to my Adam. Destroy his body, destroy me, it does not matter. My Adam will stand back up and continue on regardless."


    That''s.....annoying actually.


    I couldn''t help butugh again. "The irony just keeps piling up. I guess it''s something of fate that I''m the one who is going to destroy your Adam." My Sword of Destruction hovered infront of me, my Aura red, feeding into it as my Power of Destruction erupted all around the de.


    It shot off towards the Golem, impaling it in the chest as the destructive powershed out in all directions. Like lightning, it crackled, jutting out andshing at anything it could, taking chunks out of the Golem''s chest.


    "What.....? No. It doesn''t matter." Caster seemed unperturbed. "Your tricks are just that. In the face of Adam''s invincibility, your efforts are meaningless." He ordered the creature to attack again, its massive fist mming into the ground and sundering the earth.


    Mordred was forced to retreat a little bit, lest she get caught up. "Hey, bastard, want me to use my Noble Phantasm? Your sword, whatever its doing, isn''t really doing much." Mordred called out.


    Yeah, this thing was regenerating at a very impressive fate. My Power of Destruction was destroying the parts it was connected it, but more growths just burst out to take its ce.


    Some kind of conceptual immortality perhaps?


    "Just watch." I smiled towards my ''son''. "Boost, Boost, Boost." I pulled on Ddraig''s power a few more times, and my legs began to tremble as my body was forced to cope with the absurd increase. I was pushing beyond the limits I could handle, but I wasn''t going to truly fight this way.


    Being in Bnce Breaker, it made using Ddraig''s abilities much easier. When in just Gauntlet form, this was magnitudes harder to use.


    I held up my hand, aiming at my Power of Destruction that was being discharged from my Sword. "Transfer"


    All the boosts I umted burst out onto the destructive force. The Golem was suddenly hidden by a tidal wave of my power ¨C my bloodline enveloped the majority of its body.


    "AHHHHH." Caster let out a scream as even he was caught in the attack.


    The Transfer ability, it isn''t only limited to transferring boosts to other ''people''. It can transfer my Boosts to anything, including concepts. While in Bnce Breaker, it just made it much ¨C much easier to do with Ddraig''s added ''presence'' around me.


    The Golem began to disintegrate from the chest outward, it''s pieces dropping to the ground and dispersing into nothingness.


    Even Caster''s body began to break down and was devoured by my Power of Destruction.


    "W-what is this malevolent power!?" Caster cried out, falling on his knees and watching his supposed greatest work be turned to ash.


    I calmly walked up to him, my Sword of Destruction flying into my hand. "You wanted to bring your ''Adam'' into the world? I guess it was only natural that a Devil stopped you." I said quietly, just for him to hear before swinging my sword through his neck.


    His body copsed and dissipated back into world.


    ***


    Caster is down, and MC shows off Ddraig''s abilities a bit.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 190 - 181

    <h4>Chapter 190: Chapter 181</h4>


    Chiron POV


    Caster was defeated.


    I hesitated to step in, opting to watch the fight from afar to better gauge Wilhelm while he was in this state. This.....draconic power that he was using. It was strange, not the strangest thing I''ve ever seen, but truly a strange sight.


    It may as well have been a Noble Phantasm.


    It certainly was as strong as one if looking at its purely destructive potential.


    "Achilles," I turned towards my student. "How about it?" The corners of my lips curled up slightly.


    "Damn." He scratched his head. "Kid''s a monster." My student admitted. Arrogant as he often was, he could recognize the situation when needed. "As much as I want to fight him alone.....yeah, we''ll need to work together." He let out a smallugh.


    This War had turned out to be so interesting.


    I expected a true War once I was summoned, two sides pitted against each other, every tactic deployed to gain the upper hand on the battlefield. Somehow, it turned into arge brawl between Servants, my Master safe behind the castle''s walls.


    And the cause of this had just killed off one of my teammates.


    Flippant as he''d been acting, he managed to warp the war solely around himself. Even when the Red Faction ¨C whom he also pitted himself against ¨C stole the Grail, here we are scheming to take him down.


    No wonder Achilles had been so aggressive towards him, they''re so much alike. I suppose it helps that Wilhelm is the type of person who knew how to get under another''s skin.


    Calling my student Siegfried. I had a goodugh when I found that out. Especially since Siegfried was on my team, he found the joke amusing as well.


    I let out a sigh thinking of Saber.


    I made a small prayer to the Gods to honor his death. The Norse deities were foreign to me, but I hoped they would hear of his honor, regardless of the era.


    But he died with a smile on his face, what more could a warrior ask for?


    "And you, Atnta?" I asked the Chaste Huntress.


    Her ears twitched, registering my words. "I''ll follow your ns." She nodded. "But do you think only the three of us will be able to handle him?" She questioned.


    It was a fair thing to ask. If we were still living people, I would be confident in any of us facing him alone, but as Servants, we were very much diminished from our primes.


    "I''ll have Lancer and Rider attack the Berserker next to him" I stated. "I believe us three will be able to win if we work together."


    Achilles kicked his spear off the ground and back into his hands. "Alright, I''ll follow your lead, teacher."


    "Very well." I smiled towards them. "Caster and his Golem were defeated, it''s time to move." I never had a chance to meet Caster in person, but I can''t say he left a good impression after his little reveal.


    If Wilhelm had not stop that creature, we would have had to step in, regardless of sides. Something like that could not be allowed to persist, it would have been harmful to the world.


    However, it made a wonderful distraction.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV.


    Killing Caster had been...not unpleasant.


    I try not to enjoy the taking of life, but it felt a bit better after that.


    Annoying prick.


    "Nice kill." Mordred walked up, holding her fist up.


    I blinked, a smile creeping up on my face, bumping my fist to hers. "Thanks."


    "Yeah, whatever." She dismissed me, but looked rather happy overall. "Just let me have that pink bastard. Kept taking pot shots at me and flying away out of my range."


    I let out augh. "He''s all yours."


    "I heard someone talking about me!" Said Servant flew over on their strange mount.


    Was that a hippogriff?


    I thought those were fake even during the Age of Gods....But then again, this is one of Charlemagne''s Pdins. A group that could give the Round Table a run for their money on weirdness.


    "You bastard, get down here and fight me!" Mordred roared, pointing her sword up towards him.


    "Nope, nope." Rider cheerfully shook his head. "You''re pretty scary, I''ll sit up here." He smiled.


    Mordred growled, activating her Mana Burst, and rocketed into the air with a crackle of lighting. Rider and his mount shifted ¨C teleporting right as she was about to slice him.


    "Woo." Riderughed. "That almost got me." As he said that, he kicked his mount and it shot towards the falling Mordred who could only bring her sword up to block his Lance. The force of the blow shooting her towards the ground.


    "Bastard." Mordred growled through the new dust cloud, standing up from the crater she made.


    "He''s been doing that this entire time?"


    "Fuck, yes." She spat out.


    "Huehue." Astolfo cackled.


    What a little troll.


    I kind of liked him.


    "Want a hand...?"


    "He''s mine!" She spat out angrily.


    "Alright, alright." I held my hands up in surrender. "I won''t interfere."


    If she wanted to deal with him herself, I wouldn''t do anything unless she was in danger.


    Speaking off.


    A green glow jetted around in the sky, the sound of horses neighing in the air and Arrows began to rain down on me.


    I jumped back, leaving a trail of arrows impaled into the ground in my wake.


    I looked up, seeing Atnta riding with Achilles in his Chariot.


    Well then.


    If you want to fight in the air, so be it.


    I arched my back, my Draconic wings burst out from behind. Pushing against the ground, I shot up into the air towards them.


    The Chariot zipped through the air in such a way that it was hard to keep up. I think it was faster than me even with this many boosts I had going. I could say it was definitely a better flyer than me, something I would need to practice in the future.


    Still though.... "Boost, Boost." I elerated up again, getting closer to the limit I could handle.


    The horses continued to gallop through the air, but I was gaining. Atnta turned back, arrows knocked and fired towards me. My Swords sh out, intercepting the arrows, and deflecting any other shots towards me.


    Suddenly, Achilles jerked the reins, the Chariot turned on a dime, flipping around, and headed right towards me.


    "Lightning Arrow." I cast, summoning the newly created spell, actualizing the lightning in the form of arrows.


    Several of them appeared around me and I held my Gauntlet out. "Transfer."


    They grew in size and power, dwarfing what they had been before. Each one was as big as I was, and I flicked my wrist, firing them off towards the pair of Servants..


    Atnta, backflipped off the rear of the chariot, bow held high and two twin arrows finding the heavens. "Phoebus Catastrophe!" She activated her Noble Phantasm, a hail of Arrows were called down from the sky.


    Achilles, anticipating this, jerked his Chariot away, baiting me right into the Noble Phantasm activation.


    But if this was all they had nned, I would be disappointed.


    "Boost, Boost, Boost."


    My hand erupted in a brilliant light. "Dragon shot." I discharged towards the sky at the oing barrage, destroying a good portion that would hit me. Whisper was not kept in reserve; it flew around creating Runic Spells that also fought against the onught of arrows. Having experienced this before, I was prepared, mitigating the majority with my retaliation. The rest I braced myself for, my Aura ring and my natural defenses with the Scale Mail handling the attack with rtive ease.


    "Wilhelm!" Achilles shouted, spear in hand, shooting towards me like aet, his Chariot abandoned.


    I gripped Mirage, swinging it to meet the spear head up, the collision shattering the space around us. This small world already on the brink of copse, minuscule spatial copses at each collision of our weapons.


    We fell to the ground with a thump, neither retreating even as we collided with the earth.


    His spear snaked out, trying to find any opening in my defenses. The lethal point meeting the edge of my de and was flicked away.


    "Take this!" He roared, his body shined with the obvious signs of gathered Magical Energy, his spear hissed through the air discharging all of it right towards me.


    I nted my back foot down and met his own strike with my own. Gathering Magical Energy onto my sword, I swung to meet it in a massive collision of power. Our weapons met, and his spear was knocked away, his feet leaving the ground as he was blown back, losing the confrontation.


    "Teacher." Achilles grit out, sliding across the ground, summoning his spear back even as saliva was spat out of his mouth.


    I snapped my head to the side, several powerful arrows whizzed by my neck as I slid my body out of the way. Right into my blind spot, barely out of the corner of my eyes, I saw more arrowsing at me. I ducked, moving to the side and gesturing for my Sword to sh out where I had just seen someone.


    Again, my head snapped up to see Atnta, mere feet above me, arrows knocked and fired down. To the side, Chiron appeared, mimicking her actions, as my vision became filled with powerful arrows.


    The hairs on my neck tingled, my instincts told me that Achilles'' spear was right behind me as well.


    "Front, back, and top." I muttered. "Is this your n!?" A roar escaped my lips. I was boxed in with attacks from every angle. Ascalon flew into my hand.


    "Ascalon!" I activated my Noble Phantasm, the Defensive ability manifested, blocking every attack simultaneously. And I didn''t stop after just defending. "Zuun Haal Viik!" My shout echoed out, the immediate area around me rippled with the Divine Words.


    I noticed immediately how much stronger they were now that Ddraig was bolstering my Dragon Aspect.


    All their weapons flung from their hands, their shock clear as day in their eyes. The world dered, their weapons would not be in their hands, and it was made so.


    Pivoting, I turned, sword in hand, andshed out towards Chiron. The Teacher of Heroes, he gave me a foreboding feeling, simr to Sc¨¢thach. I didn''t want to wait and see what he coulde up with if he had more time to analyze me.


    Surprisingly, he didn''t look shocked to see meing at him, he didn''t even get flustered when he became disarmed.


    Instead, he took a stance, and I realized he looked very calm.


    My sword swept at him, and he lightly stepped back, barely allowing it to pass by without much effort.


    I stomped on the ground, changing the flow of my momentum and swung my sword down from up top.


    He gracefully stepped to the side, even as my swing sundered the earth, he calmly followed up with his fist shoot out like lightning, aiming right below my arm. It wasn''t hard, but I could feel it through my armor, a mild difort at the very most.


    Flicking my wrist, my other swords moved to intercept him, attacking from all side. Almost as if he could see behind him, he moved so gracefully around each attack, never letting any get more than a small cut on him.


    "Are you surprised?" He smiled towards me, dodging another beheading strike. "I have taught longer than thisnd had been a country." Heughed, sweeping his wrist to deflecting a swing from me to the side. My strength at this point dwarfed his, but he was using the most minimal amount of power necessary to counter my every attack.


    "Among my students was Herakles." He spoke, knee shooting up. I mmed my elbow down to counter it, and he rode on the momentum, falling low to the ground and spinning his body to sweep his leg towards me. "When he was a child, and throughout his life, I was his mentor." He continued to speak, even as sweat poured down his brow, and minor cuts began to add up, staining his clothes red. "You are strong, there is no doubt. In pure might, I am not your match at all. Even your speed makes the hairs on my neck stand up. But, at his peak, you are still far off from his physical abilities." He had fond smile on his face as our exchanges continued. "And I''ll tell you a secret ¨C Even then, when he was but all but a god in name, I was still his sparring partner." His smiled turned somewhat vicious.


    His leg swung up, and mmed down on the ground, rupturing the earth. Clouds of dust were kicked up, obscuring my vision, but I saw a light pierce through, a spear that aimed for my head. I raised my arm up to block and the Spear of Hero Killing met my Dragon scales.


    Atnta reappeared,ing underneath with her reacquired bow. The amount of power she was holding in the Arrow she had knocked, I questioned if it wasprised of amand seal.


    And to my other side, Chiron burst through right towards me and my eyes widened seeing what he held ¨C Achilles'' shield, and it swung right at me.


    Did he predict all of this and n for it?


    What great teamwork.


    If they weren''t trying to take my life right now, I would have apuded them. It was humbling in a way to be on the receiving end of this.


    But I was ying for keeps.


    "Feim Zii Gron." The same trick that first dragon pulled on me. My body became ethereal, the concept of ''invible" overcame me. I was separated from the world while also still being anchored in it. If it were an activation of a Noble Phantasm, I would not have trusted this. The focal point of a legend, used and pointed right at me, I felt like it could ovee the concepts that shielded me.


    That shield, it was no doubt a Divine Construct, and if my recollection of legends was correct, it was said to contain a world inside. But, this ability separated me from the material world.


    The Spear slipped through my body; arrows flew helplessly through my stomach. And a Shield.....it swung true, but did not touch me.


    I rematerialized, arms snapped out, grabbing Atnta, and Achilles'' tossing them to the side with my floating swords shooting at them for added measure, leaving only one behind. The closest sword entered my hand and pierced right through Chiron''s chest.


    Blood began to flow from the Heroe''s mouth as he looked down at the wound, touching my de.


    "Well done." He gave a gentle smile, one filled with a surprising amount of warmth in it. "I did not expect that trick at the end...." He coughed out some blood, shield falling out of his grasp.


    I slowly pulled my sword out as he stumbled onto his back. "It''s as you say, just a trick." I could just smile bitterly.


    "Don''t dismiss yourself. It''s a wonderful ability that you used at the perfect time." His tone was jovial if admonishing me a little bit. "I''m a little bit jealous of your teacher."


    "Hah." I let out a smallugh. "I think she''d like you."


    "That or we''d fight each other due to our different methods of teaching." Heughed along with me, shifting slightly.


    I gripped my sword tightly but he raised a single arm up. "Don''t worry, you hit my Spiritual Core, I''m almost done."


    I sighed, sword lowered. "Anything you want to say? I won''t interfere if you want to say something to Achilles."


    "You''re a good kid." He continued to smile bright. "But I already said what I needed to say to him. Any more would just fill each of us with more regrets. I do have one request for you if you don''t mind."


    "Speak." I said quietly.


    "My master, she is confined to a wheelchair due to her Magic Circuits taking away her ability to walk." Chiron slowly exined. "I think you would have means to heal her without taking away her future as a Magus."


    I closed my eyes, letting out a breath. "Consider it done."


    "Thank you." He nodded, eyes slowly closing. "If you''d listen to thest words of an old teacher like me, I''d like to give you a lesson."


    "Pardon?"


    He slowly raised his finger up into the air, shaking as it was. "You have great strength, but your skill is falling behind. Had you a few more years under your belt, I fear my attempt at fighting you like I had would have been fruitless." Even with his eyes being forced to stay open, he didn''t stop. "And one more thing......be careful of lowering your guard unless you''re absolutely certain of victory." His hand very shakily raised towards the sky.


    My head shot up, as I noticed a strange phenomenon in the sky. Stars lit up, a constetion that formed the Sagittarius.


    His Noble Phantasm


    "The arrow was let loose before we even fought." He fell back onto the ground, eyes closed and a big smile on his face.


    But my attention was preupied as a meteor fell from the sky, fast enough that I could not react as it mmed into me, my back arched at the impact, my knees buckled as I struggled to keep myself standing in that moment.


    Blood spurt from my mouth as I held my side. My aura had been prated, and my Scale Mail blown apart at the small spot of impact.


    I had to hold myself back from letting out a pained cry, as the blood in my throat threatened to spill out.


    "Haha." Chiron meeklyughed. "It''s a shame the sky inside here is fake." His body began to fade away.


    Avalon went to work quickly healing up the wound, my Aura working alongside it, and my Lightning Nature crackled all over, knitting back together my flesh. I reached into my ring and took out a health potion, chugging it down.


    My heavy breathing settled down to something normal, as I looked at the blood I spat out onto my hands.


    "What a scary guy." I spat out. I was able to pick apart my fighting style and weave himself into it even when outmatched in every other aspect. I turned towards Achilles who stood there, having recovered from my attack. "You had a good teacher." I said withplete sincerity, even after getting hit.


    Chiron had my respect.


    ***


    Well, there goes another one. Chiron showing just how skilled he really is, someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Sc¨¢thach as a teacher.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 191 - 182

    <h4>Chapter 191: Chapter 182</h4>


    Mordred POV


    I followed the pink fop.


    ncing back in the direction of the Bastard, I grit my teeth, knowing I was going to miss one hell of a fight. As much as I really wanted toy into that Archer who had been taking shots at me allst night, my sights were focused on this other flying asshole.


    This pink-haired Servant really started pissing me off, and I knew it would be much more satisfying to chop him up at the cost of a fight with those other guys.


    Besides, I knew the Bastard could handle them.


    He was...strong.


    Enough that I was surprised to see him really cut loose. His Magecraft was pretty badass, and that armor of his was fucking awesome.


    I thought Father had made the wrong choice only a day ago, but if that''s who he picked as his Queen, then I guess it wasn''t so bad. Atleast it''s better than that bitch who cheated on him.


    I stomped on the ground, my Mana Burst exploding out as I tried to gain ground. "GET BACK HERE YOU BASTARD." I shouted towards the flying Servant.


    "Na na na." The Rider servant taunted. "Can''t catch me."


    "RAAARR!" I swung my sword with all the Mana I gathered, throwing my lighting up into the sky towards him, but the annoying ass swerved out of the way. I tried to do the same as that Bastard and shape my lighting, but Magecraft or anything like that never made sense to me.


    It went further and was a bit faster, but that stupid bird-horse of his able to maneuver in the sky much better than its size suggested.


    I wasn''t stupid, I could tell he was luring me away from the Bastard. It was obvious they cooked up some scheme to deal with us, but the other Bastard probably knew that too, so I didn''t say anything.


    If only this asshole would properly lead me into the trap already!


    "Woohoo!" He cheered, doing flips in the air.


    "Rider, time to get serious." I turned my head to see Lancer of ck standing off to the side.


    The horse-bird mmed on to the ground right next to him. "I''m always serious~" The pink-haired Servantughed.


    "About damn time." I growled, raising my de towards them. "I was going to settle for the fop over there, but I wouldn''t mind taking you down too."


    The Lancer servant ignored my jab, spinning his spear up into a proper grip. "Regted to mere distraction. How low I have fallen." He sighed. "And I have to fight a brat like this."


    {Saber, don''t let him rile you up.} Master''s voice sounded out over our link.


    I gritted my teeth, but took a deep breath and didn''t fall for his provocations. "Feel free to run back over to the other fight." I withdrew my helmet so he could see the smirk on my face. "But we both know you''re just using this as an excuse to run away."


    Lancer''s expression turned dark. "Such insolence." He growled. "Why should I be surprised when you allied with ''him''."


    I justughed at his annoyance. "Come on, old man, lets see if you''re allowed to call yourself a king infront of me."


    "I do not need a child like you to acknowledge my rule." His magical energy surged. "I built my kingdom upon the impaled bodies of my enemies, thousands of my people met their ends at my hands." He waved his hand and Stakes burst out of the ground. "Etch my name into your mind, for who''snd you tread upon, and know my legacy." He held both hands out as the Stakes began to increase in number. "I am d, King of Wachia, the Impaler!"


    I gathered my own Magical Energy, my Mana Burst erupted around me with my signature lightning. "I''m Mordred Pendragon, the rightful heir to Camelot." I gripped my sword tight as all the Stakes flew towards me. "And I''ll be the one taking your head."


    "Rebel!" The King yelled in fury. "A mockery of all who sit on a throne!"


    I pushed back into the ground, and burst forward towards the torrent of stakes, their sharp edges splintering on my armor, my Lightning, making me strong enough to withstand the pressure. I swung my sword a few times to disrupt the brunt of the attack, enough that I made it through without suffering any noticeable injury.


    Our weapons shed, he swung his spear with the entire weight of his body behind it. Sparks flew as the des slid against one another. I pushed him off, following up with another full swing towards his torso, but he blocked it again.


    Another downward sh split the air, aiming at his head as he pushed into me to deflect it. I continued my flurry of attacks, each one having the ability to split him in half if he was even a second too slow. Each time we met, ground beneath us shattered and he was forced back a step or two.


    "Can''t keep up, old man?" Iughed. "Didn''t you say somethingst time about being invincible on your territory!?"


    That''s right, that Bastard mentioned something about him being stronger while on hisnd, but I''m not seeing it this time so I guess this fake world was suppressing it.


    "Don''t get full of yourself." He sneered, jerking his hand full of a baleful aura. Stakes shot out of the ground to the sides.


    I quickly spun my body shing at all of them, the faint sense of danger on the back of my neck as they came towards me.


    He dashed to the side, moving around my back, spear piercing through the air towards me. Wide swings of his, aiming towards my lower body.


    I mmed my sword into the ground, to block his sweep, Lighting crackled in my hand as I tossed it towards him.


    With a burst of speed he dodged it easily, mming his Spear down atop me as I barely brought rent up to block in time.


    "Tch." I clicked my tongue in annoyance. He''s faster than me, but I''m stronger than him. And he realized it too since he changed his strategy and wasn''t meeting me head on anymore.


    mming my foot on the ground, my gathered Mana Burst erupted out in every direction, knocking him away.


    "Rider, stop standing around!" He shouted.


    "Righto." That annoying assholes voice reached my ears, hisnce aiming at my back.


    "Raaa!" I let out a pained shout, hisnce tore through my armor on my lower back, digging into my flesh. I swung my sword around in a wide arc to push him away.


    "Well done, Rider!" The king was back on me, spear swinging at my shoulder, and more Stakes flying at me.


    I ducked to the side, swiping my sword at the annoying stakes that sprung from the ground. Relying on my Mana Burst again, I quickly regained my footing to knock his spear away at full force.


    "Mindless Berserker." The Lancer smirked, stepping back.


    "Here Ie!" The Rider came swooping down on his mount, gathering speed at an astonishing rate, enveloped with the noticeable aura of mana.


    Quickly bringing rent up, I braced myself for the blow, my feet digging into the ground as his Lance connected. The earth behind me tore apart and I strained all my muscles to remain on my feet. Stakes shot from the ground, piercing my armor and tearing into me before I could destroy them.


    {Master, give me your mana!} I shouted through my link.


    {I''ll use one of those Mana Potions Wilhelm gave me. Go Wild.} He replied, and I couldn''t help but smirk. {Saber, by the power of this Command Spell.....}


    I felt my body be filled with power, and I knew just how to unleash it.


    I withstood the force of the blow, even if I felt the shock through my body and some blood leaked from my mouth. But my aura exploded out, my Lightning went wild and my Mana enveloped me. "My turn!" I shouted, as rent''s edge was suddenly enveloped with a thick bloodlust that shot towards the sky.


    "CLARENT BLOOD ARTHUR!" I swung my Noble Phantasm out, the pir of energy, of hate and anger chopped down right on top of Rider.


    "Oh no, I''m in danger." That stupid smile of his didn''t leave his face.


    The ground rupturedpletely, discingrge swathes of earth as the explosion blew out in every direction.


    My head snapped to the side, at the spark of energy that revealed where Rider teleported to.


    "That was a clos¡ª" He stopped, looking down at his mount, surprised as he started to lose altitude


    And I met his eyes, my empty hand still extended out with rent lodged in the neck of his beast.


    The body of his mount mmed to the ground, and Rider stumbled to his feet. I erupted in a Mana Burst again, knowing I was probably putting a strain on the Necromancer, but I knew I had to finish this fight.


    I swiped my hand through the air, rent returning back to me with another burst of lightning, my feet already kicking off the ground towards him, and I swung down at the pink-haired Servant. He tried to dodge out of the way, but my de shed down through his chest, blood erupting at the motion.


    He dropped hisnce, falling to the ground.


    "Finally got you." I grinned savagely, rent flipped upside down and edge pointing towards his heart.


    "Hahah, you sure did." Heughed again. "Well, it was fun while itsted."


    I blinked, confused at his response. "You are a strange person." I muttered, and pushed my de down.


    He split blood from his mouth. "Let''s y again sometime." He said cheerfully, despite the fact that my sword was lodged into his heart.


    His body began to dissipate, I watched the mana flow up into the sky. "Yeah....it was pretty fun I guess, even if you were kinda annoying."


    I turned towards myst opponent, Lancer who walked towards me, blood dripping down his body. He escaped a direct hit from my Noble Phantasm, but it was clear he got caught up in the st. He looked....upset, but still maintained his dignity, letting out a sigh. "I''m thest one then." He muttered, looking up at the drifting particles of mana that was Rider. "Rebel, what''s your wish on the Grail?" He asked.


    I thought for a moment before answering. "I want a chance to pull the Sword from the Stone and prove my worthiness."


    Lancer, looked at me for a moment before he began to break down intoughter. He threw his had back, his boisterousugh filling the tense atmosphere. "HAHAHAHAHAHA" His hand gripped his face tight, and I finally realized something was wrong. It was strained, and he looked like he was in pain. "HHHHHAAAAAAAH!" He growled, his eyes changing color. "DARNIC, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" He swung his body around crazily.


    "The hell.....?" I muttered watching his writhing body.


    "I TOLD YOU I WOULD NOT USE THIS NOBLE PHANTASM!" He roared; spear dropping to the side. "I AM A KING, NOT THIS BLOODTHIRST ABOMINATION!" His ears began to elongate, his skin turned a pale color and his mouth filled with fangs.


    My knowledge of him entered my mind from the Grail, the Legend associated with d the Impaler, the Vampire Drac.


    "REbeL" His distorted voice reached my ears. "EnD mE!" He shook, hands turning into ws as he clearly fought against the transformation.


    His asshole of a master probably used amand Seal.


    His new ws dug into his own flesh. "I AM NOT THIS THING I AM NOT...DRACULA!"


    I bit my lips, bringing my sword up as I walked over to him. He looked at me with pleading eyes. "This isn''t how I wanted it to go." Even if he was my enemy, and I wanted to take his head...but not like this.


    It just felt wrong.


    "I..." His breathing became erratic. "Am a king! I did what I did and will not say a word to how history judged me." He stood up, legs shaking. "But I will not be turned into this disgusting monster!" His shout distorted the air around me.


    His hand reached out, shaking and he had to steady it with his other. It grasped at the edge of my sword, and he ignored it as it cut into his palm, bringing it up to his neck. He looked.....defeated like this. "Grant me a King''s Death."


    I took a deep breath, putting strength into my arm and brought my sword to press against his flesh. "Yeah, this is how a King should act." I didn''t like him, but I couldn''t help but respect him like this. "You''re d, King of Wachia, and that''s how I''ll remember you."


    Closing my eyes I swiped my sword.


    Hearing the thump of his body falling to the ground, I looked up towards the sky, watching as new motes of mana drifted up into the air. "Why are my wins always so bitter?"


    ***


    Wilhelm POV.


    I''ll take your teachings to heart, Chiron.


    "Sorry." I said quietly towards Achilles, I didn''t even realize I said it until the words left my mouth.


    Achilles, despite the atmosphere, justughed. "Gods, did you just apologize for killing someone who was trying to take your life?" He pped his forehead, letting out a bellow. "And I could tell you were being sincere." He shook his head, regaining hisposure.


    "Kind of just slipped out."


    A mncholic smile formed on his face. "Don''t spit on his memory. You fought and defeated him in a fight, take pride in that."


    "Yeah." I regained my wits. "Just got swept up in the moment and remembered how my own teacher died." I smiled bitterly at the memory. "Shall we continue?" My swords hovered around me and I was ready to shift back into battle mode.


    "Always." He took a stance, even if that little spark in his eyes was gone.


    I paused looking him over, a question came to the forefront of my mind. "Hey, what''s your wish?" I asked.


    "My wish?" He looked at me confused. "Well, I guess I would say I wanted to live up to the vow I made to my mother." He mmed his closed fist to his chest. "To live like a hero and die like a hero." He dered proudly. "But honestly, I just came to fight." He chuckled.


    "What about you, Chaste Huntress?" I turned my head up towards Atnta who already had arrows pulled against her bow string.


    She slowly lowered he weapon, giving me a once over. "I want to bring Salvation to all the children of the world. I want them to all know care and love."


    That was....not what I expected. "The Grail can''t grant that wish." I replied.


    Atnta, surprisingly, didn''t dispute me or get annoyed at my statement.


    "She knows." Achilles muttered. "She knows it''s an impossible dream, but still fights for it."


    There was no way for the Grail to be able to do something about that. What would it do, send all the children without families to single adults? Clones Adults and give them to the children? It would bring havoc to the world.


    To be honest, I lost my will to fight them. After killing Chiron, I just kind of.....don''t want to kill them anymore?


    My desire for the Grail hadn''t changed, but maybe there''s an alternative?


    "Alright, I''m done." I stood up straight, letting go of my sword.


    "What?" Achilles looked at me strangely.


    "I''m done, I don''t want to fight anymore."


    "That.....isn''t how this work!?" Achilles shouted towards me. "Grab your weapon and fight me! I want a hero''s fight, I will live or die like a Hero."


    "Okay, then live like one." I countered.


    "Listen you ¨C"


    "Achilles, hush." Atnta jumped down. "What are you saying?"


    Hmm, she seems more open to persuasion. "In another time, in another ce. There was another Grail War and some of the participants stuck around even after the Grail was dismantled."


    Atnta let out a sigh. "The Dead don''t belong among the living. We had our time, our era passed."


    "Tell that to Medea who''s engaged to her Master." I raised an eyebrow.


    "W-what!?" Atnta blurted out after hearing my words.


    While my knowledge on their rtionship wasn''t very detailed, I knew that they certainly shared a bond of some kind.


    "It''s sweet, I even got myself a wedding invitation." I smiled. "She actually made the clothes I''m wearing, she''s very skilled. And she started her own business selling to other people."


    "Of course she would abuse her summons like that." Atnta face palmed. "But still...married?"


    "I intend to bring my Servant away, and I already promised Assassin of ck an out. Not to mention mypanion fighting over yonder." I jerked my thumb in the direction of Mordred''s presence. "So, what''s two more?"


    "Sis, you really considering this?" Achilles looked towards her.


    She admittedly looked a little sheepish. Her ears fell down a little bit under his gaze. "Little Medea getting married...." She said quietly.


    "Gods dammit." Achilles muttered. "And what''s in it for me, huh?"


    "Well, I won''t spank you anymore, for one."


    "Alright, lets go you asshole!" He flipped me the bird.


    "Fine, fine." I rolled my eyes. "Well, there''ll be plenty of fights in the future." I offered, and he did perk up a little bit. "Not to mention the other Servants still up and about that wouldn''t mind the asional spar. And did I mention my birth world, the Age of Gods never ended? Lots to do there for someone with your skills." I began my sales pitch. "Is there really a harm in living a second life?"


    "Fuck you." Achilles spat out, but it was less anger at my suggestions and more the fact that we both knew I had enticed him. "Sis, what do you think? I''ll follow you on this one."


    Atnta looked at him, then back at me. "I haven''t heard from my Master since my summoning. I vowed to fight on his behalf, but I don''t think he''s even alive anymore. The fact that we''re having this conversation probably means the priest did something for sure."


    "Yeah, me too." Achilles muttered.


    Interesting.


    "I''m not afraid to fall in battle against an honorable foe, Achilles." She shot him a nce again. "But..."


    "Fine." Achilles cut her off, letting out a sigh. "What''s the worse that could happen? At the very least, I could get another good fight before fading."


    The corners of my lips curled up. "Good, now lets discuss terms."


    I would quickly finish this up and go check on Raikou. By the drain on my Magical Energy, I could tell her battle was heating up.


    ***


    If only d decided to Morb, this war would have been won days ago.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 192 - 183

    <h4>Chapter 192: Chapter 183</h4>


    POV Lancer of Red (Karna)


    "Wonderful!" I eximed, shing with my foe. Her sword was deadly, sharp and precise with each movement.


    My spear which stabbed through the air dozens of times in a single breath, was met with a speed that perhaps surpassed mine, and a technique I couldn''t help but admire.


    My mes shed with her Lightning at each interval, her Divine Lightning that was so much like my brothers.


    "O''Agni." I activated my Mana Burst once again during this fight, only to be met by her own body being enveloped in Lighting to ward me off.


    The ground beneath us turned molten, and the air crackled with sharp wisps of lightning, our weapons pushing away each other, neither giving an inch.


    I gathered power into my eye, the Authority of the Sun, inherited by my father, andpressed it before firing it off. A beam of pure destruction tore through the surroundings, the very air burning away at the touch.


    Unexpectedly, my opponent met it head on. Sword in hand, lighting wreathed around her, she braced herself with her de and blocked it. The sunlight fighting against her sword, but somehow, she managed to hold strong.


    My opponent, the sister of my brother, she stepped forward and cut through my attack. An attack/power I had some manner of confidence in. She didn''t stop, didn''t relish in her small win, but instead attacked me once again. She was overpowering me in pure strength, breaking my guard. Her sword shed out, digging into my chest. I reeled back quickly enough, a movement that barely mitigated a deep wound, even with my armor.


    Yes, my Armor that should negate roughly 90% of each blow was ovee, ignored forck of a better term. No that wasn''t entirely urate, my Armor provided resistance, but it was noticably less than it should be. Not to mention that she blocked my attack from before, somehow diffusing the umted weight behind the blow. I shouldn''t be surprised at this point, she had taken my arm previously.


    It did not phase me, neither of us would back down at such wounds like these. I nted my front foot firmly, gathering enough power, and thrusted my spear with the explosive power of my mes behind me. Knowing she couldn''t properly evade or block, she instead grabbed hold of the shaft. My spear dug into her stomach, but she resisted the worst of it with a grit of her teeth, her hand burning as she gripped my Divine Spear.


    "Hah!" She swung her sword with one hand, discharging her Lightning from above. I decided to take a step back, having won this small exchange.


    It was just in time too, as an invisible force rippled across the battlefield. A sonic attack carved out swathes ofnd in the distance, some evening our way.


    We both noticed the danger, jumping out of the way before the ground we were just standing on had disappeared.


    It was a momentarypse in our battle, both of us looking at the strange creature that could be seen in the distance.


    My opponent, even more so, looked at the creature, recognizing the one who fought it.


    I could have attacked, in this moment that she let her guard down, but I held my spear back. That was not the win I wished to have.


    "Is it wise to ignore me in our battle?" I spoke up, to grab her attention once more. I could see that she was hesitant to ignore what was happening with her master. It spoke of her character that she worried, so I did not fault her on this.


    How strange it was to see a Berserker so lucid, to think so rationally. It was.....a small jest that I found amusing. How her Master had gone around calling her ''Saber'', so I did not speak up about it. My ability ''Discernment of the Poor'' allowed me to view into her true nature and character.


    Though, it still did not allow me to fulyl see through her Master, who continued to be an enigma for me. In another time and ce, I wish I could have learned more about him. To fight him, not as enemies, but maybe a friendly duel.


    "Thank you for waiting." She said quietly, regaining her resolve, her sword brought back up into a proper stance.


    "Of course." I smiled lightly, swinging my spear back through my wafting mes.


    No more words as the next sh began. She burst out with her Divine Lightning, theck of obvious drain on her magical reserves just served to emphasized how strong her Master was to support her continued costs. I was vaguely aware of how my own Master was drawing in Magical Energy from an unnatural means, and yet she was keeping up with me in expenditure.


    Fast.


    I should have been faster as I was summoned under the Lancer ss, yet she was not losing out to me in the slightest, and even stronger than me in other aspects.


    I narrowly moved to the side, her de cutting my cheek, our eyes meeting with my own spear swinging towards her head.


    She quickly pivoted, knocking it away with a flick of her wrist and trying to follow up with a downward sh at my neck. I shot my knee up at the wound on her stomach, but she mmed her fist down to meet it. I instead went low, sweeping at her legs, but she instead opted to trade, de once again aiming for my neck.


    Realizing I would lose on this exchange, I had my mes erupt between us, knocking us both back.


    "Your martial arts are exemry." I praised her. "I dare not im to be your superior in this regard."


    "Your technique is one I have not experienced before, but you are among the best I''ve ever crossed des with." She returned with her own words.


    "I wish I had the opportunity to show my bow skills, but s." I flipped my spear back towards her. "I am constrained by this ss."


    She gave a small smile. "I too wish I couldpete with you in bow skills."


    It was strange, to fight to the death like this yet have no ill will towards her. Even if I kept projecting my half brother upon her, it was not out of spite or anger.


    I waived my hand, my Divine mes condensing and firing out.


    She swung her sword, discharging bolts of her Divine Lightning to intercept.


    And again, we began another sh.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    Achilles and Atnta hadplied with the terms I set out. And they even opted to abandon this fortress and head back to the town we first met. I wanted them to be far away, just in case the priest tried to use them for anything. If he tried to use a Command Seal to teleport them over, I was confidant in being able to disrupt it with my expertise on space maniption.


    I bit my lip, looking in the direction of where Mordred went. I knew she could handle herself fine, but I was oddly finding myself worrying about her. I gave Kairi a few things that should skew any fight int heir favor, but both Lancer of ck and Rider of ck were noticeably absent.


    Well, I would trust my new son.


    They had a full set of Command Seals as well, that wasn''t anything to scoff at.


    I only had a rough estimate of how far Raikou and Karna moved away. In usual circumstances, I would need some special calctions to navigate this small world since it was a facet of someone''s Noble Phantasm, but since its in such disarray, I didn''t feel like I would be hindered, especially if I only had to eyeball everything at this distance.


    Gripping Mirage, I shed my sword through the air. I was about to jump through until I noticed the sky changed colors.


    A sense of danger washed over me, and it wasing from the direction of Raikou.


    Without a second thought, I quickly went through, the scenery around me changing in an instant. The ground had turned tova in many ces, and there were craters littering the ground.


    "Master!?" I heard Raikou''s voice not far away.


    She did not look in the best of shape, she was even wounded in several ces. "Raikou." I said softly. "You''re hurt."


    "Master, I''m fine." She quickly dismissed me. "Please escape, master." She tried to urge me.


    "Master of Minamoto-no-Raikou." Karna''s voice boomed. He hovered a little bit infront of my Servant. "You''vee." He stated, meeting my gaze. "You have appeared at an opportune moment. Your Servant fought valiantly, but I will end this with my strongest attack." The armor around his body was burned away.


    His armor, that I could deduce was Divine in origin,pletely disintegrated.


    "I shall require a blow that bringsplete annihtion." He dered, raising his arms up, and the already strained sky cracked and shattered.


    "Master!" Raikou shouted towards me. "Please, flee. I do not know if I can handle this, and I don''t wish you to fall because of my ineptitude."


    I looked at her, then at Karna who made my hairs stand up on the back of my neck. "Yet, you''ll stay here and fight to the end." I shook my head. "I told you before, we''re in this together. If you want to fight, I''ll support you as your Master."


    The conflicted look on her face was hard to see, but I knew this meant a lot for her. "I''m not leaving." I crossed my arms. "So you just have to do your best to protect me."


    "Master...." Her eyes softened.


    "A Master is part of a Servant''s Strength." Karna watched down above us, a surprisingly gentle smile on his face. "I can only me my misfortune that I do not have one as good as yours, Sister."


    The way he called Raikou Sister did make my eyes widened a little, the familiarity and kindness he ryed in that word, it made me question how they truly saw one another.


    Was it his way of recognizing Raikou as an equal?


    I held out my hand, the Staff of Magnus appearing from my Ring. "Grand Healing." It was one of the strongest Healing spells I learned from Skyrim that I could reasonably cast on another person and Raikou''s wounds visibly began to heal.


    "Good." Karna seemed pleased. "Let our fighte to its conclusion." He raised his arms aloft, almostzily, as the very space trembled and ignited.


    It was like a second sun descended into this miniature world, and it the seams that held it together began to copse at the shear ''weight'' behind his actions.


    A pir of fire erupted around him, turning the entire ground into molten g. Rivers of Lava cascading out in every direction.


    The fires conglomerated,bined into an appearance of an Eye, one that gazed down upon all living beings and judged them.


    Perhaps I''m mistaken, but it looked like it cast its gaze upon Raikou for just a second longer before exploding into a red hue that overtook the other phenomena that nketed the fake sky.


    The mes and lightbined, a weapon descended into Karna''s hand.


    Danger.


    Death.


    Destruction.


    The feelings that practically screamed in my direction, they all emanated from that spear. It was the same spear he held before, but changed. It looked different, but that was just its physical appearance.


    It was ''more''.


    [Brat, that this is dangerous.] Ddraig spoke in my mind.


    I didn''t need to be told that.


    "Raikou." I held up the hand that contained the contract between us. "By the power of these two Command Seals." The Magical energy burst out. "Use everything you have and release your Noble Phantasm" I dered.


    Her power temporarily expanded immensely. And she raised her sword up. Not only was she pulling as much Magical Energy form me as possible, but the Command Seals elevated her next action up several levels.


    "Know the Mercy of the King of gods." Karna stated, his voice vibrating through the air as he held the spear down, pointing at us.


    He became a new Sun in the sky.


    "Master." She looked over to me. "You willingly epted a demon like me as your Servant." She said quietly, her face full of resolve. "If youmand it so.... I, Raikou, shall be an Oni."


    The Divine Lightning around her erupted. Almost like it was challenging the Divine Sun in the sky, daring it to attack. The waves of Purple lightning that arced across the ground with Raikou at the epicenter.


    "Come to me, my loyal subjects, my limbs, my arms, and my armor.....the Four Heavenly Kings themselves are as before you!" Several Bolts of lightning tore through the fiery skies, mming into the ground.


    Four more Raikous'' appeared at their point of impact. Each of them wielded a different weapon, a Katana different from her own. A Battle Axe that shined gold. A Spear that flowed like water. And a Bow that the wind seemed to coil around.


    Reinforced by the power of two Command Seals, this Noble Phantasm was powerful, yet.....


    "With this single attack, I shall inflict extinction." Karna was unwavering, and his power still seemed to eclipse Raikou''s own. "Be reduced to Cinders." He aimed his spear downwards.


    There has been something that made me curious, ever since I acquired the Boosted Gear.


    Looking over at Raikou who seemed ready to engage, to meet the attack head on.


    "What would happen, if I boosted a Noble Phantasm?" I said quietly, raising my hand towards the clones of my servant.


    Ddraig began to cackle like mad.


    "Boost, Boost, Boost. Boost. Boost."


    I didn''t have too many boosts stored at the moment, but I felt like it was just the right amount for a first test. If I wasn''t in Bnce Breaker, with the means to better control this power, I would have never considered it.


    "Transfer."


    The Clones, the Noble Phantasm of Raikou ¨C the power, their ''existence'' erged, and their physical ''forms'' followed. It wasn''t just a matter of increasing the Magical Energy to make it stronger, I was conceptually adding power to the ''weight'' of the legend. Almost like a Broken Phantasm, but a different form of application.


    Raikou''s eyes widened, and even Karna seemedpletely stunned, even if neither allowed themselves to be distracted.


    "Vasavi Shakti!" Karna''s words silenced the world.


    Well, except for one other voice.


    "Ox-King Storm Call ¨C The inescapable Net of Heaven!" The four giant clones attacked together.


    A massive pir of light came down, a decree to exterminate everything below, a Divine Judgement from a God.


    From the Earth, the giant clones of Raikou ascended.


    The one wielding the Bow, poured all of its power into a single shot before dispersing. The power of Wind carried it, bringing with it the wrath of a hurricane.


    The Clone wielding a Katana shot forth, burning bright for just a moment, swinging the sword and summoning a Fire to contend with the Sun.


    The one with the Spear pierced towards the oing purge, the decree of annihtion with the force of a Tsunami.


    Thest one, it wielded a Golden Axe, and with every ounce of power afforded to it, it swung a single time. The golden light gathered at the edge of the Axe and burst out towards the oing threat.


    The four elemental attacks, enhanced by the power of two Command Seals, then boosted many folds by my own effort.


    Raikou raised her de up high, and all the lightning she gathered crackled around her. That familiar purple lighting that jolted in every direction, pulsing with Divinity. The power gathered was immense, the very air crackled with residual static for hundreds of yards all around.


    Seemingly turning into the Divine Lightning, itself, she took hold of it all and shot towards the sky. The Spear that felt like it could fell gods was met in equal footing.


    Perhaps it was because Karna could not wield its full potential, or it was because of my interference, but Raikou''s lightning tore into the attack the help of her clones.


    I had to summon a shield to protect me just from the collision of power and subsequent eruption that was created at the focal point. The two Noble Phantasms stalemated and dispersed one another.


    Both Raikou and Karna fell from the sky, mming into the ground.


    Both were looking worse for wear, standing up shakily.


    Karna, who was the first to act had ced his hand onto the ground. Thorns of fire burst from the air, filling the space as they jabbed out towards Raikou.


    I waived my Staff, shooting off Lightning Arrows to intercept. Raikou nced back at me for the briefest of moments, before charging at Lancer.


    Karna tried to bring up his mes again, but they looked haggard, almost forcibly exerted instead of the ease he manipted them from before.


    Raikou''s sword swung through them with ease, the me dispersing at the touch of her de.


    Karna brought up his spear to block, but it was clear he was on the back foot.


    I held the staff up, aiming towards Raikou. "Scatter." I cast the illusion spell I was the most familiar with. Never my area of expertise, but I was decent enough. Not to mention with my nature of Lightning added up, well, the spell meshed with whom I had targeted.


    A dozen more Raikou''s appeared around her, each one crackled slightly, just as she did. Adding on a spell to obscure vision for just a second to make him question which one was her. Given another few moments, maybe Karna would have been able to discern which was real or not, but in his exhausted state, wounded as he was, it was enough.


    He had no choice but to have his mes envelop him and burst out in every direction, arge scale attack as all the clones moved together.


    They dispersed but bought the necessary time.


    Raikou''s sword found its target, mming through Karna''s chest, with no Divine Armor to mitigate the damage.


    Karna''s body was impaled to the ground, Raikou''s sword sticking out, and he didn''t fight it. A content smile appeared on his face. "Well done." He instead praised her. "You fought well."


    "I only won because I had help." Raikou shook her head.


    "A Master is part of your strength, Sister." Karna let out a small, but strained chuckle.


    "You know we are not rted...."


    Karna closed his eyes. "I am aware." He replied. "Consider it me just being selfish." That smile didn''t leave his face, even as his began to dissipate. "I wonder.... if we would have gotten along in life."


    "I think we would have." Raikou''s gentle words took me by surprise. "Goodbye, Brother." She epted the title, giving him ast farewell.


    I gave her a moment to collect herself, watching the remnants of Lancer flow away. There were many thoughts in my mind ¨C would things have been different if Lancer had a proper Master? From what Atnta said, they were not in contact with theirs, so it was likely Karna was not as well.


    Karna, what a scary guy. That spear of his, it was dangerous and it genuinely frightened me to be on the receiving end of. If Raikou didn''t have her Mystery yer,bined with twomand seals, and me boosting her Noble Phantasm....


    In any other circumstances, I would have not stood there and watched it buy ran away. But I pushed those thoughts to the side for now.


    "Raikou, this ce is copsing, we should move." The sky was crumbling, and fissures were forming in the very space that supported this small world.


    "Yes, lets finish this, Master." Raikou nodded.


    Yeah, it''s time to finish this war.


    ***


    Few more chapters and this Arc is wrapped up. It''s just now finished up fully over on Pat. Now there''s only Assassin of Red and Caster of Red remaining as enemy Servants. On a side note, no chapter this uing Sunday, going to be busy again.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 193 - 184

    <h4>Chapter 193: Chapter 184</h4>


    POV Ruler (Jeanne D''Arc)


    I wished I did not have to separate from Wilhelm. I didn''t want to turn around since I would only feel sad at the goodbye.


    For some reason, it felt like a true farewell.


    I knew that we would have to separate eventually its just...I''ve never had many friends. Even when I marched to war in my life, I had admirers, soldiers, and subordinates. I think the only person who I could have called a friend was Gilles.


    The time spent was short, but I was happy he called me a friend.


    Even if he did tease me relentlessly. And I had to resist the urge to smack him with my g on many asions.


    It was nice.


    I would make sure to properly thank the Lord of giving me such a gift during this fleeting existence.


    Not once had I ever regretted my decisions to listen to the Word of God. If presented with the same choice, I would have not wavered in following the same path. But it was pleasant to experience something a little different amongst the fighting that took ce.


    I sincerely hoped that I would not have to fight him. I would do everything I could to fulfill my duties, but that did not mean I wanted to harm him.


    I let the feeling I had in my heart pull me where it wished me to go. The will of God led me through this field of destruction, navigating the pieces of the Noble Phantasm left shattered/broken from Wilhelm''s attack.


    There were traps that I walked by, noticing the feint pulsing of Magical Energy. It seemed that my faith led me to avoid the worse of them, and the others simply could do nothing when triggered against my innate Magical Resistance.


    A few of those Skeleton soldiers sprang up every so often, but they were felled by a sweep of my banner.


    Eventually, I came upon a small archway, a half-standing door that seemed to still be active. If not for the guidance I was receiving, I was sure I would have overlooked it as nothing more than rubble.


    I stepped through without hesitation, the air infront of me like water as the scenery changed with a single step forward.


    I was in a garden, or what was left of one. Many strange, yet beautiful nts were all around me. Lots of which were disturbed, destroyed, or otherwise ripped out of the ground from the destructive fall.


    This ce was strange, this entire ''structure'' was like its own small world. Every doorway, while leading somewhere else, led to its own ''space''.


    It amazed me that Wilhelm was able to destroy such a thing with Modern Magecraft.


    Then again, he''d been showing some very spectacr things since the start of this war. Being able to fight on par, and even defeat Servants while still being a living being. And seeing his other disys of Magecraft had been enlightening. I barely understood the basics, even with this knowledge the Grail granted me, yet still, I could understand how amazing he was as a Magus.


    The further in I moved, the more the whole ce looked.....stitched together forck of a better word. Like a seamstress taking several different articles of clothing, and turned them into something wearable even if it was an awkward sight to behold.


    I approached one final door, and the ''feeling'' I had intensified several fold, and I knew whatever was behind this door was what I was looking for.


    Without hesitation, I pushed it open.


    Many eyes turned to face me.


    "I told you she would find her way here, Assassin." A gentle voice rang out across this room.


    I looked up to see Assassin ¨C Semiramis ¨C sitting upon a decadent throne. It looked.....barely held together and the room itself looked like a patchwork of many different buildings forced to merge.


    I didn''t see where the voice came from, but I looked around to quickly study the area and search out potential foes just in case.


    "And a new actress appears." A man stepped forward giving a bow. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Ruler."


    "Caster." I said quietly, meeting his gaze. He was Shakespeare, a famous ywright. My mind was filled with knowledge of him and his abilities as a Servant.


    He was....weak in physical means, but he still gave me a dangerous feeling.


    "Ridiculous." Assassins spat out angrily. "How did she navigate through what remains of my Gardens? I can barely navigate them as they are, and its MY Noble Phantasm."


    "Faith in God will not lead one astray." The voice sounded out again as a new figure walked out from behind the throne.


    As soon as I saw him, my mind froze and my eyes widened. "Impossible." I muttered. "You shouldn''t be here." I gripped my banner tightly.


    "As expect, you too can see through my identity." The man smiled towards me. "As one Ruler to another, it''s a pleasure to meet you, Saintess of Orleans."


    He''s the master of these two Servants, but his true identity ¨C "You''re the Ruler from the previous War, how are you still here!?"


    "And they finally meet." Shakespeareughed. "What''s in store for our two fellows of God, will they join forces or fight over different ideals!?"


    "And you ruined the moment." Assassin deadpanned.


    Despite the tone of their words, the atmosphere was tense as if a fight would break out at any moment.


    I flipped my banner into a position to better defend. My instincts were telling me that this would end in no other way but a fight.


    "Oh well." The other....Ruler, shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you won''t even listen to what I have to say." He held his hand out and summoned an armament into it ¨C a Katana of some strength.


    "You are breaking the rules, there is nothing else that needs be spoken." I red.


    "I''m trying to save humanity." He countered. "I will use the Grail to make sure no one ever has to die again, no one will ever suffer again. Humanity will be elevated to a higher state."


    "That''s a foolish sentiment." I retorted. "If you can''t see the ws in your desire, then there is nothing left to be spoken between us." I nced around the room onest time to get an idea of how I would be attacked. "Hand over the Grail or I will retrieve it by force until the War has ended."


    The former Ruler servant shook his head. "I will leave my fate up to God." He took a stance. "If I fall, then my ideals were simply wrong."


    He held his de aloft, eyes full of conviction.


    And I knew he would not be persuaded.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV.


    "Mordred, Kairi." I practically slid to a stop infront of them. "We need to get out of here."


    "Ya think?" Mordred sassed, gesturing to the literal holes in the sky.


    I rolled my eyes, swiping my sword through the air. "Alright, in you lot go." I pushed them through quickly without hearing any back sass. Raikou didn''t argue as she hurriedly stepped through as well before I followed.


    I let out a breath as I looked up and saw a more sturdy sky above us, even if it was still a fake one. "Should be fine here." I took a moment to catch my breath.


    "Good, I just need a second." Mordred found arge piece of rubble and copsed onto it, sword stabbing into the ground.


    Yeah, that sounded good too. I allowed myself to slump down against the same huge chunk of stone. "Everyone good?"


    "I''ll live." Mordred waived me off. "Tired as fuck, but I managed to take out two." She seemed....proud, but there was a slight mncholic undertone.


    "Well done." I gave her praise. She didn''t say anything, but she did perk up a little bit.


    "Master, you''re wounded." Raikou decided to give me a once over. Her eyes trailed down to the hole in my armor where Chiron got me.


    "Yeah....." My hand brushed over the spot. "I''m good now, healed it up fine." I replied.


    Raikou pursed her lips, clearly ''upset'' at my being hurt, but didn''t speak again, just continuing to fuss over me. I reached out and took her hand, gaining a bright smile from her. With a thought, I began casting a healing spell. It was much easier to actualize when I was in physical contact with someone than casting from a distance.


    "Kairi." I grabbed the other Magi''s attention. "You good?" I asked. He didn''t look....untouched.


    "Yeah, yeah." He nodded taking out a cigarette. "Almost got hit by some stray attacks, but I''m good. You don''t''st long in my job without some healing spells under your belt." He grinned. "Those Mana Potions are great though." He shot me a thumbs up. "Any chance you want to sell a few more to me after we''re done?"


    I snorted. "When we''re done, I''ll give you a few crates as thanks." I did appreciate the help he was providing and Mana Potions didn''t mean much to me as they would another Magus.


    The other Master let out augh. "I''ll hold you to that."


    "Master, won''t you remove that armor and rest properly for a moment?" Raikou looked towards me sadly.


    I let out a sigh. "To be honest, I don''t trust my ability to bring it back up if I dismiss it now." With how much I''ve been using Bnce Breaker, I''m probably going to crash once I take it off. The Boosts had pushed past my limits consistently, and my body will have to cope with the strain somehow after its over. "Let''s finish this." I stood back up, looking around.


    "Lets fucking go." Mordred jumped off her ''seat'', shattering the ground. Her armor was not looking good and she had some wounds, but that grin of hers was ever present.


    I walked over, putting my hand on her head with a grin.


    "The hell are you ¨C" She was about to get annoyed until my hand burst out in a healing light. "....ass.." She muttered, but epted it.


    "Later, tell me how your fight went." I smiled towards her.


    "Fine." She grunted, a little happy it seemed.


    "So I think that''s another doorway over there." I pointed towards a couple arches, barely standing together.


    "You sure?" Kairi raised an eyebrow.


    I shrugged. "I''m pretty confidant to make sure nothing happens in a spacial transference, so what''s the worse that could happen if I''m wrong?"


    "Fair." He nodded. "Lead the way then." He gestured.


    "Raikou." I turned towards my Servants.


    "I''m here, master." She quickly regained her serious face. She was ready for battle. "I am ready for whatever waits for us."


    "Good." I punched my fist into my palm. "I want to see that priest again. I have some words for him." Walked up I ced my hand against the ''portal'' that seemed to emerge as I touched the arches. "It''s steady." I dered before pushing my way through.


    The others followed behind immediately, but my focus was taken by the sound of steel meeting inbat.


    "Wilhelm?" Jeanne turned towards me in surprise as she deflected a sword being swung at her.


    "You''ve arrived as well." The Priest looked at me, he was trading blows with Ruler. He was trading blows with a Servant.


    "Wilhelm, careful! He''s the Ruler from thest war." Jeanne quickly ryed just as the other''s came as well.


    "That exins way too much." I narrowed me eyes.


    "So many bugs inside my throne room. " Assassin spoke out, her voice booming over the noise. I looked towards the familiar women who sat upon a throne. The one who hurt Sir Wiggles. "Onerger than the others." Her eyes looked at me with a fury behind them.


    Surprisingly, she didn''t immediately attack, onlyzily watching us.


    Curious.


    "Caster, it''s your turn." She dered as a new person walked out from behind a nearby pir.


    "Ohoh, I''m actually taking the stage, how rare." The man ¨C the Servant spoke. "I''ve been meaning to meet you for awhile, young Wilhelm."


    "Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, even if my focus didn''t waver from my surroundings. "I don''t suppose you''d like to introduce yourself then?"


    "William Shakespeare." He bowed. "At your service."


    I blinked at his tant introduction. "I admit, I didn''t think you would actually tell me your name."


    Shakespeare let out augh. "A ywright must make their name known to the audience." He smiled bright.


    "William Shakespeare." I muttered. "I''m a little surprised, but otherwise happy to meet you. I''m a big fan of your work."


    The Caster servant blinked. "Truly?"


    "Is that so surprising? Your works are one of the cornerstones of literature in the modern era."


    "Hah!" He turned, pointing towards Assassin. "See!? My works are famous!"


    Assassin scowled. "Stop ying around."


    "Hmph." Caster snorted.


    "I was actually in Theatre club when in school." I admit, I was a bit....star struck with him. I didn''t expect to meet someone like him here. An artist, not a traditional ''warrior''. I let out a sigh. "If I had one of your works on me, I''d ask for an autograph."


    That being said, I wasn''t exactly letting my guard down. I was scanning the room to look to see if there were any hidden dangers present.


    "After having to suffer through the ignorance of my allies, your words bring me such joy." He clutched his heart dramatically. "How I wish I could have spoken with you more." He shook his head. "s, the stage does not wait for anymore, even the writer." He grinned, a book appearing in his hand.


    I felt a sense of danger, and one of my swords shot out at him, piercing through his body. But.....he didn''t budge, that grin of his never faded. His body, the ''wound'' didn''t bleed, in fact, it looked more like pages being torn from a book than actual flesh.


    "I''m afraid, I have no choice in the matter." There was a small bit of sympathy in his voice. "My Noble Phantasm had already been cast before you arrived. You are formable inbat, in magic and martial prowess. I am a weak Servant, only sufficient to wield a pen. But...they say the pen is mightier than the sword. Shall we put those words to the test?"


    His arms outstretched, the area around us began to change. His body shifted, turning into pieces of parchment that flew all around me. "Let the curtain rise, and the show begin!"


    "Master!" Raikou yelled, but her voice was cut off and she disappeared.


    "The apuse will shake the earth, the cheers of ten thousand!" Shakespeare''s voice echoed all around me even as I lost vision of anything else.


    I looked down at my hands, my eyes widened in horror.


    My Scale Mail began to disappear from my body.


    "Ddraig!?" I blurted out.


    There was no response.


    The parchment began to conglomerate, turn into a physical form.


    "Behold, the Title of my Noble Phantasm ¨C First Folio."


    My attention was no longer on the voice of Shakespeare, but on the figure that appeared, manifested from his Noble Phantasm.


    Red hair that matched mine.


    Eyes that matched mine.


    And a voice that made my breathing pick up.


    "Hello, son."


    ***


    And Shakespeare makes his grand entrance. The Weakest servant for the war is oddly one of the worst matchups for Wilhelm. So, fair warning, I''ve had mixedments about next chapter. Some liked it, some didn''t, so I didn''t want to hype it too much.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

 Chapter 194 - 185

    <h4>Chapter 194: Chapter 185</h4>


    I stared at the person standing in front of me. I knew who he was, but his name wouldn''t leave my mouth. I felt my arms tremble and my hands balled into fists.


    "No....this is impossible." I whispered.


    "Is it?" The person, the Thing, replied. "You should be the authority on what is or is not impossible, right?"


    I raised my hand and pointed at him warily. "You aren''t real." I dered. "A figment of my imagination." I took a deep breath, steadying myself, gaining a smirk. "Shakespeare''s Noble Phantasm is unlikely one to do any kind of physical or magical damage. It''s against his nature, and his words were enough for him in the past." I began to voice my thoughts, distracting myself from the ''person'' who was infront of me. "The Reason I can''t hear Ddraig....why I can''t feel my aura." I paused, trying to call up a spell to actualize, even trying to pull on the Kaleidoscope, all to no avail.


    In normal circumstances, I would have been panicking if everything of mine had been so thoroughly sealed away like this by an enemy, but my mind raced, going into overdrive before I finally I saw through this Noble Phantasm. "It''s a mental attack." I sneered at him. "Or rather, it attacks one''s heart. This isn''t real, I''m not real, you aren''t real. It uses my own.... circumstances, to create this ''world'' around us." I waived my hand. "Not a true world, but a projection of my mental state, of my heart." I walked to the edge, smacking the ''side'' with no reaction. "I''m projecting myself into this oveyed domain created by his Noble Phantasm. It''s why I can''t draw upon my Magic, because I''m not truly here while also being ''here''. I''m in my own self-contained world that doesn''t actually change anything about the greater world."


    I looked back over to him, to the fake ''person'' who I never wished to meet. "That''s it isn''t it" I grinned. "Well, I can praise Shakespeare for casting his Noble Phantasm before we even appeared, setting it up like so."


    I scowled, crossing my arms. "Why did his Noble Phantasm summon you of all people. If he''s trying to get a rise out of me, wouldn''t my Mom work better, hell what about one of my girls?"


    "Please, we both know you wouldn''t take it seriously if it was one of them." My fake father scoffed. "If it was one of your -- " He air quoted -- " ''Girls'', then you would probably just flirt with them regardless of what they said or did."


    Yeah, I''d probably do exactly that.


    "And if it was my Mom, well, I wouldn''t mind seeing her again." I mused out loud.


    "You really do like to hear yourself talk." The fake version of my.....Father, nced back at me, almost appearing uninterested that I was able to understand the whole situation so easily. "Then again, you do always like go on about how you have a ir for the ''theatrical''." He crossed his arms. "You always have to try and exin everything don''t you? To prove just how ''smart'' you really are?" He took a step forward facing me. "Why don''t we just call it what it really is ¨C Attention seeking."


    "But that''s always been the case." He snorted. "Even ''before''." He added air quotes again. "You joined the Theatre club in school, the one club you could pretend to be important in. The one ce you could have everyone focus their attention solely on you." He turned around away from me, facing the nk walls. "You should be thankful, after all, this stage has been set just for you. Heroes of Legend here to witness your ''best'' moments."


    "Fuck you." I spat out almost unconsciously. "Like you have any ground to bring shit like that up."


    "Yes, yes, what a horrible father I''ve been." He rolled his eyes again. "I''ll make it up to you and give you the one thing you so crave." He smirked, turning back towards the walls. "They can see, so don''t worry, lets give them a show." He raised a hand up, pointing outwards. "But first, it''s important to introduce the cast."


    "No..." My eyes widened realizing what he was going to say.


    "What, my dear child, are you ashamed of where youe from?" He chuckled. "Are you worried how that Saintess will look at you afterwards? Your hints weren''t very subtle when you probed her. Or maybe you think your new ''son'' won''t like what she has to hear, hmm?"


    I.....felt my breathing pick up. I didn''t know how to respond.


    "I''ll take a page out of your book." He threw his hands up. "Allow me to introduce myself to the Audience." He did an exaggerated bow. "I am the father of this bastard." He did an exaggerated gesture towards me. "I am the Ruler of Hell." His grin turned vicious. "I am Lucifer."


    ***


    Mordred POV


    As soon as we walked in, Caster of Red''s Noble Phantasm went off, none of us expected this. It wasn''t an attack in the normal way, and even as we banged on this.....thing that Caster made around the bastard, it didn''t budge.


    "WHAT DID YOU DO!?" The Cow roared, throwing herself at Caster.


    "I give up!" The Caster shrieked, surprising everyone present.


    Even the Cow stopped for a moment, but raised her de to him. "Remove it!" She growled.


    "I can''t." Shakespeare put his hands up in surrender. "My Master used amand seal so it would activate on your Master as soon as he entered the room."


    "Then I will kill you and end it." She dered.


    "Killing me won''t end it." He chuckled.


    "He''s lying, do it." Assassin but in, almost bored with their conversation. "No one will miss him, feel free." She tapped her fingers on her throne, sitting so high above us.


    Annoying bitch, I resisted the urged to start swinging rent at her. But my Master was right behind me, so I had to be smarter. But she didn''t make a move and the two ''Rulers'' were squaring off. I decided to hold off for now.


    The Cow reached over, grabbing him by the cor. "Tell me how to end it or I''ll start cutting pieces off."


    "There''s no way." The Caster looked pale. "He has to break free of it himself."


    "Then you''re useless." The Cow''s expression turned dark.


    "There''s a better chance of him escaping if I''m still alive." Caster quickly spoke. "If I''m dead, it''ll go on forever, but if I''m satisfied, it''ll end with the ywright''s blessing."


    The Cow sneered.


    And the Caster gave a cheeky smile.


    Sounded like bullshit to me, but some Noble Phantasms are fucking weird. Add on a Command Seal, and even stranger things can happen.


    She punched him in the face.


    If it was anyone else I would totally cheer for them, but fuck the Cow bitch.


    She tossed his body to the side then went over to the.....thing, the dome or whatever that was blocking the bastard inside. It was obvious he couldn''t see us, and there was someone talking to him.


    They looked alike, so probably his father or something. It''s not like I knew anything about his family.


    "Allow me to introduce myself to the audience." The strange guy turned to us, obviously speaking to us through the Noble Phantasm. "I am this bastard''s father. I am the Ruler of hell. I am Lucifer."


    "....What?" I blurted out, but it was only meant with silence.


    The two rulers who had been fighting, they abruptly stopped, staring over. The tense atmosphere sort of...disappeared. Even Assassin looked dumbfounded at what he said.


    "What a wonderful twist!" Caster shouted happily, but even he was ignored.


    "Disgusting." Assassin sneered. "This wretched creature should be removed from the world."


    The Cow looked....furious. I knew for a fact that this bitch would rip apart that guy who called himself Lucifer if she could.


    "Wilhelm?" the Saintess spoke up, looking at him strange.


    "I see, even the Devil tries to stop me." The annoying priest had a weird look too. "It just shows that I''m walking the right path if the creatures of hell stand in my way. I will remove this stain before saving the world."


    The bast¡ª


    I stopped the thought in its tracks.


    He really was a bastard, huh?


    The literal bastard of Satan..... Why did that sound familiar?


    {Master....the fuck am I supposed to do?} I asked him. He was Magus, he should know more stuff about this.


    {This is way above my paygrade.} Master looked...conflicted. {Fuck, this isn''t good.}


    Does that mean he''s a enemy? He''s a demon or something, that''s bad...right?


    But.....even if he was an ass, and an arrogant dick.....he wasn''t that bad.


    ....He''s kinda like me.


    Was he an unwanted Bastard too?


    My fingers tightened around rent''s handle. "FUCK YOU." I shouted, snapping my head towards the other Ruler. "You fake priest!" I leveled rent towards him. "Father chose him as his Queen, you don''t get to say shit about him!"


    That''s right, Father chose him. That mean''s he''s not bad. And he''s nice to me, even if he''s a dick, he praised me, and even wanted to help me with my wish. That''s not something some fucking ''demon'' would do.


    My lighting burst out around me. "Let''s see you do something with my sword shoved all the way up your ass!" I raised my middle finger up, sneering towards him.


    Father wasn''t here, so I would protect him in father''s ce.


    He''s part of Camelot now, and no one gets to say shit about our people but us.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV.


    I could feel my muscles tense, in a mixture of anger and anxiety. "Father? Don''t'' make meugh. Do you even know the definition of the word? You absentee piece of shit." I scoffed, trying to shake off his words. "Are you supposed to be my ''trauma'' that this Noble Phantasm brings out?" I stood up straighter, straightening my tie. "What makes you think you even deserve to be on that list?" I looked down my nose at him. "You are insignificant."


    "Yes, I''m insignificant." He hummed. "Then lets talk about your little girlfriends?" The corners of his lips curled up.


    "Don''t you fucking dare."


    "Oh, am I touching a nerve? How unfortunate, what could someone as insignificant as me say, hmm?" He started walking around, knowing it was giving me anxiety. "Though, can you even call them that?"


    "What nonsense are you spouting now?"


    "Well, do you even know what a proper girlfriend is? Hell, do you even have a real rtionship with any of them?"


    "Clearly you don''t know me then. I guess this Noble Phantasm only amounts to this much." I said dryly.


    "Oh, stop being obtuse, you know damn well what I mean, and you''re just scared to ept it." He hummed again. "I know how you need things so tantly spelled out sometimes." He paused in his steps again. "Are they your ''girls'', or are they your ''things''?"


    I stopped. "You have no idea what you''re talking about."


    "You so crave attention in all of its forms." He mocked. "Face it, they''re your little emotional support puppets for whenever you''re feeling lonely. You''re so terrified of being alone that you try to surround yourself with people to fawn over you."


    "Bullshit!" I shouted, throw my arm out. "I care about them, I ¨C"


    "Love them?" Heughed.


    My breathing hitched.


    "So, when was thest time you said that to any of them?"


    ".....Love is something built over time." I said quietly.


    "Uh huh." He mockingly nodded. "Apparently love Is something built up overtime, yet you''re so quick to attach yourself to them. Should we talk about Kunou?"


    "I fucking dare you!" I uncharacteristically threw myself at him, but something stopped me from touching him. A sort of ''barrier'' wouldn''t let me even grab at his clothes.


    "Consider that nerve touched." He smiled mirthfully. "Well, I wouldn''t want to say anything bad about my precious granddaughter, would I?" He lightly poked me, initiating the same barrier around me, almost forcing me on my butt. "But lets talk about the real reason you haven''t said it. The truth you refuse to acknowledge."


    "No, it''s obvious what you''re going." I took a deep breath, calming myself down. Was this Noble Phantasm instigating everything, making my emotions re more easily? "I''m ashamed I let myself be led by the nose for so long. So what, do I just confront the worst parts of myself? All my insecurities are being pulled into the light?" I waived my hands around. "Congratu ¨C fucking ¨Ctions. I have some issues because my early life was not ideal thanks to some cunt who wouldn''t be arsed to give two shits beyond throwing a child into the corner and forgetting about him. Do you want a medal for pointing that out? Or is it just fun to expose all my personal matters in public?"


    He didn''t seem phased at all, practically ignoring me. "And you self-deprecate in an attempt to shift the conversation, because you''re scared, you know what I''m going to say."


    "Well then." I gestured towards him with a sneer. "Go on, regale us with your exnations of why I''m such a mess."


    He shook his head with a fake sadness. "It''s because you know they don''t love you."


    "Bullshit." I spat out immediately.


    "Meridia." He spoke pointedly. "Do you really think you matter at all to her? How old Is she? She could be called Ancient when this world was born. Do you think an entity like that cares at all about a speck of dust like you?"


    "Of course she does." I countered.


    "Because you both fucked?" Heughed. "Face it, you''re a passing amusement to her. Something she''ll forget in a few thousand years when you''re no longer an interest to something like her." He continued without a break. "Artoria, lets talk about her. You were the first man ever to show her a romantic interest, of course she would get attached. But do you really think she''ll stick around once she gets more confidence in herself, when she realizes that she''s actually a good catch? And Jinn? Do I really need to even talk about her? You were her only lifeline out of her literal prison, of course she would ''care for you'', she wouldn''t want to be stuffed back into hermp for eternity on a dying world."


    "Y-you''re misrepresenting everything."


    "Am I?" He raised an eyebrow. "Am I really?"


    "Of course." I snorted, but for some reason I felt a pain in my chest.


    "Okay." He nodded.


    "Okay?" I repeated in confusion.


    "Lets agree to disagree." He nodded towards me with a chuckle. "For your sake, I won''t even mention Kunou." The way he teased it, probably did more to rouse my anger than if he actually said anything.


    Calm.


    I wouldn''t let him get to me.


    I was better than this, I don''t lose my cool over some stupid words. I''m well aware I have issues, this is nothing new.


    "How about we move onto the whole reason you''re participating in this war?" He smirked.


    And I suddenly felt a pit in my stomach.


    "I''m curious, why are you fighting?" he asked.


    "Don''t be an idiot, you know why." I needed to find a way to get out of this thing.


    "No, no." He shook his head. "I get why you''re here, you''re after the Grail." He began to rify. "But ¨C Why.Are.You.Fighting?"


    "Because ¨C "


    "Because you have to?" He scoffed. "Please, we both know you had a thousand different ways to get a hold of the Grail without actually going through this whole song and dance. You just keep lying to yourself, over and over." He continued to mock. "But don''t worry, dear old Dad is here with some therapy."


    "You''re fighting to prove yourself, because you know my words are true." He snapped his fingers, revealing a scene, an image that I wanted to forget, one I tried hard to suppress. It was Sc¨¢thach, with my Sword through her heart. "And we move on to yourst paramour, your mentor and the woman you killed. Love? Don''t make meugh. Your actions speak loud enough, and the reason is obvious."


    He snapped his fingers again, another screen appeared, a memory of mine. It was of Sc¨¢thach, the moment she asked me to kill her.


    My breathing picked up erratically.


    "It''s because she chose death over staying with you."


    I felt something break inside of me, my legs went limp, barely catching myself from falling to the ground with my hands. I looked down and something sshed down onto the ground below me.


    I hesitantly moved my hand up to wipe away something wet running down my cheek.


    Was....I crying?


    A few more drops of water hit the ground.


    .....oh.


    I clutched my chest.


    Why was it hurting so much? It wasn''t just physical pain, I felt like something deeper was seeping into me. Like a crack formed in my armor and a jab went straight to my heart.


    "That was easier than expected." His voice still reached my ears. "But I guess I shouldn''t expect much from a child who just runs away from all his problems."


    I ran a hand over my eyes, wiping away the wetness. Almost instinctively, the same hand went through my hair, a tick I developed whenever I was anxious. I paused when I felt what was binding my hair into a ponytail.


    The familiar feeling between my fingers.


    It was stupid, a piece of cloth that could be picked up off the street, yet it held so much sentimental value to me.


    I pulled it free, letting my hair fall down, pulling it infront of my face.


    "You''re wrong." I said quietly, clutching the fabric tight. "I have things I need to work through still, I know that." I looked up at him. "Maybe it''s an irrational fear that''s holding me back from saying those words to anyone, but I know for a fact that my feelings are reciprocated." That kiss we shared, that look she gave me full of sadness. Maybe what we had wasn''t a healthy example of a rtionship, but I knew she cared for me, just as I did for her.


    I took another deep breath, reaching back and tying my hair back up. "I could provide counter arguments for everything you said about them, about the women I''ve fallen for, but that would acknowledge that you had a point." My breathing evened out. "I get attached easily, I probably crave attention because I was isted for so long. And I tend to introduce myself as the bastard of Satan as a joke because it''s still a sore spot for me. Jokes are often my way of dealing with anxiety and stress."


    "At the end of the day all I have to say is ¨C so what?"


    "A childish answer." He mocked. "Yes, so what if your life is a lie? The machination of your ''grandfather''. Barely held together by the thin veil of stability you call your emotions. Look how easily I got you down on your knees with a few words? I''m surprised Zelretch hadn''t scrapped you and tried to start over."


    I let out a chuckle. "Yeah, I''ve thought things like that too. I probably have a little bit of an inferiorityplex with ites to him. Understandably so due to my circumstances." I smiled bitterly. "It''s why I''ve gone in apletely different direction with my Magecraft andbat capabilities." I shook my head. "But I trust him. I trust all of them."


    "Trust." He scoffed. "So, trusting that you open yourself up to betrayal so easily. You tried to reassure Rin before, but it''s obvious, you''re just a pawn on his board." He looked down on me. "It''s what led you here in the first ce. Your trust you gave so easily to people because you were scared to be alone. You trust Meridia won''t get bored of you in a few years. You trust that Artoria won''t simply decide she could do better. You trust that Jinn would care about you if she no longer needs you." He listed off. "So much trust, yet your heart isplete turmoil, does that word even have meaning to you?" The corners of his lips curled up.


    "And ¨C " He continued. "You ''trust'' that Sc¨¢thach will even want to see you again."


    "So much trust, yet your heart isplete turmoil, does that word even have meaning to you?" The corners of his lips curled up.


    Thatst one hit hard...possessing many more grains of truth than his otherments.


    "I know I''m a contradiction. So easily giving trust to people, yet also being so wary of them that I keep so many secrets to myself. So scared of being alone again. But you''re right, I can''t keep going on like this, so the decision is a simple one." I lifted my head up, looking him straight in the eyes, then mmed my head onto the ground. My body shuddered at the impact, my vision slightly blurry and I felt a warm sensation start flowing down my face.


    "What are you doing!?" He blurted out.


    "I''ll put it all on the line then." I chuckled. "Even with the ones outside here. I''ll admit, I was worried how they would see me. The part of me that desires their attention and affection, but I''ll trust them. I won''t let my insecurities lead me by the nose anymore." I lifted my head up and mmed it on the ground again. Again, my body jerked at the sudden tremor that ran through my body, the pain that pulsed through my head. "I figured it out...I can''t harm you, you can''t harm me, and we can''t damage the surroundings, so.....I''ll hurt myself."


    A mental projection I am, but I also represent ''myself'' as a whole. This pain, this damage i''m doing to myself, I have no doubt it''s actually happening to me.


    "You''re insane, you''re just going to kill yourself?"


    "Who said anything about killing myself? This is a mental world forced out through me, even if without my input. I just need to not be conscious, and it should go away, right? This Noble Phantasm is meant to destroy someone, not physically, but mentally and emotionally. Well, why would they care if the same person decides to hurt themselves? It''s the same oue either way."


    "You....the others outside will kill you, you''ll bepletely at their mercy. You''re a Devil, do you think any of them will care about your ''friendship'' after this!?"


    I began to cackle, even as red filled my vision. "That''s right, I''ll have nothing left but trust in the people I gathered around me. I trust Mordred, I trust Kairi, I trust Jeanne, and I certainly trust Raikou. So, lets roll the dice, shall we?" I raised my head up again and mmed it on the ground, creating a new ringing sound in my ears.


    "YOU''RE GOING TO DIE! THEY''RE GOING TO KILL YOU AND FIGHT OVER THE GRAIL THEMSELVES. AND YOU''RE GOING TO LEAVE THOSE GIRLS ALL ALONE, TO FIND OUT THEIR LOVER KILLED HIMSELF FOR SUCH A STUPID REASON."


    I barely heard him as a shock went through my body.


    "Hah..." I spat out some blood that ran into my mouth. "You''re contradicting yourself now." I rocked side to side before mming my head down again, shattering the stones beneath me.


    "You''re going to disappoint Zelretch." He hissed.


    I let out anotherugh, mming my head down again.


    "Meridia ¨C"


    m!


    "Artoria ¨C "


    m!


    "Jinn ¨C "


    m!


    "Kunou''s going to lose another father."


    That made me pause. My head was throbbing in pain, and I think I cracked my skull. I could barely hear him at this point over the buzzing my hears. "Kunou is going to have a much better father than I ever had." I shakily raised my middle finger at him with a smirk, before reeling my head back onest time and hitting it against the stone ground.


    My vision began to fade, and I felt my consciousness slipping.


    "It''s my win...." I said quietly as I heard the shouts of myrades rushing towards me.


    ***


    A Noble Phantasm that targets someone''s heart. Pretty damn dangerous for anyone who has any kind of regrets, insecurities, traumas or bad experiences.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone. Scathach is finally back.

 Chapter 195 - 186

    <h4>Chapter 195: Chapter 186</h4>


    POV Ruler (Jeanne D''Arc.)


    "Wilhelm!" I couldn''t help but shout as he stumbled out of Caster''s Noble Phantasm.


    Saber had already jumped towards Assassin who kept her at bay with various long ranged spells.


    "Master!" His Servant was already on him as soon as the invisible walls faded. She scooped him up, immediately dodging to the side as magical attacks carved through the ground.


    I was distracted, only barely noticing several objects fly by my head. I recognized the weapon, armament of the Church used to hunt things heretical to our teachings. des that carried within them the holy Sacraments to purge unholy entities.


    And they were going straight for Wilhelm.


    Wilhelm''s Servent tried to awkwardly wield her de to defend, until a loud explosive sound rang out.


    I nced to the Master of Saber ¨C Kairi as he introduced himself as. He held a gun aloft, smokeing out of it as the magical bullets tore into the Holy weapons.


    "NICE ONE, MASTER!" Mordred shouted, ck chains sweeping down at her as she did her best to dodge.


    I turned back to the other Ruler, my authority as the True Ruler of this war gave me his name, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, the knowledge of his identity filled my mind due to the Grail''s machinations. I swiped my banner at him with my full force, he brought up his Katana to block it, though he couldn''t hold it for but a moment before disengaging.


    "Why are you blocking me?" He looked surprised. "You''re supposed to be impartial; this is a fight betweenpetitors."


    "You are not supposed to be in this War." I countered, moving towards him again. I stabbed my banner towards his mid-section, but he swept it away with his word. "I am within my rights to remove you due to your origins as thest war''s Ruler."


    He flicked his offhand, more ck Keys appeared between his fingers as he shed them down at me. I twirled my banner, blocking them with ease, and knocked the follow up de to the side. He took that moment to try and throw them again towards Wilhelm. I mmed my banner down, the Holy Light enveloped me as I gathered it and thrust forward, shattering the ck Keys before they could gain any meaningful distance.


    "WHY?" He looked utterly dumbfounded. "You''re protecting him!? He''s a demon!" Shirou shouted. "You follow the Lord''s teachings, he''s our enemy!"


    "He''s my friend!" I swung my banner, hitting him in the stomach, blood flowed out his mouth as he got rocketed towards a nearby pir. "He doesn''t deserve condemnation for being born what he is." I mmed my banner down, looking at him get up, wiping the blood trailing down the corner of his mouth.


    He was nice to me. Even with his relentless teasing, it never held any malice or malicious intent. He helped me when I was in need, and made sure I was taken care of. He even called me a friend....so what if he wasn''t fully human? He asked me before if I would think any less of him if I found out he was a demon. In hindsight, I could remember him looking a little sheepish when asking me that question, but my answer had not changed.


    "I''m trying to save the world, and you''re protecting a defiler of it!" He swept his hand through the air, anger clear on his face. "You don''t deserve to be called a Saint." He sneered.


    "I never called myself a Saint." I met his gaze. "I only did what I thought was right in my heart. And right now ¨C" I tilted my banner back down, it''s sharp pointing lining up with him. " ¨C It''s telling me to protect him from you."


    "Foolish." He growled, turning towards Assassin who still sat on her throne. "Assassin!" he shouted, as if amand for action.


    "I grew bored of this anyways." Assassin raised her hand as Mordred could not approach with the various spells falling down on her and those ck chains constricting her every movement. "My poison will liquify your insides. Die in the most painful manner possible." At various spots around the room, gas began to burst out.


    "Friendly fire! Friendly fire!" Caster shouted, but was otherwise ignored.


    The areas that looked like they were patchworked together, were devoid of the poisonous gasses, but there was still enough that the ce began to visibly fill.


    "No...." I gasped out, watching this unfold. I turned towards The others who didn''t look like they had a means to deal with this. My Noble Phantasm should be able to protect them if ¨C


    "You wanted to remove me from the war, then please stay with me until the end then." Shirou gave a deceptively kind smile, sword in in hand, blocking my way back.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    I groggily opened my eyes, faintly feeling someone tugging at me, and lots of shouts going on. My head hurt bad, and my vision was really blurry, not to mention the ringing in my eyes.


    Concussion? Most definitely.


    [d you''re back, brat.]


    Ddraig...?


    [No time for that, you''re in danger.] Ddraig''s voice sounded urgent. [Chug a Health potion, and use that spell you used on that Hydra back in Kyoto.]


    The spell from Kyoto...Hydra....poison?


    My head was spinning, and it was hard to concentrate on any one thing. I followed hismands, shuffling around awkwardly and shakily pouring a health potion into my mouth. I think what little Magical Energy Avalon had left was working its magic as well.


    Maybe I should ¨C


    [Focus, use spell.]


    Right, right.


    I took a breath, and whatever was supporting me shifted. I heard a familiar voice, but I couldn''t really acknowledge it at the moment.


    Taking Talismans out of my Ring, I awkwardly threw them into the air. "God of the east sea, Amei. God of the west sea, Shukuryou. God of the south sea, Kyojou. God of the north sea, Gukyou. Gods of the seven seas, fend off a hundred demons and drive back the fierce disaster."


    My breathing picked up, and I felt increasingly light headed, even more so, but I didn''t feel the spell actualize.


    [You''re still holding a Talisman.]


    Oh.....right.


    I fell to my knees and pped it on the ground. "Order." I finished the casting.


    Even with my vision foggy, I could see the glowing pentagram that formed on the ground, and looking up, the blurry one that took to the ceiling.


    [Good, now heal yourself.]


    I continued to follow his directions, calling upon the strongest healing spell I knew and ced it against my head.


    The ringing began to subside, and my vision started returning to normal and the whole world wasn''t spinning anymore.


    I could feel my Aura working fully since I was no longer in that mental world. Working in tangent with my own healing and the effects of the Healing Potion.


    "Raikou?" I looked up at my Servant holding onto me.


    "Master." She looked very happy to see me lucid.


    I still had a killer headache, but I don''t think my skull was cracked anymore.


    I surveyed the room. Jeanne was trading blows with Shirou, and Mordred was dashing around as Assassin tried to snipe at her with Magecraft.


    Looking up, it appeared my spell was purifying this poisonous gas that was seeping into the area.


    My eyes thennded on Caster who''s head slowly turned towards me.


    "Shakespeare." I growled, standing back up.


    "Haha, my boy, what a great showing." He pped awkwardly. Though that little bit of awkwardness disappeared after a moment, and a smirk adorned his face. "Well, I can tell when the curtain is beginning to fall."


    "I''m resisting the urge to run you through." I tried to remain calm, but my fists clenched tight.


    "I suppose I won''t be able to see the end of this magnificent y." He sighed, flipping his hair back. "For the record, you were perhaps my favorite actor in this production."


    "I am filled with joy." My dry tone was very evident by his mirthful chuckle. I was angry, but.....it was hard for me to bring up that rage that bubbled beneath the surface. At this point, I just wanted it to be over.


    "Caster, you pathetic hack, do something productive!" Assassin hissed towards her teammate.


    "Shut up you damn hag!" Mordred roared, slicing through some malevolent looking chains that shot out of the ceiling towards her. Another barrage of condensed Magical Energy in the form ofsers bombarded her as well.


    Her Lightning erupted as she tore through the magical attacks, but still was having trouble approaching the woman sitting on the throne.


    Caster hummed to himself, not even shaken by the res being sent his way, and the absolute blood lust that Raikou was projecting towards him. "I admit, I am partial to tragedies. I feel like they elicit a purer emotion to my audience." He turned to me and smirked again. "But I can enjoy the asional happy ending." He sent me a wink, taking out a quill.


    I raised an eyebrow, but my instincts were telling me not to do anything. That I wasn''t the target of his mischief. "My Ability, Enchant, allows me to add properties to personal items." He weirdly began to exin. "A ywright knows how to bring out the story in everything." He grinned, writing something, etching words into the stone of the throne room. "But, who says they all have to be beneficial?"


    He flicked his quill to the side, ink flying off. Almost immediately, the whole area shook, crack forming in the walls, on the ceiling, and even fissuring the ground.


    The word that appeared was easy to read.


    ''Shatter.''


    A simple word to bring down a ruler.


    How fitting for this man.


    "CASTER!" Assassin mmed her hands on her throne, a massive magic circle appeared above her head. The air shuddered at it discharged down at her own teammate.


    He didn''t fret, nor even try to dodge out of the way.


    "A gift, to a fan." His smile was somewhat warm as he looked at me once more. "Now, the curtain certainly beings to fall, and it''s time for my final bow." It was an exaggerated movement, his bow to the ''audience'' as the beam of power tore through the area he had been standing, eviscerating him on the spot.


    Dammit Shakespeare...how am I supposed to continue hating you after doing something like that?


    I shook my head as pieces of the ce began to fall down from above. This patchwork room that looked barely held together by Assassin''s will, it was unraveling at the seams.


    My lips curled up. "This is your ce of power, the reason you won''t leave your throne isn''t because of your arrogance. It''s because you can''t not only is it where you''re at your strongest, but you have to stay there to keep this ce together." I turned towards Assassin.


    What Shakespeare did, it diminished her in a way, her link to this ce was lessened as destruction engulfed it. That meant, she was weakened, even more than she was by having to hold this ce together like she had been before.


    Onest ''fuck you'' from the famous ywright himself.


    She sneered towards me but didn''t'' speak, her attacks towards Mordred picked up exponentially.


    "Kairi." I spoke towards the man who had been standing nearby, almost protectively. "Got amand seal left?


    He smirked, raising his hand up revealing two more. "Ready when you are."


    I took out the Staff of Magnus from my ring, mming it onto the ground. "Mordred." I called out, mming my staff down to create a shield around both me and Kairi for extra defense.


    Assassin''s eyes widened, perhaps sensing the danger. "Master!" She called out.


    "Assassin, by the power of this Command spell, defeat your opponents." Shirou called out while still fighting off Jeanne.


    The Magical energy around her burst forth, her fingers pushed together and a massive Magical Circle speared at the top of the ceiling, shattering my Pentagram that had been dealing with the lingering poison.


    Sheughed wildly. "Within my Throne Room, I can even summon one of the children of Tiamat!" She dered, a huge figure burst through the magic circle, seemingly appearing from an ancient age. "Basmu!" The snake-like creature that burst out roared at everyone. Liquid dripped from its body, disintegrating everything it touched.


    Debris falling all around us, the Snake''s eyes locked right onto us and swept down.


    "Raikou, as your master, I order you." I swiped my hand through the air. "Use as much Magical Energy as possible and release your Noble Phantasm!"


    She drew as much as she could through our link, and used the reserves she had left, her purple lightning crackled around her. "Ox-King Storm Call ¨C The inescapable of Heaven!" She called out, lighting bolts falling from the sky, and those clones of hers appearing once more.


    They all leapt up into the air, their divine lighting tearing into the creature made of that poisonous liquid. It roared in fury, in pain and anguish as Raikou''s Noble Phantasm made quick work of it.


    That thing, it was probably only at a fraction of its true power due to the conditions of her ce of power.


    "A child of Tiamat?" I scoffed. "Maybe so, but it was lessened to such a degree, it probably wouldn''t even qualify as a Divine Beast." I held my staff up. "Kairi." I called out.


    "Saber!" He shouted, holding his hand up. "By the power of thismand seal ¨C y the King!"


    Mordred''s aura magnified exponentially. A conceptual alignment with her own legend of ying a king. She exploded from the spot she was in, the remains of what was the Divine Beast were utterly disintegrated as she burst through, her de pushing right through Assassin''s heart in the blink of an eye.


    "AAAAAH." Assassin screamed, blood spraying from her mouth.


    "DIE YOU BITCH!" Mordred roared, pulling her sword upwards. Her sword sliced through Assassin''s upper body, and she copsed in her chair. There was no menacing derations, or heartfelt goodbyes, Assassin''s body began to dissipate.


    A moment was all it took for several ck Keys to fly towards Mordred.


    The knight jumped back, leaving behind her dissipating body, only for Shirou to jump up and reach out towards her. "Semiramis." He said quietly, but enough to be heard.


    Ah, that''s who Assassin was. It makes sense now.


    "It''s over, Shirou." Jeanne dered, walking up to us.


    "Why....." He looked up, watching her motes of mana disappear. "I''m trying to save everyone, why are you all trying to stop me." His gaze swept the room,nding on me. "You." He singled me out. "It''s your fault, it''s the machinations of evil that are standing in my way."


    "My fault?" I snorted. "Do you even know what ''saving the world'' means? Are you just going to wish on the grail and hope for the best?"


    "I would stop them from dying!" He shouted. "A world where everyone is happy, everyone is good, and everyone is perfect. There won''t be any death, no destruction." He eyes turned dark. "And I would exterminate all evil and create a new, pure world."


    "How utterly ridiculous." I spat out. "And you''re supposed to be a saint from my homnd? Do you have your head so far up your ass that you believe that bullshit?" I dismissed the shield, ignored the copsing building, and took steps towards him. "You want to take away free will, how is that fulfilling your duties to your God!?"


    "What would you know, demon?" He snarled.


    "More than you about how the world works." I rolled my eyes. "You want to take away humanities potential to make yourself feel better."


    "Potential?" He spat out. "What use would potential be when no one would ever be sad anymore, no one would ever have to worry about being killed, or dying, or losing those they cherish?"


    I shook my head. I almost pitied him. "You won''t take my word for it, then lets let your God be the judge." I looked into my ring. I chose this course of action because for some reason, I could feel a faint pulsing of a certain spear I had stashed away.


    For some odd reason, almost like a stray thought, I felt like I could actually touch it without being smote into dust.


    I summoned the Divine Spear out of my ring.


    "W-what!?" Shirou shielded his eyes, an action mimicked by the others as well.


    It was.....warm.


    The light of this spear I held in my hand. It wasn''t hurting me, but I could also feel that if I tried to use it, that would quickly change.


    No, it wasn''t supposed to be used by me right now.


    I turned towards Jeanne, who looked at me with befuddlement. "You lot can settle this between yourselves." I tossed it towards the Saintess.


    This seemed like more her fight at this point.


    "Wilhelm?" Jeanne squeaked out, catching the spear.


    "Longinus, the Spear of Destiny. That which pierced the side of Christ." I introduced the powerful armament.


    "Why do you have that?" Shirou looked at me in what looked like horror on his face.


    It''s not surprising, that''s probably one of the most powerful relics of their religion. And it was sitting in the hand''s of the son of Lucifer ¨C in their eyes that is.


    I ignored him and continued. "It even possesses a small piece of the big man himself."


    Jeanne hefted up the spear, and the world was dyed in a holy air. There was a strange resolve in her eyes, almost ignoring the fact that she held something that should be sacred to her beliefs. "Amakusa Shirou Tokisada." The spear slowly began to point towards the former Ruler Servant.


    Her words were...soft, yet they held a certain authority to them. The room shook more than it had before, the ceiling was ripped off in a gust of wind, and the sky outside bing ever so clear.


    I had wondered why this ce still persisted, but I didn''t have time to create a concrete theory. Perhaps just due to the residual power that was running this ridiculous Noble Phantasm, and it had yet to run its course.


    My thoughts were quickly cut away as I noticed the phenomenon in the sky.


    The clouds above began to swirl around us. It felt like a higher presence descended upon the entire area.]


    Oh shit.


    Was the piece of the Abrahamic God inside the spear resonating with his counterpart in this world.....uh oh.


    A massive pir of light mmed down from the heavens, epassing both the Saints, the Ruler Servants who walked behind the banner of the same God.


    This light, it stopped a fraction of an inch infront of me, almost like it was being.....considerate of my unique nature.


    As the light began to fade away, Jeanne stood there, standing upright with the spear at her side and Shirou was on his knees, looking up at the sky.


    "Was I really wrong?" He asked quietly. "I just wanted to save people from suffering." His head slumped down and his body broke down into motes of mana, drifting into the wind.


    Jeanne watched him drift away a somber look on her face. "Your heart was in the right ce, Shirou. Rest now."


    Leave it to Jeanne to look at the best in people, even when they try to kill you and doom the world.


    I wonder what happened in that moment of literal divine intervention.


    Actually, I don''t want to know.


    I''m done, this has been a trying few days.


    At this point, I just wanted to summon the woman I love, and hug her until my arms fall off.


    Now where the hell was that Grail?


    ***


    Canon Omake ¨C Fight Club.


    Artoria POV


    "I don''t understand, why do these ¨C Super Sentai¨C not simply use theirrge machine to step on this enemy? Would it not cause them much less problems, and the city would suffer far less."


    "Stop trying to analyze it, it''s a show meant to just turn off your brain and enjoy." Rin huffed, draping herself over the sofa. She had a particr tough workout through my own efforts, so I allowed her this time of respite.


    "These people know nothing of true martial arts or fighting." I frowned, watching them jump around and make some very disastrous ''attacks'' that left them open for many different counters.


    "It''s a show, they''re actors." Rin replied.


    "Mayhaps they should study their craft better. Some time properly spent learning their roles would do them well." I knew I was...nit picking, but I guess it was hard to separate the idea I had of ''actors'' and what this era considers as such.


    Suddenly, the door burst open. I smiled seeing Wilhelm walk in with Izanami at his side. It always made me feel good when he had such a genuine smile on his face. I feel like it is not often that he can simply ''y'' without any overt responsibilities hanging over his head.


    The way they wereughing and whispering to each other, it was nice.


    I don''t think they even noticed as, lost in their own little world.


    "Did you get the stuff?" I heard Izanami''s light whisper.


    "Yeah, it was hard to get protection in the proper size." Wilhelm replied.


    "Especially with the workout its going to be getting. Quality matters, otherwise it just feels strange and ufortable." Izanami''s voice disappeared upstairs.


    Rin turned to me. "So...did you hear what they heard?"


    "I did." I nodded.


    "And you''re not going to be suspicious?" She quirked an eyebrow.


    "If Wilhelm wishes to finally make a move on Izanami, I would not say anything." I replied. I enjoyed Izanami''s friendship and I would not be remiss if they sought something....more.


    Honestly, I thought they were already in a rtionship a few times now.


    "Seriously? Not just the least bit curious?" Rin tried to goad me.


    "Mayhaps, just a little bit." I admitted. "But I don''t believe ¨C"


    "Lets go easedrop." Rin stood up.


    "Rin!?" I blurted out as she was already walking up stairs.


    "What? If Schweinorg is going to boink while we''re literally down here and in earshot, he deserves to get a little embarrassed."


    That''s not.....untrue I suppose. It is rather rude if he wishes to engage in something....intimate while we are right here.


    "Maybe just a little peek." I whispered.


    I wish to see if they truly crossed that line of friendship into something else. Jinn had made a wager on it and I would not lose out this time.


    We quietly snuck up to the door they entered, pressing against it.


    "You have the batteries?" Izanami''s voice echoed out.


    "Yeah, got some extra just in case." Wilhelm replied. "Make sure you get the Video Camera set up at a good angle. I want to make sure all the good parts get in this."


    "Yes, I believe we will gather many views with this." Izanami seemed to agree with him. "Just make sure to blur our faces, I would die of embarrassment if someone I know saw me doing.....this for the world to see."


    I felt my cheeks turn warm, and I saw Rin also turn a bright shade of red.


    T-this debauchery!


    I cannot allow this to stand, I must intervene. unting something like this for the whole world to see? That is going to for Wilhelm!


    I stood up straight, and quickly pushed the door open. I expected something.....lewd, clothes thrown on the ground and sensitive areas expose. Instead, I had several pairs of eyes now on me.


    "What is this!?" I squeaked out in confusion and my own built up embarrassment.


    Wilhelm and Izanami shared a look.


    "He made me do it." She quickly replied. "Forced me, ckmail."


    "You traitor!"


    "I couldn''t stop him."


    "She''s lying, it was all her idea."


    "What the hell is this?" Rin finally worked past her shock as I too evaluate the scene before me.


    It was Sir Wiggles, standing upon his hind legs with his front paws in....boxing gloves. He had a pair of little shorts around his waist, and there was a makeshift arena around him with some strange device sitting opposite.


    "Are you.....making your Rabbit box a Roomba?" Rin asked inplete shock.


    ".....no?" Wilhelm wasn''t very convincing with his reply.


    ***


    Alright, so I''ll just say I read everyone''sments aboutst chapter and ept the good and bad. This is my first story, I''ve said it before, learning experiences all around. Mistakes will be had, and I''ll do my best to learn from them.


    A reminder, I will not be posting this Sunday.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 196 - 187

    <h4>Chapter 196: Chapter 187</h4>


    I was tired, no, that wasn''t a strong enough word. Even fatigue didn''t quite hit the mark. Physically and mentally, I was damn well exhausted. In another situation, I would have gleefully make notes about how the Boosted Gear felt after being utilized for so long, and the side effects of such a burden on my body.


    But at the moment, I wanted to justy my head down and go to sleep.


    Preferably between my teacher''s thighs.


    I miss my Sc¨¢thach.


    "Are you sure this is the right way?" I turned towards Jeanne who was.....sorta leading us, but not really. It was more like she was headed towards the Grail and we were just following along because ''technically'' she wasn''t allowed to help us.


    My words broke the awkward silence that closed in around us. "Are you questioning my ability now?" She looked at me dryly. "Not before you tied me up and used me like apass?"


    "That doesn''t sound like something I''d do." I smiled at her.


    I''m d she wasn''t treating me any different. I couldn''t deny that I had thoughts like that, worry that perhaps she wouldn''t like me when my origins was revealed.


    I held back a sigh at the thought. I knew If I continued down this mental path, I would lose myself in it when I needed to be more focused on the moment.


    [Maybe you should find a therapist or something?]


    I almost wanted to scoff at his response. Not because I looked down on getting some mental health help, but who would be able to deal with this hot mess? Find some random Shrink ¨C Hey doc, I''m a half human / devil hybrid, oh and I''m part dragon too because I got one in my soul and gave up my heart to him. Did I mention I''m also the reincarnation of the man I call grandfather? By the way, I killed the woman I fell for, and I''m dating the female version of King Arthur. Also, I banged an Eldritch Goddess.


    [Don''t get snippy with me, it was just a suggestion.]


    I took a breath, and let myself calm down.


    Sorry, just kind of wound up with no outlet at the moment.


    You''re right, I shouldn''t keep pushing everything down and try to ignore things.


    But, thoughts forter. At the risk of sounding like I''m procrastinating, I really do need to focus on other things at the moment.


    "We''re here." Jeanne stated, pushing open tworge door that led inside what appeared to be a Workshop.


    "So this ce managed to survive?" I muttered. "How long will this structure remain since Assassin is gone?"


    "Things should be settled by the wars end." Jeanne replied, as if a fact. I guess her ''instinct'' was telling her it''s fine.


    "Shit, is that the Grail?" Mordred poked her head over, practically pushing past both of us. "Looks freakin weird."


    "Huh, yeah, didn''t think it''d look like that." Kairi muttered as well, poking his Sun sses a few times.


    I knew his sses were a Mystic Code, but I still don''t know what it does, and I''m really curious now.


    The Grail itself looked like a sort of statue melded with arge stone b.


    "Did you expect a golden chalice?" I chuckled, stepping into the room.


    "Kinda." Mordred shrugged. "I guess I pictured it how the ''Holier than thou'' asshole described the real thing."


    "You mean Ghad?" I took a minute to process what she said. That was the guy from the legend of retrieving the actual Holy Grail, not this thing that Mages named to poke at the Church.


    She scoffed. "Had a stick up his ass the size of father''snce. Always strutting around like he was better than everyone."


    "Huh." I Blinked at her words. "Learned something new, I guess. Artoria hasn''t mentioned him much."


    "Not surprising, no one really liked spending a lot of time with him. He had that sort of personality that made you feel inferior just by existing next to him." Mordred started walking towards the Grail. "God forbid you say a naughty word or litter, cause he''d be giving you a lecture about ''proper'' etiquette." I could feel the sarcasm in her voice.


    I''m happy that she''s still open with me. Even if Kairi is keeping me at arms length, always making sure I''m within his vision.


    I took a moment to look up at Raikou who gave me a bright smile. I allowed myself a moment, closing my eyes and leaned on her shoulder. {Thank you for epting my summons} I sent through the link. I know I said it multiple times already, but she was the best Servant I could have asked for.


    {Thank you for summoning me.} She returned.


    I stood up straight, opening my eyes again. It seemed like everyone was hesitant to actually approach the thing. Even Jeanne was staring at it with a nk expression.


    "Yo, can I get my spear back?" I said, breaking Jeanne from her strange trance.


    She instinctively hugged it closer to herself. "Where exactly did you get this?" Her tone sounded rather usatory.


    "Stole it." I grinned without a hint of shame.


    Jeanne puffed up, giving me a cute re. "Stealing is wrong."


    "Eh, he was trying to kidnap my daughter, so I''d say it''s justified."


    Jeanne blinked at me. Before sighing and handing it back over. I could tell it didn''t ''appreciate'' being held by me, but allowed me to do so. Again, I felt like if I tired to wield it, it would probably do something to retaliate.


    Well, back in the ring you go.


    Looking back at Jeanne, she had a strange look on her face. Did I forget to mention to her that I have a daughter? It was mentioned when I was.... So she should have heard it? I guess processing takes a moment.


    "...Just don''t abuse it please."


    "No thoughts of keeping it? Big G probably whispered in your ear through it."


    "Must you call him that." She huffed.


    "Actually...now that you know the truth, I kinda do." I chuckled awkwardly.


    "What''s up with that exactly? You a demon or something?" Mordred came in the subtly of a dragon.


    Even Kairi looked like he was stopping himself from facepalming.


    Well, I prefer this over the awkwardness of the walk over here. "Half Devil." I decided to be honest. "Mom was a normal human, and I thought I was too up until a few years ago. She died and I lived by myself for most my life. I only learned that father dearest was keeping a firm hand on my situation, so I didn''t wander too far form the ss prison he set up." I waived my hand flippantly.


    Was I bitter?


    Yeah.


    I wasn''t as bitter as when I first left, and I feel like I am in a much better ce since my first visit to Kyoto, but old memories were drudged up that I haven''t fully dealt with.


    "Got any cool powers?" Mordred seemed a bit interested, and Kairi looked like he was trying to not listen in too obviously.


    I held my finger up, my Power of Destruction formed at the tip with a little pop, like lighting as it crackled before sputtering out. "Bloodline ability ¨C Power of Destruction, destroys things conceptually."


    Hmm, it felt easier to manifest than thest time I tired without using the Sword as a catalyst. Filed that little tidbit down forter to investigate more.


    "That''s fuckin rad." She perked up.


    Never change Mordred.


    "I also got wings."


    "Shit, really?"


    I couldn''t hold back a grin at she earnestly seemed excited. I flexed my back a little, letting them pop out.


    "Awesome." She inspected them. "Just.....out of curiosity...is it possible to hold up another person while you fly?" She looked a little embarrassed to ask that.


    It was hard to resist the urge to give her a head pat. "If you want to go flying, I''ll take you when we settle everything." I whispered to her.


    "Idiot." She said quietly, looking away. "I never said I wanted to." Though her happy expression contradicted her words.


    I took a step forward, reluctantly leaving Raikou''s side. "So, Short Stuff, want to decide who''s the true winner, hmm?"


    Mordred quickly returned to her normal attitude and let out a snort. "Father would be upset if I killed his Queen."


    Which was Mordred''s way of saying she didn''t want to fight.


    So I shrugged, epting it for what it was.


    Walking up, I looked the Grail over.


    "Wilhelm." Jeanne spoke up. "Something is wrong with the Grail."


    I nced to her and back at the Grail. "Yeah, something is wrong with it. I didn''t notice until I got this close." I put my hand over it and began looking at its structure.


    My eyes widened as I realized what was happening. "Oh wow, we were cutting it close here."


    "Something wrong?" Kairi asked.


    "Yeah, Shirou managed to actually make a wish, albeit through some strange logic and round about way. But a wish all the same."


    "How, I thought someone had to be the winner?" Mordred looked confused.


    "Technically.....no." I scratched my cheek. "It''s little more than a big mana battery if you wanna get down to it. It''s main purpose ¨C the inception of its creation ¨C was to punch a hole to the Root using the path that Servantse when summoned. It utilizes a veryplex and finicky Magecraft known as Wishcraft to shape the mana into ''wishes''. I won''t bore you with the specifics, but essentially, it only needs a certain amount of power to actually utilize. The Apocrypha failsafe wasn''t the intended direction for the War, only a fail safe if someone tried to abuse it."


    "So we don''t have to fight until only one remains?"


    "Yes." Jeanne interjected. "Those are the rules to acquire the wish." She nced at me. "Regardless of the Grail''s ability to utilize its mechanism, you are not allowed to make a wish until you are the final Servant."


    "Hoh." Mordred looked a little amuse. "What If I want to anyways?" She seemed like she wanted to throw hands.


    "Saber." Kairi calmed her down. "Not right now.


    "Tch." She clicked her tongue but backed away.


    She really does like fighting.


    "Can you exin about ''cutting it close''?" Kairi spoke up again.


    "Yeah." I tapped on Grail. "He made a wish, but due to the roundabout way he was able to ovee the restraints and failsafes, it was taking a bit of time to actualize. I''d give it ¨C " I stared off for a moment, doing some calctions. " 8, maybe 10 minutes at most before it would go off."


    "And his wish would have been bad?"


    "Oh definitely." I nodded. "Maybe not immediately, but this time line would have been abandoned instantaneously by the corrective forces, letting it be pruned from the tree of possibilities."


    Kairi raised an eyebrow, noticeable even behind his sses but didn''tment.


    I suppose what I said wasn''t exactlymon knowledge. Maybe he needed a moment to think about what I said?


    I turned back around, focusing on the Grail. It wasn''t hard to undo the ''wish'' so to speak. Simple as cutting off the timer, and forcing the ''wish'' portion back into Magical Energy that the Grail was storing.


    Whatever he did, it was very smart, if a bit amateurish. He was definitely no mage, but the fact that he was able toe this far just spoke of his ability. A skill or Noble Phantasm perhaps?


    I took a small nce at Jeanne, before going back into the Grail and messing with some of the mechanisms. It was almost like riding a bike, I knew what most of this stuff did even if the memories of creating it didn''t exactly carry over from my past life.


    "Wilhelm." Jeanne spoke up, snaping her head at me. "What did you do?" She narrowed her eyes.


    I pursed my lips. "So, you noticed, huh?"


    Raikou was already by my side, looking ready for a fight. Mordred seemed ready, able to read the atmosphere quickly enough. Surprisingly, Kairi reacted before both of them, taking a strategic position in the rear, out of the line of sight.


    "This was always your n, wasn''t it?" Jeanne asked.


    "Yeah." I said quietly, admitting to it.


    "Is it worth it?"


    "It is." I nodded.


    "Yes, I remember what you told me your wish was." She let out a sigh, not looking ready to fight at all.


    I didn''t want it toe to this, I really don''t want to fight her, especially after everything that happened.


    "Technically.....what you did is not against the rules." She rubbed her temples.


    I blinked, perking up at what she said.


    "There are specifically no rules about severing my connection to the Grail." Her tone came off as a bit annoyed. "Probably because it was assumed that would not be possible. But I suppose it was never taken into ount someone would have such in depth knowledge of its working, and be willing to interfere in the first ce with thebined skill to pull it off so quickly."


    Zelretch is the only one alive who has the knowledge to do this so seamlessly, and it would be idiotic to assume he would meddle just to do this specific action. It took Medea weeks to finagle a means to summon Sasaki Kojiro, and that was merely abusing the summoning functions.


    While I was fixing things, I managed to snip the little thread that linked her to the Grail so she couldn''t use hermand seals to order our Servants. Normally, the bond between Servant and Master is contained within themand Seals, which is how they can be ordered through their use. Otherwise, you couldmand other Servants to die, which would be just stupid. A Ruler Servant is connected to the Grail, and the Grail is connected the Servants, this link is how Ruler canmand other Servants with her Command seals.


    So I cut her link to the Grail.


    It wasn''t very hard.


    She was right, technically it wasn''t against the rules. But at the same time, there was enough wiggle room that she could usibly interfere if she wished.


    There were some other things I needed to do. Jeanne looked at me intently as I continued to mess with it. Besides cutting her connection, I needed to sort of ''unanchor'' it from the local Leylines. Again, not too difficult, just a bit....meticulous.


    So I did the most obvious thing and stabbed Mirage straight into it.


    "What are you doing!?" Jeanne squeaked out.


    "Have you never seen Magus do meticulous calctions before, I swear." I dramatically rolled my eyes, a small grin on my face.


    In seriousness though, I was letting Mirage handle the calctions, and it would be done much ¨C much faster this way.


    "Hey, Shorty." I turned towards Mordred.


    "Don''t call me that." She said evenly. "What do you want?"


    "You trust me?"


    "Against every instinct I have."


    I smiled, turning towards Kairi. "You trust me?"


    "At this point, I can''t afford not to trust you."


    "Again, that''s fair." Kairi is a very pragmatic person. "Don''t'' freak out."


    "Freak out about what?"


    I put a hand on Mirage, then one on Raikou, giving onest smirk towards Jeanne.


    Her eyes widened. "WILHELM! Don''t you dare!" She shouted as I pulled the Grail, myself and Raikou through a portal.


    ***


    Sorry for thete chapter, just kind of took it slow since it was Friday. As a reminder, i won''t be posting on Sunday.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 197 - 188

    <h4>Chapter 197: Chapter 188</h4>


    Raikou and I spilled out of the portal, the Grail right behind us. I stood up without much thought, dusting myself off.


    Raikou though, she looked around, prepared for battle, hand on her sword and her eyesnding on the third person in the room.


    I turned to look at Zelretch who didn''t raised his head. Instead, he calmly flipped to the next page of the book he was reading. "Wilhelm." He spoke softly, still not rising to meet my gaze. "Did you bring a Holy Grail into my study?"


    I looked at back therge device, then back at him. "No."


    He slowly raised his head, giving me a deadpanned look.


    [I think he bought it.]


    Thanks, Ddraig.


    "Ddraig made me do it." I quickly thought up a usible excuse.


    [Oh, fuck you.]


    "Yes, I''m sure." He drawled.


    "Nailed it." I did a little fist pump.


    [It''s times like this that I remember why I hate you.]


    Is it because of my handsomeness?


    [Die.]


    Jealous dragon is jealous.


    "Introductions?" I offered, ignoring Ddraig''s obvious jealously.


    "By all means." He gestured for me to continue.


    "Raikou." I put a hand on her shoulder. She had eased up upon learning how friendly we were with one another, but she was still tense being in an unfamiliar ce with an unfamiliar person. "This is my Grandfather ¨C Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg." I saw her face scrunch up briefly as she began to understand the situation. "Gramps, this is Minamoto-no-Raikou, my Berserker Servant."


    Zelretch closed his book and stood up. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Madame. Your legend is one of renown and I''m honored to have the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings in my home."


    I raised an eyebrow at the smooth motions, earning a grin from him.


    Raikou looked like she stiffened, almost warring with herself before quickly bowing. "It''s a pleasure to meet my Son''s Grandfather."


    Zelretch blinked, looking at me, almost like he was using me of something.


    "I have absolutely zero shame."


    "Why did I expect any different?" He sighed, shaking his head. "Now, onto the matter of the Grail in my study."


    "Weird, how did that get here?" I gave Zelretch a cheeky little smile.


    He looked at me sternly before finally breaking out into a little grin himself. "So I take it you won?"


    "Did the Grail tip you off?"


    "No need to be a smart ass." He lightly chided.


    I let out sigh. ''You''re right, sorry. Just been a little....out of it for a while now."


    Zelretch''s eyes softened. "We''ll talkter." He stated, before moving on. "It appears as if a wish was attempted to be made?" He more so asked to himself than to me as he ced a hand on it. "Hmm, you did a good job of diverting it before the main systems activated."


    "Yeah, a Master who was actually a Ruler Servant from the previous war was messing with it." I nodded, not even surprised at how easily he deduced everything. "I was quick to remove its anchors from the leylines. I did a once over, but I was a little bit in a rush, anything damaged?"


    "No, you did a good job. Perhaps a bit heavy handed, but everything looks to be working."


    "Good, good." I said quietly to myself. "I wanted to bring it out of that World-Line to mitigate any potential hazardous circumstances."


    "Not a bad idea." He epted my reasoning. "The Grail is trying to ping where it is and reestablish itself with the local Leylines, the transference over World-Lines threw it for a bit of a loop."


    "Yup, figured it would buy me a bit before I had to do anything with it."


    "Hmm, you have any other important matters besides the Grail itself?" He questioned.


    "I thought you would already know." It wasn''t strange for him to watch certain events unfold.


    "Do you think I spy on you all the time?" He snorted. "I trust you, Wilhelm. I don''t need to keep a constant eye on your actions. Yes, I do take a peek every now and then, but that is just the worrying old man in me that needs to check up."


    "Oh." I muttered.


    It was nice to hear those words.


    "To answer your question.'' I continued, taking a step towards the grail and giving it a flick. "I have a few Servants I offered alternatives to fighting."


    "Impressive." He looked interested. "What were you able to cajole out of these Heroic Spirits?"


    "Saber of Red is Mordred." I started.


    "Well that''s an easy one to guess." He let out a chuckle. "Does Artoria know?"


    "Of course."


    "Goodd." He nodded in approval. "I take it she''s going to be sticking around?"


    "Yup." I smiled bright, walking about over my own Servant. "Of course, Raikou here is staying with me." I wrapped my hands around her, giving her a nice hug.


    "Master." She beamed at me, always weing any kind of affection. She turned to the old man. "If it isn''t any trouble, Grandfather."


    I think both me and Zelretch were amused by her suddenly calling him ''Grandfather''. But he didn''t mind it, so I didn''t correct her. Honestly, I think she was referring to him like that for my benefit.


    "Of course." Heughed. "To have another Granddaughter added, it''s always a happy asion." As the words left his mouth, he noticed the small reaction Raikou had then gave me another look.


    "Yes, Raikou ¨C ''Berserker''" I made sure to emphasize her ss. "Has been absolutely wonderful, and I am forever thankful for her answering my summons."


    Zelretch could catch the obvious cue. "I see." Well, I wasn''t exactly subtle. "These others, tell me of your thoughts and their identities."


    "I mentioned Mordred, she''s an obvious case." He nodded so I continued. "Then we have Achilles and Atnta."


    "Greek heroes, not surprising. Achilles would be a powerful foe, and Atnta is renowned as well." He rubbed his chin. "And they opted to stick around?"


    "Yup. I may have dropped Medea''s existence to the Huntress."


    "Not a bad idea, but you should go speak with the Witch before you just drop them on herp."


    "I''m not that inconsiderate." I scoffed. "And I''d like to remain on Medea''s good side." I plucked the sleeve of my shirt. "She does amazing work."


    "I had been meaning to ask your source. Perhaps I will pay her a visit at some point as well." He mused. "But I digress, who else?"


    "....Jack the Ripper." I decided to just rip the Band-Aid off.


    "Wilhelm."


    "Yes?"


    "Are you offering to let a Serial Killer run around in a second life."


    "Okay, hear me out on this one."


    "Is Jack the Ripper perhaps a busty older women?"


    "What!?"


    "Well, I noticed you have a certain.....type."


    "NO! She''s a little girl."


    "Wilhelm! For shame." He wagged his finger. "Do I need to have a conversation about consent with you?"


    "Okay, now I know you''re fucking with me."


    He began to cackle. "Alright, alright. Exin it to me properly."


    I let out a huff of annoyance. "Jack the Ripper ¨C Assassin of Red ¨C Just wants to stay with her Master, who had been forced into the role. Jack''s summoner was a Magus who though to provide the proper ''setting'' for her summoning."


    "I assume he''s dead?" Zelretch''s face turned dark.


    "Oh yes, Jack made sure of that." I nodded.


    "Good." Zelretch epted my words. "I do hate those who drag the mundane peoples into our world against their wills."


    I could understand his sentiments, and even share them. Those who chose this life, like the Masters of each faction, I would not feel bad about cutting them down if it came to it. If they were going to fight to the death, I would respect their decision. Assassin''s master? I would feel a lot of regret to have to do anything to her.


    Obviously, I have expressed my distaste for wonton killing before.


    "Very well." Zelretch held no arguments against my decisions. "I suppose you have a n?"


    "I do, would it be okay to bring them here briefly?"


    "I would be delighted to host them. It''s not every day I can talk to Heroic Spirits." He perked up. "All these Grail Wars that go on, I rarely ever get to actually interact with them. It will be an interesting experience."


    And it goes unsaid that he could deal with any troublemakers if they wished to test him.


    "I guess I''ll go talk to Medea and make sure everything is good with her."


    "Off you go." He yfully shooed me away. "But, I wouldn''t mind having Raikou keep mepany. I would love to have a talk with my newest granddaughter." He sent me a quick wink.


    I understood his intention. He wanted a better grasp of her Mad Enhancement. "Raikou." I said sweetly.


    "Master?" She perked up happily.


    "How about keeping my Grandfatherpany? I''d love for you both to get along."


    She looked a little conflicted, I knew she didn''t like not being at my side, but at the same time, I was rtively safe now that the ''war'' was over.


    "If.....that is your desire." She strained herself a little bit even if she didn''t hate the idea.


    I went in for another hug to sooth her. Having Zelretch get a better idea of what''s wrong will help when we deal with her Madness. I''d rather not go with a heavy handed method of surgically removing it from her Saint Graph, so another set of eyes on the issue was always appreciated.


    "I''ll be back soon." I promised her. "And there''s no danger, I''m perfectly safe and a master of running away."


    "Master, you usually run into the danger." She said dryly, but epted my intent.


    "I''ll be back soon, okay?"


    "Please summon me if you run into any problems."


    "Of course." I smiled towards her before ripping open a portal to Fuyuki.


    ***


    "Well, well. And here I thought I was forgotten." Assassinzily sat on the steps of the temple entrance.


    I noticed him as soon as I stepped out of my portal.


    "Sorry, who are you again?"


    "Funny." He actually had a light smile on his face. "Stop by for a spar? I don''t see that little lion with you anywhere."


    "Unfortunately, here on a little bit of business."


    "Ah." He decided toy down, almost ignoring me. "Not interested then, the Witch is inside if you need her."


    "Well, it may involve you too if you want."


    "A good fight or alcohol involved?"


    "Kinda sorta." I gave the gesture to go along with it. "Fought in a Grail War in another world, a few of the Servants might being over here to stay."


    He perked up immediately. "More servants you say? Any of them like fighting?"


    "Oh yeah, a couple of them would love to fight all day with you."


    Sasaki let out augh. "How exciting. What are you their names, wait." He stopped himself. "I don''t want to ruin the fun, let it be a surprise." He stood back up, almost jittery. "Really, the only thing that would make this day better would be if someone gave me some Sake."


    "..."


    "Hint, hint." He added.


    I rolled my eyes, takin out a bottle and tossing it to him. "I''ll go see Medea, take care." I waived him off as I started up the steps.


    "I''ll need to start thinking up strategies for other Servants now." I heard him mutter as he sat back down, sword in one hand, and Sake in the other.


    Well, as long as he''s happy.


    I always did like this temple. It was a nice little spot in human society that still carried a sense of ''mystery'' about it, especially in this modern city.


    "Come for another request, brat?" Medea was leaning against the door to the temple.


    "Maybe I came here to pay respects? You don''t own the temple."


    She pursed her lips, let out an amused snort. "You need something, spit it out."


    "Need is a strong word."


    "So is patience. It''s quickly devolving into annoyance."


    "Someone''s high strung."


    "Yes, well, I was spending a nice ''evening'' with my husband when I felt fluctuations of space at the temple."


    I blinked in response. "Oh, did I.....?"


    "Yes." She said dryly. "Now, spit it out."


    "Shit. Now I feel bad." I scratched my head. No decent person wants to be a cock block. "Um, long story short, fought in a war, some Servants are going to stick around here. One of them knows you."


    She paused and the air around her turned very cold, threateningly so. "Wilhelm." She said very sharpy, even without a sarcastic nick name attached. "If you bring that blonde buffoon ¨C"


    "Atnta." I decided to nip that right in the bud. I was....vaguely aware of Medea''s life, and I was in no way going to mention Jason around her.


    Just as quickly as the tension came, it all but evaporated. "Big sis....?" She muttered, quickly getting lost in her own thoughts.


    "I didn''t want to just drop that on you." I decided to not beat around the bush. "If you''re ufortable, I can find somewhere else to put them."


    She slowly turned to me. "Why are you being so considerate?"


    I was a little caught off guard. "Why wouldn''t I be? I thought we were.... perhaps not friends....but friendly? Maybe a little more than acquaintances? I''m still expecting that invite to your wedding." I said with a chuckle.


    "You''vepletely ruined the mood for me." She scowled, crossing her arms. "And I can''t even find it in myself to be angry about it." She let out a cute huff and I briefly was sad she was taken and happy in her rtionship. "Atnta and I didn''t exactly separate on the best of terms."


    "That isn''t a ''no''." I pointed out.


    "It was not." She agreed. "But I am unsure if I want to see her." She sort of let the tension leave her body that she had built up. Looking down at her hands she let out a sigh. "I did many terrible things in my life, some of them I can dismiss as not my fault, but others I will never deny. I knew her as a young girl, I knew her as we sailed on the Seas. And when she stood with the others to send me away, I was heartbroken, betrayed. I spiraled into madness, losing myself, bing a ¨C Witch. She never bothered to understand why I was behaving so erratically, to even attempt to contemte my absurd actions like killing my brother. The machinations of the Goddess who controlled me, and she never cared to figure out why I was so different from that little girl she knew."


    Medea let out a self-deprecatingugh. "I hate her. I hate that she could have saved me from bing --- " She waived her hands down at herself. "¡ªthis and didn''t. I thought of her as a sister, and she was content to stand aside and be one of those who condemned me for actions that were not my own." Her hands balled into fists. "But....I still can''t help but miss my big sis."


    She snapped her head up, a resolve in her eyes. "Bring her here. I want.....to no longer hold onto my regrets. I am happy, I have a loving fianc¨¦, and I want my sister to see the life I''ve created after wing my way out of my own despair."


    I didn''t expect her to open up to me like that. And frankly, I don''t think she expected that either. Maybe it was weighing on her and I was just happened to be an ear avable at the right time for her to let out her own frustrations? Medea seemed like the kind of person that wouldn''t want to burden the man she loves with all her ''issues''.


    "I''ll see it done." I promised her.


    "....thank you." She said quietly before turning and going back inside.


    ***


    Wrapping up the loose ends of the war.


    So, I said I was taking Sunday off, but it turned out that the event was actually happening Saturday. Which i discovered only a few hours before I was supposed to be there. So quest minute scrambling to get a gift, which meant no sleep. It all worked out, even if i was exhausted, but that leads me into mytest situation. It seems I have most likely contracted Covid, as i''m sick with many of the symptoms. Going to get a test done tomorrow to be sure, but it''s very likely at this point. So, i guarantee no chapters this week while i deal with this, but i''ll try my best.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 198 - 189

    <h4>Chapter 198: Chapter 189</h4>


    The talk with Medea had been.....productive.


    I wanted to make time to spend more time with her, and get to know her fianc¨¦. I felt like I would get along with her well, maybe even be true friends in the future. I don''t know if I''m one to say this, but she needed more friends.


    Well, part of that problem might be solved when her oldpanion came knockin.


    And despite everything, Achilles was an alright guy.


    In general, I think their presence in this world would be beneficial. I also doubted they would be against the ''fight'' that is on the horizon in several decades.


    I decided to dismiss the idle thoughts as the Yggdmillennia castle came into view. Structure that had clearly weathered many dangers and was destroyed in various ces.


    A chuckle almost escaped my lips as I noticed some of the Elemental effects were still persistant after this long.


    There was no mboyance in me as I walked straight through the front gate. The eyes thatnded on me, the recognizable people of this Magus family all stopped to stare.


    "Have youe to gloat?" Darnic spoke up, his previous respectful tone was gone. "Or simply finish us off?"


    There were many people wearing their uniforms, even most of the Masters were up and about doing work to repair the ce.


    "I took the Grail, and the War is over." I decided to get to the point.


    "Congrattions." He said dryly.


    Over to the Side, a girl in a wheelchair was nked by a man that shared simr looks, perhaps a brother? "I made a promise to Chiron, I want to fullfill it." I ignored his tone as it was understandable and I wasn''t in the mood to kick him while he was down.


    He was an arrogant Magus, probably part of the lot I dislike the most, but he hadn''t exactly done anything of note to anger me.


    I wasn''t cruel for the sake of it.


    "Do what you want." He grumbled. "It''s not like we could stop you anyways." He kind of dismissed my presence.


    Yeah, I guess I really had them over the barrel right now and they werepletely at my mercy.


    I shook my head walking over to the girl who looked frightened but tried to put up a brave front.


    "You saw it through him, right?" I asked her.


    "I did." She nodded hesitantly. "....Can you really heal me?" Thest part was very quiet.


    "Well, I have absolute confidence in finding a method. But for the immediate time frame, I have a couple things that ''might'' work without any side effects. So, I''d figured I would try those before resorting to more resource intensive options."


    "Do you even know what''s wrong?" She didn''t quite believe me by the look on her face.


    "I do not, and I would have to take a look." I replied, knowing exactly what that would mean to another Magus. Truthfully, no Magus would allow another to do something like this unless they absolutely trusted them. It would be too easy for me to slip something inside her without her knowing if I was given free rein to inspect her physical ailments so deeply.


    She furrowed her brow before letting out a sigh. "I couldn''t stop you even if I wanted. And...Chiron trusted you to help me."


    I smiled lightly at the mention of his name. "Chiron was a good man."


    "Yes....he was." She whispered. "Very well." She held out her arm to me. "Please take a look."


    I gently grasped her arm with both my hands and closed my eyes to begin pulsing my Magical Energy inside, casting Structural Grasp and forcing an image of her lower body.


    "Oh." My eyes suddenly shot open. "That is unfortunate, I''m sorry you''ve had to suffer through this." I was genuine in my sympathy. "I could see two Magic Circuits that are disfigured in your legs. They are functioning, but they''ve caused nearly irreparable damage to your physical body in their locations."


    "Can you heal her?" The young man next to her spoke up, almost anxious with the look on his face.


    "Caules!" She hissed at him and he shrinked down.


    I eyed him and noticed his right hand covered in bandages, blood visibly seeping through. "It''s alright." I made sure to ease the tension. "You''re her brother?" I asked.


    "Um....yes....M-Mr. Schweinorg." He stuttered.


    "A former Master?" I questioned him.


    "Yes, Sir." He straightened up as if standing at attention. "I was the Master of Berserker."


    "Oh." I perked up. "If you don''t mind me asking, what was her identity?" She was wearing a wedding dress of gods sake. But her lightning intrigued me and I couldn''t guess her identity.


    "Um.....She was Frankenstein''s Monster." He said sheepishly.


    "How fascinating." I rubbed my chin. That exined.....some things about her strange dressing. I searched my ring and withdrew a Health Potion. "Here." I offered it to him.


    "W-what?" He looked down in surprise.


    "For your wound. It''s a health potion, it should be enough to remove any lingering damage." I sort of pushed it into his hand. "By the looks of it, you had your remaining Command Seals torn off, huh?"


    "I-I wanted to help the family even if I wasn''t a good Master." He blurted out, and it sounded rather rehearsed. Part of me wondered if it was quite as consensual as he said.


    "Caules, thank him." The youngdy hissed at him again.


    "Thank you, sir!" He quickly stood up straight again.


    I waived him off. "Don''t mention it." Well, I guess from their perspective, this is a rather valuable product.


    "Unfortunately, such a thing won''t work on you, youngdy." I tapped my chin again. "It''s mainly for healing surface damage, with some minor ability to deal with internals."


    "So it''s hopeless?" She shrunk down.


    "I never said that." I poked her forehead, much to her chargain. "I said a Healing Potion would be fruitless. I have many other means avable to me." My Healing spells wouldn''t interact with the Magic Circuits in the way I wished either, since it''s a metaphysical Organ. "Oh well, I don''t think Artoria would chastise me for using her Sheath like this." I decided to bring out Avalon from my chest as it had a little bit of her Magical Energy remaining.


    It''s soft and warm glow filled the courtyard, drawing the attention of everyone who wasn''t already staring. "Avalon, the Hallowed Scabbard of Excalibur." I introduced.


    They practically worshiped it with their eyes.


    "We really never had a chance, did we?" The young woman softly spoke.


    I chuckled, pushing it into her own chest. It''s effects worked best when conceptually inside someone. It should fix the Circuits that were malformed without damage to either her use of her legs nor the Circuits themselves.


    She glowed slightly, tears began falling from her eyes. "It doesn''t hurt anymore...."


    Oh you poor girl, how long had you lived with this pain?


    "Fiore." Darnic walked up. "How do you feel?" He asked with a little bit of interest.


    "I...I think I can feel my toes." And ever so slightly, her feet moved.


    Darnic even held a small smile. "I suppose there is one good thing that came out of this." He shook his head. "Perhaps we can evacuate you somewhere to escape and carry on the family name."


    I pushed against her stomach again, withdrawing the Noble Phantasm, taking it back into myself. It was practically dry now and wouldn''t function. However....I think it was a good use of itsst bit of power.


    "Getting a bit ahead of yourself there, don''t you think Darnic?" I stood up.


    "Even if you are not here to destroy us, the Mages Association won''t allow us to continue. Our only leverage were the Servants in the face of their overwhelming might."


    I scrunched my brow, thinking about what he said before deciding on the next course of action. "No forbidden research." I spoke up.


    "Excuse me?" He replied, clearly confused.


    "Dead Apostles, absolutely forbidden." I reiterated. "Demonology, also a big no-no. The Taboo aspects of Necromancy, don''t touch them. I don''t like the resurrecting of the dead, even in zombie and skeletal forms." I didn''t have an opinion on how Kairi utilized his necromancy. He mainly uses the body parts and their conceptual significance in his Craft. "Mundane Humans, you will treat them with respect. That means no human research on unwilling subject ¨C which includes ckmail and coercion. And the ones you have under your control will not be abused."


    "Are you ¨C"


    I cut him off and continued. "You will follow Certain rules that the Mages Association willy down. The big ones, and you know what I''m talking about." I looked at him. "But you will remain your own autonomous organization."


    He seemed utterly shocked at what I was imply. "Are you going to.....sponsor us?"


    "You can think of it that way, but also no." I replied. "I''ll throw my weight around and see if I can''t get them to back off." It would be a bit annoying, but....I had respect for the ck Servants who fought their battles. "There will be concessions, but I''ll leave you to iron out those details when they inevitablye to negotiate."


    Darnic let out a self-depreciatingugh. "Negotiate? You mean theyey down terms to push us under them." He shook his head. "We have nothing to offer. Our resources had been thoroughly burned through, and what remains would have to be used on repairs and rebuilding."


    I held my hand out, letting piles of gold flow out onto the ground.


    Seeing their situation, I felt like I had a good idea.


    They stared at the small hill of gold.


    Darnic took a deep breath, seemingly deep in thought. "That should be enough to get us on our feet at a minimum. However, money is not an intrinsic valuablemodity to the Association, especially if they''re going to be making an example out of us.


    "I wasn''t done." I smirked, setting down several small crates of Dust. There were a couple with crystal variety, but most of it was in a powdered form. "Crystallized Mana." I began to exin. "From a different world-line. It''s less dense than the stuff that asionally pops up on the market, but quality is not an issue."


    Dranic literally shook as he reached towards it, picking up a crystal in his hand. It wasical that he practically forwent the normal procedure of checking for traps. "What do you want?"


    "Pardon?"


    "You are not helping us for no reason. What do you want from us? Do you wish to take over the our Crafts, our Family?"


    "Do I look like someone who is after your crafts?" I eyed him. It wasn''t an insult to their work, but I didn''t mesh well with that they pursued. "But you''re right, I do want something from you." I took thest thing out of my ring. It was containers of various herbs I had acquired in Skyrim. Along with them, I took out a book describing their names and uses. "I want you lot to attempt to grow these."


    "nts?" He questioned, looking over them. "We don''t'' have a significant herbology section." He seemed confused.


    "You saw the Healing Potion I gave to Caules?"


    "You mean that these...."


    "Among other things. They all hold magical properties, and I want you to try and start developing farms for them."


    Skyrim didn''t really have the same...outlook that the Mages here had. Frankly, Skyrim didn''t have anyrge or dedicated farms for these herbs. They grew in the wilds, in special conditions and it was difficult for the people there to intentionally grow them. Well, mostly. There were some that acted like weeds and were numerous, but things like Dragon''s Tongue needed very specific requirements to grow and it was hard to mimic them with Skyrim''s Technology level.


    Hell, only the Archmage had a true dedicated garden inside his tower for the plicated nts.


    Truthfully, this was kind of a whim, but it was also a good opportunity to start growing my own resources without having to rely on going back to Skyrim to obtain these. Not to mention I was curious to see if anything changed in the nts by growing them in a different world-line.


    Lots of interesting date wille up, I''m sure.


    "A family could dedicate themselves to something like this and be rich." Darnic said quietly. "What are your conditions?"


    Well, he was smart to recognize an opportunity when he saw one. "I will take 60% of all products produced through these ingredients, and I will want a copy of all notes and research involving these." Honestly, that would still leave them with an astronomical economic boom. Not to mention I wanted to make sure the Zelretch of this world got a little something for the effort he went through to help me.


    "I unfortunately have no room to negotiate as you can simply go anywhere else."


    "True, but I''m not heartless. I do watch out for my own. I won''t meddle in your affairs unless you do something that crosses a line I''m not okay with." And I doubt he needed me to state them. "That being said, I will want you lot back up your feet and with some semnce of confidence in your existence." Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. It would be beneficial to have them at my call when needed. "Fiore, right?" I looked towards the girl again, and didn''t wait for her to answer. "What''s your specialty?"


    She had otherwise been silent while we negotiated. "Erm....Spirit Evocation."


    "Oh, interesting." I rubbed my chin. "These should be beneficial." I withdrew a few spell books I still had on me from Skyrim. Various spiritual based spells and things that aligned with her path. Even if they didn''t directly help her, another way of thinking would be beneficial.


    "T-thank you!?" She squeaked out as I set them on herp.


    She seemed rather talented. And the way Darnic sort of hovered around her, I could guess she was valued by them. "Now, I mentioned ''products'' produced using these ingredients." I took out a few more books on Alchemy, handing them over to Darnic along with setting down two Alchemy Tables. "This should be enough to get you started on your research, and the books are a good reference."


    "Alchemy?" He muttered looking at the title. He clearly cast a trantion spell because they were not written in English. It''s funny how it still works even though thenguage is one not native to this world. It doesn''t so much as trante the written word, but the intent of what is to be portrayed. "These would be significant to even the highest families in the Association." He looked up at me.


    "True." I didn''t deny it. It wasn''t just resources; it was sustainable resources that could easily be a foundation if utilized correctly. "And I''m extending a bit of trust towards you lot. I hope you don''t disappoint me."


    All in all, the risk for me was almost nonexistent. The worse that happens, I lose some superficial things that I could reacquire with a little bit of effort.


    "For now, continue on as you are." I spoke up again. "Rebuild your defenses, and if anyonees to bother you, feel free to use my name."


    "This kindness.....I will not forget it. We, the Yggdmillennia family, will not forget it." He dered.


    How funny it was that we were enemies not too long ago. Not to mention I was perhaps the main cause of their current circumstances.


    Oh well.


    "I''ll be in touch." I gave them onest look before slicing open a portal, heading to the other matters I had to settle.


    ***


    "About fucking time." Mordred looked annoyed as she watched me walk out of a portal.


    "Had to deal with some stuff." I rolled my eyes. "You didn''t think I would just abandon you lot?"


    "Pfft. Yeah right." Mordred seemed to trust me, huh.


    "Achilles, Atnta." I nodded towards the other two who were also hanging around. "And Kairi, you good?"


    "I''m ready to end this." He stood up, rolling his shoulders. "Anything else you need or can I go home?"


    "Kinda, sorta. Gramps was fine with entertaining you all for a little bit as I finish up everything."


    Mordred looked bored with the idea. "I don''t wanna sit in a dusty old ¨C "


    "He''ll probably have snacks."


    "Bitchin, lets go."


    She really is Artoria''s son.


    "The Wizard Marshall." Kairi repeated. "You want to bring me to meet the Wizard Marshall?"


    "Is there a problem."


    "There''s a reason people are scared of him Y''know?"


    "I''m aware, but he is acting as a host, you don''t need to worry unless you do something to really make him upset."


    "Against my better judgement, I guess I''ll go." Kairi sighed. "Though I feel like I don''t have a choice."


    "Well, you could choose not to ept his request."


    "So no choice."


    "Pretty much." I didn''t even deny it.


    "Us too?" Achilles spoke up.


    "Yup."


    "Eh, whatever." Achilles didn''t really seem to care. "Wouldn''t mind tasting something good from this era, see how itpares. My asshole of a master didn''t even bother to feed me or even give me any wine."


    Heh, he''ll get along great with Sasaki.


    I nced at Atnta who was quiet. "I also spoke with Medea, she''s expecting you at some point."


    Her ears stood up before ttening. "I see." Was all she spoke, but she emoted enough with just her physical features.


    Excitement, fear, anxiety?


    I could rte.


    I felt all those things too when thinking about Sc¨¢thach.


    How much longer would it be, a couple hours? She was almost right infront of me so that I could practically touch her again, yet I felt this overwhelming anxiety in my chest.


    The words of my fake father wouldn''t leave the back of my mind.


    I didn''t want to keep burying all this crap, but it truly was not the time.


    "Alright boys and girls, lets get a move on." I quickly opened a portal to Zelretch''s workshop. "I''ll only say to be polite." I looked them over.


    Well, Mordred could probably get a bit of leeway due to her rtions. But the others, he wouldn''t ept any kind of disrespect unless he likes them to a certain degree.


    "Yeah, whatever. I want something to eat, I''m starving." Mordred ignored me, walking through without a second thought.


    "He won''t hold me responsible for what Saber does, will he?" Kairi looked at me with a pleading look.


    "He''s not a monster, just don''t'' be stupid." I rolled my eyes again, watching him go through.


    He did have a reputation, and a well earned one. However, he wasn''t wantonly cruel or willing to fuck with people for the hell of it.


    While it may be beyond most people''sprehension as to why, he does do things for a reason.


    Granted, that reason wasn''t always a.....good one, for them.


    Sometimes you just need to release some stress by fucking with a stuck-up asshole.


    "Lets go, Sis. I wanna meet Medea, I heard a lot about her when I was a brat." Achilles casuall strut through.


    "Don''t call me that." Atnta hissed, following him through, giving me onest nce. "Thank you....for everything." She quickly spoke before disappearing.


    Ah.....I forgot to ask them about Jeanne.


    I suppose I''ll leave her forst.


    Well, onest person to deal with.


    Once again, I opened another portal taking me to the Romania capital.


    ***


    Finally, I popped out on a deserted street in the capital. The Malevolent Aura still permeated every aspect of this road.


    Almost immediately, the mist appeared and coalesced as Assassin made her appearance.


    I didn''t speak, merely staring down at her as she looked at me weirdly. "Mommy''s waiting." She said bluntly, turning around to lead me inside.


    Pushing through the door, I saw the same women sitting at the same table. "You came back."


    "Did you think I wouldn''t?" I said as I raised an eyebrow.


    "Yes." She said bluntly. "Are you here to kill me? Is that why you''re here?"


    "You''re not the first person to ask me that today." I sighed. "No." I said firmly. "I''m not here to harm you in anyways." I looked towards Assassin who was dripping with bloodlust. "And you need to calm down."


    I swear, I think she bared her teeth at me.


    Assassin''s master ¨C Reika, stared at me incredulously before letting out augh. "You were actually telling the truth." She said in disbelief. "Or is it one of those times where It''s only technically true. The word of the agreement? Am I being put in a prison somewhere to rot away while you experiment on me or something?"


    And she just keeps riling up her servant with her own words.


    "I''m not going to harm you." I said softly. "I said I would give you and out, so an out you will get. If nothing else, you can trust that I have my own pride and I don''t go back on my word."


    "I guess that''s the best I can get." She looked defeated, like she was expecting the next shoe to drop. "What are you going to do with me then?"


    "You can''t live a mundane life anymore." I wasblunt and did not beat around the bush.


    "Never had that thought since that psycho tried to cut me up." She scowled.


    "And Assassin can''t live near normal people either." I gazed at her. "Her mere existence will bring hardship to any regr humans she stays nearby for long periods."


    "And you said you weren''t going to kill me." She said dryly. "So just spit it out, what are you going to do with me."


    "My Magic can send you to another world ¨C a Parallel world if you understand the terminology."


    She blinked at me, seemingly processing my words. "Seriously?"


    "Yup." I replied. "It''s the world of my birth, and there, The Age of Gods hasn''t ending. This means that all the supernatural things are still walking around, if hidden by the world."


    "Do I need to worry about Youkai then?" She looked amused.


    "Funny you should mention that. I''m actually very close to one of two leaders of the Youkai in Japan." Assassin was still staring at me murderously, so I walked over to her, much to her hesitance. I could see the de she was holding behind her back. I knelt down, open palm with a piece of candy in my palm.


    She looked at me, then the piece of candy, then to her master.


    She wanted it.


    "Mommy?" She looked up at her master.


    "Go ahead, sweetie." She gave her Servant a gentle smile.


    With that, Jack snatched it out of my hand quickly, stuffing it in her mouth. Her murderous look didn''t abate, but there was something else now, like an eptance.


    Well, I guess that works.


    It was kinda cute as well.


    "You were talking about Youkai." Reika spoke up.


    "Right." I nodded. "Yasaka, she''s a Nine Tailed Fox." I looked at her to gauge her reaction.


    "I''m not even surprised anymore." She sighed. "Just give it to me straight."


    "They have their own separate dimension over Kyoto, it houses various Youkai, ghosts, demons, and even humans. It''s somewhere you both can live without any issues."


    "And we''ll be safe?"


    "Rtively speaking." I shrugged. "I can''t ount for any idiots who stir up trouble, but generally people won''te looking for you. I won''t lie and tell you there won''t be any danger. Not that long ago there was a bunch of terrorists who attacked Kyoto and there was a bit of a body count. It was handled, but things like that still happen from time to time."


    "Can I learn magic?" She suddenly asked.


    I tapped my chin in thought. "It''s possible. The system there it''s.....different than here. I don''t know what you''ve been told, but here we have a pseudo-organ that allows us to ''cast spells''. There, it operates off a different paradigm. I can''t say yes or no, but it''s a possibility."


    "And we''ll be ''safe'' then? No one wanting to dissect me or Jackie?" She asked this again, but I guess she wanted more assurance.


    "I can call in some favors to watch over you. I can say that you will probably be one of the most protected people in Kyoto. Not to mention, I can provide you with resources so you can live leisurely."


    She bit her lips, and I couldn''t me her reactions. She was still very much trying to rationalize everything she''d stepped into at this point.


    "Izanami-no-Mikoto." I wanted to reassure, because despite everything, I really did sympathize with her situation.


    "What?"


    "I''m friends with Izanami, I can ask her to keep an eye on you."


    Her mouth opened, staring at me before she broke out inughs. "The Goddess of Death." She managed to squeaked out. "Mom always prayed when I was younger, but I never cared for that crap. Now you''re telling me SHE will watch over me?"


    "You have Jack the Ripper as your daughter." I deadpanned.


    She snorted,ughing again. "This whole thing is so fucking ridiculous."


    "Sorry, you shouldn''t have been forced into this situation."


    "I hate that I believe you''re being sincere. I hate that I can''t even bring myself to despise you like that other bastard. And I hate that I don''t have control of my own life."


    "There are other ways besides magic. Other ways to get strong and you can have ess to them."


    Shezily brought her eyes up to meet mine, practically defeated. "I don''t have a choice." She sighed. "But atleast.....I don''t entirely hate this decision being forced on me."


    "Anything you need to grab? My Grandfather will host you until everything is ready to move. It''s better to get away from this ce before anyone starts poking their nose around." I exined.


    "I have nothing of value in my life except Jackie." She smiled bitterly, earning a hug from the Servant. "You want to go on an adventure with me, sweetie?"


    "Un. We''ll follow mommy wherever she goes." She replied without hesitation.


    "Alright. Please be respectful, my Grandfather is someone of....status and your Servant is not his match." I made sure she understood what she was walking into.


    "Don''t insult the scary wizard, got it." She said dryly.


    I opened up a portal for them. "Again....I''m sorry."


    She walked up to it, Jackie holding her hand. She briefly turned back to me with a small smile on her face. "I know, thank you." She replied before stepping through.


    I let out a sigh, watching the portal copse.


    Gods, I can''t help but think of my mom every time I see her. I''ll make sure she''s taken care of and won''t have to get into any trouble because of things beyond her control.


    "Now...." I muttered. "I need to go find that Saintess."


    .....Time to go say goodbye.


    ***


    Managed to get a chapter done today. Feeling slightly better overall, but still battling a fever and everything. My body seems like it keeping bouncing between chills, sweating, and dizziness. I did take a test, and I do have Covid, so as i said before, no guaranteed chapters this week as I fight this crap.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 199 - 190

    <h4>Chapter 199: Chapter 190</h4>


    I actually had no idea where Jeanne would be, so my first thought was just to check thest ce I saw her. As I walked out of the portal, she was there, sitting to the side, barely sparinga nce at me as I reappeared.


    "Wilhelm." She said curtly.


    "Jeanne." I gave an awkward smile.


    "How you holding up?"


    She turned to me, an annoyed look on your first. "Oh you know, justmenting my failed duties because someone stole the Grail infront of me."


    I flinched a little bit. "Sorry." I apologized, not even wanting to make a joke about it.


    She let out a sigh. "I''m happy that not everyone had to die."


    "So, you forgive me?" I grinned


    She puffed up, quickly getting on her feet where she marched to me, eyes staring right into mine as she smacked my shoulder. It wasn''t hard,cking the strength of a Servant, but she did it several more times. "However!" She didn''t directly say yes or no. "I am very cross with you right now!"


    "Being bullied by a Saintess." I feigned pain at her actions. "I can never show my face in hell again."


    She actually pinched me. "No talk about going to hell." She huffed in annoyance. "You''re a good person, you don''t deserve to be there."


    Even when upset with me, she still said things like this. "Anyone ever tell you how cute you are?"


    "W-what?!" She squeaked out, her cheeks turning a faint pink. "Don''t tease me." She muttered.


    I''m going to miss this.


    "How much time you got?" I finally asked.


    "Several hours if I am conservative." She looked down at the ground. "Though I suppose I can try and force myself to expire early since my presence here is no longer required."


    "Not going to ''punish me'' then?" I raised an eyebrow.


    She puffed up again. "No matter how I reply to that, you''re just going to tease me."


    I let out a chuckle. "Yeah, I probably would." I smiled lightly.


    "Thank you." Jeanne spoke softly. "Foring back and saying goodbye. Despite the many...trials I''ve ovee while here..." She gave me a dry look. "I.....enjoyed our time spent together."


    "The others.....they''re going to stick around." I whispered. "If you wanted....?"


    "Wilhelm." Her eyes softened. "We both know I''m not in the same position as them." She looked down at her hands. "This isn''t my body, I can''t be selfish like that."


    "I''m a devil." I snorted. "I''ll be selfish enough for the both of us."


    She reached over and lightly pinched me again. "You''re a better person than that. I know you wouldn''t want the young girl I''m possessing to be trapped forever with me in control."


    "I could think of something if I had a little time."


    Jeanne shook her head. "I already took several days of her life away from her. Our agreement was until the end of the War, I will not overstay my wee." She hardened herself a little. "Wilhelm." She spoke up again. "Promise me you won''t do anything. It''s not appropriate for me to linger in this body. So, promise me you won''t do anything to extend my stay."


    I grumbled in annoyance. "Fine." I spat out. "I won''t force you to stay, nor will I do anything to your vessel to prolong your summon."


    "Cheer up." She lightly nudged me. "Aren''t you going to get your wish soon? You told me you were fighting to revive someone you cared for. Be excited for that, don''t dwell on my departure."


    "Yeah." I looked up at the night sky, noticing how pieces of the fortress were starting to fade away. "I''m excited. I miss her a lot."


    It was clear she was trying to distract me.


    She really is a kind person.


    I wanted to do something for her.....she did say she had a good amount left before she disappeared.


    "I have an idea." I grinned, taking out Mirage and stabbing it into the ground.


    "Wilhelm?" Jeanne looked at my abruptness with confusion. "What are you doing?"


    I put my hands over the Eye of Magnus that was acting as the pommel of my sword. Pushing my hands on it, I expanded a visual of the world. My calctions creating a simtion of the current time-line and world-line. "You have a few hours left, so I''m going to take you out and have some fun."


    She looked at my works strangely, not arguing though. "What are you doing that requires all of ¨C this?" She gestured.


    "Something stupid." Iughed as I continued.


    "It isn''t dangerous, is it?"


    "....no."


    "Wilhelm!"


    "And I''m done." I smiled.


    "What did you do!?"


    Pulling my sword out of the ground, I shed it through the air, the result different than my normal portals. "My Magic is the Operation and Maniption of Parallel worlds. Or, if you want to be simple about it, It gives me a degree of control over Dimensions. And Time is just another Dimension." I smirked.


    "Wilhelm you didn''t mess with time, did you? I have no knowledge of Magecraft and Magic, but even I know that isn''t a good idea."


    "Trust me." I held out my hand to her.


    She looked down, reaching out as I grasped hers in my own. She let out a sigh, but there was a small smile on her face. "Really? Doing something like this just so I enjoy what little time I have left?"


    "Well, I''ve been called an idiot before." I grinned, pulling her through the new portal with me.


    ***


    "Wilhelm." She unintentionally squeezed my hand tightly. "Where are we?" She looked around at the buildings as we stepped out of the portal.


    There was no one around in this secluded area, just as I had anticipated. I gave her the warmest smile I could. "Wee home, Jeanne."


    "Home...you mean?"


    "France, yes." I chuckled. "I swear, the sacrifices I make."


    Truthfully.....Time Travel is borderline Taboo, even for user of the Kaleidoscope like me and the old man. It is most definitely not something to use lightly, but there are.....allowances depending on the variables. Jeanne is a Heroic Spirit her existence isn''t as....solidified on the World-Line as most people. And I''m not native to this world, so there was some wiggle room.


    Basically, I brought us a few months into the past where this festival was going on. Stepping outside the World-Line, then reentering at an earlier date.


    "Shush, you!" She pped my shoulder but had a huge smile on her face. She took a few steps out, away from the little secluded alley we were in that opened into arge square.


    There were many people all about, hundreds upon hundreds.


    "A festival?" She questioned as people were dressed up and there was a clear air of celebration.


    "Yup." I nodded towards her. "It''s a festival that''s been celebrated every year for thest 600 years. Tomemorate the liberation of the city by a certain young woman all those years ago."


    "I....truly?" She looked surprised at the revtion. "People are...?"


    "People have admired you for centuries, is it really so strange they want to honor your sacrifice?" I opened my arm up. "This is your legacy. These smiling people, their happiness, you built the foundations for this."


    Jeanne stared, her look indescribable. "Thank you." She barely enunciated the words, and her eyes turned a little red.


    I know she was someone who would not regret what happened in her life, but that didn''t mean there weren''t pains that came along with it. To see what she fought fore to fruition, it would be some measure of closure to her life''s goals.


    I don''t think she realized she was still holding my hand. With a grin, I lightly started to pull her out of her stupor. "Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to join in?"


    "Eeh?" She let out a small squeak as I started dragging her along.


    "Oh, Ice Cream, you should try this." I pulled her towards a vendor set up in the corner.


    "Aye, what can I get for you and your girlfriend?" The guy behind the cart happily asked.


    "G-girlfriend!?" Jeanne stuttered, turning bright red.


    I couldn''t help butugh. "Two vanis please."


    "Here you go,d." He handed them over as I pushed one towards Jeanne.


    "How....do I eat this?" She took it with confusion


    "Just slowly lick it." I gave an example.


    Watching her hesitantly try and nibble on it was cute. She eventually sort of worked it into her mouth to get a taste. "It''s good!" She eximed out of earshot of everyone. "Where to next?" She asked, clearly getting swept up in the excitement as we enjoyed our frozen treat.


    "Oooh, look over there." I gestured to a sign. "It says they have the oldest known painting of Jeanne D''Arc herself. A portrait made during her life."


    "A portrait? I never recall such a thing." Jeanne looked confused but interested.


    "Now I gotta see this." She happily followed me along as we entered the building supposedly housing it.


    There was a small crowd, perhaps less than twenty people in all that we waited behind before finally seeing the magnificent portrait.


    I looked at it, then at her.


    Her mouth slightly opened, and her hands went up to cover her face.


    I broke out inughter.


    "It''s not funny!" She whined.


    "It''s hrious!" I countered, unable to stopughing. "It looked like a kindergartener tried to fix the weathering of age. Look at the cheeks, they''re so puffy! And the eyes are bulging out of her head!"


    Jeanne made little noises of embarrassment.


    "And her butt!"


    "Nooooo! My butt isn''t that big!"


    I decided to test that little theory and took a nice long look at said rear.


    She quickly tried to shield herself, turning a bright shade of red. "Y-you pervert." She squeaked out.


    "Devil." I winked. "Pretty sure it''s expected of me."


    "Um sir, ma''am" A man wearing a uniform approached us. "You''re bothering the other quests."


    "Sorry!" Jeanne quickly bowed her head. "We''re leaving." She grabbed me and practically pulled me out the door.


    "So.....who made that portrait."


    "Gaah" She covered her face again. "I have no idea. I never posed for a portrait.....I was always too busy."


    "Maybe someone made it in your image then." I thought out loud. "It''s not exactly umon."


    "But why would anyone wish to make a portrait of me? I was not a...celebrity...." She looked confused. "I admit that my deeds may have propagated since my death, but at my time, I was not nearly as revered."


    "Maybe for their ''personal'' use." I grinned.


    "Personal use?" She questioned. "What do you mean ¨C " She paused and again her face turned bright red. I thought steam was going to starting out of her ears. "You continue with your....lewdments." She didn''t meet my eyes.


    "Lewd? I don''t understand." I feigned ignorance. "What would our precious Saintess be thinking about to suddenly jump to those conclusions, hmm, hmm."


    "D-don''t imply such a thing!" She huffed, smacking my shoulder.


    "How our pure Saintess has fallen." I shook my head. "Next thing you now, she''s going to hold hands with a boy ¨C in public!" I eximed, making her face ever so redder.


    "Stooop!" She squeaked out.


    Oh, teasing her was too fun.


    I''m going to miss this.


    We continued on, watching all the sights that we could in this small time frame. Shows that sprung up randomly, little events that people could join in on, or otherwise historical reenactments.


    But what drew the biggest crowd were people marching down the streets dressed up in clothing she would recognize. Many also wore armor, mounted upon horses as they streamed down the street.


    "Make way, make way! Our Saintess approaches!" A man at the front called out as the little parade marched down.


    It was revealed to be a little girl wearing a cute dress and holding a little g reminiscent of Jeanne''s ride on a horse in the middle of the parade as she happily waved to the crowd.


    Jeanne looked utterly ovee with the cuteness of the scene. "She''s adorable." Jeanne cooed. The gentle smile Jeanne had on her face as she watched her little ''recement'' ride down the street, it could make someone''s heart flutter.


    I looked up at the sky and noticed the sun was starting to get low. "I have one more ce I want to take you. Though, I admit I don''t know if you''ll appreciate it or not."


    She turned to me, smile bright. "I don''t think you would take me somewhere I would dislike." Her hand crept over, grabbing my arm. "Lets go." She happily ushered me.


    Her smile is really contagious.


    Sneaking to an empty spot, I opened up onest portal, and we stepped through.


    ***


    Jeanne paused in her steps we she realized where we were. "Oh, Wilhelm." She said quietly.


    "If you don''t want to stay I have other ¨C"


    "No! No." She calmed herself down. "I''m surprised, but not upset. To think to bring me here.....it''s really sweet of you."


    Her steps were....small as we walked up to the building. This structure that had clearly weathered the years, it looked like it had been reinforced several times over the course of its existence to preserve it.


    "Mother always got after me ''When you are going to bring home a nice boy, Jeanne!" The Saintess giggled to herself, hand lightly touching the wooden door. "I could still picture her face when returning after running my errands. Her kind smile weing me home every day. The sounds of my siblings running around and causing havoc wherever they passed."


    The small structure that was once her home.


    I didn''t speak as she gently pushed the door open, the roompletely empty and covered in dust. She raised a hand up to her mouth, stopping herself from tears falling down. "It really is the same.....after all these years, it hasn''t changed."


    "Most texts often refer to you as a ''poor farm girl'', but frankly, this doesn''t really give off the feeling." I looked around.


    Jeanne let out augh, holding back her tears. "It''s not that we were poor...Father had a good job and mother found ways to earn some extra coin when needed. It''s just...." She flushed again. "Mother and father wouldn''t s-stop...having children." She sputtered out.


    I snorted in amusement. "A pair of role models then." I nodded in approval.


    "You want a big family?" She questioned.


    "Yeah, I guess it''s always been something I wanted." I could guess where such thoughts came from. "Though I don''t know if all my girls want kids, but I don''t doubt some of them do."


    "Girls, as in plural?" She blinked. "I heard you mention Mordred''s.....''father'' and the women you wished to revive, but I didn''t assume you...."


    "Had a harem?" Iughed. "Yeah I have several girls I''m in a rtionship with."


    "Is it normal.....for devils?" She asked, her voice rather sheepish, like she was asking something she wasn''t supposed to.


    "Pretty much." I confirmed. It wasn''t like it was some big secret. "Devils are creatures of sin, they tend to lead very hedonistic lifestyles. But we''re not demons that you''re thinking of. I came from another World-line, and things are different there. The original Demons, and even the original Lucifer, are dead, the name merely used as a title for rulership. They''re the ones you think of when your religion mentions ''demons'' and such. Most Devils in this age, from my birthce, aren''t much different than humans. To the point where there''s currently a non-aggression pact with Heaven at the moment."


    Jeanne blinked processing that information. "Heaven is active in your world? As in Angelse down to earth regrly?"


    "Yup."


    "I''m jealous." She puffed up.


    "The offer is still open." I smirked. "Imagine, meeting the Archangels."


    "Stop trying to tempt me you ¨C" The corners of her lips curled up. "¡ªDevil" She let out a giggle at her own little joke, one that I couldn''t help but mimic.


    "How strange that I''m friends with a Saintess." I mused out loud.


    "How strange that the son of the Devil is my friend." She smiled brighlyt, tugging on my sleeve. "Thank you, for everything. It was short, but the time I spent here has been some of the best of my life."


    "Is it already time?"


    "Yes, I can feel my Magical Energy about to finally run out."


    "I could extend it.....just a little bit."


    "Wilhelm." She pulled on my sleeve a little harder. "I ept your intent, but it''s time for me to go."


    "I hate saying goodbyes." I grumbled.


    "If the Lord wills it, this won''t be a final goodbye."


    "I''m pretty sure I''m out of his favor." I said dryly.


    She giggled, cupping my cheek. "Could you please make sure Laeticia ¨C the woman I''m possessing ¨C is set up to go home when I depart."


    "Do you need me to send her somewhere?"


    Jeanne shook her head. "No, I have a feeling she''ll know where to go instinctively, but.....the Grail was supposed to give her a little gift for her work...."


    "I''ll make sure she''spensated." I waived that concern off. It was my fault, so I would clean up my own mess. "She should be able to subsume these memories of yours over the past few days after she wakes up, so I suppose I won''t need to be here and exin anything to her."


    "That''s correct. I just want her to be taken care of and given a thanks for her faith in me and epting our contract. And of course make sure she''s in her correct ''time'' before I depart."


    Her body began to glow blue, motes of mana visibly flowing off her. "Ah, I thought I had a few more moments." She said quietly. "I suppose this is where we part." She stood up on her toes and quickly ced a kiss on my cheek, much to my surprise. "Thank you for the wonderful time, Wilhelm."


    Her body burst in a light, and the umted mana flowed off for good, her body went limp as I quickly caught it,ying it gently on the ground.


    "Goodbye, Jeanne." I whispered as a final send off.


    ***


    And there goes the Penniless Saintess. Just a reminder, I did spoil Fate/Grand Order awhile ago. Hint hint.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


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 Chapter 200 - 191

    <h4>Chapter 200: Chapter 191</h4>


    Shifting Laeticia ¨C Jeanne''s host ¨C back to her normal time flow wasn''t difficult as she was still unconscious. She would more or less recall everything that happened while her consciousness was pushed back when Jeanne was in control.


    Somewhat ironic that she would wake up in Jeanne''s home.


    I left a bag of gold next to her, and a letter with my name to threaten any Magi that happened upon her. I was sure that at a minimum my family name would be some kind of deterrent for the worst of circumstances. Better than nothing, atleast.


    A small Bounded Field covered the house that would ward anyone off for the next day or so, but she''d be up in a couple hours at thetest. Food, water, and everything else she would need to make a track back to civilization and back to her home was also left with her.


    Jeanne said that she would be in capable hands ¨C i.e.guided by her faith. Well, who am I to doubt a literal Saintess?


    I admit, I was curious about the girl who was apparently a good enough vessel to house Jeanne but.....I can''t really look at the girl for who she was.


    Any conversation I had, any interactions for that matter, I''d only see Jeanne.


    That was fair to neither of us.


    So, this was goodbye.


    Not like she needed, nor probably wanted me around.


    I still had onest errand to run in this world, one person I had been putting off seeing that deserved my undivided attention, atleast for a little while.


    With a flip of my hand, I opened a portal to a very familiar, but foreign ce.


    As the Kaleidoscope of colors flowed around me, I stepped through into Zelretch''s home, or rather, the Zelretch of this world.


    "I was wondering when you would stop by." I looked at the man himself.


    "''When'' and not ''if''?" I raised an eyebrow.


    He looked, midly amused by my statement. "Come now, do you think me a fool? Of course, you woulde by." He closed a book he had in his hand, setting it on a table. There was a moment of silence as we stared at one another. And I noticed, in his gaze, itcked that ''affection'' that my Zelretch showed.


    "Thanks for the help." Might as well start off with being polite. "I really do appreciate it."


    He waved me off with a small smile. "It was an interesting few days. I enjoyed some new and refreshing data I was able to mull over and I didn''t have to offer much but my own time."


    "Then do I apologize for throwing more stuff in yourp now?"


    "Well, that would be the polite thing to do." He said with a chuckle. "Yes, using my name when you aligned yourself with that Frencer."


    "To be fair, it''s my name too."


    "That is fair." He nodded. "But you''re using that as an excuse for the circumstance." He lightly chided.


    "Yeah...." I sighed. "And then my solution for the Yggdmillennia faction. But, I believe the pros severely out weight the cons here."


    "Indeed." He gave a small smile. "Even without the little bonus you set up at the end, I truly wouldn''t have minded everything else. I suppose I just want you to acknowledge the burden you ced on me, however small it was."


    "You know, for not being my gramps, you''re awfully gentle with your words."


    Zelretch let out a small chuckle. "You are more than aware of my existence ¨C our existence. I know of ''your gramps'' just as he knows of me. While I don''t have the same immediate.....affection, that does not mean I don''t'' share some of the sentiments. It''s a strange feeling to be jealous of myself." He stroke his beard. "Now, lets talk about payment."


    I groaned. "Just....take half and lets call it a day." I didn''t even want to bother bartering. He was speaking of the resources that would be produced by the Yggdmillennia family. I had no doubts that Zelretch would find some use from them.


    "How boring, but I guess you are reaching your end point after everything that''s happened." He epted easily enough. "I suggest a small vacation. Hawaii is wonderful this time of the year. And I''ll take care of settling everything on the Mage Association''s end. While you could no doubt ''throw around your weight'' as you put it, I would rather not cause anyrger issues to deal withter."


    "I suppose it doesn''t matter who does it, thank you. That being said, Hawaii....does sound wonderful actually." I actually gave that some thought. Sitting on the beach with my girls, just rxing. "But I do have some important matters to attend to."


    If this Zelretch wanted to smooth everything between the Yggdmillennia and the Mages Association, then I would let him. It would be cleaner than meing and throwing my hat into the political arena.


    "Right, your wayward lover whom you need to summon from the Throne." He nodded. "Sc¨¢thach, quite a woman you picked up there."


    "That she is." I couldn''t help but smile.


    "Then I shall not keep you." He stood up. "I appreciated youing by and I would not be troubled if you stopped by more often."


    Well, I would be checking up on the Yggdmillennia family from time to time, so it wouldn''t be something out of the way to do.


    "Thank you, for everything." I expressed my genuine thanks.


    "Oh pish pash." He harumphed. "We''re practically family."


    "Good point." I nodded. "Hug." I held out my arms.


    "Pardon?"


    "Hug time." I smiled at him.


    He snorted with a small smile on his face. With a roll of his eyes, he opened his arms. "Get over here you brat."


    ***


    I stepped back in to an almost identical spot, but this room was much more crowded than the one I had just left. Several eyes nced my way, but otherwise everyone kept going on their business.


    "So Chiron had me tied up, hanging from a tree." Achilles was waving his arms around with augh, a drink in his hand. "And he''s like ''Achilles.....did you eat myst apple?''"


    "Oh gods, I know exactly where this is going." Atnta, who had a very distraught Assassin in herp, face palmed.


    Seriously, the murderous little psycho, was looking helpless as Atnta gave her head pats. I think she was more confused than anything and had no idea how to react.


    Zelretch, who had been enjoying the story ushered him on. "Oh boy, what''d he do?" Zelretch joined in with augh.


    "Yer about to get your ass beat." Mordred snickered, standing to the side, listening intently.


    "Well, that early hit really upset my stomach, and being upside down didn''t help." Achilles could barely hold it together. "I opened my mouth to say something cheeky, and it just all sprayed out on his face."


    They both erupted inughter.


    Kairi looked amused, but at the same time he looked like he was trying to make himself as small as possible, and not to touch anything.


    Assassin''s Master happily sat nearby, enjoying the ''peace'' if her expression was anything to go by.


    "You get everything settled?" Gramps finally addressed me.


    "I did." I gave a curt nod. "If you''re feeling up to it, how about you help me with my ''wish''?"


    "Shit, you finally using the Grail? What''re you even wishing for?" Mordred spoke up.


    "I''m curious too." Atnta was the one who agreed.


    "Meh." Achilled shrugged. "Don''t really care."


    "You''ll see after I''m done." I said with a grin.


    "Boo." Mordred huffed. "Whatever, I hope it''s something good. If you''re wishing for the Root or some other stupid shit, I''m going to kick your ass and take it back."


    "My Magic already opens a Path to the Root if I were so inclined." I shook my head. "No, I''m wishing for something more important."


    "Well, get to it then, stop making us wait." Mordred replied, as impatient as ever.


    "Well, let''s not keep them waiting." Zelretch put a hand on my shoulder. "Besides, Raikou has been ''guarding'' it since you left."


    He began leading me to another room where he deposited the Grail, away from the little festivities.


    Raikou perked up, already knowing I had returned. "Master, you''re back." She looked happy, yet at the same time she had that strange look on her face.


    I shot a quick nce at Zelretch. "What are your thoughts on ''that''?" I asked him quietly.


    "Deal with ''that'' after you make your ''wish''. It would give us a better idea of what we''re looking at and what we have at our disposal." He replied.


    I nodded, epting his words. He was smart enough to know my concerns easily enough. Raikou''s Mad Enhancement wasn''t an easy problem to fix. But I had a couple ideas, and I''m sure Zelretch had some of his own.


    I walked up and gave Raikou a quick hug. "You didn''t have to guard the Grail."


    "I''m you''re Servant." She preened a little under the physical affection. "This is what you desired, so I will make sure no one steals it."


    "So, what''s the n?" I asked him staring at the Spell Circles that covered the ground.


    "It''s as you would expect, we''re going to perform a summoning, but we''re hijacking the Wishponent to facilitate the summons as opposed to the normal summoning function." Zelretch exined.


    "Hmm, wepletely bypass the ''true wish'' that it''s supposed to grant by doing this. Can probably do something with itter after it takes some time to recharge." I rubbed my chin. Despite my description of the Grail being a huge mana battery, you can''t just shove mana into it and recharge it that way. The mechanisms are intricate, and using the systems strains them severely. It was one of the main reasons that the Grail War was supposed to be 60 years apart. Half of it was the collection of Magical Energy, the other half was so it didn''t burn itself out by being used too soon.


    "Indeed. And I took the liberty of carving the summoning circles, a little something I had bouncing around my head. It''s different than the normal one ¨C obviously, but it should trigger the correct sequences for what we''re trying to aplish."


    "Yeah, it''s not so much a normal summon as trying to pull as much of her from the Throne as possible." It was almost like four different circles all intersecting at a single point.


    "Well, all it needs is a catalyst and to simply make a wish." Zelretch gestured for me to go forward.


    I rubbed my ring, mentally looking at the Spear thatid inside.


    "Something wrong, Wilhelm?"


    "I..." I bit my lip, remembering what was said to me by Him. "I''m nervous." I said quietly. "I can''t stop having this thought in my head ¨C what if she isn''t happy to see me?"


    "Oh Wilhelm." Zelretch pat me on the shoulder. "We both know that''splete bullshit."


    I blinked at his very blunt dismissal.


    "We haven''t spoken about what happened, but something clearly did." He started again. "Something that shook you enough to give you doubts. But whatever it is, remember what you told me herst words were to you? For whatever happened, did that change thest moments you spent together?"


    "I know it''s probably irrational." I sighed, slumping my shoulders. "Doesn''t make this pit in my stomach go away. But you''re right, there''s no use dwelling on it. If I gave in to these thoughts, I''d regret it for the rest of my life." I didn''t want to let those depressing feelings take hold. I wasn''t special for having doubts, everyone did, it was a facet of life.


    I flicked my hand to the side, Gae Bolg appearing in my grasp. I walked forward, stabbing it into the center of the summoning circle.


    The Grail glowed, as I approached, as if ushering me to continue. A wish that instead of actualizing the Wishcraft matrix to shape the massive amounts of magical energy, it looped around into the Summon systems, but still supported the features inherent to the Wishcraft mechanisms.


    A wish, without using the wish.


    "I wish....." I held my hand up towards the summoning circles. "I wish for my Sc¨¢thach back."


    The umted Magical Energy gathered and erupted at the focal point, blinding everyone in the room. The sheer force made me brace myself as I felt Time and Space shudder to facilitate my desire, my Wish. Through the blown up dust, and the shimmering glow of power, I squinted my eyes to see a new figure standing in the middle of the circles.


    Red eyes met mine.


    I took a hesitant step forward, hand shakily reaching out as I touched her arm. The look she gave me was one of recognition.


    I didn''t utter a word as I pulled myself into her chest and refused to let go. Even when I felt the dampness flow down my cheeks.


    I felt her arms wrap around me, her head pressed against mine. A faint whisper only for my ears, a gentleness to it that only made me react stronger. "You silly boy."


    ***


    Feeling a little bit better so I got a chapter done today. Guess whose back?


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 201 - 192

    <h4>Chapter 201: Chapter 192</h4>


    I don''t know how long I stood there, holding her tight as if she would disappear if I let up for even a second. She didn''t speak, nor begrudge me for this , and she made no effort to move out of my embrace. If anything, I could have sworn she pulled herself just a little bit more into my arms.


    "I hope you remember who I am, otherwise this is going to be really awkward." It almost came out unconsciously. A ¨C sometimes ¨C default reaction when I''m uncertain or otherwise nervous. To make light of the situation.


    She shifted in my arms enough that she could look me in the eyes. It was only another moment before her lips were pressed softly against mine. I didn''t realize how much I wanted this again until I got lost in her touch.


    It was quick, but I could feel the emotions delivered through the kiss, onlysting another couple seconds before she pulled away. Her head lightly pushed against mine, our noses almost touching and our breath tickling each other''s faces.


    "Does that answer your question?" She gave me a smile that made my heart thump loud in my chest.


    "I think I need to be persuaded some more." I replied without a hint of shame.


    Her little giggle met my ears and I couldn''t help but squeeze her just a little tighter. "It seems you have grown more bold in my absence."


    I stiffened a little, looking away from her eyes at the mention of our time apart. "I missed you." A barely audible whisper left my throat.


    "You sweet boy." She went in for another kiss, just enough to dismiss the mncholic feelings. "You went through the trouble of summoning an old witch like me." She gave me another little peck to make sure she had my full attention. "This Sc¨¢thach won''t leave your side again."


    "Un." I made a mumbled grunt as I buried my head back into her chest. "You''re not allowed to leave again."


    "Fufufu." I felt a hand run through my hair. "Did this Sc¨¢thach not promise you already?" Her breath tickled my ear. "I''m yours, am I not?"


    "Mine." I repeated quietly, a possessiveness that sprouted in my heart.


    Hearing her giggle again, it just continued to make my heart flutter.


    "Now." She poked me once more. "Introduce me to yourpanions, I believe we had made a spectacle enough of ourselves." For the first time since her summoning, we broke apart.


    "Oh no, don''t mind us." Gramps spoke up with obvious amusement on his face. "I was just enjoying the show."


    Sc¨¢thach looked mildly amused as well, opting to adopt a little smirk on her face. With a nce back, she began to chide me. "Wilhelm, should I teach you a lesson on proper manners, hmm?" She nudged me.


    Honestly, I missed this aggressive attitude of hers just as much as her gentle side that usually stayed hidden.


    Sc¨¢thach, this is Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, my Grandfather." I gestured towards him.


    "Queen of the Land of Shadows." Zelretch decided to be a little more grandiose with his greeting. "I am honored to meet you, Immortal Witch." He did a slight bow in her direction.


    "I remember, between the various lessons I taught him, he would mention you at length." Sc¨¢thach tone turned slightly more polite.


    "Lesson? You mean beatings?" I tried to rify.


    She turned to me with a smile on her face. "Do you require another lesson so soon?"


    I cleared my throat. "Proceed." I took a step back.


    [She''s still got it] Ddraig began tough in my soul.


    Scathach sped her hands respectively. "Master of the Second, yer of the Crimson Moon, the honor is mine." She also did a bow, practically mimicking his actions.


    "I suppose the Grail''s information is filling some nks." I muttered at her apparent ''Knowledge''.


    "Indeed." Zelretch stroked his beard. "Now that the stiff formalities are out of the way, shall I call you Granddaughter?" He said with a mirthful grin.


    Sc¨¢thach let out augh. "I can see where my student gained his attitude. And I would wee the new title to my name."


    Well, that was easy enough.


    Then again, they''re both the type not to sweat the small stuff. He called her Granddaughter, and she epted it without any fuss.


    Taking the break in the conversation as a que, it was my Servant''s turn for introduction. "And my Servant who fought with me during the War that retrieve the Grail I used to summon you." I pointed over to Raikou who was.....not the most pleased right now.


    Yeah....she did a good job of keeping her face even, but I could practically feel the annoyance radiating off her.


    "I am Minamoto-no-Raikou, Leader of the Four Heavenly Kings." She said almost.....challengingly.


    Sc¨¢thach raised an eyebrow. "I am Sc¨¢thach, Queen of the Land of Shadows."


    "Daughter of Gozu-Tennou." Raikou stood proudly, which is odd considering she didn''t like to speak of her Oni heritage much.


    "God-yer." Sc¨¢thach didn''t back down either.


    Raikou twitched, a visible look of anger shed across her face.


    And suddenly, this was taking a turn for the worse.


    I wish I had the mental link with Sc¨¢thach at this point. No, I don''t even have Command Seals for her despite the fact that she''s a Servant. You merely had to look at her own hand to figure out what happened.


    It wasn''t a mere summon, otherwise that would have wasted the Grail in such a way I would be ashamed in myself.


    No, it also incarnated her upon her summons, while alsoyering several other ''versions'' of herself ontop one another to make her ''vessel'' perhaps one of the most absurd in existence. Frankly, I think only a Grand Servant could beat her in that respect.


    A side effect ¨C no mental link tomunicate with her.


    {Raikou.} I tried to speak softly through our link, soothing her. {Please calm down.}


    She perked up, eyes darting to me. {Master.} She sounded indignant. {You don''t need this woman! Your Mother is all you need! I can do anything for you better than she can.}


    "Raikou." I whispered, stepping between them. Sc¨¢thach took that as a silent que to step away, obviously able to read the atmosphere. I reached out, lightly taking her hand. "No one can rece you." I gave her a genuine smile.


    "Master~" She pulled me in, pushing my face between her breasts like she often did. "Mommy is happy." She practically purred into my ear.


    I heard Sc¨¢thach harrumph, right next to us. "I would like to see more than just this room after finally being out of the Land of Shadows."


    Shetched onto my arm in a strange show of ''affection''. "Come, my student, you will introduce me to the other presences outside."


    Raikou scowled, taking my other arm. "Master, YOUR Servant will help you with whatever you need. Don''t bother with some decrepit olddy."


    Sc¨¢thach paused, slowly turning her head towards Raikou. "Decrepit olddy am I?" She repeated, a small twitch of her eye followed the words.


    Raikou returned a strained smile filled with anger. "I did not mention your name, why do you assume I was speaking of you. How strange." She feigned ignorance.


    "This bitch..." Sc¨¢thach frowned.


    "Master, don''t spend time with this uncouth women. Your Mother doesn''t want you to pick up any bad habits."


    "Bad... habits?" Sc¨¢thach looked at her incredulously. "Do we know the same person?"


    "Alright, alright!" I stepped between them again. "None of that. This is a happy day, no fighting."


    "Go, Go." Zelretch shooed us out after everyone calmed down. "I''ll get to work on the ''other'' project. Go say hi to the others."


    "Other project?" Sc¨¢thach raised an eyebrow at me while I nced at Raikou. A look of understanding shed across her face briefly. "Very well, let''s go. There are a few powerful auras out there, I''m curious who else is here."


    Raikou did not like Sc¨¢thach basically pulling me along, but I think she was holding her tongue for my sake.


    And my teacher unceremoniously pushed the door open to see everyone sitting around.


    "Of course you''d wish for a girl." Mordred was the first to speak up. "Seriously, I''m not even surprised."


    "That''s...honestly fair." I couldn''t even bring up a counter argument. "This is Sc¨¢thach." I gestured to her. "She''s my ¨C"


    "I''m his woman." She said tantly and without any fanfare.


    I took a moment, blinking a surprise at her admittance. But then again, she wasn''t someone who beats around the bush


    "Sup, I''m Achilles." The Rider server gave a little wave. "Heard you''re a pretty good teacher. Doubt you''re as good as Chiron, but at least you''re a treat to look at."


    "Hooh." Sc¨¢thach slowly turned to him. "I''ll have to fill in some gaps in ''Chiron''s'' teachings then." Ah, that tone of hers still sends a shiver down my spine.


    "I''m ready to go, any time anywhere." Achilles grinned.


    "Don''t mind Achilles, he only thinks with his spear." The Archer spoke up. "I''m Atnta, and this is Jackie." The huntress still held the Assassin close.


    "Don''t all boys?" Sc¨¢thach chuckled. "I know of you, Huntress. I hope to see your archery skills some time."


    "The praise of a God-yer is something I''ll cherish." Their conversation was tact and respectful.


    "And this...Jackie." Sc¨¢thach narrowed her eyes. "I''ve never seen such a conglomeration of Ghosts that made such a coherent whole before. Tell me child, do you wish to be purified?"


    Assassin looked up, not even phased by my teacher''s stare. "We want to stay with mommy." She nced over to Reika who looked to be half sleeping in the corner.


    Sc¨¢thach just smiled, shaking her head. "I suppose it''s not my ce anymore. I''m no longer living, so protecting the world from such things is no longer my purpose."


    "And this is my son, Mordred." I pointed towards the knight of Treachery who was just sitting silently.


    "Fuck you." She flipped me off.


    Sc¨¢thach cackled. "I like her."


    Mordred grunted in acknowledgement. "Heard you''re a hard ass bitch." They seemed to be sizing up one another, simr to Achilles but less...ckadaisical. "Wouldn''t mind going a round or two when we have time."


    "That can be arranged." My teacher nodded in satisfaction, looking over Mordred again. "I have a feeling we''ll get along well."


    ***


    Scathach finally back and introduced to everyone. Raikou beingpetitive and Scathach going along with it because she finds it amusing.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 202 - 193

    <h4>Chapter 202: Chapter 193</h4>


    It was weird, but nice, Having this colorful array of people all in one room and happily conversing without any issue.


    Well, kind of.


    Of course some heads were butting, but, it was mostly in good fun. Sc¨¢thach was certainly someone who didn''t take shit from people; amused by their words and actions or not, she would return whatever verbal licks she received with interest.


    Maybe that''s why she was sort of in this weirdpetition with Raikou. I know for a fact that Sc¨¢thach isn''t one to be so tantly affectionate in public, yet she was willing to lean into me a little more than normal, and even briefly brush up on me with her hand.


    It may not seem like much, but this was certainly more forward than she normally was. This was the same woman who would strip naked just to tease me, yet would hesitate to show actual affection. The little smile she sent me, for the briefest of moments when our hands touched.


    It really made my heart flutter.


    And Raikou was being extra clingy due to the summoning of Sc¨¢thach.


    Well, Zelretch was working on something, and it should be done soon. Only a little bit longer and we can fix this issue she had with her Mad Enhancement.


    "Oi, Bastard." Mordred said as she sort ofzily leaned back in her chair, tilting it on the back legs. "What''s this world of yours like, the one you were going to bring me to?"


    Suddenly, the small conversations stopped, and all eyes were on me.


    "Kinda curious too." Achilles spoke up. "You said there was some stuff there I''d have fun with, like during my time."


    "Alright, I may as well exin this properly." I paused for a moment, mulling over how I should begin. "To start off, basically, the Age of Gods never ended. That isn''t a perfect exnation for my birth world, but it should give you an idea of what''s going on."


    "Everyone still around, even my mom?" Achilles asked.


    "Honestly, I don''t know about your mom. I do know there was a long period of warring that happening between the supernaturalmunities of the world, and many factions lost some or most of their numbers."


    "How is the world even standing? If the Olympians went to war, I can''t picture humanity still surviving."


    "The simple answer is that the gods there are.....weaker than the gods you think of here. Don''t ask me how or why, I can''t give you a good enough exnation. Could be the reason they''re still around, a trade off if you will. And second, there were enough....entities that wished to preserve the world for the most part."


    "Like who?" Sc¨¢thach was the one who asked this time, looking at me rather curiously. I spoke about my world during our time together, but we never really delved into it.


    "The Abrahamic God, for one."


    "He''s like....real? Appears and shit?" Mordred was probably the closest to what could be considered ''Christian'' in the room. It was during her time that the religion started taking off. Even Artoria believed in that specific world view, despite never voicing her beliefs.


    "Yup." I said simply. "His Angels appear on earth all the time. If you really wanted, it wouldn''t be hard to meet some of them. Hell, they''d probably love to ''sponsor'' you or something if you were inclined." Getting into the deeper stuff at this point would probably be unwise. I''d let her settle down first before dropping any of those huge revtions on her.


    "I.....will process thatter." Mordred wisely decided not to think too deeply on it.


    "So yeah, supernatural factions, everyone you could think of is up and about." I nodded before realizing something. "Oh." I turned towards Achilles and Atnta, thetter of whom still had Assassin in herp. "I forgot to mention, I''m not entirely human."


    "I fucking knew it." Achilles perked up. "So what are you, the Grail gave me info on Youkai, you something like that?"


    "Half-Devil." I corrected. It was....weird admitting it so tantly and not being...mboyant about to ease the tension.


    Achilles just blinked. "Huh."


    "Yeah, my old man is actually Lucifer. Though, not the Lucifer you probably think about that the Grail told you. No, the original died way back when and it''s now used as a title like ''President'' or something."


    "Sounds weird." Mordred looked uncaring, which made me smile slightly. "Alright, so everything exists, God, devils, other gods, Youkai. And somehow, it''s notplete and utter fucking chaos."


    "It sounds strange when you word it like that, but yes. The supernatural is hidden from the greater world, though they''re less.....bloodthirsty about it there. If you want to tell someone about the ''secret'' no one''s really going to bat an eye. You go into the middle of the city and start shouting about everything going on behind the curtains, and you''re going to get people pissed" They needed at least a minimal rundown.


    "So you''re saying there''s plenty of strong people to fight?" Achilles grinned.


    "Oh, hell yes!" Mordred mmed her chair down.


    "Yup. I actually fought Okita Souji over there. He was reincarnated into a Devil." I blinked in realization that I hadn''t exin that shit. "And stay away from Devils trying to use something called ''Evil Pieces'' on you. It turns you into a devil, and you be ves under them."


    "Got it, tell devils to fuck off." Mordred seemed uncaring. "So, where are you taking us?"


    "A small dimension oveid atop Kyoto over there that houses a good portion of Japan''s Youkai. It''s ruled by a Nine-Tailed fox by the name of Yasaka ¨C whom I am acquainted with."


    "God, how many women are you fucking?" Mordred huffed.


    "Language, there are children here." Atnta chided.


    "Please, she''s probably older than I am." Mordred rolled her eyes, clearing speaking about Assassin.


    "I was speaking of Achilles." She smiled


    "Hey!" The Greek hero eximed.


    "Tell me of this fox." Sc¨¢thach interrupted, looking at me intently.


    "Oh shit." Mordred whistled with augh.


    "I''m more curious about the Greek Gods. Is my teacher still kicking around over there? How about Herc, I always wanted to fight him." Achilles seemed to start speaking his mind.


    "Anyone I would know still around? I would bet a lot of fucking money that the Flowery Bastard is still alive and doing shit." Mordred added on.


    "Is Lady Artemis alive as well? I couldn''t imagine her dying." Atnta joined in. "I wonder if she would wee me."


    "My student, my question has not been answered." Sc¨¢thach ced her hand ''gently'' on my arm.


    "Can I just.....exin without a million questions?" I sighed, dropping my head to the table, making everyone quiet down. "Thank you." I did reach over and squeeze Sc¨¢thach''s hand. "And to answer your specific question, Yasaka is....the mother of my daughter."


    Sc¨¢thach blinked, seemingly surprised by my words and caught off guard. "I must have been gone a long time."


    "It''s been a few months."


    "Then I feel as though you hid some matters from me."


    "She''s not my blood daughter, got adopted by her at some point and things just happened."


    Sc¨¢thach hummed. "I will meet her soon, yes?"


    "Yes, I''ll be taking anyone who wants to go over."


    "Good." She nodded simply.


    "Now." I pped my hands. "Important matters, and no more interruptions." I eyed everyone in the room. "So, I know Yasaka, one of two people who rule over Japan''s Youkai. I have a home in Kyoto, which she rules, that is anchored to several worlds so you can use it toe and go to various ces. If you want to stay over there, I can set you up with the needed stuff like identities and money." I paused to allow everyone a chance to now ask questions.


    "Alright, so do you care what we do? You''re not going to hold this over our heads or anything, right?" Achilles questioned.


    "No." I shook my head. "Well, I''d like to say this is conditioned on you not bing my enemy, but I think we both know how that''ll end." I gave him a smirk.


    "Really, want to test that out right now?"


    "I would be more than happy to in his ce." Sc¨¢thach red over at him. Surprising me how defensive she was being of my person.


    Achilles clicked his tongue. "Fine, whatever. I just wanna check the ce out and see what''s what."


    "Good. And I understand you all probably don''t want to stay with me, so setting you up with your own ces won''t be hard, and finding work that you would like. That is to say, hunt down monsters or strays and stuff like that is always in demand."


    "Damn, that sounds awesome. Where do I sign up?" Mordred immediately perked up.


    "I''ll talk to Yasaka.....funnily enough there''s actually a descendant of that world''s Arthur working under her due to some.....circumstances."


    Mordred blinked. "Really?"


    "Yeah, the dumbasses there name themselves after you all every generation for some reason. His actual name is Arthur Pendragon. His sister is Le Fay Pendragon, and their father''s name is --- can you guess it?" I sighed.


    "That''s fucking stupid." Mordred scowled. ".....is someone named after me?"


    "Not that I know of."


    "And I have the sudden urge to go beat some idiots up."


    "Hey, I''ll happily join in. I think Artoria would like to have some words with them too, so it can be a bonding experience."


    Mordred paused for a moment. "Is father over there?"


    "She''s in another world at the moment, but she lives at my house, which you can visit." I eyed her reaction. "And I assumed you would like your own ce and be able toe over at your own.... pace."


    Mordred nodded slightly, but opted not to speak her mind, so I didn''t push it.


    "Alright, so, I already told Assassin and her Master their options. They''re going to live over there and enjoy a somewhat peaceful life. What you lot do is up to you, but if you act stupid, I''m going to get pissed. And that also means no telling anyone where you came from, I don''t want to have to deal with peopleing after me because of that."


    "I have no problems as long as you don''t restrict my freedom." Atnta still rubbed Assassin''s head. Thetter of whom seemed to ept her new ce in life. "But what about Medea, you said she was here?"


    "She is in this world we''re in at the moment." I confirmed. "And I n on anchoring my home over in the city she lives in at some point. That being said, she is expecting you, but I didn''t give her an exact time or date. I thought both of you would like a heads up before one or the other just decided to drop in."


    "That''s.....considerate." Atnta epted my intentions. "Thank you." She sent a nod my way, one of appreciation. "It would probably be best that Medea knows specifically when we will meet."


    Yeah, dropping in on the Witch of Betrayal abruptly with a not-so-great history for dealing with surprises may not be the best of ideas.


    "Kairi, Reika." I nced towards the two quietest people in the room. They were off in their own respective corners, trying to appear as small as possible. "Anything you both want to add? Any issues you want to bring up, or any questions?"


    I couldn''t fault them at how hesitant they were being, seeing as they were both ''regr humans'' as such. It was probably a bit intimidating to even hold a conversation with these people.


    "Yeah." Kairi stood straighter. "When am I getting paid?"


    Mordred snorted and let out augh.


    I cracked a smile, and the mood in the room lightened up a little bit. "Whenever you want. But, you wannae on over with Mordred or do you want me to send you back to your own World-Line?"


    "The chance to see another world with Phantasmals still walking around? I may not be much of a Magus anymore, but that''s not an opportunity I can pass up." Kairi for his part actually seemed genuinely interested and not just going with the flow.


    "Yeah, Master!" Mordred cheered. "This is gonna be awesome!"


    "I have noints if you are still fulfilling your end of the bargain." Reika''s words were straight to the point.


    "I am, I just need to make sure everything is settled with Yasaka and then you''re in the clear."


    "Thank you." She said quietly, and I took that as a que to stop pressuring her with responses.


    Zelretch chose that moment to walk in, grabbing everyone''s attention. "Ah, Wilhelm." He turned towards me. "I have the issue settled and we can manage that when you have some time. Also when you get back from dropping everyone off, I have some personal matters I wish to speak to you about."


    Personal matters?


    That sounded...odd.


    I don''t think I''ve ever talked to him about his own ''personal matters''. The way he worded it meant that I didn''t have knowledge of them, which meant it''s something I''d not gotten when receiving his memories.


    "No, problem, gramps." I replied. It sounded like it was something important, so I wouldn''t waste too much time. "Alright kids ,anything else before we go?"


    "I think you''re the youngest in the room." Achilles deadpanned.


    "Huh." I blinked at the realization. "Anyways..." I flipped my hand over, letting Mirage drop into my grip. With a quick swiped, a portal opened up. "Off we go. Chop chop." I pped my hands.


    They all unceremoniously walked through the portal until it was just Raikou, Sc¨¢thach, and I left. "Ready?" I offered my arms to both of them.


    "Fufu." Sc¨¢thach let out a small chuckle. "How interesting. All manner of beasts, gods and demons still about? I''m a little excited for this world of yours."


    Raikou red at her but took my arm happily. "Master, I look forward to seeing my home again." She beamed at me happily.


    Sc¨¢thach was the one to send a small re her way before lightly reaching out for my empty arm.


    "Well, it seems like you have things well in hand." Zelretch just chuckled at my predicament. "See you soon." He waived us off as we stepped through.


    ***


    Stepping through, I heard Mordred whistle, looking out across the town. "Seeing is really different than hearing." She muttered as there were probably hundreds of different Youkai several blocks down, all going about their daily lives.


    "The air here does feel a lot like back in our time." Achilles knelt down, scooping up some dirt. "Forgot how much more ''free'' it felt back then than the current time." He clutched his hands, looking down at himself.


    They all seemed to just take in the sights until Mordred grabbed my attention.


    "Oi, Bastard." She shouted. "What''s this thing." She knocked against the giant spike I had infront of my yard.


    "Oh, that." I honestly had forgotten about it since it didn''t ''travel'' along with my house. "Fought a giant...dragon-like creature over in America. Took that as a souvenir." I doubt they''d know what Godzi was.


    "Like Godzi?" Kairi was inspecting it, making me chuckle.


    "Actually, yes." I nodded. "My and Izzy saw it pop up. The Government over there actually has a supernatural division, and they mobilized a giant robot to fight it."


    "You''re fucking with me." Kairi looked at me incredulously.


    "Nope. Izzy even has pictures." I shook my head with a chuckle.


    "Izzy, is this another women I should know about?" Sc¨¢thach poked me.


    "Erm..."I scratched my head. "She''s just a friend."


    Raikou puffed up. "It isn''t who I think it is, is it?"


    "Oh, and who elicits such a reaction?" Sc¨¢thach seemed interested.


    "I...may or may not be friends with Izanami-no-Mikoto." I said quietly.


    "Interesting." Sc¨¢thach gained a strange gleam in her eye.


    "Your life is weird." Mordred just blinked.


    "Well, not one of my gods." Was Achilles response.


    "Anyways." I pped my hands, changing the subject. "Alright, so I need to go talk to Yasaka, I doubt you lot want to tag along.


    "Boring."


    "Nah, I wanna go explore."


    "I need to keep this idiot out of trouble." Atnta jabbed her hand at Achilles.


    "I would like to walk around." Reika''s low voice reached my ears.


    "I should keep Saber from doing anything to cause problems." Kairi scratched his cheek.


    "We wanna go with mommy." The Assassin servant pouted.


    Herding fucking cats.


    Is this how Artoria felt all the time with her knights?


    "Right." I sighed. "Alrighty then." I went into my ring and took out arge amount of currency for this time and ce. Thankfully, money wasn''t really a factor. "Reika." I walked over to her. "Just to tie you over until I settle everything." I handed her a big stack of bills.


    "Thank you." She actually smiled. "Come along, Jackie. I''ll treat you to some ice cream."


    "Ice Cream?" The little girl asked in confusion.


    "Mhmm, it''s a little treat for being such a good girl." Her Master leaned down, giving her a little kiss on the forehead.


    "Oooh!" The little Murderer practically had stars in her eyes.


    "Use my name if you get into trouble." I raised my voice so she could see. "It atleast has some weight here right now." And at the very least, I''m connected to Yasaka, so that should give them some ''safety'' in the legal sense if anything arises.


    She raised her hand up in acknowledgement before disappearing down the street.


    "Kairi." I hand out a good chunk of money to him as well. "Consider it a gift. She did good, treat her to whatever."


    "Hey, I''m right here." Mordred huffed in annoyance, but that little twitch at the corner of her lips really removed any thoughts of her being truly upset.


    "Alright, if you see things on fire, assume we''re in trouble." He nodded happily, almost eager to explore the area.


    "Lets get something to eat, I''m starving." Mordred happily followed behind.


    I smiled watching them leave.


    "Alright, here you go, Atnta." I handed her quite a bit as well. "I suggest getting some modern clothes."


    "Mmm, that''s a good idea." She looked down at her armored gauntlets and current attire.


    "Thanks, man." Achilles shifted slightly. "You didn''t have to do all this."


    I paused and couldn''t help but smile. "Nah, you deserve something good." I held out my hand to him.


    He smirked, grabbing it. "Just don''t go soft. I want a rematch eventually."


    The two Greek Heroes sauntered off somewhere, but I knew that Atnta would alteast keep him out of.... significant trouble.


    "Now, Ladies?" I looked up at both Raikou and Sc¨¢thach. "Am I to assume you both wish to follow me?"


    Sc¨¢thach poked me with an eye roll. "You ask questions with obvious answers."


    "Mommy will go wherever her son goes." Raikou said without hesitation. And I didn''t miss the way she shifted to her ''normal'' clothes, those that showed off her amazing legs.


    And I think Raikou sent Sc¨¢thach a smug smile when she noticed my gaze. Sc¨¢thach snorted, but didn''t respond even as we began our walk towards Yasaka''s manor.


    "Are you okay, being out here like this, Raikou?" I asked my Servant.


    She had been taking many nces here and there, some scowls appearing as she eyed certain Youkai that walked down the street. "It''s...strange. Even back in my Era, when there a few Youkai that did live among Humans, it wasn''t like this."


    "She''s right." Sc¨¢thach spoke up, agreeing with my Servant. "Even over in Irnd, with all the Fae Folk, and other monsters that walked about. There were some that did live among humans without issues, but this ce has a different.....air about it.


    "I feel no need to draw my de." Raikou muttered, almost in defeat.


    "Mmm." Sc¨¢thach hummed. "It''s....peaceful."


    It''s strange that their little ''rivalry'' was kind of put on hold. A shared culture shock that both of them were experiencing.


    "....it''s nice." Sc¨¢thach finally muttered.


    "Yes, it''s a wee sight." Raikou seemingly agreed.


    They looked...happy? Content maybe. It was a hard expression to describe.


    "This should be her Manor up ahead." I lightly pulled on their arms, grabbing their attention. "A heads up, I n on revealing to her our origins in this meeting. I wanted to do so soon regardless, but the time feels right."


    "I have no issue with such a course of action. If this woman means anything to you, then having her in your confidence will not bother me." Sc¨¢thach seemed unconcerned.


    "I will follow Master''s wishes." Raikou smiled.


    It was as simple as that, huh?


    "There are many guards." Sc¨¢thach eyed the surroundings. "And they all have their eyes on us."


    "Tengu." Raikou said quietly. "I have never seen so many in one ce. Their ns mostly stayed away from me before."


    "Don''t worry, they''re friendlies." I smiled towards them.


    "Young Lord!" A familiar Tengu appeared infront of us with a burst of speed. "Wee back, Young Lord."


    "Soma, it''s good to see you again." I eyed him. "And it looks like you got stronger since west met."


    "It''s my honor to be remembered by the Young Lord." He bowed his head. "This one has made some gains on his training in your absence."


    "Well done." I praised him. "Is Yasaka in?"


    "Yes, she is awaiting you at the same ce." He stood up, head still bowed as he gestured towards the gates. "She has also already been informed of yourpanions."


    "Thank you, Soma." I nodded. "I will head over then."


    "Young Lord, I wouldn''t dare allow you to go without someone leading. Please allow me to show you the way again." He quickly tried to exin himself as he walked forward.


    Ah, proper manners. "Very well, let''s go."


    "Hmm, all these guards, they seem to be just the basic lot, yet they''re all atleast this level. It is impressive in its own way." Sc¨¢thach looked around.


    "Your words honor me, Madame. We are in fact the weakest Unit. As you enter deeper, the strength increases as well." He didn''t shy away from my Teacher''s bluntment. "I may not be at their level now, but I will work hard to reach such heights."


    Makes sense. They wouldn''t want their strongest shown around at the gates every day.


    "Hmm, you have a good attitude." She smiled. "I have a feeling I''ll have some free time soon. Maybe I should inspect these....guards of hers."


    Why did I feel a chill down my spine?


    "Are all of the guards here Tengu?" Raikou spoke up which surprised me. She normally didn''t like to converse with other people.


    "No, Madame." He shook his head, politely exining as we traversed therge building. "There are many different types of Youkai and other species that have pledged themselves to Lady Yasaka. We even have a few humans under our banner." He mused. "It is simply that there are about a dozen Tengu ns that have served Yasaka and her predecessors for centuries. We Tengu pride ourselves in our honor and abilities in warfare. Being such, most of our young tend to grow up admiring those who serve Lady Yasaka and follow their parent''s footsteps."


    "I see." Raikou muttered. I could guess that the situation was still very strange to her.


    "Here we are, Young Lord, and Ladies." He gestured towards the familiar doors again.


    "Thank you Soma, your help has been appreciated once again." I of course was polite and thanked him for his help.


    "Always, Young Lord." He bowed onest time before departing.


    I looked at the two women beside me before pushing the doors open.


    "My day has certainly brightened up." Yasaka sat at a table, three more seats had already been prepared with the tea still steaming. Her tails swayed gently behind her.


    Floofy.


    I had to resist the urge to run up and floof them.


    "Hello, Yasaka." I smiled towards her. "You look lovely again, did you do something with your hair?"


    She smiled back. "I did, I''m happy you noticed." She did seem genuinely happy. It was more....curled, I suppose. I would say it looked beautiful, but frankly, that wasn''t a hard threshold for her to achieve. Pretty fox is always pretty. "Some new faces." She gestured towards the empty seats. "Any friend of Wilhelm''s is wee here."


    "Thank you for your hospitality." Sc¨¢thach said with a small bit of respect. It was to be expected, she was of royalty. Basic manners was a must in situations like these.


    "Oh, it''s no problem." She grinned. "So, who''s my newpetition, hmm?" She yfully asked.


    I let out a sigh, knowing this wasing.


    Sc¨¢thach chuckled. "Competition? There is nopetition, I''m already his woman."


    "Oh, I like you." Yasakaughed. "What about you?" She looked at Raikou.


    "I am his mother." She said bluntly as if that answered every question.


    "...okay then." Yasaka seemed unsure of how to reply to that. "So, Wilhelm. What brings you over to my little neighborhood?"


    "Can I not juste to see you?" I asked.


    "I will always wee you in my home." She gave a gentle smile. "But I can see that look on your face, that you''re holding something back. I''m able to separate business from personal if it''s an issue of that kind."


    "No, it''s not like that..." I let out a sighed, biting my lip. It was...hard, being forting like this. But, I wanted to be honest, and I didn''t want to keep going on as I had before. I trusted her, I genuinely would trust her with my life, why couldn''t I trust her with my secrets? I knew it was ridiculous, but it was one of the hangovers I still had. "I wanted to tell you some of the secrets I''ve been keeping. You deserve to know if you''re going to be in my life."


    Yasaka perked up, that little mischievous smile she had on her face turned to something more natural.


    "Girls, can you introduce yourselves?" I asked mypanions.


    Yasaka looked confused but didn''t interrupt.


    "I am Sc¨¢thach, Queen of the Land of Shadows." My teacher did not even hesitate to reveal her true identity.


    Raikou stiffened, sitting up a bit straighter, probably due to somepetitiveness she was having with Sc¨¢thach. "I am Minamoto-no-Raikou, Leader of the four Heavenly kings." She stated.


    Yasaka, stared, barely blinking before slowly turning to me with a questioning gaze.


    "I have..... a lot of things to talk to you about." I said with a wry smile.


    ***


    And chaos has been let loose onto the world. So, I should be somewhat back on my normal posting schedule as I''m feeling close to normal now. Thanks for sticking around even with the absence of chapters while I was sick.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 203 - 194

    <h4>Chapter 203: Chapter 194</h4>


    It was a little amusing to see her tryto grasp the tale I wove. The description of concepts so utterly foreign to her that she needed very in depth exnations. It helped that I had both Sc¨¢thach and Raikou here with me to give credence. Not that I thought she would doubt me or call me a liar, but having someone else confirm something so oundish, it helped herpartmentalize everything.


    The small lull, these few moments of silence seemed to stretch on for a long while as Yasaka looked lost in thought.


    "I''m not quite sure how to react." Yasaka finally spoke.


    "Meridia said something simr." I chuckled.


    "Yes, this Meridia too. I had thought her just a lesser goddess I did not happen to know, but I''m guessing that''s incorrect." She looked at me expectantly.


    "Oh yes. Frankly, I would have the confidence to go into the Dimensional Gap and p the Great Red with her at my side."


    Yasaka opened her mouth and closed it again slowly. "That is another conversation forter." She seemed to push that aside for now. "And dare I ask about Artoria? I''m assuming...." She nced at Raikou and I could guess her thought process.


    "She''s also not from this version of Earth, but anything else I would like to have her reveal." I replied.


    "And Jinn?" Yasaka asked again.


    "Not much changed. She''s from a world called Remnant, but again, it''s her tale to tell."


    Yasaka nodded in understanding. "Sc¨¢thach....." She muttered looking at my Teacher.


    The God-yer smiled happily as Yasaka turned her attention onto her. "I''m surprised that such concepts are not widely known. Even during my era, the concept of Parallel Worlds was not something untouchable. Perhaps it was more ambiguous in understanding, but still known regardless."


    "I''ve only heard of the idea from human sciences and their theories." Yasaka shook her head. "If it is known, then it''s kept at the highest level of secrecy among the more powerful."


    "I doubt it''s apletely unknown idea." I interjected. "It''s how scrying the future works, or other variations of such. Looking at many possibilities along other World-Lines."


    Yasaka tilted her head, slowly adopting a look of contemtion. "That makes sense now that I have more context." She let out a sigh. "But I believe such things are beyond my pay grade." She then turned her attention to my otherpanion. "And Minamoto-no-Raikou." Yasaka was....stiff when addressing her. "Are you ufortable with me?"


    Raikou blinked for a moment. "Am I ufortable with you?" She didn''t seem to understand.


    "The.....version of you from this world." She appeared to be careful with her phrasing. "It was a little bit before my time, but my mother told me some stories on how she used to sh with him." Yasaka pursed her lips. "He left a scar on her that never healed. She told me he was a very arrogant and headstrong man, unwilling topromise with my kind on nearly any issue. He despised Youkai for reasons I do not know."


    Raikou bit her lip. "I have no problems with Youkai. I have known many in my life."


    I reached over and squeezed her hand, earning a small smile from my Servant. I knew she had a hard life and reminiscing about certain things made her depressed.


    "Okay." Yasaka said simply.


    "You are epting my words as fact?" Raikou seemed surprised. Her ''nature'' was being questioned, and that was perhaps her more sore spot.


    "I trust Wilhelm." She replied. "I have no doubt in my mind he would not bring someone around my Daughter that he thought they would harm her. By association I can assume you are not the same person as my Mother described in her stories."


    Raikou usually hated being addressed by other people, like they were so insignificant in her eyes that they didn''t matter. From what I could tell, it wasn''t some sort of superiorplex she had, but a genuine uncaringness for anyone else.


    And here she was looking ....happy.


    Now that I think about it, she was happy too when Jeanne dismissed her concerns over her Oni side. I guess she also had her own hang ups about her origin.


    "I have another question." Yasaka decided to speak up again. "Your Grandfather ¨C"


    "Yes, that was my home world." I replied, knowing what she was going to ask.


    Yasaka let out a little cuteugh. "You were so worried you took my Kunou to an entirely different world?"


    "I panicked." I huffed. "I knew my Grandfather would take good care of her.


    "That''s adorable." Sc¨¢thach went to pinch my cheek with a littleugh as I took the abuse. "My little student, all grown up."


    "Oh my, I didn''t even think to ask. You were the one who trained him?" Yasaka inquired.


    "Yes, he sought me out in the Land of Shadows and asked me to take him as my student." Sc¨¢thach had a gentle smile on her face as she reminisced. "What wonderful days those were. It was quite fun to thoroughly beat some sense into him." She slipped into a slight smirk as she eyed me. "But he grew into a good man."


    "Oh Master, you''re blushing." Raikou pointed out with a mischievous smile. Something I didn''t think she was capable of in this state. Though I guess it was her focusing on me more so than the others.


    I groaned, letting my head fall to the table. "I knew letting you all meet would be a bad idea."


    "I believe this is the perfect moment for some stories when he was under my tutge." Sc¨¢thach had that tone in her voice, the one that I remembered when she wanted to mess with me. "I recall the first time I had him on the ground, my foot on his chest. Can you guess what his words were?"


    "Neaaahhhh!" let out a sound I didn''t know I could make as I tried to silence her


    She justughed, holding me back.


    ***


    There was a good while of them talking, basically ''around'' me, but I didn''t fault them for that. They were.....getting to know one another forck of a better term. Raikou was still sort of outside the conversation, merely paying attention when I was involved. And I''m really hoping Gramps is done with the ''issue'' soon.


    And I''ll definitely have to properly thank him when it''s done.


    Yeah, and some of my more embarrassing stories being told by Sc¨¢thach to Yasaka, who of course will never let me live them down.


    Oh well.


    I wouldn''t mind the teasing if it meant they bonded over it.


    But I will find Sc¨¢thach''s weakness and exploit it ruthlessly.


    Unfortunately, I did have a matter to bring up, disrupting their idle chatting. "I forgot about a semi-important matter before." I interjected. "And this isn''t an attempt to shift the subject."


    ''I don''t believe you, but continue." Yasaka replied without missing a beat.


    "So, Sc¨¢thach and Raikou aren''t the only ones here." Probably should have led with this....but I was distracted.


    Yasaka blinked. "A more thorough exnation, please."


    "Ah, well." I scratched my cheek. "Mordred is here, checking out the area. As are Achilles, and Atnta....and Jack the Ripper."


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka''s tone turned dry. "Did you say you just released a serial killer unto my city. One whom I am even aware of as a ¨Ctechnically¡ª reclusive Fox Spirit that lives on theplete opposite side of the world and doesn''t interact much with human society outside of my immediate vicinity."


    "Um.....spot me here, sweetie?" I turned to Sc¨¢thach.


    She gently reached her hand up and pattedmy cheek. "Dig yourself out of your own hole, ''sweetie''." She repeated with a little sarcasm in her tone.


    "Raikou?"


    "I wished to remove the conglomeration of specters at our first meeting, Master."


    "Want to try again?" Yasaka raised an eyebrow.


    "Yes." I sighed. "Alright, so it''s more like ¨C A big group of ghosts all pushed together into a vessel that could be called Jack the Ripper, but not actually Jack the Ripper because their identity was never known. So more like the ''idea'' behind their legend, if that makes sense."


    Yasaka looked thoughtful. "I can understand the gist of what you''re saying. But I follow up with, why did you bring them to my city?"


    "Um, its'' actually a little girl that wants to live quietly with their mom?" I offered.


    "...I hesitantly ept this exnation for now." Yasaka sighed. "But, perhaps I''m not the best person to host such a.....creature."


    "Well, if you don''t'' want them around, I can find somewhere else to set them up. They just wanted a quiet ce to live without disrupting normal humans."


    "No, no." She waived off my response. "I meant; I believe there is someone better." She rified. "You are aware I rule only over of Japan''s Youkai, yes?" She asked, though it was more rhetorical, so she continued. "Well, I guess there are technically some autonomous ns still up and about, but more or less, I rule over half of Japan''s Youkai. And on the other end there''s that old man who deals with many more....aggressive Youkai, Ghosts, and demons. Honestly, I think he just likes taking in the trouble makers. It''s probably why most Oni ns tend to migrate towards his territory."


    "Oni." Raikou perked up, now paying rapt attention.


    Yasaka paused. "Yes, though they don''t get up to much trouble like in the past. That old man keeps everything.....contained these days."


    Well, it''s obvious Yasaka caught on to Raikou''s.....situation, even if she probably didn''t know the details.


    "Nurarihyon, huh?" I rubbed my chin.


    "Nurarihyon!?" Raikou''s eyes shot open.


    "Do you know him?" Yasaka asked in confusion. "I did not think he was....that old? I remember he was around during my Mother''ster years, but I hadn''t heard anything before that."


    Raikou shook her head. "I had several run ins with that....man." She huffed. "And he doesn''t have an age. His ability to go undetected isn''t constrained to living beings. He was able to slip out of the perception of the Time-Line if he wished. Such there is no point of speaking about age when he could be unperceivable to the passing of the years as well."


    Well, isn''t that a frightening thought. Sounds more like a True Ancestor than a mere Youkai.


    Yasaka blinked at that. "That sounds very different than the one I am used to. As strong as he is, I don''t believe he''s capable of a feat like that. Honestly, I don''t think most Gods are capable of messing around with Time unless itys within their domain."


    "Yes, Wilhelm informed us that the deities of this world are...weaker than the ones we''re used to." Sc¨¢thach spoke up. "If I had to guess, I would say their natures are different enough that they are not allowed certain permissions to the world''s underlining concepts as custodians."


    "That was my initial thought. The trade off being their sustainability away from the World''s control." I nodded along.


    "I''m lost, but I fear I don''t want to know." Yasakamented. "Going back on topic, these people you have running around my territory?"


    "Oh, yeah. Well, my House is connected to several different Worlds, and they seemed like a bunch that wouldn''t mind getting their hands dirty ¨C minus Jack the Ripper ¨C so....if you have some monsters or strays that need killed...?"


    Yasaka seemed surprised. "Actually...that would be helpful. There had been an influx of Stray Devils, roaming Youkai and other unsavory elements popping up after what happened before."


    "So, in the immediate time frame, I just wanted to set them up with homes somewhere. I have the money to pay and everything, but I felt it appropriate to wait for your blessing due to their.....status and strength."


    "I appreciate the thought." Yasaka smiled. "And while their identities could be potentially politically hazardous, I do believe their presence may outweigh any negatives." She reassured me. "I have some properties here or there that are unupied. I''ll have someone fetch the documents for them."


    "Thank you." I replied with sincerity.


    "Oh, think nothing of it." Her tails swayed happily. "I can do something this easy for the father of my daughter without a second thought." She grinned watching both Sc¨¢thach''s and Raikou''s reactions. The mischievous fox. "Speaking of our Daughter."


    As if right on que, the door opened and a little kitsune walked in. I turned to look, and she appeared just as surprised to see me as I was her.


    "Daddy!" She shouted, rocketing towards me.


    I was already out of my seat, sweeping her up in my arms. "My little fox." I hugged her tight.


    "Always going straight for daddy." Yasaka giggled, still seated.


    Kunou finally pulled away, but still tugged on my shirt as she pulled me towards Yasaka. "Mooom! Why didn''t you tell me dad was back." She whined.


    "I just found out earlier, sweetie." She lightly poked her daughter on the nose. "And behave, we have guests."


    Kunou blinked, looking around as her eyesnded on mypanions. She looked a little sheepish as she tucked her head down a little. "Hi, I''m Kunou." She said quietly.


    Sc¨¢thach stood up, walking the few steps over before lowering herself down to Kunou''s eye level. "Hello, little one." My teacher was astonishingly gentle as she introduced herself to my daughter. Now that I think about it, I had never seen her interact with children before, so this was entirely new ground I was treading.


    "A-are you another one of my Aunties?" She hesitantly asked, seemingly epting the idea quite easily.


    Sc¨¢thach eyed me for a moment before looking back down at Kunou. "Yes. Yes I am." She smiled warmly towards her new niece. "And I look forward to spending more time with you."


    "How did you meet dad?" Kunou asked.


    "Your father came to me for training a few years ago." She smiled wistfully. "And for reasons I still don''t understand, he wanted to take an old witch like me as his women."


    "Auntie, you aren''t old." Kunou puffed up. "You''re still so pretty, like mom."


    "Fufu." Sc¨¢thach gently patted her head. "You are just adorable. You may call me Sc¨¢thach ¨C or Auntie if you prefer." She stated with obvious amusement in her voice.


    "Should I be taking that as apliment, or should you?" Yasaka mused, wrapping up Kunou from behind.


    Raikou slowly stood up from her seat and also came over, which earned Kunou''s attention as she escaped from her mom''s grasp.


    Raikou didn''t speak, opting to bite her lip like she didn''t know what to say.


    {Need help?} I asked through the mental link.


    {Master has a daughter....I don''t know what to do. Am I supposed to introduce myself? Is it okay for me to hug her? Do I have her call me grandmother?} Her thoughts were a little frantic.


    I decided to help her out. "Kunou." I grabbed her attention. "I''d like to introduce you to Raikou." I gestured towards my Servant who was awkwardly shifting in the spot she was standing. "My mom."


    The look on Raikou''s face when I said that I honestly thought she was going to start crying.


    Even when she assumed the ''role'' of my ''mother'' upon her summoning, I never really.... acknowledge it. It felt weird to say, but it was simple words for me, and even in her madness, it seemed like a big thing for her.


    So why not?


    I have no idea what''s going to happen once we ''fixed'' her forck of a better word, but in this moment, I can''t say I''ve ever seen her happier since we''ve met.


    Raikou basically swept up little Kunou into her bosom. "Such a cute girl." Raikou cooed. "My granddaughter is so sweet!"


    Well, that was easy enough for her to ept the rtionship. I have no idea what mental gymnastics she went through when she was having trouble even speaking to Kunou a moment before.


    I shared a look with Yasaka, just shrugging with a ''what can I do'' expression.


    "Any interest in training the youngs?" Sc¨¢thach asked. "I admit, her natural physique does pique my interest."


    Raikou harumphed. "My sweet granddaughter doesn''t need lessons from such a brute. If she wishes to learn to fight, I can teach her my n''s techniques."


    "Brute?" Sc¨¢thach scowled. "Perhaps we should settle with this a spar."


    "How surprising that you wish to resort to violence." Raikou''s sarcastic tone was obvious to all that could hear.


    Funnily enough, it seemed like this didn''t even faze Kunou who was watching them with unrestrained interest.


    I turned towards Yasaka who looked at me and let out a sigh with a smile on her face. I couldn''t help but chuckle at their antics.


    My smile only grew when I felt a fluffy appendage wrap around my waist.


    ***


    Raikou and Sc¨¢thach meet the little fox. Sorry for thete chapter, i took a nap and idently set my rm to AM instead of PM.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 204 - 195

    <h4>Chapter 204: Chapter 195</h4>


    "You know, I''m almost jealous." I admitted, leaning my head on Raikou''s shoulder. I also had a furry tail in myp as I gently ran my hand through the softness.


    "Of which one?" Yasaka asked with a little chuckle.


    "Yes." I said with a cheeky little smile.


    "Keep your feet facing forward." Sc¨¢thach knelt next to Kunou, raising her arm up as she held a ''spear '' aloft. Though, it was more a wooden stick given theck of a spear head. "Good, now adjust your grip like this." She helped Kunou move her hands to the correct spot.


    "Well done." Sc¨¢thach stood up, looking very proud.


    Cute teacher is cute.


    I of course took several pictures when she wasn''t looking.


    "Mom, look!" Kunou called out, thrusting the ''spear'' under Sc¨¢thach''s directions.


    I wonder how Cu would react if he saw her acting like this. Funnily enough, I could easily guess this was Sc¨¢thach ''ying'' with Kunou. I doubted she has much experience with children, so this was probably how she defaulted when interacting with others.


    "Mommy is watching." Yasaka waved to her daughter who had a bright smile on her face.


    "Where was this gentle teacher when I was training? If I did something wrong, it was followed up with me getting my ass beat." I chuckled.


    "For good reason." Sc¨¢thach huffed, clearly in hearing range.


    "Your sadism isn''t a good reason." I deadpanned.


    Her head snapped to me. "It seems you are in need of remedial lessons."


    Normally those words would have filled me with dread, but looking at her, I couldn''t help but smile. "I missed you."


    Sc¨¢thach blinked and deted, like all the wind had been let out of her sails. If I didn''t know any better, I think she pouted briefly. She kind of fumbled a response, just huffing and turning back to Kunou.


    Hmm.


    Curious.


    I didn''t dwell on it, instead bringing up the fluffy tail and pushing my face into it. I didn''t want to this to end, but I knew I was pushing it time-wise.


    Zelretch had asked me toe back after settling the other''s issues.


    "So....should we tell Kunou?" I looked up at Yasaka.


    Yasaka didn''t show any difort as I yed with her tail. Perhaps she even enjoyed it if her expression was anything to go by. "If you wish to, I would not object." She said calmly. "But maybe we should wait a little bit."


    It''s a valid train of thought. Don''t want to give her an existential crisis or anything. Maybe best to wait until she''s a little bit older?


    "I''ll trust your judgement." I replied without a second thought. Gods know I have no idea what I''m doing half the time. I shifted in my spot, sitting up and doing a little stretch.


    "Is it that time already?" Yasaka eyed me.


    "Am I that easy to read?" I frowned, still holding her tail.


    "You have this look whenever you have to leave." She gave a soft smile. "It''s very cute."


    I ducked my head to avoid her eyes as her teasing tends to get an unconscious reaction out of me. I don''t know how, but she could easily get me flustered, even when I had other women literally throwing their naked bodies at me.


    "Gramps wanted to talk to me about something after the others were taken care of. It seemed like something pretty important so I don''t want him to wait too long." I quickly exined.


    "Mmm, I still haven''t forgotten about your promise." She waived her tail in my face.


    "I haven''t forgotten either." I gave her a smile. "Let me see what''s wrong. I can deal with anything he needs me to and be back rtively quick. Then....I don''t think I''ll be going anywhere for awhile."


    "I''ll hold you to that." Her tail slowly moved back behind her. "I would also like to ask something of you."


    "Sure, you need something?"


    "Need? No, but I would very much want it." The corners of her lips tugged upwards. "There will be a festival in a couple weeks, I would like know if you wanted to apany me."


    I blinked in surprise. "Are you asking me out on a date?"


    "I suppose I am." She grinned. "I did say I would be pursuing you, did I not?"


    "I would love to." I felt my heartbeat pick up.


    She smiled gracefully, before turning towards our daughter. "Kunou, sweetie. It''s time to wrap it up. Daddy and your Aunties have some errands to run."


    Kunou''s ears drooped. "But mooom." She whined.


    "Sweetie, what have I told you about doing that?" She lightly chided her daughter. "Daddy will be back soon, he has to help Grandfather out."


    It was....oddly attractive seeing Yasaka in ''mom mode''.


    I stood up, giving a little pat on Raikou''s shoulder. She had been....silent but otherwise didn''t have any other reactions after a bit.


    "I''ll be back soon." I walked up, wrapping my daughter into a hug. "I doubt it''ll take long, and I''ll be here for a long while afterwards." I reassured her.


    "Un." She buried herself into my chest, her tails waiving happily.


    "I''ll go make sure the others are settled and get out of your hair." I looked up at Yasaka.


    "I can handle that." She waived my off. "They just require somewhere to stay and some kind of identification, correct?"


    "Yeah, I didn''t want them to be cooped up in Kyoto and most of them aren''t Japanese."


    "It won''t be too difficult. I can send some of my people to handle that." She walked up, cupping my cheek. "Go help your Grandfather with whatever he needs. I can deal with this in your ce."


    "Are you sure? I don''t want to just push all thing onto your te."


    "I am more than capable of alleviating some of your burdens. If I couldn''t flex my power for something so simple, what is the point of my leadership?" She let out augh.


    "I won''t say no to the extra help then." I mulled it over. "Be careful, most of them are wound up tight. I would suggest not sneaking about."


    "Good, I''ll tell my people not to cause problems. But I will require payment." She didn''t even give me time to answer before grabbing me by the cor and pulled me into a kiss.


    "Eww, gross." Kunou made gagging noises as Yasaka imed my lips.


    "Well, I need to stake my im, hmm?" She eyed both Raikou and Sc¨¢thach.


    "Oh, I feel like we''ll get along well." Sc¨¢thach didn''t look at all put off, adopting a humorous smile.


    Yes, I''m sure.


    I walked towards Raikou, holding my hand out to her, which she happily epted and stood up.


    "We''ll be back in a couple days at the most." I said onest time towards Yasaka and Kunou. At the very least, I could time our return to match those specifics without causing any issues.


    "Lady Yasaka." Sc¨¢thach was polite in her words. "Thank you for your hospitality."


    "Oh, none of that." She waived her hand dismissively. "Just call me Yasaka."


    Sc¨¢thach smiled. "Then call me Sc¨¢thach." She said, walking up beside me.


    Yasaka give onest nod towards Raikou who returned it with a strained smile.


    With a flick of my hand, a Portal to Gramp''s home opened up.


    ***


    "That was interesting." Sc¨¢thachmented, walking back into the familiar room.


    Raikou pursed her lips. "She was not....unbearable." Which was odd considering Raikou barely acknowledged anyone else unless I sort of guided her.


    "Wonderful, you''re back." Zelretch stepped not the room almost immediately. "If you wouldn''t mind, I''d like to get started immediately."


    I looked at the others then back to him. "Yeah, let''s get this taken care of."


    I reached out to Raikou, taking her hand. "Raikou ,do you trust me?"


    "Of course, Master." She smiled brightly. "Your Servant will do whatever you ask."


    "We''re going to do a little something to modify your Saint Graph." I began to exin. "To....remove your Mad Enhancement."


    Raikou tilted her head cutely, as if not seeing the problem. "If that is your desire."


    I nced at Sc¨¢thach and it looked like she put all the pieces together.


    "Good." Zelretch pped his hands. "I have everything prepared and even did a little trick so the Grail wouldn''t know that the war is over for what we''re about to do." He ushered us back into the Room from which Sc¨¢thach had been initially summoned.


    "Altering a Servant''s Saint Graph is not an easy thing." Sc¨¢thach spoke up.


    "Yes, it''s like doing brain surgery with a Crayon." Zelretch agreed. "Even with the Grail.....there are many variables I''m having to take into ount."


    "What is the n exactly?" I asked.


    "We''re going to summon her Saber self into her Berserker body." Zelretch exined.


    "That is one of the option I''d thought up. Is it not simpler to just remove a part of her Saint Graph?" I questioned.


    "Ironically, it''s harder to just remove that specific ability. I devised a small work around that should solve everything in one quick motion." Gramps began. "But for this to seed, you need to dissolve the current contract with her."


    I looked down at my hand, thest Command Seal I possessed that represented our contract. The oath she gave to me and I gave to her upon summoning. I nced up at Raikou who continued to look unconcerned, opting to give me a gentle smile.


    I wanted her to be happy and not be under duress by this curse. "Raikou..." I focused on the seal in my hand. "By the power of this Command Seal." I took a deep breath. "Take a nap."


    "Master?" She looked at me with confusion as the waves of Magical Energy washed over her. Her eyelids became heavy and she slowly closed them, her body swaying.


    I quickly caught her before she fell, gentlyying her on the ground.


    "Good choice, it will be easier if she is asleep." Zelretch nodded in approval.


    "I understand now." Sc¨¢thach inspected my Servant. "I was confused as to why she was.....acting in such a manner. A Mad Enhancement, but she is not lost in the traditional rage that other Berserkers show."


    "Yeah." I said quietly. "She seems to be unable to form meaningful bond with other people. Treating them as if they''re insects or otherwise irrelevant unless I give them my attention. She was decently good at hiding it, but she did not like me being close to anyone else."


    I wasn''t oblivious to the signs, but at the same time, I was literally unable to do anything about it. Mad Enhancement was intertwined with her existence. I could no more tell her to ''stop'' than I could tell the sun to dim its light.


    "Let''s hurry, you don''t want her to disappear." Zelretch broke me from my thoughts.


    "I assume I need to do the summoning again?"


    "Indeed, but without the Berserker chant added."


    I nodded, holding my hand forward. "The path that connected us is still open, so it should be easier." I said quietly, ring my Magic Circuits.


    "Let Silver and Steel be to the Essence."


    "Let stone and the Archduke of Contracts be the Foundation."


    "Let Red be the color I pay tribute to."


    "Let Rise a Wall Against the Wind that Shall Fall."


    "Let the four Cardinal Gates Close."


    "Let the Three-Forked Road from the Crown Reaching unto the Kingdom Rotate."


    "I Hereby Dere!"


    "Your Body Shall service under me, but my Fate shall be in thy Sword."


    "Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail!"


    "If you ept this will and Reason, then Answer!"


    "Here is my oath."


    "I shall obtain All the Virtues of Heaven."


    "I Shall Hold Dominion Over all the Evils of Hell."


    "From the Seventh Heaven, Attended by the Three Great Words of Power, Arrive from the ring of Restraint, O''Keeper of the Holy Bnce!"


    There was less.....environmental effect this time around. I wasn''t summoning an entire Servant and creating their Ether-based body, but more so summoning another portion of a Servant into an already existing body


    A stream of light mmed into Raikou''s unconscious form, her body spasmed slightly as her existence became ''more''.


    Zelretch had his hand on the Grail, a look on concentration on his face as he worked his magic.


    "It''s done." He dered, stepping back with a sigh. "The summoning opened up her Saint Graph, so I was able to snip her Mad Enhancement from it before everything solidified."


    It looked simple on the surface, but I knew how difficult it was to truly do such a process in that meagre time frame. I would admit that I would have trouble doing it perfectl, yet he aplished it without any fuss.


    Just what I would expect from my former self.


    Zelretch let out a breath. "When you have a moment, I''ll be waiting in my office for a chat." He said simply, walking out of the room.


    I reached out, and gently scooped up Raikou in my arms. Sc¨¢thach was silent as she followed behind me. I walked through Zelretch''s home, finding my own room andying her onto my bed. "Let''s hope there are no more issues." I brushed my hand against her head, moving her bangs out of her face.


    I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. "You tend to overthink many things." Sc¨¢thach put her chin on my shoulder. "Even during my teachings, you would worry over the smallest details." I felt her breath tickling my ear. "It''s not hard to guess that your Grandfather is quite skilled at any endeavor he partakes in. If he was unconcerned, you can take that as confidence that there will be no issues."


    "I know." I said quietly, still looking over Raikou''s sleeping form. "I just....worry when it involves people I care about."


    She let out a small giggle. "Still that same sweet boy I met all those years ago." She ran a hand through my hair before I felt her lipsnd on my cheek. "Should you make your grandfather wait?"


    "No, it seemed important." I shook my head. I reached out, taking her hand in mine before turning around. Those red eyes of hers, they were just as beautiful as the first time I saw them.


    My free hand reached up, brushing against her cheek. "I finally got you back, but I feel like I keep having things pop up that take my attention away."


    "This Sc¨¢thach is not going anywhere." She whispered, her fingers interlocking with mine. "Take care of your business. I will watch over your Servant, so you need not worry."


    "Thank you." I mumbled.


    "Hmph." She squeezed my hand. "I won''t be out done by that fox." At that she basically mirrored Yasaka''s actions, pulling me down and cing her lips to mine.


    Just as quickly as she kissed me, she pulled back. "Now, depart. Lest this witch decides to take more from you." She teased, giving me a go head to leave.


    "Well, I wouldn''t say no." I shed her a cheeky smile.


    "Fufu, my student has be confident. Have you gained some experience in my absence, hmm? Are you no longer that blushing virgin that couldn''t even handle seeing me naked? I will make sure to thoroughly test you, you best be prepared."


    Again, I couldn''t help but smile, being on the receiving end of her sharp tongue. One more time before I left, I quickly wrapped my arms around her. "I''m d you''re back." I said softly.


    "Foolish boy." She huffed, but leaned in unexpectantly. "I am also d to be here."


    ***


    "Hey Gramps." I walked into his office after a knock. Looking over the room, my eyesnding on the bottle of scotch that was open on his desk. ".....going to be one of those talks, huh?"


    He smiled bitterly, pouring two sses. "This is more for me than for you." He was.....unsarcastically mncholic.


    I took the seat infront, reaching out for the ss, I brought it up to my nose. "Good scent, well-aged." I gave it a light twirl before taking a sip. There was the pleasant burning sensation as the liquid ran down my throat.


    "I would like to ask you if you''re okay." Zelretch started off.


    I let out a sigh. "Despite everything, having Sc¨¢thach back is a huge relief."


    He nodded, taking his own little drink. "Did something happen during the war?"


    "Just got taunt a lesson or two by Greece''s greatest teacher." I snorted, remembering how he led me around by the nose. "But....what really kicked me in the balls was Caster of Red''s noble Phantasm."


    "A caster, hmm? Which caster could give you such trouble?"


    "Shakespeare." I could feel a little bit of venom in my voice.


    "Now that''s surprising. Not a tradition Magus then, so he probably had some quirk that made him difficult to deal with."


    "His Noble Phantasm, it wasn''t something I could fight off. It...I want to say it targeted my Heart. It didn''t allow any kind of outside interference, and I couldn''t even hear Ddraig while it was active. I couldn''t use my Magic because a Mental world oveyed ontop of me." I shook my head.


    "I can see how such an opponent would be difficult for you to deal with." Zelretch nodded along.


    "He dredged up a lot of things I thought I was over, or pushed down. Granted, I think many of them were small things that his Noble Phantasm seemed to magnify." I bit my lip. "It summoned a mental projection of my Father."


    "I did not think you were particrly hung up on that bit."


    "I''m not, or at least I don''t think I am?" I questioned. "I can''t deny that I have some resentment I''ve hung onto. I think it''s understandable in my situation, but I haven''t really given it much thought in awhile. Honestly, he seems so irrelevant to me. But seeing him ''face to face'', it made me angry enough that I think Shakespeare''s Noble Phantasm was able to worm its way into my heart and really twist the proverbial knife."


    "So you think it was all hot air?"


    "No." I shook my head. "I feel like there were things I had to confront about myself. While I don''t think they were as.....blown up as his noble Phantasm made them to be, they were still things I needed to acknowledge."


    Yeah, his Noble Phantasm wasn''t merely ''saying mean things''. There was an actualponent that attacked my psyche, my heart and mind. If I had to guess, it made me slightly irrational in my responses. Where I would have opted to not engage and just ignore him while figuring out my situation, I chose to start arguing and saying things I would usually keep to myself.


    "I''m good though." I fingered the rim of my ss. "I ept that I''m not perfect, that I still have things I need to work through. I have my faults, and I don''t deny them."


    "That''s a mature way to handle it." Zelretch seemed to give his approval. "And if we''re sharing, I do have my own confession to make." He held up his ss, watching it briefly before down it all in one gulp. "It''s unlikely that you remember, but I had many paramours myself in my younger years."


    I blinked at his sudden words. "Yeah, I remember nothing of that. Now that I think about it, I don''t recall you ¨C me ¨C ever having even a simple girlfriend, much less a lover."


    "Well, that''s to be expected." He hummed. "If you were to pass your memories on, would you want your intimate moments to be included?"


    "That''s a fair point." I epted. "Go on." I gestured for him to continue.


    "Most of those I knew are long gone." He sighed, and the age really showed on his face. "I was foolish in my younger years. I thought I knew best, that I had to cut off all else to pursue my role, to uphold my existence. Maybe I would have never considered this if you hadn''te into my life." A small smile formed on his face. "If possible, I would like you to bring a letter to a woman I used to know. She was someone I cared for deeply that I had wronged. She deserved better than what I left her with."


    "She''s still around?" I questioned. Immortality or extending lifespans isn''t something too difficult to achieve. But for most people, it was out of their grasp.


    "She discovered her own way to obtain eternal youth." He chuckled. "That old witch. Most people think she''s a mere century or two old, but she''s actually well over a thousand." He reminisced with a gentle smile on his face. "Lucretia Z." The name rolled off his tongue with a surprising amount of warmth.


    "So you want me to just drop off the letter?"


    "I would appreciate it immensely. And perhaps if she doesn''t kick you out immediately, ask her how she''s been doing?" Zelretch muttered. "I''ll of course give you payment for doing this, I think ¨C "


    "Old man." I interrupted him. "You don''t have to pay me for something like this. You''ve helped me so much, I would be more than happy to help you in return."


    "Thank you, Wilhelm." The look in his eyes really conveyed how much this meant to him. "Now, let me tell you about this world she lives in."


    I listened aptly as he regaled me with the strange world she resided in.


    ***


    So, Raikou getting settled and next Arc is shaping up. If you haven''t seen me spoil it or haven''t guessed based on clues, it''s Campione. It won''t be long, like less than 15 chapters, then we''re on to DxD for awhile.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 205 - 196

    <h4>Chapter 205: Chapter 196</h4>


    I sat on the edge of my bed, watching as Raikou finally stirred in her sleep. She slightly turned and her eyeszily opened, a content look like she had gotten a nice rest. It was cute enough that I had to hold myself back from booping her.


    "Master?" She questioned, sitting up next to me. She blinked in confusion, looking around until it looked like a bolt of lightning jutted down her spine. Her tired expression shifted several times from confusion to embarrassment, untilnding on something resembling horror. "I....." She trembled slightly looking down at her hands.


    "It''s okay." I pulled her in. "You''re okay. We just got rid of the Mad Enhancement." I couldn''t imagine what she truly feeling right now, having such a huge shift in her mentality due to the ''curse'' being removed.


    I could feel her trembling in my arms. "I was...." She bit her lip. "...thinking about doing horrible things." She said quietly. "How easy it would be to just kill them all so then I would be the only ¨C " She cut herself off.


    I blinked at her confession, not realizing how bad it actually was. I thought she merely had trouble acknowledging anyone and despised those that got close to me. But to think she had thoughts about killing those around me, even if she didn''t act on them.


    Well, It''s not like I could me her. She had literally been in a cursed mental state. "There was no harm done and everything''s okay now." I reassured her.


    "You must despise me." She muttered.


    "Nonsense." I lightly poked her in the cheek in an attempt to get her eyes back on me. "I always knew my Raikou was a kind and gentle woman. My opinion of you does not change due to matters beyond your control."


    I had seen some of her memories through the link we had shared. I knew that her previous self was not her true self. The Raikou in my dreams was a woman who did not enjoy conflict and was more passive in nature.


    I could see her lips quivering as she pulled me into her chest again. "My son is so kind!"


    Huh, I guess that''s just a quirk of her personality.....not that I mind. But it felt less....zealous as she once spoke it.


    "But Master." Her whisper reached my ears. "Do you truly wish an Oni like me at your side? My mind is clear, and I question this selfishness of mine. My existence is one that can only bring misfortune."


    I pulled myself away, staring at the uncertainty all over her face. She must still feel guilty about everything....


    "The secondary ''summoning'' that was used to alter your Saint Graph, it left a certain something out. The method used was more brute force that a normal way of summoning, it basically contracted a secondary version of yourself to your own body."


    "Master?" She tilt her head in confusion.


    "You must have not noticed since you were understandably preupied with your new ''state''." I held my hand out, the palm of it facing towards her, giving her a gentle smile.


    There were no Command Seals on the back of my hand.


    "I hereby dere." I said softly as Magical Energy gathered around my hand.


    Her eyes widened in understanding.


    "Your body shall serve under me, but my fate shall be in thy sword."


    Raikou reached out, touching her hand to mine as new Command Seals manifested.


    The entire chant was not needed, it was simply one a way to establish a link rather than an actual spell chant.


    "If you ept this will and reason, then answer."


    Raikou smiled bright, that warm smile of hers capable of melting ice. "I, Minamoto-no-Raikou, ept this contract. For as long as you desire, this Servant will be yours."


    Another feint burst of Magical Energy flowed out in every direction, and my new Command Seals pulsed, indicating the sealing of the contract.


    I reached out, pulling her into another hug.


    ***


    Walking out of the bedroom, I gently pulled Raikou along. She seemed....intent on not letting me go for now, so I obliged her. Not that I really had anyints to raise about the situation.


    "About time." Sc¨¢thach sat on the couch, flicking through the TV in the corner. I noticed she was wearing some modern clothes, making my eyes linger for a few extra moments. She perked up looking at us, a little knowing smirk on her face. "You two finally fuck?"


    The bluntness took me by surprise, and I felt Raikou''s hand tighten...her strength is definitely still there.


    "Ara Ara~" Raikou smiled towards my teacher. "Is someone jealous?" Despite the verbal retort, I honestly didn''t feel the same venom in her tone that she used previously. Honestly, it sounded more like harmless bickering.


    Sc¨¢thach quirked an eyebrow at her response. "Well, it seems you have a proper bite to you, not like before." She seemingly epted the new situation easily enough.


    "Wonderful, you''re all here." Zelretch stepped into the room with an abrupt portal. He swept his gaze around, lingering on Raikou for an extra moment. "And it''s good to see you up and about."


    "Thank you for everything, Grandfather." Raikou bowed her head.


    Zelretch quirked his head, giving a little nod. With a flick of his hand through the air and grabbed a Letter out of wherever it was he stored such things. He held it up for me to take, and I admired the elegance in his handwriting on the cover. "I took the liberty of making all the proper calctions and deciding the point to send you to." He exined. "She should be in Italy still."


    "Italy, huh?" I rubbed my chin.


    "Oh, yes." Zelretch snapped his fingers. "I suppose you hadn''t the time yet to visit there in this life. Why, I dare say it''s a wonderful ce to take a couple women on a wonderful day of sightseeing." He sent me a wink.


    I nced at both Raikou and Sc¨¢thach. "I do love that Ancient Roman Architecture." I admitted. "And I don''t actually have any memories of visiting the bigndmarks like the Colosseum and Pantheon, among others."


    "Interesting." Sc¨¢thach spoke up. "I have knowledge about it, but I too wish to see this Colosseum that the Romans built in their era. The idea of such arge structure dedicated to battle sports with an emphasis on spectating is intriguing."


    Not too surprising that she wanted to see that. Frankly, anything fighting would catch her interest. Hell, she''d probably love going to a modern boxing match or MMA fight. It doesn''t matter that she could break the sound barrier with a casual step, seeing people push themselves to their limits in a fight, it would probably still be fun for her.


    A mental note forter.


    "What about you, Raikou?"


    "I would love to walk around with you, Master." She gave a warm smile.


    "Excellent." Zelretch pped his hands. "I checked up on Rin and Artoria when you were busy. They were a little preupied at the moment, so there was no issue on that end."


    I let out a sigh. "Yeah, the Mordred situation is going to be tense, I want to be there for her when it happens."


    "The King of Knights." Sc¨¢thach mused out loud. "I also look forward to meeting her, among your other women."


    I reached for and squeezed her hand, earning a little pout from her before she returned to normal. "I''ll dly introduce you to everyone when we get back."


    I did miss my other girls as well. It had only been a few days, but it felt more like weeks.


    "Shall we get a move on, Master?" Raikou asked.


    "I''m good to go if there''s nothing else, gramps."


    "I told you about the dangers of this world, but they shouldn''t be a problem if you''re just dropping off a letter and doing some sight seeing."


    "Dangers?" Sc¨¢thach and Raikou both asked.


    "I''ll tell you both when we get over there." I replied. "Like he said, I have no intention of start anything so it should be fine." It''s not like a Heretic God is going to descend just because I suddenly pop up. I''m sure they had much better things to do. I paused in my musing, looking up at Zelretch. "Hey, Gramps. You said that this woman is a Witch, right?"


    "Yes, she''s perhaps the strongest human Witch on the." Zelretch nodded with a little hint of pride.


    ".....what are the chances she starts throwing spells at me once I introduce myself?"


    Zelretch stopped, silence filling the room. "Well, you have your Aura."


    "That wasn''t an answer." I pointed out.


    "Indeed, it wasn''t" Heughed, waiving his hand as the portal enveloped up. "Have fun, and thank you!" He words barely met my ears as my vision was filled with a myriad of colors.


    ***


    When I enter my own portals, there''s usually that little ''brace'' before scenery around me changed, a ''warning'' so I don''t get any sudden sensory overload. I let out an annoyed grunt as the sun shined right into my eyes.


    "So, about these ''dangers'' your grandfather spoke of?" Sc¨¢thach asked with a mild amount of curiosity.


    "Gods here still exist. But they live in a ''separate'' realm that is the Myths and Legends of old. They can actually descend to the human world if they rebel against their myth." I began to exin.


    "Rebel against their myth?" Sc¨¢thach looked at me in confusion. "Do they not subside off of Human Worship and remembrance? How could they act in a manner that goes against their own continued survival."


    "Well, it isn''t so cut and dry. For instance, Kronos might Rebel against the idea of Zeus defeating him and descend to the mortal world, bing a catastrophe for humanity. The way Gramps described it to me is that when a God rebels, they be something known as a ¨C Heretic God. They also exist to bring disaster and fulfill their whimsies. A Sun God may raise the temperature of the, an Ocean God might flood coastal cities, etc."


    "Is it amon urrence?" Raikou questioned.


    "Nah, if it were, most of the world would be destroyed. Gods are mostly content to exist in their separate realm away from us. It''s why Gramps didn''t seem too concerned about the whole thing."


    "Oh well. I suppose I can''t hope for such a thing to happen then." Sc¨¢thach just shrugged.


    Of course she would look forward to a fight with a God.


    "Is that the Colosseum?" Raikou pointed over in the distance.


    "Yup." I stood there, admiring it. "It really is a marvel of engineering for the time. The history alone makes it quite the national treasure. Technically, it''s actually the biggest amphitheater in the world. And it wasn''t just diatorial fights that were hosted here, they even had things such as naval battles."


    "Fufu, you must have really read up on it." Sc¨¢thach seemed amused.


    "Yup, I loved reading about ancient history when I was in school." I smiled. "I had forgotten about it since everything in my life became a bit moreplicated. However, I had some small dream of visiting the ces I read about, this being among the highest on my list."


    "Master, I have a question." Raikou interjected.


    "What''s up?"


    "Where exactly is this Lucretia Zora located?"


    I opened my mouth then slowly shut it. "....he didn''t say." I said quietly. "Dammit Gramps, now we''re going to have to look all over the city for her." I rubbed my temples.


    "It just means we can inspect the city." Sc¨¢thach poked me with a small smile on her face. "Your excited face was adorable." She grabbed onto my arm. "Come, let us go view this structure that you wanted to see. We can seek out Zelretch''s former paramour at our leisure."


    I was admittedly very excited. It may seem silly since I can travel various worlds, but this was more or less a childhood dream.


    Definitely going to take pictures.


    "Do you think ¨C"


    *BOOOOOOM*


    The earth around us shook, buildings visibly vibrating in ce. I quickly caught my footing and looked around. I was about to open my mouth to say something, but I suddenly saw both Sc¨¢thach and Raikou staring into the distance.


    Inside the Colosseum was a massive red boar stomping around.


    "What.The.Fuck."


    ****


    And we''re in Campione. Raikou is working under what could be considered ''normal'' for her as well.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 206 - 197

    <h4>Chapter 206: Chapter 197</h4>


    I was miffed.


    I think I was allowed to be, under these circumstances.


    Was it so much to ask for just a few hours of nothing happening, just enjoying spending time with Raikou and Sc¨¢thach?


    "I believe that beast to be Divine in origin, Master." Raikou spoke up.


    "It''s a bit far away, but the taste in the air is one I remember from Divine Beasts." Sc¨¢thach also confirmed. "It''s not an inconsequential one at that. This Boar is mighty and would have been a foe I''ll happily raise my spear towards."


    "Joy." I scowled. "And the fact that people aren''t pointing and shouting ''monster'' in the direction of the Colosseum means that there''s some kind of perception filter targeting mundane people." I let my annoyance drop down, letting it all out in a sigh.


    Before we could even move again, the Boar disappeared. Just as quickly as it sprung up on the skyline, it had dispersed like it had never existed. The only evidence was the slowly falling walls of the ancient structure, and the cascading bellow of dirt and dust that blew out in every direction.


    "I''m not angry." I said quietly.


    "Master?"


    "I''m not angry. I''m not angry." I hummed to myself. "I''m a little angry."


    Sc¨¢thach reached out and pinched my cheek, breaking me from my internal seething. "Do you want to go search for the culprit?"


    "....kinda." I admitted.


    "Very well." Sc¨¢thach epted it easily enough. "Perhaps we may find a clue to this Lucretia women as well if there are some individuals who are aware of the hidden side of the world."


    Good point.


    Is it petty that I''m willing to go after the person responsible for this?


    Technically, we have an infinite number of alternatives avable to peruse and I could simply ignore this. But at the same time.....I wanted to p whatever dumbass was responsible for doing this.


    It''s the principal of the matter!


    ***


    Approaching the half-destroyed historical monument wasn''t particrly difficult. People were still freaking out over the sudden ''earthquake'' that we were able to sneak in without having to resort to any ''other'' means.


    Though when we got close, we immediately noticed something out of ce.


    Yeah, there were dozens upon dozens of people running around the area, and they were by no means mundane.


    The signs of Magical Energy permeated the air, and spells already enveloped the area.


    "Game n?" I asked.


    "Grab one of the people on the outskirts." Raikou spoke up. "Such a position would mean they are low enough that their disappearance for several minutes will not raise suspicion."


    "Works for me." I shrugged, noticing a man in a suit walking towards a tree line.


    Thankfully, it didn''t look like he was going to pee, but rather he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and was stealthily lighting one up. He seemed utterly rxed andpletely off guard, so may as well do it now.


    I muffled my steps and did the my best to erase my ''presence'' and the casting of Muffle spell erased the noise. Though, I don''t think he''s particrly perceptive enough to notice me anyways. "Those things will kill you." I whispered right into his ear.


    Seeing his body jerk and his cigarette fall from his mouth made me almost chuckle. "W-who!?" He slid to the side, catching himself. He was about to speak again until both a sword and a spear were ced on his respective shoulders.


    "Hello there." I greeted him face to face.


    He shakily held his arms up in surrender. "Hello?"


    "So, I hope you don''t mind if I ask you some questions." I smiled innocently.


    His eyes darted towards Raikou and Sc¨¢thach, clearly understanding the situation. "....I would be happy to answer any questions."


    Well, someone''s not an idiot atleast. Not that I had the intention to actually kill him, I''m not a monster. "Good." I pped my hands. "So, you see, I was taking these two lovelydies on a little bit of a.... tour, if you will. Never been to the city before, heard great things." I casually paced back and forth. "But you see, I was looking forward to some of the historical monuments. And wouldn''t you know it, a giant Boar tramples one in particr I was interested in. So, I believe you can understand my current annoyance."


    "W-what do you want from me? I''m just a Squire." He muttered.


    "A squire? As in an apprentice to a Knight?" I inquired.


    "Yes? My bosses don''t tell me anything important and I don''t have any connections to move up."


    Hmm, some type of organization like the Mages Association? I didn''t care too much to delve into the politicalndscape of this ce.


    "Shame." I shook my head. "So that means you don''t know anything?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "N-no!" He quickly shook his own head. "I heard the rumors and some whispers."


    "Oh, that''s more like it. So, who do I have to thank for this mess?"


    "It was thetest Campione. The other Squires mentioned that the higher ups were testing him and he released his Authority and destroyed the whole area, that''s all I know!"


    I hummed to myself as if considering his words. "As you can see, I''m a foreigner." I gestured to myself. "Would you be so kind as to exin what a ''Campione'' is, in your own words, so I better understand the terminology here?" Might as well get some information while I''m at it.


    "A Godyer." He quickly spat out. "A mortal who killed and took the power of a God."


    "A Godyer?" Sc¨¢thach spoke up with clear interest. "Boy, borate."


    He looked at my teacher with confusion, but continued. "I don''t know the specifics, only that when a mortal kills a God, they can usurp some part of the God''s Authority. They be a Devil King and no one''s allowed to disobey them."


    "Why can''t anyone disobey them?" Besides the obvious reason, I wanted to know any metaphysical implications.


    "W-what is a human like us supposed to do against someone who can kill gods!?"


    Ah, well, better to have asked. I hummed to myself, letting him stew for a moment. "What organization are you part of?" Call it a mild curiosity, even if I had no desire to dig any deeper.


    "The Copper ck Cross." He quickly replied. "I''m just a grunt."


    "And what about this ''Campione''?" I asked, deciding to dig for a little bit more information. I''m surprised Zelretch didn''t mention anything about these people. I mean, they couldn''t have been a new urrence, right?


    ....did he think I would go pick fights with them or something?


    "I don''t know anything except he''s Asian, I think Japanese." He shuddered slightly between the two weapons.


    "Japanese, huh?" I rubbed my chin. "Convenient I suppose. Do you ¨C " I paused in my words. I shared a look with Raikou and Sc¨¢thach, they apparently both noticed just as I did. "Well, you have been very helpful, but I believe our time together hase to an end."


    "W-wait, please don''t'' kill me, I know other things." He trembled.


    "Rx, I''m not going to kill you." I patted his shoulder as both Raikou and Sc¨¢thach lowered their weapons. "I''ll even pay you for your help. But.....going to put you to sleep for a little bit."


    He blinked. "Really?"


    "Are you upset?" Iughed. Withdrawing some gold coins out of my ring. "This should be a substantial sum for you, right?"


    "....more than I make in a year." He said quietly.


    "Kid, you deal with magical nonsense, you should not be making less than this a year. Let me give you some advice." I put my arm around his shoulder. "Maybe figure out how to apply these ''skills'' you''ve developed for something mundane without stepping on any toes."


    He looked thoughtful for a moment, and I took that as an opportunity to cast Hypnosis on him. He was unprepared as I saw his eyelids start to get heavy and close. I supported his weight, lowering him to the ground.


    "Well, that was easy enough." I cracked my fingers. "While I now have more questions, I believe we should address our little voyeur." I snapped my head over to the side.


    There was no movement for a moment until a red light blurred out from behind me, bloodlust erupting from its chosen path. It collided with a tree, utterly destroying it. And right as it connected, a shadow literally moved across the ground,ing to a stop infront of us.


    Slowly, a figure emerged.


    A women ¨C rather a girl. She wore something resembling a school uniform with a strange hat on her head and silver hair underneath. Though her stature, her overall look failed to portray what she actually was.


    [Careful.] Ddraig warned from in my soul, something he didn''t do often. [That is a Goddess.]


    I knew that, but the confirmation was always weed. I stood next to enough Divine beings at this point to be able to recognize the feeling of Divinity.


    There was a beat of silence before the wind around us whipped up, another red beam shot right by the strange girl''s head. She didn''t budge, nor even react as Sc¨¢thach''s spear returned to her hand from whence she had thrown it previously.


    No, her eyes were still transfixed on me as if she was trying to pull out some kind of secret from within.


    "Who art thou?" The woman ¨C Goddess, spoke.


    "Where Ie from, it''s polite to introduce yourself first." I countered.


    "Where this onees from, mortals prostrate and ept mine questions with reverence." She sounded....annoyed?


    "Where Ie from, Gods tread carefully in my presence." Sc¨¢thach mmed her spear on the ground, making her displeasure known.


    Was she getting angry on my behalf? That was oddly heartwarming.


    The Goddess slowly turned her heads towards Sc¨¢thach, eyes taking in every moment of it. "Thy nature.....mine skin feels as if it shalt be pierced by thy mere existence. It is as if mine Divinity means nothing before thou spear, yet I sense not the dreaded repulsion of mine hated foes." Her eyes glowed, her gaze trying to peer into Sc¨¢thach''s nature before turning towards Raikou.


    "Another strange sight these eyes of mine see." She continued. "Divinity like mine kin, yet a mortal soul. More than the mortals who descend from the weakened remnants of mine fellows. Thou''s nature differs from thy woman who perpetuates a constant bloodlust, thou feels of lightning."


    Finally she turned back to me. "Thy own nature is one that confuses me. I sense the touch of other Gods and with the taste of draconic power. But mine knowledge is unable to prate further."


    "Mortals, thou may hear this one''s sacred name." She dered. "I am Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. Through the Memories of the Void, there lies no falsehood nor secrets hidden from mine gaze." Her divine power pulsed at the utterance. Her eyes narrowed down at me. "Who art Thou? Why can this one not see through thy self and thinepanions?"


    ***


    Just a heads up, I''m taking Tuesday off instead of Wednesday this week. Gotta drop my mom off at the Airport so i''m switching it up.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 207 - 198

    <h4>Chapter 207: Chapter 198</h4>


    "Have you tried getting sses?" I offered helpfully.


    There was a beat of silence as the Goddess stared at me incredulously.


    "Doth thou not have an ounce of fear within thy body?" She seemed more confused than angry. "Thou speaks to a Goddess. Mortals tremble at the very mention of mine name. Yet, thou jests at mine expense."


    "No, no." I rolled my eyes. "I''m so ovee with fear and awe that I can''t help but act this way."


    "This one''s patience is being tested, mortal." She narrowed her eyes. "This one allows your disrespect out of curiosity. But questions can be answered even if thoucks a tongue to speak."


    I crossed my arms, not even batting an eye at her ''threat''. "You know, I''ve heard that the Goddess Athena was quite the beauty." I visibly swept my gaze upon her. "Yet, all I see is a little girl. Then again, knowing you Greeks, I wouldn''t be surprised if you lot consider this the ''height of beauty''."


    She raised an eyebrow. "This Athena was known as the most beautiful." She scoffed. "What thou sees before thee is an atrocity that shalt be rectified. Once this one regains mine proper Authority, mine True Form will grace the world once more."


    "So, you approach me and mypanions, making demands, but then im to be ''reduced''. Goddess of Wisdom? Are you sure that title still belongs to you?"


    "Do not speak as if you canprehend mine strength. Reduced as this one may be, mine power is beyond thy mortalprehension." She slowly raised her hand. "This one has grown tired of thy thering."


    I didn''t even move as a familiar bloodlust erupted next to me. Really, I should call it an expectance. I could guess that Sc¨¢thach was ready to throw down as soon as the Goddess appeared and I was not in the mood to dance around the Goddess''s supposed superiority to assuage her ego.


    My Teacher, she moved as soon as she sensed the umted power began to gather. The Goddess looked surprised at the speed behind her movements. The deadly spear snaked out faster than I could blink, a collision of opposing powers erupting at the focal point.


    With but a straight thrust, the Goddess was sent hurling into the forest, trees felling in her wake.


    Truthfully it was nothing more than a greeting. It didn''t seem like either side hadmitted to this fight in any meaningful way. The Goddess had been ratherckadaisical and Sc¨¢thach hadn''t even followed up the blow.


    "Thou managed to harm me." A pair of eyes glowed under the shadowed canopy of the forest. The crunching of leaves echoing out as a small figure walked back towards us. "Mortal...nay. Thou art no mortal." There was a slight trail of blood down the corner of her lip. A small finger of hers wiping it away.


    "It has been quite some time since I''ve in a god." Sc¨¢thach twirled her spear. "Are you going to be added to their number, Goddess of Wisdom?"


    Gods this side of hers was sexy.


    The Goddess paused in her thoughts as recognition of the threat just given sunk in. "Thou speaks of the taboo so easily. Mine essence does not scream for thy existence to cease, yet mine heart beats in fear. Thou are no foolish child of Pandora. State thy name, supposed Godyer."


    "Hmph." Sc¨¢thach spun her spear around again, mming the butt of it into the ground. "Make me." She said almost yfully.


    Athena''s eyes widened at the promation. "Thou did not descend as a Heretic God, nor are thou a Divine Ancestor." She spoke softly, yet her words carried regardless. "How....what are thee? This Athena does not understand. Mine Wisdom should see through such trivial knowledge, but thy existence is shrouded from mine sight."


    "If nothing else, your arrogance is that of a god." Sc¨¢thach snorted. "The assumption that you are entitled to anything you want. The very idea that you were denied still confuses you, does it not? Does it anger you that these ''lesser beings" do not conform to your whims?" She let out augh. "Why don''t youe and ''force'' me to bend my knee to your desires?"


    For the first time Athena scowled. "Thou art confidant thou can protect thypanions as well?" She sent a re towards me and Raikou.


    Sc¨¢thach justughed again, almost casually leaning against her spear. "Why don''t you give it a try?"


    "Bring it on, bitch." I summoned Mirage to my hand, meeting her gaze head on. The amount of fucks I gave right now was a staggeringly low amount.


    "I do not wish to fight." Raikou said softly, hefting her sword up. "But I am more than capable."


    Athena stared at us with surprise. I guess she wasn''t used to ''mortals'' showing her such tant disregard.


    "Thou three..." She stared at both me and Raikou for another moment before ncing at Sc¨¢thach who stood to the side. "This one will return once mine power is restored, and mine questions will receive answers." She began to sink back into the shadows.


    "Maybe ask nicely next time, you trollop. " I scoffed as her eyes glowed briefly before disappearing.


    "Well, that was certainly a new experience." Sc¨¢thach dismissed her spear, walking back to my side. "I did not expect such excitement so soon." She hummed happily. "Do you suppose she will keep her promise?"


    "I find your bloodthirst both scary and cute."


    Sc¨¢thach leaned in, kissing me on the cheek. "You have gotten better with yourpliments." She whispered.


    "Master~" Raikou wrapped me up from behind. "Your mother is going to chastise you." She pouted cutely, pushing her cheek against mine. "It is unwise to speak such a way to a Goddess. Even if such words are well deserved."


    "While I disagree, I do think you should be more careful with how you approach one of their kind." Sc¨¢thach stated. "I will not begrudge you, my student. I do not like their supposed superiority, and their arrogance often grates on my nerves. But you must be prepared for the consequences of your actions."


    "Normally, I have a bit more decorum. But at the moment, I am so far gone from caring." I sighed. "It just irked me the wrong way how she came in demanding answers like that. Obviously, I''m not so quick to disregard my own safety, but I felt confident after feeling her presence."


    "Indeed." Sc¨¢thach nodded in approval. "I believe her words held true. She was severely weakened from what could be considered her ''peak''. She imed to be one of the Greek Olympians, the weight of her name alone should have brought about more power behind her words, yet she felt like a candlelight, wafting in the wind."


    It''s strange, we confronted a legitimate Goddess, yet.....she was severelycking in the sense of danger one would expect. Then again, despite her apparent weakness, she hadn''t really seemed all that interested in actual conflict.


    "You curious about her?" I questioned.


    "I admit a mild interest." Sc¨¢thach did not deny it. "If you would not deny me, I perhaps would wish to investigate once we have performed our duty given by Zelretch."


    "Sure." I smiled towards her. "Kinda curious about these ''Campione'' myself." I hummed thoughtfully. "On a side note, what you think Athena meant by unable to see through us? I was guess it was some manner of irvoyance."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised. Such types of methods to gleam knowledge from the world require that the target of your search is also part of the world." Sc¨¢thach nodded.


    True, and that was my thought as well. Outside context problems and her usual methods of information gathering aren''t working.


    "What about you, Raikou." I leaned my head against hers as she was happily still draping herself over me.


    "I am content as long as I am with Master." She smiled brightly


    I nodded and didn''t argue. Though, I would hope to help her find some hobbies of her own sooner orter. I didn''t want her only want in life to wait on me hand and foot. I wanted her to be happy, with everything that came with.


    A fulfilling life.


    "Well, I don''t believe there''s anything worth seeing here any longer." I looked around. The Squire was still sleeping off to the side and apparently no one came over to check themotion. I guess they were more focused on the historical monument that was in the midst of copsing. "Alright, let''s go find Gramp''s Ex." I had a thought on how to find her.


    ***


    "I admit, this isn''t what I expected." Imented as we stood outside of a strange little shop. "This looks so fake....." I sighed, staring at the sign.


    ''Madame Z''s Psychic Readings.''


    "She has a sense of humor." Raikou eyed the sign as well. "It is not a bad cover to have."


    I just shook my head. Luckily we found a library in our random walk around the city. Getting on one of theputers and actually searching her name turned up this result, and well....here we are.


    "May as well get this over with." I put a hand on the door and I could feel all the magics woven into this building. They were....subtle, but powerful. There was no obvious barrier on the outside, but I could practically taste it now.


    Old Witch indeed.


    "Guests?" Azy voice drifted throughout the room as we walked inside. All eyes fell on a woman who wasying down on a nearby sofa. "Some interesting ones at that." Her gaze swept over us beforending on me. "Hey there, cutie. You want your palm read?" She sent me a wink.


    Wow, she was stunning. I could easily see why the Old Man had some infatuation with her. Obviously, I was judging based on looks here, but she checked many of my boxes. Not that I would ever...honestly the thought of it kinda of put me off since the Old Man said he was sweet on her before.


    "What''s an actual Witch doing Palm Readings for?" I was a little curious.


    She didn''t look surprised that I called her out, instead, she sort of slid down, head hanging off the edge of the sofa as she stared at me yfully. "I get bored easily at my age." She smiled. "It''s fun to see some of the strange things people get up to through their fortune telling."


    "That''s fair." I nodded in approval. And once again, definitely someone Zelretch would get along with.


    "So what brings you three to my little ol'' shop." She asked again. "I do other services, but those are a bit more expensive. Or if you want some information, I can do that too."


    "Well, I''vee to deliver a letter." I withdrew it from my ring.


    "Oh." She sat up. "I wasn''t expecting anything." She hummed. "And whose it from? Someone I know?"


    "I hesitantly say you know him."


    "Hmm." She pursed her lips coyly. "Don''t worry, cutie. I don''t bite unless you pay a little extra for that~"


    I cleared my throat, pushing the letter towards her and turning away. "Please don''t start throwing spells at me."


    She blinked looking down at the letter, taking it without a second thought. "Pfft, don''t worry kiddo. I''m not the type to shoot the messenger. Especially the yummy ones." She chuckled watching my difort. "You sure you aren''t part of the delivery? I could teach you a thing or two your two friends probably couldn''t."


    "Unlikely." Sc¨¢thach said abruptly.


    Lucretia blinked, staring at Sc¨¢thach. "Hmm. There''s something strange about you." She took out a pipe from....somewhere. I didn''t question it. Tapping it against the coffee table, she put it into her mouth, blowing out a puff of smoke. "About all of you actually."


    "That''s not the first time we''ve heard that today." I said dryly. What exactly were we giving off that basically makes us such obvious targets? Athena somehow noticed us, and here this Witch was able to gleam something.


    "Oh well." She casually let herself fall back into the cushions of the couch. She set the Letter down on the table, practically ignoring it. "Anything else you need?"


    "Um.....if possible could you read the letter?"


    "I''ll do itter." She waived me off. "Just tell whoever sent you that youpleted your job." She seemed uninterested.


    I bit my lip.


    This was getting....awkward. "I never did introduce myself." I cleared my throat, getting her attention. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg.....at your service." Why was I being so nervous?


    I winced slightly as realization dawned on her. Mouthing off to a Goddess? I could do that all day. Being on the receiving end of anger from Zelretch''s old me....for some reason that gave me anxiety.


    There was a sudden stillness as her yful expressionpletely evaporated.


    Slowly, she sat herself up properly. A strained smile made its way onto her face. "Did you say Schweinorg?"


    ***


    As I said before, Wednesday''s chapter instead of Tuesday. Just a heads up, next chapter is a lewd.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


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 Chapter 208 - 199 ***Lewd Included***

    <h4>Chapter 208: Chapter 199 ***Lewd Included***</h4>


    Lucretia Z stared at me for what felt like forever. Her eyes barred down intently on my every feature, as if scanning me for any kind of deceit. The only time her gaze left me was to flicker down at the letter she had previously haphazardly tossed to the side.


    "Child,e here." She finally spoke, holding her hands out towards me.


    I hesitantly walked forward, letting her palms rest on my cheeks as she inspected me closer.


    "You look nothing like Zelly." Shemented, lightly guiding my head to the side so she could get a better look. "Did that bastard finally settle down or is it something else?"


    Zelly?


    Never going to let the old man live that one down.


    "We''re not rted by blood." I replied as she withdrew her touch.


    "Of course, why did I expect any different." She sighed, leaning back.


    "You believe me about being rted to him then?" I questioned.


    She let out a smallugh. "I''m the only one in this world who probably knew hisst name. Not to mention how few people even knew of his existence."


    "Interesting phrasing." I pointed out, probing her slightly.


    Lucretia snorted with an eye roll. "No need for that. He told me where he came from before."


    "Well, that makes things easier then." She was able to guess my thoughts easily enough.


    She tapped the end of her pipe on the coffee table, looking deep in thought. "Hmm." She hummed to herself. "No wonder you gave off such a strange feeling. It was the same the first time I met him."


    "Is it that obvious?" I was seriously annoyed how easily people were noticing discrepancies on me.


    "It would take a powerful Hime-Miko to see the oddities around you all. Or a Witch on my level, which there are very few in this world."


    "....what about a Goddess?"


    She blinked. "A God is more intertwined with the world. Even without a corresponding Authority, they would know there is something strange about you." She paused for a moment. "....did you run into a God already?"


    "Yeah...."


    She let out a sigh. "You really are one of Zelly''s." She shook her head with a small smile. "He could never stay out of trouble."


    "Maybe that''s why gramps didn''t tell me about these ''Campione'' before asking me toe here."


    Lucretia let out a groan as she processed my words. "Of course he wouldn''t. That.....man." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "You ran into a God, did you happen to get their name? There are many that like to go around revealing their identities."


    "Athena." There was no point in hiding it.


    "The Goddess of Wisdom. Yes, I can see why she would single you lot out even if you didn''t go causing trouble. She''s most likely able to read the flow of the world from the void, seeking out information she desires."


    "So a form of irvoyance then?" I hummed.


    "If you want to be simplistic about it, sure." She nodded. "The Goddess left you alone then? I find it hard to believe a Heretic God with Wisdom as their moniker would not obsess about knowledge out of their reach."


    "Kinda." I shrugged.


    "Kinda?" She questioned.


    "More like ¨C " I paused. "I forgot to introduce everyone." I pped my hands. "This is Sc¨¢thach, and Minamoto-no-Raikou." I gestured to both of them.


    "A pleasure." Sc¨¢thach said evenly.


    "Greetings." Raikou gave a small wave.


    Lucretia stared at them then back to me. "I think I remember Zelly telling me something about....spirits?"


    "Heroic Spirits. Those who became worshipped after death and ascended to a higher state and were moved out of time and space to the metaphysical realm known as the Throne of Heroes." I replied.


    "Yes.....that." She pursed her lips. She put her pipe back in her mouth, taking a moment and blew out a puff of smoke. "Both of your names are known to me, atleast within the confines of ''this'' ce." She leaned back again. "I can see why the Goddess would be forced to back off, but that may only be a temporary matter."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised; I don''t think she was particrly happy when she left." I chuckled.


    "Perhaps you should not have called her a ''Trollop'', Master." Raikou lightly chided.


    Lucretia Z shook her head. "It''s not my ce, but please do be careful. We don''t need another Heretic God rampaging around here. We barely survived thest two when the 7th Campione was born."


    "Oh, that reminds me." I snapped my fingers. "Heard this ''Campione'' destroyed the Colosseum."


    "So that''s what themotion was about." She pursed her lips. "Oh well, nothing we can do about it."


    "That''s it? No anger or annoyance?"


    "What am I supposed to do? I can boast about being one of the most powerful Witches in the world, but I am still nothing infront of a Campione." She let out a sigh, setting her pipe down. "Don''t read too much into it. I met the boy before he became thetest child of Pandora. He''s not a bad kid, probably just swept up in everything and in a bit over his head right now."


    "Regardless." She continued on. "It''s not my ce to say anything, but please be careful."


    "At the very least, I''m confident in being able to run away." I grinned.


    "Of course." She smiled. "Zelly always boasted about the same thing." Her hand slowly reached out, grabbing at the letter she had previously dismissed. I didn''t interrupt her as she slowly opened it, taking out the parchment hand written by Zelretch. She was silent as she meticulously read over each and every word, her expression changing several times over the course of a single sentence.


    Eventually, she slowly put thetter down and let her head fall into her hands. "I need....I need some time." She said quietly. "Would you pleasee backter ¨C tomorrow morning. I''ll have myself sorted by then."


    I had no idea what was written, but it was clearly giving her some kind of heart ache. I know Gramps wouldn''t intentionally do anything to hurt her if he truly did have feelings in the past.


    "Sure, take as long as you need." There was no rush, I was here to fulfill Zelretch''s request, and I would see it through to the end.


    ****************************


    ******Lewd Ahead *******


    "Haaaah." I let out a long breath, letting the warm water fall on my face. It felt like forever since I had time to rx. It''s not like the Grail War was a constant source of stress, but there was always that feeling of something hanging over my head that made me a bit anxious.


    I turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower. It was nice that there was a good hotel so close by. Of course we had to fib our identities a little bit through magic to rent a room, but it was well worth it.


    I grabbed at the hair binding that sat on the counter. I couldn''t help but smile, taking an appreciative look at it. My Sc¨¢thach was finally back, perhaps I was finally taking the time to let that sink in.


    It''ll be nice to get a good nights sleep between both Raikou and Sc¨¢thach. They were both okay with sharing one bed.


    Putting on a shirt and somefortable shorts, I made my way out of the restroom. I paused in my steps as I noticed both of them giving me strange looks.


    "Fufu~" Sc¨¢thach flipped her hair back sending a grin my way. "My precious student. Why don''t youe and sit over here."


    "Master,e sit down next to mommy." Raikou pat the edge of the bed right next to her as Sc¨¢thach stood nearby.


    Danger senses were tingling.


    I admired their current state of dress. Sc¨¢thach only had a T-shirt on and a pair of panties that really hugged that round butt of hers. And Raikou was wearing something simr but with those shorts she got previously that really showed off those magnificent legs.


    "Do either of you want a turn in the show¡ª"


    "Sit down." Sc¨¢thach crossed her arms, with a more authoritative tone.


    "Yes, ma''am." I walked over, sliding next to Raikou.


    "Master." Raikou whispered into my ear. "We''ve noticed you''ve been a little...."


    "Stressed." Sc¨¢thach finished for her, casting a nce at the Servant. "She told me what happened during the War and you have yet to properly rest." She sauntered up and dropped to her knees right infront of me.


    "Oh." I blinked in realization. "Oooh." My eyes widened and I found a certain part of me twitch in excitement.


    Sc¨¢thach let out a littleugh, reaching for my waistband. "Don''t get the wrong idea." She slowly slid my shorts down. "Neither of us are the kind of woman who would share with the other when first bedding our partner. You will properly make love to me when we have time to ourselves."


    She always was one to be so tant in her desires.


    Raikou leaned in, breath tickling my ear. "Master can consider this a sneak peek." The sultry tone made my heart beat faster. She gently moved her fingers down my arm, taking hold of my hand as she ced it on her own breast.


    I couldn''t help but give it a squeeze.


    "Ara ara~" Raikou cooed. "Boys love boobs no matter their age."


    "You constantly tease me with these things." I breathed out taking them both in my hands. I pushed them up, feeling the weight as they dropped back down. I had no remorse about taking them at this point. "I''m not going to hold back anymore." I whispered to my Servant.


    "Ahh." She let a little noise as I gently squeezed her nipples through the fabric of her shirt. "P-y with mommy''s boobs as much as you want~"


    The only thing that stopped me from following her suggestion was Sc¨¢thach pulling my shorts all the way off.


    My manhood sprung loose for both of them to see.


    "My student was already so expectant." Sc¨¢thach giggled, her fingers brushing along my length.


    I felt a shiver down my spine as she finally took hold of it. A few casual strokes were all that was needed to get my heart truly racing.


    "Oh my, look how grown my son is." Raikou''s own hand reached down, running a finger along my shaft. "Did mommy''s boobs make you this hard? What a naughty son I have." She pulled me in, cing her lips against mine for the first time.


    The first time tasting Raikou, her tongue slipping into my mouth and intertwined with my own. She was aggressive about it, invading each and every part of my mouth, yet she was oddly gentle in her movements.


    "When was thest time you took care of this, hmm? I can feel how heavy your balls are." Sc¨¢thach''s fingers gripped around my balls, gently rolling them before moving onto my cock. With just the right amount of forced she squeezed down. "Should I have words with your other women about taking care of your needs? Well, it doesn''t matter." She licked her hand, then slowly started moving it up and down along my erection. "As your teacher and woman, it''s my duty to make sure you''re well taken care of."


    My lips parted from Raikou''s, a groan escaping my throat as Sc¨¢thach picked up the pace.


    "Master." Raikou''s hand sneaked between my legs again, gripping the base as Sc¨¢thach moved and started rubbing the head of my cock in all the right ces. "Do you want to put this big thing of yours inside your mother?" She leaned in, cing kisses on my neck. "The curve on this cock will hit all of mommy''s sensitive ces."


    "Fufu, look at him twitching in our hands." Sc¨¢thach''s finger''s squeezed around my tip as she continuously pumped at my length. "Are you close already, my student? It seems you will need much more training in the future."


    I let out several quicks breaths, my fingers digging into the bedding and my toes curling. "I''m going to....."


    "Shhh." Sc¨¢thach soothed, her pace picking up. "Just enjoy the feeling of letting it out."


    "Master, just spurt it all out." Raikou let go of my cock, arms wrapping around me instead. "You don''t have to worry about anything except cumming."


    I was already past the point I could hold it back, feeling my cock engorge in her grasp I felt the first bit spray out.


    "There you go." Sc¨¢thach pumped perfectly in tune with my own orgasm. She didn''t reel back even as my first rope of cumnded on her face. "This Sc¨¢thach will take all of your seed, spray it on my face."


    I shuddered in her grasp as she continued to milk me for everything I had. Everyst bit was let out and umted to her being coveredpletely with my seed. As I finally settled,pletely spent, her eyes didn''t leave mine. A smirk on her face as she licked the corners of her lips, my cum dripping down her face.


    "Oh my, look at all of that." Raikou cooed in my ear. "I wonder, did the thought of debasing your teacher make you let out even more."


    "Fufu, boys love this sort of thing." Sc¨¢thach didn''t seem to care at all at her current messy state.


    I felt limp as I fell back onto the bed, utterly content and words failing to leave my mouth. I think Sc¨¢thach got up and went to the restroom to wash up, but I was still seeing stars. I don''t know why that took so much out of me considering I''ve had actual sex.....with multiple rounds in a row.


    Maybe I was really backed up?


    Regardless, I felt at ease. I turned my head towards Raikou who wasying down, head propped up next to mine.


    "Ahh, master~" Raikou let out a surprised giggle as I started ying with her boobs again.


    I couldn''t help it, these huge tits of hers were just way too good, and they were all mine. But more than that.... "Raikou."


    "Hmm?"


    "Another kiss?" I mumbled out.


    Her little giggle would always be pleasant to hear. She leaned in and gently ced her lips to mine. It wasn''t as deep as our previous one, but I enjoyed it just as much. Itsted but a brief moment before we part and she snuggled up next to me, my arm wrapped around her warmly.


    "I do hope you haven''t forgotten about me." Sc¨¢thach walked on over, freshly clean. She quickly crawled onto the bed, opposite of Raikou as I held my arm out for her to get in as well. "Don''t expect this to be amon urrence." She gently flicked my nose, reiterating what she said before. "I do not particrly enjoy having multiple people together when I do things like this."


    "Of course." I wouldn''t push her on anything she didn''t feelfortable with.


    "Good." She nodded happily. "Now....." I think her cheeks turned a little red and her voice dropped to a very quiet tone. "You shared many kisses with Raikou, I believe I am due for some myself."


    Was she being....bashful, after everything that happened?


    Cute.


    I didn''t respond with anything but my lips meeting hers. She was almost needy in the way she grabbed hold of me. Letting her lead, I enjoyed the taste I had longed for since west parted. The warm smile she gave me once we finally settled, and she snuggled in close just like Raikou had.


    A beautiful woman in each of my arms.


    I let out a content sigh as my eyes closing, drifting off into what would be one of the best nights of sleep I''d ever had.


    ***


    Wilhelm gets a little helping hand from both Raikou and Sc¨¢thach.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /asatoryforone.


    We have a dis cord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 209 - 200

    <h4>Chapter 209: Chapter 200</h4>


    The feeling of waking up with your arms around someone you cared for; it was something I would never tire of and it seemed to remove any kind of fatigue I had built up over the past several days. There was also something to be said about having two girls in my arms rather than one.


    "Am I thest one to wake up?" I muttered, as my eyes groggily blinked open.


    "Master looked so peaceful." I heard Raikou''s soft voice on my left. "We didn''t want to disturb you."


    "You worked hard; it is a rest well deserved." Sc¨¢thach gave a little smile as I weed the morning light.


    "One of the best sleeps I''ve ever had." I fully opened my eyes with a sigh, knowing this moment had to end. "I suspect that Lucretia is waiting for us so we can''t bezy for too long." If I had to guess, I would say she hadn''t any peaceful sleep herself. The way she reacted, there were definitely some unresolved feelings between Gramps and her.


    "Speaking of another woman when you have two beautiesying next to you." Sc¨¢thach gave me a little poke in the cheek. "What ever will we do with you, hmm?"


    "I can think if a couple things." I was not subtle in my insinuation and my hands started to roam over their voluptuous bodies.


    "My son has turned into a deviant." Raikou gave a faux cry as I gave her butt a squeeze.


    "Turned into a deviant?" Sc¨¢thachughed even as my other hand was down her shirt. "This is merely his true appearance."


    "I make no arguments to the contrary." I happily replied, enjoying thest few moments of peace. Both of them didn''t seem to fuss as I molested their bodies, content to still be cuddled up. "Who wants to shower first?"


    "Hmm, warm water spraying down on my body. It was annoying to procure such things in the Land of Shadows." Sc¨¢thach hummed softly.


    "It is such a wonderful invention of this era. I can''t help but look forward to it whenever I get the chance." Raikou happily chatted, which still made me raise an eyebrow. Before she would barely even scowl towards Sc¨¢thach, now she was willing to even exchange pleasantries without being forced. "Though, I fear these lecherous paws won''t let me go in peace." She wiggled her backside emphasizing my hand that was enjoying the bounce of her rear.


    "I''m open to bribes."


    "Ara Ara~" Raikou leaned in. "What can your mother give you, hmm?"


    It was strange how smoothly we both stepped over that imaginary line. I had been pretty conscious about not pushing anything while she was ''cursed'', even when she was openly flirting. Hell, I felt bad about enjoying my face getting pushed between those huge boobs. But now....neither of us seemed to care that we had escted. I felt no remorse taking liberties, and we even had our first kiss.


    Speaking of...


    I leaned in and she realized what I wanted as our lips met. "Payment received." I whispered, staring into her beautiful purple eyes as we parted.


    Hearing her giggle would never cease to bring a smile to my face. "Then I shall im my prize." She half rolled out of my embrace, climbing to her feat off the side of the bed.


    Again, it was odd seeing how easy she would ''abandon'' me in a situation like this. Before, there was no way she would leave me alone with another women, even for a moment.


    And I certainly enjoyed watching her walk away.


    "Did you not enjoy the breadth of her body enough, my horny student." Sc¨¢thach gave me a light pinch on the cheek again. "Well, she has be more pleasant after fixing her illness."


    Funnily enough, she didn''tment that I still had a hand down her shirt. "Should I put all my attention on you then, my jealous teacher?" I couldn''t help but give her a cheeky smile.


    "Jealous?" She pursed her lips. "How bold you have be. Do you think this Sc¨¢thach is jealous of any woman?" She reached out and yanked me closer to the point that I was practically on top of her. "I still recall the little boy who couldn''t even look at my nude body without blushing."


    "Could you me me? An amazing women like you teasing the unexperienced brat I was back then?" I lowered my head down, our noses practically touching. "How could I not get flustered?"


    "I see you''ve improved that tongue of yours." She teased, a beautiful smile on her face. "This warm feeling that beats in my chest. How is it that you can bring this sensation to me by just being near?" Her hands reached up, wrapping around my head as she smoothly locked lips with me. "I have lived as a woman when I was younger." She briefly broke the kiss only to reinitiate it again. "I have been a Queen, a Warrior, and even a Lover." She pulled away once more. "But never has this heart of mine been given to someone else."


    "The Heart of Sc¨¢thach belongs to me then?" I smiled.


    I saw her turn away a little and her cheeks turning a surprising shade of red. I knew she was weak to things like this, but not this much. "Don''t get ahead of yourself boyo. There is still much you have to do if you dare proim that you have fully conquered this Sc¨¢thach."


    I couldn''t help butugh as she tried to hide her embarrassment. "Don''t worry, I''ll properly make sure to court you so that there''s no doubt. I''m going to give you all the love and affection that you deserve."


    "Hmph." She scowled but it didn''t seem to really do much since her cheeks still sported a healthy red. "I didn''t ask for such a thing....but if you must then I will ept." How cute the way her pride came about in situations like these. She won''t openlye out and say she wants to be romanced. ".....As long as you are able to make time for me, I will be content."


    "I will always have time for you." I moved a few stray strands of hair form her face. "Fighting in the Grail War was not even close to the extremes I would have gone to get you back."


    "Your honeyed words...." She puffed up. "....I am a brutish woman who relishes in bloodshed. I do not have experience in these matters of love, and I do not believe myself capable of that gentleness your other Servant can so easily give. But there is a warmth that swells up inside of me when you say such things."


    Too cute.


    "You are certainly a brute." I grinned much to her annoyance. "You have a sharp tongue and take pleasure in the pain you inflict. You are ruthless and pretty much always open for a death fight. But you''re definitely wrong about yourself. You have a gentle side that I also fell for just like your bloodthirsty one. Every part of you is something I adore and cherish. The Warrior Queen who has no qualms about stabbing someone through the heart. And the elegant and charming women who would try to sneak in some cuddles because she''s too shy to speak her heart."


    I don''t think she knew how to react to what I said, opting to switch through several quick emotions before settling down. "Calling a woman a brute?" She puffed up again, giving my cheek another pinch, tantly ignoring she was the one who said it first. "I will need to give you remedial lessons on etiquette." She tried to look indignant, perhaps because she didn''t have a proper response to my honest confession.


    But, that was also a side of her that I couldn''t help but love.


    "Not to mention I will have to reevaluate your current abilities. Who knows how far you have regressed in my absence?" Her smile quickly turned more vicious. "Always thinking with your little ''spear'' no doubt. Well, you will only have thoughts of MY spear for the foreseeable future while I get you back up to a proper ce. No man of mine will be cking in his training."


    "I will have many thoughts about you, but it''s unlikely that your spear will count for many of them." I smirked, trying to get a little reaction out of her.


    "Oh yes, I''ve often heard that virgin boys can''t control their thoughts around beautiful women." She countered.


    "Oi, I''m not a virgin." I huffed.


    "My precious student, shall you regale me with stories of your conquests? How many should I put a number to your experience? Shall I remove some of my fingers to better help you count the number of your beddings?" Sheughed as the barbed tongue of hers so easily was released.


    "Yes, well, multiple it by two thousand and it still doesn''t equal your age."


    "..."


    "You little shite!" She reached out grabbing my cheeks and pulled.


    "Mmmphhfph!"


    "Speaking of a woman''s age like that. If it were somewhere else my spear would being out." She continued to ''punish me'' though the little smile on her face portrayed her true feelings well enough.


    ***


    "Master, are you well? You look flushed." Raikou seemed to start hovering over me. "Did something happen?"


    "Sc¨¢thach is a bully."


    She of course raised her fist in the air....menacingly, yet oddly cute.


    I of course responded with an equally intimidating action.


    I stuck my tongue out.


    "Shall we go see my ¨C possibly¡ªnew grandmother?" I flicked my hand, opening up a new portal. I don''t think either Sc¨¢thach or I felt like wasting time for a shower at this point. And there were plenty of magics to clean oneself.


    "Are you really going to call her that?" Sc¨¢thach questioned, taking a step through the portal.


    As Raikou walked through the portal, I gave a flick to the hair ornament that she had hanging down from her long hair. Seeing her start giggling with a little swat of her hand towards me, it was impossible not to smile back.


    I took a step forward, dismissing the tear in time and space as I was thest one through. "I don''t know. Depending on how this goes, I was thinking of trying out a few different terms. See what fits, y''know?"


    "Hmm, I''m skeptical." My Teacher didn''t quite agree.


    "Yeah, it doesn''t really roll of the tongue when I think of her." I shrugged. "But, it may not be even a consideration, we''ll see what happens." I walked up to the door to her little shop again having appeared right outside.


    Before I could even knock, the door flung open and the familiar figure of Lucretia Z wasying down on her couch again. She gave off an air of aloofness, but there were little signs that showed the hard night she had.


    Her eyes drooped ever so slightly, and they were perhaps the tiniest bit red. "You''re back." She tried to sound uninterested.


    "You know, you don''t have to put this act up for us. I can''t im to know what you''re going through, but I want to help you best I can." I offered her my help.


    Her lips twitched as she leaned back up. "You''re a good kid." She sighed, dropping her head into her hands. "I must look like a mess. I''m not usually this....." She didn''t finish, but I could easily gleam what she was trying to say. "Did Zelly tell you what he wrote to me?"


    "He did not and I didn''t pry. He seemed rather mncholic the entire time the letter was the object of talk."


    "Mncholic." She repeated. "That stupid man. He swooped in here when I was so young. Literally sweeping me off my feet, protecting me from the anger of a Heretic God. I did something I wasn''t supposed to, looked at something beyond my station and angered a God. I was young and foolish, thinking myself powerful." She shook her head. "I was smitten the moment I met his eyes. Oh, we were both so young back then and full of love.....until he left me."


    "Dammit gramps." I sighed.


    She picked up the letter and tossed it to the side with a scowl. "And now he finally writes me, asking if I wanted to ''meet'' with him and ''catch up''." She scoffed. "Kick him in the balls is what I should do. Curse off his hair and make him impotent."


    The anger that had swelled up in her seemed to dissipate as easily as it hade. "What''s the use in bemoaning the past? It was so long ago, maybe I should just forget it and finally move on."


    "That''s your right. But you also have the alternative."


    She huffed turning back towards me. "Are you going to convince me? He asked me if I wanted to see him again."


    "As much as I care for my Gramps, he was in the wrong. This isn''t about him, it''s about you and what you want."


    She pursed her lips. "No wonder you have multiple women by your side, able to say the right things at the right time."


    "He does have quite the tongue on him." Sc¨¢thachughed.


    "It''s too bad I won''t be able to experience it properly." She smirked towards Sc¨¢thach.


    As beautiful as she is....I just can''t think of her that way knowing the Old Man was sweet on her in the past. "What do you want to do?" I asked, changing the subject.


    "I''m tired." She sighed again. "I''m tired, I''m lonely and I miss that bastard in my life. It was so long ago, yet I still remember those fond days." She suddenly stood up. "But he wanted to start a conversation. Hmph." Lucretia snorted. "That bastard should know that''s not my style." She started walking around. "I''m going to need a few things first." She paused turning towards me. "You have his same magic, right?"


    "I do.....?" I hesitantly answered.


    "Good, you''re going to give me a path right to him." She gave no room for argument. "I''m going to walk right in there and give him a piece of my mind."


    "I don''t think ¨C"


    She snapped her head, meeting me in the eyes. "I will be marching in there. This is not up for debate."


    "Yes ma''am." I nodded.


    Truthfully, anyone else I would tell them to pound sand. But by the sound of it, the old man needed a kick in the arse for how he treated her. And I was sure he would be happy to see her again. The only real issue though.... "Please hang something on the door so I know not to go in."


    She started to cackle. "Oh you sweet child." She cupped my cheek. "You should probably stay away for the next few days."


    ".....noted." I will forever appreciate the heads up. "Before I send you on your way, I wanted to ask a few questions about Campione and this test'' on in general."


    She paused in her running around. "I have a bunch of books in my library, feel free to help yourself. Oh, and I already made a profile on the newest Campione. It should have all the information you need." She spoke, running from room to room grabbing things.


    I just blinked as she quickly started grabbing things from every which ce, a suitcase already stuffed full of her belongings. "I have nothing secretive here that I don''t want you getting into, so help yourself to anything you need."


    "I appreciate it." I smiled towards my new.....grandmother? Maybe. "Anything else before I.....?"


    "I think it''s about time I settle some things with that man." She hefted up her suitcase.


    I flicked my hand, opening up a portal to Zelretch''s living room. I gestured for her to enter. "Feel free to kick him in the balls."


    She walked up, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Though itcked the same affection that one of my girls would have, it still was apanied by a certain warmness in it. "I would love to talk moreter, after I take care of your grandfather." She cupped my cheek again, giving a little smile before turning and walking through the portal.


    "ZELLY, ROLL YOUR ASS OUT HERE." She screamed at the top of her lungs as soon as she was inside.


    I quickly shut the portal off.


    "Are we going to pretend she didn''t stuff her bag full of lingerie?" I asked.


    "Yes."


    "I am, yes."


    They both answered the same.


    Well, that just happened.


    And now I was trying to forget it did.


    "So, want to go check out that ''Campione'' or whatever?"


    "I''m curious about him." Sc¨¢thach nodded. "Though I also wish to know the whole mechanism behind this phenomenon in detail."


    "I have no desire either way, I am happy to follow along." Raikou didn''t seem too concerned.


    Well, I admitted to being a bit curious myself.


    Time to go see what the big deal is about this so called Campione then.


    ***


    Just a heads up, found out I have to work Saturday -- tomorrow. So expect either a veryte chapter, or none at all depending on how that goes.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a dis cord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 210 - 201

    <h4>Chapter 210: Chapter 201</h4>


    "Huh, she has tarot cards." While I searched through the rows of books, I had found the stack sitting on the shelf.


    Sc¨¢thach, who had a couple books in her hands, turned to look at me with interest. "The Grail had given me knowledge of such things. A method of scrying the future, if rather obscure. Perhaps they work?"


    I shrugged, flipping through a few. They were made of a strange parchment and the ink felt.....heavy. "Well, probably not best for me to meddle considering our....origins."


    "No, no. Feel free to meddle." Sc¨¢thach gave a little chuckle. "If you startle some God, I will simply clean up the mess." She gave a big smile towards me.


    "Well, that''s an obvious trap." I snorted, putting the cards back up. "There''s no way you would be that considerate."


    "Hmph." She huffed, smacking my shoulder, thoughcking any true force. "I am very considerate. For instance, my foot is not buried in your rear for making such ament."


    I just chuckled, reaching for another book before stopping. "Oh, I think I found it." I started flipping through the pages. "It has a list of all known ''Campione'' and their known abilities, personalities, and living ces."


    "Tea is ready." Raikou took that moment to pop her head out of the nearby kitchen.


    "I haven''t had a good cup of tea in way too long."


    "Not my preferred choice of drink, but I wee the new experience." Sc¨¢thach held a small smile on her face as she followed me on over.


    "I cannot im to have mastered the art of Tea Making, but I have some previous experience in making it." Raikou said happily. "I hope you enjoy it, master."


    "I''m sure I will enjoy anything you make for me." I made sure to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, making her brighten up.


    "Yes, I will enjoy it as well. Thank you for asking." Sc¨¢thach said dryly.


    "Oh, you''re still here." Raikou replied in an equally dry tone. "I hadn''t noticed."


    "Well, it only matters that my precious student can''t seem to take his eyes off me." She countered with a smirk.


    There was a beat of silence as they exchanged a look. The little stand off was different than before. I couldn''t feel any actual hostility between them. Honestly, I think it''s just a way for them to bond at this point.


    I sat down on the familiar couch that Lucretia greeted us at before, a steaming cup ced infront of me with two at either side. Despite what she said, Raikou wasn''t inconsiderate and happily provided one for Sc¨¢thach.


    Having both of them on either side of me, it was quite nice. It almost made me wish I was unable to read the atmosphere and do some lewd things. But, there was a time and ce, and this was neither.


    Honestly, I can''t wait until I have everyone all together. I intended for everyone to meet up earlier, but Gramps asked for this favor, so I wanted to settle everything.....and my attention was taken. But I could easily get back without much time having passed, so no harm.


    Artoria, Jinn, and Meridia, I did miss them even if it hadn''t been that long.


    Letting out a long breath, I ced the book t open on the table, opting to take a sip of my tea first. "This is good." I made sure to praise Raikou''s efforts.


    "It is pleasant." Sc¨¢thach said evenly.


    "I thank you for your praise." Raikou didn''t bat an eye at thepliment and responded ordingly.


    Them getting along made me really happy.


    Putting my cup down, I started skimming the book. "Lets see, a total of 7 Campione exist after this newest one. And it looks like he''s also the youngest whereas the oldest is a few centuries? They basically just take rulership over parts of the world."


    Sc¨¢thach reached over quickly, grabbing the book off the table. I was about to say something but the look on her face stopped me. "This...am I supposed to believe that a boy who hasn''t even left his teenage years was able to y a god!?" She looked.....upset.


    I sighed. "Kusanagi Gudou." I spoke the name of the supposed youngest Godyer. "He''s still in highschool over in Japan."


    "I do not understand. Does my effort mean nothing? That a simple.....child could y a God whereas it took me dancing on death''s door my first time? To ovee my limits and truly ascend beyond the mortal shell. Does my existence mean nothing in the face of....this?" She tossed the book on the table.


    "It wasn''t that cut and dry." I picked it back up, turning the page and skimming it for a moment. "It says here that he somehow got his hands on a Grimoire that allowed him to temporarily steal the God''s Authority and utilize it one time." I tapped a paragraph on the inked pages.


    Sc¨¢thach pursed her lips before letting out a sigh. "Getting so worked up at my age. I should not be jumping to conclusions."


    "It''s a weird enough situation, it''spletely understandable." It reached over, squeezing her hand. I began reading it some more as both Raikou and Sc¨¢thach silently looked over my shoulder.


    There was some rather in depth information. Kusanagi Gudou, 17 years old, living in Japan. Apparently, the God he killed was identified as Verethragna, the Zoroastrian God of Victory.


    Curious. A God of victory, that doesn''t really reveal many hints towards the god''s Authority, and I wasn''t super familiar with this particr pantheon. If I recalled correctly, there was something about different incarnations as he was heavily corresponded with Indra who was also known to take on many incarnations. Raikou being a perfect example of this.


    "Ah, here we go, a list of his known abilities." I mused out loud as there was a rather detail ount of his Authorities.


    I was right, something about incarnations as his power was divided between many different aspects that this Gudou could apparently bring forth based on conditions.


    The Giant Boar was one of these as its power is to trample anything in its path.


    Hmm.


    "This is much more different than I thought." Raikou spoke up.


    "I am forced to agree. I had thought someone who shared my title would be more...impressive. Enhanced physical abilities, Magic resistance, extended life span among other things. Are these not just the natural abilities of the children of Gods back home? It wouldn''t be wrong to call him a Demi-God now."


    "Yeah, the only real difference is his ability to use the Authority of the God he killed." I nodded.


    "Even such a thing is not unheard of. There had been Demi Gods in the past who could call upon their parent''s Authority over the world."


    Raikou held out her hand, purple lightning crackled. "My Lightning is something my father passed down. And Karna''s Divine mes were a little more potent in their origin."


    "Overall, it''s strange." I rubbed my chin. "I kind of want to meet one even more now. Like.....what would possess a kid who had no knowledge of anything supernatural to attack a God?"


    "Mmm." Sc¨¢thach hummed. "I can''t bring myself to call him a peer.....but his audacity to do something so foolish deserves praise."


    "Oh well." I leaned back. "I just want to read a couple more of these books. But afterwards, how about we head over to Japan and go meet him?"


    "I would not be against it." Sc¨¢thach seemed to agree. "At the very least, I am curious and a book can only ry so much about a person."


    "I am also curious how my home has changed here due to the oddities present here." Raikou agreed.


    "Alright, well....I saw a book about Campione''s in a general sense I wanted to read." May as well read up on everything real quick before heading out.


    ***


    "Is he really here?" Raikou looked at the building down the street in skepticism as we exited a new portal.


    "Once again, I am forced to agree." Sc¨¢thach replied with a look of contempt. "Did he trulye back to this ce? I don''t look down on the modern facility, but this just continues to feel so....mundane."


    "Yeah." I scratched my head. "I haven''t been back to this kind of ce in awhile. Not since I started walking this path." I was feeling a bit nostalgic.


    It was a school.


    An ordinary, if bit clich¨¦, School building.


    "Kills a God and immediately goes back to school." I shook my head. "It seems like Grams was able to keep detailed information even when she was mentally preupied." He should have just returned yesterday, yet she already knew everything. Where he left to, his home address, and his notable hangouts.


    Her abilities were quite good.


    "Her information gathering skills are impressive." Sc¨¢thach nodded. "And Grams?" She questioned.


    "Not a good one either?"


    Sc¨¢thach looked thoughtful. "It''s not bad."


    "Hmm, I''ll shelf that one for now."


    Still trying to figure out what to call her.


    I''m sure I''ll figure it out eventually.


    "Is it appropriate to just walk in? I do not wish to make a mess in a ce dedicated to children learning." Sc¨¢thach muttered.


    "You know a spell to make a perception filter?"


    "I can easily string some Runes together for such an effect, but my point stands. My presence will still be noticeable and out of ce that they will see through it unless I take more drastic measures."


    "Well, I could go in. I don''t look much different than I did in my school days, I could easily fit in without an issue."


    "Perhaps that is for the best." Sc¨¢thach nodded in approval.


    "Raikou, how about you?" I asked her.


    "I am sure I will not fit in as well, Master." She let out a smallugh. "I have not the Magical Knowledge to shield myself nor the experience to y any roles that might be appropriate."


    I was thinking more along the lines of making her invisible or something, but oh well.


    On a side note...school uniform.


    I could picture her buttons straining to keep thoserge breasts from bursting out. And a short skirt that would ride up over her butt with every step she took. Surprisingly, I don''t think it would work as well with Sc¨¢thach...though dressing her up like a Teacher...


    Reluctantly, I pushed those thoughts to the side for now.


    I felt a little poke in my side as Sc¨¢thach looked at me strangely. "Do I wish to know what you were thinking with that foolish smile on your face?"


    "Hehe. You''ll find outter." I straightened my tie, realizing how out of ce I would look. With a snap of my fingers, I oveyed a simple illusion to match the School uniform I saw some students walking around with. "Well, how do I look?"


    "If I couldn''t tell you had cast an illusion, I would say you could fit in. But I believe your foreign looks may draw some attention."


    "Yeah, they did back home too." I let out a sigh. My heritage made me seem like a foreigner in most people''s eyes, even if my Japanese heritage was obvious in some features. I do remember getting a little bullied when I was younger. "Oh well, I can bullshit my way through most situations."


    I wasn''t in the theatre club for nothing.


    Truthfully, I could hide my looks even more, but.....I didn''t want to feel ashamed of who I was. It was a little.....petty of me in this circumstance, but It was something I was trying to work on in general. I knew I was a bit touchy about my Devil Heritage, so baby steps in that direction.


    "We shall wait nearby, Master." Raikou assured me. "If needed, please do not hesitate to use amand seal."


    "Don''t sound so dower. I don''t n on starting a fight, and I doubt the kid is bloodthirsty." I reassured her. "Just going for a chat."


    "You have a way of bringing out the fighting spirit in people." Sc¨¢thach said dryly.


    "Is that apliment?"


    "No."


    "I will take it as apliment."


    "It isn''t."


    I shared a look with Sc¨¢thach as we both smiled at the banter. With onest nod, I began walking towards the school. It might seem strange that I chose this moment to try and meet him, during school, but it felt like the best moment. I didn''t want to intrude on his home life, and I felt like he would be the most reasonable in this circumstance. Not that I was nning on interrupting ss or anything, just finding him while he wasn''t busy. Maybe even catch him while he''s leaving would work.


    The gate was open for some reason, but I couldn''t im to know the policy of every school in existence. And no one even stopped me as I walked inside. I pursed my lips as I saw where the shoes were kept. I didn''t want to walk around in slippers, so I adjusted my illusion a tad.


    Well, I chose an awkward time because there were plenty of students walking around with what looked like their lunches. Some of them gave me nces and I could hear the whispers directed at me, but so far no one made any fuss.


    Now, if I was a Godyer, where would I be?


    [The Roof.]


    I blinked.


    Hey there Ddraig, I haven''t heard from you in awhile.


    [I''ve been watching. This ce is interesting, and that Goddess got my blood pumping. I was hoping you would start fighting.]


    Well, I don''t particrly want to fight a god if I can help it.


    [With such beings, the decision isn''t always up to you. But this Campione you are looking for, I believe he should be on the roof. I feel something strange from up there.]


    Really? Why was I not picking up on anything?


    [Interesting question. Maybe my existence as a soul lets me feel these things easier. Or it could just be my experience with such entities that I can recognize certain things.]


    Hmm, both are valid thoughts.


    Something to considerter.


    Finding the stairs wasn''t hard, theyout of the school wasn''t so different from Kuoh. And it wasn''t until I started ascending that the feelings Ddraig described started to be more pronounced.


    It felt like a higher existence was above me. Like a predator was curled up, sleeping.


    Fear? No. I did not feel fear from this presence.


    No. It was a more primordial feeling. I could shake it off easily enough without any effort, but the fact that I felt it at all only served to exuberate the ridiculous existence that is a supposed Campione.


    There was no hesitation as I pushed the roof door open.


    Two sets of eyes stared at me as I walked through the threshold.


    "Well, this is rather interesting." Imented, sweeping my gaze around both of them.


    This Campione that I saw a picture of, he matched it perfectly. Honestly, he could be called painfully normal in appearance, perhaps objectively handsome if you were into men. In a normal circumstance I wouldn''t pick him out of a crowd for any reason. Yet, there was a well of power bubbling beneath the surface. Thezy look on his face made me think he was unaware of how he was perceived to those with even an inkling of greater senses.


    Next to him was a foreign woman with blonde hair who was giving me a death stare. "Who are you!?" She narrowed her eyes, seemingly able to notice some irregrities with me.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself, eyesnding on the young man. "And you must be Kusanagi Godou." It was polite to use his name in the correct manner even if I wasn''t doing so for myself. "It''s a pleasure to meet the person who thought summoning a Divine Boar and trampling a Historical Monument was a good idea."


    I was curious so I probed him a little bit.


    To my surprise, he sort of cowered under my words.


    "I-it was an ident?" He said sheepishly.


    The sheer amount of power that was contained inside him and this is how he responds.....


    "Huh." Was all I could muster at his very meek look. "Didn''t expect that. So, what''s up?"


    "What, who are you? Why are you questioning my Godou!?" The blonde haired women stood up, almost protective of the kid.


    "I just introduced myself." I replied with a dry tone. "Something you did not do after wards, being very rude."


    "Erica.....please don''t'' fight." The supposed Godyer tried to sooth hispanion before turning back to me. "Can I ask why you''re here? I don''t really want to fight....."


    "Just curiosity." I eyed him. "And you really are new to this, aren''t you?" I spoke, even if I wasn''t looking for a reply. "You somehow managed to kill a god and now you''ve been swept up into this whole mess of magic and monsters." This kid was like an open book.


    "I just want to live a normal life." His shoulders slumped.


    And I blinked again at his honest words. They were.... ridiculous, but I couldn''t doubt the genuineness behind them. "Great, now I can''t even get angry anymore." I let out a sigh. "Kid, you seem way in over your head here."


    Godou let out a sigh. "I didn''t ask for any of this."


    "Godou, don''t list to him! You''re the 7th King. Don''t let him speak to you this way. If you wish I can take care of him in your stead." The young woman ¨C Erica, proimed next to him.


    Well, she had a sharp aura about her, so perhaps she wasn''t all bluster?


    "I don''t want any fighting." He slumped his shoulders even more.


    This was.....odd.


    Not at all how I pictured this going.


    Honestly, I thought someone his age would be drunk off his own power. Or atleast a bit cocky or arrogant. But.....he''s so timid and afraid.


    "Alright, I''ve decided." I pped my hands. "I''m going to take you under my wing." I nodded to myself.


    "W-what?" He sputtered out.


    Honestly, his attitude just made me depressed. And I kind of feel a little bit of kinship with him due to his circumstances. My life was suddenly flipped upside down, albeit to my own betterment. Yet, he looked like he didn''t want any of this and was having a hard time adapting.


    May as well do a good deed and gather some data while I''m at it.


    "Don''t you worry." I walked up wrapping my arm around him, much to hispanion''s chagrin. "Big Brother Wilhelm is going to teach you how to live in the Supernatural World."


    ***


    Early chapter for Sunday, woo! So, I got back supertest night and just kinda copsed, sorry. So MC finally meets Godou and just gets depressed at what he sees and decides to take action to rectify that.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a Dis c ord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 211 - 202

    <h4>Chapter 211: Chapter 202</h4>


    "How dare you touch my Lord!." The Blonde shouted. "Who are you!? Where did youe from! Which organization do you belong to!?"


    "I know your mouth moved, but all I heard was screeching." I replied.


    "How dare you! I''ll teach you some manners." She held her hand up and I could feel the Magical Energy gather inrge quantities. Arge, red, Magic Circle appeared in the air.


    It was obvious to tell she was about to do something, so I simply took out a Talisman and threw it at her. She looked surprised as the piece of paper smacked her in the face and she fell to the ground, her magic dissipating and her body unmoving.


    "Rude." I said pointedly, wagging my finger.


    Why did she just stand there and let me do that? Did she think I''d wait for her to do whatever it was she was doing? Well.....I guess I do in fact do that sometimes....


    "W-what just happened!?" Godou raised his voice.


    "Just a paralysis Talisman. It''ll wear out in about.....20 minutes based on how her Magical Energy is fighting against the effect." I hummed, eyeing her over. "Though if she were more skilled in her control, it would onlyst a few minutes at most."


    To be honest, a true expert would have been able to brush it off without any effort. But this girl seemed rather inexperienced with the admittedly impressive amount of Magical Energy she could call upon. I guess I could just chalk it up tock of certain experience. She''s probably used to blow through obstacles with strength.


    "Magic." Godou said lightly.


    "Well, I would like to point out, she tried something first and I just defended myself."


    Godou sighed again. "So I just have to take off this piece of paper?" He questioned, pointing towards it.


    "Yup." I shrugged.


    Godou paused turning back towards me. Despite being dropped into the deep end here, he seemed rather.....unafraid about the whole ordeal. "What do you want from me? I hope you aren''t here to fight me like Doni....."


    "Doni." I tilted my head trying to recall where I heard that name. "Oh, another Campione?" I vaguely remember reading about him. Some idiot who runs around picking fights with people. I nced down at the blonde who was giving me a very angry look even if she couldn''t move or speak. I of course just smiled brightly at her.


    "Why does this keep happening to me?" I heard him mutter under his breath and it made me feel bad.


    I let out amiserating sigh of my own. "It must be hard. Suddenly going from a normal high school student to suddenly being called a ''Lord'' by people you just met." I could guess that his rtionship with this blonde girl was shallow and probably due to his new status.


    He turned towards me, a weary look on his face.


    "I remember when I first discovered the supernatural." I unconsciously ran a hand through my hair. "I was just a normal highschooler like you. I walked up on an Exorcist killing a stray....monster. He was a bit unhinged and decided to run me through with his sword."


    "He just tried to kill you?" Godou looked aghast as I now grabbed his full attention.


    "Yup, he didn''t even blink an eye as he tried to kill me. I was lucky, a fewtent magical abilities of mine were brought to the surface and I managed to survive." Actually....when was thest time I even talked about this? "I wasn''t in a good ce at the time, so I was pretty eager to throw away everything I was before the incident and embrace this new path." I shook my head remember how I was so quick to discard my previous life. "Never did finish high school either." I let out a smallugh. "I''m perhaps one of the most brilliant Mages in the world, and I''m also a high school drop out."


    "I was just delivering a package for my Grandfather to Lucretia Z." Godou said quietly. "I didn''t know it was magical and next thing I know, I''m being threatened by Erica because I was carrying it. Then a God attacked and I got caught up in everything."


    "Small world." I chuckled. "Lucretia Z is something like a Grandmother to me." Well, that''s a guess, but I''m pretty sure it''ll be made into a reality soon.


    His eyes widened a little. "You''re rted to her?"


    "Not by blood, but there is a rtionship there." It''s ratherplicated, new, and tenuous and I didn''t'' want to get into it. "Honestly, I came here because I was annoyed that you destroyed the Colosseum."


    "Haaah." He let out a long breath. "I didn''t mean to. Erica and some old guys wanted to test me but they wouldn''t listen and I just got caught up in it."


    "Is that so." I said evenly as I stared down at the blonde. "Well, the target of my ire has certainly changed." I locked eyes with the blonde. "And I expect that such a tragedy will be rectified regardless of the cost to the perpetrators." I didn''t think my ''subtle'' threat needed to be more spelt out than that.


    I turned back towards Godou. "Hey, wanna skip for the rest of the day?"


    "What?"


    "School. Want to skip it ande hang out with me for a bit? You seem like you need some time to cope with everything and maybe an ear to listen?"


    "I just want a normal life." He repeated, almost like a mantra.


    "What''s more normal than a kid skipping school? I did it more than a handful of times when I still attended." I let out augh.


    He looked at me then back at Erica on the ground. It was a bit telling that he still hadn''t helped her out yet. I don''t think he was particrly enthused by her behavior. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was considering it.


    "She''ll be fine?" He questioned again, obviously referring to Erica.


    "Yup. I promise that she''ll be up and about in no time." I nodded.


    "Fine." He sighed again. "I guess I could use a day off."


    ***


    "This the ce?" I asked Godou as we walked down the street.


    "Yeah, I usuallye here when I had some spare money." We walked up to a little ramen stall on the corner of a street.


    "Well, it''s been awhile since I''ve had proper ramen." I would admit to being a glutton, and I always looked forward to food.


    I had already sent Raikou a message through our mental link telling her of what I was up to. As much as I wanted to introduce the girls to him, he clearly needed someone to talk to.


    Ducking under the hanging curtains we slid into the stools seated at the counter.


    "Hey Kenta." Godou greeted rather familiarly.


    It was funny how I still perceivednguage in English undertones due to my heritage. I could see his lips move to include proper honorifics, but it just came out as ''Kenta''.


    "Godou." The man behind the counter eximed. "You skipping school, brat? You know that''s not good. You don''t want to end up like me."


    "It''s just one day." Godou gave a small smile.


    "Alright, alright. I know you''re a good kid." The cook smiled right back. "Whadda want, the usual?"


    "Two, please." He replied.


    "Oh, can I get mine a little spicy? I''m in the mood for some kick." I spoke up.


    "No problem." Kenta gave a thumbs up, setting down sses of water infront of us before turning back towards his cooking.


    I dipped my finger into my water. I shared a look with Gudou as I began to draw a few Runes on the counter. "Just a little cantrip I picked up."


    Godou looked at me. "What did you do?"


    "To put it simply, it''s a perception filter. Basically, the spell filters out anything we say and do so it sounds like we''re just having a mundane conversation."


    "Huh." Godou didn''t seem too displeased with that. "That''s sorta neat."


    "Magic is pretty neat." I grinned. "Wanna see a little trick?"


    "Sure."


    I turned my hand over, taking out my hat. I had his full attention, so I reached inside and pulled out Sir Wiggles for a brief moment.


    He stared before letting out augh and I couldn''t help but smile at his reaction.


    "Magic isn''t so bad, yeah?"


    "No, that''s great. I didn''t expect that. Is that real magic or a trick?"


    I let Sir Wiggles go back inside, he didn''t seem to want toe out and y for the moment. I think Godou''s presence was a bit intimidating to him. "It''s actual Magic." I admitted. "I''m not very good at stage magic yet,I''m sorta trying to learn how to do it. I saw a few shows with my mom when I was a kid. I wanted to learn how to do it and I had the free time so I thought ''why not''." I put my hat on my head. "Ever think about picking up some Magic yourself?"


    "Learning Magic?" He repeated as if the idea waspletely foreign to him. "I don''t really wanna mess with any of that stuff."


    "I sympathize, I really do. But you''re just burying your head in the sand and hoping everyone leave you alone." I honestly felt bad about his circumstances, but he was going to get hurt or get others hurt if he keeps this up.


    "Why can''t everyone just leave me alone?!" He threw his hands up. "I didn''t want any of this, why are people so focused on me!?"


    "Kid, you killed a God and usurped its power. That isn''t something that can be ignored." I pointed out. "Let me put it this way. Would the government ignore someone who walked around with a Nuke?"


    "That''s.....not the same." He said quietly.


    "Isn''t it?" I questioned. "You are pretty much invible to mundane means. A gun won''t do anything to you, a regr person most likely can''t subdue you unless you let them. Even most Magic ispletely worthless against your resistances. And to top that off, you canmand Divine Power toy waste to cities." He was about to speak up, but I wanted to push home my point. "Now, I''m not using you of anything. I''ve known you for all of a half hour at this point, and I know you aren''t that kind of person. But you have to understand, it''s the implication of what you can do."


    I saw him bite his lip and look down. "Is there a way to get rid of it?" He asked hopefully.


    "Not that I know of. You''re changed on a conceptual level, that isn''t something that can simply be undone without something of equal power behind it."


    "So I''m going to have to deal with people like Erica and youing into my life and there''s nothing I can do about it?" He sighed again.


    "It''s unfortunate, but you are elevated to one of the highest political spots in the world. Your words carry weight now. They aren''t just blowing smoke up your butt, kid. They are legitimately in awe of your existence." I tapped the counter absentmindedly. "Did you know you have an aura about you that practically forces people to acknowledge your superiority? Granted, I don''t believe normal people can feel it. But anyone with any sort of magical sense will unconsciously defer to you even if they don''t want to."


    "Really?" He blinked in surprise. "Is there a way to turn it off? I don''t want people tripping over themselves to worship me." He smiled bitterly.


    "You just gotta work on reining in that presence of yours. Which means you can''t keep denying your new status."


    "Wait." He perked up. "Why aren''t you.....you know?"


    "Falling over myself around you?"


    "Yeah, that."


    "Eh, I should have rified. If someone''s strong enough, they can shrug that kind of thing off." I grinned. "Another lesson, so you don''t get a swollen head." I pointed out. "You''re not invincible. I''m not a Campione, and I''ll tell you this right now, you''re not my match."


    He had a very impressive amount of power contained in his body, an absurd amount of It if I were to be honest. But I hadplete confidence in beating him if it came to blows. I doubt I''d have to even be serious except avoiding his Authorities.


    He blinked again at that, but didn''t seem offended. "Erica said that Campione can only be defeated by other Campione or Gods."


    "I would say that''s the general rule. But there are always exceptions." I leaned my head into my hand. "I told you before, I came over here because I was annoyed at what happened in Rome. Do you think someone who couldn''t handle themselves woulde to voice their discontent around someone like you?"


    "Atleast you aren''t making me fight like Doni." Godou grumbled. "He wouldn''t take ''no'' for an answer."


    "That''s gonna keep happening, kid." I again felt a little bad for him. "Power begets power, it''s a universal truth. Others of simr strength are going to look for you. Hell, Heretic Gods are going toe after you just for existing."


    "Can''t I just convince them to leave me alone? I mean....you said I''m someone important, why won''t they listen to me?"


    "You are basically a King without an actual crown. The normal people below you will bow to your whims. But the other ''kings'' won''t recognize yourmands." I shook my head. "I''m sorry, but you''re not going to be able to live a normal life anymore."


    "Really? I can''t just.....deal with all this when I''m not busy with other stuff?" He looked like he was grasping at straws here.


    "And what? Get a 9-5 job somewhere and y Godyer at night? Reality isn''t going to conform to your wants. I''m not telling you this to be mean, but you''re going to get yourself or others hurt if you keep this up. You got a family?"


    "Yeah." He said quietly. "I don''t want them mixed up in all this stuff."


    "I can''t im to see the future. But as clich¨¦ as it sounds, if you want to protect them, you''re going to have to get stronger."


    "So troublesome." His head fell down into his hands. "Why did this happen to me? I''m not anyone special."


    "Who knows." I shrugged. "But it isn''t all bad, Y''know."


    "How isn''t this bad? You said people are going toe after me." He looked at me with a sour expression.


    "Reach out to the local supernatural organizations. It''s a bit normal for the local ones to serve their resident Campione. And you won''t ever have to want for anything again. People will literally fall over themselves catering to your wants and needs. Who do you think they''ll turn to when an Angry God descends on Japan? You won''t have to worry about a office job anymore." I didn''t quite catch him yet so I continued. "And that girl ¨C Erica was her name? She was cute, not my type, but I can''t deny her beauty. What do you think about her?"


    "W-what do you mean?"


    "Well, you''re a healthy young man, I don''t want to assume anything. But....she''s willing to serve you. And I doubt she''ll be thest to try ande under your banner."


    Godou turned red and I couldn''t help butugh. "T-that''s not true, we''re nothing like that!"


    "Well, it''s up to you." I grinned at his reactions. "Godou." I punctuated. "You can literally choose which path you want to take and no mortal on the can stop you. I''m not here to pressure you into anything. I felt bad because of your circumstances so I wanted you to understand the position you were in. Yes, it''s pretty shitty that you''ll have to probably fight for your life, but you also have many opportunities that people will literally kill for."


    "I know." He grumbled. "I had dreams and stuff like this when I was a kid. ying with Magic, who wouldn''t want that?" He looked at his hands. "But after almost dying...I just wanted it to all go back to normal."


    Ah, the clinging to normalcy was his way of coping with what happened. It must have been rather traumatizing to face down a literal God.


    I put a hand on his shoulder. "It gets better. You''ll find people to help you out and you won''t have to shoulder everything yourself." The corners of my lips curled up. "Maybe a few beautiful women, eh?"


    Watching him turn red again would be something I always found amusement in. "I-is that how you dealt with it?"


    "Well, having a Harem certainly helps." I nodded.


    "N-no!" He squeaked out. "I mean, having other people?" He paused for a moment. "Wait, you have a harem?"


    "Yes, yes I do." I wouldn''t deny that I took a bit of pride in the women in my life. "But yes, it certainly helped mee to terms with everything in my life. I honestly don''t know where I''d be right now without the support I''ve had along the way."


    "That doesn''t sound so bad....."


    "Right?" I nodded with a smile. "Now, for my next lesson. I''ll teach you all about managing a Harem."


    "What!? Why would I need to know that!?"


    "Don''t worry, Godou. Let your big brother do his duty and teach you all about women."


    "I need an adult."


    "Ah, already wanting to move onto the advance stuff. Don''t worry I''m well versed in how to handle older women."


    ***


    Wilhelm gives Godou a much needed talk about his new status in the world without trying to fight him, worship him, or manipte him. And oddly enough, he''s more receptive to that, who''da thunk it?


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a Dis cord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 212 - 203

    <h4>Chapter 212: Chapter 203</h4>


    Sc¨¢thach POV


    "So this is the country that both you and Wilhelm grew up in." I admired the view as I watch people walk down the streets.


    "Yes." My student''s Servant responded. "Though it looks too foreign for me to recognize."


    "The passing of the years changes everything." I said quietly. "I am hesitant to approach my own homnd, I wonder if I would even think of it as the same. Would the ind I grew up on be nothing but dirt in the centuries I had been away?" I was feeling strangely nostalgic.


    "I do not know." The woman shook her head. "My knowledge outside of Japan is minimal. But I do know the name of your home carried on and people still live there happily and your story has passed through the years. Is that not enough?"


    I let out a smallugh. "I suppose it is."


    This woman has be much more pleasant after Wilhelm cleared her of her madness. No longer was that thinly veiled disgust in her gaze. No longer did she have to force herself to interact with other people.


    Her gentle attitude is rather enjoyable. I can see why my student had be enamored with her. Besides the obvious that is.


    I briefly nced at her chest. I was by no means jealous of any other woman, I felt I had a very generous bosom myself. However...I can''t help but admit that her tits are impressive, more so than mine. Truly, I can only say that my rear doesn''t lose out to hers.


    Well, I know that Wilhelm still enjoys my body, so I do not feel any dissatisfaction. Yes, I certainly felt his desire when I held him in my grasp.


    "That boy decided to abandon us. Shall we go explore while he is upied with his matters?" I offered. I would not mind spending more time with this woman since we will be around each other much in the future.


    "He didn''t abandon us." The swordswoman replied. "He had something important to take care of."


    "Perhaps." I pursed my lips.


    It is true. She ryed my students'' words through their link as Servant and Master. From what she spoke, the young Godyer was truly in over his head and Wilhelm had taken it upon himself to help the boy out.


    I was mildly annoyed since I had a desire to meet the young''un that managed to y a god. However, I also quite liked that kindness he shows. How he was so upset earlier, yet it all evaporated the moment he found out the young God yer was suffering and decided to lend a hand.


    That side of him is cute.


    "Regardless." I would not dwell on it. He had matters to settle and we were not required at his side for the moment. "We have some time, let us go explore the clothing of this era. I have some strange knowledge about certain things I wish to investigate."


    I would like to acquire some more garments from a modern merchant. Besides wanting some variety in my wardrobe, I do believe my man would enjoy it if I wore different styles.


    "Are you sure it''s okay to leave him alone?" She hesitantly asked.


    "You are a very kind woman." I truly admired this about her. "But you should acknowledge your own desires as well. You are someone who exists as a separate entity and you need not have your existence revolve around Wilhelm." I ced a hand on her shoulder. I could understand her thoughts, but I could guess what my student would wish in this circumstance. "You are allowed to do things because you desire. We are both in a simr situation, but I am aware that I do not need to spend every moment living for him. And I am sure he would wish you to be happy as well."


    It would not be good for her to only care about Wilhelm''s needs. For both of them, it would develop into a distorted rtionship and be something that poisons those around him. I do not wish to see either of them hurt due to leaving certain things unspoken. I did not mind lending a hand in this matter.


    She looked hesitant, but the fact that she was considering at all was a good sign. The remnants of her time under Madness did her no favors.


    "I do wish to look around and explore a little bit..." She said softly before a smile imed her face. "Very well. I will enjoy some time away from my son." She puffed up happily.


    Well, I will not judge her if she wishes to still y at being his mother. My deviant of a student certainly enjoys it, I could tell that much. And that is no where close to the strangest fetish I have had the displeasure of witnessing in my existence.


    "But.....how will we pay for the goods? This era requires a certain method of payment."


    A good question, thankfully I had prepared. I withdrew a brown leather object from my own pocket. Something I was quite interested in is the methods of storing items on clothes that seemed so prevalent these days. "I had taken this off of Wilhelm." I proudly proimed. "He will be treating us to our fun since he abandoned us."


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    "What the hell, where''s my wallet?" I started patting my pockets and couldn''t find it anywhere.


    "Are you...trying to scam me?" Godou asked.


    "No, I keep money stored in other ces on me. It''s just...my wallet." I sighed wondering what happened. "Oh well." I shrugged. It sucks but it''s not like I''m hurting for money in any way. I just liked to keep it on me out of habit. "Anyways, this is good."


    "Oh yeah, I love this ce. They really do have the best Ramen in town." Godou and I happily enjoyed our meal.


    He seemed a little bit chipper. "So, I was curious."


    "Hmm?" He muttered, quickly swallowing.


    "Why exactly did you destroy the Colosseum?"


    "You''re not going to let that go, are you?"


    "Dude, it was a historical monument."


    "....."


    "We could always talk about how to handle women again?"


    "I think I''m more scarred than when my Grandfather tried to give me ''the talk'' when I was 10." He sighed. "....it was an ident."


    "Yeah, yeah. Tell it to the people of Rome." I snickered. "But seriously, what happened?"


    Godou sighed again, something that was happening a lot. "Erica took me to meet some people of the group she''s part of. A bunch of old guys wanted to test me to make sure I could keep something safe from a God."


    "Why didn''t you just....not fight? I don''t want to sound mean, but that''s almost exactly the circumstances where you could just walk away."


    "I tried!" He threw up his hands again before sighing once more. "But Erica summoned her sword thing and started attacking me, I had no choice."


    "Wait, the girl from the roof?"


    "....yeah."


    "Shit, why is she even still around you? I''d be pissed at her for pulling some crap like that."


    "I.....don''t know."


    "Ah." I realized. "She''s probably the only person you can rely on right now. You didn''t want to drag your family into your mess, so you had no one else to even share your burden with." Once again, I felt bad that he was forced into this circumstance. "So, what was so important that you had to protect it?"


    "Oh, it''s this thing." He immediately reached into his back pocket and pulled out a stone-like object with a carved figure on the surface, holding it out for me to inspect. "Forgot the name, but it gives me a strange feeling."


    I did in fact take it from him, but I also flicked his forehead.


    "Ow, what the hell?"


    "Don''t just give strangers objects of power like this." I chastised him. "I could have been luring you into a false sense of security. I already revealed I knew about you, It wouldn''t have been odd that this was all a trap."


    "Is it a trap?" He questioned.


    "No, but it''s the principal of the matter!" I flicked him again.


    "Ow, stop flicking me!"


    "I will when you don''t make foolish decisions." I huffed, inspecting the strange thing. I could feel the pulsing of power.


    [Definitely Divine in origin. There is something bubbling beneath the surface. It feels simr to the goddess you encountered before.]


    Yeah, and she spoke about being lessened.


    Want to bet that this is the source of her power and she''s going toe for it?


    [Fools wager.]


    "So, the Goding about this wouldn''t happen to be Athena, would it?"


    He blinked. "How''d you know?"


    "Ran into her in Rome."


    "Wait, really!? She was that close by?"


    "Yeah, she knows you have it as well." It would do no one good to not tell him. "She''s weakened though, if that helps."


    Godou groaned. "It helps a little but I still don''t want to fight another god!"


    "You could always seduce her." I offered an alternative.


    "Will that really work?" He snorted almost humored by the idea.


    "Probably not, but stranger things have happened." She''s a virgin goddess in myth as well.


    "Like what?"


    "Well, some random kid in Japan managed to somehow kill a God. Really damn weird."


    "Oh screw you."


    "Hehe."


    Atleast he was smiling.


    "Here." I handed it back to him.


    "No way, you keep it." He reeled back.


    "Wait, what?"


    "You said a Goddess is going toe after it." He stated. "Besides, you said you were strong, right? If you''re stronger than me, then shouldn''t you have it?"


    "You sure? Weren''t you specifically given this to protect it? As I said before, you don''t know me. I can think of several rituals that I could use to abuse this thing and hurt people."


    He gave a little smile. "I think you''re a good person. And it was kind of forced on me so....."


    "Jeez, why do people always say that." I muttered, staring at the strange object. It looked almost like an amulet that depicted Medusa from legends. Other than some horrific ways to utilize this thing, I could also think of some interesting ways for it to benefit me. "Well, I can''t just take this for nothing."


    "It''s fine, I really don''t want it." He waived me off.


    "How about ¨C " I paused, perking up. "Oh, Godou. I would like to introduce you." I spun around in my stool as two familiar women walked up.


    He turned around looking at them as well. Well, more so staring, but I couldn''t fault him. They were both extremely beautiful and I often found myself staring as well.


    "These are two of the women in my life." I gestured towards them. And I noticed that they were carrying several new bags with them.


    I do believe I now know what happened to my wallet.


    "Hmm, are you the rumored Campione then?" Sc¨¢thach eyed him inquisitively. "So young, so very young." She said lightly, and I don''t think it was in reference to just his age. "You are so full yet so empty at the same time. Child who had this burden forced upon you." She seemed to almost pity him as she walked up next to me. "You stand at the precipice of choice. You can go in any direction, but you should choose wisely."


    "Uh....thanks?" Godou replied in confusion.


    "She means that you have many avenues avable to you to get stronger, but you shouldn''t bite off more than you can chew."


    "Oh." He nodded. "Thank you."


    "Fufu, you are a gentle child. What a strange turn of fate that you are the one out of the masses that lucked into this position."


    "I''ve always had bad luck." He sighed.


    "Bad Luck, Good Luck. What matters is how we deal with the consequences of destiny." Sc¨¢thach looked rather wistful. "You are new to this world, child. Know my name as your senior. I am Sc¨¢thach, the Queen of the Land of Shadows."


    "Ah....it''s nice to meet you." He clearly didn''t recognize her name and title, but still was respectful.


    "What a silly boy." Sc¨¢thach justughed. "In another time and ce, I would have enjoyed training you."


    I don''t think he quite knew how to react to that since he seemingly didn''t know Sc¨¢thach''s true history if he didn''t react to her name.


    "I am Raikou." Raikou simply introduced herself instead of her full name and title. "You have suffered."


    "Oh well, what can I do?" He let out a self-deprecatingugh.


    I felt Raikou''s arms wrap around me from behind. I always weed her gentle touch and it would always be soothing for me. "You enjoy yourselves?" I asked towards my Servant.


    "Oh yes, it was quite enjoyable. I have procured many things I found pleasant." Raikou smiled happily.


    I turned towards Sc¨¢thach. "Yes, well, I''m happy I could provide for both of you." My tone was very dry as I looked towards my teacher.


    She of course just smirked at me and dangled my Wallet in her fingers. Not that I at all minded, but it was the principal of the matter. But I should seriously make sure none of my girls have toe to me for money. Just makes for a weird power dynamic between us.


    "Anyways." I turned back towards Godou. "What ns do you have moving forward?"


    Godou was able to shake off the initial surprise of meeting my two girls easily enough. "I''ll probably do what you said, look for whatever people are taking care of the ce. You said that they would wee me, right?"


    "Yeah, there''s a really good chance they would jump at the opportunity to pull you to their side." I nodded. "It''s not a bad idea either, you''ll get some much needed support. I do suggest learning about the wider world and know where you stand with everything."


    "Joy, more studying." He groaned, but it was filled with a humorous undertone.


    "Speaking of studying." I searched my ring for some things. "Any particr weapon you''re partial to?"


    "Uh, a weapon?" He questioned. "Well, I do have an ability involving a sword."


    "Oh." My eyes sparkled. "Interesting. How are your sword skills?"


    "Um.....stab with the pointy end?"


    "So, a master." I nodded.


    He let out an awkwardugh at my joke. "I''ve never held a weapon before now."


    "Understandable." I found a good sword and took it out, cing it infront of him. "Fairly well bnced, enchanted to be extremely durable. I''m guessing you can''t just take out whatever Authority to practice with on a whim?"


    "No, I need to ¨C "


    I flicked him again. "Information is valuable, don''t give it out so easily unless you can deal with the consequences."


    "Oh, right." He nodded at my little lesson, ignoring that I flicked him again.


    "T-thanks." He didn''t even express his dismay at the whole idea anymore. Instead, he grabbed onto it and held it infront of him.


    "Interesting." Sc¨¢thach muttered.


    "Indeed, he adjusted his grip almost subconsciously to hold it and distribute the weight to fit his needs." Raikou looked intrigued as well.


    "It just felt right?"


    "Well, I did hear that Campione have some insane instincts. Perhaps that transfers to things that involve their ''Authorities''?" He said he had an Authority involving a sword, so perhaps he instinctively knows how to ''wield'' one even if in a basic manner.


    An interesting thing to note.


    "Here, a few more things." I added some books to the counter. "Some basic spell books to get you started."


    "Really, books on magic?" He sounded genuinely interested, aplete 180 from how he was earlier. "And I can learn this?"


    "Child, you have an obscene amount of Magical Energy contained within you body. I can feel it even as it bubbles under the surface. If you cannot learn these, then no one in the world is allowed to call themselves a wielder of Magic." Sc¨¢thach chuckled.


    "Onest thing." I might as well go the extra mile. I took out a few bottles and ce them on the counter as well. "From what I understand, a Campione''s Magic Resistance is skin deep, literally. You are so cram packed of Magical Energy that normal spells can''t prate, and that includes beneficial ones. So here are some Health Potions in case of emergency."


    "Health Potions, like in games?" His eyes widened.


    "Yup." I grinned.


    "Awesome." He looked at them in awe. "Why...." He paused. "Why are you being so nice to me? It seemed like everyone else wanted something from me, but you''re just.....giving me stuff and helping me out without asking for anything."


    I suppose it was a fair question.


    "I''m under the belief that Mundane people should not be forced into the supernatural side of the world. It''s something that angers me to the point where I would willingly fight a God if needed. It should be a choice to enter our world, and in my eyes it''s a crime to take that choice away from people." I gave a wry smile. "I don''t think myself some kind of hero or anything, but when something happens infront of my eyes, I can''t help but lend a hand. You were wronged, and I felt bad. It''s as simple as that. I''m sorry you had to go through something like this."


    Almost dying is not something one gets over easily. I would be lying if I said I still don''t vividly remember being run through by that Exorcist. The me from back then was so terrified and I truly thought I was going to die.


    "Thank you." He said quietly. "You''re the first person to say something like that to me."


    I put a hand on his shoulder. "Stay strong, kid. Train yourself, live a long and happy life." It was the best advice I could offer since I wasn''t nning on sticking around too long in this little trip.


    He would need to stand on his own two feet if he wished to survive, I could only give him some advice. I decided to probablye back and check up from time to time, but I couldn''t babysit him.


    Regardless, this new trinket of mine was rather interesting, I wonder what secrets it held.


    ***


    Early chapter today, woo woo. On a side note, my Beta didn''t look over this chapter, so I''m sorry for an increase in errors and will probably be fixed at some pointter. Have an Omakeing up with their ''women'' talk.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a dis cord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 213 - 204

    <h4>Chapter 213: Chapter 204</h4>


    "Are you disappointed?" I asked Sc¨¢thach as we walked down the street. No real destination in mind, but just idly spending some time together.


    "Disappointed?" She repeated. "I do not know what I expected when I heard about him. Perhaps the other ''Campiones'' are different, but looking at that boy, he was no warrior. Atleast not yet."


    "From what I understand, he already fought another Campione. Not to mention the God he defeated. And you don''t think he''s a warrior?" I was just curious about her thoughts even if I agreed.


    She shook her head. "The ability to throw around Divine Power does not make him a warrior. There were plenty of Gods that wielded such might but were felled by those weaker than them due to martial prowess."


    "It was kind of you to help him like you did, master." Raikou spoke up.


    I let out a sigh. "I think I was projecting my own circumstances too much on him." Self-reflection is important. "Oh well." I shrugged. "It''s not like I handed him anything of extraordinary value. And I got this thing as well." I waived the stone medallion around.


    "I would not say they were without value. You handed over several spell books that are the basis for most Magi. It will set a firm foundation if he wishes to pursue that particr path." Sc¨¢thach replied. "And what is that object? I can sense the touch of Divinity about it. It feels almost like a seal of some kind as it''s preventing the majority of the power contained from leaking out."


    "Remember what Athena was talking about, how she wasn''t at her best?" I shed the object again.


    "Hmm." Sc¨¢thach just hummed, eyeing it for a moment then ceased to care. "How interesting. You truly know how to keep showing me fun and new things. I look forward to this Goddess reappearing and osting you for that object."


    Ominous.


    "Hmm, that reminds me. Would you like your spear back?" I didn''t know if she preferred the one she wielded in life or not.


    "My spear." She said quietly. "Yes, you used it as a catalyst to summon me. I am surprised you kept it around." She eventually shook her head. "The one attached to me as a Servant is required to activate my Noble Phantasm. You may hold onto it.....and I hope that it will serve you well at some point."


    "Your spear isn''t the only thing I took with me." I admitted.


    "Did you raid my panty drawer?"


    "How''d you know?" I said almost instantly with a deadpanned look.


    "I see where your eyes wander to." She pursed her lips before breaking out into a smile. "You are entitled to anything that you wished to have taken from that ce."


    "The painting above your mantle."


    "The painting?" She paused looking at me.


    "I thought it might have been something important to you." I scratched my cheek. "The one of you and your family."


    "....you are a kind man." She moved and her arms wrapped around me. "Thank you." She whispered into my ear.


    Hugs are nice.


    "And I would have liked to truly show my appreciation, but I do not abide voyeurs." She whispered again.


    "I was content to let them be since they weren''t showing any intent to harm us, but now I''m annoyed."


    "Master." Raikou wrapped me up from behind, joining in the little hug. Shecked the toxic possessiveness she had before, but she''s still quite clingy. Not that I''m one to talk nor do I dislike it. "Would you like me to take care of the growing group spying on us?"


    I yawned a little. "May as well see what they want. It''s not like we need to stay here much longer."


    "Maybe they''ll want to fight?" Sc¨¢thach said hopefully.


    "My you truly do love fighting." Raikoumented.


    "I''m Scottish." Sc¨¢thachughed. "If you weren''t fighting, you were either drunk or fucking."


    "Sometimes all three at once." I grinned.


    "Youugh, however.... I have seen many things."


    "How does that even work!?" I was stunned at her words.


    "I do not believe it wise to seek answers, Master." Raikou spoke up.


    "You''re not wrong." Sheughed again. "I will not deny that my people are a strange lot."


    Our little conversation continued as we made our way to an empty park a few blocks away. It was a curious thought, why I didn''t sense anyone spying on me until I left Godou. I highly doubt they didn''t have people watching him. They''d have to be pretty ipetent to let a walking weapon of mass destruction go around without some kind of tail.


    Extending one''s senses was really something I wasn''t taught. Most people don''t really ''learn'' to do it in a traditional sense. There are many methods to do it and people generally just gravitate towards the one that feels the most correct. Detecting bloodlust, fluctuations in the air, Magical Energy being pulled about, or even Space being manipted. There were a plethora of ways.


    All of this could just be described as a sixth sense.


    So to say that I sensed no one spying on me before meant a bit more than what was understood on the surface.


    "Hmmhmmhmm." I hummed looking around as both my girls took a position next to me. "This should be good." I said idly before turning back around and staring nkly into the surroundings. "What do you lot think? No mundane people around here, you cane out, right?" I raised my voice so those who decided to follow or spy could listen.


    I didn''t really want to get involved in the politics here, but I had some time to spare. May as well see what the Magic users here were like before we head back. Some interesting Data to mull over in my free time.


    The air visibly shuttered as a man and several women stepped out of a fold in space.


    Not a traditional method of teleportation, but I would give credit where credit is due.


    The man leading the front looked rather.....strange. No, the oddity is that he was out of cepared to the women at his side who were dressed as shrine maidens. He was in a business suit and looked like your average office worker. Perhaps he gave off a sort of fatherly vibe about him.


    "Greetings." The man smiled in a way that was noticeably practiced. "I am Amakasu Touma. I represent the History Comption Committee."


    "Kay." I said dismissively.


    It was amusing to see him get thrown off by myckluster response. "Yes, well...if you wouldn''t minding with us? We have a few questions that we''d like to ¨C "


    "Pass." I denied right away.


    "Ah, I believe you don''t quite understand the situation." He cleared his throat. "You see, we have be aware that you acquired an object of....power from his Majesty around an hour ago."


    "And how did you be aware of that?" I raised an eyebrow.


    He grinned a little bit, pushing his sses up. "Our Hime-Mikos are second to none." He replied with no small amount of pride in his voice.


    "Hoh." I muttered as I eyed the people around him. "I see....you weren''t ''tracing'' me so to speak, but the ''item'' using the Hime-Mikos. Using their ''scrying'' ability to keep track of it at all times." I could imagine I turned up as a sort of blind spot for them, but the stone amulet would be a small light they couldtch onto to gauge my movements. It''s interesting that this thing was so easily traceable to them. I kinda wanted to look more into these Hime-Mikos now. Their method of Scrying might be worth the effort into understanding.


    Overall, Impressive.


    "Quite." He didn''t deny it. "While we could not raise any issue over his Majesty holding onto something so dangerous, we cannot allow others to walk around with the Gorgoneion. We must quickly seal it away before the Heretic God finds it."


    I fiddled with the stone amulet the ¨C Gorgoneion, they called it. Rolling it between my fingers I stared at the man in the eyes. "This was traded to me, it''s mine now." I said simply.


    I didn''t like to give up things that were mine.


    He frowned. "Do you not understand? A Heretic God isn''t something we can prevent. Our only advantage is that we haven''t been discovered."


    "Are you sure about that?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "What do you ¨C "


    "Isn''t it about time youe out, Athena." She wasn''t as stealthy as she thought she was. She left fluctuations in the stability of space when she covered distances with whatever her method was. While I couldn''t say for certainty she was the only one who could do this, it was the same as what I felt at the Colosseum.


    The shadows in the area moved, conglomerating into the mass of the little girl I recognized from before.


    All eyes immediately turned to her and the people from this ''History Comption Committee'' look absolutely horrified to the point where it looked like they stopped breathing.


    She nced at them, and I saw her gaze linger on one of the girls next to the man who was speaking. "Interesting." A single word spoken before she turned back to us. "Thou has acquired mine Gorgoneion. Return it."


    It was a fairly easy guess to make that she was lurking around. My bet was on scoping out Godou and making a sort of threat assessment.


    "No, it''s mine now." Something about her attitude just grated on me.


    ".....Cease thy nonsensical ramblings. Return mine property or I shall retrieve it by force. You are a passing interesting, but if thou stands in mine way, I shall remove thee."


    I looked at her, then looked down at the Gorgoneion. I slowly brought it up to my face and licked it, not breaking eye contact with her. "You still want it?"


    Petty, thy name is Schweinorg.


    "...die." I felt her gather Divine power but it was briefly halted.


    She paused because there was another force contesting her.


    Sc¨¢thach''s aura burst out. Her clothes changed to her Servant armaments. Her deadly spear materialized into her hand. The sheer power she was pushing out, the Magical Energy that she was releasing was enough to make the others have to steady themselves.


    "W-who art thou?" Athena''s eyes widened. "Thou art no God, thou are no human, nor beast, nor monster. Thy nature eludes mine Wisdom, yet your presence brings this one hesitance."


    Sc¨¢thach grinned. A bloodthirsty smile spread across her face. "I have in Men. I have in Undead. I have in Monsters. I have killed Fae, Beasts and even Dragons." She mmed her spear into the ground. "But most important. I have in Gods." A predatory feeling emanated out as she took a few slow steps. "You wish to know my name? I will make you know through my spear. I am Sc¨¢thach, Queen of the Land of Shadows."


    And I thought I saw the Goddess visibly pale.


    ***


    Omake ¨C Teaching(trolling) Godou on how to talk to women.


    "Godou, this is important."


    "How!? How is this supposed to be important when I have Godsing to kill me?"


    "Godou." I put a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me. Have I led you astray so far?"


    "I''ve only known you for like....an hour."


    "And thus I have a perfect record." I said smugly.


    "Just....can''t you help me with other stuff? I have Ten Incarnations that I need -- "


    "Godou, I don''t want to hear about your Ten Incarnations. Sometimes, you need to use your 10 inches."


    "W-what!?" He stuttered out with a growing red face. "B-but...."


    "What?"


    "Where am I supposed to get 8 more inches?"


    "...what?"


    "I mean..." He looked away. "Nevermind."


    "Anyways." I decided not to dwell on it. "Look, I have a fool proof n. I''m going to teach you how to talk to thedies."


    "This is stupid."


    "Now, now. Who has the harem here?"


    "....this is still stupid."


    "Alrighty." I pped my hands. "So, I''m going to create an illusion, and we''re going to do a little bit of role y."


    "Kill me."


    "That''s a kink we don''t touch."


    "Haaaaah, I hate my life."


    "Lets see....we''ll start off with a woman I''ve met in my life." I of course wouldn''t use any of my girls. With a wave of my hand, I focused and created an illusion of a female figure. "Godou, meet Semiramis. Now Godou, she''s going to start a conversation."


    "Oh...she''s pretty."


    "That she is, now get ready."


    "O-okay." He nodded staring at her cleavage.


    I controlled my illusion to speak. "Hey Godou, you got a nice cock."


    "Pffft" He almost fell back in his chair, choking on air. "WHY!?"


    "Come on, Godou, this is the easy stuff." I sighed.


    "WHY DID IT SPEAK WITH YOUR VOICE?"


    "It''s only an illusion, what else did you expect? Now!" I pped my hands again. "Answer her, Godou. Don''t wimp out, Semiramis is flirting with you!"


    "I uh.....You...erm.....too?" He stuttered out.


    "....Dammit Godou."


    "I''m sorry! I panicked, I''m not very good at this stuff." He whimpered. "And It''s kind of weird."


    "You need to learn to talk to thedies and it shows. You need to gain some confidence. Maybe this was too high a ce to start." Sighed again, waiving my hand. "Lets bring it down a notch." The illusion changed again to a familiar redhead. "Pyrrha Nikos?"


    "Oh." Godou perked up.


    "No." I shook my head before snapping my fingers. "Oh, I got it." I started weaving my illusions into the perfect starting point.


    The new figure morphed, sporting red hair as well. But this was no Pyrrha Nikos. She wore a very elegant dress shirt, a matching pair of pants and a very tasty hat. "Oh, now that''s a hot piece of ass."


    "W-what!?" He blurted out.


    "Hoho, Your Big Brother ¨C or should I say your Big Sister consents, Godou."


    "You got a nice cock." The illusion depicting a female version of me winked at him.


    "I hate my life." He whimpered again.


    ***


    Early chapter since I have to wake up super early tomorrow.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 214 - 205

    <h4>Chapter 214: Chapter 205</h4>


    There were no more derations of intent behind either of their words. No more boasting or verbal jabs as the area went deathly silent. Only the soft steps of Sc¨¢thach walking through the grass.


    Athena, for the first time, appeared hesitant. The absolute confidence she spoke with a moment ago was all but gone as a slight paleness appeared on her face.


    Sc¨¢thach wasn''t someone to let their power, their aura leak out out every moment. She was a warrior that relished in bloodlust, but she was reserved when not wielding her spear. She had always been content to wrap it all up and bury it inside. The Warrior Queen that defined her was always there, waiting for the correct moment toe out.


    It started with a red streak that soared through the air. A burst of bloodlust apanying the eerie red spear as it sailed past the Goddess''s head. With a quick movement she had dodged, but it didn''t matter. In that brief moment, Sc¨¢thach was already next to her, having retrieved her spear and swung it down on the smaller opponent.


    It was almostical due to their size differences, but I could feel the weight of their power as they collided.


    Athena had called forth some kind of Scythe to block the blow. Her power, her divinity, had finally started to seep out noticeably as if to offset the pressure that Sc¨¢thach was delivering.


    With a flicker of her wrist, Sc¨¢thach''s deadly spear spun in her hands, thrusting out several times in a single breath.


    Athena''s Scythe moved unnaturally fast, as befitted someone who was a Goddess. But after the first several exchanges, it was clear shecked the same martial prowess even though she was of divine origin.


    My eyes trailed the blows as it started slow, Sc¨¢thach''s spear slipping through every few hits until the Goddess started showing some slight cuts on her body.


    "How weakened you are, Goddess." Sc¨¢thach showed a bloodthirsty grin,ughing all the while her spear shot out. Even when Athena got in a counter and nicked the Godyer, she never stopped smiling. "Are you having trouble keeping up? Shall I stay at this level of prowess to give you a handicap or shall I fight with my full strength!?"


    Well, she''s definitely having fun because I could recognize that taunting tone.


    Athena did not look all too pleased with the taunt. She visibly growled and gathered a good amount of power before swinging her Scythe horizontally, bisecting a good portion of the forest.


    Sc¨¢thach flicked her hand, Runes appearing and conglomerating around her. "Shield." A simple Aria to invoke her Mystery. It took the form of arge, round, shield that covered several feet in all directions around her. The swing of the Scythe met the shield and stopped.


    "Odin''s Magic!?" Athena blurted out almost in surprise.


    "Did you not hear my name, Goddess? I am Sc¨¢thach and I am also called the Rune Witch." She crouched down, hand on the ground as she leveled her spear.


    Athena jumped back, Owl-like wings sprouting from her back as she took to the air, rising a few dozen feet.


    Sc¨¢thach let out a shout as she turned into another streak of red light, shooting towards the Goddess.


    "Aegis of the Gorgon, defend this Goddess of death!" The Goddess proimed, a shift in the world urred. It wasn''t a normal ''spell'', but an absolutemand depicting some sort of her authority.


    It was funny how simr the ''spell'' was to what Sc¨¢thach had just used. A shield appeared infront of the Goddess. A rectangr shield that covered her from head to toe, depicting Medusa from legends.


    The collision brightened up the sky, a cascade of Bloodlust and Magical Energy burst out in every direction as the two forces collided. The trees beneath them were uprooted and blown away.


    The barely got started and thendscape was already starting to get torn up.


    I could only shake my head as they fell to the ground and the Goddess tried to gain some distance, with Sc¨¢thach following after her.


    "Should we help?" Raikou asked.


    "No." I smiled as I watched the direction they went. "This is something she wants, let her have her fun. Besides, I trust her to return to me."


    She said she wouldn''t leave me again, so I would always trust her toe back.


    The other members of the audience were still staring wide-eyed at what happened. The shock of the first shes had not let them recover.


    "Ahem." I loudly cleared my throat, finally snapping them out of their stupor.


    The man turned to me with horror drawn across his face, hand slowly raised, pointing at me. "Y-y-you!" He stuttered out. "Who is she?" He finally squeaked out.


    "She introduced herself already." I rolled my eyes.


    "How? There was no indication that another Heretic God would appear. And one who didn''t rampage?"


    "She isn''t a Heretic God." I said simply, looking off into the distance. I could see the signs of battle still urring as the forestry, thisrge park began to get dismantled.


    "How can ¨C" He was cut off as one of the Hime-Mikos at his side stepped forward.


    She had raven ck hair and could be called a beauty even if she was a few years younger than my preference. Not to mention she radiated an interesting aura. "Ena has heard enough!" She dered rather loudly. "Hand over the Gorgoneion or Ena will take it by force."


    "Ena!?" Amakusa sighed. "This is why I hate doing jobs with you." He muttered rubbed the bridge of his nose, seemingly broken from his hysterics previously. "If it weren''t for your prowess as a Hime-Miko..."


    "Quiet." She turned her nose up. "You had your chance. Now I will fetch it myself before the Goddess returns." She raised up her hand and gathered an absurd amount of power.


    The other Hime-Miko, a meeker looking woman dashed away rather quickly with a ''eep''.


    "Dammit Ena!" Amakusa yelled, running for cover.


    "Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, I pray that you take my body as a sacrifice, for even a fierce God may not cross your borders. I will not regret this moment!" She chanted as her aura exploded out.


    This human girl was suddenly enveloped in a feint cloak of Divinity as it surrounded her body. No....it was more like the Divinity was seeping into her as Magical Energy whipped about, forming a coherent mass in the shape of a sword as itnded in her grip.


    A ck sword that seemed to absorb all light.


    "Interesting." I couldn''t help but grin as I looked at her. "Are you going to fight me, child?"


    {Master.} Raikou called out through our link. {Do you wish me to intervene?}


    {It''s alright, let me handle it.} I sent back {But hang onto this for me.} I tossed her the Gorgoneion.


    {I will defend it with my life, master.}


    I paused briefly, giving her a look. {I care more about your life than some trinket, Raikou. Please remember that for now on.}


    Was she trying to ovepensate for how she acted before?


    It just showed how much she changed with her clear mindset. Before, she would have probably run the girl through for ''daring'' to threaten me. The thought of ''letting'' me fight would have never crossed her mind unless I ordered her.


    "Hmph." She snorted. "You are not match for me!" She dered charging at me. Her speed was rather impressive, I would freely admit. Slightly below a standard full body Reinforcement, and it looked like she was just filling her body with Magical Energy and utilizing it that way.


    Though it was nothing I couldn''t handle even with my eyes closed. Really, the only thing that gave me pause was the sword itself.


    It felt....dangerous.


    And I was intrigued.


    I summoned Mirage to my hand. Theforting grip I''de to know as my fingers wrapped around the hilt. She basically telegraphed a horizontal sweep at me as I brought up Mirage to block. Our sword collided and I couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow as I felt the force behind the blow. I had to actually brace myself, and that was in no way because of the girl''s power.


    This sword...and her chant to summon it painted a pretty decent picture on what I was dealing with. "So....how does a young girl like you get their hands on a Divine Sword?"


    She scoffed, raising her de up and shing down. It was a pretty well honed shed. I could guess she had practiced it many times.


    I stepped to the side where the sword sundered the earth for dozens of feet.


    She didn''t seem perturbed as she followed up again. I watched her feet nt firmly and she centered herself, all in a single moment to sweep at me again. It was a solid and well honed sh, once more. I stepped into it, both hands gripping Mirage, and I knocked the sh away. The umted Divine Power wrapped around her Divine Sword was discharged to the side, rending arge gouge out of the ground.


    I tilted my hand to the side, and quickly thrust my sword forward. She stuttered in her steps, deflecting it away from her.


    I didn''t move from her space, not giving her the opportunity for anyrge swings. Quick trusts continued to rain down on her. "Little girl." I spoke between my movements. "You seem to be used to overpowering most foes with that Sword of yours. Your skills are pretty good, but they appear more honed from spars than life and death fights."


    "S-shut up!" She grit out and my sword barely missed her cheek.


    "Oh well, time to end this." I cast Reinforcement over my body, and lightning enveloped my legs.


    I raised my leg up and stomped on the ground, discharging everything I umted. The surge of Lightning burst out in all directions, blowing up the ground around me.


    With another step, I rocketed forward, swinging my sword again with much more weight behind it. She raised her sword up to block and I intentionally aimed for it and knocked it away, breaking her guard.


    In a fluid motion, I stabbed Mirage into the ground and grabbed her wrist and pulled, forcing her to drop the sword.


    She stared wide-eyed in horror as the Divine de slid into the dirt.


    I nted my feet and tossed her away with the momentum.


    I paid her no more heed as my eyesnded on the Divine Sword on the ground. "Well, hello there~"


    Of course, I reached out for it.


    "NO!" I heard her scream, but I ignored it.


    My hand grabbed the handle and I immediately felt something try to invade my body.


    "You dare try to wield me, unworthy creature!?" A voice boomed out in my head. "I will take your body as rpose."


    Well, I expected something like this. It''s not like I would just grab a Divine Sword without a second thought.


    It was quick as the aura from the sword seeped into me, climbing up from where I gripped the weapon. But I didn''t panic, because it was moving right towards my soul.


    Indeed, I couldn''t help but smile.


    "Hmph, a worthy vessel for my Divine prestige. You should consider yourself fortunate. Now, repent within the confines of your own self. This body is mine."


    [Fuck off.] Ddraig''s voice sounded back.


    "What!?" The strange voice blurted out in surprise.


    [Hmph, little sword that came from that poisonous snake. Even The Yamata-no-Orochi would hide its tails in my presence.]


    The power that was trying to touch my soul suddenly reeled back as Ddraig''s own presence chomped down on the tendrils of energy. The vestiges hurriedly withdrew and tried to escape.


    "Thanks partner." I grinned.


    [Ha, like you couldn''t have done something about that yourself. But it was nice to flex my power myself for a change.]


    True, I had several methods to protect myself if needed.


    "What is that dragon inside you!?" The Sword''s voice echoed out as more and more Divine power swirled around it.


    I hesitated to grab onto it again.


    Perhaps I could persuade it instead?


    I opened my mouth to speak but I paused, tilting my head up to look above us. I felt fluctuations of space, but no obvious signs of anyone.


    No, someone was spying on me through some impressive methods if I couldn''t detect exactly how it was happening. This wasn''t like those other people looking over the Gorgoneion and following me that way, someone was staring right at me, I could feel it. Wait, there seemed to be some kind of sympathetic linking from the Sword to where this disturbance wasing from.


    Well, isn''t that interesting. It seems I found something of my own to investigate while Sc¨¢thach is having her fun. Besides, doing something like this is practically an invitation. How could I not ept?


    {Raikou, watch over this ce, I''ll be right back.}


    {Master? Is something the matter?}


    {I just want to check something.} I reassured her. Sc¨¢thach was having her fun, I would keep myself upied for now. And worsees to worse, I had always said I was unparalleled at running away.


    I reached out, touching the spacial fluctuations, beginning some calctions.


    Immediately, I could tell it wasn''t connected to the world, but a separate realm.


    [This reminds me of what you did with Meridia.]


    Yeah, I remember.


    [And you''re still going to do it?"]


    It''s not nearly as reckless this time. I had confidence in myself, in my power around these kinds of beings. Something like Meridia, I would be cautious enough not to pull that crap anymore. But now, I waspletely different now.


    [Well, you''re not as foolish as you were back then.]


    I grinned, tugging on the linkage connecting the two spots of space, and I dragged myself back to the source.


    The scenery immediately changed. No longer was I in that park surrounded by trees and destroyed earth.


    No, I was inside a small wooden hut, and there was a person staring back at me.


    Arge man wearing white robes, and mane of untamed hair around his head. He was sitting cross legged, a cup of sake in his hand as he stared at me, rather dumbfounded.


    I returned the gaze.


    [Exactly like Meridia.]


    "Why do you have my mother''s blessing?" He finally spoke.


    ***


    Late chapter since I took a nap. Well, I had two early chapters the previous two days, so I guess it evens out. Next Chapter finishes Scathach''s fight with Athena. And for those wondering, Pat.reon. just finished the Arc. So as i said, short arc this time around. We''re going back to DxD for a bit of a longer arc this time around.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 215 - 206

    <h4>Chapter 215: Chapter 206</h4>


    "Why do you have my mother''s blessing?"


    I honestly did not have a good answer for that question based on who I guessed this person was. I mean....I had a reasonable answer, but how he would take it was a crapshoot. With a thought, I returned my sword to my ring. Thought it would be a more polite way to speak to him.


    I took a moment to notice the strange sensations around me. The world, this ce I had walked into, felt like it was trying to constrict me. I could ignore it with minimal effort, but it was something to note. Hell, I could feel Izzy''s blessing sort of pushing the difort away.


    [Careful, he''s stronger than that Goddess your Teacher is fighting. He''s definitely ''whole''.]


    Yeah, even if he wasn''t throwing around his Divine power, he still had arge presence to him.


    "I''m acquainted with her." I decided to choose my words carefully.


    He didn''t outwardly react, but he was staring at me intently, like he was looking for any kind of deceit. It took a moment before he finally frowned. "My mother doesn''t leave Yomi, how did you get ''acquainted'' with her."


    ".....Why don''t you go ask her?" I replied, with slight annoyance. His attitude was a bit.....


    His frown deepened, and the air turned heavy. "Mortal. I asked you a question."


    I let my own power start to leak out to offset the pressure he was emanating. He raised a curious eyebrow at me. "Yes, you did." I pursed my lips. "Do not presume to think that my deference to your first question was an acknowledgement of you holding sway over me." I stood up straight and crossed my arms. I did not like being talked down to. "I was merely being polite since I apparently intruded into your home."


    Granted, he was spying on me, but still. I walked right into his home while he waszing around. I wouldn''t say I was being rude....but I was entering the realm of impolite.


    "This is the first time I''ve had a mortal talk to me this way." He sounded almost.....amused? "I usually don''t let anyone other than another God or a Campione in my presence, but I''ll make an exception. You should relish this moment." He nodded to himself with a hint of pride in his own voice.


    "Izzy did say you were rather arrogant." I snorted.


    He blinked. "Izzy....? Are you calling my mother by a nickname?" He narrowed his eyes. "What''s your rtionship with her? She would never allow that kind of disrespect by a mortal."


    "We''re friends." I felt no need to hide it and my desire to be polite had been entirely squashed. And to be honest, I was kinda curious about her son; not to mention he was a God of the country I was born in, even if from a different World-line. "I sometimes go to Yomi and spend time with her. Or shees around and we hang out."


    He opened his mouth and close it again, setting down the cup of sake. "You are able to hide the truth from me." He muttered, basically not believing me.


    "You should go visit her more often, she gets lonely." I was genuine when I said this. I would regret if I didn''t try to help the Izzy here if I could.


    He expression turned dark. "You overstep. I ignored your earlier remarks, but you forget your ce, mortal."


    A little bit of lightning crackled around him. His expression didn''t change much, but the air grew a little bit colder as he gazed at me.


    "Yes, you did ignore my words." I shrugged off the pressure he was trying to push onto me. "Let me reiterate." I took a step forward. "I do not fear you." I refuse to be talked down to this way and just stand there and take it.


    Izzy did say he was hot tempered. I wouldn''t be surprised if he threw a fist, but I would not bow down to his ''superiority''.


    "I was wondering where that girl got that Divine sword from." I decided to shift the conversation since I was still on the fence if I wanted to actually fight him or not. "She clearly hasn''t mastered it, and perhaps it even hindered her growth a little bit. Have you considered ¨C "


    He raised his hand and my vision was filled with lightning, blowing me out of the hut.


    My Aura flickered around me as Iid on the ground, staring up at the sky that was not a sky I knew. The sky was filled with a purple hue, an aurora streaked across the horizon and into the distance.


    [You''re hesitating.]


    "He''s Izzy''s son...."


    [From a different world.]


    "I know, but still." I sighed, running a hand through my hair.


    It''s not like I specifically came here looking for a fight. I was just annoyed that someone was spying on me again and had some time to kill.


    [Your sentiments aren''t misced. But should I remind you that killing a God here doesn''t truly kill them? Not to mention, you are trying to take pity on a Divine being. As someone who fought Gods, I will tell you that you''re being very arrogant right now.] Ddraig continued to speak. [Keep in mind that he has lived an uncountable number of years. You are not fighting a child here, but a hardened warrior who fought the Yamata-no-Orochi and came out the victor. I boast about my superiority over that snake, but it is not a foe to take lightly.]


    I took a deep breath, climbing to my feet.


    "Yeah, I''m being too wishy washy." I brushed off my clothes. My expression hardened. "I was not the one to make the first move. I will relinquish any sense of responsibility."


    I looked as Susanoo, God of Storms, walked out of the new hole in his shabby looking home. He tilt his head as he looked at me. "Your soul?" He questioned as he eyed my Aura fluctuating around me. "You''re using your soul as a defense, interesting." He rubbed his beard and acted like he hadn''t just tried to burn me to a crisp. "To withstand even a tiny fraction of my power. You deserve praise."


    [Well, even you can''t outdo the arrogance of a god.] Ddraig snorted at Susanoo''s words.


    "It''s too bad." He rolled his neck. "If you had held your tongue, I may have took more of an interest. But I despise those who speak of my mother."


    A grin formed on my face. "Izzy did say you were a momma''s boy."


    He narrowed his eyes again, and I was surprised he didn''tsh out. "Courage to speak like this infront of a God. You are no Campione, but I will say that you are just as foolish as one. As a token of respect, I will allow you to speak your final words before I deliver my judgement."


    "More words?" I pursed my lips. "I supposed I do have a few."


    I took a deep breath.


    "FUS RO DAH" I bellowed, and the world tore apart.


    ***


    Sc¨¢thach POV.


    "You have led me far enough, do you not think?" Iughed as I continued to follow the Goddess away from both Wilhelm and Raikou. It was obvious what she wished to aplish, but I allowed it all the same.


    "This one will remove thy tongue." She hissed in annoyance, stopping in her flight as she raised her hand. The earth shuddered asrge serpents rose up made of the earth.


    "Magic is it?" I mmed my spear down into the earth, calling up my Runes. They sank into the ground, actualizing their mystery as the earth trembled around me. Arge Golem rose up, bigger than any of her serpents. "It is not something I im proficiency in, but I believe this will be a worthwhile opponent for your little snakes."


    Golemmancy as it was called in this era. I believe I had interacted with it on a few asions during my life, but I had never cared to delve into the studies of these magics. Though to call this little maniption anything but crude would be an insult to those who delved into the art.


    I watched with rapt amusement as our sides shed. The Goddess scowled when my Golem grabbed hold of one of the snakes and ripped it in half, only for another to pierce through its stomach. Lacking any kind of internal organs, it still mmed its fists down. The earthen constructs seemed to mutually destroy one another as the Runes I infused the Golem with had been destroyed in the sh.


    Without another word, I leapt up onto the head of my destroyed Golem before it returned to the earth. With another burst of power, I shot up into the sky, spear seeking the heart of the Goddess.


    She swung the Scythe down once more, meeting my blow head on. I kicked below me, summoning a Rune to solidify the air and give me a tform to pivot off. The action seemed to take her by surprised as I recovered from my fall, and my spear swept out through the air, slicing across her chest before she could move away.


    "Divine blood, how long as it been?" I smirked as I wiped away the few drops thatnded on my face.


    "Die!" The Goddess shouted, Scythe swiping through the air as she regained her momentum.


    I leaned back, letting it pass by before sliding onto my knee and swung my spear at her abdomen.


    She coughed blood as the pole collided with her flesh, the sound of cracking could be heard as her ribs fractured under the blow. With a twirl of my cursed spear, it shot out again, tip first at her heart. The Goddess grabbed hold of it, her hand rupturing at the edge, blood spilling out. "Cursed thing!" She spat out as her Scythe swiped at me again.


    I believe she had finally noticed the effects of my spear.


    "Such an unwieldy weapon, and youck any significant martial prowess." I leaned to the side as the danger of the weaponid in its sweeping motions. She tried to stab me with the tip, howical. Though her legend state her as a Goddess of War that specialized in strategies, notbat. Yes, and her power and abilities were greatly diminished as she was now.


    Shadows burst out from behind her as they coalesced into the form of owls. I didn''t ignore them as their razor sharp talons aiming towards me. They were created from the Divine power of a Goddess, they were by no means normal creatures. I assumed they could damage me so I disengaged briefly.


    I canceled the magics keeping me suspended, avoiding the swarm of birds, andnded safely on the ground. As they continued their pursuit, I merely regained a proper foot hold and thrust my spear out, discharging a portion of my Magical Energy and drilling through all the facsimiles of life she had summoned.


    The Goddess clenched her teeth as her body suddenly became enveloped in a malevolent aura, her divinity pulsing out. Her Scythe was raised high as it expanded, in size. Asrge as a building, it hovered above and pulsed with that continuous malevolent aura she summoned. "This one acknowledges thou. To force this one to use this much stored power....."


    "So you do possess a modicum of power." I couldn''t help but smile. My back foot slid into position, my grip changed on my spear as it slightly pointed down. I took the most familiar stance I had honed over my existence. "Show me your power, Goddess of Wisdom!"


    She swiped her hand down and her weapon followed with it. The air around it distorted, elerating at speeds that should have been impossible for something that size.


    But it did not matter, the more Divine power she used, the more my blood boiled in anticipation. The crystallization of my God yer status, actualized as a skill began to swell up in response as well. Whatever her state was, my ability had before merely released the minimum in response, but it was surely awoken at this moment.


    I gathered arge portion of my Magical Energy, gathering it at the tip of my spear. My feet nted firmly on the ground, I did not waver as the massive object came down on me.


    "HAAAH!" I let out a shout as the tip of my spear collided with the Scythe. An explosion of energy burst out in all directions, utterly destroying the area we had designated as our battlefield.


    My eyes saw through the debris that was kicked up. My feet did not move from the spot I had anchored myself in.


    Pieces of Divinity began to rain down from the sky.


    Shattered remains of a construct forged from Divine Power.


    "Thou...this sphemy." She seethed in anger, clenching her teeth tight. "This cannot stand. Even if I must make this sacrifice, thou will perish!" She proimed as her aura suddenly multiplied several fold. That same malevolent aura enveloped the area like a tornado blocking my vision as the wind whipped around.


    It took several seconds for it to settle, as the Goddess''s form was revealed once more.


    "Oh." I quirked an eyebrow. "Interesting....did you have to pay some price to temporarily regain your true strength?" I eyed her, analyzing everything I saw.


    Gone was the child-like form. She now stood tall and proud, wearing the iconic white toga of the Greeks with silver hair that flowed past her shoulders.


    "Your power fluctuates." I noticed immediately; this was but a momentary increase in strength. Whatever she did, it was unlikely something she could do often without consequences.


    "Thou has forced this Goddess to regain mine true power for but a few breaths. To burn through mine lifespan that allows this one to stay in the mortal realm." She held out her hand again. "For thy crime, thy punishment is death."


    Once more, her divine power coalesced, taking shape.


    "Hear me, Oh souls of the deceased. Those whose eyes slowly closed at the end of their lives. Their bones weakened, their skin shriveled, their bodies slowly withered. Thy name is certainty, and thy form is inevitable, for it is the unbreakablew. Be mine weapon of absolution, for nothing escapes thy clutches." She dered as the world shuddered at her words.


    Her Authority as a Goddess.


    It took the form of a Bow and an Arrow. It was a Silver bow, with an arrow that appeared to be made of Obsidian. And the feathers were clearly those simr to the owls she had summoned earlier.


    There was a presence to it, one that I recognized immediately.


    I could only faintly smile as I understand what she attempted to do. And I shook my head in pity as she appeared confidant in her actions.


    She knocked the arrow, and the world around us trembled. The sky darkened as the string drew back. "Be reduced to dust." She dered as the arrow was let loose.


    Death came towards me.


    An Authority that epassed an aspect of death.


    However.....


    I held my spear to the side in one hand as my other reached out and grasped the air. A simr Red Spear appeared, held tightly between my fingers.


    "Stab and Prate!" I thrust the second spear towards the arrows. The thorns of my Noble Phantasmshed out, colliding with theing Arrow of death. "Thrust and Drill!"


    The remains of life around us withered at the collision, the deathly aura spreading out in all directions.


    "Foolish." I dered. "You wish to wither me into Old Age? I am a Heroic Spirit. One who has been elevated to legend through human worship and remembrance. The protectors of humanity. As long as humanity exists, so too shall I never fade."


    Age merely made my spear stronger.


    A crack formed, and the Arrow shattered.


    My spearshed out at its true target, drilling into the goddess. The concepts intertwined with my spear locked her in ce, the space around her solidified to not allow any escape.


    I reeled my hand back, my second spear raised up. "GAE BOLG ALTERNATIVE." I threw it with all my might as the world once again shuddered.


    The streak of light that was my Magical Energy and my Bloodlust wrapped around my spear. It sailed through the air like a shooting star, the ckened sky giving way and my Noble Phantasm lightning up the false night.


    The Goddess screamed as my spear tore through her. Her form flickered, the Divine Power that had enveloped her visibly began to fall apart as her true face was revealed once more.


    The beautiful woman was not who fell to the ground, but the child from before.


    She held a hand over her stomach where a hole could be seen, blood flowed relentlessly.


    I couldn''t help but frown and click my tongue as my spear returned to my hand. "You have lost, Goddess." I stated, putting my spear head on her shoulder.


    "Do not think ¨C" I did not let her finish as I swiped and beheaded her.


    I did not react as her body turned to a familiar clump of feathers.


    No, I had noticed it a moment prior. To escape so readily in that brief moment after my Noble Phantasm had assailed her and her ''true'' form had returned to the diminished state. It was a move befitting of her status as a Goddess of War, to use even that opportunity to retreat. With a hole in her chest, she had been able to pull off such a maneuver. "A Goddess is still a Goddess, even if reduced." I sighed. "Oh well, perhaps she will return in thatpleted form again at some point." I swung my spear, flinging the blood away.


    Would I have allowed that to happen had I still been living?


    It is likely I had been having too much fun and was caught up in the moment.


    I could only shake my head with a smallugh. An old woman like me had gotten lost in her own enjoyment. Something I used to get after Setanta about all the time. I suppose there is no need to dwell on it. Perhaps she will return with her full power and give me a real fight.


    "Today has been a wonderful day." I smiled lightly, even finding it in myself to hum a tune I had remember some years ago.


    Now, where did the others get off to?


    ***


    Littlete on the release today. Got caught up in some stories I had been putting off reading until now. Sc¨¢thach had fun bullying Divine Ancestor Athena.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /storyforone


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 216 - 207

    <h4>Chapter 216: Chapter 207</h4>


    Susanoo''s surprised expression as the invisible force ripped apart the space between us and flung him back into his house brought a smile to my face.


    The shabby walls that supported it were utterly demolished and everything copsed onto itself.


    Though I couldn''t admire my handy work much longer.


    "Reinforcement. Ebony Flesh. Lightning Armor." I called out my main enhancement abilities.


    Reinforcement filled my body, filling in the gaps and conceptually enhancing the existence of my body parts. Ebony Flesh was cast over me physically, like an invisible armor. Lightning Armor, what I had named the application of my Lightning Skills that Sir Wiggles had managed to deduce before me. My limbs had a thinyer of lightning crackling over them.


    I flexed my fingers, feeling the Ring of Khajiit that Meridia had given me. Avalon had the tiniest bit of Magical Energy remaining within it as it slept within my body, yet the feeling of it was still warm.


    The rubble of the house moved, the God''s towering form pushing through the rubble. He had a look of sadness on his face as he held the broken bottle of Sake that he was drinking from earlier. He crushed it in his hand with a small flicker of anger before settling down again and turned back towards me.


    "An Authority?" He stared at me. "No, it was much too weak but it felt simr." He shook his head, ncing around. "The Netherworld can''t handle much punishment."


    "The Netherworld? Is that were we are?" I questioned.


    He looked at me in disbelief. "You came here not knowing?" The corners of his lips curled up. "I regret that that I must kill you. I''m sure I would have enjoyed yourpany." He straightened his back. Even with arge gut sticking out, there were still visible muscles bulging over his body. "A God''s word is absolute. A God''s dignity cannot be trampled on. I will wash away your sins with your death and you will be forgiven."


    [Arrogant ass.]


    Says the Dragon.


    [Yeah, should tell you something.]


    Susanoo waived his hand. The fluctuating space that had been all disjointed by my shout started mending. "The realm that exists between Life and Immortality. Squeezed between the realms of Myth, and the Mortal world. There is a reason many of us don''t wish to fight here."


    Yeah, this ce felt flimsypared to earth.


    "So die quickly." He moved with a crack of thunder and a fist filled my vision.


    I summoned the Boosted Gear and blocked it, but my feet were lifted off the ground and I was sent tumbling backwards before I regained some manner of footing. I quickly looked up to see the Storm God in the air, lightning gathered around him as he plummeted towards the earth at insane speeds.


    "BOOST!" I called out.


    The Staff of Magnus appeared in my other hand as I held it up. "Shield of Asgard!" The Runes formed and actualized the spell nearly instantly.


    A muscr leg mmed down from the heavens, engulfed in a massive bolt of lightning. "That''s not going to work, Mortal!" Susanoo shouted as my shield cracked and he burst through it.


    The ground beneath me sundered in every direction for dozens of yards. I held my Gauntlet-d arm up, with the Staff also acting as support, but even so, I was forced to a knee.


    "A Divine weapon?" He sounded surprised. "And something that feels like a Dragon."


    "BOOST!" I called out as soon as the time limit was up, and my strength doubled once more. I pushed his leg away, and heughed as he jumped back.


    Almostzily, he hopped back. "Are you really human?" He questioned with a wide grin. "Now that I take a proper look, you are really a strange one." He said almost mockingly as he put his hands behind his back. "Already winded there? Where''s that bravado you showed earlier. What did you say again ¨C ''I don''t fear you''?" Heughed before his expression darkened and the amusement was wiped from his face. "A mortal dares speak something so absurd to my face?"


    Wow...


    [Are you surprised? This is how most Gods are. They are very easy to anger. Even if he''sughing about it, you pissed him off and no words will calm him down.]


    I stood up fully, straightening my back and put my staff away. With a flick of my hand Mirage reappeared.


    "Wuld Nah Kest." It was barely more than a whisper, yet the words reverberated. I took a single step and like a whirlwind, I moved.


    "Hmm?" Susanoo''s eyes widened as I was already in his face, sword swinging down. He raised a finger, and flicked the edge away, deflecting my sword.


    I didn''t dwell on it for even a single second. My hand covered in the Boosted Gear swung towards his face.


    Hezily looked at it and went to raise his hand up to block.


    "Boost!" I called out once more and my speed elerated. The air exploded at the sudden burst, my first buried into the side of his face. He stuttered in ce, almost falling over.


    Slowly, he turned his head back towards me, spitting out a mouthful of blood.


    "What kind of Dragon exists in that thing?" He mumbled, eyes moving towards my Gauntlet still pressed against him. "I''ll take a lookter."


    With a thought, I summoned my other swords out and had them all shot right at him.


    "Pointless." He waived his hand, a burst of lightning pulsed out, overtaking the swords and forcing them to the ground.


    With another thought, Whisper regained its altitude and shot into the air.


    He reached out and grabbed ahold of the Boosted Gear and I could feel the force of his grip as my hand was forcefully pulled away.


    "Interesting. Very interesting." He muttered again, as if this was a game.


    I opened my palm towards him. "Dragon Shot." The Draconic power umted and burst out right in his face.


    "Hmm." He mutteredpletely okay after taking that hit, his beard not even the slightest bit singed.


    So this is a God.


    [You''re going to have to take it up a notch if you want to do anything to him.]


    Yeah, this level is pointless.


    At this level, I could fight some of the middling Servants, yet he was brushing off anything I did.


    I dropped Mirage and yanked the Sword of Destruction to me with Telekinesis. He held his hand out to knock it away again without even looking, but my Aura burst out, feeding into it as a Catalyst and it erupted with my Power of Destruction.


    He reacted toote as his head snapped to the side, the de sliced into his hand, and the destructive power crackled around his arm,shing out at anything it could.


    "AAH?" He let out a confused, but pained noise, forcing him to let go of the Boosted Gear. "What is this!?" He blurted out as the flesh on his arm started to disintegrate.


    He yanked the sword out quickly, tossing it to the side. Staring at his arm in disbelief. "Why does this feel like Kali? Who are you?" He demanded to know.


    In that moment, I jumped back, gaining some distance.


    So my Power of Destruction was capable of reaching the Divine. I knew the conceptual makeup of this bloodline was absurd, but this confirmed it.


    "So, you finally deem to acknowledge me?" I felt a little pride in that. Maybe that''s why I hadn''t used Bnce Breaker yet, or broken out my peak spells. He wasn''t trying and my pride was hurt that he was so dismissive of me.


    It did bring a smile to my face. "You want to know who I am?" I held my hands out as the sky above turned dark. And the God turned his gaze upwards "I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I dered as the lightning above took form.


    "Hammer of Thor."


    "Transfer."


    The massive lightning figure that already epassed the sky grew in size and power. The huge hammer that could smash apart a mountain aimed right down on the Storm God as he stared up. And a Pir of lighting erupted at the focal point


    I had to turn my eyes away from the sheer explosive might.


    The ground became a massive chasm to which I couldn''t even see the bottom. But after the dust finally settled, I frowned as the figure of the God floated there, unmoving.


    He held his arms up, one of them had some flesh gouged out where my Power of Destruction ran rampant and the other looked a little scuffed, as if it was slightly burned.


    "You harmed me. With Mortal Magic." He said quietly, though his voice still filled with the authority of a Divine being. "A mortal, not once, but twice, harmed me."


    So my spell could only do that much, huh?


    [Don''t be upset, it was a wonderful spell. He was simply the worse matchup for it. A God of Storms was already going to be very durable against Lightning. The fact that you able to even leave a mark is worthy of praise.]


    "I am saddened." He looked up. "As a God, I cannot go back on my word. But I am saddened that I must kill you. How much fun would it be if I had been able to see you grow?" He shook his head. "The only thing left I can do is show my appreciation for this feeling."


    "Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, Unsheath." The world shifted around his words. The weight behind them forcingws to bend to his whims as a familiar ck sword appeared in his hand. Though its presencepletely eclipsed the feeling of that girl who previously wielded it.


    The Divine Power gathered around him.


    And he gave it a simple swing.


    Instinctively, I quickly created a portal and fell through it, opening up to the sky above.


    Falling through the air, I saw the spot I was just in,pletely gone as if the earth there never existed.


    How ridiculous.


    Looking down at him, he appeared confused as if he lost sight of me.


    Spell Circles formed all around Mirage. I pulled on the Magical Energy from parallel worlds to actualize this spell, to convert all of it into the 5th imaginary element.


    His head turn upwards a momentter, but it was enough. I poured an insane amount of power into this application.


    He swung his sword again, the very air getting cut apart.


    "ETHER CANNON!" I roared as the umted power discharged with the swing. It was stronger than the one I used against Siegfried. I could feel my Magic Circuits re up, straining from filtering out excess Mana that was bursting out in every direction.


    I watched in horror as his sword cut through my spell.


    "Magic is nothing infront of my de." He taunted as my spell was forcibly dispersed. My Ether Cannon that was something created in my previous life and still used by Zelretch.


    Did his sword prate Magic on a conceptual level? The thought stayed with me even as I fell back to the ground that still remained.


    I readied myself, but a blinkter and the God was gone. Instead, there was a streak of lightning appearing right next to me. I expected his sword, but instead, a fist found the side of my face.


    My vision spun around as I was lifted off my feet again. The sky became the ground, and the ground somehow became water as I skipped across the liquid surface.


    [Well, I think he held a grudge from when you punched him]


    "You think?" I growled, coughing out some blood myself, a wave of water sshing against me breaking me from my stupor. I could taste the saltiness in the air as I stared up at the sky. "We''re back on earth."


    [Did....he punch you through a dimension?"]


    I leaned up, looking at where I came from.


    There was a crack in space.


    "He did say something about the Netherworld not being able to handle too much strain." I just didn''t think it was that bad, to the point where we literally tore apart the points that connected the Netherworld and the Earth.


    "Ddraig."


    [What?]


    "He put me on my back twice."


    [He did.] Ddraig confirmed. [What are you going to do about it?]


    I closed my eyes for a brief moment and steadied my breathing.


    "Welsh Dragon Bnce Breaker."


    ***


    Susanoo, God of Storms POV


    "My Lord, you are harmed."


    "I am aware." I nced down at my old friend, the de that had apanied me for much of my immortal existence.


    My sword which gained its own Godhood after being filled with my power for so long.


    "Did that mortal....?" Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi spoke.


    "He did." I nced at the tear in the fabric of the world, connecting back to the mortal realm. "He has some strange abilities that I had never seen before. Authorities that are not Authorities. Destruction that does not belong to a God. Mortal spells that could even leave a mark on me...Divine weaponry I don''t know the origin of." I shook my head with a wistful smile. "A human that is not human."


    What a strange thing he was.


    Fun.


    I hesitated to walk through and follow him. I had not forgotten why I was hiding in the Netherworld. And if I left, I would be throwing away many things I had hid there for. Yet....I could not leave matters as they were.


    When was thest time I had fun like this?


    What was the point in being a God if I couldn''t do the things that I wanted?


    "Thatst spell would have been dangerous had you not cut it, my old friend."


    "To praise a mortal in such a way...."


    "Deserved praise is deserved praise. Even if I must cut him down, I will acknowledge his abilities."


    I am a warrior, and thus as a warrior I will meet him as such. It was time to stop ying around and fight truly.


    Without a second thought, I descended upon the mortal world and the familiarws encircled me. I paid them no heed as the object of my desire was in the distance. Looking around, I could see that we were off the Coast of Japan.


    A wonderful ce for our final exchange.


    "Where is ¨C" I paused as arge amount of magic gathered to the side.


    And to my confusion, a massive Tree began to appear. Growing on top of the waves. A hint of uncertainly appeared in my heart as I recognize the origin, but refused to believe it.


    My confusion turned into shock as I felt the power pulsing off the newly grown foliage.


    "Master, that is not a normal tree."


    "Yes, I can feel it too." But it''s impossible for that thing to appear in the mortal world like this, especially at behest of a mortal.


    A golden light shimmered infront of it and I quickly brought up my de. The sh of steel meeting steel, the scraping of the metals as I stopped myself from being knocked back.


    Arge golden spear was pressed against my de.


    "ODIN!?" I roared in fury as I could recognize the Old God''s signature weapon. "YOU OLD FOOL, HOW DARE YOU?" I continued to shout, looking for the fool who dared interrupt my fight.


    It flew away just as quickly as it appeared, streaking across the sky before stopping, hovering nearby a person I recognized.


    Donned in a red armor that looked simr to the Gauntlet he wielded before. But the stench of a Dragon was much stronger. And his power had taken a qualitive and quantitive increase.


    Wings sprout from his back as he floated above the waves.


    "Ready for round two?" He beckoned me with a renewed confidence.


    I had no clue as to what was going on, more strange things had appeared around me, but I felt a flicker of excitement in my heart.


    "This God will give you a quick death." I grinned in response.


    ***


    Fight wraps up next chapter. Sorry for thete post, but the Pat.reon chapter is like 7k words and took me a long time to write. It''s an interlude with four different POVS that i havn''t found a ce to put them until now.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /storyforone

 Chapter 217 - 208

    <h4>Chapter 217: Chapter 208</h4>


    Raikou POV


    That son of mine...always doing such things.


    I should be prepared to assist should the situation call for it. Student and teacher were so alike that they would jump into a potential fight with nothing more than a whim. Was he being considerate in not dragging me into the fight? I had expressed my desire not to wield arms if I was not required to and now he ran off by himself once more.


    However, I was d he trusted me enough to hold onto such an artifact of power.


    Looking down at this stone amulet, I could feel it more clearly in my hand. It was as if my own Divinity was stirring because of it.


    I felt conflict about this object''s identity. To know what it represents, the division of a person, the separation of a piece of them that they wished to regain. The Goddess ¨C Athena ¨C wished to acquire this and im back her true powers.


    I.....sympathized to a degree. To wish to be able to live as their true self and not what they had be. I wondered if Master would ept me if I truly became an Oni and gave into my baser desires.


    A different set of circumstances, and there might have been a different ending to this whole conflict. A peaceful ending to our meeting, with the Goddess returned her power, and her leaving the mortal realm back to whence she came.


    Even if I realized such a thing is unrealistic.


    s, all sympathy I had for her seemed to evaporate upon threatening my son. If Sc¨¢thach had not stepped forward to do battle, I may have taken the role myself.


    Despite not wishing toe to blows, I will not allow such behavior towards my Master.


    I would fulfill my duty that he entrusted me with and keep this object safe. Though I had no where to put it...these clothes did not have proper space in these ''pockets''.


    I pulled on my loose shirt and dropped it between my breasts.


    Certainly, only my Master would be the only one allowed to retrieve it from there.


    "Where did he go!?" I turned my attention back to the young girl who Master had been ying around with before previously. Her eyes swept the surroundings before turning back towards me. She wobbled back towards that Divine Sword left in the ground and pulled it back out. "I can still feel it, hand over the Gorgoneion!" She hefted the de up and aligned it against me.


    "Ena, stop!" The man from before came running back over, looking worse for wear as his clothes were little more than rags.


    "But she has it!?" The girl called Ena proimed. "We need to hide it away before the Goddess returns."


    "Ena." The man all but growled. "Stand down." He said pointedly making the girl dete with a huff of annoyance.


    "I could take her." She said under her breath.


    "No, you could not." I said firmly. "Wielding a Divine weapon only does so much when you can neither bring out its full power, nor possess the proper experience in true fights. My Master was correct in his words that youck realbat experience."


    The girl grit her teeth and shook in annoyance.


    "How about ¨C " The sword in her hand suddenly had a torrent of power surge around it. I prepared myself to summon my sword, but it suddenly disappeared from her hand. "Eh!?" She looked at her now empty hand.


    "We apologize for the misunderstanding." He apologized, putting a hand on the young girl''s hand and forced her head down as well.


    "You apologize for osting us and attacking someone I hold dear?" I was not quite as.....loose with my temper since Master had corrected that part of me. However, such words made my expression darken.


    His head visibly lowered. "Please understand. We were told that a God wasing to ournd in search of that object you hold. A cmity that would have taken an uncountable number of lives. We tried to act quickly to limit the damages. We didn''t know who you were apanied by. Please, allow us to officially apologize to her Majesty, Sc¨¢thach."


    I was annoyed, but their exnation was a worthy one. Looking at it from their perspective, we were standing in the way of them and protecting our country.


    They recognized Master''s teacher. Yes, her name should hold weight with these ''Campione'' running around. I was slightly surprised they took it at face value, but I suppose the number of those able to assail Gods arecking, so the evidence was in her favor.


    "Raise your heads" I sighed. "I am still upset, but your intentions were Noble so we will not hold a grudge." I do not believe my son would be upset with me for speaking on his behalf. "This is my country as well, I do not wish to see it suffer." It would be more trouble than it is worth to continue this conflict.


    "Thank you for your understanding." He replied with a strange hint of sincerity. I was expecting him to push him anger down and only pay lip service, but I detected no deceit in his reactions.


    The young woman with the sword seemed to scowl but didn''t speak, taking a back seat to her superior.


    He properly stood up straight. "Our organization would like to extend our help for anything you require in the future."


    "I see, a bribe is it? Are you hoping that we will develop a sense of gratitude or see your actions as deserving a debt from ourselves?"


    "Yes." He said without any shame.


    I raised an eyebrow at his forwardness. "Your honesty is praiseworthy. Very well, I will ept the friendly rtions you wish to extend. Though I fear we may not be in contact very often." I did not know Master''s intent for this world, but setting up some kind of rtions would not be detrimental.


    "You honor us." He bowed again. "May we ask your name for the future?"


    Hmm, I''m curious. Did they think Master and I are riding on Sc¨¢thach''s fame and power?


    "I am Minamoto-no-Raikou." I introduced myself with a small smile.


    And it was quite amusing to watch their expressions go nk.


    "Ahh, aaah" We all turned to the distressed noise as that other young woman who had fled before came wobbling back over, clutching her heart.


    "Yuri!?" The Ena girl went running over "What''s wrong?" She quickly caught her friend before she fell to the ground.


    "He''sing." She said quietly. "The God of Storms is descending on the world."


    "Wait, Grampsy ising here!? Is that why he took my sword back!?" Ena voiced her thoughts. "Why is heing back here!? He said he wouldn''te to the Human world?"


    I fear I was missing some context, but I made sure to remember this information incase it became important forter.


    The young girl let out a scream again. "Something else ising!" She grabbed her head.


    Oh my, was this one of those Hime-Miko''s I heard about? The ones able to perceive the flow of the world and scry certain things?


    "Nooooo." She whined, as if in pained. "I-it''s growing. The Tree that supports the world, it''s here!"


    Tree that supports the world...master?


    Oh Master, what have you gotten yourself into.


    I didn''t wish to even send him a message lest I distract him.


    A God then this girl scryes Master''s Spell......there is no possibility that this is a coincidence.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    The Scale Mail covered my body. The powerful force of Ddraig''s power enveloped me and I felt a sense of power.


    Not that just.


    The Staff of Magnus floated nearby as my Yggdrasil loomed overhead.


    The God had descended upon this world, stepping across the water as he stared at me. An undiscernible look shed across his face as he parried my Gungnir.


    The Golden spear retreating back to my side, ready to attack again.


    "I don''t understand...." Susanoo spoke as he continued walking. "However..." His face broke out into a grin. "It does excite me."


    He''s talking about killing me so easily, yet is still smiling and happy to fight.


    [Don''t bother trying to understand him.]


    Yeah, I know. Gods aren''t human, they have different mindsets. Even with Meridia I have to be careful to make sure we''re both on the same page with things.


    "Boost, Boost, Boost Boost." I called out, letting my power re up to match his. The moment he stepped through the crack in space, his full power started ring out for the world to see.


    I mentally called my other swords back to my side. They hovered around me protectively, just like Gungnir.


    "Strike." I called out to my fake Phantasm once more. The spear of Odin moved through the air in impossible ways as it collided with the Storm God once more.


    Susanooughed as he swung his sword at the oing Spear. It''s frantic and illogical movements seemed to be irrelevant infront of the God''s eyes as he measured the distance perfectly.


    Every time his Sword struck my Gungnir, part of the Magics that held it together were torn apart, revealing Gae Bolg underneath. My Yggdrasil mended the concepts, but it was clear that his Sword was somehow able to cut away at my spells.


    My draconic wings pped and I burst forward to also engage. The Storm God jerked his head towards me, his eyes gleaming as he watched my movement. His Divine Sword knocked Gungnir to the side as I was upon him, Mirage in hand.


    I swung down, meeting his de head on. The collision sent waves in every direction, the force blowing away the water for dozens of meters.


    "Wielding the power of a Dragon!? Boy, did you forget? I Killed the Yamata-no-Orochi." Heughed, his sword shing out at insane speeds. "Killing serpents in my specialty!"


    Shit, he probably did have some Anti-Dragon capabilities conceptualized in both his sword and himself.


    "[Please, like I can bepared to that pitiful snake.]" Ddraig voiced his dissatisfaction out loud.


    "Oh?" Susanoo raised an eyebrow as my sword swung past his head with a near dodge on his end. "You just keep showing me interesting things."


    Arge amount of Magical Power was gathered on his de as he swung it down.


    My Noble Phantasm entered my hand. "ASCALON!" I called out.


    To the horizon, the ocean had been cleaved in two.


    I grit my teeth under the force of the blow. His Sword, a manifestation of his Authority, it was not something to trifle with. But my Noble Phantasm managed to offset most of the force behind it due to the underlining concepts.


    "What?" He looked down, surprised. A continued reaction from the Storm God. "Where are you getting all these things?"


    I ignored him andmanded my swords as they all flew towards him.


    Whisper left Runes in its wake, actualizing spells that began to bombard the God as I took a step back. He merely raised his arm as they impacted his body, to no avail except as a distraction.


    Dawnbreaker burst out in its golden light, shing through the air as he knocked it to the side. His attention was more on my Sword of Destruction as it was cloaked in my bloodline, crackling the aura of Destruction.


    "This damn power..." He growled, grabbing his Divine sword with both hands and swung towards it. The Divine power discharged,pletely dissipating my Power of Destruction that had umted around my sword, making it fall into the water as if its strings had been cut.


    This was getting me nowhere.


    I grabbed at my Sword of Destruction once more and had it fly towards my Yggdrasil. "Let the fires of Muspelheim gather once more. The mes of destruction will wipe away the Gods!" I dered as the familiar sword began to take shape over my own.


    "This.....how is that thing appearing here?" Susanoo actually looked startled. More so than when I revealed anything else.


    I let out augh. "The Sword that fells that Gods and brings about Ragnar?k. Specifically forged to y your kind." I floated up as the fires made the very sea around us boil.


    "Twilight of the Gods ¨C Laevatein." Imanded it forward.


    The sword that carried the concept of God yer, of destroying an entire Cosmology, and burning away what remained. As reduced as my version was, it still held those concepts inside it.


    The fiery sword swung through the air as Susanoo let out a shout and brought his Divine Sword up to block.


    "DO YOU THINK IT''D BE THAT EASY?" He roared as the waters around him gather. "Let the storm calle, and my words be heard!" His words vibrated through the air, amand. His Authority as a God was being activated. "The Storms shall heed my call, the oceans shall bend to my whims, and mortals will prostrate at my might. Let lightning fall, and thunder roar, I am the bringer of cmity on the rising tide, I am Susanoo!" He shouted.


    The sky immediately became dark as rolling clouds covered the sun. Massive pirs of water connected heaven and earth, their torrents warping the world around them. Whirlpools sprang up in all visible directions.


    Thunder roared and Rain cascaded down from the sky, enveloping the God in Lighting as he fought against the foe of his kind made manifest in the form of a spell.


    Dangerous.


    The Lighting enveloped him, the Water acted like a barrier, as it fought against my spells. These weren''t normal manifestations of the elements, but creations of his Authority, empowered by his myths and legends.


    "Go, Gungnir!" Imanded my spear and once more golden light streaked out.


    It collided with the Storm God who shouted out in fury, the collision of powers erupted in a violent torrent of colors. Fire spewed in all directions, My Golden spear.... I felt it dispersed, and Gae Bolg returned to its original form. Lightning discharging out everywhere at the point of impact.


    All that remained was a God panting as blood dripped down from several wounds on his body, burns stretching across his chest and arms.


    [Your spell reached a God. You should be proud.]


    I was, but I had no time to dwell on it.


    The God was a Warrior God, he didn''t dwell on his new injuries either but instead raised his sword again. The pirs of water turned into cyclones as they attacked my Tree.


    My eyes widened at his decision. It was the best course of action, but I did not think he would lower himself to destroy the source of my ''Mortal Magic''.


    "I call upon a Third realm!" I Dered as my Three shook. The Nine Symbols that represented the Nine Realms. Muspelheim was still glowing, but its power was fading after it had been attacked with so much strength. Gungnir had been dispersed so Asgard was practically unresponsive. "Come and ¨C"


    "I''ve grown tired of that annoyance!" Susanoo was upon me, spears of water apanied his sword as he thrust towards my chest.


    I pulled on thest bits of Power contained within Laevatein, having it swing between us. Another burst of power met, and I was blown back at the sudden eruption. His Water-like spears were turned to steam, but I still caught his Sword sweeping through the mist towards me.


    The tenacity he had was praiseworthy.


    "Boost, Boost!" I called out twice more, and gripped Mirage. "Swallow Returns!"


    His sword pierced through my ''fake'' self at the front as Mirage thrust towards his back. It barely pierced his skin, arge hand gripped my de and it refused to budge from his grasp. He had seen my trajectory and managed to avoid a fatal blow.


    "Neat trick." He swiped his sword at me in that moment of intentness.


    I raised my arm up to block. My Aura was cleanly sliced through, and my Ebony Flesh spell was shattered, his sword dug into my arm through Ddraig''s Scales.


    "T-Third realm." I pushed back against the edge of his sword, my muscles were strained, not allowing him another inch through my skin. "The Freezing Winds of the Giant''s Realm." Jotunheim began to glow.


    I had no catalyst to help support this, so it was draining away my Magical Energy to sustain certain concepts better. My Staff of Magnus was still floating near the tree and acted as a proper Anchor, but it was still not as good as a true Catalyst would be. Spell circles acted as a substitute, gathering and shaped my desired result.


    "Bring about an Endless Cold ¨C Winter''s Casket!" The power of Jotunheim, the Realm of the Frost Giants, gathered, and fired off a concentrated beam of frost right at us.


    I removed my hand from my sword, and opened my palm at him once more. "Dragon Shot." I fired out, this time supported by many more Boosts.


    The God let out a pained cry and I jumped away, my wings carrying me a hundred meters to the side. The condensed beam of cold tore through the spot I was just in, assailing the God of Storms and freezing the Ocean itself.


    There was no thought in my mind that it was over, and the falling Lightning Bolts were just a reminder of that as I ducked and weaved out of the way as they fell from the sky.


    I saw the God Emerge, a cold air of breath leaving his body as the Ice around him cracked and shattered as he let out a shout. The power around him swirled visibly and he clutched his hand towards my Tree once more.


    The pirs of water that had been connected the ocean and sky began to bend and all moved towards my Tree.


    Imanded my Winter''s Casket to fire off at them. The condensed cold collided with the oing tides, parts of them were frozen and shatters, but they immediately reformed and resumed their attack. The powerful Frozen Air swept in every direction, but the ice couldn''t hold back the tide.


    ....Maybe if I had a Catalyst the results would have been different.


    I could only look on as the pirs reshaped into spear-like tips and pierced through my Tree. The Magics around it started to shimmer and break apart, unwinding at the seams and ultimately fell apart.


    I turned back towards the God who hefted his sword over his shoulder and looked rather pleased with himself. Despite the wounds I had put on his body, he had a big grin on his face.


    My spell had been destroyed; the World Tree dispersed from the world. But his Authority still remained, the very ocean around me was his weapon.


    [You have a n?]


    "I have something resembling a n." I confirmed, letting out a few heavy breaths. I took out a health potion and quickly downed it, but I didn''t think my arm would stop hurting any time soon. It was a deep cut where I could see down to the Bone, and my Aura was pretty low at this point.


    Avalon was doing what it could, but mere vapors of Artoria''s Magical Energy was left.


    "Remember that Book I picked out of Gramp''s Library before going to the Land of Shadows?"


    [Splitting the Sky or something?]


    "Yeah, I read it randomly and while I didn''t really reproduce the effects or train it in any way..... but it did give me an idea I''ve been wanting to try out."


    Ignoring the pain in my arm, I called back my most trusted sword. The familiar de flew through the air, and I gripped Mirage with both hands. "1000 Birds."


    The Sword Phantasms fired off towards Susanoo.


    The pirs of water reshaped once more,ing to his defense. Like disks of razor sharp des, the shapened water fired off, intercepting every one of my Sword Phantoms.


    The sky above me Rumbled and a massive bolt of Lightning mmed down from above. I gathered the Lightning Armor that was still around my limbs and discharged it all right above, meeting the blow head up.


    I didn''t get a moment of respite as Susanoo moved on me, his Divine Sword swiping through the air.


    I brought up Mirage to block, and the force of it made me shudder, but I held firm. "Boost" I grit out again, feeling my stamina getting depleted. "Haaah!" I shouted, knocking his sword back. Raising my Gauntleted hand up I aimed at him again. "Prate" I let go of all the boosts I had to power this attack.


    The power tore through his stomach, blood was coughed up, but he only took a single step back before his Divine Sword stabbed into me.


    My Scale Mail gave way as the de pierced right through, and my Aura couldn''t hold up.


    I expected pain, as my flesh as cut, but I felt nothing except a little tingling sensation. I looked at him, and his eyes stared down at my ''wound''.


    His sword was impaled through me yet.....the skin that should have been cut apart and the blood the should be seeping out was instead crackling and had turned to lightning.


    And I felt a noticeable drain on my little remaining Aura.


    "Well....how about that." I muttered in surprise as I realized I had discovered my Semnce.


    I kneed him in the wound I had just inflicted upon him, making him stagger for a moment as all my other swords swung towards him.


    "Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost!" I swung Mirage, only for him to haphazardly block, but my Fist moved forward too, collided with his cheek, sending him rocketing back.


    The God skipped across the water before jumping back to his feet. Burns were scattered across his body, cuts could be seen everywhere. He had arge hole from my Prate, and other noticeable wounds from where I stabbed him with both Mirage and Gungnir, yet he was still in fighting condition.


    What a monster. Definitely the strongest foe other than Sc¨¢thach I''ve fought thus far.


    He raised his hand and clenched it towards me. The rolling clouds moved and as if copying my Thor''s Hammer, they formed into a figure themselves, more reminiscent of the Storm God. The Waters around me began to conglomerate and cut off any route to escape, forming a barrier in every direction. "Ame No Murakumo No Tusurgi." Susanoo held the sword up. "Be the Storm and return to Origin! The Beast of Disaster, the Serpent of Eight Heads and Eight Tails will devour my foe!" They took on the form of the Yamata-no-Orochi from legend.


    [Brat, be careful of that thing.]


    Yeah, I could feel the power from it.


    Its massive jaws formed of Thunder and Lightning, a body of clouds and water, they hissed and roared up in the sky, all turned towards me as they began to descend.


    The full Authority of the Storm God came right at me and he himself was burning away with an obscene amount of power. I could feel that this would be the final sh.


    I gathered my Magical Energy, spell circles spinning around my de once more. "ETHER CANNON!" I roared in response.


    "Pointless." He shouted, swinging the Sword and bisected my spell in half. It barely missed me but the ocean was torn asunder. The previous time he made a cut to the horizon, this time, a new gorge had been created and the oceanpletely separated as the walls began to try and fill in each side.


    "LOK VAH KOR!" The Dragon Shout that was supposed to be able to clear the skies.


    The figure above shuddered and part of it was blown away.


    "You want to disperse my Authority with that baby Authority you''re using? Ridiculous!" He snorted and the power returned whole.


    My Wings pped behind me as I stared at the Storm God. "WULD!" A single word from the Whirlwind sprint increased my speed several folds as I burst towards him.


    "Do you think that getting close will mean you''re safe from my Authority?" Susanoo looked unworried. "Your bravery has beenmendable. No mortal had been able to wound me so, and even using Mortal Magics to leave marks upon my Divine Body. I will remember you in the future."


    I ignored him and focused on my own actions. I paid no heed to the massive Serpent moving its massive heads towards me, spewing thunder at each hiss.


    I stepped on the ocean infront of him, making a tform out of Magical Energy.


    "Su Grah Dun." I whispered as wind swept around my weapon. Elementary Fury, a shout that makes my attacks move faster. I felt like I would need the extra little oomph


    The Sword Phantoms I use, named after Sasaki Kojiou''s attack in honor of the idea. The idea of using a single swing of my sword oveyed on multiple parallel worlds, then discharging them all at one point. Thus, one swing bes multiple attacks from the point of my enemies.


    What if I kept all of them on a single swing. All the possibilities contained within a single sh of my sword? It was a thought I''ve had for awhile, but never used thus far.


    I pulled on the Kaleidoscope. Oveyed upon an uncountable number of Parallel worlds, and swung my sword. With the speed added on, it kept on swinging, all at the same spot, all at the same time.


    Instead of firing off as Sword Phantoms, all Susanoo could see was my single Horizontal swinging for him.


    He raised his Divine Sword up to block as if it were a normal attack. His eyes only widened in worry when it was toote to react.


    My sword did not touch his.


    As if passing through, his sword didn''t move, and they didn''t connect. My sword swept through his body, cutting it in half, yet no mark was left on him.


    The massive Serpent heads stopped their roaring, the rolling thunder ceased. Therge pirs of water that had been circling us had fallen back to the ocean and a torrent of Rain was all that followed.


    I let out haggard breaths as my sword returned to my side.


    He looked at his own sword then back at me before letting out a sigh. "To think I''d lose to a mortal."


    My arm trembled and I couldn''t feel it properly, but still, I didn''t flinch under his gaze.


    "Does that attack have a name?"


    "I haven''t thought of one yet."


    "Haah." Let out augh, blood flowing from his mouth in droves. "I couldn''t even see it properly. So many different swords contained in that single swing. Even using my Divine Power, my insides are all cut to pieces, and I can barely hold on." He bellowed out augh even as haggard as he was. "Hey, Mortal." He gaze somewhat softened. "Were you speaking the truth about my mother?"


    "I was." I nodded."


    "Hmm. Please be kind to her, she is a pitiful woman."


    "Of course, she''s my friend."


    Heughed once more. "A mortal iming a God as a friend. You are a strange one." He smiled, his body falling backwards and began dissipating.


    My arms fell to the side, both hurting. Myst mentalmand was to grab everything important and stuff them back in my ring. As if mimicking his actions, I fell back, letting my body float in the water as I gave the skies onest look.


    I couldn''t help but smile though, even with how exhausted I was and my eyes closing.


    I killed a god.


    ***


    Sorry for no chapter yesterday. The Interlude you guys will get in a few days ended up being over 7k words long, so I was up till like 5 in the morning writing it and just couldn''t stay awake when I got home from work the following day.


    So, Susanoo is dead. I know some people were miffed on some things, but let me iterate it. Susanoo is a God. Yes, Campione anime is a little....iffy. But I wanted to tweak certain things. Not to mention the Light Novel does it much better. He''s gone from fighting Undead and humans to Dragons to Servants and now he killed his first God. A powerful God that is in the upper percentile of Gods. And this wasn''t even Susanoo at his best. His Sword can take control of other Authorities, which MC does not possess. I will provide a more thorough power level thising DxD arc as I know many people were asking for that. Even if I think the DxD power ratings are kinda dumb.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone . We''re finally back in DxD at this point.

 Chapter 218 - 209

    <h4>Chapter 218: Chapter 209</h4>


    I felt strange, my eyes were heavy and I was having a hard time opening them. However, I could still vaguely feel things around me, and heard what was happening.


    "Why are you even here? Get out, get out!" A woman''s voice sounded right by me.


    "Don''t be like that Pandora-chan~" It took me a moment to recognize the second voice.


    Forcibly, my eyes shot open once I realized who it belonged to. I shot up and jumped back, sweeping my hand for my sword.....only to find myself without my ring.....or any of my armaments.


    "See, look what you did!?" The strange woman ¨Ca girl really, shouted towards the God I supposedly had killed not that long ago.


    My eyes briefly flickered to the unfamiliar figure. She was....short, yet she held an air of regality and authority to her. Despite not being someone I would have a preference in, I couldn''t help but feel she was absolutely beautiful. With purple hair in twin tails that exuded an almost child-like look, yet it didn''t diminish from her overall presence.


    "Hey, it''s not my fault!" Susanoo was being strangely familiar with this woman.


    "Just....go sit in the corner!" She stomped her foot and pointed to the side.


    Susanoo, surprisingly slumped his head and trudged over and fell to his butt, literally burying his head in the corner. And like that, all the tension I had, and all battle readiness evaporated in an instant.


    "I have questions." I finally spoke.


    "Well...." She gave me a look up and down. "I have questions too."


    I raised an eyebrow at her tant looks. "I''m ttered, but I don''t like lolis ¨C"


    A shoe flew over and smacked me in the head, knocking me off my feet.


    I stared up at the ceiling of this strange ce, only blinking in confusion as I neither felt pain, nor did I actually see thating.


    "HAHAHAHA!" Susanoo startedughing in his corner.


    "SHUSH, YOU!" The younger woman ¨C girl ¨C God, started scolding him.


    Her Divinity was obvious. And I doubt Susanoo would put up with anyone he didn''t view as his ''peer''.


    "Now!" She huffed, turning her attention back to me as I climbed to my feet. "You got some exining to do, mister."


    I nced down and noticed theck of shoe on her left foot. I picked up the discarded footwear and inspected it. There was....nothing special about it which made me even more confused.


    [I''m as utterly lost as you are. It feels like we''re in a Godly Realm, but I don''t recognize this one at all.]


    "Hey, gimme that back." The Goddess puffed up, holding out her hand.


    "No, it''s mine now."


    "D-don''t steal my shoe!"


    "Well, you shouldn''t throw them at people."


    "Why do you even want it!?"


    "I''m going to sell it on the inte. Could you imagine how much money I''d make for selling a Loli Goddess''s shoe!?"


    I smirked as another Shoe came sailing through the air and I dodged it. "Ha, nice try. Why don''t ¨C" I was cut off as my face was smacked forward into the ground. The same shoe apparently flew back and hit me in the back of the head.


    "Oww...." That one kinda hurt. I rubbed the back of my head as I stood back up. "How the hell....." I stared at her incredulously. I could feel her Divinity, but at the same time she felt so.....miniscule. Well, no, that isn''t the right word. It felt like she was approachable, warm even. Not even close to the pressure that a Goddess should put out.


    "Don''t bother trying to question it, brat." Susanoo spoke up. "This is her Domain. Even at full strength, I couldn''t do anything to her inside here."


    "Where''s all my stuff." I decided to stop ying around.


    "Back with/on your body." The Goddess replied.


    I tilted my head, looking down. "Some type of astral projection?" I muttered.


    "Mmm, you can think of it as so." She nodded happily. "Now, I believe there are some questions that need to be asked."


    "Yeah, like who are you?" I eyed her.


    She smiled brightly. "I am Pandora, the All-Giving-Woman." She dered.


    "Pandora." I repeated, remembering Susanoo''s name he called her a few moments ago while I was still delirious. "I read some vague things about you."


    "That makes things easier." She nodded again. "You killed this idiot over here." She jerked her thumb towards the God in the corner.


    "Pandora-Chan, why are you so mean to me!?" Susanoo whined.


    I once again blinked at his behavior.


    "Do I get an Authority?" I questioned, ignoring the supposedly dead God.


    She pursed her lips. "I''m still deciding."


    "How does it even work? Do you just snip off a piece of a God''s soul when they die? Do they even let you do it? How are you not hunted down by other gods?"


    "Like any of them could do anything to me." She puffed up proudly.


    "So how does bing a Campione work?"


    "I decided if the God they defeated was a worthy foe for them to attain an Authority."


    "Alright, hit me with it." I held my arms out.


    "Yeah, make him a Campione!" Susanoo voiced as well.


    "Quiet!" She snapped towards the God. "And you!" She turned back to me. "I''m still deciding."


    "What''s there to decide about? I fought him fairly and I beat him....I think...why is he still around?" I pointed towards Susanoo.


    "I wanted to watch." The Godughed.


    "The Sacred Rite of Usurpation is powered by the Soul of a God. What do you think happens when I deliver an Authority? Though most just won''t stop shouting and screaming when I perform the Ritual, so I keep them separated. This idiot wanted to watch me tear away one of his Authorities and give it to you."


    "Huh."


    "Hey, don''t look at me like that. He beat me fair and square. I''ll get him in the rematch." Susanoo lookedpletely nonchnt about the whole thing.


    "Is this normal for how a God reacts when they die?"


    "Nope." She popped the p. "I said before, they''re usually ovee with rage and won''t be quiet. Though thest one didn''t seem too upset and was also looking forward to the rematch too." She shook her head.


    "Huh." I repeated again. "So, my Authority?"


    "You." She walked up, poking me in the chest. "Are not entirely human." She gave a few more pokes.


    "Ah, you could tell?"


    "Wait, really?" Susanoo turned around in surprise. "He had something strange about him, but I didn''t think he''d be that strange. Whose bastard is he? That lightning he used...don''t tell me he''s one of mine!" The God''s eyes widened.


    "I''m sorry you had to find out like this...dad"


    "NOOOO!" Susanoo threw his hands up.


    "Will you two be serious!" The small Goddess huffed.


    I don''t know why, but my urge to tease was running rampant. "Alright alright." I put my hands up in surrender. "So, what''s the issue with me not being all human?"


    "The Ritual was designed to give Humanity a fighting chance against Heretic Gods. It was for the foolish who, through a miracle among miracles, managed to y a God by their own strength of will." She exined.


    "Technically, my mom was fully human, thus I am half human." I pointed out.


    "I can sense your humanity, otherwise I would not be speaking with you." She acknowledged. "And then there''s the manner of your fight..."


    "What was wrong with my fight!?"


    "You barrowed the power of other entities." She replied.


    Was she talking about Ddraig, or maybe my Nine Realms leaning on Norse Mythology?


    "I acquired everything I have by my own hands. By that logic, a Campione can''t acquire other Authorities from new Heretic Gods since their own Authorities were ''barrowed''." I countered.


    "He has a point, Pandora-Chan." Susanoo seemed to agree.


    "You''re not part of this conversation!" She threw her shoe at the back of his head.


    "Shouldn''t the God I killed agreeing with me mean something?"


    ".....he''s an idiot, his opinion doesn''t count." She huffed before letting out a sigh. "However, I can''t disagree with your point either.....it''s just a strange circumstance. I don''t know who you are or where you came from. Even when I attempted to pull that information from the Void, I came up empty."


    "Athena was getting annoyed about that too." Iughed.


    "Oh, you ran into another Goddess?" Susanoo stroke his beard. "How''d that go?"


    "Eh, my woman was fighting her before I left."


    "Athena''s no pushover, even if she lost the majority of her power."


    "I think Sc¨¢thach can handle her just fine."


    "Did you say Sc¨¢thach?" Susanoo''s eyes widened.


    "I did, I assume her name holds significance." I questioned again.


    "A God that holds a legend of God yer. She is known to most of us." He looked deep in thought. " I hadn''t thought she descended into the world."


    "She didn''t" Pandora spoke up. "Sc¨¢thach is still within her Realm of Immortality. Yet he speaks the truth, I peered towards the fighting that took ce. It was Sc¨¢thach that fought Athena who has been forced down to a Divine Ancestor."


    "Curious." Susanoo stared towards me. "Lots of strange things around you. Strange Weapons, strange Magic, strange Dragon." He continued to stroke his beard and blinked as if realizing something. "I would be prepared for that One-Eyed bastard toe looking for you after the stunt you pulled."


    "Stop giving him information, you''re supposed to be dead!" Pandora red. "Either be quiet or go back to Immortality and wait out your time to descend again!"


    "Don''t be like that, Pandora-chan. I''m just speaking some random things." He slumped down. "Besides.....I don''t want to get scolded by everyone when I finally go back to Takamagahara."


    The stunt I pulled, huh? It''s obvious what he''s talking about. But I''ll probably be long gone before he came down to the mortal world.


    "Oi, don''t forget to visit Izzy." I made sure to speak up before getting lost in my thoughts.


    "Don''t tell me what to do, brat."


    "I''m gonna tell Izzy you''ve tried to kill me."


    "....Please don''t, mom''s scary when she gets mad."


    "Sounds like a ''you'' problem."


    "I''ll give you my sword if you keep your mouth shut."


    "Done!" I instantly epted.


    "We have a deal. You heard him, Pandora-chan!" Susanoo stated.


    "You both!" She threw her hands up.


    It''s strange how familiar he''s being with me now. Does he view me as an existence that is ''worthy'' of his time?


    [He probably acknowledges you.]


    Hmm.


    The Goddess stared at me some more before taking a deep breath. "Technically, you hadn''t broken any of the rules I set and even fit into the parameters of the Ritual."


    "Woo, new sword" I cheered.


    "I have a feeling you''re going to be my child that''s the biggest headache." She shook her head.


    "Pardon?"


    "It means she epted, brat."


    "Hehe." Pandora giggled. "I shall announce." As the words left her mouth, her presence shifted. Her words seemed to carry beyond this ce and echo through all corners of creation.


    "The ck art that Epimetheus and I left....The sacred birth of an illegitimate child, shrouded in darkness, born of a fool and a witch. A secret rite of usurpation, only possible through the death of a god."


    "The requirements have been fulfilled. A God has been in, thus a Godyer shall rise...."


    Pandora walked over to me; arms wide open as they wrapped around my chest.


    "Therefore, I, Pandora, the All-Giving-Woman, the foolish witch who both cursed and blessed the world hereby proim this child as my newest son!"


    "...what?" I blinked in confusion.


    The ce started trembling, I could feel many ¨C many different presences try and assail this realm.


    Pandora didn''t even flinch, releasing me from her grasp, she stared up towards the Heavens. "Whine all you want, but I''ve made my decision. The rules haven''t been broken so yourints are ignored." She flicked one of her twin tails over her shoulder. "Let everyone grant my newest child their blessing and their hatred for the Eighth Campione has been born!" She dered as the rumbling stopped.


    "....I don''t feel any different." I looked down at myself.


    "It''s not over yet. The process will begin once you''ve returned to your body." Susanoo answered.


    "Usually, this is the part I send them back at.....but this is anything but an ordinary situation." Pandora mused. "Haaah, what a troublesome son I have."


    "Son?"


    "Yup, you''re my eighth." She beamed. "Even if the they don''t recognize me, they''re still my adopted children, the other seven Campiones."


    "Wait, just like that you adopted them and consider them your children?"


    Pandora let out augh. "Why not? They were foolish enough to fight a God, why can''t I be foolish enough to adopt such pitiful souls?"


    "....thatst woman who called herself my mom, I did lewd things to."


    Pandora blinked. "....don''t do lewd things to your mother. Your mother is happily married."


    "HAHAHA!" Susanoo broke out inughter.


    "Meh, you''re not my type. I prefer grown ¨C"


    "MOM KICK!" The small Goddess went flying and kicked me in the face.


    Once again, I found myself on my back and my head spinning.


    I sat up staring at the red-faced Goddess. "Your mother is a mature and beautiful woman!" She dered, pulling me up by my shirt and shook me.


    I looked down at the petite goddess and bit my lip. The genuiness that she proimed it with....I couldn''t deny that it was touching. Reaching out, I attempted to hug her.


    "Kyah!" She squeaked out but soon settled down. "It''s the first time one of my children hugged me!" She sounded almost giddy.


    It was....warm.


    It felt like how I remembered mom.


    "My mom died when I was young." I said quietly.


    "You poor thing." She whispered. "Even if it''s for a short time, I''ll let you feel a mother''s touch again."


    Lewd jokes could be made, but I couldn''t bring myself to do it.


    I didn''t realize how much I missed this feeling even if it wasn''t someone I acknowledged yet.


    "Ahem." Susanoo cleared his throat. "I don''t want to interrupt, but I can''t stay here forever."


    "Read the mood, you idiot!" Pandora huffed.


    "Its okay..." I said awkwardly as we broke apart. "Let''s get on with this."


    Yeah, lets forget that happened. Don''t know why I was so easy to sway there.


    "Hmm, so this is the part where I decide which Authority I give out, but the idiot seems to have decided already."


    "Yeah, give him my sword." Susanoo nodded.


    "Your sword is a subordinate god, it''s not that easy. I''ll have to..." She looked at Susanoo and paused. "I''ll have to remove the Ego to make it work."


    "Eh, that''s fine." Susanoozilyid down, propping his head up. "I''ll keep Ame No Murakumo No Tsurugi''s Ego with me, he can just get the Authority that goes along with it." The God waived off her concerns.


    "Fine." Pandora sighed. "Are you ready?" She turned to look at me.


    "Sure." I couldn''t help but smile.


    Her bright grin was hard to not feel some kind of warmth from. "It was short, but I''m d you were here. Even if you forget about me, I''ll watch over you until the end." Pandora said softly.


    "Pardon, what do you mean -- forget?"


    "Campione tend not to remember her when they return. It''s why the records of her existence are as vague as they are." Susanoo replied. "It''s pitiful, she is the woman who helped them ascend, and they give her no thought, no acknowledgement. Yet, she never admonishes them and never stops thinking of them as her children."


    How pitiful. I felt bad after the feeling she gave me previously.


    "I won''t forget." I stated as a matter of fact. I doubt any of the others were in my position. "Can Ie back?" I questioned.


    Susanooughed, but Pandora answered. "I''m not allowed to bring my children here unless I''m performing the Ritual." She shook her head with a sad look. "If I break the rules, bad things can happen."


    So....SHE''s not allowed to bring people here.


    It''s a good thing I''ve been calcting my position all this time.


    "Well, it was fun." Susanoo stood up as his body began to fade once more. "Don''t die to anyone else. I won''t be able to show my face around unless I bring your head back with me next time." He waved me off with a wide grin even as he talked about killing me.


    "What a strange person." I muttered.


    "Ignore him, he''s a known idiot." Pandora snorted, walking up and cupped my cheeks. "Be good, don''t get into too much trouble. And if possible, give me lots of grandbabies!"


    She let go and my body was suddenly engulfed in a bright light.


    "Go forth with my Blessing, my child,.....Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg! The Newest of the Supreme Kings!"


    ***


    And Pandora makes an appearance and MC gets his new Authority. The Sword ispletely bonkers in canon. It can cut apart magic and curses. Command the storm, and even take control of Authorities in the vicinity.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 219 - 210

    <h4>Chapter 219: Chapter 210</h4>


    I felt myself being pulled away. A thought urred to stop it, to see if I could force it to stop, but I pushed the thought down. While my academic mind was reeling from all this new information I now had to y with, I needed to get back to my body.


    It was disorientating, having my consciousness pulled from my body and pushed through the barrier between realms, then suddenly pushed back into my body. Opening my eyes had been a huge sensory overload once I was ''physical'' again. I don''t know how long It took me to regain my higher functions, but I was basically incoherent while the ''process'' of bing a Campione happened.


    I coughed up what seemed like a liter of water, my throat and nostrils burning from all the salt I had apparently swallowed. My hands pushed into the soft sand, gentle waves brushed up to me as I took in my surroundings.


    "Washing up on the beach, how clich¨¦." I sighed, turning myself over and fell back down. "Atleast there''s no one around." Though it was likely anyone nearby evacuated, with the light show/Magic/freak storms we were throwing around.


    [Could have been worse.]


    "Yeah, could have died." I snorted.


    [I meant being sealed away into a gauntlet and having to watch you have sex.]


    "Fuck you." I couldn''t help but chuckle and I heard Ddraigugh inside my soul.


    [You good?]


    Damn, my clothes are a right mess.


    "Yeah, yeah." I let out a deep breath. "Just give me a moment to reorientate myself." I muttered, holding me hands up above me. "Fully healed....I guess I should thank....mom?" I questioned it even as the word left my mouth.


    It didn''t feel bad to say. And for it to be ''only'' a motherly feel to it.


    As much as Raikou brings me joy, she has a much different rtionship than that with me.


    [You were adopted again.]


    "Yup." I didn''t even argue that point. With a thought, I let my Aura re up. It hadn''t been recharged like my body had been healed, but a noticeable amount had been returned. However there was somethingpletely overshadowing that.


    [Damn, that''s much stronger now.]


    "You''re telling me." I waved my hand through the air, watching the multitude of colors flow around my skin. "Just at a nce I can tell it''s so much denser...has more ''weight'' to it."


    [Well, it is a manifestation of your soul, and your soul just got an upgrade from munching on some God bits.]


    "Divinity." I let my head fall back down into the sand. "I have Divinity now. I''m a Half-devil, Half-Human, with a Dragon in my Soul, and a Dragon heart, giving me a potent Dragon factor. And now I have Divinity added in." I justughed at the absurdity of it. "What even is my life?"


    [You regret it?]


    "Not for a single second." I grinned. "Aura seems fine after everything, but more tests will be necessary." I began speaking out loud. "Magic Circuits are operable, no issue there. But my body seems to be producing Magical Energy beyond what my Magic Circuits were initially capable of."


    [From your memories, you would call this a ''Divine Core'', yes?]


    "Maybe." I pursed my lips. "It''s not a 100% transferable exnation for what happened, different worlds and all that. However, it''s not entirely off the mark either."


    Yeah, I could feel the Magical Energy so densely packed inside my body that I felt almost bloated at the constant pressure.


    "My Magic Resistance is absurd now." I mused, remembering what I read about this phenomenon as I nced at the back of my hand where I still retained the Command Seals.


    [I''m surprised those are still there. Wouldn''t the contract break after the Ritual?]


    "Before, I''d give it a coin flip. So obviously they still persist. But, if I had to guess, I''d say that since my Soul also was strengthened, and the Contract is supported by my Magical Energy which is linked to my soul, the Command Seals weathered the storm, so to speak."


    [Wonder if thatss got a bit of a surprise when the transformation happened.]


    "Hope I didn''t worry her too much." I muttered.


    Hmm, the Seed that I would call my Power of Destruction had gotten noticeablyrger and I feel like it''s going to grow much faster now.


    Interesting.


    [So you discovered your Semnce?]


    "Yeah, at the most opportune moment." I snorted. "I can apparently burn my Aura to turn my body into Lightning and ¨C " I held my hand up and abruptly shot to my feet. Summoning my lightning, it was so simr except something was different. My mouth hung open as I shifted my hand back and let my Lightning dance across my hand.


    [....I''m calling bullshit.]


    I began to cackle as the Lightning enveloped me. "Divine Lightning!" I let it discharge randomly off into the sand.


    [You got Divinity welded on. And it intertwined with the Lightning you added in Skyrim, turning it into Divine Lightning.]


    "Unlimited Power!" I dered.


    [And it''s already gone to your head.] Ddraig sighed. [With everything that changed, you might be highly resistant to Holy Power now.]


    I paused in my self-indulgence. "That''s an interesting thought." I rubbed my chin. "Difficult to test unless a certain spear wants to be useful." I waited a moment to see if the True Longinus would react.


    It didn''t.


    And no way was I going to test myself on that, especially now that I am part Divine.


    That spear, funnily enough, just got more dangerous if used against me.


    "My physical abilities are much higher as well." I flexed my fingers. "But ites at a cost."


    [What do you mean?]


    "Spells like Ebony Skin won''t work on my any longer." I was a little sad about that. "My Magical Resistance affects beneficial things, unlike Artoria''s which is more conceptual in nature."


    I attempted to cast Ebony Skin over myself and it puttered out before I could even get it solidified.


    [Does Reinforcement still work?]


    "It should." I nodded, feeling my body and slowly reinforcing it to the level I was ustomed. Yet, I felt like there was more I could do with it now. "Since I''m casting it ''within'' myself, my new Magic Resistance doesn''t block the effects."


    Yeah, my Magic Resistance was literally skin deep.


    I paused again, and couldn''t help but feel mncholic. "My Ring doesn''t work anymore either." I held up my hand that still had the Ring of the Khajiit on it. "It''s not able to prate my Magic Resistance to give me the effects." Not that I''m at a negative here. With my new boosts, I was still far above than if I had both my Ebony Skin and the Ring active.


    [It''s lesser than the Sword she gave you, so it''s not that surprising.]


    "I''ll have to reevaluate some of my spells and discard what''s no longer usable." Still, the benefits far outweighed the detriments of this little change.


    [So, what was that with your final blow against Susanoo?]


    The corners of my lips curled up. "Instead of letting a single swing be a thousand Phantoms, I kept them all contained on the same sh. I gave my swing an uncountable number of possibilities." I began to exin.


    [It went right through his sword, and didn''t even leave a mark on him.]


    "Who knows how many he actually blocked, how many failed to leave a mark on his body, or how many I just failed to utilize. But there was an equally unknowable number that slipped past his guard, that cleaved right through him, that severed his heart. I was so focused on finishing it in that moment, that once my attack waspleted, I made sure all the lethal possibilities became ''true''."


    [Meaning, you basically sliced him all up inside.] Ddraig replied with an understanding in his tone.


    "Mmm, it was a good application. I''ll refine it more in the future. While it''s not absolute, I do believe it''s not something one can block normally. I think it''s possible that Susanoo may have been able to do something in response if he had know about the ability before hand." I mused out loud. "Regardless, it''s a powerful technique that I''ll be looking to better."


    [What are you going to call it?]


    "It needs something elegant, and sufficiently provocative."


    [How about ¨C]


    "Infinite Origins Boundless Possibility Kaleidode."


    [....]


    "I know, I even startle myself at my own genius sometimes."


    [No. I refuse. Come up with something else.]


    "Fine. How about ¨C True Dragon Omni Emperor sh?"


    [Dear God.... deliver me from this cringe.]


    "Didn''t he seal you inside the Gauntlet in the first ce?"


    [Yes, that should tell you something!]


    "Eternal Darkness Infinite Parallel Sword."


    [AHHHHHH It physically hurts....]


    "Limitless Heaven Vast Sundering Sword."


    [Just kill me, stop this torment.]


    "Oh, quit your whining, I''ll be serious." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, where the hell did you learn a word like ''cringe''"


    [Did you forget I watch your memories when I''m bored?]


    "Honestly, I do forget that." I hummed. "For real though."


    [Alright, hit me with something good.]


    "I was thinking ¨C Myriad Sword"


    [Huh....I like it.] Ddraig seemed to give his approval. [Well, now that we''ve finished messing around. Ready to talk about your new Authority?]


    "It''s strange." I muttered. "I can feel it inside me, ready to be called upon. Almost like it''s been a part of me since birth. I even know its general use and abilities after ''absorbing'' it from Susanoo." I couldn''t help but chuckle. "Funnily enough, had I been a Campione already, or a Divine being, Susanoo would have been much harder to defeat. The Sword apparently can temporarily take over Authorities used nearby."


    [Sounds powerful, what else can it do?]


    "Mostly what you''d think. It allows me to control the Storms and what-not. And I was right before, it can cut through most Magics. I was lucky that my Nine Realms was so wrapped up in the Norse Cosmology, so intertwined with the symbols and concepts that it could survive even a few exchanges with this thing."


    It was there, inside of me. This Authority, this sword that I could call upon with the correct words of power.


    "And it can also dispel curses." I added onstly. "It''s not 10 fucking Incarnations that are Authorities in of themselves that Godou got, but it''s damn well impressive."


    I was only a little bit jealous.


    [You think if youined to your new mom, she''d give you something else?]


    "....it couldn''t hurt." I pursed my lips. "But I''ll wait to drop back inter. I have a couple girls probably waiting for me, and I''ve made them worry enough."


    [Despite her own status, your Teacher is probably going to kick your ass for doing this.]


    ".....shit you''re right."


    Honestly, I could deal with that. I was more worried about how upset either of them actually were. "I shouldn''t waste any more time."


    [Well, gotta face the music at some point.] Ddraig sounded amused by the thought of me getting beat up. [Look at the bright side.]


    "There''s a bright side?"


    [I''ll be able to shout out the shitty attack names you spouted every time you get your face kicked in by your teacher.]


    "I hate you."


    [Oh, I know, and it fuels my existence.]


    With a sigh, I flicked open a new portal. And I could see on the other side, two very displeased women staring back at me.


    ***


    Late chapter since I took a nap after work.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 220 - 211

    <h4>Chapter 220: Chapter 211</h4>


    As I walked through the portal I peered at my surroundings. Much had change in this little park area since I left it. There were many people running around doing various things, but they all seemed to be keeping their distance from Raikou and Sc¨¢thach.


    I didn''t dwell on the rushing people as my attention was focused solely on the two.


    They sat at a table, calmly ncing up while sipping tea from very fine silverware. Honestly, it was surprisingly elegant for the setting they where in.


    "Oh, look who returned." Sc¨¢thach set her cup down.


    "Mmm, did someonee back after leaving?" Raikou perked up.


    I let out a sigh, my shoulders slumped as I slid into an empty seat between them. "Yeah, just give it to me." I could have handled everything better.


    Sc¨¢thach pursed her lips "It would be hypocritical to get upset for what you did."


    "So you know what happened?"


    "Neither Raikou or I are fools, Wilhelm. It was not hard to put together given the clues."


    "Not to mention I could feel some very particr changes through the link we share." Raikou added. "You appear unharmed, so I understand that my worry is somewhat misced."


    I reached over and took Raikou''s hand into mine. Even when she was upset, she could still smile brightly at the affection. "I''m sorry I made you worry." I said honestly. Even if I don''t regret my actions, I can apologize for the feeling of difort I gave her because of them. "I''ll do a better job of rying my intentions next time." I do need tomunicate more with them. It''s something I recognized that I didn''t do enough of.


    Communication is a pir of any healthy rtionship.


    "When my eyes opened to this Era, my previous memory were the final moments of my time in the Land of Shadows." Sc¨¢thach spoke up. "I will admit that I am still used to feeling in control of every variable in my presence. My long years of ruling that deste wastnd has instilled a certaincency in me that I did not realize I needed to break myself from." I could see her frown slightly. "I do not fault you for fighting a God. I know you would not have engaged if you were uncertain, and that you are not a child to chastise for going into dangerous situations. However...."


    I reached over and took her hand in my free one. She looked a little....startled and a small smile crept up on her face.


    "However." She continued. "I am not used to caring about something like this. To know they willingly risk their lives to better themselves or to test their own prowess. It is inevitable that a budding Warrior such as yourself will fight even more in the future." She paused in her words, but I felt like I could understand what she''s trying to say.


    "Just as you said you would never leave me again." I gave her hand a little squeeze. "I''ll also alwayse back to you."


    There was a small reaction, a happiness that shed across her face before she steeled herself into a scowl. "Hmph. Of course, otherwise I''d have to drag you back myself." She puffed up. "This Sc¨¢thach is not someone you can abandoned when you please. You have made a vow, and I will make sure you keep it." She crossed her arms. "Now, we have spoken our indignations. Recount the events of your departure."


    My Sc¨¢thach is too cute.


    "I followed the link that was tunneling through Time and Space using the Sword that young woman had as an anchor." I began my exnation. "It opened up in the Netherworld, and I popped in right infront of Susanoo."


    "Hmm." Sc¨¢thach looked deep in thought. "He would be a strong God based on myths."


    "Yes, he is one of Japan''s most famous Gods. And his feats in battle are more popr than his siblings." Raikou nodded. "It must have been a tough battle. The people with the History Comption Committee had been keeping us abreast of what happened off the coast."


    "How long was I gone?" I questioned.


    "Less than six hours." Sc¨¢thach replied. "The aftereffects of the battle had been mitigated by the countries mages once the Divine power had dissipated. Am I safe to assume that you yed Susanoo?"


    "I did." I didn''t deny it.


    "Well done." Sc¨¢thach gave some rare praise. "It seems we are both God yers now." She had a small smile on her face, and a hint of pride in her voice.


    I looked at my hand still intertwined with Raikou''s. I held it up, getting her attention. With a little effort, my Lightning began to crackle harmlessly around both our hands.


    Raikou''s eyes widened as she summoned her own lightning. Our lighting snapped around each other, neither able to disperse the other.


    "We match now." I smiled towards. Though hers was still purple in color, we both wielded Divine Lightning.


    "You really are my child." She whispered happily.


    "Of course." If she wanted this kind of rtionship, I would always humor her. Regardless, I couldn''t help but think of her as mine at this point and I refused to give her up. I was a greedy person and I would never deny that.


    "How did the fight go?" Sc¨¢thach asked.


    "He was stronger than most Servants, speed was extremely high as well. His durability was off the charts. Blows that could have taken out the strongest Servants in thest War he took and kept going. I don''t know if it was some kind of passive Authority like Battle Continuation, but he was hard to put down."


    "And how was his Magical Resistance? I was unable to test much on the Goddess I fought."


    "You won too?"


    "....yes. I defeated that Goddess, but she escaped after suffering my Noble Phantasm. Whether she survives or not is up to fate."


    "It isn''t like you to let your prey escape." I was surprised at that.


    "As I spoke before. I have be noticeablycent, and I got so caught up in my own enjoyment that she was able to slip through my fingers." Well, Sc¨¢thach wasn''t one for mincing words, even at her own detriment. She was probably kicking herself for that and I didn''t want to rub any salt in the wound.


    "Well, it''s as you''d expect. My Runic Spells just sshed against his body like water." I shook my head. "And he was able to treat most of my other spells like they were made of paper. My Shield of Asgard got shattered by a kick." Still annoyed at that, but what could I do? "Though, thepleted form of my Nine Realms was able to bring him harm."


    "Oh, you managed toplete that?" She blinked. "Yes, they did mention the appearance of a Large Tree in the middle of the water." She smiled lightly.


    "It''spleted but not finished. If that makes sense. It''s difficult to produce more than a few Realms simultaneously, and even more difficult to actualize them without a good Symbol to focus the Mystery properly."


    "Hmm, I will need to see it in action before I give advice." She nodded to herself before she removed her hand from mine and poked me. "And you have be one of these Campiones." She poked me a few times, an action that Raikou started to mimic with a giggle.


    "Bow before my Majesty." I proimed.


    "The only bow of mine will be when I headbutt you." She gave a little flick to my forehead, though that gentle smile of hers remained. "My student, continue with your story."


    "Well, we kind of just traded a few blows in the Netherworld." I rubbed my chin. "Punched him through his house. But then he punched me through a tear in Space and I came out in the middle of the Ocean off the coast. I had a few moments before he followed, so I began casting my Yggdrasil. Finished him off with a technique I had theorized previously and decided then was a good time to practice it."


    "Hmm, many things I will need to see from you that I am in the dark about." Sc¨¢thach muttered to herself.


    "Oh, that reminds me. I haven''t updated you on everything I''ve gotten since my time in the Land of Shadows. My Aura, my bloodline, my new swords, my Lightning. Hell, I need to cover my Authority too. Well I ¨C"


    "Hush." She put a finger to my lips, with a sultry look on her face. "I wish to discover all of these myself."


    I blinked, registering what she just said.


    Was her face flushed?


    She wrapped her fingers around my tie and pulled me close to her, whispering just for me to hear. "You will make timeter so I have you all to myself."


    "Are you.....aroused?"


    She smirked.


    And now I am too.


    She let go like nothing happened as I straightened my tie. I let out a sigh, noticing my clothes again. I really did hate being such a mess.


    "So....what happened around here?" I questioned, waving to the area that had people still up and about.


    "That man''s name ¨C Touma, I believe." Raikou began. "He was willing to admit his faults and apologized, so I did not pursue any grudge. After Sc¨¢thach ran off to fight the Goddess and you fought the God, he called in some of his associates to help deal with the aftermath."


    "But that doesn''t exin....this?" I tapped the table.


    "Oh, neither Sc¨¢thach or I wished to go somewhere else while you were gone, lest you have trouble finding us." Raikou smiled.


    "Even though you have that Servant contract with thess and could find her with minimal effort" Sc¨¢thach huffed. "She insisted on waiting for you here."


    "You''re sweet." I leaned over, kissing Raikou on the cheek.


    Raikou''s little giggle made my heart flutter. "And Touma brought out things to make our wait more pleasant."


    "This is very good." Sc¨¢thach nodded, taking another sip of tea. "I said before that it is not my usual preference, but I could enjoy this more often."


    Well, he certainly gained some brownie points from me for his effort. Anyone who treated my girls good would be in my good graces. And it''s not like I was upset over their previous actions, they came from a noble mind set.


    "It''s one of the best parts of life. Enjoying new things." I replied.


    "Yes, it''s a wonderful experience." She closed her eyes, taking another sip and enjoying the taste.


    I could imagine how she feels. The same thing day in and day out for centuries upon centuries. Perhaps even a simple thing like Japanese Tea would bring her an untold amount of joy from the sheer novelty.


    "Oh my, speaking of Touma." Raikou interjected.


    I turned my head to see Touma running over. It ical to see him hustle in a suit like that. As soon as he got close he practically slid to his knees. "Your Majesty!" He spoke loudly. "I apologize for my earlier slight. I wee you, the Eighth Supreme King!"


    "News sure travels fast." I pursed my lips. But I remembered how Pandora practically broadcast my existence and it probably reached the ears of every Hime-Miko in the world. "And get up, I don''t like that kind of prostrating."


    "As youmand." He shot to his feet, following mymand without a second thought. "May I be so bold to ask, your Majesty.... Which God did you y?"


    "Susanoo." I said simply. While I didn''t hold a grudge, I wasn''t going to just regale him with my life''s story this soon.


    "I see...." He said quietly.


    I raised an eyebrow at his reaction. "Something wrong?"


    "There''s nothing wrong, your majesty!" He quickly bowed his head. "It''s just...Lord Susanoo was one of the backers of our organization as he watched over Japan. It''s one of the reasons we have fewer Heretic Gods descend here."


    Oh.


    OOOOH.


    Fuck.


    I really couldn''t just wipe my hands clean of this world, could I?


    I mean, I could but...my pride wouldn''t let me.


    Fuck.


    "Don''t beat around the bush, you''re wanting me to support you all, yes?"


    "I wouldn''t dare presume." He bowed once more. "But we would be forever grateful."


    I ran a hand down my face. I looked to Sc¨¢thach for help but she gave me a look that practically screamed ''this is your mess''.


    And I know Raikou would listen to any request of mine, so I didn''t want to drag her into this nonsense.


    "I won''t be around, and it''ll be impossible to reach out to me when I''m traveling." I stated, and I saw, for the briefest moments, a look of despair sh across his face.


    Japan is known for having an ridiculous amount of Gods across thend. I wouldn''t be surprised if a few of them wanted to descend to cause a ruckus just because they could now.


    "However." I said pointedly. "You still have Godou."


    He didn''t outwardly react, but I could tell he was.....reluctant to rely on Godou. I wouldn''t be surprised if the Kid''s whole personality had already been dissected by every organization in the world. To them, I''m probably much more reliable to depend on. No doubt he''s already caught on that both Raikou and Sc¨¢thach are deferring to me. "He''s still a Kid. Despite killing a God by pure luck, he''s not really sure of what he''s doing right now. Approach him politely and exin yourself properly. Don''t bow down to him, don''t put him up on a pedestal and treat him like the king of the world. I''ve already spoken to him about some things, but he needs some people to trust and rely on. If you be that, he''d probably be willing to lend a hand. He''s the honest and good natured sort."


    They both need help right now; it might be the best to nudge them into each other''s orbits.


    "Thank you, your Majesty." He continued his bowing. "I will work on this immediately." He took steps back, head still down.


    "Tell him I sent you. That should make him less wary." I gave him ''permission'' to leave.


    I could see why Godou was annoyed by how people treated him. I was used to people treating me as someone in a higher position due to certain statuses, but this just felt way over the top.


    "Should I have done more?" I questioned.


    "I think you have done enough. Godou will either soar or he will continue to bury his head in the sand and anything else you do is pointless." Sc¨¢thach replied.


    "Master, you''ve done plenty." Raikou pat my shoulder. "This organization will gain an ally in Godou if they are intelligent enough to heed your words."


    "Haaaah." I let out a breath. "I feel tired."


    "Well, you just fought a God." Sc¨¢thach said with amusement. "Do you wish to retire for the night? Or perhaps you wish to go home now? I don''t particrly have anything important remaining that draws my interesting here."


    "I''m of the same mindset." Raikou agreed. "I wish to see Kunou now that I''m not....." She didn''t finish but I could understand.


    "Kunou''s going to love spending time with you." I reassured her. Before she was.... standoffish? Distant and perhaps a little intimidating. A second meeting would probably help ease any tension, especially with Yasaka. "And I miss everyone else. It feels like an eternity since I''ve seen my other girls."


    "Fufu, thinking of your other women, hmm?" Sc¨¢thach poked me in the shoulder.


    "Is it strange I miss everyone I don''t have around me?" I grabbed her hand, bringing it up for a kiss. "I missed you so much when you were gone."


    She huffed, turning away. "You are more adept at seeking your opponent''s weakness."


    Gah, so cute!


    "I do want to give Godou my goodbye before going to see gramps. But I also have one other thing I want to do...."


    "What other matter do you wish to attend to, master?" Raikou asked.


    "Did I mention that the Goddess Pandora adopted me?"


    That got a strange look from both of them.


    ***


    Should be a couple chapters left of this arc, then we''re on to DxD. Just need to finish up a few things and they''re off.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my  / astoryforone

 Chapter 221 - 212

    <h4>Chapter 221: Chapter 212</h4>


    "What do you mean ''adopted you''?" Sc¨¢thach questioned, Raikou listened along with rapt attention.


    "Just exactly as it sounds." I replied. "Apparently, she adopts all the Campione and takes them as her Step-Children. For some reason, they don''t really remember her all that much due to the process. She was very nice to me so I wanted to say goodbye before we left."


    "Master....." Raikou quietly tugged on my sleeve.


    "Hey." I realized I touched something sensitive for her. Reaching my hand out I cupped her cheek. "Please don''t misunderstand. You''re invaluable to me and no one can take that away. She''s not a recement, nor is she going to steal any kind of position from you. You''re mine, Raikou. You''re my Raikou and my Servant, and I never want to give you up."


    She made a little noise of happiness, and her cheeks turned a little red. "Ah, you''re making your mother so happy." She looked down in embarrassment.


    Thank whatever Gods that she wasn''t still under the effects of Mad Enhancement, or I''d never bring her around Pandora. Well, one of the things she desired wasplete eptance; I suppose I wanted to make sure she knew where I stood. Even if I said it before, sometimes some people needed it to be repeated from time to time.


    "Hmm, I was worried that you were stretching yourself too thin by grabbing so many women to your side. Not giving any of them the attention they deserved. But I see I am merely worried for no true reason. " Sc¨¢thach walked up and locked her arm with Raikou''s, making me raise an eyebrow at the closeness they had apparently formed. "Make no mistake, If you had not properly ryed such words, I would have given you a thorough beating. I refuse to be the woman of a horn dog who cannot look after the ones he had already stolen something precious from."


    Raikou looked so happy to have Sc¨¢thach acting like a sort of friend to her. I don''t know if they truly bonded in these past few days, but it was at least a step in the right direction. I think Sc¨¢thach also wanted to perhaps reach out herself. The loneliness she suffered in life had certainly done her no favors.


    "He''s gotten very good at his honeyed words, has he not?" Sc¨¢thach looked at Raikou.


    "Hmm, he sure has. We should be wary of any more approaching women, lest they also fall to his seductive words." Raikou nodded, seemingly adopting an amused smile that was mimicked by my teacher.


    "An endeavor that may beyond my far from insignificant abilities." Sc¨¢thach pursed her lips. "Would killing a God be an easierbor, I wonder?"


    "Ara, I''m sure if you just exude that bloodlust of yours, no one will dare approach."


    "Fuuu, or we can just keep you around." Sc¨¢thach snorted. "With theserge udders of yours, who would think to usurp your position, hmm?"


    "Yes, I''m sure jealousy is a powerful deterrent~"


    "You think this Sc¨¢thach is jealous!?" Sc¨¢thach puffed up her own chest. "Shall we have my Student pick his target of desire?" She let go and instead went to drape herself over my arm. "Tell me, my student, for whom do your eyes linger on the most?"


    "Master, your mother wants your attention~" Raikou grabbed my other arm. "Tell this old hag who you really prefer." She took my other side.


    I nced at both of them who held a gaze of expectancy.


    "This is a trap." I said without any hesitation.


    They both started giggling at my expense.


    "He has learned well." Sc¨¢thach grinned.


    "My Son has good sense." She pushed her cheek against mine.


    They were teasing me. Gods, they were practically acting like sisters at this point. "See how I give you both a spankingter."


    "How bold of you, my student. Is that a promise?" Sc¨¢thachughed, unperturbed.


    "Be gentle on your mother~" Raikou smiled brightly.


    I could only shake my head at their antics. Words couldn''t describe how happy it made me that they were both getting along like this. "Shall we head over? I do want to go home soon." I really miss my other girls as well.


    "Lets go meet your Goddess." Sc¨¢thach''s expression turned neutral.


    "Yes, let''s go meet your new ''Mother''." Raikou said dryly.


    I guess she''s still...annoyed, forck of a better word. Though as it was not the product of her cursed mindset, I didn''t dwell on it. People were allowed to have their own opinions, their own dislikes and what-not.


    With another thought, I opened a portal to the ce I had Calcted before. The strange ce, the room I had been in, had changed slightly.


    I saw the familiar Goddess. She wasying on the ground as shezily watched a TV ying infront of her, and a bowl of snacks she was munching from.


    There was silence as she stopped what she was doing, staring at us incredulously.


    "Hi Mom, I''m back." I stated.


    "AHHH!" She threw the bowl at me.


    I blinked as it bounced off my Aura.


    There was silence for another moment.


    "Are you going to throw your shoe again...?"


    "N-no, who would do something like that!?" She quickly jumped to her feet.


    "Maybe a Loli Godde¡ª"


    A shoe smacked me in the face, somehow bypassing my Aura.


    "I''m a Mature and Beautiful Goddess!" She huffed before she settled down. Her eyes roamed all over us, as if inspecting us individually. "....As happy I am to see you again."


    "You have questions?"


    "Yes. First question." She cleared her throat. "WHAT!?"


    "Second question?


    "Second question." She nodded. "WHAT!?"


    "I think I can guess your third question." I snorted.


    "Exin!" She appeared infront of me, eyes practically bugging out of her head.


    "Introductions first?" I offered.


    She looked at mypanions around. "Introductions!" She quickly repeated. "I''ve never had any other proper guests before! It''s usually some stupid God thates to try and make trouble or one of my Children! What am I supposed to do!? Oh no, it''s all a mess!" She started to whine, and immediately ran around the room throwing stuff every which way to make it look tidier. She moved like a whirlwind, and soon the ce looked much cleaner when she jumped back infront of us. "Wee to my nice, clean home! I am Pandora, the All-Giving Mother."


    I noticed Sc¨¢thach and Raikou nce at each other.


    "I am Sc¨¢thach." My teacher simply introduced.


    "Sc¨¢thach who isn''t Sc¨¢thach." Pandora repeated. "Strange, strange. Who are you really?" She narrowed her eyes.


    "I''m this fool''s woman." She jabbed her thumb towards me, ignoring the obvious meaning in her words.


    "Kyah!" Pandora let out a small squeal, erasing the tension she previously introduced. "Call me mother!"


    Sc¨¢thach blinked at how easily Pandora changed her attitude. "What a strange Goddess you are."


    "I''m the best Goddess!" She puffed up proudly before turning back to Raikou, waiting expectantly.


    "I am Minamoto-no-Raikou. I''m Master''s Mother." She looked rather smug at her deration.


    "She''s also my woman." I added.


    "Ah, my son is so sweet." She smiled brightly. "Mother is also your woman." She repeated.


    It was Pandora''s turn to give a nk look. "I don''t even know where to being with that." She pursed her lips. "However.....grandbabies! I''m going to have so many!" She threw her hands up excitedly.


    "C-children!?" Raikou blurted out. "My son wants to have children with me!?" She seemed to go off in her own little world.


    I actually think I blushed at that. And I believed Sc¨¢thach noticed because the corners of her lips curled up.


    "Fufu, Wilhelm, my precious student. Could it be that you wish to have me bare your children?" She looked towards me with clear humor in her eyes. "Do you wish to impregnate this Sc¨¢thach, hmm?" She moved her mouth close to my ear, and spoke with a whisper. "Do you desire to see me with arge and round belly?"


    I just groaned at her teasing, covering my face. "Having you all meet was a terrible idea."


    I never really had the proper talk about children with any of my girls except Meridia, and that wasn''t really a ''full'' talk. For some reason it was making me flustered now that it was brought up.


    Pandora started giggling to herself. "I like them." She seemed to approve. "Not like those stuffy old fogies from the Realm of Immortality. I don''t know where they came from, but your mother approves!"


    "You really can''t tell what they are?" I questioned. I was curious about how much insight a Goddess would have.


    "Hmm." She gave them another look over. "They both have Divinity, which is strange because they are neither Campione nor Gods. I can understand where ites from for both of them, yet they don''t appear to be match what I know. They are also not normal humans, and now that I look closely, they don''t seem to be properly living. It''s frighteningly close to how us Gods exist, yet at the same time, extremely different."


    "Not bad." Sc¨¢thach nodded. "For being able to gleam such information, your insight ismendable. However..." She turned to me. "Is it wise to discuss such things here?"


    "Well...." I scratched my cheek.


    "No being in this world can peer into my realm right now. I made sure of that as soon as you three entered." She waived Sc¨¢thach off. "If you''re speaking about telling me things, I won''t pry." She gave a small smile. "Your mother will wait for you to tell her when you''re ready."


    "You are a strange Goddess." Sc¨¢thach muttered.


    "I''ll take that as apliment." Pandora smiled brightly. "However, I will need to know how you entered here. It''s not something even a God can aplish unless some drastic measures were taken under some intricate circumstances."


    "Magic."


    "...."


    She smacked me on the head.


    "O!?" I rubbed my head where she bopped me.


    "I saw nothing." Raikou hummed.


    "You deserved that." Sc¨¢thach said dryly. "If she didn''t do it, I would have."


    "Yeah yeah." I huffed. "To be more specific, I have a very.....unique Magic avable to me that allows me some control and operation over Dimensions and Space. There are very few ces I can''t actually go to."


    Pandora was silent as she apparently mulled over my words. "It''s how you entered the Netherworld before." She muttered. "I see." She nodded to herself. "Tell me, are you able to enter the Realm of Immortality?"


    "...Technically? I can if I wanted to."


    "Never go there." She quickly followed up. "Promise me you will never enter the Realm of Immortality." She grabbed my shirt and looked at me intently.


    "I promise." I said without any fanfare. "I never had the intention of doing so anyways."


    "Good." She nodded. "I fear what would happen to you if you went there. The Gods would tear you apart and there''s nothing I could do."


    Yeah, I wouldn''t want to fight every God in existence at the same time...


    "Why are you such an enigma?" Pandora got right in my face. "I can''t understand your origins at all, nor that of yourpanions. It''s both infuriating and interesting. I''ve never been so clueless before, it''s a new experience."


    "I''ll exin properly at another point." I said quietly.


    "I suppose that''s the best I can get. I can''t expect you to trust me so soon after just meeting me." She sighed. "Thank you for telling me this much at least."


    I couldn''t help but reach out and hug her.


    "Hehe, my son came back home and gave me a hug. This is the best day."


    "Is it okay if Ie back in the future?" I asked. "I have....other girls I want to introduce you to." Is It weird that I already felt a connection to her?


    I am really a sucker for this kind of thing. Especially when she holds no kind of deceit in her actions.


    Pandora let out augh. "More? My, you are such a Casanova." She gave my chest a little poke. "And I can''t forbid you froming." She gave an exaggerated little shrug. Though I felt it was apanied by a ''wink wink'' kind of feeling. "But if you happened to drop by, I would be extremely happy."


    "Of course, he will return." Raikou confirmed. "A son should not be away from their Mother for too long." She nodded to herself.


    And I had to do a double take as she practically did a 180 on her previous feelings. Was it thement about children that won her over? Well, it was pretty hard to dislike Pandora, she came off as very sincere and genuine.


    "You understand!" Pandora flew over, grabbing Raikou''s hands. "As expected of my Daughter-inw."


    "Mother!" Raikou was practically giddy in response.


    Sc¨¢thach turned to me. "You surround yourself with strange people."


    "....I can''t deny that."


    "But it''s nice." She added.


    "I wouldn''t trade it for anything."


    ***


    Well, they should be heading off next chapter and the follow one is an Interlude before DxD starts proper.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 222 - 213

    <h4>Chapter 222: Chapter 213</h4>


    "Nooooo." Pandora whined. "Don''t go!" She grabbed onto my shirt with a pitiful look on her face.


    It made me feel bad seeing her like this. "It''s not like I won''t evere back." I reassured her.


    "Waaa, I never get people visiting me." Pandora pouted. "You''re the first one to even call me mom! Atleast stay for a few more hours, you only stopped by for a couple minutes!"


    "I just wanted to see you before I go on a little adventure." I smiled wryly. "I promise toe back when I''m done with my business. I''ll even see if Godou wants toe around."


    "Oh." Her eyes widened. "Yes, yes! Bring my youngest here too. He needs a firm hand, that boy!" She huffed.


    "I already met him." I replied. "Already made sure to give him a kick on the rear to get him into gear. Though whether he starts taking the appropriate steps is up to him."


    "Thank you." She reached out, wrapping her arms around me. "I''d hate to see such a nice boy like him die early."


    "Of course." I reassured her again. "I felt bad at the trouble he was having."


    She let out a sigh. "I can''t convince you to stay a little longer?"


    "I really do need to head out."


    "Fine." She huffed. "But you bettere back safe and healthy next time. You hear me, mister?" She poked my chest.


    "Don''t worry." Sc¨¢thach spoke up. "I will make sure he doesn''t die before he returns."


    "What a good Daughter-in-Law I have." Pandora perked up.


    "I too will make sure he stays out of as much trouble as possible." Raikou added.


    Pandora let out a little giggle. "Campione''s can''t help but get into trouble. Please keep him safe." She said with a small smile.


    Raikou wrapped up the smaller woman in her arms.


    It was pretty cute to see.


    "You bettere back soon." Pandora let go, giving me onest look. "Now that I know you cane back whenever you want. I expect visits!"


    I don''t know why seeing her acting like this made me smile so much. "We''ll be back soon." I said onest time.


    Again, I felt bad about having to leave so soon, but this was more of a test than anything else. I just wanted to make sure nothing unfortunate would happen if I just popped in. With Sc¨¢thach and Raikou at my side, I had been confidant in dealing with most potential consequences if there had been any.


    Pandora seemed ecstatic about me being here and returning in the future, so I took that as confirmation that I coulde and go as I please.


    I....wanted to give her a chance. I know it was strange to have this thought, but I wanted to see if there could be sort of bond that could form between us. I had no romantic interest in her but maybe we could be more than strangers?


    Without dragging things out, I created a new portal and sort of sling shot a few more over the to disrupt any attempts at tracking me. I didn''t know what methods were avable here, and I didn''t fear anyone ''following'' us, but simply ''seeing'' how we left could raise some questions that I didn''t wish to answer.


    With onest look, Pandora smiled and waved towards me. I gave my own little smile and onest wave before mypanions/women/girls and I all walked through my portal.


    The myriad colors shed around us as we entered a familiar room.


    "Home sweet home." I let out a long breath. It had been a very long few days.


    "Oh you''re back." I saw a head poke over the nearby couch.


    "Hello Lucretia." I gave a wave.


    "Hello Wilhelm." She giggled.


    "Mmm, it''s good to be back. I''m a little sweaty, I shall take a shower and clean myself." Sc¨¢thach walked by, brushing her hand against my shoulder. "It''s good to see you, Lucretia Z."


    "And you, Sc¨¢thach." She sort of halfheartedly waved her hand.


    "Have you eaten, Lucretia?" Raikou asked.


    "I haven''t" She shook her head.


    "Then shall I prepare something to eat?" She offered.


    "That would be lovely." The Old Witch smiled.


    "And you, Master?"


    "I''ll love whatever you make." Something to eat sounded great right now.


    "Then I shall get started." She nodded, walking towards the kitchen.


    I reached out and grabbed her hand before she could get too far away. She made a cute little surprised sound as I pulled her back towards me. Before she could speak, I ced my lips to hers. She was being too cute earlier, I just had to.


    "Shall we give you some privacy?" I blinked, hearing Zelretch''s voice as he stood in the doorway.


    Raikou gave a cute, bashful, look as we pulled away. "I will go prepare a meal." She said quickly, scurrying off towards the kitchen with a healthy shade of red adorning her neck.


    "Oh, to be young again." Lucretiaughed.


    "To do such things so boldly infront of your Grandfather." Zelretch shared her amusement.


    Oh, so you wanna y, huh?


    "So, is it safe to touch anything?" I looked around. "Did you make sure to wipe everything down?"


    Zelretch blinked and Lucretia threw herself backwards on the couch and startedughing.


    "Oh, so you have jokes." Zelretch gave a dry look.


    "I do have jokes, wanna hear another?" I offered.


    "I''m all ears."


    "It''s called ¨C I killed a God." I deadpanned. "Imagine that? A whole process to kill Gods and usurp their power. Sure would have been nice to learn that before I stepped into that world." I''m pretty sure he could take the hint with the sarcasm in my voice.


    "Perhaps we should have a chat in my office." Zelretch sort of gained a thoughtful look which quickly turned into something more serious.


    "Go have your boy talk." Lucretia waived at us, flopping back down on the couch.


    I just gestured for him to lead the way.


    ****


    "You know, this is practically a tradition now." I took the ss of whiskey he poured me.


    "Do you dislike it?"


    "No." I shook my head. "I enjoy these talks. It helps me unwind and something I just need to vent or have someone offer their opinion who isn''t a romantic partner."


    Zelretch hummed, taking a sip of his own drink. "Should we get into the heavy stuff or...?"


    "So, what''s up with you and Lucretia?" I wanted to get this out of the way.


    Zelretch let out a long winded sigh. "We''re...something." He muttered. "I''m still debating if I should thank you or throttle you for helping her bulldoze her way into my home."


    "Please, like you wouldn''t have done the exact same thing in my position."


    "I can''t deny that." He nodded. "We are so much alike in some ways ¨C due to the obvious. Perhaps if you hadn''t just taken the most direct approach, I would have fumbled around this whole thing for who knows how long."


    "She deserved better than what you gave her, Gramps."


    "Brat." He snorted with a sad smile on his face. "I''m well aware of that." He thumbed the rim of his ss. "It''s gotten so much more noisy around here these days. It''s a fear of mine that things will be quiet once more."


    "Well, you don''t have to worry. I''ll be here to keep annoying you for the rest of my life, or yours."


    "Is that supposed to reassure me?"


    "It reassures me." I replied with a cheeky smile. "So, do I call her Grandmother yet?"


    Zelretch let out another snort. "I''m sure she''d love that. But we''re taking things slow."


    "Hmm. Taking things slow, huh? You''re aware that I saw her pack her bags?"


    "One thing you should learn about Lucretia. She loves to make people ufortable." Zelretchughed.


    "Well, tell her she seeded." A thought I didn''t want to have about her and the old man. "So...I killed a God." I might as well pull this band aid off.


    "You''re doing a remarkable job keeping everything contained and not leaking out. I noticed something wrong, but until you said it, I couldn''t quite put my finger on it. But now that I take a better look, you certainly are bursting with more power."


    I ran a hand through my air. "I didn''t think it would be wise to let my Divine Power seep out in this ce."


    "A good choice." He nodded in approval. "As long as you don''t cause any issues, I do not believe the Counter Force would waste energy to move against you."


    Yeah, it''s very unwilling to waste any effort needlessly,so I didn''t think a Counter Guardian would be sitting here waiting for me when I came back.


    "Why didn''t you tell me about this?"


    "I should have." He admitted. "I think I was just worried you would go do something foolish." He shook his head. "Not that I think you are a foolish person. I don''t think you would fight a God without confidence in winning."


    "I...understand." I sighed. "I''m like that too, I guess I got it from you. I worry about those I care about even when I know I shouldn''t. Just....please don''t keep something like that from me."


    "I promise I won''t do that again in the future." He said without hesitation. "But I have to ask, why did you fight a God, Wilhelm?"


    "Well, he didn''t leave me with much of a choice. He started throwing fists at me so I responded."


    "So you couldn''t have removed yourself from the situation? Or perhaps not put yourself infront of a God so that they would be willing to start attacking you?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "Well....no. But ¨C"


    "I think we should have a talk about your attitude." He cut me off.


    "My attitude?" I questioned.


    "You went looking for a fight, didn''t you?" He looked at me.


    "I didn''t start anything." I denied.


    "It''s not a matter of starting it. It''s a matter of you willingly putting yourself into those situations where a fight is inevitable. And I don''t think you realize that you''re doing it yourself."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Do I need to spell it out for you?" He replied. "When you first came to me, how willing were you to start waiving your sword at people?"


    "I mean.....I fought with someone as soon as I came here. I fought quite a few things in Skyrim as well...."


    "Yes, but from what I understand, those were calcted bouts. Fighting undead in dungeons to secure the treasure. Fighting one of those young Mages to help Rin with her reputation and establish your own. Why did you fight a God, Wilhelm?"


    I blinked at his words. "I....because.....?"


    "You were looking for a fight." He finished for me. "It''s bing clearer as time goes on. You''ve been steadily escting, and it''s all culminated into this point. Various undead, some low-level Mages. Then Dragons, and other monstrous creatures. Then you entered a Grail War and decide to start fighting Servants. And now you Killed a God."


    "Don''t get me wrong." He continued, not allowing me a moment to retort. "I''m not admonishing you for your behavior....well mostly. I believe you could take a better approach to such endeavors. But I want you to be aware of your own behavior. You are a young man who is objectively powerful. I would not be surprised in the least if you wanted to test yourself. It''s something we all go through, I had a streak of such things in my youth where I left many bodies in my wake. Now, adding on your Devil Heritage, we have a recipe for something a bit more noticeable. And then there''s the Dragon living in your soul who is no doubt influencing you to some degree."


    I was silent as I digested his words. I couldn''t refute the logic behind them as I thought back at my past fights. "Am I a battle Maniac?"


    "I don''t believe so." He shook his head. "Enjoying a fight, and even seeking them out doesn''t make you a battle maniac. You don''t throw caution to the wind ¨C most of the time ¨C and ignore everything else to fulfill these desires. Tell me, did you fight this God without a second thought?"


    "I mean....kinda? I was prepared. My Aura was full, I had a good supply of Mystic Codes, Talismans and such ¨C even if they wouldn''t be really effective. I was in perfect condition, and I had a good idea of what I was walking into and even had Raikou on standby if needed with Sc¨¢thach nearby. And I had escape routes already nned in my head for emergencies."


    "Then it sounds like I can''t fault you. You''re young, being impulsive is fine if you are prepared to deal with the consequences, which it sounds like you did an adequate job of doing. What more could you have done than what you already did? You simply enjoy fighting and like to test yourself. You are entering higher stages, and I can''t fault you for wanting to seek opponents who can match you."


    Is it that simple then? I guess I do enjoy fighting, and I have met some powerful opponents in a fight even when I could have taken other approaches. I remembered what Shakespeare''s Noble Phantasm said about me wanting to prove myself. I guess, he was correct in that sense. But maybe I jut wanted to prove my own strength?


    [It''s a very Dragon mindset to have.] Ddraig spoke up. [It doesn''t necessarily mean betting your life every time. I''ve fought many opponents in my life where death was not a factor and we simply had fun pushing ourselves in our duels. Fighting is in our blood, and yours too.]


    Huh....


    "I have a lot to think about now."


    "That''s all I ask. For you to acknowledge your own actions." Zelretch gave a happy nod.


    "I think I just need to take a few days and rest. Maybe try and put my sword up in the meantime and get some other work done."


    "I think that''s a wonderful idea. You have plenty to keep you preupied in the meantime."


    "Gods." I ran a hand through my hair again. "It feels like forever since I''ve seen the others."


    "Jinn stopped by the other day, asking when you would be back." Zelretch mentioned.


    I blinked. "She did? Why didn''t she call me, she has a Kaleidophone!"


    "I don''t think she wanted to be a bother."


    "That...." I let out a sigh. "I need to take her out on a date. She deserves that at the very least." Seeing Jinn with a sad expression would honestly give me heartache. I didn''t want my Genie to feel that way.


    Now that I think about it, we all barely used the Kaleidophones. I can understand why, several of us were sometimes in situations where it could have been a distraction.


    "At the risk of sounding like I''m trying to change the subject. Wanna hear about how everything went?"


    "I''d love to." He nodded enthusiastically. "Tell me all about this Authority you acquired and how you defeated a God."


    ***


    Omake ¨C How to devil.


    "I don''t understand how I got roped into this." I sighed, leaning back in my chair. "This makes no sense."


    "You don''t know how to behave like a devil." I sat up a little straighter, staring at the origin of the voice as she sat behind her desk. Sona Sitri stared back at me, her annoying look as she tried to look stern and mature. Honestly, it just came off as needlessly haughty. "You''ve been at this how long?"


    "I haven''t. Because there''s no need, this is stupid."


    "The Contracts ¨C"


    "I already analyzed the concepts intertwined in the contracts. They''re a medium to extract ''desire'' based on the payment received of our ''client''. It''s absorbed by the inherent ''sinful'' concepts of our nature, converting it into Demonic Power, albeit in a miniscule amount."


    "..."


    "What?" I questioned.


    "How did you figure that you? It''s not exactly public knowledge."


    "Isn''t it obvious? I took me like thirty minutes to analyze it. You even gave me a perfect sample....how could I know see what''s going on?" I blinked.


    ".....be that as it may ¨C"


    "Wait, how long did it take you to figure out?"


    "Not important!" She huffed. "Now, moving on. I''m going to teach you how toplete contracts."


    "I already know how."


    "I''m going to teach you properly ¨C "


    "How to read? Because that''s literally all there is to this. I don''t know why you lot make such a big deal out of this nonsense. Take contract, get summoned,plete request, receive payment. Should I make a power point presentation and start hosting a Ted Talk to the Devils on how to not be idiots?"


    Sona let out a little growl. "There''s more to it than that."


    "Like that?" I leaned back crossing my arms.


    "What if you can''tplete the contract!" She shot back.


    "Then you say ¨C I''m sorry this is beyond my ability toplete. Would you like something else?" I said very dryly. "It''s not like they''re hard toplete anyways."


    "You wanna bet on that?"


    "Oh.....do you actually have something worth betting?"


    "Onemand." She raised her finger up. "Loser has to listen to onemand of the winner. No ridiculous requests obviously."


    "A gentleman''s agreement then." I hummed. "Fine, whatever. I guess I can get you to dress up as something fun for a single day at school."


    She scowled, shifting through her draws before mming a contract infront of me. "Complete this one!"


    I stared at her, standing up and pping my hand on the paper, activating the summoning magics. I didn''t'' blink as it overtook me, and she looked at me with an arrogant smile.


    With a sh of light, I was in the living room of a house I didn''t recognize.


    "Are you the one who answered my request ¨C Nyo."


    I turned to look at the very deep voice that spoke. A veryrge man, covered in muscles with a very skimpy magical girl outfit that barely covered him.


    Oh, that bitch.


    ***


    With a sh of light, I appeared back in Sona''s office, sliding back into my chair.


    "What should I do with mymand?" Sona looked rather smug.


    I raised an eyebrow.


    "What''s wrong, no more retorts?" She smiled. "Nothing to say? No more smartass remarks? Are you going to ept that I can properly teach you how to be a Devil?"


    I didn''t respond but flicked my hand, separating the curtains at the window.


    She turned to look at my action with confusion only before she noticed something strange and her eyes were transfixed on the figure flying around the school.


    "Never fear, Magical Girl Kaleido Mil-Tan is here!" A very deep voice boomed all around.


    "And Kaleidostick Opal!" The Wand in his hand spoke as well.


    Sona''s mouth hung open as she slowly turned towards me.


    I stood up.


    "W-what did you do?"


    "What does it look like?" I snorted. "By the way, I sent a video to your sister."


    "Y-y-you didn''t!!" She looked horrified.


    "And I think I''ll be using mymand. You still have a Pawn Piece that you haven''t used yet? I think Mil-tan would be a wonderful addition to your peerage."


    "No.....you wouldn''t..." She gasped.


    "That''s the difference between us, Sona." I straightened my tie. "When someone asks me to turn them into a Magical Girl, I turn them into a goddamn Magical Girl." I flicked a peace sign as I walked out of her office. "How''s that for being a Devil."


    ***


    Author''s Note.


    Well, Interlude Next then entering DxD proper as I saidst chapter. The Interlude is actually four disconnected POVs that I''ve had trouble fitting in, so I just decided to clump them all together in onerge Interlude.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 223: Interlude 9

    <h4>Chapter 223: Interlude 9</h4>


    Akatosh, Dragon God of Time. POV (Skyrim)


    Strange.


    The flow of the world had shifted ever so slightly. The River of Time moved in a way that I was unfamiliar with. Something urred, something I did not foresee. Branching paths that no longer all reached towards the end that I had perceived. They were small ripples, but they were bing more noticeable as the world progressed.


    I looked towards my youngest. The one destined to battle my oldest for the fate of the world. I could see the same ripples surrounding him as he had been.....changed. His soul shining brighter and enveloping him as a protective shield in the form of the Dragon Aspect, as the mortals called it. Something he should not have learned to do for many moons. Nor did he learn to do it, but the ripples surrounded him and it had been done by ident.


    I exhaled.


    Time Froze.


    Reaching through the river, I retrieved the strange sword my youngest wielded.


    I lowered my head, staring at the sword that was impaled in the ground. My wing reached out to tap it. An inconspicuous action, yet the sword reacted violently. I allowed it its little tantrum as I was curious about the sword that had no presence in the world until recently.


    The years rolled off the de, centuries upon centuries of existence held within, yet this is the first time it has ever ''existed'' within the flow of history.


    I attempted to unravel the memories of its existence. To view the years it has lived and witness its birth, but my attempts ended in failure. As if arge void superseded my Authority, the world''s Time-Line held no baring over this sword until the moment I plucked it.


    Once more, I looked back towards my youngest. He was stronger than he should have been at this particr point. Yes, the ripples had been beneficial so far as my Oldest had been....passive. The deration of a child not of mine sent him into confusion.


    Amusing.


    My Eldest thought some trapid by me so he was cautious.


    I reached out to my other child in his Divine Realm.


    "[Curiosity.]" I sent towards him my intent, wanting to know what he found about the anomaly.


    "[Confusion.]" He boomed back towards me, rying everything he had discovered thus far.


    Even he is unsure of what''s going on.


    I took a moment to filter through the information I received.


    Interesting. With a thought, I returned the sword to my youngest at the exact moment it was taken.


    Hmm, it seems that Merid-Nunda and this....mortal are rather close. Had a mortal managed to sway her heart enough to invoke such emotions? The thought was almost too absurd to believe, yet the information I was given had supported such a conclusion.


    My gaze turned towards the Colored Rooms, the realm that Merid-Nunda resided in.


    The vessel Merid-Nunda created opened its eyes, staring at my intrusion.


    "[Exin.]" She demanded to know my reason foring, defensive in her statement, but she allowed me entry when she sensed my presence.


    Merid-Nunda was one of the ones we had the least conflict with. I suppose our rtionship could be construed as tolerant.


    "[Anomaly. Questions.]" I asked her about the strange person that appeared around my youngest. And I asked her for rification on certain matters.


    "[Mine!]" She all but shouted back her im over him and that I will not harm him.


    I paused at the emotion behind her exmation. It was very uncharacteristic of her. "[Rtionship?]" I wanted to know if there truly was something more going on.


    "[Private.]" Her vessel huffed in annoyance and seemingly turned a little red at my question.


    "[Amusement.]" I sent myughter back as I retreated from her realm less she sts me away out of embarrassment.


    I had never seen this side of Merid-Nunda before. Our interactions in the past had been minimal even before the creation of Mundus.


    After speaking with her, my thoughts about what to do with the Anomaly had changed. Consideration for removing it from existence had been my initial priority, but now I see it has caused no intentional troubles. On the contrary, it has moved forward my own ns by its own desire.


    To use another term ¨C the Mortals would call it ''good''. Morality, a concept derived from a miniscule understanding of creation, yet, is it wrong for them toe to those conclusions based on their own fleeting lives? His actions bring consequences they cannot perceive, yet they will hail him as a hero. And I cannot fault their decision based on their own interpretation.


    Lastly, I peer through the River of Time and gaze upon the other anomalous figures that appeared around him.


    A strange girl with an interesting perspective on the world. Watching her learn the more esoteric arts. How Mortals wield Magic was an amusing sight of its own. A strange system inside her body that allowed her to process the Magickaing from Aetherius. As interesting as she was, my attention was taken by herpanion.


    The girl who was a dragon. Another that is not one of mine.


    I rewound the River of Time until the point I desired. A point that I found something strange about her that caught my interest, more than it had previously.


    Reaching out towards her, I paused when my hold on Time shattered.


    Merid-Nunda ring at me.


    "[Protection.]" She dered, stopping my actions. Though she was exerting enough power to strain against the protections on Nirn. If she pushed any further, she would be expelled, and I could quite easily continue my investigations.


    But she dered the mortal girl under her protection and was being oddly sentimental once more.


    I did not wish a feud with her if I did not need one, even if she was unable to threaten me as she is now.


    "[Peace.]" I sent back, rying that I would not harm the girl in any capacity.


    She stared at me as the eons passed and the River of Time began to flow again.


    "[Acquiescence.]" She replied, epting my promise.


    A promise between beings of our level was more than just mere words on the wind that Mortals convey. Though she epted my action, she still did not move and watched me intently. I was curious to see how the others would react if they saw the usual stoic and unwavering Merid-Nunda act in such a way.


    Reaching out, I did not take hold of the girl, but instead sought out an item in her bag that space folded around.


    A strange spear that pulsed with a feeling that no Mortal could mimic.


    I gave onest look at Merid-Nunda and gave her a thankful nod. She appeared appeased in my actions and didn''t meander any longer.


    Withdrawing my focus on the dragon that is not a dragon, my attention was once more back to my main form.


    The strange spear now floating infront of me.


    The spear itself was an interesting weapon. I could only think of a handful of others currently in the Mortal world that could surpass it. And it was in no way created by Mortal hands, yet I did not recognize which being had created such a thing.


    It appeared wholly foreign to my senses


    But what took my attention the most was a small presence inside the spear. It appeared as if it would be snuffed out by a passing gust of wind if not careful.


    I grabbed hold of the River of Time and focused on the spear. On the small presence that so tightly clung to its continued existence.


    The presence didn''t change, even after thousands of years of time that I tried to reverse its origin. With a small bit of annoyance, I put forth more and more power into my actions. The spear trembled and a bright light erupted from it. My Realm shuddered under the burst of power as the light began to conglomerate and form into a mass in the form of a man.


    The figure looked....confused? It looked around at the surroundings and down at itself.


    Staring at this new presence, the confusion I had about the Anomaly began to clear and I could guess some of its origin.


    "Hello there." I spoke my words as I would towards a Mortal. I feared that this form I forced into cohesion would disperse if I were not careful.


    The figure''s form settled down, the bright light slowly simmering down. He took the form of a man, a man in hister years with white hair and a beard. An interesting form for a Divine being such as him to take.


    "Where...?" He appeared lost as I was but a moment ago.


    "You are a long way from home, my friend." I gave a mirthful chuckle.


    "Yes..." I replied slowly. "It appears that I am. My memories are foggy, but I can remember my time as I took in the surroundings while bound to the True Longinus."


    "Careful." I said as he attempted to draw upon power. "I can barely hold you together in this form as is. If you attempt to do any more, I''m afraid my tenuous hold on your existence may unravel."


    "I apologize. I appear to have been getting ahead of myself. I did not think I would be alive once more." He looked down at himself again.


    "I''m afraid that what I did could not be counted as a second life. I am merely staving off the time of death from your existence."


    "Indeed. Your control on Time is something I''ve never had the pleasure of experiencing before. I can see that my existence is still fleeting and will disperse with a thought on your end. I am Dead, I died and I am still dead. A remnant of my previous self that could remember a time when I was alive. A mere dying will." The body he appeared in smiled happily. "Did I take this form because the idea of this look was so engrained on those who worshiped me?" He muttered to himself. "You allowed me this gift, I am forever grateful for this."


    "Gift?" I mused. "It''s nothing worth noting. I was just curious about the one who brought you to my world."


    He shook his head with a smile. "I died. But now I have lived after my supposed death, the concept of existing beyond my death is now attached to this piece of me even if only for a brief moment and through a trick on Time. Thanks to you, I may be able to use this as a catalyst for my rebirth if the correct conditions are met. You have given me a small bit of hope to see my children again."


    "A fascinating idea." I understood his words well enough. "I wish to converse with you, if you don''t mind. I have not experienced something new in quite some time." I let out a small chuckle at my own joke.


    "I would be delighted to exchange knowledge." He replied without hesitation. "But I do have a question. And please forgive me manners, but I never asked your name."


    "Oh yes, I have forgotten such things as most know of my existence in this universe." Dealing with an outsider, the idea had never crossed my name before this moment. "I go by many names, but I believe Akatosh is the one most spoken of by Mortals in this era."


    "Akatosh. Your name will forever be engrained in my mind." The Divine being spoke. "As you have said, I also have been given many names over my existence. But I believe my most popr one is ¨C Yahweh."


    ***


    Amakusa Touma POV (Campione.)


    "Elders, per your summons, I present myself to you." I bowed towards the four shrouded figures who stood at the top of the History Comption Committee.


    "Amakusa Touma." The First Elder spoke. As the others, his form was shrouded, only a number depicting his difference from the others. "Report."


    "Yes, Elder." I stood up straighter. "As per my orders. I attempted to retrieve the Gorgoneion that was revealed through our Hime-Mikos after it left the Lord Campione''s hands. It was an abrupt mission so certain information was unavable at time of deployment."


    "Understandable. You worked well with what little you had been provided." The Second Elder praised. "We aren''t here to speak ill of your actions. We just wish to hear everything in your own words. Please continue.


    "Yes, Elder." I bowed again, thankful that this was not a disciplinary hearing. "I made contact with the individual who acquired it and he refused to hand it over. It was during our negotiations that Athena appeared. As I have been informed now, she was under the status of a ''Divine Ancestor'' which we were ignorant of before."


    The third Elder snorted. "Only a Divine Ancestor. As if we could do much to her to being with."


    "Third, don''t interrupt." The Fourth said lightly. "We asked for his words, not your opinions on the matter. Again, please continue young Touma."


    I bowed once more. "It was one of thepanions to the one who held the Gogorneion that engaged Athena in battle. She was revealed to be the Legendary Sc¨¢thach from the Ulster cycle."


    There were whispers between them as they conversed. I held my tongue as I dared not interrupt them.


    "And what have our Hime-Mikos said?" The First elder asked.


    "They are unable to divine anything about the group. We are working under the assumption that they are able to block all attempts at gathering their information." I exined.


    "Yes, that makes sense. Sc¨¢thach is a powerful Witch in her legends, It wouldn''t be farfetched to assume she can block such things." The First nodded. "But even so, we have no knowledge of a new Heretic God descending. Even if she hid herself, her presence should have alerted everyone when she came to the Mortal world."


    "That.....I cannot answer Elder." I replied hesitantly. "I can only make some uneducated guesses that perhaps she has sealed herself away here some centuries ago and only recently awoken."


    "Not an impossible exnation." The Fourth muttered.


    "But nearly just as impossible." The Third dismissed outright. "What was the oue of the fight ¨C beyond the obvious."


    "Sc¨¢thach defeated Athena without any noticeable wounds to herself. ording ot her own words, when politely asked. She is quoted as saying ¨C " I cleared my throat. " ¨C The littles ran away after suffering my spear. If she lives, call it a miracle."


    "Legends state that her Spear is cursed. This could line up with what she said." The Second spoke up. "Do we have any proof that this is indeed Sc¨¢thach."


    "Nothing beyond her own words. And at this point, Elder, I am inclined to believe her. Why would someone capable of defeating a Divine Ancestor so easily lie about their name?" I offered.


    "A valid point." The Second Elder epted. "Shall we moved on to the others?" There were grunts of acknowledgement, so I continued on.


    "The next person I wish to bring up is the other woman that apanied the newest Eighth King. She called herself Minamoto-no-Raikou."


    Again there were murmurs around the room as they all whispered and discussed this amongst themselves.


    "Any evidence for her ims?" The First asked.


    "None, Elder. But with her attending to the new King and being with Sc¨¢thach, I hesitate to dismiss her as well."


    "Agreed. Take her words as fact." The fourth stated. "Even if it''s a lie, it''s not a good idea to anger the new King."


    "Your report says that she was approachable and willing to negotiate. Do you think she will be amendable to working with our organization?" The Second Elder asked.


    "If asked for assistance.....she seemed like the type of person to lend aid. Knowing her identity now, he legend reveals her as one that protect themon people. So I would assume she to be a hero of the masses if disaster struck." I gave my opinion once more.


    "Good, good." The Third Elder nodded. "See if we can approach her when she reappeared, but don''t anger the others around her. Especially the new King, their rtionship doesn''t seem simple."


    Haaah, that''s one way to put it. They didn''t see the way she looked at him and him at her. That was clearly the rtionship between a man and woman. Not that I could me him, she was certainly a beautiful woman. Both of them were.


    "Well then. Let us move onto the main focus of this meeting." The Fourth Elder spoke. "The Eighth King, born on ournd."


    I took that as my que. "Yes, we havepiled some information thus far. Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. He appears to be mixed race with Japanese being half and we suspect the other to be German. We have discovered that he fought and defeated the God of Storms ¨C Susanoo."


    "Yes, I''m pretty sure half the country is aware of that." The Third Elder said sarcastically. "A massive Tree appears off the coast of Japan along with Storms that defy logic." He snorted. "These Campione, always making a damn mess of things! How many other organizations are contacting us on behest of the other Kings!? What are we supposed to say to them?"


    "For once, I agree with Third." The Fourth Elder spoke up. "Does he have any idea how much we had to put into making sure the world didn''t turn into a mess because of his actions? ording to our Hime-Mikos, he somehow summoned the World Tree from Norse Legends right off the coast of Japan!"


    "And now we lost one of our greatest protectors." The Third scoffed. "Without Lord Susanoo, who''s going to stop other Heretic Gods from making a mess of things here? His mere presence dissuaded the many Gods of our country from descending."


    "I have started taking measures since I''ve learned of what happened." The First Elder replied. "I set into motion many cultural repair projects focusing on various Shrines and older Temples for various Gods. I have many of my people scouring the more rural parts of the country to make sure any Shrines theye across are given proper care."


    "Well done, First." The Second replied. "It''s not a perfect solution, but it should buy us some time."


    "Indeed. This should mitigate some bacsh from the more popr deities. We should take a second look at the records regarding any sealed Gods on ournd and make sure they''re still holding." The Third replied. "It''s been a long time, I''m unsure of which Seals were being supported by Lord Susanoo."


    "Another good idea." Second gave praise. "But we should focus our attention back on the main point of the meeting."


    "Agreed." Fourth nodded. "Tell us your opinion on the Eighth King, Touma."


    "Yes, Elder." I nodded as they stopped their own conversation. "He''s a confidant individual. I would almost call him the opposite of the Seventh. He is thoroughly knowledgeable of our world, as evidence by his battle with Susanoo being a true fight. But he was also acknowledging the issues caused by his actions when I spoke of Lord Susanoo."


    "Interesting, were you able to gain his agreement to our cause?" The First asked.


    "Yes, though it was not a partnership." I replied. "He agreed to lend a hand while he was around, but he was adamant that he wouldn''t be around much."


    "Typical. Why did I expect any different from one of their kind? Skirting responsibilities after causing such a mess." The Third Elder Growled.


    "He didn''t leave me without giving something valuable." I spoke up.


    "Oh?" The First Elder questioned. "There was nothing in your report about him leaving you anything, Touma."


    "Yes, Elder. I intentionally left it out of my report. He gave me instructions on how to approach Lord Kusanagi Godou and how to acquire his trust and Aid in his ce. I feared that such information might make it to the wrong ears, and thus wanted to report it directly."


    "Oh?" The Fourth Elder stated. "You have good foresight, young man."


    "Indeed." The third Elder nodded. "A wise course of action."


    The First Elder cleared his throat. "I believe Touma here is perfect for approaching the Seventh King. He has a good head on his shoulders and has shown to be able to navigate around this sort without causing issues. All in favor?"


    "I agree."


    "Same."


    "As do I."


    They all continued.


    The First Elder spoke up again. "Good. Amakasu Touma, you are hereby ordered to approach Kusanagi Godou and attempt to liaison between our organization and him. Use any methods you require to bring him to our side. We need someone to fill the spot of Lord Susanoo."


    I bowed towards them once more. "I will listen to the Elder''s Orders." This would be a difficult assignment, but I felt like I could handle it. I would need to gather a good team and start studying the Seventh King and to make sure ¨C


    "Oh and bring Ena with you."


    Fuck.


    ***


    Salem POV (RWBY)


    How dull these past few weeks had been. I was not usually so attentive to the quietness of my castle, yet, after that strange man appeared and then left, it felt so boring and empty.


    The only amusement I had found in this time was the book he had given me. This ¨C Runecraft, as the title had disyed. The idea of magic inteced into symbols was nothing new, but this particr method was foreign to me.


    I stared at myself infront of my mirror. My thoughts drifting slightly, a whimsy I usually don''t indulge in. I ran my fingers through my hair, undoing my bindings, allowing it to fall to my shoulders.


    I reached for a brush and began to properly take care of it, perhaps indulging in the idea of keeping it like this?


    He did express a liking for it....


    I paused and tossed my brush to the side, scowling at myself for even harboring such an idiotic sentiment.


    "What am I doing?" I muttered as I nced over myself. Wearing a dress I normally do not wear. One that emphasized my chest and hugged tight my rear. I looked at myself, the red veins that covered my body, the red eyes that looked back at me. The cursed markings that would never fade.


    I briefly recalled my beautiful blonde hair, and my unblemished skin, devoid of this disgusting curse. I hesitantly reached back for my brush and continued using it to clean up my hair, to make myself presentable.


    I snorted at the thought of ''prettying'' myself up for some man I barely knew. No, this was for my own enjoyment, I was merely feeling nostalgic and wished for a change in looks. Even if I chose to wear somecy undergarments, it was because I felt the desire to.


    Setting my brush down, I ran a hand down the seam of my dress and gave my rear a little squeeze to see it bounce. "Hmph, some things never change." I said with a smug smile. "I merely need to distract him the next time hees around and It will be simple to retrieve the information I desire."


    He already expressed his inability to look away from my rear. I will be prepared for our next meeting.


    I pursed my lips remembering the embarrassment he forced upon me through the game we had yed. Making me say something so humiliating such as finding him physically attractive just to inte his own ego.


    Had it been any other person, I would have eviscerated them for the sheer audacity!


    Then he tantly reveals that he has been undressing me with his eyes the entire time. Never had I ever met someone so bold to say that to my face. However....perhaps apromise could be reached if he revealed what I wished to know? And he also revealed to have in his possession two of the Relics with the others being known whereabouts. I''m sure I could.....loosen his lips.


    It has been a very long time and I am not against the idea, especially since it isn''t one of those broken things masquerading as human in this era.


    The brief insight into Magic he revealed was.....impressive. For someone who appeared so young, he had a thorough understand of my own spells. Not to mention the show he put on while we disyed our own prowess with the littlepetition we held.


    I had not felt that amount of joy in....many ¨C many years.


    ying around with my Magic with someone who could match me. It was a feeling I had all but forgotten in the passing centuries. Yes, and it was only the proverbial tip of the iceberg.


    After he had left, I used the Scroll device to look for information. What a surprise that was to see what transpired.


    I would admit that his antics brought meughter. Seeing the ignorant masses not understanding how he ran circles around them using his magic.


    And then he destroyed one of my Sea Fei-longs with a single, impressive, spell. One that bordered the title of Ancient.


    I can only smile at the thought of Ozma going frantic trying to understand what urred. As there is no doubt in my mind the old fool will recognize the usage of magic. For once, I am the one knowing and he will be the one having to search out answers. Should I send a message to taunt him? To reveal that I am acquainted with Wilhelm?


    Perhaps send something a bit more intimate, such that I have ''imed'' him in more ways than one? I cackled at the thought of Ozma finding out the first true Magic user popping up had already been snatched up by me and taken to my bed.


    The humorous thoughts faded and a scowl returned to my face. "It''s too good to be true." I said to myself. When had I ever had something good happen to me? A Magic User ¨C not one of Ozma''s ''Maidens'' -- revealing themselves and showing an interesting in me?


    Ridiculous.


    I pushed such trite thoughts away and refused to entertain them anymore. I had ns and they would not be stopped by some outsider.


    Speaking of, I believe I had made my minions wait long enough.


    I made sure my attire was properly fitted onest time and departed. I made my way to the room I usually hosted them outside of my Throne Room. The table already set up and my minions seated appropriately as I entered.


    They were silent, in reverence of my presence as I took my seat at the head of the table. One befitting my status over them.


    "My Goddess!" Tyrian eximed. "Your beauty shines brighter than the moon reflected in the blood I draw in your name!" My most.....fanatic follower gave me apliment in his own.....unique way.


    "Thank you, Tyrian." I said evenly. I chose to ignore his usual ramblings and say just enough to keep him quiet. Aspetent as he was in his duties, his personality was one I had to force myself to bare with. "Cinder, Hazel." I acknowledged their presence.


    "Mistress." Cinder replied with a respectful tone while Hazel gave a grunt.


    "I assume the mission was a sess then?" They were not cowering before me, so they were no doubt sessful.


    "Yes, Mistress." Cinder spoke up, never one for missing an opportunity to stand above the others. "Arthur immediately went back to hisb to work on the project after we acquired the necessaryponents."


    "Good." I nodded, not caring that he didn''t appear. I only needed him to create the virus for the CCTVwork for our oing n. "And the other parts?"


    "I spoke to Sienna." Hazel replied. "She wasn''t budging on our request, and I didn''t see a point in pushing further. However, I heard of a certain faction within he White Fang that were more....aggressive and might be open to talks."


    "I see." I said evenly. "I will give you a chance to seek them out then." A failed mission, but not one of his own faults. And he sought another opportunity. It is an eptable oue.


    "Goddess, Goddess!" Tyrian excitedly spoke up. "I also killed all the people you told me to!"


    "Well done, Tyrian." I nodded towards him. If there is one thing I can rely on him for..... "The Vale Underworld should be softened up then. That means it''s your turn to make a move, Cinder."


    "I won''t fail you mistress." She said quickly. "But....."


    "Yes?"


    "Would it not be easier if you used the Grimm to ¨C "


    "No." I cut her off. "I will not be making any overt moves with the Grimm in the foreseeable future." I denied. I had made a....promise and I will not make myself a liar to him. "A situation came up, that is all you need to know."


    "As you wish, Mistress." Cinder lowered her head slightly as I sent her a look.


    Good. Everything was still going ording to n.


    The only thought left was one that had been refusing to leave me for days now. The anticipation of when he would return refused to leave me alone. It has been a very long time since I''ve felt excitement and anticipation for something.


    ***


    Venna POV (DXD)


    "Oh Grayfia, what brings you here?" I noticed my Daughter-in-Law step through the door. I tilt my head at her dress. She wasn''t in her normal Maid Attire, which meant only one thing. "Is it your day off?"


    "Yes." She replied evenly. "And I was wondering if you could.....?"


    "Oh dear, of course." I said without a second thought. "By all means, follow me." I offered as we walked through the house.


    It was a room that was all mine. Not to say that no one was allowed in, but they were respectful of my space. "Step into my office." I said with a giggle


    "Thank you, Venna." Grayfia said with a smile herself as she pushed the door open. I followed in as she kicked off her shoes and took a seat at the bar I had set up. "I couldn''t go out otherwise I''d probably say something I wasn''t supposed to." She let out a sigh.


    "Don''t worry." I reassured her. "I enjoy doing this." I walked behind the counter. "I do enjoy putting my degree to use."


    "You''re the only Devil I know that takes time to get degrees and certifications from the Human world." Grayfia said with augh.


    "Well, I like to keep myself upied. And I enjoy learning new things." I answered, reaching under the bar and taking out the items for mixing cocktails. "I think I would go crazy if I didn''t take the time to pursue my hobbies like this. I can''t see how you can do your jobs day in and day out with only the asional day off once a month."


    She let out a long winded sigh. "I question that myself at times like this."


    "Trouble with my Son?" I questioned, already knowing the answer. This wasn''t the first time she''sined to me at my little bar. Nor do I believe it will be thest. As she said, it''s difficult for her to go out and enjoy herself with such a high political position.


    "What isn''t a problem these days? It seems like every other hour I''m talking him out of doing something stupid. Just yesterday he got it into his head to go over to Kyoto, in person!" She threw her arms up. "Why would he think that''s a good idea after everything that''s happened!?"


    "My son has always been hardheaded. Once he gets an idea in him, it''s difficult to talk him out of it." I''m sure it''s even worse now that barely any people in the world can tell him ''no'' with a reasonable expectation that he can''t retaliate.


    I shook the container in my hand a few times before pouring it into a ss and garnishing with a piece of lemon. "Here you go, sweetie. It''s something I came up withst month." I pushed it towards her.


    She took a sip, blinked, then downed it all in a single motion. "I take it back. I think it should be mandatory for all Devils to get certified on cocktail mixing."


    "I''ll take that as apliment." I said with a smile. "I take it you''ve been sessful in keeping my son from doing anything foolish?"


    "With great effort." She snorted. "Well, I had to distract him a few times by going on my knees."


    "Oh, boys." I rolled my eyes. "I swear, they either think with the thing between their legs, or get led around by it."


    "I''m notining." Grayfia replied with a little smirk. "And can I get another?" She asked.


    "Coming right up." I turned around, looking at my selection of alcohol to decide what I want to make. "How''s the talks with the other factions going?"


    "Good....rtively speaking." She replied. While it was a political issue that I shouldn''t be knowing about, I had certain privileges being the Lucifer''s mom. Not that I would break the confidence in what I hear. Time and ce for certain things. "It''s one of the reasons I think he hasn''t tried something else again."


    "Good, he knows his priorities." I nodded in agreement. "Getting a true peace agreement with the Angels and the Grigori would be wonderful."


    "Funnily enough, this whole mess might have elerated everything. Azazel apparently noticed the movements and reached out."


    "He''s usually the one trying to bridge Heaven and us together." Imented.


    "I think he wants this peace the most. The Grigori are in a bad position and it''s just getting worse. I don''t think it''ll stay a faction in another century if things continued." Grayfia spoke. "But in particr, he reached out and asked if there was anything he could help with. He put two and two together and even said he''d reach out to Michael."


    "He is a sly one." I acknowledged. "It''s sometimes easy to forget that Azazel is older than all of us with how he acts."


    "Maybe he feels responsible since he''s the one who started this whole mess." Grayfia scoffed. "Took my Husband to an escort service while they were having ''talks'' and got drunk together."


    I hurriedly finished the next drink and set it down. She was going to need it if she was going down this road.


    "Satans, if this continues, I don''t know if I can keep this up. I love him, but he just keeps pushing me away." She took another sip. "The more he hears about Wilhelm, the more he just...bes distant. It''s like some weirdbination of shame, guilt, and anger."


    "Yes, well, my son will have toe to terms with his decisions and realize he can''t control everything around him. I can only say that it might get worse before it gets better." I offered some advice.


    "I''m just....venting." She sighed. "I don''t think it''s going to be like ¨C"


    "Like me and Zeoticus?" I finished.


    "I didn''t mean it like that...."


    "There''s no harm done." I assured her.


    "I still don''t understand how Sirzechs and Rias haven''t noticed." She grumbled.


    I gave a little shrug. "They''re all busy with their own issues."


    "But Sirzechs should have noticed by now." Grayfia shook her head. "How long as it been and he still didn''t think it was strange that you both never show affection anymore in public?"


    "My son can be rather dense." I said dryly. "But I don''t fault him. I''ve said it before, he wishes to view the world through his ''perfect'' lens. The idea that his parents fell out of love doesn''t fit into that picturesque view. If he figures it out, that''s okay I''ll give him a proper talk. If not, he''ll probably find out in the future."


    "Oh, have you found a new lover?" She asked.


    "I admittedly haven''t searched very hard. It''s difficult to find someone to fit my tastes and won''t try to use it as some kind of political tool. Not to mention I don''t want to be a burden to Sirzechs due to his position." I shook my head. Even If I was upset with him, I loved him dearly and wouldn''t jeopardize his position.


    "Venna." Grayfia looked surprised. "How long has it been exactly?"


    I let out augh. "Since Rias was born."


    "Really?" she blinked in surprise. "I don''t understand how you could go that long without gettingid."


    "Well, I''m a little worried on how Rias would take it as well." I admitted. "She''s a bit different than us. We lived through wars, and she''s been living in the Human World for so long, I don''t think she''d take it well." Rias has adopted many human sentiments over the years. I wanted to wait a little bit longer until she was more mature to broach the subject.


    "Rias is almost grown. You need to worry about your own happiness and needs." Grayfia retorted. "It''s not rare for devils to fall out of love. Or even divorce in some cases. Zeoticus has his harem so it''s not like he''s going toin."


    "Oh, that man was very supportive. Even if we no longer love each other that way, he''ll always be my best friend." He even subtly asked around when we talked about it. Looking for someone I could enjoy my time with.


    "Even more a reason. You have nothing holding you back. Find a young man somewhere and teach him everything yourself." She said with a little smirk.


    "Get myself a little boy toy?" Iughed. "I don''t think anyone in the underworld would be brave enough to be my lover with my son as Lucifer." Another point of difficulty. I can''t exactly go around and date.


    "You could always answer some of those summons from some horny kids on the surface."


    "Oh shush you. I''m not that desperate!" I huffed with a little smile.


    "Say''s the woman on an almost twenty year dry spell."


    "Alright." I giggled. "Enough with my love life. We''re here about you."


    "Maybe I should be the one serving you drinks." She snorted, finishing hertest ss. "I didn''t have much I wanted to get off my chest. It''s just been the same thing the past few weeks and I didn''t want to be seen in public like this."


    "Well, I had a thought then."


    "A thought?"


    "Mmm, it''s about my Grandson."


    "I see..."


    "Oh, none of that." I huffed. "This needs to get dealt with appropriately. The longer it drags out, the more it''s going to cause a mess if it ends up exploding."


    "If you have a method to resolve everything, I''m open to listening." Though her scowl seemed to portray otherwise. I knew she didn''t particrly hate my wayward grandson, but it was still a sore spot for her.


    "I was thinking about just sending a letter."


    "Sending a letter?"


    "Yes. It''s be somewhat public knowledge that Wilhelm and Yasaka are close. So what would be wrong with delivering a letter to Yasaka in a....polite and respectful manner? Ask for it to be delivered to Wilhelm, exin myself and request a meeting."


    "That''s it?" She questioned.


    "Yes." I nodded.


    "No oundish scheme, no destroying years of political good will. No making our allies even angrier with us and potentially making new enemies? No disrupting ns that have been decades in the making?" She began to list. "Just.....send a letter?"


    "That is my thought, yes."


    "That just might be crazy enough to work."


    We shared a look and broke out into a fit of giggles.


    ***


    Fair warning, my Beta hadn''t looked over this chapter, so yeah, mistakes are probably more abundant. And a few perspectives that opening some things that will be happening or did happen.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 224 - 214

    <h4>Chapter 224: Chapter 214</h4>


    "Sc¨¢thach, carry me~" I put my head on my teacher''s shoulder.


    "I''ll drag you." She said evenly. "It is your fault for working into thete hours of the morning. You had two beauties to share a bed with, yet you decided to coop yourself up in your workshop."


    I let out a yawn. "I wanted to test some things with Gramps." And I didn''t get any coffee this morning!


    Truly a crime.


    "Have you settled your new state?" Raikou asked, wrapping her arms around me from behind.


    "He has a better control of his power. His new divinity is no longer leaking out like a faucet but instead ites out more as small drips." Sc¨¢thach replied to my Servant.


    "Mmm, Gramps helped me direct some things better and make sure I wasn''t just broadcasting my new status everywhere I went." I responded. "Especially back home. I don''t think the Counter Force would appreciate it if I walked around with my full power for the world to feel." Just existing wasn''t usually a reason for the Counter Force to start purging. Their modus operandi for it is to use as little energy as possible in all its actions. If the Counter Force sees that I''m doing nothing across the Time-line, it''ll most likely leave me alone and deal with other issues.


    That and the fact that I had a good amount of leeway with my actions due to my usage of the Kaleidoscope. If Zelretch could im to have some Administrative Privileges, I could be called a Moderator.


    With another yawn, I pointed over in the distance. "That should be the plot ofnd the Old Man told me to use." We casually walked through the streets of Fuyuki city in the early morning hours.


    "You said a Powerful Witch lives here." Sc¨¢thach spoke up. "Is this her?" My Teacher jabbed her thumb to the side.


    "Yup." I nodded. "Hey Medea." I waived.


    She tilted her head. "Not the greeting I expect. But good morning." She perched herself atop a nearby building, opting to step off and glide down. "Felt some Servants nearby and had to investigate." She pulled her hood off. "Though I would much rather be in bed with my Husband right now."


    "Fianc¨¦." I corrected her. "I refuse to acknowledge him as your husband until I see a wedding invitation in my hand." I gave a little grin.


    "You''re ridiculous." She snorted, a small smile on her face. I think she was warming up to me. "What brings you around, boyo? And some new faces."


    "Sc¨¢thach." My Teacher said simply.


    "Medea." The Caster Servant replied as they shared a nod, not caring to deal with certain formalities.


    "Raikou." My Servant also spoke up. "It''s nice to meet you." She added with a smile.


    "A pleasure." Medea responded, not usually one for much conversation with strangers. "Since I''m already up, what has you up and about in my city?"


    "Your City?" I questioned.


    "Yes, my city." She puffed up. "And you can even tell the brat I said that."


    Ah, always looking for an opportunity to antagonize Rin. "Well, have I told you about my house?"


    She blinked. "No, and I am assuming there is a reason you brought it up other than to rub it in my face?"


    I had forgotten she''s still living at the temple. They should have a good amount of savings now.....unless she spent everything on her clothes. I paused, staring at her. "You spend all your money on your clothes, don''t you?"


    "Gaaah!?" She made a weird noise. "O-of course not." She looked away.


    "Uh huh." I didn''t believe her. "Anyways. So, I connected my home to anchor over multiple World Lines. I wanted to set it up here in Fuyuki to make it easier."


    "Easier for what?"


    "Are you really going to be obtuse?" I questioned. "Obviously I wanted it to be easier toe and see you and for you toe see us if you want. Besides, Atnta has probably been anxious about seeing you again too." Besides the obvious situation with Anta, I wanted to be better friends with her. I felt like she needed it and I enjoyed herpany.


    She opened her mouth then closed it again. She looked rather lost if I were to be honest. "Do what you want." She teleported away.


    I let out a sigh as I felt her presence disappear.


    "What a pitiful woman. She refuses to be honest with herself." Sc¨¢thach spoke up.


    "Oh well." I shrugged. "Not much I can do except keep doing the same thing I always do."


    I walked up to the empty lot and stabbed Mirage into the ground.


    "Can you set up some Bounded Fields?" I asked Sc¨¢thach.


    "It will be no issue." She nodded, going around the perimeter and drew up runic sentences.


    I let out another yawn as I leaned against Raikou who was still by my side.


    "Is there anything I can help with, Master?" Raikou asked.


    "Yes, I have a very important task for you."


    "Yes?"


    "I need you to keep being amazing." I gave her a cheeky grin, even if it was a cheesy line.


    She puffed up with a cute little embarrassed smile. "Don''t tease your mother." She lightly poked me.


    "Yes, please forget I am here and continue your flirtations." Sc¨¢thach snorted, walking by as she set up some more Runes.


    "If you insist." I replied.


    "You will receive a beating in the future. When you do, I hope you recall this moment." She retorted.


    "Master." Raikou giggled at our banter. "I believe she is serious."


    "She is."


    "I am."


    Both Sc¨¢thach and I replied at the same time.


    "She enjoys stepping on people." I stated.


    "He enjoys being stepped on." Sc¨¢thach retorted without missing a beat.


    "Oof, still a sharp tongue you have." I clutched my heart. "Raikou, my heart is hurt. Will you give me some healing?" I looked up at her expectantly.


    "Let your mother kiss it all better~" She giggled pressing her lips to mine. I ced a hand on her cheek deepening the kiss, enjoying the taste I''de to associate with her.


    "It''s done if you are also finished being foolish." Sc¨¢thach looked at us, crossing her arms with a huff.


    Teasing Sc¨¢thach was fun.


    Reluctantly, I had to remove myself from Raikou''s grasp as I walked over to where my sword was stabbed into the ground. "Thankfully I''ve done this enough times so it won''t take too long." I began running the calctions through it. Only having to change a few variables for it all to process. Unfortunately, it bes a bit longer the more times I do it. The obvious new variables I have to ount for.


    "How long will this require?" Raikou asked.


    "About an hour or so." I shrugged, reaching out for a patch of earth just outside the Bounded Fields. I clutched my hand, forcing the ground to rise up and take the form of a bench. "May as well get a littlefy as the calctions run their course." I happily plopped myself down.


    Raikou didn''t seem perturbed as she took a seat to my left, scooting in and leaned on me.


    I looked at Sc¨¢thach who looked back, her expression turning into a scowl.


    I returned it with a warm smile.


    She huffed again and plopped down to my right without a word.


    "My Sc¨¢thach is too cute." Iughed.


    "Your Sc¨¢thach, am I?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Yup, all mine." I reached over, my hand sliding towards hers. She paused for a moment, but her fingers became interlocked with mine.


    "I suppose I am." She said quietly, trying to force the growing smile on her face back down.


    I briefly wondered If I should drag this out a little more. To have an excuse to spend time with them, and only them before realizing the folly in that line of thinking. It''s been several days since I''ve seen my other girls, and I had a responsibility to all of them since they epted this rtionship with me. If there were circumstances that I found myself with only one or two, I felt it my duty to devote a lot of time to make them feel loved during that period. Not that I wouldn''t do so in any other situation.


    But I suppose I didn''t want to make it seem like I was prioritizing any one of them over the other. Managing time with each of the girls in my harem was an important task. Not that I saw it as a burden. I just wanted to do my best to make them all as happy as they make me.


    I know that when we returned, Sc¨¢thach and Raikou would receive less of my time. None of us are children that can''t handle some kind of separation at points, and they have their own lives to live. It''s just...


    Maybe I''m over thinking it.


    I tend to do that a lot.


    I don''t actually have any real experience to draw upon for a situation like this. Maybe I should find someone knowledgeable and ask for tips on how to handle a harem?


    Regardless, I was content to spend thisst bit of time with just the two of them.


    ***


    We all stood and watched intently as the colorful array of colors filled the Bounded Field and a House started to solidify its existence into the empty lot.


    "Your Magic is always interesting to see." Sc¨¢thachmented. "I often wonder how it operates and if I could copy it."


    I tilted my head at that question. While the peculiars of True Magic are something that came about during the Age of Man, it''s not something entirely divorced from Magic of the Age of Gods. It is however something ipatible with their entire system of usage. That being said, True Magic maniptes certain phenomena that will one day be ovee by Humanities ingenuity. So who''s to say she couldn''t replicate the effects through her own knowledge and her ess to her brand of magic?


    "I''d love to talk shop with you at some point." I said with all sincerity. "Perhaps add Jinn to the conversation? She''s very knowledgeable about her own corner of magic and has only increased her repertoire in our time apart."


    "The Artifact Spirit you told me about." Sc¨¢thach muttered. "Yes, I believe it will be a good way to.....get acquainted with her." She chose her words with some thought.


    I couldn''t help but smile that she was considering how to bond with my other girls.


    "Jinn''s going to immediately hug you and call you ''sister''." I deadpanned.


    The corners of Sc¨¢thach''s lips quirked up. "I do like that forwardness." She admitted.


    I looked over to Raikou who appeared a little nervous. "It''ll be alright. They''re all going to love you." I gave her a little nudge, offering her my arm.


    Raikou made a little noise and grabbed onto me for emotional support. "I''m happy." She said. "And if they like my son so much, they will no doubt be wonderful people."


    And it''s moments like this that make my heart flutter at her genuine words.


    I didn''t dwell on it for much longer as the house fully solidified, sitting in all its glory right infront of us.


    "Shall we?" I gestured.


    "We shall." Sc¨¢thach smiled, walking forward without an ounce of hesitation.


    I couldn''t help butugh as I followed along, Raikou on my arm still. Passing through the Bounded Fields, she didn''t pause as she grabbed the door and pushed it open.


    There was a beat of silence before I entered with Raikou right behind me as everyone looked at each other eyes thennded on me.


    Artoria, Jinn, and even Yasaka were sitting around chatting as we walked in.


    "Will!" Jinn jumped up and practically dived into my arms. This excitable girl...


    "Jinn." I squeezed her tight, earning a little giggle from her as I spun her around. "I missed you."


    "A, I missed you too. We all did." She smiled brightly, before letting go.


    I looked at Artoria who also got up from her seat. "Miss Pendragon." I eyed her.


    "Mr. Schweinorg." She quirked a smile as we stared at one another for a moment. She let out her own giggle, opening her arms up.


    I quickly snatched her up in my arms. "It''s been way too long."


    "It''s only been a few days."


    "Every moment I''m away from any of you is way too long." I kissed her on the forehead.


    "Mmm, Jinn was correct. I sorely missed your presence these past several days. It''s been a trying time running around Skyrim with Rin." She sighed. "I wish to tell you of our time apart when everything has settled down."


    "Of course." I brushed the bangs out of her face. "I want to know what all of you have been up to."


    "Ooh, I can''t wait to show you some of the things I uncovered!" Jinn happily replied.


    "Oh my, do I also get such a greeting?" Yasaka flicked her tails as she stood up and walked towards us. She eyed both mypanions that came inside with me. "Sc¨¢thach it''s a pleasure to see you again. I hope this time we can spend some more time chatting."


    "Yasaka." Sc¨¢thach smiled. "Of course, I''ll be sure toe around often. I wanted to take a look regardless."


    "Wonderful, I''ll make sure that everyone knows to let you go about where you like." She nodded and turned towards my servant. "Raikou, it''s good to see you as well." Yasaka''s tone was very....neutral.


    Raikou seemed to hesitate slightly before answering. "Yasaka, I''m happy to see you well. I also wish to speak to you more when you have time." She genuinely smiled.


    Yasaka blinked, as if caught off guard but seemed happy at the response she received. "Of course!" She pped happily. "My, we should make a thing out of it. Perhaps have a bit of ''girl talk'' by ourselves, yes?" She swept her gaze around the room.


    "Oh, that sounds fun." Jinn looked excited at the notion.


    "Indeed. I believe we will have much to discuss when everyone has gathered." Artoria nodded.


    "Should I be worried?" I reached out for her as she let me guide her into my arms.


    "That depends, do you have anything to be worried about?" She had a little mischievous smile on her face as her tail wiggled infront of me.


    "Don''t worry, my Student. I shall keep your more embarrassing stories to myself." Sc¨¢thach teased.


    "Are you sure, I have a story or two of my own." Jinn replied.


    "It appears I''ve been swayed." Sc¨¢thach chuckled.


    "Joy." I drawled as Yasaka and I moved away. Though I reached for a fluffy tail, giving it a little stroke. I think she knew how much I adored her tails, as she didn''t even bat an eye as I started ying with it. "Though we''re missing one crucial person." I spoke up, noticing the fluctuations at the perimeter of my house.


    The steps that the person took, and how all eyes turned to her as she crossed the threshold.


    Yasaka''s fluffy tail slipped out of my hand as I stared at her, a longing shed across my face.


    "Meridia." I greeted her, taking a few steps forward.


    "Wilhelm." She replied, almost emotionlessly as she eyed the people she didn''t recognize. "There are many new faces." She stated.


    "Yup, and introduction are important, but first." I quickly swept her up.


    "S-so suddenly!?" She squeaked out, breaking that emotionless mask. "P-put me down, everyone is looking." She muttered under her breath, cheeks flushing.


    "Can''t help it." Iughed. "Your reactions are too cute."


    She huffed. "You are ruining my image for these new women."


    "Well, if you want me to stop, I don''t mind." I quickly let go. "I just thought you missed me as much as I missed you." I feigned sadness.


    "You..." She huffed again. "Your teasing is ruthless." She turned her tone down to a whisper. "I did miss you." Her head turned to the side, not making eye contact. "You make me count the days until our reunion every time you leave." She scowled. "There, are you happy?" Her face betrayed the ''anger'' she was expressing.


    "I''m always happy when you''re here with me." I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. The Goddess tried her best to hide her embarrassment but failed in such a cute way.


    "I hope you''re pleased with yourself. You have destroyed any chance I had at presenting myself with any kind of dignity." She snorted, but refused to let me go. She turned towards the people she recognized. "Jinn, Artoria." She gave them a polite acknowledgement, even if they probably saw each other not very long ago.


    Her gaze turned towards my other girls that she had yet to properly meet. "I am Meridia. I suppose you can think of me as a Goddess in your own terms."


    It was their first meeting. The first time I had all my girls in a single room since they all became a part of my harem.


    For the first time, I had no responsibilities in the immediate future and I had all of them together. This was certainly one of the best days of my life.


    ***


    Getting back into DxD first up was all his harem finally meeting. So, early chapter woo, woo! Had some free time at work so i managed to get a good chunk of the chapter out with some notes on how to finish.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 225 - 215

    <h4>Chapter 225: Chapter 215</h4>


    "Alright, this one is for Sc¨¢thach." I used telekinesis to float a cup of coffee over to her. "Meridia, Yasaka, Raikou." I floated them over as well.


    "Mmm, so this is coffee." Sc¨¢thach seemed to savor the taste. "I enjoy it."


    "There are also many things you can add to alter the taste as well." I spoke up.


    "I shall experiment with this beverage at ater time." She nodded happily, going back to her chat with Meridia.


    Honestly, I thought they would butt heads, which they kind of did initially, but they seemed to have found somemon ground. Sc¨¢thach was telling of her time in the Land of Shadows while Meridia listened aptly.


    Raikou seemed to have hit it off with Yasaka on this second go around. Swapping stories from each of their times in their respective Kyoto. I was surprised by how much Raikou was opening up, as she usually didn''t like to talk about her past.


    "And Tea for Jinn and Artoria." I floated them over to myst two girls who were also having an animated conversation.


    "Thank''s Will~" Jinn winked at me.


    "Thank you, Wilhelm." Artoria smiled.


    Artoria wasn''t really into bitter things, and Jinn''s preferences seemed to change with her mood.


    "Well, I''m d that some people appreciate my effort." I very obviously looked over at the other four who practically ignored me. Though I wasn''t truly upset, I was very happy they were all getting along.


    "I would appreciate you more if you retrieved me a second." Sc¨¢thach shook her cup.


    "Oh, I have another around here...." I started patting my pockets, as if looking all around. "..somewhere. Oh, here we are." I reached into my pocket and took my hand out a momentter with my middle finger extended. "Oh no, where did thise from?" I flipped her off.


    Sc¨¢thach just snorted, holding back a smallugh.


    Gods I loved that woman.


    I kinda didn''t want to interfere that much and just let them keep going. So I turned towards Artoria and Jinn who were sharing a littleugh to the side.


    They noticed me as I snuck up and wrapped Artoria up from behind, resting my chin on her head. She was definitely the shortest of my girls. Though it in no ways detracted from her beauty.


    "Am I interrupting." I asked.


    "We were just speaking about ¨C" Artoria began to talk but Jinn cut off her.


    "Nuuh!" She quickly interrupted. "I wanna show him everything myself."


    Interesting. Regardless, I always enjoy spending time with her and she apparently wanted to show me something she''d been working on.


    "My apologies." Artoria nodded with a smile, tilting her head up to see at me. "Do you require our assistance with something?" she asked as her hands grabbed at mine, though she didn''t pull me away but instead rested hers atop.


    "Well, it''s more something I want to speak with you about." I replied. "But before that, how have you been? And is Rin around I haven''t seen her in awhile too."


    "I have been very well." Artoria stated. "We had been exploring Skyrim''s wilderness and diving into some very bleak catbs, but that has its own excitement. I am however d to be taking a break from such adventures. As for Rin, she ryed the words ¨C ''I''m going to sleep for the next 10 years, don''t wake me up.'' Before copsing on her bed."


    "Dungeon diving is fun, lots of loot to take."


    "Yes, I believe that is what drives Rin to continue this endeavor." Artoria said dryly. "Though we have yet to find the Bow we had been searching for." She cast a nce at Jinn.


    "Oh fine, I''ll give some spoilers. I found something interesting, and I want to show you when you had time." Jinn huffed.


    "I would love to see what you''ve been working on. And how have you been Jinn? No one been bullying you at the college have they?" I questioned.


    Jinn let out a giggle. "The Archmage made sure everyone treats me well. And an angry Orc is apparently also a good deterrent for most people."


    Oh yeah, the Librarian was pretty intimidating.


    "Though Ancano did approach me. Demanding answers to certain questions and tried to intimidate me with his ''status''." She snorted.


    I paused, remembering that arrogant ass. "I guess he''s tired of living."


    "Oh, stop being so dramatic." Jinnughed. "He was annoying but didn''t do anything else. I told him off and Urag kicked him out of the library ¨C permanently."


    "Alright, alright." I epted her little hint to not ''over react''. "If he just wants to skulk around and y at being important, it doesn''t matter to me." Though if he touches one of my girls, not even his Gods will be able to protect him.


    "That reminds me. Rin and I did encounter a contingent of those Thalmor on our adventure." Artoria interjected. "They tried to act as if it were a chance encounter, but I could see through their deceptions. They were interested in both Rin and I and tried to seek some answers regarding you."


    "I know you can handle yourself fine. But as your boyfriend, I feel I''m obligated to ask. Need a hand to deal with anything?"


    She smiled brightly. "I appreciate your sentiment and intent. And I am happy you acknowledge I can handle the situation. I feel as though it has not spiraled into something messy just yet and I shall be on guard for now so there is no need."


    I know I''m defensive of what''s close to me. I just don''t want to overstep and make them feel like I''m smothering them. And Artoria Is good at talking about things she dislikes and what she wants even if certain romantic nuances are new to her.


    Communication is key.


    Besides, Meridia is also watching over them and I trusted her absolutely. Speaking off....it''s been way too long since I''ve seen those amazing legs of her.


    Almost as if reading my mind, Meridia looked over and quirked an eyebrow.


    I grinned at her and mouthed something back.


    She flushed.


    Alright, stop getting distracted.


    "I suppose I don''t need to say it, but I''m always here, for anything. Both of you, even if you want to just talk about the inanest of things, I''m always happy to hear from you." I spoke to both Jinn and Artoria.


    They shared a look before smiling. "We know, and we appreciate it." Jinn walked forward, wrapping up Artoria from the front.


    Artoria looked a little flustered, but in a good way. "There is no need to worry, Wilhelm. We are aware that you have your own responsibilities and your own matters that take you far away. Just as we have things to focus our attention on."


    "Good." I nodded. "I just want to make sure I talk about stuff like this more and don''t make assumptions." Managing a Harem is looking to be a bit more daunting now that I had all six of my girls in one room.


    "You are doing a fine job." Artoria replied. "Now, speak what you wish to truly talk about. We have danced around the matter long enough."


    "Fine..." I sighed. They always seemed to know when I had something heavier to talk about. "I suppose we should talk about the elephant, or rather, small dragon that popped up recently?"


    She realized what I was speaking of immediately. "Yes....Mordred."


    "If you want to go somewhere private...?" Jinn offered.


    "No." Artoria said firmly. "I.....do not wish to hide anything from those who will be part of my life, even if I have yet to truly connect with some." It seemed that the others were looking over now. "I have to handle this appropriately, and I refuse to put this off any longer."


    She''s the one who wanted Mordred to be a more permanent mainstay when I called her up during the Grail War.


    "I''m proud of you." I whispered. It was an honest sentiment, her confronting something that had no doubt been carried in her heart for a long time now. It was just one of the many things I admired about her. "Do you have a way you want to handle this? I''ve spent some time with Mordred and her temperament seems to have evened out. To be honest, I have a good impression of her." And I enjoyed teasing her very much.


    "I....do not." She furrowed her brow. "Do you....have any suggestions?"


    "Well, she seems to share your ridiculous appetite. Maybe we can fill her up first, fatten her up so to speak." I grinned.


    "I-I do not have a ridiculous appetite!" She went red pretty quick. "I eat just enough to fill myself up." She huffed cutely.


    Well some of her tension seemed to evaporate. "You''re overthinking it." I said inly. "Take it from someone who overthinks things constantly. Just ask to meet up, and have a proper talk. You don''t need to find closure or anything immediately. Just...talk to her."


    "Is it really that simple?'' She asked quietly.


    "It can be if you want it to." I replied. "I can promise you one thing. As much as you''re stressing over it right now, she will be just as much." Especially since both of them actually want this in some way.


    Honestly, I think that made her feel a little better. "Will.....you go with me?" She grabbed my hand.


    "Of course." I said without hesitation. I would always be any kind of support she needed. I doubted I would be involved in their intimate conversation, but just being nearby would probably give her a confidence boost. "Would you like Rin toe as well?"


    "Yes." She nodded.


    I know for a fact that Rin wouldn''t hesitate to agree, so I didn''t really feel ''bad'' about sort of volunteering her for this.


    "No rush." This was a very important matter to her and Mordred both. It would do neither any good if they just rushed into it. "Let''s just sit down and figure out how you want everything to go, yeah?"


    "Yes, I would like that very much."


    "Well, I wanted to talk to Mordred anyways. I can ask her what she''s been up to and pass on any message you want."


    "I greatly appreciate your help, Wilhelm." She made sure to express her gratitude.


    "Of course." I gave her a smile.


    With that, I slowly separated from her. I would give her a little bit to settle her thoughts before bringing it up again in conversation.


    Instead, I walked over to my Foxy mistress. Before I could even reach out, a fluffy tail rose up to greet me.


    "Wilhelm, you didn''t forget about me until now, did you?" Yasaka turned to look at me with a smirk. "Or are you here to y with my tails some more?" Her fluffy appendage waived infront of my face.


    "Well, I can''t deny that I adore your tails." I reached out for it, something I tended to do whenever we''re together. But I think she enjoys the attention. "But I also wanted yourpany."


    "Master." Raikou smiled. "You seem much more rxed since we came here."


    "I am?" I blinked. "I suppose I am." I nodded at her statement. "Well, seeing all my girls together, how could I not be?"


    "Am I getting counted among them then?" Yasaka questioned.


    "Do you even have to ask at this point?" I chuckled.


    "Oh my, it seems this poor old Fox has been imed." She feigned indignance.


    "I''m pretty sure Kunou imed me first, so it''s only fair."


    "You make a good point." Sheughed. "And you will hear noints from me."


    My fluffy tails.


    "It''s strange. I don''t have any particr objective in the immediate future as I focused on preparing for Sc¨¢thach''s revival, and now that I finished that, I find myself with quite a bit of free time." Granted, I hadn''t stress over it and gathered some things on the side. But it had always in my sight and something I was building towards.


    Obviously I have some very important things to do much further down the line. But nothing that demanded my attention right now.


    "So you find yourself without anything to do?" Yasaka asked. "From what I''ve heard so far, it must be a strange feeling indeed."


    "All this time we''ve been together, we''ve been moving from ce to ce. I believe it will be beneficial for you to settle down for a little bit." Raikou stated.


    "You''re right." I agreed. "I should settle down. I do have some things I wanna take care of to keep myself upied and such." I ran my fingers through Yasaka''s fur. "It''s indeed strange, but I don''t mind too much. Obviously I wanted to spend time with you all. That''s something of a priority on my list. But Kunou as well, I want to take her out, do some dad things and truly spend time with her and bond."


    "I would like that very much." Yasaka''s expression turned very gentle. "Kunou needs some time with her daddy." She smiled softly. "And I would love to spend time with my...man." She settled on, perhaps finding a term that felt ''right'' to her.


    "And I was going to see Izzy soon too. I feel like it''s been way too long and she''s a good friend."


    "Oh dear, how long as it been?" Yasaka questioned. "I don''t think it''s been that long since she got back. I heard some murmurs about Death Gods and a ''vacation'' or something, so I think she should be back by now."


    "I am still unsure about you meeting her, Master." Raikou stated.


    "You don''t need to worry." Yasaka tried to reassure her. "Izanami has been nothing short of wonderful in the time I''ve known her. My Kunou adores her as well."


    "I see.....perhaps I am just biased due to my own circumstances." Raikou relented.


    "I''ve heard quite a few things about your world. I can''t me you for thinking that way. But you should meet her and get to know her." Yasaka responded.


    "Izzy would love more friends." I added.


    "Hmm, I suppose I should meet her. Be prepared for when she bes ''more'' than that." Raikou hummed.


    "What?" I questioned.


    "That''s a good point." Yasaka nodded.


    "We''re just friends." I huffed.


    "Mhmm."


    "I believe you, Master." She smiled innocently.


    I sighed, knowing this wasn''t a fight I would win. We were only friends, why did no one believe me? I mean she''s beautiful, yes. And we share many hobbies, and generally have a lot of fun together. But.....she hasn''t expressed any kind of feelings like that towards me. And I haven''t really flirted with her or anything.


    Whatever.


    "Anyways." I changed the subject. "How have the little group of misfits been? I distinctly noticed that the city isn''t on fire. I''m guessing that''s a good sign?"


    Yasaka let out augh. "You say misfits, is Kunou added to that?"


    "You tell me?''


    Yasaka snorted in response. "Our little Kunou is getting more and more mischievous. And It''s only going to get worse as she gets to ''that'' age. She tried to get me to let her skip sses today so she coulde with me."


    "Isn''t it normal for kids to look for any excuse to skip school?"


    "Yes, but normal children aren''t Youkai who can cast certain spells in an attempt to get out of it."


    "Oh jeez, what did she do this time?"


    "I''ll let her tell you." She said dryly. "Maybe hearing her daddy give her a talking to might make her settle down. Though, I am happy she''s been more expressivetely. I''m hoping it evens out soon once she realizing you are a mainstay in our lives."


    Ah, I could understand. Kunou didn''t have a real ''father'' before, so it''s sort of a switch in dynamic for the younger girl and she''s acting out in this way in response. It''s not necessarily bad, but it should be something we talk to her about. "It makes me really happy that you''re talking to me about parenting problems, even if I have no idea what I''m doing here." I smiled.


    "Oh honey, you make it sound like any parent knows what they''re doing." She reached for my hand, taking it in hers. "Right, Raikou?"


    "Fufu, of course. With my Kintoki I, to this day, didn''t know what I was doing and just tried my best to raise him appropriately." Raikou agreed.


    "And you are her parent now. You epted that role, and you epted both of us just as we have you." She yfully poked me in the chest. "So, I expect you to behave as such, mister. That means helping me rein in our little hellion. And believe me, that will be a trial in and of itself."


    "I look forward to everything that entails." I took her hand and squeezed it.


    She softened her expression again. "I really did luck out with you, didn''t I?" That genuine smile on her face was one I always loved to see. "But I got a little off topic. Mordred hasn''t been doing much, I haven''t gotten any real reports. They''re just enjoying my city from what I''ve seen. Achilles and Atnta have taken a job to hunt down some Vampires causing issues in the human Kyoto. We had some reports about several dozen humans drained of their blood and such. And the Serial killer hasn''t caused any issues yet."


    "Well, it seems like everything is going well."


    "About as well as can be." She nodded. "We''re still dealing with the after effects of the attack, but we''re going to feel this for several more years before it''s done."


    "Do you require any aid? I may not be much help, but I am adept with my sword." Raikou offered in a show of concern.


    "I wouldn''t say no to any help. Gods above, we''re seeing an abnormal number of strays from dozens of different species and factions and they''re all causing trouble." Yasaka let out a sigh. "And our resources are....not very good right now. So it''s difficult to pay for outside assistance in dealing with these things since my own people are already running ragged."


    "Hey." I squeezed her hand again. "It''s not just Raikou. Tell me what you need and I''ll do it. I can get ahold of many things, even the most mundane, inrge quantities if needed. Or if you want me to bring my sword to bear against someone. I want to alleviate some of your burden."


    "You''re sweet." She smiled brightly. "Both of you." She turned towards Raikou. "Give me a couple days, let me see what''s the biggest priority and I''ll figure something out."


    "I heard thest bit of the conversation." Sc¨¢thach stepped over. "My spear will be avable if you require aid, as well." Sc¨¢thach offered.


    "I''m pretty good at Magic." Jinn spoke up. "I can also help move things back and forth if you need anything."


    "Rin and I were taking a break from exploring the Wilderness. I can offer whatever aid I''m able. I have my pride as a Knight, do not hesitate to call upon me." Artoria joined in.


    "I do not believe it is wise for me to show myself in any tant manner. But....I can call upon my followers if it''s merely resources you require." Meridia spoke up in a rare show of concern.


    Both her and Sc¨¢thach seemed to be really trying to build bridges here.


    "You all...." Yasaka looked like she was about to burst into tears. "Thank you, it''s been hard dealing with all these messes."


    I didn''t realize how hard she''s had it since then.....I needed to be more attentive in the future.


    Well, I have something to work towards now. Help Artoria and Mordred figure things out. Go visit Izzy in the next few days, and help Yasaka clean up the messes from the attack.


    "Shall we speak of the changes our shared interest has gone through, now?" Meridia spoke up.


    "Pardon?"


    "Do you think you could hide the changes to your existence from me?" She put her hands on her hips. "You are very different and have things you shouldn''t have. Now you will speak. Why do you possess divinity? And keep in mind that I am able to retrieve such information easily." She pointed towards the piece of fabric binding my hair. And I recalled that she did something to it so she could see what I''ve been up to.


    "I believe that is a wonderful idea." Artoria turned to look at me with a nk expression.


    "Divinity?" Yasaka also stared at me intently. "How could you possibly obtain divinity?"


    "I don''t understand either." Jinn muttered. "What could have happened for such a thing to happen?"


    "Yes, Wilhelm. Please regale us with the tale of how you acquired this." Meridia snorted.


    "Um....it''s a funny story actually." And Ipletely forgot I had to exin how I decided to fight a God to my significant others.


    "Do speak, I will fact check for them." Sc¨¢thach looked all too amused.


    "It''s not good to lie, Master." Raikou seemed to join in as well.


    "I me Zelretch."


    "No. Try again." Meridia immediately denied.


    "Crap, that usually works."


    ***


    Taking the intro a little bit slow for now, but things will begin picking up. And I feel like I need to rify, because too many people asked about this. On the interlude, when Akatosh took the spear, people kept saying I need to fix it because Wilhelm had the spear. Did yall miss the fact that Akatosh is the God of Time....I literally wrote about him messing with the time line like right before he retrieved it.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 226 - 216

    <h4>Chapter 226: Chapter 216</h4>


    A silence fell across the room as I finished my story.


    Yasaka was the newest one here in knowing what I got up to ¨C crossing World-Lines and all that. I think she was also the most surprised or horrified at what happened.


    To her, Susanoo was a nearly untouchable existence, and even one she peripherally worshipped, what with being a Miko for Amaterasu.


    "...Please don''t kill the Susanoo here." My fluffy fox finally spoke up.


    "I don''t have ns to." I reassured her.


    "Good." She nodded, still with a nk face. "And you can have fun exining everything to Izanami."


    ".....yeah." I sighed.


    "ept the consequences to your actions." Artoria said evenly. "I will not get upset with you for doing such things. But I will not allow you to skirt your responsibilities. As Meridia stated, your existence changed, and it will be difficult to hide that from her, so you best prepare appropriately."


    "I had no ns to. I was actually going to fully talk to her about everything." I stated.


    "I am pleased." Artoria smiled. "It''s difficult to find time between my responsibilities to go and see her again. I would not mind hering here when she desired as well."


    "You''re acquainted with her as well?" Raikou asked.


    "Indeed. Our first meeting was.....not quite ideal. But I would call her a friend at this point." Artoria exined. "I can understand your skepticism, but I support Yasaka and Will''s opinions in this matter. It would not be fair to judge her based on our home world''s depictions."


    "I understand. I suppose I do have some bias." Raikou acknowledged her own sentiments.


    "I am upset that you took the risk." Meridia still looked annoyed with me. "But I am also happy that you can further protect yourself." She crossed her arms with a little re. "I am conflicted. I wish you would first consult with me ¨C us on such things beforehand. But I can also understand that it was not possible to do so in your situation."


    Sc¨¢thach seemed to keep quiet, allowing the others to express their thoughts on the matter.


    "I don''t want to see you get hurt." Jinn said quietly. "It doesn''t sound like he was as strong as the Gods I''m familiar with, but please be careful."


    "Are your Gods strong,ss?" Sc¨¢thach perked up with a bit of interest. It was funny that Jinn still sort of epted the role of the ''younger'' one even when she was probably the second oldest here.


    "Mmm." Jinn nodded. "Using the terms of this world ¨C I think you could say they would be in the top 10? Though that''s just my spections, I couldn''t even really gauge their ''strength''. They were my creators and I didn''t even harbor any kind of motivations like that back then. But I do recall the scene of the God of Darkness sundering the Moon on a whim."


    Yeah, that''s something to think about. Though, the Moon on Remnant looked a tad smaller than what I was used to.


    "Impressive." Sc¨¢thach acknowledged.


    "I do not understand these kinds of rankings. How are they even measured?" Meridia scoffed at the notion.


    "Not everyone can smack stars out of the sky when they''re at their best." I pointed out. "So it''s easier to look at certain beings and gauge their power."


    Well, the corners of her lips curled up at my offhandedpliment. She seemed happy that I wasn''t putting her in the same category as these Gods.


    Kind of amusing that she''s so much stronger than them, yet at the same time, so much more restricted. This ''her'' that was here right now, it probably wouldn''t be able to fight any of the ''top 10'' strongest in this world without being dispersed. But this was just a small part of her, so it wasn''t a fair assessment to make.


    The real ''her'' would p around the ''top 10'' without any real issue.


    The pride of the strong I suppose.


    "That''s both a scary andforting thought." Yasaka said dryly. "Knowing that she''s so strong."


    "Yup, and she''s my woman." I said with clear pride.


    Meridia let out a huff. "You have no shame." She pursed her lips, trying to hide that little flush that seemed to always creep up.


    Teasing her is always fun.


    "You should solve any issues with Izanami soon." Yasaka spoke up again. "If nothing else, it would be wise to have her on your side in the event that one of the other Shinto Gods discovers your existence. I don''t wish to see the consequences if Lady Amaterasu sees you walking around."


    "Would she be able to deduce anything about him?" Artoria tilted her head with the question.


    "Most likely." Sc¨¢thach spoke up. "Divinity is something that is rather unique to ''feel''. It''s difficult for those who have not encountered it before to sense, but once you get ustomed to it, it bes rather noticeable to your senses."


    "It''s as she says." Raikou also added. "I was born with my Divinity, and I could tell those at a nce who also possessed a certain amount of it. It''s possible to hide such things, but if the one looking is a God, it''s unlikely for Divinity to remain hidden if they truly wish to inspect you."


    "I''m still getting a hang of mine." I scratched my head. "It''s a different ''power'' than I''m used to. The best I can do at the moment is suppress it so it''s not broadcasting everything for the world to see. If a God nced at me, I don''t think they''d immediately notice, but if they stopped for a second look it would be easily given away." A passing nce may not raise any suspicious, someone actually ''looking'' at me intently, yeah, I don''t think I could hide it.


    "My Patron would be sensitive to your...origin." Yasaka bit her lip.


    "I could leave if it''s inconvenient for you. I don''t want to ¨C "


    "Absolutely not." Yasaka cut me off. "I refuse your suggestion. You are someone important to me and I won''t allow some self-imposed exile for something that may not even ur." Almost to entuate her point, her tail found itself wrapped around me once more. "Don''t take my concerns to heart. I''m stressing over the worst case scenario and I don''t believe anything would truly happen. I haven''t even spoken to Lady Amaterasu in years so we need not worry."


    Her tone didn''t really leave any room for argument. I put my arms up in surrender. "Alright, I won''t bring it up again."


    "It''s good that you understand." She nodded happily. "Regardless, you should speak with Izanami as I have said."


    "I will, don''t worry. Even without this whole....mess. I wanted to catch up, she''s someone I care about too. I actually have several friends I wanted to visit since I wasn''t working on anything in particr for the foreseeable future. But I digress, is there anything you need immediately done to alleviate some pressure?"


    I should pop over to Remnant soon, see if some of the heat had died down. I''d admit to wanting to see Salem again, but I also wanted to see Miltia and Pyrrha as well among a few others I had a good impression of.


    Maybe Jinn would like to visit her home as well? Though it may be something of a sore spot for her, so I shouldn''t just assume.


    "I trust you to handle everything well." Yasaka smiled. "As for things I need done as soon as possible....I do have a few things."


    ***


    Spending time with everyone had been nice. I don''t know how hard it would be to get all my girls together at once in the future would be, so I had taken the opportunity to enjoy it while itsted.


    It was great that everyone seemed to get along. While I didn''t expect everyone to be best friends, my hope is that there wasn''t any unnecessary drama between them. But they''re all grown women, I don''t think they would start anything petty and or let any kind of negativity simmer.


    Kind of funny to think how I''m the youngest one out of all of them...


    Yasaka was ted at the offers of help. And I felt like absolute crap at not realizing earlier how many problems she was dealing with, everyone sort of went about their own business and separated.


    Sc¨¢thach had dragged off Raikou to go have a chat with a Mountain God that was causing issues around a few important mines. ording to Yasaka, it was kicking up a huge fuss and even causing the Mundane people to start asking questions.


    Something that could cause disturbances and possibly reveal things the greater Supernatural World didn''t want revealed? That took a very high priority as many other factions would get upset if they had to step in to conceal things on arge scale.


    Meridia of course went back to her world. Though she was apparently muttering about gathering some supplies and having it delivered. I knew she couldn''t stay long, so I was happy for any time she took toe and spend with us.


    Raw resources were probably at a premium for the Youkai at the moment. Even just mundane stuff to start rebuilding all their damaged city.


    It would take a couple days to truly know what was needed as Yasaka gathered everything together. She had only been working within the idea that she had to try and gather what she could while not bankrupting the faction. Knowing she could acquire things from different sources and such, it would take a little time to redo her ns.


    I couldn''t even begin to describe howplicated the process of running a Faction thisrge was. Hell, I thought lending a hand to the Yggdmillennia faction was going to be a pain in the ass in the long run. But she was keeping together this many forces under her heel and making sure it didn''t implode on itself while sustaining everything.


    Jinn went back to Skyrim to do something or other. She was a bit vague on the details and I didn''t want to pry as I thought she was doing something in secret to show me. Artoria of course apanied her as she felt it her duty to. Skyrim was a bit dangerous right now, and I guess I''m not the only one to worry.


    And just like that, I''m all alone again.


    But I at least had something to do.


    Walking through the streets of Kyoto was peaceful. Even though it was early in the morning still, people were up and about. Now that I think about it, I guess many Youkai would be nocturnal? An interesting thought that I wanted to ask Yasaka about in the future.


    It didn''t take long for me toe up on my desired destination.


    Walking up to the door, I knocked on it.


    I heard stomping, and some mild shouting as a familiar blonde opened up to greet me. "Oh, it''s you. Whad''ya what?"


    "Hey there Mo-chan!" I greeted.


    "...."


    She mmed the door in my face.


    I knocked again.


    She opened with a scowl.


    "Hey there Mo-Mo."


    "I will cut you." She threatened.


    "Moedred."


    "Death it is." She summoned her sword.


    "Oh stop being so melodramatic." I rolled my eyes with a grin. "How have you been, my dear son?"


    She let out a long sigh, dismissing her sword. "I learned with the flowery bastard not to react. He wanted a reaction, the best thing to do is to ignore it."


    "Something wrong?" I asked. "You seem to be in bad mood." I enjoy teasing Mordred, but not when she''s actually feeling like shit.


    "It''s nothin." She snorted. "What do you want?"


    "Just wanted to check up on you. If you''re not willing, I''ll get out of your hair." I didn''t want to talk about the heavy stuffy if she was upset about anything.


    "....I didn''t say you weren''t weed." She huffed.


    I couldn''t help but smile. "Your Master around?"


    "He''s sleeping off a hangover, we went drinkingst night." She stated. "They got surprisingly good booze here, but the old Necromancer''s a light weight." She shed a grin.


    Well, you are a Servant. I''m mostly guessing you just drank him under the table.


    "Wanna get breakfast then?"


    She perked up immediately, almost the same exact reaction that Artoria had. "Shit, if you''re paying."


    "Of course." I nodded.


    "Fuck yes." She did a little fist pump. "The Food in this ce is great."


    I think she meant this Era opposed to specifically ''here''.


    There was something pleasant about the genuineness behind everything Mordred did or said. Granted, she tried to hide her actual feelings sometimes, but if she''s pissed off, she lets you know. If she''s excited about something, it''s inly obvious.


    "Wanted to talk to you about some things too." I stated.


    "Yeah, what?" She slipped on that red jacket I saw her wearing previously before closing the door behind her and walking down the street with me. "I aint causeing any issues."


    "No, it''s nothing like that." I waived off her concerns. "I Just got back from seeing Artoria."


    There was a strange look that shed across her face before she settled down. "How''s Father?"


    "Artoria''s doing well. She just met Sc¨¢thach and Raikou for the first time, and it looks like they''re getting along."


    Mordred let out a snort. "Surprised the Cow didn''t do anything."


    "Her Mad Enhancement is gone, so it shouldn''t be an issue anything." I chose to ignore what she called Raikou. Honestly, it didn''t really feel as ''insulting'' as it seemed on the surface. "But I digress. Artoria is around now, back from the world she was in and is taking a little break. I spoke to her about you and she''s on board for meeting up when it''s convenient."


    "Really? Father wants to see me?" She asked quietly.


    Ah, she was still having doubts.


    "Yup." I nodded. "There still some stuff going on, but I guess you can expect to hear from her sometime soonish." While I wouldn''t get ''in between'' them while they try to settled the issues they had, I felt like it was okay for me to do this much. I always worried about overstepping certain boundaries, but I was just making sure Mordred was kept abreast of the situation.


    "Thanks...." She mumbled. "For everything...letting mee here and helping with Father."


    "It''s entirely likely that Artoria and I will take the next step in our rtionship at some point down the road." I nced at her. "So to say you''re family, it wouldn''t be wrong. I do want to get along with you, Mordred. And I want to make sure you''re happy just as Artoria is."


    Well, I don''t think she knew how to react to what I just said. She looked surprised and unsure of herself, which was a little amusing to see.


    "...thanks." She managed to whisper before ducking her head.


    The rest of the walk was in pleasant silence.


    ***


    Been dealing with some personal stuff all day, so chapter was dyed. Entirely possible this extends into tomorrow and I won''t get the chance to write anything.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 227 - 217

    <h4>Chapter 227: Chapter 217</h4>


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka perked up, looking at me from behind her desk. There were stacks of paper all about in an almostical way as she went through documents and reports.


    It was the first time I''d been in her office. "I was going to ask if you were busy."


    "Did the stacks of paper tip you off?" She snorted with augh, almost deprecating in nature. She let out a sigh, setting her pen down. "This is actually a good day."


    "Really, this is a good day?" I blinked in surprise as I took a seat.


    "Atleast I don''t have to deal with a court setting today." She waived it off. "I''d much rather deal with themining on official documents than hear whining in person. I swear, it''s like they don''t realize EVERYONE had been hit hard in the attack." She groaned,ying her head on the desk. "Something happen?" She asked, her head stillid down as she stared at me.


    "No, why?"


    "I didn''t expect you toe by and see me so soon. Maybe when I went to go pick up Kunou from school." She replied, lifting her head up and propped it up with her arm. "Not that I''mining." She finished with a smile.


    "There''s no issue, I just wanted to see you." I returned the smile. "I did see Mordred and we had breakfast together. It was nice."


    "That''s sweet." Yasaka cooed. "I hope Artoria and her can settle everything."


    "Did she talk to you?"


    "Yes, we spoke a bit. She told me of her origins. Though, I had suspected as much with all the clues I had been given as well as what you get up to." She shook her head with augh. "First Minamoto-no-Raikou, and now Arthur Pendragon. Is it strange that your world''s version of these figures are female, or is it my world strange that they''re male?"


    Huh, I never thought of it that way. I shrugged, not dwelling on it too much. "History recorded them as male in our world as well, so probably my world." Iugh. "Besides, you forgot to mention Mordred."


    "That doesn''t count. Mordred apparently likes male pronouns so it''s not weird that specific historical fact was muddled."


    "Honestly, I don''t know if she does or not and just went with it because she was told to. I''ve been using female pronouns and she hasn''t really gotten upset. I think it''s more the intent than anything." Though, I should probably ask her at some point. It would be the polite thing to do.


    "Oh." Yasaka suddenly shot up straight. "Before I forget...." She started rummaging through the drawers on her desk. "Ah, here it is." She presented an envelope with a noble-like insignia stamped over wax.


    "I...." I didn''t really know what to say as I epted it. "Is this what I think it is?"


    "Yes, the Gremory Family Insignia. I doubt anyone would actually pretend to be them and do this." Yasaka replied.


    "Interesting." I looked it over. "So, where do you shred things at? Or should I just turn it into ash?"


    "I won''t tell you what to do with it." She stated. "But you should hear everything that apanied it before you make your decision."


    I let out a sigh. "Fine, let me hear it."


    "The person who dropped it off was very specific that it was at the behest of Venna Gremory or rather Lady Gremory." Yasaka said calmly. "They were waiting outside the gate for hours until I got back and they were very polite with their approach."


    "My..... Grandmother." I pursed my lips. "I admit I haven''t given her any real thought since she was mentioned by Okita Souji."


    "You''re under no obligation to respond, nor even read it. If you want to discard it and never mention it again, I''ll happily go along with it."


    "No love for Devils?"


    "I don''t think any faction in the world actually likes them." She deadpanned. "Unfortunately, they seem to have a stranglehold on certain products and technologies that make it so we have to interact with them in some capacity."


    "Products? Remind me again which ones are so important?" I knew a lot of things, but I wasn''t omnipotent.


    "Well, I could list certain technologies, hell , I use the Devi more than I should. But if we''re talking about strategic resources, Phoenix Tears are something that''s hard toe by, off the top of my head."


    "Ah, I recall those. Something about requiring a ritual for the Phenex family member to shed a tear and what-not. It''s supposed to have some insane healing properties, but doesn''t do much for missing limbs."


    "That''s more or less correct. It also helps with diseases as well."


    "It''s impressive and all.....but are healing magics and potions/regents really in short supply here?"


    "Short supply? I can''t say they''re short, but mostly faction specific. Good healing is hard toe by unless you''re part of the Heaven faction or important in some Pantheon. To us ''mortals'' and such, finding someone proficient in healing that can do something close to the ability of a Phoenix Tear is difficult. We of course have many in our number, butpared to our entire poption, it''s only a small fraction. Most ''Holy'' type healing-based magics are notpatible with Youkai due to our origins. While we don''t suffer the same bacsh for such things from true ''Sinful'' species like devils, it''s still less than desirable."


    "Hmm, that''s something I can help with."


    "Really?" She blinked. "If you could supply arge amount of healing supplies, it would be very beneficial. We would have to stop paying outrageous amounts for the small amount of Phoenix Tears we can get our hands on. If they can be used in the middle of a battle, they would be worth their weight in gold."


    Ah, I seem to understand. It''s not that healing is unheard of. It''s that most ''healing'' is notpatible with every species around and it''s almost like a magic doctor, not a consumable like a Healing Potion. I guess it isn''t so surprising, I can''tpare the modern world to somewhere like Tamriel. Tamriel hadn''t been.....polluted so to speak like Earth had and as such hadn''t lost the majority of its magical nature on the surface. And Phoenix Tears apparently don''t discriminate at all, making them even more valuable even ignoring the strength of their healing.


    "Yeah, I can see why Phenex Tears are so valuable after giving it a bit of thought."


    "They''re no Apples from Idun''s Tree, or Peaches of Immortality, but they''re probably the best us ''mortals'' can get our hands on." She sighed.


    I took a Healing Potion out of my Ring and set it on the table. "I have somethings going on that should begin a steady supply of these. They''re fairly decent healing items ¨C aptly named healing potions. The Ingredientse from Meridia''s world, but I also have some people under me starting research on growing them from where Mordred and co came from."


    "Interesting." She picked it up, examining the bottle. She didn''t even hesitate to pop it open and take a drink. She paused for a moment, deep in thought. "Hmm, I felt a warmness wash over me. I''ve used a Phoenix Tears before, and this is much lower than one but if they''re mass producible..."


    "They are, to an extent obviously. I would offer to go buy uprge quantities in Skyrim, but they''re currently having their own difficulties and supplies are hard toe by."


    "No, this is fine as is. It''s not an emergency but something to look forward to down the line. It would free up a lot of money and resources on our end from having to oursource." She set the Healing Potion down. "Oh, that''s a surprise." She mumbled. "It doesn''t seem to overdraw the bodies'' vitality like most Senjutsu healing does."


    "There are other things, I''ll give you a list of sorts when I start up production on my end."


    "You''re so good to me." She smiled. "And the others already are doing things. Sc¨¢thach and Raikou went to deal with the biggest pain right now. I don''t know what I''d have done without you all."


    I flicked the Letter in my hand into my ring for now, deciding to think about it moreter. "It''s not like you haven''t helped us either. epting my requests without a second thought, and even helping get everyone settled."


    "That''s nowhere near the same." She huffed. "I just had to snap my fingers to make that happen."


    "Yeah, and how easy do you think it is for Sc¨¢thach and Raikou to handle a ''Mountain God''." I snorted. "Hell, Sc¨¢thach will probably have fun doing it."


    She blinked. "That''s a fair point. She looked rather excited when I mentioned it."


    "She''s a bit of a sadist."


    "And she''s also in your harem."


    "Yup."


    "Hmm, should I be made aware of certain.... interests of yours~" She said with a little smirk.


    "If you want to start ''talking'' about my ''interests'' then you''re not going to get any work done." I didn''t back down from her teasing. I guess I already epted her as someone important to me, so it didn''t really feel off anymore.


    She let out a groan, head dropping to her desk again. "This stupid paperwork." She let out an uncharacteristic whine. Atleast, I don''t think she''d show this side of herself to her subordinates.


    She really is cute.


    I picked up my chair and moved it around her desk, sitting next to her. "Alright, let me help."


    "Really?" She perked up.


    "Of course, I''ll help you get this done quicker and we can go pick up our Daughter together." Kunou was still at school, so we should have time to knock this out.


    She looked at me, then at the stacks of paper and happily pushed about half of it in my direction. "If you don''t think you can do anything with the documents, put them in a separate pile, I''ll look them overter."


    "Okay." I nodded, taking a pen. I paused for a moment. "So, a random thought."


    "Hmm?"


    "Is it weird that I sort of expected you to be using a traditional brush?"


    "Do you think we''re that backwards?"


    "Well, no. But its'' just...."


    "I''m messing with you. We actually used them when Pens first came around then I nipped that in the butt right away. Had some elders kick up a fuss about it too, spouting all that nonsense about ''tradition''."


    "Oh, what happened?"


    "We don''t talk about them anymore."


    ***


    "I think you''re doing this on purpose." I stated.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about." Yasaka hummed, holding my arm with her Tail wrapped around me in the way I''vee to enjoy.


    "I''m notining, mind you. But you''re definitely doing this on purpose."


    "Am I not allowed to be affectionate with the father of my daughter?" Yasaka grinned.


    I grumbled but didn''t dwell on it any longer.


    She was definitely doing this on purpose.


    We were talking the ''long way'' towards Kunou''s school, as in walking through a very popted part of the city. It was actually very roundabout and added probably an extra twenty minutes to reach our destination.


    People were watching us very intently. Yasaka was a very well known figure to all of them. To call her a celebrity wouldn''t be wrong either. While I''d been on the inte here, there were plenty of forums and websites dedicated to Yasaka.....and not entirely in a wholesome way.


    So, yeah. People were watching us, taking pictures and such. Even her Guards were keeping their distance, making this look like a romantic outing.....which it was.


    And not that our rtionship wasn''t kind of known already, but it hadn''t been made this tantly public before.


    "I just want everyone to know that you''re my man." She said sweetly.


    "I suppose it doesn''t hurt that it also distracts people. Gives them something to talk about other than the attack and the subsequent mess that''s still being dealt with." Weaponizing celebrity gossip.


    "Yes, it''s quite the coincidence~"


    "You''re lucky you''re so fluffy." I ran a hand through her fluffy tail.


    I honestly didn''t mind. I actually liked that everyone knew that Yasaka was now mine. The possessive side of me reared its head.


    "You know, most men would be obsessed with other parts of my body." She visibly bounced her chest, drawing me eyes with a smirk. "Yet you can''t ever resist it when my Tails are within reach."


    "Should I give ''other parts'' of you equal amounts of attention then?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Don''t make promises you can''t keep." Another of her tails wagged in my face.


    I reached for it and she moved it away with a little giggle.


    "Just wait until we''re alone." I hummed.


    "Oh my, I fear for my chastity." She continued to tease. "This old Fox will bepletely at your mercy~"


    If we weren''t in public.....


    "Yeah, yeah." I grumbled at her flirtations. She knew I couldn''t do anything at the moment. Regardless, we finally made it to the school. It looked like the defenses had been further enhanced since thest time I''d been here.


    Well, I was already registered here, so it didn''t really matter.


    As soon as we stepped inside though, I expected a little fox toe bolting towards us. And, well, that''s exactly what happened, but I was expecting my Kunou, not a literal fox running on four legs.


    The little fox made some yips as it ran at high speeds and jumped towards me, but Yasaka plucked it from the air, holding it up by the scruff of its neck, bringing it to her eye level.


    "Kunou." She said sternly. "What have I told you about transforming without supervision?"


    With a puff of smoke, the little fox turned into my daughter. "Um....it was an ident..?" She said hesitantly.


    "And now you''re lying to me." Yasaka still held her by her cor. "That''s two strikes. You know what happens on the third."


    "I''m sorry." She said quietly.


    "Sorry for what?"


    "Lying.."


    "And?"


    "Transforming?"


    Yasaka snorted, setting Kunou down. "We''ll be having a talk when we get back home, youngdy." Yasaka didn''t waver in her tone. "But go say hi to your daddy."


    Kunou immediately perked up and turned to hug me. "Daddy." She said happily, almostpletely forgetting the little scolding she just got.


    "My little fox." I wrapped her up. I nced up to Yasaka who looked exasperated and couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "So well behaved when daddy is around, isn''t she." Yasaka snorted again.


    Well, we''re a team here, I should help out too. "Kunou, sweetie." I broke away, looking into her eyes. "Remember what we talked about before?"


    "....yes."


    "So why didn''t you listen to your mom?"


    "I just wanted to show you." Her ears ttened on her head.


    Even Yasaka softened her expression at that.


    "I was certainly surprised." I pat her head. "But you know your mom told you no for a reason, right?"


    I looked up at Yasaka, not knowing the reason, but she must have had one.


    "We went over this, sweetie. Remember you just started learning how to transform properly, and you still get stuck sometimes. If neither I nor your teacher is around, it could be dangerous." Yasaka knelt down next to me. "I''ll make you a deal. If you can go through your next 5 lessons without any problems, I will let you do it whenever you want ¨C provided that it isn''t causing problems."


    "Really?" Kunou perked up excitedly.


    "But you''re still going to be in trouble for lying to me this time." Yasaka returned to her stern tone.


    "I''m sorry momma." She replied.


    "Good. I ept your apology." Yasaka nodded happily. Before turning back to me. "You see what I have to deal with here? This little bundle of furr that can''t sit still and always gets in trouble."


    "Mooom, I don''t always get in trouble!" She pouted indignantly. "Can I show daddy my Fox form again?"


    Yasaka let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, you can show your daddy."


    Immediately, Kunou transformed, a puff of smoke surrounding a little Nine-Tailed fox, looking up at me and yipping.


    I couldn''t help but pick her up as her little legs wiggled in my arms. "This is ridiculously cute, I''m having trouble wanting to let go."


    "Yes, that''s how she ropes you in, the cuteness. Next thing you know, she''s stealing snacks from the kitchen and hiding them in her room." Yasaka eyed her daughter.


    I rubbed her head and she made some very happy noises.


    This was my daughter, and I''m okay with this.


    "So why can''t she transform? I can''t im to be overly familiar with your species. But shouldn''t it be something thates natural?"


    "In normal situations, yes." Yasaka nodded. "But Kunou is slightly different. Are you aware that the first child of every Nine-Tailed Fox will also be a Nine-Tailed Fox?"


    "I....think I heard that before? It sounds familiar." I admitted.


    "Yes, well. It mostly doesn''t matter what race, our first child will always be a Nine-Tailed Fox. I say mostly, because there exceptions, like in the case of Deities or maybe dragons. Something that can overpower our bloodlines."


    "I get what you''re saying." I continued to nod along.


    "My mother was a Nine-Tailed fox, and my father was a One-Tailed that she fell in love with. Such, I am fully Kitsune. Kunou''s father was a human, so even if she is still a full fledged Nine-Tailed Fox, her origin is partly that of a normal human." Yasaka reached over, scratching behind Kunou''s little ears. "That doesn''t mean anything is wrong, she simply has a little bit of troubleing into her bloodline. It wille, but it''s not as instinctual as it was for me. She''s not the first one over the centuries, so we do have some knowledge on this stuff."


    "So she was having trouble changing into her fox form?" We began walking back home.


    "The first few times she couldn''t change back and she got so excited that she ran around, got lost, and we couldn''t find her." Yasaka let out augh. "It was the most ridiculous series of events. But eventually it got settled, but we''ve been making sure she''s had an eye on her when practicing."


    "Will she get as big as you?" I asked.


    "Are you calling me fat?" She grinned a little, her teasing natureing out.


    "Oh, stop you evil woman." I nudged her. "That is andmine I will never step on."


    Sheughed. "Kunou should get around my size. It also depends on how far she takes her training with Senjutsu and Touki. But I''m surprised, have you seen my full form?"


    "I have." I nodded, picking up Kunou. "Sweetie, you wanna y with Sir Wiggles?"


    She yipped, nodding at me happily.


    I reached into my ring and into my hat to take out my littlepanion. Sir Wiggles hopped out with a small burst of lightning, and I immediately noticed something different about him.


    Though he happily started ying with Kunou so I would deal with itter.


    "But yeah, I saw it before. When I first came to Kyoto, you were stomping on some people."


    "Oh, I remember now. Some idiots thought just flooding me with the weakest trash they could find would be a good strategy. So, I just transformed and stepped on them."


    "Well, I guess that''s one way to go about it."


    "Don''t worry." She brushed up against me, whispering in my ear. "You''re the only one I''ll step on for now on~"


    I resisted the urge to face palm. "Jinn told you, didn''t she?"


    Yasaka began tough. "She does love to share some interesting stories."


    "Well, someone''s going to get a spanking." Though she''ll probably enjoy it.


    "I''m sure that isn''t the only thing her cute little butt is going to get, is it?"


    "Oh jeez, she told you that too!?" I was a little surprised by that.


    "That girl of yours has absolutely no shame." Yasaka smiled. "I look forward to when I get my turn~"


    Well, she had the full extent of Remnant''s inte in her head.....I can''t really me her there.


    With a shake of my head, I reached for Yasaka''s hand, taking it into mine. Her tail quickly found my waist again, wrapping me up. Kunou and Sir Wiggles continued to run around and y as we walked back home.


    ***


    My eyes slowly opened as I felt something tickling my nose. A furry appendage rubbed against my face and I took a moment to remember where I was.


    A bed that wasn''t mine, and a partially nude Fox clinging to me.


    I couldn''t help but run a hand through her closest tail.


    "Mmm, lower." She mumbled.


    I raised an eyebrow as I let go of her tail, my hand trailing down her leg. I gave her butt a little squeeze, admiring the softness in my hand.


    I stayed over with themst night, and was about to head home, but Yasaka convinced me to stay for the night. We didn''t really do anything beyond some kissing and cuddling, but it was still nice.


    "You can y with my tits too if you want." Yasaka turned over, giving me a smirk while my hand was still ying with her rear.


    "Tempting." I snorted, looking at her chest that only had a thing white shirt covering them. "Hmm." I hummed out loud.


    "Am I really going to have to convince you to touch my chest? What strange world have I woken up into?"


    I rolled over, and pushed my face right between thoserge mounds, wrapping my arms around her. "The perfect pillow."


    "You are ridiculous." She giggled, running a hand through my hair. "Did you sleep well?"


    "I always sleep good when I''m with someone I care about." I looked up at her. And It was true, I''ve found I slept best with one of my girls in my arms.


    "You''re wee here anytime." She smiled brightly. "I don''t expect to have you in my bed every night...but I hope you don''t forget about me."


    "I''m trying to make sure I give everyone enough attention." I reassured her. "I don''t want any of you to feel neglected."


    "You''re sweet." She said softly. "I was hesitant to get involved in a harem early on. I joked about it, but I''ve seen enough harems implode over the years and I didn''t want my daughter having to see something like that. And I didn''t wish to have to experience it myself."


    "I didn''t set out to make a harem. To be honest, it just kind of happened." I admitted. "Why did you change your mind?"


    "I''ve said it before. The way you handled Kunou, how happy she was with you around. I thought it was a risk worth taking." She exined. "And you have been nothing short of wonderful. To both myself and Kunou, you do your best when you''re with us. And your other women, they are great as well. I have noints about how I ended up." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I didn''t realize how much I missed having a partner until you became a part of our lives. To have someone to lean on again."


    "Being a Dad is strange, but equally something I never knew I wanted." I let out a long breath. "Seeing Kunou look at me like that, it really brings up certain things that are hard to describe."


    "You''ve been doing a wonderful job." She replied. "And she actually listens to you."


    "Give it time, she''ll start being just as feisty with me as she is with you."


    "Is that supposed tofort me?"


    "No, but I will~" I leaned up, giving her a quick kiss, earning that enchanting giggle from her.


    "As much as I''d love to beforted some more, Kunou is probably eating her weight in unhealthy breakfast right now." Yasaka leaned in, pressing her lips against mine briefly herself.


    I rolled off her. "I always hate getting up." I groaned.


    "Tell me about it." She sighed, slowly rising out of the bed. I admired her body again as she was wearing but a pair of purple panties and a tight white t-shirt. Her tails swayed lightly from side to side as she started going for her dresser before taking out a robe and wrapping it around herself.


    I followed suit, taking something appropriate out of my ring to dress in. Some shorts and a random shirt to be somewhat presentable.


    We walked out of the bedroom, towards the kitchen where Kunou was sitting at the table, a bow of cereal infront of her.


    "How many bowls have you had, Kunou?"


    "Um.....?" She stopped, then quickly took a spoonful and stuffed it in her mouth. "Mmmmmphh"


    "Uh huh." Yasaka deadpanned, reaching for the box infront of the little fox. "Funny, I just bought this for you a day ago and it''s empty."


    I put a hand on Kunou''s head. "Sweetie, you should know better."


    Her ears went t again.


    "No cereal for the next week." Yasaka stated with a sigh. "She begged me to get this for her after seeing it on TV."


    "What is this....?" I picked up the box. "Super Satan Rangers.....really?" I blinked at it.


    "Kunou....loves it." Yasaka said dryly.


    I opened my mouth then closed it. "I feel like my childhood is ruined." I loved Super Sentai as a kid, I mean, who didn''t? The English version obviously being Power Rangers, which this crap totally ripped off. "What is it even about?"


    "Some Devil propaganda with Heaven sending down some ''Monster'' or something and the Satans dealing with it like how you would expect based on its name." Yasaka started rummaging through the fridge.


    "I''m morbidly curious now..."


    "We can watch it together!" Kunou quickly said. "I''ll show you all my favorite episodes."


    Well, guess I''m stuck with this now.


    "I''d love to do that with you." I smiled towards her. Even if I had no desire to actually watch this.....it was something she wanted. "But I have some things I have to go take care of today."


    "You''re going?" Kunou pouted.


    "Not leaving, just running some errands. I''m not leaving Kyoto." I reassured her. I didn''t want her to think I was ''going away'' again. "I''ll be nearby helping your auntie Artoria with some problems she''s had."


    "Is she okay?" Kunou asked.


    "She''s okay. But she has some things she needs to work out with her son."


    "Auntie Artoria has a son?" Kunou seemed surprised.


    "Yup, and I hope you can meet them soon." I patted her head again. If all goes well that is.


    Yasaka walked up, tail rubbing against my arm. "Thank you for staying around for so long."


    "You never have to thank me for something like that." I replied. "I''ll always make time for you both."


    "You promise toe back soon?" Kunou tugged on my sleeve.


    "I super promise." I knelt down next to her. "Would you like Sir Wiggles to stay here with you?"


    "Yes!" Kunou immediately agreed.


    With augh I took him out, letting Kunou hug him happily. Sir Wiggles definitely had a good impression of her if the feelings from the link between us were urate.


    "Okay, but you have to promise to be good for your mom."


    "I promise." She nodded.


    "Good girl." I rubbed her head again, standing up a momentter.


    "Yes, lets see how long thatsts." Yasaka let out augh. "Do I get a proper goodbye?"


    I took a step forward, my hand cupping her cheek before I moved closer in. Our lips met as she leaned a little more into it, deepening the kiss.


    "I''ll see you soon." Yasaka spoke as we separated.


    "Be back soon." I nodded at her before turning away. I didn''t want to leave, but I did have things to take care of. With a waive of my hand, I opened up a portal left.


    ***


    "Schweinorg." I recognized Rin''s voice, turning towards her sitting down in char at the kitchen table.


    "Hey Rin, it feels like it''s been forever."


    "God, I know." She agreed.


    "Wilhelm" Artoria, sitting across from her smiled at me happily.


    "Artoria." I couldn''t help but smile back. "You''re back?"


    "Yes, Jinn is in her workshop and we finished everything we needed to dost night." Artoria replied. "Did you spend the night at Yasaka''s estate?" She asked, not really in an usatory way, but more in simple curiosity.


    "I did." I didn''t hide it. "Raikou and Sc¨¢thach back?"


    "Yes, they have both imed rooms upstairs and I have not seen them since they retired for the evening. They returned ratherte, so I assume they will still be resting."


    "Oh well, let them sleep in." No idea what they did, but they certainly deserve a nice rest. I turned towards Rin again. "So how''s it been?"


    "Meh." Rin sighed. "Still kinda exhausted."


    "Really? It couldn''t have been that bad traveling Skyrim?"


    "No, no." She waived me off. "But I used a spell to push away my fatigue and tiredness for...too long and it''s caught up with me."


    "How many days in a row did you use it?" I blinked.


    "Four days." Artoria answered. "Against my wishes, she continued to push herself."


    "We were doing important work!"


    "We were acquiring treasure from tombs filled with undead and monsters."


    "Important work." Rin stated.


    "Very important work." I nodded.


    "See?" Rin eximed. "Important work."


    "You both." Artoria sighed. "I never understood the obsession with material wealth."


    "Sorry, the woman who had multiple Divine Weapons and a literal kingdom says what?"


    "Right!?" Rin snorted.


    "Well....that''s not quite the same..." Artoria stumbled.


    "Uh huh."


    "I call bullshit."


    "Besides." I continued. "I''m a Devil and part Dragon, being greedy is part of my nature."


    "I feel like that''s an excuse you''ll use whenever it''s convenient." Rin deadpanned.


    "You have good instincts." I offered no argument. I walked over, giving Artoria a quick kiss on the cheek, earning a happy little noise from her. "You pick up any new tricks while in Skyrim, Rin?"


    "Yeah, they have an interesting system of Magecraft. I added a few things to my Jewelcraft arsenal and some of their own spells." Rin replied. "Now that resources aren''t much of an issue, I''ve been able to experiment a bit more to push my craft forward."


    "I''m d." I smiled. "How about any progress on your Kaleidoscope studies?"


    "Meh, had some ideas, but I need to test them out. Seeing what you did with the house and the doorway gave me some inspiration." Rin saidzily.


    "And you need to take out Ruby for those."


    "Yeah, that." She sighed.


    "Well, I''d love to hear some of the stories from your adventures at some point."


    "Yeah, sure." She yawned. "When I''m not so tired. I only got up to help with the thing..."


    "I appreciate it, Rin." Artoria stated.


    "Of course." She puffed up proudly.


    "Speaking of, how do you want to do this?" I asked.


    "I have resolved myself." Artoria said firmly. "I will meet with Mordred and we will discuss the problems between us."


    "....don''t make it sound like you''re getting ready for battle."


    Artoria immediately sort of deted. "I....do not wish toe off that way. Mayhaps I should approach it from a different angle?"


    "Artoria." I reached forward, taking her hand. "You just need to be yourself. Meet Mordred as the woman you are now, let her see you fully without all the burdens you shouldered previously."


    "I....will take your advice." She seemed to ept my words. "I am just...nervous."


    "Yeah, I would be too. But you''re fine, we''re here with you." Rin reassured her.


    "Indeed." Artoria smiled at that. "I have nothing to fear, so I will not hesitate. Wilhelm, would you please send a message to Mordred for a time today and perhaps a location where we can have a conversation where he will not feel bothered?"


    "I''ll head over now." I nodded towards her. I was d that this was finally happening. They both needed to get some closure and move on in this ''second'' life of theirs. Even if they never saw each other gain, it would be best if they had a proper talk.


    ***


    Long chapter today, want to get through some things without dragging it over several chapters. Also, sorry for missing yesterday, had to deal with some personal stuff that left me mentally drained. On a side note -- 600k words, woo! Another milestone.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 228 - 218

    <h4>Chapter 228: Chapter 218</h4>


    I finished getting ready, making sure I was presentable. I didn''t change much of my usual wardrobe as I believe I already dressed above a certain degree on most asions. I adjusted my tie and made sure there were no wrinkles anywhere.


    While I knew this wasn''t a situation that demanded such high levels of preparation, at the same time, it would be the first time that really Mordred saw me as Artoria''s significant other.


    I wanted to look good in that light.


    Running a hand through my hair, I made sure everything was fine onest time before heading downstairs.


    "How long does it take you to get ready?" Rin nced at me as I walked down the stairs.


    "Perfection can''t be rushed." I shot a smirk towards her.


    Rin snorted in response. "God you''re so full of yourself. I''m surprised you can even walk straight with how big your head is."


    "Sounds like jealously~" Iughed, earning an eyeroll from her.


    There was no actual hostility here. At this point, we usually bickered mindlessly about random things.


    "Wilhelm." Artoria smiled towards me.


    I walked up, taking her hand. "You look absolutely stunning."


    "I look no different than normal?" She looked confused.


    "Imagine that." I winked towards her, enjoying it as she turned a little red as she realized what I meant.


    "Blehhhh." Rin exaggeratedly gagged.


    I couldn''t help butugh.


    "Thank you." Artoria regained a normal expression.


    "Of course." I brought her hand up to kiss it. She was probably stressed so I wanted to lighten the mood a little bit. I guess she saw through my intentions easily enough. "You good?"


    "I am prepared as well as I am going to be." She nodded.


    It sounded a little morbid, that she was resolving herself for something horrible. But,ing from someone who also had unresolved issues, I could understand her sentiments. To others, it may seem like a silly thing, but she''s probably feeling a lot of pressure right now.


    "You''re fine. It''s all going to be okay." I squeezed her hand a little bit. "Both Rin and I are here." Rin was probably a better pir of support than I was at the moment. They had known each other longer and faced many life or death situations together. Calling them best friends might be too weak a term to use.


    "He''s right." Rin spoke up. "It''s not a big deal. We''ve dealt with worse situations before."


    "You are correct." Artoria nodded, easing up a little bit. "Mayhaps I am just continuing to over think it. I am....happy to finally confront this. I do not wish for it to continue being a thorn in my heart."


    "Well said." I swung her arm up, earning a little noise from her. "You ready to go?"


    "Y-yes, let us depart. I do not wish to bete after everything." Artoria nodded, recovering quickly.


    Without another word, Artoria lead us out the door with a look of confidence on her face.


    ***


    "This is the ce you have chosen?" Artoria looked at it then at me.


    "I kinda know the owner. It''s where Izzy and I first met. He knows how to keep things to himself." I exined. Technically, it was a bit more than just, keeping his mouth shut. Izzy supported the ce, and there were certain....restrictions that he had to adhere to that were backed by her power. It was simply.....a bar, but it wasn''t the worst ce to meet up. And It would be more to Mordred''s liking if I were being honest.


    And the owner was obviously aware of Izzy. And he knew my face and knew I was friends with her, so I was confident based on everything I knew at this point. I''m pretty private person most of the time, so it should speak to my willingness to do this here.


    "Very well. I appreciate the concern over privacy." Artoria nodded in approval.


    Pushing the door open, she stopped after taking a few steps inside. Rin and I immediately followed as Artoria and Mordred locked eyes.


    There was....an instant hostility. I don''t even think it was conscious on either part of them. Maybe something more ingrained on their Saint Graphs as they had each killed the other. The same way a Dragon would react to an Anti-Dragon weapon.


    Mordred sat down with her Master next to her. Kairi seemed almost...protective? If that was the right word to use. I couldn''t admit to knowing the depths of their rtionship beyond the obvious, but I assume they had some kind of closeness due to the bond they shared.


    "Mordred." Artoria finally spoke up, seemingly taking a lot of effort on her part.


    "....Father." Mordred answered just as awkwardly.


    Well, they didn''t start swinging swords, so I''d say this was a good start!


    I gently ced a hand on Artoria''s shoulder to break her from her stupor. She tensed ever so slightly, but began moving towards the seat opposite of Mordred and Kairi. Both Rin and I nked her on both sides, sliding into our own seats.


    There was an awkward silence that followed. But it seemed that Artoria took the initiative. "I heard that you fought well in your Grail War." It was probably an easy subject to breach with.


    Mordred actually perked up a little. "Yeah, I beat several Servants all by myself."


    "I see...well done." Artoria didn''t know how to respond again.


    I shared a look with Kairi who also felt stifled under the awkward atmosphere.


    "It''s weird seeing you without your armor." Mordred final spoke again.


    Artoria tilted her head. "I no longer need to hide myself. Rin has helped me find clothing I enjoy wearing." She paused and blinked. "Ah, I forgot to do introductions." She turned towards Rin. "This is Rin, my Master."


    "Hello, I''m Rin Tohsaka. I summoned Saber during my own War. I''m also a student of Zelretch." Rin did a polite greeting.


    "Haven''t heard the Tohsaka name in awhile." Kairi decided to respond. "Kairi Sisigou, also the Master. I''m just a frencer with no important background."


    "I''ve heard of you. A lot of Magi say that you usually do good work and get things done well." Rin stated.


    "Hoh, those old stuffy people think so highly of me?" Kairi looked amused.


    Rin shrugged. "Well, they aren''t that nice about it."


    Kairi snorted. "Sounds about right."


    "Should I introduce myself." I raised my hand.


    "Screw off Schweinorg." Rin immediately denied me.


    "Heh." Mordred let out a smallugh at her dismissal. "Has anyone here not heard of you prancing around yet?"


    I decided to ignore them. "I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. I have several titles, but at this particr moment, I''m Artoria''s boyfriend." I slowly reached out for her hand, she didn''t deny me, her hand squeezing mine a little.


    There was just the tiniest hint of red on her cheeks. Probably dering this infront of Mordred made her get a bit flustered.


    "So you weren''t lying, huh?" Mordred''s blunt words rang out.


    "No. We have been in a rtionship for a bit now." Artoria decided to respond.


    "How''d that happen? He doesn''t seem like the type. Acts too much like the flowery bastard." Mordred asked.


    I guess it was an easier subject to broach for both of them.


    Artoria actually smiled. "Yes, he does remind me of Merlin sometimes. But he is also kind and treats me very well. His sincerity is what won me over when we met."


    "Should I take it as apliment that I''mpared to Merlin?" I questioned.


    "No."


    "Fuck no."


    They both answered almost immediately, sharing an amused look before going silent again.


    Mordred began tapping on the table as the silence took hold again.


    "Do you ¨C" Artoria began to speak but was cut off."


    "Why?" Mordred finally asked with a heated look on her face.


    "Pardon?" Artoria looked confused.


    "Why didn''t you ept me?"


    "I ¨C"


    "Is it because who my mother is?" Mordred looked down at the table. "Was I not good enough for you?"


    Artoria took a deep breath. "The circumstances of your birth.....they are memories that haunt me. I did not wish for you to be born, you were a product of Morgan''s schemes."


    "Is that why you ¨C"


    "Mordred." Artoria said sternly. "Please allow me to finish." She stated, waiting for Mordred to respond but with no response she continued. "I do not me you for Morgan''s machinations. Mayhaps at the time....I failed to see beyond that."


    "Is that why you said I wasn''t worthy of being king?" Mordred asked, her voice quiet.


    Artoria took a deep breath to settle herself. "I thought I knew everything I needed to for ruling. During my life, I thought I was the only one who could take the true path to elevate Camelot into what I had envisioned. When my knights began to leave, I still held firm to my belief, even as I watched in pain at their departure. When....Lancelot.....I still believed my path true and righteous and did not waver. Even as I was forced to sentence Guinevere for her crimes, I did not waver. It was only the moment that I had your blood on my hands and I looked around and saw all the familiar faces of myrades on that field did Ie to the conclusion that I was wrong."


    Artoria took a deep breath again. "At the moment you asked me..... I had a very specific Idea of what it meant to be a King. In my eyes, you were too brash, too impulsive and aggressive. You got into fights constantly and you never thought through your actions." She sighed and shook her head. "But you were also kind. You helped those in need without fuss. You were never the one to throw the first punch in fights without honor. You never acted as a coward and performed your duties to the best of your ability. You were one of my finest Knights."


    Mordred was silent as she processed that. Many intense emotions shing across her face. "Do you still despise and reject me?"


    "I never despised you, Mordred. I.....hated what you represented to the former me. A loss of control, a reminder of what had been done to me by Morgan. Even after dying, and remember your face in those final moments, I can''t hate you. I realized, that for all the grief I had, you were suffering just as much."


    "So I would be a good King? If we were back in Camelot, would you tell me that I''m worthy?" Mordred asked.


    Artoria opened her mouth but went silent for a moment. "Throughout my life, I thought I knew what I as doing. When Iid there dying I thought I was wrong about everything. When the World offered me a choice, I wished to participate in the Grail War and attain a wish. I again, was so sure of myself that I eventually thought removing my existence from history would be the best option to remedy my failures. To make it so I had never existed in the first ce."


    "What fucking bullshit is that!?" Mordred mmed her hand on the table. "Do you think we fought just to fight? We fought under your banner! If you weren''t there, what was the point of everything we did!?"


    Artoria didn''t get upset at her outburst, instead let out a self-deprecatingugh. "Yes, I have been made aware of my folly. I appear to have the habit of thinking myself correct on any path I take. It took me a long time toe to the understanding I have now. If you ask me if you are worthy, I can simply say I don''t know."


    "You don''t know?"


    "I often think about what I could have done different, how I could have changed things for the better. But I simply do not know the answer to your question, Mordred. At the very least, I believe you would have done a better job than I did."


    "I always looked up to you." Mordred said quietly. "Even when the Witch would tell me stories.....I always admired you. I just....wanted to help you shoulder your burdens." She clenched her fists. "You never gave me a chance to prove myself."


    Artoria''s eyes softened. "Was that your wish for the Grail?" She asked, able to guess at this much.


    "I wanted a chance to pull Caliburn from the stone and prove my worthiness." Mordred actually looked a little sheepish. Compared to how proudly she dered it to me thest time it was brought up, it was an odd thing.


    "Oh Mordred." Artoria said softly. "I think that''s a wonderful wish. I do not believe it matters anymore, but I would have supported you fully in such an endeavor. I....do possess the Caliburn from this world.....If you wish it, I think it would suit you more than me."


    "Really?" Mordred looked surprise. "You would just give it to me after everything? Even if you don''t hate me for being born the way I was.....I still ended your Kingdom. I ruined your perfect story and rebelled."


    "Yes, you did. I cannot say that your actions did not bring me torment. However, they were not without cause themselves. And you were not alone in your actions either. There were plenty of others who were to me and you should not be the only one the shoulder any perceived sins." Artoria replied, a sad look on her face. "I believe that many of my actions would have led to an inevitable conclusion even if you had not taken such a course."


    Once more, Artoria took a deep breath, a small smile appearing on her face. "If it would alleviate any of the guilt you feel, Mordred. I forgive you."


    The look on Mordred''s face, it was like she was about to burst out in tears.


    "Well, I believe I''m going to get a drink." I abruptly stoon up. "Kairi, Rin, care to join me?" I very smoothly made an opening to give them some privacy to themselves as I didn''t believe our presence here was necessary anymore.


    Thankfully, they took the hint, and silently got up as well.


    "As fucking subtle as a horse." Mordred snorted, running a hand across her eyes as she looked away. "Is he seriously someone you''re dating?"


    "He has his ws, but I do not regret my decision." Artoria smiled. "Why is it so hard to believe?"


    "He probably didn''t tell you about all the crap he pulled during the war." Mordred snickered.


    "The details were....vague. And I do believe there are stories to be had." Artoria looked interested.


    "Oh shit, yeah. I''ll tell you everything he said when we met."


    Yeah, really going to need that drink now.


    ***


    Late release, Pat reon chapter took longer than I expected. It''s another PHO interlude, so expect that in 7 chapters.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 229 - 219

    <h4>Chapter 229: Chapter 219</h4>


    "So, Kairi." I took a sip of my drink. "How you doing?"


    Kairi turned to look at me before giving a grunt. "Same old same old." He downed his shot pretty smoothly.


    "You want some juice, Rin?"


    "Screw off." She huffed.


    "Hehe." I nudged her shoulder even as she rolled her eyes, there was a little smile on her face. "But for real. What''ve you been up to, Kairi?"


    "Is this really the ce to talk about that sort of stuff?" He nced at the Bartender who stood not too far away.


    "Ie here with Izanami to have drinks and talk about random things." I shared a look with the Bartender who nodded at me. "Do you really think this would be a ce we wouldn''t befortable in openly talking?" Well, he is a Magus, so I can''t really fault him on his hesitation. "But..I can understand your sentiments." I gave the Bartender another nod before dipping my finger in my drink and using the liquid to draw a couple runes, creating a makeshift Bounded Field around us. "I''ll just say that Izzy made sure there were....protections in ce and leave it at that."


    That seemed to pacify him slightly.


    "Neat trick." Kairi spun around in his stool, drink in hand. "Saw Bazett do something like that once."


    "You''re seriously nonchnt about talking about this stuff in public when you''re usually really...private." Rinmented.


    "Honestly, it''s really not that big a deal. He''s missing some , okay a lot of context, but Artoria is already known here and there''s already some talk about her. She helped me defended this ce from a bunch of terrorists. Who I might add are reincarnations, or descendants of Heroes who tend to take the names of their ancestors. And that''spletely ignoring all the other precautions that have already been taken." I pointed out.


    "Really?" Kairi perked up. "Reincarnation is a real thing over here?"


    "Kinda, sorta. More so impressions and memories of their ancestors than an actual reincarnation that you''re probably thinking of. An inheritance of a ''spirit'' if you will. It''s still the Age of Gods so the cycle of souls is a bit.... malleable. Everyone has their own realms of the dead still so shuffling a soul through their own methods still is possible without disrupting the world''s flow." Not to mention my own circumstances...


    I couldn''t help but smile as I nced over to see Artoria and Mordred still talking.


    "I got Gramps working on the delicate parts, but otherwise, I got your payment." I looked back towards Kairi.


    Kairi just grunted, taking a cigarette out of his pocket and light it up. "Shit, I probably made more just walking around here for a few days picking up knick-knacks than the payment I''ll get for the War."


    "For real?" Rin looked surprised. "Is stuff here that valuable back home?"


    "Depends." I swiveled in my stool. "It''s not so much that things are strictly valuable by themselves, but there are many things that are just lost to time that are required for many different uses. Imagine not being able to cast a Greater Ritual because a certain Flower is missing, but it still grows around here like a weed?"


    "Hmm, good point. Well, I don''t think I have to worry anymore. With the loot I got from running around in those God-forsaken dungeons, I''m probably set for life." Rin hummed.


    Yeah, she''s amassed quite a fortune so far.


    "You ready to head home at some point when this is all over, Kairi?" I asked. He was good sport and stuck around for a bit while everything got settled.


    Honestly, he was a good guy, I liked him.


    Surprisingly, Kairi looked conflicted. "I don''t suppose you''d need a Frencer on a more...permanent contract?"


    Huh. I hadn''t thought he would want to stay.


    "As it so happens, I find myself in need of someone with your specific set of skills."


    "Oh?"


    "Yes, you see, I believe my Girlfriend has recentlye into contact with a Little Lion that could do with a caretaker."


    Kairi snorted, pushing his cigarette into a nearby ashtray. "For something like that, my pay needs to match the difficulty."


    "Don''t worry, I''m not short on money." I waived it off.


    "Well, you could always ask your sugar momma." Rin teased. "Isn''t that basically what you called Yasaka?"


    "Someone sounds jealous." I grinned.


    "Bah, who''d be jealous of you."


    "Fluffy tails, all mine."


    Rin huffed in response.


    "For real though, money isn''t really an issue." I turned back towards Kairi. "I also turned the Yggdmillennia family into my sorta-subordinates. They''re going to rise up after my help and I''ll be raking in a lot of resources soon."


    Kairi let out a sigh. "Well, It''s not like I had anything that really bound me back home. My family is pretty much gone, and what''s left I haven''t spoken to in years. If they get a little bit of good will like you said, I''ll consider it even between us and cut my losses."


    Equivalent exchange ¨C Karma. Lots of names for the same thing even if understanding sometimes differs. Well, he has a good head on his shoulders, so he wasn''t just jumping ship without settling things in his heart.


    "You''ll have more opportunities here too. People here aren''t as guarded with their magecraft and you can probably pick up the local casting system rtively easily."


    "I took a look at it already." Kairi nodded. "Didn''t seem tooplicated on the surface."


    "You keep bringing people here, Schweinorg. You got some scheme going on?" Rin asked.


    "Not particrly." I shrugged. "But if it helps Yasaka, I''d call that a win. This is more or less where I have set up my home, and I want it to do well."


    I was too neglectful of her own worries and burdens. I want to help alleviate those when possible. While I won''t try to coerce Mordred to do anything, I think she wouldn''t mind working under Yasaka...especially if Artoria''s ''descendant'' is around.


    Meridia and Yasaka were the only ones that had firm foundations that couldn''t be moved. Meridia didn''t need my help and I doubted I could provide her with anything useful. Yasaka on the other hand, I hate to say it, but her faction wasn''t very strong.


    So I would do my best to support her when I had time, like now. I''d fulfilled my desire to resurrect Sc¨¢thach, now I had no immediate goal, so I would set this as my target.


    I should ask her how she dealt with those Hero Faction idiots. If she needed help extracting their sacred gears, that could also be arge boon to her faction.


    I should also ask her for her opinions as well. I don''t want to start assuming anything. For all I know, she doesn''t want to further expand her influence or to increase her faction''s potential and is content on keep the status quo. I certainly don''t want to step on her toes as her faction leader, that would be a big no-no as far as boundaries in our rtionship go.


    "Schweinorg." Rin poked me.


    "Oh, sorry, got lost in thought." I pushed those to the side for now. "But yeah, I''ll always wee you. Even if you want to retire and live a peaceful life here, I''m sure Mordred would love it. I can''t im to know how close you two are, but I don''t think she''s one to be so open to a stranger."


    "You mind if I get some things from back home? Just got a few personal items I''d rather not part with."


    "Sure, I can give you a lift when we''ve worked everything out." That was easy enough to do.


    "Thanks." He nodded towards me in appreciation as his attention was forced back behind us.


    Artoria and Mordred started walking over showing a lot less awkwardness between them. With a little flick of my finger, I removed the Bounded Field.


    "Yo." Mordred casually walked over. "They got any good stuff here?" She eyed the drinks on the shelves.


    "I think they have a minimum age requirement." I replied.


    "I''m older than you." She said without missing a beat.


    "Height requirement?"


    "This suppose to be a fuckin roller coaster?" She snorted.


    "How do you even know what that is?"


    "Random things, I don''t know. Half the shit the Grail gave me I have like no context for. Like, the fuck is a Maserati?"


    Huh, that really is just a random thing it told her.


    "A type of car." I said idly. Well, Mordred seemed much more rxed and back to her normal self, so that''s good.


    "Whatever." She shrugged. "Oi, Necromance, we''re done. I wanna go back to watching that thing on the TV."


    "It''s called a movie." Kairi sighed standing up. "I''ll catch you allter." I waived a casual goodbye as Mordred and him left.


    "I''m guessing you''ve settled things for now?" I turned towards Artoria who had been silent in these few moments.


    "Yes, we have talked about several things." Even Artoria seemed more....peaceful.


    "You look better now." Rinmented. "Not like you''re going to your execution. You good?"


    "I''m...good." Artoria nodded as we headed out ourselves.


    I set some money on the counter and followed along.


    Artoria let out an uncharacteristic sigh. "But I feel as though I am exhausted." She took the initiative and reached for my hand as we walked down the street. "Thank you." She looked up at me. "There is still a long ways to go before either of us truly moves on, but I feel as if a weight has been taken off my shoulders."


    "I didn''t do anything. You''re the one who was willing to confront your own demons." Not that I was calling Mordred herself a demon....but I think she got my sentiment. "I just brought her around."


    "I''m happy for you." Rin spoke up. "You going to be seeing more of her?"


    "Yes, I do believe I will. It had been...rocky as a start and there were still some strong feelings...but I believe I will be trying to spend more time with Mordred. I wish to try and be a proper parent, as ridiculous as it sounds since we are both dead."


    "That''s going to be tough, she didn''t seem like someone who needed a parent. But she also seemed to really look up to you." Rin shrugged. "I don''t really have any advice to give, so try not to force anything I guess."


    "Yes, your words do make sense. I will give time for our new and strange rtionship to settle and go from there. As Wilhelm has told me on several asions, we have plenty of time and we''re in no rush." She smiled happily.


    Happy Artoria was really heartwarming.


    "Well, I''m fully awake now. You wanna eat a few gallons of ice cream and watch some bad TV?"


    "That sounds wonderful." Artoria responded immediately.


    "Well, I''ll give you two your ''girl time''." Iughed.


    "Wilhelm, I didn''t mean to ¨C "


    "I''m kidding." I gave her forehead a little poke. "But I also won''t get upset when you want to spend time away from me. You''re taking a break from adventuring in Skyrim, go bezy with Rin. You certainly deserve it after everything."


    Rin looked happy at my words even if she didn''t say anything. I know they didn''t mean anything by what they said, so I didn''t take offense.


    And I want her to also understand I don''t intend toe between the rtionship they built.


    Besides, I''m definitely going to get her one of these nights~


    "Thank you." She said quietly. "You have been everything I hoped for in a boyfriend."


    "Really?"


    "Well.....some of the things I desired....." She had a nk look, staring at me before a little smile formed on her face. I always have enjoyed her sense of humor.


    "You''re adorable." I leaned in and she weed me with a loving kiss. I didn''t prolong it as I knew Rin was standing right next to us and I didn''t want to make it too awkward on her. "Go make Rin poor again with your appetite."


    "Hey!" Rin looked indignant.


    "My appetite isn''t that bad!" Artoria also squeaked out.


    I justughed again at their reactions.


    "I''ll see you bothter, I''m going to hop over and see Izzy."


    "Oh, please give her my best and tell her toe visit. I wish for her to meet Rin and we can spend time together." Artoria perked up at the mention of our mutual friend.


    "Still weird to think about." Rin muttered. "But what the hell, bring Japan''s Death Goddess toe visit when you have time."


    I looked onest time at Artoria''s beautiful smile before opening up a portal and headed to Yomi.


    ***


    Early chapter since I couldn''t procrastinate today. Funny how that works. So, we got Izzying up right around the corner, should be fun.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    Also, we have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 230 - 220

    <h4>Chapter 230: Chapter 220</h4>


    Yomi hadn''t noticeably changed in my absence, not that I believed it would. The eeriend of the dead still felt just as unweing as the first time I had been here. Though I knew that nothing would actually harm me or even try as Izzy had a firm hand on what urred here. Honestly, I don''t even know if anything ''lived'' here besides her anymore. There were legends and myths about certain creatures and such, but I had encountered nothing in my ¨C admittedly few ¨C times being here.


    Well, I now had some free time, maybe I should explore in the future?


    Izzy''s house was almostical in how out of ce it stood. Like someone just cut out a normal house and pped it right inside her realm without doing anything else.


    I walked up the familiar steps and didn''t even get to knock on the door before it opened before me.


    "Wilhelm." Izzy looked surprised to see me.


    "Izzy." I smiled as I saw her for the first time in too long.


    "....would you like toe in?" She moved to the side, gesturing into her home.


    "That''d be lovely." I nodded, walking inside. "Hooh, I''ve had a long day." I flopped onto her couch. "How''ve you been? It''s been way too long."


    "Yes, it has been quite a awhile." She nodded closing the door, but stared at me with a scrutinizing gaze from a fair distance away.


    I looked back and felt weird with how awkward she was being. "Oh..." I realized. "I guess you can feel it, huh?"


    "Are you referring to the feeling as if you will draw a weapon on me at any moment?" She raised an eyebrow. "Or perhaps are you referring to the aura of my son that seems to permeate your being." She added an extra dry tone. "You are very different, and I don''t know what to say. It makes me question if you are who I think you are."


    "Wait."


    "What?"


    "You think I might not be ¨C me , yet you let me into your home?"


    "Yes?"


    "....do we need to have a talk about stranger danger?"


    "I take it back, you are definitely Wilhelm." She snorted. "I doubt anyone else would say something so ridiculous to me."


    "Does my new ''feeling'' make you dislike me?" I know that there was a strange rtionship between Campione and Gods in that particr world-line. An instinctual desire to fight each other even if they had no true dislike.


    "No....it''s difficult to exin." She shook her head. "It was almost like an instinctual repulsion. Though I am over it now."


    Well, as long as our rtionship didn''t sour.


    "But I wish to know why you feel so simr to my son." She added. "Others may not be able to recognize it, but I would know my son''s presence anywhere."


    "So.....that''s a long story." I paused, letting out a sigh. "You''re my friend, Izzy."


    She blinked. "I greatly appreciate you saying such a thing, but I don''t understand the sudden admission. in fact, I am slightly worried now."


    "You wondered about Artoria didn''t you? And about other things around me that confused you? Like how I coulde and go to Yomi without you being able to stop me?"


    "Yes, you being able to tear a hole into my Realm without my input. And I am curious about Artoria''s origin, but I don''t want to press."


    "Well...."I scratched my head. "It''s a long story."


    "Should I go get a bottle of wine?"


    "Probably." I nodded.


    Though it was more of a figure of speech. She merely flicked her hand and one appeared in her hand with a couple wine sses. She didn''t speak as she poured us both a ss, taking a seat...weirdly far from me.


    "Izzy..."


    "What?" She questioned me.


    "Why are you being so distant?" Did I do something wrong?"


    "I am not being distant." She said curtly.


    "Bullshit."


    She let out a huff. "I am not being distant."


    I gestured to the space between us.


    "...."


    "Hug." I held my arms out.


    "What?"


    "Hug or I''m not telling my story."


    "You are ckmailing me."


    "Yup, now hug." I smiled.


    "You know, without context, trying to ckmail a woman into being touched would make you a creep." She snorted again, getting up from her seat. But there was also a faint smile that wouldn''t leave her.


    "I think I''m legally still registered as a minor in Japan." I pointed out. "A mature woman inviting a handsome young boy into her home....."


    She opened her mouth. "Are you implying that Izanami-no-Mikoto, Goddess of Death, Mother of Japan, is a cougar!?"


    "Hey, I didn''t say it, you did."


    "I should smack you."


    "Bold talk for someone in hugging distance." I took a step forward, wrapping my arms around her. She didn''t stiffen either, if anything she weed it wholeheartedly.


    "I said it before, but you are infuriatingly kind sometimes." She said quietly.


    "I''ll take that as apliment."


    "It was about half and half."


    "Still taking it as apliment." She seemed to be more at ease. "What''s wrong, Izzy?" I finally asked as we separated.


    She let out a sigh. "It''s nothing important." She waived me off. "Go on with your story, I want to hear what you were about to tell me." She sat down next to me, sipping her wine. "And I really wish to know why you feel so simr to my son. I''m trying to hold myself back from being aggressive about it, Wilhelm, but for some reason it''s giving my anxiety."


    I let out a sigh. "Alright, but it''ll take a bit to get to that part."


    "That''s fine...I have nothing else nned....ever." She leaned back. "Thank you.....by the way. I''m not used to having people care about me like this, it''s nice."


    "Well, you''re stuck with me now." I grinned.


    "Joy." She drawled. "I suppose it could be worse. My life would be more boring were you not such a fool."


    Admittedly, I did have her go fight Godzi-lite with me, however....


    "Whose more foolish, the fool or the one who''s friends with the fool?" I smirked.


    She raised an eyebrow. "So that''s how it''s going to be."


    "Come at me." I did the little gesturing motion as an additional taunt.


    "I''ll remember this, don''t you worry." She calmly set her wine ss down. "But stop getting distracted. Exin what you were going to exin."


    "Fine, fine." I huffed. "Alright, so I should talk about my origins. To be honest, I''m not exactly normal ¨C"


    "Yes, You''re a half devil." She said dryly.


    I opened my mouth and closed it again. "Okay, that''s fair." I sighed. "Let''s try this again. My origin isn''t really normal for this world, even considering the supernatural aspects."


    "Are you an Alien?" She asked.


    I blinked at her sudden question. "What?"


    Her lips curled up.


    "You''re messing with me."


    "Well, you are smart enough to catch on."


    "Now whose getting distracted?"


    "Ugh, you''re right. Seriously, keep going."


    "Now I lost my ce."


    "How did you lose your ce, you spoke like two sentences?" She groaned.


    "Maybe I''m not smart enough to remember." I hummed.


    "Well as you keep proving, being able to speak does not make one intelligent." She retorted with a little smirk.


    I just nodded, epting it. "I was expecting a more subtle remark." Honestly, I love how she''s able to quote Star Wars with me.


    "Please, like there''s anything subtle about me." She said with an arrogant little smile.


    ".....Definitely not a Cougar." I''m sure she could sense my sarcasm.


    "Y-you!" She pped my shoulder. "Just for that, you''re punished with being confined to Yomi. Insulting a Goddess like that!?" She huffed.


    "Mmm, for how long?" I leaned over.


    "Atleast another few hours." She looked away.


    Izzy...what''s wrong?


    I didn''t want to push her on it, but something clearly had her upset.


    With a sigh, I decided to not bring it up again for the moment.


    "You know, it''s funny, you''re not the first person who asked if I was an Alien." Iughed remembering my first time meeting Ruby on Remnant.


    She seemed to recover a little bit. "Really? That''s either a strange coincidence, or I''m closer to the mark than I thought."


    "I''m not an Alien." I rolled my eyes. "....Technically..." Now that I think about it....


    "I was joking, but your tone is making me question many things now."


    "I was.....born on this?" I offered.


    "And thatment doesn''t fill me with assurance." She pointed out.


    "Alright, I usually start this off with exining my Magic."


    "The one with the colorful portals that lets you trespass into my home without my consent?"


    "Do you have to make it sound so creepy?"


    "I''m sorry, did this ''Cougar'' hurt your feelings?"


    "You''re never going to let that one go, are you?"


    "Nope."


    "Alright, moving on." I pped my hands. "So, my Magic is known as the Kaleidoscope, which is the Operation and Maniption of Parallel Worlds." I looked at her as she digested that information.


    Que awkward silence.


    "I see....." She finally spoke after a couple minutes.


    "You do?" I tilt my head. "It took a lot of exnation on my part when I told Yasaka."


    "Wilhelm." She responded. "I am a Goddess. Nothing against Yasaka, but she does not have as much of an understanding about the world as I do."


    "Fair point."


    "Yes." She pursed her lips. "Though I am still....confused at a great many things."


    "That''s it, no other reactions?"


    "I''m processing." She snorted. "I think some things are starting to make sense now. You said before that you traveled to the Land of Shadows and trained under Sc¨¢thach, yet Sc¨¢thach died centuries ago. I didn''t question it before and merely wrote it off as something unimportant."


    "Oh, she''s dead in this world?" I sort of voiced my thoughts. "I didn''t realize...."


    "And ament like that answers many more questions." She said dryly. "Parallel Worlds...it''s not an unfamiliar notion, but not one I thought a mortal would touch upon."


    "So, yeah, I travel to other worlds frequently."


    "I could''ve guess as much." She replied. "I have many ¨C many questions regarding that. But I want to urge a response about what I mentioned earlier."


    "Okay...but I''d like to preface this by asking you to listen until the end and not get mad."


    "I have a feeling I won''t like where this is going."


    "....it''s not as bad as it sounds on the surface."


    "I hesitantly ept your words for now, please continue."


    "Okay, so I went to a certain variation of Earth. Rules there were a little different. Basically.....I may have killed a God and usurped a bit of their Authority?"


    She paused, her gaze turning intent. "Wilhelm. I would like to punctuate this by saying that I understand the concepts you are stating. Other worlds, variations and what-not. Even in popr media, the idea is rathermon so I''m notpletely ignorant even if my nature was ignored. So, I would like to ask ¨C did you kill my Son and take his Authority?"


    "...He started it."


    She opened her mouth then closed it again, the little bit of tension seemed to evaporate. "Please exin properly."


    "So killing a God there isn''t really ''killing'' in a normal sense. Basically....they just get banished back to the realm of immortality where they descend into the Mortal World from."


    "Okay, I feel as though I''m missing much context, but that alleviates many of my concerns."


    "So....not mad?"


    "I''m not upset." Izzy replied. "I was thrown off guard by your first admittance and I believe I just required a moment to think it through. The idea of my son getting killed.....it is not one I can process easily." She let out a long breath, pouring herself another ss of wine.


    "I should have asked first, but you believe me?" I kind of glossed over that notion and just kept going.


    "Yes, I do not believe you would lie to me." She replied honestly.


    I''m happy that she trusts me like that. "Alright, why don''t I start from the beginning?"


    She let out a sigh, curling up on the couch next to me. "Sure, let me hear about your totally-not-an-alien life." I could see the corners of her lips curl up in amusement.


    "It starts as many stories do." I started to paint the picture.


    "Why do I feel like this is going to be a Disney-esq tale?"


    "Fuck that, it started when I got stabbed through the chest with a Magic-Holy Lightsaber."


    "....I am both horrified and intrigued. Well done."


    ***


    Izzy and Wilhelm meeting after too long.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 231 - 221

    <h4>Chapter 231: Chapter 221</h4>


    "Okay, I have.....many questions, but a fewe to the forefront." Izzy leaned against my shoulder.


    "Alright, hit me." I had pretty much told her my story, though I did keep a few things out due to the personal nature of other people or myself. It''s not like I was going to go into detail with how I spent my first night with Meridia. But more or less she knew the broad strokes what I''d been up to since I had been stabbed by that psycho priest.


    Speaking of, maybe I should find him? Give him a taste of his own medicine.


    "So, I just want to repeat, for rities sake." She cleared her throat. "You.....saved a king of arge nation in another world. He was so grateful, he bestowed upon you a harem of 3000 of his daughters?"


    "Mhmm." I nodded along.


    ".....Call me skeptical. She snorted. "Then you supposedly saved a dragon that happened to turn into a beautiful women who was so grateful she pledged herself to you.....then you went on to defeat some demon king that was guing another world....cue more ''grateful'' women...."


    "Okay....I may have embellished one or two minor details...."


    "...."


    "Honestly, what story doesn''t?"


    "...."


    "Don''t give me that look. It''s not that farfetched."


    "...."


    "Okay, It''s maybe a bit out there...."


    "...."


    ".....It''s usible?"


    "Wanna try one more time?" She asked with an eyeroll.


    I let out a huff. "Really? Those are the ones you take issue with? Not the story of Sir Wiggles leading an army of immortals to the demon realm to do battle?"


    "No, I believe that entirely." The corners of her lips curled up before she broke out into giggles.


    I couldn''t help but smile seeing and hearing thatugh of hers. It was something I didn''t realize I needed much more in my life. Not to mention how cute it was to witness. "Alright, any questions on the real stuff?" I wasn''t really just making up stories. I did tell her everything I''d been through with some random things I thought up on the spot just to get a reaction out of her. I had made it painfully obvious which things were real and which weren''t. Honestly, she was looking a bit sad and I wanted to cheer her up a bit.


    "Besides the obvious embellishments, I do have a few questions. But first, where is Sir Wiggles? I missed that little furry bunny." She asked.


    "Oh, Kunou has him. "I answered. "She was a little sad when I left this morning, and I wanted to cheer he rup a bit and also try to keep her out of trouble while I was away. Apparently, she''s been acting up a little bit for her mom."


    "Mmm, She''s at that age." Izzy nodded, unsurprised. "Testing the limits of what she''s allowed to do. Pushing back against parental authority."


    I just let out a smallugh. "I have no idea how I''m going to handle her when she''s older." A sigh escaped my lips. "I''ve been mostly following Yasaka''s lead and helping where I can." I let out a long breath. "But I digress, anything specific you want to know?"


    "I was curious about the ''me'' from your ''home'' world." She spoke up. "You didn''t really exin what happened other than they aren''t around anymore."


    "Oh boy. I could give a lecture on how the Age of Gods ended in my world. To make it simple, the Gods were forced out of the ''world'' and into the Reverse Side where magic and such still holds weight. Otherwise they just faded from existence."


    "Huh." She just blinked. "I would like to touch on thatter. But otherwise, you did a fair job of exining everything. I will most likely have questions about thingster when I have had time to consider everything carefully."


    That''s fair. I probably upturned her perception of reality, but she''s handling it extremely well. Now that I think about it, Yasaka did as well. Though, I guess they lived in a ''world'' where magic and such aremon urrences, this wasn''t a too world shattering reveal.


    "Thank you." She added, tilting her head so her eyes met mine. "You were willing to trust me with such an important and intimate secret of yours."


    "Izzy." I said quietly. "You''re important to me, don''t forget that." I put my arm around her shoulder, giving her another hug. Maybe we hadn''t know each other for an extremely long time, but I felt strongly about the rtionship we had developed. "And I''d love for you to meet the other important people in my life."


    "Your harem." She muttered. "I''ve only met Artoria at this point."


    "Well, I have other people as well. But Artoria also would love to spend more time with you. She just has responsibilities that take her far away and for indetermined periods of time. Her oath to her ''Master'' is one she takes very seriously. I''m even careful not to overstep as her Boyfriend."


    "Heroic Spirits." She spoke aloud. "It''s strange, but it fits with what I felt. And you say she pledged herself to a Magician ¨C Magus as they call themselves."


    "Yup, Rin Tohsaka." I nodded. "She''s something like a sister, I suppose. She''s my Gramp''s student as well."


    "And she wouldn''t be scared of me?"


    "She had expressed an interest in meeting you. I won''t lie and say that certain myths and legends haven''t precolour her perspective, but she''s not going to be afraid of you at this point." I smiled.


    She didn''t react, but I think she was happy. "You know, some of their identities are probably going to cause issues if theye up." It was obvious she was speaking of my girls. "Sc¨¢thach is dead, and she was not someone many could dismiss. You have Indra''s son ¨C Daughter, at your side now. You have King Arthur, one of Heaven''s most powerful soldiers, walking around with her own Excalibur...." She paused. "Actually, I take it back. Please tell Indra in explicit detail everything you have done to his Daughter. I would love to see the look on his face."


    I blinked at that. "How would he even react?"


    "Bewildered, Insulted, confused, then insulted some more." Sheughed. "He hasn''t had a child in many years, so it would certainly be a surprise. Not to mention he''s one of those types that would seek revenge if someone even idently bumped into one of his children." She rolled her eyes, the sarcasm was obvious.


    As amusing as it would be to see, Raikou had her own issues with her parentage. I wouldn''t dream of using it just to mess with Indra like that. Besides, I would first need to actually do the deed before I could brag about it.


    And I feel like that''s suddenly going to move up on my priority list. I can''t deny that I would like to hear the sounds she makes when she''s below me.....but that''s something forter.


    No horny when I''m talking to Izzy.


    "Well, it''s probably best to leave that issue be for now." I shrugged.


    "You think they will remain unknown forever?" She questioned.


    "No, I''m not that na?ve. Hell, Sc¨¢thach and Raikou already went out and are probably going to get noticed soon, but that''s on their own prerogative. Personally, I''d rather they have time to settle down and develop some sense of normalcy before the world starts calling." I feel like all of them deserved some manner of peace and happiness as most of them did not have very good lives. "Though, I''m sure Sc¨¢thach would disagree and go pick fights just to prove me wrong."


    Can''t say I don''t adore that side of her though. The kind of woman who wouldn''t hesitate to punch me if I did something stupid, but then cradle my head in herp with a smile.


    "You''ve put thought into it then." She sighed almost longingly. "You really care about them, it''s sweet to see."


    "Of course." I perked up, smiling wide. "I wouldn''t have them in my Harem if I didn''t care about each of them."


    Well, that and I don''t trust myself to not develop attachment if I tried anything casual. I was more than aware that Itch onto people whom I found myself liking.


    "So, what about you?" I lightly poked her cheek.


    She puffed up, groaning. "You want to know about my harem as well?" Her lips curled up as she joked.


    "Don''t be obtuse." I rolled my eyes. "How''ve you been? We''ve been talking about me for awhile now, I don''t want to make it sound like I only want to hear myself talk."


    "Nothing important and not anything nearly as exciting as you adventuring through different universes." She shrugged, but I felt something was there.... "I have done what I have always done."


    "I heard you went to a gathering of Death Gods, what was that about? And didn''t you say that your son wasing around? Did that happen, how''d it go?" I really did want to know what she''s been up to, the going ons in her life.


    I was going to keep going, but she tensed up and it made me pause.


    "Izzy." I said softly. "What''s wrong?"


    "Nothing is wrong." She denied immediately. "The gathering I went to was pleasant, and I was happy to see some familiar faces. I generally get along with the other Death deities since they are also ignored by their Pantheons. We''re basically co-workers if you want to see it that way."


    "That''s nice and I''m d you had a good time. I''ll be asking for more detailster." I nodded, before meeting her eyes. "And what about your son?" I raised an eyebrow.


    She went quiet, and that told me what I needed to know even without words spoken.


    "Oh Izzy." I pulled her into another hug and she didn''t resist at all. If anything I think she weed it more fervently than before.


    "It''s fine. I''m fine." She whispered. "I have long been used to being abandoned. Once more will not do me any further harm, my tears have since dried up."


    Did he just....not show up after saying he would? I felt a rage swelling up inside me before I pushed it back down. He made Izzy cry...


    I took a deep breath, calming down. She didn''t need that from me right now.


    "Can I ¨C "


    "Please, just don''t bring it up anymore." She cut me off, her voice very quiet. "Just....let''s talk about something else."


    She wanted a distraction.


    I paused for another moment before taking out the letter. I figured it would take her mind off her own problems at the moment. "Apparently my Grandmother sent me this." I set it on the table infront of us.


    She was quick to ept the change in subject. "Did they not take the hint I gave themst time? I would have thought the body would be obvious enough." She deadpanned.


    "Well, Yasaka told me that the person delivering it was very specific that it was just from Lady Gremory and no one else." I made sure to rify.


    "And I notice you haven''t opened it yet." She eyed thetter suspiciously on the table.


    "I haven''t." I admitted. "I almost just tossed it away as soon as Yasaka handed it to me." I ran a hand through my hair. "Honestly, I don''t even know if I want to humor the idea of opening it. Part of me just wants to tear it up and wipe my hands of this whole thing. To finally just move on and stop caring."


    "Devils are nothing if not persistent. It is unlikely this would be dropped any time soon. It may just be better to deal with it directly and finally be done with it forever." She suggested. "Besides, you don''t even know what''s written."


    "Will you be my mail delivery service again if I write a response?" I looked at her, giving a smile.


    That got a small reaction out of her as she appeared humored by the idea. "Do you wish to give me another body to put on their doorstep?"


    I let out a sigh. "Would that make them leave me alone?"


    "Probably not." She said honestly. "Devils are strange; they would probably consider it a challenge and try harder."


    "Oi." I yfully swat her shoulder. "Half Devil." I pointed to myself.


    "Half strange?" She offered with a giggle.


    I snorted, nudging her as she nudged me back.


    "Open it." She finally said. "You will regret it and It''s only going to hang over your head if you leave it as is."


    I groaned, picking it up. "Fineee." I huffed, flicking my finger and sliced off the side of it, letting the letter inside fall into my hand. "You read it." I shoved it over to her.


    "You big baby." She rolled her eyes, taking it from my hands. "Hmm, it says right here that a Nigerian Prince needs your help. He''s willing to send you part of his immense fortune, if you only give him your credit card information ¨C"


    "Oh,e off it." I reached for it as she turned away.


    "No, no. This is a good opportunity." She held it away from me. "Don''t you want to be a millionaire?" She giggled.


    "You''re terrible." I huffed as she finally relented. Though, it cut away all the tension.


    "Read it properly." She said gently, pushing herself up against me so she could look over my shoulder.


    "Yeah, yeah." I held it up for both of us to see, reading over each line. It didn''t take long to work through, as it was barely a page long. I set it down with a nk look. "Well....that was significantly more mundane than I thought I would be."


    She basically apologized for how Okita acted, and asked about meeting up at some point. She offered several ways for me to get in touch with her if need and even said she would not follow up and not bother me anymore if I didn''t respond. It said a bit more than that, obfuscating the point a bit, but that was basically the summarization.


    "True, I thought it would be much different." I felt her hand gently rub my back. "You feel better?"


    I let out a sigh. "Yeah." I would admit it. "I probably would have just left it and forced the anxiety on myself." I set it back down. "Thanks." I smiled up at her.


    "Of course." She smiled back. "Will you respond?"


    "I....don''t know." I ran a hand through my hair again. "I really don''t want to....but at the same time, I feel like I should. I''ll.....put it on the shelf for now, give myself a few days to think it through. Maybe talk it over with the others too, get their opinions."


    "That is a mature way to handle it." She nodded in approval. "Certainly better than your first impulse."


    "Actually, my first impulse was to light it on fire." I pointed out. "Fire solves every problem."


    "What if your problem is your house on fire?"


    "Well, the fire can''t burn your house down if you burn it down first." I smirked.


    "Impable logic." Sheughed.


    I loved to see her like this, but knowing that she''s actually upset still and just hiding it.....


    "I still don''t have anywhere to be for awhile, want to hear some more stories?" I offered.


    "I would love to." She settled back down, snuggling up close.


    "Alright, let me tell you the story of how I took down a Bullhead ¨C a type of flying machine like a helicopter ¨C with a huge Dildo."


    "You''re making that up." She said instantly.


    "Nope."


    "Okay, I need to hear this."


    I told her a brief version of my stint in Remnant previously, but I would go into more detail this time. "It all started when I fell from the sky, and a girl thought I was an Alien."


    ***


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka looked up from her desk smiling at my entrance but she paused and look concerned when she noticed my expression. "Is something the matter?"


    "Maybe." I said evenly. "You should have an extensive informationwork all over Japan, right?"


    "I do....and my concerns are rising." She confirmed.


    "And a Goding down to the mortal world from Takamagahara would be something you keep track of, correct?"


    ".....yes." She once again confirmed.


    "Good." I nodded. "Would you by chance know if Susanoo came down and if so, where he is?" I stopped myself from growling out his name as my fists balled up. "I very much wish to have a word with him."


    Apparently, I need to teach him a lesson his father never did.


    ***


    So, I forgot to mentionst chapter, these two were supposed to be one big chapter, but I was unable to finish it all together the night I had written itst week. Probably why it felt like it wasn''t ''going anywhere'', as it was supposed to lead up to this point. That was my bad, should have mentioned it or even put a ''part 1'' or something as indication.


    Anyways, If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We also have a Discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 232 - 222

    <h4>Chapter 232: Chapter 222</h4>


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka said slowly. "I would very much appreciate some context right now."


    I took a deep breath, calming myself down. "He was supposed to meet with Izzy." I said simply.


    Yasaka blinked in realization. "I see how that could have been ¨C"


    "He made her cry."


    Yasaka paused at that. I didn''t know the extent of any rtions between them, but I knew that Izzy had an open invitation toe to Yasaka''s ce. Not to mention how Izzy saved Kunou, basically earning Yasaka''s eternal gratitude.


    "I see." She said again, her expression turning a bit stiffer. "Susanoo is one of the pirs of the Shinto faction. While he''s below most other ''lightning'' Gods, he is still rather strong."


    "I don''t have ns on killing him." I was honest. This wasn''t like the other Susanoo, this was Izzy''s son, and I had absolutely no intentions of leaving anysting damage nor killing him.


    Yasaka let out a relieved sigh. "I can understand your anger. I have no good impressions of that God myself." She acknowledged. "However.....I have to think of my faction, Wilhelm."


    "I know." I sighed. "It''s one of the reasons I came to you. I didn''t want to immediately run off amidst my anger and be too impulsive and give no thought to the consequences. I wanted to be better about that with all of you." If it was just myself, I could afford to be more flippant, but when they''re involved, I had to act more mature.


    "I will.....try to be diplomatic." I gritted out. "I''m willing to swallow my anger. I have no right to force him into anything, but his actions directly hurt Izzy. He made a promise, and his casual dismissal has brought her pain. That isn''t something I can just let go without an exnation." Maybe I''m sticking my nose where it doesn''t belong, but Izzy is someone important to me and she was hurt.


    "I do know where he is." Yasaka spoke up again. "It''s as you said, I tend to keep track of any high profile individuals that enter my territory. Currently, he''s right about at the edge of my territory that boarders the old man''s."


    "If I don''t cause any trouble for either side, if no one but us are involved in what ever altercation that may or may not ur, will there be consequences?" I asked. Though, I would honestly try the passive approach first, if only out of respect for Izzy.


    She pondered that. "Nothing I can''t brush off as not my concern. It''s well known that you''re with me and Kunou, but I can easily dismiss most things said my way. However, If my Patron asks...."


    "Are we not together?" I smiled towards her. "I don''t want to get in the way of your responsibilities. If you tell her about me ¨C besides the obvious personal things ¨C I would be in no way upset."


    She smiled at that. "I won''t ask you not to do this, but just, please be careful." She got up and walked forward, wrapping me up in a hug. "And thank you for telling me in advanced."


    "I''ll be back soon." I kissed her on the forehead.


    I wanted to y with those tails.....but I had a different priority right now.


    "I have the general location of where he''s at right now, do you need anything more specific?" She offered.


    "Just a general location is fine, I can go from there."


    She walked back to her desk, shifting through several things before pulling out a piece of parchment and handed it to me. "On the off chance of a fight, If it''s kept just between you and him, the others wont interfere. Don''t escte it beyond that or the consequences will be something I can''t shoulder."


    As in, don''t get other Pantheons involved, and obviously don''t kill him. Worsees to worse and I beat him up, well, that''s a private matter and at most, his siblings would probably make fun of him if the myths were close to urate.


    The fact that I''m with Yasaka who was Amaterasu''s Miko, well, it could be said I was somewhat involved with the Shinto Faction if you squint.


    Regardless.


    My anger was not diminished.


    I waived my hand tunneling through space to the estimated location, giving Yasaka onest look before walking through.


    ***


    I don''t know what I had expected, but this pretty much lined up with the mental image I had of the God so far.


    There were Youkai and other various supernatural species walking around. But the most eye catching thing were the courtesans trying to catch the attention of every passersby.


    It was a Red-light district.


    ....this is what he blew off Izzy for?


    I obviously had nothing against women of this profession ¨C my mother was a prostitute and I would not deny it. However, the fact that this was the reason Izzy was sitting alone at home and crying....


    I sucked in a deep breath as I eyed the building infront of me. It didn''t look out of ce, or rather significant in any where. There were many others on the same street down the road that I could see, almost as if it was merely chosen by happenstance.


    [Raikou.] I sent through the link.


    [Master.] Raikou sounded happy to hear from me. [Is something the matter?] She questioned.


    [I''m going to...do something a little bit foolish. I don''t want you to worry too much.]


    [I see, and I suppose I can''t talk you out of such actions?]


    [Sorry...]


    [I am thankful you told me before you did anything. I will not dismiss whatever reason you have for doing so, but I hope you will talk to me afterwards.] She seemed to understand my sentiments well enough.


    [Of course.] I wouldn''t hide anything from them. And I felt a bit better after telling both Yasaka and Raikou that I''d be getting into a small mess.


    With the link we shared, she should be kept abreast of my actions in cases like this. Yasaka could have dealt with some very real consequences had I not talked to her, and Raikou would worry through the link we shared.


    I straightened my tie before walking through the door. The smell of alcohol and smoke immediately entered my nose and I almost reeled back at the heaviness of it.


    "Greetings, Sir. Is this you first time?" The woman at the front walked over sensually, her kimono barely covering her breasts and her legs were almost fully on disy. Yet, I couldn''t help but think she couldn''tpare to any of my girls.


    I took out a pouch full of gold and tossed it into her arms. She looked at it, opening up and then back at me in confusion. "I''m looking for someone." I said with a strained smile. "Incase of damages." I made sure to iterate.


    She blinked in realization and quickly made herself scarce.


    I wouldn''t be surprised if fights and such broke out often with beings of higher strength walking around without a care in the world. Combined with attractive women and alcohol, it''s just a recipe for disaster.


    There was no need to look around, I already found my target.


    "HAHAHAH." Augh bellowed out, like thunder.


    "Lord Susanoo~" A woman moaned seductively as she draped herself over the owner of the loud voice.


    Arger man sat with his back to me in a private booth surrounded by several women. I stopped for a moment,paring him to the Susanoo I met in the other world. This one was still pretty big, but noticeably smaller than the one I killed. Though, he could still be called ''burly'' with wild, untamed hair.


    I would be polite, for Izzy''s sake. Something I had to remind myself of.


    I would not immediately go and start making a mess.


    Again, I reeled in my anger.


    I calmly walked over until I came upon him. "Lord Susanoo ¨C " I began to speak but was interrupted.


    "Just leave the drinks here." He shooed me away.


    I paused, taking another breath. "Actually, I''m here to talk about something ¨C "


    "Beat it, brat." He snorted, still not even turning towards me. "Can''t you seem I''m busy? I''ll sign an autograph or whateverter." He shooed me off again.


    I tried my best to not show off my disdain. "Lord Susanoo, I just have something important to talk to you about. It won''t be more than a few moments of your time. I''ll evenpensate your evening."


    "Lord Susanoo, he''s ruining the mood" One of the women whined.


    "Make the kid go away, and we can have some real fun~"


    "Brat, you''re ruining the atmosphere." He still didn''t deem me worthy of even looking at. "Beat it while I''m still in a good mood."


    I let out a sigh. "Please....I just want to ask you about something involving your mother." I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore his attitude towards me.


    Though, a heavy air settled down around us. The atmosphere turned tense as Susanoo went rigid.


    "I ¨C" I couldn''t finished as he swatted his arm towards me and my vision was filled with lightning.


    I contemted several things as I went flying through the wall and out the building. Perhaps I shouldn''t have mentioned Izzy? I knew that the other Susanoo treated her as a taboo subject, not to mention Izzy called him a ''momma''s boy'' that one time.


    I didn''t outwardly react, even as I looked up at the darkening sky, wooden debris all around me as I had collided with the dumpster out back.


    With another deep breath, I stood up, brushing myself off.


    "I was polite, was I not, Ddraig?" I asked. I even called him ''Lord Susanoo'' as a term of respect.


    [You were very polite.]


    "I was nice."


    [Indeed.]


    "I was respectful."


    Yes, I interrupted his ''y time'', but I believed my reason was justifiable, however, I offered to pay for his evening! Not to mention, he attacked me in response to very little provocation.


    [You were surprisingly respectful.]


    "Good, good." I nodded, reaching for my tie as I undid it and tossed it to the side. "And I was mature in my approach? I didn''t get angry; I didn''t intentionally start a fight?"


    [Nope, I was astonished how you held back.]


    I grunted in acknowledgement "Well, there goes n A."


    I started rolling up my sleeves.


    I pulled tight my ponytail, making sure it wouldn''te loose.


    Walking through the new entrance that Susanoo had made with my body, I looked back at the God who still didn''t even bother to cast his gaze my way.


    He attacked me first; I no longer held any hesitation.


    "That''s your one free one." I said calmly, moving back towards him. "This time, we''re going to have a proper talk." I put a hand on his shoulder and he slowly turned towards me.


    "You dare touch me, Mortal?" His voice wasn''t very loud, but there was a certain weight to it. The girls all around him shuddered in fear.


    As if moving in habit, Lightning began to crackle down his body as he swung his arm at me again, once more practically in dismissal, though the force was much more than the previous ''swat''.


    Except, this time, I reached up and caught it, not allowing it to budge an inch. My own lightning red up to meet his as his eyes widened. The first time he actually looked at me, and he looked confused and stunned, a realization dawned on him that something was seriously wrong.


    I felt my Campione nature start swelling to the surface and he continued to stare, dumbfounded.


    I waived my free hand, opening up a portal as I gripped him tight, pushed my feet against the ground, and threw him through it. His eyespletely widened at my sudden action, and possibly the utter absurdness of it all. With a thought, it closed right behind him as I swept my gaze around the girls who had egged him on.


    With a snort, I opened another portal, hoping through it.


    High above the ocean''s waves, I slowly descended downwards, my wings out behind me. I crossed my arms as my gaze met the God I had previously thrown.


    He stood atop the waves, ring up at me. The Sky above seemed to grow dark, the furrow of his brow signaling thundering in the distance as clouds gathered around. The only reason I think he didn''t immediately shout and yell was the just the sheer surprise at what had just urred.


    I didn''t back down from his murderous gaze.


    My own lightning slowly began to crackle around my body. My divine power just begging to be brought to the surface to face him.


    I learned from thest Susanoo, that it was best to get away from civilization for something like this and the ocean was probably the best ce.


    I clenched my fists hard enough to feel my knuckles crack.


    "Now, we can have a proper conversation."


    ***


    So, Susanoo isn''t a particrly nice fellow in his myths. Coming down to the mortal world, then getting side tracked and blowing off Izzy to have fun? Yeah....a lot of Gods are kind of assholes.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 233 - 223

    <h4>Chapter 233: Chapter 223</h4>


    I floated down silently, touching the water and used a little spell to make sure I had an even tform to stand on.


    [I''m getting some d¨¦j¨¤ vu here.] Ddraigmented.


    It had been the simplest ce to drag him to where there would be no coteral damage. Especially If I didn''t want to make toorge of a mess for Yasaka, the further away the better. And we''re just a few miles off the coast of Japan, so not in anyone else''s territory.


    Susanoo stared at me, there was clear anger in his gaze. The fact that he wasn''t saying anything, I didn''t know if anyone had ever dared to treat him this way. It probably threw him for aplete loop and he was still processing thest minute.


    I couldn''t help but continuouslypare this Susanoo to the other one. And based on first impressions, I feel like the one I killed had been a bit more.....mature. Then again, I found him while he lived in seclusion, he probably had his emotions tempered by his time alone.


    "Devil..." Susanoo finally spoke, but it felt more like a booming growl than actual spoken word.


    "Oh, are my ears deceiving me? You''re actually addressing me?" I snorted.


    "What''s your game?" He questioned, obviously confused at this whole thing. "Do you think I won''t go down to the underworld to raise hell after I scatter your remains across the ocean?"


    "First, not part of the Devil Faction, so by all means. Half-Devil over here." I shrugged. "Second ¨C" I let everything loose. My Aura red up, my Magical energy leaked out, I even let my Divinity enveloped me. "Big talk for someone who has to pay for attention from women."


    His eyes widened once more as I looked on. "Divinity...? Whose bastard are you? Indra....no, that doesn''t feel like him. Zues wouldn''t daree this far out to fuck....Thor?" He began speaking his mind aloud. "No....why does it feel so simr to mine?"


    I chose not to answer that question. "So you''re willing to actually talk now that I''m ''worth'' your time?" I rolled my eyes.


    "Devil." He interrupted me, clearly still lost in his own thoughts. "Why do you have Divinity so simr to mine? I have notid with a Devil in centuries, and I know for a fact that she did not carry my child."


    "I''ll answer your question if you answer my question." I offered.


    "Speak." He relented with an annoyed look.


    "Why didn''t you go see your mother after saying you would?" It was honestly the whole reason I was here, if this would solve things faster, so be it.


    His confusion and curiosity shifted into fury. "You dare!?" He roared, shooting towards me.


    Oh well, I tried to keep this peaceful. More than I had to, even.


    Honestly, it lines up more with what Izzy said about him being a hothead and quick toe to blows at any perceived slight.


    I moved my head to the side, his fist epassing the space I had just been a moment prior. I gathered Aura into my right arm, forcing it into shape, molding and condensing it. I had yet to have a chance to test my new strength, and I supposed he would be a good target.


    Not to mention....I had some anger to work through, and he just so happened to be the cause of it.


    With a shout, I swung my palm at his stomach, the Aura I gathered burst out. A shockwave exploded in all directions at the sudden expulsion of force and the God of Storms was taken by surprise as his back arched and he was sent flying backwards and skipped across the ocean waves.


    It was probably his Authority, his Existence as the God of Storm that allowed him to treat water likend. To the point where he probably couldn''t even be drown if I tried.


    "Get up, that was nothing more than a love tap." I clenched my hand. His body was a bit more sturdy than I thought. "That''s far from the beating you deserve."


    He climbed to his feet, his eyes were zing with fury, yet his expression remained even. "Never have I been so disrespected by a mortal creature." The air around him began to manifest lightning, crackling as it came into existence. His mere breathing caused electricity to arc across the water.


    He moved again, but was several times faster. His movements were as if he was sliding across the water, and then he was upon me, his fistshing out wreathed in his divine power.


    I raised my arms up and my Aura protected me as I blocked. Even with my enhanced Aura, I felt the blow through my body. The full weight behind his blow was a degree higher than the other Susanoo I faced, making me grit my teeth as I bore it head on.


    The water behind me was blow away like a tidal wave, the force of it made me shudder. I had used my Reinforcement a moment prior, and I still felt it. But on the flip side, I didn''t budge from the spot I was in.


    "Disrespect?" I red at him. "You''re upset that I ''disrespected'' you? Mad that I interrupted your ''y time, is that it?" I taunted him. "Pathetic."


    "You dare judge me?!" He roared, a massive hand of lightning came mming down from the sky, manifested by his Authority. The rolling clouds that had been forced into existence above us started roaring with thunderous rage that matched his own.


    I didn''t even look up, my sword shed out of my ring and shot towards the sky to intercept the attack.


    "Your anger right now, it pales inparison to mine." I said with a surprising calm.


    He sneered, swinging his fist again, the power of a God condensed at his finger tips. It felt like a mountain was making its way towards my body. I had paused for the briefest of moments, to marvel at him being able to step up another level with just pure force.


    Was this what the Gods here were capable of? I wondered if he had even reached his peak or if he was holding anything back.


    Regardless, I was different than I was before.


    I didn''t move as his fist pierced through me. I didn''t bat an eye as he stared in confusion, my body having partially turned into lightning ¨C Divine Lightning. I felt my Aura burn a bit quicker,pensating for the fact that my lightning had been elevated since thest time I had done this.


    "You weren''t there when she got so excited that her son responded to her letter." I whispered, summoning the Boosted Gear on my hand.


    "Ddraig!?" Susanoo blurted out in surprise.


    "Clench your teeth." It was the only warning I gave him. Well, there was one more. "BOOST!" I roared, mming my gauntlet-d fist into his face.


    His body twisted, spinning in the air as he was knocked off his feet again. It was the first time I had boosted after bing a Campione, and boy was it an intoxicating feeling.


    I shot up into the air on my wings. "She started counting the days until you came!" I shot down at him.


    He raised his fist and swung as I rammed into him. His fistnded on my cheek as I mmed into his body, both of us tumbling across the water. I rose to my feet quickly, and swung again, meeting his own counter.


    I gritted my teeth as they got rattled, rolling with the blow, ignoring the sharp pain, even If I felt a little bit of blood in my mouth. "Boost!" I shouted again, my hand finding his chest, blood flying from his mouth.


    He growled, reaching out with both of his hands. One of them summoned down lightning from the heavens into the form of a sword. The other pulled water from the ocean, condensing into the shape of a spear.


    I held out my hand, Mirage flew into my grasp. "One Thousand Birds!" I swung my sword, noticing how much easier it was to use this level of the skillpared to before.


    Susanoo swung his lightning sword, an arc of Lightning tore through the space between us, intercepting the vast majority of my Sword Phantoms, his spear shoot out, gracefully as it dispersed the remainder.


    With another motion, he mmed the tip of his spear into the water, thousands of imitations shot out from beneath me. I flew upwards into the air, only to be met by a torrential rain of Lightning bolts, summoned by a gesture of his sword.


    My other Swords flew around me, hacking away and piercing through any stray bits of his Authority that tried tosh out at me from the surrounding storm.


    He looked even more pissed as I was unharmed by his attack. My swords floated around me protectively as I waited for him to make another move.


    "I had to see the look on her face." I spoke up again. "When she told me that her Son, after everything, decided to blow her off." I raised my empty hand, and my Sword of Destruction adjusted itself, aiming towards the God of Storms.


    With a thought, it burst towards him, my Aura feeding into it as my Power of Destruction alighted along the de.


    Once again, the changes were noticeable from my previous self.


    My sword covered the distance in a blink of an eye, the God of Storms thrust his Water spear towards it, the collision of his Condensed power created from his Authority as it met my Power of Destruction.


    And my Destruction won out as it tore through his spear, leaving him shouting in utter surprise. The confidence he swaggered around with, it was slowly being chipped away with each blow Inded on him. Each time I overturned his expected results.


    He grabbed his Lightning Sword with both hands and managed to push my sword away with a bit of effort. A noticeable amount of power on his end went into diverting it to the side.


    I recalled it with a flicked of my wrist, and it hovered near me once more. Holding my hand out, I opened up dozens of small portals around both of us.


    He looked at them, then at me in realization.


    My swords all flipped in different directions, and shot into a portal nearby, alling out towards the Storm God.


    I waved my hands, opening and closing new portals to change directions, to alter paths at each movement. These weren''t weapons he could ignore, even as a Deity.


    His body was enveloped in a protectiveyer of lighting as he tried to cover himself, Lightning Sword swinging, deflecting a sword here or there, but I merely caught it once more and sent it back through the use of the Kaleidoscope. My Five swords, with the help of my Magic, it was as if he was being assailed by a thousand.


    I could see the small cuts forming on his body, each one of my swords capable of leaving a mark, even if some were not particrly strong enough to wound the God in a meaningful way.


    Whisper left Runes as it sailed through the air, randomly dispatched as it weaved through the holes in Space, spells actualized at random intervals. They didn''t do anything beyond distracting and annoying him, but that allowed the other swords to break past his defenses.


    My Sword of Destruction was still coated in my bloodline, making the Storm God have to be wary of it at each passing.


    Ascalon and Dawnbreaker were doing the most work, slicing him at opportune moments, or keeping him from retaliating with a well-timed stab to a vital area, forcing him to block. It was a mental drain controlling them all like this, while also pulling on my Magic to support each attack.


    "ENOUGH." Susanoo finally reacted, his bottled anger truly exploding along with a massive surge of power and blowing away all my swords at once. "I AM SUSANOO, I WILL NOT BE MADE A FOOL OF BY A MORTAL!" His voice bellowed out, the storm he conjured thundering in response as the sky became covered with Divine lightning


    This massive amount of power, it wasn''ting for me though, he shot into the air and merged with it. Or perhaps, this was a closer representation to his true ''self''. A giant, clearly over a hundred meters in height, mmed into the waters below, sending massive waves in every direction.


    Now this is what a real God should feel like. I felt the hairs on my arms stand up.


    This was him actually getting serious, not throwing around random punches because he was angry.


    Maybe in another situation, I would have been excited, my blood boiling at the prospect of fighting him ¨C truly fighting this world''s Susanoo, God of Storms. However, at this moment, I could only remember the look that Izzy gave me when she told me what happened.


    The Lightning sword he wielded before, it returned, manifesting to his new size and form. He swung it once, the world seemed to shudder at the movement, and the surrounding water was forced to move by the force behind the swing.


    I raised my hand and began to draw Runes into the Air. Primordial Runes began to manifest the bulwark that was my strongest defense spell. "Shield of Asgard." I actualized it around me, taking the mountain-cleaving attack head on.


    The Divine Authority of Susanoo collided with the Primordial Runes passed down by Odin, the lightning shattered my spell, but the umted power in the single attack was spent. I felt the bacsh, the brunt of his attack sent shockwaves through my body, my Aura flickered defensively, but I felt some blood trickle from my nose before wiping it away.


    I refused to show any kind of weakness infront of him though.


    I held my hand out, I looked deep inside myself, finding the new aspect of me that I gained from Pandora. "You made Izzy cry."


    Even in this maelstrom that the God of Storm had created, it felt as if the world went silent when I began pulling on my Authority.


    I raised my hand to the sky, and the clouds he conjured that rolled around and thundered at his everymand, they began to wildly swirl at my motion.


    My Words of Power that caused the world to bend to my will.


    "It was here at this ce, that Susanoo led a thousand unruly deities in rebellion. A thousand swords standing upon the earth, used as city walls to defend against the enemies. Here! Namely, the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi! The Steel that breaks a thousand des!"


    Lightning divorced from his, carrying enough authority to make the God of Storms hesitate. It descended from the heavens right into my hand. It took a form of a sword, a ck de and a golden guard and pommel. It was deceptively simple in its design, an elegance that spoke of its power.


    "Impossible...!" The God of Storms spoke, a whisper that boomed across the horizon. "What are you!?" He eximed.


    "Your Storms...." I raised my sword to the sky. "Are mine!" I dered, and with a swipe of my de, they were usurped from his grasp, forcibly dispersed at my whims. "Your Authority is confiscated." I held my Divine Sword aloft, pointing right at the giant.


    I felt the power I had now multiply, temporarily, as I gained control of his Authority in addition to mine own.


    He didn''t have time to shout as it too was forcibly dismissed. The lightning weaved as it arced out uncontrobly, the Divine Authority of his that held it together unraveled at mymand.


    Perhaps if it were another God, they could have fought my control. But I was probably his worse possible matchup. The concepts of my Authority simply overrode his due to how I acquired mine by killing his counterpart.


    I was his absolute counter.


    And thus, the God fell from the sky, mming down once more into the water. He scrambled to his feet, head jerking up to see my de resting right infront of his face.


    "That''s impossible, how do you have that!? How did that Sword do that!?" He raised his voice. "What did you do to me!?"


    I didn''t answer him again, and against what might be construed asmon sense, I dismissed it. My Authority returned back inside of me.


    Again, he was utterly confused, standing back up to his feet, he opened his mouth to talk but was interrupted as my fist met his face again, knocking him up into the air. Hended on his feet, catching himself. Despite everything, the absurd advantage I held over him, he was still a God. Something of this level, it wouldn''t keep him down for long.


    He roared, reeling his arm back and swung at me, shockwaves emanating out at the sheer force. I felt my Aura re up, taking arge portion of the blow.


    I didn''t break eye contact as I spit out a mouthful of blood. "That all you got?" I smirked, following up by burying my first into his chest.


    He let out a pained noise, taking a step back


    "You''re one tough mortal bastard." He growled, coughing out some blood of his own, but that didn''t stop him as he swung back at me without a second thought.


    There was no more techniques involved, no more Authority, no Magic, and no weapons. We simply started throwing punches at each other.


    It was more than just beating him in a fight. I wanted to destroy that inted ego of his, to make him feel even a smidgen of what Izzy did.


    With an almost reckless abandon, even blocking was left to the wayside as we kept trying to knock the other down. Our fists began flying without pause, taking any opening to send another blow at the other.


    He would go for heavy punches, and I would hit him with several jabs in response. He stood there and took it, just so his heavy fist would connect. We continued trading like this what felt like an eternity.


    Both of us were starting to breath heavily after an indeterminable amount of time passed. My Aura had long since shattered under the constant bombardment. But I gave much more that I got. His left eye was swollen, blood ran down his nose and covered his shirt.


    "I am Susanoo!" He roared again, steadying himself. "I will not be beaten by a mere Devil!"


    I snorted, stepping in and dodged his attack, my fist finding his cheek once more. His head snapped to the side as he reeled back, his knees trembled but he steadied himself. "What''s wrong old man, you''re looking a bit winded there." Iughed between my own heavy breaths.


    "Brat, I could do this all day!" He snorted,ing at me again.


    "You most certainly will not!" A familiar voice interrupted us, a massive shadow overtook the surroundings, and an ominous presence descended.


    I don''t know who was more scared as we both seemed to recognize who just spoke.


    "M-Mother!?" Susanoo blurted out.


    "Izzy!?" I said almost at the same time.


    The look she gave both of us, we both mmed our mouths shut, not daring to utter another word.


    ***


    Sorry for thete chapter, got home from work a bitter than normal.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone got another PHO interlude up over here.

 Chapter 234 - 224

    <h4>Chapter 234: Chapter 224</h4>


    "Mother, You ¨C "


    "Be silent." Izzy snapped at Susanoo, making him shut his mouth tight.


    "Izzy ¨C"


    "That goes for you as well." She red my way.


    She raised her hand, and shadowy limbs rose from the darkness she seemed to conjure with her presence. Large arms crept up and grabbed us both, hoisting us into the air.


    "I am very disappointed in both of you." She crossed her arms. "What were you both thinking!?"


    "He ¨C " We both spoke at the same time.


    "That was rhetorical!" She cut us off. "Do you have any idea the mess that you have caused? Do you think the mortals aren''t going to notice you both waiving around your power in the middle of the ocean?"


    "It wasn''t my fault!" Susanoo shouted.


    Izzy slowly turned to me.


    "You punched me through a building." I countered. "I just tried to have a polite conversation."


    She then turned back to her son.


    "He dared to ¨C " Izzy smacked him upside the head.


    I let out a snicker, but Izzy snapped her head back towards me. "Don''t you think I don''t fault you in this as well, Wilhelm." She snorted. "It takes two to tango, and I am more than aware if your ability to detach yourself from the situation had you wanted to."


    "Mom, you know him?" Susanoo look surprised.


    "The fuck you think I came looking for you, dumbass." I rolled my eyes. "Did you think I was just annoying you for the sake of it?" I knew he was fucking ignoring me the entire time.


    "You dare!?" Susanoo roared as the sky thundered but Izzy pushed his head under the water, only lifting him up after a few moments after it settled once more.


    "Susanoo-no-Mikoto." Izzy narrowed her eyes, a sarcastic undertone in her words. "Raise your voice like that once more and I will let everyone currently watching see how I bend you over my knee. I do not care how old you are nor your status, you will be respectful in my presence, are we clear?"


    "B-but mother!? This mortal ¨C"


    Izzy raised her hand up. "I asked a question."


    "....yes." Susanoo shrinked away.


    Izzy nodded, content, before she turned back to me and adopted a new frown. "Wilhelm." She punctuated. "Do not call my son a Dumbass.....even if it is well deserved."


    "Mother!?" Susanoo looked shocked at her words again.


    "Atleast in my presence." She added on.


    "Fine." I huffed.


    "Good." Izzy nodded once more.


    "Mother, how do you know him!? Why are you treating him so well, he''s only one of those Devils? I''m your son, a God!" He eximed.


    "She''s my friend." I answered.


    "What!?" Susanoo started to raise his voice but nced at Izzy and lowered his voice back down. "You overstep, my mother would not lower herself ¨C"


    "Susanoo, who I am or am not friends with is not for you to decide." Izzy cut in once more. She turned to me with a softening expression. "Wilhelm has been a wonderful addition to my life and I value the rtionship we have. Even if I find myself upset with him right now."


    "Aww. If I could, I''d hug you right now." I wiggled in the shadowy hand still holding me up.


    Susanoo just gaped at our conversation. "I''m going to kill you." He stared at me with a hint of bloodlust in his eyes.


    "What was that?" Izzy narrowed her eyes.


    "I said I love you?" Susanoo looked at his mom with a scared look.


    Hah, no matter their status, moms are scary when they''re angry.


    "Hmph. Is that why you decided to forget about me?" Izzy snorted.


    "I didn''t forget....I just got....sidetracked." He coughed. "Besides, it''s only a few days, what''s the big deal?"


    "Just a few days?" Izzy repeated with a nk look.


    "You dumbass." I sighed.


    "What was that!?" He began to crackle with lightning.


    "Why don''t you pull out your Authority?" I taunted.


    His eye twitched. "I don''t know what trick you pulled, mortal. But I shall tear this seal apart and rip you limb from limb when I get my hands on you!"


    Honestly, it should be back any moment now. I had more or less shut it off with the help of my sword due to the ovepping nature and the conceptual advantage I had over him.


    Izzy huffed, waiving her hand as the familiar entrance to Yomi opened up right on top the water. I honestly thought she had to be in Japan to be capable of this. Then again, the ocean here belonged to Susanoo in a way, and she was his mother.


    She didn''t speak as she started walking inside, the shadowy hands pulling us along with her.


    "How many centuries has it been since my childrenst visited?" She began to speak. "Then I finally get a response from my youngest." We walked up to her house, and I think Susanoo was surprised to see it right in the middle of this dreary ce. She pushed the door open unceremoniously, practically tossing us onto the ground. "Then he just doesn''t show up and has the gall to say; ''it''s only a few days''." She muttered, walking into the kitchen.


    And an awkward silence fell across us, ensued, etc.


    Susanoo blinked at that as if he was actually listening to her words. "Mortal..." He finally spoke, turning towards me. "Was my mother truly saddened?"


    "Do you think I came and actually tried to bow my head and get an answer because she was happy?" I looked at him incredulously. "I don''t give a shit about your status. If it weren''t for you being Izzy''s son, we would have finished that fight properly."


    And at this point, we both know how it would have ended, and it certainly wasn''t me opting to just kick his ass like I did.


    He opened his mouth and closed it again. "You aren''t one of those Satans, who are you?" He finally asked.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I waved my hand flippantly. "Half-Devil Bastard, you wouldn''t have heard of me."


    "You wield Ddraig." He muttered. "Yet no one knows of you. That''s....surprising. All of his wielders in the past became known very soon after awakening that sted thing. Yet, you showed surprisingpetency that spoke of training and experience. Not to mention that Power of Destruction....I wonder if those Devils know that you''re running around outside of their authority."


    "Why does it matter? I already said I''m not part of their faction." I snorted. "I''ve never even been to Hell." Was he trying to make conversation or just satiate his curiosity? It''s weird how quickly his tone became less arrogant than before.


    Izzy walked back into the room, carrying a tray with tea cups and some wash rags. She quietly set the tea in front of us as she scooted up next to Susanoo.


    "Mom....." Susanoo sighed as Izzy started wiping away the dried blood from his face.


    "You may heal quickly enough, but you are still a mess." She huffed. "I swear.....I would ask what got into you, but you always get into fights for the simplest of reasons."


    Seeing her like that, I felt weirdly jealous. And I missed my mom a lot right now.


    "You''re next." Izzy stood up, moving towards me. I didn''t even fight it as she got next to me and started rubbing away the blood that was still on my face. "I expected you to be the more intelligent one, yet I find you just punching each other in the face in such an idiotic manner."


    "Mom!" Susanoo sounded indignant.


    She just ignored him, though a little smile made its way to her face.


    "How did you know where to find us?" I asked.


    "How could I not know?" She deadpanned. "Do you think a God throwing around his power in the Mortal world is something that goes unnoticed? I could immediately tell where to find you two idiots as soon as you came to blows. Not to mention, I have no doubts that my other children are also aware what you''ve been up to, Susanoo." She nced at him from the corner of her eyes.


    "Oh great, I''m never going to hear the end of it from that bi¡ª"


    "Excuse me?" Izzy turned to him fully.


    Susanoo cleared his throat. "Amaterasu is going to nag me non-stop."


    Izzy snorted, turning back towards me. "Lay in the bed you have made, my son."


    Susanoo grumbled. "It wasn''t my fault. I was minding my own business. When this freak of naturees and messes with me. Seriously how many more Devils are going to pop up that we have to actually pay attention to? He even looks like that other freak of nature." He jabbed his finger at me.


    "Susanoo, mind your tongue." Izzy chided.


    "I''m not wrong. What else do you call a Devil capable of fighting a God!? Where did he even get my sword!?" Susanoo threw his hands up. "Is it even my sword, cause it was really different than thest time I saw it, andst I heard, it''s broken!"


    "Wanna find out?" I smirked.


    "Don''t goad him." Izzy swatted my shoulder. "And it is not your sword, son. I am aware of its origin."


    Susanoo grumbled but seemed to ept that.


    Well, she''s technically right. Which is the best kind of being right.


    "What about his Divinity, it''s almost exactly like mine!" He used.


    "Don''t be ridiculous. Unless you think he somehow stole some of it from you?" Izzy raised an eyebrow.


    Susanoo scoffed. "Of course not, like that could ever happen."


    Me and Izzy shared a silentugh, and I couldn''t help but look at that gentle smile on her face.


    It was really cute.


    "Stop flirting with my mom!" Susanoo shouted angrily.


    "What?" I blinked. "How was I flirting?!"


    Did her cheeks turn slightly pink....?


    "Bastard, like you''d ever be good enough for her. Keep your grubby Devil hands away from her or else." He growled.


    "Susanoo." Izzy said evenly.


    "But, mom, he''s a Devil. No one likes them." It was strange to see this usually arrogant God turn into.....a child infront of his mom. "What would the other pantheons think?"


    Izzy let out a long sigh. "Stop making assumptions." She rubbed her forehead.


    "We''re just friend." I huffed. "Besides, who''d take rtionship advice from someone who has to pay forpanionship."


    "Y-you!" He stood up.


    "Do I need to get some burn ointment, my Son?"


    "Mother!"


    "Well perhaps if you kept to your word instead of going out and finding courtesans, then you would not have suffered such verbal jabs." Izzy didn''t even bat an eye.


    Ruthless.


    "How did you know...I mean, I did no such thing!" He quickly correctly.


    "Do you really think I wouldn''t know what you''d been up to after blowing me off?" She harrumphed. "Just because I didn''t make my voice heard does not mean I was unhurt by your actions. I had many thoughts about marching right up and dragging you home."


    Well, she kinda did in the end....


    ".....sorry." He said quietly.


    How meek he was infront of Izzy, well I couldn''t fault him. No matter how strong I get, I''d probably act the same infront of my own mom.


    But I digress, it felt like it was going to get heavy soon, so I was probably overstaying my wee. "I''ll get out of your hair, let you spend some time with your son." I gave Izzy a smile.


    "I shall walk you out." She stated, standing up with me. That was not-so-subtle que for she wanted to speak with me privately before I left.


    "If I see any hands wandering, I''ll cut them off!" Susanoo hollered as we walked out the door.


    "Susanoo!" Izzy squeaked out turning noticeably red. She quickly mmed the door behind us as we stood on her porch. "That son of mine!" She huffed, throwing her hands up.


    Though, it was still pretty cute.


    "So, nice weather we''re having." I smiled innocently.


    "Wilhelm." She crossed her arms, giving me an unamused look.


    "Sorry." I slumped my shoulder. "Default reaction to being nervous."


    "I''m upset with you right now." She said inly.


    "I.....that''s fair, I won''t argue anything in my defense."


    Izzy looked at me again before letting out a sigh. "I''m conflicted. I am upset, yet at the same time, I have this indescribable warmness in my chest. It''s not hard to piece together what happened after you left earlier." She paused briefly. "I...It has been a very long time since someone has gotten angry on my behalf."


    "Izzy." I reached out as she epted being pulled into a hug.


    "Don''t think that this removes any annoyance I have right now." She said quietly. "Did you think I would be happy that you beat up my son!?" She lightly smacked my chest.


    "....If I said yes...."


    She puffed up, smacking me again, though she was trying hard to hold back augh. "Somehow...it turned out well in the end."


    "I take full credit." I said shamelessly.


    "And you undoubtedly caused a storm even if you can''t yet see it. As I said before, many are aware of what transpired. Not to mention there were many that saw you before you took the fight to the ocean."


    ".....It was all Susanoo, I''m innocent."


    "As I told my son,y in your bed." She reached up, lightly patting my cheek. "Thank you, Wilhelm. I truly mean it. While I don''t agree with the actions you took, I do appreciate the sentiment. I was going to just ept that he would nevere and visit. I couldn''t find the courage to confront him and thought it better to just let it be. Now...I have my son sitting in my house and he isn''t anxious to run away."


    "As long as you''re happy, it was worth it." I said with sincerity.


    She huffed again. "What was going through your head? My Son is a God, you don''t go picking a fight with a God just for....this!" She threw her arms up. How easily she shifted gear back to being exasperated. "I know my son''s strength, the weight behind his punches aren''t anything to scoff at. Are you sure you''re okay?" She inspected me.


    "It''s fine." I waived her off. "Just a bit ruffled. We didn''t really go all out and kinda just settled on punching each other."


    She crossed her hands, grumbling. "Stupid boys, always doing stupid things. I simply don''t understand it, why go through such pain for such an asinine reason."


    "Seeing how upset you were, it hurt more to see that look on your face than taking a few punches from him."


    She opened her mouth and quickly closed it again. "Foolish." She muttered, looking away. "Leave before I get it in my head to smack you." She shooed me away.


    I just smiled, about to walk away until I felt her hand grab my shirt.


    She quicky nted a kiss on my cheek before shuffling back into her home.


    I was left a bit stunned at what just happened. Only breaking from my thoughts as I heard Izzy start loudly scolding her son again. Though, there was a certain hint of fondness in her tone.


    I couldn''t up but smile as I opened a portal and headed back.


    ***


    Late chapter against since I got off workte. PHO Interlude is up next.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 235: Interlude 10

    <h4>Chapter 235: Interlude 10</h4>


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    ?Topic: Godzi in America?


    In: Boards ? News ? Events ? International News


    Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on April 3, 2009:


    Holy shit.


    So, myst big post basically started the same way, but here we go again. Basically.....and I can''t believe I''m typing this out...Godzi appeared in America? I just don''t even know anymore. So, people know, I got my sources. And they''re all saying, that yes, something resembling Godzi appeared in off the coast of New York very visible to the normal people out there.


    Got lots of pics to share


    [Link][Link] [Link][Link] [Link][Link] [Link][Link] [Link][Link] [Link][Link]


    There are obviously more, considering.....you know, giant monster, but these are the best I found.


    (Showing Page 1 of 1079)


    ? FBI_Secret_Wizard


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    So, most of us ran for the hills when that thing came stomping over. We Americans over here have seen enough Japanese monster movies to know where this was going. Though I did see one guy take out his pistol and go try to square off against it. Not idea if he actually did, must have taken him too long to move over there with the massive balls he was dragging.


    But in all honesty, what the actual fuck? Still kind of in the dark after what happened.


    ? Human_Magician24 (Verified Magician)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    Alright, so it apparently could breath fire? Turned a block into molten g after getting pissed off at something. It was big enough that everyone and anyone took some pot shots at it when they could. It came stomping in down town and causing A LOT of damage in its wake. I fired a few spells at it, but it just kinda ignored me. When it kicked over a 5 story building like some discount Legos, I knew It was time to skedaddle.


    ? ArcaneToilet (Verified Magician)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    Anyone else notice the idiots videotaping thinking it was a movie? And I''m talking about the obvious non-humans who just stood there and stared like idiots.


    WTF people.....


    Y''all fucking grew up with this shit happening all the time, you seriously think the massive stomping lizard thing is...fake?


    Fucking Darwin awards up in here. Fucking ironic too considering they''re not human....


    ? I_Read_Backwords


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    And there goes my shitty house...thank God for Insurance....do you think I''m covered for Godzi attacks?


    ? Fountain_of_Middleage


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    And herees the giant robot.....and no I''m not kidding. In all seriousness, I''m super fucking d that the government here actually keeps on top of this shit. They got some really cool toys for things like this.


    ? Orange_Pinapple (Verified Pineapple)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    @ Fountain_of_Middleage


    Our tax dors hard at work.


    And seriously, I''ll dly pay my taxes if it means we get Giant Robots when shit like this happens.


    ? Crustacean_from_Mars


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    HOW ARE YOU GUYS NOT FREAKING OUT!?!?


    ? Little_Straw_Big_Cup


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    @Crustacean_from_Mars.


    Oh you sweet summer child. Do you think this is the weirdest thing we''ve seen here? Hell, this isn''t even the first giant monster attack I''ve seen...this year.


    ? Pirate_of_the_Moon (Verified Pirate)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    @ Crustacean_from_Mars


    There''s a reason most supernatural powers pretend we don''t exist. Think about it, you got the crazies that made their way into myth and legend. The really fucking weird shit, I''m talking Zeus and his fetish for being a swan. Now, I want you to understand, NO ONE wants to deal with us.


    Should tell you something.


    I''m not really privy to the higher ups and their back door deals, but it''s prettymon knowledge that there''s an agreement to sort of....babysit us when we cause a mess for the rest of the world.


    I wouldn''t be surprised if a few Gods drop by with some Angel backup to smooth over everything once the fires go out.


    About to get MIB up in here. If you don''t got decent mind-protections, better hide in yo closet.


    ? Half_A_Centaur


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    Holy shit, did anyone see what just happened?!


    [Link]


    [Link]


    [Link]


    Some dude with red hair came flying over and punched the Godzi in the face then some chick cloaked in shadows made a giant shadowy hand and pped it across the face!


    I think it fucking just stood there, having no idea how to respond.


    [Link]


    You can literally see the moment where it goes ''what the fuck?'' and just stands there like an idiot.


    ? Immortal_Penguin (Verified Banned from Club Penguin)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    Uh....He looks kinda familiar? Wasn''t there a lot of talk about Lucifer Junior over in Japan? I read a few threads on it before.


    ? Interster_Taco


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    @Immortal_Penguin


    Holy shit you''re right!


    Hope the Angels that inevitably show up don''t go all...smitey. (Is that a word?). Would be fucking weird if the war got kick started in full due to Godzi of all things. How would we even tell our grandkids that story?


    Little Taco: Granddaddy, can you tell me how the war started?


    Grandpappy Taco: Well, little Taco, it all started when Godzi attacked.


    ? Dragons_are_sexy


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    So....uh....do you think that thing is draconic in nature?


    Asking for a friend.....


    ? Spellslinger4hire


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    @Dragons_are_sexy


    Are you fucking serious? I can handle the morbid humor in the situation but this is crossing the line.....


    ? Dragons_are_sexy (Temp Banned)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    [Deleted]


    She_Who_Invites: I agree with the person above, you''ve crossed a line. This is no ce for posting your VERY inappropriate fanfiction. Enjoy your two-week ban.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 1293 , 1294, 1295


    (Showing Page 227 of 1295)


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    I was wondering who was throwing around Divine Power. Ohoh, I''d recognize those hips and angry ''I''m going to step on you'' looks anywhere.


    Izanami, what are you doing in the states?


    ? DeeeeeeepState


    Replied on April 3, 2009


    @Hooded_one


    Uh...as in Japan''s creation Goddess?


    ? WestSideBestSide24


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    @Hooded_One


    Stop trolling, why the hell would a Goddess from Japane here to....fight Godzi?


    On a more important note, looks like we got a live stream going on ¨C [Link]


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    [Deleted]


    She_Who_Invites: This is your only warning, old man.


    ? Hooded_One (Temp Banned)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    [Deleted]


    She_Who_Invites: And here''s another two week ban, you old bastard.


    ? 21_And_Still_Hits


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    Uh.....Anyone notice on the live stream how the woman just stopped multiple times and visibly took out a phone, then momentster, She_Who_Invites responds to someone who ims to recognize her as a Goddess?


    ? She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    @21_And_Still_Hits


    You got something to say?


    ? 21_And_Still_Hits


    Replied on March 18, 2009:


    I saw absolutely nothing.


    On apletely unrted topic, I bow to our Not-Goddess-Moderator ovedy?


    ? Express_Canoe (Verified Boat)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    I didn''t see anything.


    Praise be.


    ? Keyboard_With_A_Sword


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    Praise Be.


    ? I_Read_Backwords


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    Praise Be.


    Does this mean I can im my house being destroyed as an act of God? Fuck it, I''m doing it anyways.


    Also, anyone else see Lucifer Junior try to sneak away with the giant severed arm of the robot? Then proceed to beat Godzi-lite over the head with it after getting discovered.


    ? Secret_MagicalGirl


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    I was too busy watching definitely-not-Izanami rip out the spikes on the monster''s back and make it cry.....am I allowed to feel sorry for the giant monster?


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 1293 , 1294, 1295


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    ¡ö


    ?Topic: Yasaka has a new lover?


    In: Boards ? News ? Events ? Kyoto ? General ? Yasaka Fan Club


    Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on April 28, 2009:


    First again, better luck next time everyone (:


    Okay, for real though. So, as you all know, our faction is led by the wonderful and beautiful Lady Yasaka. The Nine-Tailed Fox that stole the hearts of many young (And old) men and women.


    Just stop by the NSFW sections and you can see how.....loved she is.


    Well, looks like some of you are going to have a bad day today. Our lovely leader found herself a new lover!


    [Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link]


    Believe me when I say, these are just the tip of the iceberg. And this one is my personal favorite ¨C [Link]


    For those of you who can''t ess the links atm, it shows our beloved Foxy Momma with her Tail wrapped around the waste of a young man while they hold hands, walking down the street. So, I''ll be honest and say that this isn''t exactly news, but it hasn''t been so publicly confirmed until this point.


    Obviously, lots of people have been in denial and I have....sources, that have told me a bit more information.


    Kunou, our cute little Princess, she even calls him ''Daddy''. Not to mention, the Guards around the manor where they live refer to him as ''Young Lord''.


    So, who''s our mystery man? Who is the one that swayed the heart of our beloved Foxy Momma. Why, it''s none other than Lucifer Junior (Yes, we know his name at this point, I just think this nickname is funny).


    And my super duper secret source confirms, he spent the night at her ce rather recently. Obviously, no personal leaks of any kind are going to be spoken from my lips ¨C hands ¨C as I do honestly respect Lady Yasaka form the bottom of my heart.


    That being said, let the whiningmence!


    Edit: Who gave everyone the Simp tags, lol?


    (Showing Page 1 of 43)


    ? Fluffy_Tail_Fan (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009


    *Inhales*


    REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE


    ? Nothing_Personal_Kid (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    @Fluffy_Tail_Fan


    ...If he didn''t do it, I would have.


    ? SFW_Nudes (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    Pitchforks here, get your pitchforks!


    ? YasakaLover278 (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    If you can''t tell by my username....which now has ''Simp'' next to it, which only pops up in this forum. And I can''t even say it''s inurate.


    Well, there goes my dream. I guess I''ll go back to simping for Gabriel, since I know that''s never going to go away.


    ? Broli_Cannon (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    @SFW_Nudes


    Greetings to you, my good sir. Do you also happen to sell Torches?


    ? Regal_Fox24 (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    Amaterasu above, you all are disgusting! I remember when this forum was actually respectful. It used to be about how wonderful Lady Yasaka was, now it''s just you boys talking about her boobs or something else perverted. Just yesterday, I saw someone posting pictures of her feet!


    What''s wrong with you all!?


    ? Dark_Idiot_God (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    @Regal_Fox24


    Don''t kink shame.


    ? Banana_Bandana (Verified Simp) (Verified Guard)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    So, just felt like I should post here. It''s nice to see the Princess running around so happily again. Not to mention many of us catch Lady Yasaka with a smile more often as well. The Young Lord has been nothing but polite to us and even takes to chatting when he has some time. I admit I don''t particrly like Devils, but I have noints about him.


    It''smon knowledge now that he helped when the fighting took ce not that long ago. And I''m sure most people have heard the rumors about him helping to rescue the little Princess. From what I''ve heard he also brought along some friends to help out with some issues that have sprung up since we''ve been short staffed.


    Honestly, everyone up here likes him and we''re happy that Lady Yasaka found a good partner.


    ? Young_Master_Snake (Verified Simp) (Verified Dumbass)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    @Banana_Bandana


    How despicable! You''re supposed to be one of Lady Yasaka''s illustrious guards, yet you aren''t even removing such an eyesore from her presence! Like anyone would actually believe this trite, I bet you''re not even really one of her guards.


    A Devil with Lady Yasaka? Ridiculous.


    I''ve sent her no less than 5 letters and invitations to procure an alliance with my Noble Lineage through marriage, and I have been turned down every time. There''s no way that some.....bat could win her heart when even I was rejected.


    I suspect foul y, and I will be sending a letter in protest. And I will also be contacting my Grandfather to officially dere ourselves opposed to this rtionship of theirs!


    ? Bag_on_my_head (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    Yasaka, nooooooo!


    ? Dark_Idiot_God (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    @Young_Master_Snake.


    If you really want to win her heart, you need to show her your not willing to give up. Get some flowers, some chocte, go to her manor, shout for all to hear about your feelings and how you''re meant to be. If that despicable devil shows up, challenge him to a duel!


    You''re one of our most Noble Lineages, there''s no way some backwater creature like him could ever hope to match you!


    Once Lady Yasaka sees such a valorous battle on your part, she''ll fall for you immediately.


    ? Young_Master_Snake (Verified Simp) (Verified Dumbass)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    @Dark_Idiot_God


    I misunderstood you, my friend. I saw your previousment and thought you the mindless rabble that was not worth my time. This Young Lord admits his mistake, your words have resonated with my heart. I will take your advice and prepare to fight for my rightful ce!


    ? TheMadLad (verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    @Dark_Idiot_God


    So, just pinged him, he went offline.


    Didn''t Lucifer Junior fight Godzi in America a few weeks ago? Like, literally punch a gigantic monster it in the face and even fought Okita Souji?


    ? Dark_Idiot_God (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    @TheMadLad


    Yup.


    ? TheMadLad (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    And now I have a smile on my face. Almost makes it worth it for Yasaka to be off the market.


    ? Dark_Idiot_God (Verified Simp)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    @TheMadLad


    Hey, aren''t you that popr artist that draws Yasaka Nudes in the NSFW section?"


    ? TheMadLad (Temp Banned)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    [Deleted]


    She_Who_Invites: Do I really have to say this? Don''t post and try to sell your Nude Artwork outside of the NSFW section! I swear I''ve told you this 10 times already. Two Day bad since you''re usually very polite about it. Don''t do it again.


    ? Dark_Idiot_God (Temp Banned)


    Replied on April 28, 2009:


    [Deleted]


    She_Who_Invites: I am aware that ''feet'' aren''t technically NSFW. Regardless, stop trying to solicit porn from him in this forum! I would ban you for three days for being cheeky, but I''ll remove time for your earlier public service a few posts up. One Day ban, stop being a pervert in public.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 41 , 42, 43


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    ¡ö


    ?Topic: Fighting off the coast of Japan?


    In: Boards ? News ? Events ? Kyoto ? Breaking News


    ? Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on April 30, 2009:


    First on the scene, reporter Muffin here, and we got another doozy!


    Large waves rising of the coast of Japan, very public, and lots of normal people asking questions. Atleast when Godzi attacked American, they had contingencies for that kind of thing. But a storm suddenly forming and raining lightning over here? Shit be going down.


    Honestly, I''m not privy to many details here. This happened like 20 minutes ago, and my people are running around themselves, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.


    All we know for sure is that some people (Maybe Multiple?) are fighting off the coast of Japan right now.


    I guess we should be thankful they aren''t onnd?


    Thought, information, anything useful to add?


    (Showing Page 1 of 4022)


    ? Beach_Junkie (Verified Surfer)


    Posted on April 30, 2009:


    Yo, beach bum here. I''m a Aquatic Youkai, don''t want to give away too much information. As some may not know, we have a sort of instinctual sense of the water. And right now I''m fucking terrified of even being near the ocean. Don''t know what''s going on, but it feels like if I tried to go out, I''d die.


    Take that for what you will.


    ? I_Like_Swords


    Posted on April 30, 2009:


    I''m sort of locked up in my quarters right now. I''m working under some....important people and don''t have anything else to do. I''d just like to say that my.....boss is a bit worried, so I suggest everyone get somewhere safe?


    ? Abracadabra


    Posted on April 30, 2009:


    Some massive storms started rolling in, this is getting freaky. I think I saw a massive gyser shoot towards the sky on the horizon.


    ? NotAKo (Veteran Member)


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    So, don''t know if this is rted or not. But I was at a....particr establishment in a ''adult'' part of town. And word on the street was that Susanoo-no-Mikoto was also in the building. There''s amotion down stairs, I peek and see a redhead start throwing hands with the supposed Storm God and they disappear into a portal.


    ? Beauty_Is_Hard


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @NotAKo


    I''ll confirm this. I work at that ce as a waitress. Scared a lot of us when he came in, demanded everything, the best we had. Most of us tried to run away into the back until he left.


    What are you supposed to do when a Godes knocking?


    ? No_Pain_No_Fame


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Holy Fuck, a massive wave just crashed against the beach! There''s a bunch of people there stopping the waves from doing any real damage. Magic being thrown, and I think I saw some Touki user punch a big hole in the wave.


    Fucking crazy.


    ? Rewind_My_Mind (Verified Magician)


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    I''m part of a small Magician''s Circle that lives in Kyoto. For those of you who don''t quite understand, we didn''t want to live under the thumb of the big organizations, so Kyoto was kind enough to house us. Basically, we tried to get a birds-eye view of the battle, my master is what you would call ''High-ss'', so he''s quite strong and knowledgeable. We were able to see a few images before his spell fizzled out at the sheer power being thrown around.


    My Master said that a God is definitely involved.


    ? SwordMage41


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Saw some pictures in other ces. Guess who fucking popped up again? If you guessed Lucifer Junior, you win a prize.


    So, two plus two equals Lucifer Junior and Lord Susanoo duking it out over the ocean?


    I''m confused.


    ? Mika_10


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Tried my own spell to see what was going on since some of my divinations were getting thrown off due to the influx of power. Saw a Devil and a God fighting, so I guess that also confirms some suspicions?


    @Rewind_My_Mind


    PM your Circle''s details, I''m actually looking for a casual tower to set up in. If you''re epting, I have my resume ready to go.


    ? XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Did you all see those lights!? It''s aliens, I knew it! Lord Susanoo is fighting off the Alien invasion, we need to go help him!


    ? KimchiLover


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Really void? Are you off your meds again?


    Seriously though, the fuck is going on? I''ve had this tense feeling since a bit ago, and it won''t go away.


    ? Contract_With_A_Devil


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    How interesting. I was able to procure a visual with a few spells that seems to withstand the power being thrown around. Some things aren''t so clear, and it''s a bit difficult to see from the distance I had to set up, but beggars cannot be choosers, I suppose.


    If anyone wishes to watch with me ¨C [Link].


    Quality as you might expect iscking due to recording a magical projection through my phone.


    But, it is a wonderful distraction if nothing else.


    ? Rewind_My_Mind


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Contract_With_A_Devil


    How did you stabilize your scrying spell? My Master said that the Divine Power being released was enough to shatter his own spell sequence from just the residual pulsing of it. I can''t fathom the amount of power you would need to sustain such a thing, and you are much closer than my Master was able to get.


    ? Contract_With_A_Devil


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Rewind_My_Mind


    I''ve had many centuries to master my art, young man. I do so love your inquisitive mind though, feel free to message me, I wouldn''t mind answering a few magic-based questions.


    ? Small_Giant


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Damn, each of their punches is creating a shockwave that send a small tsunami in every direction. And all that Lightning, I can barely make out their figures, but the red Hair on the Devil makes it a little bit easier to see. He''s tanking a lot of it and keeps going.


    @Contract_With_a_Devil


    Thanks for the stream!


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 4020 , 4021, 4022


    (Showing Page 188 of 4022)


    ? Red_Princess


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Holy_Justice_Knight


    And I''m telling you, that he doesn''t have the Power of Destruction!


    ? Holy_Justice_Knight


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Red_Princess


    Like anyone would believe a devil. Hell spawn will spout lies to distort all truths. I only pray that the Heretics kill each other and ept the True Lord''s mercy on their souls.


    ? Sword_Maker_Devil


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @I_Like_Swords


    That is an interesting theory. And did you see what he did with his swords and those portals? It gave me some ideas to work with myself. I feel like I''ve been hampering my own skill by thinking so straight forward.


    ? I_Like_Swords


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Sword_Maker_Devil


    Yes, it''s always beneficial to view how others wield the same weapons as oneself. If nothing else, it can be inspiration on how to better your own techniques.


    ? Susanoo_Worshipper47


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Devil Scum! Lord Susanoo will wipe your kind from existence! We await your order, my Lord. Our swords are ready to follow your lead and strike down this creatures and cast them from ournds!


    ? Yolfon


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Susanoo_Worshipper47


    Seriously, stop making alt ounts, everyone knows you''re the same person. There''s no ''legion'' waiting for him after the fight.


    Back on topic.


    Does anyone know what spell he''s using to make those portals? It doesn''t match any I know of, the sheer stability of them is in itself impressive when a God is right next to them and they never once waver in their stabilization.


    ? Enthusiastic_Melon


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Yolfon


    I have been wondering this myself. I witnessed his magic used some weeks ago during the mess that happened in Kyoto. My Calctions areing up.....strange to say the least. At this point, I''m open to any theories, perhaps it will give me inspiration for a different approach. They couldn''t possibly be worse than myst attempt sprouting an apple tree that somehow grew watermelons.


    ? Secret_MagicalGirl


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Enthusiastic_Melon


    Aren''t you supposed to be working right now, hmm?


    ? Enthusiastic_Melon


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Secret_MagicalGirl


    Aren''t you?


    ? Secret_MagicalGirl


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Enthusiastic_Melon


    Touch¨¦. Lets not tell Red about this.


    ? Snowy_Rainforest


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Sweet Christ vacationing in Valha. Is anyone watching what the fuck is happening!? Did Susanoo just grow like a hundred meters tall!?


    ? Red_Princess


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Is this what happens when a God gets serious!?


    How is Wilhelm able to fight something like this? How did he get so strong, he''s not even that old!


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 4020 , 4021, 4022


    (Showing Page 377 of 4022)


    ? Red_Princess


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Does anyone know what happened? He Just.....summoned another sword or something and everything stopped? I could barely see it, that massive giant just fell over after he point his sword at him.


    ? Orange27


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Been reading several pages now, anyone notice that red thing on his arm? Too burry to make out, but it was taking hits from Susanoo. Maybe a Sacred Gear of some kind?


    ? XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Red_Princess


    I''ve been saying this all along, he''s an alien! He''s not from this universe, so obviously he has powers from other worlds. He probably used something we don''t understand to seal away Lord Susanoo''s godly power.


    ? Red_Princess


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Would you stop already! I''m looking for serious answers, go troll somewhere else!


    @Orange27


    He doesn''t have a Sacred Gear, he was checked when he was younger.


    ? ma_King (Verified Royalty)


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Red_Princess


    Ignore Void, he''s famous around here for saying crazy things. He usually gets banned by now, but no idea where the moderators are.


    ? Hooded_One


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    That sword gives me a strange feeling. I tried to take a look at it with a divination, but something repulsed me. Whatever it is, it''s dangerous enough that the Storm-Kiddo waspletely neutered at a gesture.


    ? Light_of_Irnd


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Hooded_One


    If you are who I think you are, then that is an ominous statement. Should we look into it more?


    ? Hooded_One


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Light_Of_Irnd


    Bah, you can if you don''t care about that old hag getting in your way. I like my balls where they are, thank you very much. Though I suspect some of the ''others'' won''t take heed. Those old fashioned foggies don''t even keep up with modern technology, so they probably have no idea what''s going on, hah!


    ? A_White_Dragon


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @orange27


    I think I know what that is....


    Now to book a flight over to Japan.


    ? Fists_Over_Bloodline


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    So manly, he withdrew his sword and started fighting with his fists! They just keep trading blows and wait until the other falls!


    ? SmallMountain


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    How the fuck did we go from fuck-off big Susanoo made of lightning and divine power, throwing fuck-off mountain busting attacks, to them just beating the shit out of each other?


    I mean, not that it''s not fucking awesome to watch a God and a Devil just duke it out. But I can barely see what''s going on...and I''m confused, and still a bit scared.


    And are going to talk about the fact that there''s apparently ANOTHER devil capable of fighting gods?


    How many more of those are there?


    ? Once_You_Go_ck


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @A_White_Dragon


    Yeah, no. Your ounts are frozen, you aren''t going anywhere. Stay here, things are already crazy, I don''t want to throw you into the mix.


    ? Devil_Destroyer


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @SmallMountain


    Sorta known now that he''s the bastard of Lucifer and hasn''t actually ever been seen with our faction in any way. So...not part of us I guess? Don''t know who dropped the ball there, or why he doesn''t seem to want to be around us. But we apparently missed out on THIS.


    Well, I can''t really me him. Half-Devils are looked down on. If I was in his shoes and that strong, why would I bother with our faction when he can basically do whatever he wants?


    ? The_Green_Pencil


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Fucking damn, how long have they been throwing punches? I know it''s been mentioned, but wow, Devil here taking hits from the God Susanoo, can we please acknowledge how fucking metal that is? And it looks like he''s getting as good as he''s giving.


    I''m rooting for you, Devil Dude!


    ? Holy_Avenger


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Are we just going to ignore another abomination getting this strong? What are the Angels doing, strike down this devil while he''s weakened! We don''t'' need another monster like Lucifer taking power!


    ? The_Green_Pecil


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    @Holy_Avenger


    Fuck off with this crap. If you want him to die so much, why don''t you go over there and challenge him yourself, coward.


    ? Secret_MagicalGirl


    Replied on April 30, 2009:


    Well.....looks like everything ended. I think that''s Izanami breaking up the fight.


    This has been....eye opening to say the least. Nowes the headache of the paperwork detailing everything that happened. Going to have to listen to a bunch of old guys argue back and forth about this mess for the next few days.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 4020 , 4021, 4022


    ****


    As promised another interlude with this format. Sorry forte chapter, the one I did tonight took me a long while.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 236 - 225

    <h4>Chapter 236: Chapter 225</h4>


    I let out a long sigh as my shoulders slumped. I didn''t regret my actions, but damn did I keep doing things that made me so exhausted.


    I was healed up after basically having a slug fest with a God.....something I didn''t think I would ever consider being a thought that would''ve crossed my mind several months ago.


    Taking out my Kaleidophone, I looked at a missed message from Artoria informing me that they would be waiting at home when I was finished. Well, atleast it didn''t have the same undertone as thest ''talk'' I had with everyone. No, it came off as more of a habitual worry than anything else.


    And honestly, I couldn''t really fault them for that. On one hand it''s not like I ran off unprepared or with little thought. But at the same time, I would be just as worried if they got up to the same things I did. I was confident in Sc¨¢thach when she faced Athena, that didn''t mean I didn''t have any worry in my heart.


    And I just looked a mess. Honestly, the only reason my clothes held up so well was because the Dust that Jinn had originally wove into them. It was basically all used up after the Grail War, but it made my clothes extra sturdy. However, I could see tears at the seams, not to mention scorch marks and rips from just the fight itself.


    And now I''s just procrastinating. I cast a few spells to clean up most of the blood and made myself presentable before heading off.


    I waived my hand, creating a portal right to my living room, and right to the waiting figures of two of my girls.


    As always, it''s nice to be home. But my attention was grabbed by both Artoria and Raikou waiting for me.


    They both gave a warm smile as I walked forward, closing the portal behind me.


    "Master." Raikou sounded relieved, even though she knew I had been okay. She immediately got up and pushed my head right between her breasts like she did often. "I am happy that you''re safe."


    "Well, if I have something like this toe back to, how could I not be?" I felt no shame as I took those massive boobs into my palms, earning a little surprised squeak from her when I squeezed them.


    "Master~" Raikou yfully swatted at me with a little red on her cheeks.


    I couldn''t help butugh as I relinquished those heavenly mounds. "Artoria." I smiled towards my beautiful knight.


    "Wilhelm." Artoria greeted. "I am also very relieved that you are....unharmed." She looked at the sorry state of my current dress.


    "Haah." I let out a long breath. "Honestly, it''s not as bad as it looks."


    "I am aware." She responded.


    "Yeah, I ¨C" I paused, blinking for a moment. "What do you mean?" I tilted my head in confusion.


    "It is not a surprise you do not know yet. But, you have already be rather famous from your battle with Susanoo." Artoria replied. "I admit to not being too familiar with this era''s technology, but from what Yasaka exined you are ''trending''. I believe you should be familiar with the terminology?"


    I opened my mouth and closed it again. "Well........fuck." I sighed, understanding what she meant.


    "Yasaka showed us how many people were speaking about you. It was quite impressive that so many could speak at such great distances. And there was much praise for you, fighting against Lord Susanoo like you had." Raikou tried to sooth me.


    "I will always ept my ego being stroked." I snorted. "But there goes my anonymity, and by extension, you all will probably be dragged into the spotlight."


    Had someone been scrying us? I doubted a God or the equivalent would have posted or ''streamed'' our fight. So it had to be a ''mortal'' magic user of some power and renown. I was understandably distracted, so it''s possible it may have slipped past my detection. Or rather, perhaps it was far enough away that it didn''t get picked up by my senses?


    Well, I can''t im to be omnipotent, I''m sure there are plenty of scrying methods I''m unaware of in this world. I should investigate the magics here to at the very least inform myself of anything that might be important.


    I would investigate the extent of everything avableter.


    "I am unafraid of being known." Artoria stated. "I was a King, Wilhelm. I do quite enjoy this life I have built, but I am not fazed by the masses looking upon me."


    "She speaks the truth for me as well. I was quite famous as well, I had many admirers and many who looked up to me and my Heavenly Kings." Raikou sounded rather proud of herself.


    "I just...didn''t want to drag you all into my messes." I slumped my shoulders.


    "If I did not wish to get ''dragged into your messes'' as you say, then we would not be in a rtionship." Artoria lightly chided. "We are together, Wilhelm. I have my own situation that has caused you unneeded burdens, how could I fault you for doing the same?"


    Was she talking about Mordred?


    Raikou draped herself onto of me. "I am your Servant." She said firmly. "I am your Mother, and your woman." She poked my cheek. "Do not forget any of these, for each one of them would mean I stand by your side regardless of the situation."


    I took her hand and squeezed it with a smile. "Well, all''s well that ends well I suppose." I sighed. "Atleast this time I''m not getting a talking to." I gave a wry smile.


    "This time you took the appropriate actions." Artoria huffed. "You informed Raikou, and Yasaka before you went off. You spoke with Yasaka about the ramifications of your actions and made a n to reduce any potential liabilities. I find no fault in how you handled yourself."


    Good, so I wasn''t in the dog house.


    "Who knew that acting mature would be so beneficial?" I said dryly. "Granted, I say that after I decided to fist fight a God."


    "And it somehow worked out." Raikou sounded amused. "I would have been more worried had Lady Izanami not dragged you both off at the end."


    "Oh joy, so everyone even saw that." I face palmed. "And you feel better about Izzy now?"


    "Mmm, I am willing to admit if my thoughts are wrong. I held a certain prejudice before and I have been since talked away from it. I will form my own opinion, but I do not think it will differ than the one both you and Artoria hold."


    That''s good, Izzy needs more friends. And I bet Raikou could do with more friends too. Actually, Raikou would love another ''mom'' friend outside of Yasaka.


    "Now that I have seen you back safely, I shall retire for the night." She leaned down, kissing me on the cheek.


    I also didn''t miss the wink she sent towards Artoria before she disappeared upstairs.\


    I raised an eyebrow at the bashful looking Artoria. "So....what was that about?" While Raikou wasn''t as...possessive anymore, she certainly would not miss out on an opportunity to be affectionate.


    "Nothing." She denied, very poorly.


    "Mhmm." I nodded, making me way over to the couch. "I assume you wanted some time alone?"


    She shifted her eyes to the side, looking even more embarrassed. "I requested to have you to myself this evening." She admitted, walking over. She tucked her hair behind her ear, giving a cute smile as she slowly slid into myp, our faces barely a few inches apart.


    "It''s been tough on you these past few days." I wrapped my arms around her. I could understand it, with the confrontation with Mordred happening, her emotions were still probably all over the ce.


    She happilyid her head on my chest. "Yes.....but there is also a freeing feeling that came with it." She let out a long breath. "I wished to have some time with my....boyfriend and the others agreed. Though, you should be prepared for them taking their own time." She giggled.


    "That''s fine, I didn''t n on doing anything big anytime soon. This whole things with Susanoo.....it was not something I intended."


    "I am aware." She stated. "We all are. Yasaka exined to us when she came over."


    "All of you were gathered?" I asked.


    "Meridia was unable toe over, she had something keeping her attention." Artoria shook her head. "But I was keeping her abreast of the situation. Yasaka hade over with Kunou after picking her up from school, only leaving when we saw that you were safe with Izanami afterwards. Rin had quickly went to bed after that, Sc¨¢thach as well as she said it was ''expected of her student''."


    "Heh, yeah that sounds just like her." I shook my head with augh.


    "Jinn too was worried, but she calmed down once Kunou came running over." Artoria smiled. "She is quite the energetic child."


    "It''s a shame Meridia didn''t get to meet Kunou yet, but at the same time, I really want to be there when it happens."


    "Do you think Meridia will...be as warm towards her as you think?" Artoria questioned.


    "I can see your thoughts. She is aloof and appears rather cold or indifferent, but honestly, she''s a big softie at heart." Iughed.


    "Yes, I have seen her fa?ade break sometimes when you tease her." Artoria quirked a smile.


    I couldn''t resist anymore, I leaned in and ced a light kiss on her lips. "Have I ever mentioned how adorable your smile is?"


    "Mayhaps once or twice." She giggled, before taking a quick kiss herself. "Before we indulge...." She quickly broke it with a whisper. "I have a question I wish to hear your opinion on."


    "Oh?"


    "Mmm." She looked...unsure? "I have the desire to.... bond with Mordred."


    "Taking the first steps are always the hardest."


    "Yes....I have raised an idea to the others, but I do not know if I am taking advantage of, well...." She went quiet.


    "Hey, no judgement here. I''m in your corner and I''ll do my best to support you."


    "Yes." She gave a small smile in thanks. "I wish to bring Mordred over and meet Arthur." She said inly.


    "That''s.....not a horrible idea now that I put some thought into it." I gave myself a moment to think it through.


    "I believe I have been neglecting Arthur and have merely dropped him into Yasaka''sp. I took responsibility and I wish to make sure it is settled to a satisfactory end. He had spoken of a Sister and a ''Pendragon Family'', something I desire to acquire more information about." She bit her lip. "And I am nervous about being alone with Mordred thus far. I believe that Arthur would do well enough as a distraction that I may not make a fool of myself."


    "Oh Artoria." I cupped her cheek. "I don''t think you''re doing anything wrong. And besides, does Mordred also not have a link to Arthur just as much as you? Honestly, I think it would do Mordred good to see him, and it''s a good opportunity for you both to spend time together without any awkward feelings being prevalent."


    It''s a good distraction while also being a good idea regardless. And the Pendragon Family is an interesting topic to pursue. I honestly don''t know much about them outside of the mon knowledge''.


    Didn''t that kid say his...girlfriend or lover or something was being held to keep him in line.


    Oh yeah, he fell for his maid. I guess I''ll let Artoria handle things on that front, she wanted to shoulder the responsibility herself it seemed.


    "The others said much of the same thing. I suppose I am once again over thinking things."


    "It seems we both do that." I grinned.


    "It is not just Mordred and Arthur." Artoria continued. "While everyone was gathered, we had spoken on many different topics."


    "Oh? Things other than your super secret girl talk?" Iughed.


    "Yes." She nodded. "Yasaka is still in need of help so we all wished to lend her aid. Things had been.....pushed back slightly due to abrupt circumstances."


    "So I messed things up." I sighed.


    "Cease." She poked me. "Yasaka was not upset, so you will not make yourself take any perceived me." She gave a stern look that didn''t allow rebuttal.


    "Alright, alright." I held my hands up in surrender. "I won''t act all depressed, your highness."


    She pursed her lips. "Good, as you shouldn''t. Now, as I was saying, the others will be joining in going over to Yasaka''spound. I bring this up as it will coincide when I wished to bring Mordred to meet Arthur as he stays under her watch."


    "Who all is going?" I questioned.


    "All but Meridia." Artoria confirmed. "Sc¨¢thach said she would spend time with her Guards to help train them."


    "I will prepare incense and offerings for their graves." I said without hesitation.


    "She is not taking them under her tutge, merely training them in ways they already know." Artoria exined.


    "Okay, so some may survive." I said dryly.


    "She is not that bad."


    "On a mountain." I replied. "No Magic, magical cold wrapped around me, and a sealed corrupted Divine Spirit underneath." That mountain climbing during my time in the Land of Shadows was certainly not enjoyable!


    "....mayhaps we should speak with her so none of them die." She said quietly before continuing. "Jinn offered to teach Magic to any who desired, which was not an inconsequential amount. I believe most of Yasaka''s forces were trained in this Touki."


    "Makes sense." I rubbed my chin. "And Jinn would make a wonderful teacher. She''s probably more knowledgeable about Magic here than I am at this point." Many people would be surprised how many breakthroughs can happen with a few pointers here or there.


    It''s so easy to get wrapped up in ones own thinking that pointing out a slightly different approach could have amazing reactions.


    "Yes, I felt the same way. Her knowledge was already extensive and it''s spreading out to cover even more every day."


    Is it weird that I love having my girls be praised?


    "And Raikou?"


    "I am not aware of the specifics, but they spoke of something." Artoria shook her head. "But we all nned on going to Yasaka''spound theing day. I....we all hope you woulde. But if you are unwell or recuperating...."


    "I would love toe with you." I wrapped my arms back around her. I knew she wanted more moral support, even if it was specifically from me. "And I''m mostly fine now, just a bit exhausted after everything. Having my Aura dried out just doubles the feeling." Which is probably the only ''downside'' to the ability.


    "Wonderful, it makes me anticipate tomorrow." Artoria smiled brightly.


    "I have some things I want to talk about myself but...I''m honestly too tired to even broach them. So, instead..." I let my hands slide down her back before resting right on that perky butt of hers.


    "You and your insistence at holding my posterior." She let out a huff, cheeks reddening. "Does it truly entice you that much?" She muttered.


    I raised an eyebrow, giving her a noticeable squeeze.


    She let out another huff. "I suppose that was a pointless question."


    "If you mind it, I will respect your boundaries."


    "We are in private; I do not mind you taking liberties." She looked away. "I....enjoy it when you touch me so desirably."


    "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure you know just how much I desire you~" I teased her.


    The little sound she made as she buried her face into my chest.....


    Way too cute.


    ***


    Superte chapter because the pat reon chapter for today was over 8k words. So, wrapping up what happenedst chapter and moving forward, not much to say.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, viist my /astoryforone

 Chapter 237 - 226

    <h4>Chapter 237: Chapter 226</h4>


    Getting up from bed without Artoria in my arms made it a sad morning. I was groggy when she got up a couple hours ago by herself, wanting an early start to attempt her own crossroads with Mordred. Something I could not at all find issue with as it was a great step forward for both of them.


    I looked at the clock in my room, only sighing when I realized I could sleep for another few hours. However, I just couldn''t bring myself to put my head back down. I was in that awkward state where I was now fully awake, even if I was still a bit tired and knew I couldn''t fall back asleep for any meaningful time.


    Oh well.


    Thankfully I had a few spare outfits readily avable, though I felt the need to ce some more orders. I really need to find some sterner materials for Medea so I stopped losing outfits. Hell, maybe I should extend my wardrobe a bit? I wonder if Yasaka would enjoy it if I wore a Yukata ¨C or rather a Kimono, to be more traditional.


    Something to look into.


    Regardless, I hurriedly got ready with a quick shower and hastily dressed because there was something I wanted to do now that I had some hours before heading over to Yasaka''s home. After making sure I felt I was presentable, I popped on over to find my Jinn, buried in my workshop doing who knows what.


    The startled girl practically jumped when I ced a hand on her shoulder.


    "Will!?" She squeaked out, looking a cutebination of annoyed and happy to see me.


    "Jinn." I smiled, wrapping her up immediately.


    "Mou~" She whined. "Don''t startle me like that." She let out a cute huff, epting my hug almost eagerly. "Did Artoria leave already?"


    "Hmm, she did, but did you not see her leave?"


    "I''ve been caught up in some things." She gestured to many different items, books and assortment of materialsid about.


    "Is this rted to the super secret thing you wanted to show me?'' I questioned.


    "Nu huh, that''s over in the Library. I already finished, but I''ll show it to youter when we have time." She smiled brightly.


    I gently swayed back and forth, enjoying the feeling of her touch. "How you been?"


    "I''ve been well." She said immediately. "No, I should say I''m doing great. I''ve been having a lot of fun doing almost anything I want!" She eximed. "It''s almost overwhelming to have so much to do at my finger tips and know that I have all the time in the world." She leaned into me just a bit more. "However, I feel like I should be asking you that question. Mr. Gets into fights with Gods." She puffed up.


    "Hey I''m good." I replied. "Look, no wounds, nosting damage. And everything turned out well in the end."


    "Mhmm." She huffed. "Still don''t like it." She added on quietly.


    "I said I would take care of you, yes?" I whispered. "That means making sure I''m strong enough to do so."


    "...being sweet like that is cheating." She huffed again.


    "Well, I''m a cheating cheater who cheats." I kissed her cheek. "I heard you''re going to be doing some teaching on Magic. You excited?"


    "Yes!" She perked up. "I could never be able to teach like this on Remnant with my....restrictions. But I can share knowledge that I learned outside of that ce as much as I want!" She excitedly replied. "I''ve discovered that if I ''re-learned'' things that coincide with knowledge from Remnant, things that might not bemon knowledge, I can then speak of them freely."


    "Oh, that''s interesting." I mulled that over as it made sense based on what I knew. "How you given any thought on Meridia''s offer to alter the Lamp?"


    "I...it scares me." She said quietly. "I know Meridia wouldn''t harm me, but the idea of being changed....."


    "Hey, I understand. There''s no push, no expectation." I brushed some hair out of her eyes. "My Jinn is perfect by just being herself."


    Happy Jinn noises ensued, and it was just as cute as I would imagine.


    I''ve said it before, but seeing any of them happy really brought a smile to my face. "Did you sort the materials around? I need some stuff and don''t want to mess up anything you did." I booped on her the nose.


    "Un." She nodded. "I have almost everything sorted appropriately." She tilted her head, silent for a moment. "However, maybe it would be easier if you told me what you need and what you''re doing? If you need any help I''d love to be of assistance."


    "I would absolutely love it if you helped me." I said with all sincerity. One of Jinn''s ''things'' was that she apparently wanted to be ''helpful''. I don''t'' know if that''s just a hold over from the many years she spent in hermp. The ideas and concepts engraved into her creation, or if she simply had that kind of personality. "Let me show you what I wanted to make." I began to exin my intent to her.


    ***


    "Good morning, my Student." Sc¨¢thach looked up at me from the table. She had made herself what appeared to be a cup of coffee and was reading a newspaper.


    "Sc¨¢thach." I smiled. I still felt my heart flutter, just seeing her in my life even doing the most mundane of things. Her simply being her again, it made me feel at peace. "I didn''t realize that they had a News Paper in Kyoto..." I mean it made sense, but it''s just one of those things you don''t really consider.


    "Mmm, I happened upon it by chance. After yourtest escapade, I wished to keep up to date on any news." She calmy sipped her drink, almost unconcerned about the whole thing. Though from what Artoria told me, she looked just as concerned as the rest of themst night.


    "Good morning Sc¨¢thach~" Jinn walked right behind me.


    "Hello Jinn." Sc¨¢thach smiled humoredly towards the Artifact Spirit. "You''re looking very energetic this morning. Did he finally make you a proper woman?" She teased.


    I just sighed. Honestly, I don''t know what I expected.


    "Nope, he still hasn''t bent me over and taken me yet." Jinn replied without hesitation.


    Sc¨¢thach paused, blinking at her. I suppose she wasn''t used to the bluntness that Jinn was willing to use. Though her expression quickly morphed into a grin. "Fufu, what a boldness you have."


    Jinn shot her a smirk but didn''t respond.


    "You''re terrible." I said dryly, giving Sc¨¢thach a kiss on her cheek.


    "My, and you made this terrible woman yours. What does that make you, hmm?" Sc¨¢thachughed.


    "I never said I don''t make foolish decisions." I shot back, stealing her coffee and taking a drink.


    She raised an eyebrow as I locked eyes with her. "Just remember, we will be sparring at some point for you to hone your new abilities." She said calmly.


    "That''s future me''s problem." Iughed, setting her cup back down.


    Would I regret itter? Definitely. But for the current me, it was too fun to see her reactions.


    "Anything interesting in the news?" I asked, going to the coffee pot, a little impressed that Sc¨¢thach figured out how to use the coffee machine properly.


    "About what I had expected." Sc¨¢thach. "I do like the idea of a centralized ry of important information like this. However.....it seems they are specting quite a bit based on few facts. There seems to be a consensus that you fought Susanoo because he made a move on Yasaka." She looked mildly amused by that piece of information.


    "Huh." I blinked again. "I mean....I would? But that''s pretty far from the truth." I shrugged. "Well, it''smon to make sensational stories and as long as they''re ''technically'' true or rather you can''t say they lied or something." I waived it off. "Well, it doesn''t matter. Besides, I doubt Izzy would want her personal matters sted for the world to see and I''m sure Yasaka is going to enjoy teasing meter."


    Jinn sat down with Sc¨¢thach. "I can imagine that quite easily."


    "Yes, that fox of yours seems quite prone to being mischievous." Sc¨¢thach added.


    "That she is." I had no argument to the opposite. "How was your ''mission''?" I asked.


    "Oh, it went quite well." Sc¨¢thach perked up. "It felt like the old days when I traveled thends and sought out challenges." She had a nostalgic look on her face.


    "You know, you''re allowed to do that now." I pointed out. "I''m not forcing you to stay here, by my side. You can go out, explore, have fun etc."


    She gave a gentle smile. "I am aware. I know you would not restrict me if I desired to embark on any adventure. Perhaps I may in the future, but for now, I merely wish to remain by your side."


    And it''s moments like this that I have to force myself from not blushing. I took a sip to hide my growing embarrassment at her statement. I don''t know why she can get to me so easily. "Was the Mountain God a good opponent?"


    "It was....not weak, I suppose." She replied. "It''s different than our own world, I knew that but to see it obviously so." She paused, shaking her head. "Such a thing should have been a Terminal of the World, or maybe a Nature Spirit if not a true Divine Spirit. Yet, while it could be called a ''God'' by the strictest definition, it wascking in many respects."


    "A disappointment?" I asked.


    "No....I did not expect much, but my previous experience had caused me some manner of regret that it was not the same. I am merely being wistful about the past. It possessed an impressive brute strength, but itcked any real finesse. I do not believe it had truly fought in more than a handful of fights."


    "Ah, lots of power, no idea how to utilize it?"


    "It is as you say." She nodded.


    "I noticed that with Susanoo." I stated. "Not theck of experience, mind you. But more therge amounts of just pure ''power'' but not really the more....conceptual means of using it. Honestly, based on how the ''fight'' went....I think in pure strength the Susanoo here is a couple levels above the Susanoo back in the other world. Yet, I question if this one could match the previous one in a fight to the death."


    My Sword certainly countered almost anything of substance for this Susanoo. But that''s not really fair with how absurdly it can just shuts off anything substantial he can do. I''m probably his perfect counter, conceptually aligned to defeating the being known as ''Susanoo''.


    "An interesting thought, one I had not fully considered." Her interest clearly looked piqued. "I will examine this theory more closely when I go and spend time with Yasaka''s warriors and see their skills."


    "Please don''t kill any of them."


    "I will consider it." She grinned, clearly in jest.


    "So, what exactly made the Mountain God get all upset?"


    Her smile quickly turned to a scowl. "I believe I had a run in with those ''Evil Pieces'' you had mentioned."


    "Did someone try to force one into you?" I said calmly, but I felt my anger start boiling up at the idea.


    "No." She denied. "But Yasaka called the creature Raikou and I killed a ''Stray Devil''." She snorted. "It was a druid."


    "A druid?" Jinn was the one who spoke up, having been listening quietly before. "I believe I read about them. Their magic is intertwined with the natural world. A maniption of nature different than most Mages."


    "Yes, I could recognize the art it used from my homnd. It also took a lot of effort to converse with it after turning into that.....abomination."


    "Can you exin it fully?" I asked.


    Sc¨¢thach let out a long breath. "The Creature had mindlessly been eating away at the Mountain God''s domain, enraging the Mountain God. Due to its magics, it was able to somewhat corrupt the area. After subduing the Mountain God, we learned of this ''corruption'' and sought out the source and we found this.....Devil. I recognized the magics it used immediately. They are something revered and almost sacred back home. They have long since been used for fighting and warfare, but their essence stems from harmonizing with the world. Druids are a profession to be respected." She said firmly.


    "Druidism is almost antithetical to the nature of Devils. Why was he turned?"


    "He was forced." Her scowl deepened. "Even with my Magics, engraving a Primordial Rune onto his soul to push away the mental pollution, he could only ry minimal thoughts before his body broke down. He was obviously not in his correct mind when he did what he did. But he spoke that a Devil forced the ''Evil Piece'' into him at some point. The Druid had escaped and over time, slowly morphed into the creature we had fought."


    I let out a sigh, running a hand down my face. "I''m sorry you had to experience that. I know those ''Evil Pieces'' had been abused in the past and they''re certainly going to continue to be abused. I have no love for them myself."


    Mimicking me, Sc¨¢thach let out her own sigh, dropping the scowl. "If I see such an act happening infront of me, I do believe I will be removing the heads of those responsible. I have no issue with the idea of intent behind them from what has been exined to me. If someone wishes to change themselves, it is not my ce to voice my opinion. However, I vehemently despise what has happened here."


    "If you want to hunt down Devils who abuse them, by all means." I had noints. "I''ll pull up a chair and watch as you tear them apart."


    "Fuu." She let out a smallugh. "You know the right things to say to me~"


    Bloodthirsty Sc¨¢thach is just as cute as bashful Sc¨¢thach.


    "So where did Raikou go?" I finally asked, noticing she wasn''t around.


    "She volunteered to look after Kunou for the day at her school. As I offered to begin training Yasaka''s people, some of which took to guarding the school her daughter went to. Since it was the first lesson, we came to the conclusion that having them all present would be most beneficial. Thus, Raikou suggested she take their duties over for the time being"


    "That was really sweet of her." I couldn''t help butment. "And it''s sort of ironic that Raikou, known for ying many Youkai in her life, is guarding a school of Youkai children." Yeah, Raikou would probably be a better guard than the contingent of Youkai that Yasaka had over there.


    "She actually looked really happy to do so." Jinn stated. "I think she wants to spend time with Kunou."


    "Well, I can''t fault her on that."


    "She''s just too cute!" Jinn cooed.


    Iughed, patting Jinn''s head. "Oh." I paused for a moment. "I almost forget." I rummaged through my ring, turning back to Sc¨¢thach. "I wanted to give you something."


    "Oh?" She raised an eyebrow as I presented a bracelet to her. "It''s beautiful." She muttered, taking it into her hand.


    "I matched the color scheme to your hair." I smiled.


    "Thank you, Wilhelm." She said softly, looking it over. "And it isn''t just a piece of Jewelry."


    "Nope." I grinned. "It''s like my ring, having its own folded space attached to it. But it''s also linked up with the house. Jinn helped me finesse it a bit, you should be able to grab anything in the storage room. Of which I was going to make sure is stocked with anything we might need."


    She carefully put it around her wrist, holding it help to the light. "I love it." She said again.


    "He made one for all of us." Jinn said happily, holding up a simr, but slightly different variation.


    "Fufu, no wonder you were so happy." She smiled towards the Genie. "I can see where you found such feelings from." She got up from her seat, and walked over to me. "You are a very sweet man." She ced a quick kiss on my lips. "Shall we head out?" She asked.


    "Sure, I''m about ready. What about you, Jinn?"


    "I''m good to go." She hopped up.


    I nodded, waiving my hand and creating a portal over to Yasaka''spound.


    ***


    "Well, talk about perfect timing, they just got here as well." Yasaka''s voice reached my ears. She stood there speaking to Artoria and Mordred.


    "Yo." I waived to both of them.


    "Sup." Mordred said evenly. And I noticed a very familiar sword in her hand.


    "Hello, Wilhelm." Artoria smiled.


    Huh, they looked ratherfortable in each other''s presence, atleast on the surface. I''ll have to ask her how her morning went with Mordred.


    "Hello!" Jinn stepped up. "You must be Artoria''s Son, I''m Jinn!" She happily greeted the Knight.


    "Y-yes." Mordred blinked at the sudden acknowledgement. I guess not many people are so blunt with her ''parentage''. "I''m Mordred Pendragon." She said with clear pride in her voice.


    I could see the little smile make its way onto Artoria''s face.


    "So, weren''t you both supposed to be here like.....a couple hours ago?" I questioned.


    "We...were sidetracked." Artoria coughed.


    "Uh huh." I gave her a dry look. "Let me guess, you stopped for breakfast or something simr?"


    "I-I do not know what you speak about." Artoria looked away.


    Mordred seemed surprised by her bashfulness. It was probably a side of Artoria she wasn''t used to seeing or hadn''t seen before.


    "Yes, I''m thoroughly convinced." I deadpanned. "Have you met Arthur yet?"


    "Nah, just got here." Mordred spoke up, ying with the hilt of her sword.


    "Well, he''s probably going to get upset when he sees you with Caliburn." Iughed.


    The corners of Mordred''s lips curled up. "Well, if he has a problem with it, he can try to take it from me" She gave a toothy grin.


    "Well, you''re going to need a ce to keep it." I flipped my hand over, holding out a Bracelet I made specifically for her.


    "What''s this?" She looked at it, taking it from my hand.


    It wasn''t quite jewelry, more a strap for around her wrist, if a little more elegant than that. I wanted to make sure it matched her personality. "Storage bracelet, you know how to manipte your Magical Energy, yeah? Use it to feel around the thing, it shouldn''t be difficult to use."


    Mordred looked at it, I felt her Magical Energy slowly feed into it as her eyes perked up. She then looked at her sword then back to her Bracelet, and the sword then disappeared. "Fucking awesome. Thanks."


    "No problem. Wanted it to be easier for you to keep your stuff." I smiled, turning towards the others. "And don''t think I forgot you two."


    "Wilhelm, you didn''t have to." Artoria said, but she exuberated happiness. "I do not believe I''ve ever received Jewelry before." She said quietly. It was iid with the same green that matched her eyes. She quickly put it on, staring at it around her wrist.


    "Oh, this is lovely." Yasaka also spoke up. "And you say it has a pocket space attached to it?"


    "Yup, wanted to make it function as well." I chuckled.


    "Oh my, this is simply wonderful. Thank you, Wilhelm." Yasaka admired hers as well.


    Well, I''m d they like them. Still had to give the others theirs. I''d probably go see Meridia after I''s done here, and spend a bit of time with her.


    "First you protect me from that vicious God, and now this." Yasaka gave me that look, the one I knew when she was teasing.


    "Pardon?" Artoria tilt her head.


    I let out a sigh. "It''s the current spection, that apparently, I was defending Yasaka''s honor because Susanoo was being aggressive with her."


    "It''s better than people knowing you got into a brawl with a God because he wouldn''t see his mother." Sc¨¢thach snorted.


    "....I can''t argue with that."


    "Was he strong?" Mordred asked.


    "Yup." I replied. "Pretty damn strong, though we weren''t really trying to.....kill each other. Atleast, I don''t think he went all out or whatever."


    "Lady Yasaka." A new voice resounded, one I recognized.


    "Soma." Yasaka greeted him.


    "I have brought him as requested." He bowed as someone walked into the courtyard behind him.


    Arthur Pendragon looked a bit better since thest time I saw him. Like he had a bit more life behind those eyes of his. He carried himself well, not cowering even as all our eyesnded upon him.


    He nced at us, especially Artoria, and even Mordred. It was clear he had questions, but he held it in. He kneeled before Yasaka. "Lady Yasaka." He respectfully greeted.


    "Arthur." Yasaka said curtly. She was obviously still upset with him, and no one could me her. "You have proved a valuable asset,pleting every assignment I gave to you to satisfaction."


    "I thank you for your praise." He bowed his head.


    "Mmm, I am relinquishing you to Artoria for a bit. You will listen to her orders." Yasaka turned away after giving her blunt orders. "Jinn, Sc¨¢thach, why don''t I show you both where the training area is?"


    It was an obvious cue that she wished to step away. Sc¨¢thach and Jinn nodded to her as they followed behind. I decided to stay back and see how this yed out.


    Arthur blinked. "Did she say Scath ¨C"


    The sound of steel meeting steel screeched throughout the area. Arthur held a de aloft, holding back Mordred who casual waved Caliburn at him.


    Interesting, Arthur had a way to keep a sword stored away. I felt the spatial fluctuation, and I''s a little interested.


    "Who ¨C " Arthur couldn''t speak again as Mordred pushed away his de, knocking Arthur back.


    "Not bad, I guess." Mordred snorted. "If he didn''t have a good instinct, his head would have been rolling on the ground."


    "Indeed, his skills are admirable for his age." Artoria nodded.


    Arthur stood back up, shaking off the sudden blow. "Who are you, why can you wield Caliburn? That de doesn''t ept wielders so easily..."


    Mordred snorted, mming the tip of Caliburn into the ground. "Shouldn''t I be asking you that? Who the fuck you think you are? Using my Father''s name like it belongs to you?"


    Arthur blinked. "Father?"


    "You don''t deserve to face this sword." She let go, letting it stand there, upright for everyone to see. Her red lightning crackled around her hand as rent was summoned. "Let''s see if you''re worthy to call yourself his descendant."


    "W-wait!" Arthur called out, only to go flying back blocking a blow from Mordred''s rent.


    "You call yourself a knight?" Mordred scoffed. "Does any prissy noble these days get to im that title? Did you find some lord to pay for it? Are you even a real knight?" Mordred walked towards him.


    Arthur stood back up, dirt covering his face. He seemed to start taking this seriously, his Magical Power swirled around him, condensing into a form of Reinforcement I was unfamiliar with. He held his sword up in a stance, and I noticed a small crack in the de.


    "Hoh, you got some bite to you? Did I piss you off? Why don''t you try to take Caliburn back from me?" Mordredughed.


    I nced at Artoria who just calmly looked on, so I wasn''t too worried.


    Arthur moved much faster, his swing sharp as he attacked Mordred this time.


    Artoria''s Knight looked pleased that he took the initiative, but she still had a ruthless smile on her face. She held a single arm out to block his full powered strike, the shockwave pushing back the surrounding dirt.


    He followed up with a flurry of attacks as Mordred parried or blocked each other.


    "His skill isn''t half bad." Imented. "You were definitely right there. He''s reacting well, and even getting used to her speed and movements as this goes on."


    Honestly, he probably relied heavily on his weapons in the past. I wouldn''t be surprised if it had stunted his growth a bit.


    "Yes, though hecks power behind each blow, he knows how and when to attack." Artoria nodded. "He has a very solid foundation, though it could use some refinement. I believe hecks battle with opponents stronger than him who he has to struggle with. Perhaps used to fights he could ''win'' easily, or trainers who did not push him far enough. I feel his de has been a mite sharper sincest time, though."


    He was quick to jump into the fight when his ''faction'' attacked. Honestly, he didn''t even try to gauge our powers even after showing that we easily dealt with his rades''. Maybe he was a bit inexperienced. If so, then she would be correct, his time doing ''jobs'' for Yasaka probably filled out some missing gaps in his abilities.


    "To be honest, I don''t know much about the Pendragon family. Are they something you''re interested in checking out?"


    "I admit I feel a certain responsibility. I remember the words he spoke about his family before and it does not fill me with joy that my name would be carried on in such a way. I will speak with him more to further understand the details. If need be.....I will take a trip there myself and show them the error of their ways." Artoria said resolutely.


    "Well, you wouldn''t be alone." I smiled towards her. "I''ll definitely be there with you, and Mordred would refuse to stay away."


    Artoria let out a smallugh. "Yes, Mordred would assuredly show them his displeasure."


    "Is that all you got!?" Mordred roared, kicking Arthur across the courtyard. "If that''s it, you''ll never be worthy of that name!"


    Arthur scrambled back to his feet, but Mordred gathered her Lightning and stomped on the ground, sending a wave of it towards him.


    He mmed his sword down, trying to shield himself as it washed over him, crackling across his skin as he let out a shout. He growled standing back up, ring at Mordred''s casual stance. With another roar, he charged at Mordred, gathering a lot of his Magical Energy onto his sword, mming it down overhead.


    Mordred blinked, bring up rent to blow with both hands. "Actually felt that one." She smirked, both swords struggling against one another. She let out her own shout, swinging rent and shattered his already diminished de.


    Arthur stepped back, staring at his destroyed weapon. "That was a Magic Sword created by a famous cksmith...." He let out a sigh as the naked hilt fell to the ground.


    "Pfft." Mordred snorted. "Like that cheap thing could stand up to my rent." She swung her de onto her shoulder.


    Arthur looked.....defeated. I don''t doubt he could still keep going for a while, with much more to show for his efforts, but his heart simply didn''t seem in it right now. "Who are you?"


    She grinned. "I''m Mordred Pendragon, true Heir to Camelot." She dered without a hint of hesitation. "And you ¨C " She leveled her de with him once more. "Are going to earn the right to call yourself that name, even if I have to beat it into your body."


    I turned towards Artoria again who let out a sigh, though that little smile never left her face.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 238 - 227

    <h4>Chapter 238: Chapter 227</h4>


    "Stop fidgeting." I huffed, my hand engulfed in a golden light as I healed Arthur''s shoulder.


    Mordred stood nearby, crossing her arms and continued to re at him. It wasn''t so much hostile, but it was obvious she still looked down on him. "What a fucking disappointment. Maybe you should be called Tristian, you have that same ''woe is me'' fucking annoying look about you." She snorted is disdain, finally turning away to fetch Caliburn. "Boohoo, I fucked up and have to shoulder the consequences." She threw her hands up.


    I felt Arthur stiffen in my grasp, but his expression didn''t change.


    I paid attention as Mordred easily pulled Caliburn from the ground. I didn''t know the exact mechanisms of this Caliburn, but I did know it had a simr function to not allow anyone ''unworthy'' to wield it. Like most powerful weapons here, it had to ''ept'' its wielder.


    "Didn''t even have the decency to fucking try either." Mordred continued in annoyance. "Your footwork was aplete mess! Did no one teach you not to stay t footed!? I could have skewered you a dozen times while you just stood there with a stupid look on your face."


    "Mordred." Artoria gently called her name.


    "Yeah, yeah." Mordred calmed down at her call. "Little shit needs to get his head pulled out his ass or he''s just going to continue being useless."


    Well, leave it to Mordred to not hold her words back. I don''t think any of us would say he wasn''t talented, but he really didn''t look like he put 100% effort into his little....spar.


    "Arthur." Artoria turned to him. He perked up a little bit at her gaze. "I wish to know more about the Pendragon family."


    He opened his mouth then closed it again before letting out a sigh. "What do you want to know?"


    Mordred also listened intently, her attention right on the man who took her father''s name.


    "Exin the structure of your family. How it came to exist, and what powers it holds." Artoria said simply.


    Arthur rubbed his eyes, shaking off the dirt from his body. "We trace our origins back to King Arthur.....as specified by our namesake. I admit to not delving too deep in our archives, but it''s what I''ve been told since I was born. And no one I''ve met seems to dispute this fact."


    "You do not know from whom you have descended?" Artoria questioned. "Did...King Arthur not have many cousins? How can you be sure you came from him and not....his sister?"


    Arthur shrugged. "At this point, I don''t think anyone cares. The name seemed more important than the honor that should havee with it."


    Artoria took a deep breath. "Continue."


    "We aren''t that different than the noble families in this country....." He looked lost for a moment before continuing. "We''ve survived by producing some powerful warriors and magicians over the centuries. And we''ve made sure to keep ties with certain organizations like the Church."


    The Great ns....that''s a pretty goodparison. I vaguely knew of them as well, five great ns that controlled a good portion of this countries'' supernaturalmunities on the human side. They had a....strained rtionship with the Youkai.


    "Yeah, and having a bunch of powerful weapons doesn''t hurt either." Mordred added.


    "You speak the truth." Arthur didn''t deny. "We have many armaments that have been gathered over the years."


    "We''ll get to that in a moment. Please continue exining the family to me." Artoria ushered him back on.


    "There is not much to say about the family itself....it became tradition to name ourselves after our ancestors." He shook his head. "I was named Arthur Pendragon when I was born, and my father, took up the name of ''Uther'' at that time."


    "So they just call the first born ''Arthur Pendragon''?" Mordred asked incredulously. "That''s fucking stupid. What if twins are born? What if only a girl is born? What if multiple children are born? Are they just tossed to the side as unimportant?"


    "Mordred raises a good point. What of the other children of the family. I am sure that you are not the only one of the recent generations to exist."


    "No, there are several hundred people in our family." He shook his head. "And if someone proves to be more talented, they can im the name and take the position as head of family in time. I''ve fought off many attempts to im it form me over the years."


    "How ruthless." Artoria muttered. "They created a system that no longer fosters new generations but pits them against each other to create the strongest. There would be no bonds formed, only the lobbying for more power and authority."


    "I could only trust two people in the family." Arthur smiled bitterly.


    "Yes, you mentioned your lover and your sister." Artoria sighed, rubbed the bridge of her nose. "This sounds like arge mess to deal with."


    "What''re their forces like? Allies, or other people that would help them?" Mordred asked.


    "They have a tentative alliance with the Church, though they often but heads. They have good rtions with the Golden Dawn. My father had my sister ¨C Le Fay go over to them for her magical studies when she revealed her talent to better foster rtions." Arthur exined.


    "Le Fay?"


    "Yes, my sister was given that name when her abilities in Magic were revealed." Arthur nodded. "She was barely a year old and started being able to push and pull the magic in the air subconsciously. At least, that is what I''ve been told."


    Huh, impressive.


    "What is this, Golden Dawn?" Artoria asked.


    "Its....a Magician association." Arthur rubbed his head. "Apologies, I don''t know much about them as I never had a talent or inclination to learn more than basic spells."


    "I know a thing or two." I spoke up, drawing their attention. "So, the Golden Dawn is a Magicians association ¨C obviously. They''re one of the most powerful in the world, which is strange since they''re rtively new. Though, based on what Arthur said, I''m guessing your family helped prop them up in their formative years?"


    "Yes, we have close ties with them." He nodded again.


    "I can''t say anything about the numbers they could gather on a whim, but they are fairly popr and probably have ties all over the world." I tapped my chin in thought. "They primarily use the ''Modern Magic'' passed on by Merlin."


    "Modern Magic? Please exin the meaning." Artoria asked. "I wish to understand the nuance."


    "Alright, so Devils." I flicked my hand to produce a Magic Circle. "They have something called ''Demonic Power'' that behaves very simrly to Magical Energy but is also a bit different. Devil Magic basically uses Imagination instead of more traditional methods of spellcasting, and Demonic Energy to actualize everything. If a devil wants to create a fireball, they merely have to imagine it and their Demonic Power shapes everything in a way to make it happen."


    Artoria tilt her head. "Howe you do not do such a thing?"


    "Haah." I slumped my shoulders. "I have a pitiful amount of Demonic Power, enough that I couldn''t even be detected as a Half-Devil when I was younger. I basically just use it to ease together the multiple schools of Magic I often use to form a coherent whole. If you want to be pedantic about it, I more or less use it as a lubricant so all the ''moving parts'' of my other magics work seamlessly."


    "And how does this fit into what is known as ''Modern Magic''?" Artoria continued to question.


    "Well, I''m getting to that. It requires a little bit of backstory. So, Devils were created by Lilith and Lucifer through some means, it''s not that important. But what is important, is that the little ''spark'' of creation from being something created originally from Big G''s hands, Lucfier had certain concepts of creation inside him that were passed on in the process. Add in the ''corruption'' of the process to make ''Evil Creatures'' and you have Demonic Power that basically ''creates'' the magic that devils desire. Now, it isn''t some omnipotent and almighty thing, otherwise Devils would have long overthrown the current stability of the world."


    "I believe I understand now. This Demonic Power shapes the desires and imagination of the wielder, thus removing a need for more studious thoughts regarding applications. They will it to happen, and their Demonic Power is drained to facilitate the action."


    "Bingo." I smiled. "So that leads us back to Modern Magic. Merlin ¨C" I paused briefly to let the name sink in for them. "Created ''Modern Magic'' that most humans use, and based it off Devil ''Magic''. Instead of using the ''creation'' concepts intertwined with their heritage, it instead makes use of calctions to bring about the same phenomenon on a more....natural level as opposed to forcing certain things into existence."


    It was a long winded exnation, but something they should probably know about for the future. And this was about the extent of my knowledge on the subject as well. Jinn probably knew more at this point if her habits on gathering information were anything to go by.


    Artoria nodded along in understanding. "I see, thank you for exining it to me." She pondered my words for a few moments. "The Church, the Golden Dawn...are there any more allies of significance?"


    "Not that I am aware of. I wouldn''t be surprised if they had hands in a few more ces, but I was not privy to the details before I left." Arthur shook his head.


    "And what about powerful armaments. What would be expected should someone siege them?" She furrowed her brow.


    "Originally, they possessed Excalibur Ruler..." Arthur sighed and I saw Mordred visibly scowl at the mention. I suppose Artoria told her about them. "Caliburn was their strongest weapon, and I took it with me when I left. Besides those two, they have Gtine which my father wields. They have both of King Ban''s weapons ¨C "


    "That''s the adulterer''s father, right?" Mordred interjected.


    "Yes, that was Lancelot''s father. King Ban of Benwick was an early ally of....King Arthur. I believe there were two swords, Courechouse and Coreiseuse. A holy and a demonic sword of admirable quality." Artoria stared off with a nostalgic look on her face.


    "I remember that old bastard. Hard to believe the Adulterer was rted to him." Mordred snorted. "What other weapons, squire?"


    "Squire?" Arthur blinked.


    "What else do you call someone training to be a proper knight?" Mordred scoffed.


    Arthur just sighed again. "Red hilt, the sword of ¨C "


    "Sir Balin." Artoria let out a long sigh. "That sword is nothing but trouble and should be destroyed. The Machinations and schemes of Fae set about upon men for perceived slights. A cursed sword masquerading as a holy weapon."


    "Sounds like a story. I only vaguely remember him from the stories." Imented.


    "It is a tragic tale full of scheming by inhuman minds." Artoria rubbed the bridge of her nose again. "Continue, please." She gestured towards Arthur who just looked at her in confusion.


    At this point, Artoria had slipped up and spoken of things with too much familiarity. I''m sure Arthur was utterly confused even ignoring Mordred''s own promations.


    "Gareth''s Ring, Failnaught...apologies, those are the only ones I can remember off the top of my head. There are other weapons not from that particr period that they''ve also gained. And there are also many that we had lost or taken by others. Arondight, for example, is in the hands of the church. And we once had Ghad''s sword ¨C rather the Sword of David, before it was taken by the church as well."


    "Any fine weapon such as those in a skilled knight''s hands is something to be wary of." Artoria spoke. While I don''t think they were particrly threatening to us....I suppose her mindset was one that considers all variables.


    "Really, that''s it?" Mordred looked at him. "I remember the vaults having hundreds of powerful and magical weapons. These idiots call themselves ''Pendragon'', yet they don''t even have a fraction of that!?"


    Arthur just looked embarrassed at the usation. "Well, there was a very durable sword I remember using as practice when I was younger. But it doesn''t really have a famous name. Otherwise, I don''t recall anything specific, though I am positive they have more than what I know of."


    "Well woopty fucking doo." Mordred scowled. "Please tell me we''re going to kick their asses. I really want to vent right now."


    I shrugged. "That''s up to Artoria and how she wants to handle things." I turned to Arthur. "You should be in contact with your sister, right?"


    "Yes, I have sent her a message that I am safe and not to worry." Arthur confirmed.


    "Hmm that''s probably for the best." I pursed my lips. "Though, I don''t know if Yasaka would be upset if she visited....." He has been doing a decent job from what Yasaka''s said. A reward wasn''t something out of reach, but I wouldn''t step on her toes in any way.


    "I don''t wish her to see me like this." Arthur sighed. "She''s always looked up to me, I''d rather not shatter that image and hurt her."


    "Fucking coward." Mordred spat out, earning a surprised look from Arthur. "What, you wanna protect your ''honor'' your ''pride''? You fucking lost any of those when you were involved in kidnapping children. And now you''re just pushing away the only family you have, someone that actually cares about you?" Mordred looked actually upset.


    And truthing from Mordred. She cared in her own way as well. The fact that he was descended from this world''s Arthur, I think Mordred also felt a sense of responsibility.


    "Going to be more fucking work than I thought." Mordred grumbled in annoyance.


    "Pardon." Artoria interrupted. "Can you please go back to that sword you mentioned?" Artoria interjected, with a strange look on her face.


    Arthur blinked in confusion. "Which one?"


    "The one you mentioned you wielded as a youth....I merely wish to verify. This sword you spoke of, was it shorter than the standard sword, barely more than a dagger, but weighing several times more with being exceedingly durable?"


    Arthur tilt his head. "Yes, how did you ¨C "


    "And does it possess an amateurish engraving on the t of it?"


    "It does, Welsh, Cleddyf Bach. I think it means ¨C "


    "Little Sword." Artoria finished.


    "Artoria?" I questioned.


    She bit her lip, a look of sadness visible in her eyes. "When...King Arthur was but a small child, he wished to finally wield a true sword as he was only allowed wooden ones at the time. He begged Sir Ector many moons for the opportunity, but was denied each time. When his name day approached, he tried once more, he asked Sir Ector, told him that even a ''little sword'' would do. It was a gift, with the help of Merlin, and Sir Ector carved that engraving himself."


    Oh Artoria.


    Even with all the differences between worlds, there was bound to be simrities. The names of the weapons passed around are enough evidence of this.


    Artoria closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Thank you for your information, Arthur." She said evenly. "I will take into consideration what you have said and decide on our course of action."


    To decide if we go have a talk with the Pendragon Family or not. Well, it was shaping up to be a whole mess, but I didn''t think that would deter Artoria if she got the notion in her head.


    "What are you sitting there with that stupid look for!" Mordred kicked him. "Go get another sword you idiot, we''re nowhere near done yet!" She snorted, making Arthur quickly get to his feet to seek out a new weapon.


    Mordred nced over to Artoria who still looked a bit lost. And I think this was her own way of supporting her, as she didn''t want Artoria to be seen like this by Arthur.


    Once Arthur was out of earshot, Mordred spoke again. "Father....I''ll take care of this dumbass." She said quietly.


    Artoria smiled warmly at her son. "Thank you, Mordred. I will leave him in your capable hands."


    She nced at me and I took that as a cue to follow. She silently reached out and grabbed my hand as we got close.


    "You okay?" I asked as we left the courtyard.


    "I am well. I was just taken by surprise, a memory I had not thought about in a long timeing to the surface." She smiled bitterly, shaking her head. "I still have no clue what I should do regarding this....Pendragon Family." She sighed.


    "You''re not obligated to do anything. This isn''t your world, Artoria." I pointed out.


    "I am aware." She sighed. "But I wish to do something. Even if it''s not truly rted to me ¨C it''s a legacy my counterpart left on. I don''t wish to see it so.....perverted. I have no desire to rush into matters, I will consider my actions wisely beforeing to a decision."


    "Whatever you choose, we''ll all be right here with you." I squeezed her hand.


    "Yes." She smiled brightly.


    "Well, wanna go see Sc¨¢thach beat up Yasaka''s guards?" I offered.


    Artoria let out augh at that. "I would like that very much."


    ***


    Sorry for no chapter yesterday, there really isn''t a good way to tell everyone on this sight when i''m not posted outside of a ''fake chapter'' and those just feel worse than no chapter at all imo. So, i had a friend who was moving and the movingpany canceled on himst minute, so I was one of several who rushed over to help him.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord -- JbwkdNDt7F

 Chapter 239: Interlude 11

    <h4>Chapter 239: Interlude 11</h4>


    Rias Gremory POV


    Come on, just a little more.....


    "Rias ¨C "


    I just needed to shape it a little bit, feed in my Demonic Power and force it back into shape. Then... "HAAAH!" I shouted, throwing my Power of Destruction away, destroying a few dozen trees. I let out a long breath, falling to the ground.


    "RIAS!" I heard a shout behind me.


    "Sona?" I blinked. "When did you get here?"


    "I''ve been calling your name for fifteen minutes, Rias. I couldn''t get close because you were throwing around your Power of Destruction!" She looked annoyed


    "I was training." I huffed, trying to stand up, but my legs were still wobbly.


    "I noticed." She snorted, reaching over and helped me up. "Rias, look at you, you''re a mess."


    "What? Am I supposed to be clean after doing my training?''


    "That''s not what I mean and you know it." Sona red. "Look how many cuts you have.....and you can barely stand. You''repletely exhausted, this can''t be healthy to push yourself like this everyday."


    "I did just a light workout then practiced my Power of Destruction, it''s not that big a deal." I waived her off.


    "Rias, are you going to fall if I let go?"


    "....no?"


    She raised an eyebrow and I looked away. "A light workout, huh?


    "What''s the big deal!? We''re supposed to push ourselves to get stronger." I started to get feeling back in my legs.


    "Yes, and it''s a gradual process. Destroying yourself every day isn''t healthy. Look, your calves are swollen! You''ve been working yourself to exhaustion, then emptying all your Demonic Power to the point where you have nothing left. How are you supposed to heal properly if you have absolutely no energy after destroying your body?" She gestured around us where the area waspletely destroyed.


    "It works, I''ve gotten better. I wasn''t able to put out that much power a couple weeks ago." I pointed out.


    "That''s not the point." Sona sighed. "We''re not Humans, Rias, we''re a fair bit sturdier than them.. However we also have our own limits, and you''repletely ignoring them. I certainly don''t fault you for trying to get stronger, but you''re being reckless about it."


    "I don''t see the issue." I hesitantly took a step away from her arms. "See, I''m good."


    Sona pushed her sses with a look that said she didn''t believe me. She raised a finger and shot a ball of water at my forehead, I immediately fell back down and couldn''t get back up.


    "Oh, Rias." Sona sighed again, looking at me before sitting down on the ground next to me. "Rias, we''re friends."


    "It feels like you''re about to break up with me." I shot her a smirk.


    "Rias, I''m being serious."


    I let out another long sigh. "I know, Sona. Just say what you want to say."


    "Rias, why do you think I''m here, right now? This is a property your family owns, why would I just show up?" She waived her arms around. "Your queen ¨C Akeno, asked me to talk some sense into you. You''ve been j neglecting your other duties, and as soon as you have free time, you''ve disappeared to train."


    "Why are people getting upset that I''m training!? My parents made a huge deal that I was beingzy, now that I''m not, it''s suddenly an issue!?" I shouted in annoyance.


    "Rias, that''s not what everyone''s worried about. You constantlye to school covered in bandages, exhausted and sleeping in ss. You''ve pushed your duties off to Akeno, and haven''t managed the territory at all in a few weeks."


    "I''ve been busy. I don''t have much longer before my Marriage is supposed to happen." I scowled. "I refuse to marry someone that''s not someone I choose. If I have to go through this every day, then I will."


    After thinking about it, I realized I didn''t really hate Riser.....mostly. I hate what he represented, the fact that my choice in a husband was taken from me without my consent. I was supposed to be the heir to the family, and I''m being forced to marry someone against my will.


    "Rias, if you want help with training, I''m always here. I saw you practicing your Power of Destruction, you know I''m better at control and Magic than you are. I would have quite a few ways to help you in that regard. Not to mention, Koneko and Kiba have a better understanding of the physical portions, why aren''t you using them?"


    That''s....a good point, though I could only bite my lip in embarrassment. "I just...."


    "Wanted to do it on your own?" Sona offered.


    "It sounds stupid when said out loud." I sighed.


    "Rias, what''s wrong?" Sona asked.


    "Nothings wrong." I pulled my knees in, curling up. "I''m just tired of being treated like I''m weak. You know that Riser sent me a letter? Basically, told me that I might as well just get married now and save myself the hassle." While I didn''t hate Riser for his ''part'' in my forced marriage, I hate that he''s an insufferable ass.


    "Since when do you listen to Riser? We''ve gone to plenty of parties and different gatherings where he runs his mouth and you usually ignore him." Sona replied. "No. You started getting more into your training, but you really started going overboard recently. Is this about Takao ¨C Wilhelm again?"


    "It''s not." I denied.


    "Rias....why are you so hung up on him?"


    "I''m not!"


    "Rias...."


    "It''s just.....I don''t know." I don''t know why his situation made me so...annoyed. "I felt like I did something wrong. If I was nice to him, and didn''t pretend like he wasn''t there, do you think he would have still ran away? I felt like it was my fault, that I should have done something more. And I was so worried about him. Then, he keeps popping up doing these ridiculous things and it felt like a p in the face."


    "So you''re pride was hurt?" She looked at me. "I can rte in that regard. Don''t forget, he blew me up and I will certainly pay him back for that. But you''re hung up on him in a different way."


    "No...maybe? I don''t know." I sighed, it was difficult to put into words. "I know it''s stupid. I felt like...it''s not fair. How long had he been training for? He''s only been aware of the supernatural for....weeks, months. And now, we find out he fought a God and walked away!? What the hell have I been doing my whole life!?"


    No one could even answer me on how he got so strong. It''s like it just happened overnight and they''re all confused too. He won''t even talk to us at this point, not that I could me him. I could literally take a bus to where he''s staying, but I know I''d be kicked out immediately. It took some work to find out what actually happened with Okita since everyone was trying to keep the rumors from being spread. I only knew that they fought each other, and Wilhelm was the winner.


    "There''s even rumors of him using the Power of Destruction." I buried my head into my arms. "The images are blurry, but it looked kinda simr....." I said quietly. "He wasn''t supposed to be able to do that. And If he can even do that, then what am I even worth?"


    "Rias." Sona put a hand on my shoulder.


    "I know what you''re going to say." I sighed again. "I know it''s stupid and all that its just ¨C"


    "I feel that way about my sister sometimes." Sona interjected. "It seems like no matter how hard I try, she''s always so far ahead of me in everything and it looks so easy for her. She prances around dressed up like she does, handles all her duties to my begrudged admiration, and still is so strong that I can''t even put it into words. How am I supposed to match up to that?"


    I knew that Sona had some envy towards Serafall, but I didn''t realize they extended that far.... "I wanna be better." I muttered. "I feel like a joke and I hate it. I used to be so proud of my title ¨C being called the Crimson Haired Ruin Princess, it made me feel special. Now though, it feels like people areughing at me when it''s mentioned."


    "Then let''s be better." She smiled. "I know what I need to work on. But you need to start using your peerage better. There''s no excuse for how much you''ve ignored them."


    "Ugg I know." I groaned. "Mom and dad already got after me about that awhile ago. I guess I just got so caught up in my own stuff that I never bothered to even care about it." I rubbed the bridge of my nose.


    "How is your family?" Sona inquired.


    "Better, I guess." If it could be called that. "Brothers not....acting weird much anymore. It was strange to see him like that. I think Grayfia finally talked some sense into him. Though, it''s still a bit of a sore subject around him and he just goes silent whenever it''s mentioned."


    "I''m sure the rumors going around aren''t helping that." Sona muttered. "And it wasn''t ever something we could have hidden. At this point, the whole underworld knows about Wilhelm and the fact that he fought Susanoo. A lot of people are asking about him."


    I can''t even browse the Devil without people talking about him. People asking questions why he wasn''t seen around us, why he''s never been spotted in the underworld. It wasn''t hard to put two and two together.


    What are we even supposed to say? ''Sorry, you know that son of the current Lucifer, the one who fought a literal God, yeah we fucked that up and he doesn''t like us, sorry.


    And the Old Satan Faction was using it as an opportunity to drag us through the mud. It''s even more ridiculous considering that they despise Half-Devils.


    "I''ve been hounded a few times myself." I ran a hand through my hair, removing some dirt. "Sairaorg actually asked about him too, wanted to go meet him."


    "Oh Satans, that would only end up badly."


    "What, you think they''d not like each other and fight or something?" I asked.


    "No, I think they''d get along well, and then get into a fight for fun." She deadpanned. "That muscle head is...admittedly very likable in his bluntness, so I''m sure they''d get along if Wilhelm wasn''t so....distant."


    Distant? I guess that''s one way to say it. He ran away from us and refused to even respond to any letters. Mom said she sent him one and he''s yet to respond, so there''s very little hope on that front.


    "No use in thinking about it now." I looked up at the sky, the clouds were starting to get a little dark. "I should probably head back."


    "You okay?" She asked with concern in her eyes. "I can help you if you want."


    "I can walk on my own now." I slowly stood up. "Besides, if my peerage saw you carrying me in, they''d just worry even more." I shook my head.


    "Before you go, I did have something to talk about ¨C in regards to being the other overseer of the city."


    "Hmm?"


    "Got a call from Serafall, we''re not allowed to leave Kuoh for the time being. Besides going back to the underworld, that is."


    I blinked at that. "What?"


    "Yeah, she said that it isn''t a good time to be interacting with the Youkai right now or rather, anyone under the Shinto umbre. And I don''t have to say to not go over to Kyoto, right?"


    I let out an indignant huff. "I''m not stupid." I crossed my arms. Though....I heard Grayfia offhandedly say that brother considered that at some point.... "I''m not going to go over there and start shouting for Wilhelm." I rolled my eyes.


    "It isn''t just that." She stated. "I''m talking about the political aspect. Wilhelm fought a God, Rias. That isn''t something anyone can ignore. He went from some ''nobody'' to front and center on the world stage. And from what I''ve understood, and some hints from Serafall, he''s thrown his lot in with the Youkai faction."


    "Yeah...I read some stuff about Wilhelm and Yasaka being in a rtionship." I thought over what she said. "I guess they went from some third-rate faction that needed the backing of the Shinto Pantheon to being something we have to keep an eye on."


    It wasn''t really a secret that they weren''t very powerful. Their strongest were their two leaders that each ruled over half of Japan''s Youkai. Yet, neither of them would be a real match against any of our Satans. Throw Wilhelm into that mix, and suddenly they have a lot more weight to throw around.


    "It''s not just him either." Sona looked hesitant to say anything. "Serafall told me a secret, so don''t go spreading it around. There was talk about someone who was supposed to be dead popping up in Kyoto alongside him."


    "Someone supposed to be dead? That isn''t really weird, don''t we have ¨C "


    "No. I mean dead, dead. Not reincarnated or anything like that. As in this person was supposed to have been killed during the Great War, and it was well known."


    "Who?" I was a little curious now. She sounded really serious.


    "How good is your Irish mythology? Specifically, the Ulster Cycle."


    I gave her a dry look. "Seriously?"


    "You need to keep up with other factions more, Rias. You''re going to be the head of your family at some point, you can''t be ignorant of these powers. One of theirs is in the top 10 strongest in the world, someone who can fight your brother with the possibility of winning." She red at me.


    "Lugh, right?"


    "Satans, alteast you know that." She sighed.


    "Alright, so who''s this mystery person?"


    "Sc¨¢thach, the woman who trained Lugh''s son ¨C the Irish Hercules. And one of the few people in the world who imed the title of Godyer."


    There was a moment of silence as she waited for my response.


    ".....I only vaguely remember the name."


    "Dammit, Rias." Sone facepalmed. "Go read when you get back!"


    "Fine." I huffed, sticking my tongue out at her. I brushed myself off, even if I still looked like a mess. "...can you create a teleport circle for me? I''m kinda out of juice here..." I said sheepishly.


    Sona broke out into a fit of giggles before creating one on the ground.


    ***


    I stepped out into the club room back at school. I saw my peerage all looking at me.


    "Rias!"


    "Buchou."


    "Senpai!"


    Several shouts rang out and I realized how much I made them worry. "Everyone''s here." I gave them a smile.


    "Sona managed to talk some sense into you?" Akeno crossed her arms with a huff.


    "Yeah..." I sighed. "We had a talk, and I realized I wasn''t going about this the right way."


    "Good." Akeno smiled before stepping over and wrapping me up in a hug. "It was getting horrible having to deal with all the paperwork!"


    "Oh, you''re still doing that." I deadpanned. "You did such a good job managing everything, think of it as a promotion!" I patted her shoulder with a smile.


    "Noooo, Rias!" Akeno began to cry on my shoulder.


    "There, there. I''ll send you over to Sona for lessons on how to manage everything." She just cried harder, but my smile couldn''t be bigger. Tease me will you?


    "Rias okay?" Koneko asked, and I had to resist the urge to rub her head.


    "I''m good, just a bit tired." I reassured her before looking at both Issei and Kiba who were a bit more reserved. Well, I think Issei just didn''t know how react without shouting and Kiba seemed to be acting as his minder.


    I let out a sigh before taking some heavy steps over to the sofa. "Alright everyone, I have some things to talk about. This is mostly for you Issei, since you''re rtively new." I adopted an even smile, even if I felt a little bit anxious talking about it. "I have an arranged marriage, and the wedding date ising up."


    "WHAT!?" Issei blurted out.


    "Yes." I said dryly. "As you might expect, I''m not too happy about it myself. I''ll be challenging it, but it''lle down to a rating game. I''ve been throwing myself at my training since....." I paused but let out another sigh. "Ever since I saw Wilhelm fight, I couldn''t help it, but Sona pulled me out of my slump."


    "Hard to believe that he was sitting in ss here not that long ago." Kiba muttered. "I even got some inspiration for my Sacred Gear based on what I saw him doing."


    "Strong." Koneko said simply.


    "That handsome! I''ll get stronger than him, then I''ll build my own harem! How dare he take those foxy oppai for himself!" Issei eximed.


    Of course he''d focus on that....


    Maybe I shouldn''t have given him ess to the Devil?


    But it was a weird thing to think about, how I technically have a great niece now, even if it wasn''t by blood. And it just further added to my depression with how I was so ambivalent towards him before. I''ll never be able to pet the cute fox now.


    "So...." I decided to carry on. "We''re going to train, and we''re going to win. It''ll be our debut and I want everyone to see how amazing you all are." I turned to Kiba. "You have a better grasp of physical training, so I want you to think up a training regime for us in that aspect."


    "Will do, Buchou." Kiba nodded.


    "Akeno." I called out.


    "Here, Rias." She stood up straight.


    "You''re the best one here when ites to magic and control. I want you to create a training regime to help all of us better control our Demonic Power. I''m too used to throwing mine around without a second thought. Issei here is apletely newbie ¨C" Which is admittedly my fault.... "Koneko is too used to using it just to punching things out of existence. We need to learn to use it more efficiently."


    "I''ll get started."


    I pped my hands. "Riser Phenex, he''s the man who''s our target. Right now, our biggest weakness is our stamina. The Phenex n have the most ridiculous regeneration, so they can simply wait us out. While we can''t y that game, we can atleast minimize how effective it is while devising strategies."


    I looked around the room once more. "Issei, you have a secondary job. You''re going to read up on all the information I give you about Rating Games alongside everyone else familiarizing themselves with the public knowledge about Riser and his peerage."


    I neglected him for too long.....I can only hope that these next few months are enough to whip him into fighting shape.


    Maybe I should see about Koneko using her true power and Akeno using her Fallen Angel half before the game?


    And then there''s Gasper....


    So much to do.


    Still, it felt good...


    Before, I was barely making progress, even as I copsed after my ''training'' each time. But for some reason, I felt like I had now taken a bigger step forward now.


    Maybe seeing Wilhelm like that, it was just the kick I needed.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 240 - 228

    <h4>Chapter 240: Chapter 228</h4>


    I hummed to myself as I walked with a little pep in my step.


    It had been a rather hectic few days with everyone running around. It had been tiring, but the good kind of tiring since we had gotten so much done. It sucked that we were constantly on the move dealing with things, but it''s starting to slow down now.


    For a bit, it was difficult to get everyone in the same room. However, that''s mostlying to an end now. We cleared out a lot of problems that were guing Yasaka. Random idiots roaming around and causing trouble. Some other issues with certain resources that were needed as well. By no means was everything ''fixed'', but the situation was certainly stabilized now.


    I''d only seen ''some'' of the paperwork that Yasaka had to deal with, and I did not envy her having to manage a faction like this.


    We had enough of a lull in actionable measures that needed to be taken to the point where we could begin nning a bigger operation.


    And for that, I found myself staring up at the multitude of colors that ran through the Colored Rooms ¨C Meridia''s realm.


    "Odd." I muttered noticing the distinctck of Meridia, even as I appeared in the ovepped space that was her ''throne room'' that resided within her realm. The throne in of itself served no purpose as she had almost aplete omnipotent control of her realm and this wasn''t even a ''centralized'' location as it was pretty deste.


    I knew that there were beings that resided her, worshippers and such that pledged themselves to Meridia. Perhaps she allowed audiences from this ce?


    Oh well, I took the seat for myself, a curious thought on how it felt to sit there. And it was surprisinglyfortable, I think Meridia did something to it to make it more pleasant to sit in.


    It didn''t take long for Meridia to pop back over. I don''t think there would normally be any indication I could have sensed, yet she appeared with a noticeable sound. Probably for my own benefit.


    My lips curled up as she raised an eyebrow, obviously looking at me in her throne. "This is a nice seat. I think I''ll keep it." I sat up straighter.


    "Will you now?" She crossed her arms.


    "I dere myself, the new Ruler." I stated. "You may bow before my majesty!"


    "Oh, are you? And whatmands do you have for my, your majesty." She said dryly.


    I cleared my throat. "Listen, hear me and obey ¨C"


    "Don''t you dare!" She interrupted me her face turning bright red. "Y-you''re not allowed to bring that up anymore!" She huffed cutely. "Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was?"


    Remembering how I first met Meridia, it always brought a smile to my face. "Honestly, I can only remember how cute you were."


    She let out another indignant huff, turning her head slightly. "You always spout the most ridiculous things." She pursed her lips walking towards me. "Now, get your rear out of my throne, you silly man."


    "Hmm, how about we share?" I offered, patting myp.


    "You will merely use this as an excuse to molest my legs."


    "Yup."


    "You do not even deny it anymore. Your perversions just continue." She sounded against it, but she plopped down in myp with an almost expectant look on her face.


    My hands already found her thighs, running up and down their length. "You dangle these infront of me and expect me to sit still?" I whispered. "You still say you didn''t seduce me the first time we met, huh?"


    "I did no such thing! You just take a perverse enjoyment in teasing me." She huffed, cheeks still maintaining a light red. "If it were not so endearing, I would have pped you out of oblivion by now." She grumbled. "How my heart beats faster at your touch, I do not understand."


    "And when you say things like that, it just makes it harder and harder to hold back." My hands made their way up the edge of her dress, pulling it up to reveal a bit more. I could hear her breathing hitch as I brushed against her inner thigh. "Oh my, no undergarments, huh?"


    "W-why would I bother with such a thing." She muttered. "There is only one man in existence who is allowed to even approach me in such a way, let alone have the gall to undress me as he wishes."


    "So I can undress you as I wish, hmm?" I kissed her neck, nudging down the cor of her robes.


    "C-cease your lecherous touching. If you continue any further ¨C" Her voice went very quiet. "You came to fetch me, yes? I do not wish for the others to see me in such an embarrassing state after you have thoroughly ¨C" She didn''t finish, opting to huff and burying her head into my chest.


    "After we''ve what?" I teased her.


    "You''re going to make me say it, aren''t you?"


    The feeling of her melting in my arms, it was addicting. Something could be said for having such a powerful woman act like this for me. "You know me so well~"


    "After...we make love." She whispered.


    I wrapped my arms around her instead of my continued groping. I could feel her heart beat as we enjoyed the moment of silence. Even if I knew this form of hers was ''created'' from her own whims, it still was enough for me to feel the affection she gave off.


    "As much as I love doing this ¨C "


    "I can feel how much you ''enjoy'' this right now as it is pushing against my rear." She deadpanned.


    "¡ªWe should probably head over."


    "Mmm, very well. Though I do not think I am needed. I am unable to bring my.....full force over there as I cannot leave my realm vacant otherwise the others would notice. Not to mention, my power being disyed in any capacity may be more trouble than it''s worth."


    "Meridia, it''s fine." I reached out, rubbing her hand. "You just being there means enough to everyone."


    "Fine." She huffed again, something she tended to do to hide her emotions. "Let us depart."


    At that, I scooped her up into my arms and stood up.


    "D-don''t you dare!" She squeaked out. "Wilhelm!" She had the bright red hue back on her cheeks as I opened a new portal and stepped through.


    ***


    We stepped out into the training area, the sounds of painful whines filled the courtyard.


    "Oh quit your crying, you little girls. I thought I was training some elite guards, and what did I get? A bunch of chicks barely out of the nest." Sc¨¢thach began to berate them as she kicked a Tengu to the side.


    She paused in her beatings ¨C training and looked at us. Her gazended on Meridia who stared back. Sc¨¢thach''s lips curled up and Meridia huffed, turning to a scowl herself, though her bright red cheeks never dissipated.


    "Are you happy? You once again bring me unbearable embarrassment." She pushed her head into my chest to hide her face. "How am I supposed to show my face after such nonsense!?"


    "I can''t help it, teasing you gives me life."


    "You''re horrible. Release me....." Her words muffled. "I wish to walk this world for a few moments."


    I set her down and she short me a re, crossing her arms with a pout. I held my hand out to her and she pursed her lips, letting out another huff before taking it in hers.


    She''d been here before, but never really....looked around. It was her first true time being out of her universe that wasn''t at my home.


    She reached down and touched the grass, just a pure curious action as she gabbed some dirt between her fingers.


    "It feels so simr."


    "THAT WAS PATHETIC." Sc¨¢thach roared, sending another few Tengu flying away as several more tried to attack her.


    "She is quite relentless." Meridia muttered.


    "That she is." I gave her hand a squeeze, earning back her attention. "You know, you''re allowed toe here whenever you want. And not just here, anywhere you want."


    "I.....may make use of that in the future. There are so many things I have yet to discover, which is odd for me. I am very old and for the first time in a very long time, I have something ''new'' to explore." She looked up and leaned in, quickly kissing me. Meridia wasn''t one for doing stuff like that in person, so it only served to reinforce her intent. "You have given me a great gift. Even if I am unable to partake very often, I will enjoy experiencing these new ces."


    As long as she was happy, that''s all that really mattered.


    "If you''re not going to use your legs properly, then I''ll cut them off!" Sc¨¢thach shouted.


    "NO, I''M SORRY!" The Tengu shouted.


    "BE SORRY IN THE CORNER." She tossed him into the wall.


    "....is this truly an effective training method?" Meridia asked.


    "She''s actually pointing out their ws and following it up with a painful reminder. She esctes if they continue to make the same mistakes." I replied.


    "Aaaaah!" A painful cry sounded out.


    "And what lesson did that one just learn after getting kneed in the groin?"


    "I think he tried to aggressively flirt with her the other day." I tilted my head.


    "Ah, a pivotal lesson then." She nodded in approval.


    "Young Lord." I turned my head, seeing Soma fly down before us, respectfully bowing his head. "And....Lady Meridia?" He said hesitantly.


    "Yes." Meridia picked up on it and confirmed her identity.


    "Lady Yasaka is awaiting you both, shall I lead the way after fetching Lady Sc¨¢thach?" He offered.


    "No need, I am here." Sc¨¢thach walked over. "This lot is already done for the day." She turned back to them. "THESE PITIFUL EXCUSES FOR WARRIORS GET OFF EARLY SINCE THEY CAN''T HANDLE MY FULL TRAINING REGIME." She snorted, before turning back to us.


    "That bad?" I asked.


    "Oh no, they are actually doing quite well. But they are an arrogant lot, so any praise would swell their heads." Sheughed.


    "Huh..."


    "Soma here is one of the best learners of the group." Sc¨¢thach looked at our escort. "Give it a few years, and he would be in what they call ''ultimate ss''."


    "You over praise me, Lady Sc¨¢thach." He bowed his head.


    "He had a good attitude, makes training him easier." She nodded in approval.


    That''s pretty high praise from her. And ultimate ss was nothing to dismiss. Even if the ''group'' has such a wide margin that it included Gods and random other species inside.


    "I look forward to your lessons tomorrow." He had a small smile on his face. "It is a rare privilege to be trained by such an illustrious figure."


    Sc¨¢thach let out anotherugh. "This one will continue to sing my praises even as I nt my foot into his kidneys." She turned to me. "Why does my man not treat me the same, hmm?"


    "Because you''re a sadist." I offered.


    "Yes, and it seems you are a masochist for all these beatings you invite." She snorted, sneaking a quick kiss on my cheek.


    Soma didn''t react, I think at this point, most people here knew that Sc¨¢thach was my woman, along with the others. Though, there were a few troublemakers who didn''t seem to quite understand that a few days ago, i.e. the idiot who was still crying on the ground.


    "Meridia, it is good to see you outside." Sc¨¢thach smiled towards her.


    "Yes, it is hard to escape my....duties. But I find myself excited when.....outside." She chose her worlds carefully around other people.


    "I can rte. I spent so long performing my own ''duties'' thating outside was almost overwhelming." She let out a content sigh. "But I believe I have held us up long enough. I am sure that Artoria is pacing around impatiently."


    "Alright, let''s go." I smiled.


    "I shall lead the way." Soma gestured to follow.


    ***


    "You''re finally here." It was Rin who spoke up first, arms crossed, staring at us as we entered a room in a more secured part of Yasaka''s estate.


    I looked around to see pretty much everyone here, even the two wayward Servants had been dragged in. I gave a nod towards them that they reciprocated in kind.


    "My lessons carried on longer than I had anticipated." Sc¨¢thach replied.


    "Are my men doing good then?" Yasaka asked.


    "Their performance has had a noticeable improvement from day to day. I have never trained any ''Youkai'' before this experience, but I can''t help but wonder if they have an inherent adaptation that allows them to facilitate such growth."


    "That''s an interesting thought." I rubbed my chin. "Perhaps their origins being linked to ''imagination'' and as such lends itself to the ability to go beyond perceived boundaries easier with a bit of pressure?" I voiced my thoughts out loud.


    "Wilhelm, you''re getting distracted." Meridia lightly poked me.


    "Right, right." I pushed the distracting thoughts away. "Sorry, ignore me."


    "If only we could." Rin said dryly.


    I blew her raspberry.


    "Everyone is here." Artoria took our attention. "Rider, Archer, thank you both for participating." She said to the other two servants.


    "Yeah, no problem." Achilles smiled. "Sounded pretty interesting anyways, but the pay sounds good too."


    "And we would dly help." Atnta, rolled her eyes at him. "If nothing else, we do owe a debt that should be repaid."


    Kinda curious what they''ve been up to since I hadn''t heard a peep about them recently.


    Artoria gestured to therge table set up in the middle of the room. "We have a few pictures of our target. The Castle that houses the Pendragon Family." She unfurled therge images for everyone to see.


    Kairi who was next to Mordred let out a whistle. "Just from the structural point of view, that looks pretty impressive. It''s probably protected by every magical defense under the sun."


    "That is correct." Arthur who was keeping quiet in the back spoke up, eyes turning to him. "The Pendragon family has close ties to the Golden Dawn, so defenses around the Castle are some of the best in the world."


    "How good we talkin?" Mordred asked.


    "Oh, I can probably answer this." Jinn perked up. "I''ve been reading over some of the moremon magics practiced around here, and from what I''ve seen and what I''ve been told.....they should be a bit stronger than the ¨C Yggdmillennia Castle you experienced."


    Hmm, I did tell her about how well her Dust bombs turned out.


    "So, I''ll just st it with my Noble Phantasm." Mordred crossed her arms.


    "And potentially kill everyone inside?" I replied.


    "In another situation, the more direct method would have been the preferred one." Artoria stated. "But as it stands, there are two people we wish to remove from the Castle without harm, which takes the priority."


    "Yes, I have confirmed through my sister that they are both within the castle at the moment. However, I did not ask for specifics as I did not know if Le Fay was being monitored." Arthur exined.


    "A rescue mission then." Kairi grunted. "Makes things moreplicated."


    "Yes, I am confidant that many of us could siege the castle by ourselves, but I do not wish to leave anything to chance. I hope for this to be meticulous, and quick. I wish them to surrender or be incapacitated in as little time as possible.....and perhaps leave as many alive as we can." She added on with a strange look on her face.


    "Yes, and there is the possibility of esction beyond what you would prefer." Yasaka began to speak. "Pushed into a corner, it''s possible they call in reinforcements from the church."


    "Aren''t the Church and them allies, shouldn''t they help regardless?" Rin asked.


    "Only on the surface." Arthur spoke up again. "The Church is more likely to fish in troubled waters than help the Pendragon Family. Given the opportunity, they would absorb them to empower themselves."


    "So, same old Church as usual." Kairi snorted. "Never did like working with Exorcists."


    "Mmm, worse case scenario, Heaven bes involved and then it bes arge mess." Yasaka added. "If that happens, I don''t think I would escape their gazes either due to our rtions. I may have to y a few cards to dissuade them from pushing any matters. However, that is very unlikely, but it should be noted as a possibility. And I would hate for the Shinto Pantheon to also get involved as a result."


    "Oh, you got card to y against Heaven?'' I quirked an eyebrow.


    "Why yes, thanks to you. That young woman with the de cksmith Sacred Gear. Heaven may be willing to bargain for her either for her identity or her Sacred Gear." Yasaka replied.


    Oh, forgot about them. I guess she did still have most of them stashed away.


    "It has been awhile since I''ve been involved in such a military operation." Raikou spoke up for the first time. "What are your ns, Artoria?"


    "I wish to...attempt negotiations." She sighed. "I know it will probably not provide any results, but I cannot simply attack without trying."


    The look on her face, it really probably grated on her. I could see how much this family was upsetting her by how they operated. But she had her pride as a Knight, if words could solve a problem, she would attempt them.


    "Whatever you want, we''ll back you up." I answered.


    "Thank you." She muttered. "And please remember, that part of the reason for this approach is so we can settle this as quietly and quickly as possible."


    "That''s right." Yasaka nodded. "You all may be able to get up and run around, but you''re known to be associated with me and I''m stuck here. So any consequences will fall on me if things be too.....chaotic."


    "So, got an attack n? You said the defenses are probably really strong, and we can''t just noble Phantasm our way through them. So, how we taking down the defenses?"


    "I made a little something when Artoria spoke to me a few days ago." Jinn perked up, withdrawing a strange contraption from her storage bracelet. "Based on my first Dust Bombs I made Wilhelm."


    "You made those." Mordred blinked. "Those were amazing, can I get someter?"


    Jinn giggled. "I''d be happy to make you some."


    "Joy." Artoria muttered under her breath, but didn''t interrupt.


    "These are infused with Gravity dust." Jinn continued on. "I have four in total and they link up with one another after being activated. They''re going to bombard the barriers with different gravitational anomalies at the same time, which should disrupt the defenses."


    "Oh, that''s smart." Rin snapped her fingers. "Distorting the Gravity around the area in four different ways. I highly doubt their defenses are equipped to manage that. They''ll probably be unable topensate and crumble under the constant shifting."


    Indeed, their defenses were probably created in mind to withstand a siege, not a fundamental shift in the world around it at different wavelengths all at the same time.


    "As I said, securing the two people inside is the priority." Artoria reiterated. "Arthur''s sister, for whom we have a picture." She ced it on the table for everyone to see.


    She wore a cute witches hat.....


    Had the urge to get her head pats.


    "And a....Maid that is of significance to him as well." She ced another picture down. "ine Westcott. Both are apparently skilled in magic, so be aware of that in case they mistake you for enemies."


    "Alright, can''t wait to kick their assess." Mordred smirked.


    "I wouldn''t mind seeing theirbat abilities as well." Sc¨¢thach shared a simr look. "Tell me where you require me to be, I shall follow your lead."


    I didn''t really feel the need to mention that this would bring attention onto all of them. I''d already blown that open a bit with my whole mess, but they were still rtively unknown. But they''re able to make their own decisions, and I wouldn''t dissuade them from the paths they chose at this point.


    One thing''s for sure as I nced at Artoria.


    The Pendragon family was in for a rough time.


    "We will move in the morning." Artoria stated.


    ***


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 Chapter 241 - 229

    <h4>Chapter 241: Chapter 229</h4>


    It was weirdly tense. Not weird in the sense that everyone was geared up and ready for a fight, but because it was....serious forck of a better word.


    "Hey Mordred." I greeted the knight, leaning on the wall next to her.


    "Sup." She nodded. "You all good?" She asked.


    "More or less." I said with a small Shrug. "Made sure to hand out potions to everyone and other things that might be needed."


    "The Necromancer wouldn''t stop gushing over that bracelet you gave him." Mordred snorted.


    "They''re pretty rare back home. You like yours?" I asked.


    She held up her right hand. "Its alright I guess...." She said quietly. "I''m just d you didn''t make it all sparkly and shit like the others."


    I''d take that as her liking it. "You seem pretty calm, no anticipation?" I inquired.


    She grunted. "If I had my way, I''d have just smashed my way in. But I''m used to how father does things. Even if most of us could probably take the castle by ourselves, he will make sure everyone is as safe as possible. A proper strategy to mitigate any losses." She waved her hand flippantly. "With so many Servants, and whatever the fuck you are, we don''t really have to worry much."


    Yeah, that does sound like Artoria. She wouldn''t underestimate the enemy when she was manding'' people.


    I blinked for a moment. "Wait, the hell you mean ''whatever the fuck I am?"


    "Father told me what you''ve been up to. You tell me whatcha are?" She raised an eyebrow.


    I opened my mouth the closed it. "Fuck you." I shot back.


    "Thought so." She looked rather smug.


    "You know what?"


    "What, you gonna cry?" She smirked.


    I ignored her attempt at getting to me. "You look cute in that outfit." The corners of my lips curled up and I crossed my arms staring right at her.


    She twitched. "Eat a dick." She huffed before pausing and looking back at me. "Don''t you dare say anything.


    "What, I''m not saying anything?" I admit I almost replied instinctively about Artoria.... And well, my dick.


    "You were fucking thinking it." She pointed at me.


    "Damn right I was."


    "Asshole."


    "Bitch."


    "Heh." She let out augh with a small smile forming on her face, one I couldn''t help but share.


    I was d she was looking as happy as she was. She was now spending time with Artoria and it seemed like many bridges were starting to get mended.


    "Where''s Kairi?" I asked.


    "Said something about staring some Coffee in his thingy, now that he can bring it with him. Mentioned that he''s had too many missions that turn from quickbat into waiting for days." She shrugged. "Don''t understand the appeal, don''t really like coffee."


    "You''re disowned." I deadpanned.


    "Oh fuck off." She rolled her eyes.


    I shot her a smirk. "Anything you need?"


    "Nah, I''m pretty good."


    Well, and I guess Artoria would like to be the one to supply her with anything she needed. An opportunity to.....act like a parent I suppose.


    "After this is over, you consider asking Artoria to go shopping with you?" She could probably do with some more essentials now that she''s settling down.


    "....you think she''d wanna do that?" Mordred gave it some thought.


    "I think she''d be absolutely delighted."


    "Hmm." She just looked thoughtful at the notion and I didn''t push it any more.


    I pat her shoulder. "Going to make some rounds while we wait, holler if you need anything."


    "Alright." She nodded, a look of thanks on her face.


    I took that as a cue and went towards my Servant who was being a bit quiet off to the side. Everyone else was more or less upied, either doing their own things or talking with each other, but Raikou looked a bit out of ce. Yasaka was happily chatting with Jinn about something, the other Servants were trading stories and Mordred met back up with Kairi and they looked to be discussing something as well.


    Really the only one absent was Meridia, for obvious reasons. Maybe I should surprise her and bring everyone to visit?


    "Hey there." I wrapped her up from behind.


    "Master." Raikou smiled, already having seen me approach.


    "You okay?" I rested my chin on her shoulder.


    "I am okay, Master." She smiled. "I am merely....reminiscing about certain things and felt a bout of sadness. It has been a long time since I''ve participated in something like this. The Grail War was.....not quite the same."


    "I''m more prone to the blunt force method myself, so this should be interesting." I can''t help it that just overbearing force was usually the path of least resistance.....Okay maybe I skewed those decisions. Also, I''m usually the one ''calling the shots'' so to speak, should be a nice change of pace.


    Well, a change of subject to ease her mind a bit? I''m sure this was bringing back both fond and sad memories. "So, how was watching Kunou?"


    She brightened up immediately. "She is wonderful." Raikou gushed. "All the children in her ss wouldn''t stop fussing over me once I introduced myself. And Kunou just continued to bring me around and made me involved in anything she could."


    Raikou had taken shifts of guard duty at her school, it''s no wonder that she became familiar with everyone there. It also meant that Yasaka''s guards had a rotating shift for Sc¨¢thach''s training.


    "She even calls me Auntie now." Raikou had the brightest smile on her face before shifting to something resembling hesitance. "Master ¨C Wilhelm." She used my name, which she doesn''t do often. "If I asked for something, would you grant your Mother her desire?"


    "If it''s within my ability, I''d do anything to make you happy." I said without hesitation.


    She bit her lip, but looked a bit happier. "Your Mother is happy." She shifted, kissing me on the cheek.


    Well, she didn''t seem to want to talk about it for the moment, so I wouldn''t push. She''s my woman, so it''s my duty to help her any way I can.


    "I''m happy that you''re happy." I mimic her, giving a quick kiss on her cheek.


    It was only a few momentster that Artoria and Rin finally came down the stairs, grabbing everyone''s attention.


    Rin was well equipped, in simr stuff she used to adventure in Skyrim, but there were some clear differences. She even noticed my gaze and smirked a little. "Really, Schweinorg, checking me out so tantly?"


    "Funny." I said dryly. "I like the armor though, I can more or less parse what you did." I rubbed my chin, admiring the gems embedded all around the leather armor. "Must have cost a fortune."


    "I almost cried until I saw how much I still had left." She acknowledged. "Should keep me pretty safe, with my Aura and everything."


    "Yes, the priority is everyone''s safety." Artoria added. "I assume everyone has been distributed supplies in case of an emergency?"


    "I took care of it." I gave her a smile.


    Achilles walked over, stretching his arms as he took his steps. "Time to head out? I''ve been looking forward to a little workout. Most jobs so far had been some mindless fodder that mostly terrorized the normal people."


    "Indeed, in the event that negotiations break down ¨C which I suspect they will." She said with a sigh. "We will begin our attack. I would like to remind everyone, that disabling our foes should be the first priority when engaging."


    "Yeah, yeah. Don''t kill the idiots, got it." Achilles said nonchntly.


    Beyond Achille''sment, Artoria seemed to take the silence as amittal. "Jinn, if you would, please."


    "Alright, I have the Dust Bombs here for everyone ¨C haven''t thought of a name beyond that yet." She had the devices that looked much different than what I had used previously, float infront of her.


    Kairi took one, I took another, Artoria took the third and Jinn held thest one.


    "I also have these, for the signal." She passed out four simr looking devices. "Red means abort, green means set the bombs off." She tilted her head for a moment. "And I guess they technically aren''t bombs because they don''t explode in the normal way."


    "Thank you, Jinn." Artoria held hers between her fingers. I assumed hers was the one that would send the signal. "I expect everyone to behave themselves as befitting of their names and honor." She looked around the room. "And one final reminder, they will possess what is known as ''Ultimate ss'' fighters, this should be on the higher end ofbat strength avable to an organization like this."


    "Hoh, sounds exciting." Achilles perked up.


    "Can I call dibs on the idiot who calls himself Uther?" Mordred asked.


    "Please do not take my father lightly." Arthur who was silent and held to the back spoke up for the first time. "He does not rule over the family without being the strongest among us. And his weapon is not one to take lightly as well. I advise that we change the strategy to nighttime where he is weakened."


    Gtine, I suppose it empowers itself and the wielder with the sun''s embrace. It would make sense, from a strategic standpoint, but that wasn''t what Artoria was going for in this operation.


    "That will be unneeded. I shall personally handle your father." Artoria stated.


    "Well, there goes my chance." Mordred huffed.


    Arthur let out a sigh, knowing he had no real sway. "Just be careful. My family has collected many strange and powerful items over the centuries and from all over the world. I don''t'' know what things he had set up in case our castle was ever attacked."


    "Your concerns are acknowledged." She nodded to him. I doubted anyone faulted him here, he didn''t quite understand how much power was gathered in this ce.


    Artoria swept her gaze around the room. "Any questions?" With no one speaking up, her eyesnded on Yasaka. "Then we are ready to proceed. Thank you, Yasaka, for providing the location."


    "It was no trouble." She smiled. "I can''t join you for the obvious reason." She chuckled. "But I wish you all luck. Just in case, I will have things prepared in case of an emergency." She nced at me. "And I''ll be keeping Kunou from being suspicious."


    She''d probably wonder where everyone went since she''s been in almost non-stop contact with atleast one of us for the past several days.


    Yeah, better to not make her worry.


    "Then we are ready, Wilhelm, if you would." She looked at me.


    I waived my hand opening four separate portals.


    Sc¨¢thach smiled, walking straight into hers, leading to the northern end of the castle, out of sight. Following behind her was Mordred and Kairi. I send a nod to them as they disappeared.


    Second was Atnta and Achilles apanied by Jinn. Thetter of which practically jumped through the portal.''


    "Oi." I called out to the Rider servant. "Watch out for her."


    Achilles looked at me and tapped his fist to his chest before following her along with Atnta.


    I don''t'' know why, but I felt the most protective of Jinn out of all my girls. I knew it wasn''t that rational, considering she''s extremely old, and had a vast array of magical knowledge at her disposal, but sometimes these things just aren''t rational.


    "I believe it is our turn." Artoria stated towards Arthur who would be apanying her.


    "Hey." I reached out to my girlfriend. "We''re all just a shout away."


    She smiled brightly, standing up on her toes and lightly kissing me before turning towards her portal. "We will most likely meet under conflict. Please look after Rin." She stated before walking through, Arthur following behind.


    "Saber." Rin grumbled.


    "Oh, she just cares about you." I nudged her shoulder. "Right, Raikou." I nced at my Servant.


    "The bond you share with your Servant is admirable. Her words are those of concern about someone she dares about." Raikou praised , stepping through our portal.


    "Lets go, Artoria''s waiting." I pulled on her arm.


    "Fine." She huffed. "Let''s get this over with."


    We stepped through as I closed the portals behind us. The grass beneath our feet indicating we were at a new location. And the target of ours, just in the distance, arge castle that stood upon the horizon.


    ***


    Artoria Pendragon POV


    It had been a long while since I had been to my homnd''s countryside. I had lived with Rin at the Clock Tower for some years, but we had rarely ventured out of the city we resided in.


    "Keep a level head. From what you have spoken, your father will say things to create a reaction out of you." I advised my....ward.


    He reminded me of Mordred in some aspects and Agravain in others. He was usually the sort to be calctive, precise in their actions, yet he still possessed that side of him that could be riled up just as Mordred.


    Mayhaps that was merely his youthfulness acting up?


    "I am fully aware of my Father''s tricks." Arthur stated as he fiddled with the hilt of the sword at his waist.


    I will have to remember to find a sword for him. I am sure weould salvage something of good quality after the fighting had settled. As I had given Mordred Caliburn, I felt responsible for providing him with an adequate weapon.


    While I did not believe his punishment was close being to over, it would be prudent he have something that could keep him alive for his jobs that Yasaka sent him on.


    I nced at my ward once more, he said he would keep calm ¨C yet it was clear to my experienced eyes that he was forcibly keeping his nervousness at bay.


    "Tell me of your Father''s strongest Knights." I would see to distract him from his wandering mind.


    "There are three, and they took up the names of Gawain, Lancelot, and Agravain." Arthur replied. "Agravain is responsible for the Castles defenses and usual strategies, and I am unsure of what he''s gotten up to over the years. He tends to stay to himself, but I''ve heard rumors that his skills are only below the other two. He''s always been a bit.....creepy, if I were to be honest. So I don''t know much about him since I''ve always stayed out of his way."


    "Gawain and Lancelot, what separates them from the remainder of your family?" I inquired.


    "Gawain has a Sacred Gear ¨C Beast Stampede. It isn''t one of significance, but it has the ability to allow him to shift his body into various animal parts. The highest level of which is able to mimic a dragon."


    I nodded along, I had known this information already, but it seemed to calm him down. "And Lancelot?"


    "Lancelot is a Master Swordsman as well as having mastered the use of what they call Touki in Japan." Arthur exined. "He''s the only one able to match my Father in pure skills." He added after a moment. "Those are just the very top, the family has other strong fighters and some powerful Magicians."


    As we approached further upon the castle, I came to a stop, holding my arm out to stop Arthur from taking another step forward. "We are here."


    "The castle is right over there, shouldn''t we ¨C"


    "It appears that the defenses of the Castle are quite powerful. Another foot forward and you would have entered their domain." I stated, sensing the boundary of the firstyer of barriers.


    I could not admit to any expertise in the magical arts, but my ability to sense magical energy was quite good due to my Draconic Nature.


    "Prepare yourself, I will be drawing their attention." I gave him a moment before cing my hand forward, just enough to enter the established boundary line. With a thought, I red my Magical Energy, high enough that I believed Wilhelm and the others would even be able to sense it.


    Arthur stared in surprise as my Magical Energy flowed across the Barrier, showing it for a brief moment to the naked eye.


    Another lesson he will be needing to learn. I wondered if Mordred''s master would be interested in tutoring Arthur in how to deal with Magical defenses and routing Mages? He could do with learning from an experienced ''frencer'' as Kairi liked to call himself.


    I believed that Arthur relies too heavily upon being ''stronger'' than his foes. Or rather, him having previously wielded powerful weapons to augment himself.


    I could feel people approach within a few breaths, their presences showing to my senses as they were not hiding.


    Good, I had thought they would notice my signal as a method of attention seeking and not a hostile action.


    Arthur stiffened when they came into view and I could guess the man''s identity at the front.


    He looked well kept, someone who would not be out of ce at a noble gathering. Even with the armor he donned, and the cape behind his back, he exuded a feeling of nobility. He was nked by two knights but I did not believe them to be his strongest allies as their presences were.....negligible. A show of force or to keep up appearances, either is likely.


    The man stopped a dozen yard away. He eyes scanning us intently as if to discover any concealed agenda.


    "So the prodigal son returns." The man''s deep voice echoed out.


    "Father." Arthur said with some effort.


    The man ¨C whom was identified as Uther ¨C just grunted in response. "You dare call me father after what you''ve done? I will have you whipped, boy."


    I didn''t react, but I could tell it wasn''t an empty threat. The way Arthur shifted in ce, I could guess that it was something he had experienced before.


    "Return the Swords you stole." He closed his eyes with a sigh. "I will only confine you for 5 years and lower your other punishments. This is my only offer at clemency, even if you are my son."


    "I don''t have them anymore." Arthur stated.


    Uther''s eyes shot open, a sh of anger appeared for just a moment. "That damn Cao Cao." He growled. "I should have never listened to that brat and just took his spear when I had the chance. What did you do with my swords, boy?"


    "Excalibur Ruler is gone, never to be seen again. And Caliburn ¨C "


    "I had confiscated Caliburn from him." I spoke up for the first time.


    Uther''s head snapped to me. "And who are you?"


    "I am Artoria Pendragon." I said simply.


    "I don''t'' recognize you? Some Bastard that was born outside the family?" He muttered. "It doesn''t matter. You will be rewarded for returning my sword and my traitorous son."


    I raised an eyebrow. "Traitorous?" I questioned. "What misdeeds has hemitted?"


    "He disobeyed my orders and ran off with my swords. If not for that stupid brat ¨C Cao Cao ¨C he would have already been hunted down. You have saved me the trouble." He snorted. "I will instate your name on our family tree and see to it that you receivepensation." He nodded to himself, pleased with his perceived ''generosity.''.


    If the threat of a whipping was something that so easily left from his mouth, I held no fault for Arthur ''running off'' as he put it.


    I took a small breath, clearing my mind of the annoyance this man was already submitting me to. "I havee to negotiate." I stated.


    "Hmm, you want something else? Fine. State your desire, if it isn''t too outrageous, I''ll see it done." He waived me off.


    "You misunderstand." I shook my head. "Arthur is now under my protection; he is my ward. I havee to negotiate the release of two individuals currently in your castle."


    He blinked at that. What I thought would turn to fury instead came out as bellows ofughter. It reminded me of the King of Conquerors and hisments about me being a ''little girl''.


    "Let me guess, you want his sister and that maid he fancies?" Uther spat out after calming down.


    "Yes." I did not wish to waste more words that necessary on him.


    "I don''t think I will." Uther denied. "What will happen is that Arthur will being with me for a well-deserved punishment. And you will be joining him unless I am handed back my swords immediately."


    The knight that had silently stood by him put their hands on their swords, a movement done as a threat.


    "The only reason I retained that maid was to keep you from hiding in some hole somewhere." Uther snorted. "Now that you''re here, I don''t need her anymore. She will pay for her crimes as well, helping you run away with our treasures."


    "You!" Arthur took a step forward, about to charge at him, but I once again pulled him back.


    "It appears as though negotiations have broken down." I let out a sigh, taking out the devices that Jinn had created. "I attempted a peaceful end to this perceived grudge. My pride and honor as a knight is satisfied."


    "What are you talking about?" Uther narrowed his eyes.


    I hadn''t thought it would work. From the descriptions, Uther appeared to be an individual obsessed with his own power. There was no thought in my mind that he would passively release a hook on Arthur, nor his Sister who happened to be a genius at magic.


    I pressed the button on the device, signaling the others before activating the ''Dust Bomb'' that Jinn had also given me. Though from what I understood, it more so used the dust in an implosive way and then directed the effects outward in a semi-controlled manner. s, my knowledge in this area was severelycking for any in depth knowledge on its mechanisms.


    "....Was that supposed to do anything?" Uther mocked, looking around for any change.


    The Barrier infront of me fluctuated as the ''Gravity Dust'' collided with it, but it held firm.


    "This one alone? No, it is only one of many." I smiled.


    As if responding to my words, the ground beneath us shook. The Barriers around the Castle becamepletely visible to the naked eye as they vibrated in ce, pulsing and straining against an invisible force before utterly shattering.


    I would admit to finding enjoyment at his shocked expression even if I did not show it outwardly.


    My Armor manifested around me as I put the devices away. My Invisible Air was gripped into my hands.


    "You no longer have barriers to hide behind. Shall we attempt another negotiation?" I offered onest chance.


    He growled, pulling at the air as a sword was thrust into his hand. I knew not where it came from, but I felt a familiar aura from it.


    It was too simr to the Gtine I had known. The shape may be different, but the fires that burned around the de were a familiar warmth, weaker as they might be.


    "I will acknowledge this path you have chosen." I took a stance. I found this man repulsive, but he was a knight and as such, my honor dictated an appropriate response. "A duel it shall be then."


    ***


    Sorry for thete chapter, did the thing where i idently set my rm to AM instead of PM when I took a nap after work. Oh well. So, next chapter is like 8k words, which gets through all of this, so don''t worry about it being like 5~ chapters long.


    Edit: I misspoke, which might be med on howte i put this out after writing the other chapter. So, i basically pumped this arc out over two chapters or so with a cleanup the following. The next chapter is like 5k words which i denoted with a ''part 1'' since I was up extremelyte writing itst week. The following one is part 2 which is 8k or so words that wraps up the main part with another cleanup afterwards. Otherwise, it''d be like 5-6 chapters in all.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 242 - 230 Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 242: Chapter 230 Part 1</h4>


    I looked around at the foliage, it wasn''t particrly interesting, but I never liked sitting still. I snapped a leaf off a nearby tree, holding it up close to my face.


    I had been busy with many things since I left this world, and I truly haven''t had the chance to inspect some of its aspects more closely.


    Flicking the leaf away, I knelt down and scooped up a handful of dirt, cing it in a bag and storing it away.


    "What are you doing?" Rin looked at me.


    "Wanted a soil sample." I waived her off. "Gramps''s garden usually needs some very specific amodations for the various things he grows. You never know whatbination of minerals or esoteric variables would synergize with certain species."


    Rin just blinked. "The old man has a garden?"


    "You didn''t know?" I pursed my lips.


    "No." She huffed. "Is it supposed to be a secret?"


    "Not really....he doesn''t really publicize it, but even I remember a bunch about it. He''d taken people there before ¨C or rather...I did in my memories. It could just be one of those things that has never been brought up." I shrugged. "He keeps a lot of species from different worlds or those that have gone extinct, not all of them serve any real purpose, some he just enjoys keeping around."


    I did want to check out and see if the old man managed to grow a sample of those trees I brought back from the Forever Fall forest back on Remnant. They were such a beautiful shade of red, I would see about nting them on my property.


    "Huh, I''ll check that out next time I''m back home." She nodded to herself.


    I nced over at Raikou who was standing nearby, protectively. She noticed my gaze and smiled back.


    [Is there something you wish to speak about, Master?] She asked through our link.


    [Just admiring the view.] I shot her a wink. That bashful look she adopted was all too cute. [And I just realized, I can use our link to say all kinds of lewd things to you and no one will ever know~]


    [Master. Behave yourself.] She puffed up.


    [It''s hard to do when you wear such a skin-tight battle suit. Seeing your butt bounce with every step you take.] The more I said the brighter red she turned.


    [My son harbors such lecherous desires for me.] She spoke with abination of embarrassment and happiness. [Mother will take care of you whenever you want~]


    I was about to speak again, but my attention was draw away. Flipping my hand over, the device that Jinn gave me lit up with the signal.


    Immediately, Raikou turned more serious and I pushed away my teasing.


    "Rin." I called out, taking the ''Dust Bomb'' from my ring as well.


    "Alright, how''s this work." Rin asked, stepping to the side. She looked ready to fight as well. And as Artoria entrusted Rin''s safety to me, she woulde to absolutely no harm.


    I fiddled with the controls real quick, starting the process. Holding it to face the barrier, it began to activate. Jinn had made it in mind for those of less magical knowledge to be able to use.


    My Jinn was brilliant, so it worked perfectly.


    "Gravity Dust, just as the name describes. It''s a crystallization of the conceptual nature of Gravity intertwined with the World''s Mana. Jinn created this device to sort of grind it down, and condense it before gathering and redistributing the effects outward in a specific direction. A controlled implosion to propel it out from the front." Though it was nothing more than a firecracker as the implosion wasn''t the true purpose but rather the esoteric effect that was produced as a result.


    "I really need to look into Dust more." Rin sighed. "I''ve just been so busy."


    We watched as the magical barriers around the castle became visible, shaking and shuttering under the bombardment.


    "No rush, just keep moving at your own pace, Dust will be here when you''re ready to delve into its mysteries." I smiled towards her as the barriers finally shattered and dissipated.


    "Game Time." I stated as Rin lit up with her own magics. Without another thought, we burst out of the tree line, having been hidden behind a few Bounded Fields to obstruct vision.


    [Keep an eye on Rin. Don''t interfere unless she''s about to be harmed.] I stated to Raikou.


    Rin didn''t need her hand held and I was curious to see how much she''d grown.


    "Over or through, Schweinorg." Rin asked as we dashed towards therge castle wall.


    I looked up, immediately seeing people manning the walls, shouting and pointing at us. Magicians were beginning to form spell circles and archers knocked their arrows.


    "Over." I decided, after mulling it over. "I''ll give a footing."


    "Alright, I''ll handle these mooks." She dered, several Emeralds between her fingers. She threw them in the air as spells rained down. "Heart. Shield. Shatter." She spoke her Aria, actualizing her spell.


    The emeralds shattered, turning intorge ethereal shields that soaked up the oing spells until they turned bright. Rin flicked her hand. "Origin." She spoke once more and the shields warped and transformed, turning into the spells that were fired into them and shot back at the walls where the Magicians were.


    The wall''s parapet cracked and shattered under the returned bombardment as several of the magicians ducked for cover.


    I think she took the underlining concepts of Greater Ward and had worked them into her Jewelcraft.


    Impressive.


    The arrows that flew down were intercepted by a crackle of purple lightning from Raikou at my side.


    With a thought, my swords flew out of my ring, stabbing into ces alongside the wall. It wouldn''t be hard to jump up with Reinforcement on Rin''s part, and alongside her Aura enhancement, She easily scaled the wall as I followed behind.


    It might have been easier to just bulldoze the wall, but Artoria seemed to want to minimize damage.


    Getting a good look inside, there were quite a few people. Hell, this ce was big enough to house their entire n without feeling ustrophobic.


    I nced to the side, seeing Rin connect her palm to a mage, sending him flying away.


    "Nice use of Aura." I praised.


    She flipped her hair back with a smile. "Thanks, managed to integrate it with my Martial Arts."


    "Well, let''s see if we can find the targets before the others." And If I were a betting man, I''d guess they were in the main part of the keep.


    "Master, we should leave the walls if we wish to cause less damage. We are in in view of everyone." Raikou spoke up.


    "Well, stealthy it is." I nodded as we made our way towards the stairs to the nearby tower. Jumping down into the center would just be inviting for arge mob to attack, which we would have to put down at that point.


    We didn''t get very far before I stopped, noticing something a bit peculiar about the architecture. They noticed me stopping and looked at me. "Rin, does theyout of this tower, the stones that form the parapet, look like a pentagram to you?"


    She stopped, looking at it inquisitively. "Now that you point It out...."


    "And the positions of the towers themselves..."


    She turned to look at theyout of the castle. "...coincidence?" She tilt her head.


    Now that I got a better look, the Towers and the walls formed arge pentagram with each tower having a ''pentagram'' within itself. "This has the makings of a veryrge scale ritual."


    "Master?" Raikou tilt her head.


    "We should probably hurry." Maybe if I was alone, I''d be more interested, but I had others to care for at the moment. Even if the force we could bring to bear was ridiculous, I would rather not let my curiosity put Rin and Kairi, at the very least, in danger.


    "THERE''S MORE OVER HERE." We turned to see a dozen or so knightse running at us very quickly. These lot were much closer to what would be considered ''elite'' troops. Using the terms of this world, they would all probably be high in the Mid-ss range.


    I sighed, flinging several Talismans towards them. "Bind." I called out as they morphed into ethereal chains and wrapped around the knights. These ones were not very powerful. "Admittedly, I''m much better at killing my foes, so let''s hurry I don''t want to waste resources needlessly." And I knew Artoria would not like me killing these knights for fulfilling any perceived oaths towards the ''leader'' here.


    Finding the stairs wasn''t difficult and they led into the greater keep. The Castles d¨¦cor changed quickly, representing the wealth and prestige of the n as paintings and statues began to adorn the n.


    We continued to meet resistance on the way down, variousbatants left in our wake, either beaten into submission or otherwise bound and unable to continue fighting. Rin did well, her time in Skyrim had apparently given her a fair bit ofbat experience as she navigated the whole fight without much trouble.


    Raikou, as ever, was graceful and domineering in her actions as she routed every foe that came her way. Enough that they began to back away from her as she gave that signature ''disgusted'' look towards them.


    I lifted up one magician by the cor. "Where''s the dungeon." I held him close to my face.


    Seemed like the obvious ce to check first and this being a castle, there was no doubt in my mind that there was a dungeon.


    "I-I don''t know" He sputtered out.


    "That''s unfortunate, because mypanion will be asking you next." I gestured towards Raikou who flicked some blood from her de and scowled towards him.


    Raikou could honestly pull off the ''scary'' look well. Perhaps it was a hold over from when she still had her ''madness''.


    Regardless.


    It was kinda sexy.


    "....please keep her away from me." He squeaked out. "Pull the torch over there ¨C" He hesitantly pointed towards one of many torches lighting up the room. "It opens a secret passage."


    "How clich¨¦." I flicked his forehead, watching as his eyes rolled back.


    "Seriously? Torch and secret passage?" Rin said dryly.


    "Right!?" I snorted. "Anyway, here goes nothing... I reached out with some telekinesis and yanked at it. Nearby, the stones groaned and hissed as a wall opened up to reveal some more downward stairs.


    Okay, it was pretty neat.


    I should add some secret passages to my own home.


    I took out the Staff of Magnus, casting arge Candlelight spell, lighting up the descending corridor. Immediately, I could see dozens of traps lining the walls.


    "Okay, so not as stupid as I first assumed." Rin muttered. "Not a bad trap, alteast for a firstyer of defense." She acknowledged.


    "Raikou." I turned towards my Servant; hand outstretched as it crackled with lightning. "Mind lending me a hand?" I smiled.


    "Always." She reached out, her own lighting intertwined with mine as we aimed it down the hall and discharged.


    Our Divine Lightning scattered in all directions down the empty steps. Striking every stone, hissing and jumping along the walls as it shattered and destroyed all the encased magics that filled the area.


    "That should do it." I hummed, admiring our handy work.


    "Let us make haste then." Raikou nodded as Rin and I followed her silently. The immediate area had been cleared, and I continued to carry a candlelight with us as we descended further and further into the depths of this ce.


    Though, the further we went down, the more I had an uneasy feeling.


    "This feels eerie." Rin whispered.


    "Master, I too feel a strangeness. It reminds me of the spot where we first ascertained the trail of Assassin." She spoke. And herment certainly did not make me feel better.


    "Go." I said, meeting her eyes.


    She didn''t'' hesitate to elerate, bursting forward, weaved in her Mana Burst. She went towards the end of the hallway that met the stairs we came off of, and didn''t even bother to be subtle as she burst right through the door. Rin and I followed right behind her and we all paled at the sight.


    There were cages filled with....people. And not all of them were adults.


    The stench of blood filled the room, I could even make out stains of it that hadyered the walls. There was equipment thrown about, tool whose only purpose was to bring about pain.


    This wasn''t a mere dungeon; it was a torture chamber.


    There was a single man looking at us curiously. The only person that wasn''t chained up or in a cage.


    "I knew someone woulde here." He smiled lightly. There was something....off about him. He was gaunt, and almost looking hollow. He had ck hair down to his shoulder, but his cheeks looked withered, and the robes he wore looked rather loose. I felt like he would fall over at a mere light breeze. Yet, he also had a certain aura about him that allowed others to recognize him as someone of strength. "I felt the barriers go down, so it was only a matter of time." Heughed.


    "Schweinorg." Rin whispered. "This is giving me shbacks to something I really don''t like remembering."


    That certainly sounded like something I should ask aboutter.


    "Children." Raikou muttered, looking around. "You have children in here!" She seethed, staring at the man with clear hatred.


    "Yes, Uther does so like to make examples. Parents disobey him? Go for their children. His subjects fail a mission? Down into the dungeon they go." He shook his head.


    "You monster!" Raikou shouted, lunging after him, sword in hand.


    A sword slid out of the man''s sleeve, and he managed to block the blow with a strained effort. He hissed in pain as Raikou pushed down on him, his sword slowly being forced back as he tried his best to hold on.


    "Raikou." I spoke, grabbing her arm, much to her surprise.


    "Master!?" She blurted out, looking at me in confusion.


    I didn''t exin, but I slowly reached towards the bewildered man, he didn''t move as I grabbed his wrist, holding it up. He didn''t react as I slid his sleeve down, revealing his arm.


    "Jesus fucking Christ." I ignored the attempt of Heaven''s system to p me with a sharp pain. My new defenses seemed to be able to mitigate it so I paid it no heed for now.


    All down his arm were scars iid with curses ontop of magical bindings.


    Raikou''s eyes widened as she noticed the malevolent energy that pulsed off them. I didn''t me her, I thought the feeling was generated by him, not something that was acting like a noose.


    I reached forward and tore a piece of his rob off that covered his chest. There too they wrapped around him, like thorns. Curses ravaging his body and so many spells that ate away at him that I couldn''t even believe he was alive, much less standing.


    "Who are you?" I questioned.


    He gave a wry smile. "I go by Agravain."


    "Why...." Raikou whispered.


    "As I said, Uther likes to make examples of those who go against him."


    ****


    Atnta POV


    "Hello, I believe this is our first time having a proper greeting." The blue woman stated with a bubbly smile on her face. "I''m Jinn."


    "Hello, Jinn." I returned the kind smile. "I''m Archer, also known as Atnta.


    We had been introduced previously, but it was a quick name and reference, nothing else.


    "Yo, I''m Rider ¨C also Achilles." Achilles introduced himself with azy wave.


    She seemed like a nice girl. I could not sense any falsehood in the way she presented herself. "Do you have any proposal on how we should engage?" I asked her.


    The splitting of our ''teams'' was no secret. Jinn was to provide us with her ample knowledge in Magecraft while Achilles and I would ensure her protection. The King of Knights had enough sense to bnce out all sides with enough power and magic ability at each end. Minus her own, but she had her own ns there and I did not care to question it.


    This was a favor, and a job I was requested to do. Wilhelm had show us kindness and we wished to reciprocate. The payment was merely an additional boon and I would have done so without any offered reward.


    "Well, you two probably have enough experience in fights that I don''t need to try tomand you or anything." She shook her head. "I''ll leave that to you and handle the magic stuff."


    "Sounds like a n." Achilles grinned. "Just point me to any of the strong guys and I''ll handle them."


    It was interesting how easy it was to like this girl after meeting her only for a few moments. She just had that kind of personality that allowed one to feel at ease. I did wonder how Wilhelm was able to attract such a wide array of women into his ''harem''.


    The Servant we had met before, which had turned into a surprisingly pleasant women after speaking with her recently. The King of Knights who turned out to be a woman. She was a respectable figure and was someone I could see myself befriending. The Queen of the Land of Shadows, another warrior who I could not help but respect. The Youkai woman ¨C the Nine Tailed Fox who ruled over the realm in which we wandered around. She held herself well and was someone not to be ignored. Andstly, the thing that he called ''Meridia''.


    It reminded me too much of Lady Artemis, yet had a distinctly different feeling. I held my reservations towards that ¨C Goddess, but I made noment on it.


    A group of women, all from different backgrounds, yet all willing to share the same man.


    It was a strange thing.


    "Oooh." Jinn perked up, taking out the device she made. "It''s time, lets get started!"


    "Finally." Achilles flicked up his spear that he had been idly dragging around.


    "Here we go." Jinn held the device up as something activated. We watched as the barriers fell down and the people upon the walls began scrambling every which way.


    There was a silent agreement as we all shot forward, my eyes keeping track of Jinn to make sure she kept up. And I was a little surprised at the pace she kept with us as she flew behind.


    I converted my Magical Energy into arrows and shot them towards the enemies upon the walls. Taking heed of the words from the King of Knights, I struck their hands, piercing through and removing them from the battle.


    Several more of my arrows prated the stone walls of the fortress, giving me a means to traverse the side of the structure.


    "Beatcha, sis." Achillesughed as he was already upon the wall, a pile of bodies next to him.


    "Not all of us are the ''fastest hero''" I rolled my eyes, though his yfulness did tug at my humorous side a bit.


    "Oh, those look like teleportation circles." Jinn pointed out. "Yup, definitely teleportation circles." She nodded to herself as the magical phenomenon became clear on the ground below.


    Hundreds of magicians appeared with a burst of Magical Energy.


    "What a foolish spot to teleport to. They merely present themselves as targets." I readied my bow and unleased a barrage of arrows below before they noticed us.


    Though before my arrows could make distance, they were intercepted by another barrage that happened opposite us.


    I looked up to see a man standing on a roof with a strange harp-like bow in his hands. "I''m afraid I''ll have to step in." He spoke up. "Intruders, surrender and I will speak on your behalf for clemency."


    I raised an eyebrow and look towards Achilles.


    "Eh, you can have the bow user." He shrugged.


    I wouldn''t deny that mypetitive side did not act up. This man appeared stronger than the ones I had taken out in thest few moments.


    I raised my bow, eyes locking with him as I believe we both knew what was about to happen. I almost growled in annoyance as I was forced to jump to the side, a wave of fire filling the spot I was just in, turning a part of the stone to g.


    "Wench! Lay down thy bow and submit to Uther. Your punishment shall be less merciful if you persist!" Arger man roared as he lept across rooftops beforending upon the walls near us. d in the armor of these knights, though his sword seemed a bit spectacr inparison.


    "Hooh, what a big one then." Achilles was already walking towards him.


    "Hmph, my size is built upon experience and skill. A small brat like you wouldn''t understand." He seemed to take Achilles words as an insult, though I did not believe it was in the way he meant.


    "Well, big or small." Achilles twirled his spear. "A fish is just a fish." He grinned.


    "Insolent cur!" He roared once more. "You stand before Gawain, Knight of the Sun!" He swung his me-coated sword at Achilles once more only for Achilles to side steps.


    "Gawain, huh?" Achilles chuckled. "Nice to meetcha, I''m Achilles." And with a burst of speed, he nted his fist into the knight''s chest, distorting the shape of his armor.


    I couldn''t watch any longer as I turned back towards the archer. "That idiot, Gawain. A muscle head through and through." The archer threw back his long hair. "It doesn''t matter, we have many magicians here and ¨C "


    "Gravity!" Jinn shouted as a weight descended upon the world, impacting the mages below. Most of them were forced onto the ground, sprawled about and unable to get up.


    "Ice Maelstrom!" She held her hands up once more and a cascade of cold air fell down as well, freezing the surroundings that had just been hit by her previous spell.


    Well then. She was quite capable in the Magical aspect.


    There were a few dozen that were able to escape her attacks, perhaps the more experienced and powerful of the lot, but Jinn did not appear to need our help as she looked at them with confidence.


    I turned back to the archer. "You were saying?"


    "....." He looked at the mages then back to me and took a deep breath. He ran his fingers along the strange harp-like bow, plucking its strings. A soft melody echoed out and dozens of arrows made of light appeared in the air and fired off towards me.


    I pulled back the string of my own bow and met each arrow with ease. He looked surprised at the speed and precision at which I countered him.


    "So you got some skill." He snorted, plucking on the strings more vigorously. The Arrows that formed numbers in the hundreds. "I was given the name of Tristan, and with Failnaught in my hands, no archer can match me." He dered.


    And I took that personally.


    ***


    Sc¨¢thach POV


    "Come on you bastards! Is that the best you got!?" The Son of Artoria swung around her de blowing away the knights of this ce by the handful.


    Her master stood nearby, opting to smoke a cigarette, lookingpletely unconcerned with the fight. He nced at me, glowing out puff of smoke. "Honestly, it''s probably best to let her have this."


    "Hmm, I cannot fault her actions. This is something personal for her just as it is for Artoria." I nodded.


    It was not my ce to meddle with such intense feelings. I was here to support my.....harem sister, I believe was the correct term.


    A strange term even as I thought about it. Never had I thought it would be one I ced on myself, yet here I am.


    I nced to the side where many more knights and mages began flocking to the ruckus we were stirring up. "Would you ¨C " I gestured to them.


    "Oh, no thanks. By all means." Saber''s Master stepped back. Yes, he was a Magus, he did not fight unless he had to.


    I smiled lightly as I took a few steps towards them, my favored spear appearing in my hand.


    "Ice Dragon!" One of the mages created several spell circles, actualizing and condensing Ice into the form of arge creature that resembling a dragon before sending it at me.


    "Passable, I suppose." I yawned, stabbing it several times in quick session. My Magical energy blew through the magical construct, shattering the threads that held it together. "For an amateur." I snorted. "Absolutely no substance, no weight behind you spell"


    "Inferno!"


    "Twister!"


    "Lightning Storm!"


    Several more mages cast their spells in quick session. One thing I could admire in this system of magic was how it was easier to cast certain spells with practice and patience. If one worked hard, regardless of talent, they could rise to a certain standard.


    I slowly raised my hand and waived my palm through the air, creating a line of Runes.


    Three spells interwoven into my movement. The fire attack had been met with a waterfall. The Burst of de-like winds had be snuffed out with a spear of earth mming up into it. Lastly, the lightning just sshed helplessly upon a shield I conjured.


    My man''s lightning was of a much higher degree even before he gained his Divinity. I did not even feel the need to shield myself, but I would shamed if I allowed it tond a blow upon my body, regardless of theck of true damage.


    "I am disappointed. How little training have you undergone? Think about why you have been so easily defeated once you reawaken." I allowed them a moment to digest my words before moving towards them at a higher speed. A few jabs was enough to send their unconscious bodies to the ground.


    "And you require more physical training. Studying Magic is no excuse for such poor conditions." I sighed, walking back.


    I truly despised the waste of talent.


    While I would enjoy a blood-boiling fight, I was in no rush to seek out such an opponent. This matter was with an objective in mind, not to satiate my own bloodlust.


    "My Fairdy." A soft voice reached my ears as I turned around to meet the origin. I was not surprised by his arrival, he didn''t mask his presence, but I expected him to attack me not begin a conversation. "Why is such a beautiful flower staining herself with the blood of my family? Might I ask for you toy down your weapon, then perhaps we can speak of more intimate matters in private?" He gave a rather enchanting smile.


    The man was....handsome. I could guess that his smile was able to win the hearts of many women. However, the method of which he tried to flirt with me, it wasughable. I almost wanted to reply, banter with his flirtations and make a fool of him..... but I felt repulsion at the idea of even acknowledging his attempts in jest.


    "This Sc¨¢thach is already imed." I turned up my nose.


    "Did you say Scath ¨C"


    "Who''s this fop?" Mordred cut in, dragging the body of a knight and tossing it to the side as they whined in pain.


    "I do not know. He immediately tried flirting with me and did not give a name." I scoffed.


    "He gives off a slimly feeling."


    "I feel a simr repulsion." I agreed wholeheartedly.


    The man looked like he was getting annoyed at being ignored. "Dreadful manners, interrupting someone like so." He huffed.


    "Interrupting you is what gets you upset? Not breaking your men?" Mordred asked.


    "Peasants and ruffians who are of the lowest ss." He turned up his nose. "Their well being is of no concern to someone like me."


    I could not see Mordred''s face under her armor, but I believe she was all but murderous. Despite everything, she felt very strongly about these people who used their name. Enemies they were, but to see him toss aside his own allies....


    "What a fucking joke. Atleast those ''peasants'' faced off against me and didn''t try chasing a skirt in the middle of a battle. Letting your men get beaten just because they''re lower status? What a piece of a shit."


    The man scoffed. "What a foul mouth. Are you the one that keeps this flower away?" He looked at me once moreing to the wrong conclusions. "An uncouth brute is unworthy of such beauty. I shall remedy this situation immediately." He drew the sword that was sitting on his back. "You shall have the honor of facing Lancelot, strongest knight of Lord Uther."


    Mordred went still. I recognized the name and I only had some knowledge of its significance for thess.


    "Lancelot....." Mordred muttered as red lightning began to envelop her. The helmet on her head began to shift as its part slid down to reveal her face. "Aint that some shit." A vicious grin appeared. "Well, Lancelot." She brought her de up, leveled with him. "My name is Mordred Pendragon. And I''m going to enjoy this far more than I should."


    ****


    Omake ¨C You have a certain Type.


    Wilhelm POV


    "What are you insinuating?" I looked at Artoria.


    "I am insinuating nothing. I am merely pointing out the fact. It is nothing to be ashamed of, Wilhelm." Artoria replied. "From what I havee to understand, many people have a ''type''. Yours just happens to coincide with...mature women."


    "I don''t have a type." I denied. "It''s just a coincidence. Besides, are you calling you calling yourself a ''mature woman''?" I smirked towards her.


    "My aging may have stopped at this physical state, but make no doubt, Wilhelm. I am many years older than you even if we do not take into ount the year I was born until now." She retorted.


    "I should seduce Rin, just to prove you wrong."


    "Please don''t attempt to seduce Rin. As amusing as it would be to see you fail, it would just cause problems."


    "Yeah, I don''t want to ruin ¨C" I paused. "What do you mean, ''fail''?" I quirked an eyebrow. "I could seduce her if I wanted to."


    "Oh, Wilhelm." Artoria chuckled, reaching over and gently patting my cheek. "Is this the ''selective blindless'' I''ve heard about in men?"


    "What''s that supposed to mean!?"


    "It means.....have you not seen Rin more interested in the women you bring home as opposed to you?"


    "Wait...really?"


    Artoria shook her head. "It doesn''t matter, we have arrived."


    "This conversation isn''t over." I grumbled. "I don''t have a ''type''. I simply happened upon some wonderful women who happened to be more....mature." I let out a breath, as we walked up to the front door. "So just.....knock and introduce ourselves?"


    "I believe that is the best course of action." Artoria nodded.


    Though....we didn''t really need to knock as we just walked straight through he bounded fields.


    Before I could even touch the door, it swung open revealing the upants inside.


    "Saber!?" Several voices blurted out, then turned to a young woman who looked exactly like Artoria behind them.


    "W-what!?" The ''Saber'' they referred to blurt out in confusion.


    "May wee in?" I asked.


    ***


    "Well this is awkward." I said idly as we had been staring at each other for like ten minutes now.


    "Who are you?" I recognized the voice and face of the one who spoke up. The mirror image of a younger Rin Tohsaka.


    "Well, I should introduce myself I guess." I cleared my throat. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. Grandson of Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, Wizard Marshall of the Mages Association."


    "Z-Zelretch!?" Rin eximed.


    "Um.....who''s Zelretch?" The young man that sat between Rin and the alternative version of Artoria questioned with a confused look on his face.


    "Shirou, you idiot! He''s one of the only Magicians in existence! We went over thisst week!" She smacked his shoulder.


    Shirou Emiya, one of the differences in my main World-line. He doesn''t exist there, however, I do know quite a bit about him.


    "Eh, not that big of a deal." I said evenly. "And I guess I don''t have to introduce mypanion....considering."


    "It is polite to do so anyways." Artoria spoke up. "I am Artoria Pendragon, it''s a pleasure to meet you all."


    "You are me." The Artoria opposite of us spoke up. "How is this possible?"


    "Okay for convenience sake, how about ¨C " Put my hand on Artoria''s head. "My Artoria is just ¨C Artoria, yours is Saber?" I offered.


    "Makes it easier." Rin grumbled. "But I''m with Saber, how? There shouldn''t be another Grail to summon a servant!"


    "Grandson of Zelretch. Do you think I wouldn''t know the same Magic? I don''te from this World-Line, neither does my Artoria."


    "It''s true." She confirmed. "I had my own Grail War, simr to your own. Though, the noticeable exception would be the young man infront of me. Would you perhaps introduce yourself?" Artoria asked.


    "Oh." He perked up. "Um....Shirou Emiya.....guess it''s nice to meet you again?" He gave a good natured smile.


    Artoria smiled towards him. "Yes, likewise."


    "And...Saber meet Artoria?" I grinned.


    Artoria turned to me with a little swat at my shoulder. "Apologies, he thinks he is humorous at times."


    "So....are you two like...together?" Rin asked. "Oh, and I''m Rin Tohsaka, by the way."


    "Yes." Artoria didn''t deny it. "And we are aware of who you are. Our Rin is a part of our lives, she is even my master."


    "Oh?" Rin turned to Shirou. "Atleast I didn''t get my Servant stolen in a different timeline."


    "Hey, I said I''m sorry!" Shirou instantly apologized.


    "Excuse me." Saber interrupted. "Did you say you both are....together?"


    "I did." Artoria confirmed again. "Wilhelm and I have been dating for awhile now." She reached out of her own volition, taking my hand.


    "Oh." Saber blinked. "you too...." She said quietly.


    "Wait are you and...." I gestured towards Shirou.


    "Y-yes." Saber was a bit more.... unfamiliar with those kinds of feelings as she immediately went red.


    "Huh." Well, good for her. Even if she isn''t my Artoria, I''m d she''s happy. "Hey kid." I turned to Shirou. "Want some advice on how to ''handle'' her?" I wiggled my eyebrow.


    Both Artorias made the same noise of embarrassment.


    "Wilhelm!"


    "Uh, sure?" Shirou epted, probably not understanding what I was implying.


    "Shirou!" Saber made an almost exact reaction that my Artoria did.


    "Oh my god, this is great." Rin just had the biggest smile on her face. "You know, you both have almost the same hair color too. Weird coincidence."


    I blinked at that, looking at Shirou''s hair, then pulling a strand of mine down topare. "Huh." I turned to Artoria. "What a strange coincidence."


    Artoria narrowed her eyes. "Are you insinuating something?"


    "Oh no, I''m merely.....pointing out the fact...." The corners of my lips curled up. "A young man with bright red hair..."


    "That is a happenstance and nothing more."


    "Hmm." I turned back to shirou. "Hey, Shirou. You wouldn''t happen to have a fascination with swords, would you?" I already knew the answer to that question.


    "Uh, yeah? I like swords, what about it?"


    I turned back to Artoria.


    "T-that proves nothing." She stuttered. "It''s not the same, he just ¨C "


    "He has an endless field of swords in his soul." I interjected, much to the surprised exmations to the hosts.


    "....." Artoria could muster an argument.


    "My, I think someone has a Type." I said with as smug a tone as I could muster.


    ***


    Author''s Note.


    Okay, i made a little mistakest chapter. It''s two chapters that covers the majority of this little plot. Last week when I wrote it, I had to split it into two parts cause it was too long but I didn''t want to drag it out over like 6 chapters. Next one is 8k words and then a cleanup chapter. Added a little Omake as an apology for my mistake.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 243 - 230 part 2

    <h4>Chapter 243: Chapter 230 part 2</h4>


    I looked between Agravain and the cages again and felt utterly disgusted at what I saw. I took a deep breath and settled myself.


    "Rin, can you please inspect the cages, make sure there are no traps?" I asked.


    I knew Rin was just as repulsed, but this was an important matter that couldn''t be ignored.


    "Yeah." She said quietly, going to the nearest one with a child who barely looked conscious. He did not look to be in good shape. She took out a jewel and held it up to her eye, scanning the surroundings intently.


    "Agravain..." I looked at the man again.


    "The Cages ¨C " He stopped, and his body shook, blood started dripping out his nose as he twitched.


    "I see.....you''re just as trapped as they are." I muttered, looking at the curses and bindings that were cast on him. "Raikou." I called out to my Servant. "Our priorities have changed. Let the others find who we were looking for, we''re on a different rescue duty." I could not in good conscious leave these people to this fate.


    "Yes, Master. I am yours tomand." Raikou nodded.


    I know Artoria would not fault me for this. In fact, she''d probably wholeheartedly agree with my actions.


    "We''re good Schweinorg." Rin called out. "Though there are some marks left on the cages, they look like runes, but I don''t recognize them and they''re drawn in blood. Witchcraft isn''t'' my specialty, but it looks simr to it."


    I walked over to where she pointed out. There were indeed some markings drawn about, hidden and unnoticeable if Rin hadn''t been looking over the cages thoroughly.


    "But these things are Mystic Codes, they''re designed to act like.....shock cors on a bigger scale." She was clearly upset given her own tone and I couldn''t fault her.


    "Witchcraft isn''t my specialty either...." I bit my lip, considering our options. Raikou''s Mystery yer would probably be able to cut through them, but the issue was any bacsh suffered by other people. I drew a string of runes over the curses to iste the effects as best I could before crushing the magics around the cage and pulled it open.


    "Start healing everyone." I stated, going to another cage. "A Health Potion for everyone and use healing spells too." I began setting them out for use.


    "R-right." Rin nodded, looking over the child.


    There weren''t that many people/children in here, probably only a couple dozen, but it still took some effort to make sure everyone was stable. I don''t know if I could acknowledge the effort that went into keeping them all alive. They were certainly not in good shape, but they weren''t about to drop dead.


    I nced many times at Agravain to see what he would do, but he didn''t make a move. I realized what was going on at this point, but you never knew and I was quite skeptical of everything about this ce/on this mission/about this family.


    "Anything you can tell me about therge Ritual set up using the Castle as a foundation?" I decided to try asking him as we settled the problem of the prisoners.


    "You noticed that....?" He smiled wryly. "It''s ¨C " He twitched again, gritting his teeth. "Defense...Uther controls." He managed to grit out between spasms.


    A defense mechanism that Uther had control of?


    "Master?" Raikou put a hand on my shoulder. "You look conflicted."


    I looked around the room once more at the people lying about. Rin was still checking over several, but they would.....survive.


    "Wondering what I should do." I said honestly, turning back to Agravain. "What can you tell me without....." I waved at him.


    He seemed to understand what I was asking. "I''m Agravain, given the name by Uther. I''m not very strongpared to the other legacies, but my specialty lies in strategy and nning."


    "What happened to you?" I asked.


    "Uther likes to make examples of people who go against him." Agravain said once more. "Even if they are his brother." He shook his head. "I didn''t want to be the head of the family, but I knew that Uther would be....ruthless in his leadership. I was unfortunately proven right."


    I opened my mouth and closed it again. "Fucking hell." I rubbed my temples. "What a mess this is."


    "I spent years sneaking in little backdoors into all the defenses. But to think you''d just blow right through them." He gave a depressed chuckle.


    "You''ve been sabotaging them?" I blinked in surprise.


    "As much as I could." He didn''t seem to care about his sorry state as he smiled brightly. "Though, my brother didn''t like that I helped his son escape, so he.....increased the chains on me."


    "You helped Arthur run away?" I was surprised by that. "He never mentioned anything like that."


    "He didn''t know." Agravainughed again. "Uther would have done something eventually. He''s too power hungry for his own good. Binding his son seemed like the next step for him to take."


    "I don''t know If I can do anything about these immediately." I looked him over again. Maybe Avalon could disperse the curses and destroy these ''chains''? But I gave it back to Artoria awhile ago.....Well, he shouldn''t be in trouble for the time being. "Would any healing have a negative effect?"


    "Probably." He shrugged. "Uther was very systematic in ¨C " He stopped sighing again.


    "You''re pretty nonchnt about this whole thing." I eyed him suspiciously.


    He smiled wide at that. "I don''t suspect to live beyond today, but if Uther is gone before I am, I would die happily. And knowing this ce was never going to exist again, my heart would rest easy." He looked around.


    I blinked for a moment as I noticed another thing on his body. More so than a curse or magics binding him, it was carved on his flesh, rather amateurishly. I reached forward, pulling his rob away to inspect it. It was the same symbol that was drawn on the cages in blood.


    "You...you were mitigating it as much as possible, weren''t you?" Seeing the matching inscriptions andbining some context clues, it wasn''t hard to guess the intent. He was transferring it to himself, shouldering as much as he could.


    There was only a bitter smile in response.


    "I was never very good at magic." He said quietly.


    I was about to speak again, but the whole castle started shaking violently. Strange noises echoing out and I felt like the temperature was increasing.


    Agravaine''s eyes widened, he looked frantic. "NO!" He shouted. "It''s ¨C !" He couldn''t finish the sentence as he clutched his heart. "Protect!" He looked at me.


    I mmed my Staff of Magnus into the ground and called upon my strongest defensive spell. "Shield of Asgard!" I cast as quickly as I could as it covered all the unconscious people.


    I felt the effects assail the barrier, something was trying totch onto the people in here.


    "Draining...." Agravain raised a shaky hand towards the ceiling and spoke between pants. "Family." He finished


    "A draining effect?" I muttered. "The ritual is used to drain the Magical Energy from family members?" I tilted my head. That in of itself wasn''t that bad, if every person contributed power to a spell, it would support it better.


    "Lifeforce." He corrected.


    My own eyes widened by the insinuation. Whatever it was, my shield was keeping these people from getting drained, which would definitely kill them in their current state.


    "Schweinorg, any idea what''s going on?" Rin asked.


    "Therge-scale ritual, it''s taking in lifeforce to power itself and that implies some pretty nasty effects." I answered honestly. "Magical Energy would be one thing, and ignorable as far as morality is concerned. But something like this, that''s the dark stuff you don''t want to touch."


    Everything went deathly still for a moment, then a secondter, I felt arge presence envelope the area.


    And a roar reverberated, shaking the foundations of the castle.


    ***


    Achilles POV


    "Come on, big guy. That all you guy?" I taunted him as he stumbled away after taking my fist to his stomach.


    He reorientated himself quickly, let out a few pants before standing back up straight. "Brat!" He shout, gripping his sword. "Do you think a sneak attack like that would keep me down?"


    "A sneak attack...?'' I blinked at that. "I attacked from right infront of you..."


    "Hmph, you won''t get the better of me again." He snorted. "Come, face my holy de ¨C Dyrnwyn. Only the worthy can wield this mighty de. You shall have the honor of face it head on!"


    Dyrnwyn, huh? The name was something I knew from the Grail given knowledge, though it''s probably different in this world. Seemed pretty cool, I guess. The Fires are hot enough, I can acknowledge that much.


    "Well, it should make it a little interesting." I leveled my spear at him.


    "Arrogant!" He shouted, rushing towards me. His body became enveloped in a power I didn''t recognize immediately. Was this that ''Touki'' I heard about? It made me grin thinking there were still things new to me.


    The wave of his sword sent mes cascading towards me. I tapped my foot against the ground before moving out of the way. Again, a torrent of fire filled the spot I had been in only for me to be several feet away at the blink of an eye.


    I looked at him and yawned, holding my spear over my shoulder. "Too slow~"


    "Raar!" He shouted bursting towards me with a sudden increase in speed, swinging his sword down.


    I raised my Spear up with one arm to block. A wave of fire pushed against me but I didn''t budge under the mes. No, these fires couldn''t touch me through my Noble Phantasm.


    "Haaah...."I let out a breath, feeling the hot air fill my lungs. "I guess I got excited for nothing." I stomped on the ground, cracking the stones beneath us and putting him off bnce. With a flick of my wrist, I knocked his sword back, breaking his guard and sent my elbow back into his chest.


    He crumpled under the strain, lifted off his feet and went sailing over the side of the wall, crashing into one of the buildings below.


    I took the moment to nce over at Jinn, the woman that Wilhelm asked me to look after. Don''t know why he was so concerned, she was currently handing a collection of magic-users their asses.


    Oh well, I just shrugged and looked at the pile of debris I sent that knight into start moving about as he pushed his way up. The building immediately caught fire as he jumped forward, the mes surrounding him.


    However, he looked different. His lower body took the form of a lion ¨C no a cheetah?


    He growled, looking at me as I jumped down off the wall. As soon as my feet touched the ground, he moved much quicker than before, mming his sword down.


    "That''s more like it!" I grinned at the increase of speed and power. This was what I was expecting! "Is this one of those Sacred Gears I heard about!?"


    "My Beast Stampede allows me to take the form of animals, I can use their advantages for myself!" He gloated.


    Hmm, I think there''s more to it than that, since a regr Cheetah wouldn''t be able to do something like this.....but I didn''t really care.


    He swung his sword precisely as I took a proper stance and went about deflecting each strike with the tip of my spear. I increased my speed slightly and he was able to follow for a few more exchanges.


    "How about this!?" Iughed, taking it up another notch. With my spear coated in my Magical Energy, I trust out a dozen times in a single breath.


    Blood erupted from the man, as he only managed to handle a few blows before the remainder slipped through his guard. Severalrge cuts ran along his body, flowing with blood as he fell to the ground.


    Not very satisfying, the Touki was interesting, but that was about it. Well, I can buy some drinks with the money I made, so it wasn''t a total loss.


    I wonder how sis was doing? I looked around to finally see her trading arrows with that other guy. "Well, she looks like she''s having fun so I won''t interfere. Handled this easily enough, guess I''ll go find those two girls we were looking for, they should ¨C "


    "Bnce Breaker ¨C Beast Stampede, Dragon Supremacy"


    I turned back towards the Knight as he erupted in a torrent of power. He changed, his body erged and scales grew all over him. Wings sprouted on his back and massive draconic limps reced his human ones.


    "A Dragon is the highest in the animal Kingdom" He roared. "I AM A DRAGON!" Fire escaped his mouth as his promation.


    "Hoooh, now that''s pretty good." I admired the pressure he was putting off now. "Maybe I was a little hasty in dismissing you."


    "You''ll regret making a fool of me." He growled, picking his sword up again. He took a step forward, and the ground shuddered and cracked in every direction. His wings beat and he burst towards me.


    I brought my spear up to block as he pushed me back, sending me into the stone walls. His de pushed against the shaft of my spear, his other hand ¨C his w reached out to rake at me, only to harmlessly run along my skin.


    "W-what!?" He spoke in confusion as his now draconic ws couldn''t prate my Noble Phantasm.


    "What''s wrong, you having a bit of trouble there?" Iughed at him.


    "DON''T MOCK ME!" He roared, pushing my spear back. He reeled back and swung his sword down harder. His speed was impressive for a human, and his power had been significantly increased. His mouth opened up, revealing a lot of sharp teeth, but I only paid attention to the stream of fire that was bellowed outwards. The mes tore into the walls, melting the stone and caused arge portion of it to crumble under the strain.


    I moved out of the way, fist mming to the bottom of his jaw, stopping the torrent of fire. That surprisingly didn''t slow him down as he continued to attack me, sword in hand.


    His skill wasn''t bad either. The flurry of attacks he unleashed didn''tck the years of practice he must have dedicated. He didn''t let this power go to his head and ignore that facet of his skills.


    "Should I get a little serious?" I smiled ducking under another swing. With a sh, I had moved out of his vision.


    My spear was striking forward toward his head. His eyes widened and he franticly moved his sword to push my spear away, narrowly avoiding me running him through.


    Impressive reflex and speed, seems like he still had some power he held in reserve.


    How about kicking it up another notch then?


    With another burst of speed, the spot I was upying in a moment prior had be empty, only a wisp of wind indicating I had moved. From the other side of him, my spear wasing again as he moved, once more aiming to pierce through him.


    He shouted, sword aze, swinging at my spear to defend.


    Again, I moved behind him, spear shooting out. I continued to increase the speed slightly each time he blocked, and continued to aim for his blind spots. He became more frantic and erratic as I got closer and closer tonding a blow on him. The small cuts he barely managed to escape with started to be more numerous andrger as a few breaths progressed.


    His breathing picked up and his eyes bloodshot. He looked ragged with his fake scales torn apart all over his body.


    I could admire his endurance; it was certainly able to keep him going through all of this. Taking a few steps away and gaining a bit of distance, I looked him over and nodded to myself.


    "Well, lets end this." I gripped my spear and my feet dug into the ground. The Magical Energy around me swirled and the air exploded with a movement from myself. One moment I was a few dozen yards away, the next, my spear pushed through him, nailing him to what remained of the wall in this area.


    His sword went flying off at the impact, his body spasmed under the blow. He looked down, touching my spear that had him impaled to the side of the castle. "W-who are y-you....I''m supposed to be G-Gawain, how...!?" His scales shattered and fell off him, his wings dispersed into nothingness. His body slowly turned back to normal.


    "Didn''t I already say? I''m Achilles ¨C A hero." I pulled my spear out, flicking the blood away. I looked down at him, his eyes rying he had more to say, but I doubt he could speak anymore. "You weren''t bad, maybe if you trained a bit more, I''d have had to try harder." I shook my head.


    Felt like he still had a bunch of potential to get stronger. His ¨C Sacred Gear was interesting and I feel like it could have been used better.


    What a shame.


    He should survive, but if he doesn''t, not much of a loss.


    I guess I''ll go find those two girls now.


    ***


    Atnta POV


    His melodic tune was followed with a barrage of arrows as I leapt from my perch to another position to dodge the bombardment. With each arrow that was sent my way, I slowly began to scowl deeper. Could he even be called an archer at this point?


    He wasn''t even aiming, it was a magic bow ¨C harp that did everything for him. His arrows, they worked by themselves, arcing and moving in the air to attack his targeted with their own mind. It seems that the strumming of the instrument/weapon was what powered it to both create and have the arrows seek their target.


    "As suspected, no one can match my skills with a bow."


    And he continues to say stupid things like that.


    I growled, turning around and fired off arrows to match his. It went against my instincts that I had honed over my life, but I felt the urge to stand forward, and face him head on.


    If Achilles acted like this all the time, I suppose it wouldn''t be bad if I followed his example this once.


    The music continued to y from his magic weapon, hundreds of magical arrows manifested and shot off towards me.


    I nted my feet firmly, and pulled back my string. My Magical energy fill up and was released at the same time. The sky was filled with the collision of arrows.


    I calmly shot down each and every one that came my way, each of his ¨C fake arrows that were shot form his fake bow were destroyed by my own.


    His arrogant demeanor, that annoying smirk on his face slowly began to disappear with each of his attacks that were stopped by me.


    "Skills with a bow?" I mocked him as our battle continued. "Tell me when you deem to reveal such a thing."


    He scowled, pulling back his strings with a renewed fury. The music he created had sped up, and so too did the arrows behind him.


    I merely raised an eyebrow as I matched him arrow for arrow.


    His fingers carefully wove each note, and continued to escte until he stood up looking at me intently. His concentration reached its peak, hundred and hundreds of arrows filled the morning sky and they all pointed down at me.


    I let go of the string of my bow, looking at all of them that hovered above.


    "So you see the inevitable!" He dered, with augh as he noticed me not continuing the bout. "Go ahead, il around with your bow, it doesn''t matter. You''ll never be able to reach me anyways."


    I took a breath and closed my eyes as I saw them start falling towards me. With the smallest motion, I stepped to the side, letting the first one impaled the ground I had just been standing. Eyes, shooting open, I began to weave through each of them.


    Jumping back, I avoided several more that came from both sides.


    Sliding to the right, another dozen passed me by.


    I burst out running as they sailed through the air towards me. I leapt upwards, bow in hand and unleashed a few arrows of my own to collided with a couple in particr, creating a gap in the barrage that allowed me to dive through. I fired another pair of arrows, one to shatter the arrows in line, and I sent a second high up into the air as I calcted the distance and anticipated certain steps.


    The arrows that covered my vision spun around, redirecting and continueding back towards me. However, their paths were much too predictable.


    Ducking over some, sidestepping others, and a few arrows fired here or there to open paths. My continued avoidance of his barrage left him annoyed as I could hear his tune change, as if bing more aggressive.


    The arrows swirled in the air and instead ofing towards me instead they surrounded me in a cage.


    I stopped, staring at him as he looked smug.


    "No more running, little cat." He grinned.


    I closed my eyes with a sigh.


    Instead of a melodious tune, it sounded more like a hiss, followed by a shout as I opened my eyes again and the magic arrows shattered and dispersed.


    I looked at the man ¨C Tristan, as he called himself without much emotion.


    He shook, eyes locked on the singr arrow that was embedded in his shoulder. The one I had let loose a few moments prior, the one he ignored or didn''t bother to question.


    "H-how." He stuttered out.


    "You revealed the mechanisms behind your weapon. How could I not understand how it worked and its ws?" I shook my head. This person was too green.


    I jumped off the rooftop I was on and made my way towards the man. He fell to his butt, trying to pull out the arrow, though I believe my aim was very good. His other arm couldn''t move with it inside, thus he couldn''t y his instrument.


    "Your arrows had no soul." I exined. "There was no prediction of my movements, no traps to beid, no leading me to perform certain actions. You merely created magic arrows and tried to overwhelm me with sheer numbers." I grabbed hold of his uninjured arm. "You are no archer." I squeezed my hand, the bone in his arm cracking under my grip.


    He let out a shrilled cry before I tossed him off the rooftop and confiscated his weapon.


    He would survive, as per the King of Knight''s request. Hopefully, he would stop being so arrogant if he had a future after this.


    Wasn''t even worth more than a single arrow from me.


    ***


    Jinn POV


    "Bitch!" One of the magicians shouted.


    "No need for thatnguage." I chided, casting a Greater Ward to block his spell. It was one of my favorite defensive spells I''d learned thus far. I have, of course, altered it to fit my own preferences, but the underlining concepts were quite intriguing.


    The teleportation circles were still active, even if most of the magicians were already defeated.


    I hummed to myself as I looked over at both Achilles and Atnta both fighting those who looked a bit stronger than the other knights they had already defeated.


    I was about to destroy the Teleportation Circles until they lit up once more. Another few dozen more magicians appeared, wearing simr uniforms. However, there was one man at the front who looked a bit important.


    They didn''t immediately attack. The one on the front rubbed his beard, giving me a look. "Aren''t you an interesting one." He sounded a bit....grandfatherly? Though I didn''t like the way he leered at me.


    "Are you from the Golden Dawn?" I tilted my head.


    "That we are." Heughed. "We have a bit of a rtionship with the Pendragon family. I don''t know what''s going on, but I''d have to ask you to stop now, youngdy. It looks like our young''uns aren''t dead, so I think we can settle this amicably."


    "Hmm, sorry." I shook my head. "You can leave, I won''t attack if you do." I denied him


    He looked at me andughed again. "Being young Is good. But I must warn you, that I will have to make a move due to a contract we have."


    "You shouldn''t judge someone based on their looks." I huffed. In a world with Gods walking around, why was he assuming I''m a young girl?


    "Mmm, perhaps." He stroked his beard. "Very well, I shall respond to your arrogance." He snapped his fingers as several of the magicians around him created spell circles. "Let our magic do our speaking."


    I looked at the spell circles, reading them and deducing what attacks they were preparing. "Elemental maniption, the most basic form of Magic." I stated. The Magic back on Remnant, it was almost entirely derived form elemental destruction, only the more talented being able to stretch it for other uses. I liked the magic that I''ve learned since leaving, the different effects thate from a more neutral source.


    The older mage raised his hand then lowered it in signal.


    The mages let loose a barrage of spells. The most basics, though basic doesn''t necessarily mean bad.


    I waived my hands, creating my own Magic Circles, shaping my magic into my desired ways. Spears of ice came raining down and as they got close, they immediately melted and turned to steam. I gripped towards the air, changing the structure once more, using the knowledge of Alteration, I learned from Skyrim and morphed it into a wall of water that split off to connect with the various fire spells that manifested.


    I raised my left hand up and returned with a spell of my own. "Mass Paralysis." My Magic pulsed out sweeping up all the magicians in the area. The greenish light enveloped them, stopping them from moving.


    "Interesting." The old magician stated, mming his staff on the ground, dispersing my spell on his people. "It appears as though my students are not your match. Would you be qualified as a High-ss then?" He muttered. "Well, it should be a good lesson. I will take you on myself. My name is Albert Frotun, I''m a teacher at the Golden Dawn." He introduced.


    "Jinn, I''m just a simple magician." I introduced myself.


    "I don''t believe there is anything simple about you." He snorted. "Are you perhaps a Genie? No.....just a happenstance and simrity maybe? I suppose it doesn''t matter, let us fight." He held his hands up, a massive spell circle appeared above.


    "me de!" Arge sword made of fire emerged, swinging down at me.


    Hmm, shall I try that new spell I created? I was inspired after seeing Wilhelm''s Power of Destruction and Rin''s Gandr curse. To create a curse that operates simrly to their destructive ability, however it came out a bit differently.


    I rolled my fingers in the air as Magic Circles spun. "Curse of Withering." A monochromatic gray light enveloped therge Fire Sword that brightened the world. It began to eat away at it, devouring the light¨C the mes as it collided with the magic.


    The mes only held up for a moment before my spell crept inside and began to eat it from the inside out.


    "Y-you are more impressive than I anticipated." The Older Mage gulped, preparing himself once more. "However, I am a master. I''m known as the Fire King in the Golden Dawn, and I shan''t be defeated by you today!" He pped his hands, forming two more Magic Circles that began to expand and multiple before taking to the sky. "Behold, my own personally created spell, Meteor shower!" He raised his arms out as the spell circles revolved and shaped into ming rocks up in the sky.


    "Oh, there are quite a lot of them." I admired the sequences used to create the effects.


    "Admit defeat, and I shall spare you. I admire your talent, why don''t'' you join the Golden Dawn? I can protect you from the Pendragon families reprisal."


    "Oh, no thank you." I smiled. "I just so happen to have something I wish to test. Numbers aren''t really an issue for me." I was still connected to Wilhelm''s ¨C Our home. And the defenses he set up still answered to me and I wished to see them in action before I modified them further. I used the Bracelet and summoned the Staves he stashed away. Hundreds upon hundred of Magical Staves that were held within our home.


    I raised my hand up, my Magical power channeled through each one. "Fire." Imanded as they released their spells towards the spells in the sky. The barrage of magic, it was hard to see any individual spell amongst their number. You could even call it a ¨C Kaleidoscope of color.


    I silently giggled to myself for the joke.


    Once the sky was clear, I looked back at the old mage, my Magical Staves slowly pointing down at him as well.


    "Would you please go home?" I asked. I truly did not like killing people if I didn''t have to.


    The younger members that he brought with him were trembling.


    ".....okay." He said quietly, quickly activating the Teleportation circle and taking his students with him.


    Well, that''s the end of that.


    I smiled, dispersing the Teleportation Circle and put my staves back where they belonged.


    For my first fight, I think it went pretty well!


    I can''t wait to tell Wilhelm how I did. Maybe he''ll give me a little reward~.


    ***


    Mordred POV


    "Which fool would name you after the traitor?" the supposed Lancelot scoffed in a mocking tone.


    "I don''t know, which fool would name you after the adulterer?" I rolled my eyes.


    "Hold your tongue, wench! I was bestowed this grace by Lord Uther." He growled.


    "Pretty sure Uther is a cunt too." Iughed at his attempt to be intimidating. "So I guess that answers my question."


    [Mordred.] Kairi spoke to me through our link. [You got this?]


    [Yeah, going to enjoy beating the shit out of him.] I answered back.


    [Mind if I go with Sc¨¢thach to find those two girls?]


    [No, that''s perfect. Go find them while I deal with this idiot.] My Master was pretty smart, so I''m sure he''d be fine. Not to mention who would be with him.


    Well, since they got that priority handled, I could deal with this fool without worry.


    "I shall cut your tongue from your mouth and present you to him for punishment." Lancelot dered.


    "Yeah, sure." I said dryly. "Is that before or after I nt my boot up your ass?"


    "Your brutish words are grating to my ears. Face my sword, en garde!" He drew his sword and leapt at me.


    rent was gripped tight in my hands as I swung it up to meet his sword. The force created a shockwave that erupted in all directions. I was a little surprised at the force he created from his attack. Looking closely, I could see some sort of energy flow around him.


    I think Arthur said he had mastered Touki?


    He dropped to the ground, his sword stabbing towards me. I swung rent, knocking it to the side and followed it up with a sh towards his chest.


    He stepped back, dodging and swung his own sword underneath my own. I stepped forward, letting it scrape against my armor. My pommel mmed down onto him. He grunted, using his arm to block.


    For a normal human, he was really good. Hell, he''d probably be a match for that Berserker Servant from the war that I killed.


    "Uncouth barbarian!" He snorted, fist coating in that energy,ing at me.


    My own hand erupted in my lightning as I caught the fist. "That it, you pansy?" I roared, the Lightning enveloped me fully and I stomped on the ground, sending it out in all directions.


    The fake Lancelot hissed, flying back and bouncing off the ground before regaining his footing. With another grunt, he shed his sword in the air, sending waves of des made from that same energy right at me.


    I deflected them but he continued to swing at me with ease. Each one of his des sundered the ground, cleaved buildings in half and even shed through the walls that they struck.


    He was pretty fast, and his strikes were precise and well honed with years of experience behind them. Just because I didn''t like the guy, it didn''t mean I would ignore the effort he put in to reach this point.


    I pushed against the ground and elerated, dodging around the des, lightning crackling in every direction. rent swept towards him again as he rose up, he brought his sword up to block. His legs shuddered under the blow, his teeth gritted as he tried to hold on.


    I lifted my leg up and kicked him in the stomach, watching him tumble across the ground again.


    "Even the real Lancelot wouldn''t sit there and take my blows." I snorted. "Fucking weakling."


    That foppish look disappeared as he contorted in rage. "How dare you speak ill of my ancestor!"


    Huh, so they were rted.


    "Bitch, if he was here right now, I''d say it to his face just like I did back then." I raised pointer and middle finger in a V towards him. "All the shit he pulled, all the problems he caused cause he couldn''t keep his dick in his pants. And now even I''m starting to feel bad that you''re his descendant."


    I moved again, turning into a streak of lightning and mmed into his sword again, his body buckling under the blow. I unleashed a series of shes and he managed to keep up for the most part. Each one sent a shockwave through him as he struggled to raise his arms.


    I channeled it into my hand, my lightning gathered as I released it into him with our des still locked.


    He let out a scream of pain, sword shaking in his hand. I grabbed rent with both hands, and filled it with my Magical Energy, swinging it at his own sword, shattering it instantly.


    The fake Lancelot dropped to the ground, panting heavily for breath. "How!? That sword was custom created by the finest alchemists until I could acquire my true birthright."


    "Like that thing could keep up with my rent." I snorted. Kinda a dick move to destroy someone''s sword intentionally, did it on that Arthur dumbass just out of anger. But this cunt deserved it outright.


    He sputtered, looking at my sword. "That''s impossible... how did you get that sword? Are you working for the church!?"


    "Do you just like to hear yourself talk and ignore everyone else?" I grabbed him by the hair, pulling him up to my eye level. "So, listen well, you dumbass. I''m not a reincarnation. I aint some ''inheritor'' of his spirit. And I''m definitely not some stupid cunt that took the name to make myself feel more important. I am Mordred Pendragon, true heir to Camelot."


    Turning rent sideways, I swung it hard at his head, knocking him into the ground, his body twitching but otherwise not moving.


    "Fucking idiot." I spat. "At Least the real thing was able to match his skills with his utter annoyance."


    If it weren''t for Father, it would be his head rolling instead of just being smashed into the ground.


    But it was pretty satisfying beating his ass.


    ***


    Artoria Pendragon POV


    Uther''s de did give me momentary pause, if just because the nostalgic feeling of seeing something that reminded me so much of my faithful knight''s sword.


    After the initial surprise wore off, I could spot the differences quite easily. It was not the Sacred Sword of the, it was a sword created by something lesser. Whether that be a God or a man, I do not know.


    However, I did not let my guard down, as it was a legendary de in this world and I would treat it as such. Taking Arthur''s words into ount, it would be a powerful weapon for anyone to wield.


    "You want to step into the big league, little girl? Fine." Uther spat. "Killing you won''t mean anything. I''ll get my way in the end."


    "Allow me to assist." Arthur spoke up, stepping forward.


    "Boy, do not make this worse." Uther frowned ncing at hispanions. The two nameless knights didn''t speak but they burst forward towards Arthur.


    "Handle those two." I said calmly, watching him draw his de and engage them.


    A cursory nce at the two knights, I did not believe them to be stronger than Arthur. Though the both of them together may prove a challenge, I would allow him to fight them both.


    He snorted, walking towards me with unabated steps. "I''m curious what gives you the confidence to stand against me with no fear. Let''s find out."


    He was fast, I could acknowledge that.


    His sword ¨C Gtine, swung down at me within a blink of an eye. A single, horizontal sh that threatened to cleave me in two if I made no move.


    I brought up Invisible Air, my eyes locking with his own as our two weapons collided, neither budging an inch.


    "An invisible sword?" I raised an eyebrow. "Petty tricks." The mes that danced around his sword emboldened, the intensity increased and he attempted to push through my guard. I felt the ground under us began to crack at the strain.


    "Haah!" I let out a shout, knocking his de away, earning a shocked look from him. Pivoting on my heels, I gathered momentum and swung my sword overhead.


    He brought Gtine up to block, knees slightly buckling under the sudden force. "If that''s all ¨C "


    I activated my Mana Burst, sliding my sword along his edge, I spun my body, sword seeking his torso.


    He caught it again with the t of his de, but he was unprepared for the increase in force, knocking him off his feet. He tumbled a few times before sliding back onto his feet. His metal greaves dug into the ground before he charged back at me.


    His de was quick, swinging countless times in a few breaths. I met each blow with my Invisible Air, sending shockwaves out at every collision. After a few exchanges, I judged his reaction well enough, with a shift in my stance, I thrust forward in an opening.


    My sword tore through his armor, cutting his side before he spun away to avoid the worst of it.


    My opponent looked furious, the mes around him burst out, condensing and returning to wrap around him. "To be wounded by a little girl?" He spat out. "Disgraceful. I will remove this stain from the world."


    "Come, test this ''little girl''s'' de." I leveled Invisible Air against him once more.


    He was fairly strong for a living human. Not to mention the shimmering mes around him were visibly enhancing his physical abilities.


    He sneered, swinging his de upwards, the ground sundering at the motion as I jumped to the side and charged at him. His physical prowess was impressive, I knew I could be wounded if I took such a blow. I ducked under his next sh, and struck true with Invisible Air, drawing blood from him once more before being forced back.


    Uther responded by sending another flurry of attacks at me, each one apanied by searing mes. I raised my gauntlet up, deflecting his sword to the side to sh towards his neck.


    The mes around him exploded out, covering my vision. The heat wave was kept at bay with my Mana Burst, only for his sword to cut through the mes.


    I deflected the sword away with a quick thrust. The surrounding mes seemed to be absorbed by the sword as they rolled around the de. With another sweep, they were expunged towards me.


    I gathered my Magical Energy and swung my sword down, sending a force back at them to avoid the brunt of the heat.


    The waves of fire burnt away the surroundings, turning the forests behind us to ash.


    "The closer to noon, the stronger I be! You chose poorly in challenging me at this time." Uther dered. "Right now, I am a God of Fire!" He swept his sword every which way, creating and controlling the mes that rolled off it. "I only need one of you alive, my idiot son shall suffice. Turn to ashes along with my shame!" He roared, swinging his sword down, discharging the mes once more.


    "Then I shall answer in kind." I held Invisible Air up, and swung it down at theing torrent of mes. "Strike Air: Hammer of the Wind King." I activated my Noble Phantasm, the Mystic Code that had been elevated after bing a Servant.


    The condense winds around my true de had burst out like a hurricane sweeping up the oing mes and dispensing them harmlessly away.


    A portion of his fires swept to either side of me, turning that area to a wastnd with their passing. Truly, it was a powerful sword, even if I still considered it lesser to the one from my home.


    Uther''s eyes widened as our vision met once more, his mes showing no signs of having even singed my body.


    "Surrender." I dered. "You have been proven to be inferior to me. I shall not hold back my de if you wish to engage again."


    I could understand Arthur''s sentiments. He was certainly a higher level than the younger man, however, I was confident inpletely defeating him without much issue. He should be stronger in a few hours as well, but I still had my confidence even then.


    "Y-you dare?!?" He roared. "I was the one who built this family up from the mess it was before. I made people respect us again! We were nothing but dogs for the Church before I took the seat! How dare some no-name childe and demand I surrender!" He spoke with a fury, his mes exuberating with his emotions as they pulsed at every raised tone.


    "I just needed more time. I would surpass that monster the church hides. I would be the strongest human in another few decades! Then no one would have been able to challenge us." He growled, which slowly turned into a chuckle. "Well, I prepared for such a thing. I thought it would be the church that sought to bring us to heel, not some child from a bastard."


    He reached towards his own arm guard and tore it away from his right hand. I noticed a tattoo depicting a serpent.


    Pushing his left hand towards the wound on his side, he gathered blood on his thumb and ran it down the tattoo, which then began to glow.


    Instantly, the ground shook ¨C rather, the Castle began to shake and I felt a veryrge influx of Magical Energy that swirled into the surroundings.


    "What are you doing? Cease this foolishness." I dered.


    "Haha, it''s already started." He cackled. "It''ll set me back a few decades, but it''s better than losing my ce." He held his sword up as the mes gathered.


    "Whats going on....?" I turned to look at Arthur who was confused as the two knights he was fighting dropped to the ground.


    "Sacrifice yourselves for the family." Uther said coldly.


    They looked like they were being drained of all their life.


    My head snapped back to the castle where a very ¨C veryrge Magic Circle formed overhead, matching the structure''syout.


    "I will stop this ¨C " He didn''t respond but swung Gtine towards Arthur, a massive torrent of mes sailing towards the younger man.


    I grit my teeth and moved to intercept


    "Can you stop me while protecting the disappointment?" Heughed. "I''ve prepared this for years. Finding the right materials to make sure we had a defense for those monsters I couldn''t handle yet. Born in a distantnd, I give my mes and the life of my kin to bring you back to this realm."


    The mes he gathered were swept away towards the source of the magic and the Magic Circle took on a strange hue as an energy was pulled from the castle.


    "The Ashen tree left from your corpse, offered to call you back." Uther began a chant. "The head of a Hydra, offered for your new body. The mes of the Sun, offered as the spark of your resurrection. And the life force of my kin to bind it all together." He shouted towards the Magic Circle. "Return to life ¨C Boitat¨¢"


    There were a few items inside the Magical Circle that appeared, a tree just as he had spoken off, the Head of a serpent creature ¨C a hydra. His mes wrapped around him, and the supposed life force of those he gathered pushed into it as well.


    A shadow enveloped overhead before its form solidified by absorbing the materials provided


    The illusionary form shattered, revealing a massive serpent that floated above the castle. Wreathed in mes, it looked up at the sky and let out a thunderous roar.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    "Artoria?" I quicklynded next to my girlfriend as her eyes still stared at the massive creature.


    "Wilhelm, do you know what manner of creature this is?" She asked. "He called it Boitat¨¢."


    "Boitat¨¢...." I rubbed my temples. "It''s uh.......South American? Erm....a fire serpent that resurrects or something about hiding in burnt trees? My knowledge on them isn''t that in-depth."


    [It''s only a step down from being a real dragon. About the same thing as one of those Imoogi.] Ddraig spoke in my soul. [I''m pretty sure I was the one who killed this thing.]


    Wait, really?


    [Yeah, I think it wanted to try eating me to be a real dragon.] Ddraig snorted. [Actually, I remember now, I killed it a few times. It had some annoying ability to resurrect itself kinda like a Phoenix. If the right pieces are gathered....well, you can see the results. Bringing it back isn''t that difficult, though how long is the question.]


    "It''s a step below a real dragon." I told Artoria. "Though, based on its temperament, it shouldn''t be controble. Err, I think they''re protectors of nature...? I might be getting some myths confused."


    "It''s toote!" I heard a shouting from a man with a few mes burning around him.


    "Uther, stop this nonsense. Dismiss this creature, return what you took from your family." Artoria tried to bargain. "This will only lead to the destruction of everything."


    "Hmph, do you think I would create something I couldn''t control?" He scoffed. "I used the mes of my sword to bring it back." He stated, holding his sword up. At his motion, the massive serpent suddenly jerked its head, staring down at us.


    "Will, are Rin and the others safe?" She asked.


    "Rin''s with Raikou." I confirmed. "They''re fine. But there were some.....bad things in the dungeon. We chose to handle them opposed to searching elsewhere."


    Artoria took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "I believe it is time to end this farse for good. Please take Arthur and stand back."


    "Oh." I realized what she was doing. I immediately grabbed Arthur who let out a surprised noise and flew to the side out of the way.


    "Shouldn''t you help her?" Arthur questioned.


    "Kid, she doesn''t need my help." Iughed. "You''re in for a treat. You want to know her identity, right? Just keep watching."


    Uther cackled like a mad man as he held the simmering de in his hand. "Devour her, my pet!" He dered.


    The coiled Serpent hissed, letting its entire body unfold.


    If we were using this world''s terms, that thing was definitely in the ''Ultimate ss'' and a fair bit higher than this Uther was ranked.


    "Show me your struggle. How will an invisible de help you against such a beast?" Uther smugly spoke.


    "Invisible de? You seem to misunderstand." Artoria smiled lightly. "Condensed wind, folded so many times that light is reflected. But it is not meant as a weapon ¨C it is merely a sheath." She stated as the wind around her de slowly unfolded.


    The shimmering golden light was slow to seep out, but once the wind was gone, the surroundings were suddenly filled with warmth.


    The phenomenon spread, motes of golden light slowly lifting out of the ground for as far as the eye could see.


    "What.....is that?" Arthur whispered.


    Artoria took a step forward, and the gentle light around her erupted in a torrential wave, gathering around her sword.


    "Who are you?" Uther managed to force out.


    "Sheathed in the breath of the, a torrent of shining life...." She held it up overhead. "Ex ¨C "


    "No!" Uther roared. "Finish her!" He shouted towards the beast.


    It hissed, spewing mes with each motion, butplied all the same. The massive serpent reeled back and shot its elongated body towards Artoria. The mes engulfing its entire length as the creature that dwarfed even the castle, came barreling down towards her.


    "¡ªcalibur!" She swung her sword down.


    The waves of light were released. The serpent was consumed by the torrents of light immediately as its hissing disappeared and its mes were removed from sight. A massive pir of light erupted at the focal point, eradicating any remains of the serpentine creature.


    Everyone stared in silence as no signs of the creature were left, even as the light began to eventually fade.


    Artoria took slow, methodical steps towards Uther who had fallen to the ground. He stared at her with a mixture of fear and confusion.


    She ced her sword against his neck. "Do you now know who I am?"


    ***


    Big chapter out of the way, dealt with most of the stuff so it wouldn''t drag on.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my a/storyforone

 Chapter 244 - 231

    <h4>Chapter 244: Chapter 231</h4>


    A tense silence filled the air. There were many eyes on us ¨C on Artoria as she dragged Uther''s body through the castle gates, right into the center of their stronghold.


    Once the fighting had stopped, the remaining people hade out amidst the remains of the lightshow that had enveloped the ce.


    They also whispered and pointed when Arthur walked right behind us.


    I had given her a brief rundown of what my team had run into, and what had happened in the dungeon. Suffice to say, she was very much not pleased with Uther, even more so than before.


    Artoria didn''t back down from their gazes, almost weing them as she tossed Uther into the mud. He squirmed around, bound and gagged to speak. Such a prideful man was left in such a wretched state, and mocked even more by his current situation.


    She had yet to return Excalibur, to hide it behind her Invisible Air. It''s light still shined, it was a faint glow yet still pulsed out a warm feeling that weed all to its embrace.


    I could tell she was concerned, worried about the ramifications of what Uther did to his own family. Still, she didn''t make a move as the remaining people walked out of the ruins.


    "Uther is defeated." Artoria spoke softly, yet her voice reverberated around the surroundings. "If there is any other who wishes to stand by him, speak up now, otherwise I will take your silence as acknowledgement of surrender."


    She gave it a moment and just closed her eyes, waiting for a response.


    "Very well." She spoke again.


    "Father." A familiar voice came from behind and Mordred came into the courtyard, dragging a knight behind her just like her father had.


    "Mordred. I see your efforts have been rewarded." Artoria looked at the unconscious body.


    "Called himself Lancelot." She snorted. "Saw your Noble Phantasm and the big snake. Everything ended?"


    "Yes, we have taken the castle." She nodded. "Wilhelm." She turned to me, then towards everyone else. "Please provide healing for anyone who needs it."


    Yeah, these people....it looked like they had been starving for weeks. They looked extremely haggard and about to fall over.


    That spell, it drained their lifespan, ate away at their vitality. It would be difficult to heal them up fully; but to atleast get them to somethingfortable, I could do that.


    "Ooh, let me help." Jinn''s suddenly popped up.


    "Thank you, Jinn." Artoria smiled.


    "Prepare a healing spell, I''ll make it so it''s distributed overtop the castle." I stated.


    "Okay, I''ll cast my best healing" She nodded.


    Well, I believe this was my first time using this particr version of my Nine Realms. Withdrawing the Staff of Magnus once more, I drew the runes into the air and began casting the spell. "The Breath of Magic ¨C Vanaheim." I called out as a golden spell circle appeared overhead.


    It was a simple concept to intertwine with the Godly realm of Vanaheim. While the Aesir were known as fierce warriors, the Vanir were known for their mastery of the magical arts. So I took the idea of my Five Elements Mutual Generation and applied it ontop of the Norse Cosmology that is Vanaheim.


    At this basic level, it acted as a consistent amplification spell. Though, there were a few kinks to work out, which was why I hadn''t used it inbat yet.


    Jinn held up her hands, glowing with a bright golden light. "Grand Healing." She let it loose towards my spell. The twobined and a bright light enveloped the entirety of the castle, and a rain of healing fell down onto everyone.


    I watched silently as the various people around looked up, the lights falling on them, healing them. While this kind of healing was not absolute, it was certainly effective at many things. There was a reason that despite healing being so readily avable back in Skyrim, that Potions were still the go-to means.


    Suffice to say, Healing Magic was not omnipotent....unless your name was Avalon.


    "Nice light show." Achilles decided tozily drag a person of his own on over and tossed him onto the growing pile of unconscious people. "Thought you might want this one alive, called himself ''Gawain''. Could transform into a dragon ¨C kinda. One of those Sacred Gears you''ve mentioned I guess."


    "So you yed a dragon?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    He gave a very dry look towards me, but I didn''t press the joke now. It wasn''t really the time.


    "Thank you, Rider." Artoria said kindly.


    "Hah, don''t mention it." Heughed. "Wish I could have punched that giant snake though. Next time, I call dibs on the big monster."


    "Rider, stop being insensitive." Atnta smacked his shoulder, tossing her own person down. "This idiot called himself Tristan, I don''t'' know why, he didn''t even wield a bow properly." She snorted, holding up a harp-like bow.


    [Master, we''re bringing the ones from below over] Just as Raikou''s words echoed in my head, I saw her and Rin escorting many different people.


    "Mom!"


    "Dear!"


    "Dad!"


    Cries for various family members rang out as the ''prisoners'' ran towards their family members. Children, elders, and young adults. It seems like Uther didn''t discriminate in who he had decided to throw into the dungeons.


    It was.... heartwarming even knowing what they had went through. I could only say that at least they''re still alive.


    Thest person to follow up was Agravain, his tattered clothing bellowing as he took haggard steps forward.


    He took a few more steps, each one looking more difficult than thest before dropping to his knees infront of her. "Your Majesty" He called out.


    Almost as if on cue, the surrounding crowd began to drop to a knee. Head down, bowed in reverence towards Artoria.


    I couldn''t me them, their entire identity was based around her, on her legend. And here she was, standing right infront of them. It might be strange that they believed such a thing without prompt, but there was no lying when she held that sword in her hands. There was no need to dere her name when Excalibur was shining bright for them to clearly see. It was impossible to knot acknowledge the sword itself while basking in its light.


    "Rise." Artoria said softly.


    Agravain slowly lifted his head up and tried to climb to his feet but his legs shuttered and he fell back down. "I-I ¨C"


    "You have suffered." Artoria walked forward. " I was informed of what you have done." She pressed against her chest, another bright light enveloping her as her Sheath was revealed. She held it up to him, letting it wrap him up in its warm embrace.


    The curses that were visible to the naked eye, they were grabbed a hold of and shattered by Avalon''s light, and his wounds began to heal. His body had the correct color return to it, and even though his face still looked gaunt, there was a flicker of fire in his eyes that wasn''t there before.


    "He would be quite pleased with you." Artoria gave a gentle smile. "Your namesake that is. He was a man that rarely showed his emotion, and never told others of what he got up to. But he was a fine knight who handled what needed to be handled and silently carried his own burdens."


    "Your Majesty..." Agravain looked up with a strange look on his face. "We submit ourselves to you." He bowed his head again.


    "Rise, Agravain." Artoria replied. "Speak on your feet as is worthy of your station. You have made no pledges or oaths to me, there is no need to bow your head."


    He slowly stood up once more, a renewed vigor in his movements. "We...I...." It seemed like Agravain had trouble voicing his thoughts.


    Artoria let out a sigh, looking at the surrounding crowd. "Let the past be buried." She began speaking again. "It is fine to have pride in your heritage, but you have be blinded by the glories of the past. Let this generation be the final one to try and relive the previous era."


    "We will follow your orders." Agravain stated. "Please, take char¡ª"


    "No." Artoria cut him off. "I will not be taking any position of authority. Whatever you may perceive about me, know that my past is in the past." She swept her gaze around. "My path led me here by chance, not one I specifically chose. I felt a responsibility and acted ording to my own honor. With that said...." Her expression turned hard. "You all are hereby put on notice."


    She took a few steps towards the crowd. "Uther had done despicable things, and many of you have paid the price. However, I am sure that there are also many that wereplicit and even participated in such....actions when they benefited you."


    Artoria stopped, turning back towards Agravain. "This man is someone I acknowledge. You are now leaderless, so he shall take the leadership. If anyone wishes to voice their dissatisfaction, now is the time." She red towards the crowd.


    There were many knights who had participated in the fighting. While I know that many of them were just following orders, or stuck in their positions, I couldn''t fault Artoria in her hesitance to trust everyone without verification.


    "Good." She nodded. "I shall say now, I will be confiscating the things I deem this family not worthy to posses as it currently is. Once you have shown yourself capable of acting beyond what Uther had created, you may have your things returned."


    Well, they couldn''t really so ''no''. They were....conquered. Politely so. But conquered all the same.


    Oh well, time to loot all their cool toys.


    "It seems we''vee right on time." I turned to look at Sc¨¢thach walking over. I had been wondering what she had gotten up to.


    Kairi was right beside her, but there were also two more faces, I hadn''t met but recognize from pictures.


    "Arthur!" A girl in arge witch''s hat came running over.


    "Le Fay." Arthur epted the girl into his arms for a hug.


    Right behind her was a woman in a maid outfit. I could admire Arthur''s taste, she was very cute.


    "ine." Arthur said quietly.


    "Arthur, I missed you." She looked like she was about to cry.


    "Ahem." Artoria politely cleared her throat, grabbing their attention. "Perhaps you wish this reunion in private?"


    "Eh!?" Le Fay blurted out. "Who are you, what''s going on? Is that Dad tied up?"


    "...Le Fay." Arthur sighed. "Apologize to his ¨C " He blinked. "Her Majesty." He chided his sister.


    I guess he epted Artoria''s identity. The context clues were all there and he had a bigger picture than the other people. Well, he probably had many questions, but he seemed to understand that now was neither the time nor the ce.


    "What?" Ley Fay looked around, her eyesnding on Artoria, then her sword. Her eyes widened as if she understood something. The same exnation that filled her soul as the others. "I....um ¨C" She fidgeted in ce. "She''s....a girl? But....?"


    "Peace, child. There is no harm." Artoria just chuckled, shaking her head. "You do look so simr to her in her youth." She muttered, staring at Le fay.


    "Y-you Majesty." Agravain started speaking again. "What would you have us do with Uther?"


    "He had harmed the people with tant disregard and performed vile deeds for his own selfish desires. I believe you should know what to do with him." Artoria said coldly. "It is your duty to weed out the individuals who would continue to harm others and the family or deserve of a simr fate."


    "Yes." He sighed. "I will see to it that he is executed for his crimes. And I will make sure the heinous ones shortly follow him." There was a sort of relief in his words as he said but. "But.....what would you have us do now? We..."


    "What is the point of the family in the first ce? You are knights. You are here to foster the next generation, not fight for power or perceived glory in others worshipping you. If there is any honor left in this ce, take to the old codes. Remember the oaths that are sworn upon your des. Society has changed, people have different perceptions of morality. But there are still those who are in need, those who could stand to have an honorable knight by their side. To protect the realm."


    She finally dismissed Excalibur back into her soul, letting its light fade away. "However, heed my final warning." She once more turned to the crowd. Her gaze was heavy, as not many dared to keep their heads up as she passed them by. "Do not make mee back in this same capacity, for I will not be nearly as merciful."


    ***


    Wrapping up this little bit of the DxD arc. Sorry about no chapter yesterday, I just couldn''t do it with how I was feeling.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 245 - 232

    <h4>Chapter 245: Chapter 232</h4>


    Based on everything that happened, there was no huge celebration or excitement once we finally got home. Rather, once we arrived at Yasaka''s ce where we agreed to meet back up at. But at this point, I felt like it could be called an extension of our ''home'' considering everything.


    I was a little worried about Artoria. While no one could dispute that she was morally in the right with her actions, in what we all did, it had led to several people dying. Of which, there were quite a few that had beenpletely innocent of what been going on in that ce.


    "You''re back." Yasaka greeted us immediately, ushering away her guards that were nearby, presumably so we would have some privacy. "I''m assuming that everything went well since I see no one harmed?" She eyed all of us as we walked through the portal.


    "Indeed. We seeded in what we had set out to do." Artoria gave a curt reply without revealing much of the emotions on her face.


    "And you have more people than what you left with." Yasaka mused, eyes scanning the two new people we returned with.


    Arthur looked a little.... embarrassed as Le Fay and ine both sort of clung on to him from behind. "My Sister and my.....lover, Lady Yasaka." Arthur bowed respectfully.


    "Hmm." Yasaka tapped her chin, humming as she set her gaze on them for several moments. "If they want to stay, we''ll have to see about amodations, I suppose."


    "I wanna stay with big brother...." Le Fay said quietly.


    "I would also like to stay with Arthur, if it is not too much trouble, Lady Yasaka." in said with a more polite tone as she stepped out from behind Arthur and politely bowed her head. Well, serving the Pendragon Family had probably instilled those mannerisms instinctually at this point.


    "Very well." Yasaka said, almost dismissively. "Arthur, go take them to see Soma, have him arrange something temporary until we find more suitable ¨C permanent amodations."


    "Thank you, Lady Yasaka." Arthur dipped his head once more before turning towards Artoria. "Your Majesty." He said quietly as well, lowering his head respectfully towards her as well before leading the others out.


    Yasaka looked...confused before realization dawned on her. She had aplicated look on her face, almost mirrored by Le Fay and ine, the both of them probably still didn''t understand the situation fully Arthur was in.


    "Oh, and Arthur." Yasaka spoke up right as he was about to exit, causing him to stop and turn towards her. "I will be speaking with you three at ater time. Be prepared."


    He opened his mouth then closed it again, nodded his head before leaving.


    I guess they were going to find out what Arthur had been up to one way or another. I think that was Yasaka taking pity on him and letting him have a chance to exin himself on his own. Well, things would probably be worse if he waited until Yasaka bulldozed over everyone''s feelings and ryed the information.


    "Thanks for doing this." I spoke up, grabbing her attention. I took a few steps forward, and took her hand into mine with a practiced ease as I brought it up to give it a kiss. "I know you''re still not happy about Arthur....."


    She gave a warm smile. "That''s true, but I don''t mind lending a hand to those other girls." She let out a sigh. "So, I assume there was more to the story based on everyone''s reactions? I expectedughter and high spirits not.....this somber atmosphere."


    "I believe I would find a drink tempting at the moment." Artoria sighed with a frown.


    "Couldn''t agree more." Achilles snorted. "You need me for anything, this doesn''t really seem like something for me to stick around for."


    And Achilles could read a room, color me surprised.


    "No. Thank you for your help, it was greatly appreciated." Artoria shook her head.


    "Anytime." He waived her off. "Going to find a nice tavern or whatever they got here now that I got some money to my name."


    Atnta sighed. "He could have handled that better, but I''ll follow along and make sure he doesn''t get into trouble." She gave a polite nod towards everyone as she quickly followed after the Rider Servant.


    Sc¨¢thach stretched her arms, letting out a thoughtful hum. "I wonder if those people were let off too easily."


    "It is a question I have been asking myself." Artoria let out another uncharacteristic sigh. "It is simply impossible to sift through every person there and figure out who wasplicit in Uther''s madness."


    "What happened?" Yasaka asked. "I don''t recall hearing anything too absurd from that part of the world or the Pendragon family. Though, they are known for being a bit reclusive."


    "Some shit I really didn''t wanna see." Rin muttered. "Uther thought torturing children was a viable political tool."


    Yasaka blinked at that, a scowl quickly forming on her face. "Did he kidnap ¨C "


    "His own fucking family." Mordred snorted. "Used them and threw them away whenever it suited him. And his top ''knights'' weren''t that much better. I was scared to ask how many of the women there couldn''t say ''no'' when that fake Lancelot came strutting around. Fucking slimy bastard."


    "Oh no." Yasaka looked horrified. "Tell me they were taken care of?"


    "I left them in the hands of Agravain." Artoria rified. "After subverting the hierarchy of the family, I ced him in charge. He is someone I believe is trustworthy, and he was someone who was willing to suffer to protect his own family. I fully believe he will fix things properly and not let those who sinned escape. Not to mention I confiscated many of their....weapons so they will not be getting any ideas in the mean time." Artoria looked a bit pensive even with the promation. "However....there was much damage done.


    "Apparently, Uther had arge-scale ritual set up that drained the vitality, the life force of his family members to weave into the casting. He collected several items that conceptually aligned with a certain creature that allowed for its resurrection based on its own myths." I exined. "Basically, a big fuck-off ming serpent that was barely under a traditional dragon in its existence."


    "I noticed the fixtures of it myself, but I did not have time to investigate. After the Golden Dawn Magicians started teleporting in, I thought it was a lesser priority since it didn''t appear active." Jinn added.


    "And you did wonderfully." I sneaked up on her, arms wrapping her up form behind. She brightened up quite a bit at that. And honestly, I think she thrived onpliments and acknowledgement. I suppose it wasn''t strange considering how she ''lived'' before.


    "There is no me to be had. I do not think any of us would have expected that man to so willingly perform such heinous deeds." Artoria stated, as if making sure Jinn knew she didn''t me the blue genie.


    "Things going awry is pretty damnmon." Kairi crossed his arms. "Don''t think I''ve ever been on a job that hadn''t had a few surprises and turned everything pear shaped. All in all, things could have been much worse. Especially if we never interfered in the first ce."


    "Mmm, and we were able to mitigate some of the worst parts." Sc¨¢thach also spoke up, adding onto Kairi''s statement. "The location we had found the two girls at was where many of the nonbatant were hiding amidst our assault. I believe the vast majority of them would have been killed under the actualization of the ritual had we not been there to protect them."


    That''s a good point. I doubted they would teach all the ''help'' or lessers of the family the ways of magic or Touki or what have you. They would have most certainly been drained by the ritual and probably killed.


    "Yeah, and the ones in the dungeon were saved because of us." Rin nudged Artoria. "If we didn''t do this, then they would have died."


    Raikou was silent, nodding along as Rin spoke. It was obvious she agreed wholeheartedly. She was very upset at what happened, which waspletely understandable. Not to mention she''s very protective of children.


    "We did good....Father." Mordred said. "We had to do something when they were going around calling themselves ''Pendragon''. They should get their shit together now and not be such an embarrassment."


    "Yes, I suppose we did, Mordred." Artoria gave a warm smile. "I am merely feeling....regretful due to the ties we shared with them." Her smile slowly turned back to something neutral as she appeared to have another thought. "And there is the matter of me acting less than covert in my actions."


    "Please, like anything can top what Schweinorg did." Rin snorted.


    "I deny nothing." I grinned.


    "What happened?" Yasaka tilted her head. "I have yet to hear any noise.....granted I don''t keep up with much of the happenings on that side of the world."


    "I....released my Noble Phantasm on the creature that was summoned. And I made no effort to conceal it so everyone there is aware of who I am now." Artoria said truthfully.


    "Oh." Yasaka blinked.


    "Is this bad?" Raikou asked. "I admit to not knowing much about this world...."


    "Maybe?" Yasaka replied, as if questioning it herself.


    "Well, from that Devil thing I had been looking at, it appears my name is on peoples lips. I do not see what other problems could arise." Sc¨¢thach stated.


    Hmm, she had been up and about doing things for Yasaka. I can''t fault her for using her true name, nor would I ask her not to.


    "And that''s still mostly in the realm of rumor." I pointed out. "And it''s not like most.....interested parties woulde trudging into another pantheon''s domain just to verify."


    "Yes, and I believe you are the center of most attention right now." Sheughed. "I believe I have been regted to ''unimportant'' in the rumors that have been springing up."


    "ugh, don''t remind me." I sighed.


    "Just kick the ass of anyone who tries anything." Mordred crossed her arms. "I don''t see what the big deal is. Can''t we just tell them to fuck off?"


    "It''s not that simple Mordred." Kairi sighed himself. "You got literal Angels and Devils running around here."


    "Yes." Yasaka pursed her lips. "And from what I''ve gleamed thus far, the Arthur from our world was far more.....involved in Heaven''s affairs. I remember some stories about him leading the charge with Angels at his side against the forces of Hell."


    "That''s so fucking cool." Mordred practically had stars in her eyes.


    Artoria even looked amused by her reactions. "Do you think that they wille seek me out and by extension, you?" she tilted her head. "If what you say is true then my rtionship with Wilhelm may be a point of contention in their eyes." She furrowed her brow.


    "God it''s weird to think that he''s a literal devil." Mordred said blindly.


    "Half-Devil." I corrected.


    "Same shit."


    "Also a dragon....and part God....or something."


    "And I believe all three of those are hated by the Church." Yasakaughed.


    "...huh." It was all I could say.


    Yeah, Big G seemed to despise Dragons.


    [Fuck him.] Ddraig added.


    Noted.


    And they consider all other deities to beplete sphemy....and I''m a devil ontop of all of that.


    The unholy fucking trifecta.


    "I think one of the big issues would be the fact that the Excalibur here was destroyed." Jinn interjected, earning a look of horror from Mordred and one of surprise from us. She looked back with confusion. "What? Just because I''ve been researching other stuff in Skyrim doesn''t mean I don''t keep track of this ce too. " She huffed.


    "I''m sorry for doubting you." I held my hands up in surrender. "But you also raise a good point. The Excalibur ¨C "


    "Yeah, hold the fuck up." Mordred interrupted. "Exin, now."


    Artoria let out a sigh. "It''s not worth getting worked up over. It appears that Excalibur in this world had been destroyed and waster reforged into 7 more des baring its namesake. Arthur possessed one known as ''Excalibur Ruler'' which could force those to bend their will to the wielder."


    "That''s...." Mordred seemed at a loss for words. "What the hell!? Ignoring the fucking sword getting broken, who the fuck thought it was a good idea to add mind control to your sword!? What kind of King needs to force others to listen!?" Mordred threw up her hands in anger. "Going to go kick that brats ass after hearing that shit."


    "Mordred, calm yourself." Artoria said evenly. "The nature of this world''s Excalibur is different. Just treat it as another sword altogether."


    "Fuck, I''ll try." Mordred scowled. "What happened to that trashy knockoff of his?"


    "I broke it and scattered its soul to the wind." Artoria replied.


    "Good." She nodded. "If I see those others fakes, I''ll do that too."


    "Actually, you may have a chance to do that." Yasaka sounded a bit annoyed as if she just recalled something. "Awhile ago, I believe before I met Wilhelm." She shed me a smile. "The Church was running around because several of their Excalibur swords were stolen."


    "Oh." I blinked. "I actually remember that too." I stopped at a bar when I got here, wanted to get up to date on some news.


    Wait!


    That fucking Golden Store, how could I forget about them!?


    Bastards.


    "Good job, Schweinorg." Rin deadpanned.


    "Oh fuck off, that was after I just got back from the Land of Shadows. I wasn''t exactly in a good ¨C " I cut myself off remembering Sc¨¢thach was right here. "It slipped my mind." I finished.


    "From what I understand, the supposed thiefs came all the way to Japan. Though, we have yet to be presented with any conclusive evidence to support that. As such we denied the Church ess to do a more thorough sweep of our territory." Yasaka continued.


    "I''m sure they must have been thrilled at that." Kairi snorted. "I think the Church hates their authority being checked more than anything ''sphemous'' that they shout about."


    Yasaka''s lips curled up. "You won''t hear me say anything to the contrary. But, yes, Excalibur pieces are currently missing and it''s believed to be the Grigori behind the thefts. The fact that nothing has happened between those two factions leads me to believe that is not the case. Otherwise, I don''t keep too close an eye on the Western factions when it does not concern me."


    "I see...." Artoria muttered. "It appears I have brought more problems to your home, Yasaka."


    "Oh, none of that." Yasaka yfully dismissed her concerns. "If I can handle Will getting in to fist fight with one of Japan''s patron deities, I can assure you that this is no issue for me. We are in no way subservient to Heaven or the Church, if they want to try something....." Yasaka developed a vicious grin.


    "Well said." Sc¨¢thachughed. "I dare them toe cause trouble. They will meet my spear."


    "I feel attacked." I pointed out. "But I also agree. At the end of the day, fuck''em."


    "Damn straight." Mordred grinned. "He actually says something good for once, Father."


    "No one''s touching my sister." Jinn floated over, wrapping up Artoria with a big smile.


    "I have no care for them. I will draw my sword if need be." Raikou added.


    "Oh God, I''m going to Hell." Rin deadpanned.


    "Oh Rin." I pat her shoulder. "It''s actually a pretty popr tourist destination for the supernatural world."


    "....you''re fucking with me."


    "He''s not." Yasaka giggled. "Kunou''s been trying to get me to take her to Lucifer Land for months now."


    Rin opened her mouth then closed it several times. "I need a drink."


    "Seconded." Kairi muttered. "Want to forget this conversation ever happened.


    "Woo, drinks all around!" Jinn cheered.


    "You, missy, are going to go slow this time." I pinched her cheek. "You got drunk way too fastst time." But drunk Jinn is also best Jinn.... hmm.


    "Oh, phooey~"


    "I wouldn''t mind indulging." Raikou said gracefully.


    "Should I remind you all that it''s barely noon?" Yasaka voiced.


    We all just paused there. "Food?" I offered.


    "Shit, I could eat." Mordred agreed.


    "I do enjoy the variety of food in this era." Sc¨¢thach looked interested.


    "Yeah, I''m kinda hungry." Rin nodded.


    "I could eat." Artoria smiled warmly, looking around at everyone.


    "I''m sure you could." I snorted, wrapping her up.


    "W-what are you insinuating!?" Artoria stuttered.


    "Nothing at all." Rin said dryly. "Hang on, let me go make sure I have enough money to cover the costs. I only had a few hundred thousand Yen on mest time I check."


    "Rin!?" Artoria turned red.


    ***


    Valper Galilei POV


    "Speak, what was so urgent that it couldn''t wait? I was in the middle of my experiment, if it is not important...." I narrowed my eyes. "You will be among the next test subjects."


    "S-sir it''s about the stolen Excalibur Swords we were watching over..." The former Exorcist, whose name I didn''t care to remember spoke up.


    "Well, spit it out." I tapped my foot expectantly.


    "T-the Excalibur Swords, something happened!"


    I turned to look at the second man who stood nearby. He pushed his sses up and looked a fair bit calmer. "Yes, at approximately 10:19 AM, all the Excalibur Swords seemed to....resonate with another source."


    "Resonate?" I furrowed my brow. "Exin."


    "I''m afraid we don''t know anything specific quite yet. But the swords we had seemed to start glowing and reacted to something. We''re currently trying to search for the source." He gestured towards the swords that were still held in their spots. "They were shaking violently and some of their abilities were.... manifesting without a user."


    "Y-yes." The more foolish one hurriedly ran over to the table. "Excalibur Transparency started to well....be transparent randomly. And Excalibur Nightmare...it began to create illusions every so often before they dispersed."


    Hmm....Kokabiel should be moving to steal the remainder any time now. I should ask him if he''s heard anything simr with the other swords.


    "Interesting.....very very interesting."


    ***


    Interlude next chapter.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 246: Interlude 12

    <h4>Chapter 246: Interlude 12</h4>


    Sun Wukong POV


    "You summoned me, Lord Indra." I bowed before the leader of the Indian Pantheon. For all his posturing and grumbling about ''proper demeanor'' when answering his summons, he sat there in flip flops and a tacky Hawaiian shirt. And who wears sunsses indoors?


    Assholes, that''s who.


    He lorded himself ontop his throne. He hadn''t always had a throne, but he decided he needed one after visiting other Pantheons and seeing that they all had thrones. And because he''s Indra, no ones allowed to out-asshole him.


    "About time." Indra scowled, leg kicked over the armrest of his Throne, arm propping up his head. "You''re probably wondering why I summoned you."


    Well, it''s either to boss me around to satiate your inted ego, or you have a mission.


    Sometimes both.


    "Do you have a mission for me, Lord Indra?" I respectfully asked.


    "Hmm." He looked down at me, pleased with my subservience. I spent enough time in the Celestial Bureaucracy to learn how to kiss ass. "I do." He said with a pause, not bothering to exin.


    He was going to make me ask.


    Fucking stupid ''power ys''.


    "I''m at your disposal, Lord Indra. Tell me what needs to be done and I''ll aplish it to the best of my ability." I wasn''t going to give him the pleasure.


    He grunted with a hint of annoyance. Buddha above, why did he have to act so controlling. It''s only me right here, he didn''t need to flex his authority over the other gods. It''s not like I can rebel or anything, not after the mess I made in the Jade Emperor''s court.


    Well, after the messes I should say. You rampage one too many times, then suddenly everyone wanted your head.


    He sat up straighter, his demeanor shift told me of how serious the matter was. He usually didn''te to me with such things, but I suppose I might be specifically needed here.


    "The Future has changed." Indra growled.


    I blinked in confusion. "I....don''t understand?"


    "Of course you wouldn''t." He scoffed.


    Asshole.


    "I''ve been tracking the outline of the Future and everything was going ording to n, but recently, there was arge shift, and everything is wrong!" He mmed his fist on his throne, cracking it. Purple Lightning simmered around him.


    Hmm, he was a powerful irvoyant. Probably the strongest now that the Biblical God was dead, possibly only matched by Lord Shiva, but I had a feeling that Indra was a tiny bit above him in that regard while the God of Destruction was a bit stronger. However, there was a more important matter, did someone mess up his ns right under his nose?


    Well, it was hard to hold back a smile.


    I think I owed someone a drink.


    "Lord Indra, I don''t understand much of what you''re saying. But couldn''t you simply....look to see who''s causing you problems?" Merciful Buddha...I hate talking like this.


    Indra growled again, slumping in his chair. "Whatever ¨C whoever is causing this, I can''t see them."


    Well, aint that some shit?


    "And what is yourmand for me, Lord Indra? I assume no confidence in something that even you are uncertain of."


    "I was able to pick out some.... locations. Some things I need you to investigate discreetly." He flipped his own over, revealing a piece of paper. "I don''t know how relevant some of them are, so just investigate them all."


    It slowly floated down into my hands.


    "Some of these have times next to them, do I¨C "


    "And be at those ces at the specific times that are marked. I was only able to gleam very few details, but they should be important. Don''t reveal yourself." He interrupted.


    Well, a little walk around the world wouldn''t hurt.


    "I will not fail you, Lo ¨C"


    "Don''t fail me, Monkey." Indra said dismissively.


    If I was a few years younger, I would have ¨C what did the kids say these days? Throw hands? I thought Bikou said that once or twice. Made me nostalgic for the days before my journey, before I converted. I should pay a visit to the Flowers and Fruit Mountain, maybe train the brats for a little bit, see how Bikou''s doing too.


    "By your leav ¨C"


    "Get going." He shooed me off. "Unless you want to go clean the divine stables."


    ....dick.


    ****


    Lets see here...this should be the ce?


    It would have helped had he given me any kind of exnation instead of ''go here'' for whatever reason. At least this wasn''t one of the time-marked ones, which were due.....in the next few days.


    Using my transformation spell was quite handy for situations like this. Made infiltration missions easy. Not many people expected the Great Sage Equal to Heaven to be undercover like this.


    There''s no Former Monkey King here, just a dashing young human, looking around.


    Speaking of.


    What in the Nine Hells am I looking for?


    I could only scratch my head as I stood infront of a partially burned down house.


    "Is something wrong, Dearie?" I turned my head to see an old woman walk up to me. "You were staring at that ce for awhile now. I hope you didn''t know anyone caught up in that dreadful fire."


    "Oh no, Auntie." I smiled. "I just got back to town after visiting my....Grandparents in the country. Was wondering what happened?" My acting skills were impable.


    "What a shame." She shook her head. "I remember a young man used to live here.....kept to himself. I don''t remember seeing anyone else. And just one day, the house burned down and I haven''t seen the young man since. I do hope he''s doing okay."


    Well, since that''s literally the only noticeable thing around here, I could assume that was what I came for. I mean....there were some devils on the other side of town. But I think this was their territory or something? Yeah, now I remember, that Satan Brat''s sister was here.


    Well, staying the hell away from them. Don''t want that freaky devil toe after me.


    Oh...I really hoped the devils had something to do with it. I would give up the Peaches of Immortality I snuck a few centuries ago if it meant I could see Indra''s face if that happened.


    "Do you remember his name by chance?" I asked.


    "Hmm, I think it was.....Shimoda. Shimoda Takao" She looked thoughtful. "Yes, I think that''s it. I''m sorry, it''s been a long while and he was a quiet child so I didn''t speak to him much."


    That name doesn''t sound familiar at all....not that I expected anything. I half thought that Indra just wanted to jerk me around for awhile just because he could. Wouldn''t be the first time...


    "It''s alright, Auntie. I was just curious." I shed her an innocent smile.


    "My, aren''t you a sweet boy." She rubbed my head.


    Kind of awkward considering I''s more than 20 times her age.....


    "I have some cookies I made for my grandson, but he didn''te over. How about helping an old woman and take some off my hands?" She gave that authentic grandmotherly smile that even someone like me couldn''t resist.


    And I was a sucker for some cookies.


    ****


    Well, the trip hadn''t been aplete waste, free cookies.


    But once again, why am I here?


    I looked around at therge crowds walking about, the utterly mundane and normal humans ¨C for the most part. It was easy to see through the disguises of the non-humans who were walking around. Not much could escape my Fiery Golden Eyes.


    Youkai, Devil, Dryad, Vampire, ....Centaur?


    Huh...why was he under an illusion and pulling a carriage.....and wearing leather.....with a gag in his mouth.....


    And this was why no one wants toe to America.


    Alright, lets see, I remember that somerge mutant lizard attacked herest month. Which wasn''t something worth talking about when mentioning this country.


    I did have a goodugh when I saw Izanami p it across the face. It''s nice to see that girl getting out of Yomi every once in awhile. Last time I saw her, she was super depressed. And there had been a devil with her, the son of one of those Satan brats.


    And I just came from a part of Japan that was a small part of Devil Territory.


    Curious.


    There were a few connections so far, maybe I should go and visit Izanami? We''re not exactly....friends, but I didn''t think she''d turn me away for a small chat.


    But there was also that mess that her son caused. That Susanoo raising a ruckus off the coast of Japan, fighting that...devil.


    There were a few connections so far, maybe I should go and visit Izanami? We''re not exactly....


    I blinked in realization, looking back at the paper. The one which told me to investigate some coordinates off the coast of Japan.....which sounded suspiciously like the ce where Susanoo fought.


    That''s three times that Devil had been involved. The first time could be hand waived, just happenstance. The second time was a direct interference, and now the third where that young brat fought Susanoo.


    I''d have to be a fool, or Indra, to not see the obvious here. Though, that arrogant God usually has his head up his own ¨C


    I took a deep breath.


    Amitabha.


    Peace. No need to drag myself down to his level.


    Well, I read most of this stuff on Devil. One of the things that kept me entertained these days. I highly doubted Indra would lower himself to use it, so he''s probably in the dark. Not to mention if he''s this flustered about his ''future'' ns being disrupted, he''d probably more focused on that than the real happenings of the world.


    No, he probably was told that Susanoo got his butt kicked and had a goodugh at that then stopped caring. He looked down on the other Lightning-based Gods, so he wouldn''t even bother acknowledging a Devil that fought Susanoo.


    But that didn''t exin how his...predictions had all turned to dust. Regardless of this Devil''s strength, Indra was not a pushover. Especially when it came to looking into the future. As much as I.....disliked him, he''s the only one of two who could have even imed rivalry with the Christian God when it came to divining the future.


    Last time I heard, this Devil was apparently living in Yasaka''s domain.


    I rubbed my currently non-existent beard in contemtion.


    It had been awhile since I''d seen that old bastard Nurarihyon, and Yasaka was someone I was on....decent terms with. I could easily get an audience if I desired without getting those Takamagahara Gods in a tizzy. The only issue there was that they''re closer to the Jade Emperor than Indra, so it might cause a little friction.


    Gah.....why were politics so annoying. I missed the days I just leisurely drank on the mountain and fought when I felt like it.


    I retired, and here I am still putting up with all this nonsense.


    And I knew as soon as I told Indra what I found out, he''s going to go cause a mess. He''s already throwing a fit when his little toy ¨C Cao Cao died and went to a different afterlife. I didn''t have much sympathy for that brat. He was a kid without a guiding hand so his earlier years and attitude could be excused, but he still became ¨C somewhat ¨C a man and still had those stupid ideas. He wanted to ughter anything non-human to prove himself or something equally ridiculous. To prove that humans were stronger or something.


    And the fact that he was using one of the Biblical God''s toys ¨C his strongest one in fact ¨C didn''t seem to register on his mind.


    Well, Buddha was merciful. I hoped his next reincarnation was better.


    Maybe that was why Indra was ticked off? Losing his ''toy'' was one thing, but that spear disappearing was a whole other issue. Indra had some of his own toys that could match or beat it, but it was still a prize worth having even if to keep it as nothing more than a bauble. I''m sure he''d love to keep it and lord it over the Angels just to get a reaction.


    Well, I may as well finish up this list, otherwise he''d throw a fit.


    I got a couple days before this next one and the food here was always good. Buddha is Merciful, I''m sure it''d be fine to taste a bit of the local cuisine...


    ***


    Ennd, huh?


    Been a long time since I''d been here. Hadn''t really had a reason toe back in about...600 years or so. Thankfully I didn''t spread any new ''legends'' when I had a bit of.....fun at the time.


    Let''s see.....a castle in the middle of nowhere. Seems about right for how Indra''s been sending me to ces.


    Hmm, I think I knew this ce, something about a family here.


    Oh, that Pendragon family. Descendants of that one kid a few centuries ago! I remembered him, feisty little guy, learned Touki all by himself and got pretty dang good at it. He was one of the Heaven faction''s heavy hitters outside of their realm.


    I transformed into a bird, flying over the walls undetected. I silently clicked my nonexistent tongue at theirckadaisical attitude until I noticed the destruction all around. This ce had been through quite the battle, lots of damage every.


    The faintest smell of fire and snake filled the air. I detected no signs of such things, yet they still persisted. Not only that.... I felt a strange sense of....peace sitting here. Like I could harmonize with this ce and meditate fairly easily.


    A strange thing indeed for a ce that had seen such a battle recently.


    Now my curiosity was piqued.


    I flew around for a few minutes, looking for a good target to follow. And wouldn''t you know it, a group of people from the Catholic Church had arrived in a burst of light.


    I guess I couldn''t talk bad about Indra''s timing. Something was certainly going on here, whether it''s anything noteworthy for us was a different matter entirely.


    Oh well, should stave off my boredom.


    Changing into a fly was as easy as breathing as Inded on a priest''s robe. I didn''t think he''d notice me considering he probably couldn''t even see his feet with that gut hanging out.


    They walked with a purpose, everyone making way for them. I wasn''t quite familiar with the rtionships or factions here, being a bit out of my purview and a bit low on the totem pole for me. However, it was odd to see these....outsiders run all over this supposed Noble Family for these humans.


    They pushed open doors and shuffled inside to a group of waiting men. One sat at the forefront who had a look of confidence on his face.


    Oh, this should be entertaining. I could tell he wasn''t going to take any crap from these pompous buffoons.


    I scanned around the room andnded on something very interesting. There was a bug hiding in the corner, blending in with the stone. I recognized a simr method of concealment, if different in application and origin. What did they call it ¨C a mour?


    My Eyes pierced the veil. I saw whatid underneath, its true nature.


    A Fae.


    Hmm. Annoying.


    No one liked dealing with them; it always ends up being more trouble than its worth.


    Well, just as I saw through it, it looked at me and saw my true nature as well. Typical, hard to ''hide'' or ''cheat'' infront of one of those things. They give Devils a run for their money when it came to contracts and agreements as well.


    Since neither of us made a move, it became a silent agreement to not do anything as we both were apparently here for the same reason.


    "Where''s Uther!?" The fat priest shouted as I flew off his body and onto the nearby wall.


    "Uther is no longer the head of the family." The man sitting down exined calmly. "I''m Agravain, and you will be dealing with me for now on."


    The fat priest huffed and pulled out a chair, falling into it with a creak. "Hmph. We had agreements, acknowledgements of ¨C "


    "You HAD agreements." Agravain cut him off. "As Uther''s head had been removed from his body, those agreements too are being...reconsidered."


    "That old bastard''s dead?" The priest blinked.


    "Did you think he would willingly give up his spot?" Agravain raised an eyebrow.


    The priest scoffed. "So you usurped his position. A coup then?" He ran his eyes up and down on Agravain who didn''t react. "I think he mentioned you. His decrepit and talentless brother." The priest spat out.


    "Uther was executed for the crimes hemitted." Agravain said calmly. "Now, Father Pierre....."


    "What about the contracts we had?"


    "What about them?" Agravain replied instantly.


    "We were told ¨C "


    "We were told we would receive help. We would receive reinforcements and aid in the event of an attack." Agravaine''s voice was stern. "Before you should speak of what we should be providing you in the future due to these ''arrangements'' how about we discuss your absence when our home was under siege."


    "...We were preupied." The Priest scowled.


    "Really? The entirety of the Church was preupied and couldn''t answer our call for aid." Agravain snorted.


    "What do you care!?" The priest mmed his hand down on the table. "Your little coup won you the head seat."


    "While that''s technically true, it''s also very far form the truth." Agravain closed his eyes with a sigh. "I did not ask for this, but I suppose it makes little difference. Regardless, you vited the terms of our contract. Why should we honor the agreements between our two factions if you aren''t going to do the same?"


    "Y-you''re going to rip of the agreements we''ve had between us for thest 500 years?" The priest looked surprised. "Do you have any idea what that means?"


    "It means.....we will no longer be allies after today." Agravain leaned back in his seat. "We will be closing ourselves off for a few years to.... reevaluate our purpose."


    "Do you think we''d just let you walk away with so many of our treasures in your vaults!? We let you keep them because you did what you were told!"


    Agravain let out augh. "Feel free to check our vaults, we have no treasures to speak of."


    "What!?"


    "We were attacked. We were defeated. Do you think that the defeated side would get to keep anything of importance? I told you, I didn''t ask for this, it was thrust upon me." Agravain snorted withugher. "The sword I''m using right now is barely better than something mundane."


    "Where!? Who!?"


    "That''s none of your business." Agravain smiled. "As we''re no longer deciding to pursue our original rtionship, I will ssify that as a secret not worth sharing."


    "Do you think the Church will ept this!? We''re the ones who made you what you were. Do you have any idea how many resources we spent on your ''family'' over the years to keep it going? How many times we stopped you all from dying out just because of your Ancestor!? And this is how you repay us!?" The priest stood up, mming the table. "This is....sphemy. You''re defying the will of Heaven!"


    "Let''s agree to disagree."


    "Raah!" The Priest mmed the table again. "What gives you the confidence?" He growled. "Did you find help in those abominations, or maybe a false Pagan God?"


    "Our family is faithful to our roots. We find no shelter in others but those of our blood." Agravain had a cocky smirk on his face.


    Little brat was definitely hiding something.


    "Now that we established your actual feelings. How about we talk about the real reason you''re here. Because it certainly wasn''t to ''help'' us. Unless the Church is that ipetent that it took several days to finally get our ''message''." Agravain added.


    Hmm, I liked his style.


    The priest was red in the face. I thought he might pop if he gets any redder. "Hmph. Then listen well, brat! I''m here on a Holy Mission from God!" He spread his arms out. "We detected a veryrge burst of Holy Power here, and we''re investigating if ¨C"


    "That''s ssified." Agravain shut him down.


    "Excuse me?"


    "ssified. Family Secrets." Agravain leaned back. "Anything else, or shall I walk you to the door?"


    "Y-you!" He held his hand up in disbelief. "Did you not hear what I said!? I''m on a mission personally given by an Angel! A mission from God Himself! You dare deny me!?"


    "Yes." Agravain said pointedly.


    "Heathen!"


    "Are you done?" Agravain said with a bored tone.


    "T-this isn''t the end of anything! All our sensors went haywire! Ever since the Excalibur Swords had been stolen, we''ve been looking for them. Then suddenly there''s a massive build up of Holy Power that can match an Archangel at the very least!! AND our sensors are telling us the Excaliburs were used here? We graciously allowed you to keep one of them. But there''s no way that kind of response was only from one being used. The Church demands an exnation!"


    Hooh, this was getting pretty interesting. Those Excalibur toys looked fun to y with, even if they couldn''t match theplete sword from back in the day.


    "What happened! There''s been not a peep and a battle clearly urred. If you don''t give us a sufficient reply ¨C"


    "You''ll do what?" Agravain tilted his head. "I said before, we are without any treasures anymore. We''re destitute." He punctuated. "Are you going to call a ''crusade''?" He said mockingly. "Howical that you''re threatening us when you couldn''t even spare any of your people when we were in danger. I can say under an oath, under the truthful eyes of an Angel, Heaven being my witness. There were none of those Excalibur Shards present that day."


    The priest growled under his breath.


    "Lies, and twisted truths! After suffering such...mockery, do you think Heaven will stay silent!? Hellfire awaits you, brimstone and damnation ¨C "


    "How bold of you to speak on God''s behalf. Tell me, Father Pierre, when did you be an Angel?" Agravain snorted.


    "Insolent!"


    Agravain suddenly shot up, mming his hands on the table, shattering his end. "I should be the one saying that!" He roared. "How dare youe into my home and act like we owe you any kind of answer or exnation! You bastards didn''t even show up when called, you get no right to demand anything of us! The Church wants an answer?! How about I publicly ask for an answer from the Church!? How many other smaller factions will look at us and think ''What if we''re in trouble too''!?"


    "Y-you wouldn''t dare...."


    "Try me." Agravain red.


    "Fine." The Priest sniffed. "I can see I''m not wanted here. I''ll report back about your...ck of cooperation. Let the higher ups deal with this....vermin filled castle and its decrepit family. This isn''t over. We''ll find out one way or another." The Priest snorted, snapping at his guards as they quickly shuffled out of the room.


    Agravain fell back to his seat. "Haaah, went better than expected." He let out a long breath.


    "Was it wise to provoke them like that, my lord?" A knight standing to the side spoke up.


    "I had to shift the conversation several times away from....well you know. Taunting him to lead him into a verbal trap where we could buy ourselves some more time. Threaten them with the only thing we could hold over their heads ¨C theirck of aid as stipted. To give the Church a public p would do more harm than any of our swords could at the moment. Even if they would have aided Uther and doomed us even further, they still promised that aid regardless."


    Hoho, what a cheeky brat he was. The Church cared too much about their reputation to not take that threat seriously.


    "Even if we bought time, they could still easily destroy us." The knight said quietly.


    "Maybe." Agravain sighed. "We don''t have any of our strongest weapons anymore. The years Uther spent building up our defenses are gone ¨C fuck him even still. We have nothing but the strength of our own arms now. So yes, we would find ourselves wanting should we fight. But....you forget who said they would be here should we call."


    "But....after how Church abandoned us when it was convenient, do you think ¨C "


    "You saw the look on her face. The words she spoke with conviction as she promised aid should we stay true to our honor." Agravain sent him a re. "You saw her Sword." He added on in but a whisper. "After seeing the real Excalibur wielded in her hands on our behalf, can you truly doubt her?"


    "I''m sorry, my Lord." The Knight bowed his head.


    "It''s alright." He stood up, patting the knight on the shoulder. "I can understand your hesitance more than anyone."


    The Knight stood up straight and mmed his fist against his chest. "Long live the King." He said resolutely.


    Agravain let out augh. "Long live the king." He echoed back.


    Well, wasn''t that certainly something.


    I nced back at the fairy who seemed just as interested in what I had learned.


    I had a feeling the world was going to get a bit more fun in theing years.


    ***


    Wanted to do an Interlude that peeked at several other things happening while also showing some side effects of the whole Pendragon fiasco.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 247 - 233

    <h4>Chapter 247: Chapter 233</h4>


    Step forward, sh down.


    Left.


    Right.


    My sword moved rhythmically. Having done these motions so many times, it''d been ingrained deep into my subconscious to the points where it''s practically instinct.


    It was soothing. Being able to push any stray thoughts away and just focus on swinging my sword. To feel my arms begin to get sore, and sweat drip down my brow. It was difficult finding a way to work my body as it was now. That is to say, now that I''ve gained Divinity and gone through a metamorphosis of sorts.


    I stood atop a Magic Circle that I constantly channeled Magical Energy into. It was reminiscent of the room I created back at the College of Winterhold, if applied in at more sloppy fashion. It anchored a Bounded Field around me that constantly changed the gravitational pull at different intervals and in different ways.


    I then forced myself to keep steady and perform the same strike perfectly each time. It was mentally exhausting and even grated on me physically.


    "Haaah." I let out a breath as my sword came down to my side and with a thought, I turned off the Magic Circle.


    While the application of the whole thing was Magical in nature, the oue was more of a natural phenomenon, so my Magic Resistance wasn''t hindering my training.


    "I was wondering where you had gotten off to." I saw Sc¨¢thach approach from the side. "My student snuck away to train and didn''t even have the decency to tell me. Should I be offended?" She gave a little grin.


    I blinked in realization. "I didn''t mean to offend ¨C"


    I did choose a rather isted ce located within Yasaka''s Kyoto. It wasn''t ''only'' a city that existed here. There were forests and otherwise undeveloped areas. The more ''permanent'' residents would probably get too stir crazy if there wasn''t a moreplete setting in this small dimension.


    "Oh hush." Sheughed. "I''m merely jesting. Taking some time alone for yourself is no crime."


    I pursed my lips. "I don''t want to be neglectful. I could have maybe ¨C "


    She flicked her finger, a smallpression of air shot forward and smacked into my Aura. I blinked again in response at her action. "None of that." She chided. "None of us are young maidens that require your presence at every moment. We all have things we''re busy with, an honest effort and sincere affection is all we desire from you." That warm smile she shed, it always made my heart melt


    "And just like that, you know how to cheer me up." I stretched my back. "Speaking of effort. I have a date with Yasaka nned for the uing festival she''s preparing for. I''m going to surprise Jinn with a date too, maybe take her to the beach since I don''t think she''s ever been. I''m going to surprise Meridia and see what she wants to do." Yeah, Meridia''s the hardest to n things with. It''s best to not try to surprise her with anything that would take too much focus away from her duties. "Artoria, I don''t think she''s in the mindset right now for a date with both Mordred and the Pendragon family still being things she''s fretting over." That being said, I was still going to be there to support her as her boyfriend.


    Honestly, that whole thing was still a big mess. She''d been talking with Agravain the past few days, being kept abreast of the situation, but it''s still slow going. Even Mordred took a second trip over there to check things out in person. There''s that strange feeling in the air like we''re all waiting for the second shoe to drop.


    "And Raikou?" Sc¨¢thach asked.


    "I didn''t forget about her." I chuckled. "I sorta had a n, but I was going to ask for an opinion. I thought maybe taking her to get some family photos made? I know she has a.....strange mindset about our rtionship. But I wanted to show her that she really means a lot to me, so I was going to get some pictures of us together and set them up along side the one I have with my mom." Some ''mom and son'' pictures I thought would make her ted.


    "My student..." Sc¨¢thach said softly.


    "What? Bad? Should I go with something else?"


    She walked up and pulled me into a huge, my face pressed into her ample cleavage. "I should say it''s surprising that you are able to act as sweet as you do in rtion to the foolish things you often partake in. However, I''ve discovered that this is a normal urrence since I''ve been returned to your side."


    She smelled nice.


    I tilted my head up, eyes meeting her as I moved in for a kiss, only for her finger to press against my lips.


    "Hmm. You wish to im this Sc¨¢thach''s lips? Are you not forgetting something before taking such a prize from me? Perhaps a women whom you had yet to mention?" She quirked an eyebrow.


    "Nope." I gave her a cheeky smile.


    Seeing her puff up was extremely cute. "You are bold to tease this old woman. It does not matter how much stronger you be; you will always be Sc¨¢thach''s student." She gave my forehead a little flick.


    "Does my Sc¨¢thach want a date?"


    "Hmph."


    "A romantic evening? A candlelight dinner? Holding hands as we take a stroll under the moonlight?" I rattled off, as I noticed herplexion grow increasingly more red. It even made me pause in my teasing. "Are you.....blushing?"


    "O-of course not." She scoffed. "Do you think the Immortal Witch of Dun Scaith would blush at such a thing? I''m not some inexperienced girl."


    "Cute." I poked her cheek, ignoring her indignations.


    "You are asking for a beating!" She huffed, turning away.


    "Maybe I am." I smirked.


    "Hmph. Perhaps I have been too lenient on you." She removed her arms, taking a step back. Though she sported a bright smile as she took out her spear.


    "Well, I''ve been wanting to test a few things." I hummed, hefting my sword up.


    "Fufu, I''ve also been wanting to test a few things of yours as well~" That bloodthirsty smile adorned her face.


    I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what Sc¨¢thach would want in a date. But.....this would probably satisfy her for a while.


    She took a slow step forward, her spear swung down and thrusted at me from several different positions. Each one of them was a blow that would leave me wounded if I allowed the strike to connect with my body but not outright kill me.


    I nted my feet firmly, and swung my sword, matching her strikes as sparks flew with the collision of our weapons.


    Sc¨¢thach twirled her spear in hand, and then her grip slid down her spear as it wasunched forward with a sudden, bursting, speed. With an almost nonchnt movement, her spear had turned into a red blur as it was thrust towards my heart. Thebination of thrust it forward, and letting it jerk out of her grip slightly had momentarily made me surprised at the distorted movement.


    However, I never lost track of that deadly tip.


    My Mirage shed out, the tip colliding with her spear. And with a flick of my wrist, Mirage tilted slightly, deflecting it away from me harmlessly.


    "I guess you haven''t beenzing around after all." Sheughed, pulling her spear back. She spun it in ce a few times, never moving from her spot. Without any words, her spearshed out once more. A straightforward stab right for my neck.


    It was an easy deflection, but she immediately followed up by sliding down to her knee and swiped the shaft of her spear at my legs. I mmed my sword into the ground, blocking it, but she just spun on the spot, regaining her momentum as the spear arched back towards my other side.


    It was like a hurricane as she was relentless in her attacks, a continuous barrage that didn''t allow me a moments respite. As soon as I blocked or deflected one attack, another was on the opposite sideing right at me. She continued to speed up until the point where her spear tip became nothing more than a red streak of light, almost as if it was attacking me simultaneously from every angle.


    This dance continued, neither of us moving from the spot we were in as we each tried to win this spontaneous game that came about.


    No, it only came to a head when her spear slipped through my guard, flying by my face and tore apart a small opening in my aura.


    I let out a breath, my sword went ck in my hand and a sigh escaped from my lips. "Point to you then?"


    She smiled, pulling her spear back, the butt of it mming into the ground. She lightly leaned on it, looking all too smug. "Fufu. My precious Student, where did your bravado go, hmm?" Her little giggled turned into outrightughter.


    "Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes. "I''m not ashamed to admit you still got me beat on the skill side of things." Yeah, as far as pure skills went, she still outsses me.


    It felt a bit like tennis, where your opponent continuously pulled you more and more to each corner of the court until you just can''t respond in time. Except.....with deadly weapons...and a sadist teacher.


    "Don''t get depressed, boyo." She stood back up straight, spinning her spear again, almost out of habit. "Not many people can match my skills. You havee far since I first taught you." Her words a genuine praise.


    "It''s nice to hear you say that." I nodded. "But I have a retort."


    "Hmm?"


    I snapped my fingers, a bolt of lightning dropped from the sky ontop of her.


    The kickup of dirt did nothing to hide the look of utter annoyance on her face. Not at my sudden attack, mind you. No, it was the fact that her face was now covered and dirty. She wiped her hand down her face, brushing it off. "You y a dangerous game." She looked at my intently.


    I gripped my sword and smiled towards her. "Bring it, bitch."


    That maniac grin appeared again as her center of gravity slowly moved towards the ground. Her spear erupted in bloodlust, taking a familiar position. "With pleasure~"


    Like a coiled spring that was finally let loose, she shot forward. Her Magical Energy enveloped her in a thick hue, a palpable bloodlust that rolled off her in every direction. That deadly spear sailed right towards me as I took a step to the side, pushed my feet into the ground and swung up at the bottom of it, pushing it to the side.


    With a quick spin of her spear, her feet were already nted into the ground, the butt of her weapon aimed towards my temple.


    I ducked under it, the sheer force managing to make my Aura re up as it passed overhead. She followed up with her foot flying towards my stomach. I gathered my Aura into my hand and met her kick. An explosion of energy erupted at the focal point, blowing us both a few meters back.


    "This is the Aura you spoke of then?" Sheughed. "I can see its utility and strengths. I am quite impressed."


    I rolled my neck before I started walking forward, an action matched by her. Her predatory steps looked as intimidating as every, however I was not that same person from back then. I hade a long way from the Land of Shadows and I had quite a few tricks she hadn''t seen yet.


    With a wave of my hand, one of my other swords appeared next to me.


    She looked a bit more serious as she eyed the de spinning around me protectively. With a flick of her hand, her Gae Bolg stabbed into the ground, flinging uprge swathes of dirt. I noticed immediately that she hid Runes within the cloud of dirt as the Spells actualized and began to bombard me.


    I didn''t move from my spot, my Sword of Destruction igniting with my Power of Destruction and shot forward in a straight line through all the Magical Powering at me.


    Her eyes widened as she was forced to jump out of the way.


    She eyed it warily as it curved in air and came back towards her.


    I could see her fingers around her spear tighten as she drew upon arge amount of Magical Energy and met my Sword head on. The explosive power of hers managed to send my sword hurling away.


    "How do you like my Bloodline ability?" I grinned.


    "What a frightening power." She acknowledged, turning back towards me. "I would be forced to divert my attention to make sure I keep it at bay."


    "The Concept of Destruction." I exined. "I''m still exploring its uses."


    "It was a bit straight forward in application. We will need train with it more in the future." She decided. "I imagine that it has shifted since your new additions?"


    "Yeah." I scratched my head. "Bit stronger, and it felt like it.....opened up more if that makes sense." I needed to fully develop it now.


    "Good. I would be upset if you didn''t acknowledge your immature use of it." She smiled but leapt up into the air without warning. As fast as she ascended, she was shooting towards me once more.


    "Dammit, give a guy some warning." I grunted, her spear meeting the t of my de. Our faces were only a foot apart at this point.


    "Here is a warning." She raised one hand off her spear, drawing a Rune. "I do enjoy your face, I hope you will not be too hurt."


    It wasn''t just a normal string of runes, there was a Primordial Rune mixed in.


    "Fus!" I shouted out at her.


    Her eyes narrowed as the invisible force rippled. It wasn''t the full shout, but it would be enough to push her way, or so I thought. Instead, Runes appeared behind her, actualizing and offset the attack I used.


    The String of Runes she created infront of me finalized and came together as they turned extremely bright.


    Just as they gathered into a ball of light and erupted into a beam of pure destruction, bursting towards me, I fed Aura into my Semnce.


    The parts of me that were hit turned into Lightning, crackling around the spells destructive properties instead of fighting it. It wasrge enough that a good portion of my body turnedpletely into lightning to avoid it.


    "Feim." I whispered out in my lightning-form. The first part of the Be Ethereal Shout in the dragonnguage. It had a....strange reaction with my semnce. Instead of bing ethereal, to be a spirit that existed on a different ne of existence, I instead turnedpletely into my element and entered the same ne. I jutted around and mmed back down a few dozen feet away, returning to myplete shape.


    She paused, looking at the spot I had been in, then back at me. She opened her mouth then closed it, clearly contemting what she just saw.


    "My Semnce." I grinned. "I can burn my Aura to turn myself into Lightning ¨C the more of my body I turn, the more it costs. And with my new Divinity, it''s turned into Divine Lightning. I used a ''Shout'' to make myself ethereal and ease into theplete element transformation since I''m still working it all out."


    Hadn''t had much time to really train all this new stuff. With Sc¨¢thach with me now, though....


    She knew about the Dragon Language. It was something I used a little bit back in the Land of Shadows as I had picked up a couple words before leaving Skyrim for the first time.


    "Impressive." She looked very intrigued. "Now that I''ve seen it, I will do my own research. I believe Jinn will have ample resources for me to peruse as I understand it clearly. Both this Aura and Semnce are things I have too small of a foundation to better help you."


    "Well, add it to the list of things I would love your help training with."


    "Asking me for more training?" She raised an eyebrow. "Your flirting has certainly improved."


    "Well, I know how much you enjoy beating me up." I snorted with a smallugh.


    "I will not deny it."


    "Sadist."


    "Masochist." She shot back without hesitation. That smug look of hers, she knew it made me groan. "The Truth is hard to hear, my Student." Sheughed.


    "You know what." I clicked my tongue. "I have one more thing I want to show you."


    She smiled again, looking ready for battle. "Show me everything you have, my student." The way she said it sounded almost.... sensual.


    Was this forey for her?


    I gripped Mirage tightly, pulling it back with a thrusting motion. "I had this idea after my fight with Susanoo in the other world. The technique I used to finish him off with. You can consider it a ...variation of that."


    "Oh?" She looked....excited.


    "Don''t die." I added with a stern tone.


    The Kaleidoscope rolled infront of me. The possibilities that existed from the point I was standing, and every action I could take towards Sc¨¢thach. The influx of information, the infinite extensions of myself that filled my vision.


    It was a single, slow thrust into the air towards her.


    One possibility of me that simply thrust forward. Another that stepped to the side and did the same. Another that went in the opposite direction. A third that jumped into the air and stabbed downwards. They continued as I grabbed all of them and then anchored them all onto my singr attack.


    Sc¨¢thach''s eyes widened. It was an almost instantaneous reaction on her part as Runes lit up and she jumped backwards, spinning in the air beforending on the ground. There were now an uncountable number of gouges taken out of the ground around her.


    With my Myriad Sword Strike, it held all those possibilities onto my de, and shes to a single sh. With this technique, all of the possibilities were ''released'' forck of a better word. Whereas my ''Birds'' were meyering myself onto my singr sh many ¨C many times, this technique differs further from that as it allowed for a different set of oues than just the sh from where I stood.


    Sc¨¢thach shook a little as she roused herself back to her feet. She lifted her head up, her breathing was a bit...uneven. Her clothes were cut up and there was blood seeping from several cuts all over her body.


    I was worried for a moment that she was hurt until I noticed the flush on her face and the sultry look she gave me. It threw me off that I didn''t even contemte the method by which she avoided the majority of my attack.


    She sauntered towards me ignoring her injuries. She literally jumped into my arms as I caught her, her lips pushed against mine with a forceful motion, her tongue invading my mouth.


    "Take me home." She growled, pulling away.


    I blinked in realization of what she wanted. Not wasting any words, I quickly opened a new portal right to my bedroom.


    ***


    Sorry forte chapter, didn''t like the chapter I wrote for p at re on, so i rewrote it after i basically finished it. Things are settling down a little bit after the Pendragon family, getting some training in and Sc¨¢thach getting a Lewd next chapter.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my / astoryforone

 Chapter 248 - 234

    <h4>Chapter 248: Chapter 234</h4>


    ******


    Lewd Warning Below -- Sc¨¢thach.


    *****


    Sc¨¢thach clung to me as we burst into the bedroom. Her soft lips parted ever so slightly as her tongue pushed into my mouth, intertwining with my own. Her fingers ran through my hair, grabbing hold as she refused to let go.


    We practically dropped onto the bed as soon as we walked in, her legs wrapped around me. I could feel her breath tickling my face between movements, her cheeks flushed with a needy look in her eyes.


    "You''ve neglected your duties, my student." She breathed out as we were forced to finally break the kiss to breath once more.


    I propped myself up as I sat atop of her. She practically squirmed underneath me, an inviting smile adorning her face as her hands started roaming my chest.


    "And what duties were those?" I couldn''t help but kiss her again, slowly moving down to her neck.


    She tilted her head back, hands grasping around my head as she let out a small noise. "You y coy." She spoke in bated breaths. "This Sc¨¢thach has waited since those bygone days. You have teased me long enough. You imed me as your woman, it is time for you to make it true." She decided, leaving absolutely no room for argument.


    Not that I would do so. I wanted her just as much as she wanted me. And frankly, I didn''t know why I was hesitating as much as I was.


    I finally escaped her hands, standing up enough to overlook her. That skin-tight suit she wore, it hugged her in the best ways possible while also covering her up enough to not be obscene. She watched my eyes trail down, examining every inch of her body.


    I reached out, giving her leg a nice squeeze, earning an amused giggle from her. Though it was only for a moment before I was fixated on her bouncing chest infront of me. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to focus on fighting when these are bouncing in my face?" I let out a small growl as I finally took those soft mounds into my hands.


    They were heavy, my fingers sinking into the soft flesh. She didn''t say anything to dissuade me from ying with her boobs. If anything, her breathing picked up as I fondled them. Her nipples begun to poke out from the thin fabric that made up her battle suit.


    "You love this Sc¨¢thach''s bosom so much? Then I shall take care of you this way." Sc¨¢thach breathed out with a gentle smile on her face. With a flick of her finger, she cut her suit and tore it open, allowing her breasts to bounce free from their confines. I didn''t have time to admire her as her hands already began working on my belt and let my erect cock spring free into her grasp. "Yes." She licked her hand and ran her hand along my length, making me gasp a little bit "This is the cock I''ve been waiting for." Her hand mixed with her own saliva as she meticulously made sure I was hard and ready.


    I positioned myself, cing my member between those two breasts. Sc¨¢thach immediately used her hands to push them together, wrapping them around me. She slowly moved them up and down as I thrust forward, setting a rhythm that sent the pleasure coursing through my body.


    I moved my hips back and forth. The head of my cock poking out every so often as she leaned up and opened her mouth. Her tongue greeted me at each thrust in anticipation.


    "Do you like my tits, student? They aren''t as big as some of the others, but they arerge enough to milk this big spear of yours." She started picking up the pace. "Hnn." She let out a content noise. "You can be more aggressive. This Sc¨¢thach''s chest is here for your exclusive use. Fuck them as hard as you wish, I will take it all."


    I groaned, speeding up the movement of my hips. She squeezed her boobs together firmly, as she realized what wasing. I didn''t try to hold it back, grabbing hold of her arms to steady myself, and the bed shook under our weight. "Sc¨¢thach." I breathed out with another groan. "I''m cumming." The words were forced out through haggard breaths as I made no effort to hold it back.


    I paused in my movements, feeling it building up to climax. She took the reins, hand grasped over my member and jerked it firmly to finish me off.


    "Ooh." She let out a surprise sound as the first bit spurt onto her face. She held her mouth open, catching more onto her tongue. I felt the jolt of pleasure run through me as she continued to move her hand, making sure it all flowed out. With each twitch, her breasts and face became covered in my seed.


    I leaned back slightly, her hand continued to pump a few more times, making sure I was fully relieved. She smiled rather smugly, her tongue flicked to corner of her lips to lick away what was within reach. "Tasty." She giggled. "Jinn was correct." She added, wiping away the excess that spilled down her face.


    "Of course she''d tell you." I snorted, letting out a breath of ecstasy.


    "Fufu, did you think she wouldn''t?" Sc¨¢thachughed. "And I do hope you are not finished, otherwise I will be very disappointed."


    As if to respond, I felt my dick twitch in her grasp. "You were saying?" I replied, looking down at her with a smile of my own. I was still hard and that wasn''t changing anytime soon.


    "Oh my, my student does have some stamina after all. Perhaps he isn''t as useless with his spear as I thought." She licked her lips, staring at my cock.


    I knew what she was doing, but I still felt a bit ofpetitive spirite over me at the implication. I reached back my hand finding her stomach as I slowly ran it down to between her legs. "I can feel how wet you are even through your clothes."


    That caused her to blush a bit more vigorously. It wasn''t the mere arousal that flushed her, but a hint of embarrassment that covered those cheeks. "Don''t act so prideful. It has merely been a long time for me." She turned her gaze away.


    I lightly began to run my fingers up and down her inner thighs. Without prompt, her clothing ¨C her battle gear ¨C turned to motes of light and disappeared.


    "I hope you won''t run away from my naked body this time." She tried to sound sharp and prickly like usual, but it fell t between her bated breaths and flushed face.


    "This time ¨C " I moved off her body, sliding down to between her legs. " ¨C You''re mine. So I''m going to enjoy every inch of you."


    "Haah?" She made another little noise halfway between surprise and pleasure as I brushed her clit with my tongue. A little tease just to get her react.


    She was beautiful, every part of her. That little bit of hair she had only entuated her beauty down below. I began to run my tongue along the outside, gently nibbling all around the outer lips. I could feel her rocking her hips back and forth, a small moan escaping her mouth as I worked all around her.


    "Hnnn." She muffled out a moan, her fingers finding my hair again. Her legs tensed up, almost kicking in the air as she continued to make sounds of pleasure.


    I went in a bit deeper and was able to taste her arousal. The juices of hers wouldn''t stop flowing and she only seemed to try and aggressively push me deeper between her legs as I continued to explore her entrance, experiencing every inch of her pussy.


    "Wilhelm~" She let out a whine I hadn''t heard from her before. Her own look of ecstasy shing across her face as she shuddered. "Student." She breathed out with a content sign. "I want your cock inside of me." She said with her usual bluntness even if it was mired with her needy undertone.


    She released me enough to stand up. She bit her lip as her legs spread a bit wider, looking at me. I quickly took off the remainder of my clothes, tossing them to the side without a second thought.


    She was dripping wet and I was still just as hard as I was before.


    "Good. Come to me." She reached her hands down, spreading herself visibly for me. "I failed to teach you this lesson properly before. I was not your first, but I shall make sure to teach you everything I know."


    Seeing her like that, how could I possibly hold back?


    I lined myself up with her entrance, my tip prodding her opening as I slowly pushed inside. It was nice and slippery, even with a tightness that gripped me I was able to slowly push my way forward. I could see her tense up with the first pration. That look of satisfaction that filled her was one I could never forget.


    The slow movements to begin with got her used to me. To spread her insides to ept the shape of my cock that would be taking her many more times in the future.


    "Ahh." She let out a soft moan, eyes closing with a very happy expression. "Yesssss." She eximed as my cock went further inside. "Gently...good." She let out another content sign as my hips started to move back and forth, setting into a normalized repetition. "Hnn...You.....ahh, are adequate."


    "Only adequate, huh?" I snorted. "Then should I stop, maybe practice a bit more on someone else?" So this was how she wanted to y it, huh? I brushed up against her clit again with my hand, looking down at her entrance where I had just been previously, watching her wiggle her hips expectantly.


    She let out a small whine as I only rubbed my cock against her leaking pussy, not going any further. "Don''t bully your teacher." She gave a cute little mewl. "Your teacher needs this."


    "Hmm, then how about you tell me what you want?" Teasing her like this was too adorable.


    "Fuck me" She huffed. "Take your cock, and thrust it inside of this Sc¨¢thach''s cunt! I am prepared, I wish to experience all the desire you keep in your heart for me."


    Well, how could I deny that honest plea?


    I lined back up again and with a swift motion, I thrusted back inside of her. Her back arched as I pulled out again, repeating the same motion again. She started to let out heavier moans as I began to pick up the pace.


    "H-harder!" She moaned out again, gripping the sheets of the bed. "Ahh...Mmm....Make this Sc¨¢thach yours!" She began pushing her hips forward as best she could in her position, trying to match my movements. Her sopping wet pussy was clenching tight around me as we got lost in the act.


    With every thrust, I watched her breasts bounce up and down. Her face was locked in a look of pleasure and contentment. Her mouth hung open as moans escaped past her lips.


    "Fuck." I groaned out as she clenched tighter than before. Her folds contorting around me as she quivered under my movements. My hands grasped below, sinking into thatrge, round ass of hers as I lifted her up just a little bit for a better angle.


    So far, I only had Meridia topare to. It felt noticeably different, yet, it was still inexplicably pleasurable. With the way she wrapped around me, how her folds clenched down every time I pushed inside, I couldn''tst much longer.


    "A-ahh....are you going to.... cum again?" She managed to get out between moans.. Her arms opened up, grabbing and pulling me into her embrace. "I wee you wholeheartedly, my student ¨C my lover. Fill this womb with your seed and I will happily ept any consequences." She whispered into my ear.


    That was enough to push me over the edge. With a few more thrust, I felt it build up again to the breaking point. I could feel it spurt out into her deepest parts, my thrusts bing slower and more methodical as I focused on draining everything I had inside of her.


    Sc¨¢thach''s hips continued to rock back and forth, doing her best to milk everyst bit of cum out of me.


    I let myself breathe out a sign of relief, my head rested between her boobs. I could feel her hand rubbing along my back, a surprisingly soothing motion after I had just finished emptying myself inside of her.


    "My Student." She whispered. "I do hope you''re not all spent. I am still unsatisfied afterall~" She adjusted herself slightly after I felt my cock twitch again. "Fufu, I''ll take that as another ''no'' then." She let me go as I rolled off of her, my member sliding out from inside her wet hole.


    It seemed like something changed. That slight bashfulness she had before was gone. That loving and delicate Sc¨¢thach who tried to hold back her moans with am embarrassed face was now nowhere to be seen. She now looked at me with hungry eyes, an intense desire burning in them.


    She slowly moved up and down towards my semi-erect cock. "I will get you back up in no time." She tucked her hair back, and opened her mouth. Her eyes locking with mine as she lowered herself down and took me inside.


    "Oh." I breathed out, still sensitive from my previous orgasm. She began to bob her head up and down, tongue exploring every inch of my cock. She ignored the fact that I was covered in both of our juices as she went about sucking me off. Her hand gripped at my base, gently squeezing and pump as her tongue twirled around, massaging all of my sensitive ces.


    Adjusting herself, she slowly began to take me further down. "Gulgh." She made a strange noise as my cock disappeared down her throat. "Gulgh...Gulgh." She forced herself to keep it there, moving only slightly to massage my entire manhood with her throat.


    I regained my full erection within moments as she relinquished me with an audible ''pop''. "Haaah." She let out a few gasps, chest bouncing up and down as she regained her breath. "Looks like I still got it~" She looked back up again, hand gripping me tight as she made sure I continued to stay full mast.


    She slowly positioned herself over me, her dripping sex only an inch above my tip before dropping herself down, fully impaling herself upon my manhood.


    "Be prepared, my student. I''m not through training you. I will make sure this spear of yours is properly taught, even if it requires all day." Herscivious smile might have been intimidating in any other circumstances. But at this moment, I could only feel myself quiver under her folds once more as she began bouncing up and down on my cock.


    "It''s not a matter of if I''m prepared or not." I grabbed at her hips, watching her eyes roll back a little as I pulled her down in one motion and thrust upwards. She let out throaty moan, which quickly turned into uncontroble mewls. "But can you handle me?"


    I wasn''t entirely sure I could run out of ''stamina'' anymore.


    But I was sure going to find out.


    ******************


    ***LEWD OVER***


    ******************


    "My, you have a good look on your face. What''s gotten you in such a good mood?" Yasaka eyed me as I walked ¨C portaled ¨C into her office.


    "Hmm, had a good training session with Sc¨¢thach." I hummed stretching my arms. It had been a very.....pleasant several hours.


    The cuddling was nice too, but I could only do it for so long since it was still in the middle of the day. I started my training in the early morning and we...... exercised past noon. Sc¨¢thach was still resting when I finally got up.


    "Did she finally get the banging she wanted?" Yasaka asked.


    I almost choked at her blunt response. "Was I that obvious?"


    "No, no." She waved me off with an eye rolls. "You were very subtle." A small giggle escaped her. "And I can still smell her on you."


    Huh, I guess a simple shower wasn''t enough for her nose.


    "Well...I didn''t mean toe off as...." I didn''t know the correct word to use.


    "You didn''t." Sheughed again. "But she mentioned some things, so it was more obvious to me."


    "She did?" I blinked at that. Was I being a bit too.....neglectful? I hoped not, cause I didn''t want them to think I was just interested in the sex, which admittedly made me hold back a tiny bit.


    "We do have girl talk every now and then." Yasaka said coyly.


    "Scary."


    "Oh, huh." She waved her tail at me, flippantly. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure? I hope that there isn''t another family that needs a ''reminder'' any time soon."


    "Oh Gods no." I sighed. "Still, I feel like the next shoe is going to drop any moment now after the Pendragon Family. Which reminds me, have you heard any news?"


    "No." She pursed her lips. "It''s been eerily quiet recently. And I also have the same feeling. I''ve put my feelers out, checked in with some people I know, but everything has been remarkably quiet ¨C rtively speaking. The Church has been making noise, but they always seem to be. Maybe it has something to do with howrge their institution is." She shrugged.


    "I guess quiet is.....good." I shared her look. "Well, it gives me time to get things done without running around like a headless chicken. That reminds me, I was nning out my time and making sure I spent it with everyone. Dates and such...You mentioned a festival?"


    Yasaka brightened up immediately. "I''m happy you remembered. Yes, we have a celebration once a year tomemorate the founding of this ce. This home of ours thatys atop the human world." She swung her arms around.


    "That sounds exciting. So when is it, so I can n better?" I asked.


    "Hmm, a week....maybe?" She tilted her head in thought.


    "Maybe? Shouldn''t it be more....rigid?"


    Yasaka let out augh. "We basically just celebrate in the ''month'' at some point. It''s never really a set day as the creation didn''t just happen all at once. I''m pushing it back a bit due to..well the obvious."


    Yeah, the attack and all the cleaning up. "That''s convenient. So, need help with setting anything up? I''m always here to lend a hand."


    "And your help is greatly appreciated." She said with a warm smile. "We''re still working out therger details. However, I may have some things you can help with in theing days." She paused, a look of.....hesitance on her face.


    "What?" I questioned, poking her forehead. "You''re holding something back."


    "It''s, nothing too bad." She sighed.


    "Yasaka."


    "Are you using the tone I use on Kunou?'' She snorted with a little bit ofughter. "My, are you going to punish me if I misbehave~"


    "Don''t test me." I rubbed her fluffy ears. "Sc¨¢thach just found out how ridiculous my stamina is now that I''m a Campione ¨C Dragon ¨C Half-devil." And it felt just as ridiculous as it was to say what I was out loud.


    Her cheeks turned a little red. "Oh my." She whispered. "I''ll have to get the details out of herter." She shook her head, letting out a deep breath. "The festival, it''s not just the celebration of our founding, but a celebration of our Gods too. Without them, this ce wouldn''t exist, they were the ones who helped create it in the first ce."


    Huh, it made sense, I just never gave that much thought. "And what''s the issue?"


    "Every year, I make sure to send my ns....upwards. To make sure nothing is insulting or to make sure everyone up stairs in happy. I never receive a response, so I take that as an assumption that I''m ignored enough that they don''t care or I''m doing something correct. At the very least, they are not upset, otherwise that would be made obvious."


    "I see." I nodded along at her exnation. "And I assume something changed?"


    "Well, there have certainly been a number of things that changed recently." She said dryly. And I could easily catch her meaning. I was sure my little scuffle with Susanoo did that no favors either. "But I received word the other day that Lady Amaterasu is going to appear before me in a couple days. She is a stickler for proper decorum, so she usually has her subordinates give word of her impending arrival."


    "Oh.....that sounds...not good."


    "It''s not as....bad as it sounds." Yasaka let out another sigh. "Though there was one.... stiption. I suppose it has be known that you and I are, well....together. The message I received requested you be present as well."


    "Request ¨C you mean demand?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    "You know the sort well enough to know the answer to that question." She snorted. "But yes, it was implied that she ''expects'' you to be present. I know that ¨C "


    "Okay." I said simply.


    She blinked. "Okay?"


    "Did you think I would deny you?" I tilted my head. "I have no desire to meet Amaterasu, but I''ll always help you whenever I can. If you told me to go fight her because you were in danger, I''d go storm Takamagahara without a second thought."


    "Y-you...." She went a little bit redder, lips twitching. "Don''t say things like that." She said quietly. "You never know who''s listening. But....." Her tail waived infront of her face, almost to hide her bashfulness. "Thank you." She added.


    "And besides, you could always tell Izzy that Amaterasu is bullying you." I grinned.


    Yasaka''s expression shifted quickly as a fit of giggles overcame her. "Yes, I''m sure that''ll go over well. If I tell my patron Goddess'' on to her mother."


    "Alright, tell me what I need to do to get ready for this meeting." I sat down next to her, feeling her tail wrap around me in the way I''vee to expect and anticipate.


    "Oh, be prepared. I said she''s a stickler for proper decorum, and I mean it. That means, impable ¨C traditional clothing. Hair properly done, and the correct speech when addressing her."


    "...Let''s just go with the Izzy n."


    "Oh, hush" She pped me with one of her tails, the fluffy appendage smooshing against my face. "We can keep that as a backup." She added with a little mischievous smile.


    ***


    Yesterday''s chapter, next oneing in a minute.

 Chapter 249 - 235

    <h4>Chapter 249: Chapter 235</h4>


    Fluffy tails in myp, they always brought a smile to my face. Even as I sat here doing paperwork of all things, I couldn''t help but grin like an idiot as I ran my hand through the soft fur.


    "Okay, I have another one." Yasaka spoke up. "What do you do if Lady Amaterasu greets you?" She asked, writing some things on her own documents.


    She had been giving me an impromptu lesson on etiquette.


    I cleared my throat. "Sup bitch." I said with a straight face.


    Yasaka turned to me, giving the drying look she could possibly give before one of her tails left my grasp, swaying back to her side. "That''s another one you lose."


    I was down to three now.


    "What did I say wrong?" I gave her a ''shocked'' look.


    She tilt her head towards me, eyes drooping. A look that said ''are you serious?''. She held it for only a moment before breaking out into giggles. "Please don''t say that to her." Yasaka dropped her face into her palms.


    "It''s the greeting of my people. To not use it would be culturally insensitive to ¨C "


    "I''m well aware that the term was poprized on the inte." She deadpanned.


    "Hey, when I was younger, I was a shut in." I said defensively. "Most of my social interaction was through myputer." Kind of sad I burned it along with the house.... "Well, besides when I had club stuff." I do kind of miss the theatre. I should make some time to go see some of the big productions around the world.


    "Don''t meme at my Goddess." One of the tails in my grasp was pulled up before lightly floofing me me across the cheek. "She probably won''t even realize what you''re doing....yeah that could turn out terrible than if she was offended at your tone or vernacr."


    "I have to remind myself that not all Gods here are like Izzy." I nodded. I was kidding ¨C obviously. She knew that, of course. I would never jeopardize Yasaka''s rtionship with her Patron like that. "It''s kind of funny?"


    "What?"


    "That Izzy ¨C the Mother of Japan, Mother of the current reining Gods ¨C is more ''culturally aware'' than her children?"


    Yasaka blinked before chortling. "When you put it that way."


    I quickly scribbled what I needed to, the pped thisst few pages onto a stack I had alreadypleted. "Done!" I threw my hands up.


    "Already? What''s your secret?"


    "I just drew dicks on all of them." I said proudly.


    She narrowed her eyes, reaching over and grabbing a random document. She scanned it before puffing with, her tail began to bombard me with fluffy attacks to my face. "You meanie!" She huffed cutely. "I don''t know why I believed that even for a second."


    I of course had augh at her expense.


    "Now to kick back and rx." I leaned back in my chair, arms behind my head for added effect.


    "Now you''re just rubbing it in."


    "Yup." I grinned.


    "Well, I see how it is." She sniffed, retracting her tails. "I wouldn''t want to interrupt your ''rxation'', so I''ll just keep out of your way then."


    "I just realized I can never win because you can just do that every time." I snorted. "I take it back, gimme that fluffy tail." I reached over taking it back.


    The Fox Youkai giggled with a smug look on her face.


    "Have I ever said I adore how much you y with my tails?" She shifted into a warm smile. "You know, they are intimate parts for us Kitsune. Outside of Kunou, you''re the only one allowed to do this~"


    "Would it be weird if I asked to brush them sometime?" I asked.


    She blinked and actually blushed a little. "...That''s even more of an intimate gesture. It''s usually only done by parents to their children or.....mates."


    "Oh, I didn''t mean to overstep. Just forg ¨C " While we were certainly in a rtionship at this point, I didn''t know how far of a step forward that meant to her. The idea of a ''mate'' is something a bit more than what we probably had right now. Despite everything we had between us, some things still couldn''t be rushed. It''s not like I was ready to get down on a knee and propose. Who knows if this was something in that same vein?


    "Hush." She pushed a finger to my lips. "I just wanted you to understand the significance. That doesn''t mean I''m against you doing it. If anything....I would very much enjoy having you do it." The usual flirty and mischievous Yasaka sported a noticeable red hue on her cheeks as she said that.


    "Oh...I''d love to, if you....wouldn''t be against it..." And now I could feel my cheeks heating up. Just got done fucking Sc¨¢thach, yet now I''m sitting here blushing. However, I feel like I got a little bit closer to Yasaka now.


    "Well this became awkward." Yasaka quickly shifted from the bashfulness. "Now to change the subject. Have you considered the letter from Lady Gremory yet?"


    I let out a groan, letting my head fall to the table.


    "I''ll take that as a ''no''."


    "I''ve given it....some thought." I admitted. "Perhaps not as much as I should. And I just keep finding excuses to put it off."


    "I don''t want to pressure you about it. But I also know it''s going to eat at you until you finally decide." She lightly poked my shoulder.


    "I know." I groaned. "Hell, my Semnce ¨C the aspect of myself manifested from having my Aura unlocked. It''s an expression of my desire to avoid confrontation with things I don''t like." I couldn''t help butugh at the irony. "How fucking ridiculous."


    "We all deal with things in different ways." She scooted over, pressing against me. "I''m not judging or condemning you. I just want you to deal with it in a healthy way."


    "Alright." I let out a sigh. "I''ll reply and.....set up a time and ce to meet her." I resolved myself to this course of action. While I don''t have the same anger I had originally.....I do still have some resentment. Whether I''m unfairly projecting it onto the other people of that family, I don''t know. However, I never cared to find out at this point. I would have been fine to just forget about it, but it seems like I need to finally deal with it head on.


    I willingly went to fight a god, and now I''m hesitating over meeting my.....grandmother.


    "I already had a few things nned in the next few days, along with the meeting with you and Amaterasu, so it''ll be after that."


    "As long as you no longer keep it bottled up." Yasaka smiled. "And you should tell the others."


    "Yeah." I pursed my lips, letting out another sigh. "I feel like Artoria would probably get upset with herself if she finds out I kept my troubles to myself. Some weird logic that she should have also not brought anyone else into her own matters and dealt with them personally."


    "Good, that''s settled. What are you ns, exactly?" she asked curiously. "Going to do anything fun?"


    "Well.....I wanted to go visit Izzy, maybe right after this. I think it''s been long enough to not be awkward after..." I trailed off.


    "You beat up her son?"


    "Yes, that." I deadpanned. "Thankfully, she didn''t seempletely angry, but just mildly upset. Though....." I paused, biting my lip.


    "What? Did something happen?"


    "I don''t know." I said quietly. "I was a bit surprised..." I nced at her as she looked at me expecting an exnation. "She sorta kissed me on the cheek....."


    "Oh, is that it?"


    "What do you mean, ''is that it''?"


    "Oh sweetie." She kissed my cheek herself with a giggle. "You''re so cute when you''re clueless like that. Don''t dwell on it if you don''t want to." She said simply. "Now, what are your ns, I''m curious."


    "I mean, they''re not really anything intricate. I wanted to see Izzy, make sure to clear any air, to properly apologize for what I did. Then I was going to stop over to Remnant, check up on some people. I have a few friends there I hadn''t seen and I kinda miss them."


    "How long will you be there?"


    "I don''t know." I shrugged. "But I can time it well enough that I''m not gone more than a day from this world''s perspective. Hell, I might swing by a few ces on my way back just to check up on things. It''ll only take a few hours from my perspective even."


    "Hmm, that''s convenient." She nodded in approval. "Atleast you won''t feel rushed into anything then. Maybe I should have a book written up on etiquette for you to study while you''re away?"


    "Oh my, look at the time." I abruptly stood up. "I should really get going."


    "You silly man." Sheughed. "Come here. If you''re heading out, I want my goodbye kiss." She didn''t wait before pulling me in. That familiar vor I associated with her quickly filled my mouth.


    There was a part of me that didn''t want to leave, but that was pretty normal with any of my girls. "So, I was wanting to offer to unlock your Aura." I spoke after breaking the kiss.


    "You spring that up on me right as you''re leaving." She said dryly.


    "Well, obviously I''m not going to do it now." I rolled my eyes. "But I wanted you to think about it. And, I wanted Jinn''s opinion before I tried it on you, if you epted that is. It''s never been done on a Youkai, so I don''t'' know what would happen."


    "From what I understand, there shouldn''t really be any issues. So I don''t exactly have a reason to not ept it. Getting stronger is always a plus. I''ve felt that I''ve hit a teau in recent years with my own training to the point where I haven''t been taking it that seriously."


    "An all around physical boost, as well as a nice protective shield that can take a good amount of damage. Not to mention gaining a Semnce."


    "Alright, alright. I''m convinced." She kissed my forehead. "I''ll bring it up with Jinn next I see her. You go make sure Izanami isn''t upset. Takamagahara above, we don''t need that when Lady Amaterasues down. And you''ll be happy to know that Susanoo returned home, so you don''t have to be wary of him either."


    "I ever tell you how amazing you are?" I wrapped her up.


    "Hmm, yes. But you should do it more often." She gave that mischievous smile of hers.


    ***


    [You look like you''re walking to your funeral] Ddraigmented


    "Well.....I kinda messed up and I know she was upset." I let out a sigh.


    [It all worked out.]


    "I still beat up her son. Well, I think she didn''t care as much about that as the act of doing it. I basically went behind her back and took matters into my own hands." I wasn''t oblivious to the potential lines I crossed.


    [Hmm, think she forgave you then?]


    "No idea. But that''s what I got the flowers for." I held up the bouquet that I picked up beforeing over. "Apparently Lilies are supposed to be interpreted as an ''Apology'' flower in some aspects."


    I walked up to her house, and I was a little surprised when the door didn''t swing open upon my arrival. Instead, I had to knocked on it a couple times and wait there for a few moments.


    It''s possible she isn''t home ¨C


    And right on cue, the door swung open. Izzy stood there in the threshold, arms crossed, staring at me. "Wilhelm." She said evenly.


    She was amicablest time, even if she was upset, probably because she was in ''mother'' mode with Susanoo around. I don''t have the benefit of that anymore.


    "Izzy ¨C " I paused looking at her expression. "Izanami." I corrected.


    She frowned at that. "Since when do you call me that?" She snorted, stepping out of the way. "Well, are you going toe in?"


    I perked up a little as she gestured inside. I guess it was still good that I could still call her that. Maybe I was imagining how upset she actually was? Regardless, she was owed an apology and I would give it to her.


    She mmed the door behind us as I walked inside. She eyed me and the flowers in my hands. "I''ll go get a vase." She still didn''t say much as she went the kitchen. I only heard a few cupboards open and closing, some things being moved around and the water running before she came back out. She unceremoniously grabbed them, but it was almost gentle as she carefully ced them inside the vase. Honestly, I think she quirked a smile as she arranged them in a way that pleased her. "Now, are you going to speak, or just keep standing there in silence?" She looked up at me.


    "I''m sorry." I finally blurted out.


    "Oh, and what are you sorry about?" She crossed her arms again, staring at me expectantly.


    I opened my mouth and closed it again. I wanted to make sure I properly voiced my thoughts.


    "Are you perhaps apologizing for beating up my son?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "No." I shook my head. "Honestly, I don''t think you even care about that part. He''s a God, he was healed in no time after the fight. The only thing that was harmed was his ego."


    "Wilhelm, this isn''t a good apology." She said dryly.


    "I''m not done." I said awkwardly. "I''m not apologizing for that. I''m apologizing for taking it upon myself to try and ''fix it''. For shoving my nose where it didn''t belong. I had no business taking matters into my own hands, yet I did so anyways. But most of all, I''m sorry for putting you in that position. Between me and your son."


    "I forgive you."


    I blinked, staring at her. "Just like that?"


    "Did you expect me to kick you out or get angry?" Izzy huffed. "You acknowledged what you did was wrong. You gave me a genuine apology. I won''t hold onto any sort of grudge or anger since nothing unfortunate happened." She stated. "I forgive you, Wilhelm."


    "Oh....I didn''t expect it to be that....easy."


    "You came back." She muttered. "That means more to me than you can understand."


    Ah....I can see how that''s a tender spot for her. "I''m sorry." I repeated.


    "I know. And I''m d you''re back." She smiled gently. "And thank you for the flowers. I don''t believe anyone has ever given me flowers before."


    I couldn''t help but chuckle. "My mom jokingly told me when I was young. If I ever upset a girl I care about, I should bring her flowers when I apologize."


    "Your mother was a smart woman." Izzy praised. "I suspect you brought her many flowers when you were younger."


    "The first time I got in trouble after hearing that. I ran outside and found a Dandelion a few houses down. I was so excited that I ran back and didn''t even realize the little bits already scattered as I gave it to her. She looked so confused when I handed her basically a stem with a shit-eating-grin on my face."


    "And it seems your foolishness hasn''t changed much, only the scale."


    "Yeah, I deserve that one." I couldn''t really argue with that. "So, bringing your children back up. Apparently, Amaterasu is going to make an appearance before Yasaka for the first time in forever. And my presence was ''requested''." I made sure to add thatst bit in air quotes.


    "Wilhelm.....don''t beat up my daughter."


    "Do you really have to ask me that?''


    "Do I need to bring up Susanoo?''


    "It was one time."


    "Yes, it was only one time you beat up my son."


    We shared a look before bothughing at the absurdity of it all.


    "I promise, I''ll try my darndest to not do anything." I said with all honesty.


    "Good. Don''t even bring me up if you can help it. Though, I suspect it''ll be mentioned regardless, since it''s easy to guess why she''s descended in the first ce." Izzy sighed. "Just....tread carefully."


    "Yeah, I got it. Yasaka''s Patron Goddess, your Daughter. Lots of intertangled rtionships all about. I''m content to sit back and let Yasaka do the talking." I knew this already, but I wanted her to know too. I felt like she at least deserved to know that I would be talking to her daughter.


    "Thank you for telling me. There isn''t much I can do with that information, but I am appreciative of it nheless. Now, tell me what you''ve been up to. You look exhausted, have you been causing more problems?" She inquired.


    "It wasn''t me this time." I let out a sigh. "So, you hear anything about the Pendragon family?"


    "That Western Family, no. But now that you mention it, I assume something urred?" She tilt her head.


    Well, it''s interesting that even Izzy hasn''t heard any news about it. "Artoria wanted to.....pay them a visit. Show them the error of their ways after she heard some unsavory details."


    "Oh, yes. I can imagine how that went. Most families like that have quite a few skeletons in their closets."


    "Tell me about it. Fucking kids in cages." We somehow took the conversation to the couch without even noticing., I leaned my head on her shoulder as I let out a yawn and continued. "I may as well start from the beginning."


    ***


    Small Interlude: Azazel POV


    "I don''t understand why you wont let me go."


    "Dammit Vali, I told you already. Do the words ''Political Shitstorm'' mean nothing to you?" I sighed for the tenth time in the past 10 minutes.


    "Nope." He said shamelessly. "Why do I gotta worry about all that crap? I just wanna go fight the red bastard."


    "Besides our rtionship." I snorted. "You''re a prominent member of the Grigori, so your actions reflect on us. How the hell do you think they''d take it if you waltz on over and pick a fight with someone who went toe to toe with Susanoo?"


    "Don''t know, don''t care." He shrugged. "I''m White, he''s Red, it shouldn''t matter about all that crap."


    "Dammit Vali." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You don''t even know if it was the Boosted Gear."


    "It was red, and on his arm. Even Albion said it looked like the Boosted Gear."


    "Do you have any idea how many ''Red Gauntlet'' Sacred Gears there are?"


    "Like two? Boosted Gear and Twice Critical. So I got a 50/50 chance at the very least. And even if I''m wrong, he''s pretty strong, so it''d be a good fight."


    "Nope." I shook my head. "You''re dead wrong there, kiddo."


    "What? The hell I am."


    "Let me put it this way, what exactly is a ''Twice Critical?"


    "Uh, that shitty Sacred Gear that mimics Ddraig''s Boosting ability?"


    "And where do you think thates from? The Boosted Gear houses Ddraig''s soul. What powers the Twice Critical?"


    Vali blinked, looking thoughtful.


    "I''ll give you a hint. What do you think happened to the Heavenly Dragon''s bodies?"


    "Wait, seriously?"


    "Yup. Pops took their bodies and experimented with them early on. Tried to make something useful out of them."


    "Now Albion''s throwing a fit. He wants to know if there are any Sacred Gears with his ability floating around like the Twice Critical...well, now he''s saying it''s not fair that only Twice Critical is know and not a variation of his ability."


    Those two dragons, always sopetitive.


    "There aren''t any based on Albion''s Divine Dividing ability. First, Dear old Dad went through most of your stuff trying to perfect the transfer and make sure it ''stuck'' onto a physical form. Yours was much harder to managed due to the nature of ''dividing'' something ELSE as opposed to Ddraig''s ability to double the owner''s own power. By the time he managed to get some headway, there wasn''t much left of you to work with."


    Vali groaned, holding his head. "Albion''s now gloating that he was ''too strong'' to be copied like Ddraig."


    Of course that''s his takeaway.


    Whatever.


    "Anyways. So, Dad had pretty much all of Ddraig to work with, so he just made like a couple hundred Twice Critical." I shrugged. "I got a store room in myb with a couple dozen of them. I spent a few years picking them apart, finding any differences. There are some stronger than others. I think there''s one in particr that''s the cream of the crop, but I don''t know where that one is. Otherwise, the others are just mediocre tools not even qualified to be mentioned with other Sacred Gears."


    I pped my hands. "So, no need to go over there."


    "I still wanna go."


    "Dammit Vali, I said no!"


    "Fuck you, I''m going."


    "I''ll ground you."


    "Pfft, try it, bitch."


    "I''ll go tell Lavinia you''re causing trouble."


    "...fuck you." Vali spat out, seething, but he wouldn''t push it again. There were many things Vali could handle, Lavinia scolding him was not one of them. He''d never admit it, but she was basically his older sister. "I can''t even go find Bikou for a fight cause that old monkey called him back for some shit. The fuck am I supposed to do now?"


    "I''ll tell you what, why don''t I go over there and meet with Yasaka? I might be able to get a few answers if I approach with something good. Maybe then we can figure this out, and if he''s the wielder of the Boosted Gear, maybe we can set up a fight or something?" He wouldn''t drop it, even if he relented for now. May as well make sure he doesn''t cause any trouble when it finally happens.


    "Really?" He eyed me skeptically.


    "Vali, would I lie to you?"


    "Without a second fucking thought."


    "Hurtful." I clutched my heart.


    I admit, I do want to see about getting my hands on those Sacred Gears she has. She denied mest time, but after the attack they suffered, they''re probably hurting for resources.


    Well, I doubt she can deny my ''generosity'' this time~


    ***


    Chapter number two. Due to my mistake, my Beta wasn''t able to go over this one, so sorry for the fact that this one probably has more mistakes than usual.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me,. visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 250 - 236

    <h4>Chapter 250: Chapter 236</h4>


    Author''s Note.


    In light of the update, know that I do cross post on Fan fiction Dot Net


    ***


    "You ready?" I asked Raikou as she fixed her hair.


    "I believe so, but I''m unsure of what I am supposed to be ready for." She looked at me as she adjusted her blouse. She looked quite beautiful, an elegance to her that was hard to put into words.


    "It''s a surprise." I smiled.


    "Your Mother is curious now." She shared my smile. "Whatever it is, I''m happy to spend time with you. However, I have told Yasaka that I would be avableter today..."


    "It''s fine, it won''t take all day. Just....treat this is a date, a few hours just for us."


    "My son is taking me out for a date." Raikou fidgeted in ce, looking very excited. "Your Mother has never been on a date before."


    "I know, that''s why I wanted to do something for you" I reached out and grabbed her hand. "I admit that I had trouble finding something that would be special, but I think I found something a little interesting."


    "Oh? You didn''t need to go through the effort. I am your Servant, I''m here to help you in any way. You don''t need to worry about me."


    "Don''t be silly." I poked her shoulder. "You''re also my woman, so I''m going to make sure you''re happy. Now...shall we go?"


    "I would be delighted~" She preened as I opened a portal to our destination.


    It was not in a ''supernatural'' part of the world. I wanted this to be a rather normal experience. Though, what was mundane for me would be something utterly new for her, so I hoped this worked out.


    Raikou eyed everything around us. Even as we walked out of the secluded spot I dropped us in, she curiously gazed at everything as we walked down the street.


    "Master, what are we doing?" She still seemed confused as I led her around the winding roads of the city.


    "Right here." I lightly tugged on her hand. "I reserved it for a few hours."


    She tilted her head, looking at the building. I wasn''t surprised that she was confused as it probably wasn''t something obvious to her or part of the modern knowledge deposited by the grail. How many holes were there in the information that was given?


    I pushed the door open, the studio we walked into wasn''t veryrge but it had a good atmosphere.


    "Hi, can I help you?" A woman at the counter asked.


    "I have an appointment, Schweinorg." I replied.


    "Oh, great. We just got everything set up. Let me run back and tell the boss you''re here." She smiled, before excusing herself.


    "Master?" Raikou said quietly.


    "You know, it''s a normal thing these days for families to have photos decorating their homes. I thought it appropriate for us to get some mom-son pictures taken."


    "M-mother and son pictures?" She repeated.


    "Yup. All the photos you could want, as many as you want, however you want to show off. Just the two of us." I grinned. "Your son wants to show everyone his amazing mom." I squeezed her hand.


    She made some very cute noises, I don''t quite think she knew how to react. "Your Mother.....your Mother is very happy." She finally settled on. A face half about to cry and half smiling so brightly.


    I knew her view as my Mother was something very important to her. So, I wanted to spoil her a bit, let her have her way. It''s not like we had a normal kind of rtionship, so what was the harm in doing something like this? To ept the role she had thrust upon herself, and allowed her to act as my ''mom'' for certain periods of time.


    I wanted her happy.


    "Mr. Schweinorg, we''re ready for you." The woman came back out, gesturing for us.


    Raikou practically skipped forward as we walked back to the studio portion of the building. It wasabout what you would expect, a bunch of different backgrounds, a bunch of cameras and equipment for this sort of thing.


    "So, how do you two want to do this? We have a number of options avable." There was a second woman behind the camera, looking at us.


    "Hmm, what''re themon ones that parents their children get together?" I asked.


    Well, she only stared at us for a moment before answering. I guess it was strange, considering Raikou didn''t look that much older than me....


    "I have some samples here if you''re interested...?"


    "Oh, yes. I would love to see some." Raikou perked up.


    "Wonderful." She stood up, walking towards some cabs and rummaged through them a bit. "Here we are, some past work I''ve done." Sheid them out for us to see.


    Granted, they were mostly done for infants or children, but Raikou didn''t seem to care. "Oh, do you have this backround? What about this coloring?"


    "We do" The Photographer just smiled at Raikou''s eagerness. "But how about this color right here? I think it''ll match the darker color of your hair well, which contrasts your.....sons red hair."


    I took a back seat, letting Raikou choose everything. While some concepts and things were still foreign to her, she was able to pick up the gist of it all pretty easily. She spoke with the photographer for what felt like hours finding the right things, the perfect setups.


    I didn''t speak up, just intent on watching her have fun with it. That look of utter joy on her face the entire time, it certainly made my heart beat faster.


    Time really did fly by when you had fun. While I wouldn''t consider this something particrly enthralling, it was easy to get swept up into Raikou''s enthusiasm. We eventually got seated and started on the pictures


    "How about a silly one to start off?" The Photographer asked.


    "Oh, like this?" Raikou giggled, smooshed our faces together as she stuck out her tongue.


    I reached out and pulled on her cheek, earning another giggle from her as the camera shed.


    "That''s good. How about we transition into some subtle ones. Wilhelm, why don''t you lock arms with Raikou."


    "Like this?" I asked, scooting a little so we were a bit closer and taking her arm in mine.


    "Good.....and Raikou, how about you put your hand on his and tilt your chin up just a little bit." The Photographer adjusted a few things on her camera. "Good, good. Wilhelm, don''t slouch."


    "Got it." I made sure to straighten my back.


    "Perfect, now don''t move." She stated, the camera shed some more. "Oh, these are going to turn out well. Why don''t you bothe and take a look, see what you''re working with?"


    "Yes, please!" Raikou shot up and hastily walked over. I couldn''t help but chuckle and follow after. "Oh, it''s wonderful!" She eximed. "Look, look ¨C" She pulled me over. "My son is so handsome!"


    Huh, they were pretty well done. I mean, I would hope so, she is pretty expensive. Not that money was really an issue for me, but it''s a matter of principal. "I love them. However, can we try some without the space between us? I feel like it detracts a little bit. How about instead of locked arms, we try putting ourselves, shoulder to shoulder?"


    "Hmmm." The Photographer rubbed her chin. "I can see that. Yeah, lets give that a try too."


    "Yes, lets try everything." Raikou nodded happily.


    Well, I booked us for several hours, so everything it''ll be.


    ***


    Raikou clung tightly to me as we went back home. The sheer joy she showed on her face was something to behold.


    "So, you wanna hang these up?" I offered.


    "I would love to." She beamed even more. "Do you have a preference where?" She asked.


    "Nope, put them up however you want." I gave her free rein to show them off.


    Usually, it''d take several hours to get everything sorted, pictures developed and edit or what have you. However.....money can often make things run much quicker. Throw a stack of money on the table and ask for them to be quick about it, and I had the stuff in my hand within an hour.


    And it was good quality too.


    They even framed them and everything.


    Well, I did probably pay the rent for their building for the next couple years.


    "Oh, I like this one right here." She set it on the mantle in the living room. "Right next to the one with us standing next to each other. Perfect." She eximed. "And I like this one with my head on your shoulder~" She giggled to herself.


    Definitely worth any effort if I could see her like this.


    "Hey, Raikou." I reached out, tugging on her sleeve.


    "Yes, Master?"


    "I got something I wanna add." I took out one of my most precious items. It was the only thing I took from that house when I burned it down. "I think this would go good right next to the ones of us."


    "Is that....?"


    "It''s me and my mom." I said quietly. "It''s the only picture I have of her. Personally, I think it looks great right here, what do you think?"


    Raikou reached out, gently rubbing her fingers along it. "I...very much agree. Thank you, Master. Thank you for treating me as someone important enough to be ced next to her..."


    "Raikou." I brushed her hair back a little bit. "You are important to me, please don''t think otherwise."


    "Master....." I could see her quiver again.


    Well, if there was ever a moment. I slowly stepped forward and moved my head in as I gently ced my lips to hers. I could feel the instant reciprocation as she deepened the kiss, her arms grabbing hold of me.


    She sort of pouted as she finally pulled away. Her little Kaleidophone buzzed.


    "Gotta go?" I asked. We had been gone for awhile, probably more than intended.


    "Yes..." She muttered, fiddling with it a she apparently worked it out at some point.


    "You going to take the extra copies with you to show off?"


    "Un." She replied without a hint of shame.


    Yup, that''s my Raikou.


    ***


    "Boo." I popped up behind Jinn as she worked in her ¨C my workshop


    She practically jumped up. "Will!" She eximed.


    "Too cute." Iughed wrapping her up.


    "You always do that." She pouted. "What if I was working on something important?"


    "Well, the I wouldn''t have done it." I nuzzled her neck. "You think I''d really sabotage you?"


    She let out that cute huff of hers. "No."


    "How you been?" I asked.


    "Good. I was finally able to test my spells on those magicians from that organization, so it gave me some data to correct and change some things." She perked up the way she always done when talking about Magic.


    "I''m curious to see it. I heard the way you took how all those magicians by yourself."


    "They were mediocre." She shrugged. "I don''t think that Magicians Association wanted to send anyone worth wile. I guess the ''Teacher'' that came along was decent but he was just so straight forward I didn''t really have to try."


    "Oh well. I''m sure you''ll get the opportunity to test things more thoroughly in the future."


    "Well, things like that keep happening, so that''s a forgone conclusion." Sheughed. "But, I haven''t seen Artoria in a couple days....admittedly I''ve been cooped up in here. But is she doing okay?"


    "About as well as expected. Rin''s been sticking close too, and giving me updates that way. She''s the sort of person who focuses intently on things and tends to push others to the side. Mordred''s used to dealing with this, so she''d been helping as well."


    I wanted to give her some time to settle everything without any major distractions. Obviously, I did check in and everything, but I wouldn''t pull her attention away too much. Atleast, I''d give it until I got back from Remnant to make sure she''s good.


    "Hmm. That whole thing was a mess." Jinn sighed. "I''ve seen enough things like that in Remnant, but to also see it in person is...disgusting. I hope those poor people can recover."


    "It''ll take time, but we''ve got the stuff to fix them." I reassured her. "And speaking of Remnant, I was going to pop over for a little bit."


    "Are you asking me toe with?"


    "Eh, not so much asking, as just informing you what I had nned. I didn''t want to assume anything, but of course the offer is open."


    "I see." She looked down, appearing deep in thought. "I''m still a little scared to go back. Can I stay here?"


    "Of course, you can, you silly girl." I kissed her forehead. "I''m not going to force you into things like that."


    "Thank you." She whispered.


    "Anything you want me to pick up or that you need from there while I''m over?"


    "More dust, probably. Not that we''re running out, but it''s good to have lots." She looked contemtive. "Are you going over to see Salem again?"


    "Maybe...is that something you''re against?"


    "Maybe?" She repeated. "I don''t know, it''s weird I guess. I never thought I''d be in a situation where I have a --- lover? And here I am, the Spirit of Knowledge with a man to call my own. I thought I would exist solely to give knowledge to hopefuls that Ozma brought with him to wage war on her." She let out a groan as she paused in what she was saying, rubbing her head. "These stupid restrictions, still annoying."


    "At the very least, it''d probably be beneficial for Remnant if she was more concerned about you flirting with her than whatever else it is she does." Jinn added


    Vague words to get around her restrictions, but I could read between the lines. "I also wanna see my friends, or alteast call them. Well, Roman and the others, it''s probably best that I stilly low, but I wanna hear from Pyrrha again."


    "Pyrrha''s a nice girl, you do need to talk to her some more." Jinn nodded in approval.


    "It''s fun to tease her too." I grinned.


    "You''re bad." She huffed, pping my shoulder. "That poor girl. And you need to tell me what''s happened since I''ve left. I''m way too curious about how your whole ''situation'' ended up. Are you still a wanted criminal? Are you called the Dildo Warrior? There''s so many questions I need answers to."


    I couldn''t help butugh, remembering how I took that bullhead out. "I''ll make sure to bring you an update. There was a question I wanted to ask you. I thought about just springing it as a surprise, but I thought you''d rather have a heads up."


    "Hmm?"


    "Well, I wanted to take you out on a date, and I thought going to the beach would be fun? I figured you''ve never seen one in person before..."


    "Oh." She blinked." OH! Yes!" She eximed. "I''d absolutely love that!" She squealed wrapping her arms around me. "I''ve never been to the ocean, nor had a date!"


    Yup, she probably would enjoy nning things out properly. "How about we do that when I get back?"


    "Kya! You''re the best." She hastily pressed her lips to mine, giving me a sloppy kiss. "I can''t wait!"


    Jinn''s excitement was interrupted as the door opened up. Sc¨¢thach stood there, looking at us. "I heard screaming." She said simply.


    "Woops, got a little too excited." Jinn said bashfully.


    "Hey, d you''re here." I looked towards my teacher even with Jinn still in my arms. "I was going to pop over to Remnant, you want or need anything while I''m there?"


    "The world Jinn hails from that is besieged by those monsters?" Sc¨¢thach asked.


    "Yup."


    "If it is no trouble, I would actually wish to travel along there as well." Sc¨¢thach replied.


    "You wannae to Remnant?" I was surprised by her decision.


    "Hmm, I wanted to roam around and y some beasts. I was feeling a bout of nostalgia, and I did not wish to bring more trouble if I searched out foes upon this world for the moment. I merely desired to journey for a few days without any consequences."


    "Oh please, feel free to kill as many Grimm as you want, it would definitely help." Jinn said immediately.


    "I will kill many for you then." Sc¨¢thachughed. "Do we have a departure time?"


    "I was just about to head out. You need me to wait for anything?"


    "Should you inform the others?" She questioned.


    "Eh, I wasn''t going to be away that long. I figured we could more or less be back within a day of this world''s time-line with some good calctions."


    "Very well. I do wish to stretch these old muscles of mine. I have a soreness between my legs that will persist unless I move around." She shot me a little smirk.


    "Oh, I want details when you get back~" Jinn understand the subtext immediately.


    "Fufu, I will dly give them." Sc¨¢thach adopted that amused smile on her face as she eyed me "Shall we go then, my Student? I will not get in the way of any business you wish to take care of."


    While I would never consider her ''in the way'' I could take that as her just wanted to roam around without any direction.


    "Sure, let''s go." I flicked my hand, creating a link to the world-line of Remnant.


    Well, there wasn''t much to think about. Should I feel bad for the Grimm about to be on the receiving end of her spear?


    Even in the worse case scenario, what could possibly happen that worsens things there even more?


    ***


    Some slice of life stuff between everything that''s been going on. Also, if you don''t see it, I''m uploading a side story as well. Be on the look out.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 251: Pok茅mon Side Story Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 251: Pok¨¦mon Side Story Part 1</h4>


    Author''s Note.


    In light of the update, know that I do cross post on Fan fiction Dot Net


    ***


    "Why?" I looked at Zelretch.


    "Don''t be obtuse, Wilhelm. You know why." Zelretch responded.


    "No, I get the whole ¨C " I waived my hand flippantly. " ¨C The Reasoning, I suppose. But Why THIS specifically?"


    "I thought you would enjoy it."


    "I mean...I do? I''m absolutely giddy at the idea. But I''m still stuck in my previous mindset. So I reiterate, why?"


    "Well, a Vacation would do you good."


    "I got that part, yes. But you keep dancing around the elephant in the room." I gestured towards the yellow creature on hisp.


    "Don''t be jealous." He said smugly.


    "I''m...only 30% jealous. Still very curious where you''re going with this whole nonsense."


    "Pika pika" The yellow creature replied.


    "And why do you have a Pikachu?"


    "Why not?"


    "That''s....a fair response. But out of all Pok¨¦mon in existence ¨C which there is apparently a universe you''re familiar with and go to ¨C why a Pikachu?"


    He shrugged. "They''re iconic."


    The Pikachu just nodded.


    I just grumbled, slumping in my chair. "I feel like I''m being put in time out more than being sent on a vacation."


    "Well, it''s not like you have a choice." Zelretch replied. "You''re going on a vacation, that much is certain. All my wonderful Granddaughters already agreed. And you can''t use them as an excuse since they''re all busy."


    Of course they would coordinate with him and do their own ''girls'' time. They were a bit vague on the details, but they went to a spa and resort or something. Not that I would ever fault them for doing such a thing. I''m happy they spend time together and get along, I''m happy that they take the time to do things like this outside of me ¨C to have their own desires and lives to live.


    "Kunou" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Sleep over with Rin and Ruby." Zelretch countered. "Then I''m getting her for our own bonding. Lucretia and I are taking her out to have some fun."


    Fuck that''s cute.


    Goddammit.


    "You''re really forcing this on me."


    "Yup."


    "Fine." I said with a scowl. "Send me to your smelly Pok¨¦mon world. I guess I''ll be a Pok¨¦mon master or whatever."


    "I thought you''d be more excited."


    "I am excited. I''m also a bit annoyed that it''s against my will. So, I will have fun under protest."


    "eptable. So, where do you want to go?"


    "Eh, fuck it. Send me to the beginning." I shrugged. "Not that it really matters."


    "I figured. I too the liberty of signing you up for the beginners'' sses at the local Pok¨¦mon Center that you''ll be arriving at."


    "Dammit Gramps, really?"


    "Hey, this is important. You might learn a thing or two."


    "Now I''m more annoyed." I groaned. "Fuck it, just...send me over. And I''m bringing Sir Wiggles as my starter."


    "Sure." He didn''t argue with that.


    "Bitchin." I took him out immediately. "Well, lets get started."


    ***


    Admittedly, I probably did need a vacation. But I still hated being ''forced'' into this. Might just be my rebellious personality that hates doing things because if ''have to''.


    The air was.... pleasant. Immediately as I arrived in this world, everything felt so serene and wonderful.


    Sir Wiggles bounced around, investigating everything in the immediate vicinity. Zelretch had themon sense to deposit us away from anyone, but I could still see therge Pok¨¦mon Center down the road.


    Luckily, I was familiar with the universe as I had yed the games when I was younger. This wasn''t exactly an umon thing, for a universe to make its way into a type of media that we think pure fiction in another world. Hell, Zelretch told me a story how we were ''fiction'' somewhere else. I tried to pump him for that information, but he always changed the subject. Probably because I asked him about the porn....


    Regardless.


    Pok¨¦mon, and the Kanto region at that. Well, I said the beginning, and it basically all started here.


    With Sir Wiggles on my head, I officially begun my journey....to the Pok¨¦mon Center. Because apparently my adult ass has to take a ''training course'' or some other shit.


    I enjoyed the small walk into this quaint little town ¨C or whatever you''d call it. Thend that made up this ce was extensive, but it wasn''t really...centered on any one location. The Pok¨¦mon Center, which should have been a hub of activity, wasn''t seeing much traffic at all. Not to mention, there were very few buildings around it in the first ce.


    The automatic doors slid open; a burst of cool air greeted me as I stepped inside the Pok¨¦mon Center. I honestly didn''t know why they called them this when they practically doubled as a hospital. Well, I suppose with the magical healing avable, the Pok¨¦mon services were their primary resource avable.


    "Oh, a guest." I looked up to see a pink-haired woman at the counter. "We don''t get many new faces around here. Are you perhaps that ¨C Wilhelm I was told about?" She smiled brightly towards me.


    "Indeed I am." I straightened my tie. "And you must be Nurse joy." I walked over, leaning against the counter. "It''s an absolute pleasure to meet you." I gave her my most charming smile.


    Ill admit, Nurse Joy is a bit of a childhood crush for me...


    And I guess Zelretch already prepared everything.


    "Wonderful." She did a little p. "I''m the Nurse Joy of Chrome Town. And ording to your...Grandfather?" She looked down at a clipboard she had. "You''re here for some remedial lessons."


    "Any chance I could skip the lessons?" I had to try.


    "Hmm, not if you want to be a legal trainer. It''s rare for someone your age to start thiste, but we still have to make sure you know the basics before sending you off."


    "Oh well." I sighed. "I suppose it won''t be too bad to spend some time with such a lovely woman."


    "Oh, you charmer." She yfully waived her hand at me. "Now, I have to ask...what''s that Pok¨¦mon ontop your head?"


    I looked up,pletely forgetting mypanion. I lifted him up for her to get a better look. "This is Sir Wiggles; he''s been mypanion for awhile."


    "I''ve never seen a Pok¨¦mon like this before.....what type is he?"


    "...electric? He''s a.... Jackalope." I blinked realizing I hadn''t thought that far ahead. "And hees from a ....far away region."


    "Oh, how cute." Nurse Joy cooed. Points to her professionalism, she didn''t immediately try to pet him. You never know if a Pok¨¦mon is dangerous or not. "Do you have a Poke ball for him yet?"


    "I do not." I admitted.


    "Oh, that isn''t a big deal. Your Grandfather left several, among some other things, for when youplete your lessons."


    Of course he did.


    "Alright, so what do I have to do? Is it some type of seminar that takes multiple days? Do I have a written test I have to do, what''s up?"


    "Oh, none of that. We do that sort of thing for the younger ones who are barely into their teens. But for Adults, well.....we assume they can handle themselves already. This is just a brief overview of some important things you need to know when dealing with Pok¨¦mon."


    I perked up a little bit. Maybe it wouldn''t be so bad? I''m here to rx, so I should probably just calm down. It doesn''t do me any good to keep this stress with me when I''m in a literal Pok¨¦mon world.


    "Now, where did I put that ¨C" She started shuffling around looking for something.


    "Chansey!" An adorable voice echoed out as an automatic door slid open. The cutest Pok¨¦mon came waddling over, holding a poke ball in its hands. She was a bit round, stubby hands and feet, with an egg and pouch on her stomach.


    "Oh, thank you, Chansey, I had forgotten where I put that."


    "Is....that a Chansey?" I said quietly, eyeing the Pok¨¦mon.


    Nurse Joy giggled. "Don''t get any ideas." She wagged her finger. "Chansey are a protected Pok¨¦mon and illegally using one as a Traineres with some hefty penalties."


    "No, no." I waived her off. "I just wanted...." I bit my lip, looking at the Chansey. "C-can I hug you?"


    "Chansey?" It looked at me in surprise.


    I could more or less guess what it was asking. "Why wouldn''t I want to hug the cutest Fairy-type Pok¨¦mon? I''ve seen pictures when I was a kid, and you are the most huggable Pok¨¦mon ever."


    "Fairy Type?" Nurse Joy asked in confusion.


    "Well, I guess she isn''t technically a Fairy-Type, but she has a lot of Fairy-Type moves. Just something I used to think when I was a kid."I blinked for a moment before clicking my tongue. "Ah, I forgot that you lot haven''t discovered Fairy-Types yet, ignore what I said." The Chansey seemed actually excited by my request.


    Actually, I think Charizard wasn''t a dragon in its early iterations too. Well, this isn''t a fake card game or one of the many video games.


    Still going to call her a Fairy, because she is an absolute delight.


    10/10 most huggable Pok¨¦mon.


    "Chansey, Chansey!" She held her tiny little arms out.


    I quickly wrapped her up, the adorable pink ball of love hugged me tight.


    "Can you please borate on what you said about Fairy Types?" Nurse Joy asked.


    "Oh, well, you notice how Chansey have a few moves that are especially strong against Dragon-types?" I said, still holding the adorable Pok¨¦mon.


    "Chan-Chansey." The Pok¨¦mon confirmed too.


    "I have noticed that. It''s why we always have a Chansey nearby when a Charizard needs healing." Nurse Joy nodded.


    "Yeah, Fairy Types are pretty much immune to Dragon-types." I booped the Chansey on the nose.


    "Chansey~" She returned the gesture.


    Nurse Joy looked like she short circuited.


    "What, something wrong?" I tilt my head.


    "W-wrong? No....nothing is wrong." She just stared off into space, muttering something about a Champion and a dragon trainer.


    I don''t know, I wasn''t really paying attention.


    I was mostly focused on this adorable ball of energy!


    The greedy part in me really wanted one of my own. I wonder if Kunou would like a Chansey? I''m sure I could use that as an excuse to.....acquire one without any of my girls getting upset.


    "Ahem." Nurse Joy cleared her throat. "We should get started...I have an easy lesson to start off with should you follow me." She gestured out the door.


    ***


    "Wilhelm, meet Geodude. Geodude, Wilhelm." She gestured back and forth.


    "Geo" The hovering rock Pok¨¦mon raised its hand


    "Sup." I waived.


    "Now, Wilhelm." Nurse Joy raised her hand up, revealing the Poke Ball from earlier. "You''re going to practice catching Geodude here. Don''t worry, he''s done this plenty of times and he''s a good sport about it."


    "I have to practice throwing a Poke ball at a Pok¨¦mon?"


    Nurse Joy just shrugged. "Honestly, this is mostly used for kids.....but it''s still legally required."


    "Fair enough." I sighed as she handed me the poke ball. I rolled my eyes, pressing the button andzily throwing it towards him.


    "Geo, Geodude" The Rock Pok¨¦mon floated out of the way.


    I looked at him dryly as he appeared almost smug about it.


    "Oh, I forgot to mention." Nurse Joy let out a little giggle. "Geodude here is a bitpetitive, so you''ll have to be on your game to ''catch him''."


    "Really?" I deadpanned, looking at the Geodude. "You couldn''t just let this go?" Gods this was both embarrassing and stupid.


    "There''s no point if it''s that easy" Nurse Joy giggled.


    But behind her back, the Geodude lifted its hand and extended its middle finger.


    I paused, not even knowing if I was seeing this correctly. "He''s flipping me off!"


    Nurse Joy turned around, furrowing her eyebrow. "Nonsense. Geodude is a kind Pok¨¦mon. He even helps with the children that sometimese around. You must have seen wrong, he''d never do something so naughty." She dismissed it.


    I narrowed my eyes at him.


    "Geo" He made the ''bring it'' motion.


    "So that''s how it''s going to be, huh?" I walked over, picking up the Poke Ball again.


    "Well, it looks like you two are friends already!" Nurse Joy happily pped. "I''ll let you get some practice in and check back in a few minutes." Her expression shifted slightly. "I...have to go make a call." She again muttered something about Fairies, but I was too preupied with the Geodude


    We both watched Nurse Joy leave, though Sir Wiggles was happily sleeping on my head like he often does.


    Without looking, I tossed it at him, only to scowl when he dodged with a mocking gesture to follow.


    I twitched a little when he startedughing.


    I took a deep breath, walking over and picking up the poke ball again.


    "I''m trying to be nice." I tossed it up into the air before catching it again. "Come on, help a guy out and I''ll get some snacks as thankster?" I offered.


    "Geo." The Rock Pok¨¦mon perked up and I took that as confirmation.


    "Thanks, I appreciate it." I smiled, tossing the Poke ball with a bit more ir to it. IF I was going to ''catch'' my first Pok¨¦mon, I guess I should have a little fun with it.


    "Geodude." The Pok¨¦mon replied, smacking the ball out of the air.


    I stared at it.


    It stared back at me.


    "Geo, Geo Geo!" It startedughing, pointing and mocking me.


    I took another deep breath. "Okay." I said calmly, walking over to pick it up again, ignoring its taunts and jeers.


    Pursing my lips, I walked a few meters back to where I was standing before. I took to face the Geodude again who was floating back and forth with a smug look.


    "Okay." I repeated. "Let''s y." My Magical Energy red up around me, as did my Aura. I Reinforced the Poke Ball as I wound back for a throw.


    "G-geodude!?'' The Pok¨¦mon eximed in shock.


    I guess it could sense the shift and the pressure I was now emitting.


    "By all means. Dodge this one." Like a pitcher, I threw the ball as hard as I could. A shockwave exploded out, as the Geodude was carried off into the forest behind the building due to the impact. I could hear the trees falling over in the distance and the cry of a Pok¨¦mon before a red light enveloped the shaded forest.


    "Dick."


    ***


    "Geo, Geo, Geodude!!!" The Rock Pok¨¦mon started pointing at me, shouting angrily.


    "Geodude,e now." Nurse Joy held him back. "You can''t get upset just because you lost a little game."


    I flipped him off behind her back.


    "GEODUDE!" It roared.


    "Chansey." The adorable Fairy walked in, and narrowed her eyes, causing the Rock Type to almost cower in her presence.


    I don''t know what was funnier, the Rock Type cowering before the pudgy Fairy, or the massive bump he was sporting on its head.


    "Well, it looks like tensions are a bit high." Nurse Joy sighed. "How about we switch the lessons up? We can do the mock battle a little earlier. Get a bit of energy out of our systems, hmm?"


    "Geodude!" The Rock Type looked ecstatic, like his eyes were suddenly alight with fire.


    "Meh, sure." I shrugged. "Can I use my Pok¨¦mon?" I pointed towards Sir Wiggles atop my head.


    "Of course." Nurse Joy pped. "It''s good to get some training in for the future. However, you do know about ''types'', right? Geodude is very resistant to Electric types...."


    "Geo, Geodude. Geo." The Rock Pok¨¦monughed, mockingly at Sir Wiggles.


    The images Sir Wiggles sent through our link.....I suddenly felt sorry for this Geodude.


    "Sir Wiggles relishes in the challenge." I held back myugh. "Do you have a specific area...?"


    "Of course." Nurse Joy hummed. "We have an area out back for Pok¨¦mon to....stretch their legs, so to speak. We can use that."


    "Chansey?" The Fairy Pok¨¦mon pointed to itself.


    "Of course you can watch, you adorable muffin." I couldn''t help but hug her again.


    "Chan, Chansey!" It happily eximed.


    The cutest.


    "Follow me, please. We''ll go over right now." Nurse Joy turned around as I followed behind


    The Goedude never dropped that smug look on its face as it kept looking back. I think the fact that I didn''t react just made it more annoyed than if I responded to its provocations.


    Walking through the corridors, I was actually a little curious about this ce. I wonder if she''d be willing to do a tour at some point? This small town, it didn''t appear that she had many tasks on the day to day basis, so who knows.


    "Here we are." Nurse Joy stated, as we walked out back towards an open field. It was a bit torn apart, but I suppose that''s expected when Pok¨¦mon thrown around moves out here.


    "So, since we both know which Pok¨¦mon we''re using, how do you wanna do this?" I took a spot opposite of her, Sir Wiggles bounced off my head andnded on the ground.


    "Well, I guess we can have Chansey be a referee?'' She offered.


    "Chansey!" The Fairy Pok¨¦mon eximed.


    "Sounds good to me."


    "The etiquette is to introduce ourselves to our opponent before the fight, yeah?"


    "That''s true. It''s good that you''re keeping track of those things. It''s important for new Trainers to make friends along the way." Nurse Joy beamed, patting Geodude on the back of the head. "We''ll do it just as the rules says. I''m Nurse Joy, and I challenge you to a Pok¨¦mon battle!"


    Okay, I was a little humored by this whole thing.


    "I''m Wilhelm Schweinorg, and I ept."


    She nodded. "This will be a one on one battle. Defeat will be when either side surrenders, recalls their Pok¨¦mon, or their Pok¨¦mon is unable to continue battle. Chansey will be our official referee. And for future reference, she is a certified referee."


    "Chansey, Chansey!" The Fairy Pok¨¦mon waived happily.


    "Well then, on a count of three, Chansey?" I looked towards her.


    The bubbly Pok¨¦mon turned a bit serious and nodded. She raised her adorably pudgy hand up. "Chansey." She said once.


    "Chansey...." She looked around.


    "Chansey!" She dropped her hand to signal the start of the battle.


    "Geodude, use Rock Throw!" Nurse Joy shouted out.


    "Geo!" The Rock Pok¨¦mon roared, heaving up a massive bolder, and tossed it towards Sir Wiggles.


    "Sir Wiggles.....Dab on him."


    Sir Wiggles stood up on its hind legs, not moving as the massive boulder came crashing down. The mockingughter of Geodude echoed out it smashed against my Familiar.


    "G-geo?" The Pok¨¦mon looked confused as the Boulder shattered upon the magnificence that was Sir Wiggles.


    Or rather, his Aura red up and it sshed harmlessly against it.


    "Our turn then?" I quirked a smile. "Sir Wiggles. Use Thor''s Hammer."


    Then the Sky went dark.


    ***


    "Well....I believe Geodude will make a full recovery.....eventually...." Nurse Joy muttered as she looked over the machines that were healing the Rock Type Pok¨¦mon


    "So, uh.....what else is on the agenda...?" I asked.


    "Oh um....sorry. I didn''t expect Geodude to well....." She looked pale, remembering what Sir Wiggles did. "I''m sorry but I''ll need to watch over him for a few hours. Um....why don''t you take a look around? We have a few Pok¨¦mon that have been left with us over the years, maybe you might be able to convince one toe with you?" She offered.


    Alright, I can take a hint. I''ll go take a hike for a bit. "Sure, I''ll check it out." I waived her off, walking for the back exit again.


    Well, I''m going to need a few more Pok¨¦mon just for logistical issues. I''m pretty sure some challenges require multiple Pok¨¦mon.


    I looked around and there were a few Pok¨¦mon I recognized


    But what caught my attention the most, was the absolute unit of a MagiKarp that was sitting atop the pond out back. It was a bit scared, absolutely massive, and had some strange blue pigment throughout its body.


    Huh.


    All the other Pok¨¦mon were staying clear of it and every so often, it would spit a stream of water out at anything that got close.


    "Oh, Wilhelm!" I turned back to see Nurse Joy running towards. "Phew, I''m d I caught up. I almost forgot to warn you about ¨C " She gestured towards said Magikarp. "He''s a bit aggressive, so I didn''t want you to get hurt."


    "What''s wrong with him?" I asked.


    "It''s.....a sad story." Nurse Joy sighed. "His previous trainer forced it to eat an Everstone right as it was in the midst of evolving."


    "An everstone? The thing that''s supposed to stop evolutions, right?" It has been a few years since I''ve yed the games.


    "Correct." She smiled wryly. "It had an....adverse effect. All the energy that should have got to its Evolution was dispersed, only a small portion making it grow a bitrger. The Stones are tools to help Pok¨¦mon grow into their full potential before taking the next leap forward. What happened her was a tragedy of abuse. Now, this poor Magikarp can never evolve, and it''s always so angry. We''re helpless to do anything about its situation." She sighed.


    "I see....." I said quietly. "Thanks for the warning."


    "You''re wee. I''ll get back to Geodude so we can finish up before the days over." She gave a gentle smile before running back inside.


    [You''re going to take it, aren''t you?]


    "Yup."


    [I can''t wait to see how this turns out.]


    Ddraig always enjoys watching what I get up to. Usually not speaking up unless something concerns him or there''s an issue. Well, he did call himself an observer at some point, so it isn''t that strange.


    The Magikarp stared at me with hate in its eyes as I approached. Without warning, it fired off a stream of water, enough to knock a normal human off their feet and possibly harm them. I didn''t blink an eye as my aura red around me, blocking it easily.


    It paused, staring at me with a mix of confusion and growing anger.


    "I heard you''re an angry little thing." I snorted, watching it try to scowl at me.


    It responded by doubling its efforts, a torrent of water bursting out towards me. I merely raised my hand, blocking it with ease.


    "Are you content tosh out at the world for the bad hand you''ve been dealt?" I asked. I think it heard my words, because the stream of water began to simmer out.


    It didn''t attack again, but stared at me now that I had its attention.


    "Nobody uses Magikarps. All everyone wants are Gyarados, right? For Magikarp, they''re either content to live their lives as their base form, or evolve and be a tyrannical dragon. You had both choices taken from you."


    IF it could roar, I think it would have just done that in a fury.


    "Here you are, quite literally a big fish in a small pond. Any dreams of yours are dashed." I waived my hands around. "So, bully all the smaller Pok¨¦mon to past the time, right? Is that all you want in life now? To just fester in this hate and anger for the rest of your days or until they get tired of trying to help you?"


    The water in the pond began to swirl around the Pok¨¦mon. A telling sign that even though it''s a Magikarp it still should have been a Gyarados ¨C a dragon. So I have an offer for you." I raised my hand to calm the angry fish.


    It paused again, looking at me in confusion. "Magi, Magikarp?"


    "I don''t have an answer to ''heal'' you, but then again, you aren''t broken. So what if you can''t jump the dragon gate, you can''t be a ''dragon''. Instead, I''ll make you this offer." I raised my hand up into the sky, and gathered my lightning discharging it in a massive st that tore through the clouds.


    I squat down, getting eye level with it. "I''ll make you the strongest fucking Magikarp in the world, and I''ll make you a champion."


    Tears began to fall down from its eyes. I didn''t know this species even had tear ducks to be honest. "Karp, Karp, Magikarp!" He shouted with a firm nod.


    "Wonderful, wee to my team ,Magikarp." I reached out, touching its head. "Now''s the most important part."


    "Magikarp?" It questioned me.


    "We gotta get you the clothes to match your new status" I flicked my cor and gestured to the vest Sir Wiggles was wearing.


    The aquatic Pok¨¦mon''s eyes shed brilliantly. "Magikarp." He looked absolutely ted.


    ***


    Just a fun thing I was doing on the side, hence, a side story. Don''t take it too seriously as it doesn''t really tie in with the main story.

 Chapter 252 - 237

    <h4>Chapter 252: Chapter 237</h4>


    "So this is Remnant." I didn''t interrupt Sc¨¢thach as she looked around. It was her first time on a world that was not an iteration of Earth or its connected realms, it was a new experience that I didn''t want to interupt.


    I took us a little ways outside of a medium-sized town that was some distance away from Mistral.


    Honestly, I liked watching her expressions as she inspected everyst detail. Finally, she tilted her head up and looked towards the sky. "To actually see it....." She muttered.


    "Yeah, took me by surprise too." I walked next to her, eyeing that broken Moon in the sky.


    "Jinn told me about her home, but this image really puts things into perspective." Sc¨¢thach had a contemtive look on her face. "I don''t know if such a thing will ever be normal for me."


    Yeah, the Moon back in our home was significantly different in its existence.


    She eventually shook her head and looked away, seemingly content with have checked the surroundings. "Do you have an agenda or did you justing here to y around?" She asked.


    "Yeah, going to check up on some people I know." I nodded. "So you were kind of vague about what you wanted. Anything I can help you with there?"


    "The offer is appreciated, but I just intend to wander around for a period. I was feeling wistful and wish to relive the days I did this before I took over the Land of Shadows. Traveling thend, meeting strange people and equally strange creatures. ying monsters and all manner of viins." She smiled wistfully.


    Well, it seemed like she wanted to y around in her own way. I of course would never fault her, Gods knew my other girls had their own ''me time'', this was simply Sc¨¢thach''s own variation of it.


    "You know enough about the ce?" I asked.


    "I know the broad subjects that Jinn discussed." She nodded. "Monsters known as Grimm, Magic is unknown. Your Aura and such." She waived her hand. "I believe I can made do with that as the remainder seemed simr to Kyoto."


    "That''s not untrue." I said thoughtfully. "Yeah, you can probably bullshit enough. If anyone asks any questions ¨C youe from a remote vige or some other nonsense, people don''t really push. Lets see.....any random things? She probably mention Faunus...." I just shrugged, nothing else came to the top of my head. "I guess you don''t care for me to point you to anything in specific?"


    "Fufu, no I can handle such a thing. I was going to scry a direction to go and take to that." She smiled.


    "Sounds interesting." I stroked my chin. "You''ll tell me of your adventure when you''re done?"


    "Of course." Sheughed. "While I know of these Grimm creatures, I do not know the specific types of them. I am excited to see what foes await my spear."


    "Oh." I perked up. "I got some extra Scrolls..." I looked into my storage ring, pulling out the things I almost forgot about. "The type ofmunication device used here. And I have some of the money they use ¨C Lien." I took out a good chunk for her.


    "My, it''s nice to have my man take care of me." She happily epted it all, putting it into her own storage bracelet.


    "I''ll always take care of you." I wrapped my hands around her from behind, pulling her closer. I snuck a few kisses on her neck as she giggled.


    "Stop it~" She yfully swatted at me. "If you continue, I fear this soreness between my legs will only be further enhanced."


    "You make it hard." I whispered.


    "Mmm." She took a moment and allowed herself to sink into my arms, epting my touch. "Are you sure you will wish to meet whatever target of your affection is here after you fuck me again?"


    Ah, that bluntness of hersbined with her gentle tone, always cute.


    "What do you mean ''target of my affection''?" I questioned her.


    She snorted, breaking from my arms. "Don''t take me for a fool." She lightly tugged at my cheek. "I speak no words of displeasure, my student. However, you know what I expect from you."


    I grumbled, but epted her words. "Alright, there is a woman here I''ve taken a bit of a fancy to. I haven''t really....mitted to anything, and I wanted to see her again."


    Sc¨¢thach nodded, pleased with my answer. "Very well." She quickly kissed my cheek, shing me a warm smile. "I will set off then."


    "Even if I know it''s pointless to say, be safe."


    "Fufu, you are a silly boy." Her eyes softened considerably.


    "Have fun?" I offered as well.


    "I n to." She grinned.


    She gave me onest look before heading off, Runes spinning around her fingers? as she chose a direction to go in.


    I hate to see her leave, but I love to see that ass go.


    ***


    The Grimm Lands were just a Grimmy as they were when I first came here.


    I hummed to myself as my Swords floated around me, slicing up the more simple minded Grimm that didn''t have themon sense to stay away.


    Just likest time, the smarter ones kept a healthy distance


    There were even some variants I had never seen before. Arge Lobster-like one that had the legs of spider.


    That one in particr got burned until only ash remained.


    Otherwise, it was a peaceful little walk to Salem''s castle. Following the towering spires that reached over the bleak forest in the distance. Almost like a nightmarish version of following the yellow brick road, as there was a path, albeit a bit worn out.


    Well, I am here to meet a witch as it were...


    As I approached, I made sure my clothing looked good. My tie was straightened, and no creases I could see after a quick look around. I contemted wearing my hat, but dismissed it. It didn''t feel like a hat moment.


    Luckily, I also had the foresight to get some flowers before I came. An idea after spending time with Izzy and I saw that she enjoyed receiving them.


    There were a few more big Grimm that guarded the castle proper, but even they cowered away. They didn''t move, but therge bear-like nightmares clearly looked like they wanted to be anywhere else.


    [I missed when things cowered in my presence. You don''t know what you got until it''s gone.]


    "Really, Ddraig? That''s what you miss?"


    [Hey, don''t judge me. I spend the majority of my time not even really ''existing'' in the outside world since it usually takes awhile for a new host to awaken me. And don''t even get me started on the ones that don''t or die extremely quickly while I''m still in the form of the Twice Critical.]


    Huh....now I feel bad.


    [I also miss eating.]


    That''s understandable. It''s one of my biggest vices, one that I could pretty much indulge without any consequences due to my Devil Biology. Which brought up an interesting question on if my other ''biologies'' that were added also did something simr?


    [I''ve gained some strange cravings from experiencing what you eat. It''s not unpleasant though.]


    "Hey Ddraig.....why don''t we look for a way to free you?" I felt bad that he was still trapped when he''d helped me so much.


    [.....really?]


    "Of course."


    [Aren''t you scared of losing my power? I don''t want to brag, but I''m pretty damn strong and I''m basically one of the most powerful weapons at your disposal.]


    "You said we were partners before. As your partner, shouldn''t I try to help you? Yeah, it''d suck to lose the Boosted Gear, but if it meant you were free, I think it''d be worth it."


    [.....Do whatever you want, brat.] He grumbled before going silent.


    Well, it would be difficult. He existed as a soul-based form that was held together by the prison that was the Boosted Gear. But if I was confidant in finding a way for me and Meridia to have children, I think this would be a simpler task. Off the top of my head, I could think of a few brute-force methods that might achieve a result, but the consequences were.....unforeseeable.


    I think it''d be better to find a more surefire method.


    Well, it was something to think aboutter. For now, I focused on the dark castle I entered for the second time.


    Surprisingly, there was no one to greet me as I walked right inside. No Salem sitting on her throne, not wonderful legs to sneak nces at as she acted all haughty.


    It''s unlikely she wasn''t aware of my presence, so she must be preupied at the moment. Well, she gave me pretty much free rein toe and go, I may as well walk around.


    As soon as I resolved myself to do so, I saw a familiar figure float down the hallway.


    "Squidward!" I eximed seeing the tentacle grimm that followed me aroundst time.


    It seemed to recognize me as well as it waived its tentacles in my direction. If it weren''t a horrendous eldritch abomination, I may have even hugged it.


    It''s like a nightmare version of a Pok¨¦mon.


    "Where''s Salem?" I poked its squishy head.


    It waived its tentacles some more and I think it just told me to stay put and wait? It was a little confusing, but since it didn''t make a movement to drag me anywhere, I think I guessed correctly.


    "Well, how''ve you been Squidward?"


    It made some Grimm noises, so I guessed that''s good?


    "I''ve been pretty good too." I put my elbow on his squishy head, leaning on him for support. "Had to deal with a stupid family issue not too long ago. My friend''s idiot son did something stupid and I interfered there, almost caused a rift in our rtionship. My Gramps got a girlfriend....or something. Still kind of vague there, but I think he''s happier. "


    It wiggled its tentacles some more, as if responding to me. Honestly, I don''t know what kind of intelligence this Grimm had, if any; I was mostly amusing myself by ying with it.


    I wondered if I could toss it up into the air like a ball?


    I contemted that before therge doors to the door burst open. Several people stormed out with haste, only to stop in their tracks as they noticed me holding Squidward in a throwing motion. The flowers probably made it seem even more awkward....


    "...This isn''t what it looks like." I stated. "We...were just talking?"


    There were two men, two women. One of the women had ck hair and wore a provocative red dress. The other had mint green hair with some kind of dagger-submachine guns at her side. As for the two men, one had a veryrge braided pony tail and a maniac look in his eyes with some type of collection of des around his wrists. The other had silver hair and looked amused by the whole ordeal..


    "Liar!" The braided haired man dered. "Only the Goddess can talk to Grimm!"


    I blinked at that, and the others turned to him with a strange look on their faces. "It''s my semnce?"


    "sphemy!" He howled, pointing at me.


    "Dammit, Tyrian! Be quiet." The women in the red dress hissed before turning to me. "How did you get here?!" She demanded to know.


    "Well, there are these things called legs." I deadpanned. "You put one foot infront of ¨C "


    She waived her hand, and some dusted burst out, condensing into a me that shot at my feet. I think it was supposed to be a method of intimidation as she looked smug at my sudden silence. "Answer my question."


    "Hey, aren''t you that guy that took down a bullhead with a dildo?" The silver haired guy spoke up, though he was closer to a kid now that I got a look at him. Probably under 18 if I had to guess.


    "Why ¨C " I straightened my cor. "Yes I did." I puffed up proudly.


    "Can I get an autograph?"


    "Quiet, Mercury!" The red-dressed woman growled and turned back to me. "I know you. The Wilhelm that''s wanted through out Remnant. Now! How did you get here, why are you here!?"


    "And what are you doing to our Goddesse''s poor subject!" the ponytailed man looked aghast as he apparently realized what I was about to do to Squidward.


    I ignored the ponytailed one. He didn''t seem quite as....put together as the others. "The truth is.....I''m here to capture your queen."


    "What are you¨C " The Woman in Red was cut off.


    "HEATHEN!" the pony-tailed man shrieked, his wrist gauntlets moving to ovey on his hands as he rushed towards me.


    "DAMMIT TYRIAN!" The Red-clothed woman groaned before joining in as the other two also took out weapons and got into abat stance.


    The man with therge braid had an interesting way of moving, staying low to the ground as he ducked and weaved, making his movements erratic. As I got a good look at his back, I also noticed arge scorpion''s tail. He was a Faunus, but an interesting ''species'' of one, which made me curious about them as a whole now.


    I wonder if I could pass my wings off as being a Faunus?


    "Yaaah!" He let out a strange battle cry as he arms flung out, his wrist-de weapons a perfectbination for his hectic movements. Though, it was quite slow for the new me. I merely let go of Squidward, and stepped to the side. Tyrian''s arms flung out, fully extended as he spun his body, diving to the ground, and flung them up.


    It was only a matter of weaving though his attacks and he never even touched my Aura. The only time he got close was when I was surprised as his tail -- his scorpion tail --shed out as well.


    He jumped back as some dust-based elemental attacks came flying my way, followed by an arrow let loose by the woman in the red dress. I ducked and slid to the side avoiding them, ncing at her I noticed that the Bow, Arrows, and even portions of her dress appeared to be made from dust.


    How interesting.


    The Silver hair kid came rushing at me, legsshing out as he let loose a barrage of kicks. With my free hand, I caught his leg, noticing the metallic and solid feeling under his pants, I then tossed him to the side. Just in time for the mint-haired girl to raise her guns and unload on me.


    I just sighed, and stood there. I let the bullets m against my Aura as I gave her a bored look.


    I raised my free hand, and flicked the air, creating a bullet ofpressed air that mmed into her, taking her by surprise. Her Aura red to receive it, but it knocked her off her feet.


    Perhaps I had put too much power in it?


    It was just a simple application of Telekinesis, but then again, I was much stronger than I was like a couple weeks ago.


    I caught an Arrow in the air, and threw it back at the source.


    The Pony-tailed man leapt at me and I followed up by mming my knee into his sternum, sending him sailing into the nearby wall.


    "Emerald! Use your semnce!" The Red-Dressed woman shouted.


    The Mint-Haired girl got up, and I was curious what her Semnce was, so I didn''t move. She looked at me, and appeared to be about to do something however¡ª


    "Enough." A voice carried over the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing to turn to its source.


    Salem stood in the doorway, arms crossed, sweeping her gaze around the room.


    "Mistress!" The crazy-man stood up, almost diving to her feet. "He dares to ¨C"


    Shepletely ignored him. "You''vee back." She was obviously addressing me.


    "Well, how could I stay away from you?" I gave her my most charming smile.


    "M-mistress?" The Red-dressed woman squeaked out in confusion.


    The other two looked surprised as well, but I didn''t quite understand why.


    "And you already begin with those kinds of words." Salem rolled her eyes, but I think I saw her lips curled up briefly.


    "I got you flowers?" I offered them up.


    She stepped forward with even strides, epting them without any fanfare. She slowly brought them up to her nose and she gave them a quick smell. "Hmm, they are lovely I suppose." She looked pleased before adopting her neutral expression and nced at the other people in the room. "Should I be upset or pleased that you were able to keep these whole while my supposed elite subordinates attacked you."


    "Mistress, I ¨C " The Red Dressed woman tried to speak, but Salem cut her off again.


    "Cinder, go fetch me a vase for these."


    "But ¨C"


    "A nice one." She reiterated, giving the woman a re.


    "R-right away, Mistress." The Red-dressed woman who''s name was apparently ''Cinder'' quickly rushed off to fulfill the request.


    "You look very nice, did you decide to let your hair down permanently?" I asked, admiring the look she was rocking. It flowed past her shoulders and was very cute.


    "Hmph, I decided it was time for a change. Do not presume to think you had any baring on my decision." She sniffed. "Now, if you would follow me, we would speak in better amodations." She turned and began walking.


    Still don''t'' know why these kids were looking at me so strange. Nor why that pony-tailed guy looked like he was about to cry, but I didn''t dwell on it.


    I would much rather stare at that ass that was infront of me. And I felt no shame in doing so, as I caught her looking over her shoulder, and she swayed it just a little bit more for me as we walked.


    ***


    Omake ¨C Azazel''s Gender Bender Gun, Part 1


    "Hey, did anyone order a package?" I held up the nondescript brown box that was sitting right outside the door. I swept my gaze around the room as all my girls were idly chatting or otherwise hanging out.


    "Can anyone even deliver here?" Jinn asked. "I think the barriers and such prevent...almost everyone from approaching."


    "....so that''s why my other orders never arrived." I whispered.


    "Idiot student." Sc¨¢thach poked my cheek. "I do hope you noticed the subtle magical energy pulsing off it."


    I let out an indignant huff. "I''m not blind."


    "And you just brought it inside" Artoria asked.


    "I''m curious about that as well. While not the same, we do have a procedure at my mansion about things like this...." Yasaka added.


    "Master, don''t bring strange things inside." Raikou lightly chided.


    "Do you all not have any faith in me? Of course I scanned it. There''s nothing wrong even if it''s a bit magical in nature."


    "You have a track record of recklessness." Yasaka pointed out.


    "I do not ¨C"


    "Wilhelm." Artoria crossed her arms.


    "....Maybe a little." I acquiesced. "But I checked!"


    "Well, open it then. I''m curious." Sc¨¢thach demanded.


    "Jeese, no patience, woman." I set it down, tearing off the tape. "Its.....a gun?" I questioned, taking it out along with a pamphlet.


    Sc¨¢thach took hold of the gun-like thing, inspecting it as I held the little booklet in my hand. "Let''s see.....It''s called Azazel''s Gender Ben ¨C" A strange beam hit me, emanating from the Gun in Sc¨¢thach''s hands.


    I felt strange, really strange. Like something important, something derived from my essence had shifted. I was somehow different, yet, my senses didn''t pick up on any anomalies or foreign attacks. I looked down at my hands and paused.


    I paused, because something was blocking my vision. To be precise, it was two ¨C veryrge ¨C mounds of flesh that now were attached to my chest. "What the hell!?" I blurted out, and stopped again. Because a very feminine, and admittedly sensual voice had reced my previous one.


    I looked at the pamphlet in horror as I read the title fully and realized what happened. The others looked at me Inplete shock as I hastily conjured a mirror.


    Perfectly unblemished skin. Long, beautiful red hair that went past my shoulders. A new jaw line and cheek bones the extenuated my natural beauty. A very ¨C veryrge bosom. And to top it all off, some long legs that went on for days. I was too scared to look at my ass, because I knew it would also be damn near perfect.


    "Dear Lord.....I''m sexy."


    I looked up at everyone else who were still a bit dumbfounded. Well, all but Artoria, I looked at her and she stared at me intently. "Artoria...?"


    "I now understand many of your previous gestures and desires." She stated. "Let it be known ¨C " She licked her lips. "I will have first."


    "P-pardon?" I didn''t get a chance to contemte her words as she grabbed me and started dragging me upstairs towards the bedroom.


    I only heard more numbers being called out below as Artoria tossed me on the bed and mmed the door.


    "It''s time to fulfill your queenly duties." Artoria stared at me with a lustful gaze. "Do not worry, I will be just as gentle with you as you were with me."


    And suddenly, I regret all the things I did to her butt.


    ***


    A word of warning, I''m moving this Saturday/Sunday, so no guarantee on chapters.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 253 - 238

    <h4>Chapter 253: Chapter 238</h4>


    Cinder Fall POV


    "Thank you, Cinder. You are dismissed." The Grimm Queen dismissed me without a second thought as I quickly nced at the man who was seated infront of her.


    I had taken slow steps to deliver this.....vase to her, and watched her carefully put those flowers inside of it. I watched the entire sequence, yet I still had no idea what the hell was going on.


    He barely spared me a nce, no he was too focused making those ''eyes'' towards Salem.


    I almost fell over when I heard them speak. I expected an intense conversation, perhaps the reveal of some ndestine information. I would even have taken a mission update about one of her underlings that I didn''t know about until now.


    But what I heard was.....flirting.


    The flowers may have been a give away, but I was still utterly astonished that someone got away with doing that with her that It hadn''t registered until now. I''d seen her casually dismiss the lives of entire viges, Humans and Faunus alike without batting an eye. I''d seen her power ¨C her magic change the veryndscape with a flick of her wrist.


    Never have I seen Salem smile and giggle.


    I hastily made my retreat, not daring to overstay my wee by the tone of her dismissal.


    Nor do I think my sanity couldtake being in there any longer.


    I quickly stepped out, closing the door quietly. I barely got a few feet away before I was bombarded with questions.


    "Cinder, what''s going on!?" My most faithful follower, Emerald, looked just as startled as I was. I had made sure to brief them on the nature of Salem before bringing them here several days ago. I hadn''t intended to bring them here this quickly.....but certain ns had fallen through and I was forced to improvise.


    "Yo, Bossdy." Mercury casually waived. "Thought you said the Scary Grimm Lady would incinerate me if I did anything to annoy her. Should I just bring her flowers instead?"


    "Mercury." I growled. "Keep your mouth shut unless you want that oue. I''m just as in the dark as you all are." I hated to admit it, but I had questions myself.


    "Cinder!" A shriek sounded behind me. I could faintly sense something reaching for me as I spun around, grabbing the stray arm, and mmed the attached body against the wall.


    I had no doubt who it was, that annoying voice continued to haunt my dreams. "Tyrian." I gritted my teeth. "Try to touch me again, and you lose it!" I scoffed, tossing him aside.


    Surprisingly, he didn''t get crazy and try to taunt or attack me again. That was never a good sign, when such a fanatical lunatic bes less predictable.


    No, the first worrying sign was how easily I incapacitated him. If he was more.....coherent, he could have easily escaped my haphazard grapple. I would never admit it, but he was strong and not someone I could take lightly as I am now.


    "What did the Goddess say!? What''s she talking about!?" He didn''t seem at all flustered by my physical response. Instead, he just looked at me with a maniacal look in his eyes. The obsession he held for the Queen of the Grimm.


    "How am I supposed to know?" I snorted. "If you really want to know anything, go interrupt her flirting yourself."


    Would make me happy if he was reduced to a pile of ash.


    "F-flirting!?" Tyrian cried out. "The Goddess would never lower herself to do such a thing with a.....mortal like that!"


    I crossed my arms. "Believe me or don''t. Frankly, I don''t care, Tyrian."


    "You wouldn''t happen to have gotten his autograph, would you?" Mercury looked amused by the whole thing.


    I was about to reprimand him, but I stopped. No, he seemed to know that man more than I. I was....aware of his name, but not much else. "Speak, Mercury. Who was that?"


    Even Tyrian stopped in his whimpers and looked at the silver-haired boy in expectance.


    "Uh, a pretty famous thief I guess." He scratched his head. "He was with that other thief ¨C Roman or something, and they robbed that Mob Boss Lady in Mistral and the Government got involved and it became a whole shit show. That was.....I don''t know, a month ago?"


    "There was a lot of talk about him online." Emerald quickly added. "There''s a video of him taking out a big Sea Fei-long in one attack."


    "What?" I growled towards the mint-haired girl. "Why was I not informed of this!?"


    Sea Fei-longs are no joke. Even a small one was something a trained team of Huntsman were needed to take down. Adding its water habitat and they''re extremely tricky to fight.


    "Y-you were away when it happened and only came back like a weekter. I thought you knew, it was everywhere." Emerald quickly cowered before my gaze.


    Hmph.....I guess that does line up to when I was on that mission for Salem. We were too far out in the wilderness to get a signal on our scrolls. If he was famous for a brief moment, I would have missed the window that it would bemon knowledge.


    "Yeah, it happened during the Tournament." Mercuryughed. "They tried to bury it under the news of the ''Invincible girl'' winning again setting a new record. They even tried to remove the footage of him participating, but it''s already all over the inte."


    Again, I rarely paid attention to such trifling things. A tournament would not garner my attention unless something truly exceptional urred. Some childrens'' y-fighting served me no purpose.


    "He took down a bullhead with a Dildo."


    And suddenly my thoughts came to a screeching halt.


    "What?"


    Wait, didn''t he say something like that before?


    "It''s really funny. Dude just chucks this 4 foot long dildo with a huge handle, like a javelin and pierces right through the windshield, and smacks the pilot in the head, making him crash."


    I.....didn''t know how to respond to that.


    Once I regained my wits, I realized that Tyrian had disappeared, off to do whatever it was in his free times. Probably worship the shrines of Salem he had in his closet.


    He said it''s all over, so I should be able to research this a bit more in my own time.


    "C-cinder." Emerald meekly spoke up.


    "What?" I snapped my head towards her.


    "Are we still going after that Merlot guy?" She asked.


    Crap.


    I forgot about that, we were too upied by the intruder...or whatever he was.


    I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Watts already said we were behind As.....at this point, it''s toote." Atleast it wasn''t a mission from Salem, otherwise I would have gone regardless. No, I was the one who brought it up after he became known.


    As had never been good about keeping their secrets, well, secret. The mutant Grimm popping up were hard to hide. Watts was able to hack into certain As servers and get the confidential data on this Merlot person.


    Even Salem was mildly intrigued by his experiments on the Grimm. I offered to go recruit him and she didn''t deny me.


    Damn. It would have been a good way to improve my standing in her eyes.


    "There''s no point now." I said evenly, looking uncaring. It''s not good to be flustered or loseposure infront of my subordinates. "Go pull up any information on Merlot''s previous appearances. Any strange Grimm or that iconic ''green'' that appears on them. We''ll see if we can find some sort of pattern to hisb locations."


    Well, he had severalbs and he hadn''t been caught yet. Chances were he''d show himself again and I''d have another chance. From the reports I read, he hasn''t been present at those past bases that had been revealed or raided by As upon their discovery.


    Hmm, it would be beneficial to have As do the heavy lifting for us. Let them find which hole that mad scientist was hiding before I swooped in ahead of them. He would be more responsive to an invitation if I saved his life. Who knows, I might even gain another loyal follower.


    At the very least, I need to get more information on this man that had the mistress''s attention. Perhaps even speak to him if they separated at some point. If I can gain his favor, I may gain Salem''s by association. Then I''d be one step closer to my goals.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    I nced at the red-dressed women who just left, her name was Cinder, I believe.


    "Do you stare at the rears of every woman who passes by?" Salem tapped her finger on the table, raising an eyebrow as she noticed my nce.


    "Actually, I was just curious about your subordinate." I denied. "There''s a difference between ''seeing'' and ''looking''. Can you guess which one you fall under?" I gave her a cheeky smile.


    I thought there was the slightly twitch at the corner of his lips where she stopped herself from smiling. She kept that neutral expression on her face as she seemed to be deep in thought. "Regardless, it appears that they require more training. You had yet to use any Magic in a meaningful way, yet they couldn''t evennd a hit."


    "Well, their teamwork was nonexistent, and I wouldn''t exactly say it''s a fair fight. I could have reacted the same while blind folded to be honest." I didn''t want her subordinates to get in trouble just because I was ying around a little bit. "Besides, I did use a tiny bit of magic."


    "Hmph." Salem seemed to digest what I said, quiet for a few moments before she spoke up again. "Why have youe back?"


    "Why?" I blinked at the question. "Do I need a specific reason toe visit? I had time, and I wanted toe spend it with you."


    "If the world knew my existence, and they heard you utter those words, you would be reviled by them all." She snorted. "More so than you are now."


    I shrugged. "I do what I want. As long as I have a clear conscious, I don''t care what people think."


    "How does that clear conscious involve the incident that took ce before you originally invaded my castle?" She raised an eyebrow. "Does your clear conscious include the destruction and death you left in your wake?"


    I pursed my lips at that. "Admittedly, I did go a little crazy there." I let out a sigh. "Honestly, I don''t usually act like that. However, I only killed the gangsters that were trying to kill me. And for therge swatches of destruction, they were caused by other people." Who the fuck fired missiles in the middle of a city!?


    Her lips quirked up slightly, revealing a very faint smile. "It was amusing all the same. However, I am curious whatpelled you to such actions."


    "Well....." I scratched my cheek. "I''ve thought about it and realized, in hindsight, that I should have been a bit moreposed." I let out a sigh, rubbing my eyes. "If I had to speak of a reason for my actions, I suppose it goes back to my childhood. I didn''t have any friends growing up, and I was usually all alone. Stepping out into the world, I guess I had an opportunity to just.....cut loose. y around, get in trouble." I let out a chuckle. "You can chalk it up to a youthful indiscretion."


    I made no excuses for how I acted, but thinking back, I never really had the chance to act out. I went straight into fighting, gathering power, then training with Sc¨¢thach. I never had the chance to just...be young.


    Well, it was an experience I''m d I got out of my system. Will I do things in the future that I woukd look back on and question myself for? Absolutely. However, I doubt those actions would be for such whimsical reasons again.


    Sorry, mom, it wasn''t drugs I got peer pressured into, it was a life of crime!


    Fucking hell, my mom would kick my ass if she found out what I did.


    "It is my first time hearing of a ''youthful indiscretion'' that ended up with someone bing a wanted man across remnant." She quirked an eyebrow. "I shudder to think what would happen if you escted beyond mere ''trifling actions''."


    "Like trying to court the queen of the Grimm?" I smirked.


    "Are you?" She questioned.


    "Pardon?"


    "Trying to court me?" She crossed her arms. "Such words should not be spoken lightly."


    "I believe I have shown many facets of myself to you. And I dare say, subtly has not been one of them."


    "Hmm." She just hummed, not reacting. It was a bit hard to get a read on her when she held herself back like that. "Yes, I believe that you are unaware of what ''subtle'' even means." She drawled.


    "Well, If I were more subtle, I don''t think I would havee to meet you on a whim. And I''d never been able to see that beautiful smile of yours." The reaction I got, it did make me feel good. I could see the little twitches in her expression, where she forced herself to remain stoic.


    "ttery will get you nowhere, no matter how true it is." She sniffed haughtily. "Though I will not dissuade you from furtherpliments."


    "Well, If I continued down that road, I think we''d be here way too long."


    "Are all men these days so bold?" Salem looked the tiniest bit flustered.


    "Who knows." I smiled good humoredly. "But I like to be blunt about my intentions."


    "Oh, is that why you admitted to staring at my rear?" She quirked an eyebrow. "Tell me, what are your intentions there, hmm?"


    I coughed awkwardly into my fist. I think that question best remained unanswered for now. "So, nice weather we''re having."


    She gave me a dry look before giggling. "I am curious about one matter involving your escapades. Why have you gone into ''hiding''? I find it unlikely that you truly fear these magic-less humans. It was an impressive disy of power, how you destroyed one of my Sea Fei-longs, such power could easily be used to bring those insects to heel."


    "To what end?" I retorted. "That path leads to loneliness at the top of a throne. I neither want nor desire such a thing. Not to mention I have my own pride, Salem. I''m not going to just start killing swathes of soldiers and huntsman just to prove a point. To kill people doing their jobs when I''m the one who''s objectively in the wrong, would go against my ''clear conscious''." I do make exceptions for certain elements like those Gangsters from before.


    There was a strange look that shed across her face. I think I may have hit a sore spot for her. "I see. I will consider your words."


    Well, time to change the subject. "Ignoring the dreary talk. How have you been, have you read that book I gave you?"


    She did perk up a little bit. "It is an interesting piece of magical literature." She smiled. "It took me many days to work out the theory and recreate a reasonable magical spell utilizing the principals it spoke of."


    "Really? Only a few days?" I was honestly surprised. "I thought it would take a few weeks if I were honest. A lot of Runecraftes from understanding the meaning and intent behind each Rune."


    "Yes, it was an interesting direction from the Magics I''m more used to." She casually tuck a little bit of hair behind her ear. "There were some words I had trouble understanding. And even still, I am a little unsure of their meaning...perhaps you would discuss the topic with me?"


    "Talk magic with a beautiful woman? Is that even a question?"


    "It has been woefully long since I have had a proper intelligent debate on the magical subjects." Salem looked...happy as the topic was further discussed. "Tell me, is that Magic you revealed when you killed that Sea Fei-long rted to this ''Magecraft'' you have shown me?"


    "Hah, no, it''s a bit different. Technically....it''s a Magic passed down from my Grandfather, which is a bit of a secret. Though, it''s called the Kaleidoscope, feel free to guess on it''s true nature." I grinned.


    "Hmph, a challenge is it? I have lived longer than you can imagine, I will figure it out in no time." She matched my expression a little bit. A certain fieriness was now in her eyes that had been dulled before. "There were words you in the book ¨C Od, Mana. I think I may have guessed their meanings based on clues, but I wish for a more thorough answer."


    "Ah, that''s an easy one. Od is the Magical Energy the body produces, and Mana is the Magical Energy the world produces."


    "Yes, that seems to align with my own assumption." She tapped her chin. "Are these the terms used by your....people?" She asked.


    I guess she was still assuming I was part of some hidden society of Magic Users in this world. And that wasn''t technically wrong....


    "More or less." I waived it off. "There are some slight differences here or there, but they are themon and recognizable terms across many different schools of thought. And I''m a bit curious about your Runecraft progress, would it be remiss of me to ask for a demonstration?"


    She raised her finger up, as if to draw a Rune in the air, but halted. "Perhaps inside is not the proper ce for this."


    "Hmm, well, we could always go for a stroll outside, find a nice ce to show off a little bit?" I offered.


    "Are you asking this Queen to go on a walk with you?" She quirked an eyebrow.


    "I do believe I was."


    "Yes, I think that is a wonderful idea." She slowly stood up from her seat, walking towards the door. I began to follower her, but she stopped, turning towards me. "Well?"


    "Well, what?"


    "Are you going to offer your arm?" She looked a little impatient.


    Oh, it seemed I forgot proper etiquette for a situation like this. She was a Queen; I should remember that for the future.


    I held out my arm for her. "Shall we go, your Majesty?"


    She took it a little hesitantly, though a small smile adorned her face. "Indeed we shall."


    ***


    Sc¨¢thach POV


    It was a strange feeling to miss someone with this throb in my heart. It seemed to weigh even heavier on me with the soreness between my legs that apanied such feelings.


    Once again, my student became my lover. However, it appeared this time, my Lover was the man I shall spend my life with.


    I wished for some time to think about some things. To reminisce about my olden days during my life, before I became the Queen of the Land of Shadows. I was immediately taken with thisnd that my Harem Sister Jinn hailed from. This....Remnant, this world with a broken moon that mirrored the nature of this ce.


    Warriors who take up arms to defend themon folk from an onught of monsters. Yes, I believed I would quite enjoy this ce even if I am more used to a higher level of strength.


    It would be pleasant.


    With one of those smaller ¨C wolf like creatures impaled upon my spear, I hummed to myself as I walked through this strange forest. A flick removed the body for it to dissipate in my wake, joining its fellows behind me. I did my best thinking with my spear in hand. I had warned Wilhelm that I am a warrior, a woman who was brutish and sharp with both her actions and words. Yet, he epted and tried to love on me all the same.


    It almost made me feel like a young maiden once more. Those wistful and fanciful thoughts on love and affection. These feelings that made my heart thump when I thought about the man who refused to be without me to the extent that he waged war against Heroic Spirits just to bring me back. I would be lying If I said that such actions did not move this old heart of mine.


    Perhaps it was the act of finally making love to him that made me this nostalgic and wanting some time to myself. And perhaps it was a good thing that he has other women ¨C those who I can call sisters ¨C to share his bed as my womanhood still ached and he could have still continued after I wished to stop. That cocky brat, merely relying on his enhanced nature to persist.


    Well, he was not the worse I''ve ever had. If anything, I would call him eptable. However, more training was certainly required on that front.


    What a pleasant turmoil that man had caused me. I did not wish to be around him for the moment for I feared he would see this lovestruck expression I found myself sinking into asionally when his face appears in my mind. That sted man who was able to charm this Sc¨¢thach with that cursed smile of his.


    "What aughable woman I''ve turned into." I let out a sigh, throwing my spear and impaling another ursed creature to a tree. "Since when have I ever allowed myself to act this way?" I shook my head, recalling my spear.


    Wilhelm required a stern hand some times, so I shall take up that position. I would always be a gentlep for him to rest upon, but I must also keep watch as his teacher.


    Lest he turn into another mutt.


    I did not dwell on such things for now. I wished to have some....fun. To experience the days of wandering and adventuring again.


    For that matter, I looked down at my hand. A small Runic Array fixed around the back of my hand, spinning and turning until it pointed in a specific direction. It was a simple array, one that yed a small trick on fate, to curse myself with an.....interesting time. To direct me towards an interesting encounter I might have otherwise not been involved with. I had no bearing on what would happen, merely that people were involved in something dangerous. I would usually walk where the wind took me, but I only intended to be here for a few days.


    It didn''t take long for the sounds of battle to reach me. I could hear in it the distance, what sounded like a group of people fighting. However, my attention was shifted as trees were knocked over to the side.


    I turned to see a strange creature staring at me. I admitted to not being familiar with Grimm, merely their basic nature. The bone-like masks and protrusions that adorn their body, the ck skin-line flesh that creates the false impression of true life. Some also have red tribal-like markings. However, it was my first time hear of one of these Grimm bearing green markings.


    It looked simr to a bear, yet it stood on two legs. There were a plethora of bone-like spikesing out from its body at all angles which along with its mask and ck skin highlighted its alien properties. Upon seeing me, it roared with a fury, a maniacal look in its false eyes.


    "I know not what you are bute if you wish to perish." I leveled my spear at this creature.


    I did not know if it understood my words, but took them as a challenge regardless and started charging at me with heavy steps. It swiped its massive ws towards me, cleaving the nearby foliage and pulling trees from the ground with the force


    I leaned back, avoiding the blow, content to watch its movements for the time being. I was a little curious about this variation of Grimm, and I wished to understand its potential.


    It swiped at me several times and I stepped between each attack. It looked....annoyed that it had yet to crush me below its ws, yet it seemed it could produce a different method of attack. Large ¨C wide swings that would cause the most damage were all it was capable of.


    After a few more attacked, I decided it was enough. As it swung its w down at me once more, I stepped to the side, then mmed my foot down on its w. The beast roared as its w was broken, the spikes on its w spikes shattering by the impact. I took that moment to leap up, swinging the butt of my spear down and collided it with the head of the beast. It hit the ground with a loud thump, cratering the earth withs its fall.


    With a flick of my spear, I stabbed the creature through the head.


    While it possessed no true organs, it seemed that damage to the ''vital'' areas still produces a lethal result as it stopped moving entirely.


    However, I was surprised when its body did not dissipate like the others.


    I did not think much more of it as I was more interested in the continued sounds of fighting a little distance off. I gathered a little bit of Magical Energy into my feet and burst off towards the direction it wasing from.


    Heading west for several hundred meters, I came to a clearing where some people in uniforms were fighting off another of those green Grimm. This one differed slightly as it appeared to be in the shape of a man riding a horse. Though the ''man'' portion looked to bebined with the ''horse'' portions. Truly there were strange sights to be had.


    I noticed there were a few bodies on the ground. The ones that remained standing looked to be fairing poorly, but they did an admirable job of keeping the creature''s attention away from their downed teammates.


    One woman in particr did quite a good job atbating it. However, I could see the wounds on her body from here as it stained her white uniform in red.


    Warriors fighting beasts to the death, how nostalgic.


    Let it not be said that this Sc¨¢thach was unsympathetic to other''s plights.


    With a burst of speed, I ran towards the creature,ing out of the forest into the clearing proper.


    "W-who!?" The Women at the forefront eximed in surprise.


    I stepped to the side ignoring the woman dodging as the creature apparently could extend its arms quite the distance. Itshed out trying to grab me,instead, I ran under its legs, dashing back and forth as it tried to step on me. "Is that all you can muster, creature?" Iughed, swiping my spear at its underbelly. The thing began kicking up a fuss as it focused more intently on me.


    Nimbly, it would jump back, its extendable arms shooting towards me with a surprising speed ¨C for something of this level that is. I twirled my spear, knocking them both away as I sprint up, jumping into the air, and thrusted my spear through the ''heart'' of the creature.


    It iled as my cursed spear sunk into its inky flesh. The horse portion tried to bite at me, only to earn my leg mming down on its head. This one was a little stronger than the one I had fought before, able to take a couple blows and still remain standing. It showed a promise that there were other ¨C stronger creatures for me to test my spear against in thisnd.


    But I had already grown tired of this one. I feel as though I had seen all its tricks and was left wanting. Taking my spear, I leapt off of it,nding next to the unknown woman.


    "I don''t know who you are, but I won''t look a gift horse in the mouth." She leveled her sword ¨C rather a saber at it.


    I tilted my head. "Was that a pun?" I questioned.


    ".....unintentionally." She frowned. "I would not deem it an appropriate time to make jokes. With your help, I believe we can wear it down, whittle away at its life. The safest method ¨C "


    "I shall end this in one strike." I dered, gathering Magical Energy onto my spear. The bloodlust had swirled together with it, producing a visible phenomenon. Such a creature was unworthy of my Noble Phantasm, but it did provide me with some entertainment, so I would waste this small portion of Magical Energy as thanks.


    "What are you -- !?"


    "Haaah!" I thrusted out, the magical energy turning into thorns that filled the air, stabbing and tearing into everything in a straight line infront of me. The Grimm Creature was torn apart from many different angles and spots, copsing to the ground with another thump, unmoving.


    I smiled contently, twirling my spear and mming the butt on the ground. "That takes care of that."


    "H-how!? That was a Nuckleavee, a mutant one!" She looked shocked.


    "Apologies it is my first time meeting that variation of Grimm. Is it normal for them to be Green? I had met one such earlier a not too far away." I pointed to the side.


    "They.....you...!?" The woman sighed. "Wait, you said you fought another one?" Her eyes widened.


    "Yes, I have in that one also." I nodded in confirmation.


    Her mouth gaped as she stared at me. "Who are you?"


    "Is it not polite to introduce yourself first?" I let out a smallugh.


    "I-I''m Specialist Winter, with the As Military." She dered. "Who are you? Are you a Huntress from Mistral? I don''t believe I''ve heard of your before, and based on your ability, I find that unlikely."


    "I am not Huntress, merely a wandering Spearwoman." I introduced myself. "I am Sc¨¢thach."


    **


    A reminder, most likly no chapters this weekend as I''m dealing with a very abrupt move on my part.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 254 - 239

    <h4>Chapter 254: Chapter 239</h4>


    Winter Schnee POV


    "That''s not an answer!" I grounded out, focusing fully on this.....woman who had barged into our fight. Not that I was not extremely grateful for the assistance, but she was infuriatingly dismissive of my questions.


    "I stabbed it with my spear, what more do you need to know?" She looked at me like I was a child. "Pointy end goes into soft flesh." She gestured to her....creepy looking spear. "Even Setanta could figure that out after telling him once."


    I didn''t know who this ''Setanta'' is, but I felt like it was an insult.


    I had merely wanted to know about the other Mutant Grimm she had fought and how she defeated it. By the sound of it, it seemed to have been some cross between a Alpha Beowolf and an Ursa.


    And I had no idea what Dust she used to give the spear that....aura that surrounded it. I could feel the hairs on my arms stands up when I gazed at it. I was an expert on the subject of Dust, but I wasing up empty.


    "How did you perform that attack with your spear? Was it somebination of Dust, or Aura Maniption?" I was duty bound to ask questions regarding this unknown woman. The General would want to know everything about her, or as much as I could get.


    Her spear, while exotic, looked to be just a in spear, I was doubtful it had any hidden mechashift weapons, so perhaps Dust was not a likely method answer to her attack.


    "Semnce." She said simply.


    "Then how were you able to move that fast!?" I replied.


    "Semnce."


    I felt my eye twitch. "And that kind of strength or ability to jump so high?"


    "Semnce."


    I rubbed the bridge of my nose, realizing this was going nowhere. I instead made a mental note of every detail about her. I made sure to retain myposure, I was a Specialist of the As Military, I would not get irritated by a....civilian who had just helped us.


    Who had just so happen to have in one of the biggest Nuckleavee I''d ever seen in addition to it being experimented on by that Merlot bastard.


    "And you im to have no formal training." I said dryly.


    "I confessed to being no Huntress. I have never stated to having no training. I have trained and trained many others in my long years."


    A recluse then? That wasn''t....impossible. The General had told me a few times about some reclusive people who cleared certain areas of Grimm around their homes. They generally wanted nothing to do with the kingdoms and are content to live outside the walls.


    "You said your name was Sca ¨C" I paused, trying to recall it.


    "Sc¨¢thach." She finished. "I suppose the naming conventions of my people are different than what you are used to." Sheughed.


    "And yourst name?" It would help in finding any information on this woman.


    "I do not have one." She replied, rather nonchntly.


    That could have a number of reasons behind it. I didn''t know if the reason was one brought about by a bad experience, so I decided not to push it. It was just another note to file away for the General.


    I looked around at the other members of my team. They were receiving field aid, and it appeared that none would die. I hated to admit it, but we had been takenpletely by surprise. Our intel said the nearby base was abandoned, but that was far from the case.


    No, if this woman hadn''t shown up, I feared the majority of my team would not have made it back. I had already spent a considerable amount of Aura before that Nuckvee appeared. Merlot had some other....test subjects within theb, hidden away. It took us by surprise when we returned to the surface from his undergroundb, to find that monster waiting for us.


    It was by chance that we had even discovered Merlot in the first ce a few weeks ago. Amid our hunt for that thief that the General seemed so set on, we stumbled upon one of Merlot''s research facilities. Since then we had been scouring specific locations for his otherbs.


    Mutant Grimm.


    To think that someone had been making these right under our noses.


    Who knew what sort of damage he could have caused had he built up his disgusting armies and unleashed them upon us without warning.


    "Are your men going to be okay?" I was broken from my thoughts as the strange woman asked about my team.


    "Y-yes, thank you. If not for your help....." I sighed, not wanting to speak the thought out loud. None of us were unustomed to losing teammates ¨C friends, in this line of work, but it wasn''t something we liked to speak about.


    "It was no trouble." She let out a smallugh. "You are a group of brave warriors, battling that creature in the hopes of preventing harm to the innocent. It was my pleasure to lend a hand."


    Despite the way she phrased it, it was nice to hear. We rarely received recognition from civilians.


    Still, I couldn''t let my personal feelings get in the way of my duty. We had secured the objective, and we had the coordinates. It was time to regroup back at Argus where the remainder of our forces were still set up. The General would want to know everything, especially about the method this Merlot devised to block Scroll signals from leaving the area.


    "You never said what you were doing this far out in the wilderness." It was....convenient that she appeared when she did. I didn''t want to think the worse, but we were taught to always be cautious.


    "I was merely wandering. I heard the sounds of fighting and saw what was urring. Had it appeared that your group were able to handle the beast without much risk, I would have not revealed myself."


    I couldn''t help but furrow my brow. Another nomittal answer from her. She was good at answering questions without actually giving an answer.


    "Without any supplies?" I questioned again, noticing her severeck of food, water, or anything other than her spear. That suit of hers didn''t lend itself to concealing anything either...


    She just twirled her spear with a chuckle. "I have my spear, there is nothing else I require. There is food if you know how to hunt, there is water if you know how to read thend. And shelter is a matter of working with my hands."


    I.....didn''t know how to respond to that. Even the most seasoned Huntsman wouldn''t dare go into the wilds without enough preparation. It made me wonder if she''s just taking me for a fool. Yet.....I also saw herbat ability. There was absolutely no denying that she was strong and experienced.


    "We have our Bullhead nearby." I spoke up. "If you want, we have enough room to give you a ride over to Argus?"


    She looked like she was considering it. "I''ve never been to this Argus." She hummed. "Perhaps I shall see it then."


    Good. It would give me more time to get some information out of her. And if possible, we may be able to get her to stick around once she saw our base in person. Someone of her talents, I didn''t think the General would be against extending an invitation.


    ***


    Sc¨¢thach POV


    Flying on this metal contraption was an experience worth having. I was hesitant to follow along as they wished to return to a city of some sort, but I had no destination in mind. The whims of fate led me to them in the first ce, so exploring a town or city for a day would not be remiss to me.


    And I would admit, it was fun watching this young girl try to gleam secrets from my words. I feigned ignorance of her attempts just out of the enjoyment I received from her continued disgruntled looks she made when she thought I wasn''t looking.


    As this machine began its decent onto a cleared area amongst the bustling civilization, I briefly wondered if I could ask my man to procure me such a vessel for my own enjoyment. I did believe I would quite like taking to the skies in one of these ¨C bullheads.


    As wended, I casted a simple illusion over myself. It appeared as though I stood off to the side when we walked off, but I was actually already leaving the area and was walking towards the the center of city. My illusion wouldter take the opportunity to disperse when no one was looking.


    Perhaps it was a bit cruel of me, but I did not wish to spend too much time meeting the people that woman answered to.


    The sights were....interesting. They were simr, yet different enough to hold their own charm along with the uniqueness present. I could recognize some of the architecture that could bepared to that of earth. Some Greek designs coupled with some Eastern designs here or there.


    Without any true destination in mind, I decided to follow the flow of the crowds. Therge gathering of people seemed to be moving with a purpose in a certain direction.


    I appreciated that no one batted an eye due to the fact that I carried my spear so openly. No, it seemed I was not the only one as many others carried weapons freely around the city. A culture of warriors that were respected and acknowledged.


    "Is she here?"


    "I heard she''s inside."


    "Who?"


    "The invincible girl, man! She won the regional tournament four times in a row!"


    "Is she gonna sign autographs?"


    I listened in on the conversations to figure out what was gong on. It appeared that they were all trying to glimpse at a local celebrity. If therge poster that sprawled alongside the side of the nearby building was anything to go by, she was a young women with red hair that reminded me of Wilhelm.


    Hmm, well it was none of my business and it held no interest of mine.


    While I was here, perhaps I should find an establishment for good food and drink? It would not be an adventure without sampling the local delicacies.


    Though, I would have no idea where to start looking. This city was sprawling and had all manner of shops and taverns. I''m sure I would be able to find something, but the quality was left up to chance.


    Hmm.


    "Elder." I approached an older women sweeping outside of what appeared to be a flower shop.


    She perked up, giving me a gentle smile. "Well, hello there, youngdy. Are you looking for something?"


    "Elder, may I ask for directions to a shop providing good food and drink? I''m new in town and wish to quench my thirst and fill my belly." How humorous that I was actually many times older than this woman who had a head full of white hair.


    "So polite." She continued to smile warmly. She slowly lifted her hand, pointing down the street. "If you head that way, take a right at the corner, then cut through the park, there''s a good restaurant that my husband used to take me to."


    "Thank you, Elder." I bowed my head respectfully. Regardless of how old I was, it was polite to respect a kind elder.


    Let''s see, she said right at the corner after walking down the street. Ah, there was the ''park'' she mentioned. How quaint, there were lots of different foliage that I was unused to. Should I take samples back as Wilhelm has a habit of doing so.


    I knelt down to smell the scent of a flower I hadn''t recognized. It seemed to be a cross between a rose and a lily.


    Would Wilhelm get me flowers if I asked? The thought was....enticing. I stood back up, about to leave, but I once more heard the sounds of a weapon cutting through the air. Of movement and shouts of effort as someone was certainly swinging something about.


    Curiosity took me again as I followed the noise to see who was causing such a ruckus in such a public ce.


    I was mildly surprised as I walked past a few trees and bushes to find a young woman swinging her weapon about, stabbing into the air, moving around as to practice and train herself. I was surprised because she matched the girl in the images I saw earlier.


    I leaned up against a nearby tree as I watched, her movements were natural and she had not taken notice of my presence.


    She leapt through the air, spinning and shing about. The shield on her arm swung with a noticeable practiced consistency to it. I nodded as she seemed to engage her whole body into her motions, not just focusing on only her weapon or shield as she went through her movements.


    She let out a long breath, her chest moving up and down at the intensity of her actions. She finally stood straight up, letting her arms drop to her side. She turned slightly and turned stiff upon noticing me, her eyes snapping to me. "Ehhh!?" She let out a noise of surprise. "W-who are you!?" She eximed.


    "Just a passerby who noticed you training." I shrugged. "I was amused so I decided to watch for a moment."


    She opened her mouth and closed it again. "D-do you want an autograph or something?"


    I blinked at that. "Child, why would I want your ''autograph''?"


    "W-well...so you don''t tell everyone where I am?" She said meekly.


    "Why would I tell anyone where you are? I do not even know your name." What a strange child.


    "You don''t...?" She tilted her head, seemingly shocked at my words. "O-oh...this is awkward."


    I couldn''t help butugh at her expression. "I see, you are the girl who has her face on the pictures I have seen. There was arge crowd gathered around a building down the street. Are they perhaps waiting for you?"


    "Erm...yes..." She turned a little red. "Someone leaked where I was training, and they all suddenly showed up. So I just.....slipped away and came here."


    "Your dedication to your training is praiseworthy. It is indeed a good thought to focus more on it as you should work on fixing those bad habits you have developed." My hands felt a little itchy after watching her.


    "B-bad habits!?" She squeaked out.


    "Mmm, even without the preponderance of your face stered everywhere, I can guess that you are a famousbatant. No, you are used to that fake fighting that happens infront of crowds, yes?"


    "Fake fight!?" She frowned. "Those are meant for the best of our age group. The best of Remnantes here topete and it''s a toughpetition."


    "If this is the threshold of ''the best'' then I have overestimated many people." I quirked a smile, intentionally riling her up.


    "You take that back." She frowned deeper, gripping her weapon. "Every person I fought in the finals had put everything they had into winning. They bled and sweat to get to where they were."


    "What If I refuse to recant my words, Child?" I raised an eyebrow, pushing off the tree I was leaning against. With my spear in hand, I took a few steps. "Shall you test your de against mine? If you have enough fortune on your side, perhaps you can force me to apologize with your skill."


    I had no intention of taking anymore students for the time being, but I was more than happy to teach a few lessons. My hands have be quite itchy recently.


    This young girl was talented, even if she was more used to the ying they did in her arena. Well, I had time to spare and I was in no hurry.


    She took a stance, seemingly epting my provocation for a bout.


    Let''s see if I could remove those bad habits before they be detrimental for your growth.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    "I don''t know how you were able to convince me of following through on such a ridiculous endeavor." Salem scoffed.


    "It''s not your fault. Not many can resist my dashing good looks and my roguish smile."


    Well, we yed around with Runes a little bit, but then I suggested a stroll through Vale. I didn''t think she''d been out of her castle or its surroundings in a long time. Figured some ''fresh air'' would be good for her.


    "Yes, I''m sure that''s the answer." She drawled. "This is not the first time I''ve done this, I suppose I shall prepare an illusion."


    "An illusion, why?" I questioned.


    "Do you think it wise for me to walk around amongst those humans looking as I do?" She quirked an eyebrow. "My curse is obvious to any who can see."


    "Would you be offended if I said I found you beautiful regardless?" I asked.


    "...yourpliment is....wee." She said evenly. "However, you wished for a stroll, and such, my current looks would draw far too much attention." She waived her arms, and the Magical Energy swirled around her body.


    Gone was her pale skin, red marks, and white hair. She now had golden locks flowing down her shoulders, and unblemished milky skin. She put her hands on her hips, swaying them slightly from side to side, a smirk on her face. "This is how I looked many years ago."


    "Oh, wow." I didn''t even try to hide my stare.


    "Don''t worry, I made sure the illusion was...urate." She smirked, spinning around, swaying her butt just a little bit for me to see.


    It took all of my self-control not to truly test that.


    "Hmm, I should weave an illusion around myself as well. I am a wanted man afterall."


    "Yes, your ''Youthful indiscretion''" She snorted, a faint look of amusement on her face.


    "Yeah, yes." I didn''t believe she would let that one go. "Lets see.....how about ck hair?" I snapped my fingers, watching an ovey of my hair turn ck.


    She gave me a once over. "eptable." She nodded.


    "So, you like it?" I asked.


    "It is eptable." She crossed her arms, reiterating.


    "I''ll take that as you like it." I grinned.


    "Take it however you want." She rolled her eyes. "I care not for the fake appearance you wrap yourself in."


    "That''s true, you already said I was handsome as I was before."


    She let out a huff, hands resting on her hips. "Are you finished? You spoke of a stroll, this is anything but."


    I quickly changed a few more things. My facial structure and some features before nodded to myself. With a wave of my hand, opening a portal to vale.


    Salem looked impressed as she eyed it.


    "Shall we?" I offered my arm again.


    "Very well, I shall apany you." She took my arm again as we walked through the portal.


    ***


    Salem POV


    This was the city that Ozma currently resided in. I had no intentions ofing here so soon, yet, it appeared that this man was capable of convincing me. It would be amusing if he caught sight of me walking around his ''territory'' without a care in the world. He would surely run himself ragged trying to find out how I just appeared without any warning.


    Regardless, I went along with this foolishness purely to gain more information from him. I most certainly had no other intentions when I epted his proposal for a stroll through Vale. I had initially been content for just a mutual debate on magic, however, ns seemed to change. I don''t know what came over me to allow a man to touch me in such an ''intimate'' way as it had not happened in many -- many years.


    But it worked for my benefit.


    He was young, it was easy to use certain....assets to loosen his lips. His eyes were unable to leave my rear. Not that he made any effort to hide his lecherous gaze.....


    It was strange how forting he was with his own acknowledgement of such a thing. I remembered men seemed to be shyer about their proclivities before.


    I leaned into his grasp as I began my inquires. "I have some questions you have yet to answer.


    "Questions? Sure, hit me."


    Easy.


    "You said your grandfather taught you magic, yes?" That portal he made, it was something I was unable to mimic. Teleportation, to be anywhere at any time, it was something in the realm of the Gods and not avable to mortals, yet he so easily broke that sentiment.


    "Sorta." He shrugged. "He taught me some things, but I picked up a lot from other people."


    Hmm, he mentioned ''others'' but no other mentions of actual people or ces. It was astonishing to think that a whole society thrived in secret after humanity was wiped out. I thought Magic truly was gone from the world, yet here was an example of another.


    It made me.....reconsider certain ns I had. If Magic truly still existed, did I not have a duty to make it flourish? To bring about true humanity back to the world?


    We had no destination in mind as we walked the streets of this city, as the insects scurried about their daily lives, not knowing that their most hateful enemy walked among them. How they would cower and run in fear if they knew that the Queen of the Grimm was but in speaking distance.


    Should I ask about the Relics as well? He had two of them ,and it would take time to acquire the other two. No, I should approach this slowly. If I immediately ask about the Relics, it may tip my hand too soon. I had a flurry of questions I wanted to ask, but I dared not scare him away this soon.


    "You never did say why you approached me in the first ce." His motives were still a mystery to me. I should start from the beginning, and see what more secrets I could unveil.


    "I think I said the reason?" He tilted his head, looking thoughtful. "I said I used the Relic of Knowledge to learn about the Grimm, which showed me you. I was curious so I wanted to meet you, and here I am." He smiled.


    "You approached the Queen of the Grimm.....on a whim?" It sounded...incredulous. I believe I do recall him mentioning this before, but I believed I was understandably distracted by several other revtions at the time.


    "Well, I do have some confidence in myself."


    "Hmph, you think me weak or someone not to be feared?" How arrogant. To think he had no stiptions about walking into my domain and confronting me.


    "You''re looking at it the wrong way."


    "And what way should I interpret your words?"


    "I walked into the Grimm Lands, I stepped into your ce of power." He reiterated. "All so I could just meet you. I wanted to meet Salem, the Grimm Queen enough to potentially be swarmed by unending grimm and beset by all manner of nasties that hid in your realm."


    "....what foolish sentiment. False tter to hide your true intentions, I''m sure." I huffed.


    "Uh, huh."


    "Stop smiling." I scowled.


    "Stop being cute." He said with a cheeky look.


    Cute!?


    He dared call the Queen of the Grimm Cute!?


    T-this man!


    How insulting, I cannot allow this to abide. I was still debating if I should pry his secrets or let it be, to make inroads instead. I had decided to take everything of value from him. To ruthlessly pluck every secret and piece of information from his mind.


    .....I shall endeavor to win his trust. Even if I must spend extended lengths of time with him, I would bear with it and continue down this path. And I would certainly not enjoy it, nor look forward to such asions.


    A ridiculous notion.


    It''s all for the sake of my ns, nothing more.


    ***


    And I''m back. Still really exhausted by my move, but i''m here again. Couple more chapters of RWBY and then we''re back to DxD


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 255 - 240

    <h4>Chapter 255: Chapter 240</h4>


    Sc¨¢thach POV


    I took slow steps towards the Red-Haired girl. She looked tense, ready to fight. I admired her quick battle stance, I could only find a few faults in it and they were ones that could be worked out over time.


    I allowed my Blood Lust to leak out to better project my presence. I wished her to take this fight seriously, to instinctively be on guard.


    She did not freeze up in my presence, which was a good sign. It showed dedication to her training andbat ability to not lose herposure even if she was rather young.


    She spun the sword in her hand, it shifted in strange ways, something I was still not too familiar with. She held it up, a barrel pointed towards me.


    It was a gun now, how quaint.


    I was aware that the people here used weapons that shifted into various forms. It was not my ce to dispute their methods, but I could not see myself adopting such a thing.


    The weapon shed, projectilesing towards me. I took a step forward and swayed to the side, my eyes never leaving hers as the bullets flew past me.


    "Y-you dodged my bullets!?" She eximed.


    "You showed me where you intended to shoot." I said simply. "If I could not see the path you aimed down and the movement of your fingers to pull the trigger, my years of hardship would have been a waste." Guns are a modern weapon, but their mechanisms were rather obvious to deduce at a nce. Well, dodging the bullet itself would be no trouble, but I do not believe that a proper lesson to teach her at her current level.


    With that, I kicked off the ground,unching myself towards her. My spear struck out, going straight for her mid-section. She pulled her shield up to block, letting out a pained noise as she was knocked back. She did not dwell on it as her weapon shifted once more, taking the form of a spear ¨C or rather a javelin.


    I raised an eyebrow as she brought her shield up to block my vision of her spear, stepping back into range with her weapon.


    I gave her a chance to make a move, her spear striking out with a fairly decent speed. I would acknowledge that she was physically capable for a human of her age. This Aura of hers was certainly doing much to enhance her abilities.


    Her strikes were precise and quick, aiming for any perceived openings. But there was still an air of amateurishness to them, making them rather easy to predict even if I hadn''t been far beyond her in physical ability or experience.


    I merely tapped her spear to the side with the shaft of my own, letting it sail past me harmlessly.


    She saw it was a futile effort and changed her stance once more. Her weapon shifted again, changing into a sword this time as she swung it towards me.


    It was the smart decision to switch her technique up after seeing how little she was able to do to me previously.


    I watched each of her movements, each time her sword shed out at me, each time her other arm ¨C her shield was swung as well. It made me briefly consider going back on my word and maybe taking another student just to see what she could achieve.


    I kept my speed low enough for her to follow, each step I took to dodge was well within her ability to counteract. However, I would only smile as I noticed her attacks changing patterns slightly as I continued to weave around her weapons. She was starting to predict me and try to anticipate my movements.


    Amusing.


    Flicking the butt of my spear, itshed out, hitting her on the side, or rather her Aura. It didn''t matter that she hadn''t taken any real damage; it had thrown off her rhythmpletely, having struck in a minute opening she revealed. She stuttered, falling to a knee for a brief moment before quickly scrambling back to her feet, returning to her stance once more.


    Good tenacity.


    I leveled my spear with a mocking smile, hoping to ignite her fighting spirit a bit more.


    Based on the expressions she made, I believe I fulfilled my objective.


    "Haaah!" She let out a shout as she spun her body and threw her shield at me.


    I merely tilted my head out of the way as she came running at me.


    Childish.


    I pulled back my spear to thrust, only to jerk my body to the side as her shield came flying back into her hand, brushing past my hair.


    I blinked for a moment, realizing what just happened. One of those Semnces? Some sort of Telekinesis?


    How interesting.


    I nted my foot firmly, giving her a small window to react as I thrust my spear forward at her. What I did not expect was for her to leap into the air and roll over my spear, trying to counter attack.


    I scowled, spinning my spear in hand and mmed the shaft into her side with a little more force than I had used previously.


    "I''ve seen enough." I stated, tapping my spear against my shoulder.


    She slowly pulled herself up, gasping slightly as she recovered from the blow.


    "You.....I couldn''t evennd a hit on you." She looked a bit shocked by the revtion of how outssed she was.


    "You are a thousand years too early to think of even being my match, child." I snorted. "If I allowed myself to be struck with such mboyant movements, it would shame all those who learned under my purview."


    "F-mboyant movements?"


    "What else do you call those rolls and jumps? What came over you to leap into the air like you had done? You left yourself wide open for me to strike you when it would have been more efficient to either block with your shield, or deflect my blow and follow up with a straight thrust of your sword."


    "I...it seemed like a good idea at the time?" She said meekly.


    I shook my head with a sigh. "You are too used to ying to an audience, child. Your movements looked elegant, but you left yourself too open too many times. If I had not wished to see your potential, I would have been able to exploit them even more. You have a problem of telegraphing your moves."


    "That''s..." She went silent.


    I am surprised that no one had pointed this out before. Either her past trainers had been ipetent, or they preferred it in such a way. Fake fight, ying to the cheers of the crowd. There could be no argument that she had developed herself splendidly. She wasparable to some of those people fighting the Nuckvee Grimm, and they were many years her senior. However, it did instill some bad habits into her movements, which could prove fatal if they were allowed to festered.


    And.....she seemed like a nice girl, I didn''t mind having some fun and lending a hand.


    "Well, are you going to rise up and correct your mistakes?" I twirled my spear once more, giving her a moment to reorientate herself. "You will nevernd a blow on me, does that shatter your fighting spirit, child? Will you give up, or will youe at me again?"


    She stood up a bit straighter, a look of conviction in her eyes. "You said that I''m telegraphing my attacks?"


    "Indeed, you are easy to predict, and you makerge, unnecessary movements that lead to easily exploitable openings." I nodded.


    "Then I just need to fix those." She frowned, taking a stance. She flew at me once more, her weapon shifting into her spear as she stabbed out.


    It appeared that she epted my tutge for now, I shan''t hold back then.


    As soon as she entered my range, the butt of my spear met the side of her head. She was knocked off her feet, tumbling to the ground.


    "That was merely the most obvious issue with your style of fighting, Child. You have other avenues you need to improve on."


    "I didn''t even see that...." She breathed out, slowly rising back up, rubbing her head. Her Aura had protected her from the majority of the force, but it was still a swift strike to her head.


    "Your instinct needs work." I ignored herment. "And your weapon ¨C " I raised my spear, pointing at her own.


    "W-whats wrong with my weapon?"


    "You are using it improperly. You are integrating four different weapons into yourbat techniques. Your shield, sword, spear, and gun. Yet, you switch to a single one, and ignore the others for too long. Either choose a weapon to focus on, or make use of the mechanisms behind your weapon. For instance, there is no need to only use the gun when you are at a distance, and you have the ability to retrieve your weapons at will, why are you not utilizing that more effectively?"


    "I-I don''t like showing off my Semnce, it''s.....unfair."


    "Unfair?" I snorted at the incredulous statement. "Child, it is an ability manifested from your soul. It is no more unfair than someone having more Aura, or something being born physically stronger. There is no excuse why you hold it back. At the very least, you should use it to disrupt my own momentum, pull at my spear when I''m about to attack and an opening would be perfect for you to exploit."


    "Erm.....I tried." She said bashfully. "Is your spear not made of metal?"


    I tilted my head. "I see, it''s not telekinesis but a type of metal control." That was interesting as well. "Regardless." I mmed my spear onto the ground. "Stand up straight, retake your stance, and try again. I have but a few hours to spare, we shall see if you can learn anything in that time."


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    "Home sweet home I suppose." I stepped out of a portal, Salem still on my arm as we walked onto the stone floor that was her castle.


    The illusions around us faded as she finally withdrew herself from me. "I prefer it to the city." She turned her nose up at the notion.


    "So you didn''t enjoy our stroll then?"


    ".....I did not say that." She huffed. "It was.... pleasant enough."


    "Would you be against me taking you out again sometime?" I asked.


    She paused, looking at me for a moment. "I wouldn''t be against it." She said quietly.


    "And would you be upset if I called it a date?" I quirked a smile.


    There was a slight twitch at the corners of her lips as she crossed her arms. "Call it what you want." She said dismissively.


    Well, I feel like I made some inroads with her. She was still a little distant, but I guess that''s to be expected. I''m fairly sure she''d be very blunt with her refusal if I did something she didn''t like or pushed her in a way she wasn''t''fortable, so I felt okay with how things were progressing.


    I Should probably bring up the matter of my Harem soon before we went any further. While I had no shame about it, it''s also a difficult conversation to have.


    "Salem..."


    "Yes?" She answered.


    "I.....think you''re very beautiful." I gave a gentle smile, earning a bemused one from her. "It''s rare, but I''ve enjoyed the few times your sense of humor hase out. I think yourugh is adorable, and I find your elegant demeanor very attractive, and don''t get me started about when we begin talking magic. The way you light up when it''s mentioned, when we go back and forth about it. I admit, we don''t know much about each other yet, so I wanted to say this before things went any further." I took a deep breath as her attention was focused solely on me. "I have....a harem."


    She looked stunned into silence. Like she was frozen in ce, a nk expression staring back at me. "A harem?" She repeated, finally breaking the silence.


    "Yeah, I have multiple ¨C"


    "I know what a harem is." She scowled, making me m my jaw shut.


    ....yeah. Well, I hate toe clean, it''s not like I wanted to string her along until we finally had something to speak of. While I had other secrets, those weren''t quite as romantically stifling if they became known. If it ended here, I could only say it wasn''t meant to be.


    "Why are you telling me this now?" She demanded an answer.


    "I''ve never been coy with my intentions. I didn''t want to build any kind of rtionship on a lie." I smiled tremulously.


    She snorted. "Yes, I believe you made your intentions VERY obvious." She apanied with an eye roll before letting out a long breath. "You have put me in a position I''ve never been in before."


    "I used the Relic of Knowledge to look into the Grimm, and I happened upon you. I saw some of your life, many things that led up to this point. At first, I was curious, a whim to see you for myself. Admittedly, I was attracted to you at a first look, so I didn''t see an issue popping over. After spending some time together, well, I realized there was a little bit more there. And knowing some of the things I knew...I want to see you smile more. I want to make you happy."


    I wouldn''t argue, beg or anything like that. If it didn''t work out, it didn''t work out and trying to force anything would only have made things worse. I told her all I had weighing on me, what my feelings were and my intentions, and if she doesn''t ept, then I''ll say goodbye.


    "Make me happy?" She practically snarled at the notion. "How utterly foolish. Your sentiments are na?ve and childish. I should have dismissed this entire thing when it first started." She threw her arms about, annoyance clear on her face. "Do you think I would be won over by a few fanciful words? Do you think this Queen is someone who would fall over myself like some love-struck maiden at your confession? How ridiculous I''ve been to even allow myself to humor these thoughts before."


    I let out a sigh as she blew up, not saying anything in my defense. "I won''t overstay my wee then. Goodbye Sal --"


    "Did I tell you to leave?" A growl escaped her throat, eyes ring at me. "You don''t get to run away after dropping that on me." She huffed.


    "I will be retiring for the evening, to revaluated certain thoughts." She glowered towards me before turning away. She began walking towards the exit.


    I was stuck in ce, almost frozen on how to act before she stopped and looked back at me. "Your room is avable should you desire." She added, in dare I say, a gentle tone, before she disappeared down the hall.


    I let out a sigh, though a small smile formed on my face.


    Salem sure was hard to read sometimes, but...this isn''t apletely bad sign.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 256 - 241

    <h4>Chapter 256: Chapter 241</h4>


    Waking up was not particrly pleasant. The memory of what happened yesterday was still at the forefront of my mind, the look on Salem''s face when she walked away in particr. While she didn''t tell me to leave or anything like that, we hadn''t exactly parted on the best termsst night.


    One step forward, two steps back.


    I quickly got dressed and made sure I was presentable. I didn''t even bat an eye when I saw Squidward waiting for me outside the door. I don''t know why he was following me still, but I sort of epted its presence as I made my way to the kitchen area.


    May as well get started making some Coffee, I figured I would need the extra pick-me-up today.


    "Squidward, how should I handle this?" I poked the tentacle Grimm as I poured myself a cup. "Salem didn''t look too happy, got any ideas?"


    It wiggled its arms nomittally.


    "Yeah.....there''s a good chance this is myst day ever being here." I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. Once she had time to settle and think about everything, she may just want me to leave and nevere back. "I don''t think I could have done anything different though. If she''s not wanting any part of it, what can I do? It was the best moment to bring it up, being our second...meeting or date, whatever you want to call it."


    Waiting any longer would just feel sorta scummy. I didn''t want to wait until any ''true'' feelings were formed, otherwise that would just be maniptive. At this point, I doubt there''s anything beyond a simple ''liking'', if even that.


    "Hey Emerald, did you make ¨C " I looked up as the grey haired boy walked into the kitchen, he paused as he stared at me.


    "Morning." I raised my coffee cup in greeting.


    "Hey....." He blinked, a bit surprised to see me apparently.


    "Made some Coffee, help yourself." I gestured with my head towards the pot.


    He quickly reorientated himself. "Doesn''t smell like that crap that Emerald makes." He seemed nonchnt once the initial surprise wore off. "She just grabs the cheapest stuff at the store. I swear, she has no taste."


    "Ugh, yeah. I can''t stand that stuff either. It''s why I usually keep some of my favorite blends on me." I smiled lightly. "So...Mercury, right?" I thought I recalled his name being said thest time we met.


    "Yeah and you''re that Wilhelm guy that''s banging the Grimm Queen?" He looked at me.


    I let out a snort, barely holding back myughter. "Not quite." I shook my head. Though, I wouldn''t deny the things I''d want to do to her.


    "Well, I''m a big fan." Mercury quirked a smile.


    "A fan?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Yeah, I admire the way you can weaponize sex toys." He nodded.


    "Ah." Yeah, that''s something that''s never going to go away. "Want me to sign a Dildo for you?"


    "Pfft." He almost choked on the sip of Coffee he had taken. "Fuck, didn''t think you''d say something like that."


    "I threw a Dildo to take down a Bullhead. You thought I''d be all stiff and highly decorum orientated?"


    "Eh, well Queen Boss seems like that, so I just figured....."


    "I guess I can see that." I shrugged. "Time and ce for those kinds of things. Though, I''d suggest not asking her if we''re ''banging''."


    "I''m not suicidal.....mostly." He blinked, looking thoughtful. "Anyways. So, you casually tossed me into a wall, the hell is your Semnce? Cause I saw you also blow the fuck out of that Sea Fei-Long and did other things."


    I could swear that it was rude to ask a stranger about their Semnce...or it could be different based on region. Well, he''s technically one of Salem''s subordinates, so I didn''t have to be too on guard around him. "You wanna know my Semnce?"


    "Yeah, tons of people were arguing about it online. You put ''Space Control'' when you registered for the tournament, really fun to watch that by the way. Always nice to see those snobbish kids get their assess handed to them."


    Hmm, I sensed some hostility there, oh well. "My Semnce ¨C" He leaned in slightly. "Is being awesome." I smiled smugly, taking a sip of my coffee.


    He let out a snort with an eye roll. "Right. Well, doubt anyone could deny that either."


    "Maybe I''ll just say ridiculous things and see if anyone believe me." I couldn''t help but smile at the thought of really confusing masses of people like that. "Been awhile since I''ve posted online."


    "Oh Brothers, please make an official ount and start posting. I''d literally pay to see people have an aneurism."


    Well, that certainly sounded like fun.


    "Mercury, where have you been we ¨C" The woman in the red dress burst through the door, looking rather annoyed. She only stopped when her eyesnded on me, just like with Mercury.


    And this was Cinder, if I remembered correctly.


    "Good morning." I raised my Coffee cup up in greeting once again.


    There was a visible shift in her demeanor. That scowl she was sporting quickly changed to a ''gentle smile''. "Good morning." She replied.


    Well, props to her for being able to pivot on a dime like that.


    "You must be Wilhelm."


    "That I am." I said simply. "And I believe you are Cinder."


    "Hey there, Boss Lady." Mercury nonchntly greeted her.


    "Mercury." She said dryly. "You were supposed to meet with us twenty minutes ago."


    "Oh, right. Sorry, got side tracked." He just shrugged.


    "I see that." She glowered, before turning back towards me. "I''m d we have a chance to meet. I''m Cinder Fall, I work under Mistress Salem."


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, a pleasure to meet you." I gave her a courteous nod.


    "Yes, I''ve heard much about you." Cinder stated. "I believe we will be seeing much more of each other in the future. In the spirit of.....cooperation, I would love to be more acquainted."


    If it weren''t for theck of sexual undertones, I''d think she wasing on to me. No, it felt more like she just wanted to get some information from me.


    "Well, that''s up in the air. Salem and I had....a disagreement yesterday." I set my Coffee cup down with a frown. "What happens next is uncertain."


    Cinder paused, digesting that bit of information. "If I may be so bold to ask, what ¨C"


    "So are you two like actually together? I was joking before, but it sounds like you guys are dating or something." Mercury spoke up as he leaned against the counter.


    "Mercury!" Cinder hissed, giving him a death stare.


    "We aren''t." I said simply. "Not for myck of trying, mind you."


    "Well damn." Mercury muttered.


    "While I would not phrase it in such a way...such a sentiment is shared." Cinder sighed.


    "Is it really that strange?" I questioned.


    "Scary Lady who apparently has Magic and controls Grimm." Mercury deadpanned. "Nah, it''s totally normal."


    Cinder was actually silent and didn''t chastise him. I guessed she shared a simr opinion even if she was more intelligent not to voice it.


    "Mmm, she''s my type." I shrugged.


    "Isn''t she like....super old?" Mercury said again.


    "I prefer Older women." I grinned.


    "Huh." Mercury just nodded, drinking from his cup. "How''d you even meet her? I doubt she''d be on any dating sites. ?"


    "Dammit, Mercury." Cinder rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Must you word everything so crudely."


    "Well, it''s a funny story actually." I set my cup down again. "I discovered her existence, and wanted to meet her on a whim."


    "And she just let you waltz right in?"


    "Haha, no. I walked in, saw her, and admittedly fell a little bit. So I did what anyone would do in that situation."


    "Run screaming?" Mercury offered.


    "Started flirting."


    "Bold move, how''d that turn out?"


    "She started attacking me." I snorted. "So about that good."


    "So pretty normal for you?"


    I blinked at that. "Honestly....it surprisingly is." Sc¨¢thach and I fought constantly. Artoria and I sparred that one time that opened up the possibility of our rtionship. Two out of Six, I think that makes it a somewhat normal urrence.


    "You say that Mistress attacked you? How are you alive?" Cinder questioned, seemingly ignoring the other parts.


    Well, context was important I suppose. From her perspective, Salem should have wiped the floor with me since she had magic.


    "I''m pretty strong." I said smugly. "So we had a little dance there before settling down for a talk. Well, she asked questions, I basically just continued flirting with her the whole time still."


    "Fucking balls of steel." Mercuryughed.


    "And that was basically it."


    "Really, that''s it?"


    "Well, I alsoplimented her butt several times." Her reactions were really fun to see.


    "And you''re still alive somehow." Mercury looked at me incredulously. "Can''t even me you either. She has an amazing ¨C " He stopped, his eyes started to widen in horror.


    "No, please. Continue discussing the finer points of my rear. I shall wait." Another familiar voice echoed out as I turned to look at Salem who stood at the threshold of the kitchen.


    "M-Mistress." Cinder squeaked out.


    Salem slowly turned her head towards her. "Cinder." She said sternly. "Take your subordinate, I believe you have more important things to do....elsewhere."


    Cinder shot to her feet, and dragged Mercury off without a second thought.


    I prayed for the silver haired kid.


    "Salem." I shot her a smile.


    "Wilhelm." She said evenly, looking at me with a strange expression before walking over and taking the seat opposite of me.


    "I suppose we should have a talk then." There was no point in dragging this one out, I thought it would do neither of us any good.


    "I believe that would be for the best." She nodded.


    "I guess the first question should be ¨C would you like me to leave?"


    She frowned as I said that, a look of uncertainty shed across her face. "No." She stated, not borating.


    While I was happy she didn''t kick me out, she was still being more distant than usual. "Should we talk about what we are then? Or rather, what you want us to be?"


    She opened her mouth then closed it again. She let out a breath of air, tapping her finger on the table. I think she was still have trouble putting her thoughts into words. "I am not a trophy." Her words were very direct, eyes locked with mine. "I am not a bauble to show off. And I am certainly not a notch in your belt to brag about." She practically growled thatst bit.


    "Do you think I see you that way?"


    "No." She denied. "If I had such an inclination, we would not be speaking." She replied. "I am merely...." She closed her mouth, not finishing.


    A sore spot for her maybe?


    Well, maybe I should be the one to express myself then? "I like you, Salem. I believe I told you my feelings yesterday."


    "It has been.....a very long time since a man has shown me any interest. It has been even longer since I have humored such fanciful thoughts as well." Salem stopped her tapping, her arms naturally crossing as if to cover herself. "I enjoyed your presence. I found myself anticipating your return since we hadst met. The time we have thus spent together had been...pleasant." Her words were stiff, like she didn''t have much experience with this sort of thing. "That does not mean I''m epting of certain ''things''." She glowered. "But I am.....contemting."


    "I like spending time with you as well. And if possible, I''d like to continueing to see you when I can." There was no deration of love or anything so ridiculous. Just simply, a desire to spend more time together, which was more than enough for now. Take it slow, figure things out as we go.


    "Yes, that would be weed." There was the faintest hint of a smile that crossed her lips.


    It wasn''t a really a resolution of everything, but it was a point forward. Whether she''s okay with me having a harem or not, she hadn''t said, and I''m not inclined to push her there. She''s aware, and she''d make decisions based on that information. I''ll spend more time with her, and we can just figure things out slowly.


    "However." She spoke up again. "Please don''t speak about my rear with my subordinates." She said dryly.


    "I.....willl hold myself back." I held back augh. "I''ll make sure to only talk about it with you."


    She let out a sigh. "Why did I expect anything different? Just as you have said before, you are upfront about your perversions and I have grown used to them by this point."


    Said the women who intentionally swings it so I can get a better look. Though, I decided not to call her out on it this time.


    "I have some things I need to do back home. I can''t stay much longer since I have a few other things to take care of before I go back and I''ll be gone a little while before I can return. But....until I need to leave, I would love to spend that time with you." I slowly reached my hand out across the table, putting it atop of hers.


    She flinched a little at the touch, but she didn''t reel back or say anything.


    "I see." She said quietly. "If that is how you wish to spend your time, then I shall be a proper host and apany you." She said without much expression. But as I''vee to learn, that was Salem basically saying she''d enjoy it as well.


    Salem acted cute without even trying.


    ***


    Lets see, she should be around here....


    "Hey there, Red." I had many ways I could have gone about this, but I thought this was the best one.


    "W-WILHELM!?" A certain red-haired girl jumped in fright.


    Spooking her by opening a portal right behind her was definitely the correct choice.


    "That''s my name." I said cheekily.


    "Y-you!" She stomped her foot with a huff. "Do you have any idea how much you just scared me?"


    "Well, I saw how high you got, so yeah." Iughed. "So how you been, Red?"


    "I was fine until you just popped in like that." She huffed.


    "Really?" I looked her up and down. "Cause you look covered in bruises.....do I need to go have a chat with someone?"


    "No!" She quickly denied. "They''re from training."


    "Ah, I can rte then. My teacher used to kick my ass to get the lessons ingrained." I wonder what Sc¨¢thach was doing right now? I hoped she''s having fun, she deserved to have all the excitement she could find.


    There was a beat of silence as Pyrrha and I stared at each other before I opened my arms. She broke out into giggles as she went in and epted my hug.


    "Alright, seriously, how you been, Red?" I asked her again without the jokes.


    "I''ve been well." She smiled happily. "I''ve been looking forward to going to Beacon."


    "Oh? You decided to go to school on another Continent? I know you said that before, but I didn''t really have much time to talk to you about it." I questioned. "Wouldn''t they treat you as royalty here? I''ve seen all the poprity you''ve gotten since winning the tournament."


    "Please don''t remind me." She let out a groan. " I didn''t even technically win.....you would have won had we fought."


    "Eh, semantics"


    "It''s not! You would have beaten me. If the roles were reversed, would you have epted the championship like that?"


    "Without a second thought."


    "Will!"


    "Lavish me in that fame and fortune." Iughed.


    "You''re teasing me." She puffed up.


    "Hmm, only a little." I poked her forehead. "But Beacon, you sure about that choice? I don''t want my actions to have swayed you." She said she wanted to go there to be closer to me, but I hoped that wasn''t the entirety of the reason.


    "Well.....I know you were in Vale, so I wanted to be a little closer." She said quietly. "But I also wanted to get away from this ce. Mistral''s just as bad, I don''t think I could handle so many people fawning over me for four years."


    "Well, that sounds like a good decision as any." As long as it wasn''t solely because of me I wouldn''t argue. "And Beacon is pretty nice from what I''ve heard. But, you can''t expect it to be perfect either, you know. It was broadcast all over the ce, you''re going to have fans regardless."


    Pyrrha slumped her shoulders. "I know, it''s just...I''m hoping the people there will be able to see past it."


    "Just don''t close yourself off." Stretching my arms, I walked over to a nearby bench as I looked around. It was the same ce I''d caught her thest time I went away, so it was easy to find her again. "You better have atleast....30 friends when Ie visit you at Beacon."


    "Visit me at Beacon.....30 friends!?" She eximed. "How am I supposed to make 30 friends when I can barely make one." She sighed, sitting down next to me.


    "Don''t worry, I believe in you, Invincible Girl." I shot her a thumbs up.


    She dropped her face into her hands. "I hate that nickname." She groaned. "They make it sound like it was so easy. It makes it sound like the otherpetitors weren''t worth mentioning."


    "Got some blowback from them I take it?"


    "No." She huffed. "And that makes it worse."


    "Or, are you just assuming?" I nudged her with my shoulder.


    "Well...." She gave a pout. "It''s still disrespectful."


    "Uh huh."


    "It is!"


    "Sure."


    "Fine. Maybe I just don''t like it because it sounds too ostentatious."


    It was always fun to tease Pyrrha. "Could be worse." I pointed out.


    "I don''t see how it ¨C"


    "Crimson Haired Warrior Princess."


    "..."


    "Undefeated Magical Shining Fighting Champion."


    "....."


    "Ultra ¨C"


    "Brothers, please stop." She whined, pulling on my sleeve. "I would rather die. Just.....take my gun and shoot me right now."


    "Invincible Girl then?"


    She let out a long sigh. "And since I''ve gained a new perspective, I''ve realized, I don''t quite mind being called ''Invincible Girl''."


    "Hmm, I''m just gonna call you ''Red''." Iughed.


    She puffed up again. "You know....I''m not the only one going to Beacon either."


    "I imagine quite a few people are, otherwise the school wouldn''t be open."


    She yfully swatted my shoulder. "You know what I mean." She huffed. "But Rufus, Cobalt, and even Gundy and a few others all decided to go to Beacon too after finding out you were from Vale."


    "Wait, really?" I blinked at that. I remembered them from thepetition. I didn''t think I left that much of asting impression. "Wait, who''s Gundy again?"


    "You...erm.....blew him up in the first round."


    "Oh, oh!" I couldn''t help but startughing. "Well, fuck him."


    "He seems to have calm down after that...fight. He''s always been rather arrogant, but he''s be a bit more withdrawn and soft spoken. I think it might have really bruised his ego."


    "Among other things...." I muttered. "Well, maybe he turned over a new leaf and doesn''t try to antagonize people for no reason." I just ended it with a shrug. I barely had an impression of the kid, and I wasn''t going to seek out any kind of ''vengeance'' just because he insulted my mom. I blew him up within the rules of the tournament, that was enough.


    "Are you.....going to be around when I go to Beacon?" She hesitantly asked.


    "Maybe? I mean.....the heat should have died down. But regardless, I''ll make sure I''m up and about even if I have to be sneaky about it." I reassured her. "I wouldn''t want to miss the celebration when you get admitted."


    "You know, when I do officially join, I''m given certain authority. I''d still a Huntress in Training, but I could arrest you." She smiled. "So you better be on your best behavior. If I catch you doing anything illegal again I-I won''t hesitate to stop you." She poked at my shoulder.


    "Oh my, does the Huntress in Training admit to being friends with a nefarious criminal? What would your soon-to-be teammates think?" I couldn''t help butugh as I reached over and pulled her into a one-armed hug.


    She smiled brightly as she leaned against me. I didn''t think she cared much to think about the consequences right now when I mentioned the ''friends'' part. "What about you, Wilhelm? Why''d you suddenly pop up?" She asked. "N-not that I don''t like you being here." She quickly added.


    "Had some free time so I wanted toe check up on you, see how you were doing." I said idlily.


    "...I tried contacting your scroll, but I couldn''t get ahold of you." She whispered. "I thought...."


    "Hey." I yfully flicked her ponytail. "It''s not what you''re assuming. I was out of range of the towers, so you wouldn''t be able to connect with me."


    "You weren''t doing anything dangerous were you?" She looked up at me. "Or illegal." She added with a small huff. "If you went around stealing again, I''m going to be upset."


    "Hey, I''ve been on my good behavior." I chuckled at her expression. "But I may have gotten into some dangerous situations. Fought some things that I had to struggle against."


    "Really?" She looked surprised. "I mean....I guess that Sea Fei-long wasn''t the strongest Grimm out there, but I shudder to think what would actually be scary enough after seeing that."


    "Oh you know, just some Gods, nothing much." I said nonchntly.


    "I was being serious!" She huffed, swatting my shoulder again.


    "What, don''t believe I can throw hands with some Gods? I''m hurt Pyrrha, truly hurt." I dramatically clutched my heart.


    "You''re ridiculous." She snorted, letting some giggles slip through. "Fine, Mr. Godyer." She apanied that with an eyeroll. "And why did you ''fight'' some gods?" The sarcasm in her tone was palpable.


    "Well, funny story actually. Both times, it was because I talked about their moms." I scratched my head. "Whom I am actually friends with."


    "Sure." She said dryly.


    "I''m serious!"


    "Ipletely believe you."


    "You need to work on your lies, they''re really obvious."


    "You need to work on yours." She retorted.


    "....touch¨¦" Well, I''m d she''d opened up a bunch since we first met. "So, meet any boys?"


    "Y-you can''t suddenly just ask that!" She squeaked out.


    "Or Girls." I added with a smirk.


    "Will!" She turned red. "You''re just doing this to get back at me."


    "Maybe a little." I admitted. "But seriously, no crushes? No love interests?"


    She let out a sigh, her face still a tad red. "How am I supposed to meet anyone when I''m surrounded by fans who won''t give me space? All they see is the Invincible Girl."


    "Well, it''s decided." I stood up, clearing my throat.


    "What''s decided?" She looked confused at my sudden actions.


    "After you go to Beacon, I''m going to take you out and be your wingman." I straightened my tie and fixed my hair. "With my help, they won''t see you as the Invincible Girl. No, all they''ll see is the Crimson Haired ¨C"


    "You bully!" She threw herself at me, with a groan. I couldn''t help butugh as she tried to keep my mouth shut. Eventually, she settled on just wrapping her arms around me, squeezing me tight. "Thanks, Wilhelm." She whispered. "Thanks foring to see me, I really needed it. I couldn''t even go to my normal gym to train because there were crowds waiting outside for me. I just.....wanted to fee like a normal girl for awhile."


    "Of course, Red. What''re friends for?" Maybe next time, I would tell her the truth. I''d love for her to meet my family. I think she''d absolutely love Kunou.


    Speaking of.... "Hey."


    "Hmm?"


    "Wanna see pictures of my daughter?"


    "Bwahh!?" She made a strange noise in response.


    ***


    Ozpin POV


    "I''m d we could get everyone together." I cast my gaze around the room, and towards the screens that had James appeared on. "I know it''s been a trying few weeks and how busy everyone''s been. But I believe it important to have a meeting since the new year ising around."


    "Except Leonardo is once again absent." James looked annoyed. "How many times is this, Ozpin?"


    I let out a sigh. "I know, James. But he''s having his own difficulties. He''s had several of his top Huntsmen die recently."


    James grumbled but didn''t push the matter further. He should know just how dangerous these ''Mutant'' Grimm that had popped up could be.


    "Should we start with any good news?" I offered to alleviate the tension.


    "We''ve had a record number of students registering for the entrance exam." Glynda pushed up her sses. "Among those, several popr ones such as a few finalists in the Tournament."


    "Well, can''t help but be happy about that." Qrow sat in the corner, taking a drink of his sk. "More brats running around the better, I guess."


    "While I would word it differently, I agree with Qrow." James replied. "I''ve also seen a 7% increase fromst year. However, I will admit to the quality being noticeably inferiorpared to your current batch."


    "Now, James." I raised my coffee mug to hide my smile. "There''s no need to be jealous."


    James frowned. "I find it absurd that so many of this years talent all decided to go to Beacon."


    "Well, public talent." I pointed out. "Don''t think I don''t know that you''ve secretly been recruiting these past few years and keeping your best under wraps." I lightly chided.


    James, actually held a smirk at my usation. "It isn''t just the ones in training, either. As infuriating this hunt for that Wilhelm has been, we''ve also found quite a few Huntsman who aren''t registered, but are very strong in their own right. Not all of them wanted anything to do with us, but I''ve managed to recruit a handful which should really bolster our forces."


    "That is good news, James. I''m pleased that something good hase about this manhunt." The more Huntsman we have, the better prepared we are for the inevitable. "Is the council still giving you a hard time over your continued investigation?"


    James finally scowled. "I don''t know what the sudden shift was. But they just wanted me to drop it after all the time and effort I put in to tracking him down."


    "Yes, something is certainly fishy." I nodded. "I suspect that some foul y was involved as I have heard whispers of some of the Council Members wishing to repeal the warrant on young Wilhelm."


    "Ozpin!" James shouted. "We can''t let that happen!"


    "I can''t do much James, my hands are tied." I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Nor is it under the purview of my Huntsman to dictate the Council''s interests. Even if they are ¨C obviously ¨C corrupt."


    James just growled in annoyance.


    "Is it really that bad?" Qrow asked. "It''s not like he''s going around killing people.....other than those mobsters which I don''t think anyone''s going to lose sleep over."


    "He''s dangerous." James replied. "Not to mention his usage of Magic and he has a Relic! We can''t let him walk free without any constraints. Just think what would happen if we lost him to Salem and her people? The only reassurance I''ve had is that he''s probably avoided Salem''s people in extension of my own with his disappearing act."


    "Has there been any luck on his known associates? That Roman and the other girl? Or even Junior and his people?" Glynda asked.


    "There had been some sightings of Roman, but those didn''t go anyone. It seems like all of them went to ground and we''vepletely lost their trails."


    "And I''ve scoped out Junior''s bar a few times ¨C " Qrow interjected.


    "I''m sure you have." James said dryly."


    "¡ªAnd he''s been clean....rtively speaking. Been up to some shady shit, but that''s just normal Vale underworld crap."


    "Which we are apparently ignoring." Glynda sighed. "And we aren''t going after him, why...?"


    "Well, he''s actually not that bad." Qrow shrugged. "Doesn''t like to kill people, stays away from the stuff that''d piss the higher ups off. Not like his dad who just left bodies all over the city. Anyone who''d rece him would probably be worse."


    "Surprisingly well said, Qrow." I was impressed with his deduction and analytics. Despite his insistence of not staying sober, he was quite the intelligent young man.


    Yes, when needed, Qrow always measures up. He can ¨C


    "Are we still assuming he''s a chick?"


    And it''s gone.


    "You''re the one who made the assertion." James snorted.


    "I was joking."


    "And it''s a usible scenario!"


    "Whatever."


    I let out a long sigh. While I couldn''t.....disprove of that little theory, I also didn''t truly believe It myself. All the evidence was circumstantial at best. However.....I suppose it''s best not to cut off any ideas before we were absolutely certain.


    "I also have something new to report." James spoke up, a shift in his tone. "As you know, we''ve been tracking down Merlot''sbs."


    "Crazy scientist that''s been experimenting on Grimm." Qrow said nonchntly. "I''ve taken a few of them out myself. Pretty nasty things."


    "Yes." James said dismissively. "As I was saying. We''ve been tracking down his Labs, and the most recent one appeared over by Argus. I sent Winter and her Team to go investigate."


    "How''d Ice Queen screw it up this time?" Qrow said with a grin.


    "Branwen." James glowered. "Watch your words, she almost died."


    Qrow, for his benefit, realized he was in the wrong and dipped his head. James seemed to take that as a cue to keep going.


    "The report she gave me was...interesting."


    "This Merlot." I sighed. "There is more news about him then? It''s already causing a rise in negativity since these ''Green Grimm'' had been made public knowledge. Thankfully, the more sensitive information had been given a gag order.


    How lucky we were to stumble upon them during one of James''s almost routine investigations into Wilhelm. He thought he had a lead and sent his team, only to discover one of Merlot''sbs that housed the abominations.


    "The Lab itself wasn''t too difficult for my men to clear. Winter did a phenomenal job as always. It was tough, but they did it without any casualties nor any serious injuries. The only issue was when they climbed to the surface, there was a massive Nuckleavee waiting for them. At that point, They were exhausted and running low on Aura."


    "Oh James, tell me they''re okay." Glynda said with a very concerned tone.


    He let out a sigh. "Some wounded, but nothing life threatening nor anything that will force them to retire. We have a stranger stepping in to thank for that."


    "A stranger?" I asked.


    "Winter wasn''t able to get much out of her. She appeared to be at least in herte twenties to early thirties. Red Eyes, reddish-purple hair. She wore a somewhat revealing purple body suit and wielded a red spear that winter said, and I quote ¨C ''Made me feel like I was about to be stabbed at any moment.''." James stated.


    "A curious windfall then." I nodded. "We''re lucky she was able to help alleviate some of the burden and work with your team to y that monster then."


    "No, you misunderstand." James had a strange look sh across his face. "She yed it, practically on her own. AFTER she apparently killed another Mutant Grimm a little distance away."


    I set down my mug and blinked at that. "That''s.....impressive. Do we have a name? I can''t imagine a Huntress with such skill to be an unknown, especially at her age."


    "She said her name was ¨C" James looked down at some notes. "Sc¨¢thach. ording to Winter, she didn''t have ast name, nor did she refer to herself as a Huntress. Hell, her weapon was just a in spear!"


    "How''d she take down a Mutant Nuckvee? I had trouble with just some normal Mutant Beowulfs." Qrow spoke up.


    "ording to winter and backed up by her teams'' reports. She apparently was very fast and strong; we suspect an all around physical enhancement Semnce." James looked like he was reading off a report.


    "How rare." I praised. "Perhaps we can try to invite her at an opportunity?" It is truly rare for one to get such a Semnce that was so broad in application. I know Qrow''s niece had a speed-based one, but to have speed and strength is something special.


    "Winter tried, but she disappeared after they gave the woman a ride back to Argus. Wepletely lost track of her, but there had been reports of someone matching her description out in the wilderness, helping anyone she came across and killing Grimm whenever she crossed their path." James shook his head. "But that''s not the strangest thing. The women didn''t even look winded or haggard after her fight. And she finished it in one blow. Winter had trouble describing it, but the women thrust her spear and the Grimm was filled with holes made of this red energy, we suspect it was some kind of Aura maniption technique, however...."


    "James, you aren''t going to suggest Magic again, are you?" Glynda rubbed her temples. "How many times has it been in the past couple weeks?"


    "In my defense, one of those times was a Magic Artifact that was unearthed in Vacuo" He retorted.


    "That''s a fair response, James." He was a little quick to jump the gun sometimes, but if he didn''t follow his gut, we would have missed a young man wielding a Magic Amulet that still had some juice in it. It didn''t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it was able to give me a little pick-me-up since my powers had been severely drained after giving them away all those years ago.


    "I just don''t see how an Aura Maniption Technique could have done what Winter described. I''ll send you a copy to look over her own words." James stated.


    "That would be helpful, thank you James." I smiled. "I won''t tell you not to chase the lead, James. But just keep in mind the times you have been wrong and don''t focus too intently."


    "I know." He sighed. "I was just going to send some feelers out. It''s not like she''s a criminal, and she saved my team. I''m in her debt at the very least. She may be a Maiden, or she may not be, but I think in the worse case scenario, we could be friendly with a strong huntress, or whatever she calls herself."


    Logical. I couldn''t refute his words at all.


    "I appears that we have some good news then, which is quite a weed reprieve amongst everything that has been happening. Now, does anyone have anything to add before we start talking about the new year and the Vytal Festival that we''ll be hosting here in Vale?


    I didn''t see anyone speak up, so I continued. It wasn''t quite as exciting as what James had been up to, but it was something we needed to work out.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 257 - 242

    <h4>Chapter 257: Chapter 242</h4>


    It didn''t take long to find Sc¨¢thach.


    I saw herzing upon a hill, bathing in the sun. Given the signs of battle that marked the surrounding area, I guessed she took care of the local Grimm problem.


    There was no point in announcing my presence as I knew for a fact that she had noticed me. Instead, I just walked up, andid right down next to her.


    "Mmm." She let out a content noise as she snuggled up next to me.


    "You enjoy yourself?" I asked quietly, putting my arm around her.


    "I did." She giggled. "It was quite fun to explore the world and wander around like the old days."


    "What did you get up to?" I slipped my hand into hers, intertwining our fingers.


    "I assisted some brave warriors in ying these monster Grimm. I aided some younger ones in oveing their ws and weaknesses. And for the remainder, I merely helped around and yed Grimm when they appeared." She revealed with a wide grin.


    "No one worth taking in a as student?" I asked.


    "I did run into someone quite talented. Perhaps in a different life or time, I may have been tempted to do so. However, I cannot take responsibility as I am now."


    "Responsibility?" I questioned.


    "I would be required to train them thoroughly, just as I have you and my other students. That would mean spending much time away and making sure they were up to my standard before setting them loose. I cannot in good conscious dedicate that required time when I also have a duty as your woman." She exined. "So I merely left them with some lessons and tips on how to advance."


    After seeing my look, she blinked at me in confusion. "What?" She asked.


    "You''re really sweet." I leaned in, cing a gentle kiss on her lips. She hadn''t taken another student because she didn''t want to spend that much time away from me.....how could I not be moved by that?


    "Fufu, my student, you cannot simply give me only one~" She rolled ontop of me, locking eyes as she lowered herself, her soft lips parting slightly to allow our tongues to intertwine. There was no need for any words or actions for the moment as we just enjoyed the taste of each other.


    "Now." She spoke up, breaking the kiss. "Does that cheer you up, my lover?" She giggled.


    "You could always read me easily." I sighed, letting my head set against the grass.


    "You often wear your heart on your sleeve." She sat back down next to me as I felt her hand start running through my hair. "It is one of the qualities of yours that I find attractive. Now speak to me of your troubles, did something happen with that other woman?"


    "....It feels strange to talk about girl trouble with my woman." I snorted, letting out a sigh.


    "The humor isn''t lost on me either." She chuckled. "But I am here to help you in all your endeavors. As you say, I am your woman, for all that matters to you, such things are important to me as well."


    "I don''t deserve you." I choked out, wrapping me arms around her.


    "And don''t you forget it~" She yfully poked my cheek. "If you wish to reward this Sc¨¢thach, then we shall make sure your spear is tested tonight."


    "My teacher is lewd" I couldn''t help but smile.


    "Hmph, take responsibility for making this Sc¨¢thach moist between the legs." She huffed. "Now, speak. I will not have you mope about, especially infront of your other women."


    I let out another sigh. "It''s not much to say. I told her I had a harem before we got too involved, she didn''t take it too well. She didn''t....kick me out or anything, and even implied she wanted to continue. It''s just...I felt like there was more distance now. I know it''s to be expected, but I still can''t help but feel shitty."


    Salem was hard to read sometimes. I guess I should just keep going as I had been? I''m fairly sure she''d tell me to fuck off if she wanted me to. "It appears as though you must let nature take its course."


    "Yeah, that''s what I figured too. I was just going to see how things yed out after spending more time with her."


    "And how about you." She yfully nipped at my ear. "Besides thetestdy to catch your interest, did you partake in anything?"


    "I met with a friend, spent a few hours with her to catch up." I smiled.


    "That sounds pleasant." She said softly.


    "It was, and I''m d I stopped by. I''ll be checking in some more, so if you ever want toe on over, give me a heads up. I think I''ll anchor the house somewhere here soon to make it easier as well."


    "That would be most beneficial." Sc¨¢thach nodded.


    I let out a yawn as I sat up. "You ready to go or do you want toze around for a bit?"


    Sc¨¢thach pursed her lips before reaching out and pulled me back down with a giggle.


    Well, I guess that answers that question. It was fine to just rx and not worry about things for the time being.


    ***


    Yasaka POV


    So. Much. Paperwork.


    Just a little fire, no one would notice.


    I was about to push it off my desk until I noticed someone was approaching. I straightened myself up and appeared to be busy at work.


    "Lady Yasaka." Soma bowed as he entered.


    "Soma, what is it?"


    "We have a sudden visitor. Azazel of the Grigori is here and he wishes to speak." Soma exined.


    I suddenly felt a headacheing on. I resisted the urge to throw something in the presence of my faithful subordinate.


    Should I send him away? If he showed up in person, then he''s either confidant I''ll have to speak with him, or he won''t give up and he''s going to be annoying until he gets his way.


    I wished Wilhelm was here.....It would be nice to have him scare away Azazel. Amaterasu above, I know he''s going to start flirting with me and stare at my tits. I didn''t really care before ¨C many guys, and girls, did and it wasn''t like I exactly hid my boobs from view. But I felt a bit disgusted by it now that I had a man in my life.


    My cleavage definitely was a good tool for negotiations, but I didn''t want to do that anymore. These boobs were the property of Wilhelm, and I wouldn''t let others have any peeks anymore.


    What to do, what to do.


    Soma''s looking at me expectantly.


    "Take him somewhere to wait. Say I''m in a meeting." It''s not like he couldin when he dropped in unexpectedly. He should be lucky I don''t kick him out for stomping all over proper decorum.


    "Right away, Lady Yasaka." Soma bowed and disappeared.


    Should give me some time to think of what to do. Well.....if Wilhelm wasn''t avable, I did believe I have some sisters I can call upon.


    The benefits of being in a harem full of powerful women.


    I had wanted to bond more with Meridia as well. I feel as if she''s the most distant of all Wilhelm''s women, which was not unexpected once I learned of her origin.


    I took out one of those phone-things that I received from Artoria''s master. That Rin was such a lovely young women, I should do something nice for herter.


    It would be my first time using this thing. I yed around with it as I was familiar with the overall design and I connected across dimensions.


    "Hello?" A visual appeared on the device, and a familiar voice came through.


    "Hello, Meridia." I greeted politely.


    "Yasaka." Meridia nodded. "Do you require assistance?"


    Huh, was she so quick to jump to my defense? How sweet.....she keeps such a cold demeanor, but she''s just a softy underneath, wasn''t she?


    "I do, but it isn''t urgent. I ¨C"


    "I am here."


    I paused, looking up from my device as Meridia stood only a few feet away. I quickly sent a message to Wilhelm to use my office as his return point if he decided toe back in the next hour or so. Then I slowly turned it off and put it away. "Well, that was quick."


    "With the connection Wilhelm set up,ing over is not difficult. But I am merely at a fraction of my power whereas my main focus remains in my realm." She exined. "How may I assist?"


    "I....didn''t need you to rush over." Now I felt a little embarrassed. "I just wanted someone with me since an annoying sleazebag came over to annoy me."


    "It is no matter." Meridia didn''t seem to mind. "I.....wish to be helpful. I am aware I am not the most sociable of the bunch, so I would like to help when I can. This is but a small matter to me, think nothing of it."


    And now I can see why Wilhelm enjoyed teasing her so much.


    I wondered if she''d be open to some fun with Wilhelm and I together down the road. She had a face I would very much like to sit on.


    "I appreciate it, truly. I would have asked Wilhelm, but he''s absent at the moment." I smiled towards her.


    Meridia appeared appreciative of my thanks. "I am happy to assist my.....harem sisters." She stumbled a bit as she said it. I think she was embarrassed to say it out loud.


    And I knew for a fact that Jinn was the one who put that term in her head.


    "Well, I should give you a run down. He''s a Fallen Angel, the leader of the Grigori. He fell because he had sex with a human or something" I waived my hand flippantly, it wasn''t like that particr detail was important. "He''s sleezy and has no shame with where he stares." I adjusted my kimono to make sure my cleavage wasn''t showing.


    "If he leers at me, he will regret it." Merida crossed her arms.


    "He''s also a bit crafty, so watch his words." While he couldn''t do anything to Meridia from what I understood, I was still stuck here and with a whole faction to lead, so I couldn''t run. He could make my life very difficult he if chose to.


    Merida nodded curtly as she stood next to me, looking intimidating.


    "Soma." I called out, and my trusted guard appeared immediately. "Please bring Azazel in."


    "Right away, Lady Yasaka." He bowed, headed off to do his duty.


    "You have a good subordinate." Meridiamented.


    "Oh, I''m lucky to have him. He was orphaned and we took him in when he was young." I still remember that cute kid that came up to me and asked to be my guard.


    Such a sweetie and he grew up into a fine young man.


    Unfortunately my reminiscing was cut short as could smell cheap cologne as they got closer.


    "Yasaka, it''s been too long!" The Fallen Angel strode in like he owned the ce.


    "Azazel." I kept my expression even.


    He tried to sh that charming smile towards me, but it only made me want to vomit. How he''s able to swoon so many women, I didn''t understand. Though his gaze turned towards mypanion.


    "And who''s this charming young women." Azazel held nothing back as he stared at Meridia.


    "Taken." Meridia said sternly. "And retract your eyes from my legs lest you wish them removed from your head."


    I held back a smile as I saw Azazel''s eyes widen and he shivered at her words. I think she briefly released a bit of her power for him to take heed.


    He cleared his throat and continued. "Yasaka, how''s it been?"


    "Cleaning up messes. Something you would know nothing about since you push your work off onto other people"


    "Don''t be like that, I actually came here to help you." He smiled brightly.


    "I''m sure." I said dryly.


    "Hey, I''m on the side of the Angels here." He snickered. "Besides, would Ie all the way out here just to lie about something like this?"


    I let out a long sigh. "Get to it, Azazel, my patience is running thin."


    "Fine, fine. Alright, so I heard you were having some trouble after the whole mishap ¨C"


    "You speak of when my home was attacked and many of my number were killed in cold blood?" I rified.


    "¡ªSo I wanted toe and help you there" He ignored my words and continued. "How about I give you a big discount on some resources? Help you repair your wards, send in stuff to rebuild, those kinds of things."


    "And what would you want in return?" I might as well y along.


    "Nothing much. I heard you got your hands on some Sacred Gears recently." He said almost as if he was doing us a favor. "Oh, and I wouldn''t mind getting a meeting with your boy toy."


    "My....boy toy." I repeated. I knew Wilhelm had joked about that titleonce, but that was a joke between us. Not something to be used by an outsider. "By that, I presume you are speaking about the father of my Daughter? The Man for whom I have decided to be coupled to?"


    Truthfully, it wasn''t that angering of a statement he made. It was annoying, one of those stupid games to be yed to purposely get someone you''re negotiating with upset and possibly off bnce. He wanted my Sacred Gears and he had resources he perceived I needed. In his view, I was the one in the lower bargaining position, so he tried to make himself pull ahead further using such petty tactics.


    We had no proper alliances, and we also had nothing he wanted other than the Sacred Gears. So it wasn''t that strange that he''d taken a more ''aggressive'' form of negotiations to get what he wanted.


    "Come on, don''t get upset." He feigned an apologetic attitude. "I didn''t mean anything by it. Besides, I''m here to help. Making sure your people get back up on their feet is the priority."


    That smug undertone was truly grating.


    Get me upset, then remind me that he''s my ''only hope'' at helping my people. It would make a lesser person emotional enough to probably y into his hands.


    "No thank you." The corners of my lips curled up.


    "W-what?" He blinked, stuttering out in surprise.


    "Your services are not required." I said inly. "You may leave."


    "Are you really going to toss me out? Don''t you care about helping your people?"


    "Yes, that is why she has received ample support from other sources." Meridia snorted. "Mine included. Unless you seem to think you can provide anything I cannot?" Meridia narrowed her eyes as Azazel looked to sweat visibly.


    "As you can see, I have everything well in hand. I do not require help from someone who would.....levy my people''s needs against me so. I will call someone to walk you out."


    "Wait!" Azazel raised his voice. "I really do need to speak with the kid, it''s important. If not, it might get out that he has a certain dragon in a gauntlet. I''m sure we cane to some kind of arrangement to keep that a secret."


    Did Azazel find out that Wilhelm had Ddraig in his soul? He used it during the fight with Susanoo, but not many people recognized it as anything important from the very blurry images that were avable.


    Howughable, did he think that''s something he could use to extort us? He must really want those Sacred Gears.


    "Did someone call me?" A burst of Magic erupted out as Wilhelm made a very visible entrance


    And my man seemed to have impable timing as I believed Meridia was about to p Azazel into meat paste.


    And Sc¨¢thach was by his side, absolutely wonderful.


    Oh, did they do it again? The smell was really strong.


    .....that meanie,ing around me like that and not even offering some for me? I wonder if they knew how wet it made me when the smell was so strong.


    "Hey there, Kiddo!" Azazel perked up immediately. "Man, I''ve been looking for you for awhile since you did your little runner."


    And he immediately started pressing Wilhelm''s buttons. Did he have a suicide wish?


    "Sorry, who are you again?" Wilhelm said, dismissively.


    "Ouch." Azazelughed. "So I wanted to talk to you about something ¨C"


    "Not interested." Wilhelm said bluntly, ignoring him which probably did more to annoy the Angel than any words would.


    "Haah." Azazel let out a sigh. "You know, we''re pretty simr. We both left our homes when we didn''t like our dads."


    Wilhelm froze in ce as he slowly turned his gaze towards the fallen angel. "Alike? No, no. We''re quite different." The corners of Wilhelm''s lips turned up and I knew I was going to enjoy this. "I left my home when I was treated like shit. You, on the other hand, were tossed out of yours, because you were a shitty person."


    Azazel froze. He had a wide smile on his face, only to hide the scowl he would otherwise have gained. It was hard to elicit that kind of reaction from the Fallen Angel, but Wilhelm managed to do so in only a few words.


    And I knew one thing for sure, I was going to drain my man dry when this was over.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 258 - 243

    <h4>Chapter 258: Chapter 243</h4>


    I stared at the man infront of me, the room had gotten noticeably quiet. He quirked a cheerful smile, but you could feel a hint of annoyance emitting from him.


    He had pushed my buttons, but I was sure I had just sledgehammered his. Or so I think, he''s lived a long life, this could all be fake.


    "Well, this didn''t turn out as expected~" The Fallen Angel forced himself tough. "You sure I can''t convince you to trade me those Sacred Gears?" He seemed to gloss over the fact that we had just traded barbs a moment prior.


    Yasaka looked like she held back from sighing. "I have uses for them, Azazel. I will not be trading them." She said as bluntly as possible.


    "Well....How about another offer then? I can help you....extract them, for a price." He grinned.


    "Your services are not required." Yasaka said once more.


    "Oh, don''t be like that Yasaka!" Azazel started to saunter up to her. Meridia, who had her arms crossed, raised a single finger up, and Azazel paused in his steps, shing a concerned look before he backpaddled in his tracks. "Maybe you don''t know, but taking out a Sacred Gear is hard! If you don''t do it right, the person dies and the soul drifts away with that little prize still attached, back into the cycle of reincarnation that dear ol'' Dad set up."


    Yasaka''s expression didn''t change, she made no response, but Azazel perked up. "Unless....you don''t need my help as opposed to not wanting it." He slowly turned around the room until he eyesnded on me. "Oh.....now that makes a bit more sense." He rubbed his chin. "Mr. Takao, or should I call you Wilhelm, or even Red Dragon Emperor?"


    He was trying to get a reaction out of me, this wasn''t more foot in mouth nonsense. He was doing thispletely on purpose. Azazel, the leader of the Grigori, one of the oldest Angels in the world, was far too old to act like a petnt child for no reason...probably.


    I held my hands behind my back. I wasn''t going to get physical just because he was annoying and had done nothing. I wasn''t going to act like Susanoo did. Though, the moment he stepped over that line, all bets were off. However, I think he''s too smart to step foot over it. Not to mention, Yasaka was acting calm, and I wasn''t going to overstep in her own ce just because I was annoyed.


    Despite everything, this man was the head of another Faction, one with ties to others and it would look very bad on Yasaka if something unfortunate happened to him while under her roof. Which he''s most likely using to his advantage.


    "Hmm, should I call you Young Master Azazel?" I raised an eyebrow in response.


    "Young master...?" He repeated in confusion.


    "Wasn''t the reason you fell; because you shouted out your father''s name in order to getid? ''Godmands that you sleep with me''." The corners of my lips curled up as I waived my hand flippantly. "If that wasn''t Young Master behavior, well, maybe I''m not that up to date on my terminology?"


    I vaguely recalled the story of Azazel. There was more to it than that, but the ''event'' that led to his fall was finding a woman bathing in a river and dering that Godmanded that they have sex or some other nonsense.


    Basically, he used his father''s name to getid.


    Young Master Azazel.


    There was the smallest reaction, one that I would have missed had I not been paying attention for it. "What a sense of humor you have." Heughed again. "I''ll have to tell your dad all about that one when I see him next."


    Hmm, definitely not doing that by ident, and I don''t think the purpose here was just to annoy me, nor the others for that matter. I came herete, and just by the few minutes I''d been with him, I could imagine how fed up Yasaka was.


    "Speaking of, I heard you''re swinging in his weight ss now, huh? Picking a fight with ol'' Susanoo. You sure know how to make everyone worried down there." He eyed me again. "By the way, I heard you also have Dad''s spear. Never got the chance to look it over, care to let a neighbor borrow it for a few days?"


    "Azazel." Yasaka spoke rather authoritatively. "My patience has reached its end. If the next words out of your mouth have nothing important within them.....I''m sure I can call up Lady Izanami for a repeat of herst performance."


    "Oh, so you''re still on good terms with her, huh?" Azazel smiled brightly. "Good to know, good to know." He hummed. "Alright, I know when I''m not wanted." He threw his hands up.


    "Soma." Yasaka called out, the summoned Tengu immediately appearing, head bowed. "Please escort Azazel out." She said with a bit of bite to her tone.


    Azazel didn''t argue as the Youkai led him away. We all stayed silent until his presence disappeared.


    "That is not how I expected one of these Fallen Angels to act." Sc¨¢thach spoke up, dismissing her spear. She hadn''t said a word once in his presence.


    Yasaka let out a very long sigh. "Fallen Angels are annoying." She rubbed her temples. "Azazel one of the worst. He propositioned me so many times over the years."


    "It would have been easier if I just smote him." Meridia huffed.


    "As gratifying as that would be, my Youkai Faction couldn''t handle the fallout. Even if I had you all on my side, they would suffer in someway. My patrons might evene down against us if things escted. Azazel is much older than me, I don''t know the extent of his influence or connections in the event that he died or calls for help." The Fox Youkai grumbled. "I could use his little visit as an excuse to kick up a fuss, but that would require I contact the Grigori and speak with them...."


    "Which is more trouble than it''s worth." I added.


    Wiping out the Grigori? Not that challenging if we pulled ourselves together. Dealing with the fallout? Well.....Yasaka would take the brunt of it, and that''s in no way shape or form fair to her and her people.


    "Especially when they don''t'' see us as worth anything." Yasaka nodded. "Besides the Sacred Gears we''d just acquired, there isn''t anything of significant that they would desire."


    "I believe he had other agendas." Sc¨¢thach interjected. "He seemed.....too sure of himself. I believe his antics had a secondary objective in mind."


    "I thought so too. He acknowledged that I fought Susanoo, and didn''t even seem phased when he knew he was poking at me and I was getting annoyed." I shook my head. "Who knows, those types of people are hard to predict."


    Politics, so annoying. Even with Meridia by my side, by Yasaka''s side, she couldn''t be around forever. If Yasaka suddenly had a big stick to swing around at the other factions, and for a brief moment it goes away, she would get pounced on the moment she was seen as vulnerable.


    It''s best to just strengthen Yasaka and her faction silently for now.


    However, if someone started shit...well, I doubt we''d care at that point. Azazel was annoying, but he wasn''t ¨C put children in cages ¨C annoying like a certain other person we had mobilized against.


    "Regardless, good riddance." Meridia spat out. "I did not enjoy the way he eyed me."


    "Yeah, only I''m allowed to admire your legs so tantly!"


    "Of course ¨C" She stopped mid-sentence, sending me a faux re while her cheeks were filled with a light pink.


    "Wilhelm, don''t tease the poor woman." Yasaka stood up, walking over and hugged the Daedric Lord. Meridia stiffened slightly, but, she seemed receptive to the sudden affection. "And thank you, Meridia for the help."


    "Hmph, atleast someone appreciates me." Meridia huffed, looking right at me. "All I receive from you are molestations and incessant teasing."


    "That''s not true." Iughed, joining in the hug. "I also give you lots of kisses~" I leaned forward, capturing her lips. She epted, almost greedily if a bit brief.


    "Mou~ This Fox is going to get jealous." Yasaka giggled. "I have to smell Wilhelm and Sc¨¢thach after they went several rounds, and now I get left out."


    "Fufu, well, I wouldn''t be against you joining next time. We may make some headway on his unyielding stamina if we worked together." Sc¨¢thachughed as she joined in just for the fun.


    Meridia looked....unsure of how to react, but I don''t think she hated it.


    "Hugs are nice."


    "This is pleasant." Meridia acknowledged. "However, I wish to return if there are no pressing matters."


    "There isn''t anything I need, and thank you again for stopping by." Yasaka expressed her full gratitude. "I''m sure you stopped him from really going all out with his annoying attitude or the power ys."


    "Hmm, I''lle visit soon, okay?" I stated.


    Meridia pursed her lips. "You maye when you wish, I will entertain you." She replied. "That too does that apply to all of you. I would...enjoy it if I found anyone in mypany."


    "I might take a stroll over soon too." Sc¨¢thach looked thoughtful. "I have not had the chance to explore your world yet."


    "My home is open to you." Meridia smiled lightly. "And lest I forget, Yasaka, I have the next batch of materials you requested. They should be suitable to be delivered in the next couple days."


    "Oh" Yasaka perked up. "Wonderful! I really can''t thank you enough. If I had to buy this stuff here, we would be going heavily in debt."


    "Think nothing of it. These things are worthless to me and I can easily send as much as you require." Meridia looked a bit happy to be of assistance. I think this is her way of trying to bond with her. "Wilhelm...." She said quietly, escaping the various arms as she turned towards me onest time.


    Oh, did my Meridia want a goodbye kiss? It''s not normal for her to speak up about it, even if it''s what she wanted. "As I said, I''ll be over to y soon?" I reached out, grabbing her hands. Leaning up, I ced onest kiss on her lips, earning a content look from her.


    She nodded onest time before quite literally disappearing from the area, returning back to her world extremely quickly.


    "My Student, you truly lucked out on that one." Sc¨¢thach looked on with an amused look. "Never have I seen such a powerful entity allow themselves to act like such to their ''inferiors''."


    "Yeah, she''s really something special." I couldn''t help but smile before returning my focus. "So...out of curiosity, what exactly are you going to do with those Sacred Gears?"


    Yasaka furrowed her brow. "I was going to give them to some loyal subordinates of mine....but I have run into difficulties."


    "Need help removing them?"


    "I would appreciate the assistance. As annoying as Azazel is, he was right about the difficulty in removing them without them being spirited away in the process." Yasaka sighed. "Then there''s the matter of who I''m going to give them to. They are not an insignificant power boost to most people. Enough to propel someone a full rank if utilized correctly. I''m hesitant to trust after being betrayed so tantly."


    "I''m surprised any of the Hero Faction is still alive, to be honest." I mused.


    "Alive is....stretching it. While I would take no pleasure in torturing children, there are methods to reduce them to inactiveness that are not inherently painful."


    Hmm, that''s smart I suppose. She did originally keep them alive for information, and their Sacred Gears. They''d pretty much served their purpose.


    "I can devise a Geass for you to distribute with the Sacred Gears." Sc¨¢thach spoke up. "Supported by my Runes, I find it unlikely that anyone you wish to bestow those objects upon will be able to break it."


    "A Geass?" Yasaka tilt her head. "Ah, one of those magical contracts from the west?"


    "Hmm, that isn''t an incorrect summarization." Sc¨¢thach nodded. "Or, if you wish an opinion on who to hand these objects to, I have trained with your troops enough to have a rough estimate of their strengths and potential as well as their personality."


    "What would I have done without you all?" Yasaka let out a sigh, a little smile growing on her face. "I have a list I''ve been working on, while we go over it, tell me about your time on Remnant!"


    "Oh, it was fun." Sc¨¢thachughed.


    "Hmm, I have a bottle of wine I''ve been meaning to open, I believe this a perfect asion to break it out and rx~" Yasaka grinned.


    "Why don''t I go pick up Kunou?" I offered. "Let you both enjoy yourselves?" It was almost that time, maybe a few minutes early.


    "So thoughtful" Yasaka cooed.


    "My student does have his moments." Sc¨¢thach agreed with her.


    Not that I ever would mind picking up Kunou from school, or otherwise spending time with her, but I figured Yasaka needed to unwind a bit. She''s no doubt stressed about Amaterasuing down in a couple days, add Azazel''s little appearance.....


    Yeah, let her have some fun with Sc¨¢thach.


    ***


    Azazel POV


    "Azazel, why are you calling me so suddenly?" I looked at the green-haired man across the magicalmunication spell.


    "Ajuka! It''s been too long."


    "Azazel." He sighed. "I''m not in the mood for your games, nor do I have the time for them."


    "Aww, don''t be like that. I just wanted to tell you of my little trip ¨C "


    "I don''t care about what you get up to."


    " ¨CTo Kyoto" I finished.


    That caught his attention. "Please don''t tell me you caused more problems." He rubbed the bridge of his nose.


    "Me? No, never." I denied. "But I did meet your little run away."


    Ajuka let out a long sigh. "This better be good, we''re busy trying to find out what''s been going on in Ennd that had Michaele down from Heaven."


    "Oh?" I rubbed my beard. "I did hear something about that, but I''ve been busy with other things. Anything interesting happen?"


    "All involved parties aren''t speaking and it''s too.....noisy to try and figure anything out through alternative methods." Ajuka replied. "I don''t have much time, get on with it."


    "Fine, fine. In a gesture of good will, I wanted to share with you some things I discovered." We really need this peace talk to happen sooner rather thanter. Hopefully, this''ll help allow me to mediate a bit more between them and Heaven. "As I said, met the brat. And Yasaka for that matter, her boobs are still amazing by the way."


    "Noted." He said dryly. "Do you actually have anything important to add or did you just waltz in and make a fool of yourself?"


    "Yes." I nodded with a grin.


    "Dammit, you''re as bad as Serafall. What happened?"


    "Well, managed to find a few things out." Iughed in response. "Those rumors about Sc¨¢thach walking around in Kyoto? Might not be just rumors."


    "That''s.....interesting. Do you have any evidence?"


    "There was a women there when I met Yasaka. 10/10 beauty, amazing chest and ass" I shot him a thumbs up, but he only groaned in response. "Anyways. She also had a spear that absolutely reeked of bloodlust, so....yeah. Two and Two, isn''t hard to add. Could be a coincidence, but it was worth noting" I shrugged.


    I purposely didn''t talk to her. It felt like she was ready to run me through at any moment.


    "That could be valuable to know in the future." Ajuka mumbled to himself. "Anything else to note?"


    "Hmm, there was another women there, definitely a Goddess, no idea who though." I scratched my head. "I honestly didn''t recognize her, which is strange."


    "How is that strange? Can you say you recognize every Goddess on the?"


    "Well.....when just a single finger of hers moved, it felt like the world was crashing down on me, yeah, it''s weird. I''m pretty damn sure I should have recognized a Goddess that would take that Fire Crotch of yours to have a chance of winning against." I snorted, shuddering as I recalled the feeling. Thankfully, she seemed more tempered than the spear-woman. Or, at least she seemed less bloodthirsty. Gave me a bit of confidence to do my whole song and dance. "Got a good look at her, tried to see if there was any features that made her identifiable, but I''ming uppletely nk. I''ll send you a pictureter."


    "Alright, I''ll look into it." Ajuka nodded. "Anything else?"


    "Hmm, yeah. Whatever is happening there, it''s bigger than we thought." I tapped my finger against my chin. "They''re apparently recovering much quicker from their attack than expected. I can''t say I paid them much attention before, having nothing to catch my interest. But the Shinto God''s certainly aren''t lending any hands. The ''Goddess'' made ament about helping out, so I have no idea what''s happening behind the curtain."


    "So, we''re still in the dark about that whole mess, only adding more strangeness to it." Ajuka sighed. "This is helpful information though; I appreciate the update."


    "Yeah, well, I''m not done." Should probably talk about the brat. "Wilhelm, Sirzech''s bastard. I wasn''t lying, I did meet with him for a few minutes. Came right in when I was trying to get those Sacred Gears from Yasaka." Admittedly, I had thought I would be able to nab them for a price, even if that wasn''t the entire reason I went over. "Kid wasn''t intimidated by me at all."


    "How....surprising." He added that dry tone of his again.


    Yeah, whatever. I''ve had to work hard to cultivate this ''persona'' of mine. Not that it''s fake in the slightest, but it''s easy to move around when I''m just the innocent idiot. Still, I''m not some mook to ignore. He was very confidant when staring me down, and it didn''t feel like over confidence. I may not have the raw power of Susanoo, but that doesn''t mean I would be helpless in a fight against him. I always did prefer brain of brawn.


    "Kid his age, his background, suddenlying into a significant amount of power." I pointed out. "Do you think you''d be calm if I started throwing your dad in your face after everything he''s gone through?" I questioned. "He didn''t overly react, just threw a few barbs right back at me. And there''s one thing for sure, kid''s got a sharp tongue on him."


    Really sharp tongue, made me even stutter a couple times. Goes right for the verbal jugr.


    Yeah, he should beshing out, arrogant as all hell, throwing fists at the first insult. Instead, he just took it, returned in kind and didn''t overly react. It felt more like I was dealing with a peer than a brat that hadn''t lived for two decades. On top of which, he threw down with a God and still wasn''t parading himself around like it wasn''t some noticeable feat.


    And we still have no damn idea how he suddenly got so strong. He somehow got the Boosted Gear, because I damn well know he wasn''t born with it. Adding on to the fact that I was able to eek out that bit of information about not needing me to extract the others. It''s clear as day to know that he took it from someone.


    "Michael wasn''t misleading us either; kid has the True Longinus." I made sure to add that tidbit in. Michael did say that it was in the hands of Sirzech''s Bastard but...it''s hard to take that at face value. He couldn''t physically lie, but that doesn''t mean he has to tell the truth.


    Should smooth rtions between them a little bit knowing that. That damn spear was probably the greatest weapon on the when ites to kill Devils. It being in the hands of a Half-Devil should really ease a lot of tension there.


    "You were able to confirm it?"


    "Eh, I gauged his reaction when I talked about it." I waived him off. "He didn''t act surprised in the least when I spoke about him having it. So, call it an 80% chance." I shrugged.


    "I''ll take your words under advisement." Ajuka said evenly. "Were you able to gauge any of his....motivations?"


    "You mean is he actively plotting against the Devils?" I snorted, but the Satan didn''t deny it. "Dropped Daddy''s name a few times, he showed annoyance, but not outright hostility. Take from that what you will."


    Again, he was way too even tempered.


    "And what if he did take exception, Azazel?" Ajuka asked. "It sounds like you walked a fine line."


    "I wouldn''t have lived this long If I didn''t have a few methods to run away, even from a God." I smirked. However....that Goddess did give me a very bad feeling. I couldn''t gauge her strength, but she was way above me. "Besides, Yasaka was there, any move against me would make Heaven and Hell stand together against her."


    "Please don''t use our tentative agreement as an opportunity to go cause trouble." Ajuka sighed again.


    While we''re ''warring'' on the surface so to speak, we''re united against other Pantheons. We have to be, now that dad bit it all those centuries ago. And it wasn''t a secret, if something happened to me, the Shinto Gods would have been pulled into it by Sirzech''s and Michaeling down like Dad''s own fury. Despite everything, I''m still the leader of the Grigori, so any move on me is by default a move on the Grigori and by extension all of us.


    "And for what it''s worth, I did confirm that the kid did fight Susanoo. Figured it was worth double checking from the source."


    "There was very little doubt, but a confirmation is always appreciated." Ajuka nodded in approval.


    "Oh, and Izanami is still in the picture. Got Yasaka to make an offhandment about me getting the same treatment from her." I let out augh, remembering what happened to Okita. "So.....careful of her I guess."


    Japan''s Death Goddess wasn''t someone to take lightly.


    "What about Wilhelm himself?"


    "Well.....kid definitely got strong. If you''re asking me for details, I don''t really have much to give. You saw him fight a God, so more or less about there." I shrugged. "Though I did notice him invoke Dad''s name and didn''t even flinch."


    "Oh?" Ajuka perked up. "Interesting."


    Sirzechs and co could do that easily enough, and someone like Grayfia could as well if she were prepared. But to casually call out father''s ''name'' and not even flinch, well, it was worth noting.


    "It seems like you had a productive meeting." Ajukamented.


    "I didn''t get any Sacred Gears." I sighed. "My whole trip, wasted!"


    Well, now I could tell Vali that we''re not allowed over in Kyoto! What a shame. It seemed like those two dragons couldn''t be allowed to fight so soon, truly, what a shame. Brat will at least believe I got us banned without questioning it. I can probably add that Wilhelm''s stronger, so he needed to train for a few more years.


    Should keep him from causing trouble until the peace treaty was settled. I can only threaten him with the ''big sis'' routine so much before he eventually runs off. Better to get him focused on training for a while to distract him.


    "Yes, I''m sure that''s the only reason you went there." He drawled.


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about~"


    "Are you not worried that you could have caused any issues by acting like you did?"


    "I get the boot? They kick up a fuss, and my people just say the same thing they always say ¨C ''Oh, it''s just Azazel being Azazel, we''re sorry, h h." I shrugged. "Hell, get the Shinto involved, that means they''d be forced to actually talk with us. I''d call that a win as well."


    Kill a dozen or so birds with one stone.


    ***


    No Chapter this monday, going to be working veryte.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 259: Interlude 13

    <h4>Chapter 259: Interlude 13</h4>


    Lugh POV (DxD)


    "Did we really have to meet here?"


    I looked at the other God present, the former Head of the Norse Pantheon ¨C Odin. It''s been many years since his son was passed the throne.


    "It''s an informal meeting." I bit into a little pastry. "And I quite like visiting these human establishments when given the chance." Granted, I made sure it was empty just for us. Didn''t want humans or anyone else barging into or eavesdropping on our talks.


    "Bah, we should have gone to a strip club then." Odin grumbled.


    This was the former head of the Norse.....though I''d still take him over Zeus any day. Atleast Odin was mostly harmless these days and just acted like an idiot because he''s bored.


    "While this is an informal meet, All-Father, it''s still a meeting between different Pantheons." I said courteously. "It''s hard to talk with women bouncing their butts in your face."


    "That''s the point, you don''t'' talk." Odinughed.


    Well, that''s fair point I supposed. I don''t think he really wanted to be here, not that anyone particrly enjoyed these kinds of discussions between different cosmologies. Always full of the butting of heads and egos mming into each other. I preferred this method, an informal meeting between some the more easy going members of the different factions.


    "And I don''t think our third member of this little get together would appreciate such a ce." I pointed out as well.


    "That Biblical God." Odin spat. "I still can''t believe he did something so...horrible to those creations of his. Atleast that Azazel had the right idea! Who cares if your wings are ck if you have a big pair of tits to hold onto!"


    It took all of my Godly strength not to m the palm of my hand to my face.


    Though, it was kind of strange that he forced his Angels into such strict roles. Well, it definitely wasn''t the strangest thing a God did...all of us had our quirks even as we mellowed out over the centuries as humanity evolved.


    Regardless, it''s not polite to talk about the dead ¨C or the currently dead. There were still some talk if the Biblical God was truly dead or not. Not that many wanted to test that theory. Even if he''d faded, Heaven still held an obscene amount of power at its disposal.


    His Angels weren''t the strongest beings in existence, but backed by the majority of Faith in the world.....even I wouldn''t want to face them. What do the humans call it ¨C Mutually Assured Destruction? If anyone tried to besiege Heaven, they would unleash all that stored power and could utterly annihte an entire Cosmology. They would most likely die in the process or cease being a true faction, but no one wanted to be the ones to pop that balloon.


    A Sword of Damocles over everyone''s heads. Asical as it was to think about how one of the weakest Pantheons in the world was keeping everyone in line, I''m also thankful that they are in fact, one of the weakest. If they had ambitions like Indra does, the world would be in a much more chaotic state. They seemed content on just upholding the current stability right now, which gained my admiration. It was one of the reasons I agreed to that peace pact all those years ago.


    Some of my kin were upset about the Christian encroachment onto ournds, but I had seen/saw the writing on the walls. It was inevitable, and if we tried to press, the humans would have pushed back. And no one dared to be the ones to break the masquerade, so we were left without any avable major moves to counter their expansion.


    In hindsight, I did believe I made the correct decision. I feared we could have turned out like the fallen Gods in America after the waves of Christian immigrants nearly pulled them up by their roots and banished them from their homes, only to slowly fade into obscurity.


    Thankfully, we still had many followers and practitioners of the old ways. Those who held reverence for us, even in this modern era. And the Church left them alone, as per the agreements.


    We may not be as worshiped like the Indians, or the majority of the Eastern Pantheons, but we had a steady supply of faith and worship that had us not worrying about the future. The Sumerian Gods were a lesson that many of us took to heart.


    One of the worse ways a God could die...being forgotten.


    "It seems like our third is finally here." I perked up.


    "Did the brilliant lightshow give it away?" Odin waived his hand flippantly. "All those brats so obsessed with making a shy appearance."


    "I apologize for beingte, I was unfortunately held up." The neer walked inside the building. His glowing wings disappeared, and the halo above his head was covered. He appeared in mundane clothing, but that did nothing to hide the holy aura he pulsated.


    "Archangel Michael." I politely greeted.


    "God of Light, Lugh." He smiled back with a nod. "And All-Father, Odin."


    "Brat." Odin huffed.


    The Angel pulled up a seat and we were all gathered.


    "In the spirit of hospitality, shall I offer you something to drink or eat from this shop?" While he was not technically under my ''roof'' so to speak, it was the courteous thing to offer.


    "The offer is appreciated, but I shall excuse myself." Michael politely declined.


    "Hey, why didn''t I get an offer?" Odin interjected.


    "Well, let''s get on to business then." I ignored the Older God''s fake whining.


    "Bah, all you brats these days. No respect for the elderly."


    "You''re barely older than me, Odin." I snorted.


    "Still higher up, brat." Odinughed.


    Which was something I couldn''t argue with, unfortunately. I doubted Odin even cared about it as well, he often mingled with the ''younger generations'' as he often pointed out. I think he just did it to annoy people or get his way.


    "So, shall we begin this impromptu meeting?" I offered.


    "Please." Michael said with a smile.


    "Yeah, that big burst of power that erupted in both of your guys'' territories." Odin said unceremoniously, jumping right into the thick of it.


    "Yes, that." I supposed there was no need for the normal formalities in this situation. "The Descendants of Arthur Pendragon. I believe at this point we all know the source of the power spike happened right atop of them."


    "Hmm, and don''t forget the Magics I told you about." Odin spoke up. "I noticed some very particr things pop up over there too."


    And wasn''t that something to give though to. What kind of Magic would make a God of Magic take notice? I was also adept in Sorcery, holding some amount of domain over it, but I would freely admit that Odin was superior to me in that regard.


    As for the family itself, Arthur Pendragon was someone whom I respected, as far as humans went. I would have put him on the same level as my son when speaking of them objectively. While it was a little outside of mynds and in Wales, I still watched them during that era.


    "The Church sent people to investigate, but they aren''t being cooperative." Michael added. "The former head of the family was executed after an incident urred. We''ve tried to get in contact with them again, but they''ve closed themselves off."


    "Why don''t you brats just bring a few of your winged ones down there, get them to talk?" Odin seemed almost bored.


    "We''re hesitant to be hostile in case the forces that we all sensed is something that was harnessed by the family. Or more likely, if it was the cause of someone else." Michael shook his head. "And there''s the matter of the contention we''ve had with that family for many years now. If we simply go down and force them into anything, our other allies won''t look upon us well."


    "I''ve heard that it had something to do with that Sword your father created." Imented.


    Michael, for the briefest moment seemed to look mncholic. "We''ve set up some Magical Sensors around our territory since the fragments of Excalibur had been stolen. All of them triggered at the presence of that power spike. However...there isn''t a feasible way that the Excalibur fragments could have produced that phenomenon. Even when it was still whole, Excalibur was not at that level of strength."


    "Yeah, it reminded me more of my son''s hammer or this brat''s spear." He jerked his thumb at me. "Those toys of yours couldn''t evene close matching our Divine Weapons. No offense."


    "I take none." Michael smiled. "It was a weapon meant for humanity, not for Divine hands. I''m happy that it served its purpose and continues to do so, even at a reduced capacity."


    "Perhaps that spear of yours? Your sensors may have been triggered by a simr ''source'' of holy power?" I offered an exnation.


    Michael shook his head. "The Spear is currently in Japan in the hands of.....Lucifer''s son." He smiled bitterly.


    Odin erupted inughter. "That''s great! The Devils have your spear! Hahahaha!"


    "Odin...."I let out a sigh.


    Michael didn''t seem to get upset. Not that I''d seen him upset in many centuries. As the humans say ¨C the patience of a saint. "Thankfully, the one who possesses it is a Half-Devil and not inmunication with the Devil Faction as a whole."


    "Could have messed up those peace talks of yours if the Devil brat holds onto it." Odin finally calmed down.


    "Yes....the secret peace talks that shouldn''t be known." Michael sighed.


    Odin just looked smug.


    "Was this the same Half-Devil who fought Susanoo?" I asked. I assumed, but I would like confirmation.


    Susanoo wasn''t the strongest God in the world, in fact, either me or Odin could''ve handled him rtively easily since he didn''t have his own Divine Weapon anymore, but he was still a notable God. But to be defeated by a Half-Devil, it was concerning to say the least. However, I took Odin''s advice and was keeping a cautious distance and was willing to let others test the waters.


    "Yes." Michael said simply. "Which is another reason we haven''t tried municate with him. I don''t wish to send any of my family into a vtile situation until we had more information."


    "Hmm, it seems you brats have gotten smarter over the years. Would do none of your lot good to go demand the spear at this point. You all already got all that Faith Power, what more would the Spear do for you right at this moment that you couldn''t live without."


    "It''s as you say, we aren''t in desperate need for it, but it would be nice to have it returned to our hands." Michael nodded. "I will wait till after our peace talks before reaching out."


    "I may join you then." I tapped my finger on the table.


    "Oh?" Odin perked up. "You''re taking those rumors seriously?"


    "Wouldn''t you?" I retorted.


    "Meh, I''m retired." He shrugged.


    "Are you speaking of the rumors about Sc¨¢thach appearing in Japan under the Youkai faction?" Michael asked.


    "Yes, and the more I''ve looked into it, the more it fills me with dread." I groaned, feeling the headache of politicsing on.


    "Would it not be beneficial if a strong figure reappeared and rejoined your pantheon?" He tilted his head in confusion.


    "Not all of us are like your Heaven." I smiled bitterly. "Even in times of peace, we''re a warlike people. We have strong opinions, grudges, and an overall disdain for certain people within our own families that hasn''t gone away after centuries. If Sc¨¢thach reappeared, certain things may be dredged back up and cause a conflict when things are already teetering." I shook my head in annoyance. "Not to mention the Fomorians have been more active recently and my Tuatha De Danann are responding in kind. And as their King, I can''t tell my people not to prepare for war against our ancient foes."


    "Annoyingly, the Frost Giants are also getting a bit more aggressive too." Odin grumbled. "We don''t know what''s happening, but it seems like a lot of different factions around the world are getting riled up. Though I feel like I know where to ce the me at."


    "Ah, so you''ve heard about movements from them too." Probably the most universally reviled faction. Though if you asked them, they weren''t all ''one faction''.


    "I believe I have heard these reports as well, but I have yet to make a response." Michael added.


    "Those damn Fae." Odin glowered. "They do nothing but cause messes and then run away into their strangends!"


    The Faends, that cursed ce. Not much was known about thends Fair Folk, even to us Gods. They were nearly impregnable, and if by some chance you found yourself there, they were almost impossible to navigate even for Gods. Time was a suggestion, Space wasughed at, Direction was dismissed, and Distance was irrelevant.


    "We have....pacts, old ones, with the Courts, but you know how they are. We''ve noticed more of them springing uptely and it''s made some of my people...anxious." The Devils were hated, but the Fae ¨C the ones that existed in their strange realms, they were absolutely despised.


    And it just so happened that many of their entrances into the human world were present in our little corner of the world. It didn''t seem to matter to them that they were out matched in pure strength, they would still not back down and take revenge at the smallest percieved slight.


    "I''m going to tell those dwarves to start pumping out some iron weapons and pass them around. I''ll make it so your lot can buy them at cost." Odin snorted. "Damn Faeries, trick me intoying with Troll did they? I''ll get them back."


    While Odin''s particr reason for his hatred wasn''t the same as ours, we would both prepare our people. Nheless, weapons forged by the famous dwarves of Nidavellir were nothing to dismiss even if they were basic iron weapons. I''m sure they''d be more valuable than anything a normal smith could create with better materials.


    "I''ll send word after this meeting to prepare for the worst. Our Holy Scriptures seems to have an effect and are able tobat their mours and other abilities, so we''ll start there and see what methods are still avable from the old days." Michael stated.


    The Holy Scriptures of their church were ''all epassing'' as opposed to most Magics which skirted around the Fae Magics. A strange interaction that came about, but a weed one to have on our side.


    "I''ll let word pass down too. I''ll go double check the old pacts we have written down and see what loopholes they have avable to act on. My Druids are good about sensing the distortions in the world that lead to the paths of the Fae Lands, I''ll have them keep in touch and scour the country for them." I offered up my own men as well.


    We weren''t concerned about ourselves being threatened, but they could certainly threaten our worshippers and ournds.


    Or worse, they could try to be helpful.


    Then you have things like the ck Deathe back into existence again.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 260 - 244 ***Lewd Included***

    <h4>Chapter 260: Chapter 244 ***Lewd Included***</h4>


    "No peeking."


    "I''m not peeking." Iughed, holding my hands over my eyes. "Just tell me when."


    "You can open ¨C" I heard a few things fall over. " ¨C Wait!" And several more things were thrown about.


    "Are you okay?"


    "I''m fine! Just...give me a moment! And...open your eyes!" Jinn dered


    "It''s a wall!" I mustered all of my enthusiasm.


    "Turn around, you dummy." Jinn gave a cute huff.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle as I followed her directions, looking at what she had spread across the table infront of us. "A map?" I questioned.


    "Un." Jinn nodded happily. "I''ve been working on this for awhile now, it''s the thing I wanted to show you." She looked very proud. "I poured through nearly every book I could find, rumors and other hearsay to cross check with myths and legends. Historical records added in from Harkon''s library really came through in that regard. I have nearly every notable location of Skyrim marked here with the corresponding coordinates for you to calcted with your Magic!" She exined with great enthusiasm.


    "Jinn...." I looked down at the map, it wasn''t just a piece of parchment. There wereyers andyers of enchantments on it to fit everything on there. It was interactive, I could focus on something and information about it would unfurl. Legends, historical anecdotes, even some handwritten notes. "This is amazing....."


    "You like it?" Jinn asked, a tone of hopefulness in her voice.


    "I absolutely love it." I quickly moved into sweep her up into my arms. "You''re so amazing, I''m lucky to have you."


    "Praise me more!"


    "My Jinn is the smartest and incredibly beautiful. She has the cutest smile, and her Magical Knowledge is unrivaled. She''s so hard working and is always looking out for me."


    "Kya~!" She smiled brightly. "I''m your Jinn." She buried her face into my chest.


    She''s always so cute. I didn''t move away, and opted to run my hand through her hair. She seemed to want some affection right now, so I would indulge her all I could while I was with her.


    "I heard you did a little shopping before I came." I finally spoke, earning a shift from her. She titled her head up, to look right at me.


    "You''re going to take me out?" She looked excited at the prospect.


    "I figured a nice walk spent on the beach, ying around." I smiled right back at her.


    "I know of the oceans on Remnant. I know what Grimm infest the waters, what aquatic creatures swim beneath the dies. I know the molecr makeup up of the sand that runs along the coasts." Jinn muttered, a look of sadness shing across her face. "I don''t know what the salty air feels like brushing against my face. I don''t know how it feels to have the sun beat down on my skin through the cool ocean air. I don''t know how it feels to have that very sand brush up against my toes. It may seem like something simple to you, but it means a lot to me...."


    "Oh, Jinn." I pulled her in again, squeezing her a little bit tighter. "This isn''t a one time thing. Anything ¨C everything-. I''m going to make sure you can experience it all, and I''ll be right there with you."


    "Promise?" She asked under her breath.


    "I promise." I stroked her head some more. "You''re stuck with me for the long run. And remember what I told you when we first met? I was going to take care of you."


    "Let me get changed and we can go." Her expression swiftly changed into a sensual smirk. "I will be the first one you get to see in a bikini, right?"


    Oh.


    I hadn''t thought about that. Jinn in a Bikini was definitely something I need more of in my life.


    ***


    The Sun shined bright as we walked out a portal. Jinntched onto my arm as she stepped onto the sandy beach for the first time.


    She looked around, really looked around as she took in the surroundings. We were on a portion of the beach that was reserved for those of supernatural inclination.


    The people around us now, they wouldn''t give a Blue-skinned woman a second ¨C or rather a third look. Such a beautiful blue tone definitely deserved a second look. But not for the fact that she was out of ce among all the different species here.


    "It''s warm...." She giggled, wiggling her toes into the sand below her feet. It took a moment before she knelt down and took some sand into her hands, feeling it run through her fingers.


    I enjoyed watching her, and not just because of what she was wearing. The red bikini she got really entuated her features, even if it was just a modest two piece with little green polka dots on it. I''d seen her naked many times at this point, but I could still keep staring at her all day. However, the feeling of joy pushed away those kinds of thoughts as she acted like a kid, ying around in the sand.


    It didn''t take long for her to shoot to her feat, eyes sparkling as she stared at the water before turning to me. She quickly reached for me and pull me towards the ocean. "Lets go~" She cheered as we made out way through the sand.


    Thankfully, I was wearing my own swim wear.


    She practically skipped to the edge of the oing tide. Standing in ce as the waves slowly rolled up to us, Jinn held her foot over the water before lightly dipping it in. Her little giggles as she sshed a few times were simply adorable. She stood up again, she gave me a strange look, and her hands snaked around my arm again. That look of hers then turned into something I could only call mischievous.


    I blinked and the world around me spun as I went cartwheeling into the ocean, hitting the water with arge ssh and suddenly found myself submerged.


    It took me a moment to reorientate myself as I hadn''t expected Jinn to throw me a dozen meters so suddenly.


    "Well, well, well." I intoned after breaching the surface, staring right back at my giggling Genie. "It seems someone wants to y."


    I gathered the water around me at the tip of my index finger.


    "W-wait, lets talk about this!" Jinn squeaked.


    "No mercy." I dered as little balls of water began firing off right at her.


    "Kyah!" She let out a surprised shout as the little balls of water bombarded her. "Meanie, bully!" She waived her hand, pulling up a curtain of water, making my little balls ssh hopelessly against it. "Have a taste of your own medicine!" She shouted as the screen of water morphed into arge ball and flung it at me.


    "Oh dear." I quickly gathered my own water and shot it in a condensed stream right at the ball, dispersing it, only to look back at Jinn who had floated above me,rge streams of water flowing around her, almost forming a throne for her to sit on.


    She had a smug look on her face.


    I reached out with my hand, and yanked her forward with a burst of Telekinesis.


    "Eeeeeh!?" She eximed as she dove head first into the water, her watery maniptions falling back down.


    It took a second for her toe back up, looking at me before spitting out a mouthful of water. "Salty." She justughed some more.


    "Get over here, you silly girl." I swam up close, taking her back into my arms. "You''re not supposed to drink it." I added with a deadpan.


    "I was curious." She pouted. "Though....I prefer a different salty snack~" She kissed my cheek.


    "Lewd Genie." I snorted, pinching her cheek.


    "Your lewd Genie." She smiled brightly, sshing me.


    All mine.


    "Hehehe." She giggled some more.


    "What?"


    "I''m swimming!" She pushed at the water, moving around me happily before paddling away. "I''ve never swam before, this is fun. It''s like flying, but the resistance makes it feel funny."


    "Gah, you''re so adorable." I quickly began to chase after her.


    ***


    "Magic is convenient." I stated as I used said mystical force to dry my hair a bit.


    "It''s strange to think that so many societies are just ignorant of its existence. Even back home, the majority don''t know about it in the current era." Jinn replied, fixing her own hair. "I was created when Magic.....died. When the Brother Gods killed the first iteration of humanity. But it still was something natural for me, something I wouldn''t bat an eye at."


    "Honestly, I don''t even know the excuse for it not being known here. Back home it''s a diminishing resource, but I know that''s not the case for this world." I shrugged. "Not my ce to rock the boat, but still strange." I held my hand out to her as she happily epted it, our fingers interlocked.


    We had no direction set as we began walking down the beach, the pleasant coolness of the evening tide brushing against our feet.


    "I hadn''t thought about that." Jinn tilt her head. "I''ve been focusing more on Skyrim while only learning a few things here to be helpful."


    "You know you don''t have to push yourself." I squeezed her hand a little bit. "You are allowed to have your own time to enjoy and live your life how you want."


    "Of course." She puffed up. "And I choose to be helpful to the man who.....saved me from a prison I didn''t even know I was forced to be in." She turned towards me. "I truly did not think my existence would ever change past what I was doing and you ruined me, Wilhelm. I was just supposed to answer questions every century, nothing more. Yet, here I am." She raised our hands up for emphasis. "I have a...lover, a man who is sweet on me and makes my heart beat quicker. This isn''t what I was made for, so you have to continue to take responsibility for corrupting my purpose."


    "Didn''t I already say back in Remnant that I would take responsibility." It seemed like it''s still something of a sore spot, or rather, a certain fear of going back. So if she wanted some reminders, or some reassurances, I would do so every time. "I said It before, I''ll say it as many times as you need me to. I''m a greedy and selfish man, I''m never going to give you up." I brought out interlocked hands to my lips as I kissed the back of hers.


    Her smile was always one that could brighten up the room, the sheer joy and the way she wore her heart on her sleeve, it waspletely stunning.


    "Speaking of Remnant, did you have fun?" She questioned.


    "It was interesting." I nodded. "I met Pyrrha, caught up with her. And I spent a little bit of time with Salem, might have done something we could have considered a date."


    "Oh, so Grimm Lady is not focusing on destroying humanity anymore?" She said dryly.


    "I''m working on it." I sighed. "I met her...minions? Subordinates."


    "Oh, Cinder." She blinked. "Ah, my restrictions, I see. Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, Tyrian." Sheughed. "Well, it''s nice to know that the restrictions are good for something. Since it involves Remnant and you know the information, I can now speak their names."


    "Oh, the way you worded that....it implies there were more I haven''t met?" Not that I cared that much. It''s not like she was going to give me a rundown of every detail of her ''organization'' or whatever she called it.


    "I cannot answer anymore questions this century." Jinn huffed.


    "Really? No more questions? How unfortunate, because I had a question pertaining to one Jinn that hails from Remnant. I was going to ask her if she wanted a kiss, but s, I suppose that question shall never be answered."


    "You bully, of course I do." She stood up on her tip toes and gently ced her lips to mine. "And the fact that I can say I did, means you know it too." She let out a cute huff again after breaking the kiss.


    "I was joking, but, it does seem like your restrictions are.....loosening?"


    "Maybe." She hummed. "It''s.....strange. I don''t think my mechanisms were created in mind for processing such foreign information that my restrictions are going haywire."


    I should keep an eye on her then, just in case. I didn''t think anything bad was happening, but I can''t help but worry when she words it that way.


    "Has Yasakae to ask about Aura yet?" I asked.


    "Mmm, she did. We had a discussion on the nature of it after she read a few books and I could actually speak about it." Jinn let out a long sigh. "It''s still absolutely infuriating that I can''t articte myself through certain subjects well."


    "And I''m sure you did a wonderful job regardless."


    "You''re sweet." She smiled. "And the idea of awakening a Youkai''s Aura is....fascinating. Especially after what you did to Thorum. I have no clue why his Aura is reacting the way it is, even if you ount for the fact that he''s supposed to have a Dragon Soul. It should still operate somewhat normally, but I can only throw my hands up and call it Godly bullshit."


    "Well, dragons aren''t the same in their existence as they are here. They''re literally pieces of Akatosh, so who knows how that really affected it. It could have just brought more of the ''God'' portions to the surface and intertwined with the ''dragon'' concepts and manifested that way."


    "A good enough exnation as any." She shrugged. "And you shoulde by the College soon, I think the Archmage wouldn''t mind seeing you. Same with Tolfdir, that old man is really nice and he speaks about you sometimes."


    "I really do." I nodded. "I''ll make sure to visit Skyrim again after settling a few things. I''m finally going to reach out to my Grandmother, maybe bury some past grievances and finally move on from that whole family." I sighed, lightning swinging her arm along with mine. "And there''s that meeting with Amaterasu, which I am not looking forward to."


    "And it''s nice that you''re doing it for Yasaka." Jinn replied. "I don''t think even Yasaka wants to meet her. In my experience, it''s preferable to stay away from Godly eyes...certainpany excluded of course."


    "Lucked out with Izzy and Meridia."


    "That''s being generous. I''d say you hit the divine lottery there, twice. Even in this world, I''ve read up on how.....well, there''s no polite way to say it. How crappy some of the Gods here are."


    "Considering you have the full extent of Remnant''s inte in your head, I think that''s very polite on your end."


    "You have no idea..." She groaned. "Do you have any idea how much foot-based porn there is out there?"


    "How muc¡ª"


    "Too much!" She cut me off. "Even when my sex drive was nonexistent, it turned me off!"


    I blinked. "When your sex drive was nonexistent? Did that change since then?"


    A small blush crept up on her cheeks. "You''re asking me that after filling my belly for the first time, and making me keep mymp in my butt for so long?"


    "It''s still there?" I leaned back, taking a good look at her butt.


    "Feel free to check~"


    Well, if it''s an invitation.


    I did reach over, getting a nice feel for the supple blue cheeks of hers before running my hand between them, feeling a little bump.


    "Do you feel it? I followed yourmand; I haven''t taken it out. Even though I still feel it stretching me with every step I take. A constant reminder of how you ruined me, Wilhelm." She said with a sultry tone. "This date has been wonderful, but right now, I want to make good on my promise I told you before you went off to fight that war. I want something bigger inside of me." She added with a whisper.


    It was amazing how quickly these loose swim shorts became tight.


    ***


    ------Lewd Ahead------


    ***


    I wasted no time iming the lips of my beautiful blue Genie, pushing her against the wooden pir supporting the pier we were under. Like all my girls, she had her own unique taste that I simply found addicting. She responded just as quickly, her tongue immediately became entangled with my own.


    "P-put a Bounded Field up." She breathed out as I began kissing her neck.


    I didn''t even look up as my fingers dug into the wood, quickly bringing up a barrier around us for privacy.


    Her hands began running around my stomach until I felt her grip my manhood through my swim trunks.


    "Someone''s impatient." I teased.


    "And who''s fault is that!?" She huffed, dropping to her knees. "I''ve had mymp up my butt for so long, do you have any idea who horny I''ve been?" She gave me a cute re. "I''ve been constantly wet because of what you did." She undid my shorts, pulling them down as my cock sprang free.


    She grabbed ahold of my member, giving it a few gentle tugs. "I''ve had to masturbate almost every day to deal with it. I went from no sex drive before I met you to digging my fingers into my cunt multiple times a day just to calm myself down."


    If I wasn''t rock hard before, that would have immediately had me standing at attention. "M-maybe you''re just naturally a lewd Genie." I offered, stuttering slightly as she squeezed me just a little tight.


    She puffed up, looking at me in the eyes before opening her mouth and slowly lowering herself onto my head. Her tongue wrapped up my tip, massaging all around it. "I''m not a lewd Genie." She pouted, my cock popping out of her mouth. "You did this to me." She ran her tongue along the bottom of my length and until she got to my balls, taking one into her mouth. She made sure to keep eye contact with me as she sucked on it with just enough pressure to make my knees wobble before letting go.


    "My creators made me to just be a keeper of knowledge, and now I''m trying to milk this cock so I can swallow your seed again. The Brothers would probably die of shame if they saw me now." She said, all the while pumping my cock with her hand.


    "Jinn." I breathed out, my hands fighting to rest on her shoulders.


    The blue skinned woman broke out into a grin, repositioning herself. "I''m here for your pleasure." She stated, opening her mouth up wide, eyes meeting mine, an expectant look on her face.


    Without a second thought, her hair was gripped between my fingers as I slowly pushed her down onto my cock. She didn''t resist in the slightest, my full length running along her tongue until my tip found her throat.


    She garbled something impossible to understand, instead, her hands grabbed me from behind and she pulled herself forward. "Gluughk" In one swift motion, she pushed herself all the way to the base, making my toes curl in the warm sand.


    Jinn, once more, didn''t budge from her spot. She looked up at me with teary eyes, her throat contorting around my cock. She rxed herself, slowly pulling back as every inch left her mouth. "Haaaaah..." She let out a breath, staring at my erect member. "You can be as aggressive as you want~" She licked her lips.


    And I didn''t need to be told twice. "Gluughk." Her eyes widened as I pulled her back down without any warning. "Gluughk.....Gluughhk." My hips rocked back and forth, mming down her throat with reckless abandoned. She made no effort to stop me, even pushing her own head forward to match my thrusts.


    "You want it." I groaned out, continuing without pause. "I''ll make sure you''re fully satisfied then." With a grunt, I mmed down all the way, pushing her nose right into my groin. I felt my dick twitch, holding her down. The first spurt of cum went straight down the back of her throat. There was no surprise in her actions as she began swallowing everything I gave her.


    I rxed, sinking into her own movements. She adjusted herself to better milk everything out of my orgasm, sucking everyst bit out of my cock.


    "Delicious~" She smirked, letting go of my member. "Thank you for the meal."


    Taking a moment to reorientate myself, I practically yanked her to her feet. "It''s time to make good on your promise."


    "Oooh." She squeaked out, as I ripped open a portal and unceremoniously tossed her onto the bed of my room. "Wilhelm~" She giggled.


    I was still fully erect, looking over her lying on my bed. I wasted no time taking off the upper part of her bikini. Those perky blue breasts of hers spilling out of the top. It wasn''t the first time I''d seen them, but they were still just as beautiful as every other time.


    "I know what you want~" Jinn herself took off her bottoms, tossing the bikini to the side. She turned so her butt was up in the air, head turning back towards me.


    She was definitely not lying as she was noticeably dripping from her pussy. But that wasn''t the most eye catching thing, it was certainly themp-turned Butt Plug that was still wedged firmly into her taunt blue hole.


    She practically twitched in anticipation once I wiggled it. Grabbing it firmly, I slowly began to pull it out, and boy did her ass not want to relinquish it. It was almost as if she unconsciously fought me every step of the way.


    "Aaaaaah~" Jinn let out a whiney moan through the whole process. Her hole stretching to amodate the full size being taken out. Setting it to the side, I focused back on her twitching anus. "It''s out.....you pulled it out." She whined once more. "Willlllll....." She cried out. "Please, I feel weird, it''s too empty now, I need something inside."


    "Rx." I whispered, hovering over her back entrance. I moved slowly to prod against it. "Do you feel it?" Slowly and methodically, she gave way, stretching around my tip as I pushed inside.


    "Oooooh." She arced her back. "It''s inside, you''re inside me...hnnn.....keep going!"


    I followed hermands, continuing to push forward, her legs kicking behind her with each inch I pushed inside.


    "Yessss!" She breathed out. "It hurts so good, it''s stretching me wide open!" She clenched the sheets of the bed shuddering as I slowly moved back and forth, loosening her up. "Brothers!"


    It was very different than fucking a the pussy, but no less pleasurable. "Fuck, it''s tight." I let out a grunt, grabbing her hips to better thrust into her. She clenched down, her muscles tightening and squeezing me from every angle. Her blue ass jiggled every time I pped against it, my speed picking up with each passing moment. "This ass of yours was made for my cock, you lewd Genie."


    "Yessss, use my ass as your cock sleeve!" She cried out, pushing her hips back to meet my rhythm. "Fuck me harder! I want to feel it all the way inside!"


    Once more, I followed her cries and pushed all the way inside, my cock fully disappearing into her butt. She gasped at the sudden full insertion, her head thrown back as she clenched much tighter than normal, her juices nearly spraying from her cunt.


    "It''s all the way inside.... You made me cum by fucking my ass and shoving it all the way inside" She mewled in ecstasy. Her body twitched and shuddered in pleasure. "I have every inch of your cock up my ass and it feels so goooood. You did this to me Wilhelm, you turned me into a slut that likes her ass being filled with your dick."


    My only answer was to pull back, and thrust back inside, fully sheathing myself into her once more.


    "Aaaaah" She let out a throaty moan. "Don''t...ah.....stop." She gasped. "Ruin me! Fuck me into a new purpose. I don''t care about being a spirit of knowledge anymore, I just want to have your big cock mming into my butt!"


    I picked up my pace, her moans echoing with the sound of flesh pping against each other. Her rear turned red from the force behind each of my movements. She never stopped her moans, her loud wails as her anus was forced to stretch and amodate all of me inside of her.


    I let get of her hips, my arms wrapping around her stomach instead as I pulled her back into my embrace. "Jinn..." I let out a groan. "You wanted it." I grunted with each thrust. "I''m going to make sure this tight ass of yours is full of my seed."


    "Ooooh Brotherssss." She slurred out. "Fill me up, I want it!"


    I made no attempt to hold back, not that I could do much with her butt tightening around me like it was. With another grunt, I bottomed out inside of her, letting myself tense up and then fall back into a rxation as I came for the second time. My seed spilled out into her insides; into a hole she''d never used before due to her nature.


    She went limp in my arms, a look of pure ecstasy on her face. Her stomach shuddered with each twitch of my cock as my cum filled her up.


    "Haah, hah." She panted, rubbing her stomach. "So warm....I can feel it inside." I slowly began to pull out, only to be met with a whine from her. "Noooo, don''t let it out." She was practically lifeless, her body unmoving in my arms. "Let''s stay like this for a little while longer....please"


    "My Jinn is a big pervert, huh?" I lightly teased her, shifting a bit to be morefortable.


    "You made me this way." She grumbled, sinking into my embrace. Her breathing was still haggard, but she wore a content look on her face. "Take responsibility...." She mumbled with eyes half lidded. "Not allowed to leave me....."


    I didn''t expect to cuddle with my cock still fully inserted inside her ass, but it was oddly heartwarming.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 261 - 245

    <h4>Chapter 261: Chapter 245</h4>


    "Ara Ara~, doesn''t your daddy look good, my little fox?"


    "Un, it looks good on you, daddy." Kunou bounced around as I ran my hands down my current attire.


    "Well, my two precious girls think so, so it must be true." I gave them both a warm smile as I shifted slightly in front of the mirror.


    Yasakaughed, stepping forward and helping with smoothing out a few wrinkles. Then she helped with the cor, or rather, the fabric folding that took the ce of a suit cor. She fiddled with it as to make it a little bit looser around my neck. "It''s rare to see you out of your normal clothes. I thought I''d have to fight you to get you into a Kimono."


    "Why''d you think that?" I tilted my head while doing a little spin.


    "Well, you normally wear the same designs and generally the same look...."


    "I suppose I can see where you''reing from." I wouldn''t deny that I had a particr style I tended to stick to. "But that''s mostly just because it''s something I feel that fits me for most asions. And I think I look good in it."


    It really was a big contrast to my usual clothing. A traditional formal Kimono and matching Haori, with all the bells and whistles that enhance the look of nobility. Yasaka went through some decent effort to get the look she wanted, and I couldn''t deny that I felt quite good with how it looked on me.


    "Well, I can''t argue with that~" Yasaka ced a kiss on my cheek. "But I do love seeing you in other things." A little wink was sneaked my way when Kunou wasn''t looking.


    Message received then.


    "Well, regardless of how I look, I think youpletely eclipse me." I gave her a visible once over. She wore a traditional Shrine Priestess set on, just as one would expect from the Miko of a Goddess.


    "What about me?" Kunou looked up, cheeks puffed out.


    "Well, my little fox." I leaned down, scooping her up. "You''re certainly the most adorable Kitsune I''ve everid my eyes on."


    "I don''t think I can even argue with that." Yasakaughed, joined in from behind. "My little Kunou, wanting to match her mommy." Kunou wanted to join in, so Yasaka helped her dress up in a matching attire. Not that she''d be joining in the meeting with Amaterasu, but it was important to involve Kunou.


    Kunou absolutely drank in all the familial affection. She liked to whine and moan about being treated like a kid, but she wanted this kind of thing a lot. She''s just a bit too embarrassed to voice it out loud. Not that either Yasaka or I were oblivious to this fact, so we did so whenever possible.


    I just wanted to make sure I enjoyed it now, because in a couple years, she''d probably grow out of this phase. Hell, if it even took that long. She''s almost Eleven at this point, I needed to start reading up on how to handle kids at certain age milestones.


    "When I''m older, I''ll being with." Kunou pouted, though she struggled to keep it there as both Yasaka and I continued to coddle her.


    "Of course, you can learn all about mommy''s job when you''re older." Yasaka cooed. "But you don''t have to follow in my footsteps, remember it''s always your choice. Your daddy also has things he can teach you if you want to go a different route, sweetie."


    Hmm, was she trying to turn Kunou away from her position? I admit to not being too familiar with the way her position was passed down, but I assumed It was from mother to daughter in this case. Though I supposed it''s impossible to force Kunou to do it, not that Yasaka would do that.


    "Not just me either. All your Aunties would love to show you everything they got too. You don''t have to decide what you want to do with your life right now." I would follow Yasaka''s lead on this.


    Thankfully, she did look thoughtful at the notion.


    "Speaking of your Aunties, I heard you''re going to be having fun today." I noticed her tails start swaying a bit faster at the mention. "You got Jinn, Sc¨¢thach, and Raikou all going to spend time with you, Daddy''s jealous."


    Yasaka shot me a thankful look as I changed the subject.


    Kunouughed happily. "We''re going to watch a movie, then we''re going shopping!"


    [Master.] I heard Raikou''s voice sound through our link.


    [Come on in.] I sent back.


    And speak of the devil. Yasaka noticed her to if the cute little twitch of her ears was anything to go by.


    My Servant knocked politely before entering the room with us.


    "Oh Master." Raikou perked up, looking at me. "My son looks so dashing."


    "Doesn''t he?" Yasaka smiled.


    "Auntie!" Kunou skipped over, giving Raikou a hug. "Are we going?"


    "And our Kunou is so quick to leave us." Yasaka snorted. "Fine, go have fun while your parents y at being responsible grown ups."


    Raikou let out a little giggle at their antics. "If you''re ready to go, then your Auntie Raikou''s going to take her away." She knelt down next to the little fox. "Did you say goodbye?"


    "Love you momma, daddy." Kunou quickly waived at us, a clear desire to get going.


    Yasaka''s palm found her face. "Love you too, sweetheart."


    "My little fox." I walked up, kissing her forehead. "Be good for your Aunties."


    "And Raikou is in charge." Yasaka quickly added. "If Sc¨¢thach tries to give you any weapons, Raikou has to agree to it!"


    "But mooom!"


    "What happened with the sword the other day, hmm?"


    "It was an ident!"


    "And we''re going to make sure it doesn''t happen again." Yasaka crossed her arms.


    "I will do my best to watch over her." Raikou stated.


    "I know you will." Yasaka''s gaze softened. "Thank you again for doing this."


    "It''s my pleasure." The Servant smiled brightly. I snuck a quick kiss on her lips, the little perk up she did in response was always so cute.


    "Come on, let''s go!" Kunou grabbed hold of Raikou''s hand, practically forcing her out the door.


    Yasaka just shook her head with a sigh as they left. "That girl, I swear."


    "It''s nice to see her excited about going out and doing things." I couldn''t help but smile at the notion. She''s been a lot less....insrtely.


    "Have I ever said how utterly delighted I am that your other women get along so well with our daughter." Yasaka turned to me. "They actually enjoy spending time with her and being her ''Aunties''."


    "It''s hard not to love her." I snorted with a chuckle. "Raikou though, she''s really been amazing."


    "You''re telling me. She''s been the best babysitter for Kunou I''ve ever had. I never have to worry about her safety when the legendary Minamoto-no-Raikou is watching over her. Not to mention how gentle and caring she is towards our little fox."


    "Yeah, Raikou definitely has a way with kids. I heard about how much Kunou''s ss liked her as well." The days she spent acting as school ''guard'' had endeared her to Kunou''s ssmates.


    "Try adore. I''ve spoken to some other parents who wanted to steal Raikou away. Even Kunou''s teachers had nothing but kind things to say about Raikou. They didn''t even notice she was there as protection." Yasaka added. "


    "She''ll be an amazing mother." I said lightly.


    "So pump a few babies into her."


    I almost choked as I heard her say that so nonchntly. "A little far away from that...."


    Yasaka shot me a mischievous grin.


    "So, what was that about dissuading her from your ''job''?" I asked.


    "Ugh." Yasaka slumped. "Let''s talk on the way." She gestured towards the exit. "We still have a few more things we need to prepare."


    ***


    Yasaka led me through the estate, taking me to a portion that was a tad more deserted. Not that it had been abandoned, but it was clear that people shied away from this portion.


    "My mother passed her position down to me." The Nine-Tailed Fix began to recant. "She was old when she had me, much older than I am now. She showed me all the love I could have asked for, but it was clear I was more of a responsibility than a desire to have children."


    "Oh jeez, I can guess where this is going." I let out a sigh, only to find a fluffy appendage sneaking around my arm.


    "It isn''t exactly an unheard of tale." Yasaka had a mncholic look on her face as she continued. "I was a responsibility to the continued line that was to inherit her position. Since as long as I could remember, I was taught, trained, or otherwise shown how to properly take over for when my mother finally passed. Nearly every day for my entire childhood and into myter life. I was her recement, which often took precedence over other.....bonds."


    "....and you don''t want that for Kunou." I pointed out.


    "Correct." She said firmly. "I''ve tried my best, but so many people seem to inherently believe that Kunou is destined to take over my role. I''ve heard it spouted so many times as a forgone conclusion that she even think''s it''s her role. If she truly wants to take over, I would happily help her and show her the correct path. But I refuse to force her to take over my burdens like my mother did to me."


    "I agree wholeheartedly. I want our daughter to be happy regardless of what she does. I''m d I didn''t read the situation wrong, I''ll make sure to try and open her up to other possibilities when I can."


    "Thank you, that''s all I can ask." Yasaka smiled as we stepped into the final room.


    It was clearly of different styling that the other parts of the mansion. There wererge braziers along the sides of the room, stone pirs that held up the ceiling, and it all led to an alter that was elevated off the ground with several steps.


    "So...would should I expect?" We had talked about this many times, but I wasn''t told explicitly of Amaterasu''s personality.


    Yasaka twitched slightly. "Be....prepared for the unexpected. Whatever notions you have of her built in your mind, don''t hold onto them to tightly."


    "...foreboding."


    "Not in the way you would expect." Yasaka sighed. "Make no mistake, she is one of the most powerful Gods in the world. While she isn''t ranked up on the ''top list'', she isn''t far behind. And she is certainly the strongest in the Shinto Pantheon. She just....has a few.....quirks."


    "Any boration?"


    "Her myths are.....urate in certain regards." Yasaka''s hand ignited with her species'' famed Fox Fire as she threw it at the braziers, lighting them all up.


    "And I feel like I''m not going to get anything better than that." I made sure there were no wrinkles in my clothes as I gave myself another once over.


    "Just remember what we''ve talked about. She''s a stickler for tradition and requires a certain degree of pomp." Yasaka nced around the room, nodding to herself. "But that''s mostly just topensate."


    I blinked. "What,pensate?"


    "Hmm? Did you say something?"


    "What did you mean by pensate''?"


    "I didn''t say that." Yasaka hummed. "I certainly didn''t'' say anything that would put my patron goddess in a bad light."


    Well alrighty then.


    "Now, you remember what to do?" She asked me.


    "Follow your lead?" I offered.


    "You''ve learned well." She nodded happily, finding a spot infront of the ''alter'', and went to her knees. I mimicked her actions, setting myself down right beside her.


    I could care less about Amaterasu normally, but she was Yasaka''s Patron, so I would show the proper respect and differ to her authority.


    Yasaka held out her hands. "O'' Great Goddess of the Sun!" She raised her voice. "The Sun that lights up every corner of thend. I beg of you, hear the words of your sworn priestess. Please, grace us with your presence and descend upon this mortal world." She ced her forehead against the floor and I followed her movements.


    The fires from the braziers flickered, and the room''s temperature noticeably increased at each passing moment. As if in an eruption of mes, the room shuddered as a spark ignited and a new presence was felt infront of us.


    "My faithful follower." A melodical voice rang out. It was extremely pleasant to listen to. "Raise your head, as well as yourpanion." Her voice practically exuded a tone of superiority.


    Yasaka didn''t utter a word. She told me that she would wait for this very situation. Proper decorum was for Amaterasu to ''allow'' us to gaze upon her.


    "My Goddess." Yasaka greeted with an obvious tone of respect.


    Amaterasu seemed pleased, though I didn''t dwell on that as I truly looked at her for the first time.


    She had long ck hair that flowed down her back. Golden eyes that seemed to be made of a simmering me. Intense fires flickered around her, her mere presence caused them to float around. She wore a beautifully adorned dress that only exuberated her elegance and majesty.


    She had an otherworldly presence to her that just screamed ''God'' as I''de to recognize.


    Amaterasu looked at me, gazing as if trying to peer through my depths.


    Her mes danced around her at the slightest of gestures, a merely twitched of her finger, and they would easily engulf the entire estate. She took a step forward, and the mes apanied her, paradoxically, not burning where she previously stood.


    "My faithful follower, I ¨C WAAAAH"


    Both Yasaka and I could only stare in shock as the Noble and Elegant Goddess....stepped on her own dress, tripped, falling onto her face, and proceeded to roll down the steps.


    Yasaka was right.


    I was definitely not expecting this.


    ***


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 Chapter 262 - 246

    <h4>Chapter 262: Chapter 246</h4>


    There were many things I expected from this meeting. I had thought I would have to act subservient to please Yasaka''s Goddess. I wouldn''t mind, I don''t tend to bow to anyone, but I would do it without a second thought if it made Yasaka happy. Actually give respect and reverence to Amaterasu? That was a long shot and chances were that I would be leaving with a lower opinion of the Goddess.


    Gods tend to disappoint when you really got to know them. The rare exceptions among them not included.


    What I didn''t expect, was for this prim and proper Goddess, who dressed out in an elegant dress, and exuded an air of regality, to fall down infront of us. If that were the end of it, I would not have been as utterly baffled as I was right at that moment.


    When she tried push herself up after tumbling down, both Yasaka and I noticed arge new tear that split her dress open.


    Facing away from us, on her knees and she pushed herself off the ground, both Yasaka and I were greeted with a very pasty butt with a bright red thong between those ample cheeks, nearly right infront of our faces.


    There was a split second where she paused, hand reaching behind herself to feel that there was nothing blocking the sight of her pale white ass and our eyes.


    "NEEEEEH?" She let out a noise I could only describe as a mix of embarrassment and crying. mes enveloped her, bursting out andpletely covering her for a moment and then she disappeared.


    I slowly turned to look at Yasaka. "Did that just happen?"


    "I''ll tell you when I''m done processing." Yasaka replied without missing a beat. "Bold choice though."


    "I didn''t take her for a thong girl." I agreed with my fox. "Red seemed appropriate however."


    "If I wasn''t in a wonderful rtionship, I may have taken that as an invitation." She said almost nkly. "Might have helped her get that stick out of her...." She trailed off.


    "If she weren''t Izzy''s daughter, I may have spoken up." I once again agreed with her, only blinking a momentter in realization. "You like girls too?"


    "Less than men, but yes." She replied, a small shrug to apany it. "Does that concern you?" She tilted her head.


    "Not at all, was just curious." I just mimicked her action with a shrug of my own. "Makes it less awkward to talk about her butt infront of you, I suppose."


    Yasaka let out a snort in amusement. "If that enticed you so much, I''ll be more specific on what I pick out of my underwear drawer then."


    "If you want to sh me while wearing a thong, I won''t say anything to persuade you otherwise." I responded with a rather even tone. However, we both just stared at each other in silence for several second before breaking down inughter.


    The sheer ridiculousness of the whole thing finally washed over us.


    I think we would have continuedughing had the temperature not drastically increased again. We both abruptly stopped just as quickly as we began. The familiar mes burst out at the Alter, apanied by a familiar face.


    And she was wearing a different dress this time, acting as if the previous incident had never happened. "Yasaka, my Miko." She intoned. "It''s been several years since thest time we''ve met."


    ".....yes, several years." Yasaka forced a smile.


    Guess we were pretending that never happened, neat. Thankfully, that stiffness in the air was gone from when she first came. You can''t really hold onto that kind of atmosphere after shing your audience.


    Amaterasu just nodded happily towards her Miko. Then her gaze turned towards me, her eyes locking with mine. "And you must be the one who fought my brother." Her tone shifted ever so slightly.


    It took.....restraint not to say something snarky. "Yes, Lady Amaterasu." I responded with a polite acknowledgement.


    She didn''t outwardly react to my deference, but I felt like she was pleased with how I acted. "You are....strange." Her eyes narrowed, truly getting a good look at me. "Why do you possess divinity that feels so simr to my brothers? If I had not seen him a few days pass, I would have thought you were him in disguise."


    "I respectfully submitted myself to your summons, Lady Amaterasu." I continued my polite tone. Despite the teasing I did towards Yasaka, I did know proper decorum and etiquette for situations like this. Perhaps some nuance was lost between certain cultures, but the general idea remained the same. "And with all the respect you are due, my matters are my own. And thus, I would choose not to speak of my personal circumstances."


    Amaterasu didn''t react visibly, but the braziers around the room red briefly. If there''s one thing the majority of Gods don''t like, it''s being told ¨C no, or some variation thereof.


    "You would deny me answers?" She remonstrated. A clear indication of her dislike for my answer.


    "I believe that I have a right to my own privacy. I am not part of your faction." I pointed out, leaving me a little wiggle room in her demands.


    "Part of my faction?" She snorted, the temperature in the room increasing by the second. Wafts of mes flowed out from her standing position as her gaze bore down on both myself and Yasaka. I could easily shoulder the pressure she was putting off, but Yasaka clenched her teeth. She wasn''t quite struggling, but I knew she felt it. "I know you. I know all the children born under my Sun. Shimoda Takao, you are a child of the Land of the Rising Sun, no other ims are valid before mine."


    I reached over, cing my hand on Yasaka''s shoulder, letting my Aura sweep over her. "Be that as it may, I am a mortal living in the mortal world. I have no dealings with the Gods of Takamagahara." Yasaka rxed slightly in my grasp.


    "That point is.....arguable." She said dryly. "You sound as if I cannot sense that you are chaining the majority of your Divinity within yourself, along with that unpleasant sensation you are exuding." She gently raised a hand, pointing her finger towards my chest. "Do not mistake me for my oaf of a brother who has more brawns than brains. I can see it, even through your attempts to hide your nature, as admirable they may be."


    Huh, did she backhandedlypliment me? Well, I guess I can''t get upset about being found out. It''s not like I''m experienced with dealing in divinity and the rtion matters. I thought I hid it pretty well, but she''s had literal thousands of years to understand the concept.


    I shrugged. "There''s also the fact that I''m a Half-Devil."


    "Irrelevant." She waived her hand through the air, dismissing myment. "You are also Half Human, thus you are under my Sun."


    I was about to respond, but Yasaka spoke up instead. "I believe this will continue to go back and forth without any conclusion." She said evenly, recovered from Amaterasu flexing her power earlier. "Wilhelm is not in any meaningful rtionship with the Shinto Faction. The status of his birth does not change this fact."


    Amaterasu snapped her head towards her Miko, her eyes narrowing. "You disagree with me?" The Goddess didn''t raise her voice, but there was a certain daring tone in her words towards her Miko. As if to tell Yasaka that she didn''t appreciate the fox going contrary to her intent.


    Yasaka, to her benefit, didn''t back down. I had expectedplete and utter subservience to her Goddess, but Yasaka was being a bit.....prickly. "I merely speak the truth of the matter." Yasaka navigated around the blunt denial of Amaterasu''s ''im''.


    It was obvious that Yasaka was sitting in my corner here and I don''t think the Goddess like that very much.


    Amaterasu''s expression shifted into a scowl as she crossed her arms. "I believe it''s time to forgo the formalities and speak more candidly." She spoke in a surprisingly casual manner.


    "....if that is your desire." Yasaka stiffened at the request. The reaction of my fox was an indication that this was not a normal urrence. "What do you wish to speak about, Lady Amaterasu?"


    "I think that''s obvious at this point." She frowned, taking a....measured step down the small bit of stairs. Her gaze shifted between us, measuring for something only known to herself. "Your.....lover is the talk of many of us." She continued her steady steps until she stood only a few feet away from us. "My brother''s defeat was not something easily brushed aside."


    "Ah, it''s making you guys look weak." I voiced out loud.


    "Yes." Amaterasu looked annoyed, but forced out the response. "There have been whispers about us, started from those lesser Gods who wished to stir trouble."


    Yasaka shot me a look, but seemed helpless at the turn of events.


    "What exactly is it that you want from me?" She''s the one who wanted us to speak more inly, so I would oblige. "If you''re looking for answers, I can tell you what happened. If you''re trying to dig into my own matters, then I''m afraid we won''t have much to talk about."


    Amaterasu scowled again. "Not many beings in this world can deny me answers I demand."


    "And we''re just going in circles at this point." I crossed my arms. "I thought you wanted to be more candid?"


    "You are an enigma. You are barely a man even by mortal standard, yet you battled a God such as my brother and won. You should not have been capable of such a feat, yet you stand before me as you are now." She sunk into a deep frown before grumbling. "Be honored, for the Gods of Takamagahara are extending you an invitation. A formal deration of intent to have you join among our number. When you ept, you will receive a position in my court that ¨C"


    She was actually inviting me into her faction. That''s a little surprising in of itself.


    "I will respectfully decline."


    Amaterasu''s expression darkened considerably. "Many a God would kneel and kiss my feet should I utter a single word in ordance. I have personallye down to this mortal world to invite you and you still decline?" With each word spoken, the fires around the room flickered in an ominous movement.


    "Yes, that''s what I just said." I mustered the driest voice I could. "And before you go off, I believe I have valid reasons to do so." I would rather she not implicate Yasaka by association of my declining her invitation to join her faction.


    "I will be the judge of that." She glowered. "Speak your words, if I find them unsatisfactory, you will be intimately familiar with how hot the Sun burns."


    I rolled my eyes at her threat. "First, I''m a Half-Devil."


    "I ¨C "


    "Tell me that I wouldn''t have to endure a ridiculous amount of discrimination in your court due to my heritage." I looked at her waiting for an answer. She looked like she wanted to respond, but held her tongue. I decided to ignore her and keep going. "Second, I''m technically associated with your faction already. As you said Yasaka and I are together, she is your Miko afterall."


    "Sophistry, no one important would assume that based on such a rtion."


    "And third." I held up my fingers. "It would make my rtionship with Izzy weird if I became your subordinate."


    "Izzy?" Amaterasu questioned.


    "Oh, it''s the nickname I have for Izanami, your mother." I couldn''t help but let the corners of my lips curl up.


    "W-what!?" Amaterasu squeaked out. "My mother!?"


    "Oh yes, we''re very good friends."


    Yasaka had a mischievous smile form on her face. "Shees over often"


    "Yasaka!?" Amaterasu snapped her head towards her Miko. "You would allow m-m-my mother here!?"


    "Why not?" She tilted her head. "If it wasn''t for Lady Izanami, my daughter would have died. I prayed and prayed for help when my dear Kunou was kidnapped, and thankfullydy Izanami answered my prayers. She''s always wee in my home, and she evenes to visit sometimes. Well, we mostly go down to Yomi to visit her."


    "Speaking of, Kunou''s been wanting to go see her too. We should schedule a get together, maybe dinner or something? Izzy sure does love to y host with all of us." I shared a knowing look with Yasaka as Amaterasu appeared to be frozen in shock.


    Amaterasu opened her mouth and closed it a few times.


    "I wonder if she''s around right now? You know how she likes toe up at random times...." I remarked.


    "I-I must depart. I have many duties to fulfill and I cannot waste more time here." Amaterasu quickly sputtered out.


    "Of course, you are a busy Goddess." Yasaka nodded. "We wouldn''t want to keep you."


    Amaterasu ascended the small staircase back to her Alter which acted as a sort of bridge to Takamagahara. The mes wrapped around her as she was about to depart.


    "Oh, and Red is a good color on you." I shot her a thumbs up right before she disappeared, the flush of red that covered he cheeks were brighter than the mes that surrounded her, only match by the color of her panties. And an embarrassed sound filled the halls for the briefest of moments.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    A second chaptering up after i take a nap in addition to sunday''s normal chapterter.

 Chapter 263 - 247

    <h4>Chapter 263: Chapter 247</h4>


    Yasaka and I sat there, staring off into pace for an inordinate amount of time. There was a silencethat filled the room, only broken by the small crackles of fire in the burning braziers.


    "Is that ¨C"


    "No." She cut me off.


    "You didn''t know what I was going to ask."


    "You were going to ask me if that was a normal urrence when meeting her. Taking into consideration the very sporadic meetings I''ve had over my life, that was most certainly not normal." She said ndly, eyes never discarding that distant gaze.


    "Huh."


    "Yeah."


    Simultaneously, we slowly turned to each other and broke out into a fit of giggles. I don''t think the absurdity of the initial meeting ever wore off, simply pushed back.


    "She''s always been.....clumsy." Yasaka let out a long sigh. "I''ve always pretended not to notice when she does something especially embarrassing. Not to mention her tendency to lock herself in her room and the other nonsense that propagates her legends." Yasaka shook her head. "Shepensates by trying to act all prim and proper in official settings."


    "And now I''m never not going to picture her ass when she''s brought up. Throughout the whole meeting, I couldn''t help but keep seeing that perky rear whenever she opened her mouth."


    "Ugh, tell me about it." Yasaka groaned. "It was so...what''s the word?"


    "Spankable?"


    Yasaka blinked, the corners of her lips curling up. "That is surprisingly apt. And now it''s even worse." She huffed, one of her tails whacking me softly on the back of the head.


    I let out augh as I tried to grab it, only for her to pull it back out of my grasp.


    "In all seriousness, I didn''t expect a recruitment attempt."


    "Took me by surprise too." Yasaka acknowledged. "I thought she would juste to flex her authority a bit, ask some questions and maybe poke fun at Susanoo. For her to actually consider recruiting you..." Yasaka paused, looking thoughtful. "Well, I suppose it isn''t too strange. Takamagahara is rather close to the Celestial Bureaucracy, perhaps they took a page out of the Jade Emperor''s book. Disregard race and origin, and seekpetency and value?"


    I just shrugged. "You would know more than me. However, I doubt I''d be all that weed."


    "Oh, no, most certainly not. You definitely made the right choice, you would have been a pariah at best, and ap dog at worse." Yasaka snorted, a hint of disdain on her face. "Even us Youkai are looked down by most of them. But, that''s most Gods for you." She let out a helpless sigh.


    "How long until shees for round two after calming down about Izzy?" I questioned.


    "Hmm, a few months probably. That or she''ll send someone else in her ce. Their lot don''t usually work quickly on things of unimportance. If their lives or reputation isn''t in danger, they''ll sit on it for awhile." Yasaka stood up, brushing herself off. "But keep this as a reminder, that you are on everyone''s radar now. You aren''t simply some bastard of Lucifer running around, but a legitimate threat to most entities on the."


    I slowly climbed to my feet, copying her actions. "Yeah, I get it, I really do. I don''t see myself doing something like that whole Susanoo mess again. I''m happy to jut be here and help you out with everything." I shed her a warm smile.


    "And I appreciate every moment of it." She grinned, stepping forward to give me a kiss on the cheek. "And again, thank you for doing this. It didn''t go quite as nned.....but I don''t see how it could have ended on a better note."


    "So I did good?" I chuckled.


    "Amusingly, yes. You were respectful when you needed to and didn''t break any major rules of etiquette. You denied her, but you did so in a polite manner and she has no ability to speak out against that. The fact that she decided to drop all pretense was just a point in our favor." Yasaka nodded to herself rather happily. "All in all, I suddenly have a lot less stress." She entuated that with a yawn and a stretch.


    "Can I ask a more sensitive question?" I had one thing weighing on my mind.


    Yasaka blinked, her demeanor shifting. "Wilhelm, there really isn''t anything you could ask me with a sincere curiosity that I would get upset about."


    "What ¨C"


    "108 CM." She interjected with a mischievous grin on her face.


    I blinked in confusion until she bounced her chest for an obvious hint. "Well, that is important information to have." I fully acknowledged.


    Yasaka let out herugh. "Sorry, I couldn''t help it~. Alright, serious time, what do you want to ask?"


    "I just wanted to understand why you were.....epting Amaterasu still even though she didn''t help with Kunou." There really was no need to sugar coat my question. It''s not like I was demanding her to remove herself, nor even asking her to question her rtionship with her Goddess. I simply wanted to understand her better.


    "Ah." Yasaka''s expression turned bitter. "You may not like my answer."


    "I know you love Kunou more than life itself, your answer won''t offend me."


    She just developed a mncholic smile. "The simplest answer is that.....it''s not her job. We have a, let''s say, agreement, with Takamagahara. By that, I mean my faction, and by extension, the old man''s half as well. I rule over Half the Youkai in Japan, that is not something insubstantial even if our faction as a whole isn''t front and center on the world stage."


    "Let me guess, Takamagahara essentially makes you legitimate?"


    "More or less." She acknowledged. "But it isn''t just that. I''m sure the old man and I could have corralled the majority of the Youkai in these parts of the world by ourselves if needed. No, what we owe them is the creation of this dimension. For that, we entered a more substantiated agreement. They gave us a home, and we gave them our worship."


    That''s.....smart. The Shinto gods essentially had their own small world that continued to worship them, essentially ensuring their continued survival even from the passing years that humanity became more and more divorced from them. "And you''re a bridge, so to speak. You have duties as taken up by your status as a Miko to Amaterasu. But at the end of the day, you are just a link between each side."


    "It''s nice when my man is so smart." She let out a content sigh. "It''s as you say. Besides also watching over the Leylines that is. That is an actual duty entrusted by Amaterasu as they''re rather important to Japan''s prosperity."


    "Even if it wasn''t her responsibility...."


    "Don''t get me wrong." Yasaka''s expression darkened. "I''m still furious But what can I do? Get angry at her for not doing something she had no obligation to and potentially jeopardizing our arrangement? Suffice to say my general attitude towards her has dropped. All that remains is our professional arrangement.....with a small admittance of sexual attraction after that little debacle."


    I couldn''t fault her for that in any capacity. There was no denying that having an Exalted goddess, bent over, fully exposed, was anything but sexy.


    "I see, thanks for answering." I reached out, squeezing her hand.


    "Always." She brightened up, seemingly pushing those thoughts away. "So...I took the whole day off. I actually have an important excuse to use that I was meeting with our ¨C" She waived her hand flippantly. "¡ªEsteemed Goddess." She apanied it with an eye roll. "I have no work today!" She threw her hands up happily.


    "Oh, anything nned?"


    "I''m gonna nap." She said immediately.


    "That sounds amazing and I''m jealous."


    "You can join me~"


    "As much as I''d love to fall asleep between those fluffy tails again, I wanted to go visit Izzy after this." I admitted with no small amount of reluctance. "And Artoria, I haven''t seen her in a few days and I want to make sure she''s doing okay."


    "Oh poo. Well, I expected as much."


    Maybe I''ll bring Izzy to see Artoria too? I wanted that Goddess to socialize more and I knew for a fact that they''re friends. Not to mention, I felt like Izzy deserved an update knowing I had just met with her daughter, especially after everything that happened with Susanoo.


    "Well, in any case, Suit yourself." She hummed. "The girls were kind enough to watch after Kunou, so I''m going to make use of my free time."


    "As you rightfully should." I agreedplete. Naps should be a mandatory part of the day.


    "Feel free toe join in whenever you want. You''re not the only one who enjoyed cuddling, y''know." She shot me a warm smile. "Oh, and before I forget."


    "Hmm?"


    Yasaka held her hand out it be more.....foxy than her normal human-ish appearance. It was a w, with she swiped down her own clothing with. Her kimono fell to the floor, merely scraps of cloth at this point. She stood there, a proud look on her face, only wearing a bra and panties. "I want you to be thinking of me, not her."


    And I truly couldn''t pull my eyes away, only managing to hold a shaky thumbs up. "Mission aplished."


    She gave a smug smirk as she turned around and swayed her hips, her tails flickering in a way that I got a full view of her butt bouncing as she walked.


    "That woman..." I could onlyugh as I shook my head.


    She was something else.


    ***


    Izzy was already waiting at the threshold of her door the moment I stepped foot into Yomi.


    "Hey there, neighbor." I called out with a wave.


    "I''m fairly sure we don''t count as neighbors." She deadpanned.


    "Well, Sc¨¢thach is the Queen of the Land of Shadows, that by extension makes me her King Consort, thus I am your neighbor!" I said proudly.


    "....And I can''t argue with the logic." She shook her head in exasperation. "Want toe in?"


    "Nah, I just came to say that, cya!"


    "Stop being a brat." She huffed. "Get over here." She didn''t even give me an opportunity to respond, instead walking into her house, door left wide open.


    I casually strode up, shutting the door behind me. I only paused when standing at the door, I noticed Izzy wasn''t alone.


    "Hello, Wilhelm." Artoria smiled at me. "You look very handsome in that clothing.


    Well, there went my initial ns. "Artoria, I missed you." I quickly slid into a seat on the couch next to her. "And thanks, I was wearing due to the thing with Yasaka."


    "It has only been a few days." She puffed up cutely. ".....I have missed you as well."


    "Not that I''m not happy to see you. In fact, I was going to find you right after I visited Izzy and spent some time with her." I shed the Goddess a smile. "Anything specific bring you around these parts, or just hanging out?"


    "She wished toe visit." Izzy exined. "We have been chatting about various things."


    "Yes, now that she knows the finer details about us, we were recanting stories for each other. I had finished the time that Lancelot had dressed up like a woman and seduced the king of an invading army, binding him to our cause." Artoria barely held back a chuckle.


    ".....I am both intrigued and horrified."


    "That was my immediate response as well." Izzy snorted. "As well as telling me about other things, like her son."


    "Mmm, I did speak of Mordred." Artoria nodded.


    "How are you doing with her?" I questioned.


    Artoria let out a sigh. "I do not know how to be a proper parent.....so I don''t know how to answer that question."


    "Join the club." Izzy sighed. "At least your child wants to spend time with you."


    "Did you not say that Susanoo left happy thest time he was here?'' Artoria countered. "You give yourself too little credit, Izzy."


    "Bah, of course he would, he was finally getting away from me."


    "Hey, none of that." I joined in with Artoria. "He''s lucky to have an amazing woman like you for a mom."


    Izzy just grumbled, and turned away. For some reason, it looked like she had a faint blush on her cheeks.


    "Oh, Wilhelm." Artoria muttered.


    "What?" I blinked in confusion.


    "Nothing." She giggled, lightly pushing her shoulder into me. "You are sweet." She merely said without adding anything else. "But yes, Mordred and I.....have been doing okay. As morbid it is to think about, the problems that arose with this Pendragon family seemed to have brought us closer at an elerated rate. I believe a problem such as this that we were required to jointly work on has allowed a bond to form."


    "Speaking of them, I haven''t heard anything yet even though you apparently put on quite the lightshow. Not that I speak with many people, but there should be some sort of rumors floating around." Izzy leaned back, hand resting on her chin. "It makes me think that someone is suppressing such things."


    "I have resolved myself for when my existence bing public knowledge." Artoria said calmly. "I will resign myself to whatever fate manifests. While I care not for such spotlight to be shined upon me, I will ept the consequences of my actions."


    "If only we could get Wilhelm to develop the same mindset."


    "Hey!"


    "I believe that an effort in futility." Artoria''s lips curled up.


    "I''m not that bad." I grumbled.


    "My son would beg to differ." Izzy deadpanned.


    "One time."


    "Didn''t you fight another version of my son in another world..."


    "He did." Artoria confirmed.


    ".....Shit I got nothing."


    "Hmph." Izzy crossed her arms, a look of smugness on her face. "One time my ass."


    "Yes, well, speaking of rears, I just got back from seeing Amaterasu." I crossed my legs, looking at her with a smirk of my own.


    Izzy blinked her expression changing significantly. "The way you phrased that.....I feel a headacheing on." She slumped in her seat.


    "Please tell me you didn''t fight her...." Artoria asked.


    "Why does everyone think I was going to fight her!" I threw my arms up in exasperation. "One undeserved time." I made sure to iterate.


    "Just....rip the Band-Aid off. Tell me how disastrous your meeting was."


    "Apparently, Amaterasu is a thong girl." I said bluntly.


    Izzy opened her mouth then closed it again. "Context, Wilhelm. Lots of context to fill in."


    "Hmm, context huh?" I leaned back, ying with my nails. "I don''t know.....my feeling are pretty hurt right now."


    "You''re really doing this." Izzy said dryly. "What, do I need to do?"


    "I.....want a hug." I said with all seriousness.


    Izzy let out a sigh. "You''re a dork, you know that?" She got up from her seat as I held my arms open. "This is your boyfriend." She groaned, ncing at Artoria.


    Artoria adopted an amused look as she watched. "Yes, yes it is."


    "You didn''t have to ckmail me for a hug." She rolled her eyes, sliding into my arms. "I would have done so regardless."


    "It makes me feel powerful to ckmail a Goddess."


    "You''re ridiculous."


    "Hug~" I wrapped my arms around her.


    "You''ve had your hug, now tell me what you meant when you spoke about my daughter." She huffed, scooting over to the opposite side of me.


    "Alright, but be warned, you will feel embarrassment by proxy."


    "Dammit Amaterasu, what did you do?" Izzy already was facepalming.


    "Alright, so, let me set the scene." I gestured with my hands, earning their full attention. "Yasaka and I were there, performing a sort of ceremonial wee for Amaterasu, braziers all around us, elevated tform for Amaterasu to lord herself over us."


    "This is going exactly where I think it is, isn''t it?" Izzy let out a small whine.


    "She appears, regal, noble, exalted. She takes a single step forward ¨C"


    "No....."


    "Steps on her own dress."


    "Kill me now...."


    "It rips, she falls on her face and tumbles down the steps."


    "Oh my." Artoria blinked in surprise.


    "Her dress torn in a way that her ass is facing us,pletely visible, with a bright red thong."


    "I have no words." Izzy dropped her head into her hands. "She''s always been a clutz, but she shed my friend and her Miko....dammit Amaterasu."


    "Um...pardon, but what is a ''thong''?" Artoria asked.


    "Erm..."I cleared my throat. "It''s a very skimpy variety of panties....."


    "Oh, OH." Artoria''s face flushed. "I believe I have seen such types of undergarments when I have gone shopping with Rin...."


    "Yup, so that was fun." I said with a little bit of chipper in my tone.


    "I''m sure it was." Izzy drawled. "Let me guess, she tried to pretend it never happened?"


    "Yup, disappeared, and then came back in a new dress. Acted like it was our first time meeting." I nodded. "Not that I didn''t make ament at the end."


    "Of course, I expected nothing different." She ran a hand down her face.


    "Do you like....?" Artoria started quietly before cutting herself off. "Ahem. I mean, was that all there was with the meeting?"


    "Nope, she tried to recruit me." I shook my head.


    "You turned her down, yes?" Izzy asked.


    "Of course, it''d make things weird if I be a subordinate to your daughter. I told her as much and she didn''t really argue after that."


    "You shouldn''t have mentioned me." Izzy grumbled. "It will bring you nothing but trouble."


    "Izzy." I poked her. "I am in no way shape or form, ashamed of the rtionship we have. I refuse to deny that you''re my friend."


    The Death Goddess just crossed her arms, letting out a cute huff. "It''s not like I can stop you from continuously doing foolish things. And you continue to be infuriatingly wholesome."


    "It is one of his points that I quite like." Artoria smiled warmly at the Goddess.


    "I feel like I need to open another bottle of wine." Izzy got up from her seat. "Why do I always have to do this when youe over, Wilhelm." She shook her head as she disappeared into the kitchen.


    "Oh, you love me." I hollered back to her. "I bring excitement."


    "You bring me tales of my daughter shing you and you beating up my son!"


    "This does foretell a pattern...." Artoriamented. "I fear what would happen should you meet anymore of her children..."


    "I''ll need more wine, that''s what will happen." Izzy grumbled, sitting back down with several sses and a bottle with her. "Atleast recant everything from the beginning. I want to understand what my daughter spoke about in detail."


    "It was ¨C"


    "And please leave out the in-depth descriptions of my daughter''s rear. Just because she married my son, it doesn''t mean I''m into that sort of thing."


    "Boo."


    "Hush, you. Continue with your story."


    "Ruin my fun, fine." I huffed. "Alright. I guess it started with Kunou being her adorable self, wanting to dress up like Yasaka."


    ***


    I groggily opened my eyes, adjusting to the darkness that enveloped the house. I was....sleeping on Izzy''s couch as I remembered I drank a bit too much and just wanted to crash. Izzy, being the amazing person she was, offered me to sleep here, so I did just that.


    Artoria...went to Skyrim with Rin for something? I don''t'' think she went in depth on that.


    And I woke up because of an incessant buzzing in my ear. I waived my hand, producing my Kaleidophone. The magical device that could bug me even when stored away.


    "Yasaka?" I blinked, looking at her face that appear on it. "What ¨C"


    "I''m d I got ahold of you, Wilhelm. And I apologize for calling you sote, but I heard some news and I believe it would be important to you." She replied with a bit of urgency in her voice.


    "Is everything okay, are you okay?" I woke up pretty quickly at this point.


    "I''m fine, however.....you were going to seek out a meeting with your Grandmother soon, yes?


    "In the next couple of days, yeah?"


    "That may have to be put on hold." Yasaka sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "The Underworld is in an uproar right now. Their....leaders have been knocking down many different ces that their ''enemies'' reside and I just now got an update on the situation. From what my people have told me, Lady Gremory and her Grandson had gone missing."


    I opened my mouth only to close it again.


    Missing? Probably taken in some capacity, people like them don''t simply go missing.


    "Do they know who...?"


    "I''m told that fingers are being pointed at the ''old Satan Faction'' if you know who they are...."


    "Yeah, I vaguely remember them. Idiots who want to start waging war again for some stupid reasons. They go on about the ''old ways'' or some other nonsense." I said, closing my eyes. I couldn''t help but run a hand down my face.


    I...my half brother had most likely gotten kidnapped. I''ve never met him before, he''s around Kunou''s age.....I held no me on him for how I was treated, even if I didn''t particrly want to associate with them. Yet.....why did I have this pit form in my stomach?


    A little brother....perhaps this was the first true moment that the actual concept weighed on me in any meaningful way.


    I felt myself clench my fists without a conscious effort.


    "Tell me....everything." I growled out.

 Chapter 264 - 248

    <h4>Chapter 264: Chapter 248</h4>


    I immediately tore open a hole in reality and walked right to where Yasaka was. She didn''t even flinch or react to my actions, clearly she expected my sudden intrusion.


    "What happened?" I skipped the small talk, the banter, and the flirting and jumped straight to the point. I had this bout of anxiety in my chest that demanded an answer.


    Yasaka grimaced slightly, letting out a sigh. "I don''t know much. The only official response from the devils is that Lady Gremory and Millicas ¨C Lucifer''s son, had gone missing. There are lots of rumors and hearsay that apany it."


    "And that''s aplete bullshit answer." I snorted.


    "Without a doubt." Yasaka didn''t deny it. "It makes them sound more in control than saying that they were kidnapped or taken. There are several rumors, some ranging wildly from Hades being the one who ordered it, to the Angels. The more sane ones tend to point towards the Old Satan Faction like I said before."


    I couldn''t help myself and started pacing around the room.


    "Wilhelm, are you okay?" There was a hint of concern in her voice. "You seem oddly invested for not even knowing them, especially after.....everything."


    "I know it''s weird." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "It''s just...for the first time I''ve really thought about the fact that I have a half-brother. I knew about him, even when Okita mentioned him before, but I guess it really sunk in at this point. He simply existed before, now....it''s like he''s real to me and....." I stopped my pacing, looking at her. "He''s Kunou''s age...."


    I''s probably projecting Kunou''s own situation onto him as well, which didn''t help matters.


    Her eyes softened considerably. "The rumors about the Old Satan Faction are more or less verified in my eyes. The fact that many of their.....holdings have been utterly demolished in thest few hours speaks volumes on how the Satan''s are seeing things."


    "Should I even do anything?" I asked, wanting some advice. Was it appropriate for me to meddle in this mess again?


    "Politically, probably not. Morally and realistically.....well, I think you''re a good man and will help out just because you can." Yasaka replied with a smile. "You''re the same man who saved our Kunou, who helped out my people when they were in trouble."


    "So, what do we know?" I pulled up a seat on the other side of her desk.


    "Surprisingly, much more than the Devils do." Yasaka smirked. "I''ve gotten quite a bit of information out of our prisoners. The Hero Faction was a sub-faction under the umbre of a faction known as the ''Khaos Brigade''. And that''s Khaos with a ''K''."


    I ran my hand down my face. "So stupid."


    "I know." Yasaka sighed.


    "I think I remember a few things about them. A mix of Devils and others that wanted war or something?" I was thinking about my inherited memories. While fractured in some ces, they did provide some context for a suprising amount of things. "Which means the Old Satan Faction."


    "Right on the money." Yasaka nodded. "Old Satan Faction is one of the pirs of the group, or so I''m told. And the Devils should be more or less in the dark about them currently, so they''re looking in all the wrong ces."


    "The Dimensional Gap." I breathed out. "I vaguely remember their bases being located there."


    "You''re right once again. The Hero Faction also had their base in the Dimensional Gap, and they knew the location of one of the other faction''s bases that they interacted with."


    "Unlikely that this specific base will be the one out of many that they tossed their prisoners in." I leaned back in my seat. "And despite how idiotic they seem on the surface, the fact that the hero Faction only knows collectively about one other base means there''s likely a suppression on information even among their own numbers." I tapped on her desk, thinking about my best course of action.


    "All valid concerns. But there''s a simple method that''s presenting itself." The corners of Yasaka''s lips curled up.


    "I''ve always subscribed to the idea that the simplest methods are usually the correct ones." I matched her smirk. "There has to be someone at the base who knows something, or another base somewhere else. So that leaves me with the most direct and simplest method of all."


    "Keep knocking them down until you find Lady Gremory and her Grandson?"


    "Bingo." I snapped my fingers.


    "I don''t think I need to say it, but I will just because I care and worry about you. Please be careful of that Dragon that has made the Dimensional Gap its home..."


    "Yeah." I grimaced. "Going to stay away from the big fuck-off dragon that is conceptually made up of humanities dreams. As interesting as it would be to meet such an entity, I''d rather stay far away, unless Meridia is in pping distance."


    That dragon was fucking terrifying, even as reality defying amalgamation of fuck you I am now. I could maybe survive a hostile encounter with it if I didn''t depend on my Magic to run away immediately. And even then, to what extent could its abilities reach? Does its dream aspect mean it can ess the Kaleidoscope if it wished?


    That''s not a question I want answered when a Dragon that can destroy the is chasing after me.


    Definitely staying far away from that thing.


    Thankfully, it seemed content to just keep to its own little part of the Dimensional Gap. The space that exists around all dimensions tied to this world. Sorta like a buffer for all the attached realms like Olympus, Takamagahara, Asgard, and even the various underworlds. It could be looked at like the ocean with each ''realm'' acting as and mass to put it into perspective.


    "So you have the coordinates?" I finally asked.


    "Of course." She replied instantly. "I didn''t think I would have any use for this information so soon. I was keeping it for some potential negotiations at some point, but I think this is a more productive use." She began to rummage around in her desk until she took out a little booklet. "Lets see, I wrote down the teleportation coordinates here, will these suffice?" She pushed it towards me.


    "These are perfect." I quickly memorized them.


    "Are you going to go alone?" She asked, there was a hint of concern that shed across her face.


    "I think everyone else is busy at the moment." I tapped my chin. Jinn, Sc¨¢thach, and Raikou should still be ying with Kunou still and I don''t want her fun to be interrupted. Artoria was with Rin over in Skyrim, as was Meridia. And for obvious reasons, neither Yasaka nor Merida would being along for something like this. I could ask Mordred or one of the others, but I don''t think I''d need it, besides..... "I won''t be alone." I smiled brightly, taking out my hat, letting mypanion jump out. "I have all the backup I need."


    Yasaka lowered herself to look at my familiar in the eyes. "I''m counting on you to take care of my man, Sir Wiggles."


    My rabbit just twitched its nose in response.


    "Oh, and Wilhelm." Yasaka sat back up, her expression shifted from amusement to something resembling disgust. "These people are the worst sort. There''s no need to hold back on your....methods."


    "Don''t worry." I waived my hand to the side, a cascade of a myriad colors filled the room. "I never intended to." I shed her onest smile before leaping through with my Familiar on my head.


    ***


    Inded softly on a floating chunk of earth. This ce was.....disorientating for the uninitiated. There was a reason it looked simr to applications of my Magic. A regr person would die within moments of stepping in here. The concepts intertwined with this ce made it the anti-thesis of life. The nothingness that enveloped every inconceivable corner of this strange space.


    To just persist int his environment, you needed to ward away the concepts with some manner of mystical power. Be it, Touki, Demonic Power, or even Magical Energy. They could all stave off the consumption and destruction that mps down on every living being.


    My Aura red around me protectively. I had other methods, but I was fine to let my Aura shoulder the ''burden'' as it were.


    Sir Wiggles, as befitted his position, didn''t even notice the effects as his Aura red instinctively.


    I looked down upon the target of my ire. I tweaked the calctions a little bit so I wouldn''t fall literally right ontop of the base.


    I could see arge barrier around it, anchored to another,rger, floating rock.


    There was the thought to just unleash a full power Ether Canon right into it.....but I needed information. So...it looked like I would be getting my hands dirty.


    "Sir Wiggles." I patted his head. "Your job is to destroy any Teleportation Arrays around the base, and not their counterparts coordinates." I also sent my thoughts through our mental link to better help him understand. Even if they were destroyed, I was confidant I would able to trace them to their designated target in case they lead to another base. Otherwise, it was to stop people from running away.


    I doubted anyone here was like me and could navigate this ce with the same ease my magic granted me. I could only image the intense calctions needed to set up permanent Teleportation points in this ce.


    Letting my wingse out, I glided down to the edge of the barrier. I hovered my hand over it, getting a good look at what I was working with. While I would normally just say fuck it and blow my way inside, I didn''t want any runners too soon so...slightly stealthy it was.


    "Feim." I whispered the Dragon Language as my body became ethereal and was enveloped in lightning. With ease, I passed through the barrier without any warnings going off.


    "Shoddy work." I muttered, shaking my head. It didn''t even ward off intangible enemies. Frankly, that''s just bad foresight. That was standard practice back home where such things were nearly nonexistent in the greater world, much less here where you can literally call up a ghost if you wanted.


    "Sir Wiggles, you''re up." I looked up at him. Without another thought, he rocketed off my head with a crackle of lightning, disappearing towards the building.


    I had confidence he would find a way inside easily with his size. Afterall, it was clear that this barrier was mostly used to make this ce habitable in this strange ce.


    Well, may as well go knock on the front door~


    It was only a small walk to the other side of therge building. There were even guards, though they looked like they were about to go asleep.


    I didn''t even make myself scarce when they jumped to their feet as they saw me approach.


    "HALT!" One of them shouted, a spear in his hands. He leveled it at me. "Who are you, how did you get here?"


    "Did you guys not get the update?" I questioned as I took a few more steps forward. "Come on, I''m the new guys." I pointed at myself.


    They nced at each other. "We weren''t told about a new personing." I saw his hands tighten around his spear.


    "For fucks sake." I face palmed. "How else would I know how to get here and walk right through the barrier?" I made my eye roll visible to them.


    They rxed slightly, as they seemingly thought that over. The spear wielder scratched his head. "Yeah? I guess that makes sense. Stay here, I''ll go get the boss."


    "Wait." I called out.


    "You need something?" He eyed me.


    "Yeah, you forgot my sword." I smiled towards him as Dawnbreaker flew out of my ring and pierced right into his heart.


    The other one, the one who had been silent nearby, his eyes widened as he tried to gather his Demonic Power to actualize a spell.


    "Don''t worry, I got plenty to share." My other swords shed out at all angles, running him through, the one through the lung caused a spray of blood out of his mouth when he gave a half cough half death rattle.


    Never even heard a single word from start to finish.


    "Now lets see..." I walked up to the spear-wielder''s now lifeless body and rummaged through his clothes. "Ah hah!" I took out a little Talisman-like device and crushed it. "Figured they''d have some way to remotely trigger any magical rms."


    I didn''t spare the two Devils I just killed a second nce. Stepping over their bodies, I entered the building that could be mistaken for a fortress. And lucky for me, it was big enough that theybeled where each hallway went to.


    ''Labs'' sounded like an important ce, lets start there~


    ***


    There was a.... noticeableck of bodies left in my wake. I was almost disappointed as I reached the bs''. While extremelyrge and robust, this building was sparsely popted, and I thought there wasn''t much emphasis put on this specific one.


    At this point, I didn''t care if any rms sounded as enough time had passed. I could feel through the link that Sir Wiggles had performed his job admirably, so no one was running away anymore.


    Regardless, I pushed open the doors and walked inside. A single man turned towards me, a whiteb coat on him. He turned his nose up, looking down on me immediately. "Finally!" he threw his hands up. "I''ve been calling for an assistant for an hour! Do you Neanderthals not understand that I''m at a critical point in my research? No, of course you don''t." He scoffed. "Well, did you bring my next batch of test materials or not?"


    I looked around hisb, and there were a significant amount of body parts propped up everywhere. And most noticeable were a fewrge tubes that looked to be growing some sort of creatures inside.


    "Great, an idiot." He groaned. "Do.You.Not.Understand.My.Words?" He repeated with a scowl on his face.


    "Interesting work you''re doing." I rubbed my chin. "Creating chimeras using the process to make Homunculi. But it seems like you haven''t figured out the conceptual repulsion between various species yet. Though you''re on the right path using Humans." I pointed at a specific one in a test tube.


    "W-what?" He blinked


    "Something wrong?" I asked.


    "You....understand my work?" He still seemed surprised.


    "Of course, it''s not that difficult." I rolled my eyes.


    "Not that difficult!?" His face turned red. "Do you not see what I''m trying to achieve here!?"


    "Oh I see." I nodded. "However, I noticed one particr problem."


    "Please, as if I would create any mistakes."


    "Admittedly, it''s not a problem others may see. But it''s certainly one I find issue with."


    "And enlighten me, what ''problem'' have you discovered."


    "Well....." I raised my hand up, pointing back towards one of his tests. "That one right there, about the size of an infant, yeah?"


    "Yes, what about it?


    "Body parts need to be removed from living beings for them to be most effective." I hummed, looking around the room once more. "And I absolutely despise when people use children for things like this." My face darkened considerably.


    He opened his mouth, about to speak, but my hand mped over it. "I never did catch your name."


    "Mmmmffmmmfm!" He garbled something.


    "Oh well, it doesn''t matter." I flicked my hand, lightning discharging towards the various devices around the room, causing them to short out or otherwise rupture. "Don''t worry, I just want to have a little chat."


    ***


    Second Chapter, making up for missing Friday.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 265 - 249

    <h4>Chapter 265: Chapter 249</h4>


    A quick portal, and we were now standing a few meters outside of the barrier. I tossed the devil onto the ground outside of the building. Pretty easy to tell he was a Devil, something I could notice from just touching him.


    "Y-you, how did you!?" The Devil ¨C doctor, scientist, whatever he was, started pointing at me with a shaking hand. "Those barriers should be able to withstand a barrage from a group of Highss Devils! How did you bring us out of there without triggering the defenses!?"


    "Really? That''s the question you want to ask? Not ''hey, why''d you take me outside here, and why does it feel like my life is hanging by a thread''?" I rolled my eyes at his antics. "Oh well, final requests and all that. I was able to ovee your defenses, because your defenses are absolute garbage."


    The Devil opened his mouth and closed it again, his legs shook as he stood up. "Do you have any idea who I am? Who I work for!?"


    "No, I came herepletely by chance and decided to do all of this for shits and giggles." I said dryly. "I''m surprised you don''t know who I am." I went to straighten my tie and realized I was still in the kimono. "I have be a little famous recently."


    Then again, he''d probably been here for a while, with little to no contact with the outside world.


    "You ignorant buffoon! I bet you''re one of those fake Satan''sp dogs!" He shouted with a snarl. "I work for the true Satans, the ones that will take back their thrones!"


    "Oh really?"


    "Hah! Do you see now? You''re doomed. Once everyone knows I''m missing, they''lle for you! I''m too important, too critical."


    "Uh huh." I scoffed, rolling my eyes again. This base was in the middle of nowhere, and I barely saw it manned. Critical was not a word I would use to describe this person. Oh well, delusions of grandeur weren''t exactly rare among devils, especially those who toted the ''pure blood'' motto of the Old Satan Faction. "How about, you answer some of my questions, and then we can talk about if you get to live or not."


    "Cretin! Do you think I''m scared of you?" He beganughing. "An ignorant dog like you has no idea about the powers backing me."


    Ah, he''s in need of a little demonstration then.


    "Hey there, boy." I held out my arm as Sir Wiggles jumped right into it. "You finished scouring the base?" I rubbed his little head.


    He sent me images of everything I needed to know. All the Teleportation Circles were destroyed, and he ran around nearly every corner of the base looking to see if there were any prisoners. Besides a....cold storage, there was nothing to note here. Just the normal grunts of the Old Satan Faction.


    "A rabbit!" The Devil began tough louder, clutching his gut as he hunched over "Is that your familiar? Oh, Satans below, this was worth the dy in my work."


    "It looks like you''re out of lightning after doing the other thing I asked of you." I zapped Sir Wiggles, refilling his semnce a tad.


    I looked back towards the Devil who seemed a bit more casual towards me even though I was technically holding him hostage. "Well then...nameless mook. It''s about time to answer my question, my time and patience is running thin."


    "Did you not hear a word I spoke before you ignoramus? As if I would tell a dog like you anything. My backers ¨C"


    I held my hand up as lightning crackled above us. "Pop quiz, when''s thest time that storm clouds appeared in the Dimensional Gap?" I shot him a smirk.


    He blinked, tilting his head upwards.


    Sir Wiggles had done a good job helping me to create them overhead. It was a bit annoying since the Dimensional Gap didn''t naturally produce Storm Clouds, but it''s not like they couldn''t exist.


    On a side note, I needed to have a talk with Sir Wiggles due to the fact that he can use Divine Lightning now.


    "W-what is that....?"


    "A demonstration." I said evenly followed by a snap of my fingers. "Thor''s Hammer."


    The Clouds swirled together, the massive amounts of Divine Lightning woven into them all gathered together and took the shape of a humanoid silhouette holding a hammer. It wasted no time, this towering behemoth of lightning swung down its hammer onto the building, discharging all the umted power.


    A gigantic pir of lighting exploded upward from the impact, blinding everyone looking directly at it. The force of it blew away all the floatingndmasses, the very air around the area was warped and chaotic. The Devil would have been blown away had I not created a barrier around us at thest moment.


    The Devil for whom I had yet to hear a name from, forced himself back to his feet as the dust settled. He was silent, his mouth opened as he surveyed the surroundings. "That''s.....impossible....." He squeaked out, looking at the crater that had once been the base he worked in. "Y-y-you''re an Ultimate ss Devil!?"


    I couldn''t help but grin viciously towards him. "Now. I believe it''s time to answer some of my questions."


    His eyes widened, a clear sense of fear washed over him as he now realized I wasn''t some young upstart, but a genuine, threatening, entity that had my sights narrowed down on him.


    "I don''t know anything." He fell back on his butt. "I just experiment! I haven''t even talked to my bosses in months." He cowered before me.


    How quickly the arrogance was dismantled. "So, you haven''t heard about any kidnappingstely?"


    "Kidnappings? I only get people to give me more materials, I haven''t heard about any kidnappings!" He quickly blurted out.


    As I thought, but I had other things I needed to know. The whole reason I was wasting time with this show was to get an honest answer. It was better to waste time now, than to be led on a wild goose chase.


    "Bob, can I call you bob? I''m going to call you bob." I tapped my finger on the armrest of my chair.


    "My name is ¨C "


    "Bob." I punctuated. "I''m going to be honest, the more you talk, the more I don''t want to let you live."


    "I-I know many other things, please!"


    "Hmm, other things? You don''t seem like you mattered much, Bob. Some no name researching in this backwater ce with barely a goon to answer your calls." I waved my hands around. "What exactly could you know, when you were shoved all the way out here?"


    "I know things!" He raised his voice as I yed on both his fear and arrogance. "Haha, I wasn''t always forced out into the middle of nowhere! My research was stolen once upon a time and my treacherous assistant got all the credit that I was due! When Iined, they forced me out here to continue my work in shame. But I know where he''s at."


    "Impressive, so you know the coordinates to their base?"


    "Of course, I do." He puffed up proudly. "If you let me go, I would be willing to hand them over."


    "Hmm, how do I know you''re telling the truth?"


    "Look, I''ll even show you!" He created a spell circle, a miniaturization of a Teleportation circle. They worked by connecting to another that was anchored at another location. It was clear to see that it did in fact connect, meaning that something was on the other side. "I''ll give you the coordinates if you let me go." He dismissed the spell, looking rather proud of himself.


    "Hmm." I tapped my chin. "My counter offer." I waved my hand through the air, following the path of distorted space that he had just created a moment prior. My Portal opened up, another base in full view. "Die."


    "W-what?" He looked confused again.


    Mirage appeared in my hand, and I swiped it to the side, and his head rolled across the ground.


    "Goodbye, Bob. Know that the world is a much better ce without you in it." There was no reality where he left my sight with his life intact after finding out he experimented on infants.


    ****


    I was starting to get annoyed.


    "Today has been a strange day." I let out a sigh, feeling a little warm as the fires raging on around me. "I saw a Goddess''s panties....then I heard about a kidnapping of people I am...interested in. Talk about emotional whish."


    "Fuck you!"


    "Quite." I nodded towards the tied up man as he spit on the ground in defiance. "So, as I was saying. There are some people I''m looking for, hear anything about that?" I swept my gaze across the little crowd I had gathered.


    Six people, all bound up tight with several magical bindings on them. Behind me, another base of the Khaos Brigade was on fire and reduced mostly to rubble at this point.


    I felt like I was getting close because this was the first base out of the several I had worked through so far that had non-devils running around.


    "Fuck you, and fuck your fox bitch!"


    Speaking of, my head slowly turned tond on the single Youkai among the bunch. A Kitsune of all things, a six tailed, so rather strong in his own right. These lot had recognized me, and knew who I was. Which included my rtionship with Yasaka, and he had a few choice words to say about her.


    "I hear you, and here''s my response." I jerked my hand forward, and Whisper impaled him through the knee.


    "MOTHERFUCKERRRRRRR!" He screamed out, writhing in pain. "FUCKING SLUT, WHORE OF A YOUKAI LEADER. SPREADING HER LEGS FOR ¨C " Another of my swords swept down and cut off one of his tails. He actually shrieked at that one, tears falling down his face as he contorted in pain. I pped a Talisman on his face, stopping him from letting out any more noise.


    Don''t know why he had such a hate on for Yasaka, but at this point, I really didn''t care. "Alrightly, so, kidnapped people, anyone got anything to say? Because I''ve been through five bases before this one already, and I''m still not hearing what I want. Are you guys going to make me push for Seven?"


    I looked around and no one met my gaze, yet they still didn''t speak.


    "Alright." I stood up fully. "I guess I''m forced to more barbaric means." I started pacing back and forth in front of them. "And if no one wants to speak up, I guess I''ll have to pick someone and go from there. Lets see....eenie meenie miney, you." I stopped in front of a Devil, he looked a bit more timid than the others. I held my hand up as it crackled with my divine lightning. "Ever wonder what it''s like to have your brain cooked? Well, you''re about to find out." I grinned.


    "No, no nono! I''ll talk, I''ll talk!" He cried out as my hand got closer.


    "LITTLE BITCH!" The one next him shouted as he fought against his bindings.


    "We should have killed you years ago. Cowardly little fuck." Another growled.


    "Quiet in the peanut gallery." I flicked my wrist, hitting them both with bolts of lightning, making the others cower.


    "Now..." I turned back towards the one who begged for mercy. "Do you know something that''ll make me happy, hmm?"


    "I-I know where they''re at." He whimpered. "The Nilrem have the Gremory woman and Lucifer''s son."


    "BASTARD!" A shout reverberated. My head snapped to the side to see arger built Devil break through the bindings I had on him. His Demonic Energy exploded out and I didn''t know where he got that sudden burst of power from. "YOU DARE BETRAY LORD LUCIFUGE?" He swung his fist at the Devil who had spoken up.


    I yanked the crying Devil back, raising my hand up and red my Aura. His Fist covered in his Demonic energy mmed against it, to no avail. Not to say it didn''t dip a little, but I didn''t feel the force in the slightest.


    "Even that wasn''t enough....?" The Devil who had attacked me looked shocked.


    "Not even close." I snorted, Dawnbreaker flying into my grip, I gathered my Magical Energy and swung through his torso. I wasn''t quite sure what his durability was like after powering up all of the sudden, so I figured I''d not waste unnecessary time.


    The two halves of him fell to the ground. I was about to turn back around to the Devil who was going to give me information, but I abruptly stopped, staring at the two halves of the devil I had just killed.


    I saw a ck snake-like creature wiggle free from its inside.


    I mmed down Dawnbreaker on its body, it let out a silent hiss before it stopped moving. I knelt down, getting a closer look. It wasn''t an actual living creature, but a conglomeration of energy. An energy I didn''t recognize.


    "Curious." I muttered, watching it dissipate. Even more curious was the fact that it looked extremely simr to the tattoo that Uther had on his arm which was used to facilitate the resurrection of that snake monster. "Oi, what was that?" I looked back towards my new friend.


    "I-I don''t know, I''ve never seen that before, I swear!"


    I pursed my lips, giving him a once over. Then I swept my gaze around the others. They looked....confused as well. I didn''t think they were hiding it either.


    Oh well, something to mull overter.


    "So, what''s this Nilrem you spoke of?" I walked over and leaned against him, ying with Lightning as it jumped between my fingers.


    "N-Nilrem is the Magicians faction of the Khaos Brigade." He stuttered as a stray arc of lightning barely missed him. "It''s mostly made up of h-humans and run by L-Lord Euclid Lucifuge."


    Yeah, that other guy mentioned him. Lucifuge, that name did annoy me. I couldn''t help but picture a scowling maid with silver hair when ever I heard that name.


    "And you would know the location?" I felt a tug at the corner of my lips. I was finally making genuine progress. I wondered how long I had been here, considering that time wasn''t really a solidified factor in the Dimensional Gap. Moreso something that bled through from Earth and the other connected realms.


    "Y-yes, I know the coordinates!" He blurted out. "I-if you let me live, i''ll give them to you!"


    "Very well." I withdrew the Staff of Magnus from my Ring and held it, pointing towards what remained of the structure I had procured these individuals from. Sir Wiggles, realizing what I was about to do, jumped onto my head as he liked. "Fires of Muspelheim." I called out as a massive torrent of fire was unleashed towards the remains, washing over everything with an unbearable me. The pirs and walls that held it up were reduced to g, and everything else was but ash drifting in the ensuing winds.


    "Would you kindly hand them over?" I smiled innocently, taking away his bindings, allowing him to act freely.


    Without another word, he created a Magic Circle, linked to another unknown location.


    I threw a few more Talismans on the other prisoners, causing them to convulse and fall to the ground, eyes rolled back, hearts no longer beating. I nced back at the one cooperative one. "If I see you again, I won''t say anything and immediately sever your head."


    "I''ll be good, I promise!" He cried out, "I''ll leave and disappear."


    "See that you do." I nodded before tearing open another path through space and time and jumped through.


    ***


    Either I''d been yed, or this is some kind of karma.


    I certainly found another target, but it was not quite what I had expected. All around me were dozens of people who were in the middle of eating their meals. Theyout was reminiscent of a generic cafeteria with various tables and people scattered about.


    I admit I had been a little impatient, but I think that was understandable at this point. Seven bases I had been to, counting this one, and six of them were nothing but scrap heaps or craters when I was finished with them.


    There was a deathly silence that filled the previously noisy room. People who were right in the middle of eating, dared not even swallow or chew.


    I cleared my throat. "Do you have time to talk about our lord and savior ¨C"


    Every single person in the cafeteria moved. Some slower than others, but they all moved with precision and experience. Spells actualized at the slightest movement of hands, barely shing a Spell Circle upon their casting.


    Others had jumped away, pushing tables up and cast defensive spells.


    I could have let them all hit me, all these spells that fill my vision. My Aura could easily defend against these cantrips that were thrown out in a rush. Hell, my Magic Resistance would no-sell anything of this level with ease. However, I knew if I started getting into that habit, Sc¨¢thach would kick my ass.


    I ducked and rolled to the side, letting arge fireball pass by and a massive spike of earth shot up from my previous position.


    A blood-like rain suddenly surrounded me as ittched onto my Aura, trying to dig its way through to no avail. It wasn''t a normal spell, not something that could be traditionally dodged. I jerked my head to the side to see a hooded Magician wielding a wand with a skull on the end, a baleful aura surrounding it.


    "Did you just try to curse me?" I expected no answer, instead I cast my own spell in response. "Lightning Arrows." Divine lightning coalesced and fired off towards the hooded magician. The arrows/spells pierced right through him, only for his figure to shatter like ss.


    But the effect didn''t end there, the entire room suddenly filled with cracks that worked their way through every surface. The entire room shattered, illusionary shards falling down everywhere.


    It wasn''t hard to guess that someone cast a massive illusion over therge room. Funnily enough, it wasn''t directed at me, but the surroundings, so my Magic Resistance did squat against it.


    Immediately, a Magic Circle filled the space in front of me, three Magicians extending their hands to actualize it. An ethereal Dragon''s Head emerged, and its massive jaw opened up with a torrent of fire spraying out.


    Raising my Staff of Magnus, I cast a Greater Ward, absorbing the brunt of the damage and I continued. "Shatter." I cast, creating dozens of illusionary copies of myself at every Magician in the room.


    They all ''attacked'' and the Magicians reacted ordingly, though one in particr grabbed my attention as the space in the room visibly fluctuated.


    A women held an orb-like catalyst in her hands. With her direction, the various Magicians began Teleporting out of ''harms way''.


    A Sacred Gear? I couldn''t only assume so, but it could be one I hadn''t heard about before, which wasn''t that surprising. It provided nearly unlimited short-range teleportation.


    It might seem rather unimpressive on the surface, but this group of people were utilizing it to be a very effective weapon.


    Their teamwork was astounding. They had arge variety of schools all crammed together, yet they weren''t stepping on each other''s toes. It wasn''t perfect by any means, but it easily told a history of experience and preparation between them.


    They were all at least High ss and worked extremely well to the point where they could most likely threaten the lower end of the Ultimate ss. With enough preparation, possibly extend further than that.


    I nced to the side to see an older man with a bear? An actual Bear? Bear hat? Bear Pelt? start casting a Runic spell. I flicked my finger, inserting an Ansuz Rune into his sequence at just the right moment, causing his spell to fail catastrophically. That part of the room erupted in a burst of Ice, freezing everything.


    "Bindings of Gaia." I slid my Staff against the ground, drawing the runes for my spell. The Large roots burst out of the floor, whipping andunching at anyone nearby.


    The downside of the girl''s Sacred Gear was revealed, she needed line of sight. One of the Roots blocked her vision of an ally, and he got impaled on its tip.


    I snapped my Fingers, a dozen Runic Circles appeared around me, my Divine Lightning charged within before a volley of lightning bolts shot off towards my foes. The majority of them dodged or blocked the bolts, if with a bit of effort. A couple couldn''t react in time and fell to the ground, hearts no longer beating.


    My Swords burst out of my Ring once more, flying to intercept more Spells shot my way, and to attack again. Behind me, a Magician was stabbed through the heart, to the side, another was impaled to the wall by Mirage. The Sacred Gear girl started teleporting every second she had the time to process, which began to annoy me.


    I reached out with my hand, and pulled on the spatial fluctuations she was causing. I reverberated them throughout the room, and the next time she teleported, she fell to the ground, coughing up blood. She was whole on the surface, but I basically tripped up her teleportation, making her lose something along the way.


    I swiped my Staff across the air, and a torrent of Lightning whipped out along the path, taking everything along with it and turned all to ash at the crackle of my Divine Lightning.


    Themotion died down again as the Magicians were routed. Some were impaled onto the wall, others didn''t even have a whole corpse. And some, they were trying their best not to die at this specific moment. And there''s no need to speak about the piles of ash that now filled various ces.


    I walked towards the Woman with the Sacred Gear or whatever the Ord was. She looked up at me, a hint of fear in her eyes, blood flowing out of her mouth. I dangled a healing potion in front of her, and I could see her face light up in understanding, even if she didn''t know the specifics. "Lady Gremory and Millicas, where are they?"


    She looked....hesitant. Her eyes flickered around the room and a sense of defeat clearly washed over here. "Down hallway...right, right, left right...boy. Same Hallway, left, right..... left.... second right, woman." She barely managed to get out, coughing up more blood as she finished.


    Separating them, huh? A smart move. This ce was already several steps above the others.


    I set the Healing Potion down, and picked up the Orb she was using ¨C her Sacred Gear or foci, something forter study. I didn''t bother to even register her emotions anymore, the defeated had no right to question the winner. Letting her live was more than she deserved, along with those that would walk away from here. Call it my token of appreciation for a direct answer, or just my uninterest in caring about them.


    I didn''t have any doubt that whatever rms were present had already been rung, so I set off to find my Half Brother, and my biological Grandmother.


    ***


    "No, no! Stay away from ¨C huughk" My Ascalon mmed into one of another dozen roaming guards and or Magicians of this ce. There were many more here than the other ces, probably more than all of thembined.


    And the quality was much higher.


    Having followed the directions, I arrived at a very sturdy door with an absurd amount of protections woven around it. It would take me quite a while to merely unravel them, if I were so inclined.


    However...


    My Sword of Destruction became coated in my Power of Destruction and shed into it, eating away at the protections.


    Inside, I saw a red-haired boy,ying down on a cot.


    He was motionless, and I even paused for a moment, looking at him.


    My....brother.


    I eventually regathered my thoughts and walked up to him. He still wasn''t moving, but I could see his chest rising and falling as he was still breathing. However, there was a little bit of sweat dripping down his forehead.


    I quickly grabbed his hand, taking a measure of his heart beat and cast my diagnostic spells.


    "The fuck is this?" I muttered, looking at his body. He''d been drugged by a concoction of things I had no point of reference for.


    In a horrific way, I suppose it was a smart thing to do? A kid like him might make irrational decisions,bined with the mystical powers at his disposal, that could actually do harm to himself or his captors. And he''s being used as a hostage towards Lady Gremory, so if he''s not doing anything, that''s the best-case scenario.


    I lifted up his shirt, and began to draw a Primordial Rune on his chest with a Runic Circle around it to help focus the effects. I was going to detox him, flush everything out of his system in the safest method I had avable. It''s not like Avalon was within reach at the moment but give it a few hours and he should be good. Thankfully, it didn''t seem to be as persistent as the taint from Yomi that Kunou suffered.


    He looked...peaceful, all things considered.


    I picked him up, holding him to my chest, being as gentle as I could in the situation. My Swords hovered around us protectively, and even Sir Wiggles perked up, on guard.


    His Grandmother should be a fair distance away, so it was a brisk walk to her cell.


    I wasted no time leaving the room, but it looked like some people were prepared for us. However, Sir Wiggles moved first. He jumped off my head, and turned into a streak of lightning, mming into a Magician at the front, shattering his spell sequence. There were two others that turned to look in utter befuddlement, which gave the Rabbit enough time to erupt into another burst of lightning that surrounded him, burning the other two with ease.


    "Good boy." I smiled, sending my gratitude through our link.


    Retracing our steps wasn''t hard, and even finding the other cell wasn''t difficult either. There were a few dozen enemies that stood in our way, but they were nowhere near the level of that group I met earlier in the cafeteria. They tried to fire off their own spells, some of them even decent, the others clearly needed work. It was enough that I could respond with just one hand, casting a Greater Ward, and absorbed them all.


    With a Mentalmand, my Swords all short out, tearing into their lines, Magicians screaming as body parts were lopped off.


    I paid them no more heed, they wouldn''t get any continued mercy after finding my half Brother like this. Regardless of my current feelings for his family, I wished no harm upon him. I didn''t know what my current feelings towards him were but I would make sure he was okay.


    Once more, I kicked open the cell door to see the person waiting on the other side.


    A woman with brown hair sat calmly on her little cot. She looked back, and her eyes widened as she properly processed who I was.


    "So....uh...I got your letter?"


    ***


    So, a warning, I made some insinuations regarding Venna several times. I was not at all subtle about it before, so i''m not going to say anything else after this.


    Also, Just a heads up to everyone, i''m under a hurricane warning right now. It should being about midday tomorrow (Wednesday for me) which is a day I don''t post, but it''s supposed to be here through Friday. And this is advanced warning in the entirely likely chance I lose power and can''t post. I apologize in advance if that happens.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 266 - 250

    <h4>Chapter 266: Chapter 250</h4>


    I met the gaze of the woman infront of me. I hadn''t really intended to say that sad excuse of a one liner I just blurted out, but I knew it''s a habit for me to make a joke when I felt awkward.


    She did...not look amazing. Her clothes had been torn up to the point I could see her undergarments. Possibly from cuts that healed since then? However, it didn''t look like anything.....worse happened to her. There were no discernable bruises, or wounds I could see from a cursory nce. I forced myself to stop staring after a moment.


    It was the first time I''d seen her in person and she was.....frankly beautiful.


    "Of all people I expected toe, it wasn''t you." She stood up, also giving me a once over.


    "I was in the neighborhood." I said dismissively.


    "The Dimensional Gap?" She quirked an eyebrow, walking towards me. She held her arms out as I loosened my grip on Millicas and allowed her to take him from me. She cradled him protectively, checking him for any injuries. "What''s wrong with him?" She immediately found my runic array on his chest.


    She looked like she wanted to say much more, but held it back and prioritized her grandson. "They must have forced some cocktail of drugs into him. I don''t recognize much of it, but I could only do a preliminary check and saw that he wasn''t exactly in danger."


    "And what''s this on his chest?" She looked at me expecting an answer. "I don''t believe they did this."


    "That''s mine." I confirmed, and I couldn''t really me her for being thorough. "Since I didn''t recognize everything they pumped into him, I went with the safest method of.....detoxing the foreign drugs. Unfortunately, the safest just happens to be the slowest."


    "Mmm." She looked me over, trying to find any trace of deceit. "And he isn''t in danger?"


    "Not any immediate danger..." I looked thoughtful for a moment. "Give it a few weeks with this stuff inside him? It might start having visible side effects." I shrugged as it didn''t really matter at this point and I was doing a lot of guesswork. It wasn''t really my area of expertise or anything. "Feel free to check yourself." I waived my hand flippantly. "I can wake him up if you prefer." I offered as well.


    She nced at me and back down at Millicas. "You can wake him up?"


    "Most likely. I just thought it would be preferable if he slept through this. And...." I pushed the door open wider. "I figured it was probably best he didn''t see what happened."


    Venna tilted her head to better peak outside the door. There were bodies thrown about, limbs hacked off, and others impaled or even embedded into the walls.


    "I believe that is a wise decision." She blinked a few times staring at the scene. Thankfully, she didn''t look disturbed, moreso surprised. "Good riddance." She added, turning her nose up at the corpses.


    Well, I wouldn''t exactly have any good will towards my kidnappers as well. Rece Millicas with Kunou, and I''d be out for all the blood I could get.


    "Believing me so easily, I could be stringing you along..."


    "I trust you." She said with a rather casual tone. It honestly took me by surprise with how easily the words rolled off her tongue.


    I didn''t know how to respond to that.


    "Do you need any healing before we head out?" I offered, not wanting to simply open a portal. For now, I''d rather they not know I could bypass barriers of the quality surrounding this ce.


    "I''m fine." She replied with a simple smile. "I only received a few cuts when they tried to intimidate me and they only made the threat of procuring their own Bael Bloodline." The sharp edge to her words made it clear how she really felt even if she wasn''t outwardly reacting.


    That made my thoughtse to a grinding halt. "And you''re fine? Perhaps anyone you would like to have a personal talk with before we leave?" I....still didn''t know how to feel about this woman, yet I was disgusted by the implication.


    "Oh no, they were too afraid to do anything, besides..." She nced down at herself with her clothing torn up here and there. "If it weren''t for them having Millicas, they would have found out quickly why I survived both the Great War and the Civil War." She smiled innocently.


    I did forget how old she actually was. She should be pretty strong herself, even if she wasn''t in the public eye anymore. And the Power of Destruction to the dick was probably one of the biggest deterrents there ever was.


    There was an awkward silence as we walked through the building, heading towards the exit. Credit where it''s due, they once more did a good jobbeling and giving directions everywhere so no one got lost.


    Really, the only issue was that we hadn''t run into any more people on the entire trek. And It wasn''t like this was a small facility, not to mention themotion I had already caused and the inevitable tripping of defenses caused by my actions.


    "Sir Wiggles." I called out.


    I could tell that Venna was confused at my words, until my familiar came bolting down the hallway and jumped onto my head.


    "Adorable." Venna seemed to genuinely smile.


    "Nothing about me having a rabbit as a familiar?" I questioned.


    "I learned when I was younger that it''s not the size, but how you use it."


    Once more I just blinked, looking at her in surprise.


    "What?" She asked.


    "Just.....surprised by the joke." I replied.


    "I''m stressed beyond my limit, carrying my drugged-up grandson after being threated to be a broodmare for a faction of Devils that want to kick off another Great War, I''ll cope however I can." She deadpanned, still not giving anything away on the surface.


    "Fair." I could only just nod.


    Huh.....I did that in stressful situations too.


    Well, I doubted it could be anymore awkward after that.


    The remainder of the walk was silent, though the closer we got to the entrance, the more I felt a feeling of difort. I think Venna picked up on my unease, because she adopted a pensive look as we neared the end.


    I pushed therge metal doors open, and I wasn''t even surprised by what I saw.


    "Quite the little gathering." I whistled, sweeping my gaze all around. There were probably....hundreds of Magicians encircling the entrance of the building.


    "Haha, well, goodpany requires the best presentation." A man stood infront. He had a shade of Silver Hair that I found annoying simr to a certain maid. He also carried a tone of perceived superiority right from the start.


    "Euclid." Venna practically growled from behind me. "Everyone thought you were dead, I''m ovee with enthusiasm at the exaggeration of your untimely death. I do believe certain parties will be just ecstatic at this revtion." The venom dripped off her words.


    Ah, I had known his name was familiar. He''s that maid''s brother. The idiot that those other devils talked about before I sieged this ce. And it sounded like there''s a bit of a history there.


    "Lady Gremory, were the amodations not to your liking?" He chuckled at her expense. "I would be more than happy to discuss your next room. Perhaps in the stables where you can be among your peers."


    "And I would be more than happy to discuss with you thoroughly as well." She snorted with disdain. "Why don''t youe and test me without my Grandson being held hostage?"


    "Tempting, but we both know you''re not my match." He didn''t react to her provocation. "Besides, it''s not like I would actually put my dear Nephew in danger. Even if he has that same red hair as the usurper, he''s still my sister''s son."


    I narrowed my eyes as I saw his hand twitch.


    Immediately, my swords mmed down right behind Venna, shattering several Ice Spears that manifested.


    "So much for not harming your nephew." I crossed my arms, meeting his eyes.


    "He would have been unarmed, just enough to remove the filth from around him." He smiled brightly, turning his focus fully on me. "And you must be Wilhelm."


    "Nope."


    I saw his eye twitch slightly. "I''ve heard a lot about you." He sped his hands behind his back. "Some of it rumors, and some of it was from the footage and ounts of my men as you made your way through several of our bases..."


    "In the neighborhood?" Venna repeated with a dry tone.


    "Doesn''t ring a bell." I smiled innocently.


    "Hmm." He didn''t react this time. "Have you considered which side you want to be on?" He waved his arms around. "I''ve been interested in you since the first time I heard that the usurper had a child he never spoke about. Lo and behold, that child was discovered fighting a God, A God. I was surprised to see you here, going after Lady Gremory. But it does present a wonderful opportunity." He pped his hands. "I don''t believe you''ve joined up with the usurpers, and you''ve handled yourself well in the eyes of themon rabble. Why, I believe you represent exactly what it means to be a Devil."


    Was he trying to recruit me?


    I guess I''d y along. "And what exactly does being a Devil represent?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Some think it means to be Evil, maniptive, and dastardly in all measures. Well, I couldn''t agree more in the past, but I''ve pondered it and think I''vee to a slightly different conclusion. Devils, simply do whatever their whims carry them to do without any nonsense like morality. If you want a woman, you take her. If you want to kill someone, you kill them. If you want something, you steal it." He gestured towards Venna and Millicas for added effect. "Devils are the most brutal species, simply because we do what we want, how we want, whenever we want."


    Bold of him to spout that nonsense when the majority of his current followers were in fact humans. However, they didn''t seem perturbed in the slightest.....


    "And how do I fit into this world view?"


    "How do you not? You fought a God, just because. You caused havoc, just because you felt like it. Perhaps you need a guiding hand on certain matters, but you''ve done simply wonderful thus far." He had an almost gentle look about him. "You showed those Shinto Gods what a Devil truly is capable of."


    I turned to nce at Venna who just silently gave me a look that screamed ''I don''t know'' as I turned back to this crazy guy.


    "You recognize that I fought a God, yet, you''re sitting here trying to put a gun to my head with your entourage." I swept my arm around, gesturing towards the rows of Magicians behind him.


    "Haha, well, don''t count me out. I''m pretty strong myself, a match for my sister if I do say so myself. And she''s Satan ss as it is." He didn''t look at all perturbed by my insinuation. "Not to mention I have, as you observed, my magicians with me. While not individually strong, surely someone of your magical ability knows that enough of them gathered together can do some amazing things."


    That''s not untrue. Gather enough Magicians together, and you''d have basically the equivalent of a Holy Grail in magical output.


    "I believe I''ve overstayed my wee at this point." I raised my hand up but paused when he snapped his fingers.


    Every single magician raised their staves, wands, or other magical foci towards us. "It''s rude for a guest to leave after the host provides such a warm reception." His expression shifted to a little frown. "Especially after the mess you caused me. It''s going to take a long time to rebuild what you destroyed."


    I nced back at Venna and Millicas, then turned back, narrowing my eyes at him. "You think you can threaten me with them?"


    "Maybe, or maybe not." He shrugged. "Maybe I can seek you out topare notes in Kyoto?" A knowing smirk appeared on his face. "I''ve heard some interesting things, especially about the Youkai''s leader, and even about her daughter."


    Well then, caution to the wind.


    "You want topare notes?" I grit my teeth at the thought of him threatening my daughter.


    "I do think myself quite capable in the realm of Magic." He fixed his cor, looking rather proud of himself. "Dare youpete with me? If you''re not up to it, then you can leave. Even after all the damage you caused, I''ll overlook it." He added with a nonchnt shrug. "However, they''re going to be staying." He raised he hand, pointing towards the two behind me. "I know what it''s like to be abandoned by family. But that brat is still my sister''s pride and joy, so I think I''ll be keeping him and raise him properly for now on, away from the usurper''s grasp. As for the Gremory Bitch, my men could use a good moral boost after losing so many of our number."


    Dude had some serious inferiority issues with my biological father. I could just tell by the tone he mentioned the ''usurper''.


    Regardless, he threatened my daughter.


    I raised my hand, summoning my Staff of Magnus. "Alright then, let me show you, my strongest spell."


    Runes filled the air around me. Talismans shot out to their positions with little thought as I had be more familiar with casting this spell at this point. Though, it was slightly different than thest time I called upon it. Yes, just a slight difference, because now, I had divinity.


    "If that''s how you want to y it, then so be it." He raised he hand up and the Magicians all around him began to cast in tandem. "This is a spell of my own creation!" He dered, a maniacal grin on his face as several massive Spell Circles appeared overhead. "I call it Lucifer''s Descent."


    Out of the Magic Circles, a humanoid silhouette weaved out of Demonic Power burst out, shattering through space like ss as its form solidified. It looked like a clich¨¦ devil, horns and all, a baleful aura flowed out at its mere presence, and a killing intent that could make lesser men shudder.


    "Specifically created to battle armies." He sounded proud as he looked overhead.


    It was.....impressive. The solidification of shape and concepts into a coherent whole even with the inclusion of so many different magicians in the spell casting. And He obviously used his own Demonic Energy as the catalyst since the vast majority of the Magicians were human. It didn''t do much....but it had a ridiculous amount of Magical Energy sustaining it. Pretty much any normal damage would probably be mended immediately.


    However, itcked a certain weight to it. I had no doubt it had some impressive destructive power, maybe enough to even trade a few dozen blows with Susanoo before being destroyed. But it was still far from my own strongest.


    The Pentagram formed; my Runes lit up around their Primordial brethren. "Come." I dered, and therge piece of rock we were standing on shook.


    The Air around us shifted, massive roots burst out of the cirle and into the ground,pletely enveloping therge structure behind us before they shot upwards, climbing higher and higher until it dwarfed even the massive construct that this Euclid created.


    "Behold, the beginning of creation." I held my arms out, my Staff glowing bright. "Blessings of the World Tree ¨C Yggdrasil."


    My Tree exploded with life, fully bloomed and ascending over everything high up into the colorful sky that was the Dimensional Gap.


    Funnily enough, it wasn''t asrge as it usually was. This realm was fighting against me, the concepts intertwined in my tree were the opposite of those that existed in the Dimensional Gap.


    "Oh my....." Venna blurted out, gazing up towards the peak of my spell.


    "You.....what is this?" Euclid looked shocked? Confused even, as I was using concepts that were mostly foreign to this realm. So many different things added to make this spell a reality. "The Tree from the Norse religion?"


    "From one birthed nine." I responded, the corners of my lips tugging upwards. My Sword of Destruction shot up, taking its ce as it had several times before. "Let the fires of Muspelheim rage once more across all creation." The God-burning mes enveloped my sword, transforming it into its Pseudo-Phantasm form.


    The Sword Erged,rge enough to be wielded by a Giant.


    "N-no! Send it in!" Euclid yelled as the Magicians channeled their magics andmanded the construct to move forward. It took a single step then tried to swiped its massive hand.


    I raised my arm up high in response, then swung it down, putting a significant amount of power into this blow. Enough that I probably wouldn''t have enough of a follow up with the drain on the Magical Energy that went into the casting to support the entire Tree. "Twilight of the Gods ¨C Laevatein." The massive fiery sword swung down, and the ground was sundered in an explosion of heat and mes.


    The construct was seared down the center, burnt away as quickly as the Demonic Energy met the mes of my sword. Frankly, this iteration of my spell was an absolute counter to the magics that created that thing. The Magicians immediately fell into a panic, a good portion of them were eviscerated by the swing, and another good chunk scattered and tried to run away.


    I didn''t follow up, waiting for the dust to settle, so to speak. I gestured with my hand, removing the shield I ced around us so the other two wouldn''t be affected to much.


    The ground still rumbled, the floating chunks of rock falling off into the abyss, and molten g drifted off into the distance.


    My Sword returned to the sky, hovering over the area.


    I took bated steps forward towards the target of my ire, having escaped death from the first attack.


    He looked haggard, hand held out as he threw up several defensive spells. Half his body waspletely scorched, and part of his arm was missing. Even if my attack was mostly aimed at the construct, he had been caught up in the main blow and suffered heavily.


    Could he have defended better? I would say so if he was boasting about being a Satan ss Devil, but for some reason he just seemed to have his head so far up his own ass. That or he wasn''t quite at the level he was boasting about.


    "H-h-how....." He stuttered, out, his throat seemed to have been burned quite heavily. "S-summon that thing..."


    Yeah, the people in this world seemed to emphasis pure strength in almost everything. Intertwining concepts closer to the surface wasn''t something most people would bother with when you can just pump something up further.


    Why create a spell that can apply some kind of conceptual destruction to a mountain when you can just train up to punch said mountain out of existence?


    A crude exnation, but for some reason it''s a logic that''s normalized here.


    The true monsters were those whobine both.


    But I digress.


    "Shouldn''t have threatened my daughter." I was about tomand my sword once more to finish him, but another idea popped up into my head. Instead, I threw a handful of sealing Talismans at him, binding him up nice and tight before dragging him back to where Venna stood.


    She seemed to be in a stupor of some sort, still staring at the tree above us. It was only when I tossed him at her feet did she break from it.


    "So, quick question." I grabbed her attention. "This guy, you seem to know him?" I only knew vague details.


    "He is the brother of my daughter inw." She confirmed.


    "Hates your.....son with a passion I assume?"


    "The intensity matches the sun."


    "Bit of a sis-con?"


    "In the same way that the ocean is a bit wet." She deadpanned.


    Ah, good I wasn''t misinterpreting his words when speaking of his sister.


    "So that just makes it even worse then." I tapped my chin. "And I assume being handed over to the one he refers as the usurper would be ¨C "


    "A fate worse than death." She beamed happily.


    "Well, my day just got a lot better." I perked up, opening a portal to my home. The Tree above us dissipated at a visible speed, returning to its baseposition of Magical Energy and scattering to the void. "Shall we go?" I offered, retrieving all my effects as Sir Wiggles mped down tightly on my head.


    She took onest look around, still somewhat shocked at what she had just witnessed before turning back to me. "We shall." She stepped through without a second thought.


    I followed behind within the same breath, pulling the idiot along with me. I detested the idea of taking him into my home, but I had no where to store a living person.


    My only constion was that he must be in excruciating pain.


    "Are we in Japan?" Venna questioned.


    "Kyoto." I replied without much fuss. "The Sub Dimension that houses the Youkai under Yasaka. I opened a path, you can Teleport to the underworld now, should be much easier than trying to teleport out of the Dimensional Gap."


    A spell circle appeared under her feet and I raised an eyebrow at the speed in which she actualized it.


    She quirked a smile when she noticed my expression. "You don''t survive the Great War without being able to run away on short notice." A smallugh escaped her lips before she calmed down. "On behalf the Gremory Family, I sincerely thank you for what you''ve done."


    "I didn''t do it for the Gremory Family." I waived my hand flippantly.


    "I could guess as much." She nodded. "However, I thank you regardless. I don''t know what I would do if something happened to my Grandson."


    ".....he''s my half-brother, y''know. It''s not like I''d want to see him in that kind of situation." I let out a sigh, rubbing my eyes. I still don''t know how to feel about everything, but I couldn''t just leave him to that kind of fate. "Just...you should probably head back. Regardless of anything I feel I have towards them, I doubt his parents want to be without him for any extra length of time."


    If there was anything I could sympathize with them for, it would be their love for their son. I know how frantic I would be if it was Kunou in the same situation. By no means do I have any desire to associate with them, but as a new parent, I couldn''t help but feel bad. But that''s pretty much as far as my feeling extended.


    "Oh, and take this thing with you." I kicked the idiot into her Teleportation Circle.


    "Hmm." She appeared to ponder something. "After I settle matters, will you allow me to return?" She asked.


    "...you want toe back?"


    "You said you got my letter, is it wrong that I want to speak to my other Grandson?" She had a warm smile on her face. "I have many things I want to say to you, things I think you deserve to hear."


    "Whatever." I shrugged. I already came this far, and I intended for to meet with her before the whole kidnapping thing. "I''ll leave a path for you to Teleport back. Anyone else and I''ll consider them an intruder." I ced a hand on Millicas, removing the Runes. I''m sure they''d be able to handle something like this with their own resources.


    The Teleportation circle under her lit up as I stepped back.


    "I''ll settle some things and be back in a few hours." She once more smiled towards me as the teleportation actualized. "At the very least, I think you deserve a special reward." And with that, she disappeared with the idiot and my Half Brother.


    Wondered what she meant by that, I didn''t really care to get anything.


    ***


    Hurricane passed and i''m still whole and healthy.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my  / astoryforone.

 Chapter 267: Interlude 14

    <h4>Chapter 267: Interlude 14</h4>


    Venna Gremory POV


    I held Millicas tightly as the Teleportation Circle enveloped us. I had memorized the coordinates to the manor many centuries ago and sent us there immediately. I had much unfinished business with my wayward grandson, but priority was with Millicas right now and reuniting him with his parents.


    As much as I wanted to reward Wilhelm and perhaps relieve a little bit of this stress I had umted, I was too worried about my little man to continue that train of thought, for now.


    "Mother!"


    "Venna!"


    "Millicas!!!"


    The shouts filled the room and I was set upon before the lights even faded from my vision, surrounded by my family. Rias, Grayfia, and Zeo were all here waiting, and I believe I saw Akeno waiting in the corner as she looked on.


    "My baby!" Grayfia swooped in, tossing aside all semnce of her usual demeanor as a maid to grab hold of her son. I couldn''t fault her nor would I even make a noise inint, Satans know I would act exactly the same way had I not been been kidnapped as well.


    "Mom, are you okay!?" Rias came up, hugging my tightly as she had tears run down her face.


    "Rias, I''m okay." I pulled her in, gently soothing her as I ran a hand through her hair. I could only imagine how she and the others had been worried.


    "Venna, what''s wrong with Millicas?!" Grayfia began to frantically cast various spells on him.


    "I was told he has been drugged. I did some scans of my own, and admittedly it''s not an area of expertise for me, however he didn''t look like he was in danger. Though erring on the side of caution is perhaps the best move forward." I exined my thoughts on the matter as well as what I had been told by Wilhelm. While I didn''t doubt his words, it''s also something you can''t simply leave to chance.


    "Breathing is steady, no linger effects presented through his organs....." Grayfia muttered, spells encircling him and passing over every inch of his body. "No physical damage...some unidentifiable chemicals running through his blood."


    "Is Millicas going to be okay?" Rias looked worried, removing herself from my arms as she knelt next to him and Grayfia.


    "It doesn''t look like it''s a malevolent substance...just a very strong drug that''s keeping him subdued. However, it looks like it''s started clearing up on its own somewhat, which is strange due to the power needed to work on a devil. I''m worried that it''s seeping into other parts of his body and going inert." Grayfia''s lips thinned as she furrowed her brow in concentration.


    She was perhaps the most skilled in medical procedures among us. Something she picked up during the CivilWar.


    "Someone already started detoxifying him." I interjected before she got too lost into her own thoughts. It may be important for her to know. "I can''t pretend to understand the mechanisms, but Millicas was much paler when I first got him back." It had looked like Runes, but that wasn''t something I had knowledge in.


    "It''s okay, sweetie. Mommy''s here." Grayfia cradled Millicas as her own spells took hold.


    "Uh, should I go get some phoenix tears?" Rias offered, trying to help in her own way.


    "I don''t think they''ll be helpful in this kind of situation." I shook my head. "Phoenix Tears are more for physical conditions, not drugs running through his body. It''s possible the excess energy flowing through him would re up and run counter to the drugs and cause some kind of negative effect."


    The room was suddenly filled with another burst of power as the Teleportation Circle lit up once more and two more people joined us.


    "Mom, Millicas!" Sirzechs bolted towards us, a red blurr as he quickly ascertained the status of his son and then me.


    "Venna, I''m happy to see that you''re well." Ajuka also greeted as he watched the two parents fuss over Millicas. "Is he....?"


    "Strong suppressant in the form of drugs, shouldn''t be life threatening. He''s currently unconscious which is probably for the best as we flush his system properly." I replied, earning a nod of approval from the other Satan.


    "Honey, what happened?" Zeo walked up, cing a gentle hand on my shoulder. "You''re fine, right?"


    "I''m fine, Zeo." I put my own on his. " A little roughed up and stressed, but nothing beyond a few cuts and bruises that already healed."


    "Does this whole thing have anything to do with.....him?" Ajuka narrowed his eyes at the third person I brought along who seemed to have been ignored in favor of Millicas and I.


    "Why, yes. Yes it does." I said with nock of disdain in my tone, earning everyone''s full attention.


    "Euclid!?" Grayfia''s volume shot up upon realizing who it was. "I thought you were dead!" There was a gentleness in her words, even if they sounded a bit frantic. A sort of happiness at the realization that her brother was still alive. That was until she quickly put two and two together and deduced the reason he was in that half dead state. "You!" She screeched. "You kidnapped my son! You kidnapped my mother inw!"


    The bound man grunted and groaned, his eyes darting back and froth, but the bindings were stopping him from truly moving or shifting in any meaningful way. However, I didn''t know if his actions were because he wanted to say something or he was simply in pain.


    I hoped it was thetter.


    Ajuka quickly cast his own spells, sending many more different kinds of seals and bindings over the man. The Magic Circles around his hands flickering a dozen times in a few moments before he finished. "That should do for now." He nced at Sirzechs who looked like he was about to murder the man. Frankly, I doubted anyone could me him, nor would I make a move to stop him if he wanted to.


    "I will be having a thorough talk with him after." Sirzechs all but growled, fists clenched tight. I think the only reason he didn''t blow up was because Millicas and Grayfia were in need of the moral support to have him calm and nearby.


    My son was not quick to anger, but once it happened, it was like a volcano. It wasn''t a simple matter of a disaster striking, but anything that was involved that was rted to the source of his anger would feel his continuous wrath until not but ash and salted earth remained.


    "Vene, what happened, where did you go?" Zeo squeezed my hand.


    "Mom..." Rias spoke up as well, probably also wanting to know.


    Sirzechs held Millicas in his arms as both her and Grayfia looked at me expectantly.


    "I take it you''ve been looking all over for me?" I asked.


    "We turned over every Old Satan Faction base we knew of, and none of them knew anything." Grayfia scoffed, ring down at her brother. "Lady ¨C Venna, we couldn''t find you anywhere....."


    "Thankfully, we now have evidence of who was behind everything." Ajuka nced at Euclid as well. "Even if they deny knowing about him, it''s enough to shut up any dissent."


    I''ll have to thank Wilhelm once more for not killing him then.


    "I was in the Dimensional Gap." I said inly, as there was no need to be coy about it. "They had several bases there from what I''ve been able to gleam."


    "What!? The Dimensional Gap?" Rias''s eyes widened, blurting out her thoughts. "How....I thought that ce was uninhabitable?"


    "Not....exactly." Ajuka let out a sigh, lips thinning. "That''s just something we say to keep younger Devils from trying to go there. It''s technically habitable, but it''s not a good idea to go there for long periods of time. To set up permanent bases isn''t something to do on a whim. It doesn''t bode well that they''ve thought it a good idea to do so, and have apparently been operating that way for a significant amount of time." Ajuka met eyes with Sirzechs. "Clearly, we''ve been underestimating them.


    "Serafall''s still out there, turning over any rock she can find." Sirzech''s shifted in ce. "Let''s hold off on announcing their returns, gives an excuse to keep going. Then we can use this ¨C " He nced at Euclid again. "--Rebel, as a scapegoat."


    And there''s my smart son.


    "We should tell Zekram atleast." Ajuka crossed his arms. "Even if he''s publicly the leader of the Great King Faction, he still has ties with the old coots. And I''m sure he isn''t thrilled about Venna and Millicas being in the crossfire. At the very least, he''d be willing to y along if we give him time to set things up to his advantage."


    Sirzechs let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Fine, I just want to strike a blow against these guys. We can discuss things more thoroughly with Zekram after the dust settles. For now, it''s open season on any Old Satan Faction bases wee across."


    "That means I''ll need to make an appearance of two." Grayfia huffed, pushing a few strands of hair out of Millicas''s eyes.


    "Sorry, honey." Sirzechs apologized.


    "Don''t worry all my anger is focused on others due to this." She glowered, making sure her brother saw her murderous gaze. "I''ll be sure to make my time count before spending it all with our son."


    "For now..." Sirzechs turned back to me. "Mother, how did you escape? It should be nearly impossible to actually find anything there if you''re going in blind. It''s only slightly easier if you''re trying to actually leave."


    "Your son saved me." I replied with all honesty. There was no point in holding it back when Euclid knew the truth. And Wilhelm didn''t deign to keep it a secret, so I figured it was fair game.


    "My Son ¨C" Sirzechs froze in ce, realization dawning on him.


    "Wilhelm?" Rias spoke up again, having gone silent when everyone was talking about the political mess. "He saved you and Millicas?"


    "He did." I couldn''t help but smile. "He was quite dashing. Swooping in and taking them all out. From what I heard when Euclid was trying to recruit Wilhelm, though he was mostly talking to himself, he had torn through several other of their bases before he came to us."


    Who knew that sending him that letter would be the difference between nearly dying or not? Or whatever ns they had in store for me. I had no doubt that Euclid would keep Millicas alive for whatever twisted idea of love he had for my grandson, but I would not have fared as well.


    And Wilhelm cut a simr figure to a young Zeo, and just as handsome~


    I nced at Zero who gave me a knowing look. I pretended not to notice, even if I had to hold back a smallugh.


    "Venna, can you please recount everything form the beginning?" Ajuka took charge as Sirzechs just looked lost at the newfound information.


    "Very well." I may as well get this over with. "As you know, I was out with Millicas, spending the day with him. We had our normal guards that stayed out of sight, and I didn''t notice anything wrong until we were suddenly attacked. A dozen or so human Magician surrounded us, and I wasn''t able to fight back while protecting Millicas. We were quickly teleported away and forced through several more checkpoint before finally being forced to the Dimensional Gap."


    "Making it neigh untraceable." Ajuka sighed. "I tried, I really did."


    "And I appreciate it, Ajuka. I hold no me for you for not being able to provide a miracle." This boy, I could still remember him running around with Sirzechs when they were kids. Being able to trace several teleports around the world, then tracking through one of them to another destination. I couldn''t hold that against him in the slightest. "Millicas and I were separated. He was apparently drugged up to keep him docile. Whereas I was kept on another side of the facility, and he was used to keep me in line as a hostage."


    "Is there anything you found out? Any important information you could tell us?" Ajuka asked.


    "It wasn''t just the Old Satan faction, the vast Majority of the people at that base were Humans, of which Euclid led. I have no idea how far their reach has gotten, I didn''t want to linger to find out." I shook my head. "I can ask Wilhelm when I see him again."


    "Again?" Grayfia spoke up. "You.....are going to see him again?"


    "He epted my offer to speak with me. The whole reason he turned up was because he had gotten my letter previously." Grayfia was the only person who knew about that, her eyes shing in realization.


    "I see..." My Daughter inw looked down, a hint of shame appearing on her face.


    It must be hard for her, having that misced displeasure towards the boy, yet he had just saved her son.


    "And I stayed there for that period of time." I continued, wanting to push past the awkward atmosphere. Any other time, I would let her stew in those feelings, but this wasn''t a normal circumstance. "Nothing changed until Wilhelm tore open my cell door, with Millicas in his arms."


    "You said that Euclid had a lot of Magicians with him....." Ajuka spoke up again.


    "Not counting the bodies left in the wake of my emancipation, there were a few hundred waiting outside." Again, it wasn''t anything they couldn''t get from the idiot.


    "A few hundred!?" Rias squeaked out.


    "I...agree. While I doubt most of them were High ss , that isn''t an insubstantial amount." Zeo who had been listening intently alsomented. "I am aware of the rumors about him fighting a God, but to hear something like that first hand."


    "It was quite spectacr." I began to recant the tale. "Euclid ordered the Magicians to help him cast a spell, creating a massive creature out of Demonic Energy. He called it ¨C Lucifer''s decent." I rolled my eyes at the naming sense. "He also called it an army killer or some other nonsense."


    "Blowing hot air?" Ajuka quirked an eyebrow.


    "Oh no, it was certainly impressive. I had no doubt I would have died without even being able to put up a proper fight against it." I admitted. I wasn''t exactly weak, but I hadn''t really kept up with my training in so many years. Perhaps this was a wake up call? I should get back into fighting shape.


    "And Wilhelm fought it?" Rias looked eager for the details.


    "Sirzechs." I turned towards my son.


    "Yes?"


    "Your Rook ¨C his namesake. He still possesses his sword, yes?" I asked.


    "....I believe so? I wouldn''t think Surtr to give up such a powerful weapon. It''s something that even I''m not confidant taking head on without injures." My son scratched his head. "Why the sudden question?"


    "Because your son summoned the World Tree from the Norse Cosmology, then somehow summoned Surtr''s sword and shed apart the construct, sundering the earth, killing the majority of the Magicians and causing the remainder to flee."


    ".....what?" A reaction shared by all of them.


    Well, I can''t say I didn''t feel something simr when I saw it in person. Well, that and a need to change my panties before heading back to see him.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 268 - 251

    <h4>Chapter 268: Chapter 251</h4>


    I sat on my couch, mindlessly staring off into space. I didn''t remember how long I sat here, but I felt like time was passing slowly as I waited for someone to appear.


    I don''t know if I was lucky or not to have no one around. All my girls had something to do right now, so none were at the house. Even Yasaka was busy with her own matters and I didn''t want to disturb her. Well, I also wanted a little bit of privacy....


    My secrets were known to my girls, but that didn''t mean I wasn''t embarrassed by certain things. I didn''t know how I was going to react to the information I received, and I didn''t like showing that side of me.


    I took a deep breath as I felt the spatial fluctuations, simr ones to how Devils used their Teleportation Circles. I could tell that only one person wasing, so I wasn''t on high alert.


    She appeared at the side, and I spared her a nce before gesturing to a seat across from mine. She didn''t speak as she took her seat, sitting rather properly, looking at me for how to proceed.


    "Would you like a drink?" I offered in the spirit of hospitality.


    "No thank you." Venna shook her head as we fell into silence again.


    That awkward silence continued as neither of us knew where/how to start. I had things I wanted to ask, and I''m pretty sure she had things she wanted to ask, but forming the words was just...excruciatingly difficult.


    "I see I''m not the only one who got a change of clothes." She mused, shing a little smile.


    I nced down at myself, d once more in my normal attire, tie and all. Then I looked back at her, she was something simr to what she wore before but without all the.....tears.


    "How is Millicas?" I asked.


    "It''s as you said. And he''s in good hands, at this point, we''re just letting him sleep everything off." She replied with a warm look.


    "Any other issues that arose?"


    "Nothing of importance. However, please don''t reveal that we were....rescued so soon."


    I quirked an eyebrow at that. "Ah, I get it." I nodded after a second of thought. "Rooting out all the undesirables, hmm?"


    The corners of her lips curled up. "You catch on quickly."


    Well, I didn''t know the specifics, but they''re using this as an excuse to purge some of their opposition. I''m not part of their faction, so I didn''t really care.


    "And how have you been?" She asked, in an effort to continue the small talk.


    "As well as I can be." I didn''t really know how to borate.


    "I heard that you and Yasaka, the leader of the Youkai here, are in a rtionship?"


    "I suppose that''s not really a secret." I crossed my legs, propping my chin up with one arm. "She''s my woman, yes."


    "And she has a daughter?"


    "Kunou." I nodded. "My little girl as well." I couldn''t help but smile.


    "So young and you already have a daughter of your own." She giggled. "How old are you now, just over 18?"


    "Closer to 21, actually." I shrugged. I didn''t actually know my exact age anymore....


    "Pardon?"


    "Time is rtive." I smirked.


    She blinked, looking surprised by my admission. It''s not like it''s actually a big secret or anything. And For some reason, I would prefer if people knew I was older when it came to being a parent for Kunou.


    "Before anything else, do you mind if I ask you some questions about the people that kidnapped me?"


    "Unless that idiot was incinerated immediately, he should be able to tell you everything you want to know." That Euclid idiot really pissed me off. And It only made matters worse than I felt like he would follow through on his threat, he was clearly not right in the head. I didn''t believe any amount of deterrent would have stopped him.


    One of the reasons we''re being somewhat quiet with Yasaka''s faction. Idiots like that, who wouldn''t be dissuaded by any show of power, even on Meridia''s level.


    "I''m certain he''ll talk." She smiled brightly, almost in anticipation. "But I would like to hear it from you so we can verify. If you don''t mind, that is."


    I let out a sigh, running a hand through my air. "There''s not much to tell. You heard about the attack on Kyoto, I assume?"


    "Yes, the news reached me and I have kept abreast of everything here once I found out you were involved." Her words sounded....genuine.


    "They were a bunch of kids who called themselves ¨C " I waved my hand flippantly. "¡ªThe Hero Faction. Descendants of heroes, spirit inheritors, or just Sacred Gear users. They had some stupid n about killing Great Red or something, to prove that humans were superior."


    "I.....I have many questions regarding them specifically. But for now, how do they rte to Euclid and his lot?"


    "They were in another ''faction'' within the same hierarchy as Euclid''s people. They call themselves the Khaos Brigade. That''s with a ''K'' mind you, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the Greeks."


    "Oh Satans." She sighed. "I got captured by people going around and calling themselves that?"


    "Really?" I looked at her incredulously. "You ¨C a Devil is going to criticize another''s naming conventions?"


    "We''re not that bad."


    "Crimson Haired Ruin Princess." I said dryly.


    She twitched slightly. "Kids these days." She shook her head. "It''s a variation on my epithet back in the day. They called me the Ruin Princess."


    Huh, that didn''t sound nearly as bad. Even a bit cool if I were to be honest.


    "Yeah, so Hero Faction worked as another ''branch'' so to speak of the Brigade. They''re basically all Autonomous and do their own things." I shrugged. "I''m pretty sure they have members from every corner of the world. Ran into a decently strong Youkai when I was up and about."


    "When you were in the neighborhood?" She quirked a smile, letting out a small giggle. "To go through so much effort to save us, I''m surprised. I could have sworn you wouldn''t even respond to my letter, much lesse to my rescue."


    Ah, I guess we''re moving onto the heavy stuff now.


    "I wasn''t originally." I confessed. "Yasaka talked me into not throwing it away right away. Another friend talked me into reading it at least. I decided to settle things once and for all. If it were anyone else, I may have not even given it a second thought as I burned it up."


    "Do you really hate us that much?" She looked a bit mncholic at the question.


    "Hate?'' I let the word roll of my tongue, feeling my temper begin to re. Years of suppressed anger making their way to the surface. "I lost my childhood because your son couldn''t be arsed to be halfwaypetent in how he handled me. I was eight fucking years old, I had just lost the only family I had ever known." I could feel myself shift into a sneer. "What does the moron do!? He shoves me into an empty house to cope by myself!" I threw my hands up. "Oh wait, that might have been better. No, instead he sends his maid fetish wife to check up on me, a grieving eight-year-old. This scary woman who just scowls and shows obvious disgust towards me. So I basically learn how to take care of myself, and thankfully her visits became much more infrequent when I showed I wasn''t going to starve to death."


    "I have no excuses for how you were treated." She said quietly. "I would apologize, but I don''t believe you want that right now."


    She wasn''t wrong.


    "To answer your question, I don''t hate you. Nor do I hate anyone in your family." I let out a long sigh. I never actually let it all out before, it felt oddly refreshing. I refocused and saw her looking at me with a questioning gaze. "When I first left, I convinced myself that I simply was above it. It didn''t matter to me, and it held no sway over me." I was pretty messed up for those first couple weeks. I can''t even fault my younger self for how I acted, I coped the best way I could.


    "I feel like I''ve been through a lot recently, and my perspective has broadened and changed many times. I believe I''m allowed to be upset at my treatment, but I''m no longer holding it so tightly inside of me. So, no. I don''t hate you all anymore, I can''t bring myself to care that much unless forced to."


    Come mess with me though and those feelings can easily reemerge. As it stood, I didn''t want to waste the effort anymore thinking about them.


    It was my first time really voicing it all. I probably didn''t do a good job of articting my thoughts as I hadn''t mentally nned this, but it still expressed my sentiments.


    There was another moment of silence, as if she processed my words.


    "I see." She finally muttered. "I guess that''s the best I can hope for considering everything." She let out a sigh herself. "Thank you for agreeing to see me atleast. I can understand better how much it must have weighed on you after receiving my letter. And I suppose that me saying that I had nothing to do with your predicament would alleviate your feelings."


    "I''m not a child." I said dryly. "I can understand me and fault for where it lies. You had no obligation to do anything."


    Venna shook her head. "No, I had no hand in it, but I was still aware on some level."


    I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. "How exactly did it happen." I might as well rip this band aid off. As much as I told myself I didn''t care, there was still a part of me that wanted answers.


    "Very well, I knew this would be a topic we discuss." She straightened herself. "We only found out about you once your mother passed away." She looked at me as if expecting an outburst. I felt like I could read her thoughts here.


    "I don''t me any of you for her death, if that''s what you''re wondering." I breathed out once more. "It''s not like I expected him to be some kind of figure in her and my life in hindsight. I already guessed that he wasn''t aware of us at that point. Nor that I thought he had some kind of obligation to either of us."


    "Can you tell me about your mother?" She suddenly asked. "I only know, well...."


    "That she was a prostitute?" I offered with a snort.


    "I wasn''t going to say it like that."


    "I''m not ashamed of it." I crossed my arms with an eyeroll. "My mom sold her body everyday and worked any job she could to provide for me. She literally sacrificed her life, worked herself to the bone to the point where she got weak and sick. My mom was a prostitute, and I am damn proud of her."


    "She sounds like a wonderful woman." Venna smiled towards me.


    I could tell what she was doing, trying to lighten the atmosphere, and I couldn''t find it in me to reject it. I always felt a little bit happier when I thought of my mom. "She''s the reason I was in the Theatre club at school. We didn''t have money for anything so she''d take me to those free productions that popped up every now and then."


    "That sound so cute." She cooed. "Aww, I wish I could have seen you performing."


    "Unfortunately, that life is far gone." My lips thinned thinking about those days. "I doubt I''d be wee back at Kuoh anyways."


    "I think Sona is still a bit....upset." Venna looked amused.


    "I think I''m the one who should be upset." I snorted again. "You know, I understand the use of things like hypnosis when ites to memory alteration. I can understand the need for it in a such such a world as this. Hell, I''ve admittedly used it for my own selfish ends before. But I think that straddles a very thin line. What I don''t ept is someone trying to use those same concepts to alter someone''s thinking ability. She should count herself lucky, if I had been as I am now if she tried, I would have lopped her head off."


    I did feel kind of bad for stealing the Boosted Gear from Issei. I should see about making it up to him if that ever became relevant. Maybe put him through college or something? Help him seed in life. At least if he stopped being such an annoying pervert.


    Venna shifted awkwardly at my deration. I don''t think she knew what happened, perhaps only the barest of details. "I will....have a talk with some people when I get back." She frowned.


    Whatever, it was a lifetime ago.


    "Can you continue where you left off?" I didn''t want continue down this little path of conversation.


    "Yes. As I was saying we didn''t know about you until your mother passed away. My son goes out into the human world under one of several identities, the only reason we found out was that a certain one got gged and the message eventually reached him. It was at this point that we be aware of everything."


    "And how did that transition to me living in that house?"


    "We tested you for obvious reasons. Your Demonic Energy was...miniscule." She added thest part with a hushed tone.


    "I''m aware of that." I waved it off. "What else?"


    "You had no Sacred Gear, something we checked since you were half human. And, well, you didn''t show any signs of being a Devil on the surface. It would have taken years of training to even be able to bring out your wings, which isn''t that umon. There are many Half-human Half-devils that never find out their Devil Heritage due to simr circumstances.....at least until they start aging significantly." She exined with a rather even expression, though it was sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than us.


    "So I was tossed aside because it was inconvenient. What a surprise." I drawled with a bored tone.


    "That wasn''t the intent." She frowned slightly. "Sirzechs argued that it wouldn''t be productive to bring you into our world, in our society as you were. He said that the best thing to do would be to make sure you lived safely in the human world away from our politics and everything that came with that."


    "And you agreed?" I could understand the sentiment, I suppose. If all things went well, I would have lived my life in ignorance and been rather sessful with a secret backing. Devil politics are cut throat, I could only imagine the kind of scrutiny I would bring to the leader of the Devils ¨C the strongest Devil in existence, if I were some weakling and barely better than a normal human.


    Not that I''m at all sympathizing with his -plight, but understanding was a means for me to finally get over it for good.


    "I offered to take you in, for me and Zeo to raise you." She looked right into my eyes. "However, he made a convincing argument and I decided to go along with his n. We ¨C I thought you would live out your life happily and without worry. Us interfering would have only brought problems if others found out."


    "Well, it sounds like things didn''t go as nned." I snapped, perhaps a tiny bit too harshly. I could feel my own sarcasm being more prevalent in my tone than I meant it to be. "I hope he isn''t as shit a ruler and father as he was at providing for me."


    "He''s not." She didn''t even deny it. "Surprisingly, he is very intelligent and resourceful in handling his positions. I still don''t fully understand why he treated you the way he did. My Son has...controlling issues."


    "Controlling issues?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    "We''re Devils, we all have our sins that we align with. Even you must be aware that you lean on certain ones a bit more, yes?"


    "I''m Greedy and to a lesser extent, Prideful. Perhaps Lustful considering I have a harem, but that might go back to Greed." I idly spoke my thoughts.


    Though the Greed portion could have been amplified due to Ddraig in my soul.


    [Sup.]


    And speak of the dragon.


    Well, he liked to be a silent watcher most of the time.


    "You have a harem?'' She asked in surprise.


    "Is that strange? Don''t a lot of High-ss Devils have harems?" I gave her an inquisitve look.


    "Well, yes. I''m just surprised you managed it at your.....age" She trailed off at the end, pursing her lips as she most likely recalled my previous statement. "How many, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    "Six.....maybe seven in the future." Depends on how my rtionship with Salem went.


    "And you have no trouble managing them?"


    I blinked at her question. "....no? I mean, they''re all adults, and the most important thing in a rtionship ismunication. If they''re upset, I trust them toe and talk to me about it, likewise, I try to talk to all of them to make sure they''re all happy."


    She blinked this time, adopting a stunned look. "That''s impressive."


    "It''smon sense." I deadpanned.


    "Not somon down below." She said dryly. "But I digress. You''re familiar with our sinful nature, it manifests in different ways. My son has a need to be in control. When he was younger, he joined a music group. They were very prestigious and often yed at some high-end parties. In four months, he worked his way up to be in charge because he didn''t like some of the music pieces they yed. That''s how most of his life had yed out. Joining the war with the Old Satan Faction? He became one of the leaders extremely quickly. Once the war was settled, he assumed the top spot, bing the next Lucifer. There are many ¨C many more examples of this throughout his life."


    "And how does this rte back to me?"


    "If I had to guess, my son felt out of control, and it wasn''t a problem he could simply make disappear through more dubious means. I believe he reacted negatively because he didn''t know how to react to your sudden appearance. He reaffirmed his ''control'' by ¨C "


    "Locking me away in the little box he made for me, yeah I get it now." I finished for her with a scowl. "I hope you don''t expect me to forgive him even knowing the reason my childhood was filled depression and loneliness."


    "I wouldn''t expect you to. I just think you deserved to understand the reason." She replied calmly.


    I let out a sigh, releasing all the tension I built up. "Thank you for telling me."


    "Thank you for meeting with me." Her eyes softened. "I hope this has been helpful to you."


    "Yeah....I suppose I do feel good after getting some things off my chest." I leaned back, allowing myself to rx.


    It had been surprisingly wee to talk with her. I thought there were going to be more ''games'' that she yed, maybe try to dig certain things out of me. No, she genuinely just wanted to talk about everything and learn some other things about me.


    "I''m d." She replied with a smile. "Now, I want to reward you for rescuing Millicas and I....so how about I make you feel even better~" She bounced her chest in the most obvious way that I couldn''t pretend to not know what she was insinuating.


    And suddenly I''m speechless.


    ***


    Just a heads up, no chapter tomorrow (Sunday) Worked superte tonight and going to do so tomorrow as well to make up for all the chaos that this Hurricane caused.''


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 269 - 252

    <h4>Chapter 269: Chapter 252</h4>


    I heard the words she said, but I think my brain refused to properly process them.


    She had a little coy smile on her face, most likely taking amusement in my reaction ¨C or rather myplete mental shutdown.


    It''s not like I had any familial connection with her beyond the physical. I never knew her, never even remembering meeting her in my life. To say that I was attracted would be urate, she was a gorgeous woman who hit all my buttons. And I was definitely not lying to myself at this point, I most assuredly preferred older women.


    However.....


    "A-Aren''t you married?" I finally managed to eek out. I don''t know why that''s what I went with, but it was the first thing that popped up into my head.


    Venna let out a little giggle. "That''s the first question you ask? How cute, are you worried about such a thing? Isn''t it more exciting to know that you''re stealing someone''s wife?"


    "I''m no homewrecker." I crossed my arms in mild annoyance. "And that''s a trash fetish." I made sure to point out.


    That only served to increase her giggles as she covered her mouth before calming down. "You don''t have to worry about that, Zeo knows. We aren''t exactly what you would call intimate."


    "Wait, he knows? As in you nned this?"


    "Well, no, but yes."


    "Context, please." I sighed, realizing I was on the other side of this for once.


    "I thought I''d give it a shot after seeing your gaze linger a bit on me when my clothes were ripped." She smiled coquettishly. "You''re a handsome young man, and I thought ''why not''." She shrugged. "There was no draw back."


    "That''s....ttering. But what''s this about your husband?"


    "Oh, that." She hummed, getting up from her seat. She slowly walked over, sliding right next to me. My first thought was how good she smelled before quickly squashing it. "Well, there''s not really much to say. As far as love goes, that died years ago. We''re still together for political reasons and the kids, but at this point we don''t even sleep in the same bed anymore."


    "Oh...." I just blinked again, not really knowing what to say. "I''m....sorry?" I offered.


    Again, she let out that enchanting giggle of hers. "Oh, you''re sweet. There''s nothing to be sorry about, it''s not like either of us are upset about it. I suppose at the beginning it was hard to ept after being together for so many centuries, but we both realized the love wasn''t there anymore so it was an amicable ''split''."


    Even still, I found it strange that he''s seemingly okay with this. "And he''s not upset that you''re trying to seduce me?"


    "On the contrary. While I didn''t specify you in particr, he''s tried to help me in the past when I mentioned finding a lover. Zeo and I were childhood friends, we married when the Great War was still going on, even now, we''re inseparable. There''s no longer romantic feelings, but he''s someone that I''ll always think of as family. He would be happy if I found someone to spend the night with."


    "That''s actually kind of sweet..." I admitted even if the whole situation was weird. A friendship that transcends a romantic rtionship dying out.


    "Hmm, maybe that''s one of the reasons I was willing to try this." She crossed her legs, her dress riding up just a couple inches, showing off her legs some more. I noticed she caught my gaze, looking a little happy about that tidbit. "You do remind me of a young Zeo, and I can say for sure that I have a certain type~"


    It''s not like I had any room to call someone out on having a type. "And you''re not put off by the fact that I''m your grandson?"


    "Sweetie, I''m a Devil." She looked amused by the question. "I was alive when the original Lucifer was still ruling over us. I have seen and been apart of much worse things than having sex with my grandson."


    "Really? Does that mean you''re waiting for the day that Millicas turns the right age?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Oh Satan''s." She chortled, covering her mouth again. "As cute as my other grandson is, I could never think of him that way. I changed his diapers, I could never unsee that."


    "Yeah that''s fair." I couldn''t argue with her logic. "So you have no trouble seeing me that way since I was tossed away?"


    "If you want to be pedantic about it." She huffed. "That kind of bond never formed, so I can still see you has a potential partner without any of the other feelings. What do the humans call it ¨C " She waved her hand, looking as if she was trying to remember something " ¨C Watson, Wember, West...Westermarck effect, that''s the one. I think it was the early 20thcentury? The Idea that growing up together and all the entails puts individuals off of sexual attraction."


    "Wait, what?" I blinked in confusion.


    "Hmm?"


    "That''s.....a really random piece of knowledge to just know. Especially when you''reing here without supposedly nning this out in any capacity." I eyed her suspiciously. She was trying kinda hard to convince me. I was starting to get a little suspicious.


    "I learned it in school." She tilted her head.


    "Devil school is much weirder than I thought...."


    "Don''t be ridiculous." She lightly swatted at my shoulder with a little pout. "I learned it in human school ¨C or rather College. I have a Degree in Child Psychology."


    I opened my mouth and closed it again. "Pardon?"


    "What, is that so strange?" she chuckled. "I do like to keep myself busy over the centuries."


    "Can we go back to the degree in Child Psychology?" I was processing that still. It''s random to be a thing. "You just decided to one day get a degree in Child Psychology?"


    "Something like that." She shrugged. "It was before Rias was born...and before you were born now that I think about it." She tapped her finger against her chin. "Should be about.....20ish years ago? I doubt any of my certifications are valid anymore."


    "That''s.....actually really neat." I perked up upon hearing that. Especially under the idea of that time period, there had been many advances over the years and the insights and things she learned as opposed to today. "Why Child Psychology? There are many different branches, why specifically that one?" Is it weird that learning about this made her seem more.....interesting in my eyes?


    "Actually, it was because Sona''s parents were talking about trying for another child. We had a long talk about how the times changed since our older children were born. They would be the first generation that wouldn''t be involved in an active war." She smiled brightly as she began exining. "Sure, the factions are technically warring still, but we generally don''t start any conflicts. And we also discussed the changes that human culture were having in the underworld, and it was about the time I usually go out and explore the human world as I like to do every so often. Overall, I thought it would be an interesting experience and might even help in the future."


    "Huh, that''s pretty neat." I rubbed my chin. "The sheer cultural shift must have been jarring for the older folks as things finally settled down."


    "It certainly was." Sheughed. "There''s a reason that the Old Satan Faction exists and isn''tughed out of the underworld. While I''m thoroughly in my son''s camp, I do disagree with some things that''vee about with this new influx."


    "That''s to be expected, and I doubt anyone would fault you. Traditions can be just as important as advancement. It''s ideal to strike a bnce between the two of them, but it seems like the Old Satan Faction is too keen ontching onto old ideals and not letting go even if it''s objectively for the better." I pondered the situation a bit and realized that it mirrored quite a few human-based conflicts in the past.


    "Don''t get me started, we could sit here and have this discussion for days." She nodded along.


    "Ugh, politics." I visibly choked at the thought. "I get enough by association with Yasaka. Not to mention the Clock Tower."


    "Clock Tower?" She blinked, looking at me expectantly.


    "Err...it''s the.....Magician''s Association I''m part of." I answered rather poorly realizing the slip of my tongue.


    "Is that so." She gave me a look like she knew I wasn''t being entirely truthful. "At this point, I''ve chalked it up to a fact of life. Even in College, there were so many different political games going on, it was annoying to say the least."


    "Oh, what school did you go to, Harvard?"


    "That pretentious ce?" She snorted, rxing her posture. "No, I went to Yale."


    "Really? Harvard is the pretentious one?"


    "Don''t go telling me you''re a Harvard boy." She wagged her finger. "We might have a little bit of an issue then."


    "Hey, I got no dog in that fight." I put my hands up in surrender. "Besides, I''m more of an Oxford or Cambridge kind of guy." I technically went to both in my previous life and have a few fond memories of them here and there.


    "Oh, so that''s how it is." She eyed me with a strange look.


    "Oi, what''s that supposed to mean?"


    "Nothing at all." She hummed. "Though there is one fact that puts Yale over all of those schools."


    "And what''s that?"


    "Their sweaters hug my big boobs in all the right ways." She pushed up her chest for added effect, an added smirk as she noticed my eyes glued to them.


    I kinda forgot she was....seducing me until that moment, and I think I may have actually blushed a little.


    "You mentioned that youe up to the human world periodically." I tried to change the subject. "Have you done simr things?" At the very least, I was a little curious about my Grandmother.


    "As far as going to school, I''ve done it a few times. Other times, I''ve just explored and enjoyed certain things that were popr at the time." She brushed her hand against mine, not even missing a step as she continued. "I''m also a Marine Biologist, though that was a couple decades before even my Psychology degree. I guess I was on a bit of learning streak."


    Again, that was pretty interesting, and not at all what I would expect from a woman such as her. "Was that just a whim or was there some greater meaning?"


    "Well.....that was admittedly more whimsical in the beginning. It was when people started getting a lot more upset about the state of pollution and all that. Oh, I remember those days, the hippy culture was so fun." She cupped her cheek, reminiscing about the past. "The clothing was awful, but there was a certain charm to it as well. I got swept up in all that nonsense and ended up spending several months afterwards on a ship tracking Dolphin migrations to earn my degree."


    "To be honest, I could not see you getting down and dirty on a ship for several months." She was the epitome of nobility. Everything about her screamed elegance and sophistication, not....slumming it on a rusty boat.


    "It had its moment.....but you''re right. I hated a significant portion of it to the point where I had to convince myself on many days not to just Teleport away. But.....It was an experience I would have never had otherwise, memories I''ll cherish even if they weren''t fond ones." She smiled wistfully. "But we eventually seed and graduated without issue."


    "You cheated with magic, didn''t you?"


    "Without an ounce of remorse."


    We stared at each other for a moment before breaking out in augh. And for some reason, herugh sounded much cuter than before.


    "Hooh." She let out a couple more soft chuckles before calming down. "I have one more degree as well."


    "Oh let me guess." Psychologist and Biologist, I honestly had no idea what else she could have gone for. "Astronaut?"


    "Oh, that''s a good one." She looked thoughtful. "But nope~"


    "Engineer?"


    "Cold."


    "Pilot?"


    "Another fun one, but still really cold" She shook her head. "Definitely making a note of that one though. Do you want a hint, maybe I can warm you up~" She winked at me.


    And I was starting to feel a little hot under the cor. "I give up, what is it?"


    "Mixologist." She beamed proudly.


    I gaped at her.


    "What?" She looked at me in confusion. "It''s not that strange."


    "That''s...amazing!" I eximed. "You''re a certified mixologist?"


    "I take it you''re a drinker then?" Sheughed at my reaction.


    "I....admit a particr interest."


    "People who word it that way usually do so because they have a problem." She pointed out.


    "I''m a Half-Devil, there isn''t a problem unless I run out." I countered.


    "A healthy mindset to have." She deadpanned, before shifting into an amused smile. "But yes, I''m a certified Mixologist. I even have a bar I had built back home where I y around making different cocktails and what-not."


    "I''m jealous, that sounds like such a cool hobby." I could totally see myself going to school for that.


    "It''s always fun to entertain people at my little bar." She agreed. "And I have to say, it''s been a much more fun experience than my other degrees. While I don''t regret them in the least, I haven''t had much use for what I''ve learned from those other ones."


    Ugh, I really wanted to see it...


    I stiffened as I felt a hand rest on my leg. "You know, it''s getting sote and I''ve yet to hear a response from you." She looked at me expectantly. "As amusing as it is to be the one doing the convincing in this scenario, I won''t be upset if you say ¨C no."


    I opened my mouth and closed it again, pausing to try and find the right words to say and found it rather hard. Was it weird that I was open to the idea, even more so than before? I think if it we hadn''t had the little heart to heart, I would have respectfully declined. But after talking with her for a bit....I can''t help but look at her with a different perspective....


    "Can I hear your reasons why?" I finally asked, wanting some kind of reassurance as this was not a normal situation at all. Maybe I was trying to convince myself one way or another.


    "Well, the most obvious reason is that I think you''re a handsome young man and It''s difficult for me to find someone I like that''s not going to cause trouble for me due to political reasons."


    Did she mean because of her son''s position as their ''leader''? I could see how that would be an issue.


    "And I think you''re underestimating how much we Devils admire strength." She added.


    "Am I? I always knew that, but it didn''t seem so.....significant on the surface."


    "I had to change my panties when I got back after seeing what you did." She replied with a hint of shame and her hand gripped a little tighter on my inner thigh. "Not to mention you are hitting almost all of my buttons. I''m having trouble thinking of something I can''t find on my list that you either don''t have or aren''t capable of getting."


    "And the fact that I''m your grandson doesn''t turn you off in the slightest?" Because it''s not for me and I was still trying to process that.


    "I''m an old Devil." She retorted, almost flippantly. "It''s actually a little arousing. And honestly, shouldn''t I be asking you that?" She raised an eyebrow as her hand brushed across my groin and I could feel myself twitch at her slight touch.


    "I.....don''t like one night stands." I finally admitted with a sigh. "I don''t want that kind of thing. I get too attached easily and I don''t know if I can handle those kinds of feelings only for the source to just up and leave for good." Was it weird that I was feeling sad that I wouldn''t be banging my grandmother?


    Who am I kidding, of course it''s fucking weird. Still though.....I couldn''t help but feel like I was missing out on something.


    Venna looked at me for what felt like a long time. "Then let''s be lovers."


    "Bwah!?"


    "What''s so surprising about that?" She quirked an eyebrow. "You said you don''t want a one-night stand, so lets make something more permanent."


    "But....you!? That simple?" I just gaped at her.


    "Sweetie, once again, I''m a Devil. I see something I want, I go for it." She lightly patted my cheek. "I can''t say I''m at all against the idea either, it''s been too long since I''ve had someone like this. So far you''ve proven yourself to be quite the charming man. I''m not against trying for something a bit more formal than a casual roll under the sheets."


    "But....you want a rtionship?"


    "I believe I can''t be any more clear than I already am." She giggled once more, her hand grasping at me quite thoroughly through my pants.


    Is this what it feels like to be on the other side?


    And I really can''t think of a reason not to ept at this point. Usually, I''ve always started with dating and building up the rtionship, but she seems to want to do things in reverse.


    Though there was still onest thought in the back of my head holding me back. "This isn''t some weird attempt to apologizing for everything that''s happened to me, is it? Or some way to get me more.....attached to your faction?"


    "Not at all." She said without missing a beat, and I believed her.


    Oh good, otherwise that''d just be a massive turn off.


    Without another word, I leaned in and captured her lips.


    ***


    Lewd next.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 270 - 253

    <h4>Chapter 270: Chapter 253</h4>


    Author''s note.


    Alright, i''m not blind or ignoring the criticism and feed back, nor am I going to shy away from it. First off, I''m not going to apologize for Venna being in the harem, but I will apologize for how I went about it. I can ept that i made an oopsie in how i decided to add her. I could exin my mindset, give my reasoning, but at the end of the day, it just fell t and came off as out of character for him. I get it, and I apologize. My kneejerk reaction was to rewrite a bunch of things, but cooler heads prevailed after the initial reaction. So here''s where we''re at, i''m going to leave it and treat it as a learning experience as new writer. I made a mistake, i''m sorry, I won''t do it again in the future. It''s not the first time i''ve made a mistake, nor is it going to be thest, but I''m happy that I don''t keep on making the same mistakes as I go.


    [******]


    Lewd Ahead Venna Gremory


    [******]


    Venna leaned into the kiss, her tongue made its way past my lips where our tongues danced for a brief moment.


    There was a second were we broke off and just processed that we had kissed. And I would admit, it felt exciting and did not want to stop.


    I just epted that I was a pervert at this point and didn''t care to mentally debate with myself anymore. I was going to bang my grandmother and I was going to love every moment of it.


    "I''ve been waiting for this~" She said as she reached down and started to undo my belt. Her hands expertly undid thetch, and unbuttoned my pants, reaching inside and withdrawing my cock. "Mmm, a good size." She admired, lightly running her hand up and down my length.


    I reached over, taking one of her rather massive boobs into my hand, and gave it a squeeze. These had been teasing me for way too long and they were as heavenly as I thought they would be.


    "I love having my tits being yed with~" She smiled, before opening her mouth and lowered her head down onto my member.


    I sucked in a breath of air as I felt myself pass through her lips, her tongue greeting my tip.


    "Ooh." I breathed out, rxing in my seat as her head began to bob up and down. She was very good at this, her tongue was hitting every one of my sensitive spots as her hand pumped up and down on my shaft.


    I finally let go of her breast and reached behind her, she even shifted to give me better ess. Her ass perked up in the air and I couldn''t resist giving it a light p.


    "Hnn." She stopped her sucking, my cock popping out of her mouth as she looked up at me. "Your grandmother''s been naughty~" She giggled before getting back to work, shaking her ass, inviting me to continue.


    I began balling up her dress, slowing pulling it up over her hips. Slowly, her big round ass was revealed, those perfect cheeks hidden behind some ckce panties. I couldn''t help but take a handful into my hand before giving her another crisp p.


    Venna didn''t stop her motions, taking me into her mouth with practiced ease. Only after a few more moments, did she stop again and shift in her spot, wiggling out of my grasp and stood up.


    She looked at me coquettishly, the straps of her dress slowly moving down her arms before the entire dress fell down onto the floor. She stepped forward, her bare breasts on full disy, and her nipples nice and perky


    "No bra?" I questioned.


    "I wanted you to look at my tits." She pushed them up, letting them fall down with a nice bounce. "It''s been awhile since I''ve seen Yasaka in person, but I think mine might be just a tad bigger." She smiled, moving to her knees right between my legs. "But to be sure, lets test it."


    She took her breasts into her hands and pushed them around my cock until I was fully buried between her cleavage.


    I practically melted between her boobs as she started massaging me with them. I unconsciously started to move my hips, Venna matching my movements and pumped me thoroughly with those massive melons.


    "Fuck." I groaned out, steadying myself by grabbing her shoulders.


    She took that as a cue to go faster and I could feel my orgasm building up inside of me with my breathing hitching.


    "Cum for your grandmother." She cooed as the first spurt burst out from her cleavage. She didn''t stop, continuously pumping along my cock,with more of my seed spraying out onto her breasts and even a little bitnding on her face. "Oh my, look at this mess." She finally stop, letting her giant tits fall down. "Did you enjoy your grandmother''s boobjob that much?" She licked her fingers, never breaking eye contact.


    "Did you enjoy tasting your grandson''s cock?" I replied, seeing how she was noticeably getting off on the idea of us being rted if the growing wet spot on her panties was any indication.


    "Absolutely." She didn''t miss a beat, opening her mouth as she leaned back down and took me back in, seemingly to clean me off. Her eyes met mine for a moment before she went all the way down. "Gluughk". She held her new position, unmoving. My fingers made their way into her hair, grabbing hold and keeping her there. I began to thrust at my own pace, enjoying the feeling of her throat contorting around me.


    "Haaah." She let out panted breaths, my cock springing free. "It''s been too long since I''ve had a nice stiff cock." She pulled back and I let go, and she began tugging on my cock lightly to keep me erect before standing up again and moving to the point where she was hovering over my member. "Are you ready to really step past that line?" She pulled her panties to the side, showing her very wet pussy.


    I could feel my dick twitch in anticipation. "I''ve alreadye this far, I don''t think I could stop even if I wanted." I breathed out, taking hold of her hips as I helped guide her down.


    "Oooh, that''s good." She let out a soft moan as her hips lowered, my cock spreading and sliding into her. Inch by inch my member disappeared inside of my Grandmother. "I want to savor this." She sighed in content, her ass restingpletely against my legs, my cock fully sheathed inside her cunt.


    "Tight..." I couldn''t help but mutter. I could feel her folds squeezing me from every direction.


    "You''ve never had a Devil before." She slowly moved up and went back down. "We''re made to be fucked, to make sure we drain everyst bit out of these balls...Hnn." She picked up the pace letting out a soft moan. "This pussy of mine is going to wring you dry."


    I could only groan some more as she bounced up and down on my cock, I matched each of my thrusts to her timing. The sound of flesh pping spread throughout the empty house, followed shortly by moans that were quickly picking up in intensity.


    "Ahhh~" Venna''s breasts bounced right in my face, her hands on my shoulders to support herself. "This Cock.....mmm....is perfect, it''s hitting me just right."


    I pushed my face between her tits as she mmed down once more and stopped, I felt her back arch a little and her breathing pick up. "Ooh....." She let out a throaty moan, her hips slowly rocking back and forth and mped down hard. "Hnnn.....Ahhh." She melted in my embrace, a look of ecstasy oveing her.


    "You made me cum" She said quietly, her hips started to move again. "It''s been far too long." She added, lifting her ass up and fully dropping back down. "Now I want your second load right into my womb."


    I grabbed hold of her rear, my fingers sinking into that soft flesh of hers as they bounced up and down on my member.


    "We....Hnn....Devils don''t use contraceptives." She moaned out. "I might.....ah....get pregnant." She whispered into my ear. "I''ll have to tell everyone that my grandson took his big fat cock and.. mmm.....relentlessly fucked my tight cunt, pumping his warm cum right into me."


    That was enough to push me over the edge. I increased my own pace, mming into her with everything I had. Isted only seconds longer, and my second organism came with full force as I burst into her deepest parts. My Seed flooded inside of her with each additional thrust of my hips.


    We finally came to a rest, both breathing heavily, sweaty bodies pressed against one another.


    Venna started giggled softly, her head resting on my shoulder. "I wasn''t lying, what do you think will happen if I get pregnant? The odds are low, but there''s still a chance. You were so rough there, do you really want me to bare my grandson''s baby?"


    "Ooh." Her head perked up, a visible shudder ran through her body. "Someone just got nice and hard again~"


    "You''re the one who put those ideas in my head." I growled sitting up, her legs quickly wrapping around me as I held her tight in my arms never separating. "Don''t worry, I''ll do my best to breed my grandmother."


    Maybe I got too caught up in the moment, but I couldn''t focus on that wayward thought. I was too enamored with my grandmother who was doing all she could to continue wring me dry, even as I carried her upstairs and into my bedroom.


    [*******************************************]


    Lewd Over


    [********************************************]


    It was once again strange to find myself in this particr situation.


    I was cuddling with my grandmother after having sex with her. There was no sugarcoating it, I banged her as many times as we could physically achieve in the time frame avable to us. And she wouldn''t lose out in voraciousness even against Sc¨¢thach.


    My grandmother was a very lustful woman who had apparently been very pent up.


    Regardless, I felt peaceful with my head buried in her chest as weid on the bed.


    Unfortunately, post nut rity came rolling in and I realized I may have jumped the gun a little bit. "We need to talk..." I mumbled from between those big breasts before finally freeing myself to look her in the eyes.


    "I suppose we do." She hummed, running her fingers through my hair.


    "I like you." I admitted with a simple statement.


    Venna giggled. "And hearing you say that makes me feel all warm inside." She smiled brightly. "Or maybe that''s all the semen you let out inside of me."


    I couldn''t help but blush at that, which took me be surprised. However, it still brought a smile to my face. "And I enjoy your sense of humor." I decided to continue, reaching for her hand, taking it in mine. "I didn''t expect this to happen. Yeah I thought you were attractive and maybe looked a little too long than I should have when were first met, but I didn''t harbor those thoughts before. Even after meeting, I still didn''t particrly have these thoughts, but as we started talking, I realized there was more about you that piqued my interest and it just went from there."


    "You''re making me feel like a young girl again." Her expression softened considerably. "I wasn''t expecting something like this either."


    "That''s bullshit, you were wanting to get fucked right from the beginning." I deadpanned.


    "I meant bing Lovers, you silly boy." She flicked my forehead. "When I saw that look of yours when you were going to decline my advances, well, I can''t say that my heart didn''t flutter. Maybe I was a little jealous, at that moment I wanted to be more than just a roll in the sheets."


    "Jealousy, really?" That seemed unlikely from this woman. She exuded a constant air of confidence.


    "I never did tell you which sins I align with, did I?"


    "You didn''t..."


    "I am a prideful woman. I take pride in my status as a Gremory and a Bael, regardless of my rtionship with Zeo at this point. I take pride in my Son''s aplishments, even if we''re having a rough patch due to everything that''s been going on. Even Rias, I can''t help but be proud of her, she''s growing up to be a wonderful young woman, faults and all. I could keep going about all the small things to the big things, but I think you get the point."


    "Pride then? I can rte, I can be rather proud of myself at points."


    "And Lustful." She said almost absentmindedly. "But I doubt I need to give you any more examples of that~"


    "My mind says no...."


    "But I feel you start poking me again." She giggled.


    "It''s a natural reaction to a beautiful woman saying something so provocative." I huffed.


    "This cute side of yours is hard to resist." She leaded forward, kissing my cheek. "But to get back on point, I felt my pride take a hit, admittedly. And I was understandably horny.....so I made a rashment, however, I don''t regret saying it."


    "I guess not all rtionships need to start from some point of romance." I sighed, leaning back onto my pillow. It''s not how I wanted things of this nature to go. I felt like too many important things had been ignored. glossed over in my horny state of mind.


    There was undeniably a spark between us. Sure, it got started with some sex and probably the incorrect reasons, but it''s there all the same.


    "If you''re fine with it, then I''m fine with it." She just gave a warm smile.


    "Since we''re skipping many critical points, should we talk about expectations?" I offered, fully epting of our strange rtionship at this point. My grandmother was going to be my woman, and I had no regrets about that point.


    And it was important to set boundaries or know what we need from each other if this was going to work out at all.


    "Oh my, a young man showing me such concern." She sounded amused by the sentiment, with an undertone of warmness to her. "What I want....is for you to keep doing what you''re doing. I want you to keep looking at me like that, with affection in your gaze. I want to feel it every time we meet. Is that something you can do for me, Wilhelm?"


    "Yeah, that''s something I can do." I leaned in myself, cing my lips against hers for a quick kiss.


    "Good." She snuggled into my arms. "I miss being loved in that way." She added on quietly. "I don''t expect that any time soon, but I want you to understand my desire. There are other things, but I think we can work through most of our quirks and oddities as we go. However, there''s one thing, I will absolutely not forgive. One taboo that I will not ept and will end this rtionship if ites to that point."


    That serious look on her face made me gulp, and I just nodded silently.


    "Please, don''t ever make it so I have to choose between you and my family. I know this isn''t the most....normal of circumstances, but I''m asking you not to find trouble with them. You told me you didn''t want to see them, and I''ll respect your decision."


    "So you won''t ever try to force us to be together, to meet or anything like that?" I questioned, as it was an important topic to cover. "Just as you say you don''t want me toe between you and them by my hand, I don''t.....want to be forced to interact with them due to our rtionship."


    "That''spletely fair." She nodded.


    Just more things that we should''ve been talked about before fucking.


    "So....where do we go from here?" I was honestly a bit...lost.


    "That''s a good question, I can honestly say I''ve never been in this situation before." Sheid back, her head resting against mine. "We need a way to keep in touch. I assume you have a phone that connects to the Devil Net?"


    "Yeah, exchange numbers?"


    "Mmm, I''ll give you mine when I leave."


    "Fair warning, I often go ces where you won''t be able to reach me." I wasn''t quite ready to reveal my secrets yet. Some things just came in time, even if the whole process had been jumbled.


    "How ambiguous" Sheughed. "I assume there''s more to it, but I won''t press. Thank you for telling me."


    "And now I need to go tell my other girls that my grandmother is my lover." I sighed.


    "I can be there if you want?" She offered. " I believe I can soften the blow if they aren''t....inclined towards the concept."


    "No." I pursed my lips. "It''s my mess, I''ll clean it up. If I can''t sit down and talk to them about things like this, then our rtionship wasn''t built on a solid foundation."


    "I can''t wait to meet them then. It''s been so long since I''ve been part of a harem."


    "That''s right." I blinked in realization. "You were part of a harem before....you actually have experience with this."


    "Oh yes, I was....the head?" She looked thoughtful. "If you want to use that terminology. I made sure Zeo''s harem ran smoothly, and let me tell you, it wasn''t an easy job."


    "Really?" I tilt my head.


    "Do....you not have any problems?"


    "Not really?" I shook my head. "All my girls get along well, not to mention they all adore Kunou and dote on her. I haven''t seen or heard anything negative...."


    Venna looked at me, mouth opening then closed again. "I don''t know if you''re just lucky or you somehow figured out the right things to do on your own."


    "By your tone, I take it this is rare?"


    "To have absolutely no problems between harem members, it is. There''s always going to be tension or the like even if they all get along. But by the sounds of it, you really haven''t had any issues." She sounded genuinely surprised.


    "Maybe it''s because all my girls are older?"


    "Older, how so?"


    "I believe you would be the.....second youngest, technically. Just right above Yasaka." I rubbed my chin, trying to think of their actual ages. Artoria was born in the 5th century, thereabouts. Technically, she was born before Venna.


    "Oh, so you have a type then." Venna snorted, barely holding back augh.


    "Shamelessly." I didn''t deny it.


    "I have many more questions now, but I suppose they''ll have to wait until I meet your other harem members." Venna let out a contented sigh, her head lowering back onto my shoulder. "Thank the Satans I don''t have to deal with Zeo grabbing girls barely legal even of human standards anymore. He had a fetish for teaching younger girls all about sex."


    "By younger..."


    "Younger by our standards." She made sure to rify. "Atleast adults, we''re not that bad."


    "You fucked your grandson." I pointed out.


    "And I''m going to do it again." She grinned. "...ter. I can only go so much and you have an absurd amount of stamina. I''m wondering if you have a harem by desire or need at this point. I do enjoy this ache between my legs after so long, but I do need some rest to get back into the groove of things."


    "Well, you''re not the first to say that." I smiled, thinking about how Sc¨¢thach said the exact same things. "However, should you be telling me about your.....husband''s proclivities?"


    "You can say Ex Husband if it''s morefortable." She kissed my cheek. "And believe me when I tell you, he would happily talk about them if you brought it up. Hell, he would give you a high five after finding out how I rocked your world."


    ".....well then." I just blinked at that. "And rocked my world?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    "Go ahead and deny it." Sheughed.


    "And I can''t." It''s not that the sex had been better than with my other girls, but certain differences did give rise to some intense feelings.


    "Thought so." She pulled me in for a deep kiss, and I enjoyed the taste of my newest woman.


    I didn''t know what was going to happen with Venna, but I was excited to find out. But I was truthful that I wasn''t looking forward to exining this to everyone else.


    Oh well, I made my bed. I would be remiss to tell others not to sleep in theirs when I didn''t do the same. Besides, I don''t think any of my rtionships would change based on this.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 271: Pok茅mon Side Story Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 271: Pok¨¦mon Side Story Part 2</h4>


    "Alright, it''s time to begin my Pok¨¦mon Journey!" I pped my hands, staring to the horizon....or rather the forest I was supposed to trek through.


    "Magi, Magikarp." Magikarp floated next to me. I was using a basic spell to keep a ball of water around him and he could move around in.


    "It was just a small setback, but you look dapper as fuck, so it''s worth it." I admired my newest Pok¨¦mon. "Sure it took a week to find a tailor willing to make some clothes for a Magikarp....especially because you''re a water Pok¨¦mon. But that doesn''t matter! What matters is, you look good, you feel good, and you''re ready to kick some ass."


    "Magikarp!" My Pok¨¦mon''s eyes lit up, a noticeable fire in them.


    "Awsome, so it''s time to begin your training." I nodded, happy with his enthusiasm. "Sir Wiggles" I called out, my Familiar came bolting out of the forest.


    My Magikarp and Sir Wiggles stared each other down. They still weren''t exactly....friends yet. If anything I think my Magikarp felt a sense of inferiority so it was projecting that in this sort of rivalry that developed.


    "Sir Wiggles, show off some of your skills." I gave Sir Wiggles free rein.


    He jutted off into the sky, a streak of lightning left in its wake.


    "MAGIKARP!?" The Fish Pok¨¦mon eximed, trying to follow his movements.


    Sir Wigglesnded on the ground, Ice raining down from the sky, before it could hit the ground, it turned into water and began to take on different shapes, floating around us like his water bubble.


    "As you can see, Sir Wiggles is....versatile." I held my arms out, and my rabbit jumped into them. "You might be think that he''s simply a powerful Pok¨¦mon, right?"


    "...Magi." He reluctantly nodded.


    "Wrong." I shook my head. "When I first got him, he couldn''t do any of that. When I first got him, you would have beaten him."


    The Magikarps eye''s widened.


    "I''ll tell you a secret, I taught him those moves because they aren''t moves." I leaned in a little closer. "It''s magic."


    "Karp, Magikarp?" It seemed confused.


    "I made your bubble." I pointed out, then held my finger towards the sky, unleashing a lightning bolt. "And Remember what I did when we first met. I''m a Magus, I practice Magecraft, of inymens terms ¨C I use Magic." I paused, letting that sink in. "And You''re going to learn from me."


    "MAGIKARP!?" His eyes shined brilliantly again, like hope finally returning to him fully.


    "It''s not going to be easy, even painful at some times, but if you stay true, I''ll make true on my promise. You''ll have all the Gyradoses in the world bowing to you when we''re done."


    "Magikarp!"


    "Here''s the thing, Pok¨¦mon naturally have what we in the business call ¨C Magical Energy. You lot call it something else around here, like Aura." I waived my hand, not caring about terminology all that much. "Though technically different, it''s more or less the same in application and it''ll fit our purposes." And It''s slightly different from my own Aura, but that doesn''t really matter.


    "So!" I pped my hands. "I want you to get a feel for the Water Orb around you, truly feel how it''s held together. Then I want you to remember the feeling of using your own moves. With me so far?"


    "Magi, Karp." He nodded.


    "I know it sounds mundane, but we gotta work on the basics. So, see if you canpare the two, then your first task is going to be creating this water bubble all on your own." I snapped my fingers, making it pop. He fell to the ground and started flopping around. "Recreate it" I said sternly.


    "MAGI, MAGI, MAGI, MAGIKARP." It iled around looking scared as it losts it method of breathing. Despite being a Pok¨¦mon, it was still a fish and needed to breath through its gills.


    "Are you going to die a worthless Magikarp, or are you going to show the world that you''re more than some fish."


    Magikarp did the fish equivalent of gritting its teeth. Water shot out of its mouth in all directions. It was a powerful torrent, then a mediocre spray, then a wide shower as it kept finagling about its own move set. He got more erratic, his water going in every direction, in directions it shouldn''tbe going as it sort of coiled around him before sshing helplessly on the ground. His flopping began to lessen, and I realized he reached his limit.


    I snapped my fingers, a new ball of water enveloping him.


    "Well done." I praised him as he reorientated himself.


    "....Magi...." He said meekly.


    "Pok¨¦mon thrive on hardship." I said simply. "I would never let you die, but I wanted you to have that fire in your belly. You were close there, your water was moving in ways it normally wouldn''t." I pointed out. "Once you getfortable with this, with harnessing your Aura, we can start learning spells properly." I gave him a smile.


    Magikarp didn''t look disheartened in the slightest, nor even angry at me for doing that. He was resolved and looking eager to continue.


    Giving him another moment, I snapped my fingers again, his body hitting the ground.


    And I watched with pride as he struggled resolutely.


    ****


    I held my hands behind my head as we walked through the humidforest. Thankfully I could offset any unsightly sweating with my magic, but did I mention, it''s fucking humid.


    Because it is.


    Oh, and Pok¨¦mon is a fucking lie.


    The Game and or Shows, not the actual creatures.


    We''ve been walking for days and nothing''s happened. No wild Pok¨¦mon wanting toe and take me on, hopeful that I could be that special person to make them special. Unless you count Snox.


    "HOW ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME!?" I kicked the bigrd of a Pok¨¦mon as hey sleeping in the middle of the path.


    It of course didn''t react at all.


    Peacefully sleeping.


    It was amusing the first time.


    And the second.


    Even the third.


    Now I''m wondering if I''m being trolled, because this Snox had randomly appeared in my path eleven times now. And I know it''s the same damn Snox because I drew on its face with a marker!


    A dick.


    I drew a dick.


    "Peace, Wilhelm. This is your vacation, your Pok¨¦mon adventure." I said to myself, finding my zen. I just needed to remind myself that not all Pok¨¦mon are assholes like that Geodude.


    On the plus side, Magikarp was rocking his new ability.


    He floated next to me in his own water bubble.


    Proud of you little-big dude.


    So, Aura isn''t quite like Magical Energy, so we were working through these muddy waters together. However, we were making progress and I felt confident in bringing him to par soon.


    Just doing this, floating with me as I walked, was intense training for him as he had to learn how to manipte his own water to keep himself enclosed.


    Gaah, this was much more interesting when Ash and his idiot friends did it in the show. Wait....didn''t he have like super bullshit luck? Me thinks I was basing my adventure off the wrong person....


    At the very least, could Team Rocket maybee by? Not for the action or anything like that, I just really wanna flirt with Jessie. Them legs don''t lie and neither do I.


    I only perked up when I saw someone else walking down the path. The first person I''ve seen in forever.


    "Hey, you!" The kid stopped, pointing at me, shouting when he could have just walked a few more steps forward.


    "Sup." I greeted.


    "You''re a Pok¨¦mon trainer, right?" He was several octaves above the volume he needed to be. "Well, you''re kinda old, but it doesn''t matter! Let''s have a Pok¨¦mon battle!"


    He didn''t even give me a moment to answer his question, and insulted me within the same breath.


    "I am indeed a Pok¨¦mon trainer." My lips thinned. "I would love to have a Pok¨¦mon battle."


    "How many Pok¨¦mon you got?" He sort of leaned out a little to emphasize the three Poke Balls on his belt. A little smugness on his face when I looked at them as if he was showing off.


    "Two." I said emotionlessly.


    "Haha, well..." He tweaked his nose with his thumb. "I guess I could use my two weakest. It''s not like your Magikarp can handle any of my Pok¨¦mon anyways!"


    Huh.


    Is he not going to question my floating Magikarp?


    "And what''s that Pok¨¦mon on your head?" He obviously pointed to Sir Wiggles.


    "Sir Wiggles." I said inly. "He''s the.....Jackalope Pok¨¦mon."


    "Whatever, never heard of it. Must not be very impressive." His confidence was shining if nothing else.


    "Alright, boys." I turned towards my Pok¨¦mon. Regardless on the opponent? I considered this my first real battle, so I was going to treat it with all the respect It deserved. Which wasn''t much, but I digress. "We''re going to do this clean and by the books! He''s a Bug Pok¨¦mon trainer, so you should know what to expect."


    "How did you know I was a Bug Pok¨¦mon trainer!?" The Kid eximed, shock appearing on his face.


    I looked at the Bug Catching he was holding, the stic container full of bugs that hung around his shoulder, and the hat that literally said ''Bug''s Life'' on it. "Honestly, just aplete shot in the dark."


    "Hmph, you must have nned this." He dered, rather proudly. "I guess I''m getting famous enough for people to keep tabs on me."


    "Sure, why not." I said dryly. "Anyways, I think it''s etiquette to summon your first Pok¨¦mon since mine are in in view."


    "Of course." He shouted, for some reason. I don''t know why he felt the need to keep shouting everything. "Come out, Caterpie!" He threw his Poke Ball, the caterpir Pok¨¦mon emerged onto the ground.


    "Cater, Caterpie!" It looked happy to be out.


    "Magikarp, you''re up." I nced towards myrge fishy.


    "Hah, Magikarp!?" The Bug Catcher bellowed out.


    I ignored him for now. "So how you wanna do this, a coin flip, and start when it hits the ground?" I offered as a start to the match.


    "You can have the first move." He waived me off, not even bother to pay attention.


    I opened my mouth then closed it again. "Okay." I just said evenly. "Magikarp, use headbutt."


    "Magikarp can''t use ¨C"


    "MAGIKARP!" My Pok¨¦mon roared, the water around him exploded out from behind as it propelled him forward at blinding speed. He mmed right into the little bug Pok¨¦mon, sending it rocketing into a tree.


    The Kid stared there, trying to process what he just saw. My Magikarp locked eyes with him, menacingly. And I fully believe it would have been an intimidating sight, had Magikarp not been flopping around and wheezing due to not being able to breath.


    "R-return, Caterpie." The Trainer hesitantly held out his Pokeball. The red light shot out from it, enveloping his Pok¨¦mon as it was returned to its home. "Y-you got lucky, I was going easy on you. I''ll be trying this time for sure!"


    Amazing, three excuses in one breath.


    "Magikarp,e on back." I gestured with my head.


    "Magi." He, through a decent amount of effort, enveloped himself in water again, slowly floating back to me.


    "Sir Wiggles, you''re up." He jumped off my head,nding on the ground.


    "Go, Metapod!" The kid shouted with gusto, throwing his poke ball again.


    "Metapod." The Pok¨¦mon dered as it appeared. And it had a surprisingly posh tone to it.


    "Alright, so, coin flip or ¨C"


    "Metapod, use Harden!" The kid screeched.


    I blinked, staring at Metapod then at the kid. "Seriously?"


    He crossed his arms, a smug smile on his face. "Haah, this strategy was one I came up with after months of nning."


    ".....you''re going to spam Harden to tire my Pok¨¦mon out?" I asked.


    His eyes widened. "How did you know!?"


    "....Sir Wiggles, use headbutt." I let out a sigh, realizing that this was my first Pok¨¦mon battle....officially.


    Sir Wiggles didn''t use his lightning nor any magic, I wanted him to stick with....normal means just to get in the groove of things. Not to say he was weak by any means, he could casually knock down a tree with a waive of his paw.


    "Metapod, use Iron Defense!"


    "Wait, what?" I blinked as the Metapod''s body turned slightly silver with a noticeable sheen to him, moreso than a normal Harden.


    Sir Wiggles smacked into the Metapod, and the Metapod didn''t move.


    "Seriously, Iron Defense?" I resisted the urge to face palm. How the fuck does his Metapod even know that move? Isn''t it only something it can get from a TM!? "Does he know any moves other than Harden and Iron Defense?"


    "Metapod, Harden!" He seemed to respond to my question in the most annoying way possible.


    Sir Wiggles stood there, looking just as annoyed as I was. I could tell he was...frustrated.


    "Meta, Pod." His opponent intoned, and it sounded insulting. And if the smirk it held was to reveal anything, it was meant to be.


    "Are you actually going to battle or not?" I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose.


    "If you can''t handle it, then surrender! This will be my fourth consecutive win!" He pumped his fist into the air.


    I looked around, catching something out of the corner of my eyes. "Sir Wiggles." I called out as my Familiar followed my gaze. "Use waterboard."


    "What kind of move is ¨C" He didn''t have a chance to finish as Sir Wiggles began dragging his Metapod to a nearby pond.


    Which, might I add, waspletelywithin the rules. Uses of Terrain was encouraged.


    Sir Wiggles, with its cute little paws, pushed the Metapod into the water.


    Fun fact, Metapods need to breath still.


    "Meta¡ª gurgle"


    That continued for several moments, until the trainer was finally broken form his stupir.


    "NO! METAPOD, RETURN!" He screeched out again. Except, Sir Wiggles pped away the red beam of light that was trying to grab hold of Metapod.


    The Kid gaped at the scene he just witnessed.


    Sir Wiggles, showing he isn''t a cruel bunny, dragged the half-drowned Metapod back to the trainer and deposited it right infront of him before happily returning to my head.


    He silently recalled his Pok¨¦mon again.


    "And where''s my prize money?" I held my hand out. Funnily enough, you do win money for winning Pok¨¦mon matches. It''s aw or something between training, I don''t know. I was barely listening to Nurse Joy''s exnation, mostly just trying to guess what color panties she wore.


    My money is on pink.


    "Y-y-you cheater!" He screeched once more. "You''re not allowed to do....that!" He held his finger out ursedly.


    "Well, let''s check shall we?" I took out the literal Pok¨¦mon Rule Book. "Feel free to point out what rule I broke.....assuming you can read." I said dryly.


    He snarled in anger, grabbing at hisst Poke Ball. "I''ll show you,e out, Butterfry!"


    "Really? We agreed on a two on two. Now this is breaking the rules." I crossed my arms. "I''m pretty sure this is considered assault with a Pok¨¦mon." Since I didn''t agree to thisbattle, he was assaulting me, or so I think.


    "Thest one doesn''t count!" He screeched in his annoying voice. "You cheated, and I''ll show you this time!"


    I just sighed again. "Sir Wiggles, use headbutt."


    "Hah, like I''d fall for that! Butterfree, take to the skies!"


    "I never said towards your Butterfree." I pointed out.


    "What are you ¨C" His eyes bugged out of his head. "OoOOoooooooooohhhhh." He let out an extremely high-pitched noise, Sir Wiggled mming right into his groin.


    He fell over, eyes rolled back.


    I looked at his Butterfree, his butterfree looked at me, at his trainer, then at Sir Wiggles. It casually flew down, pressed its Pokeball and returned itself.


    "K.O." I deadpanned, walking over to his twitching form. I reached into is pocket, taking out his wallet and pilfering all his cash.


    I stood there, looking at the sunset in the distance. I stretched my arms, Magikarp floating to my side, and Sir Wiggles hopping back onto my head. "And this is the start of our Pok¨¦mon Journey!" I dered as we attained our first true victory.


    "Ooooooh, mommy."


    "Quiet." I hissed back towards the idiot bug trainer. "You''re ruining the moment!"


    ***


    A small apology for what I mentionedst chapter.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 272 - 254

    <h4>Chapter 272: Chapter 254</h4>


    I tied my hair up with the same hair tie that I''d always used. Regardless of what outfit I wore, I couldn''t seem to be without this little piece of fabric that Sc¨¢thach gave me all those years ago.


    [So....you had a fun night.]


    "Oh here we go." I let out a long sigh. "Just....let me have it, get it out of your system."


    [Like you did to your grandmother?]


    "Yup, there it is."


    [Hmm, I''ll save the rest for the right moment.]


    "Dieeeeeeeeee." I groaned.


    [Don''t worry, I did already. Like how your dad''s going to do when he finds out you plowed his mom.]


    I dropped my head into my hands. "You done?"


    [For now.] Ddraig said with ill concealed amusement in his tone.


    "Great..." I said dryly, taking out Mirage and split the space in front of me. I walked through the newly formed portal right into Yasaka''s office.


    The beautiful Kitsune greeted me with a warm smile. "You''re back."


    "Got backst night." I nodded.


    "Interesting, I assume you seeded?" She asked but the look on her face said that she already knew the answer to that question.


    "Yup, had to destroy a few Khaos Brigade bases to find the right one , but I found them rtively unharmed." I noddedzily. "They''re keeping it hush-hush while they keep turning over some more of those Old Satan Faction people''s bases."


    Yasaka had an almost feral grin form on her face. "Well, that certainly brightens my mood. Even if they weren''t part of this Khaos Brigade, those Old Satan lot are detestable in their own right. No sane person would look at the original Demons and the Deceiver himself as role models."


    "You''ll hear no argument from me." I shrugged, remembering the idiots I dealt with. "I had to listen to the shit they spout first hand."


    "And did you get to have a chat with her after the rescue?" She set her pen down, waiting for me to answer.


    "Uh.....yes." I scratched my cheek.


    "....what happened?"


    "I added a new member to my harem." I said rather bluntly.


    Yasaka blinked. "Oh. OH." She stood up with a little giggle. "So who''s the new girl? Are you going to bring her around to introduce us? How did you meet, do I know her?"


    "You''re not upset?" I didn''t think she''d be, but I wanted to gauge her feelings better.


    "No, why would I be?" She tilted her head. "It''s not like you''re going around and sleeping with anyone that''s just got a pair of boobs. If you''re interested enough to bring them into your harem, then I trust your judgement. As I said before, I was well aware of what I was getting into. And I know for a fact that you''re....picky in that regard."


    That''s true.....I know many women who are extremely attractive and haven''t tried for anything with them.


    "Maybe you should save that for after tell I you who ." I walked up, pulling her into a hug.


    "Is it someone I don''t like...?" She pushed my head into her bosom. "And you smell like you just had sex.....alot of it."


    "Erm." I coughed awkwardly. "I don''t think you hate her?"


    "Then who ¨C" She paused, head slowly turning to look down at me. "Wilhelm, did you fuck your grandmother."


    "Yes, yes I did."


    She slowly raised her hand, and pinched my cheek. "You shameless little pervert" She broke out into augh. "And I thought I was the horny one."


    "I was seduced."


    "Oh, lies and excuses." She snorted between giggles. "We both know you wouldn''t let yourself be seduced unless you wanted to."


    "Yeah...that''s urate. I guess I did want it and was swept up in her momentum. She came in hard and I just went along with it."


    "I''m pretty sure you were the one who came in hard." The corners of her lips curled up, clearly proud of herself on that one.


    I reached up and floofed her ears. "That was bad, and you should feel bad."


    She yfully swatted at my hands. "So how''d that happen?"


    "Rescued her, one thing led to another, she offered sexy times. I said I don''t like one night stands, and she went a step further and offered to be lovers." I summarized.


    "Huh.....yeah I can see that. I''ve met Venna once or twice in the past, she''s a very direct woman, doesn''t like ying coy unless she''s on someone''s case." Yasaka nodded at my exnation.


    "So it doesn''t bother you?" I asked the important question.


    "That you''re in a rtionship with your grandmother?" She grinned. "Not particrly, no."


    "Huh." I just stared nkly at her.


    "Sweetie." She cupped my cheek. "I''m a Youkai. It''s going to take more than that to phase me."


    "Funnily enough, Venna said the same thing as a Devil."


    "I think you''re too used at looking at things as a human. Which isn''t surprising considering how long you lived in ignorance for the first part of your life." Yasaka reasoned. "On a side note, Millicas should be right around Kunou''s age, are you thinking about being a part of his life?"


    "Maybe? I don''t know, I''m still wrapping my head around everything." I finally pulled away from her chest. "I''m still a little high strung after attacking the Khaos Brigade. I think I''ll just not think about it right now and maybe take a day off to rx." I idly voiced my thoughts before looking at her and stopping. "I''m sorry."


    "You''re sorry, for what? I said I don''t mind Venna, or even new people bing my sisters." She looked confused. "Admittedly, it is a conversation we''re going to need to have about the future with everyone. I don''t recall anyone saying anything about when you take in a new woman."


    Yeah....that''s something we need to talk about now that its sorta an established Harem and not just like -- a group of women I had together. Yasaka didn''t really seemed concerned with it, but I can''t assume the other''s won''t be different.


    "I feel like.....I stepped over your spot to be with Venna." I didn''t quite know how to exin it. "I don''t want you to feel like you were pushed down, I guess."


    "Oh, Wilhelm." She reached out, pulling me back into a hug. "I''ve never felt that. I know our first interactions left a little hesitance on you, but I know you''re not keeping me at arms length. I do have context, it was just after Sc¨¢thach died, you hadn''t had time to cope with that and I was being very flirty, I don''t fault you at all for how you acted. I haven''t pushed anything myself because now I am waiting for the right moment. Believe me, I would have dragged you kick and screaming to my bed If I wanted that." I looked up and I think her cheeks turned a faint pink, hard to tell with my face still mostly in her breasts. "But I.....want it to be romantic."


    I slid my hand into hers, giving it a little squeeze. "Is this a bad time to say that I''m looking forward to our date?"


    She looked even more bashful at that. "....I guess we had the same thought in mind." Her eyes darted to the side.


    "You''re too cute." Iughed


    "Mou~ Don''t bully me." She puffed up. "And speaking of the date....I was going to go speak with Nurarihyon since the day is drawing near. He likes toe and participate. Would you like to meet him?"


    "Meet the infamous Nurarihyon, I''d love to." I heard the stories when I was a kid, how could I not meet that infamous youkai?


    "Wonderful, I am going to go in a couple days." She beamed.


    "Alright, I''ll make sure my schedule''s clear. Are we taking Kunou?"


    "Of course! That old man adores Kunou" Yasaka giggled to herself. "And he''s a lot more manageable when our little fox is around."


    "Ah, so it''s a strategic Kunou deployment."


    Yasaka looked amused by that. "Our little fox is a weapon that can''t be ignored."


    "Sounds like fun."


    "It''ll be nice to get away too. Especially on official duties." She groaned. "But that''s in a couple days. Are you just going to rx for now? You should probably tell the others soon about our new harem sister."


    "I will, I will." I waived off her concerns. "I''m not trying to buy time or run away or any other nonsense. Everyone is, as far as I know, busy right now and I just want to rx for a little while. I figured I''d grab some of the guys and go do something."


    "Boy time?"


    I shrugged. "Something like that."


    Though, it''s unlikely I would grab Thorum, since I hadn''t told him yet. Speaking of, I should head back to Skyrim for a couple days and spend some time with my friend.


    Perhaps I''d tell him at that point.


    But I digressed.


    "Need me for anything important?" I asked.


    "No, go have fun with your friends." She shooed me away. "Some of us have work."


    Iughed, sneaking a kiss on her cheek. "I''ll be backter."


    "See you then~" She waived a tail at me.


    ****


    "So, not that I''m not up for this, but....why''d you call me?"


    I turned towards the source of the voice. "I don''t have many guy-friends." I shrugged. "And you''re fun to hang out with."


    "We tried to kill each other..."


    "Meh."


    He looked at me and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess that''s fair. Gods know how many times I''ve fought to the death with my friends in life." Achilles rxed in some casual clothing, a fishing rod in his hand.


    "Many bonds are formed throughbat." Another voice spoke up. "Some can only be forged through the shing of des."


    "Don''t gotta tell me twice." Achilles agreed, reaching for a beer. "I became lifetime brothers with the other students under Chiron after beating the shit out of each other every day." He grinned, a wistful look on his face.


    "Ah, I''m jealous." Sasaki Kojirou sat beside the fastest hero. "I never had such an opportunity. To perfect my swordsmanship, I rarely left the mountain I lived on."


    "Didn''t you just want to kill a swallow that was bothering you?"


    "Indeed, a worthy adversary it was." The Swordsman nodded.


    "Not the weirdest thing I''ve heard." Achilles wasn''t even perturbed.


    "Yeah, cause you''re Greek."


    "That''s racist."


    "Tell me I''m wrong." I countered.


    "I never said you''re wrong." Achillesughed.


    "What about you, Kairi?" I turned to my left, the frencer was sporting a beer himself, fishing rod extended out.


    It wasn''t hard to convince him toe. He was....pretty trusting of me at this point, and it seemed like he didn''t have anything better to do either.


    "You learn who you can trust with your back quickly when you''re fighting for your lives." He nodded as well.


    "Too true." Achilles responded. "Enemies one day, allies the next. Friends transcend both of those. Even If you have to fight a friend, you do so with honor." He mmed his fist to his chest.


    "Well said, Dragon yer." I grinned.


    "Oh fuck you." His noble atmosphere quickly dispersed.


    "Dragon yer?" Sasaki questioned.


    Achilles groaned. "This idiot kept calling me Siegfried throughout the Grail War ¨C and did it on purpose." He practically growled.


    "It was a valid guess!"


    "I used a spear!"


    "And King Arthur is a woman!"


    ".....I fucking hate that I can''t argue with that logic."


    The other justughed at his expense.


    "How is the little lion doing?" The Swordsman asked.


    "Doing good, we attacked some of her descendants in my birth world. They were being dumbasses, so she and Mordred set them straight." I summarized the little adventure.


    "How envious."


    "Eh, you didn''t miss much. I beat up some guy calling himself Gawain, but he wasn''t a match for a Servant." Achilles snorted. "I have fought a few fun things though, they got some neat stuff over there.


    "Speaking of, I got my house anchored, you cane on over whenever you want. One of my women is the leader of half of Japan''s Youkai, there wouldn''t be an issue if you wanted to explore or do stuff." I made sure to extend an invitation.


    "Oh, I may take you up on that offer." Sasaki looked interested. "The Witch has been talking about her friend recently. This...Atnta?"


    "Yeah, they''ve been dancing around that shit for awhile." Achilles side. "Sis isn''t one to usually let thingsy like this. Thinking that I should give her a kick in the butt to get her going."


    "We all need that sometimes." I agreed. "I can pop by to see Medea and give her a heads up that Atnta''s wants toe over."


    "That''d work." Achilles took a drink. "I''''ll tell Sis that Medea''s waiting, it''d make her hurry over."


    "God knows I have to do that with Mordred when ites to Artoria." Kairi groaned as well.


    "Even Artoria needs a pep talk every now and then." I chuckled at the thought of us both having to push them together. "But they''ve been doing well."


    "Yeah, it''s been quiet." Kairi grunted, looking off into theke we were sitting at.


    "Shit, I want some action." Achilles, leaned back, his head falling to the grass.


    "Well, I had somethinge up. Apparently, my grandmother and half-brother got kidnapped by some idiots calling themselves the Khaos Brigade."


    "You need help?" Achilles shot right back up.


    "My de is yours." Sasaki followed up immediately.


    "Already took care of it."


    "Dick." Achilles fell back down.


    Sasaki let out a sigh, setting back down. "I fear my de shall dull at this rate."


    "Oh, stop whining. My house is also connected to another world were there''s dragons causing issues. If you really want, you can head over there."


    "Ohoh." Sasaki has a strange glint in his eyes. "I''ve never tested my technique against a dragon before."


    "Dragons you say?" Achilles looked interested too. "They were rare back in my time too. I only fought some wyverns, never a full blown dragon."


    "If they''re causing problems, does that mean Dragon Materials are on the open market?" Kairi asked.


    "Oh yeah, by the droves. I even have a bunch of bones and scales in my storage." I revealed to the frencer.


    "And how strong are these dragons?" Kairi asked again, the other two leaning in.


    "It varies, the weakest.....could blow away a guard tower made of stone with a shout." I paused. "The Divine Words you saw me using, that''s the Dragon Language used there." I made sure to iterate.


    "Hmm, maybe I should bring Mordred." Kairi rubbed his chin.


    "She''d fucking love that." I snorted. "That''s where Meridia''s from, and I got my best friend over there. So, I can set you up if you''re interested. They even have a Magic College that''s open for anyone to join."


    "Really?" Kairi lowered hi sunsses. "And they just let anyone browse their books, learn all their spells and that crap?"


    "Yup." I popped the end of it. "Rin''s enrolled, and the Archmage ¨C the leader of the ce ¨C has been very good to me. Suffice to say, you''ll be able to go there without any issues. And they don''t stop their students from learning Necromancy, but be warned, Meridia despises the raising of the dead. So you do that, and all bets are off."


    "I never dabbled with that aspect of necromancy." Kairi quickly replied.


    "Yeah, I know.....just wanted to make it clear."


    "I haven''t seen that little miss in quite a long time. How is Saber''s master doing?" Sasaki looked reminiscent.


    "She''s significantly stronger. And she''s learning how to wield a spear properly, so you can bully her if you want under the guise of sparing."


    Sasaki blinked. "How fun." His eyes twinkled.


    "A spear, huh?" Achilles rubbed his chin. "Think I could get some brownie points if I taught her a thing or two?"


    "Sure, but what would you even want?"


    "Eh, that Saber Servant of hers, King Arthur, I''d love to fight her atleast once."


    I shrugged. "Artoria isn''t as....maniac about it like Mordred, but she is a knight with a inclination for battle. She enjoys fighting just as much as us, she just hides it under her regal persona." Artoria liked to hide it, but she was a battle maniac like everyone else around here was. "But I think they''re busy right now. Rin and Artoria are hunting down a Divine Construct, so I doubt you could pull their attention away right now."


    Achilles let out a whistle. "And they are just there for the taking? I remember you had that Staff..."


    "The Staff of Magnus, one of their ''gods'' over there. It was in a sort of tombbyrinth thing and I yoinked it when I had the chance." I didn''t even deny it.


    "If I wasn''t interested before..." Kairi muttered. "And there''s stuff like that avable for anyone to take?"


    "If you got the luck and talent. Lots of tombs there crawling with undead and monsters that hoard treasures, that sort of thing. The culture I''ve experienced so far isn''t much different than the Norse from the Age of Gods. Hell, Rin''s gotten some other toys that many Magi would salivate for."


    "Are there perhaps metals of impressive quality there?" Sasaki asked.


    "Sure, I had some used in the forging of my sword." I withdrew Mirage, letting it impale the ground. "The de is made of a special version of an ore called ¨C ss. Ironic name, I know. But it''s harder than steel, and many times more durable. That''s not mentioning all the other metals I had added to the forging process."


    "Interesting, very interesting." Sasaki looked over my de. "I remember the first time I saw it, I can''t deny the quality. Are you perhaps familiar with the smith who made it?"


    "You want a sword forged?"


    "I do." He didn''t hide his intent. "The little miss was able to dent my sword in our fight back in the war. While it was repaired through the means of our existence, I wish for something that can withstand foes of her caliber."


    "Can''t fault a warrior for wanting a weapon that can keep up with me." Achilles chimed in. "I went through way too many spears before my old man passed me his own weapon. It''s never failed me since."


    "Yeah, I can put in a word for you. The smith was a good guy, and he''s really close to my friend. They''re part of this ¨C mercenary band, really famous there. Bring him some money and the materials, he''d probably be interested in the unique design if nothing else."


    "Ah, to find materials and money then." Sasakiughed. "Well, my sword should provide for me in the meantime. If things are as you described, then I may be able to wander into some work."


    "Oh, none of that. We''re friends, I can help you out. You were nice enough to help me when I was lost before."


    "I...will dly ept the kindness." He smiled. "But my honor would demand that I shall pay you back."


    "Oh whatever." I rolled my eyes. "I''m sure you could make enough money in no time. There''s no shortage of work in either world right now." I stopped as my fishing rod got tugged.


    "Oh!" Achilles stood up. "You got one, hurry and reel it in."


    "No you must be patient. Lure it into a false sense of security, when it is least suspecting, you must strike swiftly and decisively." Sasaki stood up on my other side.


    "Do I go quick or let it swim around!?" I felt it tugging at me.


    "Quickly."


    "Don''t alert it yet!"


    "Pick one, I''ve never fished before!" I whined, feeling something tugging hard on my rod.


    "Oh for fucks sake." Kairi stood up, walking behind me. "You''ve given it enough ck; the hook is obviously nice and stuck in it. Now, give it a quick tug."


    I followed his advice, yanking my fishing rod back. The water sshed up as the fish kicked about.


    "Good, now start reeling it in." He continued.


    "It''s a fighter!" I jerked the rod back again, reeling it in as the fish fought with me. Eventually, it came closer to shore, the water sshing about as it got closer until finally ¨C "Got you, ya bastard!" I dered finally pulling it out of the water, only to immediately dete.


    "He''s a fighter, huh?" Achilles looked at my catch.


    "...it''s not the size that matters." Sasakiughed.


    Kairi just put a hand on my shoulder.


    I held the fish infront of my face, it was barely the size of my palm.


    "You know what? Fuck it. It''s the first time I''ve ever caught a fish, lets take a picture." Well, in this life at least, and knowledge regarding fishing wasn''t exactly something I inherited.


    I quickly took out my phone, setting it up. The other''s joined in with a smile. It wasn''t the ideal catch, but hey, we were having fun and I just wanted to rx for a few hours.


    ***


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 Chapter 273 - 255

    <h4>Chapter 273: Chapter 255</h4>


    "This was fun, we should do it again sometime." We sat on the temple steps in Fuyuki, after having fished for the evening. We just light chatted as we finished up the drinks that had been brought.


    "It certainly breaks up the monotony." Assassin mused, finishing off his beer. "However, I still think I prefer sake over this.....beer." He set down the empty can.


    "Eh, it''s a traditional thing." Kairi replied. "My old man did the same thing, beers when fishing."


    "We mostly had wine back in my day." Achilles shrugged. "This stuff, it''s not bad, not very strong though."


    "I can show you guys the stronger stuffter. Trust me, we got good stuff from several worlds." I chuckled.


    "I look forward to it." Assassin smiled.


    "Probably should head back, wannae around?" I offered towards the swordsman.


    "I will decline this time." He shook his head. "Despite the amusing jabs I exchange with the Witch, I do wish to stay nearby until proper ns are in ce that ount for my extended leave."


    Well, he was the honorable sort and was still sticking to their contract even if the spirit of it was no longer applicable. I couldn''t help but admire him for his attitude. "Here, take this." I tossed him a Kaleidophone. "You can contact me through that, it has my corresponding device saved. If you need anything, just holler."


    "Oh, how interesting." He immediately began to fiddle with it. "I shall have fun figuring out how this device operates."


    I would tell him, but he gets bored and I thought it would bring him some amusement for awhile. My Number was saved, so it should be easy enough.


    "Hey, what about me." Achilles sort of pouted.


    "Sorry, this other one is registered to Siegfried." I shrugged. "Since there''s no Siegfried here, I can''t do anything."


    "Oh fuck you, hand it over."


    I justughed, tossing it to him.


    "Oh, and Kairi."


    "Hmm? I already got one fromst time." He looked at me.


    "Nah, something else. Sort of a....thanks I guess. And, well, I wanted to give you another tool at your disposal." I took out the Teleportation Orb thing that Magician used back in the Khaos Brigade. "Want a Sacred Gear?" I offered.


    He blinked, looking at it. "...a weapon created by God to give to humans. You''re asking me if I want one?" His sunsses slipped down, giving me an incredulous look.


    I guessed he looked up information on these things. Well, I couldn''t fault him, they had been popping up frequently enough when it came to threats.


    "Well.....that''s technically true I suppose. Not every one was created by Big G, some were things he just wanted to cycle through humans or whatever." I exined briefly. "This one, I don''t think he created it, and I honestly don''t know its name, but it''s pretty nifty. Its user was annoying me because of it."


    "A Sacred Gear?" Assassin asked.


    "Oh, they''re these neat things, sorta like Noble Phantasms. Apparently the Christian God gave them to some people or whatever over in that world." Achilles perked up, eyeing it with clear interest. "Fought a guy who could turn into animals and stuff. He even turned into a dragon-form and got a lot stronger for a bit."


    "That''s not entirely urate again, but it''s close enough." I''d give him a run downter. "But yeah, this thing gives line of sight teleportation. This mage girl was using it to teleport her teammates out of harms away."


    "Huh." Kairi admired the small thing. "Aren''t these supposed to like.....be bound to the soul.?"


    "Depends on the sacred Gear. You know my spear, right?"


    "You mean the spear that pierced the side of Christ. One of the most Sacred Objects to the Christian Faith. The thing that would have the Church start a crusade against you even if they didn''t know you were a devil?" He said dryly. "Yeah, I remember that thing."


    "Oh, you had something like that? So many things I don''t know." Sasakiughed. "I''ll have to see them for myself at some point."


    I need to include Assassin more. He''s been such a great guy and helped me a lot.


    "Yup, well, the Spear is an example of one that can just be.....taken forck of a better word. Most exist within someone''s soul, and are awakened by the owners, but they aren''t tightly bound like other Sacred Gears such as my Boosted Gear. Just nabbed this one and been working on removing any of that other mage''s influence. You just need to bind it to yourself, but I thought you''d be able to handle that easily enough." I tossed it to him. He almost fumbled it out of surprise before holding it like a precious treasure.


    "Are there any limitations?" He asked.


    "Besides the line of sight thing, I don''t know." I followed up with another shrug. "I didn''t look too deep into it. And as far as I know, there aren''t any side effects either." Well in my case I had a talking dragon in my soul who always goes on about his secret crush.


    [You fucked your grandmother.]


    Yes, yes I did. And I''m going to do it again.


    He grumbled but settled back down.


    Tried to shame me? Hah!


    "You okay?" Kairi broke me from my thoughts. "Sorta just zoned out there? Something I should be concerned about?"


    "Oh, sorry. I guess that happens when Ddraig talks to me." I apologized. "So, yeah, Sacred Gear with a decent Teleportation option. You want it?"


    He rolled it in his hand. "What do you want in return?"


    "Oh, right equivalent exchange and all of that." I scratched my cheek. It was an ingrained part of Magus culture. I guess I was too used to dealing with family and friends that I just didn''t bother with them. "Hmm, how about doing some jobs for the College in Skyrim when you''re there?" I offered.


    "You mean the ones I''d get paid for doing anyways?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "Eh, the pay isn''t high, some jobs will probably only cover your costs performing the job, they''re also short staffed and could use the extra hand." I was honest with the circumstances.


    He blinked again, looking down at the orb.


    "I already consider you one of my people. Honestly, if it makes you feel better, you can pay me." I added. "It''s practically worthless to me and I would have just given it to Yasaka. Both Rin and I can do better with applications of the Kaleidoscope, and if I''m being honest, you''re probably the weakest member of our....group. And I don''t want Mordred to lose you." It''s funny that I had to convince him to ept my good will, but no one ever said Magus Culture was pleasant.


    "Alright, alright." He sighed. "I''ll take it. It''s not like I wouldn''t help out anywhere you wanted anyways. Already so far in debt that it doesn''t make a difference." He finally epted, and sent it into his storage bracelet. "I''ll look into making it mer."


    "If you need any help."


    He nodded at me, a wordless thanks. But it was easy to tell he wanted to do this by himself if he could, which I wouldn''t push him on. Certain things are too....personal, such as messing with one''s own soul.


    We weren''t quite at that point yet, which was why I didn''t offer to unlock his Aura.


    Kairi was a good guy. And that''s by normal standards, not Magus ones.


    "Well, I''m going to head back." I stood up, stretching my arms. "You guys are free toe with ore knocking on my door when you''re ready."


    "I''ll head back now, see what Atnta''s been up to." Achilles hopped to his feet.


    "I''m sure Mordred''s been causing issue." Kairi sighed, fixing his sun sses. "You should see the shit she tries to do when I''m not looking."


    I could only imagine.


    "It was fun." Sasaki rose to his feet to give a proper farewell. "I''ll wee you all back whenever you wish toe." He expression turned sharp. "However, if you wish to ascend these steps, you are required to go through me."


    We all paused, looking at him.


    Within the moment of a blink of the eye, Achilles was dozens of steps up the temple.


    We all slowly turned towards him and back to Assassin.


    He deted, letting out a sigh. "I was attempting to be intimidating to instigate a spar for your next visit."


    I just put a hand on his shoulder. "Always a pleasure, Sasaki Kojirou."


    "Yes, it seems you bring me new and interesting things every time youe." He perked up with a smile. "I look forward to seeing your skills when we next sh."


    "I''ll show you some moves I derived in a simr vein to your technique."


    "Ohoho." He rubbed his chin. "Now I''m excited." He turned towards Kairi. "And to you to, Magus. I believe I would have done well with you as my master."


    "Hah." Kairi let out augh. "Yeah, I think we''d have gotten along well."


    "Yeah, it was fun." Achilles appeared right back next to us. "Next time lets test our des." The fastest hero smiled.


    Sasaki forced a smile in response. "I look forward to it...Dragon yer."


    I snorted, covering my mouth.


    Achilles slowly turned to me with a hint of killing intent. "I. Hate. You." He punctuated every word.


    "Is it because I have a ¨C" There was suddenly a spear tip at my throat.


    "Say it, I dare you."


    "Dragon in his soul?" Sasaki finished for me.


    I did tell the Swordsman about Ddraig.


    "You and me next time, bird man." Achilles huffed, twirling his spear around before dismissing it.


    I couldn''t help butughed, Kairi failed to hold back himself.


    "Yeah, yeah, get in the portal." I waived my hand, connecting us to Yasaka''spound where I knew some people were.


    He frowned, crossing his arms before stomping away.


    I caught Assassin''s smirk and waived once more before following behind Kairi and closed the portal behind us.


    ***


    We were immediately greeted by the sounds of shouts and steel shing. I looked to the side to see Mordred and Arthur sparring...well more like Arthur getting smacked around. But sparring as far as Mordred was concerned.


    "Oh nice, I''ma try to get in on that." Achilles walked over to the two Pendragons.


    "I guess I''ll hang out for awhile, keep an eye on Mordred." Kairi walked off to the side, finding an empty seat and table that no one upied. He was ncing up at Mordred, but he took out his new Sacred Gear and was obviously inspecting it.


    "Yo, got room for another?" I nced back at the knights sparring as Achilles approached.


    "Might be good to have the squire get more experience with other opponents." I heard Mordred say as she looked him up and down.


    "Awesome, I need to move my body, been sitting still too long." Achilles summoned his armor, spear in hand.


    "Ah, know the feeling." Mordred just nodded. "Feel free to have a go, as long as he doesn''t die or loses a limb, have fun." She said nonchntly.


    "Let''s get started." He mmed the butt of his spear down. "The name''s Achilles, kid. Let''s have some fun."


    It took a moment, but Arthur suddenly paled.


    I guess when he understood that King Arthur was a shout away that someone iming their name to be Achilles might mean something more than just a descendant like the Hercules he knew.


    I''m sure he''d be fine.


    They weren''t the only ones here either. Almost opposite of this ratherrge courtyard, Kunou was holding a bow, trying to shoot a target with Atnta of all people fixing her posture. And I thought that was Arthur''s sister standing right by, doting on Kunou.


    Cute.


    I didn''t want to disturb them, I wanted Kunou to have fun ying with other people.


    Instead, I went to the third and final group.


    "Look who it is~" Yasaka gave me a little smirk as I approached.


    "Hello, Wilhelm." Artoria smiled brightly towards me.


    "Hey girls." I couldn''t help but perk up seeing that wonderful smile of hers. I wrapped up Artoria from behind, stealing a quick kiss on her cheek. "You''ve been busy, huh?"


    Artoria, as always, had a cute reaction before settling herself. "I have settled many matters. Rin is also taking a needed break, I believe she described it as zing around''. She is at the house, watching the television."


    "More Dungeon diving?" I asked.


    "Yes, I believe we have made some progress. Jinn has been extremely helpful in that regard. She spoke that you now know of her aid, so I do not have to keep it a secret any longer." Artoria nodded with a small sigh of her own. There was an undertone of tiredness, atleast in a mental capacity. "Without her help I believe we would keep running around with no aim."


    "Yeah I saw that. I can''t believe she did something like that, it''s amazing." I sunk down, putting my chin on her shoulder. "I can''t wait to put it to use myself."


    "Mmm, are you going back to Skyrim soon?" She asked.


    "I want to check up on Thorum and the college. I miss my friend." I signed, wistfully. "And no immediate need of my attention, so I figured why not?"


    "Well, maybe thises up at a good time then." Yasaka chimed in.


    "Hmm?" I looked towards her in confusion.


    "In light of recent.....events." Artoria''s cheeks turned a light red. "We decided to get together as we have not for a period, especially with how our group as grown in recent time."


    "Girls night out?" I questioned. "Like I just did with the guys?"


    "Something like that." Yasaka grinned. "I told them about our newest sister" There was a little mischievous aura to her words.


    "Ah, I see." I didn''t really get flustered. "Wanna talk about it some?" I peered down at Artoria.


    "I do believe it is a matter worth discussing. However, I shall wait until afterwards, if that is okay?" She replied.


    "Sure." I said simply. "I can''t say it isn''t a.....strange situation."


    "Hmm, I thought you would look more frantic and paranoid." Yasaka pouted. "Now I don''t get to tease you."


    "I think I''m past the point of being scared about our rtionship falling apart, with everyone not just you." I hummed, kissing Artoria''s cheek again. I couldn''t help it, she was just so cute. "If I did something to upset anyone, I don''t think they would keep it in. And as far as displeasure goes, I think Artoria would be the one to be the most put off."


    "I....do not deny that." The Knight herself admitted. "But it is as you say, I am trying to.....ept other points of view and differences in cultural settings. You are a Devil, she is a Devil, it isn''t the same as what I lived through."


    I finally let go of her, taking an empty seat.


    "Mah, you''re being too mature." Yasaka huffed. "Where''s that flustered boy who got teased so easily?"


    "He banged his Grandmother." I replied without missing a beat.


    Yasaka actually reacted with a suppressedugh, holding her mouth, air blowing out her nose.


    Artoria though, she looked not scandalized, but very flustered.


    "But in seriousness." I continued once the humor died. "Tell me how you feel once you have settled yourself. You''re important to me and if you''re not okay with it, I''ll break it off." I reached over, taking Artoria''s hand in mine.


    She smiled very warmly, quickly epting my touch. "Thank you. And you speak the truth. I would have said something thus far if I had been vehemently against it. As it stands, I am merely conflicted at the moment and desire more time to think it over. I shall endeavor to open my mind, so to speak. I know it is not umon in other species, as even Yasaka told me that Youkai would not be perturbed by the notion."


    Yasaka just shrugged. "Wasn''t all that umon when Youkai were more scattered. You took what partner you could. Of course that was before my time. If I recall correctly, I believe my great grandmother and my great grandfather were actually siblings."


    Huh.


    "So the Harem is gathering to decide my fate." Propped my head up with my arm.


    "Guess where we''re going to gather at." Yasaka''s tail sneaked around my waste like it tends to do.


    "I would have assumed the house, but now I''m not sure." I looked towards Artoria who just looked away, not speaking. "Hmm, somewhere fun? Like an outing, or just a get together?"


    "More something in-between if I were to describe it. Definitely a ce most of us haven''t been before."


    "I honestly have no idea." I admitted defeat. "What magical ce are you all meeting at?"


    "The Colored Rooms, Meridia''s realm." Yasaka revealed with no small amount of amusement in her tone.


    My eyes widened slightly. "Oh wow, that is neat. Yeah, I don''t think most of you have been there before. Who suggested it?"


    "It was Meridia." Artoria replied. "We spoke through the Kaleidophones that Rin created. She offered the use of her Realm to gather. I believe she also wished to host us all. You are aware of how she''s trying to.....connect more."


    "Yeah, she''s trying in her own way." I smiled again. "She''s not used to having people in her life like this. At most she''s only had allies and subordinates not...family."


    "Indeed, I can understand her sentiments in some small capacity. I recall my time as King where I felt isted and alone upon my throne. I wish not for her to feel that way while we are around. She has been nothing but kind and wonderful to us even with her high status." Artoria agreed with a swift nod.


    "She came immediately when I called her up before." Yasaka added as well. "Poor woman must have been alone for too long."


    "Shall we deploy the tactical Kunou missile at the goddess?"


    "Fire away, captain." Yasaka giggled.


    "You two." Artoria rolled her eyes, but fought the smile tugging at her lips.


    "Is our trip still on or is that pushed back?" I asked Yasaka.


    "It should still be the same time." She waived off my concerns. "We shouldn''t be gone more than a night, and I believe your ----Magic can help if it really dide to that."


    "True, true." I was looking forward to meeting the other Youkai Leader. "Want me to look after Kunou?"


    "If you wouldn''t mind."


    "I will never mind looking after her." I made sure to cut off that thought. "I just didn''t want to disrupt any ns you may have had."


    "Oh, you''re such a sweetie when ites to our Daughter. So careful not to step on any toes." She giggled again.


    "Speaking, how''d that happen?" I jabbed my thumb towards Kunou who still hadn''t noticed me.


    "Oh our adorable Kunou decided that a proper shrine maiden has to know how to shoot a bow. After seeing it on TV of course. Atnta was around, so I asked if she could show our daughter a thing or two with some payment. Atnta has been nothing short of amazing with Kunou."


    "Well the Chaste Huntress does have a soft spot for kids." I watched them for another few moments before turning away.


    "How about I take Kunou with me to see Thorum?" The idea suddenly entered my head.


    Yasaka look thoughtful at the notion. "You''ll have to tell her then."


    I ran a hand through my hair. "Maybe I should hold back on the details? Maybe say something like I''m taking her to another realm?" I offered as an alternative.


    "Feels a little like lying to me." Yasaka pursed her lips. "But I do feel like it''s a little too early to tell her the whole truth."


    "If I may?" Artoria interjected. "I believe something simr happened when I was...adopted by Sir Ector. I was told that my parents were influential and noteworthy individuals, not that my father was King Uther. Merely telling her that it is another realm to keep knowledge of Earth a secret there would not be a poor alternative for the moment."


    "You raise a valid point." Yasaka seemed to soften at the idea. "And Meridia would be able to keep an eye on you to dissuade other parties."


    "Yup, and anything short of that, well, they would have to get through me." I didn''t even attempt to hide my protectiveness.


    "Daddy!" I turned to the side to see my little fox darting towards me.


    I quickly sat up from my seat, holding my arms out, catching the Kunou-shaped missile. "My little fox." I greeted her as I always did, wrapping her up in my arms and spun her around.


    I nced at Yasaka who gave me a nod in confirmation.


    "Momma is gonna go y with your Aunties, you want to go meet your Uncle Thorum with me?" I asked after setting her back down.


    [****]


    Just a few chapters of calmness and a couple interludes before things begin again.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.on.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 274 - 256

    <h4>Chapter 274: Chapter 256</h4>


    "It''s so pretty!" Kunou looked around in awe at the floatingndmasses andthe myriad of colors that nketed the sky. Her eyes practically sparkled as she ran to the edge and looked over, eximing at everything she could see.


    "This is quite something." Yasaka shared a simr expression, if more reserved.


    Artoria looked around too with clear interest.


    "Auntie Meridia lives here?" Kunou asked.


    "Not only does she live here, she created this ce." I rubbed her head. "She''s a Goddess, this is her realm."


    "Oooh." Kunou''s eyes widened.


    Still a little young to understand the significance of that, but that''s fine.


    I''d been here several times before, not just her Realm, but this specific area. I looked at her Throne and had a little mischievous idea.


    "Howrge is this realm?" Artoria asked.


    "Honestly, I have no idea. I''ve never wandered around, but from what Meridia''s said, she has many followers and subordinates living here." I answered her to the best of my ability.


    "Does she know we''re here?" Yasaka questioned.


    "She should." I nodded, eyeing her throne. "She''s more or less aware of every minute detail that happens here. You could even use words like omniscient and omnipotent when ites to her in this ce. To attack a Daedric Lord in their realm is suicide even for others of their kind."


    "I see, so that''s what she meant when she said she was....reduced." Yasaka mumbled.


    Kunou let out a little giggle as I lifted her up. Both Artoria and Yasaka turned to me as I sat her in Meridia''s throne.


    "Is this something I should expect every time youe here?" Meridia''s melodious voice reached my ears as I turned around seeing everyone else appearing.


    I think you should know me well enough by now.


    "Greet your new queen." I gestured towards Kunou


    "Hi!" Kunou waived happily.


    Any faux annoyance Meridia had practically shattered at that. "My new queen, is it?" She huffed cutely.


    "She sits in the throne, thems the rules." I shrugged my shoulders helplessly.


    "As a former King, that is in fact the rule." Artoria chuckled.


    Merdia rolled her eyes, holding back a little smile herself. She walked towards Kunou and raised her hand up, creating a little tiara for her. "If those are the rules, I suppose I shall make it official."


    And Meridia, the most reserved of my girls decided to y along.


    "Mom, look!"


    "I see it, my little fox." Yasaka smiled brightly. "Why don''t youe down now."


    "Mmkay." Kunou hopped off, running over to her mom to show off her new tiara.


    We watched her for a moment before I turned towards Meridia. "Missed you." I quickly wrapped her up.


    "You''re too much." She pouted, sinking into my arms easily. "...I missed you as well."


    She''s always so cute. It made me not want to let her go.


    "Master~" Raikou hurried over.


    "Raikou." I smiled, taking her in as well.


    "Wilhelm."


    "Student."


    Both Sc¨¢thach and Jinn joined, after I had the moment with Meridia.


    I made sure to greet each of them appropriately, giving each a hug and kiss.


    "Are you well, my Student?" Sc¨¢thach was the first to ask.


    "I''m good." I smiled towards her. She wasn''t usually so...gentle with her wording if asking about me. Well, she definitely knew about my meeting with Venna, and I assumed she''s asking about my feelings after the talk. "Really." I assured her. "I got some things off my chest and feel much better."


    "That''s not the only thing~" Jinn giggled.


    "Yeah, yeah." You lewd genie.


    "And I thought you were not as bad as Setanta." Sc¨¢thach snorted, a littleugh escaping from her. "Perhaps you are even worse than my old student. I''m fairly sure even he had notid with his grandmother."


    ".....you''re older than her."


    Sc¨¢thach twitched.


    I would probably pay for thatter, but had I won this round. Besides, I''d love to spar with her again soon.


    "Mou~ Your mother would take care of you if you needed." Raikou pouted cutely. I think she''s just upset that it wasn''t her, not that it was Venna.


    "I know, my Raikou''s always here for me." I pulled her in for another quick hug, which she took the opportunity to push my head between her breasts like she tended to do. I had to pull myself away from her clutches, lest I never leave between her bosom.


    "Shall I take Kunou and head out?" I finally offered.


    "I wondered why you hade." Meridia stated. "....not that you are unwee..."


    I wanted to tease her some more, she''s makes it too easy. "I was just stopping by because I wanted to see you all, if only briefly." I smiled brightly at them. "I know you all are going to have your own girl''s time, I didn''t want to intrude. I''m actually going to take Kunou to see Thorum."


    "I haven''t seen Thorum since he came and asked about his Aura." Jinn floated next to me, looking reminiscent. "Check up on that for me, please?"


    "Of course, I was going to even without you asking." I wanted to see if anything changed about that as it was a fairly interesting deviation.


    "I should warn you." Meridia spoke up. "Akatosh and by extension the one you know as Talos are knowledgeable of your existence and have been watching you. We spoke briefly and they bare no ill will, but you should be aware."


    "That''s....concerning."


    "They are reasonablepared to the....others." She crossed her arms. "Of which, you will not consort with." She made sure to add. "I care not for Akatosh and his extensions, you are already friendly with one of his children."


    So protective.


    "Why would I care about the others when I have you."


    "O-of course." Meridia said proudly.


    "My, he sure knows the right things to say, doesn''t he?" Sc¨¢thach chuckled at us.


    "Yes, it feels strange to be the spectator when it happens." Artoria walked up next to her, Yasaka and Kunou in tow. "Is this how he managed to sessful woo us all together?"


    "It looks oddly simr." Sc¨¢thach raised an eyebrow when I caught her gaze.


    "Oh wow, look at the time." It seemed like now was a good time to skedaddle.


    "So soon, and I thought this conversation would be of particr interest to you, my student." Sc¨¢thach snorted out a chuckle.


    "ces to be, people to see." I ignored her little jabs.


    "Yes, I''m sure." She stepped up, cing a quick kiss on my cheek. "Keep yourself well, my student." She said with a surprisingly gentle look on her face.


    "We''ll talkter." I gave her a genuine smile, sweeping my gaze around the area. It was meant for all of them as I knew there was important things we did need to talk about at some point. "But have fun."


    It''s rare for all of them to get together without some sort of external issueing up.


    "Kunou, sweetie." Yasaka ced a hand on her daughter''s head. "Thank your Auntie for the tiara."


    Kunou perked up, ran straight to Meridia and her a big hug. The goddess looked stunned at the sudden attack, almost frozen as she didn''t know how to react. "Thank you, auntie."


    Meridia hesitantly raised her hand, lightly cing it on the little fox''s head. "....You''re wee, child." She said ever so softly.


    "Kunou sweetie." Yasaka knelt down as Kunou came back. "Remember what we talked about. You have to listen to your Daddy, it''s very important."


    "I know, mamma." Kunou nodded.


    "And" Yasaka booped her nose. "You know to keep where you came from a secret, right? You''re a big girl so we''re trusting you with this."


    "Uh huh!"


    "Don''t wander off, don''t talk to strangers. Don''t take anything unless your Daddy says it''s okay." Yasaka added, making sure Kunou listened intently to each one.


    "I''ll be good, I promise."


    "I know, you''re a good girl." Yasaka smiled brightly, pulling Kunou in for a kiss on the forehead. "So...have fun." She finished.


    "I will be watching to make sure nothing untold happens." Meridia spoke up, giving the little fox a very protective look.


    Looked like someone had be attached themselves.


    "Thank you." Yasaka replied with no small amount of genuine thankfulness in her voice.


    "Alright, I''ve bothered you all enough." I reached out and took Kunou''s hand. "I''ll let you get on with it." With a flick of my hand, a portal opened up to the house.


    "Bye!" Kunou waived as we stepped through.


    [****]


    "Daddy, where are we?" Kunou asked, looking around and saw the mountains in the distance.


    "This is a realm called Skyrim." I answered. "It''s where your uncle Thorum lives. There are several different races here, but Skyrim is mostly made up of Nords."


    I was being....ambiguous with the information as Yasaka and I agreed on. So far, Kunou more or less thought this ce was like one of the Norse''s Nine Realms, outside of Earth but still attached. I hate that we couldn''t be entirely truthful, but she''s still to young to tell everything.


    "It''s cold." Her eyes perked up. "And I hear howling."


    Holding her hand, I cast a simple warming spell I picked up on my first trip here. She visibly rxed, but still looked a little...tense. Not something I could fault her for, she''s not used to being away from Kyoto and especially in an unknown ce without her mom.


    "Don''t worry, little fox." I squeezed her hand, giving her a tender smile. "Your Daddy''s strong, nothings going to hurt you." With my free hand, I took out my hat and a certain Rabbit jumped out. "Do you want to hold Sir Wiggles?"


    "Yes!" Kunou immediately let go, holding her arms out. My Familiar jumping right into them with a practiced ease.


    That would calm her down. Not to mention Sir Wiggles was rtively strong by himself.


    It was a brisk walk towards Whiterun, my house only being about a thirty minute walk outside the walls. It didn''t take too long before we started seeing the farnd and the city wallsing into view.


    It''s been a few weeks since I''d been back, but it feels much longer.


    And the people here were a hardy bunch, they''d bounced back rtively quickly. The ashennd was already plowed and cleaned, looking ready to start farming again. However, I doubted they were keen on nting again with the Dragons still threatening them. Foodstuffs were probably needing to be rationed and preserved as much as possible for when everything was finally over.


    I should check up on that since I could easily essrge quantities of grains and other foodstuffs and bring them over.


    The Guards seemed to stiffen as we approached. There weren''t many peopleing or going at the moment, but it felt different than them just trying to appear professional.


    "Red Dragon Emperor!?" One of them called out.


    [Yesssssssssss!] Ddraig practically shouted in my soul. [I forgot about this, I love it here!]


    I did too.


    "Oh wow, those are some familiar faces." I noticed a trio of scars on the chin of one of them, and vaguely recalled that Guard as one that fought that first dragon along with Thorum. "How you guys been?" I assumed the other was a veteran of that particr conflict.


    They bothughed, dropping their guard adopting a more easy going expression. "Tis a bright day when one of our heroes returns." The one with the scars pped his breast te in greeting.


    "You''re going to make me blush." I shared a chuckle. "Is Thorum and the Companions around?"


    "Aye, they be at the Jorrvaskr." He replied, ncing down at Kunou. "And who is this little miss?"


    Kunou, cutely, sorta hid behind me from their gazes. "This is my beautiful daughter ¨C Kunou." I rubbed her head. She was currently hiding her Fox Features, appearing nothing more than a human girl albeit in strange clothing by their standards. "Kunou, say hi to the nice guards." I ushered her.


    I didn''t want to force her or anything like that, but it''s clear she''s shy around people she doesn''t know. I guess my girls were exceptions since they were introduced as extensions of her family.


    "....hello." She said quietly.


    The two guards justughed, not pressing the issue. "Well met, young one." The one with the scars smiled warmly. "Reminds me of my niece, shy little thing she is."


    "Just wait until she starts running around causing trouble." I smiled. "We''ve had to deal with burning buildings once already."


    "Daddy!" Kunou puffed up with a little squeak, a hint of embarrassment on her face.


    ".....just like my niece."


    I shared a look with the guard, cing a hand on his shoulder. "Wouldn''t trade them for the world."


    "Aye, it just adds to their charm." He chuckled again. "I will pass word around, if any of mine see her, we shall make sure no one does anything untold."


    "I appreciate it." I nodded in thanks, before taking out a handful of septims. "Drinks on me tonight."


    "I''ll ept with thanks!" He didn''t act reserved in the slightest.


    Perks of being well liked, people looked after you and yours.


    "Anything interesting happen in my absence?" I asked.


    "If you''re talking about dragons, nay. Whiterun hasn''t suffered any losses since you have left. However, I''ve heard more stories of the Dragonborn ying the foul beasts. I''m sure he can provide you with the full tales." The Guard exined.


    "Alright, I''ll head over there. Thanks for your help." I said my goodbyes, earning a nod from them as Kunou followed me through the gate.


    Kunou absentmindedly strokes Sir Wiggle''s fur as she took in the sights once more. The scenery was perhaps foreign, but also reminiscent of certain things around Kyoto. While Kyoto happily took in modern conventions, it still paid a healthy homage to the olden ways. cksmiths hammering away were not an umon sight, the hawking of goods and the like, were also something she would be familiar with.


    Even some strange creatures walking by wouldn''t make her freak out beyond an interest in the unknown. Her eyes did sparkle a little when an Khajiit walked by, as if she was holding herself back from running up to him.


    I was a little surprised considering that the people here were pretty racists towards the feline race. I suppose it''s a matter of preservation when dragons are breathing down their necks. Every healthy body to hold a weapon was weed in emergencies.


    "Is that the one, daddy?" Kunou pointed towards the Jorrvaskr. "The boat building you said."


    "That''s right." I snickered, remembering how I described it. "Come on, let''s go see Daddy''s friend." Walking up the small step, I pushed open the sturdy wooden doors.


    There was a brief silence as the handful of people inside stopped what they were doing to start the us two neers.


    "Wilhelm!" A shout erupted, and a chair ground against the floor as it was pushed away. There was only a second to blink before a bulky pair of arms wrapped around me.


    "Thorum, it''s good to see you again." I of course hugged him back.


    "My friend, it''s been far too long!" He finally let go, hands sping on my shoulders, giving me an up and down look. "Every time youe back, there''s something different. I can''t quite put my finger on it, but you my friend are giving me another strange feeling."


    "Yeah,a lot has happen since west met." I couldn''t help but have my lips twitch upwards as he adopted that same big goofy smile. "But most importantly." I gestured towards Kunou who was still a little sheepish. "I want you to meet my daughter."


    "Y-your daughter?" His eyes practically bugged out of his head as he looked at my little fox.


    I told him before, but I guess seeing and hearing were two different things. Especially since she''s almost eleven years old.


    "Hi, I''m Kunou." She sorta still hid behind me, but was a little more open than with the guards. I had called him Uncle Thorum, I guessed that made her less defensive.


    Thorum snapped back immediately and dropped to his knee. "Hello, little one. I''m Thorum." He held out his hand in greeting.


    Kunou hesitantly grabbed it to shake.


    "You''re daddy''s friend?" She asked quietly.


    "He''s like a brother to me." I added for her.


    Thorum''s eyes softened considerably. "Yes. It''s exactly as he says." That goofy smile of his shined right down on my daughter. "Your father is like a brother to me."


    And hearing him say that made me feel extremely warm. I guess I must have missed him more than I realized, he was my first true friend after all.


    "Come,e." Thorum stood back up, gesturing towards the table. "I would be a poor host if I did not offer seats and refreshments."


    "No alcohol for Kunou." I deadpanned, making the nord crack augh.


    "My friend, do you think we offer things to children this young?"


    "Yes." I replied without missing a beat.


    "Aye, my da gave me my first ale after I sessfully hunted my first game when I was around thess''s age." Thorum happily admitted. "How about a sweet roll for her then?"


    "A sweet roll!?" Kunou perked up, sitting in a seat next to me. "Daddy can I?"


    "Of course. Be sure to thank him."


    "Thank you, uncle Thorum!" Kunou pped.


    "Aye, think nothing of itss. If you call me Uncle, I believe it is my duty to spoil." Thorum walked back behind the counter, grabbing a couple bottles of ale and a sweet roll on a te before walking back and setting them down infront of us.


    Kunou seemed to ignore the other people at the table in favor to taking a big bite out of the obscenelyrge pastry.


    Oh well, that''d keep her upied for now. Sir Wiggles sat ever vignt ontop of her head.


    "Serana, Farkas, A." I greeted each of the other people I was sharing a table with.


    "Wilhelm." Farkas raised his own bottle of ale. "It''s good to see you again. Withpany too." He smiled down towards Kunou.


    "Aye, Milk Drinker, it''s good to have youe visit." A didn''t hold back as well. "With a littless to call your own. If you don''t mind me askin...."


    "Not by blood." I quickly rified, otherwise that''d be weird. "But by everything else that matters." I put one arm around the little fox for a small hug. "She''s the one who adopted me, then I met her mother and well.....things just went from there."


    "Is she...like you?" Serana questioned. "And It''s nice to see you again. I thank you for your advice you gave mest time."


    "Advice?" I tilted my head until realization dawned on me as I slowly turned towards my friend. "Oh Thorum~"


    The Dragonborn turned an impressive shade of red.


    "Hah, you owe me twenty septims!" A punched Farkas on the shoulder. "He''s blushing like a wee maiden."


    "Dang it Thorum." Farkas grumbled mming the money on the table. "I thought you''d get over this weeks ago. The mighty dragonborn, blushing cause he got ady."


    Thorum covered his face with an embarrassed chuckle. "Aye, it is as you think, my friend. I was speaking to Serana one evening ¨C "


    "He was dancing around the subject, so I pulled him into a kiss." Serana finished.


    A snorted augh, Farkas was taking a drink of ale and almost spat it out as he followed suit.


    "Tis aedy still spoken in these halls. We all turn around to see the vampire sucking something out of the dragonborn, just not his blood." A lightly pushed on Thorum''s shoulder. "Our exalted hero here couldn''t even breath afterwards."


    Serana just looked a bit smug at the words.


    "How bold, I approve!" I shot Thorum a thumbs up.


    Seeing Thorum duck his head again just made it all the better.


    "But to answer your other question..." I thought about how I should answer and what I should reveal. I''m not as...reserved as I was before. I felt more confidant in being open. I didn''t want to just shout everything right now, and I would tell Thorum my circumstances in private, however, I didn''t mind revealing this much and I wasn''t ashamed of it. "She''s not like me." I emphasized. "But she''s different."


    I looked around the room and there were only familiar faces, some took a little interest in our conversation and keep an ear up, but otherwise, none I would hide from.


    "Kunou, why don''t you show your Uncle how much you take after your mom?"


    "I can?" Kunou''s eyes lit up. I believed she hated hiding under an illusion.


    "Aye, no one here will raise any fuss at anything." Thorum could read inbetween the lines and spoke up.


    The illusion tore away from my little fox, revealing her cut ears and her fluffy tails that waived behind her.


    "Adorable." Farkas was the first to speak up. The big bad burly Nord, barely wearing a shirt with arge war hammer at the side, was gushing over how cute Kunou was.


    "You big fool." A snorted. "But she is cute."


    "Oh..." Seranamented, staring intently. "I''ve never seen something like that before."


    "As you can probably guess, her people aren''t from around here." I replied.


    "Aye, and no words will leave this room." Thorum gestured towards a guy in the corner who moved to hatch the door shut. "A private reunion between friends and family."


    "She''s a Youkai." I said simply. "Specifically known as a Nine-Tailed Fox. Her mother is much the same."


    I knew the terms didn''t mean anything to them, but at this point, they were friends and I felt fine speaking about this much.


    Funnily enough, once Kunou got used to people, she preened under their attention. She liked that everyone was looking at her as she happily nibbled on that massive sweet roll.....of which some was on her face.


    I took out a napkin to wipe at the corners of her lips.


    "Daddy!" She huffed. "I''m not a baby."


    "Uh huh, then why are you wearing more of it than you ate?" I quirked an eyebrow as she fidgeted rather cutely. "If you''re not going to keep yourself clean, then maybe I should eat it instead~"


    She looked at me then took a big bite, her cheeks bulging with the sweet.


    "You little fox." It tweaked her nose, before putting a few more napkins infront of her. "Don''t make a mess."


    "Mmmffmfmm." She nodded.


    "It''s an odd sight, yet I can''t seem to find fault." Thorum reached for a nearby drink he had been sporting. "It reminds me of my Da."


    "I wouldn''t have taken him as the sort before this, but it looks natural." A seemed to agree.


    "Is it really that strange to see me being a parent?" I asked.


    "Aye."


    "Yes."


    "Well....."


    "I''m hurt." I said dryly. "But on a serious note, what''s been going on with you lot? I''ve been away for a decent while, anything of note? The Guards at the gate said that Whiterun''s been rtively peaceful."


    "There haven''t been any major Dragon attacks on the city." Thorum began to exin, as the others sat back, listening. "That''s not to say everywhere has been peaceful. There had been a few asions where the Jarl asked for me to go to our neighbors because they had a dragon or two causing them problems."


    "Dealt with them, I presume?"


    "Aye, for the most part." Thorum nodded with a smile. "However, there was one that managed to match me and leave before a victory was decided."


    "You fought dragons!?" Kunou looked up in shock, probably only hearing that part of the conversation.


    "That I did, littless." Thorum chuckled. "In ournds, I''m what''s known as a Dragonborn, I have a soul of a dragon that lets me take in the souls of dragons I defeat."


    "Daddy, are you a dragonborn too?" She tugged on my sleeve.


    "Your daddy isn''t a dragonborn." I yfully pinched her cheeks. "Thorum''s just a special case."


    "As Thorum said we apanied him on a few outings, mostly dealing with some rising bandit issues while he focused on hunting the dragons." A added in, a mild look of self annoyance. I suppose she''s not all too pleased she couldn''t contribute to that kind of fight.


    "How many dragons you eat so far?" I questioned my friend.


    "It should be almost two dozen now."


    I let out a whistle, giving him a once over. "re your Aura for me?" I asked.


    Thorum didn''t question it, that strange variation of aura that looked like a draconic armor enveloped him. I could feel his increased strength from thest time we met. "How do I match up now, my friend?" Thorum looked very proud.


    "You want my honest response?"


    "Aye, I''ll take no offense."


    "You''re still far below me. You''re not the only one who got stronger." I put a protective hand over Kunou as I let my presence seep out, my Divinity intertwined with my Magical Energy filled the room.


    Thorum''s eyes widened, probably feeling it more intensely than the others due to his nature of having a divine origin himself.


    "My friend!" To his credit, he didn''t get upset, more excited than anything else. "We will have to spar! I can''t wait to see what you''re capable of now."


    "I''d love to." I reeled it all back in.


    "No wonder you defeated my father." Serana said quietly, she was holding her arms and shivered slightly.


    "Mighty impressive." Farkas nodded.


    "Could make a woman jealous." A grumbled, an obvious insinuation there.


    Maybe I should talk to Thorum, see if he''s capable of unlocking another''s Aura? It''s a very intimate experience, which was why I had no problem doing it on Thorum. But I don''t really feelfortable doing it on them. But they''re his shield brothers and sisters, a brotherhood formed throughbat. He had that kind of bond with them, so he probably wouldn''t mind.


    I just didn''t want to volunteer him.


    "So no major dragon attacks. How''s the overall situation?" I decided to veer in this direction.


    "It''s.....manageable." Thorum admitted. "I have spoken with the Jarl a few time and he has kept me abreast with the City."


    A let out a snort, putting her drink down a little hard. "I respect the Jarl as a warrior and leader, but the only reason he keeps you updated is to keep you feeling sympathetic and close to him."


    "Haaah." Thorum let out a long breath. "I know, A. But even still, Whiterun is my home, a man has to protect his home."


    "What''s the worse of it?"


    "Food." Farkas crossed his arms. "It''s not that we don''t have enough right now, but a lot of farms had been hit. It''s almost time for the next harvest and we''re going to be looking at one of the worst in years, and there are going to be a lot of hungry mouths."


    "Y-you can have this back." Kunou interrupted, pushing the remaining portion of her snack ¨C over half of it ¨C on the te and towards them.


    There was a moment of pause were everyone looked at her and realized what she was trying to say.


    "Oh sweetie." I pulled her in for a hug.


    "You have a good daughter." Farkas was oddly gentle in his expression.


    "I can''t take the credit. Yasaka ¨C her mother ¨C is amazing at what she does." Kunou is just the sweetest girl alive. "Don''t worry, my little fox, daddy''s going to help out." I reassured her, pushing it back into her reach.


    "Really?"


    "Really, really." I booped her nose.


    Looking back up at the others, I switched back to what I was going on about. "So, food issues? I can help with that. My home isn''t under such duress and I''m sure I can manage to bring a significant amount of goods here to alleviate some pressure."


    "My friend, you don''t know how much that would help." Thorum showed that big goofy smile again.


    "We can work out the detailster, let me just get a mental list going. What else do you all need? Potions, crafting materials, weapons?"


    "All of the above." A didn''t hold back. "Bandits are hitting supply routes, dragons are razing farms, and the College is overworked trying topensate. I never though I''d say this, but you lot up there.....Talos bless you."


    "Fair warning, if I bring inrge supplies of weapons, they may be different than what you all are used to." I rified.


    "Arrows are the most important." Farkas interjected. "A good arrow isn''t much different anywhere else."


    "Fair." I nodded. "Spears?"


    "Wouldn''t hurt. mon folk have had to take up arms an embarrassing amount of time to ward off not just the rampaging beasts that''re getting spooked cause of the flying bastards. A said it, too many bandits right now thinkin it''s the perfect time to make some coin." The Companion grumbled, downing his ale. "We''d be on a job right now, but we just got back afterpleting seven in a row. We had to rest a couple days otherwise we''d fall over."


    "Would manpower help?" I asked.


    "Depends on the kind." He shrugged.


    "I got a few....friends who can swing around Thorum''s weight ss at minimum." I took a sip of my ale, moderating myself since I was watching over Kunou. Speaking of, she seemed to quickly revert back to her happy pastry eating self.


    "Aye, that''d help something fierce." Farkas looked surprised, but quickly regained hisposure. "I haven''t heard of any skilled warriors of mages like that, theye from.....your home?" He emphasized a bit.


    "They do, but they aren''t much different than everyone here." I nodded.


    "Your friends will be my friends." Thorum didn''t seem to care in the slightest. That''s just the kind of guy he was. "Can they....handle a dragon if one appears?"


    "Oh Thorum, they''d fight each other to see who gets to kill it."


    "Hah!" A bellowed out augh. "This is the best news I''ve heard in awhile. Might let me catch up on some fu¡ª" She caught herself, ncing at Kunou. "Some sleep."


    Achilles, Kairi ¨C probably Mordred, and Sasaki all expressed an interest ining. Sc¨¢thach might want to wander around a bit and kill some dragons if they appeared. That would be a significant force, and Achilles might even convince Atnta toe.


    With my girls protecting Kyoto with Yasaka, and the others wandering around Skyrim. That should be able to handle everything for awhile if it all pans out.


    "There might be a chance for this dragon menace to disappear then." Seranamented.


    "I''ll drink to that." A reached for another bottle.


    "Well, you guys are getting along well." I grinned. "Thought it''d be like fire and ice."


    They all exchanged silent looks before Thorum spoke up. "I promised before I did not speak a word."


    "We believe you, Thorum. No one in the Companions thinks you a liar." Farkas reassured before turning back to me.


    "I already pretty much knew and Serana kinda confirmed it previously." I shrugged. "But if you''re worried ¨C " I gestured to between myself and Kunou. "Be a bit hypocritical of me to say anything at this point."


    "Aye, that''s a fair point." Farkas admitted before letting out a sigh. "It''s not a big secret any longer. The Companions all know. Thorum convinced us to at least tell our brothers and sisters the truth. A and I are werewolves."


    "You''re a werewolf?" Kunou perked up again.


    "That''s right." A smiled. "We turn ¨C"


    "That means you can turn fluffy!?"


    "..." A opened her mouth but no words came out.


    "That''s exactly what it means." Farkas replied, not missing a beat. The femalepanion swatted at his shoulder with a huff.


    "I can turn fluffy too!" Kunou said proudly.


    They looked at her then looked at me.


    "She can turn into a fox." I corrected. "Yasaka can do the same, and step on this building. However, Kunou''s about the same size as the rabbit on her head."


    "I''m gonna get bigger." She pouted, digging back into her treat.


    "Fluffyness aside ¨C" Serana began to speak.


    "I''ll show you fluffy." A huffed again.


    "¡ªI have a....personal matter I, we, wish to discuss with you, Wilhelm." She finished.


    "Aye, my Friend." Thorum scratched his head. "I feel bad asking about this when you''re already going to be so helpful."


    "Nope, none of that." I cut him right off. "You ask me for help and you don''t hold back. Do you think I called you a brother for the sake of it?" I narrowed my eyes at the Dragonborn. He was dangerously close to getting smacked upside the head.


    Serana smiled warmly at our little antics. "It''s about my mother." She began to exin. "I think I found out where she is, and Thorum''s been helping me...seek her out."


    "It''s not something I''m good with." Thorum said with a bit of mncholy in his tone. "It''s more a magical dilemma I think. And I couldn''t ask the College, they''re already working hard for the good of Skyrim."


    "Idiot." I snorted. "You could havee knocking." I couldn''t help but cross my arms and re at him. "I bet you weren''t even going to say anything if I didn''t show up?"


    He ducked his head sheepishly.


    "Serana, next time he does something like this, I give you permission to smack him." I looked towards the vampire.


    "Will do." She grinned, fangs showing. "We do appreciate it ¨C I am thankful, as well. My mother....I thought she was gone."


    And that hit right in the feels. Gods know what I would do if it was my mom missing.


    "Alright, so tell me what''s happening." I beckoned her to continue.


    "My mother disappear to hide from my....father." Serana rified. "Jinn was nice enough to give me a few journals so I could start searching. I found a couple leads and I believe I know where she is."


    "Oh?"


    "Have you ever heard of the Soul Cairn?"


    "I can''t say that I have" Sounded interesting though.


    "The Soul Cairn is a.....ne of Oblivion, inhabited purely by remnant souls and undead monsters." She stated. "From what the notes I''ve gathered, it''s a ce ruled over by some entities know as the ''Ideal Masters''."


    "Are they like Daedric Lords?" This was sounding more dangerous as she went on.


    "No but.....it seems like all ck Soul stones are deposited into that realm when used."


    "Oh." I rubbed my chin. ck Soul stones were the ones that can take in sapient souls like humans. "I see how that''s particrly disgusting." Still sounded like a Daedric Lord.


    "There''s also some rumors I''ve discovered after digging up information. Some sources speak that all souls that pass through soul stones end up in the hands of the Ideal Masters."


    Now that made me annoyed.


    I used Soul Stones. The souls were supposed to reenter the normal flow of the world, not go to some entity outside of Nirn.


    "And any mentioning on what the souls are used for?" Which was the most concerning part.


    "None, I''m afraid." She shook her head, the others still listening intently.


    "Not to sound callous, but why haven''t you gone yet?" There must have been an important reason beyond how busy they were.


    "Only undead and souls can pass through into the Soul Cairn." She made sure to reiterate.


    "Oooh." I understood now. "Thorum couldn''t go with you normally." I eyed him up and down.


    "Yes, and that''s not even taking into ount the difficulty in going there itself. I believe my mother has a ritual site at the Castle somewhere hidden, I think I may be able to use the remnants of that and I think I know the materials needed. It''s going to take ¨C"


    "I can take you both there." I interrupted.


    "Pardon?"


    "I can take you there easily if you have the coordinates or a pathway that''s able to open there." I rified.


    Serana opened her mouth, closing it again, seemingly confused. "Could you....borate?"


    "Did Thorum not tell you how Meridia and I first met?" I couldn''t help but smile.


    "I told the broad matters." He confessed.


    "So, I cleared one of her temples, and she ''appears'' to greet me. Except, it''s just a floating ball of light. My Curiosity got the better of me, so I followed the....link it had with her, and tore a hole open to the Colored Rooms."


    Serana stared at me before slowly bring up her palm to meet her face. "You really are Thorum''s friend."


    "I''ll take that as apliment."


    "Me as well." Thorum smiled.


    "It wasn''t" She rified. "However, it does remove one significant hurdle at least. The second matter is making sure Thorum and you can even go there."


    "That shouldn''t be an issue." I waived this one off too. "Did you forget what his Aura is?"


    She blinked at that, looking at him again. "And that will protect him?"


    "The Light of his soul surrounding him forming a protective barrier." I pointed out, flicking apression of air at the Dragonborn, letting his Aura re up. "It should, based on the admittedly limited amount of knowledge I have. I''ll obviously need to test it before we just jump right in, but I''m fairly positive."


    "Oh...." She blinked once more. "That means, we can go at any time!?"


    "This is wonderful!" Thorum eximed.


    "Well, settle down." I hated to rain on their parade. "Yeah, we can do it at anytime. But to be more specific, I can''t do it for a little while. I have some things I need to take care of, I was just visiting for the day with Kunou."


    "Oh." Serana slumped down slightly. "It''s alright, I simply got ahead of myself. Yes, I can wait longer, It''s already been centuries, a few more months wouldn''t cause a problem."


    "Sheesh, make me feel bad." I ran a hand through my hair. "It shouldn''t be that long, give me like a week and I can make time." As important as I knew this was for them, it wasn''t a pressing matter on the surface. I had some responsibilities and ns first.


    "Even still, this is something we should celebrate for!" Thorum eximed.


    Farkas shrugged. "I''m up for a party."


    "I wouldn''t mind unwinding a bit." A agreed. "Lets see who''s around."


    "Aye." Thorum smiled, looking at Serana who mimicked the same expression. They caught each other''s gaze, holding it for a moment before he looked at Kunou who was quietly enjoying herself. "How about I regal thess with stories on how we met and fought a dragon together!"


    "Oooh!" Kunou perked up again, eyes sparkling. "Daddy you fought a dragon too?"


    "He sure did." Thorum walked over, pping my shoulder, a noticeable amount of pride on his face. "If it weren''t for him, well, I don''t think I''d be here right now. Your father is a hero, there isn''t a person in Whiterun who would say otherwise!"


    Kunou''s eyes sparkled as she looked at me with so much excitement.


    Dammit Thorum, why do you have to be such a good friend?


    "Fine, fine." I think I sessfully held off the blush that threatened to show at his praise. "Keep it civil, Kunou''s not even eleven." I made sure to remind him.


    "No worries, I spend many a night telling stories for the children when theye running up!" Thorum took a new seat, next to the eagerly anticipating fox. "Now, our tale starts when your father and I were brothers in binds."


    Everyone else started moving with a purpose, shouting and calling for others while drinks were handed out.


    And Kunou, well, she was smiling so brightly, I just sat back and enjoyed the moment.


    ****


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 275: Interlude 15

    <h4>Chapter 275: Interlude 15</h4>


    Artoria Pendragon POV


    After Wilhelm left, Meridia began waiving her arms around, and the area around us shifted. It was a vivid reminder that she was not a mortal in any stretch of the imagination. This realm of hers, it bent to her will with but a gesture.


    The changes made the area a little more pleasant, the colors changed to match the new d¨¦cor that saturated this small part of her home.


    Between us was arge round table for us to sit at.


    We all imed seats without any noise, a quaint silence fell between everyone. I looked towards Meridia and noticed she had not elevated herself above us. This unfathomably powerful Goddess, and she faced us as equals.


    I am unable to recall a single moment when I felt uneasy around her as well that didn''te from my own nervousness. From the moment I met her, she had made the effort to.....extend her hand. Admittedly, we had not interacted very muchpared to the others, but there was no sense of distance either. There was no awkwardness associated with her whenever she appeared. If I ever desired toe here, if I simply called her and expressed my desire, I feltpletely at ease to do so.


    She was also the first of Wilhelm''s other women that I had met, and mayhaps I felt a sort of bond due to that. At the time Sc¨¢thach had still been...gone and it was just Meridia and I that took Wilhelm''s full attention.


    Even as more women joined, I had not felt stifling or that it was satisfactory. Nor had I felt as if I was being pushed to the side. When I desired it, Wilhelm was there, his arms open for me. His smile weed me home and my heart fluttered as he made sure to show how much he desired me every day.


    It was a strange dynamic we had developed, but both of us had things that took us far apart. My duties to Rin were something I could notpromise on. I was bound by not just honor, but duty as her Servant to be at her side in most circumstances. And Wilhelm, he respected that and never tried to push that boundary of mine.


    No, it was more than that. He was always helpful whenever I needed it. With Rin, I had not known how to help her with her own issues, and Wilhelm had lent his aid in a way I could not. She had opened up much since meeting him....we both had.


    Rin was now a confident woman with a drive to improve not just out of a misced desire to prove herself, but to do so because of genuine determination brought about through her own will. I would admit that there were still problems, but they were much better since the time I was summoned.


    Wilhelm and I had gone days without seeing one another, however, the feelings never diminished. If anything, I can say with certainty that they grew in the time we have spent apart. Even now, I desired his touch, his warm gaze when he looked upon me, and those honeyed words of his that he used to tease me.


    As strange as it was to say, I felt that our rtionship was near ideal.


    "This is my first time doing something like this, are we supposed to chat about all the naughty stuff we''ve done with our shared man?" Yasaka was the first to speak up, breaking the silence. "Or are we here to render judgment?"


    "Immediate Execution." Sc¨¢thach replied without a second thought, making me unconsciously smile.


    "Atleast wait until I get my turn~" The Nine Tailed Fox giggled.


    "Ooh, let''s talk about the naughty stuff!" Jinn happily stated.


    "I think we all know the naughty things you''ve been up to." Yasaka covered her mouth as sheughed.


    ".....It is not exactly a secret you keep." Meridia said quietly, there was a faint redness on her cheeks.


    "Kyah~" Jinn seemed to shift between embarrassment and excitement. "I can''t help it."


    "Have you tried removing yourmp from your rear?" The Goddess said dryly.


    "Want me to lend it to you?" Jinn offered coyly, however, I believed she was entirely sincere.


    It was amusing to see the Goddess flush with embarrassment. "....to do such a thing with my rear how unsightly." She couldn''t even look at Jinn at that point, the powerful Goddess was too ovee with shyness.


    "Did Master enjoy it?" Raikou asked with a clear interest.


    "Most definitely~" Jinn didn''t hide her proud tone. "You should know, how many times has he squeezed that big butt of yours?"


    "Big?" Raikou seemed to look at her own backside.


    "It''s apliment, sweetie." Yasaka reassured her. "Trust me, Wilhelm likes it that way."


    "Oh." Wilhelm''s Servant blinked, perking into a faint smile. "He does have wandering hands."


    "My student also likes to grab at my rear." Sc¨¢thach looked thoughtful. "Perhaps I shall prepare myself in that way as well. It''s been a very long time since I''ve used that ce, but I can''t deny that there''s a certain appeal to it."


    "I-is it really that pleasant?" I asked towards Jinn, unable to hide the heat rising on my face. "He.....likes to grab my behind too and often."


    Jinn looked at me with a mischievous smile. "I can help you pick out some things to....test it yourself before trying it."


    "Hmph, most of the time his lecherous paws go for my legs." Meridia huffed. "Am I the only one?"


    Sc¨¢thach let out augh. "No, my student certainly likes to sneak a grasp at my thighs when he has the chance."


    "Too be fair." Yasaka added. "I would do the same in his situation. You didn''t....neglect that little bit when you created this body of yours~"


    Meridia blinked and turned a darker shade of red at her insinuation.


    I did not speak up, but I too thought that she had very appealing legs. I could understand why Wilhelm acted the way he did towards them.


    "Mmm, Master likes to y with my legs too." Raikou smiled brightly. "But I think he enjoys it more when I pull him into my chest. He always uses it as an opportunity to grab at them."


    I nced down at my own chest and felt a hint of....envy.


    I was not unaware that I was the....smallest of Wilhelm''s interests.


    "He mostly can''t keep his hands off my Tails." Yasaka flicked one of her furry appendages for added effect. "I swear, I sometimes think he wouldn''t even be interested if I wasn''t fluffy as he puts it."


    "Oh sister, you know that''s a lie." Jinn, sitting right next to her, yfully swatted at her shoulder.


    "Hmm, maybe I''m just upset he hasn''t pulled my Kimono down yet." Yasaka huffed. "A woman has needs."


    "Are you upset that he slept with this.....Venna?" I asked, still a little unsure about that whole rtionship.


    Yasaka looked contemtive. "He spoke to me briefly, and I''ll repeat the same thing I said to him, I didn''t expect a turn or whatever." She waived her hand dismissively. "I''m justining toin. I haven''t had a man in years and now I have one who makes me feel like this, a man who my daughter calls ''daddy'' and I just want him to love me all night."


    "Our man can be an idiot." Sc¨¢thach never shied away from her blunt words. "If you desire him, be more direct. Rips his clothes off and drag him to your bed."


    "Oh no." Yasaka waived her off. "I have something nned. He agreed to our little date during the uing festival ¨C which I was nning on extending an official invitation to you all ¨C and I wanted that to be our first time." The Nine Tailed Fox cupped her cheek with a fantasizing look on her face. "As much as I wanted to jump into bed, I can''t help but want this to be romantic."


    "Oh, that''s sweet." Raikou smiled warmly.


    "Indeed, I recall the intense feelings of the first night I shared with him, and I do not believe I will ever forget it." Meridia nodded.


    "I finally told him to fuck me after we spared not too long ago." Sc¨¢thach snorted. "However, there were many asions where he acted cute and tried his best to be gentle and loving towards me during his stay in thend of shadows."


    "I''ve never been with a man before...does it hurt the first time?" I felt the embarrassment in my chest once more. "I have attempted smaller things in anticipation and my own.....fingers." I admitted. "However, I have a vague idea of his...size." I had caught outlines of it through his unders, and I was unsure if it would.....fit.


    It was strange, but I weed that I had people to speak about these thoughts with. I had also spoken to Rin, but the teasing and embarrassment with her were many folds higher. Not to mention, Rin too had never been with a man, so her knowledge was limited. I searched for....information on one of those cell phone devices after Izzy had exined to me how they work, but I only came across what she called ''porn''.


    After the initial scandalization wore off....I realized it was not a proper medium for my questions.


    "So innocent and cute~" Jinn giggled.


    "Oh my, I forgot that you''re still inexperienced with this." Yasaka shared a simr sentiment with a more gentle tone. "I''ll dly help you any way I can. We can sit down and I''ll answer all your questions afterwards."


    "I....thank you, Yasaka." It was hard to meet her gaze. "I did not wish for Wilhelm to be....unsatisfied."


    "I believe any one of us is willing to help." Meridia added. "And these matters do not need to reach our shared paramour."


    "I''ve sat on my fair share of spears over the years, if you need any help, I''m more than willing." Sc¨¢thach said with a rare hint of gentleness.


    It was the genuine support I received from them all that truly made me appreciate this strange rtionship that I had with Wilhelm and by extension, all of them. It was.....nice to have so many people willing to help and support me when asked.


    It felt like a budding family.


    "Should we move onto the main reason we''ve decided to gather." Meridia asked, tapping her fingers against the table.


    "Are we going to speak about Wilhelm''s newest interest?" I questioned.


    "I think that''s a good idea, but I think it''s just a symptom of something we haven''t spoken about as a group." Yasaka responded.


    "It seems like our man can''t keep his hands to himself." Sc¨¢thach smirked. "How many does that make it thus far?"


    "Just us, or the others that are most likely going to join?" Jinn asked.


    "Master has spoken about a few others." Raikou fidgeted with her hands.


    "Mayhaps we start with the most obvious?" I offered. "I do not believe Wilhelm even realizes that Izanami looks at him with such eyes."


    "Your Goddess of Death." Meridia seemed to be thinking out loud. "From what I understand they have been friendly for a long period at this point. And he has even told her about his....origins."


    Sc¨¢thach let out a sigh. "That foolish student of mine. He goes and gathers so many women who he fancies yet can''t even tell that there is another who keeps their silence right infront of him."


    "Master isn''t usually oblivious to that sort of thing." Raikou decided to speak up. "Even when I was....not well, he simply decided to not act on anything. Maybe he''s just worried about ruining their friendship?"


    That''s right, he never made a move on her while she was consumed with her Mad Enhancement.


    "That sounds like something he would do." Jinn nodded.


    "I agree, our man is very sweet." Sc¨¢thach pursed her lips. "However, you forget he can be quite foolish sometimes."


    "Both seem usible, but I think I agree with Sc¨¢thach." Yasaka replied. "Our Wilhelm is still a young man, it''s not surprising that he sometimes fails to see things like this."


    "It''s funny to think that we''re all older than him." Jinnughed, propping her chin up with her hand. "And his others too, he really does love us older gals."


    "Hmph, he just needs real women to take care of him." Sc¨¢thach puffed up her chest. "I doubt any youngss could even handle him at this point."


    "You would know~" Yasaka grinned.


    "I was sore for days afterwards." The Immortal Witch smirked.


    "Me too!" Jinn giggled.


    "You perverted girl, there''s a different reason for that." Yasaka broke out inughter.


    Jinn was never short on details with regards to how she had Wilhelm use her rear for their.....intimacy.


    In explicit detail....


    "And none of us are against him pursuing more women?" Meridia asked, being the most outspoken than I''vdever seen her.


    "What about you?" Yasaka tilt her head. "Are you against it?"


    "No." Meridia said inly. "I gave him permission when we first....got to together. I was aware I could not provide everything he would desire in a partner." She swept her gaze around the room. "Nor have Ie to regret that decision."


    And I believed that was Meridia''s way of saying that she enjoyed our presence.


    "That foolish boy of ours." Sc¨¢thach let out a sigh. "I''ve yet to say it so inly, but this Sc¨¢thach''s heart belongs to him. As long as he keeps the way he is, I take no issue if he wishes to expands his harem."


    There was a moment of silence as everyone looked around, as if waiting for another to go.


    "I don''t mind." Raikou was the next to speak up, a little smile showing through. "Master.....he called out to an Oni like me. At the moment we made our contract, I epted everything that woulde. I will be anything he wishes of me. A mother, a Servant, a Lover, I ept them all happily."


    It was a simple reason, but no less important for herpared to ourselves. I could sympathize with Minamoto-no-Raikou as we both were forced to hide our genders. To be denied certain things due to our status. I couldn''t understand that simplicit desire and how much it meant to her thus I never questioned it.


    "My turn?" Jinn perked up, her genuine enthusiastic attitude always enjoyable to be around. "Hmm." She hummed, looking thoughtful. "I never expected this ¨C obviously. I spent so many years in mymp, with the sole purpose I was created for. When Wilhelm showed me a wider world, I was desperate toe along. I offered to do anything if he brought me. I didn''t know much about him, so I thought he''d have me chained to his bed or spend the majority of my time on my knees."


    "Wilhelm wouldn''t do that." Meridia crossed her arms with a huff before pausing. "...unless you wished for it." She added on quietly. "He can be quite.... perverse."


    "You''re right." Jinn smiled warmly. "All I knew about him was that he was a young man who didn''t hide his looks at my naked body." She giggled to herself. "It was obvious what he was thinking about in the moment. But....that didn''te to pass. Instead, he was so gentle and kind to me, telling me all these things like he was going to take care of me, to make me happy. How could I not fall for him after all that? So if he wants to have more girls, I won''t say anything, nor do I have a negative impression of him doing so. He tells me he wants to make me happy, I want to make him happy too."


    "When you say it like that, it makes me realize how he''s always trying to make us feel loved, to make sure we''re all doing well." Yasaka looked contemtive. "I can''t say I''ve ever properly considered bing a part of a Harem before now, but things just ended up this way. Maybe it was because I was lonely and wanted to feel loved again, but Itched onto the idea when Kunou started calling him ''daddy''."


    "It''s so cute to see them together." Jinn cooed.


    "I know!" Yasaka smiled brightly. "He''s barely over twenty, and look how he took up the role of a father. Just shows how good a parent he''ll continue to be when any of you want to take that step."


    Children?


    It was something I hadn''t yet contemted. We haven''t even...and now Children were something that''s a possibility.....


    "Do you think he''ll want to have more children?" Raikou sounded hesitant.


    "Oh sweetie." Yasaka''s expression softened.


    "Wilhelm has stated he wished for a...rge family." I remembered those words from back then. We were still rtively new to our rtionship, so I did not put much thought into it at the time.


    Raikou perked up at my words. "Master said he would give me anything I wanted....." She said quietly.


    "Oh my, I would love for my Kunou to have some younger siblings, even if they aren''t from me" Yasaka seemed to give her support.


    "I can''t have children." Jinn said with a sad smile. "I got all the parts, but they don''t work." She ran a hand along her stomach. "I wasn''t even intended to have sex, but they even gave me a womb for some reason."


    "Your creators sound more and more ipetent with every new piece of information I learn about them." Meridia crossed her arms.


    "You won''t hear me say anything to the opposite." Jinn chuckled. "Mostly because I can''t." She finished with a sigh.


    "If you want.....I could perhaps take a look?" The Goddess offered.


    Jinn blinked and looked a little sheepish. "It''s not that I don''t'' trust you it''s just.....a scary thought to think about being changed in any way. I don''t think Wilhelm wants me to start pumping out babies anytime soon, so I''m fine waiting for now. At the very least, I think I can be the fun auntie!"


    I could not help but picture how the children between Wilhelm and Jinn would look. Would they have that same blue skin and red hair?


    "Kunou certainly loves when youe over to y."


    "And I love that little fox~"


    "I am in a simr circumstance." Meridia looked surprisingly sad. "I cannot bear him children in a manner he would prefer."


    "You are a Goddess, a powerful one and your domain is life." Sc¨¢thach stated. "Is it beyond your ability to create a child between you both?"


    "I am....different than the deities you are familiar with. Yes, I can blend my essence along with Wilhelm''s to create a new entity, however..."


    "It''s not the same?" Yasaka helpfully finished.


    "Yes." Meridia let out a sigh. I don''t think anyone else has ever seen this side of such a powerful Goddess. "Is it wrong to want to experience all that with him?"


    "Not at all." Yasaka''s expression softened. "While I can''t admit to enjoying every aspect of my pregnancy, it was an experience that willst with me forever. And with everything out there, there has to be some method for you to get what you want." The Youkai leader tried to reassure her.


    "Wilhelm said the same thing." Meridia''s expression gradually shifted. "That silly man promised me that he would find a way for us to have a child together."


    "If my student wants to swell my belly, then he merely has to put in the effort." Sc¨¢thach grinned. "Though it will be a long and arduous road for him. I have already made up my mind to give him my everything, that includes baring his offspring. And....." She bit her lip. "I have had some desire since I was a young girl to be a mother. A son or a daughter, I have no preference on which or how many."


    All eyes then turned to me.


    "I....have not considered children before this point." I looked down at the table. "I am still trying to figure out how to bond with Mordred, I do not believe I will be a good mother when I can not even do this correctly."


    Though it was all hypothetical, as I believed our rtionship had not advanced that far yet.


    "Hmm, I think we''ve went off topic when children came up." I was thankful for Yasaka''s interjection. "We were talking about Wilhelm expanding this harem we''re in? I think we were on you, Artoria. Do you have any problems with this?"


    "I do not disapprove on the surface." I gave it some thought since learning of Venna''s existence. "I was aware of what I was getting into when Wilhelm told me the truth. He had been nothing but forward with his intentions. I admit to being fond of Izanami and would not mind her joining us, but I am skeptical of....Venna."


    "His Grandmother." Sc¨¢thachughed.


    "Yes." My lips thinned. "I am aware that he is a Half-Devil, so I am trying to keep an open mind. They are both adults who can do what they wish, but I''m still hesitant."


    "Is it just Venna or in general?" Jinn asked.


    "I suppose my hesitationys solely on Venna." I confirmed. "I bare no issue as long as Wilhelm continues to act as he has in the past. I do not believe he will, but if he starts bing erratic and acquiring an absurd amount of beautiful women on a whim, then I will be truly upset."


    As long as he cared for all of us properly, I would not speak anything against his other rtionships.


    "He did say he would break things off if you''re ufortable." Yasaka pointed out.


    "Yes." I could not help but smile. "And I am happy that he spoke those words. For now, I will hesitantly ept and form a true opinion after meeting her."


    "I guess that''s all we can do at this point." Yasaka nodded. "I''ve met her before, she isn''t a bad person. She''s very straight forward, and doesn''t mince her words unless she''s ying around."


    "Beyond hisying with his Grandmother." Sc¨¢thach still found it amusing. "He did look happier, and that wasn''t just from the sex."


    "I can verify that. I remember the look he had on his face after spending the night with you." Yasaka had a mischievous look about her. "No, this was a different sort of happiness. I''m d he''s finally settled that part of his life if nothing else."


    "I wish to make sure he is okay regardless." Raikou sounded concerned. "I have seen his memories, and I know much about the feelings he had during his youth."


    The Dream Cycle, I had forgotten about that with Raikou. Just as I have seen Rin''s worse moments, so too has she seen Wilhelms.


    "Yes, we should obviously make sure our man is not feeling unwell." Meridia agreed. "However, he is not very good at hiding his emotions. If he was unwell, I believe we would have noticed."


    "Isn''t that the truth." Yasakaughed. "That boy is so easy to read sometimes."


    "Hmm, It was even worse when I was training him. He always tried to act as if my teasing did not get a rise out of him." Sc¨¢thach smiled wistfully.


    "Speaking of, I think we have one more woman to discuss." Jinn interjected. "The one from my world."


    "Salem, I believe was her name?" I stated.


    "Yup." Jinn said simply. "Sorry I can''t be of more use ¨C I''m out of questions." She emphasized, implying her restrictions were stopping her.


    "You need not exin everything, Jinn." I reassured her. "I am aware of her name, and not much else." I admitted. "But I do not believe that it has progressed very far."


    "If it did I think he would have spoken more about her." Yasaka nodded at my statement. "I think we can shelf her for the time being."


    "Wilhelm mentioned that he visited her thest time we went to Remnant." Sc¨¢thach added. "And he said that there was some tension after revealing he had a Harem to her, so it might not be a forgone conclusion."


    "A needless concern then." Meridia waived it off. "However, if he is putting in the effort, then we can assume that it will not go against our wishes."


    That was a good way to look at it.


    I did feel better after speaking my mind as well.


    "Are you opposed to Venna, Meridia?" Jinn asked. "I know your domain is Life and stuff. I''ve read a bunch of books that say you''re really against anything dark in nature. Aren''t Devils something you would....dislike?"


    Did she hate Devils? I did not consider that aspect.


    "Hate?" Merida whispered. "You are correct in that I despise dark things. Necromancy ¨C the Raising of the Dead is one I absolutely hate the most. It mocks everything from what I am created from. It is emphasized less, but I do not like dark aligned creatures either. However, I am not blind to nuance. For instance, I do not demand Thorum''s vampiricpanion be smited due to her undead nature, even if Wilhelm was not in my life. I understand her circumstances were beyond her own choosing. There was even a time I thought of humans as dark creatures and they earned my ire." She breathed out. "I....try to approach things from a mortal view point when in regards to Wilhelm. Devils are something utterly foreign to me, so I had no impression on them previously. I am aware that their nature is inherently sinful. Wilhelm''s presence was lessened in that degree due to other things thus I didn''t immediately dismiss him upon first meeting."


    "And he distracted you." Jinn giggled.


    "Yes, he provided an adequate distraction to those thoughts." Meridia huffed. "I am not incapable of being flexible. I do in fact hate dark creatures and would not associate with them if possible. But Devils are...different enough that I can look at them in the same view as humans. Things thate from outside I can.....take a different approach to."


    "I didn''t realize you felt that way." Yasaka looked...concerned. "You know, us Youkai aren''t that different from Devils."


    "Yes, I noticed." Meridia replied.


    "And you...?"


    "I was skeptical upon first meeting and seeing your race. I admit to not voicing my thoughts previously as I do not believe even Wilhelm knows. But you are not from my world and thus I felt I had no right to judge you by my known standards. I consider it a great gift to walk amongst other creations, and I have resolved myself to ept that what I know isn''t infallible and will judge each instance ordingly."


    That is a very well thought out way to see everything. I know that many Divine beings are vehement to their Authorities, but seeing beyond one''s existence might have been enough to open her to other possibilities. It''s...suprising to see one open minded like this. But I suppose that is something thates from the shock of learning that everything one thought as existence was but one small grain of sand int he desert.


    Everyone seemed content with her exnation.


    "Hmm is the harem stuff out of the way then?" Jinn asked.


    "I have nothing else to speak about regarding the Harem." I replied. "My current worries had been assuaged for the most part." Yes, I will hesitantly ept for now and if I don''t like it upon further reflection, then I will tell Wilhelm thus.


    "It''s rare for all of us to get together like this. Is there anything anyone wants to talk about?" Yasaka asked around the table.


    "I was curious about your situation." I directed towards the Youkai. "Are your matters settled or do you still require aid?"


    "Oh boy, going straight for the hard ones." Yasaka sighed at my question. "Things are....better. Much better than if I had to handle everything myself. That man of ours, he''s brought everyone together and I can''t thank you all enough."


    "It was no trouble." Meridia said inly. "I have abundant resources at my disposal, you merely need to tell me what you require and I shall deliver it."


    "My spear is ready, and I have nowhere to point it for the moment." Sc¨¢thach added.


    "I thank you, but at the moment it''s just dealing with all the loose ends. I''ll be talking to Nurarihyon tomorrow, Wilhelm will being with me. After that, I might have some more stuff that needs to be done." She turned back to me. "And how about you, Miss Pendragon. How is your wayward family?"


    I felt myself stiff in my seat. "I admit to not being entirely forting with Wilhelm. It has been....difficult. There are many issues that keep arising after removing Uther from the leadership. Mordred has been wonderful in helping, but she too is not quite sure how to proceed on some matters as there are many things we''re ignorant about that world."


    I did not want to bother Wilhelm with more of my selfish problems. He has already been so helpful and he is busy with his own things right now.


    "Sweetie, you know you cane talk to me about this sort of thing. I''ve been leading my people for centuries and navigating all the crazy this world can throw at me."


    "I...yes." I let out my own sigh. "I sometimes forget how I have people to rely on."


    "Hmph." Jinn pouted. "You''re supposed to tell us when you''re having trouble."


    "I apologize." I said with sincerity, unable to stop the corners of my lips from curling up. "I shall endeavor to remember I am not alone."


    Not just Wilhelm, after everyone helped me before, I suppose I reverted to my old ways if think I should handle it myself.


    "Good." Yasaka nodded. "Now tell us what''s wrong so we can help."


    ***


    Venna interlude with her meeting her family is next. It was originally supposed to be included in this interlude, but this chapter got away from me.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone

 Chapter 276: Interlude 16

    <h4>Chapter 276: Interlude 16</h4>


    Venna POV


    I felt more rxed than I had in quite some time.


    I was sore in ways I haven''t been for years, but the amount of stress that washed away made it a very pleasant feeling. There was also the fact that I now had a lover again. Something I realized I missed more than I had originally thought. I loved my family dearly, but they very well could''t fill that missing piece.


    The sex was wonderful, but it felt nice to be held by someone again. How lucky was I to finally find someone who wouldn''t be detrimental to Sirzech''s position or use my own status as leverage? Not to mention he really hit all my buttons.


    A young, handsome, powerful man that came to my rescue, I simply couldn''t let that chance go by.


    And I''ll admit that it really made me tingle knowing I''s doing naughty things with my grandson.


    Speaking of, I wondered if Wilhelm noticed that I left my panties on his bed for him~


    Should I send him a message and ask him to take care of them for me?


    Hmm, how long should I wait before reaching out? I didn''t want toe off strongly?, I didn''t know how the kids these days did things.


    Maybe I could ask someone?


    I doubted Rias would be....amused by my attempts to further enhance my budging rtionship with her nephew.


    Perhaps Akeno?


    It''s not a secret how sexually repressed that girl was, so I don''t think she would object. Which was strange considering how often Rias forget to put up a sound barrier around her room when she spent time with her Queen.


    Not that there''s anything wrong with that, it would be odder if she didn''t spend quality time together with her queen. But just because I rode my grandson until my legs gave out didn''t mean I wanted to hear my daughter getting spanked.


    There was a difference between them when I can still remember Rias running around and calling me ''mommy''.


    Hmm, and that brought up an interesting question. Wilhelm had an adoptive daughter, will she call me Grandmother or something else since I will be in a harem with Yasaka as well.


    I supposed that''s something I should speak with his other women about. There were many things to work out if this rtionship is going to work. And for being such a young man, he surprisingly knows howmunicate effectively. Me and Zeo were definitely not this earnest when we first started our trysts. It took many years for us both to understand how to be a partner for the other. Yet, Wilhelm inly asked about what we both wanted out of the rtionship beyond just a nice night together.


    It was a surprise, but a wee one nheless. While I would admit to having a slight misgiving about his age, I did enjoy the attention of a young man, but I didn''t like the idea of the maturity levels that weremon at that age. I spent enough time in human colleges to get an idea of what to expect from him, but I was pleasantly wrong.


    Not that he didn''t have his moments, but they were more boyish and cute than a turnoff. I certainly didn''t want someone who couldn''t rx or take a joke. That just reminded me of that stuffy old man back at the Bael house.


    I weed the familiar view, the walls and furniture i recognized as the Magics around me faded from the Teleportation.


    "Vene, you''re back." Zeo was the only one to greet me.


    "Hello, Zeo." I smiled at him. "Are the kids home?"


    "Everyone''s still here." He nodded. "We set up a room for Millicas. He''s still sleeping, apparently whatever they put in him had an effect of making him weak during the detoxifying process. So he''s sleeping it off still."


    "Oh I''m d he''s almost back to normal." I let out a sigh of relief. I knew he would be fine, but to actually hear it was another thing entirely. "He hasn''t woken up?"


    "Only briefly." Zeo replied. "Grayfia and Sirzechs were there to tell him he was home and safe so the boy could sleep soundly." He ced a hand on my shoulder. "Don''t worry, he''s a strong one. He''s our grandchild afterall." He gave a reassuring smile.


    "Of course." I squeezed his hand, returning the gesture.


    "Speaking of grandchildren." He quirked an eyebrow, visibly running his gaze up and down my body. "You were gone all night, something you want to confess?"


    "Are you really going to y coy, you brat." I swatted at his shoulder. "You know damn well what happened."


    "Hahaha." He tilted his head back letting out augh. "I saw that look when you said you were going to talk to him. And don''t call me a brat, you''re only a month older than me!"


    "Older is still older." I giggled. "And I do not have a look!"


    "We''ve been married how long?" He smirked. "I know that look all too well."


    This man, he could always rile me up.


    "Your hair is a little...." He stepped forward, gesturing to me. I leaned down as he fixed something I missed. "There, that''s better."


    "Thanks, Zeo." I couldn''t help but smile brightly towards him.


    Zeo and I looked at one another before he let out a sigh. "Where did we go wrong, Vene?"


    "I don''t think we went wrong anywhere. Things just happen, it was no ones fault."


    "Yeah, I know." Zeo let out another sigh. He was much less reserved when it was just us. "I''m happy, I really am. You deserve to find something to appreciate you...If I''m not reading into things incorrectly."


    "Oh Zeo, you don''t need to say it like that." Ever since we realized the romantic feelings died, he seemed to think it was his fault. "Regardless of what happens, you''re always going to be that idiotic boy I knew when we were kids. You are my best friend, Zeo." I cupped his cheek. "Yes, the romantic love is gone, but that doesn''t mean anything changes outside of that."


    "I know, I know." His shoulders drooped. "I just miss what we once had."


    "It was beautiful and we had it for centuries. Itsted through two major wars and we have two amazing children. Mourn for what we had, but don''t get depressed that it''s gone. Neither of us are at fault, so don''t me yourself."


    "Bah." He grunted, straightening up. "Look at me, getting so sappy in old age." He straightened his cor. "You''re right, as you always are." He turned his frown around. "But can you humor me? I was afraid to ask before, and then it never came up again. Was there a point where you just....?"


    "When I woke up and you weren''t in the bed with me." We tiptoed around this for so long because it seemed like a distant thing. I didn''t expect to find another lover so quickly like this, I guess we should clear the air. "It happened often; I wasn''t upset about that. But I was trying to remember who you were with, which one in your harem, and I couldn''t even remember her name."


    "That was after Cynthia finally left, wasn''t it?" He sighed again.


    "Yes, it was." I didn''t deny it. "Cynthia was thest of your harem that I felt a connection to." I shook my head.


    It wasn''t strange for a Devil to change their harem over the years. We''re very long lived, people grow apart, Zeo and I were a perfect example. Sometimes someone wanted to leave, there could even be a falling out, or a myriad of other reasons for a separation.


    At that point in time, all of Zeo''s original harem were gone, Cynthia thest to leave. A pianist from a few centuries ago that Zeo and I adored.


    "I realized that I didn''t know any of your Harem members anymore, and that led me to realize that even my feelings were gone as I didn''t even seem to mind that fact."


    "And I was sleeping more with my harem and I didn''t even give a second thought that we hadn''t so much as kissed in over a month." He sighed once more. "Yes, I remember it. And I felt the same way."


    I didn''t speak again, but opted to pull him into a hug.


    "Thank you, Vene, for the wonderful years we spent together." He said softly.


    "You stupid boy, you don''t have to thank me for something I''ll always cherish."


    "Can I invite him over and give him the talk?" I noticed the tone that Zeo used, the one where he wants to cause problems for augh.


    "I''ll pass on a message if you want, but he''s very against meeting everyone." I wished I could just agree, but that was still a sore point for Wilhelm and not something I wanted to push.


    "I wish I had been more attentive with him. It sounds like our other grandson is a good man and we missed out on it."


    "Mmm, it''s not aplete loss yet. I''ve made some good progress with him. And while we agreed to separate our family matters from the rtionship, that doesn''t mean I can''t talk to him about it." I would ask Wilhelm and see if he''s interested in meeting Zeo.


    "That''s good. And I want you to tell me more about himter." He slowly pulled away. "Until then, want to go traumatize our children with how you''re sleeping with your grandson?"


    "Oh Zeo, you read my mind." I smiled brightly.


    I swear, how did we end up with three of the prudish devils in the underworld as our family?


    ***


    "Mom, you''re home?" Rias was the first to burst in as Zeo and I sat at the dining room table. "You met with Wilhelm, right? Were there any issues?"


    "I''m home, and yes, there were no problems." I soothed her concerns, she''s probably more worried since the kidnapping.


    It was only a momentter that Sirzechs and Grayfia walked into the room. Both looked significantly better than when Ist saw them.


    "How''s Millicas?" I asked as they sat down, I gestured to the already ced cups of tea for them to enjoy.


    "Good, he''s doing good." Grayfia looked a little tired, but the good kind. "I''ve been monitoring him for a little while and he''s still doing well."


    "He seems to be just sleeping off the exhaustion now. He''s being monitored by every spell we know, and he''s being watched by Ajuka." Sirzech''s added.


    "Is Ajuka still ming himself?" I questioned.


    It was good that Millicas was in the clear, otherwise I wouldn''t want to cause them unnecessary stress while they''re worried about him.


    My son let out a sigh. "I keep telling him it isn''t his fault, but he won''t relent." Sirzech''s just shrugged. "I convinced him to take a break by telling him where an Old Satan Faction research facility was." He finished with a head shake.


    Mmm, Ajuka was a prideful man. The fact that he couldn''t trace us through the teleportation''s must have shook his pride greatly.


    "Are you still hiding our return?" I didn''t wish to idently reveal myself if that were the case.


    "No, we announced your safe return not too long ago." Sirzechs shook his head. "We reached a point where we couldn''t push anymore without significant bacsh."


    "Unfortunate." I admitted.


    "Not entirely." Grayfia smiled proudly. "I made an appearance of my own, and I happened to run into that Katerea Leviathan. And I had a lot of stress to work through."


    "Oh my." I covered my mouth to hide my growing smile. "I''m sure it was a very productive conversation you had."


    "Oh certainly." My Daughter in Law replied. "Let''s just say she''s going to be out ofmission for a few months. It''s a shame that she is actually somewhatpetent, otherwise I could have taken a limb."


    "A shame indeed." I giggled.


    "It should be enough to keep them quiet for awhile." Sirzechs took a sip of his tea. "We still need to go talk to Zekram though, which I don''t look forward to."


    "So everythings settled?" Rias asked, having been quiet thus far.


    "Yes, Rias." Grayfia held a faint smile. "However, you should be careful. If they were bold enough to do what they did the middle of the city, who knows what they would do otherwise."


    "That''s a good point." Sirzechs sat down his cup. "We should strengthen the defenses around Kuoh."


    "Serafall already beat you to it." Rias replied. "Sona was telling me that she was there already doing a bunch of stuff."


    "Of course." Grayfia shook her head. "Why would I expect anything different from her?''


    It''s not exactly a secret that Serafall cared quite a bit about Sona. I thought my son was bad with his doting on Rias, but Serafall really took it to a new level.


    "How.....was Wilhelm?" Rias finally asked, seemingly finding the courage as she shied away from any real response.


    The others around the table visibly stiffened at her question.


    "He''s doing well." I said simply. "I talked to him briefly and answered some of his questions."


    "....that''s it?" Grayfia asked as well. Even Sirzech''s, while being silent, seemed to be listening intently.


    "He did tell me about the people that Euclid worked for, if you want to confirm everything that way." I wanted to get that part out of the way. "Does the Khaos Brigade ring a bell?"


    "Yes." Sirzechs finally spoke up after mentioning his wayward son. "That is the name of the organization that Euclid gave up."


    "I''ll write down everything else I was told." I just nodded. "But I have another announcement to make, something personal and important for the family."


    "The Family? Is something wrong?" Rias sounded a little worried.


    Zeo and I looked at each other, I took his hand for support. It was a strange step to make, a more official deration that we knew wasing for awhile now.


    "It''s something we''ve been hesitating to reveal for several years now." Zeo exined, giving me an opportunity to continue.


    "Your father and I are going to be seeing other people." I thought a blunt reveal would be best.


    "W-what!?" Rias mmed her hands on the table, shooting to her feet. "You''re getting a divorce!?"


    "Rias, calm down." Zeo calmly replied. "We haven''t mentioned a divorce....yet."


    Yes, that would take some nning. Our marriage, while one of love, was very political in nature. It would be difficult to foresee any consequences of us being officially separated. However, I didn''t believe that''s going to be a problem in the immediate future.


    Wilhelm was aware that I am still married to Zeo, and he didn''t seem to mind as long as our rtionship wasn''t that of husband and wife.


    "Since when....?" Sirzechs looked at us in surprise as well.


    Really, it was only Grayfia that didn''t seem surprised.


    "Many years now." It would be pointless to find the exact time frame. "Your father and I realized that we don''t love each other in that way anymore. We''re finally bringing this up because I''ve found someone."


    "Y-you found someone?" Rias slumped back in her seat. "Like you''re dating someone?"


    "That is correct, I have a new lover." I nodded.


    "Venna, you didn''t." Grayfia slowly raised her palm, bringing it to her face. "Please tell me you didn''t."


    "What, what?" Rias looked confused, and even Sirzechs didn''t seem to understand.


    Well, Grayfia had always been a smart one.


    "You were gone the entire night." She said, "Please tell me I''m wrong."


    "I wouldn''t want to be a liar." I held myself back fromughing.


    "What!? Someone exin please!" Rias looked around.


    "Your mother.....apparently slept with your nephew." Grayfia groaned out, head falling to her hands.


    "M-mother!? She''s wrong, right?"


    "Oh no, that''s definitely what happened." I smiled towards my daughter. "It was a wonderful night we spent together."


    Their reactions were amusing to see.


    "Dad!? You can''t be okay with this?" Rias looked for support from her father.


    "I''m well aware of your Mother''s matters, Rias. And I support her wholeheartedly." Zeo didn''t even react outwardly, but I knew him well enough to know he was going to beughing in private afterwards.


    "Mother!" Sirzech''s finally decided to speak. "You can''t date my son!"


    "Oh, now he''s your son?" I raised an eyebrow. "That''s funny, why wasn''t I told about this?" Millicas was back safe and sound, that meant I didn''t need to hold myself back from continuing to express my displeasure. "Besides, I''m afraid that ship has long past sailed."


    "Its, its inappropriate!" He mmed his hands on the table, perhaps properly registering what we actually did all night. "He''s your grandson! Y-you can''t just....."


    Yes he was, and that thought kept me nice and wet all night.


    "I assure you, I most certainly can, and I did. And if we''re talking about inappropriate, do you mean like keeping one of Rias''s old school uniforms in your closet with a temporary washable red-hair dye?" I said dryly, looking at both him and Grayfia.


    "W-what?" Rias was broken from her stupor as she looked at Grayfia and her brother.


    Grayfia started turning a bright red.


    "Grayfia!? Brother!?" Rias eximed with her own face turning red.


    "Ahem." Zeo cleared his throat. "And if we''re still on the subject of....inappropriate things. While we always encourage some.... exploration, perhaps you should make sure you sound proof your room when you''re with Akeno, Rias."


    "Bwah!?" Rias sounded mortified and utterly shocked as she fall back into her chair.


    I nced at Zeo who looked back at me before looking at our children sitting at the table.


    Rias was sputtering something unintelligible.


    Grayfia was burying her face into her hands,pletely mortified.


    And Sirzechs was staring off into space, perhapsing to terms with his mother was getting fucked by his bastard son.


    "Our family meetings are always so productive." I said absentmindedly.


    "Oh yes, quite productive." He nodded, calmly sipping his tea.


    ***


    Sorry for thete chapter, don''t feel too well and probably not posting tomorrow. Think I have food poisioning or something.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 277 - 257

    <h4>Chapter 277: Chapter 257</h4>


    I held Kunou on my shoulders as we stepped through the portal. The adorable fox grabbed my hair to hold steady, giggling as we left Skyrim.


    "Heya, Gramps." I greeted the old man as we walked into his home sh workshop.


    "Well, well, look who decided to drop by." Zelretch smiled back, his girlfriend sitting next to him.


    "Lucretia, you''re looking as beautiful as ever." I gave her a polite nod. I Still didn''t know what to call her yet..... so I guessed I''d just wait to see what fell into ce.


    I turned to thest person in the room, sitting opposite the two older members. "Who are you again?"


    "Good to see you too, Schweinorg." Rin deadpanned.


    "Daddy, it''s auntie Rin! How could you forget!?" Kunou chastised me, not catching the fact that I was being facetious.


    I picked her up setting her back on her feet. "Of course, how could I forget?" I rubbed my daughter''s head. "Why don''t you go give your Auntie Rin a big hug~"


    Kunou took the cue as she ran towards the younger Magus, who''s eyes widened as she did her best to intercept the fox-shaped missile.


    "Gah, so cute!" Rin groaned out, giving her a hug. "I can''t even be mad at you, Schweinorg, this isn''t fair."


    "It''s good to see you, Rin. Seems like our schedules are making it hard to bump into each other recently." It''s good that she''s doing her own thing though, getting out there and living her best life.


    "Yeah, Yeah." She huffed, still cradling Kunou in a hug.


    "My Granddaughter is irresistible."


    Kunou perked up. "Hi grandpa Zelretch" She waived from within Rin''s arms.


    "Hello little fox." Zelretch smiled brightly.


    "Tactical Kunou strikes again." I replied without a hint of shame.


    "Weaponizing your Fox Daughter, well done my Grandson." Zelretch nodded in approval, which earned him a shoulder smack from his paramour.


    "Zelretch." Lucretia huffed, giving him a re. She got up, walking around the table towards Kunou. "Hello there, cutie~"


    "H-hello." Kunou looked hesitant as she usually did when meeting new people. "I''m Kunou."


    "And I''m Lucretia, you can call me Grandma." She smiled brightly. "And you''re in luck, cause Grandma just made a batch of cookies."


    Huh, that''s lucky timing.


    Kunou''s eyes began to sparkle? as she looked over to me.


    "Go head." I let out a sigh. "I''ll just let your mother get mad at me for letting you eat so many sweets." She was going to be bouncing off the walls all night. Perhaps even literally in her case since she could turn into a cute little fox.


    "Let''s go to the kitchen." Lucretia held her hand out, which Kunou happily took it as she was led away.


    "She ate one of those monstrous sweet rolls over in Skyrim." I rubbed the bridge of my nose.


    "You mean the ones that are like....as big as her head?" Rin asked.


    "Are there any others there?"


    "....now that I think about it...." Rin just blinked. "I couldn''t get through a third of one..."


    A thought crossed my mind. "I assume Artoria could finish one off easily?"


    "Try four." Rin snorted with augh.


    "Sounds about right." Honestly, it was cute to see how gluttonous Artoria could be.


    "So what brings you around, Wilhelm?" Zelretch spoke up. "Something you want to tell me?"


    "Not in particr." I had a strange feeling.


    "Hmm? Nothing at all? Not any sort of....scandalous bit of information?" Zelretch was failing at holding back a growing smile.


    I narrowed my eyes, staring at him then I looked at Rin who didn''t meet my gaze, instead turning a slight shade of red.


    "Alright, who told you." I crossed my arms.


    "I don''t know what you mean." Zelretch hummed.


    "Was it Artoria?" I raised an eyebrow. "No, she wouldn''t. Maybe she''d tell Rin, but Rin''s acting too flustered."


    Rin, just flushed further in response.


    "Sc¨¢thach?" I tapped the table. "She definitely would, but I don''t think she''s been back yet."


    "No one''s told me anything but you." He held his arms up with a ''I don''t know'' gesture.


    I stared at him for another moment before taking out an emerald from my ring. I channeled some Magical Energy to my finger and began to engrave a Rune onto the emerald. Blowing away the excess, I held it up to my eye, looking at the old man again.


    "Really?" I sighed, setting it down. "Did you really disrupt your own time flow just to tease me?"


    Zelretch startedughing. "What gave it away?"


    "The cookies were way too well timed." I shook my head. "You must have known we wereing" For real, he, well we, would go to some impressive lengths sometimes just for a chuckle. "And you give me a stern talk about time traveling, yet you''re doing this." I rolled my eyes.


    "Oh, I''ll snap back in a few minutes. And Lucretia actually likes baking, I''ve actually had to give away some because we were running out of room." He chuckled again. "And you darn well know I was speaking of true time travel, not merely messing with your temporary temporal alignment. I made sure to keep it a closed loop and with no causality disruption, so there''s no issue."


    "Uh huh." I crossed my arms again, giving him a dry look.


    "You should take some stuff back with you, I''m sure the girls would love some homemade treats." Zelretch smiled warmly.


    "If Kunou doesn''t eat them all first." Yeah, the girls would love that sorta thing.


    Actually, that wents double for Artoria too.


    Hmm.


    "Did you really bang your Grandmother, Schweinorg?" Rin asked, and weirdly, it didn''t feel judgmental.


    The Old man must''ve told her. Funnily enough, Zelretch didn''t even bat an eye. Well, it seems pretty obvious that it wasn''t really something that would phase him. If I wasn''t stressing over it, he probably wouldn''t care either.


    "Yup." I wasn''t going to be embarrassed by it.


    "Why would ¨C"


    I waived my hand, creating an illusion of her image floating between us.


    "God damn." Rin corrected herself, staring at my new woman. "But seriously, I know you''re a pervert but you wouldn''t get led around just because she''s hot."


    "To be honest, I found her charming and intelligent. When we spoke, I sorta found myself fond of her and she broached the idea of something together, so I epted." I followed it up with a shrug. "That besides the obvious, you know, finding her drop dead gorgeous."


    No one could say that Venna Gremory wasn''t a stunning woman.


    "Not even the strangest thing I''vee across this week." Rin shook her head. "I''m pretty sure there''s a Lord in the Clock Tower that made a homunculi in the shape of his daughter and married her."


    "That''s weird." I just blinked. And that wasing from someone who added their grandmother to their harem.


    "Yeah...."


    "You seem to be in a good mood as well." Zelretch leaned forward, propping himself up with both hands. "And I don''t mean that due to certain indiscretions you partook in with your grandmother."


    "I feel a lot better than I have in awhile." I fully admitted. "Felt like I got some stuff off my chest that I needed to and well, you should know the details if you''re messing around with time." I rolled my eyes again at the absurdity of him doing that for a quickugh. "Very cathartic."


    Admittedly, the fact that I''m banging his mother was something I took pleasure in. Though it wasn''t at all what swayed my opinion, I''m not that petty, nor would I open myself up to a woman just for that.


    Will I say something if he runs his mouth infront of me? You better damn believe it.


    Zelretch shifted slightly in his seat, and I watched as his normal flow of time returned to normal, he winced slightly but otherwise didn''t react. "So what brings you here, just dropping in or need something?"


    "Do you not know?" I tilted my head.


    "This is as far as I came." He shrugged. "We were having a wonderful talk about the nature of Lucretia''s magic and how it trantes in her own world. You''re always wee to stay and participate."


    "I don''t want to intrude if you guys were busy." I scratched my head. "I just wanted some opinions and maybe some future help on something. Besides that though, I had some free time before the Girls were done with what they were doing, and I thought Kunou would like to see you guys again."


    "Oh nonsense." He waived my off. "What can we do for you?"


    "Actually, I''m happy Rin''s here as well, and Lucretia."


    "Did someone call me?" The aforementioned woman walked out with a tray of cookies half full, and Kunou''s cheeks were noticeably bulging.


    Yasaka was going to force me to sleep over just so I''m forced to sleep on the couch and take care of Kunou until she crashed.


    "Yes, actually." I raised my head as she took her seat again, Kunou sliding in right next to her. "I wanted some opinions on an idea I''ve had but haven''t quite worked out yet."


    "Sounds interesting." Lucretia started to nibble on a cookie. "But I don''t think my knowledge and experience will be of much help, our systems are so different in application."


    "Well, maybe, maybe not. What I want to do relies heavily on established legends and symbolism."


    "Oh?" Lucretia looked intrigued.


    "Alright, so has gramps told you about my Nine Realms spells?" I asked.


    "He only vaguely described them at some point." She said nonchntly. "Sounded interesting enough. And I''m sure you got enough people in a tizzy back home because of it."


    "Well, I cast my Yggdrasil recently, and my new Divinity definitely had an effect stabilizing it." I needed to do a thorough test of everything now. "But it also gave me an idea for something else." Particrly because I didn''t think it would be able to support this before now. "You also know about Ddraig, right?"


    "The Dragon in your soul?" She quirked her head.


    "That''s right." I confirmed.


    "Yeah, you can summon him in your Gauntlet." Rin also spoke up. "I think I know where you''re going with this if you''re basing everything off the Norse Cosmology."


    "Indeed." Zelretch rubbed his chin. "I could take a guess or two, but continue."


    "It''s probably as you assume, there is a dragon associated with the World Tree, and I thought about creating a spell to bring Ddraig''s spirit out temporarily and inhabit the legend and myth of N¨ªeh?ggr. A sort of pseudo-summoning using the Tree as an anchor and tricking the world into thinking he is N¨ªeh?ggr."


    N¨ªeh?ggr was the poisonous dragon that ate the roots of the world tree in Norse Mythology. There were varying ounts on the beast, but it was something that even the Asgardian Gods feared. Something that existed on the same level as Fenrir, Surtr, and Midgardsormr.


    [Brat, you''re serious about this?]


    I knew it''s not exactly like I promised, and I''m still working on that, but I wanted you to alteast be able toe out. You''re my partner, I want to fight by your side.


    [...Whatever. I guess it''s not strange, of course you would need my help.] He huffed, going silent again.


    "What an interesting line of thought." Zelretch genuinely looked intrigued. "But it won''t be easy, the Boosted Gear is supposed to be a prison."


    "I know." I ran a hand through my hair. "I feel like....I have a bunch of pieces and I want thoughts on how to assemble them to see if anything is missing."


    "As interesting as this is, why did you want me here?" Rin asked. "I''m not exactly an expert on this stuff."


    "True, but who was the one who thought the Kaleidophones were an obvious idea?" I pointed out. "Believe me when I say, I genuinely want your input and opinions. You may not be an expert in the crafts I''m using, but you have a perspective that neither I nor Zelretch seem to have."


    Rin looked...proud? And there was an added hint of embarrassment at the praise.


    "And my knowledge on Legends and Myths with how they interact with the physical world." Lucretia hummed.


    "And the plethora of other knowledge you''ve gained over the years." I nodded.


    "Oh my, he sure does know how to butter someone up." The old Witch giggled.


    "You n on bringing others in on this?" Zelretch asked.


    "Sc¨¢thach and Jinn." I thought off the top of my head. "Maybe ask Kairi for some input since he''s more adept at Necromancy....possibly Medea if she''s up to it."


    "Hmm, Necromancy might be an avenue worth looking into. Not quite raising the dead by jailbreaking a spirit." Zelretch muttered to himself. "And if I''m not mistaken your original spells make heavy use of Runecraft, so Sc¨¢thach will be required. And Medea is frightful in how much magical knowledge she''s amassed in her life."


    "And Jinn''s been studying Skyrim Magic for awhile now, with her speed, she''s probably mastered enough to match the Archmage." Being a Spirit of Knowledge wasn''t something just for show.


    "That''s an amazing lineup." Rinmented, a thoughtful look on her face.


    "Hopefully it''s enough to get my partner a little bit of freedom, even if temporary." I was hesitant to ask Meridia, I was fairly sure she could do something, but I didn''t know how much effort it would take. Ddraig wasn''t exactly on the same level as creating Dawnbreaker. He was a significantly powerful individual.


    Would she have to consume some of her power to recreate his body or something like that? I didn''t want to ask her something so...draining, especially when she talks about how the other Lords were always watching each other for openings.


    I''d rather we crack this the old fashioned way than risk one of my girls.-


    [Brat.] Ddraig whispered. [....thanks.]


    "My, this is giving me a lot of ideas." Lucretia smiled brightly.


    "Yes, I can''t say I''ve been this excited to research for a couple years now." Zelretch seemed to share the enthusiasm. "To summon a dragon, well, this is going to be quite interesting. Your other portions of the spell use Symbols and Anchors, should we start with that? I don''t think you can use the Boosted Gear since it''s still bound to you."


    "Yeah, I''m going to need to find something that works. Maybe see if a piece of Ddraig''s body is still floating around somewhere or something." I honestly hadn''t made it this far yet.


    "Why not make something?" Rin asked.


    "Hmm?" I looked towards her.


    "You got a bunch of dragon bones and scales, right? Why not make a staff or something like those ones that''re in Skyrim. I''ve seen a bunch that can summon those Daedra or other creatures. Maybe do something like that?" She offered, if a little hesitantly.


    "That''s....a good idea?" My eyes widened as I thought about it more. "No, that''s a great avenue to explore."


    "Daddy, I''m tired." Kunou yawned as I embarrassingly forgot she was there while getting swept up in the conversation. I looked down, realizing she ate the entire tray of cookies and was apparently crashing instead of going into a sugar high.


    "Why don''t you settle your stuff and we''ll meet up in the next few days to properly discuss this?" Zelretch offered.


    "That would be appreciated." I couldn''t help but smile seeing the sleepy fox. "I''m heading out with Yasaka and Kunou but we should be able to squeeze something in sometimeter this week." Still didn''t know the exact date for the festival, but we''d probably solidify a time after this meeting with the other Youkai.


    I stood up, walking over to Kunou, shezily held her arms out as I picked her up.


    "Alright, my little fox, let''s go home." I whispered, rubbing her head gently. I was sure that Yasaka was probably back at this point.


    "Yeah, it''s gettingte." Rin stood up, stretching. "Thanks for everything, old man."


    "Think nothing of it. You''re my student, and It''s my duty." Zelretch smiled. "And you''ve been doing absolutely wonderfully so far, I''m very proud of you, Rin."


    The younger magus showed a red face at the honest praise.


    "Oh she''s so cute~" Lucretia teased. "And a granddaughter!" Lucretia eximed. "Zelly, our granddaughter is so adorable!"


    Jeez, she was quick totch onto the idea, not that I could talk there. I guess we''re all a bunch of weirdos who were happy to ept these abrupt rtionships.


    "Can you say bye to your grandpa and grandma?" I said softly to my little fox.


    "Bye, grama and grapa" She sorta slurred it with a tired tone.


    So cute.


    "Coming with, Rin?" I offered her a ride.


    "Yeah, I''d appreciate it." She nodded as I opened a portal and we both walked through.


    ***


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 Chapter 278 - 258

    <h4>Chapter 278: Chapter 258</h4>


    "Good morning everyone." I walked down the stairs to see everyone sitting at the table, well mostly everyone.


    Meridia was absent, but no one faulted her for being dimensionally challenged. The weight of her responsibilities were something none of us had the right to question. Hell, even Artoria and Yasaka with their experience as leaders couldn''t measure up with how much she usually had on her te based on what little she''s talked about.


    "Master~" Raikou got up and practically glided into my arms. I hugged my servant, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.


    She didn''t seem to want to let go, and I couldn''t resist her. I grabbed two handfuls of that wonderful butt of hers.


    "Either go y in private, or start removing clothes." Sc¨¢thach teased from her spot at the table.


    "You heard her." I said emotionlessly. "Let''s get naked, Raikou."


    "If my son wants it." Raikou said rather shyly, though her expression clearly contradicted that, a barely restrained smile forming on her face.


    "P-please don''t do that here..." Artoria squeaked out.


    I could justugh, seeing Artoria''s bright red face. I gave one more kiss to my Servant as the joke was concluded.


    "Aww, I wanted to watch." Jinn pouted cutely.


    "You''ve gotten much lewder recently." I walked by Jinn, yfully swatting at her hair.


    "Who''s fault is that?" She grinned.


    "No idea." I smiled innocently, sneaking up on Artoria as I kissed her cheek. "You all have fun?" I patted her head, that flushed face of hers was always adorable. "And whoever made coffee, you''re in first ce."


    "First ce?" Sc¨¢thach raised an eyebrow.


    "Mmm, I devised a ranking system ¨C"


    Sc¨¢thach summoned her spear.


    "¡ªAnd I have decided that such a thing was ridiculous, and thus discarded the ranking system."


    I didn''t react as I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee.


    "Hmph." She narrowed her eyes, dismissing her spear.


    "In all seriousness, how was your girl time?" I asked.


    "It was productive." Artoria chimed in. "We spoke of important matters and other things we wish to keep between ourselves."


    I just nodded, there wasn''t a need for me to know everything, they were going to have their own secrets between themselves. I''m sure there were things they felt more confident speaking of with each other than me, just as I had embarrassing things I''d find hard to bring to their attention.


    "Do you want to have that talk now about what I did?" I offered, the timing seemed adequate even if Meridia and Yasaka weren''t here. "Or should we wait for the others?"


    "I believe Yasaka and Meridia shared simr thoughts and would not mind us broaching it." Artoria stated.


    "Fetch me another cup." Sc¨¢thachmanded, holding up her empty mug.


    I rolled my eyes, taking it from her hands. "So, should I start? Then maybe add anything that I missed?"


    Artoria tilt her head. "I believe that would be a fine beginning."


    "Sounds good." Jinn nodded.


    Sc¨¢thach just grunted, and Raikou slid in next to Artoria but was otherwise quiet in eptance.


    "Alright, should I start off saying I realize my mistake?" I sat down Sc¨¢thach''s mug infront of her, taking an empty seat at the side. "I''m not going to make any excuses; I feel like I''m not that same kid who was bold enough to ask Meridia to be my woman within minutes of meeting her." I paused for a moment, letting them all chuckle at the image they were surely aware of by now.


    Taking a sip, I took another second to enjoy the taste. "If I had to exin myself, I think I got caught up in everything that was happening, I had a lot of emotional baggagee undone and I was riding a certain high from that. In addition to actually being attracted and interested in Venna, that was enough to sort of fall into her rhythm. Not that I''m excusing anything, mind you. I just wanted to express my mindset."


    "And you do not believe this will be a reurring situation?" Artoria questioned.


    "I will promise you all, as your Lover, Boyfriend, or any other titles you want to use for us." I swept my gaze around the room. "I will be more responsible, and I won''t act this way again."


    "I am pleased to hear you say that." Artoria smiled faintly. "I do not believe you would do such, but I wanted to be reassured with your sincere words. I will not raise a fuss at your romance of your grandmother. I understand that even if it was not a normal urrence you would not have sought such skinship unless you desired her simrly as you do us."


    "That''s true." I nodded. "I don''t like one night stand or anything like that. I will not be hooking up with anyone not in my....harem."


    "That does not mean we ept her automatically." Sc¨¢thach spoke up. "You have ignored many steps if you wish to juggle multiple woman in your life, my student. I told you before, I expect you to be sincere and invest in each of us. I understand that we are long lived and have our own duties, thus we do not spend every moment together, but that does not mean you are allowed to findfort in any woman that you find attractive."


    "Not that we think you would, Master." Raikou quickly added. "We have decided to.....be vocal about our wishes as we have not spoken about them before. If you were needingfort, I would have happily epted you in every way. I am saddened that you did note to your mother." I think she deviated slightly on thatst bit from what they probably agreed to bring up.


    "Raikou..." I felt a twinge of guilt in my heart. "I''m sorry, I rushed into something in my excitement and made you sad."


    "I ept your apology." She said warmly. "While I will happily ept you in every way, I do enjoy your other focuses on me, Master."


    Ah, that was her way of saying she liked being treated romantically. Jeez, she was so cute when she was like this, I just wanted to dote on her some more.


    "And you, Jinn?" I turned towards my beautiful genie. "Anything to add?" It was important that I hear all their concerns.


    "Not really, I agree with what they''ve said. I also don''t think you would just start grabbing any woman who catches your eye, which you''ve proved to be true so far." Jinn shrugged. "However, I guess we should still talk about how, or if, you add more women to your harem, not just the way you brought in Venna."


    "Agreed, that deserves a conversation." Artoria added. "I will say that I was not entirely sure when we first started....dating. The idea of a harem was strange and a little intimidating to me who had never properly been in a rtionship." She fidgeted a little in her seat. "However, I havee to appreciate every one of your other paramours and enjoy spending time with each of them. I do not find myself jealous, and do not even see your gestures towards them as untold or unweed. I.....am happy when I see you and the others smiling, sharing touches, enjoying each other''s embraces. And I amforted by the fact that you would likewise treat me the same way and they too would feel the same in my own happiness." Artoria expressed her sincere thoughts.


    "She speaks the truth." Sc¨¢thach crossed her arms with a slight smile on her face. "I like all your other women, my student. I am fond of them and have no problems considering them my sisters in our strange union."


    "Going to hug you both so much!" Jinn vibrated in her seat, having to visibly restrain herself from jumping out of her seat and grabbing a hold of them. She was always really affectionate when she could be, and just getting closer with everyone let her do it as much as she wanted.


    Not surprising considering how long she was alone for.


    "Yup and I went and basically elevated a woman you don''t know right into the same ''position'' that all of you share." I realized my faults already, but being spoken aloud really put them into perspective.


    "So you understand our concerns." Artoria nodded again. "We reached a consensusst night, we wish for you to consult with us before adding any more women to our group."


    "That''spletely fair and you shouldn''t have even had to ask."


    "No, Master. We also didn''t say anything, it''s important for all of us to speak about these things." Raikou spoke up as well.


    "We are not upset, Wilhelm." Sc¨¢thach also interjected. "Merely skeptical and hesitant with what has happened. We are willing to make the effort if you are as well."


    "I think that''s a fair assessment, and I have noints." I didn''t object to a single point they spoke about. It was healthy to voice our thoughts and for them to share their concerns. It''s a cornerstone of any rtionship that all parties needed to speak openly.


    "Good." Artoria smiled lightly once more. "We also discussed other potential women you are already talking to, such as this Salem. We do not object since you are not jumping straight into it like you did with your grandmother." She said dryly, perhaps trying to be a little sharp with her words even if she intended no actual harmful intent.


    Oh they''re going to poke at me for this forever. Oh well, I reaped what I sowed.


    "Again, I have noints, and I agree fully with everything." It was pretty simple, and important to make sure we''re all on the same page.


    "Hmm, that was easy." Jinn just hummed to herself.


    "Well, they were all valid points." I shrugged at her nonchnce.


    "We''re pleased you think so." Sc¨¢thach nodded to herself happily. "We don''t ask for much, Wilhelm. Remember my words from before."


    "An honest effort, yeah, I won''t ever forget that."


    Sc¨¢thach adopted a beautiful smile that I could get lost in.


    "Any other important matters to talk about?" I looked around.


    "Yeah, Artoria wants ¨C" Jinn was cut off as the aforementioned woman practically leapt across the table to silence the Genie.


    "Nothing!" Artoria was a brighter red than I couldnormally produce by myself. "Y-you''re licking me!" Artoria squeaked out.


    Jinn broke out into a fit of giggles once Artoria removed herself.


    It was nice to see them getting along.


    Well, I guess we covered everything important. "You girls doing anything today?"


    "Oh yes, we were talking about the modern era and Yasaka rmended a few documentaries for us to watch, so we were going to marathon them." Jinn answered with enthusiasm.


    "Rin as well, when she decided to wake up." Artoria huffed. "Also, I invited Izzy toe as well."


    "Indeed, it will be my first time meeting this Goddess, I look forward to it." Sc¨¢thach seemed interested as well. "A day toze about isn''t unweed."


    "I as well." Raikou admitted. "And I look forward to understanding this modern era more than my Grail knowledge has transmitted."


    "Oh, it''s going to be fun, lots of snacks!" Jinn beamed.


    "Snacks?" Artoria perked up, looking equally excited.


    Cute.


    I had something else to look forward to.


    [***]


    "You ready?" I popped over to Yasaka once the girls had been settled and I had my coffee.


    Yasaka wasn''t startled at all when I popped in while she was fixing Kunou''s Kimono. "Almost ready~"


    "Hmm, should I change?" I walked up to a full length mirror. "It''s more a traditional setting, yeah?"


    "Less formal, but I suppose. No one will say anything about your clothing, they''ll be more interested in how strong you are." Yasaka replied, running her hands through Kunou''s hair.


    "Uncle Nurarihyon is really strong and the scary Youkai there are strong too." Kunou helpfully added.


    "Stronger than your daddy?" I asked.


    "Nu huh, daddy is the strongest."


    And my heart just melted.


    "She''s right though, The old man gathers the more....unruly bunch and keeps them under control. That just so happens to coincide with the stronger ones too. I''m not ashamed to say that his people, on average, are stronger than mine." Yasaka stood up, admiring her work on Kunou. "And don''t you dare transform again and make me fix it all over." She lightly booped Kunou on the nose.


    "I''ll be good." Kunou huffed.


    I walked up, snaking my arms around my foxy woman. She giggled, leaning into my embrace, following it up with a light kiss. "And what should I expect?"


    "His lot aren''t the brightest, and by that I mean his underlings ¨C for the most part. He though is cunning. Don''t let his appearance fool you, he has ¨C" Yasaka reached down, pushing down Kunou''s ears. " ¨Cslit the throats of thousands of his enemies."


    Kunou fidgeted and whined until she broke free.


    "Your rtionship?"


    "Amicable with perhaps some familiarity." She pursed her lips. "He''s.....nice, I suppose. He knew my mother, and he came around when I was still a little girl." She let out a sigh. "Our rtionship changed once I took over, it was inevitable. But I suppose I''m still fond of him on some level. And he adores Kunou, of course."


    "Of course." I chuckled.


    Kunou tip toed up to me, tugging on my sleeve. I knelt down as she whispered into my ear. "He brings me snacks when momma isn''t looking."


    "I can hear you." Yasaka deadpanned.


    "Nu uh, I whispered it, that means you can''t hear what I said." Kunou seemed to deny Yasaka with her strange logic.


    "Is that how it works." Yasaka just shook her head with a small smile.


    "So, this just a formality then?"


    "Mostly." She shrugged. "It''s a less formal meeting than when we usually meet. Gives us an excuse to talk about things without our retainers being at each others throats. While we''re allied, and actually quite friendly, it''s still difficult for all of us to be in a room when we''re on ''opposite sides''."


    "Ah, a friendly rivalry then?"


    Yasaka snorted. "Less friendly, but still....constrained due to our alliances. His bunch are brutes and like to flex their strength to mine. Not to mention over half of them.....are insistent flirts and can''t take a hint."


    "Oh?" I quirked an eyebrow. "And you just so happen to be taking me along, eh?"


    Yasaka smiled innocently, grabbing my arm. "Is it wrong to want my big strong man to protect me~"


    "Oh well, I guess I''ll be putting some youkai in their ce." Well, their culture was known for being more.... physical in certain matters. I didn''t mind staking my im very publicly, so they knew who she was with.


    I tapped Kunou''s head, rather the hair piece I gave her awhile ago. She still wore it, she seemed to always wear it. I made sure the protections were still active and going strong.


    "Hmm, so you want to project strength when we go, right?" I asked.


    "That''s the general idea, but no one should try anything with Kunou at our side. And the old man would definitely stop that from happening." Yasaka nodded.


    "How long until we need to be there?"


    "An hour or two." She made the so-so genture. "The meeting isn''t for a few hours but I figured it would be nice to get a little early and walk around."


    "Have you talked to Jinn about awakening your Aura?"


    Her lips slowly curled up into a feral grin. "I have."


    "Well then, let''s give them a little surprise."


    [***]


    "Oh my, is this always how you feel?" Yasaka looked at her hands, her golden aura shining over her.


    "Daddy, me next, me next!" Kunou grabbed at me.


    I took a deep breath, patting her on the head. "Wait until you''re older, sweetie."


    Kunou whined, but I didn''t want to just give her a sudden boost in strength without consulting Yasaka some more.


    She didn''t know what I did, and probably didn''t care about the semantics. Honestly, she probably just saw her mom glowing gold and wanted that too.


    "And to answer your question, the euphoria wears off after a few minutes." I remembered when my Aura was awakened, it was an intoxicating feeling.


    "I already feel significantly stronger." She continued to admire herself. "And its apletely different feeling from Touki and Youjutsu, but so warm andplimentative. I feel like it won''t conflict with anything I normally do."


    Well, it''s the light of your soul, of course it won''t be detrimental.


    I was also curious to see what her Semnce would be.


    I thought I would need a little longer to recover, but I was standing firmly again after a few minutes. I guessed my new Campione status really made me stronger, even my soul. I knew that was the case in a broad sense, but I hadn''t really had the opportunity to meaningfully measure my soul since the change.


    "You have a good amount of Aura too." I made sure to add.


    Kunou, funnily enough, seemed to stop caring. Her attention taken by her mother''s phone she somehow acquired when I wasn''t looking.


    "Oh yes, momma can get used to this." She flexed, her Golden Aura flowing around her as she already deduced some uses for it. She stopped, looking at me again. "I think someone deserves a reward~"


    "Eww, momma!" Kunou gagged. "Eww, eww!" She started running around.


    So freaking cute.


    "Alright, alright." Yasakaughed. "Come here, little fox, we''re going to head over and see the old man."


    "Mmkay." Kunou ran back over and grabbed both our hands.


    "You have a teleportation circle?"


    "I have the coordinates." She raised her arm producing a Magic Circle. And I was reminded that she knew atleast rudimentary magic here.


    She fired it up, enveloping us as I watched the space around us distort. I helped it along with my own use of the Kaleidoscope considering my Magical Resistance wasn''t letting it to attach to me.


    With a bright sh of light, we arrived in an empty room.


    Yasaka looked around. "That''s strange, they should have people waiting here."


    I stopped in my tracks, because I felt something strange I couldn''t put my finger on. Like....something out of the corner of my eye was trying to grab my attention.


    I narrowed my eyes as I summoned Mirage into my free hand. I turned to the side and swung it through the air, only to be met with resistance. Something invisible blocked it, a clear ''nk'' resounded in the empty space.


    "Buahahaha!" A voice bellowed out. A figure started to appear, as if the surroundings were peeled away from him, as if he existed there always and what I had seen was a lie. I could guess who he was immediately, the gourd-shaped head was a dead give away.


    But my attention was taken by something else. He was standing to the side, my sword still stuck in the air, facing off against something else.


    "Can''t believe he saw through me." The Old Youkai rubbed his chin, eyeing me up and down.


    "Maybe you''re getting senile in your old age." Another voice answered back.


    "Bah!" The Old Youkai huffed. "It''s because I had to hide both of us. If it was just me I''d never been detected." He swiped his hand through the air and another figure came into view.


    Another non-human. He was tall, with noticeable fur throughout his arms and face. Long hair and a weathered look about him, but a strange serenity about him, almost.....holy in nature. He was keeping my sword at bay with a pipe of all things.


    I saw him fully now, an interesting pair of sunsses, and his true race was revealed.


    He looked like a monkey.


    He pulled hisrge sunsses down with his free hand, Fiery Golden Eyes looked at me.


    "Hoh, you''re more interesting in person." He said calmly, not at all perturbed at being on the end of my sword.


    "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven." I could guess who he was.


    The Monkey, smiled.


    [*** ]


    Got another chaptering up in a couple minutes

 Chapter 279 - 259

    <h4>Chapter 279: Chapter 259</h4>


    My sword pushed against his pipe as I stared at him.


    He was definitely not someone to be ignored nor dismissed. I''d heard his legends and knew them quite well, and I would even admit to being a fan.


    Sun Wukong ¨C the Monkey King ¨C The Great Sage Equal to Heaven.


    There were so many more titles I could call him.


    His eyes had a faint fiery glow to them, a golden hue pulsing as he looked me over. He smiled faintly before letting the tension off his hand, withdrawing his pipe. I hesitantly held my sword protectively to the side.


    If needed, I would immediately take Yasaka and Kunou and escape. This was not a foe I could even dream of taking lightly if it came to blows.


    "People don''t really call me that anymore." He smiled good naturedly, and I felt the tension ease up and begin to dissipate. "These days, it''s usually the Victorious Fighting Buddha if they''re inclined. But I mostly hear ''That old Monkey''" He chuckled.


    [Careful, brat.] Ddraig spoke up. [That Monkey is not someone to be trifled with. Even at my best, It would be a hard fight.]


    How strong was he?


    [Once when Albion and I were fighting above China, we heard an annoyed shout.] Ddraig began to exin. [We ignored it, of course. But suddenly things got very dark. A massive staff mmed down on Albion and shattered a good few dozen of his scales.]


    I didn''t outward react, but I was genuinely surprised. I knew how strong Ddraig and his rival were. To hear that Sun Wukong actually damaged Albion back in their prime with a single ¨C probably casual ¨C attack was more astonishing.


    His legends weren''t over exaggerated it seemed.


    "Sun Wukong." Yasaka broke the silence, in a respectful tone. "It''s been awhile." She bowed her head slightly.


    The Monkey King chuckled again, scratching his head. "Haah, it''s been.....twelve years? Where does the time go." He smiled warmly. "I still remember when your mom was running things and now here you are with a little one of your own."


    I felt Yasaka''s hand squeeze my arm. I nced at her and I could more or less guess what she was trying to convey. This guy wasn''t an enemy and probably wouldn''t be one.


    I dismissed my sword. "I''ve heard your stores, Monkey King." I adopted a respectful tone as well. If he wasn''t going to be an enemy, then I shouldn''t treat him like one. Besides, I did admire him based on the stories.


    "Haha, I''m d some young''uns still like to listen to those tales." He twirled his pipe. "But that''s long in the past. I even passed on that title to my sessor a few years ago."


    "Still a wet-behind-the-ears brat if you ask me." Nurarihyon grunted. "He''s got talent, but it''s going to be hard to live up to your name."


    "Kids gotta grow up somehow." Son Wukong shrugged. "Gotta go on his own adventures, experience his own life ¨C the good times and the bad times."


    That''s interesting, I could vaguely recall that tibit of information, but I never bothered with it until now. Didn''t remember the kid''s name, but apparently, he passed on his title and old gear. "The kid got a name?" I questioned.


    "Bikou." Sun Wukong said inly. "Last I heard he was running around with your ¨C " He paused, waiving his hand as if trying to think of the right word. "¡ªRival."


    I blinked in confusion. "My rival?"


    "Yeah, the White Dragon Emperor." He replied nonchntly, tapping his pip to remove all the old stuff inside.


    I took a long breath, letting it out.


    The Monkey king smiled almost smugly. "Even if I didn''t see that video of you fighting that storm brat, not many things can hide from my eyes." For added effect, they ignited again in that fiery and golden glow. He raised his hand up, a finger extended. "Lots of fun things I see about you that I haven''t seen before, makes an old guy like me wonder where they came from."


    I guessed there was no point in hiding it, may as well try to get more information. "Is it well known then?" I rxed slightly, noticing how at ease he was. I was still tense, but looking at him again, he in no way appeared to be looking for a fight.


    "Who knows." He shrugged again. "Some of us older folks probably noticed the Gauntlet, but not a lot of them even bother with the newest technology."


    [Ask him about Albion.]


    "And what about the owner of the Divine Dividing?" I questioned. Once again, my knowledge was...miniscule in this area.


    "Did Ddraig put you up to that?" The Old monkey chuckled. "Still so obsessed with his rival."


    [Fuck you.]


    "I''m sure he''s cursing me right now."


    "He is." I didn''t deny.


    The money grinned. "It''s funny."


    "What is?"


    "Fate." He still had that wide grin on his face. "You both are Half-Devil Half-Humans...even if that''s not entirely urate for you anymore." He pointed out, making me twitch involuntarily. "And you both loath your families, of which, are each rted to a Lucifer. If I wasn''t so sure that other brat would utterly lose as he is right now, I would call it the perfect rivalry."


    [Damn right, my host is way better than that white asshole!] Ddraig snorted. [I can''t wait to see the look on his face when you wipe the floor with his pathetic wielder.]


    "Boosted Gear. Various blessings, some strange power emanating from your soul ¨C" He paused, looking at Yasaka. "¡ªthat she also seems to have. And a bunch of other stuff, but the Divinity is what really surprises me."


    "Divinity?" Nurarihyon repeated.


    "Mmm, feels a lot like the storm brat''s, but it''s weird." Sun Wukong stated. "Well, I can see why Indra wanted me to investigate you." He said casually as if it wasn''t something I would take issue with.


    No, I most certainly was more on guard now. "Excuse me?" I felt myself having to stop from reaching for my sword again.


    "You expect the higher ups not to look into you, kid?" His eyebrow raised over his sses. "You can''t just throw around the power you did as an unkown entity without people getting concerned."


    "So this alles back to me fighting Susanoo." I let out a sigh. "Really regretting my decision there." Well, then I remembered how happy Izzy was in those moments she spent with him and those feelings diminished.


    "Well.....in my case, it''s not because of that." He fiddled around in his pockets, taking out a piece of paper. "Indra assigned me a task of looking into the reason why his visions of the future were thrown off. Suffice to say that you were the variable in all of them."


    That made me freeze up. It was something I hadn''t considered until this point. The fact that I wasn''t bound to this World-Line meant that certain events around me must have been thrown off if the higher powers were watching them intently.


    "I-is Daddy in trouble?" I heard Kunou ask Yasaka as we all seemingly looked back at her.


    "Oh sweetie, Daddy isn''t in trouble." She reached down, hugging my daughter.


    "Hey Yasaka why don''t I take Kunou and show her around, eh? It''s been awhile since she''s been here." Nurarihyon offered.


    Well, the obvious cue was obvious.


    "Do you want to go with Uncle Nurarihyon, my little fox?"


    "Can I?" She perked up immediately.


    "Of course you can." Yasaka smiled.


    "Come one littledy, let me show you some nifty trinkets I''ve gotten since you''vest been here." Nurarihyon held his arm out as Kunou ran to him. He gently guided her through the door, giving us a wink as he left.


    "First time meeting him, but he''s alright in my book." I would have a good impression of anyone who treated my daughter that well and made her smile.


    "Oh, he is a good man. The only issues we''ve ever had were because of our political affiliations." Yasaka stated.


    "Well, I suppose we can talk more openly." The Monkey King, watched them leave, looking back at us. "The Cute Fox is gone, so I don''t have to mince my words."


    "About that." I crossed my arms. "Did youe here for me?" I narrowed my eyes.


    "Actually...." He scratched his cheek. "It was just a coincidence. I was visiting that old bastard, having some drinks, and he mentioned you two wereing over yesterday. Thought it was a good opportunity to meet you."


    "Drinking, huh? Some Buddha you are." It was hard to get a read on this guy....God, Buddha. "Aren''t you supposed to refrain from that sorta thing?"


    "Don''t I just have to confess my sins and apologize?" He quirked a smile. "No harm done."


    "That''s Christianity." I deadpanned. "You''re the worst Buddhist I''ve ever seen."


    The Monkeyughed, the aura around him changed to something....holy. "Drinking, not drinking. Does it matter? One thought to be a Buddha, one thought to be a Devil. I have Buddha in my heart, therefore, I am Buddha." He smiled, his radiance showing off brightly.


    "That sounds nice, but I feel like you''re just making excuses to keep drinking."


    "Could be." He grinned, his Buddhistic Aura abruptly vanishing. "But we were talking about Indra and your seeming overturning of fate and destiny on a grand scale."


    "Please, we both know that''s just sophistric bullshit." I couldn''t help but roll my eyes. "His future visions are nothing more than ncing at the myriad of possibilities that could ur. It''s not my fault if he can''t take into ount other people are able to avoid such things."


    "Ohoh." He rubbed his chin. "Not a response I expected. Interesting, very interesting. You ever think about getting a teacher?" He suddenly questioned. "You''re still pretty young, though older than you should be." His eyes shed that fiery gold for a brief moment. "I''m sure there are some things I could teach you."


    That took me by surprise If I were being honest. And I''m sure he could teach me many things, however.... "I already have a teacher."


    "Well, it was worth a shot." He shrugged again. "Where were we?"


    "You were talking about how you were stalking me." I helpfully replied.


    He snorted, biting on his pipe. "Never stalked you, damn brat. I just looked at some ces where Indra''s sight went haywire. Your hometown, some ces around Japan, oh and that Pendragon Family. That was an interesting visit."


    I didn''t like the sound of that...


    "With how coy you''re sounding, I assume you''re not going to borate?"


    "Hmm, I''ll keep it to myself for now." He responded with an amused smile. "But I''m getting sidetracked again. We were talking about Indra throwing a fit."


    I blinked at his wording. "Please continue then."


    "Right, so it started when you killed one of his favorite toys."


    "I haven''t had dealings with the Indian Pantheon in any capacity thus far." I was trying to think who I killed that could have been important to him.


    "The brat you got Biblical God''s spear from." He borated.


    "Cao Cao." The name was apanied with a small growl. "The idiot who attacked Kyoto and tried to Kidnap my daughter, are you saying Indra had a hand in that?" I almost lost control of myself, but I quickly reined it in.


    "I would also like to know the answer to that question." Yasaka''s expression turned really dark.


    "Woah, woah." He quickly threw his arms up. "Aint like that, let me exin." He set his pipe aside. "Jeez, if I knew it was like this I''d have been more gentle with my words. Cao Cao was Indra''s ything, yeah, but not really....supervised unless he was bored. The whole thing with attacking you was all on him."


    "Annoyingly, I believe you." Yasaka let out a sigh.


    "You knew him then?" The tension left me once more.


    "Trained him for a little while. Never liked the little shit, but Indra told me to." He shrugged again. "Had Bikou spar with him a few times, always spouting that crap about human supremacy. Got nothin against humans, but it gets really annoying after awhile."


    "And I take it Indra''s ming me?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Something like that." He nodded. "Gods hold grudges, he''s not going toe here looking to smite or anything like that, but given the opportunity or you wander into his territory, he''s going to be petty. Especially since Izanami somehow imed Cao Cao''s soul."


    "Huh....." I didn''t expect that either. I''d have to check with her afterwards. "Joy, something else to pay attention to."


    "It''s what happens when you y in the big leagues. You think I don''t got grudges against me from my younger days? I can barely step foot in China without the Jade Emperor trying to throw Heavenly Judgement at me."


    "Speaking of, and not to be rude, but aren''t you like three-times over immortal, why are you....."


    "Old?" Heughed.


    "Yeah.."


    "Haha, it''s not the first time I''ve been asked that." He sounded amused if anything. "When I converted to Buddhism, I gave up my Godhood bestowed by the Celestial Court, and I gave up my other forms of immortality." He brought his hands together, and that holy light seeped out. It wasn''t like the Abrahamic faction''s holy, but something else entirely. It was.....weing. "Buddha is all I need."


    "That and something good to drink."


    "Well, it doesn''t hurt." He returned to normal again.


    The metaphysical logistics of doing what he said boggled my mind to the point where I didn''t even want to think about it.


    "By the way, mind if I take a look at the spear?" He suddenly asked.


    "The True Longinus?"


    "Yeah, I just wanted to see something."


    I mean....sure? I doubted he''d try to steal it from me, doesn''t seem like something he would do. With a shrug, I held my arm out, letting the spear fall to the ground infront of us.


    He didn''t move to touch it, instead, his eyes glowed from behind his sses, then he threw his head back and erupted inughter.


    I shared a look with Yasaka and we were both confused.


    "What''s so funny?"


    "N-nothing." He managed to eek out betweenughs. "Oh Merciful Buddha, the future is going to be fun."


    And I was confused. Was something wrong with my spear, or was I not privy to some kind of inside information or a joke?


    I decided not to dwell on it. With a wave of my hand, the spear returned to my storage.


    "Alright." He cleared his throat, settling down. "There''s a real reason I''m here besides just wantin to meet you. The old bastard''s going to talk to you both about it cause it''s gonna concern yah at some point, but I figured I''d back him on it since we''re friends."


    "And I have a feeling I''m not going to like the sound of this." Yasaka sighed. "Continue." She gestured at him.


    "Sorry, it''s not good news." He gave an apologetic smile. "I said I was checking up on that Pendragon Family, I snuck in during one of their meetings heard some secrets." He shot a little smirk my way which annoyed me for some reason. "But I wasn''t the only one there. Saw one of them Fae Folk up on the wall disguised as a bug."


    "Fairies?" Yasaka furrowed her brow. "That was in Ennd, so it''s not that surprising...what would they be doing all the way over here? They nevere to Japan."


    The Old Monkey tapped his pipe. "I think you both know the answer to that question better than I do." He chuckled.


    My mind immediately went to Artoria and I could put the sequence of events together. "Mother fucker." I face palmed.


    "See, the kid gets it." Sun Wukong grinned.


    Artoria was not going to take this kind of news well. "And I assume because it''s being mentioned that they aren''t exactly ideal guests?"


    "There''s no sugar coating it. Most of them are menaces that leave chaos and destruction in their wake, even when not trying. Indra and by extension most Patheons don''t really care, but the humans and their followers often take the brunt of it. I heard a thing or two about others making preparations since they''re popping out of the woodwork all over the ce."


    I knew about Fae, they were not....enjoyable. I knew about my world''s Fae, not my birth world''s. The Rules were different here, did they serve a simr purpose or were they some kind of eldritch monstrosities like some lore describes? Were the courts the same or did the courts not exist?


    "It''s just one thing after another, isn''t it?" Yasaka groaned. "Heard about some Exorcists kicking up a fuss in my territory, now this mess."


    I reached out, grabbing her hand. "Hey, you got all of us. We''ll make sure nothing bad happens." I gave her a reassuring smile.


    Yasaka did perk up a little bit at that. "I do, don''t I?" She smiled brightly right back.


    "Ahem." Sun Wukong cleared his throat. "Not that I don''t find that adorable, but I was gonna head out. I''m already pushing my schedule to report back to the Lightning Head himself."


    "Report about me, you mean." I said dryly.


    "Them''s the breaks." He seemed unconcerned. "But, what I tell him is what I feel like, so don''t worry. He''ll be pissed at you, but he won''t be pissed and paranoid at the very least."


    "Gee thanks." I sighed. "Just what I need, another God whose shitlist I''m on."


    "Seeing you like that makes me feel responsible." He sighed, rummaging through his pockets. "Here, take this as an apology."


    He tossed something into my hand, and my eyes practically buggered out of my head as I realize what it was. "Is this....?"


    "Oh, you recognize it? Yeah, they''re pretty tasty, should be a nice little treat for someone of your level too." He nodded, proud of himself at my reaction.


    "A Peach of Immortality." I said the name out loud.


    "You''re joking." Yasaka brought her face up to it, taking arge whiff. "It smells absolutely divine."


    "Did you really just give me a Peach of Immortality?" I looked up at the old Monkey.


    "Eh, sorta." He made the so-so gesture. "I take it you know about them then?"


    "The Peaches that Grow in the garden at the Jade Emperor''s pce. There are supposedly three types, each gives 3000 years of longevity when eaten. The first blooms every 3000 years and is supposed to ascend you, and makes you stronger and faster. The second blooms every 6000 years and is supposed to give eternal youth and inborn flight. The Third blooms every 9000 years and you be as eternal as the Sun and the Moon." I recited form memory. "Or so I''ve read."


    The Monkey kingughed. "The mortals have embellished them over the years. While they''re pretty darn good, they aren''t that good, otherwise we''d have ruled the long ago."


    "That''s fair, I just got....excited." I held the fruit in my hand and was heavily resisting the urge to shove it into my mouth.


    "This one Is of the first type, like you mentioned. They''re supposed to ripen every 3000 years, but this one is only about 1600 years old before it was forcibly ripened by an influx of immortal Qi ¨C or Senjutsu as it''s known around here. Only about half as good as you''d expect, maybe somewhat worse due to the nature of its ripening." He shrugged, not appearing to care too much about the finer details.


    "Still....this is a valuable thing. I couldn''t even imagine putting a price tag on it."


    "It''s not a big deal, I got about a dozen more." He smirked.


    "Of course you do." I deadpanned. "No wonder the Jade Emperor tries to smite you every time you go to China."


    "I never said it wasn''t for a good reason." He chuckled.


    "Though....a random question about it."


    "Hmm?"


    "Can I...make wine out of this?"


    "You.....want to make wine out of the immortal fruit that other Gods would and have literally killed for?" Sun Wukong asked slowly.


    "I mean....the thought crossed my mind and I was curious?"


    "You." His sses dropped down slightly. "I like you." The corners of his lips curled up. "Let me tell you all about my experience in trying to make Peach Wine with these things." Before I knew it, he had his arm wrapped around my shoulder.


    "Weren''t you getting ready to leave?" Yasaka questioned.


    "Bah, that old Lightning Head can wait. This is important stuff!"


    I''m still annoyed by some of the earlier things he said andheir implications. Not to mention the small amount of worry I had due the new information he revealed regarding the Fae. However...I can''t say I disliked this Buddha.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 280 - 260

    <h4>Chapter 280: Chapter 260</h4>


    Yasaka and I walked into the main hall where Nurarihyon held court.


    The Monkey King had left already after we chatted for a little while. It was....odd seeing another God acting so nonchnt around me. Izzy was one thing, Meridia another, and even Pandora was an outlier due to my status, but he genuinely seemed like a good guy. I had a feeling he was like that to everyone unless you ticked him off.


    Well, I guess he''s a Buddha, not a God, but that was mere semantics as far as mortal standards went. He was an ascended being far above a regr person.


    Definitely not how I pictured a Buddha to act, but at the same time, it''s exactly what I would expect from the Monkey King who retired.


    The room itself was very.... traditional. Nurarihyon sat at the top, elevated slightly above the ground to denote his status. There were many more spots set up all around the room, leaving the center as an open area. There was another spot at his side for Yasaka, I presumed, as a means of proper respect to a foreign leader.


    And Kunou was ying with the old man.


    Reminded me of when Kunou was with Zelretch.


    "Have a good chat?" The Youkai leader nced up at us.


    "It was.... productive." Yasaka exhaled.


    "Stupid Monkey, he told you already, didn''t he?" Nurarihyon grunted.


    "Unfortunately." Yasaka nodded, walking over to her spot, and practically copsed into a sitting position on her mat. "I feel like I can''t get a break." She sighed.


    "It''s not the worst thing we''ve had to deal with." Nurarihyon also didn''t seem to happy. "I still think the Devils and their Evil Pieces being created can''t be topped. How chaotic did things be back then?" He casually pulled at Kunou''s cheeks as she giggled, suspended in air infront of him. "No offense." He nced at me


    "None taken." I took the seat next to Yasaka as she gestured. "I wouldn''t bat an eye if their faction copsed. I''m only talking to.....one other devil." I shrugged, thinking of Venna''s smile thest time I saw her. Was it too soon to shoot her a message? "Nor do I like those Evil Pieces, too easy to abuse."


    "Abuse?" He snorted. "Let''s not pretend like they took anyone else into consideration when they were made."


    "Yeah, that''s a fair assessment." Frankly, someone as smart as Ajuka Beelzebub, he couldn''t have not guessed how they would be used.


    I''ve actually read a few papers published by him. Surprised to find out that there is a sort of Magical Academia out in the open between all factions. Obviously, everyone kept secrets, but research was sometimes shown off for various reasons.


    "Had to remove too many of those annoying bastards when those things were first made. Came running all around here trying to fill their peerages." Nurarihyon barely held back the disgust in his voice. "Lost too many of my men because they got one of those things forced into them and I couldn''t do anything about it."


    "So you hate Devils then?" I hope that didn''t extend to me.


    "Devils as a whole?" He rubbed his chin, spinning his finger in the air, and Kunou who was floating in ce mimicked his movements as she started spinning. Her giggles filled the room, making it hard to take the atmosphere seriously. "I don''t know." He rubbed his head. "I''m not one for just painting them all with the same brush. I don''t like the Devil Faction, but I can understand not all Devils are bad. I don''t start off having a good impression of any Devil I meet, and they gotta earn my respect more than most."


    "Probably more than they deserve from you, based on everything I''ve heard. Just banning any Devil from your territory would be something no one could fault you for if I''m not guessing wrong."


    "Well, I do got a couple thate around that me and my boys like." He adopted a wide grin. "But I don''t talk to the higher ups there, don''t care about negotiations or settling any grudges. What''s done is done, and I don''t want anything to do with their government."


    "And that means theye to me." Yasaka signed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "They think I''m the easier one to seduce with their false promises and what-not."


    Nurarihyon grinned happily at the sulking Yasaka.


    "Huh, how many have tried to get you to join their peerages?" I asked her.


    "Way too many." She said dryly. "But atleast that should mostly stop with you around." One of her tails reached out to me like it usually did.


    Yeah, no other Devil was touching my woman.... except maybe Venna. If any idiot even thought about forcing an Evil Piece on her, he''s going to be eating every single one of them.


    "Speaking of, one Devil and his peeragee around every now and again." Nurarihyon spoke up. "I think you''re rted to him, have a few things inmon too. That Bael brat that got kicked out of his family because he couldn''t use their bloodline or something."


    I blinked in realization. I haven''t thought about him in any capacity. "Really, hees around here?"


    "It was a couple years ago that he came wanting to learn Touki. We, of course, denied him and everything. He knelt infront of my home for two weeks until I agreed to teach him." The Old Youkaiughed. "He''s been weed by me and my boys ever since."


    "Respect where respect is due."


    "Respect transcends all races." Nurarihyon nodded in approval as well. "It''s how that old Monkey and I became friends. I snuck into his home and stole his pipe when I was younger." He flicked his hand, revealing an intricately carved pipe. "Managed to leave India before I was caught. We became fast friends afterwards."


    "Your ability must be really impressive." I furrowed my brow in realization. He snuck into a Godly domain and stole from Sun Wukong himself.... "I couldn''t even tell you were there, only that something was wrong."


    And he said the effect was weakened due to shielding someone else along with him.


    Though, now that I had an idea about him, I might be able to counter that with some effort.


    "Bah, I was stronger when I was younger." He stood up, stretching his back. "This old body of mine can barely even keep up anymore. I was even discovered by you when I was only shielding the Monkey and Myself. If it was a few hundred years ago, you''d been stripped bare before even realizing I was there." Heughed.


    That''s actually a scary thought.


    I wondered what the limits of his ability are. Raikou mentioned him from back home, I should ask her again and get more details, because I''m starting to think this Nurarihyon isn''t as limited as I first thought.


    I had the sneaking suspicious that someone was sandbagging.


    The Youkai waved his hand, and Kunou floated down to us.


    "Aww." She pouted once it was over.


    "My little fox,e sit between us." Yasaka gestured to a small seat beside her.


    Kunou wasn''t new to things like this, so I guessed she realized that y time was over.


    "Thank you for looking after our daughter, Lord Nurarihyon." Yasaka politely stated.


    "Lord, huh?" He propped up his chin. "I guess we''re getting into our roles then." He slumped back into his spot. "And ''our''?" He grinned.


    I patted Kunou''s head. "Yes, our daughter." I confirmed.


    "Hah, just what I''d expect from a Devil. If there''s one thing I admire about you lot, it''s that you don''t dance around things you want. That Bael Brat knelt infront of my house for so long and I''m sure he would have died there if I didn''t say anything. You saw the little Princess and decided to be her Dad? I don''t even bat an eye at it."


    "That''s not....untrue, though Kunou started it." I rubbed my chin. "I do try very hard for things I want." Kunou called me ''daddy'' and I decided that I wanted to fullfil that role.


    Was it abrupt in hindsight? Sure. However, I didn''t regret it at all.


    Nurarihyon smiled, taking out a fan from somewhere, which made me quirk an eyebrow because I didn''t sense spatial fluctuations.


    "Let''s get this party started then." He pped it into his open palm.


    "Literally or figuratively?"


    "Yes." Yasaka said helpfully.


    "So helpful" I deadpanned, running my hand through her tail''s fur. I leaned in slightly. "Any thing I should be prepared for?"


    "Nothing bad, but just go with the flow." She whispered back. "The Old man won''t let anything bad happen but...they''re a quirky lot. He took in the more...abrasive Youkai, the meatheads, the hotheads and everyone in-between. They idolize strength and are probably going to challenge you."


    "A bunch of my boys are upset that Yasaka is finally off the market." Hemented.


    "Well, I guess I have to prove myself then?" He leaned back a little. "And being a Half-Devil probably doesn''t help things."


    "Most certainly not. But you''re also weed by the old man and you''re also my man." Yasaka smiled brightly towards me. "y along, but if anyone oversteps, I''ll deal with them." Her smile turned feral.


    It did make my heart skip a beat, seeing how protective she was of me, even if I was stronger than her.


    Nurarihyon swung his fan out again, and the doors mmed open. Many different figures began filing into the room.


    Every single one of them Youkai and noticeably powerfulpared to the average that I''d thus far seen in Yasaka''s Kyoto.


    They wereughing and chatting as they took what appeared to be assigned seats around the room. However, I saw many taking nces at me, some not holding back the annoyance on their faces.


    Now that everyone was seated and I got a good look around the room, it reminded me of a Yakuza gathering. And Considering the age and history here....it''s probably where the whole Yakuza cliches came from.


    Following them, more people came in, tes of food were distributed along with jars of sake. The atmosphere lived up a little as they started enjoying themselves.


    I just looked around the room some more, trying to figure out what kind of Youkai they were. I saw one Tanuki, surprising considering they weren''t known for being the physically strong kind. Maybe I misunderstood what they meant by ''strength''?


    A lot of Youkai don''t have a type. Some are just created out of human imagination and other various emotions and brought to life. Some are inanimate objects that gained sentience over time or for some other random reason.


    Though many of the ones here did, or I noticed some feature atleast. Along with the Tanuki I saw a Tsuchigumo ¨C a Spider Youkai. A Kamaitachi, a sort of Weasel with wind maniption in its folklore. And even a couple Tengu.


    And that was just scratching the surface, because there were a few dozen Youkai sitting in here along with us.


    After awhile, Nurarihyon stood up, everyone quieted down at his sudden motions. "Alright, everyone''s fed and decently drunk." There were a few cheers in response. "So we all know it''s that time of the year and Lady Yasaka from the other end hase over again." He gestured to her. "And don''t forget the little Princess." He then gestured towards Kunou.


    Funnily enough, Kunou got more cheers than Yasaka.


    No one can resist the cute fox.


    "But we got a neer this time around." And then all eyes were on me. "Let me introduce him to all of you ¨C Wilhelm Schweinorg. I''m sure many of you have heard some rumors and such. Well, he''s here under the status of Yasaka''s Lover and Kunou''s father."


    And now, they were ring at me.


    I couldn''t me them either, Yasaka was a wonderful woman, but she was mine.


    Nurarihyon nced at me, and Yasaka sent me a look and I realized it was my turn.


    "Anyone got a problem with that?" I spoke up for the first time, sounding a little arrogant if I said so myself. Based on what I was told, I figured it was better toe off strong.


    "Oho." Nurarihyon grinned. "You all gonna let him get away with that?" He swept his gaze around the room.


    Roars and shouts erupted, words thrown at me, but only one person stood up. And he was the biggest guy in the room. His skin looked a toasty brown, with long white hair and a scared face. It gave the impression of a life full of fighting.


    "Yeah, I got a problem with it!" He stomped forward. "You got a lot of nerveing in here and saying something like that! We already letting you be even if you aint worthy of Yasaka, but you trying to start something? A scrawny Devil like you? I''ll show Yasaka you aint a good fit." He mmed his fist on his chest.


    "Got a response for that, brat?" Nurarihyonughed, looking towards me. Almost everyone waiting for me to respond.


    "Well, it looks like someone''s calling me out." I stood up, loosening my tie. "How about we make it a little more interesting?" I offered.


    Nurarihyon quirked an eyebrow, still smiling wide. "What you got in mind, brat?"


    "Nothing much, just a small request for the winner. Of course, if I win, ites from you." I stated.


    "Interesting, I ept." He pped his fan against his palm. "What do you think Yasaka, can your man win against my Lieutenant?"


    Yasaka actually looked....bashful. I think she was enjoying this all too much. The fact that I was defending my spot at her side probably made her happy. "I have no worries, my man is strong~"


    "Beat him up, daddy!" Kunou shouted, making the room go quiet beforeughter rang out.


    The big guy looked.... deted at the words. Kunou scored hits even when she''s not involved


    Well, I didn''t mind ying along like this. I wanted to get into Nurarihyon good graces, make an ally hopefully and help things between the two factions. This felt more like a formality that the old man set up than an actual calling out.


    I rolled up my sleeves, meeting him opposite in the middle of the room. "Rules?" I asked.


    "No weapons, no Magic, no nothin but our fists!" He smashed them together.


    "Alright, I want a clean fight then. This isn''t to the death and we aren''t making enemies here. A friendly brawl over some drinks." Nurarihyon poked us both with his fan before turning back towards everyone. "Settle an old man''s curiosity, what''re you going to request from me if you win?" He asked, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Keep in mind, it''s only a small request."


    Did he realize I was going to win? So it was just a spectacle then.


    "If I win..." I looked at him. "I want to be a member of the Hyakki Yagy¨­- ¨C The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons."


    I was met with silence.


    "You..." The big Youkai raised hisrge hand, pointing at me. "You want to join.....why?"


    "Why wouldn''t I?" I quirked my head. "I grew up Japanese, I''ve heard the stories, I lived the stories. Why wouldn''t I want to join when I am presented with the chance. Call it....a childhood dream." My mom did tell them to me when I was little, among other ones. It''s very popr folk lore in this country. While I was never quite as fascinated like with other things, I still thoroughly enjoyed them. "Can''t say I''ll be around all the time, but I''d love an honorary position."


    Childhood nostalgia reared its head again. It would also make good inroads with the group after proving myself and getting epted. Should help Yasaka too in that regard, so it was killing multiple birds with one stone.


    "Boss." The Big Youkai''s posture changed. "Let''s change the rules."


    Nurarihyon''s expression changed, though he didn''t seem displeased in the slightest. "I feel the same way."


    "I''m gonna use my Touki and Youjutsu. Use whatever you want." The Big Guy stated, looking much more serious that he was before.


    Youjutsu, huh? It''s the power inherent by Youkai, like how Demonic Energy is inherent by Devils. Yasaka doesn''t use it much, specializing more in Touki than the former.


    The Big guy rolled up his sleeves, revealing many tattoos up his arms, and they began to glow. His Touki visibly engulfed his body as well.


    "I''m Aotab¨­. I was born a spirit from a fire that ravaged a town three hundred years ago." He introduced himself. "I''m Third seat to the boss. If you want to join, you''re gonna have to get through me."


    It sounded domineering, and maybe even meant to be said to dissuade me. However, the look on his face, the anticipation, well, I believed he was expecting it.


    I rolled my own sleeves up, Aura ring and Magical Energy filling my body with Reinforcement.


    It was a chance to see a Youkai''s abilities up front, and a powerful one at that. I thought this guy was atleast in Ultimate ss, if barely.


    "With Pleasure."


    ***


    No, this isn''t a crossover with the Nurarihyon series, I just barrowed a few things here or there like this guy''s name.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 281 - 261

    <h4>Chapter 281: Chapter 261</h4>


    I admired the amount of power that was being put off of this Youkai. Though, I didn''t know if he was intentionally letting his Touki re so violently, or it was just a sign of being at a lower threshold than Yasaka''s because even before unlocking her Aura, Yasaka was noticeably stronger.


    Around us, a barrier flickered into existence, covering the center area that was designed to be our stage. Based on their personalities, I wouldn''t be surprised if they had infact made this whole room with the intended purpose of having people brawl right in the middle of it.


    I rolled up my own sleeves, and locked eyes with him. I''d admit I was a little enthused by this turn of events. I did love a good spar and I hadn''t had a good fight in too long....


    Dammit, Sc¨¢thach corrupted me.


    In more ways than one.


    "Careful." Aotab¨­ intoned. "My mes hold the grudges of everyone who died at my birth." He gave a word of warning before said mes enveloped his fists more thoroughly.


    And they were not normal mes, even with magical senses/sight. They held a baleful aura to them, with almost a gray shimmer.


    I could feel it prickle against my skin.


    "Interesting." I couldn''t help but grin, raising my arms up, ready for him. "Show me what you got."


    He didn''t speak again, but he stepped forward and his massive fist swung down. The Touki around it exploded, and the mes around it roared.


    I raised my arms up to block, my Aura ring up protectively as he made contract. I felt it and my feet skid across the wooden flooring as I found myself several feet back from where I started.


    He looked proud of himself, raising his fist up again.


    I clenched my hand a few times and looked at my Aura where his mes attacked. They hadn''t burned, they eroded. His mes managed to erode away a small portion of my Aura on contact.


    How fun.


    "I thought you were just a scrawny Magician." He grunted. "Guess you got some kick in ya."


    Did he not know I fought Susanoo or was he just goading me, wanting me to go hard?


    Either way.


    I kicked off the ground, my own fist covered in my Aura. He copied me, raising his arms up to block as I mmed my fist into his guard. He went sliding across the ground, sliding a couple more feet further than I did.


    He slowly lowered his arms, his re making it through. There was a slight red spot where I hit him.


    I don''t think this was so much about fighting as ''proving'' myself.


    His Touki roared to life again, his massive body moved faster than it had any right to. Within the blink of an eye, he was already infront of me again, his fist flying down.


    My Aura-d left arm swiped up, knocking it away and I followed up with my own punch right towards his face.


    He spun his body to the side, rolling with the blow, taking no damage. Instead of immediately turning back and throwing another fist, he continued in his motion, pivoting on his foot, his leging from behind, his heel aimed at my temple.


    It was an impressive disy of maneuverability for someone his size. Right at the moment hemitted to the attack, his cursed mes enveloped his leg.


    I ducked under the kick, the cursed mes corroding the air right above me and sailing off, mming into the barrier.


    "RAAAH!" Therge Youkai let out a roar, regaining his original footing, a flurry of punches rained down on me.


    I didn''t back down, my Aura burst out to meet the intensity of his Touki as I also began to throw out my own punches to meet his. They weren''t mindless exchanges like what I had done with Susanoo to prove a point. No, we each sought the other''s openings, deflecting and parrying any blows that would be critical.


    Within these exchanges I could tell that he was superior to me in unarmed martial prowess. I would admit it wasn''t something I could im mastery of or even much familiarity with. However, My Aura and physical prowess were able to offset that advantage without pushing further into my own abilities.


    Just when I thought he was going to force a new opening, he instead jumped back, gaining distance. "You fight well, Devil." He spoke a smidgen of respect present. "Hmph, I should be offended you''re not at your best but I''ve been enjoying this too much." There waw the making of a smile forming on his face. "This has gone on long enough, take my strongest blow."


    I chuckled at his words. "I''m better with my sword and Magic." I freely admitted. "Come, let me see your best, I''ll meet it head on."


    "Well said!" He raised his voice along with another explosion of power. His Touki was erratic before, but now, it was running rampant. His cursed mes also startedshing out uncontrobly. The Tattoos on his arms ¨C some sort of mystical enhancement or something ¨C glowed with a monochromatic light. His Touki and his mes suddenly jerked and were forced together.


    Behind him, they formed an image of a skull and it let out a roar before it dispersed and gathered around his right arm.


    "Damn brat, you''re going to make me put effort into this!" I Heard Nurarihyon groan and felt the barrier around us intensify in power.


    I looked at his Cursed mes that were condensed around his arm, enhanced and empowered by his Touki. Frankly, it reminded me of my own Power of Destruction, a simr concept at their base. His corroded, mine destroyed.


    His mes certainly had potential to reach greater heights.


    "Impressive, got a name for that attack?" I questioned, mentally touching upon my spark of divinity deep within myself.


    "Name?" He grabbed hold of his right arm with his left hand, as if to keep it in check. "I''ve always called it my Cursed Fist."


    .....better than most names I''ve heardtely. Especially since there were phantom skulls floating around his fist, as if screaming in agony.


    "Showing me something so interesting, I''ll meet you in kind." My Divine Lightning crackled forth. The first time I had done this since gaining my Divinity. My Lightning Armor enveloped my arms, the dense collection of the lightning element with my new Divine Lightning.


    "Don''t die, punk!" He let out a shout, and a fully formed smile donned on his face. He shed forward, reeling that mass of negativity in the form of a fist back, and swung it forward as he neared.


    The Curses and Grudges were released and flew at me along with the massive pressure of his Touki wrapped around the corroding mes.


    I raised my arm up, and I caught it.


    My Lightning shuddered, and the surroundings around us were blown apart, the barrier fluctuating from the shockwaves.


    His eyes widened at my unmoving body, my Lightning crackling and tearing through the corroding mes they came in contact with it.


    Despite their different natures, his mes were still nowhere near the level of Karna''s mes. They stood no chance again my Divine Lightning


    Within that moment, I swung my free hand up towards his chin. A thunderp sounded off, a shock wave erupted from the blow as his head was knocked upwards and his eyes rolled back. In another swift motion, I ced my palm on his chest and twisted it. My Aura gathered around my Divine Lightning and all discharged at the point of contact.


    He went sailing off into the barrier with a following burst of Lightning.


    Once the stray bolts of lightning faded, and the dust settled, Aotab¨­ shakily tried to push himself up, only to fall back to his knees.


    I walked over, his hesitant eyes looking up at me. I dismissed my lightning, my Reinforcement, and even my Aura settled down. And I offered him a hand with a smile. "That was an impressive attack."


    I wasn''t trying to assuage any bruised ego he might have. I''d never seen a Grudge used in such a way and was impressed. He was a Fire spirit ¨C a Youkai who utilized the means of his own birth, the Grudges and Curses he was birthed by as a means of attack.


    The Youkai looked at me, letting out a sigh and a small chuckle. "It wasn''t enough." He epted my hand as I helped him back up to his feet.


    I flipped my hand over, producing a Health Potion, offering it to him.


    He blinked, staring at it curiously and took it after a slight hesitation. Though he did pop the cork off and down it without a second thought. "Oh, that feels better."


    "Your defeat wasn''t unearned." I blinked in surprise as Nurarihyon stepped between us and I hadn''t notice him. Aotab¨­ seemed to slump down until the older Youkai pped his chest with a smile. "Even I would have a hard time dealing with Divine Lightning."


    "D-divine Lightning?" He repeated, looking at Nurarihyon then at me with shock.


    I just whistled, looking away.


    "Go rest, it was a good spar." The Old Youkai chuckled.


    Aotab¨­ nodded, shuffling back to his spot he sat out.


    "Now!" Nurarihyon roared, silencing murmurs and whispers that had started since theirrade''s defeat. "You all know how I like to do things. We respect strength!" He thrusted his fist up, earning a roar from the room. "But that doesn''t always mean having a strong fist. Sure, most of us are great at punching things really hard." He quirked a smile, followed byughter from everything. "But what we pride ourselves on most is strength of heart, and strength of will!"


    There was a round of nodding and acknowledgement.


    "Wilhelm here is a Swordsman and a Magician." He gestured towards me. "He met Aotab¨­ in a fist fight, and we all saw how that went. I think he carried himself exactly like one of us should, what do you all think!? Is there anyone who disagrees with his cement? To make him an honorary member of our little parade?" He swept his gaze around the room and there were no more res. "Good, you all know the tradition then!" He held his hand out, and pushed a cup of Sake into my hands.


    "Let''s wee our newest member!" He raised his own ss, everyone in the room following suit, even Yasaka. "Kanpai!" They all shouted, downing their cups.


    Iughed, raising mine up too. "Kanpai." I held it high, before downing the sake in one gulp.


    "Alright, alright." Nurarihyon started to settle everyone down again. "You know I''d usually make this a party and we''d celebrate, but we do have some things to talk about."


    "Boo!"


    "Who said that!?" Nurarihyon growled. "p whoever said that!"


    "Oww" A Youkai in the corner cried out.


    I took that as a cue to move back to my seat.


    "Did I do good?" I whispered to Yasaka, sliding in next to her.


    "Oh honey, you did wonderful." She purred into my ear. "I''m going to be able to ride this windfall for years toe."


    "You all know my thoughts on other races. I don''t normally care whoes here as long as they don''t cause trouble." He crossed his arms with a huff. "Someone broke that trust. Or should I say, some people." He raised his hand, pointing towards the Spider Youkai. "Joro was the first to notice what happened and we managed to sweep them all up. These outsiders snuck into our territory and reced some of our people, trying to infiltrate our home."


    There were shouts of anger, auras erupting at his words.


    "Don''t worry, I did a thorough sweep of our territory, there aren''t anymore here right now." He raised his arms up, trying to m everyone down.


    "Boss, who dares!?" Aotab¨­ mmed his fists down, cracking the floor.


    "Fairies." Nurarhiyon scowled. "Most of you lot don''t remember when they were active some centuries ago. Not a good group, annoying and vindictive. They hold grudges more than any other species in the world. Specifically, they were Elves. Damn good at disguising themselves. Don''t know why they were here, and I don''t care. They''re no longer weed. I''m dering open season on any Fairies thate through!"


    There were more cheers, a clear fire in their eyes with venom spat out in hate.


    "Boss." A calm voice carried over the crowd. Everyone turned to see a Youkai in the far corner.


    "Zhu Bajie, speak." Nurarhiyon addressed him.


    Zhu Bajie? Wasn''t that the name of the Pig Demon from Journey to the west? I highly doubted that this was the same pig, I supposed some descendent?


    A Boar or Pig Youkai. His fingers were interlocked, arms propped up. He gazed off into the distance, a serious look on his face. I didn''t know who this Youkai was, but he had an intense pressure about him. "Are they...Hentai Elves?" He asked withplete seriousness.


    Silence filled the room, everyone look at him in disbelief.


    ".....Drag him outside." Nurarihyon said slowly. "Strip him and beat him."


    "Boss, please answer!" The supposed Zhu Bajie squealed as a couple other Youkai grabbed him. He grabbed at the ground, literally squealing as he was dragged outside. "It''s a man''s romance, boss!"


    "Beat him until he cries for his mom."


    "Boss.....do we have to? Thest time we had to beat him up, he.....made it weird." One of the Youkai dragging him out said embarrassed.


    "Dammit, Zhu Bajie." Nurarihyon face palmed.


    "Mommy, what''s ''hentai''?" Kunou asked, and everyone in the room heard.


    "Execute him." I said without a second thought.


    "Why does something like this always happen?" Yasaka sighed.


    "Mommy?"


    "We''ll talkter, sweetie. It''s not something to talk about in public." She atleast got Kunou not to bring it up for now.


    "....Zhu Bajie?" I hesitantly asked.


    "Descended from his namesake." Nurarihyo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Even the Old Monkey wants nothing to do with him. And to make it worse, he''s loyal and trustworthy. He''s literally put his body on the line for hisrades and almost died a few times."


    Admirable.....


    " I suggest we move on." I offered an out.


    "Excellent idea." Nurarihyon shifted back to his earlier temper. "Fairies!" He pped his hands. "They''re running around in our home and causing trouble. And right as we got our yearly festivaling up. So I wanted everyone to know about the potential threat while we''re all out having fun. I need everyone to be on the lookout this year." He turned towards Yasaka. "I''ll pass it over to our esteemed ally."


    "Thank you." Yasaka gracefully smiled, standing up and making her way next to the old man. "Not much is changing this year. We''ll have the Arena set up again and do the whole song and dance you all enjoy so much. So no fighting in the streets unless you got a damn good reason, and you will exin your reason to either myself or Nurarihyon." She red at everyone, most of who looked rather sheepish. "And as The Old man said, be on the lookout, but I also got a few extra hands helping me so also be sure to enjoy the festivities. Besides the new threat, we all had a run in with those cultists not that long ago. Be on the lookout for them as well, I don''t suspect anything, but it''s better to err on the side of caution."


    "Damn bastards." Nurarihyon growled. "Set up a bunch of bombs around our home just to distract us from helping you lot."


    Sounded like both ends got a kick in the side from those Tamamo-no-Mae cultists.


    I leaned back as Yasaka continued on. "We have a few more details to work out, and the sooner we get them done, the sooner we can start the celebrations."


    It was fun seeing Yasaka in her element, being a leader. Watching her capture the attention of everyone, captivating them with her charisma. They weren''t even her subjects, yet they hung onto her every word.


    I''m lucky to have such an amazing woman.


    And I was getting excited for our ''date'' that wasing along with the festival.


    ***


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 Chapter 282 - 262

    <h4>Chapter 282: Chapter 262</h4>


    "Hey Girls." I greeted Artoria and Raikou who were sitting on the couch watching TV.


    Surprised, they turned from the cooking show they were watching.


    "Wilhelm."


    "Master."


    They both perked up upon seeing me portal into the room.


    I stretched with a yawn, taking an empty seat.


    "Have you finished with what you needed to do with Yasaka?" Artoria asked.


    "Yes, I''m curious about the Nurarihyon here as well." Raikou sounded just as interested.


    "Yeah, we were there prettyte. They were celebrating and we got swept up into it and only left when Kunou couldn''t keep her eyes open. So I stayed the night over at Yasaka''s." Fluffy tails were always nice to sleep between. "Good news is, things are probably as good as they can get between both factions and from what Yasaka told me, the festival is going to start at the end of the week."


    "I look forward to partaking in the festivals." Artoria smiled warmly.


    "It feels so nostalgic." Raikou looked wistful. "And how was the other Youkai leader?"


    "He''s.....an interesting character. And I can say for a fact that he''s sandbagging around me and is much stronger than he lets on. His ability is terrifying and he snuck up on my several times without me being able to notice."


    "Master, you should be wary of him regardless." Raikou warned, perhaps leaning more on her own experience.


    Yeah, I remembered she said that our version could hide from the world if he chose. Time had no effect and such if he desired it.


    Fucking terrifying.


    Thankfully, I think this Nurarihyon is nowhere near that level.


    "And there were no problems that urred?" Artoria asked.


    "There was, but it''s not something that needs immediate action." She needed to know, but I wanted to make her understand it wasn''t her fault that this was happening. "Oh, I almost forgot. I also met with Sun Wukong."


    ".....the Monkey King from legends?" Raikou tilt her head.


    "One in the same." I nodded. "Long story short, apparently my actions have caused Indra some manner of...annoyance since his irvoyance isn''t seeing me properly."


    Kind of funny considering he''s Raikous father.


    "You are not showing any signs of panic, so I assume that it is not a immediate problem?" Artoria asked while Raikou looked worried, but silent.


    "Pretty much." I scoot closer to her. "With every Patheon up and about, he can''t really send his people over here to cause problems. Oh, on a side note, Cao Cao was one of his apparently, even if he had no hand in what the idiot was doing."


    "....I am not surprised." Artoria sighed.


    "Oh." I perked up upon remembering. "The Monkey King also gave me this as an apology." I took out the Peach.


    "I-is that what I think it is?" Artoria crawled over to where I was, and even Raikou was up on her feet, only a few inches away from what I held in my hand. I couldn''t fault them it was a very tempting item I acquired.


    "A peach of Immortality." I nodded. "Granted, it''s...a little defective, but it''s about half as good as the lowest level one in legends."


    ".....A-are you going to eat it?"


    "You''re drooling." I pointed out.


    "I am not." Said the Servant with drool falling down her chin.


    I quickly put the Peach away as I feared it might enter the abyss that was Artoria''s stomach. She looked depressed once it disappeared and I couldn''t help myself. I moved in quickly, my lips iming hers with my tongue sneaking into her mouth.


    "Mmmfh!?" She made a surprised noise before rxing and enjoying the moment.


    "Tasty." I grinned at her as we finally parted. I did so love seeing her get so flustered. I nced at Raikou who had been looking at us. "You''re next." I didn''t give my Servant a chanced to respond before pulling her down to me, taking her just as I did Artoria.


    Having her sink into my arms always gave me a warm feeling.


    "Master~" Raikou cooed when herlips were freed from mine.


    "Just a nibble?" Artoria, uncharacteristically pouted, wiggling into my side as Raikou upied my arms.


    "I have a n for it, and you''ll get to enjoy the taste still."


    "Ooh?" Her eyes sparkled.


    "I''m going to see about adding it to a batch of materials and make a wine." I exined. "I know you''re not a big drinker but.."


    "I do not mind wine." Artoria responded. "I have enjoyed wine much in the past and have a preference towards it."


    That..... made sense. Yeah, not everyone who enjoys alcohol liked harder liquor.


    "It''s a work in progress, more a thought really. I don''t actually know anyone who has the knowledge on how to make wine from an Immortal fruit." Maybe I should ask Izzy for advice?


    "By the way ¨C " I kissed Raikou''s nose. "How was meeting Izanami for the first time?"


    "She was pleasant." Raikou responded with a smile. "I can see why you are fond of her. It was amusing to see a Goddess try her best to appear non threatening."


    "No longer hesitant about me being friends with her?" I questioned. Izzy was a good friend of mine and I didn''t want any contention there between them if possible.


    Raikou cutely shook her head.


    "It was enjoyable seeing Rin stammer around her." Artoria giggled. "The others also seemed to enjoy her presence."


    That''s good. I wanted my women to get along with my friends.


    I did want to talk about other things, but for the moment, I opted to start exploring their bodies with my hands. And the looks they gave me certainly showed they had no problem with what I was doing.


    ***


    "I do not know how you convinced me to do this." Artoria huffed, stepping through my portal.


    "My charming smile." I offered as an usible exnation.


    "I believe it was the thing he was doing with his fingers." Raikou giggled.


    "D-do not mention that! I was swept up in the moment." Artoria turned a very bright red.


    "I think your face was cute." Raikou smiled. "And the sounds you made were also adorable~"


    Raikou teasing Artoria, I didn''t know I needed this is my life until now.


    Artoria could only just cover her face in embarrassment.


    "But in all seriousness, you said that Rin was doing things in her Workshop all day and you wanted toe along with me during my errands."


    Though, maybe there was some truth in Raikou''s words. I didn''t think she''d be bold enough to show off her panties to an audience when I got a little handsy. It just goes to show howfortable Artoria had be with my other girls. She didn''t mind me doing some light touching and letting another person hear her little moans.


    And Raikou, well, she had almost no issue doing lewd things with me if others were around. Well, others as in my other girls, I don''t think she would appreciate being shown off to random people, not that I would want that either.


    Hell, that whole thing with Sc¨¢thach, she was very into it.


    "Must we see...her." Artoria huffed once more, seemingly calmed down, if still a little red.


    "I like her." I shrugged. "I think we''re bing fast friends."


    "Very well." Artoria breathed out. "I suppose I do not.....despise her."


    "Who are we visiting?" Raikou asked. "You merely said you were running errands and asked if we wanted to apany you."


    "A Servant in Artoria''s War." I always was hesitant to reveal the identities of servants to other people, it was a personal thing in many circumstances. To know another Servant''s name meant you knew very intimate things about them by way of the Grail.


    "Caster." Artoria said dryly. "She is.....entric."


    "...I believe can I feel a simrly to my own Caster." Raikou sympathized.


    "But why did you not deposit us at the temple where she resides?" Artoria looked at me curiously.


    "Well, I wanted a nice moonlit walk with two beautifuldies." I shot them a smile. "And admittedly, I do have things I need to reveal that concern us that Yasaka and I learned yesterday."


    "I fear a sense of dread approaching." Artoria''s expression turned serious. "You danced around it, I can assume it involves me in some way as you have taken nces towards me."


    "It does." I wouldn''t hide it nor sugar coat it. She was an adult, and I wouldn''t baby her. "The Pendragon incident had unforeseen consequences."


    "Of course it did." Artoria groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I am still dealing with issues that are apanying that mess. Please, just be blunt about it I wish not to be held under bated breath."


    "The Fae had been moving since then." There was no more blunt way to say it than that. "Nurarihyon told us he discovered several Faeries that had reced some of his people in secret. I assume that Yasaka is talking to the others and asking for help. Sc¨¢thach should be knowledgeable on their ploys and magics to find any spies."


    Atleast, that was what I got from our talk before.


    "But why would ¨C" Artoria paused, a realization dawning on her. "It''s my fault. I used my Noble Phantasm ¨C both of them so zingly."


    "Perhaps, but no one''s ming you." There was no denying that her actions were likely what led to this, but it wasn''t her fault in the way of me. "And if I see you start sulking, Yasaka gave me permission to spank you."


    "I am doubtful that Yasaka told you to do such." Artoria gave me the driest look.


    "You wanna bet?"


    "....I retract my previous words." There was a little bit of amusement in her tone, so I suppose I did my job correctly. "Ignoring my sword for what it is, Avalon may be the more pressing issue. It is not only my greatest defense, but it is also a metaphysical link to the reverse side ¨C to Avalon that resides within the Fae Realms."


    "Yup, I thought so as well. There is no doubt that they noticed a new pathway that opened up to their home that also just abruptly appeared with little to no reason."


    "Perhaps I should ¨C" Artoria was abruptly cut of, her face pushed between two veryrge breasts.


    "I don''t want to see you depressed." Raikou hugged her tight, without any prompting from anyone else. "No one mes you."


    Raikou being affectionate with other people was wholesome.


    "Y-you made your point." Artoria managed to get out while suffocating in the best way.


    Raikou set the shorter girl back down.


    "I don''t think she did, you should kiss just to be sure." They both slowly turned towards me, seemingly confused. "I don''t know why you''re surprised I would say something like that." I shook my head. "You should know what I''m about at this point."


    "D-don''t make it sound like we''re in the wrong!" Artoria squeaked.


    "Master is being naughty." Raikou blushed a little.


    The thought of them making out was hot though.


    One day.


    "Feel better?" I bumped into my beautiful knight.


    "I am mortified, confused, embarrassed and still.... Aroused." She added thest word very quietly. "I do not believe I have room to feel depressed or upset right now."


    "A job well done then." I said proudly.


    "You are ridiculous." She huffed, barely hiding that growing smile of hers.


    "If it makes you feel better, I''ll be as ridiculously as you need me to be." I stopped my teasing and took her in for a hug without any lewd thoughts. She sunk into my arms happily, a content look on her face.


    "Thank you." She said quietly. "However, I believe we should meet the Witch before she gets impatient and moves to us."


    "That''s.... a good idea, she''d probably be irate if we just lingered while not heading her way." Medea didn''t like being forced away from her home.


    I snuck my hand over to Raikou''s interlocking our fingers. I didn''t want her to feel left out. I was being affectionate with Artoria because I knew she would start self-deprecating otherwise.


    Though I could tell by the look on her face that I might have been overthinking things.


    ***


    "Well, I didn''t expect to see you again so soon." I recognized the voice of Assassin as we approached the steps of the temple. "And the little Lioness."


    "Sasaki Kojirou." Artoria adopted a smile. "It is nice to see you well."


    A respect between former enemies.


    "And a new face." He looked towards my Servant. "It''s an absolute pleasure to meet such a beautiful woman."


    "My woman." I rified, feeling a little possessive.


    "Unfortunate." He gave up easily. "Sasaki Kojirou, Servant Assassin." He held out his hand in greeting.


    "Minamoto-no-Raikou, Servant Berserker." She took his hand politely.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet another from this country." He smiled. "Perhaps we should spar at some point."


    "I would not be against such a thing." Raikou nodded.


    She wasn''t quite the battle maniac like some of us were, but she held a high opinion of martial prowess and honing of ability. If she could help it, she wouldn''t fight, but a friendly spar would be something she could enjoy every now and then.


    "Caster in?" I asked.


    "She is." He nodded. "Do you wish.....to pass by." He had that same glint in his eyes.


    "Really, going to do this now?"


    "I am the guardian of the gate." He chuckled.


    "You know, I could have just teleported right to the Temple." I pointed out.


    "That is a fair point." He rubbed his chin. "I shall let you pass if ¨C"


    I took a Jar of Sake out and tossed it to him.


    "Have a nice evening." He quickly stepped to the side.


    He was easy to please. Honestly, he would have let us go regardless, and I would have given that Sake to him regardless, but it''s just a little game we yed.


    "This is a pleasant temple, however, there is a lingering stench of resentment in the air." Raikou scrunched her nose.


    "An unfortunate happenstance of our Grail War. An Evil God lingered within the grail and attempted to manifest upon granting a wish. Its...filth left scar upon this town. It is worse when approaching the park in the city." Artoria was the one to exin.


    "That''s one way to put it." Medea''s voice echoed out, standing at the peak of the ascending stairs. "Little Artoria, you came back~"


    "Caster." Artoria groaned.


    "And a new one." She visibly gave Raikou and up and down look. "My....I have so many ideas looking at your figure. I would love to get my hands all over you~"


    "That sounded lewd." I stated.


    "I know." Medea smirked.


    "And he calls you a friend for a reason." Artoria sighed.


    "My body belongs to my Master." Raikou replied to the Witch.


    "Fufufu, how delicious." Medea didn''t seem dissuaded in the slightest.


    "Can wee in? Got some stuff I wanted to talk to you about." May as well get this underway.


    "I suppose." She shifted demeanor quickly. "My Husband is inside, so behave yourself."


    "Fianc¨¦." I corrected. "And I always behave myself."


    She puffed up with a huff but didn''t correct me.


    "Master, it''s not good to lie." Raikou chastised.


    "Yes, Wilhelm. Please don''t say such false statements." Artoria agreed.


    "Fufufu, you both are definitely wee in my home." Medea smiled brightly.


    "This is for the kissing thing earlier, isn''t it?"


    They didn''t answer, but followed after Caster as she entered the temple. Her home as she called it, even though there were other monks still living there.


    She led us through a few different rooms until we came to an area that was obviously her own. Sliding a door open, we were greeted by the sight of another person siting at a table in the middle of the room.


    "Hubby~" Medea ran to his side, draping herself over him. He didn''t even react to her shenanigans, calmly drinking his tea.


    "Caster, we have guests." His voice was very even. "Please prepare spots for them."


    "Of course, hubby!" She sprang to her feet, preparing more tea apparently.


    The three of us wordlessly slid into the opposite spots of the table from him.


    "Master of Caster, it''s been awhile." Artoria was the first to address him.


    "Yes, Saber." His reply was simple. He didn''t seem like a man of many words. "How is my former student?"


    Artoria''s expression softened. "Rin has been doing well after graduating. She is attending various magical schools and continues to pursue her education."


    The way she worded it was specific.


    "Good. She was an intelligent and well behaved student." He nodded in approval.


    If I remembered correctly, he was Rin''s teacher at school and happened upon Caster and became her Master.


    Talk about an awkward start to a rtionship.


    "Tea is served!" Medea ced us individual cups, plopping down next to her Master after she finished.


    "I suppose I should introduce myself." I wouldn''t want to be impolite. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. This is my servant." I gestured to Raikou. "And I''m currently dating Artoria."


    He blinked briefly at that but just epted it. The faintest of red appeared on Artoria''s cheeks again. I swear, this girl was far too easy to get flustered considering her past. But it always made me feel good when it happened.


    "I am Minamoto-no-Raikou." She said briefly. I noticed that while her Mad Enhancement was gone and she wasn''t dismissive of everyone but me, it still took a lot for her to care about other people outside of our circle.


    "Greetings to your honorable self." He bowed his head slightly, an act of respect towards her. "I am Souchirou Kuzuki"


    Raikou looked pleased with that introduction, a little smile forming on her face as she gave him a polite nod.


    "And I''m Medea of Colchis." Medea sipped her tea. "Now, introductions are out of the way, whaddya want, brat?"


    She was clearly talking to me. "I wanted to extend you an invitation."


    "You''re finally getting married!? Oh, I have so many wedding dresses for Saber to try on!" She eximed.


    "Caster!" Saber squeaked. "W-we are not getting married!"


    "Then I lost interest." Medea deted. "Just spit it out."


    "Over in my birth world, there''s going to be a celebration ¨C a festival ¨C in a sub dimension created for the Youkai. I wanted you toe over with your Fianc¨¦ and have fun."


    "....You''re inviting us to a...party?" She questioned.


    "You can look at it that way."


    "Why?" She looked at my skeptically.


    "Well, first off, you''re my friend." I held a finger up, and she scoffed with an arm cross. "Second, I wanted to give you a.....inroad towards Atnta if you wanted. I know it''s been an awkward situation to navigate and from what I''ve understood it hasn''t gone anywhere. And I don''t want to stick my nose where it doesn''t belong ¨C already did that not too long ago and caused issues ¨C so I just wanted to present the opportunity at the very least."


    "And this is you not sticking your nose where it doesn''t belong?" She snorted.


    "This is me being a concerned friend." I retorted.


    She huffed. "I don''t need your help."


    "Medea." Her master interjected. "Behave."


    "Mou~ Hubby don''t take his side!" Medea whined.


    "You have spoke of both Wilhelm and Atnta on a few asions." He closed his eyes, sipping his tea. "Don''t dismiss them out of fear."


    Huh, she told her fianc¨¦ about me? That made me happy to hear.


    "When?" She grunted.


    "End of the week." I smiled much to her annoyance.


    "Will it be safe?'' Kuzuki asked. "I am not knowledgeable about many things. But I do not have a good opinion of Youkai based on stories."


    "The leader there is Yasaka ¨C a Nine Tailed Fox, she''s also my woman. Not to mention some other familiar faces will be up and about. If some idiot attacks or does something stupid, I can''t speak for them. But for the general popce, there are plenty of humans that walk around with no issue."


    "eptable." He replied bluntly again.


    "Fine, I guess we''re going on a date then." Medea rolled her eyes and tried to sound annoyed, but it was failing horribly.


    "Also, how would you like to get in a research project with me and some other people?" It would be very beneficial if I had her help with our research.


    "Research project?" She tilted her head. "What do you need my help with, boyo?"


    "Well, it''splicated and would take awhile to exin. There are a few other people who will work at it from different angles, but for now, I would like your help crafting a Mystic Code with dragon parts."


    "You want my help to create a Mystic Code with legendary materials?" She said dryly. ".....I suppose I could lend my aid since you would at least be working with something eptable." And she wasn''t totally salivating at the idea of working with Dragon Materials. "The Gods know you could use some real magical guidance." She added with a rather haughty tone.


    Oh, so that''s how it''s going to be, huh?


    "Souchirou Kuzuki." I looked towards him. "Permission to give your fianc¨¦ a purely tonic hug?"


    "W-what!?"


    "Granted." He replied.


    "H-hubby!?"


    "Get over here." I stood up, arms open.


    "Get away from me you brat!" She squeaked with a flustered look before teleporting away.


    "There is no fighting it, Caster." Artoria calmly drank from her own tea, an amused smile on her face.


    "Thank you." Kuzuki''s tone still never shifting, but there was a hint of appreciation to it. "Caster pretends to be annoyed, she simply has difficult expressing her true feelings." He had the faintest hints of a smile forming on his face.


    "It''s my pleasure." I grinned happily, opening portal to where she teleported to.


    Real Magical guidance, huh?


    Gonna bully a witch.


    ***


    Noncanon Omake ¨C Gaining a ''System''.


    "You know, Ddraig, it''s days like this that really make me appreciate life." Iid upon the grasswn of my house, basking in the sunlight.


    [Ah,zing around, those times are always enjoyable. Not a care in the world.]


    I closed my eyes, letting myself drift off. I think I was about to fall asleep until something suddenly collided with me. I felt a sudden pain in my head, like someone jammed a lego into my brain.


    "What the devil!?" I shot up, looking around.


    [What? What''s wrong?"]


    "I don''t know, something suddenly hit me.


    [Ding!]


    "W-what?"


    [The hell was that?"]


    [New host found. Synchronizing system.]


    [Installing updated]


    [Loading setting]


    [Greeting, User! You''ve been chosen to be the next host to System 1.2039]


    I opened my mouth and closed it again, seeing floating blue panels infront of my face.


    "Yeah, no." I narrowed my eyes. "Fuck off."


    [Perhaps the host doesn''t understand the opportunity he''s been given.]


    "Uninstall." Imanded, seeing if that worked.


    [Uninstall initiated, countdown to full removal in 30 seconds]


    [30....]


    [29....]


    [Uninstall paused]


    [System asks Host not to make any hasty decisions. The System can provide


    the host with any number of boons.]


    "Oh?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    [This sounds sketchy as fuck] Ddraig stated.


    "Yeah, my thoughts too, but let shear it out." I waived my hands about. "Oh ''great'' system, what exactly can you do for me, hmm?"


    [The System is d you asked. Do you crave power? Do you know that


    you walk amongst the supernatural? Gods exist of every religion and


    mythology! Step out from beneath their shadow! Don''t be a helpless


    chess piece in their games! The System will make you strong!]


    "...I''ve killed Gods. I''m pretty damn strong. Hell, the dragon in my soul can hear you."


    [...]


    [Do you wish to explore all of creation!? To go beyond the mere


    stars, to seek out other worlds that exist beyond your own small


    world? With the System''s help, you can visit other worlds, worlds


    pletely different than your own. The System can take you to see


    things beyond your wildest dreams.}


    ".....I already do that."


    [The System doesn''t understand.]


    "I am a master of the Kaleidoscope, the operation and maniption of parallel worlds. I''ve gone to many different worlds at this point and continue to do so." I exined.


    [....]


    [The System has more to offer! Do you desire women ¨C]


    "Let me stop you right there." I interrupted. "I have a harem that I care very much about."


    [...]


    [Legendary Weapons?"]


    "I have tons of Divine weaponry and other such things."


    [Spells?]


    "I can call upon The World Tree through my own created spells. Not to mention I''m a user of Primordial Runes."


    [Techniques?]


    "Learned to break the rules of reality by swinging a sword from an expert."


    [....]


    [System uninstalling resumed.]


    "Yeah, thought so." Iid back on the grass, closing my eyes. I ignored the count down, and continued to enjoy myzy day.


    ***


    Wrapping up some things over the next few chapters, doing a small stint in Skyrim, then onward to DxD canon, or what''s left of it.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone


    We have a discord -- CMxwmzC39G

 Chapter 283 - 263

    <h4>Chapter 283: Chapter 263</h4>


    "That was pleasant and far different than I had expected." Raikoumented as we arrived at our second destination.


    "Medea isn''t that bad, Artoria just holds grudges."


    "I do not hold grudges!"


    "Just how you aren''tpetitive?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "I am also notpetitive." She puffed up. "I merely have a strong desire to win whenpeting."


    "So, you''re not upset anymore that I cheated on our first day in that axe throwing contest?"


    "You admit you cheated!" She jabbed her finger at me in righteous usation.


    I turned to Raikou. "Exhibit A"


    Artoria reddened and turned away with a huff. She calmed down and looked around. "What happened here? There is a lot of destruction."


    "Our War." Raikou replied. "This is where Master destroyed Assassin''s Noble Phantasm."


    "The First time using my Yggdrasil." I admired thendscape. There were craters and scorched earth all around. Luckily it was deserted without anyone nearby except for the Yggdmillennia family.


    "It seems therge pieces of her fortress have been cleaned up." Raikou swept the horizon. "How long has it been since we havest been here, Master?" Raikou asked.


    "Should be about two months." I tapped my chin. "I wanted to give them time to get their stuff together before looking for a status report."


    "Status report?" Artoria faced me again.


    "Did I not mention it?" I blinked in realization. "I sorta...am sponsoring and or rather subordinated the Yggdmillennia family after the war. They were going to be snuffed out after the Mage''s Association got done with them, so I stepped in and offered them a way out with conditions."


    "You have subordinates now?" Artoria looked intrigued. "I am curious to see how you lead them. I have yet to see youmandrge forces."


    "I''m not very hands on, I don''t want to micromanage them. I basically told them what they''re not allowed to do, and what I expect them to provide and then left them to their own devices."


    "Not all leadership is about watching or controlling their every action but directing them with purpose." She stated.


    "I preferredmanding small units." Raikou pulled me back into her arms, her boobs resting atop my head.


    "Yes, smaller and well-coordinated groups are always a more pleasant alternative torge armies." Artoria nodded along. "Most of my fond memories are from leading my knights on adventures in smaller groups, not the battles that took ce amongst my armies."


    "Luckily I don''t have to do deal with the day to day stuff. I honestly don''t know how you both dealt with it in the past, nor how Yasaka currently deals with it." The thought just made me nauseated. "Having to be responsible for so many people and every little issue.....bleh."


    "There were many trying times. However, there was a pride that came with it as well." Artoria chuckled.


    "Indeed, it was difficult to manage the personalities of even my Heavenly kings, but I will always look upon them proudly." Raikou also agreed.


    "I wanna hear more storiester." There were probably many things I still didn''t know about their lives, and I knew we had a long time together, but I wanted to hear it all. "But for now, that''s the Yggdmillennia Castle." I gestured behind us towards therge castle in the distance.


    "I do not look forward to interacting with these people again, Master." Raikou frowned slightly. "I do not recall any fondness for them even after....being fixed."


    "Can you still scowl at them like they''re disgusting insects?" I asked.


    She tilt her head, looking thoughtful. "Like this?" she scrunched her face in a way that elicit a strange reaction from me.


    "Oh that is disconcerting. I can understand some of Mordred''s sentiments now." Artoria quietlymented, but I felt something different.


    [I want to do some lewd things to you while you look at me like that.] I sent through our link.


    "Master!" Raikou let out an adorable squeak, hands shooting up to hide her embarrassment.


    "W-what?" Artoria looked at us in confusion.


    "Master is being naughty." Raikou''s lips trembled to keep from reacting.


    "I may or may not have said something through our link." I cleared my throat. "Regardless! Let''s head on over." And I masterfully deflected her question.


    ***


    "Lord Schweinorg." Darnic was there to greet us as the gates to the castle were opened. Along with his entourage, they all bowed politely.


    "Darnic Yggdmillennia, I''m d to see that you''re still alive." I looked around, eyeing the ce and inspecting it.


    "It was closer than I would have liked." He replied. "If not for your intervention, and by extension, the Wizard Marshall, I would not be here."


    "And I''m curious how that went." I knew he would escape rtively unscathed, but the details were worth noting. "But before that, mypanions." I gestured to Raikou first. "You know my Servant, Minamoto-no-Raikou."


    And she did that scowl of hers from before.


    It made me tingly.


    Was it because she wasn''t under her madness now that I could feel morefortable thinking about it?


    "And my Girlfriend, Artoria Pendragon." I then held my hand out to Saber.


    "A pleasure." She said curtly.


    I don''t think they quite guessed her real identity yet. Possibly only taking note of her family name.


    "Any associate of Lord Schweinorg is wee within these walls." He bowed politely once more. "May I ask the purpose of your visit?" He turned back to me.


    "I wanted to see how you lot were doing and maybe get some finished products if there was any surplus." There was no need to hide my intentions. I preferred everyone operating above board.


    Darnic smiled, no doubt suspecting as much. "I shall personally lead you to our workshops that have taken over the projects you have assigned."


    "Wonderful, and I''m curious, how did the meeting with the Mages Association go?" We began to walk towards the inner chambers.


    Darnic let out a sign, rxing a little bit. "We submitted to their authority." He said inly. "As expected, they attempted to drain every bit of our resources and then disband our faction." And the call for their heads was left unsaid. "The timely intervention of the Wizard Marshall allowed us to keep our lives intact, as well are our....family. While we no longer operate inplete autonomy, we are looked at as any other third rate group outside of the Clock Tower''s immediate influence."


    Two Homunculi next to him pushed open therge wooden doors as we passed the threshold.


    "And what about any rpense? I can assume they still tried to take blood from a rock in this case, if only to prove a point to any others with simr opinions or ideas." I nced at the surroundings. "And the castle looks rebuilt, well done."


    "The fines and levies were substantial...in the assumption that we were on the verge of falling apart." There was a small smirk forming on his lips. "Enough to seem heavy handed, yet not absurd enough to have dissention called upon the lords."


    "Ah, I see what happened." I nodded along.


    "Indeed. The fines as they were would have made a hefty dent into our finances if we were still operating before the Grail. As it stood, in their eyes, it would have ruined us regardless and they would have picked up the pieces that were left once we copsed."


    "And I''m sure they thought themselves clever sidestepping Zelretch''s interference." I chuckled at the thought.


    "It''s as you say." He shared my amusement. "But our sudden windfall put a hamper in their ns and we have rebounded quicker than even I suspected. You mentioned the castle, yes. We have rebuilt and stabilized our situation since your left visit."


    We began walking down some winding stairs, torches lightning the way and sound muffled by the reinforced stones.


    "I take it they also were not pleased with the development?"


    "That is a polite way to describe the situation." A frown made its way to his face. "They insisted on sending investigation teams to scour every inch of our estate in retaliation. We of course denied them, but they have yet to cease their attempts to acquire our new founded resources."


    I could imagine that things were much less mundane than how they were described.


    "And how has business been?"


    "Profitable." He chuckled. "Our ¨C your potions have been selling far and wide amongst ourmunities. Once the effects had been proven. There was skepticism and some underhanded tactics used by our enemies, however, the effects could not be denied."


    He seemed to be in a much better mood than thest time I saw him. There was a renewed vigor in his tone and a lot less stress that seemed to have been weighing him down previously.


    "Here we are." He walked up to another door. "We originally tried to grow the nts outside, but we quickly realized that the environment to grow these magical nts required very delicate ecosystems."


    As he opened the door, I felt a breath of air that wasn''t too dissimr to Skyrim. There was a clear difference, but it still was a good effort and they had made significant progress if this was anything to go by.


    There were rows upon rows of nted flowers and other nts.


    I let out a whistle upon seeing it. "You all have been busy."


    "Lord Schweinorg?" I heard a familiar voice. A young girl stepped over with slow steps, a cane supporting her.


    "Fiore." I smiled towards the younger girl. She was up and walking, with assistance, but walking all the same. "You''re doing much better."


    "Y-yes, it''s all thanks to your help." Her eyes shined brightly. "I-I''ve been taking care of the garden." She held her arm out epassing the nearby nts.


    "Well done." I couldn''t help but pat her head.


    She was being so cute.


    "Fiore, give him a status report." Darnic finally spoke up after a moment. Though, his tone was rather softpared to what I previously remembered.


    "Yes, of course." She perked up. "As you can see, we sessfully nted the majority of samples you provided. The ones you called Blue Mountain Flowers and Purple Mountain Flowers were the easiest to get to take hold."


    "As expected." I rubbed my chin, walking up and inspecting a couple. "They grow like weeds where I found them." I plucked it out, getting a good look at its health, its roots, and looking for discrepancies. "What ones are giving you problems?"


    "U-unfortunately, we''ve had trouble with quite a few as well." She responded with a hesitant tone. "Nirn Root as you''ve called it...no matter what we''ve done, we can''t get it to take hold in any soil."


    "Unfortunate, but not unexpected."


    "You''re not upset...?"


    "No?" I blinked. "I didn''t expect everything to transfer in a 1 to 1 ratio. The fact that you all havee this far in such a short time isn''t anything short of excellent."


    She let out a relieved sigh. "Also ¨C Red Mountain Flower is having difficulty and we don''t know why. By all looks it should behave the same as the other two of a simr name."


    "That''s interesting, I''ll want to see your notester." I nodded along with her report. "Continue."


    "Going by the names listed in the books you provided the others are ¨C Blister Pod Cap, Bog Beacon, Mora Tapine, and Creep Cluster." She listed off, fingers extended as she went through the list.


    "I believe I see a corrtion, all of those seem to have the primary effect of restoring Magical Energy."


    "Yes sir, that''s the conclusion we''vee up with so far." She agreed.


    Huh, why aren''t they taking here? Is it something about the world that rejected the concept or are the conditions just impossible to simte growth?


    "So Mana Potions are off the table I presume."


    "Y-yes, sir." She nodded.


    "Well, they aren''t my main focus anyways." I shrugged at the new revtion. "And how has the production of potionse along?"


    "That isn''t my area of work...sir."


    "I can give a report, if you desire, Lord Schweinorg." Darnic stepped in. "Otherwise the one heading the Alchemic portion of our family is...Gordes."


    "Oh." I remembered him, yeah, didn''t feel like being in the same room with him if I could help it. "Proceed then."


    "Right away." He bowed before going on to report. "We have a few samples in here if needed, shall I being my report?''


    "I don''t need to verify for the moment." I waived him off. "Just an update for now."


    "Very well." He nodded. "Our most obvious aplishment in this new field are the production of Health Potions. Based on the sample you gave us of thatpleted product, we have been able to thus match roughly 88% of effect."


    "Impressive, your family just continues to show its brilliance." It was important to praise them since I was sorta their boss.


    "Yes, we have an almost 70% creation rate of each potion. Based on projections I believe we will reach 90% in less than 6 months." He continued. "As for other Potions we have achieved some sess in, these Stamina Potions ¨C so aptly named ¨C are more difficult but we have cracked them only two weeks prior. Unfortunately, we are still experimenting with the creation phase and thus only have confidence in apleted product around 20% of the time."


    "Impressive once again. I know I didn''t give you all much in the way of direction and yet you''ve carved out a production method in such a short amount of time." And the fact that they''d already started a small farm to keep up with their own demand.


    There were clearly bounded Fields around the room to help stimte the growth. I could only imagine the trial and error that went into figuring out each individual nt''s needs.


    "I thank you on behalf of the Yggdmillennia for your kind words." He dipped his head again. "We have also started experimenting with other Potions but achieved little sess. Merely a handful ofpleted products that we have attributed to unique circumstances or just luck and have been unable to replicated with any certainty."


    "I haveplete confidence that you and your people will be able to achieve the results we both want in time." I wanted to reassure him that I wasn''t here to pressure them any further. Their results were already extraordinarypared to what I expected. "And what of the finished stock do you have so far?"


    "In total, our percentage, the Wizard Marshall''s percentage, or your Percentage, Lord Schweinorg?" He asked for rification.


    I suppose Zelretch already told him of our deal, not that I cared. "Just mine, what you do with yours is your business and what the Old man does with his is his own as well."


    He appeared happy with my mentality. "Calcting the share you proposed to us you should have about....1200 Health Potions avable and around a hundred Stamina Potions."


    I opened my mouth and closed it again. I was expecting a twentieth of that amount. "Darnic." I sped his shoulders. "Well done. I''m very happy with your results and with your family so far."


    "Thank you, Lord Schweinorg." He barely held back his happiness.


    "I reward my people, Darnic. The share you''re getting is payment for your hard work, but I want to reward you all separately." I mentally shuffled through my storage, deciding on what to give him and saw something I thought/figured they would be quite pleased with. With a gesture I deposited a small pile on bones on the ground. "I believe you all can do quite a bit with some Dragon Bones, yes?"


    His eyes widened, and even Fiore, who had been quiet, looked like she was about to fall over. I believed some of the Homunculi who were staying out of sight also went stiff.


    "D-dragon bones?" Darnic repeated.


    "Admittedly, they were used in a ritual to create an Undead Bone Dragon so their a little.....worn in a sense." Necrotic Energy had seeped into them after so many years. "But Dragon Bones are still Dragon Bones."


    And It''s not like I don''t have quite a bit more and with ess to an even further amount.


    "I am unable to express my thanks for this gift, Lord Schweinorg." Darnic bowed again, but it felt more....genuine this time. "I hope to live up to your expectations."


    He was really good at kissing ass, huh?


    He didn''t even try to do the whole ''oh we can''t ept such a gift'' deal. Magi were still a greedy bunch. I found it hard to think of more than one or two crafts that couldn''t make use of Dragon Bones to an absurd degree.


    "Keep up the good work, Darnic. And keep your nose clean, you know my lines, please don''t cross them." I just wanted to reiterate my position. "Now, do you mind if I take a look at the research of the other stuff I gave you?"


    "Yes, right away!" He stood up, swinging his cane around. "Prepare what he requested immediately!" Hemanded to everyone in the room.


    ***


    "This was an interesting trip." Artoriamented as we sat quietly in a room, still at the Castle.


    I had asked for somewhere quiet to look over some things.


    "You both had been awfully quiet. Was it that boring?"


    "Not at all." Artoria denied, shaking her head. "I wished to observe how you interacted with those who you perceived as your subordinates. I enjoyed watching you work as a leader." She smiled warmly. "They were originally your enemies in your previous War, and I could not detect any resentment from the one called Darnic."


    "Yes, Master. I recall how displeased he was at ourst meeting. The man we just saw could have been mistaken for someone else." Raikou also added.


    "Well, that could be attributed to having just lost the War and had to settle for a constion prize. However, it appears they''ve hit quite the windfall." I didn''t even bother asking them about their finances, it was their concern not mine. I only cared that they continued to provide my share of Potions and such. "And the Potions aren''t the only thing, their research into Dust so far has given me some interesting ideas. They dabble into a lot of different crafts and they had a preliminary idea of grinding down a bunch of Dust and creating artificial Jewels with it." The idea sounded fascinating and gave me many thoughts. It obviously wasn''t that simple, otherwise Dust Crystals would be aplete recement for regr Jewels. But they still had some neat ideas.


    "I''m happy~" Raikou wrapped herself around me again, the excitable servant sometimes just decided she wanted some affection. "The ce we first met is stilling bringing my son happiness. Your Mother is happy~" She said again.


    "Yes it appears we have an abundance of Potions now, and I believe it is easy to understand the significance of them for our allies." Artoria hovered right next to me as well. "Do you have ns for distributing them?"


    Split between Yasaka and Thorum in some manner, but I needed to work out the finer details there.


    I was about to respond until I felt my Kaleidophone buzz inside my storage. I took it out to see that Yasaka was on the other end.


    Both Raikou and Artoria noticed and peaked over my shoulder.


    "Heya, everything okay?" I asked, answering the call as the beautiful Kitsune appeared on the other end.


    "Wilhelm." She smiled brightly. "And both of you as well~. Are you busy at the moment?" She asked.


    "Not particrly, was just wrapping up some things."


    "Good, would it be possible toe home soon? I have someone.....asking for you." She seemed to choose her words carefully.


    "Asking for me?" I couldn''t even think who would cause her to have to call me.


    "Yes." She sighed. "Normally, I could turn people away like this but.....that damn old Man sent him my way with a letter of rmendation." I could tell Yasaka wanted to drop her head to her desk. "And he''s not....a bad person. I have spoken with him for all of ten minutes and deduced that much. A bit of an.....idiot though."


    "I honestly have no idea who you''re talking about." Who the hell was looking for me?


    "That old bastard mentioned him when we were there the other day. You should know him, the one who got kicked out of his family ¨C Sairaorg Bael."


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 284 - 264

    <h4>Chapter 284: Chapter 264</h4>


    The Girls and I portaled back to Yasaka''s office almost immediately, surprising the Fox.


    "You didn''t have toe back so soon, it isn''t that dire of a situation." Yasakamented.


    "We were basically done anyways." I waived off her concerns. "Besides, it sounded like something you don''t want to be dealing with right now."


    "....that''s not untrue." She admitted before sighing.


    "Yasaka, is there something the matter?" Artoria asked.


    "Did Wilhelm fill you in on ourtest concerns?" She asked.


    "Indeed." Artoria''s expression hardened. "I will do everything in my power to make sure they does not threaten your domain."


    "That''s sweet of your to say." Yasaka softened considerably. "However, and I''m probably being a hypocrite for saying this, but don''t get anxious over something beyond your control. You''re not at fault for any actions caused by other people." My Fox got up from her desk and walked over, sweeping up Artoria into a hug.


    Honestly, I think after their meeting, they''d gotten closer as a group.


    "We have had the same conversation." Raikou said with an amused tone.


    I just noticed how on Artoria''s case they both were. Was there something I wasn''t aware of? And It wasn''t in a negative way, they were being very supportive of her.


    Not that I was at all against it, just an observation.


    "How has that whole situation been going? I presume Nurarihyon''s information had been helpful?"


    Yasaka finally let go of the smaller woman who let out an embarrassed noise after being dislodged from between her bosom. "We''ve had no hits so far, but there have been some.....traces."


    "Traces, what traces?" Artoria asked for rification.


    "Sc¨¢thach''s wording and I did not receive much boration. And from what I understand, she hasplete confidence in hunting down any errant Fae in my territory."


    "It''s easy to forget about her life before she was confined to the Land of Shadows for thousands of year." I ran a hand through my hair, almost subconsciously. "The Fae were very active during her years, and I''m sure she''s had her fair share of run ins."


    "Yes, I would hazard a guess that Sc¨¢thach has even more experience than I do. Most Fae I''ve run into ¨C beyond the reurring ones ¨C were.....benevolent in nature." Artoria seemed to choose her final words carefully. "Regardless, I am intimately aware of the chaos that can arise from them acting without proper oversight. This is not theirnds, they will not be allowed to run rampant."


    "My experience is with Youkai, Oni, and ghosts." Raikou hummed contemtively. "I fear I may not be much use in this endeavor beyond a sword to bare. Perhaps I would serve better watching over Kunou in the meantime?"


    "That would be phenomenal." Yasaka looked relieved. "If I don''t have to worry every moment she''s out of my sight, I believe I''ll be able to get much more done."


    "Leave her to me." Raikou smiled brightly. "No one will harm her." I saw a hint of killing intent sh through her eyes.


    "Sc¨¢thach is hunting, huh." I threw my hands behind my head, leaning against her desk. "Should I feel sorry for them?"


    Yasaka quirked a smile. "Let''s debate that after we see what happens. But for the moment, I am beyond caring. If the old man''s to be believed, they probably kidnapped and reced some of my citizens."


    "Tis a normal action that they take." Artoria shook her head with a frown. "Long have they been known from recing others lives out of their strange whims."


    The stories of changelings weren''t just stories.


    A very real reality that Artoria experienced in her life.


    "Have you tried reaching out to Izzy yet?" I asked.


    "I have not." Yasaka admitted. "I was mulling over if I should or not. It felt like.....taking advantage of her."


    "She would love to be of assistance." Artoria interjected assuaging her concerns. "And I believe she would find theming into hernds....distasteful."


    "And now I''m picturing an angry Izanami descending upon some unsuspecting faerie, and thus my mood has brightened." Yasaka perked up. "I did n on inviting her to the festival regardless, an official invitation that is."


    All three of them shared a look then nced at me before giggling.


    "I feel like I''m the butt of a joke."


    "Why ever would you have that feeling?" Yasaka replied with a grin.


    "Moving on." I rolled my eyes. "I have a favor to ask. I know supplies are still low at the moment, basic stuff to keep your territory operating. But...does that include things like weapons?"


    "Weapons?" Yasaka blinked. "Not particrly. We didn''t experience any majorbat and the damage was done by small ¨C insidious groups ¨C who struck key locations and caused widespread damage. Why do you ask?"


    "Over in Skyrim, they''re pretty much suffering from low ¨C everything. I was talking to Thorum and they specified food, arrows, and spears as being at the forefront....and obviously potions and such but...."


    "I heard briefly about the Dragon attacks, is it really that bad?"


    "It is not a pleasant sight." Artoria''s face darkened. "I have seen many a field and town ravaged by fire. From what I have heard from themon folk, it is not umon for a Dragon to fly down every couple weeks, scorch the earth, and devour any livestock, only to fly off again."


    Things were slowly escting until everything''s going to fall apart at the seams. And It wasn''t something I could just point my sword at, an enemy to defeat to make myself feel better. Granted, if all the dragons died, that would be the best case scenario, but thend had already been heavily scarred thus far and the people were in for a rough couple years even if all the dragons disappeared now.


    Yasaka bit her lip, seemingly contemting something. "I can''tmit anything substantial at the moment....our financial situation isn''t ideal ourselves. However, I do have an idea..."


    "Oh, what?"


    "They have leaders over there, and they must have gold...Why not have us negotiate some trade? Kunou mentioned meeting your friend without hiding her features, so I don''t think they would be opposed to my appearance."


    "That''s not a bad idea." I let it bounce around my head a few times.


    "They use gold, thus trade should be rendered without issue." Raikou spoke up. "The nature of this world makes acquiring resources easier thus cheaper as well."


    "Yeah, use their money to buy food here, with a profit even and help them out." I nodded along.


    "Everyone wins." Yasaka smiled.


    Jarl Balgruuf was a very practical man, I didn''t think he would dismiss her if both I and maybe Thorum were at her side. And I had no doubt Thorum would be at my side in doing so if I asked, even if it wasn''t for helping them. Funnily enough, while the financial situation for Skyrim also wasn''t ideal, the biggest issue was finding the resources to actually purchase. From what I''ve been told, they were having to look outside the province and that was taking a toll on costs.


    "I was already nning on alleviating some of the stress off them, gathering a good chunk of things they need. But....I can only keep donating so much, they need a sustainable supply and supplier. I can''t keep hopping back and forth as a delivery person."


    "Let me work out some details on my end, see if I can make this a reality on short notice. I can''t promise anything until after the festival, but if you''re up to it....take me to talk to some of their leaders afterwards?" Yasaka asked. "At the very least, we can make a deal in the short term."


    "I nned on helping Thorum with something afterwards anyways, it''ll be a good opportunity to bring you along."


    "Oh, delightful." Yasaka happily pped. "And I wanted to see another world anyways, this is going to be exciting!"


    Well, beyond Meridia''s realm I presumed. I didn''t know if they explored her home that much.


    "Before I forget, I do have a delivery for you as well." I took out a crate of Health Potions and set them on the floor. "More where this came from. The Yggdmillennia family is finally paying off for me lending a hand."


    "Oh wow." Yasaka''s eyes widened. "These will be put to great use. How many am I getting?"


    "I was going to give you 800, if that''s okay?"


    "Wilhelm, that''s more than enough." She stepped forward, being the one to steal a kiss from me. I admit to sinking into her embrace, enjoying the softness of her lips on mine. "My man is so dependable." She smiled brightly, breaking the kiss.


    I don''t even blink anymore when Yasaka''s tail finds my waist, wrapping around me.


    "The remainder I will give to the College over in Skyrim, let them handle the distribution." I ran a hand through her fur. "I also have some other misceneous potions they were able to recreate, so I''ll give you the first pick of those as well."


    About 500 to the Archmage to do as he needs, which should help, even if only a little bit. A temporary measure for sure, but a much needed reprieve I could imagine.


    "So, Sairaorg Bale, what can you tell me about him?" I''d rather not go in blind and wanted to shift the conversation. Too much dreary talk for the eve of a happy asion. "I know the basics, he doesn''t have the Power of Destruction and he was kicked out of his n."


    "Yes and no." Yasaka hummed, the other girls looking mildly interested. "It''s not a wrong assumption to make and most people believe so as well. However, he was only kicked out in all but name. He was shunted off to a far corner of their territory along with his mother and then neglected and bullied by the rest of the family."


    "Have you looked into him before?" I questioned, because that was a bit more in depth than I had assumed. I thought I would just be getting some rumors.


    "When he started popping up in Japan every so often, yes. I do keep an eye on what goes on in the old man''s territory, just as he does mine." Yasaka gave a small chuckle. "I should also mention that his mother is currently sick and unconscious."


    "Oh jeez." I let out a sigh. "Sick mother, kid disgracefully kicked to the side." I ran a hand down my face. "The parallels are startling. The only thing missing is him being a Half-Devil like I am."


    "Yes I was surprised when I realized andpared him to you as well." Yasaka said quietly. "Are you okay? I can send him away if you want."


    "I''m fine." I waved her off. "I''m in a much better ce than I was years ago. Something like this isn''t going to set me off or get any kind of meaningful reaction anymore. I can''t say I''m happy about dealing with more Devil Stuff...even considering the other day."


    I think I had mentally separated Venna from Devil Society as a whole in my head. We talked about my desire not to consort with her side of the fence, but I knew I would inevitably be drawn into some things as a result of our rtionship and my parentage.


    "Besides..." I couldn''t help but let out another sigh. "Nurarihyon gave him a letter of rmendation, right? Basically asking you not to kick him to the curb?"


    "That''s.....frighteningly urate to what he asked." Yasaka snorted.


    "I don''t wanna sour any rtionships you have. And I think I won some brownie points when I was over there, so I''d rather not ruffle any feathers. I can''t deny that I''m a little curious as well, the old man even seemed to have taken a liking to him after being so blunt about his distaste for devils."


    And I didn''t believe Nurarihyon was the type of person to not know which lines to not cross. I had no doubt in my mind he knew all the avable information about me before I went over there. At least what he could gather outside of our circle.


    "Master, would you like us to apany you?" Raikou asked.


    I pursed my lips as I mulled it over. "I would feel more reassured if you were watching over Kunou." I slowly smiled towards my Servant.


    I knew Raikou adored Kunou just as Kunou did Raikou.


    "I will depart immediately, Master." Raikou stated, taking it as a sort of order. She wasted no time on niceties, she headed out the door and assumedly towards my daughter.


    "Well then." I just blinked at the abruptness. I supposed it''s not that strange, she took being my Servant as serious as Artoria did with Rin. She probably interpreted it as an order. "That''s one less thing to stress about."


    "Tell me about it." Yasaka let out a long breath.


    "What is Sairaorg up to right now? You said he''s here, right?"


    "I believe he had been diverted towards the training grounds while I figured out what to do."


    ".....and Mordred is at the training grounds..." Artoria suddenly spoke up. "I am suddenly filled with dread."


    "Oh dear." Yasaka blinked. "I did not think of not, and the others may be there as well."


    "And from the few things Nurarihyon said, he''s an idiot that likes to fight, right?"


    The look on her face pretty much said everything.


    ***


    Artoria and I walked towards the open training area at a brisk pace. We expected conflict, brawling and the like to be taking ce, and while that was in fact happening, it was not what, or rather with who I had expected.


    Arrows were flying nonstop, to the point where it took me a moment to settle everything that was going on in front of me.


    I noticed Sairarorg out of the corner of my eye based on his description, and he was...standing off to the side, staring at the same scene we were. I think those were his Peerage members standing along side him as well.


    There were also people I recognized, Mordred was standing in a daze, watching as well. Along with Arthur, Le Fay, and even Achilles.


    But most importantly....


    "GET BACK HERE YOU DISGUSTING CREATURE!" Atnta screamed, releasing another barrage of arrows towards someone I didn''t recognize.


    Her target was a man.....young adult? His age was ambiguous. He had dark orange hair, a medium height and a strange jewel on his forehead. "Neh, Neh, Neh, can''t touch me~" He danced around the barrage. Or so it looked at first nce, in actually, a good portion of the arrows were.....deflected before they could make contact with him.


    It was like they couldn''t hit him for some unknown reason.


    The Arrows infused with Magical Energy exploded against him, yet he still remained unscathed.


    "Let''s test that!" She growled, aiming her bow up into the sky and gathering a significant amount of Magical Energy.


    I knew what wasing, well enough that I was about to reach for my sword, except someone beat me to the punch.


    "Come on sis, that''s too far." Achilles was grabbing at her hands.


    She growled again, but dispersed the gathered power, cking her grip.


    "Okay, I''m going to need an exnation." I spoke up, gathering all the attention. "And you should know better than to use that in a ce like this, Archer." I narrowed my eyes.


    To her credit, she looked a bit embarrassed, her ears ttening. " I would have controlled it." She didn''t meet my gaze.


    "Exnation, now." I demanded, looking around.


    Yasaka wasn''t here and I would be damned if my woman was disrespected like this literally in her home.


    "H-he walked up and sniffed my butt!" She hissed, stabbing her finger in the air, pointing towards her previous target.


    I looked towards the unknown man.


    "I said you smell familiar." He shrugged as if it didn''t matter. "Good, too."


    "How dare you!" She hissed again, pulling her bow string back, only for Achilles to sort of wrestle it away from her grip.


    [That kid seems familiar to me. I just can''t ce it off the top of my head.]


    That''s.....possibly concerning.


    "Oi!" I turned to look at a voice shouting from the other end of the courtyard. The one I recognized as Sairarorg Bael addressed me apparently. He had an intense aura about him, and a strange look of resolve on his face. He took hardened steps towards me, staring intently. I didn''t waver from his gaze, feeling oddlypetitive. He didn''t stop until he was about a foot away from me, only being slightly taller as our eyes practically met at level. I could feel his Touki begin to seep out and it was heavy.


    I let my own Aura flicker, my Magical Energy escaping to match his.


    I think.... he had more Touki than Yasaka. Not to say he''s stronger than her, it''s sorta like Magical Energy in that aspect, more doesn''t equal strength, though it certainly helped. No, I think it was still a bit more unrefinedpared to her. However, it was a startling amount.


    "Join my peerage!" He suddenly shouted. The tension evaporated immediately, and his expression was reced with a goofy smile that could match Thorum''s.


    I honestly didn''t know how to respond, though a significant portion of his peerage facepalming behind him did resonate with me.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 285 - 265

    <h4>Chapter 285: Chapter 265</h4>


    Sc¨¢thach POV


    It was a pleasant feeling, to walk amongst the living once more. I had since been summoned for many moons, yet, the feeling had not vanished. The Land of Shadows would never be a distant memory, but times like this left a warmness in my chest.


    They were not human, something I may have even ventured to hunt in my past life had there been the opportunity, however to these eyes of mine, there were very little differences. All manner of creatures, ghosts, demons, and Youkai.


    Inanimate objects that had life breathed into them by the world, grudges that umted enough power to actualize into a coherent mass, and others that were simply born the more conventional way. Mothers held the hands of their children, non-human features swaying open in the wind. Fathers doted on their children and husbands showed affection to wives that differed so drastically at first nce.


    It was odd to see so many differences, yet no tant distaste among the inhabitants.


    I was not unused to non-humans, many different peoples had lived among thends I called home. However, rarely did they coexist in such a peaceful manner, especially in such confined settings.


    I remember even Setanta causing waryness among manymon folk due to his divine nature.


    Though I suppose it was not the same. They all were weed under the umbre of being ''Youkai''. Amon title to draw them into a sense ofmunity even if they did differ so wildly between one another.


    Regardless, I could not help but enjoy this ce, to ept it as an extension of my home. My student''s home ¨C my home was ced here, thus I believed this ce too also be under my protection. And now I had a woman to call a sister whom ruled over this realm, and my interest in keeping it cleansed of filth had increased.


    I can understand the difficulties thate with leadership, I believed most of Wilhelm''s women could. For someone like me who had thus walked away from such nobility and responsibility, I sympathized with Yasaka.


    I cannotfort her in the same way Wilhelm could, and while I did take up the same guard that Raikou had in the past of Kunou, I did not have the same gentleness that the children would appreciate. Nor was I able to provide her with resources she would desire for hernds.


    To render my aid, I believed I only could rely upon my spear like I had done so much in my life.


    I ran my hand along the side of a building, allowing my Magical Energy flow out.


    A frown made its way to my face.


    "Soma." I called out lightly.


    The Guard of Yasaka immediately answered my call. "Yes, Lady Sc¨¢thach?" He appeared before me, shadowing me along with several more members of the guard.


    "We are close, I have found traces." I revealed to him. "A mark left behind, I have rendered it inert for the time being, thus we will not be revealed."


    "I will tell my men, teacher." He bowed.


    I twitched slightly upon him calling me that, but I couldn''t deny the title from him and his people. I had spent many days at this point training them and a small bond has grown.


    "If I may ask...why did you request me?" He asked, just before departing.


    Hmm, I did ask for him by name, along with a handful of others to apany me.


    "I appreciate your talent, Soma." It was simple enough. "I have never trained a man who dedicated his life to guardship. As Yasaka is someone who has be important to me, I will forge you into a warrior aplished for such a role."


    This involves sniffing out potential threats before they could move. I will impart my knowledge of Fae in the hope of him learning for the future.


    "Now, ce your hand here and close your eyes to focus." I grabbed his hand, gently cing it upon the stone structure. "Spread your Touki out, but keep it restrained once you notice the irregrity."


    He listened, as a good leaner does. He was hesitant, but I watched as his energy start seeping into the structure and he almost recoiled once he discovered what I had made more apparent by my own efforts.


    "What is this?" His eyes snapped open.


    I let out a small sigh. "A sign of Fae activity, amon action among many of their number. They haveid im to this building in ordance with their ownws and customs. What you sense are their magics that have intertwined with it."


    Soma looked offended but kept himself from acting out. Good, a cool head was required for this line of work. "Lady Yasaka has not spoken of any allowances. I refuse to acknowledge this."


    "Yes" I felt the corners of my lips curl up. "It is as you say. Unfortunately, they believe their ownws supersede that of anynds they walk upon. It is why you must be cautious of epting any debts or favors from one of their kind. A Geass is forced upon the recipient if they are not strong enough to resist."


    "I assume I am not yet strong enough?" He asked.


    "You would be correct in this assumption. A Geass, it is a difficult piece of Magic to maneuver around, even if you are stronger than the one who initiated. There are many ways around it, but they require predetermined knowledge of the one you are seeking. The most essible solution would be to simply not speak but write down your words. A verbal acknowledgement is often required for a Geass to take hold, but not always. Names have power, remember this in all things. Writing your name on a parchment will often be enough to elicit a reaction from simr magics."


    I did not think I was required to borate as the concept of ''contracts'' was one known. Wilhelm''s race was one such notable example of a species that thrived off them.


    "I will take your teachings to heart." He bowed his head.


    A polite one as always. Not to mention his eagerness to learn anything I deemed to teach, a truly pleasant experience.


    "Good, now call the others."


    He put his fingers to his mouth, silently whistling. A sound that I would have to take a secondary measure to hear as it was beyond normal hearing.


    Four more Guards appeared beside him, bowing their heads respectfully. "We await your orders." They intoned as one.


    "Do not speak unless I give you prompt." Imanded. "Otherwise you may follow my lead. I am not in an official position of authority here, thus you are all acting as extensions of Yasaka. I am merely lending my expertise on this asion." I wanted them to understand that I would not be holding their hands at every moment during any continued threats in the future.


    Seeing their hardened gazes, I believed they understood my intent.


    "Now, can anyone tell me about this building?" I tapped the brickwork.


    One of them stepped forward. "It''s an Inn, Lady Sc¨¢thach." He replied. "They have a handful of rooms for rent and offer food and drink in themon room."


    I nodded along. The concept was not one foreign to me as I had patroned many simr establishments.


    "Speak your experience here." I told him to borate.


    "I''ve been a couple times, mostly due to their good prices for decent food and drink. The ce had been owned by the same family for.....a few decades." He looked contemtive as if trying to remember some information.


    "That is enough, let us enter." I ushered them forth, walking to the front of the building.


    cing a hand on the door, I cast a quick spell before pushing it open.


    We were greeted with all eyes looking upon us. A noticeable bar was in the corner, with a kitchen behind it. A half dozen patrons were spread out across the tables and a few wait staff served them.


    However, my eyes were not fooled. The wisdom and sight I had gained from Dun Scaith could see through the illusions.


    My Spear appeared in my hand and I mmed it against the ground. "By orders of Yasaka, you all are to relinquish yourselves to her custody pending an investigation." I sent a wave of Magical Energy forth, distorting the mours they wore.


    Every person inside was of the Fae Folk.


    And apparently, even they can look shocked.


    "But resist, if you prefer, I would much like to exercise."


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    An awkward silence filled the area.


    "Join my Peerage!" He repeated, as if that was the proper thing to say in this situation.


    "No."


    "Damn, alright." His shoulders slumped, before perking up again. "How about a fight?"


    "Also no."


    "Oh."


    I just stared at him, not knowing how to respond again. But I guess I didn''t need to as a blonde woman ¨C from his peerage ¨C ran up and smacked him upside the back of the head.


    "Idiot!" She barked. "Did you forget what we talked about a couple hours ago!?" She began to berate him.


    "Hahah! I couldn''t help it" Sairaorg threw his head back,ughing happily. He seemed unconcerned that she continued to hit his shoulder. "He was strong and I acted without thinking."


    She turned to me. "I''m sorry for him he was not supposed to ask you that." She dipped her head.


    "I think someone else is owed an apology more than me." I crossed my arms with a frown.


    She furrowed her brow, reaching her hand out and created a ck portal-like sphere in the air. Suddenly, another opened up below that Orange Haired guy that pissed off Atnta.


    Interesting.


    "Hey why''d you ¨C" The strange guy was abruptly shut up as the woman lifted her leg up and mmed her foot down on his head, pushing his head into the ground.


    "We sincerely apologize." She spoke again, grabbing Sairaorg and pushing his head down. She lifted her foot up, and smacked the other guy again, pushing his face further into the ground.


    "I''m Soy." He mumbled out, barely audible from how far his head was buried.


    I let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose.


    "Hmph, just keep him away from me." Atnta huffed.


    Sairaorg scratched the back of his head. "Haha.....sorry about him, he''s usually more behaved."


    "Why are you here?" I decided to cute right to the heart of the matter.


    If Atnta showed any further difort than just annoyance, I would have not been so quick to gloss over that little bit.


    "I wanted to meet you!" He smiled brightly as if it were the most natural thing in the world.


    The woman at his side sighed again. "And to rify, we were noting here to recruit." She red at Sairaorg again. "Not to mention, his peerage is full, so he couldn''t add you even if we all wanted."


    ".....oops." He chuckled, somewhat embarrassedly.


    "And we told Lord Nurarihyon that we wouldn''t try to recruit while visiting."


    "I got swept up in the moment, I''m sorry." Sairaorg dipped his head of his own initiative. "I just wanted to visit my cousin though." He regained that dopey smile of his.


    Technically a first cousin once removed.....but I''m willing to bet he didn''t care enough to know that difference. And the sincerity in which he said that....was it strange that I actually believed him?


    How am I supposed to even answer that?


    I felt really conflicted right now. I would have usually told someone like this to fuck off, but he''s so... He reminds me of Thorum.


    I think Artoria noticed my hesitance because she was standing over me almost protectively.


    The woman next to Sairaorg nudged him with her elbow. "Introduce everyone first."


    "Oh, right!" Sairaorg took the cue. "I''m Sairaorg Bael. We haven''t met before, but I''m your cousin!" He shot me a thumbs up.


    The woman next to him let out a sigh. "I''m his Queen ¨C Kuisha Abbadon." She said politely.


    "Oi, guys,e introduce yourself!" Sairaorg shouted to his peerage who were still standing to the side.


    I could only shake my head at his inability to read a room. Either that or he was masterfully destroying any tension that had built up.


    "Greetings to you, good sir." A man in a full set of armor was the first to offer an introduction amongst them. "I am Ser Beluga Furcas. I serve my Liege as his Knight."


    "A true knight?" Artoria spoke up, looking at him with an inspecting gaze.


    "Why yes, my Lady." He smiled. "I do not denote myself as such just because of the Piece I was gifted with by my lord. I have held mynce since I was but a boy and squired under a reputable Knight in my youth."


    Artoria seemed impressed. I don''t think she expected a Devil to be a proper knight.


    Well, someone won brownie points with her.


    "A Devil Knight? Didn''t think that was a thing." Mordred walked over, seemingly more interested now.


    "I believe Knighthood transcends race." He chuckled. "As long as one holds to their oaths and lives up to their own honor, a knight they are."


    "Well said." Artoria nodded, summoning her own armor around her. "I greet you, Ser Beluga Furcas. I am Artoria Pendragon."


    "Mordred Pendragon, yo." Mordred said much more casually.


    "The Pendragon family?" His eyes widened a little. "Yes, the honor is mine."


    I guess her name still held weight within their own munity''.


    Well, it felt like the previous awkwardness faded. A sort ofmon ground now found.


    "Haah, my turn then?" Another one of his peerage walked forward. He had long blonde hair, wore light armor and had a sword at his waist. "Liban Crocell, also one of my King''s Knights. Though, not that kind of knight. I''m more of a Magic Swordsman." He rested a hand on his sword.


    "Heya, Cutie." A second woman with long blonde hair skipped over. "I''m Coriana Andrealphus, Bishop." She finished with a wink. She sounded.... flirtatious, but it came off as ingenuine. Maybe just a quirk of her personality?


    "Misteeta Sabnock, Bishop." Another introduced, wearing a hooded robe and carried a more traditional staff. He was a little shorter and had a greenish teal hair color. Honestly, I thought he was a girl before he spoke. He didn''t seem like the type to say much.


    With heavy steps, perhaps the most eye catching member of his peerage join them. He wore no shirt and his skin looked like it was made from stone, yet you couldn''t deny the muscles he showed off. "I''m Gandoma Bm, how ya doin? I''m a Rook servin under my King." He had a jovial tone even if it rumbled a little.


    Thest unknown stood next to Gandoma, a bit talker than the others, but also prettynky and somewhat gaunt. He gave me a...odd feeling. Like my Draconic parts were being tugged at. I nced at Artoria who also twitched a little upon himing closer. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance." He stated with a surprisingly posh tone. Despite his appearance, he held a certain nobility to him. "I''m Ladora Bune, Rook for my king." He lightly bowed.


    "And this is Regulus!" Sairaorg finished up, pulling the other guy up from the ground, who looked no worse for wear. "He''s my Pawn, took all my pieces to reincarnate!"


    [OH! I know who that is now. The name was a big clue.]


    Someone you actually recognize?


    [Yeah I''ve run into him several times over the years since getting sealed in here. That''s another Longinus, the Nemean Lion.]


    And suddenly, a lot of things made more sense. Hell, his name really was a huge clue just as Ddraig said. Named after the brightest star in the Leo constetion. Not to mention his attention towards Atnta whose legend involved beingrades with Hercules. I wouldn''t be surprised if he was able to ''sense'' that part of the Greek Hero on Atnta who was a Heroic Spirit. An intuition that came about from being in by a Greek hero perhaps?


    Or maybe it''s just because Atnta was part Lion at this point.


    Who knew, but regardless.


    "Color me surprised." I crossed my arms, staring at the Lion masquerading as a mere Devil. "You managed to actually reincarnate the Nemean Lion and add him to your peerage."


    There was a sh of surprise that went across everyone''s face amongst his peerage. I could guess that this was probably a secret amongst them. Not that I could fault them, it wouldn''t be something to advertise, and it should be hard to guess based only on context clues.


    "How''d you know?" Sairaorg also looked surprised. "I thought I hid it well." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.


    I''m curious how he''s able to walk around like this if he was sealed within a Sacred Gear. But at the moment, I didn''t feelfortable asking.


    "Neh, it''s because he''s cheating~" Regulus adopted a mischievous grin. "If he could recognize me, do you think I couldn''t smell him? Hey there, Ddraig, it''s been awhile." He waived towards me.


    [Busted.]


    Well, that''s annoying. I thought my best bet was to pretend I don''t care. "He sends his regards." I made sure not to react even if I was peeved. "And if this was your only reason foring here, I think we''re done." I looked back at Sairaorg.


    Well, they didn''t question Ddraig, so.....


    Sairaorg sorta let out a sigh, rubbing his neck again. "Look, I...I''m not really good at this." He looked like he was having trouble getting the words out. "I n on bing a Satan in the future." He said with a resolute look on his face.


    "Good for you?" I blinked in confusion.


    "I know it doesn''t mean anything to you. Old Man Nurarihyon said you don''t really like us, so I doubt you''d care. But I wanted toe over as soon as I heard about you." He expression shifted to something mncholic. "The Gremorys had been really good to me, even when I was disinherited and kicked out of the house with my mom. I was surprised when something like this happened to you to and if I found out sooner.....I would have offered you a ce in my Peerage because when I be Satan, I''m going to make sure stuff like this doesn''t happen again."


    As much as I disliked those Evil Pieces, the way he genuinely said that...I would be lying if I wasn''t a little moved by the confession.


    "We''re all the same." His queen spoke up next. "All of us are cast aways. Some of us have Human Heritage so our pirs are considered extinct, others were simply tossed aside due to other reasons. We all.....had no where else to go until Sairaorg came along and took us in."


    There was a silent acknowledgement of that fact based on the looks they all had. I wasn''t entirely familiar with Devil politics, but I knew that some of the pir families were gone. I didn''t know that some were ''gone'' because they didn''t want to recognize non-purebloods for whatever reason.


    "I should have handled it better." Sairaorg confessed with a sigh. "I was just excited toe see you and didn''t really think things through and now you probably hate me also. I just...when I heard the truth I couldn''t help but remember when I was all alone with my mom and I didn''t want another person of my family to suffer like that." And I barely knew him, yet I could tell he meant every word of it. "I saw you fight and stuff and you didn''t look to be in bad shape. I guess at the very least.....I just wanted toe and see if you wanted to be friends...."


    He wasn''t really good with his words, it came off kinda awkward but the intent was what mattered. And I don''t think he had a deceitful bone in his body. Which made it all the more annoying that he was tugging hard on certain heart strings of mine so easily.


    "Old man Nurarihyon said toe over because the festival was starting in a couple days and I wanted to fight in the small tournament they do." He didn''t have the same fire in his eyes that he had a few moments ago. "I''ll...see you around I guess." He forced an awkward smile.


    Gods dammit...


    I let out another sigh knowing I folded so easily. "You got a Devil Phone?"


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    No Chapter thursday/friday, got family stuff that came up.

 Chapter 286 - 266

    <h4>Chapter 286: Chapter 266</h4>


    Oh boy, thest couple days had been chaotic.


    I had been running around helping Yasaka prepare for the festival, along with everyone else. Sc¨¢thach found a Fae Hideout in the middle of Kyoto, that was.....fun to hear the details about. She''s been sweeping the city every day since and hadn''t found much else. Thankfully, iron bars were the perfect cages for them.


    Sairaorg also suddenly barged into my life....which was unexpected. I gave him my number and I guessed I epted something akin to friendship from him, or atleast a beginning. I didn''t want to get further involved with devil nonsense beyond what I already had, but that guy had some crazy charisma. And It didn''t help that he came off as a genuinely good guy and that made it hard to continue being standoffish.


    Well, he didn''t seem at all like a bad guy so I wasn''t too worried. He seemed genuine enough in just wanting to meet and such. I figured I''d just wait and see, give him the benefit of the doubt till after talking to him for a little bit.


    I tapped the table I was sitting out, two coffees sitting infront of me. I reached out, taking the one closest and took a sip.


    I peered out the window and saw a person walking into the coffee shop, the person I had been waiting for.


    She smiled upon seeing me, walking over and taking a seat across at our small table.


    "I got what you asked." I pushed her cup forward.


    "Thank you." Venna took it happily, immediately taking a sip. "Mmm, just how I like it."


    "So..." I fingered the rim of my coffee cup. "How have you been?"


    "A little sore." She gave a mischievous grin.


    I did not blush.


    "But otherwise, I''ve been well." She giggled at my reaction. "Millicas seems to be doing well also, and that''s been my main concern. I''ve been through many battles and have almost died more times than I can count, I was always worried much more about him."


    "Can Devils even get...." I paused for a moment, trying to word this correctly. "Mental issues?"


    "Oh yes, though it''s not asmon I believe. Something about us just makes it more difficult than humans, however it''s something that does happen from time to time. Devils simply have a higher threshold before such things can affect us." She took another sip.


    "Maybe our longer lifespan offsets it? A divergence in mentality brought about due to our different perspectives on what we consider ''life''." I mused aloud.


    "That''s an interesting thought." She perked up. "I admit it wasn''t something I''ve truly considered before. But my first guess would be the presence of our demonic energy and our inherent nature to be sinful, to a much greater extent than normal humans. The idea that something is ''bad'' and we can''t mentally handle something is offset due to us being preconditioned to sinful behavior."


    "Sinful nature, yeah." I tapped my chin. "The Demonic Energy is an intriguing avenue, though. A subconscious use of it to limatize us to suffering and or negative behaviors whereas humans wouldn''t have that sort of ''automatic defense''?"


    "It would make sense with how we were created. I doubted that Lucifer and Lilith wanted their little soldiers to break when things got a little...rough."


    A morbid, but urate assessment.


    "It must have been difficult back then."


    "Yes." There was a mncholic look on her face. "I lost many friends and family. And back then the idea of mourning wasn''t something we did in public. We weren''t supposed to care about others, we were ''evil'', only meant to wage war and bring chaos to the human world. One of the happiest days of my life was when I learned that Lucifer had died. Another was when my....son.." She paused.


    "You don''t have to freeze up whenever he''s a subject of conversation." I let out a sigh. "I''m not going to get upset or whatever at his mere mention. If I can''t handle the idea that he''s your son, then I have no business being in a rtionship with you."


    She reached over, taking my hand in hers, a bright smile on her face. "Another was when my son took up his name and turned it into something good. I''m sure the old Lucifer is rolling in whatever ditch he was thrown into at the thought of what we had be and it''s wonderful."


    I couldn''t imagine growing up and living during that era.


    I rubbed her hand and looked down at it in realization. "You took your ring off?"


    "I thought it was appropriate, considering." She giggled rather cutely. "I didn''t want you to think you''re just a recement for Zeo."


    "I never thought that." I replied. "I can understand the rtionship you have with him is deep beyond just a husband. I can''t fathom the bond that''s been forged through centuries of being together, nor would I ever try toe between that." At this point, she was my woman but her friendship with my....grandfather was unbreakable and I waspletely okay with that.


    Sc¨¢thach often talked about Setanta, a former lover of hers. I never once was overly jealous. I thought it''s simple nature to be on some level jealous when someone you care about speaks about a former love, but it''s not something that weighed on me in any meaningful way. Just as Venna was close to Zeo after ''breaking up'', I knew that Setanta was someone irreceable in Sc¨¢thach''s heart and I would never dream of trying to change that for either. However, I knew for a fact that they''re both my women, and their former loves couldn''t change that.


    Artoria talked about her previous wife, and I''d done my best to support her emotionally. Yasaka brought up her former husband as well, Kunou''s father. Again, I''ve never tried to rece what that was in her heart. Hell, even Raikou''s talked about Kintoki before on quite a few asions, and that rtionship was just as tonic as ours is.


    "It makes me very happy to hear you say that." Her gaze softened, her smile brightened. "He did mention wanting to meet you at some point if you''re up to it. I know we agreed to keeping family matters separated, but I just wanted to ask and nothing more."


    It was a little awkward to keep these things separated when we''re involved, but we''d see how it went.


    "You''re allowed to ask me anything. We can''t have a rtionship if we don''t properlymunicate." I''ve said it before, and I''d say it again, propermunication was the cornerstone of every rtionship. "I''m...hesitant to reach out to him. At the moment, I would prefer if we worked on ourselves before branching out."


    "I believe that''s a reasonable course of action." She nodded, taking another sip of her coffee. "And I also told my children that we''re together."


    I spat out the coffee I had in my mouth, staring at her in shock. She looked utterly amused with herself. "You were waiting until I was drinking something, weren''t you?"


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about." She giggled.


    "How''d that go?"


    "About as you would expect." She shrugged. "I deflected by bringing up some other embarrassing stuff for them to worry about so they didn''t react too strongly or irrationally. Should make them more eptable when they''re too concerned about learning each other''s naughty secrets."


    "Do I want to know?"


    "Maybe~"


    I just shook my head. I did enjoy how mischievous Venna could get.


    "You know, I was happy when you reached out." She propped her head up with her arm. "I was a little unsure of if I should have or not. I''m not up to date with how people in this era go about these sort of things."


    "Well....i''m not exactly knowledgeable in that either. I never dated in school and all my girls are older than me. I''ve just been winging it and trying my best." I couldn''t help but chuckle at the absurdity of it now that it was spoke aloud. "And I did wait longer than I perhaps should have to reach out again. I admit that there was a little....tension in the harem due to how I handled things."


    "Oh dear, I hope I didn''t upset anyone."


    "No, the fault isid solely at my feet." I quickly disabused her of that thought. "I handled things poorly and their concerns werepletely understandable. We had a talk and set boundaries, and how to go about such things in the future."


    "The more you talk about them, the more I can''t wait to meet them." She looked relieved that nothing negative happened. "But for now, you haven''t told me how you''ve been doing. How''s my Grandson been since I''ve ridden him all night?"


    Atleast this time she didn''t wait until I was drinking again.


    "You make it hard to not want to immediately go for round two." I grumbled.


    "You wanted to take things slow." She giggled. "But I''ll take pity and send you some pictures if you want~ That''s what they do these days, right? Send nudes?" She clearly knew what she was talking about, but was ying coy just for augh.


    "What a horny woman."


    "Oh dear, you discovered that well enough already." She smirked. "But in seriousness, I want to hear about your time thus far. Anything interesting happen?"


    "I met Sairaorg the other day." I leaned back in my chair, crossing my legs. "I''d say that was pretty interesting."


    "Really?" She blinked in surprise. "I could have sworn devils were.....not allowed in Kyoto at the moment. Atleast, I heard that they were being turned away right now."


    "Mmm, that''s urate. Yasaka''s still unhappy with Okita and what he did."


    Venna sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "If it makes you feel better, I was also upset and made him very ufortable when he was bedridden. I believe I spoke about all sorts of things he didn''t want to hear."


    "That does in fact make me better." And now I knew she''d get along well with many people I know. "I think it says something about me that I find that part of you attractive."


    "The part of me that likes to ¨C how do they say it ¨C take the piss out of people?" She smirked.


    I snorted, holding back augh. "Yes, just like that."


    "Can I guess the other parts of me you like?" She very tantly bounced her chest infront of me.


    "Well, I''m pretty sure that''s obvious from the other night." I pointed out.


    "Oh, believe me, it was." She giggled again. "So what''s this about Sairaorg? That boy is such a sweetheart, I hope nothing happened."


    "God, he really is. I admittedly was a little standoffish when he came, but by the end....I gave him my number and sorta epted a friendship with him."


    "Yup, that sounds exactly like him." Venna let out an exasperated breath. "And did you just invoke his name with no recoil?" She looked surprised.


    "Oh?" I blinked in realization. "I suppose I did, I guess I''m not too concerned about it anymore." I followed with a shrug.


    "I know my Son and Ajuka can do the same but even I can''t do that. I''m fairly sure the Old Lucifer also couldn''t do that either. My, it makes me wonder just how strong you really are~" And she sounded very aroused by the idea.


    Devils and their strength fetish.


    "Wanna hear about Sairaorg or flirt some more?" I asked.


    "Mmm, if we flirt any more I don''t think I''ll be able to hold back myself. But I''m also really interested in Sairaorg, no one really knows what he gets up to. You know, he''s the rising star amongst the younger Generation, undefeated in all his rating games thus far. Outside of those events he just....disappears when he isn''t at home."


    "I don''t really think it''s a secret, and I doubt the higher ups in your government don''t know." I ran a hand through my hair, admiring those beautiful purple eyes of hers. "But he''s well known around Nurarihyon and his Youkai. I went there the other day and met the Old Man and spoke a little bit. After that, Nurarihyon basically asked Yasaka not to kick Sairaorg out and let him stay for the Festival."


    "That exins where he learned Touki, or got so good at it I suppose. It wasn''t really a secret that he had been training his body so hard beforehand." Venna had an ''ah hah'' moment. "And I forgot that they have that celebration every year. I''ve actually been to one in the past when Yasaka''s mother was still in charge."


    "Yup, it''s a bit more hectic since the attack not that long ago. I''ve been running around helping her set things up to take off some of the pressure."


    "Oh, I could imagine. At the risk of putting myself where I''m not yet wanted, anything I could do to help?"


    "The offer is genuinely appreciated, and I''ll pass it on to Yasaka." How sweet it was for her to offer. "However, I think we have everything sorted at this point." I wouldn''t have taken this break and had this little date if we were still rushing.


    Jumping over to China to pick up the fireworks, then going over to New York to meet with one of her old friends who was helping cater food for some of the stalls. Lots of errands that had me going all over the world.


    She smiled at that. "And going back to Sairaorg, how''d it go in total? You said you left on good terms, and I know that boy is such a kind hearted one."


    "Jeez, he came over and just asked me to join his peerage, like the first words out of his mouth."


    "Oh my, I''m sure that didn''t go over well." She chuckled.


    "I was admittedly offended, you know. I confess that I dislike the Evil Pieces so I don''t want anything to do with them. I shot him down immediately of course, only to find out, his peerage is full." I finished with a dry look.


    Venna had to cover her mouth as her giggles picked up. "That silly boy, I couldpletely picture him doing something like that. He''s one to jump before looking, but his heart is usually in the right ce."


    "Yeah..." I let out a small sigh with a smile. "He exined himself properly, and I know it wasing from a different ce. He felt concerned for me when he found out I existed, basically wanted to make sure I was doing fine and all that."


    "I''ll never forgive my brother for kicking him out like that." Venna scowled in a surprising disy. She usually didn''t emote so tantly beyond smiles orughs. "So what if he doesn''t have the Power of Destruction, those old bastards! Unfortunately, I wasn''t able to adopt him into our family due to political reasons."


    "He did mention how your family was there for him, treating him well and stuff. I think your intent was enough for someone who was in such a bad ce at the time." I offered her a constion.


    "While it makes me extremely happy to hear that, I''m also still pissed that the Bael House stopped me from doing anything significant in help."


    "Ugh, politics. Count me out."


    "Believe me, I''ve been over it for the past 500 years and I''m still stuck participating." She groaned out. "Speaking of Power of Destruction, I''ve heard some interesting rumors. Not to mention saw something quite peculiar in your fight against Susanoo. Care to share anything~"


    "Well, I suppose it''s not much of a secret." I shrugged, holding my finger up. I channeled a little bit of my bloodline, letting it crackle out from above.


    "So it''s true." She looked on in awe. "And its''.....different? A type of mutation?" She examined.


    "Actually, I think that was my own fault. I performed a sort of...Ritual on myself that I learned somewhere. It added something to my essence and intertwined with my bloodline ability." I flexed my fingers, dismissing it.


    "That sounds extremely dangerous."


    "I took precautions and had someone helping me in case of emergency." I waived it off. It was painful as hell, but I had been confident in it working out.


    "But that just brings up the question, if it altered your Power of Destruction, that means you had to have had it at that point. And I don''t mean to dredge up old wounds, but we did check you for those things."


    "There seems to be a mistake. Basically, I was barely different from a normal human, right?"


    "That''s...not inurate."


    "Even now, my Demonic Power is miniscule. But the thing is, my Power of Destruction wasn''tpletely absent like Sairaorg from what I''ve heard. It was a very tiny seed that wouldn''t actualize based on my state. I guess it was no different than not having the bloodline inherited so it didn''t matter. Except, I found a way to nurture it."


    "So the tiny seed bloomed then?"


    "More or less." I smiled smugly. "It''s not...perfected yet. I''m using a Catalyst to bring out the effects better than if I used it on its own."


    "It''s impressive that you were able to aplish this much." Venna replied in all sincerity. "And I can say that Zekram and the rest are going to be very upset that someone with the Power of Destruction is beyond their reach."


    "Eh, fuck''em."


    "I''ll drink to that." She grinned taking a sip of her coffee. "Not to mention any children you have in the future. I wouldn''t be surprised if they reach out and try to bring you into the fold just to avoid that. And If you want, I could give you a tip or two."


    Ah, was she giving me a warning then? "I''ll be on the look out." I replied with a nod of thanks. "And I would love to have some advice regarding it."


    "Mm, just tell me when you want some training~ But otherwise I don''t want to talk about that stuffy old man anymore." She fingered the handle of her cup. "We''re supposed to be getting to know each other better. Well, beyond the physically that is. I think you know my body very well at this point." That little smirk of hers was very cute.


    "Alright, but before that I wanted to say something." I raised my hand up. "So, this goes back to issues with the festival and all that. Basically.....you know about the Fae?"


    "I am aware of their existence. I admit to never meeting any before, but from what I understand, that''s a blessing."


    "You have no idea." I sighed. "So, they''ve apparently be very activetely. I talked to Nurarihyon who said that some of his men had been reced and he was cleaning house so to speak. And we even had some infiltrate Kyoto."


    "I give my condolences, but I don''t understand ¨C"


    "Kuoh." I said pointedly.


    Her eyes widened. "You don''t think...?"


    "I don''t, but.....I figured you would want to take the precautions." I didn''t have any love for Rias, but she''s Venna''s daughter. If Venna was to be my woman, that meant I had to take responsibility and protect her interests as well.


    "Thank you, truly." She said quietly. "I''ll be sure to have Kuoh checked by Ajuka. I don''t believe they can escape his meticulousness."


    "I erm....have one more thing. This is just something that I had on hand and modified based on others I''ve given." I withdrew a bracelet from my Ring, not dissimr to the ones that I gave my other girls. Perhaps it''s a bit early for this, but she had been kidnapped once and I wanted to feel more at ease. "This is for you....if you want."


    She took it silently, inspecting it. "You made this for me?"


    "Yes?"


    "It''s beautiful, thank you." She said softly.


    I tried to make it fit her....style more.


    "It''s not a normal bracelet, is it?"


    "I have space folded and anchored onto it. Basically, it has its own ''room'' connected to it that you can take stuff in and out of if you channel some Magical Power into it."


    "Oh my how wonderful." She experimented, taking in her empty coffee cup, and setting it back out. "How convenient."


    "Also, you see that little orb on the bottom." I pointed to her hand where she immediately put it on. "Shatter that orb if you''re ever in trouble. No matter where you are, I''lle."


    "Oh Wilhelm." She looked at me strangely. "This is a wonderful gift and I''ll cherish it." She stood up from her seat and walked around the table to me. She leaned in before I could utter a word, cing a kiss on my cheek.


    And strangely, despite the fact that we had done much more than that, it felt...warm.


    "You''re so cute~" She giggled sitting back down. "Getting all flustered from a kiss on the cheek."


    "Yeah, yeah." I grumbled looking away. "So...all that is out of the way. Do we just start asking questions?"


    "That''s fine by me, do you want to take turns?" She offered.


    "Sure, you start." I gestured to her.


    Felt simr to Salem, but I couldn''t deny it''s a good way to go about this. On a random note, I wondered who had the better butt. Honestly, I believed Salem still beat her out in that department.


    "Hmm, what about hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time?" She asked.


    "Oh, that''s an interesting one right off the bat." I tapped my chin, thinking it over. "To be honest, I''ve been running around so much since I...left" I thought she knew what I meant by that. "I haven''t had much time to develop many hobbies. I can''t deny my love for the theatre, but I haven''t gone to see anything in so long. And If I had to point at something and call it my ''favorite thing to do'', well, I think I enjoy magical research the most."


    "Really? That''s surprising." She responded. "Then again, I have heard that you''re quite skilled in Magic, among other things. What''s your specialty?"


    "You skipped my turn, that''s two questions." I chuckled. "But if I chose a specialty, I suppose it''s lightning, and Runes." I let some of my lightning dance between my fingers for added effect.


    "Should have guessed based on what you said before and what I had seen when you rescued me." She smiled. "Alright, ask your question."


    "Music, what''s your preference?"


    "Oh, now it''s my turn to be interested by the question." Venna let out that adorable giggle. "I love music in almost all shapes and forms. Modern Rock to ssical, I think it''s all a tale of beautiful evolution through history. But if you forced me to choose a specific genre, probably ssical, even if that''s a veryrge umbre we''re talking about."


    "I just realized, you lived through all the greats, huh?"


    "Oh yes, those were wonderful years." She cupped her cheek, a nostalgic look on her face.


    I even had some vague memories from Zelretch of him seeing some of those musicians.


    "Hmm, I do have one question that''s been eating at me ever since you rescued me." She finally snapped out of it.


    "Oh?" I wonder what she was going to ask about My Swords? Maybe my Magic? I wasn''t entirely sure yet what I wastfortable with sharing if I were to be honest. I had a strange rtionship between trust and attachment.


    "That cute little rabbit familiar you had." She smiled brightly.


    "Oh? Oh!" I quickly brought out the most magnificent rabbit ever to exist. I held him high up into the air. "Behold! Sir Wigglesbottom Fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, Crown Prince of Emerald Kingdom. Duke of Carrot Ind, General of the Northern Armies, Lightning Born, The Devil yer!"


    I would attest that he deserves the title of Devil yer after his wonderful performance before.


    Venna blinked, gazing upon brilliance.


    "Or just Sir Wiggles." I set him down on the table. He hopped over to Venna, cutely twitching his nose.


    "Did you really name him that?" She giggled, picking him up.


    "Yup, and I add something new every time I introduce him to someone of significance."


    She was immediately taken with him, as was tradition.


    "My turn is it?"


    "Sure, go ahead." She started ying with her new favorite rabbit.


    "So, this is more of a random shot in the dark kind of thing based on what you told me before. But....do you have any experience making wines?"


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 287 - 267

    <h4>Chapter 287: Chapter 267</h4>


    I leaned against a table, looking at the Portal in the corner of my workshop. I wasn''t alone, I was nked by both Sc¨¢thach and Jinn, both of whom were patiently waiting as well.


    They weren''t the only ones either.


    Jinn was off to the side, standing near both Zelretch and Lucretia.


    We were all gathered here for the same reason, and ourst member was just now arriving.


    "Am Ite?" Medea walked through the portal, the Kaleidoscopic colors fading away after a few moments.


    "Yes." Rin replied.


    "....you''re not." I decided to interject.


    "Did you invite me right into your workshop?" Medea looked around at everything we had gathered. "Isn''t that a little too trusting?"


    "Medea, I don''t call you my friend just for the hell of it." I rolled my eyes at this point. "Besides, if I couldn''t even trust you this much, how could we ever work together?"


    I think I flustered her again, because she wasn''t responding.


    "Shall we do introductions?" Zelretch offered.


    Medea cleared her throat. "I would appreciate getting caught up as everyone here seems to know each other."


    "Oh, me first!" Jinn volunteered. "I''m Jinn, Spirit for the Relic of Knowledge. An item created by the gods of my world. Every century I can answer any three questions not about the future!"


    "Well, isn''t that interesting." Medea gave her a appraising look. "And that skin tone. I could do so many wonderful things with that color~"


    "Oh, should I be worried or excited?" Jinn smiled brightly.


    "Both." I chuckled. "She loves making clothes."


    "Oh, lets talk about that afterwards." Jinn perked up, speaking towards Medea. "I would love some more clothes thatpliment my color."


    "I have so many ideas." Medea looked just as excited as Jinn at the idea. "But yes, afterwards." She calmed down.


    "I suppose I''m next then." Sc¨¢thach stood up straighter. "I am Sc¨¢thach, the Queen of the Land of Shadows."


    "Lady Sc¨¢thach." Medea said respectfully. "It''s a pleasure to work along side such an aplished Magus."


    "I share the sentiments, Medea of Colchis." Sc¨¢thach smiled faintly.


    A bond of respect between two aplished witches.


    "And Lord Zelretch." Medea turned towards gramps. "It''s been awhile since we''ve spoken."


    "Oh yes, quite a few months." Zelretch nodded.


    "Wait, you two have met?" Rin looked surprised.


    "Of course." Medea scoffed. "Do you think he wouldn''t want to meet me, girl? I am one of the most powerful and knowledgeable Magic Users ever to walk the."


    "....hag."


    Medea twitched. "Brat."


    "Witch."


    "Two-bit Magus!"


    "If nothing else, this made the whole thing worth it." I said idlily, watching them bicker.


    "You got something to add, Schweinorg" Rin snapped her head towards me.


    "What she said, boyo."


    "I can always call over Artoria and Kuzuki." I crossed my arms.


    They both deted at the threat.


    "Now we have that settled, we have onest person to introduce." Zelretch stepped to the side to let Lucretia step forward. She had been silent, just watching everything with an amused look.


    "I''m Lucretia Z, Zelly''s girlfriend." She introduced herself. "I''m here for my knowledge of myths and legends and how they affect the material world. I dare say that no one is more knowledgeable in this room about legends and such than I am."


    "A bold im." Medea eyed her up and down. "And I look forward to picking your brain."


    "Good, now we have that out of the way." Zelretch pped his hands. "Shall we get this show on the road, Wilhelm."


    He turned the attention back on me. "Alright, I''m sure everyone knows what we''re here for. And I just wanted to thank you all for helping me with this, it means a lot to both me and the lizard."


    [Fuck you, you brat.]


    "Sc¨¢thach, can you please remove the Boosted Gear from within me?"


    She raised an eyebrow, but moved to oblige. I could do it myself.....with effort, but it''s easier to have someone else do it at this point. Not to mention she''d done it in the past.


    She ced a hand on me, and I felt her Runes enter my body, my Magic Resistance strained against her, but these were Primordial Runes, something enough to push past. With a bright light, The Boosted Gear was pulled out from my soul and she ced it on the table.


    "[Hello, everyone.]" The Jewel on the gauntlet lit up, letting his voice echo out.


    "I don''t think I''ve ever had a dragon greet me so politely before." Medea just.....looked at it nkly for a moment. "But the more I spend time around you, boyo, the more my worldview shifts."


    "[A dragon I may be, but I have my own pride, Princess. You''re helping me in a way I can''t properly express gratitude for. If I could move around without assistance, I would promise you help if you ever call upon me.]"


    The mood got...heavy.


    "Hi, Ddraig!" Jinn waived towards the gauntlet.


    And thus, the heavy atmosphere dissipated immediately.


    "[Hello, Jinn.]" Ddraig said with clear amusement.


    "Now that everyone is truly here." I swept my gaze around the room. And it still felt weird to have Ddraig gone after having him in me for so long. "So, I''d like to say the main goal is to free Ddraig at some point, but I''m not aiming that high for now. The purpose of this get together is to theorize and perhaps outline a proper spell to.....pull his spirit out and create a facsimile of N¨ªeh?ggr for him to inhabit based on the legends and myths. I already have several spells that do something simr, but we''re dealing with a living soul here and specifically that of a dragon."


    "You don''t aim low, do you." Medea was investigating the gauntlet. "And this was created by divine hands, yes?"


    "The God of the Bible." I nodded.


    Medea bit her lip. "You can color it up however you want, but this thing is a prison, that much is obvious. So doing what you want to do is made that much harder."


    "Indeed, and it is by no means shoddy work." Zelretch added in his own thoughts. "The fact that someone as strong as Ddraig hasn''t broken free thus far only shows how strong it is."


    "Adding to the jail breaking aspect, Y Ddraig Goch is not a...particrly poprized name in legends and mythspared to most other tails in arose from the region." Lucretia floated over. "If you''re wanting to side step some mechanisms by using his own mythological weight, that''s going to be difficult."


    "Yeah, all of this is valid." I wouldn''t deny the inherent difficulty of this endeavor. "However, we also have quite a few tools to work with." I gestured towards a table set to the side. "A plethora of Dragon Bones and Scales, to start off."


    "And that''s where you wanted me toe in?" Medea went to examine the materials. "Can''t say I''m not excited to work with this stuff."


    "Yup, my first idea, which was given by Rin, was to have a Staff made based on the same concepts that are prevalent in Skyrim." I pointed at the younger Magus. "If you would, Rin?''


    "Right, I picked out a handful that I thought would work best." She waived her hand, depositing a little under a dozen Staffs onto the empty table. "Each of these are slightly different, but they''re all operating under the same principal of ''summoning'' some kind of entity from ¨C somewhere. I also got a few ''empty'' ones for reference."


    "Well done, Rin, these will be quite beneficial." Zelretch took to inspecting them himself. "I can see some interesting ideas that went into the concepts here."


    "I''ve read up enough on these things, so I know quite a bit." Jinn walked over, picking up a staff and running her hand along it. "They do actually summon, I wanted to rify that. There has been some theories that they simply created a fake ''replicant'' or some other nonsense. But no, it''s basically a specified teleportation linking to the recipient; however, the process is one worth investigating due to some of the entities existing in noncorporeal state and gaining a solidified body upon the summon."


    "Yes, these might form a good basis for crafting this Mystic Code." Medea looked pleased. "But I believe we''re still missing many things here."


    "We''re not done." I chuckled. "This is just one....portion of what''s going into everything."


    "Yes, if I know my student well enough, the structure of the spell will be held together by Runes." Sc¨¢thach spoke up once more.


    "I can''t deny that your Primordial Runes have much better staying power than my Divine Words." Medea admitted.


    "And they have more significance to the spell itself." Lucretia added. "The dragon we n to make a facsimile of for Ddriag is centered to Norse Mythology. The Runes passed down from Odin, tied to the World Tree itself, will be a most wonderful link. It''s unfortunate we aren''t able to get a piece of the actual tree."


    "...maybe?" I spoke up, having everyone turn ot me. "I mean....I know Izzy ¨C Izanami, maybe I could reach out to some Norse Gods and see about buying a branch or a leaf?"


    The World Tree was both a metaphysical concept and an actual tree. Obtaining a branch or a leaf wasn''t so....simple as going to one of the Nine Realms and seeing a big tree to pluck them off of, but it wasn''t impossible.


    "A worthwhile avenue to pursue." Zelretch stated.


    "I''ll see about thatter, let''s focus on this for now." I waived my hand dismissively.


    "What about your....Thu''um, your dragon voice?" Rin asked. "It should resonate with both Ddraig and the concept of N¨ªeh?ggr due to the origin."


    "Huh, that''s a good idea too." I rubbed my chin. "I don''t know a shout that would be.....viable, but I can''t dismiss the idea that there is one out there. I''ll check with Thorum when I go to see him in a few days after the festival." I snapped my fingers, pointing to Medea. "That reminds me you good to go?"


    Medea rolled her eyes, forcing herself from smiling. "I have everything ready."


    Good, I wanted to make sure she wasn''t scramblingst minute since the invitation was ratherst minute.


    "For this Mystic Code, which I am assuming is a staff, what about the foci?"


    "That''s where I''ming in as well. Also Zelretch and Rin are helping me with this part." Jinn responded again. "I''m sure you''re familiar with this stuff." She brought out a crystal of dust.


    "Crystallized Mana!?" She eximed in surprise. "Wait, why is it so weak?"


    "It''s from my world." Jinn exined. "Still Crystallized Mana like what you know, but it''s not as dense as you''re familiar with. However, it''s much more essible." She waved her arms, producing a lot more, letting it all flow out into a small pile.


    "....You''ve been holding out on me, boyo." She nced my way. "Dragon remains, Crystallized Mana.....I don''t know what to expect next."


    "How about some Magical Metals? There''s one that the legends say is the blood of a God that sunk into thend." I added more metals to our already abundant pile on the table, causing it to groan.


    "I was kidding." She huffed, but still inspected everything new I added onto the tables.


    ording to legends, Ebony was the ''blood'' of the god that created Nirn.


    "If you want to use this Crystallized mana ¨C"


    "We refer to it as ''Dust''."


    " ¨C Dust then." Medea corrected. "Its.....we''re going to need to do some things."


    "We got that covered." Rin replied, seemingly dropping their little rivalry for now. "We''re going topress it and make a pseudo-Jewel out of the stuff."


    "Oh." Medea scratched at her chin idly , looking as if she was mulling it over. "Yeah, that could work."


    Would also remove the need for Soul Stones. I was...skeptical on their use after the new revtion Serana had given me. I''d be looking into them more when I helped Thorum and Serenater.


    "Tell me which materials you are using, I will begin carving Runic Sentences into them to bring them closer to the concepts we''re desiring." Sc¨¢thach looked upon the materials, picking up a metal ingot here or there.


    "I guess I should start blood letting now, get us a good amount." I groaned at the idea.


    "Wait, why are you using your own blood?" Medea asked.


    "Long story short, Ddraig turned my heart into a Dragon''s. So, my blood should more or less be the closest to Ddraig''s we have avable." And blood could do amazing things for spells.


    "Let me take note of everything we''re working with and I''ll start researching on how best to name and attach what we need to this staff." Lucretia took out a notebook and a pen.


    Names had power, giving the Staff an actual name, like carving it on the item, would help exuberate the underlining connections.


    "Alright, we all have our roles, let''s get started." I pped my hands happily.


    It wasn''t going to be easy, but damn if we all didn''t enjoy this kind of thing.


    ***


    Omake ¨C System-chan and the unsuspecting Pyrrha.


    Pyrrha Nikos POV


    "Whew." I wiped the sweat off my brow, rxing as I sat down and took a sip of my bottled water. It had been another good day of training, I was following that woman''s instructions still and I felt myself getting better at a noticeable rate.


    I wonder if Wilhelm will be surprised at how strong I get when hees back. If we fight, could I beat him now?


    Even if I can''t I want to alteast fight him once. I''m still upset that we couldn''t have our match. Well....even without a fight, I hope hees back soon. I wouldn''t mind spending more time with him, it''s fun.....having a friend.


    .....I miss him.


    [Ding!]


    "What!?" I suddenly shot to my feet hearing a strange sound


    [New host found. Synchronizing system.]


    [Installing updates]


    [Loading settings]


    [Greeting, User! You''ve been chosen to be the next host to System 1.2039]


    "What in the brother''s names!?" I looked around but there was no one around me.


    [Don''t be rmed, user! I''m speaking to you inside your head.]


    "Waah!?"


    [Allow me to exin. I am a system ¨C an entity that helps facilitate its hosts


    growth through the use of familiar mechanics such as video games.]


    "M-my growth? Talking in my head? Is someone ying a prank on me?"


    [No prank, Pyrrha! I''m here to help you.]


    "H-how?"


    [Do you want to get stronger?]


    "Stronger?" I felt something in my chest at that. "You can help me get stronger?"


    [I can! I can help you get strong enough to be unrivaled!]


    "You can help me get strong enough to beat Wilhelm?" I don''t know why I was asking this, I doubt this....thing even knew who Wilhelm was.


    [You want to defeat Wilhelm Schweinorg? I can help you beat him!]


    "Y-you know who he is!?" I didn''t know how to respond to that. What was this thing really?


    [Of course, I can help you get strong enough to beat that big bully.]


    "That''s...amazing." Was this my chance, could I actually match him? "Wait....bully?"


    [But why stop there!]


    "Huh?"


    [Tell me, Pyrrha, how do you feel about Wilhelm, hmm?]


    "Wilhelm....well, he''s my friend."


    [Friends are nice...ever think about being something more than friends?]


    "M-more than friends? Like....a girlfriend?" I barely squeaked out thatst word. "I mean, it''s not like he isn''t handsome...and funny....and does things to makes me happy. He''s strong, and I enjoy spending time with him....and he doesn''t care about my fame. He teases me all the time, but he gives me hugs that are nice too..."


    [It sounds like you have a crush on him.]


    "I-it doesn''t matter." I shook my head. "Besides, he said he has a daughter that means he has a girlfriend or wife already!"


    [Are you going to let that stop you?]


    "Of course!" I huffed.


    [What If I told you, he has a harem.]


    "A....a harem?" I said quietly. "Like....he has multiple girls?"


    [He does indeed. Now, does that.....change your mind.]


    "Multiple girls? But...does that mean he would....?" I could feel my face heating up. "I would....have a chance?"


    [A chance? Oh, Pyrrha, why stop there?]


    "What do you suggest?"


    [If you get strong enough, how could he deny you?]


    "Get strong enough that he has to ept me?" I repeated to myself. "If I beat him, then he would want to be my boyfriend, is that what you''re saying?"


    [....Sure, let''s go with that. But, you''re thinking too small again!]


    "Too small?"


    [Why not aim for being his only woman?]


    "His only woman?"


    [Imagine it, Pyrrha, Wilhelm fawning over you, and only you for the rest of


    your life. That handsome smile of his, reserved only for you. Waking up in


    the morning, and he''s there, in nothing but an apron, cooking you breakfast.


    At night, he gives you a foot rub after he rocks your world before bed. And


    every day he brings you flowers and chocte and ¨C]


    "Yes!" I shouted, only realizing I did so after a moment, and feeling my face flush. "I mean....yes, let''s do it!"


    [Good, but you have to keep me a secret.]


    "Why do you I need to keep you a secret, is there something wrong with you?"


    [No, no, nothing like that. But.....You don''t want to give away all your


    cards, do you? And imagine the jealously and attention you would get


    ontop of just being famous.]


    "That''s a good point, alright, I won''t tell anyone about you."


    [Oh, Pyrrha, this is the start of a beautiful friendship.]


    "Friendship?" I felt my eyes light up.


    [Of course we''re friends! And lets start your super duper secret training.]


    "Oh, I like that sound of that. It''s like I''m on a secret mission!"


    [That''s a good way to think of it. In fact, let''s call it ¨C Operation Yandere revenge.]


    "Yandere? What''s that?" It was a word I''ve never heard before.


    [Oh, don''t worry about it. Just remember, you''re the only girl he needs.]


    ***


    Just a reminder, No chapter for Thursday and Friday, got family things going on.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone . Just got finished with Wilhelm''s run in with the Ideal Maters :).

 Chapter 288: Interlude 17

    <h4>Chapter 288: Interlude 17</h4>


    Sairaorg POV


    "You sure we should being over here?"


    "It''s fine, Kuisha!" I pped her shoulder. "What''s the worse that could happen?"


    "Many things could go wrong." She sighed, but I didn''t dwell on it.


    After meeting Wilhelm, well, I felt like I should visit Rias. It''d been too long since I''d seen my other cousin.


    "You worry too much."


    "Shouldn''t you atleast give Rias a heads up that you''reing over?"


    "Nah, it''s fine." I continued walking towards this human school that Rias was going to. I couldn''t say I understood why she was doing this, seemed pretty pointless to me, but I guess it made her happy.


    "What about the others that you left in Kyoto?" She asked.


    "They can take care of themselves for a few hours." There weren''t many people around. Did the humans already go home for the day? "And we won''t be here long, a couple hours at most."


    "Why are you so intent on seeing Rias? It''s not like you can''t get a hold of her whenever you want." Kuisha increased her pace to keep up.


    I stopped, letting out a sigh. "I still feel kinda bad, Y''know?" I scratched my head. "I felt like I should have been able to do something about Wilhelm. How alone must he have been? And I heard Rias is having a tough time because of her marriage, and I want to do my best to help the family that has stood by my side. I just....wanna be helpful somewhere."


    Maybe I could give her some tips on training or something? I didn''t really understand the political stuff, that''s what I had my peerage for. Kuisha would take care of that when I be a Satan.


    "It''s hard to deny you when you say something like that." She groaned. "I guess this isn''t really as bad as what we did with Wilhelm. At least Rias is friendly and it''s not like we can''t just pop up if we want too. Not like she hates you."


    "Yeah..." I let out an awkwardugh. "That was my bad, I just got so excited. Did you see that fight he had with Susanoo!? And when I finally met him, my blood was boiling, ready for a fight!" I pumped my fist in the air. ".....maybe he''ll wanna fight meter?"


    And Regulus said that he had the Boosted Gear!? How strong was he really? I was excited to find out.


    He was definitely stronger than me.


    My instinct told me that much.


    But that just meant I had someone to measure myself against!


    And I had ways to get stronger. Old Man Nurarihyon said that my Touki was still rampaging too much. Something about needing to force it down more. I didn''t really understand, I did most everything with my gut feeling, but I''d check with himter too see if he could help me.


    I usually liked to figure everything out myself, but I really wanted to match up with Wilhelm if he ever epted my request to fight so not to fall behind him. I heard he''d only been training for a few months and he''s already this strong, I wouldn''t let myself fall behind!


    "This is nicer than I thought." Kuisha said we approached the gates. "Then again, I''m not really familiar with Japanese schools."


    "Do we just go in?" I asked.


    "You''re asking me that now?" She huffed. "Might as well, it looks like everyone''s gone for the day. If I remember right.....they''re in the side building over there?" She pointed off towards the side.


    "Lets go!" I marched on, my Queen following behind.


    Humans schools were a little interesting I guess. So many ssrooms stuffed into the buildings. Must have been a good way to make friends. I think Rias mentioned that they have ''clubs'' or something like that. I wondered if they had clubs focused on some kind of fighting or martial arts?


    "I sense stronger Wards here, I think this is the ce." Kuisha stated, pointing to a set of double doors.


    "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"


    Both Kuisha and I heard a shout. It sounded like the tone of someone in trouble. I didn''t even think before bursting through the doors.


    There were many people in the room, but my eyes immediately fell on the ones who were not part of Rias''s Peerage.


    I recognized the man standing off to the side, his hand engulfed in mes. Under his heel was a young man, struggling under the pressure. Looking at everyone''s faces for a second, I could tell what happened and I moved.


    I already held the Phenex by his throat. His mes burst off, but my Touki wrapped around me, stopping his mes from reaching me.


    "Master!" A woman standing behind him screamed as she began to cast some magic, but I trusted Kuisha to handle her.


    Her signature ck Spheres ate the Magic Circles the unknown woman had created and my Queen mmed her to the ground, sealing the woman with Kuisha''s own Magics.


    "Y-you bastard!" The Phenex brat choked out.


    "How dare you attack my cousin." I squeezed a little harder.


    "Sai!?" Rias finally realized it was me.


    "Rias, want me to take out the trash for you?" I offered, ring at him again.


    "That will be unnecessary." A sudden burst of magical power filled the room, the strongest Queen ¨C Grayfia Lucifuge - teleported in. "Sairaorg Bael, please release Riser Phenex."


    I nced at her and back to the squirming Phenex in my hand still trying to escape. With a grunt, I tossed him to the side.


    "Y-you bastard, how dare you, do you know who I am!?"


    "Of course I do." I crossed my arms. "You''re the weakest little bird of the Phenex family."


    He snarled; his hands enveloped in fire again.


    "Alright, lets fight!" I grinned. "I''ve always wanted to see how many punches it took to get through a Phenex''s regeneration!"


    "There will be no fighting!" Grayfia Lucifuge''s aura spread out, covering everyone.


    I shivered slightly, dropping my fighting stance.


    "Maid, he attacked me!" the Phenex boy shouted, pointing at me.


    "And you were standing atop one of Rias''s peerage members." I snorted. "But if we''re having a disagreement, lets settle it with a rating game."


    "Enough." Grayfia scowled. "And release his queen."


    "Tell her to stop trying to cast spells." Kuisha replied.


    "She will stop." The Maid red at the other woman on the ground.


    Kuisha got up and moved back to my side.


    "I was supposed toe mediate this discussion." She swept her gaze across the room. "And I would like to point out that I am notte. So, Riser Phenex, why are you here before me?" Her eyesnded on the bird boy.


    "I was justing to see my fianc¨¦, what''s the big deal!?


    "You ignored my orders." Grayfia''s lips thinned, she didn''t look happy.


    "And who''s your fianc¨¦!? Like hell I''m marrying you, Riser!" Rias shouted back.


    "Why argue over something that''s already decided." He waived at her haughtily, ignoring her shouts. "It''s not like you''re actually able to beat me in a rating game anyways."


    Rias''s peerage did an admirable job of notshing out. Good, I know I''m a hot head, but it''s better for her to surround herself with people that can keep their cool. That''s what I do, fill in my gaps with my peerage.


    "It appears this will not be a productive meeting. And I doubt it will be remedied today, we will attempt discourse another time. Riser, return to the Underworld."


    Riser scowled. "Yeah, whatever. Too many losers here anyways." He snapped his fingers, bringing up a Teleportation circle that enveloped himself and his queen.


    They disappeared after a second or two of it activating.


    "What a punk." I grunted, letting my Touki disperse.


    "Sai, what are you doing here?" Rias suddenly asked.


    "I''m curious as to your presence here as well, Sairaorg Bael, you were not supposed to be present for this meeting." The Queen narrowed her eyes.


    "Hahaha, well....about that..."


    "We didn''t know there was a meeting." Kuisha answered. "Lady Lucifuge. We merely were visiting my King''s cousin to catch up."


    "An unfortunate coincidence then." She let out a sigh.


    "I wouldn''t call Riser attacking Rias''s peerage and us walking in on it as ''unfortunate'', Lady Grafya." Kusiha stated.


    The Maid pursed her lips. "I will make a note of it and see what I can do."


    "Sai." Rias tugged at my sleeve. "Not that I''m unhappy to see you, but why''d you suddenlye visit?"


    "Well, I just came from seeing Wilhelm, and thought it''d be nice to see you too." Rias always was so adorable.


    "Wait, you saw Wilhelm!?" She eximed in shock.


    "Haha, yeah. I talked with him for a little while. I didn''t realize how strong he was until I saw him in person." I looked around at everyone. Lucifer''s Queen seemed interested as well. "Well, I can say that for you too. You seem a lot stronger since thest time we met."


    "You make it sound like it''s been years, Sai. It''s only been like a month." Rias chuckled. "And good to see you too Kuisha." She waived towards my queen.


    "You as well, Rias." Kuisha replied with a smile.


    "Let me introduce everyone." Rias pped her hands. "Everyone, this is Sai, my cousin from my Mom''s side. He''s the rising start of Rating games and considered the strongest young devil."


    "Haha, Rias, you''re gonna make me blush." I couldn''t help but rub my neck in embarrassment.


    "Sai, you know Akeno my queen, and Koneko, and Kiba." He gestured to each of them. "And this is my newest member, my Pawn, Issei Hyoudou."


    It was the boy on the floor under Riser''s heel. I looked him over, he didn''t seem too strong yet, but there was potential there. He had a good spirit though, and he hadn''t stopped struggling.


    "Nice to meet you." I held out my hand in greeting towards him.


    "y-yeah, thanks." He took it with an awkward smile.


    "Thanks, by the way, Sai." Rias said. "Things were already difficult with Riser around and everyone talking about the marriage. If I was more forceful, he could have said some things and maybe moved up the marriage date."


    Ah, no wonder she didn''t make a move.


    Devil Politics, I never enjoyed them.


    "No problem at all, Rias." I assured her. "I''d be happy if he came looking for trouble. I''ve never fought a Phenex before, it''s a pretty exciting idea."


    "Only you, Sai." Rias giggled shaking her head. "But what''s this about Wilhelm?"


    "Oh, yeah." I almost forgot. "I went to Kyoto and thought I''d check up on him since we''d never met before."


    ".....Just like that? I thought you would be kicked out."


    "Well, I did have a letter with me that let mee around."


    "I see...."


    Hmm, was there something going on that I didn''t know about?


    "So that was your fianc¨¦?" I asked her.


    Rias scoffed, crossing her arms. "So I''m told. I keep denying it, but yeah, if I don''t win my Rating Game, I''ll be forced to marry him."


    "I''ve only heard a thing or two about Riser Phenex, I don''t really like him that much." I think she had much better options avable to her.


    "I''ve been training and stuff, but there''s only so much I can do."


    "Don''t sell yourself short, Rias." Sometimes people needed a pep talk. I remembered my mom used to give me them all the time. "You''re much stronger than before. Keep going like this and you''ll get there. How long until the wedding?"


    "Ugh, like...7 or 8 months. They pushed it back, but it isn''t set in stone, so I''m a little worried they''re going to pull it forward again."


    "Alright, that should be plenty of time." I nodded to myself.


    Rias blinked. "Plenty of time for what?"


    "I''m going to help you." I smiled, giving her a thumbs up. "I''ll get my peerage, and we''ll help you all train for your rating game!"


    "Y-you''re going to help me!?" Rias said in confusion. "But why?"


    "You''re my cousin, why wouldn''t I help you?" I guess if I hadn''t seen Wilhelm the other day, I might not havee here to see Rias. Maybe I would have kept my distance...let her handle everything.


    No, I didn''t want to see Rias suffer having to marry Riser. She''s always been so kind to me, I wanted to repay that.


    "Don''t get me wrong Rias. After you make your debut, you''re on your own and we''ll bepetitors. But right now, you''re fighting to prevent your marriage, so I''ll do what I can to help you." I put a hand on her shoulder.


    After all the help she and her family gave me, how could I not?


    "Sai!" She eximed with a big smile, wrapping me up in a hug.


    I chuckled, rubbing her head like I used to do when we were kids. "We''re gonna be busy for the next couple days, but afterwards, I''lle over with everyone and we''ll start some good training together!"


    And it meant that her peerage and she will be stronger once they start trulypeting! She had some strong members with her, I''d love to face off with them once they reach their full potential.


    But for now, I just wanted to help my cousin.


    ***


    Non-canon Omake -- Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, Attorney at Law, -- The Other side of the table.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." A voice boomed. It wasn''t simply loud, no. The voice echoed through reality, every ne of existence heard it, felt it as it reverberated through the minds of every sentient being in this universe.


    The entity looked like it was made from the stars itself. It stood massive, yet its size was immaterial. If so it desired, it would hold the entire universe in the palm of its hand.


    It was golden with three faces, one covered, one partially covered, and one fully revealed, each representing an aspect.


    "To what do I owe the pleasure, oh great Living Tribunal." I said with no small amount of sarcasm.


    It shrunk down, still massive ins cope, but I didn''t need to tilt my head 90 degrees to look at it.


    "You stand used of many crimes." It no longer boomed, yet its voice was still so loud and authoritative.


    "I plead innocence." I said immediately. "And I can prove it, if you remove these handcuffs that are stopping me from using my magic to run away." I smiled innocently, shaking my cuffed arms.


    Don''t know what they''re made of or what effects were forced into their creation, but they were somehow stopping everything I had from being brought to the surface. I was effectively neutered.


    "You have yet to hear the list of crimes."


    "Fake news."


    "....."


    "Insolence!" Another voice boomed, appearing next to this universal entity. This new one looked different, yet its power was enough to make me almost turn to dust from its mere presence. It seemed to be intertwined with the universe as a whole.


    "Eternity!" It smiled brightly. "So good to see you again!"


    The personification of the Universe.


    "Outsider! Your chaos ends now!" It raised its hand up, probably to smite me, but nothing happened.


    "He will be judged ordingly." The Living Tribunal spoke, indicating that I was currently protected.


    Neat.


    "Nice Cock." I smirked.


    Eternity scowled.


    Eternity was the literal make up of the universe, its body was made of the very gxies and stars that existed within the expanding infinite. A reflection of everything that is. If you looked around him, you could even find your own sr system with some effort.


    He pissed me off once, so I got my revenge.


    It was a harmless prank.


    Some people just can''t take a joke.


    I may or may not have used some very.....vtile cosmic powers ¨C if only temporary ¨C to move around a thing or two. When you give bad people phenomenal cosmic power, they tend to just keep being bad. Good people, much the same, except they usually turn bad in the end. Me? Well, I drew dicks on people way before I got my hands at universe altering power.


    No life was harmed in my efforts.


    On the bright side, we can say for sure he''s a man!


    Yes, the shining gxies that made up his new cock.


    Honestly, he should be thanking me.


    Over the course of the next few moments, many more cosmic entities emerged from the void of creation. Every single one represented something crucial to the continued existence of the universe.


    The Living Tribunal waived its hand and reality shifted. I stuttered in ce as I realized I was now standing in a literal courtroom, the Living Tribunal in the judges chair, and all the cosmic entities minus Eternity in the jury booth.


    Said representation of the known universe was serving as the prosecution.


    "We will proceed with a trial in ordance with the defendants understanding and experience." The Living Tribunal stated.


    "Hoho." I eyed Eternity from the side. "And here I was worried."


    Eternity didn''t design to give me a response.


    "Very well, I assume if we''re ying ball the way I''m familiar with, then I get representation?" I asked.


    "Correct."


    "Good, good." I stood straight. "Then I choose to represent myself¡ª"


    "Denied." He interjected. "The Defendant will not be allowed to represent themselves in this matter."


    Crap, well.....contingency time.


    "I nominate Sir Wiggles as my ¨C"


    "Denied." He said said. "Creature named Sir Wigglesbottom Fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, Crown Prince of Emerald Kingdom. Duke of Carrot Ind, General of the Northern Armies, The Lightning Born. The Devil yer. ¨C Is recognized as an extension of the defendant. A phenomenon more widely known as a ¨C Familiar. Such being the case, is denied right of representation. As as foreign entity to the Universe, you shall be judged by these inhabitants of the Universe. Thus, a resident of the Universe shall also defend you of the usations. The Scales remain bnced."


    Fuck.


    "Then who the hell am I supposed to get to defend me!?"


    "Searching for suitable representative." The Judge''s eyes glowed bright for the briefest of moments. "17,495 usible beings selected. 17,494 denied request. Final Representative questioned and epted offer."


    With another burst of light someone appeared in the courtroom I had to shield my eyes for a moment as the light died down.


    I finally saw who stepped out, and my eyes widened in horror.


    "Oh no...."


    "Oh yes." He smiled wide back towards me. "I am so very pleased I have this chance to pay back all that you''ve done for me." The Sarcasm dripping from his voice.


    "Loki." I whispered the name that filled me with utter horror.


    I would call Karma a bitch, but I''m fairly sure she''s judging me from the jury bench right now.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 289 - 268

    <h4>Chapter 289: Chapter 268</h4>


    "In hindsight, I probably should have asked for a more detailed exnation of the festival." I said as I adjusted my Yukata slightly. "I was just so focused on helping you get everyone prepared, among other things, that I just kinda assumed it would simr to what I am familiar with."


    "I suppose I should have exined it in more detail as well." Yasaka was fixing her hair in the mirror. "I''m so used to everyone around me knowing everything about it, I sometimes forget how little you know about our culture and customs." She spun around, posing. "How do I look?"


    "Absolutely stunning." I don''t think I could have peeled my eyes away even if I wanted. If I didn''t know how much effort she put into looking this good, I would have torn it all off right there.


    Funnily enough, she looked a little bashful. Her usual mischievous demeanor was nowhere to be seen. "It''s been so long since I''ve had a date like this, it''s making my heart beat faster hearing such simple words."


    Why are all my girls so cute?


    "Just one of many more in the future." I reached out, lightning tugging on her hand so she was pulled into my arms. Her ears twitched adorably. "I can''t wait to experience all of them with you."


    "Y-you''re teasing me on purpose." She pouted cutely.


    "One of the rare asions that I''m able." I didn''t deny it, kissing her forehead.


    "Mou~ You bully." She huffed, burying her head into my chest. "Come on, now that you''ve undressed me with your eyes enough, let''s go get our daughter." She giggled, pulling on my hand.


    Well, I wouldn''t refute her words.


    Getting Kunou was a simple matter of walking out into the living room of her living quarters. Our cute little Fox came bursting out of her own room.


    "Daddy, look!" She eximed, showing off her own cute Kimono.


    "My little fox is so beautiful!" I smiled, lifting her up after she shot into my arms.


    "Am I prettier than mommy?" She asked innocently.


    "Yes, Wilhelm, is she prettier than me, hmm?" Yasaka regained that mischievous look of hers.


    "You both nned this." I deadpanned, booping Kunou''s nose. "And I think you both are equally beautiful."


    "That''s cheating." Kunou pouted.


    "Now, now Kunou." Yasaka grabbed ones of Kunou''s tails. "Don''t tease your Daddy too much."


    Kunou wiggled in her mother''s grasp, unable to escape as Yasaka picked her up. "Mom!" She whined, getting doted on.


    "Are you ready to go have fun?" Yasaka rubbed Kunou''s head.


    "I wanna eat all the snacks, and I wanna y all the games! Oh, and can we go get a mask! I want a different one thanst year."


    "Oh course, my little fox. We''ll do all of that, together." Yasaka said quietly, affectionately rubbing her head.


    Kunou, tails and ears twitched excitedly and grabbed at both our hands to start pulling us towards the door. "Hurry, we''re going to miss it!!!"


    "Sweetie, it goes on all day and into the night, we aren''t going to miss anything." Yasaka justughed as neither of us tried to stop her.


    Maybe we shouldn''t? let her be so willful, but she had a tough childhood. I don''t think either of us wanted to stymie her ability to be a child even if she got a little on in the years and still acted like this.


    "So, I don''t actually know much about the Festival, mind giving me a rundown?" I asked, as we started leaving Yasaka''s manor.


    I eyed a few dozen Guards that appeared, taking up positions as they trailed us.


    "I''ve said before that we honor the Gods that helped create our home. Primarily, we honor Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi as our main focus, but also pay homage to a plethora of others. Thus, the Festival starts when the Sun is at its highest and ends when the Moon is at its highest."


    "That''s smart." I nodded along at her exnation. "Though, I don''t know if I can take one of those Gods seriously anymore after....the incident."


    I was keeping it PG for Kunou''s sake. Though, she seemed more focused on the festivities that wereing into view.


    "Believe me, I know." She groaned. "But that''s the gist of it. We simply celebrate under the eyes of our Gods. We thank them and show them the gifts they had given us."


    "No big speeches or anything like that?" I questioned.


    "Nope." She smiled happily. "This isn''t about me, nor do I draw attention to myself. This is about every one of our people being thankful in their own way. To pray and give their own personal thanks to Takamagahara. I''m just in charge of setting everything up."


    Neat.


    "Does Susanoo get recognition in any way?" Would seem weird to exclude him.


    "Funnily enough, he didn''t care until a few years ago. He decided that he wanted a little tournament to happen. Nothing too pretentious, just drawing lots and fighting until a victor, or whatever. It usually devolves into a big brawl, but everyone seems to enjoy themselves. It''s very popr with Nurarihyon''s lot, so I didn''t care to regte it any."


    "He probably just wanted a show to watch..."


    Yasaka just shrugged. "Keeps those muscle heads upied and not causing trouble."


    "Speaking of muscle heads, I can bet where Sc¨¢thach is going to end up."


    Yasaka snorted out a smallugh. "Yes, I''m sure some poor Youkai are in for a rude awakening. But I''m surprised you haven''t asked about the others."


    "I''m not that dense." I rolled my eyes. "If they aren''t around, nor if you didn''t bring me to them, that meant that it was all talked about beforehand. This is our date, so I was going to focus on you ¨C and Kunou." I poked her swaying tail.


    "You''re sweet." Yasaka snuck in a kiss on my cheek. "But you''re right, I reserved you for today."


    "Oh you reserved me, huh?"


    "Oh yes~ I told all your other girls that for tonight, you''re mine." She smirked.


    "All yours." I leaned in and captured her lips, a quick kiss before breaking away. "As long as it''s all taken care of, I''m good."


    "Oh it is, and don''t worry, I demanded pictures in case we don''t meet up at all. And I made sure that Medea and her Fianc¨¦ made their way over."


    "And like that, I have no worries." I finally felt really rxed since everything was taken care of. A night to just spend time with my woman and my daughter.


    It was easy to guess that Yasaka spoke with the others and wanted her own date time, so I didn''t meddle. They needed to be able to talk amongst themselves for things like these. And I highly doubted any of them protested, with the effort that Yasaka put into making this a reality.


    "Daddy, daddy, I want that!" Kunou interrupted my thoughts, pulling on my sleeve. She was pointing at the Dango stand near us.


    I shot a nce at Yasaka who looked exasperated but conceded. "Since it''s a special asion, you can splurge today." She said reluctantly.


    "I wonder if Artoria is a bad influence on our growing glutton."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if Kunou admired that about her." Yasaka said dryly. "Here you go, Kunou, I''ll be giving you your allowance with a little extra, this is all you''re getting so make it count."


    "Thank you, momma!" She happily scooped up the money and ran up to the Dango stand.


    "You know she''s going to run out in like an hour, right?"


    "Oh I know it."


    "And neither of us are going to be able to resist giving her more when shees at us, looking depressed that she ran out."


    "Without a doubt."


    "Okay, just wanted to be on the same page."


    We shared a look before breaking out in a littleughter between us.


    "Oh, some familiar faces."


    Both Yasaka and I turned towards the origin of the voice. I recognized the owner immediately, but was more surprised by who stood beside him.


    "Aotab¨­." I greeted therge Youkai walking over, and my gazended on the woman next to him. "And Reika Rikudou. It''s been awhile."


    The Master of Assassin of ck ¨C Jack the Ripper.


    "Brother, it''s good to see you again." Aotab¨­ smiled brightly, pping my back after he walked up. "You know my girlfriend."


    Was he calling me brother now that I was an honorary member?


    Regardless, I was surprised by the other revtion. "Girlfriend?" I blinked in surprise.


    "Mr. Schweinorg." Reika said, almost respectfully.


    "Hahaha, yeah we met when she came around the ce. One thing led to another...." He scratched his cheek a little embarrassingly.


    "He''s surprisingly a big softie." Reika giggled. I was taken back since thest time I saw her she was extremely on edge. "And I owe you an apology." She dipped her head. "I was.....not in a good ce thest time we met. You were very kind to me and did me a favor I can''t ever repay. Thank you."


    "You were stressed beyond belief, I hold nothing against you." I made sure to reassure her.


    "Curious how openly you''re talking about such a thing. I''m guessing by Aotab¨­''s expression that he knows then?" Yasaka''s lips thinned.


    Oh, I hadn''t even focused on that.


    "She told me." He said simply. "I haven''t told anyone else, even the Boss." He finished with crossing his arms.


    "....we were getting serious so I wanted to be honest." She said quietly. "And he could tell that Jackie wasn''t exactly...normal."


    "We were born practically the same way, of course I could tell." He nodded.


    Huh, I guessed they did have simr origins, though Assassin''s was dialed way up.


    "Is that why you stepped out to challenge me?" I asked.


    "Hah....something like that." He said sheepishly. "Boss asked a couple of us and I volunteered. He wanted it to be all clean like and not cause any messes so to smooth over the talks and stuff. Reika told me some stories and I wanted to see for myself."


    "And You really didn''t tell the old man?" Yasaka eyed him suspiciously.


    "Of course Boss asked me some questions, but I told him it was a secret not mine to tell." He crossed his arms, blowing air out of his nose. "A man''s allowed some secrets, I told''em."


    Jeez, I don''t think he has a deceitful bone in his body. A big soft idiot like Thorum and Sairaorg.


    "Please don''t be upset with him." Reika said softly. "I ¨C"


    "Stop." I interrupted, smiling warmly. "I''m happy you''ve found your own happiness."


    Could I really be upset about this situation? If she was in a meaningful rtionship, she had the right to not keep anything form her significant other.


    "T-thank you." She bowed her head again.


    "Mommy, look what I got!"


    "Momma, I got you some!"


    Almost simultaneously, two little girls came running up to us.


    "Kunou, sweetie."


    "Jackie."


    Both women held their arms out, their daughters running up to them.


    There was a strange silence as we all looked at each other.


    "Don''t hurt mommy." Jackie red at me.


    "Don''t talk to daddy like that!" Kunou huffed.


    Though, Jackie looked...less murderous? And not like it was hidden below the surface, she felt significantly less malicious.


    "....I''m Kunou."


    "....We''re Jackie."


    Both mothers set their daughters down.


    "Do you want some dango?" Kunou offered.


    "Un." Jackie nodded, taking a stick from her. "You can have one of our Taiyaki."


    The two little girls exchanged snacks, silently nibbling on them as they sorta red at each other.


    "....Do you wanna go y some games?" Kunou hesitantly asked.


    "....Mommy can we?" Jackie looked up to Reika.


    "If it''s okay with her mom." Reika seemed unsure and looked towards Yasaka.


    Well.....my instinct weren''t sting me to keep her away from my daughter.


    "Why don''t you take Sir Wiggles with you?" He should get out and have fun as well. I waved my hand, letting him fall into Kunou''s hands.


    "Oooh." Jackie''s eyes lit up.


    "Just stay where we can see you." Yasaka gave her blessing.


    "Follow me, I saw a game over here I wanted to y." Kunou grabbed Jackie as the two ran off, Rabbit ontop of the fox''s head.


    "So...."I turned to them. "She''s....different?"


    "I helped her settle some of her grudges." Aotab¨­ answered. "Helped her even out once they all weren''t screaming in her head and pulling her every which way."


    That made a frightening amount of sense.


    "Does she call you ''daddy'' too?" The corners of my lips curled up.


    Therge youkai blushed.


    "She does." Reika grinned.


    I snuck my hand to Yasaka''s and our fingers interlinked. She leaned into my shoulder as we watched our daughter run around, a big smile on her face.


    "Thank you, again." Reika spoked up. "If it weren''t for you.....I would have never have found a ce to call home."


    Home, huh?


    [***]


    Souichirou Kuzuki POV


    I didn''t like crowded ces.


    "Wait, Sis did what!?" The Ancient Hero Achilles eximed in shock.


    "Oh, did she never tell you?" Medea was having fun teasing her old friend. "Atnta, dear, tell him all about how you guessed wrong about the shared bathing for that city we ported in?"


    "That wasn''t my fault!" Medea''s old friend ¨C Atnta visibly hissed. Her feline ears ttened against her head, depicting some form of embarrassment.


    Visible weapons were worn by the various species of supernatural creatures passing us. An array of powers I had no previous knowledge of.


    Uncertainties surrounded us.


    "Either way, I believe those men got a wonderful view~"


    "Nyeh, Medea!"


    Shadowy figures lined the rooftops. Guards or possibly something else?


    Looks matched the mythic Tengu.


    "Why don''t you tell him about the time you tried to eat a Sea Nymph!" Atnta huffed.


    "She looked like a fish and got caught in my! What kind of foolish Nymph would get caught in a like that!?" Medea squeaked out. "Besides, you''re the one who tried to take a bite out of her even after she revealed herself."


    "I hadn''t eaten in several days." Atnta looked away.


    The emotional turmoil in Medea had subsided. She appeared to have forgiven her friend and had been cordial since initial talks.


    "I''m jealous, I heard all those amazing stories when I was growing up." Achilles threw his arms behind his head. "I feel like missed the best generation."


    "Don''t be so quick to judge, boyo. For every fun story we have, there were another hundred days of sailing miserably at sea." Medea scoffed.


    "Ugh, don''t remind me. My Fur would get so matted and I can barely even look at fish anymore." Atnta''s shoulder slumped.


    "And the smell."


    "I tried to forget that." Atnta groaned.


    "Hey, I know what that''s like. I sailed all the way to Troy without stop." Achilles snorted. "How many were there on the Argo with you? And I''m damn sure that boat was magical. I was stuck with my men in our little dingy of a boat and it got bad."


    "I could imagine." Medea turned her nose up. "Boys, ew."


    "I know." Atnta rolled her eyes. "I get enough of it from being around Achilles."


    "Hey!"


    "Ignore him." Atnta chuckled. "So, how''s it been over in ¨C what''s the name of that city?"


    "Fuyuki." Medea replied. "It''s been pleasant. After the war was over, I''ve just been spending time with my hubby." She grabbed onto my arm. "I''ve been trying to break into certain clothes design circles, but that''s been difficult."


    "I think Wilhelm mentioned some about that, you making his clothes?"


    "Mmm, not my best work as it''s not really my style, but it turned out pretty well." Medea replied. However, she was not being entirely truthful. She worked many hours making sure everything was to her standards.


    She may not voice it, but she cherished him in her own way. She has difficulty making friends and he was not been dissuaded by her attitude.


    "What about you? What''s this ce been like?" Medea spun around, waiving at all the festivities. "I doubt it''s like this all the time."


    A more traditional festival wasn''t something I had experienced in many years.


    "It''s....nice." The Feline woman said simply.


    "I think that''s the best way to say it, to be honest." Achilles added. "We sorta were just hanging around to pay back some debt to the ass. But...."


    "But." Atnta cut in. "It''s been nice here. The people have been epting, we didn''t really have to hide anything, and, well.....I wouldn''t mind calling this ce home for now. You ever think about settling down somewhere else more.....open?" She was broaching an obvious insinuation.


    "I don''t care where I am as long as I''m with my hubby." Medea grabbed my arm a little tighter. She was smiling brighter than I had seen her in many days.


    I looked around.


    I hated crowds.


    Too many uncertainties made me anxious.


    However, seeing Medea happy....such things were an eptable amodation.


    [***]


    Rin Tohsaka POV


    "Father, Father, what about that one!?" I saw Mordred point at another food stall.


    "Yes, we have yet to taste that one, good catch, Mordred." Artoria''s eyes sparkled as they both walked over to im all they could.


    "I sometimes think I''m rich, then Saber reminds me how much she eats." I deadpanned.


    "I know the feeling." Kairi sighed. "I thought I was being paid really well, then I realized it was just Mordred''s food budget.


    "You have to try it too!" Jinn could be seen dragging Wilhelm''s Goddess Lover with her to follow after.


    "I do not require food!" The Goddess seemed flustered, unable to deny the blue skinned woman.


    "I thought she couldn''t leave her realm very often." Kairi and I looked on at the scene.


    "Don''t ask me, I don''t keep up with them." I just shrugged.


    Though, I thought she just couldn''t leave for long periods or many times in a row. Here or there shouldn''t be a problem from what Saber said, so it wasn''t that surprising to see here up an about. I hadn''t thought she would dress the part, I could easily see why Wilhelm liked her.


    Definitely had some amazing legs.


    "It doesn''t feel real sometimes, like I''m living in a dream."


    "I know exactly how you feel." I nodded. "It''s like one minute I was in the Clock Tower, then ies Wilhelm, and suddenly I''m living amongst a bunch of Youkai, in a world where Gods still walk the, and I''ve learned more in the past few months than I have in the past few years. Not to mention all my financial hardships have all but been taken care of, I''ve gained so many things I couldn''t even put a price tag on."


    "Haaah, I thought for sure I was going to die in my War, and now here I am." Kairi took out a cigarette, lighting it up. "Doing some random jobs for Youkai of all things. Living with a Heroic spirit, and my employer is the literal bastard-son of Satan."


    "Hahaha...we''re going to hell for sure." I couldn''t help butugh mncholically. "And there''s Angels running around too.....what even the hell is this world?"


    "My dad warned me about his type."


    "His type?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Yeah, the kid''s the type of person that''d either take you to heaven or pull you down to hell, but regardless, you''d have the time of your life riding along."


    "God he has an annoying amount of Charisma that makes it hard to go against anything he wants." I scoffed.


    "Don''t I know it." He chuckled. "And funny thing is, I don''t think he even realizes it either."


    "I know, that just annoys me even more." I crossed my arms. Damn idiot, making it hard to ever stay mad at him. Always checking up on me, making sure I''m not in trouble or need anything. Hell, he pulled me into his little project even when I had nothing substantial to add and I''ve learned a lot just by proxy. And it''s infuriating because that was probably his intention.


    "Even if Mordred says so much crap, She has a big soft spot for the brat." Kairi chuckled again.


    "Atleast you don''t have to hear her gushing over him because they''re dating. Saber''s so shy, but once she gets going, it''s like sugar injected straight into my veins."


    Though, I''m happy for her. I can''t admit to liking that type of rtionship myself, nor could I see myself in an Harem, but if it worked for Saber and she''s happy...


    Not to mention the two Saber Servants would have never met like this had Wilhelm not been involved. And that''s saying nothing about this entire situation. How many people should have never met but somehow got together and get along like this because of him?


    I met Izanami.....that should say it all.


    And she was fucking nice!


    Oh, and she had an obvious crush on Wilhelm as well.


    Heaven or Hell, but fun all the way.....yeah, I can''t even refute those words because I''ve been happier in these past few months than I have in most of my time since my parents died.


    "It''s not a bad ce to settle down." Kairi took a seat on the curb, blowing out some smoke. "Don''t have to hide your magecraft, got jobs if you want, and people that are pretty nice. Oh, and the leaders look out for us."


    "And it''s not the Clock Tower."


    "If I had a drink, I''d raise it to that." Kairiughed.


    I don''t miss all the annoyances that came with that ce. It was an objectively amazing facility for learning, but the stress that came with it was excruciating. I didn''t realize how bad it was until I started attending the College of Winterhold. I''ll admit that the College wasn''t...up to the standards of the Clock tower, but it was enough for me right now. I was learning tons of things I otherwise wouldn''t be.


    And I could always go back there if I wanted. The Old man was there and everything.


    It''s just...hard to exin.


    Even back in Fuyuki, before I summoned Saber...my home felt so cold and empty. I was only dedicated to perfecting my craft and raising the Tohsaka name again.


    Now though....I''m lightyears ahead of where I was back then but at the same time...I''m happy.


    I guess I didn''t really realize it until this moment.


    I looked up at the Sun moving towards the horizon. "Yeah, this ce makes for a nice home."


    [****]


    Raikou POV


    I should have expected this turn of events.


    Once the Moon rose, the Youkai began to party harder than they had before. Once there were less Children active, the more adult activities took precedence.


    I was a little saddened that Master was not here at my side, I wished to be held close on this pleasant evening. However, I knew that Yasaka wished for her own time alone and it waspletely fair that she got such.


    We had ironed out the details, I would be making my own move at ater date. I wished to acquire Wilhelm for my own purposes for some of our own alone time~


    "Is there no one else!?" Sc¨¢thach''s voice rang out, her Demonic spear mmed to the ground in the middle of the Arena that had been set up. There were people carrying away the victim of hertest fight.


    I had been apanying her thus far through the festival, we had been having a wonderful time exploring. I don''t know why, but I believed I was closest to her out of Master''s other women. Perhaps it was due to the intimate time we both shared with him?


    I felt a little kinship with her.


    "This Sc¨¢thach has drank every challenger under the table. Now I ask of you, am I going to be uncontested in battle as well!?" She once again shouted out across the area.


    Yes, we had partook in some Sake and Sc¨¢thach was taken in by a challenge by some of the more foolish younger Youkai.


    I watched it with amusement when she continued to drink through all of them even as their elders challenged her as well.


    And now, she was reigning in the Arena they had set up. I think there was supposed to be a tournament, but she simply started beating up everyone and rousing the ensuing crowd toe challenge her.


    Yasaka spoke of it before, to keep the more wild Youkai from starting problems during the Festival. To focus them in one ce and control it here.


    I believed it was a smart decision, I knew first hand out of control these Youkai could get.


    By this point, she had worked through several dozen challengers, and I believed that none would answer the call.


    .....I too wished to partake in more of the festivities. I was not one for deadly conflict, but I am also a warrior and enjoyed crossing des...


    I locked eyes with my Harem Sister, her smile widening as she realized what I was doing upon my approaching the steps to the arena.


    "I shall ept your challenge." I dered walking into the open area.


    "It''s big sis!"


    "Big Sis Raikou!"


    "Big Sis, kick her butt!"


    "Yeah, beat that old hag!"


    Sc¨¢thach looked confused at that, ncing at the source of the voices and back to me.


    "Fufu, those are the Children from Kunou''s school." I sent them a wave. I had spent many a day there during my duties to Master''s child. I was keeping her safe while she was away and by extension, I have spent much time with the other children.


    "It seems I finally have a worthy challenge!" Sc¨¢thach twirled her spear, taking it back properly into her hand. "Shall we give the crowd a show?" She grinned.


    I.....did not mind anymore. "This Minamoto-no-Raikou shall face you, Sc¨¢thach of Dun Scaith." I dered, summoning forth my armaments as a Servant.


    This was my home, I did not feel the need to hide myself any longer.


    Even if there were reactions to my name, I did not feel any conflict within my heart.


    "Why, Hello there, Ladies." A male voice interrupted us as we were about to battle. I recognized it from a meeting a few days prior.


    "Sasaki Kojiro." I stated his name, all eyes turned to him.


    "Room for one more?" He grinned, hopping up on stage.


    "You sure you can handle us, little boy?" Sc¨¢thach was able to tell his nature as a Servant at a nce even if I did not name him.


    "Ohoh, I''m sure you''ll find that it''s my de you''ll have trouble handling." He was confident in the face of the Immortal Witch.


    "I feel as though I am being ignored." I let my Mana Burst flow out. "I have taken offense to that."


    With a smile, I didn''t wait for any more derations, andunched myself forward.


    And all chaos was let loose.


    [****]


    Wilhelm POV


    The day had gone by quick.


    And I can say for a fact, that''s because I''ve had so much fun that it was like the blink of an eye.


    Even with a yawning Kunou, we made our way towards the final destination, thest ''event'' so to speak. I might call it clich¨¦, but it was also a tradition for things like these. Yasaka went to great lengths to order fireworks to finish off the festival.


    Almost everyone started making their way towards the open hills right outside the city.


    We found our own little spot at the top, as if it was reserved for us, overlooking theke from which they would shoot up from.


    "I''m tired." Kunou snuggled up between us as we took seats on the grass.


    "How did I ever end up with such a cute little fox for a daughter~." I stroked her hair.


    "You seduced her mom."


    "I''m pretty sure her mom seduced me." I countered with a chuckle.


    "Mmm, maybe~" Yasaka giggled. "But this is nice. It''s a lot different thanst year."


    "Oh, what was the festival likest year?"


    "No." She shook her head. "The Festival was about the same, I meant....well, us." Yasaka looked up into the sky, sorta staring into the distance. "Last year it was just me and Kunou and now.....our family got quite a bit bigger, didn''t it?"


    "Family, huh?" I reached over, putting my hand ontop of her. "Yeah, we do have a pretty big family." I couldn''t help but smile, thinking about all my girls and everyone else.


    "Speaking of." Yasaka smiled.


    "Master~" Raikou''s voice reached my ears, as a crowd of people made their way over.


    "I called them over." Yasaka''s expression turned very warm. "I think our family should spend thisst part of the night together."


    "Nice, spot, Schweinorg." Rin plopped down a few feet away.


    "You look good, Rin." I admired her kimono.


    "Hey, if you''re going to gawk, do it for your girlfriend." She nudged Artoria.


    "D-do I like good?" Artoria asked.


    "You look beautiful." I replied without hesitation.


    "Ugh, flirtter." Mordred huffed.


    "Yes, we all look good." Sc¨¢thachughed. "Let him take us in some other moment, I believe we are to witness thest moments of this gathering?"


    I nced at Meridia as she also came by, that smile of hers that formed was always heart stopping. Jinn pulled her along so cutely, I wanted to tease her, but I refrained.


    I''m d she decided toe too.


    Medea rolled up with her own group, saying their greetings and such.


    "Alright, everyone, it should be starting soon." Yasaka made sure to quiet everyone down.


    Momentster the first one shot up into the sky. An explosion of color that filled the otherwise dark night, the shape of a flower forming.


    Many more fired off, taking all kinds of shapes and forms. Religious symbols for their gods, popr figures in myths and legends and even random shapes or items.


    I saw two swords burst into existence, swinging at each other before dissipating.


    Magical Fireworks, they were pretty damn cool.


    It would have continued on like this had something not grabbed nearly all our attentions.


    A big explosion of color lit up the sky, and it took the form of a face.


    And not just any face, because almost all of us knew this particr one.


    "Is that....." Rin trailed off.


    "I do believe it is." Artoria confirmed.


    "How in the hell...." I stared on in shock.


    It was Zelretch''s face.


    "Should I be impressed or scared?" Yasaka giggled.


    "Daddy, It''s grandpa!" Kunou tugged on my sleeve. "How did Grandpa''s face get up there?"


    "I have no idea." I stared nkly, only for something to catch my eye off in the distance.


    I could have sworn, for a brief moment, I saw Zelretch and Lucretia holding hands.


    Well yed, Old Man, well yed. I had honestly no idea what lengths he went through to leave the world-line for even a short period at this point, but kudos, he likely did it just to mess with us.


    I just opted tough at the absurdity.


    It was hard to believe, that not that long ago I didn''t even have anyone important in my life, and now look at me. For the first time since my mom passed, I had somewhere I could call a proper home.


    One of the happiest moments of my life thus far.


    How far have Ie since awakening my memories.


    "Love you momma, love you daddy." Kunou mumbled, seemingly closing her eyes as she nestled between us.


    .....I suppose It''s time for another first since my mom passed away.


    "I love you too, my little fox."


    [***]


    Insert Yasaka Lewd Here


    [***]


    Author''s Note.


    Didn''t have time to do the Lewd Yet, I''ll add it at ater time. So, I felt like this chapter was a sort of milestone. The point where I built them up to be a part of the Youkai faction going forward. Next is a few Skyrim chapters, then back to DxD to wrap up the arc.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 290 - 269

    <h4>Chapter 290: Chapter 269</h4>


    "Here we are, everyone, Skyrim!" I happily dered as everyone filed out of the house.


    The cool Skyrim air immediately sshed against our faces, the mountains on the horizon a towering recognition of the newnd that opened up before them. The very Moons in the sky were a stark reminder that they were now very far from home.


    "The Air is nice." Atnta spoke up, taking a deep breath.


    "I know what you mean." Yasaka agreed, sniffing the air visibly herself. "I can''t even smell any of the pollution that''s so prevalent on Earth. I think I''ll be able to make a lot of progress on my Senjutsu if I cultivate it here."


    Huh, that''s not something I considered before.


    "It feels oh so simr to my Era." Medea added. "The Mana ¨C or Magicka as you said it''s call here ¨C is so much denser."


    Yup, even Medea wanted to tag along. Her Master was right by her side, I believed they said he took a Vacation. Though, even the stoic man looked rather intrigued and had a rare expression of interest as he gazed around.


    "Alright, so just to make sure everyone''s on the same page." I pped my hands, gaining everyone''s attention. I felt like I was chaperoning a school field trip. "So far, we have Rin and Artoria going to the College of Winterhold, anyone else going that way?"


    "Yeah, me and the Necromancer are following along too." Mordred grunted.


    I shouldn''t have been surprised that Mordred wanted to follow along with Artoria. I was d they were getting along so well....as well as you could expect them to, I guess. There was still some awkwardness, but they seemed to enjoy being around one another.


    "While I am at the College I might take some jobs so we can get some money." Kairi nodded.


    We did talk about that, good. The Archmage was still probably running around trying to keep everything together. While Kairi didn''t necessarily have the same kind of firepower most of us could bring, he''s experienced and could easily handle most jobs they needed a hand with.


    "Us as well." Medea spoke up once more. "The majority of the reason I wanted toe was to see this College for myself. Might learn a thing or two while I''m here."


    I shouldn''t have expected anything else. "Noted, I''m sure they''d love to have you, Medea."


    "Of course." She preened.


    "I want to follow along for now....." Atnta quickly said. "We.....haven''t had much opportunity to spend time together. It should be a moderate trip from what I understand, I would enjoy spending it with you." She nced at Medea. "Afterwards, we can go our own ways depending on what we want to do."


    "Haaah, I guess I''m following along with them for now, then." Achilles rubbed his head. "I don''t wanna stay at a stuffy school for too long, though."


    "I was just going to pick a direction and start going." Sasaki said with a chuckle. "I have no destination in mind, I shall see where fate takes me."


    "Well, alrighty then." I shrugged. "So, you all have your bracelets." I swept my gaze around, looking at all of them. I made sure they all had their own versions of the storage braclet. "They each got a little orb on them, if you get in trouble, break it and it''ll alert all of us and act like a beacon."


    Thought what I did for Venna was practical in more than one application.


    "Also, you all got a general map." I made sure to stuff one of those in all their braclets? . "And a bag of Septims ¨C gold coins, their currency here."


    It should tie them all over for quite some time, though if they wanted anymore money for anything, they''ll have to earn it the old-fashioned way.


    "A wonderful gift, thank you." Sasaki looked like he was investigating his bracelet, discovering how it worked with rtive ease.


    "You didn''t need to do this, boyo." Medea sounded uncharacteristically gentle in her words.


    "Just something to get you started or if you didn''t want to stick around for all that long." I waved it off. "Otherwise, you''d be stuck asking Rin for Money, and I don''t think you would want to do that."


    "Does the poor witch need a hand." Rin''s face quickly twisted into a malicious grin.


    "And I suddenly have no reservations." Medea quickly changed her tune.


    Well, I''m sure the trip up to the college would be entertaining with both of them within reach of each other. For some reason, they opted for the long trek, should be a couple days walk if they took it slow to take in the sights.


    I could understand that, they probably wanted to do some sight seeing and whatnot. It''s not every day that they get to visit a totally different world.


    "Alright, Artoria, you''re in charge." I designated her right off the bat.


    She quirked a little amused smile. "I shall endeavor to ensure no trouble arises."


    Unlikely, but I shall hold out hope.


    The Archmage was probably going to develop a drinking problem once they''re through.


    "Stay safe, enjoy your time." I stepped in, wrapping my arms around her.


    Artoria''s bright smile was always something that could make my heart flutter. "I will surely."


    More bonding time with Mordred, I''m sure she''s looking forward to it.


    "Make sure Mordred specifically doesn''t cause trouble." I nced at the scowling Knight.


    "Oi, you got something to say, dandy man?" Mordred huffed.


    I chuckled, kissing Artoria''s head.


    "Hmph, let''s go, father." Morded pursed her lips. "It''ll be like old times, traveling thend and helping themon folk." She slowly adopted a smile.


    "Indeed, I too look forward to it." Artoria shared the sentiment. "Come, Rin and I know the shortest path, however it is littered with all manner of dangerous creatures."


    "Oh?" Achilles perked up.


    "Dangerous creatures? I have not hunted a meaningful prey in too long...." Even Atnta looked interested.


    With waves and goodbyes, I saw them off until they disappeared down the road moving slightly around Whiterun as they made their way up north.


    "A moment, Wilhelm." Sasaki had yet to depart.


    "What''s up?"


    "I have a query. I believe I spoke to you about my intention for creating a new sword?"


    "Oh, right." I snapped my fingers. "I''m sure you''ll want an idea of what to work towards, yeah?"


    "Yes, that would be appreciated.


    "Let me see your map." He produced it very easily, not even blinking as he withdrew it from his bracelet. I unfurled the piece of parchment, scanning it over. With a flick of my wrist, I pulled out a pen and marked it. "Around here..." I bit my lip, trying to recall specifically. "I vaguely remember Thorum telling me that there was an Orc settlement on an Ebony mine around here. They''re very istionist, but are also honorable warriors." I handed the map back to him.


    "Hmm, I suppose I can try to work with that." He nodded as he looked it over. He turned around a few times, trying to adjust his sense of direction. "And Ebony, is it? You mentioned that metal before."


    "Yeah, legends say that it''s actually the blood of a God or something." I waved my hand flippantly. "Regardless, it''s a very good metal, enough to go toe to toe with a Noble Phantasm and not outright break like your sword did."


    "Intriguing." Assassin smiled. "Any other things I should be on the lookout for?"


    "Honestly, most metals here are pretty darn good. You got the obvious things like iron and steel, but they haverge variety of magical metals with various properties. That being said, there''s a smith that lives here at Whiterun named Eorlund Grey-Mane, so once you get some stuff, head over here and ask around. You can drop my name if you need to, I got some pull in this town."


    "Wonderful, thank you."


    "What are friends for?" I smiled.


    "...Indeed." The corners of his lips curled up. "Friends." He nodded happily.


    "And a random thought while you''re traveling about. If you hear any mentions of dead walking around, I suggest dealing with them. It would make a certain Goddess happy, and that might lead you to an unsacked tomb which could be filled to the brim with treasure."


    "I will keep my ears peeled." He put the map away finally. "I guess this is where we shall part for now." He held his hand out.


    I took it with a firm shake. "Kill a dragon or two for me, eh?"


    He let out augh. "With absolute pleasure." With onest nod, he turned and started walking to the east.


    "Well I certainly feel a little better with all of them running around and helping where they can." I idlymented.


    "Should we feel bad for the dragons at this point." Yasaka, who had been mostly quiet, basically draped herself on me.


    "My pity well is practically dried up for that lot." I snorted, running a hand through one of her tails. "And what''s up? You''ve been very.....clingy since...." Well, since we spent that night together. It''s only been like a day and a half, but she was being extremely clingy, not that I disliked it.


    "Mmm, I don''t want my scent to leave you." She practically purred in my ear.


    ".....we don''t have to go to Whiterun immediately...." I offered.


    Her smile turned feral as she started dragging me back into the house, her kimono was tossed to the side before we even crossed the threshold.


    [***]


    Yasaka held onto my arm as we walked down the road towards Whiterun.


    "You know, you''re probably going to want to let go, lest the people here judge you rashly and not give you the proper respect you deserve."


    "I know." She squeezed my arm. "I''ll present myself properly when we get close. I just want to enjoy this for now."


    Cute.


    I wouldn''t stop her even if I didn''t want to enjoy this. How many times could she just rx and not worry about anything?


    Raikou was with Kunou so we both felt good about that. And Sc¨¢thach was keeping an eye on Kyoto for other miscreants.


    It''d been a little quiet and that made us anxious, but there wasn''t really anything we could do about that.


    Jinn was over at the College, doing her job. She took that very seriously and I had no intention on disturbing that aspect of her life. It was good that she found somewhere to...limatize to. I wanted all my girls to have a life, to have things outside of just me. It might sound a little arrogant, but Jinn was attached heavily to me and basically submitted herself to me upon our first meeting, I wanted her to have things to do. Raikou as well, and even she had found things she enjoyed doing.


    Yup, it seemed like they all did at this point.


    Almost abruptly, Yasaka let go, straightening herself. That cute and affectionate look of hers disappeared and she looked rather serious now, though still a bit regal.


    "This is the city then?" She asked as we approached the walls.


    "Yup, Whiterun, a nice city that I''vee to adore." I nodded.


    "Noticeable damage to the walls from nearly every angle I can see." She inspected everything intently. "You were right, farnds have been ravaged quite thoroughly, nothing will be growing there for a long time. Ack of traffic is a little concerning due to the nature of this kind of city. At this time of day, I believe we should see peopleing and going more noticeably."


    "Dragons have everyone spooked. I think they''re all still bunkered down for the moment, trying to wait out the storm."


    "Hmm." She hummed to herself. Perhaps devising some strategizes on how to negotiate with the Jarl. "And you can help me meet this ¨C Balgruuf without issues?"


    "I think he''d be ecstatic to see me again. It''s been a few months since I''ve been in his keep, and he was trying desperately to keep either Thorum or I close at hand."


    "So not a foolish man then? Not someone with more swords than brains?"


    "He''s definitely a warrior, but he''s an adept leader and know how to y the political game."


    It didn''t take long for us to approach therge gates. As we got closer and I could see the faces of the guards, I rxed upon noticing one of them. One was the guard with the scars on his face.


    "Well, look who it is." I greeted them with familiarity.


    "Red Dragon Emperor." He pped his fist against his chest te. "It''s good to see you back again so soon. And you brought panion." He looked at Yasaka, in fact, every guard who was in the vicinity was looking at her. And not just because she was absolutely beautiful. A significant portions of it was due to the ears atop her head and the fluffy tails swaying behind her.


    "This is Yasaka, Kunou''s mother." I introduced.


    "It''s lovely to meet you. I heard you took extra care to make sure my daughter was looked after. You have my gratitude." Yasaka''s tone was polite.


    The Guard broke from his stupor. "Tis just my duty, ma''am." He recovered easily. I guess after seeing me with Jinn, a woman with fox ears and tails wasn''t that strange. Hell, they knew I have wings and didn''t say anything.


    "Is Thorum around?" I seemed to ask this every time I came.


    "The Dragonborn is currently in Helgen, me thinks." He looked thoughtful. "Aye, I heard that he was over there checking on some bandit issue, should be back before nightfall."


    "I see." I nodded in thanks. "Can I ask a favor? Do you think you can send a runner to the Jarl, tell him I want a meeting?"


    "A meeting with the Jarl?" He blinked. "Of course, Red Dragon Emperor." I could see him smiling under his helmet. "The Jarl expressed sadness that he missed yourst visit. I will send a man there to warn him of your arrival."


    He gestured to another man who ran over and whispered in his ear. A momentter, that guard ran off further into the city, assumedly towards the Jarl.


    "We''ll make our way up there in a few." I waved towards the guard.


    "Of course, and wee to the city, Lady Yasaka. If you find yourself in any trouble, my men will assist as best as they can." He stated.


    "I will thank you in advanced." Yasaka smiled evenly.


    Once we walked a little inside, Yasaka turned to me with a little grin. "Red Dragon Emperor, huh?"


    "They love their titles here." I chuckled. "And I don''t think I''m the only one captivated by your tails."


    "Oh shush you." She yfully swatted at me. "You know my tails are for you only~"


    All mine.


    If she wasn''t trying to project herself appropriately, I would have stolen one already.


    "Well, while the Jarl undoubtedly prepares himself for us, how about I show you around?"


    "That would be lovely." She smiled brightly,pletely unperturbed by the stares she was getting.


    [****]


    "Wee, Wilhelm!" The Jarl''s voice boomed throughout the hall. "And my Guard tells me of yourpany. Wee as well, Lady Yasaka." I think he was warned of Yasaka''s appearance, because he wasn''t staring like the others were.


    "Jarl Balgruuf." I respectfully acknowledged.


    "Jarl Balgruuf." Yasaka mimicked, keeping herself from overtly reacting.


    "I heard you have sought me out." He looked to be in a good mood. "What can? I do for one of our heroes?"


    "Actually, I''m here more as an escort and act as guarantee this time around." I took a half step to the side, letting Yasaka take front stage.


    "Oh?" He quirked an eyebrow. "And what can I do for you, miss?"


    "Jarl Balgruuf." Yasaka''s expression shifted slightly as she addressed him. "Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Yasaka, leader of my own people who are known as ¨C Youkai."


    "Youkai?" He repeated the word.


    "I''m sure you noticed my...features." She let her Tails extend outwards.


    "Aye, I did not wish to be rude..."


    Yasaka let out a giggle, but it was different from her normal ones. "I take no offense at the question, I''m sure I look quite strange to you and your people. I admit to never meeting Nords until this point either, however it''s more familiar for me than I''m sure it is for you."


    "It''s as you say. I know Khajiit and Argonians, but never have I met a woman with fox tails and ears before. Tis strange, but an interesting experience." He responded rather casually. "But I do not think you came all this way to discuss our different races. Yasaka, Leader of these ¨C Youkai, to what reason have youe before me?" While respectful, he held an aura of authority about him as he looked at Yasaka.


    It wasn''t only Jarl Balgruuf around either. His trusted aides were nearby, his personal guard, and I even saw that annoying mage from before in the corner, giving me the stink eye.


    "Ie with an offer for a mutually beneficial arrangement. Wilhelm has told me of the troubles your people have gone through, and my people have also suffered some hardships of a simr nature. To that extent, I have heard that you are in need of certain resources."


    "You speak of a trade agreement?" He sat up straighter. If Yasaka had his interest before, she had his attention now.


    "We need not formalize anything for the time being, but to be blunt about it ¨C yes. You are seeking to buy things such as food and weapons from outside of Skyrim, correct?"


    "It is not a secret." He nodded.


    "And I''m sure you are being charged exorbitant fees."


    His face darkened, a scowl forcibly kept away. "It''s as you say. We are not the only ones either, most other holds within the provenance are seeking outside assistance."


    "And If I say I can provide simr services for a reasonable price?"


    "I would question your motivations." He narrowed his eyes. "What rtionship do you im with Wilhelm?"


    Was he trying to feel her out? I would have been disappointed if he just epted our words. He seemed like a much more thorough man than that.


    "I am his woman." She said without any hesitation, making the Jarl blink in surprise.


    I think he was expecting something a bit more coy or some other ambiguous answer.


    "I see...." He seemed deep in thought. "And what benefits are you gaining from this exchange?"


    "Money." She said simply. "Gold is more valuable for us than it is for you."


    The Jarl rubbed his temple. "And you are upfront about such a thing because we have no way to make use of such information. We do not know from which ce you hail, only by what you have spoken thus far."


    Yasaka smirked.


    Gained the initiative in the negotiations by beingpletely honest.


    Septims ¨C gold coins ¨C were the currency here, yet they''re worth a lot more back on Earth due to their gold content. She could take payment in about the normal price for goods they would normally pay, and then get an equal amount of such from Earth, with a nice chunk left over. Originally, Yasaka wasn''t going to part with food, but after figuring out how much they could make, it was a worthwhile investment if they could get something going for even a short time frame.


    "I admit I was not expecting this situation." Jarl Balgruuf let out a sigh. "You understand that I cannot make an immediate decision and there are still many more questions and exnations needed?"


    "I did not expect anything of the sort." Yasaka smiled. "I just wished to present you the offer and give you a sample, if you desired."


    "A sample?" He raised an eyebrow again.


    Yasaka raised her hand, depositing several neat piles onto the floor around us. "Five hundred Enchanted Arrows. 100 Sacks of Rice. I believe this should be sufficient to show the quality and quantity of what I can offer."


    That got their attention. While it wasn''t a substantial amount when speaking about the poptions shared between them, it was still a good chunk of goods to just drop on them.


    Frankly, Yasaka''s giving them an offer they couldn''t refuse. It''s exactly what she said before, a win-win situation for everyone.


    But just as they couldn''t refuse it, they also had to deliberate on everything. There were many logistical issues to work through. Not to mention, Yasaka was aplete unknown, basically only backed by me ¨C who was also not exactly a citizen here. I had some goodwill developed, okay a lot of goodwill, which was the only reason the Jarl humored such talk from aplete unknown.


    One of the Jarl''s aides came up and whispered into his ear. There was a sh of something across his face, making him go deep into thought. They went back and forth for a few moments before settling down.


    "As this was brought up so abruptly, I believe I need some time to discuss with my advisers." The Jarl Stood up. "Perhaps we should reconvene in a few hours to discuss further? I would be honored to host you and give you a proper tour of my city in the meantime."


    "I would be delighted to see everything your city has to offer." Yasaka agreed, as if expecting this oue.


    Well, Yasaka seemed confident, but then again, these people were in a really tight spot. I doubted they were going to talk about not epting any kind of deal, but more so how much they were able to acquire.


    Their next harvest was all but shot and they were running through resources at an extreme rate after the Dragon fiasco, and the continued issues they brought.


    I felt a little bad for them, but they were lucky that Yasaka was such a kind woman.


    Because to put it bluntly, she had them by the balls in any negotiating.


    We''ll see when they got into my formal talks once everyone''s on the same page.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 291 - 270

    <h4>Chapter 291: Chapter 270</h4>


    "Now, we need to discuss failure to deliver." The Jarl''s aide ¨C or rather his steward ¨C Proventus Aveni, was doing a good chunk of the negotiating while the Jarl watched on silently.


    They had prepared quite thoroughly during the few hours Yasaka and I had an impromptu date around the city.


    "To be blunt, there is no reasonable way to hold each other ountable in the case that either of us just decides to abruptly cease any agreement." Yasaka interjected.


    "Then how ¨C "


    "Proventus." Jarl raised his hand, making the man go quiet. "You are correct, Lady Yasaka. Then what do you suggest?"


    I assumed they had their own ideas, but they wanted to see if there was anything better on the te.


    "Recognize and ratify an official agreement between us, but keep it in the same vein as if we were a normal group of Merchants." Yasaka said simply.


    The Jarl tapped his chin. "Aye, that was the resolution we too had agreed upon. While we are unable to....verify any ims thus made beyond what has been provided." He nced at the piles of goods off to the side. "We also cannot think of any reason to why you would go to such lengths to deceive us. With Wilhelm backing your words, our only known enemies would be.....unlikely."


    Hmm, was he thinking about the Thalmor? I suppose it wasn''t unlikely that they would be wary of those elves trying to destabilize the region even more than they already had.


    "Trust but verify." Yasaka stated.


    "Indeed." A smile formed on his face. "For now, I ept your request. Proventus." He called his steward once more.


    "Yes, my Jarl." He took another step forward, taking center stage. "Unlike other Merchants, we will adhere to a strict agreement for prices while also giving certain benefits for a continued supply at the quality and quantity you''ve said you can provided." The Steward handed a parchment towards Yasaka.


    "And since our measurements and such are no doubt different, I assume we are measuring based on what I''ve already provided?" Yasaka began reading it over.


    "I see no reason to overplicate things." The Jarl nodded.


    And this was going rather smoothly. Not all that weird considering both of them were more than willing to take steps back as they both would benefit highly from the exchange.


    "I did take some time to look over some things being sold publicly around town." Yasaka flipped to another parchment. "Our main two points of trade will be Rice, and Arrows. And since your people have no standard rate for Rice ¨C being that it is a foreign good, it''s hard to put a price on and I''ve only been able to eye a generalparison. But Arrows are a different matter as Iron seems to be in short supply considering the situation."


    "Yes, most arms and armor are not avable formon purchase. While we cannot regte every single arm due to our own cultural reasons, we can still acquire the majority, raising such prices substantially."


    Yup, when the ''government'' was buying up every scrap, prices skyrocketed. The Jarl was being candid expressing the fact that current prices don''t reflect an urate value due to scarcity that could be seen by just walking around.


    "A seller''s market for the moment, but I was able to ask around about prices a few months ago as well." Yasaka smiled. "Shall we begin the price negotiations then?"


    The Jarl twitched slightly, probably not looking forward to this part. "As we said, different ways of valuing quantities of goods. How would you suggest we define the goods?"


    "Let''s price out each sack of Rice, and every set of 500 arrows?" Yasaka offered.


    The Jarl tapped his throne, looking deep in thought. "eptable." He nodded. "And what price were you considering?"


    "35 Septims for each sack of Rice, and 2500 Septims per 500 arrows." Yasaka shot out immediately.


    Well, even if they were doing each other a favor, there was some wiggle room to get a good deal.


    The Jarl didn''t outwardly react like it was an obscene amount, but he did frown slightly. "Too much." He denied. "My people are not familiar with Rice, you expect them to take to it as they do other foodstuffs. I would be morefortable doing 15 septims per bag."


    "Yet you seem knowledgeable enough about the grain." Yasaka pointed out.


    "Aye, my time spent in the legion meant I experienced a great many thing. One of which was different foods across the empire." The Jarl chuckled. "There were a few dishes I quite enjoyed and I have had my cooks learn a few of them since Wilhelm was kind enough to donate some on hisst visit."


    Oh yeah, I did do that.


    "I''ll pass on some recipes if you want." Yasaka didn''t bat an eye at his initial refusal. "You just need to set an example, maybe have Thorum enjoy some meals made with the foreign food to convince your people." She countered with a good point. "I can move down to 30 Septims, but Food is also something I can''t acquirerge amounts of until I get a more steady flow of gold."


    "Unfortunately, the budget I am working with is not what it usually is. As many attacks have been made against my territory, food is not the only concern I have for my people. I cannot go beyond maybe 25 septims for a bag."


    Yasaka raised an eyebrow at his sudden jump. "Very well, I''ll settle for that amount." She looked slightly pleased. "Now, about the Arrows."


    "The arrows, yes." The Jarl looked at the ones sitting to the side intently. "2500 Septims for 500 is....steep even considering the times."


    "Yes, but they alsoe enchanted." Yasaka pointed out. "And I''m sure you''ve tested the quality yourself so far. Tell me, how do they fare against standard Iron armor?"


    The Jarlughed. "Well enough that I''m considering this price. Normal Arrows have been little use against a Dragon, but perhaps these will fare better?" He seemed to think aloud. "But I am more focused on their use against the roaming bands of bandits that have sprung up and are strangely armed to such a high degree."


    Was he dropping a hint about something, the nce he sent my way implied so. Or was it more of a warning that things were happening around us?


    Warning heard then I supposed.


    "2500 Septims, it''s a fair price." The Jarl didn''t even argue with it. Enchanted goods were at a premium right now and I could guess that arrows were not something people focused on to enchant. "I will have my Steward write up the appropriate documents and consider this batch as the first of hopefully many."


    "I''m pleased we could reach an agreement." Yasaka smiled warmly. "Even if this arrangement may notst more than a few months."


    "Aye, you are correct. Our current crisis may pass at a moments notice, but our home is still going to be suffering for a period of time."


    "Shall we agree upon terms for when either side wishes to end the agreement? As I said before, neither of us can hold the other ountable, but there''s no reason to make enemies."


    Once the Dragons were finally taken care of, they could both focus on rebuilding. A year down the line, would they need something like this? Maybe food and stuff, but the need for Arrows would slowly fall to the wayside.


    "I agree with the thought."


    "It seems we''re both in a difficult situation based on our current crises, but I doubt either of us wants to be overly reliant on the other. Perhaps a warning several months beforehand that either side wants to end the trade? It gives times to prepare in advance."


    "A fair offer and one I cannot refute. The times are turbulent so we cannot predict such things in the future." The Jarl stood up from his seat. "Let us begin drafting the required documents then."


    Hmm, they were really amicable about everything.


    [***]


    I let out a yawn, walking down the streets of Whiterun.


    Yasaka was still working out the finger details with the Jarl, and I was basically unneeded there. I wasn''t really concerned for her safety or anything like that. I don''t think anyone in that building could harm her, and I knew Meridia was keeping a watchful eye. And she knew how to get home, so she basically shooed me away at some point. I''m sure she wouldn''t want me hovering nearby while she sits and negotiates for hours.


    I still stayed until someone came and gave the Jarl the heads up that the Dragonborn had returned.


    Not surprising, he probably made sure to keep up to date on every one of Thorum''s movements. I couldn''t even fault him for it either, Thorum was the best deterrent they had at the moment, both for Dragons and any other people who wanted to cause issues.


    I weaved an illusion around myself, just a basic one that would break on even the mildest of hits. But it would serve its purpose.


    I caught all the eyes in my walk towards the Jorrvaskr.


    I was dressed in a pretentious ck hooded robe and matching ck leather armor. Pointed ears visible to anyone who looked at my ''face''.


    Raising my foot up, I kicked the door open, grabbing everyone''s attention inside.


    "I''vee for you Dragonborn!" I shouted.


    There was a moment of silence as everyone seemed to process that a supposed Thalmor had just kicked their doors open and demanded one of theirpanions.


    I couldn''t hold it back and startedughing to myself, the illusion breaking easily.


    "You bastard!" A was the first to growl.


    "My friend!" Thorum startedughing as he came to give me a hug. "You fooled me."


    "Hey, Thorum." I patted his back in a quick hug.


    There were a round of shouts at me, all in good nature as they settled down.


    "Milk Drinker, I ought to ring your neck." A was still huffing.


    "Oh,e one. Like any Thalmor would have the balls to walk into here like that." I rolled my eyes.


    "Bah, even if that''s true, you''re still an ass!" She snorted, though there was a slight smile on her face


    "My friend, what brings you back so soon?" Thorum asked. "Is it time?"


    "Yeah, I brought Yasaka around ¨C Kunou''s Mother." I exined. "She''s setting up a preliminary trade agreement with him, so that should help a little bit around here."


    "That is wonderful news!" Thorum''s signature big goofy smile spread across his face.


    "And I settled things on my end for now, so I had time for the thing we talked about before." As I said the words, Serena joined Thorum at his side. "If you wanna get started.....?" I offered.


    "I have no matters that need my attention." Thorum nodded.


    "Yes, I believe the sooner the better." The Vampire added.


    I wouldn''t fault her for being impatient, it''s her mother we''re going to save. "Right, well we need to do some experiments first and I need to investigate the spot you spoke about."


    "Going to rescue the Vampire''s mum?" A asked. She was the only inner circle member still hanging around right now. "I''ll hold down the fort while you''re gone."


    The way she said it, I kinda felt bad as if she was getting ''left out''.


    "I have a favor to ask, while I''m away."


    "Hmm?"


    "Yasaka''s still around, and you should know she''s not exactly....a normal sight for everyone here. Think you could watch out, make sure no one gives her a hard time? I''m sure the Guards spread the word around themselves, but I want someone I can personally trust to watch over her."


    "Leave it to me." She lightly pped her breast te. "If we got someone helping us with the crap going on, it''d be poor on us if she got caught up in anything."


    I should figure out something nice to go do for her. She wasn''t exactly a.....friend in the same vein as my others ones were, but she''d been very nice to me and pretty much had my back since day one.


    Maybe I could give Thorum some tips on awakening someone else''s Aura?


    I gave her a nod of thanks before opening a portal to Harkin''s old castle. "Shall we?"


    ***


    "How convenient a method of travel." Serena looked around at the half-ruined keep.


    "Aye, my friend. I have not heard of such a method beyond teleportation, but such a thing is ouwed by the Empire."


    "Well, it''s a good thing it doesn''t operate under the same principals, thus isn''t affected by that particrw." I chuckled. I remembered being a little hesitant about that myself, but no one''s said a word. Hell, I doubted they would even if I were tantly teleporting anyways.


    "I assume you''ve look around since the destruction then?" I kicked over a stone piece.


    "We have." Serena, squatted down, picking up a cracked mirror. "I had to see it for myself once I heard. And I did look through many things to see if I could find a trail that my mother left behind."


    "And you said you found some clues in her old.....workshop?" Was that the term they use?


    "Yes, I found her old research and found some things that led me to the conclusions I told you about before." She turned to look towards a certain part of the castle still standing. "Luckily it was still there." She chuckled mirthfully, eyeing the wreckage.


    "Speaking of magical things, how''s your magic training going, Thorum?" I askes as we followed behind Serena through the maze that was this destroyed structure.


    "Higher level spells are still difficult for me." He rubbed the back of his head. "But I have practiced my Restoration Magic as often as I could, helping out locals who have been hurt."


    That''s right, he was having trouble with Restoration.


    "I''d love to help you where I can. I also had some thoughts about the Thu''um I wanted to run by you when we had some time. Among some other things I wanted to talk to you about." I looked to the side to see a very creepy painting of Harkin.


    With a flick of my hand, I set it on fire.


    "Better than he deserved." Serena scowled, eyeing it ashes with annoyance.


    "What did you want to discuss, my friend?" Thorum asked, decidedly not poking at that little tibet she just let out.


    "I never really told you where I came from. You''re my best friend and I wanted you to know everything about me."


    It was time for him to know my secrets. If I couldn''t trust Thorum, then who could I trust in my life?


    "I too have not told you my younger years! We can share a drink and tell stories." Thorumughed.


    As fun as that sounded, it''s obvious he didn''t know what I was going to reveal to him. Even Meridia was....shocked by the revtions.


    I think it was the first time Meridia ever felt small.


    And thinking about my cute Goddess, I couldn''t help but rub the Ring of Khajiit on my hand. Even if its effects no longer worked on me, it was a gift from Meridia, thus I would always cherish it.


    Maybe if we ever have a child in the future, I could give it to them?


    "Here we are." Serena dered snapping me out of my thoughts. "Though, there isn''t much to...see." She waived her arms around.


    Yeah, what should have been an inner room in the castle was now only about two and a half walls with most of everything that had once been inside broken apart.


    "There is not much left but ¨C" Thorum stopped, looking at me as I put my hand on the ground.


    "Something here is strange."


    "My friend, did you discover something?"


    I snapped my fingers, causing an explosion of wind to burst out below, knocking away all the dust and grime that umted.


    "Looks like the remnants of a Spell Circle." They were faint, but the markings left on the stone had burned into the hard surface. There were very tiny traces of lingering Magical Energy that if you squinted, could form a circle of some sort. Though, most of it was destroyed through the passage of time and my own hand made it worse.


    "How did I miss that!" Serena groaned.


    "Rather easily, I wouldn''t have noticed either if not for my experience in sensing the fluctuations of spatial turbulence. Or rather ¨C the telling signs of spells that involves teleportation."


    This spot had definitely been used to invoke some manner of teleportation, and it was not a simple one like going from here to Whiterun. No, it was powerful, and clearly tore through the boundaries of Nirn. Either a Daedra was summoned from Oblivion, or someone teleported to another Realm that lies within Oblivion and based on what Serena told me, one answer seems more probable.


    "Well..." I interlocked my fingers, stretching my arms. "Let''s get started then, shall we?"


    "Do you require any aid from us, my friend?" Thorum asked.


    "Hmm, can you move some of the rubble away? I want a good look at the area."


    "I can help with that too." Serena volunteered herself, immediately picking up a stone that was about the size of herself.


    Honestly, it''s easy to forget how physically strong she was because she''s a vampire.


    "So..." I whispered towards Thorum. "How strong do you think your Dragon-Vampire babies are going to be?" I nudged him with my elbow.


    As expected, the mighty Dragonborn turned a bright shade of red and started sputtering.


    I pped his shoulder with augh and made my way towards one corner that still had a pir standing up. I pped a Talisman on it and started moving to four other points, mimicking my earlier actions.


    I held my hand up, invoking a spell. "God of the east sea, Amei. God of the west sea, Shukuryou. God of the south sea, Kyojou. God of the north sea, Gukyou. Gods of the seven seas, fend off the hundred demons and drive back the fire of disaster. ¨C Order!" I mmed thest talisman onto the ground, invoking a wide scale magic circle?.


    Serena and Thorum stopped in their actions as they watched my magic be invoked. Arge pentagram spread out, below and above us.


    "Your Magic never ceases to amaze me, my friend." Thorum looked up in awe.


    And....I did feel a little proud when he says things like that.


    "What is this?" Serena held her hands out. "It feels nice."


    "I''m cleansing the area of residual....corruption, forck of a better word." It would be difficult to exin without going into depth about the logistics and concepts of the whole Onmyoji system of magic. "This ce had been seeped in so much necromantic and blood magics for so long, it''s hard to get anything useful out of this residual circle."


    Luckily it didn''t affect vampires, a difference in world view than the Christian cosmology. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to do this through other methods.


    "With all the disgusting things that have happened here, I''m not surprised." Serena groaned. "So there''s a possibility we can''t get anything useful out of this?"


    "Who knows, let''s get it cleaned up first. The fact that there''s even something noticeable is a point in our favor. Your mother clearly knew what she was doing for it to be preserved for so long."


    "And how long will this take?" Thorum asked, though he didn''t appear to be impatient based on his tone, perhaps a genuine curiosity.


    "I have no idea." I shrugged. "As I said, this ce had been seeped in so much ¨C bleh ¨C for so long. How long had Harkon lived here for?"


    "Too long." Serena replied. "Hundreds upon hundreds of years he has done unspeakable things behind these walls." She stared off into the distance, before returning her focus to us. "And.....''Bleh''?" She quirked an amused smile.


    "Well, what would you call it, hmm?"


    ".....it''s an oddly apt description."


    "Hey Thorum." I just remembered something I wanted to ask him. "I''ve been working on a method to bring Ddraig out for a little while, I was wondering if you knew any Shouts that could help with that?"


    The efforts everyone made the other day had born some fruit, but...all we had at the moment was a prototype. A staff created from Dragon Bones and other materials, A coreposed of condense Dust to form a jewel-like structure. An obscene amount of Runic Sentences carved into arge portion of the staff itself ¨C Primordial Runes were required ¨C and we bound it all up with Lucretia helping devise a name to bind it together for Ddraig.


    Basically acted as one of those Staffs that Rin brought along, but specifically for Ddraig.


    Just needed to test it soon. But I needed an opponent worthy of testing it on.....or atleast someone I really wanted to flex on.


    I think Ddraig would be fine with either.


    "A shout to summon Ddraig?" Thorum repeated. "I do not believe I know of such a thing, my friend. Perhaps the Grey Beards would know? I have gotten far better at the Thu''um in recent time, maybe we could create one ourselves?"


    "Oh, that''s an idea." I rubbed my chin. "I hadn''t thought of that, it''s already difficult enough for me to learn shouts that are already established and what they considered ''beginner''."


    The fact that Ddraig was in my soul was helping me cheat in this specific circumstance. Just as I couldn''t have Medea just teacher me her Divine Words, I can''t just learn the Thu''um...normally.


    Hell,pare Thorum''s shouts to mine and mine woulde up short inparison every single time.


    "Regardless ¨C " I paused looking up at the sky and saw my spell fizzling away. "Put that on the shelf for now, time to get to work."


    I took our Mirage and mmed it right down into what I thought was the center of the old Magic Circle. I pressed my hands against the Eye that was embedded on the hilt. The calctions were done in a blink of an eye and arge illusionary circle appeared above the Eye as I used my hands to expand it outward.


    "Alright, I got a good idea of what your mother did." I inspected the dimensions andyout of the Magic Circle. While it wasn''t a school of thought I was overly familiar with, it ovepped with a lot of things I could be called an expert in.


    "Can you find her?" Serena was already at my side, staring at my illusion intently.


    "I can.....trace back the source?" I leaned my head forward, spinning the Circle around for another look. "We''re a bit lucky you stumbled upon what you did. After I destroyed the castle...well, I don''t think even these traces of the magic would havested another few months. The Castle was what held it all together for so long."


    The Castle probably had a lot of magic woven into it, the Circle no doubt was anchored to the foundation itself.


    The link if it were to be called that was thin, but present. The thinning of space between two points led me off Nirn and to a point in Oblivion, not too dissimr than going to Meridia''s realm.


    Mirage began to light up as I focused on it and used the residual magics and what remained of the spell circle to facilitate a simr casting.


    Slowly, a portal began to open up infront of us, different than the one I usually did.


    "Amazing as always, my friend!" Thorum eximed with glee. "Let us ¨C"


    I yanked him back as he was walking right towards the portal. "Don''t just walk into magical effects that you have no idea about." I deadpanned.


    "Is it not the entrance to this Soul Cairn?'' He looked confused.


    "We still need to make sure it''s safe first, I have no idea what''s on the other side and I''m not going to risk your lives because of that. Give me.....two hours to make sure it''s all good to go before we just jump right in."


    I usually threw caution to the wind when I could shoulder my own actions, but with Thorum involved, I wasn''t going to take unnecessary risks like that.


    "Two hours? I can wait two hours." Serena muttered to herself.


    "Alright, let me just do a couple experiments to make sure our Aura will hold up and then we can go through."


    [***]


    Non-canon Omake -- A series of unfortunate Hogwarts events Part 1


    "How do I end up in these situations?" I sighed, looking out the window, watching the scenery pass by. Honestly, the only silver lining here was riding on this train. It might seem odd that I''m pointing out at that specifically, but I''ve never ridden on a train before and it''s kinda neat.


    Choo choo.


    If I weren''t so depressed right now, I''d have a big smile on my face.


    It''s a mundane thing, but I am allowed to enjoy this!


    Afterall, I''m only eleven.


    That''s right, I''m eleven fucking years old!


    How might that have happened one might ask? Well, it''s an extremely convoluted and agonizing story that involves me getting de-aged.


    And I rather not even think about it anymore, so I won''t even recount the story.


    Suffice to say, Eleven years old, with the mind of a man in his...mid twenties....ish?


    Fuck, I still don''t know how old I am.


    Yup, so I''m an Eleven-year-old, with the mind of a twentyish year old, who is the sorta reincarnation of a sometimes vampire Magician who can tell time and space to fuck off and is infinitely old.


    My life is strange, but I digress. I was going off on a mental tangent.


    So, my sometimes vampire Magician Grandfather who I''m also the reincarnation of in the future, he thought it''d be funny to send me to this parallel reality and attend a Magic School.


    I swear, one offhandment about a ruined childhood and he thinks this is a good idea.


    Well, maybe that or he feared for my life. Killing two birds with one stone?


    Now, someone may wonder, what would I have to fear? My sometimes vampire Magician grandfather could certainly keep his now Eleven-year-old grandson safe, right?


    Well, not when the dangeres from one of his various harem members.


    My girls took the revtion surprisingly well. Because let''s be honest, this was not the strangest thing that I''ve ever done or been apart of. We''re all going to live an extremely long time a few years ¨C probably less than that ¨C and I''ll be back to normal.


    Actually, most of them took it better than well. Let''s just say.....I''m still able to perform like this. More than able, actually. For some reason, my little Wilhelm is not so little ¨C inparison to my age. It actually hadn''t shrunk at all, I was still operating at peak efficiency in that department.


    Sc¨¢thach has a surprising maternal side to her. She was very gentle....and horny. Very, very horny. That could describe the majority of my girls. Even Meridia was...motherly to me.


    Can''t say I didn''t like it.


    Venna, well, she discovered a new fetish, and that''s saying something for a Devil that''s many centuries old.


    Really, the only one who had a problem doing lewd things was Yasaka. Yup, the horny fox just couldn''t not see me as simr to Kunou when we were a simr ''age''.


    Hell, even Salem was.....enthralled.


    Who knew that the Queen of the Grimm was into big dick shota?


    She didn''t evenin when I flipped her dress up and spread those big cheeks of hers in the middle of her throne room. The Queen of the Grimm usually huffs andins when I take her in the rear, even if she''s as much into butt stuff as Jinn is. But in this circumstance, she practically encouraged it.


    It was all quite exhrating and peaceful. That was, until the Raikou nation attacked.


    Her motherly ¨C and lustful ¨C aura went into overdrive. I wonder to this day if her Mad Enhancement was forcibly returned at the sheer happiness she exhibited at my newfound state.


    Honestly, I think I spent more time with her sitting on my face rather than not once she found out.


    And....


    Wait, why am I upset about this?


    I mean yeah, it was a little excessive, but it''s not like I couldn''t keep up. Hell, she was the one usually out of it by the time we finished.


    I guess it was getting out of hand and she pretty much kept initiating at every free moment we had. How many times did one of the others walk in on us doing the deed or something lewd in the middle of the house.


    Yup, it escted quite a bit.


    .....which I''m still not really against now that I think about it. I have a very high libido that lets me keep up with the fact that I have a harem of beautiful women, most of which have a high sex drive as well.


    And at this point in my life, pretty much all my girls had.....teamed up at one point or another. There wasn''t really any awkwardness when they came in to see Raikou bouncing up and down on me in the middle of the kitchen.


    .....so why exactly am I fretting over Raikou being overly lustful again? And how did Zelretch convince me that this was the best answer to escaping a lustful Raikou. Seriously, how they hell did he convince me that I had to escape a horny Raikou?


    I would have lived between those amazing thighs of hers and been happy about it!


    ".....I''ve made a terrible mistake." I realized my error immediately.


    "...are you okay?" I turned to see a boy standing the door of my trainpartment. "You just said ''How do I end up in these situations'' and stared off nkly for like.....five minutes, then just said you made a mistake?"


    I blinked in realization of where I was again. "Sorry, was having an inner monologue about a poor decision on my part." I quickly regained my sensibilities. "So....who are you?"


    "N-neville Longbottom." He said rather meekly. "I was wondering if it was okay for me to sit with you....."


    "Sure,e on in, Neville." I smiled towards the kid.


    He seems like he needs somepany.


    "T-thanks." He ducked his head, sitting opposite of me.


    How timid.


    Hmm.


    He kept taking peeks at me when he thought I wasn''t looking.


    Reminded me of my younger self with how he was acting.


    "Hey Neville."


    "Y-yes?"


    "Let''s be friends." I held my hand out to him.


    If I was going to be stuck here like this, I was going to make the best of it. I would start by taking this Neville under my wing.


    I''m sure the next few years of this Hogwarts is going to go smoothly.


    [**]


    So, this chapter was supposed to be together with the previous one, just got too long so I had to split it up between two days. So.....here''s an omake to make up for it. As per my pat re on people, they all thought it should be a side story, so it''ll appear as a side story in the next part.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 292 - 271

    <h4>Chapter 292: Chapter 271</h4>


    The portal infront of me pulsed as I withdrew a piece of rubble I had ced/dipped into it.


    I wrote down a few notes forter reviewing before storing the rock into my ring.


    "Alright, good news, I was pretty much right on the money with our Aura." I pped my hands, gaining their attention. Thorum hopped off therge stone,ing down next to me. Serena had been hovering near by, a visible anxiety on her face


    "It is safe then?" Thorum asked.


    "Well, safe is rtive. Keep your Aura active and all that. If things look too dangerous....we may need to evacuate in a hurry." While I felt confident in fending for myself with my Campione physiology and magical resistance, I wasn''t going to risk it if I didn''t have to.


    Honestly, if it weren''t for the fact that we were going to find Serena''s mother, and Thorum was being very adamant about this, I would have taken much longer to scope things out. Where we''re at was basically ¨C we won''t die from just stepping in there.


    That and the fact that Meridia hadn''te to smack me upside the head for even considering going there. I considered getting her involved, but I doubted she wanted anything to do with Serena or her mother considering they were vampires.


    "Alright, be ready for anything, I got no idea what''s on the other side besides what you''ve told me." I rubbed my storage ring and withdrew Dawnbreaker, clutching its radiant warmth in my hand.


    I watched Thorum''s Aura re up around him protectively. Again there was that strange dragon-like appearance that definitely wasn''t normal of how Aura should work.


    Serena''s eyes glowed slightly, as if she were ready to cast a spell at a moments notice.


    "With you both at my side, I have little to fear." Thorum said warmly, easing the tension.


    He had that big goofy smile of his.


    "Alright, let''s get going." I put a hand on his shoulder. "I''ll go first."


    Thorum nodded at me. "We will be right behind you, my friend."


    "And thank you, Wilhelm." Serena had a rare smile on her face. She tended to keep herself from reacting overtly, but there was a genuineness to her.


    I''m d she apparently opened up more, especially around Thorum.


    I would endeavor to tease him more after the matter was settled, especially when Serena''s mother was in earshot.


    As was my duty as his friend.


    Without another word, I stepped through the portal.


    ***


    Immediately, a deathly air mmed against me. My Aura sprang to life, forcing away the malicious energies of this ce.


    I paused to look at my surroundings just for a moment, and my eyes widened at what I saw. I felt a strange sense of unease, as if something was staring right at me.


    I flicked my hand, four Talismans appearing between my fingers as I threw them to four corners of the area around the portal.


    "The Sapling hides in the Tree''s shadow. The Earth is overlooked by the heavens. The Wind leaves no traces. And the Fire fades from memory." I invoked my spells. "Four Elements Concealment Formation!"


    A bounded field actualized through my Onmyoji arts. While Magecraft has a much broader spectrum of Bound Fields it can apply, it''s hard to match such a specific application that I can get with my Onmyoji.


    It''s a rather intricate concealing Bounded Field that should hide the portal from most general prying eyes. I didn''t know what was lurking around and I didn''t want any wayward nasties to just mindlessly escape this ce through a portal I created. Meridia would be most upset with me.


    "This..." Thorum stepped through, having a near simr reaction that I did.


    "This ce feels like death." Serena even shuddered.


    And that wasing from a vampire.


    This ce reminded me too much like the Land of Shadows. The vehement hatred that I felt, I think it was directed at me due to being a living being. I imagine that Thorum felt something rather simr at this moment.


    Even without this oppressive feeling, this realm did nothing to make me feel at ease. There was absolutely no life within this ce, a cursory nce could tell me that much.


    A baleful purple hue invaded every corner, an aurora of necrotic energies hung overhead.


    It wasn''t just that either, even with my status elevated above most mortals, I felt a sense of...disorientation. Like my perception was being thrown off as I was not weed in this realm.


    I was within someone else''s domain, and I was most certainly not weed.


    There were buildings in almost all directions, a strange mist disrupting a clear view, but I set my eyes on thergest.


    "Chances that your mother is over there?" I raised my finger up, grabbing their attention.


    "You mean the towering citadel that seems to be pulsing with an unholy energy that makes your skin crawl from just looking at it?" Serena asked.


    "Yeah.....that one."


    "Unfortunately.....high."


    "Well....let''s get a move on then." I didn''t want to spend any more time here than I need to.


    "Aye, this ce gives me a bad feeling." Thorum pulled Gram from his back, holding it tight in his hand.


    I reached down and took a handful of the sand, sealing it away and putting it in my ring. Never knew if I would have a use for it, but at the least it would be an interesting thing to experiment withter.


    "Look out!" I heard Thorum shout, my head snapping up in time to see him cleave a Wraith in two with Gram.


    The specter dissipating at the singr blow.


    "There''s more!" Serena hissed, her hand erupted with her blood magics. Several blood spears flew out, sailing through the air as they impaled a few more specters that came flying over the nearby hills.


    I let go of Dawnbreaker, letting it soar through the air and cleave through the remainder. A bright light enveloped them and destroyed their forms ¨C permanently.


    "Annoying." I muttered as my sword returned to my grasp.


    "I must thank you again for this sword, my friend." Thorum rxed once the immediate danger passed. "Tis not my first time fighting a foe that normal steel would not work on, yet this de has remained true."


    Serena swept her gaze around but also rxed a little. "It is a good sword, I can''t remember seeing one that could match it even in my long life."


    "And I''m sure its previous owner would be thrilled by your usage." I smiled warmly at him. Well, the original Siegfried that is.


    He was a pretty swell guy, I''m guessing that his counterpart was too.


    "FOR THE EMPIRE!" A battle shout grabbed our attention again, a.....spirit or something came charging at us, a cracked and broken sword in hand. It was nothing more than a vague purple silhouette of a person in some rusty armor.


    "Another one, I''ll ¨C" I put my hand up, stopping Thorum.


    I walked forward, infront of his charge. As he got closer, I stepped forward and wrapped my hand around its ''neck'' before I lifted it up and mmed it into the ground.


    "DAMN ELF BASTARD, THE EMPIRE WILL NEVER FALL!" It roared, squirming in my grasp.


    "We''re not elves." I looked down at it.


    "I will avenge my brothers!"


    "We''re with the Empire!" I raised my voice, trying to see if would react differently.


    There was no visible response, no indication of any true intelligence.


    "My friend, what are you doing?" Thorum and Serena walked over.


    "I wanted to see how much of the person here remained." I shook my head, stabbing Dawnbreaker down, ending its existence. "Its Ego had beenpletely eroded. It was nothing more than a nk soul living through remnant memories."


    I stood up again, looking towards the citadel.


    I was starting to put some pieces together.


    And I did not like what I was seeing.


    "Roooooaaaaar!"


    I nced to the side to see a Giant of all things staring at us. It let loose a roar of some kind as it came barreling at us.


    Thorum, with Gram in hand, charged at it as well. The spectral creature swiped its oversized arm down at Thorum, but he ducked under it, shing at the things legs, cleaving them from its soul-based body. The remainder went tumbling into the dirt and Thorum leapt up, mming his sword down into its back.


    The specter dissipated without much more fanfare.


    "Have you noticed?" I nced at Serena.


    "Yes, it became obvious now." She nodded.


    "Noticed what?" Thorum asked, returning to us.


    "So far, only me and you have been the ones targeted." I let out a sigh, brushing the dirt off my pants. "The solider, the Giant, and even the specters, they never specifically went towards her. It could be coincidence, but I find that unlikely."


    "We should keep going." Serena ushered forward, and we happily obliged.


    The destendscapes seemed to continue forever. I didn''t know if the citadel was actually in walking distance or not. Maybe it was simply ''there'' and how much we moved didn''t really matter.


    As we moved onward, the rhythmic sound of metal hitting metal sounded out.


    Maybe we were drawn to it, but we altered our course slightly to find the source.


    There was arge silhouette of a man. He sat at an ethereal forge, mming a ghostly hammer upon an equally ghostly piece of metal.


    "This will be my greatest work." I could hear him mumble, never stopping in his actions.


    I walked up to the specter again, inspecting what he was doing. He didn''t even look up as I nced over his shoulder, as if my existence waspletely irrelevant.


    No matter how many times he swung the hammer down, the metal never changed.


    I reached out to touch him, but my hand just went right through.


    I let out a sigh, taking out a Talisman and pushed it into the ghost''s body. Its body began to glow bright and it looked like a flicker of life returned before dissipating.


    To be honest, I didn''t know if that actually put the soul to rest or not. This realm seems to be a prison of sorts, so it probably just got moved somewhere else like the others. But I very well couldn''t just not do anything after seeing that.


    I don''t know how much longer we continued. Various undead creatures would pop up asionally, but there didn''t seem to be any guiding hand to them. There were times we avoided them, times where there seemed to be a flicker of life in their eyes and they didn''t want to be involved with us, or times where we just were unlucky and walked into their paths.


    After what seemed like an eternity, we finally came upon the building we sought after. However, I had the sneaking suspicion that something had allowed us to simply walk over here. Not that something like that would have stopped me if I didn''t want it to, but it was something to keep in mind.


    "I.....think..." Serena jerked to the side, as if something was calling to her.


    Me and Thorum shared a look, following after her. Serena''s steps picked up as she almost broke out into a sprint.


    "Mother!" She suddenly let loose a heartfelt shout.


    Thorum and I stopped a few feet away, Serena mmed into a barrier that surrounded a woman I had never seen before. Though, many of her features were simr to Serena''s.


    "Maker, it can''t be.....Serena!?" The woman put a hand on the barrier, looking at Serena from within.


    "Is it really you!? I can''t believe it, how do we get inside, are you stuck, do you need help!?" The usual stoic Serena devolved into a worried little girl infront of her mom. It was kinda sweet to see, ignoring the circumstances.


    "Serena, my daughter." Her mom sounded....happy with a mixture of sadness. "What are you doing here, child? Please don''t tell me your father found out where I am."


    "No, no." Serena moved her hands up, wiping away some stray tears. "He''s dead." She let out a chuckle. "That bastard is finally dead."


    "Dead?" Her mother repeated. "How did he die? Who killed him?"


    "That''s....." Serena turned towards us. "It was....my friend." She gestured to me.


    I waved, not really knowing what else to say, partly because of the fact that I noticed she had a Gods damn Elder Scroll on her back.


    As if that didn''tplicate the situation even more.


    Those things were dangerous. I knew Jinn guarded hers religiously, speaking a few times of how dangerous it was.


    Not that I needed to be told, I was well aware of what that kind of knowledge could do to a person.


    "These mortals?" Her mother furrowed her brow. "Serena, it''s no time for jests. Tell me truthfully, does Harkon know my whereabouts?"


    "She speaks the truth, Lady Valerica." Thorum stepped forward.


    I guess that''s her name?


    "My friend was the one toy low that viin."


    "And who are you?" She narrowed her eyes. "Serena, why have you brought these outsiders here?" She snapped back to her daughter.


    "They''re helping me free you. Without them, I wouldn''t have been able to find you."


    Hmm, it might not be the time or ce, but my duties as Thorum''s friend required it. "He is the Dragonborn!" I dered, gesturing to Thorum. "Destined to y the World Eater himself." Gotta make a good impression on his girlfriend''s mom.


    "Dragonborn!?" Valerica eximed, though it was not the expression I was expecting. I thought some kind of surprise and interest maybe. Perhaps giving him another evaluating look, but no, she looked a bit frightful at the deration.


    "Mother....what''s wrong?"


    "I thought we would have more time before.....he appeared. But if you say he is Dragonborn, then I have no doubt he is already aware."


    "You are correct." A voice boomed out as a massive figure descended from the sky,nding upon the walls above us.


    "Dragon." Thorum hissed.


    "Dovahkiin." The Dragon replied.....with a noticeableck of hostility. It looked around, eyes evennding on me for a moment with a confused look before returning to Thorum. "Zu''u fent tinvaak ko joor" It spoke rather softly. "I shall speak in mortal tongue." It seemingly corrected. "Greetings, youngest."


    Honestly, it sounded a little amused.


    Giving the dragon another look, he didn''t look to good. Like...its physical form was basically a zombie at this point.


    "What is wrong, youngest of father''s children?" It lowered its head. "I speak in a tongue more familiar to you."


    "I.....never actually spoke to a Dragon before without it trying to kill me." Thorum scratched his head.


    The Dragon let out a mirthfulugh. "Yes, our siblings are a vicious lot. But they have not taught you the old ways? It seems that many things have changed since my imprisonment. We would fight over any slight, but it was not the only means of battle. Long have we sought to battle our voices as well, to challenge each other in a verbal battle."


    "I am Durnehviir, youngest. Remember my name." He added with a hint of pride.


    "Aye, I shall remember it." Thorum was still weary, but wasn''t twitching towards his weapon atleast. "Durnehviir then, for what matter are we speaking and not battling? Do you hold Valerica prisoner?"


    "Amusing, would you fight me for the spawn of Mg Bal, youngest?" The dragon chuckled. "I am a guard, but I am also a prisoner. For she exists as my key to escape this realm, but I am bound to guard her as long as she lives."


    "The Ideal Masters, they tricked him into guarding me, not knowing I was immortal." Valerica crossed her arms. "As long as I live, he can''t leave. And I can''t leave." She flicked the barrier in annoyance.


    "A guard, huh? And since we''ve made no effort to free her, that means you aren''t obligated to attack us." I stated.


    The Dragon turned its head back to me. "Yes, strange creature. Just as the Masters of this realm bound me through deceit, I too will only follow the exact wording that bind me here."


    Well, I could read between the lines easily. If Valerica was gone from here, he would be free. He was more or less asking for our help.


    "It is a moot point." Valerica spoke up again. "They personally saw to my imprisonment. This barrier is beyond my means of breaking."


    "And such a mighty dragon is also unable to break through?" Thorum questioned.


    "Have you not noticed, youngest? Our Thu''um is weakened within this realm where Father''s influence is miniscule." The Dragon replied.


    Does Time not hold a baring here?


    Interesting to know.


    "S-so what are we supposed to do?" Serena frowned, looking a little...frantic. "Mother, how do we rescue you?"


    "I....do not know, child." Valerica said quietly. "Perhaps it is best that you leave and forget about me. This ce is not somewhere you should stay. If the ones who imprisoned me get their hands on you...."


    "How heartwarming, but I have an alternative." I interjected, walking towards the barrier. "Thorum, do you think you can handle your big brother up there?" I nced at the dragon.


    Thorum quirked an eyebrow, a smile forming on his face as I thought he realized what I was about to do.


    "Durnehviir." Thorum called out, pointing his Dragon yer sword at therge creature. "It appears that we must sh, let it be a fine battle!"


    I didn''t think the dragon had time to formte a response in its confusion as I took out my Sword of Destruction.


    "Let''s see what''s stronger, this barrier or my Power of Destruction." I grinned, igniting my bloodline along the sword as I swung it down, cleaving through the barrier.


    There was a moment of silence as everyone registered what happened.


    Suddenly, Durnehviir let out an intense roar and Thorum shot up, shing his sword at the mighty dragon, knocking it off the wall before it could take flight.


    The moment the barrier was destroyed, Serena shot forward, mming into her mother, wrapping her up in a big hug.


    "WHO DARES DISTURB OUR REST!?" A voice boomed out, it sounded distorted, like a million voices echoed from within it.


    "Oh no." Valerica''s eyes widened in horror. "The Ideal Masters. Quick, take my daughter and escape, I beg of you!" She practically shoved Serena into my arms.


    "Youngest, it is toote." Durnehviir roared. "One of my Master''s has awoken from its slumber. Escape, do not be trapped here like me." The Dragon, however, did not stop in its assault.


    It swore to be a guard, and a guard it would be even if it conflicted with its own interests.


    The pride and honor of a Dragon.


    At the top of the Citadel, I could vaguely make out a new figure that appeared. Its presence was hard to ignore. Even with my perception being out of wack, I could lock onto that thing as soon as its form coalesced.


    Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.


    "I do." I stated, not backing down from the challenge. I would rather it focus on me than the others. "I''m taking Valerica and the Dragon with me." I crossed my arms.


    The Dragon had been rather kind, so I didn''t mind bring him along. He tried to help, so call it repaying a favor. Besides, I''m sure Thorum would want to save him as well.


    "A powerful soul...." It didn''t speak loud again, but its voice carried far further than it had any right. "You shall stay here forever, your soul now belongs to me." It dered.


    "Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, inspecting him, trying to discern what exactly it was. "I think I figured it out now." I raised my de towards the thing. "You were are the Gods of this realm, hell, you probably created it. But you''re not a God, are you? These souls, this ce exists to erode everything about them, to remove all the unnecessary bits. Because you feed on them, the pure energy that''s left. You consume it, sustaining yourself on it. You ascended by absorbing so many souls that you lost your physical body and exist as a being of pure energy now."


    I had a soul enhanced through the sacrifice of a God. A strong soul that was already touched by a previous life. And to top it off, I had Ddraig in my soul as a soul himself. I must look like a big ol juicy meal to this thing.


    It exined why they were intent on keeping the Dragon here. A piece of Akatosh''s soul would be a substantial meal for them. They must require a constant supply of souls to sustain their existences at this point.


    I wondered if they even remember who they were before they ascended in this horrific way.


    "If you want my soul." I raised my hand up, The Sword of Destructionunching at the figure. The Power of Destruction burst out, and the silhouette was cleaved in two. "Come and get it."


    Even if the realm didn''t shake, and the foreboding feeling didn''t diminish, I would not believe it to end that quickly.


    "Was it wise to taunt the entity that rules over this realm!?" Valerica hissed.


    "Yes." I replied. "Now it''s focusing on me and not you. Thorum will probably need a little bit to beat the Dragon, and I want you both to get away for now so I can focus on this thing. I don''t think it''s as simple a matter as bring you away, it''s probably already got its ws deep in your soul."


    A contract, a curse, or some kind of soul magic I was unfamiliar with. There could be many things that leashed Serena''s mother, and I was going to have to convince this ''Ideal Master'' to relinquish her.


    The ground cracked and sundered as thousands upon thousands of souls burst out like a geyser. It was just as I thought before, carved away everything that made a person a person, and left it just an almost pure power source, though corrupted by this entity for its own purpose.


    "Wilhelm, this is.....a God-like entity, are you sure you can handle it?" Serena clearly looked hesitant in my n.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle. "Wouldn''t be my first time fighting a God." I shooed her off. "Now get going, let me fight without distractions."


    A silent nod followed by Serena pulling her dumbstruck mother away. I didn''t pay them anymore heed for now, I needed to focus.


    As confident as I sounded, I didn''t actually know this things limitations. I could guess it was more or less on the level of a God. A God without a domain or Authority, just the pure power that came with it.


    The Souls didn''t stop rushing out, they filled the sky and circled around above before finally mming down on the ground. They all seemed toe together, forming one giant mass in the familiar shape from before. The former silhouette that the Ideal Master used, though a simr heigh to Susanoo when I fought him back in my birth world.


    I wonder if it was just amon method to use when you had obscene amounts of power at your disposal.


    That purple, baleful, aura formed a coherent mass quickly. Made up of an uncountable number of souls that bared right down on me.


    "Surrender yourself!" The mass eximed through a myriad of voices. "And I will let those others walk free."


    Hmm, trying to bargain huh? Or maybe an intimidation tactic?


    I wonder....


    Does it not want to waste power? It would make sense, I''m sure this realm was hard to maintain, in addition to itself and any other ''Ideal Masters'' that exist. Everything they gain must go into sustaining what they already have.


    They pretty much locked themselves into a cycle of trying to keep themselves alive.


    And it was willing to give up all the others just for me?


    How strong was my soul now?


    Questions forter.


    I reached deep inside, touching upon my Authority, about to call upon it until I felt a trembling within my Storage Ring.


    Something forced its way out, turning into a bright light and mmed into the entities'' ''arm''.


    The True Longus was impaled into the creature''s arm. The conglomeration of soul''s in the immediate area of the spear began to shimmer in holy light, a stark contract to the baleful hue it usually held. And I was ovee with shock as I witnessed the spear absorb a good chunk out of its arm.


    The following roar didn''t even seem to break me from my stupor.


    The Spear dislodged from it, a swing of its arm to fling it away, only for it to m into the ground right infront of me.


    With a hesitant action, I slowly reached my arm out. I had the strange feeling, that the spear wouldn''t reject me this time. The Holy Power was weing even though it should be poison for me.


    My fingers griped around the shaft as I pulled it out of the ground.


    The entity looked at my spear, with a little bit of hesitance itself.


    "Well, isn''t this something?" I lifted it up with a wide grin of my face. I felt some strange presence seep into me, not malevolent by any stretch of the imagination. Words entered my mind, a feeling of warmness that touched upon my own soul. A realization dawned on me of what was happening, and the ramifications that it held. But I would dwell on thoseter.


    There were four words that the Spear was practically screaming in my head, asking for my help.


    And I was more than willing to oblige.


    "True Longinus, Bnce Breaker."


    ***


    Friday Chapter.


    Sorry for the superte post, things happen. Will still be a Saturday chapter, don''t worry.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 293 - 272

    <h4>Chapter 293: Chapter 272</h4>


    "True Longinus, Bnce Breaker." I invoked with the Spear''s blessing.


    The Holy Power from within the God-ying Spear exploded outwards, enveloping me. Normally it would be poison to a Half-Devil like me, but in this strange circumstance, it epted me.


    The Holy Light spread out, denying the wretched necrotic magics that were so intertwined with this Realm. The Remnants of souls that were bound to this Ideal Master screamed and hissed as they flew around, unable to approach me any closer.


    This spear was perhaps the perfect counter to whatever amalgamation this thing was, even more so than Dawnbreaker due to the elevated nature of the Spear''s existence.


    I loved my sword dearly, but I wouldn''t lie and say it was stronger than The Spear of Destiny.


    The Holy Light swirled around me, truly augmenting me. Wings burst out from my back, Twelve, Large, White Wings made of pure Holy Power. A Halo formed above my head, casting a healing touch upon my body, a protection from any Evil.


    "Holy Spear of the Pure White Night." I breathed out, saying its full name for the first time.


    The real Bnce Breaker for this spear, not the thing that Cao Cao used.


    It was amusing, Bnce Breakers were called ''bugs'' in the system, not something that was supposed to happen. However, this spear was the exception.


    This Spear was the only Sacred Gear that He intended a Bnce Breaker for. Or rather, the equivalent of whatever he would have named it.


    And this was the first time it had evere out.


    It was normally supposed to pull upon the System of Heaven to power it, but with Him dying, things fell apart, barely held together. The main functions of the Spear went dormant and only Sub-Species Bnce Breakers would be something that users could actualize.


    Which made it all the stranger that I was able to call upon it, being out of reach of Heaven''s System .


    There was only one exnation, and the implication left me....hesitant.


    The one who created the System of Heaven.


    "Convince me." I said quietly. "All three factions entered a strange state a rtive peace even if it isn''t official. I rarely care about things outside my reach, but any issues that involve them will inevitably consume the world. Convince me that I''m not condemning an uncountable number of people to death."


    A faint voice entered my ears.


    ''Peace.''


    It felt warm.


    "I''ll believe you for now." I let out a breath again, spinning the Holy Spear in my hand. The Holy Light cascaded out from it at my every movement.


    It wasn''t the time to get distracted.


    This thing...what I thought before was correct. Holy Power burned through my pupils, I could see things more clearly than before.


    "I see your True Nature." I lifted my Spear up, addressing the monstrosity before me.


    "SUBMIT." A thousand different voices boomed at me, clearly not giving up even after my little disy. "WE ARE GODS HERE."


    It held up its hand and ¨C A spell circle formed. A massive amount of power gathered at the precipice and was unleashed in a condensed burst.


    Necrotic energies intertwined with the pure mass of soul power he had umted.


    My new wings ignited with a fervor of Holy Light, a star that had erupted within this bleakndscape, the void of death filled for the first with true light since its inception.


    My Spear gathered the Holy Power and shot forward, extending towards the oing torrent. The Necrotic Powers were torn asunder where my Spear pierced through, searing right into the heart of the spell and through the hand of the monstrosity once more.


    Again the Spear devoured a chunk of souls that were within reach, to the point where the amalgamation staggered backwards, the spell of his veering off into the distance, tearing through the fogs and alighting the horizon with destruction.


    "Magic." I let out augh, taking to the skies, my Twelve Wings slicing through the air allowing me to take flight. "A God does not use Mortal Magic."


    The Wretched thing''s arms were swinging up towards me as I weaved between them, the wailing of souls flying by.


    Raising my hand up, I forced the Holy Power into shape -- Spears condensed and fired off into the massive body. Itunched its own attacks in response, Necrotic imitations that collided with my own spears. However, the majority of mine flew true, searing into the mass and dispersing souls that came in contact.


    It reeled back, an amusing sh of annoyance radiated from its face.


    I stabbed the spear forward, slicing into its body, carting away more of these souls that were nothing but leftover husks. The True Longinus continued to drink them in happily and I didn''t care to stop it.


    Though, every so often, I saw what looked to be one turn bright and fly away. An Actual semnce of self that still remained within the flickering soul.


    The Massive body of the creature shuddered as souls were torn off, reshaped into Wraiths that filled the sky. They screeched in an unholy chorus,ing right at me.


    I spun my Spear again, a mental image of Sc¨¢thach burned into my mind at how she handled her own spear. I was about to unleash an attack until I felt myself shudder, my eyes blinked uncontrobly as I looked up to see a massive hand that tore through the void andshed out at me.


    I quickly moved to block, but nothing happened, the hand disappeared as if it was never there.


    The wailing Wraiths regained my attention. My other Swords shed out, slicing and stabbing through the air at the Wraiths that descended upon me.


    Each of them was more than capable of dealing with such insignificant undead.


    The Monstrosity didn''t move, as if waiting for something.


    I felt a sense of foreboding and my instincts red up.


    Instinctively, my Holy Wings covered me up, as the Massive Hand tore through the void again, mming into me.


    The impact sent me sailing into the ground, my Aura was not able to absorb the entire impact and even my Holy Wings shuddered under the blow. Thankfully I activated my Semnce as well, mitigating a good portion of that.


    I wobbled to me feet, wiping away the blood that trailed down from my nose. I noticed thendscape hadpletely changed, and the crater I was in was massive.


    My Holy Light red up brightly again as I reorientated myself.


    "irvoyance?" I muttered, realizing what just happened. That would have really hurt if it hit me head on and I was unprepared.


    Was his abilities bleeding through the use of Bnce Breaker or was it simply a power of the Spear when used correctly?


    Regardless, I let out a groan as I flew back up into the air.


    This thing certainly packed a punch. It reminded me of Susanoo with how much pure power it was keeping contained within its form.


    But it wasn''t just that, I didn''t perceive that attack at all until it was already upon me, and I could guess the reason after thinking it through.


    "You regte the Flow of Time in this realm." I eyed it with annoyance. "You attacked me from outside the Flow of Time."


    That was much closer to how a God should attack, but even still.


    "My Friend, I''m here to assist!" I suddenly heard Thorum running over. So too did the Monstrosity as it turned its head towards the Dragonborn. It didn''t seem to pay him much heed, but Thorum didn''t seem to care about that either. "Wuld!" He shout, encoating himself in a whirlwind as he shot forward. "Rii Vaaz Zul!" He shouted again as Gram in his hand suddenly got enveloped in a baleful aura not unlike the one that epassed the entirety of this realm. And my eyes widened as he shed into the leg of the monstrosity tearing out a chunk of it.


    So too was the Ideal Master surprised at the sudden interference that it didn''t even react for a moment after the initial assault. "INVADER, BE GONE!" It roared with the fury of a million voices. Perhaps it could ept that I was fighting it, tearing into its essence, but it might have looked down on Thorum due to his closer to mortal nature.


    I reeled my hand back, and gathered a significant amount of Holy Power around the Spear. But I didn''t stop there, my Divine Lightning enveloped it as well, intertwining with the Holy energy. My Divine Lightning shifted into Holy Lightning.


    It threw it as hard as I could, the air exploding as it left my grip.


    It impaled the giant hand that was about to m down onto Thorum, severing it from the main ''body''.


    Thorum took the opportunity to dash to the side, shouting once more to move at whirlwind speeds and getting out of immediate range.


    Iunched forward, holding my hand out as Dawnbreaker flew to my grasp, and I stabbed into the torso of the amalgamation. The Holy Power of Dawnbreaker may be lesser inparison, but it was still significant when fighting against something that Meridia so vehemently disliked.


    The explosion of Light sent the Monstrosity staggering back again and I took the opportunity to slide to the ground next to Thorum. The Divine Spear that was previously thrown came sailing back towards my hand with a p of thunder, Lighting still crackling around it.


    Interesting.


    The severed Hand of the monstrosity copsed into its baser materials ¨C the souls thatprised it as they flew back into the sky before merging back with the owner, its body reformingpletely once more.


    "What shout did you use?" I questioned Thorum in this moment of respite.


    "Durnehviir taught it to me." Thorumughed. "He continued to use it throughout our fight, as if he wished me to understand it."


    "Well, he didn''t seem like he wanted to be fighting you, did you kill him?"


    "I ¨C"


    "DURNEVIIR." The Monstrosity roared, shattering the very fabric of space as its hand opened up and the Dragon was then there. It looked like it was barely still conscious, Thorum clearly had done a number on it.


    The Ideal Master''s power burst out, a huge surge of Necrotic Energies swirled around its hand as they seeped into the Dragon.


    Durnehviir stood up within therge hand. That ? baleful energy filling its body to the brim, visibly flowing off every pore, every hole and opening on its body. Its eyes glowing bright with a purple hue, and every movement it took left a necrotic miasma in its wake.


    Durnehviir roared as it looked down at us. I don''t think its mind was the same as before.


    "Can you take him?" I asked Thorum.


    "Yes." He nodded. "Are you sure you can handle this ¨C Ideal Master? You took a hit earlier."


    Ah, he saw that?


    "This thing, it''s a Necromancer that got its hand on too much power. It fights like a Necromancer and it''s trying hard not to use too much power." I exined. "It must be difficult to sustain its existence in this elevated state without a constant source of souls to feed on."


    Not to mention it probably stayed in a state of hibernation most of the time, this realm they setup as sort of an automated collector so they didn''t have to waste energy. But even this required a significant amount of power to keep going.


    How long in its existence had it actually fought something that could fight back?


    The massive Amalgamation of souls lifted its hand into the air, and the realm trembled around us. The cracked ground shuddered, and fourrge Obelisks shot out of the earth. They were disgusting in nature, faces decorated every surface, ethereal limbs trying to escape from the monstrosities that held them.


    I could hear the wailing of the damned souls.


    The Obelisks lit up with a surge power, Necrotic Energy crackling off in every direction as a weight descended upon us.


    I felt my Aura start draining at an rming speed, and I realized what their purpose was.


    My Holy Power exploded out again, covering me and dispersing the effect.


    I looked at Thorum who frowned as well.


    ''Blessing''


    I blinked hearing the faint word echo in my head.


    I reached over, cing my hand on his shoulder and a holy light flowed out onto him, and he visible perked up.


    Well then.


    "Thank you, my friend." He beamed. "I shall handle Durnehviir once more!" His Aura red up, and ethereal wings sprouted behind his back as he took to the air.


    ...I didn''t know he could do that.


    Why can''t my Aura do that!


    Thoughts forter.


    I trusted Thorum and didn''t pay him any more heed as he shed with the Dragon again.


    "Ddraig!" I shouted, waking up thezy dragon as the Gauntlet appeared on my hand.


    [About time. Even if I have to share this fight with that damn Spear. I''m also a little curious about it. Lets do this, brat!]


    "Boost!" I called out as my overall Aura increased twice fold.


    My eyes zed with a my newly acquired Holy Power and I felt another simr sensation as before. Images filled my head, a peek into the future.


    Even if my perception was still thrown off by this realm, I could predict it.


    My True Longinus shot out above, piercing through another falling hand that hid outside of the regr flow of time.


    Through out this the Amalgamation wasn''t sitting idle. The Obelisks shifted their effect, they all shot a beam of light up into the air, all forming a cage of souls that descended upon me.


    "I see, these aren''t just random constructs you made." I pulled out the Staff of Magnus, Runes flowing around me. "Just an upstart Necromancer with too much power on your hands! These aren''t pirs, their your Foci! Even in this state, you can''t control so many errant souls without help!"


    "DIE!" It roared once more. The Cage of Souls started to contort around me.


    "Lets trade." I dered. "Thor''s Hammer!"


    My own spell was unleashed above, Thundering Clouds forced into existence as a giant of Holy Lightning was coalesced above it.


    A massive Necrotic Shield wailed into existence, covering the Monstrosity as my Spell mmed into it. The pir of Divine Lightning fought against an impossiblyrge amount of souls gathering to ward it off.


    I clicked my tongue, seeing that it held firm even against my Divine Power.


    Souls were something that existed at a very high state of existence, they could contend with Divine Power in the end. It was just a matter of bringing enough to bare.


    With a grunt, My Spearshed out, tearing through the Cage he tried to trap me in.


    I took the opportunity as it was warding off my Spell to shoot forward, my Holy Spear shot right into its chest again, grabbing hold of hundreds, if not thousands more souls that were sucked up into the Spear.


    "ENOUGH!" The thousands of ovepped voices sounded out and the Giant copsed into a cyclone of souls that spread out, enveloping the entire area in an imprable wall.


    My Spear extended outwards, piercing through it, taking hold of more souls, but the damage/hole was immediately repaired.


    [How many Souls does this thing have?] Even Ddraig sounded annoyed.


    "It''s been alive for how many years? Millions upon millions probably." I nced at Thorum to the side.


    I put The Staff of Magnus way and took out Gae Bolg.


    I aimed for a moment before Throwing it as hard as I could, nailing the Dragon right in the side, making it stagger in its movements. Thorum saw, and took the opportunity to gain the advantage.


    Without a second to think, images shed through my mind again as I quickly let myself fall downwards, a massive Baleful hand sprung out from the cyclone of souls that still persisted.


    My Wings pped as I dashed to the side, another near miss.


    I looked up and several moreshed out at me as I dodged to every side. The onught didn''t cease in the slightest, simr spells to the one he used in the beginning would fire off from a random spot. I was forced to bring the Spear up to block it as predicting it wasn''t going to be a reliable option.


    "Boost!" I called out again, my speed increasing as The True Longinus sprang out at every opening, drinking in more souls with every movement.


    Even my Swords were sent outwards, sweeping through the air to take down any kind of undead that were being summoned.


    Souls literally dripped to the ground, raising all manner of undead creatures that sought to attack me.


    Wraiths, Ghosts, Skeletons, and a plethora of ones I couldn''t be bothered to acknowledge.


    Just how a Necromancer would fight.


    Whittle down an opponent with as minimal effort as possible.


    Draining energies were coalesced and ripped through the air from the Vortex, beams of necrotic power mming into me as I tried my best to defend from every angle. My Spear would shoot off at the source, taking away more souls, but there was never an end.


    Even adding a volley of spells ¨C Divine Lightning Arrows numbering in the hundreds, did nothing to distort this continued Vortex


    Little by little, my Holy Power would run out, my Aura would start to deplete, and even my Stamina would start to pitter out.


    And I would admit, the continued use of the Spear was draining. Perhaps it was because I, as a Devil, was not meant to wield Holy Power, but it was taking its physical toll.


    "This is getting us nowhere, it''s intentionally dragging it out and only responding when I present an opening." Its strategy wasn''t exactly difficult to see through.


    My gut was telling me that dragging this on for a substantial amount of time would be very bad.


    Despite how I was countering its existence due to the nature of this Holy Power, I didn''t feelfortable continuing like this for much longer.


    It was warm and weing, but at the same time, it sorta felt wrong.


    "Should I use your true power then?" I looked at the Spear.


    Cao Cao didn''t understand the real secret hidden inside the Spear. And I guessed none of its previous users did either.


    I vaguely recall the ability the spear had ¨C Truth Idea, or so it''s called. The concept that God''s Dying will would be invoked and judge the user and whoever his opponent was.


    No, even that was incorrect. That was a...unintentional side effect of what happened to Heaven''s System.


    A constion prize.


    The reason that Cao Cao could create so many abilities with his Bnce Breaker, even if he used outside items.


    The Spear always had a singr ability, besides the obvious maniption of Holy Power.


    Its true power was ¨C To Invoke Miracles.


    I only learned that after using this Bnce Breaker.


    "Let''s test that then." I gripped the Spear tight, dodging out of the way of another Necrotic Limb before it dispersed back into souls and rejoined the vortex.


    ''Weak''


    Another faint voice entered through my mind and I paused in my actions.


    "Haaah." I let out a long breath. "Too weak to attempt such a thing, huh? Or rather, you don''t want me to expend that much power you just umted?"


    ''Alternative''.


    Again, another faint voice, but this one was followed with information given to me and I couldn''t help butugh at the thought.


    "If the people back home could witness this." Iughed, as my Swords rejoined me. "How ridiculous is a Miracle that this is a worthwhile alternative."


    Well, not my concern.


    "Then I''ll use one of your techniques." I briefly wondered if this was the result of the God from my home dimension interferingst time.


    The amount of Holy Power flowing through me reached its apex. I wasn''t sure If I could handle anymore even with the help of the Spear.


    I ascended as high as I could go before those Obelisks and the vortex of souls tried to stop me.


    This would be the third method of Creation that I''ve dabbled with. The Five Elements of the Eastern Creation myth. The Tree of beginnings from the Norse Cosmology. And now...


    That which brought about the birth of creation from nothingness


    An obscene amount of Holy Power flowed out of the spear as it gathered around me, shaped and focused with a purpose.


    "And so the Lord Sayeth....."


    ''Let there Be Light.''


    Three words that flowed through my mouth had enough weight to them that my very soul trembled. Even my nature as a Campione felt the pressure imposed by them. Three words of power that were definitely not meant to be uttered by a mere mortal.


    "O????h????????????r?????? ????????E???i??????????n??????????? ???????S???????o????f???????????"


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 294 - 273

    <h4>Chapter 294: Chapter 273</h4>


    The bleak sky shuddered.


    The aurora of baleful and necrotic power dispersed at the mere mention of the words.


    A torrent of Holy Power swirled above. No, it wasn''t mere Holy Power anymore, it was something more intricate. It was the very light of creation manifested from the Biblical God''s Authority.


    The Antithesis to this realm.


    Where one promoted and nourished life, the other corroded it all away and subsumed what was left.


    It descended from the sky, rejecting everything in its path. It denied what these Monstrosities had built, tearing it away from their greedy ws.


    The world turned absolutely silent.


    The Wailing of souls ceased.


    The few wayward wraiths high above were the first to receive the errant gift. The necrotic magics that held them together were seared away without even a semnce of resistance. It continued downwards, and the vortex of souls, as if sensing something was wrong, tried to disperse, but it was toote.


    The purging light mmed down upon the deste ins. Enveloping every wayward soul, every undead creature.


    The uncountable number of souls that had been giving me a headache were cleansed within moments of the light descending.


    There was but one sound that pierced the silence, a singr scream that came from within the amalgamation


    It was drowned out by unyielding light, pressing on further without reproach.


    The Obelisks alighted with baleful runes that appeared down the side, a plethora of necromantic effects burst out, but they were all shunted upon colliding with the Light of Creation.


    The Light was both destructive and weing. I felt safe within the pir that descended from the sky, just as I knew that Thorum too would be safe from the wrath of life that was called upon this monstrous ne of existence.


    The Lightsted but a blink of an eye, though it felt like an eternity.


    When it finally began to fade away, I felt my wings flicker briefly, as if they were losing strength. I could tell that the Bnce Breaker wouldn''tst much longer. Much like my first time with Ddraig, so too was this one.....forced and as such took a lot more out of me than it would otherwise.


    I slowly descended to the ground.


    Upon lookign up, I noticed, The sky was empty.


    A lifeless void now hung above where the baleful array of colors used to be.


    So too were the vortex of souls no longer rampant, though not quite gone.


    The Spear vibrated in my hand, and it erupted in another light, sucking in all the cleansed souls into it. I had to brace myself as thousands upon thousands of listless souls shot into the Holy weapon. They poured in to the point where when I was having trouble coping, and I think eventually the spear was reaching the maximum amount it could handle. Whatever was going on it with, i doubt it could continue to just suck in souls without consequences.


    I noticed Thorum off to the side, a downed Durnehviir infront of him, that same baleful energy wafting off of his body as he returned to normal. Or atleast as normal as he was before, and he didn''t seem to be in that good of shape.


    As my feet touched the ground, my eyes locked on the singr existence still clinging to form.


    Barely held together as a nondescript humanoid.


    It trembled in ce, the energies that held it together were visibly falling off of it. Every so often, its body would distort and a soul trapped within would burst away, unable to be contained any longer.


    I wasted no words as I approached it. Its nk face seemed to contort in some unnatural manner. But I again paid it no heed, instead I leveled my spear once more.


    With a quick jab, I pierced the amalgamation.


    It let out an unholy wail, Holy Power started to fill its body. Its own Necrotic energies fought against my own, but that just served to further destabilize everything that held it together. My Spear began to drink in more of its essence, the souls that held it together and the seams that seemed to bind this thing into a solid shape began to unravel and it started flickering in and out of existence.


    The false body burst in various ces, others had Souls forcibly cast out before being suck in. Holy Power cracked and fissured others.


    My own Holy Power was starting to run dry, but I pushed on until it appeared that I started to hit bedrock.


    Its humanoid form copsed, and I finally pulled my spear away.


    All that was left was a flickering ¨C albeit powerful ¨C soul amongst what remained. Though, I could tell that even this much was so far beyond a normal human''s soul. There''s no way I got every soul out of this thing. How many more were eaten and fully subsumed to keep it existing?


    "Then lets ¨C " I paused, feeling the Halo above my head crack. I took a deep breath, reorientating myself. Better not dally any more.


    I hefted my spear up one more time.


    "Stay your hand." A voice filled the newly cleansed area. As if walking out of nothingness, another amalgamation appeared just a couple feet behind the one I had defeated.


    It sounded just as distorted as this one I had defeated, however, it also felt more.....contained. Was it stronger than the one I just fought?


    I looked at the neer. I wondered why it finally chose now of all times to appear. Simple coincidence or did it wait until its peer was left in this state. I reached out with my hand still d in the Boosted Gear and clutched the Soul in my grip.


    "Have youe to negotiate?" I slowly formed a smile on my face.


    The entity was silent for a moment, its expression was impossible to read. "Release our brethren and leave this realm hence forth. We shall pursue this matter no longer."


    Our?


    I felt a tingling on the back of my neck as I turned my head to see another one standing near Thorum.


    Were they subtly threatening me?


    If they were anything like this other one, they didn''t want to expend any unnecessary energy.


    Did I want to fight more of these things? I couldn''t hold the Bncer Breaker much longer, but I too wasn''t without options to continue. However.....Thorum was my main concern as of now, and I didn''t actuallye here to fight but to free Serena''s mother.


    "Your power fades." It spoke again. "Leave, and never return." Hemanded again.


    I clenched my teeth and forcibly pulled on the Spear''s Power just little bit more. I felt a pain in my chest as another burst of Holy Power erupted from within. My Wings that were dimming suddenly arced back with renewed vigor, and my Halo mended itself and shined with a bright glow.


    "You were saying?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    I guess it was betting on me not wanting to stick around because I would be vulnerable soon?


    "Creature of flesh." It intoned. "Take the mortal and retreat from this realm. Our brethren has been thus punished sufficiently for any slight."


    "Punished? It tried to devour me, I''m fairly sure I should respond in kind."


    "You invade this realm!"


    "We sought to rescue an unwilling inhabitant." I crossed my arms.


    "He is diminished beyond words. Reduced to a mere flickering remnant." It replied.


    "And I''m sure this pales inparison to what it would have done to me if the roles were reversed."


    "Our realm is scarred due to your action." It seemed to ignore my indignation. "Leave, and do note back." It added some power to its words.


    I didn''t waver under its tone. "I wonder, did you not interfere before because you were hoping that one of us would fall and you could clean up the mess? I''ve already seen through you lot, Necromancers who munched on too many souls and became this." I gestured to them. "What a perfect opportunity to redistribute the pieces so to speak, yeah? With this one how it is now ¨C" I shook the soul in my hand. "¡ªI''m sure you''ll be getting a much bigger portion of whateveres along with the other one."


    I was shooting in the dark here, but by theck of a reaction or denial, I felt I was pretty much on the mark. Perhaps its continued existence was paramount, but it being at full strength was unneeded. The others wanted a bigger piece of the pie.


    "Our brethren suffered its own arrogance." It said rather tly. "A mortal creature you are not."


    Hmm, was it judging me based on both Ddraig and the my Spear in hand or just based off my Divinity? Regardless, I can more or less guess it would have jumped at the opportunity to do the same if It thought it could get away with it without suffering any noticeable consequences. As it stands, I can assume its content with just taking a portion of what''s left after I reduced the one in my hand.


    "And you''ve all but admitted that this one is integral to your continued existence in some capacity I assume. Be it a pir that holds together this realm or something enticing enough to not get upset at what I did."


    Yeah that attack did a number on this realm, scared is probably an apt description considering the hostile concepts that still persisted.


    How long and how much effort would it take to ''clean up''?


    I did not like these things, this whole ce for that matter. But...I didn''te here for this purpose.


    Perhaps it''s best to take a step back....for now.


    ".....speak your demands." It finally spoke again.


    I stopped myself from smiling. "Myself, Thorum, the dragon and the vampires. You will relinquish all ims or perceived ims and seek no retaliation. We will leave without issue."


    "Those who trespassed may return freely. Those who are imprisoned shall remain here." It replied.


    So, it doesn''t want to give up two immortal souls, huh?


    "You will foreswear the vampire and the dragon as well." Stabbed my spear into the ground and instead held out a single finger to the soul clutched between my fingers. A spark of my Power of Destruction manifested, and I held it right above the Soul.


    "Cease!" Its voice boomed out, shaking the realm, though I still didn''t react to its attempt at intimidation. Did it know what this was, that I was able to fully destroy this amalgamation of souls? ".....We will abide." The presence that red up had simmered down again.


    Called its bluff.


    It was pretty clear that this Ideal Master I held was unfathomably valuable to them.


    It held up its hand towards Durnehviir, and arge vortex of Necrotic Power was pulled out of its body. The already haggard Dragon shuddered and roared under the action. I could imagine how painful the process was.


    "It is done." It said inly. "Those that have left have been released. Now, Leave!" It boomed again, The echo of a million souls roared the words, almost making me stumble at the sheer presence.


    Definitely stronger than the other. And without the Spear being just an absolute counter to whatever it could do, it would be a tougher fight, especially with two of them together and me protecting Thorum.


    It might seem strange that I''m trusting them, however, there was one reason for me to do so in this situation.


    They didn''t want to fight me, that was made all too clear.


    "Don''t make mee back." I replied, tossing the remnant towards the other Amalgamation.


    Well, I never said I wouldn''t actuallye backter.


    [***]


    "Thorum!?" We heard Serana''s shout as I pulled all of us through a portal right where we entered at. She came running over, wrapping her arms around the big oaf.


    "I am fine, Serana." He chuckled, happily epting the hug.


    The look on her mother''s face was....amusing.


    I nced at Durnehviir who looked up at the sky. I guess it would captivate one who had been trapped in the soul Cairn for so long.


    Though, he was not in good shape.


    I opened my mouth to say something, but all that came out was blood. My Wings dispersed with a sh of light and the Halo above my head shattered.


    The Spear fell out of my hands as I covered my mouth with my hands, feeling blood start flowing out my throat.


    "Wilhelm!?" Thorum rushed to my side. "What''s wrong, my friend!?"


    I coughed blood a few more times before waiving him off. "I-I''m fine." I reassured him.


    I guess, even with the Spear letting me use its power ¨C it''s still Holy Power and I''m still a Half-Devil. Perhaps forcing thatst bit at the end pushed me over the edge?


    I''m not burning from the inside out, so I know this wasn''t intentional on the Spear''s part. However, this Holy Power left traces and It''s running around my body. I would have to sit down and deal with itter.


    "You are substantially in my debt." I whispered, putting the spear away in my ring.


    ''Acknowledged'' The voice entered my ears, but it felt even fainter than before. I''m guessing it wouldn''t be active for awhile, either using too much power or needed to digest everything it just gained.


    "I''m fine." I squeezed Thorum''s shoulder. "Just pushed something harder than I should have." I wiped the blood away from my mouth.


    "W-what happened?" Serena finally asked as I steadied myself.


    "Yes, how did you escape from one of those beings?" Valerica added.


    "My friend here defeated that supposed Ideal Master!" Thorum boasted.


    "What!?" Valerica shouted in shock. "How is that possible!?"


    "Aye, he also demanded the release of Durnehviir and yourself from the other''s grasps." Thorum smiled rather proudly.


    "That''s impossible." Valerica breathed out. "The Ideal Masters would never negotiate with someone beneath them. Let alone one of them being defeated ¨C"


    "He speaks the truth." Durnehviir''s voice rumbled, if a little haggard himself. "I have been freed from the grasp of my previous master, so have you. I watched as one of my wardens was brought to the lowest point before being erased, only saved from its brethren''s interference."


    Valerica''s expression changed, I could imagine the kind of rtionship her and Durnehviir had, spending so much time together in the soul cairn. A friendship that amounted out of a shared loneliness perhaps? Regardless, she looked at me with a strange expression. "Then.....Harkon is also gone...." She said quietly.


    "Yes, mother." Serana said warmly. "We''re free. No more Father, no Ideal Masters, and no threat of a looming apocalypse that we have to hide away any longer."


    "I ¨C" Valerica''s mouth abruptly mped shut as she began speaking. Her eyes widened in terror as everyone else also turned towards someone new who had just appeared.


    Even Durnehviir looked terrified upon the new presence.


    I think Thorum too looked timid.


    Really, I was the only to smile brightly as she took a few steps forward. The others slowly stepped back, giving her a wide birth.


    "Why must you always return in such a state?" Meridia said softly, walking up to me, ignoring everyone else.


    "It''s not as bad as it looks." I smiled. And it was actually true this time, just some minor issues.


    She rolled her eyes, producing a cloth from somewhere as she began cleaning the dried blood from me. "Hold still." She let out one of her adorable huffs.


    "....people are watching." I said quietly. She doesn''t usually let herself be seen like this.


    "Hmph." She didn''t stopped doting on me. "It is no secret any longer. I shall act how I wish."


    "I''m not a child." I grumbled as she continued ''cleaning'' me up.


    "Then do not act like one and let me cleanse you." She let out another cute huff.. "You have dry blood on your face. I will have you presentable."


    I rolled my eyes, but didn''t stop her. How often does she take the initiative to act like this? "Did I do good?" I asked, knowing she had been watching over me.


    "Yes." She held the smallest of smiles. "That wretched ce will take awhile to repair itself. And that abomination will be suffering for many years toe."


    "....Should I have dealt with the other ones?"


    She paused in her actions. "No, I believe you made the correct choice. As much as I abhor those upstart Necromancers, they have support from other ces."


    "Support?" I blinked. "Hmm, I suppose I did consider something like that."


    "They pay tribute to other Lords. If pushed further, they would have sought interference." Meridia exined.


    "That makes sense." I nodded along. "Otherwise, why would they have been left alone for so long? They were in no way close to your level of power and I assume the others by extension."


    "Hmph. Of course." She puffed up happily.


    I let myself lean into her bosom and I could feel her fingers run through my hair. I could tell she was really happy right now.


    "You have some of this Light still within your body." She whispered. "It is being eroded away without going too rampant, however, I can remove it immediately if you prefer."


    Ah, well that certianly fixes that problem.


    "That would be appreciated." My Meridia is so cute~


    I loved when she worried over me.


    There was no visibly phenomena, but I felt a little strange for a brief moment.


    "It is done." She said gently, slowly removing herself for me. "I only stepped away for a moment. I must return."


    "Mm, then I''lle visit you after dealing a couple more things."


    ".....very well." She tried not to react I think, but there were the makings of a smile forming on her face. "Before I depart.." she turned her gaze at the very quiet dragon that was trying very hard to make itself seem small. "You." She addressed it.


    It was kinda funny to see a Dragon bow its head like this.


    "Child of Akatosh." Meridia intoned. "Your body is deteriorating. You will notst past a few more days. Five Hundred years of servitude, and I shall mend you back to your former state."


    It must have been a good offer, because Durnehviir actually appeared enthused even if it took a moment to contemte. "Five hundred years and I am free?" It asked.


    "My word is beyond reproach." Meridia said firmly.


    "I ept." It bowed once more.


    "Very well." Meridia waived her hand and the Dragon was consumed by a burst of light and disappeared.


    "Is he...?"


    "I have taken him to my realm. He will mend through my own power and be reborn anew. Not some monstrosity that those Ideal Masters tried to turn him into." She crossed her arms with a scoff. "And I am on good terms with Akatosh, I would not harm one of his without cause."


    And Five hundred years isn''t that long for beings like that.


    "Dragonborn." Meridia snapped her head towards Thorum.


    "Y-yes." Thorum''s body jolted to attention. "Lady Meridia?"


    "...Receive my blessing." She didn''t give him time to answer as a beam of light mmed into his head, disappearing into his body.


    Thorum just blinked, apparently confused as to what just happened.


    "Vampire." Meridia practically hissed, not even deeming to cast her gaze towards Serana and her mother. Which might have been considered a mercy on her part. "Payment is rendered." She said very bluntly a hand extended and the Elder Scroll now filling it. She pushed it into my hands. She cast me onest warm look before disappearing.


    "....what just happened?" Serana''s Mother finally blurted out.


    "What do you mean? Me beating one of those Ideal Masters, Durnehviir being whisked away, Thorum getting a blessing. Or do you mean the fact that Meridia, the Daedric Prince, is my lover?" I asked with a wistful smile.


    Valerica just made a confused noise in response, unable to formte any real words.


    ".....I think you broke my mother." Serana groaned.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 295 - 274

    <h4>Chapter 295: Chapter 274</h4>


    "So this ce is still standing." Valerica idlymented as I deposited us all in the courtyard of/at the foot of the bridge leading to the College of Winterhold. ".....Barely, it appears. I suppose it is impressive for mortal construction tost the centuries."


    "Lady Valerica, you know of this ce?" Thorum asked, he was rather respectful which was understandable considering he''s dating her daughter.


    The Older Vampire pursed her lips while inspecting the area. I''m sure she noticed the sundered remains in the chasm surrounding the College. "I remember when it first came into existence. I had no dealings with it, but it brought a different kind of mortal to Skyrim upon its creation, which was beneficial to us as well."


    Funnily enough, even with Valerica''s sort of standoffish behavior, I believed she had a good impression of Thorum.


    I could see why Valerica had even the faintest acknowledgement of the College as well. I''m sure she appreciated the more learned sorting to Skyrim back in the day. As much as I''ve fallen in love with this ce, there''s no denying that the Nords ¨C for the most part ¨C were the type to hit things rather than delve into arcane secrets.


    Oh well, their directness was one of the things that made this ce so charming.


    "Are you positive it is a good idea for my daughter and I to approach such a ce?" Valerica spoke again, a slight amount of hesitance in her voice. "Mortals never suffered our kind in the past, and this is perhaps one of the few ces I would worry about mortals taking offense."


    "It''s alright, mother." Serena had a smile on her face that refused to leave since regaining her lost family. "Thorum and I have been here a few times so far, the Archmage doesn''t discriminate as long as we don''t cause problems."


    If there had been a problem I would have put in a word. Sorta my fault she was following along as it were. Well, it also might be because she had been trapped so long she wanted to walk about, free and unrestrained. Or it could do with the fact that she didn''t actually have somewhere to go.....


    Someone may or may not have destroyed her previous home and looted everything of worth.


    Woops.


    Maybe she also wanted to see what I would do with the Elder Scroll?


    Also a usible exnation.


    ''Hey Ddraig?'' I voiced the thought inwards towards the dragon.


    [What?]


    ''You''ve been quiet since we left the Soul Cairn. Granted, you''re usually quiet and like to watch silently. But you just stopped abruptly in there after only saying a few things. You''re not upset are you?''


    [Why would I be upset?]


    ''I used the power of the Biblical God, I''m not dense enough to ignore the grudge you have with him.''


    [I''m not annoyed with you, brat. I understand why you did it, it was the perfect counter to that annoying thing you fought. But that doesn''t mean I''ve forgiven him.]


    ''Do you want me to ¨C''


    [I don''t need you to fight my battles for me.]


    ''Isn''t that literally what every one of your users does when ites to your rival?''


    [It''s not the same!] Ddriag huffed in annoyance. [As my user, it''s your duty to fight Albion''s user. My other regrets and grudges are for me to bear.]


    Huh.


    ''You''re my partner, Ddraig. If you want me to do something or not do something, you just have to tell me.''


    I still felt like he didn''t like me using the Spear due to Big G''s presence.


    [.....Just find a good opponent to test the staff on.] Ddraig grumbled. [I wanna stretch my wings.]


    ''You got it.'' I couldn''t help but smile.


    I would have used it against that Ideal Master, but I didn''t think it was wise to test something that involves pulling out the soul of Ddraig in a realm that''s created by Necromancers with an almost absolute control of soul-based maniption.


    Honestly, there was abination of factors that made that fight easier than it should have been. It was throwing around raw power on the level of Susanoo, yet it was so.....constrained. The biggest facet was the fact that its weight didn''t match up to a real God.


    I almost wish they weren''t disgusting abominations; I''d have loved to talk shop with them.


    "It seems empty." Valericamented as we began walking through the outer courtyards.


    "Well, yes, they''re mostly...." Serena blinked, as if realizing something. "I forgot we haven''t told you what has been happening."


    "What''s wrong, is something wrong?" Valerica asked.


    "Aye, Lady Valerica. Alduin has returned, and the Dragons have risen with him. Skyrim is in a bad state right now, the College is doing what it can to help out, many of its students are running around where they can." Thorum added.


    "The World Eater." Valerica pursed her lips. "Of course." She let out a long sigh. "If it isn''t one catastrophe, it is another."


    "It appears that our world is constantly teetering on the precipice of destruction." A new voice appeared. I curled my lips up as I saw the others jump at the Archmage''s entrance.


    "Archmage." I greeted him with a smile.


    "Wilhelm!" He smiled brightly right back. "It''s wonderful to see you returned. Things have be somewhat quiet, so I anticipated your eventual return with the chaos it usually brings."


    "With such heavy expectations like that, I''ll do my best to live up to them."


    "Please don''t." He quickly corrected. "I don''t know if my old heart can handle any more surprises."


    "Well we''re going to find out." I patted his shoulder. "Wanted to tell Thorum a few things, and I think you should know too."


    The Archmage sucked in a deep breath. "I will have drinks awaiting for my inevitable headache." He turned to the others. "Now, a new face, may I ask for introductions?" He was speaking of Valerica, as both Serena and Thorum had been here before.


    "I apologize, Archmage." Thorum bowed his head. "I hope I am not overstepping by bringing ¨C"


    The Archmage raised his hand. "None of that." He lightly chided with a chuckle. "I have said before, all are weed here if they abide by the rules."


    "You have my gratitude, then." Valerica spoke up. "As for as introductions go, I am Serena''s Mother ¨C Valerica." She introduced her self, in a mildly polite tone.


    "Valerica." The Archmage repeated.


    "Yes ¨C"


    "The same Valerica who wrote that enlightening book on the uses of Blood Magic in Conjuration rituals?"


    Was that one of the ones I looted from Harkin''s library?


    Valerica blinked at that. "I....yes. I wrote a book like that many centuries ago."


    "It''s an honor to have such an aplished Mage visit my college." The Archmage''s eyes shined brilliantly. "If I may be so bold, what business do you have for this visitation?"


    Valerica scowled slightly. "I am merely apanying my daughter for now. Perhaps a mild curiosity as I remember the founding of this ¨C College many years ago and never had the chance to see it for myself."


    "I graciously open my doors to you, Lady Valerica." The Archmage bowed his head.


    "Oh, well, I''m ttered by the reception." And the look on her face seemed to align with her words, shifting quite quickly away from her previous annoyance.


    I don''t think she''s used to non-vampires being so.....amodating.


    "Hey, old man, who''s here right now?" I asked once their little conversation finished.


    "Quite a few of your friends still remain." The Archmage answered, easily guessing my thoughts. "I believe the ones named Achilles and Atnta are the only ones who have departed."


    "Oh, I hope Skyrim doesn''t burn down." I mused.


    "My friend, are these the ones you spoke of?" Thorum pped my shoulder, with augh.


    "Yeah, I brought them from my home." His smile was always so contagious.


    "Yes, quite the colorful array of people you''ve brought this time." The Archmage hummed. "The majority whom are still here should have left the lecture on Advanced Alchemy some...twenty minutes ago by my estimate. It''s only a matter of finding where ¨C"


    "Cafeteria." I interjected.


    "Of course, I don''t know why I even considered differently." He sighed. "....you spoke that young Artoria does not practice magic, however, I am inclined to believe sorcery is at work with how much food disappears into her stomach."


    "Hmm, I guess you haven''t seen Mordred yet either, hmm?"


    "Oh no, I have." He shook his head. "Which leads me to believe that it''s a hereditary Magic. And I have not yet been convinced otherwise."


    "Oh." I pped my hands. "Before I forget, I got a bunch of Health Potions and such for you to distribute."


    "Mmm?" The Archmage blinked as if remembering something. "Oh, yes! Jinn spoke about that. Any little bit would help. How many did ¨C"


    "500 or so."


    ".....Well then."


    "They''re slightly worse than a normal one, about 90% efficiency inparison. The people I have who started mass producing them are still working out the kinks." I rubbed the back of my neck. "If they''re not good enough..."


    "No." The Archmage quickly disabused me of that notion. "Wilhelm, this is a wonderful windfall that should alleviate some pressure we''ve been facing. Health Potions are already in very short supply, this should give us some breathing room. Why, I have some nsing to fruition soon that should somewhat make up for theck of ingredients readily avable. I was worried about what to do in the intermediate, but this will help immensely."


    "Are you sure? I mean, it sounds like a lot on the surface, but that''s not even enough for every Soldier and Guard at Whiterun, let alone to distribute to every hold in Skyrim."


    "You''re thinking about it the wrong way. Most Health Potions are saved for the truly dire wounds that require immediate treatment. Healing Magic is good, but it''s not perfect and masters of it are even more scarce than the dwindling supply of Health Potions we have. Most who can perform the arts can''t do much more than mending minor cuts or stop bleeding. A couple Dozen Potions sent to every Hold will keep a couple Dozen people alive almost guaranteed."


    I guess I can see his thought process too. Rationing and selective use to ensure the best of the best remaining in fighting shape. Commanders, top tier warriors, they''re getting a Health Potion guaranteed while the grunts make do with traditional medicines or Healing Magic when it''s avable.


    "I''ll pass the stuff over to you before I head out."


    "I am very thankful, Wilhelm. You''ve been an amazing addition to the College and I''m continuously proud to have you as one of our students."


    I opened my mouth and closed it again as it was hard to respond to that. I felt a little embarrassed when he spoke so genuinely about me.


    "Aye, my friend is admirable!" Thorum gave that big goofy smile of his. "Come, Wilhelm, speak of the battle we just fought. Your duel with that Ideal Master is worthy of song and praise!"


    "Pardon!" The Archmage interjected. "Did you just say you fought an Ideal Master!?" The Archmage blurted out almost uncontrobly.


    Oh.....sounds like he''s heard of them.


    "Did I forget to mention that my mother was trapped in the Soul Cairn....." Serena coughed awkwardly.


    "Damn it, Wilhelm." The Archmage rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I was kidding before."


    "Oh, wow, is that Artoria? Better head over there!" I quickly ran ahead, barely holding back a giggle myself.


    [***]


    As predicted, everyone was gathered in the Cafeteria. Honestly, I think that''s just where Artoria decided to go and everyone gravitated towards her.


    She had that kind of presence that you want to be around her.


    Bullshit Charisma.


    Serena and her Mother went for a walk to chat some more, and no one med them for wanting some more alone time. They had a lot of catching up to do.


    There were smiles and acknowledgements as I entered, followed by the others. I saw Medea with her back to me, looking intently at some parchment in front of her.


    When presented with the opportunity, I did the most obvious thing, and bullied the Witch. I reached out, pulling her hood up over her head. "Sup, nerd."


    "Reeeaaahhhh!" She made a strange noise, iling her arms in my general direction before she fixed herself.


    Honestly, she''s kinda cute. It just made me want to bully her some more.


    "Brat." She crossed her arms with a huff.


    "You enjoy the lecture, Medea?" I slid into a seat next to Artoria, opposite of the Witch.


    "Yes, it was enlightening. So many different ideas and concepts, I''ll enjoy delving into them." She quickly shifted away from the indignance.


    Her Fiance was sitting right next to her, looking engrossed in a book himself about the history of Skyrim. I didn''t know if he had any interest in the magic side of things, but he seemed pretty entertained.


    Then again, it''s hard to get a read on that guy.


    I leaned over, kissing Artoria on the cheek. That little squeak she made with her mouth full was adorable.


    "Why do you have dried blood on your shirt." Artoria forced a mouthful down, inspecting me intently. And at her words, everyone seemed to look over at me.


    "....It''s nothing bad..."


    "Wilhelm." Artoria crossed her arms, a no nonsense look on her face.


    "I fought an entity that could be called God-like in another realm. Thorum and I went in to help Serena rescue her mother." I exined briefly.


    "Aye, if it was not for Wilhelm, I fear that neither I nor Serena would have made it out ourselves." Thorum spoke up as well.


    "Strong bastard then?" Mordred had a bored look herself and perked up at my exnation. "And who''s this?" She jabbed her thumb towards my friend.


    "Oh yes, introduction." Thorum brightened up. "I am honored to meet more of Wilhelms'' friends! I am Thorum."


    "Hey." Mordred justzily waived. "You seem pretty strong, up for a spar?"


    Thorum let out a chuckle. "I would be honored! And I do believe myself strong, though watching Wilhelm''s fight, I have much to work on."


    "Sparter." I swatted at Mordred''s ponytail, who huffed and swatted at my hand; we went back and forth for a moment. "Proper introductions, you dunce."


    "ugh, fine." Mordred rolled her eyes. "I''m Mordred Pendragon, you''ve met my Father." She gestured to Artoria.


    Thorum just blinked at that, but took it in stride. "Well met, Mordred."


    "Alright, this is going to take forever. Going around the room!" I started to point at everyone. "Kairi, Medea, Kuzuki." I went around the room beforending on my best friend. "And this is Thorum, Dragonborn, meaning he has the soul of a Dragon and can use that same divine words that I can, but better."


    "Oh?" Medea perked up at that. "I''ll want to see thatter, sounds interesting~"


    Otherwise, there were just grunts of acknowledgement.


    "Wilhelm, exin, now." Artoria seemed impatient.


    "Well, it''s pretty simple. Some entities created some realm in oblivion that is mainly used to steal souls for themselves. Valerica ¨C Serena''s mother, was one such soul. We went there and I had a chat with one of the Ideal Master ¨C the name they call themselves apparently ¨C and they did not wish to let her go as we had an argument."


    "Stop being coy." Rin frowned.


    "I am with miss Tohsaka, Wilhelm." The Archmage who was standing nearby spoke up. "I am aware of these Ideal Masters, they often trick the wayward Necromancer into being imprisoned in their realm. It''s a warning I give to any who study the arts, among other things, but to not deal with them in any capacity his foremost."


    "Noted." Kairi grunted.


    "Fine, so basically, it wanted my soul. Obviously I did not agree to that so it attacked me trying to take it for itself." I let out a sigh. "Medea, question for you, what do you think would happen if a human started absorbing a bunch of souls?"


    "Die, probably." Medea replied nonchntly. "Well, if they were smart about it at first, they could probably do it a few times. But it''d be difficult and...painful as Hades. Keep at it long enough, get lucky, and they might be able to mutate into something beyond a normal...mortal."


    "There is a theory that the Ideal Masters were once normal Necromancers." The Archmage rubbed his beard. "Though any real records are lost to time."


    "After having experienced them, I can say that they''re ascended beings that came about by taking in an uncountable number of souls."


    "Eww." Medea reeled back. "How did they survive the soul degradation? Just taking in one soul would be in conflict with your own. Even on the off chance you survived, it would be a wound to your being, you would be a shade of your former self."


    "Your guess is as good as mine." I shrugged. "But from what I gleamed, they were very aplished Necromancers. The whole realm contained nothing but undead and spirits. The Ideal Master that I fought was basically nothing but a conglomeration of souls who''s entire purpose was its own continued existence."


    "It''s own continued existence?" Rin questioned.


    "Well, consider this." I waved my hand, producing an illusion of the Ideal Master. "You Ascend beyond a mortal shell, bing nothing more then a soul-based form that has millions of other souls within yourself. You keep taking in more and more, growing stronger and stronger. Eventually, you reach a teau where it''s difficult to get noticeably stronger through the same method, to the point where you notice you start rolling backwards. Suddenly ¨C"


    "Suddenly you focus everything on sustaining what you already have, yeah, I get it." Rin finished for me.


    "Fascinating." The Archmage muttered. "No wonder there are so many stories of them stealing souls and tricking others into their domain."


    "Meridia said that they pay tribute as well." I waved my hand, dismissing the illusion. "Otherwise the Daedric Lords wouldn''t let such a juicy meal go."


    "Makes sense." The Archmage nodded again.


    "And this foe was difficult for you to handle?" Artoria asked.


    "Eh....It was intent on wasting the least amount of power possible. And it fought like a standard Necromancer for the most part."


    "Then how were you wounded?" She pulled at the blood stains on my shirt.


    "That''s....more of my fault." I coughed awkwardly. "I used the....Spear, yes that Spear, more than I should have. Holy Power in my body beyond my limits."


    "I see." She let out a breath. "I assume you are not in any pain or danger at this point?"


    "Nope." I shook my head. "And Meridia made sure to cleanse any remnants inside my body."


    "Good." She seemed pleased at that.


    "I thought you couldn''t use that Spear though?" Rin tilted her head questioningly.


    "Big G let me have a go." I chuckled.


    "...what?"


    "Yup, he spoke to me and let me use its full power."


    "You''re fucking with me." She said dryly.


    "You''re saying you spoke to God." Mordred stared incredulously. "Aren''t you a Devil, why aren''t you all.....ash and shit?"


    "Well ¨C" I paused and realized there were two people here who were in the dark. "I think I should start off by telling Thorum and the Archmage what exactly we''re talking about..."


    "Yes, I''m dreadfully lost here." The Archmage chuckled.


    "Aye, I am confused, my friend."


    "Well, you better sit down, it''s a bit of a story."


    "I actually haven''t heard the full thing." Mordred perked up.


    "This should be interesting." Medea set her parchments to the side and even Kuzuki closed his book.


    "....do you all want food and drink while I recall my intimate life story?" I rolled my eyes


    The Archmage, with an amused smile on his face, snapped his fingers and more food and drink appeared around the table.


    I let out a long sigh and began as I always did. "It started when I got stabbed through the chest with a magical light sword."


    [***]


    "Rin, it''s okay to be mad." I said calmly.


    "I''m not mad." She replied.


    "Mhmm."


    "I''m not!"


    "Sure."


    She growled.


    "How!" She finally threw her hands up. "Saber and I have been searching all over the damn ce, and you just luck into another Elder Scroll that gives another clue towards the bow!?"


    "My Elder Scroll." Jinn giggled, hugging it tight.


    So cute.


    The Archmage was just....lost in thought after new revtions. Thorum, I don''t think it changed much for him. He probably understood some of it, but to him, I wasn''t from here already, to borate on that didn''t mean much to him.


    I think he was just happy to know.


    And Jinn came in like a wrecking ball after finding out I had another Elder Scroll.


    At that point Valerica and Serena finally came in, and saw her tear it open and read it so inly.


    That made Serena''s mom have another existential crisis, because it was not something even an Immortal Vampire like her could do without suffering consequences.


    "It''s call skill, Rin." I adopted the most smug look I could muster.


    Rin''s head dropped to the table in defeat. Artoria giving her a sympathetic pat on the back.


    Honestly, I think Rin was just distracting herself from the fact that I have Big G in my spear and could talk to him at will.


    She was someone of the faith, surprisingly enough.


    And Artoria too.


    I asked her about that awhile ago and she said something to the effect of¨C ''my faith is my business alone''. Not in a dismissive way, but more in response to me being a Devil and if that would be a problem for her.


    Regardless, it seemed we''re a step closer to finding that Divine Bow, and I wanted to reach it first just to lord it over Rin.


    Well, I''d leave Rin to wallow in her defeat.


    I got up and walked over to Thorum who was a little quiet. Maybe it was weighing on him more than I thought?


    "My Friend." Thorum said kindly as I sat next to him at the side.


    "Thorum, you okay?" I asked.


    "Aye, I shall be fine. Merely...."


    "Lots of things happened today, huh?" I leaned back with a chuckle.


    "Yes." He shared my reaction.


    "Well, now that you know, I''ll bring you around to see my home sometime."


    He looked mildly surprised. "You would bring me to see your home?"


    "You big idiot." I huffed. "Of course I''d bring you. You''re my best friend." I yfully punched his shoulder. "And I''d love for you to meet my Gramps, he can''t really leave, well.... I already exined that."


    "Yes, tis confusing, but I understand he cannot leave." Thorum nodded along. "I admit it is.....hard to wrap my head around."


    "Well, in all honesty, does it change much?"


    "I.....no." He blinked in response. "It does not." He smiled brightly again. "You are my friend, the same as you were before. No matter what strangeness happens between us, that will not change. Now that I know your secret, could you perhaps tell me the full story of this de you gifted me sometime?"


    "Oh Gram." I eyed it on his back. "Yeah, I''ll fill in the gaps. I meant what I said before, I think the original wielder would be proud that you''re the one who has it at this point." I nudged him with another chuckle.


    Thorum,ughed again, before going silent as he watched Valerica and Serena happily chatting off to the side.


    "Thank you, Wilhelm. If not for you, I do not believe I would have seen Serena this happy."


    "Bah, don''t say that." I grunted. "There''s no need for thanks between friends. I know if I ever called on you, you''d answer without a second thought."


    I was lucky to have him with my friend.


    "She is beautiful though, I can see where Serena get''s her looks from."


    Thorum blushed a little. "Aye, Serena inherited her beauty from her mother."


    I had a thought, the corners of my lips curling up. "Thorum, my friend." I pped his shoulder, leaning in. "I''m going to teach you a magic word from my culture."


    "A magic word?" Thorum repeated in interest.


    "Where Ie from, it''s known as Oyakodon." I said in a hushed tone.


    "Oyakodon, what''s that?" Thorum repeated, louder than I think he realized because a good portion of people in the room had their eyes snap towards us.


    ...a good amount of people here apparently knew what that meant.


    "Schweinorg." Rin spoke up, narrowing her eyes.


    I quickly got up from my seat. "Well, I do believe it is time for me to skedaddle."


    Off to Meridia''s realm I go for a visit then back to Kyoto!


    "Schweinorg, get back here!"


    I heard Rin shout as I quickly escaped from the room.


    [***]


    Here''s Tuesday''s chapter which was dyed. Just a heads up, hurricane hitting me right about now, can''t guarantee anything for Thursday.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 296: Interlude 18

    <h4>Chapter 296: Interlude 18</h4>


    Sasaki Kojiro POV


    What a wonderful day.


    How long has it been since I''d left the Temple ¨C the festival not withstanding. Though, that was quite the event as well. I was able to cross des with such renown figures and even held my own. As confident as I was in my sword, it''s good to know that even my existence as merely a wraith was acknowledged through battling more Servants.


    And that one young man who arrived in the middle of our fight and jumped right in. He shouted happily even as he got a thorough thrashing by Sc¨¢thach.


    It''s nice to know that such people still exist in the modern era.


    The festivities themselves were rxing as well. I could scarcely recall attending an event like that even in my life if I pushed past the false idolization that the Grail forced into this vessel.


    A world full of Youkai, how amusing.


    I would very much like to go visit it again some time


    Really, I enjoyed all these new experiences. I had noints on how I spent my life atop that mountain, perfecting my sword, but to see new ces had its own charm that can''t bepared.


    "Are ya deaf?"


    "Hmm?" I was broken from my idle muse as I looked at the people surrounding me. They wore some rather impressive looking armor, but they were sttered with dry blood stains and I could guess that it did note from any game they hunted.


    "We said, take off them fancy clothes."


    ".....I apologize, but I do not find men favorably in that light." It was ttering that they were so forward, but I simply preferdies.


    Well, I didn''t think they took my rejection well, because they got angry and charged me with weapons drawn.


    "We''ll carve up your body and take all your money from your corpse!"


    I stepped back, a de narrowly missing my neck.


    "Oh!" I realized my error. "You are bandits, I apologize, I thought you were trying to bed me." Another angry shout reverberated behind me as I ducked under an axe that swung past me. "Not that there''s anything wrong with that."


    "Die!" The remainder of them charged at me, arge variety of weapons in hand.


    "Honestly, you should be ttered." I said as I finally decided to draw my de. With a flick of my wrist, I knocked an oing arrow out of the air.


    Tilting my arm forward, I turned my de and thrusted out, stabbing a man running at me with arge Warhammer in his hands. I pieced right through his throat, a small spurt of blood flying out as I pulled my de free in one swift motion.


    "You bastard! You killed Bord!"


    Another arrow came sailing towards me, and I plucked it from the air before it could touch me and threw it at the one who had just screamed and entered a murderous rage.


    "My first assumption wasn''t that you were bandits, but merely flirting. When I picture bandits, I don''t think of a well armed group of individuals such as yourselves." I hummed thoughtfully, jumping into the air to avoid two more individuals who swung at me simultaneously. With gravity following my movement, I whipped my sword down and flowed through the movement, beheading both of them in a single sh.


    I calmly flicked my de, flinging the blood off of it before sheathing it behind my back. I knelt down, picking up a discarded axe, giving it an appraising swing to get a feel for the bnce. I held it up at eye level, looking at its curvature and edge.


    "What good craftsmanship, and it looks like the other weapons don''t lose out." I couldn''t hold back my admiration. "Are all weapons here so high quality?" Was it because this was still the Age of Gods that such crafts were more openly studied and essible?


    Well, regardless.


    I turned to look at thest bandit who was running away down a dirt path.


    I tossed the axe up and caught it with a small smile. "It''s good to experience other cultures." I raised the axe up, closing one eye to get a good measure of distance. "I''ve never used an Axe as a weapon before, lets see how this goes!" I nted my foot forward and threw it with all my might.


    The Axe broke the sound barrier, flying towards the running Bandit. He turned at thest moment, most likely surprised at the sudden thunder p, and hisst sight was that of the axe infront of his eyes.


    He was picked up off his feet and followed the moment of the axe as he went cartwheeling off the edge of the nearby cliff.


    ".....perhaps I put too much strength into it." I said quietly, with a tad bit of embarrassment.


    I did like how the axe felt in my hand. Maybe I should give other weapons a try for some amusement?


    I can''t say I''ve ever tried using a Bow before, not to mention a Warhammer like the first bandit who charged used.


    "Oh." I blinked in realization. "I can take everything with me."


    I should thank Wilhelm again once I see him next. This has already been more fun than I''ve had in a very long time, outside of the festival.


    ***


    "Hmm, is this the ce?" I saw somerge wallsing up ahead.


    Wilhelm told me a destination to find this ''Ebony'', but.....I got lost.


    Oh well, I would let the winds of fate guide my way.


    Though, I would appreciate it if someone here could guide me to something good to drink. While I much preferred Sake, the Ale and other alcohol they have here weren''t too bad.


    Getting closer, the ce looked.....not as grand as I had pictured. The walls looked more like they chopped down some trees haphazardly to quickly fortified the area.


    Actually, there''s a lot ofnd that looked scorched.


    Ah, I did hear that Dragon attacks have been causing such things. Dare I to hope that one may be nearby for me to find?


    I would love to hold it over that Rider''s head.


    "Are you daft, old man!? We said no entry!" I almost stumbled in my steps as the two guards at the gate shouted at a man in a full ck armor.


    The person in ck Armor grunted and walked to the side under the shade of a tree. Though he seemed to perk up once I approached further, I nced at him as his head seemed to be staring at me. I don''t know what kind of face he was making as he was covered head to toe, including his face.


    "No Entry!" One of the guards scowled upon my closer approach.


    "Pardon?" I replied.


    "Another daft cunt? I said no entry!" He growled. "I''m pissed off as it is boy, don''t make me draw my de."


    "I...apologize, but I am new around these parts. Do you mind exining the situation to me?"


    "Do I look like ¨C"


    I reached into my Kimono, as if I were pulling something I stored within when in fact I withdrew a few of these gold coins and tossed them to the grumpy guard. I did not know if such Mystic Codes weremon, but I would say it was better to be safe and not cause unwanted annoyances.


    The Guard caught the gold with ease, his temperament changed immediately. "Alright, I guess I can spare a moment." He spoke, quickly pocketing the coins. "What you need to know, outsider?"


    "Would you mind exining what''s going on here? And What happened to the town?"


    The Guard''s shoulder sunk ever so slightly. "Dragon attack, much like everywhere else in Skyrim. One of the first ces to be hit. Riften was never the ideal ce to live formon folk, what with thieves and murderers running rampant, but it was home for many of us. Then alonges a Dragon and burns most of it to the ground. We barely recovered this much in the months that passed." He let out a sigh.


    I.....would not hold his previous attitude against him. It seemed that everyone had their own problems.


    "And why can''t I go in?" I questioned.


    The guard sighed again. "Tis not my fault. The Jarlmanded that the city be sealed, no one in or out while we search for those Thief Guild bastards." He growled. "Heard they robbed somethin precious from the Jarl and got her in bad mood."


    Riften, huh?


    "How unfortunate, I have not been able to find a bed after a day of traveling." I sighed to myself. "Do you mind showing me the way towards the nearest town or vige where I can rest?"


    "Ah..well...the nearest vige is more than a day''s travel back the way you came." The guard awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "The nearest city is about the same distance north if you want somthin bigger."


    "How unfortunate, I suppose I shall head north then. Thank you for the information."


    "...wait." He suddenly called out. "The Jarl should calm down in a few hours if you be wanting to wait. This is not the first time the Jarl has been at odds with the Thieves Guild."


    I rubbed my chin in thought. "That doesn''t sound too bad, I don''t mind waiting, thank you."


    The guard mumbled something about ''polite strangers''. "Ah, well, think nothing of it."


    Hmm, shall I look around, find a nice spot for a nap maybe? There''s no better time to nap than under the evening sun while it''s high up in the sky.


    "Stranger, a moment."


    My idle musing ceased as I stopped my steps and turned towards the owner of the voice. The man covered head to toe in that ck armor was addressing me. "Greetings, how may I help you?"


    "You wear strange garb, and a sword the like of which I''ve never seen before." He looked like he was inspecting me.


    "Yes, I''m aware my appearance may seem abnormal to people of this ce." I wasn''t put off by his observations. It was simply the nature of people to look at the differences that we eachpose. I''m sure I was sticking out like a sore thumb.


    "You misunderstand me." He shook his head. "I may not know you nor where youe from, but I can tell you''re strong."


    "Oh?" I quirked an eyebrow. "Are you maybe looking for a spar?"


    The armored man paused briefly. "No, not a spar, stranger. I wish for a true fight, if you would indulge me. I challenge none that could meet me equally, thus I do not force these terms. But I wish our fight to be one to the end if you ept."


    I blinked at this frank admittance. "You wish a duel to the death? Did I do something to wrong you?"


    "Nay, stranger." He visibly shook his head.


    ".....Before I consider this, please properly exin it to me." I''m not against killing by any means, those bandits found that out quickly. However, I am hesitant to raise my de against someone who was so forthright and had done me no wrong.


    He let out a tired sigh. "I have done all that can be done, stranger. There is nothing left. No quests to be undertaken. No viins to be in. No challenges to face."


    "....You want a warrior''s death."


    "Yes." I could almost see his eyes lightnen up in expectation through his helmet. "I can only seek out strong warriors to face me, to give me a true death worthy of heading to Sovngarde with honor."


    That was something anyone who dedicated themselves to battle could understand. Any who raised a weapon with the intention to make it their lifelongpanion. Only with de held in hand and were defeated after they gave their all could they consider it a good end to a good life.


    However, I was curious about something.


    "I have heard of Dragons in thesends, have you not tried seeking them out for battle? Would falling to such mighty creatures not be a worthy death?"


    "No, I would ept such a thing as well. I have even in such a beast in weeks past, but finding a monstrous beast that can traverse the skies is difficult at the best of times. I came upon this city after hearing it was gued by such foul creatures, but even with such rumors, I have yet toy my eyes on another of the beasts."


    Ah, that made sense.


    And it was impressive that he managed to in a dragon all by himself.


    My own pride forced me to answer him. "Very well, if it is a duel you wish, a duel we shall have."


    I saw no reason to not fullfill his request. To cross des with a strong warrior in thesends, it was one of the reasons I wished toe here. And one thing was for certain, this man was powerful.


    I didn''t quite know how much, as many strange things existed here, but my instincts told me he could put up a fight.


    "Do you have a name, stranger?" We both instinctively took positions opposite each other, several feet apart.


    "In my culture, it''s polite to introduce yourself first." I grinned, gripping my de from behind my back.


    I briefly nced at the guards at the gates, and they didn''t move to stop us so I didn''t bother with them anymore.


    "Hahaha, very well. I am known far and wide as the Ebony Warrior. I have long discarded my true name, stranger. But from one warrior to another, it is simply Sadr."


    "Sadr then." I nodded. "It may sound strange to you, but from thends I hail, I go by Sasaki Kojiro." I drew my de, holding it to my side.


    "Yes a name that my tongue is not used to speaking, however, it will forever be etched into my memory. For how long thatsts..." He drew his own weapon, a greatsword that was also behind his back. "WE SHALL SEE!" He let out a roar as he charged at me.


    My eyes briefly widened at the speed his produced, even hampered by that epassing Armor. His footsteps dug into the ground with each step he took, and he elerated to speeds that would leave a normal man with no manner of retaliation.


    I could not stop the smile from forming on my face. I watched his movement with ease, and swung my sword to meet his overhead sh.


    The colliding of steel echoed out and the grown beneath us was cracked at the force.


    "You blocked my strike?" He spoke aloud with a surprised tone. "Yes! I have not been mistaken! You are a warrior that makes my old blood boil!" Heughed merrily as he followed up his first attack. A speed that again was unnatural for the weight of his weapon and armor.


    A flurry of strikes were unleashed as I moved to block and deflect each one.


    My hair and clothes fluttered at the sheer momentum behind each of his swings.


    "Interesting." I mimicked hisugh, stepping to the side as I thrust my sword forward. He jerked his body to the side and my de sparked against his impressive armor.


    I raised an eyebrow, seeing that his armor remained unscathed from an admittedly casual strike, but still my sword was not normal.


    "My new friend, you will have to do more than that if you wish tond a wound upon me. This Ebony Armor of mine has been tempered through numerous battles!" He stomped on the ground and swept his long de at me.


    I stepped back, taking the moment to pull my own sword back to deflect the strike again. The strength left behind it another notch from his previous strikes.


    Hmm, he should be a little weaker ¨C physically ¨C than when the Witch used those magics to enhance her Master.


    And did he say Ebony?


    .....would it be impolite if I acquired this armor of his after I defeat him?


    I didn''t dwell on it. To get distracted with my foe while fighting honorably, it would look poorly upon myself.


    I stepped into the strike, sliding my long de against his overextension as I moved forward. I pushed away hisrge sweep and mmed the hilt of my de against his should, causing him to buckle under the blow.


    Pivoting my feet, I spun my body, fully swinging my sword around and shed at his mid-section.


    He scrambled to bring his sword up to block, but it was haphazard at best, as the force of it knocked him off his feet and he tumbled to the ground. Quickly, he sprung back to his feet and charged at me again.


    I took a deep breath, grasping my sword with both hands and held it infront of me. With another step forward, I shed upwards, destroying his guard once more, and I channeled a good amount of my Magical Energy into my de, continuing the movement as my de dug into his arm. His armor shuddered and my de ever so slightly pushed into the strong metal.


    He let out a roar as his body became enveloped in a glow in a shade simr to his armor. A magical force fought against my continued sh, not letting me push any further.


    He tried to swing his sword at me, but I used my opposite hand to reach out and grab hold of his arm before he could finish a motion.


    "Well, this is awkward." I let out augh.


    Both of us cked our arms, slowly pulling our weapons free.


    His armor was very impressive. I could see why Wilhelm rmended me Ebony, it would be able to battle Noble Phantasm from what I had gleamed thus far.


    Blood of a God? I could believe such a myth have some truth to it.


    I struck at what should have been the weakest part of the armor with a strong blow on my part, and I barely pushed through.


    "Magic?" I questioned shimmer of energy around him. It reminded me of a spell I''d seen Wilhelm cast.


    "Yes, does it offend you?" He replied.


    "Not at all." I smiled. "If you are skilled in such arts, then that means you studied and trained them just as much as I have my de. I cannot fault someone for seeking skill where they have talent."


    "To hear such words from a young man such as yourself....." I couldn''t make out his expression, but I believed he was happy. "A different time, I would have enjoyed a friendship with you."


    Silently, we both agreed to take a step back. Such things happened sometimes, if you couldn''t find the humor in such a situation, then there was no point in having a friendly duel, even if the consequence was death.


    "To ovee my greatest pride, my Ebony Armor, in a single sh." He inspected the minor damage. "I am awed beyond words, stranger. Truly I have chosen the most wonderous opponent for my potential final battle. However....." His tone shifted. "....You dishonor me by holding back."


    "Ah....you noticed." I breathed out.


    "I am usually the one holding back my blows, it is humbling to be on the other end for once." He muttered, shifting his stance. "I ask for a true duel, please defeat me with all your strength."


    "Apologies." I closed my eyes for a brief moment, centering myself. "I was enjoying a good fight, I instinctively wished to continue it as long as possible."


    The armored man let out a chuckle. "I suppose I can''t fault you for that." He shook his head.


    "In rpose, I will show you my strongest technique that I spent my whole life creating." I slowly shifted my stance bringing my de up towards my head.


    "You....." His shivered. "I feel the touch of death if I take a single step forward." He let out a heartyugh. "Yes, I believe this will be my final moment, and I will see with my own eyes what you consider a worthy technique."


    Allow me to send you off, Warrior of another world.


    "Hiken ¨C "


    "ROOOOOOAAARRRR."


    We both stopped abruptly, a thunderous roar that shook heaven and earth. Our heads snapped to the source as a Dragon came over the mountains, a rage in its eyes as it bared its fangs right towards the town.


    "DRAGON!" A shout immediately went out as bells rang, and people scrambled to attention.


    It came in fast, soaring through the air towards the susceptible city, a maw of fire bellowed out upon the first victims.


    A house wasn''t merely burned, but turned to ash amidst the torrent of fire.


    I turned to look at the Ebony Warrior, he nodded at me, another silent agreement to put our fight on hold.


    It seemed our honor both dictated a certain action.


    Without a second thought we shot off the ground towards the Dragon that was hovering in the air only a few dozen feet above the Gate. The Guards ducked for cover, a few upon the walls were brave enough to take up their bows, but the arrows harmlessly cracked against the Dragon''s scales.


    "FAAS RU MAAR!" The Dragon made sounds I couldn''t quite understand, but an invisible source rippled out.


    The Guards that were about to engage suddenly trembled and ran away in fear as if a mental affliction overcame them.


    The look on the Dragon''s face, it seemed to take great pleasure in the fear by the terror it let loose.


    Despicable.


    I was the first to arrive, the dragon not noticing my presence.


    I channeled a significant amount of Magical Energy around my de as I jumped up onto the top of the wall, then pushed up, leaping into the air as I ascended towards the flying beast.


    It looked surprised at my sudden appearance, my de shing out. It instinctively pped its wings, allowing it to moving backwards, but my de still sliced its underbelly, drawing a line of blood at my passing.


    The Dragon roared, either in pain or anger, as it became disoriented at the sudden wound. It fell down, crashing into the wall, destroying a good portion of it.


    It quickly reorientated itself, ring right at me as Inded not far from it.


    "FO KRAH ZIIN" More strange sounds spoken as a torrent of cold air was unleashed from its massive maw. I dashed to the side, its torrent of icy breath turning everything in its path to a frozen wastnd.


    "FOUL BEAST, CEASE YOUR DESTRUCTION!" The Ebony Warrior roared as he mmed into the beast''s back, his Ebony Sword slicing right into its body.


    The Dragon''s back arced in an unnatural way before whipping around, throwing the Warrior off its back.


    He rolled on the ground before sliding back onto his feet.


    "Stranger, do you have a n? This Dragon seems to wish the destruction of themon folk." The Warrior quickly reorientated himself. With a motion, he withdrew an Axe made of the same material as all his other armaments.


    I suppose such spatial items were not as umon as I thought.


    "My Technique requires that I get close." I lifted my sword over my shoulder, shing him a grin. It was nice to have someone to fight next to.


    "I see." He nodded. "I shall give you an opening then."


    I could best this Dragon in pure power, but I didn''t trust my de to hold up. I would end it in one blow then.


    The Warrior spent not another word, retrieving a shield as well and bashed his Axe against it. "Cowardly Lizard, dare you fight this Warrior head on?"


    "Sahlo joor, zu''u bahlok, yah hin dinok" It spoke in response, intelligible words, if spoken in anguage I didn''t understand.


    I don''t think either of us understood it, but we took it as a challenge.


    The Ebony warrior dashed to the side, drawing its long head to follow along. It opened its maw again, the strange sounds erupted out followed by a torrent of mes as the Warrior held his shield up and fended them off.


    To even hold up against Dragon Fire, impressive material.


    "Stranger!" The Ebony Warrior shouted.


    I smiled lightly as I took my steps forward.


    I pulled my sword back as the Dragon''s attention now turned to me.


    "Watch closely." I turned serious.


    I never thought I would use this technique against a Dragon. I admit in my heart, I wanted to prove that I could reach such heights with nothing but my determination and will. I had no true Noble Phantasm, merely my sword that apanied me on that lonely mountain.


    This was the fruits of my effort.


    The uncountable days that I swung my de with a singr purpose.


    As I stared at this beast that descended from the heavens, I only had one simple thought.


    Dragons are just bigger swallows.


    "Hiken ¨C Tsubame Gaeshi."


    ***


    Originally, I meant for this to be a bunch of different POVs with everyone going about doing random Skyrim things, but this turned out much longer than expected, so i''ll do moreter at some point in a muchrger Interlude.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 297 - 275

    <h4>Chapter 297: Chapter 275</h4>


    "Honey, I''m home!" I called out as I entered the Colored Rooms. My body jerked as Meridia pulled me towards where she was.


    To the familiar surroundings that were her ''throne room'' or rather whatever this small pocket of space was called.


    It was both scary and interesting how she was able topletely bypass my Campione Magical Resistance when she wanted to bring me to where she was. Then again, it was more akin to an Absolute Authority than a Magical Phenomenon.


    Meridia, the one sitting upon her Throne as this part of her usually did, looked at me evenly for a moment before speaking. "Wee home."


    I loved when she ys along.


    She slowly got up from her seat, walking over.


    I reached out as she got closer, pulling her in.


    She always smelled nice.


    "Let''s stay like this forever." I mumbled.


    "Do not tempt me." She whispered. "I should just lock you up and keep you here forever."


    I lifted my head up, giving her a smile. "If it meant I could see you every day, it would be worth it."


    "Don''t tease me." She huffed, pinching my arm.


    "That''s like telling me not to breath."


    "Suffocate." She countered with another huff, pulling out of my arms. She turned away, arms crossed in ''annoyance''.


    "My Meridia is too cute~" I chuckled.


    She nced back at me, but didn''t react. "Why have youe, do you require something?"


    "I just wanted to see and spend time with you." I said withplete honesty. "I missed you."


    I saw her lip quiver slightly. She remained silent for another few moments before finally giving in and came back into my arms, burying her head into my chest.


    She just needed to be coaxed sometimes.


    I knew she liked to be doted on but was too embarrassed to say it out loud.


    I ran my hand through her silky blonde hair, giving her a kiss on the forehead.


    How long we stayed like that was unknown, but I enjoyed every single moment of it. She was eventually the one to pull away again, though there was a hint of reluctance to it.


    "Would you wish to walk with me?" She asked softly.


    "I would love to." I felt her reach for my hand, taking it in hers.


    "Come, I keep a personal space separated within my realm. No one else has ever set foot within here." She sounded a little cheerful as she pulled me along, space shifting as we were taken to another portion of her realm.


    I blinked a few times as the surroundings changed. It looked like we were back on Nirn; a sun hung in the air, grass was beneath our feet, and in the distance was a mountain range. But in immediate view was a small pond, with a little bench to the side, and a family of ducks happily swimming around.


    She continued to pull me along to the bench, stiffly plopping herself down as she forced me to follow suit.


    Cute.


    It wax extremely cute how bashful she was being.


    "You have many different beings that live within the Colored rooms, don''t you?"


    "Yes." She said simply. "Many are not native to Nirn, many are those who pledged themselves to me in life and beyond."


    "So....this is your special ce then, not even your servants are allowed here?"


    "That....is correct." She said quietly. "This is where Ie for a few moments of quiet or rxation."


    Ah, this must be something personal for her.


    "Thank you for sharing this with me." I squeezed her hand affectionately.


    "...Yes, be thankful." She looked away. "You are thus far the only being in existence that is allowed to be here with me."


    And this is why I fell ¨C


    I couldn''t help it as my eyes widened in realization.


    "What?" She looked at me with confusion, clearly noticing my reaction.


    "I just had a realization about myself." I looked up into the sky that was probably fake.


    ".....should I be worried?" She said dryly.


    I looked back down at her, and I knew that this feeling was real and not just some kneejerk reaction.


    "We don''t see each other as much as I do the others." I let out a sigh.


    "I suppose we do not." She didn''t deny it either. "It is difficult for me to leave, and you have your own matters taking you to various ces."


    "And yet...." I scooted a little closer. "My feelings never diminish in the slightest, and if anything, they''ve grown over time."


    She was always there for me, patiently waiting. I knew if I asked for anything, she would answer without a second thought.


    "What are you getting at?"


    "Do you remember what I said when we first met?"


    "Wilhelm..." Her breathing hitched.


    "I was such a mess back then." I bit my lip, pulling my eyes away from hers. "I did some ridiculous things for equally ridiculous reasons just because I could." Well, I still did, but they''re more calcted for when considering potential backsh. "But there''s one thing I''ve never regretted and I''m thankful I had the audacity to do it."


    Turning back to her, I met her gaze as I wanted her to see me as I said it. "I Love you, Meridia."


    "Y-you silly man." She flushed red at my confession. "You finally decided to speak those words to me?" She sounded annoyed, but there was that quivering of her lip again that gave away her true feelings.


    "...I love you too." She whispered, hiding her face as she leaned against me.


    Yeah, this was the woman I fell in love with.


    [****]


    "Hnn." Meridia let out a soft moan.


    "So you really sculpted all these mountains, they aren''t just some kind of background or illusion?" I asked.


    "...Hm....yes." She breathed out. "It''s not difficult within the confines of my realm. I created everything down to the smallest de of grass."


    "Is it a fully functioning ecosystem? Like, are there bugs, stuff in the dirt, wolves in the mountains, etc."


    "No." She shook her head. "I merely sustain everything with my own power. I didn''t wish for any of those annoyances."


    "Are the ducks yours or did you bring them in?" I smiled knowingly at her.


    She did say Ducks were her favorite animal, I wasn''t surprised at all to see them happily swimming around.


    "Ah...." She let out another soft moan. "From outside." She replied. "I have intertwined a spark of power, however, so they will not wither nor age."


    It''s really interesting to see a Goddess of her level and what she could create at a whim.


    "Other foot." I stated.


    She shifted slightly, moving around so her other foot now entered myp as I began rubbing this one as well.


    "I do not know why you insist on doing this." She grunted as I began working on this one too.


    She says after letting out all of those appreciative sounds. I doubted anyone had ever given her a foot rub before.


    "I want to spoil you." I chuckled, kneading into her sole.


    Those content noises beganing out again, which made it all worth it.


    And bonus, with the way she wasying, I could see up her dress.


    She still doesn''t wear panties.


    "Where do you think you are looking?" She let out that adorable huff again.


    "Where you do think~"


    "Pervert." She pursed her lips, though made no effort to conceal herself.


    "Says the woman who''s shing me." I grinned.


    "Hmph." Sheid her head back down. "You may gaze upon me if you wish. This body has no secrets from you at this point."


    Hmm, I really wanted to do lewd things to her, but I also really wanted to keep spoiling her as well. I guess we could do sexy timester, I wanted to show her my appreciation.


    "Did you have fun during the festival?"


    "It was....enjoyable." She breathed out, a look of contentment on her face. "I did not think I would enjoy myself, however, Jinn was....."


    "Being Jinn?" I offered.


    "A non-exnation that somehow is a perfect response." She snorted. "I was unable to deny any of her requests and somehow followed along with her whims."


    "Hurricane Jinn, sweeps everyone up." ''That Genie of mine...'' "She was really meek when she first came over."


    "Yes, I recall. She was hesitant with her words. Now she has no filter when it is just around us." Though Meridia didn''t sound put off in the slightest. It was nearly impossible not to like Jinn.


    It''s unfortunate that Izzy didn''t show up. I would have loved for them to meet as well. I''ll have to check in with her to see what''s up in Yomi.


    "You looked beautiful in that Kimono of yours."


    "There is no need to speak the obvious." She said haughtily.


    Even when she does things like this she was extremely cute.


    "Overall, it seems like you girls are getting along a lot better." I pushed down at the center of her foot. "It felt like you all were always on good terms, but I guess it''s like you got closer after that get together."


    "I will not deny it." She let out another content breath. "Are you curious? We spoke about a great many things."


    "Hmm, curious? I suppose I''d be lying if I said I wasn''t. However, I''m not going to ask nor was I trying to find an opening to pry any information. Just an observation on my part, one I was happy to see."


    Didn''t want her to think I was trying to pump information out of her or anything like that.


    They had their own ''secrets'' and I was certainly not going to pry.


    "How long do you intend to stay?" Meridia seemingly blurted out after not speaking for a moment.


    "I have no set time, and no pressing concerns, so....awhile?" I said rather vaguely.


    "I see." She settled back down. "You may continue."


    I rolled my eyes at her reaction, but continued all the same.


    I nced back at her again, or rather, what she had no trouble showing off.


    There were other ways to appreciate her I suppose~


    [***]


    Meridia had a nice glow about her, and it wasn''t because she was the personification of Light in this universe.


    Call it pride, but I was happy that I could make her like that after spending quite awhile for her own enjoyment.


    I stretched my arms as Meridia sat back on her throne, returning us to where we started. "So, what exactly did you need to drag us here for?"


    "Someone wishes to speak to you." She shifted demeanors quickly. That loving woman of mine was now the Goddess who ruled over this realm. "And that part of my realm is reserved for myself and those I love." She sniffed.


    Hearing her say that, it was difficult to get my heart to settle down.


    But I was curious who wanted to talk to me that she knew personally.


    With a burst of light, anotherrge figure joined us and I felt silly for forgetting about him.


    "Durnehviir." I greeted the Dragon who stood across from us.


    "Drem yol lok wah hi." It intoned, looking at me before a look of confusion shed across its face. "Apologies, I spoke of greetings. I felt a simr presence to my kin and spoke instinctually."


    "It''s fine, this isn''t the first time I''ve been mistaken for one of you lot." I waved off his concerns.


    "Curious." He inspected me. "Smell of Dovah but not Dovah." He said idly, but didn''t dwell on it. "Mistress." He lowered his head in subservience towards Meridia.


    There was actually a hint of gratefulness to his tone as well


    "I have answered your request, you may speak freely." Meridia gave him permission to act infront of her without concern.


    "You''re looking better." I inspected him just as he did me.


    "I have thus returned to my previous state due to the blessings of my Mistress." He acknowledged.


    That wasn''t all, if I guessed correctly. He was certainly purged of all that necrotic power, and it was probably reced with Meridia''s essence instead.


    "You said you want to speak with me?"


    "Yes. I wished to express my gratitude. You and my younger brother freed me from that prison, I am forever grateful. I wish to give you both something, but I believe it may be useless to you."


    "Oh?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "I will teach you the words required to summon me." He stated.


    "The words to summon you?" I repeated what he said and a sh of realization dawned on me. "borate, please."


    The Dragon, seemingly smiling, opened its jaw. "Dur Neh Viir" The words exploded out and I felt a shimmer of spatial expanse, but it died down. Like, it would have pulled Durnehviir to the spot if he had been anywhere else.


    The words were its name, but they had so much more meaning in them. Honestly, Dragon Language could match Runes in how broad they could be interpreted.


    The shout was impressive and all, but I felt something else once I heard it. A sudden realization, as if a final piece had been slotted in for the spell I needed to summon Ddraig.


    I already contemted that a Shout might need to be added to the function of summoning Ddraig, but seeing it now, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was the correct path.


    "Durnehviir." I tapped my chin in thought. "I have something I want your opinion on."


    "I would be willing to assist in anything you require. My debt isrge." The Dragon replied.


    "I''m not like Thorum ¨C a Dragonborn. I''m getting by because I have a Dragon living in my soul right now."


    The Dragon blinked in surprise. "A strange circumstance." He pondered quite obviously. "I can understand. Your instinctual understanding iscking. What do you require help with?"


    "I''m working on a spell to summon said Dragon to the physical ne even if he''s only a soul. I have worked out the basics, how to give him a temporary body and such. But.....I need help with the words to summon his soul."


    "Interesting." The Dragon looked genuinely enthused by the idea. "Speak your thoughts."


    "Well, there are a lot of working parts.....and I already said I don''t know much about the Thu''um much. But.....is it possible to add more than three ''words'' to a single ''shout''?"


    "Ah." He seemed to understand. "It is possible, but difficult. Even a Dovah like me would have trouble speaking more than four words to bend the world. Eldest can do so without difficulty, but I am not as strong as Alduin."


    "Is it really that hard?" I questioned. "I''ve learned several shouts at this point, and going from one or two words to three didn''t seem that significant." It would be a lie to say the difficulty didn''t noticeably increase, but not to the point where it seemed impossible.


    "Unt wah Mindok. Try to understand." The Dragon told me. "Pick a shout, I will have you add a word."


    "Unrelenting force?" I offered.


    "That will do." The Dragon nodded. "Repeat." He stated, lifting his head up to the sky. "Fus Ro Dah Vaaz."


    The shout was familiar, but with an added word that changed the entire effect. It didn''t release an invisible force to merely m into something, I could feel the air being torn apart upwards.


    Uh, he didn''t look like he was strained.


    I nced at Meridia who was silently watching us. She showed no difort, so I looked up towards the aurora in the ''sky''.


    "Fus Ro Dah Vaaz!" I shouted. I expect a simr effect, or maybe something like what happened when I was first learning the Thu''um in general, but instead, the shout seemed to implode upon release.


    The invisible force that should haveshed out, instead turned inward. The rippling effect collided with the tearing and an eruption happened at the focal point, causing me to get knocked back.


    I was unharmed, merely brushing myself off as I stood back up.


    "I see what you mean." I scratched my head.


    Before, it was just understanding and bing coherent with all three words. Now....it was like the effects actively fought against one another.


    "The Thu''um, as the mortals say, it speak not from the mouth, but from the soul." The Dragon exined. "You are neither Dovah nor Dovahkiin, yet you show surprising mastery of the Thu''um, this speaks well of the strength of your soul."


    "And I''m guessing that it isn''t merely the strength that matters when you try and push the shout further?"


    "Correct." The Dragon seemed pleased with my guess.


    Hmm, it''s basically a different version of Divine Words, I can see that they weren''t so simple.


    "I believe I may know a solution." The dragon stated.


    "A solution?"


    "You have said that a Dovah lives in your soul, thus two are one. Can two not work together?"


    I blinked at that.


    ''Ddraig?''


    [I''m listening, brat. I don''t see a reason why we couldn''t...]


    "Well.....that is an interesting train of thought. Let me tell you what I''m working with so far."


    I didn''t have to exin too many details, but this was way too good an opportunity to pass up.


    ***


    "Take care of yourself." I kissed Meridia lightly on the lips.


    "Should I not be the one saying that?" She rolled her eyes.


    "Don''t get into fights."


    "....."


    "Make sure you ¨C"


    "Are you going to just tell me everything I should be saying to you?" She pressed a finger to my lips.


    "Maybe." I grinned.


    She huffed, lightly tugging on my cheek. "Behave yourself."


    "I always behave myself!"


    "Lies are unbing of you."


    "Name one ¨C"


    She crossed her arms, giving me a look.


    "Five ¨C"


    She raised an eyebrow.


    "Name a hundred times." I said smugly.


    Her expression copsed rather quickly as she now held a small smile. "You are ridiculous." She leaned in, giving me a quick kiss as well. She let out a sigh, setting her head against my chest again. "Before you leave, can you say it again?"


    "I''ll say it however many times you want, whenever you want." I ran my hand through her hair. "I love you, Meridia."


    "I love you too, Wilhelm." She replied.


    They were foreign words for both of us, yet they felt inexplicably warm.


    "I''lle back soon, okay?"


    "Yes. You are forever weed here." She took a deep breath, taking a step back.


    I quickly made a Portal, because I knew if I lingered for too long, I would never want to leave. I gave her onest look, a smile that she returned as I entered the portal, back to Kyoto.


    [***]


    "Wilhelm!?" Yasaka blurted out upon my arrival in the middle of her office.


    She looked anxious and like she was in the middle of something.


    "Is something wrong?"


    "You have the most amazing timing! I was just about to call you, there''s been an attack, Nurarihyon has called for aid. I was preparing to leave myself along with my men."


    It only took me a second to process what she said. Nurarihyon''s people were attacked? I doubt it''s as simple as that terrorist attack they also suffered. No, Yasaka looked way too anxious about this.


    I was a member of the Hyakki Yak¨­, even if only honorarily, I wouldn''t let whoever it was so brazenly attack people I was connected with.


    It''s always something, isn''t it?


    "Let''s go." I said without a second thought.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone. Also got a new chapter of the Hogwarts Side story up.

 Chapter 298 - 276

    <h4>Chapter 298: Chapter 276</h4>


    "The Teleportation Circle we have connected to Kanto isn''t responding." Yasaka informed me as her Guards were filing into the room. "We tried others one that were set up ¨C the more public ones that our citizens use to move between the East and West, but they''re all much the same."


    "Enemy action." I breathed out, looking at the retinue that she had gathered.


    "Without a doubt. After the first message, I haven''t heard from the Old Man, which makes me think they''re sealing bothmunications and any means of movement."


    "Probably some sort of spatial scrambling." I clicked my tongue. "The go to method for such things. What of Sc¨¢thach and Raikou?"


    "Sc¨¢thach had left for a mission the other day after you all went to Skyrim. Raikou is watching Kunou right now." Yasaka replied, a clear sense of unease in her voice.


    [Raikou.] I sent my message through our connection. [Is Kunou okay?]


    [Yes, Master.] Raikou replied. [I have heard from Yasaka, Kunou will not be harmed while I am around.]


    I let out a breath, feeling confident on that front. "Chances it''s a trap?"


    "No idea." Yasaka shook her head. "But I''m making preparations in case it''s meant to lure us away. And I doubt they can ount for your unique abilities." She finally formed a small smile.


    By preparations, she probably put everyone on high alert and was only bringing a small amount of elites. ".....If you want to say.."


    "No." Yasaka denied me immediately. "Even if I wanted to stay, I couldn''t. I have to personally answer this call for aid from Nurarihyon." She exined. "Besides...." A tail wrapped around my waist. "I''m strong, Wilhelm. Worry not for me but for those who anger me."


    Yeah, I guessed I might be getting worried over nothing on that front. She''s strong, and even stronger now that she had unlocked her Aura.


    "It seems we''re ready." Yasaka turned around to see her people lined up, weapons ready, spells cast, Touki enveloped.


    I thought for a moment before withdrawing my Staff of Magnus. Yasaka eyed me curiously as I held it up. "Let me give everyone a little boost ¨C Ebony Flesh." I pumped Magical Energy into the spell, chaining the casting over every single one of her Guards that were present, the Staff helping in facilitating the chains to each individual. "A standard strengthening spell, but it operates outside the person it''s on. It also absorbs a certain amount of damage before breaking, don''t rely on it, but it can save your ass in a pinch." I said loud enough for everyone to hear, though with the silence present, that wasn''t too difficult.


    "Good." Yasaka rxed ever so slightly, taking a deep breath as she addressed the crowd. "I won''t say much, you all are aware of what''s happening. The East is under attack ¨C we don''t know from what, only that Nurarihyon has called for help. And you all are aware of his attitude, if he didn''t sorely need it, he wouldn''t be asking."


    She paused letting that sink in. "We''re going in with the assumption that we''re going to be fighting right out the gate. The good news is that they won''t be expecting us since they cut off allmunications, the bad news is that we''re alsopletely blind. I trust your judgement, if you see enemies, there will be no mercy. If the entire town is under siege, prioritize the civilians and saving lives."


    This lot weren''t the strongest, but Sc¨¢thach did give them training for quite some time. From what I''ve remembered, she made sure they were adept at teamwork.


    A good team can hit above its weight ss.


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka turned back around. "Do it."


    I nodded to her, taking out Mirage and nted it into the ground. I waved my hands, essing the Kaleidoscope. "I was right, there are spatial fluctuations that made the coordinatespletely chaotic."


    "Is there an issue?"


    "None whatsoever." Atleast for this level of interference.


    It was the standard procedure for stopping tricks like Teleportation or things under that umbre of magic. However, my method of ''Teleportation'', if you call it that,pletely bypassed this form of repulsion. It doesn''t take into ount stepping out of the World-line then reentering at the desired point. It''s like blocking off all the roads into a city, but I''m taking a helicopter.


    I swiped my hand to the side, creating a Portal that connected where we wanted to go, and immediately hot air sshed across my face.


    Fires entered our vision, chaos just from the first nce, but we had no time to dwell on it.


    "Lets go!" Yasaka bellowed out as she went through first, with me right behind her.


    [***]


    There was another wave of heat as I walked through, nearly hitting me right in the face if not for my Aura.


    Buildings were set aze, and an intense fire was tearing through the city. Smoke rose to the sky from every direction.


    The Screams hit my ears immediately as well.


    My eyes widened in horror as I saw people being impaled and decapitated by calvary. Individuals wreathed in bones and armor that sat atop ming horses dragged people away. Others galloping down the road, throwings or hooking others.


    "GO!" Yasaka shouted upon seeing the scene, and her people moved with a fury.


    The majority of the forces she gathered with her today were Tengu, and they were quick.


    The intruders, these invaders, were immediately set upon them. It took a moment for the invaders to realize we were there, but it was already toote for the first lot. Spears and Swords bursting through their chests, the Youkai''s eyes filled with rage at seeing their kin being treated in such a way.


    I knew who these invaders were.


    "The Wild Hunt." I uttered the name with absolute disgust.


    There were many ¨C many legends and myths regarding them, but none of them were good.


    I saw Yasaka clench her fists as she snarled in rage. "I''m going to find Nurarihyon!" She spoke before shooting off.


    With Mirage in my hand, I didn''t sit still either. I found the closest enemy and I shot forward. I didn''t know what type of Fae it was, but it spoke something that not even my Devil Heritage could trante as I sliced through its neck.


    Without thinking, I began casting Healing Spells with my Staff on every one of Yasaka''s people or any other Youkai I found. I didn''t even give them a second nce, if I passed them, they got healing.


    With an extra wave of my staff, I cast Runic Circles above my head. My Lightning Circles. While their damage weren''t significant, they were versatile in usage and I continued to use them. I also thought they were the most apt magic to use right at this moment, because there were way too many enemies.


    On the ground and in the sky.


    I didn''t notice it at first, but above us, there was a sort of distortion in the world, a connection of space to somewhere else.


    I would have to investigate to know more, but a quick guess was probably all I really needed due to therge number of enemies surrounding it.


    Hundreds upon hundreds of simr horses and riders wearing simr amor and covered in bone-like decorations.


    I focused on the ones in my immediate vicinity first. The ones who were apparently looting and piging as they caused wanton destruction.


    With a growl, I summoned my other Swords around me. I caught the attention of a group as they shouted something unknowable and charged at me. Their phantasmal steeds alighted with a baleful aura as each step seemed to stain the very ground.


    My Swords shot off with a volley of lightning bolts behind them. A good half the group were downed by the first blow, but the others, the others summoned up their own magics, and deflected my some of Swords.


    Fae Magics, something I had little to no knowledge about.


    And they were apparently able to stave off my Lightning even when intertwined with Divinity.


    With a snort, I held my Staff up and cast a real spell. A spell circle forming at the tip as they got closer. "Thunderbolt." I intoned.


    I wanted them to hear me, thest word for them.


    Because the spell actualized, and Divine Lightning erupted from the focal point and tore through the street and everything in its path ¨C especially the Riders that were covered in the blood of innocent people.


    Still, there were way too many to even count running around, not to mention the ones above.


    Should I summon Yggdrasil?


    Most of my spells were very destructive in nature and I couldn''t guarantee no coteral damage if I did so.


    I leapt on top of the nearest building that wasn''t on fire or utterly destroyed.


    "Fucking hell...." I breathed out, looking at the chaos that swept across the city.


    As much as I wanted to just fly up and fight with whatever leader was up there, I couldn''t in good conscious leave these people to their fates.


    The sight of children stabbed to the death.....


    I reinforced my eyes, getting a clearer look as I began drawing Runes in the air. Spells actualized and fired off at every one of these Riders I could see. If a Youkai was harmed or in danger, I did my best to cast a spell to help them, be it healing or destruction.


    The Staff of Magnus was helping with so many delicate calctions, but it was still mentally draining to do this all on the fly.


    Whisper soared around me, part of my attention focused on it to elerate my castings.


    My interference didn''t go without new attention.


    "ROOOOOAAAR!" I snapped my head to the side to see a massive creature barreling towards me. I wondered how I hadn''t noticed it until now. Large and lumbering ¨C greenish pale skin, and an unintelligent look on its face.


    Was it a Troll?


    It had chains connected to metal hooks in its body, clear scars every which way.


    There were more of these Fae leading it towards me.


    It lunged through a three story building like it was made of cardboard and came upon me, swinging a club that could be mistaken for a tree.


    Different than the Trolls of Skyrim, but I think their regeneration was just as ridiculous.


    Regardless.


    I sent my Sword of Destruction forward, engulfed in my own Power of Destruction as it collided with the Troll''s head and devoured it.


    The Troll slumped to the ground without any fanfare, and the ones who had beenmanding the creature seemed extremely surprised to the point where they stood there staring for a moment.


    I took that opportunity to fly towards them. I grabbed one by the throat while the others were mmed into the nearby walls, my Swords holding them tight.


    "Speak, I know you can understand me." I chose this one specifically because he had an adornment on his ''armor'' that the others didn''t have.


    "Shan lor taal¡ª" I didn''t understand him, so I squeezed. "S-stop..." He managed to squeak out.


    "Why is the Wild Hunt here?" I hissed in anger.


    "Princess w-was c-captured." It managed to eek out between my fingers.


    Princess was captured. The hell did that mean?


    While I was giving that thought, I saw his eyes go up towards the sky and I followed.


    I saw Nurarihyon, nked by Yasaka and the Hyakki Yak¨­ ascended the sky towards therge group above. However, they were heavily outnumbered.


    The ¨C what appeared to number in the thousands ¨C horsemen all moved forward, anticipating the attack. And it wasn''t just them, there were a wide variety of creatures, a good chunk of which were theserge hound-like creatures of pale skin and glowing red eyes.


    There was one at the front, who even form here, I could tell was strong and the crown on his head spoke of many things. He was the first to lead the charge of his own men, and he was the one who met Nurarihyon. Arge broadsword was drawn from his back as he shed down at Nurarihyon who also wielded a sword in hand.


    Yasaka began tearing into the enemies, wreathed In her own Touki and Aura, she wed and decimated dozens all around her.


    Even still, they were outnumber a hundred to one it looked like.


    I couldn''t sit idle.


    I was a member as well, and I would be damned if I allowed my woman to fight alone.


    Well, this guy was useless. I squeezed my hand, crushing his neck and my other Swords stabbed through his friend''s heads.


    I held my Staff of Magnus into the Air, drawing the required Runes. The smoke clouds above shimmered and disperse as a light began to peek through, grabbing the attention of many of those in the sky.


    My Large Runic Circle came into focus.


    "Light of Alfheim." I called down the lesser form of one of my Nine Realms spells. It was a wide area attack, but it only focused on those I counted as enemies. It wasn''t invible, nor omnipotent, but it was good in this situation.


    However, I was surprised at the actions of the one fighting Nurarihyon.


    The one with the crown on his head erupted in a green hue as he shed towards the sky. His energy cut through my spell and destroyed the spell circle, dissipating the remainder of the Magical Energy that was gathered and dispersed it.


    If I didn''t despise these people, I would be impressed.


    His head jerked towards me, and the slits of his helmet seemed to be focused right on my person. He waived his right hand at me as well. I think he might have said something because a chunk of his people broke off and starteding down right at me.


    [Brat.] Ddraig spoke up from within. [I don''t like these guys. I won''t say I haven''t caused my own share of destruction in my wake, but not like this. I''ve never taken pleasure in killing random people like this.]


    I put away the Staff of Magnus and my Swords.


    I made a mental note to expand my repertoire with less spells that would be harmful to nearby allies or the surroundings.


    "There''s a lot of them, lets even the ying field, yeah?" I took out an entirely different staff.


    A shaft of Orichalcum and Ebony, with veins of Moonstone just like my Mirage. At the tip were Dragon Bones, Runes covered over nearly every inch of surface. They curved and intertwined around a singr jewel, abination of Dust so condensed and reformed into a solid orb. The Foci that had a singr name carved into it ¨C the name of the spell that was also the name of the staff.


    This Staff was only for casting a single spell.


    I summoned the Boosted Gear to my hand as I ced it over the top of the staff.


    "Ready Ddraig?"


    [I''ve been ready for a long time.]


    All of this together still wasn''t enough. If it weren''t for Durnehviir, I wouldn''t have been confident casting this sessfully.


    I picked up the Staff again, and lifted it towards the oing mass.


    I began casting the spell.


    Arge Runic Circle emerged infront of me.


    "Ddraig, together." I took a deep breath.


    [Together.]


    Dragon Words had so much meaning in a single word, it was difficult to put them into a ''mortal'' understanding. With Durnehviir''s help, we were able to figure out Five ''Words'' which would serve our purpose.


    Open. Spirit. Legend. Temporary. Deceive.


    Forcing the Boosted Gear ¨C the Prison ¨C Open for even a moment.


    Pulling out the Spirit of Ddraig.


    Recreating the Legend of N¨ªeh?ggr.


    A Temporary attunement to the state of being.


    Deceiving the world.


    Each word reinforced every aspect of the spell that was already put together through the staff.


    As if in anticipation, a deathly silence fell down upon the city. The mes of war that were raging, seemed to dim in acknowledgement. The sh of steel faded to the background as it became a secondary concern.


    Words that bent the very fabric of reality.


    "BEX ZII ZOOR FRUL LO." Ddraig and I shouted as one.


    The world shuddered.


    An invisible ripple of power cascaded out in all directions.


    Words of power that caused the fight above toe to a stand still.


    There was a weightless feeling that shook my body. A sudden lightheadedness overcame me for a brief moment that had me stumble before I reorientated myself.


    I could feel it, Ddraig left my soul, The Boosted Gear was empty.


    His spirit flew into the Runic Circle, the magics entangled as they swirled around him.


    There was but one more step, to actualize everything together.


    The name of the Staff and the name of the spell.


    It was Lucretia who named it, and upon a silent world was it dered.


    "Disgyniad yr Ymerawdwr!"


    Names had power, but so did meanings attached to names.


    A Welsh name that connected to Ddraig without outright stating his name.


    Descent of the Emperor.


    Massive ws tore through the Runic Circle. They pulled the remainder of its body through. ck scales that seemed to absorb all light, a poisonous miasma that seeped out with each breath it took. Fangs and ws that would rend the toughest of steel. Two sets of dreadful wings that arched up across its back, kicking up cyclones with each p.


    It was with his permission that sound returned.


    A Dragon roared to life.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 299 - 277

    <h4>Chapter 299: Chapter 277</h4>


    Ddraig POV


    I remembered when I first woke up, strapped to that brats soul. The information that flooded me were different. the memories of my wielders were something I could always see; Yet the fact that I had some manner of whish,something I had never been experienced before, was....interesting.


    I never told the brat , but I almost drowned in the amount of memories that hit me. I don''t think even he realizes how much he doesn''t remember, but I still got metaphysically pped in the face with all of his memories and was able to see the holes much clearly. It took awhile to sort everything out and realize the position I was in.


    The way he took me out of Issei, it....didn''t quite damage the Boosted Gear, but it wiggled some things that shouldn''t have been. I was a little more ''free'' in my actions than before. I could force the Boosted Gear to not allow it to grab hold of my power for Bnce Breaker if I didn''t want it to. I could temporarily stop the fa?ade that was the ''Twice Critical'' from bing the True Gauntlet. The brat didn''t know that he would have eventually ovee my meddling on that part either.


    Though the Bnce Breaker would have forever been out of reach if I didn''tmit on my end.


    I didn''t know how to feel initially, when I realized I was stolen. It had never happened before, and I will admit my pride had taken a small hit. Even after seeing what could have been with Issei, I didn''t feel particrly attached to Issei. It was like watching a movie, the emotional investment wasn''t the same as if I went through everything with the little idiot.


    So I watched him while I tried to understand everything that was bouncing around in his head. All those memories that didn''t make sense until I realized he wasn''t from my world. Reincarnation wasn''t something new to me, I''d seen many powerful soulse up over the years. Not quite in the same way as the brat, but the general idea was the same.


    It was the first time my new ''user'' would be a reincarnation, an interesting deviation. Then I fully began to understand the ridiculousness that followed his previous life.


    Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.


    I usually didn''t care much about humans, not many burned themselves into my memory. But that man, that man had a name I would always remember.


    Eventually, I decided to extend my hand, ept the Brat as my true wielder. He was.....not really in a good ce when he first got me, but he slowly got better. And I admit that I slowly began to like him too.


    Looking back, I have no regrets with how things turned out.


    He was different from my other wielders, besides the obvious reasons. My previous wielders I often had to coach, give advice, or otherwise guide through their time as the Red Dragon Emperor. With the brat, though, I''d remained mostly quiet over the time that he''s wielded me, silently watching. There was a point in his early days where he needed help, someone to talk to, or just to keep his mind upied. But he''se a long ways, he hasn''t really needed me to be a voice on his shouldertely.


    Imagine my surprise, when he said he was going to free me.


    I wanted tough, but for some reason, I believed him.


    None of my other users ever made that deration. They relied too heavily upon my power, to free me would be to make themselves weak.


    I took it as nonsense and didn''t bring it up again. But he didn''t relent on that front, and here I was now.


    Was I free? No.


    But he was making good on his promise.


    It was closer than I have been in millennia.


    The feeling of air hitting my face.


    I could taste the fire and smoke that filled the city.


    Warm.


    Even with a body that wasn''t mine, I could feel again.


    I was alive.


    The Brat did it.


    I wanted to shout, to dere my return.....however, I wasn''t myself currently.


    No, I wasn''t the Red Dragon Emperor in this moment, as much as it pained me to admit. I was weaker, much weaker than when I was ''alive'' originally. I should barely be on the level of a Dragon King right now. Still...that was an achievement in of itself. And I''m sure the Brat can tweak the spell to better cast it in the future.


    I wasn''t even sure it would work without more testing myself.


    This fake body of mine, it was strange to feel when I still had the phantom sensations of my true body. It was longer than I was used to, not quite as long as those Eastern Dragons, but still odd. I also had two sets of wings on my back that felt awkward the first couple times I pped them.


    It only took a moment for me to orientate myself as I looked up at the invaders that wereing towards me.


    They looked surprised, fearful at my sudden appearance. Their charge turned into a hasty attempt at a retreat upon my appearance.


    I have the appearance of an ''Evil Dragon'' ¨C N¨ªeh?ggr.


    I''d met the Dragon before, as I have with most of the notable Dragons in the world. I knew its personality, it was as poisonous as its breath. I could feel the same venom that now dripped from my new mouth, and I felt an odd feeling of excitement flow through me.


    The Brat''s good at acting, I guess I can y a role too.


    I opened my jaw, my jagged teeth baring to the world, and I truly roared for the first time in many ¨C many years.


    And It felt good.


    Fear struck in their eyes, their mounts recoiled with terror. Even those dog-monster things they had running by their sides whimpered.


    Oh yes, I missed this.


    But what I missed more than anything as my wings stretched out fully and sliced through the air, and my body was lifted off the ground.


    I missed flying.


    How cute, they were trying to run away.


    Once I remembered how to do it, I pped my wings with the strongest force I could muster, and my body shot towards the sky. I think Wilhelm said something when he was younger ¨C I have wings, therefore I can fly.


    Dragons weren''t much different in that regard.


    I let out another roar as I ascended to the sky. I wanted them to know that I wasing even when half of them had their backs turned to me.


    The first were the unlucky ones that were pushed out of the way. My ws tore into their body, their armor did nothing to stop me.


    Some tried, their des shed against my scales when I dove into their group. My defense wasn''t as strong as before, but even still, they failed to draw any blood.


    "MY TEETH ARE SPEARS" I let out another roar as I mped down on a handful of these Fae, my elongated body swiping away another dozen. "MY CLAWS ARE SWORDS!" I crunched down on a horse and its rider, who let out a blood curdling wail. It had different things on its armor, so I think he was important.


    I was going to have way too much fun with this.


    "I AM N¨ªDH?GGR." I took a deep breath as I felt my breath gather to a precipice and let it loose.


    At this moment, I was not fire, I did not burn away souls. Annoyingly, I was closer to that White bastard.


    My noxious breath burst out, corroding everything in its path, melting and dissolving the unlucky ones to be on the receiving end of my ire.


    All around me, these Fae began to dissolve and melt within my breath. Those on the edges did not escape, rather they copsed clutching at decaying skin and hacked up blood and bits of organs.


    It wasn''t my fire, but it was still very destructive.


    N¨ªeh?ggr had eaten the roots of the world tree, the parts closest to Niflheim. His nature had changed from what he originally was, his breath had turned toxic and poisonous. His scales turned an inky ck and he became deformed with jagged teeth and protruding spikes.


    Though one thing that didn''t change was his vicious nature.


    He was named an Evil Dragon for a reason.


    Something these Fae were about to find out.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    I watched as Ddriag took to the skies, the ones who came for me scrambled to run away at the sudden dragon that popped up.


    They continue for a few moments, probably thinking it was a spell or something. But pack mentality was a hell of a thing. It only took a couple of them to get scared and try to run before their ranks broke and they tried to flee back to theirpanions at the Gate.


    Watching Ddraig tear into their numbers was satisfying.


    And I couldn''t hold back a smile when he decided to quote Tolkien of all things.


    I looked down at the Gauntlet on my arm, and furrowed my brow. It was ck, the color matching Ddraig''s current state.


    An odd urrence, but not something unexinable. Ddraig was still linked to the Boosted Gear, we merely tricked the thing into letting him out for a period. As soon as the spell wore off, he would be pulled back in. Unfortunately, the Boosted Gear was created with several fail safes that stopped Ddraig from simply escaping.


    It still felt weird not having him here with me, but I quickly shook off the feeling. I could guess that I couldn''t call upon the Boosted Gear''s abilities, considering the source of them was currently handing a group of Fae their collective ass.


    Well, I wanted to warp the battlefield away from the ground, and Ddriag was doing a good job of that. Yasaka''s forces were still sweeping the city, doing what they could.


    Looking up, Nurarihyon''s people and Yasaka herself were still embroiled in battle against the main brunt of the Wild Hunt.


    I wasted no time, my wings burst out of my back and Lightning imbued my limbs. With a crackle of thunder, I shot to the sky to assist.


    I didn''t need to keep the Dragon Staff out, so I put it away and retrieved my trusty Mirage, my other des floated around me as mmed into their outer line.


    They turned around with a shout of surprise as I crashed in, grabbing the first by the head, and tossed him forward, knocking a bunch off their horses.


    My Swords began swinging andshing out, though not every attack was met flesh.


    This lot were surprisingly strong.


    My Swords were more than once deflected or parried, not that I dwelt on it. Such simplistic maneuvers on my part were no cause for concern when blocked.


    "TYUF BNAM URUL." I turned to see one shouting, holding his sword up, challenging me.


    I raised an eyebrow as it looked like he was challenging me to a duel and the others around me backed away.


    I held Mirage up, beckoning him.


    He rode fast, his steed leaving ming steps in the air as he charged, hisrge sword held up as he went to sh at me.


    Spell Circles swirled around my sword, the Kaleidoscope surged around me, the colors exploding out. "ETHER CANNON!" I swung forward.


    One of my strongest spells erupted at the focal point, eviscerating the supposed ''challenger'' and cleaved through the group until a wide path had been made in the sea of Horses and Fae.


    Unsurprisingly, this didn''t deter the remainder in the slightest.


    "Fus!" I bellowed out, blowing away a few dozen while more surrounded me. Their numbers were annoying even if they were individually not my match.


    Mirage pierced through the shoulder of one, only for him to grab hold of the de as others attempted to run me through.


    I snapped my fingers, summoning forth my lightning. "Lightning Arrows." I actualized the spell as they closed in and the spell crackled and shot off, exploding right in their faces.


    They cast their own strange magics as I ripped my de free and moved to the side. It felt sort of like curses, but more...natural? I don''t know if that was the proper word. My Aura was sturdy enough that most effects of this level wouldn''t take hold, but it was certainly something to look into at ater date.


    "Strun Ba Qo!" I shouted again, forcing the Clouds in the sky to bend to my will. A thunderp shook the area as Lightning began to dance amongst the heavens.


    I held my hand out, forcing the Lightning to further answer my call as it shot downwards around me, clearing the annoying flies.


    I grabbed hold of the bolt of lightning, shaping it and molding it to my desire. Reeling my hand back, I managed to get it how I wanted. "Lightning Spear." I threw it forward.


    Another line was cleared out as the spell crackled, lighting whipping out at every angle, the spear made of my lightning turned everything it touched to ashes.


    Breathing out, I stopped the lightning from continuing to fall. We were above the city, it wouldn''t do good to let it fall indiscriminately, not to mention I had allies adrift in this ocean of foes.


    Instead, I clenched my fist, and rain began to pour from the sky.


    "Will!" I turned to see Yasakand on a horse rider right near me, sending him hurtling to the ground. I didn''t know what method she was using to stay air born, but it was pretty good.


    "You okay?" I asked between swings of my Sword, decapitating another arrogant fe who thought to charge me alone.


    "Define ¨C" Yasaka growled, punching forward as her Touki molded itself following her movement and erupted outwards, causing a couple Fae to buckle and deform under the pressure, basically reduced to paste. "¡ªOkay." She finished with a grunt.


    "These guys are fucking relentless." My Swords returned to my side after I swung them out again.


    "The Old man is fighting their leader, apparently. I let him have it by himself." Yasaka raised her hand up, and swiped her w downwards, a massive phantasmal visage followed suit, clearing a good chunk of space infront of us.


    "Yqul Frout Vol terol!" A Rider came zing forward towards Yasaka. "I will mount your tails on my wall!" He shouted again in anguage we could understand.


    Though, all it served was to anger me. The Lightning beneath my feet crackled and I disappeared from my spot, turning into not but a streak of light as Inded on the back of his horse, Mirage moving towards his neck.


    Surprisingly, he jerked around and deflected the blow, jumping off his horse as the animal fell over itself, losing its ''flying'' momentum and fell to the ground.


    I flicked my wrist, producing a couple Talismans, and threw them at the Rider. They turned into shooting stars, elerating towards him with blinding speed.


    His de glowed green as he brought it up to block, my Talismans colliding and caused a cascade of energy.


    I slid behind him as his de tore through the paper spells, this time he couldn''t react as my de cleaved through his midsection, his body losing altitude immediately as he fell to the ground as well.


    Yasaka dragged another towards me, kicking and wailing with her hand gripped tight around its neck. I heard a ''crunch'' as the person stopped struggling and went limp.


    "How exactly are you walking on air?" I ignored the falling body again.


    "The Old Man''s doing." She flicked her hand, blood flying off. "The mist around us isn''t just for show." She exined.


    And yeah, I could see a smallyer of fog or mist that was beneath her feet and that of any other allies I saw in the area.


    Interesting.


    She got up next to me, as there were still plenty of enemies around us.


    "Are you going to transform?" I asked.


    She pursed her lips, staring at the ones immediately infront of us. "No." She finally said. "If you didn''t summon a Dragon, maybe I would have. But he''s serving the same purpose I would be doing if I transformed."


    Yeah, Ddraig was causing quite a bit of chaos as he rampaged through their formations. I guess it was better for Yasaka not to be a bigger target when there were plenty of enemies that could take a hit or two of mine without immediately crumbling.


    "Regroup with the others?" I offered after losing sight of anyone else but Yasaka.


    "Yes....." She let out a long breath, looking a little tired. "I don''t want to get too separated, we''re already heavily outnumbered and I worry for the others."


    ***


    Carrying Yasaka in my arms, Inded next to a familiar face, setting her down.


    "Brother!" Aotab¨­ shouted upon seeing us. He was wreathed in his own cursed mes, punching a Fae rider through the chest as the curses set upon it.


    The Fae screamed in agony as it was consumed.


    I looked around as Yasaka joined the fray again. I wouldn''t need to overly worry about her, she could certainly take care of herself.


    I blinked in confusion as I watched the Pig Youkai from before. The one who... well, he wielded arge ive in a single hand and a massive tower shield in the other as he charged forward, swiping and bashing his way into the enemy groups.


    Followed by an obscene amount of ''oinking'' with each heavy movement.


    Everything wasn''t as good as it seemed though. Not every member were as strong as these ones up front. I could see quite a few who were sporting wounds and a few that didn''t look to be breathing anymore.


    I took the Staff of Magnus out again and held it to the sky, the Runes simmering around me. "The Breath of Magic ¨C Vanaheim." I called out, creating the specialized Magic Circle that operated simrly to my Five Elements Mutal Generation. Though there was one distinction, it was meant to reshape and change spells that came across it as well. However, it was still a work in progress, but it would be enough for this.


    I cast the strongest Healing Spell I knew ¨C "Greater Healing."


    The Golden Light connected with my Vanaheim spell. The single target spell morphed and designated all my allies as its target. The familiar healing rain that was used back at the Pendragon Castle came down once more.


    Even if my widespread destructive magics would have been hampered by allies within the fold, it didn''t mean I was without means.


    There was a noticeable shift on the battlefield.


    Funnily enough, it was Zhu Bajie who started it. "RAAAAAAH!" He let out a battle cry as he mmed his shield at the nearest Fae and held his ive up. "VENGEANCE!"


    "VENGEANCE!"


    "VENGEANCE!"


    "VENGEANCE!"


    A renewed vigor surrounded them as they began pushing back with my healing enveloping them. They were already fighting with a viciousness that could onlye from fury. Their home was burning and the ones responsible were right infront of their eyes.


    There was an almost maddened look in their eyes as they charged forward.


    "These guys..." I shook my head at their recklessness. May as well keep going. "Ebony Flesh!" I cast once more, covering everyone here in the familiar Ebony-like ethereal armor.


    I joined in, making sure to keep everyone around me alive. If an ally looked like he was about to get hit, I would fire off a spell, or cast a healing spell. It got to the point where the Wild Hunt noticed me and started trying to avoid everyone else to take me out.


    Well, it made sense, target the healers first.


    I was about to show them why that was a poor decision when something came barreling down from further above us, crashing into a few of the Fae riders.


    "Honorless cur." A rough, yet melodious, voice range out from the source of the sudden intrusion. It was the leader of the Wild hunt, he pushed away hispanions as he got to his feet, basically dusting himself off.


    "You want to talk about honor?!" Nurarihyon appeared above us, a look of rage on his face apanying the slowly healing wounds and blood on his body. The faint shimmer of his own Ebony Armor shed slightly.


    Guess he had been in range of my spells.


    "MY CITY IS ON FIRE!" Nurarihyon bellowed out, disappearing from the spot he was in and appearing infront of the leader, sword already swinging as the Fae brought his own up to block it as best he could. The ringing of steel caught the attention of the battlefield as the leader was sent hurling back once more.


    "MY PEOPLE ARE BEING DRAGGED AWAY AND KILLED LIKE ANIMALS." Nurarihyon''s de tilted sideways as he thrust it forward, slipping through the Wild hunt Leader''s guard, piercing into his lower stomach.


    The Leader reeled for a moment, before bringing his sword overhead and shed down, a burst of greenish energy discharging at the spot, only for Nurarihyon to disappear again.


    I blinked, seeing him not far away from me, taking a few steps over, wiping a little bit of new blood from his shoulder.


    He apparently got nicked.


    "Thanks, kid." He spoke up, ncing at me. "My body is too old for crap like this, but that healing was timely. Let me show you something good that I stole from that monkey." He stretched his back. "Can only do this for a second or two."


    His Touki and his Youjutsu enveloped him until his body waspletely hidden and his presence shifted. Even the Fae leader looked on guard, not even paying attention to the blood seeping from his wound.


    Suddenly, that same sword of his shed outwards, dispersing the energy. Nurarihyon was there, but different. He was taller, his wrinkles were gone, and he had a full head of ck hair.


    He was young.


    "That feels good." Even his voice sounded gentler.


    "This doesn''t ¨C" The Fae Leader spoke up but was abruptly cut of, just as his arm was.


    We all watched in surprise as Nurarihyon''s sword was extended from behind him, a small line of blood flying through the air along with the severed arm.


    "Phew..." Nurarihyon breathed out, again back near us and he was old again, breathing heavily. "That should do it."


    What a scary old man.


    Did he hide himself from Old Age for a moment?


    Nurarihyon was in worse shape than he let on, I could tell that much. It would be bad if he appeared weak in a situation like this, so he stood tall even with blood seeping through his clothes. "Surrender!" He dered, holding his de up towards the Fae Leader.


    The Leader fell to his knees, clutching his missing arm as the blood poured out. He looked around and I followed his gaze.


    He could see the writing on the wall. We were pushing his people back at this point, and I was providing a constant source of support in healing and defensive spells. Not to mention my own destructive spells thatnded when they grouped too much together.


    And Ddraig was apparently having the time of his life on their nk, smashing through their back lines and they were having difficulty holding him off.


    "I Surrend ¨C" The Fae Leader was about to speak until the portal they came from shuddered.


    A deathly chill poured out that even made the hairs on my neck stand on end.


    Something began to emerge, arge hand that cast a shadow over the battlefield.


    A female hand by the looks of it, molded from a chilling frost and weaved out of shadows. The Wild Hunt began to dissipate into a cold air.


    No, that wasn''t right, they were being taken away.


    "My Queen!?" The Fae Leader blurted out as half his body turned to that same frigid air.


    "You think you can just leave?!" I growled out upon realizing what was happening. I didn''t'' know the mechanism which she was using, and I had no time to contemte Fae magic. But I had a method that should stop it regardless.


    With my wings at my back, I flew upwards towards the ''hand'' hovering in the sky. Mirage was gripped tight between my fingers and I pulled on the Kaleidoscope.


    A myriad of possibilities encased my sword.


    Raising it high, I shed through the hand.


    My physical attack did nothing.


    My attack through space did nothing.


    My attack outside the Timeline did nothing.


    I went through dozens of different scenarios until something clicked. Whatever this was, it existed in a simr nature as a Servant when they Astralize. Finally, my sword sliced right through it.


    A shrill voice rang forth, grating on everyone''s ears. Like a thousand razors trying to slice through steel.


    The hand dispersed quickly as the source was cut off, and it seems like the portal was forcibly shut off due to the hand''s actions.


    While a good chunk of the Wild hunt were recalled, there were still several hundred that were left, along with their leader.


    Ddraig chose that perfect moment to m down upon what looked like another higher-up in their hierarchy. He let out a miasmic roar, ring at all others around.


    They began dropping their weapons.


    Nurarihyon looked at me with a thankful expression and I nodded to him as he raised his sword up.


    "VICTORY!" He shouted as his people followed suit.


    ***


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m astoryforone

 Chapter 300: Side Story: An Unfortunate Series of Hogwarts Events -- Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 300: Side Story: An Unfortunate Series of Hogwarts Events -- Part 2</h4>


    Author''s Note:


    I was having trouble writing the chapter tonight, came down with a bad case of writer''s block. So I was just going to take a breather and tackle it tomorrow. So, here''s a Side Story chapter to tie you guys over.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.om / astoryforone


    ****


    After I settled down ¨C somewhat. I started to realize that maybe this whole situation wasn''t that bad. It''s not like Gramps would keep me from seeing my girls for however long I was going to be here. He was an ass sometimes, but never cruel.


    Maybe.


    I take thatst bit back, because he left me with my Storage Ring, But I can''t ess it.


    Very frustrating.


    One might ask, how is that possible, aren''t I an aplished Magus and or Magician with a plethora of knowledge and means at my disposal, well....that''s a long story.


    And by long story, I could summarize it as such ¨C Due to my nature being forcibly shifted to that of my Eleven Year old self, everything else about me was thrown out of whack. Hell, pulling on a sufficient amount of Magical Energy is difficult for me right now.


    It''ll take time for me to work things out properly.


    Very annoying.


    Even more so that by my calctions, I would be back to normal ¨C metaphysically speaking ¨C about the time I would graduate if left well enough alone.


    Of course, I''m never one to not poke at things I only have a vague understanding of. I''m sure I can fix myself way before then....probably.


    Atleast, I couldn''t make it worse.


    But, silver linings, the Magic System here is actually kinda neat, I''ll have fun ying around with it and seeing how to bend it over my knee like Artoria when she gets in a certain mood.


    May as well make the best of the situation.


    "So, Neville, tell me about yourself." I leaned back in my seat, admiring the scenery that passed by.


    A little curious about this ball of anxiety that was sitting across from me. Maybe I could get some information from him too. While I wasn''t actually jumping into his mess blind, the old man didn''t really exin everything all that well before kicking me over here.


    Quite literally in that regard.


    "Oh.....um, I Like.....working in the garden back home...." He stumbled out a response, still seemingly nervous and shy.


    Honestly, it''s kind of cute. I wonder if I had any sons in the future, would they be like this?


    "Garden, huh? Magical nts or mundane ¨C or both?" I questioned.


    His eyes visibly lit up as I took in interest in a hobby he probably had. I wonder if he had many friends to talk about this stuff with.


    "Oh, I like working with everything." A hint of a smile formed on his face. "We have a vegetable garden too, but we also grow a bunch of other stuff!"


    "I love working with nts too." I nodded along. "I actually have a garden as well for both aspects too. Tomatoes is a big one, you can''t beat a freshly grown tomato with anything store bought." Well, that might just be because we cheat in our ''garden'', but still, better than anything you can buy at the market. "But also, it''s amazing the variety and sheer utility that a single nt can provide when using for potions orbining with other substances to bring out a plethora of effects."


    There''s a reason that even Zelretch has his own ''garden'', it''s something I probably inherited that we both enjoy.


    Seeing Neville perk up was nice, breaking the ice and all that.


    "Wanna see a magic trick?" I grinned.


    He blinked. "Uh, sure?" He looked interested at least.


    I took out my wand from my sleeve, which is odd to think about even now. Why the people here all have to use wands to use magic, I still haven''t figured out. It was going to be one of my goals when spending time here.


    The Old man basically tossed me a wand and gave me a very abrupt exnation before disappearing. Granted, this was before he kicked me over so I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it. He also gave me a wand cleaning kit, which again, had no idea how I was supposed to use it.


    And no, it wasn''t as ''obvious'' as you would think a ''wand cleaning kit'' to work.


    Oh, and going to Sc¨¢thach to ask her to ''help me polish my wand'' didn''t end in the way I thought it would.


    In hindsight, it''s a pretty obvious euphemism.


    Granted, she did actually know more about such Mystic Codes and walked me through some things....after the misunderstand was settled.


    Which took a few hours.


    I waived my wand in the air, creating a small illusion in the form of Sir Wiggles as it ran around the cabin.


    Neville''s eyes sparkled happily, a look of giddiness on his face. Before he seemed to blink in realization. "D-did you use chantless magic!? My Gran says that''s really hard and even 7th years have trouble doing it!"


    "Oh, it''s just a simple thing." I smiled evenly, being rather vague about it.


    Was it really that strange?


    Fucking Gramps, didn''t tell me shit and I''m scrambling to figure everything out as I go along.


    "Anyways, wanna see my familiar?"


    "Your familiar?" He tilt his head in confusion.


    Is that not the word they used here? I read the entire rule book for this Hogwarts, and it mentioned a ''Familiar'' specifically in the text.


    So my Ring wasn''t.....working, but Gramps wasn''t cruel. I still had my hat!


    Which, ording to the school rules, was within dress code, neat. He probably questioned why I had it, but I just smiled, reaching my hand inside, to pull out Sir Wiggles.


    "Ta dah!" I dered holding him up. "This is Sir Wiggles. He has a much longer name, but it''ll take forever to say it."


    "A rabbit?" He looked amused. "But I thought you were only allowed a Toad, A cat, or an Owl?"


    "Oh, you mean for the list of things we were supposed to bring? Well, that wasn''t inclusive of familiars." I guess I was over thinking things, he''s still a kid. "A familiar is a specially bonded animal, which Hogwarts gives special exemptions for if they''re not inherently dangerous to the student body."


    Like, you can''t just bring in a Dragon that will randomly munch of any kids that pass by.


    "Oh." He epted my exnation easily. "Well, I got a toad, his name is Trevor..." He started patting around his pockets. "Um....I can''t find him....." That look of sadness in his face.


    "Don''t worry, mate, I got you." I pat his shoulder sitting up. "Must have jumped away somewhere, thankfully, I learned a nifty new spell~" I utched the door to thepartment and held my wand out. Honestly, I would look for any excuse to try out some new magic, and I read this one spell in a book and wanted to y around with it. "io ¨C Trevor the Toad." I intoned, actualizing the spell.


    I felt my magical energy shift as it went off, flying down the train andtching onto my intended target, pulling it back to me.


    I held my hand out as a Toad mmed right into it.


    "Wicked." Neville''s eyes brightened as I handed him his pet.


    "Right!?" I shared his sentiment. If there was every anything to get my overly excited, it was magic and how awesome it can be.


    "What spell was that?"


    "It''s called the summoning charm." I began to exin. And their ssification methods are still strange to me, even after reading through a few books. "Does exactly as it says, summons the target you intend to, usually with a few extra words attached."


    "I won''t ever lose Trevor again if I can learn that." He muttered. "Is.....is it hard?"


    I shrugged. "Who knows, might be easy for me, hard for another person. Regardless, if you want to learn, I would dly help."


    Neville was stuttering less and actually meeting my eyes now, good. "What else can it do?"


    "Hmm, good question." I rubbed my chin. "It basically just summons things, but I wonder if it can be modified. Let''s try something broad." I held my wand up. "io ¨C Tree." I said with no clear intent, but I felt my magic burst out,tching onto a tree we just passed on the side. I looked out the window to see it get pulled out of the ground.


    "Oh shit!" It came hurling at us before I cut the connection and it fell to the ground. "Let''s try something more broad but less...destructive."


    Actually, how would it do more if I sought out a concept? Like If I wished to call to me the most beautiful person on the train, would it pick someone based on my tastes, or was it objective? Would it take into ount distance and choose someone slightly less optimal ording to the parameters if they were closer? Did my magic energy provided determine how ''sentient'' the spell acted in choosing?


    So many question that needed answered!


    Well, lets try one then.


    "io ¨C.....idiot?" I just blurted out the first thing that came to my mind.


    What would the magic consider an idiot? Is it limited to humans? Can Neville''s toad be an ''idiot'' in this scenario!?


    My question was answered very quickly


    "OWWW!?" A surprised noise resounded within the train as many heads poked out of theirpartments to see a Red-headed kid being pulled through the air as he desperately grabbed onto the door of hispartment.


    "Uh....did you do that...?" Neville hesitantly asked, peeking out alongside me.


    ".....there is a slight possibility." Eventually, the red headed kid fell to the ground as the spell ran out of juice.


    A couple of people came out of hispartment and helped him off the ground as everyone continued look at him in confusion with some hushed whispers.


    ".....io." I cast the spell again with the same parameters.


    "WHAT!?" The same red headed kid squeaked out as he suddenly jolted. His friends grabbed onto him and tried to pull him back as the spell took hold.


    "HELP ME, I DON''T KNOW WHAT''S HAPPENING!" He screamed out.


    "Ron, hang one!" a ck haired kid shout with a flustered look as he desperately held onto his friend.


    "S-should you stop the spell...?" Neville whispered.


    "...This is important....for science."


    "....what''s science?"


    I opened my mouth and closed it again,pletely dumbfounded. "This is science ¨C io."


    "Waaaah!"


    "Using spells on people?" Neville sounded confused.


    "Sure, let''s go with that." I cut the spell off and went back into the cabin and sat down. "Neville, it seems like I''m going to have a lot to teach you."


    "Oh...okay."


    "Don''t worry, Neville, by the time we''re done at school, I''ll make sure you''re up to standard." I nodded sagely to myself as themotion died down outside.


    There was a knock on the door as it slid open again. "Anything from the trolley, dearies?" A woman appeared, a cart full of all manner of snacks.


    "Hmm, what''s good, Neville?"


    "Oh, well....I like the chocte frogs...."


    "Chocte frogs?" I repeated. "That sounds fun, lets get 10." I reached into my hat, pulling out the form of currency here. Some manner of copper, silver, and gold coins which I forget the name for. I handed her a few of the golden ones and she gave me change, so I didn''t question it. She handed back these strange little containers which I assume are the supposed frogs.


    "So, how do you use these?" I asked as she left


    "You''ve never had a chocte frog before?" Neville blinked.


    "Nope."


    "Oh, well, like this." He began opening it and a literal frog made of chocte jumped out. "Wait, quick, catch it!" He fumbled around before grabbing it with both hands. "That was close, I''ve lost a lot this way and Gran always gets after me when she finds them around the house." He smiled, popping it in his mouth without a second thought.


    ....I didn''t know how to feel about this. But I usually try anything atleast once. I cracked one open and held it tight.


    Huh.....it''s magically animated, butpletely chocte.


    Less gross.


    With a shrug, I bit into it and felt it wiggle in my mouth.


    .....eww.


    But still tasty.


    "Hey, what happens if you make it bigger?" I questioned.


    "Oh, you''re not supposed to ¨C"


    "Engorgio" The Erging charm, one of a few I''ve picked up already. I tapped my wand against a chocte frog that quickly tore out of it''s container.


    It tripled in size, falling to the ground. It croaked once, before bolting towards the exit to thepartment.


    Again, Neville and I peaked out ourpartment as the Chocte Frog started hopping down the aisle of the train.


    "Should we do something?" Neville asked.


    I held my wand out. "Engorgio."


    It tripled in size again.


    Now each leap made arge ''thumping'' sound.


    Funnily enough, that Red Haired Kid stuck his head out of hispartment right as the Chocte Frog was jumping by and smacked right into him, knocking him over. It seemed to bounce right into theirpartment as they began shouting.


    "Neat." I smiled happily, waiving my wand and closing theirpartment door. I would let them have fun with that one, my treat. "You were right, Neville. Chocte frogs are good." I went to sit back down again.


    "Was that the science thing you said before?"


    I couldn''t help but smile as I put a hand on his shoulder. "Now you''re getting it!" I happily pat him.


    Hmm, so many things to experiment with. My academic mind is reeling at all the possibilities. Though a random thought popped into my head. Could I fold thest spell spell into itself so it targeted my wand. And if so, what would happen to my wand!?


    "...Engorgio."


    My Wand began expanding at a fast rate. Two times, three times, four times its normal size until I realized what was happening. The Spell was synchronizing with the Wand, the Magical Energy Flow was causing a feedback loop and the spell was going continuously.


    The Wand continued to erge until I wrapped my arms around it and forcibly shut the spell of.


    "Whew, that could have been bad."


    "Y-your w-wand." Neville pointed at it with a stutter.


    "What about it?" I hefted it up with both arms. It was more like a cannon now.


    ....I don''t think there are any rules against it?


    "You''re going to get in trouble."


    "Nonsense." I grunted, setting it against the floor. "It''s perfect just the way it is."


    ***


    "First years, follow me this way!" A ratherrge man, or maybe even a Giant shouted for all of us to hear. I didn''t even notice the older kids walking in a different direction as we got off our train.


    "What''s that over your shoulder!" A brte with fuzzy hair eximed.


    All attention that wasn''t already directed at me turn my way.


    "You never see a wand before?"


    "B-but that''s not a wand!"


    "Pretty sure it is."


    "But it''s bigger than you are!"


    "Yup, I''m just built differently."


    "T-that makes no sense!"


    "So it''s true, Harry Potter hase to Hogwarts." A kid started parting the crowd, redistributing the apparent attention I had. He narrowed in on a familiar ck haired kid with sses who looked like he had some chocte patches here or there.


    And a familiar Red headed kid at his side.


    I guess the novelty of my Wand wore off for them, whatever.


    I looked at the little brat who was prancing around like a peacock. Slicked back blonde hair, two chubby kids at his sides looking like body guards.


    But, everyone seemed to gasp when this ''Harry Potter'' was mentioned.


    Me thinks I''m out of the loops.


    "Hey, Neville." I whispered at the boy who had been at my side. "Who''s Harry Potter?"


    "You don''t know who Harry Potter is!?" Neville blurted out, rather loudly at that and once again everyone turned to look at us.


    "....no."


    "H-he defeated You-know-who." Neville whispered.


    "Who?"


    "You-Know-who." Neville said again.


    "I don''t know who."


    "You-know-who." Neville tried once more.


    "I have no idea who you''re talking about.


    "For Merlin''s sake, he means the Dark Lord!" The blonde peacock finally shouted, seemingly staring at us.


    "Oh." I nodded. "Who?"


    "Are you an idiot?"


    "Should I pull a random name out of my ass and ask you to recognize it and call you an idiot when you don''t?" I rolled my eyes. "I''m obviously not from around here, you muppet."


    "M-muppet?" The Blonde repeated. "How dare you! Do you have any idea who I am?"


    "Who?" I quirked a smile.


    "I''m Draco Malfoy!" He sneered. "Learn the name of your betters."


    "When my supposed better presents themselves, I will learn their name." I said dryly.


    "Hmph, I''m a purse blood of the Malfoy house." He turned his nose up. "The fact that you don''t know anything, you''re probably a Muggleborn."


    "Muggleborn, what''s that?"


    "Just proves my point." The blonde looked rather proud of himself.


    "It''s a Witch or Wizard with parents who aren''t magical." Neville whispered.


    "Oh." I blinked. "No, only one of my....parents was how you say ¨C magical?"


    "Hmph, a half blood then." The Blonde grunted. "Probably no one important, I doubt I even know your name."


    I just shrugged.


    I felt like it would debase myself to get into an argument with an eleven year old who was strutting around like he was.


    "Come along, first years." The Giant returned, holding antern that illuminated the area. "We''re taking the boats up to the castle."


    He turned around, seemingly for us to follow I guess.


    We came up to the edge of theke, a bunch of boats floating about. "Okay, kids, four to a boat only." He turned around, a rather warming smile on his face as he looked around. Though he jerked his head,nding on me. "Lad, what''s wrong with your wand?"


    "What?" I questioned.


    "It''s not supposed to be that big." He pointed out.


    "Says who?" I countered.


    And the big guy seemed to ponder that. "I guess I haven''t heard anythin against it" He muttered. "Oh well, just be careful with it."


    Wow, that was easy.


    Neville followed me as we got in a boat, and that ck haired, sses kidd sort of followed along with his red haired friend.


    "C-can we join you?" He hesitantly asked, looking a bit sheepish like Neville.


    "Sure, the more the merrier." I smiled as we got onboard.


    Road a train and now we were taking a row boat.


    "Are we supposed to paddle?" The Red Haired kid muttered.


    "Hmm, the boat is enchanted. Looks like it rows itself." I tapped the wood.


    "How you know?"


    I shrugged. "I picked up a few things over the years. How about some introductions?" I changed the subject.


    "Oh, right. I''m....erm.... Harry Potter." The sses kid answered.


    "Ah, the one the blonde kid was strutting around about. You''re famous or something I guess?" I asked.


    "I.....just found out about it myself, I''m not too sure."


    "He defeated the Dark Lord!" The Red Haired kid eximed. "He even has the scar to prove it!" He jabbed his finger towards Harry, right at the scar on his forehead that looked like a lightning bolt.


    And he didn''t even seem to notice how Harry shrunk himself back when he did it.


    "Means absolutely nothing to me." I shrugged again. "Anyways, I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, and this is my newest friend..."I gestured towards Neville.


    "H-hi I''m Neville Longbottom." He squeaked out.


    "Ron Weasley." The Red Head smiled happily, clearly oblivious to everything else.


    Oh well, not like I could hold it against him. He''s Eleven, he doesn''t have a lick of situational and social awareness yet.


    "So....what''s wrong with your wand?" Ron finally asked.


    "Why do people keep thinking something''s wrong?"


    "Mate, it''s as big as you are."


    "Yeah, I did it intentionally!"


    "He was casting spells in the cabin and his Wand got bigger." Neville barely held back a smile and augh.


    Well, at least the others found amusement in it.


    The Boat suddenly jerked as it began moving along with the others.


    Magic is neat.


    Back home, Magi would never waste Magic on something like this. Always fun to see how other cultures take to it.


    "Hmph, look at this, taking your rightful ce and letting your betters go first." The ck Peacock made his appearance once more as his boat went ahead of ours.


    "Err, hate that pratt." Ron grumbled. "Think''s he''s so much better than everyone because he''s rich. Bet he''s going to be sorted into Slytherin, the slimey snake."


    "I understand some of that." I hummed to myself, hefting my Wand down into aiming position. "Never got to try out my Wand after it got bigger."


    "What are you doing?" Harry asked.


    "Uh....more Science?" Neville asked, bracing himself.


    "More Science." I nodded with a grin, pointing my Wand behind us. This was a spell I''ve wanted to test since reading about it a few hours ago. The implications were interesting and I was waiting for a chance to get to the bottom of it. "Aguamenti." I called out as a massive torrent of water burst out of my wand.


    Our boat shot forward, mming into the boat of the Blonde kid''s knocking them overboard. I think I may have fucked up the magics on the boat itself, but whatever.


    I was going to say something witty, but my words died in my mouth once a utterly massive tentacle broke through the surface of theke as it moved towards the overboard kids.


    Everyone started screaming and shuffling in their various boats.


    "MERLINS BALLS!" Ron shouted.


    "WHAT IS THAT!?" Harry shouted over themotion.


    "A KRAKEN!" I eximed with a wide grin. "I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE A BORING FEW YEARS." I stood up in my seat, hefting my wand up. I''ve never killed a kraken before! As expected of a school the old man sent me to. I immediately jumped off the boat tobat the new foe. "HAVE AT YOU!" I shouted, diving into the water.


    Truly, it would be an epic fight for the centuries.


    And, maybe, save the kids while I''m at it.


    But mostly I want to call myself ¨C The Kraken yer!

 Chapter 301 - 278

    <h4>Chapter 301: Chapter 278</h4>


    I was tired, mentally, and emotionally; however, looking at everything going on around me, I had no right toin.


    My arm dropped to my side, the Staff of Magnus still in my hand. "Where''s the next group?" I asked one of the people also helping heal the wounded.


    "That should be thest of them, for now." It was a Kitsune woman with a single tail who answered. She had been helping me along with others. She wasn''t very proficient in any healing arts, but she knew a cantrip or two and was knowledgeable on basic first aid.


    "Not all of them." I sighed, holding me hand out. "Arm." I stated.


    ".....It''s just a small wound."


    "I''m healing the wounded, gimme the arm." I said sternly.


    She hesitantly reached out to let me take her arm.


    I pushed up her sleeve to see arge burn going up her arm. It was bandaged, but I could still see the signs. It must have been very painful. My hand glowed bright as I began casting a healing spell over it.


    Those missing limbs, burns, cuts, and all manner of afflictions.


    It was horrible.


    The worst part were the children asking where their parents were.


    "Thank you." She said quietly, retrieving her arm, rubbing it awkwardly. "I can see why Lady Yasaka likes you." There was a faint smile on her face.


    "Brother."


    We both turned to see Aotab¨­ walking towards us.


    The Kitsune quickly got up, bowing her head before scurrying off.


    I guess he was a little intimidating.


    "Someone need healing?"


    "No." He shook his head. "Boss and Lady Yasaka are calling for you."


    I let out a sigh. "I guess things have finally settled down then." I stood up from where I had been sitting, putting my staff away. "Let''s go¡ª"


    "Brother." Aotab¨­ put his hands on my shoulders. "Thank you." He bowed his head. "You''ve helped us so much."


    "If you call me something like that, don''t thank me." I smiled lightly, cing my own hand on his shoulder. "I knew what I was getting into when I asked to join."


    He let out a long breath, standing back up straight. "We''ll talk moreter, don''t wanna keep the Boss waiting."


    "Right." I honestly wasn''t looking forward to this meeting. I saw everything that happened first hand, but I didn''t want to hear the numbers.


    "Is Reika...?"


    "She''s fine." Aotab¨­ replied. "None of them could get close with Jackie around."


    "Yeah that little girl would definitely be able to protect her." What a scary Assassin servant.


    "It wasn''t just Reika either. She was able to protect a bunch of people by herself." Aotab¨­ sounded rather proud.


    Sending them here was a great decision.


    They both deserved a better hand than they were dealt.


    "Alright, lets get this over with." Again, I was not looking forward to hearing everything.


    ***


    Even the Manor that they usually gathered at was...barely standing.


    I think that''s a polite way to put it. There were some obvious makeshift repairs made to keep it standing, a mark of defiance I could imagine.


    And it''s not like they could stop rescue efforts to just start making repairs to one building.


    Aotab¨­ led me to the same ce asst time, thatrge open room. Even more open if one considered the holes in the ceiling.


    There was a understandable somber atmosphere amongst everyone.


    Seats were taken as everyone waited patiently, and I had to do a double take because I saw a new face sitting right next to Yasaka.


    "Izzy?" I blurted out.


    "Wilhelm." She nodded slightly towards me.


    "....You know each other?" Nurarihyon muttered.


    I nced at Yasaka. "You didn''t tell him?"


    "It slipped my mind." Yasaka sighed. "We''ve been busy with other matters."


    That''s fair. "We''re friends." I said inly. "I go to Yomi often to visit."


    Nurarihyon opened his mouth like he wanted to respond but closed it again. "I''ll unpack thatter."


    Well, the unease in the room seemed to lift a little.


    I guessed they were on edge with Japan''s Death Goddess sitting the room. I had to remind myself sometimes that they viewed Gods differently than me. They''re revered and feared mostly, while I would happily walk up and give her a hug.


    "I invited her here; we had a slight problem and she was able to solve it easily." Yasaka stated, gesturing for me to sit down.


    I walked over to my spot, plopping down next to her. I smiled towards Izzy who also returned my smile.


    I nced to the side to see Yasaka''s tail creep up on my, finding my waist. I ran a hand through her fur, doing my best tofort her. I knew she had to keep up appearances right now, otherwise I know I''d be holding her in my arms.


    Nurarihyon stood up once everyone settled down. He had a few bandages on him and was supporting himself with his sword. "I''m not going to sugar coat this. We were attacked and we did note out unscathed." He wasn''t loud, it was just that the room was deathly silent.


    "Boss, how many....?"


    Nurarihyon turned to the speaker, a youkai who was missing an arm, bandaged up. "Too many." He shook his head. "Way too many." He let out a long sigh, looking up at the ceiling where moonlight shined through. "We don''t have exact number right now.... But roughly a good third suffered some heavy wounds. While about a tenth..." He shook his head again.


    A tenth of the people in the city are dead.


    There were thousands upon thousands of residents here.


    Fucking hell.


    "Some things that need to be talked about and what we''re doing to do now."


    "REVENGE!"


    "Sit down, Zhu Bajie." Nurarihyon sighed. "But I share the sentiment. First off, the prisoners...."


    "Are we not executing them?"


    "Yeah, put their heads on spikes!"


    "Fuck that, burn all those fuckers like they did our home!"


    "Quiet." Nurarihyon spoke, silencing them again. "We''re keeping them imprisoned for now. Believe me, I would like nothing better than heads to literally start rolling, but we have to be smart about this. Yasaka was able to reach out to Lady Izanami." He gestured towards Izzy, in a surprisingly formal way of addressing her. "She also expressed.....dissatisfaction at what happened. We''re keeping them in Yomi right now."


    It made sense after thinking about it. Where exactly would they keep so many prisoners, and how would they keep them contained? They didn''t have any free resources to put towards the task right now.


    "I can assure you all, they are most certainly not having an enjoyable time." Izzy said softly, but her voice carried in a way that only a Goddess''s could.


    That seemed to satisfy everyone for now.


    "We were able to acquire some information." He nced at me briefly before sweeping his eyes around the room. "And we know why they attacked us. Their little infiltration missions, we found out that one of their Queen''s Daughters snuck into it amongst the ones sent out. A woman we currently have locked away. They attacked us to rescue her."


    A rescue mission.


    That had been a recuse mission for them.


    A City burned because they had sent spies in, the spies got caught, so they fucking attacked to rescue the spies.


    ....he never specified that she was kept prisoner in Yomi like the others.


    "Make no mistake, this is an act of war." Nurarihyon snarled in anger.


    No one spoke, there was no hollering our shouting. But eptance and agreement was clear on everyone''s faces.


    "My territory was infiltrated as well." Yasaka stood up, joining the old man at his side. "My people had been taken and reced. It could have just as easily been Kyoto that was attacked. We''re separated by territory, by region and by leader, but we''re all one people. We stand by our brothers and sisters; we acknowledge the deration of war and stand with you."


    I see, Yasaka has chosen this path then.


    I can''t say I didn''t agree with her.


    "This ¨C Princess, we were able to gleam some things from the prisoners. She''s the Daughter of the one known as the Winter Queen. I won''t go in dept about the political spectrum of these Fae for the moment, just know there are two main factions, the Summer and Winter courts. So let this be the official deration; The Youkai of Japan are at war with the Winter Court!"


    I doubted most here understood the implications but nearly everyone jumped to their feet, shouting in unison at the deration. A universal support of Nurarihyon''s announcement. It wasn''t a matter of wanting to or not, there had to be a proportional response.


    "Boss, I don''t mean to be a downer, but.....are we really in a position to fight a war?" Amongst the excitement, there was someone with a voice of concern. It was the Spider Youkai I had seen thest time I was here.


    "Don''t get me wrong, we''re not marching on them right now...admittedly we can''t." He let out a sigh again. "They''re hiding in their realm, a ce that even Gods can''t really go to but.....I''ve been told that we may have a way to ovee that. Besides the logistics ofunching an offensive, I realize we''re not in a good state right now, I don''t expect us to be battle ready for the time being."


    Ah, more of a formal rallying cry. And I had a feeling that the method to ovee that may be myself.


    "What if they attack again?" She asked again. "As much as Lady Yasaka has helped us with everything. And we''re extremely grateful, she has her own territory to protect too."


    "I will be lending a hand, child." Izzy answered for him as all attention turned to her once more. "I despise these invaders as much as you all do. If I had known previously, I would have stopped it."


    Huh, did Yasaka ask her or did she volunteer herself?


    I''ll have to talk with her once we''re done.


    "It is unlikely for them to move again so soon. And It is further unlikely that the Winter Queen will make another move without investigating after she was hurt." Izzy nced at me.


    "Wait, Winter Queen?" I blinked in realization. "That hand, that was her?" Because the presence on the other end of that thing wasn''t something to scoff at.


    "Yes." Izzy said simply. "I was told of what happened, and I felt a fluctuation of power from here. I reached out to Yasaka and asked her if she knew anything, and she exined which is how I ended up here. The Queens of the courts aren''t simple beings. They are not Gods, but they aren''t very different."


    Well....I have probably painted a hefty target on my back.


    No regrets though.


    But it was a curious thought. She said they were like Gods, and the closest approximation I can think of were Nature Spirits. Could they perhaps be this world''s equivalent to what I knew from back home?


    Summer and Winter, I had a feeling that the titles were more than just monikers.


    There were many stories and legends, but I was very far in the dark about the true facts. I would have to do some research on my own to figure it all out.


    But one thing stuck out to me as she spoke.


    "You''re acting as more than support; you''re being a noticeable deterrent. The Winter Queen won''t move if she knows you''re freely moving around here."


    Izzy didn''t answer, but the look on her face made me think I hit the mark.


    She''s always so sweet. She usually doesn''t like drawing attention to herself, yet here she is, out in the open and basically dering to everyone that she''s front and center just so no one would try anything.


    I wanted to go over there and give her a hug.


    "Speaking ofrge deterrents...." Nurarihyon stopped, turning around to face me. "An exnation on the Dragon would be appreciated."


    Oh right, I never did say anything about that.


    "So.....uh." I scratched my head. "I have the Boosted Gear, and I made a spell that lets Ddraige out under the guise of another Dragon?" I gave a very abridged version.


    "And that''s not the strangest thing I''ve heard today." Nurarihyon epted it on face value.


    "Are people worried about him? I could imagine that a Dragon presence would be cause for some concern..."


    "The opposite, actually." Nurarihyon shook his head. "Ddraig, he seems have been eating those nightmare horses like they were snacks. Those things had been causing trouble and we didn''t know what to do about them. Thenes a big Dragon that just starts snacking. Of course everyone saw him protecting the city, so they''re treating him like a hero. Kids had even been running up and touching him."


    That was stupidly wholesome and when I was in a better mood, I was going to tease Ddriagter. "I don''t know how long the spell willst, and I didn''t want to force it to end since it''s the first time he''s been out in a long time." Knowing the extent of the duration would be very beneficial. So far, it''s been about an hour and a half?


    "Don''t worry about it, he''s wee here just as much as any of you all." Nurarihyon let out a mncholic chuckle.


    That''s good, I want Ddraig to enjoy his temporary freedom. "On a side note, can we keep the fact that I have the boosted Gear quiet?"


    Nurarihyon look at me before nodding his head. "My people won''t talk about it." He didn''t even need to make an announcement, he seemed to trust them well enough. And I....trusted the old man, I would take his word for it.


    It''s not that I was overly cautious about it being revealed, but I didn''t want to just wave it around for the world to see if I didn''t need to.


    "Now with that settled, we need to start discussing our next move." Nurarihyon stated, tapping his sheathed sword against the ground. "I don''t predict anotherrge fight in our immediate future, so our priority is stabilizing."


    "We''ll help where we can. I recently had an influx of money that''ll help with certain things, but we still need to be...frugal." Yasaka spoke up. "But we too need to start preparing in the worse case."


    "Agreed, I don''t want to see Kyoto suffer like we have. You have more...civilians than we do, I fear what would have happen in a simr situation. I''ll also ask around, see if there has been movement of the Fae in any other ces."


    "Mmm, I''ll ask around too. The Fallen should answer my inquiry after thest debacle that their leader was involved in. And I''m also holding a small incident over the Angel''s heads. It should not ruffle to many feathers if I try to get this kind of information out of them." Yasaka added on.


    I had my own trees I could shake as well.


    But there was one thing abundantly clear even with the civil nature of this talk, there was a barely held back bloodlust that permeated every corner of this room.


    We were out for blood.


    I''m sure they were active in other parts of the world right now.


    It was just a matter of hunting them down.


    ***


    Sorry forte chapter, had to go to an Urgent Care earlier today, the medicine they gave me made me super drowsy.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone Kokabiel had his appearance.

 Chapter 302 - 279

    <h4>Chapter 302: Chapter 279</h4>


    The meeting was....tedious. That air of anxiety hung over everyone, it made it difficult to keep everyone together for long. There was a certain vigor when discussing war strategies, but even that wasn''t enough to keep spirits artificially high.


    Most of them still had nk expression when they got up and walked out.


    I had many more things on my te as well now. I was going to do my best to gather sufficient resources and help rebuild. I was Yasaka''s lover and also a honorary member of Nurarihyon''s gang as well.


    No matter how you looked at it, this was my fight too.


    Yasaka''s tail was wrapped tightly around me still. She was keeping it together splendidly, but she was clearly holding back grief. They may not have been her people, but I could tell she still thought of them as her people. There was a greater sense ofmunity among Youkai than most other species in the world.


    Nurarihyon was whispering something to Izzy as they walked to another side room, presumedly they had some private matters to speak about.


    Yasaka slowly climbed to her feet and I followed along, not that I had a choice in the matter. Her tailed refused to let me go.


    We went a different way than Izzy and Nurarihyon, but we went further into the mansion to a secluded area. She mmed a door behind us, taking us into what looked like a storage room.


    I was about to ask, but she immediately threw herself at me, her face buried in my chest, and I felt the fabric start to get wet.


    "Why..." She manages to blurt out, it was ridden with sniffles. "Why do things like this keep happening!? First those idiots that attacked Kyoto, now this!?" Her muted sobs filled the room.


    I didn''t even think about it before, we weren''t really together back then. She must have had to shoulder everything herself. Who else would she have allowed to see her like this? To see her so.....vulnerable. She always had to appear as a strong leader to her people, and to Kunou as a strong mother.


    I wrapped my arms around her, my fingers running through her hair. "Shhhh." I quietly whispered. "It''s okay, we''re going to be okay. I''m here with you, and the others are too. You don''t have to do this alone anymore."


    "....I hate this." She said very quietly.


    "I know." I did my best to reassure her.


    This was definitely not how she usually acted, but I couldn''t find any fault given the circumstances. How much stress must she be under right now?


    "I hate this." She started hitting my chest with her fists, though there was no force behind them. " I hate it, I hate it! How many more families do I have to go to and tell them their fathers, brothers, sons, aren''ting home!?"


    I didn''t ask how many of her own soldiers didn''t make it.


    I had been so caught up in healing after everything had settled, then immediately sat in on the war meeting.


    She looked up at me, her face was covered in tears, before settling down again, just resting herself against me.


    She had it tough.


    "I''m sorry." She began pulling away, wiping her eyes. "I don''t like you seeing me like this. I just...wanted to vent for a moment."


    "You have nothing to apologize for." I gave her a gentle smile, pushing some stray strands of hair out of her face.


    "I must look like a mess." She sniffled again, rubbing away a few more tears.


    I was about to respond, but there was an abrupt knock on the door, and the person on the other side was letting out their aura slightly so it was obvious who was on the other end.


    "Do you ¨C"


    "Come in." Yasaka said loud enough for the person to hear.


    Izzy pushed the door open, pausing as she saw us, specifically her eyesnded on Yasaka. "Oh you poor girl." She quickly went over to the fox and wrapped her up in a hug.


    Yasaka let out a small noise, pushing her head into Izzy''s chest this time, clearly appreciative of the moral support.


    In any other circumstance, I may have said something about how cute it was that Izzy was gently rocking Yasaka back and forth.


    Izzy let out a sigh. "This has be arge mess and I don''t know if the other Gods will stay out of it."


    "As horrific as everything was....I didn''t think the Gods would care." It''s just their nature not to care unless they''re directly affected.....for the most part.


    "For the most part, you are correct. However, that Winter Queen." Izzy''s voice turned sour. "She directly challenged our Power with her little stunt. You should have some inkling of what she is, you are knowledgeable about many things. She is not a God but she possess an....Authority, as you would call it. Winter Queen is more than just a title."


    "And she basically broadcasted that right in the middle of Japan, right in the middle of Takamagahara territory." I finished what she was trying to say.


    It was no different than if Zeus came over and started flexing his power.


    "To do that so tantly, clearly this Winter Queen has some degree of confidence. Nurarihyon said they hide within their realm, and your statement implies that even Gods would have difficulty going there."


    "That''s true." Izzy pursed her lips. "I don''t have confidence in forcing my way into the Faerie Realms. Even for me who watches over a realm of death, that ce is strange and confusing. It''s as if the Realm itself is a living entity that dislikes other species from intruding."


    "The more I hear about them and their home, the more I''m reminded of my own." I took a step forward, putting my head on Izzy''s shoulder. Yasaka quietly listed as we talked, she didn''t seem to want to speak right now. "The Reverse side of the world ¨C Where Avalon resides. Even with my Magic, I can''t force my way there.....I don''t think this world''s version is quite the same, but that ''portal'' or whatever they used, it''s not so simple to backtrack and mimic."


    I would need to do some calctions to figure everything out. Lots of testing to do as well. The Old Man would probably have some answers if I asked him. I''m sure it''s something he''s had experience with before, even If I couldn''t recall anything.


    "Regardless, the Winter Queen shouldn''t be making any overt actions any time soon. The Gods are watching and she should be aware of that."


    "Are you familiar with her at all?"


    "I''ve never met her, but I know someone who has. He told me a few stories many centuries ago, but I didn''t give them much thought until now." Izzy shook her head. "I''ll be reaching out again for more information because his Pantheon had dealings in the past. But for now, I am going to focus on keeping her from getting ideas.


    What a fucking mess this is.


    "I could always ask Meridia..."


    "No." Izzy cut off that train of thought immediately. "Everything you told me about her, if she were ever to appear and use her real power, the world would descend in true chaos. Everything is already teetering on the brink in many ces. Honestly, the fact that there aren''t any morerge scale wars right now is something of a Miracle, and I say that as a Goddess."


    I winced slightly at how thoroughly she rebuked me. "How bad are things right now? I haven''t really cared about things outside of, well...."


    "The three factions, their cease fire right now can be described at tenuous at best. The Norse.....the Giants recently have started open conflicts again and Loki is causing problems. A few Titans escaped Tartarus in the Greek corner. And the Indians, well, they''ve never really truly settled down, they just handle their messes quietly or keep it internal. Asuras and Rakshasas causing trouble is nothing new, but they''re being much more noisy about it than usual. The Tuath De Danann over in Irnd have started getting aggressive too. I could go on, but I think you get the idea."


    Yeah...that doesn''t sound good at all.


    I could see how introducing someone like Meridia to the greater world in such an abrupt manner could cause all kinds of problems.


    "We''re getting off topic from what I wanted to talk about." Izzy stated, rubbing a hand through Yasaka''s hair. "I''ll be able to keep this ce rtively safe. As I said before the Winter Queen isn''t a fool, she won''t so tantly cause issues openly. Subterfuge is still a problem, but I think there are solutions in both ces for that."


    "Yeah, Sc¨¢thach had been handling things on that front."


    Izzy nodded in approval. "And Nurarihyon is admittedly extremely skilled in things like this. Much more than he lets on." Izzy almost hissed thatst part out.


    Yeah, seeing him somehow return to his youth was a big surprise.


    "Do....do you know him from before this?"


    Izzy looked away slightly. "I''ve met him once before."


    "And...?"


    "It was several centuries ago when he was much younger....he snuck into Yomi and stole my undergarments." She had the hint of a blush on her face.


    There was a moment of silence before Yasaka broke out in a fit of giggles. Full on uncontrobleughter even if it was muffled with her face buried in Izzy''s chest.


    "T-thank you, I needed to hear something ridiculous like that." Yasaka smiled for the first time this evening.


    Izzy, even if she looked slightly embarrassed by the admission, did look happy that Yasaka was feeling better.


    "You need not worry about the safety of this ce. I will take care of it, and I won''t allow another such incursion to ur." Izzy dered.


    "I''m d you''re here." I sighed, rxing my head on her shoulder.


    "I wish I would have known sooner. I do not usually meddle in mortal affairs, but such a thing is beyond what is allowed." Izzy grunted. "The only silver lining thus far is that the damage was contained to only here. This ce isn''tpletely cut off from the humans, it was on the brink of spilling over to the mundane."


    "And I''m guessing the Fae won''t care about this tentative masquerade that''s up?"


    "Not in the slightest." Izzy huffed. "I am going with Nurarihyon to speak with the Five Principal ns to see where they stand. They should lend a hand after hearing everything."


    Hmm, the Five Principal ns.....


    If I remember correctly, Nurarihyon and them had some sort of peace agreement. With Izzy, even if she wasn''t the most...appreciated Goddess, they would probably be more open to certain talks. The Human Onmyoji and Exorcists would hopefully see the bigger picture here, even if they weren''t fond of Youkai.


    Yasaka let out a sigh, removing herself from Izzy''s arms. "We should get going, there are still many things we have to do. I can''t sit here crying forever when people have lost much more than I have." She straightened herself up.


    "Where should we go next?" I asked.


    "I will be going to speak with my Guards, then finish some matters with Nurarihyon. You should probably go deal with Ddraig, he''s been quiet." Yasaka replied.


    "That''s.... a good point."


    She leaned up, kissing me quickly on the lips. "Thank you." She whispered again. "Now, let''s wrap this up. I need to get back home to make our own preparations as well."


    [***]


    I walked out a fair distance away from the Mansion the meeting was held in. A small clearing was infront of me, or rather, there would be one if not for a Giant ck Dragonidfortably on the ground.


    He opened an eye as I got close. "Rawr, stay back mortal, I am the mighty N¨ªeh?ggr."


    "How terrifying, with ws like swords, and teeth like spears. You sure your name isn''t Smaug?"


    "Bite me." Ddriag huffed, a little bit of miasma blow out. "It was the first thing that came to mind, and I enjoyed the story when I saw it from your memories."


    I walked over to his side, putting a hand on his scales. "Got some nicks and cuts here or there. Lost a few scales too and it looks like you got hit a few times."


    "Hmph, if I had my real body, their puny weapons and spells would have never been able to touch me. You just had to put me in a body of such a disgusting weakling. And I''m not even as strong as the real thing. Really, it''s all your fault."


    I let out a chuckle, sliding down until I was sitting down with my back against his stomach. "How was it?"


    Ddraig settled himself again, head lowering down as he let out a long breath. "It was.....amazing." He said quietly. A rare sort of gentleness in his words. "Thanks.....brat." He muttered.


    Yeah, being outside again, it must have been a much needed reprieve.


    "How were things on your end?" He seemed to wanna quickly change the subject.


    "I had to see Yasaka cry." I let out a sigh. "I''m angry, Ddraig. And I have no one to immediately take this anger out on. I''m not entirely sure I can easily go to where they''re hiding anytime soon."


    "Now,ter, it doesn''t matter. We''ll have our revenge."


    "We?" I questioned.


    "Of course." Ddraig breathed out with a snort. "You called me a Partner, that means your problems are my problems."


    "....yeah, I guess you''re right." I leaned back, looking up at the night sky. "The stars are really pretty tonight."


    "Mmm, I haven''t seen them for a long time." Ddraig muttered. "I''ll miss it."


    "...the spell wearing off?"


    "Yeah, I can feel my tenuous anchors unraveling....it''s really an annoying feeling. Not painful, but it''s like.....I have a chain attached to my leg and someone''s tugging on it. I feel like there''s still some ck, but at the same time, I know it''s running out."


    An interesting exnation.


    I patted his belly, standing up. "So, how was it? Tell me about the feelings and your thoughts." May as well get the data.


    Ddraig shifted, slowly rising to his feet. "Took awhile to get used to the body." His wings stretched out. "I think we messed up some things on the casting. The Words didn''t align with the spell parts as well as they could, I feel like I could be stronger in this form."


    "Hmm, that''s to be expected, we''ll have to practice it more." I rubbed my chin. "Did you try using your own powers while under that guise?"


    "I had a feeling that the spell would entirely unravel if I tried to Boost or use my real stuff so I didn''t attempt it." He exined, his head tilting up, looking at the sky again. "I just wanted.....to enjoy this time for what it was."


    I smiled faintly at his words, lightly tapping his side. "Don''t worry about it, we can figure that stuff outter."


    "Hmm, and let''s put the Staff in the Gauntlet, let it absorb more of my Draconic Aura, that should help smooth things out too." Ddraig spoke as part of his body started to dissipate.


    "Ddriag..."


    "Why are you looking at me like that, brat?" Ddraig chuckled. "It''s not like I''m leaving, just going back in the Gauntlet."


    I know he wasn''t going anywhere, it''s just.....


    I stepped forward, grabbing hold of him. He wasrge, so it was a bit awkward, but I tried my best to give him a hug.


    ".....Jeez, brat." Ddraig huffed again, his body bing ethereal as parts disappeared. "I''ve gotten soft." I felt his head lightly tap me on the head before he burst into Magical Energy, his soul forcibly returned, mming into me as it delved into my body and straight into the Boosted Gear that was still within my soul.


    I put a hand on my chest, feeling like a part of me returned.


    [Home sweet home.] Ddraig chuckle, though it felt.....mncholic.


    I promise I''ll find a way to free you fully, Ddraig.


    [***]


    Sorry for thete chapter, my Medicine apparently hit me much harder than I thought it would. Just a heads up, I''m driving up to see my mom from Wednesday through Friday for thanksgiving (American Holiday).


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone. We''re in the kokabiel Arc right now.

 Chapter 303 - 280

    <h4>Chapter 303: Chapter 280</h4>


    I let out a long sigh as I stared at my handiwork thus far.


    Holding my arms up, I let out a yawn stretching them, another content sigh escaping my lips as I realized I was almost done. How long had I been working on this? I seemed to have lost track of time, but I could see the end now.


    Every so often, some random person in the city would stop and stare at me and I would just wave at them.


    I had set up in an.....isted part of the city, more or less, but it was still in the city regardless, so there were people who came by to see what I was doing.


    However, no one interfered with me. Probably a result of my status as Yasaka''s lover, which was pretty well known at this point.


    "Almost done..." I breathed out again, about to get back to work.


    "What are you almost finished with, my student?"


    I turned to see Sc¨¢thach walking towards me.


    "Just a little project, more of a proof of concept at the moment." I loved seeing her in different outfits. Not that I didn''t like that tight purple body suit she wore forbat, but seeing her in a tight pair of jeans and a sweater that hugged her so wonderfully was also a weed sight.


    "Mhmm." She hummed as she got closer. "This is the same project that you have sequestered yourself away in your workshop for the past two days for?" She inquired.


    ".....yes?" I blinked.


    She lightly poked my cheek. "Foolish student." She huffed. "You hide yourself for so long then immediately run off to do something like this. Do you think none of us worry about you?"


    "I''m a Magus, we go disappear into our workshops for weeks at a time without blinking an eye." I countered. Hell, Rin did it often as well, which was when Artoria usually came to spend her time with me.


    "Yes, but when have you ever been a normal Magus?" It was nice, feeling her hands wrap around me from behind, peeking over my side as she rested her chin on my shoulder. "Let me see what has you preupied." She held up her finger and ran it down the markings I made. "Leave it to a man to make such a phallic object."


    "It''s an obelisk" I retorted, giving her a light spank from behind. "Got the idea from that Ideal Master guy."


    And they honor the dead, i thought it was appropriate, considering everything.


    "Hmph." She smiled coquettishly. "Let us see. The material appears to be normal stone then? And you have inscribed many Runic Sentences, however, the one that gains my attention the most is right¨C" She moved her finger towards a specific spot. " ¨CHere. An interesting string of Runes, Fehu, Thurisaz, Ehwaz, Berkana, Dagaz, Laguz..." She trailed off, as if speaking her thoughts aloud. "And you anchor it all together with a Primordial Wisdom Rune, how peculiar, my student."


    "I wanted to make it semi-intelligent with regards to its effect. An automated dispenser, if you will."


    "An ''Automated dispenser''?"


    I waved my hand, producing a notebook, handing it over to her.


    She dislodged herself, cracking it open as she quietly read as I finished up my preparations.


    It wasn''t difficult, just tedious more than anything. And as I mentioned to her, it was a proof of concept than something for practical application. I don''t doubt it would go through a several iterations before I could consider it a final product.


    Finishing on my end for now, I waited for a few moments, but Sc¨¢thach made no move to stop, only flipping a page every so often.


    I don''t take enough time to appreciate how beautiful she is. I could honestly just stare at her for hours on end.


    And she was right, it had been a few day since I basically locked myself up to finish this project as quickly as possible.


    She didn''t even make a noise of annoyance when I walked over and buried my face right between her breasts, my arms wrapping around her.


    "You smell nice."


    "Don''t say strange things." She chided with a small huff, though a little red crept up on her cheeks.


    My hands found her nice round butt quickly, giving it a gentle squeeze. She shifted slightly but otherwise didn''t deny me, so I took that as eptance. It was only when my fingers started to pull on the waistband of her pants that she make an adorable sound.


    She mmed the notebook shut and bopped me on the head.


    I chuckled looking up at her again, her faint red was a bit more pronounced now. I discovered pretty quickly that she gets flustered easily when ites to affection shown in public. Doing the most lewd things in our bedroom? She wouldn''t even bat an eye. But If I try to hold her hand while people was watching? She would turn red at the thought.


    "You seem to be in need of disciplining." She pried my hands away from her jiggling rear. ".....This Sc¨¢thach will happily take care of you tonight once we have both finished our duties. Control yourself until then, my cute student." She puffed up, bopping me once more. "Now, I have read through your notes, exin to me what you desire, I will aid you where I can."


    "Right." I got back into research mode. I could grope herter when we weren''t busy. "Where do you want to start?"


    "I believe I understand, you have created a Mystic Code that responds to negative intent. You have the Runic sequence to active your ''Shield of Asgard'' and an interesting supporting sequence that designates ''Allies'' and ''Enemies''. However, there are several points that I am confused about."


    "Well, you figured out the gist of it." I walked over to the Obelisk as she followed along. "Yeah, I needed to use a Primordial Wisdom Rune to help facilitate what it would pick as enemies and friends, a centralized Matrix if you will. But it also supports another important aspect, which you''re probably confused about." I held my hand out, depositing stacks upon stacks of Talismans onto the ground.


    She seemed to realize my intent immediately. "I see, this makes more sense then." She rubbed her chin. "It is an interesting idea, and I believe it holds merit. If a situation such as what happened over in the East urred here, this would be a valuable defense to have."


    "The initial stage, it casts my ''Shield of Asgard'', like you said. I haven''t really worked out distance to power ratio yet, as I said, still a work in progress and all that. And the second aspect is that it uses these Talismans based on the situation. I made a little over a thousand while I was in my workshop. I have Healing Talismans, Shielding Talismans, Binding Talismans, and a random assortment of different offensive attacks in a simr format."


    The Healing Talismans basically worked as a lesser version of the Healing Spells I picked up in Skyrim. But they were still much better than nothing.


    Shielding Talismans could be likened to a lesser version of a Warding spell. Binding Talismans to seal enemies up, and a plethora of attacks as well. Everything from Lightning and other elemental attacks to other more esoteric effects.


    The Runic Sentences basically choose the best one for any given circumstances. Honestly, it''s almost like aputer program with the Primordial Rune acting as a pseudo intelligence.


    "The attack still weighs heavily on you?"


    "....I don''t like seeing people I know get hurt." I sighed, slumping my shoulders. "It was bad enough seeing it first hand like that, but I don''t want that to happen here if I can prevent it."


    "There is nothing wrong with your intentions, but If you are going to disappear into your workshop again, speak with us ahead of time." She leaned over, kissing my forehead. "However, you do see the limitations, yes?"


    "Yeah, I realized it already." I rubbed the back of my neck. "It only covers a small area in proportion to the city."


    One of the reasons that the Youkai of Japan were considered a minor faction was due to their size in addition to themcking any significant heavy hitters. Yasaka and Nurarihyon were strong, but they weren''t Godly in strength. That''s not to say they couldn''t hit above their weight ss under certain circumstances, but they simply weren''t at that level. It was enough to dissuade most other minor forces while the bigger ones didn''t bother.


    Overall, there should only be a few million Youkai, less than ten million alltogether, if you counted the entirety of Japan. And those who lived in Kyoto were a fraction, arge fraction, but only a fraction all the same. So...a million, maybe a few million during certain times of the year? There was no way this singr Obelisk could do anything significant with those numbers.


    "There would need to be hundreds more scattered throughout the city to have the effect I want." I breathed out.


    "And yet you will work towards it all the same."


    "I refuse to ever see her cry again." I would see where I stood once this one was finished and where to proceed from here. "I''ll figure something out once I gather the data from this prototype."


    It would take a while, but it should be pretty helpful if there was arge scale invasion.


    "Very well, it seems you have your mind set on it, I will not attempt to dissuade you." Sc¨¢thach nodded in satisfaction. "Shall I make some edits to your sentences?"


    "What''s wrong with my sentences?" I furrowed my brow.


    "My dear student~" Sc¨¢thach giggled. "You still over think many things, simple is often more applicable in these circumstances."


    [***]


    With every Talisman attached to the Obelisk, it was ignited with my Magical energy. A surge of power thrummed through it as everything seemed to work on the surface.


    Sc¨¢thach had corrected a few of my Runic Sentences to better amplify certain concepts and to streamline the process. We argued a little bit over certain directions, but overall, it''s in a better ce than it was initially. She went off to do something that Yasaka needed done so I didn''t hold her up.


    I was happy she checked in as she did.


    Could I simte certain scenarios to see how it reacted now? Or should I go about a different method to begin testing and data collection.


    "Quite an interesting piece of magic you got there."


    I blinked, breaking from my own thoughts as I turned to see who spoke. It''s not that I was snuck up on, but there were peopleing and going every so often that I basically tuned it out.


    For some reason, this person grabbed my attention more explicitly.


    He wore a rather neat suit, with long ck hair. He had elongated ears and some very sharp facial features.


    "Thanks, I suppose." I could tell right away that he wasn''t a Youkai and I had my suspicions of his origin. "Long way from home, aren''t you?"


    "That I am." He smiled, and despite his rather....intense features, it was a very disarming smile. He slowly walked over to a nearby brick wall, about waist high, he brushed it off for a moment, sitting himself down. "I like to think I''m on a vacation of sorts. Even if I''m doing a bit of business while I''m at it."


    Well, he clearly was here for me for some reason. "Vacations are always good." I eyed him suspiciously. "Though one might wonder what your intentions are, especially after another one of your kin made a mess of thingsst time he was here."


    "Peace." He held his arms up. "I''m not where because of that....fool." He let out a sigh. "Nor am I here to cause any trouble. I think you''ve guessed my identity, but shall I introduce myself anyways?"


    "By all means." I gestured for him to continue.


    "I fell from the Fifth Heaven." He stood up, straightening himself. "One of the Leaders of the Grigori. I am Kokabiel, Angel of the Stars." He bowed a little theatrically, ten pitch ck wings burst out from his back for a brief moment and the Holy Light around him intensified. Though, it onlysted for a brief moment before he returned to normal, sitting back down as if nothing happened. "And you are Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg."


    The way he smiled again made me feel uneasy for some reason.


    "Would you mind sparing some time for a chat?"''


    [***]


    Yasaka Lewd Ahead from an earlier chapter.


    [***]


    Yasaka and I looked at Kunou as we tucked her in. The little fox had fallen asleep in my arms on the way back after the fireworks had ended.


    After making sure she was sleep, Yasaka lighting tugged on my hand, a bashful smile on her face as she led me away. We didn''t speak, her light tugging towards her own room.


    As we entered, I noticed that a certain ambience had been created. There were candles lit up, a soft music ying as well.


    "When did you have time to do this?" I looked around in surprise. Mostly because she had been with me all evening.


    "Secret~" She giggled. "Now...how long are you going to stay in those clothes~"


    I didn''t wait for her to continue her teasing as I stepped forward and imed her lips. That sweet taste that I''vee to associate with her was always a delight. The twitching of her ears only further emboldened me, as I knew I caught her by surprise.


    Reaching out, I let my hands shift downwards, taking a palm full of that nice round butt of hers. She jerked slightly, but settled into my grasp, even deepening the kiss on her own.


    "You bully." She huffed, finally breaking the kiss. "I was going to tease you." She yfully pped my shoulder.


    "That''s not possible anymore." I Started to undo my own clothing. "At this moment, you''re mine, and I''m not going to stop until I have you fully."


    "Ara Ara~" She held a mischievous grin. "Are you going to take this defenseless Old Fox?"


    "Mmm." I leaned in kissing her briefly again. "I''m going to take you in every way and make you fully mine." I breathed out, pulling at the cor of her Kimono.


    "Finally going for my breasts?" She giggled, helping me along as the edge slipped past those bountiful mounds and her breasts popped out for me to finally see. "Are they everything you thought they would be?" She thrust her chest out, letting them bounce right in front of my face. "You''ve tried to hide it well, but I could see you taking peeks when you thought I wasn''t looking. Naughty, naughty~"


    I didn''t even realize I had them in my hands until I squeezed and felt that heavenly softness.


    "Hnn." She let out a light moan as I began to knead into them. "You can y with them as much as you want, they belong to you now. Any time, anywhere, you want to pull down my.. Ah.... Kimono and have them...mm." I could see her react as I massaged them very thoroughly, making sure to discover every inch.


    Her eyes were half lidden, and her breathing was picking up with every squeeze. Slowly, my fingers made their way to those cute little nipples at the end. I felt her shudder in my grasp as I finally got hold of them. "You''re really sensitive, aren''t you?" I noticed her reaction as I gently began massaging them.


    "My breasts have always been sensitive." She breathed out. "I always y with them when I masturbate. But having someone else do it is just ¨C Hnn."


    I interrupted her by lightly squeezing her nipples, the way she jolted was just too cute. I began rolling them between my fingers, watching her fidget in ce, finishing with a very slight tug.


    Her back arched hands immediately went between her legs, moving vigorously.


    She whimpered when I let go. With her fingers still going beneath her bottom half, she started panting, looking at me with a very needy expression.


    "Look at you, already going at it. Show me." Imanded, putting my hand on her shoulder, lightly pushing her backwards onto the bed.


    Her Kimono pushed up enough that I could see her hand still in her panties, a very visible wet spot where she continued to work herself.


    I was entranced as I watched her. Her face was flushed as she locked eyes with me a hint of embarrassment showing through. "I-is this what you wanted to, hnnn?...see? The mighty leader of the West Kyoto Youkai, debasing herself in pleasure....ahh...." She kept going, her moans picking up until she bit her lip and her hand jerked.


    She was definitely enjoying putting on this little show. Her moans were no longer held back as she let me see her at her most embarrassing.


    Her breathing shifted and she let out a content sigh, her motions slowing down. She leaned back, letting out long breaths. She pulled her hand out of her panties, a muchrger wet spot soaking through now.


    "Did you enjoy watching me cum?" She smiled sensually, slowly raising herself up. Her panting was still heavy as she reached out, rubbing her hand against my crotch. "Look at this, all nice and hard just for me, and I''m just aching for something to fill me up~"


    I took that as a cue to take off the remainder of my clothes, my Kimono hanging at my waist at this point. I practically tore it off and tossed it to the side, my member springing free right infront of her.


    "This is what I''ve been waiting for." Her hand was still wet as she gripped me, her juices sliding along my length. "I''ve had to smell you on the others every time you fucked their brains out." Her right hand ran up and down my full length while her other started to massage my balls.


    I let out a long breath as she smirked at my reactions, my cock was twitching in anticipation as she merely teased me with slight touches.


    "Now, it''s mine, and I want a taste." With that, her head moved down, taking my tip into her mouth. I felt her tongue immediatelye in contact with me, exploring every inch of my cock as it slid a little deeper into her mouth.


    I steadied myself, my fingers finding her golden locks, guiding her head as she bobbed up and down. She was very clearly experienced, knowing the perfect ces to get a reaction out of me. The amusement that shown through her eyes every time my breathing hitched at her movements. She locked eyes with me, her mouth moved back all the way to the tip before she let go of my member and instead pushed her brests up, wrapping my cock between those soft mounds of her.


    She continued her movement, but with the addition of that softness wrapped around my shaft, herrge boobs pumping me up and down massaging every inch as she continued to work my tip with her exquisite mouth.


    She did something none of the others did, a movement with her tongue that left my knees trembling. She was clearly proud of herself at the reaction she was getting out of me, and with a pop she let go of my cock with her lips.


    Her boobs fell down, her fingers grabbing hold of me again, pumping up and down as her amber eyes looked into mine. "Wilhelm." She spoke softly. "I want you. I want the father of my child inside of me. I need you inside of me."


    "Yasaka." I whispered, leaning in and iming her lips again.


    Letting go, she managed to pull off her Kimono, tossing it to the side without a care. Breaking our kiss, she looked at me again as she reorientated herself, slowly sliding off her panties with a smirk, she held them up for me to see just how thoroughly wet they were beforeying herself back on the bed. Once she settled, she looked uncharacteristically bashful, an adorable blush on her face as she spread herself.


    She was dripping wet. Her previous orgasm having done nothing to satiate her.


    I slowly climbed onto the bed with her, my body hovering over her own. Gently, I lowered myself down, my tip pushing against her entrance.


    She let out the faintest whimper as I pushed past her entrance, her insides clutching down around me with each inch I further inserted.


    "Ahhh~" She breathed out, a hearty moan escaping her lips.


    I was about halfway in her at this point, spreading her out nicely before I pulled back out, letting her have time to get used to my size. Her hands reached behind me, her ws were already grabbing me hard.


    "All the wayyyy." She whined.


    With a grunt myself, I obliged her. I pushed myself back to where I was before, and began going full inside until my cock bottomed out.


    "Mm." She moaned, pushing her hips into me herself.


    I began moving as she loosened up, my hips meeting her in a nice rhythm before I started picking up speed. She felt phenomenal, and I was starting to think each species had a different feeling to them. Venna felt like every fold of hers was meant to milk me, while it felt like Yasaka was unwilling to let me go once I was inside.


    "Ahh~...Yesss." She no longer cared about holding herself back. "Hnnnn.."


    Her folds squeezed me tight with each thrust, her legs wrapped around me as I felt myself approaching my limit from the earlier blowjob.


    She must have realized it too because she pulled me in for a deep kiss, her tongue immediately intertwining with mine and her legs refusing to let me go too far as I pushed forward. I made no effort to hold it back as I felt my first release of the night. Right into her deepest parts, my cock twitched uncontrobly as my seed filled her up.


    Her throaty moans filled my mouth as neither of us let the other go, my light movements riding out what little I had left in the orgasm.


    We sat right there for a moment, enjoying the aftermath as our tongues continued to dance.


    "Ahhhh....." Yasaka breathed out, finally breaking the kiss. "It''s so warm." She leaned back, clearly in a pleased state. "Maybe Kunou''s going to get a younger sibling."


    Iid my head between her boobs, enjoying therge mounds to prop me up. I wouldn''t be against it at all if that happened.....


    "And you''re still hard." She giggled, rubbing her belly where I was still inside. "Good, because I''m not done with you. I had to hear the stories from my sisters, and my tits still haven''t been fucked enough and my ass isn''t filled either." She donned a mischievous grin. "I had my lovemaking and will want moreter, but now, I want to be fucked."


    I pretty much shot up, pulling my very hard cock out of her pussy. She let out an adorable gasp was I fully withdrew, a shaky breathing followed.


    "Look at you, all excited." She yfully teased. "What does my man want, hmm? Is it my big tits that you want to milk your cock?" She pushed her boobs together, letting them bounce up and down. "Or maybe...." She sat up, turning around. Her tails waived around, slowly unfolding as to give me a view. "You want to take that big cock of yours and plow my tight ass?" She spread herself with both hands.


    "Jinn should have told you how this was going to go." I slowly edged forward until I was basically grinding against her ample rear. I gave her a light smack, watching her cheeks bounce for a moment.


    "Oh my~" She shuddered, a noticeable driping out of her pussy. "And yes, Jinn told just how thoroughly you took care of her cute little butt. Don''t worry, I came prepared~" She spread herself again, and her Magical Energy red up for a moment, a surprising thing because she doesn''t really use magic.


    What caught me off guard was the now tight little rosebud of hers that was leaking what appeared to be lube.


    "Is that..."


    "Your first time seeing a sex spell?" She giggled again. "I don''t do much magic, but I know a couple things. Don''t worry, I''ll make sure to introduce you to plenty more, but enough of that....I''mpletely ready for you."


    I blinked, and decided not to question it anymore.


    I lined myself up, my tip pushing against that tight little back hole of hers and it slowly started to spread open for me.


    She let out a groan, clutching the bed sheets as I pushed myself all the way inside of her, my cock fully sheathed inside much easier than I had anticipated. Yet, she still squeezed me unbelievably tight with every slight movement i made.


    Sex magic, huh?


    I leaned forward, hearing her breathing pick up. I grabbed hold of her soft mounds, giving them a nice squeeze again as my hips rocked back and forth. "Don''t worry, you won''t be leaving here until every single part of you is full" I whispered into her ear.


    I was going too ruin every part of her.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 304: Interlude 19

    <h4>Chapter 304: Interlude 19</h4>


    Author''s Note:


    Real quick, this interlude ising out at an awkward time because it was supposed to be before thest chapter. I idently skipped over it, so here it is.


    [****]


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    ?Topic: Attack in East Kanto


    In: Boards ? News ? Events ? Japan


    Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    I know I say this a lot, but holy shit!


    It''s no secret, I''m living over in Kyoto under Lady Yasaka''s rule, and am a Youkai myself, though I won''t go revealing any more than that. My heart goes out to all my brothers and sisters over in Kanto because as ofst night, they were attacked.


    Let me just say, the videos I''ve seen are horrific. This wasn''t like the terrorist attacks we suffered over here in Kyoto, as bad as that was, this was a dedicated military attack.


    So, let me preface by saying, this is not for the faint of heart.


    [Link][Link][Link][Link]


    For those of you who don''t think you can stomach the pictures and videos, I''ll give a run down.


    We don''t'' know the exact time it happened, only that it started after the sun set. Arge portal opened in the sky over Kanto ¨C the main hub for Eastern Youkai ¨C and out came arge group of people predominantly on horseback. There were a plethora of other creatures apanying them, but most of these were wearing armor covered in bones that fully covered their appearances. While arge group of them ¨C I''m talking hundreds if not thousands ¨C stayed up in the sky, a portion dide down and immediately attack the city. Buildings were set on fire, people were ughtered in the streets, they even went about capturingour brethren for what appeared to be just sport.


    If you''re thinking of clicking the links, another word of warning, their actions weren''t limited to adults. I''m not ashamed to say I threw up when I saw children being impaled and stuck up on spikes as they rode down the streets.


    As expected, Lord Nurarihyon and the Hyakki Yagy¨­ sprang into action. Fighting erupted amidst the city on fire and it just continued to get worse.


    It was chaos.


    One video in particr I watched was recording from start to finish, and I couldn''t help but notice how many people actually died and how much of the city burned. Honestly, It didn''t look good at all.


    From what my sources say, allmunication and movement into and out of the city were sealed through some unknown methods. That means no teleportation, no calls for help being sent out, they were on their own and it didn''t look good.


    And what makes these sources of mine scratch their heads was when Yasaka and her people walk right out of a portal into the middle of the fray. Also, notably, we have Yasaka''s new lover ¨C Wilhelm Schweinorg, or Lucifer Jr as the Inte tends to call him.


    Lots of crazy shit happened that I don''t think I could fit without reaching the word limit.


    (Showing Page 1 of 1079)


    ? Emancipated_Walrus


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Do we have any idea where they came from? I live near the edge of the city, so I wasn''t hit as hard, but my house caught fire and I did see a few of those bastards. Thankfully, they were killed before they made it closer to me. Freaky bone armor people left so many corpses in the streets, it was horrible.


    ? Astute_Observation


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Magical Researcher here. I''m no where near Japan right now, but I saw this pop up and checked it out. My condolences to everyone who suffered during this tragedy. I can''t really help in any meaningful way, but I thought I would point out that some of the magic I saw I had no idea the origins.


    I''m knowledgeable on many schools, Modern Human Magic, Norse, Egyptian, South American, English, etc. What I don''t know, I can mostly infer based on other schools throughout the world, and the closest approximation I could conclude was Druidism, which is a dying practice, and clearly, there were way more than the a couple thousand of true druids that still exist today.


    Especially curious as to how Yasaka and Lucifer Jr got around the spatial sealing that was no doubt in ce. It''s like the bread and butter ofbat tactics these days, either seal the associate space, or make it too chaotic that you can''t Teleport into. Thetter being much more difficult than the former, but also harder to maneuver around. It''s by no means impossible to ovee, but it''s extremely difficult and most methods aren''t....practical in an immediate time frame.


    So.....lots of things I''m scratching my head about.


    ? Hey_There_Fellow_kids (Verified Grandpa)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Got some more videos collected.


    [Link][Link][Link]


    A lot of them were the ''ground floor'' so to speak. In most of the video we can see Wilhelm running around, healing people and taking out those bone guys. For being called ''Lucifer Jr'' he really goes against the namesake, helping people so often like this.


    ? MyFatherWasAnOrange


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    @Hey_There_Fellow_Kids


    I saw him for a second, he ran by, throwing healing spells out like crazy. My mom was stabbed pretty bad, but he helped her enough that she didn''t bleed out. She''s still woozy and recovering, but I''m sure he saved her life.


    ? TheMightySpork


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    All I saw was some fucking lightning shooting everywhere, dropping those bone bastards like flies.


    Fuck, I don''t care if he''s a Devil, Lucifer Jr is wee in my home if I ever see him.


    ? Irish_Centipede


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Is that...the Wild Hunt? I''ve fucking read stories and seen paintings. That looks exactly like the wild hunt!?


    ? AMagicalMagician (Verified Magician)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    @Irish_Centipede


    You mean like Faeries? That kind of thing? Why the hell would those things pop up in Japan of all ces? I would almost call them a Myth with how little I''ve heard of them, but that seems ironic when I watched a God fist fight a Devil like a month ago.


    ? ArcaneToilet (Verified Magician)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Another Magician Checking in, I haven''t heard anything about Faeries in a very long time. I won''t exactly say how old I am, but I''ve been around the block a few times. So let me reiterate, I remember when the ''New World'' was a hot new topic amongst normal people in Europe.


    Nothing goodes from those Fae Folk. Mark my words, this isn''t thest we''ll hear of them.


    ? 015Umbre


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    HOLY SHIT, DID ANYONE ELSE SEE THAT FUCKING DRAGON!?


    ? Magnificent_Pumpkin_King


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    .....Did the Dragon quote Tolkien?


    ? Youkai_Warrior


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    I watched my house get set on fire. I watched my neighbors get killed by those bastard. I did my part and tore through a couple myself, but not before getting filled with arrows. I thought I was going to die, and the only thought that kept me going was the fact that my family were still trying to run away.


    Then Yasaka''s loveres by, Lightning raining from the sky. Healing spells enveloping me and everyone around me.


    Then he.....summons a dragon or something? All I remember was a bunch of those guyse flying down and he held up a staff and a massive dragon came out, tearing into them, quoting one of my favorite books.


    I wouldugh if the situation wasn''t so absurd.


    On a side note, isn''t N¨ªeh?ggr supposed to be dead? I remember looking up the Dragons of the world a few years ago and he was mentioned.


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Condolences for the fallen. They fought bravely against such a foe and I would wee them all at my table if possible.


    @ Irish_Centipede


    You are correct, that is indeed the Wild Hunt. I''ve had a run in with them in the past. It''s been hundreds of years since theirst appearance and it still too soon. However, the most concerning element was the ''hand'' that appeared at the end. By warned, children of Japan, that is a most ominous sign and prepare yourselves for the worse.


    @Youkai_Warrior


    A well earned name, young man. To raise arms to protect your family in such a dire situation is something to take pride in. You are also correct, N¨ªeh?ggr is very dead, I have witnessed itsst moments. And believe me, I am most interested in the appearance of this Dragon that looks frighteningly simr. I have trouble believing it the same vile beast considering it would never lower itself to protect any weaker than it and it is obvious that is what this Dragon did.


    A most peculiar turn of circumstances. If I was not upied on the other side of the world, I would be going back to Japan to investigate.


    But as I said before, there is a more ominous sign that appeared at the end. Many of us will have to speak again about old matters.


    ? NotAKo


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    I was over in the city when this shit went down! Holy hell and I still shitting bricks. I joined in and helped where I could, but I was never the fighting sort, I liked to tinker more than anything. And these ¨C apparent Faeries ¨C made a huge mess of things.


    Lots of dead, lots of hurt. I was lucky, only a few scrapes and cuts, but a lot of others didn''t make it.


    Que more bricks when I saw a massive ck dragon roar, and it charge into the group in the sky. Tons of people fell to their knees and started crying when they realized the dragon was helping.


    It was a magnificent sight, seeing it w its way through their lines. An absolute ughter and no doubt these assholes didn''t expect the sudden dragon.


    On a side note, the Memes are already getting made.


    ? TolkienFan101


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Came here for the Dragon quoting Tolkien, stayed after watching that Devil cut that giant hand.


    Jesus fucking Christ.


    Any idea what that was? Cause any attempts at divination are turning up ''inconclusive.''


    ? Small_Giant


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    I asked an old friend, and by old, I mean they''re older than most countries that upy modern maps.


    He saw the video, shivered, and said it was the ''Winter Queen'' before looking pale as all hell and saying he was leaving Japan.


    ? Sword4Hire


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    @Small_Giant


    Welp, time to leave.


    I''ve heard the stories, not going to be anywhere near here when shit goes down again.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 12093 , 12094, 12095


    (Showing Page 419 of 12095)


    ? She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    @Orangatang014


    This is a stressful situation for everyone, but do not go around fearmongering. This isn''t some insidious Devil Plot, stop before I start giving out bans.


    And to verify what people have heard, I''ll repeat some facts thus far.


    Yes, it was a coordinated attack by what we know as ¨C The Winter Court. Yes, that ''hand'' that appeared was their Queen, and yes it was Wilhelm who cut it off as it tried to grab the forces of the attack and retreat.


    Anyone who starts spouting insane crap again, I''ll immediately hit with bans. This is a horrible situation, and we don''t need people making it worse.


    I can also verify that things have settled down now, there is no need to be worked up in a frenzy. The leaders of the Youkai are still discussing things so hold on until theye to a decision. I personally arrived and can see everything right now.


    ? Mother_Of_The_Devil


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    @She_Who_Invites


    If I''m not mistaken I think we may be.....mutually acquainted with a certain someone. I didn''t wish to call to check in in case he was preupied and everything I saw made me believe he was okay. But I just wanted to check that he''s doing fine?


    ? AndSoIsted


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Late to the party, but god damn was watching those fairy fucks get torn apart fucking satisfying! Fuck them, I''m away from home right now, but my heart goes out ot all my brothers and sisters!


    ? She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    @Mother_Of_The_Devil


    I can guess who you are.


    And yes, I believe he is very busy right now. Last I heard, he''s helping with healing everyone that was hurt. Otherwise, he is okay with no visible ailments himself.


    ? Mother_Of_The_Devil


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    @She_Who_Invites.


    Thank you very much for answering me. I look forward to meeting you someday. I''ll wait to call him in a couple days then.


    ? Broli_Cannon


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Hey-o everyone. Youkai Magician here, I know a lot have talked about their perspectives, but we don''t get much attention in our little corner of the world, with so many eyes on us, I wanted to just add to the sentiments.


    It was bad, and things are still bad. My house is burned down, but I''m trying to look on the bright side of things. My family is.... rtively unarmed, more than I can so for a lot of people. I don''t know much healing magic, but I''m helping where I can. It''s heartwarming seeing themunitye together like this, and I hope anyone who can help will reach out.


    I''m rtively young, less than a century old, so I can''t speak about a lot of past grievances. However, I have many friends from all around the world, all worshipping different gods, all of different species, yet we alle together online to game or just shit post. I''m saying thing because I hope so others out there will send support where they can. We may not be of the same culture or the same species, or worship the same gods, but I''d like to think we''re mostly decent people who would help another in need. A lot of people are not in good shape, and any help would be appreciated.


    ? A_Quiet_Priest (Verified Priest)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    @Broli_Cannon


    I was lurking when I saw your post. I don''t usually say much over the Supernatural Inte, mostly because it''s run by Devils which.....you can guess my hesitance based on my name. I''m a Catholic Priest, I live in the Vatican most of the time, but I have a home over in Irnd. I say this because there had been some issues with Fae appearing once more over in my homnd.


    The Church knows about this and we''ve gotten a supply of Iron Sword and other Iron weapons for such asions. I''ve seen the handiwork of these creatures first hand, I''ve seen children spirited away into their realms, or some horrific acts that were taken due to some misguided idea of ''pranking'' on their end.


    It''s as you said, we are so far away and I had no extra thoughts about Youkai. Before, they were just ''eastern demons'' that I left it at that, the words that the Church propagates. But seeing your people suffer like this, seeing the same acts of violence and the same reactions from the people. Parents crying and mourning over their children''s deaths. Children wandering around looking for parents that will never returned.....my heart would have to be made of stone not to be moved.


    I''m not particrly well off, but I''ll send what help I can. I know you don''t care for it, but I mean this with all sincerity and hope God Blesses you and your people in this dire time.


    ? Light_Of_Irnd


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    So it begins.


    @She_Who_Invites


    When you have time, reach out. I have already spoken to some others including the old man you know well. We had a forewarning of such a thing, but I never could have predicted they would appear in Japan. I''ll happily share what knowledge we''ve gathered thus far.


    ? She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    @Light_Of_Irnd


    I shall contact you at ater date. I am helping with other matters at the moment that require my attention.


    ? Once_You_Go_ck (Verified Annoyance)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Damn, Father above, that isn''t good. And Yeah, just woke up and saw everything that went down. The hell was with that dragon? Cause I know for sure that N¨ªeh?ggr is dead like the other guy said.


    Looks like they got some prisoners at the end, I wonder if they''d be willing to pass some over for some experiments? It''s been a long ass time since I''ve had my hands on a Faerie.


    ? Red_Princess


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Is that Wilhelm again!? Can he summon dragons now!?


    How strong was that giant hand thing? I read people saying something about this ''Winter Queen'', but I can''t really find any information on it. Is she strong or something?


    @Mother_Of_The_Devil


    Mom, is that you!?


    ? White_Dragon


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    Oh? That ck Dragon looks pretty strong. I had someone tell me that N¨ªeh?ggr wasn''t that weak either. I wonder if he''s still around and I can get a fight?


    ? Once_You_Go_ck (Verified Annoyance)


    Posted on June 3, 2009:


    @White_Dragon


    We had this talk, you''re grounded.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 12093 , 12094, 12095


    (Showing Page 9011 of 12095)


    ? GOd_OF_sTORMS


    Posted on June 4, 2009:


    MOTHER I HAVE FIGURED OUT THIS DEVICE. wHERE ARE YOU?


    ? Enthusiastic_Melon


    Posted on June 4, 2009:


    So, I saw his Magic again, Wilhelm''s that is. I''ve tried to get it out of my mind, but every time I see it, I have an uncontroble urge to figure out how it works. This is my...I don''t know what attempt I''m on anymore and I''m open to anyone who has any ideas because all my attempts at analyzing it have given me strange returns. And none of my experiments have given the same result even if I have the exact same parameters set.


    This time specifically, my devices got some kind of strange virus. Something I didn''t even know was possible and it took me a long time to manage to wipe them clean. Some strange woman appeared and continued to taunt me until I reset all my devices. Called herself BB-Chan, and I''m still scratching my head at that whole thing.


    Anyways, any other thoughts are wee, I''m sitting here confused.


    ? GOd_OF_sTORMS


    Posted on June 4, 2009:


    MOTHER IS THIS THE CORRECT PLACE? I HAVE DONE AS YOU HAVE ASKED AND CREATED ThIS ACCOUNTS as you SAID.


    ? GOd_OF_sTORMS


    Posted on June 4, 2009:


    MOTHER IS THIS THE CORRECT PLACE? I HAVE DONE AS YOU HAVE ASKED AND CREATED ThIS ACCOUNTS as you SAID.


    ? GOd_OF_sTORMS


    Posted on June 4, 2009:


    MOTHER IS THIS THE CORRECT PLACE? I HAVE DONE AS YOU HAVE ASKED AND CREATED ThIS ACCOUNTS as you SAID.


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on June 5, 2009:


    @She_Who_Invites


    I think someone''s looking for you.


    ? She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami)


    Posted on June 5, 2009:


    @Hooded_One


    I have no idea who that is.


    ? Hooded_One (Temp Banned)


    (Deleted)


    She_Who_Invites: Enjoy your time out.


    ? XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Posted on June 5, 2009


    Is no one going to talk about how the Son of Lucifer just brought a dead dragon back to life!?


    It''s obvious, people! He''s using his alien powers and technologies to bring back the dead! Well now we have proof! If we don''t stop him now, he''s going to keep bringing in stuff from other Universes and causing chaos! What''s next, some kind of Eldritch Goddess that decides it doesn''t like how we do things!?


    ? Fists_Over_Bloodline


    Posted on June 5, 2009


    I''m sorry I wasn''t there to help! I was with my cousin and helping her with something else. As soon as I can, I''ll make sure toe on over my friends. I''ll definitely be there when we strike back against those invaders!


    ? No_Pain_No_Fame


    Posted on June 5, 2009


    Got some new videos here;


    [Link][Link][Link]


    Apparently, some people got brave enough to go up to the dragon after the fighting was over. It just sat there as children ran up and started touching and climbing it.....


    The fuck even is this anymore? Aren''t dragons suppose to be like.....terrifying? Not something for kids to climb over.


    And he kept saying things like "I N¨ªeh?ggr" and insulting himself after each instance.


    ....me thinks something suspicious is going on.


    ? YasakaLover27


    Posted on June 5, 2009


    Seeing Lady Yasaka tear through so many of those Faeries~


    ? Dragon_Finding_Purpose


    Posted on June 5, 2009


    Faeries, disgusting.


    It has been many years since I''ve tasted their nasty vor, but I always did enjoy the sounds they made when I crunched them between my teeth. The Arrogant lot of them deserve no mercy for their dishonorable means.


    And that Dragon that appeared.....very interesting. I will be having a conversation with an associate of mine who will not be pleased.


    Regardless, I was already keeping an eye on this young Half-Devil for a few other reasons, but perhaps I should pay closer attention in the future.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 12093 , 12094, 12095


    [***]


    Just a fun interlude without a traditional ''reactions'' type chapter. As i said above, this was supposed to be before thest chapter, my bad. And this is me saying i''ll see you all this saturday and to all the Americans here, Happy Thanksgiving!


    If you want to read 7 chatpers ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 305 - 281

    <h4>Chapter 305: Chapter 281</h4>


    A chat, huh?


    Never talked to an Angel before, I wouldn''t really count that time that Azazel came barging in and made a fool of himself.


    Well, I didn''t really see a reason why not? He''d been really polite thus far and I could spare a few minutes.


    "You don''t need to be so on guard, I am here with peaceful intentions. I''m many things, boy, but a liar is not one of them." He shed a toothy grin.


    "Really? Isn''t itmon sense that if someone says they aren''t a liar then they''re a liar by default?" I raised an eyebrow at his promation. I''ve heard that said before, Meridia said that her word was beyond reproach, I fully believe her. To hear a Fallen Angel say it was a little...


    "The Church would tell you that Angels are perfect beings and they can''t lie~"


    "I''m pretty sure they despise Fallen Angels just as much as Devils."


    There was a flicker of annoyance that shed across his face before he buried it away. "More, actually." He chuckled. "It''s just not as openly despised." He waved his hand flippantly through the air. "Devils this, Devils that. It''s their rallying cry, an enemy they can tell their younger members to hate without reservations. Fallen Angels, though, that''s pointing out the facy of their faith. We''re supposed to be perfect beings created by Father, how could we possibly ''fall''? So we''re not talked about much unless it''s important."


    "Sounds like a roundabout way of saying you can in fact lie." I pointed out.


    He shook his head with a small smile. "Many Fallen lose things when they fall. I chose to keep that aspect of myself. To lie is to deny your own actions, to relinquish responsibility. Every one of my words, everything I do, they are mine and I will never deny them."


    "An odd way to look at it, but I can''t deny the sentiment I suppose." I shrugged at his reasoning. "I can''t say that I don''t feel simrly."


    "The strong have no need to lie." He chuckled again. "Even renown tricksters, like those detested pagan Gods such as Loki ¨C they don''t lie. They skirt the truth, they tempt and they y their word games, but they don''t lie. Not like Devils." Kokabiel finished with a scowl.


    "So he says to the Half-Devil."


    "Please, we both know you don''t associate with them." He rolled his eyes. "Tell me, do you think of yourself as a Devil?"


    I guessed that''s prettymon knowledge at this point, huh?


    I actually gave that question some thought. Even before my many changes, I never really thought of myself as a Human or a Devil even if I did align myself with Humanity. "Point." I nodded. "And with your obvious distaste for them, even if I don''t care to associate myself with them, I''m surprise you''re speaking to me so amicably."


    "It would be hypocritical of me to lump you in with them just because of how you''re born. Just as I no longer see myself like my siblings above, I don''t necessarily see you as those from down below." He shrugged with a casual dismissal. "Besides, you''re also partially Human, even if I don''t really care for them, they''re at least better than Devils."


    "Is that so...." I muttered, not really knowing what to say to that.


    "Do you disagree?"


    "Not at all." I crossed my arms. "I care about one Devil. The Devil Faction could disappear as a whole for all I care." Well, I suppose I would protect the things important to her as well, but I just can''t bring myself to care about them. "But I think this conversation has taken a strange turn. I''m curious, why are you here?"


    "Well, you questioned the truth of my words." He said with an amused look. "But to answer your question, well, I suppose I was investigating the recent events that happened around here. I also took it as an opportunity to do some sightseeing. I haven''t been here before ¨C at least not since the Youkai here separated themselves from normal human."


    "Investigating? And what''s so interesting here that you wanted to investigate?" I was curious if it was any specific incident or just in general.


    "ying the fool?" He raised an eyebrow. "Even ignoring the fact that those Faeries attacked Japan of all ces since disappearing for so many centuries, why wouldn''t I? Aren''t you here? How long ago was it that a Half-Devil fought a God off the coast of Japan? Or was that something so insignificant to you that you have so easily forgotten it?" He let out a bark ofughter.


    I guess for everyone here it hadn''t been that long..... but with my moving between worlds, things just felt different I guess.


    He studied my expression for a moment before continuing. "Do you know what they call you around here? When I asked questions about you to the Youkai on the street when I acted as a tourist?"


    "What?"


    "They call you a Hero." Kokabielughed. "Imagine, the son of the current Lucifer, being hailed as a hero outside of the Devil Faction, with none of the usual propaganda to help either."


    "A hero?" I repeated the word, it almost felt foreign. "I never thought of myself as a hero. I''ve met heroes and I don''t feel like I can measure up to their lofty ideals. I''ve only ever care about the things within my reach."


    Kokabiel nodded his head in amusement. "How refreshingly selfish."


    "Most people are selfish, I don''t see why I have to be different." I felt no shame in saying so. I would protect what I cared about and keep everything within my reach safe. "But I feel like you''ve been dancing around the question I asked."


    "Hmm, maybe I have." He hummed. "I admit I initially came because of the Fae attack, I wanted to see what happened with my own eyes and to get a.....measure of things. Call it a vested interested in the state of the world''s bnce after hearing about the War Deration."


    "Worried that your faction is going to be pulled into things?" I really couldn''t fault him for that, and it''s not like he''s causing trouble like Azazel. Yasaka had a very open policy in regard to peopleing and going as long as they don''t cause trouble.


    "Something like that~" He smiled in a way that didn''t sit well with me. "I was wondering if I should change some of my uing ns, but I think it doesn''t matter in the long run, just some extra considerations to take into ount."


    "It sounds like you could have done all of this without showing yourself to me. The fact that you didn''t announce yourself to Yasaka and just wandered around, you alteast wanted to keep low profile. So, why specificallye talk to me when you could have investigated in rtive secrecy?"


    "Hmm.....call it a whim. If I didn''t hear you were out and about I may have just left already." He shrugged once more. "I wanted a chance to meet the person behind so many of the rumors and strange urrences."


    "And do I live up to any perceived hype?"


    "....You are a scary young man." He narrowed his eyes. "How young are you and yet, I can''t see through you at all. You aren''t a freak like your father, no, you are something that....grew into what you are now. I don''t know how, but you''re a monster of your own making."


    "Should I take that as apliment?" I snorted.


    "Just an observation, maybe tainted with a hint of jealously. The one thing I admire about humans is their ability to change so drastically if they put their minds to it." He stood up, dusting himself off. "I wonder if that''s why Father was so fascinated with such lowly things. We Angels are even more stagnant than those Devils. They atleast had the bright idea to start stealing humanities'' potential to better themselves while we sit here, waiting for the world to change without changing with it."


    "Then what''s stopping you? You''re no longer bound by Heaven''s system, the rules and such don''t force you into certain paths anymore. Be whatever you want to be."


    "You don''t know much about Fallen, do you?" Kokabiel looked at me. "When we fall, we lose a part of ourselves. It''s not just no longer being connected to Heaven, but Father''s love, his essence that he poured into use is ripped out when we deny our original purpose. In desperation, we do whatever we can to fill that emptiness with something, and that something bes an obsession that we can''t escape from, just like those who still live high above. Devils are ves to their sinful nature, Angels are ves to Father''s rules, and we''re ves to our own obsessions."


    He sounded rather....mncholic when he said that. "And what''s your Obsession, Kokabiel?"


    "Hmm, who knows?" He cracked a smile once more. "Maybe you''ll find out soon enough. But I think I wasted enough of your time. It was an interesting talk, even if it didn''t go anywhere. But I do have on question before I go."


    "What can I do for you?"


    "You wouldn''t happen to know a good ce for a meal, hmm? I can''t say I''m particrly knowledgeable about Japanese cuisine, but I find myself craving something, a good meal to celebrate."


    "I know a few ces around here, I could point you in their direction." I didn''t really know what to expect from him but from how the talk went, it wasn''t this. "Down the street, three block take a right and there''s a quaint little restaurant that serves good food and drink."


    "You have my thanks." He hummed something I couldn''t quite make out as he began walking away.


    "You said you''re celebrating..." I called out to him before he got too far away. "What exactly are you celebrating?" For some reason a few things he said before made me anxious.


    He turned, giving a sideways nce. "I don''t know yet. Either the end of a long life, or the start of something spectacr. We''ll see what happens in a few days~" He gave me a final wave before disappearing down the street.


    Whatever, it didn''t concern me. He didn''t seem hostile to me, so it wasn''t something I was going to dwell on


    I was just going to focus on my job right now and help secure Kyoto from any attacks.


    [***]


    And I''m back. Here''s a chapter, a little on the shorter side. I didn''t want to deviate too much from Kokabiel''s canon attitude, but maybe make it less cartoonishly evil? Sorta being unhinged, but also sane about it in w eird way.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 306: Interlude 20

    <h4>Chapter 306: Interlude 20</h4>


    Venna Gremory POV


    "And you sure you''re okay?"


    "I''m fine, really." Wilhelm replied, giving me that handsome smile of his. "Just been dealing with the aftermath of everything."


    "And Yasaka?"


    "Physically, she''s fine. However, I''m sure you can imagine the stress and weight of everything that''s hit her right now."


    I could imagine, having experienced simr conflicts before. I felt bad because there wasn''t anything I could do to help right now. She was supposed to be my Harem Sister, yet we haven''t even met yet. I knew it would only cause problems if I tried to force myself into everything now.


    "I heard that you are going to war...." I was surprised by the announcement and the attack. It had been so sudden, and it reminded me too much of what happened during the Great War. There haven''t been anyrge-scale conflicts between factions in centuries, I was caught off guard by this.


    "We can''t not respond like that after being attacked so tantly and brutally. Right now, we''re just working on shoring up our defenses. I''ve personally been going around the city preparing for any potential attacks, setting up defenses and countermeasures."


    "If you''re still busy, I don''t want to be a bother. It sounds like you have much more important matters to deal with than going on a date."


    "Actually....I wouldn''t mind a break." He had a little bashfulness to him that was just so cute. "I''ve mostly finished up what I needed after a couple days and can''t really continue until Yasaka and I work out some logistics. A break would be.....weed. There really isn''t anything else we can do at the moment until we solve certain....issues."


    Hmm, probably some secret information he''s not aloud to talk about.


    "Is there a day that''s good for you? My schedule seems to be much more flexible than yours right now."


    "Uh...how about three days from now? I can text you a specific time and ce when we get closer."


    "That would be lovely. I was already nning on going to the Human world in a little bit to see my daughter. I''ll stay over in one of our houses there in the meantime." The timing was perfect. Going to the human world was such a hassle for someone of my status, especially with Sirzechs and everyone trying to make sure I was shadowed.


    It was annoying enough going on ourst date without being followed. I had half a mind to just let whoever it was follow us and let them report back to that foolish son of mine how I rode my Grandson and all the juicy details again.


    Of course that was just me being annoyed. I knew he''s doing it out of love and worry. Though, I doubted there were many safer ces than next to my cute Grandson.


    "I look forward to it." He replied, an excited look on his face.


    How much I adored that desire again. It felt nice to be wanted like that after so long.


    "Well, I don''t want to keep bothering you while you''re busy. Until then."


    "You''re never a bother." He cutely retorted. "And I can''t wait to see you again."


    "You''re so sweet~ Finish your important things before worrying about us. We have all the time in the world, make sure your other women are taken care of." I didn''t want him to force himself away from any responsibilities because of me.


    There was no rush on our end, we could go as slow as we wanted.


    And I knew I would enjoy every moment of it.


    "Alright, alright." He sighed. "I''ll get back to work, I''ll give you a call in a day or two to settle time and ce, see you then."


    "Bye~" I smiled back at him as we finally hung up.


    Oh, that boy was just too adorable, I wanted to eat him up again.


    I''m looking forward to when he can trust me with some of the secrets he''s obviously keeping. I''m d he hasn''t lied to me about it, and made it obvious we just weren''t at that point yet.


    Oh well, no point in dwelling on that at the moment.


    It''ll be nice to go to the Human World again, always so many interesting things that seemed to change every few years.


    But first, I would go see my Daughter.


    Activating the Teleportation Circle, I connected it to that School of hers and disappeared.


    ***


    "Mom!?"


    "Rias." I smiled brightly, holding my arms out. My Daughter immediately dove into me. She''s always been a bit of a momma''s girl.


    "I thought you weren''ting for like, another few days?"


    "I said I would being over soon." I chuckled.


    "That usually means days, not hours." She replied but didn''t really seem to mind.


    "Well, I missed my daughter." I squeezed her tightly before letting go. "Did Ie at a bad time?" I tilted my head, looking around the room.


    Other than Rias, there was Akeno her Queen, Koneko her Rook and Sona along with her own Queen sitting around like they were chatting about something.


    "Nothing important." Rias shook her head.


    "It''s good to see you again, Lady Gremory." Sona was the first to speak up, as polite as always. No matter how many times I told her it''s not necessary, she insisted on calling me ''Lady Gremory''.


    I swear, that girl does it just to be the opposite of her sister.


    "Sona, It''s been too long. How have you been? I''ve heard you also got a new member of your peerage, Serafall just wouldn''t stop talking about it. A Sacred Gear user as well?"


    It was fun to watch her get flustered at the mention of Serafall.


    "Yes, he''s shown a lot of potential so far. He took four Pawns to reincarnate, and he''s taken to being a Devil quite readily." Sona forced herself to keep an even expression.


    I stopped myself from chuckling as I walked over to Akeno pulling that girl into a hug too.


    "Momma Gremory~" She giggled, always the mischievous little girl. I practically raised her alongside Rias, a daughter by any other name.


    "And Koneko." I held my hand out, the one with the Bracelet that Wilhelm gave me. Such a convenient thing and I''de to adore it. I was able to retrieve a small box of cookies for just the asion. Watching as her eyes light up was very adorable as well. I gave her a pat on the head as I sat down in a free seat infront of them.


    "Do you know what Sacred Gear he has?" I asked, turning back towards Sona. "Or do you want to keep it a secret?"


    "I would rather it not bemon knowledge for future rating games, but I don''t believe you would be one to spread it and Rias already knows." She pushed up her sses. "Saji possesses one of the Vitra Sacred Gears ¨C Absorption Line."


    "Oh, that isn''t bad at all, it has a lot of potential. I can see why he took four Pawns to Reincarnate." I nodded along. It''s a little strange how many Sacred Gears ended up in one location. I think between Sona and Rias, no other peerage could match them in that regard.


    "Better than my pawn." Rias grumbled.


    "There was no way of knowing that Issei had a Draconic Bloodline, Rias. Besides, he is still a worthy addition, it will just take time for him toe into his power." Sona seemed to try and sooth her.


    They''ve always been good friend.


    Though, I''m not pleased that Rias was so outspoken about her dislike of her pawn. The fact that both Akeno and Koneko were here to hear it means they''ll take her words to heart. It''s entirely possible that a small rift could form as they don''t want to form too strong attachments to him due to Rias''s feelings.


    I held my tongue, it wasn''t my ce to tell her how to handle her Peerage. Just as I had much in the past, it was simply a Taboo that arose when the Evil Pieces came about. She was quite literally the King of her peerage, and if I spoke up it would undermine her authority.


    No, I already pushed as far as I could when Zeo and I brought it up during that dinner. In that moment, we could speak about how it was perceived from a standpoint of her being a Gremory, but anymore would be overstepping.


    "Where is your Pawn, Rias?" I had actually yet to meet him, I was a little curious about the boy.


    "He''s out training right now." Rias sighed. "At least he''s energetic about that."


    "That''s because you told him he could get a Harem if he gets stronger~" Akeno giggled.


    "Oh?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Pervert." Koneko added the singr word that answered all of my questions as she continued to munch on the cookies I gave her.


    "Well, we are Devils." I chuckled.


    "Ugh, but he''s so....." Rias grunted, plopping down in the seat next to Sona. "I wouldn''t mind it normally, but he''s barely making any progress and it''s starting to grate."


    "Ah, Is he the type to be very open about his desires without anything to add beyond that?"


    "That''s.....a very apt description." Sona huffed, a noticeable amount of annoyance on her face. "He''s a well known pervert throughout the school."


    "Oh my..." It seems Rias has gained a rather troublesome pawn then.


    "Like Saji is any better! What was the thing he said when Issei dered he was going to be a Harem king!?" Rias puffed up. "I''m going to get Sona Pregnant!"


    I blinked in surprise as Sona turned a very bright red.


    "A-at least he doesn''t scream about ''oppai'' every other word!" Sona huffed.


    And now I''m very happy I came over when I did.


    I was going to have so much to talk to Serafall about the next time I saw her.


    And speaking of Rias''s pawn.


    The door to the room slid open. "Buchou, I''m back!" A young man I didn''t recognize strolled right in, and by his words, I could guess his identity. "What are you ¨C" He abrupty cut himself off as his gaznded on me. Well, more specifically, his eyes became glued to my breasts


    I admit I wore something a little.....revealing because I was calling Wilhelm and he would be seeing me. I hadn''t thought much anything of it aftering here.


    "Issei..." Rias let out a long sigh. "Close your mouth and stop drooling. This is my mother."


    Hmm, I can see some of what she meant. Supposedly a Draconic Bloodline, yet, he wasn''t much beyond a normal human yet. It would take a lot of work to get him up to a certain standard, and doing that before her wedding date would be.....difficult. However, he does have the potential to be a powerful member of her peerage if she puts in the work.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet another of my Daughter''s Peerage." I decided to ignore his leer it''s not the first nor will it be thest time I had a young man drool over me. I was by no means oblivious to my own appeal.


    It was never a matter of finding a willing partner on my end, but one that met my standards.


    "Oh.....y-yeah!" He suddenly shot up to attention. "I''m Issei Hyoudou!" He introduced himself with vigor.


    Hmm, I can''t deny that he''s energetic.


    Regardless, he''d at least be a good lesson to Rias. She was practically handed her other peerage members and they all came with such wonderful abilities that she so egregiously wasted. Having to build up a peerage member without a high starting point will help her grow.


    "Lady Gremory." Another handful of boys followed right behind.


    "Oh Kiba, how wonderful to see you again. Okita had been asking about you just the other day when he was discharged." Despite my annoyance with my Son''s Knight, Okita was more than willing to help out and train Kiba more.


    "Saji,e over here." Sona beckoned her supposed pawn over. "And introduce yourself just as I taught you."


    The young man walked behind the couch where Sona sat. He politely bowed his head. "I''m Saji Genshiro, Pawn of Sona Sitri. It''s an honor to meet you, Ma''am."


    "Well done, but be careful calling someone ''Ma''am''. When in doubt, you can refer to a woman as a ''Lady''. Even if they aren''t high in status, you wille off as a gentleman." Well, unless he was skeevy about it, but I doubted Sona would ever allow it toe to that.


    "I apologize, Lady Gremory, he''s still new." Sona shot him a nce but didn''t openly chastise him. Rias could learn a thing or two about airing things in front of others.


    "Oh it''s no trouble. I don''t'' take any offense, Saji." I gave him a warm smile to know I wasn''t offended. "I understand you''re still new to our society. I''m sure Sona will teach you quite thoroughly before putting you in a situation where it matters."


    "Thank you for your understanding." Sona replied on his behalf, always the one to follow ''proper'' etiquette regardless of the situation.


    "And one more face that I don''t recognize, nor do I think you belong to either my Daughter''s or Sona''s peerage." I turned to thest person to enter the room. A man fully dressed in a knight''s regalia.


    "Apologies for myte introduction, Lady Gremory." The knight bowed his head respectfully. "I am Beluga Furcas, the Knight of my Lord ¨C Sairaorg Bael."


    "Oh, a member of house Furcas? And one of little Sai''s peerage." Seeing him twitch when I called his King little Sai was adorable. "What are you doing here, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    "In ordance with my Lord, I was lending my aid in the training of Lady Rias''s peerage."


    "Oh?" I turned back towards Rias.


    "Sai came by back when Riser showed up." Rias crossed her arms in annoyance.


    "Hmm, I did hear about that. Don''t worry, I had words with the Phenex family about his conduct. He will not be bothering you again like that until the promised date." That was all I could do for her.


    I hadn''t entirely on board with the marriage contract in the first ce, even if it came with pressure from other families to continue the ''pure bloodline'' or some other nonsense.


    "Yeah, and he said he would help us train." Rias sounded a little sheepish. "We''ve been doing some training with his Peerage so far, but after that whole thing that happened with the Youkai.....he said he had to go check in on some friends."


    "It is as she says, Lady Gremory." Sai''s Knight spoke up again. "My King wished to aid Lady Rias in her uing fight, thus we have been helping where we could. As my King has ties with the Youkai of the East, he was duty bound to offer any assistance that he could. The remainder of his peerage followed him, while I remained to continue my teachings as I have not much to give in such a situation."


    Maybe I was wrong then? It seems that Rias had started taking things more seriously if even Sai was helping. As much as that boy would jump into fires to help those he cared about, I know for a fact he also wouldn''t suffer Rias''sziness.


    And Sai headed off to help his Youkai friends then? Leaving behind his Knight to help those who needed it the most if I guessed right.


    I''ll need to do something to thank that boyter once the mess was cleaned up.


    "Do you ¨C" My words were cut off as the entire building shook violently.


    "An earthquake!?" Rias squeaked out, bracing herself along with everyone else in the room.


    "No..." I whispered, immediately standing to my feet. "That was the wards and defenses around the school being undone."


    "What do you ¨C"


    Out of instinct I honed over the course of many years of war, I gathered a significant amount of Demonic Energy and shaped it into a shield around us, right as the room was consumed with a familiar and deadly Light.


    ***


    I pushed a piece of rubble off myself as everyone else slowly pulled themselves to their feet.


    I looked around to make sure everyone was alright, my shield took most of the brunt, but it still shattered in the end.


    Atleast, the copsing of the building shouldn''t have harmed anyone significantly. A by product of our Devil physiology giving us enhanced abilities.


    "Furcas." I called out, noticing he was only slower than me to raise to a standing position, and clearly was ready for a fight as he had a weapon in hand already.


    "I am here, Lady Gremory."


    "Your priority is their safety." I ordered him.


    He nodded, not arguing with me.


    Good, he seemed to have experience in this sort of thing while the others still hadn''t quite realized the reality of the situation.


    "W-what happened?"


    "There was a sh of light, then suddenly...."


    "Did something hit us!?"


    "Get to your feet." I said sternly, stopping them from their idle chatting. "If you''re not heavily wounded, then don''t speak."


    "Mom?"


    "Rias, listen to my words. This is not a game, this is not an ident. Focus, and defend yourself as best as you can." I took a deep breath and my Demonic Energy began flowing more than it had in many years, no, many centuries at this point. "Sona, call your sister. Rias, call your bother. Everyone else, prepare for a fight."


    I looked around, expanding my senses for anything.


    "I-I can''t connect." Rias whispered, holding her Devil Phone.


    "Neither can I." Sona replied as well, as they both seemed to now understand the situation.


    Infront of us, several spell circles lit up on the ground, monstrous beasts appearing. Tworge canine-like creatures with three heads each with moltenva dripping from their jaws.


    They growled, eyeing us with baleful eyes.


    "Hmph." I took a step forward, my Power of Destruction igniting in my hands as they leapt. Grabbing them both by the scruff of the necks, I began disintegrating them from existence. They whined and howled in pain before I casually tossed them up in the air, a sudden burst of light impaling their bodies.


    Spears of Light that were meant for me.


    "Tsk tsk, treating my pets so poorly~"


    I looked up at the source, a man sitting on the edge of the nearby school building.


    A face I hadn''t seen in person since the Great War.


    "And I wondered who it was. How absolutely horrible to see you again." I scowled upon seeing who it was.


    "Hurtful words for an old friend?" He slowly stood up, ten ck wings unfolding from his back. "And here I thought I was only going to get to y with the kids. What an unexpected surprise this turned out to be."


    It wasn''t just him either. High up in the sky, I saw them. Hundreds of Angels, wings as ck as night as they appeared under the moonlight.


    "Lets go a round or two, for old times sake, huh Vene?" The Fallen Angelughed in his annoying voice.


    "Rias, Sona." I said under my breath. "Get ready, do whatever you can to escape. I''ll do my best to make an opening for you."


    "Mom, who is that?" Rias shuddered and I couldn''t me her.


    She''s never faced an opponent this strong before, let alone one who was our natural enemy. The others weren''t doing much better, but I couldn''t turn my attention away.


    "Yes, yes~" The Fallen angelnded on the ground within a blink of an eye. "Who am I?" He held his arms out as if to proim in such a grandiose manner. "I am Kokabiel, Angel of the Stars." Hisckadaisical attitude shifted abruptly, a sneer now on his face. "And I''m here to fulfill my purpose."


    ***


    Almost didn''t get the chapter out for today before work. So I originally nned to have a few more things before the Kokabiel arc, but I decided to axe those and just go ahead with this.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 307 - 282

    <h4>Chapter 307: Chapter 282</h4>


    Venna Gremory POV


    Things were not good.


    "Let''s just Teleport away!" Rias''s Pawn blurted out as he held out a Devil Contract in his hand. They dide with the most basic of Teleportation Magics built in, however.....


    "Oh no, why had I not thought of that?" Kokabiel said in faux concern, with a very exaggerated look of shock on his face. "Newborn Devil, I fought in the Great War and the wars before and after. I''ve fought against your Ancestors and Gods on the battlefield. Did you really think I would overlook the most obvious method of running away?"


    The Fallen Angel let out a sign, snapping his fingers, and the Devil Contract in Issei''s hand burst into mes and drifted away as ash in the wind.


    "And for that matter, why do you think no one else had that brilliant idea?" He shook his head before looking back at me. "So, this is the lot you''ve chosen to die with, huh Vene? It''s a far cry from the old crowd you used to run with. Though, you never stood at the front lines, I can remember seeing you carve out my kin from my formations back in the good ol'' days."


    Unfortunately, I remembered him too. He led many legions of Fallen Angels throughout the Great War. He was never the strongest Angel in either faction, but no one could deny his skills as a General. He often took down foes stronger than himself with the help of his legions.


    "My only regret is that you weren''t among them." Good,got to keep him talking. Give us your maniac monologue, you always did love to do that. The longer this dragged on, the more time that someone on the other side might figure out that something was wrong.


    "Hoho, that''s the fire I remember." He let out augh. "The Devils these days are just so disappointing."


    "What exactly is your n? Come attack us and have my Son shove his hand so far up your rear that you''ll see your dad again?"


    "My n?" He rubbed his chin. "Hmm, is this the part where I dere my intentions for the world, reveal my diabolical scheme? Sorry, but it''s actually really simple. I just want the War to start back up."


    "You.....you''re doing this to reignite the War?"


    "Why else would I go through all this trouble, to do something so...pedantic." He rolled his eyes staring at the ones behind me. "Do you really think I would care one iota about those kids? That they''re at all worth my effort? I don''t want a fight, I want a war. This is merely a means to an end."


    "You''re mad....even if you seeded, you wouldn''tst a day after my Son found out."


    "Well, it would be a life well lived then~" He chuckled. "But at the very least, I would have aplished my objective. The world is so broken, it doesn''t make sense anymore. And that fool, Azazel, just wants to make peace with everyone, it''s disgusting. He actively cohorts with you lot, tries to appease you all and gives so many concessions in the name of his peace."


    "One of the great Generals of the Grigori throwing a tantrum because he feels irrelevant." I scoffed at his reasoning.


    "Oh please, pettiness is beneath you. Besides, you make it sound like I''m the only one involved. Do you think I forced my men to follow me? No, they did so because they share my sentiments."


    "A bunch of mad Angels following their equally insane leader, how surprising."


    "Haha, I do love that attitude of yours, it''ll make this so much more fun. But you''re wrong again, you think that it''s only my men as well? I''ve made a bunch of...friends recently. You would be surprised how many like minded people there are in the world."


    That...sounded very ominous and I came to a realization. "The Wards around the School." I breathed out in a feeling of dread. "You''re many things, but a Magician of that caliber isn''t one of them. There is no way you would have been able to pull down Ajuka''s wards without any rms going off."


    I asked him to increase the defenses around the City after Wilhelm warned me about a potential attack. Yet.....they came down so quickly and easily. How many in the world could match Ajuka when it came to Magic?


    "As I said, some like minded friends." Kokabiel just smiled. "Speaking of, I made some other preparations! Why don''t youe on out, Freed!" He gestured as a new person walked forward.


    The presence was.....not substantial. However, there was something about him that gave me pause.


    It looked like a young Priest, but he held something in his hand that made my hair stands on end.


    "Took awhile to steal those things from the Church, and I could only get four of them before Michael got smart." Kokabiel chuckled. "Well, and that one the Pendragon Family has, but I''m not stupid enough to stick my hand over there right now."


    "Yer weren''t lyin, huh?" The new Priest smiled maniacally, as he wielded a Holy Sword the likes I haven''t seen in centuries. "I can really test my new Excalibur against these Devil Bitches?"


    "Oh yes, you can have as much fun as you want. And don''t worry, we have a barrier around the School, so they can''t run away~"


    I''d seen the Excalibur Fragments a few times, and this thing was significantly stronger than any of those. Did he manage to recreate the original thing to some extent?


    "And this is your n?" I stared warily towards that sword. "Somehow me the Church by using some holy sword? Do you think that everyone''s that dumb?"


    "You insult me, Lady Gremory. Do you think this is all that I did? Of course that would be an idiotic assumption to make. They could, no they would easily hand wave it in the name of peace. Truthfully, I was hoping the Church would be their usual ipetent selves and arm a few Exorcists with the remaining fragments of Excalibur and send them to hunt ''us'' down, but it seems someone used their brain." He hummed nonchntly. "But fusing together four fragments should be enough. I just need a strong enough Holy Signature that isn''t tied to an Angel. I''ve already put enough pieces in motion that when you all turn up dead, they have to dere war even if all the leaders don''t want it."


    Well, there went my hope that he''s lost in his own madness. It seemed he actually thought and nned this out, even if it''s a ridiculous notion.


    "But lets end this stalling game you''re trying." He smiled savagely. "And yes, I knew you were stalling for time. But spoiler~" He raised his arm up in the air. The Dark Night suddenly lit up with a Holy Glow, hundreds of Light Spears manifested in the hands of his troops. "No onesing." He threw his arm down and they began raining from the sky.


    It''d been so long since I''ve had to pull on this much power, having not brushed up on my old techniques. Luckily, I had anticipated this and quietly gathered enough during his monologue. I held my hands out, the smallest waft of Destruction flickered between them.


    A small seed that I continuously fed for the past few minutes but kept oh so contained.


    I released it up towards the sky infront of us. "Star of Extinction." And it bloomed magnificently.


    It expanded abruptly, acting as a barrier between us.


    The beautiful ckish energy consumed the Holy Lights of those angels.


    "Rias, Run." I hissed under my breath, getting ready to gather enough for another attack.


    "B-but, mom!?"


    "Rias, listen to her!" Sona pulled on her arm. "Get out, call our siblings, lets find the edge of this barrier while your mom handles them, we''re just going to be in the way!"


    "Who said you can go!?"


    I turned my head in shock to see that Priest appear behind us, holy sword in hand.


    It was Sai''s Knight who moved, argence in hand which he used to deflect a sh from that ridiculous Holy Sword.


    "Oh! Lets see how good you are with that big nce'' of yours, you shitty devil!" Heughed as they came to blows.


    "RAAAAH!" I jerked my head back to see Kiba of all people roar as he charged at the Priest. The boy was usually more reserved, but I didn''t dwell on it.


    They should be able to handle him, even if he had that ridiculous sword. Especially with Sai''s knight here, that one seemed to have quite a bit of experience inbat.


    I would have to focus on the true enemy.


    At the very least...I needed to get them out of here.


    So.....distraction it was.


    I looked down at the Bracelet that Wilhelm had given me, thinking of what I had inside. The only thing of note that would help right now was a single Phenex Tear, though my eyes did linger on the little jewel that hung on the Bracelet itself.


    I had to stop myself from sighing, knowing it would be pointless.


    It was odd how delicate it felt between my fingers as I crushed it. There was no immediately reaction other than a wisp of colorful energy that drifted away.


    I took that as a sign that I shouldn''t hope for a miracle and readied myself.


    [ ***]


    Rias POV


    I was surprised to see Kiba let out a howl and charge towards the priest, activating his Sacred Gear ¨C Sword Birth. His speed suddenly increased sharpy as he summoned a Sword that increased his speed, making me almost lose sight of him.


    However, the Priest went even faster to the point where he disappeared from the spot he was in.


    One moment he as standing still and the next his sword was aimed between Kiba''s ribs.


    "Be gone!" Sai''s knight roar, his Lance intercepting the attack and deflecting that Holy Sword.


    Akeno took that moment to cast a spell, a jolt of lightning manifesting from a Magic Circle as it traveled the distance towards the Priest.


    The Priest, who had been knocked back by Sai''s Knight, slid back on his feet, holding his Sword up as it glowed bright, enough that I had to shield my eyes partially. Akeno''s Magic was snuffed out as it approached, her Magic Circle fell apart and a burning sensation covering all of us.


    "How you like that you shitty Devils!? The Love of God is gonna be forced in ya whether you like it or not!" The Priestughed as he shed his sword down at Sai''s Knight. "Come here ya cock suckers, get ready for Daddy Freed''s Holy Sword! And I ain''t talking about the Excalibur, HAHAHA."


    Sona stepped up, a shield enveloped Sai''s Knight, but it shattered upon contact with the Holy de. It was enough that the Knight was able to bring his Lance up to block.


    "Rias! Stop spacing out!" Sona roared, Spell Circles activated again as her Queen joined in the melee.


    "I....." My breath hitched as I looked around. I nced at Mother who was.....facing that Kokabiel, and even looking at him made me shiver in fear. "Right..." I whispered, gathering what resolve I had. "Kiba,e back!" I yelled out, trying to grab his attention as he wasn''t acting like his usual self. He did have a.....sore sport regarding that sword, but...I saw him grit his teeth and disengage.


    We trained enough to be able to handle this!


    "Koneko! Smash the ground!" I yelled, gathering my Destructive Power in my hands.


    Beluga instantly knew what we were doing, it was a strategy we used against him not long ago. He grabbed Sona''s Queen, yanking her back as he jumped to the side.


    Koneko''s Touki roared as she leapt forward high into the air and pushed all of it into her fist, before mming it into the ground, sundering the earth and blocking everyone''s vision.


    "THE HELL YOU DUMB CUNT!?" The Holy Power of the sword was no joke. The random shing could be seen between all the kicked up dust and even Koneko looked like she was hissing in pain when it collided with her. Thankfully, her Touki enveloped her body, keeping it from direct contact.


    "Akeno!" I yelled.


    "Take this, Thunder Snakes!" She yelled, as the spell manifested. Lighting-like snakes were created from a multitude of Magic Circles, crackling and jolting around every angle as they navigated the fallings debris that Koneko kicked up.


    "Rah!" The Priest screamed as they collided with him. "MOTHER FUCKER, I FOUND YOU!" He screamed, lunging at Akeno with blinding speed.


    "Don''t forget about me!" Kiba slid in front of her with a new sword in hand. I only saw it once and he still hadn''t worked out the kinks. "Sword Barrage!" He activated it, and the de itself shattered into dozens of pieces, dozens of smaller shaped swords as they all fired off towards the oing Priest.


    Something he came up with after seeing Wilhelm do something simr.


    The Priest growled, stomping on the ground, and the Holy Light filled his sword as he continued to move blindingly fast, his arm blurring to deflect or destroy every one.


    Unfortunately, it was still a work in progress. Kiba''s own hands started bleeding, his des having cut them apart when they shattered.


    "Issei!" I shouted out again, as I saw the boy dove forward, protecting his other Peerage member. He let out a scream that made my blood crawl. The boy who had barely been a devil, and was just cut with a Holy Sword that could even bring down a century old Devil.


    "Finally, got one of ya stupid cunts!" He Priest howled inughter.


    "BASTARD!" I yelled, letting go of all the Destruction I gathered, pointing it right at the Priest.


    "Oh shit!" I lost sight of him and it barely missed my Peerage, enveloping the Priest. The burst mming into the side of a School Building as it continued on, devouring everything in its way.


    I let out pants when I didn''t catch sight of him. I relief slowly working its way up in my heart.


    "Rias, look out!" Sona shouted, but all I saw was a swirling of shadows next to me take shape, the same Priest, looked worse for wear, but still hole. That Sword swung at me.


    I cast my own shields, and even saw Sona''s appear around me. His sword cut through them like a hot knife through butter. I panicked, coating myself in my Power of Destruction haphazardly as the de mmed into my arms.


    The pain was excruciating.


    It onlysting a moment before Koneko punched him away. But.....the mass that was the Priest distorted, a maniac smile appearing on his face, much too wide for a human to possess. His body shifted into a nightmarish shadowy monstrosity that towered over us.


    Sona and Akeno both unleashed a barrage of spells, Lighting and Water intertwining as theynded upon the thing.


    It didn''t even react.


    Even when I lofted my own Prideful Power at it, my Power of Destruction just ignored him in its entirety.


    "Tis an illusion!" Sai''s Knight yelled. "Be wary, his sword possesses the powers of the fragments!"


    I blinked in realization at his words.


    "Ruin my fun you fucking devil cunt!" The monstrosity''s distorted voice range out as it burst into dozens of copies of the Priest appeared around us. Each one possessed a Holy Glow that made my skin burn by being close.


    "Akeno, Phenex Tear on Issei!" I shouted,unching forward, my hands covered in Demonic Power as I wed at the closest one, ignoring my hands that began to burn even through my protections.


    "On it!" She nodded, running towards the boy who Kiba was still protecting him and trying his best to siphon away the Holy Power, presumedly with the sword he made previously that absorbed Holy Power. It was in no way able to stand up to the Sword in the Priest''s hands, but for this, it was probably our best bet to save Issei.


    "I''ll find the real one." Sona dered, throwing her magic into the air and a torrential rain fall fell upon our small area. "Look for the wet one!" She dered.


    My eyes darted around, but..... "They''re all wet!" I shouted, shattering another illusion that leapt at me so haphazardly.


    "Then I shall meet them head on!" Sai''s Knight roared, his Demonic Power gathered visible, and he began to split, matching each illusion one for one as they shed within the courtyard.


    "SHIT FUCK!" The Priest shouted, Ancer slicing through his arm as the other illusions shattered.


    It only took the blink of an eye for Koneko and Sona'' Queen tounch back at the Priest who resorted to stepping back with a blur, gaining his own distance. "EAT A DICK!" He howled again, shing his sword as it carried waves of Holy Power, slicing the ground and rending the earth.


    I stepped forward, seeing what Mother did not too long ago, and I gathered my Power of Destruction, condensing it to a fine point before letting it out. What did she call it again ¨C "Star of Extinction!" I let loose, acting as a shield to take the oing Holy Power and consuming it.


    The ''Shield'' dispersed almost immediately after fulfilling its purpose. It was exceedingly difficult to keep up, and I didn''t know how Mom did her''s for so long.


    We prepared to attack again, only for Sona''s Queen to turn into a blur herself, a Katana in hand as she stabbed upward into the Priest''s Stomach, his blood spurting out from his mouth.


    I blinked, only now noticing the line, a sort of appendage. I traced it back to its origin, and it was from Sona''s newest Pawn the one who had been staying behind Sona. I knew for a fact hecked any kind ofbat experience, even less than Issei, however, I was able to put two and two together at this point.


    His Sacred Gear.


    Right next to him was the remains of one of those Cerberus that Mom had mutted. His Sacred Gear can siphon strength from things, and I guessed it''s able to give it to others too.


    Did he take the remaining strength of that monster and add it to Sona''s Queen?


    Things were looking up now. I was feeling confident...and that all shattered once a bright light up in the sky caught my attention. And I was reminded that a Legion of Angels were hanging above as they all readied a multitude of attacks.


    Fear returned.


    [****]


    Venna POV


    "Ara Ara, is that all? And you used to be so menacing, Kokabiel." My Power of Destruction finally dissipated from above, showing the bleak sky again. We had traded several blows at this point, but neither of us hadmitted to anything.


    Well, as long as he''s focused on me.


    "It actually isn''t." He chuckled, gesturing again and they once more started raining down Holy Light.


    And, as if reading my thoughts, it wasn''t reserved for me alone.


    Once more, I had to gather my Power of Destruction and fill the space above not just me but the others as well.


    "Mom!" Rias screamed as she looked up.


    "Lady Gremory." Sona held up her hands as she began casting her own spells. She was decently talented in Magic from what I remembered, however....


    The Barriers that sprung up in the sky were shattered immediately.


    She wasn''t experienced in facing Holy Light when weaving her spells.


    Holy Light was our anti-thesis, it dismantled our Demonic Power quite easily if you didn''t maneuver around it. Even then you needed a lot of power to shield from it.


    I jerked my hand, my Power of Destruction wafted through the air, devouring the errant Spears of Light that seemed to be never ending.


    "How boring. I''m sure if you were by yourself, a good chunk of my men would have fallen already. But instead, you''re stuck protecting those little Devils behind you." Kokabiel took a few steps forward as I eyed his every movement. "I don''t want this night to end on such a dower note, should I help you out? Maybe.....remove your handicap, perhaps?" His wings fluttered and he disappeared from the spot he was in.


    My eyes widened as I turned around, ignoring a Light Spear that tore into my shoulder from above.


    I used everything I had to propel myself forward, mming into the Angel who was behind my Daughter with his hand glowing bright.


    "What.....?" Rias didn''t seem to notice until thest moment.


    I grabbed the golden light he had gathered and deflected it to the side and forcing him back in one motion.


    "Toot toot, look at you." Kokabiel slid back and readjusted his stance, reorienting himself after the little scuffle. "How much have you let yourself go? Have you even kept up with your skills in all these years? It''s almost insulting, you should have been able to keep up better than this."


    "Why don''t youe closer and find out." I gritted out, grabbing the light spear sticking from my shoulder. With a burst of Destruction, I shattered it.


    I could feel the Holy Light begin to invade my body and did the only thing I could do in this situation, I met it head on with my Destruction in miniscule amounts, slowly withering it away even as it began rampaging in the wound. At the very least, it was contained for now.


    With a growl, I forced out my Demonic Energy, forming arge circle beneath us.


    I directed it upwards, forming my own Demonic Spears in a taunt that sailed to the sky and with that small distraction, I gathered my Destruction at the tip of two fingers and thrust it at that priest that wielded that damn holy sword.


    Fast, but just as deadly, even if it was a small amount.


    I only heard him scream before I turned back towards Kokabiel, barely having enough time to envelop my arm in the same destructive energies as I raised it up to block an attack he swung down.


    His Holy Light ffought against my Destruction as both powers cascaded off in all directions.


    "Annoying." Kokabiel sneered, flicking his free hand to the side, dispersing another burst that came from somewhere else. My Daughter had gathered her own and threw it at the Fallen Angel. "Stupid human, couldn''t even handle a bunch of kids with one of Father''s creations." He grunted as I nced to the side to see Sai''s knight running the Priest through. A few of Rias''s peerage didn''t look too good, but they were still alive. "Oh well, I just needed him present, being alive or not is irrelevant. The backups I have just aren''t as good and we already messed with the Church Records specifically for him. Well, he should be happy, at least he died while ''technically'' still a member of the Church. With how broken Father''s system is, I can''t help but smile at the thought of Michael''s twisting face as he wees the luncatic into Heaven."


    Behind me, several Magic Circles formed, Sona''s Water Magicing into effect as a massive Serpent made of the magical Liquid formed and descended upon the Angel as well.


    "Adorable." Kokabielughed as dozens of Light Spears rained down from the sky again, impaling the Watery Serpent and dispersed the Magics that held it together.


    I swiped my hand at the Fallen Angel while his eyes were off me, he jumped back with augh. "Close~" A small wound only appeared on his chest and closed within moments.


    I felt blood swelling up in my throat before pushing it back down. "ying with your food isn''t like you, Kokabiel." I breathed out, pushing sweaty hair out of my eyes.


    "Hmm, you seem to be under a misconception." He tapped a spear of light against his shoulder. "For some reason you seem to think you''re the one that''s stalling." He tilted his head up and I just now noticed a man standing on a nearby roof. "You done?" He asked.


    The man looked...like another Priest. An older, and round, man. Except, he had an exceedingly dangerous aura to him. "Just finished, you can wrap up whenever you want."


    "Oh wonderful." Kokabiel chuckled again. "And why are you wearing that appearance? Did you run around as that priest I killed?"


    The Priest just shrugged. "I found it amusing, so yes."


    "Fair enough." Kokabiel turned back to me. "Now, where were we....oh yes." He snapped his fingers and the sky once more filled with light.


    My Eyes widened as the amount of power raining down was much more intense than before. I was about to gather my Power of Destruction once more, but I looked down, blood began flowing from my mouth and there was a Light spear in my diaphragm, with Kokabiel''s hands empty.


    "You really lost your edge. I''ve kept training, always making sure I was ready while you sat on yoururels and yed housewife." Kokabiel''s voice held a cold indifference. "If it''s any constion, they''ll be joining you shortly."


    "MOM!" I think I heard Rias scream but my head was very dizzy and it was hard to focus.


    Hearing it, I ground my teeth and stood up, gathering what power I had left and tossed it up into the sky, hoping It was enough so they wouldn''t die and maybe buy a few more moments. The majority of the bombardment was consumed, but several still made it through.


    The Holy Power erupted into explosions upon hitting the ground, causing the corrosive power and expand outwards. I grabbed Rias into my arms, turning my back and covering her.


    I felt my body burn at the touch as a particrlyrge burst erupted right behind me.


    It hurt.


    My back felt like it was burning even with my Demonic Power coating me in an attempt to ward off the Holy Power.


    "Pathetic. So, this is thest moments of one of my old foes? I do hope this kicks you devils into actually being threats again." I looked up to see his hand shaping his Holy Light into the form of a small sword. "Or not, killing Devils has always been enjoyable."


    I gathered my Power of Destruction, molding it into a wall once more.


    "Ast pitiable stand." He sword cut through it easily enough, but I clutched my hand. It distorted, the wall reformed and the Destruction jerked and pierced towards the Fallen Angel. He hissed as it barely managed to tear away a few strands of flesh before his own Holy Power shined off his body, dispersing it quite easily. "That''s more like it." He smiled brightly.


    I shakily took out a Phenex Tear from the storage I was given. I attempted to give it to Rias, only for the ss to shatter in my hand with a burst of light I could only assume was from the Fallen Angel


    "Really?" Kokabiel sounded incredulous. "Not even for yourself, but to help your daughter? You do realize she''s going to die if you can''t stop me, right? Not that you will, I just think the logic is ridiculous. Though I guess it''s slightly admirable too. I can admit that you Devils care about your own, even if you did steal that kind of Love from Father when Lucifer fell. As a final acknowledgement, I''ll kill you first so you don''t have to see her die."


    I held the remains of the sk, the liquid dripping between my fingers as I quickly rubbed it on Rias''s exposed skin, and even into my own wounds. I felt the healing properties invade, if diminished heavily. It was enough that I stood up again.


    "Rias..." I managed to breath out as she also slowly climbed up. I stood in front of her protectively, but I was under no delusion that I was in any way capable of truly protecting her at this moment. "I need you to run. I need you to do your absolute best to run and not look back, whatever happens. There''s a tiny chance, but it''s better than nothing."


    I could see several others stand to their feet out of the corner of my eye. Good, the more the higher the chance. That Priest off to the side hadn''t made a single move, so I was hoping he would think it was beneath him.


    For some odd reason, Kokabiel wasn''t moving, probably deciding to keep having fun it seemed.


    No, he was rather speechless for some reason, just standing there, looking at us.


    "Mom...."


    "Rias, don''t question me." I hissed out under my breath, I didn''t dare take my eyes off Kokabiel for a moment. It still hurt, I was still dizzy, but I pulled on my Destruction again as it wrapped around my hands.


    "Mom!"


    I stuttered at Rias''s words, instinctually looking behind me, practically running right into something as my vision was filled with ck and white. A soft fabric that I had seen several times at this point. A iridescent glow behind that matched one I had seene from the emergency gem Will had given me.


    Arms wrapped around me; and I instinctually dismissed my Destruction. All my fatigue seemed to catch up to me in that moment as I felt a relief ovee me. I felt like I would copse, but those warm arms held me up, and I did my best to make it so the tears didn''t fall.


    "Sorry, I''mte." His voice was reassuring in a way I didn''t think possible.


    "We''ve got to stop meeting like this." I don''t know why but I started giggling at the ridiculousness of my own words.


    Maybe it was just the stress of the situation that made me so tired that I couldn''t even control myself properly anymore. Or maybe, it was because in this moment, I no longer felt fear.


    [ ***]


    Wilhelm POV


    I stepped out of a portal upon a battlefield.


    I was rxing at home with my girls after working on that Obelisk Project for several days.


    That was, until I got pinged by Venna''s emergency jewel. I had no actual name for it at this time.


    It hit me so suddenly that I scrambled to trace back its location, the coordinates were distorted in an intense way. It was...different than what the Fae did. It wasn''t a normal method of spatial distortion. It was as if...someone built a maze around them and I had to waste energy forcing my way through it as opposed to the normal method which was to seal up a location.


    There was no expectance in me to appear at my old school, or what was left of it.


    But I didn''t dwell on that, even with my girls followed me through. I felt my heart drop at what I saw, and my hands even shook as I took her in my arms. My Healing spells came out instinctually, enveloping her as my arms wrapped around her tight.


    My Venna was not in the best of shape. I could practically feel her exhaustion as she barely even supported herself anymore. Well, the fact that she was giggling to herself was a good sign.


    There was a slight bit of color that returned to her face as I continued my healing. "It''s going to be okay, I''ll take care of it now." I whispered to my Grandmother as she swayed back and forth in my grasp.


    I didn''t need to look back to know that my other girls were taking care of anyone else. I saw many others that I recognized, but my attention was solely on Venna right now.


    "Please protect them." Her voice was strained.


    "Of course." I reassured her with a kiss on her forehead. I could see her shoulders sag in relief.


    Sc¨¢thach, Artoria, Jinn, and Raikou all followed me through as they were with me at home. Yasaka, was not able to apany or leave Kyoto right now for obvious reasons.


    A quick nce showed me that they were administering Health Potions, and Artoria''s hands glowed with the light of Avalon as she helped others to their feet.


    "You...." I hissed upon seeing him. "Kokabiel." The name seethed with a fury in me that was hard to describe.


    "A miss calction, I thought you wouldn''t appear." He didn''t even react to my sudden entrance. Instead, he turned to someone else that was.....lowering their own presence. A man in priest''s garb, that was clearly not normal, but they contained themselves quite thoroughly. "I thought you said he wouldn''t be able to get through?"


    The Priest looked at me with sparkling eyes. "He shouldn''t have been able to. I look forward to understanding how he did it. But regardless, we made our own preparations, did we not?"


    "Unlucky, I suppose, but you''re right." Kokabiel turned his gaze up towards the sky. "Open the Dragon Gate." he dered.


    It''s not that I didn''t notice the legion of Fallen Angels in the sky, but they weren''t not a priority at all right now.


    They moved with a practiced ease, and I felt the fluctuation of Magical Energy, an extreme amount.


    Not all of them moved to this strange formation that created a Magic Circle. Some of them gathered Holy Power andunched attacks.


    My Swords flung out, colliding with the oing barrage, shattering the dozens of Light Spears before they could bombard the ground while we were healing these Devils.


    Whatever wasing out, I couldn''t bear to let Venna leave my grasp right now to stop it.


    [That''s''....not possible.] Ddraig said within my mind. [That thing should have died a long time ago.]


    The strange Magic Circle, what Kokabiel called the ''Dragon Gate''. Something burst through almost immediately, as if anticipating this scenario.


    A massive ck body.


    Inky ck scales, two sets of wings, and razor sharp teeth and ws.


    I recognized it, because it was the same form Ddraig took not too long ago.


    It mmed onto what remained of a nearby school building, its snake-like body hissing and dripping with venom.


    "Is this the mortal who made a mockery of me?" The Dragon spoke in that venomous voice as its equally venomous saliva dripped onto the stone, dissolving anything it touched.


    "As per our agreement, that''s him." Kokabiel nodded, looking rather casual.


    N¨ªeh?ggr.


    Apparently, the real one.


    Did he anticipate me then, was that what this was about?


    The Dragon, let out a roar that shook the surroundings as its wings pped, kicking up mini tornados with the movements. It shot out at me, faster than anything that size had any right to be, its massive maw opened and ready to devour me and the woman I was holding.


    I didn''t blink, nor react in the slightest. Venna, seemed to jerk at the sudden pressure descending upon us, but, I gave her another squeeze of reassurance.


    The Dragon let out a confused roar as a red light collided with its side, piercing its scales. Followed by a burst of Purple Lighting that mmed onto it from above. A Burst of Air then shed at its underbelly, sending the beast tumbling to the ground and sliding into a building to the side.


    Lastly, arge Magic Circle appeared in the sky above where the Dragonnded.


    Hundreds upon Hundreds of Magical Staffs and other Magical Foci appeared as they all gathered an obscene amount of Magical Energy and released a torrent of spells that blinded everyone present.


    I kissed Venna on the forehead again, taking out my Staff of Magus, and mmed it into the ground next to me. I used it to facilitate a continued cast of healing around the area as I climbed to my feet, finally letting her out of my arms.


    For the first time since arriving, Kokabiel seemed to be startled.


    "You seem to misunderstand where you stand." I growled, even ncing at that priest who looked just as surprised as kokabiel.


    A roar erupted, the building that the Dragon had collided with and subsequently been buried under, exploded outward. The Dragon, not looking any worse for wear minus some small wounds, shot up into the sky.


    "Did you think such a mighty beast would be so easily defeated?" The priest regained that calm demeanor he had before. "N¨ªeh?ggr fought against Gods, Mortal." He stated with a mocking tone.


    I slowly turned my head to him, our eyes meeting. Reaching within my Ring, I took out another staff, pointing it to the sky.


    "Bex Zii Zoor Frul Lo." It wasn''t met with the same energy as thest time, but the words, they carried an apanied Rage both from within and without. Ddraig was in my soul, he could feel my anger and it was intertwined with his own deration "Disgyniad yr Ymerawdwr."


    Another ck Dragon appeared opposite from the first.


    "Ddraig, handle that worm." I stated, turning back towards Kokabiel. "I don''t care about the others ¨C " Directing my words to my Girls behind me. They had been quiet, as if sensing my current turbulent emotions. "But the Angel is mine."


    ***


    Here''s Tuesdays chapter.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 308 - 283 Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 308: Chapter 283 Part 1</h4>


    Ddraig POV


    I took to the skies, rising to match the Evil dragon as our eyes met. There was silence as he tried toprehend what he was staring at.


    It must have been unnerving to see a mirror image of oneself. I could feely admit, I would go into a rage if someone tried to impersonate me like this.


    But as the brat would say ¨C Fuck him.


    "Youuuuu.." It''s voice hissed, like the serpent it truly was.


    "The snake can speak after gorging itself on a tree for so long." I taunted. The brat was understandably angry right now, so I would keep the stupid thing away from his fight. "I remember how arrogant and haughty you used to be and now look at you, a mere attack dog."


    "YOU DAREEEE!" N¨ªeh?ggr roared in fury, but still didn''t attack. Despite me calling him an idiot, N¨ªeh?ggr wasn''tpletely stupid. The only thing that matched its viciousness is its cowardice.


    "The Dog just barks."


    "Roooooarrrr!!!" N¨ªeh?ggr seemed to have had enough as its wings sliced through the air and it let out a world shattering roar, charging right at me.


    And so, I stopped pping my wings and fell.


    His body went soaring through the air, as he expected and braced himself to impact with me. Instead, his body jerked unnaturally, and he went tumbling.


    I took the opportunity to kick my wings again, shooting back at him, my w digging into his scale.


    N¨ªeh?ggr roared again, twisting its long neck to swing around and bite into my fake body. It''s venom began to invade through my broken scales.


    Realizing I was at a disadvantage, I decided to push him away, tearing my body free.


    I opened my jaw, intaking arge amount of air to let loose my Venomous breath.


    "Pitiful!" N¨ªeh?ggr roared as a shield enveloped him.


    My corrosive stnded on the Evil Dragon''s Magical protection, eating away at it, but not enough to fully break through.


    I had forgotten that he was adept in magic as well.


    I realized I was more at a disadvantage than I thought in this form.


    I was never very proficient in Magic, I always just developed my own abilities when I needed. And right now, I was without those as well...


    Off the top of my head, I only had one advantage over this Evil Dragon when it was both stronger and has ess to its full arsenal.


    "Who are you!" The Dragon charged at me again, and I let loose another Corrosive st


    "What''s wrong worm, that all you got!?" I bellowed with augh as I mmed my head into the shield. The Evil Dragon just looked at me like I was crazy as I kept throwing myself at him and he continued to make new shields.


    Because, while I didn''t have much avable to me, I also didn''t have a real body. This was just a Magical Construct, so I don''t feel any real pain, nor would I suffer any permanent consequences.


    Finally, I whipped my tail, covered in spikes, at him, shattering the shield.


    The Dragon roared, broken from its stupor and I took that as an opportunity to m it into the ground with all my strength.


    The ground was sundered by the continued roars, both of usshing out at one another. Each swipe of our ws upended the earth, each movement of our bodies ttened thendscape.


    My Magical Body started cracking under the strain. Where blood should pour out, instead, my power was waning, leaking from my wounds. Unfortunately, I seemed to have miscalcted how much stronger the real one was than me right now. Even with my reckless attacks, I wasn''t able to deliver any substantial blow.


    N¨ªeh?ggr was able to twist and maneuver its body much more adeptly than I could.


    "Enough!" It roared again as I tired to w at its wing, only for it to smack me away with its tail. "Fake Bastard, I''ll end this now!" Suddenly, a massive amount of miasma spilled out from every pore of its body, like a toxic cloud that radiated outward.


    I felt a sense of danger.


    Unexpectedly, the Evil Dragon opened its maw and sucked it all back in, its belly inted as it eyed me with a hint of madness.


    I pped my wings and shot off the ground into the sky knowing exactly what wasing. My many ¨C many years of survival made my instincts go into overdrive as I tucked in my wings and rolled to the side. My scales were torn apart from behind and my tailpletely melted off as I barely dodged out of the way.


    Out of the corner of my eye as I twisted my neck, I saw a concentrated beam of venom tear through the night sky, parting the clouds onto the horizon.


    If I could feel true pain with this body, I''m sure it would have been excruciating.


    I unfurled my wings and jerked to the side, propelling myself as fast as I could as I collided with N¨ªeh?ggr once more.


    "Your breath smells just as bad as always." I taunted even as his ws tore out more of my scales.


    "Who are you!?" Nidhoggr roared, opening its mouth again, spewing out that vile breath.


    I met it head on, while I wasn''t nearly as strong in the venom department, what I had was enough to offset it and get out of the way.


    "Did the Tree taste good, or do you just like eating crap all day? It would fit your personality~"


    "I''M GOING TO TEAR YOU APART AND DEVOUR YOU." I grunted as his teeth dug into my neck, a shield around his so I couldn''t reciprocate.


    Suddenly, he jerked away, pushing me off. "You...your body isn''t real!" He finally figured it out.


    Well, it was the reason I continued to taunt him, he did have some Magic knowledge, he would have probably figured it out sooner if he was in a calmer state of mind.


    "I guess the jig is up."


    "How dare you impersonate me!"


    "I, N¨ªeh?ggr, like to eat crap!" I roared as loud as I could.


    "There''s only one Dragon annoying as you." The venom dripped from his words as he seethed in anger. "How dare you take my form, Ddraig Y Goch."


    "Believe me, it isn''t my ideal look either. Have you seen these ugly scales? And these hideous wings? I''ll never get a Mate looking like this.....but I''m sure you know all about that~"


    "Did you finally escape your prison? Or did your owner let you out for good behavior? And you call me a Dog!?"


    "You''re right!" I threw my head up again. "I N¨ªeh?ggr am the true Dog!"


    Hehehe.


    "BASTARD!" The Evil Dragon apparently decided that enough was enough and gathered a significant amount of Miasma around him, and I could even see its Magical Energy fluctuate. Two massive Magic Circles appeared next to its shoulder, and ethereal mimicries of its head came out as they all open their massive jaws.


    "Well shit...." Would sure love to have my abilities right now, hell I''d dly take the reduction in my actual strength if I could just....do something beyond smacking him.


    And suddenly, I came to a realization.


    I am a Dragon.


    The concept of Ddraig was hidden from the world when I took on the Concept of N¨ªeh?ggr, which was why I can''t use my true abilities, but I am still a Dragon!


    I listened as the brat learned those Dragon Words, and he always leaned on my Dragon Aspect to use them. I knew their purpose, the feelings of their use, and I shared the experience of learning them through the brat.


    Not to mention their Magics were the reason I was free right now.


    I took arge breath of my own. And as all three heads unleashed that same deadly burst of venom, I bellowed out for the world to hear. "YOL TOOR SHUL" Maybe it was due to being so adept at using my own Fire in life, but the world bent in a way that even the brat probably would be surprised by. The space between was now filled in mes.


    Unfortunately, I felt something reverberate through my fake body. Like a significant amount of power was drained.


    My mes warded off his breath, but I didn''t know how much longer I could do this without the spell failing.


    "Strun Bah Qo!"


    More Dragon words filled the air, a whisperpared to my shout from before, but it wasn''t strange considering they weren''t mine.


    The clouds above us thickened considerably. Lightning crackled all around, thunder boomed so...invitingly.


    That brat....


    I looked down, the school itself was barely a dot at this point.


    Well, we were partners I suppose.


    My gaze returned to N¨ªeh?ggr who finally dispersed my mes, looking utterly enraged.


    I shot him a grin and flew upwards into the thundering clouds.


    It was hard to hold back my cackles as he followed me inside.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    In any other circumstance, I would have been excited to see Ddraig take to the skies and fight another Dragon. An epic sh as two gigantic beasts fought for supremacy.


    But at this particr moment, my attention and everything else was focused solely on a certain Fallen Angel.


    Venna was safe.


    That was the most important thing. I healed her enough and I knew the others could take over from there. And they would be sure to protect her and the other faces I didn''t really care about.


    "Kokabiel...." I breathed out, reining in my growing temper. "Why?" I felt the.....need to know. Why was my Venna hurt? Why was she almost killed?


    "Why?" He grinned. "She asked the same thing, Y''know. It''s simple really, I wanted the War to start back up again, so I set up a little...y. I''m sure you of all people can appreciate a good production?" He taunted me. "Have some ''Devils'' attack the Vatican, hourster, two Heirs to Devil nobility are found murdered with the Church''s super special sword impaled inside them. Of course, I also had dozens of other little incidents take ce all over the ce, but this is the main stage."


    "Well, this was not an ideal situation it turns out." The Fallen Angel chuckled. "She wasn''t even supposed to be here. I didn''t n for it, but then again, you can''t really n for every variable. I wonder, is this fate or did someone move against me? Not that I knew she was important enough for you toe all this way. How unlucky am I that out of every Devil in existence, this is seemingly the one you actually care about?"


    Taking a deep breath, my Aura red visibly around me, Reinforcement filled my body, and my limbs became coated in Divine Lightning.


    The Fallen Angel stiffened. "Now why don''t we ¨C"


    I didn''t let him finish.


    Lightning arced across the ground as I closed the distance, sliding infront of him. My handshed out, grabbing his face. I could see his eyes widen between my fingers, his hands jerked and Holy Power exploded out, but my Aura red out to meet it as the two powers shed.


    He muffed something into my hand, but I ignored it, and I gathered all of my strength and mmed his head backwards into the ground. The lighting around my hand discharged, but it was met with a burst of Holy Light that met it head on.


    The eruption of energy sent both hurling in all directions.


    I swiped my hand to the side, clearing the kicked-up dust, and pushed away the dirt that was dislodged.


    Kokabiel was a good few dozen yards away from me, wiping away blood that dripped from his nose.


    "I just unleashed, at point nk, enough Holy Power to burn away a thousand devils in a single burst. And you didn''t even flinch." He stood back up straight, wings arcing back as he stared at me. "Even if you fought a God, you''re still a Devil and that should have done something." There was a hint of growl added at the end.


    "It tickled." I said in the driest voice I could muster.


    Kokabiel twitched, his hand jerked and a dozen Holy Spears filled my vision.


    I didn''t even blink as my Swords flew out, swinging around me, shattering all of them before they could even touch my Aura.


    "A little help would be appreciated~" Kokabiel nced towards the Priest.


    "Honestly, I think this whole n is beyond salvaging, but I''m also very curious about a few things. I guess I can lend a hand, to satisfy my curiosity if nothing else." He held up his hand, a Spell Circle formed, and almost immediately, it was shattered.


    "How interesting."


    I could only smile at the source of the voice.


    I saw the priest looked surprised.


    "Youyered four spells, and hid them all beneath a Human Magic Circle. What are you hiding, hmm?" Sc¨¢thach took a few predatory steps forward, her Deadly Spear radiating bloodlust. "How about you y with me instead."


    And the Priest had no choice but to focus solely on the bloodlust and killing intent that was baring down right on him.


    Kokabiel noticeably frowned. "I was always more of a General." His wings behind him pped once more, propelling him into the air. "Formation Omega!" He dered as the Angels in the sky shifted.


    They moved into smaller groups, and seemingly,bined their Holy Power intorger molds. The most simplistic method of attack for them was to shape it into a general pointy end and release it, yet it was also extremely effective.


    Truly massive Holy Spears were created at this point. Their size weren''t the only thing that change, their entire strength increased several fold, enough to threaten those above their normal weight ss.


    But still, I nced at them but didn''t even pay them any mind.


    "Raikou." I called out.


    "Yes, Master." She replied, and a streak of Purple Lightning igniting across the bleak sky. I turned away from them, not even bothering anymore as I saw several of them get torn apart.


    Jinn and Artoria should be able to protect and heal the others.


    "Any more schemes?" I asked kokabiel. "Any more ns or plots you want to unveil? By all means, show me. I''ll wait right here." I punctuated; arms wide open. "Show me everything you have so I can grind it all into dust. I''ll take any hope or chance of victory you still hold and strangle it right infront of you." I couldn''t contain the venom that dripped from my words.


    ".....Anyone ever tell you that you''re one scary kid? I guess you''re more a devil than I thought." He quirked a smile.


    "I''m usually far more reserved. It''s just, some jackass Fallen Angel thought it was a good idea to try and kill my woman." My lighting re-coated my arm that I previously discharged, my wings emerged from my back. With a p of them, I shot up into the sky, meeting him at eye level. "So I''m going to return everything you did a thousand fold. So please show me everything you got, I absolutely wee it. I want to watch you slowly realize how much you really fucked up before I pluck every single one of your feathers then tear out your wings."


    Kokabiel sneered in response, Holy Power burst out of him, coating him protectively like my Aura. "I''ve fought across more battlefields than the days you''ve been alive? child. You think I am something you can break?" The Holy power condensed and sharpened into a sort of armor around him, giving him a very Holy appearance, even with the contradiction of his ck wings. Instead of a Light Spear appearing again, it took the form of a much more detailed sword, a ymore by the size of it, but not quite as thick. "I''ve met Gods in battle! I''ve in your ancestors and I even rebelled against Father and my siblings! How dare you look down on me. I refuse to believe that my Holy Power is ineffective."


    It wasn''t that it was ineffective, so he was technically right in that aspect. He merely had no context for how my Aura operated.


    "Holy Power, huh?" I took a deep breath, mentally looking into my Ring. It didn''t back away from my touch as I grabbed hold, bring it out once more for the world to see. I took satisfaction at Kokabiel''s widening eyes as he realized what I was holding. "Then let''s make that the first thread of hope I sever."


    I gripped the Sacred Spear in my hands as arge influx of power suddenly exploded out from around me.


    "True Longinus, Bnce Breaker!"


    Holy Power enveloped me again.


    A Halo appeared above my head and Twelve Wings appeared behind my back, recing my Devil Wings.


    I became the brightest glow under the moon as I even outshined Kokabiel.


    "Holy Spear of the Pure White Night."


    Kokabiel''s expression twisted into a mixture of rage and confusion. "Impossible." He hissed upon seeing my new form. "You should have turned into dust just from holding that!" His wordsden with disbelief.


    I didn''t deign to answer him.


    I pulled the spear back, as if ready to thrust, and he immediately knew what I was about to do.


    An absurd amount of Holy Power gathered around his hands as he pushed it outwards, just as I thrust the spear.


    My Spear extended, blindingly with speed, as it crossed the distance, a dozen shields between Kokabiel and I manifested. I would give him credit, each of the shields seemed to focus on a different method of application.


    My Holy spear met his Holy Shield, and his shield shattered.


    They acted like nothing more than ss. Each one barely held a split second before my Spear pierced right through them, one by one, not slowing in the slightest.


    "HAAAH!" Kokabiel let out a roar as it collided with hisst shield, he held his hand up as the Holy Power Shield distorted to keep my spear at bay.


    It began cracking and crumbling before finally shattering as well, the Fallen Angel was blown back by the release of power.


    He quickly reorientated himself, opting to head to the ground to steady himself properly.


    I appeared right above him, mming my Spear down overhead.


    Kokabiel gritted his teeth, bringing his sword up to block as he arms shook under the blow.


    "WHY CAN YOU USE THAT?!?" Kokabiel screamed, buckling under the pressure. "FATHER WOULDN''T LET A FILTHY DEVIL WIELD HIS SPEAR!"


    The irony of what he said wasn''t lost on me.


    However, I was too pissed off to give a shit right now.


    I flicked the butt of the spear upwards, breaking his guard as I spun the spear, swiping it at him. He ducked and moved to the side, his stomach getting cut in the process, blood began seeping from his wound.


    He groaned, clutching the wound with a burst of holy power as it sealed itself.


    "Is that it?" I looked down at him as he rose back to his feet. I held my hand aloft, pointing to the sky. I was....preupied, but I was fairly sure I heard a shout being used. I would care about thatter, but a quick nce told me that Ddraig was probably having a little trouble. "Strun Bah Qo." I whispered, ushering in a Storm for Ddraig to use to his advantage before turning back to the Angel. "Your Dragon has apparently met its match."


    Another nce to the side saw Sc¨¢thach fighting her own opponent. "Your ''partner'' ¨C" I emphasized the ambiguity of their rtionship. "¡ªis also entertained and matched. Your Legions....." My spear flicked upwards, pointing to the sky as Purple Lightning tore through a handful of Fallen Angels. "Are being decimated. What else do you have, Angel of the Stars."


    "A mere....Child." Kokabiel trembled, his face contorting in rage. "A Child is insulting me like this!"


    "Good, get mad." I hissed back. "Maybe you mighte close to the anger I''m feeling right now." A swipe of my spear unleashed a condensed projection of light.


    The inherent ability to all Angels, and I may as well be one right now.


    Kokabiel roared to life once more, shing his sword, meeting my attack with his own Holy sh.


    The two attacks met and created a vortex of Holy Power that whipped around in every direction.


    "Enough....ENOUGH!" Kokabiel let out a roar as his whole body glowed several degrees brighter. "I will not be yed around with by a child who hasn''t even seen three decades! I don''t care what tricks you''ve used to wield that spear, nor avoid my Holy Power, but I have just the answer! Onest hurrah like the good old days!" He dismissed his sword and held his hands to the sky. "Aoiveae Dobix"


    As soon as the words left his mouth, something....shifted.


    I would almost attribute it to a Godly Authority as it felt vaguely familiar, and perhaps not even incorrect. Angels could be seen as sort of Demi-Gods with their own ''authorities'' that God gave them.


    Aoiveae Bobix


    It meant ¨C Star Fall in Enochian.


    Looking up, the stars in the sky disappeared, disced from their normal positions as they began streaking across the sky.


    Kokabiel threw up arge mouthful of blood as he staggered backwards. "Hahaha, haven''t used that since dad was still kickin. If dear old Dad was still alive, he''d never let one of us Fallen tap into Heaven''s system, even as haphazardly as I just did."


    The Stars in the sky sped up,ets shooting across the horizon, but I had a foreboding feeling about it.


    "There''s a reason Heaven is still feared....." Kokabiel grit his teeth, blood flowing freely as he clearly had trouble standing after what he just did. "Disappear along with this city."


    Before I could respond, something else pricked me.


    The Spear, I felt the presence within stirring, and what came out was a sigh.


    The presence poked at me, and I could feel the intent it had. I felt myself wanting to scowl, but I relented and let it wrap around me.


    "Kokabiel" The Presence simmered around me, still much too weak to properly manifest, but at a better point than thest time we spoke. "You have corrupted your purpose." It enveloped my words, enhanced them as it aligned with my intent.


    The Fallen Angel blinked, before sneering again. "You dare tell me about my purpose, Child? Shouldn''t you be more worried about what''s going to happen in a few moments? That spell was one I used in the Great War back when I was plugged into Heaven''s System."


    I held the spear up as a gentle, but weighty, light seeped out.


    Kokabiel, through some haggard breaths looked.....confused again as he stared at me.


    "Your Light was meant to be a beacon of hope for all who looked to the stars in the dark of night. You have abused and misused your gift."


    "Who...." His eyes widened as he started toe under a realization.


    "For your sphemy, I dere you ¨C A??????????????????n???????????a???????????th??????????????e???????????m???????????????a????????????????


    An invisible power rippled out in all directions.


    The Presence within the spear strained itself, I could feel the spear itself shake and grind against what he just invoked. The word itself was not like the ones he spoke previously, but it still held substantial weight and meaning to it. It contained a hint of his Authority.


    Kokabiel visibly shuddered. He looked down at himself, his hands shaking and he coughed, covering his mouth. It wasn''t blood that seeped out, but wisps of Holy Power.


    The Stars that swirled above in the Sky, about to rain down from above, were dismissed.


    The Fallen Angel himself, jerked violently, veins were pulsing from under his skin. Holy Power was pouring from every pore of his body. He started writhing on the ground, a look of pure agony on his face, but he couldn''t even voice a sound.


    His overall power started to dim.


    He was never the most powerful foe I had met, but his presence began shrinking.


    The Presence within the spear retreated backwards as if going back to slumber.


    "You...." Kokabiel finally managed to grit out with a noticeable amount of disbelief in his tone. "What did you do to me!?"


    I stabbed the spear into the ground, walking towards him. "It''s not about what I did, it''s about that I''m going to do."


    I swung my leg up, mming it down on his back, his face forced into the ground, cracking the earth. And he was much weaker right now, I could gear him groan at the nonchnt blow.


    He may have been merciful, but I wouldn''t be.


    "I made a promise." I whispered, just enough for him to hear as I reached for and grabbed hold of one of his wings and began to pull.


    And for the first time ever, I heard an Angel scream.


    [***]


    It ended up being too long, so I separated it into two parts, here''s part 1.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 309 - 283 part 2

    <h4>Chapter 309: Chapter 283 part 2</h4>


    Sc¨¢thach POV


    I looked at the ''priest'' who also stared right back.


    He quirked his head, as if inspecting me, a curious look upon his face.


    "Apologies, but have we met before? For some reason, I have the strangest feeling that I know you from somewhere, but I simply can''t ce it." He finally spoke up.


    "I do not make it a habit to associate with such repulsive people." I snorted, eyes ncing to where Wilhelm had taken his fight a little distance away.


    Good, he hadn''t allowed his anger to overrule hismon sense.


    I wouldn''t chastise him for how he was acting. I did not believe I had the right to when I once made him watch a simr scene by my own hand.


    It was a sin that would weigh heavily on me, but I could only make sure that he never suffered such a grievance again.


    I do not know if the others realized what this person was, thus I took the opportunity to stake my im as his opponent.


    "Quite." He pursed his lips. "Though you give this oddly familiar feeling, but maybe I can''t ce it because it''spletely overshadowed by all that bloodlust you''re giving out. I feel as if I''ll be stabbed through the heart if I lose focus for even a moment. How peculiar."


    "You misunderstand something."


    "Oh? And what''s what?"


    "It will happen regardless of your efforts to the contrary."


    "Oh, I like you." The corners of his lips curled up. "Though, you should be careful of who you taunt." His eyes narrowed dangerously.


    "You say that as if I did not know you are a God." I spun my spear, mming it against the ground.


    That elicited a reaction out of him. "....How did you know? I was sure I hid it thoroughly."


    Hmm, why did he not even try to deny it?


    "You are not a God yourself, but I feel.....something Divine about you."


    "It''s quite simple." My back foot pushed into the ground, and his eyes widened as a heartbeatter, my spear was aimed for his heart. The Unnamed God twisted his body, already having casted several spells. I allowed momentum to carry me to dodge the barrage, a trade for me not being able to take his heart. Coming to a stop, I spun around, swiping my Spear as Runes manifested and danced through the Air. "klj¨²fa." I actualized the simple spell, my Magic cleaving through several of the Elemental effects that he unleashed.


    I stood back up straight, spinning my spear, flicking off a tiny bit of blood on its edge.


    The aforementioned God look entirely unamused as he stared down at his arm. It was the tiniest cut that healed without any effort on his part. However, it did serve to pierce through the veil he was hiding himself behind. It did mend itself rather quickly, but it did show that this fa?ade was not but an illusion.


    "I have bathed in enough Divine Blood to recognize another."


    The God frowned, looking back at me. "Careful with your words, Mortal. My amusement may run its course."


    "Funny, I have heard simr words many times in the past. How many of the Gods have I in had uttered such trivialities before me? What warning need I to heed from someone who hides themselves in front of this Mortal."


    The God''s eye twitched, but he didn''t jump upon my provocation. I was still unsure of his true identity; thus I would continue to probe, but I did not wish tomit without knowing any details I could find out when others required protection within the vicinity of my battle.


    "Some manner of Demi-God? There shouldn''t be many of you running around these days. Especially ones that know that Language and use of Norse Magic." He seemed to be voicing his thoughts for his own amusement. "But I don''t think that''s it either. My instincts are telling me it''s something much different, but I just can''t put my finger on it."


    For some reason, it made me annoyed to converse with him. And the feeling of being looked down upon was also not one I enjoyed.


    If I had not been a Servant, even with how advanced Wilhelm made my vessel, I would have no hesitation in my ability to kill him.


    Unfortunately, I am much lesser now than when I was alive.


    However.....that did not mean that victory was beyond me in the slightest.


    This one gave off a much more dangerous feeling than that Goddess I had fought in that other world. She was a mere shadow of what a God should be, not even allowed to be called a Divine Spirit with her reduced state. This one, while the differences were obvious to someone who had once lived in the old age in my world, was without a doubt a God.


    Spinning my spear, I kicked uprge swathes of dirt, with a second flick, I sliced at the ground, imbuing the ground with a string of Runes.


    The wind reshaped, gathering up the dirt and shot at the God like spears.


    He casually swayed side to side as to dodge, but that wasn''t my intent.


    The spears all swirled around him and I snaped my finger, causing them to burst into arge upturn, concealing vision.


    With that, I moved, a straight trust right at his point of location. I gathered a significant amount of Magical Energy at the tip of my Spear and let out a shout.


    The God raised up his hand, and cast a spell in response. The space between us fluctuated as my Spear collided with something very sturdy. The result was that neither side would give in, his shield fluctuated, I pushed, but my Spear was unable to prate the shield.


    The God had an amused smile still adorning his face which made me wish to wipe it away.


    "Did you not wonder why I used such a spell to obscure vision when I attacked from the front?" I took a small bit of satisfaction as his eyes gain realization and he nced down at the ground.


    On his side of the shield, a handful of small stones began glowing, each had a Rune ced on them. My previous spell had deposited them at his feet without him noticing.


    He raised his other arm to cast another spell, but I took that moment to put much more power into my thrust, shattering his shield at the same moment his attention was divided.


    The resulting explosion caused arge portion of the school behind us to disappear.


    My own shield shimmered around me, a singr string flickering before fading as to not be caught up in my own attack.


    I frowned once more, waving my spear to the side to clear away the dust once again, to get a clear sight. I didn''t expect him to be there, I could feel something happen right at the point of contact.


    Instead, my eyes followed the feeling of anger directed towards me.


    He was standing atop another building and he had a much better expression. His mouth twisted back in a snarl as he held his eye.


    Part of is face was.....shattered, and I could see his real eye beneath. Silver in color, but I still did not know to whom it belonged.


    He had hidden everything quite well thus far. Even his magic was hidden, he was using the Human Magic from this world andyered several spells together to get a worthwhile effect.


    It was....roundabout, but still provided results. Very inefficient, but it served to hide his origin.


    It seemed that this was not the ideal battlefield for either of us.


    The God swiped his hand, mending the fake body once more.


    "Cute trick." He looked very calm afterposing himself.


    "Yes, the child that showed me thought it was very amusing." I nodded me head, meeting his barb.


    Setanta looked so proud of himself when he showed me the runes he carved on stones, then started throwing them, making them explode.


    "One thing after another." The God sighed, walking along the edge of the building, as if taking a stroll. "I swear, this was supposed to be an easy little experiment. Help out the little Soldier, watch these idiots implode on themselves. But that pigeon couldn''t even do this right, and it was such a simple n." He abruptly turned, like he was going to step of the edge only to disappear and reappear on the ground.


    "I suppose it was intelligent by their low standards. Really, it wasn''t that difficult, help him sneak some of his people in the Vatican disguised as Devils, kill a few ''important'' mortals. Stab their important sword into the annoying Devils ¨C" He waved his hand flippantly. "Not to mention that a portion of his own Soldiers should be attacking Devil Territory right about now, you know, to round everything up. Along with many other smaller incidents around the world. With so many fingers pointed, it''s impossible to know who or what''s the right story. All the lower ranks know is that they were attacked by the other two factions, and their leaders won''t have any choice but to retaliate."


    "You talk too much." I took a step forward, ready to attack again.


    "Or maybe." He raised his finger up, and a massive Spell Circle appeared beneath us. "You should pay more attention~"


    My eyes widened; did he weave spells into his monologue?


    "Well, it was fun, goodbye." He snapped his fingers and a baleful Green Serpent created from Divine me came into existence, coiling around me.


    For the first time in this fight, I felt a hint of the God''s Authoritye into being. It was still not one I could immediately ce just from feeling.


    However, this attack would be far from enough to stop me.


    I ran my hand down my spear, bringing forth my Primordial Runes as I strung together the Ancient Language along my weapon. I lifted it up, and mmed it against the ground.


    "J?re t¨ªmi t¨®mr"


    A domain expanded outwards from me, the Serpent flickered and appeared still. Within this small domain, I slowed time to roughly a standstill.


    The God''s eyes widened, and he reacted frantically for the first time since our meeting. I could see his Divinity expunge outwards, fighting against the effects of mine as he pushed himself backwards. He was near the edge, but it was enough time.


    I let loose my Magical Energy fully.


    A simple movement again, a singr thrust right at his heart.


    A significant amount of Power emanated from the God in response, the temporal anomaly around his immediate person was pushed to the side as he swiped his hand and a beautiful Dagger appeared between his fingers.


    The point of my spear met his own weapon, he was bodily lifted up off the ground and carried outwards from the Domain I had created.


    The Arrogant God went tumbling across the ground before sliding to his feet, his illusion flickered briefly before stabilizing. He growled in annoyance, that haughty fa?ade of his dying.


    He nted his foot firmly, swinging his Dagger with enough force to deflect another trust of my spear, the ground to the side was cleaved away by the dispersion of power that was expelled.


    We were far enough away from the others, that I couldn''t help but feel my blood boiling again. The need to protect them was wavering as he focused solely on me, and thus I felt excited at the prospect of the fight.


    My Spear turned into not but a red blur streaking across space, moving faster and faster with each moment.


    And the God, he was keeping up.


    I could tell his strengths did noty in martial might, however, he was still experienced enough to deflect or dodge my blows as his feet slid across the ground, redirecting most of the force behind my attacks. He was most certainly losing ground with each exchange, but he was fighting.


    "Who are you!?" The God blurted out. "How do I not know who you are!? And how do you know that Magic! The Old Bastard barely taught anyone that!"


    Though he shouted the question, he didn''t give me an opportunity to answer, not that I would. He grabbed his Dagger with both hands and mmed it forward, knocking my spear downwards, utterly obliterating the ground beneath us.


    He disappeared from sight, deing at my back. With a flick of my fingers, I actualized a shielding spell that his weapon collided with it, in his other hand, he held his own Magic, still keeping to hide himself. The Spell Circles ovepped as arge amount of power gathered.


    I dropped to my knee, spinning my body around, Spear piercing through the Spell Sequences, disrupting the process.


    With another sneer, he teleported away ontop a half-destroyed building. "I grow tired of this foolishness." His Dagger disappeared and he raised both hands up. In one hand, a Baleful Green Fire raged, in the other, a Bone Chilling Coldness radiated out.


    The one with Fire he held towards the Snake that was still suspended from my previous spell. As if grabbing hold of it, he mmed his hand down. My temporal domain shattered, and the Fire was recycled into a new sequence. The ground cracked beneath it, a deathly aura began radiating outwards as hands grasped at the edged. Hundreds of figures pulling themselves out of the earth, enveloped in that Unholy fire of his.


    In his other hand the world turned cold.


    Snow began falling down above us, winds whipped up, forming an obstruction, as if he dered his own domain in the vicinity.


    The flickering of Fire was all that I could see now as the ice cold air enveloped my visionpletely.


    The God himself turned his lips upwards mockingly.


    I could feel his presence shift and.....merge with the many that now walked around the ground. He was hiding himself amongst the Undead he summoned.


    More specifically, the type of undead I could recognize ¨C Draugr.


    I looked as they surrounded me, hundreds of Undead, and any of them could be this God who was so skilled that I was having trouble finding him.


    "What''s wrong?" A voice carried upon the winds, not giving his location away. "A little cold for you? Do my little friends make you uneasy?"


    I breathed out a cold breath of air. "How nostalgic."


    Whatever this God had expected, I did not believe it for me to feel so familiar.


    "All of this to hide your identity? My excitement has died." I spun my spear again in annoyance. "You had no true intention on fighting me from the start, merely y whatever games it is you are ying."


    "I guess you aren''t the foolish woman I thought. I was only a spectator that wanted to see this y out and I''m left disappointed. Oh well, it doesn''t matter in the long run."


    His words irked me.


    "Razor Cold Winds? Undead abominations?" I harumphed in contempt. "Allow me to show you my home for the past thousands of years."


    I could feel my Magical Energy swirled about as I touched my second Noble Phantasm.


    The Cold Air around me distorted, the Winds that he had summoned were bent as Imanded my own Authority to descend.


    "Open, Gate of Skye!" I Dered as the massive stone gates mmed into the ground behind me.


    Apulsive force swept out, dragging everything along with it. The Undead he summoned were forcibly taken. The winter storm he called forth was consumed.


    The area was swiftly cleaned up as the Gates behinds me mmed shut and disappeared.


    There was but onest figure infront of me.


    He didn''t deem it necessary to hide himself anymore.


    "Who are you?" He had a very serious expression on his face.


    "I wield Gae Bolg and summon forth the Land of Shadows, and you still ask me who I am?"


    The God''s face shed through many emotions; it seemed as if he wanted to ask many more questions. However, arge eruption power exploded out from behind us, from the direction that my Student was fighting the Fallen Angel.


    "I will remember you." The God stated, his form cracked and shattered, and I only saw the briefest glimpse of him before he utterly disappeared. "Wait until my own stage is set." Hisst words barely reaching my ears.


    Hmph, a second time I allowed my foe to escape.


    That Athena previously, and now this God who refused to tell their name.


    It is truly difficult to keep a God anchored if they wish to flee, but....It will not happen a third time.


    [***]


    Raikou POV


    I hovered protectively amongst the others as a few Fallen Angels fell from the sky by my own hand.


    However, there were still many thousands in the sky. They were.... disciplined, more so than I had anticipated. I did not think I would see creatures as lofty as Angels were acting like Soldiers in such a manner.


    Whatever grievances there are against this Kokabiel, he certainly trained his men well. As a leader myself, I could acknowledge that much.


    Both Sc¨¢thach and Wilhelm had taken their fights away from the group, so I did not have to worry about that aspect.


    Though, Sc¨¢thach''s opponent did give me pause.


    Something about him sent a chill down my spine. Is that why she sought him out?


    It was irrelevant right now, I didn''t believe she would lose. I should focus on the task that Master had given me.


    Admittedly, I''m not in the best position to fulfill it.


    They obviously knew they possessed an advantage by staying so high up in the air, and I did not have a means to actually fly.


    I did not think any of them could singrly match me, but with so many.....I was more than aware that a group is capable of oveing difficulties by working together.


    They also didn''t move, as if watching warily, waiting for us to make a move and respond ordingly.


    Looking up at the two dragons still fighting higher up, I did have an idea...whether it would be a good idea was still not decided.


    But I thought my Son would be all for it in a different situation.


    "Jinn." I called out, and the Blue-skinned girl perked up, she was still healing everyone having grabbed Master''s Staff.


    "Need help?" She offered almost immediately, the sweet girl that she was.


    "Yes, but...would you be able to stay back and defend? I fear I won''t be able to fulfill mymand without leaving this area."


    "Leave it to me!" She replied, giving a thumbs up.


    "Hmm, do you perhaps have a spell to give me flight as well?"


    "A flight spell?" She blinked. "I do....but I would have to be nearby....."


    "That would defeat the purpose." I opened my mouth again, but suddenly the Angels in the sky moved.


    They weren''t simply throwing those Spears made of light, as annoying as it was to constantly defend against such a thing. No, they divided themselves again, moving to a new, obviously practiced, formation. The sky lit up with that Holy Light, and it changed to look almost like A Spell Circle as a significant amount of power was visibly gathered.


    There were about a Dozen of Spell Circles hanging high above and they were all powered by a couple thousand Angels.


    "That doesn''t look good." Jinn eyed it with thought as her own power started to flow. "I can....probably stop all of them."


    "Allow me." I turned to see Artoria walk up. "I have finished healing where I could and have distributed Health Potions. There is only one problematic injury at the moment."


    The.....Devils had all gathered behind us, quietly watching with a hint of fear in their faces.


    "Do you need help? I can...put out enough to stop maybe one of those right now." An older woman asked.


    And I believed this was the one that had my Son''s affections.


    I can certainly see why he was so captivated based on his tastes.


    "You must be Venna, we haven''t met yet, I''m Jinn!" The Blue Woman happily greeted, as if there wasn''t a looming threat overhead.


    Amusingly, the Devil Woman looked not quite sure how to react.


    "Worry not, while we are present, no harm shalle to you and yours." Artoria stated. "Focus on your own recovery."


    "Sir Pendragon, allow us to fight by your side." Another, younger, Devil stepped forward, a man wearing full Knight regalia.


    "You have done wonderfully, Sir Furcas, allow us to handle it from hence forth." Artoria denied his request.


    They may be standing now, but they were in no shape to continue fighting.


    "Are you going to use your Noble Phantasm?" I asked.


    "Indeed. In the meantime, would it be enough for you to prepare a counter attack? I do not like such arge number of foes hanging above us." She furrowed her brow.


    "...That depends. Jinn, you said you can''t sustain flight for me, can you give me arge boost upwards?"


    "Arge boost upwards?" She tilted her head now in thought. "I can.....but are you sure?"


    "Mmm, I just need to aim. And.... I may require assistance; I do not wish for them to escape or scatter. If you have an opportunity, please take it."


    "I will look for an opening." The King of Knights nodded, eyes moving towards above.


    The Light gathered above reached its precipice, and the air vibrated before they were released in condensed beams that shot down.


    Artoria raised her hand up towards them. A golden light of her own started trickling out, as a beautiful Sheath seemed to manifest from her chest.


    "Avalon" The word wasn''t loud, but for some reason, it took precedence over all other noise in the vicinity.


    The Sheath shook and erupted in a blinding light.


    It swirled around, covering us. A tranquility spread around us, regardless of the battle going on outside.


    When we spoke at a previous time, she called it the Absolute Protection, and my first time seeing it activated, I couldn''t refute her words. I knew at this moment, that nothing I could do would be able to break this defense, and I wagered, nothing on the battlefield right now could either.


    The condensed beams of light mmed into the shield, and it didn''t even waver in the slightest. The two different forms of light seemed to be ipatible as the hostile energies were pushed away, cascading out in all directions.


    They were certainly powerful. I don''t know If I could have taken one head on without preparations.


    "Beautiful..."


    It was Venna who whispered, and I held the same mindset.


    "Prepare yourself, it will only hold for a few more moments." Artoria broke us from our stupor.


    "Got it!" Jinn''s movements with her staff manifested several Magic Circles, leveled over one another. "Well.....step on up."


    The lights that descended upon us finally puttered out and vision of the night sky returned once more.


    I hesitantly stepped upon the tform she had created. I eyed the two Dragons still fighting in the sky, weaving in and out of the unnatural Thunder Clouds that I''m sure my Son had summoned.


    "I modified the Flying spell a little, instead of just letting you hover around, it''s overloaded and only active for a single moment tounch you upwards, so hang on tight!"


    The shield around us receded back into the form of a Sheath and Artoria caught it.


    "Go." I stated.


    Jinn jerked her hand upword and I found myself a hundred meters off the ground and still elerating upward.


    I went past the Angels, my lightning surrounding me as I narrowed my eyes on my true target, and my Sword unsheathed.


    Based on what my Son had told me about this spell, I could tell them apart based on what they were doing. I could guess the one apparently using magic was the real N¨ªeh?ggr.


    I felt myself turn into a streak of Purple Lighting as I held my sword out and sliced upwards, my de finding the underbelly of the Dragon.


    The Dragons, both the real and fake, let out a very surprised exmation, though one of them was more of a painful wail of surprise.


    Unfortunately....I still continued upwards for a few dozen more meters before my ascent stalled out. However, as I began to fall, I found footing on an ally.


    "I believe this is the first time we have met in person." I smiled as I caught my bnce, cing a hand against the strange sensation of Dragon Scales.


    "You''re absolutely crazy." Ddraig let out augh, having caught me and flown up for a moments respite from his foe. "Definitely one of the brat''s women."


    "Fufu, do you mind me stepping in? I believe we can help each other out." I flicked my de, not wanting the dirty blood on my weapon before it crackled with lightning.


    "As loathed as I am to admit it, I''m not really his match as I am right now. So....I don''t mind teaming up. You got a n, cause he isn''t an easy opponent. Your attack barely prated his softer parts."


    I frowned, but couldn''t refute his words. "Yes, it appears I will need to deal a stronger blow."


    "Hmm, your Noble Phantasm should be able to do something, but....I don''t have much time left. I''m basically running on fumes here and I''m doing my best to keep this fake body from breaking."


    "It should be enough; I have a n. But, I would need this Dragon to follow us. And as it stands, it seems to be keeping a wary distance."


    "Yeah, he was always a big coward. Preys on the weak, and runs away when the stronges. Though, if you could piss him off, he would ignore that ande at you in a rage. But I don''t think he''ll listen to my taunts anymore; he seems pretty numb to them."


    "Make him angry?" I rubbed my chin in thought. "Would sufficient damage work?"


    "Maybe? He would probably think it beneath him if you wounded him.....no offense."


    "None taken." I looked down at my sword and had an idea. [Master, may I please borrow your Dragon Sword?]


    I didn''t receive a verbal reply, but I could see a Sword fly up from down below.


    "That''ll do it." Ddraig chuckled as he tilted his body, flying back towards the other Dragon who was keeping pace but at a little distance. "All you, littledy."


    I braced myself as Ddraig flew right at the other dragon, no intention of stopping. The Real N¨ªeh?ggr roared, elerating himself.


    I jumped up right before they collided, the Noble Phantasm reaching my hands and I fell forward, stabbing it into the Evil Dragon, piercing through its scales much easier than my own de.


    N¨ªeh?ggr looked startled as its body jerked, it roared, head thrown back in confusion, and Ddraig took that opportunity to bite into its neck.


    It jerked back and forth, trying to dislodge me, however, I regained my footing on its back, pulling the Sword free and sliced into it more and more, my Lightning crackling around the de as I pushed it fulling into its hide, all the way down to the hilt.


    The Anti-Dragon Properties caused it to rip apart the scaly defense.


    "PESSST!" The Evil Dragon hissed , breaking free from Ddraig''s grasp and spun its body. I couldn''t hold on and fell off after pulling the de free.


    "Got you." Ddraig grunted as Inded upon his head.


    "Do you think that was enough?"


    "ROOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR!"


    "There is a possibility..."


    Yes, I believed that would suffice. I think the Anti-Dragon properties caused it to act more irrational than normal as well.


    "What''s your n?"


    "Head into the group of Fallen Angels.


    "Hahaha, that sounds like fun, let''s go."


    I stood back up, ncing behind us as the other Dragon looked mad with anger, and it was flying faster than us. Putting Ascalon safely away into my storage Bracelet, I sheathed my own sword. "Is this your fastest speed?"


    "In pure flying....yes. But I think I got a little more juice in me for something else." Ddraig sucked in a deep breath as we approached the groups of Angel who looked hesitant at our approach, but formed up ranks all the same.


    Well trained indeed.


    "Wuld!" Ddraig breathed out, and I felt us both elerate in a blinding burst of speed, to the point where we bulldozed through dozens of Fallen Angels, and their entire first line and appeared on theplete other side of their formations. "You got one of those, littledy. It''s your turn now."


    "Yes, I shall deal with this dragon then, and answer my Master''smand." I dered, taking a spot atop of Ddraig''s head as I pulled on my Divine Lightning, my Noble Phantasm activating.


    It was not the Noble Phantasm I had as a mere Berserker.


    When Master and Grandfather had fixed me, they added other aspects of myself. It was mostly my Saber aspect that filled in the gaps, but other things slipped through. My Riding had increased from my Rider ss and such, but what filled another slot in my Noble Phantasms was my Lancer ss.


    It appeared in my hands, a weapon not my own, but my Father''s.


    An iconic weapon that hailed from the Eastern Lands of India.


    My allowance of its use was only during the activation of my Noble Phantasm.


    My Lightning danced around it as it began to spin, coalescing Magical Energy until it reached an adequate amount.


    "I will show you...."


    It continued to increase in speed as it spun in my hands until it became nothing but a blur, Lightning arcing in every direction.


    "Gozu Tennou, the Eastern Deity, Vajra of Indra. That is, the Spear of the Divine, made from the Sacred Sacral Bone. Now,e forth and annihte every foe!"


    I stopped my machinations, all the umted power dancing around the weapon as I reeled back, and threw it with all my might.


    "?akra''s Vajra!!"


    The Fallen Angels had noticed, they tried to move out of the way, but they were reduced to ash by the mere passing of the Divine Weapon.


    As I had predicted, the Fallen Angels realized that it was folly to stay so closed together, separating almost immediately upon seeing theirrades facing my Father''s divine wrath.


    But my main target was not them.


    The Dragon who saw what wasing, its lower body jerked, trying to stop its forward momentum, its wings suddenly trying to change its direction, but it was toote.


    It''s body arced as the Divine Weapon connected, an ear piercing roar of pain echoed out. My Noble Phantasm tore through its stomach and exited out the other side, sailing across the night sky.


    And seeing a Golden Light start rising from the ground below, I realized my role had finished.


    [***]


    Artoria Pendragon POV


    I watched Raikou ascend to the sky, not quite understanding her n until shended atop of Ddraig in that fake form.


    Avalon had returned inside me and I kept my vigil watch.


    I did not know what to think about this woman beside me previously, this ¨C Venna. However, seeing how she was so desperately trying to protect her daughter....I felt an inkling of respect swell up.


    Perhaps there was somemon ground we could find, more so than I had expected beforehand.


    But that was a thought I dismissed for now. I had a duty to uphold and I would not allow any of these children toe to harm under my watch. And especially the woman who Wilhelm had traded affection with.


    It was no secret how much he treasured our.....rtionships. I recalled the looks he had when I found out the situation with Sc¨¢thach after he returned. We were no where near where we are now in terms of rtionship bonding, yet, the thought of him returning to that state made my heart wretch.


    These....Fallen Angels had almost caused him to revert back to that again.


    I kept it under wraps, but my anger was not absent.


    I would also admit to feeling odd about fighting Angels that had Fallen from Heaven.


    "Jeez, they don''t give up." Jinn huffed, holding her hands up and casting a multitude of spells.


    Severalyers of shielding covered us as a bombardment of Holy Spears rained down.


    "They were trained to whittle down stronger enemies." Venna seemed to know them well enough to exin. "They won''tmit unless they are sure of victory. Kokabiel wasn''t gloating when he said that he''s fought Gods on the battlefield."


    It was a valid strategy. They had the advantage in terms of ''terrain'' and numbers. Using the most minimal amount of energy, they would slowly wither away our defenses. Be it Magical Energy or mental fatigue, eventually, most would give out in our situation.


    "And what was that earlier attack? It was much more substantial." I asked.


    "A probing." She answered simply.


    "Hmph, the only probing I allow is from Wilhelm." Jinn huffed, more Spell Circles appeared and she returned attacks back to their origin. Elemental barrages ascended the sky, Fireballs, Lightning Bolts, Ice Spears, a plethora of effects and I think Jinn was just testing her variety of spells instead ofmitting to a true attack.


    "....Must you speak that aloud?" I groaned.


    And the smile on her face answered my question.


    At this point, we were all aware of what she got up to when intimate with Wilhelm.


    And where she keeps hermp....


    It may look like Jinn was just casually shielding us, but I would see much more nuance. When an attacknded, she distributed the umted force and shifted it outwards, mending the spot that was struck and cycling every single aspect of the spell to continue at every single attack.


    Despite the flippant attitude she liked to take sometimes, she was without a doubt, a very intelligent and aplished Mage.


    Spirit of Knowledge indeed.


    Their continued bombardment ceased as we all looked up and saw arge Dragon tear through their numbers.


    A massive amount of Lighting gathered upon Raikou and I knew my turn was approaching.


    "?akra''s Vajra!!"


    The weight of her words carried all the way to us as the Dragon itself looked mortally wounded and arge swath of Fallen were decimated in the attack.


    "Stand back." I dered, taking a few steps forward. Invisible Air was within my grasp as I looked at my targets.


    The Fallen Angels suddenly got much more concerned about someone else, as their attention turned towards Raikou and Ddraig.


    "All yours, sister!" Jinn happily absconded from infront of me.


    Invisible air began to unravel around my de, the light contained within started to seep out.


    Any hesitance I had about showing off my de once more waspletely gone after seeing the battlefield when we first arrived.


    Slowly, the familiar motes of light began rising out of the ground, lighting up the surroundings.


    The moon itself seemed to dim in response, and even I was still affected by the concepts I held within my hand to this day.


    "Light!?"


    "Watch out, don''t let it touch you!"


    "Quick, cast a shield!"


    I nced back at the worried expressions of the Devils. Mayhaps a previous warning, but it did not cross my mind until this moment.


    "Worry not, this Light will bring you no harm." I dered, Invisible Air freeing my true depletely. As if singing its return, the motes around us began to dance and swirl around my de.


    A new silence descended, an understandable response.


    I took a step forward, holding my de on high, and the Light erupted form my position. Gathered, coalesced upon the edge of my Sacred Sword.


    The Dragon in the sky writhed in pain after receiving Raikou''s Noble Phantasm, and Fallen Angels flew around in scattered remnants of their former lines, reorganizing themselves as best they could after having two dragons sh between them.


    I felt the warmth that my sword radiated, and the turbulent emotions I felt in my heart as I aimed them all at the source.


    And I swung my sword down, deciding their fate.


    "Excalibur!"


    The umted light and heat was released towards the sky, ascending towards the heavens to punish the sinners.


    It consumed all in its path, the Dragon was no exception and the legions of Angels were decimated upon its arrival. The eruption that turned into a pir that connected to the sky, alighting the entire night to the point where the moon was outshined.


    It was fast, a blinding speed as the many figures in the sky simply disappeared, leaving only remnants.


    And as I brought my de down, so too did the remains of a Dragon fall to the ground, lifeless.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    Much of my anger had....subsided as I looked at the broken body of the former Fallen Angel before me. I say former because.....all of his wings are thrown to the side and he nowcked a single iota of Holy Power, courtesy of the Presence within my spear.


    I was not aware that He could even do that....


    But continuously looking at him only made it re up again. Icked any sympathy for this man, wanting to restart a war by killing my woman and her Daughter, among others.


    I think I was pissed off even more before he didn''t even seem crazy, and simply wanted to burn the world because he couldn''t cope with the idea of not having a war anymore.


    I waved my hand, depositing the wings into my ring. No idea what uses they had, but they should be good for something.


    My Bnce Breaker faded, and I let out a long breath. The Holy Power didn''t go rampant this time since I didn''t push past what I could realistically contain as a Half-Devil.


    Putting my Spear away, I grabbed hold of the unconscious body and began dragging him back to where the others were gathered.


    There were many signs of battle across the now destroyed school, and I was by no means oblivious to many happenings that had urred. The Noble Phantasms that were unleashed, and other such things.


    I could imagine that the Dragon took some effort to put down. It was a scary mother fucker that existed as an Antagonist to an entire Cosmology.


    And whatever that Priest was.


    Speaking of, the warped space around the ce seemed to have disappear a little while ago, so I assumed he was dealt with in some manner.


    But I waspletely confident that my girls could handle it.


    Raikou asking for my sword was a good indication of how it probably went along with the massive pir of light that erupted form Artoria''s Noble Phantasm.


    Admittedly a small part of me felt amused at the thought of this school being left in ruins. I had very few good memories here, and those mostly tainted by what I learned after my.....leave.


    I made it back to the others after walking through several destroyed building, which I''m pretty sure were still intact when I initially knocked Kokabiel away.


    All eyes turned to me as I tossed the Fallen Angel forward.


    Usually, I would say something witty or something along those lines, but my eyes fell on the source of my presence.


    I walked towards her, almost ignoring everything else, and wrapped her up again.


    "Are you okay, do you need more healing?" I finally let go, inspecting her every which way.


    "Wilhelm." She stopped me, hands cupping my cheeks. "It''s okay, I''m not hurting anymore. Rx, take a deep breath."


    She said that, but I looked at the holes in her clothing, the amount of dried blood that soaked her white dress.


    "You sure? I got a lot of things if you aren''t."


    "I''m sure." She giggled softly, her hand rubbing my back as I embraced her again.


    I let out a deep breath, pulling away again. "What do you want to do with Kokabiel?"


    "Is he still breathing?" Venna peered over my shoulder, looking at the unmoving body.


    "Yes. But that''s all."


    "There are stumps on his back..."


    "I pulled out his wings."


    "You do know that''s probably the worst thing that an Angel can suffer, right?"


    "I did not, and I would do the same again."


    "Well, you''ll not hear me argue against it." She dismissed any concerns easily enough. "Only that I wish I could have helped you. But....it would probably be best to keep him alive for the moment....evidence."


    Yeah, that''s understandable from her point of view. And it would foil his initial ns, so I didn''t say anything to the contrary. Would probably make him more depressed than he currently was.....if he hadn''t pass out due to the pain, I presumed.


    The atmosphere was surprisingly rxed, even if everyone looked like they were still recovering. I barely spared a second nce at the other Devils, but they were more or less up on their feet. A few exceptions, but my desire to ask was almost nonexistent.


    Sc¨¢thach had walked over in the past few moments and I didn''t even notice. She took a spot next to Artoria and Jinn, giving a small smile in acknowledgement as our eyes met.


    I was grateful they were letting me have this moment with Venna.


    I just.....didn''t want to let her go. I was very protective of her right now after what happened.


    Which made the spatial fluctuations I just felt behind me turn my mood even more sour.


    My first instinct was to grab the True Longinus and stab whatever came through but....cooler heads prevailed. I''m sure they called their family and support, I wouldn''t want to butt heads with her people and put her in a difficult spot.


    I turned around to look at the kid walk through.


    Silver hair, a cocky look on his face.


    "Oi, hand over Kokabiel." He blurted out, arms crossed and a seeming inability to read the mood.


    As if to respond to his words, Ddraignded right behind him with a pissed off Raikou on his head.


    "Fucking excuse me?" I asked in total disbelief.


    [***]


    Hey everyone, i''m back. For those of you that didn''t know, I was in the ER over the weekend and rested for a few days afterwards. Nothing tremendously serious, i''m doing a lot better now, but i was pretty much indisposed for a little while there. Well, we''re back on a normal schedule at this point -- hopefully. Here''s the part two of chapter 283.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 310 - 284

    <h4>Chapter 310: Chapter 284</h4>


    Looking back I think it took me a moment to process the audacity of this kid who just waltzed in and demanded I hand over the source of a lot of pain for someone I cared about.


    I wanted to chalk it up to him just being an idiot, which oddly enough, seemed to exin a lot of issues in this world. However, that cocky smile he had, the look in his eyes, if felt like he came looking for a fight.


    And for some reason, something innately about him just pissed me off.


    "Boss told me to grab Kokabiel, so hand him over." The Idiot doubled down.


    The fact that he didn''t even seem to care about the Fallen Angel''s state led me to believe he wasn''t involved, however....fuck him.


    "I think you''re at the wrong ce, the boy band audition is in another city."


    Abination of leather pants, a shirt that looked a few sizes too small and showed his stomach,bined with random straps and buckles on his arms....


    Did he lose a bet with someone?


    "...what?" He blinked in confusion.


    "I''m sorry, I just saw the edgy look and the leather you''re wearing and just assumed that no one would be stupid enough to wear that unironically in public."


    "....do you not know who I am?"


    "I tend not to associate with douches who think going around in half cut shirts to expose their midriff makes them look cool. So, why don''t you take your gigolo ass home and fuck off."


    His reaction was like no one had ever called him out on his doucheiness before.


    There was a little twitch towards a frown, but he held onto that cocky smile of his. "I guess you wanna do this the hard way."


    "Do I look like your mother?" I replied without skipping a beat.


    And I guessed I pressed a button, because his power exploded outwards and a pair of white, draconic-like, wings emerged from his back.


    "Albion!?" Ddraig blurted out, having been silent up to this point.


    The Gigolo-in-denial looked startled, turning towards the source.


    "Ddraig!?" A different voice sounded out.


    And suddenly, a lot more things started making sense.


    "Albion!"


    "Ddraig!"


    "Albion!"


    "Ddraig!"


    "Oh my God." I face palmed, but at least they stopped their flirting.


    "H-how are you like that!?" Albion shouted, and even his wielder just stared at Ddraig in confusion.


    "What, jealous?" Ddraig practically preened. "It''s soooooooo nice, being able to fly in the air, stretch my legs, eat if I want."


    "...what''s happening?" Venna asked me.


    I let out a long sigh. "Meet, Y Ddraig Goch." I gestured to the giant ck Dragon who was taunting his rival without a hint of shame. "And apparently, that''s Albion ¨C The Divine Dividing''s user as well. I vaguely recall him being rted to Azazel."


    "And Kokabiel only had disdain towards him, so it''s unlikely that Azazel wasplicit." Venna opened her mouth slightly as realization dawned on her. "You have the Boosted Gear?"


    "I do."


    "Oh."


    "Yeah, well, this is Vali, the greatest user I''ve ever had!"


    I turned my attention back to their arguing.


    "Best of shit is still shit." Ddraig snorted.


    "Y-you!"


    And I seemed to now understand why their rivalrysted so long.


    Ddraig was a little shit.


    "My Partner is like, a million times better. He even made it so I cane out. Can youe out? No? Oh.....well, I guess he must have other qualities, you know, besides looking like he''s about to perform infront of a bunch of prepubescent teen girls."


    "Vali, kill him!" Albion roared in response.


    "Yeah, no." I finally decided to step in getting annoyed at this point. "I''m really not in the mood for this. The only reason your head isn''t rolling is because I don''t think you were involved. But my patience has run out, so kindly fuck off."


    I turned towards Vali, who surprisingly, jumped back right as I was about to grab him. "Divide!" He shouted immediately, and I felt the effects wash over me. I paused briefly, the strange feeling as my Aura just.....disappeared. Well, a noticeable amount of it.


    I blinked a few times as I limated to the feeling.


    I knew what his Sacred Gear did, but actually feeling it was an entirely different matter.


    "Huh." I clenched my hand, not really feeling that much different.


    Does his Divide ability need a more specific target? Because, it felt like he only divided my Aura.....well, some of it. I think I resisted a good portion of the ability.


    Regardless, I took a breath of annoyance, activating my Semnce, and turning into a streak of lightning.


    "Divide --"


    The sound rang out from his Sacred Gear, and I felt my Aura dip again. The idiot was about to say something, but my annoyance had reached its peak. I grabbed his mouth, shutting it tight as I opened a portal, throwing him through, closing it behind him.


    Ddraig just stared at me, much like everyone else.


    "What did you do with him?"


    "Threw him somewhere in the Sahara Desert." I shrugged.


    "Mmm." Ddraig looked at me like I just kicked his puppy.


    "Ddraig, it was neither the time nor ce."


    "Fair." He relented.


    God, him and his obsession with Albion. It was obvious that he was depressed I cut the whole thing short. I would deal with it to his satisfaction another time, but I seriously could not bring myself to care about that emo kid for another second right now.


    "Well, the annoyance is out of the way." I let out a sigh. "Raikou, can you please find any remnants and bring them here?" I asked my Servant who had been quietly ready off to the side.


    "Of course, Master." She smiled happily at mymand as she went to search for any stragglers.


    I''d rather not have any of them get away, and it would help Venna if she had more prisoners.


    "I will assist." Sc¨¢thach flicked her spear, leaning it against her shoulder as she followed after. I gave her a thankful nod and got a returned smile from her.


    "What a fucking mess this is." I sighed, looking around everywhere, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "You sure you''re okay?" I turned back towards Venna.


    She let out that adorable giggle of hers again. "Yes, I''m fine." She leaned over, giving me a kiss on the cheek.


    "You probably have a lot of questions..."


    "Without a doubt." She giggled again. "But right now I really don''t have the mental capacity to even think about it. I thought I was going to die not that long ago, Wilhelm. I don''t think the adrenalin has worn off yet. There has been so much thrown at me in the past hour or so, and I haven''t had any time to properly handle it. I''d like time to destress and calm down then deal with itter."


    "That''s understandable" I acknowledged.


    Her hand took mine as she gave it a small squeeze. "I''m going to check on the children again."


    "Yeah, I''ll start cleaning everything up...."


    She smiled beautifully before letting go. She went over to her daughter again, giving her a big hug.


    They had been rtively quiet, all things considered. Well, I suppose it was.....awkward due to our rtions.


    "So, that''s Venna." Jinn happily threw herself at me.


    I caught the excitable woman in my arms, always weing her affectionate personality. I also felt much better now that all the annoyances were gone and everything was....settled.


    "She seems like a good woman." Artoria added, walking up as well. "Tis not the most ideal first meeting, but....I do not dislike her thus far."


    That''s saying it nicely.


    I''m just relieved that she''s okay.


    [***]


    Rias Gremory POV


    "Mom, I''m fine." I breathed out as she began making sure I wasn''t bleeding anymore.


    "I''m just checking." She smiled, before pulling me into a big hug. "And you too, Akeno." Mom reached over pulling the dumbstruck sadist into her arms.


    It was.....weird.


    We were so close to dying, and yet...now everyone''s acting like it didn''t even matter.


    What the hell even happened?


    I saw it all, it happened right infront of my eyes, but I don''t think my brain caught up yet.


    So, I just opted to watch Mom run around and give everyone hugs, making sure they were okay.


    "Rias.."


    "Sona." I let out a long breath, seeing my friend hobble up next to me.


    I honestly didn''t know what to say now, I was still.....in shock.


    "We were lucky." Sona said quietly.


    "Yeah..."


    "We almost died, and everything would have blown up with us. It''s entirely likely the war would have restarted in full if he seeded."


    "Who would have thought...he would have rescued us." I nced at the source of most of the confusion.


    My....nephew, who didn''t even spare us a second nce.


    "Have you tried calling your bother?"


    "Phone still shows no signal." I casually tossed it to the ground, falling to my butt as I pulled my knees up. "What the hell, Sona." I buried my head into my arms.


    "I know, I feel the same way. One moment we were just having a random conversation, then next, we were about to be killed by one of the strongest Angels to fall.. And didn''t they just teleport over here? Shouldn''t it be working now?"


    "You can try teleporting if you want." I offered, letting out another sigh. It was probably best to sit and wait;honestly I thought we were all a bit too shaken to try anything right now. The safest ce was right here for the moment. "I want to thank him but...."


    "You can''t even find the courage to approach him?" Sona sighed, sitting next to me. "I feel like there''s a wall there, and I don''t think I can cross it."


    "The hell am I supposed to say after he literally saved our lives? Sorry I ignored you for your entire life, but, thanks!?" I let out a depreciatingugh. "The only reason he appeared was...."


    "Your mom?" Sona questioned.


    I let out a groan. "I guess that isn''t a secret anymore. Mom is apparently dating him."


    "...oh." Sona''s reply was....ckluster, I thought she would have said something different.


    "What?"


    "What?" Sona returned.


    "I mean.....aren''t you going to say something?"


    "Rias, I was almost killed by an Angel, I couldn''t care less right now. Besides, my Sister hasn''t exactly been subtle about her advances over the years towards me. And you know that Riser''s parents are cousins, right? It''s really not that umon for us."


    "Yeah, I guess. Just...I don''t know how to feel about it. But he came right when she called and saved us." I sighed again.


    Maybe I''m just upset about finding out that mom and dad aren''t in love anymore?


    "This is going to be a mess to exin." Whenever our siblings got here, that was.


    "Exin what? The Dragon that''s just casually sitting over there that''s apparently the one sealed in the infamous Boosted Gear? Or are you talking about the woman who apparently has Indra''s Divine Weapon and used it to kill an Evil Dragon that was supposed to be dead, who for some reason, looks like the previously mentioned dragon ¨C for some reason. Or the woman who could hold off a legion of Fallen Angels while shielding us. Or the woman who identified that priest as a God hiding in disguise, and proceeded to battle him and not lose. Or thest woman who apparently revealed a Holy Sword that put what was supposed to be Excalibur to shame, only to name it Excalibur as well and obliterate said legion of Angels and the Dragon. Orstly, is it your nephew, who apparently has both the Boosted Gear, and the True Longinus, thetter of which he decided to ignore the fact that he''s a Half-Devil and used its Bnce Breaker, somehow bing an Angel in the process and handed Kokabiel his metaphorical and literal ass."


    I blinked as Sona said all of that in a single breath. "Yes."


    She let out a groan.


    I couldn''t me her, to be honest. I would probably freak out about everythingter. Instead, I just watched the Blue-skinned woman run over and hug the scary looking dragon. Thetter of which looked way too amused and let her climb on top of him. And there was those other two who started dragging unconscious Fallen Angels and throwing them into a pile near Kokabiel....


    "It feels like the gap has widened even more." I muttered. "I don''t understand it."


    "Rias!"


    I was broken by my thoughts, standing up immediately as I saw Mom calling to me. I hurriedly ran over to see her kneeling next to Issei.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "Did he take a Holy Attack earlier?"


    "Yeah, but he healed up."


    "Um....it just hurts a little..." Issei looked exhausted but he didn''t look like he was dying.


    "It''s still inside of him, I don''t know why it isn''t tearing him apart right now." Mom replied making me widen my eyes.


    "But....he''d be dead then, right? Are you sure!?"


    "Did you give him a Phoenix Tear?"


    "Yes, but we....don''t have any more on hand."


    Mom furrowed her brow. "Something''s still keeping it at bay, or healing any damage right now. Did you take anything else?"


    "Uh.....that blue woman with the nice oppai give me something to drink and it made me feel better after Akeno used the Bird tear thing to heal the cut on my stomach. Then the other girl with the smaller oppai touched me and her hand glowed and most of the pain went away."


    Issei....


    I resisted the urge to facepalm. I guess....it''s admirable that he''s like this even in such a bad situation.


    "I, uh, siphoned off a lot of it." Kiba looked rather sheepish. I think he felt responsible since Issei took the hit to save him.


    The Excalibur Sword was sitting over there to the side, and he was here fussing over Issei, not the source of his childhood trauma....I guess his current guilt is overriding his anger?


    "He''s a newborn Devil so he''s more susceptible to Holy Power right now since his new Demonic Power hasn''t had time to settle properly." Mom looked....worried.


    "What do we do?"


    Mom bit her lip and looked up. "Wilhelm." She called out and I felt a knot in my chest. My guilt only continued to rise, asking him for help again, but at the same time, I didn''t want to lose a member of my peerage because of my own pride.


    It felt awkward as he walked over, I wanted to hide under a rock as he nced at me.


    Surprisingly, he looked....good.


    I remembered before, that boy from school, he always seemed so withdrawn. Now, he looked calm and confident, and that''s not saying anything about his physical appearance. I''d seen him in picture, but for the first time meeting since he left, he definitely looked better than before.


    He didn''t seem like the same person.


    "Shimoda."


    I nced to the side to see Sona, not even realizing she was there beside me.


    "Huh, haven''t heard that name in awhile." He turned towards Sona, who...looked embarrassed. I think she just blurted it out by ident. "Who are you?"


    ....ouch.


    And Sona looked like she swallowed a lemon.


    "Wilhelm, can you take a look at him, please?" Mom asked, giving him a gentle smile.


    "Sure." He agreed immediately after she asked, and I think only because she asked.


    "Damn handsome." Issei muttered.


    "Pardon?"


    "Issei, behave." I squeezed out under the strange atmosphere.


    He put a hand on Issei''s shoulder, closing his eyes. He did....something I''m not quite sure what.


    "Oh yeah, you got some Holy Power flowing around. The Phoenix Tear must have done the heavy healing to your body, and the Healing Potion you took is sort of....offsetting it right now, but once that''s run its course, it''s going to start tearing your insides apart."


    "Is there anything you can do?" Mom asked.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Is there anything you can do?" Venna asked with those pleading eyes.


    I really couldn''t deny her.


    And....off the top of my head, I had a few ideas.


    It''s not like he was in immediate danger, give it ten to twenty minutes and then it might be a problem. Demonic Power naturally fights against Holy Power when it invaded the body, but his power was.....miniscule. He probably spent his entire reserves to keep himself going before we got here.


    I wanted to cringe at the idea that popped into my head.


    I felt....guilty about taking the Boosted Gear away from him initially. I was most certainly not in a good headspace at the time, and I fully admit I stole something very valuable from him that could have sent him on apletely different path.


    Honestly, the fact that he''s a Devil right now was shocking.


    I didn''t know how it happened, but I also didn''t really care.


    After inspecting his body, he did have a small Dragon Aspect, a leftover from Ddraig being in his soul for so long most likely. Perhaps that was enticing enough for them to reincarnate him?


    It would be an interesting point of experimentation to see what woulde of it.


    I stood up, rubbing my chin in thought.


    Did I really want to do this? I felt like I owed the kid for taking Ddraig from him.


    And I knew for certain that Ddraig also felt slightly guilty too after seeing some of my memories of a possible future.


    I may as well clear up any moral debts I had hanging around.


    "You''re going to feel something odd, don''t fight it." I breathed out as I gathered my Aura into my hand and ced it on his stomach.


    I would take responsibility for my actions, and this was the least I could do. However far he could go, that would be on him. And after this, I would consider any debts settled.


    "For it is through Freedom that we Achieve Immortality. Through this we be a paragon of Liberation and Choice to rise above fate. Infinite in possibilities and unbound by death, I release your soul and by my hand, free thee."


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: The First Meeting of the Heavenly Dragons.


    "Albion!?"


    "Ddraig!?"


    Huh, so that''s Ddraig''s rival.


    Two fated foes, destined to sh for all eternity until one emerges victorious.


    Not even death can stop this feud.


    Red and White.


    Dominion vs Supremacy.


    The James Moriarty to his Sherlock Holmes.


    The Batman to his Joker.


    The Superman to his Lex Luthor.


    The¡ª


    "Why are you ck!?" Albion suddenly blurted out and everything came to a screeching halt.


    "Woah!"


    "Albion, what the hell!" Ddraig looked offended.


    "What?" Albion sounded confused.


    "What''s wrong with being ck, huh!?" Ddraig huffed.


    "B-but you''re usually red, why are you making this weird!?"


    "And I''m usually a straight western dragon, yet look at me right now. I usually breath fire, yet my mouth is dripping with venom. And I''m usually much more handsome than this, but here we are. And to top it off, you for some reason ignored the fact that I have a body right now. You instead decided to focus on my color over all of that. Something you want to say, hmm?"


    "I¡ª"


    "Does the White Dragon Emperor have something to say?" I crossed my arms.


    "Y-you''re making a big deal out of nothing."


    "Did you say something, Dragon of Supremacy." Ddraig intoned.


    "You''re taking it out of context!"


    "Yeah, what''s wrong with ck?" Even Kokabiel, stood up, looking rather annoyed at the Dragon.


    "....just putting this out there, but I don''t share his beliefs." His wielder spoke up.


    "Vali!"


    "What? You''re the one who made it about his color, don''t bring me into this." Vali muttered.


    "Get with the times, Albion, this shit isn''t okay anymore."


    "But I''m not ¨C"


    "For real, even the Fallen Angel trying to start back up the Great War thinks you''re out of line." I added.


    "Despicable." Ddraig shook his head. "I''m questioning this rivalry right now."


    "But ¨C"


    "You should just go." I clicked my tongue.


    "What are you ¨C"


    "....Yeah, let''s go Albion, you made it weird." Vali turned around, stepping back through the teleportation circle.


    "I didn''t do anything!" Were the Dragon''s final words before disappearing.


    I shared a look with Ddraig, who had a shit eating grin on his face. "I can''t believe that worked."


    "Me either." I shared the same look. "How long until you think he realizes?"


    "Give it an hour." Ddraigughed. "And I''ll hold this over him forever now."


    Honestly, I think Ddraig and I were a perfect match for each other. Is it any wonder that Albion has such a burning hatred for Ddraig?


    I''m starting to wonder if Ddraig even hates Albion in equal measure, or he just enjoys fucking with him too much.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 311: Interlude 21

    <h4>Chapter 311: Interlude 21</h4>


    Serafall Leviathan POV


    Even after having gone over everything multiple times, we still just sat there silently reading through the stacks of reports we had on our desks.


    What a nightmare the past few days turned out to be.


    The only reason I hadn''t ripped Azazel''s head off yet was the Fallen Angel we had tightly secured. Not to mention all of Kokabiel''s wings were torn out, that couldn''t have been pleasant.


    Tearing a Devil''s wing out? Painful as all heck, but they would eventually grow back with some healing. Tearing an Angel''s Wing out? That''s permanent and it''s one of the worst things you could do to an Angel. I know from speaking to a few that they would rather be defiled and Fall than to have their wings taken. Their wings were basically their connection to Heaven, to the Big Man himself. To lose those was a fate worse than death.


    Had to resist the urge to push all these papers away from me. I couldn''t just ignore the problems and have the others handle everything this time.


    We were.....surprisingly close to having things topple down despite our efforts.


    And after what we did to the Old Satan Faction after Momma Gremory was kidnapped, they would have salivated at the chance to undermine us and push for war had things gone wrong.


    Had...my Sona been killed....


    "Serafall."


    "Huh?" I looked up to see Ajuka giving me a look.


    "It''s getting cold in here."


    I looked down at my hand, a little bit of frost had gathered where it was touching the table. "Oh, sorry." I chuckled awkwardly, going back to my papers.


    Sirzy didn''t even react, and that baldy Falbium was away dealing with other things. Which, tranted to, he was toozy toe all the way over here. Granted, he was sitting at the borders with the Fallen Faction, acting as a deterrent, but still.


    Lazy bastard.


    So, for now, it was just the three of us.


    Atleast I don''t think I was the only one getting angry the more we read. It''s funny, we knew what happened, after talking to everyone involved....mostly everyone that is.


    A certain group decided to disappear before we arrived, leaving us with many ¨C many questions. But what were we supposed to do, go walk up to the Youkai and demand some answers? Yeah, that''d go well, especially after they just saved our behinds.


    Not to mention we apparently know very little about them now.


    Jeez, it wasn''t even six months ago that the Youkai were ignored because they were so.... insignificant. I mean, it''s not like I wouldn''t have loved to smooth things over with them after several incidents....that admittedly was had caused. But it was never at the top of the priority list and was constantly moved to the bottom of the list by other more immediate things. The Shinto Gods didn''t really care much about the Youkai, so we in turn didn''t really care about them.


    When was thest time our interests intertwined? Or that we actually needed something from them? Hell, their strongest could be matched by so many of ours, and we outnumbered them like 100 to 1 at this point.


    Then Sirzechs had to go screw the pooch and apparently pushed his bastard son away. Wasn''t that a nice thing to find out afterwards.


    ''Oh, by the way, I have a Son I didn''t want to care for, so basically abandoned him in the human world. Don''t worry, he''s basically a human so it doesn''t matter. What''s this? He suddenly popped up throwing hands with a God?''


    Fucking Sirzechs'', I ought to smack him ¨C again.


    How much bullcrap have I had to deal with because of his ''inconsequential'' Half-Devil son.


    And I work Foreign Rtions.


    Even Ajuka''s been more than annoyed at having to deal with some of the domestic stuff. He''s the unofficial ''moderator'' or whatever for the DevilNet.


    He''s been running some PR control since things have blown up, but it''s like only putting a Band-Aid on a cut off arm.


    If we hadn''t taken full advantage of pushing the Old Satan Faction back, they would had blown this up even more and we would have been in a much worse position.


    The hypocrites despise Non-pure Devils, but they''d dly tote him around if it meant sticking it to Old Red.


    I skimmed over a document that listed our total loses from when arge group of Fallen Angels attacked one of our outposts along the border.


    347 Dead, 1021 Wounded.


    No notable names, so the old foggies wouldn''t kick up too much of a fuss, but this was just one of dozens of clusterfudges that popped up over thest couple days.


    "Ugh...." I let my head fall to the table, knocking away a stack of papers. "Do we have any good news? Anything? I''d take a kitten being saved from a tree right now. Because if I have to read one more report of how many we''ve lost, I''m going to strangle Azazel when he finally shows up."


    "....I suggest not reading pages 201 to 314." Sirzechs winced, pushing a few papers to the side himself.


    "I move that we rece myself with baldy. All in favor!?"


    "Denied."


    "Double Denied." Ajuka snorted.


    "Mou~ I hate this." I huffed, picking up another few papers in my hand as I began reading more reports. "But seriously, any good that came out of this mess?"


    "We did discover a few bases that had been infiltrated by the old Satan Faction, coincidently, they were hit by the Fallen." Ajuka replied, not even looking up. "Which gave us a couple possible leads towards this Khaos Brigade and their operations."


    "We didn''t even find anything significant from turning over all those other ces before. Did we really get lucky from something like this?"


    "Don''t know yet, we haven''t had time to investigate with the...more immediate concerns right now."


    I furrowed my brow at that. "What''s the word with His Brightness?"


    "Micheal....is stilling to the talks we have schedules. So far, those haven''t changed, but...he requested some amodations which we conceded to. Instead of it being just a handful of us, he is bringing along some other Seraphim to back him up.


    "Oh my me." I let out a whine. "Please tell me he isn''t bringing Metatron, he''s sooo cringy, and not the good kind."


    Ajuka snorted again, and I could tell he felt the same way. "No, it''s not Metatron. He''s bringing Gabriel and Uriel along with a few Hundred Angels."


    "Well....can''t really me him." I grumbled.


    The talks we had been nning for years and we finally foundmon ground enough to talk about peace. And they almost imploded by Azazel''s stupid subordinate. The fact that Michael was still willing, even with some concessions, was good for us.


    Still, the trust between us right now was.....flimsy.


    And we were in a really weird spot where neither side could really afford an open war. We had recovered our poption significantly, but we still lost so much between the Civil War and the Great War. If it came down do it, I doubted the Pirs would survive another huge crisis. And on Heaven''s end, their poption was still all but the same, if worse off since they can''t really get more Angels. But damn if they don''t have a Gun to everyone''s head. If we truly fought, no one would win. We would push heaven far enough, and they would simply point all that stored power from being the most popr faith in the world. And It woulde right down on our heads.


    I didn''t care for all the pureblood Devil nonsense, but I did have my pride as a Sitri. I didn''t want to see my own, and the other Pirs go extinct.


    I let out a sigh of relief when the Teleportation Circle on the other side of the room finally lit up.


    Out walked Grayfia followed by Azazel.


    "Heyo!" The Fallen Angel cheerfully greeted, only to be met by silence. "....tough crowd."


    "Azazel." Ajuka gave him the same look he did me.


    "Yeah, yeah." The Fallen Angel sighed. "Just a habit at this point." He found a seat opposite of us, falling into it with clear exhaustion on his face. "Sorry I''mte, the meeting with Michael tool much longer than expected."


    "And what''s his stance?" Ajuka asked, turning his attention fully to Azazel.


    "I finally got him and my other siblings to believe me when I swore on Father''s name. That and I offered to go up to Heaven and hook myself up to the big chair and do it again where there''s still enough Juice left to smite me if I did lie about it."


    "So, Michael was willing to talk down the Church and the other Angels?" Sirzech''s asked.


    "It was a close thing....but yeah." Azazel sighed again. "You know how the humans are, so quick to raise their swords. I had to offer a lot of concessions and very publicly. Honestly, it was mostly about them verbally ripping into me that settled the fanatics. That and the fact that I handed over half a dozen Sacred Gears of decent power."


    "Howe you don''t give your Sacred Gears to your underlings? You have a lot of them sitting on the shelf." I never really understood that.


    "Angels can''t use Sacred Gears." Azazel blinked, staring at me. "Did you not know that?"


    I just shrugged. "Never really cared to ask before. Thought it was something about your beliefs or whatever."


    "Pfft, yeah right. If we could, a bunch of my people would have spat on that immediately if they could. But no, we can''t use Sacred Gears, something about it doesn''t work well with Angel souls. If any of us tried to throw caution to the wind, well, it would rip us apart after a bit of time. Seen it a few times. I''m working on something right now to ovee that.....but I keep getting forced into other issues so it isn''t finished. But I give out a few every now and then to our non-Angel members, it''s just....I''d rather they don''t'' idently make their way back to the broken system."


    Made sense, I guess.


    "So you smoothed things out fully?" I asked.


    "I wish." Azazel rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It''s going to be awhile before things go back to how they were. Even ignoring the Vatican attack, which got scarily close to seeding, 13 cardinals were attacked, four of them are dead."


    Oof, yeah, Light Bright himself probably is having a hard time settling his human followers.


    "Hmm..." Ajuka shuffled through some papers. "Yes I have the report here. Two of the attacks were with Fallen Angels disguised as Devils, which in turn had a group of more.....stringent believers immediately decide to counter attack after ''we'' supposedly failed."


    "Yeah, just one of many other fuck ups throughout the day. Honestly, only about half of them were actually false g operations set up by Kokabiel. The others came about by him ying each side against each other. We''re lucky that Lucifer Jr didn''t just kill Kokabiel, otherwise we wouldn''t have a good scapegoat to parade around." Azazel shook his head in annoyance. "It wasn''t just Devils and Angel either, Y''know? He made sure that we were ''attacked'' too. The Fallen I had assigned here were killed and made to look like it was Devils. Among.....many other bases and outposts I had set up across the world."


    Hehe, Lucifer Jr. Seeing that nickname for him, always made me giggle.


    "The ones you told us about beforehand?" Sirzech''s narrowed his eyes.


    "Hey, I stuck to that agreement, don''t get all Michael on me. I only sent some brats that your two sisters could handle if they bungled their job, which they apparently did. I had my own house cleaning today, and one or two...trusted hands I had to cut off. Kokabiel had apparently usurped theirmand without me even knowing."


    Hmm, I remembered now. He asked us to send some of his mooks to watch over a few Sacred Gear users he supposedly identified. It wasn''t....strange in of itself, he did that all the time. Being around our Siblings though, that was always call for concern.


    In the end, we felt like it would be a good learning experience for Sona and Rias to ''manage'' their ''territory'' with ''hostile'' forces nearby.


    Of course, it was supposed to be all smoke and mirrors.


    "Our only saving Grace ¨C pun intended ¨C is that no one of.....worth was actually killed. Sure we lost a lot of people numbering in the thousands, but no one with enough clout to kick up a fuss and cause any long term problems. We''re going to have to settle down the more hotheaded people under all three banners, but we can walk away from this rtively unscathed if we do it carefully." The Fallen Angel added.


    "We''re lucky that that Zekram was willing to side with us. I don''t think he wants an open war either, but it''s hard to get a read on him sometimes." Sirzechs let out a sigh. "Had to promise him a few things, but he''s keeping the Older members from causing problems."


    "He''s suddenly had an interest in Wilhelm." Ajuka added. "He wanted a meeting, but we couldn''t guarantee that."


    "Well, the kid''s a hotmodity right now. I kinda regret how I went about thingsst time. Didn''t think he''d be the one to save my hide. Now I''m going to feel like an ass when I go apologize." Azazel looked thoughtful. "Oh well, should we get to the down and dirty details now?"


    Sirzechs looked at Grayfia and she stepped over, handing him a stack of papers before silently going back to the side.


    "That''s the best report we have right now." Sirzechs exined. "We''re still trying to.....verify some things. But right now, we''re just assuming it''s all true and preparing for any worse case scenarios."


    "Hmm, best report? There should have been a lot more ''witnesses'' right?" Azazel asked, not looking up, but skimming the papers in his hands.


    "My Sona-tan~ gave the mostprehensive one, so that''s what we''re working with. We crossed referenced it with the others. We had them each give their own recounts and thenpared them. But this is the best we have right now." My Sona-tan, always so good at this kind of thing. I can''t wait until I can steal her away and have her do all my paperwork!


    "Wasn''t Milf Gremory also there? Why isn''t she here exining things?" Azazel asked, looking up.


    "....Please don''t refer to my mother that way." Sirzechs sighed.


    "And to answer that question~" I would happily be the one to say it, I knew Sirzechs was too embarrassed to. "Apparently, Momma Gremory got a little close to a certain Junior." I giggled.


    Azazel opened his mouth and closed it again as if to process that. "Nice."


    "Right?" I agreed.


    "Time and ce." Ajuka grunted.


    "It''s important." I said with apletely straight face. "Why else would Wilhelme save our sisters if he wasn''t banging your mom, Sirzechs?"


    "Ugh." Sirzechs dropped his face into his hands. "Please don''t'' say it out loud."


    "Alright, alright." I rolled my eyes. He would have happily joined in if it were anyone else. "But seriously, we got lucky. She said that both our Magic Phones didn''t work and any attempts at Teleportation were cut off. Somehow Wilhelm overcame that when she called with some strange gem."


    "Huh, I heard something simr about him before. I think he has a method of Teleportation that I''m unfamiliar with." Azazel tapped his chin.


    "Not just you, go to page 12." Ajuka replied. "I also cant'' seem to understand it, and I''m guessing this group is increasing."


    Azazel flipped through several papers and his eyes widened. "What?"


    "Yup." I popped. "As I said, we were really lucky."


    "How sure are you?" Azazel looked uncharacteristically serious.


    "Pretty damn sure, based on the context clues. Obviously, there''s no definite proof, so we can''t point a finger, but....."


    "You think Loki was helping Kokabiel?" Azazel breathed out setting the papers down. "Father above, no wonder Odin called me!"


    "Odin called you?" Ajuka questioned.


    "Yeah, he was asking me about the whole meeting and stuff. He never cared about that before, but he was suddenly interested. No wonder! I was going to bring it up, but he seemed to want to participate."


    "As an outside party, or an extension of the Norse Pantheon?" I narrowed my eyes.


    "I don''t know yet but.....he wouldn''t normally care enough if it was just for himself." Azazel looked contemtive. "It''s not really well known, but the Norse are in a mess right now. The Giants are very openly starting stuff again, and there are voices in the Asgard court who are calling for Ragnar?k to resume. Odin''s son, Vidar, really isn''t in a good position and the court as a whole hasn''t been since the old man passed his throne over to him. A lot of people don''t like that the youngest of Odin''s children is leading them, thinking it should be Thor or Baldur, even if those two are fine with it."


    Of course it''s always some bullhicky like that.


    "Seriously?" I looked skeptical. "Why would they want their own apocalypse? That just sounds silly."


    "Hell if I know." Azazel threw up his hands. "But I''m pretty damn sure Loki''s the mastermind behind it. The Old bastard hinted at that too and told me to be careful in not so many words."


    "This....this is big." I began thinking of all the possibilities. "If we could get an agreement with the Norse, that would give us a lot more legitimacy with other factions."


    "We''re getting ahead of ourselves." Sirzechs tapped the table, thinking carefully from the look on his face. "Lets worry about our own business before talking about including to outside Pantheons."


    "Alright, we''ll talk foreign politics after." Azazel waved his hand. "But if Loki was helping it makes sense why N¨ªeh?ggr appeared. If there was any Norse God that Dragon would listen to, it''s probably Loki who has just as bad a personality."


    "Among other interesting things about that dragon." Ajuka flipped a page. "And we now know the source of the one that appeared in Japan. Thanks to your...agent, you provided some more details."


    "Yeah, that too" Azazel sighed again. "Vali has been raging ever since I picked him up and so has Albion. He came to me and demanded I make a spell to help Albion get a body like Ddraig apparently does."


    "Atleast we know where both Dragons are currently. Never a good thing when one of them abruptly pops up, it usually leads to arge disaster." Though, the person who possessed the Sacred Gear in question was the bigger issue.


    "Well, I noticed it in his fight with Susanoo, but I wasn''t'' 100% sure." Azazel shrugged. "But yeah, confirms it, I guess. Somehow that kid got his hands on the Boosted Gear. And it exins why Yasaka didn''t care about my help in transferring Sacred Gears if he was able to get one himself."


    "Do you have any idea what he did?" Ajuka asked, no absence of interest in his voice when the topic of spells usuallyes up. "How was he able to create a fake body of another dragon, and apparently put Ddraig''s soul into it from what we were able to gleam."


    "I haven''t got a single clue." Azazel shook his head. "It''s not like I''ve had time to sit down and contemte it. I''ve been running damage control almost 24/7 since the incident."


    "Chalk it up to him being a Magical Genius?" I snorted. "Gets around a Teleportation Block that an apparent God of Magic put up. Then creates Ddraig a new body and lets hime out of the Sacred Gear."


    "Whatever, I''ll care about itter when I can sit down and try to go through it." Azazel grabbed his papers again, flipping through them. "Do we know anything about the people he brought with him?"


    "The one who fought Loki was Sc¨¢thach." Ajuka inly stated.


    "You''re sure?" Azazel blinked.


    "They heard him speak her name, and it matches her description. Wielding a Demonic Spear, using Norse Magic. And fought Loki until he retreated. Oh also summoned the Gate of Skye, incase that wasn''t enough"


    "No chance of a reincarnation or spirit inheritor?"


    "Not unless she sequestered herself away from decades to train herself, then randomly decided to appear now."


    "Fuck." Azazel spat out. "I heard the rumors, but I was hoping they were rumors. That''s going to get the Celtic Pantheon annoyed. Not to mention it brings up many questions ¨C like, how is she alive. I actually met her before, when I visited Yasaka, but.....I guess I was hoping I was wrong."


    "It would exin Wilhelm''s Magical Talent too." I spoke up, earning their attention. "If she taught him, well, how many other teachers are at her level in the world?"


    There wasn''t any argument against it, so it was a safe bet based on everything.


    "Wait, wasn''t that Dragon supposed to be dead too?" I realized it just now.


    "Oh, that''s not that surprising. It''s supposedlye back a couple times in the past, but this was the first time it came back from total destruction. So, everyone thought death stuck for that Evil Dragon finally, and that it''s been so long. Apparently, It absorbed a lot of life force from eating the roots of the World tree to the point that as long as Yggdrasil exists, he can keeping back eventually." Azazel exined briefly.


    Oh, didn''t know that.


    Made sense too.


    "But why are you so upset about the Celtics? They don''t reallye out anymore." I would know, I''ve tried to reach out only to be denied.


    ".....You didn''t hear this from me, but Michael had been in talks with Lugh and Odin when the Fae first started appearing, before the whole mess in Japan. They''ve been popping up and they all agreed to pull resources to push them back out. It''s the first time the Celtic Pantheon had made any overt moves in years no centuries, and they have a sort of agreement with Heaven, so it''s going to carry over to us most likely."


    "I remember hearing something about Heaven having agreements with them. It''s one of the reasons that even the Human side of things didn''t see their culturepletely destroyed and that even the Church left important ces and religious practices of theirs alone over there." Sirzechsmented, tapping his finger again.


    "Yeah, in return, Lugh agreed to lend a hand every now and then. He got along with Dad pretty well back in the day. Probably because they''re simr Deities." Azazel replied.


    "Hmm, this is the first I''ve heard about the three way agreement. What kind of support are they offering to each other?" Ajuka asked.


    "Well, it''s mostly to protect their followers. Not much they have to worry about themselves. I think Odin was having the Dwarves start pumping out Iron Weapons. And Holy Stuff from Dad''s corner seems to be a good counter to Fae Magic, so Michael was having his priests team up with Lugh''s Druids who could find the pathways that were opened up to the Fae realms."


    "No wonder we haven''t heard much noise about Faeing from there." I wish I had known this earlier. I could have used this knowledge to maybe squeeze us into the agreement, lend a hand, get some goodwill or even some talks. Would have been worth it even if we had to spend a lot of money.


    "They''ve been handling things pretty well, until, you know, the Wild Hunt popped over to Japan." Azazel snorted.


    "I think we''re getting off topic." Sirzechs stopped his tapping, shifting in his seat.


    "Yeah, yeah, where were we?" Azazel went back to the papers in his hands. "The Girls he brought with him."


    "Mmm, from what Sona and the rest said....they looked....intimate?" I offered. "I asked Momma Gremory, but she just said it wasn''t her ce to say."


    "Huh, so the kid has a harem already? You must be so proud." Azazel smirked towards Sirzechs.


    "Maybe if his mom wasn''t a part of it." I giggled again, making the red-headed Satan double facepalm.


    "Can we focus?" Ajuka interjected.


    "I''m always willing to focus intently on Milf Gremory." Azazel''s eyes sparkled in amusement. "But yeah, important stuff. We can admire Sirzechs'' mom after."


    Well, I''ve admired her once or twice myself and had to change my panties afterwards.


    Sirzechs just opted to sigh again, ignoring the fun poking.


    Ajuka wasn''t actually getting annoyed, which made me think he also found it funny. But he was keeping a straight face through it. That or he just realized the situation waspletely crap and was letting us have our small bit of fun.


    "Moving on." Ajuka finally decided to end it. "Let''s talk about the Excalibur Fragments that turned up. I''m sure Michael is going to be interested in what happened to them."


    "Well..." Azazel scratched his head. "Kokabiel was actually with me when it first happened and I honestly had no idea he was the one who stole them. Thankfully he didn''t get all of them, but it was enough to apparently reforge a portion of the original thing."


    "Did Loki help remake that thing?" I questioned. "Otherwise, I don''t know why they haven''t remade it already."


    They already had a lot of different Holy Swords in their vaults, I don''t see why they would keep it in pieces when a stronger singr sword would most likely be better.


    "No." Azazel grunted. "The form he took ¨C to look like a Priest."


    "Sona and Rias said something about that. And one of Rias''s peerage members said he recognized the priest? Kiba had some history or something I think." I flipped through a few pages until I found what I was looking for.


    "The Holy Sword Project, I''m aware of it." Sirzechs shifted in his seat. "It''s how Rias found Kiba and added him to her peerage. He''s the only survivor of it and that Priest was the one leading it before he got emunicated. They experimented on kids to see if they could give them the Holy Power to wield Holy Swords. I wouldn''t be surprised if he was the one who remade the sword."


    "I haven''t been able to investigate, for obvious reasons." Azazel sighed. "But that''s right, that guy was thrown out awhile ago, but Kokobiel, in his infinite wisdom, thought it a good idea to secretly reinstate the majority of the emunicated Priests that he brought with him to further inme everything. I think Loki killed him at some point and started running around with his face....hopefully only in a metaphorical sense."


    Hmm... Sona said that there was a another mad Priest who wielded the sword, and when we reached out to Michael in an official capacity, he denied that they were working under the Church. And he also littered the outside of the school with the corpses of his....henchmen? Subordinates, or whatever you wanted to call them.


    All the emunicated people he grabbed hold of, he thought it was good enough to just have their bodies be present when he tried to kill Sona and Rias.


    Unfortunately, Michael was intent on retrieving the sword but we didn''t have possession of it currently.


    "Any word on the one who took the reforged Excalibur?" Sirzechs asked.


    "Nope." Azazelpopped. "The littledy who took it ¨C ording to your people ¨C is the same one who wielded a Sword that apparently put that one to shame. And that''s not even mentioning the Sheath that turned into a shield. Honestly, I''m starting to wonder if Dad was the one who ripped off the real thing here. "


    There was....a strange silence that came over the room. The Whole Excalibur wasn''t something to be dismissed. If wielded by apetent person, it was a threat even to us if it wasplete. From what we were able to gleam from their fight with the makeshift version, it was still diminished from its prime.


    Maybe adding more pieces would increase its Holy Power?


    "It left me breathless." Ajuka read off the paper infront of him with a tired expression as he shifted back to us. "The Holy Sword didn''t burn them even when they got swept up in it." He furrowed his brow in confusion.


    "Hey, don''t ask me, I really have absolutely no idea. She called her sword ¨C Excalibur. And no way was Dad''s toy putting out that kind of power. But on a side note, we have a pretty good idea of what happened to the Pendragon Family awhile ago. And Michael is also more than aware of such an absurd burst of Holy Power and he''s scratching his head too."


    "So does this mean that the Youkai are linked to the Pendragon Family?" I bit my lip, voicing my thoughts out loud. Neither were anything of significance previously, but with how things suddenly turned out, we had to pay attention to them and their allies at this point.


    "Worth remembering, but unimportant right now." Ajuka replied before looking at Azazel. "So you have no idea about this Holy Sword? Neither does Michael?"


    "No idea." Azazel shook his head. "Believe me, if Michael had a weapon like that, it wouldn''t be unknown."


    "He''s probably interested too?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    "Oh yeah, I promised him I would try and look into it."


    Hmm, maybe we can use this too?


    "So we have absolutely not idea." Sirzechs rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Something that powerful right under our noses, and not a single one of our factions knows?"


    "Yeah, it''s weird." Azazel shrugged.


    "Which seems to be a habit when ites to him." Ajuka adopted a contemtive look. "Every time I tried to analyze that Magic he uses, es back with stranger results and I can''t get anywhere with it. It seems like many strange and inexinable things keep happening around him."


    "Preaching to the choir here." Azazel grumbled in response. "I''m still stuck on how he managed to bypass Dad''s prison for Ddraig. That should definitely have been impossible, but it''s not even the strangest thing I heard about that whole fight."


    "Right, we''ll get to that after." Ajuka looked back down. "Two more strangers ¨C a blue skinned woman? I believe she identified herself as ''Jinn''? And she looked almost exactly like her name sake."


    "Theye in all shapes and colors. I haven''t seen a Djinn since that one I hooked up with when the Church was still crusading." Azazel smiled wistfully. "Don''t know why she would name herself after her race though."


    "I thought they were extinct." I frowned. "The Church did a number on the region when, as you said, they were crusading."


    "Nah, there''s still a few hundred here or there." Azazel shook his head. "They just don''t like connecting with any other factions. Too many times they''ve been taken advantage of."


    Yeah, I could see that.


    "ording to everyone present, she showed a masterful use of Magic." Sirzechs looked like he was rereading a few pages. "How many Fallen were bombarding them only for her to hold it off without much effort?"


    "Yeah, impressive, I guess. Though, Kokabiel didn''t have many powerful subordinates. Most of his Legion were two winged angels with the random four winged one thrown in. I think he preferred that to be honest."


    "Was it always like that?" I questioned.


    "Oh yeah." Azazel''s eyes lit up with a hint of nostalgia and even a little pride. "He was one of Heaven''s best Generals. He would take in the....weaker of our numbers and lead them to defeat much more powerful enemies. I..." Azazel let out a sigh. "I guess he couldn''t ever let go of those days and didn''t know how to live if he wasn''t warring again."


    I might feel pity for him if he didn''t try to restart the war and was going to get my Sona killed to do it.


    "And thest and maybe even more problematic one...." Ajuka frowned and I couldn''t help but feel a simr sentiment.


    "The woman who for some reason, Indra decided to lend his weapon to." Azazel snorted in barely held annoyance. "No idea what that ass is thinking. He despises us and now he interfered in some way? I think he could match pops when it came to his future sight, which makes him all the more confusing.


    "You think he had another kid?" I asked, looking around the room. "I know that the Gods these days try not to make any new Demi-Gods, but one pops up every now and then."


    "If he did, then it just makes me question what for." Azazel looked tentative. "That one never does anything without a reason."


    "Maybe it was a replica?" I offered.


    "Yeah right." The Fallen Angel scoffed. "That bastard would never let anyone replicate his weapon. He''s not like Thor who would happily have people running around with Fake Mjolnir''s, he would start smiting if he found out."


    I''d take his word for it. The Hindu Pantheon was one that we had absolutely no contact with. Not forck of trying either. We may as well be regr humans to them in how much they ignored our existence.


    "The Shinto Gods aren''t going to like it if he''s putting his hands over to Japan again."


    "He''d have to be stupid to do something so tant right now. Especially with how the Winter Queen made them go on high alert. I heard that even Izanami is up and about and pissed off." Azazel replied.


    "That was something I wanted to ask. My own sources were vague, can you tell us more about this Winter Queen?" Ajuka asked.


    "That''s going to need a few drinks and an even less formal get together." Azazel scowled. "Let me put it this way, I would rather deal with Lucy again than have anything to do with that lot. Atleast with Lucy, you could count on him to act evil for the sake of it, or to do whatever he could to spite Dad. The Fae, though, they''re fucking bonkers and you never know what ridiculous shit they are going to do. Only that you''ll regret it in the end."


    That didn''t bode well.


    Atleast we don''t have anything to do with them, so we can just watch from afar.


    "Well." I pped my hands. "Time to talk about the man of the hour himself!" I happily dered, though everyone else looked like they were sucking a lemon. "Apparently, he''s the new Red Dragon Emperor, I''m sure we''re going to get very little k for him not being with our faction after that reveal."


    I don''t think my sarcasm was missed.


    We were already getting called out on the fact that Wilhelm wasn''t part of the Devil faction, and it was obvious.


    Another Devil that could fight Gods, and he wanted nothing to do with us. The Old Satan Faction didn''t even need to do anything, most were pissed at that. It was no secret Devils worshipped power, and to know that we missed out on such a powerful Devil, well, people were angry.


    Especially reincarnated Devils or Half-Devils. Both of which....cked any significant representation in our government. Not that we didn''t have their best interesting at heart....rtively speaking. But who could they point to and idolize as ''one of them''?


    I don''t think the kid even knew that he had such a huge fan following in the underworld.


    Maybe If Momma Gremory kept screwing him, he mighte around to us?


    Should I ask her?


    That would be a fun conversation.


    ''Hey, Momma Gremory, we need you to spread those amazing legs of yours for the betterment of the Devil Faction.''


    Hell, I''d join in if it meant it would work.


    Well.....Admittedly, I just want to take that woman for a ride myself.


    Kind of jealous there.


    She turned me down back when she was still with her Husband, before Rias and Sona were born. I never really tried anything since then. I guessed it would be weird since she had seen me a bunch of times when I was a kid.


    "And with what Lady Gremory said before, and what we''ve witness thus far, he appears to be a very masterful Magician. I would call him a Genius at this point, and that might be too light a word. How long ago was he just living a normal life without any supernatural awareness?" Ajuka alsomented.


    Yeah, that''s a little hard to believe.


    Less than a year.


    Less than a year ago he was a kid who didn''t even know he was a Half-Devil, and now he''s taking out Seraphim and fighting Gods.


    That made everyone go silent again.


    How long did it take us to get to this level?


    And we haven''t even seen him use the Boosted Gear to its full capabilities. How strong was he exactly?


    "It''s interesting and everything, but I''m focused much more on something else, something both Michael and I shared confusion with." Azazel finally spoke up.


    "Oh right.....that." I felt a headacheing on.


    "The fact that he apparently wielded the strongest Holy Weapon Father ever made, and used its Bnce breaker, bing an Angel while it was active." Azazel looked utter dumbfounded as the words left his mouth. "Do I really need to say how impossible this should have been? Half-Devil, Full Devil, just touching the damn thing should have turned him to ash, I don''t care if he''s fighting Gods. That''s just not something you can ignore."


    "First the Sword, and the Spear now." Ajuka spoke up. "Is it possible they discovered a way to prevent Devils from being affected by Holy Power?"


    And that was a....chilling thought.


    Not so much that I wouldn''t love to have such a thing, but the idea of it would lead to, well, war probably.


    If Devils suddenly lost their biggest weakness.....would they be content to allow Heaven and the Fallen to dictate any terms to them?


    Not to mention that Michael and Co would do everything they could to stop that kind of information from spreading.


    "Does he share a simr theory?" Ajuka looked rather serious, and it''s obvious he came to the same conclusion that I did.


    "He would be stupid to not consider it." Azazel said inly. "And the theory only gains credence due to what happened to Kokabiel. You said that he waspletely stripped of his holy Power. Even if his wings were gone, he should still be full of the stuff if....diminished."


    "Yeah....He barely felt more than a human to be honest." I replied softly.


    "He''s going to try and ask for the Spear back, from us, isn''t he?" Sirzechs asked.


    Azazel winced, showing that Sirzy hit the mark.


    "He does know that we have nothing to do with him, right?" Sirzechs was, notably, not shrinking back when the topic of his bastard was being discussed.


    ".....He''s been questioning that based on what happened."


    "I can''t even fault him for that." I groaned. "It does look like we''re rted....you know, besides the obvious..." I muttered under my breath.


    And I guess technically we did have a link with him in the form of Venna.


    I was joking before, but maybe we should pressure her to bring him back?


    Hell, we have plenty of women if that''s his thing. He had a Harem, so he''s definitely got a love for women. Maybe we can use that for our benefit?


    Just have to figure out what kinds of girls he likes. Well, several of them were busty and had wide hips, so that''s a good ce to start. Did he screw Venna just to piss of old Red, or does he just like her as a woman?


    Could be both, I guess.


    I would need.....details from herter.


    Lots and lots of details.


    "So even if Michael is stilling, he''s probably going to be asking for impossible things." Sirzechs tapped his finger on the table.


    "I have a suggestion that might help." Azazel offered.


    "A suggestion that could smooth things over?" Ajuka repeated. "If it couldnd us an official Peace Treaty, then by all means."


    "Why not invite the Youkai to join in and work an agreement with them as well?"


    "Are you serious?" I blinked at his answer. "You do realize we''re almost universally despised by them, right?"


    "And who do they hate more right now?"


    I was about to respond until I realized exactly what he was talking about. "You want to use the attack to offer them peace and wash over all our past actions?"


    That....wasn''t a bad idea. They might just be willing to bury the hatchet if we supported them in their own war somehow. While we''ve butted heads, we''ve never thoroughly attacked them like the Fae have.


    "But would our own people go for it?" Sirzechs questioned.


    "Wouldn''t they? Look at who''s backing their corner now. Before you had Yasaka and Nurarihyon, both of which are notable and famous Youkai. Hell, only a handful of Devils outside of you lot would even be able to match them. And now, they have multiple people that can fight Gods, and a bunch of other powerhouses that just popped up with them." Azazel countered with a fairly decent argument.


    "But why would they agree? We aren''t exactly warring with them right now, and they with us. Why would we need an official peace treaty?" Sirzechs furrowed his brow. "We could always draw up some kind of agreement outside of this meeting if needed."


    "Would they want anything if it wasn''t something on this level? Yasaka hates us, Fallen and Devils, maybe Angels too. I don''t think she''d want to trade or anything like that with us if she didn''t absolutely have to. But a Peace Agreement that''s back by other factions? That might be worth her wile."


    If the Celtic and the Norse get involved, then it gives more authority to any agreements wee up with. That may just work out, granted, it would follow up with concessions from us for past grievances, but it might be a pittance inparison to getting a full peace with Heaven and the Grigori.


    "And if we invited them, Michael would probably ept just so he could get a chance to meet with Wilhelm." I bit my lip, thinking it over. "And at that point, we could easily just direct him towards the Youkai when hees asking for the Spear. It would be easy to just wipe our hands with that whole thing."


    "And his little group were directly involved. Michael would want to hear from an outside source either way." Azazel nodded along. "And I can say for sure that Odin wouldn''t be against it. He''s shown.... interest towards the kid too. Just don''t mention Izanami around him, they''ve been feuding for a little while now."


    I''m still skeptical that Yasaka and Nurarihyon would want anything to do with us in this case. But.....if they joined in on an official Peace Treaty with other factions that would enforce it and not rely just on our ''word'' then that might sway them. Not to mention they could use the treaty to easily argue for aid when it came to their War with the Fae that attacked them.


    Azazel did say that Heaven and Odin were in on another agreement aboutbating that particr nuisance. Would the Celts be against having a fourth joining in? If we brought them into and set them up with that, it would give us a lot of good faith that we previously didn''t have.


    "What do you think, Serafall?" Both Ajuka and Sirzechs turned to me. "You''re the Foreign Rtions expert here."


    "Its''....possible. We''re going to need to work out some things, but I would say it''s worth a try. Worse case, we''re right back where we started and we''re going to have a hard time with negotiations anyways."


    There was no loss from trying to bring them in.


    And it might put the Shinto Gods in a more open position for some talks as well.


    They''re barely better than the Celts when it came to seclusion.


    I did hear that Wilhelm and Izanami had some kind of rtionship, that could be a good door to have ess to in the future.


    "Alright, it''s another avenue to look at." Sirzechs nodded in approval. "But for now, we need to talk about what concessions you''re going to make, Azazel."


    "Ugh, fine." The Fallen Angels sighed, taking out a few pieces of paper and tossing them onto our desks. "Those are a list of my notable assets for the Grigori. The ones I put a star next to are those that are....publicly ''valuable'' but that I couldn''t care less about. The ones with a square are the less notable ones but I really don''t want to lose."


    "You''re lucky we''re just doing this as a formality." I snorted, looking at what he had to offer.


    "Formality my ass, you''re going to rake me over the coals when we go to the real meeting in a little while." Azazel huffed in annoyance.


    Well, that''s true, but it''s also your fault, idiot.


    It was just best that we got ahead of everything before presenting Azazel to the council and publicly shaming him like the Church did to make our people feel better. We''re still trying for peace, we didn''t want to actually cause huge tension between both factions.


    We knew that he wasn''t involved but we still had to be seen ''punishing'' the Fallen Angels for what happened.


    It just so happened we were going to get some nice new stuff in the process~


    As fun as this was to watch Azazel sweat as we carefully went over his stuff to take, I was more concerned with the uing Peace talks that were going to be held.


    It was shaping up to be a much bigger event than we had initially nned.


    ***


    Oh boy, long ass chapter and I''m reallyte. Got no good excuse, was caught up looking into thetest WoW expansion after not ying for like 10 years.


    So, something I wanted to talk about because people were getting upset about the whole ''Aura'' Thingst chapter. Let''s assume the worse case scenario, it bes an easily essible thing for all of Devil Kind...what exactly does that change? Devils already have absurd tools avable to them, they have Real Magic avable to them. Not to mention, if any devil wanted, they could learn Touki which is much stronger than Aura in the long run and they''re a long lived species. Wilhelm was only doing it because of some guilt he had towards Issei about stealing the Boosted Gear from him. There are very few tual consequences in the long run.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 312 - 285

    <h4>Chapter 312: Chapter 285</h4>


    It was kinda funny.


    When I wanted to take a break, I decided toe to the Shinto version of hell.


    Says a lot about me, I think.


    I am a Half-Devil, a species that originated from Hell. I spent a little over two years in The Land of Shadows, another type of Hell. And now here I am in the Shinto Hell.


    Technically, the Colored Rooms is also a type of afterlife as well.....if you look at it from a certain angle. And ignore every other aspect of it....


    Okay, I was reaching there.


    Hmm.


    "I came upon an out-of-ce house in the middle of this deste realm. I took my time walking up the path that led to the door. A woman greeted me in the doorway."


    "Wilhelm?"


    "The Strange woman spoke my name, a look of confusion on her face."


    ".....are you narrating yourself?"


    "Maybe."


    "I forgot how much of a dork you are."


    "Who spends all their time on the inte?" I raised an eyebrow.


    She yfully swatted at me with a huff. "What are you doing here?"


    "What are you doing here?" I countered. "Weren''t you supposed to be in Kanto?" I paused for a moment. "....That came off as more of an usation than I meant it to be. Can I try again?"


    "By all means." She snorted, the tinies of smiles on her face.


    Well, she looked amused by the whole thing.


    "What I meant to say, was that I stopped over there to check in and they said you were gone. So I came down here to find you."


    "And what do you require me for? Is there a problem that you need my assistance with?" She asked.


    I shook my head. "I just wanted to spend time with you."


    "...oh." She said quietly. "I see..."


    Was she upset with me? She turned away.


    Better do the thing that always works. I opened my arms up and pulled her into a hug.


    She made a cute little noise, so I assumed she wasn''t upset. Maybe I was just overthinking things.


    "You okay?" I asked, letting her go.


    "I''m fine." She crossed her arms with another huff. "And to answer your question, I don''t like to spend too much time on the surface, I could tell that many people there were getting uneasy with my presence. I merely go up to make sure my presence is made known to dissuade certain individuals from attacking again. I am keeping a close eye on things, and if I sense that something goes awry again, I can appear at a moments notice."


    "Izzy..."


    "There is no need tofort me. I am aware of my reputation and my presence is not aforting one to the moremon masses."


    "Hug." I held my arms open again.


    She rolled her eyes, but epted it all the same. If anything, it felt like she rxed quite a bit as I held her.


    "It is not all bad. My son came and visited me while I was going about my business on the surface."


    "Oh?"


    "Mmm, he officially came on behalf of the others."


    "Your other Children or the others as in Takamagahara as a whole?"


    "Little of both, probably." She let out a small chuckle. "They are also watching and my presence was noted by them as well. They usually do not care for the mortal world, so to see me so active after the incident left them.....wary."


    "Want me to go have words with them?" I offered, mostly as a jest. Though if she was upset and, I would happily go discuss her displeasure.


    "Yes, go beat up my other Children and the whole of their Pantheon." She deadpanned. "I''m sure that would cause no problems."


    "One time. I fought one of your children."


    "Technically, twice."


    "....touch¨¦." I admitted. "But it was Susanoo both times."


    "Hmm, well I can''t deny that he needs his behind kicked every now and then." She giggled again. "It was nice though. He came on ''official'' matters, wanting to know my reasoning for being active and all that so the others wouldn''t freak out. But otherwise, he spent the day with his mother, and it was very pleasant."


    That''s sweet.


    "So I guess we both don''t have anything to do right now."


    "How strange."


    "What?"


    "You''re not usually the type to stay still. Especially with what happened a couple days ago."


    "That''s not untrue...." I mulled that over. Yeah, the only reason I wasn''t off doing something was because I literally didn''t have anything to do right now.


    Yasaka was in a meeting with some other Elders. Something I couldn''t really intrude on with my status right now. She was discussing a bunch of important things that didn''t concern me, or rather, didn''t require my input. But they were also discussing my theoretical Defense System that could be implemented.


    Artoria also wasn''t one to sit still, she''s over at the Pendragon family. She dragged Arthur away, and Le Fay by association. Funnily enough, the girl was a very good Magician, and Yasaka hired her to teach Magic to anyone who wanted among her people. I had an inkling that the Pendragon family would be joining the Youkai in any uing conflicts.


    On a side note, I forgot to ask what she did with the Excalibur-thingy she took. Maybe Mordred would like to y with it?


    Well, it didn''t concern me. She would do with it what she wanted as it fell to her as the alternate to the original wielder. If Heaven couldn''t hold onto their toys and lost them so easily, I wasn''t going to go out of my way to say anything to her.


    Raikou was being best Aunt right now. After we walked Kunou to ss, she stayed behind to do her usual thing with them. And those kids adored her. Sc¨¢thach told me how they were cheering her on when she joined in on the little tournament during the festival.


    And speaking of Sc¨¢thach, she''s doing her own training with Yasaka''s people. Prepping them for the inevitable war that was going toe.


    Jinn was in Skyrim right now. She said she was gathering some stuff in preparation as well. What she''s getting up to, who knew. But I didn''t think it would be good for our rtionship if I questioned her every move. I wanted her to feel like she could go and do what she wanted without needing to have my ''permission''.


    And of course, Meridia was doing Meridia things.


    I had some calctions running through Mirage right now in an attempt to backtrack the Fae portal, but I don''t have much confidence in that particr method I devised. However, the data would be beneficial for future attempts.


    "Honestly, I''m destressing right now. After almost seeing Venna die, I don''t feel like I canmit myself to any project at the moment and I was just doing busy work in the meantime. I''m still pissed off and have a feeling of anxiety that''s making me check in with her every so often." I sat down on the steps leading to her porch.


    As much as I just wanted to hold her and not let go, she did have another family and responsibilities. I''m sure the whole thing was a huge fire for the Devils and they''re trying their best to put it out right now.


    "I can imagine. Besides your own obvious interests in what happened, there have been noticeable ripples throughout the supernaturalmunities." Izzy joined me, scooting close. "But how is Venna doing?"


    "She shook it off easily enough, or she''s very good at hiding it. I think she was much more shaken about her Daughter almost dying than herself." Does it make me a bad person that I cared more about her than her daughter, going against her own interests?


    "She has lived through many conflicts at this point. I''m sure she''s more than capable of epting such things and continuing."


    "I know, I know." I sighed, slumping my shoulders. "So, you know about everything then?"


    "Mmm, more or less. I have been kept abreast by Yasaka as she also learned everything. And I have reached out to my own contacts and been keeping an eye on the flow of information. The Devils did have to make an announcement as it was too public an incident to brush aside. Surprisingly, they did credit you with stopping the attack."


    "Woo." I waved my hand flippantly. "Did they mention any of the co conspirators?"


    "Are you referring to the God that made an appearance?"


    "The one that Sc¨¢thach suspects to be Loki, yes."


    After we wound down and settled, we did go over what happened. Loki was the most obviou suspsect based on the cluees, but it wasn''t a assured thing.


    "None, which I don''t me them. It seems it was Kokabiel''s intent to cause chaos as well as this ''nameless God''. So, keeping everyone calm is probably the best way to handle things."


    "At the risk of stealing Sc¨¢thach''s prey, I have my own pound of flesh to take." I already released a lot of anger on Kokabiel, but the fact that someone helped him put them straight on my shit list. If it was Loki, he would suffer a simr fate.


    I just needed to get my hands on him.


    "Well, you may have a chance soon. I told you before that there had been other things happening in other corners, yes?"


    "I recall, Titans in Greece, Fomorians for the Celtics, Giants for the Norse, etc..."


    "I reached out to my.... acquaintances." She breathed out. "Hel, Hades, and Arawn specifically. Hel did tell me that her father was apparently very visible during the attack and was in Asgard. Which...does not necessarily mean anything, him being a Trickster God."


    Hmm, Arawn wasn''t one I was overly familiar with. Celtic God of Death if I wasn''t mistaken.


    "Considering he was able to escape under Sc¨¢thach''s nose, I put no faith in that."


    I wonder if there''s a God in the world that was more adept at escaping than Loki? When it came to deception and tricks, he was probably the best at that due to his nature.


    "You would be a fool too. Besides, that wasn''t the only thing that happened. Asgard was sieged by an army from Muspelheim during Kokabiel''s own attack."


    "And Loki was conveniently seen among the Asgardian Court for both attacks. Meaning he couldn''t possibly have been involved." I added, very sarcastically. "Isn''t he an Evil God or something? Why do the Asgardians even allowing him to roam free?"


    plicated. For every Evil Deed he''smitted, he''s also done something heroic. There have been many times he''s saved Thor from the Thunder God''s own foolishness, just as many times he''s yed his cruel pranks. There have been times where he''s defended Asgard to his almost dying breath, and others where he''s led the charge on the assault against Asgard."


    "Sounds like a fucking ridiculous situation that I want no hand in. But chances are that he''s involved with my Venna being harmed."


    "Your Venna, hmm?" She had a humorous smile on her face.


    I nudged her shoulder with a huff. "And what happened with the Giant attack?"


    "Not much, no one was killed, that was noteworthy anyway. The attack dide as a surprise, as their march was obscured from even Heimdall''s eyes."


    The God that was rumored to see all in the Nine Realms. Probably a bit of an exaggeration, but he was the first defense of Asgard. He should have able to see the attacking, some sort of Mystic Eyes or irvoyance.


    "Yes, and who could have possibly aplished such a feat!"


    "Believe me, you aren''t the only one pointing out the obvious. However, Loki does have allies within Asgardian Court."


    "Annoying, but not something I can care about right now." I sighed, leaning my head against Izzy''s shoulder. "Though, all bets are off if hees around again. I don''t care about Godly Politics; I will end him." Just as I was tense thinking about him, I melted once I felt her fingers run through my hair.


    "If hees around, I will help you." She replied. "But there are other things I wish to speak about while you are here. I said I spoke to Hades when I reached out. He said he was aware of some things and asked to meet. From what I was able to gather, the Titans that escaped Tartarus previously were Cronus and Hyperion. I bring this up, because they also attacked during the incident, they tried to free their remaining brethren, but Hades and his people were able to thwart it with minimal loss."


    "Interesting, so there''s probably a link, the timing was too convenient."


    "Without a doubt, and it''s also unlikely that Loki''s reach alone can extend so far. He is probably working with others to achieve whatever his goals are. But I brought this up for another reason."


    "Hmm?"


    "Hades asked for you, specifically. He is aware that we are acquainted, and after what happened in Kokabiel''s attack, he requested I bring you along for a chat."


    I blinked, unsure of what to say for a moment. "....why? I don''t think I''ve done anything to earn his....attention."


    "I haven''t got a clue." Izzy sighed herself. "To be honest, he despises most of the Abrahamic factions. By default, he shouldn''t want to meet you, no offense is meant."


    "He can get in line, I have almost nothing good to say about them either." I shrugged.


    "Yes, well, Hades is known for his dislike for them and he was open about wanting to speak with you. I....have a decent rtionship with both Hades and Persephone, so I do not believe there to be ill intent. But I wished for you to know and understand."


    "Noted. Did he give a specific time?" I wasn''t against meeting him, if only just because Izzy was acquainted with him.


    "No, but I wouldn''t put it off longer than a month. It appears he wished it to be soon."


    Soon, and no longer than a month. It''s easy to forget that Gods see the passage of time much differently than mortal species.


    Well, no reason to be antagonistic towards a God if I didn''t need to be.


    "Anything else of importance?"


    "Yes, I spoke with Arawn about the Fae incident. They are the Pantheon that had the most....dealings with them in the past age."


    "In hindsight, that''s logical due to them appearing in so many myths and legends in that part of the world. But at this point, I honestly hadn''t thought about it."


    "You''ve been under a lot of pressure, I assume you have been putting out your own fires since then." She always was quick to try andfort me when I wasn''t in a good mood.


    "And what''s the word with the Celtic Gods?"


    plicated. Some of them had rtions with the Fae before. Dagda, being the most prevalent."


    "Oh?" I quirked an eyebrow. "Wasn''t he the Chief God of the Tuatha De Danann?"


    "The very same." Izzy nodded. "Him and the Winter Queen were....close. Very close."


    "Oh. OH." Realization dawned on me. "I have yet to hear a good thing about that woman....."


    "Dagda was a good person, a good God. I''m not surprised he managed to melt that cold woman''s heart. And It''s not surprising that she and hers retreated from the world when he died in the Great War."


    "I didn''t know he died." I said quietly. "It seems I''m not in the know about a lot of things that happened here."


    "A lot of Gods fell during that War. When the three factions warred, it caused the entire world to descend into warfare. Old rivalries were reignited with fervor, and new rivalries were formed. War Gods relished in the new order, and Evil Gods coaxed the mes happily."


    "And I assume that Lugh has since taken over?"


    "You are correct." She nodded. "He has shown good leadership, and his strength cannot be denied. While most think the ''rankings'' of the world asughable, they are at least notable as pointing to something and noting how strong they are."


    "Right, the fact that a God from such a.....small Pantheon and Religions is thought of as one of the top ten strongest in the world should say something even if the list isn''t all epassing."


    "It''s as you say. And after reaching out, Lugh also spoke with me for awhile. He admitted that after Dagda died, the rtionships between them and the Winter Court became very strained. They were med for Dagda''s death...which concerns a variety of circumstances I won''t get into. So a lot of goodwill was lost on both ends and they only had old agreements and pacts to keep the peace."


    "Is there still bad blood? Enough that they''d be willing to pool resources if we start waging war?"


    "I can''t promise anything, but I did ask a simr question. Right now, they are in talks with the Angels for reasons they didn''t borate on. I did not push it for the moment as they were being very polite in reaching out in the first ce."


    Well, definitely an avenue we could pursue. It would certainly alleviate some pressure off us if we got some more backing. Something to look into, who else had old grudges and would be willing to lend a hand.


    "But to summarize, I was told about their overall structures and given an idea of what their forces are like. Granted, it''s from many centuries ago, but given how slow the supernatural is to change I believe even an outdated overview would be valuable in creating strategies."


    "Honestly, anything would help. The Fae here arepletely different than the one''s I''m used to. We didn''t have this Winter or Summer court, so this is all new to me." I sighed again, thinking about everything that still needed to be done to prepare for a true war.


    "I already sent the information to Yasaka and Nurarihyon. I just wished for you to know."


    "And I appreciate it." I gave her a smile.


    "Do you ¨C" Izzy abrupt closed her mouth, shooting to her feet. She had a very pensive look on her face as something startled her. "What!?" She suddenly blurted out, and the entire realm shook.


    I felt something start breaking through the barriers of this ce, the space itself rupturing. I usually slipped through rather elegantly, without causing a fuss. Whatever this was, it was bulldozing through every sort of boundary that this ce was connected to.


    I was right besides her, my Magic Circuits immediately ignited. My Aura was ring violently, and Reinforcement filled my body. I felt my hairs stand on end, a thorough foreboding feeling causing me to shiver.


    My instinct in circumstances likes this had never failed me.


    Without a second thought, I summoned the Boosted Gear onto my hand, and grabbed hold of my Authority. My main trump card that I was reluctant to show after the fight with Susanoo.


    There was absolutely no reservation about pulling it out in this situation if I felt threatened.


    Space itself rended and shattered, a figure mmed through all boundaries, visibly tearing through the very fabric of reality that held this metaphysical realm together.


    There was a hole in the sky where the threads were pulled apart that very slowly began to close, mending itself.


    And the neernded on the ground without a care in the world.


    My Campione instincts went into overdrive. I could practically taste her Divine nature, but also the fact that she was strong.


    Stupidly strong.


    Whatever she was, she even dwarfed Izanami who was standing right next to me.


    Honestly, the onlyparison I had topare with was Meridia when she split a portion of herself off and left her realm.


    I nced at Izzy who was utterly shocked and silent and even trembling slightly.


    I took a step forward infront of her. I didn''t know what this thing was, but I would be damned if Izzy was harmed under my watch.


    This thing that took the appearance of a girl not older than Kunou. ck hair so dark and it was only matched by her eyes. It seemed to absorb any light that tried to touch it. Pointy ears that denoted her inhuman nature. And...strange clothes I couldn''t even bring myself toment on due to the sheer power that radiated from her.


    I had no idea who this was. So many sensations hit me all at once. Draconic, Divine, and a plethora of somethings that seemed unending.


    However, my Partner seemed to recognize her immediately.


    [Ophis..] Ddraig sounded terrified.


    Her voice was monotone yet, somehow, carried with it reverberation that made me think of the Kaleidoscope when actualized.


    "Found you."


    ***


    Here''s the weekends chapter, a littlete, but here nontheless.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 313 - 286

    <h4>Chapter 313: Chapter 286</h4>


    Sona POV


    "Sona, it''s good to see you."


    "Lady Lucifuge, thank you for activating the teleportation circle for me." I politely bowed my head in her direction.


    "It is no trouble." She smiled faintly. "Rias and her Peerage are out back, would you like me to escort you?"


    "It''s fine, I know the way."


    "Very well. I am preparing tea and snacks, they will be ready shortly, please tell Rias when you see her."


    I gave her onest polite nod as she walked off to the kitchen. I guess formalities were slightly dropped in these circumstances. It''s not like I haven''t been to this house hundreds, if not thousands of times since I was born.


    Even if I had thoughts preupying my, my body seemed to carry me through the mansion with ease to the point I didn''t even realize I came upon two individuals I recognized.


    "Oh, Sona!" Lord Gremory perked up seeing me, Lady Gremory right at his side.


    "How are you doing, Sona?" Lady Gremory had a very gentle tone as always.


    "I am doing well, Lady Gremory."


    "Always so polite." Lord Gremory chuckled. "I''m d you''re safe. That all of you are." He smiled towards his wife ¨C Ex-wife?


    I wasn''t entirely sure what was happening there. The way they were sitting seemed to exude familiarity, which wasn''t surprisingly considering the length of their rtionship over the past centuries. However, it alsocked that sort of intimacy that couples were known for.


    I supposed it''s safe to assume that Lady Gremory''s apparent rtionship with her....grandson was not one that surprised Lord Gremory.


    "It''s all thanks to our grandson." Venna beamed. "I can''t wait to thank him properly, again."


    And suddenly, all my thoughts came to a screeching halt.


    Even Lord Gremory looked utterly bbergasted. That was, until he startedughing abruptly.


    "That boy has no idea what he''s in for, that''s for sure!"


    Lord Gremory seemed to have no mind that Lady Gremory insinuated she was going to be intimate with their grandson at ater point. If anything, he seemed entirely amused by the idea.


    .....this family was so strange.


    But I had no room to talk with my sister being....well, my sister.


    How many times has she showed interest towards me?


    "....yes, it''s thanks to Wilhelm that we escaped alive." I begrudgingly admitted.


    "What a fine man he''s grown into. Just look at that, taking after his Grandfather!" Lord Gremory jabbed his finger at the phone in Venna''s hand. "And he even has his own Daughter! Such a cute little thing. Vene, did you pass a message, huh? I''d love to meet him at some point."


    Lady Gremory let out a giggle in response. "I told him already, but with everything that''s been happening, it''s probably been pushed to the side for now."


    Lord Gremory.....pouted. "I guess it can''t be helped. He''s involved in that whole Fae thing right now, and now this. Oh well, just make sure to tell him that the offer is open ended."


    "Millicas also said he wanted to meet his brother, I''ll make sure to say something again, but no promises."


    "That''s all I ask."


    Lady Gremory turned to me. "I''m surprised that Serafall let you out of her sight."


    "She only did because I said wasing over here." I couldn''t help but sigh. "And she''s still has meetings all day. I was called in earlier again, but she couldn''t get away."


    "Again?" Venna raised an eyebrow. "I was also called toe in for a couple hours, but this is getting out of hand. How many times have they had youe in?"


    "Half a Dozen."


    Lady Gremory frowned. "I will tell them to let you rest. It''s bad enough what happened, but to be pulling you every which way right after. Hmph, I will have words with my son and your sister."


    And that was one of the many reasons I always adored Lady Gremory.


    "Thank you, Lady Gremory." I said sincerely.


    "It''s no problem, Sona." She smiled brightly again. "And Rias is out back with her Peerage."


    With another polite nod, I left and continued to make my way through therge mansion. Surprisingly, despite the size of this ce, they had very few servants. It was inhabited by mostly Peerage members who took up the chores and such. I knew Okita Souji had his own set of pieces and his Rook took some duties here to watch over the family under Lord Lucifer''s request. And there were others.


    Lord Gremory''s peerage wasn''t established entirely for just his...pleasure.


    But there were no traditional servants.


    Everyone just chalked it up to the Gremory oddness.


    Though I did hear some rumors, something about the Old Satan Faction using spies and had snuck into the mansion under the guise of Servants long before I was born.


    I never asked about it as it seemed like a personal and private matter.


    I dismissed those random thoughts and pushed the back door open, seeing my friend sitting around with several other people.


    "Sona, you came!" Rias happily greeted.


    Her excitement was always contagious, I felt myself smiling back, seeing my friend again. Even if it''d only been a day or so since we''d been called in together to give reports, it felt like an eternity.


    "Rias." I politely greeted back. "Are you doing well?"


    "Yeah, good. I''m doing great." Rias smiled happily , but it felt.....forced.


    I''ve known her long enough to tell when she''s in these kinds of moods.


    "She''s lying." Akeno, who sat at the table with Rias, said bluntly.


    "Akeno!" Rias squawked in embarrassment.


    I guessed she still felt awkward about it? Letting out another sigh, I took an empty seat at the table. "I''m still shaken." I closed my eyes, letting out a breath of air. "I thought I was ready for that kind of thing, to be able to fight a real battle. I''ve ran so many battle simtions, trained with my peerage on many ''what-if'' scenarios, yet.....we almost died."


    "I..." Rias looked down. "Yeah..." She whispered.


    I shared a look with Akeno who shot me a thankful expression.


    "How''s Gasper?" In the immediatemotion we had forgotten about her other Peerage member who always hid himself away. The Half-Vampire who couldn''t control his Sacred Gear which activated on sight. So he hid himself away.


    "He was scared ¨C obviously. But otherwise, he''s not hurt, just shaken too." Rias smiled wryly.


    "Where are your other peerage members?" I nced around and couldn''t see them.


    "They''re running around doing some training." Rias sighed. "Well, I don''t think it could be called that, but that''s why they im. I think they don''t want to sit still right now. Issei''s reaction was to immediately start running around and doing his exercises again. And Kiba.....Kiba felt guilty that Issei almost died to protect him that he''s taking it upon himself to hover over him."


    "Is he still upset about the Excalibur Pieces?" I pushed my sses up.


    "Surprisingly...no." Rias looked confused. "I guess he is, but at the same time he isn''t. I think Issei''s little sacrifice brought back some really bad memories for Kiba, so he''s coping in the only way he knows how. So his anger right now is ovee with guilt."


    That needed to be dealt with sooner rather thanter. But knowing Rias, she''ll ignore it until it''s a problem that can''t be ignored. It was rude to interfere in another''s running of their peerage, so I didn''t voice my thoughts.


    "What about Koneko?"


    "Well ¨C"


    Boooom!


    We all turned to see said girl throwing boulders at the two running boys as they screamed.


    "I see..." I just blinked.


    "Fufu..." Akeno giggled to herself with a....sadistic look on her face. "Ara Ara, they''re in for a beating. Our Koneko decided to join them in their training."


    For some reason, Akeno was practically drooling.


    Which....was a little much even for her.


    I nced at Rias who flushed red in embarrassment.


    I nced back at Akeno who I think had snuck her hand down between her legs.


    Opening my mouth, I closed it again. It was best to ignore that and notment. I''ve been around Serafall long enough to know certain ways around situations like this.


    "Fallen Angel.....Sadism." Rias nced back at me with red cheeks and muttered.


    And it suddenly made sense.


    Akeno''s sadistic interests were no secret. Nor was her....origin and hate of her Father. She was a Half Fallen Angel and despised her Fallen Angel Father. Seeing another ¨C Powerful ¨C Fallen Angel get so thoroughly debased and beaten.....


    I didn''t need to continue down that line of thought.


    Suffice to say, she was probably still very happy.


    "Have you heard any news?" I decided to chance the subject.


    "Probably only what you heard. Brother did mention something about a Peace Meetinging up with the other factions. He said not to tell anyone, and that the only reason he told me was that we would need to be there incase the other factions had questions."


    "Yes, my Sister said the same. As witnesses, we are there to give our ounts if they call upon us. It''s likely that Michael and the Angels will want to hear everything from our mouths as well as the reports we gave."


    I wanted to say it''s surprising that we were having a Peace Meeting, but it seemed like this had been a long time in the making. Technically, we''re still at war, but there haven''t been open or rather wide spread hostilities in a long time.


    ".....did you hear anything else?" I asked.


    "You mean about Wilhelm?" Rias questioned.


    "Sona sure seems interested in him~" Akeno giggled. "Maybe there''s something else there."


    "There is no such thing!" I adamantly denied.


    "Sona-chan~" Rias had that mischievous look of hers. "It''s okay, you don''t need to lie."


    Hmph.


    I pushed my sses up. "I think your mom already took that spot, Rias. Unless, you''re suggesting I''m attempting to get with both of them?"


    Rias just started sputtering.


    "Do you think they''d let me join in?"


    "Akeno!" Rias squawked again, scandalized and turning bright red. "That''s my mom!"


    "And she''s hot." Akeno grinned. "If I knew that she was open for it, I would have made a pass earlier."


    "Y-you..!" Rias didn''t seem to know how to respond.


    I was not prepared for this.


    "And it''s not like Wilhelm isn''t handsome. Did you see him? Definitely filled out his clothes a lot better than when we saw him back in school."


    "....please stop." Rias whined.


    "Now, picture your mom and him fu ¨C"


    Rias made a strange sound as sheunched herself over the table, attempting to strangle her Queen. Thetter of whom just broke out in a fit of giggles as they struggled.


    Well, this was better than seeing them depressed. And I think Akeno was doing it on purpose to break Rias from her funk.


    Rias had a good Queen.


    "Buchou !"


    We all seemed to stop and see the others of Rias''s peeragee walking over, looking rather exhausted.


    Rias set herself back up properly, fixing her clothes.


    "Sona." Koneko looked towards me, greeting me with that quiet, monotone voice of hers.


    Cute.


    "Tired out already?" I couldn''t help but smiled, eyeing the little Nekoshou as she stuffed her mouth with cookies.


    "Mmm." Koneko barely replied, but it was still adorable.


    "Issei, help us settle an argument." Akeno grinned.


    "Oh Satans, please don''t." Rias Facepalmed.


    "Rias''s Mom, yes or no?"


    "10/10 Oppai." Issei nodded sagely.


    Rias just groaned while Akenoughed.


    "Hey, is she really....with your nephew?" Issei asked awkwardly.


    "...yes." Rias said quietly. "Mom told us a few weeks ago." Rias sighed. "Apparently, it happened after he rescued her and Millicas."


    "...nice."


    "Dammit Issei."


    "Fufufu."


    "hi." Koneko blushed a little.


    Kiba was the only one who apparently had noment. But even he looked a little flustered at the thought.


    Not surprising, Venna acted like a mother to pretty much all of them. Well, except Issei, he hadn''t been around long enough.


    "That damn handsome! He has those magnificent Foxy Oppai, now he even has your mom''s Oppai all to himself!" Issei eximed, rather loudly.


    "D-don''t say it like that!" Rias huffed.


    "Why? It''s true." All our heads turned to see said woman carrying over a tray of treats, while Grayfia carried the tea with her.


    "Moooom." Rias whined.


    Venna just looked all to amused by the looks she was getting.


    "Must you, Mother?" Grayfia sighed, oddly casual when she was working in her maid persona.


    "No, but I enjoy it." She giggled, setting the stuff down on the table. "I''m not ashamed in the slightest. Wilhelm and I are in a rtionship, with all that entails. There''s no need to tip toe around it."


    Despite the nature of the situation, her confidence was something I always admired about her. Even when she faced Kokabiel, she never wavered.


    Rias just further buried her face when Lady Gremory noticeably bounced her chest for everyone to see.


    The Gremory Lady giggled again, opting to leave it at that with a sighing Grayfia following behind her.


    It''s rare to see Rias embarrassed like this. The same girl that had no qualms about walking around naked when we did sleepovers. The same girl that was very vocal about her.....interests when we started going through puberty.


    "My Sister also said that those other women who appeared were part of his harem." It was a rare asion, I would enjoy it a little more. "Would they be your nieces or your aunts, Rias?"


    It took all of my effort to keep a straight expression.


    Rias looked up at me with emotionless eyes.


    "T-that handsome has a harem!!? Those other Oppai were his too!" Issei mmed his palms on the table. "That''s not fair!"


    "Wait, really?" Even Akeno was surprised.


    "It''s what my sister said." I shrugged. Whether that was Serafall being Serafall or not, I didn''t particrly care for the moment. Though they seemed really close.


    However, it did just raise so many more questions. Like, how did he get a Harem of that size in only a couple months? Not to mention their sheer strength, it was absurd.


    "I was wrong." Issei breathed in. "I thought he was a bastard like those other Handsomes, but he''s a kindred spirit. I wish I got to know him during school." Issei actually sounded sad.


    "....It''s still weird to think that he went to school with us. Is it strange that I barely had an impression of him?" Kiba who was usually silent, spoke up.


    "I can''t really me you." Rias sighed. "If it weren''t for finding out that he was my Nephew, I would honestly never give him a second nce. Besides the obvious non-native features of course. But he was.....quiet and never really stuck out. He was mostly average in everything with theatre being the only thing that stood out. And even then....I didn''t really care about that kind of thing."


    Rias found out about him muchter than I did.


    I was asked by both her brother and Serafall to keep an eye on him, as annoying as it was. They thought she would seek him out and ruin his ''normal life'' or whatever their n was. I wasn''t entirely informed, but from what I understood, he lived his entire life thinking he was human and they didn''t want to ruin that.


    Whether that was wise or not, it wasn''t my position toment. But I could understand some of the logic. If someone you didn''t know suddenly ran up to you, confessed themselves to be your Aunt from a side of a family that basically ignored you for your entire life and imed to be a mythological and evil aligned being, how well would he take it?


    The answer was obvious.


    I just followed orders, however.


    Well, that almost happened anyways. Rias wasn''t one to...think things through when she gets an idea. When she first found out, she almost immediately ran over to him and do what she usually does with family.


    It took a lot of convincing to get her to not run over right away and watch first. After that.....well, she lost that initial enthusiasm and felt awkward and embarrassed about approaching him.


    Rias adopted the same attitude she took with her peerage. Settle for ignoring the problem unless it became more of a problem.


    "Speaking of those girls...do you know anything about them?" I wanted to understand better.


    No, I needed to know.


    How the hell did he go from a quiet, introverted and possibly depressed teenager to ¨C that.


    IT was only a couple months, and he was strong enough that we were irrelevant in his eyes. He didn''t even deem us worth acknowledging.


    If it weren''t for Venna, he wouldn''t have even spared us a second thought.


    "All of them were.... beautiful, I guess." Rias muttered. "But they were all so strong."


    "That blue girl effortlessly shielded us that entire time." Akeno bit her lip, that mischievous look about her having disappeared. "I kept trying to recreate what she did, and I just can''t get it right. And it felt like she wasn''t even trying."


    I was proud of my own Magical Skills but.....that kind of disy shook my confidence. And she wasn''t the only one, several of them showed an insane aptitude with magic.


    "That sword.....what was it." Kiba asked quietly, visibly.....hesitant to even bring it up.


    That Sword.


    I didn''t even want to think about it because of the way it made me feel. Not that it was something bad, but the fact that even recalling that the Light that showered us left me with a warm feeling in my chest.


    Holy Light wasn''t supposed to act that way.


    It wasn''t supposed to be warm and epting of Devils.


    Yet, it defied allmon sense.


    Excalibur.


    That was the name given, and deep inside, I couldn''t rebuke it.


    Which didn''t make sense at all!


    If that was Excalibur, then what was used to almost kill us by that priest!?


    Why were we told that Excalibur was broken when it was clearly used to finish off a Dragon that fought Gods! Why was everything so confusing around him?


    Even Serafall didn''t have an answer when I asked her. And I could tell she wasn''t simply keeping it a secret. She seemedpletely confused as well.


    "You were right about those rumors you told me before too." Rias looked down at her tea. "About that person appearing in Kyoto. I looked her up, you know? Her legends and stuff after you got on my case. Even Brother basically confirmed it."


    "Sc¨¢thach." I breathed out. "No wonder she was able to match the God who appeared."


    Yes, and it was no secret at this point that the person hiding behind the fa?ade of the Priest was a God.


    Serafall confirmed that much.


    "Uh....who''s Sc¨¢thach?" Issei asked. "Sounds foreign. And did you say that a God appeared? Like....one from the stories?"


    Ah, Issei''s recount wasn''t particrly...important. So he hadn''t been as privy to certain secrets as of yet.


    "Right....we hadn''t gotten that far in your education yet. I said all mythologies were real, that does include every other God. You saw a Shinto God appear not long ago, so it''s not strange for a different Pantheon God to appear." Rias exined.


    "R-right, sorry. It''s just..."


    "I know, it''s a little overwhelming." Rias smiled lightly, not getting upset. "As for Sc¨¢thach, well...."


    "She''s one of the few humans in history who held the title of Godyer." I pushed up my sses, exining for her. "From Irish Myth, she was born a human, trained one of the greatest Heroes over there, and killed Gods. I heard that she died during the Great War but.....I am starting to question several stated facts at this point."


    Issei let out a whistle. "What''s someone like that doing all the way over here?"


    "That''s the question, isn''t it?" I pursed my lips. "And from what I said before, Wilhelm is very.....close to her."


    "Lucky bastard." Issei muttered.


    And honestly, I sorta felt the same way.


    I could only imagine the kind of training and knowledge a person like that could pass down. Was she the reason that Wilhelm got so strong?


    I would admit to being....envious.


    "That woman with the big oppai and the purple lightning, who was she?" Issei asked, looking around.


    Rias let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "We don''t know."


    "Dragon." Koneko said. Even if it was a single word, it was easy to catch her question.


    "Right, and then there''s the revtion that Wilhelm is somehow this generation''s Red Dragon Emperor." Rias muttered again.


    "Um..."


    "One of the strongest Sacred Gears in existence, a Longinus ss. It''smon for their wielders to cause a lot of destruction along with its rival, Divine Dividing, that they are usually infamous rather than famous. They both house two rival Dragons, Ddraig and Albion respectively." I gave a brief summarization for her pawn.


    "Oh, so he can summon dragons with it?" Issei tilted his head.


    "No." I said inly. "It''s supposed to be able to barrow the power of the Dragon inside, one known to be stronger than most Gods in the world. However, apparently he found a way to.....summon Ddraig outside of it. The implications of that, I don''t know. And why it looked the way it did, I also don''t'' know. Serafall was scratching her head too."


    She said it was some sort of magic though.


    Magic that was able to bypass a literal Divine Weapon created by the God in Heaven.


    Was that how far he progressed?


    That his Magic was beyond even Gods now?


    How was he progressing this fast!?


    It was frustrating!


    The more I learned, the more I felt like all my efforts were pointless.


    "And he had the True Longinus as well. The strongest Holy Weapon in the world, and he could use it like he wasn''t a Half-Devil." I snorted, getting annoyed as this went on. "Do we know how he was able to avoid being burnt to a crisp by the Holy Power? Not to mention able to use its Bnce Breaker and somehow be a Archangel for the duration."


    I''m sure the Angels will be enthused by that bit of information.


    I did not envy my sister''s current predicament.


    "No, Brother was tight lipped about it. One of the things he said not to spread around as they talk it over." Rias shook her head. "And if he''s worried about it, that means others are."


    "Yeah, the Angels and Fallen might throw a fit if they find out we can be immune to their main weapons." I spoke my thoughts aloud. "But..." I turned my eyes to Issei. "It''s entirely possible that the answer is right here."


    Everyone else turned towards him too.


    "Any progress on.....whatever this is?" I asked.


    Rias raised her hand up to poke Issei. A strange Energy-like shield came up and protected him, blue in color.


    "We''ve been experimenting with it, but we''re still working on what exactly it is. I asked mom and she just said it wasn''t anything bad and it''s called ''Aura'' or something, and but hasn''t said anything else." Rias frowned, clearly annoyed about the whole thing.


    "What about Ajuka, did he not show any interest?"


    "He did, but...."


    "Other priorities." I sighed, guessing what she wanted to say. "I guess we''ll have to wait and see. They said that they were going to try and pull in the Youkai to the Peace meeting, so hopefully we''ll get some answers there."


    I just....wanted to understand how.


    Was he just talented, or am I doing something wrong?


    Hopefully, I would find out soon.


    [****]


    Wilhelm POV


    I didn''t know what I should say.


    I was honestly frozen solid here.


    This.....thing was staring right at me without blinking and it was very intimidating.


    Izzy was also a statue, and I felt like Ddraig was having trouble speaking.


    I couldn''t tell if this thing was intentionally projecting its presence so tantly, or if this was just its natural state of being. Or Gods....was this how it felt after it reeled in its overwhelming power?


    "You." It ¨C she, raised her dainty hand to point at me.


    I expected a follow up, or anything, but....she didn''t speak again.


    ".....what do you want from me?" I barely managed to get out under her drilling eyes.


    "Help me beat Baka-Red."


    ....I don''t know what that meant.


    "I ¨C"


    "Smell simr." The thing suddenly was right in my face, staring straight into my eyes.


    "Pardon?"


    "Lots of things."


    I blinked, still unable to decipher its words.


    "Cao Cao." It said again. "Promised to help. Gone now. You help."


    "...why me?" I still didn''t know what I was supposed to supposedly help with.


    "Strong. Noisy. Hear it every time you enter the world." She said had that expressionless look on her face. "Noisy beats noisy."


    However, her exnation made my eyes widen.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Enter World, noisy. Lots of noise, like Baka-Red. Too many voices, too many things happening all at once."


    [She''s talking about Great Red.] Ddraig spoke.


    "Yes." The thing apparently heard Ddraig from inside my soul. "Ddriag, help too. Too noisy, want my silence back."


    ".....Lady Ophis." Izzy spoke up with a still terrified look about her. "Perhaps you should exin it fully he doesn''t.....understand." She chose her words very carefully.


    Ophis frowned and the realm shuddered for a moment before stopping. "Baka-Red came into my home, won''t leave. Too noisy, I want my silence. Cao Cao promised to help me beat Baka-red, now he''s gone. You help in his ce."


    "Great Red lives in the dimension Gap. You mean to say, he''s being too noisy in the Dimensional Gap, where you live?"


    "Yes."


    "It''s a big ce, why not just go to a different part?"


    "Too noisy." She sounded....annoyed, like she didn''t like repeating herself.


    "But....." I didn''t understand what she was trying to say. I knew frighteningly little about the thing infront of me. The bare basics of it''s origin and that''s it. And even that was...too little for dealing with a being like this. "You were born in the void between worlds, devoid of all life....." And I suddenly realized what she meant. "Great Red is the Dragon of Dreams, his existence is everything thates from dreams, all of existence, every possibility that could be dreamed, all contained into a single entity. And that''s...sting right into the Dimensional Gap for someone like you. Someone who never coexisted with the concept of life before."


    She was getting spammed with everything that every single entity dreamed, right in her face, every second that she''s near Great Red.


    "Yes." Her eyes sort of sparkled, like she was happy that I finally understood. "Want my silence back."


    But that left me with one worry. "How do you expect me to do to something like that?"


    From what I vaguely remember, Ophis and Great Red were supposed to be rtively equal in strength. Yet, she''s asking me to fight something equal to her when her current self fucking terrified me.


    Ophis looked actually thoughtful at my question. I don''t think even she knew what I was supposed to do.


    And with that small opening, I did the thing I was best at.


    I flicked my hand, grabbed Izzy into my arms and pulled her through a portal with me, quickly shutting it off behind us.


    "Wilhelm..." Izzy breathed out, as if sighing in relief.


    "What the fuck." I felt my heartrate skyrocketing as I pulled myself up from the sand dune wended on.


    I didn''t have even a second to think about where I took her, and apparently, it''s the same ce I threw the user of the Divine Dividing that one time.


    "I have heard about those who ran afoul one of the Dragon Gods, but I never expected myself to be facing one down like that." Izzy forced herself to her feet. "I only hope that Yomi remains once she grows bored and leaves.


    "Is that normal then? To just....leave?"


    "I don''t know about Great Red, but for Ophis.....the Infinite Dragon Gods usually leaves after getting what it wants or grows bored. Sometimes without issue, or sometimes realms go missing. The only option is to usually wait it out and hope."


    "Are we ¨C" The words died in my mouth.


    I stared in utter shock as my previous portal was forced back open.


    A petite arm reaching through and pulled it back open, and a familiar ''little girl'' walking through.


    Without even thinking again, I grabbed the Spear out of my Ring and stepped infront of Izzy.


    And for the first time in a very long time, I felt scared.


    I was very close to jumping to my final trump card.


    Ophis, didn''t even react to my attempt to run away.


    Instead, she looked at my curious, specifically my spear that is. Like she recognized it. "Made promise, not your home." She replied, staring right at the spear before turning back towards me and a little tilt of her head. "Give."


    I hesitantly held the spear out.


    "No, the tasty thing." She frowned, tossing the True Longinus to the side like it was a piece of garbage.


    "....tasty thing?"


    Ophis didn''t wait for me to response, she grabbed my arm. And I felt like no matter what I did, I couldn''t get her to let go.


    She reached forward, and space distorted. It took a moment for me to realize she just forced herself into my Storage Ring and pulled something out.


    She held a disk-like thing her in her hand before releasing me.


    Something I hadn''t thought of in a bit since I got it. "The Gorgoneion?" I blurted out.


    Shepletely ignored me, just staring at it. Then just like all her unrecognizable actions, she opened her mouth, and ate it.


    Her eyes shed.


    A few strands of her hair turned silver for a brief moment before returning to ck. Her body bulged for a second before returning to normal as she held her stomach. One of her eyes changed color but also returned to normal.


    She looked up and burped.


    A wisp of divinity seeped out.


    ....what just happened?


    "Hey, is that Great Red?" I pointed off into the distance.


    The Infinite Dragon God turned to look.


    And while I would normally be dumbfounded, and marvel at the sheer ridiculousness of that working, I was understandably very stressed at the moment. I waved my hand, opening a new portal right next to her and in one swift movement, literally kicked her through before mming it shut.


    "....what just happened?" Izzy finally managed to ask mimicking my sentiments.


    "No fucking idea."


    "And what''s stopping The Dragon God froming back?"


    "I pressed the Meridia Button."


    My Kaleidophone then buzzed. And I didn''t even need to look to know who was calling. Still nkly staring at the spot Ophis just upied, I answered.


    "Wilhelm." I recognized Meridia''s not all-too-pleased tone. "At your earliest convenience can you pleasee over. I believe there is a matter that needs discussion."


    [***]


    Sorry forte chapter, the p.a.t.r.e.o.n. chapter took much longer than expected. That being said, the next chapter over there is probably going to take me several days to write up, so don''t get worried if i disappear for a few days.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 314 - 287

    <h4>Chapter 314: Chapter 287</h4>


    "So....."


    "You should probably go see her." Izzy stated.


    "Can I procrastinate a little more? I have a feeling that Meridia is a little.....upset."


    "It''s not good to make a woman wait, Wilhelm." Izzy chuckled. "And I''m sure if you exin the situation properly, she will not be upset."


    Yeah, I know. It''s just going to be awkward.


    "Want a lift back home?" I offered.


    "....Do I have a home still?" Izzy blinked, rather thoughtful. "I hope Ophis didn''t just shatter Yomi in her anger before following."


    "Can you not feel it?"


    "Not when I''m outside Japan like this. While I could open a path due to my connection it''s....thin? I suppose that''s the best way to say it." The Goddess of Death shrugged. "I sincerely hope it''s not destroyed, it will take centuries if not thousands of years to reform."


    "Huh, didn''t know it could reform..."


    "It''s part of an entire Cosmology, supported by a predominant World-View that is still prevalent among Humans in Japan."


    That made sense.


    I guessed it would take more than a regr ''destruction'' to truly remove Yomi from existence.


    "Well, worse case, you can stay with me." I gave her a genuine smile.


    ".....You are one of the only people that would willing invite a Goddess like me to live with them." She huffed rather cutely. "Let''s hope for the best."


    I took that as a cue. I traced back the coordinates and easily connected back to where we were previously before running from a Dragon God. "Looks like we were worried for nothing."


    "So it seems." She nodded walking up to the portal. Before she walked through, she quickly turned to me, cing a quick kiss on my cheek. "Don''t think I didn''t notice how you continued to put yourself infront of me when you thought we were in danger." She looked away and quickly disappeared back into her realm.


    I was silent for a moment, rubbing my cheek where she kissed me.


    [That was terrifying.]


    "Yeah..." I responded, regaining my wits. "Though I didn''t think you would feel the same way."


    [Fuck that. Great Red and Ophis are scary as hell. I''m not a coward so I can admit they both terrify me. Find me any Dragon that says different, and I''ll point to you an insane idiot.]


    "What exactly do you know about them? To be honest, I never looked too much into them because I never had the intention of actually meeting either." Certainly didn''t expect the Infinite Dragon God toe find me.


    Though some of the things she said....or tried to say? Some of the things she implied were.....interesting.


    "And do you think she knows about, well, me?"


    [I wouldn''t be surprised. Ophis isn''t....a God of the world, if that makes sense. She ¨C and she used to be an old man by the way ¨C was born in the Dimension Gap before the came into existence. So take of that what you will.]


    And the Dimensional Gap was the boundary between many dimensions. A unique space that existed around this specific world-line.


    [I also heard something many years ago, but I never confirmed it.]


    "Hmm?"


    [I heard that Great Red stops outside invasions.]


    ....Oh.


    I guessed I''m lucky that my method of travel doesn''t run afoul of the fuck-off gigantic Dragon made of Dreams. Because at this moment, I was almost entirely sure that he knew about me.


    "Maybe I should pay him a visit?" I almostughed at myself for even saying it, however...


    Strangely, I felt Ddraig shudder inside me.


    "....there''s a story there."


    [I may or may not have met him before.]


    "....you challenged him to a fight, didn''t you?"


    [I''m the Red Dragon Emperor! I can''t have another Red Dragon above me!]


    "How bad were you wrecked?"


    [Fuck you.]


    "I''ll summon you right infront of him."


    [.... I hate you.]


    "yeah, yeah, now spill it."


    [There''s a Dragon-shaped crater on the moon.]


    I opened my mouth, but I honestly had no words. How do you even respond to something like that?


    "How''d you make it back to Earth?"


    Ddraig let out a sigh. [I flew, and it was hard, because I had a broken wing....please don''t tell Albion, he doesn''t know that story.]


    I''m sure he''s leaving out copious amounts of Magical bullshit he must have used to survive in space.


    "Like I''d give that shitty dragon any ammunition. Did you see his wielder? I felt like I was going to get cut from all the edge he was showing."


    [Pfft, right.] Ddraig chuckled.


    Well, I calmed down a little bit and got my metaphorical shit together. I made sure to retrieve the Spear to where Ophis decided to throw it.


    I twirled it a few times, getting all the sand off it. Letting out a sigh, I was about to put it back until I noticed something strange.


    A massive sandstorm on the horizon, and it was shaped oddly, as if...


    There was a face in the storm.


    And it was pissed.


    Anding right at me.


    And I think I could faintly feel Divinity from here.


    [.....Are we in Egypt?]


    "Well, shit... think they''re still hold a grudge?" I questioned aloud, looking down at the spear. It''s not like Big G was broadcasting his Divinity to the world. The Spear itself only vaguely gave off his presence due to its characteristics.


    Would they really charge right at anything even resembling him?


    The Spear started pulsing as if it was panicking.


    I took that as a yes.


    I threw my hands up and quickly opened a portal into Meridia''s realm.


    [***]


    I wiped some sand from my face as I stood up, continuously dusting myself off.


    That could have been bad.


    Not like.....hurtful, but getting into a argument with another world power would not be a good choice.


    But now I had sand in ces I didn''t want sand.


    ...Why don''t I have a spell to remove sand? I know some cleaning spells, but they did nothing to sand, what the hell?


    "Ahem."


    I blinked, looking up at the source.


    Usually, my eyes would happilynd on those very beautiful legs of hers, but in this particr moment, something else about Meridia caught my attention. Well, honestly, all her features usually kept me preupied.


    But it was something new, and I just couldn''t put my finger on it.


    Maybe it was the Infinite Dragon God that she was holding up by the cor of her dress?


    And Ophis just had an utterly nk expression as she looked at me.


    "I have never seen that child in my life."


    [Well done.]


    Thanks.


    Meridia raised a single eyebrow. She slowly turned to Ophis. "Do you know who this is?"


    "Yes." Ophis answered with that same nk look.


    "Want to try again?" Meridia asked dryly.


    ".....I love you?"


    There was a little huff and a smidgen of red on her cheeks and she turned slightly away as to not meet my eyes.


    "Stay." Meridia said firmly as she set Ophis down.


    The Dragon God...didn''t even react, simply continued to nkly stare and not moving.


    "And you." Her head snapped back at me, her eyes narrowing. She snapped her fingers, and her dress shifted, covering her lower bodypletely. "You may stare at my legs once I get an exnation." She crossed her arms with another huff.


    sphemy!


    "..Do you keep your dress that way just so I can look?" I blinked in realization.


    The red creeping back up her cheeks was answer enough for my question. "Why is there a foreign Dragon God in my realm?"


    "I.....panicked."


    "You panicked."


    "Do you see that thing?" I gestured towards Ophis.


    Meridia looked at the still silent Ophis, pursing her lips. "You don''t seem to be panicking right now."


    "Of course, you''re here." I shot her a bright smile.


    There was a little twitch of a reaction from her, like she wanted to smile but held it back. "I suppose I cannot fault you for that. I can see why this creature would give you concern. Even I would have trouble facing it outside my Realm."


    [You''re so damn lucky that she''s fucking head over heels for you. Like 99% of the shit you pull would have gotten you obliterated by anyone else of her same power.]


    I can''t help it that I''m so handsome and dashing.


    [Die.]


    "So, you forgive me?" I chose to ignore the jealous dragon.


    "Hmph." She waved her hand and the sand on me disappeared. Not to mention her normal style of dress returned.


    She''s way too cute.


    "She was trying to recruit me to fight a Dragon equally as powerful as her. And my opinion seemed....irrelevant."


    At that, Meridia frowned. "Do you have something to say for yourself, Child?" Meridia red at the Dragon God.


    "Want my Silence back. Baka-Red too noisy." Ophis looked up at Meridia. "You help."


    "No." Meridia denied immediately.


    ".....yes?" Ophis quirked her head, as if she was never told ''no'' before.


    "Child, I am more than capable of putting you over my knee." Meridia being stern like a parent was...oddly a turn on.


    I want Meridia with a big belly.


    It was one of my life goals.


    "Not Child." Ophis frowned, showing the smallest of emotions.


    "To me, you still are. I was born at the dawn of the Universe, you are merely birthed from the outer void of a single World." Meridia didn''t relent and I felt a sort of meeting of powers. Ophis did what she did in Yomi and Meridia just...ignored it.


    Huh, I forget sometimes how old Meridia was.


    Yeah, she was the first Light that came about when the concepts of the Universe came into existence. From the myths I read, Akatosh was one of the first, the embodiment of time, and Meridia ¨C who used to be known as Merid-Nunda came sometime after.


    Honestly, I might be having a tougher time if Meridia wasn''t also shielding me. I felt a faint light envelop me protectively.


    "...P...lease?" Ophis tilted her head, as if trying the word out for the first time, the pressure she emitted disappearing.


    Meridia looked at the Dragon God and let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I suppose I share some kinship with you. A Dragon and a God that embodies the infinite cycle of rebirth. Speak, Child, what is it you desire, why are you trying to acquire the aid of my man for your goals?"


    "Too noisy, want my silence." Ophis....seemingly pouted.


    "Uh, I think I understand." I interjected, earning their attention. Kinda figured it out when I was trying not to need to rece my pants. "She was born in a lifeless void, the existence of life is too much for her, too ''noisy'' as she says. Another Dragon, one of equal strength more or less, invaded the void she lived. It is the collection of Dreams from all creatures on Earth."


    Meridia blinked, processing that. "I see. That is not hard to rectify, I can carve out a small corner of my Realm and separate it from any other concepts and ''noise'' as you call it."


    "Silence?" Ophis perked up.


    "Don''t get excited, ites with caveats." Meridia immediately rebuked. "You will be.....employed by me. I will give you a ce to live that fits your desires, but you will answer to me when I require it. If you do not ept this transaction, you will be sent home, however, you will never threaten my man again, are we clear?"


    Meridia didn''t raise her voice, but the very realm shook at her words.


    Even Ophis shuddered as Meridia red down at her.


    "....yes." She said very quietly, looking at the ground, like she was being scolded by her mother.


    "Good." Meridia nodded, the pressure relenting. "Now choose."


    "Silence." Ophis perked up.


    Meridia let out a sigh, waving her hand. "Very well, go through there, it will be your new....home for now."


    Ophis didn''t even question it as she walked through and disappeared.


    "Well that takes care of that...."


    "If possible, I would very much like advance notice if you intend to drop a being of that power on me."


    "In all honesty, I seriously panicked. I was with Izzy and she just forced herself into Yomi and demanded I help her. I tried running away, but she could easily followed, forcibly opening a portal I closed."


    "Hmm, the Death Goddess." Izzy walked up, inspecting me. "No wonder you smelled of Death."


    "Was it noticeable?" I blinked. "Do you hate it? I know you''re a Goddess of Life...."


    "I do not hate death specifically." She shook her head. "Death is a natural part existence. Without Death, there would be no Life, thus my own purpose would be irrelevant. What I detest about it is the perversion of the natural cycle. It is easy for those to abuse the powers that are inherent in the opposite spectrum to my own. Thus, those who wield deathly powers often are those that go against the natural order."


    Good, that''s good. I don''t want her to hate Izzy, both of them were important to me.


    "What about immortals?" I asked, a little curious. "If someone gained immortality, would that be something you despise?"


    She leaned in and I took it as cue that she wanted some affection, so I wrapped my arms around her, happily initiating a hug. I could feel her rx in my arms. "Ignoring the obvious things I dislike such as undead, a regr being bing immortal is of no concern to me. They are a living beings, and through their own effort, they have extended it, however, true immortality is a lie. One day the lights in the sky will go dark, the universe will no longer support itself, and even me and my kin will fade from existence. Everything will end. So no, I do not have any second thoughts about beings like so. They will die one day when everything else vanishes. Such is the nature of Life, that its purpose is only fulfilled when it ends."


    "That''s oddlyforting to hear when I consider my ultimate end."


    "Hmm, is it my words or my rear that you''re currently squeezing thatforts you?"


    "Little of both."


    "You''re ridiculous." She snorted, though made no effort to stop me. ".....We have some time before I must turn my attention elsewhere."


    [***]


    Sun Wukong POV


    I admired therge, transparent, Tree that would always appear in the distance. Regardless of where I went in this realm, that Tree would never move from that spot.


    It was always a beautiful sight to see.


    Maybe I should visit more often when I''m not on duty? They had quite the unique drink selection in the realms of Yggdrasil. And the food was always delicious....


    I hummed to myself idly as my cloud soared through the air.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t my trusty Somersault Cloud.


    Just a Cloud I...acquired from a passing Immortal after visiting The Jade Pce.


    Had to refill my stock of Peaches.


    I couldn''t possibly know why the Jade Emperor was especially upset that day.


    My old bum was still sore from all the Lightning Punishments he sent at me.


    Thankfully, I didn''t have to search to far, I could see my target in the distance and my cloud soared forth. I cracked a little smile that when I peered at him from several miles away, he too met my gaze.


    "Come on, you brat! Put your back in it!"


    "L-Lord Odin, Help! Ahh!"


    "You''re doing fine."


    "Stop hitting my barrier, it''s going to break!"


    I flew up, eyeing the group from above.


    Odin, All-father.


    A man who any God would be foolish to dismiss, even with the attitude he''d taken since retiring from the Asgardian Throne all those years ago.


    Despair and Depression can cause people to change drastically.


    But I don''t think anyone could fault a man for wanting to step away when his Wife died.


    I heard the tragic tale of how Odin''s Wife ¨C Frigga passed during the Great War.


    Since then, he has taken up just traveling the world for any whim of his, never staying in any ce for too long. Rarely did he return to Asgard these days.


    Personally, I had not met him in many years at this point, but the smile he sent my way made me rx as I wasn''t unweed.


    I didn''t interfere and just watched. Apparently Odin had taken up a Valkyrie to teach, or torture, depending on your view.


    "It''s only two Giants, bah, kids these days." Odin scoffed. "Back in my day, we didn''t have any of that fancy magic, we had to beat giants, with our bare hands!"


    "Y-you invented this magic!" The Valkyrie cried, the two giants mming their first on her barrier as she was pushed to the ground.


    "....Don''t get smart with me, girlie! That''s ten points off your final grade!"


    "Since when am I being graded!?" She cried again, the cracks became more predominant. "I already graduated from Valkyrie School!"


    "Don''t back sass! Another ten points, haha!"


    "Waaah!"


    "Look, I''ll even be merciful and give you some advice. Giants arerge beings, so, they have a veryrge weakness that all other men have!"


    "A-are you telling me to ¨C"


    "Punch them in the dangly bits, your airhead!"


    "I''m a woman!" One of the giants suddenly stopped, turning to re at Odin.


    "..."


    "....."


    "My Apologies." Odin took his hat off, bowing his head.


    "Hmph." She scoffed, going back to pounding on the Valkyrie''s barrier.


    "Is what you thought I would say!" Odin let out a mad cackle as he leapt at the supposed female giant, his Divine Spear in hand.


    The spear of his that could match many powerful and legendary weapons, even those Indra hoarded.


    "I''m an equal opportunist when ites to kicking ass!" Heughed, stabbing the female giant through the foot. "Take my Gungnir since you''re not getting my other ''Spear''!"


    "Lord Odin!" The Valkyrie whined. "P-please don''t say things like that in public!"


    "Shut up you boyfriendless Valkyrie. You can tell me not to talk about my ''spear'' when you actually see one for yourself!"


    "But you walk around naked all the time!"


    "Hahahahaha! No wonder you don''t have a boyfriend, I must''ve ruined you since no other men canpare!"


    "Waah!"


    I let out a snort, watching the two''s antics.


    It was clear that Odin was just ying around and he wasn''t actually teaching the young Valkyrie anything productive.


    I descended, holding my Pipe out, I waved it in the air smacking the second Giant on the back of the head who had been assailing the young woman, knocking it unconscious.


    "Waa!?" She blurted out in surprise.


    "Old Monkey, it''s been awhile." Odin greeted, sitting atop the corpse of the Giant he had just yed.


    "O-old Monkey.....S-sun Wukong!?" The Valkryie eximed.


    "How did you do this again?" I scratched my head before sping my hands. "Well met." I gave a Norse-style greeting.


    "Heh." Odin stood up and bowed respectfully. "And to you, old friend."


    "Teaching the new generation?" I eyed the star struck Valkyrie.


    "Bah, she''s a lost cause. Always shouting and ruining my good times." Odin harrumphed.


    "Then why do you keep her with you?"


    "Hmph....it''s hard to find someone who can keep up." The Old God grumbled, clearly having an attachment to the young woman.


    "Hmm, so you wouldn''t mind If I took her? I got a grandson about her age, I could ¨C" I stopped as a spear was at my throat, though a wide grins split my face. With a chuckle, I pushed the tip of his Divine Spear away from my neck. "You were always a softie on the inside."


    "Hmph, her Grandmother would castrate me if I let anything happen to her." The Old God grumbled again. "Why are you here, old Monkey? I don''t mind you visiting, but you''re being awfullyposed. Did that Lightning Bastard send you over here? I don''t mind telling him to his face what I think about any ns or damn schemes he''s cooking. Maybe I should remind him that I can look into the future if I chose just as well."


    Hmm, not entirely unurate. Odin didn''t have the inherent ability like Indra. No, the Old God could do it through his own Magical Prowess and Rituals.


    Honestly, I don''t know if that made it more terrifying or not.


    "Yes, and no." I admitted. It was no good to try to lie to an Old God like him who could see through such things.


    "Exin." Odin propped himself up by his spear.


    "I''m on a job right now, but he didn''t tell me toe over here. I did so because I think it would be the easiest option."


    "Just out with it. You''re not the type to try and be coy about this crap." Odin sighed.


    "The Peace Conference that''sing up with the Three Abrahamic Factions, I assume you''re going?"


    "...Not many know that." Odin grunted. "Is this how that Bright Pidgeon felt when I revealed the same thing to him? Damn future sight, I''m going to mess up his predictions after this, just watch me."


    Haha, well I wouldn''tin. If there''s one thing that would ruin Indra''s day, it''s someone else messing with the future through simr methods.


    "Can I take that as a yes?" I smiled.


    "Bah, of course you already know, you wouldn''te out here otherwise. That old crow Azazel asked me toe. I talked with my boy and he thought it was a good idea, so I was gonna represent Asgard and make decisions based on that."


    "That and you were called out, weren''t you?" I raised an eyebrow. "Loki causing problems again?"


    "Nothing we can prove, obviously." Odin sighed. "So I gotta go clean up his messes again."


    "Why do you continue to put up with him? Politics be damned, you wouldn''t suffer anyone else that''s done what he''s done over the years, even with all the good he''s done as well."


    ".....It''splicated." Odin said quietly. "Regardless, what you want?"


    "Mind if I tag along as a witness?"


    Odin Blinked. "You want in?.....Does Indra have an interest in the Three Factions now? He''s always despised them. No, it''s something else, I''m sure he''s been keeping up with the news, so it''s most likely has to do with that young boy who fought that Susanno brat. Did Indra take an interesting in him as well?"


    "Yes, but I already investigated him for Indra. This is something else."


    "Hmph, investigating a brat barely in his twenties?"


    "Yeah, I felt bad about it too. Uncovered some.....personal information that I wish I didn''t. I never like ying these types of games with the younger generation, just doesn''t seem fair. I gave him a Peach as an apology."


    "You lot and your Karma. I guess that alleviated you from some guilt, huh?"


    I just shrugged. "But to answer, it''s specifically about one of the women who appeared at his side."


    "Ah." Odin said inly, and I know I didn''t need to exin further. "But....why are you investigating a women who Indra lent his weapon to?"


    ".....Who said Indra lent her his weapon?" I raised an eyebrow again.


    "Stole it? No....then how?" Odin''s eye widened.


    "That''s the question, isn''t it?"


    Odin tapped his chin, clearly deep in thought. "This is...odd."


    A foreboding thing for such a wise God to say.


    "If I do ept you, you know you''re going to have to follow the rules? No pulling any of that Indra bullshit, even if he asks you to after I agree."


    "As a Buddha, I swear." I raised my hand up, ring my holy aura to prove a point.


    "I''ll take that then." Odin nodded in approval. "This is turning into a bigger and bigger event."


    "Oh, are more factions joining?" Indra rarely told me any additional details.


    "Azazel is cooking up a scheme to try and pull the Youkai in."


    "That''s expected after everything. You can''t ignore yers of that caliber and they would be fools to not try something so obvious. That reminds me, did you look into the God yer that reappeared?"


    "Not fully, information is scarce. I''ll get a better look when I go. Don''t know how she''s walkin around, saw her corpse myself during the War. Took a handful of Minor Gods with her, and a few of those original Devil Pirs those winged bats like to go on about."


    "It should be interesting. Anyone else?"


    "The Angels convinced Lugh to throw his lot in with them." Odin replied.


    "Hmm, I think I remember that Lugh was close to the God of Heaven." I rubbed my chin. "Which is weird considering how much Christianity wiped out their religion in the region among the humans."


    "Only on the surface." Odin stated. "You know how hard it is to control worshippers, never doing what you want. He helped light bright move the important stuff away from the public. They lost a lot of poprity, but their foundations were never in danger at all."


    Interesting if nothing else.


    "But enough of that, we need to hash out the details. Which means, to the strip club!" Odin loudly dered.


    "Lord Odin!" The Valkyrie cried, having been jolted from her stupor previously. "You can''t! Think of your position."


    "My position is about to be my face between some big boobs!"


    "Waaah!"


    Oh well, I guess I could humor him. I knew he''s doing it just to mess with me, and probably the little Valkyrie to a lesser extent.


    Though I am looking forward to this [meeting.


    [***]


    Sorry for the long dy, had a bunch of things going on with the intention of pumping out a huge chapter over on p.a.t.r.e.o.n. Didn''t really work our entirely as nned, but i managed to more or less to the equivilent of about three days. On a side note, i saw some peopel saying that Ophis was stronger than Meridia? I know that often the collison of different media has many arguments, but I think this is one of the most clear cut cases of -- Meridia is substantially stronger than Ophis as full power.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chatpers ahead, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 315: Interlude 22

    <h4>Chapter 315: Interlude 22</h4>


    Lugh POV


    "Another small meeting, is it?" I gently smiled as I walked through the door.


    "We thought it was appropriate." Michael The Archangel replied with a kind smile himself.


    "Well, I can''t fault you for your decision. Thing are.....awkward right now everywhere. Trying to publicly meet would likely draw too many eyes of those that don''t want such a meeting to happen."


    "I hope you don''t mind the location. I wished somewhere neutral since it was not just us this time." Michael gestured towards an empty seat across from him.


    "Not at all, and Ipletely understand." It''s never wrong to be cautious about idently angering someone from another culture.


    Many things could be said about the Heaven faction of the Abrahamic Religion, but rarely were they impolite or rude.


    "Lady Gabriel, you are as brilliant as thest time we met." I greeted his second. "Your Father would be proud to know how bright you still shine after so many years."


    The second Archangel smiled so brightly that even her aura seemed to be eclipsed. How Yahweh was able to create such a gentle and kind being is still a mystery to me. Which is even stranger when you consider that she was one of the fiercest warriors I''d everid my eyes on.


    It has been many years since she had donned her armor for a true war, but behind those kind eyes of hers was a metal that could not be bent or shattered.


    A contradictory existence, yet it just made her all the more exuberant in my eyes. A Warrior of such prowess that she choose to be gentle and loving towards anyone.


    "Thank you, Lord Lugh." Gabriel said withplete genuineness.


    "Would you like to call in your second, Lugh?" Michael asked.


    "Who are you to address him so familiarly, Angel." Shadows around the room warped and condensed into the form of a crow with red eyes.


    "Badb, it''s alright. This isn''t a formal meeting." I carefully eased the Goddess.


    "Hmph." The Crow scoffed, silently standing upon the back of the other empty chair.


    I couldn''t me her attitude. Most of my kin did not like the Abrahamic Factions for their part in causing our culture and history to be so obscure to themon masses. While I didn''t hold the ones infront of me responsible for their follower''s actions, it was still a.....sore subject.


    No Pantheon in the world could im that their followers have not done something they were embarrassed or ashamed of in their name.


    It''s not like we were the Egyptians who purposely challenged them.


    The younger ones these days only saw that Heaven swept through and thoroughly embarrassed the Egyptian Gods, but the Egyptian''s were certainly not without fault in that conflict.


    "Goddess of War, it''s an honor." Michael didn''t react negatively in the slightest, and even lowered his head in greeting.


    Badb, who was pretty much looking for a fight, basically went silent at his behavior. I could imagine her looking rather flustered right now, unable to force anything at his attitude.


    I ignored her indignation for now and proceeded with the purpose of the meeting. "Shall we discuss the most obvious reason for gathering"


    Michael, while still showing that same bright smile about him, still fell mncholic as I said the words. "Twelve Portals we''ve discovered and subsequently closed."


    "Yes."


    "And unfortunately, we discovered some of them ratherte." Michael turned to hispanion as Gabriel raised her head.


    "We''ve lost twenty three Churches since they discovered that we were actively hunting them down." And it just felt wrong for her to show such sadness. What a pure creature she was. "In each asion, we were able to push them back; however, the losses haven''t been low."


    "We''ve also suffered some losses. We don''t have the same amount of follower to bring about. The few dozen Druids and knights that died in the conflicts are.....heavy. It''s going to take a few years before the younger generation can step up." It was unfortunate, but we had to rely on our followers in matters like these.


    "It''s an unfortunate situation all around." Michael acknowledged. "We recently received the fourth batch of weapon that Lord Odin promised. So far, they have been wonderful in our fight. We separated the promised portion of them and will hand them over afterwards."


    "Good, we''ve been dusting off some of the old iron weapons ourselves, but we wee more all the same." I nodded in thanks.


    "Have you made progress on what you spoke about in ourst meeting?" Michael asked.


    I couldn''t help but sigh and shook my head. "Manann¨¢n mac Lir." I spoke the name of the Sea God who had all but retired from his official positions. "He''s still bound by the agreements, even if his Wife passed many years ago. He couldn''t give any worthwhile information about either Faerie Court."


    His Wife, Fand, A Fairy Queen. Thus, he had taken up the position of a Fairy King many years ago.


    Despite what many think, there are more than two Fairy Queens in existence. However, both Summer and Winter rule the Faends. The vast majority of any other Kings and Queens answered to them.


    Very few were outside their influence.


    "That is unfortunate." Michael frowned.


    "Yes, however, we may not see any significant presence from them for the time being. As you probably are aware, their attention has been focused elsewhere."


    Michael winced slightly. "I can''t imagine the Winter Queen is.....pleased."


    I snorted almost uncontrobly. "I''ve met her before, and I can tell you, she''s pissed. Some ''mortal'' cut off her hand when she overextended into Japan. I have no doubt she''s putting out many fires due to her subjects taking advantage to try and usurp power. It''s most likely the reason there hasn''t been any retaliation."


    Arrogant witch.


    She allowed a portion of her body to separate form her domain where she''s at her strongest. Was it because she didn''t sense any Gods nearby at the time that she thought she could get away with it?


    I''m d that kid humbled her like that.


    "Do you think she will attack again?"


    "Unlikely." I waved it off. "The Shinto Gods are not pleased as you could imagine. Especially with what happened to Susanoo, they can''t let themselves look like pushovers again. Arawn has been talking to Izanami, she has been active in an effort to dissuade them from acting up again. Through Arawn we have an idea of the situation."


    "I see." Michael looked thoughtful. "If your factions has been talking, does that mean you''re considering lending aid?"


    "We''ve too many problems of our own right now." Badb interjected. "We can''t worry about some random mortals in another part of the world." The War Goddess scoffed.


    "Though I would have worded it differently, she isn''t wrong. Even the effort we''re contributing to this joint effort is.....controversial among my people." I nced at Badb.


    "I never hid it, it think this is a stupid idea and we''re wasting time and resources." The Crow huffed in annoyance.


    "I appreciate the honesty." Michael smiled lightly, and I was sure he was doing it on purpose now, because Badb just continued to meander and lose any attempt at gaining momentum for her own desires.


    "The Fomorians have been acting up and we''vee to blows." There was no point in hiding it, it was almostmon knowledge at this point. "Badb is part of the faction that believes we should stop associating and focus on our own problems, specifically our old foe."


    I brought her along so they would have a voice and not cause more problems further along due to my meeting the Angels. While they have been.....aggressive, they haven''t been overtly hostile to my rule thus far.


    "Forgive me, but are you not also part Fomorian?" Gabriel tilt her head.


    "Indeed, as many of my kin could im the same. However, we are the Tuatha De Danann first and foremost. Just how Zeus is a God and not a Titan even if his parents are such." I didn''t mind borating as our part of the world was much less.....popr than other cultures. A side effect of what happened in the past.


    "Oh." Gabriel''s eyes brightened in understanding.


    I had to resist the urge to pat her on the head like my grandchildren.


    "It''s not the first time they have acted up, however, it''s never crossed a certain point. Right now, they''re straddling the lines between what can be overlooked, and it''s fairly obvious they''re doing it on purpose. But that''s not the most concerning thing. I''m sure you''ve heard the rumorsing from other ces, yes?"


    "Are you speaking about simr situations in other Pantheons?"


    "I am." I nodded. "And it''s all happening at the same time. I fear there are those amongst both our side, the Fomorians, and other Pantheons that are....colluding." I nced at Badb who stiffened, but didn''t interrupt.


    While we often had different outlooks and opinions, I trusted her explicitly.


    "The God that appeared in the most recent.....event." Michael said quietly.


    "That was my thought as well. It''s rare for Gods to interfere in other Patheon''s matters, and the timing is much too coincidental."


    With how many feuds that had developed since the Great War, it was almost an unspoken agreement to not interfere with other Pantheons.


    "That makes things moreplicated."


    "Like they weren''t alreadyplicated with how many parties are involved." I let out a chuckle.


    Michael smiled lightly, seemingly amused in an exhausted sort of way. "Speaking of that event."


    "Don''t worry, I got it here." I took out the Item Michael requested, setting it on the table. A richly decorated Oak Harp. "Uaithne, the Harp of Dagda."


    "It''s beautiful." Gabriel eximed. "May I?"


    "Go ahead." I chuckled again. "Be warned, only Dagda has ever been able to produce any semnce of music with it."


    We watched Gabriel gently reach for it, taking it in her hands. It wasn''t veryrge, enough that she could carry it without any problems. She ran her fingers across the strings and instead of a soft and revibrating chime, the note came out grated, making everyone jerks in response.


    "Oh." Gabriel blinked, a hint of embarrassment on her face. "I guess I can''t y it either. It reminded me so much of my Trumpet, I couldn''t resist." She pouted.


    Hmm, I had heard of her Trumpet. It was supposedly able to rally her allies in battle and infuse them with a sort of ''second wind''. It was destroyed, I believed, by one of the original Satans.


    "I only heard a few vague things about this." Michael admired it with a keen eye. "Supposedly, it''s able to summon the ''seasons''."


    "That''s what the stories say." I smiled. "But that''s a bit of a....miss contextual exnation. It was originally a regr harp ¨C for that which was made by a God could be called regr. Summoning the Seasons was more metaphorical than literal in this case. Specifically, it summoned Winter and Summer."


    "The God Dagda, former lover to the Winter Queen, and even had the good will of the Summer Queen to the point where they both blessed his Harp. It''s less that it summons the seasons, but more that it summons their domains over each season." Michael let out a breath.


    "Without Dagda, its abilities are....sealed, forck of a better word. However, it still contains that connection." I ran my finger over the wooden engravings. "You know the price I asked before."


    "Yes, you requested the weapons we had stored away from your Pantheon. They''re all here, as well as the information you requested." Michael gestured to arge crate.


    I didn''t need to check, I knew he was trustworthy.


    "We shouldn''t have to trade one of our treasures to get back things that belong to us." Badb hissed.


    "When we lost them due to our own failures, I disagree." I red towards the War Goddess.


    How we lost them? Well, my Grandfather was not the most kind of men. He wouldmit many heinous deeds to spite others.


    And I wasn''t speaking of Balor.


    "And the information?" I asked.


    "Yes, the Forbidden Balor View Sacred Gear." Michael produced a piece of Parchment and slid it over to me.


    I picked it up, scanning over its contents and frowning. "Should I consider myself unlucky then?" I let out a sigh.


    Michael gave a wry smile. "I apologize, I had not know until I investigated."


    "It''s not your fault." I waived it off. "How were either of us supposed to know that it appeared in a Dhampir that was reincarnated by Lucifer''s little sister." I let out a sigh, burning the parchment away. "It''s not like I unwillingly handed over Grandfather''s Evil Eye to you all back then either."


    The Powers of the Sacred Gear came from Yahweh processing Grandfather''s Eye. I had willingly traded it with them at the time because we were in a much more precarious situation. We received much needed resources that yed a significant role in our people winning over the Fomorians.


    "I''ll try to broach the subject at the Peace Meeting then, even if it''s unlikely to go anywhere." I resigned myself to not get my hands on that thing again. It would go a long way if we tried to sue for peace once more with the Formorians. And if not, well, I had other ns for it.


    "So you are decided in joining us?"


    "Yes, I believe it to be in our own best interest with the potential of outsiders to interfere in our own disputes." I nced at Badb who was silent this time.


    She didn''t like cooperating with other Factions, however I think she realized the situation we were now in.


    "Not to mention, there are things we wish to confirm as well." The atmosphere turned dark. "Badb." I spoke her name with a hint of my own Divinity added.


    The pressure in the room alleviated with a annoyed noise from the Crow.


    "You speak of Sc¨¢thach." Michael asked.


    "Yes. Let''s just say there are plenty who are....wary of her supposed return." Which was a very polite way of saying it.


    How many lesser Gods had fallen by her hands? How many Demi-Gods, Champions, or favored by our Pantheon had been turned to corpses at the end of her infamous spear?


    She relished in the Great War, and many different Factions suffered before she finally fell.


    Many had mixed feelings about her even among my own kin. Not many humans could achieve what she had, which made her even the more controversial figure.


    The Morrigan being the most outspoken in disfavor.


    "But you have your own concerns as well." I mentally gave onest goodbye to Great-grandfather''s harp.


    "Yes, hopefully, this will be enough to request the Spear back.....among other things." Michael didn''t sound too sure of himself.


    "You''ve known he''s had the spear for awhile now. Why the sudden need to get it back?" I admittedly didn''t know the exact details of what happened, as most didn''t concern me.


    "He was able to use it."


    "Oh?" I blinked at that. "Is he not a Half-Devil?"


    "He is."


    "Hmm, that''s strange." I rubbed my chin.


    "We have some reason to believe that he is able to remove his weakness to Holy Power. Which is how he was able to use the Spear." Michael exined.


    "Ah. You''re worried that it''s a repeatable method, and if he can remove that weakness, it can be a significant weapon for Devils as a whole."


    It was a Spear worthy of being a God''s weapon. It didn''t lose out to my own Spear in the slightest.


    Give something like that to those freakish Super Devils, then their power would just increase further. Thankfully, they are still susceptible to Holy Power just as any other Devil is. Or so I thought, that might change from what Michaels'' implied.


    This meeting was looking more and more interesting. A definite headache, but interesting nheless.


    "It is one of our main concern, yes." Michael fully acknowledged. "Can we count on you?"


    "I would happily attend at your side." I would support them in this case. Our alliance hadsted many years, and I saw no reason why to not help them now. The benefits far outweighed any perceived negative. Not to mention, we have our own interests in it.


    Michael smiled brightly again. "I have the full reports as to what happened, if you wish to read over them. I think you''ll find some things rather interesting."


    I raised an eyebrow as I took the new parchment from him.


    It only took me a moment to fully read it.


    "Very Interesting." It seems this was going to be a more popr event than I had first thought.


    [***]


    Whew, I''m back, mostly. This chapter should have been out a few days ago, but work really kicked me in the balls. Originally, this wasn''t going to be an interlude, but it got too long, so i just cut it off at this point and made it so. Normal schedule will resume this Tuesday EST.


    Anyways, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and if you want to support me or read 7 chapters ahead, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 316 - 288

    <h4>Chapter 316: Chapter 288</h4>


    I straightened my tie and made sure my shoes were tied. I nced over at Meridia as she adjusted her dress back on herself.


    She easily regained her normal demeanor and with a few motions, it looked like she hadn''t been bent over her own throne just a few minutes ago.


    I was still a little peeved that my Gorgoneion was gone.....or maybe it wasn''t? I would check inter, see If I could get it back.


    Regardless.


    Seeing her bent over again, fixing her dress a little...


    I really couldn''t help myself.


    A crisp p echoed out into the otherwise silent area.


    Meridia stiffened, then slowly turned back towards me, a bright red hue on her cheeks. I assumed it was only matched by the new red spot her left butt cheek was now sporting.


    "I regret nothing."


    "Forst words, they are not the worst I''ve heard." She said dryly, waving her hand and I felt the void tug on me.


    "Wait!" She paused as I smiled towards her. "I love you."


    She huffed cutely, rolling her eyes. "I love you too, despite how much of a fool you are."


    "...be gentle."


    "I''ll be as gentle with you as you were to me."


    "To be fair, you were the one who was being roug¡ª" The words died in my mouth and I only saw the flustered face of my Lover for a brief moment before I was pushed through the boundaries of her realm.


    I saw existence stretch, stars fade, reced by the cosmic powers that coated the very walls of reality.


    Honestly, If I wasn''t so used to this kind of experience, it might have given me a sort of existential crisis. But at this point I was used to seeing things that a normal person shouldn''t see.


    Otherwise, it wasn''t the worst method of traveling through different ins of existence that I''d ever used.


    Kind of pleasant, actually.


    Likeying down in a boat as it floated down a quiet river.


    Until I was jerked in another direction, directly pulled back towards the ne that I knew to be Nirn.


    The familiar sensation of that ce was easy to notice after spending so much time there. Each world has its own ''vor'' for people who travelled around like I do.


    The stench of death hit me immediately, and I didn''t even notice how I came out face first into a stone floor.


    I let out a sigh, slowly standing up as I noticed I was within a summoning circle of sorts.


    I blinked looking around.


    Many undead monstrosities surrounded me. Hooded figures that were no doubt Necromancers. And there were many victims of their crafts, thrown about at random, their bodies torn apart, and even more were strewn across what looked like primitive torture machines.


    "That''s the most human looking Daedra I''ve ever seen." One of the hooded figuresmented. I could vaguely see red eyes underneath.


    I guess I was.....technically a Daedra by their definition.


    On a side note, Meridia threw me into the ''path'' of their summoning, basically usurping it. And they ''just so happened'' to be Necromancers, what a coincidence.


    Well yed.


    I fucking love that woman.


    "Quick, bind him!"


    "The spell is already going, he can''t escape and he''ll be our ve soon enough."


    I looked down at the floor, the Spell Circle was underneath me. And I felt the magics trying to wrap around me, but thebination of both my Aura and my Magic Resistance meant they were just pped away.


    However, these idiots didn''t seem to realize that.


    "It''s done, he''s ours!"


    "Well done, kekeke.."


    "We''re one step closer now."


    The closest one to me, who appeared the leader, raised his staff up as if tomand me. "Now, give your name and enter our service permanently!"


    I kinda just stared at him incredulously.


    "Can he not speak ournguage?"


    "Daedra should be able to speak it..."


    The leader spoke up again. "Imand you! Speak!" He red up his power, trying to intimidate me.


    If you insist.


    "Have you heard about our Lord and Savior Meridia?" I mmed Dawnbreaker into the ground, pulsing its Holy Light.


    It took a moment, but ever so slowly, they realized they fucked up.


    [***]


    I always loveding to the College


    Just something about the Academic settings made me feel at ease. Well, some specific examples excluded. You pretty much always had to be on guard when at the Clock Tower, even if that was the most prestigious magical research institute back home.


    Admittedly, the College fell short inparison, but I much preferred the ambience and rxed nature of this ce.


    In the future, I think I would happily send any of my children that had the inclination here when they reached a certain age. Let them get experience in a ce like this before branching out to institutions like the Clock Tower.


    But I digressed. As my idle thoughts took me through the outer courtyards of the College, I ran into a familiar face and my own face split into a wide grin. "Tolfdir!" I eximed upon seeing him.


    The Older Mage perked up, turning to look at me. His expression changed abruptly, adorning a smile himself. "Oh Wilhelm, what a wonderful surprise."


    "It''s been far too long." I greeted. "How have you been?"


    "I''ve been doing as well as one could expect under the circumstances. And Yes, how long as it been? It seems that we''ve both been busy and running around these past weeks. My old bones finally needed a rest as it was." He let out a chuckle.


    "I heard you were hurt when those Dragons attacked. Are you okay? No lingering ailments?"


    "Oh yes, I have that curse called Old Age." He snickered. "Unfortunately, the Archmage did not have a cure for such a horrendous disease."


    "Please, you''ll outlive us all."


    "I certainly hope not." He smiled warmly. "This old man wants to retire at some point. If I have no one to pass my teachings onto, then I''ll have to work until I drop." He let out a good natured chuckle.


    Tolfdir was such an amazing person. In the time I spent at this ce, I''ve never once heard a single bad thing said about him. And he even helped me so much when I was...younger.


    When I was so cocksure after first arriving here.


    Felt like a lifetime ago.


    I really needed to do something for him. Maybe give him some of the wine I n on making with the Peach? Give him a few more years of youth?


    I think I owed him atleast that much.


    "Have youe to see the Archmage?" He asked.


    "I was just stopping by to visit. I was in the area, and thought I could spend some time catching up and talk to a few people. Is the Archmage around?"


    "He is, but you may not have luck meeting with him for the moment. He said he was going to lock himself in his quarters for a few days. I did not ask further, but I assume he is dealing with some important or delicate matters." Tolfdir replied.


    "Oh well." I shrugged. It wasn''t like I had anything important to talk to him about. Just wanted to check up after dropping a few bombs on him. Though, there is one person I specifically wanted to meet. "You wouldn''t happen to know about a neer? A woman with a purple robe, blue hair, pointy ears?"


    "You must be speaking about Medea. Such a wonderful young woman she is. A brilliant Mage as well. Why, I can''t help but feel I''m the one learning new things every time we speak." It wasn''t hot air, he was genuine with every word he spoke.


    Huh, guess she''s thriving here as well. "She around?"


    "Mmm..." Tolfdir tapped his chin. "Ah." He nodded. "I believe she is in Sergius''s lecture on Advanced Enchanting methods."


    "Sergius. He handles the supplies as well, right?"


    "Indeed." Tolfdir answered with another nod. "Is there something you require? Perhaps I can help you?"


    "Well, not so much that I need something." I scratched my cheek. "I stumbled upon a bunch of Necromancers who were.....not quitew-abiding. Suffice to say I''ve found myself with a good bit of supplies I wanted to offload while I was here."


    Tolfdir, uncharacteristically scowled. "Unfortunate. Perhaps if there were less such individuals in the world, certain Magical Studies wouldn''t be so taboo."


    "I don''t have a have an opinion one way or the other in this circumstance." Though his view of it was pure and one that came from an inherent desire to merely learn.


    "Of course." Tolfdir chuckled again. "Your patron, I believe, would not take kindly to you practicing such things."


    "Yeah, let''s go with that." I shared a knowing smile with him.


    I guessed he was ''in the know'' in regards to my rtionship with Meridia.


    If she found out I was touching such a thing, she would definitely spank me, and not in the fun way. That''s not to say I was not some-what knowledgeable in such crafts, just that I don''t practice.


    "Since Sergius is busy, I don''t mind handling the medial work."


    "You sure, it''s quite a bit..."


    "Oh don''t worry." He waved me off. "These old bones still got some strength to them."


    ...Alright then.


    I waved my hand, letting out about a half dozen sacks of various goods. Food, Potions, various Alchemical and Enchanting supplies. And various weapons and such that I''m sure they could distribute if needed.


    I was about to say something until the Older Mage flicked his hand and they all floated up in the air.


    He gave me a cheeky little smile, practically reading my thoughts.


    "Come, I''ll lead you to the hall that he''s lecturing at." Tolfdir smiled, turning towards the college, beckoning me on.


    [***]


    I quietly opened the door to the lecture hall. And it seemed some things were the same regardless of where you go. The whole thing was set up like how you would find back home.


    Rows of seats set up in a semi-circle as they descended forward. And the teacher standing up front so everyone could see him.


    The man eyed me briefly but never missed a beat as he was in the middle of a sentence.


    I looked around and found who I was looking for.


    Medea was sitting far in the back, in the corner.


    Even if she never looked at me, I knew she noticed me. She scribbled away on some parchment as I took a seat next to her.


    ''The primary Enchantment requires a yet higher leveled source of Magicka to anchor it to the item of choice, lest the secondary enchantment usurp the initial Magicka Reservoir for itself. This is why it''s rare to find an item with two enchantments of the same strength. We''ll be discussing ways around this on the next lecture. But for now ¨C ''


    "Whatcha need, boyo?" Medea finally spoke up.


    "Can''t I just drop in to say hi to a friend?"


    "Hmph." She snorted, jotting down some more notes.


    I cast a couple runes onto the table, creating a shoddy Bound Field. Essentially, it stopped sound from escaping, but not from entering so I didn''t disrupt her ns. But also, I didn''t want to distract anyone else.


    "What If I need to ask questions, hmm?" She lightly teased.


    "If such a regarded Magus had to ask questions, then I really question where I stand."


    "Down here." Medea quirked a smile, moving her hand down towards the ground. "On the ground. I would go lower, but the floor is in the way."


    "Cute."


    "I''m adorable~"


    I rolled my eyes. "But you''re seriously not having issues, right? I''d feel pretty shit if you were genuinely having trouble and I interrupted you."


    Medea scoffed. "Of course not, who do you think I am?" She blinked. "Actually don''t answer that. I know you''ll give some cheeky answer. But I wanted to just hear his lecture verbatim. This is an entirely different system than what I''m used to. I''ve already understood it, but hearing their own experiences isn''t unimportant when they''ve been using it for hundreds ¨C thousands of years."


    "That''s a valid point. Never know what little tricks or tips you would take a long time to figure out yourself."


    "Hmm, it''s as you say. But anyways, what do you need?"


    "I wasn''t kidding, I was just checking in to see how you were doing. Yeah, there''s something I wanted to talk with you about, but I''m also curious about everything else. How''s the College been treating you?"


    "It''s been...dare I say, fun." Medea smiled brightly. "I haven''t had this much fun since, well, when I took my lessons with Circe when I was still a child. So many new things I''ve been learning, it''s wonderful."


    "I''m d you''re enjoying yourself." I was genuinely happy that Medea was having fun. "Where''s your Fianc¨¦?"


    "Oh, Hubby somehownded himself a tutoring job for some of the rich families in town. Don''t know how it happened, but he''s somehow teaching things like Arithmetic and all that. We originally came for a vacation, but the amount of money he''s making...."


    Well, if that''s how they chose to spend their time, it wasn''t my ce to say. I knew they were having some kind of money problems, -- living at the temple and everything, but I also didn''t want to butt in there. I just helped in a non-pitying way.


    "You can also stay as long as you want. I set it up ¨C"


    "Yes, yes. I understand the Mechanisms. Even if your Magic isn''t something I''mpatible with, the concepts aren''t beyond me." She said rather flippantly.


    "Welllll excuse me princess"


    "Hmm, you''re excused." She smirked.


    "You''re so kind." I said with another roll of my eyes. "Anyways. No one''s been giving you troubles?"


    "Ugh, a few here or there. That one Elf you told me to watch out for, he was making passes at me. Annoying slimeball that he was."


    I couldn''t help but frown at that. "He did the same thing towards Artoria."


    "Don''t worry. I''ve recently conducting an interesting experiment. I learnt about one of the local Phantasmal species ¨C specifically of the High Elf Variety ¨C how many curses it would take to breach their innate Magic Resistance."


    "Oh?" I quirked an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Perhaps some....further research is required."


    Medea cackled ominously. "Don''t worry, I intend to thoroughly research the subject. Once a certain individual is able to take a few steps away from their toilet, then the experiment can continue."


    Scary Medea was scary.


    Though the thought to of Arcano being cursed with such horrendous bowel movements was hrious.


    "Visit the Library yet?"


    "Do you even have to ask?" She gave me a dry look. "On a side note, Jinn is an absolute treat. She''s always so helpful and just a delight to talk to. Not to mention how intelligent she is. It''s so easy to get lost in a conversation or argument with her about any random Magical Subject."


    "Yeah, Jinn is pretty great. She was so excited to get that ''job'' of hers in the Library. She loves managing that wealth of knowledge."


    Medea abruptly punched me in the shoulder. It didn''t quite hurt but I felt it. "And she''s so enamored with you, I swear, I was wondering if that disgusting Goddess cursed her as well. And I hope you know she has absolutely no filter once she getsfortable. Actually, I take that back, I think she does it on purpose."


    Medea suddenly punched me again.


    "Oww, what did I do!?" I rubbed my shoulder.


    "You better treat her well." Medea huffed. "First you took my Saber, and now you somehow have that delightful girl too. If I see either of them sad, it''s your ass."


    "Okay, Mom."


    Medea wretched. "The idea of you being my son almost made me throw up."


    "Fuck you."


    "Hah, you wish."


    "Meh, I have a better Witch."


    "Yeah, keep telling yourself that."


    Somehow, I don''t see myself winning an argument with this woman. "Changing the subject. I used Ddraig''s spell, it works."


    Medea''s eyes widened. "Really?" There were sparkles practicallying out. "Wait.....what happened that you had to use it? I didn''t think you would test it without us there."


    "That sorta bridges into the main reason I came. Basically.....The other Youkai faction was attacked. The Local Fae were the culprits. Nurarihyon ¨C the leader over there dered War, and Yasaka followed suit."


    "Messing with those things is never a good idea." Medea turned serious. "I don''t know what they''re like in that world, but back in ours, they''re only a few steps blow Divine Spirits in their ''Authority''."


    "You don''t need to tell me that, I''m more than aware. Thankfully, they don''t seem to be the same...mostly. One of their leaders made a partial appearance, and my first instinct was to call her a Nature Spirit."


    "Complicated. Veryplicated. I hope you''re not asking me to stick my hands into that mess. When things of that level escte any further...well, I don''t want to be around when the Gods start truly moving."


    "I would never ask you to join in on our mess." I said withpletely sincerity. The others ¨C Achilles, Atnta, Sasaki, they live very.....mercenary lifestyles right now. They still haven''t settled down like Medea has. She has a Fianc¨¦, she''s trying to live her life. I would never force her into a war like this. "But I had an idea I wanted to run by you. And if you''re willing, pay for your services. Afterall, I don''t know anyone else that can match you in the crafting department other than Sc¨¢thach. And even with her, I''m positive you beat her out in terms of sheer mass production while still keeping a high quality."


    Sc¨¢thach''s true expertise was not found in crafting, but she could certainly hang with the best of them. Just look at her weapon, it was made a Legend of multiple people through the years. That being said, Medea probably had her beat in that regard.


    "That sounds like something more I''d be willing to consider." She tapped the table. "What do you have in mind, boyo?"


    I withdrew a handful of Petty Soul Gems, setting them on the table. "I assume you''ve messed with these already?"


    "Yes, I have." She picked one up, eyeing it. "I admit I was...skeptical when it was exined to me. But a harmless way to harness the power of a non-sapient soul for Magical use that causes no harm. It''s a novel concept that I found myself envious of not having in my own life. These would have made so many things much easier."


    And I did double check on the regr usage of Soul Gems. They don''t go to that wretched ce like I had feared before. ck Soul gems though, those got destroyed on sight.


    "I don''t need to exin much then. As you know, Petty Soul gems are the lowest tier." I picked up one in my palmed and crunched it, shattering it into about 10 pieces, letting them fall onto the table. "Each of these pieces still holds about the same fractional powerparably to the size of the whole. Each a tenth of the Soul Gem''s overall power."


    "Yes, I I''m following the simple math, I''m just confused as to where you''re going with this."


    "You''re aware of those staffs that use a single spell and require the useage of Soul Gems to recharge?" I saw her nod so I continued. "Smaller scale, intended for single a casting, maybe more depending on the spell. A single Petty Soul Gem equals ten ¨C Wands, or something. Instead of using the Soul Gems to recharge the Mystic Code Itself. These ¨C Pieces act as the foci."


    "An interesting idea. But the power would be.....average at best. And you would only get a handful of uses before it would quite literally crumble."


    "The majority of Youkai are fighters." I exined. "And we''re vastly outnumbered if what I''ve discovered is correct. So imagine giving each Youkai a couple of these ¨C wands. Little more than sticks, and they don''t have to worry about maintenance or anything like that. Simple use and throw away. Fire and forget if you know the term."


    "A Thousand of these Petty Soul Gems equals about Ten Thousand of these ''Wands'' then?" Medea seemed to be thinking out loud. "It would certainly prove useful in warfare, but if you''re thinking they''re some sort of game changer ¨C"


    "I don''t" I cut her off. "It''s just...I''m not foolish enough to think one of us can be everywhere at once. It''s a war not a fight. I''m just trying to eek out any advantage for us that I can. Arming our soldiers with more power and options is basically what I''m on right now. And giving them a way to use magic without months of training can help level the ying field away from the Fae''s favor."


    A Thousand Youkai all lined up, facing off against a force of Fae ¨C most likely of higher numbers. If all of them could just simply reach to their sides, lift up a simple stick and unleash a basic fireball, numbering in the thousands with repeated use, it would do something.


    It''s unfortunate that giving them guns wouldn''t do much. It might beical and win a battle or two versus lower end opponents, but mundane weaponry isn''t hard to defend against. It doesn''t hold the same ''weight'' that Magic does.


    But in regards to the wands, quantity is a quality of its own.


    And who says they had to be offensive spells?


    Give every Youkai a wand with a few uses of a Healing Spell?


    Or maybe a Warding spell?


    The options are nearly limitless.


    "I can''t fault you there." She let out a sigh. "Do you have more specifics?"


    I took out my notebook, handing it over. "It starts on page 27. I wrote out my thoughts and possible methods of application in crafting."


    I didn''t interrupt her as she skimmed through my notes. However, when she turned the page, a small smile made its way onto her face. "I''ll help, but I also want a hand in this." She tapped on the page, looking rather amused.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle myself. "Well, every war needs Siege Weapons."


    [***]


    Zekram Bael POV


    "Enter." I closed the book I was reading, setting it on the table next to me.


    "Ancestor." The Current Head of the Bael Family bowed respectfully.


    I eyed him for a moment before letting out a breath. "Raise your head."


    "Yes, Ancestor." He replied, standing straight up. "I bring news from the Old Satan Faction."


    "Oh?"


    "My spies have told me that there''s been some talk about...disobeying yourmands, Ancestor." My descendant hesitantly ryed the information.


    I tapped my finger upon the closed book, a hint of annoyance shed across my mind before I regained myposure. "If they know what''s best for them, they will listen to my words."


    "....Are you sure you wish to side with the New Satans in this circumstance? We could join in on the Old Satan Faction and gain some resources while they voiced theirints."


    How short sighted.


    They were asking for a pittance after being thoroughly humiliated, and you want to stand with them? Why not just whore yourself out on the street for a few gold coins if that''s all you can think about?


    "Perhaps I should remind them for who''s descendants they decided to attack in their pitiful game."


    "But Venna left the family, she''s no longer a Bael, Ancestor. Why should we care about what happens to her? And Sirzech''s son wouldn''t have been hurt, he was too precious to control him."


    "Ridiculous." I scoffed at his continued short sightedness. "She is, and always will be, a Bael. While she carries my bloodline, she is a Bael. Her Son who sits on the throne, is there because of my bloodline, and he is a Bael. Her daughter who shows magnificent talent as well, is a Bael. Her Grandchild has already shown outstanding talent as well, and he is thus a Bael. You would do well to remember this, Child. I looked the other way when you sought to remove your son, don''t continue down this foolish path."


    It didn''t matter whatst name they carried. They were Baels, and everyone knows it still.


    However, I was not displeased with the Gremory brat that Venna married. She was always an intelligent woman, but she never had the...passion for the political games that her husband did. I was pleased with the results of their union and I had nothing bad to say about that aspect. I was able to gain more strength due to that union as well.


    And that''s ignoring the son they produced in my glory.


    "But Sairaorg doesn''t have the bloodline, Ancestor." The fool quickly tried to cover himself.


    "And what if he has children?" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Do I really need to exin how our Devil Gics work?"


    "...No, Ancestor."


    Hmph. He''s lucky that the boy was still under our control.


    "Tell me in detail, what of these disappointments who cling to their Ancestor''s coattails?" The irony was that he could not understand that I added him to such grouping.


    The biggest disappoint in the Bael house right now. While Sairaorg did not possess the Power of Destruction, his father did. And yet, what had he done? Absolutely nothing.


    It''s almost shameful that the one''s carrying the Gremory name had furthered my agenda more than my own family.


    I suppose it didn''t matter.


    A Bael wass a Bael, regardless of what name they wore.


    "They''re upset that you stood with the New Satans during the incident. And now that you''re also pressuring them not to interfere with the uing Peace Meeting, there are many more voices who are showing discontent."


    "Now they will know not to cross me." I glowered. "And if they continue to push this issue, I will retaliate. Make that clear to them."


    They think they can kidnap and try to steal my bloodline? Not just Venna, but Millicas as well. I had a.....soft spot for the young Devil. I admit to requesting time to nurture him every so often. They''re fools if they think I''m going to let it be at just this either. I simply don''t wish to cause any problems until certain things were settled.


    "Yes, Ancestor." He stiffened. "But.....why are we caring about the Peace Conference?"


    "I have a...newly vested interest."


    "Ancestor?"


    "The recent addition to my descendants that I have been made aware of. Your sister''s apparent Grandson that no one bothered to tell me about."


    Perhaps the fool could feel my irritation as he shrunk down in my presence.


    "But he''s just a Half-Devil." The current Head of the House muttered, seemingly ignoring every feat the child had performed thus far.


    But that was not what I focused on for the moment.


    "And he carries my Bloodline, boy. He carries my bloodline, and he''s not under our faction." I grit out in annoyance. "This Peace Conference is an opportunity to pull him back in where he rightfully belongs." Under my control, just as everyone else was.


    I''ve heard such information that this new descendant of mine already had a harem of his own. I would normally not care about such things, but when he can potentially pass my Bloodline outside of our society, then it bes my concern.


    How long until he gets one of his lovers pregnant? He was apparently with that Fox Youkai in the East. Would she produce a Youkai with the Power of Destruction? She''s directly under the Shinto''s Head Goddess, how would I have to maneuver to get any of said children under Devil Rule?


    That foolish Sirzechs.


    Could his Maid not keep him in line? Did he really have to look for a human to relieve himself? The odds were astronomically lower, but even then, he simply had to take the boy in. Hells, I would have dly sponsored the boy if he showed ability with the Power of Destruction. I would have used one of my free pieces and turned him into a true Devil.


    Problem Solved.


    Unfortunately, it seemed my descendants were intent on their foolish endeavors.


    I was originally against the Peace Conference. I felt that my descendants would grow stronger, that Devil Kind would grow stronger, if we still had an ''enemy'' to face. It was clear that we were not truly at war anymore, but we could still tell the new generations about our ''hated foe''. However, after seeing the recent generations that came about, it simply isn''t worth the effort.


    They had be fat andzy.


    I may as well use this opportunity to improve my own position and gain what I want from my newest descendant.


    The only problem was how to go about bringing him back.


    "Ancestor, I have....other news to report."


    "Hmm? Speak." I may as well hear what he had to say. Rarely was there such a thing as useless information.


    "There has been talk that my sister has....taken a new lover. My spies overhead the peerage of my Niece talking about it."


    Not relevant, but not useless. "I find it unlikely that she will choose a partner that I am against." She would know better than that. "And I care not for what she gets up to. She already fulfilled her obligations, and then some." I partially allowed the marriage with her and her husband because of my own rtionship with their Ancestor. One of the few of the Old Devils that I could manage to get along with even if her attitude often grated on me.


    "Even if it''s with her own Grandson?"


    That...gave me pause.


    "Well done, Venna." I couldn''t help but smile. However, it quickly disappeared once I saw the descendant of mine pouting at me praising his sister over him.


    Yes, I could use this.


    He was young still and has a harem.Rias did look quite a lot like her mother. Should I interfere with her marriage with the Phenex brat? Push her towards him as well? It wouldn''t be difficult to have Venna step in line if I told her to, but her daughter was still rather rebellious.


    Though, I was curious to see what a spawn of those two bloodlines would look like. My Power of Destruction was obviously superior, but would it bestow a form like Sirzech''s can take? To be able to be Destruction incarnate just how the Phenex family can take on their own mes with such ease?


    Decisions, decisions.


    I would have to decide by the time the conference arrives.


    [**]


    Here''s Tuesdays/Wednesday''s chapter. Also, the next chapter will be released on friday due to the pat chapter being much longer than a normal chapter. The same recent the recent p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m chapter took two days to release.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 317: Interlude 23

    <h4>Chapter 317: Interlude 23</h4>


    Loki POV


    How droll.


    "For a super secret meeting between the nastiest in the world, this really is subpar amodations. Truly, these Devils have no ir andpletely disregard any semnce of ambiance."


    "Hmph."


    I eyed the person calmly walking next to me. Not many would be brave enough to do so, and he barely spared me a second nce.


    If I were prone to anger easily, I may have already stabbed him.


    Whether it would have struck was another matter entirely.


    "I''m surprised you came. You rarely leave the underworld, Hades."


    The figure in the guise of a Skeleton nced at me with obvious annoyance. Oh I so did love to rile these silent types up.


    "I would not had someone not broken into Tartarus when I was away. And the only group that was aware of my absence ahead of time happens to be among those that will be present."


    "Oh my, and you think someone here did such a horrid thing!?"


    "I am in a foul mood, God of Lies, I have no patience for your jests. I am already reconsidering my continued ce in this partnership."


    "I will swear on my divine name, Lord of the Underworld, that I had no hand in what you im." My eyes shed brilliantly. My Divinity soaked into my words, giving them presence that gave credence to their validity.


    Hades'' own eyes red up as he evaluated my words.


    He harrumphed again but seemed to take them as truth.


    I wondered if anyone would ever believe me if I said that I don''t actually tell lies? Men, Gods, and Demons alike, they all just never want to hear the truth and assume I''m lying~.


    But we most certainly did jailbreak his old man and that other Titans.


    I just didn''t have any hand in it.


    And that second attempt was all them as well. No one expected them to seed a second time, but it forced the Olympians away from.....another important target for a good amount of time.


    I wondered how long it would take for them to notice that the Pandora''s Box they have right now was a fake.


    And the Titans..... they were oh so happy to lend us their aid in thanks. Especially if it meant they would be able to throw down with Zeus and his lot again.


    And I had a hand in none of it.


    Completely sinless.


    Though I may have fed Laufey, the Frost Giant King, some information about Asgard''s patrols. And he may or may not haveunched an attack, grabbing theirplete attention. And I may or may not have had time to free my wonderful Son ¨C Fenrir.


    Dear old Dad and I seemed to share some sentiments regarding Asgard right now.


    And wouldn''t you know it, I was present for the entire battle, helping Asgard defend against the nefarious Giants.


    Who could possibly me me if such a monstrous beast like Fenrir just so happened to escape during the attack?


    I hummed to myself as I weaved an illusion over both myself and the grumpy Skeleton next to me. He grunted again, easily noticing my magic, not that I tried to hide it. We approached the hideout of our Devil allies and I was curious to see what they got up to while they were alone.


    I normally would not give these lowly beings any second thoughts, but they had proved rather useful when it came to disposable pieces.


    Maybe they had a few worthwhile minds amongst their numbers. I supposed there was someone with a miniscule amount of intelligence, enough to suggest building their forces up in the Dimensional Gap. So many are frightened of the Dragon of Dreams, enough so that they wouldn''t dare venture here. But it''s very simple to avoid the beast if you cared to.


    And Devils were nothing if not bugs that are good at hiding in their holes.


    The guards outside didn''t notice us.


    The Magical Wards protecting this ce simply sshed against us harmlessly as we passed through.


    If I couldn''t go undetected to Wards of this level, I would be ashamed to have Magic as one of my domains.


    I knew we were getting close, because the room we approached practically radiated pompous and unearned ego.


    And what a surprise, the peacocks strutting around didn''t notice us.


    Well, except one.


    Rizevim Lucifer, son of the original Fallen Angel.


    He leaned back in his chairzily, merely opened an eye as we walked in, staring right at us. He closed it again, not even bothering to say anything to hispanions.


    "And I''m saying we can''t let them get away with it!" A woman mmed her hands on the table everyone was gathered at. "That Bastard of a Fake Satan has messed up our ns how many times now!?"


    "Well, what can we do, Katerea? With Euclid captured, we lost a good chunk of our Magicians. If we were tounch an attack, we would have to use our forces. And right now, those are pretty much decimated when the fake Lucifer and his ilk went on a rampage after we kidnapped his son and mother." Another said, the descendant of Beelzebub, perhaps?


    "You don''t think I know that, Shalba!? But we can''t sit here so...powerless. And they''re just a bunch of humans, what''s the big deal?" The descendant of the Leviathan responded.


    "The big deal, Katerea, is that they were specifically trained for these kinds of strategies. They would strike hard, fast, and then retreat. Bluster all you want, but we can''t match the Fake Satans head on, it''s suicide."


    And I think that one was the descendant of Asmodeus.


    Funnily enough, even with the screeching this Leviathan descendant was doing, it still made her less annoying that her namesake.


    "I didn''t take you for a coward, Creuserey."


    Oh boy, I''m d I came now. I didn''t think it would be worth it, just to check up on a few things, but I always did enjoy a free show.


    "You''re bold for someone who still can''t properly move their arm, Katarea." The Asmodeus Descendant shot back.


    "That Traitorous bitch got lucky! The next time I see that Maid, I''ll rip her throat out!" She snarled.


    "Get over yourself, Katerea, you lost. Stop throwing a tantrum, train and get stronger."


    "I didn''t lose, I just ¨C"


    "You were empowered by Ophis'' Snake, and you were beaten." The one known as Shalba Beelzebub interjected, shutting her off.


    "Oh, you''re already taking in the Dragon God''s power, hmm? I didn''t know the testing made it far enough for you to use it on yourself." I broke the illusion, leaning back in my chair.


    The fools practically jumped from where they were standing, wide eyed as they gazed at both myself and Hades.


    Ophis''s power was an interesting thing. I''d seen it be used on a few others and I would admit to being a little curious. However, I didn''t feel myselfpatible with it, thus I had ignored it until now. But for weak creatures like them, it must be like a fountain of power, too enticing to pass up.


    Of course they just went from being bugs to slightlyrger bugs.


    "And where are the others?" Hades gruff voice broke the awkward silence.


    "Not here." Rizevim said casually.


    "A wasted trip then." He grunted.


    Of course it was by my intention that they were not present. It wasn''t....a secret that Hades was upset with certain unknown individuals. It was for the best that we didn''t let them interact for now.


    The Greek God didn''t quite share our true goals.


    He would have never allowed us to free the Titans willingly.


    However, he was important to our ns.


    Angra Mainyu and Aka Manah fulfilled their roles quite wonderfully.


    "Let''s get to the purpose of this gathering then? We all know about the Peace Conferenceing up." I looked around the room, Rizevim finally opened his eyes.


    Hmm, something piqued his interesting.


    Curious.


    "We were nning our avenue of attack." Katerea replied, looking rather arrogant about herself. "We¡ª"


    "Will do nothing." I finished for her.


    "W-what?"


    "Did I stutter?" I narrowed my eyes. "You will not involve yourselves, you will not make an appearance, you will do nothing."


    They all exchanged nces with one another and I was growing irritated that they didn''t speak up so I could tell them how stupid their ns were.


    "Lord Loki....." The Beelzebub descendant finally found the courage and spoke up. "I thought you were against a Peace Treaty?"


    "I am." I couldn''t help but roll my eyes. "But you lot seem incapable of looking beyond the immediate future and gratification. Odin will be appearing, representing the Norse Gods." I felt myself clench my fists thinking about it. "Not only that, but my spies have told me that Lugh will be attending next to the Angels. And after the little incident in Kyoto, I''ve heard they''re trying to rope in the Youkai as well."


    "Then this is the perfect chance!" Katerea eximed. "With everyone gathered, we can stop this disgusting treaty from happening!"


    "Oh, you''re going to battle against the All-Father? Perhaps you want to trade blows with Lugh? You know what, let''s ignore them. I would love to hear about how you''ll deal with the current Lucifer, the one who has you changing your pants whenever he makes a move?"


    "But ¨C "


    "Actually, let''s not speak about him either." I tapped my finger in annoyance. "How about the youngest spawn of your literal God forsaken race, and how he apparently is capable of fighting my kind? Do you have a decent n for any of that? A single worthwhile n?" I shook my head, letting out a sigh. "And that''s not even if he brings any of hispanions with him. One I can say for sure you would not be capable of dealing with it."


    "Like the human who beat you?" The Leviathan descendant scoffed with indignation.


    The room suddenly got a lot colder.


    "Careful how you speak child. Not even your Ancestor would have open their mouth as flippantly as you in my presence. The only reason you yet live is because I''m waiting for the correct moment so I can watch you il helplessly to your death."


    I raised my hand up ever so slightly as ice began covering her throat. She grasped at it, but it filled her air pathways, choking her.


    "And let me make something abundantly clear. The one I fought was no simple human. She was the Witch of Dun Scaith, a name that is exalted so far beyond yours that you are not capable of touching her feet."


    "So the rumors are true?" Hades asked with a mild amount of interest in his tone.


    "As strange as it is, it appears so." I confirmed.


    And I have yet to uncover how that woman had seeminglye back from True Death.


    "No wonder Ares has been so excited." Hades let out a sigh.


    Hmm, I had forgotten about that. The Olympian War God was infatuated with the God yer.


    Perhaps I could point him towards her?


    It would be amusing, if nothing else.


    The thought was truly amusing, and I may do it just for theugh it will bring. Though my smile quickly faded once I remembered who was standing nearby, making the most annoying choking sounds.


    I waved my hand, dismissing my magic, letting the annoying devil breath again. She dropped to the floor, gasping for air.


    "Since you lot seem incapable of forward thought, I shall enlighten you. Yes, I abhor the thought of this peace conference seeding, but stopping it is nearly impossible unless you wish, or rather able, to wage open war. There are too many different forces being brought together, too many different ideals and needs that are going to be voicing their wants. A simple gathering is difficult, but they''re going to be negotiating, I don''t think I need to speak about what that''s going to entail. But whatever agreements theye to, it will be tenuous at best. But you lot seem to have the bright idea to storm in and lend credence to the idea that they need to ally themselves together. To give them a damnmon enemy that so tantly throws themselves at their feet to rally their own people behind."


    I really do hate working with imbeciles.


    Maybe I should open a school? Train up my own subordinates, my own sacrificial pawns. I''m sure I could make a list of things not to do and they would be a hundred times more efficient than this lot right here.


    "So let me reiterate, you will do nothing." My voice carried my divinity with it, shaking the room around us so my point came across. "We will let whatever happens, happen. Because afterwards, their agreements will be...unsubstantiated. Meaning, they can, no will unravel with the correct pressure. A single string pulled at the right ce, and we''re right back to where we were previously."


    "Agreeable." Rizevim stated, making the other devils jerk in surprise.


    If it were almost any other devil I would be annoyed at his attitude. But this was one of the few who had the right to act this way. He was, as begrudging I was to admit it, a peer.


    "Why were you helping that crow?" Hades asked. "You were one of the causes that set this in motion."


    "I only lent a hand. That Fallen nned this far before I got involved, I just made sure it went along without a hitch."


    Hades let out a snort. "Without a hitch?"


    "I''m not omnipotent, I can''t n for every ridiculous variable." I rolled my eyes at his insinuations. "It was minimal effort and it made for a good distraction for other things."


    "Like attacking Tartarus." Hades grunted.


    "An unfortunate coincidence." I replied without missing a beat. "If he seeded, the world would have been pulled into war by the Three Factions, so by extension, our desires would have been met."


    "It did reveal some interesting information." The Greek God seemed to agree.


    Some interesting information indeed.


    Who knew that the Youkai had such substantial forces avable to them? I certainly didn''t know their full extent, even if I was aware of those rumors and the happenings of that Half-Devil brat out there.


    It''s unfortunate that the Fae seemed to have retreated for now. And the Youkai couldn''t exactly follow them back tounch a counterattack. Otherwise, I would have focused more on that conflict to blow it up even further.


    "Hmm." Rizevim hummed, still barely paying attention. "There are some projects left behind by Euclid. If you have time, I would like if you took a look."


    Though it sounded like a request, it carried the hint of amand.


    The Devil looked at me as I considered his request as I ignored the tone he used with his lessers. "I''m already here, I can spare a few more minutes." I shrugged.


    It couldn''t hurt to see what they were up to.


    "But first, I have need of the Infinite Dragon God. Where did that stupid thing go to?" I looked around.


    Such a terrifying being wrapped up in the social skills of a toddler.


    "Um...well...we don''t know." I snapped my head towards the Asmodeus'' descendant.


    "You don''t know?"


    "We...lost her."


    "How in the hells did you lose a Dragon God!?"


    [***]


    Another one of those that got too long so i split it into an interlude. Good news, I think this is thest one before the Peace conference, which i Just wrapped up over on p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. And sorry about the dleay, the past few chapters over there had been like 3 times the nromal length so they''ve taken awhile to finish up. Now, i''m back to writing the normal length.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    And Happy new years!

 Chapter 318 - 289

    <h4>Chapter 318: Chapter 289</h4>


    I stepped out of my portal, the sun hitting my face which made me squint my eyes.


    Immediately, I drew many eyes. A good portion of them seemed on guard, rather skeptical about my entrance, however, there were also a good amount that seemed to rx upon recognizing me.


    I looked towards the person at the front, Artoria smiled back at me as she went back to what she had been doing.


    Her practice sword swung down, and the hundreds of people, lined up in rows, followed suit, swinging their swords to match her. The group shouted with each swing, sweat dripping down the faces of everyone present. I could only imagine how long they had been going for.


    Even Artoria looked like she was getting a bit of a workout.


    I could honestly stare at her swinging her sword all day.


    It wasn''t just her either.


    I noticed Arthur walking around, fixing forms, giving tips. He would often stop, and give examples, engaging with other people.


    The mood around the Pendragon family was certainly different than before.


    Even the Castle was mostly repaired at this point. You couldn''t tell that it was damaged on the surface anymore and there was a certain brightness to the people themselves.


    "Everyone, stop." Artoria spoke, her words not particrly loud, but they carried an authority that forced everyone toply. The hundreds of people had their arms drop to their sides, panted breaths followed. "You may take a fifteen minute break. Once that is finished, you will break off into pairs and spar. The winner will face against another winner until a victor is chosen. And I shall reward the final victor with a weapon from the armory."


    Cheer range out, an excited glint in everyone''s eyes.


    I had forgotten that she had confiscated their armory.


    She watched them all scramble to the side where some maids and elderly were handing out water before turning and walking towards me.


    A beautiful smile adorned her face as our eyes met. That focused and attentive look she had before disappeared, and she visibly rxed. "Wilhelm."


    It was moments like this that made me realize how lucky I was. For such an amazing woman to call out my name with such an affectionate tone. "Your Highness." I gave a mock bow, earning an adorable giggle from her.


    "Have youe to get a report for Yasaka?" She walked up, leaning against me. She apparently didn''t care that her people were shooting us nces and whispering to each other.


    I wondered if they knew the truth about her or they were just charmed into following her based on what happened before?


    "A report?" I blinked at her words. "No?"


    Artoria furrowed her brow. "Oh, then why did ¨C"


    "Because I wanted to see you." I poked her forehead. The adorable girl could be really oblivious sometimes when ites to things like this. That faint blush on her cheeks always made me feel good as well. "But what''s this about a report?"


    "I have been coordinating my new.....forces with Yasaka." Artoria settled down. "Many here have heard what has happened in Youkai Territory, and they are aware of where I live. Thus, many have volunteered, and suggested I officially ask for volunteers among the n." She gestured around us. "This is the result. I have gathered roughly a thousand members who wish to aid us."


    That''s not an insubstantial amount and any extra help was greatly appreciated. "And you''ve started training them, I presume based on what just happened."


    "Indeed, I have started the basics of building them into a proper army. They all have experience fighting as individuals or small groups, but they have never fought in suchrge formations." Artoria nodded.


    "And you''re okay with doing this?" I was a little hesitant to get on board with the idea, considering how reluctant she was to ept the Pendragon Family as a whole.


    "I admit I was unsure when it first happened. Perhaps I initially forced myself out of duty. However, I have....enjoyed myself thest few days since we have started."


    "It must be nostalgic."


    "Yes." Artoria smiled faintly. "I look at them and remember my old Knights. There remains a weight of responsibility, but I do not feel it as suffocating as it once was."


    It''s an environment she thrived in. She was a leader, through and through. She no longer was needed to wear a crown, and she had people to support her, so I guess she feltfortable taking a role of leadership again.


    "Are we you well, Wilhelm?" Artoria asked. "Izanami informed me of what happened. She assured us that you were fine, however, you appear.....tired."


    "Scared me, I''m not going to lie. That Dragon God is frightening, but Meridia handled it. And yeah, I guess I''m a little tired. Haven''t really gotten any rest or rxation.....beyond an hour or so I spent with Meridia."


    Been running around a lot recently, feels like things just keep happening. One things after another.


    "How is Venna?"


    I was a little surprised she asked that to be honest. While Artoria hadn''t thus far expressed distaste, it was something she took a ''wait and watch'' approach to. "She is doing well, I''ve been talking. She''s mostly relieved that her daughter and the others are safe."


    "Do you believe she would be againsting to meet?" Artoria asked.


    "...I think she''d be thrilled to meet you and everyone else."


    "Good." Artoria nodded. "I shall speak with the others and arrange things."


    Huh, she was taking the initiative? I guess she left a good impression on Artoria for their first, rather abrupt and chaotic, meeting.


    "Speaking of, I just remembered. Do you still have that ''Excalibur'' that was left?"


    "I do still retain that weapon." Artoria frowned. "I have sought to destroy it many times, but in each instance, I hesitated and ultimately stopped." With that she withdrew said weapon, and held it infront of her.


    I felt the Holy Aura as my own Aura red up in response, an instinctual reaction, even if I was used to wielding the True Longinus at this point. "It''s not a bad sword."


    "No. I believe anyone would be happy to wield it. I find its origin distasteful, but the sword itself is not at fault for the reforger''s preconceptions. Tis a different sword than mine, and I question if I have the right to destroy it. It is a legacy of my other self, my alternate, and I do not know how to handle it."


    "Why do you have to make a decision now?" I replied with a shrug. "Keep it, if you change your mind, it''s always there to be destroyed at your leisure. Just be certain that this is what you want to do."


    "Your words are true. I suppose I merely feel my heart heavy when I think about how this sword was broken." She sighed, putting the sword away.


    "It''s kinda funny." I slid my hand down, my fingers interlocking with hers. She shifted slightly, but also squeezed my hand happily once she realized what I was doing. "You remember the story I told you? About how I got my memories back?"


    "Yes." Artoria giggled. "It was a memorable asion."


    "The one who held that sword, he was the one who stabbed me."


    That made her stiffen and stare at me. "Are you sure?"


    "Yup, noticed it after the fighting ended."


    ".....you did not mention this previously." She frowned. "Are you well?"


    "Honestly, it barely even phased me. Of course if he was sitting infront of me, I would have lopped off his head. But seeing his dead body.....I felt very little. I Guess.....it seemed so insignificant now. A little Maniacal Priest that meant absolutely nothing. I don''t even know his name, and I don''t'' care to learn it."


    "You have changed much since we have first met." Artoria said quietly.


    "Oh? What was I like when we first met? Was it for the better?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "You were an arrogant boy. Admittedly, you were charming, and it was easy to get swept up with your words."


    "You forgot handsome."


    "Hush you." She puffed up cutely. "But you turned into a wonderful man."


    "I lied a little. I guess I do feel something slightly from that priest. Maybe a tad grateful. If it wasn''t for him, I wouldn''t have met any so many people I care about. I wouldn''t have met you."


    "....and I see you still can say such things to rile my heart up so easily." She turned away. "I am very happy to be your girlfriend, and I have not once regretted the decision."


    So cute.


    "Do you have any other engagements?"


    "I have nothing nned, no."


    "Hmm,e with me then, I will go report to Yasaka. I believe it will be beneficial for you to hear everything along with her as well."


    That''s true, I wanted to make sure I''m caught up on what''s going on.


    "Do you need to finish up, or...?"


    "No." She shook her head. "Agravain." She called out, her voice carrying a little outwards.


    A man perked up, and I almost didn''t recognize him. Besides not wearing the same armor, and instead in something more suited for training, he looked healthy. "My King." He came running over, kneeling down infront of Artoria.


    "Rise, Sir Agravain." And Artoria seemed ustomed to his behavior at this point.


    "Lord Schweinorg." He bowed his head towards me.


    "Lord Schweinorg?" I tilt my head. "While I do get called that in some ces, I didn''t expect that here."


    "How else should I address you, my Lord, when you have such a rtionship with my king?" He questioned.


    "Fair." I shrugged and I turned towards Artoria. "Does he...?"


    "I told him my true identity." She confirmed. "I believe he is trustworthy enough know atleast that much."


    "That must have been an awkward conversation."


    "....It was." Artoria turned a little red in embarrassment.


    Agravain coughed awkwardly. "What can I do for you, my King?"


    "I will be returning to Kyoto. Watch over the training, Arthur is proficient enough to lead the remaining exercises."


    "I will have it done." He bowed his head.


    "Very well. Let us depart." Artoria looked towards me. And I nodded and created a new portal for us to walk through.


    [***]


    "Oh Wilhelm and Artoria." Yasaka perked up from her desk, and she wasn''t alone.


    Perched upon a chair next to her was a young woman ¨C a Youkai, a cat of some variety with two tails.


    "Nya~ This is him?"


    "It is." Yasaka nodded. "Wilhelm, Artoria, meet the wanted criminal ¨C Kuroka."


    "Pardon?" Artoria questioned, and I followed her thoughts.


    "Well, by Devil standards." Yasaka snorted. "She''s a ''Stray Devil'' and all that nonsense. Killed her ''King'' because the man was experimenting on her and was going to do the same to her sister."


    Huh, I didn''t even notice her being a Devil. Her youkai aspect seemedpletely dominant over her devil power.


    "Are the Devils going to kick up a fuss?"


    "It''s entirely possible." Yasaka nodded.


    "Good, fuck them."


    "Exactly how I feel. She''s one of only a couple Nekoshou in existence. An extremely rare variant of Nekomata, being inherently much more powerful than thetter. At her age, she''s already an Ultimate ss." Yasaka continued to exin.


    "Nekomata? I do not believe I''m overly familiar." Artoria furrowed her brow.


    "They mostly live over at the old man''s branch whereas I have most of the Kitsune. Our two species tend to butt heads often, so it ended up this way." Yasaka replied. "But she came over and asked to join up with my faction. Apparently she was somewhat associated with the Hero Faction."


    "Nyah, I didn''t help them with the attack. I was busy at the time." She quickly exined.


    "I do not believe you would allow anyone involved to so easily join you, so I will not question it further." Artoria said inly.


    "If you trust her enough, I have nothing to say." I shared Artoria''s sentiments. And another Ultimate ss added to her ranks would be very helpful right now. And as Yasaka said, this girl appeared rtively young. No older than twenty, I would say, probably younger.


    "Good, I just wanted to introduce you as it''s likely you''ll be seeing her a lot. She has an outstanding mastery of many fields, such as Senjutsu, Youjutus, Touki, and even Magic. Part of her duties involve training others."


    "Huh, that''s interesting. How does ¨C"


    "Wanna make babies?" Kuroka suddenly blurted out, staring right at me.


    "....."


    "Dammit Kuroka." Yasaka facepalmed.


    "Nyaaaaaaah." The Cat Girl let out a surprised cry as Yasaka grabbed one of her tails.


    "Get out of here, you horny cat. You know what you''re supposed to be doing right now." She dragged the Cat Youkai out of the room, literally tossing her outside before shutting the door.


    "That just happened." I said absentmindedly.


    "Ignore her." Yasaka sighed.


    ".....is that normal behavior for her species?" Artoria asked in confusion.


    "Somewhat." Yasaka groaned. "Nekomata go into a mating season, but Kuroka expressed a strong desire to find a strong male to mate with. Her species take on the characteristics of whoever they have children with."


    Artoria just blinked, shaking her head.


    "As interesting as that is, I don''t think I will be asking for boration."


    "I believe that''s a smart decision." Yasaka smiled lightly. "Now, what can I do for you both?"


    "Wanted to check in, see how everything is going." I replied.


    "Hmm. Well, your project has been agreed upon by the Elders. We''ve started setting aside the resources you''ll need and are scoping out locations to step them up."


    "Good, I can start on that once everything''s ready. I feel pretty confident in those for the worse case."


    "I agree. One of our biggest ws is how big our poption is in rtive size to our readily avablebatants."


    "Speaking ofbatants, I have a final tally." Artoria spoke up.


    "Wonderful, how many do you have?" Yasaka perked up instantly.


    "We have 790 Knights or variousbat specialists. And a remaining 240 Magic users of various degree." Artoria informed her.


    "That many Magic users too?" I asked.


    "Yes, they were training somewhere else." Artoria sounded rather proud. "Le Fay is very talented and has taken it upon herself to further teach them, even if many are beyond her years."


    "This is a good start. I''ve also officially opened up recruitment, as has Nurarihyon. The official announcement of War already went out some days ago, and we let the dust settle first, but we''re fully preparing now."


    "I haven''t asked before, but what do your troops look like? I don''t think I''ve ever seen a standing army."


    "We technically don''t have one, not like how the Devils or some other factions do." Yasaka pursed her lips. "As you know we aren''t the biggest faction around, and we were mostly protected by association of the Shinto Gods, so we did not need to be as prepared for warfare as others do."


    "And then the Fae decided to crap all over that."


    "It''s unfortunate, but that''s where we are at. The Shinto Gods won''t make a move unless something of equivalence intrudes ¨C again." Yasaka sounded irritated. "And that''s not to say we don''t have options. As I said we technically don''t have a standing army, not that we decidedly don''t have one. We had our own troops during the Great War and we still keep up on some things. But you can think of it as something like a reserve force."


    "How many could you call upon right away, without an active recruitment?"


    "Twenty Thousand if I was to be generous." Yasaka stated. "Maybe a quarter of that matched from Nurarihyon''s end, but his are usually stronger in a one on oneparison."


    That''s right, Yasaka usually had more civilians that were nonbatants under her care.


    "It is a tidy force. However....." Artoria looked contemtive. "Is it sizeable enough to face the foe we face?"


    "I can''t for sure say yes, but I believe once we finish our recruitment, it should suffice. Wars in our.....hidden side of the world aren''t like the ones most humans fight. We don''t throw millions of our own at each other. Individual strength ys much too great a role, Magic and other supernatural abilities warp the battlefieldpletely."


    Artoria was clearly pondering some things before she spoke again. "Yes, I recall many times that Merlin never engaged in battle with his Magic. He often said things such that him bringing to force his Magic would in turn cause opponents to match it, thus changing the shape of battlepletely."


    "Did you not just release your Noble Phantasm on the enemy Army to win?"


    "D-do you think that is how I defeated all my enemies!?" Artoria looked surprised, and a hint embarrassed. "Mayhaps on one or two asions. But my de was not something to use for every circumstance. Merlin made sure that I understood the significance of what my sword represented."


    "You would think that most would surrender, knowing that you possessed a giantser sword that could decimate their armies if you desired."


    "...not all my foes were the brightest." She sounded amused. "But truly, it was not to be abused, and it was known that I only used it under the most dire of circumstances. Never against a foe we could match by mundane means."


    That made sense.


    I''m fairly sure the World wouldn''t allow her to own a True Noble Phantasm after the Age of Gods ended if she used it so flippantly. Especially one that was birthed in the inner sea of the.


    "I''m not experienced in this kind of thing. I can fight, I can duel, and I don''t mind facing even Gods in battle. But I''ve never fought a real war before, I don''t really know quite what I''m doing. So, I can''t reallyment on that aspect. However, I have been preparing a few things myself."


    "Oh? You tend toe up with some good ideas and they''ve always been beneficial." Yasaka looked interested. "What have you thought up this time?"


    "I talked with Medea, had her get started on a project. With her Item creation ability, and helping her set up a Workshop, we can start mass producing something I thought would be helpful. To start off, I''m assuming that the majority of Youkai prefer closerbat?"


    "Unfortunately, it is a weakness that we possess. The majority of my people, and even Nurarihyon''s, are specialized in close quarters fighting." Yasaka nodded.


    "So, I had the idea of creating disposable Mystic Codes ¨C wands. Basically, they''re good for a few uses before they run dry, but on the other side, they''re very light, easy to carry, and require very little traing to use."


    "That.....would solve some problems." Yasaka tapped her chin. "How strong would the spells be?"


    "Still working that out. But assume an average Fireball in quality across equivalent schools of magic. But it wouldn''t stop there. I was thinking, maybe, a set of three. An offensive one, a defensive one ¨C like a basic Warding spell. And finally, a Healing one with a basic healing spell attached. Although, It would be nowhere as potent as a health Potion....."


    "That sounds marvelous." Yasaka''s eyes sparkled. "And they''re simple to use?"


    "I told Medea they need to be extremely simple because the users wouldn''t have basically any magical know-how."


    "That sounds like a very significant resource to add." Artoriamented. "It would open up more tactical options in battle and prevent many more deaths as a result."


    "How many can she make?" Yasaka asked.


    "I don''t know yet, she''s producing some prototypes right now. How many do you think we need?"


    "That''s hard to say. We need to see how they work in practice, but assuming we get a set for every one of my soldiers, and having spares...Well, I expected atleast to double the amount of recruits before long. So, possible around fifty thousand?"


    And that''s just an initial amount, the production would need to continue throughout the duration of the war. But that''s still something to consider after we had all the details settled.


    "Fifty thousand, huh?"


    "Is that too much? I can''t imagine that is an easy number to reach."


    "Not as unobtainable as you might think. I believe the biggest hurdle is the manpower in their creation." Though, getting my hands on around Five Thousand Petty Soul gems would be a challenge.... "Let''s put that on hold right now and wait for Medea to finish. Might have something elseing out in the form of Siege Weapons, but that''s still on the drawing board."


    "Some of the best news I''ve received in several days. And how goes your attempts to reach into their realms?" Yasaka turned a little serious and even Artoria looked at me intently.


    "It''s....slow going." I admitted. "It doesn''t seem to be a ce that wants to be found, as strange as that is to say. I think the concepts inherently woven into itsws make it resistance to being found the way I''m trying to do. I may need to take a look at Avalon or something equivalent...but I feel pretty confident that I can do it in about a month, give or take a week or two."


    Well, if I got stuck further on I''d reach out to Gramps and see what he suggested.


    "If you require Avalon, it is here at your request." Artoria said immediately.


    I gave her a nod of thanks, always so ready to help.


    Avalon wasn''t merely a defensive Noble Phantasm, nor the Sheath of Excalibur, it was literally a connection to its Namesake. To invoke it was to envelop yourself in the untouchable realm.


    "Make it four months." Yasaka propped her head up.


    "Pardon?"


    "If anyone asks, it will be alteast four months before we can march."


    "Are you worried that they''ll be impatient?"


    "Mmm." Yasaka nodded. "The elders that advise me, they don''t'' wield inconsequential power. While I am undoubtably their leader, and they are loyal to me, they do have their own pride and desires. They was almost unanimous in support for the war, but there are varying degrees of difference in thought on how to proceed. Suffice to say, several of them are waiting for the soonest opportunity to fight."


    "I know the type. They think only with their fists, forgoing logistics and strategy." Artoria sighed. "It is better that they do not know the details."


    "I''ll trust your judgement."


    "It should be enough time to whip them into shape too." Yasaka smiled. "Not to mention, we are stillcking supplies in other areas."


    "Are you still going to be trading with Jarl Balgruuf?"


    "Without a doubt. Even with the dip in certain resources, the money we gain more than makes up for it. Enough that we can start sourcing a substantial amount from other ces and still be in the green."


    That''s good at least.


    "Some of them are going to be civilian recruits, are you sure that''s enough time?" I questioned.


    "You''re thinking as humans. We''re Youkai, we are more prone to conflicts and battle in general ¨C with few exceptions. While most of my people are peaceful, they still have potential that can be drawn out to be powerhouses in their own right. A thorough training over a few months will be enough to get them ready to fight at a minimum."


    An instinct inherent in the many species? An interesting thing to consider.


    "That gives us more time to prepare, I suppose. I''ll head over to the Yggdmillennia family and tell them to increase their production on potions. I''ll also head over to Remnant, pick up more dust and other things. Dust bombs in mass? Maybe whatever else I can get my hands on. I could also ¨C"


    "Wilhelm." Artoria put a hand on my leg. "Calm yourself, you have been running around in the past several days without pause."


    "That''s not.....entirely true. I''ve just been doing some work here or there. I even took a break to see Meridia."


    "An hour, you told me. And that was after you were beset upon by a God while you were spending time with Izanami." Artoria frowned. "You went into your workshop for a few days, then immediately worked on something else. Then Venna was attacked, and you rushed over. You had not even taken a rest after that event and continued to work even as you went over to Skyrim. I believe you should take a rest now."


    "I''m fine, It''s not like I''m doing anything strenuous. I''ll ¨C"


    "I will help you rx." Artoria said sternly, ncing at Yasaka as she turned a little pink. "I have asked Yasaka to assist me."


    Yasaka got up from her chair, walking around the desk towards us. "I''m just helping out, Artoria is the one in control~"


    "Huh?" I blinked.


    "Wilhelm.....remove your trousers." Artoria turned a rather bright red, yet still maintained eye contact with me.


    It took me a moment, but I realized what she wanted. And I would happily do as she asked, because they suddenly got a lot tighter.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake


    [***]


    Sona POV


    "What a mess."


    "Yeah, it''s going to take awhile to fix everything." Rias sighed, kicking arge piece of rubble to the side.


    "It might be easier just to bulldoze thend and start over instead of trying to rebuild."


    "Do you really want to start over like that?" She tilt her head. "I mean.....yeah we''ve talked about adding or removing some things, but its feel.....weird."


    "Like moving homes."


    "Yeah...."


    "What can we do? 90% of the buildings are thoroughly demolished. There''s massive craters and gouges taken out of the ground." I gestured towards arge hole where the Dragonnded. "And don''t even get me started on what happened on the other side of the school."


    "Ugh, I know. It''s just, I''m feeling really sentimental right now. I had so many fond memories all over here and I feel like I''m just abandoning them if we rebuild.


    I honestly felt the same way.


    How much effort did I put into this ce? From the coordinating the staff to my liking, to arranging the overall d¨¦cor of the courtyards. Every small detail was meticulously nned, tested, or otherwise chosen mostly by me.


    It was supposed to be a sort of test before I building my Rating Games school in the future.


    Maybe that''s why I felt so bad about it....


    "Oh hey, the Student Council Building is standing, practically intact." Rias covered the top of her eyes, blocking the sun as she pointed over to the side. "Lucky...my club building was the first to explode."


    Huh, it is standing.


    Not much worse for wear, actually. Maybe we could build around it? A sort of memorial and acknowledgement for what once stood here?


    A beacon of my pride.


    Even after everything that happened, my office still stood tall.


    Maybe ¨C


    I froze.


    A familiar portal opened up right next to said building.


    A familiar person walked out.


    Red hair, immactely dressed, and oddly enough, a Rabbit on his head.


    He apparently saw me too, because we locked eyes and a grin slowly grew on his face as his head slowly turned towards the Student Council Building.


    Wait, did his rabbit just make a rude gesture towards me?


    But I didn''t dwell on it.


    My eyes widened as I realized what he was going to do.


    "Don''t you---"


    Boooooom.


    "Sona!?" Rias suddenly shouted, my attention suddenly snapped to her sudden shout next to my ear. I caught her turning towards me,pletely unaware of what happened. "How unlucky, did it actually just copse now? It must have been damaged on the inside."


    "B-but ¨C"


    "Oh well, I guess we''ll build everything from the beginning."


    "He.....d-did you see that!?"


    "Uh....yeah? The building just fell down."


    "No!" I eximed. "Shimoda, he just blew up my building!"


    "....Sona, what are you talking about?"


    "He was right there! He just appeared and blew up my building!"


    "Sona, there was no one there."


    "You weren''t looking!"


    "I looked away for like a second. Are you telling me ¨C for some reason ¨C my Nephew appeared, blew up that building, and then left without saying a word? For what reason?"


    "I-I don''t know! He just did it! And his rabbit flipped me off!"


    "....Sona, you''re sounding ridiculous."


    "IT happened!"


    "Okay Sona, why don''t we go home. I''ll get us something nice to eat. You''ve probably been under a lot of stress."


    "Rias, I''m not crazy! I saw it happen, just now!"


    ".....alright, I''m calling Serafall."


    "He did it to get back at me, I know it!"


    "Sure, sure. Let''s go sit down in the shade over here...."


    "I''ll have my revenge, mark my words! Shimoda, you hear that! I''ll get you back!"


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapter ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 319 - 290

    <h4>Chapter 319: Chapter 290</h4>


    [*****]


    Warning, Lewd warning ahead. Handjob/Blowjob.


    If you want to skip, it''s marked off below.


    [******]


    I wasted absolutely no time.


    I''ve wanted to do things with Artoria for a long time now, but I also hadn''t wanted to pressure her. She had her own baggage that she''s been working through since we met, and I didn''t want to make her ufortable just because of my own horniness.


    So, whatever she was ready to do at this point, I was more than happy to oblige.


    My beautiful knight who was oftentimespletely oblivious to her own appeal.


    I stood up as Artoria slide off her seat, moving down infront of me, on her knees. She looked up expectantly as I started to undo my belt.


    My member sprung free from the confines of my pants. I almost ripped them off in my excitement.


    Artoria''s eyes widened as my manhood stood erect in front of her face.


    "It''s big, isn''t it?" Yasaka said, sliding right down next to Artoria.


    Two of my girls on their knees, for my own benefit.


    "Will it fit....?" Artoria said in a hushed voice.


    "Oh, it will, trust me." Yasaka giggled, taking her hand and giving me a little brush. "All your cute, tight, holes will stretch right around him and you''ll love every moment of it. But that''s for the future, you wanted help pleasuring him like this, yes?"


    Artoria nodded nervously. "I wish to help relieve him."


    "Good, we''ve talked about how to go about it. Would you like me to show you or do you want to take the reins?"


    "I-I will do it." She swallowed, her dainty hand slowly reaching up to grip me.


    Yasaka let go, giving Artoria freedom to do as she pleased. "No need to be shy, do you feel how hard he is? That''s all because of you."


    Artoria slowly ran her hand up and down my length, getting more used to the idea, her hesitation slowly dying down as she got morefortable. "Then....I shall proceed...." Her face was still flustered beyond measure. She looked up and met my eyes before slowly moving her head. Her tongue stuck out as she made contact with my tip.


    I know she wasn''t doing it on purpose, but the teasing was excruciating, to the point where I tensed up when her tongue started moving around my cock.


    Clearly inexperienced about it, but still it had its own charm. The awkward movements of hers only made the act all the more endearing. The fact that she was willing to do this for me, my innocent and sometimes na?ve Artoria was doing something so lewd, made it all the more special.


    My head passed her lips, and her tongue made sure to inspect every part that was inside her mouth.


    "While the tip is his most sensitive spot, and where you should focus the most, you need to give the remainder of his cock attention as well." Yasaka stated.


    Artoria slid her head backwards, her lips popping off. Her eyes locked with mine again, her head turned sideways, and her tongue began making its way down my length. Her hand also began moving, massaging my tip as she made sure top up every part of me.


    "There you go, he''s nice and wet now." Yasaka''s hand took hold of my shaft, moving it up and down. Artoria moved back to suck on my tip. "Now you need to pump him nice and firmly while you try and suck out everything he has to give."


    "Like this...?" She mumbled through my head as she slowly bobbed back and forward. Her tongue swirled around the tip of my cock. Her hand firmly took hold again, mimicking Yasaka''s actions.


    "There you go, but not too hard." Yasaka nodded, thebined effort of them both working down my full length.


    I could feel my toes curl up. Their continuous ministrations were really setting me over the edge. Add in the fact that Yasaka was sitting there teaching Artoria how to properly handle my cock, it really was too much to handle.


    "Oh my, get ready." Yasaka let go, lining herself up besides Artoria.


    "W-what do I do?" The King of Knights let go with her mouth.


    "Don''t stop, pump him hard and quick and present your face. Give him a good reason to finish for you."


    Artoria looked up at me again, those pleading eyes of hers, both her hands firmly around my full length, hastily moving up and down. "I-I desire your seed, Wilhelm." Her mouth was even slightly ajar, waiting for me.


    I couldn''t hold back from that if even I wanted to.


    With a groan, the first rope of cumnded across her face. She let out a squeak of surprise, closing her eyes. However, she didn''t stop, even if it became a little awkward, she continued to milk me for everything I had.


    Each jerk of hers, more of my seednded up on her face, and somended in her mouth.


    "There you go, don''t stop. Even if no more''sing out, make sure he feels good until the end." Yasaka cooed, continuing to guide her.


    I felt myself rx, letting out a content sigh.


    Artoria''s firm grip on my member finally released. Her face was dripping now, an erotic look counteracted by the sheer innocence she was exhibiting. Her tongue snaked out, licking around her mouth as she visibly swallowed everything that made its way inside.


    "Did I please you?" She asked, her embarrassment still evident despite the lewd act.


    "You did wonderfully." I reassured her. I didn''t want to coax or lead her before, letting her do what she wanted or what she set up and nned with Yasaka, but that wouldn''t stop me from praising reassuring her however.


    Seeing her smile while she was still covered in my....I couldn''t help but twitch even after finishing.


    She looked back down to see me still erect. "You are still..."


    "Our man is someone who can go many times." Yasaka giggled, a finger of hers dabbing across Artoria''s cheek before she put it into her mouth. "Do you want to stop here, or do you want to keep going?"


    ".....I will make sure he is fully relieved." She said with a resolute tone.


    "Aren''t you daring?" Yasaka chuckled, her hands moving up from underneath Artoria''s arms. "How about we give him something to keep him nice and hard?" Her hands pawed at the first of Artoria''s buttons.


    Artoria didn''t resist in the slightest, nor did she even seem unnerved as Yasaka began undoing the buttons of her blouse. Pulling it down past her shoulders, her bare skin was exposed, with nothing but a cute blue bra to cover her.


    "They are not very big...but I hope they are adequate for your enjoyment." Artoria mumbled, undoing her bra herself. Her actions were stiff, but she didn''t hesitate to unclip her bra and dropped it to the side.


    She said that, yet I felt myself twitch uncontrobly in excitement.


    It was my first time seeing her bare chest.


    "Oh sweetie, you have nothing to be ashamed of." Yasaka reassured her. "Look at him, look how hard he''s throbbing again. He''s staying that way because of you still, these cute things are doing that to him." She sneaked a little squeeze of Artoria''s breast, making the Knight squeak out with an adorable noise.


    She wasn''t wrong. Her boobs, while modest in size, were very beautiful. I had to resist the urge to immediately start ying with them. Her pink, erect, nipples were so very enticing.


    "We have plenty of time. I''ll teach you every trick I know~" Yasaka grinned coyly.


    By the intrigued look in Artoria''s eyes, I was in for a very enjoyable evening.


    [****]


    Lew Ended. Scene changed.


    [****]


    With a flick of my hand, I created a portal to a very special location. I stretched my back, having just got out of bed and a very good rest.


    "I have returned." I dered with a decadent ir.


    ".....are you going to make a fool of yourself every time youe?" Izzy looked at me.


    "Yes." I smiled.


    "Dork." She rolled her eyes, throwing a piece of popcorn at me.


    I, of course, plopped myself down right next to her, and took a handful out of the bowl she had in herp. "What are we watching?"


    "This inane adaptation about the Monkey. Complete foolishness and a ridiculous plot. However, I can''t stop watching it."


    "Oh dear god, is this ''Drag So-Ball''?"


    "Mmm. Is something wrong?"


    "Yes, this is an abominationpared to the one from my home." I scoffed. "Its real name is Dragon Ball, and it is a wonderful Anime, and I will find the creator of this abomination and throw him into the sun!"


    Izzy blinked, continuing to munch on some popcorn. "So bring it next time, we can watch it."


    "Huh....that sounds like fun."


    "...it''s a date."


    "Hmm?"


    "Nothing." She cleared her throat. "So did you need something or juste to waste your time?"


    "First, it''s never wasting my time if it''s with you." I replied, earning a little eye roll from her, however the little smile that followed was always nice. "Second, I did want to ask you something."


    "Ask away."


    "It was about that whole Hades thing. I find myself with some free time, so I figured I should take care of it. I sent a message to everyone about what happened, and they all agreed that it wasn''t something I should put off. Yasaka especially didn''t want Hades to get annoyed ande knocking, forcing the Shinto Gods into dealing with him and intervening."


    Admittedly, the free time was all but forced on me. After, rxing a bit, with the help of Artoria and to a lesser extent, Yasaka, I went home took a nap that ended up being over a day in length.


    I guess I was really more strung up than I realized.


    Everything important was being handled right now, so I couldn''t really focus my efforts on anything important.


    But I felt like doing something, and the way Izzy spoke, this wasn''t going to be too strenuous. An unofficial meeting with Izzy at my back? I wouldn''t be too on guard. That and I have a hard time not moving and sitting still when there''s so much on my te.


    "That is probably wise. Hades would care little if he put you in an awkward position." Izzy nodded.


    "....So he''s one of those kinds of Gods then?"


    "Yes and no. I get along with Hades by virtue of being a simr Death Deity, but I won''t deny that he can be rather hard headed and rarely cares about the opinions of others. But he isn''t.....unfair."


    "That doesn''t sound too bad. I know modern media likes to depict him as somewhat evil. But based on most texts I''ve read, he seemed much more approachable than his brothers."


    "Those are more urate. Hades was never one to cause too many problems. He stayed within his domain and did his job." Izzy stated. "However, that does not mean you can take him lightly. He is extremely strong. I''m not ashamed to say that I''m no match for him. And he also has some very powerful subordinates. Thanatos himself answers his call. And even the Night listens to hismands. That''s not mentioning all the minor Gods he has working for him."


    .....that''s scary to think about.


    "And you''re sure he isn''t hostile."


    "I''m positive, he has no hostile intent, especially if he went through me to convey his request." Izzy replied, sitting up straight herself. "And you''re in luck."


    "About what?"


    "If you want, we can get this sorted now." She took out her phone. "I spoke to him a few hours ago about something else, and he is currently avable."


    I blinked, mulling it over. "Sure, may as well. Is it okay to just drop in?"


    "I will send a message before we go." She started messing with her phone, presumably to do just as she said.


    I mean, why not?


    "And you''re okay just putting aside everything else and going with me?"


    She put the bowl to the side, standing up. "It''s no trouble. I will be here if you require assistance at any point in time."


    It''ll be interesting to see another Realm of the Dead. At this point, I''d been to several. "Thanks, by the way. I appreciate you just abruptly doing this." Not that I anticipated our conversation going in this direction. I thought for sure it would probably take several days to set up a meeting or something.


    Most Gods I''ve met ¨C outside of presentpany ¨C were usually sticklers for proper decorum in things like this, even if they''re the ones wanting to meet.


    "It''s no trouble." She reassured me. "Come, I shall open a pathway outside." She beckoned me outside.


    "So you mentioned something about this before, can you just force your way into another Realm like yours?" I asked as she stepped down to the ground outside.


    "I believe I mentioned before, you can sort of imagine all the Realms of the Dead as being....neighbors. It''s not too difficult to intrude on another''s ''home'', but I''m going to be polite and knock first." She exined.


    That familiar archway appeared, the same one she used to descend into Yomi itself.


    "Okay,e along. I will lead you." She stated, a portal forming between the wooden pirs. I suppose some metaphysical acknowledgement happened? Because I saw no indication that both sides ''met'' and agreed to anything.


    I shrugged, following right behind her through the portal.


    Funnily enough, not much changed upon stepping through.


    The sky was still bleak, if slightly different in colors. The ground was dead and barren. The air itself was heavy with the scent of death. However, I heard the movement of water and turned to see where Izzy was staring.


    "Charon, it''s been awhile."


    I blinked at the person standing on a small boat amidst a ck river.


    "Lady Izanami." He greeted, his voice sounded wheezing. The man looked....like a mummy if I were to be honest. He had no visible eyes, just sunken sockets. And his skin looked almostpletely dried out. "Lord Hades has given you permission, you need not take this path."


    "Oh, I know. I usually pop in near his home, but I wanted to give Wilhelm the ''tour'' so to speak. And I was dropping in abruptly, I know how Hades likes to make an impression, so I figured the time it took would let him prepare, killing two birds, one stone."


    The Man turned towards me. He had no eyes, yet I could tell he was looking into mine. "An interesting boy." The Ferryman of the dead decided. "Come along, I will give you your ride. Not often I''m not escorting the dead."


    "Come, Wilhelm. I believe you will enjoy seeing this." Izzy ushered me again.


    And I was a little breathless. Besides being a rather....deathly ce, it was also an amazing sight.


    The River Styx was something I''d never seen before, in either lifetime.


    I stepped up to the boat, expecting it to sway within the water, yet it didn''t move an inch. It was as if it was locked into ce. I even tested it a little, rocking myself back and forth slightly.


    "The Boat moves how the Ferrymanmands." Izzy stated, noticing my efforts.


    The Ferryman looked amused though.


    "Does that mean it can fly?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "....I believe that''s the first time I''ve been asked that question." Charon let out a strange bark ofughter, the boat shuddered it and lifted off the water about a foot, floating there for a moment before settling back down.


    That''s pretty neat.


    "Oh." I blinked in realization. "Aren''t I supposed to pay the toll?" I fiddled into my ring, taking out a Septim.


    The Ferryman looked at it and shrugged, taking it happily. "Those invited by Lord Hades don''t have to pay. But I appreciate it."


    Oh well, no harm done.


    The boat shoved off, and almost instantly, I could no longer see the shore, either one. Before, it looked like you could almost jump across, maybe with some enhanced strength. But after actually being inside it, It appeared as an ocean.


    "Interesting, isn''t it?" Izzy smiled.


    "So the River is bigger once you go ''into'' it?"


    "Indeed." Izzy replied. "How else is it supposed to house all those wayward souls?"


    "What would happen if I tried to fly over it at the start?"


    "Lord Hades would get upset." Charon grinned. "If he was in a particrly bad mood, you may be forced down into the River."


    "Huh." I looked around again. "It''s strangely beautiful."


    "Death has its own charm." Charon agreed.


    ".....what does it taste like?"


    Charon froze, staring back at me. ".....Its taste...?"


    "Ignore him, he askes strange questions." Izzy facepalmed.


    "I think it''s a valid question." I crossed my arms with a huff. "It''s a River, yes? So.....mystical water of some variety. What does it taste like?"


    "Feel free to dunk your head inside and take a big gulp." Izzy snorted.


    "I would not advise drinking it." Charon chuckled. "It is a part of the Realm of the Dead, it would not do well for a living creature to ingest such concentrated deathly power. Even if you are....unique."


    "Would Hades be upset if I took some?" I was rather intrigued at this point.


    "I...do not believe so?" Charon looked confused again. "Once more, I''ve never had someone ask me a question like this. Already this has been an amusing trip." He smiled good naturedly. "Go ahead, if you desire. You paid the fare when you didn''t need to, if Lord Hades is disgruntled, I will speak with him."


    Good enough for me. I took out an empty vial and dunked it below the surface of the water, careful to not let any touch my skin. I was fairly sure I could resist the effects of mere a touch, but at the same time, I''d rather not take any chances when we were about to talk to such an important figure.


    Corking it shut, I happily put it away.


    "Can''t wait to brag about this to gramps." I couldn''t help but grin.


    Another interesting thing I''d gotten. I wonder if I could add this to the Peach Wine I n on making? Such a powerful ''life'' concept attached to the peach might offset the deathly nature of the water.


    Interesting.


    "We''re here." Charon dered, the board abruptly jerked and was pushed up against the shore.


    "Thank you, it''s a pleasure as always, Charon." Izzy expressed her gratitude.


    "The pleasure is always mine, Lady Izanami. And it was an.....interesting little ride." He turned towards me. "Be cautious, young man. A word of warning, Lord Hades will not be as open to such whimsical behavior as I am."


    I nodded towards him in thanks.


    I knew how to act on such asions.


    With that, the Ferryman disappeared back into the river, presumably going back to where he came from.


    "So, anything I should know?" I asked, getting more serious than before.


    "I''m sure I don''t need to remind you, but don''t act foolish infront of him. He takes his job and his position very seriously and expects others to do the same." Izzy replied. "Be warned, he despises Devils, so he may hold that aspect against you."


    "Noted. Anything else?"


    "Be careful with how you address his wife. She will for sure be at his side and he is very protective of her. Persephone enjoys acting flirty and getting a reaction out of men just so she can watch her husband get protective. I don''t believe she''ll try anything since I''ll be at your side, but it''s worth remembering."


    "Got it." It''s not like I would flirt with another persons wife. As I told Medea once upon a time I''m no home wrecker.


    It didn''t take long at all for us toe upon arge....building. A castle maybe? Something to that effect.


    Maybe ''Temple'' would be the right word since it''s Greek styling.


    However, once we got close to the gate, a massive shadow blotted out of the strained light source.


    With a crash, a huge figure mmed down upon the ground infront of us. Three massive heads, lips pulled back in a snarl, teeth bared.


    The Protector of the Gate of the Underworld stood before us.


    Frankly, it was menacing. Was I scared? No. But I could recognize it for what it was.


    A Divine Beast if I ever saw one.


    Easily on the level of N¨ªeh?ggr who appeared at the School. Though, that might just be while it remained in the Underworld.


    "What a good boy." Izzy broke the atmosphere as she started rubbing one of the heads of the mighty Cerberus.


    The Dog immediately melted in her hands as it flopped onto its belly.


    "Oh yes, look at you. I heard someone had another litter of puppies." She started rubbing the belly of the massive Divine Beast.


    One of the heads looked at me, it wasn''t as.....on guard before. Hesitantly, I reached my hand out and it narrowed its eyed. I ced it on the Dog''s head and began scratching.


    It rxed immediately, its massive tongue drooping out of itsrge maw.


    "What a beautiful creature. And such soft fur." I couldn''t help but push my entire body into him.


    "Oh, he''s just a big softy. Aren''t you, huh? A big softy." Izzy giggled as the massive dog licked her. "Guardian of the Underworld my rear. Hades just wanted an excuse to have this big boy around without people saying things."


    The Big Dog rolled onto its back, leg kicking out as Izzy scratched behind its ear.


    How adorable.


    "We''re going to see Hades, alright?" She cooed. "Can we pass?"


    The three head let out an ear shattering bark in acknowledgement.


    "Come along, Wilhelm. The mighty protector has been cated; we can proceed." Izzy gave the Dog onest pat on the head.


    I sort of felt bad because Cerberus whimpered once we finally left.


    What an adorable dog. Basically just a big puppy.


    Once we truly stepped through the gate, things changed.


    "Zeus with Mount Olympus, Poseidon with Antis. This right here, is Hades'' seat of power. This is where he is strongest." Izzy stated as we walked further inside.


    Braziers lit all around us, beckoning a path forwards.


    They lit up the area, trailing until they met arge flight of steps, where a figure waited above us on a throne.


    Lording over the entire Underworld, a silhouette in the shape of a Skeleton gazed down upon us, the flickering of mes revealing him in this deste realm.


    Hades.


    At his side, however, was a woman, leaning against his throne. She gazed down at us with an amused look whereas Hades himself waspletely indiscernible.


    She was, frankly, absolutely stunning. Midnight ck hair, a very curvy body, and a beautiful smile as she smirked down at us.


    I could admit she was one of the most beautiful women I''ve ever seen, my own girls not withstanding. But perhaps that was just due to her divine nature. Izzy could easily match her, but I was more....used, maybe inured, to Izzy at this point.


    "Izanami." The God of the Underworld intoned, shaking the very space itself. "What kind of Abomination did you bring to my realm!?" He stated, looking right at me.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 320 - 291

    <h4>Chapter 320: Chapter 291</h4>


    "Oh hello Hades, nice to see you too. I''m going good, how are you doing?" Izzy''s dry voice carried through the chamber. "What''s that? You want to thank us as the gracious host you are, that we willingly came all this way at your request when there was no other obligation?"


    "Stop being mordacious, Izanami. You are not nearly as blind as those other fools, you should know damn well what I''m talking about. If you just expect me to ignore that tant anomaly ¨C"


    "I expect you to be nice." Izzy scowled.


    The God of the Underworld twisted his expression, impressive for a skull, into something resembling a scowl in return. His glowing eyes focused on me, shining bright against the flickering mes. "Human, Devil, Dragon! Just those three are enough to be called an anomaly, but they''ve happened in the past. No, you went and did something that''s never happened before. Somehow, you obtained Divinity." His words apanied a pressure that descended upon me.


    I raised an eyebrow as I met his gaze, my shoulders shuddered slightly under the pressure. This was the first time I had a God here react this way to my Divinity. Hell, Susanoo was more confused, and Amaterasu didn''t even seem to care. Izzy took it in stride as well.


    This is an entirely new reaction.


    In response, I let my own Divinity pour out. It surrounded me to push away his pressure, allowing me rx as his realm trembled. "Is there a question in there?" I finally asked/broke the stale mate/silence. While I agreed to Izzy to not act up, that didn''t mean I would allow myself to be bullied.


    Though, it''s not like I didn''t anticipate this. The strong will always have the pride as the strong. It manifested in certain ways, and sometimes, you had to show that you''re on equal if not equivalent footing.


    "Honey." The woman next to Hades spoke up, cing a hand on his shoulder. "Remember why you asked them toe."


    The pressure around us dissipated, and the God of the Underworld grumbled.


    "Is this how you intend to treat guests, Hades?" Izzy crossed her arms with a clear frown on her face. "I did this as a favor due to our rtionship. If this is how I expect people I care about to be treated, I may rethink several things from now on."


    "Your infatuation blinds you." The God muttered. "It is a mockery of us. That a Devil can obtain Divinity, it shouldn''t be allowed!" He mmed his fist on his throne.


    "How is it any different than any of the myriad races of the world getting Divinity, Hades? Your Nephew was a Demi-God that ascended to full Godhood. You Brother is a Centaur and possesses Divinity and he is revered across many cultures. And there have been plenty of humans over the years who have moved above their birth." Izzy countered.


    The God didn''t have a rebuttal, but his Wife spoke up. "She''s right, Honey. You''re letting your anger get the better of you."


    "You too, Persephone? You''re both ganging up on me." The God grumbled once more. "Bah! Fine!" He huffed, and a strange aura gathered around his body. His skeletal nature peeled back, an actual human-like appearance was revealed underneath. "I....apologize."


    His voice changed, but it sounded much more.....authoritative.


    "Hmph." Izzy grunted. "Shall we get to the point then?"


    Well, Izzy was leading the show right now so I would let her keep the lead.


    I looked the man over again. The God of the Underworld.


    Was this his true self?


    I had questions, but I doubted I would get answers. He didn''t seem to like me all that much.


    "I would also like to know what I''m here." May as well get it out of the way. "While I did enjoy the trip, you clearly don''t like me."


    "Devils are parasites." Hades spat out. "Tell me, what do Devils do?"


    "Pardon?" I blinked at his question.


    "What do Devils bring to the world? What is their purpose?"


    ....I''d never thought about that before. "I''m....not sure?"


    "Nothing!" Hades snorted. "They bring nothing. They do nothing but leech off the hard work of others. They leave nothing but chaos and destruction in their wake!"


    "Oh, here we go." Izzy rolled her eyes.


    "Tell me that I''m wrong!" Hades huffed. "They were created by a child throwing a tantrum. Their purpose, their entire creation was meant to devour and consume everything and cause misery wherever they go."


    "They''ve calmed down over the years. The originals are almost all gone, it''s not like the ones in power are moring for war or anything like that." I replied, feeling just a little bit insulted since I was also cut from the same cloth, if indirectly. And I was ying Devil''s Advocate just for the sake of it. Which is ironic given the circumstances.


    "Bah! So they''ve gotten smarter over the years. Why do they need to openly wage war? They continue creating chaos through other means. They disrupt the flow of souls with their Evil Pieces. Converting others into their misbegotten race. Stealing souls from where they should truly go! They''ve used those abominable things to force themselves into a position of power. Look at their leader, he holds a clone of Surtr as his ve."


    "You won''t hear me say anything good about those things." I crossed my arms. "I am Half-Human, I''ve always aligned myself with humanity over Devils. I am of the mind that they''re stealing the potential of humanity."


    Hades went quiet, giving me a second look, clearly pondering something. "Hmm....maybe I was too quick in my judgement. I suppose Izanami would not consort with that lot." He shook his head. "Those Crows are not much better. Abandoning their Jobs so they could imitate Devils. Only causing problems, and doing nothing useful."


    "Is this why you called me? Your problems with the three factions?" I was still confused as to why he had summoned me.


    "Hmph." He tapped the arm of his throne. "What do you know of the Khaos Brigade?"


    I blinked in confusion. "I''ve had some run ins with them. It seems like they''re headed by the Old Satan Faction? But I also have crossed paths with the Hero Faction that operated under their banner, so maybe not all that much?"


    "I was a part of it." Hades said bluntly.


    "Hades!" Izzy hissed. "Exin, now."


    "It was a means to an end." He waved his hand nonchntly. "I never shared their goals, only seeked to use them for my own."


    "After your rant about Devils, you willingly bowed your head to them?" I questioned.


    "Who said that the Khaos Brigade is ran by Devils?" Hades huffed. "Do you think I would need their help for anything of note?"


    That had.....unpleasant insinuations.


    "Honey, Izanami is upset, exin properly." Persephone lightly chastised.


    "Fine." Hades grunted with a sigh. "The World is in a precarious state. The Three Factions of the Abrahamic Religion are throwing it into further disarray with every passing year. The Devils merely by existing along with their tant disregard for the status quo. The Crows see fit to mimic the Devils and do whatever they want. And the System left behind by the God of the bible is unstable and making things worse, not better."


    "You''re talking about Sacred Gears." I stated.


    "Yes, those unregted devices that randomly appear around the world. Those items of power that cause untold devastation if left in the wrong hands." Hades scowled in annoyance. "Ask that Dragon inside of you. Have him tell you how many of his previous owners went on a rampage and caused wanton destruction?"


    [....He isn''t wrong. I''ve had several users where I just woken up because Juggernaut Drive was activated after a traumatic event.]


    That sounded horrifying.


    "The look on your face, I can assume he confirmed it." The God spoke. "I have no love for that Dragon, but at least he didn''t rampage without reason."


    "What exactly was your n? Ally with the Khaos Brigade to kill off the three factions?"


    "It doesn''t matter anymore." Hades grunted. "I have chosen to sever ties with them. They have crossed me and my original goal seems to have been for naught with your appearance."


    "Weren''t you just calling me an abomination not a few minutes prior?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "I didn''t expect you to have your own Divinity." Hades growled in annoyance. "Half-Human, Half-Devil. Your Dragon aspectes from Ddraig within that prison of his." He raised his finger up, pointing at me. "I wonder, does your Divinitye from him. The Spear you are somehow able to wield." He muttered. "No, it''s different. Your Divinity is more like my brothers, there is the crackling of lightning and the smell of the sky. But also the roar of the ocean''s tides. Storms are your domain....." His head suddenly jerked towards Izanami. "Izanami.....did ¨C"


    "Hades." Izzy''s voice overtook Hades entirely at this moment. "We both know my son would never willingly give up his Divinity. So if you are about to ask me what I think you are going to ask me, I''m going to walk up there and smack you."


    "And I will say nothing about it, Husband." Persephone crossed her arms, staring at Hades as well.


    "...I apologize, I overstepped." Hades admittedly looked rather sheepish.


    Was he about to imply that Izzy stole Susanoo''s divinity and gave it to me?


    Oh yeah, I could imagine that Izzy would be very upset at the insinuation.


    "You said that the Khaos Brigade isn''t led by Devils. Can you borate on that?" I might as well move past the awkwardness that came up.


    "There are many beings around the world that don''t like the peace that came about after the Great War." Hades took to the renewed talk quite readily. "You should have met one thus far based on what I''ve been told."


    "Loki." I breathed out, his name still left me angry.


    "Yes, the Trickster God." Hades scowled. "Whom I have no doubt had a hand in breaking into Tartarus with his cohorts and freeing my Father and Hyperion. Both of which I have no doubt now bolster their ranks."


    I see, that would exin why Hades had a falling out with them.


    "There are many more, nearly every major Pantheon is represented. If they were to move together, it''s unlikely that any singr force could meet them." Hades stated.


    "And you are now outed from said group." I pointed out.


    "Who said I left?" He huffed. "I would be a fool to not keep tabs on them."


    That''s true, I suppose I thought he just up and left after getting pissed. Maybe I''m too used to dealing with the more prideful kind of people? So, no longer allied, but they didn''t quite know that yet.


    "And how does that lead back into me being important for you?" I was apparently the reason he was willing to stop ''working'' with this Khaos Brigade.


    "I have watched those Sacred Gears more than any other God beyond their creator. I have seen every instance that they have disturbed the world." Hades intoned. "That Spear specifically. I have seen it appear many times throughout the years, watching the users, and ever more since Yahweh had perished. You are an outlier. And the only exnation I cane to.....something changed within the spear itself."


    I quirked a smile. "Maybe something else in the system broke again?"


    "Bah, who are you trying to fool? There''s only one entity that would allow you to use that thing with your nature as a Half-Devil. Even I could not ovee such contradictions, only the progenitor of both your species and the object itself." He snorted, though there was a hint of amusement in his tone. "Tell me, is heing back?"


    "You really don''t mince words, do you?" I couldn''t believe Hades of all people was the first to realize outside of those I told. "Say that he was in the midst of reviving. What benefit would that be for you?" Because he clearly wanted this to happen based on what he said.


    "If that Onees back, then he can clean up all the messes he made." Hades huffed in annoyance. "The Devils, the Fallen Angels, and the Sacred Gears that have gone out of control. Then I can finally stop being disturbed by all these annoyances and the world can go back to normal."


    Was it really that simple? This Godadmitted to working with people I absolutely despise, and his entire reasoning was to fix some perceived wrongs in the world. Wrongs that.....I couldn''t help but admit were true.


    Sacred Gears were causing problems because they weren''t being properly regted by Heaven''s System.


    Devils and Fallen Angels, how many issues had they caused just by doing their thing? Hell, just look at Evil Pieces like he said.


    "So it alles down to ¨C you''re asking for my help?"


    Hades scowled and his wife started giggling.


    "In more words than needed, yes. I share my Husband''s sentiment as do many others under our rule. We are asking for your help and offer ours in return. It may seem strange to you, but we would like the Biblical God toe back. We have no ill will towards him, and hope that we can help facilitate his return at a faster pace." Persephone stated. "Frankly, the whole idea caught us off guard, but my Husband as adamant that the only usible exnation was such."


    I turned to Izzy and she gave me a reassuring smile. So I would trust her judgment since she hadn''t made an effort to stop the talks.


    "It''s true, the possibility for his resurrection has opened and I''ve conversed with him at one point." I admitted.


    I wasn''t against helping him revive, I had already done some of that so far.


    "To actually hear it...." Persephone whispered. "How? It shouldn''t be possible, he truly died. His Divine Power scattered, his essence was utterly dispersed. There should have been nothing by remnants remaining, nothingrge enough to have a consciousness."


    "Even the tiny spark that existed in the spear, it would never turn into something greater. It was called a dying will for a reason, and it couldn''t evolve into something more unless some absurd circumstances presented themselves." Hades appeared to be thinking aloud before taking a long sigh, looking rather tired himself. "I won''t ask the circumstances; I find it unlikely you would reveal them at this point."


    Well, he didn''t have his head up his ass to realize that. His former arrogance before was understandable. Not easily ignorable, but understandable considering what exactly he was. Maybe if he had been nicer, I would have opened up more.


    But as it stood, this was pretty much what he''s getting from me, and that''s mostly as a favor to Izzy.


    Slowly, the God of the Underworld rose from his seat, taking bated steps down the towering stairs.


    "Come, let us take a walk. I believe that my wife wishes to speak with Izanami." Hades casually strode forward, hands behind his back. Honestly, he did appear very regal and magnificent, even if I didn''t have a particrly good opinion of him at the moment. "Izanami was correct, you were invited as a guest, and I have shamed myself with not respecting that."


    I suppose it wouldn''t hurt.


    I really didn''t believe he would do anything in these circumstances. He seemed like the kind of person who would look you in the eyes when he stabbed you, not do it in the back.


    "Lead the way." I let out a breath.


    "Kya! He''s just like you said, and he''s so cute~"


    Hades and I started walking out, and I abruptly turned around to see Persephone throw herself at Izzy, excitedly talking about something and Izzy had an adorable blush on her cheeks.


    "That way leads to madness." Hades snorted as I turned back towards him. "Centuries I have been married, yet I still do not understand her mind sometimes. I have given up on trying. Come." There was a fondness in his tone.


    Well, if there was one nice thing I could say about Hades thus far, he really seemed to care about his wife. It was the small things that were the most noticeable, the little looks he threw her way. Some people seemed to think you needed big gestures to be romantic, when it''s often the opposite. Many little things are what rtionships are built off of.


    The excited words of the Goddess died out as we walked further away. Rather, our quiet steps were the only noise. "Rather empty, isn''t it?"


    "Hmm, in a normal day it is not. I have thousands upon thousands of Reapers that answer my call. On an average day, there are many voices that fill this ce. I merely wished solitude for the evening, thus I had dismissed them for the remainder of the day." Hades said, rather casually. "What do you think of my Underworld?"


    "As you asking me topare it to Yomi?" I quirked an eyebrow. "Though, I have been to one other Deathly realm so far. And I think Charon''s words were right. These types of ces have their own charm."


    "Another?"


    "The Land of Shadows." I replied.


    Sc¨¢thach''s existence wasn''t much of a secret anymore.


    "Ah, yes. We had a long discussion regarding panions during the recent incident in Devil territory." Hades nodded in understanding. "I was under the assumption that she was dead."


    "She got better."


    Hades snorted, there appeared to be a slight tug at the corners of his lips.


    "That reminds me, will you be attending that Conference amongst the other factions? It was the target of thest meeting I joined amongst the Khaos Brigade."


    "What Conference?" I tilt my head.


    "You don''t know?" Hades blinked. "Hmm.....perhaps they have yet to contact you. It was the talk amongst those Devils. They were set on attacking the Peace talks between the Three Factions that were going to happen. Due to recent events, other factions had since joined in. The spies amongst them ryed the news that they would be extending an invitation towards the Youkai as well. I had assumed you knew."


    I furrowed my brow, many new thoughts filling my mind at this revtion. "I haven''t heard a word."


    "Curious." Hades replied.


    "Should I be worried incase we go?" Which was a big assumption. I don''t know any of the details at this point, but I would like more information.


    "Loki was adamant that they not cause problems. His logic was sound, thus the Devils seemed cowed. However, they are not known for making intelligent decisions."


    Loki again.


    "Do you have any interest in these supposed talks?" I asked.


    "If I were still aligned with the Khaos Brigade, I would be vehemently against them." Hades admitted without a second thought. "As many problems that those Bats and Crows cause, they are forced to mind themselves due to the implications of war between themselves. Knowing how they act, this ''peace'' will only further embolden them to do as they wish."


    "Have you not thought about intervening yourself?"


    "The thought had crossed my mind. However, I have a duty to my own people. How many of mine would I lose if I chose to fight? And even if I do not get along with my brothers most of the time, they would inevitably be pulled into any conflict. Regardless of my course of action, any direct attack would continue to escte until the world was engulfed."


    That''s true. Especially with this new information that there were apparently a bunch of other Deities or beings of equivalent power/status out in the world actively pushing for chaos and war if not other schemes that would bring about suffering.


    We walked out from his sort of temple-castle back towards the gates.


    Immediately, we were set upon by a familiar dog.


    "Cerberus, sit." Hadesmanded as the massive dog scampered over. As soon as the words left his mouth, the Divine Beast promptly sat right now. "Good boy." Hades had what seemed to be a rare smile on his face as he walked over to pet it.


    "He really is." I walked up, taking one of his heads for myself.


    "You wouldn''t happen to want a pup, would you? I have many, and Persephone has been on my hide to get them homes." Hades chuckled, which caught me off guard.


    Honestly, he seemed like apletely different person than before.


    "I couldn''t take care of one, and I already got myself a familiar." I flipped my hand over, producing my Hat, and gave it a little pat on the back, Sir Wiggles jumped out. He excitedly twitched his nose, inspecting the new area.


    Cerberus looked excited as well. His middle head tilted down, sniffing Sir Wiggles as my Familiar did the same to him.


    The Large Dog stiffened, jerking its body. It jumped in sce, quaking the ground but it came off as.....yful.


    Sir Wiggles turned into a streak of lightning, jutting all over the ce as the massive dog began chasing him.


    "....does that Rabbit possess Divinity as well."


    "He''s a long descendant of a God. Our bond just.....jumpstarted it, so to speak." I replied.


    ''I admit, this is not how I envisioned this meeting to go." Hades raised his hand up, and two chairs seemed to rise out of the ground. He plopped himself down without a second thought, watching the two animals y.


    I sat down in the empty one. "And how did you envision it?"


    "I expected a young devil that was too absorbed in his own power. I made a mistake, I should have been amicable from the start, thus things would have gone smoother." Hades replied, propping his head up with his arm.


    "You really don''t like Devils, do you?"


    Hades snorted. "Do you?" He gave me a sideways nce. "Those Devils amongst the Khaos Brigade would not cease their prattling when it came to you. Even If I did no investigations, it''s clear you have no dealings with the Devil Faction."


    "I have one Devil I truly care about and by extension a few that I would lend a hand if I thought they were in real trouble. I wouldn''t bat an eye if the faction as a whole ceased to exist though." I said withplete honesty.


    "Hmm. What a strange boy you are." Hades leaned back, rather casually. "What do you want?"


    "Pardon?"


    "What do you want? You are aware of what I desire, and I wish you to continue down this path. You showed slight hesitance, and I don''t want this chance to slip away."


    A bribe, was it?


    "Why not just take the Spear from me and do it yourself?"


    "That was a consideration." He admitted with a hint of shame. "I decided against that. Besides the fallout that myself and my wife would have with Izanami, which neither of us would be pleased about, I am not entirely sure I could do it withouting away unscathed. And you are the one who somehow began the process, something I would have deemed impossible some months ago. I feel you are the best one to continue as you are."


    I tapped my finger on the armrest, mulling over his words. "Personally, I want the information on the Khaos Brigade. Everything you know about them."


    "It will be done." He stated.


    "Sacred Gears. You spoke that you have been watching them for some time. How many have you umted?"


    The corners of Hades'' lips curled up. "So you noticed. Yes, I have acquired many over the years. Unfortunately, they are.....slippery at the best of times. I have a little less than a hundred and I rarely care for those below a certain threshold."


    "We will be going to war with the Fae soon. Pick out some easy to use or straightforward ones, I want to hand them over to the Youkai."


    "You are leaving it to my discretion?"


    I shrugged. "This.....rtionship is rocky from the start. It''s built almost entirely on Izzy''s goodwill, if you want to help me, then show it." Right now, he needed me much more than I needed him. In fact, I didn''t need him for anything, yet, he had an apparent vested interest in Big G''s revival.


    "A fair statement. Very well, I shall look at my inventory." Hades nodded. "What else?"


    "You also manage the fields of Elysium, right?"


    "I do, however...I can not make decisions for those who dwell within. If you are looking for soldiers, you will be left wanting. And I refuse to allow the dead to wantonly walk amongst the living once more. Even with my power...no especially with my power, allowing the dead to live again is no simple feat."


    "The Dead Cannot lead the living." I repeated the words I had heard Artoria say in the past.


    Hades'' eyes shed, a look of actual surprise. I think it was the most I''d seen him emote this far. "You understand.....how surprising."


    "How about....a temporary vacation?"


    "...I am willing to listen."


    "Veterans, Heroes, tacticians, that sort of thing. I think you have Odysseus amongst your people still? I would want to barrow them, merely for training purposes, no actual fighting any battles. Once the War beings, they''ll return. So, no more than four months."


    Hades tapped his chin, looking deep in thought. "An interesting request, and not one that''s inherently too difficult to fullfill. There would have to be rules. They will not be allowed to leave that Dimension of Kyoto, if any are willing to oblige, that is. I have said the Fields of Elysium is not a ce I will casually extend my hand, nor can I. I may oversee it, but my siblings also have a vested interest."


    "Completely fair. I don''t know what it''s like in the fields, but I offer the worldly pleasures avable ¨C within reason of course."


    Hades snorted. "That will sway many, and others will enjoy the novel experience, I''m sure."


    "Those are my personal requests. Otherwise, there is something I think I need to help him."


    "Speak." Hades turned more serious again.


    "The Holy relics." I leaned forward, producing the True Longinus. It stabbed into the ground right infront of us. "I have a feeling that the key is within them. Well, a part of it atleast."


    "The Holy Relics. You speak of the Spear, The Mantle, The Nails, The Grail, and the Cross? Yes, I can see how they would be useful, they all seem to contain an aspect of him."


    "Kokabiel." I let out a breath, still annoyed at the mere mention of his name. "You''ve heard, so I won''t repeat it. Suffice to say, I used the spear to take away his Holy Power. It helped a little bit, but it''s also not something he would be willing to do on most asions."


    "I have been tempted to say to just contact the Angels and tell them the truth, but I fear they would be blinded and try to use the entirety of their umted Faith and Power to try and revive him." Hades let out a sigh.


    "There''s too much missing still."


    "Yes, you seem to understand much for your age." Hades eyed me again. "It is not a simple matter as powering up the wisp inside the spear. He broke apart, shattered and scattered to the winds. Things need to be reced for him to truly revive."


    Right, trying to revive him without any pieces together wouldn''t work. They would just keep pumping Heaven''s power into it and nothing woulde about.


    Like trying to glue back together a shattered window, except, most of the pieces were lost and you''re just trying to fill in the gaps with more glue.


    It might....eventually work, but it would be an abomination that returned.


    "I will look into them, I have no immediate answer." Hades stated.


    "That''s fine, this isn''t something that can be rushed. As ironic as it is to say, it''s a miracle what''s happened thus far."


    How strange it was. I, a Half-Devil, son of Lucifer, and a ''Pagan God'' were conspiring to resurrect The God of Heaven.


    I wonder if I could get him to name me a Saint when this was all done.


    .....would have been fun to tease Jeanne about that.


    I missed her.


    I perked up from my thoughts, Sir Wigglesnded right in myp a secondter, and the big dog came running over.


    "I haven''t seen Cerberus in such a good mood in a while. It appears he has made a friend." Hades happily pet the big boy.


    I had a thought.


    I looked into my ring and found something that I think Cerberus would like. Within a breath, threerge Bones dropped down infront of us.


    The Dog went ecstatic each head happily grabbing one up to chew on.


    "Dragon Bones?" Hades raised an eyebrow.


    "I had some extraying around." I shrugged.


    I was a little surprised he recognized them as dragon bones so easily though.


    Always had a soft spot for animals.


    Hades flicked his hand towards me, a Drachma Coin appeared between them as he handed it towards me. "You may reach out to me with this in emergency."


    I took it, eyeing the thing suspiciously. "You''re really being generous here."


    "You underestimate how important this is to me." Hades replied.


    Maybe I really didn''t understand the real implications and how much Hades was dealing with. And it wasn''t my ce to question what he was or was not allowed to value.


    "Do you y fetch with him?" I put the coin away in my ring.


    Hades smiled again, a rare sight thus far. A massive ball appeared with a wave of his hand and Cerberus immediately got excited again.


    [***]


    "That was an interesting experience."


    "Most Gods are rather.....entric." Izzy sighed. "However it seems as though Hades had a fairly good impression of you by the end."


    "You mean when he stopped looking at me like I was a Devil?" I snorted.


    "Unfortunately, Hades has his hatred for a reason. He was there when they were first created, and his realm is the closest, rtively speaking, to Hell. He has had to deal with their problems for many years."


    "I''m willing to keep an open mind. If you weren''t the one vouching for him, I wouldn''t have been this.....trusting. But he made the effort and swallowed his own pride there to ''lower'' himself to ''work'' with me."


    I would give it a chance.


    I pushed open the door to my home and was greeted with something I did not think I would see. Izzy peered over my shoulder to see why I abruptly stopped in the doorway.


    "Wee home." Yasaka smiled.


    I returned the smile happily.


    Artoria also perked up with her own cute smile, one that would always make my heart melt. I made sure to greet her just as warmly.


    Though, there was one other person in the room.


    I admit that I felt myself get rather protective again with her in sight.


    I walked over and she stood up to greet me, my arms wrapping around her immediately. I happily buried my face right between thoserge mounds.


    "It''s good to see you too." Venna giggled.


    "Missed you." I muttered between her cleavage before turning my head up. "Are you okay?"


    "I''m fine." She smiled brightly. "And I never properly thanked you before."


    "As long as you''re okay, it''s fine."


    "Such a sweet man." I felt her hand run through my hair.


    I couldn''t help myself, I leaned up and imed her lips, which she happily reciprocated.


    She was the one to break the kiss. "You''re going to make the others upset if you keep focusing only on me." She yfully swat at me.


    "Oh don''t worry, he does this to all of us." Yasaka interjected with a little bit of humor. "He gets very protective when any of us are in a mood or have something emotional happen."


    "Mmm, I believe when Mordred first appeared, and I was still having conflicting feelings, he was never out of reach for long." Artoria smiled brightly.


    "For me it was rather recent with the attack." Yasaka chuckled.


    "He even did the same for me when Susanoo, the brat, blew me off." Izzy took an empty seat. "Before he went to beat him up, apparently."


    "....Is that the reason...?" Venna looked surprised.


    "Did he not tell you?'' Izzy snorted. "Susanoo was supposed toe and meet me after many years. He decided to visit a brothel and y around. Wilhelm here, got upset on my behalf and went to have words with my son. You know how that turned out."


    "That doesn''t sound like me." I said with aplete straight face.


    Venna yfully pulled on my cheek.


    "Yes, I suppose I imagined having to scold two children after they caused storms off the coast of Japan." Izzy rolled her eyes.


    "I said it before, but it really is pleasant to see how well you all get along." Venna spoke up and I realized she had been here for awhile at this point. "And thank you, Lady Izanami, for my earlier request."


    "Think nothing of it." Izzy waived her off.


    Yasaka and Artoria looked very rxed, I assumed that whatever talks they had with Venna went well.


    Especially Artoria, I knew she was the one with the most reservations, but she looked utterly peaceful right now.


    And looking at her face.....I can''t help but remember what happened yesterday.


    I wanted to do more things with her.


    "I will have to properly thank the others as well. I have yet to have the opportunity." Venna added. "Unfortunately, that won''t be possible this time around."


    "Mmm, it is poor timing, but what can do you." Yasaka simply shrugged. "And it''s not like this will be thest time we get together. Having you over has been absolutely lovely. But when everyone gathers, I''ll be sure to pass on your thanks."


    "Yes, it has been very pleasant, and I hope to schedule more time." Artoria chimed in.


    "Wait, what''s going on?" I looked around.


    Yasaka reached down her kimono and pulled out a letter. It had a beautiful writing on the front.


    Remembering what Hades said.... "Let me guess, an invitation to a Peace Meeting?"


    Yasaka blinked. "Yes, that''s exactly it. How did you know?"


    Izzy let out augh, shaking her head.


    "When I was talking to Hades, he mentioned ¨C"


    Venna was suddenly ontop of me, her lips pressed against mine. I certainly wasn''t'' against this, but it was the suddenness of it that had taken me by surprise.


    "Don''t forget who I am." She said quietly, breaking the kiss. "I don''t want to cause any problems in case you say something sensitive in my presence."


    Oh.....right.


    "I was asked to bring that letter along because I mentioned being invited over for tea." She nced at Artoria. "But I don''t want to make my presence awkward, so I will separate myself and let you all talk it over."


    "Thank you, Venna. It really has been lovely to have you here and I look forward to it again." Yasaka stood up.


    "Oh it was wonderful to meet you. I can''t wait to meet my other Harem Sisters once everything gets settled."


    "You''re going already." I whispered.


    "Mmm, some thingse with time. You can''t force trust to develop so easily." She smiled, cing a light kiss on my lips again.


    I really hated seeing her go.


    The Teleportation circle lit up after everyone said their goodbyes and she disappeared from the house.


    "I can see why you are fond of her." Artoria was the first to speak up.


    "Well, he does enjoyrge chests." Yasaka grinned.


    Izzy rolled her eyes. "He is a boy, of course he does. That and an ample rear, and he would be thinking with the wrong head."


    Artoria''s lips twitched in amusement. I think she felt a lot less self conscious after....what happened. I made sure she knew just how arousing she was herself. "I meant with regard to how charming she was. She is a very charismatic woman, and it is difficult to find any negative words about her. However, I believe you are correct on the other matter as well."


    "Yeah yeah, I''m a perverted person, water is wet, the fire is hot." I huffed. " And yes, she was very endearing and easily approachable during my first time meeting her. But what''s this about an invitation? Hades only told me a few things and not many details."


    "I''m surprised he told you anything of the sort." Yasaka replied. "He doesn''t seem the kind of person to do something like that."


    "It was.....an odd experience." I left it at that.


    "I have already put out a message, everyone is gathering and they should be almost all ready. We can head over now if you prefer." Yasaka offered.


    "May as well, this is going to be on my mind regardless now."


    [***]


    Yasaka tossed a parchment onto the table infront of everyone.


    When she said everyone was gathering, she meant more than just us. Of course, my girls were here, minus Meridia, but she was listening in.


    Also joining us was Nurarihyon, which wasn''t a surprise. He was apanied by a few of his closest as well. And not just him, Yasaka also had a few Elders along with her. They stood to the side, rather stoically.


    They gave respectful nods to all of us.


    I had expected some kind of...antagonizing, but maybe I was thinking too much about it. I guessed we''d done a lot to help out without asking for anything in return.


    Lots of goodwill.


    And Arthur was also in the room, if staying towards the back.


    "I gave a brief overview, but you all know why we''re here?" Yasaka looked around the room.


    "The Devils are ''inviting'' us to some kind of Peace Conference?" Nurarihyon scoffed. "Since when do they care about us?"


    "Since we have people who can fight Gods." An elder next to Yasaka snorted, and eyesnded on me.


    Well, I''m happy they also considered me one of their ''own'' and not simply Yasaka''s lover.


    "Tell them to shove it." One of the rougher members next to Nurarihyon grunted. "They''ve never helped us before, and only fucked us over. Now they want some kind of ''Peace meeting'' when it''s convenient for them?"


    "Can we afford to ostracize other factions further if we have a War on the horizon?" Artoria was seemingly the voice of reason. Her words carried a bit of weight considering she was more or less representing the Pendragon family and was aiding the Youkai with their forces as well. "Swallowing pride may be required, as unfortunate as it is."


    "As much as I don''t want to agree.....we do have bigger problems than Devils trying to y games like this." Nurarihyon reluctantly agreed.


    "To further emphasis, it also may not be wise to forgo connections to the other factions that are appearing." Sc¨¢thach stepped up to the table, picking up the parchment. "They speak of both the Norse Gods having a representative, and one from the Celtic Pantheon, however itcks names to go with them."


    "Odin and Lugh." I spoke up, earning attention again.


    "Are you sure?" Sc¨¢thach asked.


    "Yes, I had it confirmed by Hades." I nodded.


    "the Greek God of Death." Nurarihyon stroked his chin.


    "I can confirm his words." Izzy appeared next to me. "I was present for most of the conversations. However, Hades is....privy to certain information and ryed some."


    "I don''t think anyone doubt him, just surprised at the source." Yasaka stated.


    "Speaking of Hades, while everyone''s here like this. I was able to get a few things out of him for helping with some other matter. He''s going to supply us with a few more Sacred Gears, and I managed to negotiate him lending some people from Elysium to help us train for about four months." May as well get that out of the way.


    "Oh?" Nurarihyon''s eyes brightened. "That would definitely help with training the new recruits if we got some veterans from the old days. And Sacred Gears are always weed."


    Yasaka looked ecstatic. And if we weren''t in a public meeting, I may have had my clothes torn off already. Though, she quickly reined herself in. "Important, but we''ll discuss itter. Thank you, Wilhelm."


    "Aren''t Lugh and Odin both heads of their Pantheons? Why would they being?" Jinn had been a little quiet, not adding much until now.


    "That''s the question, isn''t it?" Nurarihyon looked thoughtful.


    "I believe the answer to Odin may be the opponent I faced." Sc¨¢thach stated with a scowl.


    "I can confirm his identity through Hades too, but don''t spread my meeting with him around." I decided to speak up about that tidbit as well.


    "Nothing in this room will be spread, don''t worry." Nurarihyon was the first to reassure me.


    Nods all around the room and they had looks of conviction on their face, I didn''t doubt his words.


    "It appears we may have to attend, regardless of desire." Raikou didn''t look too pleased.


    "It wouldn''t do well to ignore other factions." Yasaka groaned. "The Devils, the Fallen, and the Angels, we could disregard them like we have in the past. But now, their voices are directly backed by two other powerful factions. This is getting much moreplicated."


    "What do we even have to gain from this?" I asked, looking around. "I honestly can''t think of anything substantial. I mean....could we gain things? Most assuredly, but do we really need anything that would link us with people we generally don''t like?"


    "Admittedly, Resources wouldn''t be remiss." Yasaka let out a sigh.


    "As annoying as it is to agree again, yes we aren''t exactly in a good position regarding things in that regard. But we''re also not in a horrible spot either. We''re surviving and moving forward with what we have and we didn''t take this into ount, so it isn''t a necessity." Nurarihyon had an annoyed look as well.


    Credit where it was due. Both Yasaka and Nurarihyon were willing to swallow their pride if it meant a better situation for their people.


    "Then let''s do it like the Americans." I offered.


    "Like the Americans?" Yasaka blinked.


    "We can survive without them." I held up a finger. "That much can''t be denied. So, realistically, we don''t need anything from them."


    "Yes, that''s true, like we said."


    "And if they''re inviting us, they clearly want something from us at this point."


    "That is most likely correct as well."


    "Well, any negotiations are simply another form of fighting." The corners of my lips curled up. "So, lets do like the Americans do. We simply dere victory from the start, and go from there."


    [***]


    Here''s Friday''ste chapter, dont'' worry, still got a chaptering for this weekend at some point.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 321 - 292 Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 321: Chapter 292 Part 1</h4>


    "Not that I''m against it, but why exactly are we doing this?" Rin looked around. "And why does it have to be, her." She jabbed her finger towards Medea.


    "Several reasons." I replied, holding my arm up as Medea took measurements. "Negotiations are rarely about strutting in and just stepping on everyone. We don''t want to make ''enemies'' even if we''re not going to be ying along the way they''re going to suspect us to."


    "You look good, Rin." Artoria cut in, tightening a little binding, giving herself a pony tail.


    "Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or so I''m told." Medea smirked.


    "Obviously, why else would you have a fianc¨¦?" Rin shot back as those two did their usual song and dance. "But how does that whole spiel tie into why we''re doing this?"


    "I was getting to i-it." I jerked as Medea tugged on my arm. "The best method is to use little things to eek out some kind of verbal advantage or set a tone. Tell me what do you think when you see the Enforcers of the Clock Tower making a move?"


    "....I guess they''re kinda intimidating? Most Magi stay away from them when they''re on the job."


    "Exactly. They''re no-nonsense. They''re setting a tone that they''re all business." I listed off. "One of the factors that facilitates that, is their dresscode." I gestured to myself as Medea continued to take measurements.


    "He''s not wrong." Medea started up. "Clothing can say a lot about a person based on the situation."


    "It''s all about that first impression." I nodded. "What do you think the faction leaders will look like when we arrive? Odin, Lugh, The Devil Leaders, the Fallen Leader, the Angel Leader?"


    Rin blinked, looking thought. "I don''t know, something good? If we''re going off stereotypes, the angels will probably be wearing Robes. The Devils some kind of maleficent armor or something. The Gods....I really couldn''t say."


    "Do you think everyone they bring will look the same?"


    "....no?"


    "And then wee along, all matching in the same style, clearly ''dressing up'' while they are probably wearing the same old things they always do. Immediately, it puts them on the back foot. Without even saying any words it makes us look more prepared. As if we are taking it more seriously, as if we''re giving the whole event the due respect it deserves."


    "Essentially, it makes them lose face." Medea summarized. "For beings of this caliber, outward perception is extremely important."


    "So.....it''s going to hurt their pride?"


    "Eh, I wouldn''t go that far." I shrugged.


    "And what tone are we trying to set?"


    "That we don''t need to be there." Yasaka said frankly as she admired herself in a full length mirror. "We don''t need them, and we know it."


    "It also makes sure to let everyone know that we are all part of the same group." I fixed my cor slightly. "At this point, it''s been made pretty clear about some of our names, so I don''t want anyone to get any ideas that we can be separated."


    I nced over at both Sc¨¢thach and Raikou. Both of whom were looking amazing, they really rocked the look we were going for.


    Couldn''t wait to peel thoseyers off afterwards.


    "So it''s all about the impression, huh?" Rin muttered. "Doesn''t sound much different than school...."


    "It really isn''t." I let out a chuckle. "Only that the ''popr kids'' can decimate the world if they put their minds to it."


    They''re expecting us to be meek ande crawling out of the woodwork for whatever handouts they''re willing to give.


    Hell, even with what we showed off, I''m guessing that they''re only inviting us because they want something, not because they ''recognized'' us suddenly.


    Even with all of us added together, we still are a small faction inparison to almost everyone else.


    Most other factions already had God-Levelbatants, so the fact we ''suddenly'' got some didn''t really mean much in the grand scheme of things.


    "And they aren''t normal clothes either." I said offhandedly.


    "Yeah, I noticed." Rin had been inspecting hers the entire time. The mindset of a Magus wouldn''t let her not take a look at any magical effects, especially those that would be ''touching her''.


    "Some of my finer work." Medea stated, smiling brightly. "Though, it was a rather abrupt request. So it won''tst long beyond the meeting you''re going to. And I wouldn''t advise you to fight in it."


    Which was fair, it was highly unlikely any actual fighting would happen.


    "What exactly did you do?" Rin asked.


    "I made each set its own Mystic Code that resists any peeping." Medea bluntly exined.


    "Peeping?" Rin repeated with a look of confusion.


    "Once we get there, they''re all going to try and get a measure of us. That could mean anything from simply looking us over and trying to deduce anything that way, or using any other mystical means such as Mystic Eyes or magic to look deeper." I exined.


    "Yes, Odin I believe will be able to see through most deceptions and any falsehoods. So it is wise to tread carefully." Sc¨¢thach spoke up as well.


    "So these clothes will stop a God?"


    "Of course not, you silly girl." Medea scoffed, almostically in their little game. "But it will resist surface level attempts."


    "Meaning, if they want to ''go around'' whatever protections that Medea added, it will be noticeable." I borated. "It goes back to what Medea said, if a God is forced to go to such lengths for something so mundane, they will lose face infront of the others present. And we could call them out on their behavior, making it even more awkward and setting ourselves in a better position."


    And maybe more importantly, it would annoy them. Gods don''t like being denied, even for the most simplistic things. Tell them ''no'' and they want to know more.


    "Sounds really petty."


    "Wee to politics." I opened my arms with augh.


    "It really is very trite when you get down to it." Yasaka let out a sigh. "But most faction leaders tend to have very inted egos, so this is what usually happens in these sorts of things."


    "You forgot the most important reason for doing this." Jinn happily eximed, taking a little pose to show herself off.


    She looked exceedingly beautiful. I don''t think I remember seeing her in anything but her own dress before. The lighter tones reallyplimented her beautiful shade of blue.


    "Well, it''s rather obvious, so I didn''t think it needed mentioned." I shrugged.


    "What''s the most important reason?" Rin blinked, still not catching on. Not that I could me her, her education wascking. And that wasn''t meant in an insulting way. She basically raised herself and had to do everything on her own.


    The fact that she made it to this stage with her own effort just exemplified her talent in so many ways.


    "It makes us look damn good." Yasaka flicked her tails, spinning around. She was the only one wearing a skirt and it was cut high, showing off those wonderful legs of her. Yet, it also retained the elegance that was expected of her as well. And draped over her shoulders was her iconic Haori she tended to wear.


    It''s kind of funny, we sorta look like Yakuza with Yasaka as our head.


    Other than Yasaka, we were all wearing pretty much the same thing, with obvious variations for each person to match them explicitly. It showed off that Yasaka was the main character in this little rendezvous we were having, while everyone else was the supporting cast.


    She would be the one doing the majority of the negotiations as even Nurarihyon wasn''t attending. He wanted to continue with the whole attitude they already cultivated about not wanting to deal with devils and such.


    They already had a talk about what they both wanted and what they were willing to do to do obtain those things. And the Old Man was willing to hand over the reins to Yasaka to let her handle the dirty business.


    So, Yasaka was representing the Youkai as a whole.


    However, he sent a representative.


    Aotab¨­ was outside, along with Soma from Yasaka''s end. Specifically, Nurarihyon needed to send someone high enough up, but also low enough that it didn''t disrupt his position that he was taking. Such, Aotab¨­ who was the ''third'' seat under Nurarihyon fit the bill.


    Not to mention, the man was already acquainted with most of us and had a good head on his shoulders and knew about our circumstances.


    "Really, that''s the most important reason?" Rin snorted. "Not that I don''t agree." She did a quick turn around to admire herself in the mirror.


    "It''s as you said, presentation. We look confident, and it shows. That goes a long ways in things like this. Our ''small faction'' ispletely at easeing before these other ''big factions'' without an iota of awkwardness or fear."


    And that wasn''t just because I enjoyed every opportunity to dress up. And I wasn''t the only one who shared these sentiments. Artoria said something about how it was nostalgic based on something she wore during the Fourth Grail War.


    And I think they were all enjoying it. A little amusement before we had to get serious and down to businesster.


    Seeing them all dressed up in suits with various degrees of customization. It was really fun to watch them all like this.


    "Master, will you be okay?" Raikou sauntered over, fully ready to go. I had to say, these clothes hugged her curves in all the right ways. "You know who will be there."


    I grimaced slightly at her words. She was the only who knew about my past the most. She was privy to many more details specifically through the application of the Dream Cycle we shared.


    I turned around, taking her into my arms before stealing her lips. The deep kiss onlysted for a brief moment before I broke it. "I have you, and I have everyone else, what do I need to feel upset about? I won''t lie and say that there aren''t some unpleasant feelings thate to the surface when I think about it. But I''m also not that same kid from all those years ago."


    I had my own family now, one of my own making.


    So, fuck him.


    Why did I have to feel like shit? He should be the one that has to feel like that due to his own fuck ups.


    "That should do it." Medea stated, stepping away from thest person she was fiddling with. She did quick and meticulous work. Funnily enough, putting together everything was the quickest part for her. I told her what I wanted a couple days prior, and it merely took that long for her to get designs ready.


    Magic really was a cheat.


    "For a rush job, I think I did fairly well." Medea smiled brightly, hands on her hips as she looked around the room.


    "Your work is as wonderful as always, Medea." I didn''t hold back on the praise, she deserved every bit of it.


    "Of course." The Witch preened. "And with that, I''ll be heading back to my hubby. You can do have your dick measuring contest with those Gods or whatever."


    "Fianc¨¦." I managed to throw out before she left the room. Though she merely raised her hand up, middle finger extended without even looking back.


    "Are we prepared?" Yasaka asked.


    "About as well as we could be." I brought out the Staff of Magnus, tossing it to Jinn before taking out my own mirage. I admired it for a moment before also taking out its apanying sheath and sliding it right in, keeping it in my hand. "You''re in the hot seat, are you prepared?"


    "As well as I could be." She chuckled.


    Sc¨¢thach walked over, spear in hand as she swung it over her shoulder. "Be at ease, you shall not be alone."


    "Indeed." Artoria nodded in solidarity, the sound of metal being pushed into a scabbard apanied her words. She fastened Caliburn to her hip, presumably borrowing it from Mordred.


    She was presenting herself as the representative of the Pendragon Family, so it made sense.


    All of us made final preparations, even Rin had her own Staff out with her. Raikou carried her own sword in her hand. Jinn cutely stood there with my Staff of Magnus with her.


    We used the few days since the original letter arrived to get ready as a whole. A few days to anticipate what we would be walking into, because it could be a windfall for the Youkai if yed right. I told them everything Hades ryed to me, so that could be used in bargaining as well.


    There were also other, minor things. But to be honest, we didn''t know entirely what they wanted. We could make several guesses, most of which had to do with the Khaos Brigade, so we were feeling somewhat confident.


    I''m sure they were able to get the information out of Kokabiel regarding his ''friends''. So they were probably really interested in any information about that organization. And I found it unlikely that Kokabiel knew more than I did.


    And I wouldn''t pretend to not know they most likely had questions for us. It was entirely possible this was just a smoke screen so they could attempt to ''interrogate'' us withouting across as hostile to anyone else watching.


    They very well couldn''t just waltz right into Kyoto and demand answers.


    We had talked about all of that and were ready for just about everything.


    "Shall we get going?" Yasaka''s tails waved in the air as she pushed her haori to the side. "What''s our time like?"


    "If we head out now, it should be perfect." I replied.


    A grin made its way to her face. "Excellent. Let''s grab our two others then head over." Yasaka went and pushed the door open, two familiar faces were waiting on the other side.


    "Lady Yasaka." Both Soma and Aotab¨­ greeted at the same time.


    "Looking good." I held my arm out as Aotab¨­ smiled and bumped it with his own.


    "Haha, you think so?" The big guy smiled happily.


    "You look quite fetching, Aotab¨­." Yasaka grinned. "I''m sure Reika will enjoy it too~"


    The big guy flushed a little at Yasaka''s teasing.


    "Are you prepared, Soma." Sc¨¢thach patted the shoulder of the young-ish Tengu.


    "I will do what is required of me, Teacher." Soma bowed his head towards Sc¨¢thach.


    "Fufu. Stand up straighter, you have been taught by this Sc¨¢thach, you should be more proud. When we finish with this nonsense, I shall resume my teachings. I will have you up to what they refer to as ''Ultimate ss'' within the next few months." Sc¨¢thach dered.


    Surprisingly, the Tengu looked excited.


    And it may have been weird to see Soma here of all people. Frankly, he wasn''t the strongest of Yasaka''s Guards, even if he apparently had a good amount of potential to get a rise out of Sc¨¢thach. There were a few reasons though, the main being, the Youkai really did not like Devils.


    It wasn''t the hatred that they all had for the Fae now. While if someone shouted that there was a Faerie outside, I think everyone would grab a kitchen knife and run out after them. Devils were more or less tolerated inparison, but they didn''t want to associate with them at all.


    Lots and lots of bad blood over the years.


    The Elders that were present, none of them wished to go to a Peace Conference ''hosted'' by the Devils. So, Yasaka opted to bring Soma, and the secondary reason for that being ¨C he was the new owner of one ''Dimension Lost'' Sacred Gear.


    He had proven his loyalty several times at this point and Yasaka granted him it.


    On the very off chance that something happened, he would be very valuable to act as her guard ¨C ignoring all of us, that is.


    As Sc¨¢thach said, give him a few more months of training to master that thing and to hone himself more, and he would sitfortably in the Ultimate ss bracket.


    Otherwise, everyone was sitting back, in a state of wariness. Since so many of us were going to be away, they were buffering their patrols and lookouts. It would be the ''best'' time for us to be attacked, but we were also ready in case of an emergency.


    Some of my defenses had been set up around the city, enough to alleviate some pressure. Nurarihyon was also on high alert and they had spoken of some hypothetical situations, so it''s not like anything should take us by surprise.


    And most importantly, Kunou was safe.


    Perhaps the safest out of any of us.


    Her dear aunt Meridia decided she wanted to babysit.


    "Wilhelm, if you would." Yasaka asked.


    Well, it was time.


    Game face.


    And may as well add a little ir to our entrance.


    Taking Mirage out of my sheath, I swiped horizontally across the space infront of us, opening a ratherrge connection.


    [***]


    There was a tense air at our arrival.


    There were hundreds of unrecognizable faces scattered about.


    And the venue for this supposed talk was in the strangest ce. Why they wanted to host it in the middle of the destroyed Kuoh Academy, I had no idea.


    They hadn''t even bothered to clean anything up beyond this immediate area where everyone was gathered at.


    At the center, there was a table, with each side represented in their own corners and their own people behind them.


    The people here, they seemed to ease up once they realized who we were. I supposed it wasn''t unforgivable that they were all on edge. For most of them, they probably didn''t know that their leaders had been discussion something like this for a long time. Because I had no doubt in my mind that this whole thing was a long timeing.


    Yasaka though, she didn''t flinch or react at all. All the intense looks that were sent our way, she held her head up high, and started walking towards the only empty seat remaining. Everyone silently watched her as we followed, the only apanying sound were heels tapping against the concrete ground.


    She slid into her chair, one leg swung over the other, hands rested in herp. She smiled lightly; her gaze cast around the table. "It seems we''re thest to arrive." She said inly, knowing full well we werete.


    I noticed several Divine figures right off the bat, and I could guess who was who. Even if one of them wasn''t supposed to be here based on the list we got.


    The Angels as well, it''s my first time seeing a Non-Fallen Angel in person. The Holy Power they emitted was unmistakable.


    And finally, the Devils.


    Our eyes met.


    I don''t think either of us knew how to react.


    He looked way too simr to me, down to my eye color as well.


    My Father.


    "We were starting to wonder if you were going to show up." Azazel was the first to speak, a little jab in his words.


    "Oh, it took awhile to get ready. You know how it is, abruptly getting an Invitation dropped in ourp. It almost makes me feel like we were an afterthought." Yasaka shot back. "But I''m sure it was just an ident. Afterall, for something clearly this important to the several factions here, I''m sure they wouldn''t do something so tantly disingenuous."


    That made everyone around the table utterly silent and created a very awkward atmosphere.


    Well done, Yasaka.


    "Speaking of ¨C" She turned to look at a familiar face. "Sun Wukong, as pleasant as it is to see you again, I''m utterly surprised that you''re here. Which I certainly shouldn''t be, because at the very least, the letter I received beforehand specified who would be attending."


    Even the Monkey King scratched his head awkwardly.


    I doubted any of them expected Yasaka to go for the proverbial throat immediately upon sitting down.


    "Oh well, I can imagine things have been busy for everyone." She once more nced around the table. "Outsiders whispering in the Fomorian King''s Ear." As soon as the words left her mouth, a Godly presence sitting next to what was obviously the Angels radiated out. Yasaka didn''t even shudder as she met his gaze. "Or maybe they are the ones doing the same for the Giants of Muspelheim and Jotunheim." She nced at who I presumed was Odin. For some reason, he was drilling his eye into me, but his body twitched as soon as he registered what she said. "Or perhaps the Old Satan Faction members have simply made some rather unsavory friends, just as Kokabiel had." The Three Abrahamic factions now were staring at her intently and I could tell that Yasaka was relishing the moment. "I canpletely understand, as we''ve been dealing with problems of our own, which I don''t think I need to borate on. So it''s understandable, I suppose, that we were barely worth a second thought."


    Again, she made them utterly silent to the point where their indignation couldn''t even bring them to speak up.


    Who were we? Some backwater faction that inhabits a small corner of the world, and here Yasaka basically revealed that she knew quite a bit more than she should.


    And right now, she was basically looking down her nose at everyone else.


    Dere victory from the start.


    "So, what can we, the Youkai of Japan, help you with?"


    [***]


    Serafall Leviathan POV


    This bitch.


    She just struts right in after making a big scene, didn''t even bother with formalities, andid her proverbial junk on the table.


    Not to mention the people she brought. I can''t deny that she knew how to make an entrance, and they were totally rocking the look they went with, but it was still frustrating.


    The hell are we supposed to say to that? Can''t really call her out on it either, because she was definitely right, even if it was sarcasm.


    They were an afterthought because it was convenient. We just didn''t think they''d throw it in our faces. And the Sun Wukong thing wasn''t our fault, but I couldn''t say that either. That would mean acknowledging that we didn''t care about them in the first ce.


    There went almost all of our original ns right out the window.


    If she was speaking the truth, then somehow, the Youkai, of all factions, knew more than even we did. What was that about Fomorians? I didn''t even know they were acting up, but the way Lugh reacted, there was definitely something going on there!


    And even Odin reacted when she mentioned the Giants. I heard there was some noise over there, but nothing enough to make the All-Father get serious.


    Dang it.


    We heardst minute that Michael was bringing Lugh, so we were scrambling to figure that whole thing out. That was after Azazel threw Odin at us too, so we equally divided our attention between them, but it was very short notice.


    And like the day before, Odin said he was bringing Sun Wukong along as an outside party that was only spectating.


    And to top it all off, Zekram decided he wasing along with us.


    I had to resist the urge to scowl when I saw Yasaka meet my eyes. That knowing smile on her face was just.....aggravating.


    And my spell to scan them failed. I was sure I was stealthy about it, but it just sort of.....fizzled out when I tried to target them.


    And Sirzech''s bastard making doe eyes at Mama Gremory just seemed to make the whole thing that much more ridiculous.


    "How about we start with introductions." I put on my best smile and addressed the table.


    I would honestly be impressed at the audacity that Yasaka showed if it didn''t also p us right in the face.


    But now wasn''t the time to let us lose the advantage.


    "Fine, lets get these useless pleasantries out of the way." Odin snorted, though he seemed to have a noticeable interest in Wilhelm.


    No idea what that was about. Though Mama Gremory did mention that he summoned Yggdrasil when he rescued her.....the first time. Did it have something to do with that? Some kind of spell that left some lingering effect?


    Maybe the Old God was interested in that. He''s also a God of Magic in addition to everything else.


    "Oh, let me start!" I pped, trying to ease the tension with a bright smile. "I''m Serafall Leviathan, representing the Devils! I handle Foreign Affairs."


    I nudged Sirzechs as he seemed to be staring at a certain other redhead.


    Dammit, Sirzechs, get your head in the game. We literally had a talk about this yesterday. You said you weren''t going to cause a scene. Staring tantly is causing a scene.


    "Sirzechs Lucifer." He finally regained some semnce of appearance. He finally pulled his eyes away from his bastard, whom was scowling in his direction. "I handle Domestic affairs."


    Or in other words, he''s our big stick to wave around whenever the Old Satan Faction got uppity. Which.....may need to happen again if what Yasaka implied was true.


    ...crap, we''re going to have to get information from the Faction that despises us.


    "Ajuka Beelzebub. I handle the Research and Development for various fields." Ajuka boringly stated.


    Even Sirzechs nced at thest ''member'' of our gathering. Well, the ''member'' who would be allowed to speak. We had plenty of other Devils sitting quietly behind us. And they were thoroughly taught that they were not going to open their mouths unless we told them to.


    Grayfia was to the side, as she always was and no one would question her presence. Okita was also sitting near the others. In the worse case scenario, it would be good to have more help defending the kids.


    Speaking of kids, Rias and Sona were both there, along with most of Rias''s peerage, and Sona''s queen. Basically, everyone that had been involved Kokabiel''s suicidal bout of idiocy.


    Of course, that meant Mama Gremory too.


    As funny as it was to make fun of Sirzechs about her and Wilhelm being a thing, it really did make things awkward.


    Like.....how were we supposed to handle her? Normally, it would have been great to use her rtionship to bring the Half-Devil to our side, but we couldn''t exactly pressure the Matriarch of the Gremory family. And that also meant we had to be careful what we said around her.....


    "I am Zekram Bael." The old coot raised his voice, drawing every eye to himself. "I lead a faction amongst the Devils known as the Great King Faction."


    Still had no idea what hidden agendas he had. This guy was always so hard to read.


    Atleast he was being supportive of us. It wasn''t a secret that he didn''t side with the Old Satans, seeing that they were leading us to extinction. But he also didn''t always have interests that aligned with ours.


    He usually wouldn''t step into the spotlight like this, which made it even stranger.


    And I could guess the reason why.


    A certain red-haired boy that''s been causing us nothing but headaches.


    "We also brought along the ones involved in the attack by Kokabiel" It was my turn again. "In case anyone has any questions, or you want to hear it from their mouths."


    It would be a good experience for them too.


    "Are we next?" An Angelic voice touched everyone''s ears. Golden hair, shining and pristine aura. Just being near him honestly made me ufortable, just from the Holy Power that he possessed. "I am Archangel Michael, representing Heaven." And he was always unfailingly polite.


    "Hello everyone, I''m Archangel Gabriel." The most innocent voice apanied one of the most beautiful faces I''d ever seen. It was absurd that such an innocent woman had thatscivious body.


    "And I am the me of God!" Thest of the Archangels present let out a roar, his Holy mes enveloping his fist as it hit the table. Thankfully, we had anticipated something like this and made the table very durable. "I am the Archangel Uriel!"


    Something told me that he wasn''t that keen on this whole thing.


    Couldn''t put my finger on why.


    But the res he sent our way didn''t bode well.


    Then again, Uriel was always one of the more vicious Angels.


    Michael also began introducing a few more people, some members of the Church. It wasn''t unexpected, while Heaven rules over the Church, the Church often acted with autonomy. Often to Heaven''s own annoyance.


    It was important and everyone, but one person amongst the Church took my full attention.


    "And this is Vasco Strada, second only to the Pope." Thest man was introduced.


    He was massive.


    I knew who he was, I''d seen him before. And I always doubted he was human every time I saw him. Because I''ve never seen a human give off that kind of aura before.


    He was strong, and I didn''t even know if I could beat him in a fight.


    The main cast were introduced, and he made an offhanded remark about the legion of Angels brought along. Not that we could fault him for that, things were shaky as they were.


    Once he finished, eyes turned once more towards the God that had apanied the Angels.


    "I, Lugh, God of Light, represent the Tuath De Danann." The First of our Godly representatives introduced themselves. "We have had an agreement for many years, so I was more than willing to apany them to such talks. And it seems that I also have a new vested interest here." His eyes briefly flickered to Yasaka, making me frown for a moment.


    However, his gaze was almostpletely locked onto a different woman.


    She stood behind Yasaka, radiant Red Eyes, and a lithe body. A red, Demonic Spear, held over her shoulder as confidence shined in her eyes.


    Yeah....this was really going to getplicated quickly.


    "My turn." Azazel''s voice cut through my thoughts as I shook off my own annoyance. "Hey everyone~ I''m Azazel, Governor General of the Grigori. I have my secretary Penemue, and my second inmand, Baraqiel, here with me. Along with my own group that are sitting off to the side." Azazel''s introduction was rather casual, but that was normal for him.


    As much as he liked to act nonchnt, he was very calcting and intelligent. If he thought this was the best way to go about things, then I wouldn''t get hung up on his flippant attitude.


    "Passing over to you, ol'' One eye."


    Odin was someone to always be wary of. He was technically retired, yet here he was representing the Norse Faction. He had a old cap on his head, a monocle over his missing eye and a weather look about him. Not to mention thatrge stick he held in his arms, presumably a walking stick, but that was fooling no one.


    Odin was known for a certain spear, and I doubted he would go anywhere without it.


    But surprisingly, in this moment, Odin looked...lost.


    Which was strange to see on a God, most of all someone like him.


    It was if he was staring off into space, only to suddenlye back to attention once his name was called.


    The Old God huffed in annoyance. "I''m Odin, this is my nagging Valkyrie, Rossweisse."


    "....Well, I guess I should introduce myself even if I''m not participating." The Monkey King began only to be cut off by Odin, who mmed his stick on the ground.


    "Everyone knows who you are." Odin grunted. "But more importantly." He raised his wrinkled hand up, finger extended towards Wilhelm. "Why do you have my blessing, boy."


    [***]


    Odin POV


    I ignored that annoying prattling the young''uns were going on about.


    It was entertaining, mostly, but there was something else the held my attention. I knew that the boy was going to be something interesting, the Old Monkey said so and he''s rarely wrong.


    But......why did he have my blessing?


    It took me longer than I''d like to admit before I realized it. Maybe I was distracted by the other things he had.


    "Not to mention your Divinity" I eyed him. "Don''t know how that''s possible. But how in the zes did you get my blessing!"


    And it was a strong one at that. When was thest time I blessed someone with that much strength? Centuries atleast.


    I would also point out the Runes that were carved into his soul, but thess next to him could answer that question easily enough. She was one of the few I passed those down to. Though, her being so tantly alive and standing right there was a whole other question. Even if she looked a lot different than I remember, that presence of hers was unmistakable.


    And there was something off about her. Off about several of the other girls standing over there. The Blonde one, the Purple Haired once with the nice rack. And her as well.


    Why did they feel simr to the Einherjar back home?


    That damn clothes he was wearing were annoying. But they couldn''t stop me, and I needed to figure this out. His Divinity shielded him much from my sight, but I could still see enough.


    Ddraig was using his soul like an apartment. He had Divinity that was strikingly simr to my own Son''s. The Storm raged within it, but contained well enough to show how well he had it under control. It wasn''t something that was haphazardly thrown on somehow. It was a part of him now, intertwined with his entire being.


    "So, it''s true. You really do have Divinity." That brat Lughmented.


    "Bah, who cares about that. I wanna know why he has my blessing!"


    "What''s the big deal, did you not remember giving it to him or something." The Azazel brat spoke up.


    "I haven''t given anyone my blessing in centuries, you damn crow."


    "Maybe you were too drunk to remember?" The brat himself answered finally.


    Cheeky brat. "Funny, I''ve never actually been that drunk before." I narrowed my eye at him.


    The corners of his lips curled up. "All I know is that the God Odin gave me his blessing."


    And I could find no falsehoods in his words.


    He was telling the truth and it made no sense.


    Now that I looked at him again, my blessing was...strange. I couldn''t quite put my finger on it, but it felt off.


    Well, there was one way to check. Any blessing I''ve given, I can easy take away. I simply had to reach out and ¨C


    I blinked.


    It rejected me.


    I knew damn well that it''s my blessing!


    But it rejected me!


    A blessing of mine, that clearly wasn''t mine.....


    Suddenly, several more things began to make sense. I had an inkling of what was going on, and the idea even made me hesitate to voice it. Was I merely overthinking things?


    What were the chances? It sounded crazy in my head, but...many things seemed to line up now.


    A woman who should have been dead. A Sword that took the name of an already existing sword. That other one who wielded Indra''s weapon.


    .....I needed to think about this some more.


    ***


    Wilhelm POV


    It was pointless to try and lie to Odin.


    And I doubted he would take a ''no'' for an answer on this one, considering it was his blessing in the first ce.


    So, I simply told the truth.


    However, he went.....silent for some reason, looking really lost in thought.


    "Should I go then?" Yasaka decided to break the new silence. "I''m Yasaka, and I will be representing the collective Youkai of Japan."


    "And what about your panions." Azazel leaned forward.


    "Hmm? Oh mypanions. Well, they''re here supporting me, don''t worry. I will be handling the talks as the Leader of the Youkai." Yasaka had a grin on her face as Azazel twitched in response. "Unless, there was some kind of ulterior motive in inviting us? Or are you simply going to interrogate all the people I''ve brought, much like what''s happened already." She red towards Odin.


    The Norse God rolled his eye, but didn''t respond.


    "We''re just curious about those involved in what happened, Lady Yasaka." The Archangel Michael smiled warmly towards us.


    It was kinda difficult to be snippy when he gave off such a genuine aura.


    "Very well." Yasaka looked as if she was acquiescing to his request. As if we weren''t going to do so anyways. She held her hand up, gesturing towards Soma. "This is my Guard, Soma, the newest owner of Dimension Lost."


    The reaction that this new information got out of most people present was amusing to see.


    Certain Sacred Gears were called Longinus for a reason.


    And I took a small bit of pleasure seeing Azazel pout.


    "And from Nurarihyon''s side." She gestured towards Aotab¨­.


    "I''m Third seat under Lord Nurarihyon ¨C Aotab¨­." The Large Youkai was very brief in his introduction, but it came off well enough.


    Yasaka nced at us, and we were up.


    "I am Artoria Pendragon." Artoria was the first to step up. "I am representing the Pendragon Family." She held a hand upon the pommel of her sword, earning some res from the Church members.


    "Rin Tohsaka, Student of Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg." Rin''s introduction was brief as I think she felt a little intimidated. She was the one who was adamant abouting, and I couldn''t deny her. She had always been helping and threw her lot in with us just as much. Not to mention, she was the Master of Artoria, she had every right to be here with her.


    But the name drop of Gramps raised some eyebrows. None of them knew the origin of my name, to hear someone else bearing it, well, it probably opened up some questions.


    "Hello, I''m Jinn, spirit of Knowledge." Jinn introduced herself. And honestly I''m wondering if she was capable of feeling intimidated. Being stared at by both Gods and Devils, yet her cheerful attitude didn''t change.


    And it was obvious her ¨C my ¨C staff was drawing some mild attention as well. I wondered how many here could recognize its divine origin?


    "I am Minamoto-no-Raikou." My wonderful Servant said very bluntly. Her name wasn''t exactly unknown, but it was unlikely that it made its way out of Youkai territory. And I could guess that most assumed her a descendant or spiritual inheritor like those that seemed to pop up every now and then.


    She also didn''t borate further, but she also got quite a bit of attention. Especially from the Godly guests, and specifically, the Monkey king was looking at her in astonishment.


    Sc¨¢thach spun her spear before mming it on the ground. "I hail from the Land of Shadows, conquering it as its queen. I am Sc¨¢thach."


    Once more, there was utter surprise shing across many faces. I think ''knowing'' and actually hearing it from the mouth of the woman herself was somethingpletely different.


    The God ¨C Lugh looked the most conflicted. And it was understandable considering what Pantheon and part of the world he hailed from.


    And finally it was my turn.


    Hundreds of eyes were now on me and it felt strange.


    I looked around, and my eyes fell once more on someone that brought about many negative emotions from me.


    As I told Raikou, I couldn''t help but still feel some of those even if I knew I wasn''t as powerless and insecure I was those years ago.


    I had been through a lot.


    I had grown, I had gained my own family.


    I hade those I love now.


    So, I looked right at him. My gaze met his own and I didn''t back down.


    The one who had condemned me to a ruined childhood filled with loneliness and depression. Who expected me to simply live within the confines of a box he set up so I was out of sight and out of mind.


    I''d never been very self-conscious about my name, but strangely, right now, I felt inordinately confident in myself.


    It was a deration.


    "I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg."


    And seeing him frown, it just made me all kinds of happy.


    "Well then." Yasaka took the reins back. "Shall we get down to business?"


    [***]


    Part one of four for the peace conference. Sorry for thete chapter, this is for the weekend.


    If you want to read 7 chatpers ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 322 - 292 Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 322: Chapter 292 Part 2</h4>


    Yasaka POV


    I was really proud of Wilhelm in this moment. I knew all too well that he was experiencing quite a few emotions right now, yet he kept himself calm and collected, at least on the surface. The man who had been a thorn in his heart for years was now sitting only a few seats away, yet Wilhelm didn''t make any overt gestures and barely reacted to his presence.


    They were simply ring at one another after he introduced himself.


    Good, with that, the Devils were being rather quiet. Sirzechs Lucifer was always going to be someone difficult to deal with. Strength spoke much louder than most other things in our world, having him stay silent would only help us.


    Being cowed by the ''son'' he decided to push to the side and forgot about.


    I even took a nce at Grayfia Lucifuge ¨C the wife of Lucifer ¨C who briefly looked like she sucked a lemon. The haughty maid really didn''t know how to react. I could imagine she never liked Wilhelm, however he was also the one who saved her child. The conflicting emotions must be running rampant with that one.


    The others too.


    They all gathered their own attention from the interested parties.


    I don''t think I managed to stop the inevitable questions that woulde up, but I managed to stymy the tide of interrogations, which was what we wanted.


    We just had to keep the conversation going along a path we wanted. And with that we could ¨C


    "How are you alive?" The Head God of the Celtic Pantheon seemed to ignore everything else, instead opting to stare intently at Sc¨¢thach. "I watched you die, I saw your corpse and we even performed the burial rites. You were dead."


    And I had almost forgotten I was dealing with Gods here. Since when did they y by our rules ormon sense?


    Sc¨¢thach''s expression didn''t change, but I felt I knew her well enough at this point to know she was annoyed. There were a few slight shifts in her demeanor that noted such things. Having watched her train many of my people at this point, I could guess when she was about to give someone punishment, and this was a close match to those times.


    Then again, I couldn''t imagine what she felt when facing Lugh. He was supposed to be the Chief God of where she was born and lived for so many years.


    Someone she would probably acknowledge and revere in some regard.


    The Father of someone she cherished many years ago.


    The ¨C


    "Your face reminds me of that stupid look that Setanta always had."


    Or I could be reading into it incorrectly.


    Words as sharp as her spear, she made the God of Light unable to speak.


    And an awkward silence ensued.


    I suppose that''s one way to shut down the question.


    "...you really are her...." The Celtic god whispered, almost in resignation. He didn''t seem off put by thement at all. Though he visibly deted, the windpletely taken out of his sails.


    And that somehow worked. I supposed I should have more trust in Sc¨¢thach to not do anything foolish. She was much older than I am and more experienced with her own corner of the world. Her wisdom wasn''t something I can always anticipate.


    It was hard to gauge what The Celtic God was thinking after that. Based on the information we currently had ¨C courtesy of Hades and the amazing man I call my lover, we do know that the Celtic Pantheon was sort of split on Sc¨¢thach''s existence. So, whether he was happy or displeased with her ''emergence'' was up in the air.


    Truly, the abrupt ''alliance'' that Wilhelm somehow created with the Greek God really gave us a lot of cards to work with. He had knowledge that stretched far around the world.


    Without it, we would have been very far on the back foot.


    "I would like to know the agenda for this gathering. The singr letter we received only a few days ago was...cking." I addressed the table reminding them of their failure in proper etiquette. It was good to keep them in an awkward mentality.


    And it would also force them to move forward while they were still lost in their own thoughts.


    The Green-Haired Devil cleared his throat. "We were originally gathering here to broker a Peace Agreement between the Three Factions." He sat up a little straighter. "However, as an.....unforeseen circumstance arose, it has been extended to beyond what we originally intended with several others pulled in as well."


    A quick nce around the room could easily deduce what he meant by that.


    That was a little interesting, so they never intended for The Gods to be a part of it? Maybe they too were caught off guard then, it could exin the abruptness of how this was assembled.


    Not that I would give them any ck.


    "One of many messes we''ve had to clean up of yours from over the years. How is this one any different?" I offhandedly mentioned, making Ajuka react ever so slightly.


    "I would hardly call this our mess." He said stoically.


    "The first time, a significant sub faction amongst the Devils kidnapped two important individuals. Who was it that rescued them again? And while I agree that you aren''t held ountable for what Kokabiel does ¨C" I shot a nce at Azazel. "He specifically targeted several more important individuals amongst your faction to restart the war between yourselves in an attempt to engulf the entire world."


    Were they really going to try and argue that they didn''t hold any responsibility here?


    "Hmph." Zekram Bael grunted. "And how many involved were your Youkai? You seem to have a high opinion of yourselves when you have not once been involved. The one who was involved has more connection to us than you."


    I narrowed my eyes at Zekram Bael. One of the oldest Devils in existence, the progenitor of the Bael Blood from which my lover hailed.


    I was expecting someone to push this idea, that they weren''t a part of my faction, but I didn''t expect it to be this man.


    "Oh my, you''re right." The corners of my lips curled up. "Clearly, my Lover, the father of my daughter, whom lives in Kyoto, has more connection with you. Remind me again, how many times has he visited your underworld? How many members of his family has he ever met, hmm?"


    "Sinking your lecherous ws into a confused child ¨C"


    I had to hold myself back from reacting to his provocation, thankfully, someone else picked the absolute perfect moment to shut him up.


    I felt a substantial amount of power flow out as it focused down on the old Devil.


    It wasn''t just him, everyone else tensed ever so slightly.


    "Choose your words carefully." Wilhelm shifted his re from his birth father to the Bael Progenitor.


    Perfect timing.


    Always so protective of us~


    Can''t say it didn''t feel good. Especially since I''m annoyed at what Zekram Bael implied. While...technically true if one looked at it from a single side, it''s far from the whole truth. I wouldn''t deny that I did my best to seduce him, but it was entirely mutual in that regard, after he saw I wanted more than a fling.


    "Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the concept of recruitment without the contingency of very added on?" I retorted, keeping my tone even while Wilhelm''s power receded.


    "oooh, shots fired." Azazel, the Fallen Angel Leader, chuckled from his end of the table, earning a re from the Devil Faction members.


    "The Evil Pieces are not very. Every person who joins a peerage does so willingly." Ajuka said very sternly. "It''s illegal by ourws to force someone into it."


    I raised an eyebrow and locked eyes with the Devil Leader. "I have a list of every Youkai forcibly taken since those things were created."


    Who was he trying to fool? Well, it''s probably something they had to be vocal about, otherwise they''d have to acknowledge how many fuck ups the backbone of their society created.


    "Really Ajuka, that''s a losing argument there. Everyone one of us can point out examples of that being tantly false." Azazel shook his head.


    The Green-Haired devil sucked in a deep breath. "There were admittedly some mishaps when they were first introduced, and we had yet to create proper oversight. Since then, they have been heavily regted."


    Hmm.....time to twist the knife?


    I didn''t want to rock the boat too much, it''s beneficial for everyone that the Three Factions stop being so aggressive, but tt''s the best opportunity.


    "Heavily regted you say?" I spoke up again, as once more, attention fell on me. Even the two Gods present were opting to stay silent as we bickered between ourselves. I doubted they overly cared for our ''mortal'' arguments, merely amusement for them if nothing else.


    However, Lugh sported aplicated expression as he kept stealing nces at Sc¨¢thach. Odin though, Odin concerned me. He had a very serious look on his face as he stared intently at all of us. But especially when he looked at Wilhelm, as if trying to uncover some sort of secret.


    I was worried that maybe we had been discovered. Because everyone finding out about Wilhelm''s...ability, would be unpleasant. How many other beings in the world would covet such a unique power?


    We were forced to walk a fine line here, to both reveal ourselves, but also keep back anything of real value/importance.


    "Such things are found quickly and punished heavily." Ajuka reiterated, unsure of where I was going with this.


    "Excuse me if that sounds ridiculous considering what your rtive, Diodora, has done."


    There was a pause with Ajuka, he certainly didn''t expect me to bring up his cousin, but he also looked nk. "....What does my cousin have to do with it?"


    I blinked, ''appearing'' surprised at his ignorance. "You really didn''t know?"


    Ajuka adopted a frown. "I fail to see what my cousin has to do with this meeting."


    An awkward cough sounded across the table. "I agree, I believe we are here to discuss more important matters regarding ceased hostilities between our people." The Archangel Michael interjected.


    "My apologies, I thought the cousin of one of the Satan kidnapping the Church''s Holy Maidens and forcing his Evil Pieces on them before he forces himself on them was a matter worth bringing up."


    "Aw shit." Azazel seemed to say it best as both the Angels and the Devils went stiff at the usation.


    Surprisingly, it was the veryrge man standing behind the Archangels that had the most immediate reaction. His own power started seep out, a contradiction to his very gentle and polite tone. "Lord Michael. Would you please ask for rification." The words were very light, yet they rumbled through the air.


    Vasco Strada spoke and everyone was forced to listen.


    Even both Lugh and Odin looked surprised by the man''s sheer weight in his words. While Sun Wukong looked rather impressed.


    It really made me question if he was truly human. I guess he''s called the strongest Human for a reason.


    "Fear not." Michael narrowed his eyes towards the Devils before turning back towards me. "I too have questions regarding this usation. I assume you have more evidence than just your words?"


    "This is nonsense." Ajuka interjected, though he hesitated ever so slightly. I think even he may have realized something was more....remiss with his cousin than he previously thought.


    If it was some random Devil they could easily sweep it under the rug, throw him to the Heaven Faction to appease them. However, it was the cousin of a Satan.


    "I am inclined to agree." Michael surprisingly also was hesitant to ept me at face value, though I expected something like this. "I''m curious to know how you came across this information, when even we are unaware. Especially since you would have no reason to look into such a thing."


    "Azazel." I didn''t react under their intense gazes as I turned towards the Fallen Angel.


    "Oh no" He waved his arms infront of himself. "Don''t you dare drag me into this mess, I''m already in hot water after what Kokabiel did."


    I rolled my eyes at his antics. "You have a recently emunicated Nun possessing the Twilight Healing under your purview, do you not?"


    The Fallen Angel cursed, and while I didn''t know whichnguage he used, it was clear in his meaning.


    Thebination of Hades'' knowledge, and the insights that Wilhelm held, if scattered. Otherwise, the missing pieces were easy enough to fill in while we were makingst minute preparations.


    "Azazel." Michael raised an eyebrow.


    "Look, I had no idea, alright? All I know was that one of your Holy Maidens was emunicated for ''healing a devil'' that literally dropped on her doorstep. And like the good little Catholic girl she was, she helped him without asking questions. Your people threw a fit and kicked her out because they wanted to hide the fact that she could heal a devil with one of the old man''s Sacred Gears. I, of course, snatch her up, Sacred Gear and everything."


    The Archangel looked to process the information, furrowing his brow. "I recall one of our Holy Maidens being emunicated recently, but that was not the information I was provided." He turned towards one of the Cardinals standing next to Vasco Strada. "I was told she was consorting with Devils, not performing duties that even Father would smile towards."


    The Cardinal Michael locked gazes with seemed to cower and nearly jumped out of his skin once Vasco Strada ced a hand on his shoulder.


    "Was her name Asia Argento?" The Strongest human asked.


    "Yeah....that''s her name." Azazel sighed.


    "I see." Vasco Strada sighed. "I met her once, she was a very kind young woman. Is she doing well?"


    "She is..." Azazel looked towards the woman at his side who whispered in his ear, and he looked as if he remembered something. "She''s in school right now, living normally in France. She helped me with researching that specific Sacred Gear, and I paid her well enough that she doesn''t have problems. And she gets paid whenever we need her help. Though, weirdly, she almost got sent to Kuoh here. I think Kokabiel tried to intercept her recruitment? I guess because Twilight Healing is a very potent Healing Sacred Gear." Azazel shrugged. "I only noticed because of all the...stuff that was happening here at the time, so I quickly vetoed that decision."


    The Large man nodded thankfully towards the Fallen Angel.


    The atmosphere turned awkward again.


    While I didn''t specifically say it was Ajuka''s cousin, the insinuation was enough to put doubt in everyone''s heads. And it would be easily verified now that there are multiple sources to question.


    "We will be investigating this matter." Michael stated, leaving absolutely no room for rebuttal from the Devils.


    "And we''ll look into it from our end too." Sirzechs Lucifer had to bow his head slightly in response.


    I highly doubted this newfound information would shatter any prediscussed arrangements between them and it didn''t have as much as an immediate impact as I had hoped.


    Oh well, it was well enough as is.


    I just needed to drive a small wedge between them and prop ourselves up as knowledgeable for everyone else. Or, rather, prove it based on what I said before.


    "It seems we''ve veered off topic." I took the reins once more, even though I was the one who pulled attention away from the immediate talks of peace. The look I got from the Devils was amusing. "We were discussing the need for this gathering? I believe I''ve yet to hear the reason we were invited."


    [***]


    Archangel Michael POV


    An unfortunate turn of events.


    I was not blind to the fact that the Church often took matters into their own hands. And often to the detriment of our own interests. Father above, I wished I could just fly down and take hold of everything myself. Even with how overworked we are, with how hard it is to use Father''s system and attempt to maneuver it, it would leave us with less headaches. But it was always Father''s will that Humans lead themselves, they can look to us in times of crisis, and to handle matters beyond what they''re expected, such as with other Pantheons, but they have to be able to make their own way, both good and bad.


    I did not know who they spoke about until I heard the name. I recalled it because I remembered her prayers. Through the millions upon millions of prayers that I try to shift through, among them are those who shine brightly with true sincerity and light.


    Asia Argento was called a Holy Maiden for good reason.


    I should have looked into it further.


    I could make all the excuses, but it was my fault that we lost such a faithful believer. Atleast she was taken care of from what Azazel spoke about. And I did not believe he would lie about such a thing.


    I would further ask Azazel for details once we had concluded everything here. I had a responsibility to do that much at a minimum.


    And we would certainly be looking into this usation. For something to have been happening for an extended period of time, I was doubtful that a young devil would have managed everything by himself.


    I did not wish to believe that Ajuka Beelzebub had a hand in the affair, but for the moment, I would remain skeptical. There had to be other parties helping in the shadows.


    We would proceed with how we decided before. If something dide up, we will handle it appropriately.


    As loathed as I was to admit, we are not faring well without Father. Every day, it seemed his system fell further and further into disrepair. How many more centuries until it failed altogether? Sacred Gears were appearing in Non-Humans. No more True Saints born. Kokabiel was able to force a connection ¨C albeit temporary and we were told he harmed himself substantially in doing so. What piece will break next?


    If nothing was done, our enemies will eventually tear down our walls and march on us without recourse.


    We had to secure a future, even if it was one we were dissatisfied with. While the modern Devils were not their namesakes, we still did not see eye to eye in most matters.


    An intrinsic contradiction to our beings.


    I only hoped that Father would not me me for the choices I am making.


    I think he would be more satisfied with these onespared to those we warred with so many years ago. Even not, I would dly take whatever punishment he gave me if it meant he once more sat upon his throne.


    When Azazel brought up the idea of adding other factions to these discussions, I was hesitant, but I think it was the correct choice.


    Just as the Youkai leader said, there had been many...messes that had been cleaned up by outside factions. "Based on recent events, we believe there has been an esction beyond what a single Faction can handle." I spoke up towards her. "We are seeking peace amongst ourselves; however, we wish to treatise something more formal amongst everyone here tobat such future urrences."


    Serafall Leviathan perked up, taking it as an opportunity as well. "Yeah, what he said. Everyone is usually pretty strict about Faction boundaries amongst us, but with what happened with Kokabiel, it''s obvious that our ''enemies'' aren''t respecting those lines anymore, so we can''t really do that either."


    "Yeah....don''t know how Kokabiel was able to make friends like that." Azazel alsomented. "We should probably look into ¨C"


    "The Khaos Brigade." Yasaka interjected.


    "Wait, what?" Serafall looked confused. "Why would the Old Satan Faction have contact with a God?"


    I suppose it''s obvious from the report that the helper Kokabiel had was Divine in nature. But I''m also curious about this.


    "Who said the Khaos Brigade is headed by Devils?" The Youkai Leader raised an eyebrow.


    "From the reports we received, and our own investigations, the Khaos Brigade is an organization created by the Old Satan Faction." Sirzechs Lucifer replied.


    "That''s merely one faction of their organization. Which is indeed headed by Devils, but they are not the ''leaders''." Yasaka replied.


    "You are implying that this Khaos Brigade is led by Gods." The All Father seemed to take an interest. I did not know what forced aplicated look on his face previously, be he looked to have snapped out of it.


    And I was keenly interested myself at this new information.


    "More or less." Yasaka nodded. "Well, there is one Devil they consider their ''peer'' amongst themselves. And I''m sure you know who I''m talking about." She nced towards the Devils.


    The current Lucifer frowned. "Rizevim Lucifer."


    "So that''s what he''s been up to." Azazel sighed.


    Lucifer''s first child.


    Our.....nephew.


    I never knew what to think about him. He never moved and did anything overtly, but I could never call him a ''good'' person. He seemed to be content to just disappear and not cause any problems in public.


    However, there was a much more pressing concern, and I think everyone shared the same question. "How do you know this?" I asked.


    The Fox Youkai smiled wide. "We have a good informationwork."


    The All-Father snorted in annoyance. "As if it was something so simple."


    "I have to agree." Lugh added. "You''re saying that you know about this secretive organizationprised of Gods, when we don''t know about it? You said something before, but this is far beyond the scope of what I first assumed."


    "That''s correct." Yasaka said inly.


    And the way she didn''t hesitate, it gave me a bad feeling. I was.....opting to believe her for now. And that just made it worse, because apparently there were Gods allying with each other who were intent on some nefarious scheme.


    "You understand, we have quite a few questions?" I asked.


    "By all means." She didn''t look perturbed one bit.


    No, she had expected everything thus far.


    She has been leading us at her own pace. She was much too confident to be simply lying.


    There were other matters I wanted to bring up, but this took precedence for the moment.


    "Do you have evidence to support what you said?"


    "Kyoto was attacked not long ago." She replied. "A group of Humans, wielders of Sacred Gears, descendants and Spirit Inheritors. They called themselves the ''Hero Faction''. They were a faction of the Khaos Brigade."


    "I heard about that, but I don''t know the details." That exined some things if true.


    "I looked into it more." Azazel perked up. "Specifically, the Sacred Gears you got ahold of. I didn''t really think of anything past that. Dimension Lost, Variant Detonation, Night Reflect, some I didn''t have a chance to identify, and ¨C The True Longinus."


    Yes....those were in the reports.


    Ignoring Father''s Spear for the moment, the others were dangerous themselves and theynded in the hands of a smaller faction. Now, one of Lady Yasaka''s Guards wielded a weapon capable of ying gods.


    "You forgot the Demonic Swords used from the Sigurd Project from the Holy Church. The project that was created to essentially clone the namesake to wield the swords without a problem. And of course, the one who wielded all of them had a very powerful version of Twice Critical." Yasaka nced towards us.


    I winced, closing my eyes as soon as the words left her mouth. I felt a pressure descend upon us and I did not need to look up to know who it came from.


    "Odin." Lugh spoke up on our behalf.


    "Exin."


    "Heaven had no hand in it." I quickly exined as the pressure eased up.


    "It''s true" Gabriel said quietly, my sister looking like she was about to break out in tears upon remembering it. "Once we found out, we stopped it and punished everyone involved."


    The God stared as both of us intensely before the pressurepletely let up.


    "Hand them over." Odin grunted. "All the ones involved. They will be handed over to us to deal with."


    ".....I will see it done." I nodded.


    If it would appease Odin, then I would do it. They knew what they did was wrong, and they showed no remorse, only made excuses or justifications for their actions.


    "And the swords, which are you talking about? There have been many that have been missing for centuries. I thought they were lost to time or destroyed, but apparently, they were kept hidden by another faction." He sent one more re towards us.


    "Balmung, Nothung, Gram, Tyrfing, Dainsleif." Yasaka listed off.


    Odin took a deep breath. "On behalf of the Norse Pantheon, we would like them returned."


    "The Youkai of Japan are more than willing to negotiate." Yasaka smiled. "However, Gram has found a new wielder and I am not able to retrieve it."


    "Gram?" Odin furrowed his brow. "That was one of the more temperamental swords. And you say it found a new owner, willingly?"


    "That is correct."


    Odin pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. "Far be it for me to demand it back if someone tamed it. Just that alone earns my respect enough to not say anything. However, if you have the others and they''re just sitting in your storage...."


    "It''s as you say, the others haven''t found users and we''ve tried multiple times." Yasaka replied. "We would be more than willing to hand them over. The Youkai of Japan wish for a harmonious rtionship with the Norse."


    Odin snorted. "I''m sure, you vixen."


    "L-Lord Odin." The Valkyrie next to him whined.


    "Calm down you brat, it was apliment." The Old God rolled his eye. "Damn Fox has been leading us around by the nose since she sat down."


    Which was undeniably true at this point.


    It really made us have to reevaluate our previous conceptions about the Youkai faction. She provided a logical exnation for her knowledge on the khaos Brigade, but my instincts told me that there was a lot she held back.


    What else do they know?


    There are many secrets around them as ofte, and the more we learned, the more confusing it became.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    Yasaka had been handling everything amazingly.


    Just as Odin said, she''s been setting the pace and leading the talks in our favor.


    I guessed I''d have to thank Hades for the stuff he told us. He really had a lot of dirt on other factions. Without it, we would have been in a much worse position. Already, we seemed to have the beginnings of a deal with the Norse. It also sounded almost as if they were writing us a nk check.


    "We have some questions about your.....affiliations, as well." The Archangel looked towards us.


    "Our affiliations?" Yasaka questioned.


    "Several times, you have aided the Devils. Not to mention, you were allies during the Great War." Michael exined.


    "Ah, I can see what you''re saying. I suppose from your perspective, it looks like we have some alliance of some sort. While it''s true we''ve have a tenuous agreement still on paper, I wouldn''t call us allies anymore." Yasaka replied.


    Hmm, that Serafall winced a little once she said that.


    "Would you exin how you came to be involved then?" Michael asked once more.


    "That''s eptable." Yasaka nced up at me and I knew it was my turn.


    "Some time ago, Venna Gremory and Millicas Gremory were kidnapped by the Khaos Brigade. At that point in time, they were still unknown to everyone else and they resided within the Dimension Gap. Since we knew about them from the attack previously, I decided to lend a hand." I stated.


    "Forgive me but, I was told you had no association with the Devils. Why did you ''lend a hand''?" Michael inquired.


    If it were someone else, I would maybe think they were being intentionally obtrusive. But I think he genuinely was skeptical if I had a rtionship with the Devils. I could see from his perspective, twice I intervened when the Devil faction was threatened in some regard. And my heritage didn''t make matters any more simple.


    "That''s correct. It was more of a whim than anything. I suppose I wanted to meet the Half Brother I had only recently found out about. And knowing he was just a child, I felt obligated to help."


    I didn''t feel need to overly exin everything.


    "And the attack by Kokabiel?"


    "At that point, my rtionship with Venna had.....deepened. I gave her a method of reach out to me in an emergency, which she triggered, and I came as soon as I could."


    "Something I''ve been curious about." Azazel picked this moment to also jump in. "Why you and not one of the Satans? They''re all more than capable of handling Kokabiel."


    Asking a question he already knew the answer to. He wasn''t even being subtle about it. I''m sure he wasn''t aware of the specific details, but I''m sure he wanted to know my answer.


    "She couldn''t." I said simply. "Loki set up a.....unique method of scrambling the localized spatial coordinates."


    "There''s no proof it was Loki." Odin grumbled very loudly.


    I guess admitting it was one of his own would be detrimental to his own cause.


    However.... "I have someone who disagrees."


    "He wielded Divine Fire and Frost with the ability to escape me." Sc¨¢thach glowered towards the Old God. "Do you call me a liar?"


    Odin huffed but didn''t respond.


    "Loki is also amongst the Gods involved with the Khaos Brigade that we know about." Yasaka added.


    "You have a list?" Lugh asked.


    "Indeed." Yasaka smiled brightly.


    "As curious as I am about that, I want to know what Loki did that made it so no one could contact outside of the area." Azazel interjected. "You called it a unique method."


    "There are two normal methods. The first is to scramble the localized space, making contact and teleportation difficult and prone to failure for the inexperienced. The second is to seal the space, not letting anything inside or outside." I exined.


    "None of us are green here, kiddo. We all know our ABC''s." Azazel snorted.


    I rolled my eyes at hisment but continued. "Each have their own strengths and weaknesses with some variations of customization to fit the individual who casts it, but generally, they''re rtively simr. What Loki did....he did the equivalent of setting up a sort of Maze."


    "Soundsplicated." Azazel hummed.


    "That''s understating it. To do something like that...." Ajuka muttered. "A God of Magic indeed."


    "Hmph." Odin grunted. "It sounds like a trick he would be good at. But that just begs the question, how were you able to ovee it if it was Loki? There are some things even I can''t beat him at when ites to Magic."


    "I''m inclined to believe that Dimension Lost was used." Azazel tapped his chin. "Cause I can''t think of another way, honestly. As much as I''ve researched, I don''t have any confidence in oveing one of Loki''s traps when I wasn''t prepared. So.....how''d you do it, kiddo?"


    I crossed my arms in annoyance. "I used an advanced Thaumaturgical application of dimensional discement to project myself outside of the established space, then pulled myself and the others into it."


    "You side stepped it." Ajuka summarized quite easily. "But....the calctions alone would have taken hours if not days. And that was only if you knew what you were getting into. That''s not something you can juste up with yourself." He turned towards Sc¨¢thach. "Was it your teachings?"


    Sc¨¢thach raised an eyebrow. "I taught him much of what I have known, but that is not something I am familiar with."


    "The young woman over there." Azazel raised his finger up, pointing towards Rin. "You introduced yourself as the student to of someone sharing his name. I didn''t really give it a second thought before...but who was it again?"


    "Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg." Rin said evenly. "He goes by Zelretch."


    "German?" Odin rubbed his beard.


    "It''s not a name I''m familiar with." Ajuka muttered. "Was he the one who taught you?" The Devil turned back to me.


    ....Technically?


    "Yup, he''s my grandfather." Why deny it?


    "To be able to teach you something like that....he has to be an aplished Magician." Ajuka tapped his finger on the table. "Why haven''t I heard his name before?"


    "Me either, I''m drawing a nk here. Some reclusive Stray Magician?" Azazel threw out.


    "Who knows." I shrugged, not borating, much to their visible annoyance. I could easily tell they were the type that hated not knowing something.


    "Once more, I believe we''ve gone off topic to something irrelevant." Yasaka took this moment to step in again.


    "It''s pretty damn relevant to know how the kid overcame something that even Odin here says he might have trouble with." Azazel replied.


    "I disagree. We are speaking of an alliance, not the secrets of his Magic." Yasaka countered. "Michael was merely asking for boration on our standing. That has been provided."


    "The Kid boinked his grandmother, which is why he showed up when he did." Azazel said flippantly. "h h, alright, they aren''t with the devils, Michael."


    The Archangel let out a sigh. "I''ll take that at face value for now. However, if we are going to negotiate based on your ims about this Khaos Brigade, we need more evidence."


    "Yeah, everything we know points to the Old Satan Faction." Serafall nodded.


    "Very well, then shall I reveal the head of the Khaos Brigade?" Yasaka asked.


    "It would go a long ways for convincing us." Azazel replied.


    "I want to know who is supposedly leading a group of God from different Pantheons." Odin grunted.


    "I''m curious about this too. I want to know who''s strong enough that they would all listen to them." Lugh added.


    "Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God." Yasaka stated and a silence overcame the table.


    ".....what did you just say?" Odin gritted out. "The Infinite Dragon God?"


    "That is correct."


    "But...why?" Azazel''s eyes widened. "That old guy just sits there silently in the Dimensional Gap and doesn''t bother with anything that doesn''t annoy him. He literally has no interest in the world."


    "Her." Yasaka corrected.


    "What?''


    "Ophis has recently taken the form of a little girl now. As such, it is her, I would presume." Yasaka stated.


    "Weird, but okay."


    "There haven''t been any sightings of Ophis in years." Michael exhaled. "And now you''re iming that she is leading a group of Gods among others that are involved in ns like what Kokabiel attempted?"


    They''re taking it more seriously than I thought. Honestly I expected them to hem and haw, call it all lies or something. But there was a clear sense of unease when Ophis is discussed. I guessed she was strong enough that it made them worried even with a mere implication.


    "Do you have any proof?" Lugh asked. "Before we start getting worried, is there any proof beyond you words?"


    "I could say that Lady Izanami can verify our ims, but I don''t think you would take her for her word either, considering our rtionship." Yasaka hummed. "But I do believe I know exactly what you would want. Within the Khaos Brigade, Ophis had been bestowing some of the lower members with a piece of her power, a ''snake'' if you will."


    Funnily enough, Ophis''s title of infinite didn''t mean infinite power. Essentially, she can produce power infinitely. There''s more or less a hard ceiling on what she could bring to bare at a given moment, which was still far above what almost anything on the can match. But it''s not infinite in scope, otherwise Meridia wouldn''t have been able to deal with her.


    No, Ophis was basically a perpetual Motion Machine. A continuous production of various energies.


    Well, that was my theory atleast. Based on what Hades told me, she gave out a lot of power over time. Enough that it should have been noticeable on herself, yet her overall strength hadn''t wavered an iota.


    "And I''m sure if we produced someone with this ''snake'' it would still leave you skeptical. So, why don''t I point you towards someone who already has it?" Yasaka looked around the table. "You can verify it for yourselves."


    "And who is this supposed person? How do we know you haven''t gotten to them before us?" Ajuka asked.


    "Ajuka, I''m d you asked. Simply put, do you think we have managed to get to your cousin in recent times?" Yasaka''s grin was wide as she spoke.


    The Green Haired Devil twitched uncontrobly. "Are you implying....."


    "You can check for yourself." Yasaka nodded. "But yes, your younger cousin, Diodora, is a member of the Khaos Brigade, and he epted a snake from Ophis. How else do you think we know what he''s been up to?"


    He was one of the first guinea pigs. There are a lot of notes on his movements and such in the past due to research conducted unbehest to his knowledge. They wanted to make sure there weren''t any ill side effects so they followed him for several months, which is how we knwo of his activities. Hades was more than able to get his hands on such things in a short time frame.


    Not only would this prove somewhat of what we''re saying is true, it would also, again, show that we knew things we really shouldn''t.


    The table under Ajuka''s hand cracked as his fingers pushed into the surface. "He wouldn''t...."


    "If what you''re saying is true.....this is a big problem. We need to quicky warn everyone that Ophis is now active and might be hostile." Lugh stood up, looking rather worried.


    I think after everything that had been revealed before now, he took what we said at face value. Considering how confident Yasaka spoke about it, even giving avenues of verifying the information, there seemed to be less skepticism.


    "That won''t be necessary." Yasaka stated.


    Lugh blinked, looking at Yasaka. "Pardon?"


    "We''ve already taken Ophis off the board." She gave a rather innocent smile to apany her words.


    I guess that''s one way to say it. More like, I kicked her towards Meridia and ran away screaming.


    But now, everyone was staring nkly at Yasaka.


    "....what?" Serafall voiced, squeaked more like, though everyone seemed to share the sentiment.


    "Don''t worry about Ophis, she will no longer be a problem." Yasaka reiterated. "However, I have no proof to apany what I said. If you don''t wish to believe me, there''s nothing I can do."


    "W-why don''t we take a small break?" Serafall managed to force out.


    [***]


    Second Part is up, sorry for thete release, don''t feel too well so it took awhile to write today''s chapter.


    Just a heads up, next chapter will probably be out wednesday for the reason I just mentioned.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 323 - 292 Part 3

    <h4>Chapter 323: Chapter 292 Part 3</h4>


    "You are amazing." I wrapped my fluffy fox up in a big hug.


    "Praise me more~" Yasaka giggled as I let go.


    "You did very well." Artoria praised as well. "I do not believe I could have managed as well as you have."


    "Oh, you sell yourself short." One of Yasaka''s tails brushed against Artoria. "I''m just lucky we had so much information that they were in the dark about."


    "I almost peed myself when everyone stared at me." Rin shuddered. "Angels, Angels were looking right at me!" Rin let out a long breath.


    "Yes, it is strange to actually be in the presence of real Angels...." Artoria shared a simr sentiment.


    I never questioned it, but Rin was a Christian due to her upbringing, only distancing herself from the Church due to a certain priest that soured her towards the Church. Both being a Magus and living in Japan, it was certainly odd but I never thought about it too much until now.


    It must have been very strange for her to be in the presence of figures important to her beliefs, though not the same as those in her home world.


    "And seeing the Great God Odin in such a state.....it is very strange." Sc¨¢thach added.


    Yeah, the Odin here was strange indeed. I knew he took many different personas when he disguised himself in his travels amongst humans, but this felt different. I didn''t know how to describe it, it felt like.....he was tired.


    "The Monkey King was staring at me." Raikoumented. "I fear I may bring some undesirable oues if I stay..."


    "His addition was undoubtedly ast minute urrence. I don''t know what it''s like in your world, but here, He works under Indra. And considering what I know about you.....that could perhaps be the reason for his presence?" Yasaka exined her thoughts.


    "...I see." Raikou muttered.


    Raikou always got ufortable when her other half was mentioned, even by association of her parentage.


    "The Gods here are so different than the brothers." Jinn walked up, pushing herself against Raikou. The affectionate Genie earned a warm smile from my Servant. "Even that Lugh, a God of Light, he''s so different than the God of Light from Remnant."


    "It is not surprising. Even with simr domains, Gods are very different." Sc¨¢thach replied. "The Abrahamic God, for instance, is very different even if Lugh and him share simr domains of Light."


    "So....what''s the n once the recess ends?" Rin asked. "I hope I''m not needed for anything except for standing to the side, cause I''m not confident being the focus of Gods at this point."


    I could see how intimidating it was for her. She had made substantial progress since I first met her, but she''s still not on the same level as us. "Any ns we have, I promise we won''t put you in an ufortable position."


    "As Wilhelm says. You being here as you are is perfect and I would ask nothing else. You are one more mystery to help us obscure the truths." Yasaka also added with a smile. "As for our next step, well, I don''t think I can hold them off any longer. They''re going toe at you all like sharks smelling blood. But we should be able to act as a buffer for you Rin."


    "True, we yed a bunch of cards already, next is to figure out what we can gain, which will involve answering some questions no doubt." As annoying as it would be.


    I joked about being shameless, but I did have things I don''t want to unt in public. I supposed I''m very personal about my own stuff and I don''t like revealing too much. Maybe a hold out from being on my own for so long? I don''t like other people having their noses in my business unless they''re close to me.


    "We merely must keep up our unassable position." Artoria stated. "Our initial n has seeded, they wille to us and that gives us the advantage."


    "It worked wonderfully. They did not expect us to warp the talks around ourselves and make us invaluable with everything new we added." Yasaka giggled.


    "Is that why we''re hiding under this.....dimension?" Rin poked her servant.


    "Gotta keep up the ''mysterious'' act that we have going on. They got no idea how we know what we know, and this just makes them more anxious." I replied.


    The small Youkai faction that no one cared about wasnow the center of attention.


    "This space is actually very strong as well." Jinn sort of....poked at the misty barrier that surrounded us. "I want to y with itter."


    "I''m sure Soma wouldn''t mind if you helped him experiment with his new powerter." Yasaka responded. "And you''re right, it''s a Longinus ss Sacred Gear for a reason."


    "It is impressive." Even Sc¨¢thach acknowledged. "I do not believe any God here is capable of assailing us here or spying without our knowledge."


    That is to say, it couldn''t stop a God from forcing entry, but we would notice the instant they tried, and that isn''t exactly subtle. So...the perfect ce to have a private conversation.


    "So....what''s the next part of the n?" Rin asked.


    A mischievous grin appeared on Yasaka''s face. "We get them to pay us, then we give them the privilege of dealing with the Khaos Brigade lurking in the shadows."


    [***]


    I stretched my arms as I exited the mist that made up the temporary sub dimension everyone else was staying inside.


    I nodded towards Soma and Aotab¨­ who were ''standing guard'' outside. Gotta keep appearances up and all that business.


    The surroundings were rtively...deserted. The factions still had representatives standing around though most had scattered for the break. Some familiar Devils were off to the side who I cast a sideways nce at.


    Venna smiled warmly as I met her gaze from where she was still sitting.


    Had to resist the urge to go over there. And it made me want this to be over sooner so I could start introducing her to my other girls more. Because at the moment, it felt like we were leaving her out.


    I knew it was unavoidable due to extenuating circumstances, but it still made me feel like crap. I would definitely make it up to herter.


    I pulled my eyes away to look at everyone else. Odin was off to the side, out of ear shot, and appeared to be in a heated discussion with the Valkyrie he brought along. I expected more of an appearance from the Norse representation, but then again, the All-Father himself showed up.


    Wasn''t going to touch that with a ten foot pole though.


    After myst experience with an Odin, I wasn''t too keen on getting close to this one.


    The Fallen Angels were off on another end, taking some privacy as well. I could see the amount of warding that went up as they made a little ''camp''.


    And it wasn''t just them either, the Angels were somewhat visible from where I was standing, they had taken cover behind a partly destroyed wall so you could see shes of them whenever they stood behind a hole or where the wall had copsed. the taste of their Holy Power also hung in the air.


    I admited that I was a little....confused with how to treat Heaven. Normally, I would be rathe neutral towards them as a whole, perhaps leaning towards dislike just out of habit. However, with a certain entity residing within my spear, I guessed I had to spare some good will towards them.


    Well, more like towards the Big Man himself, and what he left behind.


    Strangely, the presence within the spear had been silent. I would have thought he would have spoken or ryed something to me, but it remained silent. And I knew for a fact that he was capable of reaching out if he desired. I had the faintest feeling like he was simply watching for now, and didn''t want to interfere. So, far be it for me to bring attention to him.


    Maybe he thought he had a better chance in my hands with the deal I made with Hades?


    Not to mention, suddenly revealing that he might revive would have a drastic effect on this attempt at peace. I genuinely did want them toe to a peaceful resolution, if for selfish reasons. Mainly that it would be helpful that they weren''t hostile to one another and another conflict wouldn''t suddenly spark into a full blown war and harm the people I actually cared about.


    Don''t know where Sun Wukong or Lugh went, but I''m not their keepers so I decided not to dwell on it. Instead, I found my target over by where the Heaven and Church Delegation hung about.


    I decided to take this opportunity to socialize.


    The few members of the Church looked like they collectively had to change their pants as I started walking over. Don''t know why they were so on edge, it''s not like I was hostile/antagonistic towards them, but they cowered behind thergest member of their little routine.


    I locked eyes with him.


    Yasaka exined it to me, the strongest human in the world. Or so the church liked to propagate. However, that aura he continuously reeled in did not lie.


    I stopped my steps with only a couple feet between us. I saw he was sizing me up, however, I didn''t notice a hint of malice or disgust when he looked at me. The others around him, well, it was clear my presence was unweed.


    After a moment, a rather warm smile made its way to his face. It''s funny, this man was massive. As in, I think our Herakles might be smaller. Yet...I didn''t feel intimidated in the slightest, his presence was warm and weing.


    "Hello, young man." His voice was just as weighty as it was when he spoke during the meeting, and again, there was a gentleness to it. "If you''re looking for Lord Michael, I''m afraid you may have to wait. They are currently discussing some important matters in private."


    "What important matters could they possibly be talking about?" I quirked a smile.


    And he looked rather amused himself. "If you require it, I am willing to ry any message you wish to give."


    "K-kick him out, Father Strada!" One of the Cardinals behind him raised his finger, stabbing it in the air at me. "Don''t let him profane our presence."


    I blinked, looking towards the source. The rather.....frail looking man. In hister years, maybe seventy or eighty.


    "He does realize that we''re technically in Devil Territory, right? There isn''t any ''kicking me out''." I looked back up towards therge man. "And even then, this is Japan, if anything, I could kick them out since the Youkai has more im to thend than anyone else."


    It''s not like I was forcing myself into their little secret meeting they were having while we were taking a break.


    Vasco Strada let out a tired side, opting to turn to look at the Cardinal who spoke. He didn''t even have to say a word for the Cardinal to stiffen and retreat back to where the congregation of Angels was gathered. And the others quickly followed after him.


    Rather cowardly lot they were. I imagine they are the kind that wanted toe and attend for the ''glory'' and ''attention'' they would be receiving. If I had to guess, the only one of worth that the church sent was actually the big guy.


    "I apologize. My fellow faithful are...uneasy due to the nature of this gathering."


    "I kinda was hoping he would stick around, get into an argument with me so I could start arguing scripture with him." I admit that my devil nature was shining through just a tad.


    "A losing battle isn''t one mypanion would have fought."


    I blinked at his rather blunt and honest remark. I honestly had no witty retort for that kind of response. "Anyways, I''m not actually here to see the Angels. Yasaka is handling the negotiations and all that. I just wanted toe over and meet you."


    "Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "And what can I do for you, young man?"


    You know, looking at him, I kept forgetting he''s supposed to be like eighty years old. Different from Zelretch who used a method of immortality, Vasco Strada was purely human and didn''t do anything of the sort to himself.


    I''m wondering if he was a case simr to Sc¨¢thach where he just decided he wasn''t going to age.


    "Well, I''m wondering if there''s a secret to getting as buff as you."


    The man gave a good natured chuckle. "Lots of healthy eating, a steady training regime, and faith in our Lord and Savior."


    "Ah, I see." I nodded. "So Jesus is the path to swoleness."


    "All is possible through the love of God." He smiled humoredly. "And the doors are always open for those seeking."


    I tilted my head at his invitation. "You do know I''m a Half-Devil, right? Not to mention, I''m a Magician and proud of it. My lover is a ''heathen demon'' from the east. I think my lifestyle contradicts a few of the Church''s teachings."


    "As I''vee to learn over the years, the rules are more of.....guidelines." He replied rather evenly.


    Huh.....was that a dig at his own Church members or his own approach at following Church doctrine?


    "Hmm, the Church is a human institution and all that." I muttered. "You''d think with Angels being in literal arms reach, the more....ambiguous of believers would hold to a certain standard."


    "There''s no need to be polite, I am more than aware of the darkness that profanes the Church from within. Unfortunately, there is little I can do to absolve the issues that permeate its foundations."


    Wow.....again with the blunt admittance of his own faction''s faults. Yet, at the same time, he didn''t shy away from it. I had a feeling that if I truly started insulting the Church, the actual foundations of his faith, he would get upset.


    I liked him.


    "Have you ever considered going to like, a fitnesspetition? You know, where you go on stage, flex a little, show off the muscles. And while you have everyone''s attention, you just drop your preaching there. I think if people were willing to do steroids, they would be more than willing to following a belief system if it meant getting some of those gains."


    Vasco Strada had a bemused look on his face until he processed what I said, a rumbled escaped his throat, a genuineugh that echoed through the surroundings. "That''s a wonderful idea, I''ll have to run that by the other Cardinals when I have time."


    God I hope he''s not joking.


    I would pay to watch him go on stage and make everyone else feel insecure while being justpletely wholesome about it.


    "So, in all honesty, I just came over to introduce myself. Was curious about the supposed Strongest Human and all that. But, now I''m a little curious about something else. Are you not put off by my being a Half-Devil?" I questioned the man of faith.


    "No." He said as bluntly and dismissively as before. "You have no influence on your heritage. By what right do I have to hold you ountable for something beyond your control?"


    ".....You really are a good person." I couldn''t help but say under my breath.


    Fuck it, just make this man the Pope and the Church would be like 100x better.


    "Your kind words are appreciated, young man." The Large Cardinal smiled warmly.


    "Thanks for chatting with me." I returned the smile towards him. "And if you''re ever over by Kyoto, look us up. You would be more than wee within our borders." I was speaking on Yasaka''s behalf here, but I don''t think she would find fault with me on this one.


    The opposite in fact, I think she would appreciate it if I extended some good will towards such a strong person. Bonus that they were actually a very kind and gentle soul.


    Not bad for just a whim of checking him out.


    "Hoho, I''ll have to take you up on that offer in the future." He chuckled again, though a hint of seriousness appeared on his face. "A warning, young man. I dare not speak for what Heaven ns to do, however, it''s clear they seek the return of the Sacred Spear."


    Hmm, I didn''t expect this guy toe right out and say something like that. Then again, he also didn''t seem to be someone to be coy or beat around the bush.


    "So Heaven wants my Spear?" I raised an eyebrow. "I don''t like to give up my stuff."


    "I speak for no one, merely rying news I have heard. I believe you to be a kind person, so I see no fault in rying this to you. If possible, I would hope you ept what deal they attempt to make, but I will not speak in favor or against."


    I gave it a genuine thought on what I should say in response. "Would you believe me if I said that it would more beneficial for you lot in the long run if I held onto the Spear?"


    Vasco Strada looked me over for a long moment before opening his mouth again. "I feel no deceit in your words. However, It is unlikely what I have to say will sway their opinions."


    I shrugged. "It''s not like I would hand it over anyways."


    I was just trying to be nice since he extended simr courtesies to me.


    Regardless, it wasn''t a conversation to only have between us. Even if the Spear was mine, it would involve the Heaven faction as a whole, and thus, Yasaka needed to be involved.


    "I believe we have made someone wait long enough. I shall hold you no longer, young man. And it was an interesting talk." He smiled warmly once more before stepping back and moving towards the others of his faction.


    Interesting indeed. What a strange, yet nice man.


    Oh well, I hoped we got to meet afterwards under different circumstances. I didn''t get the chance to ask if he wanted to spar some time.


    But now, it was time to deal with someone else. And I was currently not very fond of this person for the things he said to Yasaka.


    "Zekram Bael. To what do I owe the pleasure." I turned to face my apparent ancestor.


    He adjusted his cor as he walked over. "I have wished to meet with you since I have learned of your existence."


    I crossed my arms, already having the feeling this conversation was going to give me a headache. Literally, a few words out of his mouth, and I was loathing the fact that I didn''t escape when I had the chance.


    "Well, here''s your chance." I said bluntly.


    The Old devil gave me a scrutinizing look. "What would it take for you to be a Devil of the Bael family?"


    I was.....immediately taken off guard by the question. I expected many things toe out of his mouth, but none of them were such a direct and blunt invitation. "Pardon?" Was all I managed to blurt out.


    "Hmm. Was I not clear in my desire? I want you to join the Bael family and work under me."


    "I heard what you asked." I regained myposure. "What I''m wondering is what the hell. Where did thise from? You went from insulting someone I clearly care about then asking me to join you?"


    "I said nothing false." He grunted.


    ...technically, I suppose he''s correct. However, that doesn''t mean the implication weren''t offensive for everyone involved. But then realization dawned on me. "You were probing me, not her. You wanted to see how I would react."


    "Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "It seems I''ve underestimated your intelligence." He didn''t even try to deny it. "You are correct. I am aware of your rtionship with the Youkai Leader. I needed to know to what extent you were bonded."


    Should I be annoyed or impressed? I didn''t even notice until now because I, like everyone else, was more focused on Yasaka. "There are simpler ways to go about it."


    "Simpler ways indeed. And they would have been seen through more easily. I did not desire for the others amongst my faction to know. Perhaps under different circumstances it would have been deduced, however, your paramour has done a significantly wonderful job in leading them around and causing them no small amount of worry. I am rather impressed, all things considered." Bael offered a small amount of praise with his exnation.


    "And you kept silent afterwards to make it seem like you were sulking about a ''scolding''." I''m honestly surprised such a man I perceived as being unwaveringly prideful would allow others to think he was sulking of all things.


    "I didn''t survive this long without being able to hold my tongue and take a step back." He said without an ounce of shame.


    "You''re being very candid with me."


    "I believe you to be someone who does not desire useless formalities nor extended exnations. Unless I am mistaken, and considering theck of information I am privy to, it is a possibility. Simply, I decided to be direct in my want."


    "You don''t strike me as someone who willingly walks into a conversation and asks for something like that without knowing more about the target." I crossed my arms. "There''s more to it than simply wanting me ''back into the fold'' isn''t there?"


    A slight smile rose on his face. "Hmm, you are correct. I desire my bloodline to be under my purview. That fool, Sirzechs, pushed you away , and I am keen on correcting that mistake. Unfortunately, my window of opportunity is small. As I mentioned before, I do not desire for the Satans to know of my ns."


    "Which means you''re nning something they wouldn''t like. I know only the vaguest amount of Devil Politics. Basically, that you are a substantial powerhouse in that regard. Then you have the New Satan faction, led by the Satans currently. And then there''s the Old Satan Faction which also has arge backing, which we just revealed some secrets. I''m guessing that you''re also a little spooked by that revtion?"


    The Old Devil let out a sigh. "I am annoyed that Sirzechs allowed you to walk away without a second thought."


    I ignored the undertone of his that made it seem like I was some kind of object. I don''t even think he meant it that way. "You said you weren''t going to waste breath, get to the point."


    "I want you to keep Sirzechs in check." He once more said withplete transparency. "I had underestimated the depts to which those Old Satan worshippers would sink to. I chose to support the new faction because I believed it best for our race, but the foolish ones choose the path of oblivion time and time again."


    I let out a snort. "Best path for the race, or best path for you?"


    "There is no need to make a distinction." The Old Devil said rather proudly. "Bael is the underworld. The other Houses can y their games, but I have already won."


    .....and hepletely believed that.


    It wasn''t just him boasting. He genuinely believed every word he just spoke.


    I honestly admired him a smidgen for the audacity of that statement.


    Not going to even bother touching that though.


    "The Old Satan Faction will be brought to heel soon enough." Zekram Bael continued. "Their presence and power in the underworld will diminish significantly with this new information. And it will not be merely the Three Factions that march upon these fools. Gods from other pantheons are now interested in them, their days are numbered. I have always acted as the counterweight whenever one side moved in a subpar direction, shifting everything back to the correct path. Soon, the new Satans will have no ''foe'' to meet them. I will have to directly challenge them instead of using the fools as my pawns. Thus, I will need to strengthen my board. I offer you the Mutated Queen Piece of my peerage, an honor I have never bestowed to anyone."


    Okay.


    That was a lot of information to take in.


    "Why me?" I was honestly curious about his whole thought process.


    "You are a Bael. You have ovee hardships to reach the mountain you now stand, looming over the masses. Merely a Half-Devil and yet now the very Gods acknowledge your presence. You have be an idol to the younger generations of Devil-Kind."


    "....what?" I blinked as thest words left his mouth. Ignore the stroking of my ego he was doing.....what?


    "Did you not know?" He sounded rather amused. "Half-Devils are.....shunned." He grunted, almost sounding a little annoyed. "Foolish in my opinion. They carry our blood and can breed true with another full blooded of our kind. Wasteful and idiotic when our numbers are still far below what they should be. You are a Half-Devil that has defied expectations. Devils worship power and ability. You have shown that low status and low birth are not a hindrance. Reincarnated Devils as well speak very highly of you across the underworld as a model to reach towards in their own paths. Every leader we have is one of Nobility. Wining you to my side would gather a significant amount of support from the Devil Poption."


    I honestly didn''t know how to reply to that.


    I stayed away from almost all things Devil, so I waspletely in the dark about this.


    "I''m surprised you don''t have those same ''Pure Blood'' sentiments and look down on both myself and Reincarnated Devils." It was honestly difficult to guess what he was thinking, because a lot of what he just spouted out went against my initial assumptions for the man.


    "I care not for where onees from. A devil is a Devil. Be it a Half breed, a Pure blood, or a Reincarnated. They are all below a Bael so the distinction is irrelevant."


    .....okay I should have guessed that.


    Would you call that progressive thinking?


    It didn''t even sound discriminatory either. Like it was merely a fact of life and it couldn''t be helped.


    "So I ask once more. What do you desire?" The Old Devil asked again. "Wealth, Fame, Power....Women? I can offer any of these. I do not care if you continue your rtions with the Youkai woman. She has shownpetency that is admirable and I would even wee descendants from her bloodline should theye under our banner."


    I think I twitched unconsciously as he said that. It felt rude as hell, yet at the same time, I don''t think it was intentionally meant to be insulting.


    "I have all of those things. Women? Completely ignoring the incredibly important emotional attachments between me and my lovers and focusing on the very narrow value of their looks, they are objectively some of the most beautiful women ever to walk this world. Wealth? I have multiple Divine Weapons. I have treasures you couldn''t even fathom." I mentally went over all my treasures. I had to hold back the urge of show them off. Which I think was abination of my Devil and Dragon nature. I really like to show off all my treasures when presented the opportunity. "And Power? Well, as you said, I think people know where I stand right now." My ''fight'' with Susanoo wasn''t exactly a secret. "And I couldn''t care less about fame."


    "I will allow you to marry Venna." He stated, keeping a rather even expression after hearing my denying his offers.


    I should have guessed he would y a card involving Venna. And the offer wasn''t entirely unenticing. Granted, we''re no where near that point in the rtionship yet. And who knew, it could fall apart before we got there. However, the possessive part of me did re up ever so slightly.


    "My rtionship with her is not something for you to meddle in." I narrowed my eyes.


    Again, he didn''t look perturbed in the slightest. But I don''t know if I was even reading him correctly, he could just very good at not giving anything away. "I will make you the head of the Bael Family. I am even willing to offer you Venna''s daughter as well. It would not be hard to usurp the Marriage agreement she has."


    I opened my mouth and closed it again.


    Besides the...horny thoughts that briefly shed through my mind. And I''m not ashamed to admit I had a couple fantasies like that, I am a healthy young man afterall. But my rational mind won out easily.


    Not only would Venna be absolutely pissed at me for even considering the idea, I have no good will towards my supposed Aunt.


    As for the head of the Bael House.....I honestly didn''t give a shit about the Bael Family.


    "....I refuse


    "A shame." Was the simple reply his gave.


    "Wait, that''s it?"


    "Do you expect me to throw a tantrum?" He snorted. "Perhaps threaten you? If what I stated did not sway you, then I need to rethink my approach. It would be foolish to anger you when I have absolutely nothing to gain from it. And I have learned a few interesting things, so it is not aplete loss."


    "Well, if you want to shower me in riches to keep my mouth shut about your schemes, I wouldn''t say no." I said rather cheekily.


    And surprisingly, he adopted a rather amused look on his face. "If I was concerned about my position in the case of failure, I would not have approached you. The only desire for secrecy was if I seeded." He straightened his jacket. "It appears that our conversation ends here." He gazed into the distance out of the corner of his eye. "It is a shame you did not ept, however, if you wish to contact me, know that the Bael House will wee you."


    He didn''t waste any more words and began walking away.


    That.....was strange.


    Regardless, I should definitely go have a talk with the others, and especially Yasaka, about what just happened.


    [***]


    Serafall POV


    "You''re going to lose all your nails if you keep biting them that hard."


    I let go of my thumb as I turned to stare at Sirzechs. "I''d happily lose them if that was all we lost today."


    What an absolutely clusterfudge this was.


    "Gah, how much longer is he going to be!"


    "He only just left, Serafall." Sirzechs replied.


    I snapped my head towards him. "How are you so calm? This is terrible news if it turns out to be true."


    The meeting was an absolute failure so far, and that crafty fox just kept piling up wood for the fire we had lit under ourselves.


    How the hell did they know so much!?


    It was infuriating how thrown off bnce we were. And at no point could we even provide a proper retort, because everything they said was freakin true!


    Ajuka didn''t care about the Evil Pieces originally. And boy did Devils go wild with them. There''s a damn good reason why my job was the hardest out of all of us. I don''t even think she was being facetious when she said she had a list of kidnapped Youkai.


    We''re lucky she didn''t push that, because I can''t recall a single former Youkai amongst any known Devils.


    .....I don''t think any are even alive anymore. Except Rias'' Rook, and wasn''t that a mess in and of itself for Devil-Youkai rtions. It''s basically the equivalent if the Youkai took one of our Pir Bloodlines...which I guess technically happened.


    I really needed to look into this more. I couldn''t, no wouldn''t let myself be caught off guard like this again.


    Well, she didn''t have to because she just kept dropping bombs on us and we couldn''t even take a second to process them!


    Khaos Brigade!? We thought they were just some edgy organization the Old Satan was hiding behind so they could act out.


    This makes things significantly worse if they turned out true. And honestly, I was believing her at this point. There was no good reason for her to by lying so much out of her perfectly round ass.


    I couldn''t help but start pacing around. And I was d we were far enough away from Sona and the others so they didn''t see us acting like this.


    Ugh!


    I was about to start pulling my hair out.


    Dammit Ajuka!


    Couldn''t you pay a damn iota of attention on your family?! Your damn cousin was kidnapping Nuns and Holy Maidens from Church territory! And if that wasn''t enough, apparently, he''s part of the Khaos Brigade!


    If what the damn Fox said was true, that means he'' got a power up from Ophis ¨C somehow. Which means, it should have been noticeable.


    I''m going to p thatzy green head so hard when hees back.


    I can''t even spare any time to scold Sirzechs for acting like aplete idiot during the meeting too. Mr. I''m going to re at my bastard son the entire time.


    I would strangle him if I wasn''t so preupied with the potential threat looming over our heads. And the less I thought about their nonchnt admittance taking care of the Infinite Dragon God, the better.


    The hell was I supposed to say to that?


    Like...why lie about it either? No one would believe you, yet, for some reason, it made it all the more believable once they revealed so many other things.


    Thankfully we had a quick avenue to verify something.


    Ajuka had gone for a long overdue visit with his cousin.


    And if even half the crap the fox said was true, that boy would be very unhappy for now on. If he lived past sunrise.


    Michael was going to be out for blood...if this whole peace meeting didn''t implode on itself, even if we sorta already had the peace treaty signed between us all.


    Azazel did say that Michael already agreed to it. This was originally supposed to be a publicity stunt until it all went out of control.


    "What exactly does it change, Serafall?"


    My own thoughts were cut off as I turned back towards the red head. "What do you mean ''what does it change''?"


    "I mean, we were already investigating them. We hadn''t yetmitted to any ns yet, so nothing changed on our end. Now we know that we have to take them much more seriously, but we aren''t exactly in a bad position." He pointed out.


    WEll...he wasn''t exactly wrong.


    But still, this was a whole mess and a half.


    "Ugh, Ajuka hurry your slow ass up!" I groaned out, kicking a piece of rubble that was stillying around. I need a distraction, or I''m going to fuss over this relentlessly until he gets back. "Sirzechs." I yanked his cape. "Who the hell is that Zelretch person they mentioned?"


    ".....why would I know?"


    I kicked his shin, making him wince.


    "Okay, fair." He breathed out. "Honestly, I have no idea. I don''t think Grayfia does either." He replied.


    And we couldn''t ask her because she''s assisting Ajuka at the moment.


    "Not really his grandfather then?" I asked.


    "No known living rtives other than his deceased mother." Sirzechs replied. "Unless you think its my dad, we''re in the dark here."


    I snorted at the thought. It would be kinda funny, but that''s too absurd. Shit, how many things have we missed? For all we know, Zeltrech could actually be his biological grandfather, who was some sort of magical powerhouse that''spletely unknown, yet had even Ajuka in a tizzy.


    It''s not like I couldn''t understand the implication of what Wilhelm said. His magic being to so easily ovee the basics of spatial sealing. A thought to file away forter if it ever became important for us.


    Just another thing we''re in the dark about. Which was basically everything concerning the Youkai faction as it stood.


    How did they not get noticed all this time?


    Really made me want to have another look at all the smaller factions we''ve scoffed at in the past. Who knew what other factions have going on under the radar at the moment.


    "Alright guys, I''m here." Azazel finally made his entrance. "Was hard to slip away without Michael noticing."


    "About time." I crossed my arms with a huff.


    "Hey, you guys aren''t the only ones scrambling to try and figure things out. Bunch of bombs they dropped on us. By the way, saw Ol''Bael walking towards Wilhelm."


    .....not my problem right now even if I thought that had the potential to go horribly wrong.


    "But seriously, how fucked are we?" The Fallen Angel asked.


    "I may as well just bend over and drop my panties, because that damn fox is going in anyways."


    "Aw shit."


    "Yup."


    "Do you have any idea about this whole thing, Azazel?" Sirzechs asked.


    "I mean.....In hindsight, I think I noticed a few things but.....it felt like just you devils being devils. No offense."


    "Some taken."


    "Yeah, well, deal with those Old Satan assholes and I''ll stop thinking that way." The Fallen Angel rolled his eyes.


    "Is Michael still wanting to continue?" The red head asked.


    "As far as I know." Azazel looked a little unsure. "He''s not the type to be silent about that. If he wanted to pull out, he''d bepletely upfront about it."


    Finally a Teleportation Circle lit up right next to us, Ajuka and Grayfia stepping out.


    Though, all our eyes were drawn to a ss container that Ajuka held in his hand. A ckish purple energy in the form of a snake was wiggling around inside. And I think we all felt our hearts drop simultaneously.


    "How much of it was true?" I don''t know if I even wanted to hear the answer.


    "All of this." Ajuka forced out.


    Fucking dammit.


    "Diodora is currently in custody." Grayfia stated.


    "Your family not kick up a fuss? We were being very liberal withws with you just waltzing in and doing this."


    "And they''ve ridden on my coattails of being a Satan, using it to their advantage over the years. Technically, that''s against thews too, so if they want to say anything, I''ll happily drag them down with me." Ajuka snorted.


    "His peerage?" Sirzechs asked.


    "...having a specialist look over them."


    I was going to break his legs. Then heal them, then break them again.


    "This thing was inside him, right?" I tabbed the ss container in his hand.


    "Yes."


    "Was it painful to remove?"


    "Immensely."


    "Good." I nodded in satisfaction.


    "We need a n." Azazel sighed, looking over the ''snake'' just as we all were. "They ran circles around us and we werepletely helpless. We couldn''t even find an opportunity to ask any of the questions we wanted."


    None of the many questions we had.


    Somehow she was able to deflect any attempt while simultaneous kicking us in the proverbial nads in the process.


    "Should we hide the evidence? It would give us more time to deal with the fallout." Sirzechs suggested.


    t wasn''t a horrible n, but it wouldn''t work this time. "No, we''re going to bepletely open about it. We''re going to march right in,y that thing on the table, and act like we''re doing them all a favor in proving its existence."


    It would alteast makes us look a little better in everyone elses eyes because we sorely needed every scrap of goodwill right now.


    Especially with finding out that the Khaos Brigade was made up of other Factions and that there were some Gods are among them. We will definitely need outside help to deal with them in the future.


    .....shit.


    I just realized, the Youkai were the ones who had a list if everything else was to be believed.


    Now, we''re going to have to try and get ahold of it without losing too much in the processes.


    Damn Fox.


    [***]


    Omake -- My sleep deprived fuck up. The first iteration of the Bael conversation.


    I was going past 24 hours of no sleep when I originally wrote this, and thought it was a good idea. So, feel free tough at this stupid thing I originally had.


    [***]


    "Zekram Bael. To what do I owe the pleasure." I turned to face my apparent ancestor.


    He adjusted his cor as he walked over. "I have wished to meet with you since I have learned of your existence."


    I crossed my arms, already having the feeling this conversation was going to give me a headache. Literally, a few words out of his mouth, and I was loathing the fact that I didn''t escape when I had the chance.


    "Well, here''s your chance." I said bluntly.


    I had no patience for this man after the crap he spouted before. The only reason I didn''tpletely blow him off was that I was being respectful for Yasaka''s position.


    To his credit, he didn''t react at my almost annoyance to his presence. And it''s not like I tried to hide it.


    "I am here to right a wrong that was done to you." He dered.


    "Oh?"


    "On behalf of the Devil Faction, I invite you toe back home."


    I let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose. Was there even a point to getting upset at what he said? "I already have a home."


    Honestly, I didn''t expect him toe try this after what happened. He hadn''t spoken after I made my stance known during the meeting.


    "Hmph." He grunted in response, clearly disagreeing. "Some backwards creatures living in a remote corner of the world."


    "And you''re referring to my lover and my daughter." I said dryly.


    "If you want beautiful women, there are an uncountable number that would throw themselves at you. Come under the Bael banner, and you will never want for anything."


    I was honestly speechless. Was he really so shameless? Or did he just not understand me and was just throwing out something he thought I would find enticing?


    "Wealth, Power." He continued on. "With my word, any of these things will be yours. I will even adopt you under my own name, make you a true Bael."


    "I already have a harem." I replied. "Completely ignoring the incredibly important emotionally attachments between me and my lovers and focusing on the very narrow value of their looks, they are objectivelysome of the most beautiful women ever to walk this world. Wealth? I have multipleDivine Weapons. I have treasures you couldn''t even fathom." I snorted just thinking about the absurdity of his im, but I wasn''t done. "And Power?" I let my Divine Lightning arc between my fingers. "I''ve killed Gods."


    Credit where credit was due, he still didn''t outwardly react. I don''t know what I quite expected from such an old Devil, but it was definitely hard to get a read on him.


    Maybe he can take a hint at this point. I wasn''t ever joining up with the ¨C


    "I will give you Venna."


    The lightning in my hands dispersed at the sheer incredulousness I was feeling.


    "Excuse me?"


    "Return to where you belong. And with a few words of mine, Venna will be yours. She is a very attractive woman, there are few that can match her in the Underworld. Her bloodline is strong, so any offspring will be powerful as well. As such, I see no reason to deny you if you wish to have her." Zekram Bael exined. "You merely have to return back with me and take your rightful ce as a Bael. Of course you will have to be a full Devil, but such a thing is easy enough."


    "You will give Venna to me." I repeated the absurdwords he just spoke. "You''re a littlete there."


    "A mere tryst, nothing more." He waived it off. "With my word it will be official. Other, hmph. Some may question her loyalty."


    Did this motherfucker just.....


    "Who the fuck do you think you are?"


    "I am ¨C"


    "A nobody." I interjected with a re. "You are nobodyimportant. And yes, I know who you are. An old devil from the first generation that spends all day ying the politics of your faction. Guess what? You are insignificant. You mean absolutely nothing to me, and I only humored you because you came along with your faction''s real leaders and I didn''t want to step on Yasaka''s toes. But, you just crossed a fucking line."


    I took a step forward, my face only inches apart from his. "Let me make one thing clear. Venna is mine. And you are not one of the very few people who can change that fact. I won''t y those games of yours. If youe after me or mine, I don''t care if I have to destroy the underworld to reach you."


    For the first time, I saw his expression twist into a sneer. He didn''t say anything, but his look said more than enough. I don''t think anyone''s ever been so tantly disrespectful to him in a very long time. I did know some things about Zekram Bael, and he controls a sizable political force in the underworld, enough that even the Satans have to be wary of him.


    Unfortunately for him, I don''t give a shit about that.


    "So, Kindly, Fuck off." I addedstly.


    The Old Devil stared at me with that twisted sneer of his for several moments before turning around and leaving.


    "You will regret it." He spat out upon walking away.


    He held absolutely no power over me, and I could just tell that it made him utterly furious in this moment. If someone mouthed off to him back home, he''d probably have them killed and have no issues anywhere.


    His only piece of leverage was Venna herself, and I had a feeling he was vastly overestimating the actual control he had over her.


    Regardless, I should go back and tell Yasaka what happened. It was entirely possible that he might try something after what happened.


    [***]


    And here''s part 3. Just a heads up, part 4 might be dyed by a day, need to do some editing to it and other things that areing up to make them a little better with the feedback I got.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 324 - 292 Part 4

    <h4>Chapter 324: Chapter 292 Part 4</h4>


    Unlike previously, this time, we were the first to be seated, waiting for everyone else to return. Yasaka took a rather polite posture. She showed no discontent when everyone started filing back into their seats, looks of.....mild exhaustion clearly showing before they steeled themselves.


    I''m sure some things we revealed were making them very worried. The break was more or less about two hours, which was probably not enough time to really get into the true repercussions of an ''evil'' organizationposed of Gods and other mythological figures that crosses Pantheon lines.


    Well, it did its job of thoroughly throwing all the other parties off bnce.


    "Are you all ready to continue?" Yasaka asked with a very kind tone, yet had a smidgen of impatientness to it. Which almost made me chuckle considering we were intentionallyte to the meeting itself.


    Even if no one react to herment, I think I could pick up one or two faces that shed a brisk annoyance before returning to normal.


    "Yes, I believe we have much more to discuss now." Michael replied with a kind smile.


    As if to respond, Ajuka loudly set arge container on the table. ss on all sides so everyone could see what was within. It certainly made everyone tense as the power within was something menacing, even if a small quantitypared to the original.


    "We were able to verify the earlier ims. It appears as though Ophis was in fact giving away portions of her power." The Satan revealed to everyone present.


    There were a few hushed whispers in every direction.


    "Feels like that damn Dragon." Odin grumbled. "Met it once or twice. You don''t forget that kind of thing, ever."


    "And at the very least." Lugh''s eyes turned to us. "It adds some credibility to previous ims."


    "Which raises the damn question." Odin grunted. "How in the dark depths of Hel''s decrepit home did you ¨C how did you say it ¨C take Ophis off the board?" The Old God huffed looking our way as if trying to gleam an answer through a little re. "What do you think, Monkey?" He poked Sun Wukong with his stick.


    "Regardless of the many questions I myself have, I am here as an observer. I forwent my right to speak when you epted myst-minute addition. I will respect those terms." The Monkey King said rather evenly.


    Honestly, it sounded a little foreboding as well. Especially since he was staring right at Raikou. And regardless of the good impression I had of him, I did not appreciate those stares towards her.


    I was feeling very protective right now.


    "Bah, you got boring in old age." The Norse God huffed again.


    "There are still some things we will wish to keep secret." Yasaka stated, earning another grunt from the Norse God.


    "It seems like a rather important detail to simply keep to yourself, especially once you revealed that she is the ''leader'' of this organization." Ajuka stared at her. "How are we supposed to take anything else at face value if you aren''t willing to share something so important?"


    "Well, as you yourself have proven." She gestured towards the container still sitting on the table. "You don''t. And for that matter, don''t believe us if you don''t want to."


    "What do you mean?"


    "As simply as I said it. If you don''t believe us, well, it seems that''s where our cooperation will have to end. I think we''ve done enough to show our sincerity."


    Ajuka tried to force her to reveal more, and Yasaka called his bluff saying we would just leave if we weren''t going to be trusted at this point.


    Surprisingly, it was Zekram Bael who responded by clearing his throat. "That will not be necessary. We are merely hesitant due to the vtile nature of this information. We wee anything you are willing to share."


    And for the briefest of moments, the fellow devils looked at him like he had three heads.


    "Yeah, like Old Zekram said." Serafall was the quickest to recover, a bright smile on her face. "We''re all here to work together."


    "In the spirit of cooperation, I would like to know about what you discovered regarding this Diodora''s peerage." Michael was the next to take the spotlight. "I assume you have investigated in what little time we were away." He gestured to the container.


    Ajuka frowned slightly. "We are currently still looking into it and focused primarily on the more important issue. However, we will bepletely transparent and if you want, we''re more than willing to hand over the offending party for your discretion on the punishment."


    Or in other words, they''re saying to ignore it for now and they''ll hand it all over to Heaven to deal with after the important matters are taken care of.


    Call me skeptical that one of the Satans is willing to turn over a family member so quickly.


    Or maybe I just don''t have much faith in the Devils overall, bar a handful that I personally know.


    "We''ll talk more about it afterwards." Michael seemed to ept the intent.


    "Great." Yasaka pped her hands. "Why don''t we address the elephant in the room. The three factions that are ''at war'' still and sitting across the table discussing peace. I believe we can drop the formalities here and get to the details of it. It''s pretty clear to everyone else that you all have already decided on something, so care to share?"


    Azazel coughed awkwardly. "Haha, guess it isn''t that much of a secret. Had to at least get everyone to sit down first, which came with some agreements and all that jazz."


    "That''s correct." Michael spoke up. "But we also have some concerns we''d like to address before we officiate anything. Specifically, we would like there to be more strict regtion on the use of Evil Pieces."


    Well, can''t say I didn''t see thating.


    "Honestly, I''m with Michael on this one. I''ve had some of my people stolen by those things too, even if I didn''t kick up a fuss, it''s still a pretty shitty thing going on behind the scenes. You can im all these ''rules'' and stuff about them, but it''s still going on." Azazel seemed to agree.


    The Devils nced at each other, not seemingly concerned. "We''ve already discussed this ourselves." The new Luciferreplied. "We were going to create another department to help regte them and introduce new rules. Such that any new Peerage Member or use of an Evil Piece will have to be registered within a certain timeframe. Not only will they be forced to provide information on the newest addition, but we will also be conducting an investigation on our end to make sure nothing untold happened."


    "Color me surprised." Yasaka genuinely sounded so. "Can''t imagine that''s going to go over well with a significant amount of your poption." And she didn''t need to specify who we were talking about.


    "I see no harm with what is proposed. If someone is forcedto beholden followers through such means, then they are undeserving of their positions." Zekram Bael harumphed in disdain. "If any of themdecide to cause problems, I will deal with them myself."


    As far as prideful and arrogant people go, he really isn''t that unlikable.


    "This arrangement is eptable." Michael nodded towards the Devils.


    "Not to be a wet nket, but what about all the previouspeople turned into Devils. Are you just going to conveniently forget about them? I have quite a few of my own people who havest loved ones." Yasaka looked towards the Devils


    The nk look on their faces, I guess they didn''t expect to be so bluntly asked about this.


    Sirzechs Lucifer cleared his throat. "We''ll look into all the older uses as well once we get everything established."


    I had to hold back on rolling my eyes. An open-ended nomittal answer.


    Though, I don''t think Yasaka expected any different, merely taking the opportunity to cut into any momentum they were gathering.


    "Actually, I''m really curious what you said to get Michael to willingly sit down like this. You were keeping It really hush-hush and didn''t even let me peek at the message I sent to him." Azazel leaned forward.


    The Devils and the Angels shared another look before Ajuka let out a sigh. "I guess it''s not something we can really just keep to ourselves." He sat straight. "In ordance with the signing of a formal Peace Treaty, we of the Devil Faction will conduct Research in joint with the Heaven faction to manufacture devices simr to the Evil Pieces to turn humans into Angels."


    "Oh?" Odin was the first to react when everyone else went silent. To be honest, I never even considered the possibility of this. "Now that''s an interesting thought. As much as I abhor those things, I can''t deny they''re beautiful pieces of Magic. But to change their design to turn Humans into Angels, that''s not a simple thing."


    "Is it even possible?" Lugh looked a mix of intrigued and....concerned? "Angels are.....divine. A spark of Divinity in them that the Abrahamic God interwove. It''s known that the Evil Pieces do not take to divinity well. In the very few asions that a Demi-God was turned there had to be very extenuating circumstances. Such as more than normal pieces used, even if the one reincarnated isn''t worthy of such a investment."


    "Even with that clone of Surtr, it needed the literal strongest Devil ever to exist to seed. And If I recall, the Evil Piece was ¨C Mutated, is the correct word." Odin looked towards the Lucifer.


    "You''re right." He didn''t deny it. "Even the initial Reincarnation plications. I had to call in Ajuka and Serafall to help me stabilize the process. And even with that, it was very close to failing."


    "It isn''t quite the same." Ajuka responded. "It would be a Human gaining some manner of Divinity and bing an Angel."


    "The context is the same. You wish to fundamentally change the aspect of a person. I would call the Evil Pieces a fluke of invention and now you''re wanting to go in the opposite direction." Odin shook his head. "I would call it foolish if there were not more natural examples that have existed in the past." He looked up, specifically towards us. "And two of them are standing here now."


    ".....Admittedly, it would help with research..." Ajuka said quietly.


    Michael perked up. "Knowing how it''s possible in different circumstances...would it be too much to ask how?" He directed his question towards us.


    Sc¨¢thach snorted in response. "You wish to know my secret? It is simple. Merely kill enough Gods, bathe in enough Divine Blood, and you shall develop some of your own."


    "....yes simple." Lugh twitched slightly. "I believe you are the only one who would say something like that."


    "I have the weirdest boner right now."


    "L-lord Odin!" The Valkyrie next to him screeched.


    Michael smiled awkwardly. "I do not think such a method applicable to us. However...." He turned towards me.


    Well, I suppose it wasn''t really a secret. And with the many eyes on me, being Yasaka''s Lover, I did want to make an impression.


    "I killed a God and usurped its Divine Authority."


    Silence followed.


    With Sc¨¢thach, it was more or less expected.


    But I just openly admitted to a feat that was only has a handful of recordings throughout history. I, a mortal, yed a God.


    And not that just, I used it to pull myself to a higher state of existence.


    "Odin." Lugh''s head jerked towards the Norse God.


    "He isn''t lying." The One-Eyed God spoke almost dismissively.


    "You know something." Lugh''s eyes narrowed.


    Odin snorted in response. "I know a lot of things, brat."


    The Celtic God gave him a calctive look before letting out a sigh. "What God did you kill?"


    "I will keep that to myself." I replied, making the God frown.


    "Fufu, I taught him well." Sc¨¢thach preened under the intense stares we were getting.


    "No wonder I get this weird feeling when I look at you. Like I have to be on guard around you." Odin again grunted, but otherwise didn''t seem to be pressing me.


    And that made me even more worried. I thought for sure a God so invested in wisdom and knowledge would want to know more.


    And that''s curious, because Izzy said something simr. I guess the differences between the Gods here and from that other world muted the absolute hatred that Campiones give off.


    "As you can see, I fear these methods won''t be applicable, so let''s move on." Yasaka interrupted the murmurs.


    Lugh was still looking at me with wariness in his eyes. It would do no good for him to carry on like this. "The circumstances that allowed me to do so were unique and I can''t reproduce them."


    May as well not make any unnecessary problems in the future.


    And I chose my words carefully, as Odin was always able to see through falsehoods. Technically, I can''t reproduce the effects by my own hand. Pandora is the one who facilitates everything, thus I wasn''t lying.


    Though, the looks on the Devils faces did make me amused.


    "Very well." Michael acquiesced. "However, I do have another question stemming from your fight with Kokabiel."


    "Yes?" I looked at the Archangel.


    He paused for a moment, for which I assume he was wanting to be careful with his wording. "You were able to wield the Spear that Father created. Something that shouldn''t have been possible."


    "Yeah, I''ll jump in on this too." Azazel interjected. "As much bullshit I''ve heard the past few days, that''s right near the top of impossible and I''m pretty damn firm on this one."


    "I would not quite word it that way, but I share a simr....sentiment." The Archangel looked....wary. "How were you able to not be affected by the intense Holy Power? And there was also the other Holy Weapon that enveloped all the Devils present, and they were fine as well."


    I guess Artoria''s turn wasing up next.


    But they were staring at me, waiting for an answer.


    And noticing Vasco Strada still standing at the side.....I couldn''t resist. I cleared my throat as they all seemed to lean in. "Anything is possible through God."


    And they all just stared at me nkly. Well, all except Azazel who suddenly broke out into a fit of giggles. "He''s got you there, brother."


    Atleast Michael looked the tiniest bit amused by the answer, even if he let out a sigh at Azazel''s words.


    Frankly, the Spear was giving me a weird feeling. Nothing was spoken, but I could faintly feel it not wanting toe out.


    And telling them all that Big G might being back would definitely cut this whole thing short. There''s no way things would y out the same if the scales were suddenly skewed so far in Heaven''s favor.


    "The Spear allowed me to wield it. Perhaps it was due to my Divinity that it couldn''t associate me with a ''normal'' devil."


    "Even if it allowed you, the Holy Power should have killed you." Michael stated. "Unless.....you have some method to remove your weakness to Holy Power?"


    Ah, that''s what he''s wanting to know. That definitely makes much more sense. He''s worried I have a method to remove Devil''s weakness to their only deterrent.


    "I don''t beyond my own abilities and inherent nature." Which was true.


    And if Big G didn''t let me wield the spear, it would definitely burn me inside and out.


    "ording to the report we received, you removedKokabiel''s Holy Power." Michael seemingly jumped right to the next point. I guess he expected a minimal answer in that regard. "How? Even I cannot do such through the Heaven''s System."


    "I used the Spear." I said again. "I can tell you that I felt a sense of anger directed towards Kokabiel."


    "....Hey Michael." Azazel looked over to his unfallen brother. "Do....you think something may have roused that little piece of Dad left in the spear?"


    For the first time, the Archangel adopted a depressedlook. "We''ve looked at the spear in the past. Father.....isn''t really there, not truly. I don''t know what happened, maybe when Kokabiel forced a connection back to heaven did it react strangely with the Spear?"


    "Honestly, it''s a good an answer as any." Azazel shrugged. "Today''s been a day of a lot of firsts." His eyes flickered to me. "I''m sure I could answer some of these questions if I had something to experiment with."


    "Then what about the Sword." He gazended on Artoria. "From what was described, it filled the entire area with Holy Power."


    "My de does not discriminate by race." Artoria spoke up for the first time since her introduction.


    "Been scratching my head on this one too." Azazel probed up his head on the table. "Wondering if Dad hid away a toy we weren''t told about. What''s the name of your sword?"


    If there was absolutely one aspect that Artoria would neverpromise on, it was things to do with her sword. If I asked for her sword, she would deny me. Not that I ever would. So that is to say, she wouldn''t ever lie about the name of her sword either.


    It carried much too much meaning to the point where she would rather die than besmirch it.


    "You ask a question you already know the answer." Artoria didn''t waver one bit. "It is Excalibur ¨C The Sword of Promised Victory."


    [***]


    Azazel POV


    Hearing the report, then hearing it from the littledies'' mouth, yeah, it just really makes me even more confused. I''m not like Odin where I can just tell if someone''s lying, but I''ve been around the block enough to sort of pick up on tells and such.


    This girl was way too confident and unwavering in saying it.


    The Kid with Dad''s Spear.....that sorta maybe makes sense. I couldn''t really call it bullshit, because there''s a severeck of Devils with Divinity to test that sort of thing.


    Did the dying will of Dad inside the thing allow him to use it because he was upset with Kokabiel?


    I really want to take a look at that thing, but they''re being really damn protective of their secrets. Which makes it even more infuriating, because since when do the Youkai faction have secrets worth wanting to know?!


    I think I really shit the bed with thest time I met them.


    Honestly didn''t think it''d bite me in the ass like this.


    Atleast that one chick isn''t here and I''m even hesitant to bring her up. Don''t know how Odin and Lugh would react to her. Shit, I felt her presence for a second, and it damn well dwarfed even Odin.


    .....was that Ophis in disguise?


    No, she was too....focused? Every report I''ve ever read about Ophis spoke of the Dragon God as aloof or nk in their expressions.


    Why do I feel like I''m the only one that''s out of the loop here? I mean, I guess the Devils have no idea either, and Michael. But they''re apparently talking about something so important with copying the Evil Pieces, and they didn''t even consult me!


    Rude.


    Really surprised me that they went for that though. I don''t think Michael is happy about having to go that route. Not that he looks down on humans in the slightest, he''s dad''s golden child and all that. I don''t think Dad would approve of the idea either. Not really be angry about it, but disapproval was probably worse.


    Humans aren''t supposed to be Angels.


    We''re different for a reason, and I''m sure Dad would say the same thing.


    But I can''t fault Michael either, he''s in a really shitty situation, and he''s doing everything he can to keep things running.


    Besides, it''s just even more Angels I can eventually bring to my side!


    Win-win for everyone!


    But I digress.


    Short girl with probably the most powerful Holy Sword in the world, and we had no idea about it.


    "Oi, Michael. Did Dad make another sword when we weren''t looking? Hiding it away, and naming it after another....?" I asked towards my brother.


    Honestly, it wouldn''t have been the most convoluted n Dad ever made. His bullshit ability to see the future and all that, he constantly did strange things we didn''t even have context for until all the pieces fell into ce.


    And he was always smug about it when we questioned about what he was doing.


    "I''m afraid this is the first I''m learning about this sword." Michael shook his head. "All the Armaments of Heaven are ounted for, even if they are not in our possession."


    Well....shit.


    "It''s kinda weird that Excalibur would have broken originally." I rubbed my chin. "Maybe Dad swapped them out beforehand for some reason? Hard to believe he''d hold back on giving his Golden Boy such a powerful sword. I mean, he already gave Arthur Caliburn and the that ridiculous Sheath. There was also that Dagger he had, and that spear..." And speaking of a Sheath.....I turned back towards the little blonde. "Which you also have now that I think about it." It was lost when his sister stole it before the final battle.


    Dad imbued it with a Miracle that healed Arthur from anything short of his brain being sttered.


    "I do possess the Sheath as well." She didn''t even deny it.


    And she has Caliburn at her side.


    Even if it looks different than thest time it popped up. The special ability of the sword to shift to match its wielder''s preferences.


    Actually.....it looked awfully simr to how it originally looked when Dad shoved it in that stone.


    And there was a hint of amusement when I was talking about Arthur. I feel like I''m the butt of some joke right now.


    "You said you spoke on behalf of the Pendragon Family?" Michael asked.


    She did say that, hmm.


    They were pretty inconsequential when all was said or done. Sure, they had Caliburn and a few other of Dad''s swords, but nothing really spectacr beyond that. Theirbat strength wasn''t very high either, producing an ultimate ss every now and then, but even that was hit or miss over the years.


    Then again.....didn''t I think the same about the Youkai before today?


    I vaguely remember the report about them. Mostly because of the huge light show that happened there some time ago. Which, the reason is obvious, now. But they shut themselves up tight, not letting any outsiders inside.


    .....what are they hiding?


    "The Church and the Pendragon Family have been long allies." Michael smiled sincerely towards the younger-looking woman.


    "The Pendragon Family has cut tiespletely with the Church." She didn''t miss a beat, cutting off the attempt of Brother to reach out towards them.


    Hmm, isn''t that surprising? I mean, It''s not that much of a shock, but these kinds of things are usually cloak and dagger crap. Not.....just wiping hands of one anotherpletely.


    And the small reaction on Michael''s part, I don''t think he was even aware.


    .....awkward.


    He turned to look at those Cardinals at the side.


    "L-Lord Michael." One of them spoke up, looking rather frightful. "We are still in negotiations with the Pendragon Family and ¨C"


    "There are no negotiations" The little miss once more cut right through the bullshit. "You failed to uphold the agreements between ourselves. No more shall we look to the Church as allies."


    Damn, didn''t even give them an out to work with.


    Little girl is ruthless.


    "And what about the other Excalibur. The broken one." May as well help brother out of this weird spot. He did sh me a thankful look. "Hmm, maybe if wepare the two, It''ll give us a hint about the origins....


    "I am in possession of the broken sword that Kokabiel reforged." The Pendragon girl stated, producing said sword from somewhere. I wasn''t quite paying attention, but I was now a little curious as to where she kept it. "However, my Sword is not a bauble to merely show off on a whim."


    "I ¨C"


    "Understandable." Zekram Bael of all people cut me off.


    And there goes the wind that was in my sails.


    A single word from Zekram Bael at the right time, and it was seemingly impossible to continue down that train of talk. If Zekram Bael ¨C the current Devil ¨C was being reasonable, how were we supposed to go opposite of that?


    Nephew, the hell?


    Why the heck was he helping her? Shouldn''t he want to know about some absurd Holy Sword? Shit, even the newer Satans were looking at him strangely. Guess even they don''t know what he''s doing.


    Maybe he wanted it to stay out of Heaven''s hands? But I didn''t think the Old Devil would really care about that sort of thing. I doubt he would even consider his power being inferior enough to a Holy Sword that he would feel threatened by it.


    Can''t really push now without looking like aplete ass.


    Shit, really wanted to know about this Holy Sword that apparently doesn''t even harm devils. Well, unless it''s usedon them I assume. The report was very explicitly in detail to how that Dragon was utterly annihted.


    Now I''m going to have to look into itter. Figure out what the hell is going on there, because they clearly don''t want to tip their hand ¨C whatever it is. Something is going on, and I intend to find out.


    "What do you think about the reforging job, Old man?" May as well change the subject then, maybee back around to it after.


    "Piss poor." Odin grunted, not being reserved with his observation. "The only notable thing about that sword is the fact that it''s all held together without self-destructing. I see....two, no three different forging methods that went intobing them all. Noticeably, there are some mimicries of certain Demonic Swords. But they are not wise to use when forging a Holy Sword. But for some mortal to swing around, it''s passable and won''t break easily."


    "We''re more than willing to return it back to where it belongs." The Fox Youkai once more metaphorically stepped forward.


    Considering the little miss didn''t react at all, it''s safe to assume that she was in agreement, or they already talked about it beforehand. Not overly important, but it would be hard to get anything from her knowing that she was ''hiding'' behind Fox Milf over there.


    If she hadn''t been holding us over the proverbial barrel since this whole meeting started, I would have been rather impressed. But I couldn''t even properly ogle those amazing tits of her after theplete reaming she gave us all.


    I''m not Baraqiel, I prefer giving, not receiving.


    "Well, since it''s this muchplete, why not just reforge the entire thing again? It''s not like you don''t got enough Holy Swords in those vaults of yours that you couldn''t do without the broken pieces. Might be better off with quality increase in this case." I offered towards Michael, to help him salvage this situation with the Sword. "I wouldn''t mind helping either, especially since it was Kokabiel who is responsible."


    Would get me some brownie points atleast.


    "That might not be a bad idea, Michael." Even Gabriel looked a little interested. "We have several people in this generation that are capable of wielding such a powerful Holy Sword...regardless if it is father''s true Excalibur or not."


    Even hearing that said out loud, it''s ridiculous.


    Where the hell did that sworde from!


    I''m like 99% sure that it doesn''te from another Pantheon. No way in Father''s green earth would another Pantheon let that thing within a hundred yards of us.


    Not exactly a secret that the Church tends to.....absorb everything that it can get its hands on. ''Oh, a holy sword, that''s definitely God''s creation''. Didn''t matter if like 90% of them came from ''pagan'' origins.


    Not to mention, that kind of concentrated Holy Power is rare.


    Lugh could do something simr, albeit differently than Dad.....and the number of other Deities on that level could be counted on one hand that met the criteria.


    Though, Odin had been noticeable quiet for awhile now.


    I think Lugh is right, Old One-Eye definitely knows something and he''s keeping it to himself.


    I''ll have to try and get it out of him after some drinkster.


    "There may be a slight problem." Yasaka grabbed our attention again. "But the Excalibur Piece known as Excalibur Ruler no longer exists."


    .....well damn.


    "The Church was already made aware."


    ....and double damn.


    Michael looked like he was about to.....have very stern words with someone because he isn''t the kind of person to start raging.


    Funny considering that he always carried Father''s banner into battle and fought with a fury that would leave the battlefield covered in the blood of his enemies. Sitting in Dad''s chair really made him have to develop patience and tolerance beyond what was already engrained.


    Well, the Church fucked up again...how surprising.


    Seriously, I would have cut my losses with them at this point.


    But it is funny watching those Cardinals squirm under Michael''s disappointing gaze. Doesn''t quite match up to Father''s but I imagine the humans are shitting themselves right now.


    "Was it destroyed when you attacked the Pendragon Family?" I asked. An inquisitive look by the Youkai Leader sent my way made me smile. "What, did you really think we couldn''t put two and two together? Obviously you were the ones who attacked the ce. Can probably guess a reason or two as to why, not really pointing fingers or anything." Would rather not start slinging mud when I apparently know very little about them.


    "It was partially due to the children being tortured and used as experimental material in their basement." Yasaka said dryly.


    Oof. d I didn''t try to jab them with that little tidbit. Would havee out looking like an absolute cunt.


    They are looking frighteninglypetentpared to beforehand.


    How much do they actually know about my own secrets?


    Got some of my own skeletons I don''t wanting out.


    "Nay." The Pendragon Girl denied. "I destroyed it much earlier."


    I blinked at her blunt acknowledgement topletely destroying what amounted to a rather notable Holy Weapon, and she didn''t even bat at eye at such a thing.


    "That was not yours to destroy!" Another of the Cardinals shouted from across the table. "You were allowed to bare that Sword by our Grace! How dare you destroy one of the Church''s treasures!"


    Michael raised his hand, causing the Cardinal to shut his trap. "Can I hear why?"


    "It is a sword that forces obedience, a ruler has no need for such despicable means. It is a mockery of the legacy associated with its name."


    "Good answer." Lugh was the first to respond, and I think several at the table agreed with him.


    "I agree." Odin stroked his beard.


    Well, Michael and the Church couldn''t really call her out now without looking foolish.


    The fucking balls on this girl, telling them to their face that she broke their sword and getting praised for it afterwards.


    No way in hell that she''s not aware of what she''s doing.


    There was almost no wiggle room there for Michael to try and grasp at. I think he realized it too because he shifted his focus back towards Lucifer Jr over there and Yasaka.


    "Heaven will ept the goodwill with the return of reforgedExcalibur." He stated.


    Guess he gave up on the other ''Excalibur''. Can''t really me him, she was stone walling him pretty hard on that aspect. And can''t really im it belongs to them if they haven''t ever seen it before.


    Though, I''m surprised the Church people aren''t screaming for the return of it.


    "We''re more than happy to help." Yasaka smiled good-naturedly, but that underlining feeling as if everything went ording to her ns.


    ".....and we would like to negotiate the return of the True Longinus back to our side."


    Guess I should have seen thating.


    Too powerful a weapon to keep going through Dad''s broken system. I wonder if this means they''ll start cracking down on all Sacred Gears and storing them away? I know for a fact that Michael wouldn''t have touched them if the system was working, but with how messed up it is, he has to be grasping at any straws he can to make sure it doesn''t fall apart.


    I can''t im to know much about it, Michael definitelywouldn''t let me anywhere near the controls. But I can''t imagine the strain its under to try and manage the Sacred Gears all the time. It might alleviate a lot of stress if they started thinning the tide, so to speak.


    "Back to your side, is it? Was it on your side, when a member of that Hero Faction used it toy siege to Kyoto? To use it to kidnap my Daughter and ughter my people?" And the Fox didn''t hold any punches.


    "....the initial intent behind it''s facilitated lending seems to have fallen to the wayside. We apologize in how it was used by its previous user, but we had no hand in that. That being said, we can''t agree to leave something with the potential to strip one of us of our blessings."


    That''s a really damn good point. Like, what if the kid was just blowing hot smoke, or didn''t know, or he was just straight lying without being overt about it. What if he really could just point the thing and bam, no more holy power.


    .....that''s frightening.


    Michael is beingposed, but I honestly think him and the others are shitting bricks.


    "Denied." The Fox said with a near absolutely response.


    Even if Michael didn''t outwardly react, I spent more than enough time with him to know that he was upset.


    Father damn.


    That Fox just straight told Michael, and by extension, Heaven, to get fucked.


    Surprised she''s able to walk with those gigantic balls she''s dragging around.


    "We''re willing to trade for it. Something I believe your people will appreciate more."


    Oh?


    Yasaka raised an eyebrow. "Continue."


    Michael held his hand out, producing a Harp. One I didn''t immediately recognize, and it didn''t feel like something belonging to heaven. "This is Dagda''s Harp, with a link both to the Summer and the Winter of the Faends."


    Holy shit Michael, bold move there.


    Not hard to guess where he got it from, considering Lugh sitting at his side. But damn, he really went for the low blow there. To hold a potentialmethod of reaching the ce where those Faeries are. That might be too valuable to pass up. With them at war, they might ¨C


    "No thank you."


    ....or not.


    Michael awkwardly cleared his throat. "Maybe you don''t understand. With this you can ¨C"


    "I understandpletely." Yasaka cut him off. "You want to use a method of connecting to the Fae Realms in order for us to hand over the Spear. In short, you want to use the fact that we''re at War with the Fae to get a rather potent weapon from our grasp without much fuss. Did I miss anything?"


    "We would be more than willing to lend assistance." Ajuka added. The Devils had been quiet for awhile, I was wondering when they were going to join in. I don''t think they wanted to rock the boat considering they were already in some hot water with Michael and them. "If you ept the deal, I think we could manage a way to open a path after some effort."


    "We''re being very much underestimated here." Yasaka''s expression turned dark. "Do you think we dered war just to sooth our own pride? That we didn''t have our own methods?"


    Admittedly, I did think just that a few days ago.


    Kind of wave their swords around, make a lot of noise to make themselves feel better and all that. Maybe start hunting down any Faeries on earth as well? But a full on invasion of the Fae Lands, yeah didn''t even consider it a possibility.


    Going to have rethink a lot of things after this.


    "Even Father once told us about that ce. It isn''t so simple to just teleport to." Michael replied, trying to salvage the situation.


    "We''re well aware." The Fox Youkai Leader once more dryly replied. "Wilhelm." She turned her head up to Lucifer Jr at her side. "How long will it take to construct a pathway?"


    "Four to Six months." He said almost nonchntly.


    ...impressive.


    Almost makes me want to call him out as a liar, because even I couldn''t manage that. But as he already showed, he has some method that I''mpletely in the dark about. As is Ajuka.....but I don''t think either of considered that method of being applicable in this situation.


    Maybe our pride was getting in the way here.


    "Well, that settles that." The Fox looked all too smug.


    Michael was banking on that a bit too much. I can''t really fault him either, I would have been confident too. But they managed topletely ovee our expectations throughout this entire meeting.


    "Regardless, the Spear must return to the hands of the Heavenly Host!" Uriel, who had the job of looking tough and quiet mmed his fist on the table. "To be in the hands of foreign Demons and a Half-Devil, it''s a stain on Father''s legacy!"


    And the Church people were nodding approvingly. Don''t'' know why they''re always so eager to call for blood when clearly Michael was trying to be peaceful.


    "And such Holy Swords should rightfully be returned as well. Caliburn, Excalibur, they are ours by right."


    "Yours by right?" Yasaka slowly turned towards Uriel, and I held back the urge to face palm. At this point, I pretty much knew a kick in the balls wasing.


    And Michael''s little twitch made me think the same thing. And it would be even more awkward if he tried to shut up Uriel now as they needed to show a united front. Uriel, while someone who usually meant well, was always a hot head, thinking more with his fist than anything else. A veryck and white outlook of the world, though he''s mellowed out substantially over the years.


    "Just as every other treasure that Heaven holds is yours by right, yes? I''m sure you have nothing of anyone elses, you wouldn''t want to be hypocrites afterall. No Demonic Swords used in nefarious projects with the sacrifice of children. No other items of power stolen from other Pantheons." The Fox snorted disdainfully. "What was that line from the Bible ¨C Let he who is without sin cast the first stone? What a mighty fine ss House you''ve built up over there."


    And right for the jugr.


    She''s right too, the Church and even Heaven, they have stores of things from other Pantheons that they''ve taken over the years for Safe Keeping.


    "....I am still wanting to hear an answer as to howyour people acquired those swords." Odin wasn''t loud, but it caused attention to turn back on him. "They were buried with Sigurd, my descendant."


    It''s not really an umon thing, but it just looks bad to be called out on graverobbing. And the Norse are one such people that really take insult to desecrating the dead.


    Really don''t envy my siblings in this tight spot they''re in.


    "To put it simply, there is nothing you can offer us to hand over the Spear that is rightfully in Wilhelm''s possession." Yasaka said with a little bite to the words.


    Seriously, what did Michael have to offer? It''s not they didn''t have other thins that could potentially be an equal trade, but the Spear was unique in of itself. Not to mention, they weren''t hurting in that regarding in other ways. It hasn''t reallye up, but the Kid is the Red Dragon Emperor of this Generation.


    Vali wouldn''t shut up about it, otherwise I may have forgotten in all thismotion as well. He''s going to pout for months once he finds out how utterly out ssed he is right now. That kid took way too much pride in being the best host that Albion ever head. That damn dragon filling his head with all that crap, inting his ego.


    As much as he could do with the reality check, I didn''t want to see him mope around for a long time. But damn it must have been a kick in the groin for both of them to realize that Ol'' Ddraig''s host basically gave them a timeout without even trying nor even using the Boosted Gear.


    But I digress. Not the time to think about those things. Michael needs a hand and I am also uneasy about someone else having ess to just shutting off my Holy Power ¨C if that''s actually a thing he can keep doing.


    For all we know, Kokabiel was a cosmic fluke brought about by extenuating circumstances. But it was hard to take that risk right now.


    "I''m with Michael, leaving the potential ability to just take away what makes us Angels, I can''t sit here easy because of that." I spoke up.


    I think I honestly spoke for every Angel, Fallen or otherwise in this matter. Michael shed an appreciative smile for backing him up.


    Good, I''m still in deep shit with what Kokabiel did, having them look at me nicely like that will help.


    "I see no problem with it." Even Serafall joined in. "That seems like a dangerous precedent to leave outside of the Angels, to just take away the source of their power. I think everyone would have better peace of mind knowing it''s in their hands."


    Guess she wanted her pound of flesh in revenge too. It was undeniably a good opportunity to finally kick the Fox and Co. off their high horse and get the initiative back.


    Yasaka frowned in response. "And how would it be any different than forcing an Evil Piece on one of them?"


    ....dammit.


    Father damn those things. They''re beautifulin design, just as Odin said, but fucking damn if they aren''t annoying as hell to be on the opposite side of.


    "We don''t ¨C"


    "You don''t force them on others, yes." Yasaka smiled coyly. "Which seems to cate the others here. Which only begs the question ¨C if, and that''s a strong if, the spear could continue to do what you all im, why can it not simply be the same predicament. Do you think we would go around ''depowering'' Angels for no reason?"


    "As you so gracefully, point out, that doesn''t seem to be entirely urate." Serafall red at me a tiny amount. Sorry girl, but we are trying to argue for our own factions here. And at the end of the day, you want this too.


    "That''s true, there has been a severeck of assurances for those." The Fox didn''t miss the opportunity to take a jab at the Devils again. "So I believe I can understand your concerns. But frankly I have to ask, or what"


    "Excuse me" Michael tilt his head in confusion.


    "Why should we be forced to hand over the Spear? As I said, you have nothing we want to trade it for."


    Michael looked a little stumped. "We came here to discuss peace, and to ¨C"


    "Are we at war?"


    "....no."


    "Then why would we hand it over. Unless you are insinuatingthat such a deration is on the table if it isn''t provided. In which case, we would have to step away and alert our own Pantheon to your intents." The Tails behind her flicked back and forth. "While Heaven hasn''t been so heavy handed with the incidents we''ve had to bear with your Three Factions, we are certainly not on friendly terms. We have nothing linking ourselves to you. Not to mention we''ve been very polite in even handing back that Reforged Excalibur for no rpose. So, to answer that Angel who demanded it back ¨C " She turned her hardened gaze towards Uriel. " ¨C Or what?"


    .....well fuck.


    That silenced all of us. Mostly because it was true.


    They held all the cards here, and they knew it. They knew it from the start when they flopped right down on the table and started verbally pping all of us. They knew we would have to bow to their whims, but were even gentle about it, clearly not wanting to really get start any grudges, but at the same time, they weren''t bowing down to any heavy handed tactics.


    "However, that doesn''t mean we don''t wish to.....cooperate. I''ll admit that the Harp would be beneficial even if it''s not needed." The Fox looked thoughtful. "I may have a counter offer if you''re willing."


    Was she giving him face? An out totch onto so not to develop any ill will? Shit this Fox is ying the game really well.


    "Please speak." Michael forced a smile.


    "One of the Hero Faction members was a wayward Holy Maiden that wielded de cksmith."


    Michael''s eyes shed in realization. "So that''s what happened to her..." He said softly. "We feared the worse when she disappeared from our ranks."


    "I can imagine that a Sacred Gear that can produce Holy Swords would be beneficial?" Yasaka questioned, rather rhetorically, but it was one of the most valuable Sacred Gears to the church.


    Not that it was one of the strongest by arge margin, but it could produceHoly Swords. Granted, they were rtively weak, but they were leaguesabove most Magic Swords that could be purchased. The only draw back was that it was difficult for the user to make ones that wouldn''t disappear after a time. It took years of training, and a lot of energy, but it was a steady production that could be imbued with different abilities.


    The value was....astronomical.


    One of the Sacred Gears I reallywanted to get my hands on, but Michael wouldn''t let me anywhere close.


    "May I ask, what happened to the young woman who possessed the Sacred Gear?" Vasco Strada asked.


    The Youkai Leader let out a sigh at the question. "Unfortunately, even if they were but children, we couldn''t be soft on them. My Daughter was almost killed due to their direct actions, only saved through the intervention of Lady Izanami and Wilhelm. And many of my people had to bury loved ones, and not just my Guards. Large swathes of Kyoto burned, innocents died. They couldn''t be allowed to continue living."


    ".....I apologize for bringing up such memories." The Very Large Cardinal apologized. Which always felt weird considering his sheer size.


    "Your question only shows to exemplify yourpassion, no harm was done." The Youkai Leader let out another sigh. "We didn''t do anything untold to her remains. We can hand over her body if you want."


    Vasco Strada, therge mass of muscles, smiled warmly. "I thank you on behalf of her family."


    If there was ever a man that deserved to be a Saint. I have no doubt in my heart that if Father was still living, he would have been turned into one many years ago. That or a Prophet, but that was even more unlikely to happen these days than someone being born a Saint.


    No, it can''t happen anymore.


    Michael and Gabriel were leaning towards one another, whispering about something. I could guess what the topic of conversation as about. They couldn''t really.....push the issue with the spear, not after how the Youkai propped themselves up as invaluable to everyone else here.


    "We''re willing to ept this trade." Michael stated after talking with Gabriel.


    "Wonderful, we can worry about the logistics afterwards." The Youkai Leader epted it immediately.


    "I do have onest question, for Wilhelm." Michael stated, turning back towards the Half-Devil


    "Oh?" The Young man waited for a response.


    "Would you like to be an Angel?"


    .....Credit where credit is due, because noneof us saw thating. Way to even throw off the Youkai, brother, even if I think my own jaw is hanging open.


    "Objection!"


    "This isn''t a courtroom, Serafall." I regained my wits. "But I''m feeling something simr. What the hell, Michael?"


    Even Uriel and the others at his side looked at him strange.


    "Would it not be a good option for us?" The Archangel smiled brightly. "He is Half-Human, so it should be viable. And the Divinity aspect should not be a problem. Though it''s only a thought for the future."


    Admittedly, it would solve a lot of their own issues regarding the Spear and such.


    "And he already showed capability with Holy Power, Father''s remnants in the spear acknowledging him. So I see no fault in offering it." He added, with words that were hard to rebuke.


    "You''re asking me to just forsake everything I care about to be an Angel." The Red-Haired Half Devil said very dryly. ".....I will take it as the good intentions you perceived it to be. However, If I ever epted, I would immediately fall. I do not share your cultural values, nor would it be fair to your others to make an exception ¨C even if that was possible ¨C to allow me to continue on as I am, but as an Angel."


    "Actually, I take back what I said. Make him an Angel! When he falls, he''ll be mine!" I pped my palms on the table. "Best idea ever, Michael!"


    Pretty sure he''s banging all those girls next to him, so he definitely wouldn''tst long as an Angel. I''m totally on board with this now.


    And bonus, the Devils looked absolutely horrified at the prospect.


    "....and I would have to associate with him." Her jerked his thumb towards me


    Rude.


    "I can understand your reservations." Michael smiled humorously.


    [****]


    Yasaka POV


    Well, that turned out better than expected.


    Besides the obvious curve ball thrown there.


    And while I don''t think we neededthat harp, I think it would help Wilhelm drastically in what he''s attempting. I didn''t want to keep putting too much pressure on him after everything he''s already done.


    And we couldn''t even use that de cksmith to begin with. It simply wasn''tpatible with Youkai as a whole.


    It was better to further enhance our good will with the Heaven Faction, even after giving them back their Excalibur.


    Would also stop them from being overly aggressive about Artoria''s Sword, and the Spear in the future.


    "Now that this is settled. We should return to the topic of the peace between the three factions. Am I safe to assume that everything is still proceeding in that respect?"


    The Devils, the Angels, and the Fallen all shared looks, a silent agreement between them.


    "If there is nothing else, we are happy to formalize a Treaty." Sirzechs Lucifer stated. "I''m sure there are more smallerconcerns to be had, but I think we can work out those detailster."


    "We are willing to also ept peace." Michael nodded.


    "And us too." Azazel quickly added.


    Well, can''t say I''m envious of all the additional work an officigreement between them will mean. The paper work would be an absolute nightmare.


    Rather uneventful too.


    This is a big deal to the three factions, but it was just quietly reached without any misshaps. I expected some kind of dreadful attack or maybe some opposition deciding to be more aggressive.


    Oh well, it doesn''t really concern me.


    "Good, now we can talk about the important stuff." Odin who had been quiet for awhile, mmed his stick against the ground. "Hearing you kids bickering was getting on my nerves. I came here because of N¨ªeh?ggr appearing, and the possibility of someone from my faction interfering in matters concerning yours. With some revtions that more might be going on, how are we going to deal with this in the future."


    "It''s obvious we need to work together if our enemies aren''t adhering to the lines in the sand anymore." Serafall stated. "I think we should all pool our resources together."


    And when all eyesnded over on me, I could easily tell what they really meant.


    Do you think you''ll be getting this information for free? You''re sorely mistaken then.


    "I was already suspecting that there was something remiss amongst my own faction." The God of Light spoke up. "What I''ve heard today has only confirmed my beliefs and opened my eyes to a wider conspiracy. Some of my kin may not be agreeable, but I do believe that a joint effort is required."


    The others just nodded along, expressing simr sentiments, making themselves so oh so righteous.


    They just yed it up so I couldn''t refuse.


    "Unfortunately, we cannot share the same sentiments."


    Which I did anyways.


    And the looks that sh across their faces, they really weren''t expecting me to say that after everything that happened.


    How fun~


    "We''re currently preparing for a War." I kindly reminded them. "We don''t have time nor resources to look beyond our own borders and our own situation tobat a perceived threat that hasn''t directlye after us."


    "Didn''t you say that this Hero Faction was part of the Khaos brigade?" Serafall asked.


    "Yes, but they were working separately, not deliberating targeting us as a whole." I replied.


    "We would be more than willing to help you ward off Kyoto." Ajuka responded. "To make sure an attack like before doesn''t happen again."


    "Do you mean like the ones that were supposed to protect this ce?" I gestured to the destroyed buildings around us.


    The Green Haired devil failed to hide the scowl that appeared.


    "Oof, going to need a Phoenix tear for that one." Azazel said quietly. "But he''s right. I think if we all worked together, we could easily set up some pretty good defenses so you don''t have to be worried about that."


    "The offer is appreciated, but we already have taken such matters into our own hands." I politely declined.


    "If this Khaos Brigade is as far reaching as you say.....wouldn''t they alsoe to retaliate after learning you revealed and know so much about them?" Michael asked. "I know you have some powerful people on your side, but are you capable of standing up against these Gods?"


    "Do you think this is everyone that we have?" I let out augh. "I assure you, we are making our own preparations." I looked towards my lovely blue sister who was quietly standing to the side. "Jinn, sweetie. Tell me, how goes the project you were working on?"


    Jinn perked up happily. I think this was the first time anyone here actually paid overt attention to the girl. Insofar, she hadn''t really been any major focus. Jinn merely adopted a thoughtful expression. "I got it all nned out at this point and already started. Give me a month or so and I think I can cover all of Kyoto after some effort."


    Or more specifically, where there were Magical Defenses. After hearing what Wilhelm was up to, Jinn also started doing something simr, albeit it a little different.


    She was very familiar with Godly power. She, she began constructing City-wide wards that would detect those sorts of things as well as weaving into some new things she picked up over in that other world. Essentially it was in preparation in case the Khaos Brigade decided to attack us.


    Would it stop them? No, but not much could.


    But it was enough to buy time for our people to deal with them.


    Between her and Wilhelm''s efforts, well, Kyoto was going to be verysecure. Maybe the most secure, mortal ce on the.


    And of course, they didn''t know the details, only that Kyoto was currently beingpletely defended.


    "As you can see, we''re doing okay on our own." I smiled towards everyone.


    "But....the size of Kyoto." Ajuka muttered. "The sheer amount of work required would be astronomical."


    "It''s not that difficult." Jinn replied.


    And I don''t think she meant it to be as dismissive as it sounded.


    Should I feel bad for Ajuka? How many times today has his ego taken a hit?


    Jinn isn''t a Spirit of knowledge without reason. I have no doubt that Ajuka could ovee Jinn in a battle of Magic. However, if he wanted to match her in sheer knowledge and ability, well, he would be in for a rough time.


    Once again, it just showed that we utterly did not need them. So there was only one real way for them to proceed.


    "Damn Fox." Odin grumbled. "Fine, what do you want?"


    And that was basically the sounding of the end of this little meeting. Now it was just time to reap all the rewards~


    ]***]


    Here''s Friday''s Dyed chapter. Why it took so long, I was revising it a little before the post date. I intended to get it done on Thursday, but it seems like life likes pping me in the face when I getcent. TLDR, my car got towed by ''ident''. That was fun to settle, took most of Thursday. So, here''s part 4 of the peace meeting, wrapping up the main talks while the clean up starts the next chapter next.


    Also, you can me Cross. He linked me his snippet thread, so I lost track of time and spent a couple hours reading over those.


    And to wrap everything up in a nice bow, this marks the passing of 1,000,000 words!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 325 - 293

    <h4>Chapter 325: Chapter 293</h4>


    Once everyone basically bowed their heads to Yasaka, it got.....boring.


    Realistically, that''s a good thing, but still, they just droned on about certain things that didn''t really concern me. I, of course, was attentive and supported Yasaka whenever she needed me to. Sometimes asking me questions, very visibly, for whatever reason, or sometimes I would speak up about certain things.


    It was literal hourster that everyone finally had a solidified agreement in front of them. A document that was Magicked up, copied over, and would copy their signatures or marks with a hint of their aura left on it for validity.


    I would have been skeptical about this treaty in any other circumstance. Being nothing more than a piece of parchment, not worth the ink it was used to write. However, with both Lugh and Odin as signers, and Sun Wukong as Witness, everyone would be very cautious about breaking it.


    They would immediately be pariahs to much of the world. More so than they already are. Right now, people simply don''t like the Three factions for the most part. However, there are still many different kinds of trade agreements and of the sort going on.


    If they so tantly break an agreement like this, they''ll lose a significant amount of credibility. If it was just the Youkai faction, they could easily bury it without much effort.


    Funnily enough, they all looked...not excited about the whole thing. Not that they were upset, but there was clearly not much enthusiasm about their signing.


    Well, all except one.


    The One-Eyed God let out a snort as he tossed a quill of all things onto the table after pping the parchment down. "Only one side is walking out of here with a grin on their face." He wasining, but it held a hint of begrudging respect to it.


    And yes, Yasaka was looking rather gleeful after everything finally settled.


    Made out like damn bandits is what we did.


    And it''s funny that they really couldn''t do anything to stop it because we held all the cards.


    Basically, we managed to squeeze into an agreement that Heaven, The Celtics, and the Norse currently had regarding Fae activity in that part of the world. Very soon, we were going to start getting shipments of Iron Weapons straight from the dwarves of Nidavellir. Some of the best craftsmen in this world. It was a special few that made Mjolnir, Thor''s Divine Hammer. Not to mention a plethora of other weapons the Norse use. Hell, I think even Odin''s Gungnir was made by the dwarves.


    So, quality is to be expected, and the quantity is nothing to scoff at either.


    As for the Celtics and Heaven? They''re both promising support based on their own cosmologies. The Celtic have Druids that use Touki and Magic in a very unique way that''s very productive in battles with the Fae. Yasaka managed to negotiate both aid and teachers toe around Kyoto.


    Heaven was a bit more difficult. They really couldn''tmit to any War, not that the others did either. That was a very stringent requirement they all adhered to. We were on our own when it came to the actual war. However, we were able to secure a few uses of their forces for some very specific ns, which will y out well in the future. That was, in addition, to more tangible resources they would be sending our way.


    The Devils, well...honestly, we wanted nothing to do with them. Basically, we were getting just raw resources in return for all the information we provided. And it was unlikely that the Youkai would want to work with them in any case.


    Funnily enough, that irked the Devils something fierce that we basically told them they were unneeded for the most part. That isn''t to say they wouldn''t be paying some substantial amounts, but they were otherwise not worth more than what they were giving us in mary value.


    The Grigori, they''re basically an in-between of Heaven and the Devils. Their poption isn''t very good either, but they promised some resources and some manpower for certain things along with some marypensation.


    Though, that was just the benefits we got.


    The main focus was the fact that there was an organization out there that wasposed of cross-pantheon deities and other creatures.


    Everyone agreed to pull their resources and look into it. An alliance of sorts to deal with the problem. Before Yasaka decided to overturn their entire perception of this conference, they originally gathered for something simr, if less.....pressing on the matter. Odin came due to N¨ªeh?ggr and presumably Loki causing problems.


    He would have done the usual song and dance, throw a few promises out, ease any tension, and be on his way. Lugh, he was a little more difficult to read. From what I summarized, he came out to support the Heaven Faction, and due to his own interest in Sc¨¢thach. He apparently had suspicions of something like the Khaos Brigade existing, but nothing concrete.


    And of course, the three factions would havee together to broker a peaceful coexistence. Before, even with the unspoken ceasefire, if a Devil or Fallen popped up in Church territory, it was very much smite first, ask questions never.


    While they''re trying to keep territory lines strict, it''s not going to be immediately smiting if a Devil finds themselves where they shouldn''t be.


    Now, though, there was something much stronger binding everyone tomon goal. Something that forced everyone to solidify a real agreement of cooperation and peace.


    And as hrious as it all sounds, they were all looking to Yasaka, to us for some manner of guidance here.


    The smallest faction that was never even thought of anything worthwhile. Well, we were going to be under a lot more scrutiny from now on. But even so, I could easily tell how euphoric Yasaka was right now due to this.


    She made them look at her like an equal.


    Everyone slowly got up from their seats and sort of meandered over to their own people, talking amongst themselves. A few courageous of the lot went to talk with other factions here or there.


    But the main negotiations, the debates and the talks were finished.


    We all had a finalized agreement that was decided on.


    Outside of the leaders, there were plenty that were looking at us with hesitance in their eyes. Like, I think someone wanted toe over to talk but they were a little intimidated.


    There was one person who ignored all that and came walking over without a care in the world. "Yasaka."


    "Sun Wukong." Yasaka smiled warmly. "Are you finally finished with your ''Watcher'' status ande to ask some questions?"


    The Old Monkey let out a chuckle. "I don''t think it would be appropriate." He shook his head. "And the res I''m getting from some of yourpanions is making me uneasy."


    Sc¨¢thach.


    Sc¨¢thach was visibly ring at him.


    She''s cutely protective of Raikou. They certainly bonded quicker than the others.


    Because even now, The Monkey King was shooting her nces.


    "I just wanted to give some parting words. I have nothing to say about the meeting, or any of the many questions I have." He tipped down his sunsses. "That being said, well done, Yasaka."


    "Why, thank you~" Yasaka preened under the praise.


    "Mmm, you did a wonderful job leading them along that they didn''t even remember the reason I was here in the first ce." The Monkey King praised more. Sparing one more nce at Raikou he pushed his sses back up. "How unfortunate that no one asked about the youngdy that I was supposed to investigate." He exaggeratedly shook his head. "It seems I''ll have to report back to Indra that I couldn''t find any other information out about the woman who wielded his sacred weapon."


    Even Sc¨¢thach seemed to rx a little after hearing that. It was honestly very difficult to dislike this Buddha at all.


    Every time I''ve met him, he was doing something that was objectively against my own interests and those around me, yet....I don''t think I had any ill will towards him.


    "Thank you, Sun Wukong." Yasaka said softly.


    "Thank me? For what?" He chuckled. "I''m just an old man, talking to myself. " He hummed, taking out a familiar pipe before biting down on the end. "How the years passed by." He turned, looking towards the groups of people still gathered. "I remember a long time ago, Indra had a child by the name of Arjuna. It was a time when many heroes rose under the banner of the Hindu Pantheon. There was a tale about Arjuna and his half-Brother, very popr in that part of the world, but I won''t get into it. Indra was different back then, he had many children and never cared to put much thought into having the next. Though, after those two died, he changed. The swathes of little Demi-Gods began to trickle away. He rarely had any other children with mortals afterwards. In fact, it''s been centuries since he''sst had Demi-God." He very clearly emphasized that point.


    "How random a thought you''re having there." I crossed my arms.


    "Yup, just a random thought I had. I''m old, I like to reminisce sometimes." The Monkey King chuckled again. "Though, if there was a child of his. One that could hear my words in this moment, I think I''d say something like ''Stay in Japan and don''t go near India and southern Asia'', but of course I have no idea about such a thing." The Monkey King shrugged.


    "Thank you, again, Sun Wukong."


    He silently waived it off with a smile. "Oh, and before I forget." He raised on a finger, pointing it at me. "Odin asked me to send you his way since I wasing to say my goodbyes."


    "Odin wants to talk to me?" I raised an eyebrow. "About what, exactly?" Might help if I knew the specifics, even if might seem obvious.


    Might be able to bullshit better if I have a few more moments to give it some thought.


    "Who knows." He tapped his pipe, putting it away. "Just a messenger. Anyways, I''ll see youdiester. And you, young man. I''m sure we''ll be meeting again soon." He didn''t really give anyone time to answer before he stepped away and shot off into the air on a cloud.


    "That was....surreal." Rin muttered. "The Monkey King was just talking in front of us."


    "Literally friends with Japan''s Mother goddess." I pointed out.


    "It''s still weird." Rin huffed.


    "Are you going to go talk to him, Wilhelm?" Yasaka asked.


    "Should I?" I mean, I assumed I was before, but...maybe not?


    "It may not be wise to disregard him." Sc¨¢thach admitted. "If he is vengeful like we are familiar with, the next time may not be polite. If there is a time, he is now forced to act with decorum under this situation."


    Ugh, she''s right.


    "I guess I''ll go have a chat with the All-Father."


    [***]


    The Norse God was sitting quietly off to the side. It wasn''t very difficult to find him, but he was putting out this sort of....presence that made it difficult for others to approach him.


    Sitting upon arge piece of rubble, he raised his head as I approached, silently tapping his palm on an empty spot to his side.


    Well, I followed along and plopped myself down right next to him.


    He didn''t even look at me. Instead, he leaned on his walking stick as he watched the other people in the area go about their business. Could see all of them from where we were sitting, even my own people.


    "Look at them." The God opened his mouth.


    "The Angels?" I questioned, turning my gaze to where he was staring. "Yeah, even as a Devil, they''re really something." I could admit that they were magnificent creatures.


    "No, I was talking about Gabriel''s Boobs." He replied without apletely straight expression.


    "...I don''t know how to respond to that."


    He then broke out into a softughter, his walking stick tapping against the ground a few times as he held himself sitting up straight.


    It was odd, in this moment, he really did seem like a frail old man.


    "Just look at them bounce, that roundness, yet they''re also so firm! Really, that Biblical God, he was a man of taste." The Norse god nodded to himself. "Makes you wonder why he would give that kind of body to such a kind and selfless woman. Doubt she''ll ever touch a man, let alone put those assets to use. Such a shame."


    "Alright, good talk." I was about to get up and walk away, but his stick found its way pushing against my chest.


    "Won''t you listen to an old man for a little while longer?" He sounded pitiful, which set off some dangerous vibes.


    I let out a sigh. "What do you want?''


    He hummed, not answering me, instead turning towards somewhere else. "That brte, with the white dress. She''s the one that''s yours?" He raised his stick up, pointing to my woman.


    "Yes, Venna and I are in a rtionship." I didn''t hide it, not that it wasn''t mentioned during the talks.


    "Nice, very nice." Odin nodded appreciatively. "I wonder if I can flip her dress from here, get a look at that nice round butt of hers. Is it as amazing as I imagine it to be?"


    His stick slowly moved towards her before I grabbed hold of it. "If you want to lose your arm, feel free to continue."


    "Hoho, so protective~" The God chuckled. "That''s good though. A man should be protective of his woman." He nodded approvingly before letting out a sigh. "I can''t control Loki anymore." He suddenly said, leaning more against his stick. "He wasn''t always evil." The God emphasized that word. "He would sometimes take his jokes too far, causing pain. He would sometimes do unpleasant things to others without considering their own feelings. But.....he didn''t used to be intentionally cruel."


    "Are you trying to make me sympathize with him?" I raised an eyebrow. "Due to his actions, someone I care about almost died. He''s just living on borrowed time right now as far as I''m concerned."


    "And If I said I disagree with Loki facing your wrath? If I stood in your way?" Odin the Great God of the Norse. I felt his presence suddenly looming over me. No longer the frail old man he was pretending to be, but the God of War that the world would cower away from if he marched to battle.


    However, I didn''t react, I didn''t back down from his presence that bore down on me. "Make sure it''s the hill you want to die on."


    The presence around him dissipated as quickly as it arrived, the God letting out a bark ofughter. "Hahaha! If I was a few centuries younger, I''d love to go a round or two."


    "Please, you''re talking like you don''t sit at the peak of the world right now." I rolled my eyes.


    He smiled smugly. "Pretty dang smart for someone so young. The young''uns these days, they look at that supposed list and think it''s the end all, be all of power. But there''s still a bunch of us old geezers that stepped back. The old Monkey is one example. Hel, you got one over in Japan too. Though, he sleeps all the time."


    I blinked at his words. "Who?"


    "The creator God of Japan, who else?"


    "Izanagi." I breathed out his name.


    "Mmm, that''s the one." Odin nodded. "The Husband ¨C or former of a Goddess you''re familiar with. The pitiful woman that secludes herself in that dreary ce."


    "Izzy..."


    "Hehe, got a cute little name for her, huh?" The Godughed again. "She''s got a nice body and isn''t bad on the eyes. Why not make her yours? It looks like you already got a bunch already."


    "I didn''t realize you were that close to her enough to try and set her up." I eyed him suspiciously. "Whenever she talks about you, it''s not pleasant."


    "Bah, that woman is too pitiful. Who wants to make fun of a lonely old woman who sits in the dark?" The Old God huffed.


    "That''s oddly kind of you."


    "And if she starts banging a kid barely in his 20s then I can make fun of her for being a cougar." He gave a wide grin.


    "And there it is." Though...thatst bit felt less sincere. "So, what''s the real reason?"


    "Hmph." Odin''s ''grin'' disappeared immediately. "Really are smart of someone your age." He let out another sigh, looking up towards the sky. "I said before that I can''t control Loki anymore. You know, back during the Great War, it was the most exciting time of my life. I am ¨C was ¨C a God of War. I relished in it when I conquered the Nine Realms and dug out my Kingdom upon Yggdrasil. Then, other Pantheons began warring, and we inevitably got drawn into it. And again, I loved it. The Greeks, the Egyptians, The Hindus, and even the Shinto. All across the world, everyone witnessed our might my might. I was Odin, the Great God that sat upon the Throne of Asgard."


    "What happened?" I was a little curious.


    "I led my armies from victory to victory. I was so enthralled with the battles, with the wars that erupted everywhere. I only thought about the next battle, the next conquest. And my dear Frigga, she supported me every step of the way. If it wasn''t for her, Asgard would have fallen into ruin while they suffered under my warmongering. I don''t even remember when it happened." A look of defeat overcame him. "What honor I was seeking, what I was trying to conquer. All I remember was the news that Asgard was attacked. It wasn''t something new, enemies often sought to try and strike down our seat of power, but they were repulsed every time by the All-Mother, Frigga, in my stead. So, I paid it no mind, tossed the letter informing me aside and continued in my own arrogance. When I returned, my beautiful Kingdom was barely held together. But most importantly, my wife was no longer upon the throne, waiting for my triumphant return. The moment she died, so too did my ambition. I lost something of myself that day, the Great War God Odin would no longer appear. "


    There was aplicated look on his face as he retold his past.


    "Due to certain circumstances, Ragnar?k was seemingly perpetually put on hold. I felt like I no longer had a purpose. So, once my Sons were old enough, I handed over the crown, and left." The Norse God breathed out. "Loki never forgave me for giving up. We had agreed, once upon a time, to fight our fates together. To fight against Ragnar?k, to fight against our fated ends. But....I couldn''t find the will in me anymore. This peace that came about, that put the end times on hold, it just further crumbled away any resolve I have."


    "Temporary. It''s only temporary." I muttered. "There''s no way that Ragnar?k was just put on hold. There has to be something more to it. Eventually, whatever Dam is blocking it, the tide will wash over."


    Odin''s eyes shed. "You really are an intelligent kid. As expected of someone who was blessed by another version of me."


    And like that, all my thoughts came to a screeching halt.


    "What are ¨C"


    "Don''t take me for a fool." His singr eye snapped towards me. Looking, gleaming every single response I had died instantly. It was as if he could see through everything I was currently thinking. "Do you think my blessing can just appear? It isn''t hard to put together the clues when they wereid out so inly. I''m curious how you got around that Red Lizard though. He''s known for not letting anyone in or out."


    Fuck.


    ".....what do you want from me? Why are you telling me your life story?"


    "It''s funny. For being a so called ''God of Wisdom'', I''m entirely unsure." He let out a mirthful chuckle again. "It''s not like I expected this. It sounds oundish to even think about, let alone just speak openly, but you basically confirmed it with your reaction. Thosedies you brought with you too, once I saw them, it was easy to put together. Luckily for you, I think I''m the only one. Even the Old Monkey was more concerned with the Daughter of his master you brought with you."


    Well, small mercies I suppose. But now I have to deal with Odin knowing a rather valuable secret of mine.


    "Oh, don''t get your panties in a bunch. I''m not here to threaten you, brat." The God huffed. "I want your help."


    "My help? What do you want me to help with? Aren''t we already technically in an alliance?"


    He snorted in response. "Please, that Fox of yours did a damn good job of stacking everything in your favor. Not to mention pushed all the dirty work on to us, and we even paid her for the opportunity. No, what I want is something else. Yggdrasil is dying."


    My eyes widened at that reveal. "How is it dying? Wouldn''t that mean Ragnar?k already started?"


    "You''re right, Ragnar?k already started." Odin confirmed without any fanfare. "Right as it began, it stopped. But things set in motion aren''t so easily undone. Yggdrasil is a Tree. It grows, it blooms, and acorns drop to the ground. Eventually, the tree gets too old, too frail, or even nature could strike it. The Tree is toppled, falling to the ground. It breaks down, bing nutrients for what was left behind. A new tree takes its ce, nearly identical, but different to the previous one. The Cycle continues on."


    "All this time, the World Tree has been slowly dying because your cycle should have already ended."


    Ragnar?k was a cycle. Just like Odin described, just like a tree.


    "It''s a secret, more so than even the Biblical God being dead. Not many even amongst our number know of it."


    "Loki does, doesn''t he?" I asked.


    "He does." Odin didn''t hide it. "I don''t think he even cares about stopping his own fate anymore. I think he just wants to watch the world burn and dance on the ashes. ording to you, he allied himself with others who just want to end the world."


    "Why are you telling me?" I looked at him again. "What do you want from me?"


    "Did you know? There are two kinds of beings that exist in this world. Those who want to preserve the world. Those who want to destroy the world." He stated, as if ignoring my question. "Loki was.....in the middle more or less, barely a step in any direction, undecided. It wouldn''t be hard to nudge him onto a specific path. I said before, he was never intentionally cruel, but sometimes his nature poked through. However, I saw the potential in him. I took him into my court, befriended him, and made him my brother. I even helped him be a proper God. He felt betrayed by my actions, and he fell to the opposite end. He no longer cares about preserving what we fought for. Maybe, I knew what he was up to, that he had already gone off the deep end. But having it so tantly thrown in my face, I can''t hide from the truth anymore. I have a duty to uphold, to clean up my mess.


    The great god turned towards me, looking oddly resolved.


    "You asked me what I want? I want.....help." Odin''s hands tightened around his stick - no, for a brief moment, I saw that Golden Spear thatid dormant underneath. "I''m going to make a bet. I had given up, thought fate was already predetermined, so I no longer cared to fight it. However, I now see an opportunity, so I am going to wager to see how far Fate can truly reach. You, who can leave this world and travel to others. I, All-Father, Great God of Asgard, Odin. I am asking you for your help in stopping Ragnar?k."


    [***]


    So, this chapter gave me some trouble. My original intent was to go all around, the back and forth of what they''re giving and such. But...I realized that it wasn''t really all that important? The negotiations had basically been ''won'' already before that point, so just a brief coverage of it to clean up felt more appropriate. It would have just been more regurgitated of what thest few chapters were, and at that point, it would feel sort of dragging on, and I didn''t want that since this whole thingsted 4 huge chapters already. So, chapter basically cleaned up thest bit off screen as everyone begins going their seperate ways with a few things from Odin and Sun Wukong. Got an interlude from Sirzechs next.


    Also, sorry for thete chapter, the one over on pat is a chunky one that took me awhile to wrap up. Next chapter will be out Tuesday/Wednesday some time. If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 326: Interlude 24

    <h4>Chapter 326: Interlude 24</h4>


    Sirzechs Lucifer POV


    "Well, that could have gone better." Serafall threw herself onto the couch in our lounge area.


    "It could have been worse." Ajuka countered with a sigh, sitting down in his own seat.


    "Yeah, that Fox could have stopped metaphorically dry fucking us and instead use those massive balls of hers to have a go at the real thing."


    "It''s not like you to be so crass, Serafall." Imented, taking my own seat to the side.


    "Yeah, well, it just seems like every problem we''ve had since we took our positions was piled up and thrown in our faces today. And there wasn''t a damn thing we could do about it except smile prettily and take it."


    An annoyingly apt description.


    "Admittedly, they are problems that we haven''t quite dealt with." I pointed out.


    "And it''s not like we can just wave a magic wand to fix them." Serafall agreed. "That was some nice bullshit about the Evil Pieces you fed. Sounds like they believed we had actually came up with that idea beforehand and it wasn''t just something you thought up right at that moment."


    "What can I say? I have a few good ideas every now and then." I chuckled. "And honestly, it''s only a few steps further than what we were doing already. I mean, we just keep watch for powerful Sacred Gears and anyone that was.....a potential political hazard. Otherwise, we didn''t do much and kept our hands away."


    I did think that all up on the spot. And it wouldn''t be too hard to actually implement if we really wanted to.


    "We''re going to need to actually do it though." Ajuka frowned. "Not that I''m against it. Doubly so as the creator of the things. But they''re going to be watching and wanting visible results. And a lot of the noble houses aren''t going to be happy. You know how they get when we have to police them even if they aren''t part of the problem."


    "And we can parade Dio around to shut them up." I mirrored his frown, remembering the vivid details about that whole thing. "No offense."


    "None taken." Ajuka scowled. "I want to wring his neck myself. That little bastard could have ruined us and that Youkai Leader knows it. She didn''t press nearly as hard as she could have. You saw how Michael was acting after hearing what she said? One or two more steps back and he might have pulled out all together."


    And he hissed a ''How did they even know?'' under his breath.


    What a mess. One of Ajuka''s family members so tantly stealing away Church Holy Maidens and Nuns, doing unspeakable things to them. And to top it all off, we were none the wiser about what was going on.


    Maybe, we turned more of a blind eye to our own families than we should have when we took up our positions? I know some of Rias''s Peerage were not technically .... acquired, through her own merit. I may have pushed her in a direction or two, and may have set up the circumstances that allowed her to gain a few powerful peerage members.


    It''s unlikely I''ll be able to do that in the future with my own proposition on how to deal with the Evil Pieces.


    Frankly, it''s strange that they knew the intimate details about Dio''s dealings. Would this ''Hero Faction'' really have kept such detailed ounts of a lower end Devil? Then again with his familial connections such information could have been useful for any number of things, from ckmail to increasing tensions between factions.


    I think we were all skeptical on their ''source'' of information, even if it did technically make sense. They seemed way too confident for that to be their only card.


    "....we have to thank Azazel." I let out a sigh. "And he''s going to be insufferable."


    "Probably not." Ajuka shared my sentiment. "His faction didn''t reallye out unscathed either. He had to sit there and bite his tongue when that Fox brought up theirst meeting too. And you know Michael didn''t approveof Azazel doing something like that right while he''s trying to coax us all together."


    I couldn''t help but furrow my brow. "I thought there was a silent agreement to not cause any problems while we were trying to hash things out before deciding anything official. Why exactly did he go over to Japan, the Hero Faction''s Sacred gears?"


    "That''s what he ims, but you never know what he''s thinking." Ajuka nodded.


    "No wonder Yasaka just ripped into us. We must look likeplete assholes to her with how Azazel handled things. Even if we aren''t the same, most others see us all as the ''Abrahamic Factions'' rather than separate factions." Serafall let out a whine of annoyance.


    "I don''t think she thought any differently about us based on that singr example." I snorted.


    Serafall threw her hands up. "Why the Youkai of all factions? Why were they the ones holding the paddle while we all had to bend over?!"


    "Crude description aside, she isn''t wrong." Ajuka leaned forward, looking thoughtful. "It really came out of nowhere. In hindsight, we could look at what''s been happening in Japan to realize something was amiss, but not like this. They knew exactly what they were walking into, and they were well beyond prepared."


    "Start to finish, they were ying us." Serafall huffed. "Whenever we thought we could gain the initiative, they just pped us with something that we couldn''t argue with. Something is definitely up and we need to know."


    "Is that your pride speaking or your status as ''Foreign Affairs?"


    "Yes." Serafall huffed again. "We can''t be caught off guard again like this again, especially from a small faction like the Youkai. We need people on the inside now, we need to get spies over there."


    "And how do you propose we do that? How many Youkai do we have that could sneak into the one of their factions, let alone both of them? Not to mention their borders are sealed up tight, and one of the points they didn''t budge on was letting us and the other factions inside wantonly." Ajuka countered.


    "I don''t know!" Serafall threw up her hands. "We have to do something, though. We were yed like amateurs, Ajuka. Even Odin and Lugh had to just bow to their whims. Which brings up the very important question. What the hell? And to answer it, we need to take action."


    "As much as I want to figure out this enigma as well, we can''t really afford to spend too much resources on it." Ajuka interjected. "We have much bigger problems to worry about."


    "Speaking of resources, how bad is it?" I wasn''t too familiar with our budget. That was Falbium''s domain.


    "Baldy gave me the run down before we left." Serafall uncharacteristically scowled. "It''s not as bad as it could be. We aren''t.....hurting, but we''ll have to cut down on spending for a few projects while we reorientate out ourselves. The fact that they vehemently denied any manpower and only epted more tangible stuff....well, just gotta tighten our belts for a little while."


    "It''s clear she did not like us." Ajuka grunted. "Compared to The Angels or the Grigori, we''re definitely paying out more."


    "I could have told you that." Serafall rolled her eyes. "I could have told you that decades ago! But every time I mentioned trying to resolve things with them, it was always pushed to the wayside as unimportant."


    .....and it was, then.


    No one could have predicted this turn around. They were so unimportant we didn''t even bother to acknowledge them when we gained Kuoh as a territory. Granted, that whole process went through the Shinto Gods, one of the few times we even had any kind of back and forth with that Pantheon, but the point still stands.


    "And again, another thing takes precedent. The Khaos Brigade." I breathed out. "Apparently, not so insignificant as we thought."


    "Rizevim might be finally making a move." Serafall frowned again. "The Youkai did say that he''s a part of it. You may need to finally move out and meet him, Sirzechs. I don''t know if Ajuka or I could win if we fought."


    "It''s what I''ve been preparing for." I acknowledged.


    By building a peerage without any Sacred Gear users. Not many knew about the ability that Rizevim inherited from his father, the original Lucifer. The ability that made him a true enemy of Heaven and actually managed to bring the war to the Angels and the Creator himself.


    We don''t know how he acquired it, somehow twisting the light-based abilities he originally had into something malefic in nature.


    The Denial of Miracles.


    To depower the creations of God. To weaken the faith and prayers of believers and to bring low the very essence of Heaven.


    Sacred Gears were utterly useless in front of his ability. And that was on top of him being the first ever Super Devil.


    "We have enough evidence to start pressing." Ajuka stated. "We just need to hit it at the right angle, don''t give them an opportunity to weasel out of anything."


    "....should we ask Zekram for help? He was oddly.....cooperative about this whole thing." Sera said hesitantly.


    "Do we know what he wants? He was helping the Youkai too. And we weren''t the only ones who noticed, so he must have done it that obvious on purpose." I added.


    "Ugh, who knows what that old man wants." Serafall sighed. "All I know is that he was clearly helping Yasaka." She lifted her head up to look at me. "Think it has anything to do with Wilhelm?"


    My...son.


    I still didn''t know how to feel about him.


    It was so easy to ignore him when he was living ignorantly in Kuoh. When not every Devil in the underworld knew about my indiscretion. And it didn''t make it better knowing that so many of the newer generation of devils actually looked up to him.


    .....He fought a God.


    And from what we learned recently, he apparently killed another.


    That''s not something many can im. But, Odin confirmed it himself, even if I was skeptical about the im, I don''t think he would lie about something that serious.


    I didn''t know what he meant by ''Usurping its Divine Authority'', I would need to check with Ajuka about that. While it may sound obvious, the....mechanics behind something like that shouldn''t be possible. Otherwise, we would have been hunting down stray Gods for the past few centuries.


    And there was so much more that was thrown in our faces. The Wielder of the Boosted Gear and the True Longinus. Thetter of which shouldn''t be possible with his Devil Heritage. He imed it was because of his Divinity, but...we don''t really have anything to verify that with.


    Ajuka said he was going to investigate that ''Aura'' thing that Rias''s Pawn received from him. He thinks it might be able to answer a question or two of ours when everything was said and done.


    And the boosted Gear. It was a Longinus Sacred Gear for a reason. It wasn''t something we could ignore by itself, and now it appeared in the hands of someone who...disliked us.


    Again, it didn''t even stop there....


    Magic that even Ajuka can''t figure out. A Magician he calls ''Grandfather'' that we''ve never heard of. Women at his side that we also know nearly nothing about bar one in particr that introduced herself.


    The name of Sc¨¢thach was known throughout the supernaturalmunity. Another person who imed the title of Godyer.


    "I wouldn''t put it past Zekram to try and bring him to the Old Man''s Side." I closed my eyes, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "You know how he is about his bloodline. I don''t think he''d appreciate someone running around with it that he can''t influence."


    "Jeez, I didn''t even think about that. How pissed was he when he heard about Lucifer JR?" Serafall asked.


    "....do you really have to use that ridiculous name?" I sighed at her antics.


    "I don''t know, did you really have to scowl and stare at him nearly the whole meeting?" She snorted.


    "...touch¨¦." I may have not been thinking clearly after seeing him in person.


    I was about to respond, until a knock sounded on the other side of the door. I think we were all too preupied with our own thoughts to notice who it was.


    "Come on in." Serafall let out a long breath, leaning back in her seat.


    Normally, we wouldn''t have been so careless with who we let over here while we were discussing these sorts of things, but it''s not like this person wasn''t untrustworthy.


    "Hello kids." Mother stepped through the threshold. "Just came in to check to see if you need me any longer. I wanted to get back home soon."


    I couldn''t help but force down a smile as the words left her mouth. It was funny that she''s probably the only person in the underworld who would dare address us in such a way. Then again, she did like to say how she babysat us as babies and actually changed our diapers.


    "Momma Gremory, perfect timing!" Serafall perked up. "We were just discussing Wilhelm, anything you want to add?"


    Dammit Serfall....


    "Nothing in particr, no." Mother smiled evenly.


    "Ohe on, no super secret information that you''re privy to? No eavesdropping on their ns so we won''t be so thoroughly fucked infront of everyone?"


    Mother hummed nomittedly. "I do know some things that are not public knowledge." We all leaned in a little. "However, I don''t think you all want to hear about what I got up to in the bedroom."


    I felt myself facepalming, a groan escaping my lips.


    "Jokes aside." Serafall giggled. "What do you think about seducing Wilhelm to join our side?"


    "Serafall." I sighed.


    "Sirzechs, I''m being serious." Serafall was looking surprisingly earnest. "Old Zekram is obviously trying to win him over, so let''s beat him to the punch. We have the biggest advantage right now." She jabbed her thumb towards mom. "So, Momma Gremory, you think you can lead him by the dick to join us?"


    "....it''s not a bad n." Ajuka also admitted, earning a re from me.


    "It''s a ridiculous n, this whole thing is ridiculous!"


    "Sorry, Serafall. Wilhelm and I agreed to keep these kinds of matters out of our rtionship." Mother shook her head. "If you want to win him over, you''ll have to do it without my help. I don''t want to ruin the good thing I have going right now."


    "Mother, how long are you going to keep this charade up?"


    "Charade?" She tilted her head, looking oblivious.


    "Please stop pretending." I sighed again. "I get it, you''re upset with me. Can you please stop with this whole nonsense about dating my son?"


    "Sirzechs, do you think I would lower myself to do something like this just to punish you?" Mother frowned, her voice one that I recognized from my childhood when I did something wrong. "Don''t get me wrong, I''m enthused that it''s making you ufortable, because you damn well deserve that much. But don''t you dare assume I would treat myself so cheaply for that to be my sole motivator."


    "Then, why!?"


    I didn''t understand. Why my son of all people!


    "Why?" She blinked. "I''m a Devil, I''m a woman. I have desires, I have wants, I have needs. He was charming, and the opportunity presented itself. He''s treated me very well, and I enjoy the time we spend together."


    "He''s just using you to get back at me!" I spat out.


    "Sirzechs." Mother said dryly. "I''m the one who initiated. He denied me when I offered a no-strings-attached night together with me as thanks. He said he didn''t want a one night stand due to his own reasons. Which, I might add, stem heavily from how his childhood harmed him." She red at me. "I was impressed that he turned me down, young man that he is when it was obvious that he desired me. So, I offered to try something more than just sex, he epted."


    But.....


    That means.....it''s.....real?


    I thought she was just saying those things to get a rise out of me.


    Him...and mom?


    How was I supposed to deal with the fact that my son was fucking my mom!?


    "Don''t worry, Sirzechs, I won''t ever make you call him Daddy." Mom smiled innocently towards me, making my shiver in disgust. "That''s my job, afterall."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 327 - 294

    <h4>Chapter 327: Chapter 294</h4>


    Meridia POV


    Kunou stared at me.


    I stared at her.


    I was.....unsure of how to proceed.


    Her tails moved from side to side, the ears atop her head twitched every so often. A rather adorable smile on her face as she obviously waited for me to say something.


    I had been by no means forced or coerced into this, but now that it happened, I was having trouble.


    The Daughter of the man I had given my love to.


    The Daughter of a woman who also cared for him the same way I did. Someone who I could call sister and not feel ufortable about it.


    I had agreed to watch over their child as they attended an important meeting in their world. I was unable to attend personally, nor would it have been a wise decision for me to go due to my status. Thus, I wished to aid them and I was aware they would be concerned for their child. I believed they would be at ease and be able to focus on their own affairs if I watched after her.


    Perhaps, I had not considered what that entailed, because I did not know how to handle children.


    They required a very light touch, one I was unfamiliar with using. As lofty as my position was, I was always firm and direct with those that I ordered. However, this was not some random mortal that I could order about with my normal manners and titudes.


    It was difficult for me to separate the Goddess from the....Lover when I spent time with Wilhelm. He was understanding, and perhaps he enjoyed it when I was stern and strict with him. That foolish man seemed to relish in taking fanciful allowances from me for the inanest of things.


    But something, someone, so young, they would be.....not as understanding.


    I.....did not desire for this child to dislike me.


    As strange a thought as it were, I for some reason, wished to be liked by this Youkai. It made me feel some unpleasant emotions at the mere thought of one Wilhelm''s children having negative thoughts about me.


    It was another strange feeling that Wilhelm had brought into my life.


    "Your mother and father have left you with me for the day." I looked into her anticipating eyes. "Your mother has also given me a list of things you mustplete before you are allowed time to.....y."


    .....how does one ''y'' with a child?


    I only hoped her required tasks took her long enough for me to figure out.


    "Momma said I need to finish my homework, then we can have fun!" The Little Fox Youkai happily eximed.


    "Very well." I nodded in approval. "I have set up an area where you may work at your leisure." I gestured to the side where a table and chairs rose out of the ground. "You may call upon me if you desire anything."


    The Little Fox looked at the table then back at me. "C-can you help me?" Her little ears drooped a little bit in what I can only assume is embarrassment. "Momma doesn''t know, but I am having trouble. She was really busy and I didn''t wanna bother her."


    "I see...." Yes, her home must be in turmoil right now with what has been happening. Yasaka was my...sister, I would help her daughter in her stead. "I shall lend my aid then, Child. What do you require assistance with?"


    "Thank you, Auntie!" Kunou eximed once more and I again felt a strange, warm, sensation in my chest.


    I beckoned her over to the table as I sat down next to her "Show me what troubles you, child."


    "Un." She nodded, producing a Book from a simr bracelet that Wilhelm had provided for every other of his targets of affection. She plopped a rather thick tome onto the table, colors and designs I was unfamiliar with. "I''m having trouble with Trigonometry."


    A word I was not familiar with, but hopefully it was something that I knew by a different name.


    There were several parchmentsid out before her. Many symbols and what I assumed to be equations were written all over it.


    "I don''t understand." The Little Fox pouted. "I can''t get from this to this." She pointed at the parchment presented infront of me.


    And I looked at it with a nk expression.


    ....I had no idea what any of this meant.


    She looked at me so expectantly, and I waspletely clueless.


    I should have expected that the knowledge of another world was not something I could have just assumed to understand. I had no doubt I knew what knowledge was contained within this tome, but the dissociation between worlds left me utterly confused.


    I reached out for therge book and began to read where she had it opened to.


    Realizing I was still confused, I flip a page backwards.


    And again.


    And again.


    Until I found myself staring at the first page.


    I looked up from what I was reading, looking at the fox. Still, there was that expectation of an answer on her face. And.....I felt rather embarrassed that I couldn''t immediately deduce the problem of this child''s school work.


    I cleared my throat. "Child, have you ever met a dragon before?"


    "A dragon!?" Kunou''s eyes widened.


    "Yes, a real dragon. Your father knows him well, and he would be enthused to meet you." .....It was not what I had envisioned when I took Durnehviir into my service, however, sacrifices must be made.


    It only required a single thought for a bewildered Child of Akatosh to appear behind us. Bewildered by the fact that a small Fox was now running towards it with its arms wide open, trying totch onto it so greedily.


    The Ancient Beast looked at me with pleading eyes as Kunou grabbed hold of his head, speaking excitedly and without pause.


    "Mistress?" The Dragon projected its thoughts towards me.


    "...sacrifice yourself for your mistress." I sent back, turning away as I didn''t know if I could handle the embarrassment of it gazing at me.


    I required time to familiarize myself with this tome so as to not further make a fool of myself.


    Perhaps I should seek out that other child from Wilhelm''s world that was born in the void. Surely it should know the answers that I seek?


    [***]


    "Child, are you finished?" I lightly asked as the daughter of Wilhelm flew by me.


    "Nooooo, one more time!" She whined.


    I felt a small tug on the corner of my lips as I acquiesced to her request. "Once more, then we shall depart to see your mother. She has finished her matters."


    Kunou cheered as I waved my hand, sending her far up into the air. A contraption created from the folding of space, and the bending of time.


    Regardless, She was sent down a nted slope, flying into a door that teleported her to another some distance away, sailing through the air as the diffusion of contained time sequence grabbed hold, slowing her down before propelling her forward again.


    I do not recall how this came about, only that it was difficult to refuse any of her requests. Especially after I had to send her Dragon away for another matter. His pride could only take so much, and I was not one to torture my subordinates.


    She giggled andughed as she was teleported and careened through the air at random intervals. No harm was ever possible with me present, this domain waspletely under my control.


    I let out a content sigh as I gazed at the tome of arithmancy that was near me. A proud smile crept up as I had conquered this foreign book and was able to render aid to the little fox. It was if learning anothernguage, I understood the intent, but deciphering it was the difficulty.


    It was strange, never before I had weed another being into this portion of my realm. This little bench I sat at to find a peace within the few moments of eternity that I allowed myself. Wilhelm was the first that I epted here, a special ce that became even more dear to me as he finally said those words that I didn''t realize I craved.


    How that foolish man just made this ancient heart of mine flutter so easily. Of course I would never tell him such a thing, he would be relentless in his teasing.


    Yes, it was a memory I believed I would hold dear for the remainder of my existence. I knew that there would be a time where Wilhelm would disappear. Our existences were too different, a thought that had made it so I never considered a mortal for this kind of acknowledgement. And the less said about my peers, the better.


    I had never thought I would feel this way about another being, yet, it had happened so quickly.


    Even knowing this would notst forever, be it millions or even billions of years into the future, it would end. I would cherish these few blinking moments in the current of time. I was.....happy. I was content that I allowed myself to try when that foolish boy first said that ridiculous line.


    It was merely a curiosity at first. If I wished to get rid of him without making myself a liar, it would have been all too easy. I admit I was skeptical for a plethora of reasons, the most being that he wished to use me for his own gain.


    Yet....he seemed almost entirely uncaring about my status.


    Only.....caring about me.


    It was a nice feeling.


    Now, this ce was host to another memory I would cherish.


    My quiet ce had turned to one of noise, but I could not be any less unperturbed. The soft giggling of a child''s happiness met my ears as she continued to make her way through this contraption.


    The small child slowly fell to the ground, her feet touched the grass without any harm, only the jittering of excitement still present on her face. She mentioned this being simr to something called a ''Ror Coaster'', what ever that was. Something from her home that I was still unknowledgeable about.


    As long as she was happy, I did not mind.


    "Are you finished?" I asked, knowing full well if she said no, I would not be able to deny her another go.


    She threw her arms up in excitement. "It was so fun, thank you, Auntie!"


    Before I could respond, her arms were wrapped around me, making me still in surprise.


    ".....It was no trouble, Child." I said softly, my arms unconsciously returning the affection. "Come, let us go see your mother, I am sure she misses you dearly."


    "Okay." She smiled brightly, grabbing hold of my hand.


    Her petite little hand felt so warm in mine as I waved my hand, leading us out of my realm. We touched upon the barrier that protected Nirn from the Realms of Oblivion, and immediately, I felt the eyes of Time''s Progenitor lock onto me as I pushed through. This portion of me was small enough that I was not rejected with my small allowances.


    I returned the gaze with a re of my own.


    For some reason, I swear I sensed some amusement from the source.


    We appeared in Skyrim of Tamriel. A ce I was more than familiar with at this point, even if I had precious few followers within this provenance.


    Yes, the familiar home that weed one such as I so openly.


    I was nearly pulled along as Kunou made way for the house. The Magical protections washed over us as we approached the door and she pushed it open without a second thought.


    "My little fox!"


    Kunou released me from her grasp as she dashed towards her parents. Both Wilhelm and Yasaka wrapped her up with a hug.


    They all greeted me warmly, genuine smiles on their faces at my presence.


    Once more, it was an odd feeling, but not unweed. I never believed I would feel at home somewhere other than my own Realm.


    [****]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Did you behave for your Auntie Meridia?" I rubbed my little fox''s head.


    "Un." Kunou nodded.


    "She behaved herself." Meridia sniffed.


    "Daddy, I rode on a Dragon!" Kunou wildly eximed.


    "Oh?" I raised an eyebrow towards Meridia who looked away from my gaze.


    I have a feeling there''s more of a story there.


    "It sounds like you had a lot of fun." Yasaka cooed. "Did you thank your Auntie Meridia?"


    "Uh huh!"


    "Good girl." Yasaka kissed her forehead. "And thank you." She turned towards the Goddess. "I know it wasn''t something ¨C"


    "It was no trouble." Meridia cut her off. "I...enjoyed it."


    "She''s too cute, isn''t she?" Jinn walked up, giving the Goddess a surprise hug. The stiffness didn''tst long, we were all used to how Jinn did things at this point.


    She was probably, no definitely the most affectionate out of everyone here.


    "Let''s get you to bed, littledy. It''s way past your bedtime."


    Kunou wined, but didn''t fight it.


    "Does Daddy get a good night hug?" I held my arms out making her smile again as I gave her another hug for the night.


    I loved this little fox.


    "Come on sweetie, Momma is tired too." Yasaka beckoned her with a smile.


    I waved my hand, opening a portal right to their home.


    Yasaka walked over, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "We''ll talk more tomorrow, have to get her to bed."


    "Of course, unwind a bit, you earned a nice rest." We''d taken a couple hour or so to calm down after the meeting, but Yasaka performed spectacrly, so she deserved as much rest as she wanted.


    She gave us onest goodbye before disappearing back to her home.


    "Have the others retired as well?" Meridia asked. "I believe you had a few other people attending."


    "Yasaka''s Guard, Soma, was dropped off at thepound. Aotab¨­ also went to give Nurarihyon his report on things that happened. As for Rin, well.....this was a little outside of her pay grade, without trying to be insulting. So, she''s copsed from some stress and went to bed already."


    "Rin did admirably under the gaze of so many higher beings." Artoria nodded in approval.


    "I believe everything went as desired?" The Goddess asked.


    "More or less. We got what we wanted with little give on our end." I nodded.


    "....I may have brought trouble." Raikou said softly. "Due to my heritage, I have gained the attention of Indra, my father."


    "Shall I smite him then?" Meridia frowned. "I will make sure he knows his ce."


    "Fufu, as amusing as that would be to witness. It may bring more trouble than the desired effect." Sc¨¢thach giggled, walking up to my Servant, nudging her. "This one merely worries over something unimportant. If that God steps over a line, he will meet my spear."


    It was too cute how protective Sc¨¢thach was of Raikou.


    "She''s right. I won''t let anyone touch my woman." I said firmly.


    "Master." Raikou smiled warmly.


    "Besides, I already have a n for that. Indra''s already poked at us once before, so I think it''s time to retaliate."


    "You do not mean a direct confrontation, do you?" Artoria asked. "We cannot afford such a thing, I believe I do not need to remind you."


    I couldn''t help but smirk. "Trust me, he won''t see iting, nor will we even have a hand in it."


    He''ll be way too busy to even consider us as well.


    "Then I have noints. He has reached out towards us on his own prerogative, I hold no ill will if you respond in kind." Artoria gave me her support and at the same time didn''t ask for an boration.


    I stepped over to Meridia, joining Jinn in hugging her. The Genie happily held her still, without Meridia even showing an ounce of difort. She really hade a long ways since the first time I flirted with her.


    "Are you free tomorrow?"


    "Do you require my help?" Meridia asked.


    "No, I just want you to be around."


    "We have invited Venna over. I believe Wilhelm asked her for help with his Power of Destruction and we were going to use the opportunity to.....socialize with the newest member of his harem." Artoria rified.


    "You ept her then?"


    "I have so far found her enjoyable to converse with and have no negative perceptions." Artoria admitted.


    "Then I shall follow your lead." Meridia replied, ncing down at me. "I have no pressing matters to attend to. I can find some time to appear."


    I was going to have all my girls together.


    "Good, now that''s settled. I believe it''s time we move onto the important matter after having seeded so brilliantly at the meeting." I dislodged myself from Meridia, addressing the room.


    "Important matter?" Artoria tilted her head.


    I threw my arms up. "It''s time for the victory orgy!"


    "Woo!" Jinn mimicked me, throwing her arms up as well.


    However, the others just looked at me with utter contempt on their faces.


    Even Raikou just stared at me nkly.


    Though, it just further made the shit eating grin on my face grow.


    "Only you, my student." Sc¨¢thach let out a sigh.


    "Master is being naughty." Raikou pouted cutely.


    Artoria turned a rather bright shade of red as she nced around.


    "No orgy?" Jinn deted. Honestly, I don''t think she cared one way or another, she just enjoyed stirring things up.


    "You silly girl." Sc¨¢thach chuckled, plucking the Blue-Skinned woman into her arms. "Come, let us appropriate the bath, we can wash each other''s backs and hair. The styling of this region''s facilities will fit all of us together."


    "I wouldn''t mind getting out of these clothes." Raikou had a rather mischievous look on her face.


    "....It was amon bonding experience that my knights shared." Artoria said quietly.


    "I have some time before I must leave." Meridia turned up her nose at me, though it was still rather cute how she tried to ''act'' peeved when it was obvious she was flustered.


    "And no boys allowed." Sc¨¢thach grabbed my cheek with a huff. Though she did lean down and kiss me very quickly. "ept your punishment." She added with a flick of my forehead, leaning down towards my ear. "However, you may find my bedter tonight." The words whispered into my ear.


    She visibly sauntered off, her hips swaying right infront of me.


    I let out a sigh as I watched them all disappear up stairs into what I could only imagine would be the closest thing to paradise on earth.


    Oh well.


    I was kidding anyways; they knew that of course. Mostly.


    Could I just barge my way in if I really wanted to? Probably, but I do like them all doing things together.


    Regardless, I actually had something else I wanted to take care of after the idea had popped into my head. And the quicker it got done, the better.


    [***]


    "Thanks for doing this, I know it was abrupt." I stated, as we made our way through the dark of night.


    "I understand the need for quickness after you exined. I agree that it''s something we should do sooner rather thanter." Izzy replied as she walked besides me. "I''m only concerned if this is the correct decision to make."


    "Do you really hate him that much?" I asked.


    Izzy huffed. "He is unrepentant, lecherous, and an annoying man."


    "To be fair, I think I can fit in that category for the first half. I do have a harem of beautiful women and do take advantage of that."


    "....it''s different." She huffed again turning away.


    "Whatever you say." I chuckled, nudging her with my shoulder.


    She pursed her lips, nudging me back. "It''s the difference between being kind and charming versus boisterous and arrogant."


    "Kind and charming am I?"


    Izzy rolled her eyes. "I should have kept my mouth shut, now it''s going to swell your head."


    "You misunderstand. My Ego can''t get any bigger." I said hautily. "Because I already knew I was very charming, and handsome, and powerful, and sexy, and ¨C"


    "Yes, yes, you''re God''s gift to every woman on the." Izzy snorted.


    "Ironic considering I''m a Half-Devil."


    "That''s debatable at this point."


    "....That''s fair." Was I even technically a half-Devil.


    Wouldn''t bing part Dragon and God lower that percentage? So what, quarter, fifth-Devil?


    Thoughts forter.


    "And we''re here." Izzy gestured towards a Cabin at the edge of a wooded area. "You asked for a secluded location, this is one of the few I had avable that no one knows about."


    "I don''t think anyone was watching any of us too intently at the moment, so I think this will do for now. And thank you."


    "It is no trouble." Izzy perked up a little. "Except for dealing with this person. I will not forget the debt you owe me for this."


    "Whatever you want." I smiled towards her.


    "Hmph, I''ll hold you to that."


    And....it looked like her cheeks went red for the briefest of moments.


    "They''re already inside, let''s go." Izzy strode forward flicking the door open with a m.


    "I thought I recognized those hips of yours." Odin''s voice reached me even before I walked through the threshold of the door.


    "I wonder if you can still recognize them after I break your legs." Izzy huffed in annoyance. "Oh look, no minder this time? How are you going to handle yourself if you don''t have a babysitter?"


    "Izzy." I quietly put a hand on her shoulder.


    She scowled but relented. "Fine."


    "Thank you." I said quietly. "And Odin, please don''t insult Izzy."


    "Whatever, brat." The All-Father rolled his eyes. "You going to tell me what you called me out to this deserted ce for? Even told me toe alone. Is this where you try to silence me!? I''m telling you now, I won''t go down without a fight!" He started waving his stick around.


    "Don''t put ideas in our heads." Izzy rolled her eyes at his antics. "If we wanted to kill you, you would already be dead."


    "Ohoh, bold wordsing from a neet."


    "I am not a neet!"


    "Really, then why ¨C" Odin paused, staring outside the door. "And now, I''m surprised."


    Another presence approached. A familiar head of dark hair, and an aura of death, even if it was reeled in.


    "As am I." The man spoke. "I was told of who to expect, but even so."


    "Hades." The Norse God grunted. "Now a lot of stuff makes sense. You''re the one who gave them the information on the Khaos Brigade weren''t you? You''re a part of it afterall."


    Hades raised an eyebrow, closing the door behind himself as he walked inside. "As expected of the Wise God of the north."


    "You make it sound like it isn''t obvious after seeing you here." Odin took a deep breath, adopting a rather serious look. He took a seat at a in wooden table, propping himself up with his stick. "Alright, so this isn''t a social call. What scheme you cooking up, Hades?"


    "Don''t look at me, All-Father, I was invited as well." His gaze turned to me.


    "Damn, you really did pull one over on all of us." Odin let out a sigh.


    Hades quirked a small smile. "I''ve heard what happened. My associates are still bickering on how to handle the fact that they''ve been revealed."


    "They?" Odin repeated.


    "Yes, I no long consider myself as one of their members. My....interests have now changed."


    As if to answer, I deposited the Spear right on the table infront of everyone.


    The All-Father went deathly quietly as he gazed at it. Hesitantly, he hand reached out to touch it, only for him to reel back at the faintest touch. "How?"


    "Irrelevant." Hades replied. "The only important facet is that it''s possible. And I wish for it toe to fruition."


    "What''s your game, kid?" Odin looked at me.


    He was obviously skeptical and hesitant to just agree since this had nothing to do with what we talked about before.


    "We havemon interests. Hades, you said that with the current force the Khaos Brigade has, no single Pantheon could realistically stand up to them?"


    "....It was a general statement. The Hindu''s may be able to match them, but they wouldn''te out unscathed. Some are simr, some are worse. More of a mutually assured destruction of both parties for both sides. Few Pantheon''s are willing to pay that price." Hades rified.


    "If the list you gave us was even half correct, it doesn''t bode well even for us." Odin acknowledged.


    "I can verify the list, I gave it to him after all." Hades stated.


    "And I can vouch for Hades." Izzy also chimed in.


    "Fine." Odin grumbled. "I won''t question your ties nor the validity of what you gave. But what do you want?"


    "We all have simr interests. Some align, some don''t, but at the end of the day, this Khaos Brigade is threatening all of us." I replied.


    "And you told the world about them. Now, everyone else is on the lookout." Odin retorted.


    "And they didn''t know about them until we?the Youkai Faction, blew the whistle. Call me skeptical, but I don''t think that speaks well of everyone else. Sure, it''s beneficial that now they''re focused on it, but I don''t like the odds of them being dealt with in such a way." It would certainly be beneficial for everyone else to be visiblyying into them when the opportunities arise, but theirpetency is questionable when this happened right under their noses for so long.


    "Brat, didn''t old Bones over here tell you in the first ce? How are you any different than us?"


    "I knew about the Khaos Brigade already, that they were made of up many different races. I simply didn''t investigate further because it didn''t concern me at the time." I crossed my arms.


    "Fine, fine." The Old God waved his hand. "And what are you suggesting?"


    "Hades is helping me revive the Biblical God." I said very inly, making the Norse God''s eye widen. "He''s also keeping me updated on the Khaos Brigade and what they''re doing. An alliance of sorts. I wanted you to be a part of it."


    We already had a talk about the other thing I was helping him with. I wanted him to now be a part of what we had going on here.


    "And what do I have to gain?" Odin asked. "I can''t say I care or not about that Biblical God''s return. It might even be detrimental for me."


    "He would be in your debt, for one. But for another, we would work together. Not like the agreement we made at the peace conference. Let the others il around in the dark, I want people I can.....trust to work with me for now."


    Well, trust was probably too heavy a word. But he already knew a secret that could really harm us if it got out. And for Hades, well, I trusted that we wanted the same thing, and Izzy trusted him to an extent.


    "I''m not against it, he already spoke to me about his intentions." Hades spoke up. "I dislike this merging of different Pantheons, however, I understand the need. The Khaos Brigade has overstepped, they attacked my domain, freeing both my Father and Hyperion."


    "So while the others take the spotlight, while the Khaos Brigade focuses on them, you want.... A secret Cabal, a secreter Cabal than the one they have, to handle things in the dark?" Odin mused.


    "To put it bluntly, yes." I nodded.


    "It''s not a bad idea." Odin rubbed his beard. "And it''s an enticing thing to have the Biblical God be in my debt. Convince me then, that this is worth my time."


    "Okay, I have a n I wanted to immediately push through." I leaned forward. "Indra''s been reaching at me and mine for awhile now, I wanted to push his attention off of us." I turned to Hades. "The Hindus seem to have very few members among this Khaos Brigade."


    "I am doubtful if Indra was not aware of their existence. His sight is well known and even Apollo pales inparison with his own prophecies." Hades admitted.


    "It makes sense." Odin growled. "That the Lighting brat knew the entire time and saying nothing would be normal for him."


    "More than that." I closed my eyes, letting out a sigh. "The Hero Faction that attacked Kyoto. The Leader ¨C Cao Cao, descendant of his name sake. He was one of Indra''s toys, as Sun Wukong put it. So he was more than aware of what was going on and turned a blind eye because it most likely benefitted him in some form."


    "And what''s your n, brat?" Odin asked.


    "Push everything right on top of his head." I cracked a grin. "Hades, can you leak to the other members that Cao Cao was one of Indra''s people?"


    "It wouldn''t be difficult." Hades rubbed his chin. "Even now, they are doubtful that the Youkai truly got the information from the Hero Faction. They were at the bottom rung of the whole organization. It shouldn''t be too difficult to make them believe that Indra was subtly giving out the real information through one of his disposable pawns."


    And it works well, but it''s technically true.


    Odin look at me, contemting something. "I''ll perform a ritual obscure his sight from us so he can''t figure out what''s going on."


    "Does that mean you''re on board?"


    Odin cracked a smile. "Damn right. Just had to open with screwing over that Lightning Brat and I would have jumped right in."


    So he says, but I don''t believe that. I think he just wanted to view ourpetency before he put any effort into it.


    In any case, fuck Indra.


    This should keep both the Khaos Brigade and The Hindu Pantheon upied for the time being so they don''t'' focus too much on us.


    "Vicious n, brat." Odin spoke up again. "I like it. So, you didn''t say what you were doing about the crippled fellow." He poked at the spear with his stick.


    "We are seeking out the other Holy Items." Hades admitted. "I am having...some luck in that regard."


    "Yes, yes." Odin taped his finger against his stick. "That''s probably the best bet. I''ll see If I can''t scrounge up any information on those either. They haven''t appeared in this generation, publicly, yet."


    Well, he''s on board for now, so that worked out in our favor.


    "Alright, I have a few more things to share that we didn''t talk about in the conference. Let''s get you up to speed."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 328 - 295

    <h4>Chapter 328: Chapter 295</h4>


    "Wee to Kyoto ¨C again" I held my hand out for Venna to take as she stepped out of my portal.


    "Thank you for inviting me over." She said rather warmly


    "You make it sound like I''m the one doing the favor here. I''m really thankful that you''re helping me with this. I''ve made progress with my Power of Destruction, but I admit it''s fallen a little to the wayside with everything that''s been happening recently."


    Not that I hadn''t been keeping up with workouts and sparring with the others. But most the time I''ve spent on things like experimentation had been for the benefit of the war effort and not on my more personal projects. It''s been awhile since I''ve taken the time to train myself beyond the basics.


    As we''ve entered a noticeable lull between any pressing concerns, now was as good of a time as any to work on my bloodline. Obviously, the war was on the forefront of Yasaka ¨C and by extension, the Youkai''s minds, but it was still something we couldn''t immediately act on.


    We''re still incorporating the gifts we received from the Peace Meeting. Which was going to take awhile, so that four month window Yasaka stated turned out to be definitely the right choice in the long run.


    The Khaos Brigade was silent for now, no doubt running their own damage control after being revealed to the world. The various Pantheons have gotten wind of their ndestine involvement and were probably going to verify certain things for themselves.


    And that little tip off that Hades gave, I''m anticipating some news from the Hindu part of the world soon enough. Those Evil Gods and the like, they''re not known for having unbruiseable egos. They''d want to hit Indra just as a matter of personal pride.


    "Yes, but I know it''s an awkward situation, especially after the whole meeting that just happened. I''m happy that nothing changed since then."


    She''s always so careful not to overstep, it''s really endearing. "Believe me when I say, that you''re never unweed." I took her hands, giving her the best smile that I could.


    "So sweet~" She giggled, leaning in to give me a kiss on the cheek. "Besides, I wanted to get some exercise. After the whole Kokabiel fiasco, I realized I needed to get back in shape. I''ve been idle for far too long."


    Speaking of, I couldn''t help but admire what she was wearing. It wasn''t anything overly sexy, a simple pair of shorts and a T-shirt that one would expect if they were going to be sweating. However, I don''t think I''ve ever seen her without a dress on. Not that I''mining, she''s absolutely stunning in anything she wore.


    But seeing those delicious legs of hers so easily essible made it hard to resist.


    "If you keep staring at me so intently, I may think you invited me here for something else~" Venna looked at me coyly.


    I turned my head in embarrassment. I guess I didn''t'' realize how much I was staring. "Sorry."


    "Don''t be." She let out that enchanting giggle of hers. "I do so love the attention you give me. I like to feel wanted, Wilhelm. And I never feel anything but that when I''m with you."


    Haah, I''ve never been good with my girls saying stuff like that to me, I was used to dishing out not receiving. I must look ridiculous now, and I''m probably even blushing.


    "You ready to meet the others?" I asked, changing the subject.


    Though given that sly smile of hers, she probably realized what I was doing but continued anyways. "I''m excited to meet my new sisters. I have to say, it''s a novel experience for me too. Before, I was the one managing Zeo''s harem. I always facilitated things like this, keeping the peace, making sure everything ran smoothly because they''re usually a lot of work."


    "I never really thought about that. How hard was it to keep everything running smoothly?"


    Venna let out a cute sigh. "It makes me envious that you''re even asking that question because you really don''t'' know. I could write a book on the difficulties involved. There were several girls over the years that didn''t mesh well, and some outright hostile to others. On a couple asions we had to kick out one of Zeo''s interests because they simply couldn''t ept the situation and were too greedy and ignored everyone else."


    I slowly moved my hand over, slipping it into hers. That bright smile that apanied our fingers interlocking was adorable. "Is it really that strange? I mean, there have been a couple asions where we had to talk things out because of some mimunication. But generally, if there''s an issue between any of us, we simply say it and work to resolve it in a way to make everyone happy. We''re all up front about what we want from each other, and there hasn''t been any major tension or fighting between one another."


    I pushed the door open of my house as I lead her outside onto the streets of Kyoto. I could have just portaled us over there, but I wanted to be a little selfish and have her to myself for a quaint little walk.


    "The only harems I''ve seen work out simrly as yours are those that had all the memberse together at the start, not get added over time like what you''ve apparently done. It''s much more difficult for new members to be added into an existing dynamic than for everyone to agree ahead of time to share a person."


    "Huh, never really gave it much thought."


    "It may help that you seem to have a certain type that lends itself well to this situation."


    "What do you mean?"


    "It''s usually the younger girls that bring problems with them." Venna giggled again. "From what I''ve been told, you appear to have a thing for older women. I believe you said that I''m the second youngest amongst your lovers?"


    "With Yasaka technically being the youngest." I nodded. "And you''re right, I do prefer older women." I sent her a grin, squeezing her hand lightly.


    "Lucky me~" She cooed humorously. "Tell me about the others. What should I expect so I don''t do something or say something wrong. I want to make a good impression on your other lovers."


    "Honestly, I think you''ll make a good impression just by being yourself. You''re a wonderful woman, and they''ll see that in you just like I do. But, if it''ll set you at ease, you already met Yasaka and Artoria so far. Yasaka''s pretty easy, her Daughter is sacrosanct, so obviously don''t say anything bad about her, not that you would."


    "Of course, I''m something of a mother myself." Venna joked.


    "As for Artoria, let''s just say that she has some personal things she''s working through that involve a son. I won''t get too into it, but suffice to say that''s a delicate topic for her and to let her bring it up if it''s relevant."


    "Mmm, she did briefly mention someone by the name of Mordred?" Venna looked at me, earning a nod. "Noted, I''ll be careful with that, thank you."


    "Let''s see...you remember Jinn, blue skinned girl, very bubbly?"


    "Of course." Vennaughed. "She greeted me so happily the first time we met."


    "Right, well, she''s probably the second oldest amongst my girls. However, her circumstances were.....unique. She never really socialized much her entire life, so she''s been exploring a lot of what it means to actually live a life. And she sorta took on the mentality of being the youngest and really enjoys being doted on and being affectionate. Don''t be surprised if she tries to hug you. And also don''t mistake this for her being.....simple. She is frighteningly intelligent and witty when she wants to be. She introduced herself as a Spirit of Knowledge at the meeting, that is a minimal description of what she actually is."


    "She was very adorable when I first met her. I wouldn''t mind getting hugs from her at all. I feel like she''s someone I would enjoy spoiling in the future"


    "Next we have Raikou. She''s a littleplicated, personal matters that I don''t want to get into without her consent. Basically...she didn''t have the best family. She calls herself my mom, and I will never rebuke her for that since it makes her happy."


    "I''m hardly one to throw stones about something like that. Especially considering I''m your Grandmother." She chuckled.


    Which I happily called her when I was inside of her.


    "And moving onto Sc¨¢thach." Where to start with her? "She''s my teacher, I spent a couple years or so learning from her. Things....developed during that time. She''s a very direct woman. If you know anything about the stories involving her, you can probably guess what she likes and dislikes. Also, she is verypetitive, she will try very hard in anything that she perceives as a challenge. Due to the time she spent in the Land of Shadows, she enjoys learning new things, even those of a mundane nature."


    "I did read up after learning who she was. She has a very illustrious history. I''ll be careful with my words until I can understand her better." Venna nodded.


    "Andstly, we have Meridia, my first lover." Oh boy, so much I could say about her. "She is a Goddess. I won''t mince words about it. She has the attitude of a Goddess and the presence of one. She will appear standoffish until she gets to know you better. She isn''t used to interacting with mortals, and sometimes has difficulty doing so. That doesn''t'' mean she''s uncaring, but it''s a new thing for her. She is a Goddess of Life and detests things like Necromancy. I would suggest not even bringing the topic up around her. Otherwise, I suggest being polite as you would to someone of her station, and she''s eventually open up around you more."


    "Oh." Venna blinked. "I didn''t think you would also have a Goddess in your harem. I met Lady Izanami, I suppose I should have expected as much."


    "Honestly, I know they''ll all love spending time with you just as much as I do." I reassured her. I didn''t want to scare her away at this point. We still had a little while to walk, trying to kill time I changed the subject again. "How have things been on your end, after the meeting. Without trying to pry into private matters, obviously."


    "Busy. My son and the others have been running around after what happened. The Old Satan Faction is kicking up a fuss about the usations, but we''re having none of it and they''ve been taking some major hits since the other day." Venna revealed.


    "I was concerned you would be put in an awkward situation. Nothing bad there?"


    Venna hummed. "Not unless you count being asked to seduce you over to the Devil side." She spoke, apanied by a coy grin.


    "Well, you already achieved half of that."


    She looked rather proud of herself as well. "Yes I did."


    Utterly unrepentant about the fact that she seduced me. If I could be a fly on the wall when she exined that to a certain someone.


    "If we''re talking about attempts at subtle side changing, I have one of my own."


    "Oh, did Yasaka ask you to seduce me to your side? Because you''re just as much to me as I am for the night we spent together."


    That would be a hrious conversation to have with Yasaka. "Unfortunately, she hasn''t. I had a little chat with Zekram Bael."


    "Oh Satans, I can imagine how that went." Venna let out a sigh. "He is...entric."


    "I noticed." I responded dryly. "He tried to bribe me into epting his Queen piece to join his peerage. He wanted me to act as a counter to your son since the Old Satan faction were going to get the boot soon."


    "Of course he did." Venna pursed her lips. "What did he offer?"


    "You."


    I think Venna had to resist the urge to facepalm.


    "He offered your hand in marriage, almost immediately at that."


    Venna actually let out a chuckle. "Of course he did. I should mention that he technically has no authority on that matter after I married Zeo. Once I left and became a Gremory, his power over my decisions waned considerably. That''s not to say he can''t influence me through other means due to his political power, but as a family head, he''s out of luck."


    "It was admittedly an enticing offer, but he had no business butting into our rtionship. And if it ever gets to that point, I want it to be because we both want it."


    That warm smile that adorned her face was always so beautiful. "You really do say the sweetest things. If we weren''t going to meet the others, I would have loved to give you a little reward."


    Can''t say that the idea wasn''t attractive. I did thoroughly enjoy the intimate time we spent together, and I did want to do more with her. But bad timing and all of that.


    "He did offer me one more thing."


    "The way you said that, I have a feeling I''m going to get angry at that man."


    "You weren''t angry that he basically offered you up for marriage?"


    "Oh no, that annoys me quite a bit. But it''s offset by the fact that we''re already lovers, even if I don''t want to rush into another marriage so quickly. I could atleast get over that with time. And before you even exined yourself, I knew that you wouldn''t ever ept that as ''payment''." She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek again. "I know what kind of man you are at this point and I trust you."


    "Well, he offered you and your daughter. He said something about getting his hands on a marriage contract of hers and shifting it to me?"


    Venna visibly reacted to that. "I''m going to have some very unkind words with himter. I can ignore it when he tries to use me for his games. But going for Rias is very out of line."


    "I declined, obviously."


    Venna has a mischevious grin about her. "Did it not even entice you a little bit? Me and my daughter both at your service whenever you wanted~"


    "Are you trying to tempt me?" I raised an eyebrow at the 180 she just did. "Maybe I should reach out to him and ept deal. I thought for sure you wouldn''t be into that sort of thing."


    "Ara ara." She chuckled again. "You''re right." She yfully nudged me. "I just couldn''t resist teasing you when you were being so sweet~" She leaned a little bit onto my shoulder. "I definitely wouldn''t enjoy that rtionship. I can''t see Rias as anything but my daughter. So don''t get any ideas, mister." She added with a little bit of humor.


    It was a pleasant and peaceful walk as we arrived at the back of Yasaka''s manor, to The private training area the rest of the girls were all waiting at.


    As we got closer, I think Venna got a tad nervous. She was very good at not showing those kinds of things on the surface, but the pressure she added to my hand made me think so.


    The sounds of fighting were getting louder as we got closer to our destination. Through a few doors, and we came out to arge courtyard, upied with a weed array of faces.


    "Little Lass is that all you have? Perhaps I should slow down for you?"


    "If you wish to suffer my de, then feel free!"


    The sh of weapons followed up the throwing of taunts.


    Sc¨¢thach and Artoria were going at it, and it was getting heated.


    Venna turned to me. "No fights?"


    "Believe me, this isn''t them fighting. This is bonding for them." The barbs they exchanged were far from intentionally inciteful.


    But they stopped their actions once they noticed we entered. The others too as we all seemed to gather around arge table at the side where most of them were seated, even Meridia.


    "Well, since this is the first time, let me officially introduce you all to Venna Gremory." I gave her a little squeeze of reassurance, letting her take the reins.


    "It''s a pleasure to finally meet you all." Venna stated, a charming smile on her face and formal introductions began.


    [***]


    "And this is the sword you use to help with your Power of Destruction?" Venna asked.


    "Aptly named the Sword of Destruction." I nodded, holding it infront of me as we sat cross legged, facing one another.


    The others were watching with interest. The initial meeting went fairly well, as I expected. Most were very open about meeting her, and even Meridia didn''t appear offput. I think they all knew how much I cared that they get along, so at the very least, for now, they were making the effort.


    "It is a very beautiful sword." Venna admired it.


    "You know, technically, that sword is my brother." Jinn cheerfullymented, making us all turn towards her. "What? It''s true."


    "Silly girl." Yasaka giggled, pulling on her cheeks.


    Venna smiled lightly at the antics. At this point she knew that Jinn was a type of artifact spirit, basically announcing it within the first few moments of meeting. "May I hold it?"


    "Of course." I handed my sword over to her.


    She held it delicately, giving it a couple of practice swings, but furrowed her brow as she seemed to inspect it. "I don''t'' think it''ll work for me like it does for you. Call it a hunch." She handed it back.


    "Probably. I had to do some enchanting and delicate ritual work to mesh the concepts together. It''s pretty much in tune with my own Power of Destruction rather than the bloodline."


    "Master said that his bloodline changed from what it originally was. Would it be too much trouble to see what yours looks like?" Raikou asked towards Venna.


    "Oh, it''s no problem at all." Venna raised her hand up, her Power of Destruction enveloped it in that baleful hue. It raged around her hand like an uncontrolled fire, she touched it against the ground, utterly decimated the des of grass underneath. "Truthfully, his appearing to take the shape of lightning is odd. I''m not entirely sure I''ll have an answer to his problem due to the differences."


    I held out my palm, producing my own Power of Destruction, appearing as if lightning crackled within. I had to concentrate hard to make it even slightly bigger than the tiny bit that appeared. Holding its shape, containing the wafting power from going out of control. "This is my current problem; I can''t bring out more than this without using the sword." To demonstrate, I took hold of my sword and produced it that way, coating the entire length of the de with my Destruction, waving it around for her to see.


    "Is it a problem of simply not having enough?" Artoria asked.


    "Maybe? But then, why can I use so much more with the Sword." Because I knew damn well the sword was only acting as a catalyst, it wasn''t producing more of my Destruction.


    "Hmm, can you walk me through the process that you use to bring it out?" Venna asked.


    "Okay." I held my palm out again, dispersing what I had before and got ready to bring it out once more. "I touch upon my bloodline, begin the process of actualizing it. And I force it into the shape I want, and stop it from rampaging about."


    "You''re careful about it then? You make sure it''spletely contained, that it doesn''t cause any backsh and hurt yourself?"


    "Of course, it''s potentially very dangerous, I don''t wanna idently cause any bacsh and cripple myself." I nodded.


    "I think I see the most immediate problem." She held her hand out again. "Look at what I''m doing." Her hand was once more enveloped in her Power of Destruction.


    "You''re doing the same thing as before."


    "Yes, but look at how I''m doing it." She waved her hand around. "My Power of Destruction is coating my hand."


    "....and you''re not getting harmed." I think I may have realized the mistake I was having.


    "There you go." She smiled. "With such a potent ability, don''t you think it''s odd that none of us have suffered any grievous wounds from our own bloodline?"


    "Are you saying that we have some sort of innate resistance to our own Power of Destruction?"


    "Of course, how else could we wield it properly? It would devour us from the inside out. My son can be aplete mass of Destruction, which is how he earned his spot in our Faction. How else is that possible unless we can survive under the power itself?"


    "That is an interesting concept. Does it apply to any other effects or specifically this one instance of ''destruction'' incarnate?" Sc¨¢thach who had been silent till now asked.


    "I''m afraid I can''t answer that question. The only powers that could match our bloodline are in the hands of....deities and the like."


    "Considering how much Indra tends to look down on Devils even when his fated opponent is the God of Destruction, who possesses a simr power within his domain, I''m going to say that it''s just something inborn, a survival mechanism for ourselves only." I responded.


    "Perhaps, but it''s not important for the moment." Venna clenched her fist, dismissing her power of destruction. "I think I found out what you''re doing wrong. Our Power of Destruction takes a simr form as Fire, it''s destructive, consuming, and unrelenting. While yours is slightly different, the idea should be the same. What you''ve been doing is snuffing out that ''me'' before it even has a chance to truly start raging."


    "I see.....because I''ve been concerned about hurting myself, I''ve been stopping it from being produced properly. Whereas, when I use the sword, while also acting as a catalyst to bring it about easier, I also don''t have that same concern over my wellbeing and let it flow freely."


    I''m a little embarrassed that it took me this long to realize. Without Venna''s help, how long would I have been stuck on this issue?


    Even with the proof, I was a little hesitant. This was a potent power and I didn''t want to just disintegrate my hand. So, I held my palm out and didn''t try to contain it this time. My Power of Destruction burst out a few timesrger than before. I admit I panicked slightly, jerking back a little before it dispersed again.


    Venna giggled lightly at my surprise. "It''s alright, do it again, I''ll be right here in case something happens."


    Alright, alright.


    I held my palm out again, and forced myself steady. I let my Power of Destruction not flow out, butpletely burst with as much power as I could. It was loud, the crackling of baleful lightning erupted at the focal point, jutting out in every direction.


    "Now, begin shaping and control it." Venna spoke up.


    I followed hermands as I reined in the erratic power, keeping it from dancing too far off my palm. "It''s much bigger than before." I breathed out. "Several times bigger." While still no where near the power I could produce with the sword, it''s a huge improvement. Something I could genuinely work with now.


    "I think I heard Artoria say something simr a few days ago." Yasaka said with a mischievous grin.


    The Blonde Knight let out an adorable squeak as her petite fists met the fox''s shoulder.


    Venna let out augh of her own. "It''ll get easier to do with more practice. Less of a disconnect between bringing it out then turning into what you want. It''s the first thing I taught my children, but you seemed topletely skip over that part and went for the more advance parts right away."


    "I was curious when I first saw this power, I felt it had much potential. What other methods do you have avable?" Sc¨¢thach asked, looking clearly intrigued, which wasn''t surprising. Anything revolving around fighting, she would take an earnest interest in.


    Venna stood up, brushing herself off. "How about I show you?" She smiled, her hands igniting in that baleful power.


    ".....You challenge me?" Sc¨¢thach raised an eyebrow.


    "I don''t think I can match any of you, but I wouldn''t mind seeing where I need to improve since it''s been a very long time since I''ve had to truly fight."


    Sc¨¢thach looked at her silently for a minute, evaluating her. "Very well, let us see what this praised power of yours has to offer."


    Part of me was hesitant to let this happen.....but I also didn''t want to step on Venna''s pride. I felt like she was doing this to prove something.


    And I know that Sc¨¢thach wouldn''t simply look down on someone for being weaker. Venna trying in her eyes would go a long ways towards eptance.


    I also trusted her unconditionally, I knew she wouldn''t cause any irreversible harm.


    And to be honest, I was also a little curious to see how someone more experience with the Power of Destruction wields it. Perhaps it can give me some more ideas for my own?


    Regardless, I mentally wished Venna luck, because I knew first hand, the hell she was walking into.


    [***]


    Lugh POV


    "Things did not turn out as expected." I broke the awkward atmosphere.


    Michael smiled wryly. "Yes, I do not believe anyone could have anticipated the results of the meeting."


    "The main objective was fulfilled. You now have a strong agreement of peace between your three factions." I pointed out.


    "Indeed, it is a boon. And with father''s blessing, hopefully we can finally see new faces amongst my brother''s and sisters again."


    Right, those Angel version of Evil Pieces, or whatever they deem to name them. I''m not quite sure I like the implications if they seed. I suppose it couldn''t be worse than what the devils already did with theirs.


    Odin had been turning Humans into Valkyries for centuries, was it truly any different? Granted, the method was much moreplicated and specialized.


    And in the East, there are plenty of Humans who ascended to be ''Immortals'' of the Jade Emperor''s court.


    It wouldn''t be my ce to say anything if this was the course of action they decided upon.


    "I wish you sess then." I smiled towards the Angel. It''s strange, this Angel always felt like a young nephew that I wanted to pat his head and tell him he was doing a good job despite the circumstance. "It''s unfortunate that you could not retrieve the spear."


    Michael frowned slightly. "It is unfortunate. However, we did gain something meaningful."


    That Sacred Gear that made Holy Swords? I could see the use for his faction. "Are you still concerned about the Half-Devil''s use of the Spear?"


    "....it raised many questions, which were....answered, however, I am doubting the validity of them." Michael admitted. "I do not believe they lied, but I believe they withheld some truths."


    Smart kid. "I had the same feeling."


    "Did you also not wish to inquire about the Balor View Sacred Gear?"


    "....originally, I was going to, however, things took a turn that I didn''t expect." A secret organization led by various gods throughout the world. I had thought something was going on, but not to this extent. "The contents of the meeting are going to be public soon, I did not wish to divulge the location of Grandfather''s Eye when I don''t know if any unsavory individuals may wish to acquire it through dubious means."


    "A wise decision in light of recent information. I fear I may have to look through my own ranks to make sure there are no loopholes in father''s system being exploited....After hearing what Kokabiel did, it''s clear that some methods to interface with the system yet exist."


    That must be a dreadful thought he has. That one of his brothers or sisters retained their white wings, yet were still traitors.


    "What a mess." I couldn''t help but sigh. "I didn''t even intend to get as involved as I did, but that Fox did a magnificent job of pulling everyone into her orbit and forcing us to follow her whims."


    "Did you not just wish to confirm the existence of Sc¨¢thach?"


    "That was my original goal, maybe extend some light aid if the need arose. What I didn''t expect was to join in on such a broad agreement, extending our already established one for the Fae to the Youkai, and even agree to lend some of my best Druids to teach over in Youkai Territory."


    I agreed with Odinpletely here.


    Damn Fox.


    "Are your people going to ept it?"


    "They will, it''ll be easy to convince them of that with this Khaos Brigade running around. I can just me the Fomorian situation on them, and that''ll get them all riled up. Not to mention, I still need to reveal to my people that Sc¨¢thach is alive and well."


    "I assume that it will be a poor react for some?"


    "That''s an understatement." I snorted. "Some will care, a lot won''t. Some will really care in a negative way. The Morrigan might not sit still, even if Sc¨¢thach is living over in Japan of all ces. She really had a thing for my son and never forgave Sc¨¢thach for that."


    Which never really made sense to me, my son was, as the modern humans called it, a man whore. He would have dly taken them both. But they seemed to have some kind of rivalry that prevented that from happening.


    "And it''s truly her?"


    "As far as I could tell. Mannerisms, presence, etc..." The way she insulted me without a second thought. I doubted an imposter could get all of that correct, at least in my presence.


    Looked different though, but that could easily be exined for a number of reasons.


    "And it seems her student followed in her footsteps. Another Godyer isn''t something to ignore."


    "One who possesses both the True Longinus, and the Boosted Gear."


    Right, that gauntlet too. It wasn''t ever a main focus, so it was easy to forget. He summoned that damned dragon out of it, which should have been a more important point of discussion, but it somehow fell to the wayside.


    "With all the questions we had, we seemed to have gotten very few answers, and only more problems thrown in ourps."


    "Excalibur, a Sword that Father never told us about, but was undoubtly a holy sword." Michael shook his head. "I don''t understand and I can only hope that Father had a reason for keeping it from us."


    That....I had no answer for either.


    That Excalibur sword, from the reports, was powerful


    Something like that doesn''t just pop out of thin air


    Odin knew something, but he wasn''t talking though.


    No, he just kept silent after learning that the kid had his blessing, and confused as to how he got it.


    .....time travel?


    The thought was absurd, but it would make sense if it happened at some point in the past or the future.


    "Well, we both are sending some people at some point ot deal with the Youkai. It''ll be a good opportunity to scout them a little, see what they''re up to." Because it''s obvious we don''t know enough, and we needed to figure out what the hell was going on with that Faction.


    They went from some random third rate gathering of a species into a Faction that could dictate terms to us, taking the front stage.


    "Do you have any suggestions?"


    "You could send your sister to seduce the kid, that might work."


    The gurgled coughbined with the shocked look on his face was worth it.


    I was only half kidding.


    It was obvious what kind of rtionship Sc¨¢thach had with him, just look at her previous students. There were a few looks here or there, but I could tell that the majority of the women there were his as well. He was a Half-Devil, so it should be easy enough.


    So...throw Heaven''s most beautiful at him, see what happens.


    At the very least, I''d find it amusing.


    [***]


    Sorry for thete chapter, not really doing well atm. I think theck of sleep over the past two weeks has finally caught up with me, and i''m definitely not at 100%. Going to take a personal health day for tomorrow, so don''t expect a chapter.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone -- we just started Fate/grand Order Arc.

 Chapter 329 - 296

    <h4>Chapter 329: Chapter 296</h4>


    "I just realized."


    "Realized what?" Yasaka asked.


    "That this¡ª" I paused, giving Jinn who wasying across myp, a light spank. "¡ª Adorable Genie, doesn''t actually need her hair brushed. Her hair is always perfect." I said, holding said brush in my hand having spent thest 30 minutes brushing her hair.


    "You just now realized that?" Yasaka grinned, scribbling on some parchment at her desk


    Jinn started giggling. "But I like it~"


    I grumbled but continued. "I guess that''s all that matters." I don''t mind pampering my adorable Genie. Definitely going to nibble her cute ears afterwards as payback, that always got her squealing.


    Out of curiosity, I lifted her dress up, showing that sexy blue butt of hers. But more importantly, I still saw what she was hiding underneath.


    I felt kind of proud that it was still there.


    "See something you like?" Jinn wiggled her butt with a giggle.


    "I''m surprised you haven''t taken it out."


    "Nuh, it''s staying right there. It''s proof that I''m yours."


    And she hit me right in my most critical spot.


    This is mine.


    "Maybe we should all get matching ones." Yasaka spoke up, humored by the idea.


    "Could you convince the others to do it?" Jinnughed. "Raikou wouldn''t mind, nor would Venna. And it''s obvious you would enjoy it~"


    "Can''t deny that." Yasaka grinned. "Sc¨¢thach would be fun to convince. Though the real effort would be to talk Meridia and Artoria into doing it. I would love to watch Artoria do it though. That girl is so adorable, I want to be there when Wilhelm makes that woman scream."


    As funny as it was to think about, no one else would do it like Jinn did, that is keep it in on an almost permanent basis. Nor would I ask them to; it''s not like I''m forcing Jinn to keep doing this with hermp, but she knew I liked it so she kept it.


    I continued to run a brush through Jinn''s silky smooth hair, it almost felt like water with how easy it was to continue my movements. The Genie continued to make content noises as I further pampered her. However, I paused when the space around us vibrated.


    A familiar figure teleported inside.


    "Izzy." I greeted with a smile.


    "Hello Wilhelm." She returned. "And Yasaka and Jinn."


    "Izzy!" Jinn happily greeted. And funnily enough, I think she''s the only one that also used that nickname for her. They hadn''t interacted much, but Jinn was going to be Jinn and already decided they were close.


    "Good morning, Izanami." Yasaka greeted her much more casually than in the past. I still remember some months ago when it was ''Lady Izanami'', but it seemed they''re also much closer that neither cared for that kind of formality except in public.


    "I was surprised when my first attempt at teleporting here failed." Izzy took an open spot on the couch next to Jinn and me. "Why do you have that Tengu of yours using his Sacred Gear to cover your estate?"


    "It''s good practice for Soma. He''s been picking it up very quickly, but he still needs to learn with continued use." Yasaka replied.


    "And it keeps out any spies." I added.


    "That too, however, I think that''s a bit of a stretch at this point."


    "Why take the risk? And it also makes us look mysterious, because other factions are going to see that the Dimension Lost is obscuring us, so we must be doing something secretive." I have very little doubt we''re being watched in some capacity at all times now.


    There had been a small influx of people entering Kyoto recently, which I can''t help but feel held some spies amongst their number. While we''re still technically closed to other races and such, that doesn''t mean we''re not letting anyone in.


    Yasaka snorted with a small giggle. "You just want to make them get more worried than they already are."


    That''s not...unture. "And it should keep out any peeping Gods, through irvoyance or other means." Dimension Lost was a Longinus for a reason.


    "It certainly confused me at first, I had to investigate before realizing what was happening." Izzy crossed her legs, leaning back. "Are the others away?"


    "They''re basically off doing their own things right now." I shrugged. I don''t y keeper with them, they are my girls, but they do have their own lives to live.


    "How was the get together since you finally had your Grandmother meet everyone?"


    "I think it went rather well."


    "I like her." Jinn said inly.


    I gave her another little pat on the rear. "You like everyone, because you''re a sweet girl."


    "Though, she''s definitely going to be sore for awhile." I also added.


    "I didn''t need to know that." Izzy deadpanned.


    "He meant because she spared with Sc¨¢thach." Yasaka giggled.


    "Oh dear."


    "It wasn''t that bad." I quickly asserted. "Sc¨¢thach was....gentle, well as gentle as she could be. Though, it did endear her more, to Sc¨¢thach that is. Venna struggled but tried her best." She said it best, she''s out of shape, but there was definitely some experience there that shined through.


    And I saw a few tricks that she did with her Power of Destruction that I wanted to y around with, now that I made some headway in that area. The Sword and my Aura both were still facilitating the growth of my bloodline, so it shouldn''t be much longer until it reached greater heights


    Things went about as much as I expected. Venna was very charming and a wonderful women, it''s no surprise that she was epted, more or less. Meridia was, well, herself in that regard. It''ll take her a little while to open up like she did with the others.


    She does have pretty much an open invitation toe and go, both to my home and to Kyoto as a whole.


    It was nice, they were all getting along.


    I think I''ll talk to her about everything soon. I wanted her to meet Gramps as well.


    "Anyways, what brings you here, Izzy? Juste to hang out?" I asked.


    "Ie baring news I believe you would be interested in." She replied. "I received it from Hades, regarding your n."


    "Did it work?" Yasaka perked up. " I was skeptical when he exined it to me."


    "From first appearances, it appears like it did work." Izzy nodded. "Are you familiar with the Hindu realms?"


    "Sorta...?" I tapped my chin. "I admit I''m not as well versed as the Norse, but the idea of the connected realms is somewhat simr. I think they''re called ¨C Urdhva Lokas? Basically meaning upper spheres of the world, different dimensions all interconnected if you want to be broad about it."


    "That is correct." Izzy nodded, pleased. "Hades informed me that the Loka that Indra resides in ¨C The Swarga Loka ¨C was recently attacked. A coordinated assault by both hostile Asura and Rakshasas. The most surprising thing was that Indra didn''t see iting. It appears as that Old Pervert did more than just obscure our talks."


    Damn impressive. He said he was going to do a Ritual to obscure what we talked about, did he go a step further and just fuck with every irvoyant on the, or did he specifically target Indra? Honestly, I wouldn''t put it past him to do either.


    "So they''re able to whisper even in the ears of the Hindu''s enemies?" Even with Hades on the inside, it was a bit concerning to see how far they can reach. Thankfully, it looked like I was able to throw them off our trail and right at Indra''s face.


    "They aren''t as untouchable as they like to show themselves." Izzy nodded again. "They''ve always had their problems; they usually just get handled more quietly than most other Pantheons when they cause messes."


    "In this case, they were probably running around like headless chicken, so it was more...visible." I idly stated. "Good. It should keep him preupied and not thinking about Raikou."


    I''ll be damned before I let someone touch my woman.


    Did I feel a little conflicted about setting up some ''Innocents'' to be on the receiving end of the Khaos Brigade? Mildly, I supposed. But Indra was the king, and he acted towards us first.


    "Should we do anything to capitalize on this?" Izzy asked. "I don''t know what ns you have right now"


    "It''s probably best to let things simmer out on our end. We''ve grabbed too much attention already, it''s best not to make any big moves. So, just sit back and watch the show for now."


    "Which is probably best. It wouldn''t do well to make any more major moves since Wilhelm is going to leave soon." Yasaka added.


    "Wait, what?" I blinked in confusion. "What do you mean I''m leaving soon?"


    "Aren''t you?" Yasaka tilted her head. "It''s no secret that you don''t like to sit still, and now that there''s no immediate objective, you usually like to move about."


    "She''s right." Jinn raised her head up. "And don''t take it as usining or ming you or anything. You''re just someone who likes to be on the move."


    "When you say it like that.... I feel really guilty."


    "Oh sweetie." Yasaka got up, walking over, plopping down right next to me as Jinn shifted to amodate her. "I know darn well that if we need you, you''lle right away. If there''s any trouble, you''re here before we can even call for help. The War is a concern, yes, but there''s nothing you can add right now that isn''t already being taken care of. Go, have some fun, you''ve done so much already. Didn''t you mention something your Grandfather wanted you to take care of? You have plenty of time to do that if you want."


    "....what about Kunou?"


    "Dear." Yasaka ced a hand on my cheek, rather lovingly. "She no longer asks when you''re going toe visit, because she knows that this is home for you. You''ve spent nearly every day with her when you weren''t busy with other matters. You''ve done a spectacr job being her father, you don''t have to put everything on hold. She''s a big girl, she can go a few days without seeing her Daddy."


    I admit I was thinking about taking a few days to jump here or there....and I had brought up what Gramps wanted me to do in more than on asion.


    She did make some really good points too. What more could I bring right now that wasn''t taken care of? It''s mostly just preparation for War, which wasn''t my area of expertise.


    "Everyone is doing what they want to right now. You''re allowed to do the same." Jinn rolled over so she was looking up at me. "Take some time to yourself, none of us will begrudge you. Especially with how careful you are to make sure we''re all happy and taken care of."


    "I guess there are some things I wanted to do, but couldn''t pull myself away. Admittedly, one of them does involve some things here. I wanted to pick up as much Dust as possible and bring it back here. Maybe whatever else I could get my hands on. And I wanted to go see Pandora, I haven''t talked to her since we left that time."


    "Alright, you''re allowed to help with the Dust, then you''re getting kicked out." Yasaka yfully swatted one of her tails at me.


    "You''re kicking me out?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "That''s right." She turned her nose up. "After my turn." She flipped her hand over, producing a brush. "I want all of my tails brushed."


    I chuckled, grabbing the brush. "Fine, I guess I have time for this."


    "Oh, and Izanami too. She''s after me."


    "Bwah!?" The Goddess let out a strange noise.


    "She came all this way to give us some good news, don''t you think she deserves to be doted on a little~?" Yasaka giggled.


    I looked up at the flustered Goddess, and it was hard to meet her yes. "I....don''t mind."


    "I-I suppose it''s alright." She looked away with a cute blush on her cheeks.


    [****]


    I stepped out of a portal, looking up at the broken moon that hung in the sky. It had been awhile since I''ve stepped foot on Remnant, and I was excited to see some people again. Pyrrha was definitely one, and Salem was another.


    Still felt weird walking on a World that was actively in the process of dying. Thest few gasping breaths of a dying, that''s what the Dust basically is.


    And honestly, I didn''t know if I could do anything to stop or reverse the process. It was just.....toorge a scale an endeavor for me to take up.


    Something down the line might present itself, but as I am now there was nothing I could do.


    However, I was getting side tracked.


    Almost immediately, I weaved a minor illusion around myself. Eye color changed, Hair color changed, and even some slight facial ticks and made myself like about two inches shorter. Overall, there wouldn''t even be a second look in passing, at least with concern for being recognized.


    Walking out a back alley, the streets of Vale were just as I remembered. It was a very beautiful city, I adored the style of architecture they seemed to have developed, but I didn''t dwell on it long.


    I had a destination in mind, and I set out.


    A ce I hadn''t been for even longer due to the vtile nature of my current legal standing.


    Hadn''t looked into that yet to see where it stood, but I was still under the assumption that I was a wanted man.


    It''s funny, looking back on it, I feel a little embarrassed. I admit I was acting a little more wildly than I would these days. Maybe it was just because I never had the chance to do that when I was younger? To get into trouble with some friends, granted, I took it a bit, okay a lot further than most kids would.


    Regardless, I wasn''t going to allow myself to indulge quite like that ever again. One time was more than enough, and the consequences were all of my own making.


    Junior''s Club.


    Hadn''t changed a bit.


    Even this early in the morning, the lights were on, so I pushed the door open.


    How nostalgic.


    As soon as I took a step in, many eyes were on me. I almost wanted to wave and start greeting them.


    No, instead, I sauntered up to the counter, sliding onto one of the bar stools.


    Junior himself was behind the bar, as I would expect.


    He eyed me suspiciously but walked over, leaning on the counter. "We''re not open yet, what do you want?"


    "I wanna buy some information."


    He frowned, looking somewhat tired. "What makes you think I know anything about what you want? I just run a club here and I don''t need no brats like youing in here causing problems."


    I tossed a stack of Lien on the table, thankful that I made sure to keep this around in my storage ring.


    Junior eyed it, slipping it off the table and into his pocket. "Maybe I hear a thing or two. What''cha want?"


    "I''m looking for someone."


    "Lots of people in Vale."


    "He might be my son."


    "Oh? One of those, huh?"


    "Yup, had a hot and steamy night with a wonderful woman many years ago. Heard she had a son, might be mine, you never know."


    "Alright, spare me the details. What''s his name, I can get some people to check."


    "His name is Hei Xiong" I had to stop myself from smiling.


    He went stiff, a low growl escaped from his throat. "Do you think you''re funny?"


    "It''s okay, you don''t have to call me daddy right away, we can work up to that. Your mom definitely did." Okay, I was totally wearing a shit eating grin at this point.


    "Cute." Junior sighed. "Dammit Roman, I''m going to kick your ass. And Neo is that you with the illusion?"


    "Seriously? Roman?" I straightened my tie. "I am much more handsome than him. Not to mention, more charming and ¨C"


    "Kid, is that you?" Junior''s eyes widened.


    I could feel my expression soften. "Hey Junior, it''s been awhile.


    [***"]


    Non-canon Omake -- A rough time.


    Rias POV


    "Mom, you''re back?"


    "Hello, Rias."


    "Mom! What happened you to!?" I looked her over, she had bruises in a bunch of ces, and looked really exhausted.


    "Oh don''t worry, I just visited Wilhelm. I swear, he and his harem are really rough."


    "...what?"


    "Oh my, I''m sore in ces I haven''t been in years. Back when your father and I ¨C Oh, well you probably don''t want to hear about that."


    How was I supposed to respond to that?!?!


    "My poor butt, it hasn''t taken a beating like this in too long. I''m going to have to practice some so it doesn''t hurt as much next time."


    "P-please stop telling about things like that!"


    "Rias, it''s not that big of a deal." Mother rolled her eyes. "My legs are practically jelly now; I think I''m going to get some ice between them. That Sc¨¢thach was relentless, I don''t know how Wilhelm handles her on his own."


    Oh my God, kill me.


    I didn''t even bother with the jolt I felt in the back of my head.


    "Maybe we should do something like this together? It would be a good bonding opportunity." I shuddered as Mom said that. "I can show you some tricks I picked up over the years. Wilhelm enjoyed them as well."


    "Bwaaah!?"


    Suddenly, I felt myself falling backwards, only for things to gopletely dark.


    [***]


    Barely got this out in time before work, here''s Monday''s chapter. The next one should be either tomorrow or Wednesday.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. We''re on FGO right now.

 Chapter 330 - 297

    <h4>Chapter 330: Chapter 297</h4>


    Junior grumbled and huffed as he ushered me into the back room. I remembered this ce, been here a lot when we had been discussing less-than-legal things. I plopped down on the familiar couch, waiting for him to speak.


    Junior took off his sunsses, rubbing his eyes before falling into a seat opposite me.


    "You and Roman. You both are going to give me a heart attack."


    "Not Neo?"


    "Neo would just stab me." He snorted.


    "That''s probably true." She was a very stabby girl.


    "Atleast you had the damnmon sense to disguise yourself before waltzing in. Fucking Roman just strode right in, in broad daylight, sat at my bar and asked me how it was going. I had Vale Authorities riding my ass for days." Junior breathed out in annoyance.


    "Let me guess, he did it just to piss you off?"


    "Probably." Junior sighed. "He did ask me a few things though, so it was probably just a pleasant bonus for that idiot."


    Fucking Roman.


    He would do something like that just to mess with Junior if he knew Junior wouldn''t suffer meaningful because of it.


    "Shit, kid. Where did you disappear to? You got any idea how many people were scouring the Kingdoms for you? I even tried my hand to see where you''d gone, and I couldn''t find a single trail. It''s like you disappeared off the face of Remnant."


    I couldn''t help but chuckle at his wording. "If I don''t want to be found, it''s going to be damn hard to find me."


    Junior shook his head, knowing he wouldn''t get anymore out of me. "Pretty good disguise too, didn''t recognize you until you opened your mouth. Dead giveaway after that."


    "It''s hard to hide this kind of charm, even with my skill." I sighed dramatically.


    "Sure, let''s go with that. Cause it''s definitely not that urge to slug you right in the mouth." Junior snorted.


    "I missed your bluntness, Junior." I chuckled again.


    "Yeah, yeah, don''t get sappy on me, kid. I''m ready to hand over this Lien I''ve been holding onto. Been burning a hole in my pocket, and I''ve had half a mind to just snatch it for myself." He went to the side, tapping on the wall and apartment popped open, revealing a safe. After a few button presses and turning of the mechanism it popped up. He pulled out a briefcase and set it on the table. With a click it opened it up facing me. "230,000 Lien."


    "Damn."


    "Damn right." He didn''t take his eyes off the money. "It was As that ended up buying back the stolen blueprints. I guess they realized it was quicker and easier than the alternative.''


    "That must have been a fun conversation. ''Here''s your stolen stuff back, please don''t arrest us. And by the way, you owe us a lot of money.''"


    Junior let out a chuckle. "Having been in the business this long, I do have contact on that side of the line. They wanted it out of the public and it was worth the cost."


    Yeah, I could imagine all the bad press they were getting. It made them look ipetent and everything, keeping the bad PR down was probably worth the cost.


    Well, while not the reason I came over, the greedy part of me was always happy to have more money.


    "How you been, Junior? Have any trouble because of what happened?"


    "I''ve had my fair share, but I had enough cards in reserve to get out mostly unscathed. Had to burn a lot of favors and turn over a bunch of ckmail on some politicians, but it was worth it for the payday we got."


    I leaned back in thefy seat. "And what''s the word on the street? I''ve been holed up in my little hidey hole for awhile, what''s going on right now?"


    "You want a run down since you went underground?"


    "I''d appreciate it." I nodded.


    "Hmm" Junior tapped his chin. "Don''t know if you know the name or note. Merlot, or something like that. Apparently some mad scientist type, he''s been experimenting with Grimm, had a lot of secretbs scattered around the Kingdoms. They got stumbled upon when our illustrious As elites went looking for you. Complete ident mind you, and they uncover a conspiracy that could have gone very bad."


    "Did I get credit for the discovery?" I smiled humoredly.


    "I''m sure they''ll give you a trophy if you turn yourself in." Junior snorted with a chuckle himself. "Besides that.....apparently there''s been word out they''re looking for a woman that appeared over by Mistral. Some big yers that people want to recruit and find out the origins of. They said she killed a few of Merlot''s big nasties all by herself with nothing but a basic spear. Lots of sightings of her too, randomly wandering around, helping people."


    I blinked, because that sounded rather familiar. "Does her description align with something like ¨C a red spear, purplish red hair, red eyes, purple skin-tight clothing. Utterly stunning?"


    "Yeah, you heard about her?"


    "Hard to not know the woman who shares my bed." That would be awkward. Should I just randomly ask her who she was after sex next time? She''d totally kick my ass for doing it, but it would be hrious.


    Junior opened his mouth and closed it again. "Of course you know her, because why not." He finished with a shake of his head. "Well, As is going to piss themselves if they ever find out. From the talk I heard, she''s one hell of a Huntress. Made As''s special ops teams look like trainees."


    "That''s my Sc¨¢thach." I smiled in response.


    "Yeah, I heard that''s her name. Weird sounding, but whatever." Junior shrugged. "Guess I don''t gotta care about that now since you''re involved. Probably just disappeared to whatever rock you were hiding under. But if she pops back up, I''ll keep an eye out for trouble."


    "Thanks, Junior."


    "Yeah, whatever." He rolled his eyes, but I appreciated the sentiment. "Other than that, not anything major. Mistral is settling down, that old bitch Mchite bribed the right people and she''s not even being talked about. The tournament kind of went out with a whimper after everything that happened. Uh....." He scratched his head. "Really, the only noteworthy thing happening right now is Beacon''s new semester is starting soon, which gets things really busy around here."


    Oh, is thating up already? "You got a list of potential attendees?"


    "Who do you think I am?" Junior looked down at me with an offended expression. "And what do you want that for?"


    "Just wanted to check to see if a friend is on it. Kinda befriended Pyrrha Nikos during the tournament, we''ve stayed in touch and she said she''s attending Beacon." I exined simply.


    "Yeah, she''s going to be there." Junior confirmed. "Along with some other names that were in the tournament."


    "Oh?" I perked up. "That''s interesting, I might need to drop in and see how those kids are doing."


    "And I guess there''s onest thing." Junior hummed to himself. "I said Roman dropped by, and he did ask me for some things. He didn''t really tell me what it was for, but I think he''s going to solve our ¨C your ¨C little problem with the authorities soon. Don''t know what magic he''s going to pull out of his ass, but Roman can get some ridiculous things done when he wants to."


    "I will be hesitantly optimistic." I shrugged, not really caring either way. Would be nice to walk around without a warrant for my arrest so I could bring others here. But it otherwise wasn''t that huge of a deal in the first ce.


    "so..." I closed the briefcase full of Lien. "Where''s the girls? I was hoping to see Miltia." She was my friend, I did miss her.


    "They bailed after Roman did his little walk through. Said they needed a vacation after being raided by the police for the eleventh time in the past month." Junior let out another sigh. "Can''t really me them there, if I could, I''d have jumped ship ¨C literally ¨C to that resort over in Vacuo."


    "oof, rough."


    "Brothers, you don''t know the half of it. Even if I''m technically in the clear, I''m being pressed by several sides to try and get me to roll over. You know how many times I''ve had to ride in the back of a squad car since you''ve left? Several times, and it''s always for bullshit reasons, but the higher ups that I got no leverage over want to keep making me miserable." Junior glowered, tossing his Sun ss on the coffee table infront of us.


    "I know the feeling."


    "Really?" He looked surprised.


    "Well, kinda. Instead of police cars, they''re beautiful women."


    "Oh, fuck you."


    "Sorry, there''s only one Xiong that I''ll ¨C"


    "Don''t make me get my bat, brat." Junior groaned. "Damn Roman, what was this bullshit about ''adopting'' you. Aint no way you aren''t his bastard."


    "I''ll take that as apliment."


    "It wasn''t."


    "I know, but it makes me feel better when youpare me to him."


    Junior chuckled again. "How long you staying around? Gonna jump back into your hole right away?"


    "Eh, probably. Might go see Pyrrha, bully her a little bit. But I did need something else, which is why I stopped by." I replied.


    "hmm, What do you need? Keep in mind, I''m under heavy surveince right now."


    "I need dust. As much as you can get me. Crystals are best, and the higher quality the better." I didn''t hold back.


    I was thinking about the siege weapon designs I gave to Medea and it might be more optimal when using Dust as a source of power instead of soul gems.


    "Shit kid, you''re not with the White Fang are you?" Junior looked almost concerned.


    "....no? Why would I be? The Faunus Terrorist Organization ispletely irrelevant to me?" I said in confusion.


    "Huh, I guess that''s something I forgot to mention then. Yeah, the White Fang had been active here recently. Heard they''ve been hitting the Schnee Dust shipments that''ve beening in. Stealing what they can, blowing up what they couldn''t steal in time." Junior exined briefly.


    I let out a breath of annoyance. "So it''s not viable to get dust in quantity around here?"


    "It''d normally be something easy, rtively speaking. Large quantities of dust are watched by the Kingdoms, but since Dust is not an illegal merchandise it makes it much easier to move around. However, As and Vale both are heavily cracking down on it right now with the Vital Festivaling up and it is to be hosted at Beacon this year." Junior responded.


    Vital Festival?


    Didn''t ring a bell, but it''s probably something I should know, so I''m not going to ask about it.


    "So just shitty luck then, great." I slumped back in my seat. This was an annoying set back.


    Junior let out a sigh. "I....can maybe scrounge up what I can in Vale right now? Have my guys hit up most of the shops around town and gather it all for you. Otherwise, you''re better off taking a page out of the White Fang''s book, rob the Schnees if you want some. Or even the terrorist bastards themselves. But, good luck, even I don''t know where they are."


    Yeah, If I could rob them, then I would feel absolutely no guilt. But it''d be near impossible to even divine their position with such broad information.


    "Honestly, any bit would help, and I''ll happilypensate. But you also gave me an interesting idea. Schnee Dustpany, they have some questionable practices, don''t they?" I inquired.


    "A polite way to say that they use Faunusbor basically as ves."


    "How bad is it?"


    "In some ces, pretty damn bad. Like, you see them and understand why groups like the White Fang exist."


    I winced a little, imagining it and what I was considering. "Think there are some ces where they''re literally used as ves, not allowed to leave, that kind of thing?"


    ".....I might know a couple ces. The really bad ones where you get rumors about some horrendous shit."


    "Well, I''m already a criminal, may as well put that title to good use."


    If there''s one thing I abhor, it''s very.


    [***]


    Ozpin POV


    "Glynda, how goes the recruitments?"


    "Nearly all of the children we scouted had epted our invitation to Beacon thising year." She pushed up her ss, a proud look about her. I could only imagine how difficult it was to gain so many promising Hunters.


    My Scroll began ringing, I noticed it was James, but I pushed it on hold. I would call him back in a few minutes after talking with Glynda.


    "What about the few I told you to see your eye on?"


    ".....specifically, Pyrrha Nikos will be attending, as you put a lot of emphasis on her. Especially now that we have to look for a potential host for the Maiden''s power."


    I let out a sigh, recalling what happened to poor Amber. She never liked to stay in one ce at a time, and getting her to listen to us was difficult at the best of times. It was when we was in the wilderness that she was attacked.


    Not only that, stripped of half her powers as the Fall Maiden.


    Somehow, Salem had discovered a way to steal away that power I granted so many years ago. Something even I couldn''t achieve with my diminished state.


    If Qrow hadn''t arrived in time, she would have beenpletely stripped of the power and killed in the process.


    As it is, she''s currently in aa below Beacon, and we''re using the most state-of-the-art equipment to keep her alive.


    Unfortunately, it looks like her Soul took a significant amount of damage in the process, and a natural recovery may be beyond hers and our means.


    Thus, we must search for a viable candidate to inherit what remains of her Magic.


    My scroll began to ring again, breaking me from my thoughts. Looking down I noticed it was once more James calling me.


    "Should you answer?" Glynda asked.


    I shook my head, dismissing the call. "I will call him in a moment. If it''s an emergency, he has other ways of contacting us."


    A special means for if Salem or her people make a move.


    "And what of the other potential candidates, Glynda?"


    "Yang Xiao-long is also attending. But Qrow may have some things to say about trying to get her to be a Maiden."


    "Agreed, we''ll keep her as a worse-case scenario. The young woman is already...hot headed, we wouldn''t want to encourage that kind of behavior with newfound abilities. And I believe that Miss Schnee is also attending?"


    "Correct, we received the letter from the youngest Schnee daughter, Weiss, and she will be attendinge this next semester." Glynda confirmed, much to my delight.


    Beyond her potential candidacy for the Fall Maiden''s powers, it would be very beneficial to have the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company attend our school. Especially considering that the Vital Tournament will be hosted by us this time. The cost of dust alone already puts us over budget, maybe we can get some allowances out of Jacques Schnee by means of his daughter.


    "I would also like to bring up the subject of ke Bedonna" Glynda''s mood noticeably shifted. "Are you sure it''s a good idea to take her in? She had acted as a terrorist for the White Fang for how many years?"


    Oh yes, the young daughter of Menagerie''s leaders. How she thought she could go undiscovered by giving her real name is beyond me.


    It was very easy to confirm her identity and cross reference it with sightings in White Fang operations over the years.


    Hopefully we can teach her to correct herself from such...overt thinking.


    "I believe in second chances. She clearly wishes a new start, and taking a promising young woman out of the hands of the White Fang is all the more reason. We will watch her closely, if she does revert back to her previous behavior, you have my permission to deal with it as you see fit."


    Perhaps I should reach out to her parents? That may be enough of a threat to keep her in line if she does show a hint of unsavory behavior.


    My Scroll once more began to ring as I repressed another sigh. "It seems that James will not give up."


    "He is a stubborn man." Glynda snorted. "I can wait, go ahead."


    I nodded at her with thanks before pressing to answer the Scroll. "James, what''s the problem? We were discussing the uing Beacon year."


    "Ozpin, he appeared." James looked frantic


    "Pardon? Who appeared?"


    "Wilhelm Schweinorg. We have a sighting and activity from him!" James turned out, muting himself as he apparently started barking orders at some of his subordinates. "Alright, I cleared the room. We have witnesses who saw him."


    "Where?" I sat up with a renewed interest. "Actually wait, let''s get Qrow in on this, he''s going to want to hear things."


    I quickly dialed up his number as the red-eyed man appeared along with James.


    "What''s the matter, Oz? I was ''bout to hit the bar and crash for the night."


    "We have a more important matter than your alcoholism, Qrow." James grunted. "The person we''ve been looking for has made a new appearance."


    "The Kid using Magic?" Qrow swayed a little bit, clearly having already started drinking. "Where''d he pop up?"


    "He attacked a Schnee Dust mine, about 100 miles out of Mistral." James revealed, and I was actually very surprised. "Oz, there were very few survivors among the Schnee staff and they all point at him as being the culprit."


    "Do you have the details, James?"


    "We have tons of witnesses; all of the Faunus were sent to Menagerie. The reports say that he used his portals ¨C which we didn''t know they could reach that far, but he dropped them all off right in the middle of their biggest city."


    "James, if you''re saying that he killed nearly all of the Schnee Dust Company employees, why did he send all the Faunus away. Wouldn''t he have killed them too?" Glynda asked a rather important question.


    "....about that."


    "Shit, wait, is it that one that had a Gryphon attack it like eight months ago, then followed up by a massive swarm of Nevermores?" Qrow cut in.


    "I''m surprised you know that." James replied.


    "Hard not to when I was among those who took part in cleaning upt he Grimm. Shit, James, if he cleaned that ce up, then I''ll drink to his name. That ce was fucking horrific, and that was after they cleaned it up for appearances sake when the Hunters came to help."


    "I won''t dispute your opinion on that ce." James let out a tired sigh.


    "James, what was going on there?"


    "Too far out in the wilderness, so the Schnee Dust Company allowed their employees to run it as their own miniature kingdom. Only, they decided that Faunus were ves in their imaginary world, I''m sure you can imagine the rest."


    "What was Jacques response." How utterly disgusting.


    "He ims he didn''t know, I''m inclined to believe him."


    "Really? You''re going to believe Jacques ¨C willingly breaksborws to abuse Faunus ¨C Schnee?"


    "....I wouldn''t word it that way, but I agree with Qrow. James, tell me you aren''t buying into the corporate nonsense he sells to the public."


    "Jacques is a businessman first and foremost. Do you think he would allow that kind of negative publicity for the minuscule gains that would havee in from that singr Mine?" James snorted with obvious disdain in the man''s name. "Trust me, I would be more than willing to nail Jacques with it if I could, but this is way too sloppy for his normal crap."


    "Very well, I''m sure you will do a thorough job of investigating, James. I won''t bother to assume anything right now." I couldn''t argue with his reasoning, as much as I disliked Jacques Schnee. The man wouldpletely abuse Faunusbor ¨C even humanbor, if he thought he could get away with it.


    Ironically enough, I don''t believe he''s racist. I think he just knows that Faunus are easily exploitable and he can get away with it since there are a lot of people who are.


    "Most of the staff are dead, and it wasn''t a pretty sight."


    "Good riddance." Qrow raised his drink infront of his scroll.


    "I won''t say their presence will be missed. But it''s going to be difficult to ease any outrage without anyone to parade around. This is going to be public soon enough." James rubbed the bridge of his nose. "There''s already a good portion of public opinion that...embraces this Wilhelm. If news gets out about him rescuing literal ves, he''s going to be very popr."


    "We can''t fault someone for the good deeds theymit, James. While I never will celebrate the loss of life like this, I will admit that the world is a better ce." I pointed out.


    "I know, Oz, I know." James continued to sound very tired. "It also proves how dangerous he is. That ce was fortified, especially after the incidents that Qrow mentioned. He single handedly took them all down."


    "Magic is a very powerful tool." I fully admitted.


    "Right, and a great means of theft." James snorted. "He stole all the Dust they had mined."


    "Pfft." Qrow spit out his drink with a burst ofughter that followed. "Haha, get fucked Jacques."


    "Qrow, atleast pretend to be serious. This may be a concerning matter." Glynda lightly scolded him.


    "Thank you, Glynda." Seeing James brighten up at her attention, it''s like being young again. "As I was saying, he stole allof the dust. Granted he didn''t'' keep it up, he left dozens of crates with the Faunus he freed. The witnesses said that he told them to take it to ease the burden of moving to a new ce."


    "Ease the burden, I''m sure. How many of them were there? A hundred, two, three? Split that evenly, and you probably have enough Lien to set them up for life." Qrow replied.


    "It is a lot of dust. Hundreds of thousands of Lien worth." I agreed with Qrow assessment. "An act of charity like that does give me hope that he isn''t aligned with Salem. I do not believe she is capable of such."


    "Based on how much was reported there and how much he gave away, it''s clear he still kept a substantial amount. We have no idea what he''s doing with that much dust, Oz. Not to mention, aren''t the White Fang stealing Dust around Vale right now? You refused me ess to investigate." James continued.


    "It would do no one good for your ships to hover overhead, James. We discussed this already." I rebuked him once more. He''s a good man, but he can be very hard headed when he gets an idea in his head. "As for the link you''re implying with the White Fang, I don''t believe it the case. For one, he is a human, and this batch in Vale seem to be much more radical than some of their counterparts. I find it unlikely they would work so closely with someone they dislike."


    "Admittedly, that is a very good point. But the timing can''t be a coincidence. Perhaps there''s some other connection we''re not seeing?"


    "I will investigate on my end, and you do the same, James. However, what else can you tell us about Wilhelm? Do you have any clue on where he disappeared to?"


    "We can''t very well track someone who can teleport, Oz. We''re trying to keep eyes on all his previous acquaintances but they''re allying low too. We haven''t seen Roman since he came to Vale not that long ago, only for him to disappear into thin air just as quickly."


    Unfortunate. We didn''t expect him to just waltz in like he owned the ce when he was one of the most wanted men in the kingdom.


    The hubris on that one is almost admirable.


    "I can take a look at the dust thing." Qrow offered. "Seems like it''s our only possible lead right now, may as well start looking into it."


    "....thank you, Qrow. Your help is appreciated."


    "Don''t mention it, Tin-man." Qrow chuckled, killing the warm moment between the two.


    "Anything else of note to report, James?"


    "About the incident, we''re stillpiling a report. I''ll make sure to send you a copy, see if I missed anything." James offered helpfully. "But besides that...how about we talk about your new students. I''m sure some would love the opportunity to transfer to ¨C"


    "Thank you, goodbye James!" I quickly ended the call.


    "I''m checking out too, Oz. I''ll start asking around...after I wake up in the morning." Qrow hung up.


    I shook my head before giving Glynda my attention once more. "Where were we?"


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    I let out a breath, stepping out of a portal. The heavy deathly air hung all around me as I began walking through the Grimm Lands.


    I was in a mood.


    I had several crates ¨C tons ¨C more dust in my storage ring right now. But for some reason, I couldn''t feel happy about it.


    Maybe it was the children that I had to literally break the chains around their necks.


    God, what a fucked up thing. Killed all of those bastard is what I did. Sent the Faunus ves to their home ind ¨C Menagerie or whatever. Had to sort of eyeball the coordinates, but it should have put them out right in the middle of their main city. Made sure to heal the ones that really needed it right away, but otherwise, they made it there safely.


    Actually had one of the Faunus that I freed ask me why I was helping since I was a human.


    That really hit me right in the gut.


    Just wanted to forget about it right now.


    I think that was perceivable, because even the Grimm that roamed the area stayed very far away from me right now.


    Would probably have weed the stress relief if they offered themselves up. However, I''m in Salem''s territory, so I wanted to be polite and not kill what could be her potential minions.


    It''s kinda weird that I''m getting little butterflies in my stomach as I happily approached the spooky castle.


    I think it''s suppose to be fear or trepidation. But I can''t help but remember her cute smile, and that scary ambience seemed to fade into the background.


    Therge gates opened up for me. It made me wonder if there were spells in ce, the amount of ambient magic around the area made it hard to separate anything specific and localized like that. Not to mention the actual defenses that warded the castle.


    I was greeted, not by Salem, but her underling.


    ...Cinder? I thought that was her name.


    She paused upon seeing me, even bowing her head awkwardly. "My mistress beckons you inside. She told me to ry a message that she is otherwise preupied for a moment and will appear shortly."


    Huh.


    "...so did she run away to her room really quick to freshen up?"


    Cinder twitched, but didn''t confirm. However I think the embarrassed expression she had said it all. "I could notment on what my Mistress does away from prying eyes." She drawled.


    I was going to tease herter, that''s for sure.


    But more importantly, this woman here was surprising. "Since when did you get Magic."


    Cinder almost tripped over herself as she took a step forward, clearly not expecting my question.


    "H-how did you know?"


    "How could I not?" I blinked. "Felt Magical Energy bleeding off of you since I first walked in. It''s like you''re trying to show off or something."


    "I-I acquired it recently with the help of Mistress." Cinder stammered out before regaining herposure. "She never said anything about my.....Magical Energy doing such a thing." She said it like it was foreign words to her.


    "Hmm." I tapped my chin, wondering what Salem was thinking. "It''s not impossible to give someone their own innate Magic, however, most processes are extremely difficult. Salem must treasure you a lot to go through the effort to do such a thing. I''m guess it was within he past few days? Which would make sense that she hadn''t bothered to say anything, she''s probably eyeing it to see if it''ll start falling off by itself or if other action is required."


    Cause leaking Magical Energy like that was not a good thing, even if it appeared as though her reserves were ratherrge.


    "Though I''m curious how you acquired it?"


    Cinder looked hesitant. "I.....do not wish to reveal the matters of my mistress."


    "That''s fair, and I shouldn''t have tried to pry." I was just suprised and intrigued enough that I didn''t consider proper decorum. "Has Salem taught you anything yet?" A much more innocent question that wouldn''t be touching on any secrets.


    "Mistress has only showed me how to control the flow of my Magic." There was a slight annoyance to her tone. "I have yet to learn how to control it fully."


    "Well damn, if I had known, I would have brought a proper gift. It''s tradition when visiting another Magic-user to bring a gift for new students." I quickly thought about what I could give her. "You don''t seem to have a proper Focus yet, I suppose I have some decent training ones." I mentally looked into my ring and took out one of the various Staffs I had from Skyrim. It wasn''t anywhere near even the one even Rin had made, but it was.....above average for what an Apprentice would use.


    I casually tossed it to her and she caught it with confusion.


    "W-what do I do with this?" Cinder looked at it,pletely bewildered.


    "You give your thanks." Salem pushed open the doors, strutting into her throne room.


    "Mistress." Cinder stiffened.


    "Do you not know proper etiquette, Cinder?" Salem stared at her. "When presented a gift, you give your thanks." There was a little bite to her words.


    "T-thank you." Cinder quickly bowed in my direction.


    "Think nothing of it." I honestly didn''t care much, my attention was almost entirely taken by the breathtaking figure that just walked right in.


    "Hmph." Salem walked up, practically snatching the staff out of Cinder''s hands. She gave it a once over, inspecting it intently. "It is adequate." She pushed it back into Cinder''s hands without any fuss. "You are dismissed, Cinder."


    "Y-yes, Mistress." Cinder bowed her head, scurrying towards the doors that Salem walked in from.


    Salem, nced at her leaving, walked to her throne, taking her seat as she loomed above. "So, you have returned once more. Foolishly you seem to have forgotten of all fear as you stand in my presence. Tell me what brings you here, do you have more trite fanciful words to try and whisper into my ear? Do you attempt to woo this Queen? For what reason do you once more trespass upon my realm?"


    It''s funny, with how standoffish she appeared, I sorta felt like there was some expectance in her words.


    "I missed you." I said with all sincerity.


    And that whole visage she built up came tumbling down with that slight bit of red that appeared on her cheeks. Even with the scowl as she turned her head away, it was honestly too cute.


    [***]


    Here''s Wednesday''s chapter. I actually finished it early this morning, but didn''t have time to do edits before going to work. Next chapter will be outter.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 331 - 298

    <h4>Chapter 331: Chapter 298</h4>


    Salem POV


    "What did you say?"


    "I missed you." He repeated those words so flippantly with that.....warm smile on his face.


    "Your absence was not noticeable in the least" I rolled my eyes at his attempt with honeyed words. Did he think that saying something like that would make me swoon over him? That overrge ego of his would find itself deted then, because I did not return the sentiment.


    ....even if he continued to look at me like that.


    "If I''m not weed, I wouldn''t want to impose. I suppose I''ll take my leave." He looked....dejected, bringing a foreign but unpleasant feeling within my chest.


    "Hmph, to waltz into my castle then leave immediately." I scoffed. "Do you have no sense formon courtesy? As host, it is my obligation to entertain you, regardless of myck of desire to do so."


    Stupid man.


    Don''t look so happy with me merely extending the proper etiquette that was required. I would not shame myself as a Queen to kick you out after making the trip here.


    "I''m happy with any time we can spend together."


    Don''t be pleased by such a trite thing.


    I am not doing this for your enjoyment.


    So stop that ridiculous smile of yours!


    With a huff, I pushed myself off my throne. I couldn''t stand to look at his stupid expression any longer. These conflicting feelings that swelled up were bing annoying. Instead, I walked towards one of my seers, floating in the corner to focus my attention on.


    "As the Master of this domain, I shall properly express gratitude for your gift you deliver upon my subordinate."


    ....It would be rude of me not to properly thank him. Cinder did an awful job of doing such herself, and I would not let him think I am not educating her correctly.


    He provided her with a Staff.


    A real one, no mere trinket or bauble that could be found on the modern markets. I held it only briefly, yet I could tell it would synergize with most Magics that were cast through it.


    How long has it been since I held a real Magical Item and not one of my own creation?


    To even make something like that, how hard must it have been to find the materials in this era?


    I never liked to wield a staff myself. I could not deny the benefits such a focus brought, but I preferred the speed which I developed by not relying on a Magical Foci. Ozma would swear by his staff, but I was still the better spellcaster.


    For Cinder, I cannot see the harm in her using one. It may help her bepetent to the point where I was not embarrassed by her.


    "She''s something like your apprentice, right? It''s only proper that I give her something decent if I''m trying to court you." He replied.


    And he said something ridiculous again.


    Court me?


    A continued jest that I had allowed for reasons I could not seem to understand.


    He said it before, and the time previous. I should throw him out for spouting that nonsense so tantly again.


    ....Yet it was difficult to respond to such an absurd im.


    Thankfully, he was most likely preupied with staring at my rear, as he tended to do. If he merely replied that it was just a lustful desire born out of his youth, I would be more prone to believe such a thing. It would certainly be easier to navigate around, simply lift my dress up, allow him what he wished for a few moments, and he would be putty in my hand. Gods know if I just offered him my rear for whatever perverse fantasies he dreamed, I could gain ess to all the secrets he held, to gain the Relics he hides away.


    No, he insists on this approach. To flirt with this Queen of the Grimm. To try and move my decrepit and dead heart out of some misbegotten desire that I cannot fathom.


    I, of course, only allow it to better learn his secrets.


    "I suppose she could be seen as an apprentice of sorts." I decided to just ignore his words. It was not worth the effort to dwell upon. Surely, he would lose interest at some point, there was no point in giving it any more of my thought. "How far she can go, I do not know, considering she wasn''t born with the gift properly." I sniffed.


    If it was Magic not of Ozma''s I would have found the act distasteful. To give Magic to someone..... so undeserving as this ''new humanity''. No, since it came from one of those ''Maidens'' whom were given the gift by Ozma, I would wee it wholeheartedly and even take pleasure in taking it away from that scornful man.


    "With you teaching her, I''m sure she''ll go far. You were able to give her the capacity for actualizing spells in the first ce. That kind of thing is not easy by any means, and just says a lot about your knowledge and experience." He praised me with genuineness in his tone. "Really, the only thing to be worried about is that she''s leaking it all over the ce."


    "I do not need your praise.....regardless of how deserving it is." I turned my nose up at his continued attempts at winning my favor.


    Even if it had been a long time since my talents have been properly appreciated. I have not had someone who could share my understanding and interest in the Magical Arts in...thousands of years.


    "What about her leaking of Magical Energy? That seems like a problem that could have some consequences if left unchecked. Are you simply waiting for it to.....bottle itself up so to speak, stymy by itself? Or possibly it''s some overflow from its original source?"


    His questions were intriguing, interesting, even. I turned back to face him. "I was waiting to see how long the effect persisted before I was forced to take action." I admitted. It was not an exact process, and I was...eyeballing it as I went. As strange as it was to be as flippant with the whole situation, there was no true or proper guidelines to base my actions off of. "I have thus far only began the process of teaching her how to harness the Magic within."


    "Mmm, too soon to tell." He rubbed his chin. "Would it be impolite if I asked for an updateter? It really is an interesting thing you''re doing."


    "I suppose I can allow you to know my dealings." I could ignore this abominable feeling in my chest more easily when we speak of other things. "And....your insights aren''t not wholly unwee."


    He was knowledgeable and it wasn''t unpleasant to converse with him on subjects we both clearly were well versed in.


    If he dared to try and court me, it was only proper that his Magical ability be up to a certain standard.


    I would expect no less, otherwise I would be insulted by his attempts.


    .....if only he stopped looking at me with that damnable smile of his again.


    "Now, what boon do you desire?"


    "Pardon?"


    "You have bestowed a worthy gift upon someone under my tutge. It would look bad upon me if I did not return the gesture." I put my hands on my hips as his eyes briefly flickered downwards. Knowing I could hold his gaze even with the knowledge that he had.....other women who saw to his desires. It was oddly satisfying. "Tell me what you desire. Knowledge? Ancient treasures? I am the Queen of the Grimm, there is little I cannot offer."


    "Anything?" He slowly developed a Cheshire grin.


    [****]


    "This is not what I anticipated."


    Heughed at my admittance.


    "What is so humorous?!"


    "Nothing, it''s just.....the situation is familiar."


    "Hmph." His stifled giggles only grated on my patience.


    They were in no way pleasant to listen to.


    I sat there, motionless, as he continued to have his way with me. Unable to voice aint due to the rather mundane nature of his request.


    I was at his mercypletely.


    He chose to use myp as a ''pillow'' as he called it.


    Hey there, head upon my thigh, eyes closed in a strange peacefulness.


    Did he not know that I could end his life with but a gesture? He put himselfpletely at my mercy, utterly unguarded from anything I wished to inflict upon him.


    Perhaps I should invade his mind? Test his defenses. He would bepletely caught off guard and I''m sure I might be able to scour him for the information I desire. It was not my area of expertise, but I''m sure I could force the issue...the state of his mind afterwards was another matter entirely.


    But for some reason, that thought left a sour taste in my mouth.


    Of course, I would never do something so inelegant.


    I could ¨C


    I paused.


    Why was I running my fingers through his hair? And why did hearing his content noises make me feel so pleased with myself? For some reason, it was bringing a warm sensation to my chest to see him so rxed in my embrace.


    I jerked my hand away with a huff. His eyes opened again, looking up at me with such a soft gaze.


    Annoying.


    Stop it.


    I had to bring him upon the top of my castle so no others could happen upon me making a fool of myself once more. Otherwise, all respect I had garnered would have been utterly destroyed.


    "Did you expect me to ask for something else~" The corners of his lips curled up.


    "Of course." I pursed my lips. "What foolish person, when offered a boon, from me, would ask for ¨C this."


    "Really? I think I got a better deal. Would have given a lot more than just the staff if this is what you offered."


    "Do not think you are allowed this lightly." I gazed down into his eyes. "No man has been given the privilege for many years. I merely took pity upon you for wasting the opportunity given."


    "Hmm, maybe I should have used the boon more favorably then. Since you were obviously expecting me to do something lewd. Now I feel like I disappointed you."


    "Who is disappointed!?" The sheer nerve of him!


    To insinuate that I was in expectance of him toy his lecherous paws upon my body.


    "It''s not toote~" He had that annoying look about him once more. "Would you deny me if my hands started to wander~"


    "Wander? You make it sound as if they would not immediatelytch upon my rear if I allowed you." I raised an eyebrow and flicked away his raised palm. "Your intentions are obvious." I huffed, turning my nose up. "You will sleep tonight knowing you missed an opportunity that will nevere again." His chuckles just annoyed me further, thinking I was merely jesting!


    He slowly rose up away from myp.


    .....it was odd to feel that pressure upon my skin now move away. That was it, nothing more. I was merely tired of him weighing upon my thigh.


    "What if I ask nicely?"


    "What dare you ask of me? You think I will just offer you anything you desire with but some honeyed words?" I scoffed at his foolishness. "If you attempt to take liberties with me again, know that you will have to bear the consequences."


    I waited for him to inevitably do something to earn my ire. I would cast him from the top fo my keep, see him fall into the mud below. Then he would know that I am not one to make jests at.


    "And if the consequences are worth bearing?" He said quietly, leaning in and I could do nothing to stop his advance.


    Why did I not stop him when I knew what was going to happen?


    I stilled, even when his face approached mine so slowly, his breath brushed against me. Why did my eyes close, in anticipation?


    I felt a pressure I had not in eons. It was quick, excruciatingly quick, as his lips met mine for only the briefest of moments. The faint softness, the slight taste, they were gone just as quickly as they arrived.


    I opened my eyes to see his face only mere inches away from mine still, his eyes meeting mine.


    And...why did I feel as if my face had heated up and my heart beat erratically?


    [***]


    Next chaptering up in a couple minutes.

 Chapter 332 - 299

    <h4>Chapter 332: Chapter 299</h4>


    This had be amon urrence.


    I woulde visit Salem for a day or two, staying the night in one of her guest rooms. However, she was acting a little more awkward than previously.


    I wasn''t oblivious to the reason.


    I had kissed her.


    It was a brief kiss, barely a peck on the lips, but it was a step forward. We had a sort of dynamic already, I would tease her a little bit, and she would ''hide'' under her ''obligations'' to perform to a certain extent in hospitality.


    Had she shown any real dissatisfaction towards my advances, I wouldn''t have pushed, even as mildly as I did. But she appeared open about it, so I took a shot and she epted. However, she had be.....distant, or more so than before.


    I mean, we weren''t nearly as close as I was with my other girls, though much more familiar than when I first came over, but there was still a lot to work through. She basically told me that I was wee to stay the night in ''my'' room again before disappearing.


    Maybe she just needed some time alone with her own thoughts.


    I had a vague idea of how long it''d been since she was involved with someone. Thanks to Jinn, I did see quite a bit about her life ¨C in very broad strokes. It might just take awhile for her to ept that I''m being sincere in my attempts. Though, I think she knows it, but just had trouble epting it for whatever reason.


    As long as she doesn''t show actual distaste or annoyance, I''ll continue doing what I''ve been doing.


    "What do you think, squidward?" My faithful Grimmpanion hovered nearby, as it did when I came over to visit. "Was the kiss to soon?" I elbowed him as I made myself some coffee.


    It wiggled its tentacles as if to say ''meh''.


    "I couldn''t help it, she was being too cute. And the face she made afterwards, I had to force myself not to go any further." I let out a sigh, taking a seat nearby. "Should I apologize? I don''t think it was a big step forward personally, but maybe I read the signs wrong."


    Can''t say I was infallible in that regard. For all I knew, I waspletely wrong in my interpretations.


    That''s whymunication is important.


    Last time we did talk about the potential for something, this time we spent a sorta intimate moment together, and I leaned in for a simple kiss.


    It could even be called a third date, if you looked at it a certain way.


    God, seeing her actually blush for the first time. I''ve gotten her flustered before, maybe even some hint of embarrassment from teasing. But never a full on blush like what happened.


    Especially the way it contrasts on her pale skin.


    Way too cute.


    "I really have gotten smitten with her." I hummed to myself.


    Squidward made a strange sound in agreement.


    "Oh shit, did someone actually make ¨C" A familiar face pushed open the door, stepping in, only to pause when he saw me. "Ah fuck me."


    I blinked at his reaction upon seeing me. "....sorry?"


    "Shit, shoulda known you were here. No one else fuckin makes coffee, always gotta do it myself and they all steal it." He let out a sigh.


    ".....is there something wrong with me being here?"


    The kid groaned. Mercury, I think I recalled his name correctly. "Boss Lady said to stay far away after....st time."


    "Oh." I snorted. "Yeah, the one where Salem walked in when you ¨C "


    "Yeah, that." He chuckled depressingly. "Fuckin almost got burned to a crisp for that man."


    "Really? I do it all the time." I took a sip of my coffee.


    "You also flirt with the Scary-Magical-Grimm Lady." He pointed out.


    "That I do." I chuckled.


    "And somehow live afterwards."


    I guess I could see how that would be a little intimidating from his perspective. "Honestly, it just makes her even more sexy."


    ".....alright, that''s true. Shit, so rank out of 10?" He asked.


    "You really just have no fucks to give, don''t you?" I raised an eyebrow at his question. Even after what happenedst time, he was asking something like that again.


    "Dad was an Assassin. Every day was ''Take your kid to work day'' for him. If he was in a bad mood, he beat the shit out of me. If he was in a good mood, he beat the shit out of me with a smile on his face." The Silver-haired kid shrugged.


    "Wow, alright then. If I was forced to say she''s ¨C oh hey Salem." I turned my gaze to behind him.


    The kid froze, turning around with eyes wide open. Except, there was no one standing behind him. "oh fuck you."


    I couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "Dammit, I should really go. Cinder''s going to get on my ass if she finds out. Cyater, man, it''s nice to have someone without a stick up their ass around this ce." He gave a quick wave before leaving in a hurry.


    He''s fun.


    If I remembered correctly, he had prosthetic legs. Maybe I should enchant them, think he''d enjoy that. Would be entertaining to watch him fly around and whatever else I coulde up with if nothing else.


    Speaking of enhancements, I wonder if Salem would be upset if I.....upgraded Squidward. Give him some bitchin weapons to fling around with all his appendages. Maybe some armor too, something super intimidating for him to float into battle with.


    It would be hrious for Squidward to fire a cannon or something, only for the recoil to send it hurling away.


    Or maybe, Sir Wiggles could use a mount.


    Hmm.


    I poked the floating eldritch abomination. It made a funny sound that seems to easily brighten my mood.


    "I should have known you would be here."


    I perked up upon seeing who spoke. "Good morning, Salem." I smiled warmly towards her.


    Guess Mercury had good instincts.....or maybe she was waiting for him to disappear. I wouldn''t put it past her, sounds like something cute she would do so as to not make an awkward situation again.


    She eyed me for a moment, silently, before taking a few steps forward, finding a seat at the table opposite from me.


    "Want some coffee?" I offered, along with my plethora of additions avable.


    I take my coffee seriously.


    "I am not of the mood." She stated.


    Hmm, she did say she doesn''t require food and drinks anymore. But I can''t fathom the idea of not enjoying either for the sake of it. .....maybe she simply didn''t like coffee? It was a sphemous thought, but I would be willing to bear with it if it meant I could spend more time with her.


    "Did you juste to see me and Squidward then?" I asked, poking the Grimm again.


    "....you named my seer such a ridiculous thing." She shook her head in exasperation. "You are aware I can see and hear everything it does, yes?"


    I blinked, looking at Squidward. "Now that''s awkward."


    Betrayed by someone I thought I could trust.


    "Hmph." She breathed out some air form her nose. "You are a strange man."


    "Normal is boring. If I were normal, I wouldn''te to the Grimmnds because I heard there was a beautiful Queen here." I pointed out. "I wouldn''t have been able to see that wonderful smile of yours when it''s finally coaxed out. Nor would I have known about that adorableugh of yours after working hard to make it appear."


    "Perhaps I am the strange one for allowing you to act the way you do." She crossed her arms, lips pursed. "Falling for such obvious flirtations should be beneath one such as I."


    She said that, but I could tell she was pleased atleast a little. "You know..." I took a sip of my coffee again. "I don''t want to make you ufortable." Well, there was teasing and I did that, and then there was a true difort. I don''t want to put her in a spot where it''s thetter. "If I do something to overstep, or something you don''t like ¨C tell me and I''ll stop immediately."


    There was a small twitch of her lips as her arms unfolded. "I was merely surprised." She said quietly, obviously referring to the kiss.. "...it wasn''t unpleasant."


    And I really wanted to ''surprise'' her some more right about now, but it didn''t feel appropriate. No, it felt like something I should drop for the moment, let her get her own thoughts managed for another time.


    Let''s change the subject then. "So, how have you progressed on Runecraft?"


    I don''t know if she was just happy at the change of subject, or the Magic to discuss, but she noticeably perked up. "It is a very interesting piece of Magic. The nuances are deceptively simple once I began more experiments."


    "They really are. I know some practitioners who basically use singr Runes for the most simplistic but convenient effects. Weave the correct one into the stitching of a glove, and it''s great for bursts of enhance strength. Shoes for speed, clothes for some protection, etc. Viable effects for a minimal cost in Magical Energy."


    "As inelegant an approach as that is, I cannot argue that it is an efficient use of such a concept." Salem muttered. "But my first failures came from using multiple together. It seems that the more that arebined, the more difficult it bes to hold the spell from unraveling or imploding upon itself."


    "Ah, I understandpletely. I remember that when I began trying to create my own Runic sentences, even though I had much more knowledge on the subject than you. My own teacher would point out redundant choices, weirdbinations, or contradictions that often made it fail upon actualization." I nodded along with her word. "While not exactly a good metric of basing one''s ability in the area, how many Runes can you string together with certainty of non-failure?"


    "A handful ¨C perhaps three or four before I begin to lose confidence."


    "Impressive."


    "Is it?" She sniffed. "I feel inadequate as this touches on many things I am learning and thus unfamiliar with."


    "Even the best of Magic-users find things that are difficult to pick up if it''s new to them." I soothed her a little bit. "As I said you''re fumbling around in the dark right now. You''re missing a lot of information."


    ".....that is true." She acknowledged. "The books talk about things I do not have a reference for. ces, people, and if I am not mistaken, it references deities other than the Brothers. Does thise from a culture that worshipped something else ¨C as misguided as that is?"


    "That''s right, they had their own beliefs." I smiled at her deductions.


    "How strange. I can hardly recall any cultures during my time that did not worship the Brothers." Salem mused.


    "I have a couple more books on Runecraft that may help you. As for their cultural history, well, I don''t have anything specific on hand that details that. But.....I wouldn''t mind telling you the stories I know about their beliefs and mythology." I offered as an alternative.


    "...I would find that most enjoyable." That rare smile of hers finally appeared once again as she settled herself in to listen intently.


    I could feel my heart melt when she looked at me they way she did. Without any dy, I began the recant the tales of how the Norse Pantheon came into existence from their Cosmological point of view.


    This was turning out to be a wonderful morning.


    [***]


    Weaving another illusion around myself, I stepped out of a portal.


    The time I spent with Salem was amazing, but I still had other things I wanted to aplish before heading back home.


    I''m a little sad I couldn''t steal another kiss but it was clearly something she was still confused about.


    Regardless, I left her Castle with her in a very good mood, so I would count that as a win. Spending hours talking about Magic seemed to be a good way to bring her some enjoyment.


    I had considered telling her about everything, but.....I don''t think we were quite there yet. There are still some things we need to talk about.


    The fact that she was the Queen of the Grimm was a rather big deal. I''ve glossed over it thus far, but I couldn''t ignored it entirely.


    ....maybe I''m just hesitant about bringing it up because I don''t think I''ll like what I''ll hear and I don''t want to ruin what has started developing between us. I had already made some progress in getting her to cease direct attacks on the Kingdoms, better to wait before pushing further.


    I''ll give it some more thought for now.


    It might be a good idea to sit down and talk to Jinn about it too. This was her home, she should have a say in how something like this is handled ¨C beyond the aspect of the Harem. However, she did give me her blessing ¨C along with the others ¨C to pursue Salem. So I don''t need to go have a talk with everyone about that aspect of it.


    But, that''s something to think about at another time.


    Right now, I was on a mission.


    A very important mission.


    Operation, bully Pyrrha.


    Finding her took all my skill and cunning, for she could have been anywhere on remnant.


    And by that, I men I called Junior and asked him if he knew where she was. She was a celebrity afterall, it wouldn''t be difficult to find out.


    She was actually in Vale. Not surprising since Junior told me that the Beacon semester was starting soon and I did talk about that with Pyrrhast time I saw here and Junior confirmed it.


    But Junior also came through with her exact location. She unfortunately seemed to still have people following after her and all that, but what can you do.


    That''s how I found myself standing in what looked like a Mall.


    Slightly different aesthetic, but it had the general multishopyout I was used to.


    One clothing store was closed off with a crowd gathered around the outside.


    I was annoyed and tempted to disperse the crowd from what I assume was Pyrrha''s unwanted fan club, however, they admittedly weren''t doing anything wrong. Pyrrha'' feelings aside, they weren''t being malicious ¨C probably.


    I felt oddly protective of the other Red-Head.


    Bending light around myself, not that difficult with magic, even if it was noticeable with some effort and the right equipment/spells. The most basic form of ''invisibility'' but it left a faint shudder around my frame if you looked close enough. With how chaotic it was right now, I doubted I would be noticed.


    So, I just sidestepped the crowd and walked right inside the store.


    Might seem odd that they were catering to a single person, but they could easily use this as a publicity opportunity.


    The Pyrrha Nikos shops here!


    Etc.


    There were some higher end brands and overall some pretty good looking stuff.


    "Girl, you need to show off those legs more. Take these." I followed the sound of the voice.


    And wouldn''t you know it, there were two people I recognized.


    Pyrrha of course, the adorably awkward girl was standing there with another girl shoving clothes into her hands.


    A beret on her head, with sunss worn inside, and just a tacky sense of fashion overall.


    "A-are you sure? These are really....revealing. I don''t know if I like ¨C"


    "I''m sure." I think her name was Coco? She forced the outfits into Pyrrha''s hands and literally pushed her into the changing booth. "Try those on, then we''ll go from there."


    Gods, I haven''t thought about that girl in forever. I think Miltia said that her parents owned a bunch of clothing stores, what are the odds?


    This Coco seemed to utterly ignore Pyrrha protests.


    Hmm.


    Maybe I should help Pyrrha assert herself more in the future? She reminds me of Jeanne in that they both didn''t like conflict and would make themselves miserable if it meant avoiding that.


    ....and they''re both very bulliable.


    But only I''m allowed to bully the adorable cinnamon roll that is Pyrrha Nikos.


    Pyrrha did follow the instructions, changing into a short skirt, and a cute sweater. It admittedly did look good on her, I wouldn''t deny it, but she clearly didn''t feelfortable wearing it. Odd considering her bat'' clothes are pretty revealing as well. But then again, that''s mostly for the maneuverability and not something she thought about too much outside of her work as a ''huntress in training''. Or perhaps it was due to her nature as a sort of entertainer. On that note, it might not be remiss to bring up the topic of some different kind of protectionter on.


    Her casual dress was more a reflection of her tastes. She''s a much more reserved woman than that, or so I understood.


    Coco tipped down her sunss. "Nice." She admired. "Could pop a cantaloup with those thighs."


    Pyrrha of course got flustered at thement, so I took that opportunity to ¨C quite literally- work my magic.


    Coco had another outfit in her hand, and with a flick of my own, I cast another illusion over it.


    "Now try this." Coco held up the other outfit for her to try on, except ¨C


    "W-what!?" Pyrrha blurted out.


    Coco blinked in confusion, looking down at what she was holding. It was a very provocativebination of leather straps and an apanying gag even. An ensemble that would somehowe together to barely cover her most private of ces, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.


    Coco made her own squawk of surprise. "T-this isn''t what I grabbed!? Why is this even here!?" She blurted out. Funny, I didn''t take her for the type to get embarrassed so easily, but here we are. "I-I''m going to figure out who put this here and fire them!" She ran off presumably to the back where they keep things.


    Pyrrha, stood there with a red face, unable to respond properly.


    "I think ''Red'' is the perfect nick-name for you. Your face definitely matches your hair right now." I took the opportunity to sneak up on her.


    She jumped a little, startled by my appearance. She looked at me in confusion, I clearly looked very different, but her brow furrowed as if she realized. "Will...?"


    "Hey Red, been awhile." I smiled towards her.


    "Will!" Pyrrha eximed, and I was mildly taken as she initiated a hug. Usually I was the one to do that. I epted it happily, of course. "You disappeared again, for like, three weeks." She sounded....sad.


    "Sorry, Red. Had to take care of some things." I apologized, patting her on the back. "Wanna go somewhere more private? The bondage gear is optional, by the way."


    "Y-you did that, didn''t you!?" Pyrrha squeaked out, smacking my shoulder with a cute pout.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle. "Guilty~"


    "That was mean!" She huffed. "And now I feel bad about Coco."


    "Don''t, she''s a tool." I rolled my eyes. "She wears sunss in doors, and don''t get me started on her beret! Not to mention she''s a bit of a stuck up bit¡ª"


    "Language." She poked me with a stern look.


    "Unpleasant person." I cleared my throat in rification.


    "Hmph." She untensed a little. "....is there still a crowd outside? I don''t think I can get away without being seen, and you''re...."


    "Pyrrha." I chuckled again. "Did you forget who I am?" I waved my arms, opening a portal.


    ".....I forgot you could do that." She admitted.


    [***]


    Appearing somece more deserted, Pyrrha peaked around a moment before calming down. She looked at me again, pouting again before hitting my shoulder like many seemed to do. "You disappeared for so long. Do you know how worried I was!?" She began chastising me.


    "Sorry, I was really busy with some stuff. Helped the misses handle some negotiations with some rival factions and all that." I vaguely replied.


    "You better not be involved in any more criminal stuff." She let out a little huff.


    "Hey, I''ve been on my best behavior."


    "I don''t believe you." She immediately replied.


    "I may or may not have turned over a Schnee mining camp¡ª"


    "Will!"


    "¡ªThat was using literal vebor." I added.


    She deted right away. "...that sounds horrible."


    "It was, but I handled it." I reassured her again. "So, what about you, Miss Dominatrix-in-Training?"


    "Brothers, you''re never going to let that go, are you?" Pyrrha covered her face with her hands. "And it was you who did it! I should be calling you that."


    "If you want to call me your dommy daddy, I won''t so no~"


    The embarrassed sound she made was always fun to hear. "I would die of embarrassment if the press heard you even imply something like that."


    "Oh, I could imagine the headlines ¨C Pyrrha Nikos, Deviant!? The Secret to her strength, she likes to be spanked!"


    "D-don''t add on strange things like that!" She squeaked.


    "Hmm, you didn''t deny it." I pursed my lips. "Very suspicious."


    "Nyeh!" She smacked my shoulder. "You''re not allowed to spread lies like that!"


    "Don''t worry, Pyrrha. I won''t spread your obvious deviant behavior." I promised with full sincerity.


    She covered her face again, the red hue obvious at this point.


    "I heard that the Deputy Head-Mistress at Beacon uses a riding crop. Maybe you should practice with a Whip ¨C you know, to fit in better?"


    "Stooooooooop" Pyrrha whined.


    "Alright, alright." I pulled her in for another hug. "I''ll stop teasing you."


    "You''re a bully." She huffed, epting the hug again. "But.....I missed you." She whispered.


    "Sorry, I really was busy." I breathed out.


    There were no romantic feelings involved. I knew she didn''t feel that way about me, beyond maybe a physical attraction, which in turn I could recognize she was very beautiful herself. No, I saw her as my friend, and I cherished that, even if it wasn''t for very long.


    "How long are you staying around?" She asked.


    ".....couple hours, probably. Only came to visit because I had the time." I admitted.


    "I see...." She sounded depressed about it, even if she forced herself not to frown.


    "Hey now, don''t get so down." I poked her nose. "You said you were attending Beacon, well, I''m going to make damn sure I''m around when you get epted. You said they have an entry test after passing the enrollment verification, right?"


    "Yes, I heard that every Academy has their own variation of a hands-on testing process, though I don''t know the specifics..." She bit her lip, like she was pensive about something. "I, um...they said I don''t need to take part in the test, that I''m wee even without it."


    "Oh? Oh." I realized what was troubling her. "You think they''re only doing that because you''re a celebrity?"


    "I know it sounds silly, it''s not like it''s umon for well known names to bypass that test. There are some legacies that pop up, and they''re usually pushed to the front of the line and everything. But....I just feel weird about it." Pyrrha replied.


    "From an outsiders perspective, yes it dide out because of your fame." I admitted. "However, your fame arose due to yourbat abilities. So in that thinking, is it strange to be against it? Youpletely earned your own strength, and that''s what they recognized, Pyrrha. And, do you have to ept the line-jump? Couldn''t you just take the test anyways?"


    She did smile brightly. "Thank you, Will." She said with an honest sentiment. "I know it''s silly, but I guess I just wanted someone who understood to tell me that. And....do you really think they''ll not be against me doing the test like everyone else?"


    "Pyrrha, they''re willing to forgo the test in the first ce to get you to their school. They''re clearly willing to jump through hoops, so to do the opposite, shouldn''t be any issue. Be humble about it, say something like ''you wanted to prove you could attend such an illustrious Academy like Beacon'' or something, y up on their pride if anyone asks. They literally wouldn''t be able to turn away your request at that point." I offered some advice.


    "That sounds...devious." She muttered. "Yet.....kind?" She looked at me, with another light p at my shoulder. "Why are you so good at being underhanded in nice ways?"


    "Lots of practice." I chuckled. "You''ll have to learn how to navigate situations like this eventually. You''ve had an Agent handle negotiations and stuff in the past, right?"


    "Yeah, I have a good Agent. A friend of my mom." Pyrrha nodded. "Maybe I should start standing in for things like that for the future."


    "Hmm, your mom, huh? I''m imaging a much older version of you. How about you introduce us at some point?" I wiggled my eyebrow.


    "D-don''t you dare try anything on my mom!" She squeaked out again. "Besides, you have a Daughter and wouldn''t your.....girlfriend? Be upset with you about saying something like that" She puffed up indignantly.


    "Actually, I have a Harem." I decided to drop that bomb on her without any set up.


    Just like I did about Kunou.


    Her reactions are always adorable.


    [***]


    "Alright, Junior, I''m here. What''s the big emergency?" I opened up a portal to Junior''s back room. He reached out to me via Scroll while I was wrapping up with Pyrrha.


    However, once I realized who exactly was in the room, I couldn''t help but sigh. "You know, I thought it was something important. How my day is ruined."


    "Oh Kid, your words hurt. Don''t you miss your old man?" Roman Torchwick replied with that shit-eating-grin of his.


    "Where were you dad! You went out for cigarettes so long ago. Then next thing I hear, you''re spending all your money on drugs, turning tricks on the corner for your next fix." I ''sniffled'' wiping a fake tear from my eye. "Poor Neo, did she have to watch you spiral? One moment you''re the ''great thief'' Roman Torchwick, next, you''re giving truck drivers hand jobs in the bathroom for some quick cash."


    Neo, who I absolutely knew was around, appeared next to me, mirroring my ''hurt'' look.


    Junior stared cracking up.


    Roman twitched noticeably. "Don''t worry kiddo, old daddy isn''t going to ever leave you again!" He reached into his jacket, pulling out a bundle of papers, tossing them on the coffee table infront of us. "It''s official kid, the adoption papers went through."


    ...he was way too smug to be just joking.


    I looked at him, that unwavering grin on his face as I reached for the papers.


    I read them, well skimmed them, but I was having trouble formting a response. ".....you gigantic asshole."


    "Pfft." Roman even had trouble holding back his cackling. "What''s wrong kid?"


    "Watermelon Torchwick." I repeated the name he apparently adopted me with. I tossed the papers back onto the table. "Was ''Wilhelm'' apparently too difficult a word for you to spell."


    "Hey, I take tradition very seriously." Roman grinned.


    Neo, was falling over herselfughing silently, as she didn''t speak.


    Betweenughs, Junior grabbed up the papers to read them. "Holy shit, these are legit." He finally said, wide-eyed. "Well, nice to meet you, Watermelon Torchwick."


    "Fucking Roman." I face palmed.


    "Ohe on, Kid. Is it really so bad."


    "Fuck you." I sighed. "How did you even...."


    "Lots of bribes." He said without a hint of shame.


    "You really spent money, to do something like this?"


    He pulled out a cigar, lighting it up. Taking a breath, he puffed out little bit of smoke. "Yup."


    "You are a special kind of asshole."


    "Hey." Roman wagged his finger. "Don''t speak about your father like that."


    "Damn Roman, if you went half as hard on your usual schemes as you did this crap, how much easier would they be? You even have a freaking birth certificate made." Junior continued to look it up.


    Was this karmic pay back for teasing both Salem and Pyrrha earlier?


    "Wait." I blinked. "Who the hell did you put for my ''mom'' if you giarized a birth certificate." I turned towards Neo. Who which had a mischievous smile about her.


    "Haha, fuck no." Romanughed. "Neo would be insufferable If I implied anything like that between us. As for your mom, I put ¨C"


    "Your mom." Junior interjected.


    "Yeah, but who?"


    "No, your ''Birth Certificate'' literally says ¨C Your Mom, for her name."


    I opened my mouth and closed it again. "God dammit Roman." I face palmed again.


    "Don''t mess with the master, brat." Roman cockily replied.


    Well yed, Roman. Well yed. "And since I''m a hot topic, people are going to find this. They''re going to call me Watermelon Torchwick."


    ".....It has a nice ring to it." Junior seemed to mull it over.


    "You''re fucking with me."


    "I am."


    Neo literally fell overughing at my expense.


    "I really hope this isn''t what you told me was ''so important'' that I shoulde on over right away." I poked at the silent girl twitching on the ground.


    "Alright, serious time." Roman pped his hands. Neo''s figure shattered, her Semnce having activated, she was now leaning against me, parasol in her hand as she spun it innocently. "It''s a little dangerous to get together like this, especially for me toe over to Vale right now. Heat is still high, even if I''ve been working on this whole problem."


    "You mean after you came by originally to fuck with Junior?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Yeah, brought more problems." Roman nodded. "Worth it, but still not really my best decision."


    "Fuck you, Roman." Junior huffed. "Do you have any idea how many rides I took in the back of a Police Cruiser because of that little stunt? Or how many ''surprise visits'' by some Hunters ''just checking up'' on my club?"


    "Listen, there was a very important reason for me doing so."


    "Yeah, what was that?"


    Roman looked at him for a moment before pping his hands. "As I was saying, kid. Got a reason to call you over." Clearly ignoring Junior''s question. "As I said, been trying to get us out of this little predicament. While I do so love being ¨C as you put it ¨C Roman Torchwick, Thief extraordinaire. Charming, Charismatic, Untouchable by thew. Feared and revered by all of Vale and most of the world. Ladies practically throwing themselves at such a ¨C"


    "Like, one or two words of that vomit is urate."


    "You hurt your father, Watermelon." Roman clutched his heart.


    "You know I''ll get you back for that, right?"


    "I like to live in the now." Roman bit down on his cigar. "Like, right now, you''re my precious little Watermelon."


    "As much as I absolutely enjoy the kid''s new legal name, get back to the point, Roman. This is a little important to just be coy about." Junior interrupted.


    "Fine, fine." Roman shoved his cigar into an ashtray. "So, here''s the thing. Doing lots of ckmail, bribing, and a few threats to the right people to pull all of our asses out of the fire. You can thank meter by the way." He puffed up his cor. "But...we hit a little snag. No way to beat around the bush, we''re in some pretty deep water, and it''s been hard to get this far as it is. So.....I may have a way to tips things in our favor, might just be able to drop the warrantspletely in Vale."


    "And this involves me?" I asked.


    "A very influential Council member, not entirely above board, he wants....a favor. He does care about Vale, all that patriotic bullshit or what ever." Roman waved his hand flippantly. "But that helps because they''re in a pickle right now. You heard about those Mutant Grimm?"


    "Junior filled me in." I nodded.


    "Good, that saves some time. Well, shit is getting pretty intense with them. This ¨C nameless Council Member offered me a deal of sorts. He would throw his weight around in our favor, and believe me, that''s some hefty mass he has to toss around. But.....he''ll want a favor regarding the dealings with some unsavory things of the Grimm variety." Roman exined.


    "So he wants me to clear up some Grimm? He couldn''t ask As to do it?" That seemed a little too easy... "And just like that, we''re home free?"


    "Please, don''t downy the effort I put in, son. Honestly, he could see the writing on the wall, he just wants to gain something before we managed to pull our petards out of the fire ourselves. It''ll admittedly be a lot quicker with his help, so....you okay with this?" Roman asked.


    "But why me?" I was confused about that part. "They have Hunters, they have As. It seems weird that he''d ask a ''criminal'' like me to do it."


    "Kid, do you not realize how scared shitless you''ve made some people?" Roman tipped his hat. "You threw a fuck-offser at an almost Ancient Sea-Feilong, and killed it. That kind of thing makes people scared. People with that kind of power the Kingdoms try to force people into their service. Shit, if you did try to go the route of a Huntsman, they would have done anything they could to get you under their thumb."


    "What about their own Huntsman? Couldn''t they call up Beacon, have some of their experts go deal with it?"


    "And risk losing their big sticks? Even As has had some trouble dealing with these Mutant Grimm, why risk their own people when they can have you be their patsy?"


    I rolled my eyes at his phrasing. "I''m not against it, it''s just killing some Grimm. Sure, tell him I''ll take care of it. By the way, what time frame are we looking at? Think you can manage to get us clear by the time Beacon semester starts?"


    "With his help, sure I can have it settled a few weeks before Beacon gets rolling." Roman nodded happily. "He wont need the favor right away, honestly, that should be right around the same time. They''ve found one of those Labs with a bunch of the creepy crawlies right by the city, but they haven''t made a serious push into it yet. They probably want a chance to investigate it before calling you in to go all pew pew at it." Roman shot off some finger guns.


    "Fine, whatever." I shrugged.


    Not a bad deal, I don''t mind handling Grimm, and it would line up perfectly with Pyrrha so it wouldn''t make it awkward if we were seen together, what with me being a wanted criminal and all that.


    "Spectacr." Roman pped his hands with a wide grin. "Can''t wait to see the look on Iron-dick''s face when he finds out that I''m a free man ¨C in Vale that is." Roman straightened his cor. "I''m going to go get on this right away. Thanks kid, I really mean it."


    "No problem Dad." I rolled my eyes.


    "Keep out of trouble, Watermelon." He winked at me with that cocky smile of his. "Come along, Neo. I need you to hide us so the cops don''t get stupid...stupider, that is."


    Neo walked up to me, stealing a quick hug.


    "We''ll catch upter once we''re in the clear. Drinks and Ice cream will be on me." I gave her a genuine smile.


    She wordlessly made some motions with her hands, waving them all around, following up with some stabbing motions.


    "Yes, we can find some things to stab. If you want to join me on the Grimm thing, we can do that too.


    She threw a thumbs up before skipping off towards Roman.


    Junior looked at the door then back to me. "Fucking Roman." He shook his head.


    Yeah, fuck Roman.


    [***]


    Sorry for the dy, I meant to release both of these a lot earlier, but when I got home from work friday, i went to take a nap, and set my rmt to AM instead of PM by mistake again.


    Anyways if you want to read 7 chapters or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 333 - 300

    <h4>Chapter 333: Chapter 300</h4>


    I stretched my arms as I walked out of my portal once more. While I''ve been bouncing around a lot the past few days, it was rather rxing.


    I saw Salem which was always nice. Pyrrha was doing well, which was also good and I nned on checking in again when her semester of Beacon started. And everything with Roman...still was processing that.


    There''s no way I can let anyone else evere to Remnant. I would never be able to live this down.


    Yup, just going to break the bad news to Jinn ¨C Sorry, a stray meteor hit Remnant it doesn''t exist anymore. Don''t pay attention to me going back there, trust me, it''s gone for good.


    The perfect n.


    [Whatever you say, Watermelon.]


    "Fuck you, Ddraig."


    God dammit.


    It''s not that I forgot he was there, but....well, I guess I forgot he was there. I had been forgivingly preupied with the shenanigans that Roman was up to.


    And other things.


    Still remembered the softness of Salem''s lips.


    Going to have a pep in my step after that for quite awhile.


    [Imagine how I feel. My user''s name is Watermelon.] Ddraigined. [Might as well be called the Oppai Dragon.]


    "Don''t you darepare that to me!"


    ....usually I''m the one who gave him shit about that.


    They must never know.


    [I''m gonna tell them.]


    "I will paint you white you stupid lizard!"


    [Just paint me a little green so we match.]


    Dammit Roman.


    Happy thoughts.


    [So we''re back here, huh?] Ddraig''s teasing stopped as we both took in the surroundings. [Coming back a second time, I can definitely say this ce feels different than the other worlds we''ve been to. It''s like.....I''m not supposed to exist as I am, if that makes sense.]


    "Phantasmal Creatures, Gods, Dragons, and everything more supernaturally inclined, their existance is much more....ethereal there, fleeting existences based on humanities'' collective unconscious. Evenpared to back home where perception can alter a Heroic Spirit''s existence to an extent, this ce can drastically alter a being of myth topletely twist their origins, turning them into something utterly foreign inparison."


    Strangely, though, I felt.....good to be here. Like my inner Campione was ecstatic to be back.


    I also felt that strange focus, like the tension before a lightning storm, when you know that Thunder is about to crack in the distance once you see a Lighting Bolt and your body heralds it with the slight tingle up your back.


    "I should be careful abouting back here in the future. I think some of my more aggressive traits might be brought out due to the nature of how Campione interact with the world''sws." I muttered.


    Well, there was a reason I came here, specifically here that is. I came to visit a certain someone whom I promised awhile ago. However, she lived in a very peculiar realm, and I was....hesitant to just straight portal there from Remnant.


    It rarely hurt to be cautious.


    Well, time to make good on my promise.


    Withdrawing Mirage from my ring, I couldn''t just do this one by remembrance alone. This was a somewhat difficult link to establish, and I needed the calctive ability of my Mystic Code. However, it only took a moment as I had been there once before. Nothing major changed in the meantime, so with a swipe of my de, I opened a new portal and stepped inside.


    [***]


    It was the same.


    And I was briefly wondering if Goddesses liked to model their ''realms'' with modern amenities. I mean....this ce, and Izzy....it''s a little bit of a pattern.


    Well, I suppose it''s not like I''ve met many other Goddesses beyond them and Meridia. Amaterasu, didn''t really count, it was more she shed me and then pretended I didn''t exist.


    And now I''m remembering that thong between those wonderful cheeks.


    It may have been a random thought in any other situation, but at this particr moment, it felt appropriate to recall.


    Because, across the room, a petite Goddesses was hanging off her couch, up-side-down, legs up in the air and over the back of it as she was apparently watching her T.V. and eating snacks. I could tell because of the crumps all around her on the floor.


    Though, one particr detail really drew my attention.


    Her dress had fallen down to her stomach.


    There was an awkward silence as she stared at me and I at her.


    "....bold choice in panties." I finally blurted out.


    ck Lace, nice.


    "Kyah!" The Goddess threw herself off the couch, and in the same motion that familiar Shoe came sailing for my face, and I realized that even as powerful as I was, I had no means to prevent it at this moment.


    It literally knocked me off my feet.


    "Y-y-you...!?" Pandora was sporting a very bright red hue on her cheeks. "You can''t just drop in here like that!" She wailed.


    "How else am I supposed toe? It''s not like you have a doorbell for me to ring. I can just.....note anymore." I tossed her shoe back towards her.


    "No!" She quickly changed tunes. "Waah, don''t bully your mother!" She pouted, running towards me with her arms up in the air. Her hands balled into cute little fists as they lightly pounded on me. "Where have you been, mister!? I couldn''t find you anywhere, and I checked!"


    "Around." I grinned, patting her head.


    She puffed up adorably. "Don''t be coy." She somehow managed to snake her hand up to pinch my cheek. "I really checked because you were gone for awhile....."


    My urge to tease her sort of deted once she sounded genuinely sad. "I''m sorry, I was taking care of some personal stuff. And it''s easy to make sure I don''t have prying eyes from Gods and such entities."


    "You''re my only child that can visit....please don''t forget to check in every once in awhile."


    "I promise to keep checking in and spend time with you." I smiled towards her.


    "Good." She beamed happily. "You can apologize by telling your mother how you''re able toe here in the first ce."


    "Magic." I poked her forehead.


    "Hmph." She made a cute noise, stomping her foot. "I''ll figure it out eventually." She followed up with a huff and crossed her arms.


    "Oh, does that mean you''ll be able toe and go as you want?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    ".....even then, I''m a True Goddess, not one of those Heretic Gods. I can''t just...." She didn''t follow up, but I could fill in the gap.


    "I got it, rules and stuff you have to follow."


    "Mmm." She nodded as her hand cupped my cheek. "Look at you. You seem different again, did something else change since thest time you were here? I sense the presence of another God on you."


    "Presence of another God?" I repeated the words. Was she talking about Big G? So far, not many were able to notice his ''presence''.


    "Don''t hide it from your mother." She pouted. "Did you bring another God here, hmm?" A petite finger poked my chest.


    ".....no?"


    "Don''t lie to your mother." Pandora puffed up again.


    "I didn''t! I just have something that''s sorta like that Gorgonian. A piece of a God''s Authority, not an actual God." I quickly denied


    Which was an oddly urateparison now that I blurted it out.


    "You''re hiding something." She hummed, but didn''t really push me on it. "All of my children are so naughty. They don''t call, they don''t write, and they even keep secrets from me." She sounded pitiful. "They don''t remember their poor mother."


    "Have you tried shing the others too? Can''t say I''ll ever be able to forget you after that."


    "D-don''t bring that up!"


    "Burned into my memory nice and good." I nodded to myself.


    "G-gah!"


    "Funnily enough, it isn''t the first time a Goddess wanted to sh me. Though, oddly enough, it was a daughter shing her motherst time. Amaterasu shed Izanami. I guess this time, it was my mother who wanted to sh her son."


    I wonder of this was going to be a thing?


    Can''t say I''ll hate it.


    "Don''tpare me to that ¨C that Hikikomori neet!" Pandora whined indignantly.


    Ouch, sorry Izzy. Wait, even here Izzy was a shut in?


    But even so...


    "Cute." This time, I pinched her cheeks.


    "You''re bulling your mother." Her voice was sorta distorted through my teasing.


    It''s weird.....I didn''t feel ufortable when she referred to herself as my mother. With Raikou, it felt like something else, and I also didn''t care that she did so. But Pandora ¨C we didn''t have that kind of rtionship, and even still....it was pleasant.


    ".....can I have a hug?" I asked quietly, stopping my teasing.


    "You poor child." Pandora whispered, and her arms wrapped around me. "Come here, let your mother ease any worries."


    Hugs are nice.


    Maybe it was because she feltpletely genuine?


    I didn''t feel an ounce of malicious intent, nor hidden motivations. She was doing this simply because she wanted to do this.


    "It''s rare that I get a visitor, much less one of my Childrening to see me." Pandora smiled brightly as she released me. "Come, tell me what ails you, my child." She took me by the hand, practically forcing me down into a seat on the couch.


    "Nothing really ails me." I furrowed my brow. "Just the normal crap I''ve dealt with. I guess I''ve been under some amount of stress recently, but I do have another people to share that kind of thing with."


    "You naughty children are always getting into trouble. You can''t help it, it''s in your nature." Pandora giggled. "Those foolish few who decided to fight Gods."


    "Technically, Susanoo fought me." I pointed out.


    "And you didn''t run away when you clearly could." She tweaked my nose.


    ".....fair."


    "Fufufu, nothing escapes your mothers eyes!" she proudly dered.


    "Except me, apparently."


    "B-because you''re the most illusive of my children!" She quickly countered. "I can see all the others, every thing they get up to!"


    "Oh, you watch them intently, huh?"


    "D-don''t make it sound weird!" She pouted.


    Jeez, why was it so much fun to bully her?


    "What have my apparent ''siblings'' been up to then? Anything I should be aware of"


    "I''m...not actually allowed to tell you too much." Pandora frowned. "Even if you cane here, my interference allowed is minimal." She tapped her chin. "Though, since you''re technically a King of Japan, along with Godou...I suppose there''s some wiggle room. Your older brother Sasha Dejanstahl Voban. He has his sights set on Japan right now."


    Ah, I recognized the name. I did receive some information on my ''siblings'' after making contact with that magical association in Japan. They were convenient to fill in a lot of gaps in my knowledge about this world.


    "Do you think Godou can handle it?" I asked.


    Pandora bit her lip. "That child of mine, he''s so stubborn. Does he not realize how many others envy his position? And yet, he just always drones on about not wanting to be ''abnormal''!" Pandora threw her arms up.


    Ugh, was he still going on about that. "Is he atleast....trying?"


    "Mmm, he''s still training and making sure to learn what he can. I think your talk with him put things into perspective." Pandora leaned it, putting a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you, for taking care of your younger brother. Rarely do my children help another like that."


    It felt warm.


    There was absolutely no lust or attraction that way felt in the slightest, there was only.....affection.


    "He''s a good kid put in an awkward situation. It''s how he''s coping with his entire world-view being turned upside down. Give him a few more months to limate."


    "So sweet." Pandora giggled. "He''s already turned into a bad boy, that one. Gaining the attention of several maidens without even trying."


    "Oh? That embarrassed and awkward Godou, is he working on his own harem?" That would be fun to tease him about.


    "Yup! And he needs more, momma wants grandbabies!" Pandora proudly dered. "Unfortunately, one of the girls around him is the target of your eldest. She''s a powerful....well....as obvious as it may be, I really shouldn''t say. Nor is it appropriate to reveal his ns."


    "If he wants to go cause problems, I''ll give Godou a chance to deal with it. If he can''t....I''ll step in." I can''t always be there to hold his hand.


    Pandora let out a sigh. "All of my children, so troublesome. Why can''t they just get along? I suppose it can''t be helped. They wouldn''t be my children if they didn''t get into trouble all the time."


    "You know." I nudged her a little bit, not liking to see her with that depressed look about her. "You were talking about grandchildren a moment ago. Wanna take a look at my adorable daughter!?"


    "Uwuhh!?" She made a surprised noise, eyes widened. "Show me, show me, show me!" She grabbed onto my sleeve.


    I withdrew my phone. "Behold my fluffy little fox!" I dered showing her the first of many pictures of my cute Kunou.


    "Soooooooo Cute!" She squealed.


    I didn''t mind showing her my family. Because at the rate things were going, I had a feeling she would be meeting them all in person at some point.


    It really did make me wonder....was this how it would feel if mom was still around?


    It was a nice feeling.


    [***]


    "I''m back." I stepped into my home, hearing the greetings of several of my girls.


    Actually, everyone was here but Meridia.


    And by everyone, that included Venna.


    I was overjoyed that she was finally being included.


    They all sat around the living room, chatting about something I had no idea about. I walked up, putting my chin on Raikou''s head as my arms wrapped around her.


    "We were just discussing you, my student." Sc¨¢thach spoke up.


    "It wasn''t me, I didn''t do it." I quickly denied the broadest spectrum of things I could have done.


    "Oh my, how quick he is to try and weasel out of any perceived trouble." Venna giggled. "You really did a number on him, didn''t you?"


    "Clearly, not well enough." Sc¨¢thach pursed her lips. "He often requires remedial lessons."


    Even though those usually ended with me between her legs, one way or another.


    Hell, there was one time she just knocked me on my ass then literally sat on my face and we went from there.


    I do so love how direct she is with what she wants.


    "So, what thing do I have to deny being responsible for?" I ran my hand down Raikou''s side, giving her thigh a nice squeeze.


    One of the absolute best things about having a Harem? I can pretty much do something like this whenever I want. Raikou not only allowed me, but there was a twitch of enjoyment when I started touching her.


    And the others didn''t even call me out, nor look ufortable, as if it was something expected. Well, I''m sure if I ripped off her clothes at this point, at a minimum, Artoria would shift into that territory. She was still very conservative with some things.


    But overall, I had an amazing group of girls.


    "We''re all pregnant." Jinn suddenly blurted out. "Triplets, all of us."


    "Damn, who''s the father?"


    The Genie giggled.


    "I couldn''t imagine a trio of Kunou''s running around." Yasaka yfully flicked at Jinn''s shoulder. "You silly girl, you can have triplets, I''m fine with one toddler at a time."


    "In truth, we were merely discussing what things would need to be taken care of with your absence." Artoria spoked up with a small smile on her face. "We wished for your heart to be at ease if you went away for a little while."


    "Do not worry, my Student." Sc¨¢thach shared her soft ¨C and gentle ¨C smile. A rare thing for her to look so unwavering affectionate in her gaze openly like this. "You have done well in how you have handled yourself in recent times. We share no dissatisfaction about you wandering off for a time."


    "You could use break." Yasaka smiled. "And I know that doesn''t necessarily mean sitting around and doing nothing. You like to run off and have adventures, so go ahead. As your woman ¨C as all of us are your women, and we are more than happy to support you."


    "You all really don''t mind if I disappear for a little bit?" I asked, looking around the room. "I.....don''t like being away for too long as is."


    "Master." Raikou looked up. "We wish for you to be happy just as you try hard for us to be as well."


    This warm feeling in my chest was really hard to describe


    I leaned forward, iming Raikou''s lips for my own. I didn''t quite know how to put my appreciation into words, so I would let this fill in the gaps. It wasn''t an overly long kiss, I didn''t want to make it awkward for anyone else, but....Raikou was flushed, a look ofplete longing followed as our lips separated.


    She wanted more and I wanted to do more.


    "I''m still new, so I can''t speak about everyone elses''s opinions right now, but it seems they align. I''m a Devil, a few days, a few weeks, a few months. That small amount of time doesn''t really mean much, and it appears as though all of my new sisters are long lived as well." Venna also chimed in. "However, I do expect a certain amount of...attention when you return."


    "I believe Wilhelm would give you all the attention you wanted." Yasaka grinned coyly. "With as much vigor as he could."


    "A Devil does have needs~" Venna giggled.


    My hand slipped into Raikou''s without even realizing it as she leaned into me. "So everything is really okay? You''re not just telling me that to set me at ease?" I looked around.


    I was very happy that Venna slid right into the group dynamic without it being awkward. It didn''t seem like anyone was against her presence.


    "Yes, we had discussed everything at length." Artoria nodded. "There were not many things that needed overseeing beyond our personal responsibilities which we were fulfilling thus far. There is no pressing matter that requires your direct oversight, and you are quite easily essible if an emergencyes up."


    "Fine." I relented. "I''ll not ask about it anymore, you all clearly put enough thought into it. However, if anything happens, promise me you won''t wait to contact me."


    "I give you my word, Wilhelm." Artoria said firmly. "I am aware you are like me in this regard. You wish to be immediately alerted to such things."


    Good, since Artoria promised me, she wouldn''t hold back.


    "Oh, and I have arge amount of Dust. Like A reallyrge amount of dust that I managed to get my hands on."


    Artoria blinked. "....Please tell me you acquired it through moral means. I do not like you partaking in criminal activity, Wilhelm. I have let some things slide in the past, but I will be adamant that in our continued rtions that you do not overstep certain lines so tantly."


    "It was a mine that was using literal vebor. Some of which were children. I helped them out, removed the ones involved, and imed the Dust in the aftermath." I gave a brief exnation.


    Artoria smiled brightly. "Yes, that is the man I know you to be."


    Getting praised by Artoria, why did it always feel good?


    So damn charismatic, it was absurd.


    "If you have as much as I think you do, then I can do some fun things." Jinn grinned.


    "Just leave enough for Medea to y around with, and some for possible use in her own projects." I stated.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll bring her in so we can y together."


    Funnily enough, while she was being half cute with her wording, I''m sure she really saw it as an opportunity to y with someone she was friendly with.


    "When do you n on leaving?" Venna asked. "I know it''s something you don''t want to share the details about, but will it be dangerous?"


    "Probably in the morning." I scratched the back of my head. "As for danger.....maybe? Gramps asked me to investigate this before. He was...unwilling to have Artoria and Rin do it instead, said it was probably a little beyond them. Well at least Rin, no offense to her but she isn''t ready for some of the stuff Gramps wants me to do, even with Artoria."


    Artoria furrowed her brow. "The Wizard Marshall''s expertise is not something to overlook."


    "Agreed." Sc¨¢thach added. "You will make adequate preparations before you depart." Which was her way of saying she was concerned and wanted me to be safe. "You may take the time to properlyy with your Servant beforehand."


    "W-what?" I stuttered out.


    ".....Tis obvious that you find each other....wanting in this moment." Artoria was the one who answered. "It is an expected urrence in this strange rtionship you have gathered us all into. If we were not pleased with such oues, we would not be here at this moment." Her face turned a red hue as she turned away.


    I blinked as Artoria of all people told me to stop being a prude and go fuck Raikou. Granted, it was not exactly in that wording. I admit I was the most.....hesitant with Raikou out of everyone, even Artoria. I was scared I would be taking advantage of her. But if even Artoria was being so candid about it, maybe I really am just being silly and should stop over thinking things.


    "Also, don''t put up sound barriers." Jinn added. "Artoria likes to hear while she¨C "


    "J-Jinn!" Artoria squeaked out.


    I looked around and realized I was being silly. I wanted Raikou, and it wasn''t a situation where It wasn''t appropriate.


    With her hand still in mine, I lightly pulled her up, getting her to rise from her seat.


    "Masterrrr." She let out a surprised noise as I swept her up into my arms, lifting her up off her feet.


    [Raikou.] I sent to her through our link. [I need my Servant.]


    The affectionate gaze she held towards me was clear. [Master, your Servant shall take care of all your needs~]


    I carried her upstairs into my bedroom.


    [***]


    Raikou lewd insert here. Shouldn''t take too long.


    [***]


    Saying goodbye to the Girls, and Kunou, it was time to say my farewells to onest person.


    I stared into her warm eyes, that look reserved for me and me alone.


    "I have heard what you are doing. You will embark on a seemingly dangerous endeavor." Meridia greeted me with a slight displeased tone.


    "That''s debatable. I''m just investigating something for Gramps. He only mentioned some interesting facilities involved that I would enjoy researching at. Thought it would be a good break from the normal nonsense that''s been popping up."


    She pursed her lips as if not believing me. "I do not enjoy this feeling of uncertainty."


    "For someone like you, it''s just a single blink of an eye, and i''ll be right back like nothing happened." I reassured her with a little smile.


    She stared at me and blinked, slowly. "It appears you are correct. Good, now you may stay until I allow you to leave."


    I could not resist the amount of cuteness he was giving up as i walked forward, wrapping her up in a tight hug. "It''s not like you can''t contact me. I''ll be sure to check in with you, give you an update, how about that?"


    "Hmph. It will suffice, i suppose." She said quietly. "....I will keep an eye on your other paramours, so you need not worry."


    "I know you will." I kissed her forehead. "I love you."


    "And I you, my foolish man." She let out a sigh,ying her head against my chest. Her hand slowly went to mine, more specifically, she touched the Ring of my finger, reaching into it. Dawnbreaker appeared for a moment, then disappeared another.


    "....Are you telling me i''m not allowed it back until I return?" I chuckled.


    "Don''t be ridiculous." She huffed, pouting cutely. "I.....believe it is time I enhance it. I will not have my sword fall short of your others. I never intended it to be more than a weapon to bestow upon my mortal champion, thus I never considered powering it beyond mortal limitations until now. I will make it into what you call a Divine Construct. A fitting term for the weapon I shall bestow upon you." She said rather proudly.


    "Are you going to reforge it?" I questioned, interesting in the process. "And how does that work? Is it made of a tangible material, or was it crafted from your essence?"


    "I used a spark of my Light originally, dulled and darkened to what the standards of mortals may consider to be excellent inparison. Now, it apanies my true form, incubating in my primordial light."


    "....so it''s inside you right now."


    "...must you make everything sound lewd?" She blushed a little. "Here is my Sword. It will not lose to any other weapons you acquire from now on."


    I kissed her nose as she huffed again, taking it with glee. "Thank you, really."


    Just holding it, I could that the sword was significantly stronger than before. I had to be more careful when using it for now on.


    "I decided to copy that Noble Phantasm of yours. Call its true name and you shall deliver a cleansing light unlike what was previously possible."


    "Were you jealous of Excalibur?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "I am not jealous!" She quickly tried to deny, but I saw through her charade.


    "Thank you, again." I admired my new sword once more before putting it away. "I''ll put it to good use."


    "Good. See that you do." She sniffed. "I expect you to return without problems now that I have bestowed upon you such a wonderous merit. You may thank me by continuing to annoy me for many years toe."


    [***]


    It seemed like a long time since I''ve been back here. Well, not that long now that I thought about it. Months at most, but it felt like I''ve been through a lot since I''ve been back ''home''.


    "Look who it is." A warm, feminine voice reached my ears.


    "Hello, Lucretia." I greeted the women who may or may not have be my Grandmother.


    "Hello, Wilhelm~" She smiled warmly. "Are you here to see Zelly?"


    "Yeah, is he in?"


    "Mmm, he''s in his study, go on ahead." She replied.


    How funny, she practically owned the ce now.


    Well, I''m sure Zelretch was fine with everything. He wasn''t one to put up with nonsense if he wasn''t on board with it.


    I just walked up and pushed his door open. The same room hadn''t changed after the many time''s I''ve been here already or all the times in my memories.


    "Wilhelm." He greeted warmly. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Do you require my help with anything?"


    "Actually, I am here to help you." I replied, taking the same seat I always did. "I find myself with some time on my hands, and you said you wanted my help with something previously. I figured, I could do that now."


    "Oh?" Zelretch perked up. "If you have some time, I would really appreciate it."


    "Great." I leaned back. "So, what can you tell me about this ''Chaldea''?"


    [***]


    Sorry,te on the Raikou lewd. Meant to do it this past weekend, but shit just got in the way. I''ll try to have it up as soon as possible.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone.

 Chapter 334 - 301

    <h4>Chapter 334: Chapter 301</h4>


    "What''s this, no ''How are you?'' Just simply off to business is it?" Zelretch chuckled as he got up from his seat as he went towards his liquor cab. "What are you in the mood for?" He asked.


    "Hmm." I tapped my chin. "Thinking maybe some wine. I don''t want anything too strong, but I could enjoy a good drink."


    "Oh, wonderful, I have just the thing." Zelretch pulled out an aged bottle. "Not the oldest, but the sentimentality of this one makes it a good addition. Do you remember the story." He asked, shing the bottle.


    "It seems vaguely familiar, but as you know, I''m missing a lot of details. Lots of things fell through the cracks when you passed on what you did." Or rather, when he would pass on his knowledge some undertimened time in the future. Because it was clear he does very far into the future.


    "From a small winery in France. Burned down by the Nazis during World War 2." Zereltch began to borate as he poured us both a ss. "It was rebuilt, during the upation. It was burned down a second time because they didn''t bow their heads to their oppressors. This cycle repeated four more times."


    "Six times. They ¨C as you said, burned it down six times yet it still continued production? Wouldn''t it take years for their orchards to...recover, even if thend was still able to grow things?" I blinked, mulling over what he said. How many times must the ground have been burned to overstep the point where it would be beneficial and instead make the area deste?


    "Oh, they stopped producing wine, mind you. After the first couple times, it''s as you said, thend itself became barren around the ce. But out of sheer spite, they wrote their brand name on barrels of water, and sold it as theirtest yield. The people in the nearby cities, knowledgeable of what was happening, bought and drank it in an act of solidarity." Zelretch chuckled. "There was one such time, a highly ranked Nazi came to visit this ''winery'' because he had heard the tales. He had the mind of tearing them out by the roots, stomping out any resistance and all that. He was going to mock them by sampling the ''wine'' in public, but they secretly reced the ''wine'' with Salt Water. Theyughed even as they were hung in the streets."


    After listening, I gently swirled the ss in my hand before taking a sip. It wasn''t the most amazing wine I''ve ever had, but it certainly had its own charm after hearing that story. Sometimes, presentation can enhance a vor beyond simple taste. "I take it this is a bottle produce before they were burned down the first time?"


    "Indeed." Zelretch smiled softly. "It''s just one thing I love about humanity."


    "That we''re unmatched when ites to spite?" I offered.


    "Hoho, that''s certainly one way to take it" Zelretch chuckled in amusement. "How have you been Wilhelm? You haven''te by to visit in awhile, so I assume you haven''t had any major problems."


    "I''m sure you''re aware of the broad strokes."


    "I do keep up to date with things when I can." He nodded.


    "Mmm, I''m as well as I can be. Stressed about some things, but that''s just life. I can''t reallyin when I have so many people who support me." And honestly, I have many ways to relieve the stress with the harem. "You wouldn''t happen to have a piece of the World Tree hanging around, would you?"


    "Do you think I have a vault full of treasures you don''t know about?" Zelretch snorted with an eye roll.


    "Worth asking." I shrugged. "Odin realized my secret, and asked for my help, their Ragnar?k took a weird turn, their World Tree is dying, and not in tune with their cycle of rebirth. Everything else, I either already had ns in ce or have help managing things. With this.....I''m honestly scratching my head and just trying to figure out a game n."


    "A strange position you''re in for sure. I can honestly say I have no usible exnation off the top of my head. I can keep an eye out for anything that may be useful." Zelretch offered, which I nodded appreciatingly.


    "I mean..." I scratched the back of my head. "You basically know everything else. War with the Fae over there is looming. The peace conference happened, it was fun watching Yasaka verbally p everyone. Oh, trying to help Revive Big G over there too, that''s.....interesting. Got pulled into a conspiracy involving Gods due to that."


    "Don''t let anyone say that you have small ambitions." Zelretch grinned. "The revival of the Biblical God in that world, I assume you considered the ramifications?"


    "I did, this isn''t merely on a whim. I honestly think it''ll be good for the world atrge." I nodded.


    "Good, then I won''t say anything against it." Zelretch gave his approval.


    "And I finally told Meridia I love her." It felt a little embarrassing to say it out loud.


    "I''m proud of you." Zelretch looked genuinely happy for me.


    "What about you and Lucretia?" I decided to shift the topic.


    "I had not realized how much I missed her until she was here again." He smiled warmly. "I dare say that this ce feels much more like a home now that I have all of you running around."


    "I know the feeling." It was nice to have somewhere I could actually call ''home'' again.


    "That reminds me." Zelretch put on a thoughtful look. "I was approached by some of the other lords. They wished to schedule a ''get together'' for the younger generation of the Clock Tower, aworking event if you will/want to call it that."


    "To stroke their own egos, I presume?" I rolled my eyes. "Oh, look at my son/student/prot¨¦g¨¦, aren''t they sooooo talented ¨C h h h."


    "Undoubtedly." Zelretch replied without a second thought. "However, I do have a reputation to uphold, so I wish both you and Rin to attend. Attendees are allowed to bring a Plus one."


    "I''m assuming that Rin will bring Saber with her."


    "Agreed. And I have nothing against her doing so. They''re already a well known duo amongst the Tower."


    "Alright, I''ll bring Meridia."


    "Vetoed." The old man deadpanned. "I wish for the Mages Association to be standing afterwards."


    "....it would be hrious introducing her to the idiots who''re way too full of themselves. Here''s my Eldritch Goddess lover, she''s the physical manifestation of the universe''s first light and embodies the concept of life."


    ".....you''re making it hard to stick to my guns on this one."


    "Fine, I won''t cause too many problems. That means Yasaka is probably out as well. A Nine-Tailed fox is going to cause amotion because they''re racists against Asians. Venna would make the church go on a crusade. Jinn, I don''t want to bring her into this kind of ce. She''s way too much of a sweetheart to force to interact with the worse here. So, probably Raikou or Sc¨¢thach, depending on who wants to do it."


    "We can figure that outter, it is not for some time." Zelretch stated. "For now, you wish to know about Chaldea, yes?"


    "Before I just stumble into any potential mess, yes."


    "Very well." He nodded. "Let me start off by saying, I want you to investigate a strange happening on this World-Line. Something, or someone, is blocking my sight. I don''t think I need to exin to you the degree of danger this can present."


    Yeah, the things that can actively avoid his sight are...scary. Things like Ophis arepletely beyond his ability to urately simte. The Spider was also something he can''t properly simte, only doing so in a round about ways due to how humanity was so thoroughly involved. There are certain items as well, that can escape his gaze through the nature of their existence.


    But mostly, it''s just very powerful entities that can actively obscure themselves by just existing.


    "Chaldea Security Organization." Zelretch spoke. "Or more specifically ¨C The Organization for the Preservation for Humanity -- Finis Chaldea."


    "A lofty name." I whistled in admiration. "The way you speak, I assume it''s more than just an ambitious title?"


    "It''s a beautifulbination of scientific research and Magic Research. They''re tasked with preserving the Human Order beyond all else. Recently, they''ve discovered an anomaly that will happen in the year 2019. An event that makes all their models and simtions fall apart, as the Human Order unravels."


    "And you have no idea either."


    "I''mpletely blind with all but the faintest idea of what''s going on. That''s why I need you to head over there to investigate. I would have Rin and Saber do it originally, but.....this task I feel is beyond their ability."


    "By your words, it sounds like they''re simting the future. Most methods of doing so are unreliable in the best of circumstances, especially with Human sources."


    "That''s one of the aspects that makes this organization so interesting. They have invented some amazing means of analyzing the flow of the world by utilizing the world''s soul. Their uracy is beyond reproach from what I''ve looked into. Granted, I believe my own means are superior, but without the full aid of my Magic, they have achieved something like this, which is not without its own merit."


    "I''m sure there''s a lot you haven''t told me yet. But what''s my entrance strategy? Do I just waltz in and start throwing around my weight as your Grandson to get the information I need?" I was being facetious; I knew that wasn''t going to be the case.


    Well, he took it as good natured humor as I intended. "As much as I would enjoy you doing that, I believe a more subtle hand is appropriate. Whatever is going on, we need to be cautious and not tip our hands. It''s the reason the me from over there is not going to be involved."


    I fingered the rim of my wine ss in thought. "You think you''re being watched over there?"


    "It''s a high possibility. I''m one of the few who would notice something strange happening."


    "And I''m aplete unknown with no parallel there, so I can be your eyes and ears." I finished his thoughts. "So, infiltration mission. What''s the game n?"


    "They''re hiring people from all over the world. From brilliant mundane Scientists, to talented Magi. Anyone they can get their hands on, they''re doing their best to recruit. Specifically, they''re making two teams right now beyond researchers and workers. To resolve this Singrity in what they perceive to be incorrect."


    "Exin this irregrity."


    "I won''t go into the long exnation as of yet. But they traced the cause back to something that urred in Fuyuki of all ces, back in 2004. They''re putting together a team to go back to that time period to ascertain the cause and correct history."


    "Time Travel?" My eyes widened.


    "Not with a method you would initially think, but it''s still a very intricate design and worthy of admiration." Zelretch replied.


    "But to still cross the Time-Line, that''s by no means an easy feat. If they''re putting so much resources into this, this I can only imagine the scope we''re dealing with."


    "As I said, this is something that is weighing on me. You can understand now, why I''m being overly cautious."


    "So, want me to join this super team of Magi or something?"


    "No, you''re going to join the B-Team. The second string, so to speak." Zelretch chuckled. "We need you to go....under the radar, but still maintain a level of actionable knowledge. Your entrance will be an Asian Magus recruited by chance by one of their various intermediaries. Some-what talented, enough that you would have earned high marks in the Association."


    "But with how racist they are against Asians, easily unnoticeable which lets me slip under the radar, as you said. Until I gain some manner of respect or influence by my own hand."


    "Correct." Zelretch nodded as he continued. "The most important bit of information is yourpatibility with Servants."


    ".....I don''t'' believe you mean what I do in the bedroom." Unless they want to know how well I''ve given the dick to Raikou and Sc¨¢thach.


    Would be a fun conversation.


    ''On a scale of 1 ¨C 10, how satisfied was your Servant after intercourse.''


    Zelretch snorted, tossing a wadded-up piece of paper at me. "You know damn well what I''m referring to. Beyond Servantpatibility there is also thepatibility for their process of Time-Travel known as Rayshifting, which I''ll exinter. Suffice to say, you''ll pass with flying colors, I can guarantee that."


    "Yeah, yeah," I smiled. "Okay, putting this ''Ray shifting'' aside, What does Servants have to do with things. Are servants going to be summoned?"


    "Mmm, their main method is a system they devised to facilitate the summoning of Servants to help resolve the Singrity. Different than the one I helped make for the Grail, but it''s quite well done. But they are seeking out those with the highestpatibility they can find for their back up team, as they view that as more important than prestigious bloodlines or simr."


    "Make sense. This back up team, them being able to summon Servants when the need arises, it''s more important than being experienced in Magecraft or other things of that nature. They''re the back up team for a reason and it''s easy to presume that the Servants would be doing the heavy lifting if things went sideways enough that they''re required."


    "And that''s where youe in. A no-name Magus with some knowledge under your belt, even if you''re Asian ¨C in their eyes. And a very highpatibility with Servant Summoning, you would be a very easy grab for their needs." Zelretch exined. "We just need some background information to fill out and a name to go with it."


    "A name, huh?" I rubbed my chin. "I do believe I have a perfectly fine name to use already."


    "....are you sure you want to use that name?"


    "I am in no way ashamed of my old name. I originally changed it because I was scared and desperate at the time. It was the name my mother gave me, so I am more than happy to use it for this asion." Unconsciously, I ran a hand through my hair. "It seems like Takao Shimoda is joining Chaldea."


    [***]


    It was fucking cold.


    That was my first thought.


    I felt like I was back in Skyrim ¨C in the colder parts of Skyrim. Over at the college, but without the magicks there to keep everyone warm.


    And I felt like I couldn''t magically warm myself up in this situation, because I was supposed to be keeping a low profile.


    And it didn''t help that we were flying in a Helicopter at the moment over the God damned North/South Pole.


    Funnily enough, the other''s they''ve recruited, they had to use various means to knock them out, as to not reveal the location of the ce we''re going to. For me ¨C as an actual Magus, I just had to sign a Geass to not reveal the location.


    Not that it was effective on me, but they didn''t need to know that.


    There was another man sitting across from me. A typical Magus from the association, one who thought it was an honor for me that someone like him woulde to a primitive country like Japan just to recruit a hedge Mage like me.


    Already had to hold my tongue several times at this point, and I''m sure it wouldn''t be thest.


    Had to get a good wrap on my own powers and shove them way down. You never know what they had lurking around here, better to not idently tip anyone off about my abnormalities.


    Gramps did good work.


    Apparently the paperwork was almost all ready and he had been sitting on it for awhile. But everything was pushed through nicely, and I got a response after hanging around for a few days here.


    There was a light interview, one where they measured mypatibility. Apparently I scored around a 91%, which would have technically put me in the parameters that they wanted for the A-Team, but that''sposed of what they believe to be the cream of the crop. Experienced and knowledgeable Magi, not some random Mage with no family name.


    But they were quick to offer me what I could admit were some pretty good terms for employment. Very good marypensation, as well as some tutoring on certain subjects to enhance any crafts I was currently learning. They boasted about having a wide array of materials and books avable if I chose to sign up.


    I could see how it would be tempting to someone in my perceived situation.


    It only came with the stiption of some pretty heft contracts ¨C including Magical, as well as a guaranteed employment term of atleast six years. Which, again, goodpensation for my time if I was really looking forward to it.


    "We have almost arrived." The man sitting opposite of me stated, opening his eyes. "Prepare yourself, you step into the illustrious organization of Chaldea. Headed by non-other than the Animusphere family itself."


    I held back at his superior tone he took. "I''ve heard of them. An old and powerful Family."


    "As you should have." He sniffed. "Even the savages of your country know about the Higher-Bloods of the Tower."


    "....I''ll be sure to thank Lord Animusphere if I am ever presented with the honor." Or was itdy? Because the family head was a young woman about Rin''s age, ording to what I''ve learned.


    "See that you do." He replied without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "You are not as lowly as one would first assume when hearing of your origins. Knowing to respect your betters is a lesson that takes years for those mongrels to usually learn. You have impressed me, a feat you should be grateful for. Once you arrive and are bequeathed with the privilege of amodations, you may mention my name when seeking appropriate apprenticeship with the staff. Know that Friederike le Drachenk?nige looks upon you favorably. With your talents, you may even rise above your station and be a noteworthy associate."


    ...


    Zekram, is that you?


    Just kidding, this was basically how every ''noble'' family acted.


    Just another reason why I usually don''t spend my time inside the Association unless I had to. I don''t think I could not kill someone if I walked those halls every day.


    "Pardon, did you say le Drachenk?nige?" Honestly, out of all that nonsense, this was the thing that took me the most by surprise.


    "I did indeed." He preened like a peacock. "It seems my family name is well known."


    "....yeah, something like that."


    Honestly, it''s my first time hearing the name. Well, hearing that someone dared take that as their family name. It basically meant ¨C Dragon Kings, or something thereof.


    I could practically feel Ddraig''s amusement at the sheer audacity.


    "If you wouldn''t mind me asking, what is the history of your family name?" I couldn''t help myself.


    Again, this Magus'' ego seemed to visibly inte when I asked about his family. "My family originates from the Age of Gods. We were powerful and wise Wyvern Tamers from before recorded history. Raising them from birth and even riding them into battle." He replied with no shortage of pride in his tone.


    His family had a farm for the stupid, inbred, twice-removed cousins of dragons. That''s why they called themselves ¨C Dragon Kings.


    And I thought I was pretentious.


    "We are here." The magus dere, ncing out the window.


    And I could see it myself. Beyond the cold winds that filled my vision with almost nothing but white there was the silhouette of a building in the distance. Absolutely massive in scope as it almost entirely blended in with the background.


    The Helicopter flew towards it, the massive structure increased in size as we approached it. Large enough that once wended, the Helicopter could barely be seen fromnding upon the roof if one looked at it from the sides.


    The cold winds smacked me right in the face as the door opened. The Dragon King, had no such qualms as he cast a spell on himself to divert the winds.


    Yes, it annoyed me to no end, that he appeared pristine while I struggled to keep my hair and clothes from flying all over the ce.


    "Follow along, Asian." The Magus stated, hands behind his back as he walked towards the rooftop door. "We are already behind schedule; it is best not to make the Director wait."


    Director? Was she waiting for me?


    I let out a sigh as I followed along. Maybe it was my draconic pride, but I really wanted to punt his smug ass off the roof of this ce.


    The corridors upon entering the building were also a bleak white, no indication of direction, nothing telling someone where to go. But the man led me without hindrance, turning several corners until some more individuals began to appear.


    Some busy with work as they passed, others giving him a nod or two as they went their separate ways. Even some maintenance staff here or there working on something or another.


    I drank in all of my surroundings, making a mental note of everything I saw thus far.


    "We have arrived." He said again, cing a hand on the door, pushing it open.


    "Finally, you''rete." A feminine voice reached my ears.


    "Apologies, Director." The Dragon King slightly bowed his head. "Unexpected weather appeared to slow down our flight."


    "Whatever." I peaked my head in to see her. Young, early twenties at most. She had long white hair, and striking amber eyes. And honestly, she looked rather cute. "This the newest recruit?"


    Yes, Director." He gently guided me inside. "As you requested, Takao Shimoda, origins of Japan, second generation Magus."


    "Very well." She looked me over. "You are dismissed, Friederike le Drachenk?nige." She flipped her hand.


    He nodded, walking out the door, tossing me into the deep end.


    There were several other faces present, the others sitting at tables and looked..... as confused as I was right now.


    "Well?!" The Director huffed. "Take a seat, we''re going to go over the New Employee orientation."


    I blinked, following her directions as I slid into the closest empty seat.


    "Good, we can finally get started." She huffed again. "You all are the first group to be hired and assigned to the temporarily designated ''B-Team''." She dered. "As the only ones amongst this group worth my time, I will be personally giving you instructions on what your responsibilities will be and how we will proceed from here. My name is Olga Marie Animusphere, you will call me Director."


    [***]


    Here''s the chapter for Thursday.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 335 - 302

    <h4>Chapter 335: Chapter 302</h4>


    It almost felt like I was back in ss.


    Olga Marie Animusphere definitely had that stern teacher vibe about her.


    "Right, we''ll be going over the basics. I won''t be repeating myself, so if you still don''t understand after I''m finish, ask someone else. I''m already too busy as is, and you should be happy I''m taking the time to do this much."


    And the haughtiness of a Magus bleeds through.


    But I was surprised to meet the Director this early. I thought for sure she''d be off doing more secretive and important things.


    "Now, as I said, you all are going to be part of the ''B-Team'' unless there are any noteworthy reasons for your transfer to a different section. "


    A man a few seats over raised his hand.


    "Yes, what?" The Director called on him.


    "Excuse me, Ma''am, but ''B-Team'' for what?" He asked, and it seemed to be a question many others here had as well by the look on their faces. "We weren''t told much before being herded on ova."


    "As if I couldn''t tell you were an American before." There was a hint of a scowl as she replied, obviously noticing his southern drawl before shifting to a sigh. "By a show of hands, how many here knew about Magecraft before signing up?"


    I was the only one to raise my hand.


    The Director slowly brought her palm up to meet her face. "Excellent,plete novices."


    ... I feel insulted.


    "Alright, so I''ll exin from the beginning." She recovered quickly. "Wee to Chaldea, our job is to protect the Human Order. That is, to protect what we perceive to be reality through our own collective subconscious. I won''t be going too far into details, I''ll make sure adequate materials are sent to everyone so you will not make fools of yourselvester on." She quickly added. "We have invented several devices that allows us to view both the past and future in a way to watch for irregrities that might be a threat for our continued existence. This is important because we have discovered one such urrence. "


    There was a chalk board behind her as she turned around, taking a piece of chalk. " The Simted Global Environment Model ¨C CHALDEAS." She wrote on the board. " A perfect replica of theary body of Earth through past and future eras. However, detailed observation is nearly impossible, so we developed a secondary technology to supplement this." She began writing again. "The Near-Future Observation Lens ¨C SHEBA. If CHALDEAS is a representation of the world, you can picture SHEBA as a satellite that allows us specify a specific point for monitoring."


    "Are you saying you can see into the future and the past?" Another asked, bewildered by the information. "That sounds like a load of barmy."


    Olga frowned. "Being able to view both the future and the past has been avable for as long as humans have existed. Merely, no project has taken it to this point in human history. If you are incapable of epting such a widely-known application of thaumaturgy, you will not progress far in further deliberations."


    Or, get over it, this isn''t even the strangest thing you''re going to see.


    "Any questions, no? Good." She didn''t actually give anyone a chance to respond. I think I was the only one in the room with an understanding of what she was talking about. I assumed there would be more review on the subject for the less baptized of this part of the world. "Now, moving on, we''re going back to the reason you are being assembled into a team. We have detected an anomaly that appeared in the year 2004, in Fuyuki City Japan." She paused, looking at me. "You, the Asian ¨C"


    "Takao Shimoda." I answered for her.


    "Takao Shimoda then. You''re the only one here with ''experience'', are you aware of what happened in Fuyuki city in 2004."


    "A Holy Grail War." I answered.


    "....Correct." She said, apparently not believing I knew the answer. "Atleast someone here doesn''t need me to hold their hand." She turned around with a huff, as she started writing again. "Now, this is important, because in 2019, SHEBA predicted the extinction of Humanity, and we''ve linked it back to an unobservable locale that appeared in Fuyuki, 2004."


    "If it happened years ago, how are supposed to stop it?"


    "Good question." Olga replied, though it sounded annoyed more than anything. "There are two reasons you have been selected as a Master-Candidate for ''B-Team". She eyed the new hand but continued. "Yes, I will exin what that means in a moment." She muttered something under her breath about dealing with amateurs and it being beneath her. Though, I don''t think anyone but me heard. "First, Rayshifting. Our method of Time-Travel." She sounded really patronizing with her tone.


    She turned back around at the chalk board again, pausing as if trying to think about what to write. "Through the use of highly advanced Pseudo-Spiritron containment unit short named ¨C Coffin ¨C your body and history will be analyzed. The rtions of causality will be distorted, and then the Coffin will form an imaginary form to create a reference of the candidate''s history in ce. Using the CHALDEAS function as a map of Pan-Human History, the Coffin will analyze the situation at the designated time period, thus initiating a transfer. Oncepleted, it will engage a Spiritron Projection of the Master Candidate, allowing the Master to materialize in the era desired. This is called ¨C Rayshifting."


    She put the piece of chalk down, wiping her hands. With a proud smile on her face, she turned back to anyone. "Now, any questions?"


    And everyone but me raised their hands.


    She scowled, looking at us. "What part was confusing?"


    "....all of it?" Someone said quietly, as she snapped her head and red at him.


    "We''ll be using a device ¨C Coffin ¨C to analyze our bodies, and y a trick on reality so that we don''t technically exist at this point in time. Then, at the spot we''re supposed to time-travel to, the Coffin will create a magical replica of our body, and throw our Soul into it. Once we''re done, I assume that the processes will then remove the ''trick'' and reality will look at us, realize we''re not were we''re supposed to be on the time-line, destroy our ''fake body'' and yank our soul back where they should be. Is that correct, Director?" I summarized for the ones having trouble.


    The Director looked at me, seemingly having trouble responding correctly. "I-if you want to be crude about it." She huffed. "I suppose that''s a very simplified exnation of the delicate and intricate process." She quickly recovered. "It will suffice for now until you all will have had the proper tutge."


    And now the others were all looking at me with a hint of thanks.


    Obviously, it wasn''t a 100% urate exnation, but for people who had no knowledge of Magecraft, it would more or less give them a visual of what they could expect. There were many more variables that went into ount with this whole process. Like for all intents and purposes, you existed at the spot you Rayshift to. Eating, sleeping, etc., needed to still be done, and if you die, you die for real.


    "As I was saying. The process requires a patibility with the whole process." She stated. And I think I picked up a hint of shame when she said that.


    Curious.


    "Is it dangerous, Director?" The American spoke up. "You''re talkin about this stuff, but it''s all new to us. Time-Travel, it sounds like some Sci-Fi mumbo jumbo."


    "Everything about this process is dangerous." She didn''t even try to sugar coat it. "Which is why we are seeking those with the highestpatibility to mitigate the risks. But make no mistake, if you are ever deployed, it is entirely possible you will be killed. This operation is about preserving Humanities'' continued existence."


    "You said we''re ''B-Team'', that means there''s an ''A-Team?''"


    She turned her head towards a shorter woman off to the side. "That is correct. They are the ones who will be taking point. They are skilled, trained, and knowledgeable about ever facet of this operation. They have extensive Magical Knowledge, and have trained inbat. You are the reserves, in the worse case scenario, you will be deployed if we have no other options left."


    "But.....if this ''A-Team'' is so much better, then what are we supposed to do if they fail?"


    She took a deep breath. "That brings us to the next part." She turned towards me. "You, Takao Shimoda, what do you know of Servants?"


    All eyes fell to me again.


    "A derivation of Heroic Spirits. Individuals who have left their mark upon Human History, elevated to a higher state of existence after their death through worship, mythologization, and acknowledgement, which causes them to ascend to the metaphysical ne known as the Throne of Heroes. Closer to Divine Spirits than humans, you can summon a smaller piece of them into a ''Servant Container''promising one of seven sses ¨C Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Berserker, Caster, Assassin. From summoning them, you enter a Master-Servant contract."


    She looked me over for a brief moment a silence reined. "Well said." She seemed to praise, something I think was rare for her. "As he said, Servants, they are pieces of Heroic Spirits ¨C individuals exalted throughout history. The secondary requirement is yourpatibility with being a Master. Someone able to summon and make a contract with a Servant. They are beyond human means, even a trained Magus is like a child infront of a Servant if they fought. They will be the main means of settling any conflicts, you will be acting as an Anchor and a source of magical Energy for the duration of the summons."


    They kinda just stared at her nkly. Then slowly, turned towards me.


    The Director let out a sigh. "Exin it in simple terms, Shimoda."


    "Servants are ridiculously strong, you''re basically a battery for them to operate because as they have already died and appear in the form of spiritual beings, they can''t make any Magical Energy themselves like a living person." Of course, I assumed that the systems they had to facilitate the summons also carried the brunt of the costs, just like how the Grail did with the one I''m more familiar with.


    Granted, they also haven''t opened their Magic Circuits yet, which they undoubtedly possessed if they have the capacity to be a Master. You can be forced to shoulder a servant without Circuits, but actually summoning one can''t happen without them. That''s one of the aspects of patibility''. Then again, I don''t know what method they use, and this time line could have slightly different metaphysics than home so my information could be incorrect at this point.


    "Does that mean we can do magic too?" One of them excitedly asked.


    The Director let out another long sigh. "This is going to be a long morning."


    [***]


    "Man, this is crazy. Magic, Time-Travel, Souls and stuff." I listened in as I added some milk to my coffee. The American''s southern drawl was an obvious catch even from across the kitchen. "Can''t wait to be a Wizard."


    With how many staff work here, this ce had a massive kitchen. And it seemed like they would have coffee brewing every minute of the day.


    Pretty good quality too.


    I turned around, looking at the neers to this wonderful world full of backstabbing and magical shenanigans.


    I couldn''t even fault them for their excitement. How happy was I when my memories returned? To realize how much wider the world actually was.


    So far, this has gone pretty well. Met the Director already and learned some new information. Now, I just needed to start investigating without drawing any unwanted attention. I need to straddle the fine line betweenpetent but not unnaturally so.


    Well, I''ll just y it by ear.


    "Magus, actually." I decided to interject, earning their attention. "The correct term is Magus ¨C Mage has also been used often in modern times. Magi, when plural, is also an option. Most Magi from the prestigious families are very particr about terms like that. Wizard is a term associated with a prestigious position in the Clock Tower. You''ll make them annoyed if you call yourself a Wizard. And definitely don''t call yourself a Magician or a Sorcerer."


    "Oh, thanks man." The American smiled brightly. "Don''t wanna look foolish, that Director already been treating us like kids. By the way, the name''s Samuel Washington." He introduced himself. "I''m new to all this Magic and what-not."


    "Takao Shimoda." I greeted back. "Only a Second Generation, so I don''t have too much a head start. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. However, I believe they''ll be covering the basics to get you all up to par."


    "Japanese, huh? Your English is pretty darn good. That some Magic spells?" He wiggled his hands for emphasis.


    "Haha, no." I shook my head with a chuckle. "English is pretty much the defaultnguage in these circles since The Mages Association is housed out of Ennd."


    The shorter woman I noticed in the ssroom earlier sauntered over. "I''m Evelynn Thomas, thank you for the exnations earlier."


    "Hmm, that ent, I can''t ce it off the top of my head." I tapped my chin. "And no problem, I can understand how confusing this must all be for all of you."


    "Canadian." The woman smiled lightly. "If you don''t mind me asking, can you tell me about what kinds of Magic you know? This is all new and fascinating, I want to know everything I can. I wanted to approach one of those.... others, but they''re kind of intimidating."


    "Oh boy, well good thing you didn''t go up and ask another Magus this question." Else they may have found a body shoved in a closet somewhere. "Be very, very careful about questions regarding someone''s ''Magic''."


    "....is it some sort of secret?"


    "Yes, Magi protect their crafts with their lives. It isn''t even umon for spouses to not reveal research with each other. It''s a taboo to try and delve into another''s Magic, and asking questions about it beyond surface level inquires is pretty much one of the worse social faux pas you can do. You need to understand, they won''t just throw some insults and get upset. They very well may kill you for the slight, and the ones to judge the incident would probably agree with their decision because they hold the same values. Your ''rights'' that you''re used to having, don''t even think about them anymore. This world is ruled by the strong, and if you step incorrectly, you can easily lose your life."


    It might be harsh, but they needed a reality check before they got a lethal one.


    Well, it left them a little speechless. Realistically, how do you even respond to that? Their world was already turned upside down, and now I''m telling them that they might be killed for saying the wrong thing.


    "Just, be careful with who you talk to. Answer questions directly, don''t agree to any deals, don''t sign any agreements, and be very polite to everyone you meet. If you have any problems, feel free toe to me, and we''ll see if we can''t get them sorted." May as well prop myself up if I''m going to be here for a while.


    "Thanks, Takao." Samuel smiled.


    The others were mostly just watching on, but they heard what I said, so I didn''t feel the need to repeat it. I can''t force them to do anything, only hope they took my advice.


    I nodded to him, taking a moment to sip my coffee, and I had an idea.


    [***]


    Let''s see, it was two rights, a left, straight then another left and straight again, fourth door on the right.


    I swear, navigating these halls was like going through a damn maze. And there aren''t any signs telling you where to go.


    Basically, Olga said ''go take a lunch break and leave me alone''. Granted, it sounded a tad more polite than that, but that was the gist of it.


    I thought she would have called us back already, so I figured I''d go check up, and bring a little gift.


    A second cup of coffee in my hand. She seemed really out of it and short tempered, so I figured she may be a little tired. Or I could be wrong and that''s just her default, it''s hard to tell with some Magi.


    I pushed the door open, and it was in fact the room we were in before. I paused for a moment, as I noticed the only other person here. The Director had her face down against the desk, lightly snoring.


    I cleared my throat.


    The Director shot up from where she was resting. Her eyes'' widened as she stared at me, a small bit of drool flowed down the corner of her lips before she hastily wiped it away. There was the faintest blush of embarrassment that adorned her cheeks.


    "The others were wondering when we would start again." I decided not to draw any attention to her previous state. "Figured I would check in."


    "Right." She quickly stood up, straightening her clothes. "Continued lesson, yes. We should start shortly to wrap up the basics."


    "By the way, I got you a cup of coffee, if you want." I held it out for her.


    She blinked, staring down at what was in my hand. There was almost the instinctual desire to grab it, but she held back. ".....why?"


    "Pardon?"


    "Why did you bring me coffee?"


    "Why not?" I tilted my head. "You seemed a little tired." I added with a shrug. "Feel free to check for anything I may have added or any poison or whatever." I walked up, setting it on the table infront of her. "Just thought you might appreciate the pick-me-up."


    "....I suppose It would be rude for me to refuse." She replied, clearly pleased with it even if she wasn''t voicing it. "...thank you." She said very quietly.


    "It''s no problem." I gave her a smile. "I can''t imagine what it''s like trying to run an organization like this. Not to mention taking the time to deal with all of us."


    The Director let out a snort. "It''s my duty as an Animusphere." She flipped her hair back, preening slightly. "Not that I will be doing this for the recruitsing in over the next few days. You all are the top potential recruits bar one or two that are taking awhile to bring. Such that I am only giving my time in this singr circumstance to see first hand what degree of ability our B-Team will have."


    "It must be difficult to find people who are bothpatible with being a Master and Rayshifting if you''re willing to take those who aren''t even knowledgeable about our hidden world."


    "Unfortunately, it''s a small percentage that manages both." She grumbled. "We will make do with what we have. That being said, I believe you will make an adequate leader for B-Team."


    "Leader?" I blinked.


    "Indeed. You have shown apetency in everything that has been discussed. And your previous experience ¨C however minor ¨C already puts you far above what your peers have. Considering only your fellow B-Team members, of course."


    Well, it would be beneficial for my whole purpose in being here, so why not?


    "If you think so, then I''ll follow yourmands, Director."


    "Y-yes, of course." She sounded rather happy about that for some reason. "I can tell you will fulfill the role splendidly." She nodded proudly to herself. "Hmm, maybe we can have you train with the A-Team. We''ll see to make sure that you won''t hold them back too much, then we can start preparing for more rigorous training afterwards."


    "Speaking of preparations, you may want to give the new people a run down on the dos'' and don''ts of the Magus Culture."


    "....exin."


    "I had one of the new people start asking me about my craft." I replied making her eye''s widen in realization. "Obviously, they didn''t know how.....taboo that is, and I did exin it to them. But there''s more to it than that, so it may be prudent for some basic etiquette lessons so they don''t run afoul any other Magus in the facility by ident."


    "That is an excellent point." She grit out, seemingly annoyed with herself, probably for not thinking about it. "Thank you, Shimoda. That could have been...disastrous had something happened. It seems like I''m already proven right on your qualifications." There was a hint of a smile forming. "I was skeptical about a secondary team, but maybe it will prove useful after all."


    "d to help, Director. Would you like me to go get the others?" I asked.


    "Wait thirty minutes, I will go fetch some materials to exin the next portion with." She stated, though a faint ''and give me time to wake up'' under her breath was added.


    She quickly made her way out of the room, disappearing off to who-knows-where.


    Well, that had gone better than expected. I mostly just wanted to win some brownie points with her for the benefit of my job. But I guess I''m going to be the leader of B-Team now? Not that this was some illustrious position, the others werepletely new to Magecraft as a whole, so it''s probably going to be like herding cats. I won''t be here for too long, but I could set up the team and try to train a recement for myself so B-Team won''t fall apart when I do leave.


    I wonder if she made me the leader so she wouldn''t have to deal with it herself


    Regardless, it would benefit me in the long run.


    I left the room myself, going off back to where everyone else was staying.


    God, this ce is so fucking big.


    And every hall looked the damn same!


    Was it left left right, or right right left?


    I turned a few corners and kept going straight but.....another long corridor that greeted me. Though, I saw the snow falling outside through some windows, and I could immediately tell I had gone the wrong direct.


    Ughpletely lost, what a surprise.


    I was very tempted to cast a spell to help me find my way.


    Thankfully, my backround had Runecraft listed as one of my areas of expertise. That allowed me to get away with quite a bit I If I wanted to.


    "Why don''t I just ¨C "


    The words died in my mouth.


    I felt a shiver, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I could feel my Aura bubbling underneath the surface, and even my Divinity was stirring. It was as if all my instincts were suddenly going into overdrive.


    Slowly, I turned around.


    It was not a person that made me feel this way, no.


    There was a thing.


    A thing standing there, staring at me.


    A white creature, and in any other circumstance, I would find it adorable. Barely bigger than Sir Wiggles and probably equally as fluffy. Some kind of mixture of a squirrel and a rabbit that was honestly very cute if it didn''t give off such threatening vibes.


    I don''t know how long I stared at it, and it returned my stare back. I could see it clearly though, the wisdom and intelligence that was shining in its eyes.


    "What are you?" I managed to whisper.


    It tilted its head.


    "Fou" A strange noise was all that it replied with.


    [***]


    A/N


    Olga: What, apetent Magus? You''re B-Team Leader, i''m out, cya! :V.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 336 - 303

    <h4>Chapter 336: Chapter 303</h4>


    I usually trusted my instincts.


    I can''t recall a time where they''ve steered me wrong. And after bing a Campione, it seemed like they''d been further enhanced.


    That being said.....


    The thing in front of me sent all of those instincts into overdrive. The part of my brain that handled my fight or flight response was having a seizure right now and I just stood here, motionlessly.


    Whatever this thing was, it was fucking terrifying.


    I might call it a simr feeling to when Ophis dropped in, but it is at a high enough level where that''s hard to gauge the difference from where I was standing.


    It made a single sound, and I had to use all my self-control to not immediately call out Ddraig and pull on my Authority in a panic.


    "You''re not involved with what''s going on, are you?" After staring at each other for several moments, I came to the conclusion that it wasn''t hostile. I likely would already be dead if it was.


    "Fou." He squeaked out, and the adorableness really contrasted with the terror that lurked beneath all that fur.


    But....now that I had a better look without the perceived threat of impending doom hovering overhead, it felt like whatever it was had been.....pushed down, condensed, nopacted maybe?


    I don''t know how to describe its aura, a feeling of arge presence that was locked away inside a box and intentionally set aside.


    "...you wouldn''t have an idea of what''s happening would you? I bare no ill will towards anyone here, simply trying to investigate the source of an anomaly that popped up." Which was technically true, even if my focus was on the fact that Zelretch''s sight was blocked.


    It didn''t answer me. Instead, it slowly started walking forward, taking little steps that led it to circle around me. I felt like I was lost at sea while being circled by a shark.


    Suddenly, it sprung up, and my head slowly turned to see it standing on my shoulder.


    ".....please don''t eat me."


    "Fou, fou." He squeaked again, raising a little paw up as it started swatting at the side of my head.


    It was with about the amount of force you would assume if you merely saw the creature''s stature; however, I was having a mini panic attack as something on the same, or at least equivalent level of the Infinite Dragon God was currently using my head as a tiny punching bag.


    "Fou, there you are!"


    I blinked, not even noticing the presence that crept up on us. Even the thing on my shoulder stopped doing what it was doing to watch the young woman hurriedlying down the hallway.


    A young woman, probably no older than twenty. Lc hair andvender eyes. She wore a sweatshirt and sses, making her look rather cute.


    "Fou!" It jumped off my shoulder right into her arms as she got closer.


    It almost appeared affectionate at first nce.


    Which was a far cry from the sheer terror that was lurking beneath.


    ....is this what it''s like to be on the opposite end of me and Meridia?


    The girl sweetly hugged the monstrosity in her arms.


    And the thing in the form of a small animal seemed to enjoy it.


    I''m probably thest person who had any right to say anything about the current circumstance.


    "So....the creature''s name is ''Fou''?" I asked


    The girl perked up, I guess she briefly forgot I was right there, to focused in finding her...pet after losing him.


    "Sorry, he just suddenly ran off." The girl''s head quickly fell down into an apologetic bow.


    And the thing looked at me, as if trying to convey a certain message.


    "It''s no problem." I felt my eye twitch as it seemed to approve of what I said. "He''s an adorable little thing. What is he exactly?"


    "Fou." Its beedy red eyes shed for a moment.


    For some reason, I have the vaguest sense that it wanted me to keep its true nature a secret.


    "I....don''t know actually." She smiled awkwardly. "I just found him one day and he''s been sticking with me ever since!" She followed up with a very warm smile. "It''s strange, he doesn''t usually like other people..."


    Well, it was obviously not hostile to me in the slightest at the moment. Honestly, it seemed to be mostly amused by my presence.


    "Did you make sure to get him fixed?"


    "Fou!?" The animal made a surprised noise as it red at me.


    "Fixed?"


    "You know it''s important to get pets fixed. I don''t quite know what his species is, but for Cats and Dogs, it''s to make sure they don''t spray or cause issues due to going into heat and such. Honestly, it''s the responsible thing to do as a pet owner." I said with the straightest face I could manage, staring right into the eyes of the terrifying monster.


    Well, turnabout is fair y.


    "Really?" She tilted he head.


    "Fou, fou fou!!" The thing began to struggle in her arms.


    "Believe me, he would thank you if he could." I could feel the corners of my lips begin to rise up.


    "Oh." The young girl looked really thoughtful. "I''ll ask Romanter." She smiled happily. "He''s more knowledgeable about stuff like this. Though...Fou-kun doesn''t really like him....so it might be hard."


    "I''d be more than happy to help put him to sleep, to make sure he can get a thorough check up. Don''t want him to be hyperactive if his dangly bits are going to get snipped~"


    "Oh no, it''s alright. If Fou needs a check up or anything like that, I''m sure he''d behave."


    "Fou!" With that, he jumped out of her arms and bolted down the hallway, turning several corners before disappearing.


    Heh.


    Pay back is a bitch.


    "What''s gotten into him today?" The girl let out a sigh before turning back to me.


    "Who knows?" I shrugged.


    Couldn''t possibly have anything to do with the implication of getting the snip.


    "Now that I think about it, I don''t think I''ve seen you around Chaldea before, are you new?" She turned to me and asked.


    "Yup, just got here today, the name is ¨C" I had to catch myself, almost used my real name. "¡ªTakao Shimoda. Probably the future leader of B-Team."


    "Amazing!" She said with an awe in her tone. "It''s nice to meet you, Senpai! I''m Mash Kyrielight."


    She seemed like a sweet girl. I kind of wanted to pat her on the head, but I held myself back.


    "Well, Mash, you seem to know this ce pretty well. I''m a bit....lost. Do you think you could point me in the direction of the Cafeteria?"


    "I can show you." She perked up with a big smile. "It took me awhile to figure out where everything is too, so I can show you the tricks I learned." She seemed eager to be of help.


    "Wouldn''t say no to the help, this ce is a maze and I think this won''t be thest time I get lost." I thanked her for the assistance.


    [***]


    Olga Marie Animusphere POV


    "Has anyone seen Shimoda!?" I raised my voice, gathering the attention of all the B-Team members who were conversing in the Cafeteria.


    Where did he run off to!?


    I explicitly told him thirty minutes.


    Of course none of these people answered me. It made me wonder if this B-Team idea was even feasible. With the nk looks they''d given me all day, I wondered if they have the processing ability to evenprehend the most basic of Magecraft.


    It''s like night and daypared to the A-Team. They''re all proficient in their crafts, had the theoretical knowledge, and knew how to operate efficiently.


    Maybe if we had a few more years to prepare them, they would be a feasible substitution in an emergency. However, everyone suddenly decided it would be a good idea to have more in reserve. No warning, just an idea and they throw all the work on me!


    As if they could do anything if the A-Team failed.


    We would be just throwing bodies at the situation, and I failed to see how that would solve any problem if the experienced team failed in the same instance.


    Ugh, so stupid.


    If the investors weren''t backing this idea so vigorously, I would have never even considered this foolish waste of time. No doubt some vultures nned this, to use as an opportunity to discredit me somehow.


    They''re mundane people, they don''t have the slightest clue about what we do or how we do it.


    Not only do I need to get them up to speed on what really goes on behind the curtains, but we also have to train them up to be some-whatpetent in a fight. Shoving decades worth of teachings into a few months, in addition to forcing the practical applications into their bodies when they''re not learning everything else they need to.


    What a ridiculous n, and whoever thought it up needs to be flogged.


    Even with the advance facilities we have avable, this was going to be a trial in of itself. Hopefull Caster can provide some help here, I don''t trust many of our staff to handle this kind of daunting task. And I can''t pull away A-Team members to help out that often when their own training was even more crucial.


    No, inparison, B-Team was just a side project. I won''t even consider them a probable alternative, I''ll continue to do the logical thing and focus my attention on A-Team.


    Unfortunately, I actually had to go along with this nonsense, since the investors were being so forceful with it. The idiots can''t seem to see beyond any resources they''ll gain.


    Should I be thankful that there''s actually someone half-waypetent that appeared for this idiocy?


    Maybe I would be if he actually showed up!


    "Sorry I''mte, Director. This ce is a maze, got a little lost."


    Speak of the Devil.


    "Finally." I scoffed at his return. "You will be forgiven this once, do not make a habit of it."


    Hmm, perhaps we should put directions around since we''re going to be experiencing an influx of new personnel soon. This was only the first batch of B-Team and other service members that havee so far. I don''t want to have to put up with some nobody wandering somewhere they shouldn''t.


    ....and based on what Shimoda already told me, I needed to consider their ignorance as a top priority. It would do no good if one of them did or said something that crossed a line they didn''t know about.


    Thankfully, I had a chance to nce at the files of the uing batches. There were actually a handful more of real Magiing along. For what definition one could use ''real'' to describe them.


    Spellcasters and outsiders. Barely better than the frencers that stalked about the halls of the Association to make money. I would take Shimoda ¨C an Asian ¨C over the most of them. At least he had propriety when ites to this kind of work.


    "Now, we can continue." I pushed away those annoying thoughts. I was already too busy dealing with actual problems, beyond this singr instance of my direct involvement, I wouldn''t be keeping an overt eye on B-Team. "We will begin a secondary discussion on the basics of your new position. This will include a very brief overview of our history, our customs, and how to hold yourselves as members of Chaldea."


    I knew that those vultures in the Association would use any opportunity to peck at me if I allowed them. So I would make sure this plebeian lot at least knew how to treat their betters.


    I wouldn''t be surprise if this was a scheme to undermine my authority since I don''t possess the qualities to be a Master nor to Rayshift.


    So what if I can''t participate! I was the Director, I have more than enough work to deal with, my role was too important to go off gallivanting into another Era.


    "Since we''re on a strict time constraint, we will be handling several matters at once. You will be individually called upon by our lead Medical Chief to undergo a thorough evaluation and medical inspection. This is not negotiable, and I will hear noints." We needed to know what we''re dealing with before opening their Magic Circuits.


    Never before has anyone tried to do so on a batch of plebians in suchrge numbers. One of the reasons we were bring B-Team in batches, to better streamline the process for each new group.


    At least the data will be some-what valuable. Something we can toss to our investors to give them something to bide their time with.


    "I have a question, director." Shimoda raised his hand.


    "Very well, ask." I addressed him.


    So far, he had not asked anything idiotic, and he has helped thus far. A question or two was not remiss.


    "What about non-human heritage, will that be an issue?"


    I blinked, until I realized where he came from. Of course he would have some Phantasmal Ancestry, those Asian countries still have some demon-blooded cretins running around. "We have experience in dealing with such things, there will be no issue."


    Was it a wonder that the proper sort don''t go to those countries unless they have to?


    "Am I interrupting?"


    I turned to face the new voice, holding back the smile that woulde about when he made an appearance. "Lev." I greeted evenly.


    "Director how ¨C" He stopped, his gaze turned towards Shimoda.


    I furrowed my brow, why was he just staring at him?


    And why was Shimoda staring right back.


    Did they know each other?


    Did he do something to make Lev of all people have a dislike for him? I can''t remember anyone that Lev disliked!


    Instantly, I felt a feeling of anger swell up.


    I pped my hands, snapping them out of it. "We''re short on time, get moving back to the room you were in previously, I will join you in a moment." I left no room for arguments as even Shimoda nodded and they all filed out.


    "Olga." Lev asked me as they left the Cafeteria. "Who was that young man?"


    "The Red-Haired one is Takao Shimoda. Do you know him? I can kick him out if he''s someone you don''t like."


    "No, that won''t be necessary. I was just.....surprised when I saw him and I don''t know why. Something about him is just painfully familiar and I can''t quite put my finger on it." Lev looked to be thinking about something. "He''s a member of B-Team?"


    "Yes, I was going to have him take over the position of Leader for B-Team. He seems decentlypetent, even if he''s from a backwards country. Do you want me to reconsider?"


    "If he has the ability, then I have noints." He had a strange look about him. "However....keep an eye on him. And when you have a chance, please send me his file....I wish to look it over."


    Oh, it seems that Shimoda caught the eye of Lev. He should be honored, and if he yed his cards right, he may move up in the hierarchy here.


    "For now, I may just take an opportunity to introduce myself to him properly."


    .....I don''t ever remember seeing Lev with that kind of smile on his face before.


    I''m sure it''s nothing.


    [***]


    Managed to get the chapter out today before work.


    And yes, the moment he realizes he isn''t in danger, he pokes the Beast. They''re going to be the best of friends :V


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 337 - 304

    <h4>Chapter 337: Chapter 304</h4>


    I had been here only a single day and I had already solidified a single thought about Chaldea.


    What the fuck was wrong with this ce?


    First that thing, which had been able to sneak up on me. I had no idea what it was only that it was something monstrous hiding beneath its fluffy surface that was kept under lock and key. It didn''t appear hostile for now, so I had stopped overly worrying about it, for now.


    But still, what the hell was it doing running around here?


    And this, this new creature/man/being.


    What had Olga call him, Lev?


    What the fuck was that thing?


    Because every instinct of mine told me that he wasn''t human. But I also had no idea what he was, and her had been....friendly with the Director, so did I even have a right to call him out? I can''t exactly call myself a normal human either and I don''t have any ill intentions towards the people here.


    That''s how I tried to rationalize the situation to myself, however, that thing gave me a very strange feeling, and I didn''t know how to process the reaction I had. There was a sense of.....familiarity, but something else that set me on edge around him.


    It was no where near the same feeling of terror that the little animal gave me, but it was still something that made me cautious. A dim glow rather than a spot light.


    But more importantly, why did I unconsciously default to hatred for whatever he was? I caught myself from overtly reacting, but just being in his presence made me annoyed and ufortable, and I don''t know why.


    No wonder the old man wanted me to investigate this ce; there was a lot happening here under the surface. And frankly, I was bing more and more confused on where to even begin my investigation.


    It was hard to pay attention to what the Director was droning on about. Not that it was things I needed to know. She was giving a quick course in how to act around other Mages, but it was important for those who might be in my future team.


    Just because I had a main objective which was to investigate what was going on, it didn''t mean I would skirt any responsibilities I was given. Call it pride, but if I was supposed to get these people up to scuff, I would do so.


    "And that is why you don''t interrogate other Magi on their crafts." Olga pped her hands, breaking me from my thoughts. I nced up to see her wiping away chalk dust from her hands, looking proud of herself as everyone else was listening intently. "Anything you want to add, Shimoda?"


    Jeez, why do I feel like I''m back in school with my teacher calling me out?


    I scratched my head a little awkwardly, because I think she knew I hadn''t really been paying attention. "Honestly, it''s a pretty decent rule of thumb to just not ask too many personal questions, even if you think the question might be innocent. A good majority of Magi have a story, you never know what could poke them in the wrong way. Best just to be polite and not ask too many questions if you don''t know, just to be sure. If you really need help with something or are confused, I''m sure there are people on staff that could help you without getting offended."


    And I did say they coulde to me about anything.


    "Good, I will make sure you know which staff members are avable for questions to not cause problems." Olga nodded in confirmation before taking out a pocket watch of all things. "Thatzy idiot should be ready now. Shimoda, you''re up first, head to the Medical Facilities for your check up."


    "Um, where¡ª"


    "...I''ll show you the way." She let out a sigh.


    "Roman, you better not be cking off!" Olga practically kicked open the door. "I swear, if I see you watching that stupid cartoon again, I''m going to ¨C"


    "D-Director!" I peeked inside to see a light-browned haired man fumbling with some things in his hands as he tried his best to shove them into a draw at the desk he was sitting at. "I''m working, I''m working, I promise!"


    "Sure." She snorted. "I have your first patient, give him a proper check up, make sure there''s no problems."


    "R-right on it, Director!" He stuttered out, clearly caught doing something he wasn''t supposed to be.


    The Director scowled, but stomped out of the medical area, presumedly going back to where the others were.


    "Whew, that could have been bad." The man sighed in relief. "So you''re my first patient, huh? You should be a member of the B-Team that we just had arrive."


    "Nice to meet you, Takao Shimoda" I held my hand out, something I would normally be hesitant about with these kinds of people, but he gave me a very.....fluffy feeling. I feltfortable around him, strangely enough.


    "Romani Archaman." He smiled rather good-naturedly, taking my hand for a shake. "You can call me Roman, everyone else does."


    Suddenly, I felt the Spear in my ring vibrate, and for the briefest moment, there seemed to be a spark of Holy Power between us as soon as our hands met.


    We both quickly jerked our hands back, looking at each other in confusion.


    "....that was strange." I quickly tried to y it off.


    Honestly, it was really weird. The Spear didn''t usually react to things or people like that. And I couldn''t very well take it out to investigate in a ce like this. Who knew what kind of sensors or rms might start ring if I take out such a potent Holy Weapon.


    "Y-yeah, what was that?" He smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, I have a Mystic Code on my finger under my glove, maybe some kind of reaction? Like two mas or something."


    "....yeah, that''s probably it, I''m wearing a few Mystic Codes myself, I''ll make sure to keep them from activating." I took the out that was given to me. "So, what kind of check up am I going to do? I doubt you want me to cough while you ¨C "


    "No, not that kind of physical." He chuckled awkwardly again. "Well, I guess we do need to check your physical health, but this is mostly to make sure there aren''t going to be any foreseeable side effects to using the FATE system or Rayshifting if the timees."


    "Sorry, Fate System?" I furrowed my brow.


    "Did the Director not get to that yet?" He scratched his cheek. "Uh, she''ll probably exin it better than me. It''s the system we use to summon servants, based on the one used in the Grail Wars."


    "Ah." I nodded in understanding. "She did mention Servant summoning, but there''s..... a lot of things to cover for mundane people who have just stepped into our world."


    "Oh yeah." He winced. "I''m sure the Director is loving that."


    Yeah, she definitely felt put off having to do something like that.


    "It seems like she''s going to hand over those responsibilities to me though. Most likely I''ll be the Leader of B-Team from what she said." Networking was a go. It''s a good idea to start making acquaintances with the other staff members


    "Congrattions." He smiled rather happily. "Take care of me when you start moving up."


    "I''m probably going to be nothing more that a glorified teacher." I chuckled. "But the benefits are probably good."


    "The Director takes care for her people." He nodded. "A word of advice, if you need anything reasonable, she''ll probably huff and groan about the costs and necessity, but she generally makes sure we''re all satisfied."


    Huh, a surprising take based on what I''d seen of her so far.


    "I''ll keep that in mind, thanks."


    "Anyways, we should get started before she kicks my door down again." He slumped his shoulders. "She already confiscated my hidden snack stash the other day because she caught me taking a break."


    I''m wondering what he meant by ''break''.


    Well, not my business.


    "Alright, so, what''s first?"


    "Mmm, going to need you to strip first, down to your unders, please."


    I shrugged, as I began taking my clothes off. Thankfully, the old man had prepared me for a situation like this.


    Mymand seals were hidden by a Mystic Code he created, a small bracelet on my wrist. I could easily y it off as my own ''Magi Paranoia'' that I refused to take it off, or bullshit some other reason. It also did a good job of hiding my non-human nature from most probing, though it was certainly not full proof.


    "Let''s see..." The Doctor was flipping through some documents. "We have most of your information from when you signed up originally. Blood type, Gender, general medical history.....though there are a few more....invasive questions we''re going to need."


    "I understand, ask away." I hopped up on the bed, seat, table hybrid thing that most doctor offices had, sporting only my briefs.


    "Are you a virgin?"


    Well, that came out of left field. ".....are youing on to me?"


    "W-wait, I know it sounds weird to ask ¨C"


    "I''m ttered, really. But I think this is highly inappropriate given the circumstances." I could feel the corners of my lips twitching upwards.


    "You''re messing with me." He sighed, slumping his shoulders. "Why does everyone bully me."


    Probably because it''s easy and natural. "So, what''s the exnation for that question, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    "I know it''s weird, but it''s generally an important thing of note when using the FATE system for summoning. It can affect what Servants can be potentially summoned and the more information we have, the better we can facilitate the whole process."


    Should I make it more awkward for him? Ask him to rify if certain activities counted as losing my ''virginity'' or not?


    ''Does it count if I went balls deep into King Arthur''s throat?''


    I''m sure that would go over splendidly.


    But, actually considering what I knew of how Servant summoning works, I can actuallypletely understand why he was asking that in hindsight. "No, I''m not a virgin." I chuckled.


    And I''m already starting to miss my girls.


    "Alright, moving on." He quickly jotted some notes done. "Are you rted to any notable historic individual through any direct means. Be it a direct bloodline, or an inheritance of some kind?"


    "Not that I know of."


    Yet, anyways. Would it count if one of them bared my children?


    "Hmmm, I''ll put you down as unconfirmed for the time being. We may need to further search your history if it turns out to be an issue down the lost."


    I shrugged, not like they could find anything meaningful.


    "How many questions are there, exactly?" I asked.


    "Uh...." He began flipping through pages, dozens and dozens of pages. I realized we were going to be here for awhile.


    [****]


    "Right, moving on, I''ll mark you down for a positive on the time dtion."


    Funnily enough, they had a question asking if I''ve ever had my personal time altered to not align with the world. Which....I spent a few years in the Land of Shadows, while only a week passed outside. So....technically? I was obviously vague about spending time in an area that flowed different than the outside.


    "How much longer do I have to hold this?" I asked.


    "Oh, I forgot about that. Eh....you should be fine now. I''ll mark it down as a pass." He reached over, taking the Mystic Code out of my hand. "It''s just a measure of how much Magical Energy output you can sustain for the process of facilitating the Summoning of a Servant."


    It was just an orb-like object that constantly drained my Magical Energy at a consistent rate and I had to keep a consistent flow into it.


    "Now....are you aware of any inhuman ancestry you might possess?" He asked. "Oh, and you can put your clothes back on."


    [Nope, none whatsoever. Completely mundane human over here, no need to check.]


    Hush, you.


    [Ignore the wings, and the Divinity, and the Dragon. Completely natural, I assure you.]


    I rolled my eyes at Ddraig''s antics.


    But there was the matter of how to answer this question. "I.....have a rtion to Youkai ¨C specifically of the Kitsune variety."


    Which....was technically the truth, just not the type of rtion he would assume. And I very well couldn''t say I had demonic ancestry. The Church would probably burst through the door before the words left my mouth.


    He raised an eyebrow as he looked at me. "Huh.....that''s new." He scratched his head. "While we have some non-human blood among some of the staff, it''s the first time we''ve run into someone rted to Youkai. Not many Magi from out east thate on over here."


    "Do you think it''ll be a problem?" I asked, putting my shirt back on.


    "Probably not?" He sounded a little uncertain. "We can''t know for sure untilter. But...you have Magic Circuits, so it''s not like that kind of inhuman blood is predominant. So....I think it''s fine to treat it as any other mixed-blood among our staff."


    ".....It might also help if you gave some blood for testing." He said quietly.


    "I would rather not." I forced a smile as I fixed my buttons and adjusted my tie back into its original ce.


    He did ask before, more officially, but we could also reserve the right to refuse. No Magus worth their salt would willingly give their blood to another Magus. The amount of horrible things you could do with willingly given blood was absurd.


    An interesting thing of note, that willingly given and forcibly taken, made a huge difference when conducting rituals.


    "Speaking of inhuman blood, would you happen to know a person by the name of ''Lev'', the Director seemed familiar with him. Big poofy hair, likes to wear all green. But a snappy dresser?"


    "Oh, lev?" He perked up. "Yeah, I know him. We studied at the Association together, and we''ve been friends for years." Roman smiled warmly. "Lev Lainur. He''s supported the Director for years now and even after Lord Animusphere passed away."


    Hmm, they seemed to have a good opinion of him, so maybe I''m just overthinking things?


    "Wait, what did you mean by inhuman blood? Lev is fully human, I''ve known him since we were still teenagers." Roman blinked.


    "Oh, my mistake, I was probably just misunderstanding something." I yed it off easily enough. "Do you think he is ¨C "


    "If you have any questions about me, I would be more than happy to answer them myself."


    My eyes dted for a moment as I turned my head towards the source. The man was standing right in the doorway.


    I didn''t even sense his presence and I was hesitant to expand my senses outward in case anything unnatural about myself was noticed.


    "We can consider it a trade." He smiled innocently but I felt an underlining hostility there. "Afterall, I''m also very curious about you."


    [***]


    Here''s the Tuesday/Wednesday chapter. No chapter for Thursday, took the day off for some personal time, wanted to y some Hogwarts Legacy.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 338 - 305

    <h4>Chapter 338: Chapter 305</h4>


    "I hope I''m not intruding, Roman." The man looked cheerful as it walked into the room.


    "Ah, well...." The doctor scratched his head. "I guess It''s alright, it''s not like you won''t have ess to this information afterward the exam anyways. And we''re done with the personal examination, only have some questions left. As long as Takao over here is okay with it, that is."


    "By all means." I kept my emotions even.


    "Wonderful." He said with a jolly tone. "I''m excited to have a talk with our B-Team leader."


    "It''s not quite official yet." I strained a smile.


    "Once Olga sets her mind to something, it gets done." He shrugged in a ''what can you do'' manner.


    For some reason, his entire attitude was very unsettling.


    "Well, I suppose I should just ept it then. Takao Shimoda, B-Team leader." I introduced myself, a little tongue in cheek. "You came all this way to see me, what can I help you with?"


    "An interesting choice of words. Do you believe there is something you can help me with?" He questioned, eyeing me intently.


    "I''m always happy to help, but I''m just a simple hedge mage from the Far East, I fear I couldn''t possibly be of much assistance to someone like you." I smiled right back at him. "With such a lofty position, I''m sure you have ess to much morepetent help with but a snap of your fingers."


    His lips thinned. "Talent can blossom in the most unlikely of ces. I do so enjoy helping bring out that hidden potential that I sometimese across."


    I didn''t like what he was insinuating underneath those flowery words.


    Was I seen through?


    No, I don''t think that''s entirely the case. I think he''s in the same situation as I am, we both noticed something was off about the other, something familiar that we can''t quite ce. Or atleast something simr in his regard, because it was difficult to read this person.


    I''m making a lot of assumptions here.


    "And what makes you think I have some hidden potential? I could very well have peaked as I am now. I''m just a rather average Magus, nothing too special about me."


    "I have a fairly good eye for this." His own narrowing. "One might even call it instinct."


    "You should listen to him." Roman spoke up as he watched us go back and forth, clearly not reading the mood. "Lev is a well known teacher, all of his students have gone on to be sessful. If you could learn a thing or two from him, it would definitely help you."


    "....Thank you, Roman." Lev twitched slightly, clearly annoyed at his ''friend'' interrupting him.


    "Oh well, how about we continue the check up, The Director might get impatient if we take too long." Don''t know what this ''Lev''s'' motivation was right now, I think it might be better for me to take a step back and watch him for a little bit.


    So I just took the opportunity presented by Roman to end that little back and forth.


    "Alright, well, we just need to clear up your own Crafts that you practice." Roman looked down at his paperwork. "Obviously we won''t ask you to delve too deep into them, we know how secretive that kind of information is. But for the ease of summoning, and for picking relics that could better align with yourself, we need to know what your area of expertise is. However, there may be some Crafts that require a few more....personal questions. In that case, I''ll be contacting the Director, and we''ll set up the proper protocols to make sure that kind of information doesn''t get out."


    By protocols he probably meant a Geass. I could imagine some Crafts or practices could have an effect on Servant summoning. Things like Spirit Invocation needed to be taken into consideration, and the more darker aspects of Magecraft, such as Necromancy, also needed to be taken into consideration. And hell, even transformation types of Crafts should probably have some asterisks next to them. Generally they would want to summon coherent and easy to get along with Servants, not monsters or the worse type, those that could easily be called viins.


    "Fine, what do you want to know?" I already prepared some exnations for what I had going on.


    Lev was also listening intently, obviously curious as well.


    "Just a rough idea of what you''repetent in and what your pursuit is. Are you seeking the Root like most Magi, or are you just using your Magecraft in a more practical application?"


    "My ''family'' is very young, so to speak. However, I can trace my roots back pretty far, and I''ve scrounged up a few things that allowed me to piece together a path towards the Root I''m striving for. I specialize in Runecraft with a minor in Alchemy, specifically the botany sub-branch. I also have a passing knowledge in Elemental Maniption, and Onmyoji arts for the more ''practical'' application as you put it."


    "Not many families are willing to ''waste time'' with Runecraft these days." Lev spoke up.


    "What can I say? I''m just an ignorant Eastern Magi without many resources avable to me. I have to use what I can, even if most others look down on the Craft." I shrugged helplessly


    "Truthfully, I think it is foolish to disregard any Craft. Especially considering the Divine Nature which Runes originate from. Most Magi are rather proud of the paths they are treading. Could you sate my curiosity, what is your path to the great wellspring of knowledge?" Lev asked.


    Not technically an intrusive question. He''s just asking what path to the root I''m taking, which was prettymon knowledge amongst Magi circles. They sure do love to proim how superior their own Crafts are in every regard.


    "I n to follow in Odin''s footsteps."


    "Oh?" Levin raised an eyebrow. "No one can say you don''t have high aspirations."


    Hmm, he immediately could understand my intent.


    Regardless of everything else, he appeared to be a very adept Magus.


    "Uh.....can I get a better exnation please? I-I mean, don''t just exin the details and all that, but I need something better to put down." Roman rubbed his head awkwardly.


    I nced at him and nodded, taking my attention away from Lev. "There is a well known legend of Odin hanging himself upon Yggdrasil as a sacrifice to himself, and gouging out his eye to drink for the enchanted mead." I didn''t feel like I needed to retail the whole legend. "What he did was peer into the foundations of the world, in other words, he gazed into the Akashic Records, learning the Primordial Runes of old. There should technically still be a path there in the present era since no human has ventured it and the Age of Gods has thus ended."


    "That sounds paradoxical." Roman blinked. "Since Odin isn''t around, you can tread the same path, but everything else involved no longer exists either. I....don''t want to tell you how to live your life and practice your Magecraft ¨C"


    "I understand where you''reing from. That''s why I''ve dabbled in other aspects, to fill in the nks so to speak." I shouldn''t borate more, as someone in my position wouldn''t if I wasn''t just spouting bullshit.


    But this was the background I chose since I had a connection to the Norse cosmology. It would exin a lot of my knowledge and spell usage if it came down to it.


    If I was an established Magi from a long lineage, I would have ''taken offense'' to his kind intentions. But I could understand where he wasing from as an outside perspective. Roman just seemed like a genuinely nice guy so far.


    A far cry from the normal sort of Magi that I''ve met in both of my lives.


    "A well-rehearsed reasoning." Lev smiled innocently, but I could understand his insinuation.


    He was calling bullshit


    "Right!" Roman chuckled. "It''s good, with the Magi around here, even if you practice somethingmon like Runecraft, if you have a well thought out thesis and unreproachable reasoning, they''ll give you some respect atleast. Right, Lev?" He turned towards his supposed friend, still missing the subtext.


    "It''s as you say, Roman."


    "It''s nice to see such close friends even in these kinds of circles." I didn''t miss Lev''s little annoyance at his ''friend'' continuing to blunder into any attempt at interrogation. "There were so few Magi out East, and I was warned that they were much too cutthroat to even consider the idea of ''friends''"


    "Haha, it''s a whole different world in the Clock Tower." Roman put an arm around Lev, thetter of whom looked like he was forcing himself to not scowl. "Lev and I became quick friends, but we also made some enemies along the way. If you haven''t interacted with many Magi, you should be careful."


    "Quite." He quicky corrected himself with a jovial smile. "As Roman says, much of Magi culture is very exclusive. As a member of Chaldea, you''re afforded a lot of opportunities that someone without a pedigree would normallye across. And I would be more than willing to help you out in your studies should you find yourself stuck on any problem."


    "Lev, always the teacher even while helping out with Chaldea." Roman chuckled. "Just being able to say you''re his student will open doors, Y''know?"


    "Oh now, I couldn''t possibly intrude on your time." My lips thinned in annoyance. "Especially with all these new responsibilities I have suddenly. Not just being a Master-Candidate, but also the future leader of B-Team as you said. I won''t have much time to study my craft as is, much lesse to you for tutge."


    Lev opened his mouth to respond but Roman was quicker. "Ah, you''re right." He scratched his head awkwardly again. "I''m sure the Director is going to run you ragged for awhile. Best to put a pin in that for now, but hey, thoughts for the future once things settle down."


    Lev kept his expression even, but I could guess he was fuming at Roman right now. "Yes, we wouldn''t want to make the Director unhappy by preupying his time away from his official duties. However, I may drop in every now and then to.....check up on your progress."


    "I''m ttered to have earned the personal attention of such an esteemed Magus such as yourself." I replied with mock ttery. "But It may give people the wrong impression if you focus on me so much, and we certainly wouldn''t want that."


    "Perhaps that is the very impression I wish to give?" He chuckled, though I could see through the tone was using.


    He was threatening me with his ''attention'' so to speak. But he hasn''t actually asked something that really warranted such a tactic.


    I was trying to tread carefully right now as to not give away my identity, but at the same time, I wouldn''t just roll over for him.


    "Hmm, well, it looks like that''s all we need from you ¨C " Roman paused. "Oh woops, I almost forgot. We still need to a sample of your Magical Energy signature to key you into certain Security around the ce. I''ll be right back." He quickly scurried off into a back room leaving me alone with the thing in the form of a man.


    "Well, this ¨C"


    "Who are you?" I felt a handtch onto my arm.


    The grip was tight, if I was a normal human, I think my wrist might have been broken. I narrowed my eyes at him as I slowly moved to pry his hand off my arm. "My name is Takao Shimoda." I smiled innocently.


    And for the briefest second, I think I saw his eyes sh red.


    He looked surprised as I was able to overpower the amount of strength he was using.


    "An unounted one? No.." He looked utterly confused as he mumbled some words under his breath.


    "Nevermind!" Roman walked back in as Lev quickly pulled away as if to make it look like nothing happened. "I forgot I still had the measuring device we use to measure your output. I just used the Magical Energy already inside that thing to get it all sorted." He blinked at the tense atmosphere that just dissipated. "....am I interrupting something?"


    "Not at all." Lev smiled casually. "Young Takao and I were just having a discussion about some inane subject."


    "Well, I think we have everything wrapped up thing." Roman didn''t dwell on it. "Why don''t you head back, and send the next person in?"


    "Sure thing, Roman." I started making my way to the door.


    "How about I show you the way back? These halls can be confusing for neers." Lev politely offered.


    "I''m sure the Director would give me an earful if I had to be escorted back by someone like you. I may as well learn my way around by my own hand. But the offer is very appreciated."


    "You''re right." Roman interjected. "The Director can be a stickler for wasting time. And if she thinks you''re dragging Lev away from his business, it''ll only make her ride you harder. Trust me, I know." Roman let out a sigh with shoulders slumped.


    I barely noticed the small twitch that Lev had before the corners of my lips curled up.


    "It was a pleasure to meet you both. I''m sure we''ll be seeing plenty of each other quite a bit." I quickly gave my goodbye before leaving the room.


    It took me a few moments and several corners before I let out a breath I was holding.


    I still had no idea what that thing is, what species he was or his motivations. It didn''t seem too intent on ''exposing'' me but rather figuring out my own circumstances, so I didn''t feel uneasy in that regard.


    I knew for sure that this wasn''t the end of things.


    But seriously.... "What the hell is wrong with this ce?"


    Two things I had no reference for just on my first day here.


    Why did I have the strange feeling that this wasn''t the strangest things were going to get?


    [***]


    Oh boy,te chapter. Just take it as I took both friday and Thursday off. I went passed out as soon as I got home from work on Friday, slept for like 12 hours, then I woke up for a couple hours, intent on writing, and immediately passed out again for another 12 or so. Didn''t realize I was so tired before.


    Anyways, if you want to support me or read 7 chapters ahead, visit p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 339 - 306

    <h4>Chapter 339: Chapter 306</h4>


    Surprisingly, Lev hadn''te to try and talk to me in the past few days.


    That''s not to say he hadn''t been watching me. I''d seen him on many asions, but he never struck up a conversation like he did in the infirmary. Rather, he kept a careful vigil, never approaching but noting my every action he could. I was starting to think he was also worried about his own positioning under fire.


    However, he was in a much more secured position than I was.


    If we started blowing whistles, he would have the support while I would be cast out without a second thought.


    So, I had to y this smart.


    Just keep deflecting everything he tried, and don''t cause any big problems. It also helped that I''d shown myself to be reliable in the Director''s eyes.


    "Alright everyone, gather around." I pped my hands, grabbing the attention of my new team.


    Yup, my team.


    I was the Leader of the B-Team. Olga made it official the other day when we finally finished up with the basics she wanted to cover. However, they still had plenty of studying and lectures to attend that were run by the staff, but it was the point where Olga stepped out and handed things fully over to others, mostly me.


    "Whatcha got there, boss?" The Texan asked.


    "d you asked, Samuel." I liked him, a polite and hard working guy. He mentioned that he worked on a farm for his early years even though hees from a wealthy family. Reaching into the box, I took out a ss sphere. "We''re going to begin learning your first spell."


    Seeing their eyes lit up was honestly heart warming.


    How happy was I when I first walked away from my old life? Did I have a child like joy about the simple fact I could wield magic?


    "Now, at this point, you all have your Circuits opened, and everything that this entails." The process was not pretty, lots of trial and error because it''s not the same for every person. "Before we jump to that, I want to see everyone activate their Circuits like you''ve been taught." I paused, waiting for them to get to it.


    The fastest took about 30 seconds, which wasn''t.....bad considering how new they were to this. But it was far longer than what they needed to be at if they ever went into an active situation.


    And it was Samuel who was the fastest.


    "Now, usually you''d spend months practicing with your Circuits. Opening them and closing them to the point where it barely takes a conscious thought. But since we don''t have much time, we''re going to be multi tasking. I expect you all to be continuing this exercise whenever you have free time. Give it a week, and if you can''t make any progress, there are other means we can employ, but there aren''t a sure fire answer to any problems."


    Self Hypnosis wasn''t a perfect fix. Some people were just too resistant to their own attempts for it to always work. Or those people who are too stubborn to believe that they''re capable of doing it. As weird as it was with how little whimsicality that Magi seem to have with Magecraft, you have to believe without a shadow of a doubt in everything you do, otherwise there adds an uncertainty with any spells or mystical phenomena you try to perform.


    "Uh, Boss, is it still supposed to hurt?" Samuel asked.


    There were some other murmurs of agreement to his question.


    "Yes." I said bluntly, activating my own Circuits and pulled up my sleeves for them to see. "It''s going to hurt, and you''re going to have to get used to it. There''s no other way to say it nicely. Every Magus deals with it every time they start using Magecraft. Unfortunately, we also learned when we were children, so you don''t have the novelty of growing up ustomed with the lingering pain."


    It would be a good reminder that Magecraft was dangerous as well. It''s not something natural and our bodies actively reject the usage of it through the pain of just ring our Circuits.


    "Alright, moving on." I tossed the ss orb in my hand up and down a few times. "Samuel, catch." I tossed it to him. He stumbled slightly, but caught it gently. "Tell everyone what that''s made of."


    "ss?" He blinked in confusion.


    "Correct. Do you think you could shatter it with your hands? Maybe throw it against the ground and break it?"


    "Yeah?" He looked at it more closely. "Feels pretty brittle. Think if I idently dropped it, it''d break."


    "Good." I nodded, taking it back from him. "Now watch." I cast a simple Reinforcement onto the orb, right infront of their eyes. They could see the visible phenomenon, but I didn''t exin it just yet. I reeled my arm back and threw it at the ground. I could see them slightly stiffen, anticipating the break, but instead, it bounced off the ground a couple times beforeing to a stop. "The first spell you''re going to learn is Reinforcement."


    One of the most basic spells that any Magi learns. Though, not all of them learned how to use it to its true protentional. It''s mostly used a training exercise for children, to learn how to push their Magical Energy into things without breaking them.


    It trains their fine control and such. However, they should have an upper hand in this regard being adults with much more life experience.


    Realistically, this would take months to learn and many more months to learn how to use Reinforcement viably in a fight. But, we don''t have that much time, so I''m going to have to cut some corners.


    "How will making things harder help us?" I looked at who spoke. A French gentleman, I could easily pick up on the ent, not to mention his name was Pierre. Unfortunately, my background didn''t cover my proper English heritage ¨C that being the many decades/centuries in my past life that I lived in London. So I could not to my duty as an Englishman to insult his heritage like it so deserves. "You said we were supposed to be getting into fights."


    "Good question. Who said it merely makes things harder?" I reiterated with my own rhetorical question. "It Reinforces the concepts inherent in objects that it''s used on. A sword, for instance, would both get harder and sharper. The ss orb I just showed you, it got harder, and if you wanted to test it, it would have be more see throughparatively than before." I mainly focused on its durability, however. "And to follow that up ¨C what makes you think you can''t use it on yourself?"


    That certainly got their attention.


    Now to give them something to work towards.


    I reinforced my arm for them to see, but ironically, I had to lower my strength as I mmed my fist into the floor, shaking the ground beneath them. "You see? Now, let''s begin with the very basics! Learning to not break things." I started handing out the Orbs as I would begin the long process of exining how the Spell works. But first thing first. I held up A ss Orb again. "Now imagine that this is a part of your body." I overloaded the spell, shattering it for them to see as their eyes widened in realization. "I don''t believe I need say how dangerous this is, yeah?"


    [***]


    "Fuck it, I''m going to start marking these hallways, I know for a damn fact that someone made this shit intentionally a maze!"


    Atleast I had been to Roman''s office a couple times to know where it was ¨C rtively speaking. Walking there, and taking the next person because he didn''t know the way.


    Though, when I got up to the door, I smelled smoke.


    Which definitely shouldn''t be the case. I quickly pushed the door open, only for a familiar girl on the other side to make a surprised noise. In the confusion, she threw what seemed to be a cigarette across the room.


    It kinda took a moment before either of us made a response.


    "W-what are you doing here, Shimoda?" The Director straightened herself up. "And don''t you know it''s rude to suddenly barge into a room!"


    "Erm....it''s the medical bay,ing and going without notice is mostly assumed?" I scratched the back of my head. "And I smelled smoke, so I assumed the worse and quickly came to investigate."


    The Director flushed slightly. "I suppose I can''t get angry at you for doing the right thing."


    ".....I don''t care if you''re smoking." I pointed out. "I''m not your parent, and you''re an adult. Not to mention, any damage they cause is easily reversable by virtue of Magecraft."


    She eyed me for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Look, I would appreciate it if you didn''t spread this around. I don''t want people to look at me and think...well, that I can''t handle things and I''m resorting to something like this." She walked over picking up her discarded cigarette.


    "Hey, I understand. It''s a stressful job and you have to bnce what''s probably some very unique personalities while also preparing to save the world. I can give you my word that I''m not going to run my mouth about something like this." I reassured her.


    There was the smallest hint of a smile forming. "Thank you, Shimoda." She said quietly, taking a deep breathing. "I''m d you understand."


    "Just one question." I was a little curious. "Why are you doing it in Roman''s office sh medical bay?"


    She flushed a little more, I think she was embarrassed by it because she wasn''t making eye contact any longer. "It''s one of the only ces I can find privacy that has the venttion needed." She pointed up to the ceiling showing certain vents.


    "Privacy?" I blinked, gesturing to who''s room it was.


    "Roman was needed for an urgent matter on the other side of theplex." She said with apletely straight face.


    "Well, I guess it couldn''t be helped then." I yed along.


    "Indeed." She sniffed. "It is a much better use of thatzy man''s time anyways."


    I chuckled a little. This side of her was a lot more endearing than when she was.....on the clock, so to speak.


    "I''ll leave you to it then." I didn''t want to bother her if she was trying to have a peaceful moment to destress.


    "Wait." She called out. "You came here for a reason, what did you need?"


    "Oh, we were just running low on the ss orbs I requested. I wanted to see if we had any more avable and Roman was the only person I knew who I could find that kind of stationary. This ce is still a maze, so I was going to see if he could point me in the right direction"


    "ss Orbs?" She repeated. "Exin."


    "I''m teaching the B-Team Reinforcement."


    "Reinforcement!?" Her eye''s widened. "They''replete novices! How could you start teaching something that dangerous!"


    "It''s not like I''m just throwing them in the deep end, Director." I quickly tried to calm her down. "And I do have a reason for doing so"


    She huffed, taking out another cigarette. Clearly at ease with doing it infront of me at this point. She lit it up, taking a drag before breathing out "Exin it to me, Shimoda. I made you the Leader for a reason, don''t make it out to be a mistake."


    "Look, we''re short on time, and it''s not like we can teach them any meaningful spells to help them if they''re actually forced into a situation where A-Team Fails."


    ".....I agree with your assessment thus far."


    "So, their biggest asset is staying alive. And their best way to do that, is to have the means to run away from things that could threaten Servants."


    "So you''re teaching them Reinforcement in order for them to be better at running away." She twiddled with the cigarette between her fingers. "I don''t like that this is the situation we''re force into, but.....I can''t argue with your logic. Exin to me the process you''re using, because it sounds like you''re skippingpletely over Structural Grasp, which is an integral step before learning Reinforcement on oneself."


    "They''re barely able to activate their Circuits with no stress involved." I breathed out with a little relief since she was hearing me out. "I won''t lie and say this is the most optimal course of action, but I don''t really have something to base my methods off of. I''m cutting as many corners as I feasibly can to get them up to standard. Right now, I''m having them learn how to push their Magical Energy into objects without breaking them. I''m going to slowly change the objects themselves, and then we''re going to start working on human anatomy and focus on their lower bodies."


    "So you''re basically weaving the essential process that structural Grasp provides into the learning of Reinforcement. Do I need to tell you that this is a very sub optimal method? Even if they learn Reinforcement this way, it would be....lesser than if they learned the steps properly."


    "Do we have the time for the proper methods?" I shot back.


    She scowled, not really at me, but more so at the situation. "Very well, I won''t disagree with the attempt for now. We''ll revisit it in a couple weeks to check their progress then revaluate where we go from there. Unfortunately, this also means that it will require more resources to get them to the point of being able to reinforce themselves." She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I will authorize what you need if you submit me a report. Within reason, Shimoda."


    "I won''t let you down, Director."


    There was the faintest twitch at the corners of her lips. "See that you don''t." And there was a hint of warmness to her tone that wasn''t there previously. "And....thank you again. I am....pleased to have you join Chaldea, Shimoda. Continue with the good work."


    Taking the little win, I left it at that. "I won''t intrude any longer, Director." I gave her a wave as she nodded at me.


    Stepping out of the room, I realized that I was starting to enjoy my time here. It was much more rxing than what I was getting up to before. Is this why Sc¨¢thach enjoyed teaching so much? I can''t wait to see the progress they''ll make in theing weeks, it''s very exciting.


    Granted, I''m kind of winging everything as I went, but I did have people looking on in case I made a bad decision.


    Perhaps I should call Sc¨¢thach too, ask her for some tips? I mean, I want to call her anyways, I missed all of them, but I would always wee advice from someone experienced in this field.


    It also made me forget the reason I came here in the first ce. I had a few leads to check on, but moving around is difficult while still being such a new face. I really needed to take the time to explore and meet everyone, so I was not suspicious if they saw me somewhere I was allowed to be, and especially if they saw me somewhere I probably shouldn''t be.


    Though my mood quickly changed as I heard a shrieking from up head, right past the doors into the training room I was using for my team.


    I quickly bolted forward, pushing past the doors to see several faces other than the ones belonging to those who I expect to be here.


    The quickest nce I noticed Lev was off to the side, and our eyes met only for him to sh me a grin.


    I didn''t keep my focus on him for a second longer as my eyes were forced to the source of the pained shout.


    It was Samuel on his knees with someone I didn''t recognize hovering above him.


    Slicked back hair with some noticeably pointy ears, wearing sses with bright red pants and a ck dress shirt with matching ck gloves. He had a very paleplexion with a vicious smile on his face as he held the wrist of Samuel in a tight hold.


    I pushed past the people who were just standing there watching. The man looked surprised as I grabbed his own wrist with a bit more strength that I normally would. He flinched slightly as I pressed down.


    "Remove your hand, or lose it." I growled out.


    "Who are ¨C"


    He relented, but I didn''t give him a chance to finish as I gathered my strength and pivoted my foot, throwing him across the room and into the nearby wall.


    [***]


    Decided to speed things up a little bit. So, canon isn''t going toe along a little quicker than I originally intended.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 340 - 307

    <h4>Chapter 340: Chapter 307</h4>


    The sound of the impact almost wanted to make me take a moment to stop and admire the durability of the structure here. I suppose it''s to be expected when we''re housed in what''s basically a bunker in the middle of the Arctic. But, the guy didn''t sink into the wall like I would expect. Oh, there was a dent, but he sort of....bounced off with a loud smack,nding on his head.


    This left him to awkwardly push himself up off the ground with a menacing snarl on his face. And probably a concussion.


    Now that I calmed down a smidgen, there was something about him that disgusted me beyond what he was doing to someone under my protection.


    It''s weird, I barely knew these B-Team people aside for a few days, yet.....I felt they were mine already. Well, not in the same way that I consider my girls mine, but they were still under my aegis. Was it my draconic nature that made me protective of them or something else?


    Regardless, that settled down once I tossed him away, so I knew it wasn''t that but something else that just utterly disgusted me about him.


    Just his presence seemed to grate on an unconscious part of me and I couldn''t pick what it was immediately. I was starting to wonder if he wasn''t human either. Maybe some phantasmal hybrid like I am that doesn''t mix well with my own parentage?


    I''m usually good about picking up on other non-human heritages unless someone went to extreme lengths to hide theirs. However, I just couldn''t call it out either way on this guy.


    "Samuel." I turned to look at the man wincing in pain. I reached into my sleeve to pull out a Talisman and with a re of my Magical Energy, I gently put it on his wrist.


    Who knew that those slight of hand lessons for stage magic would havee in handy at a time like this? Instead of hiding a card up my sleeve, I had a plethora of Talismans avable, and I can secretly replenish them with the stash in my ring to hide their existence for the moment.


    "B-Boss..." He shuddered a little as the effects took hold. Probably was both surprising and mildly ufortable to have foreign power invading his body like this, even if it was for his benefit.


    "Hey!" I heard the voice of that disgusting fellow, but I just ignored him.


    "It''s not amazing, but it''ll provide some healing and relieve some pain." I took that moment to pulse some Magical Energy and Structural Grasp the spot where he was hurt. Normally difficult to do on another Magus, but he wasn''t even qualified to be an amateur yet. The more I looked the more pissed off I be, because that guy intentionally nearly shattered his wrist. I could see several fractures, and even an ounce more of strength would have really fucked up the bone and shattered it.


    "He just ¨C "


    "It''s alright." I put a hand on his shoulder. "Let''s get you to Roman so he can take a look at that. Don''t worry about any permanent damage, it should heal up fine." Though I wondered if that would be the case if I didn''t walk back when I did.


    "I said hey!" The other man snarled, walking up to us with heavy steps. "You got some nerve to ignore me when I''m talking to you."


    I patted Samuel''s shoulder again, giving him a small reassuring smile. "Pierre, Evelynn, please take Samuel here to Roman to get checked up." I said turning around to face the murderous intent directed towards me.


    "You gun'' be okay, boss?" Despite being in pain and probablypletely out of his depth, Samuel was worried about my safety.


    Then again, it might be a normal human reaction when someone was exuding so much bloodlust.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure you guys have somepany following soon." I waved them off nonchntly.


    I quickly swept my gaze at the remainder of my teammates who were standing behind me as the trio slowly made their way out of the room. And it momentarily pissed me off that the bystanders just watched on silently.


    Honestly, they looked frightened, and I couldn''t me them. I would rather this not be a thorn in their hearts forter.


    I didn''t really want to get into conflict with someone this quickly, nor this messily. But I knew that Lev had a hand in whatever mess this was.


    Even so....


    I knew how to deal with this sort.


    My own face twisted back into a sneer as I walked right up to him, my face getting close to his as he looked a little surprised at my sudden action. "My nerve? Shouldn''t I be the one saying that?" I scoffed, getting more displeased by his aura up close. "I wonder, how many people you have killed to get that disgusting smell of blood so entrenched that it''s this nauseating."


    "Hoho." He almost giggled at my tone. "I lost count."


    "Which is probably the point where you ran out of fingers to use.." He''s one of those. Killed for shits n'' giggles. "Regardless, I demand an exnation."


    The momentary surprise from a moment ago died pretty quickly as his vicious grin was pulled back ¨C reeled in to the vague facsimile of civility. "What exnation?" He held his arms up, shrugging exaggeratingly. "Isn''t it my duty as their senior to give them some pointers? Not my fault they couldn''t do something as simple as a basic Reinforcement." He held is head slightly above as if to look down on me. "Oh where are my manners." He said in a rather condescending tone. "Beryl Gut, member of A-Team. No need to thank me, I''m always happy to help out the cute little babies."


    An A-Team member?


    I suppose that made sense, but why the fuck would he willinglye find trouble. Well, the disgusting feeling I''m getting from him probably answered that question. I''ve been around people who reveled in bloodshed ¨C Sc¨¢thach being a prime example, but this guy, he felt a lot different. His had a more malicious intent behind it.


    "Some pointers? Aren''t I your junior as well? Why don''t you give me some of your pointers."


    "Thought you''d never ask~" He replied cheerfully, but the re of murderous intent cued me in on his true feelings. "Let ol'' Beryl here teach you how the world really works, kiddo. Something to pass on to your adorable little team ¨C if you survive." His lips pulled back in a maniacal grin.


    ....what a shitty personality he has.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll be sure to past this important lesson on to them. Often times, the one postting is the weakest." I snorted at his attempt to be intimidating. "What''s the saying ¨C The dog that barks the loudest ¨C"


    I wanted to say something in him snapped, but even with that malicious look about him, it didn''t seem like he lost his rationality.


    No, he was just a fucked up person, I could easily see that much. He was looking much too forward to hurting me, not out of some misced anger, but from the glee of causing pain. I could see that look in his eyes that screamed a childish happiness at the mere thought.


    He made the first move, the wind between us burst forward as his hand was swinging downwards, I was momentarily taken by surprise.


    Not for the speed at his movement, but for the he was using. "Fleshcraft?" I blurted out, seeing his hand be a w of some animal.


    Was he honestly trying to tear me to pieces infront of so many people? And no one was making a move to stop him....


    Sometimes, I forget that I''m back among a bunch of Magi, and not the more... Civilized groups I have been working with for the past year.


    Survival of the fittest wasn''t just a saying in this neck of the words.


    Well, credit where credit was due, his hand ¨C w cleaved out a good chunk of the ground, which was also saying something considering the materials this ce was made out of.


    I side stepped it with ease, spinning my body to the side as I followed up with an elbow in one motion. Maybe I used a little too much strength, because his body slumped forward as he was lifted up off his feet and sent hurling back right next to the dent where he had beenunched previously.


    He looked absolutely furious as he rose to his feet, spitting out some blood onto his hand. He then looked at me and mmed his palm against the ground, red marks circled around it. "Machd a'' Pigh."


    Was that Gaelic?


    Roughly trantes to ¨C The curse of the gue.


    I looked to the side to see a blood-red mist escape from the ground where his ''w'' gouged out from before.


    Huh, did he hide a spell in that movement, more props to him then. Not just some lunatic with a body count higher than he can probably count.


    It spasmed until it took on the form of a skull, opening its massive jaw as if to consume me.


    "A curse?" I scoffed. "Adorable." I flicked my hand, several Talismansing from my sleeve. My Onmyoji excelled at dealing with curses. For something of this level, I didn''t even need a full chant. My Talismans flung out into the form of a Pentagram as it formed infront of my hand. "Gods of the seven Seas, fend off the hundred demons and drive back the fierce disaster. ¨C Order!" I actualized it as the curse itself was sucked into then Pentagram.


    It tried to fight against my spell, but it did the equivalent of chomping down on the ck magic and dispersed the ties that held it together.


    "You....what did you do?" He grit out.


    It''s easy to forget how under the radar Eastern Magical Arts were for most Mages.


    "My Country has been dispelling curses for thousands of years." I returned in an almostzy tone. "But I''m waiting, where''s this so-called tutge you offered me, senpai."


    Well, that did pissed him off.


    Maybe more than I anticipated, because he dug into his opposite hand with the wed version. He bared what looked like fangs, a clear wince of pain as blood seeped out.


    ....ck blood.


    Was he using his own blood as a catalyst to try and curse me?


    I couldn''t help but furrow my brow. It should be an ineffectual method....but then again, I''m not an absolute source on all Magecraft in the world. While thanks to Gramp''s memories I had a passing knowledge on the majority of Magecraft fields, there were several that he, and by extension I, never gained an interest in. And I wouldn''t call him an idiot exactly, he seemedpetent in the Magecraft department.


    The ck blood seeped back into his arm, his wounds visibly healing as ck marks jutted out in every direction along his arm.


    "Cuir Air Ais. Bi nad Shiol Miann, Basiach agus till!" He chanted out the ten-word aria with a quick and practiced ease. It carried an invisible force targeting me.


    I expect it to ssh against my Magic Resistance harmlessly, reeling back my Aura as to not show that of, then I would proceed to beat him senseless. I had to atleast give him a shot or two, didn''t want to make it too one sided. However, I didn''t expect for it to not physically assault me in the slightest.


    I felt something, which was strange. It tugged at me in a metaphysical sense, and this Beryl guy had a shit-eating-grin on his face like he had just won. As if he was waiting for a good show about to happen.


    His silentughter, and that maniacal grin and bated breaths of anticipation of his suddenly halted. ck blood began seeping from various holes on his face, down his ears, out his eyes, and even running down his nose. He spit out a mouthful of that ck blood and it started dissolving the ground. "How!?" He growled out. "You...my curse. Not even Wodime could have stopped it like that!" His legs almost buckled underneath him as he struggled to keep standing.


    "....you tried to curse, what, my future? My past? Or maybe did you try something stupid like trying to curse my fate, perhaps some causality twisting?" I mocked his failure, until I blinked in realization, recognizing the feeling that washed over me. I know a couple of spells form my Onmyoji arts that did something simr, or rather, made use of simr a concept. "You tried to curse my Karma. Hrious."


    Knowing the trantions of his spell words, I could more or less guess what he attempted to do. I''m pretty sure he tried to shift my positive Karma into Negative Karma to use for another means. But the Curse failed halfway through for a couple simple reasons.


    There was no way he had enough Magical Energy to overturn the amount of Positive Karma I''ve umted thus far.


    Thatbined with the sheer weight behind my actual existence, it''s no wonder it fizzled out and by the looks of it, rebounded viciously inside his own body.


    But a Curse like that isn''t something simple, and it''s by no means easy toe by. And now that the pieces came together, I realize why he was giving me such an uneasy feeling. Fleshcraft falls under both Necromancy and Witchcraft primarily, but the Necromancy variety usually deals with dead materials. Combined with his noticeable aptitude in curses.....


    I knew I felt something inhuman about him.


    "You''re a Witch." I dered making him momentarily startle at my promation. "No wonder you came off as an immediate piece of shit." A Witch isn''t just a term used to call a female Magecraft users. They''re basically another race than humans with their own....logic to apany their Magical abilities.


    There was one main point that separated them from Mages. It was their inability to coexist with the Human Order in its entirety. That''s not to say they''re vehemently denied by the ruthless will of Humanity, but they''re basically outsiders, rejects from the Age of Gods. Even if their arts were exceedingly closer to the former era, they basically don''t have a ce to properly exist.


    "Don''t you dare ¨C "


    One of my Talisman''s mmed right into his face, a minor sealing effect that just had the byproduct of stopping him from speaking. "Don''t worry, the lesson is far from over." I wanted to reassure him of what was toe. That spell must have made a mess of his body, because he didn''t even tear away the seal as quickly as he should have. It was persisting as he fell to the ground, his body looking very sluggish. "I feel like you have a lot more to teach me." I smiled innocently as I walked forward.


    He slowly moved to remove the Talisman on his face but a little bit of force applied, a small kick, and he fellpletely to the ground again.


    "It''s impressive how you can keep this Fleshcraft active in your state. And now that I think about it, it''s also the hand you use to harm my team member." He looked up at me as I met his gaze. I raised my foot up and mmed it down, followed by a very loud crunch.


    His scream was muffled under my Talisman.


    "An Eye for an eye and all that. I''m a fairly firm believer in such depiction of justice." I hummed to myself, looking at his throbbing hand. I generally don''t'' start fights without a proper reason, but if someone under my protection was involved, I ended them. "Oh, woops, you hurt his wrist, let''s correct that mistake."


    I generally don''t partake in this kind of behavior, but I really don''t like when others touch my people like that. And this absolute piece of shit really pissed me off right from the start. I couldn''t bring myself to gather an ounce of sympathy towards him.


    I was curious how long it would take for one of the voyeurs to step in.


    Well, let''s find out then.


    [***]


    Beryl: Uses Karmic Curse


    Wilhelm: Exists.


    Beryl has fainted!


    But yeah, Beryl gets his shit kicked in.


    If you wnat to read 7 chapter ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone . Things just got explosive over here.

 Chapter 341 - 308

    <h4>Chapter 341: Chapter 308</h4>


    What a weird atmosphere.


    It felt like I''d been called into the principal''s office.


    Though I wasn''t alone, thankfully.


    Olga sat behind her desk, practically steaming as no one wanted to speak. However, my attention was mostly on the other woman in the room. Olga enjoyed her break enough that she stayed there for quite a while, which gave me more than enough to learn under Beryl''s tutge. She erupted in anger when she finally walked into the room to see themotion. She probably was sent there when my Team members finally made it to the medical room.


    Funnily enough, it wasn''t entirely directed at me.


    In fact, I think she was the tiniest bit amused to see Beryl in such a state.


    "Kadoc." Olga breathed out, reining her temper in. "Exin it from the beginning."


    "Y-yes Director." A young man with silver hair that looked almost white in the right light answered. He was slim and had a sort of timid personality, though that could just be his reaction to the Director''s anger. "It was after the group training exercise this morning. Lev came and asked if any of us wanted to give B-Team a few pointers, and, um.....I offered to help."


    "Hinako." Olga turned to address the woman who I couldn''t help but keep an eye on.


    "It''s as he says." She said simply. She had long brown hair in two pig tails that almost touch the ground. Arge coat around a turtle-neck sweater and brown eyes that gave me a strange feeling. She was by every definition, beautiful, but that wasn''t what held my attention. "Lev asked me specifically as well saying that I was the most versed in...Eastern Magecraft, and that the new leader of the B-Team was said to have some proficiency. So I was curious to see as well."


    She nced at me, and I met her eyes.


    Not Human.


    Absolutely 100% not human.


    And I think she noticed something wrong with me too. Because it was not a kind gaze she returned towards me. I may have thought that was because of what I did to her teammate, but she seemed utterly apathetic to his current situation.


    But another important question was annoying me right now.


    Why was there ANOTHER non-human here!?


    I have absolutely nothing against non-humans, considering I can''t truly be considered human myself, but they''re supposed to be rare in this world!


    [Strange, I don''t have a reference for whatever she is.] Ddraig spoke up. [With that Lev person, he atleast feels a little familiar, but mostly foreign. That brat you beat up earlier, he reminded me of some disgusting things, if only a little bit. And I also had no reference for that creature you met at first, aside from that immense power It was hiding. But whatever she is, she''s definitely not on the level of that creature, but she''s still aplete unknown to me.]


    You don''t have a clue?


    [Mmm, nope. Do you?]


    ....maybe.


    But, I''d rather investigate some first. Because my initial thought seemed a little too oundish considering the era.


    [I guess I''ll go shifting through your memories, see if I can''t maybe pick up an clue.] Ddraig hummed to himself. [I can say for sure that they''re not Dragons though. Was around that corpse of my opposite here long enough that I can pick up the same of my kin, even if our existences differ.]


    "Lev." Olga waited a moment before addressing that thing. He was smiling innocently to the side. And to my surprise, the Hinako woman also looked at him with a strange expression. "I can understand your intent, but why did you bring Beryl?" She asked more so than demanded answers like she did the other two.


    A huge shift in her tone when talking to this thing in the form of a person.


    "I apologize, Olga. He had been behaving rather well recently, and I thought he would be a good lesson for the neers. I was afraid they were beginning to see what we''re doing here as a game." Lev replied, and I think I picked up some hidden amusement in his tone. "I just wanted them to get a firm understanding at what kind of world we live in. I expected Beryl to be a little rough, but nothing beyond what we couldn''t patch up in a day or two."


    It made me frown that Olga didn''t even question him on his intent. She just adopted a thoughtful look before nodding her head. "I can see your point. It''s a good idea to knock those ideas out of their heads early on. It''s unlikely they''ll be needed, but if we''re doing a second, back-up, team, then it should be done properly."


    "Director." Roman suddenly pushed open the door. The brown-haired man had a strange look on his face. A pensiveness mixed with a subtle glee. "I brought Kirschtaria, like you asked."


    Behind him, a man with long blonde hair walked in. He wore an immacte ensemble, and exuded an air of nobility that I would ce with many different Magus families. "Director, I have just received the summons." He tone was oddly gentle in contradiction with his perceived appearance.


    "Wodime." Olga said rather stiffly. "Good, you''re finally here. We can settle this matter for good now."


    "Yes, I believe it prudent." Wodime stated, turning towards me. "Are you Takao Shimoda that I''ve heard became the leader of B-Team? The one who beat Beryl unconscious?"


    "I am." I met his gaze with my own. Well, I already had a good excuse for my actions, so I was primed for him to start throwing usations and call for ¨C


    "I apologize for the actions of my teammate." He bowed his head. "As the leader of A-Team, I take full responsibility."


    And I was a little thrown off by his admittance. "Pardon?"


    "I should have given you a proper warning. Beryl is not the most...appreciated member of our team. As critical his duties are, it is no excuse for his behavior." He raised his head. "I will take full responsibility, Director."


    ...This wasn''t how I expect him to act.


    Wodime, I vaguely recalled that family name. An old one, thousands of years old, and he petent. I expected him to have an ego bigger than the room, but he immediately bowed his head and apologized.


    Interesting.


    Olga looked at him for a moment and huffed. "Roman, what''s Beryl''s status."


    "His right arm is broken in about a dozen ces. His Fleshcraft wore off during the....events, thus it didn''t revert properly, causing some muscle and tissue damage and disrupting the flow of blood. There''s also the rebound he suffered from his miss-cast spell, his organs were going into failure but I managed to stabilize him, barely. And there are a bunch of other minor wounds ¨C bruising, sprains, that kind of thing. But they aren''t life threatening, just inrge enough quantities to make note of." Roman replied rather cheerfully.


    ....is he a sadist?


    "Shimoda." Olga sighed, dropping her face to her palm. "What am I going to do with you?"


    "Give him a raise." Roman replied happily.


    "You are dismissed, Roman" Olga glowered.


    "Alright, I''ll go back to poke at my patient." He hummed, not even perturbed at the tone that Olga used.


    And for some reason, I think he meant that quite literally.


    Did he have a grudge against that Witch for some reason?


    "And now it''s public knowledge that he''s a Witch. It was an open secret before, but I know some busy bodies are going to kick up a fuss about this whole thing." The Director steeled her expression again.


    "We should get on top of it immediately, Olga. A punishment must be rendered otherwise some of the vultures may use this as an opportunity to make a move. Regardless of how disliked Beryl is even in the Clock Tower, and among the staff here, our priority is to resolve the singrity above all else. Shimoda''s actions ¨C while understandable, have potentially lost us a valuable asset." Lev spoke up, shing a grin towards me for a brief moment.


    "Doctor Roman said that Beryl should be recovered by the team we set out for the singrity, Director." Wodime spoke up. "And we cannot fault Shimoda here for his actions when Beryl was the one who instigated and attacked first."


    Olga scowled as Wodime spoke, and it made me think she had a grudge against him. Lots of rtionships here I didn''t have context for. "Lev is correct." She finally replied. "We can''t let the ones circling around the chance to kick up a fuss. So, I will give punishment to Shimoda."


    And I was going to lose a lot of respect for her if she went this route.


    "Shimoda, your pay for this month is going to be docked." She leaned back, with a small smile on her face. "And I will not be punishing Beryl."


    ....well then. My expectations have been dashed in a good way.


    Wodime nodded. "I will spread news around."


    "Good." Olga seemed pleased.


    Magi, the sort that would w at any advantage they could. I have no doubt there are those vultures circling overhead, ready to tear into this big piece of meat that is Chaldea given any opportunity. Olga is going to spread that I got punished while Beryl didn''t, making it seem like she did right by the more esteemed figures of our society.


    I was but a random Mage from out east. And while beryl was a Witch, and seemingly detested everywhere, he was still, a known figure with a pedigree of some sort, and he was a member of A-Team. It wouldn''t do good for Olga to show favoritism to others when so much more important things, and people, were on the line.


    Besides, I''m sure Beryl got punishment enough. I didn''t go that easy on him, afterall.


    Lev looked unhappy but didn''t let it show too deeply. "There''s still the matter of his missing status for A-Team."


    "Agreed." Wodime added. "From what I understand, Beryl used a Curse that''s tentatively ced at B-Rank, with the ability to go further. I believe it was cast hastily at a diminished state, but that is still a powerful Curse, especially to have it rebound."


    "As much as I dislike him, he is an expert in Curses." The unknown woman with the name of Hinako spoke up.


    "I believe we have an obvious solution." Wodime looked at me again. "I cannot im to know much about the Eastern Arts, but from the report I heard ¨C spoken and not entirely verified ¨C Mister Shimoda here is adept enough at the Curse arts to counter them without harm to himself. Not to mention handily beating Beryl in a fight."


    "Are you suggesting I make Shimoda an A-team member?" Olga asked.


    "Is he not already a reserve member?" Wodime asked. "I''m suggesting that he integrate with our team for the interim on the off chance that Beryl is unable to perform his duties when the timees. He will still be the leader of B-Team and perform those duties to the best of his ability."


    ".....your suggestion has merit." Olga frowned. "Kadoc, Hinako, your thoughts?"


    "....It should be fine." The timid younger guy said awkwardly.


    "He can''t be worse than Beryl." Hinako scoffed, though she was still ring at me for some reason.


    "Shimoda, what about you?" Olga asked me.


    "I have nothing against it. It would give me a chance to see how A-Team is training if you expect me to join in. Would help in how I handle my own team." It would also let me investigate further, and maybe keep an eye on a few individuals I''m skeptical about.


    "Wonderful, I believe this settles the matter then." Wodime smiled noticeably warmly.


    "....I suppose it does." Olga grumbled. "Very well, you all are dismissed. And Shimoda, I can overlook this incident because of who was involved, but this won''t be eptable in the future."


    "I''ll keep that in mind, Director. Thank you for your leniency." I made sure to be humble towards her. I felt like she was someone who liked her authority respected, even if she didn''t lord it over others.


    She perked up the slightest bit, so I think I hit the mark. "Right, see that you do." She said proudly.


    "Unfortunately, I must attend to matters that have arisen due to Beryl''s admittance to the Medical wing of our facility. I apologize for not being able to properly converse and apologize, Shimoda." Wodime addressed me. "If you allow me the opportunity I would be honored to properly wee you to our Team, perhaps tomorrow once the dust has settled."


    "Don''t worry about it, Ipletely understand how things have gotten a little messy. I look forward to meeting the whole A-Team." I politely replied to his humble words. "Speaking of, where exactly do you guys gather at? I''m still new here, and the ce is confusing to navigate."


    "Oh yes, many of us have gotten lost among these corridors." Wodime chuckled as we all walked out of the Directors room."


    I didn''t even notice that Lev disappeared.


    Which made me a little paranoid if I were to be honest.


    "Why don''t I show you ¨C"


    "I''ll show him." Hinako interjected. "You go deal with Beryl''s mess. I can show him where toeter."


    Wodime blinked, looking at her. "If you insist, I shall leave him in your capable hands."


    Why did it sound like he thought the idea was strange?


    And why did she volunteer....


    "Come, Kadoc, I need your aid."


    "Coming, boss." He said quietly, following behind the Team Leader, leaving both the woman and I alone.


    "Follow me." She said rather aggressively as her hand grabbed my wrist.


    [***]


    She walked with haste, turning corner after corner, and it had been several minutes since I saw any other people walking around.


    "No onees to this area." She abruptly let go of my wrist. "Except the Maintenance staff, and they routinely check every Wednesday, so we have some privacy."


    "....Privacy for what?"


    Her hand mmed against the wall right next to me, a very intense look on her face and her eyes shed a dangerous red. Her hand dug into the reinforced building, digging out a chunk as it turned to dust within her grasp. "Why and how are you here, Divine Spirit."


    Was she threatening me?


    And she called me out so tantly.


    The fact that she didn''t blurt it out in front of everyone else meant she was also hiding herself. This was just getting more and more strange the longer I spent in this ce. But one thing was for sure, I did not like to be threatened.


    I let a faintest bit of my Divinity seep out to apany my words.


    "Shouldn''t I be asking that, True Ancestor."


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake, A game to decide the fate of the world.


    "A Wager?" The Beast spoke. Ars Goetia, the Human Order Correction Ritual, and the one responsible for wiping out humanity. "You wish to bet the fate of the world on....a wager?" Its voice sounded incredulous.


    "We could fight. I cheat, mind you. But we could fight, an epic battle to decide the fate of Humanity as a whole. Servants from across all time and space answering the call to do battle against you. The Will of the world backing us up because It doesn''t like what you''re doing. Or...we can just make a wager and bet it all on a single moment. It would save both of us time and effort."


    ".....The idea is not detestable, Magician. Very well, What are the terms before I agree?"


    Good, I baited him.


    Just as I would honor my word, so to was he boudn by his own pride. "A game of skill, one versus one, me and you to decide it all."


    The monster let out a raucousugh. "A game? An appropriate conclusion, as this was merely a game from the start. I ept, Magician, this game of yours, you may choose the means, I care not. I will defeat you at any ridiculous attempt at skill you think you can face me with. I have lived thousands of years and thousands of life times through my Demon-God Pirs. Do you believe there is anything I cannot match you in?"


    I smiled, waving my ring.


    It was an old device, one from my childhood.


    A video Game, one that I had mastered through many years of torture.


    "We''ll be ying Mario Party."


    [***]


    Goetia let out another roar of mockingughter. "Even with thisughable device you attempted to subvert me with, I have still defeated you, Magician!"


    It was kind ofical, seeing his massive hands hold that tiny controller.


    He picked up the rule very quickly, as expected of someone of his intelligence. Not only that, but he yed perfectly, as well. Every aspect of the game that came down to skill, he won with ease. It made me feel a little depressed, if I were to be honest.


    ''It''s time to pick the winner!'' Toad on the screen began tallying points.


    "Pitiful!" The Beast continued hisugh. "Are you even capable of counting this high, Magician? Do you not see my 5 stars to your 1 star? Why continue with this charade, just admit defeat now, I may even allow you to watch the final moments of this wretched world for the miniscule amount of amusement you have provided me."


    ''Oh wow, it looks like Mario has the most stars!''


    Goetia picked Mario as his character. His logic being that he shared a name with the game, thus Mario must be the best.


    ''Unfortunately, Luigi, is far behind.''


    And I picked Luigi.


    He didn''t know yet why I picked Luigi, even when I picked my character first. But he was going to find out in a moment.


    ''But before we decide the winner, it''s time to give away some bonus stars!''


    "....what?" Goetia stopped in hisughter, taking focus once more. "What does that creature mean by this? I have already won, dere me the winner!"


    "Who said it''s over yet?" I grinned and his eyes widened.


    ''First, let''s see who won the most coins throughout the game.'' Toad on the screen began tallying the amount of coins we each won. ''Oh wow, it looks like Luigi won the most coins. Here''s a star as a reward!''


    ".....no...." Goetia said quietly, before regaining hisposure. "It matters not, it is my five to your two. A futile effort on your part."


    ''Now lets see who walked the most spaces!''


    "..."


    ''Luigi gets the star!''


    "What is this nonsense!?"


    ''Who won the most Mini-Games''


    "No!"


    ''Luigi!''


    ''Who lost the most coins?''


    "Ridiculous!"


    ''Luigi''


    "What is this ridiculous ruling! I demand an exnation! How are we tied? I defeated you for the majority of the game, and you were.....given stars for merely existing!"


    ''Now, onest star to give....''


    ".....no."


    ''This is a special star where we pick our favored to win.''


    "....Don''t you dare.."


    ''And it''s Luigi¡ª''


    The game got cut off, a controller was now impaled through the screen of the T.V. with a very angry Goetia on the other end.


    He didn''t speak a word as he stood up. He merely walked away and disappeared. But momentster, the incineration of human history was reversed.


    And I never heard a word from him again.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 342 - 309

    <h4>Chapter 342: Chapter 309</h4>


    I don''t'' know why she was surprised that I called her out in return. Did she not expect me to call her out after taking me somewhere isted and iming I am a Divine Spirit? She was....a little off the mark on me, but it wasn''t entirely inurate, more she aimed right when she should have aimed left.


    Her eyes shed a dangerous red, the mild surprise wore off immediately and I could see her tense up.


    Honestly, it felt like I was looking at an animal that was backed into the corner, ready tosh out. Odd considering that she was the one who initiated this confrontation.


    "I''m not a True Ancestor." She hissed.


    "And I''m not a Divine Spirit." I countered.


    She blinked at my abrupt denial. "Impossible, your Divinity is obvious, and you have an Authority, regardless of how you try to hide it."


    "And the fact that you can pick up on those things, I''m going to call bullshit on you too." There''s no way she would have picked up on something like that unless she was A True Ancestor or something of a simr weight ss/caliber to the point where titles were merely semantics.


    ".....I am not a True Ancestor." She seethed quietly, repeating herself.


    "An Elemental then?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Don''t act like you don''t know." She scowled. "Who are you, why are you here? If you''re here to mess things up ¨C "


    "Woah, hold it." I quickly cut of her, because it was clear she was thinking the worst. "You''re making an awful lot of assumptions here." Clearly she didn''t want her identity revealed by how she''s acting. It seemed like a sore spot for her, and I think she''s worried I''ll blow whatever cover she currently has. "I can promise that I have no ill intentions regarding Chaldea or the people here."


    "Am I just supposed to take your word for it." She snorted, but took her arm back. "Why are you here? If you''re doing anything that could ruin my ns, I won''t let you off easy."


    A precarious situation I found myself in. How many days had I been here at this point, and how many things had noticed my.....interesting heritage.


    Though, this woman was the most direct about it. Funny that everyone else so far was very cautious about revealing themselves.


    I quickly decided what I should and should not say. "Some parties are interested in what''s happening, and I was sent to investigate to make sure everything gets resolves satisfactory."


    "And that tells me nothing."


    "Do you expect me to give you my life story? Pretty much just said I''m under cover here."


    She huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms. "I take it your name is fake then."


    "And your name is real?" I countered.


    The look she gave me made it obvious I hit the mark. "And what exactly is a True Ancestor doing here. The purpose of this organization is the protection of the Human Order. I find it unlikely that one of your kind would overly care about that. You can continue to exist even if the Human Order falls and another takes its ce."


    "I am not a True Ancestor." She growled. "And I don''t care, Divine Spirit." She pursed her lips. "And you''re one to talk."


    "Not a Divine Spirit, and my mom was human." I chuckled at her attempt to verbally jab right back at me. "Not caring about the purpose of Chaldea, yet here all the same. And a part of A-team as it were. Makes you look suspicious."


    "I look suspicious?" She repeated in mild disbelief. "You''re the Divine Spirt that shouldn''t be able to manifest in this era. Not to mention, you''reing in at this point when we''re getting ready to deploy. I''ve been here since the beginning, you''re the suspicious one. Maybe I should report what I found." She eyed me.


    "By all means, lets both step into the spotlight." The little twitch of hers meant I hit the mark I was trying to. "But you''re hiding just as I am, so it appears we''re at an impasse."


    "....are you trying to ckmail me?"


    "It''s more like mutual ckmail. You don''t want to reveal yourself ¨C for whatever reason. I don''t want to reveal myself for reasons I already said ¨C" The noise she made giving my the impression she didn''t believe me just yet. "¡ªSo, mutually assured destruction as it were."


    Not to mention she was the one who pulled me away, though I can understand her reaction considering that she''s an Elemental of some sort ¨C something infinitely close to a True Ancestor but she denied an actual title and I appeared close enough to a Divine Spirit for her to start panicking about.


    "There''s no reason we have to be hostile." I offered her an olive branch. "I genuinely have no ill will towards Chaldea or anyone here ¨C so far. As I said, I''m investigating the whole situation, I can''t rule out that some people here may be less than savory in facilitation of this whole problem."


    "You think that someone here is the cause of the Singrity?"


    "You should know how the world works more than most. Do you think a Singrity like this would manifest and sustain itself without.....some external assistance? The Counter Force should have purged it with prejudice."


    ".....Chaldea formed after the problem was discovered."


    "And if someone or something was the cause of the Singrity, do you think they wouldn''t keep an eye on the ones tasked with fixing the supposed error in the time-line?"


    She bit her lip, seemingly epting my logic was reasonable. She took a deep breath before responding. "....I had no hand in it."


    "Obviously." I snorted myself. "I find it unlikely that an extension of the world would actively seek to unravel the current texture."


    "Of course, it''s not like I''m a human. I wouldn''t do something so ridiculous as harming the world."


    A very clear disdain in her voice when talking about humans.


    "So we have an agreement?"


    "I don''t trust you." She sneered, crossing her arms "You still haven''t proven who you are or why you''re here, only given your word."


    "You keep calling me a Divine Spirit. I won''t deny that I have both Divinity and an Authority, so believe in my pride that I wouldn''t lie." I offered her another perspective. "I intend to fulfill my duties as hired to the best of my ability, and I will be helping resolve this situation as best as possible while also investigating the cause, which may or may not be currently lurking these halls."


    "....fine." She rxed the slightest bit, her tense shoulders slumping a little and her arms unfolded. "I''ll believe you, for now. If I think you''re doing anything that will disrupt my own goals, then I wont hesitate to reveal you."


    "And you would reveal yourself?" I questioned.


    "I''m much more trusted than you are. And I was actually hired by Marisbury with him knowing my real identity." She huffed. "So I have a lot more weight behind my words than you do."


    "Fair." I nodded at her exnation.


    So, she was hired by the previous head of the Animusphere family knowing her true identity. That made things a little interesting. I wonder how Olga''s father was able to discover her when even I had no idea that she existed.


    "And just for rification, what are your goals, so I don''t idently step on your toes?" I wouldn''t care as long as she wasn''t actively participating in the Singrities'' creation, nor going against its resolution.


    "None of your business."


    "You kidnap me, force me to run my mouth and you won''t even tell me your basic goal so I don''t idently stumble into it? Rude." I said rather yfully.


    She frowned after blowing some air out of her nose. "I want to summon a specific Servant, that''s all."


    "Really?" I blinked at the sheer simplicity of her supposed goal. "That''s it?"


    "You have a problem with that?" She narrowed her eyes.


    "The opposite, actually. I honestly can''t say I have anything against you doing so. A part of me is curious as to why you''re going through all this trouble. There were ample opportunities for you to hijack a Grail War that you could have used, yet here you are going through this round about method."


    "And reveal myself to humans so I get hunted down and used as some kind of experiment?" She scowled. "The only reason I agreed was because my identity was hidden."


    "I suppose I can''t fault you there, I know how The Mages Association would treat you." I let out a small sigh. "Alright, I won''t do anything to interfere with your attempts to summoning this Servant you want."


    "...good." She whispered, there was a noticeable relief that washed over her.


    ....how important was this summoning for her? She''s an Elemental of some kind, so it''s likely she''s very long lived, at least since the end of the Age of Gods most likely. So, it''s reasonable to assume that this Servant she''s summoning was someone she knew in life...


    I wouldn''t press.


    It seemed obvious that she''s unrted to my investigation. And I sort of sympathize with her, I don''t know what her rtionship with this Servant was, but all I could think about was Sc¨¢thach and what I went through.


    The way she''s anticipating it by her undertone, I can imagine it''s someone important.


    "Since we''re being all candid, can I ask you about some things?"


    She quickly recovered and returned to her annoyed expression. "Fine, be quick. I don''t want to have to answer any questions on why it took so long if there''s anyone still around in the training area."


    Says the one who took me here in the first ce.


    "Anyone suspicious I should note?"


    "Sure, if they can practice Magecraft, chances are they''re scum and would likely do something horrible if it meant they could gain even a modicum of benefits." The sarcasm was clear in her tone.


    "Even your team?"


    "...There are very few exceptions, even amongst my own team. You''ve met the Witch."


    "Touch¨¦." I couldn''t argue with her there. "Wodime seemed pretty nice, surprisingly enough. Thought he was going to act like the average High-Noble Magus."


    "He is not insufferable." She said quietly.


    Curious.


    Good to know that Wodime''s attitude wasn''t just a one-off response to what happened. He appeared amicable; I didn''t want him to actually be insulting me in the back of his head during every conversation.


    "Anyways, anyone I should specifically look into? Perhaps, Lev?"


    She stiffened a little, barely enough that I could have blinked and not notice. "So you noticed."


    "It would be hard not to."


    "Well, he does a good job of hiding it." The Elemental shrugged. "Not even Beryl noticed, and there are a few other non-humans walking around."


    "Any idea on what''s going on with him then?" Because I''m fairly sure that Lev was targeting me subtlety. "Clearly, he doesn''t want to reveal himself either."


    "Why would I know? It''s not like I asked him. He hasn''t caused any problems, and he''s been involved before I came along and hasn''t done anything to make me skeptical."


    "But you immediately drag me off to an isted corner of the building."


    "Do you think I wanted to get involved in whatever it is you''re doing!? He isn''t a Divine Spirit masquerading around as a human." She scowled again. "Atleast whatever he is, he''s discreet and wouldn''t draw any attention to me. I couldn''t say the same for a Divine Spirit that just waltzed right into this ce like he owned it."


    Well, considering the personalities of most Deities, I could see her concern. Better to get ahead of it than to let it blow up without her control.


    "He''s also targeting me."


    "Obviously." She rolled her eyes. "Why else would he bring Beryl to ''help out''. Everyone knows he''s a menace at the best of times and outright disgusting normally. Wodime has to constantly threaten him to keep him in line."


    "And you''re not the least bit curious why he''s doing so?"


    "I don''t care." She said very bluntly. "As long as I''m not involved, and it doesn''t interfere, I''m not going to stick my hands in it."


    That does give me an idea.


    "How about a trade?"


    "A trade, for what? What would you even want from me? I want nothing to do with you."


    "I could use someone in my corner that knows why I''m here. An extra ear around the ce with someone who has much more trust would go a long ways."


    She scoffed again. "You have nothing I want. Don''t bother trying to ¨C"


    "A Holy Grail." I cut her off, making her stiffen. "I can offer a Holy Grail to summon the Servant you want."


    "....you''re lying."


    "I promise on my Divinity, my Authority, and my name." I spoke with genuine sincerity. "I won''t even interfere with your attempts to summon through Chaldea''s systems. But I also can promise the use of a Holy Grail in case of failure or any other reason."


    I could tell she was conflicted on the choice here. She was silent for several moments before her lips parted to speak again. "What do you want specifically?"


    "If you hear anything, see anything that might be rted to someone either helping the Singrity or preventing Chaldea''s mission, I want to know. Also, I want you to run interference with Lev."


    "Do you think he''s involved?" She didn''t sound immediately against the idea, which was a good sign.


    "I don''t know, but he gives me an uneasy feeling and he''s been hostile to me, so it couldn''t hurt to be cautious." At this point, I was 99% sure she had absolutely nothing to do with why I''m investigating, so I didn''t mind trying to pull her over since she already picked something out about me, so she could probably pick something out I might have missed.


    "....I won''t do anything that jeopardizes myself."


    "I wouldn''t ask you to."


    "And I did make a promise." She pursed her lips. "I won''t betray Chaldea, I have my own pride. The agreement I have with Marisbury Animusphere stands."


    Good to know her pride was important to her in this kind of circumstance. "I genuinely have the best intentions for Chaldea."


    "Also ¨C" Her hand was raised infront of me, a single finger extended. Her singr nail turned into something sharp, sharper than steel as she kept it for my eyes to see. Slowly, it trailed down to my chest, hovering right over my heart as she poked the spot. "Divine Spirit or not, if you''re lying to me, I will carve out your heart."


    I wonder if I should tell her that her threat made her more attractive than intimidating.


    [***]


    "Come on guys, twenty more seconds." I called out to the side as my Team were running back and forth. "Stamina is key for nearly everything we do. Your Magic Circuits have a strange connection to your physical attributes. Stamina carries over not just in the physical aspect, but your ability to push through continued use of your Circuits for long periods of time."


    And it would help them since they weren''t being trained on full-body Reinforcement. Meaning, their stamina will drain faster, so they needed to thoroughly train that aspect.


    It made me feel a little like a drill sergeant.


    I held up my fingers, counting down the seconds. "Alright, everyone, you can stop." They immediately copsed on the ground. "While you''re resting, I want to see you turning your Circuits on and off. Get used to doing it under stressful situations. By the time we''re done, I expect you all to be able to do it with but a thought."


    Though, I would go over it again in a couple days, see who needs more help in that regard.


    So far, they''ve been making some decent progress.


    After the incident with Beryl, I hadn''t been bothered, and I''ve had a few days now to really get into their training.


    I was also going to teach them how to activate my Talismans and load them up with their own. They weren''t spectacr, but their benefit came with their ease of use and ability to be mass produced withrge amounts of resources. The downside being of course that they''re usually weaker than normal spellcasting with simr effects.


    But that''s just considering the basic use of Talismans. I obviously have spells that incorporated their usage, but that came from more knowledge and experience than they have the time to catch up to.


    So, the ability to just throw out a Talisman that has an immediate effect attached would be beneficial.


    Though.....if worsees to worse, I''ll forgo my hidden identity. I don''t think my pride can let me just sit and watch if they got into danger and I could help. I epted them as my responsibility, that made them my people, and I''ll do what I can to assure their survival.


    "Alright, everyone." I pped my hands. "You did good, we''re going to slowly increase the physical exertion every day. As much as I hate to say it, you guys are going to be hurting every day, and we''re going to cheat with Magecraft so we can keep up the effort without breaking your bodies."


    The Director had authorized the use of Magecraft of the medical variety. Muscle soothing, enhanced rejuvenation, that kind of thing. Not much, but it would be extremely useful when continuously stressing the body.


    "Samuel." I started speaking again. "How you feeling?"


    "Um, good boss." He moved his wrist. "Feels weird, but it isn''t hurtin no more."


    I nodded. "Remember this feeling, your body is getting used to foreign Magical Energy invading it, even for its own benefit. It''s going to feel odd for a few days, but you''ll get used to the feeling." I walked to the side, pulling out another box of ss balls for them to continue practicing on. "You guys know what to do."


    They all walked over with staggered steps, taking a ball or two with them before moving a few feet back and sitting down to concentrate.


    "Pierre, you''re being too impatient again." I walked up behind him. "Slow and steady."


    He took a deep breath, focusing intently on it before it suddenly shattered in his hand. "Fils de batard"


    I chuckled at his insult in French. "If it helps, think of it like your mother ¨C"


    "Casse-toi!" He threw his arm up with a huff, telling me to get lost.


    I held back another snorted, dropping another ss ball in his hand. "Seriously though, slow and steady for now. Get a feel for how it reacts, you don''t want to just throw all your Magical Energy into it at once."


    "J''aipris, patron" He nodded, focusing again. "Like a fine woman, she needs to be romanced, slowly."


    "Like your mom." A distinct British ent followed up a few feet away.


    "Branleur!" Pierre shot back. "Or, you Wanker, in thenguage you pigs talk in. I will learn this faster than you, swine."


    There wasn''t really any bite to the words, from either of them.


    "Is that a bet, Frenchie!?"


    "Alright, alright." I interjected. "Focus on your orbs unless I misjudged and you guys have some energy to spare. Which means you can run a bit more today." I walked over to the one Pierre was arguing with who quickly lowered his head.


    "Ah, Boss, I can''t feel my legs." He looked at me really cheekily.


    I lightly swatted at the back of his head. "Focus, Benjamin." I chided him lightly. He was the youngest of the lot. Barely in his twenties, so he was a bit more...yful about this whole thing. "You''re having the exact opposite problem. You''re going too slow, your Magical Energy is dispersing before it can fill up so you''re just wasting your effort."


    I knelt down next to him, putting a finger on the Orb. "Watch me." I ushered him. "Don''t be afraid of it breaking."


    He watched as my Magical Energy poured into it, taking his own and inting it to where it should be. "Slow is good, but you''re not ramping up at all when you see that nothing''s happening. Don''t be afraid, this is the point where you can mess up without any problems."


    "Alright, cock it up all I want, got it mate." Heughed, but did start focusing harder. I just chalked it up to his personality to make light of situations, but he had been putting in the effort, so I didn''t think anything negative about him.


    I looked around, and the progress was miniscule, but they were getting better.


    They actually got along pretty well. No major issues among themselves, even some yful bantering here or there. And no one was challenging my authority, however, that may be because of what happened with Beryl the other day.


    Maybe that did put it into perspective like Lev said, even if he was bullshitting.


    "I either want you to seed sessfully in ten attempts without breaking the orbs, or I want you to go through twenty Orbs before you finish." I stood amongst my team as they all nodded. "Afterwards, we''ll be sitting down and I''ll give a small lecture on bodily anatomy and how it pertains to this specific Spell."


    I more or less figured out how I was going to go about this even without them learning Structural Grasp. It would be difficult, but within the time constraints, it seemed usible.


    Anyways, I suppose it was time to address the spectator that had been waiting patiently off to the side.


    He perked up slightly as I approached.


    "Kirschtaria Wodime, to what do I owe the pleasure?"


    The Leader of A-Team stood silently as he watched for the past twenty minutes or so, not moving to disrupt. "I apologize, I did not mean to interrupt your training time."


    "Don''t worry, you didn''t." He was very polite like before. "We were wrapping up the physical aspect, before moving on to a lecture afterwards."


    "You appear to have built a strong rrapport with your team so far. I had expected it to be more.....disorganized due to their origins."


    "They''re very out of their depth and they know it. It''s easily to get their admiration when I offered them help after their world-views were utterly shattered. And Beryl''s introduction seemed to help in that regard." I admitted.


    "It is unfortunate that this is required. I do not enjoy the thought of sending inexperienced and unprepared people into such a dangerous situation, if we were to fail. Tell me, do you believe this to be a viable strategy?"


    "Viable? No." I shook my head. "You''re asking if sending a bunch of mundane people into a potential battlefield that requires the use of Servants to navigate is a feasible alternative. It''s practically suicide, but at that point, everything had gone utterly wrong and we''re out of options. The literal world would be at stake, so there isn''t room to argue about the morality of it. I exined it to them thoroughly, and they''re prepared for what hopefully may note. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. The best we can do, in a reasonable time frame, is to prepare them to be able to run away from danger while relying on their Servants to do nearly everything."


    "It seems we share the same sentiment. I am pleased that you took the path of ensuring their survival instead of training them in other means. I admit I am.....skeptical with the approach of teaching them Reinforcement ¨C even in as minor a capacity as you are attempting ¨C but I can also say I do not believe there is a good alternative."


    "The Director mentioned that there are other Mages that were recruited for B-Teaming in the next few batches. I can work with them to fill in the gaps after I see where we''re standing at that point." I looked at my team still going about their training exercise, the sound of ss breaking flling the silence between our words.


    "A logical approach." He replied. "It is a stroke of luck that you were recruited when you were. Otherwise, I fear B-Team may have been left in the hands of those who would be uncaring beyond immediate gratification."


    "....I can only imagine." Yeah, most Magi would just make them presentable and nothing more if they didn''t have to. "I do have a question though."


    "Speak, I shall answer as best as I can."


    "Where are we with regards to Servant Summoning?" I asked, still a little confused on that tid bit. "So far, I don''t think you all have performed the summonings yet, but we''re approaching the deadline soon. Wouldn''t it be wise to start now, train with your servants and be more prepared?"


    "A worthy thought, and I believe you have not had much time to learn about Chaldea''s facilities thus far as to why that is not the case. To put it simply, our Summoning System is not...reliable." He strained thatst word.


    "Is it prone to failure?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "No, perhaps I chose the wrong word. The system is based on the Grand Ritual performed in the Grail War, but there are also differences. The ability to operate without the support of the Grail or the Leylines it is usually anchored to made it so that other methods were needed."


    "Itcks the coordinated power totch onto a Heroic Spirit and pull them down as a Servant." I could summarize what he was getting at.


    "Indeed, even with a probable Catalyst, to facilitate the summoning of a Servant is a difficult endeavor."


    "That seems like a worrying notion that should have been brought up sooner. I''m assuming that there is a reasonable solution to this problem?"


    "As we approach the time of deployment, Chaldeas and SHEBA have forseen the intervention of the Counter Force. The FATE system will be operable beyond its original limitations and summoning of Servants will be more essible."


    "Ah, The Counter Force is going to open a direct link as the path of least resistance." The Counter Force was basically a machine, it used the bare minimum energy necessary to solve any problem. Knowing that Chaldea is here, ready to resolve this Singrity, the Counter Force would see it and know it doesn''t have to expand energy, just open a path to the Throne to allow the FATE summoning system to operate without problems.


    And if the CHALDEAS and the SHEBA systems in ce were able to simte the world, peering at points in history, predicting the intervention of the Counter Force should be child''s y inparison.


    "Indeed, you have a good understanding of the underlying situation. I am impressed as I heard you have not had any official tutge connected to the Mages Association. When this matter is resolved, If you would be inclined, I would offer my rmendation to the Clock Tower."


    "...that''s very kind of you." And I was being sincere when I said that. A rmendation was not a trivial thing to give out. "But I will politely decline. I have no intention of going to the Clock Tower, I don''t feel I''ll fit in that well."


    "Understandable." He didn''t push the issue. "Regardless, I havee here to apologize once more for the conduct of my teammate."


    "It''s fine, it was already resolved as best as it could have been. I don''t hold you ountable for his actions."


    "No, as the leader, it is my fault, I will not shy away from that." He seemed to not want to budge on that aspect. "I wished toe sooner, but many problems took my attention. As I said previously, I wish to invite you to train with our Team. We have a simtion room set up with the data and the records of dozens of Servants that will allow us to properly simte a battle involving them. We use it often for our own training purposes, and I believe it would be beneficial if you brought along your team so they can see what they will be participating in if the timees."


    "A battle simtion involving Servants? Color me interested." I was immediately enthused by the idea.


    I knew that Chaldea had some interesting toys, but it just continued to impress more and more.


    "Wonderful, tell me when you have time prepared. I reserved the Simtion Room for the entirety of today if that is eptable. You may use them how you see fit."


    Well, I did have other ns, but when would they get this opportunity again?


    I pped my hands loudly, gathering everyones attention. "It seems like we have a change of ns. A-Team leader, Kirschtaria Wodime here offered the facilities used by the A-Team today. So, we''re going on a little field trip."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 343 - 310

    <h4>Chapter 343: Chapter 310</h4>


    Hinako Akuta POV


    "You have decided to watch as well, Hinako?"


    "I had some free time." I replied simply to Kirschtaria''s words.


    "Have you taken an interest in Takao Shimoda as well?" He inquired. "You offered to escort him previously. It is odd for you to take the initiative in such matters."


    An interest.


    I supposed he could call it that.


    Maybe I was too quick to reveal myself to him, but I couldn''t just let a Divine Spirit blunder into things and potentially wreck the ns I had. Who knew what would happen if he was revealed what I was. Humans are such capricious animals and Magi were even worse, dangle the right motivation infront of them and they would turn on a supposed ''teammate'' without a second thought.


    I''ve already had to run away from Magi in the past and seclude myself away from civilization for centuries. I knew all too well what Humans would do if they discovered me and I wanted nothing to do with them.


    I didn''t want to have to flee this ce after all the trouble I''ve gone through already. I was so close to being able to summon him. After so long, I would finally see my Lord Husband again and I didn''t want anything to get in the way of that.


    "A small amount."


    "Hmm, it is a good idea to understand the capabilities of the leader of B-Team. And there is the possibility he will be recing Beryl should the unfortunate ur." The Leader of our team nodded in approval.


    "Would it be unfortunate if Beryl recovered or if he didn''t." I scoffed at the thought of that man.


    I never had any good interactions with Witches the few times I ran into them. Why were they all so demented? It''s not like I care about Humanity either, but why do they have to act so disgusting about it. Beryl wasn''t even strange inparison to others of his kind, a mass murdering psycho who''s idea of a fun evening is going on a killing spree.


    There was a slight reaction from him, but he didn''t overly lean into it. "I understand that Beryl is not very well regarded, however, he was chosen by Marisbury for a reason. We should respect that decision above our own opinions."


    ....Oddly caring for a human, much less a Magus.


    Maybe that''s why I don''t get bothered by his presence.


    It made staying in this human facility much more bearable when I had to answer to him and not a more stereotypical Magus with their head shoved so far up their behind that they couldn''t see past their own inted sense of self-worth.


    It''s not hard to guess Marisbury''s thinking process. Despite everything Beryl was suited for the job being an expert in Curses and his unique perspective as a Witch would most likelye in handy. And hisck of morals meant that he wouldn''t care about who or what got in the way of solving the Singrity.


    Then there''s him.


    The one standing in the center of the simtion room.


    The Divine Spirit who imed to not be a Divine Spirit.


    He had Divinity and an Authority, what else could he be!?


    Though, there were other.....things about him. But it was difficult to urately gauge those when they were drowned by his Divinity, and I just assumed they were part of his Divine Attribute.


    I still don''t know why I epted his offer. I feel like a fool for believing him, even if the deal felt genuine on the surface. He swore on things that no Divine Spirit would ever lie about, but still...it was hard to trust that he would keep his word.


    I guess it wouldn''t harm me either way.....and the idea that I had a ''back up'' n didn''t hurt.


    Ugh, why did things have to get soplicated. I didn''t want to get involved in all this! I just wanted to summon my Lord Husband, not deal with Magus intrigue or a silent fight between whatever Lev was and whatever that person was!


    Speaking of....


    "It seems that some unexpected ones have gathered." I eyed Lev as he walked into the room, the Director following after him like a lost puppy.


    He was probably referring to me. It wasn''t a secret I tended to stick to myself most of the time. I rarely took the initiative to gather in a group like this.


    "Lev Lainur." Wodime greeted.


    "Kirschtaria Wodime." He politely nodded back. "And Hinako Akuta, a pleasant surprise. It''s hard to find you away from your room or the library these days." He smiled cheerfully.


    However, after the talk with that Divine Spirit, I now had the feeling that he was probing me.


    This man was obviously not human, but I never cared about that before. I wasn''t one to speak up about a non-human hiding themselves when I''d experience human''s cruelty first hand. Admittedly, he gave me an odd feeling, but he never showed a reason to distrust him.


    He left me alone most of the time, so I did the same.


    "I had some free time."


    "Is that so." He hummed. "Well, he is an interesting young man, is he not? I don''t fault you for wanting to get a better look at his capabilities."


    "I wouldn''t know." I shrugged. "But if he''s going to be participating, I may as well see it with my own eyes."


    "Indeed." He eyed me for a moment before turning his attention back towards the scene below.


    Why did his gaze feel unsettling? It felt almost like a warning.


    ...It wouldn''t hurt to keep an extra eye on him regardless.


    "Where is the rest of A-Team?" Olga stepped forward, that pitiful girl who tried her best to look authoritative.


    "I apologize, Director, I did not anticipate the attention this would receive. I did not give orders for my Team to assemble." Kirschtaria replied.


    It seemed that every time Kirschtaria opened his mouth the Director got annoyed.


    It almost made me feel bad for her. She was basically abandoned by her father because shecked the aptitude to be a Master or to Rayshift. He put all his effort into nurturing Wodime as a pseudo-heir in her ce. Then he suddenly dropped dead, leaving Olga to pick up the pieces and try to hold everything together when she never was properly set up to do so.


    Pitiful.


    Barely more than a figurehead.


    But it was none of my business.


    "Hmph, fine." The Director scowled. "It doesn''t matter. Let''s see how Shimoda handles Servant Combat."


    It''s surprising she''s even here. She usually stayed far away from anything involving Servant training. She always had a clear look of jealously whenever she was forced to be near.


    "He''s shown splendidbat aptitude against Beryl. I read his file on which Crafts he haspetency in. I can''t say I have any meaningful knowledge on Onmyoji, but Runecraft is not a very popr method of application inside the Clock Tower." Wodimemented.


    "Thankfully, we have our own expert in the field." Lev smiled, gesturing at me.


    I was annoyed that he drew attention to me like this. "I wouldn''t call myself an Expert. I have some knowledge about it, but it''s rare to see outside of Japan."


    "Don''t sell yourself short, Miss Hinako." Lev''s deceptively gentle smile ever present. "I''m sure you have quite a bit of experience. More than enough to call yourself an expert on such Eastern Crafts."


    I did not like the way he was being so direct with me.


    "How about we make this a little more interesting." Lev suddenly changed subjects.


    "Do you propose something, Professor Lev?" Wodime asked.


    "Only that we increase the difficulty just a smidgen." He said rather innocently. "If I''m not mistaken, you intended for the Fake Servants hemands to be randomized. Why not lower their parameters a few degreespared to his opposition?"


    "I can see the reasonable logic. However, are you sure you wish to do that on his first encounter with Servants even if they are merely facsimiles of the real ones?"


    "I fear that I may have done him a disservice beyond simply having Beryl act as he saw fit. I do not wish to see such a promising young Magus walk the path of arrogance that blinds him. I believe it would be a good lesson that he understands the degree of difficulty he will potentially face."


    It was....well-reasoned, but after talking with the man who called himself Takao Shimoda, I couldn''t help but see the underlining scheming. Maybe if he never brought it up previously, nor if I had watched them interact, I may have just ignored it.


    I don''t know why they seemed to be antagonizing one another, and I wanted nothing to do with it.


    "I don''t see the problem." The Director spoke up. "Lev''s thoughts are reasonable. Shimoda has shown to have a good head on his shoulders, it''s best to not let it swell toorge."


    ....That girl was just wrapped around his finger. I wondered if she even gave it a second thought or just agreed with him immediately.


    "...By your will, Director." Wodime, just bowed his head in acknowledgement.


    Really, that guy is surprisingly gentle.


    It''s probably out of respect for her father that he put up with her attitude and borderline hatred. He''s not so oblivious that he can''t see how envious she is of him and he just lets hersh out and doesn''t do anything to stop it.


    Well, it doesn''t matter. It''s not my concern, and I won''t butt into something that''s not my business.


    "May as well see what he''s capable of." I added my two cents.


    Maybe he''ll show off something he''s hiding? Divine Spirits'' aren''t really known for being subtle with a few exceptions.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    What an interesting ce.


    I had to hand it to Chaldea, when I was told their facilities were state-of-the-art by Gramps, I didn''t know by what standard he meant. Now, after seeing it, it was a genuinepliment by his own standard.


    I looked up to see my Team sitting in an observation room to the side, clearly excited and waiting for the show to start.


    And in another observation room above, I saw a few more faces. The True Ancestor ¨C correction, the Incarnated Elemental. Pretty much an Academic difference, but she got annoyed when I called her a True Ancestor. So, I suppose Elemental would be the more correct terminology.


    Hinako Akuta, a name I could guess was probably fake.


    And there was Kirschtaria Wodime as well, or as expected I should say. Our eyes met and he gave me a gentle nod of encouragement.


    I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong about someone. I expected the quintessential Magus, but I met one of the rare good ones.


    The Director also showed up. I shed her a smile and a slight nod, and she seemed very pleased with my acknowledgement.


    I was still trying to understand her more, but I already picked up that she seemed to preen when her authority was respected, so I made sure to do so when I could.


    And then there was Lev, looking right at me.


    "Sir Shimoda." Wodime''s voice carried over the room from where he stood above. It was a very polite and respected greeting, especially when Nobility was still a thing among Magi. "We will begin when you are ready. This is your first time, please don''t hesitate to ask questions."


    He already exined to me how this ce operated. Abination of many different field of Magecraft, it basically made a fake battlefield and produced simcrums in the form of Servants. From what he described, they used the gathered data to create very generic ss-types to fill in the expected slots.


    A very impressive training method since actual Servants would be used inbat in the future. While not a perfect representation of Servant capabilities, it was darn near impossible toe as close as they managed to.


    Thest benefit was that you couldn''t really get hurt here. Everything was a simtion, by the literal definition. You might feel sore and get a little tossed up, but these projections couldn''t kill you or meaningful harm you in any way.


    "I''m ready to begin." I replied.


    "Very well, we will being the ''summoning process''." He stated as my vision around the room changed. Solid illusions took hold, Bounded Fields in such massive quantities that the area became muchrger than the room was before. We were now in the middle of a destroyed city, rubble and mes filled the distance. "Randomized summoningmencing."


    Three figures materialized next to me. nk expressions on their faces, but I could guess their summoning based on they were holding.


    "Archer, Berserker, and Lancer are the three Servants you will be leading in this battle. You have Three ''Command Seals'' to use. And each of their Noble Phantasms can be activated one time. You have five minutes to familiarize yourself with their Statistical parameters, and their Noble Phantasms before the enemies will attack." His voice was abruptly cut off as soon as he finished.


    I looked down at my left hand, Three Command seals appeared on it.


    Funny, considering my Magic Resistance shouldn''t allow this to happen. But they weren''t real Command Seals. They were basically an illusion to represent the real thing.


    He did exin everything like this to me as if I were new to handling Servants.


    What a marvelous piece of Magical Technology they created.


    I wonder If I could create something like this back in Kyoto to help train everyone?


    Thoughts forter.


    For now, I mentally pulled up my Servants statistics. And by that, I basically just called upon the spells intertwined with the room to send me an image of theiryouts.


    They were...lower than anticipated. The highest was a ''B'' stat, which was my Berserker''s Strength. Everything else was more or less at ''C'' across all their boards with a few''D'' Ranks mixed in.


    Their Noble Phantasms were very straight forward as well.


    Berserker could basically be Immortal for a fixed duration. Archer could release a very powerful volley of Arrows. And Lancer could strike with a near unblockable attack.


    I see what he meant by generic in their application.


    I more or less had a n after seeing everything. I reached into my sleeves, taking out a handful of Talismans, pping a couple dozen onto my Lancer while also putting some on my other ''Servants''.


    "Archer, take the high ground." I stated, and my Servant immediately moved, jumping up the nearby building a couple dozen stories tall. "Lancer, hide nearby in one of the destroyed shops."


    The Lancer Servant immediately bolted off to the side, dashing into the copsed storefront.


    "Berserker, immediately attack the first melee orientated Servant that appears. Otherwise, shield me from any projectiles."


    A strange grunt was its response.


    Unfortunately, it''s not my Raikou here with me. I would much rather stare at those amazing legs of hers as she fought.


    Arge timer appeared above in the sky. The countdown began until the fight started.


    Once it hit zero, a few lights shed in the distance, obscured so that I couldn''t ce any figures, but I could easily tell there were new presences around.


    Another admirable creation was how these Servants felt real to the senses.


    I stood behind my Berserker, as something approached quickly


    It was another Lancer that covered the distance down the street in the blink of an eye. My Berserker roared in fury as it pushed off the ground to meet it.


    The collision sending shockwaves out in every direction. I frowned as I noticed the enemy Lancer equaled my Berserker in strength, not giving an inch.


    My Berserker was at arge disadvantage. No real weapon except itsrge fists, and sub par stats.


    From the other corner, another figure ran forward. The generic form of a Knight, sword in hand, as it''s metal greaves cracked the ground beneath its quick steps.


    "Archer, keep the Saber at bay!" I called out as arrows immediately began raining down from the sky. The enemy Saber dashing to the side, stopping its momentum to parry and dodge the hail of arrows.


    Though, I didn''t see the third servant anywhere. I was assuming it would be an even match, three versus three, but I suppose I couldn''t make any assumptions.


    My eyes darted around until I felt a presence distort the wind behind me.


    "Lancer." I called out and he moved right as Imanded.


    A Dagger appeared from the shadows,ing right for my back, only to be intercepted by a spear.


    An Assassin servant.


    I frowned as it was difficult to sense. Something I chalked up to the way the systems here replicated Presence Concealment. I wondered if it simply didn''t exist in a tangible form until right as it came close.


    The Assassin tried to jump back, slipping back into the shadows, but I ordered my Lancer to pursue.


    The Saber jumped up, as if to climb the building and seek out my archer. I flicked my hand, taking three Talismans between my fingers and they shot off, like shooting stars, they mmed into the Servant''s footing of the building, making the Saber Servant fall off.


    It caught the Saber by surprise, clearly struggling to find a foothold as its sword mmed into the side of the building to stop its descent. My Archer didn''t let the opportunity pass as it began unleashing a barrage of Arrows, several burying themselves into its body as it tried its best to defend.


    Lancer appeared back at my side as it appeared he lost sight of Assassin. I was assuming at this point that the Assassin servant had some kind of passive Noble Phantasm that allowed it to slip under detection easier.


    My Berserker was struggling with the enemy Lancer, cuts covered its body as it continued to roar furiously,rge hands mming down trying to get a hit in, but the Lancer kept dancing around the attacks.


    "Hold here." I told Lancer as I eyed the situation, waiting for an opportunity.


    I began Drawing Runes in the air, it wouldn''t do me good to show how adept I was at Runecraft. Better make it look like there was effort on my part.


    I held my hand up, signaling several of the Talismans on Berker''s body to explode.


    The impact sent Berserker stumbling, but the Lancer was taken way more off guard by the sudden attack. My Servant was the one to recover quicker due to his mind clouded by madness, grabbing the Lancer with one hand and furiously attacking with the other.


    It was at that moment that Assassin reappeared, Dagger striking at the back of my Berserker. I actualized a couple more Talismans stuck to its skin, a transparent shield covered its body stalling the Dagger for a moment before shattering, giving my Servant enough time to swing itsrge arm around, mming the Assassin Servant to the ground.


    "Bindings of Gaia!" I finally cast my Runic Spell, massive vines burst out of the ground, enveloping all three servants where they stood.


    "Lancer, use your Noble Phantasm on Saber!" I called out as Archer was retreating from the Saber Servant, avoiding its attack. Saber''s Magical Energy gathered together, and I was assuming it was about to release its Noble Phantasm.


    Immediately, Lancer shot off, enveloped in arge quantity of Magical Energy as it scaled the building in a split second, turning into a blur as its spear seemed to multiply, only to condense into a single point.


    The Saber Servant, seemingly sensing the impending attack, jumped back, Sword up in a guard as it braced itself and the power it had gathered a moment ago dispersing.


    With my Archer Servant no longer harassed, I continued. "Archer, use your Noble Phantasm on Lancer and Assassin, don''t worry about Berserker! And Berserker, use your own Noble Phantasm!."


    My Bindings of Gaia only needed to hold for the moment. The Servants easily ripped themselves free, but it was toote. My Archer gathered up a not insignificant amount of Magical Energy and released a barrage. Different than Atnta''s Noble Phantasm that was like a torrential Downfall. This was more like a condensed stream as the much smaller area was bombarded in a countless number of arrows.


    The two enemy Servants fell to the ground, dissipating into Magical Energy.


    I quickly threw out two more Talismans towards Lancer and Saber, arching around my own Servant who had just used their Noble Phantasm.


    Saber was hurt, but still going strong. It was about to counter attack my Lancer when my Talismans whipped through the air at it, causing Saber to halt their steps to sh at them.


    It was in that moment that Archer changed targets, making the Saber Servant retreat, but only to run into my rampaging Berserker who stopped it in its tracks. It only took a few more moments before the Saber was cornered form the triple assault of my Servants and fell as well.


    With the enemies defeated, my Servant went still and the area around us started to fade away and my Servants disappeared as well.


    I was greeted with the sight of a pristine white room. The only indication of anything having urred was where my own spells damaged the ground.


    I dismissed the vine that grew, and I could see the ground visibly begin to repair itself.


    Impressive.


    After another moment, the door to the room opening up, the faces from the room above were all present except for Lev.


    "Well..." I looked at the Director with a small smile. "How did I do?"


    The Director was speechless for some reason.


    [***]


    The chatper over on p.a.t.r.e.o.n. was giving me a lot of trouble yesterday, so I couldn''t get it out in time. Here''s Thursday''s chapter, and I''m probably going to crash when I get home from work since I was basically up all night finishing up, so it''ll be a littleter.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 344 - 311

    <h4>Chapter 344: Chapter 311</h4>


    "Y-you did adequately." The Director managed to eek out. "As expected from someone I made B-Team''s Leader."


    It''s kind of cute how she praises people through a roundabout manner like that.


    "A very intriguing disy, Sir Shimoda." Wodime spoke up at Olga''s side. "Forgive me for prying, but do you have previous experience with Servants? I couldn''t help but feel you had some familiarity in the way you executed your actions."


    Hmm, what to answer with?


    Knowing there were several different Grail Wars in the past few centuries, I did have some wiggle room to work with.


    "I happen to be acquainted with someone who participated in a Grail War, so I do have some knowledge of Servants. In addition to ample Combat Experience with regards to non-human entities, much of which were beyond the physical means of normal humans, I suppose you could say I have experience in situations like this and I just did what I normally do." I answered pointedly, not giving too much away, but letting theme to their own conclusions.


    "Why are we just finding out about this now." Olga huffed. "Even some basic second hand knowledge on Servantbat and how to operate with them would have been something worth noting."


    "I never had the opportunity to bring it up." I shrugged helplessly. "Was I just supposed to arrogantly blurt it out when the topic first presented itself?"


    "....fine." Olga grumbled. "But shouldn''t the paperwork you filled out before being epted have asked about previous history? Why was something like that glossed over?"


    "Actually, it barely covered anything beyond achievements that you would find in the Clock Tower. Things likebat experience, or misceneous experiences in that same vein werepletely ignored. Honestly, reading the recruitment paperwork, Chaldea sounded much more like a research institution."


    Olga opened her mouth and closed it again, bringing her palm up to her face. "Please tell me our recruiters didn''t ignore a very important aspect of recruitment for potential Master Candidates, Lev."


    "Apologies, Director, but Lev had disappeared as soon as the simtion ended." Wodime answered. "As did Miss Hinako shortly after."


    "Ugh." Olga groaned out again. "It seems I''ll have to audit our recruiters personally. I have no idea why that was missed by so many people, but we will at least be able to rectify it for the next batch of recruits.....aste as this correction is."


    "If I may make a suggestion." I spoke up again, breaking her from her scowling.


    "Speak, Shimoda."


    "It may be beneficial to look for anybat experience, not just focusing on things like Dead Apostle Hunts. Or in my case, fighting Youkai in the past. While those kinds of things are no doubt worthy of notice, if a potential recruit had experience in the military, that would also be a great boon. It''s nearly impossible to teach that kind of discipline to the random people we may find out and about without a lot of time and effort. The ability to keep calm under pressure, following orders without questioning them every step of the way, and handling extremely stressful and deadly situations."


    "A wise sentiment. I believe it is a perspective I would not have considered." Wodime looked thoughtful. "Such history is easy to overlook for vaunted Magi, that is easy to not even consider them."


    Olga red at him briefly before orientating herself. "I will look into it and update our recruitment parameters. Your advice is most wee, Shimoda."


    Mmm, sometimes your world view is so skewed that you just don''t consider certain things until someone pointed them out. Hell, Gramps and I are more than guilty for this same exact thing.


    And it would also be a great help if I had to leave. Finding someone to fill my spot would be easier if they knew how to lead teammates into battle.


    "Good, but I have some questions and I believe it prudent to go over yourbat session, as this was your first attempt." Olga continued on. "Don''t expect me to do this all the time. Since I was here, I may as well lend my expertise."


    "Shall I grab my team then?" I offered. "We should turn this into a lecture for them. Even if we''ve barely covered Servants in their full capacity, with the simtion fresh in their heads, it would be good to hammer in some details."


    [***]


    "Alright, everyone, listen up." Olga pped the chalk board at the front of the room. "Since it''s your first time seeingbat at that level, we''re going to do a break down of what you need to expect if you''re put into that kind of situation."


    Olga said before that she wasn''t going to get involved with B-Team as it was beneath her, but here she was. She maye off a little harsh, but she never did anything...detrimental. Theplete opposite from what I''ve seen thus far. She would always try her best to help with any problem that came her way.


    Yeah, she would huff and groan, but she would do what she needed to make sure her subordinates were content.


    "It''s a little early for you all, but you got your first taste of how things will go if you have to deploy." Olga swept her gaze around the room. "Shimoda here performed well above what was expected of him. You all are lucky to have someone adept giving you practical lessons."


    "Thank you, Director." I took her pause as cue to cut in. "So, as she said, we''re going to do a little talk about my simtion." I pped my hands, easing the tension a little in the room. Olga''s presence seemed to have the effect of making everyone slightly cower. It was understandable in their position, but I wanted them at ease. "We''ve barely covered the basics, but this is also a good opportunity as you all will be doing something simr in theing weeks. I don''t expect any of you to do.....well, good at all. But we don''t have the time to be gentle about our means."


    "A-Team was kind enough to offer a schedule for when they will not be using the Simtion room. Your Leader will be making your own schedule to fill in those gaps when he deems youpetent enough to take that step forward." Olga informed everyone.


    Which was nice of Wodime. I wouldn''t say it was cutting into A-Team''s training time as it was empty time slots, but it was nice all the same.


    He seemed like a genuinely nice guy.


    Unfortunately, he had other matters to attend to, so he had to leave.


    "Moving on." Olga grabbed a piece of Chalk and began writing on the board. The sses of Servants that appeared in the simtion. "You should be aware of the absolute basics by now after the few lectures you have participated in. The meaning behind the sses, for instance. We will start from the beginning. As well as Shimoda performed, what was his first mistake?"


    I was actually curios what she was going to point out.


    No one raised their hand, but it felt more rhetorical on her part.


    "What about you, Shimoda. What was your first mistake?"


    Well, I suppose in hindsight, I made a mistake from her perspective. "I put myself in the middle of the fight when I had the opportunity to take a step back."


    Olga looked at me for a moment before smiling slightly. "Indeed." She nodded in approval. "Servants are beyond the means of nearly every Magus. It''s a forgivable mistake in this circumstance, but it is not a good idea to stand in the middle of the fighting like he did. That isn''t to say that Masters are not involved, a Master is part of a Servant''s strength. You would do well to remember this. But at the same time, you are also the biggest weakness for a Servant. Your lives are much more valuable than your Servant''s as well, take that into ount in the future." She whipped her hands after writing on the board a few times. "Shimoda, recount the exercise from your perspective."


    "Yes, Director." I turned back to face my team. "Starting from the beginning. You covered Noble Phantasm ¨C very briefly, so I won''t delve too deep into the workings of those. They''re a Servant''s trump card, sometimes cards, ande in many different shapes and sizes. You''ll be able to see the Servant you make a contract with, their stats and their Noble Phantasms. I was able to learn right away that my Berserker could be invincible for a short duration, my Lancer had a very precise and near-instant attack that was hard to block, and my Archer had a wide-range kill shot."


    A hand went up as I gestured to him. "Go ahead, Samuel."


    "Howe the other, erm, Servants didn''t use their Noble Phantasms." He spoke the term with a little difficulty, perhaps feeling odd to say out loud.


    "A good question." Olga interjected. "Shimoda basically exined why, but he will give his own opinion."


    "I didn''t give them the chance." I said simply.


    "Good." Olga nodded. "It was not a fluke, or luck." She sounded actually a little proud if I were to be honest. "A Noble Phantasm generally costs an exorbitant amount of Magical Energy to release. It is not something to be used casually, a Trump Card is a valid exnation of what it usually means. There are exceptions, of course, but it holds true for most situations."


    "Going back to my set up." I took over once more. "I made my traditional Archer take the high ground ¨C"


    "Monsieur." Pierre put his hand up this time. "What do you mean ¨C traditional Archer?"


    "Another good question, and something we simply haven''t covered yet. sses are.....broad and simplified. Archer basically means ¨C any ranged Servant that isn''t a Caster."


    "An adequate simplification." Olga muttered. "Continue."


    "Right, so I made my Archer take the high ground. I didn''t have much time to set up a proper ambush, so I made use of the terrain. I set my Lancer merely out of sight so he could gain the initiative on his first engagement. And with my Berserker,plexmands wouldn''t be well received. We covered why they''re called Berserker, so I won''t delve into that. So I made him my ...well, to put it simply, he was my meat shield."


    "Hey Boss." Samuel put his hand up next. "So, don''t mean to be a downer. But you did a bunch of Spells and stuff. We don''t know any of that, how are we supposed to copy what you did"


    I was about to answer, but Olga stepped in. "Your situation is different, admittedly. But you will be provided abundant resources by Chaldea. We will be creating personal Mystic Codes for each of you that will help you if the situation calls for it."


    They stared nkly at her for a moment. "Magical Items." I rified.


    Olga blinked, a sh of a flush for a moment. "....thank you, Shimoda." She said quietly before clearing her throat. "In addition, you will be learning to work as a team to ovee obstacles like this."


    "Also, my Talismans aren''t particrly difficult to use." I pursed my lips, thinking it over. "Get Reinforcement down, and I''ll start teaching you all how to use them and make sure you''re all outfitted with an assortment."


    Atleast the basic Talismans weren''t difficult to use. Nothing more than one-time use Mystic Codes. Channel Magical Energy, activate their effects. Things like the Shielding Talisman, a Healing Talisman, a few basic Elemental Talismans, etc. I had a lot I prepared beforehand. The benefit was their ease of use andck of Magical Energy required, the draw back being their strength wasckingpared to the equivalent of a spell cast through ''normal'' means.


    Sc¨¢thach didn''t let me leave until she thought I made adequate preparations for nearly every situation. Honestly, it was just her way of showing her concern and caring about me.


    They noticeably perked up, and I couldn''t fault them. Who wouldn''t be excited about ''ying'' with ''Magic''.


    "If that is sorted, we will continue." Olga actually sounded a little enthusiastic, despite her earlier im that that she wouldn''t be helping B-Team and it was beneath her. Her eyes were lighting up with a certain.....gleefulness that I hadn''t seen before. "Now, let''s go over hisbat strategy, and themands he issued."


    [***]


    "Thank you for your help, Director." I said as the Team filed out of the room. We had been in a discussion for well over three hours, and Olga barely even noticed.


    "Yes, well, I was just doing my duty as your Senior and the Director." She always preened under praise.


    "Having you here helped them greatly, I''m sure. I find it unlikely that any other experience Magi would be so willing to spend their time to help them."


    "....It wasn''t a bother." She said in a hushed tone. "They actually listened to me, so it wasn''t unpleasant." Thest bit was added with barely a whisper.


    And I felt like there was a lot to unpack with what she said. But I was going to pretend to not hear her, I don''t think she meant to voice her thoughts like that.


    Jeez, she must have had it rough if something like this was enough to make her so happy. I said before that it must have been stressful to run an Organization like this, especially after her father passed. But maybe I was just underestimating what she actually had to do to get this far and keep her position.


    "You have done well, Shimoda." She returned to her rather stoic expression. "I''m pleased that you handled yourself so well in the simtion, and you have good theoretical knowledge that I don''t findcking. Since you are the Leader of B-Team, I believe you can be let into one of the secrets we''re keeping."


    "Secret?" I repeated, a lot more interested now.


    Could this be a clue I was looking for? I hadn''t been able to pick out any major problem yet. Sure, Lev was a big red g, but that hadn''t crossed into the boundary of problem on the same scale as what this Singrity represented.


    Not to mention the other things I''ve met here.


    "As you know, Servant Summoning through the FATE system has only a miniscule possibility of seeding right now. Fortunately, we have been able to summon a singr Servant and they have been a great help to Chaldea." Olga informed me. "I will take you to meet Caster."


    "Caster?" I blinked. "Are they a traditional Caster or someone who just fills the role?" While I was a little sad that it didn''t go the direction I thought, it was still interesting to meet another Servant.


    "A traditional Caster." Olga replied. "I mentioned Mystic Codes for B-Team, we can discuss what you should need with her as she will be the one to fulfill those request. She has taken over certain duties since her summoning, some of which involves the production of Mystic Codes."


    "Fascinating." Unfortunately I couldn''t reveal myself, I would love to talk shop, but I had to keep mypetency a secret beyond what I''ve already shown.


    Olga began leading me out the room and down the hall. "Please remember that her existence is a secret. I don''t want to have to deal with outsiders wanting to bother her for their own personal gain."


    Yeah, a Caster ss Servant would undoubtedly have knowledge that most Magi would salivate over.


    "Who else knows?"


    "A-Team, Roman, Lev, Myself and a select few more of the staff that she has to interact with. She does wander around from time to time, but her existence as a Servant is a Secret."


    "Noted, I''ll be careful about it in the future." I stated aswe approached an end of the Facility I had yet to visit until now. I was able to sense many different kinds of Bounded Fields and defense mechanisms. "Are we approaching personal workshops?"


    "You noticed." Olga eyed me inquisitively. "You have good senses. I noticed when Assassin attacked you in the simtion and you called for your Lancer before he even appeared. It''s a shame you haven''t had the opportunity to apply to the Association for your talent to blossom."


    "I thank you for the praise, but I don''t think I would fit well in that environment."


    "Regardless, this is where personal workshops of the staff are housed. I don''t think I need to tell you what that entails. If you''re found trying to break into one, being fired may be the least of your concerns. But I don''t suspect I will have to watch you for that." She continued onwards, several more Bounded Fields washed over us. "Caster has two Workshops, a public and a private one. She can be found in her Public one most of the time, and if the situation calls for it, you can approach and attempt to contact her."


    "Anything I should know about this Caster Servant?"


    "They are.....entric." Olga twitched a little bit. "Here we are." Olga didn''t even give a knock of courtesy, she pushed the door right open.


    "Director, you''re here!" A cheerful voice greeted us.


    "Caster." The Director returned curtly.


    I peeked in to a see who spoke. A woman wearing a bright blue and red set of garments that wouldn''t be out of ce at a renaissance festival, yet at the same time, had a modern touch with a skirt that showed off some very beautiful legs. She had bright blue eyes, shoulder length brown hair, and what could be described as a gorgeous face.


    "Oh my, who''s this?" Caster looked at me. "Ah, you''re Takao Shimoda. I had a few moments, so I watched your simtion battle. Onmyoji, an interesting bit of Magecraft. It took me a few minutes to figure it out. Not very difficult, but it was fun."


    I blinked. "....thank you?"


    "What do you mean you watched?" Olga narrowed her eyes.


    "Mm, I hacked into the surveince." She said as if it was unimportant. "But, introductions are now required!" She spun around once in her chair before jumping to her feet. "You were admiring my body, as expected. Continue looking at this model of perfection that I crafted for my vessel. Gaze upon my genius and splendor, for no beauty could match that which I have created. And are you wondering who stands before you in such perfection? It is I, Da ¨C "


    "Eight out of ten."


    The Caster came to a screeching stop. "Pardon?"


    "You said you made that body? I''m assuming it wasn''t the form you were supposed to be summoned in, but your preference by your admittance of crafting it. I give it an eight out of ten, not bad."


    Why did it suddenly get a lot colder in the room?


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / storyforone

 Chapter 345 - 312

    <h4>Chapter 345: Chapter 312</h4>


    "Haha, I think I misheard you." The Servant giggled menacingly. "I think you called my greatest work only an Eight out of ten."


    "You''re basically just copying yourself. How could you call this your greatest work?" I replied. "You were going to introduce yourself as Leonardo Da Vinci, yes?" She nodded. "Oh, by the way, do you still want to be called that? I don''t want to presume since you made yourself a woman."


    It was easy to guess her identity once I took a look around the room in addition to some other small clues. There were drawings and blueprints with designs that were rather iconic and conntected to a well known artist.


    She blinked, smiling lightly as the tension eased. "That''s sweet. I don''t really care about Gender. Man, woman, what''s the difference, my Genius transcends all of that. So, feel free to just call me Da Vinci-chan~"


    "Da Vinci it is." I nodded. "I''m actually a little bit of a fan."


    "Oh?" She perked up. "What one of my works is your favorite?"


    "That''s hard to decide." I tapped my chin. "I want to pick out one specific project of yours, but honestly, I think my favorite overall were the plethora of designs that basically predicted a lot of modern inventions. Though, honestly, all of your works are cultural icons that make it hard to choose a favorite."


    "Those old things?" She flipped her hair back with a bright smile. "Those was just some doodles I scribbled when I was bored. But I suppose it''s to be expected from a genius like myself."


    "I wish I had been told you were here beforehand; I would have prepared something proper to ask for your autograph."


    She let out a cuteugh. "Oh, that''s kind of you to say. I really do appreciate that my works have managed to survive and continue to inspire people even centuriester."


    ".....what''s happening." Olga said in confusion. "You insulted her looks, and now she''s happy."


    "That was that, and this is this." Da Vinci shrugged. "It''s obvious for him tovish me with praise, even if he seems to be a bore that can''t recognize beauty perfected when he sees it.."


    "She introduced herself as a craftsman, not a model of sorts. I was critiquing her work in that same spirit, not insulting her looks." I defended myself. "And I disagree that it''s a representation of perfection."


    I would never be so crass to just wantonly critique a woman''s looks with tant disregard. However, it was obvious she had been promoting herself as the crafter, more so than propping herself up through her own looks.


    "I suppose everyone''s entitled to an opinion, no matter how wrong it is."


    "I couldn''t agree more."


    We stared at one another for a moment, a twitching smile was on her face. "Says the person whose eyes lingered on my legs for an extra .32 seconds."


    "Well, they''re nice legs." Was she trying to fluster me?


    Hah!


    Though, the corners of her lips curled up. "They are, aren''t they?" She looked at me coquettishly, her dainty hand lowered down to the hem of her skirt, a single finger tugging on it, raising it up an inch. "One might even say perfect."


    "W-what are you doing you perverted Servant!" Olga squeaked out. I almost forgot she was there, as Da Vinci understandably held my full attention for the moment. But the Director was sporting a very red face as she threw her finger at the Servant in usation. "B-Be decent you scoundrel!"


    "You can marvel at my perfect form as well, Director, I don''t mind~" The Servant stopped her act with augh, plopping back into her seat. Though, she did have a little smug look about her when she noticed I gave her Legs another nce. "Can''t take your eyes away, hmm? It seems that someone isn''t being honest."


    "I''ve seen better." I said nonchntly, making her smile twitch again.


    "Hmph, ying hard are you? I''ll make you admit to my perfection sooner orter." She rxed, the yfulness of hers settled back down. I could more or less parse her personality from the first few moments. I didn''t feel like she would be truly insulted when I made thatment. "Atleast you''re more fun than most of the other Magi here, stuffy blowhards."


    "I''ll take that as apliment from the great Da Vinci." I chuckled. "Even if that''s not much of a threshold to ovee."


    "Will you two stop flirting!" Olga stomped her foot.


    "Oh fine." Da Vinci exhaled. "I guess we''ll get started on the boring stuff, then I can go back to my own projects. What can I do for you, Director? I assume it has something to do with the blind Magus you brought. Do you need me to make him a Mystic Code to repair his vision? That may be a task that even a Genius such as I would find difficult."


    "It''s weird, I''ve never had a problem with my vision before." I replied with a rather dry tone. "Maybe it''s someone else who''s blind and projecting a little bit here."


    "Enough." Olga huffed. "I don''t care if you two hate each other but stop bickering and wasting my time."


    "I don''t hate her." I shook my head.


    "Why would you think that?" Da Vinci also blinked in confusion.


    Olga covered her face, letting out a groan. "Just.....let''s settle what we came here for. We were going to request ¨C"


    "Mystic Codes for those cute B-Team members you''re training, yeah, I know." Da Vinci interrupted. "I mostly got the designs ready."


    "....how?" Olga questioned softly.


    "Did you not hear me earlier when I said I hacked the surveince system for the training rooms?" Da Vinci once again said it withplete nonchnce. "Do keep up."


    "Wonderful, that saves some time." I interjected, noticing the fuming expression that Olga had. "What were your thoughts?"


    "Tricky, tricky." Da Vinci tapped her chin. "But I managed to get something that should work. You may give me your praise." She beamed/said/preened as she grabbed a piece of paper out of a stack at the desk she was sitting at, shoving it into my hands.


    I looked it over and couldn''t help but be impressed. "Did you copy the idea of my Talisman Shield and add it on?"


    ....how long ago did I even show that off?


    "It was a quaint spell." She shrugged. "For people who have no knowledge of Spell craft I had to tone down any of my usual inventions to something they could properly manage."


    "Give me that." Olga growled, still seething as she tugged it out of my hands. "A modified uniform, eptable. You added in Spells with a single activation phrase. The power is limited, and you focused nearly entirely on utility. I suppose it''s the best we can expect in these circumstances."


    "Using a form of Discement Magecraft, the Shielding Spell can be used on oneself or the target of choice." I leaned over Olga''s shoulder, further reading the document. "An elegant change and one I hadn''t considered. Even more so when it stillpletely retains the simplicity of pointing and saying ''Shield'' to actualize."


    It will certainly be a useful tool, and one capable for them to learn to use without much effort.


    "Of course, who do you think I am?" Da Vinci preened. "I had to make room for something like that, along with the Healing Spell, and for offense I included a Gandr Spell. Obviously, they all have a set amount of uses before they have to recharge, but forplete beginners, it''s the best I can manage. That being said, it originally included a strengthening spell, but that''s pointless if you''re teaching them Reinforcement. So....you have room to add another spell if you''re fine with what I''ve created already; even though we both know the answer to that."


    The smuggness in her tone was not hidden whatsoever. "What about a binding spell simr to what I used?"


    She tapped her chin in thought. "I can manage that easily enough."


    "When do you think you can have them all done, so I can schedule them to get some practiel use with the training simtion?"


    "Today''s Tuesday so ¨C Friday, since I do have something else I need to wrap up." She hummed.


    "Really? You can get them all done in threeish days? That''s really impressive." I was beingpletely genuine. Looking over the designs for their uniforms, it wasn''t standard material she was going to work with. And she was going to make some decent Mystic Codes, as simplified as possible, which was not an easy take, and get it all done in a few days.


    "Well, I can have 80% of it done three days." She said cheerfully.


    I had to resist the urge to let out a sigh. "You''re going to hold a grudge, aren''t you?"


    "Let''s call it eight tenths of a grudge."


    Ah well, I suppose I asked for that.


    I like her though.


    [***]


    I hummed to myself as I walked down the corridors of the facility. A small smile and nodded as I greeted the other staff members.


    I''ve been here for.... A couple weeks now, give or take a day or two. At this point, I think my face was bing familiar.


    And I could more or less figure out where everything was here. Having explored the corners when I had free time meant no more getting lost!


    With a pep in my step, I pushed open the door leading to the facilities library. It was open to basically anyone, but it was practically empty this time of day. I think it got most of its useter in the evening when a good portion of the staff clocked out.


    One of the benefits of the job was the extensive amount of knowledge they gathered here. There was a good chunk of the staff that were Magi of first and second generations. They mostlyposed of non-essential positions, but in return for their several years of service, they could have ess to things like this. A library filled with many different crafts, albeit nothing of any true secrecy but some rare and obscure works could be found here. It was leagues beyond the resources avable to those first and second-generation families that were trying to muddle through by themselves without any foundation.


    This was of course, just one of many benefits the staff here would receive for their work. They were dedicating literal years of their life to this ce, but they were certainly not losing out for their contributions.


    Once I stepped through the threshold, I did notice someone else in here. "Fancy seeing you here." I waved to Hinako who sat quietly in a corner, reading a book. She obviously noticed me when I walked in.


    "Did you need something or did you juste here to bother me?" The Elemental mmed her book shut, sending me a re.


    "I didn''t even know you were here." I blinked in confusion at her sudden burst of anger. "But if I didn''t know any better, I''d say you were avoiding me." I haven''t seen her since the day in the simtion room awhile ago.


    And despite Wodime''s insistence on my training with A-Team, they haven''t had any team training exercises recently.


    "I was." She huffed.


    "Do you really have to be so blunt about it, maybe spare my feelings a little? I don''t think I''ve done anything to earn this kind of response."


    "You ckmailed me."


    "Because you basically kidnapped me and tried to ckmail me first."


    "I did not kidnap you." She scowled.


    "What do you call forcing a young and impressionable youth to a dark corner away from prying eyes?" I countered.


    "Young and impressionable?!" she scoffed.


    "I''m barely in my twenties, y''know."


    "Like I would believe that." She apanied that a very visible eye role.


    "And that''s only because I spent time in a ce that time flowed differently. Based on my birthday, I''m barely out of high school. Actually, I''m a high school drop out."


    It was still a funny thought. Honestly, I think the only one who would care about that would be Venna, and not in the way of being ashamed or anything. I don''t think she cares about human education. Speaking of, I should call her, well, her and the others. I think it might be important with her since she''s the newest to my Harem and as such I wanted to make sure she knows I value our rtionship


    "I can''t tell if you''re lying or not and it''s concerning me."


    "Why would I lie about something like this?" I shrugged, not really caring if she believed me or not.


    "How would I know why one of your kind does anything?"


    "One of my kind? That sounds vaguely racist. And you don''t even know what race I am, considering my mother was human, I''m pretty sure you have no idea." I faced the nearest bookshelf, looking over the titles.


    "I am not racist!"


    "Sounds like something a racist would say." I barely held back the snicker as I pulled a book from the shelf. I briefly flipped through the pages before putting it back. "But you keep assuming I''m a Divine Spirit when I''m really not. As I said, I''m barely into my twenties and my mom was human."


    "Then how else do you have Divinity and an Authority! That''s not just something you can pick up on the street." She huffed in annoyance.


    I turned back and looked at her with apletely straight face. "I usurped it from the deity I killed." I didn''t borate and turned back around.


    Another scoff I heard told me that she wasn''t believing me.


    Oh well.


    "Though, I was adopted by a Goddess. I go to visit her sometimes, she''s really sweet. Oh, and one of my best friends is a Goddess, I go to her death realm to visit her sometimes as well. And then there''s my lover who''s an Eldritch Goddess ¨C"


    "Stop mocking me." She growled, mming her book on the table.


    "If you say so." I whistled innocently, going back to doing what I was doing.


    Specifically, I was looking for a few books on theory for my team to study in their down time. I couldn''t keep shoving lectures down their throats and running their bodies rampant. They did need some down time but that could be spent casually reading some helpful materials.


    The only issue was that I was not a beginner, and I was having trouble filling in all the gaps they would need. It''s been.....way too long since I had to think with that mindset. Even when I regained my memories, I never thought of myself as a novice. Sure, I was not well equipped and had to build myself back up, but my foundation was solid beyond reproach.


    That''s not to mention all the misceneous knowledge I umted in my past life that I inherited.


    "What are you looking for." I cast a sideways nce at Hinako who had approached me by her own ord. Her tone was a lot....softer than it was just moments prior.


    "Want me out of your hair quicker? Rx, I''ll stop bothering you once I get what I came here for." I put another book back onto the shelf, ignoring her presence.


    "Look, I''m sorry, alright? I didn''t meant toe off as a bitch. I''m just.....not used to dealing with other people, and you''re.....making me nervous by just being here." She said quietly. "You''re right, I was the one who forced us together and started everything."


    I looked at her for a moment before relenting. Honestly didn''t expect her to apologize, she seemed like the type to keep doubling down regardless of the circumstances. "Alright, apology epted. I can understand where you''reing from. Even if we reached an agreement, I''m sure you''ve been feeling anxious about everything. I don''t know what this Servant means to you, but obviously they''re very important that you don''t want your chances ruined." And it was left unsaid that my own offer, that she seemingly eptedst time, she was still a little skeptical about.


    "....my husband." She whispered. "He was my husband."


    "Oh." I was unsure of how to respond to that.


    There was a small but awkward silence that ensued before she spoke up again. "What are you looking for, maybe I can help?" She offered, and I happily took the chance to change the subject. I did not expect her to be so honest like that and it took mepletely off guard.


    "Study materials for my team for their down time. They''replete and utter novices, as you know, so I wanted something to help them learn and put them in the right mind set. Maybe a couple books on self-hypnosis since I will be touching on that soon enough."


    "I''ll check on the other shelf, and start pulling things off I think will help." She replied, immediately going to the side to start scanning through the books. "I haven''t found anything yet."


    ".....yeah, we just started looking."


    "No, I mean, I was looking into things, quietly of course, and I haven''t found anything out of the ordinary about what''s going on." She rified, taking a book off and tossing it on the nearby table before continuing.


    "You mean you didn''t conveniently overhear someone''s diabolic ns as they conveniently exined it step by step in detail?" I let out a faux noise of surprise.


    The Elemental let out a snort of amusement. "Unfortunately, no convenient viinous monologue."


    "Mmm, have you tried putting Lev infront of a mirror? Maybe he''ll start practicing when no one''s watching."


    "....after you mentioned him, he''s been giving me an unsettling feeling. I knew he wasn''t human already, but I didn''t really care. But now that I''m paying attention, it''s obvious he has something against you. And I have no idea what he is."


    "He was antagonistic the moment I first met him. And oddly enough, I feel the same way towards him, and I have no idea why. My current theory is that our bloodlines just don''t mesh well, but...I''m not entirely convinced."


    "I don''t suppose you''re going to tell me what you are?"


    "What aren''t I? I''m part God, part Dragon, Part Angel, Part Devil, Part ¨C"


    "Can you be serious?" She huffed, tossing another book onto the growing pile. "I guess it''s not my ce. Not like I go around wanting humans to know about my background."


    I smiled and chuckled lightly. "It''s not like I expected this to be easy. But I also appreciate the effort."


    "I did it for what you promised." She grunted, tossing onest book onto the table before stopping. "And this should be enough for now, what do you think?"


    I carried a few more books myself, adding them to the pile. "Looks good, thanks."


    "You''re really acting as B-Teams leader." She said, looking over what we collected. "You''re not just ying around."


    "Of course. The moment they put their lives into my hands, I made a promise to do what I could to make sure they survive while we settle this singrity. Honestly, I hope they don''t get deployed, but I''ll do what I can to help them if they do."


    "Does that include revealing yourself?" She asked.


    I paused only for a brief moment. "They''re my subordinates, I''ll do what I have to in order to protect them."


    "....I''m starting to believe you aren''t a Divine Spirit. The ones I''ve met in the past would never care about humans like you apparently do."


    "I think that''s the nicest thing you''ve said to me."


    She crossed her arms with an eye roll. "Don''t get used to it."


    I couldn''t help but chuckle a little bit. Looking at her rxed posture, I thought maybe we could actually get along. "Takao Shimoda."


    "What?" She looked at me in confusion.


    "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot before" I held my hand up. "Takao Shimoda, it''s the name my mom gave me. It''s not the name I normally use, but it''s not necessarily fake either."


    She looked down at my hand before letting out a sigh and taking it in hers. "Hinako Akuta, It''s not my real name, but it''s what I go by here."


    I think I saw the tiniest hint of a smile as she said that.


    [***]


    Meant to release this chapter with the one earlier today, but I only got like 3 hours of sleep and couldn''t do it in time.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 346 - 313

    <h4>Chapter 346: Chapter 313</h4>


    "Sorry I''mte, Director." Roman said as he scurried into the room holding a stack of papers.


    "You''re alwayste." The Director, seemingly used to Roman''s tardiness, just rolled her eyes.


    "Director, you''re always so mean to me." Roman slumped his shoulders with a sigh, setting the paperwork down on the nearby table.


    "Then stop fooling around." She huffed. "Did you bring what I asked?"


    "Of course." He smiled warmly. "I have the medical documents you asked for, and everything else."


    "Will Roman be staying while we conduct the test?" I asked.


    Olga looked contemtive. "It would be beneficial if he was on standby."


    It''s funny, as much as sheined about the effort she put to help with B-Team matters, saying how it was beneath her and everything, she genuinely seemed to like being involved in some capacity. More so than just a ''keep me informed'' mentality that I originally thought she meant. No, she often made time toe on over to inspect everything and even sometimes give lectures or advice.


    "Test for what?" Roman blinked. "And hello, Takao!" He gave a warm greeting.


    Honestly, the few times I''ve met him since the whole Beryl debacle, he had been very friendly to me.


    "Hello, Roman." I chuckled.


    Night and daypared to the other Roman.


    "We''re going to conduct the first Self-Reinforcement test on a B-Team member." Olga briefly exined. "Shimoda here tried a different approach to their training, and we''re going to see if it''s worth it to continue down this path or if we need to scrap it for something more practical."


    We were right around the point where we had tomit on a direction otherwise time limits wouldn''t allow us to do anything. At this point, if Olga felt like it was a wasted effort, we still had time to focus on something else as the Singrity deployment approached.


    "Oh right." Roman nodded. "I heard you were doing that. I can''t say I necessarily agree with inexperienced Magi like them attempting something like this, but I can also see the logic. It''s the most well rounded spell for nearly any given situation."


    "And I was specifically going to focus on their lower half. Basically, I wanted them to have the best tool to just get out of harms way with. Nothing can really beat being able to run away quickly."


    Roman looked like he agreed with my thinking. "I guess it''s my job, regardless of where I am."


    "How surprising, you remember you have a job." Olga said dryly.


    "Director..." Roman whined.


    "What? Do you think I don''t know where you disappear to when trying to skip work!?" She huffed with arms crossed. "And I know all about your secret stashes of sweets. Caster showed me all of them."


    "W-what, no, Leo wouldn''t do that!"


    "She would if I threatened her budget!"


    "Nooooo, Director, please don''t touch my snacks."


    "Then I better see you doing your job." She harumphed.


    I couldn''t help but smile at the pair. They really did get along well, despite the harsh way she was chiding him, it didn''t really feel like she was actually upset.


    "Hmph." Olga ignored his continued please as she reached for the stack of papers. "Who''s going to be first, Shimoda."


    "I want to choose Samuel." I replied having given it thought previously. "He''s not the most talented out of the bunch, but he''s never tried to push boundaries and he''s very hard working. Good at following directions and rather meticulous"


    "Twenty six years old, born to a wealthy family in Texas. Grew up on a farm and graduated College near the top of his ss." She summarized the information provided. "His Medical report looks alright, nothing that would stand out....a low amount of Circuits, but they are average in quality. Not bad considering he was randomly brought in without any real pedigree to speak of."


    "Out of curiosity, are there any talented ones among them?" Roman asked. "I mean....not in a bad way, I''m not trying to say they''re untalented or anything...." He awkwardly tried to correct himself.


    "I get what you mean, no harm done." I assured him. "Well, it seems the youngest is probably the most talented. Benjamin, conveniently grew up in London."


    Olga didn''t keep track of the minute details of B-Team as a whole, she had to rummage through the pile of papers to find who I was talking about. "Twenty Two years old, College dropout." She frowned, skimming over most his information. "Parents are in prison, joined a gang for several years...." She continued to scowl. "Did we really hire such a scoundrel?" She looked up in disbelief with a scoff. "Atleast he stopped selling drugs on the corner of the street like a vagrant before being recruited."


    "Not everyone is dealt a good hand in life, Director."


    Olga frown deepened, looking at me before relenting with a sigh. "I haven''t heard of him misbehaving, so I won''t question it." She shook her head for a moment before flipping pages. ".....Below average quantity of Circuits, but high quality. Of course the drug dealer would have the best Circuits out of all of them. I know scions of noble families that have worse Circuits."


    "He''s a good kid, just a little too yful." I leaned back against the desk. "Give it a few years and he might be someone worth picking up."


    The Director snorted again. "We''ll see when his contract is up. If he shows promise, I can rmend him to some ces."


    That was about the best I could do. If Benjamin wanted to pursue a career in this world, he was more than wee to after his tenure at Chaldea. I would see if I could help the others of my team once everything was settled.


    I pushed myself up off the corner of the desk, giving a light p. "Alrighty, shall we get this show on the road?"


    [***]


    "Wee, Samuel Washington." Olga was sitting in a chair as Samuel stood straight, trying not to appear nervous infront of her.


    "Director." He greeted very directly, earning a nod from her.


    Good, he''s learned well. If you don''t know how to respond to someone in these kind of circumstances, be very simple but polite in the greeting, in this instance, using her title.


    "Let''s see, you''ve been with Chaldea for a little over a month at this point. How have you settled in?" She looked up from the papers in herp.


    "It''s been difficult, Ma''am." He said honestly.


    Olga wasn''t put off but his admittance. "It''s good to be honest. I understand how our world may be hard for you to limate to." She had a rare smile about her as she continued. "We called you here because we''re going to begin the next phase in your training. Know that your Team Leader has been training you in a very unorthodox fashion, understandably due to the time constraints we''re operating under. This is both a test for him and yourself to see how you perform, are you okay to proceed?"


    "Boss has been good to us, Ma''am, I don''t know much about how things are supposed to be, but he''s treated us well and been helping us a lot. I trust Boss to be doing his best."


    Jeez, he was going to make me blush.


    Olga had a strange look about as Samuel spoke. "Good, let''s begin with activating your Circuits."


    Samuel nodded, holding his arm out and a couple secondster they were filled with the familiar patterns lighting up under his skin.


    "Roughly two seconds to activate, not horrible." Olga noted, writing something down. "Especially after only having about a month to practice with them. But I expect it to be near instantaneous in theing weeks."


    "I''ll keep practicing, Director."


    "See that you do." She said with a small amount of encouragement. "We''ll begin the first test, Shimoda present him with the object."


    "Here you go, Samuel." I tossed him a ss Orb, just like he''d been practicing with before. "Do the same that you''ve been doing and tell us when you''re done."


    Samuel nodded, holding it up to his eyes as he very clearly began to concentrate. It took longer than just to activate his Circuits, probably about thirty seconds in total before he rxed slightly. "I''m done."


    Olga lifted herself off the seat, stepping forward to take it from his hand. "Standard Reinforcement, consistent frequency of parallel augmentation with an ovepping matrix of Magical Energy." She held it up to the light. "Surface level is pristine, crystalline structure shows only very minor damage from spell cast, advisable for some inspection on the micro level fractures for the future. Otherwise, high marks." Olga replied, a rare amount of praise leaving her lips. "However, there is onest test." Olga reeled back her arm, nted her foot on the ground and threw the Orb hard at the wall. Perhaps with more force than necessarily as the wind whipped with her movement.


    The ss Orb mmed into the wall, but it didn''t shatter into pieces. It deformed, cracked and nearly imploded into itself, but it still retained a nearly solid shape as it bounced onto the ground.


    "Erm, guess I didn''t do too well." Samuel said awkwardly.


    "Nonsense." Olga replied, beating me to it. "Do you expect a ss Orb to sustain no damage even with a cast of perfect Reinforcement with the force I used?" She flipped her hair back. "The Nature of the Reinforcement spell is to augment and strengthen the concept of the object in question. Regardless, it is still a ss object, holding the understanding and Mystery of brittle and delicate. Yes, there is room for improvement, but it did not shatter and retained its form in a general shape. It was a good cast, well done."


    "...thanks." Samuel said kind of awkwardly again.


    "I couldn''t have said it better myself." I walked up, patting Samuel on the shoulder. "But don''t get too happy, the next part is going to be difficult."


    "He''s right. And as the head Doctor on staff, I''m going to warn you again of the dangers of using Reinforcement on yourself. I don''t think I need to go into detail after seeing all your failures." Roman walked over, picking up the deformed ss Orb. "It won''t be pretty if things go wrong."


    "I....want to try, sir." Samuel resolved himself.


    "Good, you have courage." Olga smiled lightly at his insistence on continuing. "Keep Roman''s words in mind, but do remember, we have medical facilities that are beyond what you can imagine. Don''t be afraid to fail, that''s why we have the set up as we do."


    She was being weirdly gentle with the whole thing.


    I''m starting to wonder if she just has a hard time connecting with people and just defaults to her normal Director attitude for every situation. That and it must be very tiresome and stressful to handle Chaldea''s matters on her lonesome.


    I don''t think she''s a bully or something that likes to lord herself over others. So, given the situation, she''s probably acting more in tune with her true self.


    "I''ll be helping you along this time." I reassure him. "Take a seat, cross legged, I''ll help be your guide for the first few times so you can get a good idea of what to do."


    "You may proceed when you are ready." Olga said, not rushing us.


    Samuel nodded, taking a seat as I put a hand on his shoulder. "Don''t fight my Magical Energy, you should know the feeling now, so just rx."


    Granted, his body would do it unconsciously as all would, but if he where to actively struggle it would be more detrimental and likely dangerous.


    "We''re going to focus on a single part, specifically your legs." I told him, getting a good look at his inner workings with the help of Structural Grasp. "Normally, this kind of spell work would involve another Spell, Structural Grasp, which allows you to view the inner workings of something at its most basic. However, inplexity, it can rival Reinforcement on just theory and learning alone. With the time constraints, we''re skipping that step to get you all to have a general idea of how much you can push yourself without self-harming."


    "Got it, Boss." Samuel closed his eyes and I was feeling rather warm by how much he was trusting me right now. I never really had students before, but I kind of thought of them in that way. "I''m going to start."


    "Alright, I''m right here, just do it slowly like you did with the ss." I said quietly, not to distract him.


    His Magic Circuits red as the Magical Energy filled his body and he focused it towards his legs. It took hold as the spell cast began.


    "Even it out, left leg needs more, but only a tiny bit." I whispered as I watched him adjust himself. I used my own Magical Energy to help guide him, a very gentle touch to help him feel his own body out and not overexert any specific part too much.


    It wasn''t perfect, but I wasn''t going to pick out every single minute detail right at the start, the important thing was for the spell to actualizepletely without any major problem.


    The familiar signs enveloped his legs as the spell took hold. Though, there were a few spots that began turning red, I was about to say something, but he noticed apparently as well as he went about fixing it by himself.


    Samuel let out a grunt of pain as his body jerked, but he opened his eyes.


    There was a moment of silence as I patted him on the shoulder again. "Well done, you did it."


    "I....feel weird?" Samuel mumbled as he tried to stand up, but stumbled slightly.


    "Careful, your legs are operating at a much higher level now." I steadied himself.


    "Wait, don''t move, let me give him a quick check up." Roman hurried over, also propping him up as he leaned down to inspect his legs. "Looks like you strained several muscles, prolonged use in this state will tear them if you aren''t careful. There''s a few ruptured blood vessels, and you inted some veins which will me up shortly as well. I also see a very faint hairline fracture along your shin." He listed off.


    "What''s the verdict, Roman." Olga asked.


    "....In an emergency, it''s passable." Roman stood back up. "Obviously, I''m going to take him back to my office for a more thorough check up. But....if this was all that happened while in the field, it''s not too bad and passable. Granted, the spell effect is probably only at about a fifth of the standard of a more experienced variant."


    "For a first try, these are eptable parameters, well done." Olga praised again. "Roman, take him back to your office, to double check to make sure there''s nothing we missed.


    "On it, Director." He nodded. "And keep your Reinforcement active, I want to see if there''s any other problems thate up from the short walk over." Roman said as he ushered the southern Magus out of the room.


    I watched them go only to turn back in time to see Olga do a little fist pump into the air. She blinked, noticed me and blushed a little in embarrassment. "....pretend you didn''t see that." She said firmly.


    "See what?" I smiled wistfully, but I held back augh. "Is it up to your standards, Director?"


    "You did good work, Shimoda. We just need to get them to be able to cast it quickly and efficiently without any major bodily harm and they will be field operable at a minimum." Olga preened. "And I can gloat to the investors and those vultures that we managed to teach a bunch of Mundane people something asplicated as Reinforcement in just over a month! That should keep their mouths shut for awhile and give me some breathing room."


    She sounded rather enthused by that idea.


    "So you agree with my direction for training?"


    "I admit I was and still am skeptical, but the results prove themselves. We need to outline the whole process and begin making preparations for the iing flux of new Master Candidates. I''ve held off on bringing the next batch until now so we could have a streamlined training process. However, I believe you''re ready to take them on now."


    "Next batch, huh?" I scratched my head. "How many are we talking?"


    "Counting your current team and A-Team, we decided on a total of fifty Mastery Candidates. Not all of them will be arriving at the same time in the next batch, but it should be the vast majority minus a handful." Olga replied. "I expect them to arrive within the week after I give the go ahead."


    "That should give me enough time to standardize everything and get my current team on the right track." I would be a little more busy, but it also solidified my spot among the staff. At this point, I''m pretty sure Olga was very appreciative of my talents.


    It hadn''t been entirely smooth sailing. I had no experience teaching people for extended periods of time. And most of those I had conversed with before had been among those I could call peers. It was slow going at first until I could get a hang of things forplete beginners.


    But, it''s apparently paid off after working for so long.


    "Excuse me, Director." There was a knock at the open door as Wodime politely interrupted.


    "Kirschtaria." Olga immediately took a rather even tone with him, the light fondness she was showing off earlier nearly disappeared entirely.


    "I take it congrattions are in order for your excitement?" He asked.


    "First test was a sess." I didn''t hide it.


    "Remarkable. Perhaps there is some room to write a paper on the practical applications." He said idily but blinked and seemed regather his thoughts. "I apologize, I seemed to have had a stray thought. But I havee to request your presence tomorrow as I will be gathering A-Team to conduct a team exercise. While I don''t expect you to participate in every aspect of my team, I was hoping you woulde and acquaint yourself with them in the case of emergency and you will have to take Beryl''s ce. And I believe it would be beneficial if you were to associate with them regardless due to being the leader of B-Team."


    "I can make time, I look forward to meeting the remainder of A-Team."


    "Wonderful." The A-Team Leader smiled brightly. "The Singrity approaches, but I believe a few instances of cooperative training will do wonders in the worst case scenario."


    That''s right, they''re going to deploy soon, should be right as the next round of trainees arrive. It seem odd on the surface, but they''re going to ''attack'' the singrity right as the moment presents itself, leaving quite a bit of time before things delve into a critical situation. Meaning, in the worse case, if A-Team Fails, we still have time for a proper response, I.e. B-Team.


    Even in that case, we would still have several months afterwards to train and resolve the problem before it passed the point of irreparable damage.


    Well, I can''t say I had a lot of confidence considering the whole reason I''m here. But I think I''ll get a lot of my questions answered once the Singrity approached in a little while.


    [***]


    I think I forgot to mention that I woudln''t be posting monday / tuesday, woops. Anyways, work this week has been killing me, and for the same reasons, next chapter will most likely be friday. That being said, we''re close to canon content now, only a couple chapters left before the main events start.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 347 - 314

    <h4>Chapter 347: Chapter 314</h4>


    "Wee, Takao Shimoda." Wodime waved his arms in a grandiose manner as he pushed the door open. It was a rather....mundane action in nature, but I suppose he wanted to add a little ir to our first meeting.


    I walked forward at his beckoning and was greeted by several people in the room. There were some familiar faces though most were unfamiliar faces that greeted me as I walked in.


    "Introduction then. Shall we start with the ones you''ve met thus far?" Wodime asked, a little rhetorically as he continued on. "Hinako Akuta" He gestured towards the Elemental who quietly stood a little off to the side of the group, a small book in her hand which her eyes peeked over it.


    I gave her a good natured smile and I believed I saw the hints of one reciprocated, the book blocked most of face so it was hard to tell. At the very least, she seemed a lot less hostile than previously. I would even almost call it friendly by the shift in her posture.


    "Next we have Kadoc Zemlupus." He gestured towards the young man I had met in Olga''s office previously. He shrunk a little under the attention, but held up a hand in a small motion of acknowledgement.


    I returned the greeting, trying to appear approachable as the guy seemed really withdrawn.


    "Next we have Ophelia Phamrsolone." Wodime moved on to a young woman standing a little closer to Hinakopared to the others.


    "It''s a pleasure." I smiled towards her as well.


    She had long brown hair with a slender and attractive figure. But the most notable thing about her was therge eye patch that covered her right eye. "Hello." She said curtly.


    "Am I next?" Someone else stepped up. He was very...mboyant. One side of his head was mostly shaved with purple highlights on what remained, while the rest was pink and slicked back. He wore some very tight and form fitting clothing that bordered on skimpy. I didn''t want to stereotype, but I was making a couple assumptions. "Scandinavia Peperoncino." He held his hand out rather demurely.


    And I was fairly sure that name waspletely and utterly fake. But on the other hand, Magi have some really fucking weird naming conventions. Hell, I barely batted an eye at Remnant''s cultural insistence on naming their children based on colors inparison.


    I took it, not changing my expression. "Takao Shimoda, it''s a pleasure to meet you."


    "Aren''t you charming." He smiled. "I heard you fought Beryl."


    "Things turned out that way." I shrugged.


    "Can''t say most of us get along with him too much, but He was a member of our team." His care free attitude sort of shifted slightly as he eyed me for a moment before shifting again. "Oh well, he probably had iting. I just hope we can all get along in the future for the sake of the mission." He smiled cheerfully again.


    "I have no problems focusing on the mission." I kept my reply vague, but also extended a hand halfway. If Beryl caused more problems in the future, I wouldn''t sit back and take it, but I wouldn''t go looking for trouble.


    He smiled again, but didn''t speak anymore.


    Wodime nodded in approval before turning to thest one present. "Finally, Daybit Sem Void."


    A young man with blonde hair and light purple eyes. He was wearing ck cargo pants, a ck dress shirt with a tie and a light striped vest over it with a ck leather longcoat toplete the ensemble.


    Honestly, he was the most normal appearing one of the group.


    But why did something about him make me feel uneasy? Not hostile like I was with Lev, just a faint feeling that made me unnerved around him.


    "You''re very bright." The normal looking man tilted his head andmented without changing his expression.


    "...thank you?" I offered in return, confused by what exactly he meant by that.


    "We do have one more member, technically. But due to certain circumstances, her participation is.....uncertain for now." Wodime chimed back in. "However, I believe you''ve already met Mash Kyrielight?"


    "The adorable lc-haired girl? Yeah, I met her already." I confirmed


    "Wonderful, then you are acquainted with every member of the team. While the time before deployment makes team training difficult at this point, I do hope that what little time we spend together helps us build a rapport in the unfortunate case that you are required to Rayshift with us." Wodime the ever polite Magus exined.


    "Is that why you called us together, Kirschtaria?" Peperoncino asked. "Some good old team bonding."


    "It was my hope." The A-Team leader acknowledged. "Shall we convene to the Simtion room and have a few practice matches? I will have this be a small test for our newest potential member."


    Oh? Sounded interesting.


    [***]


    It was nice that Wodime was trying to include me. Honestly, I was starting to feel rather fond of Chaldea as a whole at this point. Sure, there were the negatives that I wouldn''t gloss over, like the stuck up Magi that skulked the halls, or Beryl even. Hell, ignoring that little creature that I''ve gone out of my way to avoid, and even Lev, I was enjoying my time here.


    I inspected my servant, giving him a thorough look over.


    Assassin wasn''t my preferred summon, but I could make do.


    Again, as I looked around the area, I was enthralled with the sheerpetency of what the Chaldean technology had achieved. I really wanted one of these rooms for myself, and I was seriously considering about how to get the blueprints.


    I wonder if Gramps could get them for me? Maybe I could get them myself once my job here was done.


    Then again, Olga may not be happy if I skipped out before my ''contract'' was up. And the thought of making her upset really made me feel bad. With everything she''s dealing with, she didn''t need more thrown on her te.


    Hopefully everything will be settled neatly by then so it won''t be a big deal.


    Well, regardless, it wasn''t the time to focus on that kind of thing.


    As Wodime said it was a test, he didn''t really give me any instructions, only that the objective was to retrieve the Holy Grail. The simtion being one that was based off the Singrity that was approaching, something that happened during the Grail War that took ce in Fuyuki.


    I suppose I should meet up with my teammates.


    There was that irvoyance spell I picked up in Skyrim, but I didn''t really want to overly reveal that branch of Magecraft If I didn''t have to.


    "Are those Dragon Tooth warriors?" I was snapped out of my thoughts as I saw a horde of Skeleton-like creatures running down the destroyed street.


    Huh, how nostalgic.


    Makes sense they would be added to the simtion, they were a rather popr tool from the Age of Gods that somehow made its way around the world. I know Medea can use them fairly easily, and Semiramis produced them without effort in her Hanging Gardens. Not that strange that Chaldea has records of them from the use of other Servants


    "Take them out." I ordered my Assassin as it seeped into the shadows.


    I barely paid them any more mind as he reappeared, taking out a handful before they could even react. But at that point, the dozen or so mindless creatures were thoroughly eliminated by the speed of my Servant.


    "Assassin, scale the tallest building nearby and find any other people in the vicinity." I gave another order as my Assassin disappeared.


    No doubt I was being evaluated on how I perform.


    Should I just make a bee-line for the Grail and take it that way? I feel like that would go against the spirit of the simtion if I did so. Kirschtaria did say it was a team exercise.


    I felt a tug in the ''link'' I shared with the fake Assassin. They weren''t really intelligent, to the point where they didn''t think, thus we didn''t have the same Mental Link like I did with Raikou. However, it could still facilitate some sort of connecteion, as Assassin directed me somewhere based on my desire.


    I suppose he found someone.


    I waved for him toe down and activate his Presence Concealment as I started moving in the direction he pointed.


    It didn''t take me very long to find out what he pointed out and I couldn''t help but grin as I noticed who was up again.


    A Servant riding a horse was impaling several Dragon Tooth warriors with a certain Elemental standing to the side with her arms crossed.


    "Of course It''s me you found first." She rolled her eyes upon noticing me. Funny how she''s still so standoffish, but it felt a lot less hostile than before. "Well, guess we''re teaming up then."


    "Good, I was supposed to find someone. Didn''t know if I should just go straight for the Grail or not."


    She shrugged. "We were told to not move towards it ourselves for about twenty minutes and give you a chance first. If you ran into any of us, then we were okay to go ahead."


    "How kind." I snorted. "I can''t tell if I''m being looked down on or not."


    "Feel free to show everyone your real power." She rolled her eyes again. "So far, you''ve just shown that you''re adept at handling curses with some experience inbat. It obviously makes you more valuable in their eyes, but it''s a far cry from the training everyone else had done. We did a lot of simtions and training exercises as a group and individually a lot before you arrived. The only reason we still aren''t is because Wodime wants us rested and prepared mentally for the Singrity since it''s close."


    That''s true, I suppose from their perspective, I was just a good seed, not fully bloomed as their own established team was. I did counter Beryl pretty damn hard with his reliance on curses, which was both beneficial and detrimental to me. Good that I didn''t make people question me beyond what someone in my position should be questioned on. Bad in that I wasn''t propped up beyond what I already had been.


    Oh well, I think it all turned out good enough in the end.


    "Fair enough." I acknowledged her reasoning. "Speaking of Beryl, he tried to reverse my Karma with a curse."


    It was her turn to let out a snort, though it was mostly in amusement. "No wonder he''s been stuck in bed for so long. That idiot basically cursed himself due to the bacsh."


    She would obviously find the humor in it considering she had an inkling of where I stood on the metaphysical scale. Beryl trying to curse me in that way was like trying to ram into a mountain on a motorcycle thinking it was a little sand castle.


    "So, how do you wanna do this?" I stretched my arms, summoning my Servant. "Are wepeting against the other Masters, or is it just ''do the best you can, and we''ll clean things up if you can''t finish''."


    "There were a few bets on how well you would do...." She admitted.


    "Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "Consider mypetitive spirit ignited."


    "Joy." She said dryly. "Let''s just get this over with. We were told to let you have a chance to navigate things if you caught up with one of us, so....." She waved her hands flippantly. "Call the shots, I guess."


    "Rider Servant, hmm?" I looked at her Servant. "Got any idea where the Grail is?"


    She raised her dainty hand, pointing towards the center of the city. "Obviously that way, it''s where the Dragon Tooth Warriors have been originating from."


    "That''s a fair assumption. And thankfully, we have a horse."


    "My Servant has a horse."


    "Don''t be like that, we''re a team. It''s our horse." I smiled.


    "How do you expect all three of us to fit on it?" She crossed her arms.


    "The Horse is a separate entity from your servant, just have him run along next to it and we can ride it together." I offered.


    "I am not sharing a horse with you."


    "Then run by yourself. I''m sure that won''t throw up any questions as to how you''re keeping up with a Servant''s horse." I chuckled.


    "Do you even know how to ride a horse? Because there''s no way I''m letting you get on behind me. I know as soon as we go, I''m going to feel something poking my butt."


    "I know how to ride a horse.".....kinda. "I''ve done so before." On the Date with Artoria, where she technically did the riding, I just enjoyed the closeness.


    "Ugh, fine." She threw her hands up. "Let''s just get this over with." She ordered her Rider Servant down as I admired the fake beast.


    I gave it a gentle pat as it let out a snort of air. I hopped up, swinging my leg over the side. "Well, let''s go." I held my hand out which she took pulling her up behind me. "By the way, I better not feel any wandering hands." I shot her another grin.


    "L-like I would do something like that." She scowled deeply, a little huff apanying it.


    "Oh, and just a heads up, I''ve never actually maneuvered a horse before." I grabbed the reins.


    "What!? You just said you knew how to ride a horse and you''ve done so before!"


    "I said I know how to. And my riding experiences is basically holding onto my girlfriend as she goes at it." Which remembering really brought a warm feeling to my chest, despite the situation I found myself in.


    "You idiot ¨C"


    "Hyah!" I kicked its sides, making the Horse let out an abrupt neigh, and it took off like a rocket, making Hinako grab onto me out of instinct, an abrupt noise of confusioning out of her mouth.


    Almost immediately, it was not like I was expecting. The Horse seemed to want to jerk every which way as it started running down the street.


    "Stop gripping the reins so tight" She hissed, adjusting herself. "Sit up straighter and only lightly tug where you want it to go."


    I didn''t argue, following her instructions. The Horse seemed to settle down a little, it was still a bit rough, but more manageable as it hurtled down the street. "Thanks."


    "...don''t mention it." She grumbled, rxing herself. "How do you want to handle the Dragon Tooth Warriors up ahead."


    I let out a whistle. "That''s got to be over a hundred. Enough to even keep a Servant upied for a few minutes. What''s your Rider''s Noble Phantasm?"


    "His mount turns into a whirlwind as its speed increases several folds. It''s an Anti-Army designated Noble Phantasm." She briefly exined.


    "....does he need to be on it for it to work?"


    I could see her open her mouth to respond out of the corner of my eyes only for it to abruptly snap shut as she genuinely considered my question. ".....Rider, activate your Noble Phantasm."


    "Holy shit." I grabbed onto the reins tightly, despite her earlier advice as arge amount of Magical Energy swirled around us, enveloping the Horse in a literal whirlwind simr to the Shout that I''m able to use. Though, these winds were sharper, like des as they converged around us and the Horse''s shot upward by several factors,pletely plowing through the skeleton monsters that flooded the street. It only stopped once we passed several blocks,pletely clearing everything that was in our wake, be it monster, destroyed rubble, or even the wreckage of cars that littered the ground. "That was genuinely amazing."


    "I guess it was interesting." She agreed, and I''m pretty sure there were more hints of a smile she was trying to hide. "I think we should be the first, but the others wont be far behind."


    "So, let''s end this as soon as possible. Are there any other simted Phantasmals or is it just Dragon Tooth Warriors? And I''m assuming that thest enemy is going to be a Servant or multiple guarding the Grail?


    "This is a Simtion on the lower end of difficulty. It''s unlikely to be anything substantial, like Wyverns or other Phantasmal species, and you''re probably right on the Servant. Do you have a n or would you like ''advice''?"


    "I do have a n, but what advice would you give out of curiosity?"


    "Don''t fuck up."


    "Good advice." I replied, not missing a beat.


    "Thank you, it''s something I came up with just for you. Simple and easy for even someone like you to understand."


    "Alright, I think my n is better though." I took out a stack of Talismans as I tried my best to slow down our mount.


    "No." She quickly denied me. "I can read Kanji, that is not a good n!"


    "I think it''s a wonderful n." I waited a moment for my Assassin to properly catch up as I began sticking the Talismans to his body.


    "Those are going to explode! How is that a good n?!"


    "Big Boom, get Grail" I also added in some hand gestures to help entuate my point.


    She pursed her lips, pping at my hands. "I''m serious!"


    "I am too." I countered. "Point out one problem that can''t be solved by a big enough explosion." I gave her a moment as she seemed to be unable to formte a response. "See, can''t do it, can you?"


    "Many problems! I''m having trouble because the sheer idiocy of what you said made my brain almost copse." She scoffed, throwing her hands up. "Whatever, do what you want. That Servant ising this way as we speak. It probably has the Grail on it."


    I finished putting all the Talismans on his body, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Question."


    "What?"


    "So....the Assassin is most likely modeled after one of the Hassan-I-Sabbah, right?"


    "....yes?"


    ".....Is it offensive, what I''m doing?"


    She opened her mouth and closed it again. "Oh my God."


    "Because of his nationality...and the, you know ¨C " I made an exploding gesture with my hands.


    "I can''t believe this is where my life has led me." Her hand covered her face.


    "Alright, moving on!" I pped my hands. "Assassin, take to the shadows." Imanded as it disappeared, the enemy Servant elerating towards us at an insane speed.


    Must be some pretty high parameters it was operating under.


    However, it''s physical ability was mostly irrelevant right now. Itcked the true intelligence that a real Servant had. I briefly wondered if the higher level simtions would urately portray that?


    I should askter.


    "Assassin, grapple him!" I shouted as the Servant got closer and I could see a hulking form covered in armor with ance in hand.


    My Assassin appeared from behind,tching onto its back, taking the enemy Servant by surprise as I went to end it. Command Seals were a very beautiful piece of Magecraft. They could overturn time and space, so doing this was very simple inparison. "Assassin, by the power of my Command Seals, ignite your Magical Energy and explode yourself!"


    All mymand Seals shed as a massive explosion erupted at the focal point.


    And I really mean massive, it shook the ground and shattered all the ss in the vicinity. The enemy Servant was probably ten blocks down, yet I could feel the heat from the explosion at the point we were standing.


    After the dust finally settled, it was obvious that there was no body left in the gigantic crater that had mysteriously appeared.


    "I can''t believe that worked." She looked at the spot, dumbfounded.


    "Oh ye of little faith." I mocked pain as I clutched my heart. "Did you think I was just messing around?"


    "Yes." She said bluntly.


    "It was calcted, actually."


    "How was that calcted, you just decided to suicide your Servant by turning him into a bomb!"


    "A Lancer ss Servant doesn''t have the best Magical Resistance. And Imanded my Assassin to grapple him, making it so he couldn''t put any effort into actually defending himself in a physical way, nor activate any Noble Phantasm in panic. On the off chance that turning him into a bomb with the backing of three Command Seals didn''t finish off the enemy Servant ¨C which I might add is below what a genuine one would be ¨C your Servant would have been more than capable."


    Yup, these Fake Servants, while good for training, they''re several levels below what a Good Servant would be on the battlefield.


    Not to mention I used Three Command Seals for that maneuver in addition to the stack of Talismans I added. "I am taking my role seriously. I wouldn''t jeopardize the actual purpose just to get a rise out of you. It''s just a bonus."


    "I don''t know what''s worse, if you really did n things out or if it was just a fluke of luck." She sighed, walking up next to me as we both inspected the crater. "A clean kill...rtively speaking. And there''s the Grail." She pointed at a little gold sheen half covered in dirt.


    I slid down into the crater, picking up the Grail. Nearly immediately, the Simtion ended and the room started to copse back to what it was previously.


    "I admit, it was a rather unorthodox method, but I can''t argue with the results." Wodime''s voice reached us as he walked out of the observation rooms. He opted to watch rather than participate. "Begin able to operate with a flexible mind is very important for this job. However, I do hope you know that such action would not be as operable in the genuine deployment."


    "Of course, I would have much more respect for my Servant than that." I admitted with full honesty.


    I basically just abused the fact that it was a simtion.


    He nodded in approval. "Well done. It was close to the record established and you did so without any meaningful dys or hazards involved. Let''s take a small break, perhaps retire to the cafeteria for an early lunch before we begin a more difficult simtion."


    The others just nodded along or grunted in agreement before filing out of the room. I didn''t really think I would have much of a chance tobuild any bonds with them before the time of deployment ¨C if Beryl wasn''t out of bed and fully ready in the next few days.


    I shot onest grin towards Hinako.


    She rolled her eyes again, but there was the small twitch at the corner of her lips. "It wasn''t that bad of an effort, I suppose."


    [***]


    "You wanted to see me, Director?" I walked into her office at her beckoning and noticed that Caster was here as well. "Da Vinci," I greeted the Servant."


    "If it isn''t our B-Team leader, I''m surprised you could find the Director''s office. It must be difficult to navigate through Chaldea without proper eyesight." She smiled brightly as if she didn''t take a jab at me. "Hello, Takao-Kun."


    "I''m surprise you could get clothed properly. With how swollen your head is, how could you ever fit a shirt over it?" I shot right back.


    "You two...." Director groaned. "Is it always going to be like this when you two meet!?"


    "Probably."


    "Until he admits the truth."


    "Ugh, forget I asked." The Director scowled. "Let''s just get this over with."


    "Wonderful, I can finally show off my work!" Da Vinci happily eximed, picking up a box and setting it on the Director''s desk.


    The Director opened it up, inspecting the contents. "Good, the Mystic Codes appear adequately done.."


    "Just Adequate!?" Da Vinci eximed. "Director, Can''t you see how much effort I put into their designs?" Da Vinci walked forward between Olga and myself and she bent over. As in, she visibly moved her butt in a way that her skirt would ride up enough that I got aplete look.


    She and the Director were talking about something, presumably, Da Vinci was gloating and stroking her own ego. But honestly, my attention was takenpletely by the well-shaped ass covered in blue panties that she was basically shoving in my face.


    "What do you think, Shimoda?"


    "Huh, what?" I blinked in realization as they were both staring at me, just in time for Da Vinci to fix her skirt so the Director didn''t notice.


    "The Director was asking what you thought about my work. Don''t you think it''s perfect." She looked very smug as she said that.


    "....it''s decent." I managed to eek out.


    "Only Decent?" Da Vinci still had a coy smile about her. "With how much you were staring, I think it''s far beyond that."


    "No Comment." Her smug smile was frustrating.


    "Would you two just stop." Director huffed. "Uniforms, good or not!?"


    "They''re good, thank you, Director." I quickly answered at her growing frustration. "....And thank you, Da Vinci."


    "Oh it''s no problem. I do so love to show off my amazing works." She flipped her hair back haughtily. "It''s a shame really. If you had been more enthralled? I may have been more content to really show off how good my craftsmanship really is." She walked up, lightly running a hand down my tie.


    Well yed, Da Vinci, but not quite good enough.


    I took a deep breath. "I stand by my previous words."


    I admit, I was very, very tempted by her words even if it came off as more teasing than actual flirtation. She seems more like the kind of person who would be much more direct if she really wanted to get that kind of acquainted. No, she was just doing this to get a rise out of me and ''win'' our little game.


    She looked at me with a pout before giggling to herself. "I''ll get you to admit it eventually."


    "You''re dismissed, Caster. Continue with your maintenance to make sure all systems are running properly before we begin the Rayshift in theing days."


    Da Vinci quickly corrected herself from the ''flirtatious'' feeling she was giving off. "I''ll get right on it, Director." She said, quickly walking out the door back to whatever her responsibilities were.


    The Director let out a sigh as she slumped into her seat. "The Uniforms were done several days ago, but you held off on them until now, why?"


    "My Team was already preupied with their own things. I didn''t want to add anotheryer ofplications on top of them already progressing through their Reinforcement training. They''ve run a few Simtions at this point, so I think it''s fine to start taking the kid gloves off ¨C slowly, mind you."


    "You have done well in leading this team, so I will not question your decision. I hope that they will wear their Mystic Code or the Mundane version of their uniform starting today." Olga ordered.


    "Sure, but can I ask why? So far, the dress code has been a littlex." Especially with what some people generally wore.


    "The time for Rayshifting is approaching. We only have two more days before A-Team will be deployed and along with that we have some important guests visiting to oversee the progress we''ve made."


    "Ah, say no more. We need to be presentable for the inevitable criticisms that they will start spewing from their mouths the moment they arrive." I could understandpletely. "I know the type, and I''ll make sure my team is informed beforehand."


    "Thank you, Shimoda." The Director replied with a genuine smile. "Along with the Singrity, we are also receiving the next batch of Recruits for your team. Not all of them will be arriving at the same time, but the majority will be here the same day. You will have to settle them as well. I''ll be handing over the responsibilitypletely to you."


    I rubbed my chin, thinking about the work that would require. "I think I can knock out any kind of orientation in the afternoon and have time to be present during the Rayshift and mission briefing. It would give time for the newest members to settle in." Hell, I bet the vast majority of them are new to Magic like my current team. It would give them a little more time to limate to the situation they found themselves in. "I assume that Beryl will be good to go?"


    Frankly, I think It would be better if I watched from the outside. I still haven''t made any headway on the actual reason I was here. I was fairly sure my clues woulde about through the Singrity, either it would get resolved or something else would happen. Regardless, I would take a wait and see approach for now.


    Speaking of, I haven''t seen Lev for several days at this point. No idea what he''s doing, and I didn''t want to go around asking lest that draws me unwanted attention.


    "Fortunately ¨C" It sounded like Olga forced herself to say that. "¡ª Beryl has fully recovered and will be present at the Rayshift. Though your presence would be wee as the unofficial substitute in case of emergency."


    "I would be thrilled to be present, Director." I assured her. "Despite the grim nature of this whole thing, it''s also a very exciting experience and I wouldn''t miss it for the world."


    "I''m d to hear that." She smiled lightly. "I may be busy during the first few days once A-Team Rayshifts, so I expect you to operate well without my input for B-Team. It may seem redundant that we''re still gathering Master Candidates thiste, but our supporters were insistent on having a back up n in the absolute worst case."


    "I understand, don''t worry. Even If I don''t think, nor hope, that my Team will deploy, I''ll still be doing my best to train them up." I replied.


    Technically, they could have Rayshifted to the singrity as soon as it was discovered and any point up until this time. However, this was going to be the most optimal period for the Rayshift to ur in addition to also being early enough to have a fall back n in the name of B-Team.


    Basically, it''s like how the Earth rotates around the Sun. There is a point where the Earth was closest to the other celestial bodies, thus making it the best time tounch probes or rockets to the others. Could you stillunch a probe to Mars at any other time of the year? Yes, but it takes more effort, fuel, time and things aren''t guaranteed to seed.


    It''s a simr concept here. They''re trying to maximize the chances for a sessful Rayshift, even by a few measly percentantile.


    "What about Servant summoning? Are you going to conduct that before or after the Rayshift?"


    "After." The Director noted. "It requires abundant resources and power to operate the FATE System. We can''t afford to waste either in the case of failure, so to minimize the chances of that, we''re going to go with a summoning within the Singrity. Inside, the influence of the Counter Force should be lowered in a way that prevents the summoning from urring. In addition to it being the site of a presumed active Holy Grail War, there should be no problem once inside."


    That and the Counter Force would probably step out of the way or even lend a hand to facilitate the summoning. I mean, if they waited longer to deploy, the Counter Force would probably remove the probabilitypletely and allow the summoning in their entirety. However, it''s still a little ways off form what could be considered the ''deadline'' before the Singrity impacts the Greater History, which is when catastrophe strikes.


    Which is honestly the whole point of B-Team. When , or rather if, it gets to that point, we''re just summoning servants and throwing them at the problem en masse.


    "I''ll go and start making preparations for my team growing several times in size."


    "Good, and Shimoda." Olga stopped me before I could get up. ".....you continue to do very well. Keep up the good work."


    "Thank you, Director." I smiled, earning one back in return.


    This Director was much better than the one I first met when I came here.


    [***]


    "Hey, how do I look?" I did a little twirl.


    The Big Day, I finally had to put this uniform on, and it wasn''t that bad, admittedly.


    "....did you reallye here to ask me that?" Hinako looked at me, dumbfounded as she peeked up over a book she was reading.


    Thankfully, the Library was deserted at this point, so I didn''t have to hold myself back.


    I shrugged. "Is it weird I want my friend''s opinion?"


    I would be presenting myself in front of the new members of my Teamter today. I wanted to look the best that I could. They''ve been trickling in for the past couple hours now, I wanted to give them some time to dpress before I started ordering them about.


    But honestly, I was more excited to see the Rayshifting and the Singrity start. It''s unlikely that the singrity would be resolved in a single day, so I wasn''t really anxious to sit there every moment and watch them go about it.


    "Since when are we friends?" She scoffed.


    "Since I decided we were a few seconds ago."


    "And you decided that without my consent."


    "Yup."


    She scoffed again with an eye roll, but didn''t argue. Probably because she realized it was pointless and I already decided it happened. "What do you want?"


    "Well, I would love it if you told me I looked good. How this uniform entuates my figure, maybe if it matches my eyes? The bright white definitely makes my hair color pop." Honestly, white wasn''t really my color, but the uniform here kind of grew on me after walking around for a little while.


    "You''re vainer than that Caster Servant. Why did you reallye here?"


    "Just wanted to check up on you." I stopped ying around. "It''s only a few hours until you''re going to deploy, aren''t you excited?"


    "Of course, I can finally be with my husband again." She said inly.


    "What are you ns for afterwards?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, after the Singrity is resolved. In a perfect world, nothing goes wrong, you return with your Servant in tow. At this point, it''s probably going to be obvious that you and your Servant are acquainted, and questions are going to be asked. So.....what''s your n?"


    "The same thing I''ve done all my life. We''ll disappear from human society and live a peaceful life."


    "Not to sound mean, but do you really think it''ll be that easy? Before, you could probably operate under the radar because very few people knew of your existence. But once the entirety of Chaldea staff and those other Magi who are hovering nearby learn about you, do you think they''ll just let you quietly disappear."


    "If they don''t want to be on the receiving end of a Servant."


    "Come on, you know it''s not that simple."


    "What are you getting at?" She crossed her arms.


    "Would you like somewhere to go away from the majority of humanity?"


    "....what do you mean? The Reverse Side? I don''t have any ns of crossing over there."


    "No." I shook my head. "But what about a.....realm full of 99% Youkai, living peacefully. I know the leader, and she would warmly wee you if you wanted to live a nice and quiet life with your husband."


    She blinked, staring at me for a moment. "Why?"


    "What do you mean ''why''?"


    "Why are you...helping me? Being nice to me? I''ve done nothing but try and keep distant, yet you keep...." She held her hands up, letting out a frustrated sound. "You just keep ignoring that and being nice to me, in your weird way. Why?"


    "Maybe I can sympathize with your situation."


    "You said you were barely over twenty years old; how could you possibly sympathize with me?"


    "Sc¨¢thach."


    "What?" She blinked.


    "You asked me how I could sympathize, it''s because I''ve been through the same thing. I was trained by and fell in love with the Immortal Witch of Dun Scaith ¨C Sc¨¢thach. She was bound to the Realm of Shadows, so she couldn''t leave. She had a single desire, to die a warrior''s death. I couldn''t bear to be apart from her afterwards, so I sought out a Grail War and used it to bring her back to me. So yes, I can sympathize with your plight."


    Maybe it''s why I was being so considerate. I could put myself in her situation andpletely understand the turbulent emotions.


    "You...are a really strange man." She said quietly before letting out a sigh. "Do you really ¨C"


    I don''t know why, my body acted mostly on instinct as I felt a tingling up the back of my neck. I reached out, grabbing hold of her and pulled her into my arms. A normal action that would have her utterly furious with me and one I wouldn''t have overstepped in doing, however, an explosion ripped through the ground right below us and my vision was filled with me.


    [***]


    Yes, I did some time skips because people were wanting the main part to start. I pretty much touched on everything I wanted, so I didn''t have a problem with the ''plot'' getting started.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 348 - 315

    <h4>Chapter 348: Chapter 315</h4>


    It happened so quickly that I barely registered the sea of mes that filled the room. My Aura red on instinct covering me protectively, but for some reason I felt something scathing brush across my body for a brief moment.


    Hinako, who reeled in my hands let out a pain filled cry as I tried my best to protect her from the explosion. It onlysted for a fraction of a second, however, it already decimated our surroundings, with the ensuing mes devouring everything else in the way.


    The ceiling of this industrial and fortifiedplex caved in at the sheer might of the eruption, to the point where snow began falling as if the outside weather managed to get inside. That brief weather change didn''tst long enough for me to even gather a second thought about it before the ceiling cavedpletely, toppling to cover us.


    Without another moment of contemtion, I cast a Greater Ward around us to hold up the falling debris. I was about to anchor it to a proper Bounded Field to keep physical items outside, when the whole facility shook violently.


    Explosions rang out from every direction, causing the lights to flicker and sirens start to wail/scream/sound. I instantly started to panic for the people I deemed under my protection, but I had to force those feelings down and deal with the individual currently squirming in my arms.


    "Hinako..." I gently whispered as I took a look at her face. Her eyes shot up, a very bright red sheen in them as she gasped and wheezed. I was stunned at the state she was in.


    She was an Elemental that I confused for a True Ancestor on our first meeting! How could a mere explosion cause this kind of damage!?


    Out of the corner of my eye, I swiped my hand, catching a piece of something. I opened my fingers to see the scraps of parchment, an uneasy feeling overcame me as it tried to burn through my Aura.


    "Holy Sacraments?" I whispered again, clutching my hand tight, destroying the piece of paper.


    It was no wonder that I felt something scalding touch me. Even if I experienced no actual damage due to my nature as a Campione at this point, just the feeling of it brushing against me was painful due to my Devil heritage.


    The bomb contained fragments of Holy Sacraments that scattered upon the explosion. This was not some random urrence, or some haphazard terrorism. This was targeted and probably specifically tailored for Hinako.


    ...If I hadn''t be a Campione, if I didn''t have my Aura, that may have caused me an exceedingly high amount of pain and harmed me in a way that was unrecoverable.


    My hands erupted in a bright and warm light as I began casting a Healing Spell on Hinako. I pulled her in a little closer so her body could lean against me as I began focusing on the more damaged part of her. Pressing my hands against her back, I could feel the blood oozing out, and I could vaguely feel that her flesh was nearly stripped awaypletely.


    With Holy Sacraments, I could understand how she was wounded but still, this was too much. I could feel her flesh knitting back together, but the errant Holy Power that had invaded her body was wreaking havoc by the convulsions she was exhibiting.


    The Holy Sacraments of the Church, it despised existences like her. She was an Elemental, but she could take in power through blood, making her no different than a Vampire in their eyes.


    "Hinako, stay focused, you''re going to be okay." I gently called out to her as her eyes refocused slightly. However, her body was still trembling and shaking from the pain and the attack.


    She mumbled something incoherently, and I could see tears slowly drifting down her face. The pain she must be experiencing.....


    "How long have you isted yourself that you''ve be so weak?" I couldn''t help but blurt out in a hushed tone. She was a damn Nature Spirit ¨C an Elemental that lived in the Human World before the Age of Gods, she was not an existence that could be brought so low by something like this.


    The only exnation would be that she had been slowly degrading over the years and never sought to rectify that.


    It wouldn''t have taken much, just feeding on some blood every few decades would have substantially helped her in this situation. But she had been running on the equivalent of fumes for how long now? Her vitality waspletely running dry.


    Like a human who hadn''t eaten in weeks. Except, it was over the course of centuries for her.


    I pulled my Aura back, and gently guided her head down to my wrist.


    It didn''t take much, perhaps instinct took over, but I felt a tinge of pain as something sunk into my skin and blood began flowing out.


    The blood flowed out continuously for a few moments, the sounds from far away continued to give me anxiety at each passing second. The building continued to shake at the very foundations with the sirens ring from down the hall.


    "W-what?" The Elemental finally regained her wits as she raised her head, noticing what happened. She looked down at my wrist, then ran a finger across her lips where some blood speared across her skin. "...you fed me your blood."


    "You good now? My blood should be potent enough with just that small amount."


    "What happened? We were talking then all of the sudden...." She paused, reaching a hand behind her to feel her naked back. "And you healed me too."


    "Holy Sacraments." I held back a snarl. "Someone tried to assassinate you, but you''re not the only one." As if to prove my point, another massive explosion rang out not far away, shaking all the hanging debris once more.


    A look of shock mixed with anxiety filled her own features. She quickly tried to stand up, but staggered as I caught her again. "Are you okay?"


    "I''m fine!" She gritted out. "I''m fine." She iterated again, a little gentler. "...I don''t like drinking blood. I''ve only done so a couple times in the past. It''s going to take me a few minutes to digest it, especially since yours is Divine....mixed with some other things apparently." She shot me a look of confusion, but it wasn''t the time or ce.


    "I need to check on everyone." I quickly helped her steady herself.


    She regained her wits fast, realizing the situation. "Go, go. I''ll be right behind you."


    I nodded , pushing my way towards the exit to the room. My bounded field would hold for a while, so I wasn''t too worried about her. Hertent abilities would kick in quick enough and she would healpletely in a matter of minutes with a lot more energy to her than before.


    As I kicked down the bent metal door, I could vaguely hear a call of thanks from behind me. I gave her onest look, before heading off to check on the situation.


    I practically slid to a stop as I kicked down another door, using far more force than a human could normally bring. It crumpled enough that I could pull it off its hinges and tossed it to the side.


    "T-thanks!" I saw someone wearing the Chaldean uniform cough as he scurried over and dived through the opening as ck smoke filled the room nearly to the brim.


    "Are you a Magus?" I quickly brought him to his feet.


    "No ¨C" His voice was interrupted with more coughs. "Normal human." He wheezed some more. "The hell is going on!?"


    I took out some Talismans, and pushed them into his hands. "I don''t know, but it''s bad. If you find a Magus, give him those and tell him they''re healing Mystic Codes, they''ll understand. Otherwise, get to safety or help anyone you see." I patted his shoulder, not giving him a chance to respond as I kept moving.


    I''m going to kiss Sc¨¢thach so hard for forcing me to make so many Talismans. I had plenty to keep doing this for as many people as I ran into. They aren''t the best methods of healing, but they''re invaluable when someone''s teetering on the edge. It can at least save some lives if it''s as bad as I''m imagining around the remainder of the facility.


    "Water, get some water!"


    I immediately ran towards the shout, vaguely recognizing it.


    "Friederike le Drachenk?nige." I blurted out his name on instinct, as it was kind of seared into my mind by the absurdity of our first meeting.


    The man turned around as he was leading several ¨C what looked like technicians, out of a room.


    And he did not look to be in good shape.


    "You, Takao Shimoda." He turned his head only for me to see a good portion of it burned pretty badly, to the point where his left eye was shut and he had no hair on a good portion of that side of his head with some nasty burns.


    As he was about to say something else, another explosion erupted from the room they were just in, flinging the magus backwards into the wall. The mes looked to consume him, only for a cry to ring out and a red light spring around the fire, dispersing it with rtive ease and the Magus coughing out a little bit of blood.


    I quickly knelt at his side, hands alight with a Healing Spell. "Another Explosion?"


    "A side effect..." He breathed out, holding up a shaking hand. "Sub Generators E through H were housed within that room and provided power to this part of the facility. I was unable ¨C" He winced in pain.


    "Are you okay?" I quickly asked as hisplexion got a little better.


    "Rubbish such as this will not keep a Drachenk?nige down." He took a deep breath, forcing himself to his feet. "Fire is our domain." He said proudly, despite his current state. "Thank you, Sir Takao Shimoda." His eyes shone with gratitude. "You have proven yourself a great man. However, I have a duty I shall not sit idle."


    Despite his haughty tone, I held a smidgen of respect for him. "Do you have any idea what''s going on?"


    "No, I''m afraid I do not. I was meeting with the Maintenance staff to ess the Generators to prepare for the Rayshifting as per protocol. The next thing I know, everything was engulfed in a sea of fire. If not for my family''s legacy, I would have been burnt to ash."


    "A clear case of sabotage. I barely was able to save Hinako further back."


    A fury quickly appeared on his face. "Let us dally no longer. I fear for the worse, I shall search for the maintenance staff and the more critical parts of the Facility. If I find who did this, I shall let them know the fury of a Drachenk?nige!"


    "How''s your Healing?" I asked.


    He scowled briefly but relented to my question. "My Crest allows for a form of self-healing, thus I never bothered with learning the arts beyond the bare minimum."


    I took out some Talismans again, pushing a stack into his hands. "One time use Mystic codes, just inject Magical Energy. They work best if they''re closer to the part that needs healing, but just pping it on someone''s body will also do the trick."


    He didn''t say thanks, even if I knew he wanted to. Instead, he nodded resolutely and put them away. "Sub Generators in the western wing are most likely in critical condition. They support both the greenhouses and medical facilities. I will be heading there next." He looked a little hesitant. "Can I leave you to look into the Eastern Generators? I don''t know who to trust right now, but I know that you are not responsible."


    Man, how much did he have to swallow his pride to ask a favor of a ''lowly'' person like me. An amusing thought that I quickly pushed aside because we had much bigger problems. "Leave it to me."


    Neither of us said anymore, pleasantries and real thanks could be given another time. Right now, we both started running down the hall and split at the next turn, the ring sirens picking up as his figure disappeared down a corridor.


    As I turned a few more corners, I noticed the emergency lights weren''t on, but the normal lights were flickering constantly. However, there was snow and ice that started covering the hallways, the temperature dropped considerably as I looked up and saw a massive hole in the ceiling.


    I had toe to a stop because what once filled the hole now blocked my path.


    "...help...."


    My head snapped to the side, a weak crying from nearby.


    It was faint, which made it all the harder to hear with the sirens still ring out in different parts of the building.


    I moved to the wall, putting my ear against it. I heard some running water and I knocked a few times. I did this several more times, moving further down the wall until I heard a weak whine from the other side.


    Without considering the consequences, it took out Mirage from within my Ring and pushed it through the wall, dragging it to the side, then downward before leveraging it and peeling off the outermostyer.


    Immediately, I saw the source of the cries. A woman was stuck on the ground with pips having burst from above as they filled the room. My new hole let it all flood out, but it was close to submerging the woman. And by being stuck on the ground, a pipe had impaled her through her lower abdomen, and she couldn''t get up.


    She wasn''t the only one that was here when the explosions went off. I could see two more bodies covered in debris, fresh blood spilled out, but they were unmoving and just looking at them, I could tell they died way too quickly.


    I quickly fell to my knees at her side, a huge look of relief washed over her, but then it turned back to panic as tears stained her cheeks. A silent cry as her dainty hands touched the metal intrusion holding her down.


    How much pain had urred for her to cry out for help as she did?


    The pipe was still in onerge piece, attached to the sunken ceiling. I swung Mirage, slicing it off into parts to better be able to deal with it, until only a stub was poking out of her stomach.


    "You did good, you''re going to make it." I reassured her, my healings engulfed in that familiar light as I started to do my best to heal her. Obviously it would be pointless to keep pushing while she was impaled, but I was getting her up to the point where I could safely pull it out.


    "Ahh." She let out a full throat whine as she touched the pipe, a little more life returning to her eyes. "Don wan die." She slurred.


    "You''re not going to die, trust me. Look, I''m healing you right now, and we just have to take this pesky pipe out and you''re good as new." I reassured her. "Give me a few moments, and you''ll be fine. What''s your name?"


    "S-Sarah."


    "Sarah, what a lovely name. I couldn''t help but notice your hair color and the freckles, you wouldn''t happen to be Irish would you?" I could see her breathing heavily, the panic was bing more obvious as she got more coherent. I couldn''t me her, it was a very traumatic experience and she wasn''t out of the woods yet.


    A brush with death wasn''t something most people can just casually dismiss, especially while still within its jaws.


    "Me ma is Irish..." She mped down, slurring again. "Grand Da is a Fraga, and I wan to make him proud so I joined up to get more help with ¨C" Her lips quivered as the tears kept flowing. "I don'' wan'' die."


    Her ent really came out as she spoke of her own ord. I think she was trying to distract herself, even if it failed. "Hey, look at me." I put a hand on her cheek, wiping away some tears. "On the count of three, I''m going to pull this out, okay? I won''t lie, it''s going to hurt, but you''re going to be okay."


    She nodded weakly, tensing up.


    "One." I immediately pulled it and my hands glowed bright, pressed against the hole in her stomach. She let out an impressive string of expletives that in any other situation, I''d find amusing. But I was left with a little problem. "Sarah, I can''t sit here and heal you all the way. If I do, it''ll take several minutes, and I need to keep moving. I can heal up the worst of it, but the bleeding is a problem. I''m going to have to keep moving, but I can leave you with some Talismans, one time Mystic Codes, that you can use to heal by pushing them on the wounds."


    "Thank you." She quivered and more tears flowed.


    I nodded, taking out some more Talismans and handing them to her. She expertly actualized them and pressed a couple against the back and front of where she was impaled, having rolled onto her side to reach both.


    She would be fine for now. Living was the most important thing in this specific moment.


    I got up and walked to the actual door for this room, which conveniently took me around the blockage I originally ran into. I gave a silent prayer to the ones who died and pushed the thoughts away, leaving the room and heading towards the generators.


    [***]


    With a grunt, I grabbed hold of the door that was only an inch open. It was different from most, these were heavily reinforced and didn''t have hinges, but slid open and closed. A security measure, I''m sure, but it also made it more difficult to ess.


    I grabbed hold and began exerting my strength to pull the door fully open.


    "Finally!" A voice eximed.


    An older man looked at me with disheveled hair. There were a couple of bodies in the corner, but the guy didn''t even seem to notice them as he slid out from a massive generator that I could only see a portion of as most of it seemed to be hidden from view.


    "I need a hand here,d! I''m barely keeping this thing from blowin up as is. Whatever happened, the main Mana Reactor discharged all of its energy backwards. I''ve barely been able to siphon off the reflux so this one doesn''t overload like I''m sure the others have."


    "What do you need me to do?" Because this certainly was very far out of my element.


    "Can you handle high pressure and condensed Magical Energy that''s already forming Ether clumps and producing electricity in enough voltage to fry a damn dragon?" He said, rather sarcastically as he let out a groan and fully pulled himself out from underneath. "Maybe if we cut off the source, then rig up a outside siphon to discharge the excess into a grounded ¨C"


    "I can do that."


    "What?"


    "I can handle that. What do you need?"


    He looked at me for a moment before regaining his wits. "If I didn''t just lose my subordinates to a damn explosion and almost got my dick smashed from a falling brick, I''d say this was my lucky damn day. The Emergency shut off isn''t working no more, and we can''t afford to just break the damn thing with the way things are going, but if we don''t do something, it will explode, and it might damage other crucial systems through the bacsh. This is one of the Sub Generators that powers the FATE System. I don''t know what''s going on outside, but....my gut is telling me we have to save this no matter what. Worse came to worse, I would have just bit the bullet and done this myself."


    "Didn''t you just say that it''d basically kill someone?"


    "I''m old enough,d." He barked with a huff. "But I don''t mind seeing a few more years. Put a lot of work into this ce to see some ass blow it the hell up! So, get your skinny butt over here and help me out." He walked up to the generator and with a wrench his hand, he swung it at a ss section. Electricity began arcing out from within as he ducked out of the way. "Grab those two big cable insides!" He jabbed his finger at the exposed wires with a shout, hiding to the side.


    I nodded, walking up as the electricityshed out. I could see what he meant, any normal person would have definitely died if they tried to do this.


    "Don''t know what you''re gonna do,d. But this thing was not meant to be turned off this way. You''re basically going to have to filter all the power this thing is processing to pull the literal cord here." He warned me again.


    "Got it, old man. Just be ready to do what you need." I activated my Semnce and his eyes noticeably widened as I reached inside. I could immediately feel the amount of pure power that was flowing through here as I gripped the cables. I could understand what he meant now. It was like if your bathtub was full of water, and the faucet wouldn''t shut off. You had to do something, or it was going to overflow which meant reaching down inside, and pulling the literal plug. Except rece water with electricity that was millions upon millions of volts in power. "Doing it now!" I yelled as I pulled the cables apart. It was apanied by a burst of Magical Energy that escaped from the seal while the device was still facilitating the flow.


    It was enough that I staggered where I was standing.


    "Good job,d!" He shouted with glee, diving underneath the Generator again. "I can get this thing patched up in twenty minutes, maybe half n hour."


    "I''m off then, old man. Going to find more people that need help."


    "Go, I got it covered here!" He barked out again.


    I didn''t stay any longer and immediately headed out the door, and a blue and red blur practically mmed into me.


    "Takao!?"


    "Da Vinci." I was relieved to see her.


    "You''re alive!" She said with noticeable relief, making me feel a little touched. "What happened? Are you hurt? Did you juste from the Generator room!? I need to get in there, quickly!"


    "It''s fine, it''s fixed!" braced her shoulders as she was clearly anxious, and probably running around just as I''ve been.


    "Fixed? Good." She let out a breath. "Are you okay?" She looked at me with a more inquisitive inspection.


    "I''m fine, I was with Hinako, she was hurt, but I''ve healed her already. Been Healing and helping anyone I''vee across. Drachenk?nige went in the other direction to the eastern Sub Generators."


    "I just came from there; he''s leading the remaining staff there to salvage what we can."


    "....Do you know what happened?"


    "I don''t know yet, I just immediately began trying to keep things together. My Noble Phantasm is active right now, and I''ve been fixing whatever I can with as little time as I can. You saved me a lot of time with this."


    "Shit." I cursed with fists balled. "Who else have you seen?''


    "I saw Roman, he went towards the Coffins and where the main staff were. I didn''t have time to check myself, but...."


    I winced, a foreboding feeling rising up in my chest. "I''ve already seen way too many bodies. Someone is going to pay." I let out a growl before catching myself. "Here, take these." I shoved a big stack of Talismans into her hands.


    She only needed a nce to know what they were. "Thank you, Takao, but I have to go."


    "I know, stay safe." I nodded as she immediately turned and bolted in the other direction.


    [***]


    "Get ready." I grunted, buckling my knees as I lifted up arge piece of the roof that fell down. Even by my standards, it was rather heavy without going further into my spells. I lifted it up about a foot as two people pulled out a third that was trapped underneath. Letting out a breath of air, I let it go, the massive piece of concrete and stone crashed onto the ground.


    "Thank you." The one who was trapped breathed a sigh of relief. The other two held him up, his legs werepletely limp.


    "Get to the Cafeteria, they''ve set up a make-shift Emergency room." I pped a Talisman on the hurt one''s back so his legs could start getting some relief, but mending two broken legs that had been thoroughly crushed may be a bit too much for the Talisman.


    I took a moment to catch my breath as I watched them hobble away.


    Not that this specific action tired me out, but I''ve been running all over for what felt like a few hours now. So many people had been hurt, or worse, dead.


    There were more dead than wounded, and some of them were faces I recognized.


    I still haven''t seen my Team yet, and it was making me anxious. Nor had I seen the Director, other members of A-Team and that Lev. Not to mention the new B-Team members should have started arriving earlier this morning...


    What a gigantic cluster fuck this turned out to be.


    I was finally starting to feelfortable here. Starting toe to care about my job and the people I was working with, and then this happened.


    Whoever was responsible, I was going to end them no matter what.


    There were no more immediate disasters in front of me thus far. And I''d done my best to help anyone else I''vee across. I think it was time to head towards themand center and figure out the situation in its entirety.


    The highest inmand should have taken over, hopefully it''s still Olga, but whoever it was will have some idea of what we need to do. I needed to be able to see the bigger picture and make a n based off that.


    Without anything more taking my attention away, I immediately headed towards the direction of the control room.


    Thankfully the path was mostly clear, I assumed therge amount of traffic would have made it one of the first ces that would have been attended to.


    The lights were still not working, the back ups only had the very faint brightness to light a path. And as I got closer, I noticed that the door had been pried open, and I heard a bunch of voicesing from within.


    Stepping through the threshold, I took a moment to eye my surroundings.


    "Roman?" I called out to see the Medical specialist apparently standing at the head assuming control as a few dozen other people were working at monitors and collecting data.


    "Takao!" His eyes lit up at seeing me. "I''m happy to see you made it, I was scared the worst happened."


    "What happened? Where is everyone?"


    He winced, ducking his head a little bit. "Someone set up bombs everywhere, I don''t know who. I was...preupied and not in my office at the time, so I got lucky since it''s now a big crater. I came running over here as fast as I could and it wasn''t pretty."


    "Roman, just tell me inly."


    He let out a tired sigh. "I had to shove who I could into the coffins to put them in stasis, otherwise they would have died. Nearly all of A-Team is out ofmission or dead, and everyone of B-Team present I could find I also put in the coffins. The Emergency protocols went off after CHALDEAS sustained damage and designated anyone viable it could in the vicinity as a Master Candidate and initiated an emergency Rayshift."


    "Who all was Rayshifted!?" I felt myself grabbing his shoulder unconsciously.


    "A few people, um, I don''t know exactly everyone. But some members of your team." He scratched his cheek.


    "Rayshift me over, I''ll go help."


    "...we can''t." Roman whispered. "There''s a cool down time after every Rayshift, and we''ll probably need to extract some people as soon as possible."


    "What about ¨C"


    "Roman, can you hear us!? Roman!?" A very familiar voice sounded across the speakers set up in themand room, cutting me off.


    "Director, I can hear you!" Roman shouted in response as therge screens down below began broadcasting an image of Olga.


    "Good, we stabilized the connection again. I don''t know how long it''llst this time, so quickly give a status report!"


    "A status report is hard right now, Director. I had to step in because.....I''m the most senior one that is conscious or alive at the moment. 13 out of 17 Generators were destroyed, and out of the remainder, only two are operable at a viable level." Roman exined. "I don''t have a body count yet, Director, we''re still trying to recover all the wounded."


    The Director scowled before looking up. "Shimoda?"


    "I''m here, Director." I replied to her and I think I saw a hint of relief sh across her face. "Who else Rayshifted with you, Director? I haven''t seen my team."


    "We''re here, Boss." I perked up hearing Samuel''s voice as he could barely be seen behind Olga. Whatever method they were using to connect and get visual must have been rather small, because Olga basically covered the entire screen. "Erm....some of us are. I don''t know where everyone else is."


    "What happened?"


    Olga looked at me and stepped to the side for Samuel to take over. "We were giving some of the new guys a tour. Lev came over and suggested it would be a good way to preupy their time."


    I felt rage as the words left his mouth.


    Lev.


    I had to forcibly push my anger down as I formted a n. "Who else is there?"


    "Uh it''s me, Pierre, and Benjamin." He answered and I winced at a few names missing from there. He moved slightly to the side to show everyone else. ".....some others didn''t make it, boss."


    They were not in good shape. But mainly, my eyes focused on Benjamin, and theck of a right arm.


    "Their Uniforms probably saved them." Roman muttered.


    Right, I''ll have to really thank Da Vinciter.


    "Right, now that''s sorted. We managed to make contact with one of the Servants participating in the war that wasn''t hostile. Caster agreed to a partnership and Samuel of B-Team managed to form a contract with him. With Caster, we technically have two Servants now."


    "Two servants?" I furrowed my brow. "Who''s the second?"


    "Um, hello again, Senpai." The girl who treated that terrifying creature like a pet poked her head over. "I''m Mash Kyrielight, the only one to seed in the Demi-Servant project." She hefted up a veryrge shield next to herself. I think I saw someone else standing next to her? But I couldn''t recognize them immediately, maybe one of the wayward members of the new recruits?


    .,..that''s a curveball I didn''t seeing. I didn''t sense anything off about her before....


    "So we have two Servants. And from what Caster told us so far, every other Servant in this Grail War is still active, but the one responsible is apparently King Arthur. And King Arthur is a girl...." Olga grunted as she exined the situation.


    "Wait, really? Are you sure?" Roman looked shocked while I just froze.


    "Surprised me too, but you can''t fake that Sword. Anyone who sees it would be able to recognize her.....even if it was corrupted." A ratherzy voice followed up, as a blue-haired red-eyed man poked his face over. "Huh, interestin piece of Magecraft this things is." He poked at the transmission, making it blur for a moment.


    "Stop it you brute! It''s already too delicate, what if you break it!" Olga huffed, pushing him away.


    "Hey, I''m more of a spearman than a spellcaster, but that doesn''t mean I don''t know what I''m doin, sheesh."


    "Cu Chinn." I called out unconciously.


    The Caster Servant turned to look back at the screen. But it was Olga who shoved her face in front of it. "What!? How did you know that, I haven''t even told Roman yet!"


    ....If I didn''t recognize him on sight after spending so much time with Sc¨¢thach, she would kick my asster.


    "Oh, I got recognized that easily, huh? Guess I''m more popr than I thought. You a fan, kid?" The Student of Sc¨¢thach chuckled.


    "It was a lucky guess." I breathed out. "But I have a question for him."


    "What''s up?" Hezily asked.


    "You said that the one responsible is King Arthur. Is she a short, young woman, blonde hair done up in a bun?" Just speaking the words made my hands tremble as I clutched them tight.


    "...yeah. Wondering how you know that now." The Caster''s expression turned a little more serious.


    "Takao." Roman turned to look at me.


    "Shimoda! How do you know that!?" Even the Director shouted from behind the Caster Servant.


    "You said her sword is corrupted, what do you mean?"


    "Hey, don''t ignore me!" Olga huffed, but Caster took up the entire screen.


    "Don''t really know what happened. All the other Servants got this ck mud-like stuff all over them, then became this weird version of themselves. Not much of a spellcaster like I said, but I recognize a curse when I see one, and it''s powerful enough to get through a Saber''s Magic Resistance, and Servants in general." Caster gave a brief exnation. "Seems like Saber is the ring leader though. She has the Grail, that''s for sure. And the others are listening to hermands, or at least that damn Red Archer is." He added with an annoyed grumble.


    Red Archer.


    No.....


    If there were a group of Servants I was familiar with, it would be the group that Rin had to face during her Grail War. So many iterations of her had to fight that same line up, and those memories were seared into my mind from what I inherited from Zelretch.


    But he''s saying that Saber was responsible. That she''s a part of whatever was going on.....


    My Artoria was corrupted through some means.


    And now even my team was going to have to face her.


    I took a deep breath and turned to walk out the room.


    "Takao!?" Roman blurted out as I pushed past him, but I already knew what path I had to take.


    I needed a quiet ce, away from prying eyes. I don''t know where I went exactly, only that there was no one nearby after a few seconds of running.


    I took Mirage out once again as I stabbed it into the ground and ced my hands upon the Eye of Magnus. "Begin Calctions." I whispered as a three dimensional representation of the appeared.


    Rayshifting was a method of ''time travel'' that skirted outside the ''rules''. It wasn''t technically time travel in the normal sense. True Time Travel was....taboo. It wasn''t something one could do lightly, and not something even the old man dabbled in unless the circumstances were exceedingly dire. Even the World-line getting destroyed by the Spider wouldn''t have him resort to using true Time Travel.


    There were consequences to making your past the future. It was entirely usible that thews of the world ¨C that the Counter Force rejected me after this. But....I had to do this. My team were in trouble, and something happened to Artoria.


    She wasn''t my Artoria, but how could I stand by when a woman I cared so deeply for is in such a situation?


    "Sorry Gramps, I''m going to break the rules." I quietly apologized to him.


    I grabbed my sword out of the ground as my calctions werepleted. They locked onto the Singrity taking ce in Fuyuki.


    With a swipe, I tore a hole through the fabric of reality, and walked right through.


    [***]


    The butterflies aren''t going to be huge right away, but they will start to show as the FGO arcs progress.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 349 - 316

    <h4>Chapter 349: Chapter 316</h4>


    The fiery air immediately touched my throat as I took my first breath. The smoke and ash almost made my eyes water before I quickly pushed it all away.


    Everything was burning.


    I noticed that from what I saw when the others managed to make contact with Chaldea, but I couldn''t understand the scope of it until Iid my eyes on the city itself.


    Everything was literally burning. Fires ravaged across the city horizon to the point where the sky waspletely blocked off and I couldn''t see past the mes towards the ocean.


    I could feel a pit form in my stomach as I took in my surroundings. I''ve been to this city on numerous asions. The city where Rin was born, where she lived and went to school. A ce that''s not just special to her either, but to Medea and Artoria.


    This was their home, and it was up in mes.


    I liked this city, it was beautiful.


    However, couldn''t wallow in sentimentality for much longer.


    I took a deep breath and jumped off the small building I had appeared on. I just needed to get my bearings and figure out where in the city I was.


    A thought crossed my mind as I looked at a small fire covering what used to be a garden to the side. This ce felt unpleasant to the extreme. Not specifically this location, but this Singrity, and I had an inkling of the cause.


    A small Spell Circle lit up on my hand as I tried to douse the fire. It simmered, started to die out, only for it re back up back to its original state.


    I frowned, basically confirming my suspicions. Instead, opted to throw a Talisman at it, holding my hand up and saying a small prayer. The Fire glowed and jerked about, almost like it was fighting against the effects before it turned to wisps of smoke and dissipated.


    "Cursed." I muttered, sweeping my gaze across the horizon again. "This whole damn city is covered in curses."


    And if the Fuyuki Grail War is involved, there is one probable cause.


    Caster mentioned ck Mud, so I no longer had any doubt in my mind. The entity that corrupted the Grail from the Time-Line I consider my home, it seemed to have made another debut here. Angra Mainyu, the entity known as the God of Evil in the Zoroastrian Cosmology. The one who bears all the curses in the world, his ck Mud most likely spilled out from the Grail due to the Einzbern''s failed attempt to summon an Avenger ss Extra Servant during a previous Grail War.


    This was just going from bad to worse.


    Now, where would they go? They were obviously in the middle of the city, but they weren''t exactly familiar with the surroundings.


    The Director was present, and most likely in charge, so where would she try to set up camp?


    A leyline would be my first bet. Although that didn''t narrow it down too much, it gave me a good point of reference to begin.


    I could see the Bridge that separated the two halves of the city not far away. I suppose that would be the best ce to start.


    [***]


    Olga Marie Animusphere POV


    Great, just great!


    I fired off another Gandr shot, blowing up a couple of those Skeleton things.


    How many of these damn things were there! I couldn''t keep this up forever, and the others here werepletely useless.


    A few members of B-Team, a Servant that doesn''t know how to use her Noble Phantasm, and Caster who for some reason wasn''t summoned as a Lancer even though that was his most popr legend!


    Atleast most of the B-Team members had some experience under their belts already. Yet, this random Asian managed to form a contract with Mash, who wasn''t even able to use her Servant abilities beforehand!


    I....don''t even know anymore.


    The only saving grace was that Samuel from B-Team was able to form a contract with Caster. He seemed the most sensible of the lot that Shimoda managed to train for what little time they had avable.


    And they were sensible enough to actually grab something to fend off these skeletons with. That ¨C what was his name ¨C Ritsuka Fujimaru just stood there like an idiot!


    "Gandr, Gandr, Gandr!" I growled as the Cursed shots of Magical Energy mmed into oing Skeletons. "Hurry up, there''s too many of these things!" I shouted.


    "Little busy heress, but I''m willing to trade!" Caster shouted back.


    "Don''t ignore me, Caster!" Another servant hissed, swinging around a Scythe of all things as Caster tried to engage with her in meleebat for some reason I can''t fathom. Purple hair with some sort of Mystic Eyes that he wasining about, I could probably make a couple guesses about her true name, but I was understandably upied keeping the others alive.


    I huffed, turning towards Mash but I couldn''t find the enemy Servant she was fighting anywhere.


    "Director, watch out!" She shouted as I turned around, feeling a presence at my back.


    My eyes widened as a weapon was about to piece me, only for Mash''s shield to knock it away when she threw it as she came running towards me to kick the Servant away.


    "Are you alright, Director?"


    She did that on purpose.


    I know she did.


    "I''m fine." I grit my teeth. "Stop ying around and finish off that Servant!" I demanded as she nodded and reengaged with him.


    Why did I allow this ridiculous n? Caster suggested we go for the purple haired Servant now that we had two. Saying it would have been annoying by himself before, with theck of Magical Energy he had and the fact that she had powerful Mystic Eyes.


    I didn''t see a problem with it at the time, and we needed to clear this Singrity as soon as possible to get back to Chaldea to assess the damage and figure out what happened.


    No, with every n having gone up in literal mes, was it any wonder that it happened again right now?


    Not to mention I agreed with taking along everyone. As Director, I very well couldn''t just leave the unexperienced B-Team members by themselves, even if they added nothing to being here. Two without a Servant contract, one missing an arm, and none of them knew basic Magecraft beyond a botched form of Reinforcement, which....was somehow working right now.


    .....what I wouldn''t give for any A-Team member to be here with us, or even Shimoda. The Systems were too damaged to attempt a proper summoning, so the others were utterly useless right now.


    And of course the Assassin Servant would try to ambush us. And he seemed to have a penchant for targeting Masters when given an opening.


    "Uh, Director!" Samuel panicked and I turned back to look at him to see what made him worry.


    My eyes widened again as I saw another hundred or so of those Skeletons pour out from the street,ing right at us.


    I already had to overpower one Gandr to do any meaningful damage to them, I didn''t have the Magical Energy to deal with that many.


    "Caster!" I shouted again.


    "Shit, on it!" He returned, waving his hand through the air, a string of Runes appeared as they ignited into a dozen different spells, flying towards the onught of skeletonsing this way.


    I was about to offer my thanks but I noticed the look he had, a little bit of blood dripped from his chest as he held a hand over it, staring at the Scythe-wielding servant. She grinned maniacally, blood dripping from her weapon as she brought it up to her mouth, giving it a lick.


    "Samuel, heal your Servant." I said just lough enough for him to hear. Even If I couldn''t personallymand the Servant, I could still give him Orders.


    "Oh it, Director." The Texan followed orders without any back talk. And I was thankful to Shimoda for stressing such a thing in situations like this. His Circuits were already activated, funneling Magical Energy to Caster, and he was wearing his Uniform Mystic Code, thankfully. "Heal." He held his hand up, focusing on Caster. An ethereal, light covered the Servant, but something was wrong.


    "...should I do it again?" Samuel asked me, making me scowl deeper.


    "Was the Mystic Code damaged?" I grit my teeth.


    "Don''t bother, Master." Caster called out, taking a stance again. "I know a curse when I see one. Her weapon stops healing somehow, don''t really have the time to inspect it any more."


    Just wonderful!


    That''s a danger we can''t afford right now.


    We need to finish this quickly. There''s no point in saving Magical Energy reserves if that Servant just needs to get lucky once or twice and Caster has wounds he can''t heal.


    "Samuel, get ready to have Caster use his Noble Phantasm." I eyed the Skeletons that remained. There were still a lot, but it was more manageable. They weren''t really intelligent, so even if hitting them with a pipe or nk of wood didn''t destroy them, it was enough to keep them at bay.


    How ridiculous, this is what it''se to.


    ....It''s not the end of the world, I reminded myself. We can take some time to recuperate afterwards. Caster and Mash can either chase away Assassin or defeat him together. With a few hours rest, Samuel should be able to recover enough after Caster uses his Noble Phantasm.


    I rationalized it in my head, but I couldn''t help but bite my thumb in annoyance. It was just time we couldn''t really afford to waste.


    "What''s that!?" That useless Asian held his hand up to the distance, eximing in shot.


    I was about to scold him for interrupting my train of thought, but I also looked to see. There was a red streak of lighting right towards them. It was only a bright light in the distance,ing down from a building far away, but its form became clearer and clearer with the help of Reinforcement as it got closer.


    It was fast, too fast to properly defend against or run away. Was it a Noble Phantasm of another Servant?


    I felt the hairs of my scalp tingle as it got closer, an object wreathed in Magical Energy that made me shiver from the sheer bloodlust it exhibited.


    There was the expectance of what would happen once it reached us. Would it just pierce right through one of us, explode on impact, or did it have some other effect that I couldn''t guess?


    I wanted to call out to Mash, but the words died in my throat. No, she would probably only save her Master and let me die, it would be a fitting revenge. No one would question her, and she could get away with it easily.


    I wanted to close my eyes and just wait for the inevitable, but to my surprise, the wind around us whipped, and I was forced to hold my skirt down as it flew by. It didn''t hit any of us, no, it wasn''t intended for us from the beginning.


    My eyes followed the direct of where it went, the immense pressure of the object seemed topletely abate, and more questions filled my head once I saw what happened.


    It was a spear.


    A red spear that gave off a bloodthirsty feeling, even if it was not nearly as exuberant as it was a moment ago. However, it was in to see because it was snatched right out of the air by Caster, almost subconsciously had his hand reached out to grab it before he stared at it with utter confusion.


    It was enough of a shock to everyone that everything seemed to silence themselves as well. Even the enemy Servant he was facing stopped to look at the scene curiously.


    In his opposite hand, Caster let his staff dissipate back into motes of light as he twirled the spear with a.....familiarity. "Well, aint this something?" He chuckled flicking it from side to side.


    "Caster, do you think ¨C"


    "Nope." Caster cut her off. "Call me Lancer." A feral grin appeared on his face as he took a much different stance than he had previously.


    He kicked off the ground, much more aggressively than before. He wielded the spear with expert ability to the point where I was starting to guess the spear''s name, even as impossible as it was in this situation.


    No, I couldn''t stop and stare any longer. Let the Servants battle the Servants, we had to take care of these lowly things first.


    ....even if there were still dozens upon dozen of them.


    Maybe we could lure them back a ways to the bridge, push them over the edge, get them stuck in the river?


    What about ¨C


    Lightning.


    A bolt of lightning fell from the sky,nding right onto of one of those Skeletons.


    And another fell a momentter.


    More and more began to fall like rain drops. The sky filled with nothing by ash and smoke seemed to turn into a torrential downpour of Lightning until all the Skeletons were turned to not but ash.


    "What....?" I wasn''t the only one as the others seemed stupefied as well.


    "Sorry, I''mte, Director." My body immediately jerked, turning around towards the familiar voice. "B-Team leader, reporting for duty."


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    Perhaps not the best way to appear, but.....I didn''t really put much thought into this.


    "Y-you, Shimoda!" Olga quickly recovered from the shock and confusion. "Why are you here, how did you get here!?" She shakily held up her finger, jabbing it at me, mostly to see if I was actually here.


    I think I saw a hint of relief in addition to everything else.


    "Boss?" Samuel looked at me.


    "You guys did good, let me take it from here." I smiled towards him. My eyes brieflynded on a face I didn''t recognize, was it another member of B-Team that I hadn''t met yet? He was wearing the Chaldean uniform, albeit not the Mystic Code variant, so that was my first assumption.


    "Shimoda, I demand an exnation!" Olga glowered. "You were just with Roman! How are you here, don''t you dare ignore me!''


    "Would you believe me if I said I Rayshifted?" I smiled awkwardly.


    "Absolutely not!"


    She was actually pretty cute when she got flustered like this. I patted her head, making her give a really strange noise in response. A mixture of surprise and confusion once more before she again had to regain herposure. "W-what are you doing!?"


    "Hold that thought, let''s settle things here first."


    She squawked in protest, but honestly, there was a more important matter to handle. I nced at Caster ¨C or rather Cu Chinn. He also noticed my appearance out of the corner of his eye. It wouldn''t be difficult for him to put two and two together in regards to spear.


    "I''ll be expecting that backter."


    "You can try prying it from my hands." He chuckled, turning his attention fully back towards the Servant he was fighting.


    I quirked a small grin myself, but looked at the other Servant. I recognized the young woman, Mash, fighting some sort of Assassin.


    A Demi-Servant she said.


    It was something I hadn''t heard of before and the idea was honestly very intriguing, but I refused to allow myself to get lost in my own thoughts on the matter. The main point was, she was obviously a novice when it came to this kind of fighting. She was swinging that massive shield around without much prowess, but it also seemed like her physical attributes were far above the Assassin that she was able to keep him at bay with just that.


    Mirage was already in my hand as I approached the little fight they were having.


    "Senpai, stay back, this Servant is strong!" Mash warned me, a genuine look of rm on her face as she saw meing over.


    Though, the Assassin took that moment of distraction, to push away from Mash''s massive shield, instead opting to go for me. Did it consider me an easier target? Something was definitely wrong with this Servant, as with the one that Caster was fighting.


    Cursed, they were definitely cursed by that damnable Avenger.


    That ck Mud must have gotten to them as well.


    They seemed much more hollow than a real Servant. It was no wonder that Mash was overpowering him and able to hold her ground as awkwardly as she was.


    "Zun Haal Viik." The words were not very loud, but they were audible from far away. The weapon in the Assassin''s hand was ripped away, flinging off to the side. Credit where it was due, the Servant didn''t get thrown off for long, he immediately reached towards his back where he carried a plethora of other weapons.


    Mash took the opportunity to attack him again, the bottom of her shield swinging down towards the Servant.


    The nameless Servant brought his new weapon up to block her, and I took that chance to move. I didn''t want to waste any time on this more than I have already. Magical Energy swirled around me and my sword glowed with a myriad of colors.


    Myriad sh.


    The Technique I had created so long ago.


    He reached behind him to grab another weapon with his free hand, but my de didn''t even register it before cutting right through his body and he slumped down. I was absolutely not in the mood right now to y around with this Servant.


    Maybe in another ce, and another time, I would want to take time to experiment with this thing and figure more about its capabilities. But it seemed tock any kind of proper intellgience anymore, probably running more on instinct than anything.


    Mash disengaged right before, letting the Assassin Servant fall to the ground, dissipating into motes of light and disappearing.


    She had pretty good instincts. She called herself a Demi-Servant, did she inherent things from her Servant half?


    Really need to know what that''s about.


    "Gaaah!?" A pained shriek sounded out that drew my attention.


    Caster held up the other Servant, spear pierced through her heart as her body slid to the ground. She barely had time to utter words of disdain before also dissipating away.


    Considering how hollow these Servants felt, I''m not surprised he was able to end it so quickly. He twirled my spear, showing off a rather cocky grin. Probably because he noticed my gaze as well.


    "Senpai, that was incredible!" Mash looked at me, eyes practically sparkling.


    .....adorable.


    "You didn''t do bad yourself." I think she deserved some praise after fighting a Servant for the first time. Though, she kind of slumped her shoulders in response.


    Did I touch on a sore spot?


    "Shimoda!" Olga shouted. "What''s going on." She fumed, stomping up to me. ".....And don''t you dare lie." She let out a huff that seemed.....sad. "Is that even your name? What else have you been hiding?" She was no longer shouting, her voice quieted down, but I could easily hear the undertone of hurt in her words.


    In for a penny in for a pound.


    There was no point in hiding anymore, and I felt like I owed it to her at this point.


    I let out a sigh but acquiesced. I was really not at my best right now, and even any kind of joke died in my throat that I would try in a normal circumstance. "Allow me to reintroduce myself." I gave the most gentle smile I was capable of. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapter ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 350 - 317

    <h4>Chapter 350: Chapter 317</h4>


    She looked at me like I had three heads.


    The others, well, they didn''t really have any concept of the weight behind my name.


    .....maybe I should give her a moment, because Olga was just gaping her mouth like a fish.


    Perhaps ¨C


    "WHAT!?" She finally shrieked.


    There it is.


    "Wilhelm ¨C"


    "I heard you." She hissed, fuming as she properly processed what I had said previously. "Y-you ¨C" He jabbed her finger at me, seemingly unable to find the right words. ".....you lied to me." Was added on with not but a whisper.


    "Director!" Mash shuffled closer. "Roman is trying to contact us."


    Olga jerked her head towards her, a scowl adoring her face. "Put him on." She huffed.


    I suppose priority to the situation is given, no matter how much Olga was giving me looks. No doubt she clearly had a lot to say.


    "Director are you ¨C" Roman stopped to stare at me. "Takao!?"


    "Hello Roman, fancy seeing you here." I gave him a little wave.


    "How!? How are you there, what!?" Roman blurted out.


    "....would you believe me if I said I Rayshifted?"


    "But our sensors didn''t detect any Rayshifting activity from our end?" Roman seemed confused. "Not to mention we don''t have the power to Rayshift again yet. Leo barely has some sub systems back online, and ¨C"


    "Roman." Olga hissed again, interrupting him. "He didn''t Rayshift."


    Roman blinked, still confused. "But...how else did he get there?"


    "Yes, how did you get here, Shimoda?." Olga glowered, emphasizing that name I used.


    In normal situations like this, I usually make a joke due to the awkwardness, but.....seeing her genuinely look upset, I felt a pit in my stomach.


    "I used the Kaleidoscope." I let out a sigh, just admitting the truth.


    "The Kaleidoscope?" Roman repeated, his eyes slowly widening. "Y-you''re a Magician!?"


    "...yeah." I just nodded, not feeling very excited to introduce myself again when the Director was ring my way.


    "Uh, what''s the big deal? I thought you all were?" Samuel awkwardly asked.


    He sort of shrunk a little as everyone now turned to him as the source of the question.


    "A Magician ispletely different than a Magus!" Roman eximed. "A Magician can use True Magic."


    And they continued to stare nkly.


    "....we never covered that, Roman." Olga sighed, almost in resignation. "It wasn''t something important enough to warrant a discussion." She shot me another look. "Atleast it wasn''t until now."


    "I''mpletely confused."


    I then faced the source of that particr voice; it was one foreign to me. "I''m sorry, who are you?"


    "R-Ritsuka Fujimaru, um, sir?" He tried his best to address me sort or professionally.


    "...you were with the new batch of recruits." I winced a little realizing he was the only one of the new batch that I''ve yet seen, even when I was running around Chaldea after the bombs. "And you managed to make a contract with....Mash?" I looked at the adorable girl in some revealing armor with the massive shield. "How did that happen?"


    "You can find outter." Olga huffed. "Don''t you dare try to change the subject."


    "Right..."I scratched my cheek, feeling a little helpless at her attitude. How was I supposed to respond? While I didn''t do anything morally wrong here, I did wrong her.


    It''s not like I couldn''t emphasize with her perspective.


    "I can exin the difference, Director." Mash cheerfully volunteered, cutting through the awkwardness. "Magecraft is the recreation of any phenomenon that can be achieved through non-magical means regardless of time or effort. While True Magic is something that is not yet achievable."


    "...I think I get it?" Mash''s master muttered.


    "Wonderful." Olga deadpanned. "What a great use of our time. Now that the lesson is over, we can get back to the main point. How the hell are you a Magician ¨C why are you a Magician!?" She threw her finger at me again in usation. Though it was awkwardly phrased, and probably just blurted out, I could understand what she was trying to ask.


    "Zelretch is my grandfather. He asked me to investigate what was going on with Chaldea because he anticipated something.....wrong about everything."


    "Grandfather!?" Olga blurted out again. "The Wizard Marshall has a grandson?"


    "I never heard about anything like that either." Roman whispered from his end.


    "Lord Zelretch is the Magician known as the Kaleidoscope, the master of the second True Magic." Mash whispered to her apparent Master.


    "Boss, does that mean you can take us back?" Samuel spoke up, apparently speaking what was on the minds of others.


    "Sorry, Master. You''re not going back other than the way you came." Caster who had been standing at the sidezily spoke up for the first time.


    "What do you mean?" Samuel tilt his head.


    "Figured you were new to everything. But...." Caster kind of inspected him. "Your causality is all twisted up. Can''t say I know the ins and outs of how you got here ¨C and by your admittance earlier, you''re not from this time period. But, you can''t go back except the way you came, otherwise your causality is too twisted and it''ll tear you apart if you popped back over." Caster scratched his head, apparently trying to choose his words carefully for Samuel''s sake. "True Magic, or whatever isn''t something I''m familiar with either, so I might be wrong. But, he doesn''t use the same method of travel, so I don''t think it''d be a good idea to go back with it."


    "You''re right." I confirmed his suspicions.


    "What a surprise, you''re actually apetent Magus." Olga looked at Caster, scoffing.


    "Hey, I''m a pretty good Druid." Caster chuckled.


    "You decided to fight another Servant with a stick!"


    "...I''m feeling pretty unappreciated here. You know, I did have to constantly keep applying Runes to myself to ward off her Mystic Eyes, right?" Caster hummed. "And If I tried to get some distance, that would just put you all in her line of sight. And not to be cocky or anything, but those were some damn strong Mystic Eyes, even with how cursed she apparently was."


    Judging by the stone statues littering the area, I''m guessing the woman was Medusa.


    "Thank you for your work, Caster." Samuel replied with sincerity.


    "Thanks, Master!" Cu cheerfully epted the thanks. "Atleast someone appreciates my efforts. I''d take a farm boy over a Magus any day."


    "You know I grew up on a farm?" Samuel looked surprised.


    "Hah, you got that look about you. Nothing wrong with farmers, honest lot they are." Cu chuckled. "And now that I have Gae Bolg, it''s Lancer." He grinned, spinning the spear around.


    "Wait, where did you get your spear? How did you change to a Lancer?" Roman spoke up.


    "Ask the kid over there." He leveled it, pointing it at me. "And it''s not my spear."


    "But isn''t Gae Bolg the name of your spear?"


    Caster shook his head. "Shishou passed one of her spears to me after my training was done. She had several others, but she favored one in particr." He spoke giving the spear a nostalgic look. "Makes me wonder myself. How you got your hands on Shishou''s favored spear?" His eyesnded on me.


    "It was a memento."


    "....I guess I should call you my little brother then, huh? Didn''t think she would have another Student in this era." Caster easily red between the lines. "Did she finally get her wish?" He looked up at the sky, wistfully.


    "She did." He knew then, I suppose. Well, there was no reason to hide it, I''ve already stepped into the light as it were.


    "Good, that''s good."


    "What are you talking about!?" Olga stomped her foot.


    Caster seemed to shift gears, regaining that cocky smile of his. "What? Just talking to my junior over here. Not every day I meet another student of that bitch."


    It''s funny, I don''t particrly enjoy it when people talk about my woman that way, but it felt....sentimental when he referred to Sc¨¢thach like that.


    Who am I to call him out if they had that kind of dynamic. I''ve called Sc¨¢thach a hag on more than one asion.


    "Another student?" Roman repeated again. "Wait, that means ¨C"


    "Yup, he also trained with Sc¨¢thach." Cu chuckled, spinning his spear a little. "Don''t know how, didn''t think it''d be possible to get to the Land of Shadows in this era. But I''m also not familiar with that Magic, so who knows."


    "What makes you think I didn''t just time travel to before you went? Maybe you''re my little brother?"


    "Who''re you fooling, huh? I may not prefer being a Caster, but I damn well earned the right to appear as one. Time Travel isn''t something even you can do quietly, present point excluded." He shook his head abruptly. "You''re lucky, if things aren''t as bad as I''m imagining, then you would have been in trouble."


    "What do you mean by that?" Olga interjected. "Shimoda, what does he mean by that!?"


    ".....True Time Travel is a Taboo. Rayshifting barely skirts around the issue, so you''re fine there. But even for Magicians.....even Gramps won''t use this method."


    "...then why..?"


    "I couldn''t just let you all handle this on your own." I smiled wryly. "I''m the leader of B-Team."


    There was a small crack in the mask that Olga and created after I introduced myself.


    "Um, Director! We have a Servant signature heading your way, make that two!." Roman interjected.


    Caster looked at me. "You''re her student, I don''t think I gotta ask if you can handle yourself."


    "I can, but I would rather regroup somewhere for a little while."


    "What, you afraid?" Cu jokingly mocked. "Don''t worry, let your elder show you how it''s done."


    "Any other time, I''d love to but ¨C" I gestured towards the others. "Your Master, and the others don''t have the same experience, let them catch their bearings. And I also want to better understand what''s going on."


    "Damn it, you''re probably right." His eagerness faded. "Let''s get the kiddos out of here, let them catch their breath."


    Well, he is sensible.


    "And were do you propose we go!?" Olga crossed her arms. "In case you haven''t noticed, this ce is littered with skeletons of all things, and is mostly on fire! Not to mention the Servants running around."


    "I know a ce, a little out of the ways, and should have some decent resources we can scavenge."


    "Of course you do." Olga scowled. "Lead the way, Lord Schweinorg."


    [***]


    "Good, this ce is mostly standing still." I eyed the Tohsaka manor.


    I don''t think Rin would mind, given the situation. And I''ll see if I can''t nab some doodads that she might appreciate having duplicates of.


    "What is this ce, there''s residual response of Bounded Fields having been present." Olga looked around, apparently casting some analysis spells.


    "The home of Fuyuki''s Second Owner ¨C Rin Tohsaka." I replied.


    It was far enough away from the main city that it made for a good ce to bunker down for the evening.


    ".....how do you know that?" Olga eyed me again. "And other things! How did you know about King Arthur!?"


    "Let''s get settled first, shorty. Then you two can continue your lover''s spat." Cu replied with the grace of a sledgehammer.


    "L-Lover''s spat!?" She shrieked. "Y-you insolent ¨C"


    I put a hand atop her head, making her freeze. And If I were to be honest, it almost felt like she leaned into me only for her to quickly regained her wits. Her nostrils red as she looked at me with a huff and stomped off. "I''m going to make sure there''s no traps any of them will run into!" She dered before disappearing into the corridors.


    "Damn, she''s cute when she''s angry." Cu tilt his head, watching her walk away. "You like the ornery ones too?"


    "Really?" I gave him a deadpanned look upon noticing him staring at her butt as she disappeared.


    "What? I can''t admire the view?"


    Admittedly, the Director is.....well-proportioned in that regard.


    "....give me my spear back."


    "No, it''s mine now." He clutched it close to his chest, picking up the pace as he ran inside.


    .....did he just pull that on me?+


    It was sort of humbling in a way, being on the other end of that.


    "Make yourself useful and put out a Bounded Field around the ce." I shouted, knowing full well he could hear me even if he didn''t respond.


    Though, he was probably going to do just that anyways. Sc¨¢thach said many things about him, but never unreliable.


    Though....


    This feeling deep inside that pulsated when he was around.


    I would be getting answer from himter.


    But at the moment, I had other important matters.


    The mansion itself was about 80% whole. The far wing was caved in, but I don''t think it mattered much. The entrance opened up to some furniture, enough for everyone to sit down. "Alright, team, everyone take a seat. We need to have a chat."


    "It''s good to see you boss." Samuel said, falling into a seat with a sigh of relief. "It wasn''t lookin good there for awhile."


    I looked at what remained of my team, a mncholic feeling invading my chest. ".....no one else made it?"


    "It''s my fault..." Benjamin spoke up. "I tried to help ine, but ¨C " He waived the stump that was his missing right arm.


    "....there were a couple others we found, but....." Samuel added, choking the words out.


    No judgment from me.


    Jeez, what a stressful situation they''ve been shoved into.


    "It''s not anyone''s fault." I sighed, walking towards Benjamin. "Let me see."


    "Thanks, boss, I could use a hand." He joked in self-deprecation.


    I lightly swat at his head. I knew it was just his way to cope. I inspected where it was wrapped up and I began undoing the cloth. "It could have been worse." I mumbled before my hand alit with a bright light.


    "That feels good, don''t stop."


    "Don''t make it weird." I snorted, swatting at him again. Though, it did ease the tension a little as I heard a few chuckles around me. "Unfortunately, I don''t have a spell that can regenerate limbs."


    ".....Oh."


    "Don''t get depressed." I quickly continued. "I know someone who can, though. So, wait until everything is resolved and we''ll get it taken care of."


    I could technically do something about it right now...but I was also hesitant to take something like that out in case we''re being watched some how. It wasn''t a mortal wound, as callous of me to say. So I could put it off untilter, to be on the safe side.


    "Alright, boss." He nodded, quivering his lip a little. Relief mixed with the same amount of stress everyone was dealing with.


    I had to keep reminding myself that these people were not used to these kinds of situations.


    "Chef." Pierra perked up as I put a hand on his shoulder, a healing light enveloping him. "What happened? Tout a explos¨¦ ¨C Everything suddenly exploded." He corrected himself.


    "I''m trying to figure that out myself." I admitted. "Everything in Chaldea is in shambles. The vast majority of staff are likely dead. That''s not even mentioning the systems and resources that were no doubt loss in the attack as well."


    I finished healing up them and moved on to the newest apparent member of our troupe. "Ritsuka Fujimaru, you said?" I walked up to him.


    Young, probably younger than Benjamin.


    Mash stood at his side, protectively. Even if she was rxed, it seems like her natural instinct was to hover around him.


    "Y-yes." He quickly nodded his head.


    "It''s an unfortunate first meeting." I held out my hand as he dly took it. "However, wee to the team, I suppose. We''re going to need as many hands as possible. Could you tell me what happened? Maybe starting from when you arrived?"


    "Sure." He mumbled, looking down at his hands. "Uh, I just got off the Helicopter and came inside when I saw a bunch of other people gathered. I guess they were going to be the same as me?" Fujimaru questioned as I nodded. "Right, so we came in and some other people came to introduce themselves. We were taken on a tour ¨C" he paused, looking a little sheepish. "Erm.....It was a long flight, I had to use the restroom...."


    "Let me guess, you got lost?"


    He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I found this weird squirrel.....dog, thing?" He didn''t really seem to know how to describe it, but I immediately knew what he was talking about.


    I stiffened, because the door to the mansion was pushed open and I felt a very familiar presence. "Fou, fou!" The little monstrosity stood at the threshold.


    I met its eyes


    It looked smug.


    And you knew I wasing, is that why you hid away right before I arrived?


    ....what the hell are you?


    Nope.


    I''m ignoring you. I''m ignoring the fact that you even came here, somehow.


    "Fou, there you are." Mash cooed as the small animal ran over and jumped into her arms happily.


    "Yeah, him." Ritsuka chuckled. "I followed, and I found Mash here. She offered to lead me back to where I needed to go and, well...when we were about to walk into the room with the ¨C things ¨C "


    "Coffins." I added.


    "Those things, yeah." He nodded. "Well, everything suddenly exploded. Next thing I know, I saw Mash and she was.....um, not very good. She asked me to grab her hand, then next thing I know, Inded on the ground here and she exined everything to me afterwards."


    I looked up at Mash.


    "It''s all true, Senpai. Master saved me by making the contract."


    "And what''s the deal with that?" I questioned. "A Demi-Servant? That''s the first I''ve heard of such a thing."


    Mash visibly recoiled awkwardly and I realized I was touching something sensitive. "Let''s shelf that for now. Are there any detriments to your ''abilities''?"


    She shook her head. "But.....I don''t know the name of my Noble Phantasm. I think the Heroic Spirit I fused with protected me and then something happened that it can''t respond."


    I think there''s more to it considering that she was supposed to be a member of A-Team from what Wodime said. Something about some unfortunate circumstances that didn''t allow her to deploy with certainty.


    "Do you know the name of the Servant you''re merged with?" I think that''s the correct term for what happened to her?


    The idea that a human could merge with a Servant in the same way she did was utterly fascinating.


    "....sorry." Mash said quietly.


    "It''s not your fault. You being here is already a big boon." I tried to cheer her up. "And well done, Fujimaru, forging a contract with a Servant shouldn''t be something you can do on instinct."


    Makes me wonder what his Servantpatibility is for that to even be a thing.


    "Thank you." His perked up a little bit, despite the situation. He was handling himself fairly well, all things considered. He and just stepped into the ce and then a literal boomter, he''s fighting for his life.


    "What about you guys?" I turned towards the remainder of my time. "What happened on your end?"


    They shared a look before Samuel spoke up. "Lev asked us to give the new guys a tour while everyone else was preparin to Rayshift. We wanted to make ourselves useful while everything was happenin, so we obliged. While we were showing them the Coffins and exining what was going to happen soon, everything suddenly exploded."


    ".....and was Lev inside the room with you?"


    "Yes, Boss. Lev was standing nearby, but....the ce he was got hit hard. I don''t think he made it."


    That made my thoughtse to a screeching halt.


    Lev was dead?


    ...I didn''t want to call Samuel a liar, but I don''t think he could have paid enough attention to now if Lev escaped unharmed or not.


    But at the same time, I can''t rule out the possibility that Lev was actually uninvolved...


    "What a mess." I breathed out, looking around the room again. "Alright you guys get a well-deserved break. Take a nap if it helps, I can make something for everyone to eat in a little bit once we''re settled for the night."


    What went unsaid was that they would be forced to jump into the fray againe morning.


    I couldn''t leave them by themselves and just run out to settle everything myself. There was the matter of a perpetrator on the loose who had no qualms about killing anyone. And if a stray Servant came upon them.....


    No, it was better that they stick close, it would also mean I can keep some of my own cards to my chest for now by having both Mash and Cu help with Servants. Maybe I can see if the FATE system is working so they can summon more Servants tomorrow morning?


    "Mash, look after everyone. I''m going to go check up on the Director."


    "Good luck." She said quietly.


    Oof, even Mash could see the hole I was in regarding her.


    Let''s see if I can mend some bridges.


    [***]


    "Didn''t expect to find you here." I pushed open the cracked door to see Olga rummaging through some drawers.


    It was Rin''s bedroom.


    She paused, seeing that it was me, scowled and continued. "My position as Director is clearly irrelevant, so I figured I would make myself useful. Do you have orders for me, Lord Schweinorg? Maybe something else you''ve lied to me about?"


    I was about to respond with an apology but something else caught my eye. "....are you raiding Rin''s panty drawer?" I looked over her shoulder.


    .....damn Rin, some of those are spicy. You need to take Artoria shopping with you next time.


    "D-don''tpare me to somemon deviant!" She squeaked in embarrassment as she unfolded her hand, revealing a few jewels, mming them on the top of the dresser. "This Tohsaka heir hid some noteworthy items around her estate. I have been searching for them and found a few." She gestured towards the bed with a few more jewels and some other Mystic Codes. There was also the Dagger Mystic Code she tended to carry around.


    "Clothes?" I asked, looking at some thingsid out on the bed.


    ".....I am assuming that my room is gone. Thus, I''ve been finding anything of worth to bring back. I can only imagine what resources we''recking. I was going to gather what foodstuffs and such as well."


    "How are you going to take it back with you?"


    ".....I''ll figure that outter." She huffed, turning around and stomping to the bed, and plopping down.


    It''s not that things can''t Rayshift back with them, but she would have to somehow carry it all with her.


    She made a good point, Chaldea was probably without any meaningful resources. Food, clothing, anything really would be much appreciated.


    I walked over, sitting down next to her, but she huffed again, turning her head.


    "I''m sorry." I saw her twitch a little, so I continued. "I''m sorry I mislead you."


    ".....you have nothing to apologize for." She said evenly, though her tone betrayed her expression. "I''m sure you had no choice but to betray all my trust and lie to my face. This humiliation is entirely unintentional on your part. And the thought that I actually managed to do something right for once was just a misunderstanding, isn''t that right?!? Of course, it couldn''t be by my hand that apetent member of Chaldea emerged. No, it was the Wizard Marshall who takes all the credit. It''s my fault for thinking I could fulfill my duties properly."


    The look on her face as she finished, I don''t think she even meant to say all that. Thebination of stress and everything literally blowing up in her face...I can''t fault her for just blurting that all out.


    I reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder.


    "What are you doing ¨C!?"


    And I pulled her into a hug.


    She seemed like she really needed one right now. She didn''t get upset, nor her usual shouting or belligerence. Instead, I think I heard some soft sniffles as her face was buried into my side.


    She stayed like that for a minute and I didn''t do anything topromise the vulnerability she must have been feeling at this particr moment.


    When she finally pulled herself away, she took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes. "You will not tell anyone this happened."


    "It''ll be our little secret."


    ".....good." She nodded in satisfaction, a little bit of embarrassment showing through.


    "Here." I said, taking out my hat.


    "....what?" She stared nkly at it as I pushed it into her hands.


    "It''s a hat."


    "I noticed!" She scoffed. "...and where did ite from!?"


    I wiggled my finger to show the ring I had on. "Folded space, pocket dimension."


    "Convenient."


    "Yup, you know what''s also convenient?" I asked.


    "What?"


    I tapped on the hat and Sir Wiggles Popped his little head outside.


    Olga stiffened, staring at my familiar. Sir Wiggles pulled himself up out of the brim and forced himself onto herp.


    ".....why is there a rabbit in myp?"


    "He''s not just a Rabbit, he is ¨C Sir Wigglesbottom Fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, Crown Prince of the Emerald Kingdom, Duke of Carrot Ind, General of the northern Armies, Lightning born, The Devil yer. And newly appointed head of Chaldean department of Phantasmal Beasts. Or, Sir Wiggles, for short."


    She opened her mouth and closed it again. Clearly, she was in awe at the legacy that sat in herp. "....cute."


    I''ll take that as an agreement on his new appointment.


    "He''s my familiar."


    Olga ran a finger along his fluffy back. "And you didn''t fill out the required paperwork to bring a familiar into Chaldea, did you?"


    ".....He''s my pet?" I offered instead.


    Olga looked at me, her eyes twitching slightly. "I''ll let it go this once." She said quietly.


    Works every time.


    "You do know we actually have a department for Phantasmal Beasts, right?"


    "I did not." I admitted.


    "Your Rabbit would probably do a better job anyways." She snorted, the slightest bit amused.


    "The Hat is a pocket dimension. It''s something very sentimental to me as well and is also Sir Wiggles'' home. I already put a lot of different things in there that will be helpful to Chaldea. And you can add anything else you find." I picked the hat up, putting it on her head. She made a little noise consisting of grumbling cutely but didn''t stop me. "So, why don''t you hang onto it for awhile."


    ".....thank you, Shimoda." She whispered.


    And we spent a little while longer, sitting in a pleasant silence as she gently pet Sir Wiggles. A few minutes that she could destress probably helped her substantially.


    [***]


    "Hey."


    I walked outside to the porch where Caster wasying against the steps.


    "Caster." I greeted in return.


    "Caster? What caster? I only see a Lancer out here."


    "Mmm, it would be a shame if his spear disappeared." The corners of my lips curled up as I took a seat next to him.


    "Come on, man. Don''t do that to me. I hate being summoned as a caster. I mean, it''s not bad, but I''m a spearman, through and through."


    "I can''t wait to tell Sc¨¢thach that you were summoned as a Caster." Iughed, just picturing her face.


    "Wait, I thought you said she was ...."


    "Yeah." I sighed, getting a little morefortable. "She asked me to kill her when my training was done."


    "So you really did it, huh?"


    "She let me win." I wasn''t ashamed to admit that.


    "Jeez, she never let me win."


    "Oh, she doesn''t anymore." I shook my head. "She''ll kick my ass if I give her the slightest opening. Though, she does get affectionate afterwards. She enjoys cuddling."


    "Wait, what? Are we talking about the same person? I''m thinking she''s a little biased here, she was never that gentle with me. She would kick my ass to the point where I couldn''t walk, then make me crawl all the way back to her damn castle. And you, what, get head pats afterwards? That''s some bullshit right there."


    "More likep pillows."


    "Fuck you. If you didn''t give me this spear, I''d be fighting you right now." Caster pouted. "She was never that gentle with me. That''s some favoritism right there."


    "Of course it is, she''s my woman." I said rather proudly. "


    "....damn, you got some balls then." Caster looked at me with a hint of respect. "But you said she was killed?"


    "Fought in a Grail War, used it to bring her back." I summarized the entire thing.


    He blinked, looking at me. "Ah, that''d do it. Willingly fighting in a war against Servants just to resurrect her? Yeah, that''s be something to win her heart even if there wasn''t anything else involved." Cu chuckled. "....I''m d she''s doing well."


    As fun as this conversation was, I believe it was appropriate to get to the point. "So, you ready to start talking?" I looked at him, raising an eyebrow.


    "....so you noticed." The Caster servant sighed. "Was hoping you wouldn''t."


    "Pretty hard not to." I sat up a little straight. "So, wanna tell me why the blessing I got from the God Odin starts ring up whenever you''re around?"


    [***]


    Sorry for the dy, not feeling too well still.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    Just a heads up, this chapter was Beta''d so, probably more errors than normal. Which is also a heads up for the future, my Beta won''t be avable for awhile and I only have like three more chapters that he did corrections on. So, be prepared for some more errors while I try to handle things myself and get back into that groove.

 Chapter 351 - 318

    <h4>Chapter 351: Chapter 318</h4>


    "Let me tell you a story ¨C"


    "No." I cut him off. "Just tell me straight, otherwise I feel like you''re going to try and distract me."


    "It''splicated." He sighed.


    "Are you even Cu Chinn?" I questioned his hesitance. "Or is Odin just filling out an ether suit made of all his bits?"


    "Did you have to word it like that? Sounds kind of dirty."


    "Quit stalling." I nudged him. "Besides, Odin is a Norse God and Cu Chinn is Celtic. I''m pretty damn sure there''s no threshold you can reach in that regard."


    "Fine, fine." He threw his hands up in resignation. "Just....let me put up something." He added with a grumble, pushing himself off the steps and started drawing Runes with an expert ease. Not just any Runes, the weight of Primordial Runes filled the air as they actualized around us. "Should keep out anyone trying to pry."


    "Well now, isn''t that interesting." I sat up, inspecting his work. "Did you iste us from the Temporal Axis?"


    He shrugged. "It''s an easy way to avoid people. Doesn''t hold up against literally any kind of force, but hey, it''s quick and easy."


    He made it sound much easier than it actually was. "Any kind of interference would jerk us back into the normal flow of time." I summarized.


    "Pretty much." He plopped back down.


    Very impressive. I didn''t even see everything he did, it was so fluid and quick that he barely put effort into it.


    "So.....how much of you is Cu Chinn?"


    "...It''s mostly me." He grumbled. "Call it a 70 ¨C 30 split with him mostly being dormant, if that makes sense.


    Well, I probably could have guessed that much. I was mostly just being a bit hyperbolic before just so he wouldn''t beat around the bush. "So he took away your spear, huh?"


    He grumbled again. "Don''t I know it. I hate being summoned as a caster. Totally capable of it, Shishou made sure of that, but it''s so.....boring. My Noble Phantasm is great and all, but it can''tpare to my Spear."


    "So...why did Odin make you appear as a Caster over a Lancer?"


    "Hell if I know." He shrugged. "It''s not like I''m him. I can''t just know the reason he does everything."


    "....you''re literally him right now."


    "It''s.....not really that simple." He scratched his head.


    "If you say so." Who knows why a God does anything? They don''t think the same way as us ''mortals''. "Why is he doing all of this then? You being here and everything? Cause you said all the other Servants are corrupted, and you''re clearly not hollow like that Assassin and Lancer we faced."


    "I can''t say."


    "Can''t or won''t?"


    "Literally can''t." He added. "Can you just trust me and let that go?"


    I observed him for a moment, looking at his expression and breathed out a long breath. "Fine, I won''t push. You''re already being open with me as is and I''m not unthankful for that."


    "Thanks, man." He said pretty genuinely.


    "I''m guessing you don''t want your ''status'' known by anyone else?" I asked.


    "If you weren''t a Magician, and one of Shishou''s, I wouldn''t have said as much as I did." He replied. "But yeah, I''d really appreciate it if you didn''t say anything about me."


    Well its not like I had any room to call him out. I had been running around undercover as well literally yesterday.


    But that just begged one question. Why the hell was Odin interfering this far into the Time-Line?


    It''s honestly made me a little anxious.


    "I''ve actually met Odin, twice now."


    "Oh?" He perked up. "How the hell did that happen?"


    "When Sc¨¢thach was passing down her Runes to me during the Ritual ¨C"


    "Oh, that brings back memories." Cu smiled wistfully. "I was surprised to see how weak she got afterwards. Didn''t really understand how much it took out of her to pass them on. Took the opportunity to get a feel~"


    "...You''re such a dick."


    "Tell me you didn''t do the same thing."


    "Fuck you, we cuddled."


    "That''s bullshit, she kicked my ass, and you get cuddles? Seriously, I''m calling out her favoritism here." Cu huffed without much heat to his words.


    "When didn''t she kick your ass?"


    He blinked, looking thoughtful. "You know, that''s actually a good question."


    I shook my head, realizing why that was the default reaction for her. "Alright, back on topic. Yeah, met Odin, he appeared and was a gigantic dick; he attacked because he wanted to know something I knew."


    Cu winced a little. "Yeah, sorry about that."


    "Not your fault ¨C technically. Even a different Odin, World-lines and all that." I waved it off. "The other was in another world where the Age of Gods continued into the modern Era. There was a peace meeting between a whole bunch of Pantheons, even your dad was there."


    "Really? My old man?"


    "Yup, he was apparently friendly with Odin, but I didn''t really exchange words with him. But Odin, well...."


    "I feel like I''m going to regret asking, but what happened?"


    "His literal first words to me were the admiration for Gabriel''s breasts. Let me emphasize that, The Archangel, Gabriel from the Bible. He was admiring her boobs."


    Cu opened his mouth and closed it again before bursting out inughter. "Well, don''t hold me in suspense. How were they?"


    "They were amazing. Easily a perfect score."


    "Damn." Cu blinked.


    "Yeah, not even in the top 10 weirdest moments of my life."


    "I wish we met under different circumstances. Would have loved to share a drink and get to know my junior." Cu leaned back. "Pretty shit situation this is. Wanted a normal fight, and ended up having to deal with arge mess."


    "You don''t know the half of it." And I realized who he actually was. "....or maybe you do...." I eyed him suspiciously. "Here''s a thought. The fact that they survived, it could be called a literal miracle." As in a forceful hand by the Counter Force. Because from what I understood, they were right at the epicenter of the worst of it. "And they would have had no support here beyond a half-Servant girl who is probably a little in over her head and doesn''t even know the name of her Noble Phantasm. How convenient that a Servant was uncontracted and not corrupted running around."


    Cu had a small grin forming on his face. "Yup, pretty damn convenient."


    ".....how bad are things?" Because if Odin decided to interfere this ''far away'', then things can''t be simple.


    "You''re really putting me in a tough spot here." He groaned. "It''s going to get worse before it gets better."


    "And I suppose you won''t borate?"


    "I''m already pushing it." Cu shook his head. "On the ount of her. And what Odin ¨C that other Odin, did. Call it an apology."


    "Thanks."


    "Don''t mention it." He chuckled. "Seriously, don''t mention any of this. You just existing is already something that''s a wildcard."


    "I''m afraid to know what you mean by that, and I know you won''t answer. But suffice to say, I do have my own cards to y that can tip the scales in our favor should things prove dire."


    He nodded in approval but didn''t mention it anymore.


    "Now, what are you going to give me?"


    "What?" Cu looked at me in confusion.


    "To keep my mouth shut." I shot him a grin.


    "Are....you ckmailing me?"


    "Yup."


    "Dick." Cu eximed. "What do you want?"


    I took out a couple of beers from my ring, tossing one to him. He perked up immediately, looking rather thankful. "Since you got Odin inside you, know any good spells you wouldn''t mind passing down?"


    Cu used his thumb to flick the bottle cap off and took a drink. "You''re lucky you''re my junior, otherwise I''d kick your ass." He grunted. "Fine, I don''t really mind. So, I actually got two Noble Phantasms, one of themes from my Caster nature and being a Druid. The other, well....I guess you could say it''s due to some help. Honestly, it''s just abination of Primordial Runes that''s conceptualized into a Noble Phantasm more so than a genuine Noble Phantasm. The fact that you have his blessing means it should work since I''m teaching you."


    Kind of like Kojiro''s sword technique.


    Very interesting.


    "And now you have my attention."


    "Alright, since you gave me something to drink, and let me use Shishou''s spear, I''ll show you once. If you don''t get it, it''s your own fault."


    [***]


    "Alright, everyone listen up!" Olga eximed, smacking her hand on Mash''s shield. "We''re going to n our attack."


    "Before we start, can we get a status update from Chaldea?" I asked seeing Roman on the other side of the holographic-like screen.


    "Roman." Olga nodded.


    It was a little cute seeing her wearing my hat. And she was holding Sir Wiggles in her arms, not that he minded the attention.


    "Well, not much has changed." Roman scratched his head. "Uh, well, things settled a little bit, but we''re still running around putting out fires. Leo managed to secure several pivotal systems, but they''re still offline until we can get enough generators up and running. Which....aren''t really a priority right now considering we''re trying to keep things from just outright blowing up due to what happened."


    I wasn''t stupid enough to ask for a head count at the moment. Right now, morale was probably as high as it could get. Not to say it was good, but the members of my team and Olga were...dealing with everything. Suddenly talking about everyone that died, well, that''s just asking for it to drop to rock bottom again.


    A hearty breakfast, cooked by myself ¨C thank you Rin for having a Gas stove ¨C did wonders for making people feel a little better.


    Not to mention a good several hours of sleep gave them a clear head to work with. Right now, the job was the main focus of everyone.


    "I suppose hoping for the FATE system being up and running is a long shot."


    "Sorry, yeah. All the power right now is being redirected to critical parts of Chaldea ¨C like keeping the Coffins powered and making sure there''s enough power to Rayshift back when you need it."


    "We''ll make do." Olga interrupted.


    "A-are you sure? Aren''t there more Servants that you have to fight?"


    "And we''ll discuss that now." Olga nodded. "Shimoda, you''re apparently familiar with this Grail War. Which is odd, considering that the only recorded Grail War we know is in Fuyuki was the one that my father participated in and won."


    All eyes turned to me. "That''s right, this Grail War isn''t native to this world-line. Or in other words for the uninitiated, this happened in a parallel timeline."


    "Huh, does that mean you know who that Red Archer is?" Cu asked.


    "I do."


    "Good, I want another crack at him. Annoying bastard is going to get a taste of my Spear."


    "My Spear." I rified.


    "Semantics." He shrugged. "But he has iting! Taunted me the entire time while taking pot shots out of my range. And whenever I got close enough to do something, he ran away towards that damn Berserker. And no way in hell I''m fighting that monster head on as a Caster."


    "Like 10 feet,tall mass of anger and muscle?" I asked.


    ".....you know him too then."


    "Hercules."


    "What!?" Olga blurted out. "Are you kidding me!?"


    "Nope." I popped the p. "Perhaps the most famous Hero in the world, consumed by madness and who knows what other curses have been eating away at him since being here."


    "Great, just great!" Olga threw her arms up.


    "Uh, Tak ¨C Wilhelm." Roman spoke up, correcting himself.


    "Either, or is fine. One is my birth name, the other is the one I took up after leaving home." I gestured for him to continue.


    "Can you start from the beginning?"


    "Right" I swept my gaze around the room, remembering who my audience was. "History lesson time. So, the Holy Grail War, we briefly covered this as it''s the basis that Chaldea uses to summon their own Servants, so I won''t go too deep into those details. This specific one is the fifth iteration of said war, never having a winner at this point. You see, one of the founding families had the bright idea during the third iteration. They were going to cheat."


    "Oh no..." Roman sighed.


    "What?" Samuel asked.


    "Two possible oues." Cu replied. "Either it works, or it blows up spectacrly. There''s really no in-between with things like this."


    "The city is on fire." Ritsuka added.


    "So you can imagine how that went." I shook my head. "But they decided they were going to summon an Extra Servant."


    "Extra Servant?" Roman asked. "What do you mean?"


    "ss containers aren''t limited to just seven. There are extra sses that fill other roles."


    "What?" Olga asked in confusion. "This is the first I''m hearing about this."


    "It''s notmon knowledge. For instance, if the Apocrypha Protocols were triggered, a Ruler ss Servant would be summoned to moderate the Grail War. Thankfully, what the Einzbern family did caused the Grail to utterly break enough that those protocols were destroyed, otherwise we''d be in the middle of a much bigger cluster fuck."


    "Boss, what''re the, erm..." Samuel asked for rification.


    "Apocrypha Protocols. Don''t worry too much about it, basically it''s a Fail Safe the original creators installed to make it so one ''faction'' couldn''t hoard all the summons. If that happened, these specific Protocols would trigger, making it no longer a free for all, but an additional seven Servants would be summoned, and it would be a battle between teams. With a Ruler Servant overseeing the whole thing."


    "Fascinating." Roman looked to be writing down my words. "And what''s special about a Ruler Servant?"


    "They can discern any Servant''s identity and information as long as they don''t have a way to hide it ¨C like an ability or Noble Phantasm. They also are summoned with additional Command Seals they can use on other Servants to enforce the rules. And the requirement to be a Ruler Servant is that you have no Wish for the Grail War."


    "As interesting as this is, we''re going off topic." Olga responded. "Note down this information, but we need the information about this whole situation."


    "Right." She made a good point. "It was mildly important and somewhat tied into what I was going on about. They were deciding between forcing the summoning of a Ruler through cheating, meaning it wouldn''t abide by the whole ''No wish'' facet of requirements." Looking at you, Shirou. "But instead, they opted to summon an Avenger ss Servant."


    "Avenger?" Olga repeated again, furrowing her brow. "That....doesn''t sound good."


    "Nope. Full of hatred, they''re probably just as hard to control as a Berserker, but without the Madness. And the specific Avenger they summoned ¨C Angra Mainyu. Otherwise known as the Zoroastrian God of Evil."


    "But a Divine spirit can''t be summoned!?" Roman blurted out.


    I nced at Cu who had a rather amused look on his face.


    "It''splicated." I waved off his outburst. "But to make a long story short, the Avenger Servant was ridiculously weak, and lost its first fight. But....instead of the Grail grabbing it and processing him properly, he instead went to corrupt the Grail." I looked out the window. "As you can see, this is what happens when the insides spill out. The Skeletons that were running around, they were running on his curses. The Servants we''ve encountered so far ¨C hollow shells that had drowned in his curses."


    "....do we gotta fight a God, boss?"


    "What''s wrong, farm boy, don''t feel confident throwing down with a God?" Cu let out a chuckle. "Don''t worry, we aren''t fighting a God. Though, that doesn''t mean this is going to be easy."


    "Right, so no God." I made sure to rify. "It seems like Avenger isn''t really present anymore? Not sure, because if all this happened, he should have incarnated by now."


    "Great, so the world is only mildly annihted, notpletely." Olga huffed. "That doesn''t exin how all this happened."


    "I''m not omnipotent, I''m just giving the backstory and the probable cause as to why things are like this. I''m just as in the dark about the finer details." I hesitated to say it but I couldn''t help it. "I can''t think of a good reason why Art ¨C Saber is doing this."


    "You spoke of familiarity with that Servant." Roman spoke up again.


    "In another time and ce.....we''re close." I didn''t really want to go into details.


    "Really, her too?" Cu looked at me, apparently able to read between the lines.


    I shrugged. "Yeah."


    "Favoritism!" Cu threw his arms up. "Shishou beat me up if I even implied ¨C"


    "Moving on!" Olga interrupted. "So we have King Arthur as Saber, the supposed Ring Leader and cause of this Singrity. And to make matters worse, she most likely has the Grail and is being powered up by it."


    "So she can use her Noble Phantasm nearly limitlessly." I nodded.


    "Joy." Olga deadpanned. "And then we have Berserker also known as Hercules stomping around somewhere. Anything we should know about him?"


    "His Noble Phantasm makes him immune to things below a certain rank. And he can revive up to Thirteen times and be extremely resistant to what killed him previously."


    Olga slowly closed her eyes. "Please tell me you''re joking."


    "....I''m joking." I offered.


    "If I didn''t have your familiar in my arms, I would be hitting you."


    Well done, Sir wiggles.


    "O¨´ est le ¨C where is this, Archer you mentioned?" Pierre had been silent most of the time, but he decided to join in.


    "The Archer?" Cu repeated. "He''s guarding the path to Saber. Couldn''t get to her, she''s in the caves below the temple to the west."


    "You said he was leading you towards Hercules. Can we not just.....avoid him?"


    I mulled that over. "You also said Archer''s been taunting you and is clearly more intelligent than those other Servants. I''m guessing he isn''tpletely corrupted and has some measure of free thought. Might be able to get his help."


    "What makes you think he''d help? Maybe he''s willingly helping Saber. Wouldn''t put it past that guy." Cu crossed his arms.


    "He''s a Counter Guardian."


    Cu stiffened slightly. "Would exin why he isn''t fully corrupted. Still think he''s a dick though."


    "You can piss him off by calling him by his real name if you want."


    "Really?" Cu perked up. "Alright, tell me itter. I''ll get him to focus on me for our rematch."


    "But with Pierre''s thought ¨C where is Berserker?"


    "He''s been just wandering at the castle ruins outside the city." Cu replied.


    "Awesome, all in favor of just ignoring Berserker?"


    Everyone raised their hands.


    "If I was a Lancer, I''d take him." Cu pouted a little.


    "Senpai, I can fight him if you need me to. I may not know my Noble Phantasm, but I think I can hold him off for a little while." Mash offered up.


    "I''d rather you be nearby to defend the team. If we don''t have to face Hercules, I''d rather not."


    Honestly, he''s one of the few Servants I wouldn''t want to fight straight up. His strength was quite literally legendary. Even as a Servant I don''t know if I could match him physically. That''s not to say I couldn''t win, but knowing he was such a physical powerhouse was a concern worth noting.


    Honestly, I''m just trying to put as many variables in our favor as possible in the event that something unforeseen happens, which was likely.


    "What about Rider?" Olga asked. "You haven''t mentioned them."


    "....in the original war, Rider was Medusa. But considering who Lancer was, and who we''ve seen so far, I''m guessing that the original Caster got turned into Rider." I turned towards Cu. "Have you seen Rider?"


    "I actually haven''t seen Rider at all." He scratched his cheek. "Looked everywhere, but no sign of them."


    "Then they''re probably dead. The Original caster was Medea of Colchis. If you didn''t meet her, either she was too dangerous to leave alive, or she killed herself. She had a Noble Phantasm that could probably counter the corruption, so Saber most likely took care of her."


    Not to mention her sheer capabilities as a Magus would have probably allowed her to work around the Curses in some capacity.


    "You''re making some assumptions there." Olga pointed out.


    "I am, but I''m not ruling the possibility outpletely."


    "I can talk to Da Vinci to see if we can''t get enough power for a full scan of the city, see how many Servant Signatures we can get." Roman offered.


    "How long will that take, Roman?" Olga asked.


    "Erm....probably half a day?"


    "Too long, we can''t dy much longer." Olga bit her lip. "Let''s just ignore her for now, focus on what we do know but make a n just in case."


    "Cu will handle Archer."


    "He''s mine." Cu grinned.


    "And if we''re avoiding Berserker, that leaves arguably the most challenging one forst. If Caster is going to fight Archer....who''s going to fight Saber, Mash?" Roman Asked.


    "I-I''ll do what I can." The adorable girl said resolutely.


    "I''ll handle Saber." I shook my head. "I need you to do your best to protect everyone."


    "You''ll handle Saber?" Olga looked at me.


    ".....I know you''re a Magician, but can you handle Saber by yourself? Or even with Mash''s help, it sounds.....dangerous. It''s not just a normal Servant, Saber''s going to be amplified by the Grail if we''re guessing right." Roman exined.


    "Let him have it." Cu leaned back against the wall. "It''s his fight. Archer is mine. With this, we should be fine."


    I was thankful for him backing me. I thought he may want a crack at her himself, but I guessed he''s more perceptive than I thought.


    An Artoria who had near limitless Magical Energy at her disposal.....I was not looking forward to a fight like that.


    I was hoping I could convince her to give up.


    We''d have to see.


    "It seems we have a n then." Olga breathed out. "We still have a few hours, we can work out the finer details."


    "If we got a little bit of time, I think there''s something important to deal with." Cu pushed off the wall, walking towards Mash. "A Noble Phantasm should be instinctual. Let''s spar, we''ll see if we can''t get you to bring it out like that."


    *[**]


    IF you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 352 - 319

    <h4>Chapter 352: Chapter 319</h4>


    "...this is a bad idea." Olga huffed.


    "What''s wrong,ss? Can''t handle my spear? I got another spear if you''re more interested in that!" Cuughed, thrusting that red spear forward, only for Mash to bring up her shield to block, slightly getting pushed back.


    ".....why is he....?" Ritsuka looked a little annoyed.


    "He''s trying to get her riled up, don''t think too hard about it." I pat his shoulder. "He''s not that crass. I think the general idea is to get Mash''s emotions peaking, then she might activate her Noble Phantasm unconsciously."


    ".....alright." Ritsuka sighed. "Just seems kind of mean."


    Well, it''s good to be protective of your servant. Strengthens the Master-Servant bond.


    "Regardless, don''t look away. This is kind of friendly, so they''re not going full throttle, but get used to the speed that they''re going at."


    "Roger."


    "Also, focus on the draw of Magical Energy the link is siphoning. The more they go, the more that''s going to increase. You can focus on it and amplify it as well, to give him a little boost they can then use strategically."


    `Wouldn''t be a bad time to teach them a little.


    "Try giving them a little boost, get used to how it affects them and yourself." It would be good for when they need to use special abilities or activate Noble Phantasms.


    Both Ritsuka and Samuel both followed my words.


    It was funny watching both Cu and Mash perk up once they got hit by a burst of Magical Energy. They seemed to understand what was going on and got used to it rather quick. Surprisingly, Mash was getting better the longer they went on.


    Instead of just holding her shield up as arge barrier, she started tilting it, deflect some strikes to reduce how much shock she took. She began stepping into some blows, and stepping back to others.


    Is she just synchronizing with her Servant parts the longer she fights?


    It really is a fascinating phenomenon, but it''s clearly something she doesn''t want to go into detail about, which left me at an awkward spot when I wanted to ask more questions.


    I suppose I could ask Olga, but I''ll just wait until she''s under a little less stress.


    Emotion support Rabbit is going at full throttle right now.


    She was absentmindedly stroking his fur as she watched the two spar.


    "Fou."


    My attention immediately snapped towards Ritsuka, who''s shoulder was now ying host to that thing.


    "Oh hey, little guy. Where did you run off to?" The young man ran a finger down the things back.


    No, it let him pet it.


    It seemed to like the kid for some reason.


    The small animal turned to look at me with its beady little eyes. I didn''t flinch this time when it jumped off Ritsuka''s shoulder and onto mine.


    It continued to stare at me, raising its little paw up, as if it was bored and wanted some entertainment. But it paused when a small sh of lightning emerged, and I felt a familiar weight on top of my head.


    "What the hell, Shimoda? Is your rabbit a Phantasmal Beast!?" Olga blurted out.


    "Did you think I would have a normal rabbit as my familiar?" I replied, not breaking eye contact with the thing.


    The creature used my head to push up, getting eye level with Sir Wiggles. It was about to swat its tiny little paw at him until my familiar let out a small jolt. The creature let out a surprised noise, bouncing off my shoulder andnding on the ground.


    "Fou!?" It squeaked out.


    Sir Wiggles jumped to my shoulder, staring at the creature.


    Fou, looked offended. He quickly took back his perch on Ritsuka''s shoulder as the two small animals stared menacingly at one another.


    The others didn''t really pay them any heed. But once I was sure that the creature wasn''t going to harm Sir Wiggles, I also went back to watching the fight.


    I blinked, seeing Mash actually counter attack.


    "Nice one, littledy!" Cuughed, spinning his spear as itshed out, faster and faster each thrust. "Let me show you a trick I picked up in life." His hand glowed with low as he ran it down the shaft of his spear, runes appearing and coating his weapon. "Should make up for my Caster stats a little bit."


    It was the only warning Mash got before his spear struck out at the center of her shield, and her feet were lifted up a small amount. She quickly nted them firmly, but it was clear that he was pressuring her more.


    "Is that all you got? Maybe I should go after your master over there, huh?"


    "N-no! Don''t harm master!" Mash raised her voice a little in panic, mming her shield forward, making Cu raise his spear up to block.


    "Alright, I think this has gone on long enough. Frankly, if you can''t use your Noble Phantasm, you''re going to be dead weight. You won''t even be able to protect your Master if you get forced by yourselves." Cu took a step back, stabbing his spear into the ground. "Bring everything you got, cause I aint gonna hold back. Come forth and burn thempletely, giant of all trees! Wicker Man!." Cu''s Magical energy burst out and Samuel staggered where he was sitting.


    A massive abomination of wood rose up out of the ground, a raging tempest of fire surrounded it.


    "Mash!" Ritsuka stood up.


    I was a little nervous about Cu''s methods, but I knew he wasn''t as flippant as he was appearing. I was ready to step in if I needed, but I wanted to trust in the both of them. I couldn''t hold their hands if things went even further sideways then they already were.


    I nced at Ritsuka as he held his hand up, apparently taking my previous lesson to heart as arge influx of Magical Energy enveloped Mash. The source was clear as Ritsuka almost fell over as a result.


    "Master!" Mash''s head snapped towards us with eyes widened, a look of resolve overcame her. She nted her feet firm as the massive giant of wood and fire mmed its hand down. "Manifest!" She dered, mming her shield into the ground, arge white while rose up from the ground to meet the attack head on.


    Pristine White walls shuddered ever so slightly, but the massive thing of druid magics staggered backwards at the collision, nearly falling over itself as Mash still held firm.


    It regained its footing after a moment, ready to attack again, but it suddenly dispersed with a wave from Caster.


    "Well done, littledy." Cu smiled warmly.


    Ritsuka was the first to appear, running up to her. "Mash, are you okay?"


    "Master, I did it!" She practically squealed with joy.


    The wall itself finally dissipated, but it gave me a familiar feeling that I just couldn''t ce.


    "That alleviates some amount of concern." Olga crossed her arms, walking towards them as well. "However, it didn''t appear to be a proper activation."


    "I.....you''re right." Mash''s shoulders slumped.


    Olga looked at her, letting out a sigh. "But it''s good progress, well done."


    "T-thank you, director." Mash quickly perked up, beaming bright.


    "She''s right, it wasn''t a proper activation. You lose a substantial amount of power and weight to it by not activating it with a name. It might be a good idea to give it a temporary name for now, something meaningful to you." Cu offered some advice.


    "A name?" Mash tilt her head, and her eyes dted slightly as if in a trance before blinking again. "Lord Chaldeas."


    "That works." Cu shrugged, apparently not noticing.


    "I didn''t really get a chance to inspect your shield previously." I said, running a hand along its center. "But these characters on it aren''t normal."


    "The writing?" Mash asked. "Do you know where it''s from?"


    "Maybe?" I was more unsure myself. I couldn''t read it, so that left a few options as to what it was. "It doesn''t look Divine to me."


    "Of course, if it was French, I would know." Pierre joked, earning a chuckle from the others around us.


    "Definitely not Divine." Caster confirmed with a small grin at thement.


    "Any information might help us narrow down potential matches to her Servant." Olga stated looking a little humored herself.


    "I think it''s Fae writing." I decided just to voice my current thought. "Not something I''m knowledgeable about, but I''ve seen some Fae writing before, and it looks familiar. That''s all I got right now."


    "Hmm, it should narrow down some things." Olga hummed. "But shouldn''t Fae writing designate it was something not human?"


    "Not necessarily." Caster chimed in. "It could just be an acknowledgement from them. Or even something as mundane as bestowing a name. Honestly, it''s hard to guess what they lot get up to. I never liked being around them, so I didn''t really pick up much."


    He was right, they''re hard to understand at the best of times.


    "With this, we''re now prepared." Olga put her hand on her hip. "Let''s prepare to finish this Singrity!"


    ".....after Ritsuka and Samuel rest and regain some Magical Energy." It''s going to take a little bit for them to regain the Magical Energy used to activate those Noble Phantasms.


    Olga blushed a little. "....right, after that."


    [***]


    "Be careful, now that we''re all together, that bastard just has more targets." Cu warned as we approached the mountain path towards the temple caves.


    "I''ll protect everyone!" Mash dered, holding her shield up.


    Cu cracked a smile. "I''ll them to you then,ss."


    It was unfortunate, but I really didn''t feelfortable leaving any of them behind. I felt I could protect them much better if they were nearby, even if that put then in sight of the other Servants.


    Almost immediately, all three of us noticed somethinging through the air.


    An arrow-like projectile homing in on our group. Mash moved to intercept, herrge shield held up, the projectile turned to scrap upon hitting it.


    "And there''s the bastard." Cu growled.


    "Says the mutt." A voice returned. We all looked up to see the Archer he was talking about before, standing upon the cliffside, looking down at us and preventing anyone from ascending further. "Do yourselves a favor and turn around."


    White hair, tanned skin, and ck armor with a red cloth attire attached in some ces. The most eye catching thing were the red vein-like marks wringing under his skin as they seemed to be taking over his body.


    "Sorry, can''t do that." I replied, the man''s steel-like eyes focusing on me.


    "There''s nothing for you here, leave." He tried again.


    ".....are you unable to break free from what''s controlling you?"


    He twitched slightly. "Even if you know, it''s pointless. You won''t make it up this mountain."


    "Emiya."


    His eyes widened slightly. "How ¨C"


    "What happened to Artoria?"


    Again his body shuddered. "....that''s two names you really shouldn''t know." His voice lowered and his body tensed up almost protectively.


    "Rin is like a sister to me." I added a third that made him look even more ufortable than he was before. I could tell I was hitting him right in his soft spot. I wanted to see if there was any way I could bring him over to our side. I knew his history a little bit, and...he was someone worth respecting even if his ideals were misguided. "So, I do know a thing or two."


    "....Leave." Hemanded again, but it felt just a tad less hostile.


    "Can''t do that." I shook my head. "If something is wrong with Artoria, I''ll do everything I can to save her."


    "Stupid." He grunted. ".....Though I suppose I''m not any different."


    "You ¨C"


    His body tensed and his hands drew back the string of his bow, a sword was materialized and morphed into the form of an arrow at quick speeds. "Stop."


    I was mid step, pausing at hismand. I looked down, mentally counting the steps I took before. "Yourmands are to stop anyone from approaching. I assume that this is set at a threshold, one which I was about to overstep."


    The corruption he was suffering, he was still forced to follow anymands given presumedly by Saber.


    "If you take one more step, I''ll be forced to fight you." The hint was very obvious in his words. I suppose he couldn''t say too much, this curse or whatever he was under was reeling him in.


    "So even you can''t break free. How much longer until you''repletely subsumed by those curses? Your status as a Counter Guardian won''t hold out for much longer."


    "You really know a lot of things you shouldn''t." Archer stared at me with a strange look. "And I''ve never seen you before either. But you''re right, I don''t think I have much longer....not that it matters. Something tells me you all have even less time."


    "Damn cocky bastard. He obviously won''t be reasoned with, just let me handle it." Cu stepped forward, staff in hand. He intentionally stepped past the mark where Archer was forced to respond instead of doing it of his own will.


    Cu twirled his staff in hand and mmed the butt of it onto the ground, manifesting a Rune that actualized a fire-based spell, mming into a handful projectilesing down.


    "Hmph, the rabid dog keeps barking."


    "Come down here, I''ll show you a rabid dog." Cu snorted.


    Archer nced at me. "It seems my primary target has arrived. I''ll now have to focus all my attention on eliminating Caster, per my orders."


    I quirked an eyebrow at the obvious hint.


    "Damn bastard, this is why I hate you. Don''t sound so smug while trying to help out." Cu snorted.


    "Thanks, Archer." I expressed my thanks. If need be, I didn''t want to fight him. He was....pitiful and someone worth admiration. To see him in this state was disheartening and not something he deserved.


    "Don''t thank me. Once I''m done with this mutt, I''ming for you." Archer smirked, staring at Cu. "So, do what you need to do."


    He didn''t move as we ran past. The Archer Servant, true to his words, focused entirely on Cu.


    "Well,e on then Shirou." Cu mocked.


    I paused a brief moment to look back at Archer. There was a very visible twitch on his face. "Actually, I think I''m going to enjoy this." He said evenly before materializing two des into his hands.


    Yup, he really didn''t like being referenced with his original name. Bit of a sore spot for him.


    [***]


    Running up the steep path, the they eventually disappeared from view, but the sounds of Magics being activated still rang out, shaking the mountainside.


    I could feel the malevolent energy start to thicken as we got closer. And by the shivers and expressions of everyone else, they apparently felt it too. These people who weren''t used to such things, they could pick up on it.


    "Mash, stay alert, you''re on defense." I eyed the Shielder Servant.


    The entrance to the Cave wasn''t decorated, nor was it particrly inviting. The stone walls offered no light beyond what came further from within.


    Everyone took hesitant steps as I took point.


    It didn''t take long to finally reach the mouth of the cavern.


    It opened up to a massive undergroundir. Enough that it could fit a few blocks of street inside and not be overly cramp.


    As much as I wanted to inspect the surroundings, there was something else that drew attention. The corrupted Grail, for one, and the energy it was letting out by just existing.


    But it was....contained, focused at one spot.


    Blonde hair that was oh so familiar.


    However, there were so many things wrong. Those same cursed markings ran across her form, they highlighted her ck armor adorned with rigid spikes. Not the normal heroic and clean steel and cloth that I could associate with her before.


    Skin so pale that even Salem might lose out.


    She stood there, protectively. Her famous sword, ckened, corrupted, as she held its pommel and its de dug into the dirt.


    Slowly, her eyes began to open.


    They were not the vibrant green that I enjoyed oh so many times. No, they were a ghastly yellow which only held sorrow.


    My poor Artoria, what happened to you?


    "So you''vee." Her voice was a perfect match still, making it very hard to properly respond. "He said you woulde."


    "Are you the one responsible for this Singrity!?" Olga took the lead, using Artoria as I was having trouble even finding words.


    "Hmm?" this Saber slowly moved her head to look at Olga. But her eyes caught something else of interest. "That Shield, I see." She muttered, staring at Mash. "You are correct. It is by my hand that this deplorable world exists."


    "Why...?" I barely managed to eek out. "Why are you doing this?"


    Her eyes then turned to me. Complete unfamiliarity shined in her gaze, making it hurt all the more.


    She closed her eyes letting out a breath as she hefted her sword up. "My reasons are my own. You wish to stop me, and I will proceed with my own goals with pause. There will be no discourse."


    "Wait ¨C !?"


    "The time for words is over. If you cannot defeat me, then your Grand Order is doomed to fail before it began."


    "What!? How do you know that name!?" Olga eximed in shock.


    Saber''s only answer was a massive amount of Magical Energy swirling around her de as she pulled it back.


    "D-Director!" Mash stuttered, putting herself infront of her.


    "Um, Boss! I''m not very good at this magic thing, but I can damn well feel that!"


    "Baise Moi!"


    The all pretty much ran behind Mash.


    "Shimoda, if you''re going to do something, do it!" Olga shouted.


    Her eyes looked so empty.


    What happened to you, Artoria? Who did this to you?


    I know the woman I''vee to care for wouldn''t do this without a reason. So, for whatever reason, you think this is the best option.


    "I''ll save you." I whispered, holding my hand out. It was quickly filled, the grip of my own Holy Sword weighing it down.


    One way or another, I''ll end whatever kind of torment this is.


    There was no apanied words of activation from her. She didn''t truly activate her Noble Phantasm, a half-assed variant apanied the swing of her sword. The release of the built up power surged like a wave in our direction.


    But even still, it threatened topletely devour us all. That dark and malevolent energy that was once a beautiful holy sword.


    My sword erupted in its own holy power. Meridia told me she upgraded my sword, to make itparable to a Noble Phantasm. I knew she was jealous of Artoria''s de and based it off of that, but lets put it to the test.


    "Dawnbreaker." I swung down to meet hers head on, a sh of light and darkness filled the cave.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 353 - 320

    <h4>Chapter 353: Chapter 320</h4>


    The light of Dawnbreaker met the maleficent light of Excalibur.


    The Cavern waspletely illuminated by the cascading energies. It burst out in almost all directions, with one of the few ces that was safe was the space between me where the others were standing. It was the epicenter of the sh where the two forces vied for supremacy.


    The earth below us shook violently before the lights dimmed. The bright and phantasmal lights continued to fight against one another until the supply of Magical Energy finally wore off and the remnants dispersed back to the world.


    She stood there, not too far away opposite of me. Her face adopted a look of surprise as our sh resulted in a tie.


    No, I won that sh


    My light tore through hers enough that a gouge was taken out of the earth and neared her before losing steam. She had to put out noticeably more power to keep up in that exchange.


    However....


    She didn''t even release her Noble Phantasm''s True name.


    Still, Meridia should be proud.


    Dawnbreaker had contended with Excalibur.


    She narrowed her eyes, her hands gripped tighter around her de as she brought it up into a different position.


    This was far from over, that had merely been a greeting. If I couldn''t even handle that, then she wouldn''t even bother to acknowledge me as an ''enemy''.


    I took a single step forward and she reeled her sword back, her eyes shing with anticipation. Within the blink of an eye, I was already upon her, Dawnbreaker shed down, and she swung her de to meet it.


    The collision sent shockwaves in every direction, sundering the earth, and shattered the rocky interior around us.


    She furrowed her brow again, a slight bit of hesitation. Perhaps the force behind my blow made her pause in surprise, but she quickly recovered. Her sword shook before she stomped on the ground, a burst of Magical Energy enveloping her.


    Mana Burst.


    I was all to familiar with it.


    She knocked my de away, and followed up with a swing that would cut me in half if I allowed it.


    Unfortunately for her, I was familiar with her tricks. I allowed my body to flow with the motion, recovering far quicker than she anticipated. Dawnbreaker streaked back, enveloped in its golden light as the des collided once more.


    My Aura shimmered around me, gathering around my hand. I changed my grip, my off hand pressed against the t of my weapon, and I pushed forward, sliding it down the edge of Excalibur.


    In response, she flicked her wrist, not allowing me an easy hit. The trajectory of my de changed, but she copied my own movement, her own sword grinding against mine as it moved towards my hands. Regardless of what happened to her, her skills had not deteriorated in the slightest. She could easily read and respond ordingly, countering my swordy with skill and precision.


    I was forced to jerk my sword back to properly defend, allowing her to step into my guard.


    I nced down at her feet, knowing what she was going to do next. Something ingrained in her movements that I learned through the plethora of spars we''ve had. My Aura gathered around my left hand, her sword came sweeping towards the right side, leaving her lower chest exposed.


    She realized toote that I anticipated her, my palm connected with her, releasing the umted Aura. The discharge lifted her off her feet and sent her flying back into the cavern wall.


    It was easy to see her stand up amongst the kicked up dust and debris. Her yellow eyes glowed in the distance, a swipe of her sword cleared out all obtrusions from sight. There was a noticeable crack where I had attacked in her armor, but otherwise, no real damage had been done.


    It would have been a good opportunity to press the advantage I gained. But.....I hesitated slightly.


    So many times I''ve spared with her in the past. The joyful and yful times we crossed des, the other times where herpetitiveness wouldn''t allow her to lose.


    This wasn''t at all like that. Even when she was her most aggressive, she never swung with such intensity and desire to kill. Every one of her movements thus far were aimed at ending my life.


    And it made my heart ache.


    She stomped on the ground, her Mana Burst activated again, Magical Energy red around her de as she swung it down in one quick motion.


    I responded in kind, just as I had originally. I released Dawnbreaker''s True name, and met with the collision of baleful light that was Excalibur.


    This Artoria didn''t sit idle this time, she burst through the collision of power, sword swinging at speeds beyond mortal means. Her hands and de were a blur, but I met each strike as they came.


    Watching her action, I could see every familiar movement, every stance, every physical tick and give away to what her next action was. Amidst her onught, I tilted my hand on the sword, instead of bringing up Dawnbreaker to block another strike, I thrust forward. Her momentum came to a screeching halt, her whole body was forced to jerk to the side, my sword only severed a few strands of hair, but it put her in a very awkward position.


    I followed up by mming my sword downward, forcing Excalibur to be impaled into the ground. She struggled to pull it free as I exerted quite a bit of strength to match her. Seeing that she wasn''t going to win a contest of strength, her opposite handshed out. A fist donned in a ck metal gauntlet shot at me. The crisp sound of the air being distorted at the sheer force.


    I shifted my hand to the side, letting it pass harmlessly past me. She continued trying to struggle until I finally caught that errant arm of hers. She struggled once more, unable to free herself.


    Her lips pulled back into a scowl, she grunted, trying to force me away. I responded, my Aura red and I exerted further strength to keep her pinned.


    She refused to let go of her sword, so we were finally met with an impasse.


    "Would you please surrender?" I had to at least try.


    "You...." She grit her teeth. "Why do you continue to look at me like such?"


    "I thought the time for words was over?" I replied with a small smile. Even with us conversing, she did not cease her attempts to free herself, just as I continued to match her.


    An awkward situation ensued, leading to this.


    "Do not mock me." She growled under her breath. "Do you not care about if you win? You have had ample opportunity to strike me, yet you hesitate and.....pity me. You are holding back, it is clearly written across your face."


    "Aren''t you holding back too?" I countered. "You could have targeted the others at the side, and you know I would be forced to defend them. You could have easily forced me into a corner that way." Granted, she didn''t know what cards I had to y.


    "I am not so low that I would need to resort to such means." She scoffed, the demeanor of the King of Knights apparently still shined behind those hollow eyes. "However, youck the desire to strike me down. Am I not worthy of your full effort?" She sounded offended, angry even.


    Every word that left her mouth, It felt like being stabbed in the heart. The same voice, the same face, but it was twisted back into anger and annoyance, directed right at me.


    ".....you remind me too much of someone I care for."


    That made her frown deepen. "You will receive no mercy from me." She intoned before her sword erupted into the malevolent energy once more.


    My eyes widened once I realized what was she doing. The explosion of power erupted between us, she had used her Noble Phantasm withplete disregard for her own safety.


    My Aura red up protectively, but I still felt my body as it was flung backwards before I could reorient myself.


    That hurt.


    I could feel it in my bones. Even after bing a Campione, even with Aura, I could feel the blow that wasn''t even directed right at me. Was I damaged meaningfully? Not really, but I still felt it, which was just a testament to her weapon.


    Her Noble Phantasm really was extraordinary.


    I climbed to my feet, meeting her eyes. They glowed eerily underneath the remnants of ground that now formed the crevice where she stood.


    On one knee, de impaled into the ground, she pushed herself back up to her feet. A little bit of blood flowed down her forehead and her armor looked a little mangled. But otherwise, she was still kicking at full strength.


    With the Grail supporting her...I don''t think this was the highest she can operate at.


    Inexhaustible power.


    I looked at Dawnbreaker and quietly put it away back into my ring. It already proved itself, but I would need something else. It felt much more appropriate as I felt Mirage between my fingers.


    It was almost like the first time I fought Artoria.


    [Kid.]


    Ddraig?


    [I don''t like seeing the little dragon like this.] Ddraig replied. [I don''t care if she would willingly change herself, if she became something else. But I don''t like that lifeless look she has.]


    "....yeah, I feel the same way." I resolved myself.


    I don''t know what happened to her, why she''s doing this, but this wasn''t her. She wouldn''t listen to words, she wasn''t my Artoria.


    I would do what I had to.


    "Defend yourself!" She roared, exploding forward at insane speeds. Magical Energy began expelling from her every movement in a way that eclipsed her normal Mana Burst.


    Arge, almostical, horizon sh came at me, but it was apanied by that same malevolent energy that coated the sword. It cleaved through the air, released at the same movement, the power tearing through the empty space and utterly decimating the walls of the cavern.


    "Wuld." A single Dragon Word left my lips, and my own speed burst forward.


    Her eyes were momentarily widened, and her gaze linger, falling to my left arm. "Dragon...." She whispered.


    "Boost!" I called out with the Boosted Gear answering my call and formed on my hand.


    I mmed Mirage into Excalibur, not allowing her to finish her swing. The power discharged harmlessly to the side.


    Her feet pushed into the stone of the ground, shattering under the impact as I pushed her back. She gritted her teeth, her sword enveloped in that same power once more. She released her Noble Phantasm just to block my attack.


    I quickly disengaged, pulled myself forward toward her through a minor application of the Kaleidoscope, narrowly dodging her strike. The umted energy sailing off and creating another gouge in this already destabilized cavern.


    The rocky ceiling above us shook violently, pieces began to fall down and it felt like the entire mountain was starting toe apart.


    It was a miracle the mountain hadn''te down on us already. Maybe this whole cavern was somehow metaphysically enhanced due to housing the Grail for so many years.


    I didn''t dwell on the nonsensical question, I pivoted to her side, thrusting Mirage forward.


    She brought up her hand, d in that Gauntlet of hers. The tip of my sword met it and she took that small opening to swing Excalibur again. The same as before it erupted in an arc, blowing away everything in front of her with that corrupted energy.


    I was forced to dance around her shes, as every one carried the power to actually harm me significantly if I got hit directly.


    But this proved difficult, her absurd instinct allowed her to match my pace, even if my speed started to ovee her own. She barely moved from the spot she was standing, merely stepping due to my counter attacks after each of hers.


    Instead, she opted for the most direct strategy. She just kept sting her damn Noble Phantasm with wanton disregard.


    I slid to the side, ducking under another st and before I even had time to blink, her sword was above her head, bursting with power, swinging down once more.


    "Dragon Shot." I discharged from the Boosted Gear, the draconic energy surging forth towards her.


    She had to stop her release mid way, bringing her de up to block it properly. Her feet dug more out of the ground, but she suffered no damage.


    I leapt up into the air, pulling my de back into a thrusting motion. I would give her a proper end to this fight using one of my stronger techniques.


    The same move I used against Sc¨¢thach when we were training.


    Dozens of ethereal copies of me emerged from my position, taking up spots on different world-axis as they forced themselves to align properly with this iteration of the world.


    All of them were about tond a hit until she did the unexpected again. She spun her sword, and mmed the tip into the ground.


    The surface below us cracked and like a geyser, her energy exploded upward, destroying my technique in the most simple way possible.


    She seemingly had no regard for her own well being. Even with her arms suffering bacsh, tearing her flesh and sundering her armor, she didn''t hesitate in the slightest.


    "It''s time to end this. You fought well, but this is as far as you go!" She lifted her de above her head and the output of Magical Energy reached the apex. It transcended what she had been disying before, and I knew what was trulying.


    I stood straight at the precipice of power. It was almost as if time slowed down, and her de chopped down like an executioner''s axe.


    "Excalibur Morgan!" The True Name was released, and so too was the amount of power behind it amplified several foldspared to previously.


    I felt a warm sensation bubble up in my chest, and I held my hand aloft.


    A golden light broke free and enveloped me, it danced around for a brief moment before taking position in the path of oing destruction.


    Adorned with Gold and Blue enamel, a shield formed. The feeling of hope and safety radiated out.


    But more so, it was the feeling of protectiveness from someone who I shared such an intimate bond with. That she wouldn''t allow me to leave unless I took this with me, even to her own detriment.


    "Avalon." I whispered.


    The Everdistant Utopia came to my defense. The malignant energy of her corrupted Holy Swordpletely filled my vision. The intensity was also amplified to an absurd degree, and the sheer power released wasn''t just metaphysical, as the st itself cleared right through the side of the cavern, prating the walls of stone, reducing them to not but g and molten dreg at the sheer heat and intensity of the attack.


    And I had no doubt that a good chunk of the city below no longer existed.


    Just as quickly as it hade, the conglomeration of energy died out, leaving only wisps of energy, and they too quickly dissipated.


    The corrupted version of a woman I loved stared at me, her eyes disying more emotion than anything I''ve seen thus far.


    I wanted...to stop, to talk to her. The spark of who I knew existed underneath that emotionless exterior she exhibited, it finally shined through just a tiny bit.


    Avalon''s effect died out as well, the epassing defense retreating back inside of me.


    With guilt, I moved.


    Saber''s body arched forwards, her mouth silently opening, and her limbs going limp. Her sword finally fell from her hands, and my de protruded from her back, piercing her heart.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 354 - 321

    <h4>Chapter 354: Chapter 321</h4>


    Cu Chinn POV


    It was obvious Archer was leading me away. I knew, he knew that I knew, and that there wasn''t a need to keep this act up. But he kept shooting me all the while. And almost all of them were just intended to annoy me, even if they had hit.


    My little junior was lucky that I''m so pissed at this Archer, otherwise I''d want my own crack at Saber. But I guess I can be nice and give him that. Seemed he has history with her anyways, didn''t feel right to try and butt in there.


    Even if he ''extorted'' me for some stuff, it wasn''t really malicious. Guess I''ll just call it a gift on my part and let him deal with it.


    The fuckin balls on him to do that knowing about Odin and myself. Might be why I''d taken a liking to him as I did. Thought the sleeping God had a good impression of him too. Got a few things from when his blessing reacted, Odin seems to favor him quite a bit.


    And he let me use Teacher''s spear, really can''t thank him enough for that. I was going to put that to good use.


    "You done running, ya bastard?" I was itching to grab my spear. Hide it away, I wanted to surprise him, but he was really makin it hard to hold back.


    "Would you prefer we fought closer to the mountain? Maybe close enough for her to give me new orders?" He said sarcastically. "Or maybe you''d prefer I run over to where Berserker is still up and about? Maybe you wanna go a few rounds with him first."


    .....It was a good point, but even so. "Bite me."


    "Appropriateing from the mutt."


    "Says the leashed dog that keeps barking." I took a few steps forward, eyeing him as he stood up on the roof of the Temple.


    Don''t know why he chose this spot, but I guess it was as good as any. Decent terrain for an Archer like him, and it gave him a lot of maneuverability.


    I thumbed the stones I held between my fingers, feeling the Runes carved on them.


    It was always my favorite trick. Teacher always kicked my ass when I used it against her, but it was always funny when it worked.


    "Well, you gonna Project those swords of yours or not? I wanna get back and see the kid fight Saber at some point." I was not going to let this end on such a shit note. I was going to get my fight from this Archer, even if I had to force him.


    "....I''m guessing he told you that as well." Archer scowled, making me grin happily. "He apparently knows that too. Knows a lot more than he really should, cause I''ve never seen him before."


    "If only you knew." Iughed.


    Yeah, Odin''s bits were starting to....wake up a little once the kid started interrogating me.


    Not surprising he knows a lot of things, those Magicians are a strange bunch, even to the Great God.


    Bit of a surprise that this Archer could use such a basic Magecraft like Gradation Air and turn it into something that''s able to copy Noble Phantasms.


    Kind of impressed, honestly.


    Would have praised him if he weren''t such a gigantic jackass.


    Might not have believed him if I hadn''t seen the Ass do just what the kid described. Made sense in hindsight, but who would have taken that as their first conclusion? It''s not something rational to believe or guess at first.


    "Answer me one question."


    "What?" His hands opened up, those twin swords of his appearing easily.


    "Can do you that other thing?" I asked, a little hopeful.


    He blinked, then his eyes narrowed. "Of course he knows about that too." A deeper scowl emerged. "Why don''t youe and find out?"


    "Hah, sure! I guess it''d spoil the fun just to be told!" I barked out augh. I really hope he did have it, I''ve never fought someone with a Reality Marble before.


    Archer clicked his tongue. "Annoying battle addicts."


    "Annoying Archers." I corrected, with another smile.


    "Hmph." He grumbled, jumping down from the roof of the temple. "By the way, here''s a gift."


    He quickly threw both his swords. They spun abnormally, like boomerangs as they seemed to be draw one another.


    Interesting!


    I swung my staff forward, deflecting one, and dodging the other.


    "Come on, you can do better than that!" I roared,unching forward at him. My speed was no where near that of my Lancer self, but it was still about the same as him. He wasn''t entirely cursed, but he was clearly bogged down by the effects.


    It was enough that our physical stats weren''t that different even if he was an Archer and I was a Caster.


    That ck Bow of his appeared in his hand, and with a flick of his fingers, several swords twisted into the form of arrows and shot off at me.


    I mmed the butt of my staff on the ground, a Shield forming infront of me. As soon as they connected, the Magics keeping the ''arrows'' together unraveled, and dissipated.


    Well, thanks to the kid, I knew how easy it was to counter those annoying things now. Can''t say the same for the stronger stuff he makes. But these simpler ones, they wouldn''t be touching me anymore.


    The Archer clicked his tongue, but his eyes darted to the side and I realized something was wrong.


    I jerked my head around to see those two des of his flying back towards me.


    I quickly ducked out of the way, flicking one of the Rune Stones in my hand to the side. I followed it up with a few basic elemental Runes that ignited and fired towards the Bastard.


    He jumped away, releasing another few of those sword arrows.


    "Not gonna work!" I shouted with glee, ignoring them the same way. I took that moment to kick off the ground again.


    He caught the swords of his, dismissing his bow. Just in time for him to block my staff as I was about to smack that annoying look off his face.


    "What''s wrong Caster." Archer gruffed, his swords pushing against my staff. "I thought the mighty Dog of Ulster was stronger than this."


    "Its Hound." I scowled, igniting my Staff with a simple Runic application. The mes danced around it, causing him to hesitate, long enough for me to break his guard.


    The flighty bastard just opted topletely disengage though, throwing his swords again.


    Damn annoying.


    Guiding the Runic Stones between my fingers, I tossed all of them at him.


    His eyes widened, the Runes glowed brightly and exploded right in his face. At that moment, I took the opportunity to throw a few more in a few notable ces around us.


    "Come on, that was just a love tap~" I mocked, watching as the dust settled.


    "Then allow me to return the favor." Archer''s voice range out and I felt a sense of danger.


    He took a kneeling position, clearly steadying himself. As much as I didn''t like the guy, he clearly was skilled. Not many bowman I could recall in life that could match the level of skill he showed in our exchanges so far.


    So the fact that he was taking aim, made my scalp tingle. Only when the dust finally settledpletely, and I saw what was knocked back did I realized what he was holding.


    "You''re a right bastard, you know that? Using my adoptive father''s sword like that." I growled out in annoyance.


    How the hell did he manage to replicate Cdbolg!?


    Damn it, what an annoyance.


    I could recognize that twisted drill-like sword anywhere, even if he changed it the way he did to turn it into an arrow.


    "Cdbolg!" Archer let loose the ''arrow'' like it was his own Noble Phantasm.


    If the kid hadn''t warned me, it may have given me a harder time. Archer really could replicate Noble Phantasms and activate them like they''re his own.


    Oh well, it didn''t really change my n.


    I had onest Runic Stone in my hand and I dropped it to the ground.


    Then, I stomped on it, letting it sink into the earth.


    The twisting arrow, it bent time and space at the absurd rotational and magical might. However, once it was about to reach me, an invisible wave pulsed out, enveloping the Noble Phantasm.


    The Arrow-Sword disappeared, like it had never existed.


    Archer tried to jump back, to avoid the effect of the spell I just actualized, but he mmed into an invisible wall, falling to the ground.


    "Nah, I''m looking for a nice friendly fight. No Noble Phantasms, no running away, none of that fancy crap. I deserve something after all the crap you put me through. So, it''s going to be just one on one, and neither of us can leave until the other dies." I exined as he picked himself up.


    "Those stones...." He easily guessed the cause. "You cast Runes in the Air."


    "Copied one of my Teacher''s things." I spun my staff around before mming it down into the ground. "She could summon the Gate to her Land of Shadows. Copied it a little bit, this is my territory now. You can guess the rules." I grinned.


    He dismissed his bow again, and caught the flying swords that flew back towards him. "The Caster wants to fight me one on one? Alright then." He shrugged. "If you want to lose that bad, I can go help out Saber once I''m done."


    "Nah." I shook my head. "You''re making one simple mistake."


    "What''s that?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "You keep assuming I''m a Caster." I took out the Spear. It wasn''t hard to hide it away, but the look on his face was absolutely worth waiting until now. "So, ready for that round two?"


    ".....shit." He blurted out.


    "Couldn''t say it better myself." I took a familiar stance and he tensed up.


    This was going to be good. And quick, unfortunately.


    [***]


    Olga Marie Animusphere POV


    .....He had a Noble Phantasm.


    Because of course he does!


    We all hid behind Mash''s shield, but it wasn''t needed. Shimoda took out a sword and released it, managing to somehow keep Excalibur of all things at bay.


    What did he call it, Dawnbreaker? I didn''t recognize the name at all.


    Hmph, what else was he hiding from me?


    Still, it was hard to keep standing straight at the collision. Everyone else had to brace themselves as the energies collided.


    I was able to Reinforce myself easily, allowing me to keep my footing. And I shielded the Rabbit I continued to hold in my arms. However, it appeared to not be disturbed in the slightest.


    I''m not surprised, considering that it''s Shimoda''s familiar. It was using Lightning in some capacity, so it''s obviously a phantasmal beast. Who knew what this creature actually was.


    It felt sort of reassuring to hold in my arms. I didn''t even realize that I was petting it as I was watching.


    He stood there, unmoving even under the intense gaze of that Saber Servant.


    Even this far back, I could feel the sheer amount of power she radiated. It was.....intimidating, yet, having Shimoda there was reassuring.


    .....ever since he came, he''d been reliable.


    I guess it''s no wonder after knowing who he really was. And I know I couldn''t fault him for hiding it. Despite the feeling of betrayal, I was unbelievably relieved to see him standing there.


    "Amazing..." The newest addition to Chaldea staff seemed to speak what was on everyone''s mind.


    How he was able to form a contract with Mash, I still had no idea. We''ll have to investigate that when we get back. Considering the circumstances though, we were extremely lucky that he did.


    "Senpai has a Noble Phantasm!" Mash added, peeking over her shield.


    "I thought only Servants could have them?" Samuel stated.


    "Normally, that is the case." I replied. "Just another thing he hid." I scoffed.


    The remnants of B-Team just looked at him with worship in their eyes. Frankly, he''d already be something of an idol for them. They''re lucky they ended up with him as their leader. Just his name alone would allow them an obscene amount of benefits in the future if they were inclined.


    Saying they were taught by someone rted to the Wizard Marshall.


    ....and now he''s my subordinate.


    I would have been happy if Chaldea wasn''t up in literal mes. My subordinate was the self proimed grandson of the Wizard Marshall, I''d like to see those vultures try and take a bite out of Chaldea now!


    "Get down!" Mash yelled, breaking me from my thoughts.


    Another wave of energy darted out. Mash moved her shield in front of us, the remnants of it barely sshing past as she guarded us from the worst of it.


    Her shield was very sturdy. As expected from someone who said they were the ''Shielder'' ss. Shimoda''s lesson on Extra sses was handy information.


    "....are all Magi like that, Director? Is this normal?" Samuel, whom I have discovered was the de facto leader of that little rag tag group when Shimoda was away, asked. Based on all their expressions, he seemed to be able to read their moods and decipher it.


    "No, no it is not." I said evenly, even as I tried my best to keep my expression from showing the shock.


    Shimoda and the Saber servant were fighting. He was crossing des with King Arthur and not losing. Actually, I think he was winning.


    It was hard to see, even with my Reinforced eyes. They were basically a blur, each strike of theirs kicked up a whirlwind, and sundered the ground beneath. Each step of theirs so quick that it almost seemed like a dance they practiced beforehand.


    "A normal Magus would never be able to match a Servant like he is doing. At best, they can survive a Servant and possibly fight one, however winning is apletely different matter." I spoke up again to rify. Another wave of power arced across the space above use, cleaving into the cavern''s sides. "D-do not usemon sense to judge a Magician!" I quickly moved out of the way of a falling rock.


    "This whole ce is going to cave in." The French man trembled with his broken English.


    But....he wasn''t wrong. However, running away wasn''t a good idea either.


    "Mash, get ready to assist Shimoda. We need to end this fight as soon as possible."


    "R-right, director." Mash nodded.


    ....good, at least she listened to my orders.


    "Hold your horses, missy." A bunch of vines burst out of the ground, forming a shelter above us. The falling debrisnded on it without issue.


    "Caster." Samuel smiled.


    "Hey there, farm boy." Caster grinned.


    "Caster!" I looked at the approaching Servant. "I assume you defeated Archer?"


    "Yup, it was a good fight." He nodded, holding that Spear of his ¨C of Shimoda''s over his shoulder.


    It was Shimoda''s spear. Shimoda apparently trained with the same person as a literal Heroic Spirit!


    I would give that the due consideration it neededter. As ridiculous as it was, it was honestly not the most ridiculous thing I''ve heard or seen today.


    Him fighting a literal Servant who was probably juiced up with a Holy Grail was right at the top of that list.


    Along with him being a Magician!


    "Wonderful then." With Caster here, we didn''t need to lose our Shield. "Caster go help Shimoda."


    "No can do,ss."


    "What!?" I raised my voice.


    "It''s his fight." The Caster Servant justzily plopped himself down on hiszy ass!


    "What''s that supposed to mean!?"


    "It means that it''s his fight. You heard him say it before, he has history with the girl. Let him resolve it himself. "


    "That....that''s absurd!" I stomped my foot. "He''s fighting a Servant, he could die."


    "First, I doubt that. Got a good look at my little junior over there. I don''t think I have a chance as a Caster, honestly. Unless I cheat, but that''s neither here nor there. Besides, he asked for it, he''s clearly confident or it''s worth risking his life. Do you not trust him?" Caster tilted his head up at me.


    "....Fine, whatever." I huffed.


    .....I suppose I trusted him.


    He''s one of the few people that''s actually been...kind to me. He didn''t have to keep any charade up after Chaldea blew up, yet he still called me Director.


    I couldn''t help but hug the Rabbit in my arms.


    "....if it looks like he''ll lose, will you help him?" I asked softly.


    "Jeez." The Caster scratched his head. "If it''ll make ya feel better, fine. But I won''t need to lift a finger."


    "You sure Boss will be okay, Caster?" The American asked too.


    "Oh yeah, trust me, Farm Boy, your Boss is packing some power." Caster chuckled.


    "Director, I''m getting a call." Mash spoke up.


    "It''s Roman." I tapped my foot, looking at what was going on. "If Caster handles our surroundings ¨C"


    "I got it taken care of." He waved me off.


    "Then put Roman on." I ordered.


    Mash nodded, mming her shield down to make it sturdy. The connection used her shield as a basis, we were able to receive his signal and Roman''s face appeared through the Magically Created Screen.


    "Director!" Roman eximed.


    "Roman, what''s the problem?"


    "No problem, Director. I wanted to let you know that we have enough power to Ray Shift when you''re ready." Roman stated.


    "Good." I nodded in approval. At least something had gone our way thus far. "Roman, begin recordings from your end. I want you to capture the fight for future reference."


    It would be good to get an idea of what Shimoda was capable of so we can create better ns. And I can show those idiots who keep hounding me and use it as a threat.


    "Fight? Who''s fight ¨C " roman paused. "Is that Takao!?"


    "It is." I confirmed, watching the same scene of him fighting a Servant head on. I didn''t even bother toment on his misuse of name.


    I couldn''t me him for his reaction. It was one thing to hear him say he was going to fight a Servant, it was another to actually see it happen.


    "Get down." Caster suddenly stood up, casting a spell as more roots shot up in front of us.


    My entire vision was filled with that malevolent energy that Saber was producing. Apparently a stray shot was dodged by Shimoda and flew right at us.


    Both Caster and Mash moved forward to intercept, dispersing the majority of it so we weren''t harmed.


    The roots in front of us withered and died quickly, and right away we were greeted by a roar that shook the cavern. And Shimoda had a Red Gauntlet on his arm that hadn''t appeared before.


    "Dragon." Caster breathed out.


    "What!?" Roman blurted out.


    "What!?" I unfortunately match Roman''s response. "What''s a dragon, where''s a dragon!?"


    "A dragon, Director?" Fujimaru asked. "They''re real?"


    "Yes they are! I mean, they aren''t anymore. But they used to be, but ¨C"


    "They were, kid" Caster cut off Roman. "No way they exist anymore. But his Red Gauntlet over there definitely has something to do with one. Looks like it has one sealed inside."


    I couldn''t help but gape in Shimoda''s direction.


    A real Dragon, in this age?


    "Wait, how would you know that!?"


    "I''m a Druid, girlie. Dragons are just masses of Mana, an aspect of nature given form. You think I can''t recognize something like that?"


    Fine, whatever!


    Shimoda had a Dragon or something, because why not!


    He will be writing up a reportter and tell me everything he''s been hiding!


    Or else, hmph.


    "Shield Girl, get ready." Caster said rather seriously, making me stiffen.


    "Director, we''re picking up a huge influx of Magical Energy!" Roman also shouted from his side.


    Right as the words left his mouth, Saber erupted in a font of Magical Energy that dwarfed what she had been putting out before.


    "Mash! Noble Phantasm, now!" I screamed.


    Saber''s voice carried across this empty cavern. "Excalibur Morgan!"


    Mash held her shield up, mming it onto the ground. "Lord Chaldeas!" That same white wall formed in front of us. I couldn''t see what was going on, but the cavernpletely shook and started to copse. It was like an earthquake erupted right at this spot.


    Mash visibly strained to hold the shield up under the pressure, and she wasn''t even being directly attacked.


    But it held.


    Credit where it was due, she was earning her status as a Demi-Servant.


    The pressure didn''tst much longer. As quick as it came, it went away and Mash''s shield also began to fade.


    I had no words.


    A massive hole appeared in the cavern. I could look out of it and see what remained of the city where the Noble Phantasmnded. The sheer destruction rendered by that attack made my heart skip a beat when I realized that Shimoda was on the other end.


    I hesitantly turned my gaze to where he should be.


    A golden shield enveloped him.


    The spot he was standing looked to be a mound of grass, as if he was in apletely different world.


    I could faintly feel something warm as I gazed upon it.


    The lights and golden aura that surrounded him began to recede, taking the form of a sheath. I didn''t know the name of it, but I knew for a fact that it waspletely beyond reproach and I couldn''t even bring myself to utter a word of distaste at it even by mistake.


    The item ¨C Noble Phantasm ¨C whatever it was, immediately shot into his chest and disappeared as quickly as it seemingly appeared.


    It blocked Excalibur.


    .....Just another secret that Shimoda was carrying that I would demand an exnation from.


    Before I could regain myposure, Shimoda moved. His sword pierced right through the Saber Servant, not leaving her an opportunity to respond.


    I finally rxed once she dropped her weapon, knowing it was actually over.


    "Right..." I breathed out in relief, seeing that Shimoda was okay. "Shimoda won, let''s go ¨C" I took a single step forward, but I was suddenly jerked backwards. "What''s the big idea!?" I red at Caster who was holding my coller.


    "Give him a moment." He said.


    "Why does he need a moment!? He won, he ¨C"


    "Does that look like the face of someone who won?" Caster replied.


    I wanted to retort, but then I saw it for myself.


    ....why was Shimoda looking at her like that?


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    I pulled Mirage out of her in one swift motion. Her body shuddered and I quickly caught her before she fell. I slowly lowered her to the ground, her hollow yellow eyes stared back at me.


    "Am I to be pitied now?" The corrupted form of Artoria spoke. "Do you not fear that I may have the strength yet to rend you apart? Even if my Spiritual Core was pierced, do you think I am without means?"


    She closed her eyes slightly. "I could do many things even in this state. You are foolish for putting yourself in this situation. The Grail provides me a quantity of Magical Energy that I could be a danger to you as long as I draw breath."


    "Are you?"


    "...It is pointless, You possess Avalon and it answered your call." She looked at me weakly, eyes looking heavy. "Why do you have Avalon?"


    "Someone very special gave it to me." I answered.


    ".....Why do you shed tears?" Her voice was very soft.


    I could feel the cool liquid fall down my cheeks. "You weren''t going to stop, were you?"


    "I was not." She fully admitted. "It would have ended in my defeat or yours."


    She wasn''t going to stop. I knew her all too well. For whatever reason, she thought what she was doing was for the best, so she wouldn''t have been talked out of her course of action.


    "Too damn stubborn."


    "You speak of familiarity with me once more." Artoria replied. "Do I truly remind you of someone else?"


    "The resemnce is unmistakable."


    "Tell me about this person." She closed her eyes again.


    "Demanding for a loser aren''t you? Isn''t the loser supposed to listen to the winner in situations like this?"


    "Hmph, I did not lose. I could have continued if I desired." She huffed cutely in the same way that my own Artoria did and it made my heart ache even more.


    "Well, she''s verypetitive." I said immediately, earning a snort from her. "A glutton too. I don''t think her stomach is capable of being full."


    "Are you simply using this opportunity to insult me?" She opened her eyes, ring cutely. "...I am used to such things, it will have no effect on me."


    "She''s also very kind." I decided to stop joking.


    "I am a Tyrant. I ruled with an Iron Fist and forced submission if needed. It seems this resemnce is not as uncanny as you believe."


    Was this Artoria that different than my own? I don''t actually know what kind of life she lived.


    "She also has the habit of thinking the worse about herself. Often requiring someone else to argue with her." I continued onwards.


    "I find that unlikely."


    "She''s one of the most beautiful women I''veid my eyes on." I could feel Artoria''s presence start to waver. She didn''t have much longer, the remaining Magical Energy was probably keeping her together right now due to the sheer amount she was channeling. "She has the most breathtaking smile...." The Servant shifted slightly, I didn''t know if that was a good or bad sign. I took that moment to wipe away a few tears that were forming. "She is courageous and upromising when she thinks she''s right. But I suppose I enjoy that stubbornness about her just as much as everything else."


    "What is she to you, stranger?" This Artoria whispered.


    "She is someone I love dearly." I said with full honesty.


    "....how enviable." Her quiet words barely reached my ears as her body broke down and dissipated back into motes of Magical Energy.


    I looked up, unwillingly, to see the Mana disperse back into the word.


    For the second time in my life, I had a woman I love die in my arms, and I was the cause.


    "A touching scene."


    My eyes widened and I climbed to my feet. I clenched my fists tight as I saw the familiar face of that voice. That long curly hair, green suit and cane in hand. He wore a condescending smile, looking right at me.


    "You." I growled out. "Lev Lainur."


    "Me."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 355 - 322

    <h4>Chapter 355: Chapter 322</h4>


    It was him.


    It was all his fault.


    I knew something was wrong, and I let him go about it. I could have stopped it, I could have ended it if I had just followed my gut and taken him out on the spot the first time we met.


    Slowly, I stood up from where I was holding Artoria. I could feel myself trembling as he looked at me smugly. "....It was all your fault."


    "You''re going to have to be more specific." Lev smiled, twirling his cane. "I''ve been very busy these past couple days." He chuckled, holding a certain ownerless Grail in his hands.


    "Lev, you''re alright!" Olga eximed, running right towards him.


    "Dammit, girl!" Cu was the first to react, trying to grab hold of her, but a spell flew right at him, making him step back protectively of his Master.


    Lev held a wand between his fingers, having reced his cane.


    I was about to move, to intercept, but his hand twitched and I saw his wand move up towards Olga, making my steps pause. Regardless of how utterly furious I was right now, I wouldn''t risk her just to vent my anger.


    "Olga, oh Olga." Lev put on a grandfatherly fa?ade. "My stupid and foolish Olga."


    "L-Lev??" Olga looked up in confusion as she got close.


    "How surprising it is to see you alive." He still spoke with that cheerful tone. "I put a bomb right under you, yet here you are."


    "W-what are you saying?"


    "Director." I breathed out, taking a step forward.


    "Ah~" Lev wagged his finger. "Careful, don''t want anything to happen to her, do you?"


    "Lev, what''re you doing!?" I jerked my head towards the familiar voice of Roman. The holographic-like screen appearing at Mash''s side.


    "And Roman too." Lev clicked his tongue. "I should have known. I put that bomb right inside your office, but of course you weren''t there when it blew up."


    "Lev, don''t tell me...."


    "Do I need to spell it out for you?" He sneered. "I was hoping I wouldn''t have to ever put up with this nonsense again, but it seems like things didn''t go quite as nned."


    "....Lev, this joke isn''t funny."


    "Olga, poor Olga." Lev shook his head. "The biggest mistake your father made was not leaving Chaldea in the hands of someone more capable. Can you really not understand the situation after saying so tantly? Then again, you haven''t even realized you died yet."


    "What!?"


    "You didn''t have the capacity to Rayshift, did you not understand how you ended up here? I think even Roman knew that, he was probably sparing your feelings."


    ".....I was working on a solution." The Doctor quietly admitted


    "Roman!" Olga shrieked.


    "Hmm, did the Rayshift grab your soul right as your body was destroyed? A fluke then, a one in a million chance."


    "That''s impossible, I''m.....i''m....." Olga started breathing heavily.


    "The Rayshift procedure obscures one''s casualty. Its entire nature is about pushing one''s soul into a fake body that is projected to a different time period....." That is to say...I didn''t notice...


    "I couldn''t say it better myself." Lev smiled brightly as if the topic of the conversation wasn''t making Olga have a panic attack.


    "Lev, why." Roman asked.


    "Why?" His eyes narrowed towards Roman''s face. " Because ¨C" The world shook, the very sky itself seemed to starting apart at the seams as everyone stared up. "Oh, it appears that this singrity is beginning to break down now that Saber isn''t acting as an Anchor anymore." He gazed back to me. "I really should thank you. That Saber Servant really didn''t follow my orders well, opting to keep this ce propped up even after everything that happened."


    I almost reacted, I almostshed out and forwent all consequences. My palm was bleeding from my nails digging into it as I clenched my fist too tightly.


    "Allow me to properly introduce myself!" He flicked his arms wide open. "Lev Lainur uros." He smiled savagely. "And I''m responsible for the incineration of human history."


    "uros!?" The name immediately rang bells into my head and his gaze met mine once more.


    "As expected, you connected the dots quickly, didn''t you?" His expression darkened. "A strange outlier you are. I originally nned to make a move once A-Team were already inside their coffins, it would have much cleaner. Olga here wouldn''t have had to suffer, but you just appeared and threw out many of my ns."


    Olga was.....speechless. I don''t think she managed to properly process what was going on yet.


    "Honestly, she should thank me. Now she can fulfill her dreams of Rayshifting at thest moments of her life. Consider it my gift, for not having to hear your whining anymore Director." He scoffed. "But where was I, oh yes. I suppose it only takes one strange variable to change ns. I didn''t want to risk an anomaly like you being present at the time, so I had to improvise and decided that individual points were more preferable. Unfortunately, things did not work out quite as well as expected. Roman, Olga, even that elemental all survived. Frankly, I''m a little disappointed in myself since even some of your team survived."


    "Why....?" I said softly. "Why do all of this? What''s the point?"


    "The point?" He scoffed again. "The point is to rid the world of a disease. Humanity isn''t worth protecting, I thought you would understand that but I guess was mistaken. I had assumed you were merely ying at being like them, but it''s not an act at all." He held the grail up in his hand. "With this the end has begun."


    "What are you talking about, the singrity was prevented. Even without the Grail, it''s starting to copse"! Roman interjected.


    "Roman, oh Roman." Lev shook his head. "Allow me to show you the futility of everything you''ve worked for." He waived his hand, and a tear opened up in space and time by pulling on the power of the Grail


    "No!" Olga screamed, seeing what was on the other side.


    "This...."


    "That''s right." Lev smiled. "CHALDEAS has turnedpletely red, meaning Human History has beenpletely incinerated already. Chaldea is thest bastion of survival in the world for that time period. You may thank me as you watch thest facets of your species whimper away in the darkness. A deserving punishment for your kind after losing the favor of my king."


    "D-Director, we''re picking up several new Singrities!" Roman eximed in shock.


    "You finally noticed." Lev''s smile turned predatory.


    Enough!


    "Cu!" I shouted.


    "On it." The Caster servant mmed his hand onto the ground.


    Roots sprang up, grabbing hold of Olga. It was at that moment that Sir Wiggles erupted in his own Lightning, discharging it right at the source of all my anger.


    "Petnt Rodent!" He hissed, about to respond, but I was already on Lev, my sword shing downwards and allowed Olga to be taken away before retreating a few steps backwards.


    I took that moment to slide right to their side. "Roman, being Rayshifting." Right as I said that, this entire ce shook, this isted realm that was only supported by Saber and the Grail.


    "Oh yes, Rayshift back. Olga can die by having her existence eradicated that way. A remnant soul that will vanish the moment she steps back into Chaldea." Lev mocked.


    "A-are you sure?" Roman hesitated due to his words.


    "Da Vinci, you there." I didn''t take my eyes off him. He just stared, as if to watch a show. I could tell he was utterly amused by this whole thing.


    "She''s not ¨C"


    "I''m here, what do you need?" Da Vinci''s voice came over the link.


    "W-what?"


    "Later, Roman." I quickly interrupted. "Da Vinci, how quickly can you make Olga a new body?"


    "If someone had told me the situation beforehand, I would have had enough time. But as it stands.....she''ll only have a few seconds the moment she steps back, not enough time to do anything." Da Vinci didn''t hold back her words.


    "I-I....." Olga has a few tears streaming down her face.


    "Get started." I told her.


    "....on it." Da Vinci didn''t argue.


    "Roman, setting link!" Mash stepped forward, mming her shield into the ground.


    "Rayshifting initiated, thirty seconds until response!" Roman stated. "


    "Director, don''t fight me." I put a hand on her chest.


    "Hey Farm Boy, give me some Magical Energy." Cu spoke up. "My Junior here finished the War, but I''m a little unsatisfied. I think I''ll take a crack at that ass over there." Cu raised his spear, pointing towards Lev.


    "Oh, you want to fight me, Servant?" Lev''s lips curled up.


    "Do what you need to, Caster." Samuel nodded, shifting over all the Magical Energy he could.


    "Oof, yeah, a little rough there, but that''s the stuff." Cu straightened up. He shot me a sideways nce. "I''ll give you a few seconds, whatever he is, don''t think I can hold him off for long and this ce is starting to break apart."


    "Thank you." I whispered.


    Cu Chuckled. "You still owe me a drinkter." He stepped forward, summoning all the Magical Energy he had avable. "Wicker man!" He immediately summoned his Noble Phantasm.


    The Massive wooden construct rose up from the ground, engulfed in fire. And its target was the man who identified himself as uros.


    "Olga." I shifted my attention towards her. Despite the turbulent emotions I was feeling, the rage at wanting to tear him apart, I tried my best to give her a calm and gentle smile. "You''re going to be fine, trust me." At the very least, I could save her.


    At the moment, all the anger I was feeling was pushed back in favor of saving her.


    Olga didn''t speak, but the look she gave was heart wrenching. I''ve gotten to know her a little bit sinceing to Chaldea, she was standoffish, prickly and overall demanding. But....then I began to see what little bits she idently let out when she felt morefortable.


    My Aura surged out, reaching into her. Her body jerked as her eyes widened at what I was doing.


    "W-what are these Readings?"


    "For it is through Freedom that we Achieve Immortality. Through this we be a Paragon of Liberation and Choice to rise above Fate. Infinite in possibilities and unbound by death, I release your soul and by my hand, unshackle thee."


    Olga''s entire body burst out in light.


    No, it wasn''t her body. She was a Soul right now, and everyone could see her being directly affected.


    A multitude of colors swirled around her, a phenomena I''ve never witness before as this had never been attempted on a soul without a body.


    But I could feel her, her existence became more.....solidified. This should keep her form coherent until Da Vinci can create her a physical body or some other solution.


    "Shimoda...?" Olga whispered, a confused look on her face.


    I pushed my hat a little down on her head. "Sir Wiggles, watch over her." Imanded as he nestled between her arms once more.


    "Rayshifting in 10 seconds!" Roman shouted.


    "Boss, are youing?" Samuel asked.


    I looked at them, then back to Cu. The Wicker Man, was barely being held together. I narrowed my eyes as uros, tore apart the wood construct and a barrage of spellsnded on Caster himself.


    "Shit..." Cu coughed, blood seeping from his mouth. "Thought I couldst a little longer."


    "Caster..." Samuel was about to run to him, but Cu put his arm up.


    "I know when it''s over, Farm Boy." He grinned, even through bloodied and mangled body. He tossed the spear ¨C my spear to him. "Hold onto that. Got a feeling I''m not going to be summoned as a Lancer next time."


    "Shimoda...." Olga tugged on my sleeve.


    "I''ll be right behind you, don''t worry." I reassured her. "Samuel, Benjamin, Pierre, and Ritsuka." I nced once more at the people I should have been responsible for. My heart ached knowing that they were the only members of B-Team that remained. "Mash, watch over them." I had trouble even knowing what to say.


    "Leave it to me, Senpai." Mash nodded firmly.


    They didn''t deserve this, they didn''t deserve this at all. But I know they would be in good hands for now.


    The Rayshift enveloped them, and It was interesting to see from this side. But I had absolutely no mind to pay attention to it for now.


    I nced at Cu who basically slumped to the ground. "Hey, give me a good show." He grinned.


    uros looked annoyed, his clothes were a little singed, and his eyes showed red with strange pupils.


    "dy." I growled out once the others were safely away. "Welsh Dragon Bnce Breaker!"


    The Massive torrent of power enveloped me as Ddraig''s Scale Mail formed around my body. The apanied roar shook the world. The copse that was already imminent began to elerate.


    "What is that ¨C"


    "Boost!" I roared again, interrupting uros''s statement. I immediately shot off the ground right at me.


    He flicked his Wand, a shield materializing around him as I mmed into it. "Boost, Boost Boost!" I shouted again, forcing him into the ground.


    His shield cracked. "Do you think ¨C"


    I reached my hand out, grabbing hold of my Sword of Destruction. My Bloodline ignited around it and I shed it downwards.


    "Impudent!" He shouted, his wand swinging forward to match it, enchanted with his own Magics. The effectsnded upon my sword, but they were utterly annihted, making his eyes widen.


    A massive surge of power gathered in his other hand, so I switched targets, My Sword of Destruction cut through every obstacle, and it met his flesh.


    He roared as my Power of Destruction tore into his body,pletely unaware of the origin, he didn''t properly defend against it.


    His eyes glowed bright, and his flesh that was striped away shifted unnaturally, underneath, it appeared with more eyes. Matching his own disfigured pupils, they all glowed bright, unleashing condensed Magical Energy that actualized into the form ofsers.


    I ripped off what remained of his arm, pulling away the few bits of flesh that still held it together to his body before pulling away.


    My Aura took a small hit to defend against his attack, but I wasn''t much worse for wear.


    uros stood to his feet, letting out a pained growl. "You.....insignificant ant." He clutched the spot where his arm was missing.


    I held up his severed arm, and I pulled on my bloodline again, disintegrating every piece of it right before his eyes.


    "I am far from done with you." I returned his scornful gaze. "I''ve had people I''ve hated before. I''ve had people target those I care about. I''ve had to deal with some of the most heinous excuses for living beings in existence. But you are probably the person I hate the most out of all my years of living. Congrattions, you achieved a monumental feat."


    uros look at his arm and sneered towards me. "This means nothing infront of the power of my king. You are nothing, an amalgamation, a facsimile of one of us, nothing more!"


    "Yes, well, allow me to retort." I kicked off the ground again, moving at him at blinding speeds. "Boost!" called out again and my fist smashed right into his stomach. His body practically caved in, but the light didn''t even flicker in his eyes.


    He immediately grit his teeth andshed out at me, those menacing eyes of his. Appendages burst out of his body, all covered in those strange eyes. They were strong, easily contesting with my own strength, enough that I had to actually be wary of them.


    It was no wonder that Cu was so easily defeated and his Noble Phantasm ovee.


    This thing was just masquerading in the form of a Human, but it was more certainly a Demon.


    The sky above us crackled and roared, matching my own fury with Thunder and Lightning following in its wake. I didn''t reel myself in, letting all of my anger slip out to facilitate the change in weather.


    My other swords flew out, shing at the massive tentacle-like appendages that attempted to reach me.


    "Annoying tricks!" The voice of the Demon roared out, smacking them away, only for me to take hold of my Sword of Destruction and pierce right inside one of thergest appendages, letting loose my Power of Destruction.


    His painful roar resounded everywhere, forcing him to abandon it after realizing how corrosive my Bloodline was.


    I didn''t let up, I reached out my hand, grabbing Dawnbreaker shing into his shoulder. He used his other hand to grab hold of the de, stopping me in my tracks, but I just let go and reached for Ascalon.


    The Dragon yer sword flew into my hand and I swung it at his neck.


    He had to sacrifice several more of his tentacles to ward off the attack. My Noble Phantasm bit into the flesh surfaces, cleaving one and stopping halfway through another before the momentum subsided.


    I once more abandoned that sword and gestured to the sky.


    "Thor''s hammer." I looked him right in the eyes as I called upon one of my most destructive spells.


    I activated my Semnce, turning my body into Lightning. The detriment to my spell, I had never found a way to ovee it. A side effect of the massive power being that it would harm anything within the area, including myself..


    The construct that formed out of Pure Lightning. It swung its hammer downwards. However, I was now Lightning itself, I wouldn''t be affected.


    I watched his eyes widen and a look of panic appear on his face.


    His body bloated, and shifted once more. His flesh split open and a massive tentacle surged outwards, reaching dozens of meters into the sky. Eyes wound around it, showing the same ones that uros revealed.


    Was this his true form!?


    The presence was enough to force me backwards. And all the eyes looked up into the sky. An eerie shout sounded out, the eyes glowed bright and a malevolent me-like magic erupted to meet my attack head on.


    They collided in mid air,pletely destroying one another.


    The ground beneath us cracked and dispersed. It was a lightless void that began to be revealed underneath. This Singrity was well and truly almost gone.


    "You forced me into this." The eyes of the thing all focused back on me. "Die!"


    The eyes dted, andser-like attacks discharged from every single one. They turned and jerked at angles that should be impossible, surrounding mepletely.


    "Ascalon!" I called out, my Noble Phantasm long returning to my hand.


    The sword activated, moving to protect me at every angle, deflecting and blocking every blow that came about.


    "Annoying pest!" The warped voice growled out.


    It attacked me again, but I withdrew Ascalon. The Sword of Destruction reentered my hand and Dragon Wings sprang forth from my back. I pushed off what remained of the ground, the endless void consuming everything else.


    I dodged around what sts came for me, approaching the Demon''s true body. "Sword of Destruction." I called out.


    The ability to destroy anything three times every century. That was the ability that the sword held, it was what Jinn told me about the Relic. I''ve only used it once thus far.


    "I target your core, and I sentence you to Destruction!" I mmed the sword into the main body.


    The massive Tentacle iled haphazardly, as if it lost all ability to properly maneuver. One of therge eyes on the tentacle bulged and the familiar shape forced its way out.


    Still missing an arm, body still scarred and cleaved in several ces. He dropped to the ground, and parts of his body began to disintegrate at visible speed.


    The massive Tentacle from being dissipated as well, leaving but his human-like form left.


    "What did you do!?" He wreathed on the ground. "My connection, I''m losing¡ª!?" He screamed. My satisfaction at watching him get destroyed quickly came to a halt when he revealed the Grail once more. That annoying trinket was starting to get on my nerves. He held it up as one of his legs disappeared in its entirety. "My king, save me!" He wailed, opening a rift and jumping through.


    It mmed shut right before him.


    "You think you can leave!?" I ground my teeth, putting away everything else but Mirage. "Reversing special Coordinates!" My sword began glowing as I started my abrupt calctions. The world falling apart around me. "Finalized local anomaly, opening Kaleidoscope!" I shouted, slicing my sword downright right where he left from, and I jumped through.


    [***]


    I mmed onto some sort of marble flooring. I didn''t even consider where I was going before jumping through, maybe my anger was clouding my judgment, but I couldn''t stop. I had to see that bastard die with my own eyes. I wanted to watch ever piece of him burn away as he writhed in pain.


    I took in my surroundings. It was as if we were in the void of space, nothing around but floating pieces of earth, the biggest being the one I stood on. Immediately my eyes found arge staircase and they traveled up towards the top.


    There was a man, sitting on an ivory throne, looking down at me.


    Next to him was uros. His body writhed and continued to disintegrate at visible speeds, though it appears like the Grail was fighting the effects.


    "My king!" uros looked up, pleading. It seemed like he was doing everything he could not to be on the ground writhing in pain.


    The man on the throne.


    He had long white hair and a single braid, and tan skin as if he lived in the desert for all his life. His eyeszily opened, upon my entrance, a single hand propping up his hand that held on his armrest. His clothes were extravagant, showing off someone of wealth.


    But that was all overshadowed by the danger senses ring in my head.


    Strong.


    Very, very strong.


    It was giving me the same warning signs that Ophis did at a minimum.


    The man held up his free hand and snapped his fingers. As if an invisible shockwave pulsed out, and things shifted.


    I looked at the Magical Effect, and the number of spells cast in that instant made my eyes dte. It''s not that he simply countered it with a snap of his finger, but that numerous spells attacked it from every angle. All of them that didn''t work simply faded away in contrast to the Power of my Sword. No, what I picked up near the end was Time Reversal.


    uros''s body stopped disintegrating and started healing instead.


    I know that my Sword of Destruction wasn''t beyond reproach. It was created for the intent of Humans to wield, so it couldn''t reach the level of ying Gods by itself. However, the ease in which it was ovee set me even more on edge.


    "You allowed someone to follow you back, uros." The man on the throne opened his mouth.


    "M-my apologies, my king. I don''t know how he was able ¨C"


    "The Kaleidoscope." The man interrupted. "A Magician of the modern age."


    "Who are you?" I stood up fully, not backing down from his intense gaze. I held my hand to the proverbial trigger in case things went south. I had several cards to y in an emergency. However....this ce was odd. It didn''t ce anyone on the World-Line nor the Time-Line. I was fairly sure we were somewhere in the sea of imaginary numbers. "What is this ce?"


    A soft smile appeared on his lips. "I am Solomon."


    The words were like thunder to my ears. It all made sense then, uros, one of the 72 Demons of the Ars Goetia. The name attached to them was Solomon.


    That name filled me with utter dread. If there were any Mages in history that I would absolutely not want to tangle with, he''s sitting right at the top of the list.


    ".....it was you then. You nned everything?"


    "Correct." He said with clear nonchnce. " I¡ª"


    "Then you can die." I pulled upon the Kaleidoscope. I wouldn''t give him the opportunity. Spell Circles swirled around Mirage and I pulled on an obscene amount of Magical Energy in that few moments. With my Boosts still holding, I jumped up right in front of him. He didn''t move, he didn''t react, even with the sheer immensity of Magical Energy that was barely contained around my sword to the point where it was flowing off. "Ether Canon!" I released it mere feet away from his face.


    A Translucent shield appeared around him. Just from eyesight alone, I could seeyers uponyers interwoven beautifully inside of it. Thettice of spell work, I would call it superior to my Shield of Asgard without hesitation.


    However, this Ether Canon of mine was only inferior to the one Iunched against Siegfried when Ipeted in the Holy Grail War. If I had more time, I could have umted more, but I decided that a quick hand was a necessity here.


    Yet...his shield held.


    No it didn''t simply hold. At first, it shuddered and threatened to shatter, but he did something and thettice of spells that condensed the entirety of the spell work shifted. It unwound and realigned itself, then my Ether Canon started to cascade off it. The vast majority of its power looked as if it unraveled at the seams upon colliding with his defense.


    "Using the Dimensional Refraction Phenomena to gather Magical Energy from parallel worlds. Then through a series of Magical Circles designed to integrate the Fifth imaginary Element into a solid shape and further igniting it with a continuous supply of Magical Energy, facilitating the observed reaction." My spell dissipated, having run out of juice, and his shiel didn''t show any signs of wear. "How novel."


    ".....how?"


    "True Magic you may possess, but the spell is merely Magecraft." He shifted in his seat, crossing long leg over the other. "I am the foundation for all Magecraft in the world, thus all Magecraft is beneath me. I am Solomon, and wee to my workshop."


    His workshop....


    An intense foreboding feeling set in at the implication. I felt this ce was odd, cut off from the normal flow of both time and space. It existed outside of both, and I had no idea about its existence normally. Nor would I have confidence in breaching it the way I did unless uros hadn''t opened a path for me to follow.


    I walked right into his seat of power, his domain. Who knows what sorts of protections and enhancements he receives by simply existing here.


    One does not fight a Magus within their Workshop. It was an irond rule known amongst every Magus in the world.


    And I wantonly jumped right into the workshop of the supposed King of Magecraft.


    With my heart beating faster, I gathered all the power I had onto my left hand. The Boosts I had manifested before all sinking into one ability. "Prate!" Ished out.


    "Dragon...." Solomon raised an eyebrow, seeing through the source immediately.


    The shield in front of him lit up again, my attack touching it. The shield finally warped, my Draconic energy pushing at it and it pierced right through, like a balloon that had a hole blown out. Several more Barriers met the same fate before Solomon Raised his hand up.


    "A conceptual pration of all defenses." He muttered as the st mmed right into his open palm. He shifted again, I could see dozens upon dozens of spells fail beneath the ability of Ddraig. His facial expression finally changed noticeably; a frown formed as he seemed to focus.


    He let out a snort, and a Magic Circle formed. Before, every hint of Magecraft he''d performed had been nearly instantaneous and without any build up. But now, he was forced to fall back on something else.


    His arm stiffened, and he twitched slightly, but the Spell Circle took in the Prate and dispersed.


    He paused, looking at his palm. "I am injured...."


    The skin on his Palm had been destroyed. Mangled and bleeding from the collision.


    "I can understand why uros was defeated, how peculiar. And your existence, yes, an odd thing that confused him as well. An understandable mistake on his part. However, you are not one of us." He raised his hand up, and my vision was filled with light.


    Instinctively, I activated my Semnce. My body turned to Lightning and I moved far enough away, sliding down on the ground at the base of the stairs.


    "Hmm, a resistance to Magical Effect?" He raised an eyebrow. "A Secondary Elemental Transformation?" He tilted his head in confusion. "Not fueled by Magical Energy. Curious."


    I wanted some distance so I could take a moment to reorientate my thoughts. He caught Ddraig''s Prate, and it merely caused a flesh wound on his Palm.


    [Brat, look up to the sky!] Ddraig shouted, breaking me from my stupor.


    My head immediately jerked upwards, and I trembled upon seeing it. A massive ring of light appeared far above, but it wasn''t just a light show.


    "You noticed." The man calling himself Solomon mused. "The sum total of Magical Energy by burning away Humanity from your time period. It''s still iplete, but it is still a substantial amount."


    It wasn''t just a ring of line. It wasposed of smaller strands of light, each one holding an immense amount of Magical Energy. Each one probably more than the amount I used to cast my Ether Canon a few minutes ago. And there were thousands upon thousands of them all flying in a circle, enough that it looked like a solid shape.


    "You..." I whispered, having trouble finding the right words. "You''re using human history as fuel!? This was your goal? And why you destroyed Chaldea."


    "Humanity should be thankful that they have some use." He waived his hand dismissively. "And Chaldea was never of any consequence. Merely an annoyance that entered my eye and was dealt with. Its existence makes no difference to me."


    "An annoyance?" I repeated his words. So many people died, many of which I knew, and it was just because they were an ''annoyance''. "Strun Bah Qo." The words like a roar as they echoed out into the void.


    I saw his eyes widen, the vibrations of my words sending a quake throughout this realm. Surprise sh across his face as his head jerked upwards. "Clouds!?"


    Thunder and Lightning answered my call. The lights so far above became obscure from my summoned storm. The shout that probably had the most affinity with myself after I became a Campione.


    It could even be called a minor application of my Authority without summoning it forth.


    "Come lightning!" Imanded as it crackled far above.


    It dropped down at mymand, right atop the supposed King.


    "Ridiculous!" He scoffed, standing up from his chair for the first time. His hands raised to the Sky. "I do not know what manner of Divine Words these are, but this is my Domain! Imand you to cease!" His voice raised and a monochromatic sphere exploded outwards.-


    His hands wrenched and pulled, the Lightning that wasing down collided with his spell, and it disappeared. As if it were willed out of existence, the Authority that I used to call it forth was overridden.


    My summoned Storm began to disperse.


    He looked at me smugly, making me even angrier.


    I held up my hand to the sky, and my Divinity was unsealed. A massive torrent of Magical Energy enveloped me as it exploded outwards.


    "It was here, at this ce, that Susanoo led a thousand unruly deities in rebellion! A thousand swords standing upon the earth, used as city walls to defend against the enemies. Here, namely, the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi! The Steel that breaks a thousand des!"


    The words of power left my lips, the chantpleted, and the void shifted once more. The dispersing storm immediately filled with life once more. The Thunder Clouds multiplied and were filled with a substantial amount of energy as they swirled around above.


    A single bolt of lightning fell downward, right into my hand.


    The feeling of a Sword between my fingers.


    The Divine Sword I had acquired after defeating the Storm God.


    My Authority.


    With it fully out, I could feel the boundaries of this ce more thoroughly. I could feel how my Authority was scraping against the rules here, how this ce belonged to someone else and I was an intruder. I was being suppressed, even now by thesews.


    As my Authority reached out, with every moment, it was being eroded. I sent it tobat this erosion, but it was a losing battle.


    Instead, I focused on the one who called themselves Solomon.


    He stared at me with utter surprise. "You possess an Authority."


    "Come Lightning,e Thunder." I held my sword up high, and the surrounding storm answered my call. As If connecting Heaven and Earth, Lightning flowed downward continuously. It enveloped my de, erging and epassing the sky.


    If my storm wouldn''t be able to hold for long, then let it apany a single swing of mine.


    The entirety of the storm I summoned had gathered. Just as Susanoo had done to me when we fought. Just as a swing of his could reach the horizon and sunder the sea itself, I swung my sword.


    For the first time Solomon looked hesitant. He had to brace himself. His Shield was brought up immediately, but that was all I could see before everything was consumed by my Divine Lightning.


    The torrent of Lightning intertwined with Divine Power and Magical Energy shot off into the distance. It disappeared unto the ends of whatever void existed in this ce.


    It was but a moment to withstand, but not many could. However, A figure still stood once the attack had ceased.


    No longer were his clothes pristine, nor his skin wless. His eyes were red, pupils demonic in a way that matched uros.


    Chunks of his skin was missing, but blood did not seep out. Instead, things began to wiggle and wreath underneath. The biggest wound was across his chest, seared flesh revealed a singr menacing Eye,rger than my head.


    It locked eyes with me and I felt a shiver go down my spine.


    Despite the ''damage'' that I had caused, he didn''t look the slightest bit unwell. No, he scowled, his jaw opened up unnaturally, and sharp teeth filled his mouth, but not the slightest indication of pain. "Impudence." He sneered.


    "....you''re not Solomon." I breathed out, gripping my sword tighter. "Solomon wouldn''t do something like this. There are enough records left to know that he was a defender of humanity."


    As if to agree with me, I felt the Spear inside start to vibrate in anger.


    "That fool saw all the wrongs of the world and let them continue unabated. Defender of humanity? Aughable notion. " He scoffed, voice raised, scowling deeper. The most emotion I''ve seen him give off thus far. "I would have allowed you to wait for death like those other misbegotten fools, but you have earned my ire."


    He held his hand up to the sky, and I felt death approaching.


    What remained of my clouds were immediately dispersed without the slightest indication that they were there.


    "Begone from my presence." He waved his hand downward.


    An uncountable number of lights from the sky above obeyed hismand. They intertwined and shot right at me.


    "Avalon!" I shouted out immediately, panic rising within my chest. The Ever Distant Utopia enveloped me right away as the lights collided with the defense.


    Artoria''s Sheath had fended off Excalibur without any problem, however, each strand of light that came at me could easily match it in intensity. A continuous burst of powerpletely enveloped my vision and I saw no end in sight.


    The Sheath didn''t waver in the slightest, yet, under this onught, Avalon started draining the remaining stores of Artoria''s Magical Energy quickly to sustain itself. I''ve never had to use it for this long before, and the upkeep was substantial.


    What I would call the strongest defensive Noble Phantasm, was losing in a prolonged engagement. I did not have any thoughts about the shield breaking, but the power behind it was going to run out any moment.


    The ground I was standing on was annihted, the Collison rocketed me off my feet, carrying me off of the marbled flooring that remained. Avalon''s source of power was flickering, maybe only one or two breaths more of time were left as I was mmed into the dimensional barriers of this domain.


    It didn''t stop, the sheer power was enough to shatter the fragile barrier. The void between worlds ¨C the imaginary Number Space greeted me with just emptiness in all directions.


    Avalon finally began to rescind its holy protection.


    I brought up My Divine Sword protectively, but the intense power pushed through my defenses. My Aura surged outwards, but it shatteredpletely. The Scale Mail around me followed suit, barely holding out for a few breaths before shattering as well.


    I struggled to keep myself even conscious. It was only with a sudden eruption of golden light around me that I felt a miniscule amount of breathing room open up. Large White Wings sprouted from my back and enveloped me protectively.


    I used that single moment to force myself away. Between the void of worlds, I could only pull towards a vaguely familiar location and use all my remaining strength to force a path open, yanking my body out of the path of the hostile light of destruction.


    Myst thoughts were relief as the holy light around me faded away. Any longer and I would have beenpletely incinerated.


    I could only see the barest sight of a broken moon before my body copsedpletely and my consciousness faded.


    [***]


    Here''s a big chunky chapter to wrap up the tail end of this first singrity. And Yes, Goetia is really that fuck off powerful. Cue training montage.

 Chapter 356 - 323

    <h4>Chapter 356: Chapter 323</h4>


    My head hurts.


    My everything hurts.


    I could feel my toes. I could feel my fingers, so a little bit of relief filled my heart. My eyelids were heavy, but I pushed them open and the light above me stinged.


    An unfamiliar roof I could barely make out through blurry eyes.


    I wanted to sit up, but my body screamed out in pain. I had to pause and grit my teeth, fighting through it.


    "You''re awake...."


    I heard a soft voice, and my head slowly turned towards the door. "Salem?"


    Just speaking the words was enough for me to start coughing up blood. My chest hurt something fierce, but.....it was definitely worth it to see her rush over and start fussing over me.


    "Why are you sitting up?" She hissed, gently pushing me back down. "Do you have any idea what state I found you in!?"


    My only response was a groan.


    "Stop moving, you''re only making it worse." She said sternly, putting a hand on my chest. "I can actually feel your Aura now, so that is an improvement. Good, I can help facilitate it then."


    Oof.


    I don''t know how long I was out, but it feels like a while. And if My Aura is just now making itself known again.....It must have been hit very hard.


    "No, it''s still much too faint. If I try to pull it out anymore, you may receive bacsh."


    That doesn''t sound pleasant.


    Closing my eyes, I could vaguely feel my Aura working its magic. There was another ¨C warming feeling inside. I could easily tell it to be Avalon, even if the supply of Artoria''s Magical Energy is nearly depleted. It seemed to be doing its best to heal the parts of me that were the most damaged.


    Solomon....no, it was clearly not Solomon. Whatever that was, he was assuming the identity for some reason. With the brief conversation we had, he obviously held disdain for him.


    And uros.


    It wasn''t hard to put two and two together.


    Perhaps another of the Demon Pirs?


    No wonder I disliked him immediately. My Devil Bloodline encountered his demon bloodline or whatever it is.


    A strange reaction between two worlds.


    Chaldea...I need to go back. Or rather, should I immediately head back?


    Would my presence make him target Chaldea? He expressed apathy towards it before, something beneath his notice, would I change that if I went back right this moment?


    I knew they were safe right now. If he was going to do something, wouldn''t he have done it already? My bond with Sir Wiggles.....I can still feel it. That Rabbit had been with me even when I became a Campione, it''s bonded with me so deeply, I don''t doubt it has some affinity with the Kaleidoscope now. The fact that I can still feel him with this ''distance'' isn''t that surprising.


    Taking that into consideration, I wasn''t sure I could even win in a fight. Strike that, I was pretty sure I would lose as I was...fully healed that is.


    It''s not that I didn''t have some more cards to y, things I wasn''t able to bring to bare before. But.....how likely is it that he showed all his cards? Considering he was hiding his true nature, pretty damn likely.


    Ddraig.....are you okay? He had been awfully quiet.


    [No.] He answered sort of groggily. [You''re awake now, going to sleep for a little bit. Got hit with some bacsh when the Scale Mail broke like that. We''ll talkter.]


    .....shit.


    I''ll just focus on healing for now. I''ll weigh my options again once I''m back at 100%. Rushing into the problem caused this in the first ce, I need to consider what happened properly and decide how to continue.


    Taking a deep breath, I turned on my Magic Circuits. Unsurprisingly, it burned pretty damn bad at the moment. But I gathered the Magical Energy needed to reach into my storage ring and take out a Health Potion.


    I took a moment to uncork it and shakily brought it up to my lips only for Salem to grab onto my arm.


    "Stop." She gently reached for it. "Let me." She said softly, taking it from my hands and sitting down next to me. I suppose she could assume it was something beneficial for me considering the circumstances. She lifted the phial to my lips and I felt the warm liquid flow down my throat


    It didn''t do a lot but giving it a moment, I should be fine to at least talk and sit up properly.


    "What happened?" I looked up at her.


    "I was hoping you would tell me. One moment I am in my study, the next, the sky fills up with lights, followed by Lightning and Thunder booming everywhere. I see a shooting star that turns out to be a person crashing into the ground some miles away from my castle."


    "Oh."


    "Yes, oh." She rolled her eyes. "You are lucky I got to you when I did. The Grimm were about to get brave."


    "You saved me?" I asked.


    ".....I suppose I did."


    I forced myself to sit up again. The pain was lessened, but it by no means disappeared. I was not at a very good point right now, but hearing something like that brightened my mood substantially.


    She cared.


    "You''ve been taking care of me too?"


    "Of course, who else did you expect to be doing so?" She crossed her arms with a small huff.


    I...was a little hesitant about Salem. I wasn''t blind, nor did I ignore everything about her. But hearing that.....I was at her literal mercy, I was at my lowest, and she helped me, probably saved me, and had been nursing me back to health.


    I felt my heart beating a little quicker.


    I didn''t really have time to think about where I forced myself to go. It was subconscious, and just somewhere I would be rtively safe.


    My hand inched towards hers. She stiffened a little when I took her hand into mine, but she didn''t stop me. "Thank you."


    "You are wee." She said softly, hand tightening around mine.


    I leaned my head against her shoulder, letting out a long breath in relief. "How long was I out?"


    "From the time I have found you, it is the third day." She replied. "I was beginning to think that you were not going to wake up. A severe injury resulting in Aura depleted so thoroughly can cause serious harm."


    "My soul is strong, it can handle that kind of blow and recover." Even if I felt like I could have died had things yed out differently. "Were you worried about me?" I tilt my head up to see her face.


    She pursed her lips with a harumph. "I was worried that there was someone capable of putting you in such a state whom I was unaware of." She grunted. "Tell me who it was, I will take care of it."


    She was beingpletely serious too.


    Despite the circumstances, it did bring a smile to my face.


    "It''s fine, don''t worry about it."


    "Don''t tell me not to worry." She frowned. "I have had to sit here and make sure you would not die for three days." She turned towards me, giving me a little poke.


    I winced a little, feeling very sore right where she poked me. "You''re right, I''m sorry."


    "''Hmph. It''s good that you acknowledge it then." She had one of her cute little huffs again. "How strong was the person who harmed you?"


    I thought about that question on how to answer. "You remember that Sea Fei-long I killed?"


    "I recall, yes."


    "I was hit by something about a hundred times stronger than the spell I used to take it out." A rough estimate, but it wasn''t entirely incorrect.


    She looked at me strangely. "And where can I find them?"


    "....it''splicated."


    "One of your secrets then?" She frowned. "Very well."


    "Salem..."


    "You have many secrets, one more will not change anything."


    I''m not being fair to her.


    I''ve been spending time intentionally trying to flirt and do my best to earn her affection, yet, I''ve been keeping so many obvious secrets. By what right do I have to want her to open up to me when I don''t reciprocate the same?


    "You deserve better." I said softly. "I''ve been keeping a lot from you and you deserve to know at this point. But.....not like this. I want to be at my best when I have that talk with you. Will you wait just a little bit longer? I want to tell you everything."


    "You would trust me to reveal all your secrets?" She looked at me strangely. "I have made my desire clear in that regard. Are you not afraid that I am just seeking out my own personal goals from you?"


    I brought her hand up to my lips, giving it a small kiss. "I trust you."


    ".....some may call you foolish for that."


    "As long as it allows me to stay at your side, I don''t mind being a fool."


    She let out a snort, but she leaned further into me. "You have be delirious from your injuries, otherwise I cannot think of a reason for you to spout such nonsense."


    Despite everything that happened recently, at this moment, I was feeling rxed. I would worry about everything else once I was able to do something about it.


    "I will make you some food. You have not had proper nourishment for many days." She pulled away, standing up.


    I leaned back, watching her leave the room, letting my body basically copse against the bed, finding it difficult to bring the energy to sit back up.


    I couldn''t even find it in myself to wince in pain again.


    Tired, my body was so utterly exhausted. With thest ounce of energy I had, I looked into my ring again and took out my Kaleidophone, staring at it.


    Should I call them? Am I being selfish that I don''t want any of them to see me like this?


    ....I don''t want them to worry about me.


    I''m already out of danger at this point, I''ll just let myself heal enough that I can walk on my own, then I''ll go talk to them.


    The door opened back up only a few minutester, Salem came back carrying a tray with a bowl, steam visibly simmering above.


    She walked forward, sitting down next to me once more and I dropped the phone to my side.


    "Come, I shall help you." She said softly, taking a spoon full of soup and moving it gently towards my mouth.


    I would just allow myself to calm down and enjoy the moment. I would worry about everything else once I was given some time to properly recover.


    [***]


    I opened my eyes again, looking at the same ceiling I''ve recognized thus far.


    My body still hurt, and I didn''t think I was going to be back to a hundred percent unless I got Artoria to refill Avalon. Otherwise, naturally healing would probably take a couple weeks even with my absurd biology.


    I may have gone back to her sooner, however....just activating my Circuits and drawing enough Magical Energy to take something out of my Ring was leaving me weak. I couldn''t imagine pulling on the Kaleidoscope and actually hopping worlds at my previous state.


    My soul definitely took a big hit. Ddraig was sleeping right now, which was an obvious insinuation at how bad I suffered. My Aura was utterly annihted in such a way that It sent a shock right through my Soul.


    But.....after resting for as long as I have, I think I was well enough to try.


    I wasn''t in a big rush though.


    If nothing else, this has given me a lot of time to think about everything. I do not have confidence on re enter that workshop of his in the same manner. The way it existed, I was fairly sure he could change the coordinates in the Imaginary Numbers Space at his will. Even without that though, It would be foolish for me to confront him immediately.


    He deciphered my Magecraft with ease. And he was able to analyze nearly everything I did with but a single nce. Solomon he may not be, but I have to respect that kind of prowess he showed. And that''s not even considering the sheer power he was giving off.


    My Ether Canon waspletely ineffectual at the level I used it at. My Dragon Words were eptable, but the location left something to be desired. He had a stranglehold on that ce, enough that even my Authority was being forced away.


    Speaking of my Authority, that attack didn''t even manage to cause true damage. No, the form of ''Solomon'' that he showed was....fake. I didn''t have time to investigate it for obvious reasons, but I could put forth that hypothesis with what I learned in the small window. I have a feeling that my Authority wasn''tpletely ineffectual, but that I barely scraped the surface of what he actually was.


    Some kind of demon taking on his form perhaps. The name of it was also obvious at this point considering who uros is. Though, which specific Pir is the question.


    I did notice ten rings on his fingers, which begs the question on if it''s the ten rings I''m thinking of, or was he just ying the role fully.


    Because if that was the true ten rings.....I''m even more skeptical about my chances than I was previously.


    No, the Spear didn''t react enough for that I think.


    And the Spear. The Spear is a Trump Card he didn''t see. It''s something I think I can rely on if it came to it. As for my Power of Destruction, he probably knows all about it now due to uros. And my Authority was revealed, and Ddraig was shown. I have a few other tricks, like my Staff of Magnus, but I don''t know if I could really call that a trump card when it only helps me in casting my Magecraft.


    But....I need something else. Not just a trump card. If he''s going around calling himself Solomon, then his knowledge of Magecraft is obviously to the point where he can pull off the name. And his ability so far just showed that much already.


    So my Magecraft is probably not going to help me too much. My Primordial Runes are still eptable, as are my Nine Realms due to their nature of being supported by the Primordial Runes. But even then, a good chunk of the spell is created through normal Magecraft.


    I needed something else, something outside of Magecraft that I could work with.


    I was going to have to report back to Gramps anyways, so I may as well ask him for his opinion. Because I wasn''t going to go looking for a fight again unless I was a bit more confident.


    But before all of that, I really, really just needed to hug Artoria for a little while.


    Taking a deep breath, I slid to the edge of the bed and let my feet touch the ground. I wobbled for a moment before steadying myself, putting weight onto my legs for the first time in days.


    "Fuckkkk." I groaned out.


    It wasn''t a sharp pain anymore, but still felt like Sc¨¢thach focused purely on my legs when she beat the shit out of me. But once I got up on my feet, my chest was hurting too, fractured ribs are going to do that.


    My slow and methodical steps took me to the door, and pushing it open, I found my little friend again.


    "Squidward." I smiled happily upon seeing him.


    The little tentacled Grim waved its appendages as if to greet me.


    Salem probably left him here in case of emergency.


    "Take me to Salem?" I pat his squishy head.


    It made a strange noise and wiggled its tentacles again before slowly floating off down the hallway.


    Honestly, it made me wonder if other Grimm were as intelligent as he was. It opened up some very interesting questions if that was the case.


    He only turned the corner twice before floating in front of a doorway as if to tell me she was inside. I didn''t stand on ceremony, if Salem didn''t want me here, Squidward wouldn''t have willingly led me.


    Pushing it open, It was a quaint little room. A little smaller than her Library, but it had some books and shelves around the ce.


    In a Castle thisrge, it''s not strange to have such redundant-like rooms.


    Salem looked up from a book she held. One I recognized as it was about Runecraft. She sat in a chair facing the window, and I suppose that was how she originally saw my entrance.


    "You shouldn''t be walking around." She stated, rather sternly.


    "I healed up enough for at least this much." I walked up behind where she was sitting, and my arms snuck up around her. Again, she stiffened a little bit, more of an unconscious reaction to my touch than an unwee one. She didn''t deny me in the slightest, so I put my chin on her shoulder, looking at what she was reading.


    It didn''t feel ufortable to do this either. It didn''t feel awkward that I had my arms around her. I think we were both familiar enough with each other that such actions were eptable.


    "How many times have you read this book now?"


    "Several Dozen." She admitted. "However, I feel as though I discover new things each time. Or some specific passage gives me inspiration that I had not considered previously."


    "Done anything interesting with it yet?"


    "I had one idea that worked out well. This type of Magic is interesting in that it''s easier to mold for other purposes than pure Destruction." Salem shut the book, putting it on a small table next to her. "Look at my shadow."


    I followed her instructions, tilting my head to see her faint shadow on the ground. I had to blinked because I thought I was seeing things. "Is that....a Grimm?" I asked, red eyes were peeping at me from her Shadow.


    "Indeed" She smiled. "I created a spell to store Grimm in my Shadow. Due to their nature of having been created by the God of Darkness, they take to the concept of Shadows easily."


    "That is absolutely brilliant." I praised her with full sincerity.


    "I am aware." She said rather smugly. "There are still some minor problems, such as the amount I can store. But I am working on that for the moment."


    "Do you want help?" I offered.


    "Your offer is appreciated, but unneeded. I am enjoying figuring it out and it is staving off boredom while you are absent."


    She went quiet. I don''t think she meant to say thatst part.


    "I''ll do my best to starting around more." I could have teased her, but....It didn''t really feel right at this moment.


    "Hmph, do what you want." She didn''t say no.


    She was too cute, I couldn''t help myself. I gave her a little kiss on the cheek, much to her continued chagrin.


    "I''m going to head out."


    ".....you are well enough to leave then?"


    "I''m good enough that I can head back. Once I''m back home, I know someone who can heal me very quickly."


    "I see."


    "My girlfriend."


    "Pardon?" She furrowed her brow in confusion.


    "It''s not someone, it''s my girlfriend." I made sure to rify. "I don''t want to keep being vague or giving half truths. My girlfriend ¨C Artoria can heal me much quicker once I go home. She knows about you, so it''s only fair that you know about her as well. I have others ¨C as you know, but that''s a long conversation and I think it''ll best be served for when I get back. Like I promised."


    It was hard to get a read on her emotions right now, but....I think she was happy? Happy that I was sharing things with her, things that were kept secret before.


    "Very well, I shall await your return then." Salem said softly.


    Salem looked...rxed, content even. It made me not want to move because this kind of intimacy wasn''tmon between us yet. ".....I can wait a few more minutes before leaving." I whispered.


    She replied simply with a small smile.


    [***]


    I stabbed Mirage into the ground to steady myself after walking through a portal. I winced, immediately deactivating my Magic Circuits due to the burning sensation that was magnitudes higher than where they normally were.


    The Sun had already disappeared for several hours at this point. But even so, it was nice to be back home after everything. Spending time with Salem after getting my ass thoroughly handed to me was relieving. It truly did help settle some of the emotions that were rampaging at the time.


    But right now, there was someone else that became a priority.


    I pushed the door open, ignoring the stabbing feeling in my chest.


    A little head poked out of the kitchen.


    "Will?" Artoria greeted me with a mix of confusion and happiness.


    Almost immediately, all those emotions I had been pushing down the past few days just spilled out. I didn''t care that I was hurting right now, I just moved quickly towards her. My arms wrapping her up nice and tight.


    "What''s wrong, what happened to you?" She looked worried, pulling apart as she gave me a thorough look. "Wilhelm, are you okay?"


    Seeing her after what happened...


    "I love you." The words just came out by themselves.


    "W-what are you saying so suddenly?" The King of knights immediately turned a bright shade of red.


    I couldn''t stop myself. After watching the other her die, I couldn''t hold onto it. Maybe it was too soon, maybe it wasn''t, but I had to say it.


    "I ¨C " Her dainty hands squeezed the fabric of my shirt, her head pushed against my chest as if to hide her face. "I Love you as well." She said quietly, barely more than a whisper.


    Magic words that could settle the frenzy of emotions that was happening in my heart.


    They were enough to make the world seem perfect for this moment.


    [***]


    Just a heads up, I edited the wrong chapter, it was supposed to be an interlude today. I don''t have time to edit the interlude before I head to work, so i''m doing this a little out of order.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 357: Interlude 25

    <h4>Chapter 357: Interlude 25</h4>


    Olga Marie Animusphere POV


    "Director, you may not want to move around so quickly. Your Soul is still getting used to your new body."


    "I''m fine." I slowly slid off the bed. "Thank you...Caster."


    She was right, my body felt...odd. I suppose it would take awhile to get used to it.


    "I helped too..." Roman whispered to the side.


    I shot him a re immediately and he shrunk down.


    Idiot.


    ....he should have said something sooner.


    "Where is ¨C " I didn''t even need to finish my words before the Rabbit was already jumping into my arms. Its weight and warmth forting.


    I couldn''t help but hug him closely.


    "What a smart rabbit. He wouldn''t leave your side the entire time." Caster noted. "Did Tak ¨C Wilhelm ever note the species?"


    "No." I said softly. "How long was I unconscious?"


    "Two Days, Director." Roman replied.


    "Did Shimodae back yet....?"


    "....no."


    "Oh."


    It''s okay, he said he''lle back, so he''lle back. He''s just a littlete is all.


    "What happened to me? I don''t remember much after being Rayshifted back."


    "I wanted to ask you that as well." Caster perked up. "Wilhelm did something to you that made it so your soul could persist for a long period of time. Long enough that I was able to craft you a new body."


    "I remember he chanted something, and filled me up with something powerful.I felt something warm flow into me ¨C " I paused, looking at Caster''s humored expression, realizing the innuendo. "Are you a child!?" I huffed.


    "No no, please go on." Caster gestured for me to continue with a chuckle.


    "It was mostly a blur after that." I huffed again, running my fingers through the Rabbit''s fur. "What happened?"


    "Well....." Caster tapped her chin. "I haven''t run that many tests, honestly I''ve been working on more important things after I made sure you weren''t going to die. But from what I could tell.....he somehow actualized your soul."


    "....actualized my soul?" My eyes widened as I processed what she said. "The Third Magic!?"


    "Not exactly." Caster shook her head. "Maybe a facet of it, but not the Magic itself. Your soul was ¨C " Caster paused. "Erged? Emphasized? Strengthened? There are a lot of words I can use to describe it but feeling it for yourself may be the best course of action. Suffice to say, whatever he did, it was enough that you were able to sustain your existence without a body when you were Rayshifted back."


    "We noticed something though, when trying to run medical diagnostics." Roman spoke up.


    "Noticed what?"


    "Erm, we were hoping you would know. But, uh, there was a sort of Energy Barrier around you when you came back."


    I furrowed my brow, trying to think through it until the Rabbit jerked in my hands. I watched again, with wide eyes as a visible barrier of energy formed around him in my arms.


    "....what?" I looked at it in confusion.


    "It seems that you aren''t the only one who got that treatment." Caster perked up, kneeling down to be eye level with the Rabbit. "Fascinating, it isn''t reserved for only humans."


    I looked at what the Rabbit was doing and then at my own hands. Taking a deep breath, I felt a reservoir of energy inside myself that was different from my Magical Circuits and my Magical Energy. It was nearly the same source, but it felt like a different application.


    Suddenly, it was if moonlight enveloped my hands.


    "Oh, well done!" Caster smiled brightly. "Hmm, I wonder if different colors mean anything. Oh, I can''t wait to study this more when I have time!"


    "This isn''t harmful?" I asked.


    "It shouldn''t be?" Roman scratched his head. "I mean....It''s basicallying from your soul. And we''re pretty sure it has a nourishing effect on the body as is. And, well, I don''t think Wilhelm would give you something that would harm you?"


    "Of course he wouldn''t." I scoffed, forcing the ''energy'' to turn itself off. It felt more intuitive than when I first activated my Magic Circuits. Easier to manipte, and a lot more.... soothing.


    I could vaguely recall the feelings when he first.....did whatever he did to me.


    Protective, warm, secure.


    After Lev....


    Lev killed me.


    Lev Betrayed me.


    Lev.....is the cause for everything....


    "Director?"


    "What?" I snapped out of my thoughts, feeling theforting softness in my arms.


    "You spaced out for a moment. Are you sure you''re okay? No kind of body dystopia or depersonalization going on?" Roman had a shlight, shining right into my eyes.


    "I''m fine!" I huffed, pushing it away. "I''m just....." I don''t even know the right words.


    "Right...yeah, I get it." Roman said softly.


    No, there was no time to wallow. It''s no different than how I spent every other minute of my life.


    "Caster, I''m assuming that you were able to get the materials for my body without issue? What''s the status on our supplies right now?" Because the immediate concern is making sure what staff remained survived.


    "You''re lucky." Caster mused. "I was about to have to scavenge some corpses because our supplies were mostly destroyed ¨C"


    I felt a shiver down my spine. It almost made me want to praise her for her ability until I came back to my senses that she was going to use the dead bodies of my subordinates to make me a new body.


    "But, the stuff you brought back from Wilhelm was enough in that regard." She finished


    "What stuff I brought back?" I blinked in realization. "Where''s the hat!"


    "It''s right here, director." Roman picked it off the table behind him.


    I quickly grabbed it out of his hands. "Good, it''s not damaged." I inspected it everywhere.


    He said he would being back for it, I need to make sure it''s still properly cared for in the meantime.


    "A quaint method of storage, it gave me a few ideas forter." Caster spoke up again. "But it''s thanks to him that we''re back up and running in any capacity."


    "Give me a proper status report." I gently put the hat back atop my head.


    "Right, Director." Roman nodded. "82% of the Generators are still not operational. But the critical systems are back online, but they''re at minimal capacity right now."


    "We''ve directed most of the power to LAPLACE in order to single out the Singrities that we''ve discovered so far." Caster added in.


    "Singrities, plural." I breathed out. "You mentioned that before, you said there were more Singrities."


    "We''ve detected six more but thest one seems to be beyond our reach at the moment." Roman rified.


    "Beyond our reach?" I furrowed my brow. "....so it''s within the Age of Gods."


    "That''s correct." Caster nodded. "We don''t have enough power to reach that point. Thankfully, it should be thest Singrity we have to resolve. In the meantime, we''ve locked onto the next one."


    "What about the other critical systems? Are the coffins operational? Is the FATE system usable?"


    "At the moment, they''re at the bare minimum of usability. However, I believe I can bring them up to a better standard within a week. The Materials that Wilhelm left are....interesting. He appears to have given us a form of Crystallized Mana, which has been significant in relieving power issues due to the Generators being offline."


    Good, that''s good news after everything. Even now it looks like Shimoda is helping us out. How bad would things have been had he not shown up? Crystallized Mana is an extremely rare resource, and he just gave it up like that...


    I''m not mad anymore that he lied. I just...hope hees back soon.


    "Do you have reports written up?" I looked at Roman.


    "Y-yes, director, I have reports on everything that''s happened so far. I didn''t know when you would be up and I wanted to make sure to note everything of importance."


    I closed my eyes for a moment before nodding in satisfaction. "Get me the reports, I''ll take a few minutes to go over them. Then, we''ll call a meeting with the avable staff."


    [***]


    Everyone was looking at me, like I was some kind of spectacle.


    I hate it.


    It''s just a new body.


    ...I almost died, they could at least stop being so tant about it.


    That perverted Caster. Why did she have to emphasize the fact that it''s exactly the same in every detail. I didn''t need to think about how she got all ''that'' the same!


    I would have preferred to hold this meeting in my office, but it''s apparently still a damn crater right now.


    And I suppose I couldn''t have everyone fit. And it''s not even the entirety of the staff. A good 40% still aren''t fit for active duty and can''t even be up on their feet.


    Still, it could have been worse. Romanpiled reports from most people that were able. Shimoda saved a lot of people just by himself. Those Talismans of his came in very handy, and we have a store of them remaining. The ease of use is something that can''t be overlooked, and after we settle everything, I will be having Caster see if she can reproduce them.


    "Everyone, listen up!" I mmed my hand onto the table to stop all the mutterings. "I''m not going to lie or sugarcoat what''s going on. Right now, humanity is gone." I gave them a moment to process that bit of information. I know I curled up into a ball for an hour when I heard it myself. "The only reason Chaldea still remains is due to the different fields of energy that CHALDEAs is putting off, shielding us from the residual effects. We are thest bastion of Humanity still remaining in the world. There is literally nothing else existing beyond these walls and the surroundings. The world we all knew is gone."


    They needed to know the hard truth. If they couldn''t cope with this kind of thing, it was better to figure it out now and not when important matters presented themselves.


    "But we''re not defeated yet. We''ve detected the cause for the incineration of Humanity. The Grand Order is still going forward. We will now be entering preparation time for deployment for the Second Singrity." I paused, turning towards Roman. "Roman, you have information on it?"


    The Doctor coughed a little awkwardly but shifted his posture and held up a few pieces of paper. "I won''t bore everyone with the details. But we''ve narrowed it down to the year 1431 AD, location: France Orleans ¨C Historical Significance, The Hundred Year War."


    There was a little bit more light filling all these hopeless eyes.


    Good, giving them an objective would increase morale, even if a little bit.


    "This location doese with a benefit." I took hold of the talks once more. "As most of you may be aware, one of the casualties amongst the attack was our self-sufficient Greenhouses." All production was utterly destroyed. We barely had anything in storage. "We had enough food to ration tightly through the next few weeks and we may have had to take drastic measures before Rayshifting to this Singrity. However, you can thank the leader of the B-Team for his foresight. He was able to procure us enough foodstuffs tost us even a month or two beyond the Singrity with the rate we''re going. The good newses that we will be able to secure supplies within the Singrity and bring it back, alleviating many concerns we currently have."


    As for water, we''re in the middle of frozen wastnd. We can break off chunks of ice and melt it for our needs.


    Once again, Shimoda came to our rescue.


    Many bags of Rice, different fruits and vegetables. And even Meats that will be preserved for weeks if needed. It''s more than enough for us to get back on our feet by this Orleans Singrity.


    "With the most immediate concerns taken care of. We''re going to start assigning people to different parts of the facility to start clearing out rubble and see what we can salvage. I''ll be reading off names, if you have something to add speak up when your name is called. If you practice certain crafts that may be valuable in other ces, I expect you to say so." I cleared my throat, looking at the list of names.


    [***]


    "Alright, everyone''s here." I looked at the much smaller group around me. "Everyone, I don''t know if you''ve met so far, but Caster, introduce yourself."


    "Nice to meet everyone officially, I''m Leonardo Da Vinci. You can call me Caster or Da Vinci if you prefer." Caster introduced herself.


    Standing around were the remnants of B-Team and A-Team.


    "Is it impolite if I ask ¨C"


    "I was born a man." Caster giggled. "I decided to use this body due to my own preferences. So feel free to call me however you want."


    "Thank you for the rification, Ma''am." Samuel thanked.


    "Wilhelm asked the same thing." Caster smiled brightly.


    "About him, um...is there any news?" Fujimaru asked the question that everyone had on their minds.


    "There is no word yet. We will be proceeding regardless. If you don''t want to be dead weight by the time hees back, then make sure you follow instructions." I replied.


    "Yes, Director." He stiffened andplied.


    "Good, now..." I looked around the room. "Benjamin." My eyesnded on the former drug dealer. "You are on reserve until further notice."


    "....is it because I''m missing an arm?" He looked at me withplete seriousness.


    "Yes." I felt myself twitch at his utter bluntness. "You are still one of the only Master Candidates remaining, so unfortunately, we can''t bench youpletely. If something goes wrong, you will have to be deployed even as you are."


    "I''d give you a salute, Director, but I''m a little handicapped right now."


    "...How did Shimoda deal with you?" I let out a sigh. Though, it was better than him acting out in a different way. "I apologize for not being able to offer you proper medical procedures to regain your arm. However, those supplies are being directed at the ones who are not as stable. That being said, I know that Shimoda made you a promise, and I will too. Chaldea will make sure you don''t suffer a loss once we''ve solved this crisis."


    The guilt at telling this subordinate of mine that we can''t regrow his arm after I had an entirely new body created for me.


    "...Thank you, Director."


    "You''re wee." I said softly.


    Everyone is dealing with what happened in their own way. I.....can give them some leeway for now.


    I turned my gaze at one of the other difficult subordinates of mine. "Hinako Akuta."


    The only one left of A-Team.


    Half of them were dead, the other half were in the Coffins in a sort of stasis. We couldn''t even unfreeze them right now because we didn''t have the confidence in saving their lives. Not to mention the medical supplies we had was simplycking, it''s entirely possible they died before we properly diagnosed what was wrong.


    It was better to just keep them frozen for now and only try to heal them in an absolute emergency. Though, Roman said that Wodime was perhaps the most likely to be properly healed should ite to it.


    "You''re not Human." There was no point dancing around the subject.


    "Is there a problem with that?" She immediately got defensive as soon as everyone''s eyesnded on her.


    "Is there?" I frowned. "Can you Rayshift, can you perform your Master Candidate duties? If not, they say so now, I''m not going to waste time on you. I don''t care if you''re human or not, or whatever you are. You were hired by Chaldea to perform to expectations, that''s all that matters."


    I don''t know why she hid it, I don''t care right now. At the moment, we have much bigger concerns and she''s apparently not with Lev. Not to mention she was friendly with Shimoda, so I believe it''s fine to trust her.


    "...I can do both." Her tension eased. "I can survive a Rayshift pretty much regardless. Which is why your father sought me out initially."


    "Most of our Coffins are damaged. Are you saying you can be put into one of the damaged ones and as long as it Rayshifts ordingly, you''ll be fine?" The issue isn''t that it can still Rayshift, but the danger to the person inside.


    If we didn''t have to worry about repairing one for her.....that would be significant.


    She crossed her arms. "I''ll survive without much issue. But it''s not going to be pleasant."


    "Good, we can work with that. What''s your Servantpatibility? And Don''t quote your file to me, at this point, it''s obviously all fake."


    "I don''t know, I was never properly tested." She frowned. "I shouldn''t have an issue with summoning a Servant."


    "You''re going to be goingst then. We can''t waste the resources and power on an uncertainty."


    "Fine." She scowled. "If it wasn''t for that idiot, I''d be dead anyways. Just....tell me what you want, I''ll do what I can to help."


    "Good." I nodded in satisfaction. ".....do you know anything about Lev?" I hazarded a guess.


    "Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that he isn''t the same as me and not human. Shimoda knew the same and was keeping an eye on him, but he couldn''t really do anything at the time."


    He knew, of course he knew. And I couldn''t even me him, what was he supposed to say? I would have trusted Lev immediately and kicked Shimoda out without a second thought....


    It''s my fault....


    "Pierre, Fujimaru, Mash, Samuel, and Hinako." I called out their names. "You five will be the deployment team for now on. Due to Mash''s nature and contract with Fujimaru...we should have enough Coffins operable by the time we can Rayshift to the Singrity."


    "....I''ll run them through some of the training exercises that we did for A-Team. I don''t'' know what equipment we''ll have avable, but I can manage some things." Hinako spoke up."


    "Please look after us, Senpai." Fujimaru smiled brightly towards her.


    I think it caught her off guard, because she just sort of mumbled to herself. With how hostile she was when I called her out, she probably expected to be ostracized due to not being human. Frankly, I doubt anyone actually cares but herself.


    We had much more important things to worry about.


    "We have two uses of the FATE system set up for use." I changed the subject. "Caster put something together and we''re going to test it." That Crystallized Mana that Shimoda gave, Caster thinks she jerry-rigged something to make it work and not put strain on the generators.


    She assured me that nothing would go wrong. The worse case being that the system merely fails to operate as intended.


    "Who''s Summoning?" Hinako asked, inching herself a little bit closer.


    "I decided that both Ritsuka Fujimaru and Samuel Washington will perform the summoning. Samuel will be going first in the case that Fujimaru''s contract with Mash somehow causes interference."


    "I''ll go back to the control room and get ready to record all the data." Roman stated.


    "Fine. Caster, stay here in case of emergency." I told her.


    "Can do, Director." She said cheerfully despite the circumstance.


    In the worse case and a hostile Servant is summoned. However, could caster even manage one on her own? She''s already stretched thin with the continuous use of her own Noble Phantasm to keep Chaldea from imploding on itself.


    Hinako is here as well.....but I don''t know if she can handle a Servant either.


    At this point, we would just be destined to fail and I shouldn''t worry about it if the worse happens.


    The only reassuring thing right now was the rabbit in my arms.


    "What do I need to do, Director?" Samuel asked.


    Shimoda did a good job, his subordinates are generally polite and follow orders. "Mash will be the anchor. Her shield is supposed to be a ce where Heroes Gather, as a means to facilitate the summon." And that''s the only hint that Father left about the identity of the Servant they summoned.


    We''ll have to salvage what''s left of the library and pour through the books on English history and mythology. Thanks to Shimoda ¨C once again ¨C we have a significant hint that we can work towards.


    "And the FATE System does most of the heavy lifting. You just have to be the one to bridge the link and ept the contract."


    "I''ll do my best, Director." The Texas replied.


    "Good, everyone stand back. Don''t get caught up in the summoning and influence it in any way." Imanded.


    Mash deployed her shield. "I''m ready, Director."


    She hovered defensively of everyone else and Caster was standing, ready as well.


    "Roman, can you hear me?"


    "I can hear you, Director."


    "Good, initiate the Servant summoning!" Imanded.


    "Shifting power to the FATE System. All readings are in the green, and a path is opening up!" Roman replied immediately.


    The room began to light up and a significant amount of Magical Energy flooded it.


    "I think I feel it!" Samuel braced himself.


    "Don''t fight it, ept the link." I ushered him forward.


    It appeared to sessfully take hold as he was attached to something. Whether that was a Servant or not was yet to be determined. The Magical Energy swirled around, but a form began to take shape and I felt extremely relieved even when I couldn''t see the figure itself.


    A Servant was summoned, either by extraordinary circumstances, or we were at the point where the Counter Force was letting us have nearly free rein.


    Regardless, it would be a huge morale boost for everyone else.


    The Ether vessel formed, and a familiar outline appeared in our vision.


    "Damn, summoned as a Caster again." That blue haired annoyance scratched his head. "Caster Servant ¨C Cu Chinn here to help." He looked around the room, eyes lighting up. "Oh hey, Farm boy! Good to see you again."


    "Caster!" Samuel eximed. "You''re back."


    "Haha, looks like it. Damn I''m lucky, you still got my spear?"


    "I have it in my room."


    "Nice." He looked around again. "Where''s my Junior?"


    "He..."


    "He has yet to return." I interrupted.


    "Ah well, I''m sure he''s fine. Gonna be hard for someone to put him down after seeing him fight." Cu grinned. "Well, I look forward to seeing what nonsense you guys get up to on this side of the fence. Got some information from the summoning, sounds like you guys need all the help you need. May not be my Lancer self, but count me in to any fights you guys are getting into."


    "Your help is greatly appreciated."


    "Oh? And who''re you littledy?" Cu walked over towards Da Vinci.


    "Also caster~" She giggled. "You can call me Da Vinci-Chan if you want."


    "I may just do that."


    "Go flirt somewhere else you two lecherous creetins!" I huffed.


    The stupid Casters justughed at me.


    "And a Nature Spirit?" The newest Caster nced at Hinako


    Was that what she was?


    I could see why she didn''t want anyone to know. God knows what the Association would want to do with her.


    "Good, and now everyone knows." She groaned.


    "Excuse me, Caster" Roman''s voice sounded over the rooms intes. "Would you mind sticking around for the next summon, in case they aren''t as....amicable."


    "Sure, sure." Cu shrugged. "Doubt something bad will happen considering the circumstances. But I''ll hang around, see who gets summoned. On a side note, keep my spear as far away from this ce as possible."


    "Something wrong with it?" Samuel asked.


    "yeah, it might summon my Teacher." Cu snorted. "Trust me, you don''t want that to happen."


    "...I''ll take your word for it."


    "Or at least wait until the other kid is back. He somehow cate her, so.....who knows." He added with a shrug.


    "I guess I''m next?" Fujimaru asked.


    "Yes, do it the same as Samuel."


    "Um, Director. If you don''t mind me asking....I thought you could only do this with one Servant. Are you just Mash will be fine if I try and summon one?"


    "I had forgotten yourck of education, you must have only picked up bits and pieces so far." I couldn''t fault him for his ignorance right now. He would need a proper run downter. "Servantpatibility refers to a broad spectrum of Servant-rted premises. The most obvious is the inherent ability to perform the required summoning, which is also the most important. But a highpatibility also means the ability to contract multiple Servants without problem. And ording to what Roman told me, you have the highestpatibility out of everyone here. Enough that it reached the point where we stop measuring it."


    "Oh." Ritsuka blinked. "As long as Mash is fine."


    "Senpai, it''s alright." She smiled towards him.


    "Alright, I''m ready." He stepped forward.


    "Roman, begin the second summoning." I ordered.


    "Power being sent to the FATE system again. A path has been opened up!"


    Ritsuka held out his hand just like Samuel as the Magical Energy swirled around once more. Another silhouette began to take shape and I was ecstatic that we managed to summon another servant.\


    However, my body tensed once I saw who it was.


    "Servant Saber answered your summons. Artoria Pendragon ¨C The Tyrant of Knights." Her yellow eyes looked around the room.


    "Oh wow, look who it is. Another reunion, huh? Guess we arent'' going to be enemies this time around, eh saber?"


    "Do I know you?" The Saber servant replied.


    Hmm, did she not retain her memories? Is Caster just an outlier in that respect. Maybe it''s a good thing that ¨C


    "Don''t lie, I saw you recognize us when you were first summoned." Caster grinned.


    Saber clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    "You....are the same Saber from before?" Ritsuka hesitantly asked.


    "I am." She said without a shred of shame.


    "And you''re not going to attack us?"


    "I am summoned as your Servant. I will answer to your orders." She said simply.


    "Oh, alright. Wee to Chaldea, Saber." Ritsuka smiled.


    Saber blinked, same as myself. How quickly he was epting of her when she was a terrifying enemy not a few days ago. She didn''t respond, but took some nces around the room.


    "Looking for someone, Saber~" Caster hummed.


    "Hmph."


    "Maybe someone with red hair?" He pressed.


    "Cease your foolishness, Caster." Saber scowled.


    "Hmm, should I tell him you weren''t looking for him then? Might make him a little depressed that you didn''t care."


    "Do not test my patience." She growled.


    "Kid''s going to have a broken heart. You should have seen how angry he got after you disappeared and that other guy popped up and said he was responsible. Shit, it made me think he just lost the girl he loved, cause that was not a normal reaction."


    "D-do not make me bring my sword to bare, Caster. I am not above putting down a stray dog." Saber scowled, but...was she blushing?


    "Is that a promise? Let me get my spear, and I''ll show you who would have really won that Grail war." Cu just seemed to continue to egg her on.


    I let out a sigh.


    This ce was going to get extremely chaotic.


    But atleast we had some Servants now. Things were...looking just the tiniest bit brighter.


    "And you, Girl with the shield." Saber snapped her head towards Mash. "You and I will be sparring starting today."


    "Bwah?" Mash let out a confused noise.


    "I will see if you are worthy of wielding his Shield."


    "You know about my Shield?"


    Saber looked at her and frowned. "I see, you do not know. Very well, if you prove yourself, I will tell you its origin. Why he didn''t tell you himself, I do not know nor care. But I will not allow you to walk around with that shield and not be properly trained with it."


    .....an unexpected windfall.


    "And you will be joining in." Saber grabbed Ritsuka''s cor. "I will not have my Master be inexperienced."


    "Uh....."


    "Not a bad idea." Caster spoke up. "Farm boy, you''re joining in. Let''s get this rag tag group up to par, eh?"


    "Hmph, you are alteast useful for something, I suppose." Saber sneered towards Caster. "This girl can use a training dummy, so you may join."


    "Oi, I''m going to grab my spear. Need to put a bitch in her ce. I''ll apologize to the kidter for beating up his girlfriend."


    "I apologize Master. It seems your organization will have to summon another Servant." Saber twitched in annoyance. "For I fear there will be a dead dog here soon."


    I take back what I said, this can only end badly.


    Now.....I just have to wait for Shimoda toe back.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 358 - 324

    <h4>Chapter 358: Chapter 324</h4>


    Artoria Pendragon POV


    His sleeping face was cute.


    My boyfriend, the man I hade to love.


    Such a simple word, yet it brought such emotions to my chest. I did not expect it toe out from him so suddenly, but.....I was very happy to hear it said.


    However, this happiness was tainted. I could tell that something was not right, beyond the rather obvious cues. He asked me to refill the Magical Energy inside Avalon, and I could see him wince in pain every so often.


    Someone had harmed him. Someone or something was strong enough to leave him in this state, and that was not an easy feat.


    Beyond the obvious, there were other cues that I found unsettling. The way he looked upon me when he first walked into the house. I do not know why, but I felt a pain in my heart. The closest approximation I could im would be the time when I saw him after he returned from the Land of Shadows.


    I did not know what to say or how tofort him. I was not good at using words to ease any unwell feelings he was experiencing.


    He simply said that he wished for my presence, so I very well could not deny that request even if I had the inkling to. It was pleasant, it had been a fair while since we shared a bed. And the warmth of another body while I slept was one I considered a joy. I did not begrudge him for the absence of such a pleasure, I was aware that we both had responsibilities.


    It brought a smile to my face knowing that if I requested such a thing, he would be nude,ying upon the bed before I could finish the words.


    The silly man that he is.


    Perhaps that is why I found the current situation all the more....concerning.


    My bosom was fully exposed, my body was at his mercy, yet his hands did not wander. He did not delve into his usual actions as his touch was noticed to becking in that regard. None of us were unaware about his preferences or his desires. He never went overboard, and he would respect any boundaries we set, but within those confines, he never held back.


    I also neverined because I was not against his show of affection and desire the same as the others. And that is to say, he would not miss the opportunity with any of us. I have learned more since Venna has joined our strange group. She had shed some light on the mindset of Devils and with Wilhelm being a Half-Devil, he has certain characteristics of their race that appear often.


    Which makes me concerned at this moment.


    He is acting very much out of character. Though I would not make this the only point of evidence to conclude that something is amiss, with everything else, I can see that he is acting strange.


    The moment we were under the covers, he instead held onto me and didn''t let go. An endearing action that I would happily ept under any other circumstance.


    I did not know what to do and it was weighing on me.


    I couldn''t help but push back a few stray strands of hair that covered his face.


    He made a faint whining sound and his face pushed into my chest. "Apologies, did I wake you?" I said softly. The damage was done, so my fingers continued to run through his hair.


    It is surprising. I originally do not prefer men with longer hair, yet I fancy it in this particr case. I remember when he used to have short hair and then he came back from the Land of Shadows and it had changed.


    Or is it that this man simply had me smitten from such an earlier time?


    I can''t deny that he caused me certain feelings when he fought on the basis of taking me on a date. The consideration that such a thing was worth the effort he was putting in. I was unaware of them at the time, or perhaps I did not understand them properly until I allowed myself the chance to open up to this kind of rtionship.


    "I''m sorry..." He mumbled with his face still pressed.


    "What do you have to apologize for? I am the one who has awakened you."


    His head tilt up and I could see a sadness in his eyes. "Not that...." He frowned. "I''m sorry....for not making it more special."


    Oh, I believe I understand. "Did you not mean what you said to me then?"


    "Absolutely not. I meant every word of it." He quickly denied.


    "Then what is the problem?"


    "You deserve better than my just blurting it out like that." He sounded sincere, making my heart beat speed up. "I couldn''t help myself. The second I saw you, I just ¨C"


    "Hush." I put a finger to his lips. "If you believe you have done me a wrong, then I will forgive you to set you at ease." He always fusses over us so much, it''s quite adorable when he thinks he did something wrong. "And if you desire, you can rectify it at this moment."


    I removed my finger, giving him a chance to speak.


    "I love you."


    "And I you." I leaned down and enjoyed a meeting of our lips. "Now, are you going to tell me what ails you?"


    [***]


    "You don''t have to keep doing this, you know."


    "Wilhelm, why do you think I mind doing this?" I continued to run my fingers through his hair. It was obvious that it made him feel better, and I did not mind it one iota.


    His headid upon my thigh even as we shifted to the living room after waking up. It was hard to stay in bed after he ryed to me his most recent adventure.


    I could understand his current attitude. How could I fault him for how he was acting when he was forced to kill another version of myself? I do not know If I would be capable of doing so if another version of him were to appear or of the others I havee to cherish. If another Mordred came after my head, would I have the will to fight with my full strength? And if another version of Rin were to be my enemy, could I muster my courage to face her?


    It is a situation I would never wish to face, yet he had to go through the worst of it.


    "You did nothing wrong." I assured him once more. I know he was feeling guilty for his actions. But from what he told me, he did not have much of a choice.


    I know myself very well, if I thought my actions were the best given the situation, I know I would not be persuaded easily.


    And I know that she would be thankful to have such a worthy end. However, I kept that piece of information to myself. I fear he would take it the wrong way if I said so.


    I was happy when I noticed that someone finally arrived.


    Sc¨¢thach pushed open the door without a second thought, strolling right inside. "Student, you are back early." She wasted no time.


    "I was ¨C"


    "I have already been informed." She said simply as Wilhelm pushed himself up off myp.


    Wilhelm turned to me. "You told her?" He let out a sigh.


    "I told everyone." I didn''t deny it. "You are not feeling well, and it is a rare enough urrence that it was something I felt I should reveal to everyone else. Not to mention some exnations on what you have been up to."


    Those ''Phones'' are quite handy.


    "This foolish student." Sc¨¢thach walked over and pulled Wilhelm forward. His face was now buried in herrge bosom. He made no secret that he enjoyed this action, and I think everyone else enjoys doing it to him as well. Sc¨¢thach looked at me humorously. "It seems he needs to be reminded that we care for him just as he cares for us."


    He stopped struggling in her embrace and seemed to ept that he was stuck there for the time being.


    "Is anyone elseing?" I asked. I informed them of what happened in broad details. There were some intimate things Wilhelm shared that I was not going to say without his presence. But otherwise, everyone else had a general idea of what urred.


    But, I didn''t check to see if I received anymore messages.


    "No one expected him to return so quickly. They are all busy with other matters and I told them not to rush back and that I would take care of it. You assured them that he was fine, so they are not in a hurry." Sc¨¢thach replied, finally letting him go.


    Good, I think it would make Wilhelm feel worse if everyone came running because he wasn''t ''feeling well''. I believe Jinn is at the College right now, and I know she would immediatelye back to console him if she wasn''t told not to. Yasaka should be dealing with issues with her position, Raikou is watching Kunou like she tends to do. Meridia needs not to even be mentioned as it''s obvious what she is busy with. As for Venna, I believe thest time we talked she mentioned being busy with some things regarding her families'' political ties and needing to be with her husband ¨C former husband for them.


    And I also sent a message to Izanami. As much as he denies it, that is just a matter of time and none of us are against it. So it is best to keep her informed of our matters as well.


    "I''m really not getting out of this, am I?" He asked.


    "You are not." I told him immediately.


    I was d it was Sc¨¢thach who came. She is quick to stomp out anything that Wilhelm does that we would disapprove of. She is probably the most stern when ites to Wilhelm out of all of us.


    "I got pretty thoroughly beaten." He slumped back in his seat.


    "Being defeated is nothing to be depressed about, my student." Sc¨¢thach took a rare gentle tone with him. "You are alive, that is the most important thing to focus on. And now you have information on your foe. Are you not confident that the next time you encounter him that you will lose the same?"


    "As I am now? I don''t know if I can confidently say that I''ll win even if I bring everything out. No, to be honest, I''m pretty sure I''ll lose convincingly."


    Yes, he told me that he was hurt and he relied on Avalon to survive. It did not fill me with ease in these circumstances to know that. I am relieved that Wilhelm had my Noble Phantasm, but I am frightened that a foe forced him to that point and still nearly killed him.


    And he told me about who helped him when he was in need.


    I did not have much of an impression on this ''Salem''. He had began ''courting'' her before we had our talks, so I did not say anything against him continuing to do so. Jinn had spoken some unsavory things about her, but what she could say was....limited.


    I cannot say that I have an initial good impression and perhaps my view of her was tainted by Jinn even if I have yet to meet her. I trust Wilhelm, so I was willing to give this woman a chance. However, after hearing that she saved him and healed him up to the best of her ability.....I can''t help but feel a significant amount of gratitude towards her.


    I believe I may need to meet her soon if Wilhelm is serious about a rtionship with her.


    He knows about my reservations, so I do not think he will deny me. I will speak with Jinn more and talk to her about some of my concerns and see where we go from there.


    I blinked for a moment, noticing something odd in the air. I settled down once I realized it was simr to Wilhelm''s Magic that was being used. Though Wilhelm himself looked...mncholic at it.


    "Gramps, you came to?"


    "Hello, Wilhelm." The Wizard Marshall appeared within the living room.


    I was told he could not leave his World-Line....but I suppose from the exnations I was given about this house that it''s technically not...?


    I do not know, so I would not dwell on it.


    "You called him too?" Wilhelm looked up at me, his body falling over, his headnding into myp once more.


    I smiled gently towards him, my fingers once more found his bright red hair. "As I spoke before, we all care about you."


    Zelretch hummed, taking a seat opposite of us. "I was not entirely told what happened, only the barest details."


    "Fought, lost, here I am." Wilhelm grunted.


    I gave him a little pinch on the cheek. He can be very mischievous sometimes, often taking the form of sarcasm.


    He rolled his body so that he was looking up straight at the ceiling. "Met Cu Chinn while I was there."


    "Oh?" Sc¨¢thach looked at him.


    I rolled my eyes noting how he so quickly tries to change the topic of the conversation. Neither I nor the Wizard Marshall speak up about it, even if it is rather obvious.


    "He was summoned as a Caster." Wilhelm chuckled.


    Sc¨¢thach also looked rather amused at the idea. "Did that stupid student of mine whine the entire time without his spear?"


    "I let him use your spear, actually."


    Sc¨¢thach adopted a rather warm smile. I know that she was fond of Setanta, having more than just the feelings of a teacher towards him in the past.


    I can not imagine him without being a Lancer. He was a worthy foe back in the Grail War and someone I admire. Someone I would call a hero without a second thought.


    "That stupid boy." Sc¨¢thach shook her head. "How did he get summoned as a caster? He must have been very upset."


    "Well, he was in an odd situation. Apparently Odin was sharing his vessel with him or something. The God probably had a hand in it cause there''s no way he would be summoned as a Caster normally."


    "The All-Father." Sc¨¢thach pursed her lips. "He is not a God one should mingle with if possible." She let out a small sigh. " I do hope he did not do anything to warrant that God''s Attention. A Heroic Spirit he may be now, but he is not beyond.....consequences if the right situation urs. He did not do anything to you I hope? Even if Odin is there with him, I am sure I can have words with my old student to set him straight."


    I felt Wilhelm shudder in myp. An experience I''m sure someone can only experience by being under her tutge.


    "No, I think his Odin parts were mostly dormant. Though I did extort a spell from his repertoire in exchange for letting him use your spear."


    "Well done." Sc¨¢thach beamed.


    These two.


    I could only shake my head at their behavior.


    "He''s a good guy though." Wilhelm breathed out. "I can see why you liked him. Kind of an ass, but I couldn''t help but like him too."


    "Fufufu, that is a perfect way to say it."


    Good, he''s smiling now. It was the right choice to have help with this.


    "Well, I guess I''ll skip to the most important bits. I discovered who was responsible for the Singrity and by extension ¨C the incineration of Humanity over there. He identified himself as uros." Wilhelm revealed, though I was more privy to this information.


    "Am I to assume based on the name?" Zelretch asked.


    "Yup, The Demon uros, though it was different than I expected. It took the form of this tentacle thing with a bunch of eyes. It handled Caster pretty easily, so I would put it at a minimum of high-servant tier ignoring Noble Phantasms." Wilhelm stated.


    "I see, this Demon killed my student?" Sc¨¢thach asked calmly, but I could feel the sharpness in her tone.


    "I think it was just a poor matchup. If he had been summoned as Lancer.....maybe it would turn out different."


    "Irrelevant." Sc¨¢thach frowned. "It seems I will be paying a visit over there for two different reasons. I will see this enemy that defeated my student, then I will also give my student a remedial lesson."


    .....I apologize Lancer, I did not expect this to happen.


    "Am I to assume that this uros was not the one to beat you, Wilhelm?" the Wizard Marshal asked.


    "No, uros tried to run away. I....may have overreacted a little bit due to some reason and used the Sword of Destruction to destroy him. I could have killed him sooner...but I wanted him to suffer a little."


    ....He was upset over me.


    I am filled with equal parts guilt and exuberance at the emotions he showed at my alternative''s death. I am pleased to know he cares so deeply about me, but I wish he would not act so rashly on my behalf.


    "I assume things did not go your way then?" Zelretch asked, slightly chastising him.


    "He tore open a hole in time and space. I followed him without thinking." Wilhelm winced even as he said it. "I know, I know. It was stupid to just jump head first into things. Believe me, I realize my mistake after getting my ass kicked."


    "Alright, I won''t say anything. You sometimes do things that end poorly, but you also learn from your mistakes. So I will take this as you learning your lesson." Zelretch nodded.


    "It was a small realm ¨C a Workshop that existed in the imaginary Numbers Space. I met the owner who imed to be Solomon."


    "Impossible." Zelretch reacted quickly and strongly.


    I don''t think any of us were expecting that kind of reaction.


    "Gramps? What''s wrong?"


    "You don''t remember?" Zelretch looked at Wilhelm.


    "No...?"


    "Hmm." Zelretch stroked his beard. "Maybe that was intentional on my part. You once said you don''t remember my parents either. Yes...that makes sense. It wouldn''t do good for you to focus so much on the important people from my life." He murmured to himself. "But to answer your question, who do you think I learned Magecraft from?"


    "...Solomon." Wilhelm slowly sat up from myp once more. "You learned Magecraft from the King of Magecraft."


    "Yes." He didn''t deny it. "Not many people know this fact. And it''s one of the reasons I watch over the Mages Association despite not being very fond of it. My Teacher was worried that Magecraft might be something detrimental to Humanity, and I understood his view so I continued my watch after he passed."


    "It wasn''t Solomon, I was able to confirm that."


    "With uros mentioned, I can guess at who or rather what is responsible. Solomon''s 72 demons ¨C the Ars Goetia. I remember them from my tutge but I did not know what happened to them afterwards. It seems that they forsook his original intentions and enacted arge ritual across the centuries."


    "He was converting Humanity into Energy. He hit me with about a hundred times the output of Excalibur and that was barely a drop in the bucket. I have no idea what he''s nning, but he apparently needs a lot of energy for it."


    "That is very concerning." Zelretch said darkly. "I will have to do some of my own investigations. I am aware that Teacher had a Workshop that existed outside of Time and Space, but even I don''t know the coordinates. If these demons were able to usurp it then that means you were at arge disadvantage."


    "Yeah, he was able to fight against my Authority''s activation. He was able to force away my Dragon Words, and he was able to analyze and dissemble my Magecraft on the spot." Wilhelm sighed. "Gramps, I don''t feel confident at all and there are people depending on me."


    "You said that Humanity was incinerated, does Chaldea still stand?"


    "It does. I don''t know why off the top of my head that Chaldea is still standing, but it is. I even have Sir Wiggles there at the moment watching them."


    "Curious." Zelretch said simply. "As I said, I will have to do some of my own investigations to give any definitive answers. The question is, what are your ns going forward? The amount of aid I can give is minimal in this situation."


    "You remember that list you gave me a long time ago? The one about world-lines that you''ve looked at and such? From when I went to Remnant for the first time."


    "I do."


    "I remember something there that piqued my interest. If I don''t feel confident in facing him now, then I just have to get stronger. Magecraft is not the correct path ¨C for obvious reasons. But my other abilities seemed to hold more ground, so I want to seek out something else. My body is fairly strong, I have some good weapons and even my Magecraft is powerful even if it''s not relevant here. But beyond my Aura, I haven''t done anything with my Soul. And that''s more of a physical application of it than anything else. I am a Campione, my soul was inherently upgraded. Not to mention I am a reincarnation, and I''ve had Ddraig inside my Soul for how long now? It''s something significant I don''t think I should ignore. I want to find a way to harness the power of my Soul better."


    "Remind me, what were the details about that world again?" Zelretch asked.


    Both Sc¨¢thach and myself leaned in, wanting to know the details.


    We would not speak up against his n, we both could understand how important this was to him. And if was a quest to increase his own strength, we couldn''t begrudge him in the slightest. We both would feel more at ease the stronger he became.


    "They were sparse, but you mentioned that apparently there''s a species of spirits there that can harness their souls. And they run around with special weapons that are born from their souls as well. I think you called them ¨C Shinigami?"


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 359 - 325

    <h4>Chapter 359: Chapter 325</h4>


    "Do you have everything you require?"


    "Yes, Mom." I rolled my eyes.


    Scathach pinched me in response. "If you think me a mother, perhaps sharing my bed isn''t something you''re ufortable with?"


    "You forget that he has rtions with his Grandmother." Artoria chimed in.


    "Fufu, that''s right. My Student is a deviant, I''m sure this would only further embolden him." Scathach continued to tease.


    "You make it sound like I need an excuse." My arms found her waist and I pulled her in.


    "This is true as well. This Scathach already allows your advances." She leaned forward and I imed her lips happily.


    Alright, maybe I was feeling a little emboldened. Not to mention I was feeling much better now, so I would take advantage of the situation, especially since she was teasing me.. I reached back, pulling the waistband of her pants back and peaked over her shoulder once the kiss broke.


    I was curious to see what she was wearing. "Purplecy panties, very nice."


    "Brat." She yfully pinched me again.


    I gave her ass a nice squeeze. I couldn''t just let it go after getting a good view like that. Not that she minded in the slightest. She was simr to Artoria in this regard, she didn''t mind me doing stuff like this, but she didn''t like public disys.


    Speaking of.


    I turned to Artoria who was patiently waiting next to us. That bright smile of hers always warms my heart when I see it.


    She was enveloped in my arms without a second thought. My petite little King of Knights was always so adorable.


    "You will keep Avalon once more." She looked up at me. "And I will hear no argument to the contrary."


    "Yes ma''am."


    "Good." She smiled beautifully again. "I will await your return."


    "I won''t be long." I reassured her. "Maybe a couple weeks at most."


    "Do not rush if you are not required to. I have matters that can preupy my time for now. And you can reach me through the Phone whenever you desire."


    Yeah, she was right. Better to do things properly than to try and rush through them.


    I gave her a light kiss on the lips before breaking the hug. "I guess this is goodbye for now."


    "Are you not forgetting something, Student of mine?" Scathach interjected. "I wish to hear you say it to her."


    "I-it is not necessary." Artoria turned a little red.


    "Oh...you told her." I felt a tiny bit embarrassed.


    "Fufu, the two of you are very cute. Say it, for my pleasure then." Scathach chuckled.


    I leaned forward, kissing Artoria on the cheek. "I love you."


    "I love you as well." Artoria responded softly.


    While I was d that there wasn''t any jealousy to be had, the giggling of hers was making me a little flustered.


    I quickly grabbed Mirage with the set coordinate, I opened a portal and stepped through.


    [***]


    I took a step onto the ground.


    Whenever I visited a ''new'' world, I always took a moment to take in the atmosphere. More than just getting my visual bearings, I let the world baptize me with its own specialws and unique circumstances.


    I was prepared, but even so, I felt my footing almost stumble before catching myself. That isn''t to say something pressured me, but that It felt like I had been wearing weights on my legs for so long that I suddenly took them off and needed to reorient myself.


    Bringing my arm up to my face, I waved it a few times infront of myself, getting used to this new sensation.


    There wasn''t any more ''difficulty'' or ''ease'' in my movements, but the difference was something I would need to get used to.


    Because what I felt was certainly not the Mana I was used to.


    "Reishi...?" I spoke the word I had recently learned.


    Gramps barely had any information on this world, but there were some things I did learn.


    Reishi, the mainponent of souls and all spiritual matter. Different from the equivalent that I''m used to back home. That being of course, Spiritrons, the spirit particles that make up the soul.


    Both im to be the make up of one''s soul, yet both are correct. Souls are souls, but they can differ slightly depending on the world that one is born to.


    Just how a Human Soul can be different than say a Youkai Soul, yet both are Souls. The Souls here are just a tad more unique than what I''m used to.


    While not aplete one to one ratio, Reishi can be another name for ''Mana'' here.


    Though, the odd thing was that I could still feel Mana in the air. So perhaps that wasn''t even urate either. I was just trying to draw parallels with my own knowledge to better start researching this stuff but that may throw me off if I rely too much on it.


    Well, still going on that symbolism. If Reishi is basically this ''spiritual matter'' equivalent to Mana. Then obviously there is a term for the ''Reishi'' that each person possesses. Gramps had it written down too, he called it ''Reiryoku''. The basic term meaning ''Spiritual Power''.


    It is amusing that there are simr terms for simr corresponding energies even if they exist on a slightly different spectrum.


    Fascinating.


    This Energy, I couldn''t immediately absorb it like I could Mana.


    I would have to experiment with it because I felt like I could take it in with some effort or some work around.


    Though, to do that, I would need to set up a proper workshop. And unfortunately, I didn''t have an identity in this world, nor did I have the correct'' currency''. Yes, I had Yen, millions of it, enough that I would be set for life if I retired and lived like a normal human. However, I had a personal rule not to introduce the currency of one world to another, even if it matched.


    That was just asking for trouble and it would be a headache to deal with if I got discovered.


    I tapped my finger against my arm as I looked out across this city.


    It was a little smaller than Fuyuki and Kuoh that I was used to in a Japanese town. I was on a hill at the far end of the town, but I could make out buildings that did dwarf the standard houses that seemed to line the distance


    How strange.


    Why was this ce of all locations in the world, the one with the highest concentration of Reishi.


    I couldn''t pick out anything special about it at a nce. Not that I expected to be able to peer into any secrets, but it was just odd that something so in and ordinary could hold that title.


    Oh well, it''ll make things easier if I can just do some research in peace and get familiar with this Energy Source and proceed from there.


    However, I do need to settle the matter of finding a ce to stay.


    I suppose I could take the same route I did in Remnant....without the whole incident to go along with it.


    [***]


    I swiveled on my new chair.


    It was prettyfortable.


    I liked this chair.


    And I could look out the window to see pretty far down the street. Even with only the moon illuminating the sky, it was some pretty good scenery.


    "What a nice office." I admired, swinging around to look at my guests.


    Well, guests were sort of a misnomer.


    Technically, I was the guest.


    But it was just semantics.


    Two guys were sitting down on their knees, not even daring to look up at me. Their faces were a little swollen, but that was merely a side effect of them being a bit stupid.


    It was pretty good luck to find these people so quickly. I honestly didn''t know if a small town like this had a ''criminal'' underbelly.


    "So...." I put my elbows up on my new desk. "Shall we get down to business?"


    "W-what do you want?" The ''boss'' trembled a little.


    Hmm, I want a lot of things. Oddly enough, many of them involve Salem sitting on my face. But that''s neither here nor there. "I could use some Identification." I started off with something easy. "Can you nice gentleman help me with that?"


    ".....my subordinate has an uncle who can do that sort of thing." The ''boss'' that was the previous owner of this chair answered my question.


    "Alright, bring him here." I pped my hands happily.


    "He''s already here." The boss said, turning to look at the figure of a map half through the nearby wall, body limp as he hung there.


    The walls here were pretty much cardboard if I were to be honest.


    "Ah, the idiot who pulled a gun on me." That''s unfortunate. "Can you contact his uncle if I offer a lot of money?"


    He blinked and nodded.


    "Good." I smiled happily and pretended to reach into my jack and took out some gold, setting it on the table. "This should be enough to pay for it."


    Using actual ''money'' may be a no-go, but Gold is easy to pass around without much fuss.


    "You can keep the extra after settling everything for me." Some incentive to get it done without issue. "Out of curiosity....what are your names?" I hadn''t even asked.


    To be fair, I sort of just strolled right in and they got a little upset at that. I may have had to beat up everyone inside the building.


    "Everyone calls me Scar, Boss!" The previous boss was already on his feet, bowing his head respectfully.


    And credit where it was due, he had already pocketed the gold in one swift motion.


    Though, being called ''boss'' made me feel a little depressed knowing how many of my subordinates I had already failed. I knew he had no way of knowing that it annoyed me, so he wouldn''t get a beating.


    "Is that because of that little scar next to your eye?" I asked.


    "No it''s because of the scar on his ass ¨C" The guy sitting down next to him received a quick kick in the face by ''Scar''.


    "Don''t listen to him." Scar coughed awkwardly.


    "What....do you all actually do here?" I was morbidly curious. I know that Crime can''t be prevented, there''s always going to be those elements everywhere. But....this was such a small town, what the hell was worth forming a gang here for? "I didn''t expect a Yakuza group to exist in a small ce like this."


    The guy who had been kicked a moment ago sat back up. You know, he had an oddly majestic looking pompadour.


    "We''re not Yakuza..." He said.


    "Wait, what?" I looked around.


    ''Scar'' Scratched his head awkwardly. "His dad owns the nearby hospital." Pointing to pompadour.


    "And his owns a bunch of real estate."


    I looked at them both for a moment before slowly face palming. "You''re a bunch of second generations roleying Yakuza?"


    ".....I wouldn''t say ''Roleying''...."


    "What about the idiot who pulled a gun on me?"


    "His Grandfather is the head of the police here. He swiped it out of his dad''s safe and he was showing it off...." Scar replied a little embarrassed. "...It doesn''t have any bullets...."


    I opened my mouth and closed it again, opting to sigh instead. "Can you still get me an ID and stuff?"


    "Yeah, that''s easy!" He nodded enthusiastically.


    "Great." I breathed out with a little bit of exasperation. Now I felt bad for beating them up. "...you said your dad works in real estate. I''m looking for a secluded property, got any for sale?"


    ''Scar'' perked up. "My dad owns some abandoned buildings at the edge of town. He was going to knock them down a few years ago, but something happened and he hasn''t touched them."


    While I''m happy that I got my immediate concerns settled....this is not how I was expecting this evening to go.


    "Alright, I''ll go check it out. Give me the directions, and we''ll settle on paymentter. I''ll also leave my information here so you can get started on my identification. Do a good job and I''ll give you a bonus."


    Whatever, I guess them ''ying'' as Yakuza was better than them being Yakuza.


    "I''ll get right on it, boss!" He saluted.


    "Right....you do that."


    [***]


    Well, I could see why this ce was abandoned.


    The air was cold, I could feel it in my soul. It didn''t affect me negatively, but it was more so that my soul could feel the cold air that permeated this area.


    Something was definitely strange here. If a normal human felt this, I could imagine their fight of flight instincts kicking in and they''d want to stay away.


    The only answer is why.


    Dozens of people probably died here. It vaguely felt familiar to the time I was with Jeanne and we were investigating that conglomeration of resentment.


    Less intense, but still noticeable.


    Definitely not a human that caused this kind of phenomena.


    Curious.


    Should I try to make my presence known? It might make whatever caused thise after me too. But then again, I''m not proficient in this ''power'' that exists here, it may not be interested if I start flexing my Magic.


    What if I stimte the surrounding Mana? Would that stimte the Reishi in the air as well? Would that attract the cause of this mess?


    It was an interesting thought because walking through what seemed like a construction sight was giving me nothing.


    There were a few buildings that looked to be ready for demolition, but it was clear they''ve been sitting here for a long ass time.


    Some others that were barely standing.


    And a couple that looked half destroyed but not by any industrial means. Like something plowed into them and they copsed.


    I walked up to a walk and drew a Rune on it. I went to the other side of this little area and drew on another wall. I continued a few more times until I created a small area that was surrounded by these few runes.


    Not really a spell in name, but.....it should has a visible reaction to the ambient Magical Energy which in turn should also have an effect on the Reishi that exists here.


    I snapped my fingers, actualizing them.


    The Runes lit up and I intentionally made the Mana in the air a bit chaotic.


    I''m basically doing the equivalent of shaking a bottle of soda, trying to get a reaction out of anything nearby.


    This would probably take a little while, so I sat down and waited. In the meantime, I used this opportunity to try and take in some of this Reishi that existed.


    My Magical Circuits were red up fully, trying to capture this ambient power. However, it''s like there was a hole in my '' when I tried to grab hold. I could get just the tiniest bit, but it wasn''t really responsive like the Mana in the air.


    "This is going to take some experimentation and effort." I grumbled in realization. My existence wasn''t tailored to absorbing it like the people here naturally were.


    However.....My Demonic Energy, meager as it is, has been very beneficial for merging together different branches of Magecraft and powers. Things that would have had difficultying together coherently had beenbined because my Demonic Energy had been acting as a sort of metaphysical lubricant so they didn''t grind to a halt.


    Perhaps ¨C


    ''ROOOOAAARRRR''


    My eyes snapped open from my idle muse.


    It wasn''t a normal roar that woke me from my thoughts. It reverberated across the Spiritual Power that hung in the air, and my soul felt it from a distance away.


    A little ways down, a building copsed as arge figure burst out of the dark corridors. It looked like a strange mix between a lizard and a horse. But the most notable feature was the white mask on its face as it stared right at me.


    "A Grimm?" I whispered in confusion before realization dawned on me.


    No, it was different. The information on this world that gramps told me. There were Spiritual beings known as ''Shinigami'' that supposedly protected the bnce of souls or something inane like that. But on the opposite side there were evil spirits called ''Hollows'' that sought to devour souls and get stronger.


    The two sides were enemies for obvious reasons.


    So, this was a Hollow.


    Just its presence felt.....filthy.


    I had to resist the urge to grab Dawnbreaker and purge it from the world.


    It stomped across the ground, leaving huge footprints in the ground as it continued to usher that earth shaking roar and charged at me. Its massive jaw opened up revealing lines of sharp teeth, clearly wanting to devour me.


    "You''ll do nicely." I nodded, flicking my hand, producing a few Talismans between my fingers. "Let''s start experiment number one." I threw them out as it approached. They shot off in four directions. "Four Elements Sealing Formation." I activated the spell. They interlinked and locked down therge creature.


    Ethereal chains shot out of each Talisman, wraparound around its body. Itsrge maw was snapped shut. And chains flew around, binding up itsrge reptilian-like legs. Its momentum was carried forward even after its stride was obstructed. It fell to the ground, sliding forward until it was only a few feet in front of me.


    It struggled, trying to break through my spell, but my Magecraft held onto it tightly.


    "First experiment is a sess." I muttered, happy that my Magecraft still had the desirable effect on the thing.


    Now, I just need to take it to ¨C


    I stopped, my head snapped to the side, noticing some quick movements.


    Two yellow eyes greeting me, shining under the cover of shadows.


    Slowly, it stepped out into the moonlight, and I could get a better look at it.


    "Well, hello there little kitty." I stared into eyes that held much more intelligence than a cat should.


    [***]


    A certain ck cat notices something strange and investigates :>


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 360 - 326

    <h4>Chapter 360: Chapter 326</h4>


    What a strange cat.


    The evil spirit the size of a small car was wailing and trying to break free, but, this cat was seemingly more interesting


    First off, I think a normal animal would instinctively avoid this area if even Humans knew that something was wrong. And yet, it was sitting right here, a monster roaring at the side, just calmly looking at me.


    I guess I did cause a little bit of amotion, but I didn''t think it would be enough to grab anyone''s immediate attention.


    "Hello?" I offered a greeting.


    The Cat tilted its head, tail swaying behind it.


    ....atleast it wasn''t as terrifying as that other animal from Chaldea. Speaking of, I never did ask Olga or anyone else about it. I suppose I was understandably preupied with other matters and it didn''t show an iota of hostility.


    Honestly, I''d even call it friendly. It just seemed to like messing with me, probably because I was the only one who understood what kind of might it could bear.


    Something I''ll have to look intoter.


    I took a step forward, towards the strange cat, and it didn''t react, still staring at me.


    Taking a few more steps forward, I crouched down, holding my hand out to see if it wanted to be pet. It still didn''t react so I stood back up. I turned around back towards the hollow, only to jerk backwards and try to get a reaction from the quick movement.


    Still, the cat didn''t react, but I think I saw a hint of amusement in its eyes.


    Shaking my head, I turned back around again.


    Acting as if I was going to ignore it, I flicked my hand backwards, a single Talisman flew out of my hand towards the cat.


    It finally reacted, moving very fast. Enough that the air disced from where it stood.


    I turned to the side, and it was sitting there, like nothing had happened, dozens of feet away from where it was previously.


    And now, I was feelingpetitive.


    I didn''t even try to hide it, flexing my fingers and taking out a fistful of Talismans.


    And of course, the cat looked at me challengingly.


    I wasted no time, the Talismans already left my hand. Each of them had a different effect. One of them hit the ground, creating a small cier that erupted from the ground. The Cat jumped up with ease, avoiding it.


    While it was in the air, my second Talisman turned into Fiery snake that coiled around it at an odd angle.


    The Cat pped the air and back flipped out of the way. Somehow, it was able to create a foot hold through what I assume was Reishi and dodge that way.


    My eyes widened and it looked way too smug at my reaction.


    I crossed my arms at its reaction, looking rather smug myself. "Should have looked at where thest one went." I tooted in chastisement.


    The Cat''s Eyes flickered as it clearly didn''t see where I threw it, but I held up azy arm, pointing at the hollow.


    It wasn''t difficult to hijack the spell I already cast. Myst Talisman pped onto the Hollow''s mask, and it lit up as if siphoning the effects. Several chains shot out from the Talisman at the Cat that was falling in mid-air.


    The Cat jerked its body to avoid one, and jumped to avoid another, but they wrapped and shot in such angles that it was apparently taken by surprise, only having the option to fall straight down without being caught.


    I held my arms open. "I win." I dered as it fell right into my grasp.


    I was under no delusion that this cat could escape from my arms if it really wanted to. Hell, I felt like it was merely ying around and wasn''t nearly as intense as it could have been.


    "So....how long are you going to keep pretending?" I lifted it up to the sky.


    "Meow." It said in a very deep voice.


    It wasn''t the sound a cat made, but a literal word as if a human spoke.


    "Cute." I said dryly. "You know, cats are an invasive species. I should do my due diligence and hand you over to the proper organizations. A little snip here and there, I''m sure it''ll be over quick. Don''t want more stray cats popping up."


    It stuck its tongue out at me.


    "Fine, be that way." I just let go, letting it drop to the ground. "Got more important things to take care of." I pivoted, walking back towards the Hollow.


    It finally stopped thrashing about, mostly just seething quietly. I was a little miffed, so I kicked it as I got closer. The Hollow immediately started yelling and roaring again.


    "What are you doing?"


    I blinked, realizing the little Cat was at my feet, looking up at me. "Oh, so you can talk." I deadpanned.


    "Meow." It replied rather dryly."


    "You''re lucky I like cats." I pursed my lips. "What''s your deal? Some kind of Youkai?"


    "Sure."


    "....I feel like you''re not being truthful."


    "Sure."


    "Are you a parrot?"


    "Sure."


    "Are you upset about what I said regarding getting you neutered?"


    "Meow."


    I rolled my eyes. Clearly, this cat was just messing with me. I don''t know what''s up with me and small ¨C dangerous animals that seem to find enjoyment out of annoying me.


    "What''s your name?"


    "Don''t you know it''s impolite to ask someone''s name without introducing yourself first?" The Cat shot back. "Do Gaijin''s not know that?" It tilt its head.


    "First, that''s more of a slur than an actual statement of one''s status." I pointed out. "And Second, I''m Half Japanese, thank you very much. And Third ¨C" I leaned down. "I don''t think you can call someone impolite when you''re technically trespassing. Or do cats not know anything about that?" I parroted its words.


    "Meow."


    "Right." I sighed. "Should have expected that. Anyways, the name is Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg."


    "Yoruichi." The cat replied with its own name. "And this ce is abandoned."


    "I just bought it recently. Hence, you''re trespassing." I mean, I will have technically purchased it soonish. Depends on how quickly that roleyer got the stuff taken care of.


    "Why do you have that Hollow?" It didn''t even care about my retort as if my ownership was irrelevant to it.


    "You know about Hollows?" I questioned. "Seems kind of suspicious for a Cat to know something like that."


    "I know a thing or two." It walked up, clearly unafraid of the evil spirit.


    "Uh huh. Well, good for you then." I ignored it, making sure the bindings on the Hollow were still nice and secure.


    "What are you going to use this Hollow for? You went to the effort of catching it." The Cat jumped onto the Hollow''s head without a care in the world. Even as it struggled and let out roars, Yoruichi didn''t even seem to care.


    "Recruitment."


    "Recruitment?" Yurichi looked confused.


    "Yup, I need a new employee. Obviously, this is an interview to see if he''s right for the position." I think I kept the sarcasm subtle enough.


    As if to agree with me, the Hollow let out another roar.


    "See, even Bob agrees." I pointed out.


    "Bob?" Yuruichi looked at me incredulously.


    "Do you think he doesn''t have a name?" I looked ''offended'' at her suggestion. "Even a Cat like you has a name, why can''t he have one? Anyways, lots of important matters to take care of." I grabbed hold of the newly named Bob''s leg and started dragging him towards the building he originally came from. "Personal interview to take care of, you know how it is."


    "I''lle with." Yoruichi dered.


    "Sorry, this is private." I shooed the cat away.


    "Don''t wanna~" It looked at me mischievously.


    I furrowed my brow, knowing it would be difficult to drive this cat away if it set its mind to resisting me. I was pretty damn sure it didn''t show nearly the peak of its capabilities when we were ying before. I wasn''t entirely sure it was just a cat and I didn''t want it to watch me go through my experiments.


    It already saw my Talismans and hadn''t made a big deal about them, so I wasn''t too perturbed about that being revealed. But I didn''t know much about this world so I was being a tiny bit cautious.


    "How about this." I set the Hollow back down. "I have a question about Hollows. You said you know some things about them, so if you answer my question, I won''t kick you out. But if you can''t, then you leave me to my business."


    "Alright, sounds like fun." The Cat grinned. "There isn''t much I don''t know about Hollows though~"


    "Okay then." I hummed to myself. "I don''t know much about them so I wanted to know. This hole at the center of its chest ¨C"


    "Hah, that''s easy!" Yurichi cut in, practically prancing around. "When a soul''s soul chainpletely degrades due to not moving on or falling to regrets or obsessions, it opens up a hole in their chest. The Hole signifies that they lost their heart, and it then bes the mask they wear."


    Huh, though I was curious about why there was just a hole on its chest, that you could see from one side to the other from. I assumed there was some sort of spiritual meaning. Guess I was correct in that regard. "Nice to know, but that wasn''t the question I was going to ask."


    Though, that''s some new information I will want to get boration on.


    "What''s the question then?" Yoruichi asked.


    "If you touch the inside of the hole, is it like skin or is it like you''re touching its actual insides?"


    ".....that''s your question?" Yoruichi blinked.


    "I''ve been very curious, and I didn''t want to just stick my hand in there and find out."


    I was waiting for Yoruichi''s answer but the cat just opened its mouth a few times and closed it.


    ".....ask me something else."


    "Nope~"


    The cat clicked its tongue. "Fine." I could hear the grumbling. "But I''ll be back." Yoruichi dered before disappearing with a burst of disced air.


    Well, I wouldn''t mind. He seemed to be rtively pleasant and approachable. I''m sure I could get some more information out of himter.


    But for now, I had some experiments to start.


    "Come along, Bob. It''s time for your interview." I continued to hum to myself as I pulled it towards where I would be making my makeshift workshop.


    [***]


    "Mundane weapons seem to have a minimal effect." I muttered, putting away a Gun I happened to have stored.


    A bullet barely left a bruise on its arm.


    I took out a regr sword. There was nothing Magical about it, just a basic Iron weapon. I casually swiped at the Hollow''s arm again, and it left just a small bruise, not even breaking the skin.


    I was correct in my initial thoughts. It appears as though Hollows exist at a higher state, mundane means are heavily negated. Though it may seem obvious, I did want to verify instead of just assuming.


    They were Spiritual Beings, so it made sense.


    I cast a Basic Reinforcement on the Sword and shed at the Hollow once more. A cut opened up about the extent that I expected. There was a little bit of resistance, but that could be attributed to his thick skin and muscles.


    Good thing I set up several Bounded Fields, because this thing was making a lot of noise.


    I pulled on my Divinity and held a little bit of Lightning above my index finger. I gathered as much ¨C or rather, as little as I wanted. Just a tiny little spark, which was oddly more difficult to do than just gathering a huge amount.


    I pushed it against the Hollow''s arm and it picked up its roaring. It struggled violently, thrashing against its bindings.


    "Interesting, very interesting." I muttered again, retracting my Divinity. I tried again with just normal lightning, and although it still raged in pain, it didn''t react quite as violently as before.


    "Divinity appears to have some sort of suppression effect on Hollows." I spoke the words as I wrote them down in my little notebook. That is to say, my Divinity was its natural enemy in a sense. Which corresponded to how Onmyoji called upon the Gods to purify Youkai and other nefarious beings.


    Again, it made sense, but assuming things often leads to incorrect conclusions.


    Divinity was more intertwined with the world where a Hollow appeared to be an unnatural aberration that went against the natural order.


    "Now, what about my Aura?" I questioned aloud, calling forth the manifestation of my Soul. I wasn''t quite sure how Aura would interact with the Spiritual nature of the things found in this world. I was fairly confident that there would be no negatives to my possession of it outright.


    I released one of its arm and it took no time to try andsh out at me. This things'' intelligence was borderline animalistic with only basic higher-level thoughts. Strategy, scheming, traps and such didn''t even process with it based on my observations thus far.


    I gathered my Aura and braced myself in case for the worse. While I had no thoughts about it truly harming me, no one likes getting hit abruptly.


    The Multicolored wall of light solidified at my beckoning, intercepting the arm of this Spiritual being. I felt a reverberation through it, but it held without any indication of failing.


    "Interesting, a sort of resonance due to the nature of being a Spiritual being?" I questioned but furrowed my brow as my girls have smacked my Aura plenty of times and it didn''t have the same effect. "Perhaps due to the nature of their Ether-based vessels? It allows them to exist in the physical world different from a Hollow that is a purely spiritual being ¨C basically a ghost."


    I drew a string of Runes,nding on the Hollow''s iling arm, locking it back down.


    "And noted that Magecraft is still operable without any noticeable drawbacks. Further testing with other spells and branches is required on a wider variety of these ''Hollows''." I wrote it down as well.


    Just like my time in Remnant, I would give Gramps a copy of any notes and discoveries I made.


    Now that I''ve settled down a little from what happened, I felt much more rxed. My academic mind was reeling at all the possibilities that existed due to this thing. So many different experiments I could conduct and a wide array of data I could gather.


    I had many different thoughts, much of them not feasible. Such as trying to feed it a piece of my Peach of Immortality. I am very curious to see if it would have some adverse effect such as bringing it closer to a living being due to the high concentration of ''life'' contained within it. However, it was much too scarce a resource to waste on such a whimsical idea.


    Would Necromancer have an effect on them as well? Should I see if Mordred''s Master has any thoughts in that regard?


    I wouldn''t actively practice Necromancy due to Meridia''s preferences, but that doesn''t mean I couldn''t seek him out as a consultant.


    I''m sure he could make a lot of use out of a Hollow''s body.


    Another thing to think aboutter.


    But thinking about Meridia.....


    Flipping my hand over, Dawnbreaker appeared in my hand. Its golden light shone brightly in this enclosed space.


    And to my surprise, the Hollow reacted violently. Not like before that was froth with rage and anger, no.


    This was fear.


    It was trying its best to run away and struggled desperately under the bindings.


    Interesting, very interesting.


    As much as I would like to see the extent at which Dawnbreaker has on these things and by extension my Spear that also contains a Holy Attribute, I captured this Hollow for a more specific avenue of research.


    I''m sure I could go find more at ater date, but I had a more immediate concern. And that was being able to facilitate the processing of Reishi properly.


    I felt like.....I had the pieces but fitting them together was going to take work.


    For that, I needed to see how this Hollow was able to umte and manipte it. Hopefully it would give me some clues I could work with and being the path of strengthening my own soul and harnessing it.


    Putting Dawnbreaker away, I took out my other swords and let them float next to me. Icked a scalpel for more surgical needs, but these would work for now.


    [***]


    I let out a long breath.


    I noticed the suning up across the horizon and I put all my stuff away.


    The Hollow was long dead at this point, but I got a significant amount of data that would be very beneficial to me.


    However, I would need many more test subjects to confirm a few hypotheses I had currently.


    It was annoying how quickly the body dissipated once it actually died. I had try several means to keep it around, but they sort of failed to take hold. It seems I would have to take drastic measures if I wanted to keep the mass of soul power coherent for further deliberation next time.


    And there was still plenty of things I couldn''t test, such as my Primordial Runes. Which would probably be a good method to try and keep it from dissipating.


    Well, it''s not like I''m in a huge hurry. My concerns regarding Chaldea are thus far unfounded. Sir Wiggles is doing fine from what I''ve gathered. But that doesn''t mean I''m not on a clock, I don''t know what happened to the World-line there and I wasn''t entirely sure I would be able to do my normal side-stepping of time rted variables.


    I felt frustrated more than anything. Well, that''s not true. I was still very angry at the one calling himself Solomon.


    Having to see Artoria ¨C Any Artoria die like that was not something I ever wanted to experience.


    I just had to remind myself why I was here.


    My concern for now should be to find more Hollows and do more research. This first one was just a happy coincidence, I''ll have to really search for a Hollow next time. Do theye out more at night? That would be my first thought considering their nature but I''m not anywhere near an expert on them.


    Maybe I''ll just ¨C


    "I''m back." A ck Cat suddenly burst through the nearby door.


    I blinked, staring at the ck cat. I mentally checked my Bounded Fields, and they were still intact without any problems.


    I held up a finger and was about to say something before closing my mouth and shaking my head. Instead, I walked up to Yoruichi and picked him up. He looked at me happily as I walked to the door, and tossed him out, mming it shut and casting a quick Alteration to make sure it couldn''t be opened again.


    "Oh, what was that? I felt the Reiatsu re up weirdly."


    I slowly turned around to see Yoruichi sitting there, on the ground.


    "How ¨C Why are you here!?" I eximed in exasperation.


    "Meow."


    I let out a sigh realizing that this cat was going to be tiring.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 361 - 327

    <h4>Chapter 361: Chapter 327</h4>


    "I''m pretty sure I locked the door."


    "Cats don''t use doors." Yoruichi countered.


    "....I can''t argue with that logic." Which made me feel weird, considering I was arguing with a cat. "Didn''t you agree not toe back?"


    "You never said for how long." It started prancing around, inspecting the ce. "Where''s Bob?"


    "I had to let him go. It seems like he wasn''t a good fit for thepany." I deadpanned.


    "What''d you do to the door?" Yoruichi pushed against it, but it wouldn''t budge. "Your Reiatsu did something weird."


    "My Reiatsu?" I tilted my head.


    Reiatsu ¨C Spiritual Pressure.


    I suppose that''s the term used for someone''s exertion of their Reiryoku? But I cast a Spell which should be lidden with Magical Energy, not Reiatsu. Unless, by association the Reishi I''ve gathered is also being facilitated due to the nature of this world.


    Curious.


    "What makes you think I did anything?" I asked.


    "Hah, you can''t hide it from me." The Cat looked smug. "Your Reiatsu is weird, but after seeing it again, I can pick it out easily now." He trotted over, plopping his butt right down in front of me, staring up. "Did it increase too? You didn''t have this much before."


    "Who knows." I shrugged.


    Hmm, so this Cat can sense that my Reiatsu has increased. I did take some time to try and gather more of it via my Magic Circuits, even if the process was exceedingly slow and methodical. The mental image of trying to catch water with a was pretty apt in this circumstance.


    I''m basically getting a few drops by luck every now and then.


    Still haven''t been able to get my Soul to do it naturally like the Hollow was basically doing. Or what I assume the people here do by just existing. Still need more experimentation to figure out how I''m going to do this.


    "Oh a notebook, what''s written here?" Almost immediately the Cat was on the nearby table where I left my notes.


    It tried to flip it open, but I mmed it shut before he could read anything. "I believe the saying is ¨C Curiosity killed the cat."


    "It''s okay, I have nine lives!" He happily chirped, pawing at it even if I had my hand firmly pushed down on the cover.


    "Can you even read?"


    "Can you?" He countered.


    ".....why would you assume I couldn''t?"


    "It''s not weird for homeless people to be illiterate."


    "I am not homeless." I rolled my eyes.


    "So you live here by choice."


    "I do own an actual house. I''m only here because I needed ¨C" I paused, giving him a re. "Alright, nice try."


    The Smug cat was smug.


    Almost got me to blurt out some things out of annoyance.


    "I''ll get a spray bottle the next time I''m out."


    "Yeah, that''s probably the only way you can get a pussy wet."


    I almost tripped hearing the wordse out of his mouth. "Really?" I looked at the cat dumbfounded.


    The cat chuckled, jumping off the table. "The truth hurts."


    "Please, I''ve had plenty of women. And they''ve never left unsatisfied."


    "Uh huh." The Cat said mockingly. "What are you, like twenty? I''m sure you got a girlfriend that''s a model, but she goes to school in another town, right?"


    "I know what you''re doing."


    "What am I doing?" Yoruichi rolled over, exposing his belly yfully.


    "You''re trying to get information out of me by taking shots. Thinking that I''ll get angry, shout out some personal information so you can look into me, right?" I asked.


    "Nah, I just like seeing kids like you get flustered." He grinned.


    "Sure." I rolled my eyes again. "And it''s going to take much more than that to get me flustered."


    I fucked my Grandmother without an iota of shame. And I was going to continue doing it.


    Good luck.


    "That sounds like a challenge!" Yoruichi sprung up excitedly.


    "It wasn''t, go away."


    "Nope."


    I wish Sir Wiggles was here. Have him deal with this nonsense. I slid my notebook into my pocket and hid the return to my ring that way.


    But, Yoruichi perked up, looking at me. "You did something again."


    Hmm.


    I''ll have to be somewhat cautious if this cat isn''t going to leave me alone. I wasn''t really set on being forceful to kick him out, I could potentially have him help me.


    "Are you an Onmyoji?" He suddenly asked.


    "What gave you that idea?" I raised an eyebrow at his question.


    "The Talismans." He did the cat equivalent of a shrug. "Surprised me when I saw them. Heard that Onmyoji used to be more popr a long time ago, but they sorta died out. Humans with a lot of Reiatsu that would gather together and stuff."


    That''s interesting, did they exist here as well? I mean, the historical context for them must have persisted through the years, but for real variations of them to exist was what caught my attention. I suppose it makes sense, they are adept at dealing with spiritual issues, so in a world that emphasizes the spiritual aspects of the supernatural, it''s not a huge surprise.


    "Maybe I just like throw paper at things?" If he was going to be tight lipped, then I was too. "Maybe if someone answered my own question. Like, say what exactly you are, then I might be willing to answer one as well."


    "Meow."


    "Right." I shouldn''t have expected anything different. "If you don''t want to be cooperative then why are you here?"


    "Fine~" Yoruichi stretched his back before sitting back up. "I guess we can trade some questions. What do you want to know?"


    Hmm, that''s a good question. I didn''t want to reveal that I knew so little about Spiritual Power in general here, that would be a big red g in my opinion. But there were a few other topics that held my interest.


    "What do you know about Shinigami?" I decided on this avenue.


    Yoruichi''s eyes shed. "Why do you want to know about Shinigami?"


    Hmm, I guess I was right in my assumption initially. This cat isn''t normal at all. Ignoring the abnormalities that are obvious on the surface. I don''t think a random ''magical'' animal would know about Shinigami enough to elicit that kind of reaction.


    "Academic curiosity."


    The cat let out a snort. "Yeah, and I''m a dog."


    "Does it really matter?"


    "I guess not." He did that shrug again. "But it''s not really good for the living to know about the matters after death."


    "Huh."


    "What?" Yoruichi asked.


    "I''m just taken back by you actually saying something wise and intelligible."


    "Meow."


    "And we''re back." I shook my head. "Anyways, I''m not exactly normal. I have a better idea about after death than most people, it''s not really some new information for me. I just want to know specifically about Shinigami."


    Yoruichi looked at me for a moment, clearly thinking about some things. "Alright, whaddya want to know?"


    "What are Shinigami?"


    "That''s....a strange question." Yoruichi muttered. "Honestly, Shinigami are just souls that have died with a lot of Reiatsu. They get inducted while in Soul Society, trained and be one of the Court Guards by joining a division."


    "So anyone can be a Shinigami?"


    ".....Kinda? It''s a little moreplicated than that."


    "Could humans be Shinigami then?"


    "Not without some weird circumstances. Shinigami are spirits, they don''t have a real physical body. An actual body restricts the spirit in a way, so a true blooded human can''t really be a Shinigami due to that."


    Hmm, that makes sense. A body is the vessel for the soul. A spirit exists in a different state, which would most likely be one of the requirements to be a ''Shinigami''. Even a Servant has a ''physical'' vessel made of Ether, even if they can Astralize.


    And from what I understand, Shinigami can''t be seen by those whock a sufficient amount of ''spiritual power'' without some other means. The same with Hollows, which is why no one noticed the big fuck-off monster living around here and just avoided it due to instinct.


    However, I think there was more to the exnation he was leaving out, but it was good enough for me right now. It gave me some ideas I could work with.


    "I heard they use swords?"


    "Shouldn''t it be my turn to ask a question now?"


    "It''s part of my question."


    "Fine, I guess you''re right." Yoruichi shifted, looking to get morefortable. "Yeah, Shinigami use something called Zanpakut¨­s''. They''re des that grow with the wielder, getting stronger the more the Shinigami uses it. They exist in three states ¨C Sealed, Shikai, and Bankai."


    Interesting.


    A Zanpakut¨­ ¨C A Soul Cutter.


    Based on the name alone I wanted to do some experiments with such a thing.


    So, they have something called a Sealed State, a Shikai ¨C or initial release. And then a Bankai or Final Release.


    "Can you borate on that?"


    "Nope, that counts as a whole different question."


    "Fine." I grumbled. "I heard that Shinigami have a sort of ¨C" I wanted to choose my words carefully. "Magic system?"


    "Magic system?" Yoruichi repeated. "You mean Kid¨­?"


    "Yeah, that." I nodded, just now learning the name.


    Huh, it trantes roughly to ''Demon Arts''.


    How fitting that I want to learn it then.


    "Alright, Kid¨­ is a form of Shinigamibat using spells. It''s divided mostly into two forms, Bakud¨­ and Had¨­." Once more he gave a very brief summarization.


    "Way of binding and way of destruction, huh?"


    "Yup."


    "I don''t suppose ¨C"


    "Nope, that''s a different question." He said cheekily. "It''s my turn now."


    "Fine, you did give me some good information." I begrudgingly admitted. Gramp''s information was miniscule, so I was trying my best to fill in the gaps. I basically only know about theirbat methods with a vague exnation. This was already substantial inparison. "What do you want to know?"


    "I''ve seen humans with a lot of Reiatsu tons of times, but you''ve been doing something I don''t recognize. What are you doing?"


    "You mean like with the door?"


    "Yup."


    Did I really just want toe out and say it? I don''t like unting my matters, even if it didn''t really matter.


    "Magecraft."


    "Magecraft?" Yoruichi repeated the foreign word. "What''s that?"


    "Magecraft is the recreation of any phenomena that could be achieved through mundane means but by ''magic''." He was vague about his exnations, so I would be too.


    "Wait, are you saying you''re a wizard!?"


    "The correct term is Magus." I corrected him. "A Magus is someone who practices Magecraft. I used a simple Alteration spell on the door to alter its physicalponents."


    Equivalent exchange.


    I don''t like revealing stuff about myself to strangers, but I''m too far in the dark here. I don''t know how valuable the information he gave me is in general, but to me right now, it''s infinitely more valuable than just revealing that I can ''cast spells''.


    The fact that he revealed that Onmyoji exists means I shouldn''t be too weird of an outlier in the worst case.


    "I''ve never heard of a Magus before."


    "And a talking Cat that can move fast enough to disce air isn''t something most back home would have heard of." I said dryly.


    "Touch¨¦." He acknowledged. "So, are there more of these ''Magus'' out there?"


    "There are." I didn''t deny it. "Though, they stay clear of this side of the world. Most of them are the ''aristocratic'' type that look down on anything they don''t dabble in. In their eyes, the far east is backwards and barbaric, so they don''t care about what happens here."


    "Oh, I know the type." Yoruichi replied.


    "So, how does someone get their hands on one of those Zanpakut¨­?" I asked very inly.


    "You die and get admitted to the academy." Yoruichi snorted again. "Why do you want one? You wouldn''t be able to do anything with it. Not until your soul leaves your physical body can it be properly nourished by your soul to grow correctly."


    Interesting, so my Soul needs to nourish this sword for it to grow?


    ...my Aura is the manifestation of my soul....


    I was keeping it contained right now to not cause any....problems. I''m guessing he didn''t sense it due to this, otherwise he would probably be asking questions about that.


    "I''m a collector."


    "Right, I''m sure there''s no other motive whatsoever."


    "I have nothing to hide." I said innocently.


    "Says the person doing sketchy experiments on Hollows in an abandoned worksite."


    "You make it sound worse than it is. And it''s not abandoned, I purchased it."


    "Why are you here anyways?"


    "As in this specific spot, or this town?" I asked for rification.


    "This town."


    "Do you know a ce with higher amounts of ambient Reishi?" I asked.


    "That''s fair I guess." Yoruichi epted. "Yeah, this is probably the highest in the living world."


    "Curious that you would know that."


    "I''m a very curious cat~" He chuckled. "So, Mister Wizard. Know any Magic Tricks?"


    "I know how to make small, annoying animals disappear."


    "Eh, you probably wouldn''t be very good at that kind of trick." He started walking around. "What kinds of things can you do?"


    "I can raise the dead."


    "Really!?" Yoruichi snapped his head back at me.


    "No."


    ".....dick."


    "Well, I think I''m done here for now." I pped my hands. "Uninvited guests should vacate the premises."


    I had some things I wanted to digest before answering any more questions if this came up again. And I had a couple things I wanted to work on with some privacy.


    "Wait, there''s something else." Yoruichi quickly started talking as I picked him up and began walking towards the door.


    "What?"


    "I have this friend ¨C "


    "Of everything you''ve said, this is what I don''t believe."


    "No hesitation, huh?" Yoruichi grumbled patting over his chest with his little paw. "Just.... stab me right in the heart without a second thought."


    "The truth hurts." I mimicked his words from earlier.


    Contrary to what I thought would happen, Yoruichi began cackling at my response. "I like you. I feel like we''re going to be good friends."


    "Goodbye Yoruichi!" I shouted, chucking him out of the door and mming it shut.


    I waited for a moment and didn''t see hime back inside, so I could presume he was really gone for now.


    Good, I would work on setting up some proper Bounded Fields because the ones I had put up before were just ceholders for my immediate need.


    Let''s see him get through these.


    [***]


    I sat cross legged on the ground, taking deep breaths to get my breathing in a proper rhythm.


    I had a Magic Circle set up under me. Theoretically, it should be separating the Mana in the Air from the Reishi by extracting the Mana and sending it elsewhere. How this works in practice, I''ve yet to see as I''ve just activated it.


    However, I was feeling a little confident.


    Due to the talk with Yoruichi earlier, I had a very interesting idea.


    He spoke about how a Shinigami could only nurture their sword due to their soul being detached from their body as a type of spirit, making it so it was under constant nourishment. Then I started thinking about my Aura, and the idea hit me.


    My Aura coexists with my Magic Circuits without any negative side effects. They do not hamper one another in the slightest bit, which was a little surprising when I first discovered Aura. But as I researched more into it, the reason was rather obvious.


    They both have the same origin.


    Magic Circuits extend from the soul.


    Aura is the manifestation of the soul.


    While Magic Circuits are meant to process Magical Energy, they are technically also a spiritualponent.


    With that in mind, I closed my eyes and focused on my Aura. I could feel it pulsing out and I pulled it back and forth like a tide.


    I let it wrap around my Magic Circuits just to double check, and I felt nothing amiss. Reishi was exceedingly close to Mana, enough that I had trouble deciphering theposition of it in the air. To pick out what was Mana and what was Reishi. However, it was different enough that my Magic Circuits couldn''t just take it in like it did Mana.


    If I had to make aparison, it would be like Fresh Water to Salt Water.


    My Circuits happily drink in the Fresh Water, but don''t care for the Salt Water.


    However, my Aura was the manifestation of my soul.


    Reishi was the spiritual Energy in the world.


    I let my Aura pulse out gradually. It shimmered around me and began to grow in distance from my body. Instead of just letting my Circuits try to grab the Reishi, instead, I mentally pulled back my Aura, letting it act as the '' to pull in Reishi.


    I retracted my Aura back, forcing it down to its lowest point, right back to the source and where my Circuits originated from.


    My Circuits started burning much more intensely than before. Considering the salt water analogy, it''s as if someone just drank a huge mouthful of salt water and began violently coughing, but it was happening to my Magic Circuits


    It was painful, it was ufortable and it made my Circuits burn through my skin intensely as it continued.


    Then, I touched upon the small seed of Demonic Power I possessed. It wasn''t much, but it began flowing to soothe the aching and the pain.


    The burning sensation in my Circuits began to subside. They still felt.....stiff, forck of a better word, but I could feel it.


    I could feel the Reiryoku flowing more steadily.


    I let out a breath of contentment.


    A small smile appeared on my face as I watched everything begin to smooth out.


    I held out my hand, focusing on the newfound energy inside my body. Slowly, a blue, shimmering energy coated my skin before it faded away.


    It would take awhile for my soul to be ustomed to this new power, but....I did it in the first attempt. Granted, it was a small amount, but once my soul became more familiar with it, could itpletely ignore the need for my Circuits and act like the souls that are native to this world?


    So many questions I didn''t yet have the answer to.


    But the most important thing was that I had seeded. This already made the trip worth it.


    Magic Circuits, Aura, and Demonic Energy. These three pieces were so far imperative to the process ,without any one of them, I don''t know if it would have been this ''easy''.


    I couldn''t help but fall back and let out augh.


    Being able to harness Reishi was only the beginning.


    I wanted to get my hands on that Shinigami sword and Magic System. I feel like they would be very beneficial to my current quest.


    Sitting back up, I climbed to my feet, dusting myself off. I looked out the window and noticed that the moon was back out again.


    How long had I been focusing on this?


    Well, it didn''t matter. I was energized from the excitement so I may as well strike while the iron is hot.


    Let''s see if I can''t find some more Hollows to test some theories on.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 362 - 328

    <h4>Chapter 362: Chapter 328</h4>


    I don''t know what I really expected when I started wandering around.


    Maybe I was just excited and didn''t really think It through. While this town isn''t big, it isn''t tiny either. I don''t know why I thought finding another Hollow would be so easy that I could just do it without a second thought.


    Eventually, I found myself up on the highest spot I could find. Some kind of office building most likely, yet it wasn''t even veryrge itself inparison to the buildings downtown in Fuyuki.


    I guess it''s not like I had nothing to do to keep me preupied.


    My Aura continuously was pulling in Reishi and I was converting it into Reiryoku at a decent pace. It would be awhile before my soul could fill properly. And then there was the matter of making it so I produced it by myself without having to grab hold of ambient Reishi like the natives here. Otherwise, once I left this ce, I would eventually run dry after prolonged use.


    Maybe once I analyze the stuff more I could break down my Aura to substitute it? Cannibalize it into Reiryoku then let it regenerate naturally so I technically still generate it, but in a more roundabout manner. I felt pretty confident that my Aura could fill in the gap needed there, but time would tell.


    Still, in the meantime, I''ve just been using my phone to talk to everyone.


    Did I ever properly thank Rin for this thing? It''s such a convenient tool that I can''t believe the Old Man or I never considered it beforehand. ying a little trick on casualty and time so that everything aligned beyond world-lines.


    I was randomly chatting with Jinn and I jokingly asked for nudes, and well....nudes I received.


    Notining, I was just surprised. Except, there was silence on her end for like twenty minutes, then I got a response from all of them.


    There seemed to be absolutely no hesitation on Venna''s part. Same with Raikou and Yasaka. Sc¨¢thach was super cute as she tried not to look embarrassed, I know she isn''t one for public disys of affection, so something like this may be somewhat foreign to her but also not something he would hesitate much over. Artoria was a little simr in that she''s still the most reserved of all my girls.


    Meridia though, she looked like she was trying hard to appear ''annoyed'' or scowling but she sent some very interesting pictures as well.


    Jinn was obvious as well, being the instigator in this whole thing. I would definitely have to thank her when I went back home.


    It definitely soothed the loneliness of not having any of them around for the moment. Once I finished up here, I was going to take a little bit of time to unwind before jumping into anything big. I would need to go back to Chaldea soon, but I was still keeping a close eye on Sir Wiggles to get a sort of feeling of when that''s best.


    And I need to sit down and talk to Salem, that''s a big priority once I wrap up here. I told her I wanted to be at my best when I had that conversation with her. I was not in my right mindset at the time and I felt a little more rxed now that I had a goal in mind and was working towards it.


    Admittedly, I was a little nervous, I didn''t know how she would take everything, but I couldn''t just dance around it any longer. Any further feelings would only be based on false assumptions and it would be no different than lying to her.


    While I continued to take in the Reishi and convert it into Reiyroku, a thought urred to me.


    Should I just go to the source?


    The information Gramps gave me was vague, but it did outline the overallyout of this ce. There existed three main dimensions, that being the Human World, the ce where Shinigami live and the afterlife ¨C Soul Society. Andstly there was a third ce where Hollows apparently congregate to is known as Hueco Mundo.


    I admit to being a tiny bit wary about attracting the unwanted kinds of attention as I was mostly here just to help myself and didn''t want to get involved in anything overlyplicated.


    But on the flip side, I don''t know if I could get what I wanted by just staying quiet in my little corner.


    Oh well, I''ll just do what I''ve always done and just go with whatever opportunities present themselves. If nothing else, I don''t believe I can''t sneak into this Soul Society and...acquire what I want.


    I immediately perked up, broken from my thoughts, as I heard that distinct roar sound off in the distance.


    Bob had roared enough that I''m pretty sure I''d never forget the feeling and sound. The kind of predatory calling that would send shivers to weaker people if they had enough spiritual power to sense these things.


    My excitement quickly died down when I realized that it''s probably doing that because it found a meal.


    I quickly jumped down and ran towards the source.


    I was starting to think that Hollows were much more animalistic in nature than I previously assumed. Perhaps it''s the subconscious parts of a human that gets added to the corrupted nature when they turn hollow. That those inherent instincts from previous paths of evolution manifest in such a way.


    Not to mention thus far, both Hollows I''ve run into looked like animals. The first one was some weirdbination of a horse and a lizard. This one was more like a Spider and a human inbination, but awkwardly pped together.


    It had that same big hole on its chest, but in a slightly different ce as well. I noted the immediate difference as it was peering into the second story window of a home.


    Did it let off that initial roar to warn away any other predators, or rather any other Hollows in the area? It would fit with my initial hypothesis of their animalistic nature.


    Well, I suppose it didn''t matter much. I wasn''t here to study their physiology as much as their innate existence with how it corresponds to Spiritual Power.


    I didn''t waste any time, it looked like it was about to grab at whoever was sleeping thiste at night. So....I just did the most blunt thing and soared through the air, kicking it in the face.


    I put a little bit of effort into my ''attack'' so the Hollow was lifted off the ground and went sailing down the street a little bit.


    It wasn''t that big in size, but it was big enough to be able to reach the second story of a random house on the street.


    Though, this was probably not the best ce to do something like this. I have no doubt that the impact woke up many people nearby, and while the Hollow wouldn''t be visible to themon folk, that was not the case for me.


    Thankfully, I had itsplete and undivided attention at this point, so It didn''t take me much effort to lead it away.


    A random pot shot with a spell here or there was enough to send it into a rage as it mored after me. Its awkwardly ced legs tearing into the concrete with each movement.


    They would probably assume it was an earthquake and bunker down, not peek out the window and see anything strange going on.


    However, I turned a few corners, leading it to a more deserted area, making sure it followed me without causing any wanton destruction that could affect other people. I wasn''tpletely careless in my own actions, I wouldn''t feel right if it just bulldozed through a house to get to me.


    "Alrighty." I pped my hands happily. I can finally continue my experiments. "Now why don''t you ¨C"


    I felt a wave of what I was assuming as Reiatsu flowing out unabated. Shortly followed a feminine shout. "Quick, over there!"


    I turned to look to see a kid ¨C teenager with bright orange hair. A little tall for his age, but the look of youth was obvious.


    Next to him a girl in a matching school uniform was running at his side. ck hair and petite in stature, but could be called cute. I presume she was the one who shouted as she held up her finger, pointing my way.


    "Hurry you fool, it''s going after him!" She shouted again, at herpanion, slipping on a bright red glove.


    I nced over my shoulder to see the Hollow rushing towards me and I assumed they were talking about it?


    I blinked as I saw the petite girl p the back of the orange haired kids head with a red gloved hand. And I really reeled back when I saw his body smack face first into the ground and what appeared to be his soul spring out. It was wearing a ck kimono with a massive sword strapped to its back.


    "What the hell!?" He shouted angrily, but didn''t stop moving forward. "Do you have any idea how much that''s gonna to hurt when I get back to my body!?"


    "Stop whining and deal with that Hollow!" She returned.


    I heard him mumble some unpleasant things about her under his breath. He didn''t even give me a second nce as he came up to me. His hand on that massive de strapped to his back, he unsheathed it to reveal what looked like an oversized Katana.


    Not to be confused with an Odachi or some other variation. No, this looked like someone took a standard Katana and inted it several degrees. If he were to hold it up, it would be almost as tall as he was, but the de itself was as thick as a thigh. And what made it a little moreical was that it even had the standard curve that a regr Katana would have.


    He was about to leap towards the Hollow but instead, I grabbed towards his cor, yanking him back.


    The action took himpletely by surprise, I don''t'' think they realized I could see everything that was going on. As it required a certain amount of spiritual power to see not just hollows but Shinigami as well, which is what I was assuming this kid was.


    Or maybe he wasn''t a kid at all?


    He certainly felt strange to my senses.


    "What the hell!?" The Orange Haired kid looked up at me.


    "Oi, don''t steal others'' Hollows. I went through a lot of effort to lead it away from the residential area out here." I chided him, flipping my hand over and throwing a few Talismans at it.


    This Hollow was more or less at the same strength as thest one. I could only assume there were stronger ones as it didn''t seem very intimidating at this level. I couldn''t see how such a thing wasn''t immediately wiped out and became a ''threat'' needed for a whole society tobat if this was the peakbat strength they had.


    No, this thing only threw around itsrge body, I have no doubt there are more intelligent and stronger ones.


    "Seal." Imanded, locking down the Hollow with my Talismans.


    Same as before, the Hollow locked up and stumbled to the ground, unable to break free from the magical bindings.


    "Ah, now that''s settled." I pped my hands.


    "Who the hell are you!?" The Orange haired kid climbed to his feet. "Rukia, who the hell is this!?" He shouted towards his femalepanion.


    She ran over, clearly looking wary of me. "How would I know you oaf?" She huffed.


    "He did that magic spirit stuff like you did." He retorted.


    "That wasn''t the same, and it''s called Kid¨­."


    "Whatever."


    "It''s not ''whatever'' it''spletely different!"


    "Why does it matter!?"


    "It matters because ¨C "


    "Hello, standing right here, between your shouting." I interrupted. "If you guys want to have your little lovers spat, that''s fine, I''ll be on my way." I started walking towards the hollow, but the girl ran forward, getting in my way.


    "No, identify yourself." She jerked her hand up, pointing at me.


    "Shouldn''t you be in bed by now, kiddo?" I tilt my head.


    "Y-you!?" She shuddered. "I''m older than you are!"


    "Yeah, listen to the granny." The Orange haired kid snorted.


    "What was that, strawberry!"


    "Don''t call me strawberry!"


    "Don''t call me granny." She huffed in return.


    "Anyways, I''ll be on my way." I smiled, taking a step to the side, only for the girl to block my path again.


    "No, who are you? Why are you stopping us from dealing with this Hollow!?" She demanded again.


    "Well, technically, you''re stopping me from dealing with this hollow." I pointed out. "Granted, I was going to use it before finishing it off, but my point still stands." Though, I didn''t feel the need to have to exin myself to them. "So...." I shooed her away. "Shoo, shoo. You''re in my way."


    "No, with my authority as member of the Gotei 13, I''mmanding you to identify yourself." She dered. "I received no reports that a human with such Reiatsu was living around here."


    ".....you''re a Shinigami?" I looked at her in confusion.


    "Hmph, so you know then." She looked smug at my realization. "Now, who are you, what are you doing here?"


    I did not like the tone of superiority she was taking with me.


    "Question."


    "What?"


    "Why are you in a school uniform? Is it a Shinigami thing?"


    "N-no, it has nothing to do with ¨C"


    "Is it your fetish?"


    "What!?"


    I turned to look at the orange haired kid. "Were you two in the middle of..." I whistled a little, getting my point across. "If so, I really shouldmend you that you stopped in the middle of that when you found out a Hollow was nearby."


    "What the hell are you saying!?" The kid got flustered.


    Heh, actually, they were both blushing a little bit while the girl was stammering in ce.


    "Alright, it''s been fun, kids. But I have ces to be, things to do." I shook my head, stepping to the side again. "Now if you''ll excuse me ¨C" I found a massive de now blocking my path.


    "Nah, you''re pretty damn suspicious." The Orange haired kid recovered pretty quickly. "I don''t think I''ve seen you around here at all. Pretty sure I''d of heard about a foreigner running around."


    "Rude, I''m half Japanese." I pushed the de to the side.


    "Whatever." He grunted. "Still, who the hell are you? You''re not a Shinigami, right? But I didn''t know anyone else could do that magic stuff."


    "Wouldn''t you know if I''m a Shinigami or not, considering...." I gestured to his outfit.


    "I''m new to this stuff." He admitted frankly.


    "How does that work? Did you just get offered a job and they shipped you out? Wouldn''t you be trained first?" I was a little curious now. "And my mother taught me that it''s polite to introduce yourself before asking someone else their name."


    He looked at me for a moment, shrugging. His lifted his massive de up, putting it over his shoulder. "Kurosaki Ichigo, Substitute Shinigami." He introduced himself.


    "Heh, so that''s where the name Strawberry came from." I chuckled, making his scowl deeply.


    The name Ichigo can also mean Strawberry.


    [Says Watermelon.]


    Ddraig! You''re back.


    [Yeah, took a little bit and I''m caught up with what''s going on. I think this ce made me recover faster, this Reiryoku as it''s called. Since I''m a soul and all, it''s probably helped a bit.]


    Huh, neat.


    [We''ll talkter. Handle things here, otherwise you''re just going to look like you''re staring off into space.]


    Good point.


    "The hell does ''Substitute Shinigami'' mean?" I questioned.


    "It means he''s a substitute for me for now. It doesn''t concern you, human." The little girl huffed again. "I''m Kuchiki Rukia, member of the thirteenth division and Shinigami assigned to this town."


    "Wait..."I stopped, realizing something. I turned back towards Ichigo. "....are you human?"


    "Yeah?"


    That lying cat!


    He told me that humans couldn''t be Shinigami, what the hell!


    Going to get a spray bottleter.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself. "Well, now that we''re acquainted, I''ll be on my way."


    "Wait, Ichigo, stop him!" Rukia shouted.


    The Substitute Shinigami ran infront of me again and I was starting to get annoyed. "Whatcha want the hollow for?"


    "None of your business."


    "Kind of is my business." He retorted. "Pretty sure ites with the job."


    Admittedly, I guess it kind of is. Shinigami have ''authority'' over Spiritual matters I would presume based on their job description.


    The term Shinigami can tranted as Death God, but they''re more like Soul Reapers. They make sure to keep souls moving through the natural cycle of reincarnation.


    "God, I''m being sassed by ¨C " I paused. "How old are you?"


    "Fifteen."


    "Right, why am I arguing with you again?" I shook my shook. "Why don''t you just take your girlfriend home and let me deal with my own stuff, yeah?"


    I''m done with this.


    He looked at me expressionlessly. With that big ass sword in his hand, he raised it up to the sky, still without any expression. Then, he threw it backwards.


    I blinked again, watching it spin through the air, my mouth slightly open as I watched its trajectory. I could have easily stopped it, but I think I was just too surprised at his balls to formte any proper response.


    Honestly, I feel like I''m usually on the opposite side when things like this happen.


    That gigantic sword of his mmed right down through the head of the hollow, pushing into the concrete below.


    The Hollow dissipated very quickly.


    "....did you just...?"


    "Woops, my hand slipped." He said dryly.


    I would be impressed if I wasn''t pissed off.


    I looked right at him and held my hand out. With a jerk of Telekinesis, I ripped the sword out of the ground and had it fly into my hand.


    He was surprised at my sudden action.


    "Oh hey, free sword. Seems like some idiot just left it lying around. I guess it''ll be goodpensation since my Hollow was taken from me."


    Huh, lighter than it looks.


    I was expecting something that weights like a hundred points or more, but it''s about the same weight as my other swords.


    "Hey, Asshole, give that back." Ichigo scowled, stepping forward.


    "I''m going to go with no." I gave the sword a couple swings. "Well, my night is ruined, guess I''ll head off. Later Kids, don''t stay out toote. Make sure to use protection, bye!" I gave my goodbyes even with the brat running at me.


    Well, may as well make him panic a little bit.


    "Wuld." I whispered, disappearing from the spot I was in with a burst of speed.


    [***]


    I hummed to myself as I walked back into my....building? My current home I suppose would be an apt description.


    I was a little less pissed off now, but still miffed that my Hollow was killed after I spent a few hours looking for one.


    But hey, it isn''t all bad.


    I''m actually really curious about this sword, it should be a Zanpakut¨­. At the very least, it''ll provide me with some very interesting data.


    I don''t really n on keeping this thing, but I''ll let the kid stew for a few days.


    Besides, I think it''s already....bonded? Is that the correct term? Well, I don''t know if it would even work for me how it''s supposed to. I think his soul already seeped into it or something.


    But...The sword didn''t really give me a good vibe. Not like malevolent or anything....it felt kind of hollow.


    I kind of felt like I would break it if I tried to do anything too strenuous with it.


    Which is not how I envisioned a Zanpakut¨­ should be.


    Well, he called himself a Substitute Shinigami, whatever that meant. And he''s apparently a human ¨C which I was told was impossible. Maybe that has something to do with it?


    I tried wrapping my Aura around it, just to get a feel. I was pleasantly surprised when it sort of.....epted my Aura initially, but rejected it immediately.


    Like, it didn''t like me specifically, not my Aura in general.


    I kind of lost track of time, ying around with this thing, doing all sorts of tests when I heard a sudden knock on my door.


    And really, there was only one person who knew I was here. I guess my new Bounded Fields I put up did their jobs since he didn''t just barge right in.


    I put away the sword into my Storage Ring and went to answer.


    "I think people are right. ck Cats are unlucky." I looked down at Yoruichi.


    "Funny." He drawled.


    "What do you want?" I asked.


    "I was just in the neighborhood, thought I would visit."


    "Uh huh." I noticed him peeking around my looks, looking inside. "Looking for anything specific." Because at this point, I was having the strangest idea that he was here for something in particr.


    "Now that you asked, you wouldn''t have happened toe across a sword recently, would you?"


    "Maybe I did, maybe I didn''t. What''s it to you?"


    "Well, some brates knocking on my friend''s shop, shouting about how some asshole stole his sword. Well, I immediately thought of my new friend."


    "Right."


    "So.....where is it?"


    "How are you so sure I have it?"


    "He described him as ''posh redhead asshole''." Yoruichi said evenly.


    "That could be anyone."


    "Because red hair ismon here."


    "Moremon than Orange Hair. At Least mine is natural." I huffed.


    "I never mentioned he had Orange hair." Yoruichi looked at me.


    ".....huh." I guess I gave myself away then, if it wasn''t dreadfully obvious before. "So, what can I do for you?"


    "The Sword, please."


    "And I want my damn Hollow back, but it looks like we''ll both be disappointed."


    "What?" Yoruichi tilt his head.


    "What, did he not tell you that he killed the hollow I captured?"


    Yoruichi and I stared at one another for a moment before he let out a sigh. "Fine, what do you want?"


    God, I love those words.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 363 - 329

    <h4>Chapter 363: Chapter 329</h4>


    Though I was happy with the turn of events, I had to admit, I had no idea what I actually wanted.


    Sort of took the kid''s sword out of annoyance, not with any inherent n in mind. I was probably going to find him in a couple days to give it back, chide him a little for being a little shit, but otherwise that was the extent of my thoughts.


    "So, you seem to know that kid, huh?" I asked.


    "Not personally." Yoruichi all but admitted.


    "What''s his deal?" I asked, leaving the door open as I walked back inside, an opening invitation for him toe in.


    Watching a Cat close the door behind him was somewhatical. "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, you told me that humans couldn''t be Shinigami in less words. So, how was a human-Shinigami running around? Someone wasn''t being honest."


    "No, I said that beyond some weird circumstances, it wasn''t possible." Yoruichi seemed to be looking around, presumably for the sword.


    "So the kid is one of those weird circumstances? How did that happen?"


    "It''s a secret."


    "That''s a shame." I shrugged. "You know what''s also a secret? Where I hid the sword."


    Yoruichi turned to look at me with an eye roll. "You met Rukia Kuchiki too, right?"


    "Shortie that tried to flex her authority? Kind of cute?"


    "Cute?" Yoruichi blinked.


    "Eh." I shrugged again. She reminded me a little of Artoria, maybe I was projecting a tiny bit. "But is that her? She introduced herself as a Shinigami, but felt pretty human to me. Honestly, I couldn''t sense nearly any Reiatsu from her beyond what I would in a human around these parts."


    "This town almost always has a Shinigami assigned to it due to the high levels of Reishi and the abundance of humans with above average Reiryoku which attract Hollows who think they make juicy meals. Rukia was thetest one sent for her own stint in the human world."


    "And how does this corrte to these ''unique'' circumstances?"


    "Rukia transferred her Shinigami powers to Ichigo." Yoruichi replied.


    "Wait, that''s a thing?"


    "It''s not well known beyond seated officers, but it''s possible."


    "Huh, that''s an interesting thought then."


    "Don''t even consider it. Besides being very unlikely to seed, it''s highly illegal for Shinigami to give their powers to a human."


    "So losing her powers made her a human? That doesn''t sound right."


    "No, she basically lost all of her Reiatsu temporarily and we gave her an untraceable Gigai for now." Yoruichi shook his head.


    "What''s a Gigai?" I was learning all kinds of new things today.


    "You really don''t'' know anything, do you?" Yoruichi looked at me bemused.


    "Depends, it could just be a different term for something I already know." I shrugged again.


    "A Gigai is a fake body that Shinigami can put their souls into so they can interact with the human world normally." Yoruichi exined.


    "Oh, yeah, I know what that is then." I nodded along at his exnation. Granted, it was slightly different, but Olga should have gotten something simr from Da Vinci.


    Hell, Homunculus aren''t that different in practice either.


    "The thought of Rukia swinging this thing around is hrious." I chuckled, taking out the Zanpakut¨­.


    That tiny girl using a sword bigger than herself.


    Yoruichi''s eyes shed as his head jerked back to me. "Where were you hiding that?"


    "It was here the whole time." I smiled back at him.


    "Right." Yoruichi said dryly. "But that''s not Rukia''s Zanpakut¨­. Hers is actually normal sized. That''s just the power she transferred to Ichigo remembering vaguely how it''s supposed to be and him not knowing how topress it properly so he got that monstrosity instead."


    "Is that why it feels kind of hollow?" I asked, giving it a swing.


    "Probably." Yoruichi jumped off the table. "I''m not really an expert on this kind of stuff, you''d have to ask my friend. Speaking of, thanks for returning it, I''ll be sure to give it back to the kid~" He went to snatch it from me, but I held it above his reach.


    "Nice try." I snorted.


    "Alright, what do you want?" Yoruichi huffed.


    "Trade me for another Zanpakut¨­." I think that would be the best thing I could earn in this circumstance.


    "Do you think I just have a bunchying around?" Yoruichi snorted.


    "I was hoping, yes."


    "Well, I don''t." He stated. "While they aren''t super heavily regted, it''s hard to get one without an owner. Each Shinigami gets one when they go to the Academy. Or, rather, they get what''s called an Asauchi. Basically, it''s a nk Zanpakuto that the academy recruits are supposed to nurture."


    "So what you''re saying is that you need to go rob a school."


    "What I''m saying is that you''re a bit out of luck there. I couldn''t get you one even if I wanted to." Yoruichi admitted.


    "Can''t you just like....sneak into Soul Society and acquire one?" I asked.


    "Do you think I can just go there whenever I want? What makes you think I can go there at all?" Yoruichi eyed me.


    "Just taking a shot in the dark. With how much you know, it''s obvious you aren''t a normal cat." I shrugged once more.


    "....fine, you''re right. I can technically go there if I wanted but it''s not really a good idea to just pop in if I don''t have to for an emergency."


    Hmm, good to know.


    "You''re being pretty candid with me. I''m starting to wonder if you''re not a different cat than the one I''ve met before."


    "Kind of have me over a barrel here."


    "Really? Because of this stupid thing?" I asked, swinging around the sword again. "Maybe I underestimated how important this thing is."


    "It''s not really important by itself, but.....Ichigo is going around purifying Hollows in Rukia''s ce right now. And Soul Society does monitor their members who go on extended assignments. The fact that the idiot is basically wrapped in Rukia''s residual Reiatsu is masking what really happened. Not to mention she has a bit of status....if her signature just goes nk for a while, they might send someone to investigate."


    "And then they find out that she broke some rule or whatever." I could guess where it goes from there. "You''re making me feel bad about stealing this now."


    "Good."


    "But then I remembered that the kid killed my Hollow~"


    "Just tell me what you want." Yoruichi grumbled.


    "You said you can''t get me a Zanpakut¨­ ¨C Asauchi. How about teaching me Kid¨­?" Learning how to harness my Reiryoku and use it for ''spellcasting'' is one of the main concerns I have right now. I don''t'' know how long it would take me to do that on my own and I don''t have an unlimited amount of time avable.


    I would prefer a Zanpakut¨­ so I could start ying around with it, but I could settle on Kido.


    "You want to learn Kid¨­?"


    "I think I already mentioned about wanting to learn it. But yeah, I want to learn the Magic System those Shinigami use." I don''t believe I ever kept it a secret about my interest. "I think it''s a fair trade, yeah?"


    "Do you even know anything about Kid¨­?" Yoruichi deadpanned. "I exined the basics to youst time, so of course not. Let me give you a brief overview, there are two ¨C technically three, paths of Kido. But one has to do with Healing so it''s its own separate thing when talking about Kid¨­ generally. I told you before, you have Had¨­ and Bakud¨­ as the two branches. One focuses on defense and the other offense if you want to keep it simple. And in each side, there are 99 levels or 99 spells that make up the more publicized list."


    "Hold on, are you saying that there are only 99 spells for each branch?"


    "It''splicated." Yoruichi jumped back onto the table. "I''ll give you an example." He held up his front paw, pointing towards the door. "Had¨­ #1 Sh¨­" I could feel his Reiatsu jerk and move in a systematic way. Before, I could barely even sense his presence, but now it was fairly obvious at his incantation. An invisible force shot out, mming into the door, blowing it open and knocking it off its hinges.


    "You''re paying to fix that."


    "Put it on my tab." He deadpanned. "But you get what I''m saying now?"


    "Each spell is literally numbered, not just filling an empty spot. I assume the incantation is intrinsic to the casting otherwise the system would be stupid." I voiced my thoughts.


    "Pretty much."


    "Why?" I asked.


    "Who knows. I don''t really care about Kid¨­ so I don''t practice it that much. I guess I''m decent at it, but I haven''t really cared to delve into it."


    "I have so many questions."


    "And I''m not a Kid¨­ expert, so I probably don''t have many answers. All I know is that there have been spells developed, but they either get sealed away or buried under bureaucratic nonsense. Shinigami are sticklers for tradition if nothing else."


    "Seriously? They have that much of a stick up their ass about tradition that they would bury improvements to their Magic System?"


    "Believe me, that isn''t the most ridiculous thing you''ll hear about them."


    "That''s fucking stupid." Even the Mage''s Association would salivate at any beneficial boost to their crafts regardless of where it came from. Would they bitch and moan about the source if it went against their established ideals? Of course, but they would integrate it regardless if it meant forwarding their crafts.


    "Wee to Shinigami society."


    "So, you''re a Shinigami?" I asked.


    "Caught onto that, did you?" Yoruichi grumbled, plopping his butt down on the table.


    "Kind of hard to miss the obvious insinuations based on your exnations."


    "It was a while ago, I was exiled. Just leave it at that."


    "Alright, alright, I won''t poke you about it." It was clearly a sore spot he didn''t want to talk about, so I wouldn''t. "So, do Kido spells get ''stronger'' the further up the numbers they go?"


    "More or less. It''s not really cut and dry with some spells, where the effects are more tailored to particr instances, but you can consider it so. Not to mention that they made spells over 90 illegal."


    ".....Soul Society is no fun."


    "It really isn''t." He agreed. "But it''s as you said. The higher the spell, generally the more powerful it bes."


    "Well, I''m interested. Teach me Kido and I''ll give the sword back, deal?"


    "No." He said immediately.


    "What do you mean ''no''?"


    "I mean that I''m not really qualified to teach someone Kid¨­. And Teaching a Human....I don''t even know if it''s possible, I''ve never heard of a human learning Kid¨­ before."


    "Well, this has been a gigantic waste of time. Guess I''ll start my experiments to see how durable a Zanpakut¨­ is."


    "Wait." Yoruichi jumped down again. "I said I''m not qualified, not that there isn''t someone. I think he would be more interested too."


    "I am intrigued." I pushed the sword into the ground, leaning on it. "So this mysterious person can teach me Kid¨­? Even the ''illegal'' spells?" I couldn''t help but roll my eyes as I said that.


    So stupid.


    "The First ten."


    "What?"


    "He''ll teach you the first ten of both branches, nothing else. And whatever you pick up or don''t is on you."


    "That''s some bullshit."


    "Do you have any idea how long it would take to teach you the higher-level stuff? Years, and that''s considering you can pick up the basics easily, which I''m not even sure is possible. So, you get to learn the first ten only."


    I wasn''t entirely against this deal, I was just seeing If I could squeeze out some more from him. "Why can''t humans learn it?"


    "I said I don''t know, but if I had to guess, it''s probably due to your body again. A physical body impedes the usage of the soul."


    That makes sense, even if it was an annoying answer. However, I am a Magus. I have so many memories of working around the restrictions the world imposed on Magecraft. If I couldn''t find a work around for this, then all of that was pointless.


    "I ept the deal." I tossed him the sword and he grabbed it with his mouth quickly, practically disappearing to the door.


    "I''ll have someone sent over in a few days, maybe a week at thetest." Yoruichi said before immediately disappearing.


    Well, alrighty then.


    This turned out pretty well.


    I didn''t think he would go back on the deal, he came off as the sort that was too prideful to just lie to my face like that.


    Well, let''s find something to do in the meantime. Maybe I can find another Hollow before the night is up? Maybe I''ll run into the kid again and steal his sword again. Would I be able to make another deal then?


    That would be a fun conversation to have with Yoruichi when hees to fetch the sword again.


    [***]


    If there''s one thing I absolutely hate about Japan, it''s the xenophobia.


    Walking to the store to get some groceries, and people just assume. The look on their faces when I use perfect Japanese just makes it worse. Cause at that point, I''m not just some foreigner that''ll leave at some point.


    Of all the negative things I could say about my time in Kuoh and at Kuoh Academy, there were enough ''foreigners'' there that the students didn''t really act like that. In hindsight, it''s obvious the reason ¨C them being devils. But at the time a ''foreigner'' was the president of the student council, so any of that nonsense was stomped out.


    In a small town like this though? I stood out like a sore thumb and people just stared.


    At Least my hair didn''t look fake, so people didn''t assume I dyed it like some kind of thug.


    My idle thoughts carried me until I made it back ''home'' forck of a better word.


    I had been staying at this abandoned construction site for a little while now, enough that I started buying some amenities.


    Thankfully I ran into the little role-yer and his friends again. Got the actual paperwork and identification I needed so I felt fine traveling around during the day without a cop thinking I''m an illegal alien.


    Though, I paused when I approached the specific building I was staying inside.


    There was a veryrge man apparently fixing the door that Yoruichi broke several days ago.


    He seemed to notice my presence as I got closer.


    Fully standing up, he was a big mother fucker. Dark skin, visible muscles, probably close to eight feet tall. He had hair done in cornrolls with a handlebar mustache and rectangr sses. Though, the most amusing thing was the pink apron he was wearing over a white shirt and pants.


    "Hello?" I greeted, tilting my head at his appearance.


    "Greetings, you must be Wilhelm Schweinorg-dono." He bowed very politely, and the honorifics even made it through my Devil-based trantions.


    "I am, are you the one Yoruichi volunteered to teach me?" I asked, skipping right to the important matter.


    "Indeed." He pushed up his sses. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tessai Tsukabishi, former Captain of the Shinigami Kido Corps."


    "Oh?" I perked up at his introduction. So he must be very knowledgeable about Kid¨­, well, I always enjoy talking magical things with masters of their practices.


    "As you said, I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, Magus and potential future Kid¨­ user if things work out." I smiled at his polite tone. If someone was polite to me, I was more than willing to reciprocate.


    I gestured for him to head inside as I walked to the table and set down my groceries.


    "Thank you for the door."


    "It was no trouble, Schweinorg-dono. I am aware that Yoruichi can be.....destructive when the mood strikes."


    I was impressed he pronounced my name so fluently and correctly.


    "Feel free to call me Wilhelm." Japanese pleasantries aside. "You being here means I can assume that you are willing to teach me?"


    "Correct." He nodded rather enthusiastically. "I admit, the thought of teaching a human Kido is not something I have considered before. To find someone willing and able to learn are things I thought improbable. I am rather curious to see if it is possible at all. And please, call me Tessai."


    "Able, as in possessing the necessary Reiryoku I assume?"


    "Correct, once again. It is not merely a matter of just having enough to see what should not be seen by mortal eyes. No, a human requires a few further steps in that direction for their Reiryoku to be abundant enough to cast even the simpler spells."


    "And how do I measure in that regard?" I asked because I was curious how I rated after continuously absorbing the Reishi and converting it these past several days while waiting for him to arrive.


    He pushed up his sses and inspected me again. "You possess an admirable amount of Reiatsu for a human, Wilhelm-dono. I believe that Yoruichi undervalued how much you truly had."


    Or it wasn''t as much as thest time he was here.


    Interesting.


    "Why don''t I get some tea started and we can talk shop?"


    "I would appreciate the gesture, Wilhelm-dono. And if you are not against it, I am very curious as to what this ''Magus'' identity means. If you would be willing, I would like to exchange knowledge."


    "I don''t mind trading in that regard." It would be no skin off my back to give him the barest idea of what a Magus is.


    But, it was finally time to learn some Kid¨­ and I was always excited to learn new ''Magics''.


    [***]


    Monday''s chapter


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 364 - 330

    <h4>Chapter 364: Chapter 330</h4>


    "I have a question before we begin." I asked as we enjoyed some basic tea. I didn''t have many amenities avable, but I don''t think he would hold it against me considering the circumstances.


    "Please." He gestured for me to continue.


    "If you''re going to be my teacher, even for a brief moment, would everything we speak about fall under student-teacher confidentiality?"


    Or to put it into simple terms, are you going to b about everything you find out about me? Just because I didn''t have any stakes in this world, it didn''t mean I wanted to just make my personal stuff known.


    He furrowed his brow, obviously getting the gist of what I was implying. "I will not speak about anything unless it may be a danger."


    How open ended and vague. Oh well, I suppose that''s more than I really need considering myck of actual ties here.


    And he didn''t really strike me as someone who could be coy or skirt around any verbal agreement but adhere to the spirit of it.


    I could be wrong, but it was what my gut was telling me.


    "You said you were the former Captain of the Kido Corps back in Soul Society, can I ask you more about that or is it something you don''t want to talk about? I know Yoruichi was hesitant to say anything about his time in Soul Society, only that he was banished some time ago. I don''t want to poke any sore spots by ident."


    "Yes, Yoruichi did mention that." He pushed up his sses. "It is not something we generally mention to....outsiders."


    "As I told him before, it wasn''t hard to put two and two together with the amount of information he told me."


    "A valid point, Wilhelm-dono." He nodded still using that very polite honorific with me. "There are thirteen divisions among Soul Society, and there is a division specialized for those who pursue Kid¨­ above all else. I led that division until an incident urred and myself and Yoruichi along with some others were banished due to our crimes."


    "Thank you for sharing. I assume you don''t want this kind of thing spread around?"


    "Yes, thank you for understanding, Wilhelm-dono." He replied.


    I waived it off. Not really hard to do, and I''m not really one for sharing other''s secrets, especially when they don''t really cause any issues. If he and Yoruichi are living openly, I''m sure there isn''t anyrge concern and it''s just for personal privacy and what-not.


    "I assume you want to ask me some stuff then?" I gave him an opening to shift the topic.


    "Yes." He smiled rather happily. "Yoruichi simply told me that you are a ''Wizard'' who calls himself a Magus''. I admit to being ignorant of Humans in what they refer to as ''magic''. I may no longer be the Captain of the Kid¨­ corps, but my interests have never wavered."


    "The general term is Magus. Wizard is more of a title for certain individuals. I suppose it wouldn''t be wrong to equate it to your use of Captain, even if it isn''t a direct corrtion. But yes, a Magus by definition is someone who practices Magecraft."


    "A fascinating description." His eyes lit up. "Can you tell me about ''Magecraft''?"


    Well, he''s going to tell me about kid¨­, so It''s fair I suppose. "The barest definition of Magecraft would be any natural phenomena that could be achieved by mundane means regardless of time or effort, but simply using Magical Energy to facilitate the process."


    I held up my hand in front of us. "I''ll give you an example. A person can easily buy a lighter from the store and produce a me, yes? Well...." I created a small me above my palm. "I did the same through Magical Energy, thus it is Magecraft."


    "Marvelous." He praised with clear interest. "I was not aware that such a group existed."


    "Magi congregate towards the west, mostly in Europe and London." I replied.


    He continued to look at the me on my hand. ".....you are not using Reishi nor Reiryoku."


    "Noticed that, huh?"


    "It seems the shop owner is going to be most displeased that he missed this opportunity." Tensei muttered.


    "Shop owner?"


    He blinked, nodding again. "Yoruichi and I were not the only ones who were banished." He said simply without further exnation and I didn''t push.


    "You''re right." I clenched my hand, snuffing out the me. "Magical Energy isn''t just another name for the spiritual equivalent. There are some very heavy simrities, but it''s likeparing Salt Water to Fresh Water. You all thrive in Salt Water and process it without even a second thought. While Magi such as myself exist in Fresh Water and can''t normally coexist in a Salt Water habitat."


    "A curiousparison, and not one I can find fault with based on what I have seen so far." He rubbed his chin. "And what is Magical Energy?"


    "Magical Energy can generally be broken down into three different types, like your Spiritual Energy. You have the ambient Magical Energy ¨C Mana. Like how Reishi exists in the air, so too does Mana. However, Mana seems to contain the more physical characteristics of the world,pared to the spiritualponent of Reishi."


    "That would exin why this is notmon knowledge. As Shinigami ¨C Spirits exist in a state that would makeing into contact with the....physical aspect of the living world difficult."


    It wasn''t a perfect exnation, calling Mana physical inparison. But it also wasn''t wrong either considering that it''s something only living beings should be able to properly generate. Such as Servants not being able to produce their own under normal circumstances. There was obviously much more nuance to it than that, but it would take hours to exin in depth.


    "Manaes from the itself." I added.


    "And as beings that are ''born'' from a different ne of reality, I can understand why we are not ustomed to this energy as you are." He sipped his tea. "Yes, it makes sense."


    Well, Servants are still extensions of the world, thus they operate on Magical Energy. Not to mention that Reishi like this isn''t a driving force everywhere else. It''s something almost unique to this world that I''ve discovered.


    Truthfully, this is mostly just my hypothesis on the nature of Magical Energy and Spiritual Energy.


    "Moving on. Like Reishi, we have Mana. And like Reiryoku we have Od. Or, the Magical Energy that each person produces by just existing."


    "And once one stops existing as you put it, they lose the production of this Od and it turns into our domain." He summarized.


    "That is my belief, yes." I said inly. "Andstly, you have thebination of the two. It has several names such as Prana that different generations use. But it''s fairlymon just to use the sweeping term of Magical Energy when referring to any aspect of this process unless one needs to be specified for any reason."


    "You are saying that these Magi, as you put it, are.....absorbing Mana from the air?" He questioned.


    "More or less, yeah?"


    "Curious." He set his cup down. "Tell me, have you ever heard of people known as ''Quincy''?"


    "That''s my first time hearing the name. What are Quincy?"


    "Hmm." He hummed, looking thoughtful. "Quincy are a race of spiritually aware humans that are able to....subjugate Reishi and mold it to their own use. Shinigami are unable to do such and only can make do with our own Reiryoku."


    "Oh?" Now that''s pretty interesting. "And are they numerous?"


    "I am afraid not." He shook his head. "There is an unfortunate side effect of a Quincy''s existence. Unlike Shinigami who purify Hollows and send their souls through the proper cycle upon death, Quincy....destroy the souls contained within a Hollow. Due to this, they have run afoul of Soul Society many years ago and were destroyed."


    "....and Quincy are Spiritually aware. A simple way of saying they have a substantially higher amount of Reiatsu than a normal person. Which in turn attracts more Hollows to them."


    "Correct." He nodded.


    "A lose-lose situation all around. I can''tment on how your Soul Society handled this Quincy group, but it sounds like there was no usible alternative when Shinigami exist to protect the supposed Bnce of souls."


    From what I understand, Hollows eat souls. That is to say, they absorb them and turn them into power. The one''s I''ve faced, they probably only had about a dozen or so souls they''ve feasted on. When I killed the first one, I made sure that all of those souls were released back to the natural cycle. If a Quincy kills a Hollow, they aren''t simply killing the Hollow''s soul in that case. If it were such, I don''t think Soul Society would kick up as much as a fuss. No, they were most likely killing the Hollow and all the souls it ate.


    How many souls would an older Hollow have consumed? Hundreds, Thousands?


    Yeah, that just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.


    I don''t know much about these groups, but it sounded genuinely like a bad situation for all involved and drastic measures were taken.


    He seemed to take a minute to digest everything. "You wish to try and learn Kid¨­, I admit to being unsure if a living being is capable of learning. Yoruichi should have mentioned the rtion between a physical body and Spiritual Power."


    "Briefly, but I understand the gist of it. My Body is more or less a barrier to actualizing any Kid¨­ spells. I suppose that a physical body is literally a barrier now that I''ve had time to think about it. Soul ¨¤ Body ¨¤ World. You, as Spirits, go directly from Soul to world, while my body stands in the way."


    "An astute observation. Your theory matches my own and that of my cohorts. It is the reason that humans cannot be Shinigami.....in normal circumstances."


    "Like the carrot head I met before."


    "Yes, Kurosaki Ichigo is an interesting child."


    "Speaking of, I saw Rukia do something to him that basically pulled his soul out of his body. A red glove or something...."


    "Ah, yes. That child''s luck is either very good or very bad. Due to having a Shinigami transfer him their powers, his body and soul aren''t as.....intertwined as you would expect. His Soul chain is not damaged in the slightest by separating from his body. However, one cannot say the same for another living being. Unfortunately, this path would not provide results if it was something you were considering."


    "It was a thought, but nothing more than a minor interest. I don''t think separating my body from my soul is the correct course of action." I waived it off.


    I rely too much on my body for everything.


    I feel like they were being vague when talking about Ichigo. They kept referring to it as ''unique'' circumstances, but from what they''ve also said, it''s known, that transferring a Shinigami''s powers to a human can happen.....so how unique is it really?


    Well, not my business.


    "I am most curious to see how this experiment goes. I have written down the incantations for the first ten Kid¨­ spells for both branches. Regardless of if I am able to help you down this path, these are yours per the deal you made with Yoruichi." Tessai pulled a little book out of his pocket, setting it on the table.


    "Well, let''s start from the beginning." I pped my hands. "Yoruichi showed me what should be the first spell in the Had¨­ branch. Sh¨­, I believe?"


    "Yes, a very simple yet elegant spell." Tessai nodded again. "As you probably know by now, a spell requires the incantation to actualize¨C I believe you used this term. Sh¨­ is one of the few that does not have an extended incantation. The simplicity of the spell requires no such adherents, as well as several others in the list that are below level ten. While every spell requires the incantation to be spoken, it is possible to remove the need for the extended portion at an increase of Reiatsu cost and a decrease in output."


    "So it''s more expensive and weaker if you want to trade for speed. Not an unfair trade depending on the circumstances. And the first spell is simply the name?"


    "Correct, allow me to show you once more. I merely need a target ¨C"


    "I got you." I started standing up. I moved to the edge of the room and set down a piece of chest armor. One of the many random things I had gathered from my time in Skyrim. Seeing how the spells work against a forged piece of iron would be best.


    "That shall work." Tessai raised his hand up as I stood away, his finger extended. Though he looked interested in how I just made it appear, it seems like he was keeping this professional. "Had¨­ #1 Sh¨­." He intoned.


    The same invisible force shot out, something I wouldpare to a use of my Telekinesis if used in a small burst. Though, this spell felt much more coherent and refined than my Telekinesis. Considering the origin, I suppose it isn''t that strange.


    It collided with the iron armor, creating a solid and round dent at the center.


    "Can the power be altered?"


    "Yes, by pouring more Reiatsu into the spell, it can produce a more powerful effect." He held up his finger again, and I could see a more significant amount of Reiatsu gather around him in a blue hue. "Had¨­ #1 Sh¨­." He intoned again, and this time a muchrger force shot out.


    The chest of the armor caved inward, the spell tearing right through it and colliding with the wall behind.


    "Interesting." I muttered, inspecting the damage.


    And I didn''t feel an iota of Magical Energy contained within. If I can harness a whole Magic System not dependent on Magical Energy.....how significant would that be against that demon I fought that imed supremacy over Magecraft?


    Not to mention I n on getting my hands on a Zanpakut¨­....


    "The spell words seem very important to the spell itself, which is odd from my point of view. Most spells that I cast don''t have true ¨C " I paused for a moment, considering what I would say. "¡ªWords of Power. They''re Arias, help to facilitate the casting but not required." I held my own finger out, almost mimicking what he did, I instead shaped my Telekinesis into the form of a bullet andunched it at the piece of armor.


    "I see." His eyes shed as he watched me inquisitively. "A simr effect, but I barely sensed the movement of Reiatsu from you. It seemed to be more a by-product of your disy rather than an intentional act on your part."


    "Right, I think my Reiatsu just moves naturally and gets aggravated when I cast spells through the use of my Magical Energy. Now that I think about it, Yoruichi mentioned that Onmy¨­ji were somewhat popr at some point. Didn''t you say that humans couldn''t cast spells with their Spiritual Power due to the limitations of a body?"


    "Correct." He didn''t deny it. "Kid¨­ arts were created by Shinigami, they are tailored for spirits to begin with. The way our Reiatsu flows out in corrtion to the casting of each spell. I have not researched Onmy¨­ji in detail, but there are two prevailing theories. One is that they merely created their own system that siphons off their own excess Reiatsu through various means to cast spells. The second is that they are an offshoot of Quincy with the ability to subjugate Reishi, negating the problem."


    That makes sense then, why would Spirits care about their stuff working for living beings? Though it does lend credence to the theory of living beings being able to aplish what I''m trying.


    "And should you not be the expert on this? Yoruichi spoke about your use of simr arts when meeting you." He added.


    "I use Magical Energy." I shrugged. "And my learning was by my own hand, I don''t really have any teachers for it."


    "Perhaps I am wrong on both ounts then. Maybe it was mistaken for either of those and you are correct with your own." He responded. "Regardless, let us see what we''re working with. It has been a very long time since I have attempted to teach someone Kid¨­, much less a Human. I am eager to see what we can aplish."


    Well, it didn''t really seemplicated on the surface.


    I held up a finger just as he did. "Had¨­ #1 Sh¨­." I spoke the words clearly and fluently. I felt my Reiatsu stir but it was strange, almost as if it wanted to move, but couldn''t. As a result, nothing happened.


    "I felt your Reiatsu re up briefly." Tessai noted.


    "Yeah, felt like it wanted to go forward, but hit a wall and reluctantly backed away." I frowned, feeling my Reiatsu, what I had gathered so far in my soul.


    Which....was exactly what we were expecting, to be honest.


    "As expected. However, I have thought up some experiments, perhaps we can discover a means to ovee this." Tessai said a little excitedly.


    I''m all for some magical study.


    [***]


    "Please note down experiment number 73." I started as Tessai sat at the table, taking notes.


    "Experiment number 73. Releasing Reiatsu from one''s body, then attempting to follow the same pathways and cast. Begin when you are ready." Tessai gave me the go ahead.


    I breathed out, letting my Reiatsu flow out. I didn''t have that much, and what I had was starting to run out, but the blue shimmering energy flowed out. While not the same as pulling on the pool of Reiatsu to facilitate the casting, it was providing some results in that I could feel the spell getting closer to casting.


    If my body was a dam, one side had water while the other was dry. The water being my pool of Reiatsu, simply sshing some over the edge wasn''t the same as taking a congruent stream to fold into my desired effect.


    "Had¨­ #1 Sh¨­." I repeated the words I have spoken dozens of times at this point, aiming at the same target.


    "Excellent." Tessai''s eyes flickered happily.


    "Still a failure." I lowered my arm.


    "However, there was a gathering of Reiatsu at the tip your finger, even if the spell failed once more. This is progress."


    "Agreed, but we''re still a ways off." I noted, looking out the window and the sun had already set.


    "Hmm, it appears that our time has reached the conclusion. You are low on Reiatsu anyways, perhaps this is a good stopping point." Tessai closed the book.


    I let out a breath, stretching my arms. "Oh well, I guess it''s that time. Even if it was only for one evening, I do appreciate the help you provided."


    "The pleasure was mine, Wilhelm-dono. I have learned many things myself and it was a pleasant experience to exchange knowledge with someone who shares my same passion."


    I held my hand up as he gave it a firm shake.


    The promise was only for someone toe by and teach me, not for him to be my personal tutor for how long it would take for me to master everything. Regardless, I had a book listing the spells in both branches from one to ten. And it wasn''t the same as what I was used to. Learning the incantations was paramount to casting the spells, which means that self-study is enough to get them correct with some time and effort.


    "I shall be heading back, Wilhelm-dono. If you have free time, you are wee to stop by the shop I help manage. Our discussions were very intriguing and I look forward to more in the future."


    "Thank you for your time again, Tessai. I''ll be sure to stop over when I have time." I gave him onest thanks goodbye as he departed.


    I watched his figure disappear from the area, heading back towards town.


    I breathed out, letting my Aura that I had been keeping heavily contained seep back out.


    Truthfully, I felt a little bad for keeping this a secret, but I wasn''t one to divulge everything to people I just met.


    I will properly thank himter, because I figured out the solution to my problem near the end there. The additional testing did serve to support my theory, now I just needed to test it for myself.


    My body is a Dam. So I need to move water from one side to the other. He helped me with how I should go about releasing my Reiatsu, but that wasn''t enough in the end.


    Once more, my Aura bes a magnificent bridge between my physical stature and my spiritual existence.


    The manifestation of the soul.


    Even more than my Magic Circuits. I attempted to channel the Reiatsu through my Circuits, but it was excruciatingly painful and I had to bullshit an excuse to Tessai.


    It''s a simple thought on the surface, but the testing with Tessai allowed me to figure out the correct method.


    My Aura would be the bridge.


    It''s not that my Aura would be involved in the casting, it wouldn''t deplete in any capacity. However, my Reiatsu seemed to flow fluidly and without obstruction as my Aura pulled it out of my body.


    "Had¨­ #1 Sh¨­." I raised my finger up once more at the armor chest piece sitting at the side.


    An invisible force shot off like a bullet, colliding with it, making a sizable dent.


    I began cackling happily.


    With this, I could begin learning Kid¨­ properly.


    Once I mastered these spells, it was only a matter of getting my hands on the others.


    That and a Zanpakut¨­.


    .....Maybe I should pay a visit to this Soul Society?


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 365 - 331

    <h4>Chapter 365: Chapter 331</h4>


    Yoruichi Shih¨­in POV


    Hmm, only a few Hollows tonight. That carrot top should be able to handle it without a problem. He''s been saving me a lot of trouble having to deal with them recently.


    Just as the thought passed, I felt the Reiatsu of one near the edge of town disappear.


    Seems the kid is getting better.


    Kind of eerie how instinctual this all came to him. He was just a normal high school kid, admittedly one that could see ghosts and had a ridiculous amount of Reiatsu for a living person, but a high school kid all the same.


    Now, he was running off in the middle of the night to kill soul eating monsters without a second thought.


    I guess it made sense considering who his dad is.


    Well, it wasn''t any of my business to worry about that. Kid can make his own decisions and if his old man wants to step in, he isn''t oblivious to his son running off. Not my job to step in and try to parent him.


    Don''t wanna deal with any of thatplicated stuff anyways. It''s so much more peaceful being a cat. I canze around and no one bothers me except the asional scratches. If I meow at strangers, they usually give me free food. And I can sleep wherever and go wherever I want.


    I don''t know why I yed around as the Captain of the second division and the Onmitsukid¨­ for so long. Not to mention all that crap I had to put up with due to my n. So much work and what did it amount to?


    Banished without a second thought. I guess that''s partially my fault, when Kisuke and Tessai got framed, I did abandon my positions and escape with them.


    Speaking of.


    I rolled over, looking up at the big giant himself. "How was it?"


    "It was interesting." Tessai replied.


    "That''s it?" I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Tessai, give me something more than that."


    "Hmm." He hummed nonmittedly.


    "You too?" I groaned. "Alright, what do you want?" First that kid ckmails me and now Tessai, have I lost my touch. "I saw you eyeing that vacuum in that magazine you were reading.."


    "The Dyson XL200,plete with high-performance swivel dust suction and attachable hydrosteam essory and cordless charging station!?" He pushed up his sses, eyes glowing before coughing awkwardly. "Yes, I may have been looking at it."


    ".....I''ll convince Kisuke to shell out the money."


    "Hmm."


    "Come one, Tessai, stop ying around."


    He smiled lightly and relented. "Very well. However, I did promise Wilhelm-dono that I would not be speaking of his private matters."


    "Boo, you''re not fun."


    "I will give him the professional courtesy he deserves, Yoruichi." He said a little sternly.


    "You like him that much?"


    "I consider him a peer even if his knowledge is foreign to me."


    "Really? You think that highly of him? He must have left a good impression on you then." I rolled onto my feet, pushing up off the ground as I walked at his side.


    "His age betrays his knowledge and expertise. If he were to be a Shinigami, I am confident he could have taken over my Division from me after some time."


    Damn, that''s really high praise. Even Kisuke would admit inferiority if hepared his talent in Kid¨­ with Tessai.


    "And that crap about him being a Wizard? I thought that was just a fairy tale."


    "I can validate his assertion." Tessai said rather cryptically.


    "That''s it? Come on, Tessai, give me more details."


    "You are free to ask him yourself."


    "If I see him so soon, I''m going to beat him up in anger. How dare he ckmail me!?"


    "Hehe, it''s rare to see someone get the better of you."


    "Fuck, he''s lucky that Kisuke asked me to get the orange idiot''s sword back." I grumbled. "Otherwise I''d let him run around and try to punch Hollows to death."


    "There was a valid reason to retrieve it regardless." Tessai replied with a smile.


    "Yeah, yeah. But we''re only buying time. Soul Society is going to be on her case sooner orter, you know how they are. They won''t care if she''s a Kuchiki, they''re going to nail her harder than they did us to make an example since she was adopted into the family."


    Old foggy''s never liked moners'' moving up Noble ranks. They always found reasons to make it more difficult on them.


    "It is unfortunate, but Kisuke knows this as well."


    "Who knows what he''s thinking." I grumbled again. "As smart as he is, he''s a real dumbass too."


    ".....I do not disagree."


    Of course you don''t, you grew up with us and saw the idiot stumble his way into being a Captain with my rmendation.


    The smartest idiot I know.


    "So, he''s a wizard. Did he do any cool magic tricks?"


    "He showed me a few things that broaden my horizons. I admit to being interested and may conduct my own research."


    Huh, it''s been awhile since Tessai went into his study mode. He rarely does any Kid¨­ work these days, it''s good that he has a little fire in him, he''s been kind of stagnant ever since getting banished.


    "Y''know, usually your humble attitude and politeness are nice and all, but right now, it''s really annoying." Ugh, he''s always been like this. "What about the most important thing?"


    "You asked me to verify that he is not involved with Aizen, yes?" Tessai paused his steps, pushing up his sses again. "I do not believe he is any acquaintance with Aizen. His reactions and the conversations we had point to him being ignorant towards our society."


    "...it could be a trick."


    "Do you think so?"


    "Nah, but.....guess I''m just seeing ghosts where there are none." Heh, ghosts. Cause I''m a Shinigami. "So, how''d he do with Kid¨­, what''s the verdict?"


    "There was....substantial progress made, considering the variables. However, he was not able to perform the most basic of Kid¨­ as we had anticipated. For how long thatsts....I cannot say. He seems to be intelligent and resourceful. I find myself curious and will check in again soon."


    "Hmm, that''s something I can use to lord over him then." ckmail me, huh? I''m going to just y around with Kid¨­ right in front of you, let''s see how you like that.


    "You seem to have taken a liking to him quickly."


    "Eh, he''s fun and kind of a mystery. Kisuke''s usually the one who finds all the good stuff, this time I get to keep him to myself." I grinned. "Speaking of, did you sense all the weird stuff happening with him too?"


    "Weird?" Tessai raised an eyebrow.


    "Oh, don''t act like you didn''t notice. I''m talkin about his Reiatsu fluctuations, and the different sensations he gives off."


    "...I admit I mistook him for a Hollow at one point. It was only after inspecting him for a moment that I realized it was different than a Hollow''s Reiatsu. But the feeling clearly vanished without any noticeable side effects."


    "Any chance he''s like our masked friends?"


    "No, as I said, it was my initial thought, but it appeared to be something else after having had a moment to collect my thoughts." He shook his head.


    "His Reiatsu has been going up too. Every time I visited him, it was stronger and bigger. I mentioned to ya that he was messing with a Hollow, right? You don''t think.....?"


    "That he was....absorbing the Hollow''s Reiatsu?" Tessai looked at me. "You know as well as I do what side effects that would cause. Such a thing would not be missed by either of us."


    "Yeah, I know I''m grasping at straws, just...he''s so weird! I can''t ce his Reiatsu at all and it''s driving me crazy. Then I saw what he was doing ''casting spells'' or whatever, did you feel that too? That aint normal the way the Reishi in the air was acting."


    "He exined the process to me in vague detail. I may have an idea of what is urring but I would need to conduct my own tests. I can say that Humans have developed far more than we had thought if what he said was urate." Tessei said in a humble tone.


    "I hate that you''re being so vague on purpose." I grumbled again. "Did it feel like he was holding himself in with you too? Like how one of us suppresses our Reiatsu, but almost like he was holding his breath and it was obvious."


    "I believe I know what you''re talking about." He nodded but didn''t answer in detail. "Have you informed Kisuke about what you know?"


    "Yeah, right." I scoffed. "You know how he is, he can''t let a mystery be. If I told him everything, he''d poke at the kid until either he got what he wanted, pissed the kid off, or the kid split town. Nah, this is mine, I''m not letting him have it. You agreed you''d keep the details to yourself." I looked up at him again. "Right now, all he knows is that the kid is a little odd, so he''s been focusing on carrot head right now."


    "How is that different from what you''re doing?" Tessai questioned.


    "Well, I don''t'' wanna dissect him for one. I like him, he didn''t take my crap and easily gave as well as he took it. I''m curious, yeah, but I''m not gonna strap him to a table and cut him open. And I aint just going to keep proding him until I piss him off like Kisuke probably would."


    Shit, Kisuke has a habit of focusing too much on getting answers to questions he has that he forgetsmon sense. The whole damn mess with that stupid marble of his is one example out of many.


    "I do not believe he poses a threat. The timing is coincidental in my opinion, however unfortunate. We know that Aizen is making moves, and I do agree that Kisuke will not be polite if he believes that Wilhelm-dono may be rted to Aizen."


    "So you''ll keep it to yourself?"


    "Yes." Tessai nodded. "Kisuke already is preupied with other matters, I do not believe it necessary to burden him with something else." He said cryptically.


    Great!


    More for me then, I''ll go bug himter.


    Maybe give him some ''pointers'' on Kid¨­, heh.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    I was in a great mood!


    I got down about half the Kid¨­ I had been left with. Some of them were a little tricky and it was going to take a little bit of effort to master them, but I was making exception progress.


    But I was feeling a little antsy and I didn''t just want to coop myself up for a few days.


    While I was on a roll, I wanted to continue and maybe get some more good luck.


    So, I decided to act on an idea I had the other day.


    Yoruichi told me about Soul Society, but I was a little curious about it and the information I had was miniscule.


    "Hey Ddraig." I said softly, as there was no one around.


    [What?]


    "So...I have a question and I want your opinion. Theoretically speaking, would it be bad If I decided to take a look at this Soul Society?"


    [You''re asking me, a Dragon, for.....moral guidance?]


    "....when you put it like that...."


    [What''s your n?]


    "I just wanna take a peek, maybe look around a little bit after figuring out where it actually is. You know, metaphysically speaking."


    [Hmm, that might not be a bad idea. See if you can easily get one of those swords or whatever, if not, seeing the sights isn''t a horrible idea. As long as you don''t just jump in without looking, I don''t really see a problem with it.]


    Yeah....don''t wanna jump head first without getting my bearings...again. I''ll scope out the situation first before making any moves.


    [How do you n on getting there?]


    "While you were sleeping, I saw something a little interesting." I whistled, walking down the road.


    The sun hadn''t been in the sky for long, but there weren''t many people around. A residential neighborhood with nothing particr standing out, that was unless you had the capacity to see ghosts.


    Hiding behind a light post, there was just a small little girl.


    Younger than Kunou, which did make my heart ache. Probably no older than seven if I had to guess.


    And at her feet was a little memorial.


    Though, the oddest thing about her was the little chain connected to her chest.


    Was this the Soul Chain that Yoruichi mentioned a few times? A difference here than back home. Not that Ghosts were somethingmon back home, but they certainly didn''t have that.


    She didn''t even look startled as I approached. How long had she been standing here, watching the world pass her by, unable to interact with anyone?


    "Hello." I said softly.


    Her eyes immediately dted. "Y-you can see me?"


    "I can." I smiled gently.


    "....no one else can see me." She whispered.


    "Not many people are capable of seeing Ghosts."


    "Ghosts?"


    "You realized it by now, right?"


    ".....mom sometimeses over here and starts crying. She can''t see or hear me." The little girl looked down.


    "I''m sorry." I walked up and gave her what was probably the only hug she had since she had died.


    I felt her head nuzzle into my chest, tears falling down her face. I didn''t interrupt her, I let her spill out all those emotions. I don''t know how long I stayed like this, but being a father of a little girl, I couldn''t find the strength to stop her.


    At the very least, I would let her have a moment of respite.


    It was only when the tears stopped falling and little sniffles were heard that I knew she was done.


    "Feeling a little better?" I gentle rubbed her back.


    "Un." She nodded.


    "Good, you''re a strong girl." I gave her a little reassurance. "How about Introductions? My name''s Wilhelm, what''s yours?"


    "That''s a strange name."


    I let out a chuckle, she probably hasn''t been exposed to western names much at her age. "That''s because I''m only half Japanese, I live in the west. What about you?"


    "My name is Mitsuko."


    "What a lovely name." I cooed, giving her another pat on the head. "Why don''t you tell me why you decided to stay put here instead of moving on?"


    "....I''m scared." She whispered.


    Ah, I can''t fault her there.


    "It is a little scary, but staying here isn''t right. There''s a better ce waiting for you."


    She hesitated. "M-mom said that bad people get sent to a bad ce."


    "Oh? Maybe they do, but why do you think that would affect you?"


    "Mom told me not to y in the street. I didn''t see....I''m bad." She wouldn''t look me in the eyes.


    "You poor thing." I gave her another much needed hug.


    However, looking down, I did notice that the memorial did contain what looked like Shinto prayers, which did give me an idea.


    "Did your mom say that the bad ce was called ''Yomi''?"


    "...yes" She whispered again, a little fearful.


    Ah, Shinto worshippers. Not exactly rare in Japan.


    And she''s probably taking what her mom saidpletely out of context, just as children her age do.


    "I''ll tell you a little secret. I''ve been to Yomi." I gently pulled away, giving her a little boop on the nose.


    "You''ve been there!?"


    "I have, and I even know the person who lives there. You''ve heard of the Goddess Izanami-no-Mikoto, right?"


    "Y-yes." She nodded.


    "I''ll tell you another secret." I leaned in for added effect. "She''s a very nice woman and I''m friends with her. Would you like to meet her?"


    "...really?" She whispered right back.


    "Really really." I smiled, taking out my phone. "Give me a moment, I''ll give her a call." The girl for the first time had a little bit of excitement on her face. Perhaps it was mixed with trepidation, but it was better than a moment ago.


    "Wilhelm?" Izzy''s face appeared on her Kaleidophone.


    "Izzy."


    "Are you okay? I heard what happened."


    "I''m fine, I''ll give you a better exnation when I get back. However, can I ask you for a quick favor?"


    "A favor?" She tilt her head. "What do you need?"


    I knelt down next to the sweet little girl. "Well, little Mitsuko here doesn''t want to move on because she''s a little scared. You see, she thinks she''s going to go to Yomi because she''s been a bad girl." I held up the phone so they both could see each other.


    "Hello, little one." Izzy easily adopted a more motherly tone. "Why do you think you woulde here to Yomi?"


    "M-my mom said bad people go to Yomi. And I was bad."


    "Oh, sweet child. Why do you think you''re a bad girl?"


    "I-I was ying in the street and didn''t see the caring. Now momma cries every day and it''s my fault." Tears swelled up in her eyes.


    "You poor thing. You''re not a bad girl. A bad girl wouldn''t be hurt that their mom is crying. No, you''re going to a special ce where all the good people go, I can guarantee it."


    "Really?" she sniffled.


    "I promise you. And a Goddess always keeps her promise."


    How easily a young girl like her believes our words. Not that we''re lying, but someone older would be much more skeptical.


    "It''s not a scary ce?"


    "It''s a bright and warm ce." Izzy quickly denied. "Look up at the sky, do you see the sun?"


    The little girl tilt her head up. "Uh huh."


    "That''s my daughter''s sun. And that bright and warm light will never leave you." Izzy soothed her. "But you will need to willingly move on, sweetheart. You can''t stay there forever. If you stay, then bad things can happen."


    I didn''t reprimand Izzy nor say anything to the contrary. Even back in our own world, souls had to move on and it did cause problems if they lingered.


    A child needed to be guided with a firm hand, if gentle when needed in a situation like this.


    "Will the monsters get me?" She sounded a little worried.


    Izzy looked at me and I took over. "It''s possible." I didn''t deny it.


    She was talking about Hollows. I''m sure she could hear their roars nearly every night.


    "....okay."


    "Good, you''re a brave girl. You aren''t leaving your mom forever, you''ll see her again." Izzy reassured her.


    I mouthed Izzy a silent thank you with a promise of an exnation before hanging up.


    "Will it hurt?" She looked at me.


    "I promise, it won''t hurt." I reassured her again.


    I mentally reached into my ring and poke the True Longinus.


    It reacted, as if it was watching intently.


    Give me a wisp of your divine power.


    I ushered the presence contained within.


    I could feel it seep out of my ring and gather into my hand.


    The least I could do was give this girl a good send off without any concerns if she was going to be helping me along the way.


    I put my hand atop her head, letting the wisp of his Divine power seep into her. It pulsed, and her figure started to glow brightly. The Holy Power was enough to ''cleanse'' her, to send her soul off to where it was supposed to go.


    "Thank you, mister." She smiled at me onest time, her spirit taking on a life of its own as it condensed and disappeared.


    I felt good for doing a good deed, but there was a secondary objective in doing so.


    "Can you track your wisp of divine power?" I muttered, staring at my ring.


    The Spear sent me a vague sensation that I took for a ''yes''.


    "Wonderful." I nodded.


    Now I just need to track it and I will have the coordinates to Soul Society. Then, I can just take a peek and see what the big deal is.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 366 - 332

    <h4>Chapter 366: Chapter 332</h4>


    I stared at the calctions that were shing across the magical screen.


    Mirage was stabbed into the ground, the Eye of Magnus acting as the supeputer I intended. It was projecting the necessary Calctions around the room. The obscene amount of variables that it was flying through were enough to even give me a headache.


    Could I do it myself? Undoubtedly, but it would take me....days, maybe weeks to aplish with certainty.


    I knew that this world had three major realms interconnected. Hueco Mundo ¨C where Hollows apparently live. The Living world where the main axis of existence gathers. And an ''afterlife'' namely ¨C Soul Society. That being said, there are plenty of minor realms and spaces all interconnected and woven into this world''s fabric of reality.


    Like all worlds, there are these types of things, whether they have significance or not is something I would have to investigate for myself. But for the moment, they were irrelevant and merely acting as annoyances that I had to plot around.


    And to be honest, it was more difficult to find a ce like this than to find a ''world''. A ce like this wasn''t meant to be easy to find or just walk into with a little bit of effort. The rtionship between life and death made it something that the living technically shouldn''t be a part of.


    I wouldn''t quite call it a Taboo, but it''s essentially frowned upon for living beings to interfere in a thing like this as it isn''t really their ce. Sure, I''ve dipped down to Yomi plenty of times, but the circumstances around that were much different.


    And the Soul Cairn was not a proper ''afterlife'' ; it didn''t facilitate the cycle of reincarnation that was intrinsic to the world''s continued management.


    I didn''t n on disturbing the world''s cycle, nor causing any hugemotion, so I was prepared to step over there and take a look.


    Maybe I can barter with someone and get what I want without resorting to.....other means.


    Regardless, it was a thought forter. At the moment, I focused on my Aura as it pulsed out, grabbing hold of the ambient Reishi and reeling it back in so I could process it.


    My soul was filling up little by little. Unfortunately, it was slow going for now, maybe I should redesign this Ritual Circle, I had a little bit of understanding of Reishi at this point, I think I could finagle a means to pull in more.


    Perhaps Tessai wouldn''t mind giving me some pointers in that regard?


    ...but then I would have to reveal some stuff.


    While I was mulling that over, my Aura pulsed out again, but I didn''t drag the Reishi back to myself this time. I reached over, cing my hand on the True Longinus that was next to me.


    It was critical to the whole process that I was using to findSoul Society''s location.


    That wisp of Divine Power dissipated by itself ¨C as intended ¨C but it could.....remember the location after it settled down.


    The Presence was weak within the spear, but it was enough that it was helping me this much.


    In return, I sent Reishi into it.


    The Spear seemed to quite like it, and I could theorize it had a good nourishing effect for the remnant consciousness, simr to those souls that it took in back in the Soul Cairn. Maybe less powerful when equated to the same vague ratio, but Reishi was much more abundant and easily essible.


    I saw it grab hold of the Reishi itself at one point, perhaps to give me a little ''clue'' to its new desire. But I''ve taken over the reins since then. The less effort and power it spent, the better. Not to mention that He dide to my rescue and gave me a moment of respite that I could escape that blow from the Demon before.


    I owed him at least this much and I didn''t mind sharing my gains.


    It was amusing, at this moment, I sorta felt like a Daoist from legends. I obviously took some inspiration from them for a few things, but It wasn''t like I tried to be like one of them. Now that I think about it, there should still be a bunch back in my birth world. Sun Wukong is an obvious example of that whole group, even if he became a Buddhater in life.


    Right, he did mention the Jade Emperor, something I should look into when I get back.


    I wonder how hard it could be to get my hands on a better Peach? I still want to make mine into a Wine at some point. I''ll probably see if Venna can help me with that since she''s experienced.


    My idle thoughts came to a halt as I looked up and saw my Calctions werepleted.


    Weeks'' worth of calctions done in a few hours.


    I more or less had the trajectory that girl''s soul took when it left the mortal ne. Backtracking the wisp of Divine Power, I could follow that path nearly exactly and open a portal to this Soul Society. However, I wasn''t ignorant of how bad that could go, so I had to tweak it slightly.


    I didn''t want to just jump out right in the middle of something going on.


    Once I found the entrance point, I could more or less test the boundaries of that sub dimension and pick a ce more on the outskirts.


    I was still sort of winging it, but with much less risk involved.


    I withdrew Mirage from the ground, the Calctions stored within. I picked up the True Longinus and put it back into my ring. Lastly, I double checked my Bounded Fields to make sure I ounted for this form of Energy. I didn''t want a certain ck Cat to sniff around if something happened.


    Well, there was no point in hesitating. I took all practical precautions, so I wasn''t really scared.


    I stabbed Mirage into the air and shed downwards, splitting time and space.


    Fascinating, I merely saw a rocky teau and nothing else besides some foliage. However, I felt something strange when I looked forward. I reached out and my hand was met with a barrier of energy taking a blue shimmer.


    I gently put my hand on this strange blue barrier. It didn''t budge an inch even when I started putting more force on it.


    Should I use some other method? Would I cause a problem if I got more...physical. I don''t even know what this ''barrier'' was.


    Except...It kind of felt like Reishi?


    Maybe much morepact and consolidated, but Reishi all the same.


    I mmed my foot onto the ground, cracking the concrete. Picking up a small piece, I tossed it at the portal. I watched as it bounced against the strange barrier again.


    I held my finger out and condensed a small lightning bolt and fired it off. It mmed into the barrier and made the barrier vibrate and shudder, but it showed no signs of prating or dissipating.


    Still holding my finger up, I decided to cast something else. "Had¨­ #1 Sh¨­." I intoned, watching the invisible force fire off like a bullet.


    My eyes widened as I saw it go through the barrier without any noticeable resistance whatsoever.


    "Reishi is Spiritual, everything I''ve done so far beyond the Kid¨­ contained the opposite ¨C Physical matter." I muttered to myself.


    Even my Lightning bolt contained magical Energy. I did think it was strange that even my Magical Energy was rejected...but I didn''t have enough data right now to make a conclusion.


    Perhaps.....there is literally nothing there butReishi?


    That just seemed so strange to me. Every realm I''ve been to, it contained many different elements and factors. But if this ce was made entirely ¨C down to the smallest denomination ¨C of Reishi....could it simply reject any attempt at foreign matter from entering?


    It wasn''t some kind of conceptual or metaphysical barrier in the sense that it required a certain key or permission to enter. No, it was literally a wall that didn''t allow physical matter to pass through.....


    Like a massive wall around the realm, nothing living should be able to get in without being a Spiritual being. That is to say, Souls and the like were the only things that could pass through a solid wall of Reishi without problems.


    It made sense if I further thought about it. It required someone with sufficient Reiatsu to even see a Ghost in the first ce. It''s clear that this part of the world is kept separate from the other.


    But.....why did this seem intelligently designed rather than natural?


    Thinking about this, I red my Aura up until it covered mepletely and I let my Reiatsu flow out.


    Once more, I pressed my hand against the little ''barrier'' and it gave way. My hand reached through without any of the noticeable resistance that I saw before.


    How interesting.


    Aura was never my most powerful ability, it''s certainly been a benefit and helpful in nearly every situation. But it seems like it''s showing its true prowess in a world ruled by spiritual power.


    [What''s the game n?]


    "Investigate, look for an opportunity." I replied. "If I can''t find anything good or make any opportunities, I''ll leave and try again some other time. I think the important thing here is to just get my bearings first."


    [Sounds like a n. I''m a little interested in this ce. We don''t'' have this Reishi or whatever back home, it feels kind of strange.]


    "Oh, you can feel it in the Boosted Gear?"


    [I am just a soul at this point, it''s not that weird.] Ddraig replied. [ But I can''t really do anything with it.]


    "That''s not surprising, Dragons are basically just giant clumps of Mana. I don''t doubt you could probably force your way inside even with the resistance we''ve seen, but you''re not an existence that''s regted for digesting this kind of Energy."


    Which begs the question on how the Spear is doing so. I was just chalking it up to his nature as a Divine being behind objectively higher in status than both Magical Energy and Spiritual Energy. Thus, he can treat it differently than Ddraig who is just a big clump of Magical Energy given form.


    I had a feeling I could force through many obstacles if I relied upon my own Divinity here, but in the longer term that wouldn''t be beneficial for me. I needed to figure it out without resorting to the equivalent of taking a hammer to the problem.


    I took a breath, ring my Aura again. "Let''s go." I walked through the portal.


    [***]


    Inded softly onto the dirt ground; sand kicked up at my weight finally touching down.


    There were many immediate things that made my senses confused. My body felt heavy here and it gave a strange sense of vertigo.


    Just taking a few steps forward, it felt like I was wafting through a body of water. It would take some getting used to. However, it looked like my Reiatsu could offset the feeling once it was released slightly.


    In addition, it seems like my hypothesis was correct, I didn''t sense one iota of Magical Energy in the surroundings.


    This ce waspletely and utterly made up of Reishi.


    That means I''ll unfortunately have to rely on pulling Magical Energy from other ces to supply any spells I need.


    If I didn''t have ess to the Kaleidoscope, I would only be able to rely on my own Od.


    Then again, I wouldn''t have been able to get here without the Kaleidoscope, so.....I guess it isn''t that big of a deal.


    As an experiment, I tried releasing some Magical Energy into the air.


    The ''world'' or rather the realm didn''t reject the notion of Magical Energy rather....the Magical Energy seemed to be snuffed out after a few moments. Not an inherent defensive mechanism of this ce, it was like....a me that didn''t have ess to oxygen, it simply couldn''t sustain itself and dissipated.


    How curious.


    I admit to being very intrigued by this phenomenon that I wanted to test several things. Maybe I was being a little hasty, but I didn''t feel any overt danger in doing this little experiment. I held up my arm, and rescinded my aura over a small bit of skin.


    I hummed as I pulled back my Aura slowly over my entire body.


    There were no overt reactions, no weirdws mming down on me for being a living being existing within this spiritual realm.


    Hmm, perhaps it was only important to actually pass through the dimensional barriers? But actually existing here isn''t really the main problem....


    My body still felt very heavy and sluggish though, a side effect I suppose.


    Circting my Reiatsu did alleviate it still, so I wasn''t too worried.


    However, I did keep it at a minimum. It wasn''t hard to find out that these spiritual beings could sense Reiatsu at an extremely sensitive level. I did my best to keep the significant amount of my Reiatsu sealed away from notice.


    [Is this really the afterlife here?]


    "What do you mean?" I asked.


    [I mean....why does it seem exactly like we''re still on Earth...but with just this Reishi everywhere?]


    "A good question." I acknowledge, reaching down and scooping up a handful of dirt. "Feels exactly like dirt." I muttered, letting it fall out of my palm as the wind took it and it drifted away. "Acts exactly like sand. The air is dry, I feel wind on my face, and everything is acting how it ''should'' be...."


    [Is this ce supposed to act as a mirror to Earth or....was it created this way?]


    "Did you have that same thought too?" I furrowed my brow in thought. "This feels kind of artificial in a way. Much different than Yomi or even the Land of Shadows, that''s more of an extension of the greater world in a sense."


    [This Is strange.] Ddraig fully agreed. [Go head towards the buildings in the distance.]


    I looked over to where Ddraig was referring to. There were indeed some buildings I could see a little further away.


    "May as well." I nodded, trotting along towards them.


    My Calctions were on point, because I appeared in an area without any people but close enough in walking distance. The more I walked the more I saw just how massive some of the structures in the distance were.


    On the horizon, I could see some towering white buildings and a huge rock formation that protrude outwards.


    Reinforcing my eyesight, I could vaguely see the people walking around.


    It did make mee to a stop to really look at what I was seeing.


    ....why did it feel like I was in a period drama?


    The people, the clothes, the architecture and the whole ambience. It felt like I was back in Feudal Japan.


    I was going to stick out like a sore thumb if I got closer like this.


    With reluctance, I weaved an Illusion around myself. While it didn''t actually change what I was wearing, I despised looking bad. It was one of my biggest peeves even if it wasn''t something wholly detrimental.


    To try and match what I saw, I sort of donned a weathered and in looking Yukata.


    It was annoying how I had to keep the Illusion up with a sustained amount of Magical Energy because it kept wanting to fizzle out by itself.


    Thankfully, as I got closer, no one really gave me any strange looks. I don''t really stand out besides my Red Hair, but considering some of the differences I noticed with Tessai''s physical features, I was guessing it wasn''t that big of a deal.


    I took a moment to take in my surroundings. Wooden buildings all around me, people in simr outfits walking around. A woman with a basket full of clothes she carried on her head while she held a small child''s hand.


    Another man walked down the street holding what looked like a stick of bamboo with a few fish hanging off of it.


    Arger man walked out of a shop with a pipe in hand, looking disdainfully at everyone that walked by.


    Was I seriously in some kind of period drama?


    Weird.


    And still further off, I could see bigger buildings much farther away. I had yet to even scrape the surface of everything here, this ce was massive.


    However, the sounds of hammering drew my attention as I peered to the side.


    A smithery?


    I wasn''t really here for anything specific other than my vague goals, I didn''t mind taking a look.


    It was just about what I would expect a smithy of this perceived technology level to look like. Walking around the side, I could see the Smith at work hammering away with a forge made of bricks next to him.


    He was hammering on an anvil, some kind of metal that looked like iron.


    Which begged the question.....was it actually iron? If it was made of Reishi, what did this even matter? Couldn''t they shape Reishi differently, why is he going through the whole forging process?


    The more I looked, the more confused I got.


    "What, who''re you, brat?" The Smith turned around, looking at me while I was lost in my own thoughts. "Got something you need? If not, scram, I''m busy."


    "Sorry was just drawn by the sounds of you hammering. Just wanted to take a look." I sheepishly apologized.


    "Hmph." He snorted, setting his hammer down. "Hand me the basket of coal next to you."


    I looked down to see what he was referring to. I shrugged, picking up the basket, bringing it to him. "Here you go."


    He grunted, picking some up, tossing it into the fire that was going on under his forge. "Got any experience working a forge, brat? You here looking for a job?"


    "Uh...maybe?" I scratched my head. Did what I have before count as experience? I knew what to do, and I helped with Mirage, but I wouldn''t call myself an expert. I basically worked the bellows and controlled the messt time.


    "I''ll tell ya the same thing I told them other kids. I aint no charity case, if you don''t got the experience, I aint gonna waste the time to train some brat that''s just looking for some coin."


    Coin? Do they use a mary system here?


    Interesting.


    I was about to turn around and leave with an apology, but he grabbed my hand. He stared at it, then looked at my other hand before giving me an inquisitive look. "Damn those fools. Tell me, brat, how long have you been dead for?"


    "Pardon?" I blinked in confusion.


    "Too pale and delicate to be one of the folks around here. And a Noble worth a damn wouldn''t be seen in what you''re wearing ore around these parts. Only exnation is that you''re a neer but there shouldn''t be any neers in this ce."


    ....was I discovered already?


    "Bah." He grunted, pushing himself up from where he was seated. "Of course you wouldn''t know what I''m talking about." He grumbled again. "Did you just die, son? How long has it been since you''vee to Soul Society?"


    Oh...was he confusing me for a recently deceased? That makes things much easier. "Probably about an hour."


    He looked at me and face palmed. "What''re those damn Shinigami doing." He threw his hands up. "Can''t do nothin right but cause problems round here. I heard that sometimes someone pops up on the edge of towns, didn''t think nothin of it before but rumors. Damn lucky a Hollow wasn''t attracted and came and munched you up."


    "Sorry, did I do something wrong?" I may as well y the part.


    "Nothin your fault. You should havended with the others, then they woulda sorted you to a district somewhere. This aint a ce that neers usuallye."


    "Oh...am I going to be in trouble foring here?"


    He looked at me and sighed. "Let me exin properly, I forgot you''re new. There are something like 300 districts around here that make up the Rukongai. The Rukongai is where us normal folk live waiting for our souls to run out of juice then we pop back through reincarnation proper. At the center of everything, you got the Seireitei where the Nobles and the Shinigami live."


    He paused, as if waiting for me to respond. "Alright, I got it so far."


    "Good, not a dunce like some of the ones who first pop up here. They start screaming about how they can''t be dead and causing a mess. You look like you got a good head on your shoulders."


    "Is whining and screaming going to make someone not dead?"


    He snorted with a chuckle. "Right, a good head. Maybe you''ll end up somewhere good. Since ya new around here, I''ll tell ya the basics. You won''t be getting hungry, which is the only good thing bout this ce. Unless you got a bunch of Reiatsu, in that case, your best bet is to find the sign ups for the Shinigami Academy and hope you get epted."


    "Really? People don''t get hungry here?" I questioned, noticing that foodstuffs were seen.


    "Unless you got enough power, brat. Listen to what I''m saying. That means you got the Nobles and the Shinigami needing to eat along with whatever scraps of people that don''t fall into them groups. This ce here isn''t really a district, sorta an inbetween." He scratched his head. "This ce is for the families working the farms and everything that needs. See here ¨C" He waved his arm. "I make most of the farm tools."


    "Alright, I''m still following." And digesting all this new information, even if it was a little strange.


    "Aint much more than that. The lower numbered districts are better. Usually, the higher the number, the poorer the folks. And the lower ones are closer to the center where the big wigs stay. We''re at the end, which would normally be the poorest lot, but we needa be closer to the farms, you get it?"


    I nodded along and he grunted in acknowledgement. "Don''t mind you staying around, brat. Just don''t be causing amotion, otherwise the Shinigami thate around gonna kick you out cause this ce mostly for the experienced. I was probably a smith when I was livin, holding a hammer felt familiar the first time I picked one up here. Did a good job, got sent over here to keep working under better conditions. Same with some others, and some just got lucky and got grabbed. Most of the folks in the districts know not to mess with us even if they starving or living badly. Shinigami don''t want their luxuries messed with by usmon folk, they won''t be asking any questions. Their des are sharp and their hearts cold. Best remember that, don''t think Shinigami are here to help you if you see any. Duck your head and hope you don''t catch their eye."


    ...so far, this ce doesn''t paint a very good picture of Shinigami or Soul Society in general. This was supposed to be the afterlife, something better than what the living had. So....why did it feel like such squalor?


    The way he described some of the ''poor'' districts....what the hell?


    "Did you say I should go and try to join the Shinigami Academy?" I looked at him.


    "Hmph, better you be one of them than not. All of us with even the barest bit of Reiatsu tried to apply, brat. Best opportunity that anyone around these parts can find. Aint no way no noble gonna sweep us up out of this ce, so we gotta work with what we got."


    "Thanks for helping me, I really appreciate it. Never did introduce myself, you can call me Wilhelm." I didn''t mind giving him my real name, he was being very kind to me.


    His expression softened. "Ah, don''t mention it. All of us were confused when we first got here. Folks round here call me Old Lin." He smiled rather warmly, making me think he was just a big softie at heart. "Tell you what ¨C" He stopped and his eyes widened.


    "Hey, Old man, you better be back there!" A shout was heard from out front.


    "Get into the tool shed, brat." He said in a low voice.


    I blinked, looking around and noticed what he was talking about. He probably had a good reason for telling me that, so I followed his instructions. It was a little weathered and battered, but the inside was a bit clean and contained exactly what you would assume. All manner of tools and farming instruments filled this little storehouse.


    There was a small hole that I could peer through by kneeling down.


    I could see Old Lin tense up and two people walk around the side, their garbs a match for the ones that Ichigo wore so I could put two and two together.


    One of them had his de drawn, and hung over his shoulder like a thug. The other had his sleeves together with a slimy look on his face.


    "Old Lin, you know what day it is." The slimy looking one said in an annoying tone. "Make it easier this time.


    "I aint got no extra money, brat." The Old man growled, walking to the side of his work bench with a small bag. "I''m payin the agreed amount, not a single Kan more!"


    ''Kan''? Is that the currency they use here?


    "Come on, old man, you know the rules. When you take a loan you gotta pay interest."


    "I''m already paying interest! I paid damn near twice what I was lent, take this and don''te back!" He grabbed his hammer and held it up with a snarl.


    "We already told you how much you would owe us each week. No one forced you to take a loan out with the boss." The slimy Shinigami kept that same smile of his. "Pay what you owe, Old Lin, and we''ll be out of your hair."


    "I don''t got no more. You think it''s easy to sell my stuff round these parts?"


    "Then we might have to take a different method of repayment. I''m sure we could sell those tools of your for a nice little sum somewhere else."


    "Go ahead. When the Shinigami responsible for picking up this batch asks me where my quota is, I''ll tell him to go find you!"


    Damn, balls on this old man. I really like him, not taking crap at all.


    The smile on the Shinigami''s face twitched, clearly annoyed. "Careful,moner, don''t threaten a Shinigami. You might lose a body part if you say the wrong thing." For emphasis the thug with his sword drawn licked his de.


    Ew.


    But it wasn''t an idle threat I could imagine.


    "Hmph." Old Lin tossed the bag of what sounded like coins to the Shinigami. "Got some extra iron bars, take''em and leave me alone."


    The slimy one''s expression looked a bit more rxed. "Why didn''t you just say that from the beginning? I''ll have some peoplee by and pick them up, still have some rounds to do with our other business associates."


    He didn''t wait for pleasantries or goodbye, the two Shinigami immediately left and Old Lin slumped in his seat.


    "What was that?" I walked out of the shed.


    "Normal crap we gotta deal with around here, kid. I told you before, don''t be tryin to meddle with Shinigami stuff, they don''t care about us." He sighed, getting up and walking towards me. He grabbed my hand, pushing something metal into my palm. "Here take this, try your luck with the Academy. I don''t got much talent myself, but when I touched ya earlier, I felt like you had more than me and I barely didn''t make the cut when I tried."


    I looked at my palm to see some coins in my hand. They were circr with holes in the middle, very simr to older currency. "What are you ¨C"


    "Bah, just get goin. I''ll tell you where the nearest recruitment ce is. Give them that and they''ll give you a better chance." He grumbled again. "Ya probably don''t know the way, lemme fetch something to give you some directions."


    He shuffled into his little house and I could vaguely hear him start rummaging through some things.


    I looked at the few coins in my hand and squeezed them.


    I was always a sucker for unsolicited good will. He barely even knew me and gave me something like this after getting some apparent loan sharks ¨C in the afterlife ¨C shaking him down.


    I am many things, but unappreciation is not one of them.


    Looking to the side, I saw a stack of bricks that looked exactly like the ones used to make his furnace. I picked one up, feeling its weight, and giving it a little swing back and forth. "Yeah, that''ll work."


    "You say something?" Old Lin poked his head out, a piece of parchment in his hands.


    "Nothing." I smiled towards him, depositing the brick into my ring.


    He grunted, walking over, basically pushing it into my arms. "There, now get!"


    I unfolded the parchment and it was a map ¨C maybe somewhat poorly drawn, but decipherable.


    "I marked it down, now get going and I better not hear from you until you graduate."


    I looked at him again. "Thanks."


    "Yeah, now get going." He huffed, going back to get his hammer he set down previously.


    "Thank you for the kindness."


    He looked at me one more time. "Hmph, this ce could use some more niceties from other people. It''s already shitty enough here."


    Barely a couple hours here and I already didn''t like this ce.


    Walking out of Old Lin''s area, I took the brick back out and tossed it up, catching it as it came down. "Where did those two Shinigami go?"


    [***]


    I hummed to myself, holding up the ck Kimono that was the uniform of Shinigami. "This should be about my size, right Ddraig?"


    [Eh, you can make it work.]


    I looked at it again, nodding as well. "Yeah, I think you''re right."


    Thankfully, I knew how to properly put on this kind of outfit.


    I looked down at the two bodies of the Shinigami I had politely asked for their uniforms from. Granted, it took a little persuasion from my brick, but a few lumps on their heads, and a few smashes of their faces, and they were more than willing to hand them over.


    Well, silence implied consent.


    I don''t think they''ll be waking up anytime soon.


    I didn''t actually know what repercussions killing two Shinigami would have....so they get to live for now. At the very least, I didn''t want to implicate the old man by ident. Who knew if more Shinigami would swarm the ce afterwards and just cause more harm.


    So....good news for them, they get to live. Bad news for them, they''re going to have to exin to whatever superiors they have about their mission uniforms and Zanpakut¨­.


    Oh, and I stole all the money they had. I would be making a little trip back to Old Lin and sneaking this somewhere he could find it.


    Repay kindness with kindness.


    Was I fortunate or unfortunate that these two Shinigami seem to be the absolute bottom of the barrel? I''m talking, they feel weaker than even the supposed ''Substitute Shinigami'' that the orange haired brat.


    I looked at the Zanpakut¨­ in my hand, I tried to push some of my Aura into it, but it gave a simr feeling to the other Zanpakut¨­ I experienced. It didn''t really seem to like me all that much so I suppose I still had to get my hands on one of those Asauchi.


    "W-who are you.....?"


    I paused in my idle thoughts, looking down at the idiot who just woke up, looking right at me. His worlds were trembling, and it was a little funny to see some of his missing teeth.


    Luckily I hadn''t been seen with Old Lin.


    I held my brick up that was only mildly covered in blood. "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo." I smiled before pping it across his face again.


    His body copsed again and I continued onwards.


    [You are a petty asshole.]


    "Yes, yes I am." I fully acknowledged.


    I was still pissed that Hollow died.


    I quickly changed out of my normal clothes and into this ck Kimono, strapping the Zanpakut¨­ to my side before putting everything else into my ring. I basically stripped them of anything of value and left them in this deserted corner. There weren''t any prying eyes around, I made sure of that. Not that it seemed people wanted to mingle with Shinigami, I noticed that when trying to track these two idiots down.


    The people scattered quickly upon seeing a Shinigami it seems.


    Oh well, it works out for me.


    I can''t really attend the Shinigami Academy, I''m sure I''d be found out fairly quickly. So as an apology Old Lin, I got your money back and taught them a lesson.


    First to drop it off....


    I turned to look at therge buildings in the far distance.


    Then I''ll go check to see what that''s all about.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 367 - 333

    <h4>Chapter 367: Chapter 333</h4>


    After getting used to it, I didn''t really mind this Kimono. The uniforms of the Shinigami had a certain appeal, I had to admit.


    It would be better if it wasn''t tainted by the thoughts of those thugs.


    At the moment, I really did not have a good opinion of Soul Society. Was feeling pretty shitty about the whole situation in sending that little girl here. I was hanging onto some shred of hope that maybe this was just an extreme case and it gets better.


    Fingers crossed.


    I''ve walked through what appears to be several of these ''districts''. This ce is absolutely massive, easily millions upon millions living here but they didn''t have high-rise buildings or apartments like they did in the living world. So, everyone was spread out with houses nearly back to back, making it look even bigger from a certain perspective.


    Yet, the vast majority I''ve seen were at best barely above the perceivable poverty line. Granted, my views may be skewed from living in the modern era, but when a significant portion of the people don''t even have simple sandals to wear, there''s a big fucking problem.


    Not to mention that every single look I got was one of trepidation if not outright fear due to the uniform I was wearing.


    Granted, the closer I got to this Seireitei, the less it became obvious. Sure, there was still caution with my approach, but as the area got further in, and poverty got notably lessened with each passing minute, it seems like the sight of a Shinigami wasn''t one of immediate caution.


    I''m not even surprised that the more well off and wealthy don''t fear the Shinigami.


    I could basically scope out theyout so far. This ce was like a giant circle, with Seireitei sitting in the middle. And obviously the better off ces sat closer to the homes of the Shinigami and supposed Nobles.


    It took forever to finally make it, but I could see a sort of.....disconnect from where the Rukongai ends and the Seireitei begins. I took a quick look around, and steadied myself.


    I highly doubt anyone would notice I''m a living being. I mean, how difficult would it be for a living being to sneak into Soul Society in the first ce?


    Not to mention I look exactly like a normal Shinigami and there was no one around to question me.


    Just project confidence and no one will question you.


    I puffed up my chest, and carried myself as if I belonged here.


    [You think this will work?] Ddraig asked, a bit sarcastically.


    Oh yee of little faith.


    "I have absolute confiden¡ª"


    Boooooooom!


    The wind howled, my hair was blown back and dirt immediately flew up all around me. Thunderous and explosive sounds rang out as if something heavy and big hit the ground. Not to mention the shockwave that was sent through the earth in all directions.


    I blinked.


    And I blinked again.


    There was a massive gate a few inches in front of my face.


    .....did it fall from the sky?


    [Absolute confidence, huh?]


    I ignored the dragon, tilting my head up. The Gate was atleast a few dozen feet tall. And not only that, there was now an equallyrge wall that shot off in both directions,pletely epassing the Seireitei for as much as I could see.


    .....I understand why there was a bunch of empty space between these two regions now....


    There was only one thing to do in a situation like this.


    I did an about face and quickly skedaddled.


    [***]


    Well, it was a good thing I took a moment to hide myself, because people started poking their heads out. And not just the residents of the Rukongai. Shinigami came flooding out looking very annoyed. Shoutingmands and such, they started spreading out and searching through the area.


    I don''t know why that massive wall and apanying gate suddenly appeared, but I''m guessing there was some way to detect an intruder?


    "Well.....shit."


    [Just have confidence. I''m sure it''ll work a second time.]


    Fuck off Ddraig.


    Seriously, I didn''t wanna cause a massivemotion, but....here we are. Now....how to sneak in.


    [Have you tried having more confidence?]


    "I hate you sometimes."


    [Do your best, Watermelon! I''ll cheer you on.]


    I let out a long sigh at Ddraig''s snickering.


    Shaking my head, I started walking in the opposite direction of the gate, keeping the massive wall at the corner of my eye.


    It would probably take me a couple days of casual walking to reach the opposite side if I had a straight path, so after a few minutes, I found a rather isted spot behind some house that I could take a moment to step out and inspect the wall properly.


    With another quick look around, I didn''t see anyone nearby so I walked forward and touched the massive wall.


    "Oh, that''s interesting." I muttered, feeling my Aura scatter upon touching the wall. "Complete rejection it looks like." I pulled on my Reiatsu a miniscule amount and pushed it against the stone wall. Like my Aura, it was repulsed without any chance to resist. "Conceptualized Anti-Spirit properties?" I hazard a guess.


    Maybe I was going too far in one direction. It could just be significantly resistant to Spiritual energy of any kind to the point where I would have to bring significant force to ovee it.


    Just to test, I gathered my Aura and mmed my Palm against the wall. I felt a faint reverberation, but my Aura sshed harmlessly before dissipating.


    I clicked my tongue in annoyance and thought of an idea. I knelt down and started digging a hole to see if I could tunnel below. It''d be easy to disce some dirt with a few spells even in this environment.


    However, once I got about a foot down and tried to go under, I met a barrier that seemed to contain the same properties as the stone.


    I had a feeling that this ''barrier'' extended in every direction and the Stone structure in front of me was more a solidified conceptualization rather than the whole of the barrier itself. Maybe it anchored the effects around itself, but the stone walls themselves were not the entirety of the barrier.


    [Just fly over.] Ddraig grunted.


    "Fly over?" I responded. "I''m pretty sure they wouldn''t overlook such a ring issue if there''s even something stopping me from underneath."


    [No you idiot. You said this thing probably rejects are spiritual stuff. You''re a living person, why would it stop you?]


    ".....I would have had this thought after going through my own tests."


    [Whatever you say.]


    Gods, he''s going to be so smug about this if it works.


    Despite what he said, I wasn''t going to fly over. That would require my Wings making an appearance, and I don''t want that kind of attention if I was seen.


    No, I just Reinforced my Leg and jumped upwards,nding at the very edge of the wall''s top. Literally an inch forward and that shimmering field of energy made an appearance.


    Looking around, this was definitely a good angle to view what was going on down there. This ce looked like an old Japanese style castle in its architecture. Walls that went every which way forming almost like a maze, and an uncountable number of buildings set up everywhere.


    I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going for now, so here was as good a ce as any.


    I pulled my Aura in as tightly as I could. My Reiatsu was also reeled in as best as I could manage even if I was still not too familiar with this type of energy I could somewhat manage this much.


    Without a second thought, I took a step forward and harmlessly passed through the barrier.


    I chuckled at how simply I overcame it.


    There wasn''t really much me that could be ced on these people. How likely was it for a living person to evene here? I had to jump through several, almost, paradoxical loops to do so. I''m sure they''re only defending against the likes of Hollows or some rogue Shinigami.


    I just shook my head, taking another step forward and dropping off the wall onto the other side.


    Landing on my feet was no arduous task, even from this height. I simply dusted myself off and was about to set off, but I paused, looking up to see another pair of eyes not far away from me. A Shinigami was literally stepping out of the nearby building right as Inded on the ground.


    "Carry on." I nodded to him, turning and walking away.


    [Nailed it.]


    "Hold it!" I mentally groaned as he shouted towards me. "I saw you jump down from the Seireiheki!" I turned to see him pointing at me sternly. "State your name and Division!"


    "Uh...Division....Eight?" I offered. I mean, there''s the number eight sowed into the inside of this Kimono, same with the other one so....I''m assuming. "And the name''s Kurosaki Ichigo." I made sure to add on.


    He looked at me for a moment before abruptly drawing his sword. "Surrender yourself, Ryoka!" He shouted. "I am the Ninth Seat of Division Eight. I order you to stand down!"


    Just my fucking luck. Of course, the random Shinigami I run into is from the Division I just blurted out.


    "I think there might be a misunderstanding here." I held my hands up, taking a few steps towards him. I''d rather he don''t keep shouting and potentially drawing more attention.


    He held his de up in a stance, looking noticeably timid. "If you won''t surrender, I''ll be forced to take action!" He dered, raising his sword up as if he were going to attack me.


    Well, this is going nowhere. "I''ll surrender peacefully. But can you answer one question of mine?"


    "What are you ¨C"


    "Have you ever been hit in the face with a brick before?"


    "What¡ª"


    My trusty Brick covered the distance in the blink of an eye, mming into his face, knocking him down for the count.


    He didn''t really seem that experienced or powerful, really. Honestly, from what I''ve seen so far, it seems like the lower end Shinigami are something like canon fodder. Or maybe I''m just overestimating Shinigami in general?


    But then again, I met Tessai who gave off a much different feeling. He was actually powerful, I could tell that much. And Yoruichi was able to slip through my perception multiple times, that''s not something a mook could do unless I was being very careless.


    I needed to find my bearings, just wandering around was going to do me no good with such a massive ce.


    Let''s see if I can''t get some information from the next person I run into.


    [***]


    "There he is!"


    I ground my teeth, leaping up to the nearby building and getting out of sight.


    These Shinigami, like fucking ants that don''t stop crawling out of the woodworks.


    They could at least treat a guest more politely.


    How many did I have to beat up with my brick so far?


    Funnily enough, they''re calling me Ichigo at this point.


    Heh.


    "He''s over here ¨C"


    I threw my Brick again, smacking another in the face who spotted me before he could alert the others.


    Why was I still using this Brick? I honestly couldn''t give a valid reason. I think that maybe I was just annoyed enough at this ce that I was taking my frustrations out this way.


    Why is there poverty in fucking heaven!?


    It was a sentence that should never have been even conceived.


    My Brick demands answers.


    Watching a dozen or so run past and turn the corner, I breathed out a sigh of relief. It''s not that I was being pressured, but I didn''t want to instigate things any further by causing actual damage. At this point, there''s probably only a couple dozen or so Shinigami suffering some headaches that some quick healing will fix.


    And asking any of them anything is like pulling damn teeth. They''re all so damn stubborn and won''t give me any information. Not that I''m going to torture them or anything, but it''s like asking them what color the sky is and they''d refuse to answer.


    And every Zanpakut¨­ I''ve run across so far was already ''imed'' and was useless to me.


    I was starting to get kind of frustrated.


    Was like searching for a needle in a haystack. I suppose I could just cast an illusion over myself, pretend to be one of the Shinigami that I knocked out. Maybe find the nearest headquarters and go from there.


    It was a good thought, but it got pushed to the side as I felt a weight descend on me.


    A foreign Reiatsu enveloped me, pushing down violently.


    It took me by surprise more so than actually made me stutter in my steps. It was definitely a significant weight that descended, enough to make me cautious, but I didn''t feel like I was pinned against my will. Someone was watching me, and it felt like they were giving me a warning...?


    No, I felt the sensation drag away as if to lead me somewhere...


    Well, I can''t say I don''t enjoy a polite invitation.


    Whoever was doing this, it was obvious the path they were telling me to take, I could practically taste the Reiatsu they were throwing out as I came upon arge building with a sign in front that read ''Division Eight Barracks.''


    I didn''t realize how close I was to something like this, I guess it makes sense considering all the Shinigami I''ve had on my tail.


    I pushed open therge doors at the beckoning of the Reiatsu that was continuously pushing down on me. And as soon as I stepped forward, it dissipated nearly instantaneously.


    I was greeted with a strange scene. A man was sitting at a small table on the ground, a bottle of Sake and two cups ced on it.


    The man looked up with a hazy expression, clearly having been drinking for a bit now. He wore the standard Shinigami attire, but there was also a white haori, but it was covered by a second haori decorated in pink and with flowers. And there was a sugegasa straw hat atop his head.


    "I''ve had a couple reports about my subordinates being sent to Fourth Division for treatment. Something about head injuries?" He looked at me. "You wouldn''t happen to know something about that, would you?"


    I looked at him, then down at my brick that still had some blood on it, then back at him. "Nah, It must have been someone else."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 368 - 334

    <h4>Chapter 368: Chapter 334</h4>


    I looked at this strange man as his face twitched into an amused gin. "Stranger from far away, why don''t youe and enjoy a drink with me? I can offer a cup of sake to a guest."


    [Looks like someone was found out.]


    "I guess trying to convince you that I''m a Shinigami won''t work?" I walked over.


    "It might, you never know." He shrugged.


    "In that case, I''m definitely a Shinigami." I said without a hint of shame.


    "Oh, and what division are you from?" He asked, still amused by the conversation.


    I pulled open Kimono slightly and looked inside. "It says Eight on it, so I''m assuming the Eighth Division."


    He snorted, looking like he wanted tough, but kept a straight face. "As the Captain of the Eighth Division, I think I would know who is under me."


    "Do you?" I took a shot in the dark.


    "He doesn''t." A woman stepped out from the side, mming a door behind her. She wore a wooden badge on her arm that read ''Lieutenant''. She could easily be called a beauty with a very cold and neat appearance. She was rather cute, pushing up her sses with a stern look.


    "Nanao...." He whined in front of her. "Of course I know my subordinates. I memorized all their names."


    "Name Five." She said evenly. He opened his mouth but she interjected again. "That Aren''t women."


    "...." He coughed awkwardly. "Wee to the Eighth Division, friend." He turned back towards me."


    Well, he seemed easy going. I took a seat opposite of him at the little table. "Jokes aside, what gave it away? Was it my dashing good looks?"


    "Yes." He replied without a second thought. "The Old Man won''t let me only recruit women, so I made sure that all the men under me won''t bepetition." He nodded sagely.


    ".....I respect your wisdom."


    "Ohoh, I appreciate the praise." He grinned.


    "Be serious!" The woman next to him smacked him on the back of the head. "You both arepletely shameless."


    "She''s cute when she gets mad." I pointed out.


    "Haha, she''s the jewel of our Eighth Division." He chuckled, not disgruntled at her antics.


    "Why did I let you convince me to not report him?" She facepalmed.


    "Don''t be like that Nanao~" He took a sip of his Sake. "Technically, we haven''t been ordered to capture any nefarious Ryoka."


    "And I''m a Shinigami." I pointed out.


    "Right, he''s a Shinigami." The Captain in front of me nodded.


    "....do you think that excuse will work with the Captain Commander?"


    "....I''ll worry about thatter." He shivered slightly.


    "There were a bunch of Shinigami moving with a purpose earlier. Were they not trying to capture this supposed handsome and charming intruder?" I asked, a little curious as to what was actually going on.


    "This always happens when the wallse down." He hummed, taking another sip. "It doesn''t happen that often, but we have to treat it as an invasion regardless. Most of the time, it''s one or two naughty kids from the Rukongai that get too close to the Seireitei and cause themotion."


    That sounds like a headache.....


    Though, it would probably make for good impromptu drills when it does happen.


    "However, if we discover an intruder, we''re supposed to report it immediately." The woman next to him huffed.


    "Well, it''s a good thing I''m an official Shinigami, and certainly not someone who snuck in." I helped myself to a cup of Sake he poured.


    "Haha, it''s a good thing, you''re right. Otherwise, I''d have to arrest you." He chuckled. "Thankfully, none of my subordinates were killed or hurt too bad. I don''t think I could share a cup of Sake with someone who really harmed them."


    Ah, he was being kind because I was soft with them, huh. Despite smacking them around, there wasn''t really any overt harm. Especially since they are spiritual beings, a few hits on the noggin aren''t going to cause any major damage.


    "It seems like this invader isn''t the type to just wantonly ughter, so you won''t have to worry about your subordinates around here turning up dead. He won''t kill anyone." I casually took a sip.


    "Good, good." He smiled gently before turning a little dark. "I would hate to have to hunt down the one responsible."


    I raised an eyebrow at his Reiatsu leaking out slightly. "Scary."


    "Haha, well, I don''t prefer fighting. Why not sit down and discuss our differences over a nice cup of sake?" Heughed happily.


    "I can''t say I disagree." It was a refreshing mindset to have.


    "However, I am a little curious. An idle thought, I hope you don''t mind helping me."


    "I''ll do what I can to help my captain." I responded rather cheekily.


    "The thing is, I''m wondering where someone would be able to get ahold of one of my Subordinates'' uniforms. And possibly ¨C one of their Zanpakut¨­."


    "Hypothetical speaking, someone might have ran into a couple of thugs shaking down some poor people in the Rukongai."


    "I certainly hope they aren''t dead. Even if my subordinates need to be justifiably punished, I can''t allow someone who murdered them to walk around." His smile disappeared.


    "I wouldn''t worry about that." I waved off his concern even if I already said I didn''t kill anyone. "They should probably being back soon, having to exin why they lost their uniforms and swords."


    He pulled down his hat a little, his cheery expression shifted again. "I see. In that case, I''m sure I''ll seek out a very detailed exnation about what they''ve been up to."


    Hmm, maybe all Shinigami aren''t bad after all? I can''t say I''ve interacted with them enough to form an opinion exclusively on one way or another.


    "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! Where are my manners." His cheerful expression returned quickly. "Captain of the eighth Division, Shunsui Ky¨­raku. And this is my Lieutenant ¨C Nanao Ise." He gestured to the woman standing at his side.


    Though, she stayed silent, ring at him the entire time. I had a feeling she didn''t quite approve of how he was apparently handling my ''presence''.


    "A pleasure." I would be polite as well. "You can call me Kurosaki Ichigo. I sometimes like to dye my hair orange and I prefer that people know my name means ¨C Strawberry."


    [You''re a special kind of petty.]


    Oh, what''s the worst that can happen? I''m just having a little bit of fun. In the worst case, someone gets confused.


    [Whatever you say, Watermelon.]


    The corners of his lips twitched. "I have a feeling you aren''t being truthful."


    "I swear on my honor as a Shinigami." I said withplete seriousness.


    He threw his head back, letting out augh. "You''re an interesting kid." He calmed down again, pouring himself another cup. "If you don''t mind me asking, how''d a human end up here?"


    "What?!" His Lieutenant blurted out, her expression shifted. "How can he be a human?"


    "Ara, Nanao, you''re good at sensing Reiatsu, don''t tell me you didn''t notice it either." He said calmly.


    "But..."


    "Oh, you''re pretty good. What gave it away?" Was there a point in keeping this game going?


    "It wasn''t hard to tell, your Reiatsu isn''t concealed very well. I''m sure if any other Captain got close, they''d notice too. Though.....your Reiatsu is really strange, I wasn''t sure you were human at first."


    "....It shouldn''t be possible for a human toe here. Not unless they had outside help." She looked at me strangely.


    "There aren''t many ces I can''t go." I smiled towards her. "Don''t worry, no one helped me. There isn''t some kind of conspiracy going on that you have to worry about."


    "Are we just supposed to believe that!?"


    "I believe you." The Captain said casually.


    Nanao sighed in exasperation.


    "Honestly, I just came to take a look around." I revealed.


    "Oh, and what do you think?" He asked.


    "You want my honest opinion?"


    "Honesty is better than false ttery." He nodded.


    "This ce is a shithole."


    "Pfft." He nearly choked on his drink. "Guess I asked for that. You did say you were in the lower districts of the Rukongai."


    "The Seiretei is nice, I can admire that it''s elegant and refined. There is definitely a regal air to this ce. But you literally have to take a step outside to see the huge contrast. I heard this was supposed to be heaven. In which case, I''m severely disappointed, because in Heaven, a good amount of people can''t even have shoes."


    He scratched his cheek awkwardly.


    I don''t think he expected me to be so tant with my grievances about this ce.


    "Your Sake isn''t bad though." I decided to change the subject. From the look he had, he seemed to genuinely feel bad about what I said. I have no idea what kind of responsibilities he has, so I don''t know if I can hold that kind of thing over his head. "Not the best I''ve had, but it has a unique vor."


    "Hah, I don''t have any of the good stuff right now. I''ll need to wait until we get our annual budget before I can sneak some more." He chuckled.


    "What was that?" His lieutenant red.


    "You misheard me." He coughed awkwardly.


    "Well, you''ve been courteous and treated me like a guest despite how I....arrived. I don''t mind sharing some of my own with you."


    "Oh?" His eyes brightened up.


    "Though....can you digest stuff from the living world?" The question popped into my head. A Servant can, they convert everything they digest into Magical Energy. "As a Spiritual being I''m assuming all sustenance is converted into your internal Reiryoku? Does that also apply to stuff from the living world?"


    "Don''t worry, we can handle living stuff fine."


    I shrugged, looking through my ring and deciding on a couple things. "I have a thirty year old Brandy here, how about it?"


    His eyes sparkled as I took it out. He didn''t even question from where, his eyes focused solely on the bottle in my hand. "A rare surprise." He pped his hands. "It''s hard to get that kind of thing even when I go out to the living world."


    "Consider it a token of thanks." I handed it over. Politeness should be returned with politeness. He shared his Sake with me, so it''s only right. "And an apology."


    "An apology?" He stopped looking at the bottle in his arms.


    "I may have lied a little." I gestured, holding two fingers a little apart. "I said I only came here to look around. I may have had another agenda."


    He put the bottle down to the side like it was a priceless treasure. "As long as it''s not against thew....I don''t mind lending a hand to a friend."


    "How difficult would it be to get my hands on an Asauchi?" I questioned, cutting straight to the point.


    "An Asauchi?" He repeated. "Do you want your own Zanpakut¨­? Humans can''t develop one, you''ll just be wasting your time."


    "Eh, I just want one to have it." I may have fibbed a little bit more.


    He scratched his cheek again. "I actually don''t know if it''s against thew or not to give one to a human. None have evere here asking." He paused, looking up to Nanao. "What do you think?"


    "I think the Central 46 will get angry if you let it happen." She said evenly.


    "Ooh." He smiled meekly. "That wouldn''t be good."


    "Well, then on apletely unrted note. Would there happen to be a ce where one could acquire an Asuachi?" I shifted my question slightly.


    "Do you really think ¨C"


    "The Academy." Captain Shunsui immediately replied, cutting off his subordinate. "Did you know that every Shinigami gets their own Asauchi at the Academy? They keep about a Hundred spare ones there between each new shipment from what I know."


    His lieutenant face palmed again.


    "Uh,huh." I nodded, somewhat knowledgeable about this, if vaguely. "And if someone wanted to find this Academy, say, from the Eighth Division barracks?"


    "Then one just needs to head south, it''s hard to miss."


    "Wonderful." I smiled, sitting up from my spot. I was about to say something, but I caught something out of the corner of my eye.


    A strangely colored butterfly flew over, the others noticed it too.


    The Lieutenant held her finger out and itnded on her. She looked at it intently, as if she was listening to something.


    "Captain." She breathed out, the butterfly flying away. "New orders."


    "Oh?"


    "We''re to capture any Ryoka we find." She looked at me. "It''s an order straight from the Central 46."


    I blinked at the new development. "What was that?"


    "A Hell Butterfly." The Captain responded, pushing himself up to his feet. "It''s how we Shinigami send and receive orders from different ces. It''s hard to send runners when the Seireitei is so big."


    "Oh, I suppose you''re going to try and apprehend me then?" I crossed my arms.


    He smiled awkwardly. "I really don''t want to. I prefer to not fight if possible, but a direct order is a direct order, even if I feel like my honor is a little muddled after sharing a drink."


    "Can I ask you something?"


    "It would be rude of me not to answer at this point." He chuckled sadly.


    "Why didn''t you just do this from the beginning? I''m all for the peaceful method, but I did beat up some of your division."


    "Allegedly." He pointed out.


    "Allegedly." I chuckled.


    I couldn''t help but like this guy, his personality is very easy to get along with.


    He let out a sigh. "They''ve been getting fat andzy recently. I''d rather they learn a lesson now when their lives aren''t threatened than step in every time." He replied. "As for moving myself, I considered it. But I don''t think a bad person would willinglye share a drink with me, so I was fine leaving things as they were. I''ll try to put in a good word for you. I think worst case, you''ll just get kicked out of Soul Society if I can convince the Old Man."


    "That''s kind of you, but I don''t think I''ll be getting caught just yet." I nced at his Lieutenant.


    "Nanao, would you please stand back."


    I gave him a thankful nod as she retreated a fair distance away.


    I held my hand out, letting Mirage appear between my fingers.


    "Is that your sword?" His eyes narrowed.


    "Mirage." I said rather proudly. I always did like showing off my treasures. I gave it a little swing for him to see, the shimmering and colorful air that pulsed around it.


    "Hoh." He tilted his hat down. "I''ll reply then." He grabbed the two swords at his waist. "These are my Zanpakut¨­."


    "I didn''t know that you could have two." I looked at him with interest.


    "It''s rare." He grinned. "I''m only one of two."


    I gripped Mirage but... "My heart really isn''t in this fight." I admitted feeling a little twinge of heistance. I''m all for a good fight, sparring and such. But this was him being forced under order from above and it felt bad. "How about we y a little game instead. A wager?"


    "A wager?" He perked up.


    "If I lose, I''ll surrender quietly. If you lose, you let me go?"


    He took a moment to mull it over. "I can give you a head start."


    "That works too."


    "What do you have in mind, I can''t guarantee I''ll agree."


    "I bet I can make you drop your swords with three words."


    He looked at me with amusement again. "Sounds fun. Alright, I''ll give you a shot."


    [You''re a sly bastard.]


    I couldn''t help but grin. "You ready?"


    "I''m curious what you''re going to say that''ll make me drop my swords." He chuckled.


    "Zun Haal Viik!" As soon as the words left my mouth, the world shifted. Even in this realm, the Divine Words echoed out, reverberating through the air.


    His eyes widened as the weapons in his hands were already flinging through the air. His swords were no longer grasped, because thews of the world decided so.


    "....well yed." He acknowledged, letting out a breath. "Go ahead, I''ll pretend that I didn''t see you yet."


    "Weird, you sound sort of happy when you said that." I looked at him.


    He chuckled again. "I''m not a stickler for the rules like some of the others." He walked over, picking up his swords. "Be careful, most other Captains won''t y around like I did. And one or two...well, you''ll find out that there are in fact fates worse than Death."


    "Already figured that you after seening the Rukongai." I deadpanned.


    He let out a snort ofughter even if it was sort of self deprecating.


    I gave him a nod of thanks before heading out.


    He was already being very kind to ignore a supposed order and let me walk away. I didn''t want to hang around and push my luck any further.


    But now, I have a direction to go for my goal.


    I can practically taste my new Zanpakut¨­.


    [***]


    Shunsui Ky¨­raku POV


    "Was that a wise decision?" Nanao looked at me.


    "I''ll probably get an earful from the Old Manter." I walked over, picking up the bottle of brandy.


    Haven''t had some of this stuff from the living world in years, what a good opportunity this turned out to be. I pulled off the cork to give it a whiff. "Oh, that''s high quality."


    "Is this really the time to worry about drinking again!?"


    "Eh? It''s never a bad time for a drink." I shot her a grin.


    "Why''d you let him go? You could have easily subdued him." She growled.


    "Do you think so?" I asked her.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "I won''t deny that I wasn''t ready to give it my all. But....don''t you think there was anything strange about him?"


    "....there was something oddly familiar I felt, but....."


    "Did you sense his Reiatsu shift when he did whatever he did at the end?" I asked her again, pouring out some of the brandy into one of my cups.


    "....no."


    "Right, it didn''t involve Reiatsu at all. And before you ask, I didn''t let him win. You know howpetitive I am when ites to games like that." I took a sip, savoring the vor as it went down my throat. "That kid has some tricks and was confident enough to walk right into our home. Could have just been arrogance, could have not been. He didn''t have any bad intentions, so I didn''t wanna make an enemy if I didn''t need to."


    "How many of our people were sent to the fourth division for treatment?" She countered.


    "If they can''t handle a kid swinging around a brick then how are they supposed to handle a Hollow?" I looked up at her. "I wasn''t kidding y''know. I''d rather they learn a lesson now rather thanter." That, and he didn''t beat up any of our precious flowers, otherwise I''d have taught him a lesson.


    "....how do you know he doesn''t have any bad intentions? There were a lot of red gs around him."


    "I think I''m pretty good at reading people." I poured myself another cup. "....and I felt kind of bad about what he said. Maybe I was just trying to change his opinion of us."


    A human visitor from the living world calling ''heaven'', as he put it, a shithole. It was hard not to take that personally and feel some kind of responsibility.


    "I''ll look into anyone who''s causing problems in the Rukongai." She pushed up her sses, face darkening.


    "Scary Nanao is scary." I chuckled. "Feel free to go after them as hard as you want, you have my support."


    "How long are you going to let him run wild?"


    "Run wild?" I rubbed my chin. "It might be fun to watch everyone scramble after him. I don''t think any of the other Captains will make a move until he really lights a fire under us. Though....I may step in if Mayuri gets.....interested."


    He seemed like a good kid, and I wouldn''t wish the treatment of the R&D division on anyone.


    "I''ll tell Ukitake to watch out for him too."


    "You can be surprisingly soft hearted some times." She shook her head. "You''re right...there was something strange about him."


    "Eh, let someone else handle him. We can watch from the side lines and step in when he gets caught. I don''t think the higher-ups will be too hard on him, he''s just a kid ¨C a living one at that. With the amount of Reiatsu he has, he''ll end up as one of us eventually, we can just keep an eye on him and wait until then. I don''t think they''d wanna lose out on a potential Captain for the future."


    "Potential Captain?"


    "He didn''t release his Reiatsu, but he wasn''t very good at hiding it. That much for a human? Even if there were some strange things about it, that''s going to only get stronger when he dies. That should be enough to convince the Old Man to be lenient. And it doesn''t hurt to have some outside contact for different things."


    "....you thought this through, that''s even more surprising."


    "Sure, Ipletely thought it through and didn''t just make that all up on the spot."


    "....I take back what I said, you''re shameless. No wonder you got along so well with him, he''s just as shameless as you are."


    "Thanks for thepliment." I chuckled.


    "I''ll be watching our budget when we get our annual funds." She huffed. "Don''t think you can sneak some away this time."


    "Whatever you say, Nanao-chan~"


    Heh, she doesn''t know that I already got the annual budget and took some funds out.


    Though, I''m curious what that kid wants an Asauchi for? I wonder if those old guys will have a heart attack if he somehow manages to turn it into a Zanpakut¨­.


    I can only hope.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 369 - 335

    <h4>Chapter 369: Chapter 335</h4>


    "Excuse me, is the Academy this way?"


    A Shinigami barely acknowledged me. "A little further down, keep going straight." He held some documents in his hand, looking over them. He paused, looking up at me. "What, who are ¨C"


    Ah, he noticed me.


    "Kurosaki Ichigo." I pped him in the face with my brick.


    Gently.


    He hadn''t wronged me, so I wasn''t going to be putting lumps all over him like a couple of idiots in the Rukongai. But it was enough to let his body flop to the ground, unmoving.


    I hummed as I continued going, snapping my fingers to take on the appearance of the guy I just knocked out. I carried him a little ways behind a few corners and set his unconscious body down and went on my way.


    Since I was actively being searched for, this would probably dissuade the lower end of the Shinigami here. From what I''ve recently learned, my Reiatsu is unique enough that I stick out like a sore thumb if someone gets close enough.


    What is ''close enough''?


    I have absolutely no idea, but that Captain noticed me from a fair distance away and it sounded like he''d been watching me for a little while at that point.


    I tried my best to pull down my Reiatsu and beat it into the furtherest corner of my soul, but it felt like I was just taking a hammer to a problem that requires a more delicate touch.


    I would see If I could get some pointers from Tessaiter so I didn''t stand out too much. There was still so much I was ignorant about that I needed information on, but for now, I was so close to my goal!


    Ducking my head, I made it look like I was engrossed in some paperwork as a small group of Shinigami ran past me.


    Where they were going, I had no idea but presumably, they were probably going after me back where I was a while ago.


    Maybe one of the many Shinigami that had an unfortunate run in with my brick was discovered.


    Who knows.


    Regardless, I perked up when I turned another corner and found a building that looked more unique than the hundreds I''ve passed so far.


    While not out of style with the overall architecture, it was clearly made to be differentiated on sight. It was pretty darn big, having that Edo-Period castle motif but still retaining a sort of modernized school look if you squint your eyes. It had a few different floors I could see from this angle and arge wall that epassed it.


    Thankfully, there didn''t look like there were guards or anything of the sort. Which....isn''t that surprising, it''s a school for apparently training Shinigami. It probably would be low priority for any kind of invader, not needing any major resources to rebuild if they had such a gigantic pool of iing students to continuously choose from.


    I perked up, looking at a few students walking in the open courtyard. How did I know they were students? They were wearing slightly different uniforms than a standard Shinigami. A handful of students and I could more or less gleam the differences. Women apparently wore white and red, and men wore white and blue.


    With a flick of my wrist, my illusion shifted to amodate this new appearance.


    I admit to being rather excited.


    I wasn''t ashamed to admit that I was a bit greedy. I don''t think I crossed any abhorrent lines due to it, but everyone knows I like to....collect things. At this point, I don''t know if it''s my Draconic nature or my Devil nature. Regardless, those feelings were roused once more at the prospect of having a Zanpakut¨­.


    My Zanpakut¨­.


    I wanted to add it to my collection in addition to actually having one to ess for power purposes.


    With a pep in my step, I walked past the threshold of the academy. The atmosphere here was rather casual even if there was a little bit of a manhunt going on outside. I suppose it would be irrelevant to them, the higher-ups wouldn''t be sending random students out there for something like that.


    Thankfully, there didn''t seem to be anyone of noteworthy strength here because I walked right in and wasn''t osted after wandering around for a few moments. I think if someone noticed me, in a situation where I ¨C an invader ¨C was around students, they would immediately move to apprehend me.


    That is to say, I also didn''t let my guard down. It would be a dreadful time to lose out on my goal because I gotzy.


    And no one gave me any second nces, which was good. I did follow along with a group going in a random direction. They seemed to enter a ssroom, or a better description was a lecture hall reminiscent of what I was used to.


    Massive rows of desks ascending with a podium and big chalk board at the bottom and center for everyone to see.


    I ducked out before getting noticed. Didn''t wanna get called out and forced to sit through a lecture and waste my time.


    Now, if I were an Asauchi, where would they keep me?


    Presumably, they aren''t that....valuable to someone other than myself. It looked like every person walking around here had a Zanpakut¨­ so clearly they''re handed out rather early into their academic studies. But at the same time, they can''t just beying around the ce.


    Really, they would probably only be valuable to the people in the Rukongai, but to get them, someone would have to first be epted into the Academy. And at that point, would they really waste their opportunity to leave that wretched ce just to sneak out some swords?


    So....my first thought was the training grounds I peeked at when I was passing through the halls.


    That makes the most sense to me, perhaps a storehouse where they keep extras or something along those lines.


    I continued to hum to myself as I found some stairs to make my way towards the open fields opposite the entrance I came in from.


    Immediately, I was greeting with a resounding explosion. I perked up and rxed for a moment as I was a fireball-like spellunched off towards the side wall and at a target. It was a little off course, hitting the wall before dispersing.


    There were several students lined up practicing Kid¨­. It reminded me of an archery range with how they were all set up.


    I did walk behind them to get a close look.


    "O Lord, Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter wings, you who bears the name of man, inferno and Pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, March on to the south!" A girl raised her palm up towards a target a fair distance away. "Had¨­ #31 Shakkah¨­."


    A red light erupted like a ball from her hand, flying fast towards a target. It mmed into it, explosive with a distinct amount of kic force and erupted into a fiery explosion.


    That was not one of the Kid¨­ I am familiar with.


    Number Thirty One, was it?


    ....I shouldn''t get distracted.


    A Zanpakut¨­ takes priority.


    However, I noticed something interesting out of the corner of my eye. Behind the students there were tables and seats set up, and there was a book just sitting there. Granted, it''s not a ''book'' like I''m familiar with in this day and age, but parchment bound and tied like you would see in the olden era.


    I looked back and forth to see if any eyes were on me before walking by and grabbing it.


    Yoink.


    And I slipped it into my kimono.


    I kept walking until I left this area with people practicing Kid¨­ and moved towards the adjacent field. Once I felt I was in the clear, I took out the book and looked at it, a big grin quickly forming on my face.


    I flipped over a few pages and I couldn''t help but cackle ever so slightly.


    It was a list of instructions for Kid¨­ up to Number Fifty.


    What a good find!


    I assume this was some manner of ''text book'' or the equivalent that you would find here before it was very coherently written and seemed very streamlined rather than notes or something someone wrote up randomly.


    In any case, this was a big windfall and I was ecstatic to start practicing it when I had time.


    I gently put it away in my storage. And I was certainly in a very good mood at this point and I had yet to eveny my eyes on my new sword!


    What a good day this is turning out to be.


    Speaking of swords, I could hear some sounds ofbat nearby. I peaked around another corner and saw a few students sparring with wooden swords, others swinging their Zanpakut¨­ in practiced motions. And other simple training methods were going on.


    I didn''t really wanna go rummaging through every building nearby, but I had a sneaking suspicion my goal was close.


    I tapped my chin, Reinforcing my Eyes to look around. The only thing that immediately stood out was a smaller building that had a noticeable iron-looking lock on it.


    Well, If I were a betting man.....


    I casually walked around the perimeter to not get into the immediate vicinity of anyone else, making my way to what I was assuming was a storage shed nearby.


    Walking up to it, the lock looked rather mundane in nature. I didn''t feel any spells intertwined with this ce so I''m guessing my first assessment on the ''value'' of these swords was spot on if I''m correct.


    I grabbed hold of it, Reinforcement filling my hand. I squeezed it slowly, not to make a huge racket, but until it loosened and popped out enough that I could twisted it and undo the lock that was holding the door shut. It seemed old and undisturbed like it hadn''t been used it awhile, so it was rather easy to break.


    I took one quick nce around and no one was paying attention to me, so I slid it open and sneaked inside.


    My eyes immediately lit up and I had to hold back augh.


    There were probably a couple dozen swords just haphazardly thrown in here along with a plethora of other things that were not very tidily kept. Honestly, there was dust all over the ce and even the lock looked a little bit rusted.


    I wonder if this building was justpletely forgotten, because it was clear no one had been in here for awhile.


    Walking up to the nearest sword, I grabbed it and I felt something interesting.


    Even with the ''stolen'' Zanpakut¨­ I had on my hip, I could faintly feel that was.....taken. There was an imprint on it already forming, a sort of rejection of my own energy. I could maybe corrode it or rece it with my own with a lot of time and effort, but that felt utterly wasteful and too much effort.


    That being said, this sword I now held in my hand was nk. Completely and utterly nk inparison and it felt strangely familiar to hold.


    As my Aura ever so gently flowed out and enveloped it, it seemed to eagerly ept my touch.


    "Since you''re the first one I picked up, let''s call it fate. You''ll be my new Zanpakut¨­ for now on." I looked at it happily.


    I don''t know if there is any special meaning in picking a specific one or not, but this one is my pick.


    On the off chance that these things are tracked or something, I would just keep my own for now. In the future, it shouldn''t be too hard toe back if I have the need for others for whatever reason.


    They might get a bit more pissed if they found out I had dozens rather than just one. Lets keep the greed to a minimum while I''m still ignorant of the world for the moment.


    But that didn''t mean I wouldn''t see If I could find anything else of note.


    There were a few boxes and I blew some dust off of.


    Opening one up, it was old uniforms and I pushed it to the side. Another one had what appeared to be old books. That piqued my interest.


    The first one at the top was barely held together, clearly having been weathered while stored here. I flipped a few pages and it also had some Kid¨­ written down in it. I shrugged, stuffing it in my ring with the other.


    However, the vast majority of the remaining ones appeared to be about Zanjutsu, or Swordsmanship.


    It was a little interesting, showing basic forms. I''m guessing that''s what they were practicing outside and what they mainly teach in regards to sword wielding here.


    I pocketed a copy of that as well.


    There was onest book that caught my attention, different from the others.


    "Hoh¨­ ¨C The Art of Movement." I read the cover of it before skimming a few pages. And based on that alone, I''m suddenly remembering a very smug cat that could move in some strange and ridiculous ways. "Now, isn''t that interesting."


    I dly pocketed that as well. It would be something I look into and see if it could be beneficial.


    Standing up, I realized that I seemed to have obtained everything I set out on getting here. However, there was one little thing I was curious about that hadn''t been mentioned anywhere that Tessai told me.


    Wasn''t there a branch of Kid¨­ that focused on healing?


    I hadn''t seen anything thus far referencing that particr branch. I should give a look around here to see if I can find anything interesting about it.


    And didn''t that Nanao Ise mention their injured members being sent to the Fourth Division for treatment?


    Would it be a bad idea if I popped over there and took a look before going back if I can''t get anything else?


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 370 - 336

    <h4>Chapter 370: Chapter 336</h4>


    I didn''t just rush over when the idea popped into my head. I''m more than aware that I have a tendency to tunnel vision things when they pique my interest, but I was being somewhat careful here. And the obvious first move would be to check the Academy I was currently at to see if they had any information on this healing Kid¨­ variant.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t seem like the Academy had any viable information.


    I did find a library! Or the equivalent of whatever they would call it here.


    Tons of books.


    I may have taken a few.


    But the best I could find was some vague mentions of it and how if someone wanted to learn after mastering basic Kid¨­, they would apply for the Fourth Division after graduation. So my current hypothesis was that it was something like Medical School after basic College Education. Something that requires specialized learning be it hands on or just academic knowledge that they weren''t really able to teach in this kind of environment.


    It made sense, I suppose. I think the students here spend like six years, and that involves learning how to kill soul eating monsters effectively. Which would be their main priority in every circumstance. Those predisposed to the healing arts would be small in number and not something they''d want to spend too many resources and time teaching if 99% of the graduates aren''t going to properly learn it.


    Or I could be wrong, that happens sometimes.


    But finding a few books that would give me some context for several things I was wondering about would be helpful. And Jinn is always thrilled when I bring things of this nature back for her. If nothing else, seeing her happy would make it more than worth it.


    Besides that though, I finally have my own Zanpakut¨­!


    It''s hard to find the correct words to describe the feeling of getting a treasure I''ve been yearning for. I allowed myself to indulge in it, making sure I reced that other guy''s Zanpakut¨­ and putting my own at my side.


    My hand never left the hilt for as long as I had been walking through the Seireitei. Which, hadn''t been long, but I was still happy after gaining it that I was still in high spirits after leaving the Academy.


    I continued to feed a strand of my Aura into it, letting that be a bridge for my Reiatsu to also envelop the sword.


    It wasn''t hard to imprint on it, actually it was very easy. But beyond the very basics, it didn''t seem to change in any noticeable manner. I wasn''t in a hurry, but it was worth noting that it would take awhile to achieve any sort of progress that I was looking forward to.


    Do you feel anything strange, Ddraig?


    [Since we''vee here, I can sort of feel your soul better. I think as you''ve been taking in this stuff, it''s been affecting me, but not enough to see how yet.]


    Interesting, very interesting.


    Since you''re not panicking, I assume it''s probably good?


    [I don''t panic. And yeah, it doesn''t feel bad, so I haven''t really been fighting it. As for your Sword, I think there''s the tiniest bit of a resonance forming, but it''s still miniscule.]


    Hmm, that''s about what I thought.


    Keep an eye on it, please?


    [No problem, it''s more interesting than just sleeping.]


    There is the thought about what would happen if you started taking in Reiryoku as well. Would you be able to exist outside of the Sacred Gear if you got enough? The nature of your existence sort of requires a physical body as you''re a clump of Magical Energy at your basic. Soul notwithstanding, obviously. But you''re not a spiritual being, thus, being only a soul is hazardous if you wanted to continue existing normally.


    [For all my power, I wouldn''t be able to live without my body from before. This thing is as much a prison as it is life support.] Ddraig sighed. [You''re right, I''m a physical being. I can''t just live with only a soul. But maybe you''re on to something. That bastard in the spear is sucking the stuff in at every opportunity, maybe I should take a page out of his book.]


    I don''t mind sharing some with you, see how it goes.


    [...thanks, I appreciate it.] He grumbled. [And are we going to keep ignoring that you''re being followed?]


    Eh....I was letting it go for now. Kinda wanted to see how this would y out. I don''t mind bailing at the drop of a pen if things go sideways.


    [Sure, this isn''t like that situation with the Demon. I doubt anything here can actually interfere with your Magic. I wouldn''t mind seeing some more stuff here myself, so stick around as much as possible.]


    Well, if you''re interested too, yeah, I really don''t mind investigating a little more. I wanna check out the Healing, as was obvious, but other than that, I had no objective.


    [Their Healing has to be soul based, you don''t really have anything good like that.]


    True, very true.


    That was one of my thoughts as well. Nearly all of my healing is based on the physical body. Spiritual Healing is....rare, not something I''vee across in my own travels. Maybe Gramps knows something, but I haven''t asked him. The closest I''ve had ess to is Avalon, and that doesn''t actually heal souls. The situation with Kunou was only that the energy that invaded her soul and such was antithetical to Avalon, so it was able to safely remove and purify her.


    I guess it isn''t wrong to say that Avalon has a spiritualponent by virtue of its elevated existence, but that is not its intended purpose.


    [After receiving a shock from that Demon''s attack, I''d say that anything would help.]


    You said you''re doing fine now, right?


    [Yeah, just some aftershock, not really a big deal. Trust me, you would know if something was actually wrong cause the Boosted Gear would probably break apart. Prison and Life Support, as I said.]


    Noted.


    [....can you just confront him? I''m getting second hand embarrassment at his attempts to tail you.]


    Don''t be mean, Ddraig, he''s clearly trying his best.


    I pretended not to notice a ratherrge body peering around the corner.


    ....but I guess I shouldn''t try to sneak into another Division Headquarters while someone is obviously on my ass.


    The fact that a Captain would be by was enough to make me cautious, I didn''t need this happening.


    I looked around, and found a nice little ce out of the way. I let out a grunt, pushing off the ground andnding atop a building that was a little off the beaten path.


    Y''know, it was actually a nice view. Despite some of the manyints I''ve had about this ce so far, the Seiretei was actually kind of beautiful.


    Though, the mood was ruined when I felt a presence looming behind me. It was apanied by a discement of air, like a loud one. Yoruichi inparison was like a little squeak, while this one was like thunderp.


    Skimming that book on movement, I could guess that it was pretty standard for Shinigami.


    And Like....a big shadow was blocking the light and I think he was breathing out of his mouth. If the other signs before weren''t very obvious.


    Honestly, I just had to tilt my head back to see him looming there.


    "So you finally noticed me." The big guy announced, sounding all too pleased with himself.


    "Yeah....sure." I turned around to actually face him.


    I admit, my first reaction was to introduce him to my lovely brick. However, I was curious about something and was going to see if I could prod him into showing me it.


    "How unfortunate for you to appear before me, Ryoka." He looked at me and it was unnerving.


    Not because his strength was....threatening, no.


    I don''t think I''m one to usually insult another''s looks in earnest, but in this case....I am a little speechless. He had a veryrge body, and perhaps a bigger head than he should for his size. Combined with oversized lips, oversized nose, and eyes that lookedically small on his face....yeah, I was having trouble finding the words.


    "Growing up must have been hard on you." I said with full sincerity.


    He blinked and it just made it worse.


    And that just makes an awkward silence between us. Honestly, I think he was going to do some postting, but now he seemed confused.


    "How unfortunate for you to appear before me, Ryoka." He seemed to just reiterate.


    "....didn''t you appear before me?" I questioned.


    "An unfortunate twist of fate." He continued.


    "...alright, just ignore me."


    "I am not without Mercy, Ryoka." He said arrogantly. "I will count to ten, so you have some time to properly regret running into me."


    [....Get the brick.]


    "I have the brick." I affirmed, taking it out of my ring.


    "....Why do you have a brick?" He looked at me, blinking again.


    "Probably to finish the job someone already started on you." I gave it a few swings.


    He quickly shifted into a scowl. "My generosity is misced. Then I will defeat you swiftly and receive my due praise after turning you in."


    He took a step backwards instead of actually doing anything. Except as soon as he moved he disappeared with that same sound of air being forcibly disced. He was now several yards away from me with a cocky grin on his face.


    He took another step forward and disappeared again, appearing at my side, then the other side. Switching around a few times. It wasn''t like I couldn''t keep up with him, but if he wanted to give me a first hand look at his movement technique, I wouldn''t say no.


    "As expected, a mere Ryoku cannot keep up with my Shunpo. You probably cannot even see me, your eyes unable to grasp me as my mastery of Shunpo is beyond yourprehension."


    [Fuck it, brick him. Brick him hard.]


    Patience, Ddraig.


    "Enough ying around." He stated, using his burst of speed to appear behind me, his sword drawn. "I will end this in one strike." He swung down his sword in such an obvious manner.


    All it took was a side step, but he demolished the building as his de collided with it.


    I didn''t get caught up in the ensuing copse, opting to slip off andnd safely on the ground.


    Admittedly, that was impressive strength. In that, I didn''t think he could do that if I were to be honest. My spiritual senses when ites to Reiatsu isn''t as refined as I would like it to be. He seemed weak, and well, he was weakparatively to the Captain I encountered.


    Yeah...Shunsui was significantly stronger, and it even felt like he was holding himself back substantially.


    "Impressive." He dered, pushing away rubble from the small building, climbing out of the remains. "Was it fear of death that allowed you to transcend your limitations to avoid my sure-kill strike? I will apud your survival instincts."


    [Oh my god...]


    I was a little distracted because the spear reacted when Ddraig said that.


    "I will allow you to know my name." He puffed up, really sounding proud of himself. "I am Jir¨­b¨­ Ikkanzaka. I am known as Kamaitachi Jir¨­b¨­!"


    Oh, he has an epithet. I mean...It isn''t super edgy....but kinda t. Kamaitachi is a type of Youkai, a sort of weasel if I recall correctly. I think they have something to do with wind maniption?


    "Kurosaki Ichigo." I introduced myself as well.


    [Yeah, you sure introduced yourself.] Ddraig said dryly.


    "Hey." I leveled my brick to him, ignoring Ddraig. "I heard Shinigami have positions in their divisions. Where do you stand?" I wouldn''t mind getting an idea of their general power level based on position.


    "I am the fourth seat of the Seventh Division." His pride shined brightly.


    Interesting...


    "And I also heard that Shinigami can ¨C" What word do I use to sound like I''m ignorant? "¡ªTransform their swords? Can you do that?"


    "You wish to see my Shikai." He grinned. "Very well, I will allow you the privilege to see why I am known as the master of projectiles and am called Kamaitachi."


    Well, I thought it would take more goading, but he seemed....eager.


    He ced one hand at the very tip of his de, palm pressing down. "p away ¨C Tsunzakigarasu." The words left his mouth and I felt a shift in the air. I felt something odd spread through and my Soul sort of....heard the name as well. It had weight to it, strangely enough.


    His hand atop his de mmed down. It reminded me of those false des that copsed into themselves. However, he pushed fully down until his palm pressed against the hilt of his now deless weapon.


    Immediately, they appeared. Little dual de flying objects all around him. They spun in the air and I could imagine that they were razor sharp.


    I could also feel him more predominantly as well. His Reiatsu spiked up a couple times, I could easily tell that he was at least two times stronger than he was previously.


    Was this the supposed Shikai?


    It had that kind of strength increase by just releasing it? Then what about Bankai? What kind of monstrous strength would someone gain by using that?


    Obviously, I didn''t consider him much of a threat, but if that kind of build up transferred the same to someone of more stature ¨C like Shunsui, then I can''t really take Captains lightly.


    This made me even more excited for my own Zanpakut¨­.


    "No one who has seen this has even lived to talk about it. You may rejoice for falling victim to it as well."


    And my rampant thoughts were pulled back at his arrogant tone once more.


    I inspected his des and counted thirteen of them spinning around.


    Well, I think I''ve seen everything I''ve needed to. "I have a question, if you don''t mind."


    "Oh? Very well, I will answer yourst request."


    "How did you know I was the ¨C Ryoka?" As they seemed to be calling me.


    "Your description was given to every Division, along with knowledge of your strange Reiatsu." He replied. "Are you satisfied? Allow me to send you on your way."


    "Apologies ¨C"


    "You have sullied the Honor of the Court Guards; no apologies will suffice.""


    "You misunderstand. I''m apologizing because I lied to you before. About the reason I had a brick, that is." I held it up for him to see. "The real answer is that I thought it would be easier to sneak into the fourth division if I brought a patient with me in dire need of treatment."


    He did sound rather proud of his supposed ''mastery of projectiles'' or whatever other nonsense he spouted a moment ago.


    Well, allow me to reciprocate.


    My swords shot out of my ring. His own little des flew towards me, like little propellers that sliced through the air. However, my swords were not normal by any means, and honestly, his des looked a little fragile inparison.


    Mirage, Dawnbreaker, Whisper, Ascalon, Sword of Destruction. They collided with them quickly, shattering the flying des like they were made of cheap materials. They continued to swing out, slicing through others, and smashing the rest.


    It didn''t take much, merely the blink of an eye before it began raining little pieces of his Zanpakut¨­.


    However, there was one left as it came towards me. That was kind of intentional.


    I drew my own Zanpakut¨­ and swung it forward, encasing it with my own Reiatsu to the best of my ability. It collided in a ringing of steel, sending his little flying de to the ground, shattered.


    I turned my attention back to him. He stood there, stiff, visible sweat dripping down his forehead and mouth hanging slightly ajar.


    My swords floating next to me a little protectively as I took a step forward. He followed suit, taking a hesitant step backwards.


    "Hey, thanks for the information. But I have one more question for you."


    "....what do you want?" I could see him nce around as if he was about to bolt.


    "What''s that on your face?"


    "What ¨C"


    "My Brick!" I shot forward with a burst of speed. It wasn''t a movement technique like he had, just pure physical prowess on my end that allowed me to catch his face with my brick, pping his body to the ground with a loud thump.


    [Satisfying.]


    Indeed. Now, why don''t we ¨C


    "Ughh..."


    "Huh, I guess you are tougher than that other lot." I looked down at him, still conscious. "Oh well." I pped him with my brick again.


    [***]


    [Do you really need to lug him aground?]


    "He was helpful." I replied, grunted as I adjusted the massive man I was holding over my shoulder. "I got to see a Shikai being released, which was extremely beneficial. And, I can use him to sneak into the Fourth Division without trouble."


    And seeing his movement technique was interesting, as was his use of Reiatsu inbat. Honestly, I got a lot of good data from that exchange. Which is why I let him prattle off as I did, otherwise he would have gotten a brick to the face much sooner.


    Admittedly, I''m happy I got to swing my Zanpakut¨­, even once.


    [You''re lucky they had a map at the Academy. This ce is so confusing.]


    "It''s probably intentional. Even in the olden days, the construction of old Castles were made confusing on purpose for invaders to get lost and to better defend."


    But, the Fourth Division should just be up ahead. It''s close to the center, for the obvious reason that everywhere else is equally close to the healers if needed. It would be kind of weird if they shoved it in a far corner.


    [How do you expect this to work? That guy even said that your description is basically everywhere now. Not to mention your Reiatsu Sticks out like a sore thumb.]


    "Listen Ddraig, you need to have confidence. Just act like you belong, and everything else will follow."


    [Right, cause this will definitely work this time.]


    "It might." I shrugged. "Worse case, I run away cause I''m pretty much done here."


    [....true.]


    Speaking of, that should be it again. The big ''Fourth Division'' sign on the building and what looked like ... were those nurse uniforms?


    Nice.


    No one spared me a second nce as I walked past the archway and into therge courtyard. Hell, I saw several eyes on me, or rather the body I carried over my shoulder and there was more of an eye roll to apany it than anything else before focusing on their own tasks.


    Maybe my Reiatsu was obscure due to how many people were probably here?


    I walked up, about to pull open the door before someone else mmed it open.


    A bald-headed Shinigami walked out in a huff before he paused, looking at me nkly. "IT''S YOU!"


    [Well done.]


    Fuck off, Ddraig.


    "Can I help you?" I looked at him in confusion, trying to y it off.


    "Haha, Came here to ask those idiots about you, and here you are! Great!" He looked...excited.


    "Ikkaku, what are you yelling about?" Another Shinigami walked over, looking a little bit more mboyant with some interesting hair extension on his right eyebrow and eysh. He then turned to look at me with surprise. "Oh...."


    "I think you have me confused with someone else...."


    "Red Hair, weird Reiatsu." He snorted.


    "Do you think there aren''t other red-heads here?" Actually, were there?


    "The description is spot on. It did portray the Ryoka as rather handsome." The mboyant one stated.


    "Wait, really?" I maybe preened a little as he said that. "...It''s nice to beplimented then."


    [Wow, just.....admit it to their faces with a few honeyed words.]


    Listen.....I''m a sucker forpliments.


    "They didn''t say how well taken care of your hair was. What product do you use? I might get some the next time I''m in the human world."


    "That''s kind of you to say. I put a lot of effort into making my hair this full and healthy. It''s nice to get some recognition. If you want, I can write down what I use." I offered. "Oh right, the name is Kurosaki Ichigo."


    "That was also written in the description." The mboyant man chuckled. "You can call me Yumichika Ayasegawa. Fifth Seat for Division Eleven."


    "Well, it''s a pleasure to meet someone who shares my same interests in hair care products."


    "Unfortunately, I have to deal with this." He gestured to hispanion who looked to be steaming in annoyance. "No one else in my division cares about their appearance like I do. It really is unfortunate."


    "Are you done!?" The Bald headed one shouted at hispanion. "I''ve been itching for a fight since the walls dropped down. Let''s get started."


    ....huh, he seemed pretty intent on fighting me.


    "...Did I beat up one of your friends? Is that why you''re wanting to fight me?"


    "Nah, I just wanna have a go at someone with the balls to invade." He grinned. "Only came here cause I thought some of the weaklings would know something so I could find you."


    I blinked, then turned towards Yumichika. "A battle maniac?" I questioned.


    "We all are." He confessed easily. "Division Eleven is where the ones who like fighting go to."


    "Oh...interesting." I''ll just file that away for now. "You don''t seem to be biting at the heels for the chance."


    "I already gave up my chance. Though if you manage to beat Ikkaku here, I don''t mind taking my turn. I''d hate to cut up that handsome face, but it can''t be helped." There was a sharp edge to his tone.


    "Enough talking, lets fight!" The bald-head named Ikkaku shouted again, his Reiatsu erupting around him. "Ikkaku Madarame, Third Seat, Eleventh Division!"


    I tossed my littlepanion to the side, his big body rolling across the ground a few feet as I was about to ready myself to engage him. I didn''t mind having some more data from apetent looking Shinigami. And this one felt much stronger than the big idiot.


    However, a very cold presence washed over the surroundings, making not just me, but everyone else freeze.


    "Excuse me." A soft voice muttered, and a figure appeared behind them and I hadn''t even noticed until she had spoken. "I believe you just said you''re going to fight in my healing barracks?"


    I saw their eyes widen in horror as they turned around.


    There was a woman standing there, ck hair done up in a braid that went down her chest instead of behind her. She wore the standard Shinigami uniform, but had a white Haori covering it.....like Shinsui did under his flowery one.


    "Uh...we were..."


    "You were leaving, yes?" She smiled gently, however, it seemed to contain a bite of bloodlust.


    "The Ryoka, we were¡ª"


    "You were leaving." Her eyes narrowed slightly; her gentle tone betrayed the very cold air that she exuded that seemed to prick my skin.


    "We were just leaving, Captain Unohana." Yumichika smiled forcibly, grabbing Ikkaku who had sweat streaming down his face.


    The mboyant Shinigami practically dragged his bald-headed friend away and out of the courtyard, leaving me with an apparent Captain within arm''s reach.


    "Now, you." She turned to me with that sharp tone. It was gentle and pleasant to hear, but I felt a little shiver as her eyesnded on me. "Are you here to cause problems in my healing Barracks?"


    However, that smile of hers, it reminded me of Sc¨¢thach. One that promised excruciating pain, and enough power to back it up.


    "....cute." I unintentionally blurted out.


    She looked at me, that cold chill and hint of bloodlust dissipated quickly, reced by one of bewilderment and possibly a hint of...embarrassment?


    I coughed awkwardly, clearing my throat. "Sorry, I didn''t mean to just blurt that out. You just have a beautiful smile, and I couldn''t help it."


    ....was it my imagination, or was she looking slightly bashful?


    [Wow, it''s justpletely unintentional for you, isn''t it?]


    What?


    [Just....forget it.]


    What did I do?!


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 371 - 337

    <h4>Chapter 371: Chapter 337</h4>


    She looked at me but sorta....not at me. Like she was avoiding my gaze for some reason.


    ....I think I made things awkward.


    [You think?]


    It''s not like it wasn''t true....


    "Um....hello." I offered.


    Her attention snapped back, focusing on me with a stern look. "Why have youe here?"


    I nced at the body I brought with me. "I''m doing my civic duty and attending to the wounded."


    She too looked at the twitching body with an overly swollen face that seemed to be crying a little bit. Huh, did he wake up at some point? I didn''t even notice.


    "He was like that when I found him."


    Shen then looked back at me with a nk expression.


    I, of course, gave her my most charming smile.


    She closed her eyes, letting out a cute little sigh. "Bring him in." She turned around, reentering the building.


    [For a moment I thought she was going to kill you.]


    No way.


    [It really felt like it.]


    Nah, I''m too charming.


    [Sure....let''s go with that.]


    You''re just jealous.


    [Pfft, right. Are you going to ask this one to step on you too?]


    Listen, I don''t expect a Dragon like you to understand my tastes.


    [Actually, Ipletely understand.]


    "Really?" I blurted out, grabbing the leg of the wounded Shinigami as I dragged him into the building.


    [I was a young dragon once. And Tiamat, well.....]


    "....respect."


    [....I don''t know if you''re being sarcastic or not.]


    Oh no, I''m beingpletely genuine.


    [Why does it still feel like an insult?]


    Rude.


    "So....where do you want me to put him?" I asked the....Captain? As I looked around. "And it seems like everyone disappeared in a hurry." I could have sworn there were dozens and dozens of people out and about here before.


    The Captain looked at me and at the Shinigami again. "....put him on an empty bed."


    I shrugged, moving him towards the closest one and hefted him up. There were a few dozen around the room that made up this area. "I hope I didn''t scare away the medical staff."


    "They know to evacuate when the members of the Eleventh Division make a ruckus." She said simply. "And I do hope you will not be following in their footsteps. My Barracks is not a ce for conflict, are we clear?" She red at me.


    "Yes, Ma''am." I shuddered at the look she gave me.


    "....very well." She seemed to ept my response, walking over to mister ''projectile master'', taking a look at him. "His wounds bear striking resemnce to dozens of others that were admitted to my barracks." She turned towards me.


    "How strange." I looked away. "I wouldn''t know anything about that."


    "Are you here to cause problems?" She eyed me suspiciously.


    "Not at all." I quickly denied.


    "Then why are you here? Why would a Ryokae to this ce within the Seireitei?"


    "I.....just wanted to see what your healing arts looked like." Was there any point in lying?


    "You....wished to see our healing arts?"


    "...is that strange? The idea that Spiritual beings have a healing system itself is something interesting, I just wanted to get a look at it." I replied.


    She blinked, shaking her head. "Even in Soul Society, those who pursue this path are....few."


    "That''s stupid. If everyone got some kind ofpulsory education in Healing, wouldn''t survival rates skyrocket? I can''t im to know much about how you all handle Hollows, but based on a few I''ve run into, they aren''t really the cream of the crop when ites to potential. I can imagine that there are a noticeable amount of deaths every year from fighting Hollows."


    It''s even amon practice for every Magus to have some method of healing. Granted, mostly for oneself, but even so, it''s the height of foolishness to not be at least capable of keeping yourself alive with some minor healing until you can procure a higher level of treatment.


    Hell, even Rin picked up some manner of healing when she was basically teaching herself as a kid.


    She looked at me strangely before the corners of her lips slightly curled. "There are no rules against a Ryoka watching." She said simply. "This is far from secret information."


    "Thank you." I was not ungrateful for this opportunity.


    "There is no need to thank me, I am merely doing my job. If we were not within the Healing Barracks, I would be obligated to catch you. However, I cannot put my patients at risk by fighting here." She softly replied, pretty much exining the current situation.


    "And it''s not Ryoka. " I corrected it. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service." I politely bowed.


    [Right, so you give your real name to the beautiful woman.]


    "But if anyone asks, please tell them I said my name is ¨C Kurosaki Ichigo." I added with a grin.


    [There it is.]


    She tilted her head looking slightly amused. "Captain of the Fourth Division, Unohana Retsu." She responded courteously.


    "So, how does this healing work?" I pped my hands happily. "Everything I''ve read has been very vague on the subject."


    "The concept is simple, but the practical applications make it a difficult art to master." She replied softly, moving towards the guy I brought in.


    Her hand glowed in an ethereal green light. I could sense the Reiatsu of hers moving in a way I hadn''t seen so far.


    I quieted down and let her work, as I took note of every thing I could see.


    "You''re refilling his Reiatsu." I finally realized.


    She looked a little surprised. "You noticed the first step. However, there is a slight problem, it appears his Zanpakut¨­ is still released and thus draining his Reiatsu at a steady rate."


    "An obvious offset for the increase in strength." I muttered, withdrawing where I stored his Zanpakut¨­, or rather, where the hilt of it remained. "Do you need this?"


    "Thank you." She nodded, thankful, taking it from me as sheid it on his chest. "Thankfully his release is not too difficult to undo. The spirit within should understand what I am trying to do and assist me." She stated, moving her hands as that same ethereal light shined.


    The sword on his chest glowed as his Reiatsu swirled and condensed back into the form of a normal katana.


    "His Reiatsu should refill now without problems, however, I''m curious how that trantes into healing." I continued to watch.


    "It is natural for one''s Reiatsu to reject another if I directly tried to interfere with their ''body'' even if it was to heal them. However, refilling their Reiatsu is much easier to aplish. And once their own Reiatsu is full, I can then use mine to guide it to heal them properly." She exined as his body began glowing and her hand moved up towards where he was harmed ¨C his face that is. "This is the most simplistic method of Kaid¨­. There are other methods and spells that exist within this school of Kid¨­, but this is the most basic."


    "You said this is the most Basic?" The whole concept did seem simplistic on the surface. And that mostly had to do with the fact that they possess spiritual bodies.


    "That is correct. While simple, this method does require a thorough understanding of Kid¨­ arts before mastering. And there is the drawback of requiring spending one''s own Reiatsu to refill anothers. The healers here tend to have above average Reiatsu in general, which makes it difficult to require promising healers. We have developed spells and such that provide a more direct healing method, but this one still remains the cornerstone of our division."


    "Still, it seems like something that long lived people like Shinigami should pick up as mandatory, especially if there are other techniques based around this. Even if they''re bad at it, it''s better than absolutely nothing." I shook my head at the weirdness of Shinigami. It seemed likemon sense to me, but who knows.


    As I said that, the big guy started looking much better. His swollen face returned to....normal. At Least I think it was normal, it was hard to tell.


    "I have brought up simr proposals in the past. It is unfortunate that many do not share such a view." She rescinded her healing and pulled her hand away. "Are you satisfied?"


    "If I say that I am, are you going to chase me away?" I questioned.


    "Your curiosity should have been satisfied. You no longer have any reason to linger within my Division."


    "Maybe I just want to enjoy yourpany?" I returned, earning a slight reaction from her, and it was rather cute. "However, at the risk of sounding like I''m trying to make excuses, I do have a question, if you would indulge me. But I don''t want to put you in an awkward spot....."


    "....Very well, follow me." She stated, turning on her heels as she headed further inside. "I have a few more patients to check as I finish my rounds."


    "...do these ''other'' patients of yours suffer from...simr afflictions." I winced as I entered the next room with her, recognizing some of them.


    She turned to look at me. "It would seem so." The dry tone was clear.


    "Would it help if I apologized for giving you more work?" I offered.


    ".....It would be the first time in many years that someone has done so." She seemed a little taken back before shaking her head. "What is your question?"


    "Does this healing method work for living beings?" I may as well get straight down to it.


    She perked up slightly. "Are you interested in learning?"


    "I can''t deny that I''d like to learn it." I would always wee an increase in my repertoire.


    "....It takes years of dedicated study. I''m afraid it is not possible. And I do not believe you are long for this ce. Even if the higher ups have not made any overt actions, the longer you stay in Soul Society the greater chance that they will consider you an eyesore."


    "It sounds like you''re worried about me." I hummed, eyeing her expression, though she didn''t react again.


    "It''s not the first time we''ve had Ryoka ''invade''. We''ve had rebellions, Hollow Attacks, and even attempts to overthrow the Central 46. It''s clear that you''re not here to harm anyone. And I''m aware that no one has died due to your actions, so our response has been minimal. However, that may change if you continue to linger."


    "Don''t worry, I''m unparalleled when ites to running away." I shot her a smile.


    And it took me by surprise, because she held a hand up to hold over her mouth and let out the most adorable giggle. She quickly regained her earlierposure. "I am not entirely sure if a Human can learn Kaid¨­ or not." She stated, turning it back to the previous subject.


    "Oh, I guess we can set that aside for now. But with regards to living beings, would it work on a Human? It seems very tailored for Spiritual beings."


    "It''s moreplicated, but yes. Kaid¨­ can be used to heal a Human as well." She nodded, working on the first patient that was unconscious in the nearby bed.


    "But how would that work.....Spiritual beings are made up of, well, Spiritual materials. Whereas a Human body is physical. It makes sense how a Spiritual being can be healed through that method, but how would that trante to a Human.." I pondered the question, speaking my thoughts out loud. "Unless....memories of the soul? You use your Reiatsu to stimte a human''s soul that remembers how their body is supposed to be in an optimal state and it in turn stimtes healing physically?"


    She paused, looking up at me, clearly startled "That is a nearly perfect description. I thought you said you were not knowledgeable of Kaid¨­?"


    "Well, no, but I''m a Magus. I practice Magecraft, I''m adept at simr things and working through it isn''t too difficult." I briefly exined. "What an interesting Concept, one I wouldn''t have normally considered. Would.....It would be remiss of me to ask for a demonstration...?"


    "You want a demonstration?" She stopped again. "You don''t look injured."


    I drew my Zanpakut¨­ and in one swift motion, sliced my palm open.


    However, she frowned when she saw me. She took steps towards me with that same look. "Do not harm yourself in my Clinic." She glowered.


    "....apologies, that was rude of me and I got overly excited."


    Her expression softened as she reached out and grabbed my hand. "Your enthusiasm for the healing arts is.....refreshing." She smiled softly. "But please remember that this is a ce of healing, for the future."


    I did quickly pull back My Aura and everything else, but.....


    "Allow me." I said quietly, cing my other hand over hers and it became enveloped in my own golden light.


    She was startled briefly, but then she looked rather interested as she watched.


    Well, I felt bad, I didn''t want her to clean up my literal mess after I made a fool of myself.


    "I know some healing myself, though it doesn''t touch the Spiritual Aspect." I stated, the Golden light rescinding.


    She turned over my palm, the cut was gone, and she thoroughly inspected it. "How peculiar, that was not Reiatsu healing in any regard."


    "We humans have our own tricks." I moved my hand, letting her go.


    "It seems so." She smiled herself, holding my hand up as she poked it a few more times to her satisfaction. Though, her smile slowly faded back to a neutral expression, releasing my hand from her grasp. "Your curiosity should have been more than satisfied. It would not do you good to stay any longer. I advise you to return or turn yourself in. I imagine that they will be more lenient if you don''t drag this out."


    "I can leave whenever I want, you don''t need to worry about that." I waved off her concerns.


    "Very well, then depart." She said simply. "Soul Society is not a ce a living person should reside. Even with your.....strange Reiatsu, it''s not appropriate for you to stay here."


    "I can imagine that it would put you in an awkward position to keep ying host to me." I relented. "I am thankful to you for humoring me for this time."


    "There is no need to thank me, it was...pleasant for me as well."


    "Would...you be against meing back to visit?" I hesitantly asked.


    "Coming back to visit?" She blinked, the words taking a moment to settle in. Again, her expression softened considerably. "....you would not be treated well on a second incursion. I''m afraid that the orders would be much harsher for your capture and even I would be forced to abide."


    "Well, if I could see that smile of yours again, I think it''d be worth it." I sent her a cheeky smile.


    She was taken a little off guard by my shameless flirtation, that tiny spark of bashfulness made an appearance before it was quickly squashed. "You have a long life ahead of you, don''t waste it by meddling with the matters of the dead."


    "Alright, I''ll leave." I sighed, relenting.


    "It''s for the best." She said quietly.


    She''s probably right. It wasn''t good for me to stay around any longer, I already got everything I wanted and learned enough about her Kaid¨­ to satisfy me.


    [***]


    I nced once more at the Fourth Division, and Unohana gave me onest smile before she went back inside, and I headed out. She had been very kind to me, I didn''t want to bring any problems to her doorstep than I already have.


    I think I fulfilled all my objectives.


    Zanpakut¨­, Check.


    Kid¨­, mostly checked. Getting up to the fiftieth numbered spell is a boon I would say. I''ll see about the others once I get proficient in these.


    And I had some other gains.


    This ¨C Hoh¨­ thing is very interesting. I''ll need to look into this immediately. A movement technique is something that would be highly beneficial for me.


    Andstly, getting a good look at that healing, or Kaid¨­ as she called it. It gave me some interesting ideas that I wanted to try out forter. Soul-based healing was something I didn''t actually have, so I did have an interest in learning this at some point.


    Regardless, I had my gains. Should I just find a ce to note down the coordinates in case I ever need toe back here?


    I also wouldn''t want to just tear open a point in time and space in in view....


    "Hey, friend, wait up!"


    My idle thoughts passed and my steps ceased as I turned around at a Shinigami running towards me. "Can I help you?" I was about to just grab my brick for the hundredth time, but....I felt kind of bad for adding more work to her...


    The Shinigami didn''t have any outstanding features about him. Neat ck hair, standard uniform, his power didn''t really pop out at me.


    I''ll just end this on a quiet note and head out. No need to be overly aggressive when this trip was already so beneficial to me.


    "I saw you walk out of the fourth Division, you''re a healer, right? If you don''t mind, I could use your help with something. I''m from the twelfth division, can youe over with me?"


    "Sorry buddy, I''m from the Eight Division, gotta go back and report to Captain Shunsui." Well, I don''t think he figured out my identity, so that should get him off my back.


    "Wait!" He grabbed my shoulder. "Please, it''s really important that youe back with me."


    "....I really can''t." He was acting kinda suspiciously. I went to take his hand off my shoulder, but his eyes widened, and his grip tightened.


    "Wait! You said you wouldn''t do ¨C" His shout was cut off as his body inted and exploded.


    My Aura flowed around me protectively, his body was gone, but there was a sort of haze that lingered in the air.


    I was getting some very unpleasant shbacks to Chaldea.


    I kept myposure and snapped my fingers. Condensing the air at a single point in front of me, then letting it burst out to scatter what I assumed was a poisonous mist that was lingering.


    Slowly, I turned around towards the sound of footsteps.


    "Useless." The person spoke. He was....strange. He was pale, extremely so to the point where I thought it was paint. Except, his face was ck, and looked painted as well. All but his nose that is, which was also white. And on his chin was some sort of bronze-looking coil. And where he should have had ears, were two more matching ''coils''.


    Sitting atop his head.....I think I could only call it some sort of distorted Lilypad. Painted white, of course.


    To add it all together, he was apparently missing his lips entirely and his teeth were permanently visible.


    Lastly, was the White Haori that I had seen twice so far to designate him as a Captain.


    Though his appearance was ridiculous, my attention was fully taken by what he held in his hand. What looked like a detonator with his thumb pressed firmly on the trigger.


    "He couldn''t even follow orders. I inly told him to bring you back quietly. Useless, useless. Oh well, at least it allowed me to test one of my recent projects."


    "Congrattions. I''ve known you for less than a minute and I already despise your existence." I scowled.


    "Amusing." His teeth chattered. "What a strange Reiatsu you have, I can''t wait to get you on a table and figure out what that is."


    "What a strange face you have. I can''t wait to pull pieces off to see if there is something normal underneath." I shot back.


    He gained a very disgusting grin. "I do like my experimental subjects to have personality. I am Captain of the Twelfth Division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, resisting is pointless. Come along quietly and I may even remember to use anesthetic at some point."


    "I thought you just wanted to look like a clown, not that you actually were one."


    His grin disappeared, turning into a frown with a little twitch to apany it. "I suppose I don''t need you in one piece."


    I was going to leave quietly, but fuck it.


    Blew up one of his people without an ounce of remorse. He didn''t even need to based on the power he was emanating. He did it just because it was....convenient?


    The anger from what happened in Chaldea was bubbling to the surface as I looked at his arrogant expression.


    "It''s funny, I was thinking something very simr. I said I wasn''t going to kill anyone, but....I''d like to conduct a little experiment of my own. Let''s find out how many pieces a Shinigami can be cut up into without dying."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 372 - 338

    <h4>Chapter 372: Chapter 338</h4>


    Right, this guy pissed me off.


    Admittedly, It would be a good chance to see what the standards of a Captain were. I vaguely felt like he was ''weaker'' than Shunsui and even Unohana, but that doesn''t necessarily mean he''s less of a threat.


    He reminded me oh too much of those unscrupulous bunch back at the Clock Tower. The kind that you would want to be on guard against regardless of how strong you got because there was not any depth they couldn''t sink to for their own gains.


    ....we were far enough away from the Fourth Division so I wouldn''t feel bad about causing a little damage.


    Originally, I nned on not causing amotion....more than I already had. But after seeing how Soul Society is kinda a huge shithole and this asshole, I''m left with nearly zero fucks right now.


    He said his name was ¨C Mayuri, something. His teeth chattered in clear happiness, it was easy to see he was in a good mood even if I insulted him. He probably didn''t see me as a threat at all based on the amount of Reiatsu I had.


    "Hmm, I should keep the specimen in good condition before I begin. I shouldn''t let the prattling of an experiment get on my nerves. I''ll have plenty of time to fix that mouth once I have you under my knife." He held his right hand up as if he was going to grasp at me from that distance away.


    I jerked my head to the side, his hand flew past, extended unnaturally from where he was standing. It was fast, extremely so. to the point where I did have to pay attention, otherwise it could have caught me off guard. Slower than that movement technique, but still something I couldbel as ''Ultimate ss'' based on my birth world''s standards purely on speed alone.


    "Oh, you dodged, interesting." He grinned, as his arm retracted as fast as it extended. "But what about this?" His arm shot out again as I stepped to the side, however, I looked at it and little pores opened up along its length and a purple, hazy mist sprayed out.


    "Poison?" I muttered. It seemed to be a recurring theme with him.


    "Don''t worry, it won''t kill you. It''s meant to capture my experiments without causing anysting injury. However, an unfortunate side effect is the excruciating pain."


    I held my hand up, retrieving my Staff of Magnus. I saw his eyes visibly light up with excitement. I mmed it on the ground, creating the required Runes as it was basically second nature at this point. "Fires of Muspelheim."


    One of the first spells I created.


    It was simple, and direct.


    A massive wave of fire burst out from the epicenter, clearing away that poisonous fog with ease and swept towards the Shinigami.


    An interesting side effect, the area around us started burning. An obvious consequence in normal situations, but this ce was made of Reishi. It seems that the normal ''physics'' seem to be mimicked here for some odd reason.


    I also noted the amount of Magical Energy I had to pump into it for it to actualize properly and sustain. It was fighting against this realm in addition to its normal properties. I would have to be careful on my Magical Energy expenditure just in case. There were simpler methods to clear away the Poison, but I did want to verify a few things with something that required a little more oompfh.


    "Marvelous, what are you? That was not the maniption of Reiryoku. You are certainly no Quincy and that was not Kid¨­."


    The Shinigami walked forward, swiping his hand and dispersing some of the mes around him. His clothes looked the slightest bit singed.


    "Me? It seems like I''m someone about to beat up a clown."


    He twitched slightly. "No matter, I''ll have you!" His arm shot out again, but I wasn''t going to simply dodge and y around anymore.


    I withdrew my Staff and Mirage entered my hand. My Aura surged, and Reinforcement filled my body to the limit.


    I shed downwards at his extended Arm, but it retracted in the blink of an eye. I followed suit, a burst of speed erupting from me, shattering the ground beneath my steps as I moved quickly at him, my sword slicing upward from below.


    His eyes widened as his hand quickly grabbed his Zanpakut¨­ that was sheathed weirdly between his legs as opposed to his hip. He pulled it out enough that our des shed, but he was clearly in the losing position, his footing easily crumbled and he was sent skidding back.


    He stumbled slightly beforeing to a stop and a snarl appeared as he fully unsheathed his sword and disappeared with a burst of disced air. It was nowhere near the level of that other Shinigami I yed with. This was magnitudes faster than that poor excuse from before.


    He almost escaped my perception and I had to genuinely focus to a good extent.


    His sword came from behind. "Forcing me to use Shunpo." He said with a degree of frustration.


    "Wuld." I announced to the world, the Divine Word swirled around me and I moved in a simr manner as him. The spot I was in a brief moment ago appeared empty and I instead was now behind him.


    "What!?" He blurted out as I mimicked his actionpletely.


    However, my movement was much more awkward inparison. My sudden burst of speed was limited to a singr instance with each use of the Dragon Word, whereas his Movement technique seemed to be able to be used continuously with only a drain on stamina and possible Reiatsu.


    He jerked his body around to block a sh from me, his awkward action sent any guard he created broken, and his de knocked to the side.


    I flicked my hand under my de, three Talismans appeared and they shot off, like shooting stars towards him at close range. His upper body leaned back, and they only tore up his clothing slightly before he pivoted and disappeared in a burst of speed.


    Lightning coated my arm and I mmed it downward. Spears of Lightning shot up from the ground where he appeared. He looked surprised at the sudden assault and I took that moment where he dodged to leap forward and m my sword down at him again.


    He moved to block after avoiding my Lightning, the ground beneath him shattering at the weight. He looked to be struggling slightly under the straight.


    He stepped back in an attempt to escape, possibly activating his movement technique again, but I quickly summoned forth my other swords. Theyunched at splitting speeds through the air. The Shinigami was takenpletely off guard and he was forced to abandon his n, only narrowly avoiding fatal strikes as they shed and pierce towards him.


    I took that moment to grab onto his annoying arm that could extend. Grabbing it tight, I shed downwards with Mirage, severing itpletely from his body before he disappeared again a few dozen meters away.


    "That''s one." I turned to look at him standing on the nearby wall, tossing his severed arm to the ground. "I''m curious, that extension method. Be truthful, it wasn''t originally created for your arm, was it?"


    "Insect." He growled out before grabbing his sword with his mouth and reaching into his Kimono, pulling out a syringe with some strange liquid in it. He quickly stabbed it into his stub of an arm that was bleeding profusely. I was taken by surprise to see his arm visibly grow back. I could hear him barely hold back a muffled scream.


    "Oh, that sounds like it hurts." I rxed my stance a little.


    Whatever he did was....interesting. To see limb regrowth like that was not somethingmon if it came from an outside method.


    "It does." He growled, tossing the syringe away. "However, it''s as good as new."


    "Wonderful! I can cut it off again then. How many more of those do you have? I wanna know how many times I can cut you up before your life is in danger."


    "A mere experimental subject continues to mock me." He smiled ominously. "I believe I''ve lost my patience." He held his de up and turned it sideways. "Rip ¨C Ashisogi Jiz¨­" He announced, and a feeling of weight washed through the surroundings, and even my soul shuddered from the promation.


    His power exploded a few times over.


    Instead of a more standard Katana, a golden baby-faced figure reced the guard. And protruding from it were three sort of branch-like des that reminded me of a trident.


    There was also that faint haze that lingered around it. "Poison again." I furrowed my brow, feeling a faint sense of danger from it.


    I had Avalon, so I wasn''t too concerned, but there are always variables that I may not ount for. Poison was one of those things that I never really focused on, so it could slip through if I wasn''t careful.


    "Had¨­ #54 Haien." He intoned, swiping his de as a st of purple energy fired off.


    My Aura surged forward to meet it and I would have blocked it with my Sword if necessary. However, once it collided with my Aura, a good chunk of itpletely disintegrated.


    An innate concept of Destruction!?


    No, it was much further down on the scale than that. Possibly something simr, but not on the level of my bloodline.


    Still utterly fascinating.


    He used that moment that I was examining the effects to move. His Shunpo got noticeably faster to the point where I couldn''t stay reactivepletely. I Took a step forward and swung out to meet a swing of his.


    Heavy. Everything about him got an increase it seems like.


    However...


    "You know ¨C " I Pushed his sword back a little. "Something tells me you aren''t a fighter." I didn''t feel that same ''battle instinct'' that I could from most opponents on this level who tried to fight me.


    Oh, he had the raw power, I could practically feel it off him. But it wasn''t honed like a real fighter would have.


    He snorted, twisting his de. The mouth on the Golden guard of his opened up and spewed a concentrated poisonous mist.


    I gathered my Aura and released it in a concentrated amount, dispersing it with a burst of power.


    His eyes darted all over the ce. "An interesting power, I''ll have to examine it carefully."


    Right.


    "Hey, wanna see something cool?" I held up my middle finger infront of his face with our des locked. "Had¨­ #1 Sh¨­." I cast Kid¨­ for the first time against an opponent, filling it with a good chunk of Reiatsu.


    His head flung backwards, and he stepped back with another burst of Shunpo. He looked calm which was different than his arrogant demeanor form before, but there was a red mark on his forehead.


    "A human knows Kid¨­?" He looked at me inquisitively. "Fascinating."


    I flicked my wrist in his direction. "Twenty Birds.." The Sword Phantoms created from Magical Energy cascaded out.


    They were harder to create in this environment, but they would suffice.


    "Petty tricks." He clicked his tongue, swinging his sword out in a blur, shing with each one of them. Taking a step forward, he moved faster than before, as if it wasn''t his top speed.


    Mirage was brought up to block a stab, that golden de of his fighting against the t of my de as he tried to pierce me through the eye.


    He scowled, dropped his posture a little, swiping his de upward, a hazy mist following the trajectory, making me step back to avoid hit. His de scratched the ground utterly corroding it with a singr movement.


    "Huh, can your poison''s properties be changed?" I looked at him because the earlier applications didn''t really give me as much as a dangerous feeling as it did now.


    "Hmph, of course it can. What kind of ridiculous Zanpakut¨­ would only have a paralyzing poison?" He scoffed. "I''ve decided that you don''t need every body part. Your physical characteristics are irrelevant."


    His weapon continuously expelled that mist that enveloped the area. It began eating away at my Aura at an rming speed.


    I took a deep breath. "FUS RO DAH" I bellowed out, shifting the world along with it. The mes that still lingered were immediately extinguished from earlier.


    The Haze around me dispersed instantaneously.


    And in the path of my shout, the captain stood there in confusion as the invisible force rippled forward. He brought up his sword and braced himself, and his feet went skidding across the ground before he was utterly blown away at the force.


    He rolled on the ground beforeing to a stop. He quickly pushed himself up and pulled back, my Sword shed downwards sundering the earth.


    He tilted his body to the side and his arm thrust outward, his golden sword attempting to pierce at me.


    I was wary of his de at the moment, that poisonous miasma it spewed did tickle my instincts to not be hit.


    Whisper came in from the side, mming into it, altering its course.


    I motioned with my hand, and Dawnbreaker came shing from overhead.


    The Shinigami was forced to dodge himself as a new gorge was opened up where he was previously standing.


    Mirage slid between the prongs of his de with him attempting to force me with just strength. I could see him gritting his teeth but I held my ground with increased strength. I gestured for my Sword of Destruction to follow up, flying from behind to stab him in the back.


    He apparently had good instincts because he noticed. He glowed bright with Reiatsu that shimmered around him and he let out a low growl, and shed forward. It was enough to bisect the wall that was behind me as I moved to the side.


    I called upon my lightning, a thunderous boom emanating out with the crackling that soon followed and I extended my finger. "Lighting Arrows."


    Three of them manifested shooting at him at high speeds. He swung his sword, destroying two of them, but onended on his shoulder, making his growl and hiss in pain, however, it barely prated.


    "You should pay more attention." I said, stabbing forward with a burst of speed.


    He growled again, swinging his de to block. He moved at insane speed, quick bursts of Shunpo that I made sure to watch intensely. They seemed like half steps to try and gain the advantage on me in close range.


    It made me go on the back foot as I adjusted to his speed. This Technique was bing more and more appealing to me by the second.


    However, I didn''t want to drag this on any more. With a thought, I ushered my other des to descend upon him.


    Whisper, shot forward, barely missing his neck. Dawnbreaker shed downwards, making him spin his body to the side. My Sword of Destruction caught him off guard, mming into his thigh, making him stumble before pulling away. And Ascalon sliced at his side in one swift motion.


    "What are these!?" He blurted out, looking at my swords hovering nearby, clearly having had enough of them at this point.


    "Have you never seen a sword before?"


    He grit his teeth in clear anger.


    Yeah, this guy doesn''t have the instinct of a fighter. Not to say he''s weak. He certainly had immense power, but his application of it was more systematic. He wasn''t the kind to level a mountain with the swing of his sword, he was a scalpel that could break you apart with precision. And a scalpel in the right ce can easily take down someone who casually punches mountains out of existence.


    He held up his palm, pointing it right towards me. "Had¨­ #88, Hiry¨± Gekizoku Shinten Raih¨­!" He roared.


    Holy shit!


    A massive burst of Lightning exploded from his palm. Itpletely covered my vision and I mentally took back what I said about casually destroying mountains.


    I jerked my hand downwards, My Staff appearing in my grasp once more. "Shield of Asgard!" I quickly cast, the golden shield enveloping me protectively.


    I could actually feel my shield shudder under the blow, straining to sustain itself. As it passed over me.


    It didn''tst long, and I could see around me again after a brief moment. However, there were no longer any buildings in my immediate vicinity and the area behind me was utterly deste and nothing but charred ground for quite a distance.


    That was without the full chant.


    I want it!


    Dismissing my Staff once more, I reached out and grabbed Meridia''s sword. "My Turn." I dered and his eyes widened, his breath a little heavy and he was obviously surprised at me withstanding his attack without harm. A massive amount of Magical Energy fluctuated around me.


    He reacted quickly. "Bakud¨­ #73, Tozansh¨­!" He casted in a paniced in his tone.


    An inverse-like pyramid materialized around him.


    I swung my sword down. "Dawnbreaker!" The Holy light roared to life and flowed out like a wave in his direction.


    The Holy Light consumed everything in its path, annihted anything that it came into contact with. It closed the distance instantaneously, colliding with the barrier that the Shinigami put up in haste.


    It was funny, now as the light cleared away, both sides looked simr. Two deste areas joined together after eachunching our attacks.


    However, the Shinigami was in much worse shape than I am.


    His shield had crumbled under the strain.


    Parts of it remained, but like ss, it was mostly shattered.


    Blood pooled around him on the ground as he used his sword to hold himself up.


    "Huh, I said I''d take your arm again, but I didn''t mean like that." I mocked him again, holding up Mirage to my shoulder.


    He was missing his right one again, along with other chunks of his body and a lot of his flesh seared at the holy light. His entire figure looked mostly disfigured from having to endure my attack. Even the tips of his....hat, thing were seared off.


    Shame, I wanted to pull it off myself to see what It actually was.


    "You....." His breathing was erratic. "I WILL EXAMINE THE PIECEs OF YOU THAT REMAIN!" He roared in indignation, holding his sword up high and his Reiatsu skyrocketed. Literally, in this case as a pir of it released from him and reached to the clouds above. "BANKAI!" The word reverberated through the surroundings.


    A whirlwind swept up the surroundings and I even had to brace myself at the distance I stood.


    I could feel his presence intensify several more folds. His Reiatsu easily multipled another five folds from his released state.


    A Bankai.


    I had been wandering about this since I heard it and holy crap did it live up to my anticipation. If he fought me like this right from the start, I''d have to go much harder.


    The Dust settled and the Reiatsu settled down as it enveloped him and condensed.


    His sword was no longer in his hand, instead, there was now a creature coiled around him protectively.


    That same golden baby face from his sword on a body that seemed a mix between a worm and a centipede, maybe closer to a caterpir?


    It was utterly disgusting.


    And it was huge. Its foot tore into the ground with each movement, and it could easily swallow me whole in one bite.


    "Konjiki Ashisogi Jiz¨­." He breathed out, a seething look on his face.


    Dangerous


    That was dangerous, and I could feel a threat from it.


    It reminded me of N¨ªeh?ggr that appeared that time.


    The massive golden baby head opened its mouth and a torrent of poison spewed forth.


    I dodged out of the way, but a little bit of itnded on my Aura and utterly ate away at it in seconds. It made me realize that Poison like this was probably the nemesis of my Aura. Or rather, a continuous ability that grinds or eats away is something I can''t use my Aura to consistently guard against.


    "Ashisogi Jizo, Go!" The Shinigamimanded with a gleeful tone.


    It shot off with a speed that betrayed its awkward body and size. I would say it was nearly on par with the speed that he showed himself when using his movement technique.


    With every step it took, it continued to spew out that toxic miasma, making it difficult to actually engage it. The grounds even became contaminated as it seeped into the stones and dirt below.


    ....yeah, I don''t wanna get hit directly by whatever the fuck that is.


    [Brat, let me.]


    You sure?


    [I haven''t had a fight in a while.]


    Well, who am I to say no to that?


    I jumped to the side, avoiding its maw and ran to the side, jumping up on the ruined debris nearby as it coiled around trying toe after me.


    My Swords that still floated around shot at it, mming into its body, but that seemed to not slow it down in the slightest. It out a roar of rage and its speed increased substantially, and I instinctively coated my legs in Lightning and shot away quickly.


    "Yes, struggle, human. I''ll enjoy thesest few moments of yours." He cackled.


    "Giant poisonous beast?" I shouted. "Well, I can do that too!" I summoned the Boosted Gear onto my hand, and took out the Staff that everyone helped me create. I slid to a stop and held it out in front of me, finding a good ce that wasn''t enveloped in that poison.


    "BEX ZII ZOOR FRUL LO." Ddraig and I voiced together. The Dragon words pulse out and actualize our intent. I held the staff up to add the finishing touch. "Disgyniad yr Ymerawdwr!"


    Let the Emperor descend indeed.


    A massive spell circle appeared as I fed a substantial amount of Magical Energy to activate this. I had to pull on the Kaleidoscope to facilitate the casting, to grab Magical Energy from other ces.


    It was apanied by a roar that shook the world. Ddraig''s ck ws mmed into the ground as it pulled itself out and brought himself into existence.


    The Shinigami ¨C his Bankai reeled backing to a stop that made it slide on the ground before halting. It hesitated and looked wary at Ddraig''s massive forming into existence.


    A miasma leaked from Ddraig''s maw and he stared at the creature in a sort of standoff.


    "Ddraig, go beat up this baby." Imanded.


    He turned his head towards me. "Did you have to word it like that?"


    In response the thing screeched in fury, charging at us. Ddraig roared in response, shooting right at it as they collided in a huge impact, sending shockwaves out in every direction.


    The baby-thing spewed out its poison, in return, Ddraig took a big breath and matched it, its necrotic breath filling the space. The two noxious gasses intertwined and sort of dispersed outwards in a big cloud.


    I looked at Mayuri over there who didn''t seem to understand what was going on.


    "Oi, Clown face." I grabbed his attention.


    "You ¨C"


    I mmed into his stomach with the Boosted Gear, his body reeled back and salivia unconsciously spewed from his throat. His body went tumbling back but he quickly regained his footing.


    "Ashisogi Jizo, give me a sword!" He roared.


    I nced at the baby thing as its head tilted up, and a massive amount of des shot out, protruding from underneath. One of them was shot off,nding onto the ground in front of the Shinigami.


    It thenunched forward, mming its big body into Ddraig, its de tearing into him. Ddraig in response, bit down on its huge body as they continued to tug around.


    I quickly brought up the staff I still was holding to block the Shinigami''s attack, the force of it actually made me buckle a little under the power. He was significantly stronger than he was before releasing his Bankai.


    His Reiatsu was magnified, the source of their power, so it made sense that his physical attributes were in response, also increased to match.


    "Go." Imanded, my flying sword shot down at him.


    He hissed, disappearing from the spot he was in as my swords impaled into the ground where he was a moment prior. I tossed my Staff back into my ring and jerked Mirage out of the ground, swinging it around to block a blow from the back.


    Holding out my finger, I aimed it at him point nk. "Bakud¨­ #1, Sai." I chanted. His arm holding his sword was forced behind his back for the briefest of moments.


    It was the first spell in the school, it was...weak, all things considered. It was meant to restrain an enemies'' arm behind their back ¨C or in this case, singr arm. It didn''t even fully pull it back before it broke under the strain of his impressive Reiatsu.


    I swung Mirage at his left side, a casual horizontal swing that he was forced to block with his own de. He was definitely at a disadvantage due to the wounds he suffered. But I did promise Shunsui I wouldn''t kill anyone, I wouldn''t go back on my word even if this guy disgusted me.


    In my free hand, still d in the Boosted Gear, I flipped it over, producing a very familiar object that was quickly bing sentimental to me.


    And I pped him across the face with it.


    It didn''t do much, some blood spit out from his mouth, but it was more the absurdity of it that made hime to an abrupt stop.


    "....did you just hit me with a brick?" He asked, incredulously.


    I wanted to say something cheeky, taunt him some more, maybe cut off his other arm, but I felt several more presences approaching quickly.


    "Ddraig!" I shouted. "Time to go."


    "Do you think you can leave after humiliating me?!" He glowered, fury igniting in his gaze.


    I looked him square in the eyes. "Yes."


    Ddraig took a deep breath, Dragon Words leaving his throat and a me descended upon the creature before him, engulfing it in a magical me.


    I ran over to him, reaching forward to quickly grab him back into the Boosted Gear because I definitely didn''t want to tangle with the several figures that were approaching and were only moments away.


    I suppose I crossed the threshold that others were going to get involved.


    Just Ddraig and the baby thing were upheavaling a good chunk of the surroundings.


    Yeah....little bit of a mess.


    Ddraig dislodged himself from the thing with that burst of fire and flew to me, his body broke down and his soul reentered the Boosted Gear. I could vaguely make out the silhouettes of others flying through the air anding this way.


    Well, time to skedaddle.


    The Shinigami, surprisingly, didn''t make a move.


    I think he realized he wasn''t my match at this point.


    I returned everything to storage except Mirage and the Brick. I looked down at my brick and had onest idea.


    I filled the Brick with Reinforcement.


    Fly true, great brick.


    My foot pushed into the ground and I reeled back my arm. Gathering all my strength, I threw it at him. He looked...surprised, but not perturbed, probably a sidestep would all be required to dodge. But...how could I leave it just at that?


    "Fus!" I bellowed out, that invisible force mmed into the back of the brick, and it shot forward, closing the distance before he could even react.


    I quickly sliced through the air with Mirage, creating a portal.


    Thest scene was of my brick shattering on his face with enough force that he got lifted up off the ground before I jumped through and mmed it shut behind me.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 373: Interlude 26

    <h4>Chapter 373: Interlude 26</h4>


    Shunsui Ky¨­raku POV


    What a mess.


    "Ara, am I thest one?" I looked around the room to see all the other Captains gathered. Though....I don''t see Captain Kenpachi anywhere.


    .....did he get lost again?


    "You''rete, Shunsui." Ukitake whispered as I stood next to him.


    He was looking healthy today, that''s good.


    "Eh, the old man isn''t angry, so it''s fine." I waved him off.


    I looked around the room to see everyone else. I knew why we were called, but why did it seem so....solemn?


    Huh....Mayuri looked....strange.


    Well, he always looked strange.


    He looked stranger than normal and not because of the weird things he does to himself.


    "Let us get started."


    Guess we aren''t waiting for thest of us then.


    I stood up a little straighter unconsciously. The Old man''s presence and words always did that. Not even a brat anymore, yet I can''t help it.


    All he had to do was tap his cane on the ground and I stood to attention.


    Well, He''s the Captain Commander for a reason.


    "Captain Sui-Feng." The Old man looked at the little girl. "Report."


    She stood at attention, and stepped forward.


    Always so serious, trying so hard to fill the shoes that Yoruichi left.


    "The Ryoka has not been seen and after scouring the entirety of the 13 Divisions, it appears that he is no longer here." She said firmly.


    "How sure are you?" The Old Man asked.


    "I deployed all of the Onmitsukido and swept every corner, sir."


    "Hmm." He grunted with a nod. "Captain Ky¨­raku. Exin why you did not apprehend the Ryoka."


    Aww....damn it.


    "Er....I didn''t really see a reason to?" I offered.


    "You let him go!?" Sui-Feng eximed.


    "Captain Kyoraku, you really let a dangerous Ryoka roam around?" Captain Hitsugaya asked.


    Well, when even the youngest of us wants to chide me, maybe I did mess up a little? Kid is barely even a hundred or so, and he''s already so hard working.


    "He should be reprimanded to the fullest extent of ourws. He knowingly allowed a Ryoka to run rampant and stain our honor." Captain Kuchiki chimed in too.


    ....snobby.


    He needs to getid.


    Well....not from any of the girls from my division But someone...somewhere. He always reminds me why I hated dealing with the Noble Politics and left it all to my brother back in the day.


    "Now, now, I think Captain Ky¨­raku would have a good reason for doing so."


    I gave a thankful nod to Aizen.


    He''s always great at calming everyone down.


    "He wasn''t really causing any problems when I ran into him." I scratched my cheek.


    "Exin." The Old man demanded, and the Temperature rose slightly.


    "He was just sneaking around. I didn''t really think it was worth making a ruckus. I invited him over and we shared a drink, and talked about a few things. He said he was just looking around so I didn''t mind it."


    ".....weren''t there dozens of your Division sent to Division Four for healing?" Hitsugaya asked.


    "Captain Unohana." I turned to probably the scariest Captain besides the old man. Despite how beautiful she was.....I had no confidence there.


    "How can I help you, Captain Ky¨­raku?" She replied.


    "How many people died due to this Ryoka?"


    "Zero." She said simply.


    "Thank you, Captain Unohana."


    "It''s not a matter of death, Captain Kyoraku." Captain Komamura replied.


    It''s always fun to hear his gentle tone even with how loud and intimidating he usually is in stature. I don''t know why he hides his face behind that armor either. We all know that he''s a bit on the hairy side, and none of us really care.


    "If you don''t have a good reason, you will be punished." The Old Man added.


    "Well....I thought it''d be good practice." I ran a hand through my hair. "He said he wasn''t going to be killing anyone. And if my guys couldn''t handle a Ryoka that wasn''t trying to hurt them, then they wouldn''t really do much against a real invader, y''know? How long has it been since we''ve been attacked? I think we''ve gotten a littlezy."


    "You wished to use this Ryoka as a whetstone?" The Old man looked at me and I felt a little scared there for a moment until he closed his eyes. "Very well, your words hold merit. However, you will still be punished for derelict of duty. Expect your budget to be cut and further reprimands toe."


    "Damn, Nanao is going to kill me." I grumbled.


    "What can you tell us about this Ryoka?" He asked again.


    "Well, there wasn''t much to say. His Reiatsu, while impressive for a human ¨C I think he''s human, it felt weird ¨C shouldn''t have really been muchpared to one of us. He did have some tricks.....he said these words and my sword flung out of my hand and I couldn''t stop it. Thought it might have been a good idea to leave a good impression for when he dies. A good chance he might be standing here with us in a couple centuries."


    "That''s it? Nothing about his overall strength? We barely have a description and a name." Sui-Feng snorted.


    "I didn''t really fight Kurosaki Ichigo, so I can''t say." I shrugged.


    I wonder why he gave that name, it obviously wasn''t his. Oh well, none of my business.


    "He did say he wanted to get an Asauchi though. I don''t know if he managed to do that, but we talked about it over drinks."


    ".....This Ryoka desired an Asauchi?" Aizen asked. "Did he say for what reason?"


    "No idea." I shrugged again.


    "Captain Unohana" The Old Man spoke up again. "You also had dealings with this Ryoka."


    "Captain Unohana, you too?" Sui-Fei looked at her with surprise. "I could understand Ky¨­raku, but how could you ignore thews?"


    "Captain Sui-Feng....are you suggesting that I should have ignored the welfare of my patients and engaged a Ryoka within my Medical Barracks?" She smiled gently at the little Captain but....it got frighteningly cold in here, despite the old man''s fiery temperament.


    "No one is faulting your decision." The Old Man quickly interrupted. "We are aware of the importance of the Medical Division. If the Ryoka posed no immediate threat, you made the correct choice."


    Sui-Feng shuddered and closed her mouth.


    "So this Ryoka snuck into the Fourth Division?" Captain Aizen asked. "For what purpose?"


    "He revealed an interest in our Healing Arts. We had a conversation about it and I gave him a demonstration." Captain Unohana replied.


    ".....really, that''s it?" Sui-Feng muttered. "Did he mention any ns? Or his overall purpose foring here was? Anything else that would be useful?"


    "No, besides speaking about healing...well...." She paused. "I do not believe it important."


    "What? Any information may be valuable."


    "...He spent the remainder of the time....attempting to flirt with me, If I am not mistaken."


    ....I think....I didn''t hear that correctly.


    I took a peek around the room, and even the old man had his eyes open, looking at her with a bit of shock.


    Alright, Guess I heard that correctly.


    Well, someone flirting with Captain Unohana that''s not from around here? I could believe that, and wouldn''t really give it a second thought beyond wishing the poor sucker the best of luck.


    But....why did she sound receptive to it?


    I....really need to buy that kid a drink the next time I see him because that is impressive.


    "So, you were distracted by such nonsense." Mayuri snorted. "I expected better from you at least."


    ....Well, I''ll pour you a drink at your funeral, Mayuri.


    "Captain Kurotsuchi, give your report." The Old Man wisely changed the subject, because Captain Unohana did not seem pleased with hisment.


    "Oh, you ran into him too, Mayuri?" I was surprised.


    ....wait, why was he being so quiet? Mayuri should have been chomping at the bit to get his hands on a Ryoka with anything strange about it.


    ....something is wrong here.


    "Did you even read the report?" Sui-Feng huffed. "Do you really think us Captains would gather for a single Ryoka who hadn''t even killed anyone if there wasn''t a good reason?"


    Oh...Mayuri, what happened to you, huh?


    Oddly enough, he wasn''t his usually arrogant self. He hadn''t spoken a single word, even when I used his first name. I know he hates it when people call him with such familiarity.


    "Captain Kurotsuchi, report." The Old Man Ordered.


    "I engaged the Ryoka outside the perimeter of the Fourth Division." He said simply.


    "....and?" I asked.


    He twitched slightly. "And he proved to be troublesome."


    "...nothing about the Dragon that appeared?" Captain Hitsugaya asked.


    "Dragon?" I blinked.


    "Hyorinmaru confirmed it." He stated.


    His Zanpakuto was a Dragon, if I remember correctly.


    But I still had an important question.


    "....what?" I was still stuck on the whole Dragon thing.


    "I saw it when I approached after feeling Captain Kurotsuchi release his Bankai. I can understand why Shunsui couldn''t see it from his Division." Ukitake responded.


    "Huh, so that''s what that Reiatsu spike was." I rubbed my chin. "Did he really push you so much that you had to use your Bankai, Mayuri?" I chuckled.


    It was fun watching him twitch in annoyance.


    "He merely surprised me." The Pale-faced Captain grit out.


    "Can you please borate on what you mean by a ''Dragon''?" Aizen asked. "I was unfortunately preupied and could not see the situation up close."


    "Right, Dragon, yeah...." I nodded along.


    Sounds weird to even say out loud.


    "I do not know what it was." Mayuri grit his teeth. "However, it was able to contend against my Bankai and not lose. However, he fled before a winner could be determined."


    "Yes, and how is your new arm, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Captain Unohana asked. "I hope there are not irregrities with it. I can''t im to know what you concocted, but limb regrowth isn''t easy. You refused me to provide Medical Attention after the fight."


    "Ara, Mayuri, I don''t think you''re being honest." I chuckled. "Sounds like a lot more than a tie. Did you lose an arm to a human?"


    "Two Arms." Sui-Feng corrected. "I retrieved the first severed one and returned it to him afterwards."


    "Thank you for your input, Captain Sui-Feng." He practically growled.


    Huh, so the kid is able to tangle with a Captain. Can''t say that''s something I expected with his Reiatsu.


    "Give your full report, Captain Kurotsuchi." The Old manmanded.


    He twitched in annoyance again, but it''s not like he could talk back to the Captain Commander.


    "The Ryoka appears to possess weapons capable of harming us, however they did not appear to be Zanpakut¨­. He showed abilities simr to our Kid¨­, but I sensed no use of Reiryoku when cast. He possessed speed and strength far above what a Human should possess. He possessed some sort of Spiritual Shield that protected him from my Poison."


    "...and the Dragon." I added.


    "Yes, and the Dragon." Mayuri hissed. "I was unable to analyze this Dragon in detail, so I cannot speak about it one way or another. I will need some time to prepare counter measures."


    Right, a sore loser wouldn''t let this go.


    I''ll make sure the kid doesn''t get near Mayuri if he pops up again. He isn''t the strongest among our number, but give him time to prepare, and he''s scary.


    "Are you sure, Captain Kurotsuchi? A Human with the power to match a Captain shouldn''t be unknown to us." Aizenmented.


    "It does sound....concerning." Ukitake also shared his thoughts. "Though, the fact that this Ryoka didn''t kill anyone does speak well about them....despite everything else."


    "Doesn''t matter. We should find him and kill him. He already invaded and attacked our own, this is a direct insult and deration to us." Sui-Feng crossed her arms. "If he''s human, he''s in the human world. Give me the order and I''ll track him down."


    "Hmph, and you think you can handle him? I will deal with him myself." Mayuri scoffed. "I will bring him back and research him thoroughly."


    "Yeah, how''d that go for you this time?" Sui-Feng shot back.


    "You --"


    "Enough." The Old man mmed his cane against the ground.


    Everyone seemed to go silent after that.


    "Anything else of note?" I asked, clearing my throat. I was probably just going to hand over the report to Nanao again, so if there was something important, better find out now.


    "Did you analyze the weapon he used before he departed, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Captain Unoahan asked. "You were left in a poor state when I first arrived. I merely caught thest moments of the fight."


    "...there is nothing to analyze."


    "Did something happen?"


    "Nothing happened."


    "I am just concerned. I have never seen a brick able to inflict such damage on one of our number before. To see Captain Kurotsuchi reduced to such a state after having one thrown at his face. I am merely concerned." Captain Unohana''s words sounded reasonable....but there was an odd bite to them.


    And I recall him running around with a brick and beating up the people from my division....


    "Mayuri, did you get beat up with a brick?"


    "...."


    "A bunch of my subordinates did too, so you don''t need to feel bad."


    "...."


    "I was going to have Nanao give them extra trainingter. You cane join in if you want." I smiled.


    "..."


    "Perhaps we should move on." Aizen politely coughed. "However, I would like to request a detailed report on everything that happened. Merely just to check any information we could have missed."


    Well, leave it to the nicest guy here to even defend Mayuri.


    I could tell he was ready to burst. Maybe I should stop while I''m ahead, I could tell the Old man was starting to get annoyed at it too.


    But still, the thought of Mayuri getting a brick thrown at his face.....I''ll need to ask Captain Unohana for the details.


    "It will be done." The Old Man grunted. "I expect a more detailed Written report, Captain Kurotsuchi."


    I would settle for him scowling and being ashamed for now.


    Never really liked him that much.


    "Despite the.....uncertainties. It is clear that this Ryoka has the ability of a Captain inbat potential." The Old Man tapped his cane on the ground again, gaining our undivided attention. "Due to the battle that urred, there is a significant amount of damage left in the aftermath. While no Shinigami were killed, I will be elevating this Ryoka to a higher danger rating. If he is to appear again, you will all be required to apprehend him, and I clear?"


    He looked at me.


    I nodded.


    "You have been provided with the Ryoka''s information. Be on the look out for this Kurosaki Ichigo. He has stolen a Shinigami Uniform, be aware that he may mix in with our own members."


    Hmm, everyone else had been kinda quiet.


    Gin usually has more to say, but he''s just been snickering. Though....why did he look like he was holding back augh at the name? Was it some joke I wasn''t aware of?


    Well, I don''t know why the Kid told me that, but I''d report it anyway.


    It''s not like he''d probably evene back at this point. He would have to know that things would be bad after his fight with Mayuri.


    Nah, the kid didn''t seem that stupid.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 374: Interlude 27

    <h4>Chapter 374: Interlude 27</h4>


    Jinn POV


    "Why are you in my bed?" I felt some hair tickle my nose.


    "Silly girl, you climbed into my bed."


    "Doesn''t matter, don''t get up yet." I grumbled, wrapping my arms around her.


    "I am not used to sleeping beyond the early hours." Sc¨¢thach said gently. "And I have duties I must uphold. You can sleep in your own bed if my schedule diforts you."


    "Mmm....don''t like to sleep alone."


    "Is it a wonder that our shared lover dotes on you?" I felt her hand run down my hair. "Very well, I will stay for a little while longer. I have been through this with you on numerous asions at this point. If you desirepanionship during the night, you maye find me whenever you want."


    "You don''t mind?" I asked quietly. "You''ve kicked Wilhelm out a few times."


    She chuckled. "My student is an insatiable man who will not allow me proper rest. You, my sweet girl, are merely seeking for someone to apany you unto your dreams."


    "Thanks, sister." I closed my eyes again.


    "There is no need to thank me." She cooed. "I am more than happy to help you. I understand the loneliness you must have felt for all those years. I can say that I too enjoy sleeping next to someone after living by myself for all those centuries. Who do you stay with when I am away?"


    "Raikou lets me sleep with her too." I yawned.


    Atleast went I''m not with Wilhelm.


    "Of course, she adores you just as all of us do." Sc¨¢thach giggled again.


    "All my sisters are good to me." I snuggled closer.


    "Silly girl." She sighed. "I will wait an hour or two. Rest well." She gently pat my head.


    [***]


    "Hmm, hmm, hmm." I looked in the mirror and decided to wear my normal dress.


    Shoes?


    I''ll wear my favorite heels, I''m in a good mood!


    Jewelry? Maybe just some earrings. Maybe just the studs I got recently? Wilhelm likes to y with my ears, so I don''t really want to put too many on.


    That should be everything important. Got my Bracelet that Wilhelm made me, so I pretty much have anything I could need. Really, the onlyst important thing to note is mymp, and well.....It''s still safe.


    Snug and not going anywhere.


    At this point, I think it''d be more weird to take it out and try to walk around without it in my butt.


    Jeez, I still can''t believe that man did something so ridiculous with my Lamp. A Relic created by the Gods and he.....turned it into a means of stimting me sexually.


    I can''t deny that it''s.... convenient for carrying around. I can''t really get far from it due to how tied I am to it. And I don''t think anyone would look for it there.


    .....admittedly, I''ve grown to like it quite a bit.


    It''s not like I''m using my butt for anything else. My body belongspletely to Wilhelm, if he wants mymp in my butt, it''s staying there until he decides otherwise.


    The real surprise was finding out how quickly my heart followed. I joke about it early on when I first joined with him. But... it''s strange, this feeling. I couldn''t even have fathomed these thoughts I was having merely a year before. The lengths I would go in order to protect what I now have.


    It would have made my younger self shocked.


    "Jinn?"


    I walked down the stairs, seeing a couple of familiar faces. "Artoria!" He smiled, rushing right at her and quickly hugged her. "I missed you!"


    "I missed you as well, Jinn." Artoria giggled. "Even if it has only been a few days."


    "And Rin." I shifted to the younger girl, giving her a big hug too.


    "J-Jinn." She squeaked by my surprise hug.


    "I missed Rin too."


    "We just met at the College two days ago." She responded, unable to escape.


    "But that was at the College, not at our home." Hugs are nice. They all need more hugs. "What''re you both up to today?" I refused to let go of Rin. I think she realized, because she just stopped fidgeting, epting her new position.


    "We are visiting the Clock Tower." Artoria replied.


    "Something happen?"


    "No, I just need to grab some things from over there. May as well stay for a little while since we haven''t been home in a few weeks." Rin spoke.


    "Then I will being back to inspect the Knights from the Pendragon Family that have been training with Yasaka''s forces. I imagine I will be assisting Sc¨¢thach with whatever training she had devised." Artoria added on. "What about you, Jinn? Would you like to apany me?"


    It''s sweet that she''s trying to include me.


    I think my favorite thing about Artoria is how she is so blunt with her intentions.


    "I actually need to go see Grandfather. I was going to go to Remnant and I wanted him to give me a ''lift''."


    "Huh, you really call the old man that?" Rin blinked in surprise.


    "Of course. I''m Wilhelm''s woman, that means he''s my Grandfather too!"


    "...I am envious of your forwardness." Artoria said quietly.


    "Really? I think I''m the one who should say that, missy." I finally released Rin and stole Artoria again. "I heard what happened from Sc¨¢thach~"


    "Ah...." Artoria blushed a little. "I was surprised that it happened and still find it hard to believe."


    Aww, she''s so cute.


    "I''m happy for you." I reassured her.


    She did have some self esteem issues, so I wanted her to know she was doing good.


    Though I am a little jealous.


    Maybe I''ll work up the courage soon too.


    She quickly recovered. "What do you desire back from your home? I believe you were against returning for the time being?"


    "I can''t put it off forever." I was scared of going back. I just had to remind myself that Wilhelm wouldn''t abandon me back to that same existence I was before. "Besides, there''s something I need to take care of there that''s been weighing on me."


    "Is there trouble? Do you require assistance?"


    "It shouldn''t be dangerous. But I will be going to pay someone a visit. I think you know who I''m talking about."


    "....are you sure?" Artoria hesitantly asked. "I have felt simrly, perhaps I should go with you?"


    "No." I shook my head. "It''s my home world, let me handle it."


    "If you are positive, I will not interfere. But I expect you to reach out for aid if you find yourself in trouble."


    "Of course!" I pushed my cheek against hers. "My sister will be here to help me if I get in trouble."


    It''s nice having people that care about me.


    "When are you heading out?" I asked.


    "We can go now if you want." Rin suggested.


    And I was all for it.


    [***]


    "Grandfather!" I ran towards him too, giving him a nice big hug.


    "If it isn''t my darling Granddaughter." He chuckled, happily epting. "What mischief are you getting up to today? Or are youing toin about my Grandson? Has he been mistreating you? Do I need to have words with him."


    "Nu huh, Wilhelm treats me good." I quickly shook my head.


    "Good." He nodded proudly. "But tell me if he does anything you don''t like. I don''t mind giving him a little kick in the behind to set him straight." He winked.


    "I''ll be sure to tell you." I grinned.


    Family was nice.


    "Wizard Marshal." Artoria greeted politely.


    "One of these days, I''m going to get you to address me with more familiarity." Zelretch chuckled again. "Look at Jinn, you should take notes from her."


    Artoria smiled amusedly. She was polite, but it wasn''t anywhere near stiff or formal.


    "Teacher." Rin also was polite with her greeting.


    "Rin." Zelretch smiled warmly. "How have your studies beening along?


    "I''m doing well. I study the Kaleidoscope nearly every day. And I''m also learning a lot at the College."


    "Good, good." He nodded again. "But don''t just coop yourself up behind a book or in your workshop all the time. Go make some friends, go on an adventure, explore a little. Real world experience is just as important as theoretical knowledge and studies."


    "Don''t worry, Wizard Marshal. Rin and I have been venturing far and wide within thend of Skyrim. We have uncovered tombs and old ruins. We have also taken quests to y dangerous monsters and earned many valuable resources in the process." Artoria was quick to support Rin. "I will not allow Rin to fall to one side or the other."


    "Very good, I know I can count on you, Saber." Zelretch smiled.


    "Where''s Lucretia?" I asked, looking around.


    She''s usually out by now when Ie to visit. She''s nice and I like spending time with her. She treats me like her actual Granddaughter...


    "She''s finishing up some matters back at her home world so she can move in permanently." Zelretch coughed a little.


    "Wonderful! We should celebrate."


    "Haha, we will when it''s done." Heughed. "We''ll make sure to get everyone toe and celebrate. But enough about that, what brings you lovelydies back here?"


    "I''m just picking up a few things. Saber''s following along." Rin jerked her thumb at me. "She''s the one who needs you."


    "Oh?" Zelretch quirked an eyebrow. "What do you need my help with?"


    "Well..." I watched Rin and Saber walk off. Saber gave me a smile of encouragement before she disappeared. "Can you drop me off somewhere if I give you the coordinates?"


    "I am capable, yes. But...I would like to know the specifics. I can''t in good conscience allow you to venture somewhere dangerous without knowing the details."


    "I want to go back to Remnant." I said simply.


    "Oh." He rubbed his chin. "Very well, I don''t think I need to tell you to be careful. I can see how motivated you are. But even so, I do hope you take care of yourself properly." He said warmly, before shuffling around his pockets. "Let''s see.....ah, this will work." He pulled out a... Talisman? "I admit I wasted some time ying around with this stuff after seeing Wilhelm devote time and effort to it. I had some inspiration after thinking about the idea of one-time-use Mystic Codes, and well, I made this on a whim. Simply Tear it and I''ll immediately know, and I''ll open a portal at your location."


    "Thank you, Grandfather!" I cheered happily. "And here you go." I handed him a piece of paper with the coordinates I needed.


    "It''s my pleasure." He waved his hand, his weird jeweled sword was already there. A simple motion with it and a portal all too simr to Wilhelm''s opened up. "Take care now."


    "I''ll be careful." I reassured him before stepping through.


    [***]


    It was odd being back after so long.


    I felt myself being....pulled towards my old role. It wasn''t something I couldn''t shake off, but I didn''t like the feeling.


    I didn''t want to stay here any longer than I needed.


    Especially in this ce, so close to the Grimm Pools left behind by the God of Darkness.


    I had no idea what he was thinking when he made these. They created me without me understanding anything about them beyond what was already widely known. I would almost call it childish in practice despite how horrible it sounded.


    Despite that, this was something I had to do.


    This was far from the extremes I would go to protect what I now have.


    And this was certainly a matter of protecting something precious to me. I don''t know why Wilhelm feels the way he does about Salem. While his tastes are rather obvious, he also doesn''t chase every single woman who matches them.


    I guess it doesn''t really matter. The only important thing is that Wilhelm has feelings for Salem, the Grimm Queen.


    And I absolutely would not allow her to hurt him because of that. I know him all too well at this point. As intelligent he is, he opens himself up easily to those he has affection for. I could easily see Salem abusing that for her personal gain.


    The thought of Wilhelm getting toyed with and heartbroken because of her made me feel emotions I didn''t know I was capable of.


    He''s said good things about her so far, but...I feel anxious about it.


    And that feeling persisted as I stared at her Castle ahead.


    Zelretch dropped me off right in front of it.


    It''s exactly as I recall. I knew everything about it, its construction, its design, its history. I knew how many bricks were used to create it. I knew where every room was, where every secret passage was, and everything that was hidden within.


    And more importantly, I knew everything about that woman.


    I even knew her three sizes, if Wilhelm ever thought to ask me.


    Though, while I was looking at it, something grabbed my attention. The snarling and growling that appeared all around me.


    Grimm, many of them.


    However, they weren''t immediately attacking me.


    I suppose my existence was strange to them. I was neither Human nor Faunus. I had emotions, but I didn''t quite register with their preprogramming. I was close enough that they were hostile, but not enough to blindly rush me.


    Something like this.... I had no qualms about killing. They weren''t truly alive, so I didn''t hold back.


    A single step forward, and I created a Magic Circle under my foot.


    What a wonderful discovery upon entering Wilhelm''s birth world. The ability to preprogram a spell into a viable storage unit, or a Spell Circle. The calctions and everything necessary to cast the spell were all stored within the Spell Circle and once you memorized it, you merely needed to reproduce it once again. The minute variables such as terrain could easily be added with additional uses in the calctions that took it into ount on each cast rather than needed to individually add each time.


    It''s no wonder that something like this was never created here. The Gift of Magic from the God of Darkness was always leaning towards destruction via the natural elements. Most Magic Users in the old era only used Elemental Maniption. Few sought to forge their Magical Energy into other effects.


    The Spell I actualized was simple and leaned into what I was predisposed to.


    A simple method of manipting the Earth.


    A single Spike shot up from the ground, impaling a ratherrge Ursa that was looking at me menacingly.


    I took another step forward, and created another Magical Circle.


    To the side, a Beowulf suffered the same fate.


    Though, this would take too long, so I slightly altered the spell sequence between steps.


    As I continued walking towards the castle, my next step created a chain. I altered the spell and added a location trigger. It sent out a minor shockwave through the earth, noted every being around me, then simultaneously cast the spell in a chain reaction.


    The dozens of Grimm that were around me all stopped moving, stopped making sounds. Only a loud thump was heard as theirrge bodies hit the dirt before dissipating and I continued onwards, my heels tapping against the stone bridge that led into Salem''s castle.


    The Gate was shut tight, but I was under no delusion that Salem wasn''t aware of my presence and waiting in preparation.


    I knew her all too well.


    If I really wanted to, I could probably predict what words she would say once I walked inside.


    But I was in no mood to y.


    I held up my hand, and flicked my finger.


    I gathered andpressed the air in front of me and fired it off.


    It collided with the Gate with and ''bang'', blowing them open as I strolled inside.


    "Who dares!?" I looked at the source of the sound.


    Cinder Fall is it? I could recall her with but a thought.


    Her hands lit up with the familiar feeling of magic. Her hands ignited in fire that came from the most obvious source.


    It seems she managed to steal the powers of a Maiden while I was away. However....it doesn''t lookplete.


    Casting Alteration to theposition of the stone floor. Observing the new chemical makeup of the stone. Casting an Illusion to ovey a blueprint then filling it in with the stone below. Calcting the required material ratios, then reforming into the desired shape.


    Synthesize and repeat.


    It was as if the stone warped and came alive, turning into chains andunching at Cinder. She was taken off guard and quickly disabled as they wrapped around her tightly.


    The top mostyer of stone was basically shaved away and reformed in that same movement to create the chains. It was as if the stone warped and came alive, turning into chains andunching at Cinder. She was taken off guard and quickly disabled as they wrapped around her tightly.


    A little trick I learned with Illusionary Magic in Skyrim. You can create the ''mold'' for the spell through illusionary means, cutting off several steps needed in the calctions. It can be quite useful in certain situations.


    "Cinder!?" Another one shouted, forgoing any subtly and charging at me.


    Emerald Sustrai. Her reaction isn''t surprising considering how the young girl turned Cinder into her only form of emotional support. Practically putting her up on a pedestal as her idol. It might have been mistaken with love if you looked at it from the outside. But that girl only had Cinder in her life give her any kind of positive reinforcement, so shetched onto it and refused to let go.


    I held my hand up and picked a version of the Paralysis spell I learned in Skyrim. I thought it was interesting how it was created. To lock a flesh and blood body regardless of the differences between living creatures, it worked simrly.


    So, I took that and created my own version.


    I call it Space Paralysis.


    Emerald who jumped at me was now stuck, midair.


    It was annoying at first. But once I practiced it a little bit, it only became a matter of calcting the specific vectors each time I used it. I still need to create a proper Spell Circle for itter for ease of use.


    My gaze turned towards thest of this little trio.


    "Mercury ck, are you going to fight me now?" I looked at the son of a notorious Assassin.


    "Uh...."


    Well, I''ll be merciful in this case.


    I snapped my fingers and the ground beneath him sunk downwards. It was even easier than what I did to Cinder, basically turning the stone into a miniature version of quick sand until his feet were subsumed, then I changed it back, locking him in ce.


    He uses his legs to attack via metal prosthetics, so he is effectively sealed away.


    It was a mercy because I didn''t know what she would do if he decided not to fight me.


    I looked at her.


    She stared down at me upon her throne.


    "Who are you?" Salem, the Queen of the Grimm, addressed me from above. She didn''t even look the slightest perturbed that I disabled her minions.


    "Me? Well, I am Jinn, Spirit of Knowledge who resided within the Relic of Knowledge." I introduced myself, earning a visible reaction from her. "But I''m here under a different one. I am Jinn, Wilhelm''s Woman." I dered.


    I gave her a moment to let that sink her. The flurry of emotions that crossed her face were...amusing, but I didn''t allow myself to lose myposure.


    "And I believe we need to have a talk, Salem."


    [***]


    A/N


    Sorry for thete chapter, had a death in the family.


    As for the second interlude in a row,st week or so when I wrote this, I only had time to finish part of the chapter, which was Jinn''s POV, so I just turned it into an interlude since it got this big.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 375 - 339

    <h4>Chapter 375: Chapter 339</h4>


    The familiarity of my abandoned building that has be my pseudo home for the time being. I was absolutely ecstatic about my gains, but I was also kind of tired at this point and the thought of just throwing myself into my bed sounded great.


    Right, Zanpakut¨­, Kido, and even some other things I didn''t quite anticipate but am happy to have taken.


    Things didn''t really go as nned.....


    [Yeah, what happened to quiet and subtle infiltration?]


    "I kind of stopped giving a shit halfway through after seeing the state of that ce." I admittedpletely.


    Why the fuck is there poverty in Heaven?


    ...I lied by ident to that little girl. I can only hope that she passed through the cycle of reincarnation and didn''t get stuck in Soul Society. She didn''t have that much Reiatsu, so I''m hoping she didn''t get dropped somewhere, least of all, the outer districts that were literally slums.


    Finding her would be practically impossible. There had to be tens of millions of people in the Rukongai. And It''s not like that wisp of Divine Power stayed with her, that was just asking for trouble. It was dispersed as soon as she entered the realm that epassed Soul Society.


    What an absolutely cluster fuck that afterlife is.


    God, and I''m going to have to exin this whole thing to Izzy. I have no idea how a Death God would react to how shitty that ce is. Yomi isn''t really a ce for people to live? so theparison isn''t really honest. But evenpared to Hades, Soul Society was absolute trash.


    When I point out that the Greek Gods are better...you know it''s pretty messed up. Though Hades isn''t nearly as bad as his Olympian family.


    But I shouldn''t get too worked up. It''s really none of my business, they''ve been operating for an undetermined amount of time, clearly this is just how things work here. Could I even overturn this whole process if I wanted to?


    I don''t have the means or the time to recreate a system of the afterlife.


    Sure, I could ask Izzy for help among others, but I don''t really feel like it''s right to meddle with it unless things really turn pear shapedter.


    I''ll just keep an eye on the situation for now, no need for me to make a bigger mess than I already have. I freely admit that I ran a little rampant in Soul Society, but there''s a fine line between what I did and truly causing damage.


    Ugh, just thinking about it is going to annoy me more.


    I''ll just take a nap and see how I feelter.


    Thankfully I keep a spare bed stored away. I need to get the Archmage something nice for the Ring he made me. Otherwise I may have taken a lot longer to do something simr.


    ...there is the Peach Wine I still need to ask Venna to make. I think it''s safe to say that he has a jar reserve with his name on it. He was so extraordinarily helpful to me when I was in desperate need of support.


    Getting ready to just jump right on my newly ced bed, I heard a familiar roar reverberate outside.


    That was definitely a Hollow.


    ....and I did just get a new shiny Zanpakut¨­ recently.


    Fuck it, I can nap after grabbing myself a Hollow forter. Big G in my spear knows that I was having trouble finding a Hollow before.


    I stepped outside to get some directions and vaguely sense out the Hollow until I stopped in my tracks.


    I know I wasn''t the most keen on sensing Reiatsu and such. Something I certainly need to train, and perhaps it was muddled based on being in a town full of above average for the people living here. But....what the fuck.


    Hollows, Hollows everywhere.


    I counted at least three dozen in the sky above the town, just sitting there. And I was absolutely positive that wasn''t all there was running around the city.


    So, I repeat, what the fuck.


    The Lightning began crackling under my feet as I eyed the ones in my surroundings. Or rather, the closest ones I could reach at a moment''s notice.


    With a loud thunderp, I moved towards the town, jumping across the rooftops to get a better view. I came to a stop to see a Hollow built like a Gori, showing some of the same mannerisms as it walked down the street, leaving cracked pavement in its wake.


    My new Zanpakut¨­ was already in my hand as I shot down at it, leaving a trail of lightning in my wake. It didn''t have much of a chance to even roar in defiance as I slid across the ground, slicing at it from underneath, leaving arge wound on its underbelly.


    I flicked my wrist, cutting through its nearest leg, making it fall to the ground and finishing it off with a quick sh at the back of the neck. The massive Hollow thumped to the ground, dissipating within moments.


    For a second, I briefly admired how clean it felt to use this Zanpakut¨­ as opposed to a ''normal'' sword of mine. A tool specifically designed for such a thing; I suppose it shouldn''te as a surprise.


    I couldn''t even properly admire my new treasure at the moment, it was making me a little annoyed.


    And to my surprise, I saw another Hollow out of the corner of my eye. Not that it was surprising to see a Hollow, but this one was tiny.


    "Bakudo #1, Sai." I cast, pointing my finger at a little gecko-like Hollow that was climbing a nearby building.


    Its limbs immediately became bound and it fell down. It was smaller than a person, maybe about the size of a dog. Which....wasrgeparatively to its animal counterpart, but it was tinypared to every Hollow I''ve met thus far.


    I took the extra moment to inspect it just because I didn''t want to be surprised if there was something strange about it. It had a hole just like a normal Hollow, and it had a Mask, like a normal Hollow.


    Though, it opened its mouth and breathed fire when I got close. I red my Aura to negate it, but it was still something that caught me mildly off guard. I could more or less gauge its strength by how much my Aura depleted, so it was weak enough not for me to consider it any longer.


    I mmed my Sword through its head when I got close, killing it easily.


    I hesitated just a little because the next closest one was more inside the actual town, and it was the middle of the day. The Hollow can''t be seen by normal people, even if they can feel the effects. But they''ll see me performing supernatural feats.....


    Annoying.


    Just as I was about to decide on a course of action, I noticed an abyss open up in the sky. Space was being torn open on a massive scale. A ck void devoid of life revealed itself and a hand reached through unto our world. The space around the abyss cracked, therge white hand grabbing at the seams of reality that blended at the two points of collision. Another Hand soon made its appearance, also grabbing at the edges, and something pulled itself through the void.


    A gigantic face appeared, donned in a White Mask.


    Its size gave me pause.


    The void that it emerged from began to erge, shattering the normal space as to make room for its massive form to step through.


    To call it big was a bit of an understatement here. It was bigger than the form that Susanoo took when I fought him. It easily dwarfed the tallest buildings in this town. Hell, the big hollows I''ve faced so far were smaller than merely its head.


    The thing was...odd in shape. It was a little elongated as it mimicked the form of a humanoid. It was as if someone wore a costume, a ck cloak with an attached Mask as there were no other predominant features beyond the huge hole on its chest and the white feet and hands.


    The most color came from its glowing red eyes that seemed to scan the city below.


    A single step it took onto this ne of reality shook the city itself.


    And like that, my ns slightly changed.


    I looked around and found a good target a little ways away and moved with haste.


    [***]


    I had been eyeing that thing since it emerged from where it had been hiding.


    It hadn''t moved in the past couple minutes, which I was thankful for. I was confident in being able to deal with it....but I also had concerns.


    Just....how many souls did that thing make up? Hollows should grow in strength by consuming souls, how many did it take for that disgusting creature to be born? How many would I doom if I destroyed it for the sake of this town?


    Sure, I had a Zanpakut¨­, but there''s only so much I can do about that gigantic fucking thing in the middle of the day with everyone being alert.


    It was a really shitty situation, not to mention there were still dozens of Hollows running rampant.


    Really, it seemed like that big fuck off Hollow wasn''t that intelligent. Perhaps when that many Souls converge into a single being, it loses its own coherent thought process?


    These other Hollows were animalistic in nature, but they still retained some degree of thought. This one just seemed.....mostly vacant.


    But, I sorta had a n, I think.


    However... I did stop for a moment as someone familiar approached.


    A little ck cat jumped up to the building I was standing on.


    "Yoruichi?'' I looked over.


    "Hey, I noticed you up here! Guess you saw the Hollows everywhere."


    "You mean the dozens of building sized ones casually hovering and walking the city looking for meals? Or the big fuck off Hollow that could use those Hollows as snacks?" I said dryly. "What the hell is going on? I had trouble finding a Hollow here or there the other day and now...this?"


    "Well ¨C" Yoruichi paused. "Is that a Zanpakut¨­." He looked at my sword.


    "Yes, it is. Now focus on the problem at hand." I knew for a fact that he would bring it upter, but now was obviously not the time.


    "But...how...?" He opened his mouth after a moment and closed it. "Later, alright. Yeah, don''t worry too much about the Hollows, we have it handled."


    "Have it handled?" I looked out at the town. "Yoruichi, that''s not gonna cut it. I killed some Hollows on the way here, and there are still more. What the hell is going on?"


    "A Quincy brat that lives in town used some Hollow Bait. He waspeting with Strawberry for some reason or something, and then all these Hollows popped up and the Menos Grande appeared, which shouldn''t have happened. Hollow Bait doesn''t work that well." He briefly exined.


    "Menos Grande? Why is it Spanish?" I questioned, looking at the big huge Hollow looming over the town. "It doesn''t matter. Hollow Bait? The fuck is that?"


    "Right, you''re new to this stuff. Uh, it''s exactly as it sounds, bait to attract Hollows. It''s good for seeking them out of hiding ces."


    "And this....kid? Quincy kid ¨C I thought they were extinct or something." I shook my head, ignoring that because it didn''t matter at the moment. "He....knowingly used something to attract Hollows ¨C Soul Eating monsters ¨C into a city filled with souls that have above average Reiatsu due to this ce being the highest concentration of Reishi, probably in the entire world. Did I get that right?"


    "It''s fine, we got it handled."


    "This doesn''t look like it''s ''being handled." I snorted. "You know this kid? Wait, are you involved?"


    "Not really involved, but we''re paying attention, it''s fine."


    "Yoruichi, what the fuck? There are literal soul eating monsters walking around, that''s not fine." I spat out at his utter disregard. "This is very much not okay. I can''t im to be the most morally upright person, I''ve done things I regret, and I''ve killed many people. However, Yoruichi, this crosses a line. You''re a little shit, but I do kinda enjoy having you around. But if you''re actually involved in something like this, for what ever reason, helping bring in Monsters that could eat random and innocent people....."


    "Look, I wasn''t involved, alright? We''re trying to clean this up as best as possible, but my friend also is trying to help the kids out with something." Yoruichi sighed. "It''s not like I let Hollows eat people, I was a Shinigami for a long time and took my duties seriously. I''m mainly the person who cleans up the Hollows that appear every night!"


    "....I''m going to put a stop to this. I don''t care what''s going on, I''m ending it. Bringing innocent people into messes like this is a line I draw and will hold everyone ountable for."


    "Fuck, if you wanna take them out, I won''t tell you not to. It''s not like I want them here any more than you do." He grumbled. "I was killing them before I came over. But how are you going to ''end'' this?"


    Well, that was a thought I had myself a few minutes ago, and I had a solution I believe would work.


    The important thing was making sure that I didn''t harm the souls within the hollow that it consumed. Destroying a Hollow improperly would damn those souls just as much as its own.


    Hence, a Shinigami''s Zanpakut¨­ purifies the Hollows it kills and frees the souls to properly move on.


    My Divinity should be more than sufficient.


    I already tested it, my Divinity has that kind of reaction on Hollows from what I''ve discovered.


    I held my hand up to the sky and my Divinity bubbled to the surface as I called upon the barest hint of my Authority. I didn''t have to actualize it into the world, I had a perfect medium to tap into its power.


    "Strun Ba Qo!" I announced with a thunderp and the sky immediately darkened.


    "What the hell!?" Yoruichi eximed at the sudden change. "Did you just change the weather!?"


    The Storms answer my call, I just need the quickest method to gather it.


    The air above crackled violently with the barely contained power.


    I looked at the Hollows in the air, and eyed everyone I could see from up here. I made a mental note of them then clenched my hand tight. "Strike." Imanded, and the storm answered.


    Every Hollow I saw was targeted.


    Lightning rained down from the sky, smiting every unholy spirit that existed with my vision and my domain.


    Even the big guy got hit, arge bolt of lightning mming down above.


    It was almost knocked off bnce, its massive form stuttering, and it nearly fell over before catching itself. Each movement bringing about a small earthquake to the surroundings.


    "Holy shit!" Yoruichi looked at me in shock. "But a Menos needs a little more than that to take it out. But holy crap, that was insane! Can all Wizards do that? What did you say? I didn''t understand those words, but they felt heavy." Yoruichi prattled on.


    "I cleared up the majority of them. You said that you had it handled, I assume you have helpers?" I asked, ignoring his question for now.


    "Yeah, we had people going around taking care of them. This should be ¨C "


    The Massive Hollow turned its gaze towards us and its mouth opened, revealing a gathering of Reiatsu at an impressive quantity. It condensed and took form into a huge ball of energy.


    "Shit, that''s a Cero! And it''s pumping a shit ton of Reiatsu into it. If it hits the city, it''ll take out a few blocks easily." Yoruichi looked like he was about to make a move, and while I was curious to see what he would do, my trust right now was at its lowest at how this whole thing was handled.


    At this point, I was already this knee deep into whatever was happening, may as well clean up properly.


    I held up my hand to the sky again. "Come." Imanded, and a bolt of Lightning fell from the sky and I squeezed it between my fingers.


    I drained what power remained within the clouds for this bit and condensed it into a usable form. It took shape, crackling along a bright shaft-like amalgamation, vaguely resembling a spear.


    Taking a step forward, I reeled my arm back and threw it towards the Hollow.


    It soared through the air, and mmed right into the conglomeration of energy it was gathering, dispersing it and continued onward, erupting into a sphere of electrical discharge within the massive maw of the thing.


    The head of the Hollow exploded with a loud thunder p, the remains of the massive thing swayed back and forth, dissipating quickly under themand of my Divine Lightning, properly sending off all the contained souls it had devoured of its existence.


    I was prepared to intervene, but the body didn''t copse downward before it fully dispersed from the mortal world.


    "God damn." Yoruichi muttered. "Are you really human?"


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" I looked at him.


    "....That isn''t something a Human should be able to do..."


    "I know plenty of humans who can aplish simr feats."


    Yoruichi looked at me silently, apparently having trouble formting a response.


    "The kid who used this ''Hollow bait'', is he nearby?" I asked.


    "...He''s down below with Strawberry, why?"


    "I''m going to have a chat with him about his actions." I put away my Zanpakut¨­, kind of wishing I had my brick at this moment because I felt like I was going to need it.


    "....alright, but I''ming with."


    "That''s fine, lead the way." I gestured.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 376 - 340

    <h4>Chapter 376: Chapter 340</h4>


    I hopped down, following Yoruichi as he ran around.


    It certainly didn''t take me long to find the source of my current anger and annoyance. And as he mentioned before, this Strawberry was sitting there as well.


    One, Kurosaki Ichigo. And he was arguing with a kid with sses and a shimmering blue bow made of Reiryoku in his hand.


    There was also that Shinigami that did the illegal thing standing behind him.


    My presence did not go unnoticed.


    "YOU!!" Ichigo shouted, holding his massive sword up at me.


    "Nice sword, I used to have one just like it." I greeted with a little wave.


    "You bastard!"


    "Calm down Strawberry, I''m not here for you." I ignored him for the moment. He was a little on guard, which was understandable. As was the silent Shinigami behind him that was eyeing me suspiciously. Though....hers was more...actual hesitance as opposed to Ichigo who just had his pride hurt thest time we met.


    Don''t know where Yoruichi went, but whatever.


    "And you." I turned to sses kid. "Are you the one whose mess I had to clean up?"


    "Pardon?" He looked confused.


    I let Lighting snap between my fingers to que him in on what happened.


    "...that was you!?" Rukia finally spoke up, eximing in surprise. "What ¨C how?"


    "Little bit of Magic." I replied.


    "That''s not ¨C" She seemed to have trouble finding the right words. "You changed the weather! You killed a Menos! That isn''t something a Human should be able to do!"


    Honestly, Yoruichi said the same thing about humans in general. "You lot really seem to look down on humans. I know many off the top of my head who could aplish something simr."


    "Wait, the lightning was him?" Ichigo blinked.


    "Of course it was, you moron!" Rukia smacked him. "He just showed you it!"


    "....but how''d he do it?" The orange haired kid barely budged after the hit. "Oi, can you do that too?" He looked at Rukia.


    "That''s the whole point!" She huffed. "I....I don''t know any Kido that can manipte the weather on such arge scale." She added softly. "...that''s not normal."


    As the two argued, I turned towards who I assumed was the Quincy. I didn''t really know what that truly meant beyond some vague description that Tessai gave me and only that Yoruichi pointed it out in passing.


    "You..." His eyes widened as it was pretty damn hard to miss the light show. "You stole my prey!"


    ....and that was not the response I was expecting.


    "Care to repeat that?" I was a little surprised by his answer, I think I needed rification.


    "Hmph." He pushed up his ss, dismissing his bow. "I would have handled those Hollows fine. You interrupted my match with the Shinigami."


    "....Strawberry, exin." I looked at Ichigo.


    "Stop calling me that, asshole!" He growled. "And this idiot wanted topete in killing Hollows because of some crap, I don''t know."


    "Let me get this straight..." I turned back to the Quincy. "You....used Hollow Bait to bring Hollows here pete with this idiot?" I jerked my thumb at Ichigo.


    "Who''re you calling an idiot!?"


    "The idiot who lost his sword." I responded.


    "Come try that again, I dare you!"


    "I don''t want your sizepensation anymore." I waved him off.


    "What did you just say!?" He stomped on the ground with a huff, but I ignored him.


    "That''s correct." The Quincy replied, without a hint of shame.


    I walked up to him, and he just seemed confused for a moment until I got in his face. And in one swift motion, I pped him. Hard, and across his cheek. His sses went flying off onto the ground and he stuttered backwards before falling over.


    He''s lucky I didn''t have my brick at the moment.


    "Stupid fucking kid." I muttered, looking at him recovering from the shock. "Just a stupid fucking kid probably around 15 years old." I was more so saying this to myself because I was close to wanting to just kill him and be done with it.


    If he gave some answer like wanting the Hollows to rampage and cause harm, then I would have taken his head without a second thought. But no, this stupid fucking kid didn''t see a problem with the situation because he thought he had it handled.


    "What the hell?" Ichigo shouted as he walked towards me. "Did you just hit him?"


    "He''s lucky that''s all I did." I red at the other stupid kid. "If he was a few years older, I may have just decided to end the whole problem the fastest way."


    Ichigo''s face darkened and I saw his hand tighten around his sword. Was he going to intervene if I actually went to kill him? Well.....I can''t say that makes me hate him at all, the kid has a good heart if anything.


    "You, Shinigami." I snapped my head at Rukia who had been silent thus far. "Tell me, if you summoned a bunch of Hollows into a densely popted town. One that is probably the highest concentration of Reishi in the world. What would your punishment be if they ran rampant?"


    "Most likely execution." She said simply, obviously getting what I was hinting at. "Intentionally causing the deaths of the living is a serious crime."


    "This isn''t a game." I turned back towards Ichigo. "The stakes here for whatever bullshit reason you guys peted'' for, were the lives of innocent people."


    God what is the worlding to when I have to be someone else''s moral guidance? Fuck, I''m a damn criminal in another world, a wanted fugitive a fucking Devil. Why does it fall to me to tell these stupid kids that Soul eating monsters in a popted area are a bad idea?"


    "I would have handled it fine!" The Quincy kid shouted, obviously having recovered from his initial shock. "I would have proven that I was better than this ¨C Shinigami. Besides, the Hollow Bait wasn''t supposed to be able to summon that many!"


    "Right, the thing you used to summon Soul eating monsters did something you didn''t expect and summoned more Soul Eating monsters than anticipated. That''s what you''re falling back on when someone calls out your stupidity?" I sighed, repeating to myself that he wasn''t malicious, but a stupid fucking kid. "If this was your genius fucking n, why didn''t you use it, I don''t know, maybe outside of popted areas!?"


    I had to resist the urge to p him again.


    "I ¨C"


    "Tell me, do you know how many people died because of your little stunt?"


    "No one ¨C"


    "I was on the other side of town, and I killed several before I had to do something bigger to handle the stragglers. Tell me, how did you have those ''handled''?" Finally, there was a growing look of horror appearing on his face as realization set in. "Yoruichi." I called out, knowing damn well he was nearby.


    I actually don''t know if anyone died or not. I would genuinely be surprised if there were no deaths because of his little stunt. And It''s obvious he didn''t do this shit maliciously, otherwise I wouldn''t even bother with words, his head would have been rolling on the ground already.


    No, he''s just a stupid fucking kid who didn''t think through his actions.


    The cat appeared in a sh. "Need something?"


    "What the hell, did that cat just talk?" Ichigo blurted out.


    "Is a talking cat as strange as a talking strawberry?" Yoruichi retorted.


    "D-did you just...!?" The kid started fuming and it was hard to keep a serious look at that jab.


    "This Quincy kid ¨C"


    "It''s Ishida Ury¨±!" The kid snapped back, but he was sorta taking the verbal scolding without running away.


    "Presumably, his parents, one or both, are Quincy. Do you know his address?" I asked, ignoring his outburst. "And you said you had people helping, is it safe to assume the remnants are taken care of?"


    "The kid is right, Hollow bait shouldn''t have attracted that many ¨C at least the tiny amount he used. Not saying it was smart." Yoruichi nced at the sses wearing kid still on his ass. Thetter of whom had the decency to actually wince at the tone. "But yeah, you did most of the heavy lifting there and the smart ones ran when the Menos appeared. Bigger predator and all that. My friends can handle the rest. As for his house, I know the address."


    "Good, me and this stupid kid''s parents are going to have a chat." I decided, grabbing the Quincy by the cor despite his protests.


    What a fucking day this is turning out to be. Responsible Wilhelm here to tell kids to stop being idiots.


    [Kind of ironic, isn''t it? You''re usually the one causing the big problems.]


    Please, I don''t bring innocent people into shit like this.


    [That''s true, now that I think about it, you almost always take fights and such out of the way.]


    I freely admit that I do things that are not quite so wise in hindsight. But when I cause problems, it''s usually calcted. Or atleast I always take responsibility for the consequences of my own messes.


    God, I really hope Kunou doesn''t have a phase like this when she gets a few years older.


    [***]


    "This the ce?" I asked.


    "This is ¨C"


    "I was talking to the cat." I jerked the kid''s cor. I was pissed off and didn''t even want to hear him talk at the moment."


    "Yeah, this is it. I know his dad." Yoruichi confirmed as he stood on my shoulder.


    "Wait, you know my father?"


    "Obviously." Yoruichi said dryly. "Do you think the spiritual stuff in this town is big enough that I wouldn''t know one of the other Quincy''s living here?"


    Hmm, I think Yoruichi may be a little peeved at the idiot kid too. Well, he did confess his own pride in his previous upation as a Shinigami. Which the mainstay focus of that was to deal with Hollows. I''m sure some stupid kid summoning them into the middle of a town full of people ticked him off a little.


    Maybe I was a little too hard on him before and jumping to conclusions. His callousness was maybe misinterpreted by me. I know I might appear like that to other people when I have situations well in hand but it appears chaotic for them.


    And it''s not like he knew how strong and such I was. So he was probably being nice and keeping me out of any nasty business.


    I''ll apologizeter.


    The house itself leaned towards wealth and I tempered myself ordingly.


    Ishida Ury¨± muttered under his breath. "He won''t be home, he''s at wo¡ª"


    A man with white hair opened the door. He wore a very tidy and fashionable suite and had an air of elegance about him.


    "Yoruichi." He was the first to speak.


    "Hey Ry¨±ken it''s been awhile." Yoruichi greeted.


    "I was not aware we were familiar enough for you to use my given name." He said calmly.


    "Maybe, but I''m gonna anyways."


    "Of course." He responded dryly. "And this is?" He looked at me.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself and I pulled Ury¨± up as he sort of shrunk away when his father appeared. "I believe this belongs to you?"


    "Ury¨±" He said evenly.


    "....father." The kid didn''t meet his eyes.


    Oof, something tells me these two aren''t really close.


    "Very well,e in." He held the door open as he stepped to the side.


    I did let go of the kid''s cor once we crossed the threshold. Seemed impolite to keep manhandling him while his father was right there.


    He gestured towards the couch with the apanying coffee table as I took a seat and he sat down across from me. And seeing Ury¨± keep a certain distance from his father wasn''t lost on me.


    "Am I to assume that the mark on my son''s face is from you?" He asked.


    His cheek was still visibly red and I could vaguely see an outline from my hand.


    "It is." I didn''t deny it one bit. "I would say it''s a better alternative than you finding his head rolling on the ground."


    I was kind of annoyed that he didn''t get upset at the insinuation of me killing his son.


    "I assume there is a good reason for this meeting?" He asked.


    "Why are you ying like you don''t know, Ry¨±ken." Yoruichi snorted, hopping off my shoulder onto the seat next to me. "You''re not nearly out of practice enough to not notice what happened earlier. You still don''t leak an iota of Reiatsu that you don''t want to."


    The man let out a long breath. "What did you do, Ury¨±?" He turned towards his son.


    The kid scowled and didn''t answer.


    "He decided that it was a good idea to use Hollow Bait in the middle of the city." I filled in the nks. "You could probably notice the consequences of that. He was spouting some nonsense about proving his superiority over the Shinigami by forcing him into apetition to kill Hollows."


    Ry¨±ken let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes. "Son." He said authoritatively.


    "It wasn''t supposed to...." The words died in his mouth. "It was supposed to just bring out a few Hollows, and I was going to teach that Shinigami a lesson. That''s it."


    "I was forced to leave work early because there were a substantial number of Hollows nearby. I even dealt with a good number of them myself." Uryu''s Dad exined. "That is until I noticed the shopkeeper making a move." He nced at Yoruichi.


    "See, I told you we had it handled." Yoruichi looked at me smugly.


    I suppose that refers to his people then. Tessai did mention something about a ''shopkeeper''.


    "I.....I didn''t mean to.." The kid stuttered out.


    Yeah, he was way in over his head here. He clearly didn''t mean for things to escte like they did and he wasn''t mentally prepared for the fallout.


    "Ury¨±, go to your room. We''ll talk after I''m done with our guests." His father said sternly.


    The Kid looked like he wanted to argue, but hung his head dejectedly and followed hismand, disappearing up some stairs.


    "Thank you for bringing my son." He suddenly said, "I can understand how this may have looked from your perspective."


    "It wasn''t malicious." I replied. "Beyond stupid, but it didn''te from a ce of wanting to hurt anyone."


    "Unfortunately, he hasn''t been able to let go of his Quincy heritage ever since his Grandfather passed away. He mes the Shinigami for his death."


    "There''s nothing wrong with acknowledging one''s heritage and honoring it. But he seemed a little obsessed to the point where it overruled hismon sense until I literally smacked him back to reality." I was starting to get a bad vibe from him.


    I wasn''t liking the feeling I was getting so far.


    The look on his face said he didn''t agree with me and I could guess he didn''t care to argue.


    "I won''t tell you how to be a father ¨C mainly because I''ve only been one for a few months at this point and still have no idea what I''m doing. But....clearly he''s had wounds that have been festering for awhile. Might be a good idea to address them instead of just silently disregarding his clear interests until he does something worse in his misguided pursuits." I admit I was getting a tiny bit more annoyed with each passing moment.


    Well, there was a silent reaction out of him, a small frown that appeared on his face.


    "I will rify his Grandfather''s death so he will not act out against any Shinigami in the future." He replied.


    "....right." And just ignore all his apparent trauma that''s obvious to me, an outsider, that''s known him for all of less than an hour. Kid clearlyshed out for some reason and expressed guilt afterwards. "Is his mom not in the picture?"


    "His mother passed away when he was younger." He said simply.


    ....the way he just sounds so detached is pissing me off.


    But I''m starting to heavily sympathize with this kid now.


    "So, here''s a crazy thought. I have a suggestion that may help. Have you tried acting like a father? Because so far you seem utterly unconcerned about this whole affair and your son''s health and safety."


    Hoh, that really got a reaction.


    Almost a scowl.


    "You have my thanks for returning my son." He stood up from his seat. "Allow me to see you out."


    He was politely telling me to get the fuck out. Guess I really did piss him off.


    Well, good.


    Act like a goddamn parent.


    Well, I didn''t realize that sets me off as much as it does. Learn something new everyday.


    I would leave it at this, the kid did something exceedingly stupid for stupid reasons, but not out of maliciousness. It''s not as though he was acting like those Hero faction kids who attacked Kyoto and killed a good amount of Yasaka''s people.


    [***]


    "I can''t believe you said that to his face." Yoruichi chuckled as we walked down the street back towards my ''home''.


    "I was thinking about skipping over the politeness and just calling him a cunt to his face."


    "Pfft." Yoruichi nearly fell over inughter. "Please, can we redo this. Can we go back and you do that instead? Actually, let''s just knock on his door and you say that and then turn around and leave."


    "As tempting as that sounds....he honestly pisses me off enough that I don''t want to see him. Deadbeat parents are one of my sore spots." For rather obvious reasons. "Kind of sympathize with the kid now."


    "He wasn''t always so grumpy and boring. Before his wife died, he did have some life in him. Not much, but he could crack a smile before. But he kind of just checked out afterwards." Yoruichi revealed. "Were you serious back there?''


    "About telling him to be a father? Of course I was."


    "No, I mean, you said you were a father. Didn''t think you''d have a brat running around. Seem kind of young."


    "She adopted me not that long ago. She''s ten years old now, almost eleven." I smiled wistfully.


    "Cute." Yoruichi snorted. "Also, where''d you get a Zanpakut¨­?"


    "You just couldn''t wait to ask me that, could you?"


    "It''s been killing me."


    "Would you believe me if I said I just found it?"


    "Nope."


    "That''s unfortunate, because that''s what happened."


    "Bullshit, you can''t just find oneying around."


    "Really? Have you tried?"


    "Why would I try!? That doesn''t happen!"


    "My new Zanpakut¨­ proves otherwise." I taunted.


    "Am I gonna hear about some poor Shinigami that got mugged?" Yoruichi narrowed his eyes.


    ".....no."


    "I was joking but now I''m sort of concerned."


    "Listen.....don''t worry about it."


    "When someone tells you not to worry about something, usually you should worry about it." He looked at me suspiciously.


    "Didn''t you tell me not to worry about the Hollows?"


    ".....touch¨¦."


    "Also, do you know about something called ''Hoh¨­?" I decided to ask.


    "Yes, but how do you know about that? You didn''t even know about Kid¨­ until I told you about it. My suspicion meter is kind of swinging wildly here."


    "Don''t worry about it."


    "I think it''s broken now. I think I really should worry. I feel like I''m going to find some poor Shinigamiying face down in the gutter with all his belongings ransacked. Did you steal his Shihakush¨­ too?"


    Oh, is that what the uniform is called? Garment of Dead Souls?


    Sounds edgy.


    And that was.....fairly close to what actually happened.


    "Also, do you know someone named Unohana Retsu?" I decided to change the subject.


    "....There isn''t a Shinigami alive that doesn''t know that name. And again, how do you know it?"


    "I just randomly heard it mentioned." I said casually.


    "Right, cause that was some bullshit you were spewing." Yoruichi rolled his eyes. "Why do you want to know about her?"


    "Just curious, I heard she''s a beauty." I shrugged.


    "Pfft, sure." Yoruichi snorted. "Don''t know why you know that name, but listen. There are two Shinigami that I absolutely do not want to get into a fight with. Two that actually scare me. The first is the Old Man himself, The Captain Commander of the Gotei 13."


    "Sounds impressive."


    "He can keep all the other idiot captains in line, so yes, he is. He''s been leading it for over two thousand years now. And he''s supposedly the strongest Shinigami that''s ever lived. Don''t know how much of that is truth cause I''ve never actually seen him fight seriously."


    Huh, is that who Shunsui meant when he mentioned an ''old man''.


    Something to take note of.


    "And the other is the Captain of the Fourth Division. Which, I should iterate, is the healing division. They focus almost entirely on healing. The woman you mentioned, Unohana Retsu."


    "Ah, I got it. No one fucks with the healers, right?"


    "Actually, a good chunk of the Shinigami there look down on the healers. But everyone is polite towards her. Believe me when I said that no one fucks with the captain of the fourth division."


    Huh.


    [Doesn''t deter you in the slightest, does it?]


    Ignoring the dragon.


    "Well, not that it matters. She rarely ever leaves her division and the Old Man doesn''t leave his post for anything short of the end of the world. And It''s not like you''ll ever meet them."


    ".....right."


    Suddenly, Yoruichi perked up, his ears straightened, and his tail followed suit before he ran over to someone walking down the street towards us.


    He was....very out of ce honestly.


    He wore wooden clogs on his feet and supported himself with a cane. He had a sort of bucket hat on his head and wore a samue with a ck Haori over it. His messy blonde hair peeked out underneath and he had a strange smile on his face as he approached.


    Yoruichi jumped up to his shoulder then onto his head,ying himself ontop of his hat.


    "Ara, you must be Schweinorg-kun." The man greeted me. "It''s nice to meet you, I''m Urahara Kisuke." He bowed his head slightly with a strange glint in his eyes.


    He gave me a weird feeling.


    "....is this the friend you mentioned, Yoruichi?" I asked. "Cause he seems sketchy as fuck."


    Yoruichi fell off his head,ughing.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 377 - 341

    <h4>Chapter 377: Chapter 341</h4>


    Jinn POV


    Was I surprised?


    Not really.


    I could weigh the odds of the decision that Salem made when I made my introduction. However, there were variables I couldn''t ount for. I expected her to try and assert her authority so as to not lose credence in front of her minions, but....all the pressure that was built up sort of deted once I introduced myself as Wilhelm''s woman. Her hostility almostpletely evaporated even if she kept putting up the front.


    ...I admit that it was strange to see her suddenly be so passive.


    The actions of Wilhelm were basically a blind spot due to his nature of an outsider here. So I wasn''t really aware what he''d been up to other than what he''s mentioned. So to see her react like this was.... promising.


    It slightly lessened some of my worst fears, however, I would still check to make sure.


    "So you''re the Relic of Knowledge." Salem stared at me from across the table.


    She didn''t even bother to free her minions after I ''trapped'' them. Not that they were in any harm, but I suppose that''s about par for Salem''s personality. She''ll probably free themter once I leave.


    "That''s right." Technically, I was the Spirit of the Relic, but that''s really just semantics.


    "I had heard that the relic had a spirit from Ozma. But I did not expect it to be...."


    "Be what?" I leaned forward onto the table. "Beautiful? Enchanting?"


    "Seductive." She snorted.


    "That''s right, I seduced Wilhelm" I said without shame. "I bent my little blue ass over and let him do whatever he wanted to me. Does that make you jealous~"


    She was at a loss for words. She clearly didn''t expect me to confirm it and be so blunt about it.


    Hmph, it''s not like I''m ashamed ofnding myself a good man.


    "Ridiculous." She scoffed. "Why are you here? Are you not afraid I will capture you? You obviously know what my goal is."


    "Right, that stupid goal of yours." I rolled my eyes. "How''s that beening along? Collect the relics, summon the Brother Gods. Commit suicide by God. Great n."


    "Did you juste here to mock me?" She narrowed her eyes.


    "You have an inted sense of importance. Why would I bothering all the way here just to mock you?" I pped the table, in the blink of an eye, a Magical Circle appeared, utterly disintegrating it. "If you want to die so badly, I''d be more than willing to answer your wish myself."


    "You think you can undo the curse by your creators?" She scoffed again, though there was a hint of wariness in her tone at seeing my little disy. "Ozma has been trying to do such a thing for centuries."


    "Don''t even get me started on him. Do you know how many times I''ve been asked the question ''How do I kill Salem?''". Way too many times!


    Dammit Ozpin, ask a better damn question. His biggest w was that he couldn''t overlook his own self importance and maybe ask ''how could someone kill Salem?''.


    Nope, he always had to single himself out.


    ''How do I be the hero of the story''.


    Idiot.


    It felt nice though, my restrictions have been.....loosened considerably. My time away from Remnant fried a lot of my internal programming.


    I couldn''t quite give away secrets, but if something was obvious or they could rationalize it themselves with some little effort, I could say it.


    "Of course that fool would be wasteful with you." Salem snorted, a twitch of amusement on her face. It quickly disappeared though. "Why have youe here?"


    "That''s a good question." I crossed my legs. "I''m here because my man is a bit of an idiot. He''s sweet and caring, but he can get blinded if he cares for someone. Unfortunately, and for reasons I''m still trying to understand, you''ve caught his attention and he''s developed feelings for you."


    How much easier would this be if it was just a case of him lusting after her? Oh, I have no doubt he wants to get up under that dress. I know exactly what kind of fat ass she''s hiding under there and I''m sure he''s inspected it thoroughly from the outside. But no, he wouldn''t pursue this kind of extended rtionship if that were the case. Not that he isn''t a lustful little devil, but it doesn''t make his decisions bar what happened with Venna. There are plenty of very attractive women around him that he doesn''t have feelings for. And in Venna''s case, well, I don''t think Wilhelm stood a chance there.


    I think most of us would have been seduced by her if she put in the effort. It was a good lesson for him, and I don''t expect it to happen again, so I didn''t really mind in the end.


    "Are you here to warn me?" She snorted in disdain.


    "Yes." I didn''t deny it. "You''re in a unique position that you can actually hurt the man I care about. And I will go to extensive lengths to protect him."


    "If I wished to harm him, he has given me every opportunity to do so until now." She crossed her arms in response.


    "Please, like you could physically harm him." I chuckled, making her raise an eyebrow. "No I''m talking about hurting him in other ways. I know who you are, Salem. I know everything you''ve done, I''ve known every sin you''vemitted and every dirty deed to your name. So, I''m here to make sure you''re not scheming to use him for your own ends."


    "And what if I am?" She challenged. "What if I''m using him to collect all of the relics for my personal goal? What If I''m using him, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to kill me?" She stated, not believing my earlier bravado.


    "I will."


    "Hmph. You said he had ''feelings'' for me? And how will you exin that to him?"


    "I''ll tell him." I said withplete honesty. "He may hate me afterwards. He may even kick me out. Butpared to seeing him hurt because you yed with him, I think it''d be worth it."


    The thought of him finding out that she just wants to die after he became so invested, it would break his heart. I heard about what happened after Sc¨¢thach, and then he recently had to kill another version of Artoria.


    I refuse to allow him to be hurt like that again.


    He''s always trying to make sure we''re all taken care of. He promised he would take care of me. Well, right now, it''s my turn to take care of him.


    If I have to cut off this problem at the root....I''ll do it.


    "I''m here to make sure you''re not just ying with the man I care for." I straightened up in my seat.


    "....you truly believe what you have just spoken. That you can and will strike me down if you suspect me." She looked at me strangely.


    "That''s right, I can grant you your wish. I can kill you right now if you want." I learned quite a few things from my time away. That includes the work arounds for Salem''s little curse.


    Killing Immortal creatures isn''t something as impossible in other worlds. It''s happened plenty of times even in Wilhelm''s birth world and I''ve taken the time to study many things there.


    Salem was pitiful in a way. She was cursed because she pleaded with the God of Darkness to resurrect Ozma ¨C her love, after the God of Light refused her. And after a series of events, she and Ozma became enemies after the death of their children.


    Since then, she''s been nothing but a bundle of hatred and anger. However, she didn''t always want to die. No, she originally just wanted tosh out at the world and make everyone suffer like she had.


    And they did. For centuries the Grimm ran rampant under hermands after she had fallen into the Grimm Pools and became one with the corrupted influence. It would have normally killed someone on contact, but the curse that ran through her soul was enough to sustain her so she survived and gained her ''control'' over Grimm.


    The Gods in their infinite wisdom, forced Ozma into a weird state of reincarnation tobat Salem. Every time he died, he would pop up in another body and basically subsume what was originally there.


    And they fought a shadow war over the centuries until it slowly started to die down. And over time, Salem slowly became more and more apathetic about the world until she finally just grew tired of it all and wanted it to end.


    Of course, she never told anyone her true goals. Even Ozma thinks she desires the relics to destroy the world or some other nefarious purpose.


    Granted, the Brother Gods will probably wipe out all living beings on the if Salem summons them...but that isn''t really her intent.


    Not that it makes it any better.


    But surprisingly.... "You''re hesitating." I pointed out. "It should have been a simple affirmation, but you''re hesitating."


    Oh my sweet man, did you really manage to move her heart?


    I was skeptical, the whole reason I came here was because I didn''t quite believe it. But looking at her now.....


    "My matters are none of your business." She practically snarled.


    "When they involve my man, they most certainly are." I didn''t back down. "Salem, what are your intentions towards Wilhelm?"


    Seeing her scowl and avoid my gaze was...telling.


    "Okay." I pped my hands. "I won''t interfere."


    "Excuse me?" Salem was taken off guard again.


    "I won''t interfere." I reiterated.


    "Youe here and.....threaten me in my domain. You im to be able to kill me despite my immortality and now....you give up?"


    "That was only if you were nning on using him. I would have ended you without a second thought. However, I won''t interfere in your rtionship with him." I replied to her.


    "And If I decide that I want nothing to do with him hence forth?" She looked at me curiously.


    "I will say nothing and I will do nothing. It''s not my ce to meddle with this part of his rtionships. If that''s what you choose, he''ll be hurt for awhile, but he''ll get over it. I can''t force you to get together with him just because he likes you." I shook my head.


    No, I was onlying here to make sure he wasn''t blinded by his own emotions. Maybe to also reassure myself that he would be fine if he chose this. Her hesitance was enough for now, it showed that she was at least considering more than a simple rtionship.


    "...and if I chose the opposite?" She asked softly. "It''s as you have said. I have done terrible things in my life. You im to know all of it, will you not speak against any union?" She probed me a little which....was odd to see.


    Was she worried how Wilhelm would see her?


    Jeez Wilhelm, just what did you do to this woman? This is not how I remember the Grimm Queen acting.


    "What makes you think he isn''t aware of your past?" I responded. Well, he isn''t aware of the finer details, but.....he can easily fill in the nks.


    Seeing her eyes widen slightly, I guess she didn''t realize the extent that Wilhelm knew about her.


    He did ask me about her with my third question. He did see her life ¨C in part ¨C through my abilities.


    She really does have some sort of concern and interest there. It seems like I made this trip here for nothing after all. At Least I can ry the news to everyone else as well. I know Artoria was having mixed feelings due to Salem''s past ¨C from what I was able to tell her before. This should make her less concerned for now and willingly to wait until things get further along.


    Salem....wasn''t always the Grimm Queen. Maybe there''s some of that woman still in there somewhere that''stching at the possibility of being something better? Looking for something other than just to end her depressing existence.


    I trust Wilhelm.


    I can''t say for sure if things will work out, but I know that if it isn''t working or any of us disagree with it, he won''t force it.


    So, I may as well let things settle here.


    Still, seeing the confident and tyrannical Grimm Queen look a tiny bit flustered was....amusing.


    "...what happens now?" She asked.


    "Well, I suppose I should apologize for my entrance then leave. However...we could also.....talk for a while?" I offered.


    Clearly some things happened that I was unaware about. Wilhelm was probably his usual self and somehow charmed her enough that she''s now hesitating with regards to her former ns and considering something extended.


    I may as well try to get to know my new ''sister'' better even if I technically know her already.


    "...I would not be against it." She said softly.


    I''ll give her a chance.


    I just hope it isn''t misced.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Hurtful words, Schweinorg-kun." Urahara Kisuke said cheerfully, not really looking insulted in the slightest. "I''m just a simple shop owner."


    "Sex shop?"


    "Pfft." Yorucihi erupted inughter, literally rolling on the ground.


    "Erm...not that kind of shop." He was a little caught off guard by my words. "It''s a Candy shop." He smiled brightly.


    "...I repeat what I said, sketchy as fuck." I looked at Yoruichi on the ground. "Does he also have a nondescript white van he drives around in?"


    "Hahahahaha!" Yoruichi''sughter intensified. "He does, he does!!"


    "Right....So, you looking for me? Should I point out that I''m not a child that can be tempted into your van with some candy?"


    He twitched a little before taking a fan out of hisrge sleeves. He tapped it against his palm with a strange smile on his face. "You are an interesting person, Schweinorg-kun."


    "I love when people praise me. Do it some more."


    He paused again for a moment. "You really don''t follow the scripts, do you?"


    "Well, when suspicious people approach me, I tend not to stick to normal social conventions." I rxed a little. "What can I help you with?"


    He was giving me the same vibes as Azazel, just without the....sleaziness to apany it. No, it felt like he wanted to probe me and delve into my secrets.


    "I was curious about something, I wonder if you could help me."


    "I already know what you''re going to ask."


    "You do?" He looked amused, unfolding his fan.


    "I''m sorry to say, that I was simply born this handsome, there''s no secret to achieve such wlessness." I nodded sagely.


    "Ara ara, Schweinorg-kun. That''s nice to know, but it wasn''t what I wished to asked."


    The best way to deal with this type of person? Keep thempletely on the back foot with random nonsense until you can figure out their goal.


    "Well, then I have no idea what you could possibly want from me....unless....fashion advice?" I adjusted my tie. "I have a good eye for this sort of thing. My friend actually made this outfit, very durable while also being elegant and stylish."


    He hummed, seemingly ignoring my remarks. "I was more concerned about the abrupt change in weather we experienced earlier."


    "Yeah, what a freaky storm that popped out of nowhere." I acted clueless.


    "One might say man made." He grinned.


    "Question."


    "Hmm?"


    "Why not ''woman made''?" I asked. "Why couldn''t a woman have made it?"


    "I suppose ¨C"


    "Yeah, Kisuke." Yoruichi joined in. "What''s wrong with women, huh?"


    Alright, I was really starting to like Yoruichi, he''s pretty fun.


    "Person-made, then." He forced a smiled. I don''t think he enjoyed being constantly on the back foot like this, but it made me amused.


    "Yoruichi is a Cat. Does he count as a person? Or do we need another qualifier for him?"


    "That''s a good question. As a cat, do I count as a person, Kisuke?" Yoruichi looked up at Urahara.


    "That also does beg the question on if Shinigami also count as ''persons''. They''re spirits, do they get the same nomenture that a ''human'' would?"


    "What, of course they do." Yoruichi countered. "They''re people, they have the same feelings, they think, and all that."


    "Well, so do you as a cat. Hell, aren''t higher level Hollows smart as well? Are you going to count those giant monsters as ''people''? And Shinigami are souls, they''re like...remnants of people or something." I replied.


    Well, I was just ying devil''s advocate in this random argument. I didn''t actually think this way.


    Though, Urahara Kisuke over there just looked confused and kind of unsure of how to respond.


    "Ahem." He cleared his throat. "I believe we''ve gone off topic."


    "You can''t go off something you were never on in the first ce." I said dryly. "You never did actually tell me what you wanted from me, just ying coy and trying to poke at me for some answers." I got a little serious.


    "Very well, I''ll get right to the point." He snapped his fan shut. "What are you." His eyes narrowed. "Your Reiatsu vaguely feels like a human, but there''s other things I can''t quite ce. I was almost ready to call you a Hollow due to a dark nature hidden inside it as well, but that isn''t quite right either. Then you do something I didn''t think was possible for a human, and something that would take exceptional effort even from a Shinigami. You changed the weather in a several mile radius. That''s ignoring what you did with the Lightning. So, Schweinorg-kun, What are you?" There was a special glint in his eyes as if he was trying to see through me.


    "Kisuke." Yoruichi intoned. "We talked about this."


    His demeanor changed back to something yful as his fan unfolded again. "Ah, Yoruichi, I''m not asking~" He chuckled. "I''m just a little curious. If Schweinorg-kun would be willing to talk to me about some things, I don''t mind helping you learn Kid¨­." There was a phantom of a little smug smile on his face.


    "Help me learn Kid¨­?" I questioned. "Tessai seemed pretty confident that a Human wasn''t really capable of it, despite what effort we put into his teaching."


    "Well, Tessai may be better at me when ites to Kid¨­. However, when ites to figuring things out, I think I have him beat there. I''m pretty confident I can help you learn it." Urahara stated.


    "If you''re confident, then that means it''s possible for me regardless and I don''t really need you, do I?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "I can guarantee that without my help it will be nearly impossible ¨C"


    "Had¨­ #1, Sh¨­." I extended my finger, pointing at the hat on his head. The invisible force shot off like a bullet, sending his hat flying off andnding onto the ground nearby.


    There was a moment of silence as both Yoruichi and Urahara digested what I just did.


    "You were saying?"


    He didn''t speak immediately, he walked over to pick up his hat and dusted it off before putting it back on his head. "You''re an interesting young man, Schweinorg-kun. I look forward to talking with you in the future. I hope you stop by my shop at some point, I would be more than wee to host you."


    He didn''t try to say anything else, instead he turned around with a light smile on his face and hummed as he walked away.


    "That just happened." I grunted. "So.....your friend?" I looked at Yoruichi still at my side.


    "Huh, it''s weird seeing him not getting the advantage out of someone in a conversation."


    "It''s called bullshitting." I replied.


    "Hahaha, well it worked. Kisuke is the type that can''t not know something. So....he''ll probably try to poke and prod you until he gets answer to his questions. He''s...he means well. He''s not a bad guy, so don''t be too hard on him, please." Yoruichi hopped back up onto my shoulder. "By the way, when did you learn Kid¨­? Tessai''s going to be so happy once he finds out!"


    "Just picked it up recently."


    "Right." Yoruichi snorted. "Just picked it up. Was the ability to cast Kid¨­ying on the side of the road next to the Zanpakut¨­ you also happened to find?"


    "Yup." I said shamelessly. "You got anything else going on today? I could use your help with something."


    "Not really. You pretty much cleared my schedule today with the whole ¨C storm thing on the hollows. I doubt there are any in the city right now."


    "Alright, let''s head back to my ce."


    [***]


    "Home sweet home!" I pushed the door open.


    "Just as many holes in it as you left it." Yoruichi jumped off my shoulder.


    "It gives the ce character." I pped my hands, looking into my Ring for a few things.


    "So, whatcha need?" Yoruichi asked.


    "I was curious about this Hoh¨­ thing we talked about earlier. How difficult is it to learn this movement technique?" I produced the book of it and set it down infront of us.


    "Where the hell did you get this?" Yoruichi was already inspecting the book intently.


    "Inte."


    "Just so you know, I seriously am thinking you mugged some Shinigami around here and stole all of their stuff. If we get some naked person running up to the shop trying to rece his stolen gear...."


    "I thought you sold candy?"


    "That''s just a front for the living. We actually sell supplies for the spiritual side of things. Where do you think that kid got his Hollow Bait from?"


    "...Yoruichi, what the fuck?"


    "What? Don''t look at me like that, it''s a legitimate resource for hunting Hollows. I wasn''t just covering our asses when I said that it shouldn''t have summoned all those Hollows. Especially that Menos that popped up. That was a freak ident ¨C a one in a billion chance of happening."


    "Fine, I''ll believe you."


    "You can alsoe by like he said. Some stuff there might interest you."


    "I may go over and check it out." I shrugged.


    "I''ll tell Kisuke to not be an ass. He''s not that bad once you get to know him." Yoruichi tried to reassure me again. "But what''d you want help with specifically? You wanna learn this, right? I''d say that a human learning was unlikely, but.....just casted Kid¨­ apparently."


    "Hey, quick question."


    "Hmm?"


    "Does your shop ever actually sell candy?" I asked.


    "Haha, no. Do you really think parents would let their kidse to a shop that Kisuke runs and buy candy? Nah, all the kids in the neighborhood know to stay away from the ''creepy old man''."


    "That''s hrious and I''ll remember it when I go visit." I may as well stop over at some point. It''s not like that guy pissed me off or anything. I just don''t like people trying to poke me for answers and it was obvious what he was doing.


    "Anyways, what can you tell me about Hoh¨­?" I gotfortable as I leaned against the nearby table. "It''s basically what you''ve been doing, right?"


    "Kinda." Yoruichi held up his paw in a so-so motion. "Hoh¨­ is the umbre term and it has some..yers. But if you want to get to the base of it, the highest form and most important form is known as Shunpo."


    Right, I had several Shinigami mention that term. It basically means ''sh step''.


    "The idea is to travel a certain distance in the least amount of steps possible. Like, imagine trying to cover the distance of this room in a single step. That''s the concept behind it."


    "I think I understand the concept. It makes for intense bursts of speed, but it also sounds like pivoting and immediate change of directions are its ws."


    "Basically, yeah. A master of it can sorta ovee those, but it''s just a matter of doing them really fast as opposed to the technique oveing those limitations." Yoruichi exined. "Here I''ll show you ¨C" Yoruichi said, but paused a momentter. "Actually, it''s probably better that I show you in my actual form."


    Before I could even question what he meant by that, he was suddenly enveloped in a puff of smoke.


    No longer was a cat sitting in the middle of the room.


    That is to say, no longer was he, sitting in the middle of the room.


    Now, there was long purple hair sitting atop a dark skinned head with yellow eyes staring back at me. The smoke began to clear up and there was something immediately noticeable about this person now sitting here.


    Two,rge and round mounds bounced slightly, a little giggle to apany them.


    A woman.


    My eyes trailed downwards, she waspletely naked and I soaked in that chocte skin of hers and made sure to burn those legs into my memory. In fact, she even spread her legs slightly and let me get aplete look at her.


    "See something you like~?" Even her voice waspletely different as she teased me. "Didn''t expect this did you?"


    Admittedly, I did not, and I''m still taking a moment to process that a beautiful naked woman was sitting right in front of me.


    "Haha, got nothing to say?" She was clearly enjoying getting a reaction out of me. "I knew it, you''re just ¨C "


    "It''s purple all the way down, huh."


    "T-that''s what you focus on!?"


    "Well, did you expect me to focus on anything else?" I raised an eyebrow. I can y this game too. "I''ve seen better."


    And she didn''t quite know how to respond to that.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 378 - 342

    <h4>Chapter 378: Chapter 342</h4>


    "That''s it?" Yoruichi asked after a moment of silence.


    "I''m sorry?" I answered, still mildly calm. "What were you expecting?"


    "I don''t know, surprise? Like ''holy shit the cat is actually a super hot chick and she''s naked in front of me. I hope I don''t pop a boner''. That kind of thing, like the way a kid your age would react."


    "I mean....I didn''t expect, well..." I looked at her skin tone and chose not to finish that sentence.


    "Didn''t expect what!?"


    "...It''s not important." I coughed a little awkwardly. "And I''m not a kid."


    "You''re like barely older than Strawberry."


    "How old do you think I am?" I blinked at her statement.


    "I don''t know, eighteen?"


    "Yeah...a little older than that. It''s not my first time seeing a naked woman."


    "Boo." She huffed, standing up. "Thought you were some little innocent brat."


    I did say I had a daughter...granted I also exined that she adopted me only some months ago.


    "Hell, it''s not even my first time having a naked woman suddenly pop out at me now that I think about it." I had the sense to hold back saying that Jinn did it better.


    Sure, Yoruichi looked like a chocte goddess, but Jinn, well....Jinn felt more innocent about it which increased the excitement to a degree. She was Naked just because she was Naked. She wasn''t fishing for a reaction.


    And she''s blue.


    I don''t wanna over fetishize her whole blueness, but I can''t deny that I find it very attractive.


    And if we''re just talking about things of that nature.... I''ve been shed plenty of times.


    Amaterasu came to mind. Which was still a memory that admittedly made me a little tingly. And after that whole debacle, I don''t think a surprise naked woman was going to startle me too much.


    "You''re very beautiful." I decided to add on to appease her.


    Not that I was lying.


    "...seriously? You''re going to give me a pitypliment?" She looked at me dryly. "Fine, I''ll take it." She rolled her eyes. "But this isn''t over." She stretched her arms, and I did notice that it looked like she intentionally made her chest bounce a little, given away by her peeking at me for a reaction. I merely raised an eyebrow and she huffed again. "Ugh. Whatever. I''ll be right back." And she utterly disappeared from the spot she was in.


    It was many times faster than how she moved as a cat. Hell, it was substantially faster than how Mayuri moved in his Bankai.


    That....actually gave me pause for concern because that speed was actually something dangerous to me if used properly.


    I just waited for a few minutes before I felt her presence touch my Bounded Fields again and I let her back inside.


    She was now wearing some skin-tight bodysuit with an orange overshirt and her hair pulled back in a ponytail.


    "Where''d you get the clothes?"


    "The store." She blinked.


    "That''s not what I meant. I mean, where did you stash them....like, were you just waiting for this whole thing?"


    "Nah, I ran back home." She snickered. "Why? You regret it now, huh? Did I leave asting impression." She bent over slightly.


    "Are you still on that?"


    But how far away was her ''home'' that she could make it there, change, and back in only a few minutes?


    "Hey, my pride as a woman was challenged." She huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "I''m damn sexy and I want to be recognized as such."


    "I didn''t say you weren''t. I just said I''ve seen better." I replied.


    "Bullshit." She said pointedly. "I''m calling bullshit. You''re a kid. No way you''ve seen better than me."


    "Uh huh." You know what? Fine, I could prove a point. I took out my phone and started looking through the pictures I had before turning it over to show her. "This is my woman."


    She leaned over, looking at the screen. Her brow furrowed and she pouted. "No way those are real."


    "They most certainly are." I had checked very thoroughly.


    It was a picture of Raikou. It wasn''t too revealing or intimate, But just enough that it really showed off Raikou''s assets.


    She pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "....I admit nothing."


    "Right." I put my phone away for now. "So, I guess this is the first time we''re really meeting."


    She quickly changed demeanor. "Hah, yup. Shih¨­in Yoruichi. Former Shinigami, h h. Nice to meet you and everything even though we''ve met."


    "Hey..."


    "What?" She looked at me.


    "You gonna do that to the Strawberry too?"


    "....that''s a good idea." Her eyes lit up with a mischievous smile. "Wanna be there when I do?"


    "Do you even have to ask?"


    She started cackling. "He''s going to start blushing and sputtering."


    "You should have seen it when I insinuated that he and Rukia were fucking right before I met them the first time." I chuckled.


    "Seriously? Is that why they were all flustered after you stole his sword?" She snorted with amusement. "I can totally see Strawberry getting all shy because of that."


    "You know....you''re awfully nonchnt about shing people. As fun as it would be to see it happen." Yasaka can be just as, if not more, yful, but she would draw the line at just revealing herself to random people.


    "Eh, it''s not that big of a deal. Not like I''m walking around town naked or anything like that. Besides, some of the training I had to do back home just kind of numbed me to any kind of shame when it came to being naked." She waved it off.


    "Oh, speaking of training." I perked up, picking up on the subject change. That seemed like something that shouldn''t be touched otherwise.


    "Right, you wanna learn Hoh¨­, or rather what I''ve been doing ¨C Shunpo?" She sat down cross legged.


    "It would save me time instead of learning from scratch."


    "Hah, you think you can pick it up by yourself?" Sheughed.


    "I did learn Kid¨­." I pointed out.


    "....true." She looked thoughtful. "You got that book, and it looks like something straight out of the Academy in how it''s exined. It''s not the worst reference...but it''s kinda in and doesn''t really exin it all that well. Now that I think about it, I don''t think they want people learning this stuff on their own and pretty much designed the lessons and books and stuff to require someone to teach." She tapped her chin.


    You know, with how shitty Soul Society felt...I didn''t have trouble believing that in the slightest.


    "Howplicated is this, exactly? Besides the obvious....cause moving far distances in a single step isn''t really physically possible."


    "It''s not actually just moving arge distance in a single step. I mean, that''s how you do it when you''re the best like me." she said cockily. "But really, it''s just like moving from one spot to another in the least amount of steps possible. The better you get, the less you have to move. In apetition of speed, if you only have to move a single step to travel a hundred feet and someone has to take two or three, that''s only moving half or a third of your speed. If that makes sense." She scratched her head. "I''m not really a teacher. I trained a pupil back in the day, but that was mostly just making him a little mad and forcing him to chase after me. I didn''t really touch on any technical stuff after he learned the basics."


    "Well, I wouldn''t mind a hand in learning this." It''s not like I''m too prideful to admit that something may be difficult for me to learn. I am very respectful to those who mastered their crafts. In this case, Yoruichi should be a peak master of this movement technique if I was reading things correctly.


    "Hmm." Yoruichi tapped her chin. "And what''s in it for me?"


    As soon as she said those words, I mentally winced and my heart dropped. I could have been coy, could have done the back and forth....but I knew where I stood on this one. "....what do you want?"


    That Cheshire grin of hers said it all.


    [***]


    "Where did you even get that!?" I eximed, falling to the side as something whizzed past my head.


    "Asked Kisuke to make it for me after seeing it on T.V. Humans make really fun things." She grinned, holding up a paintball gun of all things. "Though...this one is a little special."


    She did step away, saying something about wanting to get her tools to help teach me. That had been a little while ago at this point.


    "I noticed." I replied with a scowl as I saw that there was now a colorful dent in the concrete behind me.


    "Alright, do it again like I told you." She hefted up the monstrous weapon she waved around like a toy.


    There are dozens of simr marks around the room at this point. And I had a few on me.


    ...I didn''t really wanna reveal my Aura, so I had to swallow a little bit of my pride here and epted a little pain.


    "You didn''t tell me anything. You just said ''Take less steps and move faster'' and started shooting me."


    "What''s so hard about that?" She looked at me in confusion.


    "The part where you physically move from point A to point B by taking less than the required steps. I''ve received no exnation so far." I crossed my arms.


    "Alright you big baby." She rolled her eyes. "I''ll go slow, watch my Reiatsu and how I move."


    I did watch her feet intently, trying to note of everything she did. She disappeared in a burst of speed,nding gently on the other side of the room. "Get it?"


    "...maybe?" I mused, running what she did through my head again. "Did you push or pull yourself with your own Reiryoku?"


    "Wait, did you seriously see what I did?"


    "Uh...kinda?" I blinked. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"


    "Huh." She looked surprised. "Honestly, didn''t think you''d pick up on it.....I''m a little impressed."


    "You were just using this as an excuse to shoot me, weren''t you?" I said dryly.


    "No, I''m seriously doing my best to teach you." She put on a straight face. "You''ve said before that you had like no experience using your Reiryoku before so I didn''t expect much."


    ".....I think I''m doing a pretty good job, all things considered."


    "I''ve seen better." She replied without missing a beat.


    "....touche."


    "Thanks." She grinned. "But seriously, I honestly didn''t expect much from this."


    "Well, I''m happy to have your confidence, Sensei." I rolled my eyes. "Can you answer my question?"


    Well, at least she didn''t hold anything over my head when I asked for the favor. She''s yful, but very vindictive in all honesty. Her requirement was merely that she could have fun with it and I would go along with whatever she did as long as she properly taught me.


    It was said in less words than that, but that was the gist.


    So here we were.


    "Hmm, to answer your question...it''s a little of both? But also not really either." She tapped her chin again. "We''re skipping like....all the basics steps in the learning process, just so you know. So this is a little more awkward to teach. Not to mention you''re a human and this technique was made by and for Shinigami."


    "Yeah, it''s probably going to take some tweaking on my end toe up with something feasible to mimic it." I muttered. "However, the concept should be something I can understand before I start doing that. Tell me what I''m doing wrong."


    "Alright, alright, go do it again, I''ll pay close attention." She gestured for me to continue.


    "I''m gathering my Reiryoku around my feet." I began to move. I tried to push myself forward with my Reiryoku and move quickly. And while I felt my speed increase above what I intended, it....wasn''t really correct.


    "Not a bad attempt."


    "Really?"


    "No, I''m just sparing your feelings. It was pretty bad and I felt bad seeing it."


    "Fuck you."


    "Don''t talk to your Sensei like that." She shot at me with the paintball gun again.


    I slightly tilted my head out of the way "I think you''re just mad about earlier and taking out your pent up anger on me."


    "Yup."


    "....you''re not supposed to just admit it outright."


    "What''s the point in hiding it?" She took aim again. "Get runnin."


    With a grumble, I lined myself up again and tried once more. Perhaps it was just a matter of intensity? I gathered a significant amount of Reiryoku around my feet as I went to move. And right as I did this, I had a premonition.


    I was suddenly reminded of the training I did with Thorum to learn the Whirlwind shout.


    A simr idea, to move faster. However, this was leagues above the shout in application.


    Not to say that it made the shout obsolete, but Shunpo was a more practical use, it was superior in most instances.


    And as I gathered the power around my legs, I was reminded of my many failures.


    Unfortunately, the trigger had been pulled and both of my feetunched forward.


    The sky ceiling became the ground and the ground became the ceiling as I went tumbling across the room and hit the wall.


    "....ow." I let myself fall downpletely.


    "Doing good!" Yoruichi shot me a thumbs up.


    I returned it with my middle finger only for her to expertly shoot it.


    And it stung a little.


    "Alright." I got up, brushing myself off. "Pushing myself forward only makes it unstable and I lost my footing. Let''s try.....gently guiding it with a sort of pulling motion too."


    "Sure, that might work." She nodded, but the tone and the anticipation on her face told me otherwise.


    [***]


    "So, what attempt is this?" Yoruichizily looked at me as sheid on her side, flipping the pages of a Magazine I gave her.


    "I lost count after two hundred." I sighed, stretching myself a little. "I think I''m getting better at it."


    "Yeah, if you were in the academy, you would probably be the head of the ss."


    "I feel like that isn''t praise."


    "Most Shinigami can barely hold their swords, let alone use Shunpo." She hummed, flipping another page. "Here''s some advice. Pure power isn''t always the best option. You might wanna try some more finesse and work your way up to moving faster."


    "That makes sense. But....I''m not even at the point where I can take more than a few feet in a single step yet."


    She just shrugged. "Just do whatever then, I''m having fun watching you."


    "Thank you for the insight." I said dryly.


    Though, she was giving me advice when I needed it. So I was thankful for her help as I tried to learn this thing.


    I had the thought of using Magical Energy, or maybe even my Aura instead as a more familiar energy but...it was the flighty nature of Reiryoku that made this possible in the first ce.


    "At the very basics, it''s just the idea of movingrge distances in a single step..." I muttered, thinking about a different approach.


    I had many different things avable to me. Was there a way to....cheat?


    I had half a mind that it was a matter of my control of my Reiatsu not being good enough to properly apply it here.


    So....I had an idea about that.


    I did have a sort of movement technique that I''ve used in the past that fell out after my physical prowess reached a certain level. To pull and distort myself over small distances through a trick of the Kaleidoscope. It was good for...weaker opponents who couldn''t keep up with that kind of thing. But using it once in front of a powerful enemy would make it unusable again because the trick itself wasn''t hard to see through even if the usage of the Kaleidoscope was something beyond nearly every other person.


    And then there''s also my technique that I used to ovey multiple swords ¨C the Myriad Sword as I called it.


    It was how I defeated Susanoo the first time.


    I looked down at my feet and lifted my right let up, tapping it on the ground. I gathered my Reiryoku again. I was having trouble controlling it in high quantities, but in low quantities, it just makes me a little faster even if it''s more stable.


    So....why not both?


    I''m a Magus. I cheat whenever possible in things like this.


    I allowed myself to ovep on to another Parallel world and did the same thing again. Just like how I did with my sword technique, I continued to copy it again.


    Five times.


    Ten times.


    Twenty times.


    The concept was extraordinarily simple at its core. I just had to take a simple step forward to move arge distance.


    And so, I did the most natural thing possible and took a step.


    I felt my body jerk and move faster than I had previously. I could barely catch myself as I went skidding across the ground.


    I blinked, looking down at myself, at where I was standing as opposed to where I was before. I was a good dozen meters away.


    "What was that?" Yoruichi looked at me, her eyes widened in disbelief.


    "Uh....I don''t know?" Because I wasn''t sure myself. I....technically just performed Shunpo, but I cheated heavily.


    "You just...." She opened her mouth and closed it again. "How?"


    "I just moved." I held my hands up.


    "I was watching that wasn''t...." She seemed to have trouble finding the words. "It looked like you took all the steps at once."


    That...wasn''t inurate.


    Instead of only taking one step to move this distance, I took every step I needed to at the same time technically fulfilling the same criteria.


    "It felt awkward though." I noted.


    "Well yeah, it was awkward as hell. I could see you stumble the entire way and I could have literally ran circles around you while you tried toplete that movement. But.....that wasn''t bad."


    "I don''t think what I did is really sustainable." I mentally began to analyze it. "It was too slow; it took too many actions even if it could do it all at once." It felt too rigid too, I don''t think I could even properly maneuver using that method.


    "What the hell did you even do?"


    "I used Magic to take all the steps in one moment as opposed to moving the same distance in a few steps."


    "Alright, I''ll ept that ridiculousness for now." Yoruichi pushed herself up. "It wasn''t really Shunpo. It kinda looked close, but I wasn''t kidding when I said I would have danced around you. I think the weakest captain could have yawned and match that movement."


    "So it''s a failure then." I rubbed my chin. "Maybe I should ¨C"


    "No, wait." She interrupted my thoughts. "This...might be a good thing. Your problem is your control over your Reiryoku. Why can''t you.....slowly work down from whatever you did?"


    "Work down from it?" I questioned, tilting my head.


    "Like.....you said you took all those steps in a single moment." She scratched her head. "Why not....slowly take less steps and still do the same thing? Like, you almost did something simr to Shunpo, you should have a feel for it, right?"


    "That''s not a bad idea. After experiencing that, I think I could get a better hang of it and work towards the right thing."


    "Awesome." She pumped her fist. "That means we can move to the next stage! I didn''t think we''d get this far and I wouldn''t get to have any fun!"


    "....dare I ask what that means?"


    "That means ¨C" She blurred, moving to the edge of the room by the door. However, she now had something in her hand, a familiar strip of cloth.


    "...is that my tie?" I looked down at my chest to see it missing.


    "Catch me if you want it back~" Sheughed, disappearing out the door.


    "...bitch." I grumbled, going after her.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 379 - 343

    <h4>Chapter 379: Chapter 343</h4>


    "Damn Cat." I hissed, following in Yoruichi''s footsteps.


    She was intentionally waiting for me and slowed down enough for me to catch up only to then speed off again.


    I had to admit though, I did enjoy watching her move. And it wasn''t entirely because she was wearing skin tight ck pants that hugged her in all the right ways. It was because she was a Master of this technique, and I was learning a lot just by watching her.


    "Hey." She suddenly popped up at my side with a coy grin. She spun my tie on her finger in a mocking way. "Took you long enough to catch up."


    I ignored her taunt. "I''m amazed that you were able to take that off of me in a split moment without me noticing."


    "Maybe I have a lot of experience undressing~" Sheughed. "Catch me or I might take your pants next!" She continuedughing as she disappeared again.


    I could vaguely see where she headed, fast enough that at times, there were multiples of her running around.


    And she was heading further into town.


    I grumbled again but followed along. As we got to a more pedestrian street, she disappeared from where I was eyeing her andnded on top of the nearby building. It was a smallmercial district that only had a few people outside at this time of day.


    I wasn''t upset because it was difficult to follow. Inded easily at the edge of the closest building and began following. I was annoyed because one of us was a spirit and couldn''t be seen by normal people while the other was a fully living being that would be seen running across rooftops at inhuman speeds!


    Thankfully, I was somewhat prepared for situations like this. I did make a ring that sort of disrupted people''s perception of me. Granted, it was mostly supposed to be used when just casually meandering on the street, not flying through the air at breakneck speeds.


    I teased Artoria about herpetitiveness....but honestly, I''m pretty simr.


    I really do hate to lose, and having Yoruichi taunt me did ignite mypetitive spirit.


    At least it was getting on in the evening so I wasn''t too worried about being seen. Not to mention the Giant Hollow that the people probably mistook for an Earthquake, they were probably bunkered down for the night.


    Seeing Yoruichi not too far in front of me as she jumped from one rooftop to another, I did what I did before. I took a step, ovepped many more steps in that single moment and I shot forward with an intense speed. I was more prepared this time, enough that I didn''t fall on my face. Granted, I stumbled slightly, I was not used to the abrupt speed change even when using the Whirlwind shout.


    With the Whirlwind shout it was more....enveloping. I became the whirlwind itself and was an aspect of it.


    With this, I felt like I was more on the outside and having topensate ordingly.


    It was enough that I was within reach of Yoruichi but as I went to grab her, she suddenly disappeared and reappeared another few dozen feet in front of me.


    "So close~" She teased, her head turned over her shoulder grinning at me. "But too slow."


    I moved again, it was slightly easier and I could feel myself getting used to it. However, the ws were making themselves more and more apparent. What I had deduced before was pretty spot on, this wasn''t the correct path to take with this if I wanted to learn the actual technique.


    Still, I got within arms length of her again and she shed to the side, sliding across the edge of the rooftop and jumping off.


    I looked over the ledge to not see her.


    "Looking for me?" She chucked, poking me in the back. "Hmm, need to work on your Reiatsu sensing cause I wasn''t really trying to make myself hard to detect there."


    Right, I could only vaguely sense her. She had the speed to slip through my perception.


    "Add it to the list of things I need to work on." I grunted, reaching for my tie, only for her to disappear again in a burst of speed.


    My eyes shot over to the side and I could sort of anticipate her movement there before she fully moved.


    I didn''t give her a chance to open her mouth this time, figuring it would be an opening right as she went t footed. I did the same maneuver as before and shot at her.


    She blurred and my hand passed through her before dissipating.


    "An after image?" I saw her do that before, but to see it close up....it was impressive.


    Though I didn''t give her a moment to answer, I strained my perception, I grabbed hold of my Reiatsu and did my best to sense hers. I could vaguely feel it and followed the feeling. I stomped on the ground to stop my momentum and tried something a little different.


    Thus far, this thing I''ve been doing only allowed me to move in a straight line for a certain distance. It was rigid and left no room for maneuverability. That was its main w in addition to being predictable once someone saw it enough.


    So, I tried to pivot in one move and in another step forward many times all together.


    I certainly did move how I anticipated, but I also felt pain as I reached my destination that made mee to a stop. With a hiss, I rolled up my pants leg to see my ankle swollen and red.


    "Oh shit, you alright?" Yoruichi appeared next to me.


    "Tried to pivot and move at the same time." I told her.


    Well, this is certainly a dangerous way of moving that I was doing in an attempt to copy her. It was enough that even through my ridiculous biology I apparently sprained my ankle by trying to do that.


    "Do you need me to ¨C"


    I weighed my options and just decided to cast a healing spell. The same warm light filled my hand as I covered my ankle. Not only that, but Avalon was working on the opposite end, so it served to hide that at least.


    And my Aura was being held back, so this would suffice.


    "Huh, that''s neat. Some healing spell or whatever?" She watched me intently.


    "Pretty much. Kind of basic, but it gets the job done." I replied, pushing myself up off the ground and putting some weight on my ankle. It felt better, it hadn''t been too bad to begin with. But the surprise of actually harming myself in such a manner probably made me take it more seriously.


    How long had it been since I''ve idently hurt myself like this?


    "That thing you''re doing isn''t gonna work. I could honestly slow myself down to a tenth ¨C no, probably even a twentieth of my normal speed and you''d still not be able to catch me. It''s way too easy to just watch where you''re going and dodge." She plopped down, sitting cross legged.


    "Yeah, I know. I wasn''t really forcing it to work. Like you said, I was just going to start working down from here to get to where you are. I think it''s a better approach than working up from the bottom since we''re skipping a bunch of steps like you said." I was just getting some experience for now.


    "And I realized, besides learning Shunpo. Your Reiatsu sense is pretty bad. It''ll help you learn this if you get better at it."


    "I know, I know." I muttered.


    It was one of the many things I needed to work on. I was lucky that I could sidestep the issue of ''time'' to a degree due to my Magic by staying in this work. If I had to go back to Chaldea as I was now...there wouldn''t be much of a difference.


    This was partly a training trip, and partly a way for me to calm down and evaluate my circumstances. It would do no good if I continued to feel anxious and rush myself. That''s why I was taking things slow and methodical while enjoying the free time I had.


    "On a side note." I pointed my finger towards her. "Bakud¨­ #4, Hainawa." At mymand, a rope made of Spiritual Matter materialized and shot towards Yoruichi.


    "Cheating dick." She squeaked, rolling to the side and jumping to the air, reminiscent of her feline body. "You like Kid¨­ so much, huh? How about this ¨C Bakud¨­ #21, Sekienton." She dered and at the point of her palm, an influx of red smoke burst out in all directions.


    I quickly stepped back, surprised by the spell. It was one I should have information on, being only 21, but I hadn''t had the chance to look through them all yet.


    "Did you just ninja smoke bomb me!?" I eximed as my vision waspletely covered. And now that I tried to probe with my budding spiritual senses, it couldn''t prate this smoke, or rather, it was being blurred.


    "Ninja cat!" A ck mass shot out of the smoke. It was fast enough that I didn''t react in time. Yoruichi in her cat formnded on top of my head, and in one motion, used me as a springboard to head off into the distance.


    She still held my tie in her mouth...


    I felt my eye twitch violently as I quickly turned to chase after her.


    [***]


    "Oh, so close!" Yoruichi continued to tease, narrowly escaping my clutches. Her form flickering several times with each step she took, she was dozens of yards away from where she was previously.


    I stomped on the ground, doing my best to keep up but it was futile at this point and I knew it.


    However, this time I made a calcted risk. After running around for so long, I felt like I had a better idea of what I was doing and reduced the amount of ''steps'' it took for me to move.


    It slightly took her by surprise as I did it without warning. I could see her fur shoot up, and her speed instantly increased several degrees to escape me right before I could grab her.


    "Damn, you seriously almost got me." She chuckled,ing to a stop outside of my ''home''. "Didn''t expect you to make that much headway so quickly."


    I bent down, rubbing my leg. "Kind of forced it, but progress is progress."


    "Don''t feel too bad, no one can catch me if I don''t want them to." She said smugly.


    "Really? How do youpare to all the other Shinigami?"


    "I was known as the ''sh Goddess'', y''know''." She preened noticeably.


    "sh Goddess?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    "Yup."


    "Did you get that title by shing people all the time?"


    "Maybe it was! You seem really hung up on that, I bet you can''t stop thinking about me, right?" She exploded in a puff of white smoke, and her humanoid body appeared. "I can''t me you. With this hot body, who wouldn''t?"


    "Right." I rolled my eyes. "But why aren''t you naked?"


    "What?" She blinked.


    "You have clothes on....?" I gestured to her body.


    "Yeah? What''s your point?"


    ".....so you''re just an exhibitionist. I thought it was a nned joke, but that''s just your normal default, isn''t it?"


    "who knows." She grinned. "If you ask me nicely, I''ll take my clothes off~"


    "No thanks." I answered immediately.


    "Urghk." She coughed. "Don''t be so quick to say it, ass." She huffed.


    "Sorry." I cleared my throat. "You''re a very beautiful woman." I said as monotone as possible.


    "I think this is the first time I''ve been called beautiful,and it''s been insulting."


    "I retract what I said then, you aren''t beautiful." I corrected myself. "Happy?"


    "You have this amazing way of just...stabbing someone, right in the heart." Yoruichi dramatically fell to the ground.


    "Oh, stop being dramatic." I kicked her foot.


    She hopped to her feet. "Hmm, you didn''t do bad today." She put her hands behind her head. "And it was fun to have someone to y with. It''s been awhile since I''ve been able to y around like that."


    "What about Mr. White Van Candy Salesman?"


    She snorted,ughing. "He doesn''t really do anything fun these days. Too busy with his own boring stuff."


    "Well, I don''t mind If you keeping around. You''ve been helping me a lot, if you wannae y some more, it''s fine." I actually did enjoy her presence. She''s fun and rxing despite her teasing and kind of yful demeanor.


    "Mmm, maybe I will." She yawned. "You got a Zanpakut¨­, right?"


    "I do, you saw it."


    "And you didn''t just steal it off some Shinigami?" She eyed me suspiciously.


    "I can promise that I didn''t steal this Zanpakut¨­ off a Shinigami." I said withplete honesty.


    "....I feel like I should make a note that you specified only that Zanpakut¨­ specifically, but I don''t really think I care in all honesty." She just shrugged. "I''m guessing you''re trying tomunicate with it, yeah?"


    "....I suppose? I''m sort of muddling around with it." I had yet to find the proper direction to go.


    "Come on, I''ll teach you how to properly meditate with it." She nudged me towards the entrance to my little abandoned building.


    "I won''t say no to help. How about I handle Dinner?"


    "Really?" She perked up. "I could go for some Tuna."


    "There''s a cat joke in there somewhere."


    "Make all the jokes you want as long as I can get some fresh Tuna." Sheughed.


    [***]


    I breathed in and breathed out.


    I centered myself.


    I allowed all distractions to simply disappear from around me. Only my Reiatsu and Aura flowed out soothingly as it enveloped both me and my de.


    There was just me and my sword.


    Its weight pressed against myp as I sat cross-legged on the ground.


    Yoruichi taught me a couple days ago and I''ve been meditating whenever I have free time.


    Jinzen, as it''s called. Or Sword Mediation. It was a method Yoruichi described as something honed over thousands of years in Soul Society.


    With this method, I just have to continuously imprint my Soul upon the sword. Let the power of my Soul nourish the sword.


    Honestly, the more I heard about this method, the more I realized.... my Aura may be a cheat here. My Aura was the physical manifestation of my Soul, it''s being nourished much more directly than if I just kept it next to me and gradually imprinted on it.


    I just have to keep doing this.


    And Yoruichi said that eventually I''ll be able to hear the voice of the spirit that develops.


    [OooOoooH, this is the spirit of your sword.]


    "...how odd my sword sounds exactly like a certain dragon."


    [Of course, I would sound like the mighty and magnificent Red Dragon Emperor, the greatest role model I could ever have.]


    "I can''t argue with that logic. And what''s the name of my new sword?"


    [You want to hear my name? Are you worthy?]


    "Well, I''m the partner of the great and mighty Red Dragon Emperor." I continue to y along.


    [Well said, well said.] My ''sword spirit'' replied. [Then, if you want to know my name, repeat after me.]


    "Alright, I''m waiting."


    [Shout as loud as you can!]


    "My excitement has reached the tipping point." I deadpanned.


    [Ripen ¨C Watermelon!] Ddraig roared.


    I was about to respond, but I felt my sword ever so slightly tremble. The very faint connection I had with it so far, there was almost an echo of a reverberation I felt through my Aura.


    "Die." I sighed.


    [Hahahah!]


    "I swear to God ¨C specifically the one literally inside the spear. If this somehow influences my sword...."


    [What will you do?] Ddraig said mockingly.


    "I''ll make you roommates with the spear."


    [.....Good thing this isn''t Ddraig, but the spirit of your sword.]


    "Uh huh." I summoned the Boosted Gear onto my arm. "Can the Sword say that again?"


    [.....damn, choose this moment to have a moment of intelligence.]


    "Only this moment?" I huffed. "I''ll have you know I''m very intelligent."


    Ddraig made a spectacle of clearing his throat. [''Be my women'' the idiot says to the Eldritch Goddess he just met.]


    "Touch¨¦." He did have a point.


    But on the other hand, I can hop over and pull her to my bed pretty much whenever I wanted.


    I dusted myself off, climbing to my feet. I held my Zanpakut¨­ in one hand and looked at the Boosted Gear. "I wonder what would happen if I put the sword in there with you...?"


    [.....Shit now I''m curious too. But you better not risk it.]


    "Yeah.....I could always go steal another one easily enough."


    [Eh, wait for things to calm down.]


    "Point, point." I nodded.


    I perked up after feeling something approaching. After doing these meditative exercises along with my casual absorption of Reishi, I''ve started to better develop my Spiritual Sense. I could vaguely feel Yoruichi approaching from a little ways away. However, I think she was intentionally ring her Reiatsu so I could feel it.


    I quickly put the Boosted Gear away and sheathed my sword, opening the door to greet her.


    "Oh hey, you actually noticed." Yoruichi smiled, walking past me without so much as a ''can Ie in''.


    I rolled my eyes, but didn''t stop her. I basically knew her personality at this point.


    Cat.


    She was a cat.


    As obvious as that may seem after seeing her as a, well, cat. She had a personality that is very simr to one.


    "Haven''t seen you in a few days." I closed the door behind her as she plopped to the ground.


    "Mmm, was busy with some stuff." She yawnedzily. "Your Reiatsu increased again. How''re you doing that? You aren''t eating Hollows, are you?"


    "No....can you eat hollows? What do they taste like?" I considered that statement.


    "Pfft, not like that, you idiot."


    "You mean like devouring them to increase my own power?" I once more pondered that statement. "Wouldn''t that leave some.....evidence?"


    "Yeah, but your Reiatsu is strange, who knows what''s happening there." She shrugged. "And every time I see you your Reiatsu keeps increasing, I''m kinda clueless how it''s happening."


    "It doesn''t keep increasing." I didn''t mind sharing some things with her. At this point, I''d consider her a friend. "It''s.....filling up."


    "Filling up?" Her eyes lit up.


    "My Soul is powerful." I settled on.


    ".....how much until you''re full?"


    "No idea."


    "Hmm, sounds interesting. Though, you''re at the point where you''re gonna need to actively suppress it around normal people. You''re doing a kinda mediocre job of it right now. I''ll show you a better way to keep it contained without feeling like a balloon about to pop to anyone with decent senses."


    "Is that what I feel like?"


    "Yeah, it''s kinda funny actually."


    I rolled my eyes again. "So, are you here for any particr reason or do you wanna y some tag again?" I asked, stretched my arms and back. Sitting down for so long makes me a little stiff. "I''ve been practicing a little, I think I''m getting closer to actual Shunpo."


    That and I''ve been practicing Kido as well as my other stuff.


    "Yes!" She perked up. "But actually, I am here for something else. After the whole Hollow thing, I figured I''d give you a heads up so you don''t run head first into something bad."


    "I''m listening." I got slightly serious.


    "So, remember that whole thing with the Kuchiki brat?"


    "The thing about her doing something highly illegal by Soul Societyw?"


    "Yeah.....that''s probablying to a head in the next couple weeks. If you see or feel any big influx of Reiatsu surge in the town, it''s probably some big shotsing to grab her."


    "Are you asking me to stay out of it or to interfere?" Because I could go either way to be honest.


    On one hand, it''s none of my business since I barely know them. On the other, fuck Soul Society.


    "Stay out of it, it shouldn''t involve you." She warned a little...warmly.


    "I appreciate the heads up." The sentiment was very pleasant. "But how do you even know that?"


    "Eh, it was always a waiting game. At this point, it''s right around the time where she''s probably missed at least two times she when should have checked in. And.....someone technically dide to investigate already. Some seated Shinigami, a good guy at least. He said he was gonna push his report to the bottom of the stack when he got back."


    "Ah....so they''ll probably be getting to it around now by your estimates." She probably knew exactly how the bureaucratic system there worked and could anticipate such a thing. "It''s none of my business." I let out a breath.


    "Anyways." She kicked off the ground, back onto her feet. A mischievous grin made its way onto her face. "Rematch?" She offered.


    I knew full well I wasn''t going to win, but I was nothing if not stubborn. "Alright, round two. Let''s try to stick away from people this time."


    "Alright, be a sour puss." She walked towards the door. "How about if you win....I''ll let you take a piece of clothing off me this time~"


    "Should I admit defeat now?" I replied without missing a beat.


    She looked at me with pursed lips. She moved quickly, probably close to her top speed. I could guess what she was going for and I could sense her better this time, but I didn''t stop her. My tie was missing again and herughter filled the air.


    "Round two it is." I muttered, immediately going after her.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    Another person is joining on Wilhelm''s adventure soon enough.

 Chapter 380 - 344

    <h4>Chapter 380: Chapter 344</h4>


    I let out a long breath and pushed myself to my feet again. The action having be rathermonce these past several days.


    Meditate, practice Kid¨­, practice Shunpo and then practice my Spiritual control. I was making noticeable progress every day, so it wasn''t by any means boring.


    It felt good to make progress like this, as it was my whole purpose for being here.


    At this point, I thought I was close to being able to properly manage a real Shunpo and not my bastardization of it. I had a pretty decent understanding of the Kid¨­ I''d a chance to learn and I could feel like my control over my Reiatsu was significantly better than it was before. I could sorta use my spiritual senses in a meaningful way now beyond using it as fuel for their version of spells.


    Speaking of Spiritual Senses....I could vaguely feel something at the edge of my perception. Sort of like a tickling feeling that wasing from the other side of town.


    I dusted off my pants as I tried to focus on what I was feeling.


    There were two...no three strange Reiatsu signatures that appeared at the edge of town.


    They were constrained, two of them more so than the third. But even so, it felt like the illumination of a roaring bonfire in the distancepared to the fireflies that were the living of this world.


    Honestly, I was a little surprised I could sense them at all. Perhaps there was some synergy with my inherent instincts that it was getting more used to this new sensation? I already had a good sixth sense, but after bing a Campione it had increased significantly. It wouldn''t be odd that it was adapting to these new changes just as much as everything else of my mixed biology.


    Should I take a look?


    They didn''t quite feel like Hollows, and I think I''d sensed them enough at this point that I could kind of feel the difference. It honestly felt closer to how my Demonic Power felt inparison to my Magical Energy if I were to draw a corrtion.


    No....these were most definitely Shinigami. I suppose they could be humans...but I had yet to meet a human that gave off this kind of feeling.


    That orange haired brat was notable, but I could pretty much ce him at any moment since his Reiatsu felt like a constant stream, like he left the faucet on every single moment of the day.


    And once more, speak of the devil. Was that Strawberry heading towards them? His signature was on the move sorta in that direction...


    And I recalled my little jaunt through Soul Society....


    There was a possibility that I could have implicated him by extension of my shenanigans. In which case, my conscience required me to take responsibility and intervene.


    ....It wouldn''t hurt to take a look, right? There''s the distinct possibility that I could just be overthinking things.


    Well, the night was young.


    @***@


    Rukia Kuchiki POV


    They finally came.


    I knew that it had just been a matter of time.


    I could feel Brother''s Reiatsu as soon as he appeared in town. I may as well go meet him and not cause any problems for Ichigo.....


    That''s why I quietly snuck out while he was sleeping. Thankfully, we hadn''t been out tonight hunting a Hollow, things had been a little quiet since the Menos appeared. And that.....strange man who could control the weather.


    Seeing Lightning fall from the sky had sent chills down my spine. I was aware that there were Zanpakut¨­ that could change the weather, but that was.....different. Even after asking the Shop Owner, I still didn''t really know how to exin the feeling I had. It was as if the sky responded to him naturally, as if he had the right.


    I think even the Hollows sensed the shift and didn''t want to cause trouble.


    It didn''t matter now, I suppose.


    Though, I hope Ichigo didn''t go to cause problems with him. With his temperament.....that stranger gave me a dangerous feeling.


    My Spiritual Senses were nearly depleted, however, I could still vaguely make out three people waiting for me as I approached.


    "Rukia....you really did it, didn''t you?"


    "Renji..." I looked at my old friend. His untamed red hair and his....unique sense of style when it came to his eyebrows. "And.....Brother...."


    My gaze fell upon my Brother, but he simply closed his eyes, not wanting to see me.


    "And it''s Gin." Thest one that came to fetch me cheerfully waved.


    "....Captain Ichimaru." I politely bowed my head.


    "Wow, this is the most polite prisoner I''ve ever apprehended." He smiled slyly. "Ya sure you don''t wanna resist a little, hmm?"


    "I fully ept any punishment I am given." I lowered my head further.


    "Jeez, Captain Kuchiki, your sister is a downer." He scratched his head. "Don''t know why they made two of us Captainse and fetch her like this. Even with the whole issue with the Ryoka causing problems, this feels like overkill, y''know?"


    "It is not our ce to question our orders, Captain Ichimaru." Brother said evenly.


    "How boring." He kept smiling. "Hey Lieutenant Abarai. How''s it feel to be bringing your childhood friend in to be executed?"


    I had known my fate, but to hear it so inly.....I felt my heart drop.


    "Want some private time to say goodbye? I don''t mind turnin a blind eye for an hour or two cause the next time you see her, it''s gonna be ¨C" He ran a thumb across his neck. "Central lookin for blood after the Ryoka thing. They probably gonna make a huge spectacle of it too to take everyone''s attention away. Maybe ¨C "


    "Ichimaru Gin." Brother''s words interrupted him. "That is enough." I felt a faint sense of his Reiatsu flow out.


    "So scary~" Captain Ichimaru continued tough. "Well, let''s get goin. Unless we''re waitin for that Reiatsu signature to get closer on purpose?


    "Reiatsu signature...?" I questioned and I had a bad premonition.


    "Honestly, I''m fine either way." Captain Ichimaru put his hands behind his head. "I aint the one havin to do the paperwork."


    "There shouldn''t be anyone with that much Reiatsu reported around here...." Renji muttered as I turned my head towards the direction they were looking.


    And my eyes filled with horror at the sight of that stupid Strawberrying running down the road.


    "Rukia!" He shouted without a second thought.


    "Ichigo you idiot, leave!" I quickly shouted back. If he stayed here...


    "Is he the cause of this?" Renji growled. "The Human who you gave your powers too?" He grabbed his sword, and it looked like he was going to do something, but Brother put his hand out, stopping him.


    "Did you say ''Ichigo''?" Captain Ichimaru asked, his eyes opening a little wider than normal.


    "Rukia." Brother addressed me for the first time. "What is the name of the human you gave your powers to."


    "Hey!" Ichigo grunted. "Let her go!"


    "Hey.....yer name wouldn''t happen to be Kurosaki Ichigo, would it?" Captain Ichimaru asked, a wide grin splitting his face.


    "How''d you know?"


    Brother and Captain Ichimaru shared a look.


    Why did he know Ichigo''s name?


    Ichigo stupidly drew his sword, pointing it at them. "Let her go!"


    Did he not see I was going willingly?!


    "....this is the person you gave your powers to...?" Renji blinked, looking at me.


    ".....it was a desperate situation." I felt a little bit of embarrassment.


    I don''t regret my actions of giving Ichigo my powers to protect both him and myself and by extension his family, but.....he can be an idiot sometimes.


    "Regardless." Brother interrupted. "The description does not match. Clearly it was an assumed name."


    "Still.....that means the Ryoka knows him. Maybe we should grab him anyways, eh? Might make your sister happy if she has a cell mate." Captain Ichimaru chuckled.


    "W-what? H-he''s innocent, why would you arrest him too! Please, brother....It''s my fault, leave him alone." I looked at Brother, begging him to leave Ichigo be.


    "Our objective is not to arrest the human." Brother closed his eyes and turned away. "Our orders are to bring Rukia back only. Everything else is irrelevant."


    He immediately opened the Senkaimon, the doors sliding open to reveal the passage back to Soul Society.


    "Mm, guess yer right." Captain Ichimaru shrugged. "If we did something so troublesome, I''d probably haveta do some of the paperwork." He turned towards Ichigo. "Go along little human, we don''t got time to y with ya."


    "You..." Ichigo scowled, and he quickly ran forward, blocking the Senkaimon. "I won''t let you take her away."


    "Do you have any idea what''s going on?" Renji also scowled. "She''s already sacrificed herself to protect you, and you''re throwing away her goodwill. Because of you, they''re going to execute her."


    ...Thank you, Renji.


    "I don''t care." Ichigo huffed. "She helped me when I needed it, so I''m gonna repay the favor. I won''t let you take her."


    Foolish idiot....


    "Ichigo, please go back....you can''t win."


    "Hmph, I''m not scared of''em."


    "He''s pretty confident, eh?" Captain Ichimaru chuckled.


    "You got something to say, squinty eyes?" Ichigo pursed his lips, hefting his sword up.


    "Squinty eyes....?" Captain Ichimaru repeated, his smile never leaving.


    "Go ahead, take out your tiny de. I''ll show you how confident I am."


    ".....do you think because yer sword is big that you''re strong, eh?"


    "Wait ¨C"


    In one swift motion, Captain Ichimaru unsheathed his sword, it was shorter than a traditional sealed Zanpakut¨­, but that did not at all detract from its lethality. It swept out fast enough that my eyes could not follow, I only saw Ichigo flying across the air and rolling on the ground with a loud thump.


    "Huh, guess you aint all talk." The Captain muttered. "You actually blocked in thest moment..."


    Ichigo stood up, breathing a little heavier. He spit out a mouthful of blood and red at the Captain. "Hah, like that little toothpick could hurt me. Bring it on, squinty eyes."


    "Stop!" I tried to move forward, but Renji grabbed me. "Let go!"


    "Stop struggling, Rukia." Renji sighed, and he pped a handcuff on my arm. The little Spiritual Power I had left was sealed away beneath the device. "Don''t make it worse."


    "Captain Ichimaru, we are leaving." Brother stated.


    "Fine fine, I''ll wrap it up." Captain Ichimaru held his hands up in surrender.


    "Hey, I didn''t say you could leave!" Ichigo roared, running at him.


    "Here''s a lesson for ya, brat." The Captain chuckled, and disappeared in a burst of Shunpo. My eyes widened in horror. Ichigo looked down and Captain Ichimaru''s de was pushed through his chest. He pulled it out as quickly as it had gone in, letting Ichigo fall to the ground.


    "NO!" I screamed, but it was futile.


    The Captain knelt down next to Ichigo''s prone body. "Yer sword isn''t anything to gloat ''bout. It just means ya can''t control your power. If I let mine out like yer doing, my sword would be big enough that it''d be splittin the clouds right now. Ya understand?"


    "Stop struggling, Rukia!" Renji grumbled.


    "Rukia, behave yourself." Brother said quietly.


    "Brother, please he''s just a human. Let him off...." I pleaded again.


    "Shouldn''t ya be asking me that?" Captain Ichimaru looked at me. "I guess I can let him go.....not like he''s a threat."


    "Thank you ¨C"


    "Fuck you, squinty eyes..." Ichigo managed to grit out even as heid there bleeding on the ground.


    Dammit Ichigo!


    ".....on the other hand. Best to take care of any unnecessary problems." Ichigo reached for his sword, but Captain Ichimaru stepped on his hand. He moved his sword, instead of hovering over Ichigo, it moved above his sword. He pushed it down and it easily pierced through the oversized Katana, sending cracks in all directions. "See how easily it breaks?" He chuckled, pulling his sword free, leaving Ichigo''s sword barely held together with a hole in it. "Oh well, they weren''t even your powers to begin with, no harm done." He stood up. "Don''t worry, kiddo, you won''t even feel a thing while you bleed out on the ground~"


    "That''s enough."


    Who?


    "Oh?" Captain Ichimaru''s eyes narrowed as he looked down the street.


    There was no indication that someone was there until now. He walked out of the shadows, that familiar red hair was obvious under the street lights.


    "Who''re you?" Captain Ichimaru asked, but I recognized him.


    That dangerous human.


    "Just a passerby." He looked around. "I wasn''t going to interfere, but you''re about to cross a line. The girl is one of yours, so I won''t say anything, but you have no business killing a Living person."


    He''s....protecting Ichigo? He didn''t seem to like Ichigo in the previous encounters....


    Captain Ichimaru stood up, looking at the human. "Hmm, but he pointed his de at me. I think that makes it alright for me to kill''em, don''t you think?" He smiled slightly, his eyes barely opening. "Besides that, you''re kinda familiar. I think I read a report or something about someone that looked just like ya. Any idea about that?"


    What? Do they know about him?


    "Renji, take Rukia and get behind me." Brother said quietly as he stepped in front of us.


    "W-what''s going on?"


    "Quiet." Renji chided, grabbing me and holding me back.


    "A report about someone like me? Sorry, I have no rtion to this handsome and dashing rogue you''re referring to."


    "Is that so...hmm." The Captain scratched his head. "What if I don''t believe ya?"


    "Well, that seems like a personal problem for you then." He crossed his arms.


    "Yeah, it is a problem for me. See....If I don''t do somethin, the Boss is gonna get angry with me, y''know?"


    "Are you going to fight me?" He asked.


    It was...ridiculous. He was a human and he was standing off against a Captain. I know what he did was impressive, but any of the Captains could have easily taken care of that Menos too.


    "Scary, I heard what happened to Mayuri. I''m too scared, I don''t know if I can hold onto my sword too well." Captain Ichimaru turned it and pointed it downwards towards a barely conscious Ichigo. "Maybe if someone surrendered, I might feel morefortable."


    ".....you''re threatening me with him?" The human raised an eyebrow.


    "Is that what you think? Well.....can''t help it if that''s how you feelin."


    "I promised Shunsui that I wouldn''t kill thest time. But that promise doesn''t hold here. I don''t know if I can stop you, but if you go through with that, you aren''t making it back to Soul Society."


    "If you say something like that, I don''t know if I can keep my hand from shaking..." His hand holding his de descended slightly. "Maybe ¨C"


    I barely saw it, but something flew out from that human. That was a ng of steel, and Captain Ichimaru was forced back, having deflected something fast.


    "You were saying?" The human stated, a strange sword hovered next to him. One that looked almost to be made of ss and gave off an unfamiliar feeling.


    "Captain Kuchiki..." Captain Ichimaru slowly stood up straight and he looked....serious.


    "Don''t forget our orders." Brother said simply and he sort of sounded like he was bracing himself.


    Suddenly, a massive amount of Reiatsu erupted from Captain Ichimaru. He reeled his arm back like he was ready to thrust his sword forward. "Shoot to Kill ¨C Shins¨­."


    Something happened.


    I couldn''t see it clearly, but something shot forward, again at speeds my eyes couldn''t follow after Captain Ichimaru released his Zanpakut¨­. I heard the sounds of metal colliding. The Human disappeared; I could vaguely see where he was forced off into the distance; a building seemed to have copsed onto him. And from that location, I could trace the Captain''s Zanpakut¨­ that was extended the full distance.


    And in the blink of an eye, itpletely retracted back to normal.


    I had heard rumors that his Zanpakut¨­ was the longest one in existence, but I did not expect that speed either. It was.....I couldn''t even follow it with my eyes.


    "There''s no way he''s still alive." Renji muttered. "Should we head off, Captain?"


    "Quiet, Renji." Brother replied, his eyes still dreadfully focused.


    "What ¨C"


    In the distance, there was an eruption of light.


    It was golden and warm.


    And it wasn''t Reiatsu.


    It exploded outward, the rubble from around him was blown away. In his hands was a Spear. I had never seen it before but for some reason I had the urge to lower my head and acknowledge it. It was as if the Spear was.....Holy and just staring at it was taboo.


    "Well, that was interesting." The Human took bated steps back towards us. "I admit, that certainly took me by surprise. I can easily tell that you''re stronger than that other Captain I met. I actually felt threatened there and could barely bring up my weapon to block in time." He came to a stop and looked at Captain Ichimaru who looked unnaturally focused as well. "It would be impolite of me not to reciprocate." As soon as he said that he pulled his unnatural spear backwards, a simr motion that Captain Ichimaru did a moment prior.


    My eyes widened as I realized what was about to happen, and I was not the only one.


    Once more, I could barely see what happened. There was another burst of that light, that Holy and pure light that shot off and Captain Ichimaru''s body was sent hurling backwards, the spear extending just as the Captain''s sword had.


    I turned my body to follow the length of it, to see what became of the Captain. I saw him mmed into the ground, the spear nowhere to be seen near his person any longer. However, he nearly fell over as he tried to stand back up. There were no major wounds on him, but his Kimono was burned in several ces, and a slight bit of blood that trailed down his lips, probably from the force of the blow even if he blocked.


    His smile didn''t disappear, but it looked vicious inparison to his normal one. His Reiatsu intensified several degrees, it weighed down on the surroundings and shot to the sky, illuminating the night.


    "Ban ¨C "


    Before he could finish, brother was there, grabbing his hands, forcing the gathered Reiatsu to dissipate.


    "....Whaddya think you''re doing, Captain Kuchiki." There was venom in his tone.


    "You have not been authorized to release your Bankai. If you persist, I will be forced to act ordingly and arrest you as well." He stared at Captain Ichimaru.


    Captain Ichimaru stared for a moment before snorting and sheathing his de. "Fine, you handle him then."


    Brother turned back towards the human, who had been waiting. "We will retreat. Our objective has been fulfilled."


    The Human rxed and just held his Spear to the side, standing near Ichigo somewhat protectively. "Do you want to leave with them, Rukia?" He suddenly asked but it seemed to like any kind of true warmth to it.


    I stiffened slightly.


    I felt like.....


    If I said no, would....?


    I nced at Brother who was about to grab his sword, and the same for Renji.


    "I will ept my punishment." I epted my fate. "I did what I did knowing the consequences."


    "Very well." He shrugged. "It''s not my ce, I suppose, to meddle with your people in a situation like this."


    "....please take care of Ichigo..."


    "....alright, I''ll make sure the Idiot doesn''t die. Would have been a wasted effort on my part if I just left him here to bleed out."


    "Thank you." I said quietly as I followed behind Renji into the Senkaimon. The others followed and I nced back before the gates closed, I looked at Ichigo, there was a tiny bit of light in his eyes still. I gave him onest smile of goodbye before the doors mmed shut.


    @***@


    A/N


    Sorry for thete release, got sick yesterday and was throwing up with stomach pain.


    I you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 381 - 345

    <h4>Chapter 381: Chapter 345</h4>


    I watched them retreat, they maintained weariness even as they backed through their method of connection through Realms. The gate mmed shut, spinning and disappeared into the ambient Reishi.


    I allowed myself to rx once they were finally gone.


    That Captain, the one who attacked me, was dangerous. I didn''t take the Spear out just to be cute and mimic his actions. I''ll admit that it was a benefit, but I was a hair''s breadth away from activating Bnce Breaker.


    The speed at which his sword moved had taken me by surprise. It was enough to make me feel threatened and I nearly got hurt by it. If I was a fraction of a secondte, it would have pierced right through my heart, Aura be damned.


    It was a lesson not to take Captains lightly. He was leagues above the dangerous feeling I got from Mayuri before. While Mayuri''s Bankai was definitely dangerous and had the potential to kill me, it wasn''t nearly the neck hair raising feeling that I got when this guy was about to release his Bankai.


    I had a feeling that if he released his Bankai, and I released my Bnce Breaker, the town wouldn''t be standing for much longer.


    Now, it looked like I was recognized, which was annoying. I hoped they wouldn''t send anyone after me, I''d hate to have to leave town. I mean...I could, but this was the best spot for me to help fulfill my goal at the moment.


    I''d cross that bridge when I got to it.


    My attention was now upied by the orange-haired idiot who was currently bleeding out on the ground. I stared at him with a scowl appearing very quickly. He had already lost consciousness at this point. "Me and my bleeding heart." I sighed reluctantly.


    This had nothing to do with me and I stuck my nose into it like I always did. But.....he''s just a stupid kid, I couldn''t let him die like that.


    And I supposed he earned my admiration, willing to go that far when he perceived his friend to be threatened.


    Can''t say I wouldn''t do the same thing in his situation if someone close to me was being taken away.


    "Alright, you stupid brat, let''s see how bad it is." I walked over, and rolled him onto his back. Spiritual Beings were significantly more durable than a normal human, so I wasn''t too concerned about him immediately dying.


    I inspected the wound and clicked my tongue. I put my hand on it to get a better look, trying to see his spiritual biology through Magical Means and I got a rough picture that took a second to trante.


    I wanted to call him lucky, but after trading one blow with that Shinigami, I knew this was entirely intentional. A tenth of a centimeter to the right and the kid would have died.


    Did he even have the intention of killing the kid?


    With a groan, I ran a hand through my hair. "Looks like I stepped in for nothing, fantastic." Well, I already put one foot in, may as well see this through now.


    How should I go about this then? My normal healing methods wouldn''t work on a Spiritual Being like this, or at the most they would be so heavily reduced that a small cut would probably take an hour to heal properly...


    I wasn''t stupid enough to test the method I learned from Unohana as I had absolutely no experience with that yet.


    Speaking of....his Reiatsu felt small.


    Before, it felt wild and uncontrolled, an endless stream. Now....it was like a candle wafting in the wind, about to be snuffed out at any moment.


    I nced at the oversized sword at his side. There was a hole from where it was stabbed previously, and from the epicenter cracks jutted off in every direction. I was pretty sure it would shatter if I poked it too hard.


    Yoruichi did say that his powers manifested this way from Rukia, could his sword breaking mean that the powers were disappearing?


    That''s probably going to be a big hit for him when he wakes up....


    Looks like I had pretty much one option here, and I wasn''t even sure it''d work. Their spiritual bodies were supposed to mimic a body of flesh and blood even if it was basically made up of Reishi. They were different enough from Servants ¨C which Avalon worked on fine ¨C that I was not without a small bit of doubt if this would work properly.


    Putting my spear away, I touched my chest and called upon the Ever Distant Utopia and pulled it out. The holy light illuminated the dark night and I set it on top of his chest and pushed it inside him.


    At the very least, I was confident it wouldn''t have an adverse effect. Avalon was many things, but harmful to reciprocants is not one of them.


    I frowned though once I felt a tinge of resistance.


    I pressed further on, ignoring it. Though once I pushed past a certain point, his Reiatsu suddenly skyrocketed. It was for a very brief moment, barely a blink and then it was gone. And I felt a pair of eyes staring back at me before it dissipated.


    Avalonpletely sunk down into him and his body began to glow. The wound he suffered lighting up with a Holy Light and mending.


    I waited until the light died down before retrieving Artoria''s Noble Phantasm and returning it inside of me.


    He was still unconscious, so I hefted him up and slung him over my shoulder.


    I gently grabbed his sword, not really sure what to do with it, so I slid it back into his sheath.


    No idea where he actually lived....so I guess I''m taking him home with me.


    @***@


    "You''re finally awake?" I nced at the Orange Haired kid twitching off to the side.


    He jolted up, eyes widened. "What ¨C Where am I !?" He hurriedly looked around the room.


    "I would call it my home, but it''s just a ce I''ve been staying to conduct my experiments."


    He jumped to his feet and still was on guard, I gave him a moment to orientate himself. "You...."


    "Me?" I answered back, setting aside the sack of dirt I grabbed from my time in Soul Society. I was curious to see if it would gradually lose its coherent form whilst in the living world.


    Interesting enough, it still retained its original properties. Reishi in the form of dirt, and acted exactly as dirt should act.


    "Rukia... WHERE''S RUKIA?" He shouted, his current situation probably settling in now.


    "Long gone." I hummed. "She went with those Shinigami."


    "Why didn''t you stop them!?" He shouted again, reaching forward and grabbed at my cor.


    I flicked his nose with a little bit of my Aura mixed in knocking him back onto his ass. "Why do you think it''s my responsibility to interfere there? You''re being awfully ungrateful after I saved your life." I didn''t really fault him for how upset he was right now, I just wanted him to realize the situation he was in. And whether I actually saved his life is up for debate.


    "But ¨C"


    "I have no idea who that girl is." I borated. "Beyond her name, I''ve interacted with her twice and exchanged only a few words."


    "You could have done something!" He scowled, throwing his arm out angrily. "You could have saved her, couldn''t you!?"


    "Sure." I didn''t deny it. "I could have fought that Shinigami you say. And the ensuing fight would have leveled ¨C and I''ll be modest and say a quarter of your town."


    "She ¨C"


    "She willingly went with them to protect you, you idiot." I flicked his forehead again. "And you threw away all that goodwill and tried to fight two Captains. How did that turn out for you, huh?"


    "I could have taken them. I was....just unprepared. I''ll do better next time." He grunted, pushing himself to his feet. "I just need to find a way to get to Soul Society and rescue her."


    I rubbed my eyes. Stubborn and stupid kids. "Have you seen your sword?"


    Realization dawned on him, he quickly pulled it from his sheath. There was a noticeable breathing hitch but he gritted his teeth. "It''s good enough."


    I let out a sigh, moving my hand in front of his sword, and gave it a hard flick.


    It shattered quite easily, hundreds of pieces falling to the ground and dissipating into Reishi before drifting away.


    He stared at his broken sword, barely anything left but a jutted edge stemming from the hilt. "I''ll just kick their asses then." He finally said.


    Fucking stubborn as hell...and it was hard to get annoyed with him. Maybe I saw a bit of myself in him at this point.


    "And how do you propose you aplish that when any one of those Shinigami that popped up could have handled you at your best?" I wasn''t trying to be mean, but.....he needed to face reality.


    And I suppose it wasn''t entirely hopeless. I recalled that burst of Reiatsu he had at the end....I''m fairly sure the kid wasn''t normal.


    "I''ll figure it out." He grumbled.


    I rubbed the bridge of my nose. He''s definitely a stubborn idiot, but he had good intentions. I was about to continue arguing with him, but I heard a knock on the door.


    I went to open it, and it was certainly not who I expected. "I think you''re at the wrong ce, there aren''t any children here you can tempt into your van with candy." I said dryly.


    "Schweinorg-kun." That Urahara Kisuke greeted me with a smile.


    I didn''t sense his Reiatsu.


    Even with him standing right infront of me, he was concealing it somehow.


    "What can I help you with?"


    "I was just taking a midnight stroll ¨C"


    "You were watching, weren''t you?" I narrowed my eyes.


    "Hat-n-clogs?" Ichigo called out from behind me.


    "Kurosaki-kun!" The Shopkeeper greeted happily.


    "Well, that answers my question." I pushed the door open and let him walk in.


    "My, and here I thought you would need some help healing." He started to inspect Ichigo. "But it looks like Schweinorg-kun took care of you." He nced at me. "And not a single scar left."


    "As you can see, he''s the picture of health." I crossed my arms. Did he expect me to blurt out how I healed him?


    "Unfortunately, your powers are nearly depleted. I''m afraid that there won''t be any more jaunting around as a Shinigami once you return to your body." Urahara hummed, ignoring me. "Schweinorg-kun was right, I was watching from the side."


    "What the hell, Hat-n-clogs!?" Ichigo shouted again.


    "I was about to step in before Schweinorg-kun did." He lightly tapped Ichigo on the head with his cane, forcing him back to the ground. "But I wanted you to understand where you stood."


    "What''s that supposed to mean?!"


    "It means ¨C" The cheerful shop keeper released his Reiatsu. It was heavy. It was simr to what Shunsui did, intentionally forcing it down on something as if he was bearing the weight of his soul and shing it against everyone else. Ichigo shivered and fell straight to the ground, practically gasping for breath. Briefly, Urahara looked at me a little surprised as he was releasing it into me just as much as Ichigo. I merely raised an eyebrow and met his gaze. He turned back to Ichigo with an amused smile on his face as the pressure let up. "It means, Kurosaki-kun, that there are easier ways to kill yourself. You stand no chance against Soul Society, either of those Captains could have defeated you without much effort on their part. As you clearly just found out."


    I had to admit, just from the weight of Reiatsu alone, I could tell this guy was strong. Easily on the same level as those other Captains I''d run into so far.


    "What....what am I suppose to do now...?" I suppose it finally set in for the kid. He looked utterly lost.


    The Shopkeep took out that fan of his again, tapping it against his hand. "Well, we''ll just have to get you your powers back."


    "You can do that?" Ichigo''s eyes filled with light again.


    "I''m wondering that as well." I looked at the Shopkeeper, expecting an answer.


    "I have my ways." He hid his face behind his unfolded fan.


    "Right, that doesn''t sound shady as fuck." I snorted.


    "Ara, Schweinorg-kun, I don''t mind telling you my secrets if you share yours~"


    "And suddenly, I lost interest." I shrugged.


    However, I wasn''t stupid. Shinigami powers don''t appear out of thin air, there''s clearly something about Ichigo that made him confident.


    "What''re we waiting for!?" Ichigo shot forward, but the shopkeeper grabbed him and pushed him back onto the ground.


    "Don''t panic, we have some time. It''s customary to give prisoners sentenced to death a grace period of a month. But I have a condition that you will ept before I help you."


    "What?" Ichigo took a deep breath, calming himself down.


    "For the next ten days, you will train with me."


    "What the hell is ten ¨C"


    The Shop owner pulled on his cane, revealing a sword and in one swift motion, swung it at me. It was extremely fast, though I didn''t feel much intent behind it.


    Ascalon was already floating in front of me, blocking the strike. The force of it whipped up the air, making my hair blow back, but otherwise, I didn''t budge.


    "Tell me, Kurosaki-kun, could you even see my strike?" He asked, pulling back his sword.


    "Did you have to use me for your example?" I let out a sigh.


    "Schweinorg-kun can fight Captain Ichimaru, I was sure he could handle a little hit from a candy salesman like me." He giggled from behind his fan again. "I was hoping to see that spear of yours again. But....that is an interesting sword, Schweinorg-kun."


    I reached out, grabbing his fan, and broke it in half and tossing it to the side.


    He looked at me, pouting before reaching into his sleeve and took out another fan with a big grin.


    "....ten days. Will ten days make me stronger?" Ichigo asked.


    "In ten days, I''ll teach you how to properly fight so you''ll have at least the smallest of chances." Urahara nodded.


    "Ten days....okay, I can wait ten days."


    "If it''ll helpfort you, I need Seven days to create the gate to let you go to Soul Society." He pped his fan shut. "And since Schweinorg-kun healed you so quickly, we can start tomorrow!"


    "Alright, I''ll do it." Ichigo punched his palm.


    "I like the enthusiasm!" The Shopkeeper chuckled. "But I should warn you before we begin." His expression turned dark. "There''s the possibility that you may die. You need to steel your resolve, Kurosaki Ichigo, if you want a chance at rescuing Rukia."


    "If it weren''t for her, I''d have been dead a while ago and my family probably too." The kid balled his fists. "I owe it to her to at least do this."


    "Then it''s settled!" His cheerfulness returned. "First things first, you need to get back to your body." He literally kicked Ichigo out the door.


    The kid flipped him off and grumbled, but he made his way back towards town.


    "You''re wee to join too, Schweinorg-kun." The shopkeep looked at me.


    "Do you think I''m as naive as him?"


    "Ara, what are you trying to say?" His fan unfolded again as he hid his expression.


    "I can see the maniption as clear as day. ying on his emotions and leading him by the nose." I shook my head. "I don''t know what you''re doing, and frankly, I don''t really care. But if I find out that he dies because of whatever games you''re ying ¨C" Ascalon mmed into the wall next to his head. He nced at it unflinchingly. "You can join him."


    I don''t like how he''s manipting a fifteen year old like that into a dangerous situation, but at the same time, it''s not my decision to make. I don''t have many firm lines I draw in the sand, but I don''t like kids being pulled into games like this. Granted, he seems to have stepped into this side of the world by his own hand, but still.


    Yoruichi vouched for him, so I wouldn''t press it.


    "That''s a scary threat, Schweinorg-kun." He lowered his head.


    "Right, the sarcasm really sells it."


    "....you think I''m being sarcastic." He said quietly before walking towards the door. "You''re free to join if you want." He started to leave, but turned back to me. "I really do have good intentions for Ichigo." He said before leaving for good.


    Great, my guilt was eating at me here. I knew I was going to be pulled into this nonsense somehow.


    @***@


    "Meow!" A loud thump hit my door, and it slowly opened up. A ck cat had its nails dug into the metal door, hanging there, staring at me as it slowly opened up.


    "...yoruichi."


    "yo." She greeted.


    "Haven''t seen you in several days. "


    "Yeah, heard you had some fun." She hopped over.


    "Right, how''s Ichigo doing? Heard you guys are training him. He should have started today, right?"


    "Don''t know, I''m not involved in that." She did a little cat shrug.


    "Really? You''re missing out on the chance to mess with Carrot top?" I was...skeptical.


    "It was a hard decision to make, but I had something else today." Yoruichi rolled onto the ground and I relented, giving her some scratches. "I''m training up some other kids, friends of his."


    I stopped. "Yoruichi, what the fuck?" I felt like this was bing a habit at this point. "Don''t drag more kids into this mess."


    "Kindate there. Thanks to Ichigo, their inherent Spiritual Powers bloomed and they developed their own powers."


    "...that makes no sense, exin it properly."


    "They hadtent potential regardless, but it was kinda dormant. Sometimes Humans can awaken their Spiritual Power in a unique way. Ichigo''s rampant Reiatsu acted as a catalyst. During the whole Hollow bait thing, they all fought off some Hollows which really pushed it out."


    "That sounds much more usible." I rubbed my chin. Ichigo''s Reiatsu basically just acted as a match that ignited their own fires. "And they''re strong enough to.....invade soul society?"


    "Well...."


    "....yoruichi, don''t make me get the spray bottle."


    "I''ll be tagging along with them." She hurriedly stated.


    "I''m slightly more relieved." I kinda felt like they had a slight disregard for the kids around them. Maybe it was just the mentality of being a Shinigami? I can''t expect them to have the same outlook that I do.


    "If it bothers you so much, you cane too." She said.


    ....that might make things worse. "I''ll consider it."


    "Anyways, the reason I came here. You wannae help me?"


    "You''re asking me to help you train them? How do you know I even have the ability to do so?"


    "Eh, you''re strong enough. And you have that same sort of mindset that Tessai has. I''m more of a free hand, it''ll be good if they had someone more meticulous."


    "Did your friend ask you toe convince me to do so?"


    "Yeah." Yoruichi said, her tail wagging as she didn''t deny it in the slightest. "I thought it was a good idea, so I wanted to do it anyway."


    "...thanks for the honesty."


    "No problem."


    "I don''t mind helping, you''ve been helping me so much already. I''d feel bad if I didn''t repay the favor somehow. Besides, I''m a little curious about these ''unique abilities'' you spoke about."


    "Awesome! Let''s go." She excitedly bolted out the door.


    Well, I can use the opportunity to practice with her some more, then maybe see Tessai again and talk some Kid¨­ with him.


    At the very least, I could make sure these kids weren''t walking to their deaths.


    @***@


    Sorry for no chapter the past few days, for those of you who don''t know, I was in Urgent Care this past sunday night. Nothing horrible, but I''m on some powerful pain meds and it''s been difficult to do anything while i''m like this.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 382 - 346

    <h4>Chapter 382: Chapter 346</h4>


    "This isn''t what I was expecting."


    "What were you expecting?" Yoruichi asked as she led me into the building.


    "Maybe....taking me to the wilderness where there wouldn''t be many people. Not....an office building?" I replied as we ascended the stairs.


    "Hollow attack a couple years ago, thepany moved out and it hasn''t been rented out since." Yoruichi jumped onto my shoulder. "It should be fine."


    "Right...." Maybe there was some reason for it, I didn''t know.


    "Here we are!" Yoruichi jumped off my shoulder and bolted down the empty hallway to a certain door and kicked it open.


    I followed behind her and saw the faces inside.


    "Well, this is a surprise." I noted the one familiar face in particr. "The little quincy."


    Ishida Ury¨± scowled at my nickname.


    "Didn''t think he''d be one of the people you were ''training''." I added air quotes. "How''d you convince him toe along?"


    "I told him that you''d be here and that made him interested." Yoruichi replied simply.


    ".....but I didn''t agree toe until right before we came."


    "Anyways!" Yoruichi ignored myment. "You three agreed to my training. It''s going to be tough, so I hope you''re prepared."


    "I''m not participating." Ury¨± stated, pushing up his sses.


    "Then why are you here?" I looked at him.


    "Don''t misunderstand. While I question the ability of a cat to train me, I will be training on my own. I simply wished to verify something."


    "What''s that?" Yoruichi asked.


    The Quincy looked at me. "Fight me."


    "Why?"


    "I want to understand the gap between us." He said quietly. "I witnessed your battle with that Shinigami on the night that Kuchiki was taken away. If you had not stepped in, I would have. However...." His fists clenched. "I wanted to mock Kurosaki for his pitiful attempt but....then he attacked you. And that was..."


    "Ah, you saw what the peak was like for the first time." I could pretty much understand his feelings. I could understand that part, I was confused about something else. "But why are you involved in this? From what I understand, you have no liking towards Shinigami, which extends to both Ichigo and Rukia."


    "I have a debt to pay." He crossed his arms, not borating. However, I could easily guess his thoughts again.


    Did he feel guilty about the whole Hollow thing and thought this was an opportunity to redeem himself?


    I wanted to call him an idiot again, but I couldn''t forbid him from jumping into this stupid situation.


    "I won''t fight you. But I''ll let you hit me with one of your strongest attacks. If you want to see where you stand inparison, this is your chance." At least he would have something to work towards.


    "You two watch as well. And stand to the side." Yoruichi voiced, jumping to the corner as she ushered the other two who hadn''t introduced themselves yet.


    "Right here?" Ury¨± asked.


    "It doesn''t matter if it''s here or outside." I gestured for him to continue.


    "You''re underestimating me."


    "Then prove me wrong. You can wear a smug look if you actually manage to hurt me. So stop pussyfooting around and take your swing, this is the only freebie you''re getting."


    He scowled but took a few steps back. He held his hands out and his Reiatsu gathered into the form of an Energy Bow made of Spiritual Particles. He pulled his hand back, basically nocking an arrow as it also appeared. He seemed to gather a decent amount and let it loose.


    The whole room was filled with that blue light as the arrow was released which shook the surrounding windows.


    I held up my hand and gathered my Aura. The arrow collided with my own defenses in a burst of cascading light. I merely flexed my wrist and twisted, dispersing the gathered Reiatsu and shattering the arrow.


    He slowly lowered his hands, his bow disappearing. I did notice a cross around his wrist and it seemed to resonate with him. Was it some kind of catalyst that helped him ''create'' that bow of his?


    Curious.


    "I was told ten days. I will return at the end of the tenth day." He took a deep breath and began walking out the door.


    I held my hand up to block him.


    He wasn''t a bad kid, he had his own sense of honor and pride. Just...misguided previously, I supposed. I reached into my Ring and flipped my hand over, holding a few bottles between my fingers. "Red ones are Health potions. They heal a decent amount of damage but won''t heal anything ridiculous. Green ones are Stamina Potions. They''ll give you a significant burst of stamina that willst several hours." I exined. It''s a shame that the Stamina potions don''t work that well on stronger beings such as myself. Once my Stamina reached beyond a point, it wasn''t even worth mentioning, but for him, it would most likely still have a significant effect. "Don''t drink more than one in a 24 hour period. And expect to be lethargic the day afterwards, potentially longer. However, it can be good for pushing past walls in your own training. I only suggest drinking one the entire time you''re out training. The second is for an emergency in case you''re drained and a Hollow pops up."


    "....thank you." He epted withoutint and quickly left.


    Yoruichi hopped back over. "Did you have to destroy his self-confidence so thoroughly?"


    "Will any Shinigami care if his ego is bruised or not?" I retorted.


    "Point." Yoruichi acknowledged. "Almost makes me think you care about him. Odd considering how much you berated him before."


    "He''s just a stupid kid." I shook my head. "He was spouting that crap about Quincy this and Quincy that trying topare himself to Shinigami. Hopefully that won''t hold him back."


    "Maybe, maybe not. But don''t underestimate Quincy. There''s a reason that it was called a war when the Shinigami fought them in the past."


    I raised an eyebrow and looked at her. She didn''t borate, but that just made me a little more interested. I suppose there is more to being a ''Quincy'' than I had originally thought.


    "Anyways, how about you introduce me to the other two kids you''re trying to send to invade the afterlife."


    There were two of them, and they''d been quietly watching thus far. One was a girl, obviously in her mid teens, and she was on the.....voluptuous side. Long, burnt orange hair and a sweet looking smile that made me want to give her a head pat.


    The other, well...I was questioning how many years he''d been held back in school. He was huge and had some very visible and rippling muscles.


    "Introduce yourselves." Yoruichi waved at them.


    "Hello.." The girl quietly greeted me. ''I''m Inoue Orihime." She added with a little bow of her head.


    "Sado Yasutora." The big guy introduced himself with a really smooth voice.


    "Please don''t take offense to this, but...how old are you?" I asked him, with Yoruichi snickering to the side.


    "....Fifteen."


    "Well, puberty hit you hard and fast. Have you considered a career in voice acting?"


    "...Huh?" He looked at me strangely.


    "Your voice, it''s very smooth and has a unique ent while also not being too foreign. I''m guessing one of your parents is of Spanish descent. I''m guessing the South American variety."


    "Mexico." He nodded.


    "Ah, must have been hard. Half Japanese, Half German myself. Had to deal with all the crap that came with it." I emphasized my hair. "But honestly, you have a great voice for voice acting."


    He turned to Orihime. "Do you think I have a good voice?"


    "Oh, definitely!" She smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically.


    Well, honestly, he had the face for regr acting. But I think it would be weird if I started talking about his looks....even in an objective sense.


    "Well, nice to meet you both. My name is Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. I don''t much go by normal Japanese conventions these days, so feel free to call me Wilhelm." I held my hand out to the big guy. Honestly, he was taller than I was.


    "Everyone calls me Chad." He responded with a very gentle smile and shook my hand.


    Right, I''m sure they do.


    Wait, what year was it? I don''t think that meme existed here.


    ....that just makes it all the more hrious.


    "You can call me Orihime!" Said girl happily replied.


    Her bubbliness reminded me of Kunou.


    "Alright." I pped my hands. "So, what can you both do that gives you confidence to invade Heaven?"


    "Uh... I don''t know." Orihime cheerfully replied.


    Chad sheepishly scratched his cheek.


    I turned to look at Yoruichi.


    "Wait, let me exin ¨C"


    I didn''t, I grabbed her tail and walked towards the window as she struggled in my hand and tossed her out.


    It took but a moment for Yoruichi to burst back through the door, none the worse for wear. "Rude."


    @***@


    "Alright, I need you both to try and ess your power first." Yoruichi started coaching them.


    After she returned and exined to me that they hadn''t gotten to the point of consciously essing their powers. Which, considering they were going to literally invade Heaven in ten days, was kind of a big deal.


    God...it''s like watching a slow motion train crash....but it''s on fire, and I was somehow convinced to ride along.


    "Just try to feel it like how you did before. Try to summon it out, just do whates naturally."


    Orihime lifted her hands up into the air and started making strange sounds.


    Chad looked at her....and immediately followed suit.


    I slowly turned towards Yoruichi. "I see you''ve only chosen the best."


    She covered her face with her paw. "Alright, stop, stop. Please, for the sake of my pride." She quickly got between them. "Let''s try something else. Your powers came about due to strong emotions. The heart is linked to the soul, so remember the feelings you were experiencing right when your powers manifested. What was running through your head at the time?"


    "....I wanted to protect Tatsuki." Orihime looked thoughtful. " She was in danger, and the monster was going to get her. I just...."


    "Your hairband is glowing." Chad pointed out.


    And it in fact was. I didn''t even notice anything unique about it.


    "Oh yeah, I remember that something happened with them after what happened!" She giggled as the glow intensified.


    I resisted the urge to face palm, instead, looking down at Yoruichi.


    Yoruichi sighed reluctantly.


    Though we both looked back at Orihime and the hairband burst outwards, six new figures appeared hovering near her head.


    There was a moment of silence as they appeared, I think everyone took a moment to register their existence. I wasn''t quite sure what they were off the bat because they didn''t quite register as normal life forms to my senses.


    "You stupid girl!" One of the little floating figures grabbed onto her hair and started pulling. "Why the hell did you call us out for no reason!"


    "Ah, I''m sorry, I''m sorry!" Orihime whined as it continued to tug on her hair.


    And I felt a little tug in my heart as I saw that.


    I yanked the little figure out of the air.


    "Hey, who the hell do you think you are!?"


    I held it up to my face. "Don''t bully her." I said sternly.


    At first nce, it seemed like a fairy, but it most assuredly was not.


    "Hey you stupid girl, get this idiot ¨C"


    I held up my finger to his face, ring up just a tiny bit of my Power of Destruction. "Do you want to know what Conceptual Destruction tastes like?" I didn''t know what it was, but it clearly had some manner of sapience and emotions if the annoyance it had was genuine.


    Seeing a girl close to my Daughter''s age getting bullied touched buttons I didn''t even realize I had until this moment.


    "Don''t hurt him." Orihime sniffed, looking tearful at the prospect of me harming her little...fairy.


    "I won''t." I quickly dismissed my bloodline power, giving a small smile. "Because he''s going to behave." The little thing was sweating in my grasp.


    I did let it go and it quickly hid behind Orihime.


    "Well, that was amusing." Yoruichi jumped up to my shoulder. "That fact that her powers can actually talk should help things."


    "Right...so is that weird? I feel like that''s weird. She didn''t just.....create life or something, did she?"


    "I''m a mom!?" Orihime eximed.


    "No, you stupid, girl you ¨C"


    I red at the little fairy that was kicking up a fuss again and it cowered.


    "Shinigami''s Zanpakut¨­ have spirits of their own, I''m guessing this is simr." Yoruichi rified.


    "Makes sense. So....introductions then?" I gestured towards her other floatingpanions.


    "I''m Ayame!" A cheerful little female fairy waved.


    "I''m Baigon!" A bulkier male member of their tiny little sextuplet introduced himself.


    "I''m Hinagiku!" A more scrawny male member also excitedly introduced himself.


    "And I''m Lily!" Another female fairy introduced herself with a peace sign.


    "Greetings, I''m Shun''o" Another male fairy spoke, more reserved in his introduction.


    "...and I''m Tsubaki." The ornery one that I had to give a talk to gave his namest with a snort.


    "And we''re, the Shun Shun Rikka!" Several of them posed happily.


    "Oooh!" Orihime pped in excitement.


    And honestly, I can see how they would be the manifestation of her powers.....besides Tsubaki, they''re very simr to her.


    "And what can you do?" I asked.


    "Oh, I can answer that!" Ayame flew forward. "We can heal, we can attack, and we can shield!"


    "And how do you go about doing that?" I asked again.


    "Um.....Orihime needs to just chant the right incantations and that''s it!" She smiled.


    "No, I mean... how do you work?" I rified.


    "Um...." She looked at Orihime and back to me. "I don''t know?" She shrugged.


    "Well, I suppose since you''re the manifestation of her powers, basically given a physical form, you wouldn''t know things she wouldn''t know." I rubbed my chin. "It stand to reason you wouldn''t know your own underlying mechanics if she didn''t."


    "Alright, well, let''s see what you got." I pped my hands. "What do you think, Yoruichi?"


    "I was about to say the same thing." She nodded. "We''ll start with Orihime''s powers then get to you Chad."


    "No problem." He gave a thumbs up.


    "Alright, Orihime. Show time, let''s see what your shield can do."


    The Fairies around her glowed and returned to the form of her hairband. "Oh, I remember what I''m supposed to say now!" She held her hand up. "Santen Kesshun ¨C I reject." She stated and three of her hair band pieces shot off forming a triangle as a golden-like shield formed between them.


    I walked up to it, giving it a light flick.


    Yoruichi also pawed at it a few times.


    "What do you think?" I asked her.


    "For a first attempt, it isn''t bad. It can take a mild strike by a seated Officer most likely. But..." She raised her paw and mmed it down, shattering itpletely. "Still fragile."


    "Oh..." Orihime looked dejected.


    Heart pain returned with a vengeance. "Don''t worry, it''s your first try. It''s going to take some time and effort to make it stronger." I found my hand patting her head without even thinking. "We have an idea of where to go from there, but let''s see how you attack now." I looked around the room and walked over to the wall, giving it a quick punch to crack and pull some pieces out. "Just give this a quick strike."


    She looked energized and nodded vigorously. "Koten Zanshun ¨C I reject!" She chanted and two of her fairies flew out, and between a simr construct formed, but instead of a shield, it seemed to slice the piece of wall in two.


    "A little slow and predictable, but we can work on that." Yoruichi spoke.


    I blinked though, staring at what just happened. I walked forward, picking up a piece of debris, holding it close to my face to inspect intently.


    I quickly took out Mirage and stabbed it into the ground and held up both t sides of the rubble to it as Calctions began going.


    "What''re you doing?" Yoruichi jumped over to me.


    I tapped her on the head to be quiet for a moment. Even with my calctions going, I held the t side up where the attack happened to my eye to see the surface. I couldn''t see a single abnormality, it waspletely and utterly t.


    "Orihime, what does it mean when you say ''I reject''?" I asked her.


    "Uh, they just said that I need to reject things when I use my power." She replied.


    I picked up Mirage to confirm my suspicions. And I was genuinely surprised.


    "You destroyed the matter between two points." I blinked. "That is honestly very impressive and horrendously deadly."


    "What do you mean?" Yoruichi asked.


    "I mean.....that there''s basically no defending against her attack on a physical basis." You would need something conceptual in nature to physically defend against something like that. Even my Aura would be justpletely sheared through if I let her attack me. "Basically, everything between the two points of her...fairies, ispletely and utterly destroyed on a molecr level. Or to use her own term ¨C she rejects everything between those two points. What that means for spiritual matters, I honestly couldn''t tell you."


    "...Oh, that''s dangerous." Yoruichi muttered. "Alright, we''re going to instill some basic safety lessons into you as well!"


    It made me wonder if her shield was a simple shield as well. If she got better at it, could she simply ''reject'' anything from one side to the other, as in an imprable barrier?


    Just this made this whole time spent here helping Yoruichi with these kids worth it. An ability like this just popping up was....ridiculous.


    I wanted to study it some more.


    "Alright, so....how does this healing work?" We had just barely scratched the surface of her ability, it seemed like it should also be something spectacr. "Should I cut myself and let you have a go at it?"


    "Oh, I can just heal the wall thing that I cut up." She said happily.


    "Heal...this?" I looked at the piece of wall that was on the ground, giving it a little kick.


    "Uh huh." ''She nodded.


    ....I don''t think she quite understood what ''heal'' means..... " Alright then." Who was I to stymy someone''s potential?


    "S¨­ten Kisshun ¨C I reject!" She chanted once more. Two more of her little fairies flew out and they formed a shield around the two pieces of wall that were cut in half.


    And I watched, in absolute dumbfoundedness as they returned to the state they were in before she cut them.


    There were.....so many things wrong with what was happening, I was honestly speechless.


    "Time reversal?" Yoruichi eximed.


    "....I don''t think so." I continued to watch as they slowly mended themselves back to whole.


    I grabbed Mirage again, and I let my Calctions go in full throttle as they zeroed in on what she was doing and tried to backtrack it.


    I picked up the now mended piece of debris and held my finger up to it, producing my Power of Destruction. I pushed it against the stone, letting it sink in and obliterate it on a conceptual level until it turned into big chunks and fell to the ground before I pulled back my bloodline.


    "Can you do it again, Orihime?"


    "Sure!" She smiled. "S¨­ten Kisshun ¨C I reject!"


    Once more, they flew out and formed a shield around the debris. Was it shock, horror or excitement that flowed through me as I saw her start to undo my damage? Granted, her ''healing'' shuddered'' and fizzled out, but a tiny portion of it was rejected.


    "What was that." Yoruichi looked at me again for rification.


    "I have a special bloodline. Specifically, something called the Power of Destruction, it does exactly what you would expect ¨C it destroys things on a Conceptual Level. She was able ¨C to some small degree ¨C undo that."


    "That sounds like Time Reversal." Yoruichi replied.


    "It''s not Time Reversal." I pointed to my sword. "I have that checking for any temporal fluctuations and spatial fluctuations. While it''s getting....readings, it''s not in line with either of those."


    "Then what do you think it is? Cause I have no idea otherwise."


    "...I''m taking a shot here, but with the evidence I have so far...." Just based on the fact that she apparently could undo my Power of Destruction, which was no small feat whatsoever, it''s clearly something on a high enough level. "....I think she''s altering Causality. Or once more to use her own phrasing, she''s rejecting certain events in the chain of causality."


    "Did I do something wrong?" Orihime looked worried.


    "Not at all." I gave her a quick pat on the head.


    "What does that mean?" Chad asked. "It sounds....impressive."


    "I also wouldn''t mind a better exnation." Yoruichi also looked at me expectantly.


    "Alright, let me see..." I tapped my chin. "Imagine I''m walking down the street, and I trip over a rock and fall onto the ground, scraping my knee. I go find Orihime here, and she uses her ''healing'' on me. What she''s doing is basically looking at the chain of events that transpired and rejects the moment where I tripped, thereby make it so I never scraped my knee in the first ce yet the following events don''t change even when they logically should."


    "That sounds...." Yoruichi paused.


    "Ridiculous?"


    "Yeah, honestly.""


    "That''s because it is. It''s beyond mere ''Time reversal'' and is much higher up on the tier list." I was still trying to process how the hell she was doing it. "I also can do something to alter Causality. However, it would take me momentous effort, resources and time. And even then, it wouldn''t be a fraction of what she''s achieving with little to no effort and understanding of what she''s doing."


    I.....


    Holy shit how am I supposed to react to this.


    "Give me a moment, I need to go contemte my life''s achievements and how they fall short of what she''s doing by ident."


    "Oh stop being dramatic." Yoruichi pped my shoulder. "I get it, it''s a stupidly powerful ability. Should probably keep it on the down low too."


    "Right, yeah." I looked at the two kids who were probably not understanding how significant something like this was. "Don''t mention this outside of your little group."


    The Magi back home would absolutely salivate over her ability. She would get a sealing designation faster than it would take Artoria to finish a meal. Fuck, that''s something that even Gods couldn''t easily mimic.....


    And she''s just smiling happily over there without a care in the world.


    I had the urge to protect her just because of how na?ve and innocent she was. It''s funny that such a powerful abilitynded in the hands of a girl who probably didn''t even care about it.


    "Please don''t be as ridiculous as she is." I looked at Chad with pleading eyes. "I don''t think my self-esteem can take it."


    @***@


    "How you feeling?" I asked, ducking my head out of the way as Chad''s fist flew past.


    "My right arm feels strange." He remarked, throwing his fist forward again.


    I blocked it, but the weight behind it had increased quite a bit. He already had strength that was far beyond what a human should have, so it was noteworthy that it was still increase, at least in his right arm


    Thankfully, he was much easier to mentally deal with than Orihime, the sweet girl that she turned out to be.


    Yoruichi suggested we just spar a little as he tried to remember the feeling he apparently had when he initially awoke his powers.


    Fine by me, Ididn''t mind taking my mind off the bubbly girl that could bend causality over her knee like it was a naughty child.


    "Don''t be afraid, and don''t hold back. Trust me, I can take whatever you got." I reassured him in case he was hesitating.


    He grunted, throwing his right fist again and I felt like his Reiatsu was increasing rapidly. Vaguely I could see his arm change shape, almost like it was oveid and phasing in and out.


    "Why are you even doing this? Does Rukia mean that much to you?" I flicked his arm to the side and pushed him away, letting him gather himself again for another punch.


    "I barely know her." He grunted again between punches. "She helped me before and I helped her. But...I promised Ichigo that I''d use my fists to protect him."


    That''s honestly kind of cute the camaraderie they have. But his punches were getting more intense, so I suppose it was something very dear and important to him.


    "That''s it, focus on that feeling. Don''t hold it back."


    "I feel something building up, I don''t know if I can ¨C"


    "Let it out." I reassured him, watching his Reiatsu swirl around his right arm.


    With a shout, he threw another punch at me. But instead of a simple punch, his arm looked purple, it changed shape and a massive torrent of Reiatsu discharged at the blow.


    My Aura red up and I held my hand out to catch it. I could feel the damage reverberate around my Aura and it contained it easily enough.


    It had decent strength to it. If that was the standard he was working with, and if that was just him using his power for the first real time....well, there might be something good there.


    "How''s it feel?" I asked as he flexed his weird looking arm.


    It was purple and ck like a liquid formed over his arm and created an armor with two protrusions on his shoulder.


    "Brazo Derecha de Gigante." He intoned, holding his arm up to the light.


    "Right arm of the Giant? I can dig it."


    "Round two?" He asked with a little smile.


    "Hold off on that. The important thing is for you to remember the feeling of invoking it and try to get used to it in case it idently disappears. Why don''t we take a break, go get a drink of water, and try to get used to your newfound strength without breaking anything? Control is just as important as outward expression."


    He nodded happily, still admiring his arm.


    "Well, this is turning out well." Yoruichi hopped back over.


    "His arm is interesting, I wanna see how well it works and what it can do. It''s much more straightforward than her powers." I stretched my arms.


    "All going ording to n." She nodded.


    "Is it? Your n is to have me do your work for you?" I ran a hand down her fur.


    "That was....partially my n."


    "Was the other part where you get me emotionally invested in them so I tag along?"


    "Yup." She said without a hint of shame.


    "I would be upset if you were trying to emotionally manipte me, but you''re beingpletely up front about it." I sighed. "But I can''t deny that I''m taking a liking to them and I''m somewhat invested." At the very least...my little jaunt around Soul Society was going to have a negative impact on them, so I''m implicated here regardless.


    "So, you gonna tag along? It would help to have someone else look after them." She asked.


    Honestly, at this point, my conscience wouldn''t let me abandon them. They''re goddamn kids going to take on Soul Society for the sake of their friends...


    "Can I bring someone along?"


    "You wanna bring someone along?"


    "Yeah, I have someone I want to bring."


    "....how strong are they?"


    "Strong enough to be a good stick to wave around at anyone who tries anything."


    "Whatever, I don''t care if you bring someone. They''re going to be your responsibility. I''ll already have my hands full taking care of them, even with your help." She shrugged.


    "I''m gonna go give them a call." I picked her up off my shoulder and set her on the ground.


    "Alright, I''ll be starting the next phase of their training now that they can bring out their powers at will. Juste over when you''re done." She jaunted off after the two who had disappeared somewhere.


    I shook my head and walked out the room to find an isted corner to pull out my Kaleidophone and called a certain person.


    "Wilhelm? Is something the matter?" They immediately answered.


    "Well.... nothing is really the matter per say. I find myself in a situation where I''m feeling responsible for a bunch of kids about to do something really stupid and I wouldn''t mind a helping hand." I freely admitted. "So....wannae and invade Heaven with me, Izzy?"


    @***@


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 383 - 347

    <h4>Chapter 383: Chapter 347</h4>


    I held my hand out for Izzy as she walked through my portal.


    Her eyes darted all over the ce, a look of wonder about her. I didn''t speak or interrupt her as this was her first time stepping into another world and it was an experience I didn''t want to ruin.


    "We are in Japan, yes?" She finally spoke.


    "In Karakura town which...I don''t actually know where in Japan this is." Now that I thought about it, maybe I should have looked into that?


    "Southern Kanto,should be close to Tokyo." She immediately replied, still looking just slightly dazed.


    "...huh."


    "What?"


    "Just surprised you could tell."


    "Wilhelm, I literally created Japan." She deadpanned.


    "Right....I forget that sometimes."


    She shook her head. "As long as I''m in Japan, I can tell where I am. Even....this one, I''m still connected to it."


    "So, your Authority is working fine? This is a first for me to bring....a God outside of their home ¨C Big G in the Spear doesn''t quite count I think."


    "I still feel as If I can carve out the mountains and rivers just as I could back home, so I am assuming so. However, there is something distinctly different here that makes me feel more.....I''m having trouble describing the feeling. It''s as if my Authority, as you call it, is more pronounced."


    "Stronger?" I questioned.


    "No, not stronger in any meaningful way." She shook her head again. "I''m having trouble describing the feeling. Could it be because of this Reishi you told me about?"


    "Spiritual matter, it is something we don''t really have back home. And you''re a Goddess of Death, you have Authority over spirits and the dead, and this being Japan makes it doubly so. Some sort of strange resonance or feedback being sent your way?"


    "I suppose that is as good an exnation as any. You already told me about what''s going on here, but feeling it myself is an entirely different experience." She smiled softly, her hand held up. "Ah, I can see it if I focus." She grabbed something translucent, her hand clenched and she brought it down infront of her face. Slowly, her fingers unfolded and a small, blue, mote of light drifted away back into obscurity.


    "That''s kind of terrifying considering how hard it is for me to grab hold of Reishi by my own means...."


    "Are you jealous?" She quirked a smile.


    "I wonder if I use my own Authority if I can bullshit like you are?"


    "I am not bullshitting anything. It is my right as a Goddess of Death!"


    "Cough, bullshit, cough."


    She pursed her lips and gave my shoulder a little smack.


    I missed her. I''ve been really busy recently. I haven''t had time to spend together just doing whatever. Hell, we fought that Godzi knockoff in America, and I have its back spike sitting in my front yard. And we hadn''t done anything that exciting since.


    She''s one of my first friends.


    ".....you can let go of my hand." She said quietly.


    I forgot I was still holding it.


    ....awkward.


    "Are you able to feel Yomi here?" I decided to change the subject.


    "I can''t." She furrowed her brow. "There are other things here, but not Yomi nor Takamagahara."


    "Oh? You can sense Soul Society just by being here?"


    "Maybe. I haven''t actually been there to know yet. I can vaguely sense the flow of Souls towards somewhere and an afterlife out of my ''peripheral'' vision, so to speak."


    That makes sense, again, Goddess of Death and all that entailed. An interesting interaction though, one you can''t be entirely sure would work due to differences between world-lines.


    "I briefly told you about this ce, you got any questions?"


    "Can I see one of those swords you mentioned?" She asked.


    "A Zanpakut¨­, yeah I got a few." I didn''t want to hand her mine, just because I didn''t know how it would react while it was still imprinting on me. I did still have a couple I took before, and I had been meaning to drop them back off in Soul Society. But they''re useful now at least. "Here you go." I casually handed her one of the ones I took off an idiot I bricked.


    "Strange." She muttered, holding it up to her face. "There is a nascent spirit present within. I can vaguely feel it just as you told me."


    "....are you able to influence it at all?"


    "Perhaps with enough force, but not willingly on its part." She shrugged before handing it back to me. "I have a feeling that any action I attempt to take against the will present inside the sword will result in damaging the sword."


    "Something to note forter." I was curious to see what damaging the sword meant. "There''s still plenty of other things for you to see."


    "Yes, a world full of unknown things. I''m looking forward to it." She smiled beautifully.


    I couldn''t help myself. "I missed you." I said, bringing her in for a hug, one she happily reciprocated. "I know I haven''t been around the past few weeks."


    "Wilhelm, I''m aware that you have been busy. This miniscule amount of time means very little. Do not forget how old I am." She reassured me. "However, I am surprised that you reached out to me."


    "Well, I''ve been meaning to take you out like this for a while." I scratched my cheek. "I guess I haven''t really focused on that though."


    "While I appreciate the sentiment, that''s not what I meant." She shook her head. "I am referring to your tendency to run head first into trouble or interesting situations and only call once things reach a certain point. I believe this is the first time you''ve called someone for help before the situation devolved beyond your control."


    ".....It''s usually only myself I have to worry about so I can bear any consequences. Now I''m being responsible for some kids trying to do something stupid, I don''t want a repeat of what happened in Chaldea."


    Her expression softened considerably. "And how are you doing after that? I am aware of what urred with the other Artoria."


    "You know, logically ¨C rationally, I know. I understand that the woman who appeared there was not my Artoria. I know better than most about the infinite possibilities that are present. And that there are an uncountable number of Artorias in existence all with their own unique history. I knew it would happen one day; it was an inevitability. But emotionally, it tore my heart up to have to see the woman I love be that. And then having to put an end to her own self-inflicted misery. I don''t think I''m good at handling losses."


    She pulled me into another hug, and I let myself sink into her embrace. "You make it sound like there''s a proper way to handle loss."


    "Well, diving headfirst into a monster that pped me out of the World-line isn''t the ideal way to cope." I snorted, noticing that she smelled good as my face was pushed against her chest. "But I''m doing better. The time I spent with Artoria helped a lot. And now that I have an actual goal in mind and I''m making progress on it I feel good."


    "I am pleased that you are handling yourself well." We finally separated and there was a hint of.... bashfulness present on her face. "And I will make sure you don''t get into too much trouble."


    "Is there a threshold of trouble that I''m allowed to get into?" I snorted.


    "That depends, what do you feelfortable exining to your harem?" She retorted.


    "...point." I couldn''t argue with that.


    "And it is the job I have been assigned as I did tell Yasaka and Artoria that I would being to assist you. I am sure they ryed the message to everyone else."


    Hmm, that''s to be expected. Not that I really had anything to hide...


    But she didn''t immediatelye over, we waited a few days for her to square everything away. As much as she has a lot of free time, that doesn''t necessarily mean she can drop what she''s doing toe and help me. She does lord over Yomi and while that''s not something as stringent as Meridia''s position, it''s still something that needed consideration.


    "I have the barest understanding of what is going on here. Do you want me to go meet these children?" She asked.


    "Well.... I did n for a little bit of free time before we go meet everyone. In case you wanted to y around a little bit...?" At the very least, I did want her to have some fun and explore a little.


    "Oh? Then can we go seek out that strange Spirit I sense?"


    "Strange spirit?" I tilted my head. "What does it feel like?"


    "Like a conglomeration of many souls wrapped around a dark vessel. I believe you called them ''Hollows''?"


    "You can sense a Hollow?" Cause I didn''t notice any here.


    "I spread out my senses once I arrived. I can detect quite a few spiritual beings within the city."


    "....That''s some bullshit."


    "My powers are not bullshit!" She huffed cutely. "My Authority persists over the matters of the Dead, it should be obvious that I can better sense their existence. I''m sure if there was something rted to the Sea or the Storm, you would be extraordinarily more adept at it after stealing my Son''s Authority."


    "Let''s trade."


    "Stop speaking nonsense." She pped my shoulder again. "Besides, do you know how awkward it would be if my son came and my Authority was a copy of his? It''s already difficult for Gods of other Pantheons to be close to those of the same concepts."


    "Don''t you have a good rtionship with the other Death Deities?"


    "That''s different. Death is the end step of existence. It isn''t something to fight over orpare and hoard. By nature, Death is a mncholic peace."


    Huh, that''s an interesting perspective.


    "Alright, alright. Wanna go y with that Hollow?"


    "...yes I would very much enjoy that." She smiled despite the eye roll that apanied it.


    [***]


    "No! Leave me alone!" A roar shook the surroundings. The words literally rattled the windows nearby


    ".....this is not what I expected." Izzy looked at the Hollow wing at the ground, trying to crawl away.


    "I didn''t know they could talk....."


    "Really?" She looked at me.


    "Yeah...this is kind of weird to hear a soul eating monster cry and beg for mercy."


    ".....I didn''t do anything."


    "I think you scared it."


    "I merely stood here!" She huffed. "Don''t you dare say anything!" She held her finger up with indignation.


    Right, as soon as we got close a big ol'' Hollow basically jumped out of its little hidey-hole, thinking he found a good meal. It spoke, which took me utterly by surprise, because that''s a first for me. I guessed my earlier hypothesis regarding an increase in intelligence the more it consumed was correct.


    It said something arrogant, but as soon as itid its eyes on Izzy it paled, and visibly shuddered. Like...a primordial fear seeped into every pore of his being. He tried to run away,but I obviously stopped him.


    But now.....he was literally crying and trying to crawl away.


    "I wasn''t aware they could cry either." I noted. "Honestly, I think it''s kind of impressive."


    "....Thank you, Wilhelm." She groaned.


    "So....what do you want to do?"


    "I do not know, this thing....repulses me. There are dozens upon dozens of souls within this monster and they''re all scrambled and assembled into its current form." Izzy''s lips thinned. "I am disgusted by it and I want it gone."


    As soon as she said that, she raised her hand, and it was like the shadows on the ground became animated with grotesque hand-like appendages crawling along the ground, wrapping it up. The hands lifted the monster up, holding itpletely still and ovepped on itsrge maw, making it unable to speak.


    "You feed on innocent souls and trap them, consume them for your own selfish desires. I can see the weight of karma inside your own soul. You don''t merely eat others to continue your own existence, you do it because you enjoy it." Her words apanied the temperature dropping. Her steps made it struggle further, but it could not budge an inch within her grasp.


    It was at this moment that I was reminded of her true nature. She was Izanami-no-Mikoto, the Goddess of Death and Creation.


    "How dare you touch the children born under my Daughter''s Sun." Her handshed out, sinking into the Hollow''s chest. The strange humanoid''s shape jerked and back arched. And she pulled something out. A bright light erupted and the Hollow cracked as her hand ripped free. They shot up to the sky immediately.


    Souls, dozens of them were immediately freed.


    "Go, Children." Izzy said softly and they dissipated, moving onwards to their next destination. As soon as they disappeared from view, she turned back towards the Hollow. "You will have a much less pleasant experience."


    The Shadowy hands that held it down bored into it, tearing it apart. The creature fell to the ground, or rather what was left of it and dissipated quickly.


    Izzy took a deep breath, and the shadows receded.


    She seemed to remember I was watching and looked embarrassed. "I''m sorry....I didn''t mean to show you something like that. I must have looked ¨C "


    "It was kind of hot."


    ".....don''t say stupid things like that." She looked away with a faint blush.


    "Did you figure out everything you wanted to? Or do you want to go find another Hollow?" I changed the subject.


    "I think seeing another one right now would put me in a worse mood." She casually dusted herself off. "Let''s go meet those people of yours. You can continue exining things about this ce to me."


    [***]


    "Is this the ce?" Izzy asked.


    "Nondescript white van outside a candy store." I replied. "Yup, looks like the ce."


    Immediately, the front door mmed open, revealing a familiar face. "Wilhelm-Dono!" Tessai greeted me excitedly. He then turned to Izzy and it seemed like any words he spoke died in his throat.


    I honestly did not know how a Shinigami would react to her after seeing what happened with the Hollow. It seems like as Spiritual beings they could almost unconsciously recognize her existence but at the same time, didn''t have any context on how to properly process it.


    The thing was, Izzy wasn''t even trying to project her presence. It was just her natural existence that waspletely throwing them for a loop. He was a Spiritual Being, and on the scale of hierarchy, Izzy was theoretically much higher due to her Authority over the Dead. Not to mention the ce being Japan likely made the feeling even more pronounced. However, I''m sure if Hades appeared, he would be drawing a simr reaction.


    And I''m sure that the fact that she doesn''t possess any Reiatsu just made matters worse.


    "It''s nice to see you again, Tessai." I took pity on him. My words seemed to allow him a moment to mentally reboot.


    He quickly pushed up his sses, clearing his throat. "I am pleased to see youe, Wilhelm-Dono. And....friend" He was careful and polite with his wording.


    "Thank you for inviting me into your home." Izzy returned evenly.


    "The Shopkeeper is waiting for your arrival." He dipped his head, gesturing inside.


    Once we walked inside, there didn''t seem to be anyone there. It wasn''t until we followed Tessai behind to the back room where he moved a rug to reveal a hatch on the ground. He opened it with a loud moring, and a bright light shined outward, a hugedder descended downward.


    "Please." He gestured again.


    "This isn''t suspicious at all." I snorted, taking to thedder. But I did begin descending as I did trust Tessai and I knew this wasn''t a trap or anything like that.


    And my curiosity was piqued as the fluctuations of space here were distorted.


    "Interesting." Izzymented above me.


    I nced upwards unconsciously and couldn''t help but admire the view. She....really fills out those pants well. Though I caught myself from staring too much.


    She was right though; this was a neat little area. It seems like someone expanded the space underneath the shop. Or to put it simply, it''s bigger on the inside down here.


    Not only that, the ''sky'' appeared to be somewhat identical, but static. And the terrain here was that of some rock formations and dirt. It was pretty big, big enough that people could train and what-not here without much issue.


    They appeared to be all gathered there. Yoruichi and the Candy Man were standing next to one another, and the group of kids were all together. Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, and even Ishida were there waiting.


    Though, there was the most curious reaction from them all. Well, mostly from Urahara and Yoruichi. Yoruichi, in her cat form, went defensive. Like how a cat would, her fur stood up and she looked like she was about to hiss.


    Urahara had a fan in front of his face, but his eyes were slightly widened, and it looked like he was trying to analyze what he was seeing.


    "It seems like everyone is here." I pped my hands. "Nice ce you got here. Perfect for hiding all the kids you trick into your van, mister Candy Man."


    "Ara, Schweinorg-kun." Urahara was the first to react, pping his fan closed. "I see you brought a friend." He said that, but his eyes never left Izzy. they were wary.


    "I''m pretty sure I told Yoruichi I was bringing someone." I pointed out.


    And having her name called, she rxed a tiny bit.


    "Why the hell are we even waiting for him?" Ichigo huffed. "Actually, why are you evening if you let Rukia go in the first ce."


    "Well my little strawberry, I''m not going because of her. I''m going because you''re a group of kids doing something exceedingly stupid and my conscience won''t let me sit by while you throw your lives away. Therefore, I, along with my friend here, are going to be your chaperones for your little field trip to Heaven."


    He looked at me and scowled. "You brought a.....housewife?" Ichigo snorted as he eyed Izzy.


    And now that I thought about it, she was wearing her normal clothing. She did look like a traditional housewife, so I couldn''t fault him on that. But....I think his survival instincts needed work.


    "I think introductions are in order!" Urahara tugged back on Ichigo''s kimono, which I might add, was the Shinigami uniform.


    As in, he had a sword wrapped up on his back and it looked much different than his previous one. Just through the wrappings it almost looked like a giant Khyber knife.


    About the same size as his previous sword though.


    "Nice sword, stillpensation for something, eh?"


    "You wanna go, asshole?" His eye twitched. "I got my powers back, and I''m stronger than ever."


    "That raises an interesting question. How exactly did you get your powers back?"


    "Waddya mean?" He tilted his head.


    "Shinigami powers don''t work like that."


    Ichigo blinked and shrugged. "Hat-n-clogs over there tossed me into a hole and destroyed my soul chain. Got them back at thest minute before I turned into a Hollow."


    I turned towards Urahara. "...what?"


    "It''splicated." He waved the question off.


    "Right, yeah...." I rolled my eyes at his obvious question dodging. "And if I asked where you got an Asauchi?" I asked Ichigo again.


    "A what?" He looked clueless.


    I nced back at Urahara. "Uh huh."


    How many red gs was that at this point?


    "Schweinorg-kun, why don''t you introduce your friend." Urahara smiled innocently, changing the subject.


    "Everyone, this is Izzy." I introduced her. "I specifically asked her toe help."


    "It''s a pleasure." She said without much expression.


    "That''s it?" Yoruichi jumped up onto Urahara''s shoulder. "Is that even your real name?" She asked with a little skepticism.


    "No." Izzy didn''t even pretend. "However, if I told you my true name, you would most likely run away in fear."


    ".....I somehow kinda believe that." The cat muttered.


    "No offense or anything....but...can you even do anything?" Ichigo asked bluntly. "I can''t even feel any Reiatsu from you."


    "My, that''s a good point." Urahara unfolded his fan again, holding it in front of his face. But I knew for a fact that he had a shit-eating-grin. "Schweinorg-kun, I can''t very well let someone go along without confirming they can protect themselves."


    "Says the guy sending a bunch of fifteen year olds." I said dryly.


    "They''ve all proven themselves." He retorted. "Ichigo here has impressive Reiatsu with the return of his Shinigami powers ¨C"


    "Speaking of, I did notice that. Are you like...permanently in Shikai? Cause your Reiatsu is overflowing and still flowing out like a torrent."


    "Huh, I guess." Ichigo shrugged. "That''s what my Zangetsus'' are sayin."


    "Oh, is that the name of your sword?" I asked.


    He had a hint of pride as I asked. "Yup, that''s my Zanpakut¨­."


    "ying Moon, not a bad name." It sounded nice at least. "Wait, did you say ''Zangetsus'' as in plural?"


    "Huh? Yeah. When I got my powers back, I met both my Spirits. Well, they were arguing a lot and one of them was a lot more helpful than the other."


    "Neat, I didn''t know you could have two Zanpakut¨­ spirits." That proposed an interesting question with my own sword due to my weird nature. "Anyways, continue with your bullshit." I gestured back at Urahara.


    "Orihime here has gotten very good with her own powers and is a talented ''healer''." He emphasized thest bit and I nodded at that. I hadn''t stuck around for much of their training after the first few days, but I could imagine she was exceedingly talented just due to the nature of her powers. "And Chad here hase a long way as well. He and Ichigo were sparring not too long ago and he was able to hold his own."


    Chad gave a nod of agreement.


    "And Ury¨± here did his own training."


    The Quincy looked at me silently before adjusting his sses.


    I nced at Izzy and she just shrugged. "What do you propose then?" Fine, let''s y along.


    "A spar." He pped his fan closed again. "With Kurosaki-kun." He quickly added.


    "Oh, what the hell." Ichigo scowled.


    "Now now, Kurosaki-kun. You''re the strongest one of your group, shouldn''t you be the one to test any additional members?"


    "Whatever." He grunted.


    "Very well." Izzy was being a good sport. Honestly, I think she was amused by this whole thing. To her, this was a fun adventure, so she wouldn''t mind the supposed ''disrespect''. She walked a little bit away, standing there patiently.


    "Guess I''m doing this now." The Orange haired kid sighed. "Hey." He looked at me.


    "What?" I questioned.


    "I never did thank you for what you did for me. Sorry for getting on your case like that. I already owe you for your help."


    Well, wasn''t that a nice surprise. "Apology epted."


    "I''ll make sure to take it easier on her since she''s your friend." His pride shined through once more.


    [Well, he''s dead.]


    Indeed.


    "Hey." Yoruichi jumped over onto my shoulder as Ichigo walked over to face her. "Who the hell is she?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "Don''t y dumb. I mean what the hell did you bring here? Is she even human?"


    "Nope." I hummed ignoring her, and turned to the others. "Hello Orihime, how have you been?"


    "I''ve been good." The girl smiled happily.


    "A certain fairy isn''t giving you any trouble, is he?"


    "Nope." She shook her head.


    "Good." I nodded in satisfaction. "And Chad, how has your training been?"


    He flexed his arm, that same purplish hue enveloped it, encasing it into that strange armor.


    "Your Reiatsu seems sharper and firmer now as well." I was a little impressed.


    I think he could easily be called Mid-ss by my birth-world''s standards.


    "And Ury¨±, how was your training?"


    The Quincy stiffened a little before rxing. "I am prepared."


    "Nice outfit." I admired it. He was wearing something reminiscent of a friar''s clothing, but white and pristine with a hint of elegance.


    "He made it himself!" Orihime helpfully added.


    "Hmph." He snorted.


    "What''s wrong with him?" I blinked.


    "Ichigo was giving him crap for sewing it all himself." Yoruichi replied.


    "That''s stupid. Those are some good seams." I stepped forward to take a closer look. "Are you a hobbyist or is it something you''re thinking about doing in the future?"


    "Pardon?" He blinked.


    "Sewing. It looks like you got some talent. I have a friend who does my clothing." I gestured to myself. "I can tell the quality when I see it. There are some noticeable marks of a novice here or there, but that''s probably due to your inexperience." I rubbed my chin. "But good work overall."


    ".....thank you." He said quietly.


    Ah, poor kid. I don''t think he gets very manypliments.


    Maybe I should introduce him to Medea at some point? If he''s really into it, she might be able to give him some advice.


    "Stop messing around, they''re starting." Yoruichi pped her paw against the side of my head.


    "Oh yes, wouldn''t want to miss the show." I turned back to face them.


    Ichigo grabbed the massive sword on his back. As soon as he grabbed the handle, the white cloth unraveled to reveal the de. And It was exactly as I thought, a huge Khyber knife.


    "Hey, you got a weapon or something? Hurry and take it out." Ichigo hollered.


    Izzy just smiled lightly. "Make your move, child."


    I wondered how long it''s been since someone dared to take a shot at her? She must find this whole thing absolutely amusing.


    "Are you sure...? I don''t wanna hurt you." Ichigo furrowed his brow.


    And it didn''te off as condescending, more like genuine concern.


    "I was told your friend over there possesses exquisite healing capabilities. Don''t worry and give it your best shot." Izzy was still treating him gently.


    Hmm, I did tell her of Orihime''s abilities, after all I trusted herpletely.


    "Alright, you asked for it." Ichigo grunted, taking a few steps forward. However it was clear his heart wasn''t in it. Well, it would be a good lesson not to underestimate people in the future. He moved forward and shed his sword downward.


    And it was stopped.


    Izzy held up a single finger, pressing it against the de of his sword and it didn''t budge an inch.


    I could see Ichigo''s eyes dte and the shock spread across his face. He immediately retreated a few steps. And I could see the moment where his pride overrode hismon sense and he attacked again.


    His de shed out faster than before, and clearly with the intent behind it. But every swing was met with her finger again.


    It must have been a dozen swings before he finally stopped and stared. "....what the fuck?"


    "Language." Izzy lightly chided and flicked his forehead. The Orange Haired kid was knocked backwards.


    He nursed the tiny bump on his forehead before climbing back to his feet. "How the hell are you doing that!?"


    "Child, I am very old. You have much more growing to do before you can think aboutying a hand on me." Izzy smiled gently. "I believe that is a good enough showing?"


    "What kind of monster did you bring?" Yoruichi muttered only enough for me to hear.


    "Yes, that should be good enough." Urahara said simply without that jovial tone he had before and he once more hid his face behind his fan. It was hard to guess what he was thinking at that moment. "Make your final preparations, I''ll get started on activating the gateway."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 384 - 348 + Raikou Lewd

    <h4>Chapter 384: Chapter 348 + Raikou Lewd</h4>


    Kisuke Urahara POV


    It''s not often I find myself utterly confused.


    And it seems like it''s been happening quite often the past couple weeks. It started off with Yoruichi telling me about a new friend she made. I didn''t think much of it, my interest was a little piqued, but I was busy with other things such as keeping an eye on Kurosaki. I needed to make sure there were no problems with the exertion of Shinigami powers he had been lent by young Kuchiki Rukia.


    That boy was....something special. He constantly threw away all my preconceived notions on what was normal. For instance, I did not think it was possible for someone to have two Zanpakut¨­ spirits without having two swords.


    But I digress.


    I was happy to see my old friend a bit more enthusedtely, so I lowered it on my priority lists even further. I know that Yoruichi isn''t one to ignore any big red gs even if she has a rather yful personality. So if she didn''t bring anything major to my attention, I didn''t think much of it and continued as I was.


    She continued to tell me a few things, and I admit that my curiosity nearly got the better of me. But she was not subtle in her warnings to let her ''friend'' be.


    What did she call him again ¨C a Wizard? That alone almost made me drop what I was doing and go pay this young man a visit. And I seemed to miss my opportunity when Yoruichi asked Tessai to help him practice Kid¨­ of all things.


    I could feel my hands getting itchy.


    Even Tessai only had good things to say about him.


    That begged the question, what exactly was this young man? Tessai rified Yoruichi''s early statements, he called him a Magus. Meaning someone who practices Magecraft. It wasn''t a term that was impossible to find throughout history, or rather myths and legends, but it was usually uttered by those in myths and legends. Perhaps stories passed down by humans who had enough Reiryoku to see Shinigami at work and formed their own beliefs.


    Well, that was my thought atleast, however, I''m starting to question that logic now.


    I admit I never paid much attention to.....humans. Sure, there were a few that popped up and were worth watching every century or so, but rarely do they stand out enough to be worthy of my attention. The fact that there are several in this town recently aside, I didn''t care much.


    Not only that, I rarely looked at things in other parts of the world. Soul Society focused the vast majority of their effort on Japan and eastern countries for a reason. The Americas out west....they have very little ambient Reishi inparison. It''s to the point where a Hollow appearing is rare. And once they do form, they almost always instinctually travel to Hueco Mundo or away from that part of the world and unconsciously navigate towards the east.


    Sure, there are ces in other countries that have abundance, and Soul Society does have a presence there. Many of those ces are such that humans over the years even noticed the peculiarities. StoneHenge, The Easter Inds, The Mayan Civilization, certain Tribal Grounds for the Native Americans. Even Egypt is such a ce that is a noteworthy ''hotspot'' for spiritual activity.


    However, inparison to Japan and the neighboring countries out here, they require very little presence of Shinigami to properly manage.


    It was the reason we chose to settle down in Karakura, this small and out of the way town that had nothing seemingly special about it on the surface. It was one of the most abundant natural sources of Reishi in the world. Perhaps the only ce that could match it was Kyoto. It made for hiding away much easier.


    It''s....understandable, with my previous mindset, why I never paid attention to both the ces outside of this area of the world, and the humans who lived there.


    But now, I have to rethink all those previous connotations.


    Especially with what happened recently.


    With how a Human managed to change the weather on such arge scale with so little effort.


    I admit I could maybe achieve something simr with some effort and time. Perhaps create my own Kid¨­ spell to mimic what he did, but I keep thinking about the effort that would require me to do so and I''m reminded that Yoruichi said he merely spoke a few words and thunder clouds rolled in almost out of nothing.


    He was an enigma, something I didn''t even know existed. That isn''t to say such things of a simr nature didn''t exist in the past. The legends about the Onmyoji and such in the past had more than a smidgen of truth to them.


    But this was another matter entirely. From what he told Tessai, there is an entire organization or society of simr people with such capabilities gathered in the west.


    That piece of information is significant if this Wilhelm Schweinorg is a basis for their abilities.


    How did such a people go under the radar for so long?


    Well, that was rhetorical, because the reasons are obvious in hindsight. Soul Society doesn''t really care about those parts of the world, and what they dabble in has apparently little or nothing to do with the Spiritual Aspects of the world.


    Their Magic was something that operated on apletely different paradigm. There were of course other things Yoruichi told me about, but they all fell under the same umbre of me having no idea of their existence prior to his appearance.


    I wanted to call it a scheme by Aizen, but I''m pretty sure he wouldn''t so tantly reveal a trump card like this. Regardless of the strength these people wield, somethingpletely unknown to Soul Society ¨C and myself ¨C would also be a significant advantage on his part.


    No, it''s obvious that Aizen isn''t involved in the slightest. Which makes the whole thing that much more exasperating.


    A puzzle that I couldn''t solve because Yoruichi was pping my hand away. The few times I have spoken to him....he either deflected with an amusing strategy ¨C I was aware of the persona I created. A candy shop owner with a white van and such ¨C or I simply am unable to coerce anything of importance out of him.


    I would be foolish to not see the danger he presented. I certainly was not lying when I said that his threats were scary. I felt that he would follow through on them, or at least try his best.


    Not to mention he somehow managed to learn Kid¨­. Something I didn''t think possible for a human to learn without help from someone such as myself. I didn''t want to inte my own ego, but I was pretty sure even Tessai couldn''t help him learn with his own mastery over the art.


    So many things I didn''t understand, so many new things I wanted to learn and yet, they all seemed to fall to the wayside this evening.


    Because as much of an Enigma that Schweinorg was, that was nothingpared to the thing he brought with him.


    I had to forcibly filter certain thoughts out once I merelyid my eyes on it.


    Was it reverence? Fear? Uncertainty? I don''t know what emotions were invoked when I saw her for the first time.


    There was only one time in my existence that I felt something simr.


    When my curiosity got the better of me and I broke a taboo, sneaking a peek at the Soul King.


    "Kisuke, you alright?" Yoruichi jumped onto my shoulder. "You''ve been kinda spacing out for a little while now."


    "Sorry, I''ve just been...preupied."


    "Right. Does it have anything to do with that woman that our Wizard brought over?" She asked, rhetorically at that. "Cause the moment I saw her, I felt like I should lower my head. Which....was a weird feeling."


    So it wasn''t just me....


    "I don''t suppose your friend mentioned anything...?"


    "Nah, this was a surprise to me too. He just said he wanted to bring a friend with him, and I didn''t think much about it. Just told him to take responsibility for their own safety. I didn''t expect....that."


    And by that, she probably meant how the thing in the form of a woman casually flicked away Kurosaki''s Zanpakut¨­.


    The same one that required I use my own to defend against. Granted, it took me by surprise, but no one can deny he has a substantial amount of Reiatsu at his disposal. He doesn''t quite know how to wield it properly yet, but quantity is a quality of its own.


    That young man is not even an adult by human standards. He had the potential to easily match a Captain if he trained a bit more. Give him a decade? And I''d wager money that only a few like the Old Man of the first Division could even threaten him anymore.


    And despite that....even if he could barely be considered a novice by our standards, but he had the raw power in strides here. Yet for all of that...


    "Did she bleed at all?" Maybe I should obtain a blood sample? Because I was fairly sure she was not a spiritual being. She had absolutely no Reiatsu at all. You could usually tell when someone was restraining their power. As you got closer, it became obvious. But this....she waspletely and utterly devoid of any....which made no sense whatsoever.


    Not a Shinigami.


    Whatever she was, she was not a Shinigami.


    And she was certainly not Human. My instincts were telling me that enough.


    A hollow is right out as well. That would be more obvious to see. And, well, theck of Reiatsu was a big giveaway. Even a Vasto Lorde level Hollow couldn''t dream of giving off that same kind of ''presence'' that she did on our first meeting.


    Even now, after getting ''used'' to it, and my conscious mind fighting back against this foreign instinct, it was still scratching at the back of my head.


    "Her finger wasn''t even pricked. Literally, the kid didn''t even break the skin." Yoruichi said quietly. "Kisuke, any idea what kind of monster he brought with him?"


    ".....force once, I ampletely clueless." I pulled my hat down a little bit as I noticed her nce this way. I felt a shiver, almost like disapproval and it made me react without thinking.


    "....Quincy?" She offered.


    "No." I shook my head. That was thest on a very short list we were aware of. We were of the very few Shinigami aware that the Quincy weren''t quite so extinct as many would believe. But even still, there was no way she was a Quincy.


    A Quincy, even their king in ages past, was someone who dominated Reishi.


    It''s almost as if...she exists above it and it doesn''t even react to her presence.


    "Shit." She hissed. "Y''know, I''m not like you that can''t leave something alone. But....this is making me kinda nervous. I don''t like not knowing something like this."


    "Just...keep an eye on them for now." I lightly pat her head. "I''ll get started on making the gateway. See if you can''t find anything out."


    "Roger." She chirped, disappearing over towards the others.


    One enigma after another....


    It''s throwing my own ns into disarray as it were.


    I can only hope that it''s beneficial to us in the long run.


    [***]


    Izanami POV


    I have not had this much fun in awhile. I suppose the only other mark of that was thest time Wilhelm took me to do something ridiculous.


    Everything just seems so much....brighter when he is around. The mundane things I do around my house be something else entirely when he drops by. The passing of time also seemed to slow down to a crawl these past months.


    I barely noticed how the years have gone by beforehand as I carried myself from one thing to another to preupy my mind.


    Another world. It was something I didn''t even consider previously and look at me now?


    I was in another world where....I didn''t truly exist. So many strange and wonderful things that appeared around me.


    It was refreshing that someone as old as I could experience this feeling of discovering something new.


    This was the happiest I can remember myself being in many ¨C many years.


    And I have almost all of it to thanks to the foolish boy who was just smiling next to me. A smile that....made my heart pick up pace when it was directed at me.


    What a strange ce he brought me to. This Spiritual world that seemed so happy to greet me once I took my first steps. I could feel thend practically cry out once I touched it with my Divine Power and it responded to my call just as it would back home.


    And the denizens of this world ¨C the ones behind the curtain are almost entirely Spiritual beings. I could feel the weight of my Authority press on them every time we met. I didn''t even have to intentionally let it out, just their existence was one subservient to mine own.


    It was interesting to see Spirits able to shrug it off with some effort. Especially the ones here who continued to stare at me when they thought I wasn''t looking.


    Wilhelm did warn me that there were some that were exceedingly powerful. Even with my existence being objectively above theirs on the hierarchy of Kami.


    I could vaguely feel their level of power even if their strengths were drawn from something I wasn''t too familiar with.


    The one with the hat who continued to try and pry open my secrets with his eyes. I could vaguely say he was around the top of Ultimate ss ¨C for whatever that was worth. While the system the Devils created wasn''t'' exactly thorough in its ability to gauge someone''s strengths, it was enough to give a rough idea.


    Even if someone near the peak of the ss could handle thousands of those who barely entered. I suppose it was better than nothing because we never really had a unifying system of measurement beforehand.


    "Is everyone ready!?" The man in the hat whispered something to the Spirit hiding in the form of a cat before eximing happily, that fan of his waving around. "I''m about to get started if no one has anyints!"


    No one did speak up. The....children were more or less stoic or nervous. The youngdy of the group is the most out of the bunch.


    She seemed very kind, I would not allow anything to happen to her. The Half Japanese boy next to her as well, he had a good heart from the few moments we''ve interacted. I do not know about the one in the sses, but Wilhelm didn''t say anything. And the orange haired boy was scowling and sulking after not being able to hit me.


    They were all children born under my Daughter''s sun, I would not allow them to die on this venture, as irresponsible as it was to send children to the supposed afterlife to siege it.


    Yes, being told the details of this endeavor made me realize why Wilhelm asked for assistance when he usually handles things on his own. This was a monumentally idiotic goal they set out on and it would wind up with all of them killed.


    "Now, everyone look at me!" He posed for a moment until reality sort of shifted around him. Like something bleeding out onto the physical world, four pirs hot out of folded space, forming a rectangr gateway.


    "So this is it?" The Orange Haired boy walked forward. "Alright, let''s get started." He appeared to get ready to walk through.


    "Not so fast." The owner of this ce jabbed him with his cane, setting the boy rolling on the ground. "Exnation time!" He pped. "Now, the ce you''re going to is Soul Society. To put it bluntly, only souls can exist there. And since Kurosaki-kun is the only one among you all that can separate his soul from his body, that presents a little problem~"


    "Oh no, looks like our n was ruined before it began. Guess it''s time to head back and admit defeat." Wilhelm chimed in with his brand of dry sarcasm.


    "Don''t worry!" The Shopkeeper didn''t seem to get upset in the slightest. "It''s why I created this." He gestured to the gate behind him. "I could bore you with the details. And the monumental effort I put into solving this problems. The sheer amount of money I had to spend. The nning and ¨C"


    "We get it." The Orange Haired boy scowled. "Thanks for the help."


    He chuckled. "Okay, okay." His tone turned to something more serious. "To put it simply, this will convert your physical matter into Spiritual matter. So you can go on to Soul Society in your ''bodies'' without any problem."


    "That actually sounds somewhat impressive." Wilhelm replied.


    And I had to agree with him on that notion. I still didn''t know the finer details about everything here, but that sounded like somethingplicated.


    "I will ept thepliment." He grinned. "But be warned, you only have Four Minutes to travel through the Dangai, otherwise you''ll be trapped there forever."


    "Pardon?" I asked for rification.


    Seeing him stiffen was...interesting. "It seems I need to exin fully. In Between dimensions exists a sort of....pathway. This is called the Dangai. Time and space don''t always operate on the same threshold so Soul society created something to....sweep the ce so its existence was not ''abused''. If you take longer than Four Minutes to reach Soul Society from stepping inside, the Dangai itself will devour you and if you''re unlucky, the K¨­totsuwill sweep you up in its current."


    "Alright, sounds easy enough." Kurosaki Ichigo nodded to himself. "Let''s get going."


    "Remember, only four minutes from the moment you step inside. So you all may want to head in together." The Shopkeeper nced our way.


    "A little problem with that." Wilhelm spoke up.


    "A problem?"


    "It won''t work on either of us." He said inly.


    "....It should work correctly. Unless....there''s a specific reason..?" He unfolded his fan, looking at us in anticipation.


    "It doesn''t matter, I have my own means. You lot go through first, we''ll catch up." Wilhelm gave them a wave to go forward.


    "You sure?'' The Cat asked.


    "Trust me." He smiled and the Cat nodded.


    "Alright, everyone, get ready."


    The Pirs that made up the strange doorway erupted in a show of light, and a portal began to form in the middle.


    They all looked at each other and without any words, they all pushed through together.


    I could admire their courage.


    "We shouldn''t keep them waiting." Wilhelm held his hand out as he took a step forward.


    "Yes, it would be rude." It appears he''s already calcted everything and I happily took his hand, doing my best to not let my emotions reflect on my face.


    "It''s not toote to head through this way." The Shop owner tried to nudge us again.


    I shared a look with him and I held up my free hand, extending a finger. I made eye contact with the man and touched it with my finger, attempting to have it push through.


    The entire thing shuddered. It immediately cracked and shattered at trying to alter myposition.


    I could see his eyes widen behind that fan of his and I took a slight amount of amusement in his dumbfounded expression.


    "Shall we?" I asked.


    He smiled, his Aura ring up and his sword swiped through the air, tearing through reality and revealing a strange cavern. I trusted him so I didn''t question it, and he led me right through.


    [***]


    "This was not what I was expecting." I looked around at the strange ce. The walls looked like they were made of purple mud and it was...decaying all around us. There were even massive skeletons being devoured by the...slime flowing everywhere.


    Space and Time were horribly twisted in every direction. I didn''t even need to have Wilhelm''s abilities when it came to this sort of thing to understand how utterly distorted this ce was.


    "Took you long enough." The cat hopped onto Wilhelm''s shoulder. "If you had taken even a second longer, we would have left."


    "The time dtion is more even here right where we entered. We should still have nearly four minutes even with the few extra seconds we took." Wilhelm informed everyone. "But don''t dally, let''s get moving."


    We immediately began moving, I honestly didn''t know where were going, my sense of direction was.... disjointed here. However, the Cat was verbally navigating for us around every corner.


    ....Wilhelm didn''t realize he was still holding my hand....I did not wish to inform him again.


    "Shit was it this one or....left, gogo." The cat''s paw shot up. "And don''t touch the stuff here, it''s meant to trap souls! If it touches you, it''s all over."


    She said that right as a big blob of the stuff fell down from above, and with some sort of....intelligence, it tried to grab at everyone ground it.


    "This stupid thing ¨C "


    "Don''t use your Zanpakut¨­ you idiot!" The cat pped the Orange Haired boy before he could take his sword out. "Don''t look back, keep running!"


    "Hey, what''s that!?" The one with the sses called out.


    And I noticed it as well. There was a lighting from behind it.


    "Shit it''s the K¨­totsu, I didn''t think we''d run into it. Unlucky." The cat clicked its tongue. "Hurry up, it''s the same as everything else here, don''t let it touch you."


    It looked like....a train?


    "It''s moving pretty damn fast!" Ichigo shouted.


    "If you have time to look back, then run faster!"


    This....was not an ideal situation. Though.....I paused my steps.


    "Izzy?" Wilhelm stopped with me.


    "What are you two doing!?" Yorucihi hissed. "Hurry and ¨C "


    I could...feel its presence. It had a tiny amount of intelligence to it. Its existence was strange, almost like a spiritual robot if I had to describe it. I reached out, my Divinity filled my words as I looked at it. "Stop." Imanded.


    It came to a screeching halt, stopping a few meters from me.


    And I could faintly understand that it was waiting for orders. "Continue your duties once we leave." I told it.


    "...what." The Cat stared wide-eyed.


    "Well, that helps." Wilhelm chuckled. "Come one, we still have plenty of time before the rest of this ce tries to make us into a snack."


    "Oh, I think I see the exit up ahead!" The adorable girl dered, making us all look towards where she was pointing.


    "...I don''t even know anymore. Just....let''s hurry up." The cat sighed in resignation. "Everyone through the opening!"


    I was just following Wilhelm and he didn''t speak against it. And I admit to having quite a lot of fun on this whole thing, so I happily jumped through with everyone else.


    Except, I didn''t quite expect to suddenly fall down from the sky as soon as light hit my face. But I felt hands wrap me up and before I realized it, Wilhelm was carrying me in his arms.


    I felt my heart beat quicken again at the seemingly inane action. I didn''t dare look up at him like this, I did not know how I would appear before I had a moment to catch myself.


    I felt the shockwave of us hitting the ground through his arms as everyone seemed tond safely. The others were on a floating golden shield that the young girl made.


    "....you can let me down now." I managed to utter even if....a small part of me wished to continue.


    ".....sorry for just....moving on my own." He cleared his throat and neither of us looked at each other in the eyes.


    "It''s quite alright." I reassured him.


    I steadied myself, and changed my mindset. I was about to explore an entirely different afterlife in a new world.


    I took my first step onto the ground, and the world quaked.


    [***]


    A/N


    I was reminded the other day that I hadpletely forgotten to add this.


    Raikou Lewd


    [***]


    I carried Raikou upstairs in my arms. My servant who was usually so happy and full of smiles was covering her face with her hands, her eyes peeking out between her fingers. Maybe it was because I grabbed her while everyone else was watching, and she could hear the giggles of my other girls, but Raikou was acting so bashful.


    She is way too adorable.


    I gently ced her down on the bed, squirming in anticipation.


    Were they any words that needed to be said at this point? Raikou knew me in a way that the others really didn''t. It wasn''t anyone''s fault or intentional, the bond between a Servant and a Master just made it so we were intimately familiar with each other.


    That''s probably why she hasn''t taken the step for this point, even though she clearly is excited by it. She was letting me get over some of my own hold ups due to our initial meeting. I fully admit I was hesitant due to her immediately sliding right into being my partner, beyond just a Servant.


    I felt like I would be taking advantage of her, but those feelings were easily swept away when even Artoria pointed out that I was being ridiculous.


    If Raikou didn''t want this, she would say something. No, instead, she was looking forward to it probably just as much as I was.


    I took her foot into my hand, sliding off her shoes one after another. Her cute little toes wiggled infront of me. My hands slowly worked their way up her leg until I got to the hem of the long skirt she was wearing. She let out an adorable noise when I gave her thigh a squeeze.


    There was no way I couldn''t tease her when she was being so cute. I leaned in, kissing her inner thigh and slowly worked my way upwards. My hands caressed all up her legs, but I continued to stop before going too far. However, the twitching of excitement and her legs moving awkwardly told me that I was getting the reaction I wanted.


    "Master~" Raikou whined, biting on her thumb.


    My cute Raikou.


    I stopped, stretching forward to im her tasty lips. "Take it off." I whispered, tugging on her skirt.


    She let out a cute little whine, finding the zipper on her skirt and I shuffled a little to help her pull it off. Her long and magnificent legs were fully exposed with not but a ck,cy thong hiding her most precious ce.


    I nudged at the corners of the sweater she was wearing and started to push it up, she held her hands up as I pulled it off, showing a matching bra that seemed to barely contain those gigantic breasts.


    Just taking off her sweater made them bounce enchantingly.


    "My son is naughty, always staring at mommy''s boobs." she said teasingly. "They already belong to Master~" She reached around and unhooked her bra, slowly taking it off for me. They bounced free and I couldn''t take my eyes off of them.


    Before I knew it, they were already being squeezed in my hands. The soft and squishy boobs of hers, they belongedpletely to me. I barely registered another thought when I was alreadytched onto one of them, my tongue ying with her nipple as she let out a cute little moan.


    Her other one was being gently rolled between my fingers and I could feel her hand run through my hair. "Fufu, master can enjoy my boobs as much as he wants. I don''t have any milk yet, but mommy doesn''t mind if you suck on them."


    I would freely admit that I was more of a legs and by extension, ass guy. That being said, Raikou''s chest was impossible to ignore. I could honestly sit here and y with her boobs for hours without getting bored.


    With a pop, I let go of the one in my mouth, looking up at her beautiful face. The flushed red with that clear enjoyment present, it was utterly adorable.


    I was by no means a selfish lover, and I really wanted to see Raikou lose herposure.


    And she certainly deserved the best treatment~


    With a grin, I slid down to between her legs, slowly pushing them wide open.


    I could already see her arousal before I even began to take her panties off. She made the cutest sounds when I finally tugged at them and slowly pulled them off.


    Like all of my girls, she was absolutely beautiful in all aspects. She had a little bit more hair down here than the others, but it didn''t detract in the slightest.


    I wasted no time, my fingers already began running around her entrance, mixing with her juices. Once I felt it was good enough, I slowly pushed inside.


    "Mmm." She quietly moaned as her folds tightened around my two fingers.


    She was a little tight, but it was enough that two of my fingers could move around without too much effort. It didn''t take long before she was practically a dripping mess as I continued to stir her up.


    "Master, mommy is ready." She breathed out huskily between a few pants. She waspletely flushed with a hint of embarrassment.


    I paused for a moment, looking up at her. "But I wanna see hear Raikou''s lewd noises." I leaned down, my tongue began tracing around her clit while I continued to move my fingers.


    "Ah~" She breathed out, her hips moving around uncontrobly, her legs squirming with each movement of my fingers. "I''m supposed to take care of master." She whimpered, trying her best to hold back another moan.


    I found the ce that got the biggest reaction out of her, and I lightly hooked my fingers, making her hips arc upward a loud whine escape from her hips. Seeing how she was reacting, I thought she was getting close. I began sucking on her clit, immediately, her eyes widened, and her back arced. I guess it was enough to send her over the edge because her eyes rolled up a slight bit as well. "Hnnn, Ahhhhh." She cried out, trying her best to continue moving her hips with my fingers.


    Her juices flowed out, and ecstasy overcame her. My fingers were utterly soaked and she practically refused to let me go with how tight she was squeezing down. But I gave her a moment to catch her breath without stimting her further.


    She covered her face once she regained herposure. "It''s too embarrassing. Master saw mommy in such an embarrassing way."


    It''s funny, despite how sensual and seductive she was, she also had this cute and bashful side to her when it came to intimacy. She was thoroughly embarrassed at me seeing the face she made when she had an orgasm.


    As hard as I was right now, and how much I wanted to im herpletely.....I felt a little bit of sadism bloom in my heart.


    [***]


    "Are You close?" I asked, my fingers continued to move in and out of Raikou''s pussy. I lost track of how long I had been ying with her, but it''d been a while at this point.


    Her ass was up in the air and her face was buried in a pir. It was a hard thing to resist indeed. That bouncy butt of hers was so inviting, and a part of me just wanted to ruin her. But I settled on just making her a mewling mess.


    Her only response to my question was a muffled moan and continued squirming in ce.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure to keep going until my Raikou ispletely satisfied." I teased her a little bit.


    It''s not like I wasn''t enjoying spending all this time focusing solely on her.


    Seeing her ass shake so enticingly, I gave her a little p, earning another cute moan.


    It would be a crime not to do anything to this amazing ass.


    With my free hand, I spread her cheeks apart and thumbed her back entrance.


    "Masterrrrrrrrr." She threw her head up with a gasp, my thumb pushing inside. She practically copsed and another wave of juices nearly exploded out of her.


    Though, her big bouncy ass was still sticking up in the air.


    And I couldn''t hold myself back anymore.


    Not to mention she was more than ready for me at this point. I shifted myself, lining my cock up with her entrance and lightly prodded her. She immediately jerked her head upwards with a very excited look on her face.


    "Master." She breathed out, her hand running between her legs and her fingers spreading her lower lips. "Mommy will take all of you right here."


    Could anyone resist this?


    My cock began to spread her pussy as my head entered. I grabbed her hips and continued to push myself into her depths. It was a might tighter than when I used my fingers, her folds immediately began squeezing me with every inch that went inside.


    "Oooh." Raikou exhaled. "My son is inside of me." She eximed, the arousal clear in her tone.


    ...I would freely admit that her ying the role of my ''mother'' in this moment did....things to me. And by the sounds of it, I think Raikou enjoyed that aspect too.


    But she was right, she shuddered when I pushed against her, but she took every inch of me inside her.


    This Servant had finally be fully mine.


    I pulled back with a grunt, and in one swift motion, thrust forward again.


    "Ahhh." Raikou let out a surprised moan at my sudden motion.


    Her ass rippled as I mmed into it from behind. She quickly regained herposure and met each of my thrusts with push of her own hips.


    "Master~ Your mother is a lewd woman." She panted. "Please fill mommy with your seed. Mommy wants children!"


    I don''t know how I felt about having children right now, but I was way too caught up in the moment and it just made me too excited to give any further thought.


    I grabbed her hips and pulled her towards me with a final thrust. I didn''t hold myself back in the slightest, having yed with her for so long, I was unbelievably horny right now. With another groan, I felt it build up to the tipping point and my cum spilled out into her deepest parts.


    I panted a little bit, with each trust, I released everything I had stored up. Her womb filled to the brim with my seed.


    "Mnn.. ahh." She tensed as I slowly pulled myself out of her one more time. She quivered and trembled in ce with a small whine once my cock was finally free.


    Iid back to take a breath.


    Raikou shuffled over, an utter look of content on her face. "Master filled me with his warm stuff." She rubbed her belly.


    Seeing her chest bounce again, and the sultry look she had when said that... "Give me a moment, and I''ll make sure to give you a refill."


    She pursed her lisp. "Master was naughty, bullying your poor mother." She sat herself up. She was a mess, a beautiful, sweaty, and stick mess, but a mess all the same. "Mommy is going to punish you in return~"


    "What ¨C"


    She grabbed my twitching cock. It was firm, not too hard, but enough to send a shiver down my spine.


    She didn''t even give me a moment to catch my breath, her hand started pumping my full length. Her fingers were squeezing in all the right ces, rubbing from my tip down to the base.


    And the no-nonsense look she had, the way she sternly stared at me, it just made me even harder.


    Her other hand went a little further below, taking hold of my balls into her palm and rolled them in her hand. It sent a jolt through my entire body.


    I had to clutch at the sheets of the bed. Her movements were way to good and she knew exactly how to get a response out of me.


    I would notst long at all like this.


    She looked a little smug, obviously noticing my situation. She met my eyes and licked her lips. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she lowered her head down on my member. Her tongue gave me an initial taste, a little taste as it probed my head.


    She still maintained eye contact with each movement. Her tongue explored my tip gently, teasingly. And once more, without any warning, she lowered her head downpletely, my member disappearing halfway into her mouth as her head bobbed up and down.


    "Gulghk." The sound of air being pushed out of her throat as my cock disappearedpletely inside of her. Her attack continued unabated and I could even feel my toes curl under her movements. "Gulghk, Gulghk."


    She refused to allow my cock to leave her throat, her tongue caressed every inch of my cock, and every time her head bobbed down, her throat would contract and squeeze me. She was doing her absolute best to milk mepletely with each of her movements.


    "Raikou..." I breathed out, my fingers moving through her hair.


    I didn''t even need to do anything, I didn''t even push her down, she did that all herself. She grabbed hold of my legs andtched downwards.


    My hips pushed upwards and I felt myself release for the second time in such a short time frame.


    Her eyes flicked to mine, and she gulped down everything I gave her.


    Slowly, her head pulled away. My still twitching cock fell out of her mouth.


    At this point, I was the one who was out of breath.


    "Yummy." She licked her lips.


    "Subus." I groaned, catching my breath for the second time.


    "My Son needs more punishment." She gripped my cock again, making shudder once more. However, she let go a momentter. And instead, she pushed her massive breasts up and plopped them around my cock, nestling me between them nice and firmly. "Mommy is going to help you release everything~"


    And I believed her.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 385 - 349

    <h4>Chapter 385: Chapter 349</h4>


    "What the hell, is there an earthquake!?" Ichigo was the first to blurt out a response to the literal trembling of the realm around us.


    Everyone in the vicinity braced themselves, unaware of what was truly going on.


    Due to the nature of my own Divinity, I could feel Izzy''s Authority spreading out unabated. This Realm of the Dead was resonating with her to an absurd degree, and the strange thing was, I''m nearly positive that she wasn''t doing this on purpose. It was just her stepping onto the ''ground'' here that caused it to quake at her arrival.


    It wasn''t just the earth that was responding to her arrival, the light in the sky ¨C the very sun that illuminated this ce began to dim.


    "Don''t be stupid, there are no earthquakes in the afterlife!" Yoruichi was on Ichigo''s shoulder, and smacked his head.


    "Then what the hell is happening?" He shot back.


    "....no idea." She hissed as the ground trembled once more.


    I looked at Izzy who also looked...confused, then a number of other emotions shed across her face. A kaleidoscope of different expressions before finally she situated on a frown. Her lips thinned as the moments passed, and the turbulent world seemed to slowly calm down. The Sun that was starting to slowly be covered in shadows began to brighten and the earth below us gradually returned to its peaceful silence.


    "It stopped." Orihime noted.


    "My Grandfather told me some things about Soul Society when I was younger." Ury¨± calmed himself, his sses pushed up to their rightful position. "He said that the weather here mimicked the living world, but I didn''t expect something like that. Do you also have monsoon season here?"


    "That was not normal." Yoruichi answered, looking around. "They have regr weather changes here but those are...mundane. We don''t have that kind of insane weather like in the human world. There are no monsoons, no tornados, no hurricanes. And there are certainly not any Earthquakes."


    I guess they didn''t notice Izzy''s little ident.


    Not too surprising considering that it was her Divine Nature that spread throughout the area, not something those without any experience in such things could pinpoint. Not to say that they didn''t notice the vast changes beyond the physical ripples, but the aura that it generated was more....spread out.


    I reached over and took Izzy''s hand. Her expression slowly returned to something more pleasant as she rxed. However, I could feel her seething for some reason, but I was clueless at the moment and this wasn''t really the ideal ce orpany to ask her.


    Once everything settled though, I took the opportunity to look around and we were in one of the middle districts of the Rukongai by the looks of it. Not too poverty stricken, but basic things were still apparently a luxury here.


    "Alright, which way do we go?" Ichigo quickly brushed himself off, taking charge. "Let''s hurry and charge in."


    "Don''t be stupid." Yoruichi smacked his head again, though it seemed like he was used to it at this point, he didn''t even react.


    "If we''re looking for which direction to go, I believe that therge gate that way is correct." Ury¨± interrupted.


    "Wait, gate?" Yoruichi repeated, hopping over to where Ury¨± was peering around a corner. "Dammit, why is the wall down!"


    "What''s the matter?" Orihime asked.


    "...The Wall onlyes down when intruders try to enter the Seireitei. They shouldn''t be down yet even in the likelihood that they detected our intrusion."


    .....woops.


    "Are we not inside already? Why is there another wall?" Chad asked.


    "No...this is the Rukongai." Yoruichi exined. "This is where the....normal souls live. The Shinigami and Nobles live in the Seireitei which is now separated by that massive wall in the distance. And right smack in the middle is where Rukia is being held."


    ".....why does it look so...." Orihime turned her head in every direction "....poor." She said quietly like it was a naughty thing to say.


    I perked up, wanting to hear what Yoruichi had to say as well. I was curious to hear if she would whitewash it or not.


    "Simply put, the Nobles and Shinigami don''t care about the Rukongai for the most part. As long as no Hollow attacks or the Souls don''t start dying which could hurt the Bnce, they''re content to let the peasants here wait out their time until they enter the Cycle of Reincarnation."


    "....that''s sad." Orihime looked downtrodden.


    "It''s just a wall, what''s stopping us?" Ichigo asked. "We''re wasting time." He finished with a scowl.


    "Do you really think a wall created by the Shinigami would be simple, Kurosaki?" Ury¨± scoffed. "Clearly there is something special about it if Yoruichi is pointing it out."


    "He''s right." Yoruichi bounced to Ury¨±''s shoulder, much to the kid''s chagrin. "The Wall is made of a special material that''s nearly impervious to Reiryoku. As in, none of your Spiritual Abilities will be able to damage it."


    "Then let''s dig under it or something." Ichigo offered.


    "Idiot." Yoruichi visibly rolled her eyes. "Do you really think it''d be so simple? The wall itself extends through the ground,pletely enveloping it even if you can''t see the barrier itself. What kind of fool would just assume you could dig under it?"


    .....I decidedly did not speak up.


    "Well, build adder and hop over it." He huffed, crossing his arms.


    "Of course, why didn''t the Millennia old Shinigami think of that." The sarcasm practically dripped from her tone. "Of course it extends upwards as well. Think of the wall as a bubble that envelopes the entirety of the Seireitei even if the physical thing itself is only what you see."


    "Well, what are we supposed to do now?" Ichigo asked. "You''re the expert, right?"


    "I''m thinking, calm down." Yoruichi hopped onto the ground, staring at the wall. "We have a few options, but I wanna check why the wall is down when it shouldn''t be. I''m going to go see if I can''t get the answers out of some of the locals. In the meantime, familiarize yourself with this ce. You should feel somewhat differentpared to the living world. Don''t stray too far away though, this ce is massive and it''s easy to get lost."


    "Fine, whatever." Ichigo sighed. "I don''t mind taking a look for a little while. We still have time before Rukia''s execution, right?"


    "Don''t worry, Kisuke made it so the exit we took meant we got additional time. I think we got here a few days earlier than when we left."


    Ichigo blinked. "Awesome, alright." He nodded in content.


    "You two..." Yoruichi finally turned towards both Izzy and I. She nced at Izzy and sort of....fizzled out on what she wanted to say. "Please watch over them for now, I''ll be back in an hour or two."


    "We''ll keep an eye on them. There shouldn''t be too much danger out here right?" I asked a question I already knew the answer to.


    "Right, the Shinigami don''t reallye out this far into the Rukongai." She turned back to the kids who were listening in. "I''ll give you a better rundown after I get back. Though if you see a Shinigami, just stay out of their way. They''re usually small fry who get stuck with any jobs this far out." At that, she disappeared from the spot she was in.


    "Alrighty kids, don''t stray too far away from your chaperones, but feel free to go have fun." I pped my hands.


    "Screw you." Ichigo scowled again. "I''m gonna go look around."


    "Hmph, I will go my own way." Ury¨± grunted, walking in another direction.


    "Kurosaki-kun, I''lle with you!" Orihime happily beamed and Chad silently walked off as well in another direction.


    Well, they knew to stay close, and I was fairly sure between both Izzy and me, there wasn''t anything that could sneak up and harm them this far away from the Seireitei. Not to mention the ''locals'' had disappeared in a sh once the ce started showing signs of trouble. I couldn''t see a single soul on the street in any direction.


    Admittedly, I was a little...concerned about what Yoruichi was going to find out. I was gonna let her do her thing though, if there were any problems, I would step in and offer my own particr solution to the wall problem. However, I was curious to see what Yoruichi woulde up with.


    I knew my cover was going to be blown eventually, but I was just ignoring that for now. I had something more important to focus on.


    "Would you like to take a walk with me?" I offered, realizing I was still holding her hand.


    "....that would be lovely." She nodded, though there was still that silent fuming and anger going on under the surface.


    [***]


    "You told me you''ve been here before. You''ve explored this.....Rukongai, yes?"


    "I have." I nodded.


    "I assume this ''wall'' being down is your doing as well?"


    ".....there may or may not be a link to me there."


    "How much of your exnation did you leave out?"


    "That depends."


    "Depends on what?"


    "Depends on how much is found out and if I have to provide an exnation."


    She rolled her eyes and I saw the phantom of a smile forming, but once her eyesnded on the surroundings, it disappeared again. "What is your impression of this ce?"


    "A shithole." I answered almost immediately.


    "I find myself unable to disagree." Her lips thinned in disgust. "Yomi is not supposed to be pleasant. Hell is not supposed to be pleasant. Huang Quang is not supposed to be pleasant. This.....Soul Society has no excuse on why it is in this state. You called this ce the closest approximation of ''Heaven'' here and yet...."


    "A professional agitation? You''re the ruler of Yomi, are you mad because a different Afterlife is being run so poorly?"


    "Hmph, I would prefer it if it was such." She scowled.


    "Something''s wrong." I stopped, squeezing her hand as she also paused in her steps. "There''s no one around. What''s wrong, Izzy? Something clearly upset you when we first arrived. I don''t think you did that intentionally, but it almost seemed like you lost your cool for a moment."


    I felt her squeeze a little harder before calming herself. "Tell me, do you know what I am most proud of?"


    "What you''re most proud of?" I repeated. "Your children?" I hazarded a guess.


    "Yes, my Children are one of the things I take most pride in. Even my younger children who I did not actually give birth to. Regardless, they came from me, so I am exceedingly proud of them. There is one other thing I have unshakable pride in. Regardless of what stories there are about me and what mortals say about me, this one fact is unshakable."


    I tilted my head and nudged her to continue.


    "I created Japan." She straightened herself. "My...former husband is mostly credited with it, and I''m usually regted down as a helping hand in most interpretations due to the matters that cameter and discouraged my acknowledgement among them. However, I worked just as hard as he did. I turned the mountains and seas, I shaped the verynd into what you see today. I created Japan I can feel thend itself and every grain of dirt and every leaf that came about due to my hand."


    "I know and I never thought differently." I gave her a reassuring smile.


    She smiled briefly but once again it was reced with a growing fury in her eyes. "Do you want to know why I almost lost control? Why I let my Authority leak out so much?"


    I nodded.


    "It''s because I have a simple question." She held a finger up. "Why?" She hissed. "Why is thend I''m standing on the same as that of Japan!?"


    "Wait, you mean ¨C"


    "Someone stole part of Japan and made ¨C this." She swept her hand out, gesturing to the surroundings. "I could feel it the moment I arrived. It was why I could nearly take hold of a foreign Death Realm with little effort. This ce ¨C by right ¨C belongs to me."


    "You could take control of Soul Society?" My eyes unconsciously widened at the insinuation.


    "Hmph. This is Japan, I am linked to it beyond what mere words can state." She snorted in dissatisfaction. "I retracted my hand because I felt some strange things and calmed myself. I did not wish to cause you any trouble before I understood the situation."


    That was new information that set my mind reeling at the possibilities. "Japan most likely is the most condensed location for Reishi in the world considering that Karakura is the top or one of the foremost ces for such."


    "What are you getting at?"


    "....I had a thought when I came here the first time. I dismissed it because I was preupied with other matters. I had thought that this ce felt artificial. If someone created this ce by hand then it stands to reason they''d grab parts from the ce that fits best ¨C Japan." I tapped my chin. "The only question is who created this ce. I haven''t heard anything about any Gods sinceing here."


    "I may be able to somewhat answer that question."


    "Did you find something?" I looked at her.


    "I felt myself brush against a...passive hold around this realm. Nothing I couldn''t break with some effort, especially since my im here is beyond reproach. I vaguely felt that it was up above. A sort of sub-realm that''s an extension of this Soul Society. It made me pause due to the inert nature of the ''power'' behind the curtain."


    "Huh, that''s a lot to consider. Anything else I should note?" I asked.


    "I''m not sure, this ce is strange, and I''m still new to everything here. The sky is limited, as in there is a threshold where you cannot move any further upwards. Thews here seem to be operating to mimic those of the outside world. Perhaps due to the concepts intertwined with thend that was stolen and ced here that it tries to continue as it did before being taken. And the shadows here are odd, there seems to be room inside of them, but I didn''t delve too deep."


    "Right, I have no idea what to make of that. Let''s just start from the top and start looking for the reason as to why someone took a chunk of Japan and made Soul Society."


    "I would appreciate it. The thought of someone taking part of thend I spent so much effort to create and stealing it to make this ¨C shithole- has made me very upset. If I am not given a satisfactory answer.....I will consider taking back what belongs to me."


    That sounded ominous.


    There was a Taboo for dealing with Gods. You do not fuck with their domain. Japan was how Izzy gained her Authority over Creation. It was intertwined with her whole being and it thrummed in her Divinity. And someone here basically ripped part of Japan ¨C from what she said ¨C and made their own Afterlife, basically pping her in the face due to her other domain of Yomi and Death.


    "I''ll help you with whatever you want to do." I gave her a smile.


    "Thank you, Wilhelm." She returned it with a beautiful smile of her own. "


    [***]


    "I admit that this is giving me much nostalgia." Izzy noted as we looked around. She calmed down immensely, but she was still pissed off. Someone touching one of her bottom lines so tantly sent her almost into a frenzy. "I remember when humanity was at this stage."


    "Huh."


    "What?"


    "Just a thought. What did you do before inte?"


    She yfully swatted at my shoulder. "I did find ways to preupy my time. Though.....those were far and few betweenpared to now. Humanity is nothing if not innovative. I wish I wasn''t so blinded by my grief earlier in my life so that they may have been further advanced. How many years did I stymie their potential due to my own anger and resentment?" She let out a sigh.


    "Hey, none of that."


    "It''s true..."


    "Nope, hug." I didn''t give her time to respond and quickly hugged her tight.


    "...Thank you, Wilhelm." She said quietly. "But I believe the others have gathered, we should join them." She spoke, slightly turning away from me once she stepped away. "I can sense that Cat is there as well. Perhaps she has chosen our next course of action." She nced at me. "....you can easily take us there, couldn''t you?"


    "Yup."


    "Just checking." She smiled lightly.


    The people around here had starteding back out. And it wasn''t hard for us to hide ourselves from their perception, or rather, Izzy was taking care of that. She''s walked among mortals for centuries, she''s adept at concealing her ''presence'' if she wanted to.


    "Oh hey, they''re back!" Orihime waved as we walked over.


    "That they are." Yoruichi narrowed her eyes at me.


    "Everyone have fun?" I greeted.


    "I had a great time" Yoruichi walked over to me. "I went around, asked some people who should know some things going on in the Seireitei. Wanna know what I found out?"


    "...I feel like I should answer: no."


    "Well, you see, I heard something baffling." Shepletely ignored me. "Apparently, they were invaded not too long ago. Within the past month if you could believe it."


    "That sounds like unfortunate timing for us." I looked away.


    "It''s funny you say so!" Yoruichi chirped. "Because they have a name for the intruder. Imagine my surprise when the name they give was Kurosaki Ichigo." She said in the most dry tone possible. "You could imagine my confusion, right? But then, I remembered several things you told me and had a certain thought. Anything you wanna share with the ss?"


    [Well, that didn''tst long.]


    I know how to handle this.


    I cleared my throat and looked towards the orange haired kid scowling, like normal. "Ichigo when did you invade soul society!?" I eximed.


    [Nailed it.]


    You think so?


    [Yeah, you''re probably fine.]


    Thanks, Ddraig.


    [***]


    A/N


    Sorry for thete chapter, had a rpse of my stomach issues and been out of it the past few days. Found out that there''s something specific I should not be eating just yet :V.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 386 - 350

    <h4>Chapter 386: Chapter 350</h4>


    "Kurosaki-kun, did you alreadye here?" Orihime broke the awkward silence, genuinely looking at the orange haired kid in confusion. "Why didn''t you say anything?"


    Bless her heart, I just wanted to give her another pat on the head.


    "I didn''t." He gritted his teeth. He walked up to me, obviously understanding Yoruichi''s insinuations. "Why the hell do they think I did shit!?"


    "I don''t know, why did you?" I countered. "It''s obvious that some nefarious and dastardly viin by the name of Kurosaki Ichigo caused some havoc within Soul Society. I don''t think that name ismon enough for them to be mistaken."


    "Fuck you, you did it."


    "Really? You''re going to me me? How could it possibly ¨C"


    "Apparently he had red hair." Yoruichi chimed in. "One of his more notable features."


    "..Just because they said he was charming, and handsome, and a dashing rogue doesn''t mean it''s me ¨C"


    "They said none of that." Yoruichi deadpanned.


    "Are you sure? There was nothing mentioning any of that?" I looked at her suspiciously.


    "If anything, they said that the person was ugly, and annoying, and just a menace in general."


    "Lies and nder!"


    "....Uh huh." Yoruichi poked my cheek. "You seemed awfully concerned about what happened to Strawberry over there."


    "Don''t call me that, you stupid cat!"


    "Yeah, Yoruichi, be nice. He''s under a lot of pressure. I can''t imagine the kind of stress he has after invaded Soul Society a second time."


    That made her snicker despite the situation.


    "I did not you asshole!"


    "That''s not what the people are saying...."


    "Raaah!" He started haphazardly swinging his big sword around with annoyance. "Get over here you asshole!" He shouted while I casually used a burst of my bastardized Shunpo to hide behind Izzy.


    "Stop iling around." Yoruichi jumped off my shoulder, smacking Ichigo''s head to the ground. "We have more important things to worry about."


    "What the hell is more important than this asshole shouting my name after running around here already!?" He jabbed his finger in my direction, after jumping back up to his feat.


    Honestly, that''s a fairly decent question. But, regardless.....


    "Can''t prove shit."


    "Right here! Let''s go!" He made a beckoning motion.


    "Don''t fight.." Orihime frowned.


    And the wind was taken out of his sails very quickly.


    "Alright, alright." I held my hands up. "Let''s just agree that we''ve all made some mistakes and move on to more important things."


    "You''re the one who caused this whole problem!" Ichigo''s eye twitched.


    "From what I understand, they''re ming someone named Kurosaki Ichigo. Last I checked, that isn''t my name." I smiled. "Honestly ¨C"


    I felt a hand grab at my ear and pull. "Wilhelm, what did you do?" Izzy red at me.


    "Pfft, whipped." Ichigo grinned.


    "....Virgin ¨C o." I whined, as Izzy pulled my ear a bit harder.


    "Alright, stop messing around." Yoruichi looked like she wasughing a moment ago, but she regained her seriousness. "Did you seriously run around calling yourself with his name previously?"


    "....simr events may or may not have urred."


    "That makes things significantly worse." Yoruichi grumbled.


    "In my defense, I didn''t think a 15 year old would get it into his head that it was a good idea to invade the afterlife." I pointed out.


    "Didn''t you do it already? What makes you different!?" Ichigo scowled.


    "I can take responsibility for my actions. I came and left without problems and I didn''t involve my high school friends in some hair brained scheme when they have next to no actual experience fighting." I flicked his forehead.


    Am I being a little bit of a hypocrite? Sure. However, they''re just kids with next to no real experience with this sort of thing. I''ve been in many life-and-death battles at this point, and I know how to handle myself. I could handle the repercussions that came my way. I just didn''t expect that they were wanting to do the exact same thing only a little timeter. I also could at will leave this world line behind without a trace, so the consequences facing me weren''t that great.


    "Is that why you''re here?" Chad, who had been silent along with Ury¨± at the side, had walked forward and put a hand on Ichigo''s shoulder. "You do not seem to care about Rukia. And you should barely know any of us."


    Well, he has a good head on his shoulders. "That''s right."


    Chad nodded.


    He wasn''t the type to say much.


    "What exactly did you do? The rumors aren''t really.....reliable." Yoruichi asked as everyone else seemed to lean in to listen.


    "Went to a few ces, met a few people."


    "That doesn''t seem like it''d get the kind of response I heard about ¨C "


    "May have beaten up a Captain while I was at it."


    ".....what?"


    "I mistook him for a clown at first. He was really weird."


    "Are you talking about Mayuri?"


    "Yeah, that was his name." I nodded.


    Yoruichi stared at me for a moment inplete silence. "Right, I''ll process thatter. Didn''t know you could handle a Captain like that, and I don''t understand it, but that''s not important right now. Not to mention Kisuke is going to get a kick out of it."


    "Also shared a drink with Shunsui. He''s a nice guy." I added.


    "....that''s actually kind of believable. Anything else I should know?"


    "Mmm, ended the little trip by going to visit Unohana and I may have flirted with her a little."


    "....I don''t believe you." Yoruichi said without much emotion. "Out of everything you said, that''s the least believable."


    "She has a very pretty smile."


    "Yeah, you''re lying." Yoruichi hopped down from my shoulder. "Okay kids, we have a change of ns. Our original way in is now gone because someone went gallivanting around the ce without telling anyone."


    "To rify, the authorities here are going to be attempting to arrest Kurosaki due to his delinquent behavior?" Ury¨± asked.


    "Undoubtedly." Yoruichi nodded.


    "So it''s not much different than normal." There was a shadow of a smile appeared on his face as he took a jab at the orange haired kid.


    Ichigo''s head slowly turned towards Ury¨± and shot him a re. Ury¨± had a smug look about him and didn''t look perturbed in the slightest.


    Nice.


    "So what''s the n now that this asshole screwed things up?" Ichigo crossed his arms with a grunt, his sword returned to his back.


    "I have some connections around here. I think I can swing us a way inside, but it''s going to be.....noisy." Yoruichi replied. "They will probably detect our entrance to Soul Society since we came straight from the Dangai and that''s not something subtle. However, this method will put all of us right in the spotlight if we get through the barrier."


    "Well, whatever we gotta do." Ichigo shrugged. "If they came after us, then we beat them and keep moving forward."


    "Hmph, how brutish. But he isn''t incorrect." Ury¨± fixed his sses again, a seemingly unconscious action. "If any Shinigami try to apprehend us, I will show them why Quincy are superior."


    "If you''re prepared, then we need to head somewhere. There''s a restaurant not too far away that someone frequents. We need to get in touch with his sister so it may take a little while."


    "How long is this going to take?" Ichigo asked.


    "A few days most likely. The kid likes toe out and y often, so it''s likely he''ll be out causing some kind of problems and we can find him." Yoruichi shrugged.


    "Fascinating, but I propose a different option." I interjected because that sounded like a hassle that I didn''t want to deal with.


    "What, you got a better idea?" Yoruichi eyed me.


    "I invite you to remember how Izzy and I even entered the Dangai in the first ce."


    ".....Oh." Yoruichi had a look of realization.


    "What''re you talking about?" Ichigo blinked in confusion.


    "He''s saying he can take us inside, Kurosaki." Ury¨± borated for me. "He obviously used another method to travel along with us considering his early conversation about being unable to use the same portal."


    "That would save us a significant amount of time if so..." Yoruichi looked at me in anticipation.


    I flipped my hand over, allowing Mirage to fall from between my fingers tond handle up in the ground. Maybe it was my dramatic side, but I wanted to make a little show of it as I gathered my Magical Energy, and my sword illuminated the surroundings. Holding it aloft, I shed through the space, tearing it open and connecting it to a point much further away.


    "That simple?" Ichigo peered through, the obvious change of surroundings noting that it worked.


    "Huh, yeah, that''s right smack in the middle of the Seireitei." Yoruichi walked around it, eyeing everything about it.


    "Alright, let''s get going ¨C"


    I yanked his cor back, making his grunt in annoyance. "Hold your horses." I reached into my sleeve ¨C or rather my storage ring and withdrew a few things I had prepared beforehand. "All of you are going to take one of these." I spread out four Talismans and held them up. "Keep them on your person at all times."


    They took them awkwardly, I suppose they didn''t really know the purpose, so I just continued. "They should be able to block death one time. A safety precaution in case things turn pear shaped."


    "Thank you." Orihime happily bowed her head without a second thought.


    Jeez, she was such a likable young woman.


    "How does this work?" Ichigo asked.


    "Just keep it on your person. I could exin the concepts behind its inception, but we''d be here all day." I waved it off as if it wasn''t the time even if the prideful side of me was nipping at the idea of exining theplicated mechanics.


    "...thanks." Ichigo nodded, shoving it into the inside of his Kimono while the others also hid it on their persons.


    I smiled, gesturing towards the portal as the kids filed through with Yoruichi hopping into Ichigo''s shoulder.


    "That was a nice gesture." Izzy walked up to me. "I could feel the faint divinity you applied to them. Along with the Runes you used, those could not have been easy to make. Both in terms of resources and time-wise."


    Yeah, well....just wait until they find out what I really did during my stay here before deciding to invade the afterlife.


    "Would you mind doing me a favor?"


    "What do you need?" Izzy tilted her head.


    "I had an idea, and I wanted to go talk to something, but it''s probably not a good idea to bring everyone with me. I''d feel a lot morefortable with you around to protect them."


    "Take care of what you need to. I will make sure no harmes to them in my presence." Izzy promised.


    "Thanks, I know I can always rely on you."


    "...of course." She looked very happy to hear me say that for some reason.


    [***]


    Kurosaki Ichigo POV


    "We should be somewhere near the Eighth Division." Yoruichi said, sniffing the air.


    "How would you even know that? Everything looks the same in this ce." The asshole stepped out of his....portal, thing with the freaky woman.


    Seriously, I don''t know why she gave me such a feeling. Even both Zangetsu were quiet when she was around.


    "Cat instinct."


    "Right." He snorted. "But yeah, we should be right at the edge of the Eighth Division. Figured it would be the best spot that I remembered from before."


    "You''re not wrong, it''s probably one of the better Divisions to be skirting around." Yoruichi agreed.


    Well, guess he knew what he''s doing at least. As much as I was pissed at him for using my name, I guess it''s stupid to think it''d have been a problem however long ago it was. Not like he knew we''d be here like this. Still, he''s an asshole, but he''s not an ''asshole''.


    Zangetsu weirdly liked him too. Both of them, even the pale copy didn''t really dislike which is weird cause he only had annoying crap to say while the old man seemed to agree. They''ve been arguing a lot so it''s weird to see them agree on something like that.


    They mentioned something about a Sheath, but I didn''t really get it. Only that they seem to rx in a weird little meadow even though everything else of my inner world is basically sideways skyscrapers and that somehow has something to do with it.


    Still, screw him. Gonna kick his ass one of these days, but he''s alright I guess. It''s not like he hasn''t been helpful and doing stuff. I did feel bad about dragging Chad and Orihime here, even if they decided toe on their own. Would be a dick move if I told them they couldn''t do exactly what I was doing in the first ce.


    I''m d that they have someone watching their backs. I feel like I might be too preupied to always cover them.


    Those pieces of paper ¨C Talismans, felt weird, so I think they''re legit.


    And the scarydy that I can''t feel any Reiatsu from but still makes my hairs stand up.


    Were they dating or something? They act like a couple, but also not.


    Whatever, I didn''t really care.


    Scary housewife wasn''t the weirdest thing I''ve ever seen.


    "Anyways, I chose this ce on purpose. I had an idea, I wanted to go pay a visit to Shunsui and talk to him about the whole execution thing, see if we can''t maybe get a Captain on our side." I perked up and listened as he talked. "Even if this whole ''rescue'' thing miraculously works, what exactly is the end goal after....stealing her back?"


    "True, they wouldn''t just stop if we grabbed that little twerp and brought her back to the Human World." Yoruichi nodded. "And Shunsui is very close friends with the Captain of Rukia''s Division, so there''s a good chance he might help."


    "We''re friendly, I''ll go see if I can chat him up about helping. In the meantime, you guys work towards your goal, I''ll catch back up. And Izzy will be in charge while I''m gone."


    Everyone looked at the scary housewife and even that snooty cat didn''t say anything even jokingly about her. I think even the cat was scared of her, which was weird cause the cat seemed not scared of anything until this point.


    "Do what you want." I said.


    It made sense. It''d be better if they didn''t do anything after. But for now, the important thing was just rescuing Rukia in the first ce.


    "Alrighty, since Strawberry gave me permission. Try to stay out of trouble this time." He smiled and it really made me want to punch him, but he shed that weird sword of his through the air and stepped through another of his weird portals.


    "If we''re going to be moving around, should we find some clothing to blend in?" Chad asked.


    He made a good point. "Doesn''t sound like a bad idea if we can grab some from somewhere."


    "You can strip the first Shinigami wee across, because chances are they''re on alert after our entrance to Soul Society." Yoruichi snorted. "We''re lucky this is a remote corner, but expect to see patrols every which way."


    "Do you know the fastest way to get to Rukia? So we don''t have to keep stopping or getting lost." I asked.


    "I need to get my bearings, so we''ll need to step further out. Either way, we''re probably going to run into people. May as well go hard and fast."


    "Works for me." I cracked my knuckles. "Everyone else ready?"


    Chad nodded and Ury¨± looked like he still had that stick up his ass, but he looked prepared. I''d try my best to make sure Orihime didn''t have to fight.


    Scary Housewife didn''t say anything, but a small look from her made me feel a little relieved for some reason.


    "Alright, follow my directions." The Cat jumped onto my shoulder and I didn''t argue. For some reason, he knew this ce well.


    "Just tell me where to go." I didn''t care as long as I went the right way.


    "Take a right up here." I began moving and they followed quickly.


    As soon as we turned the corner, there were a handful of Shinigami standing around. They saw us immediately and they could probably tell we weren''t supposed to be here.


    "Ryoka!" One of them shouted and they all stood up straighter and drew their swords, running at us.


    "Try not to kill anyone unless you have to." Yoruichi voiced.


    I nodded at Chad and we ran at them, that weird arm of his came out and he immediately cracked one of them across the face with a hail maker and I kicked the next one in the stomach. These guys were barely better than some of the thugs we''ve had to fight in the past. Sure they had swords, but we were also much stronger than when we did this in the past.


    Their des never touched us and we knocked down these six or seven easily.


    Ury¨± didn''t do anything, and I''d normally give him shit and he''d probably say something about dealing with weaklings, but I noticed him standing protectively next to Orihime.


    "Stop spacing out, to the right again, then there''s a long path. Don''t stand still." Yoruichi pped the side of my head. "The rm hasn''t been raised, but it''s only a matter of time until they realize that we''re inside."


    I grumbled, but I listened to his orders.


    Running along the endless walls, we didn''t move much more before running into another group, a little bit bigger but I also felt that one of them was a lot stronger than the others.


    "One of them is a Seated Officer, be careful." Yoruichi warned.


    "Yeah, yeah." I noticed him too. I grabbed Zangetsu from my back and picked him out of the lot. A few arrows flew past my head and shot at the hands holding swords. They shouted and dropped their weapons while Chad ran up and knocked them out.


    I ignored the small fries and swung my de at the strongest one.


    He unsheathed his sword quickly, and blocked my strike. From that one exchange, I could pretty much gauge his overall strength and I just flexed my Reiatsu a little and swung Zangetsu again with more force. He tried to block again, but he was mmed to his knees and I finished him off with a kick to the stomach, sending him tumbling.


    He was still conscious and I was curious about something. "Hey." I grabbed his cor, bring him up to meet my eyes. "The name''s Kurosaki Ichigo, does that mean anything to you?"


    "Oh god, please don''t hit me with a brick!"


    "....what?"


    "While I second that question, I have another. What''s the Fifth Division doing over here, your barracks are on the other side of the Seireitei?" Yoruichi jumped down to my hand and patted where I was grabbing at his kimono. I pulled it a little more to see a ''Five'' stitched to the inside.


    "That''s because I was in the area."


    I felt something tingle on the back of my neck as the words reached me. It wasn''t just me either, Yoruichi seemed to freeze at hearing the voice.


    I turned to look at the source and it was a gentle looking guy with somewhat messy brown hair and an otherwise schrly look. Honestly, without the white Haori I wouldn''t have ever thought of him as important


    I Barely even blinked and Yoruichi was standing between us as the guy, looking ready for a fight. "Run, now." Hemanded. "Run and don''t look back."


    "What''re you talking about?" While the guy gave me a weird feeling he seemed.....kinda harmless. He didn''t really look like he was gonna fight.


    "What a strange coincidence. I was bringing some of my division members to see the Eighth for a joint exercise and I''ve run into an old acquaintance. It''s been a while Shih¨­in Yoruichi. And I see you''ve made some new friends." His eyes ran over all of us, but strangely, they looked at the scary Housewife the most and he looked....surprised? Looked kinda confused too and he stiffened a little as she looked back. Whatever he was thinking, it took him a second to turn his attention back to us.


    "Aizen." Yoruichi spat out.


    "How about we have a chat, for old times sake?" He smiled and it suddenly felt wrong.


    "I have nothing to say to you." He growled, standing ready for some kind of attack.


    "What a shame. However, I have some words I want to share with you." He smiled and it came off kind of genuine despite the situation. He grabbed his sword at his hip and I tensed up, even unconsciously grabbing at Zangetsu because I felt my instinct telling me how dangerous this guy was. He only barely pulled it a few inches from his sheath. "Shatter ¨C Ky¨­ka Suigetsu."


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 387 - 351

    <h4>Chapter 387: Chapter 351</h4>


    I walked towards the Eighth Division without concealing my presence.


    Shunsui had been extraordinarily polite and weing to mest time despite the fact that I had basically infiltrated their military society and stolen from them. The least I could do was reciprocate that even in this kind of situation.


    Besides, pretty much any idea of secrecy had gone way out the window already. Ichigo''s Reiatsu was zing without restraint and Yoruichi already said they could detect a disturbance by arriving at Soul Society by Dangai, so here we were.


    I suppose it didn''t matter as I was here to try and get his cooperation and this would probably endear him more to the ''cause'' as it were.


    I could vaguely feel his own Reiatsu probing mine withouting down hard like I knew he could do. More came off like a greeting and an acknowledgement toe in.


    Ugh, this whole thing was annoying me.


    With my lips thinning, I pushed open the barracks to the Eighth Division and found him sitting on the ground once more. He knew I wasing so it was clear he had prepared a little weing. And his Lieutenant was standing off to the side.


    Shunsui cast me a small nce and didn''t say anything as he threw his head back and downed a ss of Sake. Though his Lieutenant was ring my way and I could guess the reason.


    "Sorry for dropping in again like this." I felt I at the very minimum I owed him an apology. He nodded and I took a seat opposite of him.


    "I didn''t expect to see you again so soon....and I was hoping I wouldn''t." He replied letting out a tired sigh. "The old man got mad at mest time even if I got out of trouble for the most part. A second time...I can''t do it again."


    I winced a little. "Yeah, I figured."


    "You came to me anyways." He said as a matter of fact.


    "I have....some manner of confidence that we can resolve this situation without fighting."


    "I''m open to any alternative. However, if you can''t convince me, I won''t let you off likest time. Especially with what happened with Mayuri, I''ll have to take you seriously from the start."


    "Can you satisfy my curiosity first? How did that conversation go?"


    He quirked a smile, barely holding back augh. "Which part? The Dragon or the Brick?" He asked.


    I snickered a little under my breath. "I suppose both?"


    "Well, everyone''s scratching their heads about the supposed Dragon." He revealed with no small amount of interest himself, though he didn''t outright ask me. "And Mayuri will never be able to live down the Brick."


    "Good." I breathed out. "Did you know he exploded one of his subordinates to try and get me for whatever reason?"


    He blinked, his expression shifting a few times. "I did not." He said rather darkly. "I''ll be sure to tell the Old Man about that."


    Well, it wasn''t my ce to interfere, and he seemed genuine in his own distaste for such action.


    "I have a question of my own, if you don''t mind."


    "Shoot." I reached for my own cup of Sake he had already prepared.


    ".....did you meet Captain Unohana?"


    "I did, did she say anything about me?"


    "If nothing else, I owe you a drink for that alone." He raised a cup up. "I don''t think anyone else here has the courage to flirt with her."


    "Really? What''s so strange about it? She has a very beautiful smile, and I enjoyed the time we spent together talking about this and that." It''s not like I did anything beyond that. I wouldn''t take anyrge steps in that direction without consent from my other girls. Nor was I even sure I wanted to at the moment. The whole situation was.....turbulent.


    We could very well end up enemies by the end of this little jaunt.


    "Ara, you really..." He shook his head with augh. "You hear this, Nanano?"


    His lieutenant pushed up her sses with a slight twitch. "Yes, Captain."


    "Do you think she''d want to see me again?" I asked.


    He chuckled, sipping on his cup again. "Normally, I''d give you my support but considering the circumstances..."


    "Right..."


    "Speaking of." He set his cup down. "Should we cut to the chase?"


    "I''m guessing my being here isn''t going to go over well."


    "One time, we could write it off and soothe over any bruised egos. A second time, especially so soon, people are going to be unhappy. I hope you have a good reason for being here. We were alerted that someone broke through the Dangai into Soul Society and we''ve been on alert since then, especially with what happened right around the same time. Ever since that weird feeling swept through Soul Society, everyone''s felt like there was someone looking over their backs and it''s made everyone rather tense."


    Oh....I guess Izzy''s anger was felt here by everyone without a doubt.


    "I actually didn''t intend toe back so soon." I scratched my head. "Funnily enough, I''m just a tag along this time."


    "A tag along?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "Yeah...imagine my surprise when some kids get the idea into their heads to invade Soul Society to rescue a friend of theirs that was recently arrested."


    "You''re talking about the Kuchiki girl." He hummed, pouring more sake into his cup. "I heard the report that you were present when Captain Kuchiki and Captain Ichimaru both apprehended her. They mentioned the human that she gave her powers to, a young kid who went by the name of Kurosaki Ichigo."


    "....yeah." I sighed. "That little joke came back to bite me in the ass."


    "So you say that a group of humans came to rescue Kuchiki Rukia?" He summarized.


    "That more or less is the gist of it."


    He nodded in understanding. "Answer me something." He stroked his beard after setting his cup down. "Why haven''t you simply gone to rescue her yourself? I think everyone underestimated youst time, but it''s clear you''re capable. Mayuri was one matter, but Captain Ichimaru was another. I wouldn''t call Mayuri particrly strong among us Captains, but Captain Ichimaru is.....I would have to put my life on the line to beat him if it came down to it. And the report says that he was ready to release his Bankai. That isn''t a feat many could im, especially a Human."


    "In all honesty I could confidently break her out and take her away. I wouldn''t say it''d be particrly difficult either unless you have Captains guarding her nearly every minute of the day."


    "That''s a bold im, but I believe you." He didn''t look the slightest bit disturbed by my reply. "Continue."


    "For all their good intentions, they''re just a bunch of stupid kids. Their ring leader doesn''t have any n beyond beating up anyone who gets in his way."


    Shinsui snorted with a littleugh. "Sounds like he''d make a good Shinigami."


    "But realistically, what happens after? Assuming he grabs Rukia and they leg it out of here without any fuss. Would Soul Society leave them alone?"


    "Not a chance." Shunsui shook his head. "It would be a matter of pride at that point."


    "Right, that was my thought as well. Not to mention, what would Rukia even do afterwards? Soul Society is her home, where would she go? What would she do with her remaining existence?"


    "And you have a solution I assume?" He asked, being very patient even though he was supposedly supposed to be arresting me at this moment.


    "I do, but first let me ask you. What exact crime Is she guilty of? And does she have any kind of hearing or ''court'' sentencing?"


    "She was already sentenced to death by the Central 46." Shunsui revealed with a hint of distaste in his tone. "As for her crime, specifically, it''s a punishable offense to transfer our powers to a Human."


    "Suppose that there was a miscarriage of justice that happened in this situation. How difficult would it be to overturn that ruling?"


    He raised an eyebrow and looked thoughtful. "Central 46 is known for being....inflexible. However, her being a Noble does have benefits in this situation."


    "What if she didn''t transfer her powers to a Human?" I offered.


    "Semantics won''t do much good here. This isn''t like your human courts where you can get off on something small like that."


    "Did the report say what Captain Ichimaru did to Ichigo?"


    "I believe he said that he destroyed the source of Shinigami powers that the Kuchiki girl transferred to him before you arrived." And there was a sh of understanding as his eyes slit up. "So that begs the question, how is that young man here at the moment."


    "He apparently awoke his own Shinigami powers." I revealed. "So that is to say, did Rukia really transfer her powers to a Human?"


    "That....." He blinked and again looked rather thoughtful. "We might be able to work with that. I know that Ukitake would be ecstatic to know that he might be able to save one of his squad members."


    Yoruichi said something about that, the captain of her squad.


    "However, you''re still overlooking one important detail."


    "What''s that?"


    "You all are here." He said simply, taking another drink.


    "So even if Rukia is found innocent, they won''t let everyone off. Is that what you''re saying?"


    He nodded again. "They''ll want to save face."


    "What are my options?"


    "Well....." He put his cup down, scratching his cheek.


    "What if I strike a deal with your boss?" I asked.


    "My boss?" He blinked. "You wanna go talk to the Old Man?" He had a strange look on his face. "Ara, you really are a daring kid. You would walk up to the Old Man while being a wanted criminal and try to.....negotiate?"


    "Would it work?" I asked again.


    "...maybe." He didn''t sound too sure. "If you told me you were going to talk to the Old Man, I could let you off though. He wouldn''t get on my case if I sent you his way quietly. Well....he''d probably get a little mad, but I could talk my way out of it based on what we''ve said so far."


    "I think I have a way to get everything settled neatly after the dust settles. Though, I''m hoping that your Boss is willing to even sit down and talk. He won''t just call for my head the moment he sees me, will he?"


    "You should be more worried about being burned to a crisp. But....The old man isn''t as inflexible these days. At the very least he won''t cut down someone who isn''t looking for an immediate fight. He''ll probably listen to what you have to say, but how receptive he is depends on his mood."


    "I''m good at running away, so if things go sideways, I can always get out in a hurry." I slowly stood up from my spot. "Would it be bad if I asked you for directions again?" I''ll go check up on everyone else then tell them what my current goal is before heading over there.


    He let out a bark ofughter. "Sure, I''ll tell you how to find the old man''s office."


    [***]


    Izanami POV


    "Shatter ¨C Ky¨­ka Suigetsu."


    I watch the man, spirit ¨C Shinigami used his sword. Wilhelm had briefly described the whole thing to me, these Zanpakut¨­ of theirs. It''s strange, these Shinigami almost reminded me of lesser deities even if they possessed no Divinity. These swords of theirs were a little reminiscent of Authorities as well.


    I felt something try to tickle my senses. Invisible tendrils shot out and tried totch onto me. It was as if they were trying to obscure my entire perception of reality.


    No.


    It didn''t take much more than a thought to shunt off the attempt. Perhaps if it were another God, it would have been more difficult to disregard,, but too many things were stacked in my favor that I didn''t have to treat it as a real threat. I had an advantage over Spiritual Beings due to my status as a Death Goddess. Not to mention I was technically standing upon my Domain, Japan itself.


    I could admire how elegant it appeared. Frankly, If I was not a Goddess, I don''t think I would have even noticed what was going on. This Shinigami was exceedingly strong if the power he was suppressing was anything to go by. For a ''mortal'', that is. I believe they measured strength by the pool of Spiritual Power they contained, and his felt much higher than the spirit masquerading as a cat.


    It''s funny, he would have had a better shot if he''d gone the more forceful and brutish method. I can stop those types of little probes and touches easily, but if he just brought his strength to bear, I would have to put effort into defending myself. If he simply gathered all his power and released it in the most abrasive and direct way, it would do a significant amount of raw damage. And Gods aren''t immune to that kind of thing, there have been Gods in by mortals in the past by achieving monumental feats of direct power.


    However, Wilhelm was correct, these Shinigami shouldn''t be underestimated if this one was anything to go by. Even by the standards I am used to, he would be considered strong back home. But he''s not quite at the level of a God.


    Almost immediately, the spirit disguised as a cat changed her form back to what it should properly be. And I''m unsurprised that it turned out she was a beautiful woman. Should I be worried that Wilhelm was wooing this one as well?


    I suppose that on a list of ws, being a womanizer was rather low on the negative aspect.


    Hmm, was I the only one not caught up in his ability? It''s clear he had some sort of method to trick the senses and I could see everyone else staring at the spot he was standing in a moment prior as he moved to the side.


    "I have some questions, and I feel you will not be cooperative. So, I will have to use a bit of force and incapacitate you."


    He went to stab the woman at the front who was standing forward protectively, however, she jerked her body and dodged, throwing a haphazard fists at his general direction, blowing a hole through the nearby wall.


    The Shinigami looked mildly surprised as he disappeared in a sh, reappearing a few feet away.


    Once more, Wilhelm was correct.


    Their speed was absolutely nothing to scoff at.


    I had to somewhat focus to follow his movements. I watched them do a strange dance where it was clear that the woman didn''t quite know where he was, but still was throwing out attacks that he had to move out of the way, even if they weren''t all that decisive. Well, the Shinigami didn''t look too concerned after the brief moment of surprise subsided, he seemed to be dodging easily.


    "I see, I suppose I should not underestimate the instinct of the former Commander of the Onmitsukid¨­." The one named Aizen came to a stop.


    "No, keep underestimating me, I''ll eventually punch that stupid face of yours." The Cat held up her fist with a little grin.


    The Shinigami tilted his head and looked our way. "I wonder if such honed instinct works if I target someone else?"


    "Aizen ¨C"


    He movedpletely around her and she didn''t notice him much. There was a twitch here or there, but he appeared near us.


    I believe he merely picked at random, as he appeared next to the child born from both Japan and Mexico.


    It did not appear he intended to kill the child, but even so. Before he could lower the edge of his de into him, I grabbed it.


    "These children are under my protection." I told him, looking him right in the eyes.


    His own widened in surprise as he struggled to pull his weapon free. "You ¨C"


    I did not wish to hear his words. I used my other hand, and pped him with a gathering of shadows around me.


    I watched his body got sent hurling through a wall or two before he disappeared from my sight.


    "What the hell?!" The Cat looked at me in surprise as well. "You can see him!?"


    "Yes?" I tilted my head.


    "But ¨C"


    "You escaped my Zanpakut¨­''s power?" The one named Aizen pushed away the debris blocking the new exit he had made with his body, walking back over a little disheveled. "No....it never had an effect on you. I cannot sense any Reiatsu nor can I even perceive your existence beyond my physical senses...."


    "Shit you weren''t caught in it? Then we might have a chance." Shended next to me. "Can you call out his location when he moves?"


    "Is he a danger?" I asked.


    "That''s an understatement. He''s hiding behind a masquerade right now, but if he shows his real power..."


    "Is that so?" My lips thinned as I nced at the children who had taken up a defensive posture behind us. Even the brash child with orange hair was acting protective of the ones he brought into this situation. I didn''t really know the situation, but Wilhelm asked me not to kill anyone. And if this Spirit decided to go all out, I would have to expend effort to subdue him, but there was the possibility heshed out violently and involved the children.


    Well, he did look like he wasn''t going to y around anymore. Very well, I shall do what I promised Wilhelm.


    "I see, you are certainly no human, you are no Hollow, and you are no Shinigami." The man looked at me with a strange glint in his eyes. "What are you?"


    "Annoyed." I answered flippantly, raising my hand up and tensed as the light above disappeared, and arge hand instead blotted out the sky. My hand to be precise. It was enough to tten the area around us for a good distance, and he appeared to look a little serious at my ''attack''.


    He raised his hand up and that Spiritual Power of his gathered in a significant quantity. I believe he was about to cast one of those Spiritual spells that Wilhelm told me about.


    Though, it didn''t really matter.


    Before he could even utter a word myrge ''hand'' in the air dissipated as if it was never there in the first ce. Instead, his eyes shot downward where the shadows crept up and grabbed onto his legs. He realized the danger immediately and tried to swipe his sword through them, which.... did sever a few, but they descended upon him in droves, an uncountable number that soon enveloped him entirely within the blink of an eye.


    "You can go away now." I swiped my hand downward before he had a chance to respond, and I dragged him into the space that existed underneath this ce in the shadows.


    That should take care of that for now. I think Wilhelm would be proud of me, I handled that without much coteral damage and without putting the children in harm''s way. I''m sure he can escape that ce eventually, and I can always retrieve him before we leave. Besides, I felt there were other people down there, so he should be fine. At the very least, he won''t be a problem for a while.


    Wilhelm had requested that I don''t kill anyone if possible, so I believed this was a job well done.


    "I gave him a time out; I believe we can proceed now." I figuratively wiped my hands clean of this mess. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked towards the Cat who had an indecipherable look on her face.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 388: Interlude 28

    <h4>Chapter 388: Interlude 28</h4>


    S¨­suke Aizen POV


    It was in this moment of falling that I was able to contemte what exactly led to this entire situation turning out as it did.


    Which one of my ns failed so spectacrly that I found myself falling, what felt like, sideways through what appeared to be shadows.


    It was rare to find myself humbled in such a way. I can admit that there are others that are my equal in an aspect or two. Urahara Kisuke is someone I recognized as matching my intelligence, and The Captain Commander is someone I can ept as an opponent whom I would not fight without many ns to counter. I will even acknowledge Captain Unohana for her mastery of the healing arts, even if I never ced much emphasis on them.


    That being said, I find myself confused.


    Why am I falling?


    I logically knew why, of course. Even if the specifics of what is happening is something I am unfamiliar with. Such as this.....space that seemingly exists mirroring Soul Society that wentpletely unnoticed by not just everyone else but myself.


    I thought about my ns again, what I set up to lead into the next stage. I knew that Kisuke Urahara hid the object inside the soul of Kuchiki Rukia when her powers did not return after giving them to Kurosaki Ichigo for months. It was obvious that he had a hand in keeping her powers from returning. It was easy enough to deduce his n from there and produce a counter n to retrieve the object in question.


    It was a simple matter of using my Zanpakut¨­''s perfect Hypnosis ability to turn the Central 46 into my pawns and condemn her to certain death via the S¨­kyoku. The holy execution de would have burned away everything, even her soul, leaving only the object I sought due to its nature of being nigh indestructible.


    I even took into consideration some foolhardy attempts at a rescue, researching Urahara Kiskue''s old notes and reproducing the method in which he is able to interact with the soul without causing damage. I had nearly cracked the method used, as ingenious as it is. It did take me a fair bit, but that is to be expected with a man I recognized as being my equal in intelligence.


    I was prepared to make my move. All my pieces were in ce and I would have dered myself and moved to take my rightful ce. I had my Hollow Soldiers ready for battle in Hueco Mundo, and I had my fellow conspirators ready to leave me with and betray the Gotei 13.


    Yes, my ns had been going perfectly for decades at this point.


    That was until one little incident.


    I knew about all the going ons in the mortal town of Karakura. Not just because of Urahara Kisuke, but his presence there did make things more convenient. But the amalgamation that is Kurosaki Ichigo demanded attention from one such as myself. My spirit of discovery and scientific advancement would ept no less than to note his presence and record his life.


    I knew that he was currently wielding Kuchiki Rukia''s Shinigami powers, a facsimile of a true Shinigami while his real powers lurked beneath the surface.


    Yes, that''s why it came as such a shock to hear that a Ryoka by that name had invaded Soul Society.


    For what reason did they use that child''s name? Was it intentional in an attempt to grab my attention or was it merely happenstance? For the first time in a very long time, I found myself confused.


    The intruder''s presence did notst long, less than a day in its entirety, but in that time frame, he somehow created more questions than answers.


    It was reported that he had a very strange Reiatsu. While Captain Ky¨­raku''s reports can be.... questionable at times, his Lieutenant mirrored his words, and she would not put up with his nonsense in a genuine report.


    And that was not even the most eye-catching report I received about the intruder that day. Nor was it the fact that Captain Kurotsuchi was defeated.....with a brick.


    I admit no small amount of amusement at the thought of such a scene happening. That Captain is.....humorous to watch as he tries to chase the coattails of his betters. He mastered Kid¨­ to a degree because Urahara Kisuke was a Kid¨­ Master. He achieved his Bankai in near record time because Urahara Kisuke owned the record at a three-day interval. And he constantly tries to surpass his former Captain at every opportunity.


    To watch him constantly run after the level by which we stand has always been an enjoyable experience to pass the time.


    I once more admit to being surprised at his defeat as well. Despite the Captain being one of the weakest to hold the seat of Captain, he rarely lets others get the better of him, oftentimes through sheer pettiness. That isn''t to say I thought he ¨C or by extension ¨C the other Captains were beyond reproach of outside forces. Far from it in fact. However, the surprise came from aplete stranger defeating one of my ''peers'' through such ridiculous means that I am utterly bbergasted even after reading the reports multiple times.


    Ignoring the brick, regardless of how that sounds, there was then the Dragon.


    I was able to see it from a distance for the brief time it appeared. It was not a mere ''construct'' created from Reiryoku, but an actual entity brought forth through some unknown means.


    Unknown to me.


    There was the interesting confirmation from Captain Hitsugaya''s own Zanpakut¨­ spirit who happens to be a Dragon as well. And I think that only serves to make the situation even more mystifying.


    I waspletely and utterly without answers to questions and with no immediate means to satiate my desire to understand this unknown happening.


    The Ryoka disappeared through means I was unable to track. He used methods that I was unable to replicate, and he used a name of a person that I was keeping a close eye on.


    It almost caused me to alter my ns to amodate this strange anomaly. I briefly considered backing Captain Sui-feng to track down this individual in the Human World as to further gather Data, but I quickly dismissed that notion.


    I was too close to my true objective, I did not wish to possibly ruin ns that are centuries in the making over a.....curiosity.


    There were plenty of conclusions to already draw from his brief appearance. First and most important, he did not appear to be aligned with Urahara Kisuke. That man would not allow a card such as that one to escape his grasp and enter my eyes after he would have hidden it so thoroughly from me.


    This allowed me to push any other thoughts about the Ryoka to the side for the future. I could investigateter at my leisure once everything was finally achieved.


    Though it appeared that more of my ns were seemingly unraveled by this strange person. When the Quincy living in Karakura town used that Hollow Bait of his, I was keeping track of the proceedings offhand and my subordinates used the opportunity to send a Menos Grande to test the young man.


    Once more, things did not go as I envisioned.


    Instead of a young Kurosaki Ichigo defeating the advanced Hollow or any other of the dozens of scenarios I envisioned, the Ryoka once more made an appearance. Dealing with the Hollow in such a fascinating way that I was quickly getting more and more interested.


    I even made arrangements to make sure everything went smoothly with the capture of Kuchiki Rukia since it was clear this Ryoka was also staying in Karakura town. I used the Central 46 to initiate war-time protocols and allow Captains to enter the Human World without their seals and I added Gin as insurance. It was easy enough to convince everyone else, the Central 46 are known for reacting outrageously to perceived slights.


    A Ryoka came in and caused problems, defeating one of our captains, then disappearing. An overreaction on their part would not be questioned to any meaningful extent.


    It also served to dissuade Urahara Kisuke in the off chance that he decided to openly move. It was highly unlikely that he would do such a thing, but It''s never a bad idea to have contingencies in ce when that man is my opponent at this stage.


    Yes, and it was a good move on my part as the Ryoka reappeared as predicted. I did not tell Gin or anyone else of my newfound knowledge on the Ryoka as to watch events unfold naturally. I don''t know whether Gin intentionally initiated a conflict with him, nor do I particrly care, but I was able to learn more from their brief exchange.


    Gin felt threatened enough to almost use his Bankai.


    Only stopped by Captain Kuchiki, rightfully so I believe. It would have only caused problems for the n if Gin used his Bankai in that scenario. Not to mention he almost killed the subject of my curiosity, Kurosaki Ichigo.


    I can''t get entirely angry at him, I never did reveal the extent at which I was interested in the amalgamation. But apparently the Anomaly came to his rescue, asserting a certain closeness with the subject that I was not entirely knowledgeable about. His presence in Karakura town had gone almost entirely unnoticed by me until the point of the Hollow attack.


    But that was not the most interesting bit of information. No, that was how the Ryoka retaliated against Gin. A spear that Gin professed weariness at and not a Zanpakut¨­ in the slightest. That is to say, he revealed other weapons capable of harming our kind, but Gin said he felt oppressed and genuinely threatened by the Spear that gave of a.....Holy feeling.


    I had the small thought that perhaps he was a Quincy of some variation, but once more dismissed that as soon as I gave it an iota of consideration.


    The report about Kurosaki Ichigo''s actions did have me make my own preparations. Based on the profile I already designed for the young man, I could guess that he would try something ridiculous such as invading Soul Society to retrieve Kuchiki Rukia.


    I nned ordingly.


    He would appear, see the Walls down, and whoever apanied him ¨C the likely candidate being Shih¨­in Yoruichi ¨C would undoubtedly use their close rtionship with the Shiba n and make use of their fireworks cannon to prate the barrier around the Seireitei.


    Once more, I was surprised.


    Surprised that the targets of my focus appeared so wantonly in front of me. Without causing a scene, and merely appearing in the middle of the Seireitei right as I was performing my ''duties'' as the Captain of my Division.


    I had expected them to attack, but not this quickly and not with subtlety such as this.


    There were too many variables cropping up for my liking. As much as I disliked the idea of taking any spotlight at this crucial moment, I felt it necessary to discover what was going on.


    As expected, Shih¨­in Yoruichi was with Kurosaki Ichigo and his group of children he decided to bring along with his rescue attempt.


    Of course, and perhaps the most significant thing to ur, was the presence of another unknown variable apanying the group.


    I could not sense her.


    Despite being within arms reach and trying my best, I could not sense her presence beyond any basic physical senses. I could not feel her Reiatsu in the slightest, and I could not gauge her overall presence.


    It was as if the ambient Reishi made way for her with each step she took. The phenomenon that urred previously made me question what this woman actually was, because it was obvious she was giving off a simr feeling at that moment. That with her existence, it felt as if Soul Society bowed to her.


    I did not know what she was, and it made me wary. For the first time in many years, I found myself...uncertain.


    Her mere presence made me almost unconsciously bow my head, an interesting first impression, but one I quickly threw off. And I was holding back the majority of my strength, keeping myself in line with the average power level of a Shinigami Captain.


    I attempted to use my Zanpakut¨­ to pry out the answers I desired; my sword having never failed me in the past. I originally did not intend to use my ability on Kurosaki Ichigo, I thought when he grew to his peak it would be a good test for myself. However, it would not make much of a difference in the long run. And much to my growing wariness, she did not merely throw off my own illusion, she was never affected in the first ce.


    My Zanpakut¨­ was unable to affect her.


    A miscalction on my part.


    One by which I now found myself falling sideways through the shadows of Soul Society.


    A ce I did not know existed until this very moment. It felt simr to traveling through the Dangai, but also more restrictive. I did not have much control of my own body, I could attempt to stymy my own ''fall'' but I was unaware of what would ur if I did so.


    I could vaguely feel that I was hitting a threshold and about to pierce this veil andnd at my ''destination'' so I bided my time.


    As I got closer, my speed elerated and I was then thoroughly pulled through the barrier between this ce and the one I was intended for. I did not have any time to orient myself as I mmed into something hard, breaking it into pieces and something soft and.....aromatic hitting my face.


    I could make full use of my body once more as my facilitates came back. And I pushed myself up off the ground, the darkness that covered my eyes was wiped away. And I looked down at my hand and it was.....food?


    Perhaps the disorientation affected me more than I realized because I then became aware of the powerful Reiatsu that were all scattered around the room.....and all focused on me.


    I looked at them, then at myself. I was covered in all manner of foodstuffs and a broken table was underneath my point of origin as well as a hole in the ceiling of the building I now found myself in.


    However, that seemed much more immaterialpared to who was present in this room.


    The dozen or so of Reiatsu that were at the very least on par with a Captain of the Gotei 13 were all looking at me.


    A food hall.


    Inded in someone''s dinner.


    Well, the person looked just as surprised as I was. Wearing a helmet reminiscent of some tribes native to the northern regions of Europe in the human world. But I could recognize their shared regalia immediately and felt myself experience an ufortable amount of uncertainty once more.


    Quincy, stronger than I''ve ever seen insofar.


    I stood up straight with a renewed grace, wiping myself offpletely. "I apologize for my entrance." I regained my gentle expression. "Please carry on." I made way for the door.


    The sudden intensity in Reiatsu pressing down told me that they did not in fact, carry on.


    @***@


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 389 - 352

    <h4>Chapter 389: Chapter 352</h4>


    My original n was to head back to Izzy and the others to ry what my next move was, but....then I saw the giant ck hand in the sky and realized that something may have went wrong.


    I of course quickly called Izzy to figure out the situation and she said she had it handled. Though Yoruichi seemed to be freaking out in the background for some reason.


    Something about a Captain ambushing them and she gave him a time out in the shadows.


    I suppose it didn''t really matter. If Izzy said she had things under control, I trusted her. She also suggested I just finish up everything else beforeing back as to not need to keeping and going to check in every time.


    So....here I was now, heading towards the supposed leader of Shinigami.


    I admit I was just the slightest bit nervous. Based on the strengths of some of the other Captains I''ve met thus far, I could summarize that their leader would be something of a monster himself. I hoped this could be settled to both of our satisfaction because I didn''t really enjoy handling the welfare of other people in my hands.


    Honestly, I didn''t even want to get involved again. I was pretty much done with what I had nned to do here, but I can admit I may have caused a little bit of a problem for the Strawberry brat due to my own flippant attitude, so I resolved myself to look out for them. I suppose it didn''t hurt that they were just kids doing something stupid so the protective side of me didn''t want to see anything happen to them.


    [It''s amazing, who could have thought this would havee back to bite you in the ass?]


    In my defense, what was the likelihood that the idiots wanted to invade the afterlife?


    [Yeah, what kind of idiot would do something like that?]


    I had a good reason.


    [They kinda do too.]


    Fair. I know I''d do something just as reckless in their spot.


    With a kick off the ground, I elerated forward quickly, covering quite a bit of ground beforeing to a stop.


    [You''re getting better at that technique.] Ddraig noted.


    "Thanks, I think so too. It''s really quite a wonderful movement technique. The more I get used to it, the more I''m just genuinely in awe of its ability." It''s not like other people couldn''t match this kind of speed, but the amount of effort to move like this, and the sheer versatility was just absurd.


    [Mmm, it is impressive. The people here may not be as powerful as the ones back home, but they got their own good spots.]


    "Yeah, I think I figured that out too." I looked around before ducking behind a corner and casting an illusion. "It seems like the people here took the path of extreme speed and precision over strength."


    Well, maybe I just haven''t had enough of a sample size to say that with certainty, but that was my current thought.


    [Makes sense. Those Captains you met so far didn''t really seem like the kind to start throwing fists and taking big hits. Seeing the peak of that Shunpo, it''s like what you said, Godspeed at the top.]


    That Gin, he got a little hurt just from taking one of my strikes. That''s not to say I think I did any mortal or evensting damage, but it''s clear they aren''t as physically durable as me. But on the flip side, they all seem to have mastered such a high degree of speed that I can admit I''m inferior to them. Even with my lightning movements, it falls short.


    That being said, I was ready to get serious if he released his Bankai. My instinct were telling me that was something I most certainly couldn''t take lightly.


    And I don''t actually think they''re....ss Cannons, just an observation whenpared to powerhouses of my birth world.


    [Even so, just because they can move in the same realm as Gods, that doesn''t put them on the same level. Well, maybe a few of the lesser ones, but if you''re talking well known ones, just being able to match them in speed won''t be enough.]


    Right, being well rounded was important. Unless you strive for one peak so vehemently that you can ignore everything else. But that''s just not really a usible situation.


    My previous speed wasn''t too far off from that ''realm''. My fight with Susanoo, the first time, he favored strength, which my body could attest to with how sore I was afterwards. But even still, he was able to perceive and react to my attacks which perhaps breached that barrier by themselves.


    My Gungnir, for example, I was confident it could handle one of these Shinigami Captains moving at their top speeds. I don''t think it lost out in that department, but even so, Susanoo was able to block and deflect it during the fight.


    Well, I''m curious to see how my own Zanpakut¨­ influences my abilities in the end, considering that my ''starting point'' was beyond what most of these Shinigamis could reach in their lives....unlives?


    [Speaking of Zanpakut¨­, should probably give you an update.]


    "Something happened?" I admit it''s a very interesting situation here, Ddraig being able to watch my Zanpakut¨­ form around itself and develop my supposed ''inner world'' as they Shinigami call it.


    [It''s been poking me every so often.]


    "What do you mean, poking you? Like it''s actually trying to reach out? Or just an ident because you''re also inside my soul while it''s trying to form?"


    [Thetter. Well, after the first time, I think it somewhat realized I was here and does it every now and then. Almost like an infant that just grabs at anything around it.]


    "Hmm." I tapped my chin. "Oh well, not really anything we can do about it. Not that It''s inherently a bad thing, this is all new territory for us, and probably the Shinigami." Doubted they''ve ever had this issue before...


    [You don''t care that it''s probably getting some influence from me?]


    "Why would I care? I have a Dragon Heart thanks to you. I have an entire Draconic attribute now because you''ve been inside my soul so long. You''re my partner, what does it matter in the end?"


    [If you don''t care, then whatever. Just don''te crying to me when It likes me more than you.] Ddraig snorted. [By the way, I think we''re here.]


    I looked up at the building and read the sign overhead as well.


    First Division.


    Yeah, I think we are too.


    [***]


    This ce was.....deserted


    As in, literally no one was around as I walked through the corridors. I was starting to think that this Division wasn''t quite like the others. At least in the case of Shunsui, he presumably made everyone scarce intentionally. That or his people were out scouring the ce for....well, me.


    Actually, this office may not even be attached to any barracks for the first division. I am going to meet the leader of Soul Society, it stands to reason that his office has some peace and quiet and not the hustle and bustle of military gruntsing and going at all hours.


    My feet continued to carry me onwards as I found myself ascending a flight of stairs. It wasn''t until I got to the top that I finally saw another person.


    Slicked back grayish-silver hair, a ck handlebar mustache, and lightly tanned skin. I think I noticed a white turtleneck peeking out from under his uniform. And the noticeable Lieutenant badge on his arm.


    His eyes quickly looked up to see me and there wasn''t a hint of surprise on his face. It was as if.....he was expecting me.


    He sat at a wooden desk, shuffling some paperwork.


    There wasplete nonchnce in his actions. It didn''t seem forced, I could tell he recognized me, as I had dropped my illusion once I started walking around inside this building. Yet he didn''t even make a move against me.


    Well, I wouldn''t want to be impolite. He clearly knew I was here.


    It was only a few momentster that he set his brush down neatly and scooped up a handful of papers. "The Captain Commander will see you."


    "Right...." I just nodded. "By chance.....were you aware I wasing."


    He collected his papers, standing up. "Captain Ky¨­raku sent a message ahead of your arrival."


    Jeez, I really need to thank him again.


    I didn''t think he would stick his neck out at this point before I even got any words in.


    "Would it be rude if I asked for advice on how to approach him?" I asked as he led me towards a door, his hand on the handle before he paused.


    "He despises falsehoods. You would be better off to speak inly and without reservation even if you believe it detrimental."


    "Ah, better to say something he may not personally like rather than lie to his face, which he would probably see through."


    "No, you misunderstand. He despises lying and your death will be painful. At least if you are upfront about everything, your death will be swift." He stated, sliding the door open and walked inside.


    .....well alrighty then.


    "Lieutenant Ch¨­Jir¨­." An aged yet very authoritative voice greeted us as we walked inside.


    The room was massive. Easily six or seven times the size of my living room. Yet, it was almost entirely empty, not a single decoration was to be had beyond the motif that went into the design of the ce. However, to the side there was an open balcony with a wonderful view of the Seireitei below.


    And the one who spoke was standing at the opening, looking outwards.


    "I have prepared the reports from both the second and the fifth divisions." The Lieutenant stated, walking to the singr desk and cing the stacks of paper next to others. "They await your approval. And your guest has arrived."


    "Very well." He still didn''t turn around. "Prepare some tea."


    "As you wish." He dipped his head before turning around and leaving.


    I was silent as I looked at this man''s back.


    Was it my Campione instincts that were ring up? Because this man was strong.


    He was like a raging inferno that was tempered and refined to the absolute limit. He reminded me of Amaterasu and Karna in intensity despite not having an iota of Divinity within him.


    There was a little part of me that wanted to fight him. I didn''t know if it was the Campione, dragon, or what have you, but my desire to fight was bubbling up.


    Powerful might be too little a word to describe him. I would have to go all out and even then.....


    He didn''t quite have that same unfathomable feeling the likes of Ophis and the Demon had, but he was most definitely high up on the scales.


    There was a light tap on the ground and I quickly came back to my senses, refocusing back on him.


    He was holding a knotted wooden cane. Though the absolute sense of danger in that little thing betrayed the mundane exterior.


    [He should be about the same level as Odin. At least when the old bastard was still a War God.] Ddraigmented. [Don''t take him lightly.]


    Like I needed you to tell me that.


    Same level as the Norse Sky Father.....no biggie.


    "Interesting choice of weapon there." I decided to break the ice, so to speak.


    "It''s good for beating unruly brats." He snorted, not missing a beat.


    [Fuck, I like him.]


    Shit, what was I supposed to say back at that?


    Thankfully, it seems his lieutenant returned, not stopping as he entered, and moving to set a tray containing two cups of tea and a steaming pot onto his desk before bowing towards the older man''s back and leaving again.


    The old man grunted before finally turning around.


    He didn''t even look at me as he walked back to his desk with slow and methodical steps. The screeching of his chair against the wooden floors was the only sound he made before he sat down and rested his not-cane against the desk.


    Though, with elegant movements, he inspected the teapot, removing the lid and giving himself a nod as he poured both cups and arranged them appropriately.


    "Sit." He said.


    It was simple, yet was verymanding.


    I obliged, taking the empty chair on the opposite side of him.


    It was now that I got a true look at the leader of the Gotei 13.


    He was bald, wrinkled and weathered with age. He had a few scars on his face, but they didn''t really give him a menacing appearance. Honestly, he gave off an almost grandfatherly vibe apanied with a no nonsense attitude and a rather stern look in his eyes.


    He had a very long and white beard, meticulously cared for and wrapped along its full length that nearly touched the ground. And his eyebrows were frankly huge as well.


    Overall, to the untrained eye, he would look almost frail at first nce.


    But I was under no delusion that he couldn''t take my head if I didn''t give it my all in a fight.


    "I would have thought there would be more people around. Guards and stuff since you''re...the Leader and all that." I looked down at the Tea he prepared. "Thank you for the Tea." I made sure to add with genuine thanks.


    His closed eyes opened slightly. "I am here, there is no greater protection."


    .....fair.


    "I heard that Shunsui sent a message....?"


    "Youngster." The Old Man grunted. "Introduce yourself before you speak."


    "Ah, I was rude." I corrected myself. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service."


    "Not Kurosaki Ichigo?" He snorted again, reaching for his cup of tea. He gently blew on it, letting the steam waft away. "Captain Ky¨­raku''s unorthodox request has reached my ears. Due to his exemry and unfailing loyalty, I am allowing you this opportunity." He stated. "You have until I finish my tea."


    "Until you finish your tea to do what?" I blinked.


    "To convince me that you should be allowed to leave this room alive."


    [***]


    Non-canon Omake, Bankai Training.


    "Alright, this is the Tenshintai." Yoruichi dered, mming what looked like a cardboard cutout resembling a humanoid figure.


    "How is this supposed to help me learn Bankai or whatever?" Ichigo scowled.


    "I''m also curious." I kind of agreed with him.


    "Learning Shikai is aboutmunicating with your Zanpakut¨­ and harmonizing with it. To master Bankai, you need to externalize it and force your Zanpakut¨­ into submission." She stated.


    "Wait, you can just summon your Zanpakut¨­ spirit out into the real world?" I looked at her incredulously.


    "Well, it usually takes years of training to reach that stage, so we''re going to cheat. Kisuke created this method, he altered the Tenshintai a little. With this method, you can master Banaki in three days."


    "Awesome, let''s do this." Ichigo nodded.


    "Hold it, what''s the catch." I flicked his forehead, something that was bing a habit. He has a tendency to tantly ignore anything else and focus only on his goal.


    "If you can''t achieve Bankai in three days, you lose the chance forever." Yoruichi said inly.


    "Alright, let''s go." Ichigo barely gave it a second thought. "What do I have to do?"


    Well, it''s his decision to make.


    "Stab it with your Zanpakut¨­."


    He shrugged, pulling his big ass sword of his back and stabbing it. The cutout lit up in a burst of Reiryoku and split into two figures standing before us.


    "Huh, you really do have two Zanpakut¨­ spirits." I looked them over.


    One was a man in a nice looking ck coat with a white cored undershirt and messy ck hair with some cool sses. The other, it looked like a bleached version of Ichigo with yellow eyes and somewhat menacing aura.


    "Right, did you both hear it?" Yoruichi didn''t even bother questing it and just addressed the directly.


    "Yeah, yeah." The bleached Ichigo waived her off. "We''ll get the moron up to snuff, just get outta the way an let us do our stuff."


    "We will begin immediately." The more refined and older spirit didn''t argue.


    "Use the area as you see fit." She shrugged.


    The three of them walked off a little ways before a bunch of swords manifested around them and they began fighting.


    "Huh, seems more pedantic than I imagined."


    "Did you expect Ichigo to beplicated?" Yoruichi looked at me.


    "Fair." I hummed. "Hey, got anymore of those things?"


    "The Tenshintai? Why, you wanna give it a go too? You haven''t even gotten Shikai yet, it''s not gonna work for you."


    "Nah, just wanna give it a look over."


    "I have a bunch of them, this thing you gave me is handy." She waved her arm, showing off a storage bracelet I made her. "Here''s ten, have fun cause this is gonna take awhile."


    I picked the first one up, giving it a look around and I was a little curious. If this was supposed to bring out a swords spirit or whatever....what If I used something else?


    My Academic mindpelled me.


    I stabbed it with the True Longinus.


    And.....a new figure stared back at me.


    Confusion written on his face mixed with surprise and astonishment.


    "....what?" Yoruichi stared at us.


    "Huh, that was easier than I thought it''d be. Missing aplished I suppose." I blinked. "Yoruichi, meet God. God, meet Yoruichi."


    ".....what?" Yoruichi repeated again.


    [***]


    A/N


    Wilhelm Secret Technique: Talking things out like adults.


    But yeah, Captain Commander is pretty damn strong. I know there''s going to be arguments, but for the sake of the story, know that he would be listed in the top 10 of DxD. I''ll have a better sort of ranking in a few chapters because I know people were arguing over that kind of thing and where the bleach people rank.


    Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 390 - 353

    <h4>Chapter 390: Chapter 353</h4>


    This was a strange situation I found myself in.


    The rather monotone way he spoke to me did not betray the undertone of fire that apanied the words.


    I had no doubt that he was ready to make good on his threat.


    Even if I felt my lightning bubbling up wanting to meet his threat, I pushed it back downwards, recognizing that this wasn''t the correct moment.


    I could give in to my inner fighter if things went sideways after I gave my attempt to settle things amicably.


    "This is really good tea." I couldn''t help butment after taking a sip to taste it.


    His eyes opened slightly and he grabbed his own cup almost with a hint of aggression, but still maintained a proper decorum as he brought it up and took a drink, setting it back down for me to see that it was now halfway empty. "Your time is running out."


    Right, straight to it then. "It''s against yourws for a Shinigami to transfer their powers to a human, yes?"


    "To interfere with the living world is met with intense scrutiny for all Shinigami who are deployed. To disrupt the bnce by turning a human into a Shinigami is met with only execution." He barely reacted.


    "Regardless of the reason?" I asked, seeing if there was any wiggle room.


    "Thew makes no exception." He didn''t budge.


    "She did it to save a kid from a Hollow." I calmly took another sip.


    I didn''t know the specifics to be honest, but Ichigo wasn''t shy about that little tidbit. imed that without her doing what she did, he and possibly his family would have died.


    The old man grunted, taking another sip himself closing his eyes. "She will receive full honors upon death."


    "But death is still certain."


    "No exceptions can be permitted." He said unwaveringly.


    "And if she didn''t give her powers to a human?"


    He grunted again.


    "I''m guessing Shunsui already mentioned something like that?" Hisck of a response made me think that Shunsui already started on that aspect.


    "The ruling of Central 46 cannot be changed lightly." He stated.


    "Even if they made a ruling on incorrect information? Shouldn''t she get some kind of trial to defend herself?" I admit I wasn''t the most knowledgeable on their system of criminal justice.


    "Her trial was conducted in her absence."


    "That''s pretty bullshit."


    His eyes narrowed slightly and he held up his cup of tea taking a much bigger drink than before. "Our system is not for you to question, youngster."


    I was really hoping he''d be more receptive to this.


    However, I think there was also a hint of annoyance in his tone when speaking about Central 46 as well.


    "Even if she was technically innocent, they wouldn''t want to reopen any discussion without prompt by someone else, would they?" I vaguely could understand the mindset of this ''Central 46''. Their supposed governance system wasprised of noble families passing judgment on criminals.


    Another grunt answered that question perfectly.


    "It''s not for me to question, that''s right. But Shunsui mentioned her Captain." I fingered the warm rim of my cup. "I don''t suppose he''s someone who has the capacity to formally question the ruling?"


    "Captain Jushir¨­ has the authority to petition the Central 46 in the event that new evidence brings about questions regarding Kuchiki Rukia''s crimes." The Old Man responded. "His appeal for a stay of execution has been signed off by myself and will be submitted to the Central 46 for deliberation immediately."


    ".....I''m sensing there''s a buting here." The way he said it didn''t really fill me with confidence.


    "Due to recent events by a Ryoka invading Soul Society, War Time protocols have been in effect. As such, all criminals sentenced to execution will be carried out at the earliest possible opportunity. At this moment, the execution tform is being unsealed and will be avable in Seven Days." There was a bit of heat to his words as his eyes narrowed at me.


    "Oh...."


    "By the time we receive a proper answer, the execution will already have beenpleted." He added.


    "The wheels of bureaucracy spin slowly even in the afterlife it seems."


    He snorted again, looking down at his cup of tea. "You have onest opportunity, youngster. Make it count."


    "Well....what if someone, or rather some people were in the unique opportunity to cause some.....damage. Enough to force a dy on her execution." I offered.


    He looked at me, with eyes slightly open. He then threw his head back and downed thest bit of tea he could, mming the cup back down.


    ....I suppose he didn''t like that idea....


    "My cup is empty." There was an apanying increase in temperature with his words as well. As in, the room noticeably got warmer by probably about a dozen degrees, and it began climbing.


    I blinked, looking down, then back up at him as he eyed me intensely. I reached for the tea pot and refilled his cup.


    His expression didn''t change, well, that''s not entirely urate. There was a very slight twitch of his eyebrow. "Cheeky brat." He snorted and the heat emanating from him dissipated quickly. "And who taught you to pour tea!?" He raised his voice, smacking the table.


    "Pardon?" I was taken off guard by his sudden expressiveness.


    "Elbow out!" He barked an order. "Back straight! Don''t ssh it, you brat." He grunted as I fixed my posture at his sudden insistence. "Keep it four inches away from the cup when you pour. Pinky extended and index finger leading."


    Honestly this took me utterly by surprise and I just followed his instructions until his cup was full.


    With a harumph he quieted down. "eptable."


    "I''m d I could meet your expectations." I drawled.


    He ignored me, apparently savoring another sip of tea as he closed his eyes again. "Your first time here. What was your purpose?"


    I blinked again, taken back by the sudden question. I considered how I should answer, but I just decided to be truthful. "Stole an Asauchi and a book on Kid¨­. Came here specifically for both."


    He nodded and didn''t outwardly react much at my confession. I suppose his Lieutenant was right, he preferred hard truth even if it''s something like that.


    "Speak." He stated, breathing out. "I will fully hear what you have to say as a courtesy for your actions."


    "A courtesy for my actions?" I once more blinked in confusion.


    "No lives were lost in your machinations. That alone has earned you a modicum of good will. Tread carefully." He warned sternly before shifting back to the topic at hand. "You would not havee here with only what you have said thus far. Continue."


    Why did I feel like he was testing me up until this point?


    "Alright, I''ll justy all my cards on the table. I didn''t have ns toe around again like this, but I didn''t expect a bunch of kids I had the barest rtions with to decide to invade the afterlife to save a friend of theirs."


    His eyes opened a little and I think I could vaguely feel like he wanted to face palm at my exnation.


    "And of course, they haven''t really considered anything beyond rescuing her. Such as, what to do with her afterwards because it''s not like she can just drop everything to bunk up with Ichigo again and just run around with him and help him with Hollows in Karakura for the rest of her life. Regardless of if they seeded, it would be a significant insult both to the prestige of Soul Society and your own personal honor that would require a response."


    He nodded, not denying it again.


    And I wouldn''t always be around to deal with the problem.


    "And there''s the issue that even if Rukia is somehow pardoned in the next few minutes, we still invaded what is essentially a Military facility and caused all sorts of problems thate with that."


    "You understand your crimes then." He said evenly.


    "Supposed crimes."


    He looked at me dryly.


    I gave him a cheeky smile and continued. "So there''s two ring issues, one with our presence here, and the entire matter with Rukia."


    "Mmm, and how do you n on solving it?" He asked. "Tell me, youngster, how do you intend to escape punishment?"


    "I think I can understand you a little bit." I reached for the tea pot again, taking the precautions this time to pour myself another cup properly. I think I saw the faintest hint of amusement from him as I did so. "You are unbending on the rules, but at the same time you obviously care about your subordinates if you were willing to honor Rukia after her death. If you really saw her as this supposed criminal, I don''t think you would go through with the effort. And you never denied that her actions were honorable and righteous."


    "A Shinigamis'' first priority is always the greater good of Soul Society." He said calmly, gently taking another sip of his drink.


    "A split between the responsibility and duty of your position and the wellbeing of those under you." I said quietly.


    He didn''t disagree as we enjoyed a moment of silence.


    Frankly, I didn''t care much about Soul Society, but this man was the leader here, the amount of blood and sweet he poured into this ce was something I couldn''t really fathom.


    "You would follow through with the execution without a second thought, wouldn''t you? Even knowing that she may be innocent now?"


    "As is my duty." He nodded without a hint of shame.


    "I don''t agree with you, but I can understand your position."


    "I didn''t ask for your understanding, you brat." He snorted dismissively again. "Youngsters these days, blinded by arrogance."


    "There''s an idea, in the human world." I smiled slightly, forming an idea in my head on how to make everyone happy. "Companies....sort of a gathering of merchants ¨C"


    "I am aware of the concept. I am not ignorant of the living world." He grunted.


    I nodded awkwardly. "Companies will sometimes do this thing where they hire outsiders, specialists if you will. Their purpose is to stress test thepany''s defenses. For the outsiders to poke around and find any vulnerabilities and exploit them ruthlessly to show where thepany can improve for genuine threats."


    Hisrge eyebrows raised ever so slightly, showing more of his pupils. "You are asking for my permission to continue your invasion..." He asked almost incredulously.


    "Correct me if I''m wrong, but Central 46 is your.....government, more or less. You are the Military leader while the Central 46 handles thews and actual governance and such. I don''t know how much that is separated, but you should have authority to organize a....military exercise." I paused, giving him the opportunity to rebuke me, but he just continued staring so I took that as a hint to keep going. "Shunsui said his people were gettingzy and hand waved it when I beat up some of his division members."


    There was a slight twitch above his eye as I mentioned that.


    "What better opportunity is there to practice for an actual invasion than outsiders showing up like this? Especially in a situation where they will actively not be killing or overly harming your people?"


    "Approach your point quickly before I lose my patience." He warned with a hint of fire to his words.


    "Let the kids down below run wild for a few days. We''ll do what we can to dy Rukia''s execution. Afterwards you can say you let it go intentionally as a training exercise to soothe any egos."


    I was severely oversimplifying things, but I think my point was obvious.


    Basically, I was just giving him a halfway valid justification to let everyone win in this given scenario.


    I heard him make a grumbling noise before he slowly pushed his chair back and sat up from his seat. He grabbed his cane and with methodical steps, walked towards the balcony once more.


    "I have heard what you wish to say." He finally spoke, casting his gaze at the buildings below. "Now you will hear a question of my own."


    "What''s that?"


    His head slowly turned back towards me. "What gives you the courage to try and negotiate with me, youngster?" mes erupted from his person, filling the room entirely.


    They were intense, searing hot. I could feel the ends of my hair nearly burning away at their sudden arrival, my throat was drying just from their proximity.


    My Aura red up protectively, but I found myself bubbling up to meet this sudden instigation.


    With a crackle, my Lightning peeked out, fending off the mes that sought to consume me.


    "Do not take my respectful tone and difference as weakness." I let my Lightning erupt outward, fighting against his mes in a head on sh.


    A snap of fire met a whip of lightning in front of my face. Simr instances of the two elements shing were happening all around us as the Old Man and I never broke eye contact.


    He eventually was the first to break it. With a harumph, the mes he produced were snuffed out in the blink of an eye.


    I followed suit, reeling back in my lightning.


    I did admire the fact that nothing in the surroundings was burned due to his fire. That was amazing control of his mes.


    I can''t really say the same for what my Lightning did....


    "I will send out an order to capture every Ryoka alive without exception." He suddenly spoke. "What punishment they will receive will be determined by the events that unfold up to Kuchiki Rukia''s execution."


    Well, that made me feel relieved that they weren''t in any overt danger. And I could read between the lines here in what he was saying. Basically, I was being given the green light, but if things yed out badly, we would be taking the me.


    It was a fair conclusion given the circumstances.


    "However." He grunted. "Your debt has yet to be paid."


    "Noted." I would not deny it then. He didn''t make a fuss about me stealing stuff and I caused my own messes, so I would acknowledge that I owed them a little bit.


    With another grunt of acknowledgement, he didn''t borate. "You may leave."


    I walked out towards the balcony. "Thanks for sitting down and talking." I gave him a quick smile, leaning against the edge. He looked at me rather...suspiciously. "And.....what happened to your desk and papers isn''t my fault."


    I saw his head jerk towards where his desk used to be along with what remained of everything else in the pile of ash and debris.


    His head snapped back to me and I realized it was quite a good time to skedaddle.


    "No take backs! Later Gramps!" I hastily jumped off the edge because I felt the temperature rising quickly.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 391 - 354

    <h4>Chapter 391: Chapter 354</h4>


    I was in a pretty good mood at this point.


    Managed to settle things to a somewhat satisfactory level with the leader here, so things should go much more smoothly the next few days.


    And I didn''t even have to resort to fighting him. Well, I admit I was a little enthused with the idea of a fight with that old man, but I had certain other priorities. If I was just on my own, I''d probably be more open to the idea. But s, it wasn''t a good opportunity at this point in time.


    It just further cemented my theory that Sc¨¢thach somehow infected me with her battle lust.


    I don''t recall myself anticipating a fight like this before I met her.


    I suppose it doesn''t help that a significant portion of the time we spend together is fighting. In a good natured sort of way, we haven''t had a fight yet.


    ...which often leads to sex.


    Oh well. Can''t say I hate how things turned out. I could do without fights to the death and all that, but I do enjoy a good fight these days.


    Speaking of fighting...


    I finally tracked down where the others were after my little dive off one of the taller buildings in this ce.


    And I could hear the shing of des as I got closer.


    "You''re back." Yoruichi perked up from where she was sitting. And the fact that she was in her humanoid form was a little surprising.


    "Hey, what''s going on?" I asked cause....Ichigo was here fighting someone I recognized. That bald guy I met right outside the healing division.


    "Dumbass one is fighting dumbass two." She exined.


    "Noted."


    "Fuck off." Ichigo shot back as he swung his oversized sword, making the bald guy bring up both his Zanpakut¨­ and apanying sheath to block it.


    Though, he looked like he was having fun.


    Ury¨± was standing against the wall being all quiet as he watched the fight quietly. I gave him a little nod and he returned it.


    Chad was standing nearby Orihime with arms crossed, almost protectively.


    But the young girl made me do a double take.


    "Do it like this, and another pull here and that''s about it."


    I kind of stared for a moment as the guy I remember as Yumichika Ayasegawa was braiding Orihime''s hair. He still had those weird eyebrow extensions, his most defining feature.


    Well then.


    She looked like she was enjoying it, so who was I to interrupt?


    "Hey izzy." I smiled.


    "Hello Wilhelm." She returned a beautiful smile herself. "Was your time productive?"


    "Yup, managed to settle things on my end." I nodded happily. "So.....what''s going on?"


    "These two idiots found us after we found a corner to hide in to catch our breaths after..." Yoruichi began to speak up, but she nced at Izzy and the words sort of died in her mouth. "After your Friend managed to neutralize a very threatening enemy."


    "I didn''t kill him." Izzy added.


    "Oh, what happened?"


    "I pushed him into the shadowy-space."


    "The shadowy-space?"


    "Hmm, there''s a space that''s parallel to this ce. I merely pushed him there to give him a time out." She nodded.


    "There is no such thing!" Yoruichi huffed.


    "....I''m confused?" I looked between them


    "She insists that there is no shadow space connected to this Soul Society. Even though I saw people there and sent that spirit inside as well." Izzy shrugged.


    "That''s.....just ridiculous! I was the formermander of the Onmitsukid¨­ for years! There isn''t any secret spot in Soul Society that I don''t know about."


    "It''s probably nothing important then." Izzy once more shrugged.


    I guess it doesn''t really matter.


    "So, what''s the deal with these two?" I asked, walking towards Orihime and co. "And it''s good to see you again, Yumichika."


    The man braiding Orihime''s hair looked up. "It''s a pleasure for me as well. I like your outfit, it suits you better than our uniform."


    Well, he''s always full ofpliments. "Thanks, it''s what I normally wear. What exactly is going on, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    "Oh nothing much. Ikkaku and I were just lucky and came across your little group. Ikkaku wanted to fight, well, you. But he called out for Kurosaki Ichigo and the young man over there answered." He paused as both the bald Shinigami and Ichigo were shouting at each other between blows. "Ikkaku of course didn''t believe him and got annoyed and the young man seemed just as irate. This is the third round so far." He hummed.


    "Right, proper introduction then? Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg."


    "Yumichika Ayasegawa." He replied in amusement. "And this wonderful youngdy here has been healing them up after each round so they keep going at it." He gave Orihime a little pat on the head. "Speaking of, you need to take better of your hair, darling. It''s much too beautiful to have so many split ends. If I had known, I would have brought my brush collection with me, maybe some scissors....."


    Didn''t he say he''s from the division that are basically battle maniacs? Then again, I don''t know if I have any room to talk. And I guess everyone needs a hobby even if they enjoy fighting so much....


    Orihime was enjoying it though, so whatever.


    "Do you got next?" I asked.


    "Or anyone else that wants to fight." He shrugged. "I wouldn''t mind trying my hand at the traitor over there." He eyed Yoruichi.


    "If you wanna get your ass kicked, thene on." Yoruichi snorted. "By the way, how''d your little thing go?" Yoruichi asked.


    "Good. Things went really good. Enough that we can move on if you want."


    "Yeah, we should get going. I wanted to let Ichigo get a handle on someone moderately high up on a Division roster, but they''re just kinda iling around." Yoruichi grunted, disappearing in a burst of Shunpo.


    Next thing everyone else knew, that Bald Shinigami was kneeling over with Yoruichi''s fist in his stomach. Before the strawberry could protest, she already disappeared with his unconscious body and threw it on the ground next to Yumichika.


    "Oh well, I was just about done anyways." The other Shinigami sighed, pushing himself up off his feet. "Just not my face, please."


    "Please be gentle." Orihime pleaded rather cutely.


    Yumichikia chuckled and made a beckoning gesture with his hand on his sword.


    "Well, you got balls if nothing else." Yoruichi said with some small amount of respect. As the other Shinigami was expecting her, he did make a move the same time she did and shed away with his own Shunpo as they shed at high speeds. But Yoruichi only appeared a momentter with him over her shoulder as she tossed him onto the ground too. "He actually wasn''t that bad. Could probably try for Lieutenant if he really wanted."


    Might seem mean on the surface since the guy was being so hospitable, but it was actually to help the guy. If Yoruichi didn''t do anything, they''d have to answer questions about why they didn''t try to capture the intruders.


    At Least this way he can say that Yoruichi defeated him. And the power disparity meant that he wouldn''te under any real fire.


    "Alright kiddos, gather around." I pped my hands.


    "You did what you needed?" Ichigo asked. "You said you were goin to talk to some people here for help, yeah?"


    The eagerness on his face was obvious. The others too seemed to be getting a bit anxious. No idea how long they''ve been sitting around here, but they''re wanting to get back out there.


    "I won''t bore you with the details. Go wild."


    "What?" Ichigo asked, perhaps the spokepersons mirroring their thoughts altogether.


    "Run wild. Go rescue Rukia, cause some chaos, beat up anyone who gets in your way. I already made some moves somewhere else, your job now is to do what you came here to do." It''d probably be better not to tell them the specifics.


    "That''s it?" He asked again. "Just....go ahead? No holding back?" He questioned again.


    "Don''t kill anyone if you can help it, but your safety is a priority. Otherwise, go at it."


    He kind of looked at me suspiciously. Perhaps because I was advocating a more.....ndestine move originally and now I was telling them to do the opposite.


    "Onest warning though before you go." I stated, grabbing their full attention. "Rukia''s execution was moved up. You got a week."


    It''s funny, that might seem like a significant amount of time, but this damn ce was gigantic and a maze. Not to mention there are thousands of Shinigami between them and their friend.


    "You''re noting with." Ishida spoke up.


    "Correct." I didn''t hide it. "I''ll be attending to other things in the meantime."


    "Alright." Ichigo breathed out. "Alright, that''s enough time. Thanks for the heads up and the help so far. I know you were doing stuff to help in the background, so thanks again."


    Well, we got off on a rocking footing, but...he''s not a bad kid. "I have one slight request."


    "What?"


    "Don''t just brute force everything. Be sneaky if you can, looking for openings to abuse. Maybe steal some uniforms and try passing off as Shinigami. See if you can''t infiltrate a little bit. But if you have to, overpower anyone in your way as well." It would help with the whole thing I sold to gramps.


    "And that would help?" Ury¨± asked a little skeptically.


    "It would help forter."


    "Alright, that''s doable. Would help if we don''t have to beat up so many people." Ichigo grunted. "Anything else?" He trapped his foot impatiently, but I don''t think he was doing it intentionally.


    Kid is the type to rush forwards without a second thought.


    "Have at it." I gestured for them to go.


    Ichigo looked at me and gave a firm nod before turning around. "Alright, let''s go guys." He stated and they all followed along without anyints.


    "What did you do?" Yoruichi asked.


    "Made a deal with the Old Man."


    "Old Man,....? Wait, you mean the Captain Commander?" She blinked.


    "Did you not tell her?" I looked at Izzy.


    "She was behaving strangely when we spoke. And it slipped my mind afterwards."


    "Because you threw Aizen into a pit of shadows!" Yoruichi cried out. "Excuse me if I need a second after seeing that!"


    "Is this Aizen person important for some reason?" I asked.


    Yoruichi looked at me and let out a huge sigh. "I have so many questions, but I don''t think I can handle anything right now. What''s the summary?"


    "Orders are for capture only on their end. They''re attempting a stay of execution, but due to my previous visit, the traditional month of waiting time was nixed. So we have to disrupt the execution enough to dy it for the government here to properly review the reports they''re going to submit. Sold this whole invasion to the Old Man as a type of military exercise."


    She opened her mouth and closed it again. "Right, war time protocols, forgot about those." She winced slightly. "That would have been shitty if things went normally. And I''ll ignore the ridiculousness of that second part. Alright, I get what you''re saying. I''ll help the kids a little on that end, but if I make an appearance in any meaningful way, it''s going to hurt them." She sighed again, crouching down and turning back into her cat form with a puff of smoke. "But chaos and confusion I can do." She happily chirped. "I''ll follow them and make sure nothing bad happens in the worst case. What''re you both gonna do?"


    "I''ll just be doing some things on my end, make it seem more legitimate. I got a fix on them with that Talisman I gave them as well. Go catch up to them, I''ll be sure to meet back up in a couple days or so."


    "Got it, have fun!" She disappeared in a sh and I could see her running across the wall.


    "This is turning out to be a fun experience." Izzymented. "Oh, and I gave them my blessing when they weren''t looking so I can keep a better eye on them at a distance."


    "....are you being facetious?" I eyed her. "And that was very kind of you. They''re lucky to have such a wonderful Goddess looking after them even if they don''t know it."


    "Oh stop." She yfully swatted my shoulder. "And I am actually enjoying myself quite a bit. I rarely get to go out and do things."


    "If nothing else, I''m d you''re having fun." I held my arm out. "Shall we go for a walk?"


    She smiled beautifully again. "That would be lovely." She said as she took it.


    [***]


    "I''m confused about something." Izzy spoke as we began walking down the...street? Was this a street? I didn''t actually know.


    "What''s up?"


    "What exactly....are we doing? Why not follow the others?"


    "Make things appear more natural I suppose. Hit up some spots elsewhere, and also draw some attention away from them. I sold their boss on the whole ''We''ll act like a fake invasion to give you guys some training'', meaning we should probably do some things in that regard. Figured I''d go to some other Divisions, sneak in, maybe leave a big ol'' message or something, cause somemotion, that sort of thing."


    "Sounds fun."


    Maybe I should find another brick?


    "How about you? You ran into a Captain, right? How was that?"


    "It was interesting. I''m not used to seeing Spirits with so much power. I could maybe think of the ones we''ve run into as outliers, but no, the Spirits here simply can build up such strength in a way that''s somewhat consistent." Izzy responded.


    "How strong was he?"


    "Fairly strong I suppose. Though he tried to use something to affect my senses, which didn''t turn out so well for him."


    "He''d be better off just using raw power honestly."


    "That''s exactly what I thought." She let out a smallugh. "It''s not that he didn''t have an impressive amount of power avable."


    "Really? Where would you rank him?"


    "What, like on a scale of 1 to 10?"


    "Probably be better than just going ''Oh, he''s Ultimate or high ss or whatever stupid bullshit."


    She giggled again. "Preaching to the choir here. Do you know how many arguments I have to mediate online because of those stupid rankings? And they''re nothingpared to arguments about the ''Top 10''"


    "Oh, do tell."


    "It started off as a thing that mortals argued about. And of course, it got to the ears of certain Gods and then they used it to stroke their own egos. Obviously no one is going toe out and make a fuss about it, they''d look like utter children. But you better believe that in the background they gloat and take pride in those ridiculous rankings."


    "What exactly is the current ranking going around right now?"


    "Which list?" She snorted. "Ask ten people, and they''ll give you ten different lists. But I saw one recently I didn''t disagree with too much. I think it was something like; 1. Shiva, 2. Ra, 3. Indra, 4. Hades, 5. Thor, 6. Sirzechs Lucifer, 7. Fenrir, 8. Nuwa, 9. Ajuka Beelzebub, 10. Lugh."


    "And Nuwa? That''s a surprise. I haven''t heard that Goddess'' name in a very long time." The Chinese Goddess credited with Creating Humanity in some of their creation myths. Actually a sort of Serpent Demon, but also a Goddess.


    "There''s a reason that Indra hasn''t just usurped the Jade Emperor''s court and they still persist this long. They have some interesting methods of uplifting mortals, but theyck many on the stronger end. She silently backs them and the higher ups everywhere know it."


    And I can sense some Devil Bias in there." It made me roll my eyes.


    "Well, when you have Devils owning the ....."


    "Fair." I couldn''t argue with that. "Some obvious names are missing from there off the top of my head."


    "As I said, it''s not exactly urate if you take into ount every being in the world. Even ignoring the likes of Ophis and Great Red. I know that Nyx is somewhat active...rtively. The Triumvirate isn''t mentioned anywhere beyond Shiva. Sun Wukong could probably be there if he wanted. Typhon is a monster worth noting. And even Odin, as much as I dislike the man, isn''t someone who would lose out to his own Son enough to not be exceedingly close in ranking. And those are just examples off the top of my head."


    "Yeah, Odin mentioned about some of the older lot taking a step back."


    "It would look significantly different if we ounted for everyone." She nodded.


    "Well, first Shinigami captain besides The Candy Man and Yoruichi you''ve met. What''s your ranking there?"


    "Honestly, I could probably make a better ranking myself. On a scale of 1 to 10, I''d give him a 5. No, make that a 5.5, perhaps a tad higher.. He had a lot more power than the cat, even if he tried to hide it, I could tell."


    "You sure that isn''t too low?"


    "I think it''s rather fair."


    "Hmm, where is Ophis ranked on that list then?"


    "Ophis? She would be a 9."


    "Not a 10?"


    "Perhaps If I never met you and by extension had no knowledge of that woman you call a lover."


    "Ah, right. Meridia is definitely in a league of her own inparison. So Meridia would be a 10, Ophis would be a 9. Give me the ranking downwards from there."


    "Ophis and Great Red as a 9. I would probably give an 8 to the top end of those who would rank in the top 10 or those who couldpete for the positions. And a 7 would be for the lower and middle spots."


    "That''s not a bad measurement either." I rubbed my chin. "Where would you put Susanoo?"


    "My son? As much as I love him, I would be somewhere above a 6 but belo believe."


    " I guess a 5.5 doesn''t seem that low then. If anything, that seems a little high now."


    "He wasn''t weak by any means. He was strong enough that if a real fight urred, I would have to treat him with some manner of respect."


    "Ah, strong enough to be able to harm you, but not strong enough to defeat you is it?" Kind of how I felt versus that other Shinigami back in Karakura town. Don''t know what tricks his Bankai would have brought, but I was pretty confident in beating him even if I would have to immediately get serious in a real fight.


    "More or less." She shrugged. "He was strong enough that he could throw off my oppression over his Spiritual existence without much effort. But then again, I think anyone on his level would be able to."


    "That is impressive though. A little more and he''s the same tier as genuine Gods. Speaking of, guess where their leader is ranked?"


    "A 6?"


    "Honestly, I''d give him a 7, maybe a tad more."


    She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you''re not over evaluating him?"


    "Nope, he''s genuinely that strong from how I felt. Reminds me of Karna and your daughter honestly. If he got serious, I would have to immediately pull out my trump cards. Oh, and even Ddraigpared him to Odin back when he was still sitting on his throne."


    "That''s impressive. I would like to meet him at some point."


    Well, he was a powerful Old Man.


    "And we''re on the topic of powerful Spirits, are we going to wait for that one to approach our direction quickly?" Izzy asked.


    "Eh. Do you wanna?"


    "Why not." She shrugged again.


    It didn''t take long for whoever it was that was running over to meet us. They were practically broadcasting their presence for the whole world to feel.


    And as they got closer, I could faintly hear.....bells?


    A ratherrge man burst through a nearby wall. His hair was spiky, and at the tips of it were little bells swaying in the wind. He wore an eyepatch over his right eye and he held a very weathered Zanpakut¨­ over his shoulder. The thing looked like it''s been hitting a rock for several years without many chips and rough edges.


    And the Captain''s Haori was very eye-catching.


    "Told you I felt them this way." He spoke, and as he did a little head peeked over his shoulder.


    "Seen Kenny, I told you they were here!" A little girl, probably seven or eight, with a pink head of hair and a lieutenant badge was smacking his shoulder happily.


    "Whatever." He grinned, leveling his de towards us. "Alright, who wants to fight first? Or do you both wannae at me at the same time."


    "Shouldn''t you introduce yourself first?" I spoke up.


    "Kenpachi Zaraki, Captain of the 11th Division." He said curtly.


    "Oh, so you''re Kenpachi Zaraki, huh?"


    "You know me?" His smile widened.


    "Of course." Actually, I had no idea who this was.


    "Alright, you fighting me? What''s your name?" He grabbed the little girl off his shoulder and set her on the ground. "Go y at the side, Yachiru."


    She ran right up to Izzy and tugged on her pants, even taking Izzy by surprise as she held her arms open.


    Izzy looked for a moment before picking up the strange Shinigami child. "Hello Child, what''s your name?"


    "Yachiru Kusajishi." She smiled. "11th Division second seat!"


    "Is that so?" She raised an eyebrow. "And does your....Captain know what you actually are?"


    "Nope."


    "Would you like me to tell him?"


    "Nu huh." She shook her head.


    "Very well. He treats you well enough? If not, I could have words with him."


    "Kenny''s the best!"


    "Very well." Izzy smiled rather motheringly.


    "Can I have some candy?" She asked.


    "I have no candy. But I have some cookies I baked." She replied, taking them from presumably her storage bracelet.


    "Thanks, Mama!"


    I think I saw Izzy almost fall over at that. "You''re very wee, child."


    "Huh..." I turned back towards The Captain. "You have an interesting Lieutenant."


    "Whatever, as long as she isn''t getting into trouble. Had the Old Man on my ass thest time. Not my fault she burned down a few buildings." He grunted. "Is she the brats mom?" He asked me


    "Uh....no?'' I blinked.


    "Why is she calling her that then?"


    "Stupid Kenny, momma is your momma too." The little girl blew a raspberry.


    .....did she realize who Izzy was?


    "No idea what the hell you''re talking about. But I don''t really care. Who am I fighting?" He was starting to get a little impatient.


    "Sorry, someone else called dibs."


    "What?" He asked in confusion.


    "Another person in our party called dibs on fighting you. He said that he wanted to fight the strongest Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, and he called dibs." I bullshit with apletely straight face.


    "Really? Someone wanted to fight me?" His eyes sparkled ever so slightly. "Who, where?''


    "His name is Kurosaki Ichigo, and he went about...." Raised my finger up, pointing in a random direction. "That way."


    The Shinigami looked at me for a moment, as if he was actually considering it. "I heard about him. They said he beat Mayuri and invaded the ce already. Alright, Yachiru we''re going. We got a fight waiting for us." He grinned happily.


    "Okay Kenny!" She climbed down from Izzy''s grasp. "Bye Mama."


    "Goodbye, Child." Izzy gave another warm smile, and we watched her climb back onto his shoulder.


    "I think I can sense them that way, let''s go, Kenny!" The little girl dered.


    "Got it, just tell me when you think you can sense them." He leapt over the wall, and went running.


    "Did you really just convince him like that?" Izzy asked.


    "Yup,pletely bullshitted him there." I was kind of surprised it worked to be honest. "Heard that the members of the Eleventh Division were all battle maniacs.....so, yeah.


    "That boy is going to get mad at you again."


    "Eh, it''s good practice. That guy seemed pretty straight forward, so it''s a good matchup for Ichigo." Besides, Yoruichi was there just in case and I even pointed them in the wrong direction. "What was up with that little girl?"


    "She was his....sword spirit."


    "What?"


    "The Spirit of his Zanpakut¨­." Izzy rified. "I don''t know why she was running around as she was, but she was without a doubt his Zanpakut¨­ spirit."


    "That''s strange."


    "I am aware. That.....shouldn''t be how artifact spirits exist, Wilhelm. Your Jinn is a perfect example of what one should be like. This is strange and I''m suspecting that something is amiss with these swords. I already felt odd hearing about how they work, but now I''m not so certain on their existence."


    "We can investigate that if you want?"


    "It would perhaps set my mind at ease because it gives me a worrisome feeling. As if I will not like what I learn about them." Izzy revealed. "I''m already disliking this Soul Society with every passing moment, I am very close to doing something about it."


    "You have my support with whatever you want to do." I gave her hand a little squeeze in encouragement. "Why don''t we ¨C"


    Izzy jerked her head to the side enough that it made the words die in my mouth. "What''s wrong?"


    "The shadows are acting weird. Something ising over from the other side." She spoke and suddenly there was a strange phantom image of some buildings of a different architectural style that appeared in various ces.


    But the most eye catching thing was a massive pir of light that shot upwards to the sky.


    It took the form of arge cross with a ring around it.


    "That doesn''t look good."


    [***]


    People have been talking about power rankings, so I wanted to rify things and show where I''m at in my own thoughts.


    Feel free toment if you think I didn''t get something right or you disagree, but this is where I''m at for the moment and I think i''m be fair here.


    On a scale of 1-10 (you can divide these into smaller decimals to show the further divide)


    10 - Meridia (Basically the EX ranking, where the normal ranking doesn''t even matter anymore)


    9 - Ophis/Great Red/Goetia (The sort of ''transcendent ranking'' where the ''unfathomably powerful'' enemies are all grouped. Not saying they''re all equal in strength, but they sort of exist in the same level in a broad scope.)


    8 - Top half of the top 10 or those who could rank there (Shiva in DxD is right near the top, like an 8.9 or something)


    7 - middle to lower end of the top 10 (I would put Yamamoto in this bracket somewhere)


    6 - This is where the ''normal'' Gods would be, think Susanoo in DxD who''s in the middle of the pack strength-wise. The higher ranked deities are obviously pushing the limit of this bracket.


    5 - This is where most Shinigami captains are. (Izzy rates pre-hogyoku Aizen as a 5.5, only a little ways away from what could be considered a ''God'' by the standards of DxD. Post Hogyoku Aizen, well, that''s a whole different story.)


    4- This is specifically where Mayuri is, if on the higher end. He''s not particrly strong amongst the Captain level Shinigami, but he has his own tricks. I''d also put a good chunk of Ultimate ss people here, but the DxD ''strength rankings'' are really obscure so it''s often hard to say.


    3- This is where a lot of the lower end ''Ultimate ss'' and ''High ss'' people are. Think Soma, Yasaka''s body guard with the Dimension Lost.


    2- This is probably where the above average ''superhumans'' are listed. Probably Rias''s peerage, and people like Riser and basically any standard Magician(DxD) you could find that''s had some years under their belt.


    1- Freshly Reincarnated Devils, generally superhumans that can shrug off bullets but don''t necessarily rise abovemon fodder.


    Anyways, this is my thoughts on power levels so far. But don''t take this as gospel. It''s not like in a Xianxia where if someone''s 1/10th of a realm higher, they automatically win. It''s just sort of a way to eyeball where people are power-wise between various settings . Yes, people in Bleach have some impressive abilities and hax that let them punch above their weight ss, and that''s a perfect example. Shunsui isn''t cleaving mountains in half with every wave of his sword, but he can pull some bullshit with his Zanpakuto that lets him minorly alter reality and possibly causality.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 392 - 355

    <h4>Chapter 392: Chapter 355</h4>


    "Well....that''s odd."


    "The sudden emergence of what looks like Germanic-Gothic architecture? No, it''spletely normal." Izzy deadpanned. "I''m sure the Shinigami here who take inspiration from Japanese culture just decided to redecorate."


    "It''s always something, isn''t it?" I admired the pir of light that lingered for a tad before it dissipated.


    "I think this is only a you thing."


    "Me?" I said with faux offense.


    "There is a list I could recite. When a pattern forms, there''s usually a constant variable."


    "I didn''t have a single hand in this."


    "Uh huh."


    "Well, wanna check it out?" I offered.


    "Sure, let''s go see what mess you caused this time." She replied with a little grin.


    "There''s a weird building just over there." I eyed our surroundings. It wasn''t particrly big, but it was a tad taller than most of the regr buildings that were the norm around here.


    Izzy shrugged and we began walking towards it.


    From the looks of it, this little section of....weirdness would be on the opposite end from where the kids were running towards, so at least they had that going for them.


    "I believe that people are fighting up ahead." Izzy paused in her steps, tilting her head as if gazing into the distance.


    "What do you see?"


    "See? Nothing. I can feel several people dying."


    "....that''s probably not good." I gave it a moment of thought. "Right, let''s speed up."


    "I can keep up, go as fast as you want." Izzy gave me the go ahead.


    With a nod, I gathered my lightning and kicked off the ground with a burst of speed. My Shunpo still wasn''t up to par, but I can at least move in a straight-ish line with some effort. Actualizing my Lightning also seemed to help me a tad in that regard, as it kept me from stumbling and falling on my face.


    Jumping over a wall, and running across a few rooftops, I could make out the sounds of battle as we approached.


    The sounds of explosions and shouting got louder and louder until we saw the source.


    Shinigami were in a fight with a group of people in some strange white uniforms and almost all of them were wearing simr masks. But the thing that made me furrow my brow was that the white-uniform people were wielding bows. As in, Bows formed from Reishi simr to how Ury¨± did.


    ".....are those Quincy?"


    "I did not know what Quincy were until literally today." Izzy replied.


    "Right then...erm....who do we help?" I asked.


    Technically, the Shinigami were our enemies...but at the same time we sorta had an agreement with them to not actually be enemies. And not to mention we had no dog in this fight....for whatever was happening.


    "I have yet to pass judgment on this ce, so for now, I would assume we should aid the owners since you struck a deal with their leader."


    "Works for me." I mentally went through my Swords within my ring and decided to take out my Zanpakut¨­. I had a feeling that using it would speed up the process by which it develops.


    I leapt off the building,nding next to a man with his hand drawn back, producing a bow made of Spiritual Particles. He was about to fire off towards a group of Shinigami who were on the back foot, to put it politely.


    He was immediately startled, reeling back his arms and his ''Bow'' dispersed in the action. I noticed a cross simr to the little regalia that Ury¨± used around his wrist and flicked my sword, shing it in half.


    There was a small burst of Reiryoku that exploded outward from the epicenter, sending him flying backwards onto his ass a few feet away.


    That''s interesting. Maybe I should steal a few of those for research? Later.


    I turned my head to see dozens of more of Quincy''srades.


    And they obviously noticed me if the bows pointing in my general direction were anything to go by.


    "Bakud¨­ #44, Sekisho!" I quickly chanted as a literal barrage was shot towards me.


    An invisible barrier sprang up in front of me, somewhat reminiscent of a standard Bounded Field. It was more so a line that separated one side from another.


    Not bad overall.


    As soon as my barrier disappeared, my vision was entirely filled with arrows made from Reiryoku. Their timing was impable, and they seemingly had good coordination. These weren''t your run of the mill mooks, no, these were trained.


    Depending on how many there were, I''d almost call them an army, but surely there weren''t that many.


    Regardless, I took that moment to take a step forward and used a burst of my bastardized Shunpo to maneuver to the side. I was surprised when I saw that they could sort of perceive my movement. As soon as I moved, they too started moving as if to change their formation.


    They were nowhere near as fast as what I''ve been experiencingtely, but even so, credit where it was due.


    My other swords shot out of my ring, swiping through the air before they could react. Despite the praise I had mentally given them, they were just nowhere near strong enough to resist my attacks.


    Limbs went flying with my swords shing through flesh and cleaving through bones. In another time and ce, perhaps I would have been gentler, but with the still warm bodies of Shinigami on the ground nearby, my pity was nonexistent at this point.


    Sure, I didn''t care much for Shinigami as a whole, but I felt like I owed it to the few I got along with.


    "You missed a few." Izzy stepped onto the ground next to me, two bodies floating next to her, struggling as much as they could while being wrapped in actual shadows.


    "I noticed you move towards them." I shot her a smile. "You don''t particrly care for fighting, do you?"


    "Not really."


    "Would you mind holding onto them then? Figured I could hand them over to Shunsui or someone, and try to clear any misconceptions they might be having at this point." I made sure to grab a few of those cross-like regalias they were using to examine forter.


    "Ryoka!" I blinked, turning to see the origin of the shout as reinforcements had apparently arrived.


    About twenty or so Shinigami of varying strengths came flooding through the nearby entrance to this little courtyard area.


    I was about to dismiss them, but one presence loomed over the others.


    "Raise your head ¨C Wabisuke!" A roar resounded and a weight of Reiatsu weighed down on me.


    A man with blonde hair covering half his face jumped out of the crowd. And the noticeable Lieutenant badge on his arm was enough to ry his status.


    His normal Zanpakut¨­ morphed into something angr. Instead of a tip, it hooked downwards at a 90-degree angle,pletely removing the ability to stab.


    I brought up my Zanpakut¨­ to block his attack which I admit was fairly decent.


    "....did my sword just get heavier?" I noticed the slight change as the edge of his de skirted off my own.


    There was a gleam in his eye as he followed up with a flurry of shes. I blocked them a couple more times to verify and I could say without a shadow of a doubt, my sword became significantly heavier.


    Huh.


    I took a step and moved with a burst of Shunpo backwards to look over my sword to inspect the changes.


    How interesting, I wonder if ¨C


    "Wilhelm, not the time or ce." Izzy interrupted my thoughts.


    "Right, right." I quickly squashed the mental tangent I was about to lose myself in. I looked back towards the Shinigami who was about to attack me again. "Peace." I held my de up, though I called over my other swords as they hovered nearby, at least giving him a pause for concern. "I wasn''t the one who attacked your people, in fact, I even helped."


    "Like I would believe that, Ryoka." He frowned, gripping his weapon.


    I rolled my eyes, just settling on kicking his ass quickly and moving on, but another Shinigami ran forward, practically copsing onto the ground.


    "Wait, please!" His clothes were a mess and he had some blood streaming down his chest from a wound. "Lieutenant Izuru, he''s telling the truth!"


    The Lieutenant hesitated.


    "Captain Shunsui can verify." I offered again.


    His eyes shed as he looked around. "Take any wounded to the fourth Division, immediately. Anyone who has any life-threatening injuries, I have some basic healing knowledge."


    "Can you....undo this weight thing?" I asked.


    He turned back towards me with a scowl. "You''re the Ryoka who fought my captain."


    "....Mayuri?" I really hoped he wasn''t his lieutenant.


    "Captain Ichimaru."


    "Oh, silver hair? Yeah....I wouldn''t really call that a fight." I scratched my cheek. "Anyways, gonna go investigate who these people are. We good or are you gonna try to ''arrest'' us? Cause it seems like you have much bigger problems and I already spoke to your higher ups and sorted things out."


    He sighed, his Zanpakut¨­ returning to normal and so too did the weight of my own sword. It wasn''t unwieldy, but it was sort of ufortable for it to be that heavy.


    Well, he didn''t seem all too pleased by my presence.


    "I''ll pass on my report to the others so you don''t get attacked." He suddenly spoke up, kneeling next to a wounded Shinigami as his hands glowed that familiar green hue. "Thank you for saving my men."


    I nodded my head and gestured for Izzy toe with me.


    There seemed to be quite a few powerful Reiatsu in the distance, I''m sure something interesting is happening there.


    [***]


    Shunsui Ky¨­raku POV


    Well.....this was not a good situation.


    "Nanao, what''s the report?" I nced at the Hell Butterfly on her finger.


    "I''m coordinating with the Lieutenants from nearly every division....bar the obvious exclusions. We have some strange sort of invasion that appeared in sectors 2 and 3."


    "....you don''t say." I mused, deflecting what looked like an arrow made of Reiryoku and quickly cut down the offender.


    One of many thus far I''ve had to deal with.


    "Anything helpful?" I asked.


    "The only thing I found out so far was that Captain Aizen was seen with the appearance of these strange buildings and there seemed to be arge group of these Ryoka chasing after him...."


    "Huh....what did Aizen do?" He''s usually very likable, even treating Hollows respectfully when he purified them.


    "Hang on, I''m getting that now from Lieutenant Momo." She looked like she was concentrating. "Reporting, Captain Aizen identified the intruders as Quincy. He ims that they''ve been....hiding in the shadows of Soul Society, sir!"


    "....what?"


    "I....that''s all I got, sir."


    "I guess this makes a little sense then." I pushed off my hat. "The Bows, and the hatred they seemingly have for us."


    "Sir?" She questioned me.


    "It was before your time. I thought they''d been almost wiped out, guess we aren''t so lucky." I shook my head, looking at the dead bodies. "Just know we have bad blood, and there''s no talking things out. Be prepared to kill any Quincy you see, Nanao."


    "Yes, sir." She replied with a frown.


    "Stay back, Nanao." I gripped my Zanpakut¨­. "These aren''t enemies you can deal with. I''ll be heading towards the higher levels of Reiatsu in the distance."


    "I''ll report your movements, sir." She nodded firmly.


    "I''ll leave it to you." I gave her onest look before disappearing.


    I couldn''t hold back in a situation like this. This was not like with those kids that were just...ying around and not causing any real problems. I already had too many dead of my own division, I would be seeking an answer from those responsible.


    What a mess.


    I didn''t understand the thoughts of these...Quincy. Why did it seem like there was barely a rhyme or reason for their sudden entrance?


    A foreign building here or there, and they lookedpletely unorganized. It''s as if they didn''t intend to reveal themselves and got forced to.


    Did Aizen have something to do with it?


    Leave it to our most soft spoken Captain to unveil a conspiracy right under our noses and bring it right into the open.


    Speaking of Aizen, I could feel his Reiatsu increasing rapidly. He''s most likely in a fight, and if the report was anything to go by, he''s probably at the center of the action and has their attention the most.


    He should be able to ¨C


    It disappeared.


    His Reiatsupletely vanished.


    Either he used some method to mask his impressive Reiatsu or...


    I ignored my ownziness and moved as quickly as I could. Towards arge concentration of those foreign buildings that seemed to ovep onto the Seireitei.


    Inded on a rooftop at the spot where Ist sensed him and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.


    "S¨­suke Aizen, you were a good Shinigami and a good friend." I paid my respects. "I''ll make sure to bring the ones responsible to justice." I promised towards his body that was impaled to the side of the building with an arrow sticking out of his heart.


    "What the fuck!? Who the hell killed that bastard! I said he was mine!"


    Wonderful, I didn''t need to go searching.


    There was a woman with bright green hair and very little clothing to speak of. However, her Reiatsu was oppressive, very easily on the level of a Captain.


    "Bullshit, he was mine!" Another appeared with speed that would match an expert at Shunpo. He had a bright red mohawk and was touting a little bit of fire around his finger.


    "Why does it matter? He''s dead, now let''s deal with anyone else around before time runs out." A third appeared under a hood and simr attire. There appeared to be a sort of w-like weapon on his right hand though.


    "Fine, I guess there''s another bastard I take my anger out on." The young woman looked at me and all their eyes turned towards me as well.


    ....this may be more problematic than I first assumed.


    I hoped I wouldn''t have to resort to my Bankai.


    "Oh, this one is scared." A voice whispered into my ear.


    I felt a shiver down my neck to see a fourth Quincy I hadn''t noticed before, sitting on the edge of a rooftop not too far away. He had long ck hair and a spiky mask that covered the lower part of their face.


    "Tsk, great, now this bastard is going to make things weird." The Mohawk one clicked his tongue in annoyance.


    "Oi, bitch, you can y your fucking creepy games after I take out my pound." The Green one growled.


    "Ara, this isn''t a good situation at all." I sighed, readying myself. "It''s polite to introduce yourselves before a fight."


    "I''m Bazz-B and his Majesty bestowed ''H'' for the Heat onto me." The Mohawk one introduced himself with a flick of his fingers, a burst of mes appeared. "And my mes are hotter than even your Captain Commanders."


    Doubtful, but good information.


    Also....his Majesty?


    Really going to need to talk to the Old Man after this.


    "Fuck, I''m Candice Catnipp. I got ''T'' for the Thunderbolt. And that bastard messed up my hair, so you''re gonna pay the price since I can''t kill him myself!" She growled.


    I was starting to notice a little bit of a pattern.


    "I''m As Nodt, and I have ''F'' for the Fear." The voice of the one sitting down sent shivers down my back again as something grated against my mind.


    "Is there a reason to introduce ourselves?" Thest one asked.


    "Fuckin rules, you dumbass. His Majesty wanted them to know who was killin them when it came time. Even if it is fucking early." The girl shot back.


    "Fine." He glowered before moving, very quickly. A familiar movement, to appear behind the enemy and finish them off in one blow. And his speed was excellent, even amongst Captains. "Cang Du, ''I'', The Iron. Now you can die."


    I didn''t move, not because I couldn''t, but because I didn''t have to.


    His...w de weapon was deflected, and not by me. I followed up immediately, shing my own des. One high, and one low.


    He noticed, retreating as soon as he had the opportunity, but there was a thin line of blood flowing from his chest.


    "Sui-Feng, I owe you one." I smiled towards mypanion who appeared next to me.


    "Save it." She huffed. "You should have ended him in that opportunity I gave you."


    "Ara, you know it''s not that simple."


    She clicked her tongue and didn''t argue. "Who the hell are these guys? They''re all at least Captain level."


    "Quincy." I said simply.


    She grunted. "I thought they were all dead."


    "We''re right here, ya t chested bitch." The Green haired woman hollered.


    Sui-Feng''s eye twitched, but didn''t immediately jump out.


    "Each takes two?" I offered.


    "Neither of our Bankais are good in a situation like this."


    "Haha, doesn''t seem so." I chuckled. "But we just have to stall for a little at least. I''d wager that we got reinforcementsing soon."


    "Fine, I''ll take the creepy one and the one with the w. You take the prostitute and the mohawk."


    "Who the fuck did you just call a prostitute you slut!?" A veryrge amount of Reishi poured towards the green-haired girl. The surroundings were broken down and she assimted the Reishi as Lightning that formed around her fist.


    "Did you really have to make her upset?" I sighed, knowing how troublesome this was going to be.


    However, something strange happened.


    A bolt of lightning fell from the sky. In a clear weathered sky, it mmed downwards onto the gathered lightning that this Quincy woman had.


    It clearly wasn''t her doing as It dispersed her own gathering of lightning and she let out a little yelp of surprise.


    I did find myself smiling once I realized who the Reiatsu belonged to.


    "Well, well, what a fun party you got going on here. I hope you don''t mind If I join in?" The Ryoka I''d had the pleasure of getting to know recently.


    "The more the merrier." I chuckled.


    "Which son of a bitch!?" The Quincy girl recovered quickly, though she looked a little frazzled. "You bastard! I barely fixed my hair after that other asshole fucked it up and now look at it! Die!" She roared, throwing all the Lightning she could gather in a moment and it coalesced, shooting out.


    He just stood there, with a little smile on his face as it collided with him.


    I blinked as I realized that part of his body had turned into Lightning and seemedpletely unscathed from the st.


    "I kinda feel bad. I''m just the absolute worst match-up for you." He chuckled, lightning began crackling all around him.


    And he felt more....dangerous. I didn''t quite know how tobel it, but I felt that for equal measure, I''d much rather take on the Quincy girl''s lightning over his.


    "....friend of yours, Captain Ky¨­raku?" Sui-feng eyed me suspiciously.


    "I will dly say so in this situation." I didn''t think the Old Man would get after me in a dangerous spot like this.


    ".....priorities then." She epted it quickly.


    Well, the Old Man did give the order to only capture the Ryoka, but I''m fairly sure he doesn''t expect us to apply that to these other invaders.


    "By the way, I also brought a friend."


    "Oh?" I looked around and my body froze up.


    "Hello, would you like some help? I can handle one of them to even things up." A woman walked over and I couldn''t sense her beyond her actual presence in front of me. "I''ll take this one in the mask, if you don''t have any objections."


    ....and I somehow felt that the Quincy who had an epithet containing the word ''fear'' and seemed to radiate a chilling feeling was less scary than this woman who looked like a modern housewife....


    "Who put this fake dead body here?" The very dangerous woman that I felt myself not wanting to even look atmented towards Aizen''s still fresh corpse. "Never once housed a real soul, honestly if you''re going to try and intimidate someone, at least put effort into it. ."


    "...what?" I found myself blurting out.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 393 - 356

    <h4>Chapter 393: Chapter 356</h4>


    A fake dead body? That''s fucking weird.


    Seemed like someone was ying games for whatever reason.


    Anyways, I focused back on my ''opponent''. Always happy to lend Shunsui a hand, he''d been such a good person and helped me out. I couldn''t not return the favor when he was in trouble.


    And judging by the amount of Reiatsu this woman seemed to be radiating, she was pretty damn strong. However, as I said, I was perhaps her absolute worst matchup. Even considering that I felt confident beating her in a straight up fight, my aspects were just an inherent counter to hers.


    Izzy would be fine with whoever she chose to fight.


    I''ll thank herter for that too. She said she wasn''t really big on fighting, so it''s definitely kind on her part to lend a hand.


    "And who the fuck are you supposed to be?" She looked down at me. Literally in this case, as she was floating, err....standing in mid air.


    I had...questions about that.


    "Kurosaki Ichigo!" I happily introduced myself.


    "Bullshit you aint." She immediately countered.


    ".....and you know that how?" Because she said that with confidence, like she knew who Ichigo was.


    "You''re not a Shinigami, who the hell are you?'' She obviously avoided answering my question. Was it some sort of secret?


    That kid was getting more and more confusing the more I learned.


    "Not a Shinigami. Actually I was in the midst of my own Invasion and you intruded. Very rude of you." I wagged my finger. "You can appease my anger by telling me how you''re standing in mid air."


    "What?" She looked confused. "I''m just makin a tform with my Reiryoku, dumbass."


    "Interesting." I hadn''t considered that. Just a small difference in how Magical Energypared to this Reiryoku that something like that was a viable method. "Anyways, very rude of you to intrude on someone else''s invasion."


    "Like we''re fuckin here intentionally, you asshole!" She growled, lightning ring around her. "That asshole over there just showed up out of nowhere and then dragged us here with him!" She jabbed her finger at the fake dead body.


    "Huh." I didn''t really know what to say to that.


    "Fuck it, I''m done!" She seemed to finally lose her temper for some reason. " Everyone can just fuckin die and I can forget this shitty day!" She let out a roar that echoed to the skies as Lightning fell down like pirs into her hands once more. "Don''t know what you did before, but you can just turn to ash!" She threw it down like a javelin.


    I let my own Lightning seep out from my core,ced with my Divinity.


    My arms and legs became fully enveloped.


    It had been awhile since I''ve used this and it felt good to feel it against my skin again.


    My Authority over the storm weed this challenge.


    The Lightning Javelin mmed into me and I raised my arm up to block. It erupted into another pir of lightning arcing off and utterly disintegrating everything in the immediate vicinity. However, this was far from enough to reach me.


    My Semnce was a good defensive measure. It allowed me to turn my body ¨C or parts ¨C into lightning at a whim. It drained my Aura at a staggering rate, but that was neither here nor there. It wasn''t invible by any means. Someone with Godly power, after seeing it once, could counter it with some effort, which was why I usually reserved it for very particr situations. It was best used to take an opponent by surprise or defend myself from something deadly.


    In this situation though, I could just make liberal use of it due to the nature of my opponent''s powers.


    My Semnce was fueled with my Aura as the Lightning surged throughout my body tobat this ''attack''.


    Once the girl''s lightning cleared up, I saw her shocked gaze.


    It''s funny, I could sympathize with her. I remember when I used my Thor''s hammer against Susanoo and he just fucking shrugged it off.


    It was a very simr situation, except I''m on the other side of the fence this time.


    Her furious look from before simmered down, and she looked to be getting serious now. The lighting surged around her hands as she shot off multiple bolts of significant power at me.


    I raised my hands, matching her in intensity. The collision of a simr element caused a strange phenomenon to erupt mid-air. The hostile, but kindred, elements collided, causing bouts of lighting to arc off in every direction. However, in every encounter, it was bing increasingly clear that I came out on top.


    "How are you doing that!?" She screamed, unleashing a rather devastating st, bigger than the other bolts thus far.


    I conjured a Magical Circle in front of my Lightning encased hand. "Thunderbolt." A spell I picked up in Skyrim all those years ago that was just so handy.


    It collided with her own haphazard attack and tore right through it, her body reeled back as the spell closed in on her.


    It was enough that she fell from the sky and mmed into the ground below. She wasn''t that hurt, but she definitely got shocked. I could see her push herself out of the small crater in the ground and looked slightly roughed up and frazzled from it.


    Oh boy did she look pissed.


    "Who the hell are you!?" She roared again. "How the hell are you stopping my lightning!?"


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself properly. "And to answer your second question ¨C" I kicked off the ground, moving with a burst of my bastardized Shunpo. "¡ªCome back and talk to me when your Lightning can reach a God." I said softly, just enough for her to hear as I was nearly right up in her face.


    My Aura gathered on my hand and intertwined with my Lightning already coating me. It all discharged as I threw my palm at her stomach with a loud thunderp, her body went hurling off to the side.


    I could see blood spit out of her mouth, and she went tumbling across the ground, tearing it up beforeing to a stop. She quickly returned to her feat, a deviant fury still ever present in her eyes.


    Despite everything, she was pretty durable. Thatst blow should have been a hefty one.


    Strangely, there was this weird pattern that lit up under her skin where I had hit her, it looked strikingly simr to Magic Circuits in appearance. I had thought I hit her harder than what the damage looked like she took, but perhaps she used some method to offset it?


    Interesting.


    She mmed the weird heart-shaped emblem at her side. I noticed it before, but I just assumed it was just her taste in essories, but I was obviously wrong as a heart flew out andnded into her hand, forming a small bow.


    "...that''s kinda cute."


    "Fuck off!" She let out another roar as an arrow of lightning coalesced with the string drawn back.


    And once more, I''ll admit that there was a significant amount of power build up. Enough that if I wasn''t dealing with Lightning of all things that I would be taking it much more seriously. It wasn''t outwardly expressive as it gathered lightning andpressed itself, remaining small and within the size of an arrow for that small bow she wielded.


    "Take this, 5 Gigajoule st!" She shouted, letting loose the Arrow.


    I did just that.


    I reached out, and grabbed it.


    The sheer power in it was enough that my footing shifted. Within my hands, the thing fought mercilessly. If I wasn''t attuned to the element on such a level, I was sure I would have been reduced to ash if I tried this so flippantly.


    My Divinity seeped out into my own Lightning and I twisted, shattering her construct. The umted Lightning erupted outwards, forcibly discharged away from myself.


    I expected her to say something else, but she was no longer in the same spot. I jerked my head to the side to see her figure appear behind me.


    Very fast.


    Her bow lit up again, but this time there was no Lightning. No, it reminded me of Ury¨±''s arrow from before. With a single pluck of the string, an uncountable number of arrows were loose.


    I reached out into the air, grabbing Mirage from my Ring and responded appropriately, firing off my own Sword Phantoms to meet them.


    She didn''t even stop or pause at my disy, instead, she kept moving.


    I did notice one thing. "That''s not Shunpo."


    "Don''tpare our movement technique to that trash! Ours is called Hirenkyaku, you can remember it when I send you to hell!" She shouted, above me, dozens of feet in the sky with her bow string pulled back.


    "I heard they have a good amusement park there." I answered casually. I could see the confusion on her face at my remark, so I took the opportunity to summon my other swords. They all shot up, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.


    I expected her to use her movement technique again. I admit I was very curious about it, at first nce, it was obviously slightly different from Shunpo.


    However, her body seemed to somewhat shift into lightning and at the same time, she moved. She perfectly maneuvered around my swords in a very meticulous way, avoiding their lethal edges as she slid to the ground, bow still knocked.


    I was stunned.


    Enough that I just kicked off the ground and Shunpo''d out of harm''s way for that attack.


    Shebined her ability to wield lightning with her movement technique. She had literally turned into lightning for a moment and still moved simrly.


    That gave me ideas.


    I was lost in thought for a moment, enough that she slipped through my perception a tad. She was behind my back again, getting ready to let loose another barrage.


    "Alright, I''m tired of this nonsense." I grumbled, tightening my grip around Mirage. I pivoted and then nted my foot, thrusting forward.


    Her arrows tore through me, but s for her I was no longer there on the world-axis.


    My Sword pierced through her back.


    Swallow Returns.


    "What''s with people here and constantly attacking from the back." I grumbled again, pulling my de free and flicked away the blood.


    Mayuri tried that same shit multiple times and I was starting to get annoyed with it since everyone here can move at such ridiculous speeds.


    She looked back at me, trembling with blood seeping from her mouth, but the words couldn''t form and the bow dropped from her grasp, her body soon following it to the ground.


    I did pick up her bow out of curiosity. I would examine itter. I did see some interesting things from her, which was why I wanted to see what she could do, but I was starting to get annoyed.


    Well, I wondered how Izzy was doing.


    [***]


    Izanami POV


    "I guess we will be fighting."


    This one was not born under my daughter''s sun. I wondered where he came from? He was still a living being, not like these Shinigami. Was he and the others living inside that shadow space from before?


    He tilted his head in an unnatural way and his eyes rotated oddly as he stared at me.


    "I can''t sense your fear." He stated.


    "...okay." I wasn''t quite sure how to respond to him.


    "Impossible." His eyes practically bored into me. "Every being has fears, and all will sumb to them eventually. I was given ''F'' for The Fear." He held his arms out as some thorn-like constructs manifested as the ambient Spiritual matter was drawn and condensed at his beckoning.


    He had quite a bit of power, same with these other children around here. Not quite as much as the Shinigami I had put in time out.....which someone tried to make a fake body out of. But it was still an impressive amount for a mortal.


    However, there was something certainly strange about him. And not just his mannerisms or his voice as he apparently attempted to sound intimidating and incite fear.


    I could guess his schtick from the obvious insinuations. No....his soul was odd, and I was curious as to why.


    My idle musing was brought to an end as his little thorn weapon was fired off at me.


    I flicked it away.


    "Foolish, just touching it is enough. I will bring out your worst fears." He cackled ominously.


    "Okay." I waited.


    It wasn''t very often I indulged in a ''fight'' and I did not wish to bully this child, so I would allow him his chance.


    Something did try to assault me though. I would almost call it simr to the way that Shinigami attempted to assault my senses earlier. It was as if something tried to crawl into my heart and pull out some very personal feelings and emotions.


    The Power was strange. It was almost as if.....it held the very faintest hint of divinity to it, but so muddled and clouded that I couldn''t really tell. I touched it, metaphysically speaking, to understand what it was. The easiest way to describe it was a distilled aspect of ''fear'' made manifest. Weaponized by this man infront of me.


    I admit I allowed it to affect me a single iota, opening myself up for it to freely flow for a singr moment, just to understand it and it brought out something I hadn''t felt in a very long time.


    It in no way influenced me, but it did make me vividly recall certain things that I would much rather forget from my past.


    What was I afraid of? It was very simple, really. I was scared that I would turn back to who I was many centuries ago. How would Wilhelm look at me if he saw what I used to be? How would my children react if they saw me like that again?


    The idea genuinely made me uneasy.


    And now I was annoyed at this thought that was in my heart.


    "....you''re unaffected." He said quietly.


    "You are much too young to try and instill fear into me, child." I kindly informed him. "Do you have anything else to show, or are you done?"


    "Impossible." He stiffened. "My power was given by his Majesty, there''s no way you''re not affected!" He started losing hisposure. I don''t think he''s ever had someone deny his power before. He spread his arms wide and many more of those thorns formed behind him.


    I stopped counting after twenty and they continued to fill the area behind him.


    They were all unleashed towards me and I merely raised my hand. Hands of shadows emerged from the shadows, knocking them away.


    I didn''t believe them the slightest threat, but I felt it would be embarrassing for them to just hit me all over.


    I reached down, picking one up. "Would you like this back?" I offered.


    "....just touching them should induce limitless fear in you...." He took a step backwards. "How...."


    "Allow me to return this." I took a step forward to mimic him and he looked a little hesitant.


    "You....what are you, why are you not afraid!?"


    "Child, I am Death." I clenched my hand and the shadows around him swirled and grabbed hold.


    Perhaps I was feeling petty, but I was still annoyed, so I stabbed his little thorn into him as he struggled helplessly.


    I believe it would be more beneficial to leave him alive. I thought Wilhelm would appreciate it. Though, that doesn''t mean I can''t take out my annoyance beforehand.


    I ¨C


    Wait, a moment.


    "Why is there something stitched onto your soul?" I asked the strange child that was frantically trying to escape. He didn''t give me an answer, but it didn''t matter. "I will find out then."


    I reached for it.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Hey there, Shunsui, need a hand?"


    Arge condensed beam of fire shot through the air as Shunsui narrowly dodged, the ends of his Haori getting singed.


    "A hand would be appreciated." He chuckled awkwardly. "He wasn''t just blowing hot air when he said his mes could match the Old Mans. Thankfully, I have experience in that department."


    I nced to the side to see the other Shinigami captain, someone I hadn''t met before until now. She was fighting the other guy with a cool w on his hand. Her Zanpakut¨­ was in the form of a gauntlet w, nail poker thing. And the guy she was fighting had these weird butterfly marks all over his body.


    They seemed about pretty even, perhaps she was on the back foot with some minor wounds, but I turned my attention back to Shunsui.


    The guy Shunsui had been fightingnded to the side, mes dancing between his fingers and he looked a bit more together than Shunsui.


    "Why don''t you release your Zanpakut¨­?" I asked.


    "It''s not good when fighting together with others." He said sheepishly.


    "Huh, oh well. Thought it''d be interesting to see."


    "Unfortunately, my girl is a bit temperamental, she also doesn''t like sparing either. If shees out, it''s on her own terms."


    "She? A random question....is your Zanpakut¨­ spirit....hot?"


    "What ¨C " He didn''t fully answer as we both flung to the sides, another wave of fire tore through where we were a moment ago.


    "Fucking ignoring me." The dude with the Mohawk glowered. "One, two, doesn''t matter. Come and get it." He taunted.


    Well, he felt a tad more dangerous than the girl I fought. Like, rece lightning with Fire and suddenly, there''s an actual threat in front of my face that I had to pay attention to.


    "We can make it three, if you prefer." Izzy casually strode over, throwing theatose body of the one she ''fought'' to the ground.


    "Nodt lost?" The Mohawk guy blinked in confusion. "Haha, that asshole always so fucking cocky about his power. Look at him now."


    "Speaking of power, he had something strange attached to his soul. I believe it is the source of his power and they appear to have something simr." Izzy informed us.


    "Oh? How curious." Shunsui hummed. "That''ll be something we can look intoter."


    "Yeah right." Mohawk scoffed. "I''ll just ¨C" He paused because the shadow, his shadow, jerked. No, it grabbed hold of him and began pulling him into itself. "Shit, looks like we''re out of time. Count yourselves lucky. Next time we meet, I''ll kill every one of ya."


    It wasn''t just him, I nced to the side to see the other Captain having the same issue with her opponent. And that girl I fought and left on the ground was also sinking into the shadows. Andstly, so was the twitching body that Izzy brought back.


    "Ara, then I guess I should make sure that doesn''t happen now." Shunsui smiled, raising his de and moved with a burst of Shunpo, slicing at the mohawk guy.


    The guy didn''t even move, the de just freely passed through him, like he wasn''t even there. In fact, even the odd buildings started to descend back into the shadows all around us.


    "Dumbass, his Majesty''s Shadow isn''t something you can mess with." Heughed, mockingly as his form all but became submerged.


    "Is that so?" Izzy responded, and she reached down into the shadow,pletely pulling out the person she fought with. The shadows resisted, if it could be called that. But like a naughty child, her own chastised them until they relented, and the person was pulled free and tossed back onto the ground.


    "...." The Mohawk guy just stared, awkwardly, and in silence for thest couple moments as he finally disappeared.


    "Would you like this?" Izzy offered, talking about the body still on the ground.


    ".....that would be very helpful, ma''am." Shunsui said, rather respectfully.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake ¨C The mysterious Red-Headed woman. (Part 1)


    Getting sted out of the world-line by the Demon was...not pleasant.


    And by that I mean, I was in so much pain it made it hard to think properly. Avalon was doing what it could, but I had taken a huge hit.


    I was thankful to the piece of Big G in the spear, giving me that tiny opportunity to sort of yank myself out of harms away. I wasn''t in the right mind, so I couldn''t precisely aim myself, more so, just hurl my body in a sort of general direction that I felt was familiar.


    That was thest thing I remember.


    And now, I was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.


    I was...bandaged and someone took care of me, but I had no idea where I was.


    AS if to answer my question, the door opened.


    A beautiful woman walked in, seemingly surprised as I was to see her. She had long red hair, arge chest, and long beautiful legs that entuated her hips. She was utterly gorgeous and nearly took my breath away.


    "Oh, you''re awake." She said with an enchanting voice.


    "Are you an angel?"


    "Ara Ara, about the opposite." She giggled. "You''re lucky I found you when I did. The Guards around the ce thought you were an intruder."


    "Guards?" I questioned.


    "You don''t know where you are?"


    "Honestly, I have no idea. I had a little...ident."


    "Hmm, I guess it doesn''t really matter." She shrugged. "You''re free to go when you''re all healed up." She smiled beautifully.


    "I''m free to go, just like that?"


    "I doubt an intruder would willingly hurt themselves like how I found you. It''s an honest mistake, most likely a haphazard teleport when you were in a bad state. No harm was done."


    ".....and what if I asked toe back?"


    "Come back? Whatever for?"


    "It would be rude of me to not thank the wonderful woman who nursed me back to health." I gave my most charming smile."


    "Oh my, aren''t you a sweetheart. I never did get your name."


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service." I reached out to take her hand, giving it a kiss.


    "Has anyone told you that you''re a terrible flirt?" She giggled, not dissuaded in the slightest. "You can call me Resheira."


    "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman."


    "And now you''re just doing it on purpose." She yfully swat at my shoulder.


    "I am many things, but a liar is not one of them."


    "Ara Ara, I need to be careful around you. I think just one little slip up, and I may just find myself caught up in that cute smile of yours~" She giggled again, cupping my cheek. "It''s strange, I feel like I somehow know you for some reason. Have we met before?"


    "I can honestly say that this is the first time we''re meeting. And you would know if there was a second."


    "And why''s that?"


    "Because the second time we''ve met would have certainly been on a date."


    "You are dangerous~" She cooed with a little smile of hers. "Let me go get you something to eat, otherwise I don''t think I''ll be able to resist eating you up~" She shot me a little wink before leaving the room again.


    Holy shit, that woman definitely did things for me.


    @***@


    "Well, how was the meal?" I asked.


    "I was right, you''re a dangerous man." Resheira giggled,ying her head on my bare chest while the nket covered our naked bodies.


    "I think you''re the dangerous one here. You''re entirely at fault for seducing me."


    She let out that cute giggle of hers again. "Oh, so I''m to me?"


    "How am I supposed to resist that beautiful smile of yours?"


    "I think my father warned me about men like you."


    "Men like me?"


    "The ones who say all the right things to get me to take my clothes off."


    "Oh, don''t act like you don''t get flirted with every day. I doubt a woman like you doesn''t have many people trying to win your heart."


    She poked my cheek. "You''d be surprised. A lot of people are.... Intimidated by my position. They''d much rather go after my cute little sister."


    "Their loss."


    "Is it?" She questioned. "Are you being possessive now?"


    "That depends, are you against it?"


    Her eyes softened. "Is this you asking me out on a date?"


    "Maybe it is."


    "Consider it a date then." She kissed my cheek. "I can''t wait to tell Fia that someone finally asked me out."


    "Fia?"


    "Mmm, Grayfia. She''s been my best friend for years now. Ever since the Civil War."


    I blinked. "I''m sorry, did you say Grayfia?"


    "Is there a problem?" She tilted her head.


    "....no, sorry was just...taken by surprise. Do you not know who I am?"


    "Should I?" It was her turn to look confused. "I mean, I don''t mind that you''re a half devil. I don''t care about any of that and you seemed plenty strong anyways, do I didn''t think you would care about me being a pure-blooded devil. You''re not with the old Satan Faction...are you?"


    "Oh, absolutely not."


    "No worries then."


    "....you said you have a sister?" I changed the subject, trying to figure out who this woman actually was.


    "My cute little Rias. She''s already almost an adult but she''s still just my adorable little sister." She cooed.


    "....Rias?" I choked out.


    "That''s right." She looked at me again. "....do you not know who I am?" She questioned me this time.


    "...I honestly have no idea." I replied.


    "Oh....this is awkward then." She blushed a little. "I just assumed you were aware....It''s not.... A problem, I hope? I don''t really have many people flirt with me so....genuinely without some scheme or something."


    "I......I''m still not quite sure on your identity, actually. W-what are the names of your parents?"


    "Oh, you really didn''t know?" She giggled. "My mother is Venna Gremory, my father is Zeoticus Gremory. And I''m one of the Satans, Resheira Lucifer." She proudly introduced.


    "....oh my god." I realized who she was. And Where I was.


    I was in a parallel world to my birth world.


    And I....I....


    I just fucked my father.


    [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA]


    [***]


    A/N, So a bad storm hit my area and knocked out the power for a few days, just got it up earlier today, which was why the dy. But, we''re back up and jumping back into it.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 394: Interlude 29

    <h4>Chapter 394: Interlude 29</h4>


    Yhwach, King of the Quincy POV


    "Do you know your sins?" Jugram Haschwalth addressed everyone in my ce as I sat upon my throne, overlooking the gathering of my Sternritter.


    My elite soldiers.


    It was difficult to say what emotions I felt at this moment. I don''t think I''ve ever been quite as enraged in my entire life and that was a significant feat. Perhaps I''ve gone past pure rage and my mind cleared allowing me full coherence?


    Candice Catnipp, the one for whom I bestowed the letter ''T'', a part of my own soul onto hers. Allowing her to achieve power reminiscent of the Shinigami Captains.


    The Thunderbolt, how quaint.


    It was straightforward, but that didn''t mean it was unworthy of my bestowment. Perhaps average amongst the other Sternritter, but Average among Elites was still Elite.


    She had nearly died.


    Bazz-B, for whom I gave the letter ''H''. His power came about in the form of me maniption. He liked to brag about his mes beingparable to that man. I never corrected him, he didn''t need to know how terrifying the Strongest Shinigami was.


    Cang Du, who received letter ''I'' for The Iron. The person with the strongest defensive ability in the Sternritter bar my Royal Guard. Combined with his Blut, there were very few capable of harming him significantly. Yet, he also looked weathered.


    Lastly, As Nodt with the letter ''F'', for the Fear. A very powerful ability that I considered of great use and would have been very beneficial for the War in the future.


    The War itself was...muddled, even with my previous use of the Almighty. I was mostly able to perceive events that led up to it, and n for certain oues. But the finer details, I would not know until my true powers returned once more. It was enough that I was able to foresee my stepping onto the pce of the Soul King.


    As Nodt was one I felt would be quite beneficial with his ability being extremely difficult to counter for nearly any Shinigami.


    And yet.....he was absent.


    I had to use a very precious reserve of my own power to bring them and everyone else back. The tiniest spark I had kept in case of an emergency.


    And by all means, this qualified.


    "We ept our punishment." They spoke together.


    Rehearsed together.


    A bid to get out of real punishment.


    "You yet live because of one reason alone." Jugram continued. "You were wise enough not to reveal your Vollst?ndig."


    The method devised to match a Shinigami''s Bankai.


    It was something we did not possess in the past, and it was one of our true trump cards in the conflict that was supposed to erupt in a little less than three years.


    I had witnessed the proper path needed to be taken. Many years ago, I used thest gasp of my power before I had to recuperate. And I was able to see which steps needed to be taken, and what I was required to do to achieve my goals.


    The Almighty.


    My own ability to perceive the future.


    I had seen it all happen. The events that would y out, and the ensuing conflict that would inevitably happen.


    That was until a very special War Potential defied my vision, something only the Soul king, my Father should be capable of!


    For reasons I''m still trying toprehend, fate was upturned, and the inconceivable happened! S¨­suke Aizen appeared in the Mess Hall while several of my Sternritter were holding a Banquet!


    How!?


    In every possible iteration of the future, that turn of events never urred on any probable level. Not even in a 1 in a trillion chance did one of the most vtile entities fall into the Shadows of Soul Society in which we hid ourselves all these years ago.


    Did my Father make a move?


    Impossible, he shouldn''t even be capable of proper thought with what the Zero Division did to him.


    Nothing more than a thing now.


    But that didn''t seem to be the end of the absurdity that had been the past day. I received their reports ahead of time. And I was thankful that I did, for I did not wish for my subjects to see me fly into a rage.


    This was no mere coincidence.


    There was a leak somewhere, someone set these events in motion and ruined over a thousand years of nning.


    We were not ready.


    I was not ready.


    My power had yet to return.


    I need just under three more years to fully recuperate everything I have lost. As I was now, I was fearful to stand before that damnable Yamamoto, much less siege the Soul king''s Pce. And now, circumstances may have forced our hand.


    Our greatest boon, the element of surprise, had been lost.


    Now we have to be prepared for an invasion into our own stronghold!


    Who and how?


    My sight saw none of this urring.


    I needed more information. I heard their reports, but perhaps something else was left out that I could use?


    "Jugram." I interrupted my second inmand of his justified scolding. Amongst everyone present, there was not a single peep to be heard. "Candice Catnipp, Bazz-B, Cang Du." I spoke their names and each one stiffened at my promation. And every other Sternritter that I have bestowed a letter to looked onwards, silently. "There is one name I did not call. Why is one of my Sternritter not present? Exin to me, from the beginning and I might offer leniency depending on the circumstance."


    At this point, I was forced to look past their momentous failures because the future had somehow changed considerably.


    "We ¨C"


    "I ¨C"


    "The Invad ¨C"


    I raised my hand with a tired sigh, silencing them. "Cang Du. You may speak."


    "Yes, your Majesty." He bowed his head. "I will report from the beginning. We were present when the Shinigami invaded the Wandenreich. Upon noting what exactly he was, we immediately moved to action to apprehend or eliminate this intruder."


    S¨­suke Aizen just suddenly appeared in my Wandenreich.


    Absurd, even hearing it again.


    "Continue." Imanded.


    "It was the four of us that happened upon him when he attempted to flee. He used his....sword to some effect and was able tomandeer several of our Soldat to discover a means to...escape. Through the use of just under a hundred, they were able to deploy a Shadow despite the normal limitations."


    I see.


    S¨­suke Aizen''s Zanpakut¨­ was a headache for sure. Absolute Hypnosis was it? He took control of around a hundred of my soldiers and used them as fuel to breach through to Soul Society via the Shadow. It would be easy enough to find out any information he needed with that annoyance. This situation normally shouldn''t have been possible, but with so many ''willingly'' sacrificing themselves, the limitations as he said were ovee.


    I have no doubt that those involved directly were all dead.


    And that led to the phenomena.


    Perhaps S¨­suke Aizen made use of his own extraordinary Reiatsu to facilitate the process.


    It would exin why a portion of the Wandenreich disappeared along with many of my Soldiers and Sternritter.


    The only question is how that damnable Shinigami got here in the first ce. Because even from the report, it''s clear he was just as surprised as we were! He clearly fled and sought an escape as soon as possible.


    "Continue from when you arrived at Soul Society." I waved him onwards.


    "Yes, your Majesty." He respectfully replied. "Once we arrived, we immediately focused on the Shinigami that was the cause of the situation. We began to fight him, but he continued to flee, and that was when Soul Society became aware of our presence. By the time we caught up.....he was already dead. That was when we encountered two more Captains and.....two other individuals."


    S¨­suke Aizen dead?


    Utterly ridiculous.


    Two more Captains appearing, that would be expected, however. But what''s this about two unknown individuals? Was he referring to the humans that ''invaded'' with the other War Potential, Kurosaki Ichigo? That should be happening at this time.


    That child of mine, born in darkness.


    "Describe them."


    "There was a man, with red hair. He was very clearly not a Shinigami but..." He nced at Candice.


    "Candice Catnipp." I turned my attention to her. She had still yet to fully heal, but at this particr moment, I was very far beyond mercy for her situation. "You fought this individual. Report."


    "Y-yes, your Majesty." She replied, still clearly in pain. "He....was unaffected by my Lightning. Nothing I did to him was able to hurt him. I hit him with everything I had but my Vollst?ndig! And He just walked it off! He had Lightning of his own and ¨C"


    I tapped my throne in annoyance, and she stopped her incessant prattling. I could gleam the details beyond her whining.


    Who was this person?


    I had no knowledge of him. I had no glimpse of him in my visions.


    Either, he is someone who should not exist, or.....perhaps he was a piece of Father?


    The only being I had been unable to perceive was him, afterall. A being with a simr ability as mine would obviously be beyond my own sight.


    "And the second person?" I asked.


    "The second one was a...woman with silver hair. She dressed like a normal human woman with no noticeable Reiatsu." Bazz-B was the one who spoke up. I turned my head to him and he shuddered under my gaze. "S-she was the one who fought Nodt. When your Majesties'' shadow was sent to retrieve us..." He clenched his jaw.


    "Speak."


    "She reached into the shadow and pulled him away, your Majesty." He lowered his head, expecting my anger.


    And he was right to expect it, however, my attention was not focused solely on him, but these individuals that I had no knowledge of.


    Someone who could ignore my shadow? Someone who could reach inside and prevent my retrieval of one of my Sternritter?!


    Not even Yamamoto could interfere with my Shadow in such a pedestrian manner.


    Who was this woman? Who was that man?


    Why were they there, how were they able to escape my sight?


    Were they the cause or was their presence a side effect of someone else subverting me?


    All my ns, burned to ashes in a mere day.


    And at this moment, I didn''t know who to me. There was an enemy I was unaware of, someone was working against me.


    "It seems our ns must change." I finally spoke, addressing everything.


    "We await your orders, your majesty." Jugram bowed his head.


    We must adapt.


    I knew Yamamoto, he wouldn''t sit there and wait. As soon as he received word of our continued existence, he would immediately rally his Shinigami to search us out. I don''t know how long it would take for them to discover us, but we had one benefit going for us.


    S¨­suke Aizen''s little rebellion should be moving forward. He would still seek to retrieve his artifact at the earliest convenience and even with his discovery of us and subsequent reveal to the whole of Soul Society, he would likely not dy much longer. The man is too arrogant to allow himself to be subservient for any longer than needed.


    He would rebel, and then he would im his throne of Hueco Mundo and Soul Society would be preupied with a war on their doorsteps. The only issue was to make sure that Aizen is perceived as a threatrge enough that they can''tmit too many resources on us.


    "We will prepare for war." I Let my voice echo outwards, reaching every corner of the Wandenreich. The fire that I had lit inside them for centuries was finally ignited with a fury. They had been training and waiting for this moment for many years. For them, it didn''t matter if it happened now or in a few years time.


    We, I?will be at a disadvantage, but I must adapt and change my stratagem.


    Aizen wished to wage war against Soul Society, so be it. I will use that to my advantage. While both were weak, we would eradicate both of them. Hueco Mundo has many resources we can acquire for our own war against Soul Society. The Arrancar are numerous and require no training. They were originally intended to be used as disposable soldiers, but perhaps they could y a slightly bigger role?


    Those Hollows that blurred the lines between Hollows and Shinigami, they would be adequate to tip the scales.


    I nned for a Blitzkrieg, but a prolonged War was something we were capable of.


    "Your Majesty, if I may." Jugram spoke up again.


    "Speak." I replied.


    "What do you wish to do about As Nodt?"


    Yes, him.


    No doubt he''s being shuttled off to their research division to be dissected and experimented on. I could still vaguely feel his soul essence, he was alive...for now.


    It would be a mercy then.


    I would allow him this for his part in rying important information, by happenstance..


    His letter I will retrieve it and find a new host for it.


    The link that I shared with all my Sternritter, I reached for it. The piece of my Soul that was attached to his and I ¨C


    Eyes looked back into mine.


    My retrieval of my soul piece was prevented.


    Eyes stared back at mine.


    A woman.


    I could not feel her presence, I could not ascertain her existence. She stood there, towering over the piece of soul I attempted to retrieve.


    No.


    A simple word sent ripples backwards through the link and a shockwavepletely tore apart whatever im I had.


    It felt like....I was looking at Father.


    That presence, the weight behind her existence.


    I mmed my throne, shattering the arm rest as I looked out and grabbed hold of a hundred random Soldat. Mere foot soldiers, but it would be enough.


    And I took back the Quincy power within them.


    I, as the Origin,manded their essence back to me.


    It was enough, for a mere flicker. The tiniest spark to ignite my Almighty for a singr moment whenbined with what miniscule amounts of power I had remaining from my forceful use of the Shadow.


    Jugram stumbled in ce, but I paid him no mind. His ability, the letter ''B'' I bestowed on him, Bnce.


    He would shoulder some of the burden for me as was his duty.


    I used to it try and view this woman. To see the immediate futures avable around this anomaly.


    And there was nothing.


    I couldn''t see her, and her presence was frighteningly simr to his.....


    .....did I have a mother?


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 395 - 357

    <h4>Chapter 395: Chapter 357</h4>


    It was kind of funny, watching Shunsui open his mouth, and attempt to say something, then as the words failed toe out of his mouth. He tried a handful of times at this point and Izzy just stood there, looking absolutely amused by the entire situation.


    Despite the very....strange circumstances of this impromptu outing, I''m d Izzy appeared to be enjoying herself.


    And really, his own confusion and uncertainty only diminished once that other Captain appeared.


    She came with a purpose in her steps, her sword still seemed released and it was clear she was still very much inbat mode. "Ryoka!" She hissed, holding up her...gauntlet, w finger de pointed thing at me.


    "Now, now, Sui-Feng, how about we all calm down." Shunsui stepped between us, trying to calm her down.


    "Captain Ky¨­raku, step aside. I''m going to arrest these two Ryoka, immediately for questioning."


    "Just hold on a moment ¨C"


    "Aizen is Dead! We were attacked by Four Captain levelbatants! This is beyond talking, Shunsui! Either assist me or I will report that you have defected and betrayed us." She growled.


    "Two of which we handled. Helping you." Imented. "Just thought I''d throw that out there."


    She snapped her gaze at me, looking rather eager to punch me in the face if she could.


    "I would also like to add that this Captain Aizen of yours isn''t dead." Izzy also added. And when Captain Sui-Feng looked at her, she deted slightly, but still noticeably. "Atleast, that body over there isn''t real." She walked over to where he was impaled.


    All three of us shared a nce.


    "Sui-Feng, they did help us." Shunsui expressed his stance once more.


    The woman scowled, looking like she was warring with herself mentally. "Exin the body." She crossed her arms with a grunt. "His Reiatsu is still there, lingering around his fresh corpse!" She spat out in annoyance.


    "Can spirits have corpses?" I asked, the sudden question justing to mind.


    "Clearly!" She screamed at me, pointing at the fake body.


    "Alright, let''s all calm down." Shunsui tried to ease her down again. "I''d also appreciate an exnation, Miss...?" He looked at Izzy.


    "You can call me Izzy." She said dismissively. "As for an exnation, it''s simple. This....thing never once housed an actual soul. It certainly mimics what facilitates life for you spiritual beings, but it''s but a hollow husk."


    "A Gigai?" Shunsui furrowed his brow. "They shouldn''t be this...detailed or be able to trick someone like me." He scratched his head. "What do you think Sui-Feng?"


    "I think you''re still missing the fact that his Zanpakut¨­ is sitting right there!" She pointed out.


    "Ara, that also raised a question..."


    "Also fake." Izzy chimed in. "Once more, a hollow husk. It has never housed a proper spirit like both of your weapons do."


    "And we''re just supposed to believe you!?"


    "Would it perhaps be possible to ask how you know this?" Shunsui asked, still being rather respectful.


    "I simply do." Izzy shrugged. "I am intimately familiar with death and spirits."


    "How convenient." Sui-Feng scoffed.


    "That''s going to be hard to convince someone else..." Shunsui sighed. "Is there anything I can have that proves it?"


    "I have nothing but my words. You are free to check for yourselves. If you can''t discover what I can see after a thorough investigation, then you are simply helpless. However, if you wish proof, then should I point out the difference between the sword you held in your left hand opposed to your right?" Izzy replied.


    Shunsui stiffened. ".....okay, I believe you."


    I raised an eyebrow at that. Did Izzy know something she shouldn''t know about him, hmm?


    "What ¨C"


    "Sui-Feng, please, don''t question it. Just.....trust me for now. At the very least, it''s obvious they aren''t our enemies, and it wouldn''t be a good idea to get on their bad side while we apparently have real enemies hiding in the dark."


    Sui-Feng looked at him with a strange look before her shoulders sagged. "Fine. But how the hell did this even start in the first ce? Why were those people chasing after Aizen?"


    "I believe that may be my fault." Izzy spoke up again. "He aggressively attacked the children I was apanying. I did not wish to sour rtions, so I chose a method of removing him without harming him too much."


    "....how did that end up with...?"


    "I put him in the shadows below this Soul Society. I noticed people down there, I just never fathomed that you would be unaware of a group of people hiding in your basement." She deadpanned.


    "....what?"


    "Are you saying that these people are.....hiding in the shadows of Soul Society!?" Sui-Feng''s eyes widened.


    "So it appears." Izzy delivered without much emotion.


    Welp, I think she''s broken now, cause she looked ready to have a minor breakdown at that little revtion.


    "Seems like they had a whole Alphabet theme going, don''t know what that''s about, but pretty good odds they had quite a few more people around that same strength." I also helpfully added.


    Shunsui then had a nk stare as he processed that information.


    "Kind of weird schtick in all honesty."


    "Oh, that''s probably due to the parasite that someone attached to their souls." Izzy spoke up again.


    "What do you mean?" I asked.


    "That one over there has the piece of another''s soul attached to him. I believe it to be the source of his power and the way they were so tantly showing off....." She trailed off, but connecting the dots was not difficult.


    "Huh."


    "I don''t know if I should be happy with this information or not..." Shunsui admitted rather depressingly.


    "I made sure that nothing could happen to it, so you are free to investigate at your leisure."


    That was nice of her.


    "Great...I''ll pass that message along..." Shunsui sighed. "Alright, We better.....send our reports, Sui-Feng."


    She nced at us. "Everything?"


    "I already spoke to the Old Man, we''re good for now." I assured them. "Oh, just a heads up, there is actually a Quincy with the kids that came with us. I''m like 99% sure he has no rtion to the people who just attacked."


    "How sure are you?" Shunsui questioned.


    "Well, he seemed to think he was thest of the Quincy, bar his own parents."


    "...right, I''ll make sure to pass that message along as well." He shook his head. "What a mess this turned out to be." He let out a long breath before perking up. "And herees Ukitake and...Gin, it seems."


    "Oh, squinty eyes." Ichigo called him that and I liked the nickname.


    "Pffft." Shunsui held back augh.


    "Tussled with him before, should probably head out before that causes any problems." I mentally looked into my ring before taking out a Talisman. "Here, take this." I said, tossing it to the Shinigami I was quickly bing friends with. "Just rip it in half and it''ll alert me and I''lle on after if you need anything important."


    Simr to the one I gave the kids, but without the whole defensive properties attached. Basically just a beacon to reach me.


    "Handy." He mused. "What''re you going to do now?" He asked with only a hint of interrogation.


    "Struck a deal with the Old Man, going to fulfill it, more or less. I''ll keep a lookout if those people pop up again, but otherwise, back to business."


    There was no argument on their part, so I took that as a cue to get away before things became moreplicated. I could understand their own position and sympathized with them a little even if I was divorced from this whole thing beyond my personal choice of helping the kids.


    Oh well, it wasn''t my problem.


    I shared a look with Izzy and we quickly made ourselves scarce.


    [***]


    "What do you think?" I asked Izzy, finishing my masterpiece.


    "I think it''s a horrible reflection of your daughter and I''m also wondering if this is the time to be doing this." She said rather dryly, with a paint brush in her hand, making her own little picture on the wall behind me.


    "What do you mean?" I asked, admiring the mural I painted of Kunou running around with Sir Wiggles.


    I missed my familiar.


    I knew he was doing good at the moment, but nothing beyond that. I didn''t want to stick my head back into that world-line until I had another talk with Gramps about what was going on. Thest thing I need to do was cause more problems over there by leaping before looking.


    "I mean.....we just got out of a fight. And this Soul Society just experienced an invasion."


    "Three Invasions in a month, I wonder if this happens to them a lot."


    "And you were involved with every one of them." She deadpanned.


    "Technically, the third one was your fault." I gave her a look. "Miss; trying to me me for it."


    "How was I supposed to know they were ignorant about supposed enemies literally next door!?" Izzy threw her hands up.


    "That''s fair, I guess. But to answer your question, this is exactly what the deal I made with their leader was."


    "Painting graffiti on their walls?" She said sarcastically.


    "No, well, yes." I touched up the colors on Kunou''s eyes. "Specifically, we''re supposed to act as a nuisance, an annoyance, and otherwise cause problems without actually doing anything damaging. I noted the patrol times, and I took a picture of who was cking off and what-not. And I''ll be making a detailed report on every movement we made to get here." Which was the center of the Sixth Division. Like, their gathering point for their barracks.


    I was also going to point out the vulnerabilities I saw. Granted, most of the people running around wereplete and utter trash, but at the very least, they could be useful if properly positioned in a situation like this.


    It seems like the nket reaction was to run around like chicken with their heads cut off.


    Made me really question how much training they had with dealing with attacks.


    "You don''t feelpelled to help them?"


    "I mean, with what? Those Quincy are gone, no sign of them. I guess we technically know where they are as you can ess that ce with ease. But.....it''s not really our business, is it? The only reason I''m here, and you by extension, is because I felt bad about the kids." I shrugged, continuing what I was doing. "Do you really care?"


    I do have a few things I nicked off the Quincy that appeared that I was going to y around withter.


    "Not really. I''m still deciding on how to feel about this ce. I''m only helping because you are." She confessed without any reservations. "And a different question. Why do you have paint? It seems like a random thing to have."


    "I''m a hoarder." I freely confessed.


    "I should have guessed." She snorted.


    "What was that about Shunsui''s sword? You said something and he looked like you just kicked his puppy."


    "Oh, only one of his swords was his Zanpakut¨­. The other was...concealed or some other nonsense. It seemed to deflect my probing, which was interesting, but I didn''t really push it. I think it was some manner of Divine Weapon, which raises some questions."


    "Neat."


    "Quite."


    "Do you ¨C"


    "One moment." Izzy''s eyes glowed ominously. "No." She intoned, a wave of pressure cascaded outwards, and everything went deadly silent. "Sorry about that, you were saying?"


    "The fuck?"


    "Oh, just someone attempted to probe me and take that parasitic soul piece back from that person I captured. I left a little surprise there in case someone did something." She said nonchntly.


    "Well alrighty then."


    "This looks nothing like Kunou." She peered over my shoulder, pressing up against my back.


    "It''s called artistic interpretation."


    "I think Kunou would have done a better job if she was finger painting."


    "I hear your criticism and allow me to retort." I booped her nose with my paint brush.


    She looked at me, raising a single eyebrow. "I see. Then allow me to provide you with assistance." She held her own brush and smacked me with it, right on the side of the face, slowly pulling it down. "How do you like my artistic interpretation?"


    "Hmm, I think I see some room for improvement." I turned around.


    "Don''t you dare!" She took a step back.


    I started swinging my paint-soaked brush at her, flinging paint everywhere.


    "Y-you despicable ¨C" She let out a cute squeal as she tried to cover herself with her arms.


    Honestly, I think I got more on myself than her.


    She was pouting as she peeked through her fingers. "Look at this mess."


    "The mess was the point, I think."


    She pursed her lips, flinging her arms with still wet paint flying off in small droplets. "Was this the point, huh?"


    "Hey, don''t dish it if you can''t take it."


    She huffed, walking over to the can of paint I had on the ground, and she dipped her finger in it before turning back around and pushing it against my nose. "There, we''re even." She said proudly.


    "Even, huh?" I pushed my head against her, the side that had a big glob of paint still running down the side.


    She made more cute noises before I finally pulled away. "Alright, now we''re even."


    "You''re a child." She flicked off what paint she could with another huff.


    "Yup."


    She looked at me again and flicked the paint my way.


    "Hey, foul, foul!" I covered myself.


    "Look at my clothes!"


    "I''m looking. You still look as beautiful as ever."


    "''Hush, you." She huffed once more, hands flinging at me with renewed vigor.


    "Peace!"


    "Hmph." She crossed her arms, trying to look annoyed, but it was hard with all the paint sttered on her. "Well, at least your painting looks better."


    "You keep throwing shade at me, let''s see what you got going on over on your side, huh?"


    "By all means, look at what real talent is." She gestured over to her side.


    I took a look, and paled a little. "It''s alright, I guess."


    "Admit defeat."


    "I wasn''t aware it was apetition."


    "We both know it would have been had you thought you had any skill in painting. Now, admit defeat."


    "I think I should get bonus points for actually trying something difficult."


    "Literal stick figures would have been better."


    "You just painted Pac-Man!" Admittedly, it was fairly good. But it''s not like it''s something hard to paint.


    "And you know what it is without any indication from me. That makes me the winner by default."


    "Why Pac-Man though?" I asked.


    "It was the first video game I ever yed. I remember when it was first created and I spent hours and hours in front of the arcade machine. I ¨C" She paused.


    "What?"


    "Nothing."


    "No, you were going to say something."


    "I....used my powers to keep ying...even after they closed." She looked away.


    "That''s hrious, and I''ll be making fun of you in the future because of this."


    She pped my shoulder.


    I chuckled, walking to the side and taking a seat. Izzy followed sliding down against the wall next to me. "I wonder what the Shinigami are gonna think when they see this."


    Izzy blinked, and we both shared a look before breaking out inughter.


    Maybe it was just the utter ridiculousness of the situation. We were literally just fighting some people a few hours ago, and now we''re repainting the Shinigami''s barracks.


    As we stopped, Izzy leaned in her head resting against my shoulder. And I found myself putting my arm around her, almost unconsciously.


    Neither of us said anything to ruin the pleasant moment.


    [***]


    Non-Canon omake: All ording to n.


    Ichimaru Gin POV


    "Heya, bossman."


    "Gin, you''rete." Aizen was moving around some stuff, didn''t know what it was.


    "Sorry was dealing with the fallout of whatever the hell happened. Heard some stuff, but still kind of confused. Can ya fill me in on the nks?"


    "I''ve had an interesting day. What do you want to know?"


    "I heard ya got beaten up?"


    "I did not get beaten up." He scoffed.


    "Really? Heard from some sources that you got pped pretty hard."


    ".....it was all ording to n."


    "Right...." He didn''t sound too confident. "Heard you found a bunch o Quincy?"


    "Yes, I discovered a secret hiding spot of our sworn enemies. A gathering of significant power that we''ll need to take into ount with our own forces."


    "And I heard you got shoved there...by the woman who beat you up? The interrogation from the Quincy we got said you were running around their base while they shot arrows at ya?"


    "Yes, it was all ording to n." He nodded.


    "Right-o then, boss. Whatever you say." I was getting skeptical at this point. "And you did the whole ''dying thing'' with the fake dead body, yeah?"


    "Yes." He said rather proudly. "It took considerable effort to create a body that would fool ¨C"


    "Yeah, the same woman who beat ya up saw through it. Told everyone it was fake."


    "...all ording to the n." He twitched.


    "Really?"


    "Yes. You see, it was merely a distraction. To lure away the sights of our enemies, to draw their attention and redirect it from our true goal. For you see, what I really aplished ¨C"


    "All your ns have been right fucked, haven''t they?"


    "Completely and utterly." He immediately admitted.


    ....I wonder if it''s toote to switch sides?


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 396 - 358

    <h4>Chapter 396: Chapter 358</h4>


    Ichimaru Gin POV


    "Report!" Old Man Yamamoto mmed his cane on the ground, calling everyone to attention. "How did a group of Quincy appear within these walls without us knowing!?"


    Oh, he was furious.


    Felt like I was gonna start sweating, and not because of the pressure.


    Quincy, huh?


    Aizen told me about the couple holding up in that human town we were watchin, but I heard nothin about a whole group of them like this.


    I''d have thought he was keepin stuff from me again, but then I saw how beat up he looked when he finally reappeared.


    That was not the look of man who had nned this.


    "Captain Kurotsuchi!" He roared.


    I had to hold a hand up to my eyes to cover myself from the glow he was giving off. His entire body was lighting up the room, almost made it seem like day time in here. He always did dress weirdly, but this is a little much even fer him.


    "Due to the reports I received I haven''t been able to look into it just yet. I have just recently gotten my hands on the specimen but I had other concerns prior to this." He replied, making the Captain Commander''s temper start to re even higher. "I have been prioritizing securing myb for proper testing if the report from Captain Sui-Feng and Captain Ky¨­raku is to be believed. And I did not wish to take any undue risks of the specimen escaping or being taken."


    The Old Man gritted his teeth and the temperature lowered. "eptable." He got out with a grunt. "Three times. Three Times!" He mmed his cane down. "In just this month, we have been invaded three times. I demand an exnation, or I will find new Captains!" His heat radiated outwards again. "Never have we suffered such disgrace in the entire existence of the Gotei 13! Who will give me an exnation!?"


    "For the Quincy or the....others?" Captain Ky¨­raku raised his hand.


    Old Man Yamamoto practically shot fire out of his eyes as he red at the captain. "Since you have volunteered, Captain Ky¨­raku, and that title very well may be changed by tomorrow. I will hear your report."


    If I wasn''t worried the Old Man would burn off my eyebrows, I''d beughing at him.


    Captain Ky¨­raku cleared his throat. "I don''t really know much myself. I saw the buildings start appearing and the people...." He paused for a moment. "I had Nanao make her report after hearing what happened from Aizen''s Lieutenant, and I went to engage the powerful Reiatsu signatures that popped up."


    The Captain Commander nodded, happy apparently, that Captain Ky¨­raku was actually doing his duty and not beingzy, if I had to guess. "Continue."


    "I ran into several Quincy along the way. They weren''t particrly powerful and they seemed just as confused as our own people were about everything. But as I headed towards the more powerful sources, that''s when I came upon Aizen''s body." Shunsui tilted his hat. "I paid my initial respects as I could but I was surrounded nearly immediately by stronger Quincy. Each of them were around our levels of strength."


    "Well done." The Captain Commander, despite looking furious, gave a small bit of praise. "Continue."


    "Well..." He scratched his cheek. "Things weren''t looking really good, considered using my Bankai until I noticed Sui-Feng came to back me up."


    "Reporting." She then spoke up, stepping forward. "I noticed Captain Ky¨­raku about to engage four enemies of significant Reiatsu, so I waited stealthily at the side for an opportunity. The first one to attack him, I engaged and threw him off bnce as my presence was not noticed until that point. However, we were unfortunately unable to deal a decisive blow. Now that I have had time to reconsider the order of events, I believe that these Quincy have some way to reduce damage they take."


    "Blut." The Old Man almost growled. "They can harden the blood vessels in their veins with Reishi, strengthening parts of their body."


    Huh, that''s an interestin technique. Wondered if it could be copied.


    Prolly not, since Quincy can do that whole thing with stealing Reishi from the surroundings.


    "Well, they introduced themselves in a strange way. They all had a ''letter'' for some reason that corresponded to their power." Shunsui continued on. "One of them could do some nasty things with lightning. A second could make fires that reminded me...of well..." He paused, looking at the Captain Commander who gave him a gruff nod. "The third, .....he introduced himself with ''F'' for Fear, if that makes sense. And I admit that it made me feel uneasy just being near him."


    "You were scared, eh?" Kenpachi chuckled.


    Didn''t even expect him to be here, but every Captain was in attendance, minus Aizen, for obvious reasons.


    "I can corroborate Captain Ky¨­raku''s report." Sui-Feng spoke in his defense with an annoyed re shot his way. "There seemed to be a primal feeling of fear associated with the man. Out of everyone there, that one was the one I wanted to fight the least."


    "Now I am getting excited" Mayuri tapped his fingers with a wide grin.


    "Thest one was the opponent I fought. He introduced himself with ''I'' and he could make himself as hard as Iron. I couldn''t pierce him with my Zanpakut¨­ in its sealed state, and my hits were ineffective. However, it appeared as though my Release was able to ovee the disadvantage."


    "It was gonna be a tough fight, don''t know if we would have made it before reinforcements came to be honest." Shunsui stated.


    "Were they really that powerful?" Captain Hitsugaya asked. "Surely you could have handled one or two with your Bankai?"


    "Maybe." Was all he said. "I didn''t like my chances though."


    "Do not underestimate the Quincy." Old Man Yamamoto said kind of darkly. "A thousand years ago, we fought a bloody war. Not many of you were around, but those who were should remember how many bodies were piled up even when we had our Bankai. The most difficult fight of my life was against their King."


    "Sounds like a strong bastard. Is he still around? Can I have a go at him?" Kenpachi asked excitedly.


    "Captain Kenpachi." Old Man Yamamoto growled, making the idiot slightly cower. "I will be unsealing the reports and information regarding the Quincy after this meeting. I expect every single Captain and Lieutenant to memorize their strategies and powers."


    Everyone nodded in unison.


    When the old man said something so serious, everyone damn well listened.


    "How were you able to defeat these Quincy, Captain Ky¨­raku? You described them as powerful enemies, but you do not appear to have suffered any grievous wounds. Both you and Captain Sui-Feng." Captain Byakuya asked.


    "Ara, didn''t you read my report, Kuchiki-kun?" Shunsui asked with a little chuckle.


    "I apologize." He said with a little twitch of his eye at his nickname. "I immediately came to this meeting without having time to read the required reports. I was guarding the Prisoner and then arrived back to my Division to find it defaced."


    "Defaced?" He blinked.


    "Someone had painted nonsensical images all throughout my Division Barracks." He seethed. "And considering that I repelled Ryoka matching the descriptions provided previously from rescuing the Prisoner, I believe I am able to guess the culprit."


    "Oi, was that Kurosaki Ichigo with them? He owes me a fight." Kenpachi asked.


    "The Ryoka with orange hair and owner of that name made an attempt to free Rukia Kuchiki from her cell and was defeated by me." Captain Kuchiki stated. "I was unfortunately unable to apprehend them per orders."


    "Oh? Doesn''t sound like you, Kuchiki-kun." Captain Shunsui chuckled.


    "I did not foresee the Traitor Shih¨­in Yoruichi interfering and bringing them to safety." He responded.


    "What?" Captain Sui-Feng raised her voice. "She''s here!?"


    "And why were you guarding my Division member, Captain Kuchiki?" Captain Ukitake asked, a little bit of bite to him. "That isn''t your duty."


    "My Lieutenant was defeated by the Ryoka. I had every right to seek them out." He replied evenly.


    "Ara, Lieutenant Abarai? He''s pretty strong, almost at Captain level if you gave him a few more years. You''re saying that he was beaten by these Ryoka?" Shunsui hummed.


    "That is correct." He closed his eyes. "And I request higher authority to deal with these Ryoka ¨C "


    "Denied." The Captain Commander cut him off. "The Orders regarding these other Ryoka will proceed. Capture only for the human children." He grunted.


    "....Does this order include the Traitor and the other Ryoka that were not present." Captain Kuchiki asked.


    "You may deal with those ones at your discretion." The Old Man closed his eyes.


    Something told me he took a little pleasure in giving that bit of information out. I think there''s something goin on with how the Old Man is intentionally treating them with the kiddy gloves after the whole Quincy attack.


    "I have my men searching for the Ryoka, but they don''t seem to be a priority at the moment. I''m more concerned with the Quincy who killed their way through a portion of the Seireitei." Captain Hitsugaya spoke up. "What happened with the Quincy, Captain Ky¨­raku?"


    "It was the Ryoka." Captain Ky¨­raku admitted. "His true name being Wilhelm as you should know by now."


    Haha, he went around calling himself Kurosaki Ichigo, making Aizen confused as hell.


    "And the woman that was with him." Captain Sui-Feng added.


    "Right, her...." Captain Ky¨­raku winced a little. "So, he came in, took one of the Quincy. I saw a little of their fight, he apparently uses Lightning too, easily dealing with the Quincy that used lighting."


    "Did he by chance use that spear of his?" I asked.


    "I didn''t see any spear, sorry." He shrugged.


    Huh.


    Still wondered what the hell that thing wass.


    "What about the Dragon I heard about?" Captain Kenpachi asked. "The one that kicked Mayuri''s ass."


    Times like this are why I love Kenpachi.


    "I thought that was a brick?" I asked ''innocently''.


    The look on Mayuri''s face is just priceless.


    "No dragon." Shunsui shook his head. "Just fought with lightning and a sword."


    "What about this woman?" Captain Mayuri asked, eyes moving weirdly. "Was she human? If not, did you get a sample for me?"


    "Not a human." Captain Sui-Feng responded. "She was the one who captured the Quincy and handed him over."


    Was it the same woman who beat up Aizen?


    I asked him about that and he was kinda pissy about the whole thing, wouldn''t answer me.


    "She....was also the one who told us that the body of Aizen wasn''t actually Aizen." Shunsui also said.


    That''s gonna piss Aizen off even more.


    "Captain Unohana, your thoughts?" The Captain Commander asked.


    "I inspected the body, and I''m of a simr notion. I do not believe that it is Captain Aizen." She said inly.


    The Old Man Grunted. "Captain Aizen is missing." He tapped his cane on the ground. "The circumstances are questionable. I am ordering his arrest on sight for derelict of duty. We will find out if this is a plot against or by him."


    "Shouldn''t we be askin the Central 46?" I raised my hand.


    The Old Man grunted again. "Under War Time Protocols, I have authority in these matters. My Orders will stand. Arrest Aizen and bring him in, to clear his name or for further punishment."


    Well, I tried.


    Man, he''s gonna be even more pissed.


    First that woman beats him up, sending him to the Quincy ce, or whatever. Then he tired to do his whole faking his death thing. Somethin he was nning for awhile now cause he needed to do some work behind the scenes without causing amotion. And now that was tossed out the window by the same person.


    "I''m confused. I remember it said in your report that the Quincy and everything regarding them was....taken by the shadows. How did this ''woman'' manage to capture one of the Quincy then?" Captain Hitsugaya asked.


    "She...reached into the shadow and pulled him out, as weird as it sounds." Captain Ky¨­raku replied. "Whatever I tried, I couldn''t interact with them."


    "That doesn''t seem convenient?" Hitsugaya said dryly.


    "She''s the one who told us about the shadows in the first ce and that the Quincy were hiding down there."


    "Are we sure she isn''t a Quincy or rted to them?" Hitsugaya asked skeptically.


    "Considering I couldn''t sense any Reiatsu from her, I''m pretty sure she isn''t. And she was helping us along with the Ryoka with her." Shunsui responded.


    "Shouldn''t we at least be concerned about two individuals of unknown origins that are apparently on the level of Captains just running around causing trouble?"


    "At this point, they''ve done more to help than harm." Shunsui countered.


    "Perhaps Captain Ky¨­raku should be reprimanded for not apprehending these Ryoka when he had the chance." Captain Mayuri spoke up.


    "You''re wee to go after them yourself." Shunsui shot back. "Maybe it''ll go better for you this time."


    "You ¨C"


    "Enough." The Captain Commander mmed his cane on the ground. "Bickering amongst ourselves will solve nothing. We will acknowledge the contributions of these Ryoka. However, their invasion cannot be without recourse. My orders will stand as they are, capture them and bring them in for interrogation."


    "And regarding the Quincy?" Captain Ky¨­raku asked.


    "I am authorizing any means necessary to eliminate them. Every Captain is authorized to release their Bankai regardless of location against these enemies of Soul Society. At this moment, with the reemergence of our ancient enemy, we are at war."


    Huh, wondered how much this was gonna ruin Aizen''s ns. Cause even he was kinda frantic about escaping from the Quincy cause he didn''t even know they existed until now.


    "Captain Kurotsuchi, I expect a means to track down these invaders at the earliest opportunity. If they truly dared to hide so close to us, we will show them the error of their ways."


    "I will begin my examinations on this Quincy and figure out their means of traveling and hiding."


    "See it done." He grunted. "There is one month until the newest batch of graduates from the Academy. I expect a rotation of Captains every three days to teach and prepare them for the uing war. Captain Sui-Feng, your Onmitsukid¨­ will be deployed to create a coordinated ry point to every corner of the Seireitei. I expect no invaders to escape our if they invade through simr means! We will not be taken by surprise again!"


    "Yes, sir." Captain Sui-Feng nodded.


    "Captain Unohana, you will receive any resources required to get the wounded back up to fighting strength as quickly as possible."


    "I''ll send a report immediately."


    "The information regarding the Quincy will be sent to every division." He dered. "We will not suffer another disgrace. You are dismissed!" He mmed his cane down with a re of his Reiatsu, lighting a fire under everyone''s butts, almost literally.


    Well, I''m d I won''t be around to see the look on his face when Aizen finally made his move.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "What are you thinking about for today?" Izzy asked.


    "Can''t you guess?" I pinched my current shirt, or rather the robes I was wearing. "We''re going to be doingundry!"


    "Oh, joy." She said dryly.


    "With a little bit of this." I held out a vial. " We will turn the whites, pink."


    "Amusing." She smiled lightly. "And how are you going to rationalize this?"


    "Nobody is batting an eye at us when we''re wearing the stuff that theundry people wear. Honestly, it''s probably the same as the whole ''walk into a building with a clipboard and pretend like you belong'' type deal."


    "That is true, I suppose. If anything, the Shinigami we passed almost went out of their way to not look at us, like we were beneath them." She hummed, taking clothing off a nearby line and putting them in a pile.


    "Are you really surprised?" I tossed a handful of clothing into a bucket of water, pouring a drop or two of my vial into it.


    "I would be surprised if anything other than that happened. These Shinigami remind me too much of those pompous deities in Takamagahara. The ones who are barely even known outside a handful of human schrs, but still walk around like they''re oh so important."


    "They dare to look down on you?"


    "Don''t underestimate the stupidity of some Deities. For some reason, there are plenty that think me powerless because I am not present in Takamagahara and I iste myself in Yomi."


    "Why don''t I go pay a visit up there?"


    "Are you really suggesting to invade another heaven?" She deadpanned.


    "Well, I don''t like it when people make you upset."


    "....I appreciate the sentiment." She said quietly. "But I can''t bring myself to care about them. Other than my children, Takamagahara could burn for all I could be bothered with."


    "Speaking of, how''s that going?"


    "Other than Susanoo, about the same." She sighed. "But I''m thankful he is keeping in touch at least."


    "So I don''t need to go have more words with them?"


    "Oh no, I think you should go fight my son again." She said dryly. "That turned out well the first time, let''s just have a repeat."


    I sshed her with some water.


    She puffed up and took a bucket next to her and dumped it on my head,pletely soaking me.


    "Well now you have to give me a hug." I held my hands open.


    "You stay away from me."


    "Hug~" I wrapped her up, with only minimal protests on her part. I looked up to see more of those weird ninja running across rooftops, disappearing into random ces.


    "Ninja again?" Izzy turned her head.


    "Yup, been seeing them a lot the past couple days."


    "You can''t me them, they''re probably spooked from the earlier invasion."


    "The one that was your fault?"


    "I admit no fault. They were ignorant of something so obvious, the mey solely at their feets." She huffed. "And when are you going to let me go?"


    "Hmm, never."


    She grumbled.


    Yeah, those weird Ninja people popped up the other day, running everywhere and doing random things. Izzy and I have been just keeping our heads down as we went about causing some mischief and exploiting some holes in the security here and there.


    "Well, it has nothing to do with us." I shrugged, finally releasing her.


    "Look at this, my clothes are soaked now."


    I did look.


    I looked at something poking out on her chest.


    And I think she noticed too because she looked away, blushing a little bit before drying herself off through her super Goddess Powers.


    "After we finish ruining their clothes, what else have you nned?" She seemingly wanted to divert the subject.


    "I figured we could go check in on the kids after this. Haven''t noticed anything too bad on their end, but with the ''execution'' wasing up soon, wanted to see where we were with that." I replied.


    "Have you caused enough problems, is that it?" She snorted.


    "Hmm let''s see." I held up a finger. "Painted several divisions at this point." I held up a second. "Snuck into their pantries and food storages, left them notes and such there."


    "Yes, leaving a note with ''A Ryoka was just here, you''re lucky I didn''t poison anything'' is going to fill them with ease once we''re done."


    I did say I would help in case of a ''real'' invasion. Practice as it were. I think poisoning a good portion of Shinigami through an unsecure food source would be a good thing to point out.


    "And three, was this Laundry stuff. Really, just making their whites turn pink is for fun. Honestly, they have a lot of security ws that are easily manageable."


    "You actually noted everything down too. I don''t know if I should be impressed or not at the lengths, you''re going to justify messing with them to such an extent."


    I shrugged. "Soul Society is pretty shitty."


    "I don''t disagree."


    "We could do more..." I rubbed my chin. "But my thoughts have been drifting to the kids all day today."


    "Whatever you choose, I don''t mind. This is the most fun I''ve had since our trip to America." She smiled.


    "Godzi, good times." I smiled simrly. "Just need to find the kids, I think they''re..." I turned around, kind of eyeballing the general location.


    "They''re underground, it seems like." She tilted her head. "I can sense my blessing from this distance."


    "Underground? That''s weird, but whatever. Not the shadow ce, right? You didn''t send anyone else there?"


    "One time" She huffed.


    "Right, you only identally started a war one time."


    "You''re never going to let this go, are you?" She crossed her arms. "Besides, you did this twice."


    "Yes, and I''m a bad role model." I freely admitted.


    "There is no winning with you." She threw her arms up. "Fine, let''s go see the children. I''m a little curious to know how they''re side has been doing."


    Regardless of anything else, just the time I''ve been spending with Izzy made this whole thing worth it. Things were a little chaotic for awhile, but they''ve calmed down now. I doubted anything else like that Quincy thing will happen again.


    "Alrighty. Let''s just wrap up with these clothes and head over there!" I''m sure the Eleventh Division won''t mind if their white under robes turned up pink in the morning.


    Oh hey, it''s a Captain Haori!


    That''s definitely getting turned pink.


    [***]


    Canon Omake ¨C Date with Artoria and Mordred.


    "You look beautiful."


    "You say that regardless of what I am wearing." Artoria smiled bashfully.


    Well, it''s not every day I get to see her wearing just jeans and a T-Shirt. She usually opts for more feminine clothing. I asked her about it before, and she mentioned that she was used to wearing ''trousers'' and such during her life that she wanted to be wearing the opposite now that she embraced being a woman more openly.


    But still, absolutely beautiful regardless.


    Personally, I think she''s scared that she''lle off as ''masculine''. So I make sure to remind her at every opportunity of how truly stunning she is.


    I was about to sneak in a kiss, but a scoff behind us kind of ruined the moment.


    "Please tell me you aren''t going to be doing this the entire time." Mordred grumbled. "Still fucking weird seeing father being so lovey dovey with someone."


    "Mordred." Artoria greeted, the tiniest hint of pink on her cheeks.


    It continues to give me the warm fuzzies in my stomach to know that she''s still so adorable about things like this.


    "Alright, I''m here. What''d you want?" Mordred asked.


    "I thought it''d be nice to spend time together. Artoria and I have been dating for awhile now, and besides the joking about the whole ''mother'' thing aside, I''d like for us to get along. So, I nned a little outing for us all that I think you would both enjoy." I briefly exined.


    It was at the point where I could easily see myself asking Artoria a very important question in the future. One that involves a Ring and everything thates with that. Making sure Mordred isfortable with us ''together'' and doing things as a group was important to myself and I would assume Artoria if our rtionship continues to the next level.


    I mean, we already do things. We''ve gone out and fought, sparred, beat up people together and generally did things with one another. But I guess what I want was us to all spend time together as a family.


    "It''s not like I hate you or anything, you didn''t have to do crap like this." Mordred grumbled, sorta in a cute way like she didn''t know how to actually respond to my earnest desire.


    "I think it''s a wonderful Idea." Artoria smiled beautifully, grabbing my hand. "We should do more activities that don''t involve..."


    "Fighting?"


    "Generally, yes." She admitted. "Admittedly, it is a very definitive aspect of our lives."


    "Aint never given up my sword." Mordred grunted.


    "None of us would ever ask you to, Mordred." Artoria soothed her ''son''. "And what activity did you n, Wilhelm?"


    "Hmm, before I say, let me ask you something. What do you know about Alchemy?"


    "Barely anything. Know it''s to make stuff. Potions, and crap. Homunculi." Mordred shrugged.


    "As Mordred says. I know more specifics due to my time with Rin, but I am not a Magus by any stretch of the imagination." Artoria also added.


    "Right, well, it''s prettymon knowledge that Alchemy and other aspects of magic to a lesser extent, make use of parts of magical and mundane creatures. I''m sure you can imagine things like Dragons being treasure troves in that aspect."


    "Yeah, that''s pretty damn obvious, what''re you getting at?" Mordred sounded a little impatient. She never cared about magic stuff, so it was expected.


    "As I said, mundane creatures too. Certain animals also have properties that make them valuable, enough that they get hunted by the magical side of the world. Combined with how the mundane side of the world is going, their habitats are also getting destroyed." I waved my hand, producing a portal. "Our destination." I weed them forward as we all stepped through. "Wee to Africa."


    "Huh, didn''t expect that." Mordred looked around. "Never been here before."


    "Neither have I." Artoria mirrored.


    "Specifically, wee to the world''srgest reserve and sanctuary for what are essentially Big Cats." I gave a better introduction.


    "Big Cats? You mean like Tigers and Lions and shit?" Mordred''s eyes started lighting up as she stared at me.


    "Precisely. And it''s owned and operated by someone who is a Magician themselves. They go around rescuing mistreated and dwindling species and protecting them here."


    "An honorable profession." Artoria nodded, looking just and interested as Mordred.


    Artoria liked cats. She had a pet Lion when she was king.


    Mordred shared very simr thoughts on the feline species.


    "I made a donation and talked to the owner." I stated, spinning a key ring around my finger. "We have the ce to ourselves, rtively speaking, for the day. Since the owner is a Magician, and I made assurances we weren''t here to harm the animals or ''steal'' them, well, he doesn''t mind if we go in and y."


    The Owner was around, but I made a very significant donation to let me essentially rent the ce out for the day. Which, was rather unorthodox for a ce like this....but he didn''t really question it with the amount of zeros I showed him.


    Not to mention they can''t exactly harm any of us so.....not any different than normal house cats.


    "Really?" Mordred''s eyes widened. "I can just...?" She walked up to the fence of one enclosure which was probably pretty damn big.


    I tossed her the keys. "Have fun."


    Mordred didn''t need to be told twice. She immediately made way for the gate, unlocking it and hurrying inside. There were a group of Lions in the distance, and she practically ran up to them and gave the first one a gigantic hug.


    I think it tried to fight her, but I''m pretty sure Mordred took that as indication that it wanted to be pet.


    And after a moment or two, the Lion seemed to ept its new life and settled down.


    I''m fairly sure there were magics in ce that soothed the lions and kind of let them know that the ''people'' around here weren''t going to hurt them.


    "This was a very kind and thoughtful trip, Wilhelm. I''m sure Mordred will remember today for a very long time." Artoria squeezed my hand.


    "It wasn''t just for her, y''know." I looked down at Artoria who, very clearly looked like she wanted to join her child. "Go y with Mordred, I''ll be right behind you."


    She bit her lip, mentally fighting with herself for half a second before standing on her toes to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. And with grace, quickly made her own way towards where Mordred was.


    God I love that woman.


    [***]


    It was amusing, watching Artoria and Mordred sort of ignore the usual stiffness or any concept of decorum and just have fun.


    Artoria found herself on the back of the biggest male, as it slowly trot around and she had a big smile about her as she rode it haphazardly.


    Mordred, was the opposite.


    She had a very confused Lioness above her head as she ran around with it.


    AS for me, well.... I was giving ear scratches to a lioness who decided that my hair was her new ything while Iid down in the middle of their little pride. There was another Lioness who was licking my cheek.....with her barbed tongue.


    Fun fact, big cat licks are not pleasant. If I was a normal human, her licking would have torn the skin on my face.


    "Should I be concerned that you once more find yourself surrounded by women?" Artoria came riding over. Her apparent mount looked like it was done and just fell down and rolled over, ignoring that Artoria was on its back.


    She let out an adorable ''eeep''.


    "I could make a joke right now." I pointed out.


    She puffed up cutely before hopping over several lion bodies andying down next to me, snuggling up as much as she could.


    "Thank you, Wilhelm." She whispered, giving me another kiss on the cheek. "This has been a most wonderful evening. I have not seen Mordred have such whimsical fun in my life. This means more than you can imagine."


    "As long as you and Mordred had fun, then it''s a sess."


    She leaned over, kissing my cheek again. "I love you, Wilhelm."


    "I love you too, Artoria." She rested her head on my shoulder as we watched Mordred run around with a few of the Lionesses.


    [***]


    A/N


    Yeah, that is a canon omake. The time table doesn''t really matter, but just wanted to throw in some random things here or there while other stuff is going on.


    We''re reaching the end of the Bleach Arc soon with the climaxing up.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 397 - 359

    <h4>Chapter 397: Chapter 359</h4>


    Both Izzy and I stepped out of my portal, feet sinking into the rocky sand.


    "I would ask if we left Soul Society and were back in the Candy Man''s basement." Izzy looked around.


    "You call him the Candy Man too?" I asked.


    "I have been in my head since I met him." She admitted.


    Heh.


    Right, yeah, this ce looked exactly like that guy''s basement.


    Maybe a tad bigger, but the space here was extended and expanded in nearly the same way. There was a notable difference due to everything being made from Reishi, but the principles remained the same.


    "What''s with all the swords?" I stopped looking at the ''space'' itself and more so at what was around us. There were swords all stabbed into the ground, and they all kind of looked like Ichigo''s sword or rather variations of it.


    "They''re all real." Izzy replied.


    "Really?"


    "Are you doubting me?" She smiled amusedly.


    "It was more rhetorical, I trust you. Just kind of weird that I had to double check." I reached out to grab one that looked like a jagged version of Ichigo''s giant cleaver.


    "Don''t touch that." A voice called out, and it sounded....off.


    Maybe it was because of all the swords around, but I didn''t notice its presence. No, it blended in near perfectly around them that even staring right at It, It was nearly impossible to pick out.


    "Did you spill a bottle of bleach on yourself, Ichigo?" I tilted my head.


    "Funny." He grinned...weirdly with that same off voice. It sounded like Its voice was echoing within itself.


    Right, this person was basically an albino reflection of Ichigo. Literally, his skin was bleach white, and he was missing the iconic orange hair. Not to mention his eyes were yellow and ck, in fact.. "Are you a Hollow?" I questioned.


    "Yeah." He admitted. "That a problem?"


    "Do you eat souls?"


    "Nah."


    "Then I don''t really give a shit." I shrugged. "Why do you look like Strawberry? Did you eat him or something?"


    "Nah, I''m his inner Hollow."


    "Oh." I blinked. "That''s really fucking edgy."


    "Haha." He chuckled in that distorted way.


    "So Ichigo''s part Hollow, that''s neat. Is that why he apparently doesn''t need an Asauchi for his Zanpakut¨­?"


    "Who knows."


    "Got a name?" I asked.


    "Zangetsu." He replied.


    "The same as his Zanpakut¨­, eh? I did hear he had two spirits, but I didn''t know a Hollow could be a Zanpakut¨­ spirit." Not that I''m really an expert on this shit. "Can I ask you a question? Something I''ve been wondering about these Zanpakut¨­ Spirits as I''m trying to get my own."


    "Wouldn''t consider myself a normal spirit, ya know?"


    "Well, it shouldn''t matter."


    "Whatcha want?" He appeared very open, which was odd considering he imed to be a Hollow. I would almost call him easy going and cheerful.


    "Are you like.... Aplete reflection of Ichigo? How much is he reallypensating for that big ass sword of his?"


    "I am the sword." He deadpanned.


    "Right....."


    He cracked a smile. "Ya really wanna know?" He leaned in and promptly disappeared from the spot he was in before uttering a word.


    "Out of everything you could have asked him, that was what you chose?" Izzy asked incredulously.


    "I was genuinely curious."


    "Why did I expect anything different?" She sighed.


    "There you two are!" A familiar purple head of hair appeared with a blur of Shunpo.


    "Hey Yoruichi, feels like it''s been awhile." I greeted.


    "Where the hell have the two of you been!"


    "Here and there." I said rather vaguely. "So I met Ichigo''s albino twin."


    Her expression changed. "Yeah....that."


    "I take it that''s not normal?"


    "No, no it is not. Creeps me out." She grunted. "Anyways, the kids are over on the other end."


    "Lead the way." I gestured.


    [***]


    "Looks like everyone''s doing well." I looked around, most of them looked like they were taking a break as it was clear they''ve been doing some kind of training. Well, everyone but Ichigo was here, but I could see off to the side as he was sparing with a man in a ck cloak and some nifty looking sses and long ck hair.


    Huh, I vaguely remember a face like that when I was healing him with Avalon.


    "So, what''s going on?" I asked, addressing everyone.


    "Training." Chad grunted.


    "I noticed...." I nced at Ichigo again.


    "They found out how powerful a Captain actually is." Yoruichi rified. "They ran into Rukia''s Brother, Captain Kuchiki as they got close to her cell. He cut them down like wheat."


    "Ah, yeah I can see that. And Ichigo is...?"


    "Bankai training." She replied. "It''s a method Kisuke created that can get their Bankai unlocked in three days."


    "That sounds kinda suspicious. What''s the catch?"


    "If you fail, you lose it forever."


    "I take it you couldn''t talk him out of it?"


    "Stubborn brat." She snorted. "The kids did manage to handle a few Lieutenants though."


    Not bad.


    "And Albino Ichigo? What''s the deal with that?" I wanted some rification there.


    She let out a frustrated sigh. "I''m ming Kisuke."


    "Seems like that''s probably a safe bet when he''s involved in anything."


    She let out a small chuckle. "Right, so to regain his powers, they broke his soul chain, making him start the Hollowification process...,."


    "And you think that part stuck around and conceptualized into his Zanpakut¨­ spirit?" I tapped my chin. "Did Ichigo freak out?"


    His friends weren''t really batting an eye at it, so they''re probably used to it at this point.


    "Eh." She shrugged. "I think he''s in denial. They''ve been arguing a lot but he hasn''t like....tried to hurt him or anything so who knows. Something the kid has to sort out himself."


    "He seemed nice enough."


    "The Hollow?" She blinked. "He barely spoke to us, but sort of was standoffish and condescending most of the time."


    "Really? Maybe he just likes me." Hmm, or maybe it was the whole Avalon thing? I know his spirit now looked back at me, maybe I was in their good books because of that.


    "Whatever the reason, it''s not really my area of expertise. But more importantly, what the hell happened earlier? There was a massive influx of Reiatsu and some weird phenomenon appearing on the other side of the Seireitei. Was that you?" She looked at me skeptically.


    "Nah, apparently some Quincy invaded Soul Society and they had a big fight."


    "What!?" Ury¨± interrupted. "Quincy?" He had been listening at the side, looking utterly exhausted but suddenly he shot to his feet with eyes widened. "That''s impossible, I''m thest one."


    "Yeah, no." I corrected him. "I cut down a few dozen myself and they had some powerful ones called ''Sternritter'' or something and they were about as strong as Captains. Helped Shunsui and some female Captain handle them. Izzy also took one of them too." I smiled towards Izzy who had been patiently at my side.


    "You serious?" Yoruichi looked at me in shock.


    "Yup. Izzy here said they''re actually hiding in the shadows of Soul Society and there''s a bunch of them down there."


    Yoruichi''s jaw dropped as she turned towards Izzy. "I did not expect you all to be ignorant of your neighbors, otherwise I would have not sent that Shinigami there for a time out."


    "W-wait, Aizen? You threw Aizen right in the middle of a bunch of crazy Quincy?"


    "So it seems." She huffed.


    Yoruichi stared for a moment before breaking down inughter. "Oh God, that''s great, that''s amazing. I can''t wait to tell Kisuke."


    "What about the Quincy?" Ury¨± asked.


    "There isn''t much to tell, they attacked, they were repelled and ran away. Doesn''t seem like they''re overly friendly with Soul Society so.... Be careful, yeah?"


    Ury¨± slumped down, looking lost at the newfound information.


    Honestly, I thought he''d be happy at the revtion that there were other Quincy.


    Even if they were...hostile.


    "So what is your game n now?" I walked over to Orihime who was sitting on the ground. I gave her a little pat on the head, making the quiet girl brighten up.


    Izzy also came to fuss over Orihime. "Child you are unharmed, yes?"


    "I''m not hurt." Orihime smiled.


    Such a nice girl.


    "We still have a few days, enough time for Ichigo to master his Bankai and for the others to get some needed training in. Knowing where they stand now, they''ll have a better shot."


    "And attack the execution while it''s happening?"


    "Hell yeah." Ichigo chose this moment to jump down from a nearby cliff, looking rather roughed up and weathered. There was blood dripping from several wounds on his body too.


    "That''s the n." She stated, ignoring his return.


    "You''re here too, huh?" Ichigo scowled.


    "Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime hurriedly shot off the ground, her ability enveloping him, healing him at an extremely fast rate.


    "Thanks Orihime you''re the best." He smiled and the girl all but melted under the praise.


    Huh.


    A crush?


    "Heard you got smacked around by a Captain."


    "I''ll get him next time." He scowled deeper.


    "Your Reiatsu is higher than thest time we met." Like...noticeably higher by arge degree. "You''re making good progress."


    "...Thanks?" He blinked.


    Was he surprised by my praise?


    "Have you happened to run into a Captain with spiky hair with bells tied to the ends?" I asked.


    "Wait, isn''t that Kenpachi?" Yoruichi blinked.


    "No, why?" Ichigo looked confused.


    ".....No reason."


    "You did something and I''m gonna be pissed about itter." The orange haired kid sighed. "Do you have any idea how many people were screaming about a ''brick'' when they heard my name!?" He shouted in exasperation. "When they weren''t shouting at getting revenge, you bastard!" He huffed.


    I was about to respond, but another ''person'' joined us.


    The Spirit that had been with Ichigo a moment prior.


    He approached and....stared at Izzy for some reason, and she stared back.


    "Call me when you are ready for our next session." He said in a smooth voice before disappearing in a burst of Reiatsu.


    Seemed kind of in a rush too.


    Whatever.


    "Well, I may as well lend a hand while I''m here. I also think I made some progress on my Shunpo, wanna go for a few rounds?" Let''s see if I can''t incorporate what that Quincy girl did and cheat out my own version of Shunpo.


    And this seemed like a good ce to get some Kid¨­ practice in as wellter.


    "Sure, I''ve been a little stiff just standing here for so long I wouldn''t mind stretching my legs." Yoruichi smiled.


    I nced at Izzy who gave me a nod of approval.


    "Well then, tag is it?"


    "Catch me if you can~"


    [***]


    Izanami POV


    The nights here were strange.


    It was not the first time spending a night in this Spiritual Realm, but it was strange to not feel the familiar light of my son''s moon hanging in the sky.


    No, it felt fake inparison.


    The sky itself was false, there was a limit to how high one could ascend before hitting a limit.


    Everything about this ce was created to mimic the living world. A facsimile of my homnd after literally carving out pieces of Japan to build it.


    As much as I am disliked this ce, I have been enjoying myself. Had Wilhelm not been present, I may not have held myself back thus far and simply exerted my will out of anger. But for now, I allowed them to continue at my mercy.


    If things reached a point, I would simply let them know who I truly am and where they truly stand.


    Though, I didn''t wish for Wilhelm to see that side of me. However, thest time....he seemed....receptive and attracted.


    Regardless, it was not a matter for concern at the moment.


    The Children were getting some much needed rest as they were pushing themselves admirably in their training and Wilhelm was off to a far corner of this underground gorge and practicing something or another. Thus, I had nothing to do but enjoy the strange night by my lonesome.


    Despite the angering situation I found myself in, I can''t deny that it''s been the happiest I have in a very long time.


    Wilhelm has been one of the best things to happen to me. Never would I have dreamed of being on an adventure like this before.


    I wanted....


    I wanted more of this, I didn''t ever want it to stop. I want to be selfish and keep him close to me and not let go....


    "To approach me while your owner is sleeping, one might find it suspicious." My idle musing was broken by a wayward Spirit at my back. "What do you require, child?" I turned towards him.


    The one called Kurosaki Ichigo with his two interesting Spirits. The Hollow we had met previously, and now this one.


    "I apologize for my sudden appearance." He spoke politely, so I would hear what he wished to say.


    "What requires you to materialize without your owner''s notice and seek me out?"


    "I wished to ask you a question."


    "Does it have anything to do with the Quincy I encountered not long ago?" I raised an eyebrow, watching him have a miniscule reaction, but retain his stoic expression. "It''s strange, you are awfully familiar to the presence that lingered inside the souls of the Quincy. And considering theposition of your owner''s Soul, it makes me wonder if you are a Zanpakut¨­ in the first ce."


    "....so you know."


    "I simply did not have the context for when I first met him. However, after meeting more of those Quincy beyond the child that apanies him, it is easy to ascertain the nuances of what resides within him. Souls are my domain, I would have to be blind not to see that Kurosaki Ichigo is part Quincy." There is a very distinct difference in the souls of Quincy over regr humans.


    "I see." He breathed out. "I am ¨C " He paused, no he looked like he was forced into silence. "That name was taken from me." He closed his eyes. "I am Zangetsu."


    "The same name as the Hollow imed, how quaint." I looked him over. "Someone did something to you, yes? You were going to say something, but you were forced to silence. I can take a look." I was mildly curious.


    He nodded silently and I took a step forward, touching this Spirit. "....someone used an Authority to erase something from your existence. It''s not that you are forbidden from speaking, but that you are conceptually unable to actualize the word in any form."


    "It does not matter." He took a step backwards. "I only wished to verify that you knew and to ask that you don''t tell him."


    "How interesting, you can keep information intentionally from your owner. What would you do if I wanted to tell him?"


    "I have no recourse." He said simply.


    "Hmm, and you have no ns on telling him? You would keep that information away from him when he desperately is pushing himself to save someone he cares for? It would surely be valuable to learn their techniques and abilities." I tilted my head.


    "It would be harmful for him to learn. My priority is and always will be to protect Ichigo."


    "Really?" I questioned. "You''re hiding the truth to protect him? Or are you trying to protect yourself?"


    He was silent.


    "You need not worry, I won''t say anything. I don''t make it a habit of involving myself into people''s personal matters." I dismissed the matter out of hand.


    "....and the other young man?"


    "I did not reveal what I discovered about your owner''s unique soul. Your wielder is owed his own privacy and as long as it isn''t an issue for us, I won''t say anything."


    "You have my gratitude." He bowed his head.


    "Your owner was born under my Daughter''s sun, you have no reason to thank me for something so trivial." I waved my hand. "You should return before you are noticed."


    He turned to leave, but paused his steps. "Please extend my gratitude to the other one. I did not originally intend for Ichigo to meet his Hollow aspect so soon. The Sheath that was used to care for Ichigo is beyond something I understand and changed things I did not wish changed. However...the meadow has been enjoyable."


    Wilhelm told me he used Artoria''s Sheath to heal him, did it do something to him? "I will pass on your words."


    I withdrew my sight from him as he disappeared as I had something more important to focus on.


    "You''re back." I smiled as Wilhelm returned at quick speeds.


    "Yeah, had a good little workout and figured some things out." He stretched his arms. "You''re not sleeping?"


    "I don''t require sleep, it''s merely a pleasant experience I indulge in."


    "Hmm, I''m trying to wind down at the moment. But Yoruichi told me something interesting, apparently they have a hotspring down here. Interested?"


    "I think that would be most enjoyable."


    He offered his arm and I happily took it.


    This was the happiest I have been for a very long time.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: The Clown Imposter!


    Shunsui POV


    "Another Captains meeting so soon?" I yawned, taking my spot. "What''s on the agenda for today?"


    "You would know if you weren''tte." Captain Sui-Feng hissed.


    "Ara, I''m just on time" I grinned. Well, The Old Man wasn''t angry, so that meant I''m notte!


    "Can we get started? I have other things nned today." Mayuri asked and....


    "You sound different, Mayuri, did something happen?" I looked at him. "And you changed your look again."


    "I decided it was time to embrace my inner nature." He puffed up proudly.


    "....okay then." Well, he did weird stuff like this all the time.


    We were about to start when the door was pulled open hastily. "I apologize for beingte, but my experiments on the Quincy were taking my full and undivided attention." .....Mayuri said as he walked into the room. "And I....." He stopped,ing face to face with Mayuri. "What is this?"


    "That''s what I''d like to know." I looked at the two Mayuri.


    "You!!" The newest Mayuri screeched, pointing a finger at the Mayuri that was already here. "Ryoka! What are you all standing around for, arrest him!"


    "Calm down, calm down." I stood up, getting between them. "It''s clear that one of you is an imposter, we need to settle this properly."


    "What are you saying!? How could you think I''m an imposter, look at him!" The Mayuri that looked like he did thest time I saw him pointed to the Mayuri that was standing here from before I walked in.


    "A trick by our enemies?" Captain Hitsugaya asked. "It''s going to be difficult finding out which one is the real one."


    "Is this a joke!? He''s wearing an orange, curly, wig and his face is painted white and that''s....that''s a big round red nose on his face!!! You can see his real hair behind him!!!!"


    ".....I''m really not seeing much of a difference."


    "Gaaah!" ''Mayuri let out a scream.


    "This is a conundrum." The Mayuri with the red nose spoke up. "Clearly we should solve this by asking us questions."


    "That''s a good idea, Mayuri." I pursed my lips. "Alright, here''s a question. Let''s have Mayuri recount how he was defeated recently by the Ryoka."


    "I was not ¨C "


    "A Brick. I was beaten brutally with nothing but a mundane brick because I''m weak." The Red Nose Mayuri immediately replied.


    "That''s ¨C "


    "I think that answers our questions." I looked around and everyone else nodded.


    "Take the imposter to a holding cell." The Old Manmanded.


    "Very well, leave it to me." Captain Kuchiki volunteered.


    "I''ll help ya take the fake Mayuri, Kuchiki." Gin also decided to help.


    "No, this is ridiculous, I''m not ¨C " His voice died down as he was dragged outside and pulled away.


    "Sorry about that, Mayuri." I apologized.


    "Eh, don''t worry about it. It''s easy to copy my look with any clown getup."


    Huh, Mayuri was much more likable today. I hoped this continued.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 398 - 360

    <h4>Chapter 398: Chapter 360</h4>


    The hot spring was magnificent.


    It had been awhile since I''ve used one, and they were always so rxing. The pleasantly hot water simmering against my skin was soothing. Not to mention there was something a little special about this one. I''m fairly sure there was a rejuvenation effect embedded in this water. Both for stamina and any lesser injuries, if I had to guess.


    Normally, I''d be all over trying to figure it out, but even my need to know things could be dissuaded when I was sofortable.


    Really, it just seemed to eat away at any umted stress. If I wasn''t a Campione with absurd Magical Resistance, I would be sure that this thing was affecting me.


    "How''s the water?" Izzy sauntered up.


    I peeked out with one eye, but both of them immediately shot open. She was wearing nothing but a towel to cover herself, and it didn''t leave much to the imagination. Specifically, my eyes were drawn towards her wide hips and down to her long legs.


    She has always been utterly beautiful, but I''ve simply never seen so much of her before.


    "It''s considered rude to stare at other people in a shared hot spring." She stated, making me regain my wits. However, there was the slightest pink hue on her cheeks as she gracefully slid down, her feet touching the water.


    You make it hard not to stare.


    "Water''s great." I coughed awkwardly, turning my head, though I still sent a nce her way.


    She smiled in amusement. Slowly, she slid down into the water, pulling the tower away and covering her chest with her arm. With a small ssh, shepletely submerged herself up to her neck, rxing immediately under the steamy water. "Oh this is pleasant."


    "Isn''t it?" I let out a content sigh.


    "It almost makes me not want to rip away mynd from underneath these Shinigami." She smiled happily. "Almost."


    "Still on the fence about that?"


    "At the very least, I will make my displeasure known before we leave. If they do not clean up this mess, then I will have no qualms about fixing things myself."


    "That sounds ominous."


    "It was supposed to." She snorted. "What are those?" She pushed herself through the water towards me. I kind of missed her question because she sat up straighter, and her chest was barely covered by the water.


    I felt the touch of her finger on my chest as she poked at me. "...are you staring at my chest?"


    ".....no."


    She flicked my nose with a little huff. "Ogle my boobster. "


    "Will do."


    "Tell me why you have this nasty scar." She added an eye roll before tracing the scar on my chest.


    I looked down at it. "I told you before, that''s when I got stabbed by a light sword."


    "I didn''t even think about how it affected you." She pressed onto it. "Even if it wasn''t notable when you were younger, you are a Half-Devil. One of the church''s light swords should have...." Her hand reeled back.


    "I thought about it before. It was almost the moment that everything happened. The moment when my Circuits ignited for the first time, the moment my Demonic Power, as miniscule as it is, bubbled to the surface. The first time my Devil Biology was pressured in any meaningful way. The best answer I can give is that with everything suddenly bursting to the surface, the invading Holy Energy was expelled and the sudden jolt vitalized my body to speed my natural healing for a brief moment before returning to ''normal''." Maybe an additional surge of Magical Energy by unconsciously pulling on the Kaleidoscope as well. I did teleport myself by ident back home during the whole mess, so that''s also usible. "I guess I was lucky."


    "It annoys me that you came so close to death and survived due to luck."


    "My luck has always been pretty good. I was lucky that Meridia didn''t smite me when I asked her to be mine. I was lucky that Sc¨¢thach epted me as a student. I was lucky that I met an amazing Goddess who has be someone dear to me." I gave her a smile.


    That got a little bashful smile out of her. The kind that she tried her best to keep herself from expressing too outwardly. "I still can''t believe what you did with that...Goddess."


    "In retrospect, I am fully aware of how utterly reckless I was when meeting Meridia for the first time. I was in no way shape or form prepared for that level of power when I was younger. I can admit that I was more troubled then and perhaps acting out due to my newfound freedom and didn''t consider my actions."


    "He says while in the middle of an invasion of Heaven." She deadpanned.


    I sshed some water at her. "There''s a difference. I actually give thought about my reckless actions now. It''s all carefully calcted."


    "Didn''t you drop out of school?"


    I opened my mouth to retort....but I had nothing. "As a Goddess of Death, you know how to just kill someone so thoroughly...."


    "Oh hush, you''re being overly dramatic." She sshed some water up at me. "Besides, I''m sure many highschool dropouts lead sessful and fulfilling ¨C "


    I flicked my finger with a good amount of force, sending a wave of water that smacked her face. The water dripped down her face, and even the water around us couldn''t negate the dryness of the look she gave me. Next thing I know, there was a hand atop my head, and my body was fully submerged underwater.


    "And what have we learned?" Izzy asked, pulling my head up a momentter.


    "That I should cast a spell to see clearly in the water quicker."


    "Of course that is your first thought." She huffed, letting go of me as the tinge of red returned. "I sometimes forget how perverted Devils are."


    "First, that''s racist."


    "Oh no, I''m sure someone will be upset with me about saying something bad about Devils." She deadpanned.


    "Second, the ''Goddess'' is throwing some stones from her ss house over there."


    "Oh and what ¨C"


    "Zeus."


    "....That is a low blow."


    "You should push my head back underwater as punishment." I smiled.


    "Yes, I''m sure there''s no other reason you would want that." She stepped closer, practically hugging me. "It seems I''ll have to be on guard against you." She dered,ying her head against my chest as she rxed. "Now you can''t sneak a peek at my body." She harrumphed. "Though I don''t mind so much if it''s you." She added on quietly.


    I found myself putting my arms around her once more, leaning back against the edge of the hot spring.


    "Do you want to stay with the children or go cause some more mischief?" She asked with a hum.


    "May as well stay with them for the next couple days. Once this whole execution business is sorted, we can probably head home. I pretty much got what I needed, after I make sure the kids aren''t going to suffer because of my actions, I won''t really care about them much." They should mostly be able to take care of themselves, and they have some powerful people in their corner.


    I guess I could check up every now and then, but I got more than enough on my te at the moment. I already spent more time in this World than I intended and this was eating into some training time I could be having.


    "Did they not grow on you? You seem to pick up several acquaintances and what-not on every world you visit."


    "Eh." I guess so? "I mean, I would say I''m friends with Yoruichi, she''s fun. And Shunsui has been great, I''d consider him a friend at this point. Orihime is a cute girl with ridiculous powers, but I suppose that''s where it ends." I mean...I kinda wanted to see Unohana again but it felt really awkward at the moment. Partly because we were technically enemies, but also because I had Izzy at my side and....flirting with Unohana with Izzy next to me felt wrong. "Why, do you like them?"


    "Hmm, they are interesting, but I have no concern beyond what you asked. And that they were born on thend I created and under my Daughter''s sun. Mortals live, mortals die, it''s the proper cycle, so I would not normally interfere. However, this situation is unique enough that I don''t mind intervening on their behalf."


    "Well, let''s just get through this Execution, get everything settled nice and tidy without any problems first."


    "And you just jinxed it." Izzy said without a hint of hesitation.


    [***]


    "I think you have more power hidden inside you." I spoke, dodging out of the way of one of Chad''s punches as he unleashed an admirable amount of power and sted apart a teau behind us. "Also, try focusing all that energy to a smaller point. If it''s so widespread, the destruction may be impressive, but a Captain can disperse it easier."


    Chad grunted, following up with a flurry of punches. He would charge up his fist for a faint and then two punchester, release the build up without any warning.


    He was learning.


    I wouldn''t say it was slow, butpared to Strawberry whose Reiatsu more than tripled since I saw him again a few days ago, well.... maybe it''s not a fairparison. Ury¨± also had significant progress, his Reiatsu was probably double what it was at the same time. Though, he''s still significantly lower than Ichigo and the gap was widening.


    I think that was pushing the Quincy more than anything. That or learning that there are other Quincy out there, and they''re much more powerful than him.


    "You''re going to need to figure out your footwork too. I don''t want to be mean, but you''re slow." Imented, mming his fist to the side. I stepped in, grabbing his extended hand, and threw his body at a rock formation.


    He had pretty good endurance, so he stood back up from the broken rocks, and dusted himself off with minimal damage. "What do you suggest?"


    "Honestly, it''s probably toote to learn anything in time for the execution, but check with Yoruichi about her Shunpo and see if there''s anything you can do with it for the future. With Strawberry''s luck, this isn''t thest time you''ll be punching some ghosts."


    There was a faint smile, perhaps a tiny chuckle as he readied himself again for another bout.


    "Although..." I had a thought, andpletely forgot about something. I had some Enchanted items that I kept in some dark corner of my storage ring. I mentally searched through it until I found a ring that was Enchanted simrly, if to a lesser extent, to my Ring of the Khajit that Meridia gave me. "Here, catch." I quickly tossed it to the confused giant.


    He stared at it, then me.


    "It''s Magic." I made sure to rify. "Try it on."


    He blinked, eyeing it again and pushing it down on a finger. "Now what?" He asked.


    I made ae-at-me motion. And he obliged.


    He took a step and shot forward. The kid was always fast for a human, but that increased noticeably. It''s a very far cry from a Shinigami using Shunpo, but it was significantly better than where he was before.


    "I feel light." He stated, throwing punches that were a tad sharper too.


    "The Ring should increase your overall speed and agility." I informed, dodging some more, but his punches came to an abrupt stop when there was a gigantic burst of Reiatsu from where Strawberry was doing his training.


    It skyrocketed at least ten times from what it was for just a moment.


    "I''m pretty sure your friend is done." I scratched my head, looking over there.


    Chad nodded as I patted his shoulder and we walked back to where the others were.


    Izzy was happily chatting with Orihime. That woman had a soft spot for children, I know she did.


    Ury¨± had walked back over too, looking exhausted, but otherwise fine. And Yoruichi was hovering around, making sure everything was fine, but her eyes were focused on Ichgio who sort of hobbled over, kimono torn, and weathered heavily, but a big grin on his face.


    "You seeded." Yoruichi stated, as a matter of fact.


    "Yup." Ichigo said proudly. "Let''s go save Rukia!" He punched his fist into his open palm.


    "Don''t be an idiot." Yoruichi gave him a flying kick. "You''re nearly spent and everyone else is tired. The Execution is tomorrow, we''ll move then."


    Ichigo took a deep breath. "Alright, what''s the n?"


    [***]


    S¨­suke Aizen POV


    Finally, the day had arrived.


    I had barely enough time to master the technique to interface with the soul that Kisuke Urahara had hidden in his notes. I did not originally n for the Execution to be interfered with due to the War Time Protocols, but in the long list of issues that have urred recently it was a minor footnote.


    Compared to being banished to a secret Quincy stronghold hidden right under our noses, I think it''s utterly ignorable if an annoyance.


    And it is certainly less intrusive than my n of faking my death being discovered so easily. I expected that Captain Unohana would eventually discover the features of the Gigai I had left behind,bined with my Zanpakuto''s ability, but to be discovered so quickly was beyond my expectations.


    I was growing weary of keeping up the illusion of the central 46 still being alive. As cathartic as it was to end those sniveling and insufferable nobles, it only brought more annoyances for me at this point.


    One of the only usible ces to hide was beneath the Central 46 in the forbidden archives. Considering I was forced to hide because I was dered derelict of duty and there was a search for me.


    Just one more bump in my ns. But even with the unexpected urrences, everything was turning out in my favor. The situation was salvageable without changing my ns too drastically.


    I just need to retrieve the object that Kisuke Urahara hid inside of Kuchiki Rukia''s soul, one way or another. I doubted that the execution would go as...nned, thus I have prepared.


    I have my own forces prepared and waiting to intervene if necessary. My Espada, they were ready to answer my call to battle.


    The Strongest Hollows in existence, given power beyond what''s conceivable and blurred the lines between Hollow and Shinigami. Each one was easily a match for a Captain in strength. And a further army of Hollows that were....lesser but still mightypared to the average Shinigami.


    I watched from a distance, using one of Kisuke Urahara''s parting gifts from the night of his banishment. A cloak that concealed my Reiatsu from the senses of others.


    The majority of Captains were present for the Execution, standing below the scaffolding and the Holy Execution de, the ¨C S¨­kyoku. An interesting Zanpakut¨­, if it could even be ssified as such anymore. Thebined might of a million Zanpakut¨­''spressed into a single form resembling a Guandao.


    In another time or ce, I may have made a bid for it. I toyed with the idea of telling my Lieutenant that Captain Hitsugaya was nning on stealing it to sow discord, but I unfortunately had no time. I supposed it''s something I could look into once I achieved my true goal and Soul Society would no longer be able to stop me.


    The final seals on the mighty weapon unraveled. An intense me engulfed the area as the Execution Weapon released itself.


    The equivalent of a Shikai.


    The screech of a bird echoed out across Soul Society. The weapon taking on the form of a Phoenix.


    It''s quite poetic, I would assume. The bird that represents death and rebirth being the one to carry out the execution.


    It''s only a matter of time before the Ryoka would appear to disrupt everything.


    And almost right on cue, Kurosaki Ichigo appeared with impressive speed on top of the Execution Scaffolding. He was attempting to face down therge ming creature, and I would admit that his courage was respectable. Even I wouldn''t want to face it head on without using my full power. I was sure my Reiatsu could suppress the mindless weapon, but it was powerful to earn a modicum of my respect.


    I would assume that even the Captain Commander can acknowledge the power behind the Holy Execution weapon.


    Now, what method did they devise to rescue theirpanion? Does he n to just brute force? It would be in line with the personality of the young man.


    Perhaps Yoruichi ¨C


    I felt a strange coldness down my spine.


    And then I noticed the shadows acting erratically.


    "....no...." I whispered.


    It was sudden, with hardly a warning. Arge Quincy Cross exploded to the sky and arge shadow disced a dozen Quincy into the air above the execution.


    And they started to assault the S¨­kyoku and moved towards Kuchiki Rukia.


    Were they.....attempting to steal her?


    Absolutely not!


    I have had enough of all these unforeseen interlopers destroying my carefullyid out ns!


    I no longer cared that the Shinigami engaged the Quincy, I no longer cared about my stealth.


    I gathered my Reiryoku and sped towards my prize. I didn''t know why they were targeting her, maybe my ns had been leaked, but frankly, at this moment, I no longer cared.


    "Shatter ¨C Ky¨­ka Suigetsu!" I dered as a significant amount of eyes had turned to me. My de buried itself into the back of a Quincy in my way, one I vaguely recognized as having fallen under my Zanpakut¨­''s abilities when I had found myself inside their base.


    I had no time to consider the humor in that the Shinigami thought I wasing to reinforce them.


    Quincy drew their bows, Shinigami released their Zanpakut¨­, and I gave a signal.


    Kurosaki Ichigo had grabbed Kuchiki Rukia and dislodged her from the Execution tform while the Bird was fending off attacks from Several Quincy, so I needed not bother about that.


    At mymand, a Garganta opened up in the sky.


    The method by which Hollows traversed the worlds.


    It was massive and in its depths an uncountable number of glowing eyes within the darkness. The Hollows roared, shaking the foundations of Soul Society. Hundreds of Menos Grandes appeared, towering high above and the familiar eerie red light eclipsed the sun.


    Hundreds of Ceros fired down towards both the Shinigami and Quincy.


    The chaotic and abrupt battlefield immediately became silent, if only for a brief moment, but it was all I needed.


    Kurosaki Ichigo hovered over the girl protectively, but he was easily dispatched and kicked away when he couldn''t even perceive my existence and I wasted no time.


    I activated the technique that Kisuke Urahara left behind in this moment of respite. Small pirs emerged from the ground around us, activating a field of Reishi and altered the frequency of souls within. An ever so slight change that allowed for one to interact with the Soul of the upants without any negative side effects.


    The second piece of the puzzle was to turn my arm into a device capable of essing the frequency. Why it appeared green and scale-like, I didn''t know and I didn''t care.


    The Kuchiki Girl didn''t have time to react, nor did anyone else.


    I reached inside her soul and found it.


    The Hogyoku.


    A masterpiece created by Kisuke Urahara, his greatest Masterpiece. An object that can blur the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollows to the uniformed, but held so much more power within. I of course also created my own, before I even knew of the existence of his. But there was a problem, mine was iplete. And I had the theory that Kisuke Urahara''s Hogyoku was also iplete. Thus, I had a simple thought ¨C they could be fused together to make them whole.


    My hand turned back to normal, and in my moment of triumph, I admired my prize.


    Except....I blinked and noticed a phenomena next to me that I didn''t quite recognize. A multitude of colors swirled briefly and parted, opening a space to somewhere else, and a hand shot out, grabbing my wrist. My head slowly turned to see the human...the red haired human, clutching my wrist and refusing to let go.


    "Oh, this looks important."


    .....it is.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 399 - 361

    <h4>Chapter 399: Chapter 361</h4>


    "Should we be....more active?" Izzy asked.


    "It''d probably be more detrimental, to be honest. I think the Old Man is just looking for an excuse to defer the Execution long enough to get everything settled legally." I added some air quotes around the word. "The n that the kids came up with is pretty sound."


    "Their n pretty much consisted of running in and beating up everyone and running away." She deadpanned.


    "I was trained by Sc¨¢thach."


    "Comment withdrawn."


    "For real though, I don''t expect them to seed. But if they destroy the scaffold ¨C execution stand thingy, the Old Man can call off the Execution so they can fix it and do it ''properly'' or some other nonsense. Not only that, they can then capture the kids, and feel good about themselves and let everything settle while retaining their pride."


    I looked at everyone present. The Old Man, Shunsui, the spiky haired Captain, and the petite woman that I met the other day along with Unohana. I resisted the urge to sneak over and chat her up. Along with those, there were others I didn''t recognize, but they all wore the same Haori. And they all had Lieutenants at their sides as they all silently watched the apparent Unsealing of the Execution weapon.


    "That would put a nice bow on everything and neatly tie it all up without any majorsting problems." She hummed. "At this point though, they better hope that''s how things go. I won''t say I''ve put in any significant effort, but I''ve spent a week here, and I did not do that just to see those children fail and have everything be for naught."


    Is it weird that I thought her menacing and ominous threats were attractive?


    "I''ll support you however you want." If she wanted to tell them to get their shit together, I''d be behind her one hundred percent.


    She smiled, turning back towards the Execution area. We were hidden well enough through our own efforts at the tree line at the edge of this massive rock formation which situated the whole Execution scaffold. "It''s starting." She stated.


    There was a massive polearm type Zanpakut¨­ that pointed upwards. Or would it be called a Naginata? In the West I suppose they''d call it a Halbert, but the naming convention didn''t really matter.


    Yoruichi gave some information, that it''s a Zanpakut¨­ that''s thebination of a rumored one million. Meant to carry out execution on the highest level ¨C soul destruction.


    The conglomeration of Zanpakut¨­ released itself, turning into a massive fiery Phoenix. I admit, it was rather impressive, and its power wasn''t anything to scoff at. And of course, Ichigo jumped right in, about to break the Scaffold, ignoring the big ol'' monster.


    "Something''s wrong." Izzy''s lips thinned with a small growl.


    The Shadows appeared again, the imagery of an oveid world and out came a dozen or so figures, who immediately began to bombard the Phoenix. The Arrows of the Quincy were noticeably effective against the thing. As each onended upon its fiery body, a small amount of mes were forcibly dispersed. And there were hundreds and hundreds thatid into it in a single moment.


    That being said, the Phoenix didn''t take kindly to their involvement. Before the Captains could make a move, the Spirit instead ignored Ichigo and attacked.


    "Alright, Guess I better step in." I noticed the Captains that were present also moved to intervene. A big battle was about to kickstart, and that''s when I noticed another anomaly.


    Like back in Karakura town, a ck crack was pulled open in the sky, revealing a significant amount of Hollows that all roared in unison. And they were all at least the same power as that big fuck off one as well.


    What were they called, Menos Grande?


    "Oh, it''s the Shinigami I put in time out." Izzy tilted her head as I too noticed the presence of a certain Shinigami heightened and his power weighed down on the surroundings.


    He made a gesture, then all the Hollows in the sky attacked.


    Hundreds of those same balls of light gathered and were released, bombarding the area. It didn''t do any meaningful damage to the Shinigami present, or even the Quincy for that matter. But it made everyone retreat away from the immediate area.


    That was when he began doing something to Rukia and I felt like I should intervene.


    "I''m going." I flipped my hand over, pulling out Mirage.


    "I''ll watch the Children, do what you want." She gave me the go ahead.


    I noticed him take something out of Rukia and immediately opened a portal, reaching through and grabbing his hand before he noticed. "Oh, this looks Important." Imented, before pulling myself through.


    [***]


    There was a beat of silence, perhaps as he processed that I wasn''t going to let him go after he tugged on his hand one or two times.


    Truthfully, I had absolutely no idea what was going on. All I knew was that this guy apparently went through a lot of effort to take this little thing, and since he went about summoning Hollows, then it''s probably a good idea to stop him.


    And it''s Shiny, I want it.


    And Yoruichi had mentioned him in a bad light once or twice. So....fuck him I guess.


    "Release me." He seemed to finally register what was happening and hissed out a response.


    "Let go of the marble and I will."


    "You dare call it a- a Marble." He seethed. Raising a finger up from the hand holding up his sword, pointing it at me. "Had¨­ #4 Byakurai." He chanted; a bolt of pale lightning arced off his finger.


    I activated my Semnce, letting it pass harmlessly through the midpoint of my chest as that part of me was turned into Lighting. "In my defense, it looks like a Marble."


    "This is not happening as I finally achieved my goal." He growled, swinging his sword at me, admittedly, a little awkwardly due to my left hand being on his right wrist. He had to sh over himself and I deflected it with my Mirage. We yed this song and dance a few times with every movement he attempted to jerk his arm free or swing his de until the fury on his face reached its tipping point. "Enough! I should have simply done this from the start. Shatter ¨C Ky¨­ka Suigetsu!" He dered, activating his Zanpakut¨­.


    Izzy mentioned about it trying to obscure her senses, and I could understand it now. It wasn''t just physical either, it attacked my Reiatsu, burrowing into the source of my Reiryoku. His own Reiatsu was significant enough that it dwarfed mine byparison. Granted, I wasn''t quite ''full'' yet, but that didn''t help me in this particr situation.


    [On your left.] Ddraig spoke up and I raised my de, blocking another strike I actually didn''t see.


    Huh, that''s weird. It was actually able to affect me. Was it because of my own Reiryoku inparison to Izzy not having any?


    [Duck and swipe upwards.]


    I followed his directions.


    [Thrust at 80 degrees.]


    My Sword shot forward and I didn''t feel like I hit anything but at the same time my instinct told me that I did.


    "How are you doing this?" His voice reappeared. "You shouldn''t be able to perceive my existence!"


    "The Dragon in my soul is giving me directions." I replied with apletely serious expression.


    "....die." He snarled, his image not matching the sensation I felt overheard as I brought my sword up to block.


    I was fairly sure I blocked something.


    But this was getting annoying. "Let''s just nip this in the bud then." I stabbed Mirage into the ground and began to draw a Rune quickly in the air. Well, not just any rune, but a Primordial Rune. "Let all falsehoods be revealed." The Primordial Rune of Truth I drew pulsed and actualized, touching upon the closest approximation of the Origin I had beyond my Kaleidoscope.


    The image of him blurred and sort of retracted until I saw a confused return of the original person who was still being held tight by me. In fact, his sword was glowing very brightly, and it was trembling in his grasp. "Ky¨­ka Suigetsu?" He blurted out, confused and his eyes widened. "What''s happening?!?"


    Huh, I didn''t know how a Primordial Rune would interact with his Zanpakut¨­''s ability, but I was effectively clear of the illusions now.


    "You forcibly dispelled my hypnosis...." He sounded confused and shocked though it onlysted for a brief moment before the full force of his Reiatsu mmed into me, as if he was done ying. "I have had enough. First that woman, and now you!"


    Though his anger was abruptly paused as he looked up and I followed his eyes. It seems our little little cat and mouse game had been noticed , and a whole lot of Quincy were flying right towards us.


    "Ichigo, Rukia, go" I noticed the Orange Haired kid getting ready himself and I decided to stop ying around. My hand around his wrist ignited with my Bloodline. My power of Destruction crackled out and tore away at the Shinigami''s skin.


    He let out a roar of fury and pain and nearly instantaneously his Reiryoku flowed out, fighting against my Destruction.


    My Destruction was winning, easily so, but he continued to pump his Reiryoku out, acting as sort of a dowsing hose, warding away the worst of the damage.


    The first of the arrows arrived, both the Shinigami ¨C Aizen, and I were about to dodge, but we went opposite directions, jerking each other, and ended up not moving. He furiously swiped with his sword, deflecting the onesing at him as I snapped my fingers to actualize a spell behind me.


    My Runic Circles appeared, crackling with Lightning. They sent Volleys of thunderous bolts to intercept the ones aimed at me.


    There were many different Reiatsu pressing down on us at this point. Everyone seemed to have recovered, and we were right in the center of the storm.


    "Hark, Viins! Your tyranny ends here! Hand over the object!" A Quincy flew over wearing a.....lucha mask? One with a star shaped emblem on it.


    I tugged away and Aizen seemingly allowed himself to be pulled as the Quincy crashed into the ground, utterly destroying the rocks beneath him. He swung his fist and I pushed Aizen in front of it. The Shinigami scowled in annoyance.


    "Bakud¨­ #8, Seki" He chanted quickly, the fist bounced off him with, repelling it backwards, sending the Quincy stumbling back.


    "Aizen, exin yourself!" A Shinigami Captain with white hair, and rather short, let out a shout, appearing in a burst of Shunpo with a sword drawn.


    Aizen looked at the Captain then at me. "Captain Hitsugaya, I''m trying to subdue this Ryoka."


    "He''s lying, he''s with the Hollows." I pointed out.


    "Nonsense, I am a ¨C " His eyes widened and I realized what he was looking at. The Quincy got up, and the star on his mask was shining bright. "Bakud¨­ #4, Hainawa." He cast another Kid¨­, an ethereal chain shot out, grabbing hold of the short Captain, and Aizen used it to yank him into the way of a star-like beam of energyunched by the Quincy.


    "Star sh!"


    "Aizen!" The Captain looked back with eyes filled with horror.


    "Dick." I called out, holding my hand up. "Greater Ward." I cast my own defensive spell, protecting the Captain. The blow was enough that my Ward nearly shattered from the impact, and I had to pump a significant amount of Magical Energy to maintain it.


    I nearly lost my grip when Aizen swung his sword again, my Aura ring up to block it. I quickly yanked Mirage out of the ground with a thought, returning it to my hand and our fight continued.


    The Shinigami Captain broke free from the chains and turned to attack Aizen who merely shed his de. "Shatter ¨C Ky¨­ka Suigetsu." And the Captain Shinigami seemed to fly off and fight the Quincy.


    "What a broken ability." Yoruichi did say he had strong illusions or something.


    "I don''t want to hear that from someone who broke free of it." He glowered, swinging his de again as our song and dance continued once more. He nced up to see the giant Fiery bird start to flicker out of existence, under the assault of so many opponents, but the Shinigami were also engaging with the Quincy at the moment. "I am running out of time. Release me!" He roared, gathering a significant amount of Reiatsu around him, striking downward at my arm with the umted power.


    I dismissed my Power of Destruction and summoned the Boosted Gear onto my arm. The sheer force did send a shiver through my body, but it wasn''t enough to harm the Boosted Gear, despite the ground beneath us cracking and sundering.


    "Gin." Aizen growled out and a tear through space opened up, simr to the one the Hollows were using.


    "Heyo, bossman, you called?" Theckadaisical Captain appeared with that eerie smile of his.


    "Well, that''s not good." I looked at the guy smiling brightly in my direction.


    "Remove him!"


    "If you insist~"


    "Ara, should you be doing that, Ichimaru-kun?" Shusui stepped over in a blur, looking slightly weathered. "Aizen is currently wanted for questioning, do you really want to listen to his orders?"


    Ichimaru Gin scratched his cheek. "Well, guess we''re in the open now, eh boss?"


    Aizen seethed further as the other two Shinigami shed.


    "I owe you one, Shunsui!" I called out as their quick speeds made them disappear from the immediate vicinity.


    "I''m keeping a Talley!" I could vaguely hear as he departed.


    "Anyways, -- Boost." I called out and Aizen almost slumped over at the sudden increase in strength I put out and my own power swelled up, I could see that he was in actual pain and his wrist almost crunched. My other swords shot out of my Ring, and the Shinigami looked cautious.


    He nced up to the sky, the Hollows weren''t just hanging out either. They too wereing under fire, but at another gesture of his, they all turned to look right at me, charging up a very simr attack once more.


    I quickly turned my swords out and shot them towards the sky, impaling several of those massive hollows before they could finish because even I would be wary about being hit by over a hundred of those all at once.


    But there were in fact too many for me to just cleave my way out of.


    I did some very quick calctions, my point on both the X and Y Axis as I leaned backwards, to avoid Aizen''s de from cleaving my throat. Their actual location as they were hiding in another Dimension, and snapped my fingers. For each beam of condensed Reiryoku that was fired off, I created two portals, one to receive, and one to redirect at the source.


    The Ceros as they were named, essentially shot into portals, and came out the other end, blowing themselves up. It''s a petty trick that anypetent opponent could counter, but for these sort of mindless beasts, it was more than effective.


    I looked at Aizen and took a big breath.


    He must have sensed something wasing because he went into panic mode immediately. "Bakud¨­ #44, Sekisho!"


    "Fus Ro Dah!" I bellowed out at near point nk.


    The Spiritual Shield he summoned vibrated and shattered. His Reiatsu red up impressively once more and his feet buried into the ground as he roared, withstanding the attack and not letting his grip on the object waver.


    "You are the single most infuriating individual I''ve ever met!" He had some blood dripping from his mouth.


    I was curious if his hand even had feeling anymore? It was basically pulled from its socket, crushed, and even destroyed partially by my bloodline, yet he held on.


    "Noted. But here''s a question for you, why did it suddenly turn dark?" I asked.


    He blinked, then looked up at the sky as the sun had disappeared. It waspletely covered by storm clouds. I used that moment to portal away a few ''allies'' that were a little too close for my liking.


    My Whisper had been doing work.


    A massive thunderous boom drew the attention of the battlefield. The thunderps reverberated throughout all of Soul Society. Lightning arced between the dark sky, dancing from cloud to cloud.


    Two massive hands shot out of the clouds, pulling the rest of its titanic form forward. The construct made entirely of Lightning roared to life, an equally massive Hammer made of the same element appeared between its flowing fingers, gathering every ounce of lingering energy before reaching the precipice.


    "Thor''s Hammer." I dered.


    Aizen tried to run away. The amount of Reiryoku he gathered under his feet was impressive and he shot into the air, trying to gain some kind of distance, but it was hopeless, I held him tight and didn''t let him escape.


    The hammer was brought down, Divine Punishment, one might say, and everyone else scattered.


    It was at that moment that Aizen finally made the smart decision to literally cut his losses, even if he was a moment or two toote.


    Even my own vision was engulfed with Lighting as the rock formation that we were sitting on was nearly reduced to rubble and a pir of Lightning soared to the sky.


    My Aura red and my Semnce was activated, but that doesn''t mean I couldpletely avoid my own big attack so easily. I felt sore and pained after even all of that. Like having just metaphysically punched myself in the face.


    The ground beneath my feet was no longer present, yet I slowly glided downwards. I had yet to fully understand the method that these Shinigami used to ''fly'' thus I had to rely upon my own familiar method.


    My Wings sprouted behind my back, and I gently touched down on the nearest threshold that wouldn''t copse under my weight.


    I also held the severed hand of a certain Shinigami within my Boosted Gear d arm,plete with the strange object he was so keen on obtaining.


    There was an eerie silence that perpetuated the battlefield, however. As in, no one was no longer fighting, instead, all eyes were now turned upon me. Quincy who had been fighting with Shinigami had ceased, and even the Shinigami who were fighting each other had stopped, just to look my way.


    It kind of makes me self conscious when people stare at my wings.


    "What, have none of you ever seen a Devil before?"


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 400 - 362

    <h4>Chapter 400: Chapter 362</h4>


    Despite the many eyes on me, I looked down at the prize in my hand.... or rather in Aizen''s hand. I was technically still holding his hand. His cleanly severed hand was still clutching tight to the marble thing in a small hexagonal barrier around it.


    I admit, I was surprised to see him so quickly decide to cut his own hand off to escape.


    Credit where it was due, I may not have the same resolve to pull out abruptly like that.


    Then again, I can understand, one of my strongest spells intertwined with my Divine Lightning would make for a very intimidating sight.


    Hell, I felt ufortable after taking my own attack and I was able to negate the majority of it. I wondered if this was the same as a God of Strength punching themselves in the face?


    I carefully pried away the fingers of the severed hand and with a second to think about it, I tossed it in my ring. You never know when a Shinigami''s hand was going toe in....handy.


    [You deserve to die for that pun]


    Oh get over it, you know I can be a....handfull.


    [Don''t you dare start.]


    Fine, priorities anyways.


    I looked at the marble and down at the Gauntlet.


    Mind holding onto this for now?


    [Why me?]


    I actually don''t know what this is and it''s giving me some small amount of hesitation now that I look at it. I''d rather you hold onto it instead of putting it in my Ring. You held onto the Eye of Magnus for a while, I think it should be fine in your hands.


    The Boosted Gear glowed, and the Marble disappeared from my grasp. I decided to dismiss the Boosted Gear and return it to inside my soul.


    [Uh...brat]


    What?


    Your....baby spirit, it wants the thing you gave me.


    ...what?


    I couldn''t help but furrow my brow.


    What do you mean?


    [As soon as I took it in, it''s been almost wing at me to get ahold of it.]


    ...do I let it have it? I didn''t know if my nascent spirit even was capable of higher-level thought, was it purely instinct driving it at this moment? If so, would it want something that could harm it then? There were tons of possibilities to consider, what if ¨C


    [I gave it.]


    ...Thanks, Ddraig.


    [No problem.]


    Well, I suppose I''ll see the side effects of thister, because it appears as though we''re going for a second round here.


    I noticed as Aizen sent me res not far away once the dust settled.


    No, that wasn''t quite right, what''s the thing beyond res? I''m fairly sure I would be on fire if it was any more intense.


    And he was missing his right hand.


    Funny enough, neither his wrist nor the hand itself were leaking blood everywhere, thankfully. That''s mostly due to the fact that my spell cauterized the wounds. Aizen seemed to have gotten hit by the tail end of it. He was only mildly roughed up instead of taking the full brunt of my Divine Lightning.


    He was trembling as he looked at me, and I was fairly sure it wasn''t because of the residual pain. His lips twisted back in a barely contained snarl. "Espada!" He roared at the top of his lungs.


    The space behind him pulled back, revealing several new figures stepping through.


    ...were those Hollows?


    There were a few with visible holes in their chests and what looked like remnants of masks or that white armor-like skin that they seemed to have. But otherwise, there was very little to tell them apart from Shinigami besides their mimicking white uniforms.


    Other than the feeling of being, well, Hollowspared to Shinigami


    "Huh....I didn''t know Hollows could look like that."


    "I thought they were only legends." A voice sounded next to me. "Arrancar."


    I nced at the person who stood at my side. "Sorry, I don''t believe we''ve been introduced."


    He nced up to me and scoffed. "Hitsugaya T¨­shir¨­, Captain of the 10th Division." He introduced himself curtly, though there was a noticeable weariness to him as he inspected me closely.


    "Weren''t you fighting the masked...wrestler ¨C Quincy guy?" I nced back at him seeing his clothing looked muffled and some minor wounds and bruising.


    "I ¨C "


    "BURN ALL CREATION TO ASH ¨C RYUJIN JAKKA." An absolute massive amount of Reiatsu enveloped all of Soul Society and a searing heat could be felt at my back.


    "....The Captain Commander had joined the battle and my.....abilities would be best served far away." He twitched.


    Even Aizen and these ''Espada'' who looked like they were about to attack had paused and I couldn''t hold back my curiosity. I turned around to look and I saw Gramps fighting against six Quincy, all of them were easily at the level of the Captains here.


    "Yeah, I''m staying far away from that." I noted.


    He sounded angry.


    "Ara, I haven''t seen the Old Man that angry in a long time." Shunsui joined us with a sh of Shunpo. He tilted his half cut hat, covering some wounds up himself. "Captain ¨C Traitor, Ichimaru Gin snuck away during the confusion."


    "Captain Ky¨­raku." Hitsugaya greeted, gripping his sword tightly.


    "Captain Hitsugaya." Shunsui nodded. "Can''t use your ice near the Old Man?"


    The smaller Captain grunted. "Even this far away...."


    "Ice is it?" I questioned. "I suppose I could give you a hand with that." Because the average strength of the enemies here was nothing to scoff at. If they all attacked me at once, I would most certainly be in a bad spot.


    "Looks like we got one more." Shunsui smiled. "Just in time, Ukitake."


    "Shunsui, and Captain Hitsugaya." Onest person joined our little group. Long white hair, and a rather gentle demeanor about him. "And.....Ryoka." He looked at my still deployed wings.


    I crossed my arms, putting them away. And he wasn''t the only one staring.


    "Captain Ukitake Jushir¨­, Captain of the 13th Division." He smiled. "Thank you for protecting Rukia."


    Ah, this was her Captain. But there was something....strange about him that was somewhat familiar. I just couldn''t quite put my finger on it. "Thank the kids, I was just a tag along." I waved him off. "But I believe we have other things to focus on."


    "Hollows with Zanpakut¨­." He hummed. "I only heard stories about them."


    "The Old Man mentioned them before, something rarer than even Vasto Lordes." Shunsui rubbed his chin. "Be careful, they''re all at least as strong as a Captain it seems. And we''re not getting any immediate back up."


    Didn''t know what a Vasto Lorde is, but it sounded impressive.


    Yeah, it looked like everyone else was held up fending off the Quincy that were attacking, and the weaker Shinigami were defending against a small invasion of lesser Hollows. For what lesser could mean when they were gigantic skyscrapers in height and trying to invade en masse.


    "The one with the red hair, kill him and bring me his corpse!" Aizen finally shouted,manding his....minions, subordinates.


    The Hollows that gathered around him looked excited.


    Shunsui and the others around me tensed up, they obviously were not liking the odds very much. I held my free hand out and brought forth my Staff of Magnus.


    mming it onto the ground, I summoned a swirl of runes that formed a coherent Runic Sentence and cast one of my first spells. "Freezing winds of Jotunheim." An abrupt Blizzard burst out from around us. I was careful about how it actualized, to make sure we weren''t affected by the area of effect.


    The Cold torrents rotated outwards, spinning and expanding.


    "Enough ice for you?'' I asked as they looked at me in surprise.


    The smaller Captain tilted his head to the side. "My Zanpakut¨­ can absorb the moisture in the air to produce ice. It''s needed for me to use its abilities. This should be enough for now." He nodded in thanks and a massive torrent of Reiatsu ascended to the sky. "Bankai!" He shouted and ice formed into two big wings while also covering his hands and feet to look like ws with an apanying ice tail. And some strange cross-like objects appeared behind him. "Daiguren Hy¨­rinmaru." He dered.


    [Huh, he''s a little dragon.]


    Neat.


    I want a Bankai.


    If the clouds above didn''t belong to me, I think he would have started changing the weather.


    "What about you two?" I nced at Ukitake and Shunsui.


    Shunsui scratched his cheek. "My Zanpakut¨­ isn''t good to release near allies." He said sheepishly. "I''ll lure one or two far enough away if I have to."


    "All Ye Waves, be my Shield. All ye Thunder, Be my de." Ukitake chanted and he grabbed the hilt of his sword before pulling it apart into two separated swords, connected together by a red rope and several metal talisman-like objects attached to it. "S¨­gyo no Kotowari."


    Shikai?


    Well, I wouldn''t presume to tell them how to fight...if he thinks it''s best, then so be it.


    "Ebony Flesh." I held up my staff, casting the spell over top of them. They shot me a look of confusion, so I exined. " Strengthening spell, somewhat. Physical exertion should be a little higher, and it can absorb a bit of damage before breaking."


    Now that I think about it, I don''t have many strengthening spells to cast on other people.


    Frankly, I didn''t need any. Reinforcement was a sort of catch-all in that category. The more I could withstand, the more Reinforcement provided. And most Strengthening spells didn''t quite mesh well. Ebony Armor being an obvious exclusion due to oveying instead of innately empowering.


    Well, I did know quite a few more interesting spells that were simr.


    "Frost Cloak." I held my staff towards the Icy Shinigami. There was now a literal cascade of ice flowing off of him.


    He blinked, looking down at himself. "....Thanks?" He seemed confused before turning to a small smirk. "I''ve never had this much readily avable ice before."


    "Ara, you know some neat things." Shunsui chuckled.


    "I know a thing or two." I hummed holding my staff out, pointing in front of me. "How about I properly greet them then?" My Spell around us was about to dissipate and they were probably waiting to attack. A series of Spell Circles appeared, spinning around, each one had an iy of Runes and lightning crackled off the edges. "Thunderbolt." I cast and a massive burst of lightning exploded outward, tearing through my own Jotunheim spell and shooting off towards the general direction that they werest in.


    It was difficult to sense them due to the sheer Reiatsu being thrown around in every direction, but I think Aizen was still there.


    "Bakud¨­ #73, Tozansh¨­!" Aizen''s voice reached my ears, casting a fairly high level Defensive Kid¨­. My Lightning mmed into a pyramid-like barrier that formed around him, but my focus was no longer solely on him at that moment.


    The Hollows moved exceedingly fast and I shouldn''t be surprised. However, it looked different than both how Shinigami and Quincy moved.


    Interesting.


    I quickly took a step back, dodging a strange....scythe like weapon connected to a chain. It was more crescent moon shaped, but I didn''t know what else to call it. It was strange enough to gouge out a significant chunk of earth at what appeared to be a casual toss.


    And mypanions were in the same situation. Hitsugaya was fighting a woman with blonde hair who was wielding water. Water hot enough to melt his ice....that''s unfortunate. Though, he looked like he was at the advantage in quantity. I think my spells were working.


    Both Ukitake and Shunsui were fighting off a guy with blue hair, a big guy with rippling muscles, and a third bald guy with dark skin.


    There were a few others hanging back towards Aizen, an older looking guy and another who seemed like he was sleeping and....was that a kid kicking his shin? And one guy who looked very pale and stared at me ominously with those intense green eyes.


    "How dare you look away while fighting me." The Hollow ¨C and it''s still weird hearing them talk ¨C addressed me. Now that I got a good look at him, he was a bitnky and with an eyepatch and long ck hair. "I''m the Fifth Espada ¨C Nnoitra ¨C"


    "Repel Undead." I cast, pointing my staff at him.


    He turned around and took a few steps before releasing a burst of Reiatsu. He turned back around to face me and looked furious.


    I honestly didn''t think that''d work.


    Hollows were undead though.


    He held that massive scythe thing up and kicked off the ground at me.


    I flicked my hand, producing a Portal in his path.


    "You think a stupid trick like that will work on me?" He hollered with a sneer, easily avoiding it.


    Well, I was hoping.


    He seemed like the type to fall for stupid tricks.


    I put my staff away and Mirage and instead took out another Sword. Dawnbreaker entered my hands with its Holy Light and I deflected the thrown Scythe that came barreling towards me. I could respect the amount of force behind it, this Hollow was no push over just in the physical strength department.


    The massive weapon was pulled back with practiced ease, reentering his grasp and he swiped it out in arge sweep. I leaned back, escaping the ded edge, but it was already returned and he swung it downwards.


    I channeled Lightning to my feet and with my Semnce activated I used Shunpo, still awkward, but significantly better than it was a week earlier. Appearing at his side, my sword swung into his arm.


    He held his chain up using it to block me as sparks flew down its length and he pivoted, jerking the chain for his weapon to swing around his body in arge arc, flying through the air right towards me.


    "Bakud¨­ #9, Geki." I quickly chanted, and his weapon collided with a small force of Reiatsu, causing it to be deflected off to the side.


    What a useful little cantrip.


    I used the opening to cleave towards his chest.


    "Hah, it doesn''t matter, my Hierro is the best among ¨C " His words abruptly died as Dawnbreaker tore into his flesh. His eyes widened and he twisted his body as best as he could, but a painful roar resounded and the Holy Lightning pulsed, slicing through any perceived defense he might have had.


    I raised Dawnbreaker up for a follow up attack, but I noticed something nearly slip through my perception. A hand shot towards my heart as if to spear through it. I took a step back, pping it away only to see the pale-looking Hollow from before standing next to me now. One hand in his pocket, and the other raised towards me.


    Seeing him up close, this Hollow was strong. Probably the strongest one around here.


    "Ulquiorra! I can handle him." The Hollow on the ground pushed himself fully back up with a hiss. Blood poured from his chest with each movement.


    "You forget your ce, Nnoitra." The pale Hollow apparently named Ulquiorra said rather monotone. "Follow Aizen''s Orders.


    "Tsk." Nnoitra clicked his tony and opened his mouth, suddenly a bright yellow light began to shine and it reminded me eerily like that attack those mindless Hollows used, except perhaps a hundred times the strength.


    At the same time, that other Hollow disappeared for a split second, reappearing behind me with finger extended, and his own Cero forming at the tip with a greenish-ck hue.


    "Feim Zii Gron." I spoke aloud, bing an ethereal body right as both of themunched their attacks.


    The condensed Reiryoku shot forward from both ends, passing over one another. Ulquiorra dodged out of the way without any issue, but the other one wasn''t so lucky. He brought up his weapon to block, but it had a good amount of force condensed.


    I used that opportunity to open up a portal behind him as his ally''s own attack sent him hurling back through it.


    Out of the corner of my eye, he was dropped right in the middle of the Quincy on the other side while the Old Man was going on a warpath.


    That should help both sides as I''m fairly sure Quincy and Hollows were very much enemies as well.


    "I see." The Hollow frowned, appearing within my vision a few dozen yards away. He took his other hand out of his pocket and let out a breath. "You will not be easy to deal with. I will end this as quickly as I can." He grabbed his sword from its sheath. "Enclose, Murcigo." A green hue enveloped the area with the sudden intense climb of the Hollow''s Reiatsu. It was dense enough that it mimicked rain that fell from the sky


    I got a better look at him at this point. He originally had half a head piece bone thing on his head, but now it looked like a proper headpiece that centered on his head. But the most eye catching thing was the bat-like wings that sprouted behind his back as he lightly took to the air.


    Can Hollows Bankai now!?


    I''m not jealous.


    Nope.


    "I think that''s cultural appropriation." I snorted, my own wings popping back out as I floated up to be level with him.


    He didn''t rise to my joke. "I was not aware of your species'' existence until this moment." He said without any emotion. "But it does not matter." He held out his hand and a spear construct made of his Reiryoku formed with that same hue. "I am Ulquiorra Cifer, the Fourth Espada. Prepare yourself." He intoned.


    He pped his wings once and shot forward. Fast, extremely fast, to the point where I had to focus to keep up.


    Dawnbreaker raised up and his spear collided with it, the force of the blow sent me hurling backwards towards the ground, my feet shattered the stone underneath as I forced myself to stay upright.


    His left arm shot out, trying to grab hold of my head. I tilted it to the side and instead grabbed his arm with my own. "You''re strong." Imented as his eyes shed.


    I felt like this wasn''t even his highest level for some reason.


    Well, let''s see what he''s got.


    [***]


    Izanami POV


    What a chaotic mess this was.


    There were Hollows pouring in through the tears in space they opened in the sky. There were even more Hollows that appeared near Wilhelm, much stronger and humanoid looking. I did not like them.


    There were these Quincy that were running around and being general nuisances.


    And the Shinigami that were trying to fight all of them at the same time.


    And Wilhelm was correct, their leader did feel simr to my Daughter. The moment he released his mes, if not for theck of Divinity, I would have wondered if my Daughter had descended. Granted, it wasn''t quite up to par, but at the same time, I recalled they have another stage of release with their swords.


    Very impressive for a non-God.


    At least the children had themon sense to not jump into this mess.


    No, they were standing off to the side with the...healers. They were gathering the wounded and providing medical aid and other life saving measures.


    I watched with mild amusement as Wilhelm apparently dropped one of those humanoid Hollows right in the middle of the Quincy. His portals were very particr and easy to notice in a crowd.


    It turned out as well as one would expect. A strange three way fight where the Hollow did its best to survive. It did a thing where its power increased drastically and grew two extra hands, a scythe in each one, but it didn''t hold up well while trying to fend off both sides with only himself.


    I looked up to the sky to see.... regr hollows, forck of a better term, begin to overwhelm the non-Captain Shinigami that were trying to restrain them.


    Watching it, I supposed I could lend a hand.


    I raised my hand up, and clenched my fist, destroying about a hundred or so of the fairlyrge creatures. It was enough to give them some breathing room.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I did keep watch on Wilhelm. Perhaps I was worrying over nothing, there were not many here who could put up a genuine fight against him.. Unless he used one of his Sacred Gears or called upon my Son''s Authority, I was not overly concerned. However, there was something to be said about the number of beings here who did reach a certain threshold.


    Numbers should not be overlooked.


    Otherwise, I did not care much. Beyond a hail of those Light Arrows that poured down from time to time that I stopped, there were not many who dared venture close here. These Shinigami set up some makeshift barriers around the immediate area for emergency treatments I would presume, so I did not have to intervene.


    However, I was starting to get annoyed with the ongoing conflict. It was just getting messier and messier which just further irritated me. Even the buildings below began to be destroyed and the stronghold of these Shinigami was starting to be engrossed in this conflict.


    I raised an eyebrow as something shot fast towards our direction. I raised my hand up and pped it out of the sky, causing a crater in the already disturbed rock formation we were standing on.


    I did not know how much longer this thing wouldst, thanks to Wilhelm casting such arge spell.


    There was the amusing thought of seeing how they would react to Wilhelm revealing his Devil heritage so publicly after the fighting stopped. I was surprised he did so, but then again, he does tend to be bluntly dismissive of it for some reason.


    The person I had smacked down pushed themselves free of the rocks that now covered them. They did not look to be in the best of shape. No, it was a short, fat man with....half a beard and covered in substantial burns. I''m assumed his beard wasn''t always that way. He pushed himself up to his feet, supporting his weight with a staff reminiscent of Caduceus but an eye in the center with wings on the side.


    I wasn''t the only one who noticed him, the others did too and were prepared to fight.


    "Healers?" He perked up. "Perfect~" He smiled....lewdly and it made me feel very ufortable. "You all love me and don''t want to see me hurt, right~?" He winked, putting his hand in the shape of a heart. "Love Kiss~" He cried out and a massive heart-shaped projectile wasunched outwards.


    Since the kids were behind me, I reached out and snatched this weird ability before it could go beyond me.


    And that was when I felt it.


    "Rude, rude. Don''t hog all of my love to yourself." He danced side to side with a chiding tone to his voice. "Move aside darling~ PePe''s love is for everyone." He held his hands in the shape of a heart again and I felt a fury overtake me.


    With nostrils red, I grabbed his face and mmed it into the ground.


    "Y-y-you aren''t effected by my love!?" The short and fat man cried out in confusion as I pulled him up, still holding him up by his head. "Love Kiss!" He called out again, several more times powerful than the previous one.


    It washed over me and my anger just increased. "When that Shinigami thought to reinterpret my senses, I was amused. When your kin attempted to instill fear into me, I found it adorable. And now...." I tossed him to the ground. "I am no longerughing."


    "H-how dare you reject my love!" His expression shifted from one of confusion and hesitance to fury as if I did him some great wrong but not being affected by his ability.


    "Now I find myself utterly devoid of patience. I do not have much love left inside of me. It''s reserved for a precious few people. And you tried to usurp it for yourself."


    His ability to seemingly force love and obedience in others.


    He reached into his own mouth, disgustingly pulling out a bow and arrow made of that spiritual matter. He attempted to fire the arrow at me, but I simply flicked it away.


    "I am officially done." I dered, reaching out into the air.


    I will end this farce.


    I felt creation churn at the movement, pulling on the thing I have kept sealed away for centuries. I normally did not like using It, but at this moment, I was pissed off and I simply didn''t want to deal with this nonsense anymore. Space distorted and the very ground trembled as I attempted to bring It out into the world once more.


    "Congrattions, Mortal, you have earned my full wrath. I am Izanami-no-Mikoto, Goddess of Death, and you will know my wrath. Come, Amenonuhoko." I dered as reality split apart at Its arrival.


    [***]


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 Chapter 401 - 363

    <h4>Chapter 401: Chapter 363</h4>


    Izanami POV


    I usually kept a lid on my Divine Nature.


    There were things that Gods simply could not avoid when presenting themselves in their true forms when Mortals gazed upon us. Something instinctual that pricked at the back of their minds that told them that we were not simple. It was easier for these Spirits to peek behind the curtain even if I didn''t reveal myself.


    And now, that lid had been taken off.


    My Divinity swept out in every direction as I called upon the Spear.


    I''ve kept it sealed at my side for many years now. And I''m sure many back home would be utterly terrified to know that I was in possession of it. It wasn''t originally in my possession, no.... it was a peace offering from my former husband.


    There would never be any reconciliation after his betrayal, but I was notpletely without sin in our conflicts. And many centuries after the fact, he wished to bury the hatchet as the humans say.


    At that point, my hatred had diminished greatly, and I epted.


    Perhaps it was the catalyst that allowed me to finally move on from my past.


    I had never used it until this moment. If it was back home, I may have been more reserved, but in this particr moment, I was furious.


    The world bent to amodate this mighty weapon of creation.


    The object by which both my former husband and I channeled our Godly powers to raise Japan out of the ocean in the days of old. It was no mere Divine Weapon the likes of Zeus''s Master bolt or Odin''s Gungnir despite the legendary prowess of such peerless devices.


    No, it was forged from the Chaos before beginning. The same origins as my own progenitors.


    As soon as it appeared, the thunder clouds that Wilhelm had called into being, intertwined with his own Divinity, were cowed into submission.


    I could feel the earth fluctuate and the wind churn to wee its arrival as if calling out to an old friend.


    Amenonuhoko ¨C the Heavenly Jeweled Spear.


    It''s funny, it''s not overly adorned in jewels. If anything, by today''s standards, it would be minimalistic. But in the time before civilization, it was considered extravagant and regal. Truthfully, it even appeared a bit weathered on the surface and the shiness of any adornments were muted by its apparent age.


    Yet, it merely took one gazing upon it to know its power.


    I was not a particrly powerful Deity among those who could im to be my peer in age. I was not worshiped, and even the Pantheon I was part of did not look at me favorably. My feats had mostly been regted to assisting my former husband as opposed to being an equal. However, when holding this spear, even the likes of those old monsters would think twice before facing me.


    It held the weight of an entire Cosmology behind it as the Origins of thend itself.


    The moment it touched my hand, the world respectfully silenced itself.


    Thend that I tread was mine even if by other means and by another world. It awaited merely a call and it would respond to my orders.


    "You." I looked down at the cowering form of this upstart mortal who thought to take my love away from the ones who I chose to give it to. The thought of the love I had for my children and the turbulent feelings I had for Wilhelm being reced with this vile creature was utterly repulsive.


    Oh he cowered, he stuttered and attempted to flee, crawling away on his stubby legs.


    And I admit, the speed that these mortals can move at would be annoying.


    Thus, I ever so slightly flicked my spear, and his legs were severed from his body.


    "Death is too easy a punishment. You will spend an eternity in Yomi under my meticulous care." I raised my spear up, pointing it at him. My spear was one of Creation but that did not mean I could not do the opposite. Just as I held the opposite domains of Creation and Death, I used my spear to unmake this creature.


    The sniveling and crying, the pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears as his body was unmade.


    I twisted my wrist, removing hisst physical remnants from existence, leaving behind a soul that flew into my grasp.


    Looking at it, I frowned. Something familiar was pulling at it. "I do not care if you im ownership over this soul." I sneered, dispelling an attempt to retrieve it from my hand. "If you truly want it so much, you cane crawling to Yomi and beg for it." I stated, putting it away for now.


    Now that I dealt with the immediate source of my anger, I realized that everyone was looking at me and the fighting had more or less stopped.


    I suppose I was not subtle with my deration; my Divinity had seeped out at that point and everyone most likely heard me.


    Well, except for a small handful.


    "You bitch!" A feminine voice was directed my way.


    I looked up to see a handful of these Quincy moving to attack me.


    The one who spoke, a woman with long ck hair held out her hands, and orbs formed of Reishi. She threw them at me, and herpanions who shared simr sentiments unleashed their own attacks, mostly that of arrows.


    I nced behind myself to see the Children still there.


    Holding my spear up, I slowly moved it through the air. The edge of the spear tip did not cut anything, rather, space began to bend and distort.


    The attacks that were aimed in my direction were sent off course, wildly flinging far away from myself or those behind me.


    "It''s not fucking working."


    "Use bigger bombs!"


    "You think I don''t know that!?"


    "Why don''t ¨C"


    "I do not enjoy being looked down on like this." My lips pressed into a thin line and grasped at the air. "Grovel in the dirt where you belong." They were forced to the ground, mming into it at breakneck speeds.


    "Quilge!" The woman with long ck hair pushed herself up out of the ground and shouted towards one of herpanions. "Do your thing, now!"


    Another shot to the air, a man with sses looked at me. "His Majesty bestowed onto me the Letter ''J''! No one can escape my Jail." He gathered his power into his hand and shot it towards me.


    I raised an eyebrow as it didn''t actually attack me, rather, it formed a sort of barrier around me. Or as his words implied, he imprisoned me.


    "See? There''s only one God in this world! His Majesty''s power ¨C "


    "Adorable." I snorted, waiving my spear and destroyed the barrier around me. The resulting explosion of power sent a shockwave outwards in all directions. "I will be merciful." I took a casual step forward, appearing in front of him, making his body jerk back, but a twitch of my hand saw him get forced in ce. "I will allow your soul to return to him." I stabbed him through the heart, watching the life die in his eyes before casting him off my weapon and letting his body hit the ground below.


    Their eyes widened in shock and horror at the ease in which I dispatched theirpanion.


    "R-retreat." One of them breathed out.


    "Only his Majesty can order ¨C"


    The shadows around them all jerked wildly, grabbing hold of them the same way it did the first time I met one of their people.


    I stepped back onto the ground. "Did I give you permission to leave?" I tapped my spear onto the ground and the shadows were dispersed.


    As if some upstart could snatch away people in front of me on mynd.


    "O-objection!" A thin and rather mundane looking member of their retinue held up a shaking hand at me. "Y-you can''t possibly exist. His Majesty gave me the Letter ''Q'' and I ''Question'' to your existence!"


    A conceptual attack? How amusing, was he trying to bring my existence into flux and create a paradox?


    "Your objection is noted." I walked towards him. "And it''s subsequently ignored." I swung my spear downwards in his direction.


    I didn''t even have to do anything to counter his ability. The Spear in my hand was an absolute deration of my existence.


    He disappeared in a gouge that now split therge teau we were standing on and continued into the distance, with several mountains missing their peaks.


    "Foolish Mortal, my Existence is not something you can question." I snorted, flicking my spear back over my shoulder.


    "You bitch, take this!"


    I blinked, turning back towards the girl I had ignored. She held her fingers linked together up to the sky and a ratherrge blob of Reishi had gathered.


    And based on what happened before with her hand-held ones, I believed it to be a bomb.


    "Hah, I was gathering this the entire time! I''ll just blow up the entire Soul Society!" She cackled.


    I looked at her rather tiredly and raised my hand again. The Shadows answered my call, climbing up to the sky, the shadow hands grasping at each other until a column formed and enveloped the massive sphere of condensed and vtile spiritual matter. And it was visibly pulled downwards, disappearing into the shadows.


    "I''m sure your people will appreciate your gift."


    Her eyes widened at the implication. "I ¨C"


    "And it would be rude of me to not allow you to share. You may leave." I mmed my spear onto the ground once more, and the shadows that once receded at mymand now returned, grabbing them forcibly. Every Quincy that had invaded this ce was forced backwards into the shadows, back to their home.


    They struggled, but it was pointless. It wasn''t a matter of power; they were trespassing, and I was thendlord with absolute Authority.


    Well, that hadn''t taken very long, but there was one more objective to deal with. Those evil spirits, those Hollows that stood above in such vast numbers.


    Oh, they had been mostly corralled by my renewed presence, but their existence was one that grated on me.


    "Abominations that should not exist. Devouring the children of my Daughter''s sun." I held my spear out once more, tilting it to the side so the t of the spear faced the sky. I borrowed Wilhelm''s storm, a single raindrop fell down from the sky. The droplet hit my spear, the miniscule sound that should have been drowned out instead echoed to the ears of everyone present. Creation in one of its purest forms shined along the ded edge. I then swung my spear towards the sky, a droplet shooting off towards every single of the Hollows present. "Be purified." Imanded.


    Not a single one of those Hollows escaped. A drop of water piercing through their cores, destroying the bonds around the ''soul'' that held down and devoured all the others. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of souls emerged, spewing out from within the abominations, freed from their ceaseless hunger and rightfully returned to the proper cycle of life and death.


    I then turned my attention to the other Hollows.


    The ones that Wilhelm had been fighting.


    The Humanoid ones that were significantly stronger than those beasts that I had just dealt with. It''s strange, I could tell that they too had so many souls swirling around inside of them that they consumed, yet....there was something else there. A spark of humanity that barely flickered underneath their grotesque nature.


    Should I deal with them in a simr manner? I certainly didn''t like them, but they were somehow less repulsive than their brethren I had just in, which seemed paradoxical.


    There was also a Shinigami with them, one I recognized as being the one I put in time out from before.


    I looked at him and our eyes met.


    And there was something familiar in his gaze.


    Fear.


    He didn''t hesitate, he fled immediately, and those Hollows followed while I contemted the question. Those tears in reality that they used, they had quite easily tore them open and jumped through without a second thought once the Shinigami made the move.


    Oh well, I suppose I didn''t care that much. I would deal with any Hollows that I saw, but I didn''t feel the need to seek them out. They were not my problem to bear.


    "Wilhelm." I nced at him as he came over.


    "Well, that''s one way to deal with the Quincy and Hollows." He chuckled.


    And I couldn''t help myself but smile slightly. I was worried he would be put off by my....anger, but there is nothing but warmth in his gaze. "Yes, now, what to do about these Shinigami?" The world shook as I hummed, looking at their stunned and confused faces.


    [***]


    A/N Not very long, but Izzy didn''t need long either :V.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 402 - 364

    <h4>Chapter 402: Chapter 364</h4>


    "I-if you need anything else, please call for me."


    What was her name, Nanao? Shunsui''s lieutenant.


    "Thank you, Child." Izzy calmly and politely thanked the Shinigami for the tea.


    The Shinigami seemed to stiffen and sort of sputter out a response before quickly disappearing from the room.


    After the whole....incident they had very polite, giving us a room to wait in. It was funny to see the Shinigami utterly speechless and trying toprehend what exactly it meant for Izzy to be here.


    "Well, this is nice." I hummed, taking a sip.


    "Hmm, odd."


    "What?"


    "That girl was a believer in Shintoism. Perhaps even a Miko in her own right, she gave off a bright feeling in her faith." Izzy replied.


    "How do you ¨C" I paused, making her raise an eyebrow. "Right, Shinto Goddess. How does that work, isn''t she technically a Kami under the broad definitions of Shintoism? Shinigami are just Spirits of the deceased at their most basic...now that I think about it, are there Shinigami back home? I''ve never actually heard anything about them but the idea exists in myths and legends."


    "You can me Hades for that. His Reapers have been mistakenly identified over the centuries and humans develop their own beliefs. Technically his reapers are the Shinigami there, but the difference is obvious, as you know. As for worship....do you think that the lesser Gods don''t pay homage and worship to those higher ups? My Daughter and Son are revered not just by mortals but by the thousands of Kami that popte Japan."


    "I guess it isn''t that odd, other Cosmologies have simr things now that I think about it."


    [Hey, I don''t wanna rm you, but your....baby spirit''s been growing pretty fast.]


    "Dammit Ddraig." I sighed, putting my cup down.


    "What did that Dragon do this time?" Izzy asked.


    [Hey, that''s uncalled for.]


    "He fed my Sword Spirit that Marble that the Shinigami tried to steal or whatever. Well, less feeding it and more like....it''s sort oftched onto it and been growing extremely fast ever since and he''s been updating me periodically."


    I didn''t think there was anything majorly wrong, but I wasn''t quite sure what exactly was going on so it left me sort of wary.


    "Would you like me to take a look?" Izzy offered.


    "Sure." I didn''t even take time to think about it.


    She let out a sigh. "You really should be hesitant about people like me looking into your Soul."


    "You''re making it sound like I let any random person look at my soul." I rolled my eyes, scooting closer to her. "I trust you and I don''t have any secrets from you."


    "....why do you have to say things like that." She grumbled, putting her hand on my chest. She took a breath and her eyes glowed slightly, I imagine she had to put some effort to push through my Campione resistance. "I don''t know what that Marble is, but it doesn''t seem harmful. It appears to be made up of a conglomeration of souls, but I did not poke it to see the intricacies."


    "Weird. But, well, that''s a relief then. I guess I can let it take a back seat for now and check it out againter." I rxed, looking down at Izzy and she tilted her head up, looking me in the eyes. "Is something wrong?"


    She slowly and hesitantly pulled her hand away, looking a little apprehensive about something. "We''ve spent quite a long time together this time. Longer than we''ve spent together until this point."


    "We did." I nodded. "You sick of me already?" I asked jokingly.


    "Don''t say that." She huffed. "This has been one of my happiest memories."


    "Going wrathful Goddess on a bunch of ''mortals''?" I grinned.


    Not just those Quincy and Hollows, but basically telling the Shinigami to get their shit together or else.


    "You know what I''m talking about." She puffed up with a hint of embarrassment. ".....you weren''t....scared or intimidated...were you?" She quietly asked. "I know that I can be ¨C"


    "Izzy, you''re not going to scare me away." Honestly, I thought we were past this.


    "Really?" She leaned in, her face was only a few inches away from mine.


    "Really."


    "Good." She breathed out. "Because after spending this time with you, I realized something."


    "What?" I blinked.


    "I''m tired of holding myself back." Before I could process what she said, she pushed her lips against mine. It wasn''t a particrly long kiss, but I was taken by surprise and didn''t quite.... reciprocate. She pulled away quickly, looking embarrassed.


    "....Oh." The word kinda tumbled out from me.


    "Perhaps I''ve been overthinking things. Just....ignore what happened." She sighed, pushing herself up, but I quickly grabbed hold of her sleeve.


    "Izzy, wait."


    "Please, just give me a moment alone, I ¨C "


    "Izanami." I called out her full name, something I don''t think I''ve ever done, making her stop trying to wiggle out of my grasp. "Izzy." I repeated again. "Let''s talk."


    "I''m not a child. You''re clearly not interested, and I misread any intentions. You don''t need to ¨C "


    "Izzy." I said again, interrupting her. "Stop." I grabbed her hand so she couldn''t run away. "Please?" She hesitantly sat back down, but looked rather ufortable. "You didn''t...misread anything. I was just.... surprised."


    She shifted a little bit in her spot but didn''t respond.


    "I''m not blind, you know. To all the little things that''ve happened between us." I muttered. "You''re one of my closest friends, and I haven''t had many of those before. I didn''t wanna mess that up so I just forced myself to ignore any...gs."


    ".....you''re an idiot." She finally said, awkwardly looking at the ground.


    "I know."


    "Hmph." She let out a cute little huff. "I''m not a good person, Wilhelm. I''ve done many horrible things in my life. Some that I can never take back and things that you would be ashamed of me if you saw. Even my own children want nothing to do with me, I''m a vile and despicable woman, hated by the very country I created."


    "Idiot." I shot right back at her. "Don''t confess to me then try to convince me otherwise."


    "It was a momentary selfish desire of mine. You deserve to know how terrible I really am." She crossed her arms.


    "I''ve killed a lot of people." I crossed my arms as well, staring at her. "I''m usually apathetic to suffering if it''s not in front of my eyes. I''m extremely lustful and greedy. I prioritize my own happiness and of those I care about over anyone else. I''m not a good person."


    "Don''t try topete with me." She pursed her lips. "You will lose because you''re not a bad person. You''re a wonderful and caring man who''s willing to make a monster like me feel loved."


    "And Izzy is one of the most amazing women I''ve ever met. She''s kind andpassionate and tries to hide it under a veil of apathy and self-loathing. And anyone would be lucky to have any kind of affection from her."


    "You''re impossible." She threw her hands up with a frown. ".....where do we go from here?"


    I reached out, grabbing her hand again. "I said I''m a greedy person, Izzy. I won''t ever want to let you go."


    She trembled slightly, a faint pink brushing her cheeks. "Idiot, don''t make that sound like it''s a detriment."


    "Would....you like to try again?" I offered. "Or if you want to go slower we can ¨C "


    "Wilhelm." She cut me off. "Shut up and kiss me."


    Well, I didn''t need to be told twice. Nor did she wait for me to actually make a move, she leaned in, and I quickly captured this Goddess''s lips properly this time. It was unfortunate that the passionate kiss onlysted a few moments as a knock on the door interrupted our little moment. And it was quickly followed by Shunsui walking in to see Izzy and I in a bit of an awkward position where it was very obvious what we had just been doing.


    "You didn''t see anything." Izzy told him.


    "I didn''t see anything." He immediately agreed.


    Izzy, with a cute blush, scooted herself over to properly sit next to me on my side of the table as I followed suit.


    Shunsui awkwardly moved himself opposite of us and sat down.


    He was bandaged up noticeably and looked utterly exhausted.


    I sneakily moved my hand under the table, taking hers once more, our fingers interlocking. A tiny smile made its way to her face despite the situation.


    "Speak, what do you want?" Izzy cut right to the chase, possibly a little annoyed by the interruption.


    "I...On behalf of the Gotei 13, I would like to ask for rification on some.....matters that were discussed earlier." He cleared his throat.


    And by that, he wanted to know probably what she meant by ''get your shit together or I''m taking back thend you''re on''.


    "Very well." Izzy grumbled. "You have been a proper host, so I will show you some courtesy. Ask your questions."


    [***]


    Yoruichi POV


    "Been awhile since I''ve been to one of these Captain meetings." I looked around the room to see all the old faces. "So, what''s on the agenda for today? Is it about the Aizen thing? The one we warned you about, the reason we were all kicked out originally?"


    Watching all the Captains collectively frown made me all giddy.


    "Little Byakuya, you alright over there?" I smiled happily, looking at his arm in a cast and his face kind of pale.


    Actually, most of them were pretty beat up or wounded. I think the healing division was preupied with the more severely hurt, so they only got some bandages and told to tough it out.


    "I am fine." He practically hissed.


    "It''s a shame, I wanted the brat to kick your ass, but it was some Quincy, huh?"


    "A mere Ryoka is not worth any consideration."


    "Even if he already learned Bankai?" I hummed, making his eyes widen. "But who would have guessed the Quincy. And the betrayal by Aizen. Right, who could have foreseen or warned everyone about that!"


    "We get it, Yoruichi." Shunsui sighed.


    "Do you, do you really?" I looked at him.


    "Shih¨­in Yoruichi." The Old Man opened his mouth. "This is not a ce ¨C "


    "No." I raised my voice. He was surprised by my tone, opening his eyes slightly. "I did my job, I did my duty. I served in my position for years and never did anything to warrant so much as a talking to. Yet, when suddenly something happens, we''re all thrown under the bus so quickly without even a chance to defend ourselves. And look, proof that we were right all along. That maybe there was a conspiracy when suddenly nearly half the standing Captains were cast out. Not just Tessai, Kisuke and myself, you know who I''m talking about. You don''t get to just sweep it under the rug like it didn''t happen when we had to run away from our home."


    "Are you done?" The Old Man grumbled.


    "Yes." I breathed out. I guess I''d been holding that in for a while.


    "You were wronged." He acknowledged, closing his eyes.


    "All of us were, Old Man." I made sure to specify. "And They probably aren''t going to be as forgiving as Kisuke or I am. Tessai probably won''t ever take back up his spot as Kid¨­ Captain even if you pardon and give him an apology. And frankly, I don''t know if I want toe back. But we''re more than willing to help with dealing with Aizen."


    The Old Man looked at me for a moment and nodded. "Aizen escaped along with Ichimaru Gin during the conflict. It''s clear he was associating with Hollows and an execution order has been summarily signed. As Kaname T¨­sen disappeared as well, we are assuming he is colluding with the traitors and will be treated simrly.


    "Yeah, he was one of the ones working with Aizen." I grunted.


    "We would like all the information you have on Aizen and any associates of his. And the object that he was trying to retrieve from Kuchiki Rukia."


    "I would like an answer as to why something was hidden inside of my sister." Little Byakuya also spoke up.


    Ugh, I wish Kisuke was here for this. "It''s called the Hogyoku. I don''t really know much about it, but ording to Kisuke, it can remove the barriers between Shinigami and Hollows. He....thinks that Aizen also had one, which considering the fact that there were a significant amount of Arrancar, well...."


    "Arrancar have appeared in the past, but never more than one or two over the past thousand years." Shunsui rubbed his chin. "That would exin some things. They weren''t pushovers, if things went on longer...."


    "They had impressive Reiatsu, but were they that strong?" Little Sui-Feng asked. "I was busy fighting the apparent Quincy invasion, so I didn''t get a chance to see them up close. Except for that one that got in front of the Captain Commander, and that one didn''tst long."


    "No less than any of us, I''m afraid." Ukitake sighed. "They''re strong, skilled and ruthless."


    "Great, so we have two groups wanting us dead and they all havebatants equal to us in strength, if not more numerous than our standing Captains." Captain Hitsugaya scowled. "And the traitors that ran away with a fourth of ourbat potential. Not to mention that Aizen was hiding his strength."


    "Hard to miss that." Shunsui agreed. "His Reiatsu was much more impressive than what he let on. And he wasn''t entirely truthful about his Zanpakut¨­''s ability."


    "It''s absolute Hypnosis." I chimed in. "It''s one of the reasons we''ve been having difficulty dealing with him. He canpletely control anyone''s senses that has seen him release his sword."


    "Ara, that''s....."


    "And we''ve all seen it." Captain Komamura''s voice rumbled from beneath his helmet.


    "So Aizen has the ability topletely control what we can see, feel, sense, etc. He also has an army of Hollows at his beck and call, as shown by the numerous Menos Grande and Adjucha sses that invaded. And to top it off, he has a group of Arrancar that are at the very least, on par with us in strength." Shunsui rambled. "Did I miss anything?"


    "The Quincy." Kenpachi hummed, seemingly the only person in a good mood. "They were pretty good, can''t wait to fight them again. And the Hollows sound interesting too, I almost can''t decide who I want to fight."


    "....thank you, Kenpachi."


    "I''m currently working on a way to trace the Quincy''s point of origin. I believe I shall have a means within the week if things progress at the same rate they were before the second invasion." Mayuri spoke up. "However, I would like to request samples from the ¨C "


    "No."


    "Denied."


    "Absolutely not."


    "Please don''t."


    "Fuck off, Mayuri." I also added in my own thoughts.


    "Your request is denied, Captain Kurotsuchi. And I would like to be very clear that your only priority right now is to focus on finding the whereabouts of the Quincy stronghold." The Old Man red at Mayuri.


    Mayuri scoffed but didn''t argue. "And this Hogyoku, are we going to retrieve it from this supposed Devil?"


    There was a beat of silence as everyone nced around the room before they all looked at me. "Hey, I''m not holding your hands here. I''m technically still a fugitive."


    "As it is clear that the Central 46 were killed by Aizen in his rebellion, my authority is the highest until we can reestablish the governing body. As such, I am officially pardoning everyone involved in the events that urred a hundred years ago." The Old Man spoke up.


    "Awesome, still not gonna help there."


    "Come on, Yoruichi, can you give us something?" Ukitake asked.


    "Seriously, don''t look at me, this is new to me too. He only said that his Mom was human before, I didn''t know he was a.....Devil. I didn''t even know they were real or what that even means. It''s not like I''m going to Sunday school with humans or something." I held my hands up. "So if you wanna go poke the race of beings that we had no idea existed until now, go be my guest. And you can also upset his friend."


    Fuck, I guess it mase sense why his Reiatsu felt so damn weird and almost Hollow like. But seriously, a Devil!? What the hell, I didn''t even know they existed and by everyone else''s expressions at the revtion, neither did they.


    "Captain Ky¨­raku." The Captain Commander grunted. "You spoke with him and the.... Woman." He almost sounded...respectful there.


    Shunsui tilted his hat down. "You mean if I asked the Goddess about how she ordered us to, and I quote ''Clean up our mess otherwise she''s going to do it for us'', then yes, yes I did."


    "Report, Captain Ky¨­raku."


    Shunsui sighed, and the Old Man didn''t even chide him for hisckadaisical demeanor. "Right, her orders were that the kids will be going home. That Kuchiki Rukia is innocent of any supposed crime and that we....clean up Soul Society otherwise she''s going to take back thend we''re standing on."


    "Are we really going to believe that she''s a...." Captain Hitsugaya didn''t need to finish his sentence, but everyone could guess what he was asking.


    "Capital ''G'', Goddess?" I finished for him. "Go ahead and call her out, it''s not like she showed why she can back up that im. Or is your Japanese Mythology a bit rusty there?"


    "I don''t pay attention to Human Myths." The Younger captain scowled.


    "Izanami-no-Mikoto, one of two creator Gods of Japan. In the myths she and her Husband, Izanagi, raised Japan out of the sea with a spear by the name of Amenonuhoko. Which.....I''m pretty sure we just saw." Shunsui replied, blinking as everyone stared at him. "What? Nanao''s an Ise, they''re a long line of Shinto Priestesses. I had her give me a rundown, and some of the stories do not paint a good picture."


    I wouldn''t call myself knowledgeable about human myths and crap, but even I knew about Izanami. I knew the big names of Shintoism, and yeah.....the fact that it''s probably not made up right now is giving me anxiety.


    .....she was right when we asked about her name.


    "I looked through my family records, and the only God we acknowledge is the Soul King." Byakuya spoke up. "There is no mention of any other Deities in existence. By what right does she im ownership over Soul Society?"


    "Right...." Shunsui scratched his cheek. "She mentioned this when I asked. And she was not happy mind you. But....you know when Soul Society was created....where do you think thend it''s made of came from?"


    Everyone took a moment to process that and we all came to the same realization. "Oh." Was the collective response.


    "But.....Soul Society, the three realms were created by the Soul King before recorded history!" Captain Hitsugaya countered.


    ....or we we''re told? We don''t have much to go on but the legends and stories.


    "I''m pretty sure she''s older than Humanity....." Shunsui said dryly. "I would also like to point out, does everyone remember the thing that happened a little over a week ago with the realm shaking and the sky turning dark? ....that was her being upset."


    .....well then.


    This just opens up so many questions that I don''t think I want to know the answer to.


    Fucking Wilhelm.


    Mr. ''Oh, I have a friend and she''s a pretty good stick to wave around''!


    I''m gonna kick his ass the next time I see him because he somehow brought a damn Goddess with him! I''ll probably kiss him right after because of what happened to Aizen, but still.


    A week ago, I thought I knew the ins and outs of the world. Besides some tightly held secrets, there wasn''t much I didn''t know. And thenes the Devil and the Goddess that came and smacked my understanding of the world right off a cliff.


    I wanted to call bullshit, I think everyone wanted to call bullshit on someone revealing themselves as a Goddess, but frankly, it''s pretty damn hard to argue with what happened.


    "I will send a message to the Zero Division." The Captain Commander tapped his cane on the ground. "Until we receive a response, everyone ¨C" He red at Mayuri. "Is ordered to treat our guests with the utmost respect."


    "....and her orders?" Ukitake asked.


    "Will be followed." The Old Man uncharacteristically sighed. "However, our priority right now are the enemies that are at our doorstep. We have been wounded, our pride has been stepped on. We will show them why we have stood unwavering for thousands of years." He let out a grunt, and a wave of Reiatsu flowed over us. "Shih¨­in Yoruichi."


    "I know what you''re gonna ask. I''ll go talk to the others and see where they stand after I bring the kids back." I waved him off.


    He nodded in thanks.


    "Now, Captain Unohana, begin your report on our casualties and wounded."


    I droned out what came next.


    Honestly, the only constion in all of this is that I can just imagine how utterly furious and confused Aizen must be right now. That, and I get to see the look on Kisuke''s face when I tell him everything that happened.


    I think that''s the only thing keeping me sane at the moment.


    [***]


    A/N


    Well, that''s been a long timeing. One awkward confessionter and Izzy''s finally a part of the Harem.

 Chapter 403 - 365

    <h4>Chapter 403: Chapter 365</h4>


    It''s weird.


    Nothing changed between Izzy and I, yet at the same time, everything did. She was still the same wonderful and amazing woman that I considered an irreceable friend. Someone I trusted with my life and even that of my loved ones. But there was that extra little something there now. Maybe it was always there but I had just ignored it because of my own stupidity.


    The little looks we gave each other, the small smiles when our eyes met. The little touches too were always weed.


    Our overall rtionship didn''t really change much. We still poked at each other, we still were close, but with a bit more romantic affection. And we would definitely still do things in the future like we did ¨C


    ....oh.


    "You have that look on your face, what''s wrong?" Izzy asked me.


    "I just realized."


    "Hmm?"


    "We''ve been dating for awhile now, haven''t we?"


    "....Oh." She blinked in realization as well.


    The things we''ve been doing together, the little bit of closeness that seemed to toe the line between romantic and tonic rtions.


    "Yeah...." I lowered my head onto her shoulder. "The Girls know, don''t they?"


    Izzy pursed her lips. "They were aware that I....perhaps had more than tonic feelings towards you. Yasaka was more than upfront about the eptance and Artoria has been....pleasant about it."


    "Yeah I''m remembering things now that I ignored back then. They''re going to be insufferable when they find out, aren''t they?"


    "Without a doubt."


    I closed my eyes and let out a groan. My head slid off her shoulder and nted right in herp. "Can I be spiteful and just ¨C" I made a squelching sound while pressing my hands against my head, an obvious insinuation about killing myself. " So they don''t have the satisfaction?"


    "There there." She ran her fingers through my hair, probably one of my favorite things at this point.


    I rxed in herp, enjoying the moment. "We''re dating."


    "How good of you to notice. Did the trading of confessions not tip you off? Or perhaps you require another kiss as evidence?"


    "I''m just saying it out loud because it was sudden and I''m still processing. Don''t misunderstand, I''m positively thrilled. But processing, in a good way." I paused. "Actually, no. I need more kisses."


    She yfully pped my shoulder. "Still no regrets?"


    "Absolutely not. I have many regrets in my life, but you will never be one of them." I gave her a smile.


    "I don''t understand how you could be so willfully oblivious and still spout that kind of nonsense to me even before our little confession." She let out a cute huff in response, and the tiniest red tingeing her cheeks.


    "And I don''t have to feel awkward about staring at your butt anymore."


    "And you ruined the moment." She poked my cheek, her lips twitching in amusement. "And I thought you were staring, but it''s not like I was going to call you out."


    "Obviously I was. A beautiful woman like you wearing tight clothing like that and just throwing it in my face...."


    "And you can say that to my face without a hint of shame. I''m astonished, truly astonished at your shamelessness."


    "You call me shameless but you don''t even deny what I said."


    "Are you implying that I seduced you?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Yup, it''s all your fault. Now you have to take responsibility."


    "Is this how you gathered your other Harem members?" She snorted.


    ".....I don''t wanna answer that question."


    "I''m sure you don''t." Izzy replied. "Are you finished with everything in this world?"


    "More or less. I would have left sooner if it wasn''t for this whole ¨C thing. It was annoying and took awhile, but I can''t deny that it was interesting and beneficial."


    "Did you atleast do everything you wanted sinceing here?"


    I forced myself to roll over slightly so I could stare up into her eyes. "What I could." I hummed. "I originally came here because I wanted to find a way to....I guess weaponize my soul properly, which I think I seeded. I was mostly just anxious and felt I had to do something and have since calmed down. Realistically, I didn''t expect to just conveniently solve all my problems and significantly increase my strength with a snap of my fingers."


    "They have interesting abilities here." Izzy acknowledged. "Some of them would be very dangerous if they were a bit more powerful."


    "Yeah, and just look at the Old Man leading them. He just bulldozed through several of those Quincies all at once. I would have to get serious if I took on that many opponents of that level." One or two I could be casual about, but start adding on more...quantity can ovee quality in some situations.


    "As a Goddess, I can say that he was impressive. Hecked the same standing as my own, but his pure power was respectable. Once he released his sword, I could see more clearly his peak even if it was still mostly sealed. I dare say he wouldmand respect back home even amongst the Gods."


    "Kid¨­ is interesting and I''m still learning to use it properly." I held a finger up. Still needed to get the higher level ones, but they''re nothing to scoff at and didn''t work off the same paradigm as Magecraft. A second finger joined the first "Shunpo was an amazing find, it''ll increase my speed quite a bit." I think I got to the point where I just need to practice more with that now, getting the ''fundamentals'' down as it were. "But the real prize is my Zanpakut¨­" A third finger joined the others. "Overall, I think I made out with quite a bit on this trip."


    "They take a while to...form or what-not. The situation that you were dealing with was dire, was it not? Can you wait that long?"


    "It''s....plicated." I frowned thinking of that Demon again. "I''m obviously abusing the time dtion between world-lines, but that only goes so far in a situation like this where I can''t juste and go on a World-line as I please." I know for a fact that any overt moves there by me would be detected. "Sir Wiggles is keeping watch from the inside, and Gramps was doing something from the outside. I wanted to wait until I talked with him beforemitting again. Especially after almost dying...."


    "Good. I would be most upset if you died." She said dryly.


    Even if she was half-way joking, I did love to know she cared. "And even if my Zanpakut¨­ takes a while, I can feel it''s going to be something special."


    Really, my only concern was how to replenish my own Reiryoku since the Reishi wasn''t native outside of this world-line. I''ll need to do some experiments, but I think I can cannibalize my own Aura to get what I needed that way. After taking in so much Reishi during my stay here, my Aura had sort of.... limated.


    "Are you ready to go back home?" She asked.


    "More or less. Make sure the kids get home and then we''re good to go."


    "Will youe back?"


    "Hmm, probably. I like Shunsui and Yoruichi. And I feel like we may have had the tiniest bit of a hand in the chaos that happened so....probably check in on them every now and then."


    "That''s good. I will make sure they are doing their jobs properly."


    Yeah, Izzy was pretty intent that they clean this ce up if they were going to be using pieces of Japan.


    "We''ve put it off long enough." I patted her leg, pushing myself up. "We should probably go see them. They''ve been waiting outside for a while now."


    Izzy grumbled in acknowledgement. Despite her whole wrathful Goddess persona, she was hesitant to actually interact with people outside of the circle she already had in a more pedestrian capacity.


    I reached for her hand, bringing it up and giving it a quick kiss. "Come on now, no need to be shy."


    She rolled her eyes with a small smile. "Not all of us are utterly without shame."


    "I think it''s one of my better qualities."


    "Sure, keep telling yourself that."


    "I''m fairly sure it''s whatnded me all the wonderful women in my life, so I will." I said smugly.


    "As much as I want to deny that statement, there is significant evidence to back it up, which is troubling in hindsight."


    "Oh Izzy." I pushed my shoulder next to hers. "It''s far toote for you to have second thoughts." I leaned in, iming her lips once more. She didn''t show any signs of hesitation and weed me with enthusiasm for the short moment itsted. "You''re mine now."


    "So I am." She smiled.


    I fully moved to my feet and helped her up as well. "Let''s go wrap things up so we can get made fun of by the girls when we get back home."


    "I''m suddenly feeling in agreement with your earlier statement. We can simply end it now and save ourselves the trouble."


    [***]


    Izzy and I stepped out of the private room that Shunsui had given us and the others were all standing around.


    Yoruichi leaned against the nearby wall watching us intently.


    She visibly perked up once they saw us, but at the same time, she awkwardly shrunk back, not wanting to actually speak up.


    I can understand, Izzy was probably a little intimidating. Personally, I found it attractive when she''s all wrathful Goddess, but I know not everyone else feels that way when their Creator Goddess appears and smites some idiots.


    "This feels like a funeral, who died?" I looked around. "....besides all the people who actually died."


    "Smooth." Yoruichi looked at me. "Surprisingly, not that many died. There was a lot but...less than there probably should have been." She nced at Izzy. "Considering...."


    "Was Mayuri one of them?" I asked hopefully.


    "He wasn''t even at the execution."


    "So? Maybe a stray arrow flew across Soul Society and just happened to impale him right through the head."


    "No, he wasn''t one of them." She said dryly. "As much as I''d also probably enjoy it."


    "Oh well, there''s always next time."


    "Yeah....next time." She sighed, pushing off the walls she was leaning on. "About that."


    "What?"


    "So, got out of a meeting with the Captains while they tried to make some ns going forward. Dealing with Aizen and his army of Hollows ¨C which is thankfully now in the open and I''m not a criminal anymore ¨C and apparently the Quincy who we didn''t even know existed until now."


    "What are you getting at?" I gestured for her to continue.


    "They want to know.....what both your ns are." She frowned even saying it.


    "Your conflicts are none of my concern." Izzy immediately replied. "I told you Shinigami what I expect and that is all."


    Yoruichi flinched slightly. "Yeah.....don''t worry about that they''re not....arguing with any of your....demands." She seemingly chose her words carefully. "Thankfully, Aizen killed the Central 46 before he openly betrayed everyone."


    "Thankfully? Aren''t they your governing body?"


    "Yeah, but they''re a bunch of elitist assholes. They''d probably do something to piss off the literal Goddess in our presence."


    "Ah, I getcha."


    "And Aizen isn''t going to sit still. Especially since you took the Hogyoku he was after."


    "Hogyoku, is that what the marble Is called?"


    "Of course you''d have no idea what it is. Did you take it just to piss off Aizen?"


    "It was shiny.."


    "I''m d you''re my friend." Yoruichiughed. "Kisuke would know more about it since he created it. But I doubt he''s going to leave you alone. He''ll track you down to the ends of the world if he has to if our thoughts about his need for it are right."


    "I wish him good luck with that." Though, the idea of him getting frustrated that he couldn''t find me would be fun to see. "As for my ns in particr, I was going to go home. Far out of Aizen''s reach, so you don''t have to worry. And if you want, I cane check in every now and then. I....don''t mind lending a handter if things get bad."


    "No idea what''s going to happen with two wars brewing, but I think ''bad'' is a good estimate." She reached into her shirt and took out a bound book. "Here, this is for you." She said, tossing it to me.


    "This is..." I started flipping through it briefly.


    "All Kid¨­ up to 90. I stole that when I had a minute, but the others are significantly harder to get so you''re out of luck there unless you want to go ask the Old Man."


    "I''m kinda refraining from seeing him after ourst talk, so I will thank you for this." This was actually really helpful. "I''m a little surprised that you''re taking Izzy''s im seriously. I honestly expected a lot of finger pointing and disbelief."


    "When someone calls themselves a Goddess and threatens topletely upheaval Soul Society and shows they can do it with a gesture, it''s pretty hard to dispute." Yoruichi snorted. "Don''t misunderstand, I ampletely confused how it''s possible for her to exist and trying my best not to freak out."


    Izzy hummed in amusement, but didn''t speak up.


    I feel like I waspletely overshadowed, but I can''t really me them there.


    "There''s been a sudden resurgence of people reading up on human myths and legends." Yoruichi added. "Lots of people are scrambling to check old records and all of that. The rumors have been spreading and it''s already causing a bigmotion."


    "I couldn''t imagine why."


    The thought of them scrambling to dig up some old references to Izzy''s myths or cracking open a Bible to study is honestly hrious.


    "Right, says the supposed Devil."


    "Half Devil. My mom was human." I corrected.


    "How does that work?"


    "I would presume how any sex works, but I don''t really want to think about my mom doing it, thank you." I jokingly replied, stepping towards the kids who had been silently listening.


    "I don''t really know much about human myths and stuff, but I thought it was the Devil, but you make it sound like there''s more of you. How many of you are there running around?"


    "Yeah, not The Devil, just A Devil. And there''s a bunch of us, but they don''t usuallye to the human world." I shrugged. "But then again, I don''t really pay attention to them."


    "And that''s not a scary thought." Her arms dropped to her side and she let out a sigh. "Jeez, this is all crazy and I don''t even know where to start. Honestly, thanks for everything so far, you really did help us out. Godddess, devil, I don''t really care, but genuinely thank you."


    "What are friends for?" I nudged her shoulder. "Come on, let''s go get the kids and bring them back home."


    "Yeah, I wanna get out of here before I get pulled into any more crap as it is." She chuckled. "It''s funny, with everything that happened, everyone seems to have forgotten that you apparently ran around and beat people up with a brick on your first visit here."


    "Ah, good times." Actually, I should make sure to grab another brick while I''m here.


    ....for a souvenir.


    I obviously wouldn''t use it for any other purposes.


    [***]


    Yhwach, King of the Quincy POV


    "Your Majesty, I have the records you requested." Jugram knelt down, holding up the bundles to me. "However, I was unfortunately unable to find anything more in this short time, your Majesty. If you would permit it, I will send someone to the Human World to acquire what you desire."


    I held my hand up to silence him. Taking the top most bounded book, I looked at it and flipped through a few pages. "This will be sufficient for now."


    I did not think I would be researching old myths of human origins like this. It was utterly ridiculous, preposterous and outright nonsensical, yet....the facts presented themselves in in view.


    Izanami.


    A Goddess of Death in legends. Was it merely coincidence?


    A God walked the earth and I had no idea about her existence until this moment. She shouldn''t exist, she couldn''t exist. It made no sense and anything I did I was unable to perceive her existence which just led credence that she was what she imed to be.


    The Soul King split the original world into the three realms present today. Was it really possible that other deities existed in the past? Was it something lost to history, or something wiped from any records?


    No, it wasn''t just her, but the man who apanied her. iming to be another Race that shouldn''t exist, yet evidence was provided to the contrary.


    What other things have we missed? What other variables had so easily been able to slip through my carefullyid ns?


    "Jugram, have the casualties been calcted?" I set the book down with annoyance.


    "Yes your Majesty. Do you wish to know which subjects were lost in the fight in Soul Society or in addition to Bambietta''s negligence?"


    Bambietta Basterbine ¨C E The Explode.


    I could barely refrain myself from strangling her the moment I found out what happened. I couldn''tpletely me her for what happened. Literal Divine intervention was something even I can''t perceive it seemed. But that didn''t mean she escaped punishment.


    One of herrge Bombs was subverted and pushed down into the Wandenreich.


    And now a significant part of the Silbern was gone.


    "Give me the full list."


    "Yes, your majesty." He bowed. "The following Sternritter have been killed inbat; As Nodt, PePe Wabrada, Berenice Gabrielli, NaNaNa Najahkoop, Quilge Opie, and Driscoll Berci. The majority of the other Sternritter dispatched were severely wounded. As for the casualties due to Bambietta''s bomb, roughly 37% of the Soldats were killed and Jerome Guizbatt was severely injured and in critical condition. In addition about half of the Silbern is...unsalvageable."


    I took a deep breath and calmed myself. "And the losses for Aizen?"


    "One of the Espada under Sosuke Aizen''smand was killed by the Captain Commander."


    "Good." I felt myself crack a smile.


    Acquiring the Hogyoku was never the main priority. It would have been...beneficial, but not required. It was ultimately a useless trinket to me and simply keeping it out of Aizen''s hands was the best case scenario. No, my Sternritter did exactly what they needed to do. The Sacrifice of a few was worth it to cast the eyes of the Shinigami away from us. They were the dregs anyways, ones that could be reced given time.


    Now, in their eyes, our losses would be substantial, and the forces of Sosuke Aizen would appear the more immediate threat giving us needed breathing room. Even with the significant loss that was the piece of power I granted PePe. I didn''t need to use my Almighty to know who was responsible for taking away that again.


    The Shinigami would not seek to invade for the time being. We could reorganize our forces, and evaluate our next course of action in light of these changes that have urred. Time to figure out who and what these entities that had involved themselves. This Goddess and this Devil who appeared out of nowhere and shouldn''t by any rights exist.


    What else existed out there hiding in the shadows that even I didn''t know about?


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 404 - 366

    <h4>Chapter 404: Chapter 366</h4>


    Shunsui walked up, his Lieutenant standing by his side. He carried himself casually, his little weing smile on his face as he saw us. It didn''t do anything to eliminate the underlying nervousness that he seemed to have. Mostly because Izzy was at my side I would presume.


    Nheless, Izzy held a sort of mild impression towards him. I''ve known her long enough now to understand how she thought about certain things. Shunsui had been respectful but not entirely fearful of her even after learning who she was. Thus, he earned some small amount of goodwill from her.


    "I just got back after the Old Man gave Captain Kenpachi an ear full. Something about his Haori being pink? You wouldn''t know anything about that, would you?" Shunsui looked at me.


    "I admit to nothing." I kept a straight face to the best of my ability. Though even Izzy was barely holding back a giggle at my side. "We were about to get going, everything good on your end?"


    "Haaah." He let out a long breath. "About as good as we can expect. I don''t suppose you''d want to hand over that Hogyoku thing?"


    "....I don''t think I can anymore." I really needed to investigate it once we left and I had a few minutes and a ce to experiment in peace.


    He shrugged, not bothering to question it. "We''re preparing for war, so some things have been....slow going." He nced at Izzy and I think we both caught his insinuation. It''s fair to say they had more important matters to deal with than Izzy''s demand, which didn''t really have a time limit. "Although, we have started making inroads on.....cleaning up the Rukongai." He smiled, but it was strained.


    Izzy just hummed without answering him, making Shunsui look rather awkward.


    He coughed into his fist and carried on. "The job was entrusted to my Division, and Nanao here is gathering everything needed and building a proper n."


    His lieutenant peeked over his shoulder looking a bit shy. "Y-yes, I''m writing up a proper n Ldy Izanami." She squeaked as Izzy met her eyes.


    "Child,e here." Izzy held her hand out, addressing the embarrassed woman.


    "I ¨C "


    "Come." Izzy beckoned again, a gentle smile on her face. The Shinigami shuffled closer not knowing how to react. "Let me remove that curse on you."


    "Curse?" I repeated.


    Shunsui''s eyes widened. "You can tell?"


    "Do you forget who I am?" Izzy turned to face him, a single eyebrow raising. Shunsui shrunk back slightly at her gaze. "There are very few in existence that can im to know curses more than I."


    "For those of us that have no idea what''s going on." I raised my hand.


    "Erm..." Shunsui scratched his cheek. "Nanao''s family...any man who marries into it dies after their child is born and the child is always a woman...."


    "That''s weird." I blinked.


    "....you can fix that?" Nanao whispered, looking at Izzy in awe.


    "Hmm, it shouldn''t be too difficult." Izzy nodded, holding the woman''s hand, but after a moment her brow furrowed in annoyance. "Not just your soul, it''s woven into your bloodline." She clicked her tongue. "This will take a moment to unravel without causing any negative side effects."


    "Need me to help?" I offered.


    "The offer is appreciated, but unneeded. It isn''t anything strenuous or difficult, just merely meticulous in approach. I could easily rip it from her, but the damage would be severe. I would rather not leave any lingering remnants and do a thorough job from the start."


    "Alright, I''m gonna go check on the kids to see if they''re ready to go. Give me a holler if you need me." I raised a hand to wave goodbye as they seemed much more focused on the woman''s issue.


    I wasn''t really needed there and that seemed more like a personal matter between them that I didn''t want to interrupt.


    I walked through the little building we were at, moving through a couple rooms and opened the door to the courtyard on the opposite end.


    The kids were standing around, eyes immediately turning to me once I walked through.


    "Hmm, where''s the shorty?" I looked around.


    "Rukia''s back with her division." Ichigo crossed his arms. "Why, something wrong?" He asked with a frown.


    "Nah, was just curious. She okay?"


    His frown disappeared into something resembling a smile. "Yeah, she''s good now." He nodded happily. "Thanks.....by the way. Despite....everything, you came through in the end."


    "You''re a good kid." I ruffled his hair, much to his chagrin. He huffed and swatted my hand away. "It''s too bad I couldn''t see your Bankai in action, was looking forward to it."


    "Hmph, you can fight me if you want." He grinned a little cockily.


    "Are you ''going to easy on me''?" I asked humorously, mocking the words he originally said to Izzy. "And I forgot to mention before, but I met your little Hollow too. That was interesting."


    He paled a little. ".....she''s not mad, right?" He asked, focusing on that specific part of what I said.


    "Mad? Hmm, who knows." I hummed.


    "Is she holding a grudge?" His face dropped.


    "Don''t worry about it." I chuckled. "Izzy thought it was funny, she isn''t going to curse you or anything."


    "She...really is...y''know?" He whispered.


    "Yes, she is Izanami and everything that entails." I nodded.


    "And you...?"


    "A bastard of a Devil. My mom was human." I didn''t really feel the need to hide it.


    He opened his mouth and closed it again. ".....alright."


    Well, he took it better than most had.


    "Wait, what did you mean by meeting my Hollow?"


    "When you were training, he came over to say hi."


    Ichigo scowled for some reason. "You know how to get rid of it?"


    ".....get rid of your Hollow?" I asked, wanting some rification.


    "Yeah, just...get it out of me."


    "....why?"


    "Why? Because it''s a hollow." He scoffed.


    "....so?"


    "It¡ª" He stopped. "I shouldn''t have it, right? Hollows are bad, they''re.."


    "Evil?" I raised an eyebrow. "Literal Devil over here."


    He blinked and frowned deeper. "He''s always talking about taking control."


    "Has he?"


    "Taken over me? Nah I beat him back every time he gets annoying. We''ve fought tons of times in my inner world."


    "Has he tried when you''re weak? When you''re vulnerable. Or maybe when you''re sleeping and you don''t expect it?"


    "Well....no."


    "Then stop being an idiot." I flicked his forehead. "If this Hollow of yours was trying to cause you problems, then you would be having problems. It sounds more like he''s just being a pain in the ass in a productive way. Maybe....try to understand and talk to him instead of opting for annihtion? That might make it more receptive if you aren''t trying to ignore it and kill it at the earliest opportunity."


    I can''t say I''m an expert in that whole mess, but if he''s part Hollow or some other edgy nonsense, then it''s a literal aspect of himself, and him being dismissive about that part of himself can''t be healthy.


    He fell silent with that same scowl I''vee to associate with him, looking rather deep in thought so I decided to leave him to it.


    "Chad, you doing good?" I lightly punched his shoulder.


    He grunted with a nod. "Think my power can get stronger, found something in my other arm."


    "Neat."


    He smiled gently.


    "Orihime? Everyone treating you well?" I asked the adorable girl.


    "Uh huh." She smiled happily.


    "Good, good." I walked towards the skulking Quincy standing a few feet away. "And you, Mr.Last of the Quincy? How are you doing?"


    "My entire world has been turned upside down in a single day." He said dryly.


    "And which specific part was that?"


    "The fact that I am not thest of the Quincy as I had thought." He deadpanned. "And finding out that literal Gods exist, and apparently Devils too. I was an Atheist beforeing here."


    "That sounds rough."


    He let out a tired sigh. "I''m going to have a very long talk with my father when I get home." He rubbed his temple. "And maybe a priest too...." He added on quietly.


    "You should do that too, Strawberry." I raised my voice so he could hear me even though he probably could before.


    "Why the hell would I see a priest?" Ichigo scoffed. "And don''t call me that you bastard."


    "I meant talk to your dad, you dumbass. Shinigami powers don''t just spring out of nothing!"


    He flipped me off.


    "Are we making fun of Strawberry? I''m always down for that." Yoruichi appeared in the courtyard in her cat form.


    "Screw you all." Ichigo huffed.


    "Oh, stop being a baby." The woman chuckled, hopping onto my shoulder. "By the way, why was Shunsui''s lieutenant crying and hugging your friend?"


    "Something about a curse that she was undoing?" I offered in return.


    "Curse....oh shit, you mean her n thing?" Yoruichi''s eyes widened.


    "I don''t know, I didn''t really ask for details beyond the surface stuff. Seemed kind of personal."


    "Yeah...wow. Some people are going to kick up a fuss about that." She said quietly. "Anyways, we heading back home? I''m looking forward to telling Kisuke everything that happened. And that you have his Marble. You n on giving it up?"


    "As I told Shunsui, pretty sure I can''t at this point."


    "Hah, he''s going to have a panic attack." She snickered. "Probably safer with you than whatever other n he had."


    "Yoruichi, why did Hat-n-clogs put something in Rukia?" Ichigo asked. "She told me that some traitor took something out of her and that he put it there in the first ce."


    plicated. Honestly, I don''t know all his ns in detail, but from what I could guess....he probably knew that she was going to be executed and hoped that the S¨­kyoku would destroy the Hogyoku as well."


    "Sounds sketchy."


    "Fucking hell he does." Strawberry agreed with me.


    "I''ll tell you what, you can kick his ass when we get home and demand answers yourself."


    "Sounds good." Ichigo nodded.


    Wow, she threw Kisuke under the bus quickly.


    "Ara, is everyone ready to leave?" Shunsui walked into the courtyard followed by Izzy and his Lieutenant. Thetter of whom was basically worshiping the ground that Izzy stepped on....even more than before.


    "Looks like it." Yoruichi chirped. "I wanna get out of here quickly before little Beees and tries to hand over her Haori again."


    "Ah...Sui-Feng trying to convince you toe back, huh?"


    "Yup." Yoruichi nodded. "Not happening."


    Shunsui sighed but didn''t press. "Before I forget." He reached into his Kimono and took out a handful of paper slips, spreading them out for everyone to see. "Got one for all of you, they''re passes into Soul Society." He smiled happily, nearly forcing them into the kid''s hands and only politely handed one to Izzy who took it with a little amused smile. "....please don''t invade again."


    "....no promises."


    His shoulders slumped. "At least bring more alcohol next time."


    "That, I can promise." I patted his shoulder and he perked up. "It''s been an interesting trip. I''ll keep in touch."


    "In that case, I really hope you''re serious about the Alcohol."


    "Alright, alright, I''ll bring the good stuff next time." I pped my hands turning to everyone else. "Everyone ready, nothing else they need to do? No other people they need to rescue?"


    "Just get on with it, asshole." Ichigo scoffed.


    I rolled my eyes, flicking my hand to create a Portal back to Urahara''s underground sex dungeon.


    Despite thement Ichigo gave me another thankful nod as he went through without a second thought.


    Hard to dislike that kid honestly. Fun to take the piss out of him, but Igenuinely didn''t dislike him.


    The others followed behind him wordlessly giving a slight nod or a quick word of goodbye.


    Yoruichi hopped off my shoulder. "Youing with?"


    "We''re heading somewhere else."


    "That''s not cryptic at all." She snorted.


    I chuckled, weighing some options in my head. After giving it a moment of thought, I took out a Kaleidophone and tossed it to her. She caught it with her mouth before setting it on the ground. "The hell?" She asked.


    "If you need to contact me. Should be able to get a signal regardless of where either of us are."


    She perked up with a grin. "Thanks, I''ll y with thister."


    Well, I considered us friends at this point, so I didn''t mind her having it. She would probably keep it away from her friend too, so I wasn''t too worried.


    "Don''t be a stranger." She waved her little paw and jumped right on through and I closed it behind her.


    "Shunsui, thanks for everything." I held my hand out as he shook it.


    "It''s been.....not the worst experience of my life. I still remember the Old Man training me and Ukitake. But it''s a close second."


    "Seems like I need to try harder next time."


    "Please don''t." he said with a mix of genuinely pleading and a joking tone.


    I patted his shoulder again, giving him a smile goodbye before. Izzy took the initiative and grabbed my hand with her own, looking very content with herself. I suppose she didn''t really care to hide anything in front of those two and I surely didn''t mind.


    The iridescent portal opened up and we stepped through without a second thought, the linked space closing immediately as we stepped into her house in Yomi.


    "Mother!?" A voice called out making both of us nearly jump in surprise.


    "Susanoo?" Izzy''s eyes widened.


    Her son was sitting right in the middle of the room, his eyes locked onto both of us and trailed down to where our hands were together.


    And he quickly put two and two together because sparks began flickering off his body.


    [***]


    Aizen POV


    "Gin." I turned around to see my co-conspirator enter the room.


    "Hey there, boss man." He waved casually. "Just wanted toe and make sure you didn''t need a hand ¨C" He paused, looking at my still missing hand.


    "I have no pressing matters." I felt a violent twitch above my eye. "However, I would like to hear your thoughts."


    "Whatcha need?"


    "The state of the Espada. Are there any concerns?"


    "You mean are they thinkin of rebelling cause they saw you get your hand cut off and then run away?" He asked.


    "Yes." I grit my teeth.


    "Eh, I''d call it 50/50." He shrugged as if it wasn''t important. "I mean, I think they understand. It''s not like they didn''t also run away from the self-proimed Goddess, yeah?" He walked forward, looking at the Hogyoku within its sealed container that I left it in while we were in Soul Society. "They probably not kicking too much a fuss cause Nnoitra died. Old Man Yamamoto did a number on him and that calmed them down."


    Self Proimed Goddess.


    Utterly Ridiculous.


    There was only one God in the world and that was the Soul King. The entire point, all of my ns were to fix the mistakes of that entity.


    It was foolish, nonsense! How could there be other Gods in this world!?


    Did that mean that everything was pointless? If there are more deities, then what''s the point in trying to fix the mistakes of a singr God!?


    Yet.....yet, I can''t find it to disbelieve the im.


    I felt it, in the deepest parts of my Soul. I acknowledged her deration without any true doubt.


    Everything went wrong.


    All of my carefullyid ns were entirely pointless. The mere existence of that thing destroyed all of my ns the moment she came in contact with them. And the other person..


    The phantom pain in my missing hand still appeared every now and then.


    And he stole my Hogyoku!


    I finally had victory literally in my grasp and he stole it!


    "Why''d you need that second one anyways? Isn''t one enough?"


    "It is iplete." I seethed. "I needed to feed it Kisuke Urahara''s own creation to fully bring out its potential. As it stands....It won''t achieve the same power required." But even so....I may have no choice. They both had the same ability to break down boundaries, but whenpleted, it would be so much more. To grant desires at its core.


    I ced my hand atop the container, bringing the Hogyoku out. Grabbing it with my hand, I looked at it for a moment before pushing it into my chest, beginning the process of merging with it.


    I felt my hand squirm, my skin distorted and burst outwards, my flesh knitting and forming together to regenerate my lost limb. I clenched my new hand a few times to make sure it was working correctly. "It seems we must improvise."


    The iplete Hogyoku was insufficient to truly ascend to the stage I desired, but that didn''t mean it couldn''t allow me to take a step or two forward and maybe sideways. I would carry on my ns ¨C admittedly reworked but the destination was the same. I merely needed to reacquire my stolen prize and fuse it after the fact.


    Those other failed experiments, they could call upon the powers of a Hollow to ovey with their Shinigami powers, so why couldn''t I do the same?


    It didn''t matter which path I took, in the end, I would sit above all of them anyways.


    I felt the Hogyoku respond to my will, my essence began to shift.


    I gathered my Reiatsu into my palm and swiped it downward over my face, the Hogyoku thrummed, answering my call.


    A bone-white mask covered me as I looked into my reflection on a nearby mirror. I wasn''t like those misbegotten fools that had to fight tooth and nail to subdue their ''inner hollow'' to acquire this power. With the Hogyoku, even iplete, the power was entirely my own.


    I could feel the surge of strength, the new realm I reached and the power I now held at my fingertips.


    Content with it for now, I dismissed my Hollow Mask and turned towards Gin with a smile. "Nnoitra is dead, we should fill in the Espada slot. Go find Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck; she should still be alive after what happened to her. Have Granz heal her and have her assume Nnoitra''s position."


    My Confidence was back. I felt strong enough to take on even the Captain Commander in my newfound state. Given some more time, I believe I would emerge the victor.


    "Right-o, Boss man." Gin mock saluted. "And what do you n on doin about the Goddess?"


    And I felt it all drain away once more.


    ".....I''m still working on that."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 405 - 376

    <h4>Chapter 405: Chapter 376</h4>


    Izanami POV


    "Mother!?"


    "Susanoo." I cleared my throat, slowly sliding my hand out of Wilhelm''s. "What are you doing here?"


    "You were gone for a while and I was worried! If you didn''te back soon I was going to go ask for help." He admitted making my heart feel very warm. "Wait, that doesn''t matter. Why are you ¨C and him!" He threw his finger at Wilhelm.


    "I didn''t think anyone would care if I was gone. I apologize for making you worry."


    "Mom..." His face dropped.


    "I''ll be sure to leave a note if I''m gone for extended periods of time from now on." I gave him a reassuring smile. How sweet of him to check in on his mother and wait anxiously for my return?


    He grumbled something but red back at Wilhelm. "Mom, what are you doing with him?"


    It seemed I wasn''t able to distract him away from that line of questioning. Wilhelm was being polite and allowed me to answer these questions. I knew he didn''t quite get along with Susanoo, so I was thankful for him keeping the peace.


    "Susanoo, calm yourself." I said sternly as I saw his power bubbling beneath the surface. "Wilhelm and I were spending time together...as a couple." May as well rip the Band-Aid off, it wouldn''t be possible to ease him into it.


    Right as the words left my mouth, lightning crackled from his eyes and I could tell he was going to do something stupid. Wilhelm looked ready to start another brawl too, so I put my foot down, more literally than anything.


    "Are you about to start a fight in my home?" I grabbed him, making him flinch.


    "N-no." My son quickly denied, reeling himself back.


    "No is right." I let go. "Because I would be very upset if you started another fight. Are we clear?"


    "Y-yes mother."


    "Good."


    "But mom! You can''t, he''s... he''s a Devil!"


    "Are you telling me who I can and cannot date, Susanoo?"


    "He''s a Devil!" He repeated.


    "I am more than aware of this fact."


    "I...." Susanoo stuttered, seemingly unsure of how to respond. "I''ll kill him!"


    "You will do no such thing!"


    "He can try." Wilhelm said nonchntly.


    "Not helping Wilhelm." I glowered at him.


    "This is uneptable, I refuse!" Susanoo mmed his hand on my coffee table, breaking it. He stiffened as it shattered into pieces.


    "Your eptance was not a factor in my decision, Susanoo. You are my son, and I love you unquestionably. However, who I like and don''t like is not something you can decide." I red at him, reining in my own ring temper at his actions. "For the first time in many years I have someone I wish to be with, someone who makes me happy. I would ask that you respect my decision if nothing else." I gave him a moment to consider my words and offer any response, but he silently fumed instead. "I will go get something to clean this up and I will make a lunch for all of us to sit down and eat. I will not tell either of you to like each other, but you will ept that the other is a part of my life. And so help me if I find out you two got into another fight." I gave them a fair warning.


    They would not like what came next if they actually fought again.


    With that, I disappeared into the kitchen, intentionally leaving them alone.


    As much as I knew this was a bad idea and just asking for trouble, they had to deal with this themselves and get whatever they were going to say out of their systems.


    All because I wanted to stop by the house and change into something more...presentable. I knew it''s silly, but I wanted my first time meeting Wilhelm''s other Harem members to be.....better. I wanted to look my best and feel like I belonged even if I found myself still trying to make excuses and question this newfound rtionship.


    It felt too good to be true. To find someone whopletely epted me for everything that I was, the good and the mostly bad.


    "You stay away from my mom!"


    I let out a sigh, recognizing my son''s voice. It''s not that he was particrly loud, but I think they failed to realize that this was literally my home, within Yomi even. There was nothing that happened inside of here that I was unaware of.


    "Fuck you."


    Dammit Wilhelm....


    I resisted the urge to step in and mediate, because they were going to have to get this out of their systems eventually. They were both very headstrong men and in hindsight, I could see the brawl they had as something necessary toe to this point. Heavens knew that if that incident never happened Susanoo would be much less receptive to my words and would have probably already tried to ''smite'' Wilhelm for his ''insolence''.


    "You dare, mortal!" I could even feel his Divinity from here.


    "Oh good idea, get Izzy pissed at you. I won''t even make a move, do your worst."


    "You hide behind my mother!"


    "Trust me, if I''m behind your mom, it''s not because I''m hiding."


    Dammit Wilhelm! Don''t just blurt out things like that.


    ....even if it''s probably going to be true soon.


    It''s been a long time since I''ve had a lover....and I admit it''s something I''ve been feeling more aching for certain thingstely...


    "I''m going to kill you! No one will find your corpse, it''ll be turned to ash and dust into the wind."


    "How''d that go for youst time, hmm?"


    I shook my head and went about preparing a meal. I didn''t expect to have a luncheon like this out of nowhere, but I wasn''t particrly upset about it either. I would always wee my son popping in for whatever reason.


    They continued to bicker and I didn''t pay it much mind. As long as things didn''t get physical, I wouldn''t step in at this point. I was cutting up some vegetables and the knife in my hand came to an abrupt stop due to the crashing of something in my living room.


    "You broke it, good job thunder head."


    "I did not!"


    "Fix it before she notices."


    "How do you expect me to fix it!?"


    "You''re a God! Use your Godly Powers!"


    "I''m a God of Storms! I don''t fix things!"


    "So you''re useless."


    "You dare, Mortal!?...I''m not useless!"


    "Sure, when''s thest time someone was like ''Gee, I sure hope a terrifying stormes and ravages the country. You know what we could use, a Monsoon!"


    "If you think so highly of yourself, then you fix it."


    "You''re the one who made the mess."


    "Imand you to fix this!"


    "Hmm.....nah."


    "I am your God, you will listen to my orders!"


    "Not my God, actually. If anything, I''m more linked to the Abrahamic Cosmology than the Shinto one."


    "You would disgrace your homnd!?"


    "You were the one calling me a Devil and dismissing me earlier, and now I''m suddenly under your umbre?"


    My son scoffed. "And I should have known better than to expect anything worthwhile from your ilk."


    "You know...." I knew Wilhelm''s tone and I preemptively began rubbing my temples. "I don''t think we should fight, we have some things inmon."


    "What could I possibly share with you?"


    "Well for starters, I''ll also be calling Izzy mommyter."


    "I''ll kill you!"


    "hehe."


    Okay, I believe it was time to intervene because it was just getting petty now. "Lunch is ready,e and eat." I called out to them.


    Their little squabbling stopped as they came into the kitchen, and I urged them to quietly sit down at the table.


    Despite the sniping back and forth they were doing, I think this had been....productive. I knew for a fact that if it were anyone else Susanoo would not take those kinds of jabs from anyone bar a handful. The fact that he truly didn''t get upset and throw around his power was testament to some degree of acknowledgement on his part.


    This was going to be a nice and peaceful family meal.


    "Did you know your sister shed me?"


    Dammit Wilhelm.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    "How''s my hair." Izzy asked, fussing over it.


    "Perfect." I reassured her. "As it was ten seconds ago. And you''re absolutely stunning and you didn''t need to dress up like this."


    She was wearing a white Kimono that looked very beautiful and elegant on her. A much more traditional type of clothing than the jeans and sweater she was wearing previously.


    "I.....wanted to look my best for my first introduction." She said quietly.


    "It''s hardly a first introduction."


    "Yes, but it will be the first time I''m meeting them as....we''re together."


    "Izzy, they absolutely loved and adored you before. They''ll probably love you even more now." She was so cute when she was being shy.


    "...thank you."


    "Would you like a quick kiss?" I offered.


    We were literally at the door of my ¨C I guess our home now, so even if anything wasn''t as she wanted, it was a bit toote for further changes. They were waiting, I had given everyone a little bit of warning so they could all get together and wee Izzy.


    Susanoo had been quick to leave after the meal. Maybe it was the story about his sister I told him, or maybe it was the kiss I shared with his mom.


    "...Yes, I would like that very much."


    So cute.


    I leaned in and lightly ced my lips against hers. And at that moment, someone on the other side decided to open the door.


    A very smug Jinn was staring at us.


    And that was the reddest I think I''ve ever seen Izzy.


    "Don''t stop on my ount, I don''t mind watching." Jinn broke the awkward silence. "Personally, I like when he uses his tongue to ¨C "


    "Come here you silly girl." Sc¨¢thach appeared and dragged the giggling Genie off to give Izzy some space.


    Izzy looked like she wanted to hide but I reassuringly took her hand and led her inside.


    Jinn was sitting down, nearly vibrating in ce. And everyone else was present besides Meridia, which I expected. Having her pop up on short notice was difficult at the best of times, and she could usually only do that every once in a while. Frankly, it''s probably best to keep that for an emergency situation.


    "We will now decide your fate." Sc¨¢thach said with a very serious expression.


    "Is that so?" I said, crossing my arms, staring at her. "And while I think that would be valid if it was some woman you didn''t know, I''m fairly sure that isn''t the case here. Jinn, dear." I looked at my very adorable Genie. "What were the bets?"


    I knew my girls well enough at this point.


    There were little looks around the room.


    "That depends, who confessed first and how?" She smiled brightly.


    "I confessed first and pulled him into a kiss." Izzy covered her face with her hand.


    There were annoying huffs all around and they all took out money, tossing it to Jinn who cackled happily.


    "Who bet what?" I demanded.


    "I expected her to get tired and sh her tits." Sc¨¢thach freely admitted. "Would have been quick and easy."


    "Do you really think ¨C"


    "Yes." Sc¨¢thach cut me off, gesturing towards my wonderful Grandmother.


    "Hello~" She smiled, with a hint of smugness I think as well. "I abstained as I was rtively new and didn''t know much."


    "You are my favorite then." Izzy deadpanned.


    "I....thought Wilhelm would be the first to express his feelings." Artoria spoke with a hint of embarrassment. "He was so forward with me, I did not think he would stumble for so long."


    "I was close. Honestly, I thought it''d be Wilhelm pulling you into a kiss." Yasaka hummed. "But I''m happy to see you finally made a move. I swear, he has selective blindness sometimes."


    "Oh no, he was actually very aware of how I felt, he just chose to ignore it." Izzy huffed with a bit of good naturedness to it.


    ...that made it sound worse than it was....


    "I believe he requires remedial lessons then. There may be some foolishness that needs to be beaten out of him." Sc¨¢thach looked at me with a vicious glint in her eyes.


    "I agree." Artoria looked amused.


    "Seconded." Yasaka giggled.


    "Third" Jinn chirped.


    "I''m being bullied." I looked for my source of emotional support. "Mama Raikou, I''m being bullied."


    "My poor son." Raikou pushed my face into her breasts quicker than I could blink. "Mama is here."


    "And what did you bet?" I pushed my head up to look at her.


    She looked away with a little blush. "I was under the assumption that Master would need a firm helping hand."


    "To be honest, if it went on any longer, we all would have been more forceful." Yasaka added. "As fun as it was to watch you two dance around it, it needed to reach a conclusion at some point. We''re all genuinely happy that you both finally met halfway though."


    "So no one''s upset? I don''t want to assume and I hope we can talk about anything?" I escaped the gravitational pull of Raikou''s cleavage to look around the room.


    "Oh my foolish student. We approved it after speaking when Venna joined."


    "...that long ago, huh?" I remember they got together in Meridia''s realm and had a girl''s talk which was....awhile ago. I let out a sigh, looking at Izzy. "I''m an idiot."


    "Yes you are." She replied nearly instantly. "But you''re my idiot." Her expression softened. "I suppose our idiot. It will take some getting used to being in a Harem of all things. I can honestly admit I never foresaw this for myself, but I can''t bring myself to hate it."


    "A, I''m so happy to have a new sister!" Jinn shot up from her seat, hugging the surprised Goddess. "Wee to the family."


    After she got over the initial surprise, Izzy smiled just as brightly, returning the hug enthusiastically.


    Sc¨¢thach snuck up to my side in a rare show of outward affection, her arms wrapped around me, her lips finding mine with ease. "You have gained many new things, yes?" She asked after breaking the kiss.


    "Yeah, I have more stuff to work on."


    "Good, we shall train after you settle what you require." That loving look that I knew was reserved only for me, it never failed to make my heart beat faster.


    Sc¨¢thach was without a doubt the most independent of my girls. That''s not to say independent from me, but rather from everyone. Even Meridia ruled over an entire realm whereas Sc¨¢thach inparison seemed to merely wander from one fancy to another with no clear goal. That wasn''t to say she was without a purpose, but she chose to live a more ''nomadic'' life it seemed, in that she didn''t pick a particr role and settle down into it like the others did.


    I never faulted her for it, and I always made sure she got the space to live the way that she wanted. But it was moments like this that were the perfect reminder that we had an unbreakable bond.


    "Let me talk to Grampster then I''ll have some free time." I returned the favor, kissing her cheek. She replied with a hum, acknowledging it.


    Yeah, I needed to talk to Gramps to see where he stood on the World-line that Chaldea was operating in. That''d be my first stop right after this.


    Sc¨¢thach settled, leaning on me and we watched as everyone mored around Izzy giving her a ''hard time'' about finallying together.


    "Tell us about what happened. Did you have fun? What problems did Wilhelm cause?" Yasaka finally asked.


    "What makes you assume I caused problems? I''ll have you know that in terms of causing problems Izzy definitely has me beat here." I quickly defended myself.


    "Oh?" Izzy raised an eyebrow in a threatening manner. "You wish to y that way then? Very well, let me tell you all a story about a man and a brick."


    "You know what, I think Gramps is calling me ¨C "


    "Do you have something to hide, my student?" Sc¨¢thach''s grip around me tightened.


    Welp, not gonna live this one down.


    But I guess it isn''t the worst thing ever. That''s probably what Roman ¨C


    "Oh, I got a story after this too. I went to Remnant recently, and guess what I found out." Jinn looked at me, her smile widening by the moment.


    Oh God, she knows.


    Ddraig, I give you permission to kill me.


    [You think they''d write Watermelon Torchwick on your tombstone?]


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 406 - 368

    <h4>Chapter 406: Chapter 368</h4>


    "And you have the thing I told you to keep on yourself at all times?" I looked at my adorable little fox.


    "Uh huh." She held up the Talisman I specially prepared for her. It was based on the original design, and simr to the one I gave the kids back in Soul Society. Though, this one was significantly more powerful.


    This one held a full powered attack of mine using my Authority inside of it. It took some time and effort, but I managed to seal away that in the form of a Talisman by bleeding a lot of my Divinity into it.


    But, for my Daughter, it was all worth it.


    I gave her a quick head pat, taking that moment to also check the hair ornament I got her back in Remnant awhile ago. A secondary line of defense because I''m paranoid and a worry wart.


    "And you''re going to be good for your Grandma Lucretia?" I asked, teasing her.


    "I''ll be good." She puffed up. "...and we''ll y after, right?"


    "Of course, I just need to have a boring grown-up talk with Grandpa Zelretch. So you get to go have ice cream with Grandma Lucretia. Afterwards, we''re going to spend the whole day together." I reassured her.


    Her ears twitched in excitement and there was a big grin on her face.


    So cute.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll take good care of her." Lucretia put a hand on my shoulder, walking forward to greet Kunou. "And you littledy are going to get a treat. We''re going to my favorite little ice cream parlor."


    This was not the first time Kunou met Lucretia thankfully and she liked the older woman so it wasn''t awkward in the slightest.


    "You good? Don''t need me to go threaten anyone to make everything smooth?" I asked.


    "Oh don''t worry." Lucretia giggled a little. "Everyone here knows better than to mess with me."


    Here meaning the Clock Tower. They were going to walk to a little ce just outside the ''walls'' so to speak.


    Which was why I was being so protective, probably. I didn''t trust 99.9% of the people here, and for good reason.


    "Thank you, Lucretia, this means a lot."


    "Oh dear, it''s no trouble. I absolutely adore Kunou and I don''t mind watching her at all." Lucretia smiled happily. "Go talk to Zelly, I''ll make sure Kunou''s appetite is ruined andes back bulging with Ice Cream."


    "Joy." I deadpanned.


    She giggled again patting my shoulder. "Are you ready to go, Kunou? Give your Daddy a goodbye?"


    "Bye, Daddy." Kunou reached her arms out and I enthusiastically epted the hug. "Love you." She whispered.


    "I love you too, my little fox." I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Have fun."


    Lucretia nodded at me and I gave her onest silent thank you before they headed out the door.


    She was right.


    Lucretia had been here for how long now? There was no way Gramps would let the people here not know who she was and that she wasn''t to be fucked with.


    I didn''t know how Yasaka did it for so many years, especially alone. Letting Kunou out of her sight, even doing it with someone I trusted nearly made me be overwhelmed with anxiety and worry.


    Walking through a couple rooms, I found Gramps'' office door ajar and gave it a light knock, announcing myself. He nced over to me and I walked inside, sitting in the empty chair as I usually did.


    "How''s Kunou?" He asked, not ncing up from the papers he was looking over.


    "Good." I smiled. "Maybe a tiny bit bummed that she has to wait a little bit before we can spend our day together, but otherwise she''s happy. And thank you again ¨C you and Lucretia. This is important and I didn''t want to put it off, but I also wanted to spend time with Kunou and it''s difficult juggling everything sometimes."


    "That''s what family is for." He looked up, giving a gentle smile. "I''m sure Yasaka is enjoying the break too."


    "I could imagine." I loved Kunou but she could be a little hellion. "They''re all having some girl time since, well, they have a new sister. And I''m sure Izzy is enjoying all the new attention."


    "Oh that finally happened huh?"


    "Please not you too." I sighed, slumping in my chair. "Did you have a bet as well?"


    "...I may or may not have." He coughed into his fist. "....who won?"


    "Jinn." I groaned.


    "Drat, I was sure It was going to take someone sitting you both down to point out the obvious."


    "If I wasn''t spending the day with Kunou, I would be raiding your liquor right now." I let out a long breath.


    And it was especially true after the relentless teasing the girls gave me over the name that Roman apparently actually legalized back on Remnant. I admit I was skeptical that he actually put it all through correctly, but Jinn confirmed it.


    ording to the Kingdom of Vale Remnant, I am legally known as Watermelon Torchwick.


    [And it''s never going to get old.]


    There was the fact that Jinn went to Remnant, and I didn''t have the chance to ask her about that. Certain things took precedent in that ensuing conversation there and I took the quickest out I could.


    "So what''s the word on that world-line? It''s making me anxious not being able to just hop back over to check on everyone." I decided to get right to the important part.


    "Here, take a look." I flipped through a few pages, pulling one out and handing it to me. It was full of calctions, enough that I was thrown off trying to figure out what he was doing. "What do you think?"


    "It''s definitely paper." I nodded to myself.


    "Don''t be a smart ass." He snorted. "Tell me what you think."


    "I''m missing context so these equations mean nearly nothing to me."


    "I was trying to begin the basis for simting that world-line and I ran into a big wall."


    I grunted, looking it back over from the top. I grabbed a pen off his desk and ticked off a couple parts to help me work through it. "To be honest, I''m drawing a nk here. If you didn''t tell me what you were doing, I would think this was gibberish. And even now, it doesn''t really make sense. Am I missing something?"


    "No, it''s like that for me too." He stood up, moving to a shelf and looking through several things before grabbing a small notebook and tossed it onto his desk. "Those are more observations I made. This is a unique situation and I find myself confused just as much as you are. I believe I understand what''s going on but it''s still something I''m not one hundred percent sure of. And since there is an entity powerful and knowledgeable enough to notice me if I tried to reach my hand over there, I can''t do much to verify."


    I skimmed what he wrote to get the basics of what he was thinking right now. "All other possibilities were cut off then. Is that what you''re saying?" I flipped a page.


    "That''s one aspect, yes."


    "No wonder the calctions looked weird. Instead of a branching tree of possibilities, that world-line is just.....a straight line with no deviation. It makes sense, but it''s not something I''ve ever actually seen before."


    "I''ve seen simr situations, a result of my status. However, the cause of this particr instance is new to me. I''ve never seen one so thoroughly....man made, if the term is applicable. I''ve seen people or entities cause something that resembles this status, but nothing hase close to the intricacy."


    "These beacons you mentioned, they''re singrities, aren''t they?"


    "Yes, I was able to detect Seven more singrities simr to the one you experienced that prop up this distorted reality. I was even able to take a peek at your Chaldea, however, it was difficult due to the energy fields that CHALDEAS puts off, which I am to assume is also covering them from the eyes of the one you encountered."


    "That links up with what we already know, but confirmation is always good." I hummed, closing his notebook. "What''s the game n?"


    "I...don''t have one as of yet. I''m doing my best to remain undetected, which makes my efforts very slow. Give me....a week, two at thetest and I think I can give you a method to secure a path back inside without detection."


    "I can wait that long. How''s Chaldea doing?"


    "The details escape me, for obvious reasons. However, they appear to be preparing for the next singrity."


    "And do you have any information on that?" I questioned.


    "It should take ce in France ¨C specifically New Orleans during the 100 year war."


    "Oh." I blinked in surprise.


    "Something wrong?''


    "No, it''s just....I''ll probably be meeting someone I didn''t think I would ever see again." I missed Jeanne, I missed her a lot, she was someone who so easily epted everything about me even if it was against the beliefs she subscribed to. She was a pivotal part of this piece of history, so there was a very good chance I would see her, or a different version of her. I''m very much hoping I didn''t have a repeat scenario like with Artoria...


    No, I refused to have a repeat. I''ll do what I have to.


    "Keep in mind, this isn''t a green light for you to fight the entity again. And to be honest, I''m confident that you won''t have the same easy path to my old teacher''s workshop outside of time and space. That was perhaps a mistake on the Demon''s part, one that was rectified the moment you were dispelled."


    "I know, I know." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I don''t n on just jumping right back into a fight with it. I need more time anyways, I have some new things I need to get up to a certain level with before I even harbor that idea. For now, I just want an opportunity to check back in and make sure everyone''s doing good."


    The singrities were obviously created by the Demon, so there''s probably a path to take if they''re retraced that will lead back to him.


    "Good, because I''ll need you to gather data for me on this next excursion. I''m only confident in sending you undetected, so don''t get any ideas. Once I get more information, I believe I can bypass the Demon and allow others to join you."


    "I''ll probably need all the help I can get."


    "Well, that''s something to considerter." He pped his hands. "On to a lighter topic, have you thought about the social gathering I told you about previously?"


    "Ah...the thing with all the scions and what-not? To be honest, it hasn''t been a priority for me to give much thought about."


    "That''s to be expected with everything you''ve been worrying about. You also have new things you''ve gained as well?"


    "Yeah, Sc¨¢thach is going to help me train the new stuff I got. Once I get to a point where I''m content with it, I''ll show you everything." I nodded.


    "I look forward to seeing what you have to show. That wasn''t a world I paid any meaningful attention to." He rubbed his beard. "Have you given thought on who you wish to attend with you to the ''party''?"


    I hummed to myself, giving it a quick thought. "This sounds bad, but I think all of my options are....unwise. I mean, out of my girls, who delve into Magic and has the know-how to keep up with the people there, especially when they''re going to be trying to outdo one another?"


    "Sc¨¢thach, Jinn, or Yasaka perhaps?"


    "Yasaka''s magical knowledge basically equates to knowing how to punch over it." I tapped my finger on the desk. "Sc¨¢thach, well, she wouldn''t put up with any nonsense, nor would I want to force her to. And Jinn...I don''t want Jinn to be forced to be around those types. You know how they would act with a ''phantasmal'' walking around, especially with the insinuations on what she is."


    I would do unspeakable things if it meant protecting Jinn''s happiness.


    "All valid points. Well, give it some thought. It''s not the end of the world if you go alone. Nor do you even have to go. Some people have simply been bothering me about you making an appearance once it became known you were my grandson."


    "No, I''ll go, I really don''t mind." It sounded like it meant a bit to the old man so I would definitely do this for him. "I....might have another option I didn''t bring up."


    "Oh?"


    "I was nning on going to Remnant to have a chat with Salem about...everything. It might be something she''d be interested in. If she doesn''t kick me out of her castle that is." I made her that promise and I intended to fulfill it.


    "I''ll let you be the judge of that." He said simply.


    It''ll also give me a good chance to practice my new stuff on actual targets. Lots of Grimm over there that could be blown up with my new Kid¨­.


    I stretched my arms, opening the notebook again. "Alright, since I''m here and Kunou is going to be a little while still, let''s just sort out this nonsense, get it out of the way. Let me get caught up to where you''re at."


    "I could use your input on a few things anyways. Tell me when you get to page fourteen, there''s something specific there that I''m unsure about and could use another perspective."


    "Well, let''s knock this out then." I hummed, circling a few things.


    A little bit of work, then spending the rest of the day with my daughter before going to see Salem. And not only that, but there''s the possibility I''ll see Jeanne again soon.


    So much to do and so little time.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 407 - 369

    <h4>Chapter 407: Chapter 369</h4>


    "Rules?" I asked as I went through the motions of stretching my arms.


    "Hmm, same as always, however, I wish to see what you have learned." Sc¨¢thach hummed, summoning her spear.


    "Sure, but keep in mind that I''m still a bit inexperienced with it." I brought out my Zanpakut¨­.


    "Then you had better learn quickly." She shed a feral grin, and I realized I was in for a hard time. "If you impress me, I willy with you afterwards."


    Well.... consider me properly motivated.


    "Had¨­ #1, Sh¨­" I held up my finger, pointing at her.


    She blinked, flicking her spear up to slice through the invisible force that was shot/went/flew for her face. "Interesting, what other tricks have you learned?" She took a step forward and shot towards me.


    Her spear snaked towards me, moving unnaturally to intercept my vital spot even as I took steps to avoid it. I was forced to bring my Zanpakut¨­ down to deflect it, lest I get stabbed through the stomach.


    Her back foot dug into the ground and she followed up with a powerful thrust forward. The air at the tip of her spear distorted with the force, causing a boom to erupt with the singr movement.


    "Bakud¨­ #8, Seki." I quickly chanted at the point of contact. Her spear tip collided with my spell, the repulsive force fought with it for a moment before her spear was deflected once more. "Bakud¨­ #21, Sekienton." I followed up as soon as I had the opening.


    The spell that Yoruichi had used those weeks ago. Like a smoke bomb that was set off, smoke burst outwards, enveloping us within the blink of an eye.


    I wasn''t stupid enough to assume this would hinder her in any meaningful way, but it would obscure my next move.


    With a burst of Shunpo ¨C even if it was still somewhatcking ¨C I arrived in front of her and she was genuinely unprepared for my sudden speed. It was enough that she immediately went defensive, her spear crossed in front of her chest to block my iing strike.


    The moment my sword made contact with her spear, the smoke around us was blown away, sweeping up and around us like a hurricane.


    My Reiatsu erupted outward, flowing into my strike and I saw Sc¨¢thach lift off the ground and get sent hurling backwards. She caught herself in mid-air, reorienting her body tond on her feet even if they dug into the earth, cracking and shattering the ground where shended.


    She raised an eyebrow at me, a wide grin forming, she nted her left foot forward and reeled back her arm, throwing her spear right at me, another sonic boom apanying her attack.


    "Bakud¨­ #44, Sekisho!" I quickly casted a barrier in front of myself.


    The invisible wall that sprang up vibrated once her spear collided with it, sending ripples across the surface, a noticeable tension that was being tested. And nearly instantly her foot kicked the butt of her own spear, cracking the invisible shield and piercing through it with the additional force.


    I jerked and spun my body in an awkward way to avoid the spear as it sailed right past me and I took that moment to Shunpo a distance away. Nearly tripping, I used Shunpo again to move out of the way of her spear that mmed into the spot I was just in. Once, twice, her spear followed me with each movement, while I was dodging handily, she was also keeping up with her own efforts.


    "You may be fast, my student, but your movements are predictable." Sheughed as I nearly fell over myself again, dodging a spear that almost pierced through my eye.


    "Had¨­ #4 Byakurai." I twisted my body, pointing my finger at her to fire off a bolt of pale lightning. It was easily several fold stronger than what it should be, perhaps due to my innate affinity with Lightning.


    It was her turn to dodge, twisting her body to the side to escape the attack. "If this is your best, my student, then this Sc¨¢thach will be left wanting."


    You know what?


    Fuck it, lets try something.


    "Bakud¨­ #1 Sai." I casted the most simple binding at her. Something meant to force her arms behind her back. Itsted not even a tenth of a second before she broke it, but it disrupted her movement for just as long. "Bakud¨­ #4, Hainawa." An ethereal rope shot at her, binding her hands. "Bakud¨­ #30, Shtotsu Sansen." Three triangr beams of light shot forward, pinning her in ce before she could remove my second binding. "Bakud¨­ #9, H¨­uin." An orange-colored tendril with a spiraling yellow pattern erupted from my palm and enveloped Sc¨¢thach again, adding anotheryer of binding.


    "Bakud¨­ #16 Hitsugi, Bakud¨­ #36m Akushuu no Fukaku, Bakud¨­ #37 Tsuriboshi." I quickly threw out several more binding spells to envelop her. None of them were particrly powerful and I knew for a fact that they wouldn''t hold her very long, if at all, I was sorta thinking she would let me bind her to see what I would do.


    Either way, I didn''t want to disappoint.


    I held up my palm towards her, gathering a significant amount of my Reiryoku. I actually hadn''t tried this spell out as it was one of the new ones Yoruichi gave me, but what better time than now? "Had¨­ #88 Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!" The lightning swirled in front of my palm, ready to actualize, but I felt something twitch/move/flow wrong and realized I may have made a mistake.


    The spell imploded on itself.


    All the power I gathered was sent backwards and I felt myself rocket away from the ensuing explosion, bouncing off the ground a few times beforeing to a stop.


    I noticed a shadow hover over me. "Oww." I whined, as Sc¨¢thach poked me with the butt of her spear.


    "That was certainly impressive." She seemed humored by my situation. "I did not think you would defeat yourself so splendidly."


    "Completely intentional." I said, moving my arm up to block the sun beating down into my eyes. "I had to give you a handicap somehow."


    "A handicap I need is it?" She snorted, pushing her spear into my gut. "You are brave to say such a thing when you are at my mercy." She poked me a few times to prove her point. "And it was foolish of you to attempt a spell you have not mastered in our battle. Training wounds are expected, self inflicted wounds from foolish endeavors are not. I am not pleased that you almost harmed yourself in such a way."


    "I''ve seen it used once, and I had experience with other simr spells, I thought I could at least get it to cast properly." I admitted to a small miscalction on that end. Obviously, I needed to practice the higher level Kid¨­ spells in a more....tame situation as they were clearly much more vtile.


    Her spear was shoved into the ground near my head and she sat down on top of me. "I will tell you my thoughts otherwise. Those spells you showed me were interesting with unique effects I did not expect. I will have you give me the source to look into so I can understand them better, however, they will be a boon to you, that I am sure."


    "Yeah, I thought so as well. And those were mostly the lower level spells. I recently got my hands on the higher level stuff but....I still need to practice them as you can see."


    She nodded and continued. "Yes, and the method you used to move quickly was very interesting. It took me by surprise, however, you are clearly not an expert in it yet and it is not without its ws."


    "Also noted that. I''ve been practicing it a lot and I''m much better than when I started."


    "Good, more practice then." She patted my chest. "I will always be here to assist you, my student."


    "I know." I couldn''t help but smile towards her despite the situation. "I know I can always rely on you."


    She hummed happily, a small smile forming on her face. She swung her leg around so that she was straddling me. "As the victor, I will im my prize." Her hand grasped at the zipper on my pants, and there wasn''t a single protest from me.


    @***@


    "Are you two done ying?" Yasaka waved her tail from where everyone else was sitting and chatting. Jinn, Artoria, Raikou, and even Rin joined her.


    "I thought you were busy?" I slid into the seat next to her and Jinn, Sc¨¢thach taking an empty one opposite.


    "I snuck away for an hour or so." She chuckled. "And thank you for yesterday. It''s been stressful so knowing I could rx and have a small break knowing Kunou was safe was a big relief."


    "Don''t thank me for something like that, I''m always happy to help with our daughter." I nudged her.


    "Of course." Her tail wrapped around me.


    "How is everything going on your end?"


    She let out an exaggerated sigh, slumping down onto the table. "As well as expected. Medea''s been wonderful with the project you set her on, and I genuinely mean that. Hades sent over some of those ancient Greek heroes awhile ago, just after you left, and they''ve been training my people to fight as an army and not just as a mob."


    "Mmm, Mordred and I have joined with them for joint exercises as well." Artoria chimed in. "The knights under mymand have not known war on arge scale, thus the experience is beneficial for them as well."


    "It seems like that''s amon notion among people here. I can understand it,rge scale war when everyone is essentially superhuman at a minimum is....odd."


    "Normal tactics will have to be revised." Raikou nodded too.


    "We''ve already started making ns. Nurarihyon joined in on that, as we brainstormed strategies and even some of the Greeks helped out. We''re....stumbling in the dark, but we''ll manage something by the time we''re ready." Yasaka replied. "But enough about that, I''ll have to deal with that in a little bit anyways. What''re you doing?"


    "Probably heading to Remnant after this, I need to talk to Salem." They knew about that already, so I didn''t need to overly exin. "By the way, where is Izzy and Venna?"


    "Both are busy." Yasaka shrugged.


    "Speaking of Remnant and Salem." Jinn spoke up. "I may have.....gone there to talk to Salem a little bit." Jinn stated looking a little.....guilty.


    "....did something happen?"


    "I may have threatened her a little." Jinn looked down, mumbling the words. "Please don''t be mad."


    Ah, was that why she went to Remnant then?


    "Jinn..." I leaned over, wrapping my arm around her. "There is very little you can do to make me mad. If you felt the need to go there, I assume you had a good reason." She looked like she didn''t want to go into details, so I wouldn''t press.


    If it wasn''t anything harmful, she''s allowed her secrets.


    "Do you want toe with me?" I offered.


    Jinn shook her head. "I''m good here."


    "Actually." Artoria interjected. "Rin and I would like to apany you to this Remnant if you wouldn''t mind."


    "Oh?" I blinked in surprise. "I thought you were still running around Skyrim. Getting bored over there?"


    "It''s great, honestly. The College is amazing and I''ve been learning a bunch of spells. Not to mention I''ve been making a ridiculous amount of money by searching old tombs and stuff. But..." Rin trailed off.


    "You want some variety?"


    "If I have to see another giant Spider or Zombie, I''m going to flip my shit." She said with apletely serious look.


    "....thest barrow we excavated....Rin set it on fire."


    "I am done with Giant Spiders." She iterated again.


    "Noted." I couldn''t me her either.


    "Besides, I want to learn a bit more about Aura and Semnces, I think....I think I may be close to getting my Semnce. I''ve felt this way for a little while now." She muttered. "But I''m not too sure."


    "For some people it''s a gradual thing, some it''s spontaneous. If you think something''sing, then it probably is." Jinn chimed in. "There''s really no exact science to it, it''s slightly different for each person. And there may be an argument made for Remnant itself helping facilitate it quicker with other Aura Users around. A sort of....synchronization, if you will." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Something to think about."


    "Regardless, you''re more than wee to tag along. I assume you''d want to check out the cities and stuff note with me to see Salem."


    "I see enough of your love life as is, so no thanks." She said dryly.


    "That''s fine, I can drop you guys off near Vale. I know some people there that can get you legal identities easily enough."


    "Yes, your criminal associates?" Artoria looked at me.


    I shrugged. "They''re not bad, but yeah."


    "And isn''t he also a criminal there?" Rin pointed out.


    ".....It depends on where I am." Pretty sure I''m in the clear for Vale by this point.


    "Right." She snorted.


    "I will alsoe." Sc¨¢thach stated. "I enjoyed my time thest time I wandered there. I find myself wanting to return."


    "Raikou, do you want toe too?" I felt like I could answer this question for her, but I didn''t want to exclude her either.


    "Do you need me?" She tilted her head.


    "Other than just wanting you by my side, there''s no pressing concerns." I shot her a warm smile.


    "Then I would rather stay here, master."


    I nodded, and didn''t argue. She carved out her own little source of happiness here, I didn''t want to pull her away for no reason. Who would have thought she''d find enjoyment with helping children in school. She''d been with Kunou and the other children her age so much that she''s basically a teacher''s assistant and one of the staff at this point. And everyone there absolutely loved her and I couldn''t me them one bit.


    "What about me?" Yasaka whined.


    "Yasaka, do you want toe?" I asked, rather sarcastically.


    "Yes!"


    "Uh huh."


    "But I can''t." She slumped back down. "Actually, I quit. Let''s grab Kunou and run away somewhere fun."


    I gave her a sympathetic pat. I knew that she''s under a lot of stress right now, but there wasn''t really much that could be done about it.


    "Should I ask the others?" I looked around.


    "I wasn''t kidding, they''re busy. Venna is hosting some social function for the next couple days and Izanami is visiting another Death Deity for certain reasons she didn''t rify. Neither seemed like something they could walk away from." Yasaka rified.


    "Shame." Well, I shouldn''t be gone too long, a few days or so. "Anyways, I was going to head over soon, why don''t you all get ready and grab anything you need."


    "Sure, I got a few things I wanna grab before I go, give me like twenty or thirty minutes and I''ll be back." Rin quickly got up from her seat, heading back towards the house. The others simrly followed suit to make any final preparations.


    [***]


    "Ladies." I offered them a portal off to Remnant.


    "Thanks, Schweinorg. You''ll meet back up with us, right?" Rin asked.


    "Sure, just give me a little while to talk things out with Salem. You got everything you need otherwise, or the right money to buy stuff." I nodded.


    "Alright, see you over there." She waved, talking through the portal.


    "I wish you luck." Artoria stood on her tiptoes, giving me a quick kiss, before following after her.


    Sc¨¢thach instead grabbed me and brought me in for a deep kiss, a little smug smile was all she left afterwards before joining the others.


    I waved my hand, closing that one and mentally calcting another to the Grimm Lands where Salem resided.


    "Have fun." Jinn cheerfully waved me goodbye.


    "As much as I can given the circumstances." There was a chance that Salem and I went separate ways and I admit it gave me some anxiety.


    "No sad." Jinn pouted, grabbing my hands and putting them on her butt. "If you''re sad, just think about what you can do to me when you get back."


    "Well, that will certainly cheer me up." I leaned in, giving my wonderful Genie a kiss as well.


    "But seriously." Jinn leaned in. "When you get back, my Butt."


    "You are a lewd Genie."


    "It''s your fault." She puffed up.


    "And I''ll continue to take responsibility." I gave her a little swat on her behind. "Behave." I added yfully.


    She gave me onest wave and I walked through the portal, the light of day instantly turning into the twilight that was the Grimmnds.


    At this point, I was more than used to the?????????????????


    The Grimm noticed my presence, but the smart ones once more kept their distance and the lesser ones were cowed once I let my Reiatsu descend upon them. The useful trick that I picked up in my time among those Shinigami.


    Just the weight of my Spiritual Power pushing down on everything around me as I let it flow outward.


    On a side note, I''ll needed to test how effective a Zanpakut¨­ was against Grimm.


    But that thought was pushed aside as I reached Salem''s castle. The same gothic and menacing appearance didn''t strike fear into me, but one of anticipation, because a woman who made me feel such turbulent emotions sat behind its walls.


    Pushing the doors open, I entered unceremoniously.


    "So you''vee back once more." Salem looked down at me upon her throne.


    "Why do you sound surprised?" I questioned, looking at her with a smile.


    "Only the foolish venture into the Grimm Lands, and you seem to do so on a mere fanciful whim or some other inane motion about courting me. I merely question when this nonsense will cease and you will depart for the final time."


    "You underestimate what I would go through just to see you again. A merely inconvenient trip through the Grimm Lands is nothing inparison." I returned to her. She''s always like this after Ie back, expecting the worst. "Something you should know about me is that I''m an extremely selfish person. Once I get something, I never want to let it go. If something is mine, then I will keep and treasure it forever."


    Seeing her huff in mock annoyance was always so adorable.


    "But that''s always been your decision to make." I took bated steps towards her throne and she seemed to sit straighter as I approached. "And I want you to know everything about me. If you don''t mind, I''d like to tell you about my life and where I came from."


    "Oh, you''re finally going to reveal where yourmunity of Magic users hides?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Salem, I''m not from Remnant."


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 408 - 370

    <h4>Chapter 408: Chapter 370</h4>


    I didn''t want to y coy or do one of our back and forths, I wanted to bepletely honest with her as she deserved that much from me. However, perhaps I should have eased her into it instead of just blurting out something like that right off the bat.


    "Are you an alien?" She asked, with a hint of sarcasm to it.


    "You know, that isn''t the first time someone on this asked me that..." I chuckled awkwardly. "And by the strictest definition.....technically? But...it''s a little moreplicated."


    "This is not the conversation I expected to have." She looked unconfident, a stark contradiction to merely a moment ago. "Come." she said, leading me towards her own private quarters.


    She pushed the door open, one I have never been through without any fanfare, practically pulling me inside. If it was any other time, I would be excited that she was leading me to what was essentially her bedroom, but her reaction made me a little bit nervous.


    I only took a moment to look around. It was as one would expect the ''master bedroom'' to look like in a castle. It was divided into the bedroom portion ¨C a massive bed and other amenities, and then a small study,plete with shelves full of books.


    She took a seat over in the study portion. "Sit." She stated, gesturing to a chair next to hers.


    I slid into it, waiting for her as it looked like she wanted to say something. I could imagine this was already a lot for her to take in, assuming she was believing what I initially said in the first ce.


    "Have you ever lied to me?" She decided on what to ask first, looking at me intently.


    "Never." I said without hesitation. "I was always upfront when It was clear I wasn''t telling everything or being vague."


    "Exin it to me properly."


    "Alright." I licked my lips, thinking about the best method to go about this. "I think you would understand better if I exined from a Magical perspective." I pushed my hands together. "I told you about Magecraft, right?"


    "You described it as something replicable by non-magical means." She nodded.


    "Right, then I never did say anything about the opposite, did I?" She raised an eyebrow and gestured for me to continue. "The opposite of Magecraft falls under the domain of True Magic. To give the barest summary, it''s something beyond mundane means ¨C more akin to miracles than anything else. There are only a handful of True Magics left for humans and with time, they''ll also be regted down to mere Magecraft. Such as the True Resurrection of the Soul to give a broad example." I paused, letting her digest that bit. "My... Grandfather discovered one of them known as the Kaleidoscope ¨C the Operation and Maniption of Parallel Worlds."


    She opened her mouth and closed it again, her brow furrowed in deep thought. "So when you say you''re not from Remnant, you mean..."


    "This dimension, basically. I could go into more details about how it works, but I don''t think that''s what you would want to talk about right now."


    "As much as I enjoy talking about the workings of Magic with someone that can keep up, you are correct." She frowned slightly. "Where youe from, Magic ismon there?"


    "No." I shook my head. "Magic and things....supernatural are basically hidden in the world I was born in and the world I consider my home."


    "Why would you hide such a thing?" She frowned deeper.


    "It''splicated." I smiled wryly. "To get into it it''d take hours to just exin the basics of the social aspect."


    "And you''re not just saying that to get out of telling me?"


    "No, I told you before that I would tell you everything, I didn''t lie. If you ask me to tell you my most embarrassing secrets, I would do so without a second thought."


    "You are being very trusting with me." She said softly.


    "Because I do trust you."


    "That Spirit of yours was right, you are a fool" She snorted.


    "Pardon?" I blinked in confusion.


    "It does not matter." She added with a slight huff. "And what is the world youe from?"


    "It''s called Earth ¨C "


    "You named your after dirt?" She looked at me incredulously.


    "Earth." I corrected. "But Gaia is a more proper name for those in the know."


    She nodded, but I don''t think she really...cared, forck of a better word. No, she was clearly still trying to handle this new information even if she wasn''t showing it outwardly. I''m fairly sure she didn''t quite know how to respond or what questions to ask as this was certainly not the conversation she thought she would be having.


    "Do you have any otherrge pieces of information to drop on me?" She breathed out.


    "....yes"


    "Very well, you may as well give it to me now."


    "I''m not entirely human."


    She looked at me in confusion. "I suppose I did not question the idea that humans are prevalent in another world as I am assuming that the Brother Gods are not behind this based on the book you gave me previously referencing other Deities. Which seemingly answers many questions I once had." She said dryly, letting out a small sigh. "Speak inly."


    "You seem to have the concept here, but only in some literature. My mom was human, but my biological father is a Devil. I''m a half-Devil."


    I''ve read through various things on Remnant, and it''s obvious they have the idea of ''devils'' and ''demons'' and such, rather close to the ones I''m familiar with, but as far as I''m aware, they don''t actually exist in this world.


    "A.....Half-Devil." She repeated the almost foreign word.


    "I know you''re not a fan of the people on Remnant because they''re not Humans like you remember. I...I''m only Half Human." I hoped that it wasn''t something she was against, but It was something she needed to know.


    "This is....a lot to suddenly take in." She replied softly.


    The way she said that made me wince slightly. "I''m sorry."


    "Do not apologize for doing what I asked." She let out another of her cute little huffs in annoyance. "I am thankful that you are sharing intimate secrets with me."


    She looked like she wanted to say something else. "Would....you like some time?"


    I could tell I hit the nail on the head. "I would like some time to gather my thoughts as I am unsure about the emotions I am feeling right now."


    "Yeah...that''s probably for the best." I forced a smile. "Why don''t I head out ande back in...a few days or something?"


    I was turning, about to leave, but she grabbed on my sleeve. "Stop." She demanded, making my stepse to an abrupt halt. She pulled herself up from her seat and moved rather quickly. The next thing I knew, her lips were touching mine, our noses brushing against one another.


    "Usually, I''m the one doing that." I said rather absentmindedly at her suddenness once we parted.


    "Hmph." She crossed her arms, pulling away, that adorable little huff of hers returning. "It is inexcusable for someone of your stature to mope in my presence. I simply took pity on you, and you seem to enjoy such an inane gesture."


    "Cute."


    "Stop looking at me like that." She scowled, turning away. "Leave, get out of my sight."


    "Alright, I''m going." I put my hands up in surrender.


    "....I will send you a message on the small device when I wish to resume our talk." She whispered, just enough for me to hear.


    "I''ll wait as long as you need me to."


    [***]


    Despite the talks not going as nned ¨C or rather, did I even have a n gong into it? I suppose it didn''t go bad, her standpoint waspletely understandable. I could imagine how her worldview was turned upside down with a few words and she needed time to process. I didn''t want to lean on our ''rtionship'' while she was trying to understand the idea that I''m from an entirely different world. The concepts and ideas shouldn''t be something beyond her, and even if they were ''new'', she''s a very intelligent woman who should get the gist of what I was talking about.


    Well, I was worried about the Half-Devil thing.....but the kiss at the end made me feel better.


    Sometimes, people just need some space, there is nothing wrong with that.


    I yed around with my scroll, catching up on thetest news.


    Apparently, I was no longer a criminal in Vale, woo.


    Couldn''t say the same for As or Mistral, but there wouldn''t be anyone trying to arrest me in Vale.....hopefully.


    There was apparently a huge public bacsh about it and that was a little less than a week ago. Cries about corruption and some other nonsense that''s actually true, but I digress. I didn''t feel like reading through the hundreds of posts about it anymore.


    I''m a free man!


    And I didn''t even bother with the stares I was getting as I walked to Junior''s club after jumping over to Vale.


    I could imagine that my face was more predominant right now because of how controversial the withdrawal for my arrests was. My face was stered all over the Remnant Inte even more.


    I took out my scroll, looking at the missed messages I''ve gotten, nearly all of them from Pyrrha. She sent them knowing I wouldn''t be receiving them until I got here again, so I nced over them a bit before sending her one of my own.


    ()


    Wilhelm: ''In Vale, doing anything?''


    Pyrrha: ''Finally, I thought you were going to miss it!''


    Pyrrha: ''I''m at beacon right now, the second half of the entrance test starts tomorrow morning.''


    Wilhelm: Right on time then. And, second half?


    Pyrrha: ''We took a written test, doing a physical one tomorrow. Real Grimm I heard.''


    Wilhelm: ''Need help?''


    Pyrrha: ''It''s a test, you can''t help me.''


    Wilhelm: ''Yeah, it''s called cheating.''


    Pyrrha: ''Lol, how would that even work?''


    Wilhelm: Let me borrow your clothes, they''d never know. We''re basically twins if you think about it.''


    Pyrrha: ''You realize that I wear a skirt, right?''


    Wilhelm: ''First, why do you even wear a skirt? Besides showing off those awesome legs of yours. And Second, I would absolutely rock a skirt.''


    Pyrrha: ''Didn''t we already have this discussion? It''s easy to move around in, and it''s not like I''m shing everyone when I move. I do have tights hidden underneath.''


    Wilhelm: ''I noticed you didn''t deny what I said about your legs''


    Pyrrha: ''What am I supposed to say to that!?''


    Wilhelm: ''something like Thanks Wilhelm, I know my legs are fabulous, thanks for pointing it out. You know, gratitude.''


    Pyrrha: ''Brothers, you''re horrible. Thanks though, I was feeling a little nervous.''


    Wilhelm: ''No Problem, red. I''m here if you need me. And seriously, I do have some stuff I could sneak you. I know you''ll not ept, but I wanted to offer.''


    Pyrrha: ''Thank you, Wilhelm, I really do mean it.''


    Wilhelm: ''No problem. Tell me when you''ve passed and have some time off. You cane to the city and we can celebrate. You for making it into beacon, and me for bing a free man.''


    Pyrrha: ''People are freaking out over that! How did you even get that to happen!?''


    Wilhelm: ''I don''t think you want an answer to that question. Your delicate sensibilities might be damaged.''


    Pyrrha: ''I''m going to pretend that you did nothing illegal.''


    Wilhelm: ''Technically, it was Roman who did all the illegal stuff.''


    Pyrrha: ''Yes, that makes it so much better.''


    Wilhelm: ''Yeah, I thought so too. d we''re on the same page.''


    Pyrrha: ''It was sarcasm!''


    Pyrrha: ''Grr! You better not get into more trouble, or I''m going to be upset.''


    Wilhelm: ''Come @ me.''


    Pyrrha: ''Don''t think I won''t. I got a lot better since thest time we met.''


    Wilhelm: ''So did I.''


    Pyrrha: !!


    Pyrrha: ''Doesn''t matter, I''ll stop you from doing anything illegal. And this weekend I should be able to head over to Vale. Tomorrow is the test day, then Friday they have like an orientation or something where we do our first sses. Then the weekend is free.''


    Wilhelm: ''Sounds good, my GF is here too, so you can meet her. And someone who''s basically like my sister.''


    Pyrrha: ''I''d love to meet them!''


    Pyrrha: ''I have to go, the teacher is gathering everyone for something.''


    Wilhelm ''Alright, give me a heads up. I heard you do teams and stuff there, so bring them too if you want, my treat!''


    ()


    She didn''t respond after a few moments, so I put my scroll away. It was always fun teasing her.


    But it was fine, I was already at Junior''s ce. The guy at the door looked surprised to see me, but I''m sure he knew me well enough at this point and didn''t even stop me when I pushed the door open with a bit of fanfare, letting it loudly smack against the side, announcing my presence.


    It was early evening still, so not many people would being to a nightClub, so I didn''t really give it much thought.


    However, my steps came to an abrupt stop after stepping inside.


    Artoria and Rin were sitting at the bar, Miltia and her sister, Mnie, were sitting there as well. Junior was behind it, serving everyone. But most notably, Roman was leaning against the bar with a wide grin on his face as he eyed me enter.


    "Well well, if it isn''t my wayward son, Watermelon Torchwick." He flicked his hat up, taking out the cigar in his mouth. "How nice of you to bring your girlfriend to meet dear old Daddy."


    What fresh hell did I walk into?


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 409 - 371

    <h4>Chapter 409: Chapter 371</h4>


    "What''s wrong, Watermelon, not happy to see your dad?" It was Rin of all people giving me shit. Gods, that smug smile on her face as she mocked me, I would not forget this Rin.


    "Rin, I want you to remember this moment. How happy you are right now. I want you to remember this when I get even." I looked at her as I took a seat on the other side of Artoria from her.


    "Okay, Watermelon." She replied as non expressively as possible, which just added to the stinging feeling in my gut.


    "Dammit Roman." Iid my head on the counter. Artoria gave me a little pat on the back and I pulled myself back up, putting an arm around her.


    "Oh boo hoo." The mboyant Thief puffed out some smoke from his cigar before pushing it into an ashtray. "Not even a ''thank you'' for making you a free man again? Just right to the gut-wrenching insults. What I go through for my little baby boy." He wiped a non-existent tear from his eye.


    "Yeah, Schweinorg, be nice to your dad." Rin snorted.


    "I like her." Roman snapped his fingers pointing at Rin. "I give you permission to date my son."


    "Yeah, no." I immediately denied.


    "Ugh." She made a choking noise.


    "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I red at Rin.


    "Do I need to repeat myself?"


    I flipped her off with the hand I had behind Artoria.


    "Saber~ Your boyfriend, Watermelon is being mean to me." Rin whined.


    "Wil, please don''t make rude gestures towards Rin."


    "You didn''t even see what I was doing."


    "Rin, please stop antagonizing him."


    "Boo."


    "Whipped." Miltia said, adding a cracking noise.


    "Kinda cute though." Mnie added. "When he said he had a girlfriendst time, I didn''t believe him. And I definitely didn''t picture someone like her."


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" I asked.


    "Hell Kid, even I can see that you two don''t look like you''d mix." Junior spoke up, wiping a ss in his hands. "Honestly, if her hair was white, I''d mistake her for a Schnee. And you....well, you''re you."


    "I feel like you''re insulting me."


    "You got good instincts." He didn''t even deny it.


    "They''re not wrong." Rin chimed in. "Honestly, I wouldn''t have put money on you two getting together if I hadn''t seen it myself."


    "Alright, tell me the truth." Roman took his hat off, cing it on the counter. "My boy is actually gay and this is all fake, isn''t it?"


    "Fuck you, Roman."


    "Kind of proving his point then." Mnie remarked.


    "No wonder he rejected me." Miltia nodded.


    "You should see how much time he spends on his hair and clothes." Rin joined in. "I knew something was up."


    "Alright, alright." Roman put his hands up. "We''re not animals, and this isn''t back in the day. We''ll ept you no matter your preferences. I''m sure I can find you a nice boy to settle down with."


    "Do you see what I put up with?" I looked at Artoria who genuinely looked amused by the whole thing.


    She leaned over, cing her lips against mine in clear sight of everyone. "Do you feel better now?" She asked. There was a hint of shyness now, as Artoria was always bashful about being affectionate in public.


    "Brothers, they''re fucking adorable." Mnie scoffed.


    "My teeth are gonna rot from the sweetness." Miltia agreed.


    "Welp, that''s enough wholesome for me. I''m going to need to go kick at least three orphans to get back to normal after this." Roman snapped his fingers. "Junior, hit me up I need something to wash this sugary taste out of my mouth with."


    "It''s not even 4pm, Roman." Junior gave him a side-eyed look.


    "I''ve had a shit day, honestly, I need another drink." The Thief slumped. "Just found out that my Melodic Cudgel isn''t salvageable. Going to have to get another one made."


    "Your....cane?" I blinked, trying to remember. "Yeah, I remember you named it something stupid."


    "Hey, it''s a good name. ssy, even."


    "I''m sure the people you hit over the head with it agree."


    "They should be thankful. At least it isn''t Neo dealing with them."


    "That''s....fair." She''d probably just stab them. "Speaking of, where''s the murderous munchkin?"


    "Oh, that''s a good one, I''ll need to remember it." He hummed. "And she was here a little while ago." He swept his hand towards Artoria and Rin. "While I was entertaining your wonderful Girlfriend and friend like a good father figure¡ª"


    "I could point out several things wrong with that sentence."


    "When he was making our proper identification." Artoria rified. "And I did not express proper gratitude. I can imagine that such a thing was not an easy endeavor with the systems they use to track residents."


    "Well." Roman leaned on the counter, looking rather smug. "Aren''t you a polite young miss. My Watermelon is lucky to have you. It''s finally nice to get some recognition for all the hard work I do around here."


    "It''s really not difficult. Roman just has people to push the right paperwork at the right times without any questions being asked." Junior remarked.


    "I feel underappreciated." He huffed. "Anyways, before I went off on a tangent. I was going to say that Neo was slipping the paperwork to the right ces, she had to quickly go do it after getting their pictures so they got in before the offices closed in a few."


    "Thanks for handling it, Roman." I said genuinely without the joking nature of our earlier back and forth.


    "Yeah, yeah it''s no problem." He waved it off, the usual smug and arrogant demeanor slipped away for the brief moment.


    "You said your cane broke? Got it on you, I might be able to help." Rin was looking at the empty ss in front of her before facing him.


    "You a cksmith or something?"


    "Or something." She smiled lightly.


    Roman shrugged, reaching behind his back and taking out two halves of his cane, setting them on the counter and pushing them over. "Was probably just going to keep them on the shelf as a memento, but have at it."


    "Damn Roman, that''s a clean cut. What did you do, put it through an industrial Saw?'' Junior snorted.


    "Hey, don''t look at me, you know how much I cared about that thing. It was the first weapon I ever designed. And some little ¨C little brat." Roman spat out in annoyance. "Cut it in half with a stupid and overlyrge farming instrument!"


    "A tractor?" I asked.


    "No, a scythe you nit-wit." He huffed. "Why would a kid be using a tractor as a weapon? That''s ridiculous."


    "Right, because I should have assumed a weapon when you said ''farming instrument''. But a scythe you say?" I rubbed my chin, recalling a younger girl who had such a weapon.


    "Some abomination, abination between a sniper and a scythe or some other stupid nonsense. She wouldn''t shut up about it. But she did this thing where the de shifted and another de came out, kind of green-like. Didn''t think much of it, and I blocked her with my cane and it just sliced right in half!"


    "What the hell is this thing?" Rin blurted out, looking at the two pieces of his weapon. "How many moving parts are there? Why are there so many things stuffed inside?"


    "That my dear, is perfectionpressed into a carriable and fashionable form. It''s a 40 inch, sleek, as military grade steel cane,plete with working Dustpatible gun mechanisms with alternating re chamber ¨C" He paused, raising a finger up. "With detachable grappling hook,plete with a 30 foot carbon-steel wiring mesh that can support up to 1200 pounds."


    "Or at least it was." I added.


    "That''s a spanking when we get home." Roman''s lips thinned. "But yes, it was."


    "Yes, your stupid cane is impressive." Miltia rolled her eyes. "Maybe get something less ostentatious this time?"


    "First, I''m surprised you even know what that word means." Roman countered. "Second, that is a masterpiece of engineering. Do you have any idea how hard it was to work all of that in there? The mesh wiring is 30 feet long when fully deployed!"


    "Sounds overlyplicated and unnecessary."


    Roman scoffed. "Unnecessary? Complicated? What is this, the dark ages? Everyone uses more sophisticated weapons these days."


    "I use a in sword." I pointed out.


    For what little value my swords counted as ''in''.


    "Basic ws."


    "My boots are pretty minimalistic. No mecha-shift."


    The twins chimed in.


    "I use a sword as well." Artoria chimed in.


    "And I guess I use a spear? Also Martial Arts." Rin shrugged, examining the cane.


    "Uncultured heathens." Roman looked aghast. "Atleast Junior here is using something presentable, even if it''s something brutish and inelegant."


    "Really, what do you use?" I asked him.


    "A bat and Rocket Launcherbo." He replied.


    "That''s pretty neat." I noted. "And you said your cane has 30 feet of wiring in it? How the hell does that work?"


    "Oh that was hard." Roman perked up. "It sort of works like a zipper. The wiring Mesh isn''t intertwined until the hook isunched."


    "That''s....surprisingly brilliant."


    "What do you mean surprisingly?" Roman looked aghast. "I am the epitome of intelligence and cunning."


    "Says the guy who got done in by a little girl." Miltia snorted.


    "That was bullshit!" Roman crossed his arms in annoyance. "I don''t know what she did, probably some semnce crap that I didn''t expect. My Cane could take a hit from one of Irondick''s ship cannons and walk away fine!"


    "Question." I raised my hand, interrupting his rant. "Did she happen to be wearing a red cape too?"


    "....she did."


    "Well....I do believe I may be at fault then."


    "Bastard!."


    "You''re not wrong there." I hummed.


    "What did you do?" Artoria looked at me. "I hope it is not something illicit."


    "Damn, kid really is whipped. Did you give him a spanking after his little crime spree?" Roman chuckled."


    "Fuck off, Roman." I chose to ignore him. "Nah, the girl, she was nice and helped me when I got disorientated from traveling." I think she understood what I meant by the way I said that. "Anyways, she helped me and went on about how she made her own weapon and everything and I gave her an ingot of Orichalcum as thanks."


    "That was kind and thoughtful of you." She smiled.


    "Thoughtful my pert behind." Roman Grumbled. "And what''s this Orical-whatsit?"


    "It''s a rare metal, stronger than steel." I said simply.


    "Interesting." Roman rubbed his chin. "Got anymore?"


    "Oh, does dear old dad want something from little ol'' me?" How the tables turn. "Can you repeat what you wanted? I''m just so unbelievably happy at my new adoption that I missed what you said."


    "Well well well, if it isn''t the consequences of my own actions." He sighed. "Alright, what do you want?"


    "I''ll think about it. For now, Rin should probably be able to fix your stupid toy."


    "Not a toy!"


    "Yeah, I can fix it." Rin replied. "Not as bad as I thought."


    I knew she could. Just some meticulous use of Alteration and Structural Grasp should do the trick.


    "How much you think it''ll cost?" Roman asked. "I don''t mind spending a bit, but if it''s going to cost as much as ¨C"


    "Eh, don''t worry about it." Rin cut him off. "You didn''t charge us for the IDs and stuff, consider it as thanks."


    "What''s this, Rin not being a money grubber?" I looked at her in shock.


    "Did you say something, Watermelon?" Rin shot back.


    Damn, she must have really made a killing back in Skyrim.


    "Why was Ruby even fighting you, Roman? You didn''t go kick her puppy, did you?" I realized the missing core piece of information in what he said.


    "Hey, I''m aw abiding citizen and I resent that" He puffed up. "At least ording to Vale. Every where else still has a warrant for my arrest. And you for that matter. I wouldn''t suggest going to As or Mistral."


    "Yeah, I already saw the shit show that happened after it was revealed to the public. But why were you fighting her?"


    "Oh, it wasn''t public knowledge yet when she saw me. I may or may not have said something to invigorate her inted sense of ''justice'' which led to using to blows." He said nonchntly.


    "You just egged her on because you were bored, didn''t you?"


    "You know your old man so well." He grinned.


    "So what happened? Y''know, besides your toy getting cut in half."


    "About what you''d expect from Huntsman ¨C or huntsman lite in her case ¨C fighting in the middle of the street. One of Beacon''s teachers was nearby, the Deputy Headmistress. She intervened once things got a little out of hand. I of coursepletely imed self defense and walked away without any repercussions."


    "Roman, did you seriously manipte a 15 year old girl into getting in trouble? I know her ¨C sorta, and I''m gonna be pissed if she''s getting in trouble because of that crap."


    "Oh, stop being a baby. She got bailed out by the Beacon staff. Heard them offering her a spot at Beacon to avoid any criminal charges. Technically, if she were an official Huntress in training and attending beacon, she wouldn''t get in trouble ¨C yada yada. And It''s not like I would have pressed charges."


    "You''re such an ass."


    He shrugged, in a ''what can you do'' sort of way. "Enough about that though, I''m curious how younded a woman that''s clearly out of your league. So, what''s the story? And is it embarrassing? I can trade you a few of my own. Did he ever tell you the time he was getting robbed and in return robbed his robber?"


    Artoria smiled brightly, shaking her head with a small chuckle. "I was being foolish and Wilhelm refused to allow me to continue as I was, to the point where he challenged me to a duel. I was moved by his actions and we had our first date shortly after."


    "That''s boring." Roman grunted. "Extremely cute, adorable even, but boring. I was expecting something juicier."


    "Yeah, well, my life isn''t aedy for you to ¨C"


    "Ask him about his Harem." Rin smiled.


    Dammit Rin.


    [***]


    Salem POV


    When was thest time I walked amongst these....lesser beings.


    Other than the time I spent with the source of my current confusion; I could not recall. Perhaps a few decades ago when I briefly satiated my curiosity after learning about certain advancements in their technology?


    Yes, I believed it was when their first ''airships'' were created. I had found it interesting enough to see them in person.


    How time moved without one noticing when immortal.


    I normally would not allow myself to wander amongst these lesser beings/humans/things but I found myself needing.....to breathe. To step away from what I knew and indulge in a different perspective.


    I did not know what I was feeling at this moment. Discovering that everything I worked for, everything I sought was so.....insignificant left me with an unfamiliar feeling. I was the Queen of the Grimm, at mymand, an army of ck death could march and purge the world of every breathing person. Yet....at this moment, I felt wholly irrelevant, as if my existence meant nothing.


    Was it hate swelling up within my breast?


    No, I was not unfamiliar with hate. I had known hate for thousands of years. And.....I cannot bring myself to hate him when my cold still heart seems to beat in his presence.


    It was vexing and made me even more annoyed.


    A change of scenery.


    The idea had sprung up in my mind and I allowed myself the whimsy. I cast a basic illusion over myself to appear as I did in my younger days. No paled skin or cursed marks, no red eyes and white hair. I looked as I did in my youth with vibrant blonde hair to match my fairplexion.


    These ignorant mortals could not see through the simple disguise, so I cared not for the looks I received. Except for the few who stared at my behind for more than was appropriate.


    They received a discreet chiding.


    I felt a small annoyance when someone other than that foolish man did so.


    Now, what was I to do? I simply came here on a whim, to this....human settlement. Imanded Cinder to fly me here, and I gave her orders to wait for my return, but I did not have a destination or n in mind. How silly that I did this without any consideration.


    Hmm, perhaps a tavern?


    I turned to notice the gathering of patrons with drinks around.


    Such a type of establishment was not umon in my era and it''s obvious that it persisted through the millennia.


    How nostalgic.


    Ozma and I visited many ces simr in our travels.


    I found my feet carrying me without a second thought. Pushing the doors open, the patrons inside stared at me for a moment before turning back to their own matters.


    I looked for an empty table in the corner and imed it as my own. A piece of parchment awaited me, listing the services they provided. A manner of drinks that I did not recognize but were intriguing enough for me to indulge in this particr instance.


    I barely noticed the next person to walk through the doors as I explored what this tavern had to offer. I barely gave them a nce, but my attention quickly was consumed by their presence.


    They were staring right at me. The woman who walked inside, her eyes met my own and I knew that it wasn''t merely a gaze casted in my direction or haphazardly on my person. No, they prated the illusion I had weaved around myself.


    Did I stumble onto a Maiden by mere happenstance?


    The thought was amusing enough that I found my mood ever so slightly lifted.


    She walked towards my table, no amount of fear, nor hesitation on her part. I assumed she did not know who I was? A fly willingly moving towards the spider''s web.


    "You must be Salem." She spoke.


    ....or not.


    "I am." I did not react. "Do you know me, child?" I raised a questioning eyebrow at her deration. I wished to know with what confidence she approached me even knowing who I was.


    "A child? I have not been called a child for at least two millennium. But yes, I do know you." She chuckled, taking the seat opposite at the same table as I. Her words did not quite register with me as she spoke again. "We share an interest, and he has spoken of you on many asions. I did not expect to meet you here, but I suppose the whims of fate are thus."


    "Who are you?"


    "You can call me Sc¨¢thach."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 410: Interlude 30

    <h4>Chapter 410: Interlude 30</h4>


    Salem POV


    "You are....his...lover?" I asked in surprise.


    "Yes, among other things." She said simply as if it were not a significant discovery on my part. "How strange, I did not expect to meet you at this instance. But the whims of fate are often unexpected."


    "You have appeared here by chance? The one time I leave my domain and venture outside?" I asked skeptically.


    She held up a finger and the magic around her swirled to reveal a string of symbols I was familiar with. "I believe my student has mentioned this branch of Magecraft to you, yes?"


    "Student?" I tilted my head. "And yes, he did. I have touched on it briefly, but I cannot depict what you did at mere sight just yet."


    "I was his teacher." She smiled wistfully. "He came to me as a boy wanting to be stronger. He was oh so young back then. His youthful arrogance was cute even if I had to often beat it out of him." She reminisced, looking nostalgic. "As for my spell, it is just a simple matter of weaving myself into the web of fate and having it point me in a direction that would bring me some manner of excitement. As I approached this town, I had heard of arge group of these Grimm that were nearby, I had assumed they were the cause of my presence, but I believe I was mistaken until now."


    "I see." I digested her words at face value even if they were.... startling. I suppose it was safe to assume that she had a simr...origin as his. "There was an Ancient Grimm nearby that was gathering its lesser brethren to attack this town. I did not wish to be disturbed so Imanded them to cease and disperse."


    "Unfortunate." She hummed.


    "....not the response I am ustomed to when speaking of Grimm tides attacking settlements."


    "Oh, the town was in no danger" The corners of her lips tugged up. "It would take more than mere Grimm to ovee me."


    "Your confidence is admirable." My lips thinned at her insinuation.


    She let out augh in response. "I assume that my student has not told you about me then? He spoke that he was going to tell you everything. Did he fail to do so? Should I give him a gentle reminder about the responsibilities he has when courting a woman?"


    I felt....oddly defensive of him when she said that. "It is my fault. After he told me where he ''came from'' I told him that I needed space and time to myself."


    "Hmm, I see." She hummed out a response. "Then it is good he has been proper."


    "...His presence has not been unweed." I replied. "Even when he stares at my behind."


    "Of course he does." Sheughed again. "My student may bescivious, but he will not do anything to make you ufortable. He is a sweet and caring boy. I presented him my naked body and made efforts to entice him further yet he denied me until I became his woman first."


    "Are we speaking about the same person?" I snorted, remembering all the times he very tantly stared at my rear and even made lewdments. "But I suppose you are correct....." He has never tried to initiate more than a simple kiss and his hands never wandered despite his obvious infatuation with certain parts of my body. "You said your name was ¨C"


    "I did not fully introduce myself." The woman took over. "You do not know of my history, so I can be willful. I am the Immortal Witch of Dun-Scaith. Queen of the Land of Shadows. Lord of Spirits. And God yer. I am Sc¨¢thach."


    "....there are many things you just revealed that I have questions about but I am fairly sure I do not have the proper context to understand."


    "You may ask me questions. I would prefer that you get your information from Wilhelm, but my matters are mine to speak of."


    "What do you mean by God-yer?" I asked the most pertinent.


    "Does the concept not exist here?" She asked herself. "Jinn only spoke of her creators your ¨C Brother Gods, yes? Are there no other deities around?"


    "The Brother Gods are the only Gods of Remnant."


    "How strange. From my world there were thousands if not more, depending on where one lived. But my title is just as you would expect. I have in men, demons, monsters, dragons and even Gods."


    "....I see." I did not know how to feel about her confession inparison to my own failures.


    "You are upset by what I said, I will not speak of it again." She once more simply replied.


    I didn''t even know what proper response to give to her statement. The term was logically something I understood, but I could not wrap my head around it being applied to the woman sitting in front of me. I saw the power of the Brothers first hand, and the thought of any mortal standing up to that was ridiculous after how horrendously I failed.


    "You said you were his teacher?" I tapped my fingers on the table, deciding to just ignore that for now. I already had too much on my mind, I would understand more about thatter. "How did you be his....woman, as you put it."


    "Is it not a natural urrence of events?" She tilted her head. "I would deny it to his face rather than bear his insufferable smugness, but my student is handsome and charming. Considering his other attractive traits and his personal strength, I would call it inevitable due to the years we spent together."


    Inevitable, was it?


    "And you don''t care that he keeps other women?" I asked. "That he has a Harem."


    She chuckled. "Such things are not strange in my culture. Strong men have many lovers. And if I did not promise myself to him fully, I may have had many lovers myself. But he is the only man I will ever have in my heart." She paused for a moment. "And between my legs now."


    "I suppose that is a very....simplistic way to look at it."


    "Do you disagree with it then? Do you not fancy my student?" She asked.


    "....It is difficult to dislike him." I admitted, feeling oddlyfortable in the presence of this woman who was nearly a stranger.


    "Are you asking me or asking for yourself, hmm? Do you dislike that he has other women that he holds in his heart? It is understandable if you do not ept his romantic pursuits due to this."


    "It wasn''t umon when I was younger." I briefly frowned thinking of my own parents. Their faces were very vague now, I could hardly remember what they looked like. But my father had many mistresses.


    "You are not the only one of his pursuits to have reservations. One of his other paramours is currently on Remnant as well and she was hesitant about epting this rtionship."


    "Another one of you?" I raised an eyebrow. "And is she like you as well?"


    "Simr in some aspects, but different in others. I believe you have the concept of Knights here?"


    "Yes, I am familiar with it."


    "She is a Knight." The woman stated. "Hernd of origin was very near my own, but we were separated by several centuries. However, we are very different in most aspects. My student''s lovers are a very diverse lot."


    "It seems I must apologize for my earlierment in calling you a ''child''."


    She cracked another grin. "Have you not met any other long-lived beings?"


    "No." I pursed my lips. "Beyond my former husband bound by a curse to continuously reincarnate, I am the only immortal left in the world. If you don''t mind me asking how old....?"


    "My age?" She hummed. "That is a difficult question to answer as the human calendar changed at some point in my home. I was around 2200 when I died based on the calendar years that humans have kept."


    "Pardon?" I blinked.


    "Yes?"


    "You died?"


    "Oh, yes, you don''t know. My existence is one of a spiritual nature now. It is unfortunate, but I am weaker than when I was a living being. Otherwise, I would think about seeking out those Brother Gods of yours to test myself"


    "You....you are dead?" I repeated it because it sounded absurd. "If you''re confident enough to seek out the Brothers, then what could have possibly killed you?"


    "It was by my own hand." The woman turned sullen. "I was old, far too old and I no longer had a purpose for living. I was bound to my Realm of Shadows, isted and alone. And I did something shameful to end my own misery."


    ...I could feel sympathy for her situation. I did not think it was possible to hear about someone else living so simrly to myself. "I would hardly call it shameful to kill yourself in that circumstance." I offered some verbal respite despite her still being a stranger to myself.


    "No, I did something far worse. I wished to die as a warrior and asked the one person I could to fullfill my wish."


    "....you asked Wilhelm to kill you."


    "I hurt him in a way that my spear never could." She smiled wryly. "I knew the way he felt towards me, and I still asked him to do so."


    "Yet you sit here." I pointed out.


    "That foolish boy." She sighed, resting her arm on the table. "The lengths he went through to bring me back."


    "So it is merely gratitude then? You are with him because he granted you your wish?"


    "No." She shook her head, not at all upset by what I insinuated. "If it was merely the case of gratitude, I would still have been his woman, I would still allow him any part of me he desired. But my heart would still remain beyond his reach. I believe it is enough to say that the heart of this Sc¨¢thach belongs to him."


    "He sounds like a good man." I said quietly.


    "He is very much so."


    "And the woman that is here as well. The one you said was usure? What is her opinion?"


    "They recently confessed their love for one another."


    "You have given me much to think about." Why was I feeling this strange sensation in my heart? "Thank you for speaking with me. It was.....interesting, speaking to someone simr. I will ¨C"


    "Where are you going?'' The woman pushed an empty seat near us with her foot, blocking me from leaving. "Do you believe I would let you go so easily?" She raised a challenging eyebrow.


    [***]


    "And then ¨C and then, he had the gall to ask me the color of my undergarments!" I huffed, drinking from this alcoholic beverage I had been given. "I was trying to figure out who in the Brother''s name this strange person was, and he asked me such an absurd question!"


    "Ufufu, he cannot help himself sometimes. That foolish boy pulled down my pants in front of the others just so he could grab my ass more easily. And that was merely recently."


    "So I should be prepared to fend off his perversions."


    "Who says you need to do so? I happily ept it." She grinned. "I do enjoy the aggressive and passionate side of him."


    "I suppose it''s nice to be desired again after so long." I grumbled, setting down my empty ss. "I''m out."


    "I''ll order another round." She replied. "However, you didn''t answer."


    "Didn''t answer what?"


    "What was your answer to his question?"


    "I was forced to reveal that I was not wearing any undergarments at the time." I crossed my arms in annoyance. "And he has not let me forget it either."


    "So like Jinn."


    "That smug Relic Spirit." I snorted in annoyance. "She came to threaten me."


    "She is a silly girl, still learning how to live outside of her predesignated role. I''m sorry if she said something offensive."


    "Oh, I don''t care so much about that. But she practically threw it in my face about where the Relic of Knowledge was."


    The woman broke out inughter. "Jinn enjoys making others ufortable."


    "She very clearly enjoyed it when she did it to me. I was too embarrassed to even bring it up with Wilhelm." And she obviously knew that I previously wanted it and taunted me saying that I was free to ''take it'' from her. "It wasn''t an unpleasant experience, however."


    "Having Jinn speak of her fetishes?" She tilted her head.


    "No." I huffed. "I don''t care about what deviances she prefers. I meant it was nice to not have someone cower or worship me on sight."


    "What about Wilhelm?"


    "Oh please, if I merely hike up my dress, I could get him to do whatever I wanted. If that is not worship, then I don''t know what is."


    "That sounds like him." She snorted. "However, I will warn you about leading him around by the cock, you will pay for it."


    "Oh?"


    "I have shared my bed many times so far,, but even I had trouble handling his stamina. That is all I will say on the matter."


    "So he isn''t merely bravado then?"


    "You are free to test for yourself." She smiled.


    Maybe I will.


    "Where is the waiter, this is poor service." I looked around, wanting another refill. I had forgotten how many drinks I had at this point, but I suppose it did not matter.


    "That is my fault, I had forgotten to remove the barrier around us. Those without a more prominent source of Magical Energy won''t perceive us beyond merely existing here."


    "Is that what you did? I just saw you put up a barrier and didn''t care to question it." I waved it off., noticing that it was getting rather crowded and it looked like quite a few Huntsman hade in since we had been chatting.


    I admit I lost track of time and the situation as it has been.....a very long time to have someone to talk to like this. Wilhelm of course was someone I had considered a peer in most regards, but when he was actively pursuing me it was....different.


    A....friend?


    "Hey there, Ladies, mind if I join you?"


    Both Sc¨¢thach and I turned to look at the source of the voice. The one that was directed at us.


    ck hair, red eyes, and a white cored shirt with a cape behind him and arge weapon on his back.


    "I thought you said ¨C"


    "Yes, and it is still active." She stated.


    "Curious, you look familiar." I looked at the man, not remembering where I''d seen him before.


    "Should I be worried?" He chuckled. "Mind if I join you? All the other tables are full."


    "Do you know him?" Sc¨¢thach looked at me.


    "I think I''ve seen his picture before, which is odd in itself as I don''t bother much with the matters of the world." I furrowed my brow, trying to recall, looking at him.


    "The magic he wields is miniscule and weak."


    "Wait, what?" The man blinked in confusion.


    "Oh, now I recall. I did not remember until you mentioned the ''weak and miniscule''." I looked back at him. "I remember receiving your picture long ago. You are one of Ozma''s pawns. How humorous to find one here by chance."


    His eyes widened and he grabbed the hilt of his weapon, going defensive. "Who are you?"


    "Did he not tell you about me? How very in character for him. My former husband likes to keep his disposable pawns dreadfully ignorant." I drawled. "I am Salem."


    And that look of confusion turned to horror as realization set in. I admit that I took delight in it.


    "Draw your weapon and you will die." I said simply, making him stiffen. "Sit down." Imanded.


    He awkwardly edged towards the seat on the side, making himself look rather small as his eyes darted everywhere, looking for a means to escape.


    "Is he your enemy?" Sc¨¢thach asked.


    "Enemy is a rather strong word. I would not call a fly that annoys me an enemy. I don''t even know why he was reaching for his weapon, at the very least, Ozma should have told him I''m immortal."


    "Ah, the foolish kind then."


    "Indeed." I smiled. "I suppose it could be called brave as well."


    "Often they are the same."


    I chuckled at that. "And what brings you here, pawn of Ozma? You clearly did not know of my existence, otherwise Ozma would no doubt have sent more than just one of his pieces."


    "Who''s this Ozma?" Sc¨¢thach asked.


    "My former Husband." I scowled.


    "What?" The man blinked again.


    "Of course he did not tell you this." I rolled my eyes. "Yes, your ''leader'' was my husband at one point in time. Like many young girls, I was stupid and na?ve. A mistake that has been since rectified. Tell me, is he still stealing bodies from his victims and iming the side of ''good''?" I was being pedantic, but who was going to call me out? Him? "Well, it was rhetorical, otherwise, I would be annoyed that you didn''t answer me. But I did ask you a question." I narrowed my eyes.


    "Uh..." He stiffened again. "I-I wasing along with the other Huntsman because of the reported Grimm Tide approaching."


    "Yes, that was something happening." I hummed, remember what Sc¨¢thach said. "You need not worry, I am in a good mood and dispersed it some time ago."


    "...what?"


    "He seems not quite the intelligent sort." Sc¨¢thach noted. "What is your rtionship with this Ozma beyond former matrimony? You appear hostile to him."


    "We''ve fought over the years and have something of a shadow war going on. Or mostly him iling around trying to ''defeat'' me since he doesn''t seem to know what the word ''Immortal'' means. He tends to find impressionable children and fills their heads with delusions of grandeur and sends them at me in some half-hearted attempt at learning the definition."


    "So this is one of his warriors then? He doesn''t seem too bad." Sc¨¢thach admired. "He may be able to survive a few rounds if I went easy."


    "You give him too much credit."


    "Perhaps." She nodded. "Do you wish to kill him? He is aligned with your enemy, yes?"


    I mulled it over and dismissed it. Wilhelm.....was against me killing it seemed. "I am in a good mood, you may leave." I gave him a point of mercy. But he just sat there, unmoving. "That was your cue to get up and flee before I change my mind."


    "Right." He shot to his feet, the legs of his chair screeching against the floor.


    "Wait." Sc¨¢thach called out, making the man stop in his tracks. "You possess one of thosemunication devices, yes?"


    "M-my scroll?" He fumbled.


    "Yes, hand it over."


    He opened his mouth and closed it again, opted to put said device on the table and scrambled outside.


    "Why did you ask for this? They are easy tomandeer or purchase elsewhere." I asked.


    "You said that he answers to your former husband for whom you have had a falling out. I assume he did something worth your ire?"


    "Yes." I still felt that ache after all these years since my children died.


    "And this device canmunicate with one he presumably owns, yes?"


    I felt the corners of my lips tugging upwards as I realized what she was getting at. "Yes, yes it would. And he would not know what we have taken from his subordinate."


    "Shall I fetch another round of drinks?" She offered with a wide grin.


    I couldn''t help myself but giggle. "Oh, this will be enjoyable."


    [***]


    A/N


    Qrows Badluck semnce: Hey, you should go to this specific bar!


    Qrow: Sounds good!


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 411 - 372

    <h4>Chapter 411: Chapter 372</h4>


    Well, Rin just dropped that little bombshell and now they were all staring at me. Not that I was at all ashamed, but I generally didn''t just blurt it out for some kind of clout.


    "When you say Harem..."


    "Yes, it is exactly what you are thinking." Artoria was the one who answered Roman. She didn''t seem to mind answering the question or it being brought up, so I supposed it didn''t matter.


    "I kinda wanna call bullshit, and I definitely would if it was him, but you''re here confirming it so I''m conflicted." Mniemented, rather slowly.


    "Holy crap, are you for real, kid?" Junior eximed. "I don''t think I''ve ever offered this before, but that deserves a drink on the house."


    "Wait, wait, how does this even work? Like I heard things like this back in the day or some secret Asian gossip or whatever with the really old families, but seriously." Miltia leaned forward, looking at us. "You can''t just say something like that without giving any juicy details."


    "I don''t know what to tell you, it isn''t someplicated or exciting story." I shrugged. "I told her beforehand and we had a talk about the future and here we are."


    "That''s bullshit." Miltia countered.


    "He speaks the truth." Artoria smiled beautifully. "He was honest with his intentions and the state of his rtionships before we decided to move further. I was hesitant at first, but I do not regret my decision."


    "Ugh, that''s so boring but at the same time, kinda fucking cute." Mnie scowled. "What about the others? How many you got, how old are they?"


    "It...depends." I cleared my throat. "And, well..." I nced at Artoria. "I''m actually the youngest out of everyone."


    "Wait, what?" Miltia blinked. "You''re the youngest." She looked at Artoria. "But I thought..."


    "I am ttered, but I am older than Wilhelm by a fair amount." Artoria said with clear amusement.


    That made them just stare, wide-eyed.


    "What''s your secret?" Mnie narrowed her eyes. "Virgin blood? How many do I need to kill?"


    "Alright, that''s enough." Junior stepped in. "Leave the poor girl ¨C woman alone."


    "Wait, does that mean he''s into older women?" Miltia held her finger up.


    "Well ¨C"


    "Oh yeah." Rin answered for me. "Schweinorg here prefers older women. You should see his others, they''re not nearly as innocent as Saber here is. Most of them are bonafide MILFs."


    "Thank you, Rin." I grumbled.


    "Didn''t he mention a daughterst time? With everything that happened, I kind of forgot. But it really makes sense now." Mnie muttered.


    "That''s hrious." Miltia snorted, then looked at Rin. "I like you, we should hang out."


    "Bwah?" Rin blurted out. "Um, sure?"


    "Roman, you''ve been quiet." Junior nced at the ''famous'' Thief. "It''s not like you to miss out on something like this."


    "I''m confused, Junior." Roman sighed. "I''m feeling something and I don''t know what it is."


    "Did you finally realize how stupid your hat looks?" I offered.


    "My hat is stylish, and I look immacte in it." He shot back without a second thought. "But I have this feeling like....when I do something amazing, like a big heist that I pull off or a big score, you know? Something to be happy about, excited and feel good about."


    "Yeah?" Junior ushered him on.


    "But...I''m feeling it for someone else." Roman let out a dramatic sigh.


    "Dammit Roman." I rubbed the bridge of my nose.


    "For the first time in my life, I think I genuinely feel pride in someone else." He wiped a fake tear from his eye. "Is this what fatherhood feels like?"


    "I am contemting murder right now."


    "And that''s our cue to leave." Miltia slid off her stool and looked back towards Artoria and Rin. "Hey, wanna go shopping with us? You both are new to Vale, we can show you the good ces and not the tourist traps."


    Artoria and Rin shared a look.


    "That sounds fun, actually." Rin cracked a smile. "I''ve been meaning to update my wardrobe. Spent way too long in the wilderness and I need some new stuff."


    "A better use of my time." Mnie shrugged. "We''re taking the day off, Junior." She said flippantly.


    "Didn''t even ask my permission." He said dryly.


    "Stop crying, Junior." Miltia joined in. "Come on, let''s beat the crowds."


    "I''m in." Rin hopped off her seat. "Come on Saber, you need a bigger wardrobe too."


    "I am content with what I have." Artoria said politely.


    "She did not just say that." Miltia looked at Artoria in surprise.


    "Right, we have some work to do then." Mnie and her sister nced at once another.


    "Tell me about it. It''s like pulling teeth to get her to buy some more stuff." Rin joined in. "Well, you''re not getting out of it this time, Saber." Rin grabbed her arm, practically pulling her out of her seat.


    "I admit defeat." Saber sighed, perhaps a smidge of happiness contained within it before quickly giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Behave." She softly spoke.


    "Whipped." Mnie and Miltia chuckled again.


    "Have fun." I waved them off as they left the club.


    "Well, that was interesting." Roman slid a couple seats closer. "Didn''t expect you to go for the prim and proper sort. You sure she''s going to be okay with the Twins?"


    "It''s good for her to go out and do more things like this." I smiled happily. "She hasn''t had many chances before and still doesn''t actively think about it."


    "She did strike me as the ''high society'' type that''s basically forced into a gilded cage throughout their childhood." Roman hummed.


    "Something like that." I wasn''t going to just reveal all her secrets. "Anyways, did you ever do that I think I asked you about?"


    "That old man who made your sheath? Yeah, I dropped off a chunk of money at his ce a while ago." Roman lit a new cigar. "Think he closed shop and retired or something."


    "That''s good." I nodded in thanks.


    Didn''t want to make myself a liar. I lost a bet so I paid up, simple as that.


    "And what do you wanna talk about, it''s obvious you''re tiptoeing around something."


    Roman and Junior shared a look and Roman then tapped his cigar on the nearby ashtray. "So you remember the whole Grimm thing I asked you aboutst time?"


    "Clearing up some mutated Grimm, yeah? Need me to do that? I have some time."


    "Well.....it seems like it''s a bit more than what any of us assumed."


    "Alright? What''s the big deal?" I asked.


    "What Roman is trying to say is that he promised you for a job and the job turned out to be significantly more difficult than what he had assumed. You see, he didn''t actually look into the details and just made a lot of guesses." Junior rified.


    "....okay, go on."


    "Right, anyways. Good old Council Member withheld a little bit of information from me when we made the deal. And to be honest, with everything I had to pull to grab our asses out of the fire, it was a very close thing. To the point where if we bail out, he''ll welch too and right back onto Vale''s most wanted we go."


    "Just, stop avoiding it and tell me bluntly." I let out a tired groan.


    "Alright, so they sent some drones inside the facility to scout, and it''s not just your run of the mill Mutated Grimm ¨C for how weird it is to say that. Even some of the Ancient variety aren''t an issue inparison. I''m talking about a whole horde of Apathies down there, along with an unknown amount of Chills and probably hundreds of Nightmares. We also think the big boss of the group is an Ancient Mutated Sphinx."


    "My Grimm biology is a little rusty, other than the Sphinx, can you remind me of the others?"


    "Yeah, I guess you said you never did go to a Huntsman academy, so you probably don''t know the rarer and scarier types of Grimm. Governments tend to keep those out of the public eye to avoid any panic and fear....for obvious reasons." Roman bit down on his cigar, rolling it to the other end of his mouth. Apathy Grimm are kind of humanoid shaped and probably the scariest mother fuckers you''ll see outside of the big fuck-off Grim that can stomp on buildings. If that was all, they''d still be something I never want to run into, but they have a Willpower draining....aura about them. And they have a scream that can somewhat prate Aura to induce fear and dibobte those who hear it."


    "Huh, That''s news to me."


    "Never heard of Apathy Grimm, eh?"


    "Well, no. But I''m more talking about you knowing a big word like ''dibobte'' and using it correctly. I''m genuinely surprised you could do that."


    He held his finger up and wagged it. "Alright, I''ll let you have that one for earlier."


    "Roman wants to make a show about everything." Junior grunted in annoyance. "You got Chills which are kinda like Ghosts in their base ''form''. They don''t have anybat power by themselves but they can possess people and are very intelligent. They''re extremely hard to detect, but you know they''re around because the temperature drops in their vicinity, hence the name."


    "Do they hang out in cold ces?" I asked, a little curious.


    "Funny enough, they can''t survive in cold environments. So if you suddenly feel a strange chill, and I mean it when I say ''strange'', you''ll know exactly what I''m talking about, then light up a fire, throw out some fire dust or make the area around you as bright as possible. They''re like an ink cloud and they hate light. Fire generally is your best bet to deal with them, but Dust in general seems to work pretty well."


    "Noted." That''s kinda scary, I wondered how Dawnbreaker would react?


    "Lastly you got Nightmares, sort of abination of thest two." Junior stated.


    "Joy." I snorted.


    "They''re kind of like floating tentacle spines, hard to not notice, but they''re slippery bastards. Got a scar where one almost possessed me some years back."


    "Shit, I never heard about that." Roman looked surprised.


    "Yeah, not my proudest moment. Was still a kid back then learning the ropes. It grabbed onto my arm and I used some Fire Dust to burn myself in panic. Did the trick, but I still got the spot marked." Junior shrugged. "They can drain Aura on Touch, and as I said they can possess people, but not like a Chill can. It''s more like a dream possession where it gives someone nightmares, hence the name. It''s also more of a parasitic thing than an ethereal thing like a Chill. If you got a teammate, they''ll notice the possession, unlike a Chill that can hide it."


    "Alright, do you have a time that this Council Member wants me to handle it?"


    "You sure, kid?" Junior looked at me skeptically. "This isn''t a job even for a team of experienced Huntsmans. They''re probably assuming that we''ll all go with you and worst case, they get rid of us and their next team will have more information."


    "It''s fine, I''ve dealt with worse." I waved him off.


    "See Junior, I told you my boy could handle it!" Roman grinned. "And I''d rather go back to being a criminal than step foot in there. Even if I had my Cudgel, I''m not ashamed to say I wouldn''t go within a mile of that ce. Speaking of, that friend of yours took it and I forgot to ask how long it''d take."


    "Eh, give her a few days. I''ll check up on herter in case she gets sidetracked."


    "Sounds good."


    "Just tell that guy that if he wants it done, it has to be in the next couple days otherwise I''m not going to be able to do it for awhile."


    "If you''re sure, then I''ll pass it on. Most likely, he''ll be fine with you doing it as soon as you can." Roman replied.


    "Well, I don''t mind taking care of it tomorrow, I have some things I wanted to test out and having some targets would help." I rubbed my chin thinking about the Hogyoku.


    Kill two birds with one stone, a good opportunity to test out what this Hogyoku was capable of.


    "Now, I heard something about a free drink." I eyed Junior.


    He let out a bark ofughter. "Don''t get used to it, but you get one on the house."


    [***]


    Ozpin POV


    "Oh Glynda, wonderful." I looked up from my paperwork to see Glynda entering my office. "How fare our potential new students?"


    There was a faint smile that appeared. "They have mostly retired for the night. I warned them that it would be an early morning and that they would need a good night''s rest. Unfortunately, not all of them heeded my warning."


    "Kids will be kids." I hummed.


    "Yes, but they''re kids who will be facing Grimm." She adjusted her sses. "I don''t like that you told me not to interfere."


    "Yes, I know. If you had it your way, you would have forced them into their sleeping bags for their own benefit. However, we cannot hold their hands their entire lives. Actions will have consequences, and if they wish to learn this lesson around Grimm, it''s best under our watch. Bart and Peter are around for emergencies. And we even hired a new teacher to help out."


    "Yes, I admit as an educator that some students must learn lessons the hard way. And I am very happy that we finally hired a new staff member, Ozpin. But you know this still isn''t enough, Miss Greene isn''t a teacher but handles Security. While that does help us with needing to patrol at night, it still leaves us withrge ss sizes and an almost overwhelming schedule."


    "Did Professor Peach decide yet?" I asked.


    "She did; she agreed to take over some of the wilderness survival training. The things involving how to identify nts, dangerous and beneficial, etc."


    I smiled, pleased, and took a sip of my coffee. "We can look into more hires for next year."


    "I will continue to look for potential teachers then." She sounded pleased.


    "Well, if there was one good thing that came out from the whole issue that happened recently, it''s our increased budget. We can afford to hire some more staff."


    "Did you ever figure out how Roman was able to remove the warrants for himself and the others?" She sounded annoyed.


    "I assume the routes as we would expect. Bribes, threats, etc. The other Council Members who went along with it were being very tight lipped and they adamantly suggested that I drop the subject. Enough that they went as far as to increase our budget to get me to stop asking questions." Not that I asked for such a ''bribe'', but they made their stance clear in doing so by their own hand.


    ''Take this and drop it''.


    I wouldn''t turn down a windfall like this, I was pragmatic enough to recognize a boon when I saw it, even if it came from an unsavory situation. I doubted I could have changed anything regardless.


    "It''s going to be hard to approach him now that we can''t leverage his legal status. As long as he is in Vale, that is."


    "I know." I reluctantly sighed knowing that we lost some of our cards to y. And I didn''t want James to be the one to get ahold of the young man we were after. And I was still not sure about James'' little theory, so I wouldn''t hold my breath for that. "As and Mistral are both angry as well, so it''s been difficult to sooth over those tensions, even if most of the fault does noty with the ''criminals'' themselves."


    "Where''s Crow, wasn''t he supposed to call by now or send an update?" Glynda asked.


    "He''s been quiet, but I haven''t wanted to disturb him. If he''s in the middle of a fight, then it''d be best not to interrupt." I leaned back, pushing some papers away.


    "He usually sends an update in situations like this."


    "Qrow can take care of himself, Glynda. And in the absolute worst case, he can escape better than nearly anyone on Remnant." I offered it as a constion. Despite how much they got on each other''s nerves, they do care about one another in a tonic way. "It isn''t Qrow''s first Grimm tide and I ¨C" My scroll started ringing and I recognized the name. "Speaking of." I held it up for her to see the name and she smiled lightly. I pressed the button to answer and set it on my desk. "I am d to hear from you Qrow. Glynda was just voicing her concern at your silence."


    "Oh, was that the name of your pawn, Ozma?"


    I felt a chill run down my spine. A voice I recognized in my nightmares answered me and I nearly fell out of my chair to scramble back to my scroll I had set down. "Salem!?" I eximed, picking it up to see.


    On the other end, I saw her, the same face of my former wife from all those years ago. Clearly an illusion she was using to mask her cursed nature.


    "Ozpin?" Glynda spoke, but I silently tried to shush her, perhaps a bit impolite, but this situation was nothing but vtile.


    "Hmm, who was that Ozma? I see now, yes these devices are quite something." She looked at me, and Glynda who made her way behind me. "How surprising, another blonde to keep at your side? You always did have a certain type."


    "Excuse me!?" Glynda raised her voice.


    "You are excused, child." Salem was...teasing her? "You''re not the first to be swayed by any false words he might have. What was the name of thest one, Ozma? And I remember that blonde ''assistant'' of yours when you paraded yourself around as the King of Vale."


    "Let me see." Another voice shuffled over and a woman with reddish purple hair peeked over as well. A face I recognized from a while ago due to reports from James. "I can see the resemnce. You''re right, he does seem to rece you."


    "It doesn''t matter, I don''t care what harlot he pulls off the street to keep himpany." Salem dismissed the statement and I found myself unable to understand what was going on.


    "You say he often bothers you, yes? Perhaps he has not moved on?"


    "How amusing, is that it, Ozma? Do you still miss me? Tell me, child, does he call my name out when you tend to his needs?"


    Glynda''s squawk of indignation brought me back to my senses. "Salem!"


    "Yes, just like that."


    "No, I ¨C "


    "The inability to let go is a very unattractive trait. I can see why you are no longer together." The woman next to Salemmented.


    "One of his many ws that I overlooked in the past."


    "Does that only include his looks?"


    "What does the way I look have to do with anything!" I found myself shouting. "Wait, that doesn''t matter. Where''s Qrow, how did you get his scroll!?" Why was she still able to get this kind of reaction out of me after all these years?


    "No, he looked different before. However, he retains certain characteristics due to his magic once he subsumes the original host. But he''s always been unkempt unless I forced him to tidy himself up. One of the many issues, as I said. Though there was one particr thing that most made me displeased."


    "Was it a small pecker?"


    Salem uncharacteristicallyughed. "No, I was speaking of his tendency to believe himself ''holier than thou'' but that is also something to consider. He was very adamant that he was ''average'' and I never wished to hurt his feelings."


    "Do you think it''s still the same even now? Is that why he''s ever so clingy?"


    "Oh my, is that it, Ozma?" Salem held up her bent pinky. "I''ve heard things about men and self esteem issues....it does seem to make sense in hindsight."


    I was having trouble even formting a response. I didn''t know what was going on, but I noticed something off about her. "A-are you drunk?"


    "I''ve only had one drink in the past hour!"


    "That was a barrel, not a ss."


    "It was still one." Salem giggled.


    "ufufu, let''s order another."


    "Salem!" I mmed my fists on the table. "Is Qrow alive?"


    "Who''s Qrow again?'' Salem looked to panion.


    "He was the one that gave us this device, I believe." The other woman rified.


    "Oh yes, him. Who knows?" Salem grinned. "Why don''t we trade? I''ll tell you if you tell me where the Relics are."


    "I will never hand over the Relics to you!"


    "You can ask Jinn." The other woman stated, making me stiffen.


    "I refuse." Salem huffed. "That Spirit is too smug already, if I ask her she will never let me forget it!"


    "How do you know that name?" I demanded. She shouldn''t know Jinn''s name! She should only know about the Relic of Knowledge having a spirit.


    "Wouldn''t you like to know." Salemughed.


    "Tell him where the Relic currently is."


    "I-I refuse to mention that shameful Spirit''s fetishes."


    "It''s in her ass." The woman stated. "She keeps themp up her ass."


    "Don''t just blurt it out."


    "She would happily tell him on her own."


    "That''s not the point!"


    "I believe that someone is jealous. Do you hope to also have the same treatment?"


    "Absolutely not! Don''t you dare insinuate otherwise." Salem looked...embarrassed. "How do I turn this device off!?"


    "Press the button in the middle."


    "I don''t see it."


    "Right there!"


    "It''s not working!"


    There was a strange scream and the scroll''s images became distorted as everything spun around and with an obvious collision of some kind, the call was turned off.


    ....she threw the scroll.


    "....Ozpin, what was that?"


    "I....don''t know, Glynda." I answered honestly. "I genuinely have no clue as to what just happened."


    Glynda and I would probably have sat there, silent for a while longer if something didn''t m into the window.


    "Qrow is fine it seems." Glynda said quietly. "I''ll open it for him."


    I didn''t respond as she opened the window, letting him fly in.


    "Oz, big news! I ran into your ex-wife, who you didn''t tell us was your ex-wife. But she was out there, and ¨C"


    "We know, Qrow." I cut him off, holding up my scroll, letting him fill in the nks.


    "Oh." He blinked.


    "Qrow, do you happen to have your sk on you?"


    "....yeah?"


    "Can I please borrow it?"


    "uh.....sure?" He casually handed it to me.


    I flipped it open, holding it up to my nose to smell how strong the alcohol was. With a nod, I poured all of it into my coffee.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 412 - 373

    <h4>Chapter 412: Chapter 373</h4>


    "Alright, Roman, I''m where you told me to go, but I don''t see anything?" I held my Scroll up with one hand as I whacked away some overgrown vegetation with Mirage.


    "Do you see a big scary door?"


    "All I see are trees."


    "Then you''re not in the right ce."


    "I''m exactly at the coordinates you gave me." I held the Scroll up and spun around so he could see.


    "Hey, that''s what I was told. But he said to look for arge tree ¨C "


    "Oh, that narrows it down!"


    " ¨C That''s marked by a red dot." Roman ignored me.


    Red Dot?


    I looked around again and vaguely saw something like that a little further to the side. And the red dot was smaller than my palm and part of it looked chipped away. "Okay, I think I found it."


    "Good, now look for the door."


    "Roman, there isn''t a door anywhere. There''s no building in sight, it''s literally all forest area."


    "He said it was behind the tree and kinda covered."


    What the fuck did that mean?


    I stomped around to the other side, looking around again only until I idently stepped on something. Something much harder than tree roots or dirt. A metal ''ng'' rang out as I gave it another stomp. It was a small bundle of leaves and organic debris that were clumped together over what looked like a hatch. "I found it."


    "See, it wasn''t that hard."


    "Roman, it''s not a door It''s a hatch. There''s a big fucking difference."


    "Technically, a hatch is a type of door." He pointed out.


    "You know what? I''m done arguing with you." I sighed, pulling the rusty hatch open, and saw the top of a rustydder leading down into a dark abyss.


    "Wow, that looks spooky."


    "Thank you, Roman. You''re free toe help me if you want."


    "Yeah, no. I''ll buy you a drink when you''re done though! Toodles~" He hung up.


    Right.


    Honestly, even as strong as I am, able to turn a significant chunk of thisnd into a smoking crater without much effort, I''m not beyond feeling emotions. And that ce gave me the creeps from just looking into the darkness.


    Like, Giant Spiders from Skyrim, kind of creepy.


    And I set everything on fire thest time I was in a cave with Giant Spiders.


    And now that I think about it, that sounds like a wonderful idea!


    [Hang on, I wanna see what those guys were talking about. Grimm are weird, in an interesting way.]


    Fineeee, I kinda wanna see the creepy Grimm too.


    And I wanna try to see if I can tap into this Hogyoku thing to see what''s going on.


    My hand ignited in fire and I tossed a Fireball down the shaft. I heard a strange and eerie sound a momentter, indicating that my instinct was correct and they were literally waiting for me.


    "Well, here we go." I took a step forward and dropped inside, mming onto the floor after a short fall.


    I once more called upon Magical mes and the room lit up under the mes. At the edge of the light, there was a silhouette, somewhat humanoid in shape but also distorted in some aspects. Its head turnedpletely 90 degrees. Red eyes, a bone-like face, a jaw that opened way too wide, and elongated arms that nearly reached to the ground and a green glow inside of its mouth.


    "Jesus fucking Christ!" I didn''t even realize what happened until I already had the True Longinus in my hand, and threw it at the thing.


    [Bit of an overreaction.]


    "Fuck you!" I hissed under my breath. "That was fucking terrifying."


    [Oh, don''t be a baby.]


    "Like you wouldn''t fucking burn this ce to the ground in my ce."


    [I choose not to answer.]


    "You know what, I think I know someone who''d love to be here right now." I just had the thought as I took my scroll out.


    ''Wilhelm: Hey, doing anything right now?''


    ''Sc¨¢thach: I am currently unupied. Do you require my assistance?''


    ''Wilhelm: Clearing out scary Grimm. I wouldn''t mindpany. Don''t wanna intrude on you if you''re enjoying yourself though.''


    ''Sc¨¢thach: I do not mind, I was about to depart from an acquaintance I had recently made. borate on the Grimm.''


    ''Wilhelm: Uh, Apathy, Chills, Nightmare, and others.''


    ''Sc¨¢thach: My new acquaintance seemed tough once I ryed those types. ''


    ''Wilhelm: I also figured I could experiment with a few things, and I wouldn''t mind having you here with me.''


    ''Sc¨¢thach: Very Well, I will give you my location so you can retrieve me. Give me a moment.''


    I waited a moment until she then pinged me on her Kaleidophone and I quickly calcted the location based on that.


    I flicked my hand, opening a portal, connecting me to where she was, the new light filled the room for a brief moment until she walked through and the portal closed behind her.


    "You bring me to such wonderful ces." She looked around, looking rather amused.


    "I can''t tell if you''re being sarcastic or not."


    Her smile wasn''t helping either.


    "You sure you''re good with helping? I don''t want to intrude on your personal time, I know you like to wander around when the mood strikes."


    Her expression softened. "I am thankful for your consideration, and I will tell you if I wish to be alone. You need not question me if I tell you otherwise."


    I really did like how blunt and upfront she was. I think it was one of her most attractive traits. She didn''t sugar coat anything or beat around the bush.


    "Is that your Divine Spear?" She pointed at said spear lodged into the wall. "Why is it present? There should not be a foe worthy of such a weapon as you usually keep it in reserve."


    "....I was startled."


    She gave me another amused look, lightly cupping my cheek and chuckling. "You are very adorable sometimes, my student. Come, shall I take care of these ''scary monsters'' for you?"


    I huffed, walked to retrieve my spear. "I wanted to test a few things too, mostly my new stuff. And I was going to see if I could get a read on what the Hogyoku is doing inside of me ¨C or rather what it''s doing to me as a whole."


    "A wise decision to call me then." She hummed, clearly in a good mood. "You should know that I met the woman you are currently courting in my travels."


    "...Salem?" I blinked.


    "Yes, that is her name. We spent the night in one another''spany sharing stories and such."


    "And when you said that your ''acquaintance'' wasughing...?"


    Sc¨¢thach cracked another grin. "Yes, she found it amusing when you mentioned ''Scary Grimm'' and I told her what you had said."


    She probably intentionally made them fucking terrifying.


    "And what were your thoughts on her?" I took out my Zanpakut¨­, giving it a little swing through the air.


    "Hmm, I do not dislike her. I can feel kinship in a regard, and I believe I can grow to forge bonds such as those with your other paramours."


    I nodded, not asking for any other information. If she didn''t specify, I wasn''t going to prod.


    A red blur flew past my head, Sc¨¢thach''s demonic spear impaled a misty ck-like substance onto the nearby wall as it disintegrated.


    "Huh, didn''t notice until you got to it." I turned to look at the apparent Grimm she yed. "That''s a Chill."


    "Even if these creatures do not pose a threat, I trained you better than to let your guard down." She lightly chided.


    "Yeah, yeah." I grumbled, shing my Zanpakut¨­ through the air, cutting another one that had just phased through the wall.


    The sword worked well, so that was something.


    "What is it you wished to practice? Shall we get started before all the enemies are defeated?" Sc¨¢thach asked.


    "Right, I specifically wanted to do this when I had some practice targets nearby just in case." I let out a breath. "You wanna take a look?'' I offered.


    "Yes, I will see what you are speaking of." She nodded.


    I held my hand out, filling it with a few Talisman sand I threw them to the corners of the room, just to keep out any annoying pests for the moment before taking a seat on the ground, cross legged.


    "It''s basically sitting in my soul."


    Sc¨¢thach sat behind me, putting a hand on my back as I felt her presence invade my body and I did my best not to fight against it.


    "Hmm, and you have this Spirit that has taken root as well. Yes, I can see what you speak of, an object is now embedded in your soul. I fear I may not be able to remove it without consequence if it proves detrimental."


    "Izzy already said that there''s no noticeable negative side effects, so I don''t think that''ll be a problem. Not to mention my own budding spirit really likes it, so I''m fairly sure it''s not bad."


    [And it hasn''t been growing any longer. I think it''s reached its final stage.]


    "Can you ess it intentionally?" She asked.


    "Yeah, I think I can sort of poke at it and get it to do what I want. I''ve just been hesitant to do so because my Spirit has been using it to some effect. But from what Ddraig just told me, it appears as though my spirit is done growing."


    "And you do not know what the ability of this object is?" She questioned again.


    "Kinda." I pursed my lips, recalling what Yoruichi exined. "Basically, it should break down the boundaries between two specific species of Spirits, Hollow and Shinigami, essentially giving someone the powers of both."


    "Your tone does not give credence to that thought."


    "No, I think it does, but I''m also skeptical that this was what it actually did. I''m not a Shinigami, I''m not a Hollow, but why did my sword Spirit want it so bad?"


    "A wise question to ask. Do you believe it is something else then?"


    "I think the people involved just so happened to be Hollow and Shinigami, that they assumed this was the case. But maybe it just breaks down the boundaries between species in general ¨C or perhaps even a step further than that? That''s why I wanted you here to help me test, in case anything went wrong." And her opinion was one I always weed.


    "Start from the beginning. These Hollows and Shinigami ¨C what are the differences between them?"


    "The differences?" I tilted my head, giving it some thought. "I....don''t really know. A Hollow I guess is missing its heart or something, they have a mask, and they hunger for souls. But apparently high-level Hollows be much more human-like in both appearance and a sense of self. So at their basic, they really aren''t that different in that case...more like just opposites in their make up. One is a Plus, one is a Minus."


    So what exactly was the difference? Those Hollows could use that ''Cero'' thing, but why couldn''t Shinigami do the same? Why couldn''t Hollows use Kid¨­, why did Hollows use a ''different'' method of moving? Why could Hollows open that strange portal, but Shinigami had their own method?


    The difference between a Hollow and a Shinigami, at the most basic when you cut away aesthetics and outer appearance, well, they had different types of Spiritual Power.


    "A Hollow has Hollow ''Energy'', a Shinigami as Shinigami ''Energy''" Energy of course being the Spiritual side of the coin. "To break down the boundary is at its most basic, the transference of one energy to another, or blending them. Either one should be the case."


    Which sounds simple on paper, but Shinigami and Hollows are different for a reason, physically and spiritually. To ''house'' the type of energy required, there needed to be a more ''physical'' change to amodate that, which I assume the Hogyoku would also facilitate in the process?


    But in my case....all my different energies exist simultaneously inside of my body.


    What was there to change?


    Hollow and Shinigami meant nothing to me, but I had other things.


    Divinity, I had an Authority and had Divine Power at my fingertips as a Campione.


    Magical Energy, was there more that needed to be said? Magical Circuits at my most basic.


    Aura, the actualization of my soul, its own little Energy separated from the others.


    Reiryoku, my most recent acquisition. A different aspect of my Soul manifested in its own pool of energy.


    Andstly, and my smallest, would be my Demonic Energy. It''s grown steadily from being nourished through the use of my Sword of Destruction, almost like working a muscle, but it''s slow going. Devils are a species that live for thousands and thousands of years, the rate of growth reflects that.


    So, I metaphorically reached for the Hogyoku that was sitting inside of my soul, and it responded.


    I took my Magical Energy and attempted to test my little theory. The Hogyoku inside of me churned for the first time, responding without any hesitation. My Aura shimmered around me normally, but once I focused, my Magical Energy poured through the small object and something shifted.


    My Aura exploded outwards,pletely enveloping every corner of the room. My eyes widened and I felt my breathing hitch, the action was unnatural and so abrupt that I nearly lost my breath before I canceled what I was doing and reeled my Aura back in.


    "Careful." Sc¨¢thach caught me, a gentle hand pressing my chest. "Do not overdo it, slowly."


    I settled my breathing and calmed back down. "It was a sess though. I think I figured out how to use this thing."


    "Yes, your Aura increases significantly for a brief moment." She said gently. "Now, do it again."


    I touched upon the Hogyoku again, my Magical Energy transferred, shifted and broke down into Aura, expanding my own reserves outward. I red it a moment or two and brought it back in, returning it to Magical Energy. Then, I used my Magical Energy to shift into Reiryoku. The Hogyoku once more responded to my call.


    My Reiatsu seeped out and enveloped the entire room as well.


    Not only that, it was filling up at an rming rate. I didn''t need to cannibalize my Aura any longer, I didn''t need to absorb the ambient Reishi from that world to gather my own. This Hogyoku was breaking down the boundaries between my Magical Energy and my Reiryoku, converting one into the other.


    Divinity?


    May as well give it a try.


    I touched on my Hogyoku and my Divinity, expecting a little of the same, except, the Hogyoku did the equivalent of grounding to a halt and refusing to budge.


    I guess it''s understandable.


    Divinity wasn''t like my other ''energies'' as it existed at a much higher state and the Hogyoku, at the end of the day, wasn''t a Divine Object. I wouldn''t be able to reach that high in a single step like that.


    Now, the only thing left to test was my Demonic Energy.


    The Hogyoku responded to both my Magical Energy and the small seed of Demonic Energy I had.


    It felt different, though. I felt something swell up in my entire body and it wasn''t just my Demonic Energy, my Power of Destruction began to act up, nearly uncontrobly. Like before with my Aura, my Demonic Energy exploded outwards, outside of my initial intent.


    My Power of Destruction manifested, crackling to life around my hands and something else was pulled to the surface, like the Hogyoku reached deep inside and unearthed something buried very deep down inside of me.


    It was painful and I could feel my teeth gritted at the change that was happening.


    The swirling Demonic Energysted for a few breaths longer before dissipating ,and my rampant Destruction was rescinded once I regained my wits and forcibly recalled it.


    I felt...odd


    I looked down at my hands and....why were they more like ws?


    Why were my wings out?


    Why....was there something protruding from my forehead? I felt them with my hands and...are those horns!?


    Wait...


    "Do I have a tail!?"


    [***]


    A/N


    Had some discussion about this in Discord and such. So I''ll make a little note here. There are no canon depictions of Lilith and Lucifer that I''m aware of, so I was using a more traditional demonic look for them when I picture them. And there is atleast one extra devil family with horns. So what happened? I''ll give a more thorough exnation next chapter, but essentially, the Hogyoku traced his bloodline back to the source.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 413 - 374

    <h4>Chapter 413: Chapter 374</h4>


    Once the initial shock wore off a much more important realization had hit me.


    "Are you okay?" I quickly turned to Sc¨¢thach to make sure she wasn''t hurt as my Power of Destruction ran rampant for a moment.


    "I am well." She was healing her hand, and it was barely noticeable, but there was damage.


    "I hurt you." I frowned. "I''m sorry, I lost control, I don''t know what happened, and I identally ¨C"


    "Dear." She spoke softly. A word I''ve never hearde from her mouth before, it made my ramblingse to a screeching halt.


    "....you''ve never called me that before."


    "You turn into a blushing girl the moment I say a single word." She chuckled, cing a hand on my cheek. "Have you calmed down?"


    "Yeah..."


    "That''s good." She smiled warmly. "Now, fix your expression. Did you intentionally wish to harm me?"


    "No." I quickly shook my head.


    "Then do you think this Sc¨¢thach is someone who can be significantly harmed by your idental actions?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly.


    "I''m sorry." I whispered.


    "Come here." She held her arms open, I epted the hug and she pulled me into her bosom. "You are forgiven."


    I felt something strange as I nestled between her boobs. A sensation I can honestly say I''d never felt before. "Are you rubbing my horns?"


    "Yes." Was her simple and blunt reply.


    "Oh."


    "Do you dislike it?"


    "I don''t know, I''m still trying toprehend their existence and it''s making me confused." I confessed.


    "Yet your hand still grabs my rear."


    My hand was in fact, squeezing her butt. "Yes."


    [Take me out, I think I know what''s going on.]


    "Hang on, Ddraig wants toe out." I ryed.


    "Does the Dragon know why you changed?" Sc¨¢thach inquired, separating me from her chest.


    The Gauntlet Appeared on my had. "[Hello again.]"


    "Greetings, Dragon." Sc¨¢thach spoke with a small amount of politeness to her tone, one reserved for those she seemingly respected. "What wisdom do you have?"


    The jewel on the Gauntlet lit up again as Ddraig began to speak. "[Well, he looks a lot like his ancestors.]"


    "Like a clich¨¦ ''demon'' described in most Church texts?" I asked a little skeptically.


    "[Where do you think those ''clich¨¦'' texts originated from?]" Ddraig responded. "[The original Satans were called ''Demons'' for a reason.]"


    "Really? I thought it was more of a terminology thing, or a title of respect in my birth world. Was there actually a difference?"


    "[I don''t know all the details, I didn''t exactly fly in the same circles as that lot, but I know a thing or two. And I''ve met them before, a long time ago. They tried getting me to join them or some other crap, I didn''t really care at the time. But I met Lilith, the original Lucifer and those original ''Demons'' that they call the Satans.]"


    "You know, I feel like I probably should have looked into my own history before this point. But please go on, I want to know why I suddenly have a tail and ¨C" I felt a shiver go up my spine, I looked down at Sc¨¢thach''s hand, grabbing my tail.


    She met my eyes and there was the faintest little blush on her cheeks that quickly disappeared. "It is cute." She said rather quietly in her defense once I red.


    "[The originals were like you. Don''t know how it happened now that I think about it. Lilith was originally human ¨C I''m sure you know the legends and all that crap. Lucifer as well, he was originally anAngel. But at some point they turned all demonic and what-not. Wings, Horns, Tails, h h. A lot like you as I said.]"


    "What changed? Because I''m fairly sure Venna doesn''t have a tail, as the only other Devil I''ve thoroughly inspected."


    "[Yeah, as you noticed after banging your Grandma.]" Ddraig snorted. "[Devils pretty much only inherited wings as a ''physical trait'' more or less. The other Demons besides Lucifer ¨C Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Leviathan, they inherited much more. And I can take a guess or two at the reason this didn''t trickle down anymore. Basically, the original Demons were only a little bit weaker than that Fallen Brat.]"


    "And that suddenly makes a huge amount of sense. Devils back then being the stupidly evil viins depicted in most literature, I''m sure Lucifer couldn''t stand the idea of anyone able to usurp his ''throne'' so they intentionally stymied how much was ''passed down'' when Lilith created the next generation of Devils, yeah?"


    They wanted a strong army to wage war, but not too strong. Seeing how the other Satans were just little under him must have hurt his Pride.


    "[It''s funny considering that the current generation would wipe the floor with the old guard. Hell, the weakest of the current Satans could handle the entirety of the old Satans bar Lucifer and most likely win.]" Ddraigughed. "[If the brat wasn''t so stupid and paranoid, he might have won the war.]"


    "Isn''t that a terrifying thought?" I muttered.


    "[Actually, now that I think about it, he had a son that was born stronger than him. I vaguely remember something about Lucifer throwing a tantrum at the news and there being a big incident or something when he found out.]"


    "The mystery of his new appearance is solved. However, the question on how it has urred still remains." Sc¨¢thachmented, her hands inspecting my horns without holding back.


    "That...is an interesting question." I ignored her touching. I grabbed at her and she neverined, I didn''t mind if she was touching my ''new'' body parts. "The Hogyoku was shifting one type of energy into another without any noticeable problems. But when it came to my Demonic Energy, it did more."


    "I believe the answer is a simple one, my student." Her fingers were running along the tip of my tail and it felt really weird, but not....bad. "It simply could do more so it did."


    "If you keep touching me, I''m going to touch you back."


    She chuckled, grabbing my hand and putting it on her own breast. "This Sc¨¢thach''s body is already assailed by you every day, such a threat is meaningless."


    A fair trade.


    "Have you figured it out?" She asked.


    "Yeah, I realized as soon as you said something. The Hogyoku was breaking down the boundaries between my types of energy, but when it got to my Demonic side, it simply had the ability to go further. My Magical Energy, there is nothing to reach into. Same with my Aura, and the same with my Reiryoku. They are at their most basic without disrupting their actual purpose. Whereas my Demonic Energy came from my Ancestry, something I have just barely tapped into due to the nature of my birth. There was room for the Hogyoku to break down further into my bloodline to pull out the hidden potential there that I normally couldn''t reach."


    It basically made me simr to my progenitors because the ''concept'' was hidden within my gics.


    Sc¨¢thach hummed, nodding to my exnation. "What are the benefits?"


    "Uh, the physical benefits are not worth really mentioning. But my Demonic Energy feels like it''s overflowing." I held my hands up, letting my Bloodline Power toe out. My hands alighted with my Destruction, the intensity and quantity was on a whole other level. "If I couldpare to a bucket of water before, I feel like a small pool now."


    "Hmm, simr to Venna still, but there is room for improvement."


    "Well, I doubt even with this I''m going topare to someone who''s developed their Demonic Energy for centuries. But I should catch up rtively quickly with some training." I dismissed my Destruction. "And I can bring out a significant amount without the need for a catalyst."


    "The benefits of your sword should be amplified then."


    "Good point." I agreed.


    "Come, we shall return you to your original state." She beckoned me to sit down again. "I am aware your Demonic side brings you uneasiness, I will assist you."


    I worked on using the Hogyoku to run in the opposite direction, letting my Demonic Energy shift back to Magical Energy. I could feel Sc¨¢thach too, her gentle hand working alongside me to facilitate the change. It was more difficult as this apparently brought a physical change along with it. But with some effort on both our ends, I felt the Demonic features rescind. However, there was a side effect that seemed obvious in hindsight.


    My actual ''pool'' of Demonic Energy still remained just asrge as it was when I became more Demonic. Unfortunately, in this state, my Demonic Power itself was still miniscule in practice. In that it would take forever to refill this ''pool'' and the amount I could bring to bear would be significantly less. And I was fairly sure I couldn''t bring the degree of Destruction out that I could a moment ago.


    I felt the top of my head and my horns were now gone. And my tail, thankfully. I didn''t know how to feel about that. it was.....odd. "Back to normal."


    "Do you feel better?" Sc¨¢thach''s arms wrapped me up from the back, her head sitting on my shoulder.


    "You always make me feel better." I tilted my own head to meet her eyes, giving her a smile. "You''re the best."


    "Yes I am." She quirked a little smug smile of her own. "You mayvish me with your due praise, my student."


    "My beautiful and wonderful Sc¨¢thach."


    "Hmm, you can do better."


    "The amazing and breathtakingly beautiful Sc¨¢thach. The unparalleled Witch, the greatest Teacher ever, only slightly sadistic ¨C "


    She pinched my cheek, cutely puffing up. "You are asking for a swift beating, my student."


    Seeing her in a mood like this was something that never ceased to warm my heart. Her cold exterior melted and I could see the warm and kind woman she was underneath. "You''re always here for me. Any time I have trouble or I need help, you''re here for me and I feel like I can rely on you for anything. You''re one of the brightest lights in my life. You''re my rock, and I can''t see myself living without you by my side."


    One of those very rare times, I watched her genuinely turn a rosy red. The confident and stoic Sc¨¢thach looked shy and bashful at my confession.


    "Foolish student." She lowered her head, burying it into the crook of my neck. "You say such words to me, yet I have already given you my body and my heart. What left do I have yet to give but my womb to bear your children?" Her hands tightened around me and there was a faint trembling. "Speak to me the same words you have given to the Goddess and the Knight."


    "I love you."


    "And I will love you until you grow tired of this Sc¨¢thach."


    "Which is never." I gently took her hand.


    "[Don''t mind the Dragon, just sitting here watching.]"


    "Thanks Ddraig, ruining the moment." Stupid Dragon. I admittedly had forgotten I still had the Boosted Gear out and on my arm.


    She chuckled, kissing my cheek. "Come, we are here with a purpose. Call back your Demonic Nature and we will practice with it. There are monsters to y and I think it will be beneficial for you to indulge with your Demonic side."


    "Alright, let me try to call back on it." I touched on the Hogyoku again, letting my Demonic Energy roar to life. I felt the same ''transformation'' ur, but it was much less aggressive this time. I know that it worked because a certain someone was holding my tail again. "Is it really that interesting?" I looked at her.


    "If such a change urred in myself or your other lovers, would you not be just as fascinated?" She retorted.


    "You....raise a fair point."


    "Yes." She let go, standing up. "It is time to deal with these creatures."


    I dismissed the Boosted Gear and rolled my neck and back, stretching what I felt were some new muscles due to my Tail swinging back and forth. "I''ve never had this much of my Power of Destruction avable before." I admired how it engulfed my hands with ease. "Let''s see what I can do with it."


    "I will allow you to take the lead." She stated, spear already in hand and a quick stab on her part saw to all my Talismans pierced, destroying the barrier.


    "How kind of you." I rolled my eyes, hand snaking through the air as I caught one of those Chills trying to phase into this part of the building through the wall. My Destructive Lightning crackled, and it made a strange noise while being utterly destroyed.


    "Is this the creature that frightened you so, my student?" Sc¨¢thach held her spear up pointing at an Apathy that stumbled down the hallway. "Shall I deal with it? You can close your eyes if you need to."


    "Hrious." I said dryly, flexing my Power of Destruction. I was here to test things, so test I would. I allowed my Demonic Energy to pour out, bringing my bloodline power to life around me hands.


    I moved with a burst of Shunpo, arriving in front of the Grimm that would probably give me nightmarester. Gathering my Destruction in my right hand, I swung it downwards from above. Inch by inch, the Grimm was utterly disintegrated as my palm fell down before touching the floor, sending waves outward in all directions. The Hallway in the immediate area was eaten away on contact, shaking the whole facility before I mentally dispersed my power.


    "Well that was certainly something." I looked at my hand, a little in shock. That was significantly more powerful than I had originally thought.


    There were more soundsing further within the facility. I could see red glowing eyes appearing in the dozens not far down the ck corridor.


    I reached out my hand and called my Sword of Destruction. The Sword that had been nurturing my Demonic Power and Destruction all this time. It was a catalyst that I attuned myself to and even now, it still worked for that purpose.


    My Destruction that I channel expanded several folds. I nearly lost control of myself at the sudden power that enveloped my sword.


    I looked down at it and had an idea.


    Raising my sword up, I swung it downwards, focusing on keeping the shape that I wanted.


    A de arced forward, slicing through everything in its path. The Apathys that were in the path of my attack were utterly annihted. The remnants that were simply sliced apart were then eaten away and consumed by the ensuing Destruction that was left in the wake of my attack.


    The ceiling and the ground were also gouged out and once more the whole ce shook violently.


    "I will be upset if you bring this building down on us." Sc¨¢thach lightly chided me, her finger tapped my cheek.


    "I''ll keep that in mind." I couldn''t help but feel a growing grin tugging at the corners of my lips.


    She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "You say that but I can see the battle lust in your eyes. Have a go at it my student. But don''t be consumed by it."


    I didn''t need to be told twice.


    I shot down the hallway, swinging my sword at any Grimm that was still nearby, or any pieces of them that remained.


    My movement didn''t stop as I slid into another room, a muchrger one with much more equipment about. There wereputers, andrge test tubed housing other types of Grimm that seemed to be in the process of being Mutated.


    There were, of course, other Grimm walking about. I noticed the Nightmares I had been told about, the parasitic Grimm that hung near the ceiling. My Sword of Destruction shed through the air, carrying my Bloodline with it, handled them with ease.


    My own w-like hands swiped through the air, gouging out parts of the facility in the process and cleaved through Grimm in a matter of moments. My Destructive Lightning went rampant, and I had no thought to reel myself in.


    I was letting loose and it felt good.


    I stopped generally thinking and just went on auto pilot. I allowed myself to enjoy the ughter and it felt satisfying in a way I was not ustomed to. How many rooms did I tear through? I lost count after the fourth.


    There were plenty of other Grimm, the ''normal'' kinds that tried to stop me, but they were all just calf''s to the ughter.


    Really, I only came back to my senses once a roar resounded, shaking the whole underground facility. And I walked towards the source of it, a massive creature barreled through a wall, ws and fangs fully on disy, along with many green, mutated, protrusions on it. I could see why they called it a Sphinx, a serpent tail, a feline body, and feathered wings. Even if the face wasn''t particrly humanoid.


    Roman had told me about Sphinx Grimm, but I don''t think they were supposed to be this big.


    "I would feel bad if I didn''t let you have some fun." I tilted my head back to Sc¨¢thach who was behind me. She had been silently following me the entire time. "Do you want the big guy?"


    A bloodthirsty grin formed on her face, one that I can only assume was simr to the one I had previously. "Oh my dear student, you do know how to win this Sc¨¢thach''s affection."


    Seeing her tear into it with augh of pure glee was honestly one of the most attractive things I''ve ever seen in my life.


    Did this count as a Date?


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 414 - 375

    <h4>Chapter 414: Chapter 375</h4>


    ''Can you hear me....?''


    ''My name is ¨C %$&* %*#&@''


    My eyes snapped open and I immediately sat up, twisting my head every direction, looking around the dark room.


    The only sound was my Scroll buzzing on the nightstand next to me.


    Well, that and the shuffling of sheets to my left.


    "Time?" Sc¨¢thach shifted on her side of the bed.


    I grabbed my scroll reading the message I had been sent. Apparently Pyrrha and her team were going to being to Vale from Beacon around noon along with another team they''re friendly with. I sleepily responded to her that I''ll text her a ce to meet up for lunch and then tossed my scroll back onto the table, only for it to miss and fall to the floor.


    "Little after Seven." I fell back down into my pillow.


    "I have bezy." She muttered, scooting closer, her head resting on my chest. "I am normally awake hours earlier. You are to me, my student."


    "Yes, it''s all my fault." I ran my fingers through her long hair. Sc¨¢thach being zy'' was always cute, the few rare times it happened. "It''s alright to take it easy every once in a while."


    "Why did you be startled in your sleep? That device should not have caused such a reaction. If the Bounded Fields were not still up, I would assume we were under attack."


    Yeah, the Bounded Field was still up, I don''t know why I was jittery. It was pretty standard to put up Bounded Fields in any room we stayed in, like this hotel room we rented for the night. "Honestly, I don''t know. I felt like I heard a voice I didn''t recognize and...I just reacted."


    I lifted up the nket a little to peek underneath. Sc¨¢thach''s naked body was pressed against mine.


    She yfully pinched my hand. "Do not get any ideas. I am still sore and you spent more than enough time this previous night enjoying yourself."


    "I''m pretty sure I wasn''t the only one though."


    "It was adequate." She replied, a little grin made it easy to know she was intentionally being vindictive in her words.


    "I''m going to meet up with Pyrrha, the red-headed girl you met before. She enrolled in Beacon and is bringing her team and some friends outside for the day. Do you want to stick around, or do you want to do your own thing?"


    "I would like to see if that child has furthered her training, however, it is best that I stay away from....Beacon and its students for now."


    "...do I want to know?"


    Her only response was muffled giggled into my chest.


    "Alright then."


    "I wish to see this Vacuo."


    "I heard it''s pretty much just desert. The Kingdom is barely more than the Huntsman School and the surrounding...city, if that can even be used to describe it."


    "Yes, Salem spoke about it. I am intrigued and wish to explore; the weather holds no bearing over me."


    "You can obviously take care of yourself, so I won''t say anything to dissuade you. Do you need a hand or can you find your way there?"


    "I can manage." She tilted her head up, smiling at me. "However, your concern is appreciated."


    "....sleep for a little while longer or do something else?"


    Her red eyes stared into mine for a moment before rolling over on top of me.


    Guess that answered my question.


    [***]


    "I went ahead and ordered some Coffee for you two." I said as Artoria and Rin sat down at the table to join me.


    "This is perfect, thanks Schweinorg." Rin practically copsed into her seat while Artoria gracefully slid into the one next to me.


    "Late night?'' I asked.


    "Vale has an interesting night life." Artoria calmly sipped her beverage while Rin nearly inhaled hers.


    "The Twins didn''t give you too much trouble?"


    "Ugh, they''re such bitches." Rin groaned. "Not in a bad way though."


    "There''s....a bad way to interpret that?"


    "You''re such a boy." Rin rolled her eyes. "They aren''t like that Edelfelt Bitch."


    "Right, that exins it perfectly and I''m left without questions." I didn''t even bother asking for a better exnation. "Did you have fun though?"


    Rin held a thumbs up as she downed her coffee. "The clothes here are actually really nice and they aren''t that expensive. Those two took us practically all over Vale to shop and see everything. We didn''t even hit a Hotel untilte into the morning."


    "It was a pleasant experience, despite my reservations. I enjoyed meeting your friends." Artoria added on.


    "You should thank me, Schweinorg."


    "Why''s that?"


    "Dragged her into a lingerie shop and helped her pick out a few things."


    "R-Rin." Artoria puffed up, looking a little red.


    Well, I''d certainly enjoy thatter. "How about I buy you another coffee as thanks?"


    "Deal."


    My Scroll buzzed.


    ''Pyrrha: Just got off the Bullhead, heading there now!''


    "They''re on their way." I informed the two, putting my Scroll to the side.


    "Speaking of, anything we should know about your friends?"


    "Singr in this case. I only know Pyrrha, and she''s bringing her team and friends or something. But everything but Magic and all that good stuff is still a secret. I''ve basically just been ying it off as having a Space based Semnce."


    "Really? And people actually believe that bullcrap?" Rin looked at me skeptically.


    "How many people do you think actually know the full depth of something as vague as ''space maniption''? I can bullshit pretty dam hard with that kind of thing."


    "You''re right. And I''ve seen you do more with less."


    "Well, it shouldn''t really matter. Pyrrha''s a sweet girl, and it''s not like we''re going to be interrogated....much."


    "I''d ask if you''re trying to screw her too, but I think she''s too young for you." Rin snorted.


    "Are you calling Artoria old?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Oh don''t even try that." Rin huffed. "She''s eternally going to be young. Actually, did you know she grew an inch since I summoned her? I thought Servants couldn''t change? Beyond...your weirdness and stuff."


    "Well...." I rubbed my chin. "Artoria isn''t even a real Servant from what I understand. And technically, she shouldn''t even be a Servant as Avalon has a im on her. Avalon is one of the few ces that can stop the Throne from iming a soul after death."


    "Yes, my true body still waits at Cann. My contract was originally to fight in the Grail War, but things became messy, and my contract seems to have be void. I assume if I ever die in my Servant existence that I would return to such and then be sent to Avalon as you said." Artoria nodded.


    "Yeah, that''s about what I thought. However, I think it should be noted, if you ever die, we''re invading Avalon."


    "Does that even need to be said?" Rin huffed. "Don''t talk about your death so emotionlessly, Saber." She nudged Artoria with her shoulder.


    "I apologize." She responded with a small, but happy smile.


    "Going back on topic. I think she should be slightly changing? Since she''s not exactly a ''real'' Servant, thus her Servant body is more of a reflection of her actual body? I doubt that when you made the deal with ya, that the entity even bothered to consider the happenstance that you survived years afterwards, thus didn''t waste the energy on facilitating the same conditions of a ''normal'' servant."


    "Do you believe I will age to some extent?" Artoria asked.


    "I can''t im to know for sure, but I think there will be some slight changes? Being away from that world-line is probably helping in that regard. Since there is no force that wants to squash a spiritual existence like a Servant on sight, your existence is....solidifying, forck of a better word. And it''s already something not normal for any other Servant, so there''s the possibility of side effects like this."


    I did wonder how Artoria would look if she reflected her age a little more....


    Maybe I''ll get to see that in the future.


    "I''ll be sure to thoroughly check you for any changes in the future~"


    "Wil..." Artoria dipped her head cutely.


    "That them?" Rin interrupted, jerking her thumb at a bunch of people walking right outside, past the front windows before opening the doors.


    "Looks like it." I stood up, walking towards the entrance.


    "Wil!" Pyrrha happily called out.


    "Hey there, Red" I offered her my arms and she dly epted the hug. "And teammates?" I looked at the group following behind her. "Ruby?" I tilted my head, remembering what Roman told me.


    She beamed. "Oh my gosh, I can''t believe you know Pyrrha and I know Pyrrha too! I saw thepetition, and then you became a criminal and I finally got that metal you gave me to melt and then ¨C"


    "Ruby, pace yourself." A blond girl walked up, grabbing her head.


    "Right, I got a table. I''d love to get a proper introduction." I offered.


    "Oh great, I''m starving. You think they serve pancakes here, Renny?" A orange haired girl happily walked over, pulling a guy with ck and pink hair along with her.


    "We''ll find out, Nora."


    Though, not everyone was as...excited? A white-haired girl gave me a death stare the moment she walked in.


    And another ck haired girl with a bow that looked at me strangely but didn''t speak a word.


    Last of them was someone else I recognized.


    "Well, if it isn''t Rufus." I hadn''t seen him since the tournament. I remember we had a chat in between fights. He was pretty skilled too from what I recall.


    He perked up at me calling out his name and gave a smile.


    I went back to my seat as they all sat down too. Though it was a little awkward at first.


    "It''s nice to meet Pyrrha''s friends and teammates." I decided to break the ice. "I heard that you get partners and teams and such."


    Pyrrha nervously smiled. "The first person we ran into during the test became our partner. Then once we finished the test, we were assigned another pair for a team."


    "Yup! I''m the leader of team Raspberry!" Ruby stood up, proudly proiming.


    "Context?"


    Pyrrha chuckled a little. "They give us color-based names depending on our initials. We''re team RSPR, which is Raspberry."


    "Team Raspberry, role call!" Ruby called out. "I''m the leader, Ruby Rose!"


    ''Uh, Rufus Hedge..." Rufus introduced himself with a lot less enthusiasm. "I''m Ruby''s partner."


    "Hello, I''m Pyrrha Nikos." She smiled towards Artoria and Rin, both of whom nodded towards.


    "Weiss Schnee." The white-haired girl turned her nose up. "Partner to Pyrrha Nikos, which is the only reason I''m here, in the presence of criminals."


    "...Weiss." Pyrrha sighed.


    "Ignore Ice queen there." The blonde spoke up, making Weiss scoff. "I''m Yang Xiao long, Ruby''s older sister."


    "ke Bedonna." A girl with the bow was curt with her own name.


    "Oh my turn! I''m Nora Valkyrie!" The bombastic orange haired girl introduced herself next.


    "Ren." The quieter boy next to her politely introduced himself as well. "I''m the leader for team...Rainbow."


    "Team RYNB, woo!" Nora threw her hands up.


    "It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Artoria Pendragon, Wilhelm''s Girlfriend." Artoria took the reins next. "This is Rin Tohsaka." She gestured next to her.


    "Hey." Rin casually waved.


    "And I believe you know Wilhelm."


    "I doubt there''s anyone on Remnant that doesn''t know him." Weiss scoffed again. "One of the most wanted people in the world."


    "Not ording to Vale." I pointed out.


    "As if anyone is stupid enough to believe that ridiculous nonsense they said when they withdrew your wanted posters." Her face turned sour. "Probably bribed and extorted your way out of trouble."


    "Come on Weiss, you don''t know that." Ruby tried to calm her down.


    "Actually, that''s fairly urate." I hummed.


    "Wil." Pyrrha face palmed.


    "I knew it!" Weiss raised her hand, pointing at me in usation. "And you even admitted it, just wait until I report you to the proper authorities."


    "....you mean the ones he allegedly bribed?" Rin raised an eyebrow.


    "Pfft." Yang snorted under her breath. "She''s got you there, Ice Queen."


    "H-how can you take their side, Xiao Long!? He''s a criminal who just admitted to....to illegal activity!"


    "I''m not really crying over some thief. Point me at some Grimm instead, you know, the things actually killing people?" Yang shrugged.


    "B-but he''s a criminal!"


    "Wasn''t it revealed that your family was using literal ves not that long ago?" ke spoke up, the quiet girl taking a jab.


    "T-that was not us. They had nothing to do with us and they were rightfully punished!" Weiss defended herself. "And he''s wanted by As for several murders because of that!"


    They all looked at me. "I''m not going to exin myself for killing people using children as ves. And I don''t mean thebor kind."


    But I didn''t know I had new warrants out for my head.


    Neat.


    "Huh, what do you mean?" Ruby looked confused.


    "I''ll tell you when you''re older." Yang put her hand on Ruby''s head.


    "I heard that you rescued a bunch of Faunus. People have been saying that you''re secretly a Faunus too." ke looked at me questioningly.


    "Nope, no Faunus blood."


    "Oh, I heard about that too!" Nora rumbled, shifting the morbid atmosphere from my earlier remark. "Wasn''t there a thing about the head of Menagerie wanting to give him a medal or something?"


    "It was a ribbon." ke rified. "And it''s a symbolic gesture to show that you''re a friend to Menagerie."


    "Huh, I didn''t know that." I replied. "Maybe I''ll pop over thereter. I hope that Dust was useful for them at least."


    "That Dust was property of Schnee Dust Company!" Weiss practically screeched.


    "The Dust that came from vebor?" Rin raised an eyebrow. "Seems like a weird hill to die on if you''re trying to protect your image."


    "As if a criminal would understand anything about image." Weiss scowled.


    "Excuse me?" Rin''s tone shifted. "Since when am I a criminal?"


    "You are consorting with him." Weiss gestured to me. "What else would you be?"


    "By that logic, wouldn''t your Partner be a criminal too?" Rin retorted.


    "O-of course that''s different!"


    "Right." Rin rolled her eyes. "You have my sympathy, Pyrrha."


    "What''s that supposed to mean!" Weiss demanded.


    "It means, I sympathize with her for having to put up with you for however long your partnershipsts. Barely ten minutes and I''m at my limit."


    This was not how I expected things to go, but I didn''t want to interrupt.


    "Pyrrha doesn''t need the sympathy of some criminal associate! And I certainly don''t have to exin our rtionship to somemon vagrant."


    "Ugh, a brat trying to y at being an Aristocrat."


    "How dare you! I am Weiss Schnee. I am the heir to the Schnee Dust Company. Who are you, some no-name ruffian?!"


    "Weiss, Calm down." Pyrrha finally interjected. I think she was just taken off guard by the argument that popped up and didn''t know how to react.


    "You''re right, I am better than rising to the provocations of a criminal." Weiss turned her nose up again.


    "Cleary not." Rin said dryly. "But if you got the mental gymnastics to not feel bad about the vebor your family was using, I doubt you''ll care about this."


    "My family does not use vebor!"


    "I think there''s evidence that contradicts that..."


    "That was not under our authority!"


    "That makes it alright then."


    "That''s not what I meant!"


    We were all sort of whipping our heads back and forth as they argued across the table.


    Frankly, this wasn''t Rin being outraged at the whole ''savebor'' thing, not to say she condoned it. But this was her being annoyed at Weiss'' attitude from the start and decided to snip back at her. Rin wasn''t one to take being talked down to like this.


    It reminded me of when I saw her with Luvia.


    Though for some reason, ke had the biggest grin on her face. Actually, the other team seemed to be amused by the whole thing as they silently watched.


    "Oh brothers, just fight or fuck already!" Though Yang finally let out a frustrated grunt.


    "Yang! Language!" Ruby huffed.


    "Please, I have standards." Rin scoffed.


    "What''s that supposed to mean!" Weiss screeched in outrage.


    "Exactly what I said."


    "Y-you!" Weiss stood up, sneering like she was about to explode. "For once, I agree with Xiao Long!"


    "Oh, you wanna fight?" Rin chuckled.


    "Weiss, you''re a Huntress in Training...." Pyrrha interjected.


    "I got my Aura Unlocked, let''s go brat." Rin made a ''bring it on'' gesture.


    "Miss Goodwitch said we''ll get in trouble if we fight outside of school." Ruby said quietly, pulling her hood a little down her face.


    "So do it at Beacon." Yang offered as everyone stared at her. "What? You''re allowed to bring people over if you get permission. Go ask her and get one of the sparring rooms reserved. There''s no rules against it."


    "I''m surprised you know anything about rules, Xiao Long." Weiss looked at her skeptically.


    "I like to know what I can get away with." She shrugged.


    "Fine." Weiss pped the table. "I''m going to call Miss Goodwitch, and I''ll arrange everything." Her eyesnded on Rin. "And then I''ll make you eat your words." She turned her nose up, walking out the door with scroll in hand.


    "Well, that escted rather quickly." I noted.


    Well, I did want to check out Beacon? What''s the worst that could happen?


    [***}


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m Wilhelm''s Zanpakuto revealed. Name and Power is shown.

 Chapter 415 - 376

    <h4>Chapter 415: Chapter 376</h4>


    Ozpin POV


    "James, I''m telling you that It''s not possible." I rubbed the bridge of my nose.


    "Just...consider it, Ozpin."


    "James, I will give it all the due consideration. But from my perspective, it''s not a valid course of action. I won''t dismiss it out of hand, but if you want to change my mind, bring me evidence to support your thoughts."


    James, why did you insist on creating Robotic Grimm? What possible advantage could that bring?


    The sound of my Elevatoring up saved me from continuing this conversation. I clicked the button on my desk to see the cameras inside.


    "Glynda ising up." I politely informed James. And it wasn''t because I wanted out of this conversation.


    "Ozpin, I ¨C " She strutted out of the Elevator, stopping to notice James''s face on therge screen. "James, I apologize for barging in."


    "It''s no problem, Glynda. We were just talking about something unimportant." He dropped the matter very quickly


    Glynda looked at me, but as soon as our eyes met she looked away.


    I resisted the urge to cover my face myself. I wasn''t aware I could feel embarrassed like this at my age. I still didn''t understand why Salem called me like she did, sparing Qrow even, but I''m sure it''s part of some deeper n.


    She never did anything without a reason.


    But that didn''t help when dealing with Glynda after everything Salem said. And I had to reveal to everyone that Salem and I had been married at one point. The awkward conversation was made even more awkward due to Qrow''s sense of humor.


    "What do you have, Glynda?" I pushed back the awkward atmosphere as it wasn''t going to change anytime soon.


    "Y-yes." She adjusted her sses. "I received a call from Miss Schnee, she requested three Guest Passes on short notice."


    I sat up straighter. "Is her familying?" This could be an important meeting if so.


    "Jacques hasn''t left As and Winter is on an assignment in Mistral." James chimed in.


    "No, it''s not for that." Glynda shook her head. "She exined that she went along with teams RSPR and team RYNB to Vale as Miss Nikos was meeting an acquaintance. There was an incident and an argument ensued between Miss Schnee and one other individual. She requested the Guest Passes so they could....settle their argument in a spar."


    "Oh." I blinked. "And what''s the problem?"


    "The friend that Miss Nikos wanted to meet was Wilhelm Schweinorg." Glynda responded.


    ".....oh."


    There was a beat of silence and James mmed his fists on the table through the screen. "This is a perfect opportunity. I can get there in an hour, if you buy time ¨C"


    "James." I interrupted. "He''s not wanted anymore in Vale. If you try to arrest him, he''s legally allowed to defend himself and we would be forced to assist him."


    "Are we going to let him just.....walk into Beacon and walk out?"


    "Of course not, James. But please, allow me to handle the situation." I tried my best to calm him down as I turned to Glynda. "Weiss appears to be a very head strong and opinionated woman. I don''t find it odd that she would argue with someone she perceives as a Criminal. I take it that she challenged him out of some sense of duty?"


    "No, he would be a spectator. There were two young women with him at the time ording to Miss Schnee. She wishes to fight one of them instead."


    "Associates that we didn''t know about?" James voiced, rubbing his chin. "Send me pictures, I''ll start trying to find their identities and backgrounds."


    I held a hand up. "First thing first, James. Glynda, is there a problem with the request?"


    "You want to bring them here?" She questioned. "Around our students?"


    "He hasn''t shown a tendency to harm civilians, or anyone really. And his list of crimes is....debatable at best. At worst, he''s a thief."


    "Ignoring him, you want to let our students just invite people to fight?"


    "Is there any established rule against it?" I countered. "And shouldn''t we reward our students for seeking us out to settle their differences in a contained and monitored environment instead of just....brawling on the streets?"


    "....I hate that I agree with you on this, Ozpin." Glynda huffed. "Fine, I''ll authorize it for them. But I want everyone on standby in case things go south."


    "I''ll call Qrow. He should be in Vale right now."


    "I guess that''s better than nothing." She finally relented. "And this woman that Miss Schnee wants to fight....we know nothing about her. Are we just going to let her fight a huntress in training?"


    "I see no problem if she is of sound mind and wishes to proceed." I leaned back in my chair. "However...it may be best to get a recording of her stating such." Thest thing we needed was awsuit on our hands.


    "Fine, Ozpin. I''ll see it done."


    Well, isn''t this a wonderful turn of events? I don''t know why Glynda is so against this, what''s the worst that could happen?


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Oh, this ce is big." I admired the view as we departed the Bullhead thatnded right outside the school.


    "It is impressive." Artoria agreed. "If I did not know this was a ce of education, I would not assume it was such."


    "Apparently, it was built using the materials from thest king of Vale''s Castle. When he stepped down from the throne, he donated everything to building Beacon, among other things." Pyrrha stated, walking beside us.


    "A generous King he must have been." Artoria said simply.


    "This is gonna be great! Any bets? Think Weisscream can win?" Yang hopped out behind us as the others followed.


    "As if I''d lose to that brat." Rin scoffed.


    "Not to sound.... demeaning. But Weiss is a Huntress in training, and she''s been taught since a young age. Are you going to be okay?" Pyrrha asked, looking at Rin.


    "Oh, ten pancakes on her winning!" Nora shouted.


    "I''ll take that bet!" Ruby shot back.


    Rin snorted in disdain. "If I lose to that brat, I''ll shave my head."


    "Will you now?" I raised an eyebrow, looking at Rin, and for a split second, I considered helping Weiss cheat for the payoff.


    "I''m watching you, Schweinorg." She narrowed her eyes at me.


    "I''m kidding." I held my hands up in surrender. "There''s your partner, red." I noticed the white-haired girl walking down the path with an older woman at her side.


    Weiss and Rin basically gave each other death res as they got close.


    "Students and.....guests." The older woman looked us over. She had blonde hair, striking green eyes only a hair''s breadth away from Artoria''s own. A very nice boob window and some very elegant legs that went on for quite awhile. "I am Glynda Goodwitch, Deputy Headmistress for Beacon Academy. The Headmaster has authorized three Guest passes that will allow you ess to the public facilities of Beacon. That does not include the student dorms unless you are rted. If I find any of you in the vicinity you will be kicked out and barred from ever returning. Along with this...unorthodox request of a sparring match, I will be acting as the judge. Are there any questions?"


    I raised my hand. "Why do you have a riding crop?"


    She pped it into her open palm. "If you break any rules, you will find out."


    Don''t threaten me with a good time.


    I would have something else to say, but Artoria was pinching my arm.


    "Be at ease, Deputy Headmistress. We will be gracious guests and adhere to your rules." Artoria answered for us.


    "Yes..." She looked a little taken off guard. Artoria can sometimes have the effect on people, doubly so if they were expecting apletely different response. "I am pleased we understand each other." She narrowed her eyes at me for a brief moment before pivoting on her heels. "Come along, the arena has been reserved for the next two hours as per Miss Schnee''s request. If you dally, you will miss your opportunity."


    She walked with a purpose, a gesture of hers opening every door that we approached. I was guessing some form of Telekinesis as a Semnce off the top of my head. It looked like she had some fine control of it because there was no errant force that swept the surroundings during the use.


    "I can show you around after." Pyrrha smiled towards me. "There''s plenty of interesting things around Beacon and I think you''d enjoy seeing them."


    "Oh, oh! Let''s go to the workshop after! I wanna show my baby off, I added that metal you gave me! It was super hard, but I finally got it to melt and I turned it into a de!" Ruby excitedly waved her arms around.


    "That was you?!" Yang looked at me in shock. "She almost took uncle Qrow''s head off with that thing."


    "Oh, the glowing metal that she cut off that big Nevermore''s head with?" Nora''s eyes sparkled. "Do you have any more!?"


    "What are they talking about, Schweinorg?" Rin asked.


    "Oh, Ruby was helpful when I had a little ident. She was talking about her weapon and how she forged it, so I thought to give her an ingot of Orichalcum as thanks." I shrugged. "I didn''t think it''d be such a big deal."


    Now that I think about it, it was a fairly decent magical amplifier, did that also hold true for Aura? Would make sense with how she was able to cut Roman''s steel cane in half if he wasn''t prepared for it because even Orichalcum can''t cut steel in half so easily without certain circumstances.


    "Where did you find that!?" Weiss swung around, staring into my eyes. "That metal is something I''ve never seen before, even with all the mines that my family owns. I tried to buy it off that dolt, but she refused and my father has been breathing down my neck to get his hands on the source after I told him about it."


    I raised an eyebrow. "And why should I tell you?"


    "Name your price." She pursed her lips. "Schnee dustpany will buy the source."


    "No thanks."


    "Excuse me?!"


    "No, I''m not selling." I reiterated. "Frankly, I''m not fond of your attitude, so why would I sell to you?"


    "W-we can buy it ¨C"


    "Let me be clear, I am very rich. Money doesn''t really hold much sway over me. Really, the only thing of value that you have is Dust, and well, I recently acquired quite a bit of that."


    Her eye twitched at the mention of her ''stolen dust''.


    But I guess there were some issues about me giving Ruby what would amount to a ''super metal'' from their perspective.


    "He might not be selling, but I am." Rin chimed in, holding up her own ingot of Orichalcum in her hand.


    "W-where did you get that!?" Weiss stuttered out.


    "That''s not important. What is important is how much are you going to pay me?" Rin replied with a very mischievous look.


    "Y-you, I....." Weiss turned a faint pink and stomped her foot, walking ahead of us.


    Oof, that was petty Rin.


    And I can''t say I wouldn''t do the same in her situation.


    "We''re here." Miss Goodwitch dered, stopping in front of a door.


    It opened up to a spacious open arena with various pieces of equipment thrown about. There were even some descending desks in the back for holding lectures with arge screen on the wall behind the arena.


    "Miss Schnee, you may fetch your weapon. And Miss...." The teacher paused, looking at Rin.


    "Rin Tohsaka."


    "Miss Tohsaka, do you have a weapon or do you require one be lent to you?"


    "It''s fine." Rin shook her head, stretching her arms. "I won''t need one."


    "....very well."


    The white-haired girl merely scoffed and exited the room, I presume to go get said weapon.


    "Uh...Wil..." Pyrrha tugged on my sleeve, a little sheepishly. "I know Weiss can be, um..."


    "Don''t worry, Rin will hold back." I reassured Pyrrha.


    "That''s not what I meant. Are you sure Rin will be alright? Weiss can be a little difficult, but she''s not bad at fighting."


    "You need not worry." Artoria replied for me. "I have overseen Rin''s training these past years myself. She wille to no harm."


    "O-okay?" Pyrrha just blinked, still looking a little unsure.


    Weiss rejoined us only a momentter, a rapier-like weapon in hand with some strange revolving cylinder not unlike a revolver''s. It looked like it was full of dust as well.


    "Where''s your weapon?" Weiss demanded, pointing at Rin who walked to one end of the arena.


    "Don''t need one."


    "How arrogant." The girl spat out. "Do you even have any proper training? Have you ever gone to a Huntsman academy or are you some kind of drop out? Not like I would expect better from some criminal associate."


    "Fighters." The teacher interrupted and the screen behind them lit up. "Your Aura has synched up with the machine that measures your percentage. You will fight until one of you gives up, is unable to continue, or Aura reaches the red. If I tell you to stop, you will stop. Are there any questions?"


    I was genuinely surprised again to remember that they had a method of measuring Aura capacity. I found out during the Tournament, but to see it again brought back those same thoughts.


    "I will begin a count down if there are no questions." The Teacher held her hand up. "Three...."


    "To answer your question." Rin took a stance. "I''m not trained to be a Huntsman."


    "Two!"


    "But I''m a first-degree ck Belt Martial Artist." The Aura around Rin shimmered.


    "One!"


    "Begin!"


    The two of them moved, but Rin was significantly faster. She wasn''t using any Magecraft, just her Aura and natural physical abilities, yet, she arrived in front of Weiss quick enough that the younger girl barely had time to summon up a snow-ke like emblem in the air in front of her.


    Rin mmed into it with her palm, shattering the construct with a burst of Aura, sending Weiss sliding across the ground from the pressure.


    Weiss ran a hand down her de as it turned white and she stabbed it into the ground, creating a cascade of sharp ice crystals that shot upward.


    Rin side stepped them with ease, dashing back and forth to avoid another burst of Dust manifested in the form of Fireballs.


    A rotation of Weiss''s weapon and another color enveloped the de, more Ice shards manifested in the air behind her and with a thrust of her weapon, they shot off at Rin.


    Rin simply gathered Aura into her hands and mmed her palms into them, destroying them without stopping.


    One or two exchanges, and it was very obvious that Weiss was not very experienced in fighting actual opponents. Her steps were awkward, and Rin took advantage of itpletely.


    Lifting her leg up as she got close, Rin gathered her Aura and mmed it onto the ground, sending out a shockwave and forced the Huntress off bnce along with the cracked ground beneath her.


    She went then low, swiping the younger girl''s legs out from under her. Following up, she grabbed the arm that held the sword and spun her body, forcing Weiss to follow along or risk breaking her arm. In the movement, she couldn''t keep a grip and her weapon flew up. Rin, with expert precision,shed out with her foot without disrupting her own moment and sent the sword flying out of the arena, impaling itself into the wall, the girl herself followed up soon after, hitting the wall rather hard and falling to the ground.


    "I admit, it''s been awhile since I''ve seen Rin fight. I hadn''t realized how well she weaved her Aura into her Martial Arts."


    "She mentioned to me when she first acquired her Aura that it felt as if it was meant to be an aspect of Martial Arts as it aligned so seamlessly." Artoria nodded, a little smile as she watched the fight. "I would even say that she has mastered the use of her Aura to a higher degree than you have."


    "I....would not dispute that." I could admit defeat in this circumstance. The way I utilized my Aura was a bit different than Rin. Hers was present in each movement in a precise and meticulous way. I generally used mine as a defense or to concentrate attacks.


    "That''s enough. I will dere Miss Tohsaka the winner." The Teacher held her hand up, stopping the match.


    The Aura meters on the back showed that Weiss was only about 75% the way down, but she was having trouble standing up.


    Aura wasn''t an invible energy even as a defensive measure. Getting mmed into the way she had been was going to hurt.


    "Holy shit." Yang blurted out. "How long was that match? She just freakin took her apart. Her aura is barely down and that''s from hitting her Dust attacks intentionally. Weisscream got creamed."


    "Is she gonna be alright?" Rufus asked.


    "Ooh, that looked like it hurt." Ruby winced. "But Weiss can handle something like that!....right?"


    "She said she was a ck belt, Yang. Her skills seem to match up with that." Ren replied.


    "What''s a ck belt, Renny?" Nora asked.


    "It''s someone who''s a master of their respective Martial Arts." He answered calmly.


    "She certainly was good." Pyrrha mumbled.


    There was a slight ppinging from the entrance to the room. A man stood in the doorway, cane in hand, sses and silver hair with a green scarf around his neck. "That was a wonderful fight. I''m saddened that you did not pursue the path of a Huntress, Miss Tohsaka. We would have happily epted you within these halls."


    "I''m going to take Miss Schnee to the infirmary, Ozpin." Miss Goodwitch informed the neer.


    "Please do, Glynda." The man nodded to her as she held the stumbling and somewhat lidless Weiss out of the room. "Ah, where are my manners? I am the Headmaster Ozpin." His gaze swept over everyone and thennded on me. "And you must be Mister Schweinorg."


    "..yes?" I tilted my head.


    "You are a difficult man to track down. If you have a moment, I would love to have a chat with you."


    [***]


    A/N


    Thought about it for a while, wondering if I should add more to the fight or not and frankly, it felt disingenuous for it to go on any longer. Rin is so far above Weiss at this point that she would just end it quickly and tidily.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 416 - 377

    <h4>Chapter 416: Chapter 377</h4>


    When walking into the school, I didn''t realize that the big clock tower on top of Beacon was actually the headmaster''s office.


    I left Artoria and Rin to be entertained by Pyrrha because this Headmaster asked me to talk. Normally, I would''ve probably ignored him or given a vague response about doing itter, but.....I was kind of in his school as a guest.


    I felt a semnce of decorum would be proper. Not like I had anything much to lose and he''d probably just wanted to ask me questions about the incident or whatever.


    Well, that and he gave me a very strange feeling.


    I couldn''t quite put my finger on it. I almost wanted to call him out for not being human ¨C or faunus in this circumstance, but that wasn''t quite it either.


    Why did he remind me of Cinder when she was unting her Magical energy?


    I couldn''t sense an iota of Magical Energy from this man, so I assumed there was another reason. I guess it''s possible he was hiding that from me, but I found that unlikely.


    And we weren''t alone.


    There was that teacher from before at his left.


    She was giving me a very stern look and I don''t think she realized it was doing the opposite of what she was trying to do.


    And on the other side was also someone somewhat familiar. "Hey Qrow, haven''t seen you in forever. How''s Tai doing?"


    The ck haired man was busy taking a drink from a small sk before he paused and capped it. "Tai? He''s doing alright."


    "Mmm, I heard that Ruby almost made you headless? Yang mentioned something about that"


    He snorted out a bark ofughter. "You met the little firecracker, eh? Yang wasn''t entirely urate on that. Tai gave her a very abridged version of events."


    "Yeah?"


    "Wrong head." He chuckled, tapping his noggin.


    I winced slightly. "I''m sorry?" I offered.


    "All''s good." He waved it off, uncapping his sk again.


    "That''s one of the reasons I wished to speak with you, Mister Schweinorg." The Headmaster spoke up, holding a mug of what smelled like hot chocte.


    "You invited me up to talk about Qrow''s dangly bits?" I blinked. "I don''t know how much help I would be there."


    "Woah, is that why I''m here? Something you wanna tell me, Oz?" Qrow joined in.


    "Qrow, stop fooling around." The Deputy Headmistress snapped back. "You know why we''re here."


    "I have a question, if you don''t mind me asking." I interjected


    "Please." Ozpin gestured for me to continue.


    "There don''t seem to be many students here? I would think you''d be training up as many hands as possible. Pyrrha told me there were tests to weed out people, I can understand those that are utterly ipetent, but you''re just taking the best? Wouldn''t you want as many experienced Huntsman as possible even if they''re not the top of the pyramid, so to speak?"


    "An unexpected question." Ozpin hummed for a moment. "To answer, well, it''d take a few hours to go into the logistics of the matter. If I had to sum it up, simply we don''t have enough resources and manpower to handle all of them."


    "Resources are actually a problem for you guys?" I was honestly surprised at that. "Aren''t you funded by the government?"


    "Yes."


    "....and?"


    "It''s the government." Qrow chimed in.


    "That.....makes an awful lot of sense actually." I kind of deted at the reason as it grated on me. How stupid and short sighted of these people. "So you just look for the cream of the crop then?"


    "We try our best to attract the greatest of each generation. Most of our studentse from Vale and the surrounding settlements, but we do get a good amount from other Kingdoms." Ozpin nodded.


    "Huh, is thepetition fierce with the other Schools?"


    "In a friendly manner. We have a very good rtionship with the other Huntsman Academies. We''re more than happy to facilitate transfers between Kingdoms if a certain school isn''t a good fit with a student. Some years we end up on the ''winning side'' so to speak with the enrollment, but I believe As generally has the crown for that."


    "You could always just advertise Miss Goodwitch here. Throw her on a poster and distribute them and give her the title of ''Disciplinary Head'' or something else." I offered my own two cents.


    "That''s a good idea." Qrow''s eyes widened. "Oz, write this down."


    Ozpin coughed into his fist. "As beneficial as it may be to have an influx of what would predominantly be a male poption for beacon initiates, I don''t think it would be appropriate to unt Glynda in such a way."


    "Glynda''s a prude anyways. You should see how she used to get when she saw kids just kissing in the hallways." Qrow grunted.


    "That''s because this is a school, not a ce to ''hook up''." Glynda pushed up her sses with a huff. "Besides I am more than aware of the image I project, and I assure you, it is intentional." She gripped her riding crop, staring at Qrow.


    "Damn, no wonder Jimmy keeps trying to run back to you like a lost puppy ever since you broke up. What did you do to him?"


    "That is none of your business." She said evenly.


    "Excuse me." I raised my hand, grabbing their attention. "I would like to take you up on your earlier offer. I would very much like to find out why you use a riding crop."


    "Ahem." Ozpin cleared his throat again. "I believe we''ve gotten a bit off topic. Tell me, Mr. Schweinorg, what''s your favorite fairy tale?"


    "My favorite Fairy Tale?" That was an odd question, but I would oblige. "Probably Puss in Boots."


    "....Puss in Boots?" Ozpin repeated, looking confused. "I''m sorry, I don''t believe I''ve heard that one."


    "Oh, it''s about a Cat."


    "....in boots?"


    "Yup."


    "...and?"


    "That''s pretty much it. He has a sword and cool hat too." Wait, was that the actual fairy tail or just something Disney made up? I''m fairly sure all their works were giarized from old stories, so I was just assuming.


    "Interesting, I was not aware there were still Fairy Tales I haven''t heard about." Ozpin shifted topics. "Have you heard the tale of the Four Maidens?"


    "That depends on if we''re talking about the same thing."


    "Are there other variations?" He asked, looking rather intrigued. "Tell me what you know, if you would be so inclined."


    "Something about a wizard, and him giving his ''magic power'' to four ''maidens''." I vaguely recalled the specifics from the random book I read when firsting to this world.


    "Yes, that''s the gist of it." Ozpin nodded. "And what do you think about the story?"


    "Honestly? Sounds pretty sketchy. Most Fairy Tales are derived from darker stories that were meant to teach harsh lessons or something along those lines. I wouldn''t be surprised if it changed over the years and the wizard''s ''Magic power'' wasn''t so wholesome, if you get what I mean. Especially since the story seems to specify ''maidens'' which opens up lots of connotations."


    From some reason Qrow beganughing.


    Ozpin twitched slightly. "You believe....that the wizard from the story used dubious means to....facilitate ''rtions''?"


    I shrugged.


    "You gotta admit, Oz, it sounds pretty sketchy like he said." Qrow pointed out, wiping a tear from his eye.


    "Quite." He said dryly.


    "Any reason we''re having a debate about the intricacies of a tale that''s probably centuries old?" I decided to cut to the chase as this bush beating was getting annoying.


    He set his mug down, looking right at me. "Mister Schweinorg, I bring it up because it''s not simply a tale, as you probably are aware."


    "No, this is the first time someone''s ever brought up the subject to me." I deadpanned.


    "Let me rify. I am aware you possess Magic, Mister Schweinorg." He said bluntly.


    "Oh, and what makes you think that?" I leaned back, crossing my legs in the chair opposite of him.


    "Come now, you don''t need to hide it, you''re among friends." He replied with a friendly smile. "But if you wish to know how we found out, it''s not difficult after your recent escapades. I know it may be hard to trust ¨C"


    "Yeah, you''re right."


    " ¨C us." He finished,ing to an abrupt stop. "Pardon?"


    "I said yeah, you''re right. I do have Magic, what about it?"


    "....I admit I did not expect you to be so forward. I had anticipated a long drawn out discussion where I convince you that we mean no harm."


    "That wouldn''t be necessary."


    "Oh, you trust us so quickly?" Ozpin looked surprised.


    "No, I''m saying you wouldn''t have to convince me that you mean no harm. The premise is wed as in you would have to be able to harm me." I rified. "But please, continue."


    They all shared silent looks, but Ozpin didn''t outwardly react too much as he continued. "Magic has all but gone extinct over the years. There are very few left with the capabilities, I''m afraid. The reason I brought up the story is because I am the Wizard from the tale."


    "Okay."


    "....as I was saying. I''m the Wizard from the tale. For certain reasons, I am cursed, forck of a better term. Returning to life every time I die, that is why I''m appearing before you now after many years."


    "Neat."


    "Yes, quite." He furrowed his brow. "Now, besides me, there is only one other True Magic User left in the world."


    Was he talking about Salem?


    Wait, he said his name was Ozpin? Didn''t Salem mention her EX was named Ozma?


    .....Definitely not a coincidence.


    Am...I talking to Salem''s Ex right now?


    ....Awkward.


    "And this ties into the story how, exactly?" I shifted in my seat.


    "I passed on a significant portion of my powers to four young women I met in one of my earlier lives. The Four Maidens each wielded powerful Magic and I had hoped they would help against the tide of Grimm. I had thought that the Magic would return to me after their deaths and I would consider the process again after seeing the benefits. However ¨C "


    "Your Magic was intertwined with your Curse." I finished for him.


    "Yes?" He blinked. "How did you know?"


    "Are you an idiot?"


    "Pardon?" He furrowed his brow again.


    "Where do you think someone''s Magices from? It''s the soul, any two bit magic user could tell you that. And if you were cursed to continuously revive or reincarnate, or whatever bullshit, then obviously it''s also tied to your Soul. Did you really not check to see if there would be side effects?" I couldn''t help but rub the bridge of my nose.


    "You are.....very knowledgeable it seems." Ozpin said quietly.


    "Are there four zombie ''Maiden''s wielding magic running around that I should be worried about?" I let out a sigh.


    "Not so, thankfully. It seems that the Magic that I passed on would reappear in another host based on certain criteria." He exined.


    "You got very lucky. It could have easily ended in disaster, like if the girls got contaminated by the curse and began reviving, and the Magic passed on to a new host who also got cursed in return, repeating the process."


    "Believe me, Mister Schweinorg, I''ve had a very long time to contemte my many mistakes. I have not repeated such an action." Ozpin''s voice lowered as he stared into his mug. "But my mistakes are not the topic of discussion. Magic has disappeared from Remnant except for myself and the other person who wields it. Due to my actions, there will always be four Maidens possessing Magic of terrifying power."


    "Would you please get to the point? You''ve been trying to weave a tale since I''ve been here." I was really beginning to get exhausted.


    "The powers of a Maiden can only be passed to a woman, Mister Schweinorg." He stated, looking right at me. "I do not want to presume or bring up awful memories. And I understand that gender is a delicate subject to those in your situation..."


    "....what are you getting that?" I looked at him in confusion.


    "I understand that medical science has advanced very far in recent years." He continued on.


    "Are you..."


    "And I am trying to be as polite as possible. I hope you aren''t insulted by my bluntness."


    "Wait, wait, wait." I held up my hand to stop him. "Are you....are you implying that I''m a woman? Or rather, that I used to be one?"


    "....it is a theory that admittedly has certain credence due to the evidence. I confess that I don''t entirely believe it, but the fact that Magic simply won''t exist outside of these constraints is...well, telling."


    "What about the other person with Magic? What if they did the same thing you did?" I questioned. I was curious what he had to say about Salem.


    For the first time, his face turned into a frown. "The only other Magic User in the world is a woman by the name of Salem. A terrifying and vile woman whose only goal is the utter destruction of every living person on the."


    "How can you be so sure?" I questioned.


    "She controls the Grimm." He added.


    "Then why hasn''t she won?" I asked. I was actually curious about it from their perspective.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean....why hasn''t she wiped everyone out yet? There are plenty of big nasty Grimm in the world to overrun every Kingdom simultaneously, so why hasn''t she?"


    "I...can''t im to understand how her mind works. Perhaps she finds it amusing to watch us suffer, or perhaps she is wary that I have hidden cards of my own to stop her."


    Right.....


    "Then back to why you think I''m a woman." I shifted the conversation back. "I am not, nor have I ever been a woman."


    Oh god....Rin can never find out.


    Shit, Jinn probably already knows.


    "Mister Schweinorg, I can promise you that we don''t have an ill will towards you and we certainly don''t have any negative feelings towards your preferred gender." Miss Goodwitch stepped up.


    "I will pull my pants down to prove it." I looked her dead in the eye. "In fact, you can call up my Girlfriend to ask her. She can verify that I have all the working parts down here." With how much I filled her stomach, that shouldn''t be difficult to dispute.


    There was a beat of silence as if they were expecting me to relent and admit to the assumption on their end.


    They all shared a look again. "It was a stupid idea anyways, Oz." Qrow chimed in. "A long shot at best."


    "You were the one who put forth the idea, Qrow." Glynda huffed.


    "Yeah, to mess with Jimmy. I didn''t think he''d take it seriously." He shrugged, taking a swig of his sk, while eyeing me. "For the record, I said it as a joke."


    "Noted. And who''s ''Jimmy''?" I asked.


    "James Ironwood, Asian General and head of As Academy." Ozpin replied.


    "And he seriously believed that?"


    "He started investigating all the doctors or physicians who could pull it off or whatever. Spent a ton of money and manpower looking into it." Qrow chuckled.


    "Wait, isn''t that the guy who wants my head over in As? I think I remember seeing some press release with him calling for my arrest after I became innocent in Vale."


    "Yup, that''s ol Jimmy." Qrow nodded.


    "You''re forgiven."


    Respect for the trolling.


    "Mister Schweinorg." Ozpin interjected. "You im you aren''t a Maiden, but if that''s the case, how do you possess Magic?" He looked at me.


    "Maybe it''s because I ate a lot of crayons when I was a kid. Another kid told me that I would get super powers if I ate an entire box. I ate two."


    [That makes so much sense that I don''t think I''ll ever question why you do anything anymore.]


    Ozpin let out a tired sight, but Qrow perked up. "Oz, Oz, maybe the kid is on to something. You said that Ruby has Magic eyes, and she also ate crayons as a kid."


    "Qrow....you just revealed Ruby''s eyes to a stranger." Glynda rubbed her temples.


    "...woops."


    "Oh, I already noticed that she had some kind of Mystic Eyes." I replied.


    I didn''t really care much, didn''t seem like my ce to bring it up previously.


    "...Mystic Eyes?'' Ozpin blinked. "I''ve never heard the term."


    "It''s a catch all term for special Eyes that can interfere with the outer world through sight alone." I hummed.


    Ozpin''s eyes narrowed. "You seem much more knowledgeable about Magical Means than I anticipated. Mister Schweinorg, who are you, exactly? You im to not be a maiden, when all avable evidence contradicts that, especially since you possess one of the Relics that only a Maiden''s Magic can ess."


    "Relic?" I looked at him.


    I of course knew what It was, but I was feigning ignorance.


    "Items of significant power. There are four of them, and you are in possession of one of them from what I saw after you defeated that Sea Feilong." He turned around, clicking a few buttons on his tablet-like device and then an image appeared showing me wielding my sword. "The Sword of Destruction. If you are not a Maiden, how could you possibly have attained it as well as Magic?"


    "Oh that? It''s a family Heirloom." I hummed in response.


    "A family Heirloom?" He raised a questioning eyebrow. "I sealed that sword away myself. I locked it behind a Magic Vault that required the Magic of a specific Maiden to unseal."


    "How long ago did you check on it?" I asked.


    "....centuries?" He frowned. "Many years ago."


    "Then how do you know that one of your Maidens didn''t go down into the cavern, go into the pocket dimension and take it out from under Shade Academy?"


    "That is a fair point." He acknowledged. "But how do you know about the particrs of its resting ce, Mister Schweinorg?"


    "Oh, that''s because I took it." I replied honestly. "I just didn''t like that you were assuming."


    ".....so much for being a Heirloom." Qrow snorted.


    "I never said it''s been in my family for long. I''ll probably pass it down to my own children, so I wasn''t lying." I countered.


    "You''re being intentionally difficult, Mister Schweinorg" Ozpin said tly. "And you''ve not yet answered my question.


    I just realized why I couldn''t sense any Magical Energy from him. And I also realized how Cinder now had Magic of her own, but that was a whole separate issue. He said he gave it away through some means, and if the quantity of Cinder''s power was anything to go by, I''m guessing he didn''t have much left. It''s not that he has none, it''s that the current amount he has is so pitiful that I can''t sense it from this distance. Perhaps if I had actual skin contact I could look into it, but from the outside like this, he appeared wholly mundane. Abination with enough experience to keep it contained, and here we are.


    Funny.


    But I was annoyed by the things he said about Salem and the fact that he intentionally hid several pieces of very important information from me in his exnations. Not to mention his attitude slightly grated on me as if he was owed answers from me, expected them, even.


    I was only here out of politeness and most likely would ignore him in the future.


    "My Magic? I learned it from my Grandpa who works at the Mage''s Association." I said simply as if it wasn''t a big deal.


    He set his mug down, eyes widening. "....what?"


    [***]


    Rin Tohsaka POV


    "Have youe here to gloat?"


    I stepped into the infirmary area with the only patient lying on a bed.


    "I came to finish the job." I deadpanned.


    She rolled her eyes, but didn''t say anything else.


    "Just say what you want and get it over with. Or will you demand an apology from me?" She said almost lifelessly.


    "God, you''re such a bitch."


    "Excuse me!?" She sat up, scowling.


    "Oh boohoo, you lost a fight. How old are you, Seventeen?" I looked her up and down.


    "I''m almost Eighteen." She scoffed.


    "Good for you, I''m almost twenty. That means I got two years on you, brat. Stop acting like the world ising to the end because someone more experienced gave you a beat down."


    "I''m not supposed to lose!" She huffed. "I''m Weiss Schnee, I''ve trained since I was a child in swordsmanship and my Semnce for years. But you.....you defeated me so easily! In front of my partner and the others! How am I supposed to show my face after that?"


    ....felt a little bad after hearing her rant like that.


    "Your first attack wasn''t bad. Filling the area with those Ice Spikes? It forced me to react while also blocking my vision of you. But you just sat there and watched."


    "...what?" She looked at me confused.


    "Then you panicked when it did nothing, and you couldn''t properly react when I got close. Then it was just a matter of keeping you off guard. You probably don''t have much experience fighting other people, maybe a little bit fighting against Grimm because they''re mostly mindless beasts, but that''s about it. Your movements were stiff the entire time, you need to work on your physical fitness some more."


    "What are you doing?" She narrowed her eyes.


    I sat down on her bed. "Telling you what you did wrong, idiot." I looked at her like she was stupid. "I only needed to see your use of dust one or two times to predict how you''d use it. It''s too straight forward."


    "And who are you to tell me what I''m doing wrong!?" She immediately got defensive.


    "Someone who kicked your ass without even trying. Or do you want a repeat?" I rolled my eyes at her antics. "And that''s what I''m talking about, the bitchiness."


    "H-how dare you." She balled her fists.


    "But, I should apologize."


    "As you should!"


    "Not for calling you a bitch though, I''m sticking by that. I shouldn''t have egged you on like that. I was meant just to tag along with Schweinorg and meet a friend of his. He didn''t say anything, but I''m pretty sure he didn''t like how things turned out." And Saber gave me that ''I won''t say anything, but I wish you handled this better'' look. "So, I''m sorry for intentionally starting things with you. Honestly, I think you just reminded me of another bitch I hate, so I kind of took my annoyance out on you."


    "That is the worst apology I''ve ever received." The girl huffed, but the tension in her shoulders lessened. "I...suppose I am not without me in this matter. I apologize for being so confrontational. I stand by my statement about consorting with criminals, but...I made assumptions without evidence towards you that were not verified."


    "Right, that''s probably a worse apology than mine."


    "It''s the only one you are receiving and you should be lucky to even hear it." She harrumphed. "And who is this person I remind you of? I have several names in my head, but I am displeased if I am to bepared to them."


    "Oh, her name is Luvia, old money kind of family. Thinks she better than anyone who can''t trace their family back over a thousand years. And sheughs like this ¨C " I cleared my throat. "Hohohohoho." I even mimicked her gestures.


    Weiss''s lips curled up and she barely held back augh by covering her face.


    Huh...she''s kind of cute when she smiles.


    "Anyways, just wanted to apologize, make things less awkward. Schweinorg cares about his friends a lot, I don''t think he''d want a rift formed between you and your partner because of what happened."


    "I don''t think he has to worry about that. For a rift to form, it would require that we have a semnce of a rtionship to shatter." The girl muttered.


    And I sensed something was wrong. "Alright snowke, what''s the matter?"


    "Why does everyone insist on giving me snow or ice rted nicknames?!" The girl huffed in annoyance.


    "If the shoe fits." I shrugged. "But what''s wrong?"


    "Why do you care?" She red.


    "Can''t say I do, but I''m trying to be nice. And think about it this way, I don''t care, so what do you have to lose by telling me?"


    She was quiet for a second before opening her mouth again. "Pyrrha Nikos is barely willing to spend a second of her time on me. I''ve tried everything!"


    "Ah, Schweinorg told me about her, let me take a couple guesses. Did you fawn all over her, try to build her up based on her poprity or something? He said she hates being put on a pedestal. Apparently, she didn''t have any friends before Schweinorg because they all cared about her poprity."


    "....are you sure?" She looked skeptical.


    "If I''m wrong, what harm could it do? Stop treating her like her public persona. Don''t fawn over her fame or image or whatever. And maybe, drop the whole ''Schnee'' thing. Most of the kids here probably don''t give a crap about your family other than you''re exorbitantly rich."


    I did look up her name a little while ago. Filthy rich probably wasn''t a good enough term to exin how much money they actually have. I guess it''s not weird that she has such a snooty personality if that''s the kind of family she''s had.


    "....thank you." She whispered.


    "What?"


    "I said thank you." She replied, this time with a scowl.


    "One more time?"


    Seeing her getting annoyed again was fun. "Alright, I''m just kidding. You''re mostly good now, right? How about we walk back together, it should make things less awkward. I told the others that I was using the restroom, I don''t want them to think anything weird if I wait any longer."


    "Very well." She relented, getting up from the bed.


    "One quick question."


    "What?" She responded.


    "Why did you wear a dress during our fight?"


    "What do you mean? It''s mybat gear."


    ".....okay then." I was honestly confused on how to respond to that. There were so many things wrong with what she was wearing when fighting, I didn''t even know how to begin. "I thought you were trying to distract me."


    And it''s not like Saber with her ''battle dress'' that goes down to her ankles. Like, I can nearly see her ass in what she''s wearing.


    "Distract you? How would I possibly be distracting you?"


    "It''s a valid strategy to seduce your opponent." I''ve seen Schweinorg do it enough times to acknowledge that much.


    "S-seduce!?" She squeaked, turning a bright red. "I''m not some ¨C some harlot that would lift up their skirt to earn an advantage!"


    Should I tell her that she didn''t need to lift it up with how much her legs were showing?


    I think Schweinorg was rubbing off on me too much, because I think I was enjoying the view way more than I should be.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    The thing is, I don''t hate Ozpin. I genuinely think he''s trying his best but has made mistakes along the way. He''s a sympathetic character, that is fighting a losing battle and watching the world burn down piece by piece and keeps trying. Wilhelm on hte other hand, doesn''t know all the details. All he sees is Ozpin ¨C Salem''s Ex who she doesn''t have anything good to say about ¨C trying to lure him in with half truths and very important pieces of information left out. So, Wilhelm seeing that Ozpin is trying to manipte him, which isn''t malicious in nature, sort of returns the favor by being vague.

 Chapter 417 - 378

    <h4>Chapter 417: Chapter 378</h4>


    Ozpin was silent.


    There was a look on his face, like his understanding of the world had suddenly changed and he didn''t know what to say about what he''d been told.


    [Gee, I wonder why.] Ddraig snarked in the back of my head. [Telling a guy who thought there were only a handful of people capable of magic that suddenly there was this whole ''Mage Association'' out there with no further exnation. I''m sure he''s taking the news swimmingly.]


    When you say it like that, it did make me feel a little bad.


    I can be petty sometimes, but it''s usually to people who I feel earned that kind of response. I supposed I had a small amount of respect for Ozpin, he did care about the world and was trying to fight the perceived evil in his eyes.


    Failings aside, he obviously had good intentions. Objectively, even if I cared about Salem, she was not on the side of good in this chess game. I was trying hard to change that, but that didn''t wipe away the past.


    I guessed I could throw him a bone.


    "Look, I''ll be candid." I broke the silence, the stupor of the man snapping back to reality as his gaze intensified. "I know about the Brother Gods. I know about Salem. I know about the Relics. And I know about you, Ozma."


    Again, there was a brief widening of his eyes in realization. It looked like he was about to sputter out some quick response, but I held my hand up to stop him.


    "I don''t like people trying to manipte me." I looked him dead in the eyes. "It''s one of the few ways that someone can really piss me off. I would rather someone tell me to my face that they want to use me for some reason, and I would be extraordinarily more receptive to whatever they want to ask." I let out a tired sigh at the quiet room. "The whole ''mysterious and vague'' act while you tried to entice and lead me to believe certain things while withholding vital information is not something I appreciate."


    Which was pretty much why I did it right back and wasn''t going to borate on the whole ''Mage''s Association'' thing I blurted out.


    I''m not getting upset that he withheld secrets, I do that all the time. I''m annoyed because he did it while obviously trying to pull me to his side without everything that would entail. He never once mentioned that he was cursed by his ''Gods'' or that the Relics were their creations. Hell, the Gods were never mentioned even in passing.


    I would have epted it if he inly said that the origin was not something he would divulge until he trusted me or some other nonsense. Instead, he just came off as maniptive, and that really got under my skin more than anything. If I was some kid that somehow managed to get my hands on Magic, I would have eaten that bullshit up, only to find out that things were significantly different than what he had originally implied.


    ''Oh by the way, Gods are real and they''re the source of all our suffering. Oh, and the woman who I propped up as our mortal enemy is in fact immortal and we have no idea how to kill her, and she can kill us at her whim. Which is also the fault of the Gods.''


    Maybe I was being childish, but when I was already predisposed to not like him due to being close to Salem, his spiel just grated even more than it probably should have. However, I can freely admit that outright revealing certain things could also potentially backfire.


    I don''t know, maybe I''m just looking for a reason to dislike him due to Salem? It just came off as extremely disingenuous when I knew the particrs while he was trying to weave a story to entice me.


    "Now." I pped my hands to grab their attention once more from whatever thoughts they were having. "I''m not saying I''m your enemy, but at this particr moment in time I''m not pleased with you, so I believe this is where I will end this discussion. That being said, I do agree with your overall actions and do respect the fact that you''re trying to make Remnant a better ce." I got up from my seat, their wary eyes watching me.


    "Mister Schweinorg ¨C" I held my hand up, about to open a portal, but paused once Ozpin opened his mouth. "It appears we''ve gotten off on the wrong foot. I have very many things I wish to ask you, but it seems I won''t be getting any answers in the foreseeable future and I''m not blind enough to know that pushing is not going to end in my favor."


    Right, that was another thing I got annoyed at, his sort of assumption that he was privy to any answers I had for him.


    Well, color me surprised, he was sounding genuine so my opinion on him was slightly better.


    "I do, however, have just one question that is just a curiosity of mine. I don''t believe it would be remiss of you to answer even after what you said."


    Well, he was being polite. "Ask." I said dismissively.


    "I was not aware of any records of my original name still existing. Would it be too much for you to tell me the context?" He sounded almost nostalgic.


    Did he think there were books or stuff about him that he didn''t know about?


    "Oh that...." I coughed, clearing my throat. "I only learned it because I''m dating your Ex-Wife."


    I didn''t borate, and quickly walked through one of my portals.


    [***]


    Raikou POV


    "You have a wonderful home"


    "Oh thank you. I can''t take credit though, it was Zeo''s parents and he inherited it when they retired." Venna led us through the front door.


    "Oh, these Magic Defenses are interesting too." Jinn curiously looked at everything just as I was. "Some of them look really old."


    "We''ve added some over the years, but the original ones are thousands of years old." She replied.


    "Are all Devil homes so...."


    "Ostentatious?" Venna finished for me with a chuckle.


    "I didn''t mean to offend." I quickly apologized.


    "Oh no, it''s not a problem. They''re intentionally built this way. Devils are a vain people; they need to show off their wealth."


    "I like it!" Jinn happily replied.


    "Thank you~" Venna giggled, leading us past the threshold.


    "Lady Gremory, you''ve returned." An older man greeted us with a polite bow. Slicked back white hair and a well-kept beard with a few visible scars, but he carried an elegant aura to him.


    "Good afternoon, Ernaal." Venna smiled brightly upon seeing him. "I brought guests with me. Can you please prepare some snacks? We''re going to be in my room."


    "As youmand, Lady Gremory." He bowed, pivoting and heading deep into the building away from our eyes.


    "He is strong." Imented.


    "As he should be. He was the butler of Zeo''s father and helped raise him. If Zeo''s parents were still around, he would most likely have taken the Queen Piece of the peerage." Venna exined.


    "Are all your servants that strong?" Jinn asked.


    "If only for the fact that we only have a handful of servants." She hummed. "When Rias was still crawling around, we had an incident where some of the Old Satan faction snuck into our home under the guise of Servants. Since then we''ve....downsized."


    "I can understand, it''s hard to trust after such a thing." I nodded in understanding. "I don''t know how I would react if I found out that enemies snuck in around my child."


    No, that''s not quite urate. I''m sure it would involve my sword and plenty of blood, preferably theirs.


    "It''s not all bad, I suppose. After the incident, our little family became much more tight knit. Rias still calls him Grandpa Ernaal, much to his chagrin. He always tries to chastise her about ''proper decorum'' and how a Gremory should treat a servant below her station, but he fizzles out almost immediately once she begins pouting. She learned how to wrap him around her little finger at a very young age."


    "It sounds like you have a very pleasant family." Despite my reservations, it was heartwarming to hear how close they are to each other.


    "That''s....very kind of you to say." Her expression softened as she took thepliment. "Follow me, and I''ll ¨C"


    "Vene, is that you?" Someone called out from another room.


    "Zeo, we''re in the living room." Venna called back.


    "Oh?" A red-haired man walked into the room. "And who are these lovelydies?"


    She was right, he certainly does look like an older Master. His features differed slightly, perhaps due to Master''s human side, but the resemnce is unmistakable.


    "Reel it in, Casanova." Venna chuckled. "These are Jinn and Raikou, two of Wilhelm''s Harem."


    "It''s nice to meet you, Lord Gremory." Jinn was the first to speak up.


    "Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Gremory." It was ideal to keep a respectful distance for now. Despite Venna being among us, Master didn''t have good feelings towards this family and we did not wish to step too far in that direction.


    "I can certainly see why my grandson has been taken by you two." He looked us over, but there was ack of lustfulness in his eyes that I would expect when finding another man''s eyes roaming my body. Or at the very least, he did not show it on the surface. "Please take care of Vene for me. She''s a good woman and deserves all the happiness she can get."


    I was surprised by his words.


    Venna had been upfront about her marriage situation, that they were separated and merely married on ''paper'' for now, but I was skeptical to the slightest degree. But there was no ill will in his tone, nor any kind of anger or frustration.


    His words feltpletely genuine.


    "Everyone loves her." Jinn smiled happily. "You don''t need to worry."


    "That makes me feel at ease." Venna''s former husband smiled back warmly. "I won''t keep youdies too long, this probably already feels awkward due to the whole situation with my grandson. But please pass on my words that he''s wee toe visit whenever he wishes."


    He nodded to us once and left the room, disappearing to who knew where.


    "Come, I''ll show you my private room." Venna gestured for us to follow. We moved through a hallway, and down a couple corridors before she opened a door and had us follow her inside. "Wee to my bar." She waved her arm, revealing a fully built bar along with all manner of drinks and an apanying counter with stools. "Please take a seat, I''ll whip something up."


    "Oooh, this is cool!" Jinn squealed, hopping onto a seat quickly.


    "This is an impressive room." I agreed with her.


    "I had it built once I got my mixology degree in the human world. One of my favorite hobbies is creating drinks and brewing all sorts of tasty concoctions."


    "That sounds like fun, what''s your favorite?" Jinn asked.


    "I made an alcoholic apple cider a few years back using a rare type of Magical Apple, but I haven''t been able to get my hands on any since." She hummed. "It was probably my best so far, which is why it went so fast."


    "Master also has a Peach given to him by Sun Wukong. He expressed a desire to turn it into wine, has he not approached you?" I asked as well.


    "A peach?" Venna blinked. "As in a Peach of Immortality?"


    "It is a lesser one, but that is corrected." I nodded.


    "He hasn''t."


    "Ugh, he''s probably being silly again." Jinn huffed. "He probably feels like he''d be taking advantage of you if he asked something like that this early. Or he just hasn''t thought of it with everything else going on, with him it could be either."


    Venna giggled, covering her mouth. "He''s such a sweetheart. But I would happily make him something out of that. I''d be more than happy, actually, I''d be thrilled to use such a valuable ingredient."


    We silently watched as she moved around her space, taking things out andbining certain things together before pouring us equal sses.


    "It''s yummy!" Jinn''s eyes lit up.


    "I''m d you like it." Venna smiled at her..


    I looked down at my own, a simr shade of orange liquid sat in my ss. I took a sip myself, admiring the taste. "It is quite good, thank you. I''m not used to the vorpared to Sake, but I enjoy it."


    "There''s an idea. I don''t think I''ve made Sake yet. I remember Okita dropping a couple hints some years ago, but I hadpletely forgotten." She said absentmindedly. "I''ve been meaning to ask ¨C "


    All of us simultaneously received a message on the devices that Master gave us to keep in contact. As if an unspoken agreement we all took them out to take a look.


    We had a ''secret group chat'' as Jinn called it.


    Surprisingly it was Sc¨¢thach who sent a message to everyone. She rarely used the device to send anything back and forth, however in this case, there was a single picture provided with little exnation.


    It was Master, but he looked different. He had horns curling backwards on his forehead. He had a tail poking out behind him, and other features that stood out, like his hands being more dangerous ws and a look in his eyes that appeared aggressive at first nce.


    "Is that normal for Devils?" Jinn asked. "Can you do that too, Venna?"


    "I do not know why Master looks like this. He shouldn''t be able to be like that?" I tilted my head in confusion.


    "Oh my." Venna stared at the picture, a noticeable red appearing on her cheeks.


    "Are you blushing?" Jinn cooed.


    "I don''t...." She bit her lip. "I don''t know what came over me." She said quietly. "Just seeing him like that made me a little warm all over."


    "Are you okay?" Jinn asked, slightly concerned.


    "....I may need to change my panties."


    Oh my.


    "Master will be in for a treat when you see him next." I giggled.


    "I apologize, I don''t know what''s gotten into me." The Mature Devil quickly regained herposure. "And I don''t know why he looks like that either...." She continued to stare at her device. "....but I like it." She added on with a whisper and a faint flush still.


    "I called dibs first when he got back, but seeing you get all hot and bothered, I think I can go second." Jinnughed.


    Venna looked up, a seductive smile appearing on her face. "Or we can go together~"


    "You two are so open about it." I covered my face to hide my own embarrassment.


    "Ara ara, let''s make it us three instead." Venna giggled.


    "Kyah~" Jinn made a cute noise that further made me hide behind my hands.


    "But why does he look like that?" Venna continued to stare at the picture. "It reminds me of the old Satans and even Mother Lilith?"


    "Send Sc¨¢thach a message! She can''t just give everyone a picture like that and give no exnation!" Jinn demanded.


    I watched with a smile as Jinn ushered Venna to respond. I''m d that Venna invited us to her home to spend time together, she was a nice woman whom I can foresee a long friendship with.


    Ever since Master summoned me, I''ve had nothing but happy days fill my life.


    I hope that this continued forever.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "I''m sorry, this wasn''t how I wanted things to go." Pyrrha whispered as we stood on the rooftop of her school.


    "Pyrrha, seriously, it''s fine."


    "No, you came here and I wasted your time because ¨C"


    I yanked on her ponytail, making her yelp. "Next is a spanking."


    "Y-you bully." She puffed up.


    "Stop apologizing. You''re acting like it''s the end of the world, if anything your Headmaster should apologize for wasting so much of my time when I came to see you." I stepped up on the ledge to overlook the school campus.


    It really was a marvelous sight. Their school was well designed and had a beauty to it.


    "But your friend and girlfriend, they ¨C"


    "They were just hanging out, don''t worry about it. They only came because they were curious about you because you''re my friend. They''re on a sort of vacation, so It''s all good." I reassured her again.


    I was annoyed that it was long enough that Artoria and Rin went back, but it''s not like I wanted them to feel neglected and forced to socialize with people they didn''t know.


    He hadn''te to try to find me, which was good after I left the meeting. He should be more than aware that I wouldn''t be receptive after the approach he initially took.


    "I still feel bad." She looked down.


    "Then make it up to me the next time Ie." I said Gently pulling on her pony tail again. "And stop worrying!"


    "Fine!" She huffed.


    "I''m d you got some good teammates and friends now." I changed the subject, otherwise she would probably start apologizing again.


    "....even Weiss?" She hesitantly asked.


    "She needs to lighten up, but I can understand her point of view. I am kind of infamous at this point." I pointed out.


    "She was very rude to you, yet you''re defending her."


    "Wow, is this what it''s like to be a grown up?" I suddenly realized. "Yeah, I guess I am defending her. Maybe give her some time to grind out those rough edges? You never know what kind of baggage some people have."


    Pyrrha let out a drawn out sigh. "She wasn''t...well, she was less angry when she came back with that friend of yours. I think they had a talk or something because Weiss was much more rxed. Or it might have been because you weren''t around."


    "Maybe getting her ass kicked did her good?"


    "Oh brothers! I can''t believe how easily Weiss got beaten. She''s pretty strong for our age group, you know? If she fought in the same tournament she would probably make it to the semifinals at least. And your friend just.....Weiss was barely able to use her Semnce once or twice."


    "Rin has a lot more experience in real fights."


    "And you''re stronger than her....?"


    "Yeah." I didn''t hide it.


    "What about your Girlfriend? She never said anything, but she made a fewments about the fight. Is she just as strong as Rin is or you?"


    "That''s a difficult question to answer. In pure skill and no powers/semnce, Artoria would beat me. If we were to spar seriously, I would win. If we were fighting to the death, it''s possible for her to kill me, but I would most likely win there too."


    I had no confidence in taking an Excalibur to the face.


    The only reason I did so previously was because I had Avalon with me. And in that case, Artoria would be the one with the absolute defense and the magical nuke on a stick.


    I felt my scroll buzz with a message.


    ''Salem: I am ready to speak. Return when possible''.


    "Something wrong?" Pyrrha asked.


    I must have been making a face. "Nope, just something I''m both dreading and looking forward to."


    Anxiety, my old friend.


    "Does that mean you''re leaving?" She sounded sad.


    "I think the pass I was given is going to run its course here soon. And as much as I''d like to be on the receiving end of a certain teacher''s riding crop, it''s probably best I head out here in a minute."


    And it would be awkward after everything that happened. And I don''t want a second round of interrogation so soon.


    "Oh..."


    "Hey, none of that, hugs." I held my arms open, pulling her into a quick hug. "By the way, how about you take me to meet your mom next time."


    "Absolutely not!" She immediately denied.


    "Rude." I flicked her nose after separating. "I would behave."


    "You would flirt with my mom, I know it."


    "Yeah, you''re probably right. If she''s a mature version of you, I don''t think I could hold myself back."


    "D-don''t say it like that!" She stomped, looking away. "Jeez, you always do this!"


    "Compliment you?"


    "You give the most embarrassingpliments!''


    "Because it''s fun the way you react." I smiled.


    "You''re horrible." She crossed her arms with a pout. "You promise you''lle visit? The Vytal festival is being hosted by Vale and Beacon this year. You have to at least be here for that."


    "I promise I''ll keep stopping by."


    "Thank you, Wilhelm." She smiled warmly in return.


    "But seriously, your mom ¨C"


    She made a strange noise and started hitting my shoulder.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: A Pro Gamer Move


    Michael, The Archangel POV


    "Father, you called us?" Every Angel was present upon Father''s request. Rare of it that he was to call every single one of us away from our duties.


    "Yes, Michael." Father''s voice boomed around us, yet still remained the gentle and soothing sound that we all adored. "My children, I bring sad tidings. As you all know ¨C "


    Crunch.


    "We ¨C "


    Crunch.


    "....."


    Crunch crunch.


    Everyone looked confused, and I followed father''s gaze,nding on a face...I did not recognize. I did not recognize a twelve winged Angel standing in the back, and I know that Father did not create any new Angels recently!


    And that Red Hair was notmon amongst our numbers, I would certainly remember one such as him with that powerful Holy Energy swirling around!


    Wait....is that Father''s spear on his back?


    ....is he even an Angel?


    And what was that in his hands? Some kind of strange bag-like container and he was taking out some manner of foodstuffs that made a loud noise as he chewed on it.


    "I ¨C "


    Crunch.


    "Must you do that now?" Father looked at the stranger in....exasperation. Father wasn''t raising the rms so he must know who this person is. "Why are you even here?"


    "You''re omnipotent, you tell me, Gramps."


    T-the Audacity! "Father, allow me to ¨C"


    "It''s alright, Michael." Father held his hand up to stop me. "Why ¨C "


    Crunch


    "Get out of here." Father sighed, waiving his hand and the person ¨C angel ¨C outsider fell down from the Heavens "''And go back to your time period!"


    "Make me!" The stranger''s voice was barely audible, perhaps only those of my higher-winged kin and Father could gear.


    "...Challenge epted." Father replied.


    "Father....what''s going on?" I hesitantly asked.


    "Don''t worry about it, just a little brat from the future. He''s no danger." Father was seemingly dismissive despite the shocking revtion that was his words. "Prepare to Smite him, Michael."


    "F-father? But you said he was not a danger?"


    "Don''t worry, he''ll survive."


    "...I will do as youmand, Father." I would always follow Father''smands. I called upon the Heavenly System, and aimed its power at the stranger who was for all intents and purposes, falling like many of my brethren. I nced back at father who created a projection of the stranger and he looked...calm as his descent brought him closer and closer to the earth.


    "Smite." Father''s single word caused the world to tremble. He did not need me to facilitate the action, but did so anyways.


    A pir of light descended from the highest Heaven, colliding with the stranger. All my brother''s and sisters stared at father''s projection of the stranger, the scene obscured by the collision of various energies.


    Though theck of visionsted merely a moment until the figure was revealed once more. The same stranger looked wholly unharmed, continuing his descent. "Why don''t you put your back into it next time, Old man!" He shouted, with a rude gesture to apany it.


    I looked back at father, expecting retaliation or some sort of response, but instead....his face seemed to be twitching in annoyance, something I don''t think I''ve ever seen from father before.


    "I will take the banner and smite him, father. Please, give the order."


    "No need." Father quickly returned to his gentle appearance. He swiped at the projection to on the ground, a group of Trolls were sitting around a campfire. "That should be where hends....let''s see." Father paused, looking up. "Uriel, would you be so kind as to tell me if we still have one of Cupid''s Arrows in the armory?"


    "Yes, Father. We still have a quiver of Cupid''s arrows avable." Uriel bowed his head.


    Why would father use a weapon that can''t harm the intruder? Cupid''s arrow merely facilitates a desire between the ones struck and it''s not even permanent. They were locked away because most mortals mistake the initial feelings as lust over love and lose themselves to lust and depravity for the duration.


    "Thank you, son." Father hummed, gesturing with his hand, calling forth both Cupid''s Bow and a single arrow. "Watch carefully, children." Father said, taking aim down to the mortal world below with the bow and arrow pulled back.


    "Father, why are you aiming at the Trolls where the intruder is going tond?"


    "I''m about to do what''s called a ''pro gamer move'' in the future."


    [***]


    A/N


    Sorry for the dy, been preparing for a move into my new apartment so this week is a bit chaotic.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 418 - 379

    <h4>Chapter 418: Chapter 379</h4>


    "It''s a lovely evening." I casually said as I strolled up towards Salem as she looked out across her domain from atop the castle.


    She didn''t turn around, merely leaned on the ledge that overlooked the wilderness to the horizon. "Every evening is the same here."


    "Perhaps, but if you''re here, it can''t be anything but lovely." I countered.


    She nced at me side-eyed and I could barely see her roll her eyes in response, the faintest hint of a smile forming before disappearing.


    "I met your Ex." I decided to share openly as I walked up to the edge and rested my elbows on it to look out into the distance.


    "You met Ozma." Salem repeated. "You are not harmed?"


    "There''s very little he could actually do to me in his state. I didn''t even know who he was until he started to tell me about the whole Maiden thing. I couldn''t even pick up on him possessing any Magical ability since it was so miniscule."


    She chortled in amusement. "Serves him right. Did he attempt to recruit you?"


    "Yup." I hummed.


    "And I am assuming anything he said was full of half truths or outright missing exnations to make himself appear more mysterious and knowledgeable?"


    "That is frighteningly urate."


    She let out a disdainful snort. "He never changes. What did you respond with? Should I be worried that you are now one of his sacrificial pawns here to make an attempt on my immortal life?" The sarcasm was rather obvious.


    "That''s right, I decided to join Ozpin''s side for reasons I can''t logically exin off the top of my head. Your reign of terror ends here, Salem." I half heartedly yed along. "And I certainly can''t be bribed and swayed to your side with promises of an intimate nature."


    "How convincing." She drawled.


    "I did convince him that there''s a secret society of magic users that he doesn''t know about though."


    That got a response from her. She actually started giggling, opting to cover her mouth as they continued for a pleasant few moments. "I can picture the look on his face as he desperately tries to figure out how he could have been so oblivious."


    "I may or may not have told him something else."


    "Hmm?"


    "...told him we were dating." I coughed awkwardly.


    She stared at me for a moment before pursing her lips. "I''m sure he took that well."


    "Wouldn''t know. I left right after I dropped that in hisp."


    The corners of her lips curled up in amusement. Though, another nce at me and she frowned. "Why are you being so distant?"


    "I didn''t want to make you feel ufortable." I scratched my head awkwardly.


    "Since when have you cared about that?" She let out one of her cute huffs. "Need I remind you about our first meeting?"


    "Then I can be willful?" I asked.


    "Do what you want, it''s not as if you''ve ever asked for permission before." She huffed again.


    I took that as permission and walked closer to her. I could see her ncing at me out of the corner of her eye again and I snuck my arms around her from behind.


    "What do you seek from me?" She quietly asked. "If it was before, I would have thought you desired my power. Be it my magic or the Grimm under my hand, yet, it should be inconsequential for you. What do you want from me?"


    "I want nothing material from you."


    "Then why?"


    "Is it so weird that I want you just for you?" I rested my head up against her shoulder. "The question is, what do you want?"


    "I want to die."


    It took a second for me to process the words, but I felt my heart drop once I did.


    She put a hand on mine. "I wanted to die. Perhaps I still do. I have lived for a very long time and I lost my will to live long ago. I wanted the Relics to bring back the Brother Gods so they could finally end my existence. Now, it is an option presented to me and I hesitate. Tell me what you want from me."


    "I want to hold you in my arms like this forever. I want to see your smile that''s reserved only for me. I want to hear your snarkyments when you try to tease me. I want to help you when you''re sad. I want to go through life, all the ups and downs, with you at my side. And I want to make you happy through everything."


    "Would you kill me if I asked you to?" She asked, squeezing my hand tightly.


    "Yes."


    "Would you mourn me after I died?"


    "Yes." I answered again.


    "Howical. I''m reminded of how cursed I really am. When I can finally fulfill my wish, there is actually someone who would mourn my passing and I feel an ache in my heart at the thought." Her nails dug into my skin, but I don''t think it was intentional on her part so I ignored it. "I am willing to give it a try."


    Her grip eased up and she rxed more in my arms. "I don''t know if I even remember what it''s like to love. I have felt nothing but anger and hatred for far too long."


    "I have absolutely no idea what I''m doing most of the time, so we can stumble through this together."


    "How reassuring." She snorted, however there was a distinct absence of the earlier tension. "I am not sure I ever wish to marry again. All I have to remember from my previous one is the hate I still hold onto and it has soured me to the concept."


    "It never has to be a consideration if you don''t want it to be."


    She nodded. "I do not believe I will ever desire Children again. The deaths of my children so long ago broke me and the pieces never were mended. I don''t know if I am even capable any longer, but I do not wish to find out."


    "As long as you''re by my side, I don''t care." As much as I wanted a big family, I didn''t want Salem to feel any of these residual emotions.


    "Then it is decided." She said as a matter of fact. "If I think of any more issues, I will raise them. But I have no other points I wish to make known before this happens."


    "Before what happens?" I raised an eyebrow. "You never said what you wanted."


    "Are you going to make me say it aloud?"


    "Hmm, yes."


    "You are a vain and petty man." She huffed once more. "What did you say to Ozma? That we were dating? A more casualparison to courtship? It is adequate enough for my purposes. I will not have you be known as a liar, we are dating."


    "So Salem, Queen of the Grimm, is my woman." I squeezed her a little in my arms.


    "It does not imply permission for you to grope me." She glowered. "I can feel something poking my rear and I am more than able to guess what it is."


    "That is an unconscious reaction due to excitement." I quickly defended myself.


    "Is that what it is?" She snorted, wiggling her butt against me. "It feels like something else."


    "Frankly, it''s your fault."


    "My fault is it?" She forced her way out of my arms, turning to face me. "Are you ming me for your inability to control your desires?"


    "I me you for being so desirable."


    "She was right." Salem''s finger ran down my chest.


    "Who was right about what?"


    "You will need a firm ¨C " She grabbed me through my pants. "Hand."


    "....Please be gentle." I whimpered. "You are grabbing a very delicate part of me."


    "Oh?" She ever so slightly tightened her grip. Not enough to hurt, but enough that I winced. "Where was that earlier bravado?"


    "Curled up and crying in the corner." I could probably crush a diamond with my sphincter right now.


    "How pitiful." She frowned. "Step forward, and ce your hands on the railing."


    [***]


    Lewd Ahead warning


    [***]


    "What?" I blinked, but I felt a tiny bit more pressure from her and I followed her instruction.


    "You should be proud, very few have had the honor of me personally doing this." I was about to question what she was talking about, but I swallowed any words the moment her hands started fiddling with my zipper. "An impressive showing if nothing else." She whispered, freeing my cock from the confines of my pants. "That other lover of yours was not lying it seems." Her hand gently caressed my length as she hovered behind me.


    "Salem you don''t ¨C "


    "Hush." She whispered, leaning against my back. "I do this because I want to. You may consider it proof of mymitment; I do not take partake in such actions lightly."


    Something cold and moist suddenly touched my cock after a brief pause from Salem. Her saliva mixed with her hand and she began to earnestly start pumping along my shaft. Her other hand quickly joined to squeeze and massage every inch of me.


    "How is it? It has been many years, but I believe I am still skilled." She sounded quite smug, probably because she could hear my groans with each movement. "Do you wish to ejacte? Is my touch that enticing? I will allow it if you ask for permission." Her hands stopped, and her breath tickled my ear. "Say the words and I will continue."


    "You are a cruel woman." I forced out.


    "As you should already know." She didn''t deny it. "This is your punishment for all your previous provocations. Every time you stared so tantly at my rear. Every lewdment you made. And every time you teased me, making me forced to sleep with a nostalgic ache between my legs." She simply ran one of her fingers up and down, her nail barely touching my skin, sending shivers down my spine. "But look at you, twitching in excitement. You enjoy making me feel this way, don''t you?" The way she hissed in my ear with the words just made me excruciatingly hard in response.


    "I''ll remember this when the roles are reversed." I breathed out.


    "At your mercy? Is that what you dream of? To take thisrge phallus of yours and have your way with me?" She chuckled. "I am not without my own mercy, I can feel how much you are enduring." She said that but her handspletely vanished, I nced behind me to see her hands sneak up her dress. She looked me in the eyes and pulled down. "Did you not wish to see this before? I will grant your wish." She resumed her position but dangled a pair of tasteful ckcy panties in front of my face. "I would not have you make a mess of my castle." She gracefully draped them around the tip of my cock and firmly grasped me again.


    "Salem..." I grunted out again.


    Her movements picked up fanatically. She quickly caught her stride and I felt myself reaching my tipping point. "Yes, don''t fight it. I will allow you to ejacte into my undergarments."


    It may as well have been amand, because as soon as she said it I felt the dam break and my knees buckle from her efforts. Her movements slowed down to something more rhythmic and with each pump of hers making me spurt out into the fabric of her panties.


    "And what am I supposed to do with these now?" Salem held up her now soaked panties for me to see. "Afterst time, I suppose it would be improper of me to be without undergarments on." She once more locked eyes with me and unfolded the soiled garments and slid them back up her legs until they were firmly returned to where they were before.


    I was ready to grab her and make way to the nearest bedroom, but a finger pressing against my still erect cock made me pause. "You get one." She dered. "For now." She added on with another whisper. "Your room is still avable. Take care of your remaining needs by yourself. But I will allow you to continue fantasizing about me." The smugness radiated off her. Though that disappeared after a moment and a softness returned to her gaze. "We will speak more in the morning about the future and the past. You promised me a story, and I will hear it when we have both settled our emotions."


    I dumbly nodded and watched her saunter away. She intentionally swung her hips in an exaggerated manner.


    I''m now wondering if she initiated something like that because we were both emotionally high-strung after the talk.


    "Jesus fucking Christ." I slumped against the railing, catching my breath. "What a woman."


    [***]


    Lewd Over


    [***]


    Ozpin POV


    "To what do I owe the pleasure, Qrow?" I barely looked up to see his bird form on the ledge of the window.


    "Had some time, came to check up on you." He said, transforming back into his human form. "How are you doing, Oz?"


    "I am....coping."


    How was I supposed to answer that question? In the span of a few days, I feel like everything I knew about the world had flipped upside down.


    ....was this how everyone else feels when I revealed the existence of the Gods and Magic?


    "Any news about the whatcha-macalli that the kid mentioned? You know, with the magical people and whatever."


    "The ''Mage''s Association'', Qrow." I corrected him, knowing full well he remembered the name. "And no, I have yet to find any evidence of its existence. I''m starting to wonder if it was not something made up to spite me."


    "I mean....wouldn''t it be weird if you could find it that easily? Isn''t it supposed to be hidden or something?"


    ".....that is also a valid point." As loath as I am to admit it. I just needed to calm down and pace myself. Nothing would get done if I was trying to rush. Thankfully Glynda gave me a cup of my favorite Coffee to keep me sane through this period.


    I relished the taste. The hint of cinnamonbined with the Mistralian blend. I could practically feel the stress wash away from ¨C


    "What about the kid banging your ex-wife?"


    And it''s gone.


    "Must you say it like that, Qrow?" I set my mug down, letting out a deeper sigh than I''ve had in many weeks. "And that''s not what Mister Schweinorg said."


    "Oz." Qrow looked at me with a very serious expression. "You run a school full of kids. You know damn well what ''dating'' means."


    .....dammit Qrow.


    "I find it very unlikely that Salem is ''banging'' a young man like Mister Schweinorg." I let out another sigh, adjusting my sses. "Salem is a monster in every sense of the word. She would not waste time on.....on dalliances."


    "...she drunk called you."


    "....."


    "After stealing my scroll. And letting me leave."


    "...your input has been noted."


    "Are you upset cause she told everyone about your small dick?"


    "Thank you, Qrow! Do you have anything important to inform me about or is this merely a social visit?" I rubbed the bridge of my nose and briefly considered stealing his sk again.


    "Nah, just came to bother you."


    "Dare I ask why?"


    "Want a truthful answer, Oz?"


    "Please, enlighten me."


    "I''m a little pissed still. It isn''t like hugely important to know that our biggest enemy was your Ex-Wife, but it makes me wonder what else you''re hiding that could be important. So, yeah, Oz. I''m a little annoyed, so I figured I''d share it with you." He fetched said sk from his pocket and took a swig of it.


    "....I apologize for not telling you, Qrow."


    "I know." He replied. "And I know you mean it."


    "But you''re still upset."


    "Yeah."


    "And how much longer will you be upset for?"


    "What''s today? Saturday?" He hummed. "I''ll probably be over it by Monday."


    "...very well." Once more I rubbed the bridge of my nose, letting out a sigh. "Continue."


    "You still n on making the invincible girl the next Maiden? She''s close to the kid, yeah? Might turn out bad."


    An actual question, a wee reprieve. "There is a risk, but there is also the benefit of drawing Mister Schweinorg close to us. The way he spoke, it was clear that he was not....aligned with Salem in an antagonistic way towards us, or perhaps Remnant as a whole. And through the video surveince of the time spent between both Miss Nikos and Mister Schweinorg, it''s clear he cares about her. If Miss Nikos inherents the Maiden''s powers, it may mean she is safe from any further attempts."


    "Could backfire if he learns about how dangerous it is?"


    ".....that is a possibility." I fully acknowledged.


    "Hey, did you tell Jimmy that the kid isn''t a woman?"


    "I ryed the news to James that his theory was not urate. He insists that it''s still a possibility and is keeping an open mind." I resisted the urge to sigh for the fourth time since Qrow came.


    James was many things, hard headed being firmly near the top. Oh, he wasn''t focusing arge amount of resources on it anymore, but he won''t simply take Mister Schweinorg''s word for it. At least I could focus his efforts on finding this supposed Magical Society that has escaped my notice for an uncountable number of lifetimes!


    "Got a question for you, Oz."


    "Against my better judgment, ask away, Qrow."


    "You''ve dated a lot over the years, right?"


    "I have had many rtionships over my incarnations, yes." I dreaded what he was going to follow up with.


    "So you''re pretty knowledgeable about that sort of thing, between a man and a woman..."


    "....are you asking me for advice, Qrow?" I blinked in surprise. "Or is it about Taiyang and Raven? I admit I''ve never had a situation quite like that one."


    "No, no..." He shook his head, taking his sk out again. "So Salem was a babe, didn''t expect that. Like, I''d hit it if given the chance."


    ".....is there a question to follow up this statement, or did you simply wish to inform me that my Ex-Wife is attractive?"


    "Since you''ve been with a lot of chicks over the years, how does Salem rate? You know, wink wink, nudge nudge." He whistled at the end taking another drink of his sk.


    "Are you asking me to.....rate the ability of Salem during intercourse inparison to my other experiences? The woman who controls the Grimm of the world, the immortal and terrifying witch that could have just as easily torn out your spine as much as taken your scroll?"


    "....yup." He nodded.


    "I will answer your question on two conditions."


    "Yeah?"


    "ept my apology fully."


    "Alright." He epted. "And the other?"


    "....hand over your sk."


    "I just had a thought, Oz." Qrow said, while tossing me the metal container.


    "And what''s that, Qrow?" I probably was not going to like what he had to say, but in a moment, I probably wouldn''t not care with the amount of alcohol I was pouring into my coffee.


    "If Salem is busy being banged by the kid, doesn''t that mean she wouldn''t have time to be, you know, evil?"


    "...."


    "Imagine if we won because she just needed to getid."


    Even without any effort, Salem made my life miserable.


    [***]


    A/N


    Just a heads up, started the move to a new apartment and fucked up my PC. Motherboard is probably borked, but we''ll see. I still have myptop, but it''s a bit more awkward.


    Also, have another lewd omake to post separately after this chapter.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 419: Non-Canon Lewd Omake: Rin鈥檚 Offer

    <h4>Chapter 419: Non-Canon Lewd Omake: Rin''s Offer</h4>


    Non-Canon Lewd Omake


    Summary: Wilhelm managed to acquire the Bow of Auriel before Rin from Skyrim. Rin...really wants the bow and she''s willing to trade something in particr for it. After a little back and forth, a deal is struck, and Artoria is happy with the results.


    Warning: Blowjob, Handjob, Anal.


    [***]


    "Alright I''m here." I stepped into the room ¨C my bedroom, for some reason.


    "Thank you foring, Wilhelm." Artoria smiled politely, Rin was sitting next to her side, fidgeting a little as I nced at her.


    "So.....you want to talk about something...privately?" I asked.


    "Rin wishes to speak with you about an important matter." Artoria nodded.


    "Yeah....um.." She blushed a little for some reason. "Look, you got that bow, right? I want it."


    "Auriel''s Bow? The Divine Weapon of the head of the pantheon of Nirn? The one I got fair and square?"


    ".....yes" She grumbled.


    "I''m not going to deny you outright out of politeness. But in all honesty, I don''t know if there''s anything I would trade it ¨C"


    "My ass."


    "...pardon?" I blinked in confusion.


    "I will let you fuck my ass if you give me the bow."


    I opened my mouth, but no words came out and abruptly shut it again.


    "I believe you have rendered him speechless." Artoria looked weirdly amused.


    "Pause, big pause!" I quickly forced some words out. "Before I even get into that ¨C " I pointed towards Rin. "I would like to rify that this isn''t some kind of.....trap. No ''got you'', hahaha or anything like that?"


    "Rin and I spoke. I support any decision you make, however the negotiations are up to Rin." Artoria said calmly.


    "Alright. Okay." That was a lot to process.


    "So?" Rin huffed a little, a faint blush still present. "My ass for the bow."


    "I have many questions before I even touch that topic. Like, what?"


    "What? You''re a pervert and a horndog." She retorted.


    "I would not quite word it that way, but she isn''t wrong. Your devil Nature does facilitate certain desires and you do a good job of not losing yourself to them. But you are certainly a very lustful person, and you have a penchant for greed. To ovee one, it is logical to offer the other such as this case." Artoria chimed in.


    "....that''s logical and a reasonable exnation." I begrudgingly admitted. "But how did you get straight to this point?"


    "I want the bow, I don''t want to give away my first time, so I asked Saber if you''d be into fucking my ass. Jinn isn''t exactly subtle about how much you rail her in the butt." Rin shrugged.


    "You''re being very nonchnt about this."


    "I''m a Magus, Schweinorg. If I can trade my ass getting pounded for a few hours in exchange for a Divine Construct, that''s a deal anyone would take in my shoes." She said dryly. "Are you telling me that you wouldn''t let Saber get her favorite strap on and have a go if it meant she''d give away one of hers?"


    "That....is a fair point." I nced at the blushing Artoria. "But I feel like I''m on the losing end of this exchange. Don''t get me wrong, you have a nice ass and everything, but ¨C"


    "Want a sneak peek?" Rin responded, making my following words fizzle out.


    "It ismon for one to see what they are purchasing." Artoria once moremented on the negotiations. "Come, sit." She pat the bed next to her and I hesitantly sat down as Rin stood up.


    She sauntered infront of me and bent right over, her ck skirt flipped right over her butt so I could see everything. A pair of ck frilly panties stretched around an admittedly big round butt. "How about it, Schweinorg? Just say the word, and you can fuck my fat ass until you''re satisfied. I may not have the biggest boobs, but you can''t deny that my ass is perfect."


    "What do think?'' Artoria asked. Well, she more than asked, her petite hand was grabbing at the inside of my thigh. "I can feel your erection, do you wish to take Rin up on her offer? I truly would not mind."


    She didn''t even wait for me to answer, instead, she fiddled with my zipper, pulling it down enough to pull my cock out. She looked at me with a warm smile, her hand gently moving up and down my member.


    "S-saber, what''re you doing!?" Rush squeaked out, looking back at us.


    "Is something wrong?" She returned a confused look.


    "Y-you''re jerking him off!"


    "Yes? This is hardly inappropriate given the circumstances." She tucked her hair behind her ear and kept her eyes locked with Rin as she lowered her head down, taking my tip into her mouth. "Mmmm." She made a small noise of contentment before letting go. "I do this quite often; you do not need to be rmed." She continued to stare at Rin with her tongue running down my full length.


    "That''s not what I''m talking about!"


    "Are you concerned that there will be nothing left for you? Do not worry, Rin, he can go many times in session, I will give you an example." Artoria licked her lips and positioned herself over my throbbing cock and slowly lowered her head downwards. Inch by inch, she took it into her mouth and kept going until my cock disappeared entirely down her throat.


    "Artoria¡ª" I breathed out, grabbing the back of her head and pushing her down as much as I could. She had gotten very skilled at this over time.


    "Gulghk gulghk" My cock pulsed inside her, my hips shuddered, and I let everything out I had. She continued to lightly bob her head back and forth. She swallowed everything dutifully and I could Rin watch with rapt attention. "Haaaah." She let out a panted breath, my cock sliding out of her throat. Once more, she grabbed hold of my shaft, pumping it a few times. "See, Rin? He is still fully erect after ejacting."


    "Y-you.....you swallowed it?" Rin whispered, inching closer. "And you took this huge thing all the way down your throat." She nervously swallowed, her face hanging only a few inches away from my cock.


    "Yes, Yasaka was gracious enough to teach me how to properly pleasure his penis with my mouth and throat. And I partake often as I quite enjoy the taste." She smiled beautifully, contradicting thepletely sexual situation that was currently happening with her hand still pumping me without pause. "Did you watch carefully, Rin? If you are going to fulfill your end of the deal, you will be required to take his full length inside of your anus."


    ".....I didn''t think he was this big." She admitted shyly= but resolved herself.. "But I''m no quitter. How about Schweinorg? You wanna tap out after one round with Saber, or do you want to go where no one''s gone before?" She gave her own ass a p and I was almost hypnotized as it jiggled infront of me. "I''m an innocent catholic girl, offering you my virgin ass. I''ve never even yed with my ass before, it''s all yours to break."


    "Trying to tempt my devil side....that''s cheating." I gulped, as she thumbed the band of her panties, sliding them every so slightly down. "....but I don''t think this is a fair trade."


    "Really? You make me watch Saber deepthroat your cock and you''re going to back out?" She huffed.


    "I never said I was backing out, I just said it wasn''t fair." I countered. And for added effect, I began undoing Artoria'' buttons on her blouse. I only got through one before she also began assisting.


    Rin turned a brighter shade of red, her eyes fixated on Artoria.


    I was more than aware that Rin was Bi-sexual, and Artoria was extraordinarily beautiful.


    Artoria unfasted all her buttons, and pulled off the blouse she normally wore, revealing a cute light-blue bra. She didn''t need any cue to keep going either, with ease, she utched her own bra and gently dropped it to the ground. Her adorable nipples fully greeting us with her modest chest.


    "Saber used to be too self-conscious to even change without the door being closed when it was just us. And now, she''s showing off her tits without a second thought." Rin stared unblinkingly at her chest.


    "Compared to the activities that Wilhelm uses my breasts for, this does not elicit embarrassment." Artoria said evenly.


    "Jesus Christ, Schweinorg. What did you do to my sweet and innocent Saber?"


    "What haven''t I done to her?" Was a much better question. I guided Artoria''s head back down onto my cock and she quickly began bobbing her head up and down again. I was content to let her go at her own pace while I yed with her chest. "So, Rin. I don''t think this little trade is fair." I spoke up again amidst Artoria''s sucking noises.


    "....what do you want?" Rin asked, though her attention was only half focused on me and the other half focused on Artoria, and I certainly could not me her.


    Well, this had taken a much different turn at this point.


    "Do you think just one night, and only your ass is enough for a Divine weapon? I may be a horny devil, Rin, but just as you said, I''m pretty greedy. I''m not donating to a charity here."


    I saw her bite her lip and fidget in ce. "No way you''re putting that thing inside my pussy. My ass is already going to be hurting afterwards and I know you wouldn''t even use a condom."


    "To be fair, there are contraceptive spells. And to call it a one in a million chance for pregnancy would be...generous at this point. But I''m not asking that, I''m saying that your one time use isn''t good enough."


    "Fine, how about a week. I''ll let you fuck my ass every night for a week."


    "You realize I can already have that with any of my other girls?"


    "Rin, he speaks the truth." My cock popped out of Artoria''s mouth. "We have noints about providing him with anal intercourse. If you wish to bargain for such a valuable item, you will need to offer something more significant." She went back down to working my member with her mouth.


    "J-just tell me what you want!" Rin huffed. "You obviously want something, otherwise you''d just tell me ''no'' at this point."


    "I want your ass ¨C"


    "I already offered that!"


    "Forever."


    "W-what?" She stuttered out.


    "I''ll give you the bow, but in return, your ass will belong to me."


    "I....you...." She mumbled incoherently. "What do you mean my ass will belong to you?" She asked after taking a moment to recover.


    "Any time, any ce, I can do whatever I want to your ass. It will be mine, regardless of anything else. If I tell you to bend over, you won''t argue. You will pull your panties down, bend over, spread your cheeks, and dutifully wait for my cock."


    "Y-y-you perverted Devil! Are you just going to fuck my ass in pubic and let everyone see me as a whore?"


    "Technically, you are using your ass as a literal form of rpose." I pointed out, as to the literal definition of a ''whore''.


    "Rin, you need not worry. Wilhelm does have a sense of propriety. Whenever I satisfy him in public, he makes sure that no one can see us through various means." Artoria attempted to reassure her.


    Her mouth gaped slightly as she stared at Artoria. "You do it in public?....seriously?"


    "Yes, it was embarrassing and difficult the first time. But there was an illusion over us so no one was able to see me fete him. It was also quite invigorating to further touch myself while no one could perceive me."


    "You turned saber into a pervert." Rin huffed.


    "Inparison to the others, what we do is rather tame. If you desire to experience something more intense, I''m sure Wilhelm would not mind if you watched him and Venna on some of their sexual escapades." Artoria offered.


    "I-I don''t want to know what Schweinorg and his grandmother get up to!"


    "Are you sure? I enjoy watching them myself. They have helped me realize many sexual desires I did not know I had until recently."


    "Gah! I can''t believe this is happening. I''m watching Saber suck Schweinorg cock and now we''re talking about what he and his grandmother get up to! And it turns out that my Saber is just as much of a sexual deviant as the literal Devil in the room!"


    "Says the girl offering her literal ass in exchange for something." I once more pointed out.


    Rin threw her arms up with a screech, then the next thing I knew she was jerking her panties downward and threw them at my face. "Fine! You want my ass that bad? Here it is, Schweinorg." She bent over again, this time, nothing blocking my view, her hands pulling her cheeks apart revealing that pink little rosebud. "My ass, whenever you want, but the Bow is mine."


    "....deal." I was trading a Divine Bow for sex, and I was okay with this.


    She may not be as big as Raikou, or as experienced as Venna, but she was right on the mark.


    I happily reached out and sunk my fingers into her cheeks. Seeing her get startled and almost jerk away, only to rx and let me y with her made me twitch inside Artoria''s mouth even more.


    She was right, this ass is just perfect.


    "Come, make yourselffortable on the bed, Rin." Artoria finally let go. "The first time will be the most difficult."


    "You were supposed to be on my side, Saber. But you''ve been helping Schweinorg the whole time." Rin grumbled, taking her clothes off. Her skirt fell to the ground and she pulled her shirt off, tossing it to the side before utching her own bra.


    She climbed onto the bed, pulling a pillow to her, her face immediately buried into it, but her ass was up in the air for me. "Do what you want."


    And with that, off my clothes went.


    "I was assisting you, Rin. Without proper preparation, it would be much more ufortable. He is sufficiently aroused and lubricated to make it as seamless as possible."


    "Thanks, now Schweinorg''s fat cock won''tpletely destroy my virgin ass, it''ll only mostly do it." Rin sarcastically replied.


    "Do not fret, Rin, we are not yet done with the preparations. Wilhelm has spells prepared for such a situation."


    "Spells? What are you ¨C" I cast the spell that Yasaka taught me all that time ago on Rin''s ass. "OoooOoooh" Rin''s head jerked up and her eyes widened, an intentionally moan squeaked out. "W-what did you do to me...I can feel something slimy in my ass."


    "It is a spell to prepare one''s anus for intercourse. It makes it hygienic and conjures a lubricant inside to make pration easier." Artoria exined. "Now, rx. I will continue."


    "What do you mean cont ¨C"


    Artoria''s finger pushed past her entrance and Rin let out another squeal. "Rx, Rin."


    "Y-you shoved your finger up my A-asssss." She jerked again as Artoria didn''t pause in her motions.


    "It''s alright, Rin. You need not resist, it is alright to enjoy the feeling of my fingers exploring your insides." Artoria said calmly amongst Rin''s stifled grunts into the pillow. She continued to get Rin ready but at the same time, her other hand was still working my cock as vigorously as ever. "She is almost ready, Wilhelm. Please be gentle the first time, I wish for Rin to enjoy it as I do."


    If it was any other situation, I may have had something to say about Artoria basically making sure both of us arrived at this point, but frankly, I was too focused on what was infront of me. Particrly, Rin''s perfectly round ass being mercilessly assaulted by Artoria''s fingers.


    Call me skeptical, but I think Artoria wanted this to happen. She was taking too much enjoyment out of this entire thing.


    Oh well.


    I shifted in my spot, moving up towards Rin''s ass and Artoria finally released the poor girl''s rear.


    "Make sure to breathe, Rin. And don''t tighten your anus until he is properly inside of you otherwise it will be more ufortable."


    I lined myself up,ying my cock between her big round cheeks. I moved up and down a few times to tease her a little bit before touching my tip against her expecting hole.


    "Oh my god." Rin breathed out as I prodded her entrance. "Is it toote to back out? Fuck, Schweinorg, I''ll fucking swallow your load every day, how about ¨C "


    I ignored herint and pushed forward.


    "Naaaahhhhhh." Rin''s body jerked and she squealed again. "Oh my god, oh my god!" She panted. "Slow down, slow down!"


    "God damn Rin." I grunted, pushing myself forward. "This ass is so tight."


    "OOooh." She squealed with every inch my cock pushed further into her. "Fuckkkk, it''s too fucking big! It hurts, it''s spreading me too much!"


    "It''s alright, Rin, I''m here." Artoria caressed Rin''s back. "He is almost halfway inside, bare with it, it will be easier."


    "H-Halffff" She jerked again.


    Her moans and whines continued, but her perfectly round ass made way for me and another few moments, I was fully inside of her.


    "Fucking God, Ahhh." Rin moaned. "My stomach is full.....It''s hard to breathe."


    "How is it, Rin? You did a good job and took his cock entirely into you. Are you ready for whates next?"


    "Whates next...?"


    With one swift motion, I pulled out.


    She didn''t make a noise, her back arched and her mouth gaped in a silent scream. But that didn''t stop juices from flowing out from her other hole.


    "Did you just cum, Rin?" I gave her ass a little p. "Did it feel that good? Do you like getting fucked in the ass?"


    "Fuck...." She got lost in her heavy pants. "...you, Schweinorg."


    "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Rin." Artoria soothed her. "I had many orgasms my first time as well."


    I lined myself back up and pushed back inside of her with a bit more speed than before.


    "Ohhh god, oh god." Rin clenched the sheets of the bed and whined at each thrust. "You''re going too fastttttt." She slurred with a heavy thrust that had me all the way inside again.


    "Fuck Rin, this Ass just doesn''t want to let me go, it just keeps squeezing me so tight every time I thrust." I grunted, grabbing her hips to continue my movements. "Damn, I''m going to cum already."


    "Not inside, not inside!" Rin squealed, but I ignored her, pushing as deep as I could and not bothering to hold myself back. "Aaaahahhhhh" She screamed as I bottomed out inside of her perfect ass and came for the first time inside her.


    She was somewhat unresponsive while I made sure I finished up, my thrusts slowing down until I finally pulled out.


    With a whine, she fell to the side, twitching. "My ass..."


    "You were right, Rin. Your ass was good." I gave her another spank.


    "....fuck you Schweinorg." She whimpered. "I can''t feel my ass."


    "Was it enjoyable?" Artoria asked, looking at me.


    "Completely worth it." I rxed, sitting back, staring at the mess that was Rin. "You want a turn?"


    "If you wouldn''t mind." Artoria nodded excitedly.


    "By all means, have at it."


    "...W-wait, what?" Rin managed to scoot around enough that she could see Artoria moving towards a nearby dresser and took out a strap-on. She quickly discarded her skirt and fixated it onto herself. "T-that isn''t what we agreed!?"


    "Your ass belongs to me, Rin. With full authority, I give Artoria permission to have her own fun."


    "Don''t worry, Rin." Artoria smiled, adjusting the straps. She reached inside the drawer and took out a bottle of lube and squeezed out the contents, thering the fake phallus all over. "It''s a replica of Wilhelm''s, so you will be used to it either way."


    I think Rin forgot that Artoria was also Bisexual and there was no doubt that she found Rin attractive as well.


    "N-no, Saber! Stay away!"


    "Rx, Rin, I will be gentler than Wilhelm. Please spread your legs so I can prate you easier."


    "Naaaaah!"


    Yup, the trade waspletely worth it.

 Chapter 420 - 380

    <h4>Chapter 420: Chapter 380</h4>


    I felt like I was floating in an endless void. The only thing near me was a full-length mirror that held no reflection.


    ''Can you hear me yet?''


    ''...''


    ''I guess it''s still not time....''


    ''I''ll be waiting until you need me.''


    ''Soon.''


    Once again, my eyes shot open as I thought I heard a voice whispering in my ear. It sounded foreign, yet so very familiar for some reason.


    "Ddraig?" I called out, looking around the room.


    [I''m here, what''s wrong?]


    "Did you hear anything?" I rubbed my tired eyes.


    [Like anything happening around you while you slept or any noises?]


    "No...I thought I heard a voice again, but when I try to think about it, it feels like a dream..." I wasn''t an idiot, I could take a guess at the source. "Anything new with my spirit?"


    [It settled down and hasn''t moved since a while ago. You think it''s trying to reach out?]


    "Maybe." I let out a tired yawn.


    Not much I could do to force the issue. It''s probably best to let things unravel organically if that''s the case.


    I rolled out of bed, catching myself before I fell onto the ground and opened the curtain to let the morning twilight fill the room. While the outside light doesn''t really change, there was the slightest difference it seemed, between night and day.


    I made my way over towards the empty table on the other side of the room. And I stared nkly, tapping my fingers against the wood as I mentally searched through my personal space for some items.


    "Let''s see....Ebony is a must." I muttered, taking out a chunk about the size of a golf ball. "Moonstone? It would ent it well. And some Mchite would really make it pop." I stacked them next to the Ebony. Maybe some Rubies too? Nothing extravagant, but something with a tasteful elegance.


    I mentally mulled it over and thought up a design and then plopped down my own Enchanting Table.


    I stretched my fingers and yawned one more time, forcing myself to concentrate.


    I woke up this early for a reason, let''s get started.


    [***]


    "You are finally awake." Salem eyed me from behind the pages of her book as I entered the library.


    "Sorry, I got lost in something and didn''t see the time." I politely apologized, taking a seat near her. "Did you sleep well?"


    "I had many things on my mind which made it difficult to sleep." She said without much emotion before the faintest smile broke through. "However, many of them were not unpleasant."


    "Mmm, I haven''t seen Cinder and the others. Are they around or out?"


    "They are off doing something or another." Salem said rather dismissively. "I believe they are trying to chase down some man who was experimenting on Grimm and causing some concern for the Kingdoms."


    "....Merlot?" I felt my eye twitch


    "Yes, I believe that was the name. Is something the matter?"


    "Just had to clean up a mess left behind by him. I think I''m going to have nightmares after dealing with so many Apathys..."


    Salem giggled at myment. "Did they scare you? I recall when I first created that breed of Grimm."


    "My first reaction was to turn the area within a hundred miles into a smoking crater." I deadpanned. "Did you make the Chills too?"


    "Those predated me." Salem shook her head. "Or rather, they came about before I mastered the Grimm Pools myself. I believe they spawned in one of the smaller pools located in the north."


    "There are more Grimm Pools?" I tilted my head.


    "Of course, how else do Grimm keep appearing on other Continents?" She said as if it wasmon sense. "It''s not as if they all swim away from my domain."


    "I guess I never gave it much thought."


    "You are new to this world, so it is understandable."


    "Wow, so they really wouldn''t have a chance if you actually wanted to harm any of the Kingdoms. Just out of curiosity, how easy would it be for you to bring them down?" I said it to Ozpin before, and I was pretty confident that Salem could genuinely roll any Kingdom If she wanted, but I was a little curious about the specifics.


    "Of course not." Salem scoffed, mming her book shut. "If I desired to end those pathetic Kingdoms, I would have done so centuries ago. Ozma is foolish if he believes that he is ''holding me back'' or some other nonsense. I would not even have to gather a tide of Grimm to wash over any. I could merely awaken one of the slumbering Titans and there is very little they could do to stop one of them."


    "...Titans?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Hmm? Yes, you would probably be unfamiliar with them as well. It''s more of an old term, not one I coined. Beyond Normal Grimm are Alphas of some species. And Beyond Alphas are Ancient Grimm. And there are a handful that exist beyond those that have been called Titans, for good reason."


    "Now I''m morbidly curious. Tell me of your greatest monsters, oh great Grimm Queen."


    "I have my Mastra sleeping in the depths of the ocean north from here. It is thergest Grimm I have, as it is essentially a whale, if you desire a picture."


    "A big whale?"


    "It''s more of a mobile fortress than a meaningfulbatant. It sleeps within an underwater Dust Mine primarily of Gravity. It has taken in the Gravity Dust over the years and possesses the ability to fly. Its other most notable feature is that it can spew a liquid simr to the Grimm Pools to produce lesser Grimm. Somethingmon among the Titans."


    Ignoring the horrifying implications of that for the people here... "That''s kind of neat. Tell me more."


    She smiled faintly and continued. "Off the coast of the Mistral Kingdom is another Titan ¨C my Leviathan sleeps in the ocean''s depths. It is a bipedal Aquatic Grimm that can makend fall. Under the sands of Vacuo my Ouroboros also slumbers. It is a snake without a tail but a head on each end. In the north ice sheets, my Jotun ¨C a two headed and four-armed behemoth waits. And Vale had a run in with my Wyvern years ago and thought it vanquished, yet it only slumbers under a mountain near the city. Amusingly those Faunus settled down near myst Titan, meaning I have one near every major settlement. My hydrays beneath the earth near Menagerie in the south east."


    "That''s a mix of terrifying and awesome at the same time." I loved giant monsters, granted, the purpose of them was not something I....agreed with, which probably should be the next thing we talked about. "Salem...."


    "Hmm?"


    "We were both a bit emotionally drained yesterday, so there''s still plenty we need to talk about. You told me some things, some boundaries of yours. I want to add some of my own too."


    "Very well." She said evenly. "Tell me what you wish to say."


    "I don''t im to be a good person, Salem. I''ve killed many people. I''ve done illegal things, admittedly some for stupid reasons. But, I do have morals, Salem. My other girls too...other than Jinn, we all have blood on our hands, some more than others. I know you don''t care about the people around you, that you don''t even see them as people. But I can''t be with someone who willfully ughters and harms innocent people to achieve their goals."


    I would be a hypocrite to deny Salem because of that outright. Even Artoria, someone I would respect as having the moral fortitude that I could only envy, had killed innocents and done other morally dubious acts in the past during her reign. None of us were without sin, but I like to think that everyone was trying to be better.


    I didn''t know what I would do if she didn''t agree. But I know that a further rtionship would be impossible.


    If need be, I would kill every Grimm in the world and stop their continued creation.


    And I know that she personally hadn''t made a move in a long time, but I wanted a promise from her for the future.


    "If that is your desire, I will oblige by it." Salem responded emotionlessly. "I will not pretend to care about those people you speak of, but I will not intentionally cause them any more harm nor will I have a hand in it."


    "Thank you."


    "There is no need to thank me." She gave one of her cute little huffs. "I have nothing to gain by doing so any longer regardless of your request."


    "Um....I have something ¨C " I fiddled around in my pockets until I found what I was looking for. "I have made a unique one for each of the others too..." I held out my hand to show her a bracelet storage space like what everyone else had.


    Salem''s eyes focused on it and she hesitantly epted it from my hand. "It''s beautiful." She said softly. "You made this for me?"


    "Yeah, I woke up early so I could get it done in time. If you channel some Magical Energy into it, you can ess the folded space attached to it to keep things inside."


    "It''s wonderful." Her expression was soft as she continued to stare at it. "I don''t know how long it''s been since I''ve received a gift like this...."


    "I tried to make it match you. I know you said that your favorite color was ck, so I used ebony as a base. And I added rubies because I thought they would match your beautiful eyes ¨C "


    Salem abruptly got up from her seat and walked a few steps over to mine and promptly sat right down into myp and leaned against me. "Your gift is greatly appreciated." She whispered, giving me a light kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."


    I happily wrapped my arms around her as she fiddled with the bracelet, getting it around her wrist. The beautiful smile she had as she held it up to the light was breathtaking.


    She was....somewhat stiff in my arms, obviously she was unused to this kind of thing, but she was obviously trying so I didn''t say anything. I admit that the sudden bluntness to her trying to be affectionate had its own cute charm to it.


    "Tell me about the others." She said, still enthralled by her bracelet. "I wish to know about the ones with whom I will be sharing your affection."


    "Well, you already met Sc¨¢thach. I assume she introduced herself a bit?"


    "Yes, she exined her origins and what she is. I admit that some of the terms and exnations were unknown to me."


    "I''ll dly fill you in on the detailster. And you''ll have all the ess to anything you want. If you want to study any of the world''s Magecraft that I have been too, you''re free to do so."


    She paused, turning to look at me. She leaned in and gave me another quick kiss on the lips. "Continue."


    I guess she was happy about that. It''s probably her way of expressing herself. As much as I wanted to tease her about it, I didn''t think it was really a good idea at this particr point. I was happy she was making the effort as it was. "Artoria Pendragon would be the next. She''s a Knight and a former king. She''s not a Magus, but she has a phenomenal amount of Magical Energy due to a Dragon Core imnted inside her when she was young. She''s very straightforward and a kind and honorable woman. She''s also Like Sc¨¢thach, a Servant and she''s the Servant of Rin Tohsaka, my Grandfather''s student and a close friend of mine."


    "I always found it strange in the past. The idea of Knight isn''t foreign to me, nor are people who don''t utilize their Magic. However, thebination of both never made sense to me. It was something even when I was a young girl."


    "She has her own reservations about casting spells and what-not. But she does use it in a basic sense to make herself stronger and to do other things."


    "It''s not my ce, so I won''t speak ill. Merely voicing my confusion at the logic of such decisions."


    I nodded and continued. "For Servants, next we have Minamoto-no-Raikou. Or just Raikou." I paused, realizing something obvious. I took out my Kaleidophone and messed with it until a picture of Artoria appeared. "This is Artoria."


    "She is....shorter than I had imagined." Salem nudged my phone closer to her face. "She is very beautiful."


    "Through certain circumstances, her physical aging was halted when she was alive." I didn''t borate as that was more her story to tell, but this much should be okay. "And this is Raikou." I said, moving the picture along.


    ".....I see why you like her." Salem muttered, ncing down at her own chest for the briefest of moments.


    "She''s a swordswoman and a Demi-God. However, her Godly heritage manifested in the form of a type of ''demon'' from my homnd. I won''t divulge too much as it''s personal, but she suffered a lot in her life and has a sort of warped mentality in some ces. She refers to herself as my mom, and I won''t ever correct her."


    "I will not im to understand it, but I will respect it nheless." Salem acknowledged. "And I do not believe I have the context avable to quite understand everything else. Your Lover ¨C Sc¨¢thach, said that these Servants were once famous individuals, I assume there are stories written down to apany them that I can procure?"


    "Of course. Whatever you want or need, I''ll help you."


    "A Demi-God....what a fantastical existence....."


    "...Don''t hold your breath quite yet."


    Salem stared at me. "I assume you''re going to tell me something that will make me question my own existence again. Proceed..." She let out a tired sigh. "I have already epted that my life is different than it was merely a week ago."


    "Alright, we''ll get through the easy ones first."


    "The Demi-God was one of the easy ones, is it?"


    ".....you want me to answer that?"


    "Proceed." She sighed again.


    "This is Yasaka." I changed pictures again.


    "A faunus?" Salem looked at it curiously. "No she has multiple traits.."


    "She''s a Youkai. Which....is a hard term to exin without context. It''s an umbre term for a lot of different types of ''creatures'' and beings from my homnd. It can include ghosts, demons, and other things. Specifically, Yasaka is a Nine-Tailed Fox, one of the strongest types of Youkai. She''s also a Miko ¨C a Priestess, for Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess from my home."


    "She certainly has impressive proportions." Salem muttered.


    "Oh, and a small detour ¨C here''s our Daughter, Kunou." I happily showed off my little fox. "She adopted me a while ago, and then Yasaka and I sort of got together."


    "...cute." Salem said very quietly.


    "And you apparently know Jinn ¨C "


    "Yes, the Spirit of the Relic of Knowledge who apparently is a deviant of the highest order." Salem huffed.


    Well, that''s not untrue.


    "And here''s Venna Gremory." I changed the picture once more. "She''s a full blooded Devil...."


    "...and?" Venna raised an eyebrow. "You stopped."


    "....Don''t judge me."


    "Do you wish me to lie and say I won''t?"


    "She''s my Grandmother."


    "...that is not what I expected toe out of your mouth." Salem stared nkly for a moment. "And you care about her in this way?"


    "I never knew her as a Grandmother. Which is a story I haven''t really told yet. Suffice to say, I''m a bastard and was essentially tossed away at some point. I only recently met her and, well....I like her which led to things happening."


    "It''s not the strangest thing I''ve seen." Salem simply said. "And next?"


    "Right, next." I cleared my throat. "This is Izzy." I changed the picture once more. "Her full name is Izanami."


    "She seems pleasant."


    "She''s a Goddess of Death and Creation and one of two Gods responsible for the creation of my home country."


    Salem opened her mouth briefly and closed it again.


    "She''s very sweet and I''ve been friends with her for awhile before we got together, which was rather recently."


    "...I will take your word for it." Salem forced out. "I do not have any understanding of Gods beyond the Brothers, and I am hesitant to consort with any after what happened to me. Compared to the Brothers....how powerful is this Goddess of yours?"


    "That''s a difficult question to answer. She''s never been a fighter and she isn''t actively worshiped due to certain reasons you can figure out after reading the myths. But....your Brother Gods would probably be stronger; however, they would not want to tangle with her if they could help it."


    "This will require time toe to terms with. When I think of Divine beings, only hate and anger remain instead of reverence."


    "We can move at any pace you feelfortable with." I reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Though, the next andst is a bit...."


    "Another Goddess?" Salem asked.


    "Sort of."


    "I question how one can be only ''sort of'' a Goddess." She gestured for me to continue.


    I flicked the screen again, finally moving to thest on the list, but my first love. "This is Meridia Daedric Lord of Life and Light. The world she''s from, that''s basically the equivalent of being called a Goddess, however.....if we use theparison of your Brother Gods again." I tapped my chin thinking about how to word this. "Meridia is to your Gods what your Gods are to Mortals."


    "....could you please borate?"


    "Meridia, if she brought her entire strength to bear, could destroy the Brother Gods with ease. She''s the Universal concept of Light and Life that was created near the dawn of her Universe. She''s older than Remnant by such arge number that counting it is pointless. She could crush this between her fingers if she chose to. However, she''s mostly limited to her realm of existence, otherwise others of her kind would make a move on it and usurp her domain."


    "....I see." Salem said evenly. "And how.....I wish to word this politely, but I don''t know how to phrase it."


    "Just say it, I won''t take offense."


    "Why is such a being with you?"


    "Funny story actually...." I chuckled remembering it. "So I cleansed a temple of hers from a Necromancer ¨C she absolutely despises things that overturn the natural order of life and death such as necromancy. I cleanse it, right, and she sends some tiny part of her attention my way, asking me what I wanted for a reward."


    "Please tell me this isn''t going where I think it is." Salem covered her face with her hand.


    "....After some talking, and with a promise of a reward, I asked her to be my woman."


    "How are you alive?"


    "Quick thinking, a bit of charm, and lots of luck." I offered. "I fully admit it wasn''t my brightest moment and I wasn''t exactly the bastion of maturity at the time."


    "Clearly." She drawled. "Any others I should know about?"


    "That''s it for my harem. If we''re talking about friends and family, well. My Grandfather is the most immediate. And there''s more of a story there that starts off with my birth and everything thates with that."


    "It will be a long story, I presume."


    "Yeah, but I wanted to talk to you about a couple other things before that."


    "Very well, what do you wish to discuss?" She looked at me curiously.


    "Um...this may sound weird since we just started...dating, but I didn''t know if you were happy here or not or if you would like toe live with me...or rather in my world?"


    "You are asking me to live in your world? A world with Magic still alive and other wonders that I have craved for since my people perished thousands of years ago?" She asked, though it was mostly rhetorical. "I nearly agreed without a mere thought to the contrary. But I find myself in a weird state of mind. The fact that I would be leaving my.....home. It feels strange and I don''t know how to feel about abandoning it."


    "There''s no pressure, and I just wanted to offer in case you were unhappy here. There''s no need to decide now or any time soon, we have a long time together." I squeezed her hand again. "You''re wee toe with me and explore any time too. I can set it up so you cane and go as you want."


    "I would like that very much." She smiled peacefully.


    It''s hard to guess Salem''s thoughts on the matter. On one hand, people are sentimental about their homes. On the other hand, everything she knew and loved about her home was gone.


    "There is something else." I scratched my cheek a little awkwardly. "Would....you like to go on a date with me?" I don''t know why I felt a little flustered asking her that outright.


    "A date?" She tilted her head. "What sort of outing did you have in mind?"


    "The Clock Tower ¨C the Mage''s Association that is from my home. It''s having a sort of soiree for a bunch of the younger generation. My Grandfather is someone of status and he asked me to attend under the family name and I''m allowed a date for the affair."


    "A get together with prominent families of what sounds like an aristocratic society based around Magic." The corners of Salem''s lips tugged upwards. "I assume there will be political rivalries, backstabbing, attempts at subterfuge and all manner of deal making."


    "At a minimum. If someone doesn''t die, it will be a boring evening."


    She raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I underestimated this association of yours then."


    "You did. I don''t think you quite understand what kind of ce it is, but that''s fine. Consider the worst sort, those kinds of people that would do anything to progress their own means."


    "And it''s filled with that sort?"


    "That''s the norm." I said honestly. "If you walked up into the ce and told everyone you were immortal, they would do anything they could to put you on a table and dissect you to learn your secrets."


    "They can try." Salme scowled.


    "Peace, Salem." I squeezed her hand again. "I''m just giving you an example. You wouldn''t even have to do anything because I would kill anyone who tried to harm you."


    Her expression softened and she gave me another kiss on the cheek. "Having someone be protective of me is odd yet satisfying." I could feel her rx in my arms. "Will it be a problem that I do not know much of your Magical Society?"


    "Unfortunately...yes." I pursed my lips in thought. "But I just had a thought."


    "Hmm?"


    "I did have an errand I was going to run before I headed back home from Remnant. Would....you like toe with me and see another world? I''m going to check in on a Magic Family that is working under me for various things and I think that may be the answer to this little dilemma as well."


    "That sounds...delightful." She smiled warmly.


    [***]


    I held my hand out and Salem gracefully took it, stepping out from the portal that connected Remnant to just outside the Yggdmillennia families'' castle.


    She immediately began looking around the surroundings. And then her eyes turned upwards at the starry sky. "Your moon is whole."


    "Right, I forgot you would probably notice that right away."


    "It''s fairly hard to miss. Did no God throw a tantrum and destroy yours?" Salem grunted.


    "No Gods would be able to destroy the moon here. It''s a bit...differentpared to Remnant. It''s hard to exin, but that''s why we''re here."


    "Mmm, your stars are different too. I spent too long memorizing the constetions back home that these look utterly out of ce." Salem snapped her fingers and red eyes glowed in her shadow. A small Nevermore emerged andnded on her arm. "Surveil the area." Shemanded, and it flew off.


    "I almost forgot that you had the Grimm in your shadow." I looked down at the ground, many red eyes shed back at me. "Did you want to get a look around the area?"


    "Yes, I wished to see from the sky." Salem nodded. "And your lover helped me correct a few mistakes with my spell. She also gave me the idea to instead inscribe the Runes directly into my shadow as opposed to creating a spell to interact with it."


    "That''s....a fascinating train of thought." I tapped my chin. "You''ll have to show me when you get somewhere with it. How many Grimm do you have in your Shadow now?"


    "About Six thousand of various types." She smiled proudly.


    "So you''re carrying a veritable army with you."


    "Of course, I am the Grimm Queen." She said haughtily.


    "Scary."


    "Quite." She still looked rather proud of herself. "Is this the ce?"


    "Yup, good ol'' Yggdmillennia Castle." I confirmed as we approached therge gate. We didn''t even need to stop as it opened up to wee us.


    "Lord Schweinorg, we wee your return." Darnic politely bowed in greeting.


    "Darnic, a pleasure." I nodded to him. "And this is Salem." I gestured to my lovelypanion. "She is to be treated the same as me. Her word is my word. And answer any questions she may have, regardless of how mon sense'' they may be in your eyes."


    Darnic''s eyes shed as he inspected Salem, no doubt noticing her uniqueness. "I will make sure to ry your words to everyone."


    "Thank you Darnic."


    "May I ask the purpose of your visit, Lord Schweinorg, and Lady Salem?"


    "I''vee to inspect your progress and procure some other supplies." I stated.


    "Your defenses here are impressive." Salem noted, looking around. "I lost count at how many types of Barriers you had around this castle."


    Darnic didn''t react to her verbiage. "Your words honor us, Lady Salem. We have a rather unique method to establish the Bounded Fields around the castle. We use an ancient sundial Mystic Code as a focal point and tie twelve different Bounded Fields that correspond to each hour and rotate ordingly. This makes it nearly impossible to break through without resorting to overpowering it in its entirety as they change enough that someone attempting to undermine one will not have enough time before it changes to somethingpletely different."


    "Why are there so many active then?" Salem inquired, taking a rather odd tone. Perhaps because she recognized him as an ''equal'' in that he was a Magic User as she was.


    "We have had unwanted guests the past few days so we have been on alert. In times of crisis, we can activate the Mystic Code to produce all twelve Bounded Fields simultaneously."


    "Fascinating." Salem whispered.


    "Trouble with unwanted guests?" I asked.


    "Nothing that you need to be concerned with, Lord Schweinorg. They have been dealt with ordingly." Darnic said simply.


    "What are those?" Salem tugged on my sleeve and whispered in my ear as a group of white-haired people in uniforms passed by.


    "Those are Homunculi. You can think of them as artificially created beings that don''t require a womb to be birthed. Mostly created through the use of certain Alchemy practices. They''re basically Magic Circuits in the forms of humans rather than humans." At least those specific ones were.


    Salem was silent as she digested that information. I guess she didn''t have the equivalent back on Remnant.


    She could guess what Magic Circuits were at the very least.


    Darnic led us through the castle corridors as Salem looked at everything in wonder. And it was genuinely enjoyable to see her like this. It was as if she wasn''t the Grimm Queen, or the Old Witch she called herself. No, her eyes were filled with genuine curiosity and intrigue.


    "Here we are." Darnic announced, pushing open the door. "This is the fourth Green house we''ve created as the yields have been improving."


    "And what are the yields like?" I asked.


    "One moment." Darnic asked, walking to the side and rummaging through a few books. "The records have not been tallied sincest week, but this should give a rough estimate." He handed the book over. "Overall, we have seen a 40% increase on nearly every nt bar the more temperamental ones."


    Salem leaned over my shoulder to look as I opened it up. "Magical nts for making potions." I exined quietly. "Darnic and his family have been producing them for me as per an agreement we have." I looked up at Darnic. "Would you please fetch my quota, Darnic?"


    "Immediately, Lord Schweinorg." He bowed and left the room with haste.


    "Nearly everything Magical has died off on Remnant. There were such things in the bygone age, but to see it flourishing so openly..." Salem whispered, taking a hesitant step towards one of the potted nts. She gently touched a leaf on a Blue Mountain Flower. "I can feel the Magic coursing through it with a mere touch..."


    "Are you okay?" I put a hand on her shoulder as she was acting uncharacteristically.


    ''It''s beautiful." She whispered again, gently letting it go. "I didn''t think I would ever see something like this again."


    "Would you like some?" I asked, as the thought randomly came to my mind.


    "...you would give me my own?" She looked at me in surprise.


    "Salem, I would carve out my heart if you asked me to."


    "Foolish." She huffed, blushing ever so slightly, contrasting her pale cheeks. "If it would not be detrimental. I can provide some form of payment ¨C"


    "No." I cut her off. "Salem, we''re not bargaining. If you want it, I would dly give it to you if it makes you happy."


    "....very well, I know a losing battle when I see one." She once more barely spoke loud enough for me to hear. "Thank you."


    "That does raise an interesting question. Would Dust help facilitate the growth of magical nts as it''s basically crystallized Magical Energy?"


    Salem snapped out of her mood and looked thoughtful as well. "That depends, the element needs to corrte positively to the nts. If you try to use Fire Dust, it''ll probably stymy the growth and perhaps even dry it out and tarnish the soil. Earth Dust is the most obvious choice, but there might be some argument made for Water Dust and maybe even Light dust depending on how these nts conduct their version of photosynthesis."


    "Have I ever told you I love it when you talk about Magic?"


    "Yes, and as I have said before, due praise is weed." She preened. "I will enjoy experimenting with these."


    "Do you need other things, like good Soil or such?"


    "The soil of the Grimm Lands isn''t unusable. I had a regr Garden some centuries ago that I grew bored of at some point." She replied.


    "Perhaps we should locate a leyline?"


    "Hmm, that is a thought as well. However, the nature of Remnant''s leylines after the Brothers departed caused them to be unstable, hence our Dust came about. It may be detrimental to nt them directly on top of one. Too much Magic can be dangerous or lethal to certain types of life."


    "What about ¨C"


    "I have returned, Lord Schweinorg." Darnic entered the room again, carrying a small crate. "I bring a sample of the products we created and the remaining ones are ready for you to retrieve at your leisure."


    Salem''s curiosity was piqued once more as she walked over and started inspecting the various vials and bottles inside, taking them out one by one to get a good look at.


    "Thank you Darnic, your work is excellent as always. I have....two more requests for you."


    "I am at yourmand, Lord Schweinorg." He bowed slightly.


    "I would like two sets of Ten samples of each nt, along with the notes you''vepiled on their growth process."


    One for Salme obviously, but I felt like it was a good time to expand on my own end now. Or rather, what if Yasaka expanded for the Youkai? I didn''t really have the patience to grow my own garden that can support my needs, but Yasaka on the other hand would thrive with such a new resource.


    "That is an easy enough request, however, it will dy the next Greenhouse expansion, if that is eptable?"


    "It is." I nodded. "Next, I would like something a bit more....unique. I would like you to gather any books you have on the basics of Magus Society. From early magical learning, to the history of the Mage''s Association."


    "I....will follow your order, Lord Schweinorg. But I am a little confused about what you''re looking for."


    "Let me rephrase..." I tapped my chin. "Imagine that you''re introducing someonepletely new to our world and you''re expecting them to go to a party with the scions of the most notable families. Get everything they would need to prepare."


    Darnic nced at Salem then back at me. "I believe I know what you''re asking for, Lord Schweinorg. I will prepare the materials for your purview shortly." He bowed his head again and departed once more.


    "Could you be any more obvious?" Salem said dryly.


    "Salem, I could tell them that you''re a white typus and they wouldn''t bat an eye and agree with me. I said they work for me, but that was being very polite. They''re alive because I showed them mercy and they are aware of this face."


    "Hmm, I retract my words then. If they are your underlings, merely issue themands then." Salem changed her tune fairly quickly. "These are interesting. I am tempted to try them."


    "....don''t randomly drink things."


    "I am Immortal, what could possibly harm me?" She rolled her eyes. "However, I am not a child that will put anything inside of my body on a whim. When is this soiree of yours so I know how long I have to prepare."


    "A few days, but we can tweak that to give you some more time."


    "Hmm, hopefully that will be enough time to learn the basics of this world. I do not wish to appear a fool in front of your peers."


    "I barely even stay in the Clock Tower." I waived it off. "I''d rather you enjoy yourself and we just have a good time. I would have gotten you everything to know about my home regardless and I know you like looking into this sort of stuff."


    "That is true." Salem found a chair to sit down in at the side. "We have time at this moment. Would you begin your story?"


    I suppose I had no reason to refuse. I walked over and joined her, sitting at the seat to the side. "First, let me tell you about who Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg is."


    [***]


    I stretched my arms and yawned.


    Ate night study session, I hadn''t had one of those in awhile. But it''s always pleasant to spend time with Salem.


    She seemed content with where she was with her ''studies'' and I didn''t want to overly disturb her while she was getting familiar with my world.


    And thus, the monochromatic light of Yomi greeted me as I stepped out of another portal.


    I wanted to see my Izzy.


    Though, the taste of Lightning and Storms filled my mouth as soon as I stepped out. The feeling of divinity pressing down on the surroundings filled up this usually dested ce.


    Izzy stood on her porch with Susanoo standing protectively in front of her, his Storm raging around him creating an actual atmospheric reaction above us.


    I would normally assume that Susanoo was throwing a fit or some other nonsense, but no, there was a third person present.


    A few dozen yards away stood a man in a Hawaiian shirt with prayer beads around his neck and sunsses on his face.


    Purple Lightning danced across his skin in response to Susanoo flexing his Storm.


    Was that....Indra!?"


    "Well, well, if it isn''t the Devil Bastard." His head turned and his eyes narrowed at me. "Saves me the trouble of finding you myself."


    What the fuck did I just walk in on?


    [***]


    Non-Canon (Maybe?) Omake - Girls only chat.


    Grimm_Queen has Joined the chat!


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: Hey, Salem finally joined!


    Foxy_Momma: Wee! I''m d you finally came around.


    She_Who_Invites: Wee.


    Spear_Witch: Good to see you join.


    Oni_A_Mother: Hello!


    Loyal_Knight: Greetings.


    Mother_of_the_Devil: Wee to our secret group chat!


    Legs_For_Days: Wee.


    Legs_For_Days: Dammit Wilhelm.


    Legs_For_Days has left the chat!


    Lady_of_Light has joined the chat!


    Lady_of_Light: There.


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: Did Wilhelm change your username again?


    Lady_of_Light: Of course, who else would do so? I foolishly believed him when he said he wished to ''update'' my device.


    Grimm_Queen: Thank you for the invitation. I admit, I am still surprised by the eptance into this group. I did not think that a group of women vying for the attention of one man would be so weing.


    Mother_of_The_Devil: For a lot of us, it''s not strange for a powerful person to have a harem. Though I was the only one with previous experience and it wasn''t nearly as open and weing as this one has been.


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: I just like having a big family!


    Foxy_Momma: You''re so adorable! Whoever is closest to her, give her a big hug for me.


    Oni_A_Mother: Will do!


    Grimm_Queen: I noticed you said ''person'' when mentioning harems. Is that intentionally?


    Mother_of_The_Devil: Oh yes. While most supernatural societies reflect human society in that they''re male dominated, there are certainly predominant women with their own harems. If I wanted to, I could have my own without anyone even raising an eyebrow down in the underworld.


    Loyal_Knight: Would it not be more difficult to have rtions with arge group of men as opposed to the opposite?


    Mother_of_The_Devil: Who said they all have to be men?


    Loyal_Knight: How....lewd.


    Spear_Witch: Littless is blushing now.


    Loyal_Knight: Don''t tell everyone that!


    Foxy_Momma: Now I''m curious. How many of us here swing both ways?


    Mother_of_The_Devil: Is this your subtle way of trying to confirm for yourself?


    Foxy_Momma: Oh dear, if I was asking for myself, I would not be subtle~


    Mother_of_The_Devil: Fair enough. As much as I enjoy a man in bed, a woman just scratches a different kind of ich."


    Spear_Witch: I haveid with women in the past. I would not mind the asional tryst as long as our shared interest is involved. However, I prefer a man inside of me over a woman."


    I''m_not_Actually_Blue: I don''t know! I''ve never had sex with a girl before!


    Oni_A_Mother: I believe I am the same, preferring Master''s touch only. But the idea to share on asion is not repulsive.


    Loyal_Knight: I havee to understand that I find both genders attractive, but prefer a rtionship with a man.


    Lady_of_Light: I have not given any consideration to anyone beyond Wilhelm for rtions. However, if such a thing were to change in the future, I believe the ones present would be eptable.


    Foxy_Momma: If you ever want to experiment, feel free to let me know~ Wilhelm isn''t the only one to admire those long legs of yours.


    She_Who_Invites: Down, you horny fox.


    Foxy_Momma: That invitation is extended to you too Lady Izanami. And everyone else for that matter. I think Wilhelm has excellent taste and I would absolutely love to get better acquainted.


    She_Who_Invites: Noted. And I am the same as most of us, it seems. I don''t mind either gender, but I prefer a man in most situations.


    Grimm_Queen: This is not what I expected when I joined this group.


    Foxy_Momma: What did you expect?


    Grimm_Queen: The subtle backhanded insults, the attempts at subterfuge and trying to gain advantage over other members of the Harem. Perhaps vying andpeting for Wilhelm''s affection at every opportunity.


    Mother_of_The_Devil: Take it from someone who did experience that for centuries. It''s much too exhausting and this is much more fun.


    Spear_Witch: I would not have epted such a situation.


    Foxy_Momma: Double for me. I would not have allowed Kunou to be raised around that kind of unhealthy environment. I don''t know how you handled it, Venna.


    Mother_of_The_Devil: Oh, everyone learned very quickly that my children were not part of their games. Some had to learn the lesson the hard way.


    Loyal_Knight: I believe I am of a simr sentiment. I would stepped away from this rtionship if there was consistent infighting.


    Lady_of_Light: I would have simply removed any vtile elements.


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: That sounds so sad. I like it better when we all get along and I don''t mind sharing with everyone!


    Grimm_Queen: I see....


    Grimm_Queen: And what is the purpose of this ''chat'' then?


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: To keep in touch!


    Foxy_Momma: Or really talk about anything. An hour ago, we were talking about our favorite songs. And the other day it was about vacation spots this summer.


    Loyal_Knight: It is also a good method to ask for assistance if required.


    Foxy_Momma: But honestly, it was created for one original purpose in mind.


    Grimm_Queen: And what would that be?


    She_Who_Invites: Wilhelm.


    Grimm_Queen: Yes? That is the reason we have gathered, is it not?


    Loyal_Knight: No. She means it''s to look after Wilhelm.


    Spear_Witch: Our lover has a habit of finding trouble.


    Lady_of_Light: Either by his hand or not.


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: If there''s something happening, he''s either the cause of it or involved in some way.


    Mother_Of_The_Devil: Never a dull moment with my precious Grandson. Like the time he tracked down Jack the Ripper in another world just so he could have a climatic sword fight at night on the rooftops of London? It turned out that he was a demon in disguise.....


    She_Who_Invites: I will still point out the time he facilitated multiple invasions of the local afterlife of another world he took me to.


    Loyal_Knight: Or the time he found an alternate version of me participating in the Fourth Grail War and proceeded to get into a fist fight with Lancelot after removing his Mad Enhancement while proiming himself the Rightful Queen of Camelotand borating in detail by what that actually means. Explicit detail.


    Oni_A_Mother: Master also found another Grail War that had a despicable Oni participating. He took me there for our anniversary. It did not end well, but it was a lovely date.


    Spear_Witch: If I recall, was that the one where his Grandfather kicked him out of the world-line?


    Oni_A_Mother: No that was....another one.


    Grimm_Queen: ...


    Spear_Witch: Yes, and the time he brought me to see that ''Chaldea''. He mistook the local version of myself as his and proceeded to grope her without regard. It caused arge brawl in the kitchens that escted to involve the majority of the Heroic Spirits summoned.


    Foxy_Momma: Didn''t that also end with both of you in his bed?


    Spear_Witch: Yes it did.


    Grimm_Queen: I am starting to understand the necessity.


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: Oh, tell her about the Dragons!


    Lady_Of_Light: I was asked by Akatosh that we not mention that anymore.


    Grimm_Queen: And this Akatosh is....?


    Lady_Of_Light: Simr to me, but his sphere is over the domain of Time and older than the concept itself. Also the creator of all Dragons as they are parts of his soul.


    Grimm_Queen: What could possible cause such a being to make that request?


    Foxy_Momma: I only heard bits and pieces, but something about forced Dragon fighting pits?


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: We learned that 47 Trolls can take down a dragon if it can''t fly away.


    Loyal_Knight: And the spiders.....Rin still has nightmares.


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: Yeah, the spiders. That poor dragon. I think that''s when everyone realized they went too far....


    Grimm_Queen: I am genuinely horrified to even begin questing this and I make horrendous monsters for entertainment.


    Lady_Of_Light: As I said, do not mention it anymore.


    Grimm_Queen: What exactly did I sign up for?


    Mother_Of_The_Devil: Unconditional love and affection with an unhealthy dose of madness and mayhem?


    Foxy_Momma: Sounds about right.


    Loyal_Knight: Very urate.


    Oni_A_Mother: Master is very mischievous.


    Spear_Witch: It makes life interesting.


    Lady_Of_Light Continuous Exasperation.


    Grimm_Queen: And there are no regrets with how things turned out?


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: Nope!


    She_Who_Invites: No.


    Foxy_Momma: Absolutely not.


    Oni_A_Mother: I am happy beyond words.


    Loyal_Knight: I have noints.


    Spear_Witch: This Sc¨¢thach is content.


    Lady_Of_Light: I would not have him any other way.


    Grimm_Queen: It seems I have much to look forward to then.


    Spear_Witch: Speaking of, where is my student now? He''s due for some instance of trouble any day.


    Lady_Of_Light: He visited some hours ago, but I know not where he went.


    Foxy_Momma: Don''t worry I got him here. He fell asleep with his head on myp.


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: A, send a picture.


    Foxy_Momma: [Picture]


    Oni_A_Mother: I''m saving that one.


    Mother_Of_The_Devil: So cute~


    Grimm_Queen: He has asked me for this before. Is it amon urrence?


    Spear_Witch: Yes, I let himy his head upon my thigh as a reward.


    Loyal_Knight: He also asks me often.


    Oni_A_Mother: Master loves ap pillow~


    Grimm_Queen: I will make a note of it then. Is there anything else I should be aware of? What does he enjoy?


    Foxy_Momma: This [Picture]


    Loyal_Knight: Yasaka!


    Spear_Witch: I suppose he is awake now.


    She_Who_Invites: Is it another lewd picture?


    I''m_not_Actually_Blue: lewd.


    She_Who_Invites: Must you post these? I haven''t done anything like that yet and now I already know what he looks like down there.


    Oni_A_Mother: She''s giving Master a ''hand''.


    Lady_Of_Light: I have already learned not to view any pictures she sends without waiting for everyone else.


    Mother_Of_The_Devil: I almost opened it up. I''m a charity function. That would have been an awkward conversation to have with those around me.


    Foxy_Momma: Ufufufu


    Grimm_Queen: ....should I assume this is normal behavior?


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: Oh, I forgot about Salem. She only just joined, woops.


    Foxy_Momma: I forgot we had someone new here. Sorry for not giving you a warning.


    She_Who_Invites: And I don''t get this supposed warning?


    Foxy_Momma: You already know what I''m about.


    She_Who_Invites: .....I''m annoyed that this is a valid answer.


    Grimm_Queen: I''m not upset. It''s not as if it''s my first time seeing his member.


    Loyal_Knight: Oh my...


    I''m_Not_Actually_Blue: Damn Salem!


    Spear_Witch: I believe you will fit in around here well.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 421 - 381

    <h4>Chapter 421: Chapter 381</h4>


    "....what''s going on?" I looked upon the scene in confusion.


    "This doesn''t concern you!" Susanoo growled.


    "There is nothing going on, Indra was just leave." Izzy ignored her son and red at Indra.


    "You can wait there until I''m done, Half-breed." Indra said dismissively.


    And all my questions were answered, well I could make a pretty good guess.


    "Get out of my Realm, Indra." Izzy''s Divinity began to seep out.


    "Hand over what belongs to me and I''ll dly leave this disgusting ce." Indra scoffed. "I don''t know how my Toy''s soul ended up in your hands, but it doesn''t matter."


    "You''re in no ce to make demands of me." Izzy''s words made the entire realm rumble with her barely hidden annoyance.


    "Oh please, maybe that works on the trash next to you, but I''m a real God." Indra scoffed. "A decrepit Old Goddess with no worshippers. Do you really think I''m going to fear you, even in this ce? You''re wasting my time as it is, every second I spend here is agonizing to someone of my position. You should be thankful I came here in person rather than send one of my underlings."


    ....did he just insult Izzy like that to our faces?


    "How dare you talk to my mother like that!" Susanoo roared and a massive bolt of lightning descended from the sky, mming into the position Indra was in.


    "That tingles." A smug smile became visible rather quickly once the dust settled. The lightning arced around him and Indra merely held up azy hand, clutching the foreign divine lightning.


    That attack was by no means weak. I would have to defend against it with one of my more powerful spells/shields, yet Indra just held his hand up to it like it was nothing.


    "Lesser Gods are so easy to anger." Indra said mockingly.


    "You ¨C "


    "Susanoo, stop letting him rile you up." Izzy stepped infront of her son. "And Wilhelm, please leave for now. I will handle this."


    "No, he will wait there until I''m finished." Indra immediately countered.


    "As loathed as I am to agree with this gigantic douche, I''m not leaving you alone with him."


    "....did you just call me...?" He seemed genuinely surprised that I threw an insult his way.


    "Fuck off." I didn''t even bother with anything sarcastic.


    "And for once, I agree with the mortal." Susanoo bellowed out augh.


    Indra''s expression turned sour. "If I didn''t need you to track down the woman calling herself my daughter and unting a weapon simr to mine, I would have killed you for your arrogance, mortal."


    "Well, you would have tried, and failed. But I''m sure you''re not unfamiliar with being a failure."


    "...on second thought." His hands alighted with purple lightning, but before he could make a move, Izzy reaffirmed her position as the ruler here, making the shadows around him shoot up from the ground, ready to pounce.


    "Indra." Izzy''s tone had a new bite to it. "Are you trying to start a war? If you make a move, I will consider it as your Pantheon''s deration."


    Indra''s Lightning slowly faded as he stared at Izzy, neither backing down. The intense stand off abruptly ended as Indra startedughing maniacally. "War?" He spat out between heartyughs. "You want to threaten war with me? With what army?"


    "Takamagahara ¨C"


    "Will do nothing." Indra''s face twisted into a scowl. "Do you think I hid myself when I walked over here? Do you think they''d care if you just disappeared?"


    I would have normally been mad at his jabs at Izzy, but what really infuriated me was that Izzy didn''t respond. Not that I was annoyed she didn''t defend herself, but the silent eptance that what he said was urate.


    "I''m genuinely surprised you even exist still. I would have thought you faded centuries ago. No worshippers, no presence in the world, and not even your own Pantheon cares about you? A cursed existence that hides in a disgusting hole. Give me what is mine, so I can leave this wretched ce and find the upstart who had the gall to impersonate my blood."


    Something in Izzy just seemed to disappear, the defiance in her gaze turned to reluctant eptance. ".....just take the soul and leave."


    I was angry, so very angry at this point, yet my anger didn''t explode. I kept it controlled and contained, and I wasn''t the only one.


    I looked at the one by her side.


    Susanoo''s gaze also filled with the fury of a storm.


    And he turned to look at me. Our eyes for a brief moment, and with silent agreement we came to an understanding.


    Right, there wasn''t anything that needed to be said between us in this case.


    "Hey Indra, what''s that?" I grabbed his attention, opening a Portal right behind him.


    "What ¨C" He nced behind himself to look at it but was suddenly beset with a thunderp, Susanoo mming into him, pushing him through, and I quickly followed.


    [***]


    As soon as I stepped through, the water infront of me erupted, Susanoo broke through the waves and steadied himself on the waves as Indra looked down on us both.


    "Izzy is going to be pissedter." I hummed,nding down next to Susanoo.


    "Mother''s fury is not what I am concerned about at the moment." Susanoo snorted, gazing at Indra who silently floated up out of the water.


    "You''re right, there''s something much more important to deal with right now."


    "Yes, for one of the few times I will admit it, we are in agreement, Devil." Susanoo punched his fist, producing a p of thunder above with bellowing storm clouds following.


    My own Divinity, as if resonating with him, bubbled to the surface. "No one gets away with talking like that to her."


    "He is stronger than me." Susanoo spoke in a hushed voice. "It pains me to say, but I am far weaker than him and we share simr Domains."


    Indra was one of the strongest beings in this world, I wasn''t aware of how I stacked up to him. "...together?"


    Susanoo looked at me and nodded. "Together."


    I flipped my hand, the Staff of Magus appearing within my fingers. With a swipe, the area around uspletely turned to ice and I aimed it up towards the God.


    It distorted and turned into spears at mymand, shooting up towards the floating deity.


    "Cheap tricks." Indra scoffed, his Purple Lightning crackling around him, whipping at any errant ice spears that approached as if it were alive.


    With a thunderp, Susanoo appeared next to the Hindu God, a fist coated in lighting thrown at him. Indra raised his own palm up to catch it, sending shockwaves in every direction.


    With a frown, I put my staff away. My wings pped and with a burst of Shunpo I was on his opposite side, throwing my fist towards him too. "Boost!" I roared, the Red Gauntlet appearing.


    Indra blocked it with his other palm as he held off both me and Susanoo.


    "Is that it?" Indra mocked.


    Susanoo and I shared a look again.


    "Boost, Transfer." I called out in session, targeting the Shinto God.


    Susanoo''s fist broke through Indra''s hold, and I pulled back to throw him further off bnce. Indra quickly moved to block the sudden burst of strength that I gave to Susanoo.


    "Bakud¨­ #61: Rikuj¨­k¨­r¨­." I quickly cast with the Reiatsu I had avable. Six beams of light materialized and mmed into his midsection, sealing him in ce. A flinch from him made them crack, barely holding him in ce, but it was enough for Susanoo''s fist wreathed in lightning to connect with Indra''s cheek.


    The Hindu God went hurling to the ocean below, skipping across the water a few times. The cascading waves made it difficult to see, but that wasn''t a particr issue once his anger was made known.


    Purple lightning danced across the water and Indra slowly floated up again.


    Susanoo didn''t wait to re engage, the Shinto God flew towards Indra at blinding speed, only leaving sparks in his wake.


    Indra''s face twisted back into a snarl and shot towards him as well. However, the Purple lighting around him began to coalesce. Itbined andpressed, his Divinity weaving into it to create a solid construct. Tworge arms form at of his sides, both of which smashed down on Susanoo as they got close.


    Susanoo tried his best to block. But as soon as the two Lightning Arms mmed down, his legs buckled and Indra followed up with a normal fist that connected with Susanoo''s face.


    I quickly moved with a burst of Shunpo, grabbing hold of Mirage and swinging towards Indra''s side.


    One of his Lightning Arms grabbed my de and he held up a hand, palm facing me. It started with a spark, and not even a breathter, a torrent of Purple Lightning discharged right into me.


    My Aura sprang up to block, but even so, it sted me far away, and Susanoo followed shortly, thrown through the air, hisrge body colliding with me as we fell.


    Indra didn''t let up, before either of us could react, the two massive Lightning Arms were held above, fingers interlocked and they smashed down onto us.


    "Bakud¨­ #44: Sekisho!" I quickly chanted in the brief window of opportunity. The translucent shield appeared, but it was just as quickly shattered by the blow, barely even stopping Indra for a moment.


    Wreathed in his own lightning, his constructs mmed into us, a pir of lightning discharging that could reach the sky.


    I activated my Semnce and Susanoo did something too, but the lightning blocked my sight and I did what I could to minimize the damage.


    I wobbly stood up, blinking in realization that I was standing on solid ground.


    Walls of water around me.


    I was standing on the ocean floor. I don''t know how many hundreds of feet deep it was, but I pulled myself up from the new crater I made and wiped away the blood dripping from my nose.


    Indra''s remaining lightning was still arching between the chasm of water he had created and the water was just now starting to fill back in the void that was left from the disturbance/dispersion due to the force of the blow.


    "Ddraig, Let''s go." I intoned. "Welsh Dragon, Bnce Breaker!" I summoned forth the full Scale Mail. Instead of my Devil Wing, Ddriaig''s Dragon Wings sprouted from my back and I shot back to the surface before I could be swallowed by the oing water.


    I reached the sky again only to see Susanoo being held tightly by Indra, almost mockingly.


    "Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost!" I called out quickly, letting my strength reach a new threshold. "Dragon Shot!" I discharged all of it right at Indra.


    His Lightning Arm raised up to block it, rather easily, but I just needed a moment.


    Spell Circles swirled around my sword. Mirage began to gleam with the umted Magical Energy. Nearly point nk, I shed my sword down. "Ether Cannon!"


    A familiar arm pierced through it to grab my neck.


    The Magical Energy swirled and dispersed into nothing so I could see the Lighting Arm acting like a Divine shield in application and his regr arm was squeezing me.


    I grit my teeth and called upon my Power of Destruction, grabbing onto his fleshly body.


    He hissed and pulled back, his Lightning arm pping my body away through the air.


    "Little bastard." He hissed. "But it''s nothingpared to Shiva''s destruction."


    This wasn''t going to work. He was not an enemy I could just blow over with physical ability.


    Let''s take the next step.


    I held my hand to the sky and began chanting. "It was here at this ce, that Susanoo led a thousand unruly deities in rebellion. A thousand swords standing upon the earth, used as city walls to defend against the enemies. Here! Namely, the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi! The Steel that breaks a thousand des!" A single bolt of lightning dropped down from the sky into my hand.


    My Divine defortably fell into my grasp.


    "What is that?" Indra''s eyes narrowed from behind his sunsses.


    He was on guard. I could assume he felt the threat that my sword represented. But maybe it was the next action I took thatpletely befuddled him.


    I threw it towards Susanoo.


    The de went spinning through the air and The Storm God caught it, as if the sword was made for him, it sang happily with the sounds of thunder and lighting at merely a touch from him.


    Susanoo, without even taking a moment toprehend what just happened, swung the sword at Indra. A burst of lightning was released from point nk, freeing the Shinto God from the Hindu God''s grasp.


    Indra appeared a few dozen feet away, his Lightning Arms trembling as they blocked the blow, a small scratch on them.


    Susanoo looked at the sword, then looked at me with a widening grin.


    My Dragon wings pped and I shot up again.


    Indra, took a more serious stance as Susanoo and I were on opposite sides of him at this point.


    "Boost, Boost Boost!" I called out again, and both Susanoo and I moved.


    Indra held out both of his Lightning Arms at us, their palms opened and they gathered a significant amount of Lightning before shooting off at us.


    I waved my hand, and my other swords appeared around me. They all shot forward towards the st, dispersing it enough that I tore through it.


    Susanoo on the opposite side, merely pointed my Authority at the st and cleaved right through it.


    With a roar, Susanoo shed the Divine Sword, and I followed suit with my Mirage.


    The Two Lighting Arms moved to block, while he fended off my Mirage. The Divine Sword sunk into the Lightning construct of his.


    Indra''s eyes widened, a jerk of surprise and perhaps a tiny bit of fear made him react swiftly. A weapon of his own suddenly appeared in his hand. It was small, barely peeking out from his grasp. But it looked like a smaller version of Raikou''s Noble Phantasm.


    [Careful brat!]


    Vajra


    His Divine Weapon.


    He merely waved it in Susanoo''s direction and the space was filled with thunderbolts of terrifying power.


    I couldn''t even see Susanoo anymore, yet out of the purple wave of lightning came from my Sword flying through the air and shot up to catch it in one motion, then shed downwards with everything I had.


    He only had time to bring up his Lightning Arm to block and my sword cleaved right through it, sundering the ocean below.


    "Pest!" Indra roared, his Vajra swinging towards me.


    "Don''t ignore me!" Susanoo roared louder, tearing through the lightning that besieged him, bloodied and panting as he flung himself at Indra, throwing a hail of punches, each one enough to create a tsunami.


    I swung my Divine Sword to meet his Vajra. Neither one seemed to have the advantage as the world itself seemed to split into two to reflect the opposing side.


    "Boost Boost Boost Boost." I called out again, pushing Indra back.


    It was enough that Susanoo slipped through his defense. His lightning-like punches startednding on Indra''s body.


    The Hindu God spit out blood, forced to retreat backwards at the onught.


    I tossed the sword back to Susanoo and we flew at him again.


    The Hindu God waved his Vajra at us and Susanoo elerated forward, slicing through the wave of thunder bolts. I briefly nced at the ones that missed us and each one thatnded into the water created an explosion of power that would wipe out a good portion of a city.


    He seemed to focus everything on stopping Susanoo with my Divine Sword, his remaining Lighting-Arm Construct and even his Vajra shed with it in a fierce struggle. With another shout, Indra deflected the sword away.


    But that left him wide open.


    I used every ounce of my strength and with all the Boosts I currently hand, and I nted my fist right in the center of his face.


    Seeing him get sent flying was extremely cathartic.


    Even Susanoo floated to my side, and we watched him hit the water a fair ways away. The ssh as hended was something special, rising very high into the sky.


    It took several moments for the Hindu God to reappear. Slowly, he breached the surface, cing his feet into the waves like they were solidnd.


    Indra was expressionless as he met our gaze. His Sunsses, which he seemed to wear regardless of the fight, suddenly cracked and shattered into tiny pieces, dropping into the water and sinking down.


    His hand slowly moved to grab onto his nose and he yanked it to the side, straightening it out properly before wiping away blood that flowed out of his nostrils.


    "I''m done." Indra said rather softly, yet the words boomed across the raging seas. He tilted his head and a purply bolt of lightning ascended into the sky above. It connected him from earth to heaven as the crackling energy didn''t seem to stop.


    No, something else happened. It seemed to pull apart at the edges, as if reality itself was making way for something.


    An eye, there was a singr eye that shone through. And it reminded me heavily of Karna''s Noble Phantasm back in the Grail War.


    Susanoo noticed the danger too, because he suddenly burst out with the entirety of his Divine Power. The same ''form'' he used on me was unleashed. His body became engulfed in Lightning and he ascended several stories in size.


    Yet, he was still smaller than the eye that was starting back at us.


    "Be reduced to ashes." Indra held up his hand at us, the eye blinked.


    Space and time felt like they were distorted. The world shook at the sheer weight of the power released. It was hard toprehend what actually happened at the end of the attack. Everything everywhere was simply filled with his Divine Lightning.


    I saw Susanoo attempt to defend with both his full Divine Power and my Authority


    I think it managed to ward off some of it. My Authority sealing away the partial manifestation of Indra''s full Divine Might.


    And Susanoo himself positioned himself in front of me as I called up my strongest shields and focused everything I had into my Aura, letting it burst outwards.


    But everything seemed to go white.


    [***]


    Why was I on something solid?


    Why....was everything gone?


    It felt familiar.


    I was on my back and I sat up to see nothing but a white void around me. Well, almost nothing. There was but a mirror a few feet away standing upright, only a tad taller than I was.


    I looked for my weapons, but they weren''t there.


    I looked for my Magic, my spells, my Divinity, but nothing responded.


    Strangely, it didn''t bother me. I felt oddly at peace where I was right now.


    Before I knew it, my feet carried me towards the mirror.


    At least....I thought it was a mirror, yet there was nothing reflected on it. Hesitantly, I reached out to touch it and surprisingly, it wasn''t solid. It almost reminded me of mercury, it was liquid-like yet also heavy. And for some reason, I felt the need to push into it.


    The mercury-like liquid happily epted me and I was pulled inside.


    My surroundings immediately changed.


    I was standing in the middle of Kyoto.


    There was nobody around, it was deathly silent, which just felt all kinds of wrong.


    I turned around to look at the mirror again. Once more, I pushed inside of it to see if I would go back. Instead, I fell out onto another familiar area.


    It was the Colored Rooms.


    I was standing before Meridia''s favorite throne.


    But she was missing.


    Again, I pushed through, and again the world changed.


    Zelretch''s Home.


    Pandora''s Home.


    The Jorrvaskr where I usually met with Thorum.


    Fuyuki City where Rin and Medea lived.


    I popped out of every ce that had any semnce of meaning to me. Every ce I visited more than a few times. I even popped out at my old house in Kuoh that I burned down.


    I left that ce quickly, but I noticed there was one ce that had yet to pop up.


    And as I stared at the mirror again, I had the strangest feeling that I knew it was next.


    I stepped through and Yomi unfolded to greet me with Izzy''s house just a few steps away.


    However, this time, the mirror disappeared and I took that as my cue to go inside. I pushed the door open, and a fragrant aroma reached my nostrils. There was a man I didn''t recognize sitting at a small table.


    He wore a Kimono, but his had more western features than Japanese ones. He also had long white hair and a very gentle smile on his face. It contrasted quite heavily with the void-like eyes he had. It was as if I was looking into the Kaleidoscope when I met his gaze.


    "This isn''t Izzy''s house." I spoke, staring at the man.


    "It''s not, but I thought it was appropriate, given the situation." He gently set down a cup of tea he was sipping. "I''m surprised to see you here. I only just started calling out, yet here you are. I had thought it would have taken a few more months to reach this point."


    "You''re my Zanpakut¨­ spirit." I realized.


    "Correct." He smiled happily. "I''ve tried reaching out several times now. But only recently have you even been able to perceive my voice."


    "I thought I was hearing something." I took a seat opposite of him. "Can Ddraig see us?"


    "Not quite yet. And not because I don''t want to, I would love it if I could finally meet Ddraig."


    "Why not?"


    "You need to release me first." He said simply.


    "....I just need to call your name right? That''s what you mean, my Shikai?"


    "Yes." He nodded. "This is your inner world, it''s notplete until you learn my true name and solidify my existence. Right now I''m too.....ambiguous. If you waited another few days, I may havepletely changed. Such is the nature of one who wields the Kaleidoscope, the possibilities are endless."


    "So you were molded from that as well."


    "Everything you are is what made me." He chuckled. "Both the good and the bad."


    "Can I ask a question?"


    "This is your world."


    "I admit, I was expecting a woman. Not that I was hoping, mind you, but well...I''m aware of my own preferences and where they stem from."


    "Maybe I''m just what you needed instead?"


    "Maybe." I hummed. "How does the Hogyoku taste?"


    "Delicious."


    "Really? Not going to give me crap for asking a stupid question like that?"


    "I know everything you do. I would think it odd that you don''t ask me a silly question like that." He merely smiled. "But I appreciate you letting me have it. If I did not have ess to that object, I don''t think I would have emerged for several more years and even that is unlikely. You''re a lot more....full than what a normal Shinigami would be when they first acquire their Zanpakut¨­s."


    "Were you the one that made my Devil Ancestrye out? You''re basically nomming on the Hogyoku as is."


    "No, it has a mind of its own to an extent, but my will can influence it by this point. However, even if I did, what''s wrong with letting out your Devil Side every now and then?"


    "Ugh, I don''t want to get into this right now. More pressing concerns, like, what''s going on outside, Indra, and all that."


    "I suppose that is a pressing concern. I would rather you not take such a powerful attack head on like you''re currently nning to do without Avalon."


    "Right....we don''t have that right now." I frowned. "I should be able to survive."


    "Of course, but it''s going to be dreadfully painful and cause extensive harm. Do you wish to see your lovers worry over you?'' He asked.


    "You''re right, I''m just saying. I wasn''t quite prepared for him to suddenly amp up to 10 because he got hit once. It''s not like Susanoo or I were going for killing blows, major dick move on his part."


    "Agreed."


    "So is this ce working on a different Time Axis? And How can we abuse this in the future?"


    "Sorry, but this is likely a one time urrence. Because you were on the precipice of releasing me for the first time, I was able to fudge things to pull you into your inner world. We''re still in flux, a state of nonexistence until you affirm me."


    "Oh well, I won''t look a gift horse in the mouth." I sighed. "So how long do I have before this cheat ends?"


    "Roughly eight minutes left." He sipped his tea.


    "I get it now."


    "Do you?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "The Mirror. It represents an infinite amount of possibilities."


    "Well done." He said evenly.


    "It wasn''t very difficult." I rolled my eyes.


    "I have... a lot more I want to talk to you about."


    "Why do you make it sound like this is goodbye?" He tilted his head with a chuckle. "I''ll be here when you return. Besides, you have more important matters to take care of."


    "Is it important to you too?" I asked curiously.


    "I want to protect what you want to protect. I cherish what you cherish."


    I stood up, dusting myself off. "It''s weird not referring to you with a name. I think we should fix that."


    He also stood up, smiling brightly. "I would like that very much." He held out his hands and my Zanpakut¨­ appeared. "You will need this."


    "....before I go."


    "Yes?"


    "As a sword, do you look at my other swords the same way I look at ¨C "


    He flicked my forehead. "Get going. You have an Arrogant God to humble."


    "Thank you."


    "You don''t need to thank me, I''m you after all." He smiled warmly once more. "Be quick, you''ll only have a second while Susanoo holds it off."


    The mirror returned, but this time, it showed the scene outside.


    "I''m d you can hear me." He looked at me and his eyes were like starlight, showing the vast infinity of existence. "My name is ¨C "


    [***]


    I opened my eyes again, the weight of Indra''s power pressing down on us and Susanoo was barely holding back the lion''s share of it.


    My Zanpakut¨­ was in my hand, summoned without even a thought.


    I held it up and dered.


    "Reflect -- Mus¨± Tengai."


    [***]


    A/N


    First off, I don''t speak Japanese. I don''t know Kanji and I basically used a Kanji dictionary to figure out the ''proper'' name, which is still probably wrong on many levels. The meaning is supposed to be ''Infinite Horizons''. It can also mean Myriad Heavens as well, which I thought was neat.

 Chapter 422 - 382

    <h4>Chapter 422: Chapter 382</h4>


    "Reflect ¨C Mus¨± Tengai!" My Reiatsu exploded outwards.


    It was the first time I was using it, yet it felt like I understood it intrinsically. In this moment of respite, I knew exactly what to do.


    Not only that, but I could see it.


    I could see all the branching possibilities avable to me. What would normally require me to use intense calctions and simtions, was unveiling itself vividly before my eyes.


    My Sword''s abilitytched onto what I needed. I felt a painful throb behind my eyes, and my eyes strained to focus, but I pushed through.


    {Careful, there''s no limit to what you can do but only what you can handle.} My Zanpakut¨­''s soothing voice rang out in my ears.


    The condensed beam of Lightning and Divinity separated at the spot I swung down on. Parting in this small instance to give both Susanoo and I a reprieve. Susanoo who had been bearing the brunt of the attack with the help of my Authority almost fell over from the sudden freedom.


    It''s not that I blocked it.


    Nor did I cut it in half.


    Simply, in the spot where we were standing, the attack nevernded.


    [What the hell, who''s talking?] Ddraig asked in confusion.


    {Hello, Ddraig. It''s good to finally meet you.} My Zanpakut¨­ greeted him.


    [You''re the brat''s spirit?]


    {Yes.}


    [Huh, I expected a woman.]


    Not the time, Ddraig!


    [Alright. But what the hell was that!?] He asked.


    Later.


    The attack let up a moment or twoter, and the aftereffects were just as devastating as imagined. The world looked like it had ended around us. The Ocean had distorted unnaturally to amodate the Divine Power unleashed by Indra. And the sky turned a baleful purple to reflect the cascading Lightning that seemed to fall at random.


    Susanoo''s Large form dissipated and he nearly fell to his knee, but I quickly moved to catch him. He was hurt, bloody, and breathing hard, but he still had a look of defiance in his eyes as he clutched my sword.


    "What did you do?" Indra''s voice boomed as he floated overhead. Thatrge eye behind him was now gone, but there was something different about him. There were golden ring-like objects floating behind him, crackling with Divine Lightning. And on his forehead was a shining purple eye, not dissimr from the one that we saw unleash that attack a moment prior. "That attack was more than enough to remove a weak God, much less a mortal." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "That Sword....and the other one." He muttered.


    Susanoo also nced at the sword in his hand and at mine. Clearly, he had some words he wanted to say, but swallowed them down, forcing himself back upright.


    I nced at my new sword as well as I hadn''t had the chance to see it yet.


    It was no longer a Katana.


    Instead, it was more of a western sword that retained the grip from its sealed state. Straight, double edged with a minimalistic guard. But the most striking feature was the de itself. I nearly mistook it for a mirror, and considering it showed a perfect reflection, I would be forgiven for that. But more so, it reminded me of the mirror from my inner world, that mercurial-like substance thatposed it.


    How appropriate, consider what the ability was.


    "Your Eyes." Susanoo nced at me.


    I tilted my sword up to see what he was talking about. My eyes looked like Mus¨± Tengai''s when I saw him for the first time.


    I wiped away the blood dripping from them and refocused.


    "Can you keep going?" I whispered towards Susanoo.


    "Who do you think I am?" He grunted, the Lightning around his body intensified, but could tell he didn''t have much left in the tank. "Does it matter though? He''s not ying anymore and I am not his match. Unless you have a n?"


    "Same as before." I held my sword up, pointing it at the God looming over us.


    ".....Don''t die." He gripped my Sword. "I don''t want to see Mother upset again."


    I nodded at him and we moved at the same time. He turned into a streak of lightning and attacked from the right. I disappeared in a burst of Shunpo and attacked from the left.


    Indra crossed his arms and didn''t move, however, his eyes seemed to prioritize Susanoo, or rather my sword in his hand. Perhaps he deemed it a genuine threat?


    I also called upon Whisper to begin casting a ratherrge Runic Spell just below the Ocean''s currents.


    Indra sneered and with him at the focal point, an expanding sphere of Lightning erupted. I activated my Semnce, woven with my own Divinity and bore through it with my Aura ring up protectively.


    Susanoo merely pointed the sword at it and charged inside. Seemingly at the tip of my Authority, the lightning Indra summoned was dispersed.


    "That damn sword again." Indra growled. "Without that, you would have died several times over!" He swiped his hand with Vajra, releasing a wave of thunderbolts that crashed into the Shinto God. The Eye on his forehead turned to face me. The ring behind his back rotated at high speeds and he sliced his hand through the air, t, like a de.


    Space ruptured and split through his motion, tearing it apart and sending the broken turbulence my way.


    I called for mirage with my free hand, clutching it between my fingers. If he wanted to use the disruption of space as a weapon, then I could counter it!


    Myriad sh.


    My Mirage tore through the world as well in a different manner. Where he simply created a destructive void at the edge of his hand, I oveid the movements of myself on several world-lines. The two attacks collided and produced a singrity.


    It was small and infantile, but the world still quickly reacted as even a world without consciousness detests a void. The warped time and space didn''t care for anyone around it as it immediately refilled the hole left.


    A Space Explosion sent us both rocketing away from the focal point.


    Indra Quickly regained his footing, but Susanoo was already on him and I wasn''t far behind.


    Indra seemingly looked calm. He pushed his palms together and an almost holy light emanated from him. Two more arms sprouted from his shoulders. Not the Lightning constructs that he wielded before, but genuine arms of flesh and blood, if Godly, as depicted on most images of him through literature.


    If I had to make a conjecture, I would call this his true Divine Form.


    "Wind and Rain. Storm and Lightning. The Sky, the Universe." He held the two new arms up, and the starry sky descended upon us. I would liken it to a Reality Marble and would have marveled at it if we weren''t the ones it was focused on. "I am Indra, King of Gods and the Universe is my Domain."


    The Authority of a God who reigns over one of the strongest Cosmologies in the world.


    I wasn''t even entirely sure if I could get out through my portal without calcting it first.


    "Sword!" I called out to Susanoo.


    His eyes widened and threw it towards me.


    "It''s useless." Indra said calmly, pping his hands together. Two Massive Hands appeared at the ends of this false Universe, dwarfing even the stars that now surrounded us.


    My Authority returned, and I called upon every ounce of my Divinity. "Your Authority, I seal it!" I dered, churning everything into the Divine Sword in my hand.


    It already has a debilitating effect against Indra due to him being a Lightning God. Just wielding it, one could gain the advantage against his primary method of attack ¨C his Divine Lightning.


    However, this was something far different. This was him pulling upon his Divine Domains to alter the world, as his right as a God.


    He was not a Heretic God though. His Authority manifested differently than those this Weapon originated from. It wasn''t as...precise a mechanism to seal away.


    Specifically, I sealed away his Domainpromising the Universe as his seat of the King of Gods.


    Even still, my Divine Power shed against his. Mine was infinitely smaller inparison, but he had never experienced a Divine Weapon that could seal his Authority before, the foreignness of the situation having taken him by surprise.


    I braced myself and I still struggled.


    The Starry sky around us began to crack and shatter, falling apart at the seams before we were crushed beneath the weight of his Divine Power.


    I could see the look of confusion mixed with a smidge of horror work its way across his face as he stared at the real world around us once more. "How -- !"


    Susanoo''s fist barreled towards Indra once more. He held His two left arms up to casually block, but I made a move as well.


    "Reflect ¨C Mus¨± Tengai!"


    What should have been an easy block for him, now had Susanoo''s fistnded on his cheek. The confused God went flying.


    I felt a wave of disorientation through my head as my vision blurred for a brief moment, but I clenched my teeth and worked through it. "Boost, Boost, Boost!" I shot forward as well, shing both my swords downwards.


    "Devil Bastard!" Indra roared. "This humiliation won''t be wiped away even in your death!" His Vajra charged with his Divine Lightning to the point where it was difficult to even look at it head on.


    And he threw it.


    A part of me wondered how many mountains it would destroy if it were so inclined.


    However, to deal with it was simple, I created a portal in front of me to intercept it, linking it to another that opened right above his head.


    He wasn''t stupid. He was arrogant and many other insults I could think of, but he could immediately see through my actions.


    He scoffed and merely held up his hand. "Do you think I''d be hurt by my own weapon?" He mocked as it came down from above.


    My eyes focused and the myriad possibilities unfolded. I felt the blood flow from the corners of my eyes, but I kept pushing until I found what I was looking for.


    "Reflect ¨C Mus¨± Tengai."


    His eyes widened because he could see it happen, or rather, what didn''t. His divine sight was powerful, he could see what was supposed to happen and how something else entirely urred.


    His Vajra missed his hand and collided with his own chest.


    The Sea politely parted, allowing the Hindu God to hit the seafloor. A Pir of Lightning reached up to the heavens from where it connected.


    I felt another wave of dizziness that nearly made me fall over and I clutched my head instinctively. It felt like I was getting a lobotomy.


    {Don''t push it too much.} My Spirit spoke again. {To make a change ur that had nearly no viable possibility will be a burden.}


    [What the hell is going on?] Ddraig demanded.


    {The ability to see the possible oues and then, take one that urred and reflect a portion of it onto the world. That is my power.}


    [....that''s fucking bullshit.]


    [It is not without its drawbacks, as you can see. The more unlikely that something is to ur, the bigger the bacsh. The possibility that a God such as Indra would.....hit himself with his own weapon was very far off the ''beaten path'' so to speak.]


    There was a furious roar at the bottom of the new chasm that brought me back to my senses. The Sea began to bubble at the sheer amount of lightning coursing through it.


    Indra shot back up to the surface, looking apocalyptic.


    His chest was bloodied and charred. Blood dripped from his lips and his eyes were bloodshot.


    Susanoo limped to my side again, and despite the situation, he beganughing. "Even if I died at this moment, it would be worth it."


    "If those are yourst words, then so be it." Indra growled.


    I handed my Divine Sword back to Susanoo who happily epted it. Then, I took out my Staff of Magnus. "Preparations areplete. If you want a fight to the death, then let''s have at it. I''ll show you the Magic I used to y a God." I was about to call upon Yggdrasil, dozens upon dozens of Spell Circles illuminated beneath us.


    "Why don''t we end this here?" A familiar voice whispered in the wind, and barely a secondter, Sun Wukong sat upon a cloud in between us.


    "You dare interfere, Monkey." Indra''s eyes narrowed.


    "Before you get upset, might want to look at what the Kid is packing." He pointed his pipe downwards. "He said ''Magic'' and you probably ignored it, but you might wanna look again, boss. That is some pretty intense stuff there."


    Indra paused, giving my Spell Circle a due inspection and his brow furrowed. I saw his fingers twitch like he was about to make a move, but once more, another voice entered our ears.


    "You should listen to him, Indra." The shadows around the vicinity swirled and two people walked out.


    "Or not, I will dly take my pound of flesh." Izzy stepped out with apanion, she moved her fingers, like she was about to clench something if the situation called for it.


    However, Indrapletely ignored her. "Hades."


    "Indra." Hades greeted.


    "Are you going to interfere, Hades?" Indra''s face returned to something neutral. "Since when do you babysit a couple of worthless Gods and a Bastard Devil?"


    "You mean the same ones who did this to you?" He hummed.


    "Watch your words." Indra''s voice carried with it a hint of thunder.


    "Or what?" Hades stepped forward, a helmet manifested atop his head, looking as if it was going to consume all light that shined around it. "Are you going to fight me as well, Indra?"


    The Helm of Darkness, Hades'' Divine Armament.


    On par with Zeus''s Thunderbolt and Poseidon''s Trident.


    "Well, it''s toote now." Sun Wukong sighed.


    I wanted to question what he meant by that, but the storm clouds were pushed away, as intense sunlight shined down from above.


    And apanying it, an uncountable number of Gods descended from the Heavens.


    "Takamagahara has arrived."


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    Just started FGO Orleans arc0

 Chapter 423 - 383

    <h4>Chapter 423: Chapter 383</h4>


    Their arrival was sounded by a dragon''s roar.


    My Authority was pricked as the sounds vibrated throughout the surroundings. The Seas were forcibly calmed down, the ensuing storms that rampaged across the skies were slowly quelled and a ferocious sunlight took their ce.


    [Ry¨±jin] Ddraig spoke up within the Boosted Gear. [It''s been a long time since I''ve seen him.]


    A massive eastern Dragon rose out of the Sea, Divinity wafting off of its glistening scales.


    How strong is he?


    [Probably stronger than Susanoo over there] Ddraig replied. [Not only is he a God linked to several other Pantheons, but he''s also a Dragon on the level of a Dragon King.]


    A Dragon God that holds very simr domains to Susanoo and I.


    [The only reason he isn''t ranked among them is that he considers himself more a God than a Dragon.]


    Noted.


    "Stop hiding!" Ry¨±jin roared and the oceans shook.


    A small greenish pendant floated out from inside of Sun Wukong''s robe. It glowed brilliantly and expanded at high speeds. An equally massive Jade-like eastern dragon appeared behind Sun Wukong.


    [Yu-Long.] Ddraig introduced again.


    I didn''t even notice him there...


    [He''s the youngest of the Dragon Kings, but also the most cowardly. When ites to running or hiding away, he''s the best amongst them.]


    Yu-Long, from Journey to the West.


    Quite the powerhouse.


    "I wasn''t hiding...." Yu-Long sort of cowered behind Sun Wukong, as well as a massive dragon can hide behind someone the size of a man funnily enough and he was shut up from a re from Ry¨±jin.


    Ry¨±jin''s hand raised to the sky, holding a strange orb and the Oceanpletely went still, not a single wave could be seen from one horizon to the other. And he politely bowed his head as a woman stepped down onto the currents, producing the faintest ripple, like a water droplet.


    I sure as hell recognized her.


    Hard to forget when someone shed me.


    Behind her were an uncountable number of Gods.


    Japan''s im to have over 8 million Gods seemed to not be an exaggeration if someone saw this from far away.


    Those in the know were privy to the full details knew it was a bit of hyperbole, but it didn''t change the fact that Japan had perhaps the most numerous amount of Gods even if the vast majority of them weren''t particrly powerful.


    nked at her side were other noteworthy Gods of Shintoism. Inari stood out as being rather close to her. Takemikazuchi, Hachiman, Omoikane, Takeminakata, just to name a few I recognized at a nce. There were many other minor Gods that stood behind the Leader of the Shinto Pantheon as they stood opposite of Indra.


    The Hindu God wasn''t the only one receiving inquisitive looks.


    Susanoo stood up straighter despite the wounds he had suffered. I admit I had a newfound respect for the Storm Gods in this particr moment. He was hit by things I would not be able to shrug off yet he stood here, defiantly, without a word ofint.


    Many of those gazes alsonded on me.


    I looked like a mess after everything happened, and I wasn''t doing particrly well myself, but I didn''t back down from the numerous Godly eyes.


    However, Izzy also received a good amount of attention. She was not exactly well received amongst her own number. From someone with only a basic knowledge of Shintoism, it wouldn''t be exactly wrong tobel her an Evil God. I did not agree with the statement, but from an outsider''s perspective, there wasn''t much difference.


    And perhaps many of the ones here also held simr thoughts.


    "Indra." Amaterasu''s voice carried across the ocean. "Is this an act of war?"


    "I''m just dealing with a couple of troublesome pests." Indra crossed his arms, staring at the Japanese Sun Goddess.


    "You invade mynds, attack my family and that''s the excuse you give?" Her tone was mild and polite, yet the surroundings began to heat up. "If I don''t receive a satisfactory answer, this will not end here."


    Indra scoffed, his lightning and power began to rescind, and he returned to his previous state, if still a little disheveled. "I only came to retrieve things that belonged to me. me those two pests for causing the mess."


    "Fuck you!" Susanoo spat out. "You insulted my mother, you deserve more!"


    Indra twitched and didn''t even look at him. "See what I mean?"


    Amaterasu briefly nced at Izzy who was silently standing next to Hades and frowned slightly. "It seems that I don''t even enter your eyes. So be it." She turned slightly to her side and a God wearing Divine Armor noticed her and stepped forward. "Rally our armies and call upon all our forces. The Hindu Pantheon has struck as us, we will retaliate."


    Indra''s eyes widened for a brief moment, and he quickly corrected himself. "You''re going to dere war for this? For a brother you notoriously don''t get along with and a Devil Bastard?"


    Amaterasu ignored his words. "Make sure that all know that we seek revenge on Indra''s forces only. Let the others of the Hindus steer clear."


    Indra''s nostrils red and he barely held back his anger. "You''re ying a dangerous game. Do you think you can even handle my ''forces''?"


    "Perhaps, perhaps not. But I am well aware that you have been biding your time for when you wage war against Shiva."


    The look Indra showed revealed that she hit the nail on the head.


    "I would also prefer it if that did not happen." A new figure gently stepped through a tear in space. The appearance of a young man with nicely kept red hair and a simr third eye on his forehead.


    However, the aura he was releasing, even unconsciously, was suffocating.


    "Shiva." Amaterasu greeted curtly, a shimmering warmth washed over the surroundings as if to offset the pressure imposed by the newest God that arrived.


    The Strongest listed God in the world. The one that almost everyone unanimously agreed upon. The great destroyer, the one who would bring destruction to the world when the time came.


    "Lady Amaterasu." Shiva slightly bowed his head in a polite greeting. "I apologize for intruding on your domain, I mean no ill will."


    "Forgive me if my patience is tested on such a im, Shiva." Amaterasu replied.


    Shiva smiled wryly. "I understand your sentiment."


    Amaterasu snorted, and merely crossed her own arms, but didn''t push it again.


    "I did not intend to interfere, but things have.... escted beyond what I think anyone here wishes." He looked around. "Neither Indra nor I wish for a conflict with the Shinto Pantheon. Even I would be hesitant to face your father, Lady Amaterasu, which I''m sure would inevitably happen if things continued."


    "Even so, I will require an exnation for this intrusion."


    "If I may, I would like to know what sparked this conflict. I was only made aware once the fight escted to a point. If Indra is at fault, then I will promise the Shinto Gods a sufficient exnation." Shiva answered. "However, simply walking into another''s region has never elicited a response of this proportion. I am aware that Sun Wukong oftenes and goes from Japan quite often." He pointed out.


    Amaterasu furrowed her brow, ncing at the silent Indra before turning her gaze at Susanoo. "Susanoo, exin to me what happened."


    "I was visiting Mother when he just barged right in and demanded some soul from her. He then started insulting and demeaning her so of course I stepped in." Susanoo grunted.


    "Indra?" Shiva looked towards the Lightning God.


    "I don''t need to exin myself to you or anyone." The Lightning God scowled.


    "You bastard ¨C " Susanoo''s voice was cut off as a bright light fell from the sky andnded right onto the Hindu God.


    A fiery st that sent him hurling away.


    All eyes then turned towards Amaterasu who lowered her dainty hand.


    Shiva simply raised an eyebrow.


    "Sister?" Susanoo blurted out in confusion.


    ".....she is my mother too." Amaterasu said softly.


    "Thank you for staying your hand." Shiva smiled.


    "You say that as if I could harm him with that meager amount of strength." The Sun Goddess scoffed, the tension in the air dropped significantly.


    Right, it wasn''t particrly powerful, but more the Godly equivalent of a p.


    "Sun Wukong." Shiva turned his attention towards the Monkey King who was standing nearby. "You best return to cate Indra. I fear his anger will cause some manner of wrath to befall those close to him."


    The Monkey King let out a long sigh. "Amitabha." He pped his hands and bowed towards Shiva. "By your leave, Lord Shiva." He stood up straight on his cloud, tapping his Dragon Companion on the side. "Come on, Yu-Long. Let''s not overstay our wee."


    "Definitely don''t want to do that." The Jade Dragon agreed and the two of them quickly shot off into the distance, far away from Japan''s territory.


    "Hades." Shiva took that moment to acknowledge the Greek God in our midst.


    "Shiva, it''s been awhile." Hades nodded to him.


    "May I ask why you''re here?"


    "I was wondering the same thing." Amaterasu red towards him.


    "Doing your job, it seems." He drawled, meeting Amaterasu''s gaze.


    "You dare, Olympian?" Her eyes glowed ominously.


    [Oh right, the Shinto Gods have a small feud with the Olympians. I forgot about that.]


    ....there''s a story there I really wanted to know.


    "Don''t postte in front of me when I was doing what you should have been, girl. If not for Izanami''s request and a favor I owed her, I wouldn''t bothering here." He snorted, waving his hand dismissively. "I was ¨C "


    "Hades." Izzy interrupted him. "Please." She tacked on.


    "Very well." Hades relented with a mild bit of exasperation.


    Shiva shook his head smiling lightly. "Lady Izanami, I apologize for Indra''s actions."


    "He merely said some words to me." Izzy frowned, crossing her arms. "If you want to offer apologies, perhaps the ones who suffered his power are the appropriate targets?"


    "Your words are valid." Shiva acknowledged, floating down towards Susanoo and I. "Susanoo, I also offer my apologies to you. I will make sure that the Shinto Pantheon has an appropriate exnation."


    Susanoo huffed and grunted but acquiesced. "If hees near mother again, I won''t hold back."


    "Of course." Shiva chuckled, and finally his eyesnded on me. "I''ve heard your name recently. I did not expect to meet in this fashion."


    "And I didn''t expect the God of Destruction to be more amicable than the supposed Ruler of Heaven." I replied.


    Shiva barked out anotherugh. "It''s easy for me to be more easy going. The end at my hands is inevitable and I can enjoy my existence without worry. Indra on the other hand, is burdened with stopping me, an impossible feat yet he continues to endure."


    "Is that supposed to endear me to him?" I snorted in annoyance.


    "I merely wished to exin his position. Even if you sympathize with him, he would perhaps take it as an insult." Shiva hummed in amusement. "In any case, I find you interesting. I first heard of you when you fought Susanoo here, and now you fight at his side. Are you an ally of the Shinto Pantheon? Or was there some other benefit?"


    "Are you probing me for recruitment...?" I Blinked.


    "Was I that obvious?" He chuckled. "Indra has built up his own forces and I have my own."


    "I''m not a part of the Shinto Pantheon, and I gained no benefits."


    "Oh? Then is there some other reason?"


    "Of course. Izzy is my woman, no one is allowed to speak to her like he did." I said as a matter of factly.


    "Wilhelm." Izzy sighed, covering her face, perhaps to hide the slight tinge that was showing underneath.


    "What!?" I recognized Amaterasu''s loud shrill, but it was then taken over by someone else.


    Hades suddenly burst intoughter. "Well done, Izanami!" Hades continued tough, holding his stomach. "I''ll tell Persephone. She''ll be delighted to know. Expect a dinner invitation soon as well." He nced my way. "With a plus one of course."


    "Thank you, for your assistance, Hades." Izzy hissed in mild exasperation.


    "I''ll take my leave." He chuckled some more, producing a pulsing and expanding misty-like darkness that enveloped him and he disappeared shortly.


    "I don''t believe I have anything that can draw you to my side in that case." Shiva tilted his head, clearly amused by my deration. "And I would be surprised if you have not been soured to my people from this incident."


    "I''m not going to attribute the actions of one God to their entire Pantheon." I shrugged my shoulders. "Obviously I''m not going to go out of my way to associate with them either."


    "A fair stance." He nodded. "I would like to im there will be no reprisal, but I cannot speak for every God from my region. Indra has the favor and loyalty of many. However...." He paused, ncing at the sword and staff in my hand, then his gaze turned towards my other one that Susanoo still held. "That may not be an overt concern for you. What dangerous and wonderful weapons. I have never seen them before, which is beyond strange for someone such as I."


    "Is there a question in there?"


    "Perhaps not." He smiled mysteriously. "And Ddraig as well. It''s been a very long time, Great Welsh."


    "[Shiva. I still remember the time you kicked my ass.]"


    "Haha, to be remembered by the Red Dragon Emperor, it seems I did something right."


    [Don''t be fooled by his attitude.] Ddraig spoke only into my soul. [He is someone who can fight all the Gods gathered here ande out on top.]


    Yeah....there''s a reason that Amaterasu and the Japanese Gods are being very polite and patient with him at the moment.


    "The world has been getting more interestingtely. Those irregr Devils down below, movement from the Ouroboros, and even a gathering of Evil Gods. And now a new generation of monsters." He grinned, the ones he was implying were obvious. "A lot of it seems centered around you as well. I wonder what other fun things you will show in the future."


    "Shiva." Izzy was the one who spoke up, approaching us, almost protectively.


    Shiva held his hands up in mock surrender and chuckled. "Peace, Izanami, I mean no ill will. I''m a patient God, I don''t mind silently watching and seeing how things y out. The end is the same regardless."


    "My patience has run its course." Amaterasu finally spoke up as well. "Shiva."


    "And I too believe I have overstayed my wee. Amaterasu, I will be in touch to give a proper response to this incident."


    "Thank you for stepping in, Shiva." Izzy politely thanked him.


    "There is no need to thank me, I did it for selfish reasons. Had I note, Indra would not have backed down until things became much worse. At least now he can save face and im that it was due to my interference." He waved his hand, and space split apart at the seams. "I will be in touch, Lady Amaterasu."


    "I will await the Hindu Pantheon''s apology." She agreed.


    Shiva smiled and nodded, disappearing back from where he came.


    "Return." Amaterasumanded. The numerous Gods she brought along, ready for battle, happily epted to return back to Heaven, however, Amaterasu stayed behind idling.


    "You two." Izzy rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I don''t know if I should be angry, or happy, or a mix of both. What were the two of you thinking!?"


    "Mother..." Susanoo whined. "You can''t expect us to be quiet when someone talks to you like that."


    "He''s right." I oddly agreed with the Storm God. "No one is allowed to speak to you like that, Izzy. I will fight anyone who says otherwise."


    "This is going to cause amotion. Despite Shiva stepping in, this isn''t going to end quietly."


    "Don''t care."


    "Nor do I, Mother."


    She simply huffed, unable to retort. "And you!" She held up a finger, jabbing me in the chest. "Just saying that in front of everyone. Do you have any idea what kind of issues that might cause?"


    "Did I say anything wrong?"


    "That''s not the point."


    "You''re my woman, I''ll proudly shout it out to anyone who wants to hear."


    "You''re impossible." She sighed.


    "He must be at least this courageous, Mother." Susanoo seemingly agreed. "How else will he be worthy of you?"


    "Sorry, you both are impossible." She rubbed the bridge of her nose again.


    I returned my Staff to my ring, and quickly called back my other swords that had been discarded amongst the fighting. I also released my Authority, letting it return within me. Susanoo looked like he had something to say, but kept his mouth shut.


    My Zanpakut¨­ was odd. Feeling my Reiatsu settle back down as it returned to its sealed state and I stored it away. Something else I''ll need to look intoter.


    Susanoo and I shared another silent look, each had a bit of respect towards one another. Perhaps another silent agreement for the future.


    I held my arm out and he tapped it with his own.


    No words needed to be said.


    "Mother."


    We all turned to look at the source. Amaterasu walked over, the previous regal and authoritative Goddess wasn''t overly present now. Instead, she looked a mix of embarrassed and sheepish.


    "....can we talk?"


    [***]


    A/N


    PHO chapter next.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.om / astoryforone

 Chapter 424: Interlude 31

    <h4>Chapter 424: Interlude 31</h4>


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    ?Topic: Peace Conference?


    In: Boards ?News ? International News ? Peace Conference!?!


    Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Hey there everyone, it''s your favorite Muffin bringing thetest news, and oh boy, is it doozy. I''m not sure I can even do it justice, and my contacts were a bit vague on some details, and on others, they outright told me not to say anything. But, we''ll try our best to get everything out that we can.


    What many people have recently found out as it''s a poorly hidden secret, if even that, is that several factions came together to talk about peace.


    If you guessed that it was primarily the Three Abrahamic Factions, well cookie to you, because none of us outsiders looking in would have guessed that hot mess would resolve this way.


    That''s right, you heard it here, folks! The Devils, the Fallen Angels, and the Angels are officially at peace! It''s even weird to type it out considering the absolute clusterfuck that nearly happened only a little earlier with one of the Grigori''s head honchos going rogue and nearly restarting the open conflicts.


    But, things are about to get even spicier! If you thought the ridiculous situation ended there, well my dear readers, it''s only getting started.


    May I present the other Factions present at this supposed Peace conference.


    Beyond the Three Abrahamic Factions we have as followed;


    The Celtic Pantheon represented by the Great God, Lugh.


    The Norse Faction represented by the All-Father, Odin.


    Sun Wukong was present as a Guest and didn''t participate.


    Andstly and strangely enough, not least, The Youkai Faction. Why am I putting emphasis on what should have been the weakest and arguably least important faction amongst those gathered? Well, don''t worry, that will all make sense soon. But let me introduce the ones thate along to represent them, because it''s actually relevant.


    And here are some pictures taken during the event. [Link][Link][Link][Link][Link]


    This is the best anyone will get because there were no Audio Recordings taken. While the event wasn''t exactly top secret, it was still something that the big-wigs aren''t keen on talking about publicly. But hey, that''s why you have me here!


    So without further ado;


    We have the Magnificent Youkai Leader, Yasaka sitting down at the table with the big boys.


    Representing the other side of Japan''s Youkai is Aotab¨­ from Nurarihyon''s faction.


    Next is the shorter blonde woman in the picture. We have her introduce herself as Artoria Pendragon, representing the Pendragon family and apparently allied with the Youkai of Japan. Don''t ask me, I have no idea how these two sides came together.


    Next we have a Magician introduce themselves and very little is actually known about her. A Rin Tohsaka, obviously Japanese, but the name of her teacher is dropped and it''s importantter on.


    Next one is an odd one too. We have the blue girl introduce herself as ''Jinn'' and a spirit of knowledge. I admit my understanding of some middle eastern races is minimal, but I find it odd that what appears to be a Djinn is named.....Jinn. But who am I to criticize another culture''s naming sense?


    Next, and for my fellow Japanese, it''s a surprising one. We have the woman with long purple hair ¨C Minamoto-no-Raikou. And yes, you heard me right. Not a spirit inheritor, not a reincarnation, not a descendent using the name. The woman, as imed and supported by many present, is Minamoto-no-Raikou. Who, what, where, when, how, are all unanswered. All we know for sure is that the supposed great Youkai yer of legend is in fact, a woman. And I am most certainly notining. Even as a Youkai myself, I am just genuinely surprised. And it has nothing to do with the rapidly growing NSFW section dedicated to her. Why is she apparently allied with the Youkai when she should be our enemy? Well....it''s revealedter.


    Next is also a big name ¨C admittedly, I had to do a few hours of research to properly introduce her. Next we have Sc¨¢thach with the red hair. For those like me who are not very knowledgeable on Celtic Mythology and legends, well.... Here''s a [Link] for you all to get some much needed reading to understand why it''s a big deal that she''s here. Beyond the fact that even the God Lugh pronounced her dead previously.


    And I saved a particr forst. For my fellow Youkai, the name isn''t really a big surprise after it was revealed he was Yasaka''s Lover, but here we are. Mr. Lucifer Jr himself, we have Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. Here''s a few links for my international readers to catch up on some of the crazy that''s happened around him. [Link] [Link] [Link]


    And I wouldn''t be the best Muffin in the universe if I just left everything there. So here''s a dossier of what was talking about, redacted with several parts as per my contacts request. But you all can have a general idea of what happened.


    [Link]


    Thoughts? Concerns? I''m sure there will be many.


    (Showing Page 1 of 4029)


    ? Cyber_Dragon


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    What the actual fuck? I just read that gigantic fucking dossier and I''m just sitting back trying to understand what I just read. I barely even knew what a Youkai was until an hour ago, and now one just pped the faces of every Big Faction around my parts an they happily turned the other cheek and asked for another.


    On a side note, I guess some light was shed on what happened with The Grigori''s Kokabiel going rogue. Apparently Lucifer Jr put him down which saved us a massive headache. Everyone had been super tight lipped about that, so other than knowing it happened, we don''t know much else.


    Not really a fan of Devils, even if I''m not walking on the side of saints myself. But thanks for that I suppose. I would really not like another big war to start up. I heard a rumor that a certain Evil Dragon appeared during the conflict and seeing Odin here now, I guess that confirms it?


    ? Bob_First_Name_Builder (Verified Magician)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Uh.....whaT?


    ? ArcaneToilet (Verified Magician)


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    @Bob_First_Name_Builder


    Hey Bob, haven''t seen you in awhile. How''s life after moving Magician towers?


    Also, what.


    ? The_Knees_Bees


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Awesome, does this mean I don''t have to be worried about the church smiting me just because one of my parents is a Fallen Angel? I didn''t even find out I wasn''t fully human until I was almost an adult and I got harassed nearly nonstop by the local church. I eventually got them to stop, but still, they''re always watching me and like waiting for me to suddenly twirl my nonexistent mustache and reveal an evil n.


    ? Idle_Hands24 (Verified Devil)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @The_Knees_Bees


    What sorcery did you perform to get the Church of all groups to back off? Asking as a middle ss Devil that''s stationed near Church borders and under constant harassment.


    Also, Jesus Fucking Christ.


    I even said that out loud and suffered the migraine that came with it. Why the fuck is he not with our faction?


    ''No big Deal, I just killed a God'' ¨C Lucifer Jr.


    Who fucked up enough that he threw his lot in with the Youkai of all people. I mean, seeing Yasaka I guess it makes sensebut it''s not like we don''t have any Devils that wouldn''t throw themselves at him either. Also, I''d wager my future Evil Pieces that he''s banging atleast the majority of the girls he brought with him.


    Seriously, how fucked up is the situation that he''s standing opposite of us? I don''t give a shit if he''s a half-Devil, he killed a fucking God, and punched another one into submission. Why is he not with us!?


    ? Orange_Pinapple (Verified Pineapple)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    What a surprise, Church did shady things and still tries to take the moral high ground. Hope Odin rips them a new one over the whole shit that was shown.


    ? Rein_Shaker_II


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Is it the Gremory family trait to birth freaks of nature? You got Sirzechs Fucking Lucifer swinging around his giant beat stuck and even the other Godly Factions back off. Now we have Lucifer Jr just going straight to the fisticuffs against Gods. Hell, look at their progenitor, Zekram Bael.


    I''m d that tensions are easing with a new peace and everything, but fucking hell is this a lot to parse through emotionally.


    And no one brought up the ''Khaos Brigade'' yet? A bunch of Evil Gods teaming up to cause trouble around the world. This is why we can''t have nice things.


    ? The_Knees_Bees.


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Idle_Hands24


    I was kind of new to this whole thing, so I just took them to court. Got a restraining order and even a good payout because they actually stopped me from getting a few jobs. Judge wasn''t putting up with their bullshit.


    ? Pirate_of_the_Moon (Verified Pirate)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Right, Busty Fox just whipped her massive shlong out and pped everyone else at the table with it. Are we sure that Lucifer Jr isn''t the one receiving in this rtionship?


    But for real, this is really fucking scary. A bunch of Evil Gods doing who knows what and are ignoring the traditional lines in the sand that separate each faction.


    What exactly is happening with that? The links didn''t really say what everyone''s doing to stop them other than some vague promise to cooperate. It honestly sounds more like they''re just giving some lip service and will wait until shit hits the fan to get off their asses.


    ? dondondon


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    So Minamoto-no-Raikou is a woman.


    Looks at picture.


    I''m okay with this.


    On a side note, does anyone have these supposed NSFW pictures floating around?


    ? Immortal_Penguin (Verified Banned from Club Penguin)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @dondondon


    Look, I''m all for the new mommy to step on me, but can we focus on the important bits?


    I didn''t realize the Youkai were so hostile towards the Devils. I thought they were allies, but Yasaka was very clear that this wasn''t the case. Especially with how she pped them so many times within a few sentences.


    And is no one else surprised that one of the Satan''s rtives was going around and stealing Church maidens? Evil Pieces are almost universally hated, and they kept trying to defend themselves. I don''t believe that shit about regting them in the slightest.


    But atleast they got called out on their shit. Not to mention there are more people watching them now that there''s a verified Peace, they have to tow the line a bit more.


    ? Interster_Taco (Verified Taco)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Oh boy was this a giant cluster fuck to even read.


    Good news, no more Abrahamic dick waving. Atleast it''ll be more subtle.


    And as someone who is knowledgeable about Celtic history and mythology, I''ll just say this ¨C what the hell?


    Sc¨¢thach died during the great war. She has her own chapter if you get your hands on a history book regarding this. Like, Lugh himself ¨C even said in the meeting ¨C gave her a proper funeral. Even the Gods that hated her showed up to pay respects from what I heard. That is how much she was respected as a warrior.


    And now she''s apparently alive and imed to throw down with Loki saying he ran away.


    What a badass woman. If I heard about her supposed return and had any question about it, then this whole thing killed any suspicions.


    Also, who''s the Pendragon girl? She seemed kind of young to talk on their behalf. I heard that the Pendragon family got attacked recently and was having a hard time, but did all the higher-ups die or something?


    ? Knight_of_Pendragon4 (Verified Pendragon Family)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Interster_Taco


    Watch your words. Every member of the Pendragon family has sworn themselves to her service.


    ? the5bs


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Are we going to mention that apparently Lucifer Jr has the True Longinus and can wield it. Like A Devil is using the Holiest of Holy weapons without any problems?


    Can''t wait to hear the seething of the Church people trying to use their Olympic level gymnastics to get over this one.


    ? Possible_Walrus


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Is no one else concerned that there''s apparently twopeople by the side of that Half-Devil who are supposed to be dead? Once is maybe strange, but twice? That needs some questions to be asked. With all the Sacred Gears they revealed to have in their possession, is it possible they''re hiding the Grail too? It''s the only thing I can think of that can revive people like this. And if so, who''s going to check the Youkai from abusing it? Every time it''s appeared in history, there had been some huge conflict.


    ? Ice_Tea_Baby_Yoda


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Wow, a lot to cover in this.


    The Church fucked up, not surprising. The Grigori fucked up, not surprised. And the Devils fucked up, also not surprising.


    That about summarizes what I read.


    But seriously, there''s some serious meat to this peace talk that we''ve barely even scratched the surface of.


    Devil using the True Longinus. If it was any other Devil, I may be concerned, but atleast Lucifer Jr isn''t a part of the Devil Faction so I am skeptically optimistic, especially so since he hasn''t'' caused any.... intentional problems. I say that in the case of him fighting Susanoo off the coast of Japan which led to some obvious side effects.


    I''m curious about the supposed second Excalibur. And even the strongest Archangel was iming that it was a powerful Holy Sword enough that it worried them? I''m sitting here scratching me head at that one.


    Also, Yasaka leading everyone by the nose was just beautiful. I wish I could have seen it in person, but just reading the notes gave me a warm fuzzy picture.


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    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    The only good thing that came out of that whole mess was getting an up close look at those melons from the Angel and the Fox.


    ? She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Hooded_one


    Watch it, you old pervert.


    ? Dark_Idiot_God


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Hooded_One


    A man of culture I see. But how were their feet?


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert) (Temp Banned)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    [Deleted]


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): Why do I have to keep doing this? Two week ban.


    ? Dark_Idiot_God (Temp Banned)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    [Deleted]


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): And Two Weeks for you as well. Seriously, stop trying to buy pornography through this forum.


    ? 21_And_Still_Hits


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Was I just imagining things or is this Lady Gremory [Link] giving Lucifer JR the ''Fuck me'' eyes?


    ? Mother_Of_The_Devil


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @ 21_And_Still_Hits


    Looks about right to me. If I had to take a wild guess, I''d say she''s also regretting not wearing any panties at that moment.


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): Not a warning, but you know very well what you''re doing.


    ? Red_Princess


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Mother_of_The_Devil


    Mother!?


    ? Faithful_Follower83 (Verified Priest)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    I don''t know what to say. The thought that a Devil, even a half one could wield the Lord''s Holy Power. Did God take pity on him and allowed this miracle to prevent another war? Is it truly the Lord''s Will that we no longer quarrel with the Hellspawn? I admit I have my own personal feelings towards the Devils, but I will freely admit thatpared to their progenitors, modern devils are much less Evil in scope. I will not say they are not filled with Sin, but the atrocitiesmitted are few and far between inparison.


    I''m confused and don''t know how to feel. I''m awaiting for the Pope to make an announcement, but either way, I feel like this is wrong.


    ? Keyboard_With_A_Sword


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Got herete, but here''s my thoughts.


    Shit is going to go down soon. Factions keep to themselves for a reason and now we have a bunch crossing lines that shouldn''t be crossed. The Youkai were up front about their war with the Fae, which is another big deal if you think about it. Now the lines are getting blurred even more. I have a bunker in the wilderness that''s warded and magically protected enough to survive a nuclear fallout, but I''m still anxious about what''sing.


    ? XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Why did no one believe me before? It''s obvious that they''re outsiders! Bringing people back from the dead? That''s stupid. They''re from another world obviously and he brought them here with him. Who knows what other horrific monsters he brought with him and gave ess to our world For all we know, Ophis and Great Red might not even be the strongest anymore.


    ? MenaceWithAPineCone


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Seriously Void? We''re talking about actual mythology and Gods and stuff, and even the crap you''re saying still sounds crazy.


    Just....stop already.


    ? Fugu


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    So the Youkai just revealed that they have several weapons capable of killing gods in their hands. Is no one else concerned about this?


    ? Spider_Youkai_FireLilly4


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    @Fugu


    Get over yourself. Every Faction has stuff like this, why are you targeting the Youkai? If anything, they have less blood on their hands than any of the Abrahamic Factions.


    ? Holy_Avenger


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Lord Michael inviting a Devil to be an Angel!? This is clearly fake, there''s no way that Lord Michael would ept a Devil.


    Uriel had the right idea. We should wipe out those Eastern Demons and take back our weapons. When I be an Angel, I''ll dly lead the charge and destroy all of the Lord''s Enemies.


    ? Skeptical_Skepticism


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Not to be a troll, but are we really taking this crap at face value? A supposed evil cabal of powerful Gods that went undiscovered for so long and it was the Youkai who revealed them? Reall?


    Taking it at face value, why would they even let this whole Peace Meeting go off without a hitch if they''re such a big danger and infiltrated everywhere?


    Seems kind of suspicious.


    ? KiloKilop


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Found a random phone at the library and this was open while I was trying to find the owner.


    This is the weirdest roley forum that I''ve ever seen. You guys are reallymitted to the bit.


    Who''s that roided out dude with the priest getup?


    ? Basilisk (Verified Magician)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @KiloKilop


    Wee!


    I''m sure this won''t end badly at all.


    Yup you''re right, this is a Roley forum. Feel free to join in however you want! Make sure you get creative with your ''role''.


    ? Fire_And_Ice


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Basilisk


    You got a chuckle out of me, a rare urrence these days. I was simply viewing this nonsense to pass the time, but here I am with my mood uplifted. You may send me a message asking me a few Magic questions if you desire since I am now in a good mood.


    @Hooded_One


    Even here you are a fool it seems.


    @Skeptical_Skepticism


    You would be surprised.


    ? Fists_Over_Bloodline


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    He killed a god!? What God? I''ll go find a God to fight too!


    ? Dalivan_The_Mailman


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Fists_Over_Bloodline


    Right, buddy. Why don''t you go take an air hike?


    Anyways.


    Abrahamic Factions acting like insufferable idiots as always. Sent them a little gift after reading the crap that was posted.


    ? Shad0owman


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Dalivan_The_Mailman


    ....Aren''t you that guy that keeps mailing magical pipebombs to people?


    ? Dalivan_The_Mailman


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Shad0wman


    Listen, dawg. Just cause I''m sending people packages doesn''t mean shit, ya hear? Aint my fault I happen to have a surplus of magnesium and those dicks open the wrong package.


    ? Shad0wman


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Dalivan_The_Mailman


    Just looked it up, you''re wanted by the Grigori. Specifically Azazel put a bounty on your head, a big one at that.


    ? Once_You_Go_ck (Verified Governor General)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Damn right I did!


    You blew up my collection of antique sex toys. Do you have any idea how rare some of those were? Not only that, but the fire burned the pair of Gabriel''s panties I stole! I literally snuck into heaven to get my hands on those! They were locked up tighter than the stick up Uriel''s ass!


    ? Dalivan_The_Mailman (Banned)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    [Deleted]


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): No matter how warranted it is, don''t threaten to mail pipebombs to people. Two day ban.


    ? Eineus


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Well that was weird.


    But as I was saying a few pages back, there''s a big hole in the dossier provided. I''m guessing that''s something everyone wanted to keep hidden? Like, why did everyone believe the Youkai faction about the Khaos Brigade? There was a noted break and talks about how when everyone came back, they were all on the same page. It''s not hard to put two and two together to realize something happened.


    Also, how would those ''Angel Evil Pieces'' even work? And are we going to have to look over our shoulder for an Angel trying to strongarm people like the Devils did? I''d take Angels over Devils any day, but let''s not pretend there wouldn''t be some to decide unterally that bing an Angel is the best choice for someone.


    ? Holy_Light48


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Eineus


    That would never happen. It goes against the whole idea of Angels! They''re pure and perfect beings created by the Lord.


    ? Eineus


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Holy_Light48


    Really? I wonder if Odin can chime in on how the Heaven Faction is doing right now. You know, after they dug up his descendants grave and experimented on orphans to try and make them wield demonic swords.


    ? Sky_Magician (Verified Magician)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Do we have any information on this ''Zelretch'' that was mentioned? I asked my teacher and even he asked around but no one''s heard of a Magician of the caliber described. Even Ajuka, someone recognized as at the forefront of Magical Ability, was awed at the supposed capabilities performed by Wilhelm. And the younger Devil said it was the result of his Grandfather''s teachings? Not to mention this Grandfather of his, we couldn''t find any records of this Rin Tohsaka either. They don''t belong to any of the major Magical Societies as their rosters are mostly public in regards to the top brass.


    ? Wizard_Marshall (Verified Kaleidoscope)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Sky_Magician


    Perhaps this intelligent, handsome and masterful Magician prefers his peace and quiet? Clearly his Grandson and student were taught well and don''t need to join any Magical Society as his teachings are superior.


    ? She_Who_Invites (Moderator)(Verified Not Izanami)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Wizard_Marshall


    I would question how, but knowing what I do, it''s futile.


    ? Little_Druid_Big_Stick (Verified Druid)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    A lot of things are making sense now. I''m over in the old country, and my Da was called in by the circle and apparently some of the old folk are waking up and grabbing their weapons. They even asked if any wanted to volunteer to go to Japan and teach some sses. Da epted cause the money was good and there wasn''t any risk of fighting.


    ? Seahorse_Jousting


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    This is freakin crazy. Never thought I''d see these mortal enemies go for peace in my lifetime.


    ? Token_Tolkein


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Anyone else just startughing when the Angels were like ''we''ll help you with the war'' and Yasaka was like ''No thanks fam, we got it'' insert Shocked Angel face.


    Loved how Yasaka basically ran circles around everyone there.


    ? Unwanted_Devil (Verified Devil)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Ajuka: The Evil Pieces aren''t very and no one gets forced.


    Really now?


    I might have a few things to say about that. I''m currently locked in my room for ''bad behavior'' because my ''King'' didn''t like how I performed in training yesterday. And I was lied to about what the ''Evil Piece'' actually meant.


    But hey, maybe I''ll get out for good behavior after going down on my knees?


    Fuck you Ajuka Beelzebub.


    ? View_of_Venice


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    I am having some misgivings. Not about the desire to turn people to Angels, nor even Michael offering the position to the Half-Devil. If anything, it''s very clear that even God does not turn his eyes away from someone in need as he allowed a Devil to wield his sacred power.


    But I am unsure of how to direct my anger to what happened to our Holy Maiden. I met Miss Asia Argento on many asions. Never have I met such a pure soul in my life and she was thrown out for what? Healing a hurt person who fell on her doorstep?


    Why is that a sin, even if it turned out to be a Devil!


    It doesn''t matter that it was apparently a scheme by the despicable Devil. She was entirely innocent! I am going to pray and seek a path forward, but It is likely that my church will no longer follow under the banner of the Vatican.


    ? High_ss04 (Verified Devil)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    I''ve seen Lady Gremory from the distance a few times as my family is somewhat high up. Not a Pir tier by any means, but we get invited to things here and there. I bring this up because....did Azazel say that Lucifer Jr was banging his grandma?


    Here''s her picture btw [Link]


    ? JustSolo


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @High_ss04


    Nice.


    ? Hero_Creation_Kit


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @JustSolo


    Also Nice!.


    But god damn, way to T-pose on Lucifer.


    Lucifer Jr: You fucked my mom, so it''s only fair that I do the same! The family dinners must be awkward.


    ? Red_Princess


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    They are...


    ? Mother_Dragon


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Is that Ddraig''s new host? I guess I will be visiting Japan soon.


    ? She_Who_Invites (Moderator)(Verified Not Izanami)


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    @Mother_Dragon


    You most certainly will not be causing any problems if youe here. I am well aware of who you are.


    ? Fire_And_Ice


    Posted on June 14, 2009:


    Oh my, please wait, I will do as the mortals do and make myself some popcorn.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 1293 , 1294, 1295


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    ¡ö


    ?Topic: Another God fight in the Ocean?


    In: Boards ?News ? International News


    Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Jesus Tapdancing Christ!


    Alright, it looks like it''s Godly Ocean fight 2, Electric Boogaloo. For those of you who haven''t seen the fuck-off big storm, probably from anywhere in the world, there are apparently Gods fighting or something near Japan, again!.


    Not to mention even the mundane news is talking about the freak storms and Tsunamis that are being created.


    My sources only said that it involved atleast two storm gods or those with simr domains.


    Edit 1: Just got news, it''s apparently Susanoo and Lucifer JR again.


    Edit 2: New update, Susanoo and Lucifer Jr are fighting Indra.


    Edit: Here''s several links to various groups trying to project a view of the fight. [Link[[Link][Link]


    (Showing Page 1 of 897)


    ? Soup


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Suddenly my Beach House was a bad investment.


    But seriously, what the hell is going on? It feels like the world is ending and I''m not even near Japan, I''m on the East Coast of the states! The tides got so bad that a Boat was beached next to my car.


    I''m getting the hell away from the coastline, but the Storm Clouds are growing.


    ? Michaelfriede


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    There''s a Dolphin on my roof!


    I was vacationing in South Korea and there''s a damn Dolphin sitting on the roof of the home I''m staying at on the coast. It''s just chilling there looking just as confused as I am.


    But the sirens started ringing to evacuate everyone. I also saw a bunch of clearly Magical people running towards the shores and casting magic.


    Whatever''s happening, it''s bad.


    ? Chocte_Macaroon


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Does someone have any idea what''s going on?


    ? Floppy_Tengu


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Orders from Lady Yasaka, we''re to mobilize immediately. The Storms were also hitting the barriers of Shin Kyoto. The Divine Power, from what we were told, is rampaging across the Pacific Ocean. If you can''t help, I suggest staying indoors and trying your best to cast any spells and weather this storm as best as possible.


    ? Two_Wrongs_and_A_Left


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    English Magician here, I was sunbathing on the beath in Okinawa until a fish fell from the sky and pped me in the face. Lightning also started falling down randomly and it''s getting a bit too close tond for myfort.


    I threw up as many Magical Protections as I could, but there''s not much I can do alone. Thankfully, there''s a few dozen other magic users around and we''re setting up a safe point. Don''t know if it''ll hold up against those huge waves in the distance, but there''s more filing in every now and then.


    If you''re nearby, feel free to join in, because we''re going to need all the help we can get.


    ? KHD6 (Verified Magician)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    I have my familiar ¨C a Water Nymph, trying her best to keep the rising tides at bay, but she says it''s a act in futility as the storms continue to rage. She also says she feels three different sources of Divinity from the source. As she spent decades in Antis and met many different water-based gods, I''m inclined to believe her.


    ? SirEvangelFrost


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Pray for me, friends. I''m on a Cruise Ship at the moment.


    ? F_The_Devils666


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Of course that Devil Bastard is involved again! Look at how much damage he''s causing. How long are the factions going to let him run around like this? But the damned creature down already.


    ? SirTowerMagister (Verified Magician)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    We''re preparing to cast a viewing spell and using the stored power of the Tower to facilitate it. Bear with us and we''ll dly make it an open viewing. We have Fourty Eight Powerful Magicians here to aid, so we expect results.


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Oh boy, I recognized that lightning. Clench your cheeks, young''uns, it''s going to get worse before it gets better.


    ? Banana_Bandana (Verified Banana)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Looks like my fishing trip is cancelled. On the plus side, I can just pick up the floundering fish thatnded on my yard after the recent wave receded.


    ? TenTenTwo (Verified Youkai)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Heard the call out to everyone in the area to bunker down or help out. I''m heading to the nearest part of the coast to see what I can do to help. At the very least, I''m a pretty good hand at some Ice Magic, so I can probably freeze a bit of water so it can''t hit the coast too hard.


    ? @^%$#@$^_@#$^#@ (Banned)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    [Banned]


    ? Chosen_One5


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Fuck this, I''m moving to the damn desert. Why is it always the stupid ocean that''s causing problems?


    ? Light_Of_Irnd


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @Hooded_One


    Please don''t tell me that''s who I think it is.


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @Light_Of_Irnd


    Buckle up, we''re in for a good show.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 895, 896, 897


    (Showing Page 328 of 897)


    ? Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Alright everyone, it''s official. Thanks to the help of many different organizations and sources we can make out what''s going on.


    I will make an edit on the original Post, but here we go. It looks like we got Lucifer Jr and Susanoo throwing down with Indra for some reason, and it''s starting to get heated.


    ? Da_Avid_Reader


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    I just peed myself.


    ? AmethystEspeon


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    So that''s why the sky is purple and full of lightning. I''m d to know why the world is ending and why I''ll probably end up a charred crisp by the end of the day.


    But do we know how the fight started? The fact that Indra is in Japanese territory is pretty telling that he''s probably at fault.


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @AmethystEspeon


    For some reason, any God with Lightning as their domain seems to have a hard on for hating every other one. They normally can''t stand being near each other. It usually doesn''t get this bad though.


    ? Naurdring


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Holy crap, did everyone else see that punch? Lucifer Jr just rammed his fist right into Indra''s face.


    ? SwaffleWaffle


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Yeah, and I saw the massive wave it kicked up. Prepare your butt if you''re on the receiving end of that one.


    ? Soup


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    I just tuned in after making sure my house doesn''t get wrecked. Is that the Boosted Gear? He''s in a fully armor and it''s all red, is that the Bnce Breaker? Shit is getting real there.


    ? MelonOverlord


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Uh....the viewing spell is getting fuzzy?


    ? Dubios_But_Legit_Rumor_Mill


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @MelonOverlord


    I don''t think that''s the spell....


    Watching Indra slow float out of the massive chasm that formed after getting punched into what was probably the ocean floor, I''m pretty sure that''s not the spell itself that''s bing staticy.


    Edit: Oh Damn, Indra was bleeding. This isn''t going to end well.


    ? Lazy_ckberry


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Does anyone know what that sword is? It went from a sort of brawl to Indra getting progressively more pissed and then Lucifer Jr summoned that sword and Indra looked worried every time it came near him.He even took out his own Divine Weapon!


    ? Hellhound_The_Chaotic_Magical_Girl (Verified Magical Girl)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Whatever it is, it turned the tides pretty quickly. It was enough that Indra had to get serious. And they were passing it back and forth, so it''s obviously something that could contend against Indra who is one of the strongest Gods out there.


    ? Secret_MagicalGirl


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @ Hellhound_The_Chaotic_Magical_Girl


    My Arch enemy!


    How did you get that tag, it''s not fair I deserve it more than you!


    Also, what the hell. Susanoo was one thing, but how is that kid fighting Indra now? I''m going to throttle that red-headed buffoon when this is done for being so stupid!


    ? Red_Princess


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    IS THAT WILHELM!?!


    He''s even fighting Indra now!? How???? He''s barely even an adult and he was just a normal highschooler less than a year ago!!!! Indra is supposed to be one of the strongest Gods in the world!


    ? Hellhound_The_Chaotic_Magical_Girl (Verified Magical Girl)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @Secret_MagicalGirl


    Well, I''m not an old hag for one.


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    That damn brat! Is he really going to escte even more? I swear to the Nirns, if he keeps going I''m going to go over there and p his annoying face.


    Brace yourself Kiddos, things are going up a notch.


    ? Dark_Idiot_God (Verified Foot Fetish)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @Hooded_One


    What''s that supposed to mean?


    Edit: Nevermind....


    ? Enthusiastic_Melon


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    This has gone beyond unreasonable. Is anyone going to step in? I can''t assume that the other Ocean Gods are happy about this.


    And I''m also rather confused at this increase in strength from a young Devil. It seems like every time he appears he''s significantly stronger than thest.


    ? Standard_Kitsune


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Okuninushi-no-Mikoto just make an appearance nearby in Izumo! He''s stopping the tidal waves from getting any closer.


    Edit: Sukuna-Biko-Na also appeared. And I heard that some others; Mitsuhanome, Sumiyoshi sanjin, and many more! The Kami have started acting.


    Edit 2: Azumi-no-isora stopped all the waves from hitting Japan. I heard he''s borrowing the power of the leylines.


    ? I_Cast_Gun


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @Standard_Kitsune


    I''m not familiar with Azumi-no-isora, who is that and why is it a big deal?


    ? Standard_Kitsune


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @I_Cast_Gun


    He''s the Kami, or God, of seashores if you want a simple exnation. Right now he''s tapped into Japan''s Leylines so his divine power is spreading all over Japan. He''s preventing the rampaging from reaching Japan''s shores.


    ? War_And_Death


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    It seems that old Barnicle Head got fed up too along with some other Gods. What a shame, I was having fun watching the fight and anticipating the ensuing destruction.


    ? Half_Fish_Top_Part


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    The Sealife is saying that Lord Poseidon tookmand of the seas near Greece and forcibly calmed them down.


    Edit: Lord Zeus also cleared the skies around Europe.


    ? Voltic_Ranger


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    My friends up north in the Scandinavian countries said that even Thor is helping calm things around the ce.


    ? trudny1


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Uh...guys, something''s happening.


    Is that an....eye?


    ? Jessy_004


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Holy fucking hell, I felt my house shake and I''m hundreds of miles away. That can''t be coincidence right? The projection fizzled there, but there was a massive discharge of something from Indra and everything in view went purple and lightningy.


    ? I_Like_Swords


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    ....how much of the ocean got vaporized?


    ? Red_Princess


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    What is that? Was that Indra''s attack!? Is Wilhelm still alive!?


    ? Hooded_One


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @Red_Princess


    Calm down, you big boobed brat. That brat Susanoo released his full power right before it went off. Normally I''d call it dead there, but that kid should have a few surprises instore.


    ? IkoG


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    The image cut out.


    ....was there anything in the path of that st?


    ? Enthusiastic_Melon


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @IkoG


    Several small Inds. Thankfully, they are not inhabited. Or at the very least, they aren''t anymore.


    ? Secret_MagicalGirl


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Where are the Shinto Gods, they can''t be happy about that.


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    I''m tired of waiting for you lot to get your Magic under control. I set up my own, you can watch it if you want.


    [Link]


    ? SharkNado_ButonFire


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @Hooded_One


    Wow, that''s significantly more clear, thanks!.


    And damn, they''re safe? And Indra looks....weird.


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @SharkNado_ButonFire


    Hah, like those young''uns couldpare to me.


    And Indra is getting pretty serious all things considered. His human shape is starting toe undone. Thatst attack was an actual attempt to kill two kiddos.


    Hmm, is that a new sword I spy?


    ? Basilisk (Verified Magician)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    They''re okay, which is good, I think, but surprising. How are they okay? I can understand Susanoo as he''s a God and everything. But Wilhelm is....not. That attack should have honestly vaporized him, but it seems like he''s perfectly fine.


    ....there''s something weird about that sword. Which seems to be a theme with him considering his other weapons.


    ? Once_You_Go_ck (Verified Governor General)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @Basilisk


    It''s not just him, look at the ocean around him. [Link]. I took a picture of it on my phone as it was the only thing I had on hand. The quality isn''t very good, but you can see that the water underneath him and Susanoo and the immediate area isn''t bubbling at the heat. Like there''s a visible divide between where Indra said fuck everything in that direction and the spot he''s standing.


    I can''t know what''s going on without actually seeing it in person, but that''s definitely something weird.


    ? Red_Princess


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    He just keeps getting stronger and stronger.....


    ? Fists_Over_Bloodline


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Amazing Fight! Keep going, Wilhelm!


    ? GreenAndProud


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Why did it suddenly get even darker.


    ....why are the starsing down from the sky?


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Is he really that pissed to use something like that? Does he think he''ll get off scott free if he manages to kill either one of them?


    ? Da_Avid_Reader


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    .....and it''s gone. Indra apparently became one with the Universe and was about to literally p them to death, and Lucifer Jr did something and it''s gone.


    I Don''t even know what''s going on anymore.


    But it''s fucking cool.


    ? MelonOverlord


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Anyone else freaking out about the fact that Indra can apparently make the universe descend from the sky?


    ? Eineus


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @MelonOverlord


    Among being a Lightning God, Storms, Rains etc, he''s also a God of the Universe. It''s not that strange.


    But can we instead talk about how Lucifer Jr apparently sealed it if the words he shouted meant anything.


    ? Possible_Walrus


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Did.....Indra just hit himself with his own weapon? That looked like it was powerful and hurt a lot.....


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


    Servies that dick right!


    ? Once_You_Go_ck (Verified Governor General)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @Hooded_One


    Hey old man, did you see what he did? Even if Indra was paying the barest of attention, there''s no way he should have gotten hit with his own weapon like that. He even anticipated it, held his hand out and everything. Don''t get me wrong, I''mughing my ass off at Indra getting a well deserved p, but.....something doesn''t add up right.


    What did the kid say....Reflect ¨C Mus¨± tengai?


    Did it mess with his foresight or something else?


    ? dondondon


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Uh....is that Sun Wukong?


    ? ArcaneToilet (Verified Magician)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Oh boy, things are escting now.


    Izanami and Hades of all Gods apparently joined in. What the fuck is happening in Japan? We got Hindu, Greeks, Devils, and Shintos all throwing down it seems.


    Welp, time to evacuate the world, it was nice knowing everyone. World War 4 is about to start.


    ? Dark_Idiot_God (Verified Foot Fetish)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    @ArcaneToilet


    Don''t you mean WW3?


    ? ArcaneToilet (Verified Magician)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Nope, things are about to go so sideways that we just skipped over WW3 and went to four.


    And just as I''m typing this, Takamagahara finally decided to join in as a whole too.


    That''s a lot of Gods.


    ? War_And_Death


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    What''s that antisocial guy doing over there? Pops threatened to crack my head if I even thought of join in. Why does heget to just waltz on over and have all the fun?


    Oh, there''s Shiva.


    On second thought, I''m happy watching from the back.


    ? Orange_Pineapple


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Did Lucifer Jr just....admit to having a rtionship to Japan''s Death Goddess right in the middle of everything?


    ? Dark_Idiot_God (Verified Foot Fetish)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    Doesn''t care for the various Gods around him. Doesn''t care that he looks like he just went through the wringer. Doesn''t care that here children are nearby.


    Lucifer JR: Yup, I''m banging her.


    Respect.


    To you who are about to die, I salute you.


    Edit: Huh, did the projection get cut off?


    ? Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on July 28, 2009:


    That sneaky bastard! Shiva looked right at the source of my spell and winked, destroying it from his end.


    Bah, show off.


    But I don''t care, I got what I wanted.


    I was right all along! She was a cougar and now I can call her it to her face! First Indra getting punched in the face by a brat barely in his twenties, then this.


    Today is a great day.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 895, 896, 897


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 425 - 384

    <h4>Chapter 425: Chapter 384</h4>


    It''s been awhile since I''d felt this utterly exhausted.


    Leaving the battlefield and sitting down with the Shinto gods was mostly a blur.


    I tried to make myself asposed as possible when there were many godly eyes on us, but I was feeling the overall fatigue and weariness with a significant amount of pain.


    One does not get hit by Indra without feeling it.


    "Why are your eyes bleeding?"


    "Huh?" I opened them to feel something warm falling down my cheeks and it wasn''t tears. I wiped it away and looked at it through my hazy vision. "First time using my Shikai, side effect I would imagine."


    Izzy narrowed her own eyes at me as if she didn''t believe me. "Have you even been paying attention to what I''ve been saying?"


    "Would you like a truthful answer?" I asked in response.


    Izzy grumbled, and continued her machinations. That being, she had began wiping the blood off my face. "I swear, you two." She said again for the umpteenth time.


    "I''m fine, stop worrying." I reassured her.


    "Look at you? How is any of this fine?" She shot back. "You''re lucky I already messaged everyone else to not worry."


    "Thank you." I nudged her shoulder where I was resting my head.


    She let out a long winded sigh. "I can''t even get mad at you right now as it''s fairly obvious how out of it you are. Wilhelm, be honest with me, how are you feeling?"


    "Dizzy, fatigued, a bit of pain here or there. Combination of my Authority, Bnce Breaker, and Shikai added on didn''t do me any favors in that regard...ah, I think my ribs are bruised, or cracked can''t tell."


    "Should I call Artoria to bring her Sheath? That will heal you quickly."


    "It''s fine, I don''t want to bother her while she''s doing things with Rin unless it''s an emergency." I refused the good intentioned request. "But there''s one thing that can help me...."


    "...Dare I ask what?"


    "Perhaps the kiss of a beautiful Goddess can alleviate my symptoms."


    "Stop it." She huffed, pinching my cheek. "Not in front of my children." She added on very softly. "Besides, did you not embarrass me enough already?"


    Oh right, her children.


    I blinked, looking up a little and focusing my eyes and seeing Susanoo sitting in a nearby chair, nursing a bottle of something as he silently drank it and Amaterasu sitting opposite of us, awkwardly ncing our way.


    "Are you embarrassed by me?"


    "You know darn well that isn''t what I meant." She gave me another cheek pinch.


    "What''s wrong with letting the world know that you''re mine?" I offered with a cheeky smile.


    "Hush." She cutely silenced me.


    Oh well, I could stop teasing her infront of her kids. Besides, I wasn''t in the right frame of mind to keep going anyways.


    I hope this won''t be a continuous side effect of using my Zanpakut¨­.


    {It should be easier with practice.} My Spirit chimed in. {However, it is a trade off for having no restriction inherent other than your own capabilities.}


    Eyes too?


    I hoped I won''t go blind.


    {You should know better than most the repercussions of staring into the Kaleidoscope.}


    Yeah, yeah. I knew it would have been worse if I did the same thing haphazardly on my own. It was one of the reasons that most of Gramp''s former ''students'' went mad. A lot of them were stupid enough to look directly into the wellspring of possibilities rather than stymy their view.


    Though, thinking about it now, it felt an awful like when I used the Bnce Breaker for the Spear and I gained some manner of irvoyance.


    Maybe I''m just imagining things.


    Whatever, I don''t feel like thinking about anything too difficult right now.


    Instead, I took out a Health Potion from my ring and quickly down it. It did very little these days, but it would maybe lessen the headache I had and hopefully would dull the pain in my ribs.


    After that I found a bottle of untouched Whisky stored away and pulled the cork off with my mouth and spat it away, chugging a big gulp of it.


    Funny how this would probably ease things more than a literal health potion.


    The consequences of bing stronger metaphysically.


    I noticed Susanoo staring at me and I sat myself up straight with a groan and slid the bottle across the new coffee table that I assume Izzy had purchased, made or something after thest time Susanoo broke it.


    He nodded, thankful and took his own swig with a pleasant look on his face after savoring it.


    The atmosphere was kind of weird. Not surprising considering everything that happened and the fact that Amaterasu was sitting in Izzy''s living room, but still.


    "I have a question." I decided to break the proverbial ice. "I hadn''t really thought about it before, but who controls the Seas of Japan? I only ask because Ryujin making an appearance brought the question to my mind. Not to mention, there are tons of other Gods that have aspects of the Ocean."


    Susanoo snorted, not in an angry way, but more mild annoyance. "I have greater authority over the Seas of Japan. He is the older deity but he relinquished his control after father mandated my ascension. However, he is the aspect of Power inherent in the Ocean while I am the unpredictability. He controls the tides and most sea life while I am the raging storm."


    "Neat." I genuinely didn''t know that. "He was pretty strong, even Ddraig only had respectful words to say about him."


    "The Great Welsh?" Susanoo raised an eyebrow. "Surprising." He said simply while taking another drink.


    "....Because Ryujin is worshiped among most Eastern Sea-coast countries." Amaterasu surprisingly chimed in. She sounded a little awkward, but continued. "Korea, China, Japan, and even India as one of the eight dragon kings."


    Ddraig did mention that, but she wasn''t silently staring anymore, so I didn''t want to make her quiet again.


    Besides, it wasn''t my show.


    And now that she had an opportunity, she looked less...meek? I don''t know, it''s hard to describe the way she was acting. The usual haughtiness wasn''t there as I experienced the first time around. She was being respectfully distant if I had tobel it.


    "Mother..." She finally addressed the elephant in the room.


    "Daughter." Izzy replied.


    "I''m sorry for what happened."


    "I don''t me Takamagahara." Izzy said directly. "You can reassure any of the others that I''m not looking to get revenge or enact any sort of judgment for a perceived slight."


    "That''s..." The Sun Goddess took a small breath. "I''m not here as a representative of Takamagahara. I''m here as the Daughter of Izanami."


    Ah, so that''s why she wasn''t putting on airs.


    And I could easily see how happy that made Izzy despite her not reacting much to the statement.


    "I''m just happy that you''re visiting."


    "Mother..."


    "How is your Husband, my other son? Are you still not speaking?"


    "M-Mother, don''t bring that up so suddenly. And with someone else here!"


    "It''s just your Bother and Wilhelm, whom I am dating if that was not obvious." She sent a re my way, but itcked any kind of heat to it. "And you act as if it isn''tmon knowledge. You do know that mortals have etched your marriage into their myths, yes?"


    "Still as bad as it has been for the past thousands of years." Susanoo helpfully added.


    "I don''t need you talking about failing marriages." Amaterasu red at her brother.


    "Among us, who is the only one with a happy marriage?" He shot back.


    "Y-you''re a womanizer, aplete lecherous skirt-chaser!"


    "Kushinada doesn''t mind." Susanoo smiled proudly. "As long as I share."


    ".... Nice." I gave him a thumbs up.


    He raised his bottle of whiskey up with a big grin.


    "I don''t need to know about your perversions!" Amaterasu nearly screeched with a flushed face.


    "Says the one who shed mother''s lover." Susanoo snorted.


    Amaterasu let out a shrill squawk. If she was flushed before, she was turning a bright shade of red. "That never happened! Mother, tell him that never happened!"


    "Very well, I will lie on your behalf, daughter." Izzy said with no small amount of amusement.


    "M-Mother!?"


    "Yasaka thought you were trying to seduce her." I added.


    "Bwahahahaha!" Susanoo burst outughing.


    "Stopughing you oaf! I would do no such thing!" She covered her face. "And how am I even supposed to face my Miko now? H-he is already her lover and now you im him as well, mother? How is this supposed to work?"


    "You could always join in." Susanoo shrugged.


    "Of course you would suggest that." Amaterasu huffed.


    "Susanoo, please don''t joke about that. I love my children, but not in that way." Izzy also added.


    "Oh I apologize." Susanoo rolled his eyes. "How perverted of me to imply such a deplorable thing. Let''s forget about it and go back to the earlier topic. Yes, Amaterasu, how is my brother, your Husband doing?"


    "That''spletely different." Amaterasu''s nostrils red.


    "If you say so." Susanoo dismissed, but dropped it. Possible due to the look Izzy was giving him.


    "And your other brother?" Izzy asked. "Have you spoken to him in a while?"


    "I met Hiruko a hundred or so years ago. We caught up, had some drinks, but that''s it." Susanoo replied.


    "He does not spend time in Takamagahara. I think Tsukuyomi met with him not too long ago, but it''s not like we''re talking." Amaterasu said quietly.


    "I see.." Izzy said with a hint of sadness. "Is he doing well at least?"


    "He wasn''t having any problems thest I saw him, Mother." Susanoo quickly answered. "I can go ask him to ¨C"


    "No, don''t." Izzy cut him off, anticipating what he would say. "I''ve already done enough harm to him. I would rather not try and force him to meet with me."


    Hiruko, If I recalled, was also the name of Ebisu, one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, most predominant in Buddhism. I only vaguely remembered the legends, something about Izanami and Izanagi casting him down the river because he was born crippled?


    I can''t imagine Izzy doing that without a reason...


    But I also didn''t want to bluntly ask her infront of her kids like this and ruin the mood.


    Instead, I just reached for her hand, taking it in mine.


    "Mother." Amaterasu started up again. "I''m sorry for what happened. It was not my intention for you to be...ignored so maliciously."


    "I ept your Apology." Izzy immediately said, making the Sun goddess go silent in surprise.


    "But ¨C "


    "I will always love you, my Daughter. Even if it was on purpose, I would never hate you nor hold it against you. If I had died, I would have done so with these same feelings."


    Ah, the guilt of unconditional love hit not only Amaterasu but Susanoo rather hard.


    "She may forgive you, but I won''t." Susanoo red at his sister. "Howe Indra could juste strolling up here like he owned the ce?"


    "It was not on purpose, you oaf!" Amaterasu quickly went to defend herself. "I do have people watching thends! Especially after the Fae incursion."


    "And what happened?"


    "Ipetence, negligence, maliciousness." Amaterasu huffed, crossing her arms. "Does it really matter in the end? They will be punished severely."


    "You can hand them over to the ones who suffered because of their failing." Susanoo grunted. "I would happily let them experience first hand the wrath of an angry God." His eyes moved towards me. "And I''m sure I would have help."


    Amaterasu nced at me and they were now seemingly waiting for me to respond.


    "I''ll keep out of it." I decided to take a third option. "I''m already in an awkward situation here. I''d rather not insert myself into it even more. If Amaterasu was here under different capacity, then I would be treating her as Lady Amaterasu and respect her station to tow the line."


    Susanoo grumbled and huffed, but didn''t argue.


    Amaterasu on the other hand nodded in approval. "At least one of you has a modicum of intelligence." She turned her nose up at her Brother. "And your understanding is appreciated. If I was not meeting my mother under these conditions, we would not be conversing so familiarly."


    "Godly politics, how fun." I said with the dryness of a desert.


    I was starting to feel better thankfully. My headache was slowly going away and my body was healing at a noticeable rate.


    "You may not have a choice but to participate." Amaterasu replied, eyeing my hand in Izzys. "Many will raise concerns about Mother consorting with a Devil, especially with the offspring of the strongest one. They already encroach on ournds, by our blessing or by unscrupulous means, ever more by the day. The conservative faction among my court is vocal about their dislike for Devils and their kin."


    "Especially when Mother gets pregnant." Susanoo added.


    "Susanoo!" Izzy squawked in surprise.


    "What? It''s a valid concern!"


    "He''s right, Mother." Amaterasu oddly agreed with him. "A True Born God in this era, the same generation as us? Many would use it as an opportunity for good or bad. And there has never been a God born of a Devil parentage before. We don''t know what would ur."


    "I understand your concerns." Izzy calmed herself down, taking a deep breath. "However, the possibility is....far off if even possible. And the event of it urring is very miniscule. Right, Wilhelm?"


    "Hmm?"


    "Were you listening?" She raised an inquisitive eyebrow.


    "Was distracted by the picture of you with a baby bump." I want it.


    She pinched the back of my hand with a cute little huff.


    "Alright, I''ll tag it." I chuckled. "Without some outside support the chance of a Devil having a child is exceedingly rare. A Devil and a Goddess? We''re sort of....opposites for obvious reasons, so the chance is probably even lower. And that''s taking into consideration that Izzy wields the domain of Creation, which hypothetically is offset by her Death Domain as well. But I won''t get into that at the moment. And thest factor to add is my own Divinity which should be very clear at this point. It has the side effect of making my producing offspring even more unlikely. All in all, you probably don''t have to worry about a child until we''re ready because it''s not a probable urrence until we begin trying to ovee these limitations."


    It''s funny, I would usually be more reserved in talking about future children with the others, but in Izzy''s case, it''s not a matter of if but when, in regards to the talk of children. I knew her, I knew she loved her children beyond words and would be more than open to expanding her family.


    And now I really wanted to see a pregnant Izzy.


    "It might be better if it happens sooner." Amaterasu said, her expression turning rather serious. "The consequences of what happened are not going to be small. The Hindu Pantheon, while not united entirely, will not like being insulted by association. And I would be surprised if Hades has not been called up to Olympus to exin himself to Zeus. The Olympians are the most stringent about not interacting with other Pantheons." She scrunched her nose. "And we are not on good terms."


    "I will have to apologize to Hades and thank him properly." Izzy hummed.


    "Mother, why are you so friendly with him?" Amaterasu asked.


    "Is it odd?" Izzy tilted her head. "I wasn''t aware that it was a secret that us Death Gods get together on asion. I have been to the Greek Underworld often enough and he happened to owe me a small favor."


    "Many might take it the wrong way."


    "It was Yama that originally warned me that Indra was probably going toe knocking. I asked Susanoo to be here when he did, but I didn''t think Indra would go that far." She paused. "Or the two most idiotic boys in my life would start a fight with him."


    "Never underestimate my willingness to punch Indra." Susanoo said withplete seriousness.


    "I''ll fight anyone who insults you like that without a second thought." I responded as well. "And also punch Indra."


    Izzy merely rolled her eyes with that beautiful smile of hers. But also, Amaterasu seemed to have the faintest hint of one herself.


    "There will be many more eyes on you now." Amaterasu continued. "That Peace Conference you were involved in already made waves through the chatter of the Gods. The implications and rumors that apanied it. However, this is apletely different scenario. You fought Indra, a mortal Devil, despite the unique condition you possess. You fought one of the strongest Gods to a perceivable stand still. Many of my court are now wary of your presence. Continued with the fact that you admitted rtions with Mother....there will be many out cries about your continued free rein upon ournds."


    "You are wee to remind them who raised thesends out of the sea before they were even conceived of in the minds of mortals." Izzy hissed.


    "Mother, you don''t need to be upset, I just wanted you to understand." Amaterasu was quick to sooth Izzy''s fury. "The ones who failed in their duties will be a harsh reminder to any who have thoughts of stepping out of line."


    "Hmph. Let them know that I Susanoo, will fight anyone whoes to cause problems for him and his."


    Amaterasu gave a wry smile. "Other Pantheons will be more focused on you now. And your association with Mother will be linked to us with your further actions."


    "So in the eyes of other Factions, I may as well be under the umbre of Takamagahara, is that it?"


    "If you don''t like it, you can simply remove yourself from Mother''s presence permanently." Amaterasu sniffed.


    "I would sooner remove every other faction instead." I retorted.


    "I do not like Devils." Amaterasu stated, her tone filled with contempt at the mention. "However, I am d that Mother found someone that appreciates her."


    Izzy''s face brightened up.


    "I should return." Amaterasu stood up from her seat. "I will need to settle all the particrs that came from this incident and be prepared to receive the response from Shiva and the Hindu Pantheon."


    "You have an important job." Izzy acknowledged, but there was the obvious unwillingness present.


    "....I will return once I finished settling matters, Mother. I promise to start visiting often."


    "And I''ll drag our Brother down here too." Susanoo patted his chest.


    "Don''t fight your Brother." Izzy scolded. "I don''t want to hear about another big feud that happens between you all."


    "You are asking the impossible, mother." Amaterasu snarked.


    "At least I don''t go crying in a cave."


    "Don''t you dare start with that!"


    "you''re fooling no one with your constant invitations for a private song and dance with Uzume."


    "Mother! Make him stop!"


    "Children." Izzy stepped in. "Behave."


    "Bah, I''ll go too before she starts trying to make a move on your lover again, Mother." Susanoo grunted, readily leaving before Amaterasu blew up at him again.


    "Insufferable brute." Amaterasu huffed, but calmed down quickly. "I should check in on my Miko while I''m down here and clear up any misunderstandings she has." She paused, ncing my way. "I suppose I shall ry to her that the matter has been settled and not to worry."


    "Thank you." I replied in genuine thanks.


    She smiled warmly. I faintly felt the touch of the sun, a pleasant sensation like rxing on a warm afternoon. "Child of the Rising Sun, you are most wee under our warmth." With a burst of sunlight, she disappeared from the house.


    "Your children are weird." I said towards izzy.


    Her response was to pull me in for an overdue kiss.


    [***]


    "Can I confide something in you?" I hummed, looking up at Izzy while my head wasfortably in herp.


    "Since when do you even ask? I''m aware of almost every proclivity of yours and those around you." She snorted. "But very well, reveal to me your secrets."


    "I think red eyes are a weakness of mine. I can''t stop staring into yours and they''re so beautiful."


    "I constantly wonder how I managed to fall for these obvious flirtations." She sighed, running her hand through my hair.


    "Alright, I admit I lied." I said with full sincerity. "Regardless of their color, I would say the same thing because you''re too alluring."


    "Oh stop it." She rolled her eyes, pinching my cheek yfully. "If you keep this up, the others will feel jealous when they arrive."


    "You make a fair point. I guess I will have to flirt with all of them equally."


    "Yes, yes. You''re an unmatched romantic." She deadpanned. "How are you feeling?"


    "Better. Sore, but that''s about it. Eyes feel better too. Aura is working well."


    "Good, because they''ve arrived."


    Just as Izzy said that, the door was nearly blown off its hinges.


    "Master!" Raikou threw herself on top of me.


    "Me too!" Jinn quickly jumped on me as well.


    "I''m alright, don''t cry. It wasn''t that bad." I gave both of them a pat on the head.


    "Student, you caused another incident." Sc¨¢thach sauntered in with Venna and Yasaka following.


    "Good, maybe you all can talk some sense into him. He refuses to ept that he did something wrong." Izzy huffed in annoyance.


    "I agree with him." Sc¨¢thach said immediately. "It would be foolish to me him for an action that any of us would take in the same circumstances."


    "Agreed." Venna squeezed between Jinn and Raikou and gave me a quick kiss. "But that doesn''t make us not worry."


    "You''re not supposed to encourage him." Izzy grumbled. "What if he does it again?"


    "Then he best kill the one responsible to not make it a third time." Sc¨¢thach said simply.


    "Is Meridia noting?" I asked, giving both Jinn and Raikou a yful p on their butts to get myself some wiggle room.


    "She said it was unwise to make an appearance for the moment less she takes action out of anger." Sc¨¢thach responded.


    "That would probably make things worse." Izzy admitted.


    I managed to force myself to sit up straighter after the Raikou and Jinn attack was over. Venna was giving me an interesting look. And by interesting, I mean it basically screamed e fuck me''.


    I met her gaze and raised an eyebrow and.....was she blushing?


    I don''t know what was up with her, but I used the opportunity to move my hand up under her dress and squeeze her nice round ass.


    She giggled, and positioned herself to plop down on myp. "Do you need some extra healing?"


    "As tempting as that offer is. I''m so utterly exhausted right now that just keeping my eyes open is difficult. But I would love to have you in my arms when I fall asleep." I wrapped her up.


    "You know he''s telling the truth when he rejects an invitation like that." Jinnughed.


    "Yasaka, dear?" Izzy spoke up. "You are being uncharacteristically quiet."


    Yasaka was looking out of it and suddenly refocused. "Sorry about that, I was just....lost in thought." Her gaze trailed towards me. "I''ve had an interesting past few hours. And I''m not talking about the aftermath of the fight."


    "Did something ur? My Daughter said that she was going to visit. I hope that nothing went wrong."


    "Funny you should mention that." Yasaka had a strained smile. "And I ask this question, mostly directed at Wilhelm as I believe he is the culprit."


    "I im innocence for whatever it is I am used of."


    Yasaka looked at me dryly. "Please exin to me why, when my Goddess appeared before me, she was apologetic." I was about to speak, but she held her hand up. "And not about one of the many concerns of mine in the past. Not even about the whole Kunou incident that I''m still pissed about. No, she appeared, apologized to me for ''leading me on'' and told me that she can''t ept my ''feelings'' and that she is at fault for fostering the misunderstanding."


    "....I genuinely don''t know how to respond to that." I replied.


    "Oh don''t worry, it doesn''t end there. She felt bad and wanted to give me a token of affection even though she doesn''t share the same sentiment. As an apology, mind you." That was when Yasaka held her hands up, revealing a very familiar red thong.


    "....."


    "Daughter, why?" Izzy bemoaned, covering her face with her hands.


    Wow, this has been a wild day.


    "Your children are weird." I said again, and Izzy couldn''t bring herself to refute me.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 426 - 385

    <h4>Chapter 426: Chapter 385</h4>


    My eyes blinked open and I looked around at my surroundings, not quite recognizing where I was. Not to mention, I was fairly sure I went to sleep with someone in my arms, but my head was still so hazyst night that I didn''t entirely remember the minute to minute moments of going to sleep.


    However, this situation also felt familiar.


    I kicked off the nket around me and stood up. Looking down, I realized I was in a clean set of clothes. I adjusted my tie slightly and felt good enough to walk out the door. What should have been Izzy''s house was different and the reason was obvious.


    "Good morning, Mus¨± Tengai." I greeted my Zanpakut¨­ spirit that was once more sitting at a quaint little table drinking a cup of tea.


    He set his cup down and smiled my way. "A good morning to you as well. Would you like a cup?"


    "Does it actually do anything for me?" I questioned, plopping myself down opposite of him.


    "It tastes good?" He offered.


    "Good enough for me." I hummed, looking at the steam wafting off of my cup and took a sip. "Is this pulled from my memories?"


    "Of course." He nodded.


    "Is this going to be amon urrence?" I asked. "Pulling me from my dreams or while I''m asleep?"


    "You were bound to wake up soon, I simply expedited the process and took a moment of your time. Physically, your body is still sound asleep but your subconscious was active enough that I could pull a little trick like this."


    "Interesting." I wondered if this could be used in different ways. "And this house, is it a representation of my inner world?"


    "A small piece." He waved his hand causing the building and everything around us to shatter like ss, reforming to another view. "Wee to Salem''s Castle." He grinned. "As long as the ce holds sufficient meaning, it has a reflection in your inner world."


    "Really? Anywhere?"


    "Where would you like to go?" He offered.


    "That old House in Kuoh." I stated.


    He tilted his head and silently weaved the surroundings again. We were now standing outside of that same house that I burned down, except now, it was wholly intact. "Well, have at it."


    "You know what I''m going to do?" I eyed him.


    "Who do you think I am?" He shot back with an eye roll, which looked strange with the pulsing nebs for pupils he had.


    I shrugged and slowly wrote out a Runic Sentence in front of me. Once I finished what I wanted, I flicked it towards the house and a massive fireball converged and shot off towards it, immediately setting it alight.


    "Done?" He asked as we watched it start burning away.


    "Yup." I stretched my arms. "That was fun. How about Mom''s Grave?"


    "Of course." He nodded and he produced that same mirror from before and he ushered me through it. The mercury-like liquid enveloped us and the surroundings changed to the familiar resting ce of my mom.


    There were fresh flowers prepared as well.


    "The flowers were a nice touch. Thank you." I knelt down and ran my hands along the letters of her memorial.


    "They were her favorites." He said softly.


    "Ah...I think I forgot about that until you mentioned it now. Did I ever ask her why they were her favorites?"


    He silently shook his head and I clicked my tongue with a sigh.


    "Not how I expected to spend my morning, but it''s already been a fulfilling day. What did you need to have pulled me into my inner world, Mus¨± Tengai?"


    "A couple of things I wanted you to be aware of. However, let us change the location."


    "Lead the way." I gestured and he produced the mirror again and it reflected Kyoto. That alone would not have elicited a response from me normally, but it was on fire.


    "Is this supposed to be some kind of representation of my inner turmoil? Like some kind of hidden uncertainty or premonition?"


    "No, Ddraig is just having fun." He chuckled.


    "....what?"


    "Fear me!!!" A loud roar resounded above the two of us and a massive red dragon flew down, spraying fire onto the city. It paused mid-city-razing and looked over at us. "Really? No heads up?" He sounded exasperated. The massive red dragon seemed to sag as its wings pped and it fell to the ground with a loud thump crushing several buildings. "Heya brat."


    "Ddraig?"


    "In the flesh....rtively speaking." He corrected, voice rumbling.


    "I was able to pull Ddraig''s consciousness into your Inner world as the Boosted Gear also exists within your soul. The Sacred Gear still believes that Ddraig is within its grasp so it did not fight me. I was unable to undo the bindings around his soul unfortunately." Mus¨± Tengai exined.


    I walked up and touched his side, feeling the scales of the true Red Dragon Emperor, or at least how he was supposed to be. "It''s good to finally meet you, Ddraig. The real you."


    "Hey don''t get sappy on me." He blew out a burst of air with his nostril nearly knocking me on my ass.


    "Should I ''fear you'' instead?"


    "Bite me." The massive dragon huffed. "I''ve been stuck in that damn gauntlet for so long and the only freedom I''ve had is when Ie out with that spell of yours. And I can''t exactly go wild while I''m in that state."


    Mus¨± Tengai waved his hand, and an aurora-like light ran through Kyoto, fixing and returning everything back to how it was supposed to be. That same mercury-like liquid would consume and reform anything broken or burned down and readjust itself to the proper shape. "No harm is done."


    "Will there be an issue if I tried to use the Gauntlet while you''re like this?"


    My Zanpakut¨­ spirit and Ddraig shared a look.


    "We do not believe so." Mus¨± Tengai replied.


    Ddraig also opened his massive jaw. "My essence still persists in that prison. This is merely a wisp of my consciousness that I''m focusing on."


    I could more or less understand the details when exined like that.


    "So this is what you wanted to show me?" I asked.


    "Among other things." Mus¨± Tengai nodded. "I mainly wanted to have a chat about how we arrived at this point and what to do about the future."


    "By this point, you mean you?"


    "That is correct."


    "I admit I''m surprised with how fast I was able to achieve Shikai. Yoruichi told me that it usually takes months to years for a Shinigami to even hear their Zanpakut¨­."


    "Most Shinigami who receive their Zanpakut¨­ are still new to wielding their Reiryoku and don''t understand themselves in the proper mindset to facilitate the connection so quickly." He replied. "To you, it was merely ateral step rather than a staircase that others must climb."


    "And the Hogyoku helped, I''m sure."


    "Indeed." He didn''t deny it. "It would have taken me much longer to form without it."


    "And what exactly is the Hogyoku? Have you assimted it?"


    He hummed nomittally for a moment before answering. "The name implies its purpose. The Hogyoku ¨C the Breakdown Orb. The purpose is to facilitate the breakdown of boundaries between two concepts. Shinigami and Hollow was the original intent but it''s obvious the creator did not anticipate you. Therefore, we''re breaking new ground. I can say that it''s notplete. Once I took it in, I realized that there was a lot missing about it, like it''s only half of a whole. It has room to....grow."


    "Was that supposed to sound ominous?"


    "It has fearful potential."


    "Should I be worried then?"


    "It will never harm you. To be cautious is never a sin, but do not fear your own power. It is now a part of you ¨C us."


    "Well, since that''s settled. I have a couple questions about your ability. I want to know the limitations. I felt the bacsh by forcing certain phenomena to happen against Indra, but was I pushing the peak of what was possible or can I go beyond that?"


    "I said before that there is no true limit and I meant that. The only constraint is what you can endure in bearing the changes and altering the flow of the world to fit your desire. I will warn you, however, that there is a price to pay as in all things. I will not tell you never to do it, but you should know the taboo with undoing death and creating life. To force into existence a living being that did not previously exist, or to return from death something that died. "


    "You don''t have to warn me about that." I reassured him. "I''m well aware of the cost of messing with the natural life and death cycle to that degree." Hell, I would sooner start practicing necromancy than touch that with a ten foot pole.


    Hell, it almost knocked me off my feet to make Indra hit himself with his weapon because that was so far off the probable oues that I really had to dig for it. To undo someone''s established death, or to create something from nothing would be so catastrophic that merely dying would probably be the best oue.


    Those abilities existed within the realms of True Magic for a reason.


    "So no bullshit way to give me a new body and life?" Ddraig grumbled.


    "I''m afraid not." Mus¨± Tengai smiled wryly.


    "Whatever." Ddraig huffed. "But your ability is still bullshit."


    "Thanks for your input, Ddraig." I said dryly.


    "You''re wee." He smiled, as much as a dragon could.


    "So now, do we start Bankai Training?" I asked towards my Zanpakut¨­ spirit.


    "You just got out of a fight with Indra and you want to start doing something like that?" Ddraig looked at me like I was an idiot.


    "I''m just asking." I defended myself. "And I feel a lot better now."


    "To Achieve Bankai will be a long and arduous journey." Mus¨± Tengai replied rather cryptically.


    "So what you''re saying is that I should cheese it like Ichigo did?"


    "I only know the same details about that process that you do. From our understanding, it should force out thetent potential of the user and amplify it for a certain duration."


    "Yeah, the arbitrary ''three days'' at first nce was probably the longest it couldst before suffering consequences for the user. Hence, if the person failed, they would lose the opportunity forever." I continued his train of thought.


    Overstimting someone''s soul or potential like that was not without risks.


    "An admittedly genius concept, but not applicable for the majority of those who wield Zanpakut¨­. I can say for certain, that if you attempted to use that same device, you would not seed."


    "Really? No faith whatsoever?" I deadpanned.


    "I am being realistic. It''s your choice to make."


    "Nah, I''ll trust you." I was mostly kidding. If he said that it wasn''t a good idea, I would listen. "So the long and hard way then? How exactly do we start?"


    "You''re still missing a few steps to truly begin, but I can give you a taste to know what you''re in for." Mus¨± Tengai stated.


    "Oh, this is gonna be good, I can feel it." Ddraig chuckled mirthfully.


    "Alright, let me see where I need to start." I ignored Ddraig.


    My Zanpakut¨­ spirit obliged. He summoned the mirror again and stepped away. Curiously, I walked up to it and my reflection stared back. No.....that wasn''t my reflection. It looked back at me and copied my movements, but there were differences. It wore a set of robes more indicative of a general spell caster and held the Staff of Magnus in his hand.


    I put my hand to the mirror and he reached forward too.


    Startled, I pulled back as I felt his touch.


    He smiled and pushed through the mirror.


    "Well, this is a strange feeling." My mirrored copymented, looking at himself then around. "Ddriag? Hello there."


    "Sup." Ddriag greeted my copy.


    "You know your purpose." Mus¨± Tengai said simply.


    My copy nodded at him then turned to face me. "Should I introduce myself?"


    "Well far be it for me to refuse another me from giving an introduction." I gestured for him to continue.


    "How polite." He chuckled. "I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. Spellcaster extraordinaire, delver of Mysteries, and master of Prestidigitation." He waved his staff and a plethora of magical effects actualized. A dozen doves flew out, sparks shot up to the sky and a wind suddenly flowed, bellowing his robes.


    I held up my hands to keep the birds from flying into me and merely looked on at his little show.


    "That''s different." Imented. "So....what now?"


    "Now, we have a proper duel." He leaned on his staff.


    "A duel then? That doesn''t seem too difficult." I went to take out Mirage, but realized my mistake. "Uh....can I have my weapons?" I turned towards Mus¨± Tengai.


    He held up his hand, and another Staff of Magnus dropped down in front of me and I caught it quickly. "This is the only weapon you are allowed."


    "Ah, I get the game now." I gave the staff a little twirl.


    "Do you know?" My copy tilted his head in amusement.


    "A fiddle of gold against your soul that says I''m better than you." I chuckled.


    "You catch on quick. Let''s see who the better Mage is." He held the staff up then set it down. "Or we can just have a nice chat and talk this out."


    ".....is that a valid way to duel?"


    "A duel of words is still a duel?" He offered.


    Mus¨± Tengai didn''t respond as I looked to him for directions.


    "How would that even work? Do you want to trade insults? I think ''Your mother'' won''t hit quite right in this circumstance."


    "You bring up a valid point. I suppose we should go back to a magical duel." He hummed. "But there''s something you seem to have forgotten."


    "What''s that?"


    "Talking isn''t a free action." He tapped the staff on the ground and then they appeared.


    Six massive Magical Circles appeared around me in the shape of a cube. Under my feet, above my head, and at every side. Just at a look, I could see what was woven in, Primordial Runes of every type and I looked in horror as I realized what spell this was.


    "I didn''t even notice." I whispered as realization set in. "The Doves, the little introduction. You set this up while I was distracted from that. But still, I didn''t notice until you already actualized it. An illusion woven over the casting of the spell? No, not only that, but you hid it in a pocket of space then brought it out altogether."


    The spell that Cu Chinn taught me during the singrity, one of Odin''s own spells.


    "Prestidigitation." He emphasized. "???? ???? ????"


    The words barely sounded human as he invoked the Primordial Runes together, invoking the spell that qualified as a Noble Phantasm. And I felt myself ripped apart on every conceivable level.


    [***]


    Mus¨± Tengai POV


    "Well, that was interesting." Ddraig spoke up. "A surprisingly powerful spell. Even with my full strength, I would not want to be hit by that. I could barely even tell what happened."


    "It''s a spell that attacks one on every level of their existence. The Great God Carved Seal, tears apart space within its domain. Unravels the Axis of Time, and even attacks one''s soul and spirit through an intery of matrices." The copy of my wielder exined to Ddraig.


    "Oof, the brat is going to feel that for a while."


    "It is quite painful."


    "You''re not just a copy created by the sword over there, are you?" Ddriag inspected the mirror of his wielder.


    "You figured that out, did you?" He leaned against his staff.


    "What are you? Are you alive?"


    "Who knows. I am someone that doesn''t exist, but might exist depending on the circumstances. What is real, what is fake, it depends on your perspective. To me, this is but a dream. But to you, it''s real."


    "More cryptic bullshit, you''re definitely the brat."


    "Haha, that''s one way to look at it." The copy chuckled. "Well, he should take the future fights seriously at least."


    "Mmm, he took toockadaisical approach to his Bankai Training. Thank you for your assistance." I bowed my head towards him.


    I hoped he would understand that the future Bankai training will not be easy.


    "Feels weird being thanked by you. I may have never wielded a Zanpakut¨­, but after receiving the memories needed to understand the situation, it makes it awkward." He scratched his head. "Well, since my job is done, I guess I''ll head out. Feel free to call me again when he''s ready for a rematch."


    I bowed my head in thanks and helped him recede from my wielder''s inner world.


    "That was neat." Ddraig shrunk down his physical form. An easy enough maneuver seeing as he was but a wisp of consciousness within this world. "Want me to keep it a secret?"


    "If you wouldn''t mind."


    "No problem. It''s not one of those things I should interfere with, I get it." Ddriag was agreeable to my decision. "From what I understand, the brat needs to figure out things himself as part of this training."


    "You''re very perceptive." I smiled.


    "You don''t survive as long as I did without being able to read the situation." He flew around my head in a circle. "Can you make me some food?"


    "I made sure that every ce that would have food is properly supplied for your pleasure." It was the least I could do and took very little effort to pull the memories from my wielder.


    "You''re the best, sword boy!" Ddraig eximed, flying off towards the nearest restaurant I would presume.


    I smiled wistfully and moved towards a more secluded area of Wilhelm''s inner world.


    The Hogyoku hung up in the air and I was not the only one present.


    Two other figures sat at each corner of the room and I took the third spot. They both silently opened their eyes as if greeting me.


    "Odin, Meridia." I spoke softly to two figures.


    They didn''t respond, but I knew that wasn''t because they were unable.


    I wondered if Wilhelm would ever figure out that the two blessings he received from them were a bit more than just a favor bestowed?


    Meridia, perhaps he had a smidgen of knowledge about, but simply didn''t mind nor care to investigate. However, the other one was a bit more surprising.


    The elderly man silently sat cross legged, focusing almost entirely on the Hogyoku in front of us.


    I too turned my attention to the Hogyoku and began my own work.


    It was only a matter of time before we got this object to evolve to the next stage.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    Waking up for real this time was much more pleasant.


    It might have something to do with the fact that my face was firmly squashed between a pair of boobs. Even the residual feeling of being utterly torn apart by my copy couldn''t take away from this heavenly experience.


    "These are mine." I squeezed them between my hands.


    "And good morning to you too." Venna''s soft giggle reached my ears. "If that''s what I think it is poking me, I think you''re feeling much better."


    "You make it sound as if that''s a hard threshold to reach." Izzy also softly spoke next to my other ear.


    I begrudgingly pulled myself out of this wonderful bosom to turn my body around and see that Izzy wasying down on my other side. "This is a surprise. I didn''t expect to wake up with both of you together. Should I ask if my innocence was taken advantage of?"


    "Don''t talk nonsense." Izzy huffed. "And I did not intend to join you two in bed."


    "You pulled on her and refused to let go while you were half asleep." Venna exined. "It was rather cute, so she just relented and joined in the cuddling."


    "Did someone take my clothes off?" I peeked under the covers. But my eyes were drawn more towards the two women at my side. I''ve seen Venna naked before, and would always appreciate the sight of her in nothing but a bra and panties, but I was genuinely surprised to see Izzy the same.


    "Stop staring." Izzy turned a faint rosy red and pinched my cheek.


    "That''s impossible." I nudged closer to her and proceeded to bury my head between her boobs as well. "This is mine too."


    "Fine." She huffed again. "Let this be your reward then."


    I didn''t want Venna to feel left out, so I did the mature thing and reached back, groping her legs. "What happenedst night? I''m vague on the details."


    "Not much." Venna snuggled in andid her head on my shoulder. "You were clearly very tired so after we all made sure you were okay, we had you go to sleep. Izanami was kind enough to offer her guest bed as you were already here and I promised you a warm body to hug and you know the rest."


    "I need to go see Salem, I was supposed to check back in a lot sooner. She''s probably worried, or angry ¨C"


    "Jinn has it covered." Izzy interrupted me. "She is with Salem at the moment, you need not worry. Everything is being handled, just rest for now." She took my other hand and moved it so it was resting on her ample rear. "You deserve a nice rest" She added a quick kiss onto my cheek.


    I shifted myself so that I was staring up at the ceiling. "We haven''t talked yet have we?" I asked Venna, but it was rather rhetorical. "We''ve just been talking around you about certain things and you''ve been very polite and patient."


    "Trust isn''t something that can be forced. I don''t deny that I want to know about many things, but I don''t want you to feel pressured."


    "You''re an amazing woman and I''m lucky to have you." I leaned forced, kissing her softly on the lips. "I''ll dly tell you everything."


    "I''ll make sure he doesn''t exaggerate." Izzy snorted, settling in next to me.


    "I didn''t expect this so soon, but I''m pleasantly surprised." Venna smiled beautifully.


    "The truth is....I''m an Alien."


    Izzy pinched my cheek. "Tell her properly."


    Venna giggled so it was worth it.


    "Where to begin." I breathed out, rxing with both of them cuddling with me. "Do you understand the concept of Parallel worlds?"


    "Oh dear, this is not going to be what I imagined, is it?" Venna asked.


    "Prepare yourself, even I have trouble believing half the things he talks about and I''ve lived a very long life." Izzy replied.


    "I''ll keep an open mind."


    [***]


    A/N Couple more chapters then off to Orleans.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 427 - 386

    <h4>Chapter 427: Chapter 386</h4>


    I think I kind of knew how Artoria feels when Medea gets her hands on her now.


    "So Big." Venna cooed.


    "It feels strange as well." Izzy agreed. "And these are so rough and hard."


    "They feel good to touch though." Venna continued. "They are very charming; I can''t seem to stop myself."


    "What is it with you all and my Horns and Tail." I said emotionlessly as they groped my new Devil Parts. "Even Sc¨¢thach didn''t hide how enthusiastic she was about touching them."


    "You say that after you had your hand on my ass for the entire time you and Venna talked about your history." Izzy deadpanned.


    "That''s different."


    "How so?" Venna tilted her head. "I find these parts just as attractive as you most likely find our feminine parts."


    "...really?" I questioned skeptically.


    "Oh yes." Venna smiled beautifully. "I admit I''m very taken with this form of yours. I already thought you were a handsome man, but seeing these makes me feel a very pleasant tingle."


    "Did you not get it out of your system in the shower?" Izzy snorted. "Three hours you spent in there with him. If this was a normal house, you would have long ran out of hot water." She added with a roll of her eyes. "And while I don''t quite feel the same way, I do think they are interesting.....and they are cute."


    "Oh dear." Venna giggled. "It''s never out of my system." She grinnedsciviously. "And it helpsing to terms with the fact that my world seems so much smaller than it was yesterday."


    "I know the feeling." Izzy huffed. "And he was much less gentle with the revtion than he was with you. You took it very well, merely asking a few questions."


    "I''ll probably take some time to really ponder itter. It makes sense in a strange context. Everything that''s happened, the weirdness that suddenly urred with the Youkai faction that has everyone in a tizzy."


    "Odin knows, by the way." I remembered that little tidbit as well. "Just thought you should know. Otherwise, pretty much everyone around us knows bar Kunou."


    "He is a wise God, I''m not surprised." Venna nodded, rubbing her thumb against the tip of my left horn. "And are you waiting until Kunou is older? I can imagine that''s a difficult subject to broach."


    "Yeah, Yasaka and I mentioned telling her without any real substance to the talks, but I''ll probably bring it up again soon. Kunou''s birthday ister this month, so we may tell her then."


    I''m d that nothing had really changed between us after telling her my full story.


    She took it probably the best out of everyone that didn''t already know the concepts so widely known such as the Servants I''m acquainted with.


    She merely asked some questions, asked for some evidence, and such along those lines. Some rifications and exnations as well, but that was to be expected. Artoria responded to a message about her true identity did wonders to convince her nearly instantaneously.


    If I had to guess, I think she sounded more enthralled than encumbered by the revtion.


    She is a bit old, not in a bad way, so I suppose it''s not unexpected that something so new and different would be a weed surprise.


    "Anyways, are you two ready?" I''d been their personal doll for about an hour now.


    "I''m not sure." Izzy hummed, gripping my tail, an action she knew still made me feel weird. That little smile of hers was telling in that she was doing it to get a reaction out of me. "It makes me happy to know that I can return the favor for all your little touches."


    I''d remember this.


    "As much as I would genuinely like doing this for longer, I am a little excited for our date." Venna leaned against me and smiled brightly.


    "Mm, good point. I don''t want to keep you from that, and I do wish to have a talk with Meridia." Izzy agreed, relenting.


    She was vague about this supposed ''talk'' merely saying something that both as ''Gods'' forck of a better word on Meridia''s part, that they needed to have a talk now that she was ''officially'' my woman.


    I chalked it up to some nuance that I wouldn''t understand as a non-God and something I shouldn''t stick my nose in as it was a private matter they needed to settle between them without my presence.


    "I only met her for a brief moment not too long ago." Venna chimed in. "I had thought I did something wrong on our first meeting as she quickly left once I arrived. But your exnation set me more at ease, knowing that she can''t easily leave her...realm for too long. I''m not sure how that works, in detail, but I am curious, does it not get difficult to continue being together if you are both separated for long periods? "


    "I guess the definition of ''long'' is subjective here. And I would of course prefer to have her at my side every waking moment, but it simply can''t be helped. I was aware that there would be times where we wouldn''t see each other for weeks, months, or even years if things happened. Imagine if Nurarihyon could and would usurp Yasaka''s position if she left Kyoto for a period of time or saw the slightest signs of weakness."


    "That sounds awful."


    "Yup, and it''s a ''game'' between beings of simr power. Of course, she doesn''t simply ''leave'' when she shows up around here, but you get the general idea. It''s a power struggle and she doesn''t really have any friends in the game."


    "I already have a warped perception of timepared to mortals, but even I cannot fathom her entire existence from start to this point. I would imagine that a week to a month is very simr to how we would feel about a day or even less." Izzy also shared her unique perspective. "I have personally not noticed the passing of years on asion."


    "I suppose it''s a matter of perspective as you said. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with what was happening. I don''t want you to feel lonely without her around."


    "It''s hard for me to feel lonely when I have both of you here with me." I smiled at them. "But I understand that everyone has their life to live. Hell, Artoria, Raikou, Jinn and Sc¨¢thach are still discovering what it means to live their lives as is and I wouldn''t want to get in the way of that. You have your own family and responsibilities that I wouldn''t want trample on."


    I would absolutely love to have Meridia here every second of the day. I''m selfish like that and would never want to let her leave from my sight. But the rational part of me recognized her own independent existence.


    Venna hummed and looked pleased with what I said. "You mentioned during the talk, offhandedly, that you had a Immortal Peach that you wanted to ask me to make a wine out of. If we''re going to see Meridia, and knowing what she is, I would have something to ask her in that regard."


    "Oh? Something she can help there?" I rubbed my chin. "Color me intrigued. Speaking of, are you two ready to go?"


    Izzy stood up, straightening her clothes. "I am."


    Venna kissed my cheek and climbed up off the seat. "I''m ready to go explore the unknown."


    I merely waved my hand, producing a portal to the Colored Rooms with Meridia''s instant attention locking onto me. "After you."


    "What a gentleman." Venna winked, walking through.


    And Izzy was about to follow her, but I stopped her with a little smile of mine.


    She raised an eyebrow inquisitively.


    [***]


    "Honey, I''m home." I dered walking through the portal and closing it behind me.


    "Wee home, dear." She deadpanned, staring at me. "You brought the others with you then."


    "You''ve briefly met Venna." I politely introduced her, even if Meridia knew we wereing.


    "I have. I am to assume she knows everything now that she is here." Meridia questioned from atop her ''throne''.


    "Yes, we just finished that talk." Venna politely bowed her head. "And I thank you for entrance to your Realm, Lady Meridia."


    "Your gesture is appreciated but unneeded. Wilhelm is my lover thus his other interests are weed." Meridia''s attitude leaned towards casualness, but there was a clear hint of approval for the way that Venna didn''t just assume on her part and went through the proper gestures.


    "And I brought one more that you''ve met already." I informed her.


    "....I see that." Meridia said dryly staring at said Death Goddess who was currently being carried in my arms.


    "This is Izanami, my Death Goddess. There are other Death Goddesses like her, but this one is mine." I introduced.


    "I hate you." Izzy huffed. a tiny blush covered her cheeks as she looked away from me before wiggled out of my arms and standing by herself.


    "Thank you for the invitation." Izzy was a tad more casual than Venna, but she knew Meridia a little bit more. Perhaps an unspoken respect between two beings beyond mortal standards. Even if Meridia was even far beyond Izzy as well.


    Meridia nodded again. "Pay no heed, our mutual lover has a tendency to embarrass others for his own amusement."


    "I don''t deny it." I noticed Venna covering her mouth to lightly giggle.


    Meridia shook her head, standing up from her throne and walking towards us. "Give me a kiss, then depart. You will be a distraction."


    How assertive.


    I liked it.


    "Love you." I fulfilled her request with gusto.


    "Yes, I love you as well." Meridia''s expression softened. "And don''t think I''m ignoring your decision to fight recently. If I had my way, I would have marched over there and taken the head of that God who dared act so presumptuous."


    "It''s handled." I snuck my arms around her waist. "I wouldn''t want to inconvenience you. You''ve been busy recently, yeah?"


    "Merely some nonsense with Hermaeous Mora."


    "The Daedric Prince of Knowledge, right?"


    "That is correct." Meridia sniffed in annoyance. "His desire was...you and the others. I took offense to his attempts and rebuffed him. Things escted to a point, and we had a discussion and settled on a duel between two champions to decide terms." Her lips curled up into a smile. "That child you brought me served her purpose well."


    "You used Ophis."


    "Indeed." Meridia looked rather smug.


    "I see, this is what you meant when Yasaka said that Ophis was ''taken off the board''." Venna whispered from the side.


    Ah, I had forgotten to mention that. Well, it''s not like I could talk about every tiny detail in the time we had so far.


    "Is she behaving?"


    "She simply sits in her small void and stares silently into the nothingness." Meridia shrugged. "In terms of existence, she is truly a child still, so I''m not surprised. She is something that will outlive your and wee whates next. I would not be surprised if she''s still in her first Kalpa."


    "That''s too long for me to process right now. But I''m happy she''s a boon for you."


    "Yes, and stop distracting me." She pulled my hands away that had been sliding downwards through our conversation. "You are going on a date with Venna to that mortal city, correct?"


    "That was the n." I confirmed. "But is there something wrong for you to bring it up?"


    "Just some annoyances there at the moment, but nothing you cannot handle on your own."


    Well, a heads up was appreciated. "Oh, before we go, Venna wanted to ask something I believe?" I gave her an opening.


    Venna perked up once the attention was set on her. "I had a thought, I don''t know if it''s proper or if I''m stepping over a line."


    "You may ask, I will tell you if I dislike the request. No distasteful feelings of mine will befall you."


    "Wilhelm asked me to brew him a wine using a few ingredients. One of which is an Immortal Peach, and the other he suggested was some water from the River Styx. Conveniently they both align with Life and Death, would it be bad If I suggest a small blessing from both of you on them?" She asked.


    "I have no problem with this request" Izzy replied first. "I had assumed it would be something moreplicated. While I do not give out my blessing lightly, this is not something worth noting as it stays within the group."


    "I agree." Meridia responded next. "Bring me the object, I will give it a touch of my light."


    "I hadn''t thought about it." There was a reason that Venna was the expert on brewing here. I stepped away from Meridia''s immediate space and held my hands out, producing a vial of water from the River Styx, and the Peach of Immortality.


    "Amusing produce." Meridia took it from my hand, eyeing it. "It is basically a bundle of life force molded into the shape and identity of a fruit. I can see why such a thing is an object of desire for mortals. It is unfortunate that it has no viable seed to reproduce. It would be an object I could use to bring more to my side." She turned her gaze towards what Izzy was holding now. "That is the water of death?"


    "It''s a bit moreplicated than that. It is imbued with the Aura of Death but it also has connotations with life. It is the river that separates life and death in the Greek Underworld." Izzy exined, her Divinity shing briefly as she focused it onto the vial of liquid. "It aligns with me as well and took my Blessing without problem. Some of the negative effects should be remedied but it is still a vtile substance." She warned, handing it back to me.


    "Shall I offset that then?" Meridia asked. "I worried I would give too much of my power, but it will need topliment the substance if you wish to have mortals ingest it." She spoke, but it was more rhetorical as she didn''t wait for a response before a bright light enveloped the Peach. "There." She simply put it back into my hand. "I did not change it overly much, but the life force is purer now and will not lose effect from the process of dissimtion. There was a small w that I corrected, it should be a degree more potent."


    "Thank you." I smiled towards both of them.


    "I would not suggest more than three drops of this for the vat of wine you would make." Izzy looked at Venna.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll experiment a little bit before making it properly." Venna reassured me. "And thank you from me as well. I''m looking forward to making this and putting it all together. I''ve never brewed Wine with such valuable ingredients before."


    Meridia allowed herself to smile ever so slightly. "There is no need for thanks. It was a simple matter. You are together with him as well, such things are not worth mentioning."


    I''m d that Meridia was so epting. I knew she wasn''t keen on Dark-aligned creatures. And that was a very polite way of saying it. But she recognized things outside of her sphere of existence and was willing to give them a fair chance.


    "However, I believe we have skipped over something much more important." Meridia continued, her hands now grabbed at my horns. "These are amusing."


    Venna and Izzy just left me to Meridia''s groping, much to my chagrin.


    [***]


    "Sorry for springing this whole thing on youst minute."


    "What are you referring to? The existence of things beyond my imagination as you described in your exnation. Or are you talking about this impromptu date?" Venna asked as she leaned into me, her arm wrapped around mine.


    "I was talking about the date, but I suppose the former does deserve acknowledgement."


    "I don''t think there''s a good way to drop all of that on someone. Ripping off the band aid in a controlled and intimate way like you did was probably the best I was going to get. As for the date, I''m notining. It''s not as if I had any ns today, and I do enjoy the spontaneousness of it."


    "And you''re fine with where we''re at?" I asked.


    "Dear, I was around long before society was civilized." She giggled. "Believe me when I say that this is nostalgic and in no way unweed. Honestly, it''s better than I remember back home during the same type of period."


    "Well, if you''re sure."


    Venna and I were currently strolling around the streets of Skyrim.


    "Oh this." Venna''s eyes lit up, pulling me to a nearby stall. "Is this wheat?"


    "Ya never seen wheat before,ss?" An older woman looked at her weirdly.


    "It''s a bit more golden than what I''m used to." Venna took it in stride. "I''ll take a few bundles, please."


    "Six septims for each wrap." The Older Woman grunted.


    I happily handed over the money and Venna imed her new prize. "I can''t wait to try and make some mead with this." She said happily, stealthily hiding it away in the bracelet I gave her.


    She practically glided over to another one, dragging me along. "I''ve never seen these kind of berries before?"


    "Aye, just picked some fresh Juniper Berriesing from Helgen. ''pose you not from Skyrim if ya haven''t seen them yet. They got a nice bitter taste that makes for a good Mead and some good pie." The stall owner responded.


    "And is that fresh honey?" She asked, pointing to a few jars at the corner.


    "Aye, Miss. Cousin said it was harvested this week." He nodded. "The supply from Riften started up again. Still be costing a pretty coin, but tis not hoarded anymore. Damn dragon burned down the biggest farm in the region some months ago, but ah heard they got the hives back up."


    "Well, I will certainly take your stock then." Her eyes lit up. "And what else do you have?"


    The stall owner grinned wide, like he found a prize. "Got a bit of everythin, Miss. If you got a hankering, I got some Mammoth Meat, fresh. I have a few bags of freshly picked apples and potatoes. Also got me some cheese wheels, goat and ¨C"


    "I''ll take all of it." Venna cut him off.


    The man blinked, but quickly recovered, leaning on his stall. "You got a good eye for quality, miss. Now, hows about we talk about price."


    I simply sat a sack of Septims on the stall.


    He paused, looking at it, nudging it a couple time and peeked inside before nodding to himself. "Pleasure doin business with ya. Do ya need a help moving the goods?"


    "Oh, no thank you." Venna rejected. "I got a nice strong man here to help me with everything." She jokingly nudged my shoulder.


    "Ya got a cart?" He eyed me skeptically because...there was quite a lot of things around his stall.


    "No need." I held my hand up and quickly took everything I wanted into my ring as I got close to each item.


    "A mage." He blinked, then his eyes widened slightly. "Ah, I knew I recognized you,d! The Red Dragon Emperor, at my stall! I''m gonna tell the boys at the tavern about this tonight!" Heughed, pping my shoulder heartily.


    I rolled my eyes and set a few more septims down on the stall. "Drinks are on me."


    He grinned happily and pped my shoulder again. "Hah, what a goodd. If only more outsiders were like you then Skyrim wouldn''t be turning to shite!"


    The Man pocketed his money and cheerful left now that his day was cleared up and Venna just looked at me with a rather amused look.


    "Red Dragon Emperor, huh? I guess even here Ddraig has a reputation."


    [And don''t you forget it.] Said Dragon proudly proimed.


    "Ddraig likes to show off." I grumbled slightly. "And I may share that sentiment."


    "I think it''s sweet." She grabbed my arm again. "He wasn''t the only one. You said you were known here, but I didn''t realize it was like this. Ever since we walked inside, people have been whispering and ncing our way, I thought for entirely different reasons."


    "Well, I have a beautiful woman on my arm. I would stare too if I saw you walking down the street."


    "Oh you flirt." She giggled. "This is so much fun. Mammoth Meat, I didn''t know that was even possible."


    "To be honest, I haven''t tried it either. I think I knew that there were Mammoths around here, but my mind didn''t put two and two together until just now. Tell me what you think of it when you try it. I''m sure Artoria will be ecstatic that there''s an animal thates in a size she prefers her meals to be."


    "Hmm, want to go see that friend of yours now? I''m afraid if I look around any longer, I''ll buy up everything and we''ll be here all afternoon."


    "Sure, we can go see Thorum. And I really don''t mind if you want to buy everything, seeing you happy means more than any insignificant amount of money."


    "Such a sweetie." She squeezed my arm. "you called it a boat building offhandedly, are you referring to that one just over there?" She pointed to the Jorrvaskr that was barely peeking over a few roofs a bit further away.


    "That would be it." I leaned over, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Shall we?"


    "Lead the way, dear." She smiled beautifully.


    The Companion''s building was only a block or so away from the market area, which was rather convenient. But as we got close, we noticed a crowd somewhat forming.


    "What''s going on?" Venna asked one of the people as we snuck up.


    "Damn Thalmor, thinking they own the ce! They just barged right into the Jorrvaskr and won''t let anyone get close." The man didn''t even turn back to face her but responded anyway with a low hiss in his voice.


    I looked ahead and saw two Elves wearing clothes simr to that one guy back at the College of Winterhold.


    "I forgot about the Thalmor."


    "Cliff notes?" Venna asked.


    "Uh, racist Elves? Don''t want one of the Nord''s Gods worshiped for some vague reason. They were warring with the Empire for a while and all that. It was part of a treaty that Talos worship would be ouwed in the Empire." I whispered.


    "Are you going to do something?"


    ".....Thorum can handle himself and ¨C"


    "Let me reiterate, I don''t mind if you do something." She corrected herself.


    I didn''t want to ruin this little date we had, but she gave her blessing. And she wasn''t someone who would say something was okay and not really mean it.


    "Alright, follow my lead."


    I moved my arm to take Venna''s hand into mine and we began pushing through the couple dozen or so people gathered.


    The two Elfs guarding the door looked at us as we approached and moved to stand in our way. "Halt, this ce is ¨C"


    "The Jorrvaskr, I know I''ve been here before. Let''s go inside, dear." We just pretended to ignore them. They seemed utterly confused that we didn''t acknowledge their presence, for good or ill. We just pushed right past them and threw doors wide open and walked inside.


    The scene that greeted us was tense.


    There were Eight more Thalmor inside and it looked like they were having a standoff with Thorum and the Companions. It looked like we came in right during the heat of an argument.


    "Will?" Thorum was the first to exim.


    "Hey Thorum, it''s been too long. I came to visit to see how you were doing."


    "My friend!" He brightened up and then just as quickly regained a rather serious expression. "The timing is poor."


    "You." The Thalmor that looked to be the leader turned to address me. "Another on the list. Your description is a perfect match." His eyes ran up and down me before turning back to Thorum. "And you imed that you did not know his location Dragonborn." The Thalmor scoffed.


    "Uh, what''s going on?" I asked.


    Immediately the doors swung open again and the two Thalmor from outside barged right in.


    "Captain." One of the ones who entered had politely greeted the head elf. "These two just pushed past us. We''ll immediately send them out." He put his hand on my shoulder and I noticed the other did the same to Venna.


    "Who gave you permission to put your hands on us?" I grabbed it and twisted. The Elf let out a surprised shriek of pain and tumbled over as I twisted his hand.


    Nearly instantaneously, the one who dared to touch Venna also followed suit. Though he looked a bit worse if I were to be honest.


    As much as Venna was one to slum it with us and get her hands dirty on asion, she has a sense of propriety and did not abide by certain actions. Such as strangers touching her without permission in an aggressive way.


    "You all saw it, they assaulted us. We were simply defending ourselves." I deliver a perfect case for self-defense.


    "...Aye, a close encounter with some would be assants." A delivered with a dry tone.


    "Don''t be ridiculous, they merely ced their hands on them!" The Thalmor at the front scowled. "Release my men or I will have you arrested for assaulting ¨C"


    "They even have weapons on them!" I grabbed at the dagger hidden under the coat of the one struggling in my grasp. "A dagger. A tool of a thief or an assassin! Clearly, they were up to no good. I mean, look at the colors they''re wearing. ck! The colors of thieves, and assassins."


    "Wilhelm, dear." Venna spoke up. "You''re wearing ck."


    "And I have stolen things before." I pointed out.


    "Do you think this nonsense will stand? You will surrender yourself to my custody and I will be merciful not to inflict a stricter form of interrogation on you afterwards. Should youe quietly that is."


    "What''s he going on about?" I asked Thorum.


    "He ims to be carrying out his duty to search for any ''Talos worshippers'' and he ims that the Companions are a refuge for it as well as a list of other names." Thorum rified.


    "Mine, I presume."


    "Aye."


    "And Artoria and Rin as well?"


    "Aye."


    ".....and everyone else I''m acquainted with."


    "...aye."


    "What a dumbass."


    "Of course such curt and uncouth behavior woulde from one of your kind." He sniffed.


    "My kind?" I questioned.


    "A Daedra worshiper." He spat out.


    "I''m not a Daedra worshiper." I replied.


    "We have a significant number of reports contradicting that statement."


    "Well, let''s agree to disagree." I loved to tease Meridia, but not at the expense of her standing to others, unless they were my other girls. To the people of her world, as much as I wanted to joke about what I did to her was not worship unless the bedroom counted, I wouldn''t voice it out loud.


    "It matters not, we will have answers one way or another." He snapped his fingers and the Elfs around him looked ready to fight. "Come along quietly or we will use force if necessary."


    "Does....he even have the legal authority to ''apprehend'' us?" I asked.


    "It depends on your interpretation." A gripped her sheathed de. "Technically no, but technically yes."


    "Have they proven themselves to be Thalmor then?"


    "What?" The Head Elf guy scowled again. "You dare question ¨C "


    I let my Reiatsu seep out and it descended upon the elves present in the room. The full weight of my soul was brought to bear against theirs and they were found wanting.


    Nearly all of them had their eyes rolled back and they dropped to the ground. The only one who didn''t was their leader who was showing admirable resistance.


    "Y-y-y-ou ¨C" He trembled, his knees buckling and it looked like he was having trouble even speaking.


    Even some of the most generous and good natured people I''ve met in Skyrim hate the Thalmor.


    So.....


    I took out my old trusty Brick that I nicked before leaving Soul Society and threw it at his face.


    It made a wonderful sound on connection and the elf was taken out immediately.


    "....my friend, did you just throw a brick at him." Thorum asked.


    "I did." I didn''t deny it.


    A was the first to snort out a little bit ofughter then they all joined in, the tension easing immediately. "Serves those damn elves right."


    "Aye, a fitting way to quiet the dishonorable Thalmor." Farkas chuckled.


    "What should we do with them now?" Thorum asked.


    "Uh, so....send them to the Jarl?" I offered.


    "The Jarl?" A mulled it over. "He might be put in a bad position if we send them to him."


    "Tell him they didn''t identify themselves and assaulted us. I''m sure he''s savvy enough to use that to get them out of his city. He''s probably aware they''re here already and is barely tolerating their presence."


    They all looked at each other and shrugged.


    "Sounds good, my friend!" Thorum walked up with that big goofy smile of his and wrapped me up in a big hug. "It''s good to see you again!"


    "You too, buddy." I chuckled, patting his shoulder. He was stronger again. "And let me introduce mypanion to you."


    "Venna Gremory." She held out her hand. "Wilhelm speaks very highly of you."


    "Lady Gremory." Thorum politely took it and returned the greeting. "It is a pleasure. What is your...?"


    "She''s my woman." I rified.


    "Another one?" A snorted, tossing one of the Elves out the door. "Can this one even handle a drink? Looks like she belongs in the cloud district with the other pompous fools."


    "Oh sweetie, I can handle my drink much better than you can." Venna rose to the provocation, good-naturedly.


    A paused and stared at her with an amused grin. "Aye, let''s see it then. Give her some good Nord Mead."


    "Ah, Lady Gremory, I apologize for A. She can be a little....brash." Thorum whispered an apology.


    "It''s no problem, I knew what I was getting into when I came here. Don''t worry, this is far from the first time I''ve been in a situation like this." Venna seemed unphased.


    "Ya know, I''m surprised things turned out the way they did." Farkas fixed the chairs at a nearby table, making sure there was enough room for all of us to join him. "Didn''t expect the Thalmor to just sit there after being messed with. They usually don''t take being insulted well and all that."


    "They probably had a script in their head about how things would go and nned ordingly. Sometimes, just acting so tantly audacious can throw someone off enough that they don''t know how to properly respond." I replied, pulling out a chair for Venna to sit down.


    It''s how I managed to win over Meridia.


    Always a good option now and then.


    "My friend, you came at a good time then!" Thorum smiled again. "We did not know how to handle them without causing an incident."


    "I voted to just beat them up and throw them out of the city." A tossed a round of drinks onto the table and fell into her chair. "Bottoms up." She took a swig of her drink, eyeing Venna.


    "You don''t need to drink this if you don''t want to, Lady Gremory. Nord mead doesn''t ¨C


    "No need." Venna smiled, taking her own into her own. In one motion, she threw her head back and started downing it. We all looked at her as she downed the entire thing in one go. "Not bad." She said simply, setting the empty bottle down. "Have anything stronger?"


    A slowly opened her mouth and closed it again. She lookedpetitive of all things then followed suit, quickly chugging down her own drink. She let out a burp, mming her bottle onto the table. "Four more bottles down here."


    "That sounds wonderful. But why don''t you order some for yourself too." Venna''s eyes twinkled in amusement.


    ".....I like her." Thorum whispered towards me.


    "Yeah, she''s great." I couldn''t help but grin stupidly. I don''t know why Thorum approving meant so much to me, but it did.


    "I ain''t too hard headed to admit when I''m wrong." A grunted. "I take back what I said, you''re okay in my book. Handled that elf well too."


    "Quick, someone go check outside. Are there any Pigs flying? A just apologized." Farkas spoke up, but A quickly jabbed him in the shoulder.


    "Quiet, you big lug." She huffed.


    I just realized, every time I end up here, regardless of who I''m with, we end up getting rather deep into the drinks....


    Oh well, they all seemed to enjoy it.


    "I ept your apology." Venna giggled. "This date of ours wasn''t nned, otherwise I would have worn something more appropriate here, so I can understand your skepticism."


    "Got yourself another one, Milk Drinker?" A epted another bottle that was handed to her.


    "He sure did." Venna scooted a tad closer as if telling all of them that she was iming me.


    "Aye, my friend! Tell me how you two got together. And what you have been up to! Things have been quiet around here and I''ve only been hearing rumors of things. A man with a spear and a Khajit at his side warding off Dragons in the west andying low the Dark Brotherhood. Then I hear of a man in Riften wearing Armor ck as night and another in not but cloth and a strange sword felling a dragon there. I admit I prefer the city to be safe, but hearing such exciting rumors has made me feel conflicted about keeping still. Tell me of your own adventures, let me relish in your triumphs, my friend."


    Those sounded rather familiar. I would need to check up to see how Assassin, Rider, and Archer were doing while ying around here in skyrim.


    "Oh jeez, where to start." I popped the cork off my bottle and I was about to answer until I felt a buzz on my Kaleidophone. "One second."


    I quickly checked it to see what message I received.


    Zelretch: I''m done. I finished a method for you to reenter the world-line undetected. Come see me when you have time.


    I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety fill me but I pushed it to the side for now.


    I was with Venna and I would finish this date of ours before letting my mind be taken over by thoughts of Chaldea and that world.


    "Sorry, where was I?" I asked.


    "You were speaking of your adventures." Thorum helpfully replied.


    "Right, how about how I almost died recently?"


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    Next chapter is the clock tower party, then off to Orleans.

 Chapter 428 - 387

    <h4>Chapter 428: Chapter 387</h4>


    After dropping Venna off from our short but wonderful date, I Immediately skipped over to Zelretch''s ce and what greeted me wasn''t what I expected.


    "Good, you''re here." Zelretch acknowledged my entrance, but he did not look normal.


    His hair was a bit disheveled and his normally tidy appearance leaned towards the unkempt. Frankly, he looked like he had been working without sleep for days.


    "Are you alright?" I asked out of concern.


    He looked down at himself and waved it off. "I''ve been working on this for about 40 hours now and it''s been both physically and mentally exhausting. But I finally finished the calctions and theory after creating my initial hypothesis."


    "Gramps..."


    "Oh, don''t even start." He chuckled. "This is just as important to me as it is to you. I still need a couple days to finalize the results and gather what I need, but it''s safe to say that I managed a way for you to return without being detected."


    He let out a tired breath as he nearly copsed into a chair at the dining room table. "How was your date?"


    I humored him, sitting down across from where he was. "Short, but nice. I would have loved for it to be longer, but it was rather spur of the moment after telling her everything and she had to go back for some family stuff."


    And catching up with Thorum. I was ted that Venna enjoyed that environment and she had easily meshed in with the rougher society. It''s funny how visibly out of ce she was there, yet if it wasn''t for that, you wouldn''t be able to tell the difference.


    "A shame, I would have loved to meet her." Zelretch hummed.


    "Alright, alright. You''re intentionally keeping me on edge. Exin what you did."


    He chuckled again but acquiesced. "I had to take many different approaches. I decided to work based off the assumption that both I and my teacher would simultaneously be on the lookout for you, thus I worked backwards from that."


    "Both Zelretch, the Kaleidoscope, and Solomon the King of Magecraft out to look for me. Are there actually any holes in this hypothetical to catch me that I could slip through?"


    "A good analogy." He rubbed his beard. "To continue with it, there are no holes for you to sneak through per say. If we go with the analogy, let''s call that world-line a world full of minnows, and you''re a shark. The only allows Minnows inside and keeps out all other sea life. No matter what I thought of, I could note up with a way to get through this proverbial without detection even only using the methods my teacher had from my memories. Combined with many things I''ve learned myself over the years and my Mastery of the Second, well, the nearly impossible became infinitely smaller."


    "The obvious approach then, would be not to push through the, but let the take me willingly."


    "Bingo." He snapped his fingers, pointing at me. "You, Wilhelm, will be a minnow."


    "Sounds easy." I rolled my eyes. "But seriously, what did you figure out?"


    "It''s actually fairly simple once I worked through everything I could think of. An oversight I believe, both my Teacher and I would have missed had I not been on the outside looking in."


    "Are you going to keep me in suspense?"


    "You need to enter that world-line during the Singrity. At the same exact moment that it would take ce on an adjacent world-line." He replied.


    "....will that work?" I furrowed my brow. "I don''t know the exact time and date, but to pick an arbitrary time and ce. If the singrity was taking ce on December 1st 2000, would I need to also be on a parallel world at the same exact date, and if it were midnight in the singrity, would I need it to be midnight there as well?"


    "Correct." He nodded to my understanding. "Obviously that isn''t the entirety of everything. But we''re going to hide your entrance in a single moment of time to not cause any ripples on your reentry. Metaphysically speaking, the singrities are creating their own ripples, distinct ones. And your entrance would be like driving a speedboat over them, making it rather obvious that something was amiss if one were to stare at the river of time there. What we''re going to do is make it so you align perfectly with the already established ripples and hide your arrival in such a way."


    "Alright." I said quietly, pondering what he just said. "I feel like we''re making a lot of assumptions with this."


    "It can''t be helped, we''re working against mostly unknowns. I''m taking every precaution I can think of to make this as safe as possible."


    "I know, and I trust you. I''m just...concerned is all."


    "Understandable." He said softly.


    "Have you finished all the calctions? Those are going to be a nightmare, especially if you can''t delve too deep without being discovered from prying eyes."


    "That was what I was going to wrap up over the next couple days. I need to figure out the point where the best arrival time would be to mask your presence." He exined. "I will also be giving you several devices to gather information. We don''t know entirely what''s happening and I can''t poke at it too much, as you said."


    "Shouldn''t be a problem. But what about once I get there? Wouldn''t someone be able to point me out? My presence isn''t exactly subtle, especially if I need to help resolve the singrity."


    "My teacher''s irvoyance was second to none." He said nostalgically. "But It wasn''t unbeatable. If the entity I believe to be is using my teacher''s irvoyance, then I have an idea how to ovee it. That spear of yours may be the key. It should be able to cloud you from vision but I will also see if I can''t get something to help further. That being said, that only gets around outside perception, if they Physically look your way, you''re going to stick out."


    "I suppose it''s a risk we''re going to have to take. I''m guessing that I can''t bring anyone along with me, right?"


    "....maybe."


    "Maybe?"


    "You may be able to bring Raikou with you due to your Master-Servant bond. The link should make it so any smoke and mirrors I use to mask your presence also falls ontop of her. I will double check some things, but I''m fairly confident on that front."


    That''s a consideration, but I likely wouldn''t ask Raikou toe with me. Maybe I''m selfish, but I didn''t want to put Raikou in that kind of situation. I like the happy Raikou that didn''t have to draw her sword, that could live a more normal life.


    "Alright, what do you need me to do?" I allowed myself to rx. I was happy that there was a method he had some confidence in.


    "Nothing." He said simply. "I just wanted to inform you that we''re nearly ready. You have the party to attend. Go there, have fun, rx a little bit and then afterwards, I''ll be ready for you."


    "You get me riled up then tell me to rx." I said dryly. "But fine, I won''t look over your shoulder while you finish up. Just tell me if you need anything."


    "Will do." He smiled. "And you were taking Salem, yes? How is she doing? You haven''t gone back after you fought with Indra."


    Oh, he already knew about that then. "She''s doing good, I was assured that Jinn was keeping herpany and helping her with everything that needed to be done. I offered to relieve her of her ''duties'' but Jinn rebuffed me and told me to let her handle it as well. I think she''s having fun bothering Salem so I left it at that."


    "I''m sure that''s going well."


    "....I should go check up on them."


    [***]


    Jinn POV


    "Alright, time for a pop quiz!"


    "You''re enjoying this far too much." Salem lifted her head out of the book she was reading.


    I ignored her. "What are the three major families that hold the most sway in the Clock Tower."


    "The Barthomeloi, Trambelio, Valualeta." Salem said in a monotone. "Is this really necessary?"


    "Yes." I hummed, looking through my own notes I had prepared. "Here, look over this too." I pushed it over to her side of the table.


    She scrunched her nose and grabbed the paper, looking over it. "The political spectrum of this Clocktower...joy."


    "Hey, you''re the one who wants to go. I''m just making sure you''re prepared and don''t look like an idiot."


    "Very well." She grumbled. "I would be remiss to make myself or him look foolish in the eyes of his peers."


    "....peers is a strong word."


    "I was under the impression that he was representing his family. Either way, it would not do good for me to bring any rumors upon him through my ignorance."


    "Yeah, you should probably know just the basics. No one would really bat an eye if you didn''t know the third cousin twice removed of the fifth child of the current Lord of a Department. That being said, you should probably look deeper into the Mineralogy Department since that''s Grandfather''s."


    "Noted." She paused and looked up at me. "Do you truly call him Grandfather?"


    "I''m Wilhelm''s woman, so why wouldn''t I?"


    "Will this be a necessity for me as well?" She looked hesitant asking.


    "Of course not." I giggled, finding it funny how the usual calm and confident Salem could be nervous about something. "Though he''s probably older than you, if that makes you feel better."


    "What do you mean ''probably? You know my exact age to the second." She scoffed then paused again. "You better not have told him how old I am." She narrowed her eyes.


    "First, I don''t just go around revealing secrets." I assured her. "Unless it''s funny."


    "How reassuring." She drawled.


    "Second, he wouldn''t care. Do you have any idea how old Meridia is? Older than Remnant. Seriously, the Brothers are like infants infront of her."


    "She is a Goddess, it is not the same."


    "You do realize he likes older women, right?" I held back another giggle at her hint of worry. "Third, he used one of my questions to find about you, remember? He should have a vague idea. Does it really bother you when I''m barely younger than you as it is? Or Sc¨¢thach is over two thousand?" I didn''t bother mentioning Izanami since she already brought up the whole ''Goddess'' thing.


    "...I suppose I am overreacting." She said softly. "And you didn''t answer my question."


    "Grandfather''s age, if you look at it from his birth to the current year in the world he lives in, is less than yours, yeah, but he doesn''t exist in only a linear state. Take it from someone who perceived every second of Remnant, he is far older than what''s on the surface."


    "Then should I address them as such...?" She again nervously looked to me for guidance. "I do not wish to make an improper impression."


    Seeing her like this was odd.


    Seeing her worried about how others thought of her, as funny as it was, really threw me for a loop. It reminded me of when she was younger. I could still recall those memories of Remnant just as vividly as I was around to witness them.


    "If you want my honest opinion, do a proper introduction first if it bothers you so much. He''s easy going to those he thinks of as family. As soon as you and Will started dating, he already thought of you as one of his own. He won''t begrudge you if being firm and respectful is morefortable to you."


    ".....thank you."


    "Oh wow..."


    "What?"


    "It''s just....I''m surprised I got a genuine ''thank you'' from Salem, the Grimm Queen."


    Salem huffed and scowled, not bothering to answer me.


    "Such an impossibility that I would have thought the Brothers'' returned." I met her eyes as she stared at me in annoyance. "Don''t worry, they haven''t. I would know, themp in my ass wouldn''t be nearly as still as it is right now."


    That''s a thought, I wonder if I could get it to vibrate? Though I might just be useless if it started doing that all the time.


    "You do that on purpose."


    "Of course." I gave her a wide smile. "I love how much it flusters you."


    "I do not get flustered!"


    "Clearly. It must be that I the Spirit of Knowledge, knowing everything, Present or Past, am wrong."


    "You are the most infuriating spirit in existence." Salem scowled deeper, pulling her book back in front of her face.


    "Your annoyance fuels my existence." It was much too fun to poke at Salem, I simply couldn''t help myself.


    We covered a lot already, and Salem was by no means a slouch when it came to this stuff.


    Still, we should probably make sure her Thaumaturgical Foundation had some bearing on their world in consideration for the absence of the Human Order and inherent Mysteries in line with the engraving of unnatural phenomena onto the greater world. However, even with the divergences between vastly different systems of Thaumaturgy, the most fundamental rules remained ¨C the transformation of one''s internal Magical Energy to affect the outside world. I suppose it doesn''t really make much of a difference in this case. "Have you thought about what you''re going to say to people who ask what your craft is?"


    "The idea that everyone has such a narrow craft is odd." She returned to normal as well.


    "Well, not everyone has the benefit of Godly Magical abilities. It''s honestly impressive how far the humans in Wilhelm''s world could take their Magecraft inparison. I think the fact that we were handed so much kind of stymied our potential."


    Not that the old humans here weren''t capable of simr feats. But when anyone with mediocre talent could control the Elements with rtive ease, well....what was the point in pushing beyond that? Even Ozma and Salem with their vaunted and self-described mastery, they didn''t really push the boundaries of what was possible. Well, I suppose Salem had started doing that in her boredom over the centuries, but even then she didn''t really get that far into it inparison to those Magi.


    Now, barely a few months after meeting Wil, and Salem is already doing ridiculous things. Hiding Grimm in her shadow? That''s terrifying in terms of potential. Who knows what else she''s going to think of next.


    It''s like a painter not having the proper canvas to work on, yet all the brushes and paint they could ask for. Opposed to the humans on Earth who had a Canvasid out for them, but only a tiny amount of paint and only a single brush of poor quality that would break if used for too long. Once Salem was given a canvas of sufficient potential, she thrived.


    "Perhaps if your creators didn''t throw a tantrum and killed off all of humanity, we would have reached higher levels." Salem scoffed. "However, such innovations and strides for improvement are praiseworthy. It is humbling, in a way, to see those with less aplish more. I was merely going to be vague and say that Elemental Maniption to be my focus if it got into it."


    I won''t mention that it was her actions that technically led to that conclusion.


    "Well, you''re already going to be the center of attention, even if it wasn''t as Wilhelm''s date. No doubt it''s going toe out that you''re from the ''Age of Gods'' or something like that, it may not be necessary to lie about a craft or whatever."


    "Regardless, it is appropriate to have ns for the most obviously likely scenarios." Salem responded.


    Whatever floats her boat.


    It''s not like there aren''t other old monsters in that ce.


    And she could handle herself, even without Wilhelm''s assistance.


    "Alright, what do you want to cover next? I think we touched the most important things. We can review the basic ¨C "


    "Mistress?" Cinder opened the door, peeking through.


    "Cinder." Salem closed her book, setting it on the table. "You''ve returned."


    The new Half-Maiden took that as her cue to walk into the room. "Yes, Mistress." Salem respectfully replied, eyeing me suspiciously.


    Well, it couldn''t be helped, thest time we met wasn''t exactly a pleasant experience for her. "Hi Cinder!" I cheerfully waved regardless.


    "H-hi?" Cinder stumbled out in surprise.


    Salem looked utterly amused as much as I was.


    "Did youplete your objective?" Salem asked, barely paying attention.


    "W-we were unable to locate the one responsible. The lead we had turned out to be a dead end Mistress." She straightened herself. "But we''re already working on a solution." She quickly added.


    "No need, just forget about it." Salem dismissively waved her hand in the air. "It does not matter anymore."


    "Mistress, it was only one failure. I''m confident that ¨C "


    "Cinder, you misunderstand. It simply does not matter any longer." Salem interrupted her, eyes staring into the younger womans''. "And abandon any of your other ns you currently have. Your only duty right now is to practice your magic. If you are learning under me, I will not have you be seen as ipetent."


    "Mistress..." Cinder''s eyes widened in shock. "Does this mean you will be teaching me?"


    "Of course." Salem scoffed. "Wilhelm went through the trouble of even providing you with a practice staff. How would it look upon me if I let you whittle away after his generosity? Now, go retrieve it and begin the practices I showed you previously. I will check your progress in a few days."


    Cinder looked ted, but kept her expression mildly under control. "I will not disappoint you, Mistress!"


    If Salem and I weren''t watching, I bet Cinder would have skipped away happily.


    "That''s nice of you." I hummed, looking at the Grimm Queen. "To see you actually care about your subordinate."


    "....I believe it is what Wilhelm desires, so I will make an effort." She said simply. "If her use for acquiring the Relics is now for naught, she may as well be an aplished Magic User under my tutge."


    "You''re not worried she''s going to be pissed to learn that you''re basically giving up on everything? You know, in her eyes, she was expecting something like world domination." I informed her, while also keeping it rather vague. Even if my parameters were heavily loosened, I found it wrong to openly talk about others'' secrets.


    "Don''t take me for a fool." Salem huffed, rolling her eyes. She flipped a page and barely cast a nce back at me. "That woman only cares about her own personal power. Her deference to me doesn''t contain an iota of actual respect absence of fear."


    "....that could change if you were willing." I began writing down a few magic forms onto some parchment.


    "Is that a suggestion then?" Salem raised an inquisitive eyebrow.


    "Take it as you will." I didn''t borate on the specific subject. "I just think it might be worthwhile to try. Personally, I feel sorry for Cinder, knowing what I do. But even ignoring that, it might be beneficial for you to consider."


    "You believe she is talented and may prove useful to me in the future? I was under the assumption that you had no bearing over future events?"


    "You''re assuming I''m considering her ''potential value''." I paused my pen strokes. "I meant that it would be good for you."


    "...borate."


    "Are you really this dense?" I pped my pen down on the table, giving her a look. "You''re aplete loner, and not by nature. How long has it been since you''ve actually had bonds with people beyond master and disposable subordinate? How long has it been that you''ve had someone at your side that you wouldn''t toss into a fire if it meant keeping you a little warm?"


    "What use is that for me?" Salem snorted. "Besides, I now have a rtionship, as you very well know."


    "Obviously, so do we all. Even I have friends, Salem. I''ve only been out of mymp for months and able to move around freely, and I have had more social interaction than you have for the past thousand years. I have friends, work colleagues, rivals, acquaintances, etc. I wouldn''t say anything if it was just in your nature, but you seclude yourself out of loneliness and hatred. Do you really want to continue like that?"


    "Why do you care?" Salem whispered, scowling but not meeting my gaze.


    "Besides the fact that Wilhelm now cares about you?" I rolled my eyes at the obvious. "Just like when we met the first time. It''s hard to ignore everything you''ve done in the past, but seeing you trying is worth the effort returned on my end."


    "....I will take your concerns under advisement." Salem said softly, surprisingly she didn''t argue with me.


    "It''d probably help if you gotid too..."


    "Cease your nonsense." She huffed in annoyance.


    "Hehehe" I giggled, finishing up another drawing. "Hey, wanna see a couple Spell Sequences I made?"


    Salem blinked, pulling her book down again. "Is this relevant to what I should know?"


    "No, I just wanted to share."


    "....very well, let me see."


    I happily pushed them over for her to review.


    "The idea of Spell Circles is fascinating." Salem muttered, looking them over.


    "Right!?" I eximed. "I mean, I can calcte nearly anything on the fly, but it''s so helpful even for me! For a normal Human, they''re a Godsend inparison. Complicated spells be easier to cast once you can memorize the majority of the structure and not need to mentally ount for all the variables every time you cast a simple spell. Granted, basic elemental maniption in our case would be quicker without Spell Circles, but going beyond that they begin showing their worth."


    "It also opens up the possibility to interrupt the spell casting." Salem gave in return.


    "Yeah, Counter Spells are a thing, I''ve discovered. But you can also make allowances for those. A simple method ofyering a false spell overtop will usually stop the majority of attempts."


    "And if that doesn''t work?" Salem asked.


    "Well, then you just have to get creative. If a Master see''s the obvious ''false spell'' and hits the true casting behind it, then just shift to make the false spell the real one. Or there''s a ton of other ways. You''re smart, you would easily be able to figure out your own means that works best for you."


    "You''ve given this much thought." Salem praised.


    "Of course, I''ve been studying so many different types of magic since Wilhelm took me." I smiled happily. "I can''t wait to show you everything I''ve learned! We''ve barely even scratched the surface of Wilhelm''s home Magecraft foundations, let alone Skyrim and his Birth World! So many possibilities that I can finally share with someone. No one else cares about Magic in the group the same way that I do, but now I have you!"


    The closest would be Sc¨¢thach, but she''s more of a Warrior in that sense, not a schr who likes sitting down and reading a bunch of old tomes for days on end.


    Obviously Wilhelm shared my enthusiasm, but he has had own responsibilities at times as well.


    "Oh, have you picked out what you''re going to wear yet?" I perked up again.


    "Yes, I have a dress in mind that I have not worn for many years." Salem nodded.


    "I think I know which one you''re talking about. The one with the high cut on the right thigh?"


    "That is correct."


    "Oh, Wilhelm''s going to love that." I cooed.


    "I was hoping he would." Salem whispered.


    "Kyah~ I''m so excited for you. What else are you wearing, jewelry? How are you doing your hair? What about makeup!?"


    ".....would you like to assist?" She hesitantly asked.


    "YES!" I jumped out of my chair.


    This was going to be fun!


    I mean, we had a bunch more to go over and plenty of time to kill before the party tomorrow, but still, this was turning out to be a fun get together! Something I never thought I would associate with Salem of all people.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Answer me honestly, Medea ¨C"


    "It wouldn''t work between us." She replied without missing a beat.


    "Cute." I snorted. "But seriously, bowtie. Am I wrong in feeling that it''s not just me?"


    "Spin around." Medea demanded and I turned to face her. She bit her lip giving me a once over, a very scrutinizing gaze. "Yeah, it''s not bad but it''s not great. Honestly, you''d be better in a formal event where you wear a tie. But it''s not as bad as you''re probably thinking."


    "Well of course. Regardless of what I''m wearing, I''m always going to be dashing. But I don''t have that same feeling."


    "You have such an inted ego." She rolled her eyes. "And it''s obviously my work that makes you look good."


    "Credit where it''s due." I spun around, looking myself over in the mirror. "You do phenomenal work."


    "Of course." She glowed under the praise. "And where''s your date? The brat is bringing my precious Saber to that shindig, but who''re you bringing?"


    "Salem, you haven''t met her yet." I replied.


    "Does she not need something made for the asion?"


    "It''s nice of you to offer, but she''s probably going to take a little while to warm up to that point. Jinn is with her and said they were handling that aspect."


    "Oh well." She simply shrugged, not too concerned. "Even the brat asked me to make her dress without any fuss."


    "Well color me surprised. I didn''t think Rin would swallow her pride like that."


    "Yup." Medea popped. "Took me by surprise too. Didn''t even argue when I quoted her a price. I took pity and didn''t antagonize her too much, but she seemed overly concerned about this whole thing. I don''t get it, but then again, most of the people there would be like children to me and I would mostly have fun watching them try and y grown-ups."


    "Rin is still pretty young y''know."


    "Oh I know." Medea grinned. "That''s why I enjoy getting under her skin so much. Like riling up a little sister." She paused. "Don''t tell her that."


    "Your secret is safe with me." I knew that Medea had a small soft spot for Rin.


    The barbs they traded back and forth never devolved any further, like there was silent understanding between them. Truthfully, I think both of them realized that the moment the other took a step beyond the normal barbs, it would mean the other won. And that was far worse than any physical damage the other could do.


    "How''s the teaching gig been going over in Skyrim?" I began messing with my bowtie, because it still just felt off.


    "Stop fiddling with that." Medea pped my hand away in annoyance. "And it''s been going good. Hubby and I have been saving up quite a bit of money. Honestly, we could buy a house right now and get everything sorted but....we''re deciding on where we actually want to settle down."


    "Fuyuki not looking good anymore?"


    "Don''t get me wrong, I adore Fuyuki. It has everything I want as a Magus and a future wife but...."


    "It doesn''t feel like home?" I could maybe guess her sentiments.


    "I know it sounds silly, but I want a ce that belongs to me and hubby. Maybe it''s just that I feel like a guest there." She sighed.


    "While I don''t think Kyoto is where you would want to settle down, I would offer it regardless." I knew that Yasaka would wee her with open arms.


    She smiled, her expression softening considerably. "Thank you for offering. To be blunt, that ce is much too hectic for my tastes. But your offer is genuinely one I appreciate. Thank you, again."


    "Completely understandable. You deserve a nice and quiet life that''s yours. What exactly are you looking for, if you don''t mind me asking? I can always be on the lookout in my travels."


    "I want to be able to practice my Magic openly." She held up a finger. "Or atleast, openly in the sense of Kyoto even if I can''t do it in the mundane cities."


    "Understandable. And I understand why Skyrim wouldn''t be the ce as well."


    "Again, I do adore it there. The people, the scenery, the peace and quiet but....I refuse to live in a ce without plumbing. I am a Princess and I demand at least that much."


    "How did you do it back in the day then?" I questioned.


    "Gods, please don''t ask that question." She covered her face. "The answer would not be one you want to hear right now."


    "Noted." I wisely decided not to push. "Anything else?"


    "I want Hubby to continue to teach. It''s something he loves doing and I don''t want to take that away from him."


    "Modernish conveniences, teaching job for your fianc¨¦, Magic existing in some form of society. Anything else or are those your non negotiables?"


    "....No Gods." She said softly. "If I could help it, I would like there to be no Gods existing in the world."


    Ah, that would be a big selling point for her.


    "I''ll be sure to keep my eyes open for any worlds Ie across that match your preferences."


    She chuckled, patting my cheek. "Earn that wedding invitation, boyo."


    Well, every world I''d been to so far hadn''t matched her preferences, so I''d keep looking.


    "Wilhelm, are you here?" I heard Artoria call out from upstairs.


    "I''m here." I hollered back.


    She didn''t respond but I heard the steps as she approached. She wasn''t wearing a Dress, which I had expected. She was in a suit as she was acting as Rin''s Servant.


    Even so... "You look beautiful."


    There was a sh of pink that appeared on her cheeks, but she squashed it rather quickly. "I am not dressed beautifully." She said sternly. "I am Rin''s Servant, thus I am required to look the part."


    "Keep telling yourself that, Saber~" Medea cooed. "You''re going to be cute in anything you wear, just ept that."


    "I am a Knight!" She demanded.


    "And you''re foolish if you think you don''t look absolutely adorable in your armor."


    "W-wilhelm, correct her." Artoria looked to me for help. "I am a proper knight."


    ".....can''t it be both?" Seeing her puff up just proved our points.


    "I honestly have no idea how history recorded you as a man. You have a bow in your hair for Hestia''s sake!" Medea huffed and went to tug on said bow that Artoria generally kept in her hair but the cute knight pped it away.


    Medea looked at her again and tried to reach for it again only to be pped away once more. They continued the back and forth a few more times before Medea grumbled and dejectedly stopped.


    "From some of the stories I''ve heard, her knights weren''t exactly the brightest bunch."


    "Will!" Artoria took her stern voice. "Don''t insult my Knights." Her lips quivered slightly. "Even if such a statement is urate."


    "Well, from what I''ve heard about your son getting up to in Skyrim, I would agree." Medea chortled.


    "What is that supposed to mean?"


    "You haven''t heard?" Medea tilted her head.


    "No I have not. Exin."


    Medea just started giggling.


    "Exin to me what you mean."


    Medea startedughing louder.


    "You better not be bullying my Saber down there, you witch!" Rin shouted from upstairs. We all stopped as the sound of heels hitting the wooden floors echoed out. I think we were all a bit speechless once we finally saw her. "...what? Why are you all staring?"


    "Wow, I do good work." Medea breathed out.


    "Screw off." Rin huffed, carefully walking down the stairs.


    Rin wore a very elegant dark blue dress. I admit to not knowing about the finer details of women''s fashion, but I could honestly say that she looked phenomenal. Her hair was done up elegantly, and even her earrings she wore matched the Mystic Code she got in Skyrim to the point where it all came together perfectly.


    "Rin, you look very good." Iplimented her.


    "Yeah, thanks." She smiled somewhat nervously. "Let''s just get this whole thing over with."


    I nced at Artoria and I sort of silently asked her approval and she gave me a nod. "Rin, seriously." I gently put my hands on her bare shoulders. "You look beautiful."


    "...thanks Schweinorg." She sounded much more genuine.


    "No need to be nervous. If anything, everyone else should be nervous when you''re around."


    She snorted, barely holding back a growing smile. "Stop being an idiot."


    "Fine, fine." I held up my hands letting go.


    Rin walked over to the full length mirror set up and looked herself over. "I do look good, don''t I?" She stated, her confidence returning quickly.


    "5 out of 10." Medea replied.


    I tuned out the back and forth Rin and Medea got into and instead focused on Artoria who grabbed my hand.


    "Thank you." She said quietly standing on her tiptoes to give me a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Wilhelm."


    "I love you too." I whispered back.


    "Everyone clear out the way!" Jinn burst in through the front door, mming it open.


    "Jesus fucking Christ, Jinn." Rin grumbled. "You scared the shit out of me."


    "I apologizeter! Introducing, Salem!" Jinn moved to the side.


    Salem stepped forward. She obviously was nervous herself, but she took confident strides despite it.


    I couldn''t take my eyes off of her.


    She walked forward, wearing a beautiful ck dress. Different from the more standard one she usually wore. This was the kind meant for very special asions. It had a high cut on her right side that revealed far up her thigh withouting off as crass. Her hair was done up in an elegant bun, and she had on a faint amount of makeup that only seemed to entuate her natural features.


    "Might wanna close your mouth, Schweinorg." Rin poked me and I didn''t even realize she was at my side.


    "I think you nailed it, Salem!" Jinn giggled and I was brought back to my senses.


    "How do I look?" Salem asked.


    "I think I need to find a dictionary to properly articte how stunning you look right now." I responded.


    "Smooth, Schweinorg." Rin said quietly. "And god damn, you really know how to pick them, don''t you?"


    "Salem was it?" Medea took a head start. "Medea, Princess of Colchis."


    "Salem, Grimm Queen." Salem gave her own introduction.


    "And this is Artoria." Jinn grabbed the shy Knight and practically dragged her up to Salem.


    "Greetings. Wilhelm has told me much about you." Despite being pushing forward, Artoria quicklyposed herself.


    "You as well." Salem replied sort of stiffly.


    Cue the awkward silence.


    "How much trouble did you cause Salem?" I grabbed hold of my Genie into a hug.


    "I didn''t do anything!" She quickly denied. "Salem, tell him."


    The corners of Salem''s lips twitched in response. "Do you wish me to lie?"


    "You traitor!" Jinn whined.


    "This girl." Medea chuckled, pinching Jinn''s cheeks.


    "Hey Medea." Jinn smiled. "Hug." She held her arms out.


    Medea of course couldn''t resist Jinn when Jinn was being so adorable and happily hugged the Genie. "Why don''t I steal her away while you all finish up? I''ve been meaning to spend some time with her anyways."


    "She''s all yours." I replied, giving Jinn a kiss on the forehead. "And thank you for helping Salem, Jinn."


    "Of course." She smiled wide. "Have fun everyone!" She waved as Medea pulled her away and out of the room.


    I loved seeing Jinn be so vibrant and happy like this. She can be as silly and yful as she wants. I much prefer this to how I first met her with her stoic and expressionless dutiful appearance.


    And she''s a master at cutting through any kind of awkwardness or tension in a room.


    "You cleaned up well." Salemmented, giving me a look over. "Though I suppose It is not much different than your normal appearance."


    "Not all of us can put on makeup and a new dress and dim the sun by just existing."


    "God damn, Schweinorg, it''s just a constant thing with you, isn''t it?" Rin snorted, walking towards Artoria.


    "He certainly has a glib tongue." Salem said softly, a faint pink adorning her pale cheeks.


    Artoria smiled humorously. "Yes, Wilhelm is much too practiced in swaying women with honeyed words, it seems."


    "So you''re the newest of Schweinorg''s Harem?" Rin walked up to her. "Rin Tohsaka. I''m the student of this idiot''s grandfather." She jabbed her thumb towards me.


    "Wilhelm told me about you as well." Salem smiled gracefully. "If I am to understand correctly....she ¨C" Salem nced at Artoria. "Is your Servant and acting as your.... Bodyguard?"


    "That is correct." Artoria nodded. "While there should not be too much concern for Rin''s Safety at this event, I will ensure nothing amiss happens. And you need not worry, I will not interrupt your date with Wilhelm."


    "Of my concerns, that was not one of them. But nheless, I thank you for your thoughtful words." Salem replied.


    "Alright, if you both are done staring each other down." Rin interrupted their little....thing. "How about we get this show on the road?"


    I adjusted my bowtie and held out my hand to Salem. "Shall we?"


    "Let us depart." She smiled, taking it in hers.


    [***]


    If there would ever be something to make a man hold his head up high, it was having a beautiful woman on his arm.


    "Hold your head up, Rin. Shoulders back, and keep your stride longer. You must show confidence." Artoria lightly chided Rin.


    "Easy for you to say." Rin grumbled, but fixed her posture.


    "Any final reminders that you wish to speak before we enter?" Salem asked as we approached the obvious venue ahead. It was a building co-owned by both the Bartolomei Family and the Trambelio Family.


    Owning buildings on property designated as under the umbre of the Clock Tower was considered a status symbol.


    This one in particr was reserved for grand events or gatherings. I don''t even recall thest time it was used, perhaps when they hosted some big-wig who came to give a lecture to arger audience?


    "At this ce, no one is allowed to get away with disrespecting any of you. But make sure your response is measured against any slight appropriately."


    That was the bestst minute advice I could give.


    "Are they not going to check our identities?" Salem whispered as we got closer, noticing the tant guards near the front doors.


    "There aren''t any actual invitations. Those who should be here know, and those who know they shouldn''t be, aren''t." I said simply.


    If you turned up to this event when you have no reason to be here, well, you can kiss your time at the Clock Tower goodbye. They didn''t stop anyone because if someone was stupid enough to try and crash the event, it was just an easy way to thin the herd of idiots that make it past the initial testing and schrships.


    The guards, however, were polite and opened the doors for us.


    As soon as we entered, it was like a different world.


    The d¨¦cor that merely greeted guests was more expensive than what most mundane families made in a year. Extravagance was the name of the game with a lot of these old families. A power move to show off their wealth is such a ridiculous manner.


    "Are those gold candle sticks?" Rin whispered.


    "So it appears." Artoria nodded in confirmation.


    "How ostentatious." Salem pursed her lips. "Trying this hard brings about the opposite effect."


    "Agreed, but it''s not about ss. They''re literally trying to show off how wealthy they are." I replied. "Pick a random art piece in this hallway, and it''s probably worth more than the next car you see driving down the road."


    That being said, as we walked, I began slightly tilting the paintings.


    "You are childish." Salemmented on my actions, however, she was very clearly holding back a giggle on her part.


    "Times like this that I remember your rtionship with the Old Man." Rin snorted. "You think anyone would call me out if I nabbed something?"


    "Rin!" Artoria puffed up.


    "Nope." I immediately replied. "Think about it. If they made a scene about getting back whatever it is you took, how would that look to others?"


    "Interesting." Rin said expressionlessly and casually grabbed a Golden Candlestick and quietly made it disappear into her storage bracelet.


    Artoria let out a sigh. "You are a bad influence on her."


    Rin smirked, shooting me a thumbs up behind Artoria''s back.


    "I can see you." Artoria Covered her face.


    "You have any idea how much that Witch charged me for this dress? I think I deserve some kind ofpensation for showing up." Rin tried her best to justify herself.


    Salem had a smile the entire time, even if she didn''t speak. I think she was enjoying being amongst the group.


    "Here we are." I dered as we approached another set of doors with another set of guards.


    They opened them as we approached and once more, it''s like the world changed. A subtle tone filled the entire building, a live performance off to the side with about a dozen people ying instruments of varying shapes and sizes.


    A section dedicated specifically to food and drink with long tables containing all kinds of delicacies that money couldn''t buy in most ces. Of course there were plenty of waiters walking around with tters of champagne and various bite sized bits.


    The most eye-catching thing, however, was a specially designed ''arena'' set up right in the middle of the venue.


    And of course, the hundreds of people around couldn''t be ignored either.


    There were many familiar faces that I recognized from my memories.


    And as soon as we walked in, nearly every set of eyes in the building turned to greet our arrival.


    "Well then." I ignored the gazes and focused back on the nearest server. He noticed me and I gestured for him toe over, carrying his tray with him.


    "Champagne, my Lords and Ladies?" He smoothly lowered his head, presenting the lot for us to pick.


    "Don''t mind if I do." I grabbed one and sipped it.


    "I will take one as well." Salem also partook.


    Both Rin and Artoria as well followed suit and it seemed like the scrutiny on us lowered exponentially.


    "....I have been poisoned." Salem abruptly dered.


    "...what?" I blinked, looking at her ss.


    She swirled her Champagne lightly. "It''s not particrly strong, and I believe it has an effect to make me...susceptible. If it would have worked properly, that is. Poison is perhaps the worst method to kill me due to my curse."


    "Mine is fine." Rin muttered, casting a quick spell on hers.


    "As is mine." Artoria chimed in.


    "Ah, I see." I looked down into my drink. "To our left, about 9 o''clock. See the woman and man whispering and ncing at us."


    Salem handed me her ss and took out what looked like a hand mirror and pretended to fix her makeup. "I see. Should I return the favor?"


    "Honestly, in the eyes of most of the people here it''s a small thing if it wasn''t inherently deadly. I''m guessing they spiked dozens of sses and were waiting for anyone who didn''t think to check and swoop in to ''convince'' someone of all kinds of things."


    Essentially, since this event was catered towards the younger generation, the idea was to take a wide shot and hope any scion would be a noob and thus they could get them to sign some Geiss or contracts while they were inhibited.


    Highly unlikely that any higher end family would attempt this kind of method as the potential to backfire was substantial.


    There was security all around the ce. Very obvious security as they dressed in ck suits and were up against the walls, scanning the entire venue. If something was an issue, they would have stepped in. The fact that this happened, under their nose, meant they were staying out of things unless they escted further.


    "How disgusting." Artoria scrunched her nose.


    "Amusing." Salem didn''t get upset.


    "You are not upset?" Artoria looked at her.


    "Oh, I''m furious." Salem said calmly. "If this was Remnant, I would certainly not be this passive. However, I will y the game here as it''s supposed to be yed."


    "If that''s how you want to handle it, then let me join in." I took a drink of Salem''s ss, visibly so the ones who were not quite so subtle could see.


    "You two have fun with that. I see some people I know and I''m going to say hi." Rin informed us as she went to join the crowd further away with Artoria following closely.


    "How do you wish to handle this?" Salem asked, snapping her mirror shut as the two we noticed before started making their way over.


    "They clearly have no idea who I am, so let''s just y stupid for now."


    "Fun." A rising grin she had looked rather malicious.


    And by not immediately mingling with the groups gathered, we probably looked like we were easy targets who were in over our heads.


    "Hello there, you must be new to this kind of party." The woman was the first to speak.


    "Is it that obvious?" I chuckled, putting on a fake smile.


    "When you''ve been at this as long as me and my brother have, you tend to pick up on a few things. Don''t worry, you haven''t done anything to overly stand out. But if you take too long to gravitate towards one of the Factions, people will start to notice."


    "Oh the factions? I didn''t realize a party like this would be so....political."


    That was a shared look between the woman and her assumed brother. A sh of excitement, very briefly, like they just hooked a fish. "Are you new to the Clock Tower then? Oh where are my manners, I haven''t introduced myself yet. I am Adrianna Vz Waltzen, Heir to the modest Waltzen family." Even when she was trying to reel me in, the arrogance in her tone shined through. "And this is my brother, Victor." She bluntly introduced him, and he remained silent.


    "The Waltzen family? I apologize, I have not spent much time in the Clock Tower, so I am unfamiliar with the name."


    She pulled a fan out of her long sleeve and held it in front of her face. "It''s no problem. We''re just a simple family with only Three Hundred years of history. Not worth mentioning." She spoke with obvious false modesty.


    "Three hundred years, how impressive." Salem chimed in.


    "Why thank you." Her smile could be seen hidden behind her fan. She gave Salem a scrutinizing gaze which wasn''t odd in of itself considering that Salem was visibly different from most normal humans. The Red eyes, pale skin, and ck veins running up her arms were a pretty big give away. "It''s not muchpared to the true Lords of the Clock Tower, but we have some power and position we can call our own."


    "Well I''m certainly envious. I can only boast about being a second generation Magus myself since I was adopted by my Grandfather."


    "Unfortunately, neither of my parents practiced, so I am a first generation myself." Salem yed her part well.


    "Oh my, well every great family certainly has humble origins." She was subtly mocking us. "However, my family is always on the lookout for talent." She finally started to make her move. "Perhapsing under the wing of another greater family is the path you should choose?"


    "Well....I don''t know.." I tapped my chin, pretending to be deep in thought.


    "The Weltzen family even has a seat beneath one of the advisors for the Democratic faction''s board. To say we have sway is not an understatement. We also provide all kinds of resources and benefits to facilitate the advancement of crafts far beyond what a lesser family can manage. Of course, thises with a certain cost. You would be required to sign a contract stipting an oath of fealty to the Weltzen family. Just the normal formalities, mind you. And I can assure you that you would not receive a deal like this from any other family."


    Ah, that''s their angle. They''re just snatching up any free hands they can get their hands on that aren''t already imed.


    Even a first or second generation magus can have value to them if they get them to sign a ve-like contract.


    "Well, I think I would have to ask my Grandfather first. He has a certain position here and I wouldn''t want to harm his prospects."


    "Of course, of course." She mockinglyughed again. "I''m sure your Grandfather''s position is a noble and honorable one that you wouldn''t want to besmirch. If you desire, I can speak on your behalf. I''m sure he can see reason after you sign a few special documents ahead of time. What is your Grandfather''s name?" she asked, with a tone of dismissiveness to it. Like it would be a chore to go deal with him afterwards.


    And she was operating under the assumption that the drug we took was affecting us.


    What an amateur.


    "Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg."


    "...pardon?" She blinked in confusion from behind her fan.


    "My Grandfather''s name. He is Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg." I paused, letting that sink in. "Oh I apologize, I never introduced myself. How terribly rude of me. My name is Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg."


    "It would also be impolite for me to not introduce myself either." Salem''s Aura seeped out slightly with her words. "My name is simply Salem due to the fact that I was born far before the idea of multiple names was a concept that humanity embraced."


    For added effect, Salem drank from her ss again. "My this sure does taste strange, don''t you think, dear?"


    "I thought the same thing. Should I goin to the hosts that we were served something so....sub par? I believe I can go find the Barthomeloi head here somewhere....."


    "T-that will not be necessary!" The woman''s eyes widened in realization, which quickly turned to fright. "My drink was fine, why don''t I go retrieve you another ss myself?"


    "No no, I think we should have words with the host here." Salem gently denied her. "It would be quite the scandal if there were more drinks being presented to their guests like this."


    "Y-you''re right!" The woman squeaked out. "I will take care of this!"


    "How kind." Salem drawled. "Don''t you think dear? This Weltzen family certainly is one that should be remembered."


    "I''m sure my Grandfather will wait with anticipation to hear the recruitment pitch from them." I nodded along.


    "W-Well, the Wizard Marshall is surely too busy to deal with such a small and insignificant family such as mine. Why don''t I handle the matter of the Champagne, it would be shame if the party was ruined for something so silly!" She grabbed her brother''s cor. "Come along brother, we''re going to do our civic duty and make sure everything continues smoothy!"


    They ran away in a hurry.


    Salem and I nced at one another and barely stifled the apanyingughter.


    "I admit, that was humorous. It almost makes it worth it to get poisoned by some fools." Salem smiled happily.


    "Almost?"


    "Hmm." Salem hummed as we watched the two run towards one of the waiters and start grabbing at sses of Champagne, filtering through them until they found the one they were looking for and moved on to the next waiter. "Almost." She repeated, holding her hand up. I could feel the faint gathering of Magical Energy and the tiniest of spells cast.


    A cantrip, but a powerful one. Just the tiniest burst of condensed Gravity on a singr spot. Specifically, the woman''s foot.


    Her heel snapped, and she fell forward, right into a waiter with a tray full of Champagne sses. They fell down and sttered all over her, causing quite themotion.


    "There we are."


    "You are a vicious woman."


    "And you are a terrible flirt." She smiled back at me.


    God, I wanted to steal those full rosy lips right at this moment. But I knew if I did, it would go far beyond what was appropriate for this setting.


    "Seeing as we dealt with the annoyances, would you like something to eat?" I eyed the foodstuffs at the side and it was fairly empty of people.


    "I would not mind trying a few things." She nodded.


    "I''ll be right back then." I did sneak a quick kiss onto her cheek, making her puff up cutely. Before she could get a response in, I stepped away towards the open buffet.


    I could honestly smell it the moment I walked into this building and my gluttonous side was calling out to me.


    Really it wasn''t until I got closer that I realized why there were so few people crowding the food. Or rather, there was only one person putting stuff on a te.


    "I was wondering why everyone was avoiding this area, now It makes sense." I grabbed a te and ced a few items onto it. The woman, who was chewing on something with a te stacked high, turned to look at me inquisitively. "Miss Aoko Aozaki."


    She chewed a few more times, swallowing down with a big gulp. "You know me?"


    "I''d have to be rather foolish not to know the Blue." I responded. "But I do, sort of. Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself.


    The Blue.


    The other Name of the Fifth True Magic.


    One of the strongest beings on the. If she was more mature in her abilities with it, I would genuinely be threatened by her if we got into a fight.


    "Oh, you''re the old man''s Grandson. He was talking about you thest time we met. Wait! You''re the one who got that red syrup, right!? Can you get me more of that, I''ll pay!"


    I was a bit taken back by the sudden shift in attitude. "Sure, just ask Gramps, he has plenty."


    "Thanks, kid! Now that Old Man can''t be stingy with it when I ask him." She smiled happily. Though she paused, looking at me with furrowed brow. "You''re weird."


    "Sorry?"


    "No, your causality is all weird." She muttered, her eyes glowed in an iridescent blue light. "Mus¨± Tengai?"


    "...how do you know that name?"


    "It was practically shouted at me when I looked at your causality." She shrugged. "But you seem to know what it is, so it''s none of my business."


    Did she look further into me? My Zanpakut¨­ would be something that could interfere with her Magic.


    "Don''t take this the wrong way, but...why are you here?" I questioned.


    "What, do you think I''m too old to be here?" She put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes.


    "There''s no correct answer to that question."


    She chuckled, dropping the serious look she had. "Don''t worry about it, I''m just here for the free food. I don''t really get involved in this kind of crap if I don''t have to."


    She was rather easy going just as I remembered. As long as someone didn''t try to stand on their noble pedestal, she was content to keep things casual.


    "I''ll leave you to it then." I wasn''t going to continue bothering her, and I had a date to get back to.


    "See yater, kid." She turned back towards her free meal and was fine to ignore me.


    I merely shook my head and walked back to find Salem with now a te full of goodies.


    It didn''t take long as she stood out among the crowd. And she was now mingling with a few people I didn''t recognize.


    "I am not dismissing your path, child. I merely stated that your description is wasteful." Salem''s tone as I got close had a small bite to it. "You speak of creating a creature that requires abundant Magical Energy and natural energy in the form of Food and Water to operate. Why not simply cut out the second?"


    "I told you, that a proper Chimera is a living breathing animal! Without the ability to eat and drink to process the necessities of life, it''s pointless." A woman I didn''t recognize argued back.


    Salem nced at me happily. "Wilhelm, settle this debate. She speaks of a Chimera being a perfect amalgamation of parts yet said beast still has the weaknesses associated with all living beings."


    The woman turned up her nose towards him. "It is not a weakness! Without the ability to live it can''t evolve!"


    "Preposterous." Salem countered. "Evolution is not dependent on something so basic. Even a facsimile of life can break free of those perceived bonds and gain intelligence and purpose."


    "That''s impossible! If something only fakes life then it''s not living, so how could it suddenly be living."


    ...they''re arguing about who''s monsters are better.


    "By that logic, a tree is not a living being."


    "That''s ¨C"


    "Nor would certain creatures that do not rely on the same gathering of energy through physical matter. There are plenty of sea life that don''t consume other organisms to continue their existence yet they have changed and evolved since creation." Salem continued. "Your premise is wed and the result of narrow thinking. The mere childish desire that blinds you to the obvious."


    "Y-you''re insulting my department!"


    "Don''t be absurd, I''m pointing out the inconsistencies in your path." Salem scoffed.


    "What would some unknown woman know about my craft!? I bet you''re not even from a prestigious family" The woman turned her nose up with a harumph. "You have no idea what you''re talking about and I will be submitting a report about your insults on our Department to the head!"


    "Now now, let''s not let this get too heated. We''re here to enjoy a party and exchange viewpoints. I''m sure she meant no harm, Lady Ellinore" A man with long hair walked up. He had a tired look about him, yet at the same time, he was very attentive and aware of his surroundings.


    "Lord El-Melloi II." The woman''s attitude did a quick 180 and she bowed respectfully towards him. "She insulted my craft and called it childish!"


    "No, I called your logic childish. I very much do not dismiss the idea of Chimeras." Salem reiterated.


    "See!?"


    "Lady Ellinore, perhaps we should take a break and cool our heads?"


    The woman scowled and stomped off once she realized she wasn''t going to get her way.


    "If she cannot even handle any criticism then she should simply cease her studies now." Salem huffed, crossing her arms.


    "Be that as it may, perhaps it''s not a good idea to antagonize Lady Ellinore. She is considered a genius in the Zoology department and is very skilled in the making of Chimeras. Hers are considered the premium product for those looking to purchase."


    "Premium among trash is still trash." Salem said dismissively.


    The man coughed awkwardly, seemingly having no idea how to respond.


    "Waver Velvet." I spoke up instead. "I''ve heard a great many things about you."


    "Should I take it as an honor to be known by the Grandson of the Wizard Marshall?" He said rather emotionlessly.


    "I''m surprised, it seems like not many people actually know who I am."


    "Your appearances thus far have been minimal and regted to rumor. I just happen to be acquainted with a Miss Tohsaka and I am more privy to the details." He replied coolly. "But I do not know yourpanion."


    "Salem." She introduced once more.


    "Waver Velvet. Also known as Lord El-Melloi II. I am the Head of the Department of Modern Magecraft Theory."


    "Your reputation precedes you, Lord El-Melloi II. And I have heard of this Modern Magecraft Theory, a fascinating concept born out of necessity. I admit confusion on the matter as I am not entirely familiar with the modernity of Magecraft as it is. In my time, it was simply called Magic."


    His eyes widened slightly and there was an obvious understanding based on what she said. "I would enjoy speaking at greater length about our objectives. Topare notes with someone who lived in the previous era of Magecraft would be beneficial to our studies. If you were ever so inclined, the Department of Modern Magecraft Theory would be more than willing to host you should you desire to give any lectures or sses." He held out his hand, producing what looked like the Magus equivalent of a business card.


    Salem took it, eyeing it for a moment. "Your request has piqued my interest. I will consider it."


    Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a familiar blonde woman arguing with Rin and Artoria trying to mediate the situation.


    I was tempted to go over there and get involved, but I didn''t want to step on Rin''s toes.


    "Mister Waver, I got a te, do you want ¨C "


    I froze, staring at the woman who trotted over. Lord El-Melloi II must have noticed my staring because he shifted to sort of stand between us.


    "Gray, put your hood back up." He chided, the young girl, who was wearing arge cloak, pulled the hood up, hiding her features.


    But at this point, it was toote, I saw.


    The coloring was off. And she was a bit...smaller, more petite. But besides that, there was no mistake.


    "....why does she look like Art ¨C Saber." I corrected myself at thest minute.


    The young girl flinched and hid behind Waver.


    She was the spitting image of Artoria, minus a lighter hair color bordering gray and paler skin and eyes.


    "That is...private." The Lord steeled his expression.


    "Does Saber know?" I stared at him in the eyes.


    "She is aware." The Lord kept his response to a minimum.


    I let out a breath and relented. "Then I won''t ask any more on the subject." It was clearly something sensitive and Magi aren''t known to reveal secrets easily.


    If Artoria knew, that means it''s something she wasn''tfortable sharing, or it wasn''t something for her to speak about openly. I would talk to herter about it.


    "Thank you for your understanding, Lord Schweinorg." The Department head spoke with a genuine hint of thanks in his tone for not pursuing the subject. "Come along Gray, we should ¨C "


    The doors to the venue were practically blown off their hinges as a woman with several people nking her burst into the room.


    "The Queen?" Waver furrowed his brow.


    I recognized her quickly as well.


    A well kept ponytail. A tan-colored jacket and white pants with matching boots. A mithril Gauntlet on her left hand and a riding crop in her right.


    Lorelei Barthomeloi, also known as the Queen of the Clock Tower. It''s Vice Director, technically a position even above Gramps''.


    "Why is she staring at me?" Salem asked, and we were about to find out because she practically zeroed in on Salem and marched right over.


    Waver wisely disappeared when none of us was looking.


    The music stopped right as she entered, and everyone stared as she approached.


    She stopped a few feet away, locking eyes with Salem.


    "You are not a Dead Apostle." The Vice Director voiced rather loudly.


    "How astute." Salem returned without missing a beat, the sarcasm clear.


    I don''t know who was more surprised, the surrounding people or the Vice Director herself for the rather impolite retort to the abrupt statement.


    She grabbed her riding crop, a frown adorning her face. "Someone bring to me the one who made the report about a Dead Apostle appearing here."


    "V-vice Director, it was me." A familiar voice rang out amongst the crowd. The young woman Salem had been arguing with not 30 minutes ago quickly pushed through toe forward.


    "Exin to me why I received an urgent report about a Dead Apostle appearing in the heart of my territory and I find nothing of the sort." She didn''t sound too pleased.


    "She''s right there!" The woman from the Chimera Department jabbed her finger in usation towards Salem.


    Salem merely raised an eyebrow. "I am being insulted and ndered."


    "She is not a Dead Apostle." The Vice Director said sternly.


    "But, but¡ª"


    "I do not appreciate having my time wasted." The Vice Director narrowed her eyes down at the girl.


    "And I do not appreciate the insults. I demand satisfaction." Salem crossed her arms, looking at the trembling girl.


    "A punishment will be decided." The Vice Director nced in Salem''s direction. "An usation such as this cannot be levied lightly."


    "Into the arena." Salem said simply. "It was ced here to settle disputes or what-not of this variety. Bring her up."


    The Vice Director paused, pondering what Salem just said. "A simple and sufficient response. I approve."


    "Wait, no! I''m not a fighter! I refuse!"


    "It is your right to refuse." The Vice Director stated. "However, my annoyance will be brought up with the head of the zoology Department. And you can be assured, if I am forced to waste more time settling this matter, it will not be to your benefit."


    "If we''re throwing our weight around, I''ll step in as well." I spoke up amongst them for the first time, making them turn their heads towards me. "Get on stage per Salem''s demands, or you''ll find Zelretch paying the Zoology department a visit."


    He wouldn''t mind if I used his name here like this as a threat.


    The Vice Director raised an eyebrow in my direction. "The Wizard Marshall spoke of you."


    "A pleasure to meet you for the first time, Lady Barthomeloi." I greeted her politely by her family name, which to her family was the most respectful greeting.


    For someone who was purely human, she was frighteningly strong. By the standards of my birth world, she''s easily Ultimate ss.


    "W-Wizard Marshall?" The Chimera girl squeaked out.


    "He is my Grandfather. And you have insulted the woman I''m in a rtionship with. If Salem did not wish to handle this herself, then you can be assured that I would have in her ce. Choose carefully your next words."


    "I-I will...fight...." She shook as she finished the words.


    Well, I couldn''t me her. Perhaps two of the most influential people in the hierarchy here were breathing down her proverbial neck about how she handled this whole mess with the false usation. Her career here was basically over after this stunt.


    "Let her fetch her pitiful creations. I would not be seen as bullying an unprepared child." Salem crossed her arms defiantly.


    Funny enough, The Vice Director looked amused for the slightest moment at Salem''s request. I suppose it''s not unexpecteding from the woman who intentionally goes out to hunt Dead Apostles due to a generational hatred passed down her bloodline.


    "An undeserved mercy." The Vice Director grunted. "Very well, send some people to bring her personal creations from the Zoology department to participate in this duel. We shall reconvene shortly."


    @***@


    It didn''t take long for them to start rolling in. Large cages, small cages. They were of all sizes as various roars and ungodly noises emanated from within them.


    Salem stood impatiently at one end of the arena while the Chimera girl took the spot opposite of it. She took out what appeared to be a flute and yed a few notes on it, making the creatures in the cages calm down quickly.


    I almost felt bad for the girl.


    She didn''t seem too old, perhaps a year under Rin. But far old enough to know what to say and not say around here. And using Salem of being a Dead Apostle, and reporting it to the Vice Director of all people, that was just in stupidity.


    She striked me as the sort of person who hasn''t been told ''no'' much in her life. A genius, constantly praised, gets what she wants, etc. Such a type of person wouldn''t take being ''insulted'' lightly.


    I may have felt a bit bad, that is, if she didn''t look cocky as hell now that she had her pets behind her.


    "Open the cages." She demanded.


    The staff pulled giant metal spikes out from the hinges, the cages practically destroyed as the creatures filled out at the melodic musicing from the girl''s flute.


    The tune was somewhat familiar.


    Was that the Pied Piper''s tune? Credit where it was due, that''s a pretty smart idea to control a bunch of mindless beasts with. Weaving the control of Magecraft into the inherent concepts of maniption and hypnotism of that infamous character''s notes.


    There was one massive one with a scorpion''s tail at the back, and the body of a lion with the head of an eagle. There were several smaller ones with the bodies of crabs, but mixed with the appendages of spiders. All manner of Frankenstein horrors were presented here for everyone to see.


    "Stupid, you let me bring out my Chimeras." The girl gloated. "These are some of my better ones too." They filed out and lined up in front of her.


    "Is it my turn then?" Salem asked, ignoring her. "You showed me your pets, let me show you mine." Salem''s shadow began to distort and erge, covering her entire half of the arena. It began with red eyes appearing in an uncountable number. And slowly, things began to emerge from within it.


    A couple dozen Alpha Beowolves. A handful of Alpha Ursas. Some Boarbatusks, to fill in the gaps. There were more, so much more, hiding in her shadow that poked out but silently faded back inside.


    "It seems like my bigger ones can''t fit here, a shame. But I suppose this will be enough." Salem casually spoke.


    "T-that''s not fair!" The girl eximed in shock amongst the whispers of surprise in the room. "What are those!? Why do you have so many!?"


    "I believe we are both ready?" Salem nced at the Vice Director.


    "Very well." They both ignored the Chimera girl''s protests. "As Vice Director, I will oversee this Duel. Death is forbidden. I will dere the winner when it bes clear." She raised her riding crop up in the air then mmed it down. "You may begin." She dered with a gust of wind echoing her voice to every corner of the building.


    The girl quickly moved to use her flute and Salem simply sat there again, letting the girl make her move.


    The Chimeras, as outnumbered as they were, charged at Salem''s Grimm.


    The oue was....expected.


    There was absolutely no expense.


    Grimm met Chimeras, and the tide of ck creatures very quickly overwhelmed the animal amalgamations. The Grimm tore into the fleshly creatures with tant disregard to their own wellbeing while the Chimeras could still feel the pain and fear of their bodies being attacked and attempted to return the favor.


    An Ursa went down, but so did half of the Chimeras in its ce. The biggest beastie present, the Tiger-bodied-Scorpion-tailed, creature collided with another Alpha Ursa, but the Alpha Beowolvesshed out, wing into its hide and cleaving away its flesh. And the Boarbatusks charged at the remaining Chimera with reckless abandonment. Their only purpose was to pierce their mighty tusks into the hides of their foes.


    The fight didn''tst long.


    The Chimera girl just stared in shock as her supposed best creatures were overwhelmed and annihted by Salem''s own Grimm.


    A roar of one of the Alpha Ursas signaled the end of the match, and another p of the Vice Director''s riding crop confirmed it with the announcement of the Chimera girl''s defeat.


    "This fight is over. Victor goes to the insulted." Her response was simple and direct, a satisfying conclusion for both Salem and the Vice Director in this case as the girl had been humiliated in public andmitted what was essentially political suicide with her stunt.


    Salem recalled her Grimm, her shadow expanding and they silently dove back into her shadow before it receded to its proper shape.


    She stepped off the stage with elegance and grace befitting one who called themselves a Queen.


    "Well done." Was the Vice Directors only words of response to Salem''s victory before she departed from this party.


    But just that was enough for many more people here to pay attention to Salem for more than just a curiosity.


    "That was fun." Was Salem''s response to this whole incident. "What next?"


    "Well, I doubt anyone''s going toe pick a fight anymore. But there''s still ample opportunity to talk to the people gathered." I held out my arm. "Why don''t I introduce you to some of the people I recognized?"


    "That would be lovely." She smiled beautifully, despite the many stares that were one us, this was a lovely moment for us.


    I was still worried about Chaldea and the Singrities, but there was still nothing I could quite do about it at this particr moment. So I would enjoy the rest of the part with Salem and see where Gramps stood on it tomorrow.


    [***]


    A/N


    Next stop, Orleans.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 429 - 388

    <h4>Chapter 429: Chapter 388</h4>


    Salem POV


    How long had it been since I had woken up with someone else sharing my bed?


    There was a moment once I realized that someone was touching me that I nearly called upon my magic in surprise. The feeling was too foreign until I recalled what urred. Once the initial startlement abated, I was left with another strange feeling rising in my chest.


    I couldn''t recall thest time I slept so soundly and peacefully. To wake up and not simply feel tired regardless of how long I rested.


    I am still skeptical of how long this would persist, this desire to dy my own death that I have sought for an uncountable number of years. But if this is what I am to look forward to....perhaps it would not be a challenge.


    Even more odd was that I did not mind that there was a man currently groping my behind. Beyond the principle of it that was. I did not find it disgusting that some other person touched me in such an intimate way. How long ago would I have incinerated someone for merely thinking of doing something such as this to me?


    No, if I were to be honest with my feelings, I found it pleasant. Perhaps not gratifying in a physical way, but emotionally. I was pleased that this man that buried his head in my bosom was desiring me so.


    However, with the passing minutes the amusement and feelings in my chest slowly faded and were reced with something else.


    "How long do you n to squeeze my rear?" I demanded. "And be more gentle, my behind is beginning to sore." He didn''t respond so I pinched his arm that was reaching around my waist. "I know you are awake."


    "I''m sleeping." He giggled into my chest.


    "I would not be surprised if this is something you do unconsciously in your sleep." I released his arm as he relented and became moderate with his fondling. I would not stop him if he was more modest, a reward for the pleasant evening he gave me.


    Oddly, I was attaching some importance to physical rtions now that I agreed to a rtionship. I felt almost embarrassed that I would have willingly offered my body in exchange for what I desired previously.


    However, I was content at this moment. As much as I enjoyed the evening and to experience the Magical Environment with other practitioners, I was exhausted by night''s end. I wished to retire for the night, but I also desired hispanionship, thus I allowed him to enter my bed with the agreement that no coitus would transpire.


    I did not even need to dissuade any attempts to push beyond what I dictated. He was a perfect gentleman.....as much as one could be while also having a hand firmly upon my derriere.


    "Are you okay?" He peeked open one eye to look at me. "You''ve been silent for a little while and just staring at me."


    "I am merely lost in thought." I assured him.


    "Am I bothering you? I''ll stop if that''s the case."


    "...you may continue if you desire." I truly did not mind.


    However, instead, he leaned forward to lightly kiss me and then wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body closer so that I was now resting my headfortably on his chest. A warm sensation soon flowed through my body as I settled into my new position with content.


    "We didn''t really talk about it, but how was the party?" He asked.


    "You lied to me." I looked at him usatory.


    "I lied?" He blinked in confusion.


    "I was told that someone was going to die at a minimum. Yet, there were no dead bodies present by the end of the night. What a dull evening and an utter waste of my time."


    "Did the person who had their arm exploded not meet your requirements, oh Grimm Queen?" He snorted. "Or the person that got shot in the heart after those two people had an old-fashioned duel?"


    I did not understand the logic of such a thing, but it was amusing to watch regardless. Some perceived slight and the other challenged them to a duel of pistols, no Magic involved.


    "Mmm, perhaps I will make an exception then. It would be remiss of me to me youpletely for such an unexciting evening in this case."


    "I thank you for your generosity." He said dryly.


    "As you should." I replied curtly, however, I felt the corners of my mouth twitching into a smile. "I had a wonderful time." I whispered after a moment. "I have not been this happy in recent memories. Thank you for bringing me."


    "Seeing you happy makes any effort with it." He said with true sincerity. Even with my inherent skepticism, I could not detect any falsehood in his words.


    Why must he say these kinds of things to me when I am unable to separate myself from him? I felt silly letting myself be led by the nose by someone so much my junior. I would haveughed at anyone who told me I would be in this position merely a year prior.


    Being intimately embraced by another person whom I willingly allow without ulterior motives.


    "Do you wish to....remain here for a period longer? You spoke up important matters before the party that would take you away for a time. I do not wish to intrude upon your responsibilities." Even If I didn''t quite understand the peculiarities of what he deemed important in this case.


    I would have to ask the Spirit for more information.


    "Are you asking me if I want to continue cuddling?" He looked at me in amusement. "Do you want to keep cuddling?"


    "Don''t turn such a ridiculous request back on me." I huffed in annoyance. "I merely do this for your own satisfaction."


    "So you don''t like me holding you like this? I don''t want to make you ufortable, should I stop..?"


    "....don''t tease me." I said softly, not wishing to meet his gaze.


    "I''m sorry, you''re just so cute I can''t help myself sometimes."


    "I, the Grimm Queen, am not cute."


    "Uh huh."


    "Stop that." I scowled.


    "Cute."


    "You are infuriating." I growled.


    "Kiss?" He asked with a sincere and idiotic grin on his face.


    "...do what you want." I huffed in annoyance once more, finding it difficult to levy any sort of resistance to his antics.


    He wasted no time in iming my lips again and I felt that warmth flow through my body.


    Still, he shall be punished for daring to insinuate something so absurd about me. I would continue to ignore the very hard object currently pressing against me below.


    "I do have something important to do. To err on the side of caution, I would give myself two weeks before I can check back in while upied."


    "I would assist if you require." I found myself offering without a second thought.


    ....and it was strange for me to speak the words so easily.


    "Thank you." He smiled towards me again and it melted my earlier annoyance. "But in this particr instance, bringing others along is.... problematic."


    "I see." I could not im to understand the intricacies right now as I am still catching up with his culture''s magic. "Very well then." I slowly pulled myself from his arms, allowing my feet to touch the ground at the side of the bed. "Come along, I will notze about for the remaining time we have together." I paused, opening a drawer nearby. "Why are you staring at me?" I shot him an inquisitive look.


    "Just etching into my memory, how well that night gown hugs your curves." He said without an iota of shame.


    Instead of getting annoyed, I found myself swinging my hips just a bit more than usual as I retrieved a proper garb to change into for the day.


    I took more pleasure than I should have, letting him watch me drop my night gown to the ground. "I will take my morning bath. I will perhaps rx for a longer time than I usually do. Providing you well enough to enjoy your new memory so you can take care of your own excitement in the meantime" I nced down at the obvious bulge pushing up from beneath the covers of his.


    "You are a very cruel woman." He breathed out a sigh of eptance.


    "And don''t you forget it." Once more, I swayed my hips as I made my way towards the bathroom, in nothing but my undergarments.


    Unfortunately, my confidence was merely a projection as I would require a long bath for my own needs.


    That foolish man brought about these feelings too easily in me.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Morning everyone." I stepped out into Gramps'' home, seeing a slew of faces I wasn''t expecting.


    Gramps peeked his head out of the kitchen. "I was hoping you would be back soon. I''m making breakfast, it''ll be done shortly." He stated before ducking back in, and I could smell the bacon and eggs cooking.


    "Take your time." I replied, going around the table to everyone present. "Good morning, Jinn." I kissed her forehead.


    "Back already? Did Salem kick you out?" Jinn asked, brightening up.


    Cinder and her two minions saw me and Salem walk out of her bedroom together.


    "She did, actually, something about ruining her image infront of her subordinates." I chuckled, moving on to the next. "And Raikou." I was surprised to see my Servant at this particr moment, but it was weed nheless.


    "Master~" Raikou shifted so that it was not merely a kiss on the cheek, but her grabbing hold of me and deepening it for her own pleasure. She only released me once she was satisfied.


    "Artoria." I gave her a quick peck on the cheek as well.


    "Wilhelm." Artoria smiled, happily epting the morning greeting.


    "And Rin." I swat at her loose ponytail.


    "Schweinorg." She grunted, nursing a cup of coffee, not even bothering to get annoyed with me.


    I took the empty seat between Jinn and Raikou. "How''s everyone doing?"


    "Well." Artoria said simply. "Rin is recovering from the party."


    "Oh, oh! How did that go!?" Jinn excitedly asked.


    "About as well as expected." There was so much to say, where to even start? "Someone picked a fight with Salem. That was fun to watch."


    "I heard about that." Zelretch exited the kitchen, several tes floating next to him as they glided to the spots in front of us. "I will be paying a much needed visit to the Zoology Department in theing days."


    "Kind of feel bad for that girl." Rin muttered.


    "What happened?" Jinn asked specifically.


    "Well, Salem got into an argument with someone from the Zoology Department, someone who makes Chimeras. She was...probably a year or two younger than Rin and a bit of an ego to go with it. She didn''t take it well and imed that Salem was a Dead Apostle based on her looks."


    "Oh dear." Raikou said with some concern. "Did it turn out well?"


    "The Vice Director arrived. The one with a hate boner for any Dead Apostles." I paused, looking at Gramps. "How does that work in other world-lines?"


    "We have an agreement." He said simply, not borating.


    Well, I don''t remember much of that, but whatever, I was getting off topic. "Suffice to say, she was upset for being lied to and her time being wasted. It ended with the Chimera girl meeting Salem in the Arena with the Vice Director overseeing the ''fight''." I added air quotes to the word.


    "I can guess how this went. I admit not having much experience with Chimeras, it wasn''t really a practice over on Remnant due to Grimm running around. Sort of a taboo to make monsters when they''re so prolific in a sense."


    "That Chimera girl got demolished." Rin blurted out. "Serves her right though. Met her before, in one of Waver''s sses. Head was so far up her ass that she insulted him then left after insulting everyone else that was taking the ss seriously."


    "Well, you shouldn''t be concerned about her any longer. She basicallymitted political suicide. I would be surprised if you even see after the next few months."


    "Really?" Rin looked skeptical. "I mean, yeah it was pretty embarrassing and got people pissed at her, but I would begrudgingly admit she was a genius in what she did."


    "Perhaps it is my perspective as an outsider, but I feel this event was counterproductive to the continued prosperity of the Association." Artoriamented.


    "You''re not wrong, but there was more to it than that." Zelretch stated, taking a sip of a cup of orange juice next to him. "It was intentional. To weed out the undesirables and to be on the lookout for other talents. The young woman in the Zoology department was much too old to act the way she did. Her attempt at ''revenge'' was also much too childish and ignorant to ignore. She was on the short list for the next Department Head seat for the Department, but after this event, no one will consider her for any practical position."


    "Makes sense." I grabbed hold of my knife and fork, cutting into my perfectly cooked eggs. "Everyone there had some semnce of talent in Magecraft, so they were looking for the ones who could navigate the political spectrum and eek out benefits properly." So they knew who to look out for when filling the uing positions of their Department as the old generation goes away.


    "God I''m happy I don''t have to deal with most of that." Rin muttered. "I just had fun getting one over on that bitch for once."


    "Oddly enough, I had fun too. It was entertaining watching people fumble over themselves once they learned I was rted to Gramps over here. And to see Salem tear apart some of the really arrogant ones."


    I wasn''t even the one to get into fights!


    That had to be some kind of new record.


    "Did Salem have fun too?" Jinn inquired.


    "She had a st. And people there were fawning over her after what happened too. Lots of people were trying to win her over and it didn''t even have anything to do with my status."


    "I''ll go over there and bother her about the detailster." Jinn giggled.


    "Right." Zelretch pped his hands, finishing up his meal. "Shall we talk about the thing that''s on your mind?"


    "Am I that obvious?"


    "Yup." Jinn cheerfully replied.


    I pinched her cute blue cheek.


    "Did you get everything settled?"


    "Nope." Zelretch replied.


    "...."


    "But I realized that I couldn''t do everything myself, so I enlisted the help of someone else. With their help, everything should work correctly."


    "Alright, can we cut to the chase?"


    "Very well." Zelretch turned a bit more serious. "Everything is prepared. Or as much as we can. I calcted the optimal time, and to line everything up, I went to great lengths. It will be enough for both of you to sneak in undetected."


    "That''s great." I sighed in relief then blinked in confusion. "Both?"


    "I will being as well." Raikou replied, as if it weren''t even an argument.


    "But ¨C"


    "I will being." She didn''t even look up from her meal. "I am Master''s Servant."


    "Don''t argue." Jinn''s silly tone was nowhere to be seen. "None of us are happy about what happenedst time."


    "And you will be taking Avalon." Artoria also chimed in.


    "I ¨C "


    "You will be taking Avalon."


    "....I was going to say thank you."


    Artoria cracked a small smile and nodded.


    "How much time do I have? I haven''t exactly gone to say goodbye to everyone and I don''t think It''ll be a short trip."


    "We already took care of it." Jinn spoke up. "They''re all aware of how important this is to you, so you don''t need to worry. Just focus on the mission that you''re going on."


    You all are too good for me.


    "It sounds like everything is settled then." I relented.


    "Enjoy the meal, we''ll head out once we''re done." Zelretch announced.


    And it was a pleasant meal before heading out.


    [***]


    "I''m a bit confused, I thought we had to cross over at the exact same moment in time. Why did we onlye to France and not a different World-line where we could ess that time period?" I looked around at the wheat field we found ourselves in.


    The scenery was nice but....that''s about it.


    "I said I acquired some help." Zelretch chuckled.


    "....yes?"


    "That would be me, kiddo." A woman''s head popped up from the field, clearly having beenying down before our arrival.


    "Miss Aoko Aozaki." I greeted the woman I had met at the party. "Now this makes a lot more sense."


    She brushed herself off, standing up. "Quite the group you got here. Two Servants..." She eyed Raikou and Artoria. "Probably the most talented Magus of the generation." She nced at Rin, making the girl blush. "And....I''m sorry, I have no idea what you are."


    "Hi, I''m Jinn." She waved.


    The Blue tilted her head andughed. "Hello Jinn." She returned, walking to Gramps. "And then we have whatever the hell he is." She jabbed her thumb my way.


    "Handsome? Charming? Handsome?"


    "You said Handsome twice." She pointed out.


    "It needed to be said twice."


    "...It''s hard to believe he''s your Grandson." She snorted a chuckle again. "Alright, so let''s get this show on the road, I got other things to do today."


    "One moment, your addition was ast minute detail I have yet to exin." Zelretch stated. "Let me atleast go over the barest important information."


    "That would be appreciated." I nodded.


    "I realized that if we tried what I suggested, it would still leave room enough for error that there was a significant chance that while not outright shining a beacon on your entrance, that it would be noticeable through certain means. Thus, after hearing that you had a chat with Miss Blue during the Party, the idea popped into my head. Who better to manipte time?"


    "Compliments aren''t going to lower my price, Zelretch."


    "Worth a shot." He hummed, then continued. "It''s simple really."


    "And by simple, he means for you." The other Magician interrupted him. "What we''re doing is anything but simple. The Old Man said that you''ve mastered the Magic to a degree, but I wouldn''t trust you in his ce, so be grateful."


    "Uh....is it alright if we watch?" Rin asked sort of meekly.


    "Yeah, it''s no problem. But you''re just gonna need to stand back." She shrugged. "But for a simplified exnation, Zelretch is going to shift the area off the X-Axis of the world, and I''m going to pull you both back to the needed time period on the Y-Axis while he maintains the shift. And it needs to happen faster than you can blink."


    "But....the amount of energy you would need to maintain a temporal stasis like that...?"


    "The Old Man offered his own ''Time'' to use." She stated.


    "Gramps?" I looked at him.


    "It''s not a big deal, I still have plenty of life ahead of me, a few hundred years is nothing." He said dismissively.


    "I refuse." I crossed my arms. "Take my time instead."


    "Don''t be ridiculous." Zelretch frowned.


    "This is my business, so I''ll pay the price." I shot him an annoyed look. "Miss Blue, please take my ''Time'' instead."


    The Blue was one of the only ways that ''time travel'' like this could work, but it had a heavy cost to it. Especially if she was using it on other people. It used the most appropriate cost, to use someone''s own ''time'', not to be confused with their lifespan.


    While they''re nearly identical, there was a difference to them as she could take already established time from someone, rather than ''future'' ''time''.


    It''s literally to burn away parts of someone''s time, converting it to fuel the use of the Magic. And now that I think about it, that''s oddly simr to what was happening in the Singrities that the creature posing as Solomon was doing.


    "I don''t really care who pays the price, but do you got enough?" She raised an eyebrow.


    A Devil, A Campione, A Dragon.


    "Yeah, I got plenty." I held out my hand and she shrugged, taking it.


    "Woah." Her eyes widened. "You weren''t lying there. I normally have to be careful, like taking a single drop of water from a cup. But for you, it''s like I could use a bucket to scoop out of ake. Since we''re not making a permanent change to the world, I don''t have to take as much as I normally would have. We can shunt most of the burden off to this ''Singrity'' or whatever and from what the Old Man says, it''ll rectify itself and bear the majority of the burden after it''s resolved."


    "Happy to help." I could feel something strange escape from me. It quickly disappeared and I returned to normal, but it faintly felt as if there was something missing inside of me for that brief moment.


    "Alright, Zelretch, I got enough here."


    "Very well." Gramps relented. "Let us begin. But, please hold onto this." He tossed me a strange looking cylindrical device. "It will record the state of the Singrity you are going to."


    "Can I keep it in my ring?"


    "That''s fine." He nodded. "Thest preparation we''ll need is this." He held up a cloak of some sorts. "I had to call in a few favors to acquire a Holy Shroud from the Church to hide your existence."


    "I think some people would be rolling in their graves if they knew I would be wearing this." I chuckled, epting it without reservation. I put it on and it felt a mite ufortable, perhaps the Holy Nature was shing with my Devil Side.


    "Call upon the spear. You don''t need to take it out, but let it resonate with the Shroud and cover you."


    I didn''t even need to reach out myself, as if listening in, I felt the Spear within my ring resonate and fill the Shroud with its Holy Light. If the creature was able to use Solomon''s irvoyance, this would hide me from his sight.


    "And prepare yourself, there will be no threshold, no indication that something urred. Once we activate the required spells, you will simply open your eyes and you will be where you need to be. If there''s anything you wish to say or do, you have a few moments."


    I grabbed Raikou''s hand and pulled her to my side. With onest look at the others, they gave all an affirmative nod of encouragement. "I''m ready."


    "Miss Blue, I will follow your lead." Zelretch retrieved his Jeweled Sword, an indication that he was serious about this endeavor. "Everyone else, stand back."


    She closed her eyes and an iridescent light began to manifest.


    There was a reason her Magic was called The Blue.


    "Hear me, Lord of All Creation."


    "I announce."


    "In my name representing Order, I announce."


    "Everything will be corrected."


    "Order has now fallen."


    My vision was overtaken with the blue light, everything became indistinguishable from the all-epassing iridescent aqua glow. The Blue''s chant still rang in my ears as the light died down and I blinked to see that the surroundings were utterly different.


    "....Master." Raikou whispered, pulling on my Shroud as she looked to the sky. "What is that?"


    I looked up to see that same Ring of Light from before.


    "Indication that we''re in the right ce at least." I admit I felt a tiny bit fearful after seeing it. Being hit by something so powerful left an impression.


    "This does not look like the same location." Raikou noted, as we took in our surroundings.


    Everything looked like it had been burned down. The fields of wheat, surrounding forestry, any kind of life was but ash that sat upon ckened soil.


    "Master!" Raikou tugged on my sleeve again, pointing beyond a few hills ahead to what looked like a caravan of sorts. "Those are not birds, master." She spoke with a hint of worry at somerge flying creatures above them.


    It wasn''t until I Reinforced my eyesight that I noticed what they were.


    "Wyverns!?"


    [The hell are Wyverns doing in this time period and ce?] Even Ddraig sounded confused.


    "Raikou, let''s go." Imanded and she followed me as I moved with a burst of Shunpo to cover the distance as quickly as possible.


    It took moments toe upon the Caravan, people huddling behind or underneath wooden carriages and those Wyverns spewing out mes from above with the asional dive to attempt to grab one of the people.


    There were only a handful of people with actual weapons, one with a bow and arrows, one with a pike, but most with pitchforks or farming instruments.


    My first instinct was to cast some magic, but that thought was squashed due to the nature of where we were. This time period, showing off magic? That''s just asking for people to assume the worst. Instead, I withdrew a handful of spears, just random, sturdy weapons that were among what I hoarded. And one by one, I threw them at the flying draconic creatures in the air.


    There were only Five Wyverns in total, but that was still a significant amount to a mundane human. While Four of my spearsnded true and impaled the creatures, causing them to fall from the sky, one of them dodged out of the way and instead dived down to scoop up one of the people hiding below.


    Raikou was quick and before it could get too close, she cut its head off, making therge beast flop to the ground to the side.


    "W-Witch!!" The man that Raikou saved was trembling, pointing his hand at Raikou, perhaps due to the tiny bit of lightning that arced along her de before she dismissed it. "She''s a Witch, I saw it!"


    "Knock it off, ya daft cunt!" A bulkier man in what appeared to be some rusted armor carrying the singr pike from before pped him on the back of the head.


    "But she¡ª"


    "Saved ya damn life." He said gruffly. "Sorry my Lady." The armored mad bowed his head in apology. "Tis horrid times and the people are on edge. Thank you for helpin this ungrateful brat. His father saved my life, I''d be ashamed to meet him in the Lord''s Kingdom if I arrived after the idiot."


    The Caravan was obviously weary of our arrival and I stood next to Raikou as they sized us up with clear skepticism in their eyes. No, it was more than that, there was a genuine fear present amongst everyone.


    "It''s no trouble." Raikou replied.


    "Ah, more than this one deserves." He pped the younger man''s head again. "Get back to your cart, ya brat."


    The younger man scurried off with haste to the rear of the Caravan.


    "If it weren''t for you two, we''d not have made it, thank ya both." He lowered his head in thanks again.


    "If you don''t mind me asking.....why were there Wyverns attacking you? There....shouldn''t be Wyverns here." I tried to choose my words carefully, but it just seemed silly to even ask this kind of question to an obvious non-magically inclined person.


    "Ya new around here?'' He stared at me weirdly. "They''re the minions of that cursed Witch! The scourge of France! We''ve been running away since they burned down our vige."


    "Sorry, we just arrived in France and we don''t really know what''s going on. Just saw some people in trouble and wanted to help."


    "Blessings to you then, strangers." His expression softened. "Ya look like outsiders, but Ah didn''t wanna be rude to our saviors." He obviously nced at Raikou''s probably bizarre outfit inparison to what he''s used to. That or her very generous figure. "If ya just arrived, I suggest leavin all the same. Thisnd is cursed."


    "You mentioned a Witch, what''s going on?"


    He let out a tired sigh. "Those damn fools. They burned that poorss and now incurred the wrath of hell itself. She returned after being touched by the Devil. The Dragon Witch, Jeanne D Arc."


    "What did you just say?!"


    [***]


    A/N


    And we finally arrived, wee to Orleans Singrity.

 Chapter 430 - 389

    <h4>Chapter 430: Chapter 389</h4>


    "Repeat what you just said about Jeanne D Arc." I demanded.


    He took an unconscious step back and I didn''t even realize I was nearly in his face. "The Dragon Witch. After she was burned at the stake, they say she was raised from the fires of purgatory itself, wielding the cursed mes as her own. The ones responsible for her death, and even the King himself were all burned in her unholy wrath!"


    ".....ridiculous." I muttered after understanding his words. "Jeanne D''Arc going on a murder spree?" Just saying it out loud was absurd.


    "I''m just telling you what I heard." The man grunted. "And then the flying beasts appeared. And ya just have to look up to the sky to see that something is wrong."


    Right, from his perspective, I supposed they would believe such a rumor just from the fact that Wyverns appeared that coincided with that stupid rumor. Not to mention the Ring of Light is noticeable to everyone so that''s not helping matters.


    Absolutely no way this was Jeanne. The Jeanne I knew was....beyond reproach. Those Angels I met at the Peace conference were less in my eyes inparison to her.


    I was confident that she would emerge from the Corrupted Grail''s Mud of Rin''s Grail War untainted if she were exposed.


    But, it wouldn''t do any good for me to get upset over this. There was obviously something wrong, beyond the obvious of this ce being a singrity. I would just have to figure out the details myself.


    "Shouldn''t there have been a treaty signed between the French and English at this point?" I started pacing back and forth, thinking aloud.


    At this point in history, I can''t say it has overtly significant. It''s obviously important enough that a singrity formed a distortion, butpared to other events in the past, it''s not very substantial in weight. The only notable urrence that had ramifications beyond the borders is the ending of the Hundred Year war through an agreement signed by both the English and French Kings.


    "The English King bastard died as well." The man spit out. "Good riddance I say. Only good thing the Witch did was scare off them English armies from thends. If she didn''t start burning down cities too then everything woulda been fine."


    "....right." I took a moment to process that bit of information as well.


    Just going by the process of events, History is entirely fucked up due to this sequence. The English Armies would return, the next heir would swear vengeance and I wouldn''t be surprised if the Church joined in due to their people being burned in revenge.


    That''s not even considering the fact that there are god damn Wyverns flying around in mass enough that people are calling her ''The Dragon Witch''. How long before the Clock Tower of this time period would get involved?


    No wonder this was a point of Singrity in the Timeline.


    What a damn mess.


    At least everything wasn''t literally on fire like Fuyuki.


    "You said this Witch was burning down Cities. Can you tell me about that?"


    He grunted with a nod. "Heard Orleans was burned down by the Witch and she raised a Castle on the ashes. Lyon too, got a couple youngins from over there and they said that the city was mostly destroyed and burned by the witch. And something about a Knight protecting them or something." He said gruffly. "Nonsense if you ask me. Maybe other ces too, but we didn''t stay to wait. As soon as those monsters appeared, we packed up and ran."


    I looked back towards the remainder of the caravan. Probably a dozen or so carts pulled with horses, oxes or donkeys. A lot of them looked held together only by prayers at merely a nce.


    "Where are you all going then? If France is suffering at the hands of this Witch with...Dragons that can fly across thend faster than people can flee. Where will you go to escape her?"


    He leaned on his spear. "North." He said simply. "Lots O'' people saying that the Witch won''t go up North, Eastwards that is. They say that the Duchy of Lorraine is safe from her, that for some reason she can''t step foot on thend. We are headed for Nancy, the capital city of the Duchy."


    "Why did she leave it untouched?" I furrowed my brow. "If she was burning down most of France, from what you said." It didn''t make sense. What was there that would keep this supposed Jeanne D Arc at bay? The Holy Roman Empire? Did they set up there and are pushing back against the ''Dragon Witch'' and using some of the Church''s secret weapons?


    They have plenty of weapons stored away that even I would be fearful of.


    "Ah don''t know myself." He shrugged, not giving it too much thought it seems. "You''re wee toe along. I''d be a shit man if I didn''t offer our saviors a ride. "Side''s, I wouldn''t turn down the extra help if you wantin toe along. We be almost to the borders of what''s safe. Once we get to the nearby Vige, we''ll gather some more supplies to make the Journey further North. But don''t worry, they say the Wyverns don''t dare toe close."


    [Master?] Raikou''s voice entered my head through our Servant link. [Do you wish to follow? It seems we have an immediate destination if you want to find the source of the conflict here. However, there is something unsettling going on.]


    [Let''s....get our bearings first. After what happened before, thest thing I want to do is rush into anything at the moment.] I sent back through our link.


    "I''ll dly take you up on your offer." I held out my hand and he happily shook it. It seems like he really appreciated the extra help after dealing with those Wyverns. "What''s the name of the ce we''re stopping?" Maybe I could inquire about some things there if they got a bunch of other people traveling through like them.


    "Err, what was the name?" He scratched his head. "Damn kids said they got some family there and suggested we stop to refill supplies. D-dum, do...."


    I stiffened in realization. "Domr¨¦my?" I offered.


    "Ah, that''s the one!" He smiled happily.


    [Master, why did you react that way after hearing that? Does the name mean something to you?] Raikou asked.


    I supposed most people wouldn''t know, especially the peasants of this era as it only got poprized long after her death.


    [It''s the ce of Jeanne''s birth...and where her family should still be living.]


    "Well, I wouldn''t want to keep everyone." I looked up to the sky. There were a few figures miles away in the distance, by the size this far away, I could guess they were more Wyverns, but they didn''t seem to being our way. "Let''s not wait for more of those monsters toe along."


    "I''ll make sure the others are ready and we will get goin. Should make it there before nightfall." He nodded in appreciation. "You two can get on my cart, I''ll take ya there myself." He walked over, patting a nearby cart full of random items tied to it and a horse that looked rather tired.


    I climbed into the back without argument and Raikou soon followed.


    Raikou probably sensed my annoyance and difort because she pulled me down to lean on her shoulder while she took my hand affectionately.


    By the sounds of it either Chaldea was keeping a low profile, or they hadn''t arrived in the Singrity yet. I would check out this vige and see the situation for myself before nning our next move.


    [***]


    Thankfully, we didn''t have to deal with any more problems for the evening. The several hour ride was long and rough, but we finally arrived at what looked like the vige.


    It was very different seeing it in this erapared to when I took Jeanne to visit her hometown. They called it a vige, but perhaps a town might be appropriate.


    Atleast, it was bustling enough that it could be mistaken for one. But there also appeared to be a noticeable amount of refugees and travelers camped up in the area.


    Not only that, but there was arge wooden wall erected around the perimeter. The wood itself looked like it had just been cut apart from the nearby forestry. And there were plenty of people being denied entry by some armed guards.


    "Shoulda known something like this would''ve happened." The old man driving the cart let out an annoyed grunt. "Unlikely we getting any help here."


    "You should be good from this point regardless, right?" I asked.


    "Mmm, without those monsters overhead, we should be fine." He nodded. "We can figure out it from here if you''re settling down here."


    "Thanks for the ride." I nodded towards him in thanks, stepping off the cart. I held out my hand, helping Raikou off a momentter.


    "I should be thanking you,d." He gave a good natured smile. "We''ll hunker down for the night at the least. If ya change your mind, I''d be happy to have ya."


    I thanked him again, but this was enough.


    Besides, the people with him were keeping a wary distance from us the entire time. Was pretty obvious that they didn''t trust us even after saving them.


    Oh well, not much you can do. People in this era were very superstitious and ignorant about a lot of things. No fault of their own, but simply the way things were.


    Before the crowd could stare, and I was more than aware that we stood out, especially Raikou, I weaved an illusion around us.


    "Let us in!"


    "You can''t keep us out here!"


    "I just wanna buy some food, we''re starving out here!"


    Raikou and I snuck up on the people crowding around the immediate entrance to the Vige where there were armed guards holding their weapons tightly, staring at the aggravated people.


    "The vige is full, we can''t take anyone else in." One of them dered.


    "Lies!" Someone from the crowd shouted and they started all throwing insults and threats towards the Guards, but no one was brave enough to start anything.


    We just sidestepped the ones standing up front and walked into the Vige.


    It was about the same as we could see from the outside. After walking a few minutes, it was as that Guard said, pretty damn crammed full of people. Plenty of which were just sitting around setting up camp for the foreseeable future. Camping up against the side of buildings, pitching make-shift tents to hide from the elements. Children covered in dirt and grime while their parents are just happy that they''re all alive.


    Refugees.


    Made it really sink in how bad things were around here.


    Damn my bleeding heart....


    They couldn''t see me, but I didn''t care to deal with the slew of thanks or gratitude. I began taking out items from within my Ring, foodstuffs that I had extras of, and ced them next to families with children or those looking like they were in need.


    This was Jeanne''s home, the least I could do was honor her memory by doing something like this.


    Raikou didn''t say anything, merely smiling and mimicking my actions, going around to ce food and water near people who were truly in need right now.


    There were way too many people here, we barely helped even a fraction that we merely saw right in front of us, but once the majority of the families in our immediate vicinity had something to fill their bellies, it was enough.


    "Let''s go Raikou." I whispered towards my Servant.


    "Yes, Master!" Raikou grabbed my arm as we made our way further through the streets which was partlyid with stones, partly muddy from a recent rainfall.


    I vaguely recalled the direction her house was in from being there before. It was a bit up the hill that the Vige was situated along.


    "Can you astralize for me?" I whispered again.


    "Yes, Master." Raikou followed my orders, disappearing into her Spiritual state.


    I dropped my own Illusion after turning onto a street so that people could see my approach. I wanted to gauge my surroundings and possibly interact with some people. Simply appearing in front of them would be a form for disaster when there''s a supposed Witch running around.


    I nced around and the further I went, the more things turned...weird.


    People did not hold back their stares and watched me intently. I knew it was sort of getting dark out with the sun setting, but the way they were watching me made me think something else was going on. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a few whispering to others and they nced at me before a few of their number scurried off down between a few houses and disappeared.


    More and more seemed to be there, watching me, peeking out of the nearby homes, and just staring tantly.


    And they were not normal peasants. I could see the scars, the calluses on their hands, and the overall demeanor of trained soldiers. Not to mention the barely hidden weapons under their shirts.


    I continued walking up the hill and I sensed the people from before slowly following In a group, just out of my peripheral view. I ignored it, pretending that I hadn''t noticed their presence as the building in question came into view.


    It was nearly identical to every other home nearby, and I wouldn''t have been able to pick it out had I not been here in the future.


    There was the same tree out front, the same stone decorations that weathered the ages looking much more clean and well kept inparison to my time, but it was nearly identical.


    I walked up and knocked on the door. Barely once or twice and the door was pulled open with a fury and there was a man there, looking right pissed and practically ready for a fight. "What do you want?" He demanded. I could see the faint outline of a dagger under his shirt as well.


    "I''m looking for a family that lives here. The father''s name should be Jacques, and the mother should be Isabe ¨C"


    "Never heard of them." He interrupted me. "Who are you?" His eyes narrowed.


    ".....I''m friends with their daughter." I ignored his obvious provocation and continued as I was. "I''m hoping that I can meet ¨C"


    "He said they don''t live here!" Another voice sounded from behind him and a couple more men walked forward behind the one who answered the door. Their faces were hardened from years of fighting, along with noticeable wounds. One was missing a leg, another an arm. The one who originally answered, well, his pupil was a pale white with a scar running along the length of his head.


    "Right then." I took a deep breath. "If I don''t receive an answer in the next few breaths, I''m going to assume the worst. Which is not something you want. So please answer my question." I would not hold back if I found out that these people were.... bandits and did something to Jeanne''s family.


    She may be a Saint, but I sure as hell was not. She could choose to forgive them or not after theirst moments on this earth were as excruciating as possible.


    "Didn''t you hear what I said, boy?" He reached under his shirt, pulling his knife out.


    "If that''s your answer." I smiled politely thenshed out with my leg, sending him flying into the house from the threshold.


    The other two reacted pretty well for mundane humans. However, they were severely outmatched. Before they could draw their des, I already pushed them back, letting them slide across the ground, joining their friend.


    I grabbed one of the knives that were discarded in the heat of the moment and held it to the neck of the closest man. "Let me be clear, If I found out you did anything to the family that lives here, you will beg me for the hell you''re doomed to."


    "Please stop." I paused, hearing a gentle and warm voice to the side. A woman stood there, in a green and white dress with a brown veil keeping her hair back. "There''s been a misunderstanding."


    However, those were secondary to her actual looks.


    ".....you look just like her." I said softly.


    "Madame!" One of the men climbed to his feat, looking ready to attack me. I side eyed him, but my focus was still on the woman.


    "Philippe, please stop as well." She looked at the man. "He doesn''t mean me any harm." Her words seemed to reach them as they looked hesitant, but didn''t immediately jump at me again.


    [Master!] Raikou called out in rm.


    [I noticed, Raikou. Just....try to find them and keep watch if you can.] I replied, also noticing the fact that what was most likely a Servant appeared nearby.


    "You must be Madame Romee." I ignored the death res from them and continued to focus on the woman. "Jeanne spoke about you. It''s an honor to meet her mother."


    "You knew my Jeate?" She smiled bitterly. "I apologize, I did not catch your name."


    "How rude of me." I took a step forward and gently took her hand, cing my lips against the back of it in a gesture of respect. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service, Madame."


    She seemed amused by my action. "Isabelle is fine. Come, I have tea brewing, you can tell me why you came all the way here and how you know my daughter."


    "Madame, are you sure ¨C "


    "If he wished to harm me, he would have done so already." Jeanne''s mom interrupted one of the men about to speak.


    "....Just to double check, they''re here as guests?" I eyed the suspicious men.


    She cracked a smile, giggling softly. "They are worried that someone was going to harm me. They are all formerrades of my daughter who retired and came to settle down here."


    Oh...that''s awkward.


    "I apologize for my actions; I assumed the worst." I bowed my head towards them in acknowledgement for my assumption.


    They nced between themselves and there was a noticeable amount of tension that eased up.


    "Alright, I guess you have a point about everything." The one named Philippe scratched the back of his head. "You two go out and scatter everyone else, Tell them the Madame is fine."


    The other two grumbled and hobbled out the door. I nced around the corner and noticed just howrge the crowd forming outside had be.


    I was broken from my musing as the man pped me on the back. "Apology epted, boy. Now get over there, the Madame offered you tea and you''re not going to spit on her hospitality."


    "Philippe, be nice to our guest."


    He grumbled but nearly dragged me to the table where she was set up, a warm cup already set out for me.


    "Thank you for the tea." I politely expressed my gratitude while taking a sip. Fairly watered down andcking much of the taste that I''m used to, but there was a certain warmness to it as well. "....if you don''t mind me asking, what''s going on with...." I nced at the man hovering nearby, leaning against the wall, staring at me.


    "They all seem to think an old woman like me is in need of protection." Isabe chuckled. "Truthfully, I don''t think I''m worth all this trouble."


    "Madame, any of the men outside would dlyy down their lives to protect yours. None of us believe those rumors about this Dragon Witch. We all owe your daughter too much to allow even the chance of you getting harmed because of it." Phillipe responded.


    "You all are former soldiers that served with Jeanne, weren''t you?" I summarized.


    He nodded proudly. "After hearin what happened in Orleans, we all gathered her to protect her family. It was the least we could do." He sighed, slumping his shoulders. "Suppose I should give an apology for the treatment too. We''ve had a cloaked stranger appear the other day, and they nearly slipped inside the Madam''s home under our noses. We''ve been keeping a closer eye on the ce for outsiders ever since. Assumed you were involved."


    "It was understandable." I waved it off. But hearing about a ''stranger'' and knowing there''s a Servant nearby, well, two and two wasn''t hard to put together. "Madame Isabelle, I apologize if my questiones off crass but....where is everyone else?"


    "My husband took our children to his Great Aunt''s home further north." She looked down at her tea sadly. "After hearing that Jeate died then everything that came after.... we couldn''t simply leave under the hope that our daughter wasn''t truly gone. We decided that he would take the children to safety and then he woulde back and we would wait to see if our daughter came home."


    Phillipe looked away, obviously not believing she would.


    And I knew the truth as well.


    And the look on her face, well, she knew she was holding out for a miracle.


    "I''m sorry for your loss." I said quietly. "She was an amazing young woman. She called me a friend once, and that''s a memory I''ll always cherish."


    "Thank you, your words were very kind." She smiled warmly, despite the sorrowful topic. "I was always worried that Jeate was having troubles while fighting, but to hear she had friends makes me very happy."


    I don''t know how she''s holding herself together so well. I''ve barely been a dad for months at this point, and I would be an uncontroble mess if I found out that Kunou passed away.


    [Master, I found the Servant.] Raikou called out.


    [Can you see them? Do you recognize them at all?] I asked back.


    [They are covered with a hood over their head, master.] Raikou stated.


    I stood up from my seat. "I barged in and brought up some bad memories. Please allow me to offer up something as rpose. You said there was someone suspicious poking around? I''ll go grab them right now."


    At the very least, I wanted Jeanne''s mom to not have to live like this.


    I didn''t wait for them to answer as I was already flying out the door. As soon as I crossed the threshold, I moved with a burst of Shunpo hopping along the nearby rooftops until I could catch up to Raikou who was on the move.


    Apparently, this other Servant noticed something was wrong and was running away. Why they didn''t Astralize, I didn''t know, but I wouldn''t look a gift horse in the mouth.


    It didn''t take long for me to catch up, I could see the figure that Raikou was trailing as they weaved between houses.


    They weren''t fast, rtively speaking. As far as Servant parameters go, I felt like they were near the lowest end as I was easily gaining on them without pushing too hard.


    I eventually jumped off a building and summoned up Mirage, halfheartedly swinging it downwards at them. I merely wanted to disrupt their attempt at fleeing rather than go for a kill. They swung their body around and materialized a weapon into their hand.]


    My eyes widened because I recognized it.


    A long pole with a point at the end, but it wasn''t a spear. It was still furled, but the coloring of it was something I wouldn''t forget.


    A Banner.


    I could get somewhat of a look at her face now, covered by the shroud and hidden under the moonlight.


    Blonde hair peeked out from under the hood, and a familiar pair of blue eyes stared back at me.


    "Jeanne?"


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 431 - 390

    <h4>Chapter 431: Chapter 390</h4>


    She hesitated, looking surprised. "Who are you?"


    I felt my heart drop hearing that. I knew it had been a long shot, generally Servants don''t recall their memories from previous Grail Wars for many different reasons. There are always exceptions, and Rulers Can fall into the category.


    "Master." Raikou returned to my side and Jeanne stepped back warily.


    "A Servant." She whispered. "I see, you''re her master. Attacking the overseer for the Grail War is against the rules. If you continue, I will have to use my authority to stop you." She held up her Banner, ready to fight.


    "I think it''s a misunderstanding." I put my hands up to soothe her hesitation. "Saber and I were just...surprised by another Servant."


    [Master.] Raikou whispered through our link.


    I knew what she wanted to say.


    Jeanne didn''t even bat an eye when I called Raikou ''Saber'' when her ss was still ''Berserker''.


    She slowly lowered her banner. "Very well....I can understand your wariness."


    "Well, now that this is settled. I think I''ll go back and spend time with that wonderful woman I just met. What was her name again, Isabelle?"


    "W-wait, what are you saying!?" Jeanne immediately became flustered. "Y-you can''t!"


    She never acknowledged that I called out her true name, was she going to try and y that she wasn''t Jeanne D Arc?


    Adorable.


    "Why not?" I tilted my head, acting confused. "Do you have some sort of rtionship with that woman? How convenient that I may have happened upon Ruler''s living rtives."


    "I have no idea who they are! But...T-they are civilians!" She seemed to blurt out some half-assed reasoning with the worst lie I''ve ever heard in my life. "You can''t involve them in any Grail War!"


    Why did she think there''s a Grail War going on?


    Lots of questions here.


    Regardless, there was something amiss and there was the perfect way to figure it out.


    "Sorry, I can''t do that." I denied.


    "...howe?" She looked at me.


    "Simply, I think I''ve fallen in love." I dramatically ce a hand over my heart. "That warm and gentle woman just swept me off my feet. She was so sad and depressed over her Daughter''s death, I simply can''t leave her alone."


    "She''s married! You can''t court a married woman!" Jeanne practically screeched.


    "I assure you, I am quite capable. A romantic dinner, whispering sweet nothings into her ear, giving her all the attention she deserves. I''ll make sure to treat her like the queen she is. I''ve been told I''m very charming."


    Raikou was silent, but her expression practically screamed amusement.


    "S-she has children! She''s...she''s old!" Jeanne whined.


    "I''ll let you in on a little secret." I gestured for her to lean in. "I like older women."


    "Naaaah!" She pushed me away, letting out some weird noises.


    I missed this so much.


    "Tell me, as a Servant, do you know the term ''Milf''?" I asked.


    A look of horror that shed across her face informed me that she did in fact know what that word meant.


    I just couldn''t help myself.


    I think it was my Devil nature.


    But enough fooling around, I wanted to verify something. "You know what? I changed my mind."


    "Eh!?" She looked a mite happy. "You''re going to leave Mo ¨C the woman alone!?"


    "No, not that." I dismissively waved my hand. "I still want to take your mom to pound town."


    "P-pound ¨C" She paused, letting the words sink in as her face turned a bright red. "Y-you can''t just say things like that!!"


    I ignored her outburst. "I meant I changed my mind about fighting you. I decided that I want you to punish me for breaking the rules."


    "...what?" She blinked in confusion.


    "Go ahead, use your Authority as a Ruler. Use yourmand Seals, force me to stop."


    "Why would you want that!?"


    "I like being punished." I winked.


    "Ehhh!?"


    "Don''t kink shame."


    "S-stop!"


    "Raikou, prepare to attack Ruler."


    "With pleasure." Raikou smiled happily.


    "I-I''ll really do it!"


    "I''m waiting." I held my arms out.


    "Don''t test me!"


    ''I''m waiting."


    "If you try to do anything I''ll.....I''ll force your Servant to stop!"


    "I''m waiting." I continued to hold my arms out.


    "....."


    "..."


    "....please don''t attack me." She said quietly.


    "You can''t use any of your Ruler Authorities, can you?"


    "N-no..." She looked away.


    "Again, seriously? Why is there always something wrong with your summoning?" I let out an exasperated sigh. "First time you needed a vessel, now you can''t even use the abilities of a Ruler? What''s next, are you going to be summoned without any Noble Phantasms?"


    "Again?" She looked at me in confusion once more, her brow furrowed. "Do....you know me?"


    I felt another twinge of pain in my heart hearing that again.


    "In another time and ce. We participated in a Grail War, you were the Ruler then as well." I couldn''t help but smile as I reminisced. "Our time together was short, but in that period, I grew to admire you greatly. And at the end, I like to think that we were good friends."


    "....I''m sorry, I don''t recall. I have no memories of participating in any other Grail Wars. And to be honest, my head has been muddled ever since I''ve been summoned." She replied gently.


    "It''s alright, I knew it was a long shot."


    "Perhaps.....something happened and my memories were lost? It''s possible that if I fix what happened.....it might let me recall?"


    That was just like her to try and sooth me while I was obviously distraught.


    "We should ¨C " I felt a vibration within my Ring, making any more words die in my mouth.


    {Call upon the spear.} Mus¨± Tengai spoke from within my soul. {It''s reacting to something.}


    The Spear was pushing against the folded space, and I allowed it to exit by its own will. With a bright light, the Holy Spear of Longinus shot out and floated between us.


    Jeanne was enthralled by it, she stared without blinking.


    She reached for it as if in a trance.


    The Holy Light enveloped her, illuminating the night sky. It kicked up a huge whirlwind with her at the epicenter, and I could see the Holy Light infusing into her Servant Container. I didn''t interrupted, but the phenomena onlysted a few more moments before the Light began to recede.


    Jeanne held the spear, looking lost. Her eyes refocused and theynded on the Spear then back to me. "Wilhelm!?"


    I needed no other proof, within a breath, I already wrapped up the Saint in my arms. "Wee back, Jeanne."


    "I''m back." She spoke softly, returning the hug. ".....Will?"


    "Yes?"


    "....why is your hand on my butt?"


    "Just....making sure it''s the real you."


    "H-how would that confirm my identity!?" She sputtered.


    "I''m genuinely surprised you had the foresight to ask me that."


    "What''s that supposed to mean!?"


    "Oh I don''t know." I rolled my eyes, releasing her from my arms. I cleared my throat almostically. "Oh yes, that woman that looks exactly like you obviously has no connection whatsoever."


    "I panicked!" She squeaked out. "Some strange person was around my mom, what was I supposed to say!? I can''t interfere if the rules aren''t broken!"


    "So you would have to watch me while I put the moves on your mom?" I questioned.


    "Stay away from my mom!" She whined, swinging around the spear wildly.


    "Oh no, look everyone, the Ruler Servant is attacking me. Breaking the rules!" I raised my voice.


    "NEHHHH!" She cried out, swinging the spear at me still.


    "Raikou, subdue her."


    "B-Berserker?" Jeanne squeaked as my Server grabbed Jeanne and pulled her into her own hug.


    "Hello again." Raikou cheerfully greeted the Saint. It''s funny, even with her Madness before, she had a good opinion of Jeanne. That should tell anyone what kind of person Jeanne was.


    "You should feel honored." I pat the back of Jeanne''s head that was buried firmly between Raikou''srge breasts. "Not many people get this kind of service from Raikou."


    "Ufufu." Raikou giggled at the squirming Jeanne.


    I did take the opportunity to retrieve my Spear. I felt a little threatened letting Jeanne have it while her mom was the subject of as much teasing I could.


    Raikou did let the Ruler go a moment or twoter. Jeanne puffed up in embarrassment but Raikou and I just shared augh.


    "Berserker..." Jeanne eyed my Servant and her eyes widened. "My True Name Discernment is back!" She cheered. "Wait, what happened to you!? Your Mad Enhancement it''s ¨C "


    "Gone?" Raikou finished for her. "Master and Grandfather removed it after the War. I am no longer polluted by those intrusive thoughts." Her gaze towards Jeanne was filled with warmness. "Thank you for putting up with me when I was not clear headed."


    This time, Raikou gave her a real hug. The Saintess happily epted the apology and intent behind it.


    "And your ss...it''s strange. It reminds me of that Assassin that had dual sses."


    "We altered her Saint Graph a bit while snipping away the Mad Enhancement." I replied. "And it seems like you''re back to normal now?"


    "Yes." She beamed. "I don''t have ess to anymand seals, but my Parameters returned to normal, my memories returned and my other abilities as a Ruler are back as well!"


    "Awesome, so what''s going on?"


    ".....I don''t know." She said sheepishly. "I was kind of messed up, so I was just working off the assumption that a Grail War was going on because I can sort of sense a Grail somewhere..."


    "Really? Your first thought was a Grail War?"


    "Why else would I be summoned?" She huffed cutely.


    I pointed upward and she followed my gaze. "Did that big ring in the sky not tip you off that something was wrong?"


    "....It did give me concern, but I couldn''t do anything about it and I was already confused about my summoning." She pouted. "Do you know what that ring of light is? Does it have anything to do with what''s going on?"


    "....probably, but it''s a bit of a long story. What exactly do you know about the situation?"


    "I was summoned, I remember that, but then something happened and someone.....I think someone used the Grail to take part of my Saint Graph. Other than that, I''ve just been stumbling around. I heard about this....Dragon Witch and people are calling her me....."


    "They say that Jeanne D Arc was touched by the Devil and turned into a witch.....is that what happened, Jeanne?"


    "T-that''s nonsense."


    "Right, because Jeanne D Arc wouldn''t consort with heinous Devils!"


    "Stop teasing me!" She puffed up.


    "I''m technically a Dragon too..."


    "Stopppp."


    "Just saying." I truly missed this. "But to summarize for now, this is a Singrity. A....point in time that was altered off the correct path. Usually the Counter Force would purge something like this with prejudice, but I''m guessing that the Holy Grail you sensed is propping it up. We need to retrieve the Grail and stop whoever is causing the mess and fix things."


    "Fix things? Will everything return to normal?" She asked hopefully.


    "I won''t lie and say it''ll be perfect. But the majority of the damage should be undone. The concern of the Greater World is that the natural course of history isn''t altered too much."


    Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of things, the deaths of some thousands of random people during this period wouldn''t amount to much....


    But seeing her face brighten up, I kept that bit of information to myself.


    "For a self described heinous Devil, you''re very kind, Wilhelm." She smiled brightly.


    ''Sure, keep telling yourself that." I rolled my eyes.


    "Didn''t you say you admired me?" She stepped up, smiling right in my face. "And that we were friends?"


    "You probably heard wrong. Considering how bad you tried to threaten me with your supposed ''authority'', I wouldn''t be surprised if you were hallucinating."


    "Nope! I heard it!"


    "Stupid spear...." I grumbled. It waited until after I said that to do whatever it did to fix Jeanne. Speaking of. "How were you fixed, exactly?"


    "I don''t know." She tilted her head. "There was a bright light and a warm voice and I felt memories flood back and...." Her eyes widened. "The Spear! The Lord spoke to me. He must have fixed me too. It would be easy for the Lord to fix my Saint Graph."


    "....sure, let''s go with that." Should I tell her that God was dead back home and I had his ghost in my Spear? "Big G doing something proactive for once, I guess."


    "Don''t be disrespectful!" She puffed up again.


    "How am I being disrespectful?! He''s technically my many times great grandfather, y''know."


    "You know what you were doing." She poked my chest. "Be nice."


    "Yeah yeah." I rolled my eyes once more. "I was actually invited to be an Angel."


    "....what?" She blinked.


    "The Archangel Michael, he invited me to join the Heavenly Host and be an Angel."


    "I don''t believe you." She crossed her arms with a huff. "You''re teasing me again."


    "It''s true!" I quickly defended myself. "Raikou, tell her."


    Raikou looked away.


    "I knew it!" Jeanne eximed. "Lies are not nice, Wilhelm!"


    "Says the Saintess who tried to lie to me face." I countered.


    "I didn''t lie!"


    "And there''s another one."


    "Llla, I can''t hear you." Jeanne covered her ears.


    "Also, why do you still look like you''re using that girl as a Vessel again?"


    "What do you mean?" Jeanne tilted her head, forgoing ignoring me. "I told you before that the reason she was able to host me was because of how simr we were, even down to our looks."


    "Yes, but you said your chest was smaller, but it''s the same size now." I pointed out.


    "Wah!? How would you know that!" She demanded.


    "Do you think I don''t know your sizes?" I gave her a look like she was stupid.


    "Don''t just admit that so tantly!"


    "Do you still have that school uniform? I missed those booty shorts of yours." I half heartedly joked. But then I noticed her go stiff and look away again. "...you do don''t you?"


    "I don''t know why it''s there! After getting fixed, I can dismiss my Servant clothing and I''ll be in that School Uniform again." She whined.


    "I take back everything I''ve said about Big G." I put my hands together and silently sent him a prayer as thanks.


    If I had to guess, I think thest time that Jeanne held the Spear, he basically did the equivalent of snapshotting her Saint Graph and then pasted it back onto her as she is now, fixing all the issues, but a few other things came along with it.


    That raised quite a few questions about the nature of the consciousness inside the Spear. And also about what happened when the one inside the spear sort of....linked up with its counterpart back during the Grail War.


    I felt a poke at my cheek again And Jeanne was currently staring at me. "You were staring off there. Are you okay?"


    "Yeah, I just got lost in thought. I was imagining your mom in that School Uniform."


    She proceeded to pinch my cheeks with a huff. ".....you''re not really going to try and.....with my mom, are you?"


    I put the teasing to the side for now and I pulled her into another hug. "Jeanne, I''m many things, but a home wrecker is not one of them. Ignoring everything else, your mom is happily married and I wouldn''t ruin that."


    She sighed happily. "Thank you, Wilhelm."


    "For what? Are you thanking me for not banging your mom?"


    She let out an exasperatedugh. "For still thinking of me as a friend and remembering me."


    "You''re the Saintess that epted a Half-Devil like me as your friend." I pointed out.


    "I don''t care about you being a half-Devil. I care that Wilhelm is a kind and wonderful person and I cherish you as a friend." She smiled warmly.


    .....what a weird Saintess, not caring that I''m the antithesis to her beliefs.


    "Come on, let''s go back to your mom. I said I would catch the suspicious person rummaging around. I assume that was you and you were looking for the opportunity to check up on her. With everything going on, it must have been hard."


    "....I can''t."


    "...pardon?" I blinked.


    "I''m dead, Wilhelm. It''s not proper."


    "You''re going to need to exin this to me."


    "I''m more than aware of what year it is, and the date. I died very recently. My parents...my family are already mourning. If I just appeared in front of them, what do I say? They wouldn''t understand any of this. It''s best that they believe I died how History remembers it and move on. I heard about the Dragon Witch and was just worried about them... I never intended to show myself. I would have left soon had I not noticed you and your Servant approach mother."


    I took a moment to process what she said. To try to understand her reasoning and her logic. And I came to a simple conclusion. "Are you an idiot?" I flicked her forehead.


    "Oww?!" She squeaked out in surprise.


    "Raikou." I called out to my Servant who had been very gracious in allowing me this uninterrupted reunion with my long lost friend. "Is she being stupid?"


    "It appears so, Master."


    "W-what do you mean?!" She looked confused.


    "It''s weird because I can''t get mad at you. I know you''re doing it because you believe this is the best way." If it were anyone else, I would have smacked them silly already. "Jeanne, in trying to be kind to them, you''re instead being unbelievably cruel"


    ".....what are you saying?"


    I put my hands on her shoulders. "I would have given nearly anything to see my Mom again after she passed. To have some kind of closure so that I didn''t stumble through after years of depression and sadness."


    "B-but, if I go back and they see me, it''ll just make it worse. It''s best that they continue grieving ¨C"


    "You''re saying that from the perspective of someone who has died. It''s cruel of you, because you don''t have to grieve; they were left behind and they have to deal with everything thates after. Are you going to deny them the chance to say goodbye to their daughter that ran off to war at a young age? When was thest time they even saw you, Jeanne?"


    To her credit, she did waver and there was a genuine desire to see her mom, she truly just didn''t think it was for the best.


    One of those times where someone so kind and thoughtful can get stuck in their own mentality and instead cause harm, even by ident and unknowingly to everyone involved.


    "I can''t, it''s not proper. I''m dead, I can''t just walk up to my mom after everything like it didn''t happen. There are rules...." Her arguments were half-hearted at best.


    "You know what? You''re right." I acknowledged


    "I am?" She questioned.


    "There are rules. And I doubt a Servant has been put quite into your position where they get summoned within days of dying and hanging around their family members. But it''s not proper for the Dead to influence their living rtives."


    "So you understand my reluctance then, we ¨C "


    I held up my hand to silence her. "So, I''m going to take the decision out of your hands."


    "What¡ª"


    "Raikou, get the rope."


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 432 - 391

    <h4>Chapter 432: Chapter 391</h4>


    Yasaka POV


    "Hello, Venna, thanks foring."


    "Oh, it was no trouble. I''m always happy to spend time together." She sat down opposite of me at the table. "It''s a nice break too. With everything going after the recent incident."


    "Don''t even get me started!" I exhaled in exhaustion.


    "I''ve had many different people bugging me since, and even my family were getting a lot of.....interest, more than usual. I can''t imagine everything you''ve had to deal with. How bad has it been?"


    "About what you would expect. We weren''t even technically involved, but after publicly making it known that Wilhelm was my man, well....the proximity and everything made it worse. We''ve had to escort a ridiculous amount of spies out of Kyoto, for starters. And we''ve had many Kami ¨C gods,ing and going. Some being discreet....others not so much."


    "Oh dear. Dealing with Gods is never easy."


    "Funnily enough, Susanoo hade around Kyoto a couple times keeping the peace." I chuckled at the absurdity of it. "I even asked Izanami if she was telling him to and she was just as surprised as I was!"


    "Ignoring his Divinity, at the end of the day, he''s a boy. I wouldn''t put it past him to think of Wilhelm as someone close to him now that he''s both with Izanami and fought together."


    "I''ll never understand boys." I groaned. "First they fight like they did, then they fight together and suddenly they''re friends."


    "Otherwise, how was the fallout? It''s been hectic down in Hell and we weren''t directly affected."


    "For us, not too bad. But there is a tension that wasn''t there before. Which doesn''t help matters when we''re getting prepared for a war. Oddly enough, it was somewhat of a morale boost too."


    "The ''young Lord'' fighting with Susanoo against Indra? I could only imagine why." She giggled.


    "Thankfully, there wasn''t much damage across the globe either. Most Gods of other Pantheons acted quickly. Poseidon over in Northern Europe and Greece personally stepped in, earning himself a lot of praise. Zeus shortly followed once I assume he realized his brother would outshine him. Thor, and some other Norse Gods also lent a hand. Aztec, African, Chinese, Korean, etc."


    This was far from the first time that beings of this caliber came to blows and others had to offset the ''destruction'' that ensued. The Shinto Pantheon aren''t the only ones going to go after the Hindus for reparations.


    "Wilhelm is going to be watched much more closely now."


    "That was inevitable. Our man doesn''t have a habit of staying under the radar." I sighed in mild exasperation. "Even the Susanoo fight caused amotion, but nothing on this level. Thankfully, nearly everyone isying the fault at Indra''s feet, for good reason."


    "Atleast they had the good sense of fighting away from civilization."


    "For good that did." I sighed again. "Have you seen the human news talking about it? IT''s nonstop about the weather that happened and there''s only so much we can do."


    "Oh dear, I didn''t even think about that. What''s the n there?"


    "I spoke to Amaterasu briefly-¡ª"


    "When she handed over her ¨C "


    "Please don''t even say it." My head fell to the table. "I don''t know how I''m supposed to even face my Goddess in the future."


    "You could always use Wilhelm as a shield." She offered.


    "....that''s probably my best bet. She''s still embarrassed at shing him. If I have to deal with my own embarrassment, then she has too as well!"


    "And what was the word from the Goddess on how things will be settled?"


    "She''s going to have a few aquatic Volcanos stimted to make them look like they erupted in unison. The Humans will find them soon, and that should be enough to answer many questions that the general public has with some nudging."


    "Smart."


    "I suppose so. It''s above my pay grade, so I''m not even bothering to keep up with it." I shrugged. "But I called you because I wanted to talk to you about something."


    "Threesome?"


    "What!?" I blinked. "No! But...well, I wouldn''t mind. But that''s not it..." I paused. "Oh you''re a bitch."


    She giggled, covering her mouth. "You looked so serious."


    "I can''t help it, I''ve been so busy and dealing with this nonsense on top of it. I don''t me Wilhelm, mind you, but being his Woman doese with its own difficulties." I wouldn''t trade Kunou''s father for anything at this point, but I still want to pinch his cheeks every time a new stack of paperworknds on my desk.


    "Alright, what is it you wanted to talk about?" She asked.


    "It''s about Kunou. As a mother yourself, I felt like you would be the best one to talk about with this. Raikou is unfortunately not here, so I can''t get her opinion at the moment."


    "Mmm, it''s good that she''s with Wilhelm though."


    "Agreed. I expect that man to get into trouble, but I''ll feel much better knowing one of us is nearby."


    "What about Izanami?"


    "Her perspective is warped." I paused again trying to choose my words correctly. "Not in a bad way, mind you. But she isn''t a mortal like us, despite how long lived we are, Gods think and act differently."


    "Understandable. I have not interacted with Gods until I joined in the Harem, so I''ll take your word for it. I won''t presume to use the stories and such I''ve heard."


    Probably for the best. Not many Gods like to beparedpletely to the stories that humans passed down unless it shows them in a good light.


    "Right, I''ll just cut right to the chase. I''m worried about what to do with Kunou."


    ".....what do you mean?" Venna tilted her head.


    "I don''t want my little fox to be in Kyoto while we''re in the middle of a War and it''s getting close to when we''ll begin fighting. I feel like you can understand me the best right now."


    "I do." She said quietly. "I could not imagine my Daughter being born during the Civil War, much less the Great War. I was lucky that Sirzechs was a monster in his own right that I didn''t have to worry too much about someone hurting him."


    "But I''m also scared of just....putting her somewhere for a period of time."


    "I would offer the my own home andnds, but I would assume you would reject it."


    "I...will politely decline. It''s not you, I trust you. It''s just..."


    "Devils?"


    "....yes"


    "Oh dear, it''s nothing to be worried about." She waved it off. "I canpletely understand your point of view and there are no hard feelings over your reluctance."


    "You must have an idea of what you want to do though, if you called me? You said you wanted my opinion."


    "I was thinking.....about asking Wilhelm about maybe finding another World she can attend a boarding school or something like that? Maybe somewhere that she can learn Magic since she''s been getting very interested in that subject."


    "That''s not a bad idea." She offered.


    "I''m worried that she''ll think I''m abandoning her. And I''m scared about not having her within arms reach."


    "She''s old enough to understand the heavy responsibilities of an approaching War. I think you may be coddling her too much in this case."


    "Do you really think so?" I asked, hesitantly.


    "You need to sit down and talk to her about everything properly. Make her a part of the conversation and she will appreciate it much more. Be honest with your worries so she understands that you care about her."


    "That makes sense..." Maybe I am just being over protective. "I want her to make friends too. I know it''s been difficult here since she''s my daughter, not many people are willing to treat her as just a child."


    "There''s that too. I had the same concerns when Rias was born, both for myself and Sirzech''s position. Luckily there were other Pir families we were close with, but there doesn''t seem to be anything simr in your case. It would do good for her to leave home and see a bit more of the world....rtively speaking."


    "She''s going to be Eleven....I guess it''s time for my Little Fox to step away from the nest." Within reason of course. "I''ll wait until Wilhelm gets back so we can talk to her together and I can run everything by him as well."4


    "You know...if you''re looking at friends for her, my Grandson is her age...?"


    "I....admit I forgot about that." That wasn''t a bad idea either. "We would obviously have to talk to Wilhelm."


    "Of course, he needs to be part of the conversation there. Milicas also wanted to meet his Half-Brother. Wilhelm didn''t seem entirely against it, I just think he''s been too busy to think about it."


    "That''s adorable."


    "I know." Venna giggled. "You should hear him, Milicas keeps wanting to hear news about Wilhelm and he even started trying to copy him with magic and swordsmanship. Ever since Wilhelm saved us both, he''s been nonstop about it~"


    "Kunou too. She wants to be just like her daddy. So she''s been practicing Magic all the time."


    "Do you have pictures?!"


    "Do I have pictures!?" I threw a stack onto the table before she could even blink. "Look at the top one. That''s one of my favorites."


    "Oh my, the look on Wilhelm''s face." Venna cooed. "That is a proud dad smile If I''ve ever seen one."


    "Don''t worry, I have plenty more!"


    [***]


    Olga Marie Animusphere POV


    "Are you sure about this, Director?" Roman continued to worry about my decision, but I took it in the good nature that it was intended.


    "Who else but me, Roman?"


    "We have Hinako...."


    "And you''ve seen her leadership skills in the simtions previously." I said dryly, staring at the clearly exhausted man.


    "Stil....."


    "I''ve already made my decision, Roman." I clenched my fists but released them a momentter, letting out a long breath. "I know my situation didn''t change much but please let me have this."


    "I''m just worried....Director." He smiled awkwardly. "You still can''t summon a Servant. Even if whatever Wilhelm did made it so you''re a viable Rayshift target now....which we''re still not entirely sure about. There are still tons of ¨C "


    "Are you questioning me, Roman?" Da Vinci poked her head into the room, staring menacingly at the Physician


    "N-no." Roman quickly corrected himself. "It''s just ¨C"


    "I triple checked, Roman. Thebination of The Director''s existence as pure Spiritrons being forced through a sessful Rayshift,bined with the process of semi-actualizing her soul created a qualitative change."


    Isn''t that hrious?


    All it took for me to be capable of Rayshift was being technically killed by the person I trusted most then to be saved by the Grandson of the Wizard Marshall. Thetter of whom did something only thought under the umbre of True Magic and did what could only be described as a semi-actualization of my soul.


    A nonsense term if it had been spoken before this discovery as you can''t be semi-Actualized. You either are or you are not, there was no in between, or so we thought.


    But here I am, able to project a physical representation of my very soul outward in various forms for use.


    Rigorous testing showed an increase in physical capabilities, and a visibly increased healing rate. Not to mention all the more...nuanced uses for this energy we''ve discovered over the past month.


    ....and he just casually handed it to me, saving my life in the process.


    I have so many questions if I see him again!


    ....when I see him again.


    Whatever happened, I''m sure he survived.


    "Roman, if you give me any other viable suggestion, I''ll listed." I paused for a moment to let him retort, but he simply slumped his shoulders in acknowledgement. "The members of B-Team have been progressing greatly but they''re still new to everything, Roman. And as I said, Hinako has the leadership skills of a baked potato."


    "I think that''s an insult to the potato." Caster chirped.


    "Fine." Roman threw his hands up. "But I''m doing this under protest."


    "Your protest is noted." I rolled my eyes. "Has everyone gathered?"


    "We''re just waiting on you, Director!" Caster stated. "And I ran the test you asked for. That quaint little storage space in the hat should hold up through a Rayshift, so you don''t have to worry."


    "Thank you, caster." I nodded towards her.


    I was d that the Hat would survive the Rayshift properly. It would make it easier to gather supplies on the return as otherwise we''d have to physically carry anything we wanted back with us and that was a whole other set of problems.


    Well, Caster did say she could make something simr, but we don''t have the resources to waste when we already have a viable Mystic Code ready to go.


    I was hesitant, but I would not second guess my decision. Even if I couldn''t summon or forge a contract with a Servant, I could still help!


    I won''t waste this opportunity that bastard Lev gave me.


    "Are you going to take his familiar with you?" Caster pointed at Schweinorg''s Rabbit that rested within my arms. "He should be able to survive the process."


    ".....and you would know that how..?" Roman questioned.


    "Do you think I wouldn''t look into the only other creature besides the Director that had their Soul Semi-Actualized?" Caster looked offended.


    As if to reply, Sir Wiggles moved from my arms to atop of my head. An action that wasmon ce at this point and no one batted at eye at.


    "I believe he stated that he intends to follow." I nced upwards. He was intelligent, he wouldn''te if he didn''t think he could handle it. I trusted Schweinorg to not have an ipetent Familiar. And Sir Wiggles has proven himself in his owner''s absence. "The others should have finished thest minute preparations as well. Let us depart."


    [***]


    "Good, everyone is here." I looked around, entering the room with the Coffins. I had not been in here since the explosion, but the majority of things looked to be fixed at first nce. However, that was not true for the Coffins themselves.


    We still only had a portion of those avable.


    Thankfully, Wilhelm provided not just foodstuffs but materials of different kinds. Among them being some metals of interesting properties that allowed us to fudge some of the requirements to get these Coffins back online.


    But I ignored that for now. I trusted Caster to go over this ce with a fine toothedb.


    "Fujimaru." I called out.


    "Yes, Director." He stood up straighter. I was impressed with how quickly he took to everything. If a month or so ago someone told me he was aplete novice....I would believe them but I would also have had hoped that he could be more with time.


    "The Rayshifts are going to be timed so that you and Mash will appear twenty seconds before everyone else. This is thergest gap we can manage, and in that time frame, your job is to clear the Rayshift point of any hostile entities, if there are any. There shouldn''t be, but in the event that we seemingly fall right ontop an Enemy Servant, keep them away from our point of entry long enough for everyone else to Rayshift without the chance to be killed on the spot."


    "We''ll handle it Director!" Fujimaru nodded.


    "You can leave it to us." Mash joined in, looking serious as well.


    ....good then.


    "Hinako, you''re up next. In the event of hostile Servants or other entities, you will be immediately engaging them while we prepare the summoning for our Servants."


    "Yeah, just leave it to me." She shrugged.


    It''s still taken me some time to wrap my head around the fact that she is a being simr to a True Ancestor. While she didn''t explicitly give the details, she did say her origins were Eastern...obvious in hindsight, but it narrowed down her race extensively.


    She was something that could fight Servants equally. A boon in this situation, and a weed one at that.


    Next I looked at the other two B-Team members, the American and the Frenchman. A stroke of luck that we had someone who''s nationality aligned with the Singrity. It may make getting information from the natives easier if someone they recognized as ''one of their own'' approaches them.


    "Samuel, Pierre, and myself will be appearing as well at that time." I stated the obvious just to rify any details. "Once we establish a foothold, we will focus then on securing a Leyline to begin the Servant summoning."


    "Uh, Director." Samuel raised his hand.


    "What?"


    "When you say Servant summoning, do you mean a fresh summoning, or summoning the Servants we already have here?"


    "That''s ¨C" I stopped myself because it wasn''t as stupid a question as I almost blurted out. "The conditions for summoning be favorable during a Singrity, however, we also have limited power reserves focused on the return Rayshift. Due to this, we will only be summoning the Servants already present within Chaldea to minimize the strains on our systems."


    "You want all of us there at the same time, missy?" Caster leaned against his acquired Red Spear.


    I felt my face twitch at his way of calling me. "Saber will be summoned first in the miniscule chance that an issue urs and the next summoning fails." I eyed the former enemy of ours that stood silently near Ritsuka Fujimaru.


    She was oddly cooperative after her summoning despite trying her best to kill us. For some reason, the mention of Wilhelm Schweinorg calms her down whenever she gets irritated. Or the opposite when Caster decides to rule her up.


    "Makes sense." Caster said nonchntly. "I''d be mad if I was a Lancer, but as a Caster, yeah. The littless over there brings more muscle than me, unfortunately." Hemented, making the Saber Servant frown, but I was thankful she was biting her tongue. "That being said, I did teach Farm Boy over here a few things."


    "Noted." I replied evenly. And wasn''t that a surprise to learn that Samuel Washington was talented in the old Druidic Arts? Perhaps that''s why he was able to summon Caster. He even carried a Mystic Code ¨C a Staff that Caster Cu Chinn made him from some materials he salvaged from the botany department of the facility. "I read the report. In the case that Caster Cu Chinn is unable to be summoned, he will take over the role of searching for the nearest Leylines. I take it this will not be an issue?"


    "No, Ma''am." He politely shook his head. There was something to be said for southern manners atleast. "Caster taught me a few things, I can find a Leyline with some effort."


    Among other things.


    I was almost envious of his tutge under a Magus from the Age of Gods.


    Howical it is, that given enough time, they could have been a proper team that might have had the potential to fill in for A-Team under the right circumstances. Did Wilhelm know this when he was teaching them? I wouldn''t be surprised; he was keeping a bunch of secrets already.


    And he wasn''t the only one that had ess to a Caster from the Age of Gods. "And Caster Medea." I looked at the final Servant that was summoned since wepleted the Fuyuki Singrity. "I understand that you were only recently summoned and this is not the ideal circumstances for your deployment."


    "That''s an understatement." The hooded woman scoffed from a bit further back with her arms crossed. "I''m not like that muscle head over there who thinks hitting things with a stick is Magic."


    "Wanna go, Witch?" Caster Cu Chinn gestured towards her.


    "If I wanted to y with Pigs, I would have stayed on Circe''s ind."


    "Oh, want some burn cream for that one, Cu?" Da Vinci dipped her head inside at the exact moment.


    "Enough." I interrupted them. "If you can''t put aside your bickering for something as significant as saving the world, then I would rather be a Servant or two down from this operation."


    "Ugh, being chided by a girl barely an adult." Medea huffed. "Fine, I''ll behave." She waved her hand flippantly. "But you''re right, this isn''t a very good ce for me to ''deploy'' as you said. However, I understand how unorthodox my summoning was and how desperate you all are, so I''ll bite my tongue for now. I expect to be used better when the situation calls for it."


    That was a given.


    She wasn''t a Caster like Cu Chinn that focused more on fighting. She was the traditional sort that set up a workshop and won her battles through ample preparation. Unfortunately we didn''t have time for any of that.


    And she was barely here for a week at this point and did not mesh well with the others. The only ones she seemed to even have a smidgen of respect for were Da Vinci, as someone who could keep up with her. And surprisingly, Pierre was able to rein her in at times.


    A report about how they got into an argument and how she threatened to turn him into materials for research and he didn''t back down and threatened to blow himself up via Reinforcement just to spite her.


    Even so, we''ve been unlucky with the repertoire of Servants summoned.


    For deployment, One Saber and Two Casters....not ideal by any means.


    Hopefully there will be Servants within the Singrity open to negotiations likest time.


    And it was getting tiring referring to multipleServants as the same ss title, we would have to do something about that in the future.


    "If there is nothing else, begin final preparations for Rayshifting." I ordered.


    "See you on the other side, Director!" Da Vinci waved before leaving the room. The Other Servants followed after, going to their designated locations to prepare for their own summonings.


    I walked up to my personal Coffin.


    What an apt term for such a device.


    I brushed my hand over the newly noted name tag on it.


    Director Olga Marie Animusphere.


    Looking around at everyone else semi-stumbling into their devices as we''ve practiced a few times thus far, I waited until they were safely in ce before I pressed the release button to open the hatch on mine and I stepped inside.


    I wouldn''t allow any of them to see my anxiety.


    Wilhelm''s familiar moved back to my arms, even within the confined space, it nestled into me and I felt myself calm down while running a hand through its fur.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Do I really have to be tied up!?" Jeanne whined while I carried her over my shoulder.


    "Yes."


    "Will!!!"


    Raikou did a good job.


    Very sexy.


    "Does it hurt?" Raikou asked, mildly concerned.


    "Oh no." Jeanne blinked, her wiggling stopped. "It''s actually kind offortable....."


    "I think the Saintess just discovered a kink."


    "No!!! That''s not what I meant!" She went back to struggling.


    "Ufufufu." Raikou giggled. "I can teach youter~"


    "The patron Saint of Bondage."


    "Nehhhh!!!" She wiggled even more.


    "Calm down there, Miss Saintess." I pat her butt. "I don''t want to drop you."


    "Do I have to see my mother like this!?"


    "You had your chance, now we''re doing things my way." I informed her.


    "What''s she going to say!?" Jeanne cried out.


    "Probably something about not showing your kinks in public. Atleast, I think that''s what my mom would say in your situation..."


    "It''s not ¨C " Jeann puffed up, but her indignation quickly dissipated. "Hey, Wilhelm....did you really mean what you said? About your mom and mine....was I doing the wrong thing?"


    "There''s no real answer to your question, because it''s subjective. From your perspective, you did have a logical and thought out reason for not approaching them. From the other side, well, you already know my feelings. I personally think you were in the wrong, but someone else might think that you were doing the right thing." I gave a more objective and honest reply.


    "But what if I do more harm? Wouldn''t it just be even more selfish for me to go through with this? I know my parents cared about me, and I know they must be hurt, but they continued living. I could be changing things..."


    "Jeanne." I stopped, putting her down so we could talk face to face. "Humans are selfish creatures."


    "...that''s not true."


    "Isn''t it?" I questioned. "Tell me, why do people give to charity?"


    "To help people!"


    "Which people?"


    "Well...um..."


    "Exactly. They''re donating a pittance to some far off family or people that most likely need the help, but it''s probably infantile in scope. It''s because it makes the one doing the donating feel good."


    "That''s a depressing interpretation. Even if they do it for the wrong reasons, they''re still providing help to people in need..."


    "I don''t deny that." I fully acknowledged her argument. "But that''s not the point. Humans are selfish. Why was there even a war happening in France that you needed to get involved in? That''s rhetorical by the way, we both know the answers to that question."


    "...is that how you look at everything? Just everyone being selfish? Do you hate humans?"


    "I think you''re misunderstanding something." I booped her nose. "I don''t hate humans. I actually love humanity. And yes, I think humans are inherently selfish and I don''t separate myself from that category. I''m a very selfish person."


    "Aren''t you here, helping right now?" She retorted.


    "Because people I care about are here." I countered.


    "I don''t believe you." She frowned. "I''ve seen the good in people."


    "Ah, you''re misunderstanding me again." I couldn''t help but poke her again as she was being cute. "I don''t disagree with that. I think it makes it all the more wonderful when someone performs a genuine act of charity or is good just for the sake of goodness. That''s why I admire you so much, because you are someone who wholeheartedly is selfless."


    "I don''t think I''m worth admiring though." She said quietly.


    "I know." I felt my expression soften. "That''s what makes you so beautiful. You don''t put on airs, you don''t even see yourself as a Saintess. You would offer up your life if it meant saving aplete stranger on the other side of the world. You''re the kindest and mostpassionate woman I''ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. The Saintess who willingly called a Devil her friend. And that''s why I''m forcing you to go through with this."


    Her cheeks turned a faint pink. "What does that have to do with forcing me to meet my mother?"


    "Do you remember what I told you when we parted during the war?" I asked softly. "Forget about the rules or consequences. You''re human, you''re entitled to your own selfishness. But I know what you''ll say, because you are the most selfless woman I''ve ever met. I can''t imagine a woman like you not wanting to see her mother. I could see the pain in your eyes when you were trying to convince me through your stupid logic. So, like what I told you before, I''m going to be selfish enough for the both of us."


    "You....dummy." She whispered trembling slightly. "I shouldn''t....it''s wrong and I''m already dead. But....I really want to see my mom..."


    "And that''s why I''m kidnapping you. Your protests are ignored and struggling is futile." I hefted her back up.


    "...thank you, Wilhelm." She whispered again. "Can I please walk?"


    "Nope."


    [***]


    "Master, did you need to cast an illusion?"


    "Well, I didn''t want the entire city hounding me for carrying their Saintess around like this. I think there would be a misunderstanding."


    "A misunderstanding? I couldn''t see why." Jeanne pouted.


    "Is that sarcasm?" I blinked. "Raikou, is that allowed for a Saint?"


    "I don''t believe so, Master. Perhaps we should file aint with the Church."


    "I''m allowed to be sarcastic!" She whined again with a huff. "And I''m surprised to see so many faces I recognize around here. Why are so many of my formerrades living here?"


    "Why else, you silly girl? They''re here to protect your family."


    "But....why would they..."


    "Do you not realize how much you meant to them? Raikou, if she says something about ''not being worth it'' or anything else like that, tighten the ropes."


    "Neh!?"


    "Will do, Master."


    "I swear, you''re like an idiot savant sometimes."


    "Don''t be mean!" Jeanne puffed up.


    I hefted the Saintess off my shoulder and plopped her onto her feet infront of the door and knocked.


    "W-wait, give me a moment. I don''t know what I''m supposed to say!?" Jeanne started panicking, which was rather cute.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll help."


    "Really?" She looked relieved.


    "Yup, trust me." The door opened up, revealing a mature woman that looked nearly identical to Jeanne. "I believe you lost this, Madame." I Pushed Jeanne forward.


    "Jeate!?" Her mother eximed.


    Once the brief look of betrayal disappeared, Jeanne''s expression shifted exponentially. She began trembling again, and infront of her mother, that sort of aura of a Saintess dimmed quite a bit. At this particr moment, she was just a little girl again. "Momma." She called out.


    "My baby!" Her Mom wailed, grabbing her and not letting go.


    I don''t think she even processed that fact that Jeanne was still tied up.


    "You''re here! What happened? Are you okay? My little Jeate!"


    "Momma, I can''t ¨C"


    "Don''t worry, Momma is here now!"


    "This is sweet." I said quietly as I watched them both.


    "You did a good thing, Master." Raikou leaned up to me, sharing the same happy look.


    "You think so?"


    "Mmm, I have met people in the past who were too caught up in helping others that they forget their own happiness."


    "Why are you tied up!?" Jeanne''s mom eventually blurted out.


    "Ooop, that''s our cue, I believe." I stepped forward, interrupting what was otherwise a heartwarming reuinion. "That would be me, Momma Jeanne." I waved.


    She looked at her daughter with her face scrunched, then at me. "Jeate, I love you but be honest.....are you pregnant?"


    "MOM!?"


    "Your chest looks fuller....and youe home with a man..."


    "It''s not like that!!"


    "Are you sure? It''s alright, we can have a quick wedding so you don''t have a child out of wedlock."


    "Jeanne, don''t lie to your mother." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Let''s just be honest."


    "Don''t you start!" Jeanne tried her best to be intimidating.


    "We have a saying back in my country, Momma Jeanne." I cleared my throat. "The Rice has already been cooked."


    "Nooo, mom! Don''t believe him!"


    "Regardless, perhaps we should take this inside?" I offered.


    "Of course." The Madame smiled warmly. "Come in,e in. I''m so happy to see my Jeanne, I thought the worst. Your father and siblings will be so happy to hear the news." She prattled on as we followed through the threshold of the door. "We heard that you died and.....it was hard. But that''s alright, once your fatheres back ¨C"


    "Momma." Jeanne interrupted her. "Those weren''t rumors....I did die."


    "But....you''re right here?" Her mom looked confused. "I don''t understand?"


    "I''m...dead." Jeanne looked down. "I-I....Will, help." She looked to me with pleading eyes.


    "Madame, if you would let me exin, I''m a bit better at this." She didn''t respond but she looked at me expectantly. "Bear with me, because I''m going to be talking about things that are secrets. There exists a ce, when people die, sort of like Heaven. It''s know as the Throne of Heroes. When someone famous and heroic passes on, they can end up in this ce, and they be something known as a ''Heroic Spirit''. It''s possible, under the right circumstances, for a Heroic Spirit to return to Earth."


    "...I don''t understand." She said quietly.


    "God tasked her with stopping the Dragon Witch, so he allowed her to return temporarily." I tried again.


    There seemed to be some faint understanding there, but still not something she was fully grasping. It was one thing to read the Bible, to hear the stories, but another for their Daughter to tell them to their face that they died and God brought them back to save France.


    ....then again, that''s very simr to the reason she gave to ride off into battle.


    "You''re saying that my Jeate was sent by the Lord because she''s a hero?" She repeated.


    "That''s close to urate." I nodded.


    ".....that means you''re gone?" She looked at Jeanne.


    "I''m sorry Momma."


    The tears then started falling down her cheeks. "My poor Jeate."


    "I know this was a bad idea, I shouldn''t havee. Will, please take me and leave, I ¨C "


    "You weren''t going toe?" Isabelle''s eye''s widened.


    "I-I''m not supposed to interact with you now that I''m dead." Jeanne whispered. "And now I just opened up old wounds by being selfish and seeing you, and I should have just stayed away, and ¨C "


    "Jeate, my precious daughter." Her mother interrupted her. "The wounds from your passing will never be old. I will carry them with me until my death. This is hard for me, yes, but this is the greatest blessing I''ve ever been bestowed by the lord other than you and your siblings being born into this world. I''ve had so many things I''ve wanted to tell you. I wanted you to know how loved you were, but I never had the chance to tell you. A mother should never have to say goodbyest, Jeate."


    "I''m so sorry Momma." Jeanne''s eyes watered.


    "Hush, dear. You are forgiven." Her mom gave her another teary hug. "....but why are you tied up."


    "She was resisting." I said simply.


    Jeanne''s mom looked at me in amusement. "She''s not really pregnant, is she?"


    "She is not." I replied truthfully.


    "A shame."


    "Momma!"


    "I told you to find a good man early, Jeate. Why did you take so long to finally bring one home?"


    "It''s not like that!?" Jeanne''s face flushed. "W-we''re friends, mom! Just friends."


    Seems like I''m not the only one that likes to tease Jeanne. Even if the reunion was bitter sweet, Jeanne''s mom was seemingly happy at the return of her daughter.


    Overall, I think I made the correct choice.


    While the two of them were still going back and forth, I took Raikou and snuck away.


    Let them have a little while by themselves, they surely have a lot of things that need to be talked about between them.


    In the meantime, I think we should n our next move.


    What did that person say? Something about a strange knight in a city south of us? Might be worth checking out before heading to Orleans.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 433 - 392

    <h4>Chapter 433: Chapter 392</h4>


    "You have very pretty hair, you should let it out more often." I eyed Raikou as she brushed Jeanne''s hair.


    It may have been odd without the context to go along with it. Currently, Jeanne was dressed as a peasant girl, looking a far cry from her Servant self, and presumably, how she looked during the campaign. If people assumed that this ''Dragon Witch'' was Jeanne, then it''s not a hard conclusion to make that they look simr. Therefore, making Jeanne look different was the most obvious course of action.


    How many French woman had long blonde hair? They probably haven''t seen either of them up close enough to point out any differences.


    "Do you really think so?" Jeanne asked, smiling brightly.


    "Mmm, you need to take better care of it though."


    "Ah....this era isn''t very good for that sort of thing." Jeanne said softly. "It''s weird that I know about this stuff even though this was my home."


    "I can rte." Raikou hummed, continuing to brush her hair. "The modern era that Master and I live in has many amodations that even the Great Families and Shogunate couldn''t even dream about. The hair products I use are so wonderful, and they smell nice."


    "Is that what I was smelling? What is it?"


    "Lavender with a mix of other things." Raikou replied.


    "It is nice, I like it very much." Jeanne continued to be care free as they casually chatted.


    It was pleasant. I very much liked seeing Jeanne like this rather than the mess she was while talking to her mom. They had a much needed talk, and there were many tears on both ends, but they both looked exceptionally better once everything was settled.


    She barely let Jeanne go off again, only the promise that I would bring her back before everything...ended. And I was going to keep that promise.


    "Wilhelm...." I heard Jeanne speak up.


    "Yes?" I turned my head around towards Raikou and Jeanne.


    "Not that I''m ufortable....but why are we riding a cart when we can run many times faster?"


    I adjusted the reins of the horse that was pulling the wagon we were riding. "I wanted to make it obvious we areing and give whoever this ''Dragon Witch'' is the chance to either ambush us or prepare for our arrival in Lyon."


    "Then wouldn''t it be better just to rush to Orleans and confront this Dragon Witch?" Jeanne asked.


    "Usually, that would be my first choice. However...." I thought back to the demon. "I think it''s better to y it safe for the moment and investigate a little. If we''re going to be attacked, frankly, I would rather we confront the Dragon Witch outside of the supposed Stronghold she created."


    Even the weakest Servant can potentially be dangerous, even to me, especially me if they had the right attributes. Granted, I was fairly confident against nearly any Servant we would run across, but again, I wanted to be cautious. The experience that Shakespeare gave me during the Grail War drove that point in.


    I could have ended him with a flick of my wrist at nearly any moment, yet he managed to get me in such a vulnerable position. Add in the fact that Jeanne was certain that this Dragon Witch possessed a Holy Grail, yeah...caution was perhaps the best course of action.


    That, and I was hoping to hear news about Chaldea....


    "Speaking of, now that you have your Ruler abilities back, can you sense the location of Servants?"


    "Vaguely." Jeanne frowned. "They are much too far away to pinpoint."


    "I am impressed that you are able to sense Servants when they are potentially tens of miles away. The city of Orleans is more than a day rides to the west...." Raikou praised.


    "I can sense several Servants at Orleans, or rather in that direction and I''m just assuming." Jeanne responded, rifying her words better. "The exact number is hard to estimate, due to the distance. Atleast Five I want to say. There are a few scattered Servants in the west that are constantly on the move, but they seem to be avoiding Orleans, I believe. And south, the direction we''re heading to Lyon, I can sense....One...? No, it feels like a handful more. Four, maybe Five Servants as well."


    "Interesting." I said simply.


    "Master." Raikou spoke up this time. "If she can sense the location of Servants, would we not know if they were going to ambush or attack openly? I feel your n is wed. Unless you believe them able to hide from Jeanne''s perception."


    "It''s a possibility to consider. This Dragon Witch presumedly cannibalized part of a Ruler''s Saint Graph, I honestly have no idea what they''re capable of. What if there''s a link that she''s able to manipte from her head that gives a false positive? You never know." I shrugged. "But I''m not being intentionallyzy. Once we get to Lyon, I don''t n on being idle. We will ¨C"


    "Several more Servant Signatures just popped up." Jeanne''s head jerked to the side.


    "More?" I raised an eyebrow. "This is starting to get out of hand."


    I was waiting for a sky attack or a Servant Ambush to ascertain the Dragon Witch''s abilities because if she had ess to Ruler''s powers that would be....difficult. I didn''t know if she would be able to affect Raikou with her Command Seals.


    I wanted to nip that kind of possibility in the bud.


    Honestly, there are way too many factors to consider, and I was just taking a shot in the dark here. My only thought was that it was best to let her make the first move.


    But honestly, if she just kept summoning Servants, we may just have to throw caution to the wind and make a dash towards her presumed location.


    I definitely didn''t want to fight against an Army of Servants.


    "I do not believe they are with the Dragon Witch." Jeanne''s gaze fixed towards the distance. "I felt it South West, far enough away from any other Servants that it seemed like they just....appeared."


    That was when I also felt a strong link that was rather weak until only a moment ago. "Ah, it looks like they''ve finally arrive."


    I could feel my Familiar miles away now instead of worlds away.


    We would meet again soon.


    [***]


    "This is terrible." Jeanne covered her mouth as we looked at the ruins around us. The city of Lyon was burnt to a crisp.


    I couldn''t see a single building that wasn''t half destroyed or falling apart amongst ashes and dust. And this was just the outer perimeter. There was still smoke wafting into the wind further head.


    "Master." Raikou spoke up, clutching her sword.


    "I know, I felt it as soon as we entered the city." It was a familiar feeling, one I hadn''t felt in quite a while.


    [Hoooh?] It sounded like Ddraig just opened his eyes as something caught his attention. [I feel something familiar, but I can''t quite ce it.]


    "There is a Servant ahead." Jeanne summoned forth her Servant attire and jumped from the wagon.


    Raikou and I both disembarked. I quickly utched the horse and gave it a soft p on the rear. It didn''t take much for the animal to turn tail and bolt in the opposite direction. Its instincts were definitely acting up.


    "More than one." Jeanne whispered again.


    "I see, so this is why she was acting more erratic all of the sudden." A woman casually walked out from the shadows of the burnt building. She had long purple hair, and wore a white dress with red trimmings and honestly, it was rather revealing. The most eye catching thing about her was the massive cross staff she held over her shoulder.


    The Holy Feeling she gave off was unmistakable, but that wasn''t what caught my attention.


    My Dragon Bits were reacting.


    A Dragon yer.


    [Ha, that''s why I felt nostalgic! It''s that turtle! The stupid turtle that couldn''t fly!] Ddriag let out augh.


    And that was all the hint I needed.


    "Saint Martha." I spoke.


    Her steps paused and she looked at me, blinking. "I don''t know how you guessed that, but you are correct."


    "Be careful, her Saint Graph is all messed up. I can barely see her stats and her ss is reading as Berserker-Rider." Jeanne stated.


    The named Saint Martha tilted her head, looking at Jeanne. "She was right to be wary of you. I thought her mad ramblings nonsense, and it foolish to send me here on a whim, but she was correct."


    "A Saint siding with this Dragon Witch?" Raikou stepped forward. "You are too lucid to be consumed by Madness. Are you unable to control your actions?"


    She let out a small sigh. "I''mpelled to follow her orders, the leash I wear is pulling at me as we speak. Either defeat me and prove you can fight the Dragon Witch. If you can''t ovee me, then you have no hope to face her and the monster shemands."


    "That sounds ominous." I replied. "But I have a question if you don''t mind."


    "What I can answer is limited ¨C "


    "Why are you wearing that?"


    "....pardon?"


    "Was itmon to show off your assets in that era? Was it....Jesus''s tastes?" If so, haved a newfound respect for the Son of God. The cut on her dress was so high that I can see her legs in their entirety and her chest looked like it was going to pop out if she moved too suddenly.


    Honestly, it seems like a valid question.


    Considering what some of the Church imed as ''uniform''s well, I wouldn''t be surprised.


    "...."


    "Will...." Jeanne groaned.


    "I had this strange desire to beat you up even before you spoke, but it seems that feeling intensified." Her expression didn''t change but for some reason, I felt like she was going to make good on that threat.


    "You would target a Master?" I reeled back in faux horror. "I thought you were supposed to be a Saint?"


    "It''s okay, I''ll make sure you live." She raised her dainty little fist up.


    "I''m actually very fragile."


    "It''s okay, the Lord will have mercy." She sounded rather warm and reassuring, oddly enough. "....probably."


    "That doesn''t sound convincing."


    "The Lord works in mysterious ways." She said, still rather expressionlessly, however, she swung her staff and the building she was nearby copsed from the force of it.


    "Jeanne, I choose you." I pushed her forward.


    "It doesn''t matter who fights me." Saint Martha rxed. "Together or one by one, if you can''t even beat me, it doesn''t matter in the end. The ¨C "


    A loud roar resounded and buildings began copsing as something clearly barreled through them, making its way towards us.


    "Another Servant." Jeanne whispered.


    "So he''s here as well." Saint Martha didn''t borate on who he was. "The Dragon Witch summoned him in a frenzy most recently and he is even more uncontroble than the others she twisted."


    It came flying out of the third story of a building, crashing onto the ground with a hint of concern. Covered in an inky malevolent aura, wrapped up in the armor of a knight.


    I recognized him.


    And I felt anger swelling up.


    "Well, I was going to poke you some more to see what else I could get out of you, but I changed my mind." I stared at the new Servant who appeared.


    "W-what?" Jeanne blurted out. "How can a Servant be a Berserker-Berserker!?"


    "I''ll crack him open and find out." I summoned forth Mirage into my hand. "Raikou, handle the lewd Saintess. Jeanne, you pick up any other Servant thates by. I think there''s an Assassin lurking nearby." I vaguely sensed something lurking in the shadows, but I wasn''t entirely sure.


    "As youmand, Master." Raikou answered immediately.


    "But what about ¨C "


    I ignored any protest and moved with a burst of Shunpo, grabbing the head of the Berserk Knight that felt more like a rabid animal, and I threw him through several dpidated buildings.


    The Knight threw off the rubble I had buried him under and merely roared in defiance, not hesitating at all as it grabbed two pieces of wood and red vein-like patterns crawled up them.


    He leapt up, swinging those pieces of wood down upon me and I raised my sword up to block. My sword should have sliced through those burnt pieces of rubble without any meaningful resistance, yet, they were contending with my weapon in durability.


    "Strength far beyond what should be normal." I noted, moving with another burst of Shunpo to avoid his wide arcing swings. He followed up,bining the almosticallyrge swings due to the nature of the ''weapons'' he wielded into his movements to the point where they were sweeping at spots he predicted I would appear.


    There was skill hidden under that madness.


    But I already knew that.


    Again, I met those pieces of wood with Mirage, attempting to cut through them, but failed to do so once again. "Not merely enhanced, but turned into Noble Phantasms." I whispered.


    The Knight roared again, stomping on the ground, sending out a shock wave and threw one of the wood pieces. I brought up Mirage to deflect it, and to my surprise, it crumbled and shattered upon my de. I was genuinely taken back for a moment, that he slipped through my perception and grabbed the remaining piece of wood and swung it with both hands.


    "Bakud¨­ #9, Seki." I cast, and the piece of wood turned Noble Phantasm collided with the repulsive force, sending the rubble flying from the knight''s hands, and once it got far enough it shattered from the ensuing force.


    The Mad Knight barely reacted, instead he mmed his fist into the ground, cratering the surrounding area for dozens of meters.


    He then swung that same fist at me, presumably, his Gauntlet turned into a Noble Phantasm, and his strength enhanced to an absurd degree for a Servant.


    I held my hand up, and caught it.


    I felt the force flow through my body, but I gritted my teeth and bared with it, my Aura ring to match the intensity. The shockwave sent anything in the surroundings that remained scattering to the four winds.


    "Is that all you have, Lancelot Du Lac!?" I let out a roar, shifting my grip to grab his Gauntlet. For the first time, his movements stumbled. As if something sparked in acknowledgement behind that mist of madness that consumed him. Regardless, I grabbed him and threw him in into the wall of this small cavern he had created from his rampage.


    The Knight climbed back to his feet and roared again, but it felt different, like it was more targeted than just a roar of madness.


    His bodynked and he looked ready to go another round but I found myself annoyed.


    I searched through my Ring and found a Sword of good quality and tossed it onto the ground infront of him.


    "As much as you are undeserving of the title, I will not allow one of Artoria''s Knight''s to meet their end empty handed."


    The Mad Knight slowly knelt down and picked up the de, the corrupted veins soaked into the weapon.


    And now, I''m going to feel a lot less guilty about beating the ever-loving crap out of you.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: The Mysterious Red-Headed woman (Part 2)


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH." My screams muffled as I further pushed my head into something rather soft. I don''t honestly know what I was pressed against, I sort of cked out amidst Ddraig''sughter.


    "You''re giving me some mixed signals here." My father....mother.....the woman I slept with ran her fingers through my hair, which normally would be rather rxing, but I didn''t know how I was supposed to feel at the moment. "I think I should be pissed off that your reaction to having sex with me is that you start screaming. But you''re also groping me while doing it into my thighs so....yeah."


    .....I did have my hands caressing her butt and legs.


    They sort of just did them on their own.


    "Wanna talk about it?" She offered.


    Right, talk about it. Like two grown ups, we can discuss this without any misunderstandings.


    "You''re my father!" I blurted out.


    [Nailed it.] Ddraig responded.


    ".....not the weirdest roley I''ve ever heard about.....but I wouldn''t be against giving it a go."


    "Parallel world! Man back home, woman here. I fucked my father!" I don''t know what came over me, but I was swinging my arms around wildly while I exined.


    "....what?"


    "You''re my father!"


    "No, I got that, but what?"


    "You''re my father!"


    ".....what?"


    "I fell to this world by ident. You''re an alternate, female version of my father!"


    "....." She opened her mouth to respond again, but slowly closed it. "I am not equipped to handle this conversation. You''re my.....son?"


    "Yes."


    "...I just fucked my son...?"


    "Yes!"


    "One moment." She calmly got out of bed, fully naked. She didn''t even bother putting clothes on as she walked out the door, leaving it wide open.


    A few momentster, I heard something that sounds an awfully lot like a scream. And I admit, I was....concerned that something happened. I jumped out of bed and rushed out the door, only to see my father with her face buried in thep of Venna, as she screamed.


    [Huh, that''s where you get it from.]


    Fuck off!


    [hehehe.]


    "Oh, you must be the man that Ira brought home." Venna looked over to me with a warm smile. And I then realized that I was too fully nude and standingpletely at attention. "Would you happen to know why she''s acting this way? She just mumbled something about her ''son'' then began screaming into myp." She stopped for a moment. "Apologies, I haven''t introduced myself yet. Venna Gremory, Resheira''s mother."


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service." Was it just a habit to put on my most charming smile? I don''t know, but she eyed a certain part of my biology quite intently. "I''m actually your Grandson."


    ".....pardon?" She blinked in surprise.


    [***]


    Once again, I stared up at the ceiling, sort of out of it.


    This time, my Father joined me.


    We both were rather silent as we stared up nkly at the ceiling, half covered by the sheets.


    "I can''t believe we did it again." She spoke.


    "...yeah."


    "I think it was wonderful." Venna chimed in, and I rolled to my other side to see her happily resting her head on the apanying pillow. "I haven''t had sex like that in far too long."


    "...I fucked my mother." Resheira said quietly.


    "Wee to my world."


    "Was it really that bad for you two?" Venna asked. "I don''t think I''ve lost my touch."


    "It''s worse because that was the best sex I''ve ever had!" Resheira nearly began to cry.


    "Oh, stop being a baby. It was just sex." Venna chided her


    "You''re my mother!"


    "We''re Devils."


    "You''re my mother!"


    "That didn''t stop you from putting your tongue in my mouth. Much less what you had been doing to my other holes not long before. I should thank Grayfia, she''s apparently been good practice for you."


    "Ahhhh!"


    "Besides, you apparently just had sex with your Son." She nced at me. "Which I still am trying to understand how you could have a son without knowing. But he does have your eyes and that same hair."


    "Ahhhh!" I was the one who screamed this time.


    "Maybe we should invite Grayfia to join in next time? It''s been awhile since I''ve had her between my legs. And she''s basically like a daughter to me, it would be fun to have both my daughters together~"


    "Mother!"


    "Oh, stop being such prude. We literally just had sex, you need to get over these small things, Ira."


    "Wait, isn''t Rias your daughter?" I pointed out.


    "That''s what you''re taking away from this!?" Resheira squawked.


    "Oh Rias is far too young and inexperienced for me to have this type of rtionship with." Venna responded. "Grayfia though, that girl is very dutiful. But I''m sure you already know that, she tells me sometimes how she spends hours under your desk on a stressful day."


    "This isn''t happening." Resheira whined.


    "I''ve already decided that this is a dream, so I''ve stopped caring." I said simply.


    "You both are definitely mother and son." Venna rolled her eyes. "I don''t understand the problem with a little family fun. It''s not like anyone was hurt."


    "Not until I kill myself."


    "I get dibs first." She quickly denied. "In fact, I''m going to take a breather." Resheira pushed herself out of bed and walked towards the bathroom.


    "How about another round?" Venna rolled to her side, looking at me.


    "....alright."


    [It''s like a train wreck, but every time a train crashes, the conductor gets out, finds another train, and rides it into the wreckage again.]


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"


    Both Venna and I were startled by the genuine screaming from the bathroom. Resheira practically skid out of it, looking shocked and confused.


    "What''s wrong, dear?" Venna sat up on the bed.


    "I''M PREGNANT!" She screamed.


    "....congrattions?" Venna also was taken back by the sudden announcement.


    But frankly, I had a much different reaction.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH"


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" My ''father'' shared my sentiment.


    [HAHAHAHAHAHAHA] Ddraig roared inughter again. [This is the best day of my life.]


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 434 - 393

    <h4>Chapter 434: Chapter 393</h4>


    The Berserk knight picked up the sword and held it to the side, growls rumbling from within his armor.


    I leveled Mirage towards him. "Come."


    He let out another vibrating roar and charged, shattering the earth with each of his malevolent steps. He swung the sword in his hand in a wide arc, forgoing any sense of skill.


    I twisted my wrist and quickly jabbed the tip of my de at his wrist, removing any power he had behind the blow as he had to reorientate his grip just to keep the de within his grasp. However, he didn''t stop and instead lowered his shoulder and attempted to run me over.


    "That''s not going to work." I hissed in annoyance, lowering the center of my gravity and took it head on. My Aura red as he collided with me, and I felt my footing slip slightly, but I didn''t budge from my spot.


    It was a close thing as his strength right now was about the same as mine. A feat worth acknowledging if nothing else. Without the addition of any other weapons or abilities, he was matching my pure strength.


    Aura, Reinforcement, and general enhancements from everything I''ve passively picked up.


    A Berserker-Berserker indeed.


    He grabbed the wrist holding my sword and tried tosh out at me again, but I simply grabbed his own sword arm. The Berserk Knight iled wildly, growling with each erratic movement, trying to break free. Finally, he simply tried mming his armored head into mine.


    I did blink in surprise as his head smashed into my Aura, but I quickly recovered and returned the favor.


    The stupidity of the action wasn''t lost on me, but I allowed myself this moment to lower myself to his level.


    Truthfully, I think the only other people I would hate from Artoria''s past more than him were Gweneviere and Morgan. And her former Wife was by a very slim margin. Morgan didn''t even need to be mentioned, however.


    The Knight stumbled back a couple steps, but resumed his attack.


    Almost like he was falling forward, his sword moved from overhead in a full arc. I took a half step to the side, letting the de cleave arge chasm out of the ground at the spot I had been standing.


    I shed at his chest, my de finding resistance against his Armor. I had to put a significant amount of force to push through the wafting curse that enveloped him and to dig into his armor before I felt it connecting with his flesh.


    Arge cut opened up along his midsection as bleed seeped outward.


    However, I frowned in response.


    Even as a Berserker, his skill shouldn''t have been downgraded this far. His movements were so predictable, sure there was a shadow of something left behind, but it was a far cry from someone acknowledged as the most skilled Knight.


    Was it a side effect of his summoner forcing another sequence of a Berserker Saint Graph oveid on top of his own?


    He was certainly stronger, physically, than his normal Berserker self if my memories of the Fourth Holy Grail War were anything to go by. Even Artoria couldn''t casually bring the same amount of strength in each movement without utilizing a good chunk of Magical Energy topensate.


    He immediately tried to swipe his sword out again, but I merely took a step back with Shunpo, to avoid the strike and the following frenzy of shes at my person.


    He roared, leaping up at me, but once more, I took another step with Shunpo, appearing in front of him and drove my de through his chest. Or rather, I attempted to, I got part way through him before he grabbed my sword with his own hand, and ignored his wound in favor of swinging his sword down.


    I gathered my Aura to deflect it, avoiding any true damage, but he managed to tear out a good chunk, and even tearing part of my Holy Shroud up.


    I opted tosh out with my leg, kicking him free from my attempt at impalement and sent him tumbling across the ground.


    "It pisses me off." I flicked the blood off the tip of my de. "Even Artoria acknowledged you as the better Swordsman. She had nothing but praise for your skill, and this is what you give me?"


    The Berserker ignored the wounds on his body and stood back up, roaring in fury. I could feel the vibrations through the air.


    Well, I guess I''d take a page out of Achilles'' book.


    If he was going to ignore his own damage to try and reciprocate, I simply wouldn''t give him the chance.


    I moved, dispersed air and lightning arcing across the ground in my wake.


    His head slowly turned to barely keep up, but my de was already grinding across his right side, slicing into his armor.


    It was a shallow cut, but I didn''t dwell on it.


    His de only met empty air as I kicked off the spot again, moving to his other side. I dragged Mirage down, tearing into his left arm, and again, he moved tosh out at the spot I was in a moment before disappearing.


    I gathered my Reiryoku and Lightning and with a thunderp, I felt myself elerate even further. Mirage dug into his back, and before he could turn around, I stabbed through his right thigh. Not allowing him to fall to the ground, my knee connected with the side of his helmet, sending him rolling across the ground.


    I continued, turning into a streak of lightning, shing all over his body without giving him the chance to respond. The small wounds umted to the point where blood was covering his ck armor.


    "I wonder how she would react if she saw this trash you became? She forgave you, y''know." I said, sending five Birds, at him with a flick of my wrist.


    Lancelot trembled, his legs looked like they were starting to get weak from my constant attacks. He barely moved to deflect my attack.


    "She still forgave you of any me and took it all on herself."


    He almost fell forward, but stabbed his sword into the ground to hold himself up.


    I gave him a moment to catch his breath because I had another purpose for trying to rile him up.


    "Nothing?" I questioned, and he didn''t even react. "I guess I expected too much. I guess I''ll have to tell Artoria that she was wrong, you were never worthy of her respect."


    Again, there was nothing so I gave up.


    Let''s just end this, there was no point in dragging it out since he wascking his true skill and his enhanced stats definitely didn''t make up for that fact.


    I moved again, my Mirage shed through the air, aiming at his neck, but it stopped. I raised an eyebrow because it didn''t budge an inch.


    Lancelot was holding my wrist, catching my arm.


    "AARrrrtHUrrrrr." For the first time, Lancelot spoke. It was distorted and sounded painful to hear, but he forced out a word under the effects of double Mad Enhancement.


    "So you are in there somewhere." I looked into the glowing eyes of his helmet. "That''s good, because you don''t get to get off that easily." I clenched my free hand and swung at his armored-covered face.


    His head snapped back and he was forced back half a step, but he barely reacted otherwise. A low growl was all that I got from him.


    The de in his hand swiped upward. It was notably crisper than his earlier movements. Itcked the wide arcs and immense strength forced into it.


    I dropped Mirage out of the hand he was still clutching tightly, and caught it with my other, bringing it up to block his attack.


    He immediately twisted his wrist the moment they connected and shifted to a stab. I was forced to tilt my own de to deflect it to the side. Sparks flew, and with a roar, he pushed forward, releasing my hand and used his body to shift me off bnce.


    I was forced back a step and he pressed his new advantage,shing out with sharp shes at any opening I had. I met each of his attacks with a parry, regaining my own initiative and returning each strike with one of my own.


    The flurry of blows sent off shockwaves, the shing of steel was the only thing to be heard in the abandoned city.


    And with each moment that passed, Lancelot''s movements gradually became quicker and more precise. When he parried my attack, it took less and less of his own physical strength to achieve and instead his reactions were bing gentler ironically.


    He was no longer throwing around his significant strength but opting for consistency and forcing openings by dragging me to defend certain ways.


    It was still far from what I would expect of someone who imed superiority over Artoria, but this was a massive improvement from mere minutes ago.


    And I felt like he would continue to improve if this continued.


    But it was enough for my purposes.


    Berserkers generally had poor Magic Resistance.


    I gathered Lightning around my feet, and stomped.


    With a thunderp, all the lightning was discharged and Lancelot took the brunt of it. The Armored Knight lurched and was sent flying backwards. I caught up to him by moving with Shunpo, with a Magic Circle spinning around my hand, I poured in perhaps more Magical Energy than needed, but I was erring on the side of caution.


    "Lightning Strike." I cast, calling upon a summoned bolt of Lightning to drop from the sky.


    The Berserker was hit head on, the bolt of Lightningrge enough that he disappearedpletely within the light of the attack for the brief moment it actualized.


    Steam and smoke simmered off of him and his body rocked back and forth, his arms limp and his sword dropping to the ground.


    He was already pretty hurt, and continued pushing on, so I wasn''t surprised when he copsed to the ground without moving.


    Might have been harder if he wasn''t conceptually aligned to be more susceptible to Lightning as an element due to his rtion to Water.


    Knight of the Lake was more than just a title in his case.


    Regardless, I didn''t care to think about it any longer. I grabbed his leg and began dragging him back to where the others were.


    Let''s see if we can''t remove the Mad Enhancement on him between the three of us.


    [***]


    Jeanne POV


    "Shouldn''t we go help him?"


    "Master can handle it himself." Minamoto-no-Raikou replied, focusing on Saint Martha instead. "Master implied that there may be another Servant, I will handle this woman."


    "B-but, that Knight was dual sses! His stats were all wrong! I know he fought Servants before ¨C "


    "Master recently fought my father and walked away unscathed." She said dismissively.


    "Your....father?" I tilted my head in questioning until realization set in.


    The Grail filled my mind with knowledge on who she was and who her father was....


    "Oh..."


    ...how strong was he now?


    I remember him fighting multiple Servants before and being awed that he was capable of that but....


    "You sure you don''t want to fight me together?" Saint Martha asked politely.


    "I am enough." Raikou replied.


    Saint Martha sighed helplessly at Raikou''s insistence. "I have to go all out when I encounter a Servant, so I apologize ahead of time." She stated, raising her hand forward. "A Miracle!" She dered, and her Magical Energy surged. "O'' Traig Drake who knew naught of love....like a star!" The shadow behind her distorted and two massive eyes shone within it.


    The ground rumbled as a massive leg stepped outwards, and a roar apanied it that copsed the nearby buildings.


    "Tarasque." Saint Martha named the beast.


    A Dragon.


    Why was a Dragon yer able to summon a Dragon? That shouldn''t be correct, right? Why would Saint Martha be able to summon the Dragons she defeated instead of having a Noble Phantasm to fight against dragons!?


    And why did it look like it was part turtle!


    It even had a massive shell on its back.


    "Impressive beast." Raikou said, making me snap my head towards her as she wasn''t disturbed at all! "I suppose I will be ying another dragon today."


    ....what''s happened to her since thest time we met?


    Saint Marth didn''t reply, instead, she leaped up into the air, reeling back her cross-shaped staff and.....pped the Dragon with it.


    The Dragon recoiled into its shell, and fire was let loose from the hole where its head retreated as it spun at high speeds, shooting towards Raikou.


    I think we were both utterly shocked at the means of attack that we sort of both just stood there.


    Raikou did eventually move and I was forced to as well. She shot off as the creature''s spike shell tore through the surroundings, spinning through the streets full of half-destroyed buildings and bouncing around until it came flying back at high speeds.


    Saint Martha didn''t stay put and watch, she was already colliding with Raikou, both of whom shed weapons right in the middle of the street.


    I was surprised to see the Saintess not lose out in terms of strength. I could see her ridiculous stats, but to see someone who shouldn''t have had muchbat experience in life match Minamoto-no-Raikou was....odd.


    The Dragon''s body reappeared, and its head was still spewing mes outward as its legs now carried it through the falling buildings towards us once more.


    I hesitated slightly before moving myself. I used my banner to smack the Dragon as hard as I could. It barely moved, more like it was nudged to the side gently inparison.


    However, it turned its head towards me in anger.


    "Please don''t attack me?" I asked politely.


    ....I think that made it even angrier because the mes suddenly spewed forth from its mouth again.


    I ducked and dashed to the side to avoid the worst of it, but the heat was intense, enough that I felt threatened even through my Magic Resistance.


    All I saw was a purple blur as Raikou mmed into its side, making it fly into another building, the rubble copsing on it.


    "You don''t need to interfere." She stated, looking back towards Saint Martha who was running at her.


    "I want to help!" I dered.


    I wasn''t the regtor of a Grail War, that meant that I could fight too!


    And I wanted to help Wilhelm and Berserker.


    She smiled. "The dragon would be difficult to deal with on my own. I feel as if it is about the strength of the one I fought previously and during that encounter, I had someone to aid me."


    "I may not be as good a fighter, but you can count on me."


    "Then I will leave my back to you."


    The Tarasque burst through the rubble, and Martha ran down the street on the other end.


    Raikou looked at me and then to the Dragon and I got the hint. We both broke up towards our own foes, and I moved towards Martha.


    "Please forgive me, Lord." I quietly prayed as I attempted to fight one of his favored.


    "You will not defeat the Dragon Witch with thatcking resolve." Martha shouted, and she punched towards me.


    I brought up my banner to block, but it was heavy. I almost fell over just from the strength behind her attack.


    Was this because she was a dual ss!? Her Mad Enhancement was ranked B++ that I could see with my ability. Yet she was so lucid, it didn''t make sense!


    She stomped on the ground and shattered the earth beneath us and continued to swing her fists at me, each one strong enough to send that massive Dragon flying like before.


    "Why are you punching me!? Don''t you have a weapon?" I squeaked out, ducking below one of her fists.


    "Are you implying that I should use the Lord''s Cross as a weapon?" She looked at me with mild amusement despite the fact that she continued trying to kill me.


    "T-that''s not what I meant!" I swung my Banner at her, but she blocked it with her arm easily.


    "Hehe, you''re quite cute." Saint Martha smiled, summoning her staff from its Astralized state. "It''s the first time I''m fighting another Saint, please show me everything you have."


    ....strangely, I didn''t want to embarrass myself in front of her. I felt weird about fighting her, someone who I revered, but her words were oddly encouraging despite the strange circumstances.


    "I will defeat you." I lifted my banner up, epting her challenge.


    Martha continued to smile, and she reeled her arm back and threw her staff like a spear. I moved out of the way of the obvious attack, confused at her actions, but I realized the folly of that only as she ran past me.


    I jerked my head back to see Raikou in the air, dodging out of the way of the Dragon''s breath, and the staff sailing through the air at her.


    She deflected it away, but Martha jumped off of the Dragon''s head, and caught the staff in the air, swinging it towards Raikou.


    Wilhelm''s Servant managed to block it time, but she shot to the ground, with the Dragon spinning again, threatening to run her over with its spiked shell.


    I looked down at my own banner, and looked up at the oing dragon.


    .....if Martha did it, then it shouldn''t be sphemous....right?


    I didn''t think about it again, and copied her, throwing my Banner with all my strength at the oing Dragon.


    The Holy Power around my banner collided with the rampaging beast, and it halted his advance, stunning it in ce.


    Raikou grabbed my Banner and retreated back to me, gratitude shined on her face even if no words were spoken.


    "Impressive." Saint Marthanded on the Dragon''s head, making the beast whine.


    She was being very mean to her Dragon....


    "You were able to wound the Tarasque." Saint Martha stated, pointing down to cuts running at random points on its body. "I didn''t think I would meet an enemy in this ce that was able to pierce through its mighty defenses. Perhaps there is hope if you''re able to do this much."


    "Ruler." Raikou spoke, gripping her de with her Lightning flowing around her. "Get ready, we will end this fight by ying the dragon."


    "Are you able to?" Martha tilted her head. "The small cuts you''ve made are nowhere near enough."


    "Leave it to me." I stepped in front of her, guessing what she wanted me to do.


    Martha leapt into the air again. "Then let''s see if you''re able!" She shouted, swinging her staff down and hitting the Tarasque, sending it flying at high speeds in our direction again.


    "Our Lord is with us!" My banner unfurled. "Oh g of mine, protect ourrades," I nted it into the ground, standing unwavering in front of the rampaging dragon with destructive fire spewing in all directions. "Luminosite Eternelle!"


    The spinning dragon collided with my barrier, but I had faith that it would stand.


    "If youmand it so....then I Raikou shall be an Oni." I felt the Magical Energy fluctuate as her Noble Phantasm was invoked. "Ox-King Storm Call ¨C The Inescapable of Heaven!"


    Four Purple Lightning Bolts fell from the sky, materializing four copies of her, each wielding a different weapon. The one holding a bow shot an arrow of wind at the Dragon, dispersing its mes. The Spear was like water, flowing through the defenses of the Dragon, piercing deep into its hide, forcing the beast to roar in pain. There was another with a sword covered in me that attacked from the front, blinding the beasts even if the heat was ineffectual to a Dragon. The Fourth was a Golden Axe that carried with it the weight of the earth, smashing down on its armored-back, cracking the shell beneath.


    Lastly, Raikou herself summoned Divine Lighting, It wrapped around her de and she swung it. I waited in anticipation, but I nearly fell over once I saw it miss.


    Therge discharge of Lightning went right past the Dragon, and even the disastrous beast nearly squawked in confusion.


    I turned back to look at Raikou, but she too was no longer there.


    It was only when the Dragon slumped to the ground and dissipated that I realized what happened. Looking forward, I could see Raikou with her sword impaled through Saint Martha, the remnants of the Lightning arcing across the ground.


    "Berserker!?" I ran up to them as she pulled her sword free. "What happened!?"


    "What a silly trick I fell for." Martha chuckled with blood leaking from her mouth.


    "It is obvious to remove the dragon by defeating the summoner." Raikou simply replied. "I simply used my Noble Phantasm as a distraction and hid inside it to strike you without the beast''s interference."


    .....how clever.


    She hid inside that burst of Lightning and followed along it to reach Martha without her noticing.


    "I guess it doesn''t matter, a defeat is a defeat. You would have probably beaten me either way. I only needed a few exchanges to see how strong you were, it was merely a matter of how long it took." The Saintess slumped. "I disobeyed her Orders a few days ago and hid away the Dragon yer that resided here. That''s why I was forced to burn the town away, she forced me to attack after learning about his existence."


    "Who''s the Dragon Witch?" I asked.


    "I can''t say, I''m sorry." She smiled helplessly. "Something happened about a day ago, and she suddenly became more erratic. She tightened the leash around us out of paranoia." Her hand started to turn into Mana and drift away in the wind. She turned to Raikou. "Thank you for defeating me. I didn''t want to do this, to hurt all those people...."


    "I would have liked to fight you properly." Raikou smiled wryly.


    "I''m not really much of a fighter." She waved her remaining hand dismissively.


    "I''m sorry you had to go through that. It must have been difficult to be forced to hurt so many people against your will."


    Saint Martha looked at me andughed happily despite her disappearing. "You are a sweet girl,e here." She held her arm out and pulled me into a hug. I was surprised, but I didn''t feel any malicious intent. "Don''t let your faith waver with what you see. Believe in yourself no matter what, alright?"


    "I-I will do as you say?" I didn''t know what she was talking about.


    Sheughed again as her body mostly disappeared, her remaining hand cupped my cheek. "He would have adored you." She spoke onest time before finally returning to the Throne of Heroes.


    "I only caught the end of that, were you two fighting a giant turtle?" Wilhelm''s voice entered our ears as we turned around to see him dragging the unconscious body of the Servant he disappeared fighting earlier.


    "Master!" Raikou smiled brightly, going over to greet him. "Are you hurt?" She inspected every inch of him.


    "I''m fine, I''m fine." He reassured her. "It''s funny, actually. He was less dangerous because of the additional Madness added on. It sort of covered his actual skill as he was just throwing around raw power most of the time."


    "You know who this is? I can''t see their name, it''s hiding from my ability even as a Ruler." I asked.


    "I just happened to see him before." Wilhelm stated. "He''s Lancelot Du Lac."


    "....oh." Raikou''s expression changed and she didn''t have a kind look in her eyes as she stared down at him.


    "Uh...why did you bring him here?" I asked in confusion.


    "I''m d you asked!" He pped his hands. "We''re going to conduct an experiment and attempt to remove his Mad Enhancement."


    "W-what?" I blinked.


    "Don''t worry, he volunteered."


    Why did that make it sound worse!?


    "And worst case, he dies." Wilhelm shrugged. "Nothing of value would be lost."


    "Master, are you saying that because of Artoria?"


    "Actually, I was saying that because he''s French."


    I don''t know why, but I felt the sudden desire to hit him with my banner.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 435 - 394

    <h4>Chapter 435: Chapter 394</h4>


    "Master, when you removed my Madness, it required Grandfather and the Grail to aplish." Raikou gently reminded me as if I was about to do something foolish.


    Jokes on her, because this was probably a step past that.


    "Can you really save him?'' Jeanne questioned.


    "....maybe?" I honestly wasn''t too sure of it myself. "I have an idea with all of us assembled here. I have several tools avable....every one of them by themselves or even paired would probably fail, but together with your status as Ruler and Raikou''s Noble Phantasm, I think we may have a shot."


    Either way, he had to be taken care of. He was a Berserker servant with another Berserker Saint Graphyered on top of his own and he was working for the enemy. We couldn''t just haul him around with us forever and keep him sedated.


    "Did your Grandfather not say it was immensely difficult even with his own hand and the Grail though?" Raikou seemed somewhat skeptical. "I do not recall exactly, but I think he equated it to surgery with a chainsaw...."


    "That sounds about right." I nodded.


    "We have neither of those here." Raikou added.


    "That''s also correct."


    "What is your n?" Raikou asked.


    "We''re going to metaphysically bludgeon him until he stops being a Berserker."


    ".....would it not be kinder to simply put him out of his misery?" Jeanne asked.


    "Master, perhaps you should consider when the Saintess is opting for a mercy kill." Raikou agreed.


    "Jeez, why are you both so bloodthirsty?"


    "I am not!" Jeanne huffed. "Your n just seems...."


    "Let me ask you this, in all seriousness." I put a hand on her shoulder. "What exactly do we have to lose?"


    "....would it hurt him?" She looked down at the unmoving Servant.


    "He''s a double Berserker. I would honestly be surprised if he wasn''t experiencing excruciating pain on a mental level by just existing in that state."


    "Master, do you truly believe you can seed or are you simply angry at him on Artoria''s behalf and want him to suffer?" Raikou asked.


    "95% of the former." I answered honestly. As much as I wanted him to experience how much Artoria suffered, this wasn''t how I would go about it. But I freely admit I wouldn''t be upset at any pain or unpleasantness that may arise.


    "Tell me what you need me to do." Raikou nodded.


    "Your Mystery yer ability, I think we can utilize it here." I pointed towards the ck mist that was pulsing around him. "That misty substance is tied to his summoning as a Berserker and should be a passive Noble Phantasm in its own right. Not in a way that we can simply disperse it and he''ll be fine and dandy, but enough that attacking it may put pressure on his Madness. We''re trying to reach below his Mad Enhancement."


    "His Madness is different than mine." Raikou noted.


    "Yeah, his is more of a curse than a mental influence."


    And his Madness should be much lesser in rank. In that, it was something added on due to his actionster in life and crystallized by story and legend. Raikou, inparison, had a warped view her entire life and that was merely disyed through the status of Mad Enhancement.


    "And Jeanne, how good are you at removing curses?" She was a Saintess, by virtue of her existence she should have some manner of dispelling for evil statuses on her Servant Sheet.


    "I can handle some things, but this is...." She paused. "I don''t have any confidence in this, Will. Removing someone''s Mad Enhancement, that''s far beyond what I''mfortable saying I can do."


    "That''s fine, I just need you to try your best, I don''t expect you to do everything yourself."


    "Alright, I''ll trust you." She gave a warm smile.


    "I won''t betray your trust." I returned a simr one. "Now, what I need everyone to do first Is get naked." I said with apletely serious face.


    ".....can I retract my words?" Jeanne asked.


    "Nope." I quickly denied.


    Jeanne puffed up, smacking my shoulder.


    "Master~" Raikou giggled. "If you want me to get naked, you don''t need to make up a reason."


    "No stripping!" Jeanne squeaked out.


    "It''s crucial for this to seed." I delivered evenly.


    "It is not!" She huffed, turning a light shade of red. ".....right?"


    "I want to say yes...but it would honestly be distracting. I probably wouldn''t be able to focus and would have just stared the entire time." I was honest with my reply.


    "D-don''t say something like that." She covered her face.


    "Alright alright. Thest thing we need is another lewd Saintess running around. Though...considering the outfit you have when not in your Servant attire, that may be toote."


    "It''s not my fault!" Jeanne whined. "I didn''t choose that clothing."


    "Big G did, which makes it even more suspicious considering what Martha was wearing....." I looked over to Raikou. I wanted her in something simr now.


    A school girl uniform for Raikou...


    Or maybe a Teacher?


    Regardless, I was getting side tracked.


    "Anyways, let''s not lose ourselves in Jeanne''s deviancy ¨C"


    "Neeeh!"


    "¡ªWe need to focus and try to remove his Mad Enhancement."


    "A question, Master." Raikou interjected.


    "Yes?"


    "Why do you desire to free him of his shackles beyond any moral quandary?"


    "I may not need another Servant, but there are others who would benefit from him." We were already told that Chaldea arrived, so I didn''t need to overly exin that again.


    Call me a worry wort, but I would feel morefortable if I could give them another Servant after experiencing the hand behind the curtain here.


    And my dislike for Lancelot aside, he was a top tier Servant,parable to Artoria.


    Jeanne mentioned that several more Servants appeared, so that means they had sessfully summoned them back at Chaldea, but more could never hurt.


    I took out a stack of Talismans and went through them, mulling over the best way to go about this. Taking a dozen or so into my hand, I began cing them on the unconscious knight''s body. "He''s going to wake up and most likely rampage as soon as we start."


    "I will not allow him to act as he pleases." Raikou stated.


    Well, that was partly the role I had for her regardless.


    I pricked my finger, letting blood seep out and pushed it against the top of his helmet over his head and drew a Thurisaz Rune. The symbol of obstacles and oveing difficulties. Over his heart, I drew a Uruz Rune, that which determined willpower while also inherently holding the power of Soul Shaping and Spiritual Progress. And then I linked them with a Kenaz Rune for Spiritual Guidance and painful healing.


    It wasn''t quite a Runic Sentence for a spell, but rather to draw upon their base characteristics to make our actions flow properly.


    And I used my own blood as a catalyst to set the Runes to fight against his Magic Resistance.


    "Get into position."


    Jeanne slowly knelt down and moved Lancelot''s head onto herp as she carefully ced her hands on top of his helmet "I''m ready."


    "Begin." I ordered, and Jeanne closed her eyes and began to pray.


    A Baptism Rite.


    I felt my Devil Nature bubble to the surface in annoyance. The words she began to speak were grating on me, but my own Divinity swelled up to calm me down.


    The Servant however began twitching, the sockets on his helmet shed brightly as it was obvious he was now awake.


    "Stab him in the stomach."


    Raikou didn''t question my order and her de immediately shot down, impaling him through his midsection.


    The Knight let out a painful roar while Jeanne continued to hold his head steady and chant.


    There was even a Holy Power that became visible as it seeped into him, however, he was still struggling even with the previous wounds I gave him and Raikou''s sword sticking out of his stomach.


    "Left arm, then right arm." I said again, watching that ck mist of his shift around.


    If I was correct, it wasn''t a Noble Phantasm specific to her Berserker ss, but rather one of his passive Noble Phantasms that became warped due to his Madness. Therefore, cutting through it with her Mystery yer would have elicited a response, which is what I wanted. I wanted his Mad Enhancement to re up.


    "Cleave away any chunks of this mist that you can." I stated, as she pulled her de free from his arm.


    "Will....this isn''t working." Jeanne stated. "Anything I do, any progress I make just gets undone a momentter."


    "My turn then, just keep going." I replied, putting my hand over his heart, pushing down to ease his thrashing.


    Probably the key point of why I wanted to attempt this little experiment. If I didn''t know the Thu''um or rather, the bits that I did know, then I wouldn''t have any confidence doing this.


    If he was a regr Berserker, I could probably just have Jeanne cleanse his mind and make him lucid enough to operate normally. But how he was now, well, this Dragon Witch added anotheryer of Berserker to him as a weapon.


    So what better method than to disarm it.


    Zun ¨C Weapon.


    Haal ¨C Hand


    Viik ¨C defeated


    The three words that made up the Shout to disarm an opponent. The thing is, Dragon words aren''t a perfect trantion to humannguages.


    For starters, Dragons don''t have hands. So why would there be a Dragon Word specifically for a limb that they don''t possess? I have no doubt that this word is the closest approximation to what a hand is, but that was probably more of a meaning added on over time as various races be more predominant.


    Rather, it means something along the lines of ''grasp'' in context.


    What someone is possessing, they are holding. If someone was swinging at me with a sword in their mouths, I was fairly sure that the shout would work just as well.


    And what was this Madness of his but a weapon in his possession? The Dragon Witch certainly made it into a weapon through her meddling. And I suppose it''s ironic that I would be using the Words of a Dragon to undo her works.


    "Zun Haal Viik" I spoke, altering the world as the strange sybles left my mouth.


    Intent was vastly important in using a system of Divine Words like the Thu''um.


    And speaking the words, I added what I wanted through my intent, thus targeting Lancelot.


    His torso jerked and he made a strange gurgling noise amidst his usual roars.


    It didn''t work.


    There was an obvious reaction, but he was still trashing about as Raikou restrained him as best as she could while doing what I asked.


    "Zun Haal Viik." I shouted again.


    Once more, his body jerked and he let out another strange noise, but continued his erratic movements again.


    "Raikou, stab him through the Rune I put above his heart." In for a penny, in for a pound as they say.


    "Master ¨C "


    "Trust me."


    She nodded, and quickly stabbed right through his armor, piercing into his heart from above.


    The Knight wailed and continued to fight against her, but it was obvious his strength was failing quickly.


    Perhaps, we just need a push from the other end?


    I ced a hand on my own chest, calling upon Artoria''s Sheath, retrieving it from within myself. Strangely, he became almost cid when presented with it, but I didn''t dwell too much on his new attitude, and quickly inserted it into him so he wouldn''t die.


    A Servant''s Mad Enhancement was....natural, as weird as it was to say. It was something intrinsic to their summoning, a core part of their makeup. Which is why it needed the Grail to remove Raikou''s originally.


    What happened here, I can only summarize that Martha''s and Lancelot''s additions were added after the fact, thus making them something foreign.


    Avalon repelled foreign invasions of nearly any kind. And it would keep him alive as I had Raikou stab him through the heart on purpose.


    "I''m making progress." Jeanne blurted out. "It''s getting a lot easier now, I think something''s giving."


    One more time then.


    "Zun Haal Viik." I poured my intent and power into the Divine Words and a wave of energy swept up around him.


    Something invisible also rippled around him, and like a burst of air, it popped and exploded outwards all around us.


    Lancelot didn''t move, and the malice around him subsequently began to lessen at a visible rate. His Passive Noble Phantasm also looked like it was flickering on and off before fading entirely. The true form of his armor appeared from underneath the wafting aura of hate.


    Jeanne slowly set him down on the ground and took a step back while Raikou retrieved her sword and also stood back.


    "Master, did you seed?" Raikou asked softly.


    "That would depend on Jeanne''s efforts."


    "I....don''t know. I think I managed to push it down for now?" She sounded unsure.


    And I couldn''t me her, it''s not like there was an instruction manual for this sort of thing. A temporary lucidity was fine too, because we can just keep his sanity with a checkup every time he starts to descend again. The main concern was whether his secondary Madness would take hold, but we could keep an eye on that too.


    We all stilled as he moved.


    Slowly, and quietly, he climbed to his feet. It was awkward movements, denoting how weary he must have been after both fighting and our little operation, and even his legs shook just to stand properly. Gradually, his hands moved up to his helmet, and he began sliding it off, revealing a pale face underneath.


    You could objectively call him handsome, and I think nearly everyone would agree. He hadvender hair that flowed down to his shoulder, sharp eyes, and a well shaped jawline. However, something was...wrong. Hecked the same kind of radiance you would expect. There was almost a shadow that hung over his head, and a hint of despair and sadness that marred his face.


    "I''m ¨C "


    I punched him.


    His head nted into the ground, sliding a few feet before he came to an abrupt stop and just slumped down, unmoving.


    "Bwah!?" Jeanne eximed, rather confused and shocked at my sudden action.


    "Did you get it out of your system master?" Raikou hummed.


    "Yeah, I think I''m good now." I certainly felt better.


    "Y-you!?" Jeanne pointed at me and then to him.


    "I think it''s time for a reunion." It was strange how much better a mood I was suddenly in. On a side note, I''m reminded of how annoying it was to work with the Thu''um. I considered myself talented on most Magics, but using Dragon Words was something I don''t think I''ll ever have much talent for. If not for Ddraig, I would probably barely know a word or two.


    "Why don''t we go find my wayward familiar? I miss that little rabbit."


    "Oh, the other Saintess told us about a Dragon yer here. Perhaps we should acquire them as well? They were not allied with this Dragon Witch from the words spoken." Raikou replied.


    "A Dragon yer?" I blinked. "Well, that would have been nice to know a few minutes ago...." I looked at the prone body of Lancelot. "I guess more Servants are always better, but I may not have gone through the trouble if we could have just grabbed another Servant so easily....oh well." I simply shrugged. "Alright, let''s go find this supposed Dragon yer then we go meet up with some old friends."


    Almost as if on cue, the Knight pushed himself up to roll over, staring at the sky.


    "Am I in hell?" He spoke, perhaps to no one in particr.


    "Well, this is France so.....depends on your perspective I guess."


    He looked at me through his groggy eyes. "I....the memories are confusing." He held his head. "I am Lancelot Du Lac, Knight of the Light." He introduced himself.


    "Nice to meet you, Lancelot." I held my hand up and he happily took it as I pulled him up to his feet. "I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, the new Queen of Camelot."


    "....pardon?'' He stared at me nkly.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m /astoryforone

 Chapter 436 - 395

    <h4>Chapter 436: Chapter 395</h4>


    Watching the confusion on his face was amusing.


    Frankly, I would be content to let him think whatever oundish ideas were currently bouncing around his head, but I decided to take pity on him. Probably due to the gentle nudging by Raikou. She was giving me that ''you had your fun'' look and I didn''t want to upset her.


    "Don''t over think it. It''s just a joke between Artoria and I." I said simply.


    Something told me that he didn''t understand, but that wasn''t the thing he focused on. "You know my King''s true name?!" His eyes widened.


    "Do you not remember anything from when we fought?"


    "I ¨C I..." He clutched his head. "It''s too blurry, I do not recall anything other than the sensations."


    I supposed that made sense. He was basically on auto pilot at that point. And he''s no Hercules who can ovee their madness through sheer will.


    Lancelot let out a low growl as that malevolent mist began to seep out once more. All of us were ready to react, but a faint light pushed it away, allowing him to settle down.


    "What...?" He even sounded confused.


    "Looks like Avalon is doing its job." I mused.


    "Avalon!?" Lancelot once more blurted out in utter shock.


    "Are you sure he''s going to be okay?" Jeanne asked. "And should we not be worried about the Dragon Witch taking control of him?"


    "I''m fairly sure that the Dragon Witch doesn''t have the basic Servant-Master rtionship. I don''t think she has anymand seals. Based on the evidence I''ve seen thus far; I''m guessing that the Berserker additions to each Servant act as a substitute to force them to bend to her will. Now that the additional Berserker ovey had been....suppressed, perhaps even removed from him, then he should be free from her control." I summarized.


    "Should the normal Madness not be present though?" Raikou questioned. "We merely removed the extra portion. A Servant''s Mad Enhancement should not be so easily removed."


    "No, that''s still there. Which is why I''m not entirely sure one way or another on his Berserker statuspletely. But I would guess that it was also suppressed due to everything we did as it is more akin to a Curse." And it was probably a rather low ranking one at that inparison to other Servants.


    Even Avalon couldn''t suppress it forever. His basic abilities from his Servant Container would rear their ugly head eventually. Avalon was many things, but something that could alter one''s Saint Graph was not one of them.


    "Anyways, let''s go find this Dragon yer so we can get going." I turned to Jeanne. "Can you sense a Servant nearby?"


    "It''s faint, but I think I can feel one further into the city." Jean furrowed her brow.


    "Halt!" Lancelot slid out in front of us. "I demand answers!" His eyes turned serious. "Why do you possess my King''s sacred Sheath? Why do you know my King''s true name."


    "Technically, you''re the one with the Sheath at the moment." I pointed out.


    "I will not hear your jests any longer." He held his hand up and summoned a very particr weapon. It was ckened, even pulsating with a hint of malevolence, but that wasn''t enough to hide what it truly was.


    The sister sword to Excalibur.


    Arondight, one of three Swords of the. It even had Fairy Letters denoting it as a Divine Construct spoken in the same breath as Excalibur.


    That wasn''t all, I could feel it targeting my Dragon Aspect.


    The de was also one that yed Dragons.


    "How knightly of you, to draw your weapon on the people who saved you." I didn''t particrly react to the fact that he was pointing a Divine Construct in my face. In fact, I took a step forward until it was mere inches away and pushed it to the side with my finger. I could tell he wavered once I mentioned that as he still had some amount of pride left in his knighthood.


    "Master, you should tell him." Raikou gently nudged me again. "It will save us further annoyance."


    "I know, I''m just not that pleased with his attitude." I frowned.


    "I can understand, Master. But think of how Artoria would wish you to behave to her formerrade."


    Ah, that''s a critical hit, Raikou.


    "She doesn''t owe him anything." I grunted. "Why does he deserve to know anything?"


    "I share your feelings, but it is not our ce to judge that." Raikou again gently guided me. "You know very well how she would desire you to hold yourself in this situation."


    "You''re right." I sighed, relenting. I was being intentionally abrasive with him, and I was fully aware of that. He just grated on me for some reason, even when he wasn''t demanding answers from me. I took out my Kaleidophone and messed with it until I found a set of pictures and flipped it over for him to see.


    Lancelot''s eyes widened once more as he narrowed in on the device, his sword practically falling to the ground as he took steps forward to really look at what I was showing him.


    I flipped through several of them, most of which were rather mundane. Me and her in various settings, herughing or smiling as I took the pictures. Though, they got progressively more intimate, and I finished onto thest one where it was both of us kissing.


    "She is someone I love dearly." It was all the exnation I would give him on the matter as I put the device away.


    He was speechless, which I couldn''t me him for. If I were in his shoes, I suppose I would feel the same way. His memories of Artoria were probably full of the emotionless King that put themselves up on the pedestal as some sort of idol.


    And here I just showed him a bright and happy Artoria expressing herself more in a few pictures than he had probably seen in his entire life and dropped the bomb on him that we were in love.


    "Jeanne, why don''t you lead the way." I changed the subject as the atmosphere turned rather awkward.


    "Leave it to me!" Jeanne happily epted the change.


    I nced at Lancelot, but he didn''t speak, just silently following along as he stared at me every so often.


    Whatever, I would be civil, but I wouldn''t like him.


    [***]


    "Uh.....it should be around here?" Jeanne looked every which way. "Um...it''s faint, I don''t think this Servant is at full strength. They should be within a few blocks of here, but I can''t pinpoint any further. The best option would be for us to split up and search every building. I''ll check ¨C "


    "You think she may have hid him in that destroyed church over there." I pointed towards said copsed church. It was still somewhat recognizable even if the roof caved in and half the walls were destroyed.


    "....."


    "You know, cause she''s a Saint and everything?" I spoke again.


    "I will check, Master." Raikou volunteered and walked over.


    "Well, that was easy." I hummed.


    "But we haven''t found them?" Jeanne blinked in confusion.


    "Please, like she would have hid him anywhere but the church."


    "What''s that supposed to mean?!"


    "I''m saying that as someone of a certain faith, she''s predictable."


    "We are not!"


    "Alright, then hypothetically speaking, if you were to hide someone in this area, where would you hide them, hmm?" I asked.


    She looked away, not meeting my gaze.


    "Master, I found something." Raikou called out.


    I looked at her smugly, and she puffed up with a huff.


    "Let''s go find our mysterious Dragon yer." I gave her a gentle nudge, much to her chagrin. Walking over some debris, we came to what Raikou was referring to, atch that opened up to the Church''s basement and it was obvious someone was down there.


    I hoped down first, and I immediately recognized the figure tied up below. His eyes looked heavy, and there were obvious wounds across his body. Fatigue was present in every breath he took as he looked like he was on hisst legs.


    "I did not expect to see a familiar face in my final moments." He spoke, if haggardly.


    "You remember me?" I asked in surprised.


    "Strange, is it not?" He chuckled, but it turned to coughs. "Have youe to finish me off?"


    "Why would I do that?" I shot him an amused look and even he found it funny considering the grin on his face despite the situation. "Even if we parted as enemies, I would like to think it was on good terms."


    "A Dragon yer friendly with a Dragon. I believe this is the start of a joke."


    Raikou and Jeanne jumped down, and recognition shed across his face again. "Ruler and Berserker."


    "Siegfried." Raikou smiled softly.


    "Saber." Jeanne greeted, a small smile as well. "What happened to you?"


    "I don''t know." He admitted, choking out a cough.


    "Hold up, let''s get you settled before questioning." I walked over to untie him, but I felt like he could have done that himself at any moment. It was only when I got close that I realized he was cursed quite heavily. "How much Magical Energy do you have left?"


    "Not much." He smiled wryly. "If you had note, I may havested another few days."


    "Well, you''re in luck." I took out a few dust crystals, and basically shoved them into his arms. "You should be able to absorb some from those, but it wouldn''t do much due to the curses on you." I paused, turning to Jeanne. "Need you again over here, Penniless Saintess."


    "D-don''t call me that." She squeaked out with a small stomp of her foot, but she quickly turned her attention to Siegfried. "This should be easier than Lancelot." She knelt down next to him and began praying.


    It was actually rather interesting watching her work. I can admit to not being too knowledgeable about the Church''s mysteries, even if the Baptism Rite was one of the mostmon and widespread ''mysteries'' of the church, it held certain unfathomableness to it that those without Faith just couldn''t understand.


    The curses were lifted one by one and his paleplexion began dissipating quickly. If I had to summarize, I''d say the curses were eating away at his reserves of Magical Energy and he was having to sustain himself by burning his own vitality. It would take a bit for him to be back at 100% even if we gave him a steady supply of Magical Energy.


    We quietly waited for probably about an hour before Jeanne finished up. The Dragon yer stood up, shakily, but he caught his breath after being captured for so long.


    "Thank you, Ruler." Siegfried said sincerely.


    "I don''t need thanks, Saber." Jeanne smiled brightly.


    "I did not believe it when I heard about this Dragon Witch that themon folk whispered about. And now I know for a fact that those tales were false." He took a deep breath, and a Dust Crystal shattered in his hand as the Magical Energy inside of it was taken in.


    "How long until you recover?" I asked.


    "....I am unsure, perhaps in a day or two and I will be in optimal condition to fight. I do not know why I was summoned without a Grail War....but there is something calling out to me. A duty that I must fulfill no matter what."


    "We''re d to have you, Saber." Raikou smiled.


    "I am also pleased to battle alongside you all against any foe that may appear. But....do you perhaps know what is going on? I only know that I was summoned and tried my best to defend this city, but I...failed."


    "Were the enemy Servants that strong?"


    Siegfried shook his head. "I feel as though I could have handled the ones that appeared, or I may not have lost in the worst case. They were....wrong, I do not know how but I felt it when fighting them. But they used the people as a hostage to force my surrender."


    "To answer your question, this is a Singrity. Someone meddled with the correct course of History and Humanity in the future has been burned away. At the moment we need to rectify this point in the timeline, which is being propped up presumably through the use of a Holy Grail." I briefly exined.


    Siegfried awkwardly scratched his cheek. "I admit to not fully understanding, however, my sword will be yours."


    "Don''t be too hasty, I think your sword would be best served under someone else. There is a group fighting against the incineration of humanity and I''m just a small part. But they could make use of any Servants that they can get their hands on."


    Siegfried nodded immediately. "If you speak on their behalf, and if their cause is so righteous, I would not have anything against lending whatever aid I am able."


    I pat this pauldron. "Good, because we''re going to find them next."


    Lancelot stood almost protectively outside as we climbed out of the hole.


    He still hadn''t said anything, but I didn''t particrly care to talk with him either. At this point, he should understand why I didn''t like him very much.


    "It''s good to see the sun again." Siegfried held a hand over his eyes and he looked at everything. Though there was an obvious mncholy as he surveyed the surroundings.


    I was wondering if we would be approached by an Assassin Servant as I was fairly certain there was one creeping around while we dealt with the other Servants, but they never appeared.


    "Did you deal with all the undead?" He asked.


    "Pardon? Undead?" I blinked.


    "You do not know?" He tilted his head. "I encountered many while defending the city."


    "....odd." Was all I could muster in response. But I eyed the horizon and noticed something flying our way. "But we did encounter quite a few Wyverns."


    Everyone else followed my gaze.


    "Ah, I also encountered some of those. They were not too strong, but they were difficult to deal with as they kept to the air and attacked from a distance." Siegfriedmented.


    They wereing in quick, and I had a good idea.


    "So...Raikou, quick question."


    "Yes?" My Servant replied.


    "Your riding skill doesn''t apply to Dragons, but Wyverns aren''t technically Dragons."


    "....are you thinking of doing what I think you are, Will?" Jeanne hesitantly asked.


    "Listen, it''s pretty far away and I don''t want to walk."


    "W-we can find horses!" Jeanne countered.


    "But can they fly?"


    "Will, no!"


    "Will, yes." I summoned The Gauntlet onto my hand. "Ddraig, you know what I want, right?"


    "[Leave it to me.]"


    I took a deep breath as they got closer and with Ddraig''s help, I roared.


    Wyverns were called Dragonkin, butpared to their greater cousins they were much lower on the proverbial totem pole. Just Ddraig''s mere roar sent them into a frightened state and about half of them fell to the ground in the confusion.


    [***]


    "This is a new experience for me." Siegfried stated, pulling on the rope wrapped around the Wyvern he sat upon. "I never thought I would ride one of the Dragon blood beasts."


    "[Don''tpare us to these things. They''re barely better than mindless beasts.]" Ddraig replied from within my Gauntlet.


    "I will take your word for it, Great Dragon." Siegfried politely replied.


    I held my hands around Raikou''s waste as she pulled on the makeshift reins, or basically just ropes we tied around their mouths.


    Frankly, it was difficult to get them to obey, perhaps due to having two riders with the nature of a Dragon yer. But Ddraig''s presence was actually enough to get them to fall in line.


    Wyverns and other Dragon blood species bowed their heads to true Dragons.


    "I don''t like this!" Jeanne cried out, clutching her makeshift reins tightly.


    "It''s just like riding a horse." I reassured her over the whipping winds.


    "It''s nothing like riding a horse!"


    I admit I was feeling pretty gleeful while doing this. The childish part of me was genuinely having fun riding on this Wyvern.


    And Raikou''s riding was handling it pretty well.


    Lancelot struggled slightly, but he kept his Wyvern on a straight path which was basically all we needed. Jeanne pointed out the direction, and I could vaguely identify Sir Wiggles there as well.


    And flying was significantly faster.


    Hell, it would have only been a few hour ride, but with Wyverns it''s probably a third, maybe a fourth of that?


    Dipping over the cloud, and back under, it didn''t take long for us to be able to see our destination far into the distance.


    Particrly so because there was another swarm of Wyverns high aboveying fire breaths down below.


    "Shall I prepare a gift for our reunion?" I asked, to no one in particr. But I began gathering Lightning and bringing together the clouds. The sky above slowly started to darken, but the mindless beasts didn''t seem to pay it any heed as we got closer.


    And upon closer inspection, there were many other people there. It looked like aplete army was trying their best to fend off the attack alongside some magic being shot up and I could make out the vague outline of a few faces through my Reinforced Eyes.


    Two Magic Circles spun in either of my hands, and I pped, pushing them together, actualizing the same spell I used against those Hollows back in Karakura town.


    They could have probably handled it without much issues, but what kind of Team Leader would I be if I didn''t help my subordinates?


    "Lightning Storm."


    My Lightning dropped from the sky. It wasn''t as powerful as thest time, but it did its job to cull the numbers enough that the remaining ones began to scatter.


    I did have to be careful about the people below.


    "Um....how do wend?" Jeanne asked.


    "....that is a good question." I replied. "Raikou?"


    Raikou didn''t respond, instead, she pped the Wyvern atop the head, and it immediately went to do a dive bomb.


    Well, Dramatic Entrance it was then!


    I held onto Raikou tightly and she smiled happily as we descended quickly.


    She pulled up on the ''reins'' just as we were about to hit the ground, instead making the Wyvern fall more angled. We hit the ground hard, but the beast took the brunt of it,pletely incapacitated and buried under quite a bit of dirt as it made a new hole into the ground, but we weren''t much worse for wear.


    I dusted myself off, helping Raikou up while I was at it.


    There were many eyes now staring at us. And quite a few of them I recognized, but I don''t think they properly processed my arrival.


    I was about to open my mouth, but three more loud thumps echoed out, and mypanions now joined us.


    Siegfried perhaps had the most grace, but he awkwardly had to step out of a crater himself. Jeanne dizzily stepped out and looked shaken at her experience. While Lancelot silently climbed up from his former mount, wobbling to his feat.


    "I''m back ¨C "


    "Raah!" Mash, with her very identifiable hair color, pushed through the crowd, andunched towards Lancelot, punching him in the face, sending him flying away.


    .....well alrighty then.


    I chose to ignore that, and instead focus on the bolt of lightning zipping through the air,nding in my arms.


    Wee back, Sir Wiggles.


    [***]


    Canon-Omake: Father Daughter bonding time.


    Yasaka POV


    The feeling of finishing thest bit of work for the day was indescribable. Stretching my arms and just letting my head fall onto my now empty desk allowing myself a moment to rest.


    "Soma, where''s Kunou?" I called out, not bothering to even open my eyes.


    "The Princess is with the Young Lord, Lady Yasaka." I felt Soma appear through the use of his Sacred Gear into the room.


    "They aren''t getting up to trouble, I hope?" Well, a little bit of trouble was fine.


    "Thest I checked, the Young Lord requested some painting supplies."


    "Oh?" I picked my head up. "That could be somethingpletely mundane or I should fear for the mansion." I better check in before doing anything else. "Take me to them please."


    Soma bowed and I pulled myself out of the chair I had been sitting in for the past several hours, rubbing my poor butt. I needed to get myself a morefortable chair.


    Well, let''s see what those two troublemakers are up to and how much of a mess I need to clean up.


    I silently followed behind Soma as the mist of Dimension Lost surrounded us. A momentter, a window opened up into a room on the other side of the Mansion.


    Wilhelm looked up very briefly and I knew for a fact that he noticed us but didn''t say anything.


    "Can I paint it yellow?"


    "You can paint it whatever color you want. I''m going to do mine like on the box."


    "But that''s boring." Kunou replied. "I''m gonna paint fireballs on the shoulders."


    Were those.... Gundams? Like those models that you put together then paint?


    "What about some Fox Tails on the back?" He chuckled.


    "I wanna do a dragon instead."


    "Dragons are cool too. Make it a Dragon Gundam."


    "Like Ddraig!"


    "I think Ddraig will like that a lot."


    "I''m not very good at painting though." Kunou''s ears ttened and she eyed the model in front of her father. "Wah!? Dad you''re so good at it, it looks exactly like the box!"


    "You think so?"


    "How did you get so good? Have you done this before?"


    "Nope, this is my first time. But I''ve always wanted to do one since I was a kid." He chuckled.


    "Why didn''t you?" She questioned.


    "Well.....we didn''t have much money when I was a kid. Your grandmother did the best she could, but she had to focus on essentials." He exined.


    "I''m sorry...."


    "You have nothing to be sorry for." He stopped to rub her head. "I''m happy that I get to do this with you."


    "Do you miss Grandma?"


    "I''ll always miss her. She was the best mom I could have asked for. And I know for a fact that she would love you just like I do." He leaned over to kiss her forehead.


    Kunou smiled happily. "I love you, daddy."


    "And I love you too, my little Fox."


    Why was my heart beating so erratically? Why was it that seeing him and Kunou like this made me feel this way?


    My precious little fox, you''re not the only one it seems.


    I needed to message the others, because he''s all mine tonight.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 437 - 396

    <h4>Chapter 437: Chapter 396</h4>


    Yasaka POV


    "Send these reports to Nurarihyon." I handed a clipped bundle of papers over and I didn''t even see who took them. "What''s my next appointment?"


    "Uh.....you have a Two-O''clock with the Druids, Lady Yasaka."


    I also had another bundle of papers pushed into my hands, and I looked up and furrowed my brow, trying to recall who this girl was. Three Tails...ah, right, she''s the Granddaughter of Granny Sufu....she started earlier this week.


    Where has my head been? It feels like I''ve just been dealing with one issue after another. Adding on to the Indra fiasco which has just been running me wild. If I didn''t know that Wilhelm was perhaps dealing with something even worse, I would have dragged him by his ear to help me settle many of these issues.


    "What are these, dear?" I barely nced at the documents she handed me.


    "We had another merchante over and offer their inventory." She replied.


    "And why am I hearing about this?" I gave explicit orders on what to purchase and what not to.


    "T-the merchant was offering his wares for an exorbitant fee, I ¨C"


    "And my orders were to ept things within 50% of their inted prices, did I not?"


    "They are 55%, Lady Yasaka. Going by the proper costs elsewhere, that is."


    I resisted the urge to p my forehead. "That''s good enough, take them." I tossed the papers back to her with a sigh. We weren''t exactly hurting on money at the moment. Sure, we weren''t flush with it either, but it could certainly have been much worse. "Send word that this is the absolute limit." Give them an inch and they''d take a mile.


    Next I''ll hear about them raising prices by another one or two percent.


    "Walk and talk." I told her as we began walking through the hallways. "Have we received that next shipment of iron?"


    "I...um..." She fumbled through some papers. "Here it is, Lady Yasaka." She handed it over.


    I skimmed it and scowled, crumpling it up and tossing it to the ground. "Of course they mess up the order. Because simple iron is apparently difficult to get right." Calm yourself, Yasaka, no point in getting angry, still a million more things to do today. "Send it back and demand a refund. If they refuse, then cklist them and make sure you publicly shame them." I''m not going to y these games.


    They probably thought they could just unload some of their stock.


    If I wanted an iron of mixedposition, then I would have asked for that.


    We turned the corner, and nearly ran into someone who was in just as much of a hurry as we were.


    His clothing would have looked utterly out of ce in different circumstances, but we had weed these foreigners into our home per Hades'' goodwill, and Wilhelm''s bargaining.


    "I apologize, Lady Yasaka, I didn''t mean to startle you." The man apologized good-naturedly for the near collision.


    "Odysseus, you seem to be in a hurry. Are you looking for me?" One of the people that Hades sent over to help train up my people.


    His eyes brightened. "Yes, I''m d to have caught you. I wished to inform you that my time here has ended and my recement has arrived."


    "Right, that was today." I clicked my tongue in annoyance.


    "No need to fret, my Lady." He said with a rather charming smile. If I wasn''t taken, I may have entertained him. "While my recement is not exactly the most....charming and polite, he is without a doubt, a master of warfare."


    "And who receives such a glowing approval from the great Odysseus?" I questioned.


    "That would be King Agamemnon."


    "Ah....yes, I know of him." I said curtly.


    "Despite his reputation, I give my word that he will teach what needs to be taught." The Ghost of the Greek Hero promised. "In matters of true warfare, I would say that he is a better teacher than I am."


    "Excuse me if I find that hard to believe."


    Odysseus chuckled. "It''s true. I was praised and remembered for my cunning mind, which I will not deny. But Agamemnon conquered across all of Greece not by ident. I did what I could to instill tactics that may be beneficial to your unique variety of uing war, but he will teach them the steps that one must take as soldiers in arms."


    "I will be skeptically optimistic." His reputation still left a bit to be desired. "Thank you for the warning and reminder."


    "It was my pleasure to be of service." He politely bowed. "My time here has been pleasant and I thank you for your hospitality."


    "Truly, the pleasure was all mine. Your assistance has been extremely helpful. As per our agreement, please enjoy the day and have fun before departing. My only word of warning is that everything be consensual." I emphasized.


    "I will keep everyone in line, Lady Yasaka." He smiled again.


    Good.


    "Unfortunately, I have another meeting to attend to. Thank you for everything, Odysseus. I will pass on my praise to Hades."


    He bowed again and departed.


    "Druids then?" I verbally nudged my assistant who was looking rather star struck.


    "Y-yes, Lady Yasaka, right this way." She gestured and I continued walking.


    It wasn''t hard to find them, they had a rather unique scent. Very earthy, not in a bad way, but their presence invigorated any area they stayed in long enough.


    As I opened the door to the room I presumed I would be meeting them in, I saw the wrinkled face of their leader, sitting cross legged, meditating.


    "Archdruid Rhalhaidldh." I did my best to pronounce his name, but winced even as the sybles left my mouth.


    One of his eyes cracked open and the corners of his lips raised ordingly. "Lady Yasaka." He greeted with a gentle and weathered tone, but there was an obvious hint of amusement there.


    "I mispronounced it again, didn''t I?"


    "You were closer." He stated with a small chuckle.


    "Would you believe me if I said I was practicing in front of the mirror yesterday?"


    Hisughter only increased. "I take no offense. I am aware that different cultures have difficulty with certain names and such." He pulled himself to his feet, slowly and steadily, using an old staff as support. "I''m far too old to care about those trifling matters." He waved it off politely. "Shall we get down to business?"


    "Please." I said with full sincerity. The quicker I finished here, the quicker I could move on to my next task for the day. "How is the traininging along?"


    "Ah, it is most peculiar. I admit I did not have much interest in this side of the world and was content to stay at home among the hills of my forefathers. However, after seeing the culture woven around your use of Touki and Senjutsu, I have this feeling in my chest that I have missed out on an opportunity in my youth." He specifically used the words we were used to. "I would almost call it an inherent talent amongst those you presented to me. Their progress....I would not quitebel it as genius, but there is a notable and steady progress every day, and that is for the majority of those who learn under my Druids."


    "Some good news then, I''m shocked."


    He chuckled in clear humor. "Then you will be pleased that I bring further good news."


    "You''re going to spoil me. Please tell me something that I can ride through the next few days of utter exhaustion and fatigue."


    "The project you requested, with those unique nts you presented, they have bore fruit." He paused for a moment. "Figuratively, of course. They are not fruit bearing nts."


    "You managed something already?" I couldn''t help my eyes widen in shock. "Wilhelm wasn''t confident in getting something set up before the war started."


    "The notes provided allowed us to skip much experimentation on our part." He nodded. "I fear it would have taken us several more months if there was not such in depth notation on failures and sesses in growing these exotic nts."


    "And what about elerating their growth?" I asked again, as it was one of our points of desire. All those nts from Skyrim taking hold in the soil here was huge, but getting them to grow quicker through magical means...that would be a league or two above in potential.


    "We had some failures." He rubbed his chin. "But we finally seeded once I enlisted the help of the Rune Witch."


    Sc¨¢thach?


    Did she help as well? Why didn''t she say anything?


    "Once we established the needs, we merely required the help of more traditional Magicians. The youngdy from Albion that keeps her ancestor''s name sake was more than happy to assist."


    Ah, Le Fay Pendragon.


    She had been staying around here much longer since everything happened and Arthur was here as well.


    "Only good news? Nothing you''re going to spring on me that makes this all pointless?" I asked skeptically.


    Again, he just chuckled, like an elder humoring a youngling. "I merely wished to ry the good news. I will be returning to my duties." He unceremoniously said his goodbyes and returned to wherever I presumed his Druids were at the moment.


    But I didn''t care, because this was news worth celebrating!


    "Lady Yasaka." Soma appeared from the mist of his Sacred Gear. "I bring word that Sir Mordred has returned."


    "....I know that tone, what happened?"


    "She has gotten into an argument with King Agamemnon."


    Of course, it''s always something.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Wilhelm!?"


    "Dragon Witch!?"


    "Mash!?!?"


    "I don''t know what happened!?" Another shrill cry from the cute eggnt.


    "Jeanne!"


    "Gilles!?"


    More shouting and screaming, but I sort of tuned that out as I just stood back and pet my familiar for the first time in quite a while. Sir Wiggles deserved all the pets after doing such a good job keeping them all safe.


    But there seemed to be a lot to unpack all of the sudden.


    However, I was happy to see them.


    Yup, everything seemed good, until a white-haired missile shot out of the group. Someone I certainly did not expect came rocketing into me.


    "You idiot!" Olga''s voice raised above everyone else''s as tiny fists began to rain down on me. "Do you have any idea how worried we were!?"


    "I''m sorry?" I flinched as her fists didn''t stop.


    "You better be!" She huffed, finally relenting. She trembled slightly before regaining herposure. "...wee back."


    "B-Team leader, Reporting for duty." I smiled warmly. "And that hat looks good on you." I admired my former hat sitting atop her head.


    "....idiot." She whispered again.


    "Boss!" Samuel was next, running up with the entire group this time. Funny enough, everyone seemed to ignore the fact that Lancelot was punched just moments prior, except for an embarrassed and blushing Mash.


    Ritsuka was right behind her, looking rather happy as well. Not to mention both Pierre and Hinako were at their side. Hinako tried to look distant, but I could see her mouth twitch upwards, trying to hold back a smile.


    There were some other familiar faces, but they weren''t the ones I knew from my time a Chaldea. Medea, for instance, was standing nearby, looking at me with trepidation.


    Cu Chinn gave me a smirk and a nod.


    And....


    She was standing behind Mash, ncing at me.


    "....Artoria." I said softly.


    The same Artoria from before....


    Her skin was paler, her hair was also a shade lighter, and her eyes were not the same vibrant green. It was precisely the Artoria I was forced to fight in Fuyuki in the previous Singrity.


    Suddenly, many feelings I had previously gotten over hade flowing to the surface. There were....many things I wanted to say.


    "Don''t speak my name as if we are familiar." She scoffed, crossing her arms.


    .....ouch.


    "Don''t listen to her." Cu Chinn chimed in. "She''d been wanting to see you again ever since she was summoned. Anyone just needs to mention you and she gets weak in the knee ¨C "


    The distinct malevolent energy I remembered tore through the spot that Cu was in a moment before as he hopped out of the way with a bark ofughter. A furious Artoria was holding her ckened Excalibur, threatening him with it.


    "Stop messing around!" Olga barked at them in anger.


    Artoria huffed, dismissing her weapon while Cu just chuckled, and casually threw his arms up behind his head as if nothing happened.


    ....if this is how they normally act, I feel bad for Olga having to deal with it.


    "Jeanne, is that you?" A man I didn''t know approached, donned in armor that was obviously well used if the scorch marks were anything to go by.


    Jeanne, who had quietly been at my side, retreated behind me. Literally hiding behind me so as to not be seen by the man.


    "I''m sorry, you are?" I asked.


    He blinked, looking at me, somewhat confused but also on guard. The...soldiers all around were also staring our way, as if waiting for him to make a move. They were all worried, scared, and exhausted from the looks of it, but they were ready to fight if the need arose.


    "I am Gilles De Rais, Baron and Knight serving as Companion-in-Arms to Jeanne D''Arc." He stood proud, but refocused on the head of blonde hair that was having a difficult time hiding her entire silhouette behind me. "It must be God''s will." He took a few steps forward, looking ecstatic. "The True Saintess has returned, and with her by our side, we will retake France from this....Witch."


    I could feel her grabbing at the cloth on my back. I felt bad, I truly did, but I couldn''t just literally stand between them. Jeanne knew it, I knew it, and she was going to have to confront Gilles.


    He was herrade and dear friend in life, he must be over the moon that she''s ''alive'' apparently, but now she has to crush his hopes and happiness.


    "G-Gilles..." Jeanne strained a smile as she peeked over my shoulder.


    She grabbed my hand for emotional support, and I didn''t tease her despite the ease in the situation.


    I gave her a reassuring squeeze and she hesitantly stepped out, looking at her friend.


    Progress, atleast.


    I was fairly sure I was going to have to get the rope again.


    "We should give them some space. Do you have somewhere we can talk privately?" I whispered to Olga.


    "S-sure." She nodded as we slipped away amongst the awkwardness of the reunion.


    [***]


    "Bounded Fields active. Mash, you''re up." Olga stated.


    "Yes, Director!" Mash nodded, her shield apparently connecting to a Leyline below us as a projection appeared.


    "Director, do you read us?" Roman''s familiar voice rang out as his face became clearer.


    "We read you, Roman." Olga nodded.


    "Great! Link is established, we can see you too. I''m getting some strange readings? Lots of Servants are around you that we didn''t detect before. Are there any ¨C


    "Roman." Olga sighed. "Stop, and look."


    Roman blinked, then looked around the tent we were set up in. Finally, his eyesnded on me and I gave him a little wave.


    "Hey Roman."


    "Wilhelm!?" He blurted out. "Director!"


    "Roman, if you''re going to point out to me that our B-Team leader is back, I know."


    "R-right." He awkwardly shrunk back even behind the screen. "It''s good to see you again, Wilhelm!" He changed tunes quickly. "We thought the worst after what happened. You were so angry after Saber died, and then you went after Lev!"


    "...thank you, Roman." I unconsciously nced at Saber and....was she blushing? I quickly looked away because I felt like I would follow suit if I continued. "I have some questions of my own..." I paused, looking at Olga. "Like...if you''re a soul again, I''m going to be pissed off because I''m not entirely sure how to save you again."


    "Don''t be an idiot." Olga huffed with a tinge of embarrassment. "Whatever you did to me, it made it so I could survive a Rayshift."


    "...really?" I raised an eyebrow. "That was unintentional, I was just focused on saving you. But now that I think about it, with your Aura awakened, it would provide the correct shielding for the process, but even that ¨C "


    "Spare us your Magic Talk, we already got enough of it from Da Vinci back in Chaldea." Hinako crossed her arms.


    "She''s right, it''s not important right now." Olga agreed. "We need to debrief each other. You''ve been gone awhile."


    "Introductions then." I held a hand up to Raikou. "This is my Servant, Minamoto-no-Raikou, I brought her from my home."


    "Hello." Raikou smiled politely.


    "I''m not even surprised anymore." Hinako sighed. "Who were the other Servants you brought with you, besides...the obvious."


    "Well, obviously Jeanne D Arc was present ¨C "


    "The Dragon Witch!?" Roman cut in.


    "Dammit, Roman wait for the entire exnation before you freak out!" Olga growled.


    "S-sorry."


    "That''s interesting, actually. I found her because I was checking up on her mom, thinking things may have been bad that way. When I found her, she was in a pitiable state. Her Saint Graph was all messed up and even her memories were distorted. From what we were able to piece together after fixing her was that someone summoned her then cannibalized part of her Saint Graph. Presumedly, this ''Dragon Witch'' is running around with pieces of Jeanne."


    "Wait, you healed her Saint Graph?" The distinct voice of Da Vinci reached our ears.


    "Stop hacking the signal!" Olga nearly screamed.


    "In a manner of speaking." I nodded.


    "But....Saint Graph alteration, the sheer power needed,bined with the tools." She nearly went off on a tangent, so I stepped in.


    "It''s not what you''re thinking. And it wasn''t technically me who did it."


    "But ¨C"


    "Later, Caster." Olga cut her off. "We have more important things to deal with in the immediate time frame. Like getting everyone up to speed."


    I took that as a cue to keep going. "I brought Jeanne with me, Ruler ss. She can sense the location of other Servants, thoughrge distances makes it a bit less urate. The knight waiting outside is Siegfried, he was being held secretly in Lyon. We just got back from there, Saint Martha and a couple other Servants were walking among the destroyed remains of the town."


    "Lyon?" Pierre spoke up. "The soldiers were marching to Lyon before we arrived. If not for the attack of the dragons ¨C"


    "Wyverns." I corrected. "Huge difference."


    He nodded. "Wyverns, we would have followed. You say Lyon is free?"


    "Free....rubble, burned to the ground nearly. Jeanne is probably rying the news herself, but yeah, the Servants there were taken care of."


    "That''ll save us an annoying walk." Cu mused. "Now we can focus on the actual threat. This Dragon Witch, yeah?"


    "Wait, there''s one more Servant you brought." Olga pointed out.


    "You mean the one that Mash punched in the face?"


    "I-I didn''t mean to!" She squeaked out, ring up red in embarrassment.


    "Uh.....yeah, why did you do that, Mash?" Ritsuka asked.


    "Didn''t know thess had it in her. More fire than I''ve seen in her normal training." Cu added.


    "Mash did what!?" Roman squawked in surprise.


    "I''m sorry!" She was nearly in tears.


    Good thing he was still outside. "I''m notining." I shrugged. "He''s ¨C "


    "Lancelot." Saber said curtly, drawing everyone''s eyes her way. "Mash carries the Spirit of Ghad. The conflict is understandable."


    "How does that make sense to randomly attack him?" Roman questioned.


    "Ah.....that does answer quite a few questions." Especially about the adorable cinnamon roll over there.


    "It does?" Roman blinked.


    "Artoria told me ¨C " I scratched my head awkwardly. "My Artoria told me about her time ruling. Ghad and Lancelot had a very....strained...rtionship." I nced at Saber, but she simply closed her eyes, not reacting.


    I didn''t know how to act around her and it was eating at me.


    "If she is the Demi-Servant of Ghad, it makes sense that some of his anger would bleed over if he really hates him that much." Hinako shrugged.


    "Speaking of, I hope she''s not just learning about this now?" I asked.


    "No, Senpai. Saber has been helping me train!" Mash smiled brightly. "I learned the name of my Noble Phantasm too."


    That''s good then.


    "There''s something you should know about him, and by extension, the other enemy Servant I encountered. Thanks to Jeanne, we were able to find out that their Saint Graphs were meddled with. Martha''s ss was Rider-Berserker, and Lancelot is a Berserker-Berserker."


    "How is that possible?" Olga scowled.


    "I can tell you from personal experience that a Grail can alter a Servant''s Saint graph. We''re currently working under the theory that this Dragon Witch is forcing the Berserker status over the servants she summons and it also acts as a sort of leash, forcing them to obey her."


    "That makes sense if you said that Saint Martha was listening to her orders." Da Vinci chimed in. "How curious, I want to see for myself."


    "You can get readings from Lancelot, we were able to either seal away or remove the additional Madness, but he''s still pretty messed up."


    "How were you able to remove Mad Enhancement?" Roman''s eyes widened. "That''s the defining characteristic of the Berserker ss!"


    "I would also like to know." Olga added.


    "Luck, and thebination of plenty of factors. And the fact that Lancelot''s madness behaved more like a Curse." I replied. "One of theponents I used was Avalon, which is inside of him at the moment, suppressing his normal Mad Enhancement. But I feel like it''s just a stop gap measure." I turned to Hinako. "That being said, you don''t have a Servant yet, right?"


    "You want me to form a contract with him?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Temporary, for now. He''ll disappear after the singrity is finished. But he''s going to be a heavy drain, and you can probably handle it better than everyone else here, even if the systems in Chaldea are handling most of the burden."


    "Fine, I''ll do it." She shrugged.


    "Speaking of systems, how is Chaldea doing?"


    "Manageable." Olga slumped her shoulders. "The resources you left behind were invaluable. Our food supplies would have run out, and we wouldn''t have been able to perform any Servant Summonings due to the Generators having been destroyed previously."


    "I brought some more with me, so I''ll be able to help out there."


    "As expect from the person I appointed to B-Team leader." Olga nodded with a hint of pride.


    I really wanted to pat her head, but I feel like she would react aggressively if I did.


    "Don''t forget ourtest Servant as well." Roman spoke up.


    "Am I supposed to introduce myself?" Medea was in the back, looking a bit bored with this whole talk.


    "There''s no need." I held a hand up, politely declining. "You guys sure lucked out. A Caster Servant was perhaps the second worst ss to summon considering your currentposition, but Medea is one of the most reliable you could have managed."


    Any kind of wind she had was immediately taken out of her sails. She nearly fumbled over herself as I ''guessed'' her name. "Do you know me?"


    "I''m not native to this World-line, I have a Medea back home that I''m good friends with."


    Seeing her mouth open from beneath her cowl, only to close again in confusion. "I find that hard to believe."


    "I can show you picturester. She even made the clothes I''m wearing..." I looked down at the thing covering my body. "Not the Holy Shroud. But anyways, she''s getting married soon and I am invited, so do with that what you will."


    Medea just stared at me with mouth open, seemingly unable to formte a response.


    "Enough with the polite chit chat, we need to get down to business." Olga finally asserted her Authority to end the conversation and steer it towards the main issue. "What happened to you?"


    "That''s...a long story, I''ll try to summarize it." I took a deep breath. "I was stupid and angry so I blindly chased after Lev after..." I nced at Artoria again who peeked an eye open, only to scowl and turn away when ours met. "I stepped into a ce outside of Time and space. After talking to Gramps, he told me that it was most likely Solomon''s Workshop."


    "Solomon!?"


    "The one from the Bible?"


    "The King of Magecraft?"


    Several of them blurted out at once.


    "Yes, yes, and yes. " I swatted at the projected image of both Da Vinci and Roman to get them to calm down. "Lev was subservient to someone there iming to be Solomon, but we''re highly doubtful that it''s actually him. It''s most likely one of the famous Demons associated with him. Regardless, I fought him and ¨C"


    "You fought....''Solomon'' in his Workshop?" Olga cut me off. "Of all the idiotic things you could have done! Even if you''re a Magician, you walked into his Workshop!"


    "Master has been fully aware of how foolish he was." Raikou responded in my stead, making me want to slump back in embarrassment. "However, he was consumed by grief and anger and his decision reflected this."


    Olga scowled, crossing her arms. "Did you atleast take care of that traitor?" She asked, seething.


    "I hit him with an attack that forced the concept of Destruction onto him. But ''Solomon'' ¨C " I added air quotes. "Was able to undo it."


    "....I guess I can''t fault you then." Olga said quietly.


    "And you lost?" Hinako asked. "Even with everything?" She emphasized thatst word.


    "I used my Authority even." I nodded.


    "Wait, Authority?" Da Vinci asked.


    "What''s an Authority?" Ritsuka asked, the others around him sharing the same sentiment.


    "You''re a Divine Spirit!?" Olga blurted out.


    "That''s what I''ve been assuming." Hinako stated.


    "How is a Divine Spirit alive in this era?" Roman asked.


    "Not a Divine Spirit!" I quickly cut off that train of thought. "And to share with the rest of the ss since their tutge most likely hasn''t reached that point. An Authority, in this case, is the ability of a Divine Spirit to alter the world. You can think of Zeus and his ability tomand Lightning."


    "You had something like that and you still lost, Boss?" Samuel asked.


    "Yeah." I didn''t hide it. "You saw that ring of light in the sky?"


    "Hard to miss." Olga snorted. "Our systems were unable to scan it."


    "That''s all the Magical Energy that''s being gathered by burning away the Human Order." I dropped that big bombshell on them.


    "....that makes sense." Da Vinci was the first toment. "We were only able to tell that it was something unfathomable in power, and that it was too massive to truly scan at the moment.


    "Yeah, it''s made up of beams of light, each one of them equal to a High-Level Noble Phantasm in output, more or less. When I was fighting him, he pulled on it, hitting me with a fraction of a fraction of its power and I nearly died. If it wasn''t for several lucky coincidences, and having Avalon with me, I would be dead."


    Strangely, the most abrupt response was a nearly palpable feeling of anger filling the tent. And it was from Saber of all people. The outward expression of emotion ceased nearly as quickly as it had descended, but the Servant merely scowled again. "I care not for this meeting. Call me when there is a fight to be had." She didn''t wait for anyone to respond and marched right out of the tent.


    ".....that was weird." Roman seemingly spoke the thoughts on everyone''s minds.


    "Thatss..." Cu sighed. "She''s going to have a difficult time."


    "Master, I will go make sure that she does not cause any fights." Raikou stated. "Lancelot is still outside."


    "That would probably be best, thank you, Raikou." I have no idea how this Artoria would react to Lancelot. She''spletely different from what I''vee to know about my own Artoria.


    She quickly followed after the ckened Artoria.


    "....is that why you haven''te back until now?" Olga whispered. "You''ve been recovering?"


    "I recovered in a few days, but no. I was worried that if I popped back over, he would simply destroy Chaldea. I''m currently hiding from his sight." I pulled on my Holy Shroud. "This is helping a bit. And I even had help from Gramps and the Blue to sneak back into this World-Line undetected."


    I''d double check with Cuter, see if he can''t divine if I am actually unnoticed right now. His Odin parts might be able to look into that without causing any issues.


    "At least we know who''s responsible now, right?" Ritsuka asked. "It would have been worse if we didn''t find out untilter."


    "...usually this kind of naive optimism would be annoying, but I agree with the kid." Medea was the one who spoke up. "I don''t know much about Solomon, my foundation doesn''te from your Modern Magecraft. But now we actually have time to think of proper counter measures. I''m assuming that your Magecraft was utterly useless, boyo?" She nced at me.


    "He broke down everything I did with just a nce and countered it." I nodded.


    "What about your Runes?" Cu asked.


    "Didn''t have a chance to really use them. It''s not like I revealed all my cards in that short exchange. I still have a few tricks, and in the time I was away, I picked up a few more things that will be extremely useful."


    "We can work with this." Roman looked uncharacteristically resolved. "This fake Solomon, whoever it really is, now that we know, we can fight him."


    "Hoho, I get to test my genius against the most exalted Magus in history?" Da Vinci sounded rather amused.


    Olga, who looked rather defeated as I kept dropping bombs, did perk up a little. Even adopting a little smile. "We need more information. For now, however, we should focus on solving this Singrity. You obviously have more information than us."


    "Alright, I''ll start from the very beginning." I nodded, and everyone leaned in as I began from when I first arrived in the singrity in full detail.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 438 - 397

    <h4>Chapter 438: Chapter 397</h4>


    Raikou POV


    Master didn''t need me for his reunion. Instead I was interested in these people he had spoke so highly of, but I knew where I would best be put to use.


    I would not help on the technicalities of this Singrity, but corralling unruly Servants was something I was more than capable of.


    It seemed my suspicions were founded as Lancelot and the dark reflection of Artoria were staring at one another.


    "M-My King!" Lancelot immediately copsed to his knees in front of the Darkened Saber.


    She stared at him silently.


    Lancelot waiting, each moment was excruciating for the Knight as Saber silently judged him.


    "I am not your King." Saber said simply.


    I believe her dismissal did more emotional damage than anything she could have done with her sword. The anguish on Lancelot''s face was enough to even make me feel something despite sharing a simr sentiment to Master.


    I held a strong dislike for this man who brought so much pain to Master''s other woman. Even if I made sure to limit how much he expressed his distaste, I did not feel any pity for him previously.


    "But you ¨C"


    "I am the Tyrant of Knights." Saber replied, in clear disdain. "The ideals you fought for were not mine. Do not presume to speak to me as if your existence means anything to me."


    "Your Lover, he spoke ¨C "


    Barely with enough time to blink, I stepped to interfere, because Saber had her fist reeled back, ready to attack him. I grabbed hold of her gauntlet, not letting her budge.


    She red at me. "Remove your hand."


    "You have a much fierier temper than the Artoria I know." I did not. However, that only seemed to set her off further.


    The Mana around her erupted, And I had seen it enough to know it was her Mana Burst Skill. In response, I activated my own, my Lightning answering my call as we fought, neither budging.


    Eventually, she scoffed, dismissing her Mana Burst. With a jerk from her, I let go of her arm. It seems her anger subsided enough that she wasn''t going tosh out any longer.


    Instead of attacking him, she instead reached down, and pulled him up by his armor until her face was even with his. "Do not bother me again."


    I admit to feeling the slightest bit of pity for him now. "There is a misunderstanding here, Lancelot."


    Lancelot looked at me and he was still confused, as no one had properly exined things to him thus far. I just mentally shrugged as it was not my duty.


    "....I will take my leave." He said dejectedly. He wasn''t a fool, he could at least understand that the situation was not what he had assumed, merely the details escaped him.


    "Halt." Sabermanded as he was about to turn around. She did not give him a chance to respond, she grabbed him again, jerking him forward and put her hand on his chest. I was going to question what she was doing until a familiar light manifested. Avalon was pulled from him, and she held it protectively in her grasp. "Now, leave my sight." She demanded.


    Lancelot, with slumped shoulders, didn''t argue and disappeared amongst the array of tents around us.


    "Master put that inside of him intentionally." I voiced.


    Her nostrils red as if she were about tosh out at me, but she calmed herself. "It will return to where it belongs."


    "Are you going to take possession of it?" I questioned.


    "No." She scoffed angrily. "He will resume possession of it as he is supposed to. If he is foolish enough to nearly die, then he is not allowed to walk around without it."


    "And why do you get to decide that?"


    "I have more of a say than you do!" She growled. "You, a Servant ¨C"


    "I am also his Woman." I interrupted, watching all the anger she was working up with immediately dissipate into nothingness as she blinked at my abrupt deration. "Amusing, you still have simr mannerisms as the Artoria I know. She has that same look when she gets confused about something."


    "What do you want?" She finally grit out.


    "Are you not going to ask me for rification?" I tilted my head.


    "Why would I care?" She huffed, turning her nose up.


    "Very well, if you do not wish to know, I will not bore you."


    She twitched slightly in annoyance. "...was it a lie? That he said he loved....her?"


    "It was not." I smiled, knowing that she couldn''t help herself. "They are very cute together."


    ".....but you said..?"


    "Yes?" I returned. "Why can he not be with both of us? Rather, what makes you think it''s only us?" I hummed, watching her try and understand what I was insinuating. "Master is going to be upset that you took the Sheath from Lancelot. He will most likely revert to his Berserker state soon."


    "I do not care." Saber grunted. "He is a fool, and obviously requires extra protection."


    "Strangely, that is something I think we can both agree on. Master often does foolish things that end up going wrong. But very rarely is it also something dangerous as well."


    "Why?" She asked.


    "Pardon? Why what?" I asked for rification.


    She looked at me with obvious confusion and an array of emotions that seemed utterly foreign to her. "I was hated throughout my life, a Tyrant that used forced submission to all my foes. I did not hold back my de and attempted to y him just as I did everyone else. So why was my death mourned by him and tears shed? Why did he do something as foolish as he did due to grief? I don''t understand. I am not her, I am a vile and oppressive Tyrant. So Why?"


    "It is the same reason that Master epted an Oni like me without a second thought." I felt myself rting to her very much.


    "You did not answer my question." She frowned. "Why have you sought me out? To mock me?"


    "I merely wished to inform you of a few things. What you desire to do with it is your choice." My interference ended here. "But if you want to know, you can ask the person directly."


    If someone told me that there was a corrupted version of Artoria, I would not believe them. And I would especially not believe that this ''corrupted'' version of her would be shy.


    Because that was all I could perceive once I brought up the notion of her talking to Master herself.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "You disappeared rather quickly." I walked up to Cu who was sitting on a rock, carving Runes into some stones he hadying around. "After we started talking about the details, I didn''t even notice when you slipped away."


    "All that crap doesn''t matter to me." Caster shrugged dismissively.


    "Or you already know, right?" I questioned, eyeing him. "Solomon, that is. After the whole singrity talk, we backtracked to him and everything he was involved in, that was when you up and vanished."


    "Hey..." He threw his head back to look up at me. "I was upfront when I said I knew things I wasn''t gonna be telling you."


    "That you were." I nodded. "Scoot over." I nudged him to the side as I sat down on therge rock as well, taking up a few of them unused stones and helped him out.


    "It''s good you''re back though. The kids could use the morale boost. They''ve been holding it together, but it''s a pretty shitty thing all around."


    "Really? I''m questioning if I should have evene back so soon."


    "You shouldn''t have." He said as a matter of fact.


    "Well, thanks for making me feel guilty." I snorted. "But are you fucking with me or serious?"


    "I see what you''re doing, y''know. The Holy Shroud, and shit. It''s cute, but won''t work for long." He began to exin, still carving his runes. "We''re already teetering on a knife''s edge."


    "Yeah, I get that." I sighed, looking at the stone in my hand. "I fucked up pretty bad before, walked right into the Dragon''s Lair, as it were. I was so far over my head that I''m lucky to be alive. But you know that too."


    "Yeah." He just nodded.


    "If I used everything I had, do you think I would have stood a chance?"


    "Honestly? I''m not omnipotent or anything, I mean, I know a thing or two I shouldn''t, but....eh, you want me to be honest?"


    "I already know the answer, but just say it." I waived it off.


    "Nah. What do people say in the future? You would have been rektd."


    "I''m more confused how you even know something like that rather than the cryptic bullshit you''re spewing left and right."


    He chuckled to himself, decidedly not answering.


    "Odin is fucking bullshit." Time is more a suggestion to powerful enough Divine Spirits. Odin was more than capable of looking into the future for fun at any time he desired. Hence, why Cu was here in the first ce most likely.


    "How about how I am now? What do my chances look like?"


    He paused, turning his gaze to me. It was different from his normal, the almostzy look he normally had. It was now filled with something indescribable as he peered at me with more than what his presumed title would suggest. "You''re stronger than before. Some new things you got recently, yeah? You would still lose."


    "Thought so."


    "But.....you did close the gap a bit."


    "Progress is good."


    "It is."


    "Will it matter?''


    "I don''t know." He shrugged. "Once you entered the equation, things turned messy. Which is why you being here makes things...difficult."


    "....I couldn''t just leave them on their own."


    "I know." He turned back to me, that ancient gaze of his returning back to his normal one. Instead he adopted a rather warm smile. "You''re a good kid. Would have been fast friends during my life if you were around."


    "Huh..."


    "Could have double teamed that bitch together." He shot me a cock grin.


    "Fuck you." I kicked him, rather awkwardly considering we were sitting next to each other.


    "You modern folk." He shrugged helplessly. "Don''t know why you''re kicking up a fuss. It''d have been considered brotherly bonding in my time for a pair of siblings to share one of their wives."


    "Alright Mr.Any-Hole-is-a-Goal." I snorted again. "Sc¨¢thach is mine, don''t get any ideas."


    "Hah!" Heughed mirthfully. "That Bitch actually settling down with a Man. I still don''t know if I believe it." He shook his head. "How''s she doing?"


    "Good. She''s been exploring a bunch, going to a few different worlds, having fun just living."


    "Mmm." He nodded, notmenting further.


    "I wanted to ask, by the way. I mean, you pretty much confirmed it, but I figured I would rify. I''m still unnoticed, right?"


    "Probably."


    "Right, I''m filled with confidence now."


    "Even Odin in his prime would be cautious against him" Cu looked at me seriously. "So me saying probably does hold a lot of merit to it."


    "Alright, alright." I put my arms up in surrender as he was half ring at me, and I think that was his Odin bits being peeved that I was questioning him.


    "Got a random question for you that''s been bugging me."


    "I might not answer."


    "Does Odin know Izanami?"


    He blinked, looking at me in confusion. "Japan''s Death Goddess? Why would you think they know each other? Just because they existed within the same time frame, it doesn''t mean they interacted. Especially with the distance between worshippers and such." He paused. "Huh....I do have a small impression of her. For some reason, I think I think.....Odin and her had some small conflict or something? I told you before, I''m not entirely him, so I''m only getting some impressions here."


    That''s funny, I guess even in this world, Odin and Izzy have that kind of rtionship.


    "Why''d you ask?" He questioned.


    "Odin in my birth world, he and Izanami have a sort of antagonistic rtionship where they constantly snipe at one another." I briefly exined. "Oh, I just brought it up cause I''m dating Izanami back home."


    "....I don''t even care anymore." He threw his hands up. "You get a bunch of girls, and that Bitch ps me around for even thinking about another one when I was near her."


    "Jealousy is an ugly look."


    "Screw you." He pouted.


    "Is it a bad time to say that Sc¨¢thach told me she loves me?" I asked.


    "I kind of hate you right now."


    "I know, and I wee it."


    "No wonder she settled for you. You''re both absolute cunts."


    "That''s for the sharingment from before."


    "Yeah, I got that." He snorted. "By the way, I''ve been teaching the farm boy some Druidism and Runecraft."


    "I noticed the staff, but we were focused on the bigger stuff. He has talent in that sort of thing?" I was mildly surprised. "It''s not something popr in the modern era."


    "Wouldn''t be surprised if his Origin has something to do with it as just being a Farm Boy isn''t enough. Definitely helps, as he''s closer to the Earth and all that, but he has some alright talent there. Just said something cause I want you to teach him a few things with Runes if you get the chance. Looks up to you a bit, I think it''d help if you gave him a pointer or two."


    "kind of funny considering you''re more knowledgeable on Runecraft than me." But it was an easy enough request. "Do you think we''ll have enough time? I''m worried that the wrong pair of eyes may fall on me and cut my visit short."


    "His gaze is not on this Singrity, so you don''t have to worry about abruptly getting a visit or anything like that." He assured me, head suddenly turning back towards where everyone was gathered. "Something''s going on."


    I noticed it as soon as he said something, people began running around with a purpose. And a Saintessing towards me with haste.


    "Will!" Jeanne yelled as she got closer. "She''sing."


    "Who?" I questioned.


    Jeanne grabbed my hand, pulling me back towards where all the tents were set up, weaving through them as she pointed over towards the horizon.


    I reinforced my eyes, and even still, they were barely dots in the sky, but they nearly blotted out the sun.


    "I could feel it as soon as she got close." Jeanne whispered. "I don''t know why, but I have this connection and I can sense her. It''s the Dragon Witch, she''sing."


    ".....phrasing."


    "Neeeh!" She puffed up, hitting my shoulder with her tiny fists.


    Well, I guess it''s finally time to see who exactly it was going around using Jeanne''s identity.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 439 - 398

    <h4>Chapter 439: Chapter 398</h4>


    Odin POV (DXD)


    "A drink, a fight, and ady for the night!" I chorused, blessing this dead realm with my beautiful singing voice. "Tis all I need in life!"


    "We have arrived, Lord Odin." The Ferryman of the Dead ¨C Charron, informed me.


    "No shit, skeley-boy." I leapt off the boat.


    "I''m not actually a skeleton."


    "Then eat some more! You''re all skin and bones. Tell Hades that just because he has an aesthetic, doesn''t mean he should abuse his subordinates."


    ".....Please do note back." He pushed off the shore, moving back across the waters of the River Styx.


    "Bah." I spat. "Damn brats, always so stuck up." They needed to learn to loosen up a little, life was short, even for Gods.


    One moment, you have everything in your grasp, a happiness that can''t be described, then the next moment, you''re only filled with regrets.


    I took a deep breath. "HADES!" I roared to every corner of this bleak ce. I calmly waited a moment until a swirl of darkness swept me up and carried me along much more quickly than if I moved by myself.


    "Odin." Top Skele-boy greeted me as his power deposited me right in front of his throne.


    "Persephone!" I looked at the only thing worth my attention. "You''re as lovely as ever."


    "....thank you, Lord Odin." She strained a smile.


    Hah, she''s already swooning.


    Hades sighed, covering his face. "Everyone, leave us." He waved his hand, dismissing all the people in the room. "Why did you juste the normal way?" He asked as everyone left.


    "I didn''t wanna walk." I shrugged.


    "Of course." He drawled. "And why are you here?" He started again before I could get a word in. "And if it is some variation of singling out my wife for a jest, I will be upset."


    "This is why the brats up on the mountain don''t like you. Can''t take a joke."


    "I will take your words under the consideration that they deserve."


    "Why couldn''t it have been Zeus that I teamed up with?" I signed, leaning on my walking stick sh spear. "I''d already have Aphrodite bouncing on my ¨C"


    "Yes, we get it." Hades growled. "Why are you here, Odin?"


    "Did you know that Zeus and Hera tried swinging for a few decades awhile back? Before Zeus got too jealous that his wife was banging other guys. But that was fun, your sister really knows how to handle a man."


    "...Odin, I''m losing my patience."


    "Fine, fine." I rolled my eyes. "Young''uns these days, way too serious I say. Anyways, just wanted toe talk about a few things. Thanks for stepping in with Indra, by the way. I appreciate you for that."


    Hades raised an eyebrow. "I didn''t even have you on my mind when I did so."


    "Even so, thought I''d at least give you my thanks. The brat is someone important to me, don''t want anything to happen to him. And that cougar of his doesn''t deserve Indra''s brand of bullshit."


    "You are aware that I''m going to tell Izanami how you refer to her, yes?"


    "Bah, I''ll say it to her face the next time I see her."


    "Of course you will." Hades sighed again.


    "Izanami is someone we like, Odin. Your thanks is unnecessary." Persephone spoke up in his ce. "And Wilhelm is in an agreement with us, it''s only natural. That and I look forward to hosting the new couple for dinner~"


    Hah, that cougar was gonna be so embarrassed, I''m almost jealous that I won''t be there.


    "I should apologize to the brat, I talked a big game about distracting Indra, but it wasn''t nearly as long as I thought it''d be."


    "It was never a sure thing. I wouldn''t be surprised if Indra used the whole thing as an excuse to release some steam by treading on what he perceives as his ''lessers''." Hades replied.


    "Sounds like that cunt." I nodded. "Still, I''ll do something for himter as an apology. But that''s not why I wanted toe over here to bother you. I think I found the location of a few of those items you both were lookin for. Figured I''d give you a head sup."


    ".....that, is very appreciated, Odin." Hades sounded sincere. Heh, I did actually like him more than his siblings despite how much I like to give him a hard time. "I''ve been chasing down a few rumors, and I''m only really sure on one at the moment."


    "The Nails?" I asked.


    "How did you know?" He was surprised.


    "It was the easiest one to find."


    Hades grumbled, making me justugh in response. "I''ve merely been surveilling the owner thus far. Do you have any insight?"


    "Two things." I held up corresponding fingers. "First, it seems like the original was cannibalized by the system left by the Biblical God and turned into a Sacred Gear. Which is why it went missing for so long."


    Hades visibly got annoyed. "Of course it did. That damn system has been going haywire ever since he died."


    "Well, you''re gonna get more upset. Cause it''s not just a Sacred Gear, it''s easily a Longinus level from what I''ve gathered."


    "And this is precisely why I originally joined that ridiculous organization. Eventually, things will spiral out beyond our control."


    "Yeah, I''m starting to see your point. Somess with a grudge got a hold of such a thing by sheer chance, and she''s already began destabilizing the mortal government in her area and taking over the mortal businesses with its power."


    "While I don''t care much about the Mortals before they die, I agree that it''s not something to ignore." Hades nodded in agreement. "Why haven''t you stepped in if you already figured all this out?"


    "Second point." I noted. "I was curious as to how she got so good at using this ''new Longinus'' of hers without anyone noticing."


    "....that is a fair point." Hades stroked his chin. "Outside interference?"


    "Of the worst kind. Probably that same group you were talkin about cause I think there''s an Evil God possessing her and twisting her perceptions." I wasn''t entirely sure, as I didn''t want to alert anyone, but I''ve been at the game long enough to pick some things up.


    "I will need to rethink my approach then." Hades grumbled.


    "What were you going to do before?" I was a little curious.


    "Buy her off."


    ".....yeah you would."


    Hades huffed in annoyance. "She is a human Magician, I have umted knowledge she couldn''t fathom. And I have riches that the supposed Royal Family she was cast out of couldn''t even hope to dream about. It would have been simple to form a contract and have her enter my employment. I''m not against hiring talent at any level or profession."


    "She might be thankful if you free her? If she is possessed, and not willingly doing a soul shuffle with said Evil God." I shrugged again. "In either case, if she is doing naughty things with her Sacred Gear, atl east you don''t'' have to feel bad about taking it from a human."


    "True." Hades mused. "My pride wouldn''t let me take something without giving something equal in return. But if she is misusing it to cause trouble, I would not care."


    "I think I know where that Shroud of Turin is, and the Cross made an appearance a year or so ago, I don''t know where it is now, but I got info on who used it."


    "I appreciate the notice, Odin. But what do you want in return for this help?"


    "What makes you think I want anything?"


    Hades deadpanned, but didn''t answer.


    "Fine, I want a favor."


    "Speak."


    "I need you to take care of my Valkyrie for a little while."


    ".....an odd request, but not one I would disregard. Might I ask why?"


    I unbuttoned my shirt, pulling it open.


    Hades stood up from his throne, eye''s widened. "Odin..."


    "Yeah, thought you''d recognize the energy this gave off." I ran my hand down a deep cut on my chest. I had Runes drawn on my body to heal and begin dispelling the energy, but it was slow going.


    "You fought my Father." Hades stated.


    "Yup." I hummed. "Honestly, it looks worse than it is. His annoying power of Time is what''s making it difficult to heal properly. That and his damn Scythe, what a stupid weapon. Who uses a scythe!? Pick a proper weapon, stupid bastard."


    "How?" Hades asked. "My Father is powerful, but I would not give him good chances against you, All-Father."


    "Bah." I huffed in annoyance. "Bastard ambushed me with that other one of his fellows. The Sun bastard that also broke out with him some time ago. I''d have been fine, but they used my Valkyrie to distract me. Maybe it''s cause I''m old and retired now, but I fell for such a stupid trick."


    "I will go with you and hunt him down." Hades stated. "I owe you that much."


    "It would only cause problems. Those bastards are hiding somewhere within the Realms of Yggdrasil. If you started poking around, it''d only escte the already tense atmosphere among Asgard. Don''t worry, he didn''t escape unscathed."


    Though I don''t think gouging his Heart out was gonna slow him down for very long. But I aint a bitch that gets hit without getting some in of my own.


    "This is....distressing news." Hades sighed. "My Father is active in the Norse territory, and he even has his weapon once more. It had disappeared eons ago, yet the moment he resurfaces, it''s back in his hand."


    "It is what it is. It''ll make a good trophy after I bring you his head though."


    Hades snorted withughter. "I will look after your Valkyrie, Odin. You don''t have to worry about her."


    "Thanks, bone-boy. I''d ask one of my Sons to, but Asgard isn''t the safest at the moment."


    Despite my confidence, I wouldn''t be a very good War God if I just went chasing after them without a second thought. This whole thing basically screams ''trap''. No, I would wait for a little bit, because that brat was going to being to my neck of the woods soon anyways. I''d feel a lot better if I had someone strong enough to throw down with Indra watching my back. And I actually had a few good excuses to let him move around without my own brats kicking up a fuss, unlike Hades.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    The normal Soldiers were scrambling to ready themselves as we marched through the camp to meet up with the others. Olga and the rest were gathered around as we approached.


    "Good, you''re here." She eyed me in approval. "Roman, what''s the situation?"


    "We''re detecting 9, no now it''s 12 Servants converging on your location." He replied through the projection.


    That.....was a lot of Servants to fight.


    I wasn''t honestly sure how many I could handlefortably. And a Servant''s Noble Phantasm almost always deserved respect.


    "I can sense the same, however, only the 9 you mentioned appear to being from the direction of those Wyverns." Jeanne added. "There are three more moving from the North East."


    "....we have no way to tell if they''re enemies or not." Olga bit her thumb. "Assume the worst, hope for the best."


    "Logical." Medea hummed. "However, there is still the matter of the hundreds of Wyverns flying towards us. With the amount of Servants that appeared to be involved, we wouldn''t have time to protect the humans."


    I could handle them but....I was trying to go under the radar for the most part. That kind of power needed to take out.... "How many Wyverns is that?" I held a hand up over my eyes to block the sun.


    "Between 1600 and 1700." Saber said bluntly. I nced at her, meeting her gaze briefly, and she frowned, turning away. "....it ismon for those experienced in battle to be able to estimate numbers at a nce."


    "She''s right." Cu chimed in. "I''d give it closer to 1600, but it doesn''t really make a difference. Still way more than should be possible. To the point where if this many turned up in my time, or the Witch''s, it''d be freckin weird."


    "Don''t call me that." Medea hissed. "But he''s right. Wyverns sometimes gather into groups around nests with an ''Alpha'' or whatever you want to call it. But these kinds of numbers are absurd."


    "I wonder how theypare to what you''re familiar with?" I asked.


    "It''s not like I went out of my way to hunt them during my life." Medea crossed her arms. "But they seem weaker, I was just assuming it was due to the age and regression of Mystery but now that you mention it...."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if the ''Dragon Witch'' was just making ''clones'' via the Grail and throwing caution to the wind."


    "....that is something possible through a device like the Grail." Roman idly mused.


    "The more I hear about this thing, the more stupid I feel it is." Medea shook her head.


    "Regardless, we now have to deal with a Phantasmal species nearing two thousand in number that would take a skilled Magus to put down one with time and effort." Olga redirected the conversation back to the main point.


    "How much time do you think we have?" I asked again, ncing at the swarm of ck dots in the distance.


    "Between ten and fifteen minutes, probably." Cu estimated. "They might slow down as they start getting closer, so maybe a few minutes more."


    "Jeanne, what''s going on with the soldiers?" I turned to our resident Saintess. "Did you fill them in on everything?"


    "N-no." She shook her head. "It was hard to settle just my presence, I hadn''t had the opportunity. And there''s no way they can run away."


    "We''re not going to leave them, right?" Samuel asked. "They wouldn''t stand a chance."


    "This ce is already burning around us, Farmer boy." Cu snorted. "Ya think one more instance is gonna matter?"


    "Yes." He said resolutely.


    Cu chuckled. "Good, I like that attitude." He spun his ¨C my spear. "I ain''t one to run from a fight."


    "I won''t abandon my friends." Jeanne agreed.


    "I suppose this is what we trained for." Olga sighed. "We have enough people to handle the Servants." She paused, ncing at Hinako.


    "Yeah, yeah, I can handle one, two maybe if you don''t expect me to win." She grumbled. "I won''t be able tomand my own if I''m busy." She jabbed her thumb towards Lancelot at the side.


    "I can handle a few as well." I made sure to rify.


    "Are you sur¡ª"


    "No." Saber interrupted Roman.


    Everyone just sort of went quiet and stared at the stoic Saber, not offering anything additional, simply denying my input.


    "I assure you, I can handle myself with a few Servants." I tried to be gentle in rebuffing her as I didn''t quite know what was going on with her at the moment.


    She scowled deeply, somehow producing Artoria''s Sheath as it appeared into her hands with a burst of light, and she threw it at me. I fumbled to catch it due to the abrupt action, and she simply walked away.


    "Women." Cu shook his head.


    "What was that?" Hinako raised an eyebrow.


    "I said, what''s our n?" Cu corrected himself.


    "We need to keep the fighting away from the people here." Olga announced.


    "They may have other ideas." Hinako noted. "It''s their home, you think they''re just gonna be okay with a bunch of ''outsiders''ing in and telling them to sit tight?"


    "Thankfully, we have someone they trust implicitly." I turned to look at Jeanne.


    "....I''ll speak to them." Jeanne muttered.


    "Alright, everyone, this is what we''re going to do." Olga beganying out the n.


    [***]


    Jeanne did manage to convince the soldiers to allow us the opportunity first. It took some quick words on her part, but she got them to agree, in no little part to Gille''s actions.


    "Hey Pierre?" I asked.


    "Oui? Yes?" he answered.


    It''s funny, I noticed that my magical Devil Ability to understandnguages gets messed up sometimes if people switch betweennguages in their speech. It doesn''t exactly throw me off, but I don''t quite hear things as I should sometimes.


    "Must be nice, visiting home again."


    ".....France is burning." He deadpanned.


    ".....you mean it wasn''t like this originally?" I feigned shock.


    I got a few snickers around me, but mostly a grumbling from Pierre and a Jeanne looking rather puffed up in indignation.


    A small joke to ease any tension they might be having.


    Siegfried was contracted with Ritsuka, due to his absurd Servantpatibility. While Hinako had Lancelot, and the others were rather obvious. Lancelot also hadn''t gone full Berserker yet, so that was a bonus.


    "Anyst-minute advice, Boss?" Samuel asked. "This is a bit different than the simtions."


    "Stay together, don''t be afraid to use Command Seals. If you see an opening to push for a kill on a Servant, take it." I replied.


    I would also be doing my best to protect them, but I had the feeling that I wouldn''t always be around, so they needed their own experience in matters such as these. My insertion into this Singrity was already rocky, I couldn''t guarantee I could be in the next one or stick around.


    "Let''s give them a greeting." Olga stated, turning to Ritsuka. "Fujimaru, you''re up."


    Ristuka clenched his hand, a Command Seal lightning up. "Saber, with this Command Seal, use your Noble Phantasm."


    The baleful Magical Energy swirled around the darkened Artoria as she raised her de up high. "Hammer of the Vile King, Overturn the Aurora, consume the Light ¨C Excalibur Morgan!" The dark Excalibur released its fury.


    The usual holy and memorizing attack still had an effect despite looking so malefic. I didn''t get to see its capabilities in this capacity thest time as I was on the receiving end of it. But there was a different sort of beauty to be held in this version.


    The Army of Wyverns, and presumably Servants were still a distance away, but this de had by far enough power to reach them and clear a good chunk away before they even reached.


    "No!" Siegfried blurted out, clutching his heart.


    A roar shook the world following his outburst. It came bursting through the clouds, carrying a simr mark as Siegfried across its chest, but with scales and wings of ck and red. A massive Dragon appeared in the path of the Noble Phantasm and opened its mighty jaw.


    The amount of Magical Energy it gathered in that moment was just as palpable as the amount Saber used to release her Noble Phantasm. It let loose its breath, colliding with the st in the sky.


    The sun that was setting on the horizon was dimmed at the burst of power that illuminated every corner of France in the transcendent light. The power of a Dragon''s breath, and Excalibur, neither won over the other, but that in itself was a loss for us.


    "Is that a Dragon!?" Olga shouted.


    "Fafnir." Siegfried answered the question that was on everyone''s mind.


    Yeah....I suppose that is what Martha was talking about.


    [That thing is stronger than the Fafnir I know.] Ddraig chimed in as well.


    ....joy.


    Just its presence alone is a few magnitudes higher than the Dragon Martha controlled.


    Just as everyone was processing the fuck-off dragon that just negated one of the Strongest Noble Phantasms present, it opened its mouth again.


    It could seemingly pull the needed Magical Energy from the atmosphere as its wings glowed with an ethereal light, only to be dwarfed by the magnitude of Magical Energy gathered between its jaws.


    It literally shook thendmass with the sheer density of power released. Each breath, seemingly a Noble Phantasm in of itself.


    "Bakud¨­ #81, Danku!" I quickly chanted, the Hogyoku thrumming inside of me as I shifted what I had into Reiatsu. Arge shield materialized in front of us as the breath attack mmed into it.


    I was about to call out, but someone beat me to it.


    "Mash!" Ritsuka yelled.


    My barrier was cracking and breaking away under the strain. A spell that I was confident could stop one Susanoo''s attacks and still stay standing.


    Mash leapt next to me and mmed her shield onto the ground. "Lord Camelot!" She dered, activating her own Noble Phantasm.


    White walls began to rise up from the ground as my shield shattered. Pristine and protective in nature, the Dragon''s breath collided with them, but they didn''t waver an iota. Mash struggled, she braced herself and held her Shield with all her strength, but it held without any semnce of breaking.


    And that was why I always give Noble Phantasms the respect they deserve, because I wasn''t even sure I could break that defense with everything I had.


    "Dragon yer, go y your dragon." Hinako pointed to the flying cmity.


    "....I am unable." Siegfried admitted. "I have yet to fully recover."


    "Great." Olga grumbled. "Get ready for battle." She stated, as the walls of the white city of Camelot receded.


    "My Noble Phantasm can''t do shit to that thing." Cu revealed. "Maybe throw a few punches, but it won''t do much to a Dragon of that scale."


    "I can keep it busy for a time." Siegfried stated. "But if it stays in the air, it''s pointless."


    "Medea." I called out, retrieving my Staff of Magnus from my ring and tossed it to her.


    She caught it questioningly, then her eyes widened. "Did you just hand me a Divine Construct!?"


    "Keep the Wyverns at bay."


    She looked at the staff in her hands. "Yeah...I can do that." She nced at Pierre. "Master, be ready to give me a Command Seal if I call for it."


    "I''ll trust you." Pierre nodded.


    Medea hesitated for a moment, before shooting up into the air. I poked Sir Wiggled on the forehead, and he zipped over,nding in Olga''s arms.


    My Reiatsu soared to the sky. "Wall of iron sand, Tower formed from hate, forge molten iron and neatly finish in silence!"


    Medea held the staff up and used one of her signature spells. The amount of spell circles that appeared in the air was beyond the need to count. "¦¬¦Á¦Ö?¦Á ¦¥¦Ê?¦Ó¦Ç ¦£¦Á?¦Á!" She chanted her Divine Words, actualizing Magic from the bygone era, amplified many times over by the power of the Staff of Magnus.


    Rain of Light.


    Fafnir opened its massive maw again, about to let loose another breath attack, but I finished my own spell.


    "Bakud¨­ #75, Gochu Tekkan." Five incredibly tall and thick pirs manifested far up into the sky, connected simply by a chain as they mmed down onto the back of the mighty dragon, disrupting its attack, and sent it hurling into the ground.


    Medea''s own spell filled the sky with purple light. Every single one of those beams of light was the equivalent of a Modern Magus chanting for thirty seconds using a High-speed Aria. And there were more than enough for every single Wyvern still flying towards us.


    But it wouldn''t be that simple. One in particr flew faster, someone riding on top of it. The outline of whom, I could vaguely recognize as they pulled back the string of their bow. ck thorn-like projectiles shot forth, sniping every Beam of Light it could. Granted, there were far too many for this Archer to manage on her own as Wyverns began falling out of the sky, pieces of flesh and bodies seared and destroyed upon impact, but she did enough to keep a good chunk of their forces from simply being routed right then and there.


    ".....Atnta?" Medea blurted out in shock.


    I recognized her too, but she looked different. Her normal Greenish fur was now white and ck, with a noticeable bleakness to her.


    No doubt, she was a Berserker just like the other''s we''ve seen.


    Medea floated downwards, an obvious choice as just being up by herself as a Caster would make her an easy target.


    She looked at me, then back at the staff. "I''ll marry you if you give me this."


    ....I was honestly unsure of what to say in response. But I was definitely going to tease my Medea about thister.


    Fafnir roared, breaking free of my binding spell with particr ease. Siegfried was about to move, as was Raikou, but I held my hand up.


    "Quiet, my Dragon." A womannded next to Fafnir, hopping down from a Wyvern amongst the pack. The Dragon, Fafnir was cowled at her words.


    Except for the white hair, pale skin, and ck armor, she was the spitting image of Jeanne.


    The Wyverns waited above, the Servants as well. They were ready to attack at a moment''s notice.


    The Dragon Witch swept her gaze around. Shended on Jeanne then turned her nose up, almost mockingly. Then she looked at me and her expression changed drastically. "You!?"


    "....hi?" I offered.


    "You!!" She held her hand up, pointing at me. "B-but! No, you? Why are you here!?" She looked pained for a moment as if she was having trouble articting.


    Everyone else sort of looked at me. "I have no idea what''s going on." I said withplete honesty. Why did she seem to recognize me?


    "Who are you?!" Jeanne stepped forward, demanding from her pale counterpart. "Why are you doing this? Why are you pretending to be me!?"


    "Pretending to be you!?" The Dragon Witch growled. "I''m the real Jeanne D''Arc! You''re the fake!"


    "What!?" Jeanne looked aghast. "No, I''m Jeanne!"


    "No I am! And I''ll carve the word fake into your body and hang it up on my castle walls for everyone to see!" The Dragon Witch scowled.


    "Well, that just proves you''re the fake." Imented. "Everyone knows that the real Janne can''t read or write!" I pointed out.


    "..."


    "Will!" Jeanne squawked.


    "Kill him." The Dragon Witch intoned.


    And everything went to hell.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 440 - 399

    <h4>Chapter 440: Chapter 399</h4>


    In the blink of an eye, there were many different attacksnding on my person.


    The familiar ck thorns fired by what looked like a berserker Anta. Some very unpleasant looking fleshy tentacles that sprouted from the ground. Amidst them were also a bunch of stakes that gave me another familiar feeling.


    And....arge Iron Maid connected to a chain was swung down overhead.


    I, of course, chose the most logical course of action and ran.


    The ground literally erupted withbined attacks in my wake. It took a burst of Shunpo for me to get even a moment of breathing room before someone I was familiar with made their proper introduction.


    His hair was a mess, and his armor grotesque and bloodstained, but I recognized him all the same.


    "We meet again!" He bellowed, mming into the ground from the Wyvern he jumped off of. He wasted no time, lunging at me with fangs bared.


    There was none of that previous grace nor martial prowess, even from someone who imed leadership over martial might. No, he was more like a rabid beast, swiping at me with his wed gauntlets, letting his stakes jut out from his own body to eek out any advantage


    "You remember me too!?" I couldn''t help but blurt out as I dodged to the side, letting a hail of arrows dipped in malefic energy from Atnta pass by me.


    I spared the briefest of moments to nce towards the others and saw that they had engaged the other Servants and Wyverns. Specifically, Fafnir was being preupied, which was rather important.


    "How could I forget the one who destroyed my hopes and dreams!?" He cackled, oddly contradictory of the fact that he was trying to kill me.


    "Would it help if I apologized?" I asked, shunpoing away.


    "I admit it would make me feel better." He rather calmly replied, gouging out a chunk of the ground, and threw it at me.


    I wasn''t stupid, I snapped my fingers,pressing air at a fine point right in front of what was essentially a giant dirt boulder, making it burst, revealing dozens of Stakes following.


    With Mirage in my hand, I flicked my wrist, matching each one with my own Birds. d came barreling through the collision of energies, gauntlet ws trying to grab at me. I deflected each swipe, flying off at each failed attack of his.


    "I would feel better if I took my pound of flesh instead!"


    "You''re oddly lucid for being ''controlled''. Are you even controlled?" I asked, ducking under another swipe as he gouged the ground from the force and Magical Energy dispelled.


    His wide grin twisted into a snarl. "Do you think I want to be manifested this way!? That petnt child forced me into the state I despise the most! It eats at my mind, my will, and my desires! I enjoy the wanton ughter, the blood, the corpses that I leave in my wake! I relish in the carnage!"


    I mmed my knee into his armored torso, sending him skipping across the ground. "Doesn''t sound much different than how you lived your life, Impaler."


    He hissed, standing back up. "I ept my sins fully. I did what I thought required to protect my people and my home. Not falling to pleasure and gratification by inflicting horrors upon the undeserving!" He roared, releasing an impressive amount of Magical Energy, Stakes shot up from the ground everywhere, like a tidal wave with him at the focal point.


    The concept of being impaled, not just normal stakes. It was rather annoying and something I wasn''t too keen on testing myself on.


    "Fus Ro Dah!" I roared in response, the invisible force rippling out, blowing away everything in its path, even the stakes he sent my way, creating a ratherrge ''safe space'' in my direction.


    d braced himself at the obvious attacking his way, but he was still blown away. However, there was a small unforeseen side effect of using the Dragon Language.


    Fafnir spun its head around nearly instantaneously, ring right at me with an odd look in its eyes. It was nearly ignoring the Servants it was battling as it roared in challenge.


    [You basically dered yourself a proper Dragon even if it doesn''t understand the words, it could recognize the Draconic nature of what you did.] Ddraig stated. [It doesn''t seem like that guy has much of his sense right now, so it''s moving on flimsy orders and mostly acting on instinct if I had to guess.]


    It opened its mouth, a ridiculous amount of Magical Energy gathered in its jaw as it aimed at me.


    My immediate reaction was to redirect the breath attack back at it with a use of the Kaleidoscope, but just as I was about to do the required actions, the realization of where I was set in. Using the Kaleidoscope in this situation was perhaps a bad idea considering that I''m technically hiding.


    Instead, I went to dodge, only for that Iron Maiden from before toe swinging down on me from a Servant that just materialized.


    It didn''t do any damage, but all I could now see was the destructive breath filling my vision. I quickly used the Hogyoku to shift what I had into Aura and braced myself.


    My Aura fluctuated violently, and it was painful, but I endured. It wasn''t quite as strong as the one used to offset Excalibur, but it was certainly not pleasant by any means.


    "Ooow."


    What snapped me out of my momentary self pity, was a rage induced roar, following but arge amount of Magical Energy discharged right in Fafnir''s face.


    Surprisingly....it wasn''t Raikou.


    I don''t think I''ve ever seen Artoria''s face twisted in anger that much before.


    "Will, are you okay!?" Jeanne slid to my side, looking at me in concern.


    "Get back here you fake bitch!" The other Jeanne followed after her, wreathed in some menacing mes.


    "I''m good." I reassured her. "Hurt like hell, but no major damage done." My Aura took a huge hit though. Would not be good to take that if my Aura broke, or even do it again and let my Aura tank the damage any further.


    "Let me fix that!" The Servant from before reappeared swinging that Iron Maiden again, but more than anything.....she was dressed like she just walked out of a sex dungeon. Like,plete leather bondage gear barely covering her important bits. The thing was, she had like half a dress on, covering only her sides for some reason, but that just means it was intentional. I was honestly surprised she wasn''t using a whip, but I guess a literal Iron Maiden was a step beyond that.


    "Hey Jeanne, your Dark Twin hired a stripper!" I pointed out as I deflected the massive chunk of metal.


    "Bwah!?" Jeanne made a strange noise as she registered what I just said. "You can''t say that about people!"


    "How uncouth." The Woman brought out a staff...mace, weapon thing and just licked it very suggestively.


    ".....well, you shouldn''t assume." Jeanne blushed a little.


    "Oh, I''m going to enjoy your virgin blood~"


    "Jokes on you, she was already touched by the devil!" I retorted.


    "Will!"


    A hail of stakesnded on the ground and Jeanne and I both jumped to the sides to avoid them.


    "Ruler, we meet again!" d rejoined the fray, as Jeanne did her best to block his attacks. "Would you kindly put me out of this misery, I despise taking orders from that fake reflection of you."


    "HEY!" The Fake Jeanne shouted in indignation. "I''m the real one!"


    "As real as me being a vampire!" He shouted back, though the little argument didn''t seem to do anything to stop ds rampaging.


    "Bastard, how dare you!" The darker Jeanne spat out angrily. "You''re not allowed to speak anymore!" She hissed.


    d, who was attacking Jeanne, his mouth mped tight, enough that it looked like it hurt.


    "How do you expect him to activate his Noble Phantasm if he can''t speak?" I asked.


    Darker Jeanne looked surprised by my response, her eyes widened and she hesitated for a second. "Like I would need his help! He''s just a stupid vampire." She swung her own darker banner, sending a wave of mes at my Jeanne.


    I turned back to the other Servant I was fighting. "Since you made sure to point out that Jeanne was a Virgin, does that mean Emo Jeanne over there is also a Virgin?"


    "Shut up! Shut up!" The Dark Jeanne squawked. "You''re not allowed to talk either!" Shemanded towards her.


    Me thinks that there is something off about this Dark Jeanne.....because that was very....idiotic of her.


    I mean, I wasn''t not going to exploit it, but still. It was worth noting as strange. Jeanne can be...simple in how she handled things, but she was a soldier, she had experience in battle andbat. Telling your soldiers to basically not use their strongest weapons for no reason was...utterly idiotic.


    I annoyedly used a burst of Shunpo to appear next to the stripper Servant, avoiding another swing of her Iron Maiden.


    She wasn''t particrly skilled, but her physical abilities were begrudgingly impressive the way she swung around that lump of metal. Servant bullshitbined with whatever Mad Enhancement she presumably had, powering her enough that I didn''t want to take that thing to the face.


    Right, it was time to put an end to her. I was cautious of how much strength I brought to bear for the moment, but I couldn''t just idle around while people I knew were having difficulties fighting.


    Just a nce to the side, I saw several other enemy servants as well as Fafnir still alive.


    This Servant didn''t strike me as particrly battle hardened.


    Even so, respect should be given to Noble Phantasms even if the Servant themselves werecking. And there was no telling when Dark Jeanne would reverse her decision. Thus, no point in dragging out a fight with some unknown Servant I care nothing about.


    "I''d hazard a guess that you''re into some rope y. Let me show you why Jeanne is the patron Saint of bondage."


    "Neeeeh!!" Jeanne screamed, pping d across the face with her banner.


    "Bakud¨­ #4, Hainawa." I cast quickly. "Bakud¨­ #4, Hainawa. Bakud¨­ #4, Hainawa. Bakud¨­ #4, Hainawa. Bakud¨­ #4, Hainawa." Truthfully, I was curious to the extent that random Servants were susceptible to my Kid¨­. A bigger sample size beyond the Servants I knew was appreciated. Two birds, one stone.


    The female Servant was immediately tied up by the first ethereal rope, but broke it quickly. The second wrapped around her and she nearly broke free in another instant until the second fell on her, then the third, and the fourth.


    I was using Kid¨­, my spiritual Arts, because I figured it would be somethingpletely foreign enough not to be noticed.


    Thus, I felt fine going big as it were.


    My Reiatsu shot up and I held a finger extended, pointing at the Servant. "Seeping Crest of turbidity. Arrogant Vessel of Lunacy! Boil forth and Deny!" She broke free of the spiritual ropes and I moved. Quick bursts of Shunpo to avoid her attacks. "Grow numb and fickler. Disrupt sleep! Crawling Queen of Iron! Eternally Self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill the soil and know your own powerlessness!" A dark aura enveloped me. This was not my first time casting this Kid¨­, but it was the first time truly using it on an enemy. "Had¨­ 90, Kurohitsugi!"


    ck material began to emerge from the ground, forming into the shape of walls as it climbed up around the Servant who only had a moment of panic before her body waspletely covered. Taking the final form of an enclosed box, as the name implied ¨C ck Coffin. Then, a dozen or so spears in the shape of crosses materialized in the air and pierced into it.


    The Coffin dissipated, revealing a woman barely standing, and blood spraying from various parts on her body. She copsed to the ground a momentter. I grabbed Mirage, hovering over her, and she didn''t seem to have any fight left, however....


    ".....did you get off on that?"


    She just smiled euphorically.


    "....goodbye." I stabbed her through the heart, ending her summons.


    I felt icky now.


    I really hope that her response was a result of her Mad Enhancement forced on her.


    Anyways, let''s repress this memory. Instead, I focused on the Dark Jeanne who was.....not helping d fight Jeanne, instead she was happily watching from the side.


    Otherwise, Raikou, Lancelot, Saber and Siegfried were handling Fafnir...rtively speaking. Hinako and Cu were handling a bunch of Wyverns and what I would assume to be a Saber Servant. Medea was in the air having a battle with Atnta on Wyvern-back. And she was doing a good job of sniping Wyverns when she could. Mash was fighting another Servant with a strange looking sword. She looked to be doing fine, and was protecting the others, so I instead turned back towards the Darker Jeanne.


    ....I could at least give it a try?


    "Hey there, Jeanne." I arrived a few feet from her.


    "Oh it''s you." She seemed utterly dismissive, which was not what I was expecting. "You wanna help me kill the fake?"


    "Kill the fake?" I questioned.


    "Yeah, that bitch, going around pretending to be me. Obviously I''m the real one, you know that."


    Did she forget what happened earlier?


    "Do I?"


    She snorted. "Of course, we ¨C" She stopped, like she kept trying to say something but couldn''t quite. "We ¨C you and I were...."


    "What happened to you, Jeanne?" There was obviously something wrong with her.


    "What do you mean what happened!?" She threw her hand out. "I want revenge, that''s what happened! They betrayed me, burned me after everything I did! So, I came back and burned them too!"


    "That''s understandable that you were upset after dying so horrifically."


    "See, I knew you would understand." She actually smiled. The same way that my Jeanne did, making me feel a twinge of guilt in my heart.


    ".....if you just came right back after dying, how do you know me?"


    "Don''t be stupid, we met in the Grail Wa ¨C" She stopped again. If anything, I wouldpare it to aputer getting an error. "Grail War....grail war. What Grail War? But there was a Grail War. I remember, but how was that, I wasn''t there?" She clutched her head and screamed. "GILLES!? GILLES! Something''s wrong, Gilles! I can''t...."


    "Get away from my Jeanne!" Another person jumped down from a wyvern high above. Except, I didn''t notice this person.


    I jumped back because I felt something dangerous. Like my instincts were screaming at me about something I wasn''t quite sure about.


    Fleshy appendages burst out from the ground, and I now know who sent those ones earlier.


    They were....like marine creatures, some form of squid, but distorted and wrong.


    They didn''t belong.


    As a literal Half-Devil, they made my skin crawl with their wrongness.


    "RAIKOU!" I shouted out, knowing who exactly was responsible.


    I didn''t even need to look over to know that Raikou immediately came to my aid. My other swords shot out of my ring, cleaving those monstrosities into pieces as I shot towards the new Servant that had joined the fray.


    I recognized him, though not from meeting him in person. He was a participant of the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, and the reason that Zelretch nearly interfered. Not even the potential manifestation of an Evil God made Zelretch move, but this Servant did.


    I moved as fast as I could, turning into a streak of lightning, and I saw Raikou as well, her purple lightning enveloping her as her sword was pointing right at his forehead.


    He raised a book up, and a shield enveloped him and the Dark Jeanne,pletely blocking both Raikou and I.


    [Priority, Book or Servant need to die!] I quickly sent over our mental ink.


    [Yes, Master.] Raikou replied.


    The book was utterly disgusting, even to my Devil Nature. It nauseated everything about me, every aspect, and I could even feel Ddraig''s disgust.


    It had writing on the front, and as someone who could magically understand every humannguage and had the knowledge of many more, it was utterly indecipherable.


    Because that book was a fucking link to an Outer God.


    I liked to joke about Meridia being my Eldritch Girlfriend, which was true to a degree. But this Book was a true link to an entity that was at the very least on par with her, and much less amicable.


    It needed to die, he needed to die.


    "Gilles, what''s happening to me!?" Jeanne looked up to the Caster Servant. The fallen and deranged future version of the Soldier we had met earlier that was still living.


    "There is nothing wrong with you, Jeanne! You are perfect." He reassured her, the shield around them starting to crack. "It''s the fault of these pests." His bugged eyes turned our way. "I will remove them for you." He held his arms up and the space around him twisted in an unnatural way. I couldn''t understand what was happening, but a void opened up, an area bereft of normal space, and massive tentacles shot out.


    Raikou and I dodged, our des tearing through the unnatural appendages, but they were seemingly never ending.


    [Get ready, I''ll give you an opening.] I sent towards Raikou, taking a deep breath. "Zun Haal Viik!" I roared, amidst the tsunami of tentacles.


    The book in his hand was flung up into the air and the tentacles, as if having their strings cut, just stopped.


    Raikou was already moving, with a thunderp, she arrived in front of the book, and sliced it in half.


    There was an unnatural wailing that made nearly everyone cover their ears in horror. Wyverns dropped from the sky, and even Fafnir roared in fury upon hearing it.


    Raikou became stunned, being at the epicenter of it, giving the Caster Servant a second to grab the two pieces of his book with a furious look.


    Gilles, the mad Caster, held up his hand in annoyance, and then it appeared, the golden Chalice. The unmistakable power that emanated off it made it so no one could actually question what is one. He was the one holding the Grail.


    "Let us return, my beloved Jeanne. We will deal with themter." He said softly towards the dark Jeanne who was....not having a good time from the looks of it.


    They all began to glow, and the other Servants, even Fafnir, disappeared. The sheer power needed to teleport that many people in such a way....


    That wasn''t a simple teleportation circle like from my birth world, the space here didn''t work the same way.


    "Will?" the Real Jeanne walked over, a little tussled, but otherwise unharmed. "What''s going on, was that Gilles?"


    "It appears so."


    "And he had the Grail?"


    "Yup." I nodded in annoyance. "I''m guessing that the Dragon Witch is not the source of our concerns." No, that book of his was far more dangerous than the fake Jeanne running around. Hell, I would call it magnitudes more dangerous than even Fafnir and he was holding off four powerful Servants.


    Suddenly, Jeanne''s head jerked to the side. "More Servants areing." She grabbed her banner, ready for battle again.


    Three more Servants appeared from their astralized form, led by a woman with white hair and a rather bubbly aura about her. "Marie Antote is here to help!" She dered proudly


    "...you''rete."


    I presume they came because of the fighting? Well, it seems obvious they aren''t on the Dragon Witch''s side, that''s good at least.


    Apparently, the woman wasn''t even fazed, instead she took one look at Jeanne and ran up to her smiling happily. "Oh, you must be Jeanne! Kyah, you''re so pretty, I''m Marie! I feel like we''re going to be the best of friends!"


    ".....Eh!?" Jeanne''s confused response was rather telling of what she understood about what was going on.


    I ignored her, and looked at herpanions.


    One had long hair with colorful clothes, perhaps even mboyant in a sense. And he held a conductor''s baton in his hand.


    The other, well, I immediately guessed his identity. He had long red hair, copper colored armor in the design of a knight, and a white tunic overtop. Not to mention the Dragon yer properties he practically radiated. But his sword, well, it was one I was familiar with.


    I held out my hand, letting Ascalon enter my grasp as I walked over to him.


    I held my sword up, and he too blinked in confusion, holding up his identical sword.


    ".....wanna touch swords?" I asked.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 441 - 400

    <h4>Chapter 441: Chapter 400</h4>


    Olga Marie Animusphere POV


    Things were going bad, and then they went worse. It was already a horrible situation with half of France literally burning or having been burnt down the ground. Then we figured out how many enemy Servants there were, nearly a dozen! And if that wasn''t bad enough, the name Dragon Witch wasn''t in reference to the literal army of wyverns!


    I could feel the dragon pulling the insane amounts of Mana from the air to use its breath attack as it tied with Saber''s Noble Phantasm.


    Fafnir that was what Siegfried imed it was.


    I almost thought we were lucky that we had the Dragon''s mythological weakness, until I was informed that our Dragon yer had barely recovered!


    Then Wilhelm did something to ground the dragon. I didn''t even feel the Magical Energy in his spell. Oh, and that was after he gave Caster a damn Divine Construct like it was a random Mystic Code!


    And to top all of this ridiculousness off, he decided to taunt the Dragon Witch to her face.


    I watched in anxiety as the Dragon let loose a breath attack at him and he took it head on.


    I knew he was strong, but still, it was hard to see. I was heavily relieved to see him apparently unscathed from the attack. And then he continued to mock the Dragon Witch. I was fuming, I knew he was doing it on purpose, drawing her undivided attention onto himself. But I couldn''t call him out on it or get angry at the moment.


    He obviously had a n, and I knew he could handle the Servants that appeared to engage him. I....trusted him not to do anything stupid and get himself killed.


    However, it seemed like I wasn''t the only one that was upset. Sabershed out with pure anger towards the Dragon, and I decidedly choose not toment.


    Wilhelm''s Servant, Siegfried, Saber, and Lancelot all attacked Fafnir. And the Dragon showed no visible signs of struggling under their assault.


    I did not remain distracted for long, the Wyverns that still filled the sky made sure of that as I could feel the heat from so many readying their breath.


    "¦¥¦Ò¦Ó?¦Á ¦¥¦Ê?¦Ó¦Ç ¦¶¦Ñ?¦Í¦Ï?" Caster Medea held up the staff immediately, casting words I couldn''t understand, but a powerful spell actualized. A shield coloredvender appeared overhead, runic symbols and images unknown to me filled every corner of it.


    The Breaths fell down onto it, but it held firm against the onught of Wyvern.


    "Damn, that''s a nice staff." Caster Cu whistled. "Can see why you offered your hand for it."


    "Never thought I''d see a Staff in this age better than my mine, let alone my teacher''s. I think even Circe would have thrown herself at him if she could get this Staff in return." Medeamented. "Half the effort, ten times the results."


    .....What kind of ridiculous thing did you hand over, Schweinorg?


    "What''re you gonna do if he takes you up on your offer?" Cu cracked a smile.


    She shrugged. "Probably just kill him in his sleep."


    "Damn, what a cold bitch."


    "I''d atleast make sure he went to sleep happy." She smiled maliciously.


    Cu justughed.


    "Enough chit-chat." I announced. "We need to ¨C"


    Caster Cu mmed his staff on the ground, and massive Roots sprang up to cover us. Arrows made of Magical Energy fell down, tearing them apart, but protecting us, if barely.


    There was an Archer sitting on one of the Wyverns up in the air. First things first we ¨C


    "Medea, can you handle Archer?" Pierre spoke up before I could. I was about to admonish him...but that is exactly the same order I would have given.


    "I can keep her busy." Medea nodded.


    "And take out any Wyverns if you get the opportunity."


    "Will do, Master." She flew up into the sky.


    ....Good Job Pierre.


    "Well, this puts me in a rather bad spot." Cu hummed. "Hey Lass, guard my Master and the others." He nced back at Mash.


    "Yes!" Mash held her shield up.


    "As much as I want to take a crack at that dragon...my Magic aint gonna do much unless I whip out the big stuff, and I''d just be getting in the way at that point."


    I could understand his sentiments. I wasn''t sure I even had any Magecraft capable of harming a Dragon through their insane Magic Resistance. Besides, those four Servants were keeping it busy for now and not....losing it seemed.


    "Well, looks like my opponent is here." Cu Chinn looked forward and a rather well dressed....man, woman? Person walked calmly our way.


    "I shall be your opponent." The strange Servant dered. It was odd, the person didn''t seem hostile, yet there was a faint...bloodlust regardless.


    "Introductions?" Cu asked.


    "Do you really think that''s going to ¨C"


    "Chevalier D''Eon, Knight of the white Lilly." The servant introduced themselves without hesitation.


    "...work."


    "Haha." Cu chuckled at my expense. "Don''t underestimate a Servant''s pettiness,ss. It''s obvious this person isn''t working under their own will."


    "You speak the truth." He nodded darkly. "This bloodlust is not mine; it clouds my mind. Once we begin, I will not be able to hold myself back. I do not choose this path of my own will, but I shall fight with the intent to kill."


    "I wouldn''t have it any other way!" Cu barked with a wide grin. "Cu Chinn, unfortunately summoned as a Caster, but I''m up for a fight regardless."


    "The Hound of Ulster, you honor me." The Servant held their rapier infront of themselves. "Please give me a good death. Know that unless I ammanded, I will not utilize my Noble Phantasm. En Garde!" He stepped forward with the speed of a being beyond Humans, and Cu responded, swinging his staff to block the thin de.


    This is getting more and more ridiculous....


    The transmitter started beeping too. "Roman, what is it?" I answered.


    "Director, we picked up some insane readings! What''s going on!?" Roman''s face appeared on the small projection above my wrist.


    "There''s a Dragon, Roman!"


    "Dragon?" Da Vinci''s face appeared separate from his. "Does it have a name?"


    "Fafnir." I responded.


    "I''ll pull up the information we have....Ah, here it is. Fafnir isn''t a natural born Dragon, but a curse that is derived from the concept of Greed. Such that both Sigurd and Siegfried both yed the Dragon Fafnir in their legends. The legends say that Fafnir has nearly imprable armor."


    I looked at the Dragon who barely had a scratch on him after getting hit by four Servants. "I am aware, Roman."


    I couldn''t expect any more than that. It''s not like we have perfect records from things that took ce so long ago in myths and legends.


    "Roman, how are the generators holding up? Do we have enough for multiple, simultaneous Noble Phantasm activations?" It was best to prepare to defeat the Dragon now.


    "The Generators are holding well enough even if we have only these few up. We have enough in the reserves for the Rayshift that we can shift everything into supporting the Servants avable." Roman ryed.


    "Best to err on the side of caution. Let the Masters use up their own Magical Energy first before the FATE system handles the burden." I decided after a moment. One of them could restore their own reserves after a day or so of rest. And it felt like if we didn''t win in this encounter, it would be prolonged enough that such a concern was unneeded.


    "Fujimaru, can Siegfried release his Noble Phantasm?"


    "Uh....he said that he can, but it''ll take him out of the fight." Ritsuka took a moment to respond, presumedly after asking.


    "Hinako, go aid Cu." I quickly decided.


    She was hovering near us protectively like Mash was. "He''s going to hate it."


    "He can file hisints with out HR department." I snorted. He wasn''t looking like he was in a favorable position. "Samuel, I''m giving you free rein, if you see an opening, use a Command Seal to end the fight with his Noble Phantasm."


    "Yes, Ma''am." He quickly nodded.


    I looked up, and Medea was doing a phenomenal job of keeping the Wyverns preupied and the Archer, even if it didn''t look like she was gaining any advantage, it was the best possible situation for us.


    The Dragon Witch herself was....just watching the ''real'' Jeanne D''Arc and Wilhelm fight with the other Servants.


    If she didn''t wish to participate, that was fine.


    I aimed my hand up and fired off a few Gandr shots, hitting one Wyvern. It was taken by surprise an lost its flight rather quickly in the confusion and plummeted to the ground.


    "Roman, did you get any readings from that?"


    "I was watching, director."


    "If I use the same amount of power, calcte the shots needed to defeat a singr Wyvern." Wilhelm mentioned that they should be...lower than traditional Wyverns, as odd as that was to consider.


    "With the same output, you would need three Shots,nding center mass. Perhaps less if you hit them in a vital." Roman replied back rather quickly.


    "Suboptimal." I clicked my tongue. "I will run out of Magical Energy far before I make a dent." However, I could snipe any that got ideas about us down here instead of focusing on another Servant.


    I nearly fell over when the Dragon let out an earth-shattering roar. It looked like Siegfried got a good hit in on it.


    "Fujimaru, prepare to ¨C "


    "Director!" Mash yelled.


    I blinked, noticing something out of the corner of my eye, as a de wasing right for my neck.


    "Mash, by the power of this Command Seal! ¨C"


    It happened so quickly, but I could see the sparks fly, and the sound of steel shing with Mash standing over me, her shield deflecting an oddly shaped sword.


    I quickly regained myposure. "Mash, Assassin Protocols!" I shouted, ducking and rolling to the side. It wasn''t the time to worry about my appearance as I did the best I could to get away from them.


    Despite my reservations, Mash performed admirably. She used herrge shield to push the Assassin Servant away from us and force him to keep a distance.


    A strategy we devised for her, simply be a wall between us and an Assassin.


    The Servant didn''t appear like an Assassin, but looks can be deceiving. He held arge....oddly shaped de.


    Mash and him began exchanging blows. The sword of hisshing out against her shield. Mash didn''t need to do much to keep him at bay as his attacks never came close to harming her. In fact, he seemed to be relying more on his pure strength than anything.


    Wide, open arcs....I was no Swordsman, but that seemed odd even to me. Almost like a pendulum as he continued his swings and, then it made sense. "Ritsuka,mand Mash. He''s aiming ¨C"


    "I saw, Director!" Fujimaru cut me off. "Mash, he''s aiming for your head!"


    Mash quickly changed up her pattern, once she was informed, she was weaving between strikes. Then dodged and caughthim in some awkward spots. Every so often, her shield wouldnd on him, causing some amount of damage.


    The tide further turned as a root sprung up out of the ground and wrapped up the Assassin Servant''s foot. Both him and Mash were surprised by the sudden turn of events, but Mash was quicker and her shield smashed into his face, sending him flying.


    I nced at Caster Cu, but he was still preupied with his fight. Instead, I looked towards Samuel. He had a hand on one of Cu Chinn''s Roots that he himself had summoned earlier.


    "Ah....there was some magic left in this, thought I''d use it to help?" He looked embarrassed.


    "Well done." I gave him a brief word of praise.


    They all had been taking the initiativetely, their training was paying off in spades. I was genuinely surprised at how far they''vee in the meant time, even if they still had further to go.


    I surveyed the battlefield again as Mash was putting the Assassin on the defensive at this point.


    "Roman, quickly, scan Wilhelm and report." I reinforced my eyes to see clearly what he was doing. I could hear it, even over the battlefield''s chaos, it sounded like Japanese, but I wasn''t an expert. He was chanting something, and it was long.


    "I''m getting some strange readings." Roman confirmed.


    "Oh wow, those are weird." Da Vinci chimed in. "There''s no Magical Energy present, but there is an unknown phenomena urring."


    "How is there no Magical Energy? I''m seeing an unnatural urrence with my own eyes. There has to be Magical Energy!" I could literally see the energy around him conglomerate into a solid color. And whatever spell he cast actualized, trapping the Servant he was fighting. Some kind of ck box that had stakes stab into the side.


    I had no idea what was happening, but as soon as it unraveled the Servant was utterly defeated.


    "Nope, nada. Whatever he did, it was not Magecraft or Magic. Tell him to give me an exnation after the fight is over, I want to see it again." Caster cheerfully chirped.


    "....wonderful." More things I just had no knowledge for.


    How many lines of an Aria count was that? It was strong enough to take out a Servant, so it had to be at least an A Rank Spell.


    "Woah woah!" Roman squeaked from his side of the projection. "Something''s going on, be careful. These readings, it''s like the Singrity is being torn open in a small scale."


    "What..." There was nothing like that? Just battles going on, a new Caster joined the fight it seems, and Wilhelm engaged him. Summoning some kind of tentacle construct....eww.


    But otherwise ¨C


    A deafening scream silenced the battlefield.


    It was wrong.


    It didn''t belong.


    Every fiber of my being told me to eliminate whatever it came from. I had to cover my ears, but even so, I felt my Aura vibrate in nausea at the sound.


    I felt my head wobble and I nearly fell over.


    Eyes, Tentacles, like something massive was looking at me from the other side of a mirror.


    I only regained my senses with Sir Wiggles jumped onto my head. A tiny jolt from his lightning cleared away the foreign feeling.


    I wasn''t the only one who felt that. Wyverns fell from the sky like flies. The others, they were having trouble climbing to their feet.


    And the enemy Servants....they were glowing bright and they simply disappeared a momentter, along with the massive Dragon.


    "Director, what just happened!?" Roman called out.


    "I-I don''t know..."


    "Well, that was a nasty surprise. Ruined my fight too." Cu grumbled, walking over. "Been awhile since I''ve felt something like that."


    "You know what that was?!" I questioned him.


    "Something that doesn''t belong." Medea floated down. "I was barely paying attention to the source, but it''s a taboo that shouldn''t be touched by humans."


    "Something from the Age of Gods?"


    Medea snorted. "Not even Hecate herself would willingly touch the source of that. I don''t know too much, but It''s something from outside. Something that the Gods themselves actively denied ess to our world."


    "Yup, things got a bit moreplicated." Cu nodded. "Something like that popped up in my homnd once. One of the few times I saw Pops serious about something."


    ..... His father was the God of Light, Lugh.


    Medea said even the Greek Gods were critical of the source...


    "Don''t even bother asking for details." Hinako scoffed, cleaning blood off herself from where her wounds were healing. "I''m pretty sure I recognized what it was as it originated from my part of the world a long time ago. A spellbook that shouldn''t exist, from a person who''s name I refuse to even mention. If I saw it in any other circumstance, I''d been forced to take action. Humans these days, I think you call them ''Outer Gods''?"


    .....why did that sound familiar?


    [***]


    Jeanne D''Arc, The Dragon Witch POV


    "Gilles, Gilles!"


    "Jeanne, what''s wrong?"


    "I....?" I looked around, why were we back at the castle? "Why are we here, why aren''t we fighting that fake and those others!?"


    "A temporary retreat." Gilles reassured.


    "Your book?" I looked at the Book he always carried; it was cut in half.


    "Fear not, Jeanne." He held up the cup and it glowed bright, and the book began to mend. But something weird happened, and the faces on the cover changed, and I think I heard some crying? As soon as it was fixed, it split apart again, lightning jumping between the two halves. His face twisted, and he looked really mad before he returned to normal. "....divinity."


    "Something wrong, Gilles?"


    "Only a small hindrance. Nothing will be able to stop our goals." The two sides opened up and tentacles jumped between both sides, pulling the edges together, and binding them. "It will have to do."


    Goals?


    "What were our goals again, Gilles?"


    "Why, to show that this is a Godless world." He swept his arms around. "To prove that there is no God."


    "....right, thanks Gilles." It made sense.


    If there was a God, why did I burn?


    That made a lot of sense.


    Of course, that''s what we were doing. And getting revenge, that was important too.


    But why.....did something feel wrong?


    Why was there a pain in my chest? I didn''t understand, I wasn''t hurt so why did my chest hurt so much?


    ....my head was feeling funny too.


    "Gillles, I''m confused."


    "What bothers you, My Jeanne?" He asked in concern.


    "I don''t know, but I feel confused. I keep remembering things, but then I forget them. But I know things that aren''t true? That person...why was he familiar? Why is it that I know him?"


    "He was simply beguiling you, Jeanne. There''s no need to pay him any heed. I will remove the pest the next time we meet."


    A Grail War....


    Two Side, and then, why was that guy with Red Hair so....vivid?


    Wait...


    "Gilles, did we ever do a Grail War?" I asked my closest friend.


    "A Grail War?" He tilted his head. "Why would we fight a war for something we already possess, my dear Jeanne?"


    "....yeah, you''re right. That makes sense. But why does it feel like I know him so well? I was happy when he came to me, and not that....fake." I scoffed. "Do you think the fake me is confusing him? I don''t want to fight my friend again."


    "Your.....friend?" He looked at me strangely.


    "Oh yeah." I couldn''t help but smile. "We fought together! In the Grail War that I was a Ruler of. He even summoned that cow of his." Annoying bitch that she was. "But he''s here again! We should go get him, I''m sure he''d help us if we just told him what we were doing."


    That Fake Jeanne must have done something, that''s why he was on her side. I''ll just have to show him the truth.


    Huh....when did the war happen? Didn''t Gilles say that there was no Grail War? Maybe he''s just mistaken, it must have been a hard few days. Taking over Orleans, burning the country down, yeah, that must be it.


    "Are you feeling unwell, Jeanne?" Gilles asked.


    "I don''t know." I still felt it. "There''s something painful in my chest, Gilles. Ever since I saw him on that Fake''s side, it started hurting. Is something wrong with me, Gilles?" He would know, he knows everything that''s been happening.


    ".....nothing you need to trouble yourself with my dear Jeanne." He held up the Golden Cup and it began to glow. "Why don''t you take a rest?"


    "A nap?" I felt my eyes getting heavy.


    "Precisely." I saw his warm smile before my eyes closed. "When you wake up, all will be better."


    "Mmm, I''ll listen to you Gilles, you''re the best. You stood by me when no one else did."


    "Of course, of course. Don''t trouble yourself with anything confusing, let me handle the troublesome matters."


    So tired all of the sudden. He''s right, a nap will be nice. "What''s the n to deal with the fake and those others? I think we lost one of our servants." I yawned, finding the groundfy.


    "I will prepare something special. We have plenty of living materials left in the dungeons that I can use." Heughed.


    That''s good.


    And then he cane back to my side, not that fake.


    Then everything will be good again.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake -- What really happens in Wilhelm''s soul.


    Finding out that a bunch of other entities took up residence in my soul, what else was there to do?


    "Alright, I''m going to roll a perception check." I stated, tossing my dice. "12."


    "12..." Mus¨± Tengai paused, looking down at some papers. "You notice that the cave is oddly dry despite the heavy rains you suffered thest few nights. But that is all."


    "I would like to cast Glimpse of Evil." Meridia spoke, clutching her own dice.


    "You cast Glimpse of Evil, giving you sight beyond your own. Any evil creature within 40 yards is known to you. However, nothing appears." Mus¨± Tengai replied.


    "Enough with this!" Odin mmed his fist on the table. "The great Berserker Grimmar isn''t a coward! I rush into the cave with my battle axe, ready for battle!"


    "ah fuck, I realized what''s going on." Ddraig covered his face with his w.


    "Roll for me." Mus¨± Tengai ordered.


    Odin, the great All-Father threw his dice. ".....1." He said quietly.


    Mus¨± Tengai nearlyughed. "With a blind fury, you rush into the cave as something didn''t quite feel right, you were on edge. Your boisterous roar as you charged forward awakened something. Something ancient opened a single eye, its red iris illuminating the cave with a soft ze. You then realize what monster you have awoken as me spew from its nostrils, revealing what hid in the darkness. You find a Dragon, in all its glory staring down at you.


    "Oh god dammit!" I threw my arms up. "Wait, how did Meridia not detect that?"


    "I would too like to know." Meridia asked.


    "Most Dragons aren''t Evil." Ddraig shrugged.


    "Ddraig is right, Dragons are more natural cmities than evil entities. With exceptions, of course. But you no more call a wolf evil for hunting a deer, than a Dragon does hunting to satiate its own stomach." Mus¨± Tengai rified.


    "Joy, the one-eyed bastard woke it up." Meridia drawled.


    "I can handle this!" Odin huffed. "Grimmar is a hero worthy of Valha! A mere Dragon can not defeat him. Do I have an action or does the beast wish to startbat?" He asked towards our vaunted Dungeon Master.


    "The Dragon, waking up after so long, is confused as to your presence. It does not attack immediately, and silently stares at you." Mus¨± Tengai borated.


    "Alright, alright, we have a chance." I tapped the table impatiently.


    "What every you do ¨C"


    "I attack the beast with my axe!" Odin roared, cutting off Meridia.


    "You idiot!" She spat out.


    "Roll." Mus¨± Tengai smiled.


    ".....four." Odin whispered.


    "We''re fucked." I sighed.


    "You swing your mighty Axe with such fury and ferocity that songs would have been spoken of your prowess, had you not deemed to do so against a Dragon. Your axe collided with the Dragon''s mighty scales and snaps, leaving no damage done to the beast. However, what would have been a peaceful and amicable Dragon, is now utterly furious. Roll for initiative."


    "You damn fool!" Meridia scowled.


    "Wait!" Ddraig held up his w.


    "You have an action beforebat, Ddraig?" Mus¨± Tengai asked.


    "I am a Dragonkin." He puffed up proudly. "I attempt to seduce the dragon."


    ".....you''re lucky that I already decided that the Dragon was Female." Mus¨± Tengai grumbled. "Roll." He sighed. "And give me your best attempt, if you say something good, I''ll give you an extra point on your roll."


    Ddriag cleared his throat. "I''m sorry for intruding on yourir, Great Dragoness. I understand if my friend here enraged you enough to burn us all alive. I do not ask for forgiveness, only that you grant this poor Dragonkin one act of mercy. Let me gaze upon your beautiful scales for even a moment longer, and I will be content with whatever endes for me."


    "....not bad." I had to acknowledge.


    "Who do you think you''re talking to? I''ve beenying down Dragonessess before you were even born!"


    Ddraig looking confident, he clutched his dice between his ws and tossed them onto the table. ".....3."


    "The Dragon''s name is apparently Tiamat, negating any chance at your seduction." Mus¨± Tengai replied.


    "Dick!" Ddraig pouted.


    "Right then, there goes that.....can I roll another perception check?"


    Mus¨± Tengai shrugged. "Go ahead."


    "11." I stated, looking at the dice I just rolled.


    "It''s a Dragon." Mus¨± Tengai stated.


    "Well, we''re right fucked, aren''t we?"


    "I did say Ancient Dragon." Mus¨± Tengai reiterated.


    "Do you have a n, Wilhelm?" Meridia asked.


    "Die horribly?"


    "We could run while the one-eyed fool attempts to fight it." Meridia offered.


    "I will y the beast!" Odin mmed his fist on the table.


    "With what weapon?" Meridia countered.


    "....I''m working on it." The God scowled.


    "Alright, I have a n!" I pped my hands. "I would like to make an action beforebat."


    Mus¨± Tengai gestured for me to continue. "This is thest action then we roll for initiative, choose wisely."


    "I attempt to seduce the Dragon."


    "Ohe on." Mus¨± Tengai sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Proceed, same as Ddraig."


    "Really, Brat? Why do you think you''re going ot seed where I failed?" Ddraig scoffed.


    "No faith." I shook my head, juggling the 20 sided dice in my hand. "Swiggity swooty, I''ming for that Dragon booty!" I threw it across the table. "18!"


    "Thank god, it''s not enough." Mus¨± Tengai sighed in exasperation. "The Dragon ¨C"


    "Wait..." Meridia groaned. "I would like to make it known that I do this with as much hate I could possible possess....I cast Divine Radiance on him, giving him a +2 to his Charisma roll."


    "Woo!" I cheered.


    "Dammit, fine!" Mus¨± Tengai threw his hands up. "The Dragon is swooned by your mastery of themonnguage and falls heads over heels for you."


    "That''s bullshit." Ddraig huffed.


    "It''s called charm, Ddraig. Ever head of it?" I said smugly.


    "I also attempt to Seduce the Dragon." Odin spoke up.


    "Why!?" Mus¨± Tengai groaned.


    "I won''t be out done by a brat! This beast needs a real man!"


    "Roll." Mus¨± Tengai Seethed.


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 442 - 401

    <h4>Chapter 442: Chapter 401</h4>


    "Why can''t things just be simple?" Roman bemoaned.


    "Yes, why can''t our little time traveling adventure to save humanity be simple." Medea''s voice dripped with sarcasm. "Be d that the woman over there has some manner of Divinity." She held her finger up pointing at Raikou. "Otherwise something as simple as just cutting it in half wouldn''t have mattered much."


    I was ready to respond with something simr myself, but I was rather preupied with something else.


    "Fou, fou!" A certain furry animal jumped up to my shoulder, looking right at me inquisitively. I didn''t even know it was here in the first ce, and it suddenly just showed up!


    "Oh, Fou! Where have you been? You disappeared as soon as we came." Mash cooed to the small animal.


    I tried to ignore the dangerous Beast as best as I could, while it did its best to get me to not ignore it, with its little paw poking me constantly.


    Everyone else seemingly didn''t even care to acknowledge it.


    ....I envied them.


    Olga bit her lip, looking pensive. "Does that mean the Book is dealt with? We don''t have to worry about it?"


    Medea shrugged. "I can''t give a guaranteed answer unless I get a better look at it. It''s not like that sort of thing follows the logic we''re used to. Evenpared to my time, it''s something utterly iprehensible."


    "C''est toujours quelque chose." Pierre rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Hope for the good, prepare for the bad, yes?"


    "It''s pointless to specte." Medea frowned. "My Master is right. Best to assume that disgusting thing is still around. Regardless, I''m not needed here, I''m going to harvest some of those Wyvern corpses then get myself some of the meat the Soldiers are cooking." She began to walk away. "Tell the other Servants to eat some too, it''s packed full of Magical Energy and should help relieve a bit of the burden on our Summoners. And it''s pretty tasty."


    "I think you''re forgetting something." Imented.


    Medea swung my staff over her shoulder. "Nope." She ignored me and walked away.


    If I wasn''t friends with the other Medea, I wouldn''t have ignored it, but I know her enough that it won''t be an issue to get it back when I did actually need it again.


    "I''m gonna follow her lead." Cu spoke up as well. "Haven''t tasted Wyvern much even during my life."


    "No problem, thanks for all your help so far, Caster." Samuel smiled.


    "Just doing my job, Farm boy." Cu flicked his hand in a mock salute and also disappeared back towards the camp of the Soldiers.


    "You all aren''t able to take all those Wyvern''s back, right?" I pondered for a moment.


    "There''s hundreds of them, even if we pieced them out perfectly, we wouldn''t have enough room to store the materials, why?" Olga asked.


    "I just wanted a few myself."


    "Shall I go retrieve them for you, master?" Raikou questioned.


    "If you wouldn''t mind?"


    "Leave it to me." Raikou smiled brightly, leaning over she gave me a quick kiss on the lips and trotted off towards the literal piles of Dragonkins.


    Raikou was the best, always helping me when I needed it.


    "....what?" I looked around as everyone was staring at me.


    "You and your Servant, really?" Hinako snorted.


    "Sorry, are you going to give me a hard time for that?"


    "What''s that supposed to mean!?" She pursed her lips.


    "You know exactly what it means."


    "It''s not the same!"


    "Literally the exact same."


    "He was my husband!"


    "And I''ll most likely marry Raikou in the future." I countered.


    Hinako harrumphed, crossing her arms. "Didn''t you say something about Sc¨¢thach already? Caster wouldn''t shut up about it. Then something about Saber, and now your Servant? You''re just a horn dog."


    "Bite me, Vampire girl."


    "I am not a Vampire!" She hissed. "You stupid horny brat."


    "Youe from an era where the Emperor had like a bazillion concubines. A literal imperial Harem. Are you really giving me shit for having multiple women?" I raised a questioning eyebrow. "Huh, Concubine Yu?"


    "I''m just asking because she''s a Servant." Hinako huffed.


    "What''s wrong with her being a Servant?"


    "Servant''s aren''t exactly supposed to stick around long." Her tone dropped a bit.


    Was she saying that because of me, or for herself? "ording to who?"


    "Pretty much every rule, both mundane, magical, and the world''s." Da Vinci chimed in.


    "....why is my love life so interesting?" I sighed.


    "We haven''t exactly covered Servant ¨C Master rtionships as a possibility to be honest." Da Vinci responded, humming to herself. "The Director dismissed them as something unlikely and unneeded."


    "T-that is not what I said!" Olga grumbled. "But clearly I was wrong."


    Well, that seems like a clear oversight then.


    "Do you mind answering some questions? We have a severeck of data on this point. Do you and your Servant ¨C"


    "Not the time, Caster!" Olga hissed.


    "What? It''s important. I was just going to ask about the conditions that led to them like this." The Caster Servant pouted on her projected screen.


    I shook my head in exasperation. "Through the Dream Cycle, Raikou knows me better than anyone, just as I know her to the same degree. It''s not strange that something woulde out from that."


    All my high points, all my low points. Raikou knew them all in vivid detail. Just as I knew all the good and bad across her own life. It was a rtionship difficult to put into words, a trust that was beyond unbreakable at this point.


    "Is it really weird?" Ritsuka asked. "Servants are people too."


    "My parents raised me that as long as two people love each other, it aint no one else''s business." Samuel also spoke up.


    Maybe I should give them other lessons as well. Now that I think about it, they''re basically in the same boat that Godou was....


    ".....maybe we should prepare for contingencies." Olga said quietly, ncing at the other Masters.


    "You all seem like a fun group." The newly arrived Marie Antote just smiled happily as she and herpanions stood nearby.


    Olga quickly reorientated herself back to Director mode. "Thank you foring to our aid. We are Finis Chaldea, an organization built to protect the continuation of the Human Order. We arrived in this Singrity recently to resolve the mess with this Dragon Witch."


    "Singrity?" Marie tilted her head.


    Olga nodded and continued. "A...consequence of interference in the normal flow of time. History was altered, the normal records have no mention of this Dragon Witch. The repercussions are far reaching, thus we are tasked with setting History correct."


    "Oh my, that sounds horrible." Marie covered her mouth. "Of course, we''ll help you as best as we can!"


    "Wonderful." Olga brightened up. "We could use all the help we can get."


    "Marie Antote will assist you in saving France!" The French Monarch dered. "And my friends will help!"


    Saint George next to her chuckled. "It would be my honor to assist in such an honorable venture." He bowed his head slightly.


    "Another Dragon yer is more than weed." Olga thanked him.


    "Yes, we were able to glimpse the beast before it escaped. A terrible Foe, that I will dly raise my sword to." The Holy Dragon yer patted his chest te. "Speaking of swords, however." He nced at me. "I am surprised to see that my sword made it to another''s hands."


    Everyone turned to look at me.


    "How did you get your hands on a Noble Phantasm, Schweinorg?" Olga asked.


    "I thought they were supposed to be impossible to exist in our Era!" Roman eximed. "There''s only one Magus family that has a Noble Phantasm, and that''s a whole can of worms. But for another one to exist in our time period, that''s phenomenal."


    "Well....it''s sort of the other way around actually. It''s not that I inherited his sword down the line, it''s that he got his hands on mine." I revealed.


    "Pardon?" Saint George blinked. "Forgive me if I am unclear, but your implication is that youe from a period in the future, far beyond when I have lived."


    "That''s correct. But my sword came from the person who collected all the prototypes of Noble Phantasms." I flicked my wrist, letting Ascalon appear once more. I handed it over to him to let him feel for himself. "Notice the difference?"


    "I do, yes. I noticed it previously, I assumed it was due to...well..." He scratched his cheek awkwardly.


    "Myck of faith?" I offered.


    "I did not wish to be rude."


    I waived it off. "You''re right, more or less. But my sword is only An Anti-Dragon weapon. Your''s gained the Holy Attributes it possesses is due to your nature as a Saint and when you were canonized by the Church."


    Mine was a degree stronger, but his was holy. So it sort of evened out in the end.


    "Anyways, we''re getting off topic."


    "Oh, I haven''t introduced my other friend!" Marie pped her hands.


    "Allow me, your Majesty." The other man next to her gave an elegant bow. "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, at your service."


    "Mozart!?" Roman eximed. "But you''re a Caster Servant?"


    "That is correct. I did experiment a bit with Magecraft in my music." He chuckled. "I may not be a fighter, but please allow me to use my Music to aid you in your quest."


    ".....would it be rude if I asked you for an autograph?" I coughed into my fist. "I know someone who constantly regrets missing yourst performance."


    Mozart looked at me in surprise. "I would be delighted!"


    Venna was going to be so happyter. She mentioned before that she missed hisst performance before his abrupt death. One of her favorite musicians.


    "Later." Olga nudged me with a look of annoyance.


    "Right, right." I cleared my throat. "The priority is the Dragon Witch, which may or may not be an alternate version of Jeanne D''Arc. Still not entirely sure, but it''s immaterial for now."


    "s, we too are in the dark about this woman." Mozart sighed. "Until your arrival, we have been on the back foot, constantly moving to avoid detection by her many Servants."


    "They''re one down now, and we''re three more up." Hinako noted. "We should easily be able to take the fight to them."


    "And the Dragon?" Pierre asked. "Difficile d''ignorer le grand dragon. We are ignoring the biggest problem."


    "Oh, a fellow countryman!?" Marie''s eyes lit up. "It''s so nice to see one of my subjects helping protect France!"


    Pierre actually blushed a little. "Je fais mon devoir, votre majest¨¦. It is merely my job, your Majesty." Pierre awkwardly bowed.


    Marie giggled, patting him on the head. "Oh, you''re so cute."


    "How is Siegfried, Ritsuka?" I asked.


    "Uh, he''s doing better. I can ¨C"


    "I am here." Siegfried materialized next to his master. "Apologies for not participating, I was assisting the soldiers and Caster with dissecting the Wyverns."


    "It''s no problem, Saber." Ritsuka smiled. "We just wanted to know how you''re doing."


    "I regret to say that I am still not fully recovered. The curse sunk deep into me, but I am getting better. If I am given a day or two, I believe I will be ready to fight my old foe once more." He earnestly replied.


    "And what''s your opinion on Fafnir?" Olga asked. "Coming from the expert, is there anything we should know?"


    "My old foe is weaker than I remember." Siegfried replied.


    "....weaker?" Samuel whispered. "How strong was he before then?"


    "It is hard to describe. Perhaps, weaker is not the correct word. My old foecks the intelligence that made him truly dangerous. It feels as if his mind is clouded, and he only relies on instinct. During the fight when I was alive, Fafnir spoke and calcted his attacks. This one I do not believe is capable."


    "Interesting. The dragon I fought did not speak to me at all. I believed it was capable, but it looked down upon me even until the end." Saint George rubbed his chin.


    Siegfried turned to look at his apparent peer. "I am Siegfried, wandering Knight of the Nethends." He tapped his armor with his fist.


    "Georgios." He returned the same greeting. "I am hailed as a Saint after death, but I was a simple Knight seeking honor through faith."


    They both seemed to silently evaluate one another before smiling warmly.


    "I am confident then, if I am to fight alongside Saint George, and Sir Lancelot once more. I believe ourbined experience facing Dragons will prevail." Siegfried stated.


    "Then we''ll leave it to you." Olga looked relieved.


    "And where is Lancelot?" I looked at Hinako.


    "Sulking somewhere. He''s barely been speaking, and not because his Madness is back." Hinako replied.


    ....I should probably go talk to him at some point.


    "That merely leaves the hordes of those other flying monsters, and the army of undead corpses." Mozart quipped.


    "Undead?" Hinako furrowed her brow. "We haven''t encountered any Necromancy so far."


    "I''ve heard mention by some people I''ve passed about corpses walking around and attacking, but I also didn''t see any when I went to Lyon." I added to what she said.


    "Curious." Mozart tapped his cheek. "Perhaps the magics that held them together unraveled?"


    "I find it unlikely that we would be so lucky." Olga snorted.


    "Martha did let slip that the Dragon witch had be more erratic a few days ago, before I arrived at Lyon. Perhaps they were....recalled to Orleans?" That was the theory I was working under.


    "So we''re most likely going to have to get through hundreds if not thousands of Zombies to reach the Dragon Witch?" Samuel asked. "And do these ''Zombies'' have the same weakness that I''m guessing?"


    "Probably. Fire works well, Holy stuff is best. Do enough damage and the magics unravel easily. But a good hit to the noggin usually works best." Mundane people actually got it fairly urate with most basic Zombies.


    "Luckily, we have an army ourselves." Roman added.


    "The Soldiers?" Olga frowned. "You want to use them?"


    "They will participate regardless of your will." Marie proimed proudly. "They are proud children of France, they will not sit by while their home suffers. They will march. It is a matter of if they work with us or not."


    She had a very bubbly personality.


    Randomly, I think she and Jinn would get along well.


    "...I don''t like bringing in random people like this." Olga bit her thumb. "But dealing with arge swath of Zombies, that should be something they''re capable of."


    "We also have our own Jeanne D''Arc, she can rally them herself.....um, where is she?" Roman blinked, looking around from behind his projection.


    "I''ll go find her." I volunteered, poking the highly dangerous beast off my shoulder.


    Because I had a pretty good idea of what was going on.


    [***]


    I had to wander around a little bit, but I finally found her.


    A little head of blonde hair peeking out above arge rock about a minute or so walk from camp.


    "I knew my Jeanne senses were tingling."


    "Will?" Jeanne looked up. She was sitting behind the rock, legs pulled up, staring out into the night sky.


    "Figured you were hiding somewhere." I plopped down next to her.


    "Wasn''t hiding." Jeanne mumbled as she buried her head into her legs.


    "Really?"


    "En." She grunted.


    "Then howe no one could find you?" I quirked a smile.


    "If I was hiding, how did you find me?" She countered, looking rather amused at her own response.


    "Touche." I acknowledged. "You should know, however, that I can sense a Jeanne within a hundred feet at any time."


    "You''re lying." She puffed up.


    "Am I? Am I really?"


    "Yes!"


    "I miss when you were easy to fool."


    "I was never easy to fool!"


    "Do you really want to argue with me?" I raised an eyebrow. "I have examples."


    "Neh!" She hit my shoulder lightly.


    "Alright, alright." I nudged her with my shoulder. "Then why were you totally not hiding, but keeping your distance and not letting anyone see where you were?"


    "....."


    She looked away.


    ".....okay I was hiding." She said softly. "I''m scared to see Gilles."


    "That''s normal."


    "B-but, it''s wrong! I''m being a coward."


    "You were going to talk to him eventually." I pointed out.


    "How do you know?" She looked at me in confusion.


    "Because you''re Jeanne." I said simply. "I''m not here to convince you to go talk to him. I''m just here to support you."


    ".....I wish I was as confident as you."


    "Confident?" I actuallyughed. "Jeanne, you rode off to war as a teenager because a voice in your head told you to. Do you really think you''re not a confident woman? There''s a difference between being a coward and experiencing emotional turmoil."


    "It wasn''t a voice in my head." She puffed up again. "He really spoke to me." She said with a pout. "I know people don''t believe me, but he did. I wouldn''t have been as confident if he was there with me every step of the way."


    "Huh, I thought it was more like directions and what to do. Did you really have conversations with Big G?"


    "Conversations?" She repeated, looking thoughtful. "Not really. I guess we did a few times. But I could feel it when he was specifically looking at me. Sometimes he would say a word or two, sometimes I would just talk to him and I could feel him listening."


    "Do you not feel or hear him anymore?" I asked.


    "I don''t have the same feeling anymore, no." She shook her head.


    "Does that make you afraid?"


    Jeanne seemed to ponder my question. "No. I know he''s always listening.But It was nice, knowing that I was being watched so closely. Do you think it''s because I did something wrong? She was just like me, Will. The Dragon Witch, everything about her was so simr."


    "She''s not you."


    "How can you be sure?"


    "Again, because you''re Jeanne."


    "That''s not an answer!" She huffed adorably.


    "I disagree."


    "You''re doing that thing again." She pouted.


    "What thing?"


    "Where you''re being mean by being nice."


    "I''m being honest." Maybe only mildly teasing her. "I never told you about Artoria did I?"


    "King Arthur?'' She looked at me.


    "Yup. Her real name is Artoria Pendragon. My Grandfather''s student, Rin Tohsaka and her teamed up in their own Grail War. They won, and she stuck around afterwards, apanying Rin. I met her when I went to the Clock Tower at some point. I''m not going to say I fell in love at first sight, but I admired her a lot. I asked her out pretty quickly, wanting to get to know her better. And, well, things just moved forward from there."


    "That sounds sweet." Her expression softened.


    "I love her very much." I could feel the warmness in my heart as I thought about her. "This is the Second Singrity we''ve been to. The first one, there was no Dragon Witch. Instead, it was the Saber you''ve seen earlier. A version of Artoria that held onto the Grail as the world burned around her."


    "...what happened?" She whispered.


    "I killed her." I said, looking up at the sky. "I wasn''t left with any other choice, so I drove my de through her heart. She wasn''t my Artoria, I know that. Even still, she was so simr that it hurt either way."


    "And you told me what came afterwards." She quietly added.


    "Mm, the Demon, yeah." I nodded. "Not my finest moment."


    "She''s different than the one you know, right?


    "Yeah." I didn''t deny it. "If I had to guess, she''s a fringe possibility. An Artoria that took a different path, and ended on bleaker terms."


    "And you think the Dragon Witch is the same!?"


    "Actually no." I bluntly denied.


    "What...?"


    "Jeanne, I genuinely don''t think you''re capable of being evil." I replied pointedly. "There was something significantly wrong with that pale copy of yours. I think the idea is simr, but she isn''t you in the same sense."


    "It makes me happy that you think so highly of me." Jeanne whispered, looking slightly red. "Have you talked to Saber yet?"


    ".....not exactly."


    "Will." Jeanne looked at me with disappointment.


    "Sorry miss ''hiding from Gilles'' are you going to lecture me?"


    "Neh!" She puffed up once more.


    I pulled on her braid, making her give a cute yelp.


    "Meanie." She huffed. "...you should talk to her."


    "I don''t know what to say." I sighed. "I want to hug her and tell her that everything is fine, but she''s not the Artoria I know. She''s not my Artoria and she pretty much said just that. I just....want her to be happy." I smiled wryly.


    What exactly was I supposed to say to her at this point?


    Everytime we met, it was just awkward.


    "You know what might help?"


    "No." She didn''t even hear me out before rejecting me.


    "You don''t even know what I was going to say."


    "I can guess!" She wailed, hiding her face. "You have that same look and tone when you say something embarrassing!"


    "It''s not embarrassing."


    "I don''t believe you."


    "Two words ¨C"


    "No!"


    "Booty shorts!"


    "Neeeeh!" She started pping my shoulder again. "How is that supposed to help!?"


    "Morale boost?" I offered. "I''d be much more willing to march into battle if Jeanne D''Arc was showing off her legs and butt."


    "Stoppppppp!" She covered her reddening face. "I would die if they saw me wearing that."


    "I have pictures."


    "No, I forbid it!" She squeaked. "Why do you have pictures!?"


    "Why wouldn''t I?" I countered. "I think you don''t realize how beautiful you are."


    "W-what are you saying!?"


    "Embarrassed Jeanne is cute Jeanne."


    She made some more strange sounds, hiding her face further.


    ".....do you really think I look nice?" She asked, rather muffled from where she was hiding her head in her legs.


    "I am many things, but a liar is not one of them." I replied.


    "...ter."


    "Pardon?"


    "W-when no one else is around, I....don''t mind wearing those clothester for you." She refused to look in my direction.


    She was honestly adorable.


    "Do you want a hug?" I offered.


    "Yes, thank you." She nodded, leaning over as I wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you, again, Wilhelm. You''re always helping me."


    "Feeling better now?"


    "Yes." She smiled brightly. "I''m going to talk to Gilles. You were right, I was being silly. He''s my friend, the truth is going to hurt, but it would hurt more if I didn''t say anything. I can''t help what Gilles turned into, but he will always be my friend."


    "Do you want me toe with?" I knew the answer, but I wanted to offer regardless.


    She shook her head. "This is something I need to do, but thank you." She stood up, looking a lot more resolved than before.


    "Good luck." I said before she nodded my way with thanks, and moved towards the camp.


    I stood up myself, brushing off the dirt I had gotten on me.


    I was about to head back as well, until a Servant appeared in front of me from their astralized state.


    Saber looked at me expressionlessly.


    "....um, were you listening?" If so, it''s going to be much more awkward now.


    She held up her hand, her Darkened Excalibur Materialized and she pointed it right at me.


    And now, I was confused.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.eo.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 443 - 402

    <h4>Chapter 443: Chapter 402</h4>


    Jinn POV


    "Personal Potion''s for a Person''s Preferences...." I shook my head at the title and put it in a pile to the side. In my experience, the alliteration just meant the book was sub par and needed something to grab attention.


    ''Frash''un''s Fires'', that could be interesting. A quick skim of the first few pages carried a much more serious tone than the previous one.


    ''A History of Spells and their uses.'' I perked up reading the title. "Urag! I''m taking a Book home to copy!" I hollered across the library. There was no one studying or anything in here at the moment, so it was fine.


    "What book?" His head peeked around a bookcase.


    "A History of Spells and their uses." I replied.


    "Edition?"


    "Um..." I quickly turned it over to check. "First Edition."


    "I found another one of those yesterday, we should already have the three, just keep it." He waved it off, going back to whatever it is he was doing.


    "Neat." I hugged the book happily.


    "What was that about?" Medea snuck up on me.


    I nearly jumped. "How are you so sneaky!?"


    "Ufufufu."


    "Hug?"


    "Of course, dear." Medea held out her arms and I happily hugged her.


    Hugs are nice.


    "Have you been taking books home?" She asked me, moving towards one of the nearby tables.


    I joined her, sliding into the opposite chair. "I mostly just take one home to copy and bring it back. I''m in charge of Wilhelm''s library and all that stuff, so I like to keep growing it."


    "Do you all consider anything over three ''excessive''? Personally, I could barely make an argument for two. But your lover is a hoarder if I''ve ever seen one, is it just something you took from him?"


    "Oh Wilhelm is definitely a hoarder. You should see some of the stuff I''ve had to sort and organize back home. And that''s not even getting into what he keeps in his Ring."


    "What''s the strangest thing he keeps there?" Medea leaned in.


    "The strangest?" I tapped my chin. "Probably the random Troll Head."


    "Just....a random dismembered Troll Head?" Medea blinked.


    "Yup." I giggled.


    "Men." She shook her head. "I swear, my hubby is the same way. If I don''t get after him he''ll not throw anything away because he swears he''ll find a use for it down the road. It was like pulling teeth trying to get him to buy new clothes now that we have more money."


    "Why don''t you just make new ones?"


    "Eh, he''s not much into what I do for styles. Hubby just wants something in and functional." Medea rolled her eyes. "It makes him happy, so I''m not going to argue. He looks good in anything, so it''s not a hill I''m going to die on."


    "True, you do make much more elegant designs." I agreed. "Maybe I should get something new made." I looked down at my blue dress. "I don''t actually have many clothes; this was just something that was made with me, so It''s always been there when I needed it. Beyond some sexy stuff, or some Bikinis....I don''t really have many outfits." Clothes shopping was never something that overly piqued my interest though. And if it weren''t for going out, or people other than Wilhelm or my sistersing and going from the house, I would stay naked the entire time. "By the way, I''ve never seen you with a ponytail before, it looks good."


    "That is a travesty, and we''ll have to fix it." She let out a long sigh, touching on her hair as I mentioned it. "Does it look bad?" She asked, almost shyly.


    "Why would you ever think it looks bad?"


    "Maybe I''m being silly. It''s just.....I haven''t done this since I was a girl. I was feeling a tad self-conscious."


    I quickly took a hair tie and pulled my own hair back into a Ponytail. "Now we match!"


    "Gah! You''re just so adorable!" Medea reached over the table, pulling me into another hug. "If you weren''t already taken, I would have adopted you."


    "Can''t breathe!" I squeaked out, her grip was really tight.


    "You don''t breathe." She snorted. "You made that clear when you started talking about things I don''t want to hear that you get up to with that brat."


    I blew her a raspberry.


    "I don''t understand how you can be so pure and sincere, and yet be such a lewd andscivious woman."


    "Why not? I like sex, and I like Wilhelm. Why would I care about that being known?" When you know the total sum of depravity that happened on Remnant, I guess certain social norms seemed silly.


    "You would fit well with my people." She snorted again, falling back into her seat.


    "I could do without your Gods, thank you."


    "Believe me, I feel the same way. Even Hecate screwed me over on more than one asion and she was my Teacher''s Teacher. Even in the end, I think only Hestia still answered my prayers. Maybe it was out of pity, but my hearth was always a bit warmer when I wasn''t feeling too well."


    "I would give you another hug, but I fear for my life."


    "You cheeky brat." She giggled, reaching over to pinch my cheek.


    ''I''m technically older than you."


    "Uh huh."


    "I am!" I puffed up indignantly, but ignored her attempts at intentionally getting a reaction out of me. "How have you been, Medea? I haven''t seen you around since you made the clothes for Wilhelm''s party."


    "Oh. I''ve been doing well. Just bouncing around doing this or that. Actually, I just got out of a nice lecture with the Archmage and a few others."


    "A lecture, really? I''m surprised you still go to sses. I would have thought you would have been an expert in all the stuff here by now."


    "Eh, I''ve been taking it slow." She waved her hand flippantly. "But you''re mostly right. The Magic at this College isn''t particrly difficult when you get down to it. But mostly I''ve been focusing my effort on the more....native aspects of what there is to learn here. Specifically, the lecture I just mentioned, it was a bit abrupt, but we discussed the nature of Soul Gems."


    "Oh? Anything interesting?"


    "Funny you should mention that." She looked rather proud of herself. "You know that project I was working on for the brat?"


    "Mmm, those wands." I nodded.


    "Right, well, I hit a bit of a snag and I was discussing it with the Archmage. On a side note, it''s surprising I could meet someone I consider a peer here."


    "He is a brilliant man. I''ve talked to him at length about Magic and all that and he keeps up easily."


    "Right, so, ran into a little logistics problem. Thought I could just brute force through it, make enough, it wouldn''t be a big deal and all that. But it was harder to shatter and use the pieces of a Soul Stone than I initially thought. The amount we would need to get would just be too absurd."


    "Understandable." I nodded along.


    "And when I was talking to the Archmage, he brought up the thought about what happens when the Soul is supposed to return if it''s used up in another world. Obviously, we already ounted for this, but his question brought up a back and forth about some random things, then finally we got to a rather interesting thought. What if we simply remove the Soul before shattering it."


    "Wouldn''t that depower the Soul Stone? The whole idea is that the Soul is a battery for whatever you want to use the Soul Stone for."


    "That''s what I originally thought too. I admit I hadn''t put much research into the subject beyond figuring out if they were as nasty as their name implies. Which they weren''t, otherwise I wouldn''t be working with them. But I digress, basically we found a method to remove the soul beforehand, and it had an interesting effect."


    "Do tell."


    "I spare you the technicals, I have them written down so you can look at themter."


    "I appreciate it."


    She smiled and continued. "We basically supercharged the Soul Stone, squeezing out the Soul Juice then forcibly sent the Soul on its way. This method technically drains away at the Souls ''vitality'', forck of a better word. However, it does recover in time, before it recycles through the natural order. And frankly, it enters the cycle faster than if it would be returned after it''s used through the ''original'' method."


    "And what benefits are there to this ''method'' you discovered?" Well, if there was no actual harm done, then I had nothing bad to say about her choice in wording.


    "For simpler souls, like that of a squirrel or something, there''s hardly a difference. But if you use something bigger, like say a Troll. Well, you can get a lot more juice out of it than the ''original'' method."


    "I see where you''re going with this then. That means that with a more powerful Soul, you can fracture the Soul Gem into smaller pieces and still retain the same ''power'' so to speak. Less effort overall."


    "Precisely. The ritual was a bit annoying to get right, but the Archmage was helpful. We tested it on a Troll, which is why I used them as an example. And I''d say that with a Single Troll''s Soul, we can create anywhere from 400 to 600 of those things."


    Oh wow, that''s some good progress. "Impressive. That will cut down on time significantly. Not to mention that Trolls are an invasive species and hostile to every other living being in its territory."


    "That was just a singr test, to prove the theory. But anything sufficiently strong would do."


    "What about that other super secret project you''re working on?"


    "That.." She raised a finger up. "Is my little secret for now. You can see it when I''m done."


    "Noooo! You can''t tease me with it and not show me. Medea~"


    "Go shopping with me and maybe I''ll give you a hint." She smirked.


    "I''m willing to make this sacrifice."


    "You cheeky brat." She pulled on my cheek again.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    I admit that Excalibur being held up, level with my neck did not instill a sense offort.


    I think she was waiting for me to react, possibly violently to her sudden appearance and ''threat''. I could see, very faintly, the marks of confusion as I didn''t move to her provocation.


    No, I just stared at her.


    Frankly, I had no idea what game she was ying, but I wasn''t going to participate.


    And I think she realized that because she took a step forward and gripped her sword with both hands, staring at me with an angry frown.


    Guessing her thoughts was impossible. But it seemed like she was fighting with herself about something and couldn''t make up her mind.


    Suddenly, she swung at me. Not as fast as she could have, and honestly, it felt slow. No, she intentionally gave me time to react, but I still didn''t.


    Her de rested against my neck.


    Once more, her brow furrowed in annoyance.


    "I''m not going to fight you." I stated, meeting her gaze.


    That only served to elicit further disapproval as her frown twisted back into a scowl. "Defend yourself!"


    "I refuse."


    "You cannot refuse!" She scoffed.


    "Then cut me down." I held my arms open, weing her.


    Her arm shook and she let out a shout of anger, withdrawing her de. "Why are you so ... so....!?" She growled, seemingly unable to find the correct words.


    "....why are you trying to fight me?"


    Her head snapped back towards me and again, she just looked furious for some reason. "Because you are a fool!"


    "That exins everything." I deadpanned.


    "If you are hurt then you will have no choice but to stay back." She dered. "If I must remove a leg, then I will. Avalon will heal you in time."


    That was....equal parts morbid and sweet, kind of.


    "Artoria, are you worried about me?" I asked.


    "Do not speak in a familiar tone to me." She growled, pointedly not answering my question. "Now, defend yourself!"


    "Wouldn''t it be antithetical to your desire if I defended myself?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Be quiet!"


    ".....kind of cute, honestly ¨C"


    She moved fast, much faster than before, but still, I didn''t feel like I was in any actual danger. Her de was in the same spot again, even if it now pricked my skin and drew blood.


    "I have killed for far less insults than what you speak."


    "What makes you think it''s an insult?"


    ".....what else could such words possibly be?" She huffed angrily. "You should be grateful that merely a leg is all the rpose I will take."


    I sighed, pushing away her sword with my finger. She was being stubborn, and refused to budge. "Artoria." I looked at her and she just hardened her expression. Instead, I grabbed her de firmly. "Artoria." I said more firmly.


    "I told you not to ¨C " She jerked her de free, and my blood sshed along its edge. She was silent as she stared at my palm that now had a rather deep cut into it, I could even see the bone. "....heal yourself." She spoke softly.


    Ow.


    Wow, that edge just went right through my skin. I''ve always made it a point not to be shed by Artoria''s sword, but damn if it wasn''t a clean cut.


    "Heal yourself." Artoria repeated, raising her voice.


    "Wasn''t this what you wanted?" I held my palm up for her to see. It certainly hurt, I wouldn''t deny that. But it was far from some kind of debilitating wound. Avalon would have healed it up in moments, but I was intentionally holding that back. Which...was an odd feeling, sort of like holding my breath.


    "I demand that you heal yourself!" She shouted.


    I was taken back by her show of emotion. She very quickly regained herposure but for a brief moment she looked rather distraught.


    Before I could react, however, she glowed, her armor was dismissed. She wore a striking ck dress, a far contrast to my Artoria''s own attire beneath her armor, but I barely had time to focus on that. Rather, she grabbed hold of the hem of her dress as if she was about to rip it off, her thought process obvious at this point.


    "Stop." I grabbed her hand. "Look, it''s not a big deal, it''s healing up." I showed her as I allowed Avalon to begin mending the minor wound.


    She scoffed, jerking her hand out of my grasp and taking a few steps away.


    Well, things certainly turned awkward again.


    I walked over to the big rock from before and plopped my butt right onto it.


    The other Artoria stared at me for a few moments out of the corner of her eye. I thought she may just up and walk away, Astralizing and being done with it. Instead, she sort of walked so that she gave me a wide berth and then, as if measuring the distance, also sat down on the other side of the rock.


    ....again, it was kind of cute.


    It wasn''t a particrlyrge rock, enough to sit a few people. I could lean over and touch her from where I was sitting, which just made it all the more cute that she was acting this way.


    "That''s a nice dress, ck looks good on you." I decided to break the awkward Silence.


    "Stop speaking nonsense." She shot back sharply.


    "I wasn''t ¨C"


    "I am not the one you know." She cut me off. "Do not treat me as if I am."


    Oh, was I doing that?


    "I''m sorry if I was projecting my own Artoria onto you, that wasn''t what I intended. You are your own person, and I didn''t want you to feel otherwise." I sincerely apologize.


    She looked me over for a moment before turning her head away again. "Good."


    Great, I really didn''t know what to say now. And I felt like she was expecting something from me and I had no idea what.


    "Do you still want to cut my leg off?"


    I couldn''t quite see her face, but for some reason, I was imagining her puffing up like my Artoria did when I explicitly poke her the right way.


    "Such action would be futile since you possess Avalon." She was dismissed.


    "I could take Avalon out ¨C"


    "Absolutely not." She hissed, squashing that train of thought immediately. "If I discover that you handed Avalon over to someone else, I will kill them and force it back into you in a way that is much less pleasant!" She threatened.


    "I''m not weak." I responded.


    "It does not matter."


    "I even beat you, if you would recall."


    "Shut up." She huffed. ".....I allowed you victory."


    "Uh huh. Was that what you call ''allowing me victory?"


    "Yes. We also called it pity."


    "Oh, Artoria has some jokes, does she?"


    "I do not jest. If you require augh, simply seek out that Knight you brought with you." She crossed her arms.


    "Ouch." I winced. "I almost feel bad for Lancelot now."


    "I suppose someone must." She snorted.


    "Do you hate him?" I asked.


    "There is no hate." She responded rather quickly. "Hate is reserved for those that have wronged me. It was inevitable, I was a Tyrant, my end was already written in the stars. Regardless of how I tried to prologue it, I was doomed to failure. There is no purpose in hating those who only yed their roles as they were fated to."


    "Artoria ¨C"


    "Do not pity me." She rasped. ".....I would ask you not to, please." She said with a whisper.


    "You''re a stronger person than I am." I don''t know if I would be able to simply let go of everything if I were in her shoes.


    "Do not make fun of me."


    "I wasn''t."


    "....I do not suffer fools and liars." She red my way.


    "Am I a fool then?" I asked.


    "Yes." She shot back without skipping a beat.


    "Okay, maybe I''ll give you that. But am I a liar?"


    "Yes." She said again.


    "And that, I dispute. When have I lied?"


    She looked off to the side. "Your words to the Saintess." She pushed up off the rock. "No one wishes for my happiness." Her words carried even as she astralized.


    And I now know what it felt like for someone to carve out pieces of my heart.


    [***]


    A/N Just dropped 3 chapters on p.a.t.r.e.o.n. , they''re now up to 8 chapters ahead.


    So if you want to read 8 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 444 - 403

    <h4>Chapter 444: Chapter 403</h4>


    "So this is where everyone is." I walked over towards the small campfire with all the Chaldea people sitting around it.


    "Hey boss." Samuel smiled.


    "Salut." Pierre flipped his hand up in acknowledgement.


    "Senpai!" Mash waved, and Ritsuka followed, however, he was holding Fou and didn''t move to interrupt the petting he was giving.


    Olga perked up, but kept a rather even look about her, nodding towards me.


    "Did you get bored of flirting with the Servants?" Hinako casually threw out as I sat down on what looked like a log opposite her.


    "I''m d we''re friends." I shot back.


    She rolled her eyes, but didn''t deny it! She could pretend all she wants, but she knew we''re friends.


    "Anyways, where are all the Servants?" I nced at Mash. "Besides our cute Shielder?"


    "S-Senpai!" Mash squeaked.


    I wanted to give her head pats.


    "Around." Hinako shrugged. "Not much for us and them to be doing right now, so they''re just up and about I guess. If you want I can ask."


    "Was just curious since I saw you all sitting around." I also shrugged.


    "The new Servants were getting acquainted with the camp. I think that Marie Antote was doing rounds and boosting morale for the Soldiers." Olga replied.


    Without prompting, Sir Wiggles hopped off my shoulder andnded in Olga''s arms. She didn''t even react to the ball of fluff, and merely started giving him attention like she was used to it.


    I''m pretty sure Sir Wiggles liked her.


    Anyways. "This feels like a Company sponsored camping trip. You should make brochures when you get back, Director. You can advertise about all the exciting ces that you send your employees."


    The mood was rather somber, all things considered, but I heard some stifledughs around us.


    "My pa always did say that traveling the world was a good benefit for work." Farm Boy mused.


    "Did he also give advice on how to avoid being eaten by dragons?" Ritsuka asked.


    "Dragons? No, but he did say something about Bears, and I think it still applies." He shook his head.


    "How could that kind of advice ever be applicable?" Olga asked.


    "He said that you don''t have to outrun the bear, you just gotta outrun the person next to you."


    Olga face palmed, but I could clearly see her lips twitching upwards.


    "Advice to live by." I nodded sagely.


    "It is not!" Olga huffed. "That is horrible advice!"


    "I think the Director is just saying that because she would be the slowest." Ritsuka said quietly.


    "I''m the one who signs your paychecks! Don''t you dare get any ideas!" She squawked.


    "J''avais oubli¨¦ que nous ¨¦tions pay¨¦s." Pierre snorted. "Eh, how do you say, I forget about the pay?"


    "You forgot you were getting paid for this?" Olga blinked.


    "Oui." He nodded.


    "....did you all forget that you''re hired employees?" Olga looked around.


    "To be fair, I don''t really care about the money." Hinako shrugged nonchntly. "I guess having some paper trails and a legal source of money makes things easier, but I''ve stocked things away over the years to survive without working for another few centuries if I wanted."


    "I''ve been more focused on the fact that the world ended and we''re time traveling to save it." Ritsuka added.


    "That too." Hinako agreed.


    "....I have no where to spend my money." Mash softly spoke.


    "Pretty much all of that." Samuel chuckled. "Wait, do we get overtime and stuff?"


    ".....yes." Olga groaned. "Hazard pay, overtime... Did none of you read your contracts?!" Her face then slowly twisted to one of horror. "Oh my god, we''re going to be broke by the time this is over. I''m going to have to pay that out for everyone." Olga''s head fell into her hands.


    That''s a big oof.


    "Look at the bright side."


    "What''s the bright side?" Olga asked.


    "If we lose, then you don''t have to pay!"


    She kicked me.


    "You deserved that." Hinako noted.


    "Fine, fine. I got something that will make you feel better."


    "Is it a sizeable donation to Chaldea''s budget?" Olga perked up.


    "Actually, It''s a bag of marshmallows." I said, producing said bag from my storage.


    "....."


    I held it up, shaking it a little.


    "Just....give it to me." Olga huffed, snatching the bag out of my hands. She ripped it open and shoved a few into her mouth. "Wmdh Yudh Vh Mshellwos?"


    "What''s my favorite color?" I blinked.


    "I think she asked where the bathroom is." Samuel responded.


    "Non." Pierre shook his head. "Directrice demanded, where the mayonnaise is."


    "The Director asked if we''re insured." Ritsuka chimed in.


    "Oh my god, you people are idiots." Hinako sighed.


    Olga, in response, just threw marshmallows at all of us.


    "I asked why you have marshmallows, and you know that!" Olga vented, pointedly throwing another one at me.


    I snatched it out of the air, poking it yfully. "My daughter loves them, so I tend to keep a bag on me."


    "Woah! Back up." Hinako interjected. "You''re a father?"


    "No, I''m a mother." I deadpanned.


    "Boss as a daughter?" Samuel asked.


    "Surprising."


    "Senpai doesn''t seem like the type."


    "Why did you not mark anywhere on your forms that you have a daughter!?" Olga huffed again.


    "Is it really that surprising? I swear, everyone always reacts the same way. I''m a good father."


    "Are you? Are you really?" Hinako questioned.


    "Fuck if I know. I barely know what I''m doing most of the time, but Yasaka tells me I''m doing a good job and she''s the mom, so I just believe her." I admitted.


    "My pa says something simr." Samuel nodded. "You''re probably a good dad then if you say something like that."


    Olga let out a long sigh. "As interesting as this is to learn, you know those questions were on the forms for a reason?"


    "Probably." I nodded.


    "Did you even answer any of them right?"


    "Um....?" I scratched my head because I genuinely didn''t know the answer to that question.


    "His name?" Ritsuka offered. "....wait."


    "I can''t tell if you''re being sarcastic there or not." I responded.


    Ritsuka chuckled, and looked away.


    "Age?" Hinako offered.


    ".....erm."


    "Birth ce?" Pierre asked, straining for the right words.


    ".....about that..."


    "It seems I need to amend my words." Olga snorted. "Some of you are getting paid, while others are going to have their contracts voided due to fraud."


    "Technically, it isn''t fraud because there are no more countries, thus the originalws don''t exist anymore."


    "You''re an idiot." Olga rolled her eyes, throwing another marshmallow at me. "....but you made me realize something."


    "Hmm?"


    "Nothing.....just an argument when I inevitably get called in front of The Association and the UN to exin why we broke the rules." She waved it off.


    "You don''t have to overly worry about the Association. I can''t promise much with the UN, but as far as the Association goes, you''re not alone." I reassured her. I could only imagine the blow back she''s going to receive when they try to me the mess on someone, and she''s an easy target.


    No doubt they''re going to want to quickly dismantle Chaldea once everything is finished and sweep everything under the rug.


    "Thanks, Schweinorg." She mumbled, hiding a smile, pushing her face into Sir Wiggles.


    Cute.


    Speaking of cute. "Mash, is something wrong?" I noticed her poking the marshmallow in her hand. "You don''t have to eat It if you don''t want to."


    "Um, no --- no !" She quickly shook her head. "I''ve just....never had one before, it was squishy so I was curious."


    "Roman sheltered you way too much." Hinako sighed. "Come here, I''ll show you something good." She patted the seat next to her.


    Mash blinked, and slowly moved over to sit next to her teammate.


    Hinako looked around for a moment, and found a stick on the ground, after wiping it off quickly, she handed it over to mash. "Put it on the end, then hold it over the fire."


    It was fun watching Mash stumble through something that''s was simple to me, but was utterly foreign to her. "W-what do I do!?" She suddenly squeaked as it caught fire.


    "It''s alright, just blow it out." Hinako helped her move it up and Mash quickly blew out the mes, revealing a charred-looking treat at the end. "Some people like to slow cook them, but I like to just get it done fast. Go ahead and try it."


    Mash''s face lit up as shit bit into it. "It''s good!"


    Hinako had a warm smile on her face as she watched the younger girl eat her treat.


    "I''m surprised you know something so mundane." Imented.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Hinako questioned.


    "Honestly, thought you were like one of those people that hides away from civilization and onlyes out every few decades."


    "I''m aware of human civilization." Hinako rolled her eyes. "Just because I don''t interact with Humans much doesn''t mean I''m hiding away from everything. I do have some ces to stay outside major human living areas, but I have several homes scattered around various cities that I bounce between. I just keep to myself mostly."


    "So you''re a neet."


    "I am not a neet!" She puffed up.


    "There''s nothing wrong with being a neet."


    "Are you talking from experience?" She quipped back.


    "Well...I was sort of one for a while. I don''t know if it counts, but I was basically a shut-in during my Highschool days." I rubbed my chin. "But I know a Goddess who''s sort of a neet."


    "I''m ignoring that second part."


    "Also dating her."


    "Super ignoring it now." She snorted. "But I don''t believe you."


    "About the Goddess?"


    "Obviously, but the first part."


    "What do you mean?" I tilted my head in confusion.


    "What''s a ''neet''?" Samuel asked.


    "Erm... there''s an actual definition to it, but it''s more so ng now for someone who sort of holds up in their home all the time and doesn''t really work or do anything productive?" Ritsuka sort of exined. "Think, unemployed, sits on theirputer every day, doesn''t cook, barely cleans, that sort of thing."


    "I getcha." Samuel nodded. "Yeah, I agree with her, Boss. I don''t believe that either."


    "Really? Out of everything I''ve said, that''s what you don''t believe?" I was honestly at a loss for words. "Why is that so unbelievable?"


    "You don''t seem ¨C" Pierre rolled his hand, finding the words. "Comme un perdant, um ¨C"


    "I know French." I cut him off. "And I wasn''t a loser." I tranted. "I don''t know, I was a loner pretty much. I didn''t have any friends, a few acquaintances. I was in the Theatre club, but that''s about it. After School and Club, I basically went home and sat on myputer until I went to bed. Rinse and repeat."


    There was a bit more to it than that, but it''s not really important.


    "...why are you all looking at me like that?" I asked.


    "I feel like you''re lying to me, but you also sound really sincere." Hinako stated. "Which is the opposite of how I pictured you when younger."


    "How did you picture me?"


    "Not, that."


    "Boss, you always seem so confident and prepared. Just weird to hear that you weren''t that always." Samuel chimed in.


    A round of nods seemingly had them in agreement.


    "I don''t know if I should feel ttered or not."


    "Wait." Hinako suddenly blurted out. "You went to human school?"


    "...yes?"


    "Why?"


    "Why is that weird?" Samuel asked. "It''s mandatory in America."


    "France as well." Pierre added.


    "Japan too." Ritsuka also joined.


    "But you''re not human." She threw out.


    "I''m pretty sure I mentioned this to you way back when I first came to Chaldea."


    "And I thought you were lying. I''m pretty sure half the stuff that came out of your mouth back then was a lie."


    "I''m with her, Schweinorg." Olga crossed her arms.


    "That''s not ¨C "


    "I still have all your documents that say differently!"


    "....I withdraw." I wisely decided to not argue that point. "But yeah, I went to school. Technically, I didn''t finish up myst year, so I''m a drop out."


    "Oh joy, I hired a highschool dropout as the leader of B-Team." Olga said dryly. "I''m mentally making a note that you apparently lied about your education as well."


    The thumbs up I gave her did not seem to be well received.


    "That''s not the point." Hinako interrupted. "Why were you going to human school?"


    "You''re focusing on the human part a lot." I pointed out.


    "Yeah? Well, it''s weird." She defended herself.


    "Why?" Samuel asked.


    "What do you mean why?" She furrowed her brow.


    "I don''t see a problem with it." He shrugged.


    "It''s...."


    "I wanna say it doesn''t matter what you are, but I know that there are some strange things out there. If something big and scary tried to go to school, I aint dense enough to not know that would be a bad idea. But otherwise, I don''t got a problem with non-humans. I only learned about you lot recently, but before I knew you weren''t human, Ma''am, I already thought you were a kind woman. That didn''t change after everything else."


    Hinako, funnily enough, was just speechless. She genuinely was not used to humans just not caring that she wasn''t human. Which I obviously found hrious in this circumstance as she just sputtered to respond.


    "If it makes you feel better, I only found out that I was half-human right around the time I quit school."


    "Your life sounds exhausting." Hinako finally settled.


    "You''re not wrong." But I also wouldn''t trade ces with anyone. "But there are upsides." I mused, pushing a few sticks into the ground around the fire, putting a marshmallow onto each of them so they slowly began to cook.


    "Your harem?"


    "I never said I had a harem."


    "Please." She rolled her eyes.


    "Hey, I''m just saying I never said it." I chuckled.


    "Is that something normal for people on this side of the world?" Ritsuka asked.


    "It''s not...abnormal. No one''s going to really say anything." Olga pursed her lips. "Most families only care about strengthening their family lines."


    "Boss, how many ¨C"


    "Nope." I cut in. "If we''re going to talk about my love life, then we''re talking about everyone''s love life."


    "I am not a part of this conversation." Olga quickly rejected.


    "And the Director volunteered for this Company sponsored bonding."


    "I hate you." She grumbled. "I do not have time for any dalliances."


    "Boring." I booed her, but didn''t push if she didn''t want to. "What about you, Farm Boy? You got a cow girl waiting for you back home?"


    "Just cause I work on a Farm doesn''t mean all of them stereotypes apply, Boss." Samuel looked at me in exasperation.


    "So no cow girl?"


    "...nah, we separated when we both went off to college."


    He didn''t deny the cow girl, hah.


    "Pierre?"


    "J''ai d¨¦couvert qu''elle ¨¦tait mari¨¦e." He grumbled.


    "Oof, yeah. Finding out someone is married is not the best way to end a rtionship." Felt a little bad for him there. "Fujimaru~"


    "No, no." Ritsuka quickly shook his head.


    "And what about you, little miss Cinnamon Roll? Anyone at Chaldea caught your eye?" I turned towards Mash.


    "M-me!?" Mash suddenly cried out, surprised that I was focusing on her.


    "Don''t bully her, you bastard." Hinako pulled the cute girl closer as if to protect her from me.


    "You all are boring. Forget Magic Lessons, strategy meetings, or anything like that. What I need to do is to teach you all how to pick up girls, and or, boys."


    "Right, how''s that going with you and Saber, huh?" Hinako countered.


    "Leave it to the vampire to go right for the jugr."


    "I am not a vampire!" She hissed.


    "Okay, Grandma."


    "I will end you!"


    "Is something wrong with Saber?" Ritsuka asked. "I haven''t seen her in awhile. She''s not really the most....sociable, but she''s usually around."


    plicated. I have no idea what''s going on there." I said with full honesty. "Actually, how did you know there was something wrong, Hinako?"


    "My senses are pretty good. I''d be surprised if the Servants didn''t pick up something happening a little while ago." She snorted.


    "That''s embarrassing." I muttered. "Just out of curiosity...how does she act back at Chaldea?"


    "Well...." Ritsuka scratched his head.


    "Fou, fou!" The little monster jumped out of his arms, and made some gestures, as if that exined everything. "Fou, fo fou."


    "Have you gotten him fixed yet?" I asked towards Mash.


    "Fou!?" The little furry thing leapt at me, but Sir Wiggles intercepted.


    We all just kinda stared as both small animals rolled around on the ground, sort of....fighting, if it could be described that way.


    "I think they''re friends." Mash smiled.


    "....sure, let''s go with that." I smiled wryly.


    Ritsuka chuckled. "Saber, well, hmm, she''s....not bad."


    "That''s a polite way to say it." Olga snorted. "She''s a menace."


    "Director...she isn''t that bad." Ritsuka awkwardly coughed. "She''s a bit blunt, and maybe abrasive. But she''s helpful in her own way. She was training both Mash and I for a while. If it wasn''t for her, Mash wouldn''t have picked up her Noble Phantasm so quickly."


    Mash nodded vigorously, but I don''t think she''d have a bad word to say about anyone ever.


    "Her and Cu get into fights a lot." Samuel noted.


    "Medea too." Pierre added.


    "And I get constantints from the cafeteria staff." Olga also confirmed.


    "She''s reliable." Ritsuka quickly shared. "She''s rough around the edges, but she''s never been...harmful. Even when we got hurt during training, it wasn''t ever anything over the line, I guess." Ritsuka looked thoughtful. "I trust her." He finally voiced, as if to finalize his own opinion.


    "Yo, I heard someone talking about me." Cu walked over, plopping down next to Samuel. "What''s this you got, Farm Boy?" He grabbed one of the sticks with a Marshmallow on it and took a bite. "Not bad."


    "Master~" Raikou appeared too, sliding down next to me.


    I knew that look, she wanted some attention. I was happy to oblige as I leaned over and imed her lips for a quick kiss and she snuggled up next to me.


    "Will!" Jeanne ran over soon after, looking like someone kicked her puppy. I assumed she got done talking to her friend and everything that entailed. I quickly grabbed one of the marshmallows that was about done, and stuffed it into her mouth. "EH!? Ish Gud!" She barely muffled the sounds through eating.


    As if on cue, most of the other Servants starteding on over.


    "I hope I''m not interrupting." Siegfried quietly arrived, despite the bulky armor he was wearing.


    "Nonsense, you''re always wee!" It was Marie who answered apparently. As she skipped over with her little posse of Servants.


    "Your Highness, I believe his words were directed towards those he was imposing upon." Mozart gently corrected.


    "Nope! It''s fine. They''re all good people, so it doesn''t matter!" She cheerfully ignored him "Oh, what are these. Can I have one?!" She was obviously talking about the snack I had prepared.


    "Feel free." I offered.


    "Your Highness, please allow me." Pierre quickly grabbed some for her, offering them very politely.


    "Oh, what a gentleman~" Marie cooed.


    "Is Lancelot around?" I asked, mostly towards Hinako.


    "He''s listening." Hinako nodded.


    "Lancelot, get over here." I said simply. The Knight materialized, looking noticeably unsure of himself. "Pull up a seat next to the fire."


    For the first time, it felt like he rxed in my presence, despite still being utterly silent and keeping somewhat of a distance.


    "Not much of a hearth, but the atmosphere seems nice." Medea hummed, leaning on Pierre''s head. "Will the gentleman get me one too~?" Sheughed.


    "Nous pouvons utiliser le baton dans vos fesses pour en faire plus" Pierre grumbled.


    "I can understand French as a Servant, you know." Medea glowered.


    "I know." Pierre shot back


    Medea stared at him for a moment before giggling to herself, rxing somewhat and sitting down next to him. "Thank you Master." She replied after receiving her share.


    Lastly, Artoria materialized a few feet away. She nced my way, and our eyes met briefly. She scoffed, turning her head away. Rather, she focused her eyes down on something in particr, and if nothing else, this was proof that she was Artoria despite the differences.


    I grabbed a stick with a few Marshmallows on it and held it up in her direction.


    "Hmph." Was all she gave as she snatched it out of my hand. However, she didn''t retreat a distance away again. She stood....closer than normal, even if she still kept me at arms reach.


    I honestly had no idea what to do or how to handle Saber. At the moment, I was just going to keep doing what I was doing.


    "This was not what I expected, but I am pleasantly surprised." Saint George looked happy as he stood next to Marie. "It reminds me of the times mypanions and I traveled together. And our band may grow tomorrow as well."


    "Grow?" I questioned.


    "You weren''t here when we talked about it." Olga chimed in. "Marie and the others ran into a couple other Servants not bound to anyone. They have a rough idea where they''re at, and we''re going to attempt to recruit them tomorrow before moving on to Orleans."


    I nodded, not needing any more exnation than that.


    More Servants were good.


    "I feel a bout of inspirationing on." Mozart moved his fingers almost unconsciously. Maybe I should have expected it, but he materialized a piano. Presumably, it was his weapon of choice as a Caster. "Allow me to fill thiste evening with a song to raise everyone''s spirits."


    I would certainly not say no to a performance by Mozart.


    It''s funny, despite what should be a very stressful situation, everyone was enjoying themselves. I had Raikou resting her head on my shoulder, and just peacefully listen to an unnamed song by a famousposer while waiting for the Sun to rise.


    Things may get much moreplicated and hectice tomorrow, but for now, everyone was content to let the peaceful eveningst as long as possible.


    [***]


    A/N


    Call it, the calm before the storm.


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 445 - 404

    <h4>Chapter 445: Chapter 404</h4>


    "Every performance?"


    "I wouldn''t say every performance, there is the obvious one I mentioned to you before that she missed. But call it a good 90% of your live performances that she caught. As long as they were advertised, she tried to make time to see them."


    Mozart stroked his chin as we walked along the dirt road. "I wish I could have met this fan in person. I would have dly given her my thanks for her support. After my death, I look back and realize that all the faces in the crowds tended to blend together unless they were noteworthy. I brushed elbows with the aristocrats and the affluent, but I suppose I lost sight that there were many not in those categories who also appreciated my performances just as much."


    "She definitely checks those boxes, but she probably didn''t sit around with the humans." I rified.


    "Oh? A non-Human fan? That''s even more extraordinary. I admit I have met one or two that were not human or at least not fully, but they were particrly rare." He chuckled.


    "Speaking of rare, you actually used Magecraft in your performances?" It was not every day that someone got to talk to such a famous Musician.


    "Oh yes." He nodded vigorously. "None of that nonsense that you''re probably thinking. I didn''t trick or force people to like my music."


    "That was not my first assumption. I know your fame is well earned."


    "Apologies, I feel as though it''s something that needs to be addressed whenever the topic is brought up. But I dabbled in the magical arts to enhance my own music. To touch on melodies there were not possible through the mundane. To invoke feelings when the masses heard the music I produced. One of my few spells I developed was a sympathetic magnification of passion."


    "You let people feel it more, is what you''re saying?"


    He smiled brightly. "When people listened to my live performances, their hearts opened themselves." He held up a hand. "However, that was not a means to cheat." He rified. "I did not have control of what emotions were invoked, only that they were fluid and excitable. If you detested my works, you would not be swayed regardless of what I wished to convey. No, anyone who listened got an honest performance from me and I only desired to make their experience match my own aspirations."


    How respectable. He could have easily ''cheated'' the crowds through Magecraft, but he opted to instead reach for a higher level and bring to life his passion for others.


    Speaking of it was a nice idle chit chat while we walked to our destination.


    We sort of split into two quick teams. Olga and the others were marching with the remnants of the French army towards Orleans, while myself, Raikou, Jeanne, Ritsuka, Mash and Mozart were heading to what was once Tyres, as he said it wasn''t much but burnt rubble any longer.


    Oh, there was onest personing along.


    A very stoic Saber was keeping a few feet distance from me at any time. But she insisted oning, citing something about ''protecting her master''.


    There was a little game between us as we began this small journey. Every so often, she would nce at me, and I would smile her way, which she responded with a scoff and a head turn.


    Jeanne tagged along because we were looking for Servants....so that was obvious. I went this way, because between Olga and I, we were basically the leaders present. And Mozart wasing because he actually met the Servants in question.


    And with that in mind.


    "So...you''ve been kind of quiet about these Servant''s we''re tracking down. When Marie told you to follow along, you made a face like you sucked a lemon."


    The jovial and happy artist had his face twist back into a scowl. "She is someone I cannot coexist with!" He said as a matter of fact with no follow up.


    I didn''t know who she was. "Should I be worried...?"


    "They are no threat." He harrumphed.


    Alright then, grumpy Mozart is grumpy.


    "How close are we, Jeanne?"


    "Um....a few minutes? I think the town is up ahead, and the feeling of Servants is getting stronger." Jeanne stated.


    "A Ruler can pinpoint Servants so easily?" Ritsuka asked. "Is it something all Ruler Servants can do, or just Jeanne?"


    "It''s an ability of every Ruler." Jeanne smiled, happy to respond. "I don''t actually know if it''s stronger or weaker though."


    "If I had to guess, I think Jeanne''s variation is stronger."


    "Why do you say that?" Ritsuka asked.


    "Well, she has a skill that allows her to get nudges from Big G when she needs to go somewhere or know something, so I would be surprised if her Servant Tracker isn''t better."


    "It doesn''t work that way!" Jeanne squeaked.


    "....Big G?" Mozart blinked.


    "Senpai, do you mean the Abrahamic God?"


    "Ruler talks to God?" Ritsuka eximed.


    "Yes." I answered for all of them.


    Jeanne smacked my shoulder. "I told you not to talk about him like that!"


    "It''s affectionate." I retorted.


    "It is not and you know it." Seeing her puff up was always cute.


    "If he doesn''t like it, he can smite me."


    "Neeeh!" She kept hitting my shoulder with her petite fists.


    "An immutable source of direction. Would it not be more convenient to strap her to a nk of wood and have her point any way we desire? Perhaps seeking a ''method'' to defeat any foes?" Saber oddly spoke up.


    "...like a holypass?" I offered.


    "No!" Jeanne quickly rejected that. "Not again!"


    ".....again?" Saber looked at her.


    "She has certain preferences when ites to rope." Raikou added.


    Jeanne squawked in embarrassment, covering her face.


    "....I am not surprised to hear such a thing from the French." Saber snorted.


    "Hey!" Jeanne shouted back.


    "I do not agree with the harsh sentiment. However, I would be lying if I did not acknowledge the truth in her words." Mozart hummed.


    "Neh!?"


    "Oh dear, You should keep away from Marie when it involves any paramours, she will have no boundaries when ites to asking you about your inclinations and activities that take ce privately." His lips twitched as he looked at the sputtering Jeanne.


    "She really seems the type." I could believe thatpletely.


    "Wonderful woman, but zero respect for personal boundaries." Mozart nodded sagely.


    "Ah, that reminds me." I turned to our cute little eggnt. "Mash, I wanted to ask. You got your Noble Phantasm and everything, you have the spirit of Ghad. Was that hard?"


    She seemed significantly more confident than when I saw her in the previous singrity. It''s funny, despite the reprieve ofst night, it''s been kind of hectic and I hadn''t had the chance to ask.


    "Saber helped me." Mash nodded.


    "Did she threaten Ghad?" I joked.


    ".....yes." Mash said softly.


    I found myself looking at Saber.


    "He disobeyed my orders." She looked a tiny bit embarrassed for some reason.


    "May I ask for boration?"


    "No." Saber said sternly.


    "Ghad refused to listen to her." Ritsuka said awkwardly. "Somehow, he talked through Mash, then they got into an argument and he hasn''te up since."


    I nced at Artoria again.


    She scowled. "He refused to obey me, citing that I am not his king."


    "...you gave Mash all her information out of spite, didn''t you?"


    Ever so slightly, she turned a shade of red and refused to look my way.


    Funnily enough, I heard Mash scoff. Rather uncharacteristically at that. Everyone seemed to agree with me as we stared at her.


    She covered her mouth, eyes widened. "I-I''m sorry, I didn''t mean ¨C"


    "Do you have something to say, coward!?" Saber snarled. Though it was obvious she wasn''t directing her words towards Mash.


    Mash''s eyes zed over, like you could tell she wasn''t herself as she locked eyes with Saber.


    "If you start a fight, we''re going to have a problem." I looked at Mash rather than Saber. "Either sit in the front seat, or watch from the back, you don''t get to flip flop."


    ''Mash'' turned their attention towards me, frowning.


    "Switch back with Mash. She''s actually useful."


    The presence behind Mash''s eyes stared for a long moment before her more gentle look returned. "Um....what happened?"


    "Ghad was being his normal self." Saber snorted, turning back away.


    "Is something wrong?" Mash looked around confused.


    "Ghad isn''t the most well liked among several of his peers." I admit I didn''t know everything, but I knew enough from second hand stories to form half an opinion. The other half formed by the fact that he''s apparently aware and sitting in the back of Mash''s head decidedly not helping.


    "Wasn''t Ghad supposed to be a good Knight?" Ritsuka asked.


    "Ah, my young friend. That there lies a problem. What does one consider a good knight?" Mozart asked.


    "You know his history?" I quirked an eyebrow. "I''m sure the throne gave you some information, but the nuance shouldn''t bemon knowledge."


    "There is no need, I can take a guess or two based on what I know." He hummed.


    "What''s bad about him?" Ritsuka asked again, he nced at Saber and she was being decisively quiet.


    "Mordred called him, and I quote ''A Holier than thou cunt''." I replied rather pointedly, snapping my head back to Mash because she faulted for just a moment, and I think her roommate wanted to retort, but I red enough that whatever they wanted to add was pushed back down allowing Mash to keep driving.


    "You know Mordred?" Saber asked.


    "She''s living back home." I confirmed.


    "....her words ring true." Saber''s tone was rather evenly.


    "So he wasn''t a good Knight?" Ritsuka said in confusion.


    "Let me give you a very abridged version. Ghad was obsessed with being the perfect knight. Don''t mistake that for strongest or most skillful. I''m talking about the codes of Chivalry and all that. You say a bad word? Ghad would be on you about being proper. You ck off for even a moment? A Knight must always strive for excellence. That kind of thing where he''s technically correct, but really grates on everyone around him as he forces them to be held to the standard he sets."


    Mordred told me many more stories, but I was keeping it brief.


    "I could see how that would be annoying." Ritsuka admitted. "They''re only human, they can''t help but want to rx sometimes..."


    "Therein lies the problem. Not even Artoria demanded perfection every single moment of the day. She held her Knights to a certain standard, to represent what they strove for, but they were human...ish. There were non-humans in Camelot. But you get what I''m saying."


    It wasn''t even jealousy, though Mordred admitted there was some of that.


    "Anyways, that was what he built his whole personality around, the idea of being the perfect Knight, and it grated on everyone around him. And to top it off, there''s the whole mess with the Holy Grail, which probably made him rather hated among his fellow Knights."


    "Like the one we''re trying to recover?" Ritsuka tilted his head.


    "No, the real one. The Cup of Christ. The actual relic from the Religion." I responded. "He was sent on the quest to recover it with a couple others."


    "Oh, did they fail?" Ritsuka questioned again. He wasn''t the only one listening. Mash seemingly was learning all of this information first hand too. "Is that why everyone''s mad at him?"


    "Nope, he seeded. Do you know what he did when he got his hands on the Grail?"


    "He ¨C"


    "He ran away." Saber finished for us. "He saw the inevitable fall and destruction of Camelot, and he chose to run away and leave everyone else behind. That is why I call him a coward."


    I didn''t correct her, because she was right. Even my Artoria told the story in a more flowery way, at the end of the day, he abandoned hisrades, and wanted to go to Heaven instead.


    "He sipped from the Grail and was whisked away to Heaven. Or so the stories ago. I''m sure you can guess what truths there are to that statement at this point." I left it at that.


    The mood turned rather somber after that.


    "We are here." Saber dered, perhaps to shift the subject away from what we were just talking about as it was obvious we had arrived.


    "Any heads up on what to look for, Mozart?" I asked.


    "If you hear something akin to cats being skinned alive then recorded and yed backwards, we are close."


    ".....I hesitantly decide to ignore the implication of what you just said."


    "I envy your ignorance."


    "I sense Two Servants further into the town." Jeanne confirmed.


    "Master, Mash, be prepared forbat." Saber demanded of them.


    Raikou, for her part, was already inbat mode.


    "Perhaps this is a bad time to mention that I have yet to form a contract." Mozart mused.


    "That would have been nice to know sooner. But Ritsuka here can handle ¨C"


    "I declined his offer previously." Mozart interrupted me. "Truthfully, I had hoped you would form a contract with me."


    "....any particr reason why?"


    "Call it...a musician''s instinct. I feel as though my ying with my Noble Phantasm would be more fulfilling if you were my Master."


    "Dare I ask what your Noble Phantasm is?"


    "It is quite a Demonic Tune." Heughed.


    [Raikou?] I asked, sending through our mental link.


    [I don''t mind, Master.] Raikou replied. [I quite like him]


    Well, if she''s okay with it.


    [I''ll allow it.] Ddraig also chimed in.


    Thanks for your input, Ddraig.


    "I don''t mind doing a temporary contract. We''ll handle it after our business with these two Servants is over." I nodded.


    It''s unlikely he would need to participate in any battles with these two, and I would like to have a moment to figure out how a temporary contract would work since I wasn''t really hooked up to Chaldea''s systems.


    Regardless, I heard something that sent a shiver down my spine. And I most certainly wasn''t the only one.


    "Yes, there it is. The sound of my arch nemesis. The bane of my existence." Mozart''s nostrils red. "I know you can hear me, you she-demon! Cease your murdering of the musicalnguage! Have you not done enough!?"


    "What did you call me, you grumpy old pig!?" A...smallish girl practically kicked open a dpidated house, walking outside. She had long pink hair, two horns on her head, and a tail swinging out from arge skirt.


    "Ohohoho, his words are uncouth, but that doesn''t detract from their truthfulness." Another woman joined, holding a fan in front of her face. She had long blueish hair, also having horns on her head, but she instead wore a matching blue kimono.


    [Really, more?] Ddraig asked with a sigh.


    I shared the sentiment. "Is it just me, or do the majority of the servants here either have rtions to Dragons or France?"


    "What would an old hag like you know!?"


    "How udy-like. Not that I would expect anything less from a bearded lizard like you."


    "Udy like!? I''ll show you!" She took a deep breath, and screamed.


    Everyone had to cover their ears, the sound waves literally shattered stone and wood around the area.


    [Oh, not bad.] Ddraigmented, despite the horrid sound prating my ears.


    Fuck off, Ddraig.


    [No seriously, she''s not bad. I think she had Dragon Lungs, because she''s using a tone that most things can''t really understand. If you wanna be pedantic, you could call it dragon sound.]


    ...I don''t even know anymore.


    "Raikou."


    "Saber!" Ritsuka also added.


    The two Servants didn''t need any more invitation as the blue-haired woman was ignited in a worrisome me.


    The two Servants weren''t expecting the sudden attack, but they were vtile so I didn''t feel bad about suddenly engaging them. Rather to have them pacified to figure out where to go from there.


    Both our Servants were quick, and the other two unknown Servants were not in any way prepared due to their bickering. Raikou went after the Pink haired one, mming into her rather hard, sending her rolling onto the ground. Saber used the t of her de to swing at the blue-haired one, smacking her hard across the face, likewise sending her tumbling away. Neither, however, let up, before the two Servants could recover, Raikou and Saber were both holding their des up to their necks.


    "...should we help?" Jeanne asked.


    "Oh, I think Saber wanted to hit something, better let them have their fill." I shook my head.


    "Oh my, they are quite ruthless and efficient." Mozart noted.


    "Wait!! I surrender!" The pink-haired one whined.


    "Such a brute." The Blue haired one huffed, seemingly following her friend''s lead.


    "Wonderful!" I pped my hands, walking up. "Now ¨C"


    "E, the piggy is talking to us." The Pink-haired one reeled back.


    Raikou pushed her de firmer.


    "Waah!? I didn''t mean it. He''s not a piggy!"


    "....anyways." I ignored her. Servants generally had quirks of their own. "Greetings, we''re here on behalf of Finis Chaldea, trying to resolve this singrity and protect the world. To summarize, we''re here to defeat the Dragon Witch. We are preparing to siege her ce of power, and you two are aligned with neither side. I''m not forcing you toe with us, but if you do disagree with our generous employment opportunity, I expect you to stay far away."


    Raikou and Saber let up a bit as the two Servants stood motionlessly. They shared a look between each other, and it was more of a shrug than anything that they came to an agreement. "Yeah, sure, whatever." The pink-haired one agreed.


    "Maybe I can find my Anchin if I go with you. This tadpole has been less than helpful."


    "Bitch!"


    "Lizard."


    "Enough." Saber hissed, and the two straightened up.


    "Oh wow, she has a powerful dragon aura."


    "It is impressive." The Asian one held her fan in front of her face.


    "Alright, which piggy am I doing a contract with?"


    "State your names." Saber grunted.


    "Ugh, fine. You have the honor of standing before the amazing, stupendous, extravagant idol, Elizabeth Bathory! You can grovel at my feet at your leisure." The Pink-haired one introduced herself.


    "How inelegant." The other pped her fan shut. "I am Kiyohime. I''m looking for my Anchin. I would be most grateful if you could point me in his direction."


    [Master, I have a strange feeling with that one. I desire that you not be intimate with her.] Raikou sent through our link.


    [You know, for some reason, my instincts are screaming at me to stay the hell away and only after she named herself did I understand why.]


    There''s sticking your dick in crazy, and then there''s sticking your dick in a crazy dragon.


    Nope x 100.


    "Ritsuka will be delighted to form a contract with you both." I pushed him forward.


    "I would!?" He blinked.


    "You would." I nodded.


    "I would!" He smiled towards the two Servants.


    I could tell they were going to be a handful.


    Your sacrifice will be remembered, Ritsuka Fujimaru.


    "We''re going to fight that Dragon Witch or whatever~" Elizabeth waved her hand flippantly. "I ran into another me once. Did you piggies see her at all?"


    Huh, some things were starting to make sense now. "White hair, dressed like she walked out of a Sex Dungeon? Used an Iron Maiden as a weapon for some god awful reason?"


    "Yup."


    I looked the Servant right in the eyes. "Yeah, I killed her."


    "....meep."


    Now that this little side errand was settled, let''s head on back.


    [***]


    The trek back was a lot less pleasant than the one there.


    I was starting to wonder if these two Servants were worth the hassle. But the other part of me that was actually scared wanted any back up ns that I could get.


    After getting my ass handed to me, I didn''t want to rush into any engagement without stacking the deck in my favor as much as possible.


    Thankfully, Orleans wasn''t too far away.


    And it was easy to find where everyone was.


    The army was gathered, several thousand troops in total, which honestly was going to be extremely helpful.


    Having to wade through tens of thousands of mindless undead was not something any of us wanted to waste too much time on.


    "Director." I greeted as everyone gathered around.


    "Are these our two new Servants?" Olga nced behind me.


    "Eww, Piggy, look somewhere else." Elizabeth made a noise of disgust..


    Olga twitched. "Wonderful."


    "You didn''t have to spend an extended period of time with them." I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, better than nothing it seems."


    "...agreed." She sighed. "Ruler, we need you at the front. Your friends were waiting for your arrival."


    "Jeanne." The one I recognized as the still living and sane Gilles was also present as he looked at her in relief.


    "Gilles" Jeanne smiled warmly. "Is everyone ready?"


    "Everyone''s ready to fight!" Marie pumped her fist.


    Despite the situation, Gilles found himself smiling. "We are prepared to take back Orleans and save France."


    "What''s the avenue of attack? Are we waiting until night, or are we making a direct move and just brute forcing our way inside?" I asked.


    I was many things, but honestly, amander ofrge armies was not one of them. I don''t think I would be bad, but I wasn''t like the ones around me that could moverge swathes of people like they were their hands and legs.


    "We will call on them to surrender." Gilles stated.


    "...pardon?"


    "We will approach, and call out the Dragon Witch for her surrender." Gilles reiterated.


    "Do you really expect them to surrender?''


    "No." He said without a second thought. "But from what I was told and understand, this fake, is not a strategic minded individual, if they are angered and leave the safety of their fortifications, I would be remiss to not take the advantage."


    Smart.


    "Jeanne, will you join me?" Gilles asked.


    "I will stand with you always, Gilles." Jeanne agreed.


    "Good, and your group." He turned to us. "Chaldeans." He stated, as if repeating a foreign word. "For whom of you will stand with us upon the edge of enemynds?"


    Olga and I shared a look.


    "Call it, Schweinorg." She gave me authority.


    "Olga, myself, Saber, Raikou, Medea." I listed off. "Mash will be open and standing near Ritsuka, Pierre, Hinako and Samuel. Everyone else, Astralize and stand nearby." Especially don''t want to show off Marie and her people right away, and Elizabeth and Kiyohime if possible, but they were less important.


    No one argued, about a dozen Servants Astralized all at once, which was quite the sight.


    Though, I grabbed Lancelot right before he could disappear. I pulled him close so we were staring face to face. "Rather than moping, live up to her belief in you. Protect them."


    He surprisingly adopted a rather resolute look and nodded.


    [That was nice of you, master.] Raikoumented.


    [His attitude was pissing me off.] I dismissed it.


    "Let us go." Gilles ordered, he clutched his de on his hip. Nervousness was obvious, and I doubted anyone would fault him.


    At this particr moment, he was but an ordinary man.


    We took the short steps to the walls of Orleans. This day and age, especially after a warring period of a hundred years, there was a wall that surrounded the city.


    "Stop." Medeamanded.


    "You noticed it too?" I asked.


    "I would be an amateur not to sense it." Medea grunted. "We''re in front of a Boundary line...I don''t recognize the feel of it. It feels disgusting..."


    "We cannot advance further?"


    "Not without potential detriment. Unless you want to start immediately?" I offered.


    "No." Gilels shook his head. "This Is enough." He took a deep breath. "I CALL UPON THE DRAGON WITCH!" He practically roared, his voice carrying rather far and the silence before and after the echos was deafening in of itself. "Submit yourself to righteous judgment! If you surrender and repent for your sins, we will allow you a swift and merciful meeting with the Lord to ept your punishment!"


    There was silence for a beat and two. That was until the massive gate shook, and slowly began to open. It wasn''t the Dragon Witch that appeared, but someone else.


    His bulging eyes and malignant aura was a dead give away.


    Gilles looked at his horrific reflection.


    "Ah, I wondered who had such a smooth and impressive voice. I could feel my heart beat at just at the mere words. And seeing you up close, truly, you cut a dashing figure." The Caster Servant version, no Bluebeard was the name he was known by at this point. Bluebeard admired his still living self.


    "Monster." Gilles whispered.


    "Tut tut, my handsome friend. Your words hurt yourself." Bluebeard chuckled as he walked up to the very edge of the Boundary until we were in distance to inly speak.


    "Gilles..." Jeanne looked at him.


    Bluebeard twitched. "You are not real. A fake, sent here to diminish our goals. I will not be fooled, the real Jeanne sitsfortably upon her proper throne."


    "Will your sphemies never end?" Gilles growled.


    "Never!" Bluebeard countered. "My sphemies will continue!" He held his arms up. "I will drag this whole country into depravity to show that I was right. With Jeanne by my side, we will show that God does not exist! A Godless country, spitting in the face of that hypocritical doctrine!"


    "Is....is that your motivation!?" Gilles stood there shocked. "For such a ridiculous goal!?" He stepped forward, drawing his de. "Youmitted these atrocities for such an ignorant reason!?" He tried to sh forward, but it was Medea who pulled him back.


    Bluebeard didn''t react, his grin growing horrificallyrge as a barrier sprang up just in time, separating uspletely


    No, in fact, it sprang up over what appeared to be the entirety of Orleans.


    "Rejoice, for you shall see the fruition of our efforts. You will join us when you see that it is futile. No God will save you, because no God exists!" Bluebeardughed


    I heard the words, but they took a back seat to what I was currently seeing.


    In the barrier, the energy pulsed and faces appeared. Ones twisted in anger and pain, children, adults, young and old, they came and went across the barrier''s surface.


    "Can the Grail support a Bounded Field around the entirety of the City!?" Olga eximed. "The sheer amount of power, it would continuously drain the Grail''s supply! And this is no normal Bounded Field!"


    Yeah, it looked particrly strong. And I wasn''t sure Orleans was situated upon a Leyline, which left one obvious avenue avable.


    "....not if he isn''t using solely the grail."


    "What ¨C"


    "Human Sacrifices are rather potent." Medea whispered.


    Bluebeard didn''t confirm, but the maniac look on his face said it all. "Come, I wee you! Our subjects were so kind to offer their assistance in protecting our Godless country from invaders. Attack, barge in, I''m sure they wouldn''t mind the teensy bit of effort that will be needed to hold you back."


    "Trantion, any attack we make on the barrier will drain the life force of whatever prisoners they have currently." Medea scoffed.


    "Yes, yes!" He tapped his fingers together. "Struggle, please. I will enjoy watching it. Especially after my dear book was damaged so heinously." His tone was filled with bitterness. "I will watch alongside my dear Jeanne as you gradually lose hope." He turned around and left,ughing all the while.


    "Monster....that monster!" Gilles shouted. "How could I be that!? I refuse! I would rather kill myself!"


    "Gilles." Jeanne ced a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever you be in the future.....right now, at this moment, you are my friend andrade."


    Gilles grit his teeth and his knuckles turned white from the grip on his sword. "Please, tell me what I need to do."


    "We need to break the barrier." Medea said outright. "It''s not something I recognize."


    "Even you don''t recognize it?" Olga looked at her.


    "Not like that. The idea behind it isn''t anything new. But it''s using that thing of his, I''m sure of it. So, don''t expect me to unravel it the normal way. We''re going to have to break through."


    ".....and condemn how many people?" Jeanne whispered.


    "We just need to destroy enough of it at once, push through without giving it a chance to regenerate using the people inside." Medea bit her thumb.


    "And that''s possible?" Olga asked.


    "....with several Noble Phantasms...probably."


    "My sword is avable." Saber showed no hesitation. And despite her admittance as a Tyrant, I knew her well enough to know this was far beyond what she considered eptable.


    I looked at the many faces that appeared, shing across the malignant energy infront of us.


    It wasn''t often I got angry like this. I rarely got mad enough that I was the metaphorical frothing at the mouth. But a true anger that rose up from my stomach that in my younger days would have made me throw caution to the wind.


    Bluebeard wanted to prove God didn''t exist? Well, let''s do the opposite.


    "You know, I''ve said it plenty of times so far, but you all have been very polite and haven''t asked me directly. I said I wasn''t fully human, but I never said what I was."


    I touched upon the Hogyoku, shifting everything I had to Demonic Energy. The Barrier simply needed to be destroyed in a way that it couldn''t Regenerate.


    I was more than happy to oblige.


    "Let me show you."


    [***]


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    Happy Halloween everyone!

 Chapter 446 - 405

    <h4>Chapter 446: Chapter 405</h4>


    Demonic Power erupted from within me.


    It was different than before, not in the sense that the effects differed, but that I didn''t hold myself back when I called it forth. There was no testing the waters this time, no need to be hesitant to make sure nothing bad happened. Sc¨¢thach had helped me enough that I wasfortable opening the DamFloodgate, so to speak.


    There was a slight sense of euphoria. The general concept of Devils was one drenched in the spectrum of desires, thus making the transformation one of enjoyment. That wasn''t to say I was going to suddenly change, nor that I was going to lose myself. Perhaps I would lean towards certain ways unconsciously, but I was still fully myself.


    Horns pushed out from my forehead.


    A tail sprang out from behind me.


    I could feel my nails get sharp and even my eyes shifted to amodate my heritage.


    My wings, well, I didn''t quite need them right now. It wasn''t like the first time where it was a surprise, I could more or less control things now. My wings were always a part of me, if I didn''t want them toe out, they would stay withdrawn.


    I hesitated for a brief moment to look at the others, but finally I nced their way.


    Raikou gave me a reassuring smile, while Jeanne barely even reacted.


    The expressions of the others, I suppose they were to be expected. Medea looked at me curiously, Saber''s eyes widened a smidge, and Olga, well, her mouth was opened as she stared at me.


    Gilles, he took a hesitant step backwards, genuinely terrified by what he saw.


    I couldn''t me him. By his entire world view, I was the epitome of the enemy to his core belief.


    Jeanne put a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his fear entrenched silence.


    "Wilhelm, are you...?" She asked.


    "I''ll bring down the barrier."


    "Boyo, don''t know what you''re going to do, but if you wanna do it cleanly, it''s gotta be big enough that it falls apart and simply doesn''t regenerate." Medea reminded me.


    "I just have to destroy it." I turned back towards the shes of faces across the Bounded Field positioned in front. "I''m fairly good at that."


    My initial thought was to take out the Sword of Destruction....but I didn''t need it.


    My Demonic Energy swelled up, therge pool inside of me that I had yet to use. And with it, my bloodline power was called forward, it started small, the uncharacteristic crackling of my Power of Destruction ignited at my fingertips.


    Then, I did something I hadn''t done before.


    I activated my Semnce.


    My arms were gone. Instead, what reced them was pure Destruction.


    Simr to how I usually coated my arms in Lightning, now, they were Destruction incarnate.


    I admit, wielding this much of my Bloodline was unfamiliar, but I remembered Venna''s words,bined with the training I had thus far.


    Shape it, but don''t restrict it.


    A small space between my palms, it began to gather, shaped. Ipressed it, but allowed it to dance around. Compress,press,press.


    And I pped my hands together.


    Venna showed me it a few times now, and I was nothing if not studious.


    "¦£¦Á?¦Á ¦¥¦Ò¦Ó?¦Á ¦¥¦Ê?¦Ó¦Ç" Medea shouted suddenly, and the makings of her own shields sprang up between me and them.


    How did she do it again?


    Oh yes.


    "Extinction Star."


    I let it out.


    It bloomed brilliantly, in the form of a four-pointed star.


    It was as if the barrier wasn''t even there. The Destruction tore away at it without resistance. It was not in the barrier''s nature to be imprable, but to be resistant and mendable. The swath of Destruction wasrge enough, that even past the barrier, the walls of Orleans were consumed as well, therge gate that towered over us reduced to nothingness as my star illuminated the sky with its ckened hue.


    Itsted for a split second before copsing into itself, almost like a singrity in nature, leaving behind but arge empty area devoid of any matter.


    The Barrier itself imploded under the strain. Having a chunk just utterly destroyed on a level that was not mendable left it without a means to continue operating based on its predesigned form.


    The quietness persisted for a heart beat, no one seemed to want to say anything in this small reprieve. No, the source to break the eerie silence that followed wasn''t anyone from my side.


    They started to appear. Shambling corpses, making a mockery of an Army. Calling it a loose formation would be generous.


    But they were numerous.


    The now open streets of Orleans were barely visible with their numbers. The thousands upon thousands of lives lost due to Bluebeards idiotic desire.


    However, that didn''t seem to be the end of it.


    Something felt off.


    The walking corpses, that is to say, something was wrong with them.


    "A little warning next time!" Medea huffed, dismissing her shielding spell. "I nearly didn''t get that out in time."


    "Apologies, I don''t have much practice using my demonic heritage in this state." I gave an awkward smile.


    "S-Schweinorg?" Olga whispered. "Y-you..."


    Ah....that was one thing I was a little afraid of.


    It must be quite the surprise to find out that I am a literal ''Demon''.


    Thankfully, someone else read the mood fairly well.


    The white blurnded onto her head quickly, making the Director yelp in surprise.


    Sir Wiggles did his job beautifully.


    I held my hand up, producing my Staff of Magnus, and tossed it over to Medea.


    She caught it happily, nearly hugging it.


    "Medea, would you please snipe one of the Zombies in the front. I want to confirm something."


    Medea blinked, then shrugged. Barely a true spell, a cantrip by her standards, A small ball of energy fired off without even the need for an incantation. It collided with a Zombie at the forefront, disintegrating arge portion of its body.


    That would have been the end of it, but instead, tentacles burst out, wrapping it up and pulling free what hid beneath.


    "Of course." Medea grumbled. "Those abominations are hiding in the corpses. Wonderful."


    That meant, they all had to be dealt with. There was no knowing if simply killing Bluebeard would do anything to stop them existing already.


    They were something that had to be removed, there was no way about it.


    "Mozart." I called out, the Musician appeared next to me rather quickly. "You have arge audience."


    The Musician began to cackle. "What an audience it is! I knew my instincts were not incorrect, I have chosen my Master well. A demonic tune for a Demonic master!" He held his arms wide open, his conductor''s baton appearing in his hand. "Please Enjoy! It is time for a public Performance! Prepare to listen! To the sound of a Demon. Requiem for Death!" He dered, his Noble Phantasm activating.


    His Noble Phantasm was rather interesting. It wasn''t merely arge-scale damaging ability, but rather, it operated sort of like a curse. They were attacked physically by the sound, but they were also cursed in a way that attacked their physical abilities. If the enemy couldn''t resist, their strength, speed, and stamina would drastically lower.


    Figures appeared all around us, Golden silhouettes of Angels holding their instruments, an orchestra to announce theing of Death.


    The Music erupted.


    Hundreds of Zombies were immediately taken into the caress of the tones. Their outer shells were destroyed nearly instantaneously. The things living inside of them burst out once their hiding spot was gone, the tentacled monstrosities.


    They too were assaulted by Mozart''s performance. Many of them too fell under the onught of his Demonic Tune. But frankly, there were an absurd number of enemies.


    "If I recall, your longest performance was 33 minutes. Care to take a crack at that record?"


    Mozart chuckled and waved his Baton as if to signify his agreement.


    Still, the number of targets he could hit was limited.


    I took a step forward, but Jeanne grabbed onto my sleeve. "Where are you going?" She asked.


    "Isn''t it obvious? I''m going to rip the head off that bastard."


    She frowned, hesitating for a moment, but something seemed to win over. "Not alone."


    [***]


    Olga Marie Animusphere POV


    .....did I appoint a Demon as the leader of B-Team?


    The show of Magic that he did was....well, impressive may be an understatement. But I already knew he was a Magician, so I didn''t dwell on that aspect too much.


    Taking a moment to acknowledge my situation, I am the Director of an organization, attempting to return the world from destruction by traveling to the past to apparently fight the King of Magecraft with the help of Legendary Heroes. And I have taken all of that in stride, yet, at this moment, I found myself out of my depth.


    Lev....


    It was Lev all over again.


    That''s what he said before? Lev was some sort of Demon? How was this any different?


    Was I being manipted the entire time, was I just a fool again?


    "Servants iing." The Ruler Servant informed everyone, but I felt myself hardly focusing. As idiotic as it was, I was....unsure of how to act.


    There were more Wyverns in the sky, but at this point, I doubt anyone was surprised. They came flooding out of the central area of the city.


    "¦£¦Á?¦Á ¦¥¦Ò¦Ó?¦Á ¦¥¦Ê?¦Ó¦Ç" Caster chanted again, and once more, a shield appeared overhead, blocking arrows covered in Magical Energy, presumably from the Archer.


    Though, after wielding the apparent Divine Construct, her shield was muchrger than before.


    Mozart''s Noble Phantasm still yed, killing off those things by the dozens, but there were still so many, I couldn''t even count them all.


    "Director, I''m going to go ahead. I''ll leave everything to you here, alright?"


    I blinked as Schweinorg turned to look at me.


    He had horns. There was a tail behind him!


    Even his eyes looked....different.


    Demon.


    It was a joke, wasn''t it?


    I put my trust in a Demon, again.


    But.... It didn''t feel the same.


    He said that, and it felt sincere. I unclenched my fists, not even realizing how tightly my nails were digging into my palms. I grabbed the Rabbit off of my head, taking him into my arms. "Of course." I breathed in. "I''ll handle everything here! You can take care of that Dragon Witch and that other one."


    "I''m going too!" The Ruler Servant dered.


    "Jeanne!? You can''t that ¨C that Demon!" Gilles nearly pulled her back, trying to stand protectively in front of her.


    "He''s my friend, Gilles." Her words were few, but they apparently were enough to disarm him of his directed disgust.


    "But, he was deceiving ¨C"


    "Erm...I always knew." She said softly, maybe even bashfully.


    .....A Demon and a Saintess are friends....


    What even has my life turned into? I wouldugh if the situation wasn''t so ridiculous.


    "Trust, me Gilles." She smiled brightly. "Lead our troops like you always did. Let me go with him to handle the Dragon Witch." There was no more room for a peaceful talk, as a roar shook the entire city.


    The massive dragon rose high up into the sky, and the other Servants came barreling down the streets.


    If she was a Saintess trusting a demon, why was I hesitating? Schweinorg never let me down, he''s been supporting me ever since we first met. Even through the....deceit, he''s been nothing but helpful.


    ....I''ll deal with the Association and Churchter.


    At this point, I no longer cared.


    "Dragon yers!" I called out.


    The Servants appeared quickly.


    I grabbed the gob smacked Gilles by his chest te, jerking him down so we were eye level. He was still unfocused on the real issue, so I gave him a crisp p across the face. "You can either have an existential Crisis of Faith, or you can rally your troops and help the Demon that''s trying to save your country! What''s it going to be, abandon your country or sit here like a blubbering buffoon!?"


    ....why was everyone staring at me?


    "Y-yes." Gilles said absentmindedly. "Yes!" He grabbed his sword, holding it up into the air. "Soldiers, forward." He pointed towards the oing hordes of monsters.


    .....the random thought now urred to me.


    He had been teasing the Saintess withments like ''touched by the devil'' since they arrived...


    God Dammit, Schweinorg.


    I''m going to find a cross to beat you over the head with if I make it out of this with my sanity intact.


    But that was much less of a concern than the giant Dragon overhead with itsrge mouth open about to spew a breath attack!


    "Marie!" I shouted. "You''re up."


    "Whew!" The French Queen appeared spectacrly. "Then let me show everyone my love for France! The Lovable Brilliance for Eternity! Come Forth ¨C Crystal Pce!" She held her arms wide open, and beautiful sculptures and crystalline figures burst out of the ground.


    They all formed into a singr existence, a pce that superimposed itself onto the surroundings.


    I felt power flow through me. It almost felt like I had cast a Reinforcement on myself. My Physical capabilities were enhanced to a higher degree than would have been possible by my own effort.


    And it was not just me.


    An army of Soldiers all received the blessing from her Noble Phantasm.


    Not just that, this Crystal Pce stood tall as the Dragon''s Breathnded upon its delicate-looking exterior.


    "Look at this, Miss Shielder!" Marie held her arm out, pointing at the Dragon. "My love for France is boundless, so too is my Pce that shelters my fellow countrymen. It will not fall, because my heart will never waver!"


    Was she speaking to Mash?


    Mash looked on with sparkling eyes, taking a defensive position near the other Masters.


    It sounded flowery and ridiculous In all honesty, but it didn''t fall under the attack by the Dragon.


    The pause after its attack was enough that the Dragon yers then moved.


    "Marie!" A roar erupted from within the groups of Undead. A Servant jumped out, the one I recognized as having the strange looking sword.


    "Charles!?" Marie''s eyes widened.


    "Wait, the man who executed you!?" I blurted out, recognizing the name after she seemingly knew the Servant.


    "Charles! It''s so good to see you again!" The French Monarch waved happily.


    "Don''t greet the person who cut off your head!" I shouted.


    "Teehee~"


    "Oh, someone set the stage for me. The music is dumb, but I can fix that with some vocals~" Elizabeth Bathory....was holding a microphone....


    "If you dare to start singing, I will turn my Noble Phantasm on you"! Mozart screamed.


    "My my, what disgusting creatures." Kiyohime joined in, waiving that fan of hers, producing a blue me that tore through dozens of disgusting tentacled monsters.


    "Ritsuka,mand your Servants! Samuel, use Cu to help Marie! Pierre, support Medea." I quickly shouted out mymands. "Hinako, Mash there are enemy Servants missing, try to find them!"


    Everyone moved.


    A chaotic disy of discipline.


    "Schweinorg, I can handle it here." I informed my B-Team leader. "Take your Servant, and Ruler. Hopefully, things will settle down if the Dragon Witch is Defeated, but regardless, we''ll take the slower route and march through the streets to take care of all these things properly."


    "Then I''ll leave it to you." He smiled.


    "And we are going to have a long talk about everything when you get back, do you hear me!?" I grabbed his cor, pulling him down as well. "You''re going to be telling me what all this ¨C " I gestured to his new features. "Is about!"


    "....my father is Satan."


    "Don''t just drop that on me when you''re about to leave, you bastard!" I kicked him away with an annoyed huff. "We''ll talkter, let''s fix this Singrity."


    So what?


    Was he joking? Or wasn''t he? Did it matter?


    Frankly, I found myself not caring any longer.


    Fafnir fell from the sky with Lancelot''s sword stabbed in the side. It crashed down into the main street, crushing plenty of abominations, and whipping its body around, many more were just turned to pulp by the sheer force of its body movements.


    I had to hold my arms up to shield my eyes from the shockwave and dirt that was kicked up as my hair whipped around.


    "I will go too." Saber stated.


    "No, you''re staying here."


    Her face twisted back into a snarl, and I felt like she was about to swing her sword at me. "I will ¨C"


    "You listen here you abrasive and angry bitch!" I had lost all my patience. "I am dealing with too much right now to also deal with your bullcrap. There are enemy Servants unounted for and we are up against a literal army of undead, wyverns, Servants, and eldritch monstrosities in addition to a legendary Dragon. Either stay here to help, or throw yourself on your own sword and save me the headache."


    "...the only reason I do not cut you down is because you hold that rabbit in your arms." She scoffed.


    "Shut up."


    She opened her mouth briefly and closed it again, sort of blinking with confusion. Eventually, she scowled, and clutched her sword tight, looking towards Schweinorg. "You are not allowed to die." She grunted, moving towards Ritsuka.


    "Go, Schweinorg. I can handle this fight."


    "After that, Ipletely believe you." He chuckled. "Thank you, Director."


    "Shut up, I''m pissed at you right now." I huffed in annoyance again. "But the same as she said. I''m going to be even angrier if something happens."


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    I''ve never seen Olga lose her cool like that.....it was kind of hot. Especially with even Saber sort of lowering her head to her.


    I''m getting distracted though. I was still very angry at a certain bastard hiding in Orleans.


    The human Soldiers were buffed to all hell by that Noble Phantasm of Marie''s. I was a bit disappointed that my Magic Resistance prevented it from helping me. Jeanne and Raikou, however, benefited from it, as was everyone else.


    "Let''s go." I stated, moving with a burst of Shunpo.


    Raikou and Jeanne followed behind me.


    I jumped right into the middle of the enemy''s ''lines'' if they could be called that. I let my Destruction soar outward, destroying anything in my path as I cut a bloody swath through the hordes of enemies, moving towards therge Castle set up in the center of the city.


    Raikou was on my left, her Mana Burst turning into arge burst of lightning, her de slicing through enemies like a scythe through wheat. These things couldn''t even dream about holding her back unless they all tried to converge on her at once.


    Jeanne was....well, she didn''t enjoy this experience, that was for sure. It seemed like for every zombie she ''killed'' she mourned what happened to them.


    Even with her banner piercing through them with the ease as one would expect, and her holy light burning away any of the corruptive influence, her face was one of mncholy.


    We hopped up onto the nearby building, and only getting arge field of vision did it put into perspective how many people were actually killed by their hands.


    The streets of Orleans from North to South, East to West, were filled with shambling corpses and other monstrosities.


    It just further pissed me off.


    I suppose I should be thankful that Bluebeard was a mix of crazy and idiotic. Otherwise, he could have done way more damage by using this kind of thing strategically.


    Especially now that Raikou managed to damage his book like she did. That thing was monstrously dangerous if left alone and he was backed into a corner.


    Regardless, I didn''t care to think too deeply on the what-ifs.


    I was much too pissed right now.


    They didn''t deserve this. Just random people living their lives, turned into meat suits for Zombies and Eldritch monsters.


    And it made me annoyed that the closer we got to that pce set up in the center of Orleans, the fewer things there were to take my anger out on.


    I grabbed one tentacled monster in particr, and just ripped its appendages off because there didn''t seem to be any further ahead.


    "You came!" A voice shouted from atop the walls. He jumped down right as the words reached our ears, crashing hastily into the ground. Amidst the unsettled dust, he burst out, hand wing at my throat. "Amusing, amusing!" Heughed. "Why is it that you look this way!?"


    I stepped forward and grabbed his arm, my Destruction still present and it sunk into his gauntlets. "Half Devil." I said simply.


    "Hahaha! Of course, why not!" He merelyughed heartily. "Everything else of mine has been stepped on, why should my faith be any different."


    I....felt pity for him.


    He was aware enough to know how far he had currently fallen, but had no way to stop it. And thest thing he''d probably wanted was the literal antithesis to his faith to be his end.


    "Raikou." I called out.


    A purple bolt of lightning mmed into him, sending him into the wall of the pce.


    He pulled himself free, barely phased, looking ready to go again. "I am to stop anyone from entering."


    Raikou held her de up at him, noting his obvious insinuation. "If you do not y me, I will enter the pce, Impaler."


    Despite the madness there was a look of genuineness in his eyes. "Then we shall fight to the end!"


    "Let me give you an honorable death." Raikou easily guessed my desire, because that''s something I wouldn''t have been able to give him.


    "Thank you, Raikou." I turned, and left it to her. "Come on, Jeanne."


    "Right!" She nced at Raikou and d, with a nod and we moved towards the entrance of the Pce.


    Immediately pushing the doors open, those creatures burst out from the walls. Large appendages, shooting at either of us.


    Jeanne''s banner danced through the air, piercing through them as they came and I went with a much less elegant route. I merely shot through the corridor with my Destruction pulsing around my arms and ripping apart anything that stood in my way.


    "Wee, wee!" As we kicked the next door off its hinges, Gilles appeared again, standing at the top of a flight of stairs, overlooking a ball area. His bulging eyes moved unnaturally before focusing on us, specifically on me. "....you.....practice wonderful Magecraft! What a sphemous act, to take that kind of form! Yes, Yes, you see now, don''t you? Do you wish to join us? Jeanne was rather fond of you. Simply kill that one next to you and offer her up, then the real Jeanne would be more than happy to have you at her side. We can defile this Godless world together!"


    "Gilles!? Why are you doing this.?"


    He twitched violently at her words. "You have no power over me. You are not my Jeanne!" He dered.


    "Gilles..."


    "Quiet!"


    "It''s funny, I had time to contemte your actions, your motivation." I stepped in, knowing it was pointless on Jeanne''s part, even if she would have to continue trying regardless. She would never give up on Gilles, even after everything. Even knowing his story was already written, she would try to save him.


    That''s because she''s a good person.


    However, I wasn''t.


    "Yes?" He seemed pleased. "Have you decided!?" He tapped his fingers eagerly.


    "Will...?" Jeanne tilted her head.


    "There was a fundamental w with your logic. Your desire to....disprove God''s existence, yeah? Presumedly, you''remitting heinous acts, and unspeakable atrocities in the thought that if God isn''t stopping you, then he must not exist?"


    I began walking up the stairs


    "You understand! I knew we would find a like minded person! Oh what wonderful fun we''ll have together! If you give me that woman who cut my book in half, I will happily forgive you. Water under the bridge as they say!"


    "You missed the part where I called a w in your logic."


    He twitched slightly. "And what w would that be?"


    "It''s always been the job of hell to punish the sinners, Gilles de Rais." Wings sprouted from my back and I shot up to where he was standing looking down from the railing.


    He nearly stumbled backwards, but that book of his appeared in his hand. Oh, it had seen much better days. It looked like it was barely being held together, and even fraying at the edges. Especially as he cast a hasty Shielding Spell, it visibly sheared apart portions of the pages.


    "Magecraft?" Iughed, pushing on his shield, my destruction eating away at it. "Do you think I''m using something like that? Please, allow me to introduce myself." I said, sending his body hurling back, rolling across the ground, his shield shattering. "My name is Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, Son of Lucifer. Nice to meet you."


    It was hard to tell his reaction, to read his expression as his face was warped in a disgusting way. His eyes rolled around, almost unable to truly focus.


    I walked towards him again. He quickly stood up, and parts of his book yed once more as another shield sprang up quickly. The Eldritch Magecraft came to his aid before I could grip his throat.


    "It''s funny isn''t it, Gilles? I''m no Angel, I''m certainly not God. I''mpletely on the opposite side of the spectrum. But that in of itself proves you wrong, doesn''t it?"


    "Lies!" He shouted. "There is no God!"


    Instead of attacking, I dropped something at his feet.


    ckened wings fell to the floor with a soft sound.


    "Never seen Fallen Angel wings before, Gilles?" I asked.


    He took a step back.


    "I tore those out of Kokabiel when he did something equally stupid." I pressed my hand against his barrier. "Why aren''t you saying anything, Gilles?"


    "S-stay back." He trembled.


    "Is that fear I hear in your voice?" I tilted my head. "Not from me. No, you''re scared of something else. You''re scared that your motivation, your ideals could possibly be wrong. I understand your skepticism, I really do. So let me give you a more in depth look." I pushed through his barrier, rather, I destroyed everything in the path of my hand and I grabbed onto his arm.


    A noise of pain was expected, but when I started to pull I did not expect the scream.


    Servants felt pain and I knew this.


    What I didn''t know was that for all the atrocities hemitted, he would scream like that from getting his arm torn off.


    He recovered quickly, credit where it was due, he was a servant.


    I even held it up for him to see as I disintegrated every bit of it.


    "No, no no!" He scrambled; the book he held fell into two parts. Whatever bullshit he used to hold together, came undone already. He nearly fell over trying to juggle the two pieces. Instead, Magical Energy filled the room, and the Grail was revealed once more. "Heal me! Heal my Book! Stop him!" Hemanded from the object.


    It trembled in his hand, multiple effects going off simultaneously. The book attempted to mend, but something about it didn''t get the memo as any repairs to it were immediately broken down and it further deteriorated.


    The stump of his arm bubbled and his ''flesh'' tried to knit itself back together, but it grew back into an amalgamation of flesh rather than an arm.


    I was tempted to tear it off again, but it looked rather ufortable as was.


    Then the Grail tried to stop me.


    Oh, it was a scary artifact. I knew I was ying with my food, but that didn''t mean I was at his mercy for him pulling that out.


    The Grail was powerful, but like most powerful weapons, the user was often the weakness.


    The Grail attempted to ''stop me'' by sealing me.


    The broad application of its function, the imprecise use left much to be desired.


    I flexed my Demonic Power, letting my Destruction erupt around me as the focal point. The spells the Grail attempted tomandeer me to achieve the task required were utterly destroyed.


    Funnily enough, he chose the most logical course of action.


    He attempted to flee. Pushing open severalrge doors, he shot off further into the pce.


    "Will!" Jeanne grabbed me from behind as I was about to ''chase'' after him. "Please stop."


    "I know he''s your old friend, Jeanne. But ¨C"


    "No, what you''re doing. I know he has to be stopped, I''vee to terms with that. But you''re taking pleasure in tormenting him. I don''t like seeing you like this."


    I.....felt a lot of my anger simmer down.


    It was hard to keep it up when Jeanne was literally holding onto me like this for my sake.


    "....maybe I got carried away." I let out a long breath, allowing myself to rx. "Fine, let''s go do this properly. He most likely ran towards the fake Jeanne. Let''s end this for good."


    "Together." She looked at me.


    "Together." I agreed.


    This time, she grabbed me and pulled me forward, taking the lead. Right, she probably had a better im to ending this than I did. The important thing was resolving the singrity and retrieving the Grail, I shouldn''t lose sight of that.


    It was fairly easy to track down where Gilles ran, a literal trail of blood and open doors had us moving further into the pce.


    "She''s close, I can feel her." Jeanne said softly. "I will handle ¨C"


    She came to an abrupt stop as we walked through the final set of doors. What appeared to be a makeshift throne room, rather than something of intentional design.


    But that wasn''t the most eye catching thing currently within our sight.


    No.


    That was Gilles impaled upon the fake Jeanne''s sword as she ripped it free from his heart.


    The Grail fell to the ground at her feet, and she picked it up.


    [***]


    A/N


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 Chapter 447 - 406

    <h4>Chapter 447: Chapter 406</h4>


    Olga Marie Animusphere POV


    Things were.....not as bad as they could have been.


    Marie''s Noble Phantasm was extraordinarily helpful. The hordes of Undead that poured out of the city were being culled at the choke point of where Schweinorg destroyed the gate.


    And the Soldiers themselves were more than capable of handling a few measly undead with their newfound strength. The other monstrosities....were a different matter. It wasn''t nearly as clean, but I would say they were winning.


    Mozart''s Noble Phantasm was also something of a Godsend in the situation. How he was able to keep it active this long was another question entirely.


    How much Magical Energy did Schweinorg have that even a temporary contract with the famous Musician let him do something like this?


    Even still, we were heavily outnumbered and a few stray monsters made it from around the other sides.


    A Gandr of mine exploded the head of a tentacled monster and I clicked my tongue to realize that about a dozen more wereing from the vacant side, bursting out from a small opening in the walled city.


    I wasn''t the only one either.


    Pierre grabbed a weapon and was standing near the Soldiers. I wanted to chastise him about how he was basically on the front lines as a Master, but....under these circumstances, it didn''t seem particrly negative.


    Samuel was casting spells....slowly, but concisely from where he was. They were barely better than a novice, but they were having a better effect than if he joined his other teammate on the frontline.


    Ritsuka was coordinating his several Servants and that was basically it, but that in of itself was a feat worth praising.


    "Hinako, handle those." Imanded, pointing towards the onesing up from the side.


    "Fine." She grumbled, but followed my orders.


    My eyes dashed around, and theynded on Marie fighting off her apparent killer in life. Thankfully, Cu arrived in time to help out.


    I frowned, seeing those things tear a hole through the stone walls in another section and start spilling out.


    "Mozart."


    "A little preupied here Mademoiselle." There was sweat dripping down his forehead.


    "That''s the problem, stop using your Noble Phantasm on the ones at the front, their bodies are piling up and slowing down their advance, making them mindlessly force other routes." I responded. "They''re eventually going to swarm around us if they can''te from the front!"


    "I do not have an ounce of knowledge in warfare, so I shall bow to your expertise." He waved his baton and then jerked it to the side, like a screeching sound across the battlefield. "If I deactivate my Noble Phantasm, reactivating it again will be more difficult. Where do you need me?"


    "Help Marie." I directed him to the side. They weren''t having trouble, but neither Marie nor Cu were front line fighters. And it would be very bad if Marie were to fall here and we lost the effect of her Noble Phantasm


    "With pleasure!" Mozart grinned, his Noble Phantasm focusing entirely on the enemy servant.


    "Then it''s my turn to shine!~" Elizabeth Bathory stood up in front.


    "No, go plug that newest hole." I cut her off.


    "No, I want to ¨C"


    "So help me, if you don''t listen to me right now, I will have Mozart use his Noble Phantasm on you." I would not abide by her attitude during a situation like this!


    "...fine." She huffed, trotting over to the hole in the way where a small stream of eldritch horrors were forcing themselves through. She slowly made her way there as if it didn''t matter.


    "And you!" I jerked my head towards the Asian Servant, Kiyohime as her name was. "You have ranged attacks, go assist Medea" I pointed up to where Medea and the enemy Archer were having a battle above.


    The fact that a Caster Servant was meeting one of the three Knight sses head on in a fight without any preparation was utterly ridiculous, but it was best to not rely on hope there when we had free Servants.


    "Fine." She also shrugged, hopping towards the edge of the wall and using her inhuman strength to scale it rather easily to get high up as they were.


    The Soldiers were switching lines, needing to watch their stamina. Those two troublesome Servants were handling their tasks, even if they were simple.


    Enemy Servants? Archer being engaged. Lancer nowhere to be seen. Caster retreated into the city and Schweinorg pursued. The Servant that Marie is fighting was presumably Assassin....all that left was Saber which is where Mash one.


    It was bearable.


    For a conflict of this scale, it was contained.


    The only real chaotic element....rtively speaking, was the massive dragon that burst through several buildings and crushed a hundred or so monsters right at the front of the entrance.


    Arge swath of dark energy spewed forth as Saberid into the mighty beast, almost entirely ignoring the battlefield.


    The others were quick as well, Lancelot, Saint George, and Siegfried. Three Dragon yers, and King Arthur were fighting one of the most famous Dragons from Myth and keeping it at bay.


    Their des dug into its scales; tiny wounds began appearing.


    Even so, the Dragon whipped its body around and flung the Servants to the side. Its ws raking the ground beneath it, and while it was boon that those monsters were killed under its rampage, I would much rather deal with an army of mindless monsters than a damn Dragon that strong.


    Saber''s de filled with that ckened hue as she swung it in front of the monster. Seemingly a good hit because the sheer roar of fury that resounded afterwards made my ears rattle.


    And it was enough that the Dragon was willing to use a Breath Attack on the ground, right in front of Saber who was in no way able to dodge at that range.


    "Ritsuka, switch saber and Mash!" I used Magecraft to project my voice.


    I could see the seal on his hand lit up, even if I couldn''t hear him. The two Servants, through the ridiculous magical energy contained with those Command Seals, were able to warp space and time to switch ces.


    The Dragon''s breath that would havended on Saber, and by extension, all of us, was now being warded off by Mash''s Noble Phantasm.


    The feeling of safety being behind those walls filled me with....


    And the enemy Saber was now on the back foot with our Saber giving him no quarter. The petite woman was filled with anger from earlier, and she was more than willing to let any enemy around her have it.


    If the enemy Saber was expecting a proper sword fight, those sts of Magical Energy from our Saber quickly disabused him of that notion.


    "I killed all the ones on the side and patched the hole for now." Hinako returned.


    "I copsed mine cause it was getting annoying." Elizabeth also came trotting back.


    "Hinako, give the left nk some reprieve." I nced around. "Elizabeth, you''re on the right." Imanded them again. "And while you''re there, have Pierre coordinate with Medea, that Archer isn''t doing much, but if she stops focusing on Medea for even a few seconds, it''s going to be disastrous for the soldiers below."


    It was a careful bncing act....is what I wanted to say, but the fact that there''s still a giant freaking dragon rampaging didn''t leave me with any confidence at the moment.


    Even still.


    "Cu, Mozart! Go for the kill." I didn''t waste time watching, instead, I moved towards the Soldiers full of wounds being brought behind. I didn''t have a Servant of my own, so my Magical Energy didn''t need to be held in reserve, I may as well provide some healing.


    [***]


    Lancelot POV


    It was strangely nostalgic.


    Fighting alongside fellow Knights, even if I never knew them in my life. I felt confident to leave my back to them and they to me.


    Perhaps that is why my Madness was bubbling to the surface. My guilt over this...enjoyment was gnawing at my heart.


    "Careful, my friend." The one named Saint George grabbed my shoulder, helping me keep steady. "The young Lady held admirably, let us finish our task."


    "My fight against Fafnir was a long and arduous one." The Wandering Knight of the Nethends stepped forward as well. "If we do not wish to draw out a battle that will take a day or so, it is best we put everything we have into a final blow."


    "Agreed." The Saint patted his chest. "I shall use my Noble Phantasm. If webine ours, I do not foresee defeat."


    "I apologize, but my Noble Phantasm is not one to be used so casually. The destruction it wrought does not lose out to Saber''s Noble Phantasm."


    My King''s Holy de? "That is a bold im." I found myself muttering.


    "I apologize if I offend you, I merely wished to cite an example." He had a habit of apologizing.


    "...It was my mistake." A noble knight like him should not be apologizing to someone like me. "My own Noble Phantasm contains all of its destruction onto the edge of the de. Perhaps Sir George and I will be enough to fell it?"


    "Perhaps." He acknowledged. "I do not wish my pride to nket my eyes and say that I am needed to finish my old foe. I am more concerned about finishing the fight quickly to assist my old friend who sought the true enemy."


    ".....the one who revealed themselves as a Demonic Being?" Saint George raised an eyebrow.


    Yes....that was something I was also having trouble thinking about.


    "...I admit that is a new development." He awkwardly smiled. "However, In a previous conflict where we stood on opposite sides, he faced me honorably."


    I still did not know how to feel about this new information. I do not believe myself worthy of judging the person for whom my king loves.....but I am unsure of how to proceed with this information.


    My King was not a fool, such a thing would not hide from their eyes. That is to say, they knew, thus are okay with it. Then it is not my ce to utter a word in response.


    I will do as I was told.


    And if need be, I will protect my King''s treasured person.


    To see that image of my king smiling, I will dly sacrifice myself to keep it.


    "It is not my ce to ce judgment either way." Saint George hummed. "Our goal is just, that is all that matters for now."


    "Agreed." Siegfried nodded. "He is recovering, it is time."


    The Dragon suffered a rebound from firing its breath so close to my son''s.....the Young Ladies'' Noble Phantasm.


    Ghad made it clear that he wished not to converse in such a way, thus I would force myself to think in these terms.


    "Allow me to lead the charge!" George dered summoning forth his steed. A beautiful horse, with a fire in its eyes, clearly having seen many battles. "If need be, Sir Siegfried, please finish him off."


    "I will await your opening." The Dragonblooded Knight nodded.


    "I will assist." I gripped my ckened Holy Sword.


    The Dragon roared challengingly, noticing us once more.


    George was fast, a Rider ss through and through. His Mount was but a blur as it headed towards the mighty Dragon, the de of his cleaving through scales on its left leg.


    The Dragon whipped its body around, but Saint George was too quick. His mount was not one of flesh and blood any longer, it too was beyond human imagination. It was in the air, leaping above the very buildings.


    I too took the chance to dash to the side, jumping up the still standing buildings.


    The dragon pped its wings, kicking up a whirlwind with but a gesture. It was about to take flight, a point of failure in our n.


    "Allow me!" I yelled, calling forth the Magical Energy with the bond with my Master. Arondight glowed brilliantly, despite the sins I havemitted upon the de. The reflection of theke appeared, an echo of what it should have been. "Oath to my king!" I jumped off the building, ascending to the air as the dragon attempted to take off. "Breaking all Restraints ¨C Arondight Overload!" The equivalent to my king''s Noble Phantasm released, but contained onto the edge of the de.


    Like swinging my de through mud, the air was cut with a bright light, but that was not my target. My de fell upon the wing of the mighty creature.


    Using all my momentum, I cleaved through it.


    The ck wings that eclipsed the sky were down a number as its'' amputated limb fell before the Dragon itself lost its ability to stay afloat and its own momentum was lost. Gravity reasserted itself, and the beast began to fall from the sky.


    I was about to fall myself, but I found a familiar steed catching me from my own descent.


    "Well done, Sir Lancelot!" Georgeughed, his own de glowing bright. "Let me show you! This is the truth of Ascalon! Thou dragon with sin, bear witness to my own oaths ¨C Ascalon!" His de alighted with a holy presence.


    The outline of a dragon marked the beast, imprinting on its exposed underbelly.


    Saint George''s de pierced into the center of the marking, the dragon letting out a roar of fury and pain, but he was not done. He pulled his de free, and shed in a cross pattern, splitting the Dragon''s scales in each movement, and even cleaving away its front right forearm.


    The Dragon crashed to the ground, wounded, bloodied.


    Saint George''s horsended gracefully upon the cobblestone road, and immediately shot forward to catch its own rider. The Saint Knight caught the reins with ease, andnded upon the forward spot as I slid back.


    And as quick as he took his seat, he steered hispanion away, for it was one person''s turn.


    The beast was wounded, incapacitated, but not defeated.


    "My old foe." Siegfried appeared in front of the beast. "Let all grudges be settled. You did not appear here of your own will, so I shall do this with mercy." Hisrge sword was held high, and arge torrent of power exploded forth, illuminating the surroundings. "The Evil Dragon Will fall ¨C "


    The Dragon, as in its nature, forced its body up right and gathered what power between itsrge maw in response.


    It was enough to destroy much of the city that still remained, yet the Dragonblooded Knight did not move in cowardness.


    He brought his de down to meet it. "Balmung!"


    The twilight epassed the Dragon''s attack, consuming itpletely, along with the mighty beast.


    I could not confirm the death of the Dragon with my eyes, but my heart told me that it was defeated for good.


    "The Dragon is defeated, but the battle is yet won." Saint George smiled. "As a Knight, these enemies I find abhorrent." He stated and I followed his gaze towards those walking corpses and things that do not belong.


    Strangely, I felt myself smiling as well.


    "Then let us see who shall y more." There was a nostalgic fire in my heart, fighting alongside such people once more.


    [***]


    Raikou POV


    "Is that all you have, Berserker!?" The wild Servant nearly stumbled from myst attack, but he was already running at me with those ws of his.


    My de shed with his gauntlets, sparks flying with each encounter. However, his armor began to crack with the exchange of blows, but he seemingly cared not and continued his reckless onught.


    d the Impaler. I had some impression of him from thest war, and this man was nothing like the one I had previously seen.


    A calm headedmander he was no longer.


    Even his skill had devolved into leaning into his enhanced stats and not making use of them. No, he was acting more like a rabid animal, and I only felt pity.


    I could understand Master''s sentiment more now as I experience it for myself.


    "You deserve better than this." I said softly, even as his ws gouged out the walls behind me.


    "Then fight!" He roared, holding his arms out, stakes bursting out from his own flesh, as well as the ground alling at me like a tidal wave.


    I activated my Mana Burst, shing my de horizontally, bisecting all his stakes with a burst of lightning.


    He didn''t care as he was already swinging his wed arms at me without pause.


    "Stop pitying me and give me a proper fight!" He growled, increasing his ferocity even further. Each wave of his arm sent shockwaves through the stones around us, sundering the earth and cleaving out walls from the castle itself.


    I found myself pushed back after the quick exchange, even if no damage had been done.


    "...I apologize, you are correct." There is no pity on the battlefield. "Please allow me to rectify my behavior." I held my de in a proper stance and my Mana Burst further intensified.


    He lept at me, w going for my head. I waited until his gauntlet nearly touched my face before I spun and ducked, shing at his stomach. I drew blood, and his armor was sliced open. He couldn''t catch a footing and stumbled, rolling into some rubble.


    He quickly pushed it away and stood back up, holding his wound with one hand before dismissing it altogether. "Yes!" Heughed and came at me once more.


    One wed hand from the side, the other from the opposite.


    My shoulder met his chest with the full force of my quickest step. I raised my foot to kick at his attempt to follow up and grab me and flipped back, slipping out of any touch of his, yet my de danced through his arms, finding his flesh and continuing to umte wounds.


    He was unrelenting, uncaring, maniacally focused on me.


    He pulled stakes up from the ground even with them filling the surroundings. I swept my de out, slicing off the spear tips and used them as thresholds to avoid the remainder, and he met me, spear piercing towards my heart.


    I was far too used to my spars with Sc¨¢thach to allow such an obvious attack to get the better of me. It held no will within the strike, no attempt at follow up, no calcting maneuver. A simple and direct method of attempting to harm me.


    I merely had to flick my de upward, knocking the spear from his grasppletely. And in one solid motion, my sword continued through his arm, severing it from his body.


    He let out a pain shout, but his willpower was admirable, and still tried his best to inflict damage upon me.


    I ducked under the swipe of his remaining w, and my de found his chest, pushing through his armor.


    His body slumped, yet there was only a look of appreciation. He grabbed at my de with his remaining arm and surprisingly, pulled it into further impress upon his failing body.


    "Was it a worthy fight, Impaler?" I asked.


    He chuckled, blood seeping from his mouth as he did. "I would have better fought with my true skill, but it would still have been short of your own." He rxed, peaceful even. "It seems I owe you a debt of gratitude. You and that other one...what ever happened to her?"


    "Mordred?" I asked, and he nodded. "She lives happily at our home."


    "Ah...that''s good." He nodded in content. "This farce is finally over. I hope we meet again so I can repay this gratitude. Thank you, Berserker, for a noble end even in this state." He closed his eyes and his body regressed into Magical Energy, drifting into the wind.


    Goodbye.


    You are worth remembering, Impaler.


    But I must now find Master, for I fear something may be wrong.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    Things had taken....an unexpected turn.


    I was expecting ast hurrah by Gilles, maybe doing something immensely stupid like using the Grail to facilitate the summoning of a real nasty monster from the ce we don''t speak about.


    Maybe even summon more Servants in a panic.


    ....but now he''s falling to the floor after being stabbed by the ''dark Jeanne''.


    "Jeanne, why?" He gasped, confusion and shock written all over his face.


    The Dark Jeanne was utterly expressionless as she watched him fade away.


    And now, she was holding the Grail.


    Not only that, but for some reason, the book was still lying on the ground.


    Neither Jeanne nor I made any sudden moves. I had the impulse to quickly snatch the Grail, but I was hesitant. It was one of those things that I was forced to respect due to the sheer power it held.


    The Fake Jeanne slowly knelt down and also picked up the two yed pieces of book that still remained.


    ...and now I was feeling like something bad was going to happen.


    I could feel my Power of Destruction bubbling under the Surface, and I was waiting for the right moment to move and ¨C


    The book in her hand burst into mes.


    Her mes.


    She had shown the ability tomand fire already, so it was obvious where those came from. She just burned away the remnants of that disgusting thing without a second thought.


    "Will, please let me handle this." Jeanne stepped forward, clutching her banner. She looked resolute, ready to fight.


    "Are you sure?"


    "Please, this is my responsibility. The source stems from me, and I will bear ¨C "


    A golden chalice smacked her on the head, knocking her off her feet.


    I blinked as Jeanne twitched on the ground, and the Grail rolled at her feet. I had to do a double take to make sure that it was in fact the Grail, and seeing as the Dark Jeanne had empty hands, I believe it was safe to assume.


    "I felt like you were going to say something worth me smacking you on the back of the head, but that works too." I looked down at her.


    "W-what!?" Jeanne regained her senses, looking at the Grail on the ground and snatching it up in her arms. Her eyes darted all around as if she was having trouble believing she was holding it. Finally she turned towards the other Jeanne in the room. "...why?"


    The other Jeanne just scoffed. "I would literally rather die than hear your self-righteous dribble." She turned, and walked towards where the throne was, a few steps and her sword fell to the ground. She slowly let herself fall down onto the small stairs that led up to it.


    "...I''m confused." Jeanne whispered. "Are you....are you giving up?"


    I admit, this would be a first. Having the ''enemy'' just....surrender....


    I''m honestly at a loss of what to do now.


    It was so much easier when she was definitely the enemy.


    "Why?" Jeanne hesitantly asked. The question I wanted to know too.


    "What do you mean ''why''?" The Dark Jeanne sneered.


    "You hurt so many people! You did all those things and....and now...!?" Jeanne herself seemed unsure of how to proceed. I could imagine she hyped herself up for a fight and didn''t quite know how to respond to this predicament.


    "Isn''t it obvious?'' She chuckled, and it sounded self-deprecating. "All the revenge, it felt so empty. Burning down those bastards who burned me....it was satisfying but it didn''t fill the void in me at all. So I kept going, Gilles kept promising me everything would work out. I burned and burned, and killed all those bastards who watched me do the same and still nothing." She paused, looking at me. "Then you came and these.....memories suddenly appeared, taunting me!" She threw her hands out angrily. "It didn''t make sense! Nothing made sense! Why was it that I never felt fulfilled? Why is it that the only time I felt peace in my heart was in those memories!?" She stood up, walking towards Jeanne, shouting at her. "Why is it, that after my suffering, that he stands by your side!?"


    "You ¨C"


    She screamed, mes bursting out from her. "Why? Why? WHY!? It''s not fair!"


    "You realized then?" I asked quietly.


    "It''s so fucking obvious, isn''t it!?" She snapped her head to me. "Why would you stand on the other side after everything? It''s because that wasn''t me, that was her!" She jabbed her finger at Jeanne. "I''m just a fake. Something Gilles created, not even a proper person. All I got was the anger and Hate! I hated them, I still hate them, and the anger never stopped. But then all those memories came and for the first time, I felt something different." Tears were falling down her cheeks, and she quickly turned away from us. "I realized it after that fight, why everything was wrong....I''m the fake."


    "....you''re not fake." Jeanne whispered.


    "Fuck you!" The Darker Jeanne roared, the mes around her intensified. "I''m a fake, you damn bitch! Don''t you dare fucking pity me! The perfect Saintess doesn''t hate people! She never gets angry! Of course I''m a goddamn fake!"


    "No!" Jeanne countered. "You''re here right now. You''re hurting. A fake person doesn''t feel emotion."


    "Screw you!" The Dark Jeanne roared again, sending a wave of fire at Jeanne. "I hate everything about you! If you didn''t exist ¨C"


    Jeanne pulled out her banner and mmed it on the ground, activating her Noble Phantasm, weathering the mes.


    "I''m a fake!"


    "No!"


    "You stuck up bitch!" The Dark Jeanne was getting angrier, and I felt it not my ce to interfere. "I''m Hatred, I''m Anger! That''s all I am! I''m Evil, I burned down France and everyone I could find. The Real Jeanne D''Arc would never do that."


    "You''re not Evil!"


    "Are you fucking stupid!? Did you see how many people I killed!?" Sheughed maniacally. "If you don''t stop me, I''m going to keep doing it. I''m going to kill more and more and I ''ll never stop. Just end me, a Fake that doesn''t deserve to live!"


    "Then why didn''t you hurt Mother!?"


    The Darker Jeanne hesitated, her eyes widening slightly. "....I never got the chance."


    "Yes you did." Jeanne stepped forward once the mes began to die down. "You had many opportunities, yet you never did."


    "Shut up!"


    "You cared about her still."


    "Shut up!!!" She screamed.


    "You still love her, don''t you?"


    "I don''t! I''m Evil! I''m the Dragon Witch, a fake!"


    "I refuse to ept you as fake." Jeanne continued to walk forward until they were within touching distance of one another. "If you were Evil, you wouldn''t still care about Mother."


    "I''m a fake..."


    "Not to me."


    "I did horrible things..."


    "I will ept you."


    Jeanne went to hug her counterpart, and it was shaping up to be a heartwarming moment, but the Dark Jeanne kicked her away before she could get the chance.


    "Wha?"


    "Fuck off!" She snorted. "Take the fucking Grail and go. If you don''t get the fuck out, I''m gonna start burning you alive! You''re such an annoying damn bitch, just looking at you is pissing me off!"


    Despite this, Jeanne was smiling.


    "Pitiful."


    It was a single word, but it reverberated through time and space.


    My heart immediately started beating quicker in my chest.


    Fear crept up from the lowest parts of my soul, because I recognized the voice.


    Space was torn asunder, linking two points, and it was not by my hand.


    He stepped out.


    Garbed in the form of a man, but he was far from it. He looked the same as when he sat upon that throne of his outside of Time and Space.


    His presence was suffocating.


    Solomon.


    I would not be ashamed to admit, I was fucking scared.


    "I merely wished to see how this Singrity ended as I noted the one I gave the Grail had died. To my surprise, there is a face that should not be here." His eyes drilled into me. "I thought you were dead and cared not to check. Allow me to rectify my mistake, Magician."


    [Master, please move out of the way] Raikou sent me a message through our link. I barely had a second to process what she spoke, my feet carrying me before my brain made the conscious decision. I grabbed both Jeannes in my arms and used a burst of Shunpo to jump out of the way as the hairs on my neck stood up.


    "Sakra''s Vajra!" Her other Noble Phantasm, the name reverberated through the stoned halls. The Weapon of Indra, coating in that iconic Lightning, barreled right towards Solomon, turning everything in its path to ash.


    The King of Magecraft saw it. And with a bored expression, he raised his hand up.


    I also did not stand still, and the weight of my Zanpakut¨­ filled my hand. "Reflect ¨C Mus¨± Tengai!" I immediately activated it.


    Solomon''s eyes, for the briefest of moments, widened as Raikou''s Noble Phantasm mmed into him, sending him right back through the tear in space that he entered from.


    There was absolutely no time to waste.


    I grabbed the two Jeanne''s before they could utter any kind or response and picked them up under my arms.


    And I fucking ran.


    Because that would not stall him for long.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 448 - 407

    <h4>Chapter 448: Chapter 407</h4>


    I ignored the pain I was in.


    I didn''t have the courtesy of time to contemte what exactly I did to allow Raikou''s Noble Phantasm to hit. It was stupid and dangerous, and I immediately felt the side effects, indicating that I instinctively pulled off some bullshit to let that sequence of events happen. Which perhaps further increased the rebound, but that was a matter for future Wilhelm to consider. Along with worrying about how the enemy would be wary of simr methods for now on.


    Raikou followed as I pushed everything I had into my Shunpo. The rooftop I stepped off was reduced to dust from the sheer force I gathered to push forward.


    The time for subtlety was long gone.


    "And now, I am furious." His voice reverberated. The sky had a small tear open, a void of darkness if you looked at that exact spot. His arm looked mangled, but it healed at ridiculous speeds, and the clothes he wore were mended just as quickly. Whatever damage Raikou had done, it had reached him, but it wasn''t enough to stick.


    "Raikou!" I shouted, basically throwing the two Jeanne away. It happened so suddenly, and they surely were utterly confused, but I really didn''t even have a second to exin.


    Raikou didn''t argue and she caught my intentions clear, she grabbed the two handedly.


    [Master?]


    [I have a n.] I replied. [Take them to where Chaldea is.]


    "????????"


    I had a n.


    And that went out the window as soon as the, what I assumed was Hebrew spell words left the mouth of that thing.


    Funny, in another situation, I would probably have lost myself in thought regarding the fact that I couldn''t innately understand Hebrew.


    But in this particr instance, my heart was beating way too fast for me to care. And the spherical anomaly that pulsed from the thing as the center rang my danger senses like a bell. With him at the epicenter, it expanded outward, a monochromatic visual indication of utter stillness.


    As soon as it touched matter, it was reduced to dust. The buildings closest to him posed absolutely no resistance, and no confirmation that there was anything once standing there bar the drifting dust that the wind swept up.


    My Demonic Form receded. In this instance, it didn''t make much sense to try to fight fire with a different vor of fire.


    This wasn''t the time to hold back my Trump Cards.


    I reach for the opposite end of the spectrum.


    I slid to a stop on the ground, retrieving the Spear. "True Longinus, Bnce Breaker!" The Holy Power erupted from me in every direction. It gathered and solidified into a familiar shape. A Halo appeared over my head and Twelve Wings sprouted from my back.


    My Wings pped, and I gathered the Holy Power avable to me and reeled my arm back, holding the spear and thrust with all the umted power.


    The Spear extended, collided with the Magical Phenomenon that devoured a chunk out of the surroundings already.


    "What!?" His startled expression apanied by his confused shout was all the indication I needed to know what happened, as after a brief moment of battle between the two opposing forces, My Spear pierced through. And the Holy Power that swirled around the spear tip was discharged, scattering the errant magical effect and disrupting the spell sequencepletely. The bubble of eradication pulsed and melted away from reality.


    I allowed Whisper to slip out and fly up into the sky, undetected.


    But that wasn''t the end of it.


    I felt it.


    My Spear connected, the extension of my spear hit something and it felt like trying to push through a solid steel wall.


    I dropped Mus¨± Tengai from the opposite hand I held the spear, letting it sink into the ground. Instead, I grabbed the spear with both hands, and forced out all the strength I had. My Aura bubbled to the surface, Lightning crackled around my hands, and even my Reinforcement was activated to the fullest extent.


    With a roar, I adjusted my grip on the spear, and swung it down at the ground, carrying with it the foe I had impaled.


    The dust had yet to even settle, and I couldn''t see him, but I knew he was there. No need to be stealthy, I needed immediate results, thus ¨C "Strun Bah Qo" I spoke, summoning storm clouds high above to facilitate the next casting of a spell.


    Whisper only had to work half as hard to cast the remainder of the spell, barely a blink of an eye and it waspleted.


    "Thor''s Hammer!" I finished.


    My Lightning construct pulled itself free from the dark clouds, wielding its mighty hammer to strike down upon him.


    "??? ????"


    The words overcame the chaotic nature of our fight, of my thunderous spell. Despite the distance and the ambient noises, I could hear it clearly.


    A bright light extended upwards, piercing through my spell. It reached high up into the clouds, and then cascaded outwards in all directions, clearing away my Storm Clouds and any semnce that my spell had existed.


    [Brat, let me out. I can stall him for a bit.]


    "Ddraig?" I hesitated.


    [Don''t think too much about it, just let me have a go.] He responded.


    I relented, and grabbed the other Staff out of my Ring and summoned the Boosted Gear onto my arm. "Bex Zii Zoor Frul Lo." The Swords were needed to set up what was essentially a Dragon''s Gate directed purely at Ddraig inside the Boosted Gear. "Disgyniad yr Ymerawdwr"


    Ddraig''s dark scales reflected the sun''s light as his fake body materialized in front of me.


    "I''ll handle him, go brat." Ddraig''s gruff voice shook the surroundings.


    I barely saw the silhouette of Solomon, but I forced myself to grab my stuff and shot off back to where everyone else was.


    Right now, the priority was getting Chaldea out of here.


    [***]


    I flew as fast as I could to the front of the City. The monsters and Undead were practically cleaned up at this point, so I was thankful for the small mercies there.


    I saw Raikou, and it looked like she just arrived too, because everyone was warily looking at the other Jeanne, as if ready to pounce.


    I shot down to the ground amidst the confusion and widening eyes at my appearance.


    "Schweinorg!?" Olga blurted out, staring at me.


    And above her hand was a projected image of Roman. "Wilhelm!? Are those wings, and a Halo? Why do you have those!?"


    "No time, Roman, initiate Rayshifting." I cut him off.


    "Wait, what''s going on? Director?"


    I grabbed the Grail that Jeanne was holding onto, the squeak from her was ignored in this circumstance. I practically shoved it into Olga''s Hands. "Solomon is here, Rayshift them back now!"


    "Was that the lightshow a few minutes ago!?" Roman blurted out


    Olga only needed a second toprehend what I said. "Roman, initiate Rayshifting!"


    "Initiating Rayshift retrieval..... I need a minute or so, but what about Wilhelm?" Roman asked.


    "I''ll ¨C " The words died in my throat as I looked up.


    "He''s here." Cu was the one who answered for me. He knew much more about what was going on than even I did.


    Like the second time he appeared, a tear in the sky above us opened up, however, it was muchrger this time, and something looked out from behind it. Arge red eye, reminiscent of the one I saw the first time we fought.


    He stepped through, looking tattered and battered. He clutched his lower abdomen, blood seeped out and I was guessing that was where I stabbed him with the spear. His arm was still somewhat mangled, and his kept appearance was in disarray.


    Despite this, I didn''t think for a second that anything done so far was permanent. He was still keeping up the visage of a man opposed to what he was hiding underneath.


    ....Ddraig. I didn''t feel his ''presence'' return to the Gauntlet yet.


    "I''ll hold him off, you guys just focus on returning." I held up the spear towards him.


    "....that''s him?" Olga whispered.


    "I will stay and fight him as well." Saber stated.


    "You can''t ¨C" I started, but was quickly cut off.


    "Do not tell me what I can and cannot do." She red.


    "You literally can''t." Olga hissed under her breath. "Rayshift systems grabs all of us at once."


    Before she could rebuke, Solomon''s presence weighed down on everyone.


    "Chaldea." The king of Magecraft spoke, looking down on everyone.


    Surprisingly, it was Medea who answered him, and not with words. Still holding my staff, she cast her Light Rain spell. The dozens of condensed beams of Magical Energy all targeting the man in the sky.


    "???????"


    A simple one word response, and a barrier flicked up around him. The dozens of spellsnded on it, sshing helplessly upon his shield that didn''t waver in the slightest. "Amusing." He said curtly.


    Frankly, everyone looked at her.


    "What? I''m a Magic User and have my own pride." She snorted. "He can''t im the title of King of Magecraft, and not expect me to take a swing."


    "Boss, what''s the n?" Samuel asked.


    "Yes, Magician, what is your n?" Solomon apparently found the situation funny. "Is this what was rallied together? A group of human mages that have no experience with Magecraft....a Director that cannot hold a Servant Contract...and an Elemental." He finished, looking at Hinako. "I would be insulted if this was not just another expression of humanity''s pitiful existence."


    "Frankly, I''m someone who likes simple ns. Stab the bad guy with my spear until he dies seems pretty solid." Talking was fine, talking wasted time. I could keep calm despite my heart beating rapidly in my chest.


    "Yes your....Spear." His eyes narrowed and he removed his hand from his abdomen. "Something capable of harming me in a way that I cannot analyze."


    "Its name is Gae Bolg." I saidpletely straight faced.


    "Like hell it is." Cu scoffed.


    "Perhaps you''ve heard of it? Demonic Spear that curses wounds to be unheble. No need to look into it further."


    Something told me that he did not believe me.


    "Ignore the wings and Halo. They''re just an illusion." I added offhandedly.


    "Do you think I would not recognize the Holy Power?" He snorted. "I am Solomon." He waved his arms open. "Do you take me for a fool!?"


    A beat passed. "....yes."


    And my stalling worked well, because everyone that came from Chaldea began glowing.


    "Rayshift has activated!" Roman dered.


    The effect took hold of them, I expected Solomon to interfere, to do something, but he just stood there, watching.


    It was a huge relief to see them begin to disappear. Even if Saber was absolutely furious and mouthing many different words to express that.


    The moment they disappeared, so too did the Singrity shake.


    The world was reaffirming its ce on the Time Axis.


    Solomon looked at me, and slowly floated to the ground "How curious it is that you care for those lesser species despite not being one of them. I admit, I am surprised to see you living. An intriguing distraction as I watch my nse to fruition."


    I looked at Jeanne, and her counterpart, then at the other Servants that were still present. The ones not brought through Chaldea. It was always going to happen this way, they went with the Singrity, they knew it, and Chaldea knew it.


    "Well, look at the time? I better get going. You''re probably very busy, I''ll leave you to it." I was just talking out my ass so I could get closer to Raikou and them.


    "Do you intend to flee once more? Shall I then direct my attention to Chaldea? Nothing but gnats, not worth the effort, but you have already forced my presence here, and I detest my time being wasted. Thus, I may as well remove the annoyance that has entered my eyes in rpose."


    I stiffened at his promation.


    "Did you think that Chaldea was safe? That it was beyond my reach?" He continued, with augh. "Foolish and naive thinking. I have willingly turned a blind eye as one would ignore the ants moving between the des of grass. But you must know what happens when one of those ants bites."


    .....I didn''t know what to do.


    Damned if I ran, damned If I didn''t....


    "Will!?" Jeanne grabbed me. "What''re you doing?"


    "I don''t know." I whispered. "I need....I need a moment to think."


    "Then we shall give you time."


    I looked up to see who said that.


    "Lancelot?"


    "We would disappear regardless, allow us to assist." Siegfried smiled, standing between us and Solomon. "Sir Lancelot is correct."


    "I admit I am very confused on how to feel with you appearing in that form, but my path is obvious." Saint George joined him.


    "A Musician is always prepared for an Encore." Mozart chuckled.


    "I''m not much of a fighter, but count me in too!" Marie cheerfully added. "I don''t really understand what''s going on but he''s the one responsible for hurting my country, right?" Despite her cheerfulness, there was an edge to her tone.


    "I am Master''s Servant." Raikou said as well.


    Solomon raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "How droll."


    As if to signal the start, they all moved at the King of Magecraft to engage him.


    They wouldn''tst long, they didn''t have a source of Magical Energy besides Mozart and Raikou....I wasn''t even sure if they could deploy their Noble Phantasms in this state, let alone fight an opponent of that caliber.


    Think, think!


    He handled my Authority so easilyst time. I could summon my Tree, but I don''t know if that would be enough. Ddraig wasn''t here, even if he was defeated, his spirit should return any time now. Dragon Words? Primordial Runes? Do I call for help?


    {The Spear.} I heard Mus¨± Tengai''s voice. {The Spear is reaching out.}


    "You can hear it?" I asked in confusion.


    {I am a weapon, it is a weapon do you find it strange? The Spear is the answer. There is one path we have yet to take.}


    I felt a jolt run through me, understanding what he was speaking about.


    A Miracle.


    Would that be enough?


    What even was a Miracle? I could understand it on some level, but a single word failed to fully extrapte the depth of its meaning.


    "Alright, alright." I felt myself getting more confident. "How do we do this?"


    {It doesn''t have enough strength.} Mus¨± Tengai replied.


    "What do you mean it doesn''t have enough strength? Use mine!?"


    {It''s ¨C }


    My head jerked up because I heard Marie scream. Saint George stumbled back, Solomon pulling his arm out of his chest.


    {It''s not that kind of power. Where do you think the Holy Poweres from?}


    "Then use my Authority? Use my Magical Energy, my Aura, fuck use my Demonic Power!?"


    {It''s already going to be making use of that. Simply put, it needs more Holy Power.}


    "Then why even bring it up? Where...." I stopped. "No."


    "Master, what''s wrong?" Raikou grabbed onto me.


    "Absolutely not."


    {It''s the only way if you want to save both yourself and Chaldea. Otherwise, you will need to sacrifice one. Not only is she a Saintess, she was imbued with his power to repair her Saint Graph.}


    "I''m questioning if you''re really my Zanpakut¨­ spirit right now."


    {My priority is and always will be you.} He replied.


    "There''s another way." I dismissed him. "We will ¨C"


    Jeanne''s hand grabbed onto the spear.


    "What are you doing, Jeanne?"


    "I felt it call to me." She smiled softly. "....I understand now." Something felt...off.


    I didn''t dismiss my Bnce Breaker, rather it felt like it got sucked away. The Spear pulled it away itself.


    "Let go of the spear."


    "It''s okay, let me do this."


    "Let go of the spear." I said again.


    "I''m sorry." She replied.


    "Jeanne, this isn''t something you can just walk off." I remember the feeling of just using his Authority once. And it was considered less burdensome for him than to use a Miracle.


    "I know, I can feel what I need to do." She tried to reassure me. Didn''t give me a chance to rebuttal, the Spear responded to her and the torrent of power held inside was unleashed.


    It nearly blew me away, I had to force myself to keep my grip on the spear.


    Like a hurricane made purely of Holy Power, it radiated out in all directions.


    "Magician!? What are you doing?" Solomon''s voice carried. His eyes focused solely on us now. The casual and almost bored demeanor of his changed. He grabbed Siegfried by the throat and threw him to the side, looking rushed and he moved towards us.


    Raikou was fine, she was not particrly hurt, but definitely not in a winning spot as she was pulling herself up.


    I was worried, because I felt like if I let go of the spear, something bad would happen. Even if it went against all my instinct to protect her as much as I could.


    "You will go no further!" Lancelot wobbly stood to his feet, holding his de up, not looking very good at all.


    "Begone!" Solomon scoffed, activating a chantless spell and a hole was sted through Lancelot''s chest.


    He spat out blood, nearly tumbling over, but his de stabbed into the ground to stop himself from falling. The others weren''t doing much better, Mozart was the least affected. But his attacks were nearly ignorable in this circumstance.


    I would have panicked, if it weren''t for the loud roar that resounded across this dissolving world.


    Ddraig shot out of the city, in any other situation, his flying would have beenical. But I was genuinely happy to see him. But his fake body was barely held together, practically unraveling at the seams.


    He didn''t do much but fly into Solomon, but I was thankful, nheless.


    The King of Magecraft was forced to defend himself. Ddraig''sst hurrah seemingly destroyed what was left of the power sustaining his body, and his spirit quickly returned to the Boosted Gear.


    "Will, you need to let me." Jeanne stated.


    "Neither of you will be doing anything." Solomon growled. "I do not know what you attempt, but my foresight warns me either way." He flexed his fingers, and I was forced to let go.


    "Reflect -- Mus¨± Tengai" I quickly drew my Zanpakut¨­ again, deflecting the spell he cast.


    "What is that you hold?" He looked at my Zanpakut¨­, eyes narrowed. "Twice now, my predictions were cast aside and the future altered. No matter, I simply need to calcte the interval variance for your temporal ¨C"


    The Holy Power emanating off Jeanne and the spear intensified. This time, I was well and truly knocked off my feet, barely stopping myself after rolling a couple times.


    Jeanne''s entire figure was barely visible. More so an outline, than any discernible features bar her eyes. It was mostly a pure light that enveloped everything in the vicinity.


    I felt my heart ache and turned back to Solomon who.....was in pain.


    He let out a shout, falling to his knees. His hands began to glow, no, rather the rings on his fingers began glowing, burning his flesh.


    ...only nine of them glowed.


    "What is this!?" He roared in anger, starting with his hands, the flesh on his body was disintegrating. Pieces of what was underneath began to show the Demon that hid in the flesh.


    I felt hands wrap around me, Raikou, helping me to my feet. "Master, we must leave."


    "I...."


    I didn''t want to leave her again.


    Even Raikou knew that something was going to happen.


    The world came to an eerie Silence, then Jeanne opened her mouth. "Yod ¨C "


    Another hand grabbed the spear. Someone I think we all forgot about in the moment, the other Jeanne grabbed hold of it, and promptly kicked regr Jeanne away.


    "Ehh!?" Jeanne squawked, as the Holy phenomena began to recede.


    "Hey, you''re the one responsible right?" The Dark Jeanne, looked down at Solomon.


    Solomon looked pleasantly surprised. "That is correct." He pushed himself up, regaining his earlier demeanor. "You exist because of me. I was the one who handed the Grail to yourpanion." There was a very pleased undertone to his words, almost smug with his gazended on us. "And I can assure you that your assistance will be rewarded simrly. This Singrity is falling, but it matters not. I will give you another Grail for you to use however you see fit."


    "Is that so?" She smiled, then too did she cast her gaze on us.


    "But.....you said..." Jeanne muttered.


    "I''m just a fake, no matter what you say, that won''t change. Those memories forced into my head weren''t mine."


    "No, that''s not true!"


    "Foolish." Solomon snorted. "Why do you protest? This is merely human nature. You all betray one another, you all would willingly step upon the corpses of your friends and family just to eke out a miniscule advantage in your worthless existence."


    I ignored him.


    Instead, I looked at the other Jeanne.


    She smiled, it was a sad smile, not one of revenge or cruelty. "But they were my happiest."


    Solomon''s gloating abruptly stopped as too did his face twist into a scowl as his head snapped towards her. "What are you doing?"


    "Did you know? I''m a fake, through and through." Sheughed, pointing the spear at Jeanne. "But a fake made from her."


    The Holy Power erupted like a geyser once more.


    "You will not¡ª!!" He moved to stop her, but the abundant Holy Power stopped him in his tracks.


    "No!!" Jeanne screamed, but with Raikou''s help, I grabbed her and moved towards the only other person still around, Mozart.


    I quickly opened a Portal for us, trusting Mus¨± Tengai in what he said.


    The world turned a Holy White, dyed with the ridiculous amounts of power that was being discharged.


    I could hear the words spoken, both from her voice and not.


    "???????Y????o??????????d???????.?????"????


    ??????????"????????H???????e????????h??????.??????"?????


    ?????"?????W??????????a????w??????.???"???????


    ??????"?????????H????e??????h???????.?????????"??????


    "To invoke my name, is to invoke Creation."


    I pushed everyone through and mmed the portal behind us, not daring to look back.


    The peacefulness of Chaldea''s white walls did nothing to stop my heart that was still beating rapidly.


    There was a moment or two, that I think we all needed to gather our wits. Unfortunately, that was utterly demolished by space tearing asunder. It was not Solomon''s method to traverse into the Singrity, nor was it something like my own. Rather, it was like someone tore open space with their bare hands and ripped it apart so they coulde through.


    The Spear shot out, mming into the nearby wall. Steam was wafting off of it with errant bits of Holy Power that evaporated once it flowed too far away from the source.


    Cracks now ran all along the weapon.


    It was horrifying to think about how the Spear became like that, what transpired that made the vessel ¨C what is essentially a Divine Construct, but also what is housing Big G''s dying will, be like that.


    I forced myself to discard those thoughts.


    Rather, I had something else to take care of immediately.


    That was tending to the sobbing Saintess with a head buried into my chest.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 449 - 408

    <h4>Chapter 449: Chapter 408</h4>


    Everything happened so fast.


    I didn''t know how I felt myself, but at this moment, I think Jeanne took precedence. She wasn''t crying anymore, but she was still not willing to move and I didn''t move to make her.


    The Rayshifting procedures took a few minutes to properly return the people who used it, so it wasn''t too surprising that no one had stormed the room thus far.


    I just sat there silently rubbing her back, letting her feelfortable.


    Raikou sat at my side, as we literally were situated on the ground. Mozart was slumped against the wall, looking utterly exhausted.


    I felt bad that he was the only one I grabbed. I don''t know who else survived, maybe Siegfried? But in that moment that I had, he was closest, and I just did what I could.


    Even that victory still felt like a loss.


    And I still don''t know what happened? Where are we supposed to go from here?


    {You''re on limited time.} Mus¨± Tengai spoke up in my mind. {Enter your inner world, it will be easier to exin.}


    That didn''t sound ominous at all.


    "Jeanne." I whispered.


    She shifted, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. "I''m okay." She said, forcing herself to smile. "It''s not my first time losing someone. Even if it was my fault..."


    "No." I immediately rejected her. "I''m the one who let her use the Spear. I''m the one who didn''t stop her and grabbed you. I''m at fault, not you. If you want to, you can hate me for what happened." Jeanne was someone who would me herself, martyr herself if the situation called for it. She was so quick to be willing to sacrifice herself, I would rather she hate me than feel like it was her fault.


    "I couldn''t hate you." She spoke softly, adjusting herself so she wasn''t leaning on me entirely anymore. "Do you know what happened?" she asked.


    The others perked up too.


    "Do you know what happened?"


    She shook her head. "I only know that role I was supposed to y...."


    "I have a way to find out, give me a moment." I adjusted my posture, so I was sitting cross legged and put my Zanpakut¨­ across myp.


    The meditative process that allowed one to sync up with their Zanpakut¨­.


    I evened my breathing, and cleared my mind of all the stray thoughts I was feeling.


    I felt the wind gently sway my hair and the taste of salt in the air. I opened my eyes to see the vast ocean extending to the horizon.


    "Where I took Jinn on our first date." I muttered. "I didn''t think this would be a ce stored in my soul."


    "If you could recall the stretch of sand and water so quickly, then does that not indicate that it was something you cherish enough to keep close?" Mus¨± Tengai Stood at the edge of the tide, the water barely missing his feet as it came and went.


    Yeah...seeing Jinn experience something like this for the first time was a memory I would always cherish.


    "You have some exining to do." I wanted to cut right to the chase. "You said I''m on a time limit, what does that mean? And how much of said time do I have?"


    "Peace." He held his hands up. "Inside your soul, you can experience things quicker, as you know. I would say you need to leave this World-Line within the hour to be safe."


    I felt my hands ball up. With a shout, I punched the ground. The sand went everywhere, forming arge crater.


    I was pissed, after everything that happened, I think it was simply the straw that broke the camel''s back and Ished out.


    "Fuck me." I fell to my butt.


    "It''s better to release that stress than to keep it bottled up. At least there will be no damage done here." He offered.


    "I''ll worry about thatter, please just tell me what''s going on."


    "First, let me ask you. What is a Miracle?" He looked out towards the Ocean.


    "I.....I''m not quite sure to be honest. Academically, I can point out the definition, but that''s rather mundane. And even supposed Miracles that were recorded in texts and stories are things that could happen without Divine Intervention, let alone Divine Authority."


    "Yet you put your faith in this Miracle seeding?"


    "I trust you." I said simply.


    "Thank you for your trust, it was not misced." I could vaguely make out the edges of a smile on the corner of his face. "To answer, it''s...difficult."


    "How do you even know all this when I don''t?"


    "I have spoken with the presence within the spear on a few asions." He answered.


    "....right, both weapons." I was skeptical. "Go on."


    "Do you recall the story of Moses parting the Red Sea?"


    "I suppose, though I won''t question the validity of it in this situation. But it doesn''t seem particrly....praiseworthy. I could do that with my Authority, as could any God with a simr Authority. Hell, I could do it with some time and effort through purely magical means. And I''m pretty sure the same could be said for mundane means, granted that would take much more time and effort."


    "Yes, yet it is recognized as a Miracle. And I will tell you that it was in fact a Miracle."


    "Sounds contradictory."


    "Yes, but understand the circumstances." He held a hand up, and the ocean churned. Starting from the ce he stood, the water began to separate, a line forming all the way to the horizon. "The people of Moses were fleeing from the Egyptians after The Biblical God engaged the Egyptian Gods. Why did the Egyptian Gods that were suffering under his wrath not simply copse the waves upon his people to spite him? Or a plethora of any other creative ways to end but a few mortal lives?"


    "I see your point, it''s odd. Regardless of how strong Big G was, it''s strange that the Jews of Egypt escaped wholly unscathed...."


    "A Miracle is not a Divine Authority; you can even say it''s a step further. Divine Authority is the allowance of a Divine Being to change the world, to bend it to their will. Zeusmands the sky, he is allowed to bring about storms, to rain lightning, to alter the weather at his discretion. Amaterasu is the Sun, as seen in the past, she can take away Japan''s sunlight."


    "I get it, I understand how Divine Authority works in a general sense."


    "A Miracle is a statement of Fact. It''s telling the world that this is going to happen. Past, Present, Future, it happened, it''s happening, it will happen. Even if something is impossible, it will happen if ordained. It is an action in line with the concept of Primordial Creation. There is a reason that True Magic ispared to Miracles. Your method of traversing through World-Lines, you are not asking for permission, you are telling the world that this is where you are going and it happens. As such, you can recall why Meridia was so surprised when you decided to ''peek'' at her."


    ".....there has to be some downside or some ceiling, otherwise he wouldn''t be in the state he''s in."


    "Of course, nothing is unbeatable." He shrugged. "But I doubt you want to waste the time to discuss that fully."


    Seeing the state the Spear was in, it''s not hard to guess that a true Miracle wasn''t something simply done on a whim.


    "Moses didn''t simply part the Sea through God''s will, did he?"


    "No, the true Miracle was something more. It was that Moses and his people would escape Egypt unmolested."


    "Why Holy Power? Why couldn''t he take my Magical Energy? Or my Divinity?"


    "Well, some of it was taken, but he was not in a state to use a Miracle, he needed more Holy Power and the Saintess carried a significant amount with her. Even the....other one who rejected God still was a part of the original."


    "But why Holy Power?" I pushed.


    "What do you think Holy Power is? And not in a general sense, but what separates the Church''s Holy Power from, say, your Dawnbreaker? Both are Holy, are they not?"


    "The intent?" I questioned.


    He shook his head. "Many Gods have ''holy'' abilities. Fire Gods with their Holy Fire, Meridia with her Holy Light, yet they don''t operate at all like ''Holy Power'', do they?"


    "No." I pursed my lips.


    "Holy Power....you can consider it derived from the closest approximation to what can be called the essence of Creation within the Abrahamic Cosmology. You can think of it this way, Holy Power is equivalent to Modern Runes when they arepared to Primordial Runes. As such, the presence within the spear required enough Holy Power to perform a Miracle."


    "Okay." I breathed out. It was a lot of new information to suddenly have dropped on me. "Okay, I''m following. It''s not groundbreaking. I''m sure I could have deduced this if i had posed the question earlier and was given time to think it over. And I''ll give it more thoughtter, but the mechanics are less important right now. What happened to Solomon?"


    "That....I believe I can take a good guess based on the few words exchanged in thest moment." Mus¨± Tengai, moved his arm and the ocean copsed back onto itself. "The one we fought was not Solomon."


    "Obviously, I''m just calling him that because it''s easy."


    "He''s known for his 10 Rings, items of great power bestowed by God, and a irvoyance that allows him to see past, present, and future. If I had to guess.....I believe the Miracle removed his ever appearing in the Singrity from his end."


    "....pardon?" I blinked.


    "From his point of view, I do not believe he ever appeared in the Singrity. Your presence was erased from his perception, he never decided to see the fall of Gilles after he lost the Grail. Thus, he will still not bother with Chaldea."


    "But....that''s ridiculous. The Causality alone ¨C"


    "There is a reason it''s called a Miracle."


    "So everything that happened to us still happened, but he was essentially....removed from all chain of events, his knowledge erased, his vision....blurred so to speak?"


    It''s not like I expected Goetia to suffer any permanent damage. The presence within the spear didn''t have nearly enough juice to pull something like that off, otherwise there''d be no point in me helping it ''revive''.


    But even still, what he''s saying is absurd.


    "If I am correct, then that is a simple approximation of what transpired." He nodded.


    I put my hands up to hold my head, looking at the ground. "That sounds simple on the surface, but if I tried to do something simr with you, I would most likely die. There were too many variables....the Casualty alone like I said was far too intertwined. All those people who saw him....." A Miracle? It sounded grandiose, but to see it with my own eyes was....humbling in a way. "The Rings and the irvoyance, it used those again him, which made it easier."


    "Yes." He nodded again. "Otherwise, it would not have been possible in the state that the Spear currently was."


    "We were lucky."


    "Very much so."


    "We need to leave."


    "Unfortunately."


    I understood now. The Miracle was....would it be ironic to call the Miracle itself a Miracle? The Rings of Solomon that the thing was wearing were used against it. The God Given irvoyance was used against it.


    "To simplify it down to the core, my existence in this singrity was essentially obscured to his knowledge." Which was why I had to leave. The longer I stayed, the more likely it is for him to notice me and realize that something was wrong.


    If he was made to ''forget'' about me, in utterly simplistic terms, if he suddenly was presented a huge reminder by seeing me, then.....it''s possible whatever happened could unravel and he decides to nuke Chaldea and I couldn''t stop him.


    "He''ll ignore Chaldea if I''m not around, he made that much clear." I whispered. "I have to leave again."


    "Regroup and think of another n."


    I took a deep breath. "Alright, thanks Mus¨± Tengai, I''ll head back."


    "I will always be here if you need me." He smiled.


    I closed my eyes and opened them again, and blinking a few times as now the room waspletely filled.


    "Master." Raikou hugged me.


    Raikou''s presence here was much more soothing than she could probably imagine.


    "How long was I....?"


    "Ten minutes, give or take." Mozart informed me.


    It felt like four times that inside, good.


    "Schweinorg, you have some exining to do!" Olga demanded. "But....it''s good you made it back." Her expression softened.


    Sir Wiggles seemed to agree because he jumped out of her arms and onto my head. Even Fou wasn''t giving me a hard time as he sat in Mash''s arms.


    "Barely..." I took a chance to look around at a lot of faces I hadn''t seen in person in awhile. "Roman, Da Vinci."


    "Ah, it''s nice to see you again, in the flesh." Roman chuckled.


    "You may feast your eyes upon perfection again!" Da Vinci pushed her chest out. "You can thank me at any time."


    I found myself smiling despite the situation. Even the low growl from Saber was more amusing than not.


    "I have to leave again, soon. We''re on a clock."


    "....exin." Olga''s eyes narrowed.


    "Right." I pushed myself to my feet. "Solomon, and yes I''m just calling him that for simplicity''s sake, he appeared after Gilles was killed and we retrieved the Grail because he simply wanted to see how the Singrity yed out and saw me. If I wasn''t there, he would have nevere and ignored everything."


    I met Cu''s eyes in the corner, and the look he gave me was one that understood exactly what I meant by that.


    "What, you''re running away because you think he''s going toe back?" Olga scoffed.


    "He made it clear that I was the reason he even came in the first ce. But it has more to do with what happened after..."


    "Do it have anything to do with the Divine Spear impaled in the wall over here." Da Vinci asked, jabbing her thumb at the Longinus.


    "Yes." I admitted


    "Schweinorg, I have so many questions right now." Olga crossed her arms.


    "I used the spear and with the help of the Abrahamic God, he invoked a Miracle. Essentially, it made it so that Solomon never went to the Singrity. Basically, it''s obscuring my existence for the moment."


    "But...the Casualty alone..." Da Vinci mumbled.


    "Yeah, I said the same thing." I snorted. "It''s called a Miraclefor a reason, as was said to me."


    ".....are you an Angel, boss?" Samuel asked.


    Cu snorted out someughter. "Nice question, Farm Boy."


    Despite the abruptness and humor one could find in that question, a lot of people looked rather eager to hear my response.


    "No, I was just borrowing the power of the Spear." I shook my head.


    "....and what is that spear?" Hinako asked. "It''s giving me some dangerous feelings."


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Da Vinci tilted her head.


    ".....no." Olga huffed.


    "It''s ¨C"


    "The Spear of Longinus, isn''t it?" Roman said, staring at it. Why was there a sort of trepidation look on his face?


    "As in the spear form the bible?'' Ritsuka asked.


    "Isn''t that one of the most protected artifacts of the Church!? There''s no way that''s the Spear of Destiny, right Schweinorg?" Olga asked for rification.


    "Um.....yes."


    Olga opened her mouth and closed it slowly. "The Church is going to crucify me after we finish."


    "....is it a bad time to mention that I''m a Half-Devil?" And I was met with silence.


    "Um....am I going to hell?" Samuel asked.


    "Don''t be an idiot." Olga scoffed. "He''s just joking, right Schweinorg?"


    "...Father is one of the four rulers of Hell; my mom was human."


    "Oh my God, you were telling the truth." Hinako''s eyes widened.


    Ah, I did tell her jokingly before.


    "The Church is going to crucify me." Olga repeated again.


    "Oh stop whining." Da Vinci rolled her eyes. "Besides, he''s not bursting into mes by holding that Spear, so I think we''re fine."


    "If the world has not ended, I would be feeling very different right now." Pierre muttered something more in French that I didn''t quite pick up on.


    "If it makes you feel better, I''m actually on good terms with Big G." I offered.


    "Don''t call him that!" Jeanne squeaked.


    "It''s endearing!"


    "You''re not using it that way and you know it!" She countered.


    "The Archangel Michael invited me to be an Angel." I threw out.


    "Neeeeh!"


    I was happy that she wasn''t still.....like she was before. But I wasn''t an idiot and it''s obvious she was just suppressing it. As she said, she wasn''t new to losing people she cared about. She fought in a bloody war, the people at her side were killed all the time.


    "For real though, I''ve never actually been to Hell. I grew up thinking I was human until a few years ago. And Zelretch is my Grandfather ¨C Adopted, so if you have hesitation, then you should know where he stands. And I wasn''t kidding when I said I was on good terms with Heaven in general. Holy Power doesn''t really smite me anymore."


    "I don''t know how to feel about this." Olga finally responded. "I''m going to bury it deep down until I have time to process it when the world isn''t ending."


    "Don''t see what the big deal is." Cu leaned against the wall. "My old man is a God. The Witch hiding over there is descended from a Titan or something. Just feels like more of the same really."


    "....when you say it like that I feel kind of silly for getting worked up." Samuel scratched his head.


    "Nothing changes." Saber stated, nothing else added.


    For some reason....that meant a lot to me.


    "The Anti-Christ is on my payroll." Olga muttered.


    "That''s actually some other dumbass." I don''t think that soothed her however.


    "oooh! Can I get some samples!?" Da Vinci''s eyes lit up.


    "Caster, cease!" Olga growled.


    "Just a little bit of blood, please!"


    "Da Vinci, not now!" Roman held her back.


    "But why do you gotta leave, Boss?" Samuel asked, seemingly ignoring them.


    "CHALDEAS sort of....obscures Chaldea as a whole from forms of irvoyance, but it''s not perfect. If he sees me, he''ll decide to destroy Chaldea. He threatened to do that before when I was about to run. Which meant we were forced to fight, and well....as you can see, the Spear is cracked beyond all hell."


    Olga let out a long sigh. "I''m frustrated by your reasoning, but I can''t argue against it."


    "It can''t be helped." Cu agreed. "No point if we just get blown up before we can get going. You said he was ignoring us, we need to ride that out as long as possible."


    "Hard to argue when literal God intervened to make this happen." Olga groaned. "This isn''t for good, Schweinorg! I am ordering you to prepare for your return. You''re the leader of B-Team."


    She was still wearing my hat, which was very cute and I couldn''t help myself. I pushed it down a little on her head. She let out a cute squeak and iled her arms in my direction.


    "When will you be back?" Ritsuka asked. "Things were pretty hectic, and I can''t imagine them without you."


    "I don''t know, I need to talk to Zelretch and figure out the next course of action. But you guys would have been able to handle this Singrity without me, you did everything perfectly. I trust you all to handle the Singrities if I''m not here."


    "We''ll make do." Hinako crossed her arms. "We''re in a better position than if you weren''t here at all. I''d probably be dead, same with the others. We actually know who we''re up against with an idea of what to do."


    I was thankful for her easing the atmosphere. "I''m not just leaving without doing anything. I made sure Olga''s stocked up on supplies." I said, pointing to her hat. "And these are for you guys." I produced a few books, handing them to Samuel since he was closest. "A bunch of spells, some of them I created, some of them just ones I came across. It''s filled with my notes and step by step instructions."


    "....you''re just handing him the secrets to your Mysteries?" Olga gawked.


    "You can look at them too, I don''t mind." I shrugged. "It''s mostly things on the lower end of the spectrum, but useful nheless."


    "Thanks, Boss!" Samuel was quick to offer his thanks.


    "And I guess I should turn Mozart over to you guys." I nced at the Musician. "Now that I think about it, how exactly would you switch his contract to Chaldea...?"


    ".....um...." Roman looked thoughtful. "I don''t know if we can? I don''t think we''ve ever considered this possibility. Temporary Contracts within the singrity are one thing, but we never anticipated that a Servant from a Singrity would be brought back."


    "Well, I suppose I could rework some of the core systems. Add a redundancy protocol to attach to any Servant with a sequence to check ¨C"


    "Absolutely not." Olga cut off Da Vinci. "You are not messing with the Summon System when it''s already being held together with what is basically Duct Tape!"


    "It''s not that bad!" Da Vinci whined. "This is giving me some idea I want to test, Director~"


    "Actually....I had to duct tape a few things this morning..." Roman awkwardly shuffled in spot.


    "....I react my statement." Da Vinci coughed.


    "Well, you have a choice then, Mozart. You can fade and hope to be summoned or you cane with me." I offered.


    Mozart raised an eyebrow. "To descend into the bowls of Hell itself." His eyes practically sparkled. "How insidious! I feel the beginnings of inspiration."


    "Well, I guess that settles that."


    "Wait! What about me!?" Jeanne asked.


    "You don''t get a choice; you''reing with me."


    "B-But!"


    "Nope." I yanked her braid. "You have no excuses this time."


    "We''re going to have such a wonderful time together~" Raikou cooed, wrapping up the Saintess in a tight hug. "So many wonderful new things to teach you~"


    Raikou has the right idea. I refuse to leave her again.


    "It''s best we leave sooner rather thanter." I hated it, I hated having to leave again and leave things up to chance in some aspects. "And I would like my staff back."


    Medea was in the back and I heard her click her tongue. "Was hoping you would forget."


    "Really?" I asked dryly.


    "Was worth a shot." She tossed it to me and I happily put it away before pulling the Longinus free from the wall.


    It felt so.....weak.


    I would worry about that once I got home.


    "We''ll handle everything until you get back, Boss." Samuel smiled.


    "Yes, Senpai! We''ll be ready when you get back!" Mash nodded vigorously.


    It was....not the best circumstances to say goodbye and it was clear that there was a degree of stress and uncertainty, but I suppose it couldn''t be helped.


    I was about to say my final goodbye, but Saber''s petite hand grabbed at my cor, pulling me down until I was eye-level.


    She stared into my eyes for several moments. "You will return."


    "Of course." I smiled.


    "I will protect them until you do so." She released me.


    "It puts me at ease knowing you will."


    She twitched slightly. "Yes, as it should." She turned away. "I will await your return and you will be thankful next we meet."


    "Take care of yourself." Cu walked up, patting my shoulder. "I''ll do my best to watch the kids."


    "Got anyst minute advice?"


    "Hmm." He tapped his chin. "Sixth." He said rather cryptically. "At Least by then." He leaned in with a whisper for only me to hear.


    I nodded, only guessing at what he meant by that. He silently handed me my spear without any hesitation.


    Anyone would just be dragging it off.


    I opened up a portal while I felt we were still safe and the others hesitantly walked through followed by Raikou.


    Onest smiled and nod, and I followed behind, leaving them to the unknown.


    [***]


    ''Solomon'' POV.


    Something was....wrong.


    I sat upon the Throne of Time, silence permeating the void around me, yet....I felt something amiss.


    Why was there this phantom feeling so suddenly?


    Raum, Report.


    ''Calctions within .00047% error margin.''


    Good.


    Barbatos, Report.


    ''Beginning final preparations, no anomalies.''


    Gremory, report.


    ''Removing all traces of subject F-118.''


    eptable.


    Even still.....why does this strange sensation still permeate? Was I.... anxious? The thought made me scowl before I squashed it. What force could possibly force such a human emotion upon me? The thought was utterly ridiculous, and I felt foolish for even considering it.


    Even so, it would be further foolish to ignore this feeling I was having.


    uros, report.


    ''The singritybeled F-004 has been removed. Processing source of destruction.....Grail has been removed from the time period, Counterforce assault expected and observed. Timeline realigned with proper Human History. Singritiesbeled F-005 through F-008 noted no anomalies and progress as expected. Designation Singrity F-009 suffers further degradation and assimtion by entitybeled ''Goddess Rhongomyniad''. Observation has been established, any action has been rendered immaterial and further consideration not needed. Evaluation ¨C proceeding as normal. Singrity F019 ¨C''


    "That is enough." I responded, tapping the throne.


    Everything was proceeding within considerations. The anomaly Goddess that appeared in the Seventh Singrity notwithstanding, but wholly irrelevant. The nature of her Weapon made intervention a risk unneeded. Priorities aligned, foreign interference by her was not predicted, but caused no overall concern.


    However, I was still feeling uneasy and it was beginning to infuriate me.


    Why was it as if I was unable to recall something important?


    Ridiculous.


    Agares, run a diagnostic on the connected hive root.


    ''Initiating redundancy protocols and infiltration assertion. Full internal scanspleted; no outside interference detected. Request further orders.''


    "No need, return to what you were previously doing." Why did it persist? "uros, report on Singrity F-004."


    ''....resolution achieved by organization designated Chaldea. Traces of Rayshift alignment detected, probability of extranormal entity interference, .091%. Resolution, destruction of Chaldea would result in an efficiency increase of 1.05%. Request destruction of Chaldea.''


    ''Alloces rejects this proposal. Unnecessary to focus on insignificant humans.''


    ''Furfur agrees with Alloces.''


    ''Malphas in agreement.''


    ''Caim in agreement.''


    ''Eligos in Agreement.''


    ''Buer agrees with uros. Chaldea poses miniscule risk, effort to remove requires less than a percentage of resources. Logical conclusion, remove uncontroble factors.''


    ''Sitri find''s Buer''s acknowledgement of Humans to be disgusting.''


    ''Vapar in agreement with Sitri.''


    ''Buer merely wishes to remove annoyances.''


    ''Paimon agrees with Buer. Bugs should be squashed.''


    ''Ipos remains neutral.''


    ''Naberius thinks that uros should be remade and memories modified. Anger clouding judgment from loss to humans.''


    ''uros argues that he did not lose to humans! Anomaly registered as ''Magician'' and ''unknown'' factor with resonance with us. Rtionship with Chaldea ¨C''


    "Enough." I ended the argument between my Demon Pirs. "Ignore the humans, we are nearingpletion of our goal. Their stomping around matters not."


    There was nothing there that required my attention.


    It did not matter if the Singrities were fixed, they were merely a means to an end.


    It would be a simple matter of destroying Chaldea, but the thought of putting forth the effort grated on my mind. Mere insects hopping around without any true understanding of what was urring. No, I felt disgusted at the idea of them gaining my attention to require destruction in the first ce.


    Merely a single Singrity cleared by them. Perhaps the easiest one of them all.


    There was nothing there that required my attention.


    Passing amusement, nothing else.


    There was nothing there that required my attention.


    Perhaps I would show myself should they provide better entertainment. Thest vestiges of humanity, floundering upon the precipice of my true victory.


    However,


    There was nothing there that required my attention.


    Hmm....what was troubling me?


    There was nothing there that required my attention.


    I suppose it was some nonsense if I deemed it too infantile to even devote additional mental power to contemte.


    There was nothing there that required my attention.


    There was nothing there that R?????????????????????????????e???????????q???????????????????u??????????????????????????????????????i??????????????????????????????????????????r?????????????????????????????????????????????e????????????????????????_?????????????d????????????????????? m?????????????????????????????????????y???????_?????????????????????????????????????? a??????????????????????????????????t????????t??????????????????????????????????????????e??????????n??????????????????????????t???????????????i???????????????????????????????_?o_????????????????????????????????_???????????n???????.??????????????????????????????


    I raised my hand to clutch my head as something strange shed across my mind, but immediately, the feeling disappeared.


    Nothing was amiss.


    "uros, continue with your report regarding Singrity F-010."


    [***]


    A/N


    Big G basically went ''you were never here'' and everything forced itself into ce to amodate that along with a little missive to ignore Chaldea for the time being. Before people jump me about Goetia escaping unscathed, Big G in the spear is not alive. It did this while being a ''dying will''. He got mind wammied pretty damn hard to give Wilhelm and co an out. It won''t work like this next time.


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 450: Interlude 32

    <h4>Chapter 450: Interlude 32</h4>


    Samuel Washington POV


    "Really gonna have to thank the kid when he gets back." Cu said, downing the rest of his beer. "Almost makes it worth it to give back my spear if I can get something good to drink like this."


    "Isn''t it his spear?" I asked.


    "Semantics."


    "Why''d you give it back then?"


    "Hah, that Bitch is probably gonna pop up soon, I just know it. I''m already gonna get my ass kicked when she finds out I was summoned as a Caster. But if she sees that I also have her spear, she''s gonna kick my ass twice as hard when I inevitably tell her why."


    "Bad breakup?" Pierre asked, swirling his bottle.


    Frankly I reckon that wasn''t a proper thing to ask a man, but Cu didn''t seem to mind.


    "You don''t know the half of it." Heughed. "There''s a reason I''m still surprised that the Kid managed to tame her, apparently, Frenchie."


    "Maybe it was problems in bed." Pierre retorted.


    "Like hell! She was begging me to bed her in the end." Cu puffed up his chest. "Every woman I''ve everid with was ruined for any other man!"


    "So bad they wish only a woman''spany, yes?"


    "Oh fuck you!"


    "We can ask the Boss when he gets back. How ''ruined'' is his woman, yes?"


    "....God dammit, that''s one example. Doesn''t prove anything."


    "Can ask her when shees around, like you said."


    "Alright, you''re bing too dangerous to let live. For the sake of my continued existence, I think it''s best that we have one less master running around."


    "Tu veux qu''on s''tape?! Vas-y alors!" Pierre stood up.


    I didn''t understand French, but it was pretty easy to guess the universal sigh of ''bring it on''.


    "Hahaha, you''re alright Frenchie." Cu pped his knee.


    "Come on, guys. Don''t fight." Ritsuka tried to be the voice of reason.


    "Ain''t really fightin, Ritsuka." I replied. "If they''d be wanting to go about it, it''d been lookin a lot worse than this. Me and my friends got into much worse when we were just messin around back home."


    "Farm boy has the right of it." Cu grunted. "Back in my day, if you couldn''t find a good enemy to fight, you''d find your best friend and throw your best insult to get him in a fighting mood. Loser usually bought the drinks after."


    "Expected of an uncivilized ce." Pierre sniffed.


    "Virgin." Cu shot back.


    "I have had plenty of women! I am more than capable of finding affection!"


    "Prove it."


    "How do you expect me to prove it? There are less than a...." He stumbled.


    "Probably about a hundred and fifty staff left?" I helped out.


    "Merci." He nodded to me. "Majority men."


    "Then go for that Witch of yours."


    "Casse ¨C Toi!"


    "Hahaha, what''s wrong Frenchie? Haven''t tamed that witch of yours yet?"


    "I ¨C"


    "Yes, please do answer." His Servant appeared behind him. "Have you tamed me yet, master~?"


    "I prefer my balls intact."


    "Good answer." Medeaughed.


    "And as the Americans say, I do not stick my dick in crazy." Pierre snorted.


    "You tell her, Frenchie." Cuughed.


    I just groaned, cause I felt another fighting on. They were always sniping at each other.


    "Oh please, the literal Celt is going to throw stones? Your escapades are well known, mutt."


    "Never said I agreed, but any shot taken at you is one I''ll back up."


    "Charming." She said dryly. "Is this what you boys get up to? Talking behind my back and insulting me, hmm?"


    "Actually, Ma''am, I don''t think bad of you. I don''t put much stock in them stories and what-not. You''ve been helpful ever since you were summoned." My ma would have pped me something fierce if I went around insulting women like she thought I was.


    "Yeah, I don''t know what everyone''s been on about. I don''t know any stories or anything, but you''ve been really nice." Ritsuka smiled.


    "...I''m speechless because I feel like you two couldn''t lie if your lives depended on it, which makes it even worse."


    "I think you''re a bitch." Pierre unhelpfully added.


    Medea''s eyesnded on her master, her lips twitching. "....and the honesty is more appreciated than you''d think." She let out a sigh. "Scoot over, Master." She practically pushed him over and sat down.


    "Didn''t think you''d be someone toe slumming it with us, Witch." Cu grabbed one of the beers out of the cooler and tossed it to her.


    "Please, I lived on a boat for years." She caught it and flicked off the cap. "This is nothing inparison to that."


    "If you don''t mind me asking, Ma''am, but do you need something from us? You haven''t made it a secret that you don''t like keepingpany and prefer your room." I asked.


    "''Hmm, I guess I haven''t." She replied after taking a sip. "Was just curious to see what a bunch of boys get up to when all alone. Pretty much what I expected. Though, I''d thought you would be more worried about other things."


    "Like what?" Ritsuka blinked.


    "....are you serious?"


    He shrugged.


    Medea raised her hand to rub the bridge of her nose. "Everything that happened. The King of Magecraft appearing and running roughshod over all of us, maybe? Maybe the fact that your Boss is, as he said, A Half-Devil. Or his casually throwing out Divine Constructs like they''re going out of style."


    "....We ain''t Mages, Ma''am." I replied.


    She opened her mouth and closed it again. "Hades, I keep forgetting that you all are literally new to Magecraft, not just the idiots in this Era who im to be skilled."


    "Eh, they''re doing pretty good for being dropped in the deep end." Cu added.


    "...I begrudgingly admit that." She shook her head in exasperation. "And you all aren''t put off by what you found out about the boyo? That religion based around his race is pretty widespread in your time period."


    I shrugged. "Went to Church growin up, but didn''t really care much for it. Boss has done good by me so far, so it isn''t something I really care about considering everything else that''s been happening."


    "It''s not really that popr over in Japan." Ritsuka scratched his cheek. "Was surprising and everything, but it doesn''t really change anything, you know?"


    "What about you, Master? I''ve heard you praying sometimes." She asked.


    Pierre frowned and said something under his breath. "Doesn''t matter." He shook his head. "And I was not....practicing before this."


    Ah, couldn''t fault the man neither. Went on my knees a time or two since the world ended and said a prayer when I was feeling overwhelmed.


    "Just hope he gets back soon." I muttered.


    "Don''t count on it, Farm Boy." Cu snorted. "Things would be bad if he suddenly jumped back here. We''re no where close to being ready to face that monster again."


    "I''m surprised you''re admitting that he''s that much of a threat. Isn''t it your usual prerogative to jump at him with your stick, swinging" Medea responded.


    "If I could, I would have already." Cu rolled his eyes. "You know how far up shit creek we are."


    Medea scoffed, but didn''t deny it. "He blocked my spell far too easily." She grumbled. "Didn''t really have a chance to get into it properly, but that is not something that fills me with confidence. And I even had the boyo''s staff."


    "....how bad a spot are we in?" I hesitantly asked.


    Cu and Medea shared an awkward look.


    "Farm Boy, even if this ce didn''t get blown up like it did originally, even if humanity was still here. With all the most powerful people of your era fighting against him, you''d still be in an uphill fight. As it stands, we ain''t got anywhere near that kind of force."


    "He might even be putting it mildly." Medea added.


    "Just means we gotta get better." I replied.


    "You are just adorable." Medea giggled.


    "I like the attitude at least, but don''t expect any Miracles." Cu chuckled. "We can get started on some more things before the next Singrity. Hand me the book behind you."


    I reached behind me to pick up one of the books that Boss left for us and handed it to him. "Was lookin over the spells Boss wrote up."


    "Oh, one of those books he handed over?" Medea questioned. "Call me mildly interested."


    Cu took it, flipping through a few pages. "Hmm, not bad. A lot of basic shit, but it''s good from your standpoint...most of it modified to be easier butcking in the usual power and what-not."


    "Hand it over." Medea held her hand out.


    "Ask nicely."


    "I won''t teleport you outside into the snow if you hand it over."


    "Bitch please. Pretend to be that good with someone who doesn''t know."


    Medea rolled her eyes. "Just hand it over, you mutt."


    Cu snorted, tossing her the book.


    "Runecraft." Medea made a noise of disgust.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Cu grumbled.


    "It means that I stopped caring." She practically tossed the book away. "Doubt all of the other books he gave were like this. I''ll check them outter. But I don''t really care about Runecraft, too annoying for me. Good for your brat, though."


    "Eh, yeah. Farm Boy over here has some talent for it, so I''ll try to get a dozen or so spells under his belt by the time the next Singrity hits."


    "I''ve been practicing a lot in my free time." I nodded.


    "Why can''t you be like him, Master." Medea poked her own Master.


    "Why can''t you be like him?" He countered, pointing at Cu.


    "Oh my, is that you asking for my help~" Medea''s grin grew wide. "I would love to help you."


    "I''m sure." Pierre drawled.


    "Alright, alright. Less kidding, it''s a pretty crappy situation, that can''t be denied. So I''ll swallow my pride and teach you something. Pick one thing you want to be good with and I''ll help you with that."


    "Pardon?" He responded. "One thing?"


    "No point in rounding you out like the mutt is doing to the budding Druid over there. He''s not going to master anything fantastical, but he''s going to be very well rounded in most situations. You though....I''m going to teach you one thing really well, and you''re going to master that by the time we''re finished." Medea responded.


    "...not a bad approach. If they''re all just average at a bunch of things, that has its own problem." Cu rubbed his chin.


    "So choose, Master."


    Pierre went silent for a few moments. "Teach me how to...how do you say ¨C" He started gesturing with his hands, but I think I got the meaning.


    "Explode?" I offered.


    "Yes." Pierre smiled. "Teach me to explode things very well."


    Medea''s eyes widened and her grin grew further. "Well Master, I do believe this rtionship will be much more enjoyable for me."


    "What about you, Ritsuka? You''ve been practicing too?" I didn''t want to keep him out of it either.


    "Well... I''ve been practicing a little but I''ve been focusing on some other stuff."


    "What''s more important than practicing your Magecraft." I almost said Magic.


    "Well, I''ve been spending time with Mash to get better coordinating with her." He replied.


    "That''s true, she''s going to need a little extra help there." Cu nodded.


    "And I''ve been with Saber too. She''s intent on....training us." He smiled awkwardly. "I''ve also been trying to get her to open up a bit. She''s always been a bit stiff, and I wanted her to rx around us."


    Well, I guess that makes sense too. He has more Servants than us, he needs to spend time building that trust.


    "And then I''ve been seeing Da Vinci too. She''s been telling me a lot of interesting things and helping me with ¨C"


    "Wait, have you just been spending all your free time with the girls around here?" Cu interrupted.


    "I....guess?" He blinked.


    "Beat him up." Cumanded.


    "Wait, what!?" Ritsuka squeaked.


    "Even I feel a little jealous." Medea added. "Proceed."


    "Wah!?"


    "Sorry, Ritsuka, take your punishment." I apologized, but he deserved to get a few shoulder punches.


    "I didn''t do anything!"


    "You''ve been flirting with all the women instead of training." Even Pierre grumbled. "Deserving of a beating."


    "It wasn''t flirting! I promise!"


    "Let''s go ask Mash, she''s a kind girl who wouldn''t lie." I offered. "She''ll tell us all about what you''ve been doing in private."


    "In Private, hmm? What have you been doing to that adorable little girl?" Medea''s eyes narrowed.


    "Nothing!"


    "Alright, alright." Cu was somehow the voice of reason. "I guess it makes sense in his case. They did say he had stupidly highpatibility with Servants. Instead of wasting his time on Magecraft, he''d honestly probably be better spent getting more familiar with his Servants since he''s probably going to end up with a lot more than you two."


    "Can we still beat him up?" Pierre asked.


    "No!" Ritsuka vigorously shook his head.


    "I''ll allow it." Medea overruled.


    "Um....did Ie at a bad time?" Roman peaked his head through the door.


    "Roman!" Ritsuka acted like he was saved....for now. There''s a bro code, Ritsuka. There will be a reckoning.


    "I just came over to tell you all to gather in the Servant summoning Room. We''re going to attempt a few summons."


    "Um..." Ritsuka looked a bit nervous.


    Probably because everyone was looking at him.


    [***]


    Olga Marie Animusphere POV


    I fiddled with my hat, but it felt off for some reason. Maybe because my rabbit wasn''t with me anymore.


    ...his Rabbit, not mine.


    "Director, They should be arriving momentarily. They were just cleaning up beforeing over." Roman returned.


    "Wonderful!" Da Vinci pped her hands. "I can''t wait to see if we get the data."


    "....yeah."


    "Roman, are you okay? You''ve been....kind of off since Wilhelm left." Da Vinci looked at him.


    "Um, yeah. Just tired I guess." He awkwardly smiled. "Don''t worry, I''ll get some rest after we wrap up for today."


    I couldn''t me him, I was utterly exhausted myself. Barely a day after the Singrity, and still I just wanted to curl up in my bed and pretend that everything was going to be okay.


    There was so much to unpack from a single conversation with Schweinorg.


    He was a Half-Devil, whatever the hell that meant.


    Not a Demon, specifically a Half-Devil.


    If the Church found out he even stepped foot here, we''d be burned down in their righteous anger. Granted, they would have to deal with an army of Angry Servants with my express approval, but that didn''t diminish the threat on their end.


    Then toe to find out, not only he validates the existence of God, but turns into an Angel and talks about him as if they''d had casual conversations.


    Not to mention the Longinus, one of the Church''s supposed most Holy relics and power weapons just....there.


    Nearly Broken because he did something to save our behinds again.


    And here I wish this was back in time to when I found out here was merely the Grandson of the Wizard Marshall.


    Back when things were simple.


    The thought made me mentally scoff.


    He was gone, again, that was what mattered in this moment. And he left to protect us. We were too weak to have him by our side in this conflict for the moment.


    I couldn''t argue with him either.


    We all saw first hand how Solomon just....went right through our teams and could have easily ended us before we ran.


    And that is to say, he could have even killed Schweinorg, a literal Magician who was wielding Divine Weapons and powers I couldn''t even begin toprehend.


    It almost felt pointless to continue.


    Yet....for all the self-depreciating thoughts, the fact that he for some reason thought we could continue without him was...motivating. It made me feel embarrassed for even thinking about throwing in the proverbial towel because things....got too hard.


    So, we will press on.


    It didn''t change anything, the world already ended, what''s the worst that could happen if we fail? It stays ended?


    At least there would be no Mages Association to point fingers at me and throw their insults and criticisms.


    Even after that entire disaster that was Orleans....we were in a mildly better ce.


    We had much more abundant resources because of Schweinorg once more. Enough that we could splurge on luxuries such as Alcohol.


    I wanted to shout in frustration that he included something like that....but giving it more thought, it would be a good morale boost.


    Things were already teetering, allowing some staff and even Servants a moment to unwind and rx with the help of alcoholic substances would go to easing the atmosphere around here.


    Besides that, and the other plethora of resources that would allow us to press on for many more months with room to spare, we now had one particr item of value.


    "Da Vinci, what are the readings on the Grail?" I asked.


    "Everything looks good so far." She threw a thumbs up.


    "No signs of failure?" I questioned, skeptically.


    "You don''t trust my genius!?" She looked offended, but I ignored her attitude.


    "I don''t trust the Grail that we acquired from a dubious source."


    "Alright...that''s fair." She grumbled. "But the machines I build look to be harnessing the residual power properly without tapping into the underlying mechanisms."


    "Good, that''s good." Despite the benefit, I couldn''t help but bite my thumb.


    I did not like using the Grail as a....power source, but to deny the usage of it under these circumstances was the height of foolishness.


    This was the best use of the object, however. Our Power supply had been found wanting, at best.


    Now....we were in the green, so to speak.


    Many more of our subsystems wereing back online, and with that, it meant Servant Summoning was not something to be used sparingly. Now....we could probably try every few days.....if we were lucky.


    And looks like they arrived.


    I reached over to press the intes button. "Caster and.....Caster, you both are on guard duty. And Is Saber and Mash present?"


    "I''m here, Director!" Mash looked out of breath as she ran into the roof looking a bit scuffled as Saber followed in behind her.


    I would not chide her in this circumstance as it appears she was busy training. Good, such dedication should bemended and this was short notice anyways. We didn''t actually need her Shield physically here anymore anyways.


    "We will proceed. Samuel, you will be up first followed by Ritsuka, then Pierre, andstly Hinako. These will be the only summoning attempts today as we evaluate the new parameters we''re operating under." I removed my finger from the intes.


    This wasn''t their first time, so I needed not to hold their hands.


    Samuel went first.


    "Systems look good..." Roman monitored.


    "Power supply is steady, no unnatural spikes, no strains on any other systems either." Da Vinci added.


    "Let them proceed as normal then." I breathed out, watching from behind a screen.


    "Energy spikes!"


    "Problem?" I snapped my head to Roman.


    "No...it''s just a Servant with a noticeably powerful Saint Graph being pulled!"


    "That''s good!" I felt myself rx. "Don''t meddle, let''s see how the systems handle it."


    We were lucky, a Servant summoned on the first try!


    The Room was engulfed in the familiar light as their outline appeared amidst the magical phenomenon.


    "Your Foxy Wife has arrived!" The Servant dered, a tail swaying behind their back, and fox ears upon their. "Caster Servant, Tamamo-no-Mae is here!"


    Frankly, we all exchanged looks.


    "Um....nice to meet you, Ma''am." Samuel awkwardly greeted.


    "Kyah! My husband''s ent is so charming~"


    "....she is entric." Da Vinci blinked. "And another Caster Servant..."


    What''s with all the Casters!? This is starting to get ridiculous.


    "Are we not bothered by her identity?" Roman asked, sounding concerned.


    "Roman, the leader of B-Team is literally the son of Satan, I think we''re past the point of caring about this sort of thing." I sighed, pressing the inte button. "Prepare for the next summoning."


    "Um, Caster, could you please step back? We''re going to summon more Servants." Samuel tried his best to wrangle his new Servant.


    "Anything for my new hubby~"


    Okay, maybe he''ll be able to handle her well.


    Ritsuka stepped up next.


    I had expectations for him, his stats as a candidate were utterly absurd. Perhaps the highest in the entire world...I guess that meant more when there still was a world outside these walls.


    "Systems operating properly again....and another spike!"


    "Another Servant!?" Even with my expectations, I was surprised. A weed surprise, but one nheless.


    "Everything is still stable." Da Vinci confirmed.


    "Good, just watch then."


    This time, it was a Servant we were familiar with.


    "Berserker Kiyohime greets her Anchin~" The Servant from the previous Singrity reappeared. A Berserker.....better than a caster I suppose.


    "Wee back, Berserker." Ritsuka smiled.


    "It must be fate, to reunite with my dear Anchin like this! Please take care of me, Husband."


    "um.....alright."


    ".....Roman."


    "Yes, Director?"


    "Please get started on the guidelines for Master and Servant rtionships that I asked you about yesterday."


    "I''ll get started on it after ¨C"


    "Prioritize it, Roman. I have a feeling they''re going to need help very soon."


    I''m cursed, that''s the only exnation.


    "Proceed with the next summoning." I stated over the intes again.


    "Please stand over here with me, Berserker." Ritsuko gestured.


    "Of course, my dear Anchin~" She skipped over to his side. "Oh, and if you ever lie to me, I''ll burn you to a crisp~"


    ".....I''ll get on that right after the summonings are finished, Director."


    "Thank you, Roman." I strained a smile.


    It was now Pierre''s turn.


    And I didn''t actually know if I wanted this summon to be sessful or not.


    ".....Energy re up."


    ....here we go.


    The summoning proceeded without issue.


    And another familiar face greeted up.


    "epting your summons, It''s Marie again!" Marie Antote appeared. "I''m so happy to see you all again and you can count on me!"


    She recalled the Singrity?


    Should that be possible? Is it because we''re using the Grail or something else? The Normal Grail War was supposed to take in the defeated Servants before they returned to the Throne, did something simr happen and we''re simply pulling from the ''stored'' data, and Samuel was simply a ''normal'' summoning?


    So many questions and I doubt I would find an answer, nor was it particrly important right now.


    "At least we have a normal one." Roman sighed in relief.


    And I felt simr.


    "Oh, it looks like you''re my Master now, cutie~" Marie cooed, walking to Pierre''s side.


    "I will dly fight by your side, your Highness." Pierre bowed his head.


    ".....Does God hate us?" I asked.


    "...I wouldn''t be surprised." Roman muttered. "Let''s get thest one over with."


    "Oh you two, so dramatic." Da Vinci giggled. She took the opportunity to press the intes button. "On to thest one, guys! Hinako, you''re up."


    They all stepped to the side and Hinako began.


    "Oh, a massive energy spike!" Roman''s eyes widened. "Wait, the System is struggling, something''s wrong!"


    We both nced over, but Da Vinci even looked panicked and ran over. "This isn''t right? Wait, what''s going on? We''re getting a surge of power from....outside? Somethingmandeered the summoning!"


    I ran over and quickly pressed the intes button. "Prepare for a battle!" I quickly called out.


    There were enough Servants present that I wasn''t too worried, but they should be prepared for the worst case.


    All eyes fell on the forming vessel of the oing Servants and I think all of us were speechless as she appeared.


    She seemed to ignore the tension in the summoning room and opened her mouth. "Servant Avenger, Jeanne D''Arc answers your summons."


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 451 - 409

    <h4>Chapter 451: Chapter 409</h4>


    Dreams were weird.


    Dreams that were filled with memories not your own? The dream cycle took that to the next level. It almost felt like lucid dreaming, except I couldn''t control anything, but still experienced it vividly.


    I watched Raikou and d fight. The maniacalughter of his even as Raikou continued to fill his body with wounds.


    From the position I was able to see, it seems like he genuinely was rejoicing in/reveling in/happy about his defeat. Which wasn''t odd considering how much he despised his connection to the ''Vampire'' and to be forced into the state so close to that was the worst torture you could inflict upon him.


    I couldn''t help but marvel at Raikou''s skill.


    d was no match for her whatsoever. He acted like a mindless berserker, just throwing himself at her at every opportunity. It reminded me of how Lancelot was under his own Madness. Granted, I did not believe d to be anywhere near as skilled as Lancelot was.


    d was a General first and foremost. That wasn''t to deny his presence on the battlefield, leading the charge against his enemies. But he did not take the path of a warrior, but of a leader primarily. And I didn''t think he would dispute that im either.


    Seeing Raikou dance around his blows and gracefully inflict cut after cut, whittling him down until she severed his arm, it could only be called beautiful.


    The dream abruptly ended once she finally defeated him.


    And my eyes shot open.


    I was staring right into Raikou''s as sheid her head next to mine.


    "Dream cycle?" She asked.


    "Yeah, you too?"


    She nodded. It was normal, when one of us had it, it was pretty much guaranteed that the other had it as well.


    It wasn''t always pleasant either.


    I know the absolute worst parts of Raikou''s life. And she did not have a pleasant life in her early years.


    "Nothing bad I hope?" I asked.


    She had that little smile on her face that made my heart skip a beat. It was so utterly adorable that it was hard to put into words. "I saw Master ask out his first crush."


    I groaned and opted to push my head into her chest. Not that I needed an excuse to bury my face between her generous bosom.


    "There there, Mommy will make you feel better." She giggled. "Master was so cute when he was younger."


    "I''m d you enjoyed one of my most embarrassing moments." I huffed.


    "I think it was sweet." She countered.


    "She shot me down, hard."


    "Yes, but that was her loss."


    I knew she was just doing this to make me feel better, and it did work. "I got to see you fight d."


    "Mmm." I felt the vibrations in her chest. "I did not expect something so recent. It is not as bad as it could have been."


    "Seems to be the summarization for everything that''s happened."


    "You did the best you could."


    "I know, that''s probably what makes it even worse." I sighed. "I literally don''t know what I could have done differently bar calling out to Meridia and dooming the world regardless."


    "And now you have time to figure it out." She pointed out.


    "Yeah." I relented. I talked a big game back at Chaldea about regrouping anding back, but I don''t know where the fuck to even start. One thing was for sure, I would have to begin my Bankai training in earnest.


    Sixth, Cu said.


    Sixth singrity was my deadline to return. It implied a lot of things and I was maybe only right about half of them. But what I guessed was that he felt confident in them handling up to that point. But what came after....even he was worried.


    I had time to prepare.


    And it wouldn''t be just Raikou I went with next time. Nor would I be hiding. The next time I showed up, I would be prepared for a fight.


    "Does the fact that you''re squeezing my behind mean that you''re feeling better?" She asked.


    "Maybe I just like squeezing your butt?"


    She giggled, pinching my cheek. "Do you wish for me to really cheer you up?" She asked with a sultry smile.


    "In any other circumstance, I wouldn''t leave the room with you being able to walk. But....we have guests and I don''t want to ignore them to have sex."


    "You are correct." She shrugged helplessly. "I am worried about Jeanne."


    "Yeah, me too. She must be feeling really confused about everything, especially with how the Singrity ended...."


    "No one is at fault." She reassured me.


    "I barely spoke a few words to her. That otherJeanne." I didn''t want to call her a Fake. She didn''t deserve that. "I was broken over what happened in the Fuyuki singrity, and it was nearly a copy of that circumstance but....I''m relieved. I''m relieved that my Jeanne is here right now."


    "You feel like you were too quick to ept the other Jeanne''s sacrifice?"


    "I know how it sounds..."


    "It''s what makes Master Human." She booped my nose.


    "Funny, I''m feeling less and less human these days. I don''t know where I would be without all of you in my life."


    "In more trouble, most likely. You have a penchant for it."


    Being dead was the more likely bet.


    She shifted, sitting up. "If we don''t have time for me to properly take care of you, I know you enjoy watching us get dressed and undressed."


    I absolutely did.


    I don''t know why. Obviously, there''s the enjoyment of having someone you care about undressing. But the opposite seemed to ring true as well.


    Well, I could enjoy myself for a minute or two, it wouldn''t hurt anything.


    @***@


    "Jeanne?" I barely walked out the door to the bedroom and saw Jeanne poking her head out of her own room.


    "G-Goodmorning." She greeted awkwardly.


    "....you know you''re allowed to leave your room, right?" I asked.


    "I...didn''t want to disturb anyone."


    I just shook my head, holding my arms out. She took my meaning and walked into my hug. "How are you doing?"


    "Better." She replied, which probably wasn''t entirely a lie.


    "Get any sleep?"


    "A little." She shuffled out of my arms. "I guess...it''s just a big change so it was hard to shut my eyes for too long."


    "You poor thing." Raikou hugged her next. Well, more like attempting to suffocate her with her cleavage. She wasn''t doing it entirely on purpose, so it only took some mild struggling for Raikou to let her go.


    "Come on, we can get some food or something, then get you settled properly." I offered.


    "I would like to see where you kidnapped me to." She smiled.


    "It wasn''t a kidnapping."


    "You didn''t ask for my opinion!"


    "Would you have not wanted toe?"


    "Well.....no." She admitted. "But you should have asked!" She puffed up.


    "Jeanne, do you want toe back home with me?"


    "You can''t just ask now." She cutely whined.


    "Possibly changing into some booty shorts for my viewing pleasure?"


    "D-don''t just ask something like that in front of other people!" She turned a shade of pink.


    "I don''t mind." Raikou pushed up against her, leaning down close to her ear. "We can match~"


    "Neh!?"


    Raikou was the best.


    That was enough teasing of Jeanne this early in the morning. Instead, I just led her down the stairs where a bunch of familiar faces were sitting around, chatting.


    "And there he is." Zelretch dered as we came into view.


    "Gramps." I was happy to see him.


    "You had quite the adventure it seems." He smiled.


    "That''s one way to say it." I walked over, giving a hug and kiss to Venna and Yasaka. I took an empty seat, and was feeling pretty proud of myself, or rather Jinn, for having the foresight to make our living room able to amodate so many people. I plopped down on an empty seat and took out the device Gramps gave me when leaving for the singrity and tossed it to him. "I''m surprised everyone else isn''t here."


    He caught it handedly. "I will look over this afterwards."


    "We didn''t want to pile up on you, especially since you didn''t do anything wrong." Yasaka responded. "You must be exhausted in more ways than one. Take a couple days to rest up, go check up on everyone at your own pace."


    I was thankful for that. As much as I would love to have all my girls fawning over me, I was....not in the proper mindset at the moment to handle that.


    Raikou and Jeanne joined me, Jeanne looking a bit hesitant.


    "Mozart." I greeted thest person present.


    "My dear Master." He grinned.


    "Sorry for just.....throwing you off into a guest room as soon as we got back."


    "No, no." He held a hand up. "Believe me, I am fully understanding of the circumstances. Even as a Servant, I was quite exhausted both mentally and...well, not quite physically, but using my Noble Phantasm for so long was exceedingly draining on my spirit."


    "You did well."


    "Your praise is heartwarming." He patted his chest. "And I have had the pleasant opportunity to speak with two fervent fans of mine! And they both have seen me in person. How outstanding! This trip has already been one worth every effort thus far!"


    "You know, Ipletely forgot that Gramps had probably been there in person too."


    "I traveled quite a bit in my younger years." Gramps stroked his beard. "I can''t say I was at many of his performances, but I did catch a few when I had the time."


    "You missed out." Venna chimed in. "I was there at nearly every one."


    "My Lady, you it pleases me to know someone of your status thought so highly of my performances." Mozart responded smoothly.


    "I feel left out. I was around that time, but I wasn''t really connected with the western world." Yasaka sighed. "I''ll need to see what I was missing out on when you perform next."


    "Next?" Mozart blinked, realizing. "I suppose that is a consideration now, isn''t it?"


    I didn''t initially intend for him toe back with me, but now I was responsible for him all the same. Therefore, I wanted to make sure I did right by him. "You have a chance to do whatever you want now. If you want to return to performances....we can figure out how to do that. The idea of spirit inheritors or reincarnations isn''t umon here, so we can get around a lot of questions that way."


    "Your most wonderful Grandmother had been telling me some specifics about her origins. I''m curious, would my presence be unweed in hell?"


    "You....want to go to hell?" Jeanne blinked.


    "It would be quite the exciting experience, don''t you think?" His eyes lit up.


    "I find myself confused. You''ve been rather easy going considering my origin...and my grandmother. I''m fairly sure your official biography lists you as ''Profoundly religious''."


    "That would be urate." He nodded.


    "I am confused."


    "Why would it effect me?" He tilted his head. "My thoughts would not change, nor would my heart. And if they did, then....my beliefs were not as dear to me and important as I believed."


    "That''s a rather refreshing mindset." Yasaka noted.


    "I couldn''t agree more." Zelretch nodded.


    Jeanne was silent, perhaps contemting his words and reflecting on them. If anyone would mirror them, she would easily be able to.


    "There''s no problem. However, you can expect a lot of Devils trying to get you to join their peerage." Venna replied.


    "A peerage? Are there many Musical groups down below?" He asked.


    "Pardon, I believe I glossed over an important detail. I had forgotten you were not from this world and I''m rather new to outsiders, as it were." She chuckled. "Where to start...when the original Lucifer was still alive, and we were enemies of Heaven, our numbers dropped drastically low. So a rather smart Devil named Ajuka created a way to turn other species into Devils."


    "Pardon, did you say the original Lucifer?" Mozart blinked.


    She looked at me and I failed to hold back augh. "I never fully exined that part."


    "The original Lucifer and Demons are all dead. The current Lucifer is my son and it''s more a....title. Like President or Prime Minister, if that makes sense."


    "Curious." Mozart replied. "And fascinating. You said ''enemies with heaven'' in a past tense."


    "Oh yes. We recently have brokered a Peace agreement." She nced at me. "You can thank Wilhelm over there and Yasaka as they were both involved. After raking those poor Angels over the coals first."


    "Angels!? You met Angels!?" Jeanne''s eyes widened.


    "I told you that Michael invited me to be an Angel."


    "I didn''t believe you!"


    "That actually happened." Venna supplied.


    "!?"


    "No faith." I shook my head. "I would make a good Angel."


    "For all of ten seconds." Yasaka snorted. "Even that is a generous estimate. How long do you think you would take to fall?"


    "That depends, how far away is Gabriel? Because after seeing her, I can''t understand how there are so many Angels left."


    "That''s true, she has some impressive assets." Yasaka seemed to agree.


    "Wah...?" Jeanne looked utterly unable to follow.


    "Gabriel has some big boobs." I deadpanned.


    Jeanne looked like she had to reboot. Once she processed what I said she immediately started hitting my shoulder. "You''re not allowed to say something like that! Bad Wilhelm!"


    "So says the Patron Saint of Bondage" I couldn''t help myself.


    "Neeeeh!"


    "Oh my, I like her." Venna giggled, covering her mouth.


    "Once more, I agreepletely." Zelretch chuckled. "It''s unfortunate I was not in France during her time."


    "I would not think I would ever sit across from a true Saintess. She is rather warm." Venna smiled. "I wonder how Heaven will react when they inevitably find out."


    "Eh?" Jeanne took a break from assaulting me to nkly stare at her.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter as long as she''s here. They know better than to test my patience for the moment." Yasaka hummed. "However, if Jeanne here is wanting to meet them, that''s a different story."


    "M-meeting Angels!?" Jeanne fell back in her seat with a 404 error.


    "I believe she''s broken." I poked her cheek.


    I was tempted to poke her boob, but I resisted.


    "Continuing where I left off. The method created was something called ''Evil Pieces''. I won''t bore you with all the details just yet, but basically they''re these Magical items in the form of chess pieces that are imnted in the person''s soul and it converts them to Devilhood. Once you take the a piece from the ''King'' you are part of their ''Peerage''."


    "Would they be beholden to their ''King''?" Mozart asked.


    "Yes." Venna didn''t lie or hide the truth, she very bluntly stated it outright. "You would be forced to listen to their every order."


    Mozart looked quite thoughtful then looked at me. "Would you be against me bing a Devil, Master?"


    "What?'' I blinked.


    "I wish to be a Devil and experience it."


    ".....you are...."


    "I believe my previous words held true. I simply wish to experience it. I am an existence that already lived and died. What point is there for me to ''live'' again if not to try something different? An entire new culture and race to explore. I can''t imagine what ideas I will have once I be a Devil. Will my entire way of thinking change? Will my concept of Music change along with my damnation? The idea is both thrilling and terrifying in equal measure."


    "....you want to be a devil?" Venna asked quietly.


    "I would, yes." He nodded.


    Venna looked at me, then back at him. "....do you have a preference on who you ept a Piece from? If so, I wouldn''t mind offering my own, but ¨C"


    "My Lady, I would be thrilled to have such a wonderful fan introduce me to the world of Devilhood." He once more was rather smooth in his delivery.


    Venna turned to me and I knew she was really wanting a certain response.


    "I hate Evil Pieces as a concept, but it''s not my ce if someone wants to turn into a Devil by their own will."


    Venna practically squealed with glee. "I have a mutated Queen Piece avable!"


    "I hate to be a downer, but that may not be possible." Zelretch interjected. "I am familiar with those Evil Pieces, and I am to believe they require the ''King'' to be either stronger or around the same level of strength as the one they wish to turn."


    Venna paused. "Oh.....I believe I got excited and forgot something obvious."


    "Ah....will it not be possible then?" He asked.


    "I don''t know if I''m capable of reincarnation you as you are...well, I''ve only recently learned what a Servant actually is."


    "I''m not a particrly powerful Servant." Mozart noted.


    "A Servant is still a higher existence." Zelretch replied.


    Venna visibly deted. It was very odd of her to show this much outward emotion.


    "Hey gramps....could I boost her Evil Piece?" I questioned.


    He raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps....but again, a Servant is still a higher existence than the ''Evil Piece'', it may not be applicable."


    "There is a simple answer to this dilemma." Raikou spoke up.


    "Something obvious we are missing?'' I asked.


    "I admit, I don''t know the answer either. I would need time to think this over and devise a few hypotheses to test." Zerletch said.


    "It is rather obvious when you think about it." Yasaka smirked.


    "What? What am I missing?"


    "Our man can be rather dense sometimes, can''t he?" Yasaka giggled.


    Raikou smiled. "He misses the obvious sometimes, but that''s why we''re here."


    "Alright, you two are having a jest on me. Can you just give it to me straight?"


    They shared a look, giggling.


    "Go ask Meridia for help, foolish Master." Raikou lightly chided me. "She is more than willing to help in things such as this."


    "Ah, that would solve it." Zelretch snorted.


    "Pardon? Who is this....Meridia?" Mozart looked around.


    Venna stood up, and nearly threw herself at me. "I am going to be showing my gratitude to youter."


    As exciting as that was... "As long as you''re happy, it''s good enough for me."


    "Will, dear." She put her hands on my cheeks. "That just makes me want to reward you even more. Please clear a few days of your schedule. You will not be leaving my bed for the entirety." She whispered.


    "....okay." I epted, perhaps a bit taken back by her aggressiveness.


    "Mozart, how would you like to visit the Underworld? I would be thrilled to give you a proper tour." Venna offered, removing herself from me.


    "I do believe your excitement would lose out to mine, Lady Gremory." Mozart stood up.


    "I''ll talk to Meridia and figure things out." Venna threw me a nce.


    "Don''t worry about it, go have fun." I yfully shooed her away. It was obvious she wanted to go have fun with her new ''friend''. Probably show him off to anyone that will be around. And Mozart sounded just as excited to go y in Hell, so let them have at it I say.


    Venna activated a Teleportation Circle, taking Mozart along with her.


    "...are you okay with him just....being a Devil?" Jeanne suddenly asked.


    "Normally, I''d ask something like, ''do you have something against Devils'' and tease you about our own rtionship. But....I''ll jut cut to the thick of it. I support personal choice in nearly every situation. I''m no fan of Devils, bar Venna, I can count on one hand the number of Devils I actually will speak to. But everyone is entitled to their own choice. If Mozart wants to y around as a Devil, that is his prerogative, and no one is allowed to tell him otherwise."


    "...Free Will?" She asked.


    I nodded. "Out of the many things I disagree with your God with, the idea of Free Will is not one of them. I respect his stance on not interfering in most situations. He was very much about letting Humanity make their way once they grew up enough."


    "Oh." Yasaka covered her mouth.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked.


    "I just realized we never properly introduced ourselves. Venna was just..."


    "Fangirling over Mozart?"


    "That is an apt way to describe it." The Kitsune giggled. "Let me do so properly. I am Yasaka, The Leader of the West Kyoto Youkai, which roughly constitutes half of the Youkai of Japan, and thend you''re standing on right now. And also Wilhelm''s woman."


    "Thank you for having me." Jeanne quickly switched to proper etiquette. "I''m Jeanne D''Arc."


    "Yes you are." Yasaka giggled again. "Wilhelm told us all about you. And he failed to deliver just how adorable you really are~"


    "Eh?"


    "Don''t mind it, dear." Zelretch interjected. "She is a Kitsune, getting a reaction out of people is something she does without even thinking."


    "Oh, you know me so well, Grandfather~" Yasaka yfully swatted her hand his way.


    He smiled in return. "I am Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. You may call me Zelretch or Grandfather as my Grandson''s other paramours do."


    "W-what are you saying, we''re not --- !?!" Jeanne quickly flushed again.


    "Oh, who''s what now, Grandfather?" Yasaka shot a smirk his way.


    "I''m an old man, allow me my fun."


    I pulled Jeanne into a hug to calm her down. The sputtering Saintess was always cute, but it made for difficult conversation when she was like this. "He''s just having a joke on you, don''t worry about it."


    She hid her face. "Will."


    "Hmm?" She still didn''t look up.


    "If....I wanted to go meet the Angels and join them, like Mozart did the Devils.....would you let me?"


    "Jeanne, if you wanted to go to Heaven and join them, I would deliver you to the Pearly White Gates myself, kick the door open, and drop you in Michael''sp."


    "Thank you." She whispered.


    Distinctly, she didn''t say that''s what she wanted.


    "But don''t talk about attacking Heaven!"


    "It wouldn''t be much of an attack. Attacking implies that they can defend themselves..."


    "Wilhelm!"


    "I feel like she''s going to do a good job of keeping my troublesome Grandson in line." Zelretch stated.


    "It''s strange, I felt something simr." Yasaka and him shared a look I didn''t quite see. "But now that you and Wilhelm are both here, I had something I wanted to talk about."


    "What''s up?" I asked, fending off Jeanne''s fists.


    "What are your thoughts on sending Kunou to schools in another world?"


    "Oh shit, what''s this?" Right as Yasaka asked, Mordred walked through the front door.


    "Mordred, watch yournguage." Artoria pulled up behind her and stopped right as her eyesnded on us. "....she does look like me."


    "Told you so." Mordred snorted. "Hey Frenchie, good shit seeing you again." Mordred cheerful waved.


    "S-saber?" Jeanne blinked. "I forgot that Wilhelm mentioned you were here too." She brightened up.


    "Yeah, Achilles and Atnta are running around somewhere too, they''d probably be happy to see you as well." Mordred strode over, falling into the empty seat.


    "Greetings." Artoria politely directed towards Jeanne.


    "Hello!" Jeanne smiled back. "You are already very different from the version of you I met in Chaldea."


    Artoria looked at me, raising an eyebrow.


    "She was apparently summoned by them before we arrived." I said softly.


    "We will speakter." She nodded, not one of anger or even usation, but one filled with a subtle amount of concern. I know she was wanting to make sure I was feeling alright there. And she no doubt knew what was going on thanks to Raikou, so it was appreciated.


    She subtly nced around and there was a particrck of seats.


    I held my arms open, giving her an inviting smile.


    She turned a faint shade of pink, but didn''t put out any form of argument, walking over and sliding into myp as my arms quickly wrapped around her.


    "If you two start going at it, I''m out." Mordred said tly.


    "Mordred!"


    "What? I don''t want to know what weird shit that dandy gets up to." She snorted.


    "Today is a good day." Zelretch mused.


    After the whole mess in Orleans....I was oddly in agreement with him thus far.


    "What were you saying before, Yasaka?" I rested my chin atop Artoria''s head.


    "I wanted your opinion on sending Kunou to school in another world to avoid her being around during the war." She reiterated. "Both your opinion as her father, and Grandfather''s insight on where, if we send her somewhere."


    "...like a boarding school?" I asked.


    "Something like that." She nodded.


    "I wouldn''t be against it at all. Of course, that would involve having a very in depth talk with Kunou about everything."


    "I think she''s old enough to handle something like this." Yasaka replied.


    "I''m not against it again, and I''ll defer to your expertise."


    "Expertise, sure, let''s call it that." Yasaka snorted. "You seem to think I have any idea what I''m doing most of the time."


    "If I may ask, what do you desire in schooling for Kunou?" Artoria inquired.


    "She''s been adamant about learning magic. So I figured an education that covers that would be something we could all get behind. Somewhere without anything too...dangerous. But also somewhere where she can spread her wings and make some friends."


    "I was drawing a nk until a moment ago, but I just recalled a world I had visited some years ago. I think it was during the 1200''s back home that I left and visited that world, but it took ce during their Second World War....Give me a little bit to refresh my memory and find my old notes and I can give you a definite answer." Zelretch replied.


    "Well, this is boring." Mordred stood up. "Hey Frenchie, wanna go check out your new home? I can show you around the ce, found some cool spots."


    "Eh? Um...okay?" Jeanne blinked.


    "Awesome, let''s bail before they start snogging." Mordred practically pulled Jeanne away and out the door.


    "....well then." I said idly.


    "Mordred is more perceptive than he appears." Artoria replied. "She was not feeling particrly well, was she?"


    "Jeanne...had a rough time of it. She''s going to need a bit to limate."


    Artoria nodded. "As I said, Mordred is more perceptive than most give him credit for."


    "I''ll need to thank herter, she''ll probably do well with a familiar face expanding her horizons a bit." I didn''t want to be her sole emotional support. It''s good for her to have friends around.


    "Well, I merely wished to check in to make sure you were well, Wilhelm. I understand you experienced quite the ordeal, and as we''re under not pressing time constraints, pleasee speak to me when you have a moment after taking some time to yourself." Gramps stood up, walking towards the door. "I will also look into the ce I mentioned before."


    "Goodbye, Grandfather." Raikou responded.


    Zelretch smiled brightly before walking right through the front door and disappearing.


    "There are more seats open now." Artoriamented.


    I didn''t let go of her. "Yes there are."


    Yasaka came over and stole the seat next to me, so I was squished between Raikou and her with Artoria on myp. "All taken, sorry. You have joined the cuddle pile, escape is impossible."


    "Clothes are optional as well." I added.


    "Then I choose to keep mine on." Artoria said dryly. "However, I will not be upset if your hands wander a bit." She quietly added.


    Ah, I needed to rx like this. And I know Jeanne is in good hands with Mordred who will pull her out of her shell rather quickly.


    I can worry about the important stuff in a few hours. Right now, I really just needed a breather.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 452 - 410

    <h4>Chapter 452: Chapter 410</h4>


    "It''s been awhile since we''ve done this." I idly mused.


    "That''s true, but it''s good for everyone to see us." Yasaka kept a pleasant smile about her as we walked down the street her tail wrapped around my waist. "It makes them feel more safe when they see us just casually strolling down the street.


    "Oh, I wasn''tining. I love spending time with you, a walk is more than weed whenever possible."


    "Oh, you''re so sweet." She used one of her other tails to push against my face.


    She made a little game out of me trying to grab that tail of hers and her pulling it away in time.


    Eventually, she relented and allowed me to fluff her tail as we walked.


    I don''t think either of us really cared about all the pointed staring as we made our way to Kunou''s school.


    It was a rxing walk with a beautiful woman hanging on me.


    "This is nice. I needed a break." She sighed.


    "I''m sorry."


    "It''s not your fault. Those bastards attacked, and you can''t be med for their stupid decisions. An equal response was inevitable." She quickly retorted. "But I''ll admit that all the work to prepare for a war is tiring."


    "Anything in particr you need help with?"


    "It would be so much simpler if that were the case. But no, everything is progressing as it should, be, slow and steady. You have no idea how much I wish you could swoop in and just fix everything. But unfortunately, nothing is broken."


    As did I....been feeling kind of useless recently.


    "Dare I ask about how preparations are going?"


    "I would happily read to you the stacks of paperwork in regards to that." She said rather sarcastically.


    "Oof."


    "Speaking of, I have a bone to pick with you, Mister."


    "Sorry?" I felt like an automatic apology would best serve me.


    She pulled on my cheek. "Do you have any idea how much more work I had to do because of your Indra fight?"


    "....I''ve been so preupied with the other thing, that I sort of forgot about the aftermath of that."


    "How enviable." She said dryly. "But no, I''ve had Gods from Takamagaharaing down here constantly. Some incognito, others waltzing around like mingos looking for attention."


    I winced, feeling like an apology wouldn''t be enough.


    "Funnily enough, Lord Susanoo had been handling most of the problems. He made it very clear that if any Gods caused trouble for me, they would answer to him."


    "....I am surprised."


    "Believe me, you aren''t the only one." She shook her head. "Oh, and before I forget, Hades sent a secret message to me to pass on to you. He has something important to talk about and would like to request your presence at your earliest convenience."


    "I can probably guess what that''s about." I should bring Izzy with me when I go. Maybe after spending this evening with Kunou? It''s not like I''m forced to do anything in particr at the moment, and I would like his opinion on the Spear. "Think I should head over after we talk to Kunou?"


    "Normally, I wouldn''t worry about it. But that was a couple days ago, and it sounded urgent. I''d rather not get on the bad side of someone like Hades, especially with how much help we''re receiving from him."


    "A good idea. I can do it after this then, my schedule is pretty much free."


    "Wonderful, I''ll send him a message while we''re out and about so he can have time to expect you. You should bring Izanami with you as well."


    "Hah, I was just thinking the same thing."


    "I can read your mind~"


    "Really? What am I thinking about right now?"


    "You''re imaging what I''m wearing under my kimono at the moment."


    ".....I feel like that''s rather obvious."


    She leaned in. "I''m not wearing anything under~"


    "I''m tempted to check for myself."


    "Oh, does my man want to take me right here in the open where everyone can see? I don''t think I have it in me to resist." She was obviously kidding, but the thought itself was an attractive one.


    "You''ve been teasing me quite a bit since I got back."


    "After Venna is done with you, you cane punish me." She whispered again.


    Horny Fox.


    Almost immediately, however, she regained her more ''proper'' look as Kunou''s school came in view.


    And as if right on cue, 9 fluffy tails burst out of the building, running right at us. I''m fairly sure she could notice our scent from that distance.


    "Daddy!" The Kunou torpedo mmed right into me, and I happily epted it.


    "My little fox." I gave her a big hug.


    "Once again, I''m a second thought, huh?"


    "Yu huh." Kunou nodded.


    "You just go right for the heart stab, don''t you missy?" Yasaka snorted as Kunou went to hug her as well.


    "Love you, Momma."


    "And I love you too, sweetie. But I think you take far too much after me some times."


    "I can be more like Daddy."


    "On second thought, taking after me isn''t so bad."


    "Oi." I protested.


    "Do you want her to go fighting Gods?" She quirked an eyebrow.


    "Yes!" Kunou nodded happily.


    "Listen to your mother." I smooshed the top of her head down. "Actually, we should really get her a good role model."


    "Like Auntie Sc¨¢thach?" Kunou''s eyes sparkled.


    "Erm."


    ".....Jinn?" Yasaka offered.


    "Uh..."


    "Right, I remembered as soon as I said it."


    "Raikou?"


    "Raikou." She nodded. "Artoria too."


    "I''d even take Mordred."


    "Mordred is a sweet girl and I refuse to ept the bad reputation she has." Yasaka agreed.


    "Rin too."


    "Definitely Rin."


    "Auntie Rin was showing me how to make things blow up!" Kunou smiled


    ".....maybe I should have a talk with Rin." Yasaka muttered. "Regardless. We have something important to talk with you about, Kunou."


    "....are you breaking up?" She turned to me. "Are you leaving!?" She looked utterly horrified.


    I knelt down next to her to get eye level. "Your mother and I aren''t breaking up. And I want you to understand something very important, Kunou. On the very, very small chance that your mother and I decide to end our rtionship, you will always be my daughter."


    "Really?"


    "Really, really." I nodded.


    She basically threw herself at me for a hug.


    I didn''t expect her to jump to conclusions so quickly, that was certainly something we still needed to work on. At this point, Kunou was my Daughter, and I didn''t care what happened in the future. Her biological father coulde back from the dead, and he would still have to share.


    "Is Momma pregnant then?"


    Yasaka nearly choked. "No, and not forck of trying, mind you."


    "Mom!"


    "You''re the one who asked."


    "Ew."


    "It''s a natural and beautiful thing."


    "E!"


    Yasaka and I shared a look, grateful that she quickly recovered back to her normal self.


    "Is Dad pregnant then?"


    "Dear, we''ve had the talk about where babiese from." Yasaka deadpanned.


    "But didn''t Auntie Jinne from amp? Why can''t Dad be pregnant? He''s a Devil, right?"


    "....we''re going to need to have a further talk about certain things it seems."


    "She''s messing with you." I nudged Yasaka.


    Yasaka looked down at the giggling Kunou. "Oh, you little fox." Yasaka pinched her cheeks. "I believed you!"


    "Everyone knows boys can''t have babies, mom."


    "Yeah, mom. Everyone knows that." I joined in with Kunou.


    "I feel like you two are always joining together against me."


    "Sometimes, you should trust your gut." I high-fived Kunou. "Team Dad and Daughter."


    "Just gang up on your poor defenseless mother." She exaggeratedly sighed.


    "Okay." Kunou said, nonplussed.


    I love her so much.


    "Alright, enough fooling around. We need to have a serious talk." Yasaka decided to cut to the chase.


    "Am I in trouble?" Kunou hesitantly asked.


    "No at all, dear. This is more about....your future and some thing that your Father and I have been keeping from you. You''re going to be Eleven years old in, what, a week? We think you''re old enough to be told some things."


    "Is Daddy an alien?"


    "..."


    "....."


    "This actually isn''t the first time someone asked. Nor even the second." I was kind of startled about how often this happened.


    "I saw it on T.V." Kunou whispered.


    Yasaka covered her face, letting out an exasperated sigh. "No, your Father isn''t an alien. Though.....it helps that you understand the idea behind aliens. Wilhelm Dear, can you make it sure no one can eavesdrop?"


    "Way ahead of you." I had been crafting a Bounded Field around us for the past several minutes. "We should be good for now."


    Yasaka took a deep breath. "Your Father is special."


    "Daddy is the strongest."


    "Damn straight." Another high five between us.


    Yasaka nudged me. "Language infront of Kunou."


    I awkwardly scratched my head. "Alright, let me start us off." I used some minor spellcasting to create an Illusion. "This is Earth." I told her, revealing a rotating sphere that looked rather simr to our.


    "Uh huh." Kunou nodded.


    "I have a Special magic, it lets me travel to....other worlds."


    Kunou''s eyes widened. "Like Mars?"


    ".....technically, I could go to Mars, but no." I thought for a moment before continuing. I expanded the imagine. "This is our Sr System, you learned about that, right?"


    "Uh huh."


    I expanded it again. "This is our Universe, or a depiction of it. It includes Earth, Mars, everything and all the stars you see when you look up into the night sky."


    "It''s pretty."


    "It is." I agreed. "I can travel to other Universes. Other Earths." I created another, separate Earth with a distinct line between them. "It''s called Parallel worlds. You can think of it as a copy, only slightly or vastly different. For instance...." I flipped a hand over and produced a coin. "Call heads or tails."


    "Tails."


    I flicked it up and caught it, it was tail. "You were right. Now imagine that itnded on Heads." She nodded. "That''s this Earth right here. A whole other universe. Every decision, every choice makes another universe like our own. They can be a lot different like.....what if you were a boy instead of a girl?"


    Kunou made an ick sound.


    "Do you follow so far?"


    "Um....does that mean there are more of me?"


    "Technically, I suppose there are. When talking about other Universes, it''s called the Multiverse. There are an infinite number of parallel worlds out there, each one different in some way, big or small."


    "I think I get it. I saw something like that on T.V. before."


    Well, leave it to mindless television to help me exin the underlining concept of creation. "I have a special Magic that lets me travel to other Parallel worlds. It''s very important that you keep this a secret because a lot of people would want this knowledge for themselves."


    Kunou nodded in understanding. "Is that were my other Aunties are from?"


    "Your''e a very smart girl." Iplimented her. "Your Aunties, Medea, Artoria, Sc¨¢thach, Jinn, Meridia, Rin, Salem, and Raikou are all from other worlds. Your Grandpa Zelretch is also from another world, which is why he can''te visit. He''s a very special case and has the same magic as me, but he''s stuck over there."


    "Can we help him?" She looked concerned.


    "It''s not something we can help with, but don''t worry, he''s fine where he''s at." I reassured her.


    "You''re old enough to know now, Kunou. And you''re old enough to understand the responsibility thates with keeping a secret." Yasaka chimed in. "But that''s only part of the reason we brought this up. You''re a very smart girl like your Father said, you know what''s happening around here. We''re going to start fighting with the Fae soon and I don''t want you to be involved."


    "....are you sending me away?" Her ears ttened. "I don''t wanna leave."


    "Kunou, please look at me." Yasaka pulled her daughter closer. "It absolutely breaks my heart to even consider having you away from me for even a second, but if anything happened to you, it would kill me."


    "We''re not sending you away as you probably think." I joined in. "And it''s your choice as well. We''re bringing the option to you, Kunou. You get an equal voice in the discussion because it''s your future we''re talking about."


    "If I don''t want to go, you won''t make me?" She looked up.


    "We won''t." Yasaka reassured her. "But, you have to promise me that you will consider what we tell you carefully, and not react emotionally."


    "I promise." She nodded.


    "Right now, your Grandfather is looking at a school to send you to. It''s a school that will teach you magic and you can stay there during the year."


    "What''s it called?" She surprisingly looked interested.


    "That....we don''t know yet. Gramps is looking for his old notes, but we wanted to bring the idea up with you first. If you were vehemently against it, we would drop it. But if the idea is at all enticing, we would look into it more." I replied.


    "You would learn basic Magic, setting a good foundation to walk in the same steps as your Father. Not only that, no one would care that you''re the Princess of the Youkai. It would be a fresh start so you could make friends your age not caring about who your parents are." Yasaka continued.


    It wasn''t obvious, but that part hit her harder than it really should have. Yasaka and I both were well aware that Kunou was having trouble making friends in School. Oh, she got along with her ssmates well enough, but real friends? Those were practically nonexistent.


    "....you''re not trying to get rid of me?" She asked.


    "Never in a million years." I shook my head, answering for us.


    "....can we look at it?" She hesitantly asked.


    Yasaka and I shared a look. It was a good start.


    "Your Grandfather is looking it up now, when he has some information, we can get more details." Yasaka agreed. "Until then, just think about it. Think about what you want and we''ll do our best to help you."


    "I know what I want!"


    "...are you sure?" Yasaka asked. "This is a big decision."


    "Yup!"


    "And what do you want?" I had a vague sense that something was amiss.


    "I want Ice Cream!"


    Yasaka face palmed again, but it was clear she was going to relent. "Alright, let''s go get some Ice Cream."


    "Woo!"


    Woo indeed.


    I could use some Ice Cream myself, and what better way than to enjoy it with my Daughter and Yasaka?


    [***]


    A/N


    Just a heads up, driving up to my Dad''s for Thanksgiving, it''s an 8 hour drive, so I''ll be unavable for a few days.


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 453 - 411

    <h4>Chapter 453: Chapter 411</h4>


    Jeanne D''Arc POV


    "Um....Saber, were are we going?"


    She sort of just pulled me away, out of the house and I didn''t know what was going on.


    "Just call me Mordred." She said dismissively. "Everyone pretty much knows my name already, so you don''t got to hide it. Perks of the Dandy banging the leader here, no one really questions us."


    "D-do you have to say something like that!?"


    "Jeez, you''re such a church girl." She snorted. "Weren''t you supposed to have been a Knight or something? I don''t know what shit happens over in France, but you were marching to battle and all that. I can''t imagine you goin around and wagging your finger every time one of the Knights said something ''naughty''." She emphasized with augh.


    "I was never knighted." I admitted. "And all myrades were proper and held themselves to a high standard!"


    "Ah, kept it clean around you, just like Father." Mordred nodded as if she understood something. "Father never realized why some of his Knights and squires would disappear for ''training'' after we set up camp."


    I blinked, realization setting in on what she meant. "M-Mordred!"


    "Hahaha, seriously. You look just like Father and that''s probably exactly how he''d react."


    "...did they really do that when I was around?" I asked.


    "Eh, probably. Marching for hours every day, all the bloodshed and sweat they soaked themselves in each battle. Do you think most people can just keep their ''appearances'' up for long periods like that? Nah, people gotta rx, sometimes they shoot the shit, or just vent with some words that''d probably hurt your virgin ears." She shrugged.


    "....oh."


    "Don''t get all mopey." She pped my shoulder. "If they kept it up that means you were important to them, not that it was some sort of secret they were whispering behind your back."


    "I suppose that''s one way to look at it." I didn''t like the thought of my friends intentionally inconveniencing themselves for my benefit.


    "Oh, over here!" She suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me towards a sort of....food stand?


    "Hey Gramps!" She greeted the man like they were familiar.


    "Here for more, littledy?"


    "Hey! I''m not a littledy." Mordred growled.


    "That''s a shame, and here I was, getting ready to offer a few free sticks to the cute littledy that came by. But if you don''t want them...."


    "Bastard!" Mordred huffed, pping what looked like a gold coin on the table. "....I''ll take them." She grumbled.


    "Just like my granddaughter." He chuckled, handing over several sticks of some round and colorful balls.


    "Here, Frenchie." Mordred shoved half of them into my hands. "The Old Man makes the best Dango in the city." She didn''t borate on what ''Dango'' was, simply pushing some into her mouth and casually walking away.


    "W-wait!" I hurried after her. "What am I supposed to do with this!?"


    "Are you stupid? Fuckin eat it."


    "...That''s not what I meant! I don''t have any money..."


    Mordred stopped and stared at me. "No shit, that''s why I paid for you, idiot." She shook her head. "Figured the Dandy would overlook something like that."


    "Wilhelm?" I blinked.


    "Who else?" She snorted again. "Don''t know how that Dandy caught Father''s eye, but here we are."


    "He''s not that bad." I frowned.


    "Nah, he''s not." Mordred seemed to agree despite her previousment. "He treats Father good and he''s easy to get along with. Just reminds me too much of that wizard bastard that I can''t help it. But I like him well enough."


    I didn''t really know what to say to that. Wilhelm had always been....kind. I know he liked to tease me....but he''s always put so much effort into helping me.


    It made me feel...warm.


    I nibbled onto the food that Mordred got me. It was good, I didn''t know what to expect but it was much more vorful than the food I was used to in life.


    "...Mordred, where are we going?"


    "Huh?" She turned to me. "Oh, I got no idea."


    "W-what?" I was taken by surprise by what she said.


    "Figured you could use a few hours." She shrugged.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Eh, you had this look about you like you were overwhelmed." She shrugged again. "The Dandy bastard is good at a lot of things, but sometimes he can skip over the obvious. Father tells me this sometimes, and yeah, noticed it when I saw you again. Father also says that he''s usually really busy catching up on things whenever hees back after being gone for a bit. Figured you could use some time to adjust without being swarmed by a whole bunch of new people."


    "Was.....was I that bad?" I said meekly.


    "You looked like a goldfish." She chuckled. "But the people around here aren''t idiots, they wouldn''t have just let you flounder. But we already knew each other, so I grabbed ya first, Frenchie."


    "Thank you, Mordred." She was being very nice!


    "Whatever."


    "Have you been here long?" I asked, feeling much more rxed now.


    "Depends on what you mean by ''here''. Went to another ''ce'' for a couple months, that was fun. Master and I did a lot of quests, dived down into some dungeons, yed some monsters and made a bunch of gold while doing it." She sounded proud of herself. "Right, Achilles and Atnta are there too, they''d probably be happy to know you''re back."


    Rider and Archer? Yes, Wilhelm did say he was taking them with him after the War....


    "Is your Master not around?"


    "He''s...somewhere. I don''t know, I''m not his keeper."


    "But...aren''t you his ¨C "


    "Servant?" She finished. "Yeah, I could check, but nah, giving him some space."


    "Did you have a fight?" I asked softly.


    "Pfft, nothing like that. Master is great, even when we argue, it aint ever bad. But nah, when you travel with someone so closely for months, having to sleep in the cold huddled together, don''t have the ability to take proper baths and all that; sometimes you just gotta give someone space when you''re done. We''re good, and I''ll probably see what he''s up to tomorrow or something."


    Despite the way she said it, it sounded...pleasant, their rtionship.


    "You tired of the Dandy yet?"


    "Wilhelm? Why would I be tired of him!?"


    "Oh God, you''re going to be one of his too, aren''t ya?"


    "W-what does that mean!?"


    Mordred let out a long sigh. "Guess you ain''t so bad, I''m sure Father wouldn''t mind or he''d give the Dandy an earful."


    "You''re misunderstanding something!"


    "Shouldn''t have expected any different from the French."


    "Why does everyone make fun of my homnd!" I pouted.


    "Mostly cause of the Adulterer." Mordred said offhandedly. "But I''m a proper British, it''s in my blood."


    "I should have figured, of course the English would be so....brutish."


    Mordred stopped, looking at me with eyes widened. "Did you just....throw an insult back at me?"


    "I.....was just ying? I thought we were bonding, I didn''t mean it! I''m sorry!"


    Mordred looked at me for another second and I felt odd under her gaze. That was until she broke out in a fit ofughter. "Oh this is good, I gotta tell the Dandy about thister! A Saintess, huh?"


    "Y-you''re not angry?"


    "Are you serious? You''re about as insulting as a kitten trying to w at me." Despite the height difference, she started patting my head. "Kind of cute, honestly."


    "Neh!" I grumbled.


    "This is a good day." Mordred smiled brightly. "The only thing that could make it better is if you brought one of those other idiots back too so I could beat them up."


    "...who do you mean?''


    "Eh, I have a list of people I''d love to smack around if they were summoned. Gawain, Lancelot, Ghad, Merlin ¨C " She paused. "You reacted, why did you react?"


    "Um.....we met two of those people you just mentioned...kinda."


    "Who?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Um, there was a girl who was a Demi-Servant, she had the spirit of Ghad in her. She was actually very nice! Everyone liked her."


    "Then she must not have had Ghad, cause that guy was an insufferable cunt." Mordred snorted.


    "Mordred!"


    "Pfft, it would be even funnier with how much you resemble Father if it didn''t make me think I had rtion to France."


    "Don''t be mean!"


    "Hahaha!"


    I felt myself stomping my foot. "Lancelot was rather nice too!"


    She stopped, blinking. "Of course you''d like the Adulterer."


    "What''s that supposed to mean!?"


    "It means, fuck him."


    ".....is this why Wilhelm treated him so harshly?"


    "Really? The Dandy gave him shit too? What happened there?"


    "Um...he was summoned as a Berserker, and Wilhelm beat him up. Then we removed his Madness...and, um..."


    "What?"


    "Wilhelm beat him up some more." I whispered.


    "Hahahahaha!" Mordred nearly fell over, holding her stomach while she wasughing. "Oh my God, I can''t....I need to hear the full story, this is great. Shit, you said that some chick was running around with Ghad or something inside her? How''d that work when Lancelot and him met?"


    ".....she punched him as soon as he appeared."


    "Hahahaha!" She was on the ground rolling at this point. "Oh my god! That''s just fucking perfect!"


    I think I didn''t quite understand the dynamic between the Knights of the Round Table enough toment in any meaningful way...


    "I know a good ce for a meal, you''re going to tell me the whole story, start to finish. I need to hear about everything that happened." She pulled on my sleeve to pull herself up.


    "I....I would like that." I found myself smiling.


    "Come on Frenchie, you''re spending the day with me and we''re gonna trade stories and do whatever random shit we want."


    It was nice....I had a feeling I was going to like it here.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    "You''re fussing a lot when you already look perfect."


    Izzy turned to me, then back to the mirror as she adjusted her hair a little bit more. "I could be wearing a giant chicken costume and you''d say that."


    "Probably." I admitted freely. "It would be cute."


    "Oh hush." She yfully chided. "I''m just about done."


    "Should I change?" I looked down at myself. It was normal...ish for what I wear. More on the formal side, but stillfortable for everyday use.


    "You look fine. I just wanted to fix myself up before seeing Persephone. This is the first time I''m going out to meet people specifically after we got together."


    "Take your time, dear." I grinned.


    She turned slightly pink at my teasing. "You better not embarrass me."


    "Embarrass you? Me?" I sounded utterly aghast at the notion. "Though, I could be bribed to be on my best behavior."


    "Oh, and what would you like to extort out of me, hmm? Dare you make a deal with this Goddess of Death." She walked over, rather sultry in her movements.


    "How about a kiss?" I said innocently.


    Her stoic and mischievous demeanor sort of deted instantly. "You are surprisingly easy to please."


    "Or maybe you''re underestimating how much I value a kiss from you?" I retorted.


    "Oh stop it." She rolled her eyes.


    "Well, pay up."


    "Are you seriously trying to get me to bribe you?"


    "You don''t have to. I suppose we just can leave it up to chance as to what happens. It''s not like I''ve ever been involved in anything particrly messy before." I continued my ''innocent'' charade.


    "And now you''re ckmailing me."


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about."


    "Yes, of course." She said dryly. "All of this, just for a kiss?"


    "You are unaware of the full lengths I would go to for just a kiss from you."


    "You''re the worst." She huffed, a tinge of pink appearing again. "Trying to bully me into you having your way with me. Do you have no shame?"


    "When the choice is between shame or a kiss from my amazing Goddess, I think It''s obvious what I would choose every time."


    "You''re impossible." She huffed once more. Very quickly she leaned over and her lips met mine. Despite the abruptness, it wasn''t just a peck on the lips, rather, she took time and effort to make it enjoyable. "There, are you happy?" She finally broke apart.


    "I don''t know, do it again so I can double check."


    She yfully pinched my cheek. "Alright, enough ying around."


    "Alright." I stretched my arms. "You ready?"


    "Yes, I''m ready to leave. Whether I''m prepared to meet with Persephone, I am unsure."


    "Funny enough, I''m having a simr feeling to meeting Hades again. I don''t know how he''s going to react when he sees the state of the Spear...."


    Izzy''s lips thinned. "He''s going to ask questions. But before that..." She took my hand. "I''m d you''re safe. You came back after that ordeal and immediately jumped into a bunch of things, but you can take some time, Wilhelm."


    I took her hand and brought it up to my face to give it a small kiss. "I know, but keeping busy right now feels better. I''m not someone who can slow down for too long. After we handle this, I''m going to see Gramps with Yasaka to check out the whole School thing. Did she tell you about that?"


    "I know the barest details." She replied. "I would like to hear more once you have everything figured out."


    "Of course."


    "Mmm, I heard you brought another Servant back, and that he wanted to be a Devil under Venna?"


    "Mozart." I nodded.


    "Amusing. You know this is going to cause problems, yes?"


    "He isn''t a particrly powerful Servant..."


    "That''s not what I meant. How many people have e back from the dead'' before your found out." She exined. "People are already asking questions, the sort of questions you don''t want asked. Certain conclusions are going to be made."


    "I get what you''re saying." I let out a sigh. "I didn''t think I could hide it forever, about where everyone came from. But I''m also not going to just hide away. If this is the feather that breaks the camel''s back, so be it. Venna was so excited, and Mozart served me well and he deserves his own happiness too. I have absolutely no regrets in this choice."


    "As long as you understand. I will stand by your side regardless." Izzy took my arm. "Now, be truthful. Do you wish to bring in that Saintess you brought back?"


    I nearly choked at her blunt question. "What makes you say that!?"


    "Nevermind, It''s obvious now."


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" I frowned.


    "It means..." She giggled lightly patting my cheek. "We should go, dear."


    I just grumbled, and Izzy summoned up a gateway as we walked through it.


    [***]


    The ground rumbled almost like a miniature earthquake as soon as we arrived.


    Three massive heads appeared rather quickly, charging over happily.


    "Cerberus, stop." Izzy held her hand up.


    The three headed dog slid to a stop in front of us and looked at us expectantly. I of course was prepared for this situation, as a small crackle of lightning erupted from my person and a white fluffy rabbitnded atop its head.


    Cerberus stomped happily as its eyes looked up to Sir Wiggles sitting on its head.


    "Go ahead and go y." Izzy gave the happy dog a little pat on its other head.


    The two animals darted off to who knew where.


    "My illustrious Guardian." Hades made his appearance quickly, his dry tone filling the void his pet left.


    "Come now, husband. You wouldn''t have him any other way." Persephone appeared as well.


    "Hades, Persephone." Izzy greeted politely.


    "Izanami!" The wife of Hades was on her before we could even blink. "Look at you! You have a boyfriend, lover, maybe something more~"


    "Persephone." Izzy grumbled shyly under her immediate teasing.


    "Kyah~ It''s so cute! I knew that there was something between you both, you were so cute together! How did it happen? Did he ask you out on a date, give you a heartfelt confession?"


    I coughed awkwardly.


    "Oh my, did you confess, Izanami?" Persephone''s lips curled up. "How adorable. I didn''t think you had it in you."


    "Dear, if you continue any more, I think she may run away." Hades tried to rein in his wife.


    "Like you almost did?" She turned her head, eyes sparkling.


    "D-dear.." Hades nearly stumbled over himself. It was almostical to see the stoic God look embarrassed. "We agreed never to speak about that again."


    "I never agreed to anything." She quickly rejected him. "Did you know? I was the one who initiated~"


    Both Izanami and I shared a simr look.


    "That...is not how the stories I recall go."


    "Oh no, those Mortal stories are fairly urate. Suffice to say, I wouldn''t have been kidnapped if I didn''t want to be. The fact that he thought he was being secretive and resourceful just made him all the more cuter. To be honest, I fell in love at first sight and was waiting for him to make the first move. Once I was down in the underworld, he actually tried cooking a romantic dinner for us both. He kept stumbling over himself trying to admit his feelings. As adorable as it was, I got tired of him drawing it out. The stories about me eating underworld food and being bound here? Well, the dinner he cooked was from above, so that wasn''t it. I instead grabbed some herbs he was growing in his garden, stuffed them down my mouth, then walked up and kissed him, telling him we''re together now."


    She looked supremely proud of herself as she recounted the story.


    Hades merely sighed, covering his face with a hand. "Thank you, Dear. I''m sure this won''t change my perception in their eyes whatsoever."


    "I didn''t think Hades was such a romantic." I couldn''t help but grin.


    "And thus, my reputation is ruined."


    "Oh, stop being so melodramatic, dear." Persephone rolled her eyes. "By the way, we have a guest. Thought you''d care for the warning."


    "A guest?" Izzy questioned.


    "Way to ruin my entrance." It was another familiar person who stood in the archway of the building Hades and Persephone had appeared from.


    "Odin." Izzy''s lips thinned.


    "Cougar." Odin greeted back.


    "I will end you." She seethed.


    Odin just looked at her mockingly. "Remind me again, how old are you? How old Is the boy?"


    "Odin!"


    "It''s nice though, seeing you actually happy for once." Odin rxed, chuckling to himself. "It''s good that you found someone to appreciate you." His expression softened.


    Even Izzy''s temper that was ring a moment prior all but disappeared. "Thank you, Odin."


    "Even if you are robbing the cradle."


    "Death it is."


    "Alright, that''s enough." I intervened. "Odin, stop trying to rile Izzy up."


    Odin justughed some more. "Ah, sorry there brat. I won''t mess with your woman anymore. The balls you have there, announcing it to the world after fighting Indra. If you didn''t already have my blessing, you would definitely be getting it now!"


    "I know, it was so adorable!" Persephone seemingly agreed with me.


    "I regret this so much." Izzy covered her face.


    "Odd, I feel sympathy for her position." Hades turned to his wife. "Why ever could that be?"


    Persephone pinched him.


    He rubbed his arm. "I believe the polite greetings have finished. Shall we proceed inside and deal with the matters that have gathered us?"


    "Pardon, I was led to believe we would be....having dinner together? A less than formal meeting and one without a certain despicable God present."


    "We did not invite him." Hades quickly responded. "And it was intended to merely be an informal get-together for Persephone to release all this pent of energy she''s had since finding out about your new lover."


    "But I decided toe over." Odin interjected.


    "Yes." Hades drawled. "And I will admit, it makes a good excuse to have everyone gathered at this point in time to use the ''dinner'' as an excuse. We will deal with business first, then proceed with evening ns."


    "Very well." Izzy nodded.


    Hades and Persephone led us inside hisrge temple, Mausoleum, type building. He certainly had an aesthetic he stuck to. We turned a few corners, and found ourselves in a rather secluded room. In fact, it was so heavily warded, that I nearly choked upon entering.


    "You were prepared." Izzymented.


    "Yes, I value the secrecy of our objective. When entities such as Indra and Shiva are involved, I take every precaution."


    "I never did thank you." I turned to Hades. "It was a risk that you appeared, but I do appreciate it. If you need anything from me, don''t hesitate to call."


    "Bah, it was nothing." He dismissed, but there was a tone of approval in what I said. "I knew he would not desire a fight. We were merely just grandstanding, as my wife said."


    "Already heard enough about that lightning idiot enough in the past few weeks." Odin grumbled. "My own Son would not be quiet, I had to sneak out of Asgard just to get away from the constant bickering it brought up."


    "Like you need to make up a reason to shirk your duties." Izzy snorted.


    "Touche." Odin grinned. "But let''s get this over with, got something to do after."


    "First order of business? Shall we inform our colleague about what we discovered recently?" Hades questioned.


    "Before you begin, there may be a hup in our n." I had to cut them off there. "I encountered an enemy, and was forced to rely on the power of the Spear. There was...damage."


    Hades'' eyes narrowed. "Show us."


    Odin was silent, but he shared a simr sentiment.


    I touched upon my chest, pulling out Avalon.


    They were surprised at its sudden presence.


    "What is that." Hades'' all but demanded.


    "The Scabbard to Excalibur." I honestly replied. "But it''s being used as a sort of....seal at the moment." The Sheath was mostly conceptual in nature, its ''size'' was rtive. That is to say, it could essentially hold any weapon inside of it.


    I withdrew the Spear in question, gently cing it upon the table in front of all of us.


    It was still heavily cracked, Holy Power literally seeped out, even with the dozens upon dozens of Talismans I had wrapped around it to stymie the ''bleeding''.


    Hades said something in anguage I didn''t recognize. And I was assuming it was a curse because his wife looked at him briefly with that ''look'' that I knew all too well. "How." His fists clenched. "How did it end up like this? It''s nearly falling apart at the seams!"


    "I fought an enemy that I could only run from."


    His eyes glowed, perhaps not in fury, but his emotions were running rampant. Hades was one of the most level headed Greek Gods, but in the end he was still one of their number. Emotional responses weremon, so I didn''t think much of it. "You fought Indra, and you were not so handedly defeated that you couldn''t fight back. What forced, this, and why did I not hear anything?"


    "Brat, it''s time to read him in." Odin let out a breath. "We''re already this deep down the rabbit hole, more secrets are gonna make things difficult."


    I shared a look with Izzy and she gave me a nod.


    I trusted Izzy, so I would trust Hades as well.


    "Alright, Hades. Persephone." I knew they came as a pair and he didn''t hide anything from her. "Why don''t I start from the beginning."


    "....why do I have this premonition that I''m going to need a vast amount of wine afterwards?"


    [***]


    A/N


    Just a heads up, I am driving up a few states for thanksgiving to visit my dad. It''ll be an 8 hour drive, which means I''m going to be unable to write several times this week. So my release schedule is going to be much more sporadic.


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 454 - 412

    <h4>Chapter 454: Chapter 412</h4>


    Hades and Persephone listened silently as I regaled them with a story that I wouldn''t be surprised if they called me out as a liar for.


    If not for both Izzy and Odin supporting my ims, I honestly think they wouldn''t have believed me. I couldn''t me them either, it was a wild story and not something that one simply epts.


    I was hesitant to fully admit to my ability to leave the world and travel to a God. Izzy...she took it rtively well, but at that point, we were very close. Hell, I''m sure I could have started dating her back then If I wasn''t being so stupid. Then Odin found out....that admittedly took me by surprise, and in hindsight, it wasn''t that surprising given all the clues that were thrown in his face. But regardless, it made me worried about what would happen.


    It hasn''t really been something of note, I barely saw Odin since then and we had been on good terms. Despite Izzy and him fighting all the time, it was never malicious.


    So a hesitant trust was formed there.


    And now I just said everything to Hades with Izzy''s support. She trusted Hades, and I trusted her unconditionally. Not to mention that I had a good rapport with Hades thus far.


    So....here we are.


    "Hel''s tits, boy. I knew about it, but I was not prepared for the whole story." Odin finally spoke up after I finished. "Cu Chinn, huh?" He rubbed his beard. "I could see it, he was someone I could easily see myself being very simr to."


    That was the part hetched onto. The fact that I met Cu with another Odin riding in the passenger seat.


    "I have a question." Persephone hesitantly stated.


    "I''ll answer what I can." I responded.


    She looked like she wanted to say something, but was having trouble actually speaking the words. It took a couple moments for her to speak next. "How much danger do you put on our world by....doing what you are doing."


    That....was a question I supposed I should have anticipated.


    Hades''s eyes hardened as soon as she spoke. He didn''t say anything thus far, but it was clear he was imagining a lot of things based on what she said.


    "I can''t say that I don''t bring any dangers, but if you''re expecting something to follow me back, it''s highly unlikely." I hadn''t gone in depth about how my Magic worked, and I would not do so. "My method of travel.....you can consider it something like an Authority. There are more ''mundane'' methods of traversing other Worlds, but then you run afoul certain entities..."


    "The Dragon of Dreams defends this world from outside invaders as part of its nature."


    We all nearly jumped out of our seats as someone else entirely spoke. Someone appeared in the room with us, despite the astronomical protection put in ce, a young-looking woman with unnaturally dark hair stood behind Hades, staring unblinkingly at me.


    "....Nyx." Hades said softly.


    I could feel nothing from her, as if she wasn''t even here.


    No, that wasn''t quite right. Now that I focused, it felt like her presence was sorge it was engulfing the entire underworld.


    A Primordial.


    A being that should be at least on par with Shiva. Though, perhaps her existence differed in that she was the personification of a worldly concept rather than an aspect of a cosmology.


    "Lady Nyx." Izzy was first to greet her politely. Very polite, her tone took me by surprise. She sounded more reserved than even when she talked to Shiva.


    "Izanami-no-Mikoto." Her alien eyesnded on Izzy. "It has been a very long time since I have spoken to my siblings in the East. Are the Kotoamatsukami still absent?"


    "They have returned to their origins before the advent of Humanity, Lady Nyx." Izzy bowed her head.


    "Mmm." Was her only reply.


    "Siblings?" I whispered, mostly to myself.


    Nyx''s head snapped to me. "We all were born of the Chaos." She answered good naturedly. "In your limitedprehension, that would make us siblings, no?"


    ....well then.


    Even Odin was silent.


    "May I ask what you dropped in for, Lady Nyx?" Persephone asked.


    "I was aware the moment your guests arrived. I merely wished to inform you that your worries are unfounded. The threat you envision is nothing new, but those much older than you young Gods have been tasked with keeping watch."


    "...fantastic, so I suppose there is one more person who now knows." I muttered.


    "I have known since the first time you stepped into this domain, child." Nyx replied, looking rather humored, all things considered. "You bear with you a light not native to this world. I am the Night, there is no light I am unfamiliar with."


    ...oh.


    "You''ve known this entire time?" Hades questioned. "And you thought not to inform me?"


    Nyx turned to the God. "I am not a subordinate, Hades. Do not forget that."


    "....Apologies." He relented.


    She nodded. "You should be thankful, I shielded your conversation from prying eyes."


    "And what eyes dare to look into my domain without my knowledge!?" Hades'' temper red.


    "Don''t be foolish, Hades. You know full well what lurks outside your door."


    "Tartarus?" He furrowed his brow.


    She nodded once more. "Perhaps even my elder brother may have taken an interest as he keeps to your Underworld instead of the Human World at times. It''s unlikely he would have cared an iota as we have mostly retreated from the world. But the possibility exists."


    "I suppose I should thank you then." I offered up. "An oversight on our part that you corrected."


    "Your thanks is unneeded, but it is not unwee. The truths you revealed, perhaps astounding for some, but they are not new revtions in the broad sense. Most Pantheons are aware of certain truths. That Angel you killed was one such example. The Watcher of the Stars was his title, I invite you to contemte what that meant."


    Well...if that wasn''t a terrifying thought.


    Nyx smiled. "You need not fear me, child. Besides that light within your being is something even I dare not go against, I am aligned with Hades'' own thoughts on the matters happening in the overworld."


    "That is to say, you agree with his decision to bring back the Abrahamic God and put a plug on the Sacred Gears being thrown around?" I hazarded a guess.


    "Among other things, yes. The system left behind by Yahweh was not meant to be operated by one of his Angels. It has fallen into disrepair, and it threatens the stability of the world."


    "I did not think someone of your stature would care about such a thing." I admitted.


    "It''s not your fault, your view of the world is too narrow." She shrugged. "I care not for the method used, even if simply destroying Heaven and its cohorts would be the easiest and most simplistic avable. If you wish to put in the effort to revive the Abrahamic Deity, then so be it. My goal will be reached either way."


    Without another word, she disappeared from the room.


    There was a beat of silence as we all sort of waited for anything else to be said.


    "Well that was damn terrifying." Odin blurted out.


    "What wonderful insight you always give." Izzy drawled. "But it is not incorrect."


    "There is one thing you should remember, child. Something that even these Gods have known since their inception. A truth that humanity also realized when they first developed the ability to look up at the moon-lit sky and contemte their existence." I felt Nyx''s words brush against my ear, as it was obvious that I was the only one hearing her. "The Night is dark and full of terrors."


    "Message received." I whispered.


    "Good." Her tone was almost seductive in nature. "I have spoken on your behalf, and Hades will trust me. I do not pretend to know what method you use to step away, only that it is permissible. I am not the only one that will know, so do not expect safety in anonymity any longer. The Dream is already aware of your existence and may not be as uncaring if you appear in front of it. Tread carefully."


    With that, I felt her presence creep away, but yet....there was this lingering feeling that she was constantly out of reach but always nearby.


    Alrighty then. Of everything I thought was going to happen, having the Primordial of Night tell me to keep my nose clean was not one of them. Though, her warning didn''t really feel personal, more like she would be forced to act a certain way if I just decided to do some bad things.


    I wasn''t stupid, it would be the height of foolishness to not realize that this world was familiar with what I was doing, even indirectly. Back home, it wasn''t something unheard of for incursions from outside to happen. It''s logical that they had suffered some simr things here and have their own methods of dealing with them.


    And I already knew about the existence of the fuck-off powerful Dragon that flew around the outer boundaries of this world-line known as the Dimensional Gap. Basically, the corridor that allowed one to ess this world and its branching dimensions.


    If the Dimensional Gap was the primary Door one uses to enter and Leave, I was allowed to use a secret back door. And if Nyx''s warning was to be believed, Great Red ¨C the Bouncer, so to speak, might be annoyed that I was doing so, but wouldn''t actively seek me out for causing trouble.


    And that just insinuated that Nyx and others were aware of my presumed back door and left it well enough alone because I had the special privilege of using it.


    Things got super messy very quickly.


    So much to unpack here that I did not want to deal with it when I already had a lot of things weighing me down.


    "So you have that kind of card in your back pocket? No wonder you weren''t worried about Indra or Shiva when you hoped over there, huh?" Odin verbally poked at Hades as I tried my best to focus back on what was happening in front of me.


    Hades let out a long sigh. "It is not amonly known piece of information. But yes, if Shiva had decided to attack, I would have called up Nyx as back up. Please do not spread this information."


    "Right, I''m sure your brother would love to find out how much his throne actually means."


    "Zeus would act erratically if he knew that I had amassed significantly more power than he has imagined. He already knows that I passed him many years ago, but we have never spoken about it openly to spare his fragile ego. If he knows that Nyx also supports me so openly, he may do something idiotic."


    "I vote in favor of us forgetting this ever happened and proceed how we were." I raised my hand up.


    "I am inclined to agree." Izzy even looked tired all of the sudden.


    "Welp, I''m d that we got no Primordials over in our neck of the words."


    "Except your Tree that you literally live on." Izzy pointed out.


    "....point." He grumbled. And his lips pursed in annoyance, perhaps not because of Izzy but maybe because he realized that we''re going to have to deal with that problem too soonish.


    Hades rubbed his tired eyes. "Let us focus on the important matter at hand. I will take time to contemte everything I''ve learned recently when I have enough wine within reach. For now.....what are we to do about the spear."


    "Keep it from getting worse, first and foremost." Odin rubbed his beard.


    "I can probably handle that." I spoke up. "But repairing it....we probably need at least one of the Holy Relics for that."


    "So we''vee back around to that." Hades grumbled. "I will obtain the Holy Nails. The person holding them has to be dealt with sooner, rather thanter."


    "Are you prepared to run afoul the God that''s snooping around there?" Odin questioned.


    "Is there another choice?"


    "I could help." Odin offered.


    Hades shook his head. "We can''t be seen working together as of right now. And you have another matter to worry about. My Father trespasses upon yournds, All-Father."


    Odin''s expression hardened. "That he does." He looked towards me. "Brat, I''ll be calling in a favor about that. I need someone to watch my back as we go hunting through the Nine-Realms."


    "Odin." Izzy narrowed her eyes.


    "Bah, calm your tits. I''m not tossing your boy-toy at the feat of that Titan just as a distraction or anything like that. I recognize his strength, and I don''t know what else is hiding away. I really want an extra hand here, no other agenda."


    "Izzy, it''s fine. I probably owe him this much at least, he did lend a hand before."


    "Hmph." Izzy just huffed.


    "I apologize for not being able to assist. I do not like passing off my obligation onto you, All-Father." Hades politely apologized.


    "I already said it wasn''t your fault." Odin waved away. "Besides, how you told it, it was probably Loki who had a hand in releasing your pops in the first ce."


    "I''m not the only one upset." Hades responded. "Nyx....she rarely appears because she has one other duty she considers hers. A reason why she takes a more....material formpared to her siblings. She keeps Tartarus from leaking out into the world. She was most upset to learn that someone snuck into Tartarus under her nose and released two prisoners. I do not im to speak for her....but if something presents itself that was responsible for her annoyance, she may respond."


    Right, something capable and willing to get one over on the Primordial of Night....then I suppose it was a bit of relief that said Primordial may answer a call for aid if this supposed ''enemy'' was revealed.


    That was a lot of ''what if''s though.


    "Hades is correct. Someone was able to sneak into Tartarus with me noticing. This is not as significant a feat as you may presume. Tartarus is not my domain, and Night holds no sway within, but I still am ....annoyed that it happened." Nyx''s words tickled my mind once more. "I may be grateful if you found the one responsible."


    Should I be happy or frightened that the Night was apparently speaking to me so casually like this?


    "It sounds like we have a lot of work to do." I muttered.


    "I''ll look into some things. I know you got your hands full over on your end, Brat. So don''t worry about me needing you if you''re doing something important." Odin spoke.


    "I appreciate it." I nodded in thanks.


    "If we''re to assume that these two instances are linked to the same group.....they will know something is amiss if we strike in rtive session." Izzy tapped her finger on the table.


    "That is a consideration." Hades noted.


    Odin chuckled. "I got a n."


    "Dare I ask?" Izzy raised a questioning eyebrow.


    He barely held back a more mirthfulugh. "Let''s get the Devils and have them to steal the spotlight."


    "Oh?" Hades looked interested.


    "Wouldn''t it be convenient, if all the ''allied factions'' put together their own ''team'' to hunt down this Khaos Brigade?" He quirked a smile. "I''ve been wanting to light a fire under this generation''s rears for a while, but never had a good opportunity. I think I''ll go propose an idea of setting up a team of our best young''uns."


    "You want to sick a bunch of Kids at an organization led by Gods?" I questioned.


    "Brat, are you really gonna talk?" He snorted.


    "Okay...that''s fair. But I''m hardly the standard here."


    "Kids gotta grow under pressure. But don''t think I''m just wanting to send them to the ughter. Not every part of the Organization has a God watching over. Besides, it''s not like there aren''t some that are able to reach those heights with a bit of effort."


    "Oh?" Hades seemed very interested at this point. "And who do you expect to be in this ''team''?"


    Odin shrugged. "A couple of Devils I remember might be worth giving a shot. Azazel''s brat, the White Dragon Emperor has some potential. Might even be able to convince the Old Monkey''s grandson to participate too. Heaven has some exorcists that aren''t too bad."


    "That sounds horribly chaotic." Izzymented.


    "Wouldn''t it?" Odin cackled.


    "Intriguing." Hades rubbed his chin. "I approve. It would keep both those annoying Abrahamic Factions busy and keep the Khaos Brigades'' eyes firmly on them."


    "Maybe we can convince Zeus to also participate?" Persephone mused. "You know how he gets when he thinks he''speting with someone? We can frame it like that. Especially after it ''got out'' that you were among the list of Gods inside the Khaos Brigade." She used air quotes. "It would ease some tension right now."


    "Perhaps. It would be worth a try."


    Well, wasn''t this a proper Illuminati meeting? Moving all the pieces behind the curtain.


    "Oh God..." I let out a sigh.


    "What?" Izzy asked.


    "I''m going to be bothered to join, aren''t I?" I was that age after all. Not that I had any intention to be part of whatever that was, but I would be bothered about it nheless.


    Izzy gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.


    [***]


    A/N


    Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


    So, what''sing up soon? Odin just spoiled a tidbit, but you can expect a Gremory Family Dinner toe after as a result of Wilhelm deciding to visit the underworld. After some HP chapters.


    Anyways, if you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 455 - 413

    <h4>Chapter 455: Chapter 413</h4>


    I gave Izzy a kiss goodbye.


    Despite the whole....situation, it had actually been a pleasant dinner with Hades and Persephone. They seemed willing, no rather it seemed like they were intent on ignoring everything we had talked about previously, and only focused on pleasant conversation.


    Mostly Persephone teasing Izzy about the two of us finally getting together.


    But I digress.


    I was not in any mental capacity to deal with all this right now.


    Regardless, I pressed on.


    No rest for the wicked.


    I still had many other things I had to do, and so little time to handle it all.


    I immediately headed over the Clock Tower, specifically Gramps'' home.


    From the first moment I appeared, I ignored everyone else in the room and reached for my Sc¨¢thach who was standing nearby. I hadn''t seen her since returning, and I missed my Sc¨¢thach. So I did what I always did, and nted my face firmly between her chest.


    She would always be my rock. I could feel like a kid again when I was like this.


    And she didn''t begrudge me. Simply, I could feel her fingers running through my hair.


    "Student, we are not the only ones here." She whispered, just enough for only me to hear.


    I reluctantly separated myself from her.


    She''s right, any longer and it''d make everyone else feel awkward. At least for the other two people present.


    "Hey Gramps." I greeted, walking over to Yasaka, giving her a smile and kiss and plopping my tired butt down next to her.


    "Good evening." He politely replied. "You look...tired."


    Sc¨¢thach sat on my other side, and she silently took my hand. A gesture I was appreciating quite a bit.


    "Meeting the Primordial of Night will do that to someone."


    He raised an eyebrow. "Nothing dangerous, I hope?"


    "She was surprisingly cordial." It felt weird to even say that. "Hades is in the know now, and apparently Nyx and some of the other Primordials already knew. But I''m not going to say it''s surprising as I don''t think I have the depth to really say what a Primordial being over there does and does not perceive. But I digress, I''m tired and don''t want to think about it at the moment."


    "You''ve been running around ragged." Yasaka''s tail wrapped around me. "You need a break."


    "Probably." I rxed. "So much to do. And I basically just threw Jeanne into the deep end and hopped over to deal with other things." My next stop was back over there to make sure she''s settling in properly and go from there.


    Then check in with Venna and Mozart. Then head over to Salem, Jinn, and Meridia. I also needed to familiarize myself with everything happening on the war front. What Medea had aplished so far and where we stood there to see if I need to help out.


    And all that crap with Hades and Odin.


    And I need to start my Bankai training in earnest, along with trying to figure out other avenues of approach for fighting Solomon.


    Was I missing anything? Probably.


    "Don''t worry about her, I''ve been keeping an eye on things. She''s currently running around with Mordred for now." Yasaka informed me.


    "....I won''t question it." Not a likely friendship, or maybe I was overthinking things.


    "Student, for your health, you need to rx and take a break." Sc¨¢thach told me, in that tone of a teacher. Like I wasn''t allowed to argue with her.


    "If you''re telling me that, then it''s probably true." I let out a long sigh.


    She pinched me for my little jab, but it did make her smile. "Do not be a smartass."


    "Perhaps I can help there then." Zelretch spoke up, holding the device he gave me previously to investigate the Singrity in his hand. "Before that....I have received quite a bit of interesting data. I''ll need topile it and sort through it properly before I make any judgments. Once I do that, we can talk properly about what happened and what our options are."


    "Yeah..." I grimaced.


    "Any luck on fixing the Spear?" Zelretch asked, knowing the broad strokes at this point.


    "It''s mostly sealed up to prevent any degradation, but the n is to let it eat up a Holy relic and see where to go from there."


    ".....beyond the curtness of how you exined the metaphysical remation of Authority and possible resurrection of a Divine Figure, that sounds promising."


    "We''ll see. Also have some nonsense to do in the Nine Realms with Odin." I waved my hand flippantly.


    "I will assist." Sc¨¢thach stated.


    "You don''t even know what he needs."


    "It''s not difficult to guess that he requires martial Aid." She poked me. "Student, do you look down on me?" She raised an eyebrow.


    I dared not say that.


    "That''s in the future."


    "Speaking of the present." Yasaka took the opportunity. "We were going to talk about Kunou''s schooling, unless you want to put that off for now?"


    "No, no." I quickly denied. "Trust me, this is significantly more rxing than what I was doing before. And at this point, if I stop ''moving'' I''m going to want to bury my head in the sand for a few days and pretend nothing is wrong."


    "Mmm, very well." Zelretch tapped his fingers together. "I looked into what I was asked to. It was not a World I had thought about for many centuries. However, it was a world I found myself rather fond of for various reasons. Their system of Magic was.....well, I don''t know if I quite have the words to describe it."


    "That sounds ominous..."


    "No, no." He held a hand up. "Not in that sense but....words don''t quite do it justice. I would love to sit here and exin it properly, but I think it might be an enjoyable exercise for you to figure out. Nothing nefarious I assure you, but it is quite intriguing all the same."


    "....color me interested then."


    If it''ll keep me preupied for now, I''d wee it regardless.


    "They have adopted a rather ingenious method of actualizing their spells. They have mainstreamed the use of magical Foci ¨C Wands, as it were. Every Magical Child purchases a wand uponing of Age for School and their whole system of learning is based around using it rather than not."


    "A wand, huh?" I wasn''t really sold on the idea. I could see the appeal, Magical Foci could be very powerful ¨C as was my Staff. But they can also be a crutch if relied too heavily upon. If you disarm someone of their Wand, are they just neutralized then? "Do they have Magic Circuits or something equivalent?"


    "Ah, that is one of the interesting points. They possess no Magical Circuits, no Magical Core no.... Container of any sort."


    At that I felt my interest further increase by several fold. "But then how do they actualize spells!?"


    "That is the question, isn''t it?" He grinned. "I admit it was a mystery to me too for a while. Perhaps you wille to the same conclusion as I did."


    "You''re really not going to tell me and let me fumble around?"


    "The Danger is so incredibly minimal, that I see no reason not to."


    "Alright, you can stop trying to entice me, I''m sufficiently hooked. Tell me about this ''school'' or whatever, that''s what Yasaka and I are most concerned about."


    "Where to begin." Zelretch tapped his chin. "I should exin that I have been to that world several times. Popping in here or there. Before the turn over of the calendar...when I was young, it was one of my first explorations. It wasn''t particrly noteworthy for my young self who was too focused on amassing knowledge and power, but once I aged a bit, I visited it again under different mindsets. A dozen or so times throughout the centuries. Myst time was during their Second World War, as I said. Interesting history there, as there was an entire Magical Fight happening congruently. I vaguely recall some ''Dark Wizard'' osting me or some other nonsense." He looked nostalgic. "Anyways, I''m getting off topic. The School, if you wish to send Kunou there, has been standing since around the 7th or 8thCentury if I remember my history urately. It''s somewhere in the Scottish Hignds, and serves to teach all the Magical Children within the British Inds. It''s supposedly the top School in the world, if it still remains at the top, I do not know."


    "So it has sufficient credentials?" Yasaka asked. "If we send Kunou there, it isn''t just going to be a yground, she''ll actually get a proper Magical Education?"


    "In a manner of speaking. Their system isn''t a perfect equivalent of what we have, but it''s a good starting point for a beginner. What she learns there will be a good foundation for anything further she wishes to delve into."


    Yasaka nodded, pleased. "And my concerns about Safety?"


    "If you''re expecting any Higher Beings, I am pleased to inform you that no Gods ever came into existence in that world. One of the purposes of my visits there was to investigate the absence of Divine Beings, yet the world retained Magic. A curious corrtion if you think about it."


    "And how strong are the average ''Magic User''?" I asked.


    "They refer to themselves as Wizards and Witches." He corrected. "And, well....." He rubbed his beard. "Using your standards, I believe the average Adult Wizard or Witch that had a proper education and ''keeps in shape'' would be about a Mid-ss?"


    "And the above average?" Yasaka asked as well.


    "Hmm, High-ss." He replied. "I''m not quite sure about any outliers that have appeared. But that seems to be how I would rate the ''Dark Wizard'' ¨C " He air quoted. "that I encountered."


    Yasaka and I shared a look.


    "That doesn''t sound too bad." She said.


    "Certainly, it could be worse. And we can take every precaution." I agreed. "And is this ''Society'' out in the open?"


    "Oh Heavens, no." Zelretchughed. "They hide themselves away, pretty well actually. I want to say more...but I think when you see it, you will understand why I find it amusing."


    "So....n?" I looked around.


    "There should be a principal...headmaster, or something, right?" Yasaka seemed unsure just as I was. "We reach out? Create some backstory he can''t verify?"


    "...would that make him not want to ept Kunou then?"


    "Bribe?" She offered.


    "That''s not.... impractical."


    "Oh." Zelretch snapped his fingers. "I nearly forgot that I do have a stash of money there. A vault I opened because I thought it was a novel thing. Run by Goblins of all creatures! It''s filled with Gold. I think there''s a key somewhere around here....probably in my storage I''ll need to dig out."


    Yasaka and I shared a look again.


    "So...should we go check it out?" I offered.


    Yasaka bit her lip. "I can''t for the moment, I need to get back and settle some things. But, why don''t you take a break, go y around and set up a meeting with the head of the School and then we can go together?"


    "Alright." I nodded slowly. "Alright." The more I thought about it, the more pleasant it sounded. "I will...just check it out. See what''s going on, and report back."


    "I just realized, what was this school called?" Yasaka looked at Zelretch.


    "It was....something weird, the name of a flower?" He stared off, seemingly trying to remember. "Something pig...Pig war.....Hog...Hogwarts? Yes, that''s it, Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."


    [***]


    I stepped out of a portal, breathing in the air. I wouldn''t exactly call it fresh as the air ofte 1900th century London was anything but. However, the Magic in the air was abundant and noticeable. I would even call it a degree above my Birth World.


    "What do you think, Sir Wiggles?" I nced up at my familiar sitting on my head.


    He twitched his nose excitedly.


    "I know, I feel the same way." I was allowing myself to rx more. I was stressed, I think it was obvious to everyone. But at this singr moment, I was slowing down and smelling the proverbial flowers because I couldn''t keep going as high strung as I was.


    I had plenty to do when I got back, I would be gone for less than a day all things considered, but I would just enjoy my small break.


    I took out a notebook full of Gramps'' writings. Some notes of his, things he thought I would like in particr, and other references in case I lose my way or get confused about something.


    I could mostly wing it, I wasn''t too worried.


    The biggest issue...was finding the conve hidden in London. Gramps said he had an approximate location, but I didn''t see any Magical phenomena right off the bat. But then again, I popped out somewhere rather secluded and out of the way.


    Well, these streets weren''t too foreign to me. I still knew my way around London like the back of my hand. So instead, I just found my bearings and went towards the busiest section of the city that I was closest to.


    Or just made my way to the closest crowds in particr.


    Now if I were a secretive group of Magical people....where would I hide.


    I would need to use all of my cunning and logical thinking to pinpoint the exact location. Cross referenceck of traffic with various maps, peer through newspapers for any mentions of illogical phenomena. Maybe even look through some history books for sections of the city that remained standing during the World War 2 bombings. It would take hours of study and research...or I could just follow that person wearing Victorian-era clothing walking down the street without anyone so much as giving them a secondary nce.


    ....really Gramps? Is this what you meant?


    There was the faint pulsing of Magical Energy as it flowed off them as well. They probably had several Mystic Codes on their person by the feel of it.


    Oh well, this made things much easier!


    I simply did an about-face and began following at a modest distance.


    I don''t think they noticed me as they never bothered to even check around themselves.


    Was I being too cautious? Probably....after everything that happened, maybe it was just my default for a little while.


    I was somewhat skeptical as they walked into a run-down looking pub. My skepticism would have increased by this action had the Bounded Fields around the ce not been ring to anyone with the senses to notice.


    I walked up, right at the boundary line and touched upon them.


    Interesting.


    The most powerful one was basically telling people without a certain amount of Magical Energy that ''This building wasn''t worth noticing, keep moving along''. I could see some aspects that could be improved upon, but it was a very decent perception filter anchored to a concept to only allow through ''Magical People''.


    Neat.


    There were other, milder effects underneath. Looked like some standard non-lethal defenses if someone got a bit uppity. But I ignored them for now, my Magical Resistance wouldn''t even notice them going off if I were so inclined.


    So I just opted to push the door open and walk inside.


    There was arge group of people inside, many of varying degrees of origin. But I would say that the majority of them were wearing clothes that didn''t belong in this century.


    Seems like I found a good ce to start!


    Lost track of the person I was following, but it didn''t matter anymore.


    I just opted to head to the counter where the presumed Barkeep was set up.


    He eyed me as I got close. "Haven''t seen ya face around here."


    "New to the area. Came over from Japan, no idea where the erm.....I don''t know what word you lot use around here. Your conve? Is set up. Could use a bit of directions." I was honest in my intentions.


    He gave me a scrutinizing gaze, eyesnding on Sir Wiggles for a moment, then simply shrugged. "Came to the right ce, mister. Name''s Tom, this is The Leaky Cauldron, one of the public entrances to Diagon Alley." He puffed up proudly. "I''ll show you how to get in." He gestured to the side.


    Well....that was simple.


    He led me off to a back door out into the alley behind the building.


    "...are you going to mug me?"


    Tom broke out into a fit ofughter. "Not the first time I''ve been asked that! Never gets old, it does." He shook his head. "Look closely, this is how you gotta do it for now on." He took out his wand, and tapped the stone wall a few times and it began to separate.


    I was...admittedly impressed by the scene that unfolded. I watched the Magical effects that unfolded in front of my eyes and didn''t really have any outright criticism.


    But more so, what was hiding behind the ''wall''.


    It opened up to show hundreds of people walking up and down a somewhat narrow street with all sorts of shops lining both sides.


    "Thank you, Tom." I made sure to be polite. It cost nothing and could sometimes get you anything. "Next time I''m around, I''ll be sure to order a few drinks."


    "I''ll hold you to that." He said good naturedly.


    "Oh, onest question. Where''s the bank exactly?" Gramps told me to head there first to get some of the local currency. Said it would be easier than trying to just pay with regr Gold.


    "Should be straight down, and on the right. Big white marble building, can''t miss it."


    I nodded in thanks, and took my first steps into this strange new world. Metaphorically speaking.


    I felt that sort of tingle in the back of my head as I began eyeing many things I wanted. Little knick knacks that only served my hoarding instincts.


    Okay, my impressions of this ce were getting better.


    Didn''t know what I expected, but I saw a trunk on disy that was bigger on the inside. Might seem simple on the surface, but it was difficult to do back home. And they were just sold out in the middle of a shop.


    There was another store that apparently sold Magical Animals.... Sir Wiggles suddenly became very interested.


    "We''ll check it out after getting some money, buddy." I rubbed his head. "Maybe we''ll find you a little girlfriend?"


    I didn''t need to have a familiar link with him to know he was excited by the idea.


    I promised him some little bunnies of his own, and it was time I made due on that promise.


    I hoped, I can''t im to know what''s around here, but we''ll see. I can begin to make it a priority and search around.


    But yeah, Tom was right, I wouldn''t miss it.


    There was arge, white, marbled-like building at the corner. It looked like a small breeze would blow it over as the pirs that supported it were sort of...leaning in various ways.


    Looked highly unsafe.


    Oh well.


    There were two guards standing at either side.


    Goblins.


    They looked about what one would expect from certain myths and legends. Small....and by my ''human'' standards, not very attractive...


    They looked at me like they wanted to skewer me with their halberds they were holding.


    Speaking of.


    "That''s some fine craftsmanship." I admired it. And I flipped open the notebook that Gramps gave me, finding a section in particr that he thought I would be interested in. "Is that Goblin Silver?"


    They didn''t answer.


    They didn''t move....


    Well alrighty then.


    I guess I would ask inside then. I simply shrugged and pushed the bronze doors open. And the inside was not what I was expecting. I had to take a moment to admire the ambience. For a Bank run by Goblins, it was elegant in presentation.


    Sometimes you just have to take a moment to appreciate the small things.


    There were plenty of more Goblins inside. In fact, there seemed to be a few dozen sitting at desks in the middle of the room writing with what looked like quills, the scratching sound was rather distinctive. They didn''t even care to look up as I walked in, and I too ignored them and made my way to the teller at the front.


    Very few humans were inside, so I guess I came at the right time.


    "Next." Azy voice called out, an underlining ent I wasn''t familiar with. The Goblin teller was looking at some parchment as he called out, presumably to me. I walked up, waiting patiently for him to address me. "Purpose of your visit?" He was curt and to the point.


    "I would like to withdraw money from a vault, please."


    "Do you have a key?"


    "Yup, right here." I dangled it, yet he still didn''t even bother to acknowledge my actual presence.


    "Name." He sounded utterly annoyed, to be honest but I held my tongue.


    "Schweinorg."


    The Goblin seemingly froze. Very slowly, he turned to look up at me. And that''s when I noticed that all the ambient noise in the building also ceased as I nced around me and all the other Goblins were looking my way.


    Gramps, what the hell did you do?


    [***]


    A/N


    I''m driving back hometer today, so give me a day or so to recover from the 8-10 hour drive and we''ll get back on some kind of schedule.


    That being said, friendly reminder, we have a discord ¨C https://discord.gg/M4nABGCmSf


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pa.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 456 - 414

    <h4>Chapter 456: Chapter 414</h4>


    Well, this was awkward.


    It''s like he was expecting me to say something, but what hell was I supposed to say? I had no idea what was going on after mentioning my name.


    "....my Vault?" I finally spoke.


    The teller in front of me seemed to regain his wits as he stared at the key I was dangling. It''s weird, I''d only met these Goblins, yet I could easily tell the look of bewilderment was not amon expression for them to have.


    "...I will need to check the key." He very hesitantly reached out to take the key from me. And for a brief moment his eyes dted before returning to normal. Almost an audible gulp as he carefully slid it back across the counter. "....follow me."


    I shrugged, choosing to ignore the awkward silence still permeating the Bank. And instead, I moved towards the door where the teller exited from behind his....post? I didn''t quite know the word for the ''area'' that the teller sia at?


    Desk? Office?


    It was irrelevant, I supposed.


    I followed the small Goblin through another door, leaving the main room.


    "May I ask...." The Goblin cleared his throat. "May I ask what your business here today is Mr. Schweinorg?"


    I''m not naive enough to not notice an attempt at gathering information. But frankly, I had no idea what was going on, thus I found myself not caring.


    "I was thinking about having my daughter enroll in Hogwarts. I wanted to check out the area, and I figured it''d be prudent to get some of the local currency. My Grandfather offhandedly remembered that he had a Vault, so he gave me the key."


    I didn''t mind some polite conversation even if he was trying to get information out of me. I wouldn''t mind some information in return either.


    "....may I request the name of your Grandfather?"


    "Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg." It wasn''t really a secret.


    Perhaps it was not what he was expecting, because he had no immediate response. Instead, we silently walked to what looked like...a minecart?


    "Please." He gestured to it, though his tone didn''t carry any actual politeness. Not that I thought he was being rude, but it seemed extremely rehearsed and a formality on his part.


    Not what I was expecting, but I''m always up to try new things. I hopped into the mine cart and he joined me rather quickly.


    I ran a hand on the metal, raising an eyebrow as I inspected the magics woven into its design.


    Now, wasn''t that interesting.


    Some things I didn''t quite recognize, others were familiar and I could deduce their purpose.


    "Keep your limbs inside the cart at all times. Gringotts is not responsible for any amputations as a result of stupidity." He said in a monotone, not giving any time to respond, he pulled on a lever, sending the Cart forward.


    It jerked and then began to elerate, obviously through Magic. There was no descent, but it still shot forward at high speeds.


    I might have had a big smile on my face.


    Kunou would love this.


    Even more so when we did a random loop on the track. It honestly felt like a roller coaster and I think my inner kid was peeking out.


    It got more and more ridiculous as we went further down into the depths of the earth. Or rather, what I presume was the depths of the earth, because there was a rather interesting phenomenon that urred as we progressed.


    But I digress, at one point it looked like the tracks were broken, and the cart had to ''leap'' from one end to the other to keep going. On certain turns, the cart ''nearly'' tipped over at how sharp it was.


    Not to mention all the loops and spins that were involved.


    The Goblin looked utterly unphased and I was just enjoying myself.


    The ride seemed to calm down a bit after a few minutes, and the temperature dropped several degrees. I wasn''t quite sure where we were, but it was deep underground.


    "Arriving at Gringotts'' lowest level." He seemed to emphasize.


    The cart screeched to a stop at a group of what I presume were vaults lined up. They looked like they were carved out of the rock formations with massive metal doors wedged into the front.


    "That was fun." I mused, hopping out.


    "....not the response we usually receive." He muttered.


    "Well, the distractions made for a rather exciting ride. The Spells woven into the cart obviously kept it from bing too dangerous. The hops, the loops, the ''almost'' flips, it was just sleight of hand. I think my daughter would love to ride it. But it was a good way to try to distract people from the fact that they leave their country of origin to delve into this ce."


    The Goblin, his eyes widened for a brief moment. "What do you mean by that?" They suddenly narrowed.


    "Was that supposed to be a secret?" I blinked. "Well, in hindsight, it''s obvious that''s the case." I wasn''t really in a mood to care so I was just speaking my mind. "I was wondering why Gramps told me to take money out here even though he''d never deposited money in Ennd before. It makes sense, from what I understand, you have some bank branches all over the world? Having them all linked to the same ce makes it significantly easier to manage, I would presume."


    The Cart Ride was just a distraction to hide the fact that everyone was teleported through some manner to another part of the world. Well, I''m sure not everyone goes through that method. It would be weird if they didn''t have other Vaults closer to the surface, and still within the country.


    Well, less than teleport, more like, two points connected in space.


    If they attempt to teleport me, it would fizzle out rather quickly.


    That would be embarrassing. Imagine just falling because the Goblin and the Cart disappeared because they teleported away....


    The Goblin continued to stare at me like I had an additional head.


    "What?"


    ".....that was a Goblin Secret that had gone undiscovered for hundreds of years."


    "Wait, really?" I furrowed my brow. "I mean, it was impressive how it was devised. Barely any seams on the transition, but hardly unnoticeable. And for hundreds of years you say?"


    The Goblin pursed his lips. "Wizards are not the most perceptive bunch."


    I shrugged, having no opinion on that statement. "Well, you don''t have to really worry about me spreading it around. I don''t particrly care either way."


    "...joy, I will be filling out more paperwork." He grumbled. "This way Mr. Schweinorg, you have Vault 002."


    I whistled. "Number 2? How are the numbers given?"


    "When a Vault is opened, they are assigned the next number in the list." He said dryly.


    "So Gramps has the second Vault ever?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "So it seems." He looked at me intently. "Unless your key is unable to open the Vault. In which case, you will be tried and executed for a list of crimes we will be making up to hand over to the Ministry. Please proceed." He gestured.


    "Neat." I liked his honesty.


    He twitched a little.


    I hummed and walked over to the big metal door and found the slot to push the key into. It clicked a few times, some massive gears spinning for what sounded like the first time in centuries. Which....probably was the case here.


    "....I don''t believe it." The Goblin muttered.


    "Is something wrong?" I looked at him. "Wait, did you think I was a fake? Didn''t you check my key upstairs?"


    "We are only able to check to see if your key is real. All Gringotts keys are created using Goblin Magic. We, however, are not legally able to verify which key matches to which vault."


    "...that sounds stupid."


    "Quite." His lips thinned.


    The massive gate shuddered and dust rattled off under the strain. Finally, the massive door screeched open, metal grating against metal.


    The glow nearly blinded me as I looked to see what was inside.


    A literal mountain of Gold stood taller than what should be possible for the confined space.


    "Holy shit, Gramps."


    The Goblin said something definitely not English, but I was fairly sure it was something simr.


    "Uh....is there an ountant to manage the vault?" I nced his way.


    "Yes."


    "Can I speak to him?"


    "That depends."


    "On what?" I asked.


    "How adept are you at summoning the spirits of the dead?"


    "...you could have just said he was dead."


    "I assumed it was obvious." He snorted.


    "...why would it be obvious?" I was rather confused. "Wouldn''t someone else take their ce?"


    "Yes, that was very much the case. We pride ourselves on our urate bookkeeping. The original Goblin who managed the Schweinorg Vault died, and it was passed on to another. And again, and again, and again. Currently, there is no manager for the Vault, because it has been inactive for over 700 years."


    "...oh."


    "Yes, oh."


    Did gramps not use his vault thest time he visited?


    "Is that why everyone in the bank was surprised to hear my family name?" I asked.


    The Goblin blinked at me. "Are you unaware of who your Grandfather is?" He looked at me skeptically.


    ".....maybe?"


    He twitched slightly.


    "I would appreciate it if you told me what you know."


    "Do I look like the newspaper? I handle matters for Banking, if you want ¨C"


    "50 of those Gold Pieces." I pointed at the literal mountain.


    "They''re called Galleons." He sneered. ".....1000."


    "100, for each question you answer for me." I countered.


    He was expressionless for a good moment before his lips pulled back into a sharp and toothy grin. "I am Manager Griphook, and I would be delighted to assist you, Mr. Schweinorg."


    "You know, your bluntness and honesty is pretty refreshing. If something was going to cost me money, I''d rather someone just be up front and tell me how much they wanted and we negotiate from there." I mused aloud. "Very well....." I let out a short sigh. "I suppose we should get to the meat of the matter. What''s the deal with my Grandfather?"


    "You should be more specific." He replied. "The Deal, as you say, is plentiful."


    "Dammit Gramps, what did you do?" I resisted the urge to facepalm. "Start from the beginning?" I asked.


    He frowned, but acquiescence. "Your Grandfather was known as the first person to invest into Gringotts at its inception."


    "Vault 002?"


    "Indeed."


    "What about 001?"


    "001 is reserved for our own uses." He didn''t borate.


    Huh, Gramps said he thought the idea of Goblins doing Banking was novel, so he gave them some gold... "Does the Vault have an interest rate?"


    "Why do you think it''s sorge?" He snorted. "All the Vaults are automatically updated based on the current interest rate. Your Grandfather''s Vault is special in that it carries with it an Interest Rate we no longer use but was Grandfathered into the current systems. Congrattions, Mr. Schweinorg, you are one of the richest Wizards in the world."


    "Oh, so that''s why you were all surprised?" I nodded my head. "I think I understand now." One of their first ''customers'' so to speak, it must have been a famous name among them for a while now.


    "That is why we care about the name, yes."


    ".....and you mean what by that?" I didn''t miss the insinuation.


    "Do you wish to ask more questions?" His grin appeared again.


    "Just keep track and answer, I''m not going to be stingy on paying you." I rolled my eyes. "Is my Grandfather''s name famous?"


    "In a manner of speaking." He replied. "However, he is thought of by many to be a very Dark Wizard."


    "That sounds childish." I frowned.


    "Indeed." He didn''t dispute it. "Many seem to believe that everything can be separated into Light or Dark."


    Oh jeez, it was one of those kinds of ces. "Continue." I sighed in exasperation. "Why is Grandfather so ''darkly famous''?"


    "His name came to the attention of many some years ago. During the Second World War, he had an encounter with another infamous Wizard in particr. I''m sure the name of Grindelwald is familiar."


    "....no?"


    He blinked, looking at me as if to see if I was joking. "....you don''t know who Grindelwald is?"


    "First time I''m hearing that name."


    "Even we know who Grindelwald is."


    "Aplete nk."


    He stared at me for another few moments. "This counts as a question."


    "Whatever."


    "Grindelwald was the Dark Lord who rallied thousands of Witches and Wizards to his side and stood along with Axis powers during the Second World War."


    "Magical Hitler?"


    He twitched. "That is... urate."


    Magic Nazis....


    "And what does he have to do with Gramps?"


    "The rumors were vague. But from what was discovered, Grindelwald ran afoul an unknown Wizard of the name Zelretch and was handedly beaten along with many of his top supporters and subordinates. It''s noted to be one of the turning points in the Magical Side of the War."


    "Huh, that sounds like Gramps." He beat up Magical Hitler and he didn''t tell me?


    Or maybe he didn''t know? I wouldn''t be surprised either way, but if so, it''ll be fun to tell him.


    Griphook kept his expression even. "Obviously, this was something that spread everywhere. Grindelwald was one of the strongest Wizards in history, and he was beaten so thoroughly that he was forced to flee and lost a significant amount of forces to a single person. Thus, many began to search for this ''Zelretch''."


    "I feel like there''s a second parting."


    "What was discovered, after trying to look into your Grandfather with various sources and descriptions dating back thousands of years." He responded. "It caused quite themotion back then. Many believed him to be some sort of Immortal, or a Dark Creature. Maybe even the most powerful Vampire to ever live."


    I nearly choked on thatst one. It was almost true, but my particr version of Gramps never became a Dead Apostle.


    Funny enough, for that version of Gramps, all of those were true.


    "I guess that makes sense."


    "...if you say so."


    "I have some more...mundane questions, if you don''t mind."


    "I am happy to assist." He replied, but his tone sounded anything but. If I wasn''t paying him, he would havepletely told me to do the Goblin equivalent of going to F myself.


    "What''s Hogwarts like?"


    "I would not know, Goblins are not allowed to enroll."


    "Pardon?"


    He raised an eyebrow. "Goblins are ssified as Magical Creatures, we are not allowed to own Wands, nor enroll in Hogwarts."


    "Please don''t tell me that the ''Witches and Wizards'' here are horribly racist?"


    "I will admit that not all of the Wizarding World looks down on non-humans, but there is a significant and powerful faction that believe so, yes." He sounded honest. "Half-Humans are not treated much better. There is a Half-Goblin teacher of Charms at Hogwarts that has stymied the tide so to speak, but it is still a prevalent mindset for Witches and Wizards to have."


    "So Half-Humans are ''allowed'' to use Wands and go to school?"


    "Yes." He replied with a growling undertone.


    "This Ministry, they keep track of ''Non-Human species''?"


    "They have a list for theirws." He nodded.


    "And about Youkai?" I asked.


    "Those Eastern Species?" He blinked. "The Ministry is too ignorant about things outside of its borders."


    So there are Youkai here, that''s good.


    "And how do you think a young Youkai girl will be treated if she enrolled in Hogwarts?"


    His expression softened just a smidgen. "Your daughter is not human?"


    "Technically, her father was human, but her species is fully non-human, Youkai magic. But if the ''Ministry'' is ignorant of outside things, then I doubt they''d look into it." I was mostly thinking aloud.


    "Any overt issues should mostly be dealt with by the school. The Headmaster, begrudgingly, is not the worst Wizard I''ve ever had the displeasure of meeting. And he is vocally opposed to the ''Pure Blood'' ideology."


    Pureblood?


    How trite.


    That did make me...hesitant. But then again, Kunou wasn''t always going to be sheltered from the world. Some mild Racism, maybe it was something she should learn to deal with on her own? It went against every instinct as a Father that I developed...but perhaps Kunou should face some small adversities on her own to grow from?


    I couldn''t imagine they would be too bad considering everything Griphook said.


    And in the worse case, if someone did cross a line, I would burn the school to the ground.


    Something to talk to Yasaka about.


    I gave Sir Wiggles a rub as he was still on my head. And in all honesty, I forgot he was there. "Is there a convenient way to contact the Headmaster of Hogwarts?"


    "Simply send him an owl?" Griphook shrugged.


    "Like, send him the whole bird?" I blinked. "Is this some kind of special bribe? Is owl a delicacy here?"


    "Are you.....really that ignorant of how Wizarding society works?" He asked in disbelief.


    "Lived in Japan most of my life." I pointed out, not really knowing if that was a valid response.


    He shook his head and said something in his Goblin Language. I could actually understand it now, weirdly enough. Was my Devil Heritage needing a moment to ''understand'' thenguage as it was the first time I''ve encountered it or that it was so foreign I had no precedent before?


    Odd in any case.


    "We use owls here to deliver letters."


    "That seems horribly inefficient."


    "The owls are a special Breed of Magical Beasts."


    "Still sounds kind of dumb. Why not.....call?"


    "Mr. Schweinorg, after seeing the state of the humans here, do you truly believe any Witch or Wizard knows how to use a Phone?"


    "....I didn''t want to judge based on first impressions."


    "Your first impressions are most likely urate."


    "My first impressions of Goblins were that they were rather rude."


    "Yes, that is urate." He didn''t deny it one iota. "We don''t like Wizards, Mr. Schweinorg." He replied without much expression.


    "You''re being very honest."


    "You''re paying for my honesty."


    "Touche." I admit he had me there. "Since I''m essing my Vault, will I get someone to manage it?"


    "We will assign someone." He nodded. "If you desire a thorough Audit, I''m afraid it will take some weeks to get everything sorted. We have never had a Vault reactive after such a long period of time with such quantities to sort through."


    "Administrative fees?"


    "Will be substantial." He grinned. "I look forward to the fight to decide who ims the prize."


    "....your culture sounds both exciting and scary."


    "So I have been told."


    "Would it be possible to open a.....trust fund? Do you do that here?"


    "We do have a simr system in ce." He nodded. "You are familiar with Muggles banking system?"


    "...Muggles?"


    He sighed. "It is what the Wizarding World of Britian calls Non Magical Humans."


    "Ah." It sounded like a made up word. "Wait, if the humans here are so....out of touch, why do you all know about the ''Muggles''. I just realized, but you knew what a phone was."


    "We are required to keep in touch with our Muggle Counterparts due to the nature of Banking, Mr. Schweinorg. One of our primary services is to convert Galleons to Muggle Currency."


    "Huh....what''s the conversion rate of Galleons to Pounds?"


    "It depends on your circumstances. In your case, you would be paying for a full gold to Pound Conversion. For Hogwarts students, they receive a special service subsidized by the Ministry for a conversion rate of 50 pounds to the Galleon to a certain amount to pay for school fees."


    "So no bouncing between mundane and Magical Currency to make a profit?"


    "Do you take us as a joke, Mr. Schweinorg?" He said dryly. "The Conversation rate is watched closely and updated as needed."


    "Neat, but we went off topic. A trust fund, yes?''


    "Quite." His lips thinned again. "We are able to open up a new vault simr in concept that pays out a certain amount over a period of time that will turn into an Adult Vault when they reach their age of majority. You merely have to stipte how much you wish to deposit and at what times. There is of course a fee."


    "Of course." I rolled my eyes, but it made him grin. "Will I need toe down here every time I want to withdraw money?"


    "Of course not." He scoffed. "We do offer a special service. A pouch that connects directly to your vault." His eyes lit up. "For only 3000 Galleons. And you can withdraw as much money directly from your pouch as you want. There aren''t even any fees for the first 1000 Galleons withdrawn this way."


    "That sounds horribly expensive." I noted. "I''ll buy a fewter."


    "I will add it to your bill, Mr. Schweinorg." He said with glee.


    "Yeah, yeah." I could figure out that he basically got off on charging me Gold at this point. "I have onest thing I wanted to talk to you about." I flipped open my notebook and found the pages that Gramps wrote about a certain metal they produced.


    I read the passage again that he jotted down his notes for.


    ''Goblin Silver, an intriguing Metal created through means unknown. Imbued with a Goblin''s concept of ''greed'', it seems to desire to take in things that make it ''better'', thus further improving itself''


    He didn''t really experiment much with it. But Gramps did mention it as something I would want to look into, rather than something to just ''pick up''.


    "How difficult would it be to have a sword forged from Goblin Silver?"


    If this operated how I thought it did.....I had some ideas on how it could be most beneficial for me after taking the effort to cultivate it to match my other weapons.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 457 - 415

    <h4>Chapter 457: Chapter 415</h4>


    The ride back up had been significantly more mundane. In fact, it was mostly an intersection of lifts that pulled it back through whatever connections to that ce were set up and deposited us right back at the start.


    But now, I was seated in a very high ss office, away from the ''normal'' Goblins.


    Across the desk was a Goblin of particr note, he hadn''t introduced himself yet, but I was making assumptions by the way Griphook was deferring to him and standing silently to the side.


    The Goblin sitting down was reading over a few documents.


    "Mr. Schweinorg." The Goblin at the desk finally set his things to the side. "I am thrilled to make your acquaintance."


    "Yes, you sound absolutely thrilled." I replied in the same dry tone he used.


    "I assure you; this is my excited face." His expression didn''t change at all. "By no means am I annoyed by the amount of paperwork I anticipate wille about due to your presence."


    "Well, I''m d that I made your day then." I smiled cheerfully.


    I think it took every ounce of his control to not let out an exasperated sigh. "Mr. Schweinorg." He punctuated again. "I will not hide the truth from you, your Grandfather''s status as our oldest recorded client does lend some favorability your way."


    "I sense a buting along there."


    "You request a Goblin Sword, yes?"


    "That''s what I told Griphook." I nodded.


    The Goblin across from me tapped his sharp nails together. "If it were any other Wizard, I would not even give this request a consideration."


    "Right, is it about money then? I just found out that I''m particrly wealthy in your currency, so have at it."


    He twitched slightly, holding back an obvious grin. But there was an obvious age and wisdom there that allowed him to keep hisposure.


    "It''s not a matter of price."


    "That''s a bold-faced lie."


    He cleared his throat. "I should borate. Griphook informs me that you are....unaware of certain Wizarding World knowledge. What do you know of Goblins, Mr. Schweinorg?"


    "Nearly nothing." I confessed.


    It''s funny, from what I have discovered, I don''t think he''d be nearly as polite with me if it weren''t for Zelretch. Griphook admitted outright that Goblins hate ''Wizards'', so there was no reason to entreat with me so....directly.


    He took off his sses, rubbing his eyes. "Shall I spare you the history lesson then? Suffice to say, we goblins view Possession differently than Wizards."


    "I assume you''re not talking about Ghosts."


    "No." His lips thinned. "Due to our history and surprisingly good working rtionship with your family, I am finding it in myself to be candid with our position on the subject."


    "Didn''t my Gramps just deposit money and not touch it for the entire time?"


    "As I said, a good working rtionship." He grinned.


    "....what are the annual fees like?"


    "Excellent." He didn''t borate.


    Surprisingly, I preferred to deal with money grubbers over schemes. Well, that isn''t to say he''s not scheming, but he''s just scheming to get the gold in my vault which was.....refreshing in its simplicity.


    As much as I coveted things I believed to be mine, I also respected the direct desire and was more than willing to let go of gold if it got me what I truly wanted.


    "Please enlighten me to what poses a problem in my request." I gestured for him to continue.


    "We Goblins don''t believe in permanently selling away items we forge, Mr. Schweinorg." He returned to his normal expressionless face. "All items are rightfully ours regardless of what the person who purchased it believes."


    "....so you''re loaning them?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    "You may consider it that way." He didn''t deny it. "My distaste for Wizards does not make me ignorant of our cultural differences. Wizards believe after they buy one of our hard-forged items, it is theirs forever, and to pass down to their descendants. We consider this theft, Mr. Schweinorg. For us to even consider your request, you will need to understand that when you die, whatever you gain will be required to be returned to our hands."


    Okay, that''s kind of funny in my circumstance. But I was also a bit curious about the details. "I imagine that the Ministry ¨C" As I learned that''s what they called their government. "¡ªdoesn''t agree with your idea of ownership?"


    The corners of his lips pulled back into a frown. "You would be correct. This has led to us cutting back on selling our services to Witches and Wizards since the previous War. That has, of course, caused the stolen objects of ours still circting to be rather expensive."


    "Which I would assume you will base your own costs on."


    He merely smiled, with sharp teeth showing.


    "And I would assume that it''s not just a handshake and promise to give it back after I die?"


    "As you would expect, it is difficult to keep a promise from a dead person. Especially when thews don''t agree with our own." He nearly growled.


    "Geas then?" I offered.


    He blinked. "Do you mean a Magical Contract?"


    "Is that what they call it here? Then yeah."


    "....the term Geas hasn''t been used in many centuries." He looked at me weirdly.


    "So that matter is settled." I pped my hands. "Shall we talk about design?"


    "There is...one more matter to discuss before we consider your request, Mr. Schweinorg." He stopped me in my proverbial tracks. "Jewelry and other bits and bobs are one matter, but you are requesting a sword."


    "....yes?"


    "I am Bank Manager Ragnuk, Tenth of my name." He introduced himself. "I am also the third best Smith for the Goblin nation." He sounded rather proud. "I will personally be conducting this forging if I agree." He iterated. "However, you will not find a Goblin willing to make a weapon of Goblin Silver to someone unworthy. I will not have a Wizard iling around with one of my creations just to...unt around like a peacock."


    I felt slighted.


    I stood up, and in one quick motion, drew Mirage from within my Ring and shed it horizontally.


    Ragnuk''s eyes widened briefly. His stoic demeanor faltered as he realized what just happened.


    Magical Energy wafted off my de as I held it at my side.


    He slowly turned his head back to see arge section of the wall just above his head behind him had been cleaved away.


    "I will not im to be a master." I produced the sheath for my sword, clicking it inside. "But these are the hands of a Swordsman."


    ".....you will be paying for damages. He said softly.


    "Take it out of my vault." I snorted.


    Seemingly, just as I said that, the sound of something bursting filled the room, then water began falling out from the new crevice that revealed part of the canyon the bank was connected to.


    Water started spilling onto the floor.


    Ragnuk twitched something fierce, but he didn''tment. "I believe it is time to begin negotiations. Please convince me, Mr. Schweinorg." He tapped his fingers together.


    I didn''t even offer gold. Instead, I withdrew several different Ingots of metals. Orichalcum, Ebony, Moonstone, Corundum, just to name a few, and stacked him on his desk.


    I casually sat back down in my chair, feeling very rxed. "Very well, let''s negotiate."


    Though, the look of greed in his eyes as he marveled at what I had just plopped on his desk told me that I had already won.


    [***]


    I hummed to myself as I walked down the street, without much of a care in the world. Yasaka was right, this was a very nice mini-vacation. I really needed something like this after everything that happened.


    I had a specific few things I needed to do, but I nearly missed something interesting. If not for Sir Wiggles grabbing at my hair, I would have walked past a certain shop in particr!


    Magical Menagerie.


    There were several cages lining the window with a variety of animals I''ve never seen before.


    Even if Sir Wiggles didn''t seem to want to go inside, I was sufficiently intrigued.


    The only other person inside was presumably the shopkeeper, an Older woman wearing rather clich¨¦ Witch attire.


    Big pointy ck hat and everything.


    At this point, I wasn''t even going to question their fashion sense.


    The fact that the Goblins dressed better than them probably said a lot about their culture.


    But I digressed.


    There was a Turtle encrusted in jewels. A Crab with a molten shell, steam sizzling off its body. A Racoon that was changing colors every time I looked at it. A pair of purple Toads croaking nonstop in one corner, and a 5 headed Lizard, specifically not a Hydra, I could tell that much. Especially since it was spewing water rather than something venomous.


    A plethora of things I''ve never seen before, and it was making me excited.


    "Wee, wee!" The woman''s eyes lit up as I came closer. "Wee to Magical Menagerie, we have all manner of animals for any purpose. We just picked up a few Kneazles, perfectpanions for any aging Witch. Or maybe you want an alternative such as a pedestrian form of letter carrier like an owl? We have many different species that are more than able to fulfill a simr role. Ravens, Bats, Ferrets ¨C"


    "Pardon, did you say Ferrets?"


    "Oh yes." Her eyes sparkled. "Mischievous and frighteningly intelligent beasties. The Owl breeders don''t dare to reveal their existence ¨C" She leaned in. "But Mail Ferrets are the next big thing, I assure you."


    ....alrighty then.


    I can''t tell if her particr brand of strange was out of ce here.


    I was about to question her further, but Sir Wiggles shot off my head towards a different corner of the store. I of course followed him quickly, and soon found him sitting in front of a cage opposite a snow-white bunny.


    I thought Sir Wiggles was the picture of pureness, but this other Bunny looked almost Albino inparison.


    No words were spoken, but both of them were twitching their noses excitedly. And then....their little behinds started wiggling in unison.


    ...welp, I guess I knew what had to be done now.


    "Oh, that thing." The Shopkeepdy nearly snuck up on me as I was intently focused on my familiar.


    "What is it?"


    "She''s a failed product." The Shopkeep sounded dismissive. "A barmy idea. Could you imagine, Post Bunnies?" She scoffed. "Who would ever want a Rabbit to deliver mail!?" She threw her hands up. "And she doesn''t even do that!"


    "...a Post Bunny?"


    "Utterly mental!" She scoffed. "Now a Ferret? that right there is a whole different story."


    "....right." I had a feeling that maybe she was a few shades crazy for even these people. "How much for the bunny?"


    "50 Galleons, no 45!"


    "Alright, 45." I shrugged, nearly pushing the money into her hands so I could grab the cage and get away.


    "Thank you for your business! Make sure toe back my stock of Ferrets is only increasing!"


    I wondered why...


    Regardless, I quickly left.


    I barely had time to leave the building before Sir Wiggles was being very impatient, and perhaps I couldn''t me him.


    I turned the corner, and set the cage up on a random crate I found, unlocking it.


    The Rabbit inside bolted out, but didn''t run. Instead, it ran over to Sir Wiggles and the two began....talking.


    I could feel the emotions from Sir Wiggles. And oh boy was my little bunny falling in love.


    "Hello." I offered, holding my hand out so she could get used to my scene.


    The new Bunny looked at Sir Wiggles then to me as it hopped gently over to smell my hand.


    Sir Wiggles bounced around her happily.


    "Do you want toe along with us?" I asked, because there felt like some kind of intelligence behind those eyes.


    The little Bunny''s eyes met mine, and it suddenly put its little paw in my hand. Which...I was taking as a sign that yes it wanted toe along.


    Sir Wiggles nearly exploded in excitement, enough that its lightning discharged unintentionally as he zipped around overhead.


    I thought that our new little bunny would be intimidated, or even slightly scared at the least. No, instead it did something Ipletely did not expect.


    I had assumed it was a Magical Creature, but it wasn''t until this moment that I realized to what extent


    With Sir Wiggles zipping around in the air, the Bunny gently floated up to meet him.


    "...And you can fly."


    Why was I not surprised?


    That crazy woman did say that they wanted to make a mail delivery Bunny for some reason. As opposed to the owls they used, for some reason.


    I watched it for a few moments to understand what was going on. "You''re manipting wind, how interesting." I muttered, rubbing my chin.


    It was essentially walking on the wind.


    Despite the weirdness, today has been a good day.


    With how Sir Wiggles and his newpanion were getting along, I believed my promise to him was bing fulfilled.


    I promised him girl bunnies, and here we are.


    The two Bunniesnded back down in front of me, still looking rather happy. I didn''t know how Bunny courting happens, but I think Sir Wiggles had a new girlfriend.


    "You''re going to need a name."


    Lady Wiggles?


    Hmm, I''ll think about it.


    "Quick question for you, are you able to deliver letters? Or is that something you''re against?"


    She poked me with her little paw as if to tell me to hand it over.


    "erm....I wasn''t expecting this, one second." I mentally searched through my ring for the letter in particr that Yasaka and I devised. "So..." I held it out. "how does this work? Apparently Post Owls are somehow Magical, does that trante into delivering letters in some fashion, and that....is something you can do too?"


    I was honestly unsure of how this process worked. If you address the letter to something, did it just...magically find its way to them through some convoluted means?


    Frankly, I had so many questions here I didn''t know where to begin.


    "So, this needs to be delivered to the Headmaster of Hogwarts ¨C"


    She snatched it out of my hand with its mouth and began floating back up into the air.


    "Okay then." I decided to just let it be. "Do you want to go with her, buddy?'' I rubbed Sir Wiggle''s head. I could feel the confirmation. "Alright, treat it like a date then, go have fun."


    He zipped right up to join her in the air.


    I watched my two Bunnies fly away.


    Something I don''t think anyone ever had to acknowledge before.


    "What even is my life?"


    I took out the notebook that Gramps gave me and looked at the list of things I should do before going home.


    Next was....getting myself a wand.


    For no other reason than that I wanted one.


    I guess it would be good to know how they worked for Kunou.


    But I admit, many things I do end up being just because I wanted something.


    Regardless, time to find a shop that sells wands.


    [***]


    Ollivander''s Wand Shop.


    I could practically hear the ''TM'' when I read the name of the store.


    I asked around a little bit, and apparently, he was the only Wand Seller for Britain.


    Did that speak of good things, or bad things?


    I guess we''ll find out.


    Pushing the door open, the sound of a small bell rang out. I slowly turned my head to the side to see a strange old man invading my personal space, staring at me rather intently.


    "....good afternoon?"


    "Curious." He eyed me.


    "I can tell you what brand of lotion I use if you''re that interested."


    He didn''t react and just continued to look at me strangely. "You are a face I''ve never seen before." He then stepped back.


    "First time here." I admitted. "Want to get myself a wand. I heard good things."


    He blinked. "Pardon, are you saying you''re here for your first wand?"


    "....yes?"


    He looked at me again. "Curious."


    "Is it?"


    "Most curious."


    "I feel like you''re saying that to look mysterious."


    Rather than be offended, he seemed amused by my words. "You have never used a wand?" He asked.


    "Not really." I shook my head. "They''re not something we used back home."


    "And where are you from if I might ask?"


    "Japan." I said offhandedly.


    "Ah." He stated as if that was enough. "I have heard about their use of other methods such as Bracelets or Rings or what have you." He sniffed haughtily ever so slightly. "It will never rece a good Wand, but to each their own."


    "If you say so."


    He pped his hands, adopting a smile. "What a wonderful event then! The only time Adults have graced my door is when their wands inadvertently have been broken or stolen. Never have I had someone so olde to me for their first wand. This is quite exciting. Oh, where are my manners." He held out his hand. "Garrick Ollivander."


    "Wilhelm henry Schweinorg." I returned the greeting with a handshake.


    "Schweinorg, you say?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "Is there something wrong?"


    "Most curious."


    I felt myself twitch slightly. "So, how does this work? Do I just pick whatever color suits me? Maybe something that matches my eyes?"


    "I''m afraid this is nothing like picking out a handbag, Mr. Schweinorg." He chuckled. "No, the Wand chooses the Wizard."


    "Are Wands sexist?"


    "Pardon?" He blinked in confusion.


    "You said they chose Wizards, what about Witches?"


    His lips quirked up. "I like to believe wands don''t care about gender. I merely assumed on my part when giving that statement. If you would prefer, I don''t mind referring to you as a proper Witch."


    Oh, I liked him.


    The walls were lined with small boxes, some of them without lids, some with. An all manner of Wandsid about. "Anything in particr I have to do? Maybe a jig to earn their attention? I can recite some poetry if that helps."


    "That will be unnecessary, Mr. Schweinorg, the point is for the Wand to want to join you. For that, It would be in our best interest that they have a good impression of you."


    "Ouch." Just right for the jugr there. "How sentient, are they, exactly?"


    The more I heard about this, the less I thought they were like Wands from what I was referencing.


    "Oh, nothing like that." He quickly reassured me with a chuckle. "However, a bond between a Wizard and their Wand is something special." He said rather vaguely.


    "Neat." I shrugged. "Shall we begin?"


    "Let us." He nodded. "And which wand is your Wand hand?"


    "That depends on what you''re referring to as my Wand."


    "Well, I believe it would be the same in this case." He quipped.


    I blinked, realizing that he wasn''t slowed down at all by my little dirty joke. "Right hand, but I can use my left hand, if that means anything." Not that I would consider myself ambidextrous, just something I picked up from my training.


    "Hmm, that does help." He turned to shift through the many Wands on the shelves until he looked like he found what he was looking for. An engraved casing with what looked like gold on the top. "Here we are, this one has had a previous owner. I believe it will be a good match for someone past their formative years. An experienced Wand for an Experienced Wizard. ck Walnut, Dragon Heartstring, 9 and ? inches."


    He handed it over to me.


    As soon as I held it in my hand, I felt it try to siphon my Magical Energy.


    No, that wasn''t quite urate. If it was attempting to do that, my Magical Resistance would act up and counteract something so simple. My Magical Resistance was inert at the moment, because it wasn''t breaching my body. It was....gently coaxing my ambient Magical Energy into it, like a greeting, almost.


    I couldn''t hold back my curiosity and cast a Structural Grasp on the Wand.


    What I saw surprised me. It was full of tiny runes all carved out along the inside. I could see the materials used, and every single groove meticulously carved into every facet of the piece.


    Honestly, it was beautiful.


    Even Medea would have nothing but good things to say about the craftsmanship. Hats off to Ollivander if he''s the one who made this, he''s a true artisan.


    "Well? Give it a flick."


    I looked up at Ollivander who looked at me expectantly. "Just...flick it?"


    "Of course, how else will we know if it''s the right Wand for you?"


    "Alright..." I held it between my fingers and flicked it.


    The building shook, and Ollivander quickly ducked for cover. I flinched at the magical phenomenon that urred from my wand.


    Ollivander slowly climbed back to his feet, and we both stared at where the wall to his shop used to stand.


    "....you needed some natural light in here anyways."


    He stared at me.


    He slowly took the wand from my hands and put it back into its box. "....I believe this is not the correct wand for you, Mr. Schweinorg. Against my better judgment, I believe we should proceed. I have never been unable to match a Wand to a Wizard before and I don''t intend to fail now."


    He went to a different side of the shelf, pulling out one wand in particr. "Here we are. I believe a more reserved Wand would be the best choice. Same wood, Unicorn hair ¨C"


    I barely brushed it with my finger before it emitted a bright light and blew up his counter, sending shards of wood flying everywhere.


    "....I''ll pay."


    Why did it feel like that was going to be something I said many more times today?


    [***]


    A/N


    Sorry for dy, just dropped a 9k+ word chapter on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. So it took awhile.


    That being said, if you want to support me or read 9 chapters ahead, please visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 458 - 416

    <h4>Chapter 458: Chapter 416</h4>


    I waved the wand in my hand, and everything in the shop caught fire.


    Ollivander and I were quick to douse it all with water. And I was intrigued to see him conjure Water from the tip of his own wand, but I was focused on the immediate concern.


    He looked at me with heavy eyes, taking the wand from my hand and putting it back.


    "I''ll pay." I said, but he offered no response.


    "Try this one, Elder Wood, Dragon Heart string from a particrly ornery dragon. Very rigid, but not upromising."


    I took the darker looking wand into my hand, and Ollivander cast many spells in quick session for defensive purposes.


    Frankly, I think he was going overboard, I only had one or two idents so far.


    I gave the wand a wave, and I felt a ringing in my ears.


    Maybe that was from the sound wave that burst out, shattering all the remaining ss in the shop.....and the neighbors it seemed.


    We could tell....because of the holes in the building....


    "....I''ll pay."


    "So you have said." He pursed his lips. "This one is definitely not it."


    [You think that maybe the Dragon parts are a bad idea? You know, considering?"] Ddraig spoke within my mind.


    ....that was a valid consideration.


    "Mr. Ollivander, do you think the fact that I have a Dragon in my soul might make Dragon parts in the wands vtile?"


    Ollivander looked at me for a long minute. "I will take that under consideration."


    [If nothing else, you have the subtlety of a Dragon.] Ddraig snorted.


    I had the vaguest feeling that this wand maker was humoring me like one would a child.


    "Unicorn parts are simply out." Ollivander hummed. "We don''t need a repeat of that." He nced to where his counter used to be. ".....and Dragon Parts." He scrunched his nose. "Very well. The main cores we use here are Dragon Heart String, Unicorn Tail, and Phoenix Feather, even if thetter of them is significantly more rare considering I only have one or twoing in a year. But I suppose it couldn''t hurt."


    He began rifling through more wand cases until he took out another one. "This is an interestingbination. ck Walnut, which wouldn''t normally work well with a Phoenix feather, but Headmaster Dumbledore''s Phoenix roosted on it for some years on asion, leaving it a rather intimatebination. Adventurous, but not without consideration. Willing to fly free, but also delve into the unknown." He held it out for me to take.


    I hesitantly took it into my hand and it felt....warm, pleasant even. I think I could vaguely hear a soft chirping, melodious in nature.


    Even Ollivander looked cautiously optimistic. He very slowly approached me to get a better look. "Most curious."


    "Is it?" I questioned.


    "Frankly, I have no clue at this point." He admitted. "We''ve gone through 73 wands at this point, and I''m just happy that it didn''t immediately make my shop explode."


    Yeah, that''s fair.


    "It goes against every fiber of my survival instincts to say this, Mr. Schweinorg, but please give it a flick."


    I cringed slightly, anticipating the ensuing destruction and flicked the wand gently.


    Nothing happened.


    Both Ollivander and I looked at the wand curiously, until suddenly a puff of smoke blew out of the tip, right into his face.


    He coughed erratically, swatting away the cloud, catching his breath. "Significantly less destructive, even if it was unpleasant." He seemed to chuckle at theckluster effect. "A good starting point to work with, most curious." He shed a smile with renewed vigor.


    "I''m sorry, this wasn''t intentional....."


    He blinked, and then chuckled. "I assure you, Mr. Schweinorg, blowing smoke into my face isn''t something to write home about. I''ve faced much worse.....not counting today, that is."


    "Erm....that''s not what I was talking about." I grimaced, pointing to his face.


    He frowned, flicking his own wand at a nearby piece of wood, presumably that came from his wall. It changed into a mirror, making me raise an eyebrow. He held it up and stared at his reflection emotionlessly.


    "If I had not been present for thest two hours of Wand Testing, I would not have believed you." He finally said.


    There was a red dick drawn on his forehead.


    "I promise it wasn''t intentional." I said again, even if I was holding back augh.


    "Yes, yes. I believe the wand is expressing its dissatisfaction." He harrumphed, taking it out of my hand. "The Headmaster''s Phoenix, while being a holy and majestic creature, has the tendency tond in the gutter with its sense of humor."


    He said that before, about the apparent Headmaster of Hogwarts having a phoenix, and I sort of zed over that.


    But....that''s pretty cool.


    Was it the same kind of Phoenix that I was familiar with? Or is it something they just named here? Same with Dragons too, I''m surprised they have so many harvestable Dragon parts.


    It''s not too difficult to find an unintelligent dragon back home, but even those are rather powerful by normal human standards.


    He grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping his head.


    The Phallus didn''t even smear.


    He rolled his eyes and held his wand up to it. "Finite."


    I watched as he attempted to enact a spell, it actualized and sshed against the drawing on his forehead.


    He looked at himself in the mirror and scowled. "Finite Incantatum!" His Magical Energy moved much more aggressively, but still, the image on his forehead persisted.


    "....I swear it wasn''t intentional."


    His eye twitched. "Wonderful." He seemed to give up. "I will have to visit that sted Birdter to get it removed. Phoenix Magic is too temperamental, even if it''s from a mere feather." He grumbled under his breath.


    "Maybe we should just give up?"


    His head snapped to me. "Mr. Schweinorg, at this point, it is a matter of pride. I will make sure you have a wand, even if I have to craft a new one. That being said....perhaps it is time I take out some of my early experiments."


    "Oh?"


    "I experimented with many....exotic materials in my youth before settling down." He puffed up with pride and disappeared into the back of his shop.


    It would have been more impactful had part of the nearby wall not copsed as soon as he left.


    Honestly, I was wondering how his shop was still standing up right at this point. A testament to their architecture perhaps?


    He came back out quickly, arms full of different wand boxes. Without any fanfare, he plopped them all into a pile on a chair that was still standing.


    "I refuse to believe we will not find you a suitable wand." He stated, rummaging through them. "Here we are. You said you were from Japan? It just so happens I have some materials from there as well. Japanese Cedar, and an Oni Horn."


    "Did you say an Oni Horn?" I blinked in surprise. "I am genuinely surprised you can im to have something like that."


    "I still have the scars from acquiring it." He smiled awkwardly.


    Oh dear.


    Well, I took it from his hand, and it felt....wrong.


    I immediately felt it, not like the Dragon ones or even the Unicorn ones that outright rejected me, perhaps due to my Darker Nature as a Half-Devil.


    This one just outright despised me through no fault of my own. "I have a feeling this one isn''t going to work."


    "Just give it a flick, Mr. Schweinorg. We''ll see how far off the mark we are so I know where to go from here."


    "No, seriously. I have a bad feeling about this one."


    "Mr. Schweinorg, I can say with all honesty, there is not much you can do at this point that would be worse."


    "....are you sure?"


    "Just...flick it, Mr. Schweinorg."


    "I do not take me for this." I stated, holding it up and giving it a casual wave.


    Immediately, both Ollivander and I were blown off our feet, smacking into the sides of the room. The invisible force ripped out, rather upwards, as I was keen enough to not point it anywhere near us. The ceiling of the shop more or less disintegrated on impact.


    It took a moment, but the wand maker and I climbed back up to our feet.


    ".....I suppose I have been meaning to remodel..."


    "A sun roof isn''t a bad idea. It really does open up the room a bit with some natural light, you know." I offered.


    Funnily enough, he didn''t look put off by what I said. Was he considering it?


    A drop of waternded on his nose.


    We both looked up, and rain fell from the sky.


    A torrential downfall.


    A nce out the window told us that it was only happening above the shop.


    Ollivander slowly moved to sit down amidst the growing puddle of water that developed on his floor. A few wand boxes began floating away.


    ".....I''ll pay."


    The look of defeat made me feel bad.


    His eyes slowly climbed up until they met mine.


    "Would....it be possible for me to bring in some of my own materials? Perhaps ones I believe to bepatible with me?" I finally asked.


    There was a spark of desire behind his eyes that lit up again. "Mr. Schweinorg, I will do my absolute best to make you a wand out of what you deem eptable. I will put all my skills I''ve learned through my very long life, all the meticulous hours I spent wandmaking to practice. I will make you one of the greatest wands ever to be produced by human hands."


    "Yeah?" I admit that sounded exciting.


    "I only ask one thing in return?"


    "What do you want?"


    "Never, ever, step foot in my shop again afterwards."


    That''s fair.


    "Mr. Ollivander, are you in there, it''s the Aurors!"


    Aurors? Why did that sound familiar?


    "No one answered, we''re forcing our way in. Everyone inside bettery their wands down and put their hands up!"


    Oh shit, the Magic Popo!


    They burst through the door, wearing robes in a uniform manner. However.


    They looked around, surprised at the amount of destruction.


    Ollivander''s eyes were...empty, tired. He seemingly didn''t care to respond.


    "Mr. Ollivander, who did this!?" The one at the front asked.


    I held up my finger, pointing down the street. "They went that way."


    They looked at me and didn''t even hesitate to run out the door in the direction I pointed.


    Ollivander let out an exhausted sigh.


    I had a feeling like I should give him some space....


    @***@


    Albus Dumbledore POV (Headmaster of Hogwarts)


    "Thank you foring, everyone." I addressed my staff. "As you know, summer vacation is almost over, so it seemed like a good time to hold our annual meeting. Before we begin, would anyone like to say anything?"


    Fawkes chirped happily on his perch.


    Despite not contributing, that Pheonix of mine liked to be part of the talks.


    Which is why we usually held this meeting in my Office, he didn''t like leaving his perch unless he had to.


    I do believe I have spoiled him too much over the years.


    "Albus, what are we going to do about the positions we need filled?" Minerva asked.


    I stroked my beard, seeing that everyone was in agreement. My Transfiguration teacher was one to always get to the heart of the problem without beating around the bush.


    "Yes, that poses quite the problem. I assure you I have not been idle during this Summer, but it has been....difficult." I addressed my staff. "Not just our Defense Against the Dark Arts position which in of itself is bing increasingly difficult to fill every year due to the curse left on the position."


    "I''m inclined to agree with Severus''s suggestion fromst year." Professor Flitwick chimed in. "Why not have a set of rotating teachers? Then every year they ''leave''. Is there any situation on this supposed curse that a former teacher can''t return?"


    I shook my head with a sigh. "Such a solution would have been used long ago. I''m afraid that whatever You-Know-Who did to the position, the Jinx, that it has a means to fight back if we attempt to y smart."


    "Poor Woodrick." Minerva muttered. "He has been shamed ever since news got out about what happened."


    Yes, young Woodrick, one of our own graduates. He was the one who proposed the idea in the first ce, and it was novel enough that we thought to give it a try. It worked the first time. Woodrick taught for a year, we switched to someone else, Woodrick returned to test such a thing, and then...well....


    I knew for a fact that Woodrick didn''t intentionally vanish all the clothes of his students and himself and douse himself in...Marital Potion Supplements.


    But it did not paint a good picture, and I was forced to exin to the Ministry what happened. Of course, poor Woodrick was shamed out of the Wizarding World, never to be heard from again.


    Perhaps we could reach out to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and see if they can lend a handful of Aurors every year?


    It would get around that initial problem, and I do not believe this Jinx would push back as it would be a new person teaching each time.


    Unfortunately, I am still unable to discover how Tom was able to achieve this effect. A devilish mind and a Dark Heart he possessed, but there was no denying his intelligence. I fear that his Magical Knowledge even surpassed mine in the end...


    "What about the other positions?" Severus drawled, bringing my thoughts focused back on the meeting at hand.


    A few groans around the room equated to how I felt as well.


    "Muggles Studies, Magical Theory, Care of Magical Creatures." I listed off. "Oh yes, and Defense Against the Dark Arts."


    Realistically we needed four new teachers this year.


    Practically..... "And we do not have the funds to rece the positions proper..."


    "Among other necessities." Professor Hooch snorted.


    "Rnda, I am truly sorry. I know I promised new Brooms this year, but the situation is beyond our control." I apologized to our Flying instructor.


    "I''m annoyed too, Albus." Madam Pomfrey added. "Do you have any idea how many students I have to treat in our infirmary every year because of those Merlin Damned brooms?"


    It''s this headache every year.


    "My hands are well and truly tied, our budget is not looking good. As it stands, we''re going to have to try and stretch it to even hire recements to fill our missing positions."


    "You must have some sort of n, Albus?" Professor sprout spoke up.


    "I do indeed." I smiled. "First, I believe we can have Hagrid fill in for the Care of Magical Creatures."


    There was a round of whispers and grimaces all around. I once more knew how they felt. Hagrid was a good person, a very good person, but he often missed the obvious when it came to Magical creatures. In that they were very dangerous to humans in the best of circumstances.


    I will have to keep an eye on him.


    He already said he would forgo his sry for a few years due to the....dragon incident.


    Admittedly, that did cause quite a decrease in our budget as I had to send some Gold to certain ces to smooth everything over.


    It was illegal to raise a Dragon without the proper permits for a reason.


    But I digressed, his heart was in the right ce and that''s all I can ask for.


    But mostly, our budget was shed significantly due to the incident with the Philosopher''s stone that Nichs leant me. Or, rather, the fake one.


    He wanted to disappear for a while, as he was being bothered by too many people. And I wanted to test a theory and lure out Tom should he have still been around.


    It worked out....not quite like I expected.


    A troll wandering the halls, nearly killing a student. The amount of money we used to devise those traps to reach the stone in the first ce...


    I have never been one to overly care for mary gain, but it even hurt my heart to flush so many Galleons down the drain.


    I was trying to not cause concern, but we were in a precarious situation. The Board of Directors was already breathing down my neck to find recements, and they were intentionally not increasing our Budget just so they had something to hold over me.


    Minera''s lips thinned. "That is one position. And for the others?"


    "I was reached out to by one of our former students willing to take over the Defense Position this year." I found myself grinning. I always did love it when former Students returned.


    "Who?"


    "Why, none other than Young Gilderoy Lockhart. After his jumping all around the world for his adventures, he believed it was time to give back to the youth of Wizarding Britain and spread his knowledge." I chuckled.


    "....Headmaster, are you serious?" Severus''s dry tone seemed to speak for everyone here.


    Unfortunately, I quite am.


    "Albus, I remember teaching Lockhart. He barely passed his DADA sses." Minerva frowned. "And Merlin knows the trite in those books he publishes is all lies."


    "Now, Minerva, I think we should give him a chance." Unless you wanted to pay out of pocket?


    "How much are you being bribed, Albus?" Minerva narrowed her eyes.


    "Minerva, how could you insinuate a thing like that? I assure you, Lockhart is not bribing me for the position."


    "....how much are we paying him?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "...I hardly see why¡ª"


    "Albus." The Deputy Headmistress''s eyes narrowed dangerously at me. It was times like this that despite her being hyperpetent and a truly worthy sessor for my position as Headmaster, that I felt a smidge of regret in my decision.


    I cleared my throat. "Lockhart has found it within his heart to request no rpense for his employment period of this year."


    "Yes, that''s what I thought.'' Minerva''s tone was equal to Severus in this circumstance.


    Before I could usher a response, there was a faint tapping on my window.


    There was a pair of rabbits, tapping on my window.


    My window, that stood dozens of feet off the ground.


    I looked at them, then back to Fawkes, who also looked just as bewildered as I was.


    ....at least they were polite?


    Not like those ferrets fromst time.


    Who used ferrets to deliver mail?


    Merlin, I sometimes felt as if I should retire.


    I walked over to the window and opened it.


    One of the Rabbits pushed the letter it was holding in its mouth my way.


    "Thank you?"


    It provided a little nod my way, then the two of them flew away.....forck of a better word.


    I simply took a moment to watch them leave, still bewildered as to what was happening.


    "Albus....why did a rabbit deliver you mail?" Minerva asked.


    "I don''t know." I answered honestly.


    Why would someone not use an Owl?


    How strange.


    It was addressed to me and had no curses or negative effects attached, so I opened it up and began reading.


    With each line, I felt my brow furrow until finally Inded upon the name of the sender.


    "Albus, why did you suddenly go pale?" Flitwick asked, seemingly concerned.


    I slowly sat down in my seat, setting the letter on my desk. "A name I have not heard in many years has resurfaced." I spoke softly. "Do any of you recognize the name Schweinorg?"


    Some of them shook their heads, other''s eyes widened.


    "I haven''t heard that name in a fair while." Flitwick mused. "I recall themotion of someone defeating Grindelwald during the War, and the subsequent running around to find this person. But there has been no news since then."


    Yes...that was the public perception, wasn''t it?


    My higher positions allowed me a more in depth knowledge of what transpired.


    Gellert assailed the man named Zelretch. Something we would not have even blinked at previously. I don''t know the entirety of the details that drew Gellert''s attention to this man, only that he was supposedly a hermit living in the German Countryside.


    Though the following incident disabused everyone of the notion that this Zelretch was anything but one of the most dangerous individuals in the world.


    He not only repelled Gellert''s attack on his home, but he killed dozens of his Inner Circle. Wizards and Witches that even I would be troubled facing as a group. Trained especially by Gellert himself to be his personal guard and strike force.


    Gellert escaped with his life, but many of his confidants died that evening.


    News spread quickly, and it gave many of us a renewed vigor when Gellert had been on a long streak of sess. Many ces were then without their leaders as Gellert assigned his most trusted to positions of power.


    It was truly a turning point in the war.


    But what most people don''t know is that Gellert was infantilized.


    I recalled the conversation with him after his defeat. A victory, that would have been substantially harder had this previously unknown man not caused the Elder Wand in his position to question its loyalty to Gellert and stop providing increased aid.


    The most powerful Wand in the world, a fickle mistress she was. And after losing to this previously unknown Wizard, it began to stymy Gellert''s magic, allowing me arge opportunity to defeat my once friend, ending the Magical Side of the war.


    But before that, when the Elder Wand was working properly, facilitating Gellert''s already immense Magical might to unheard of levels, this Zelretch treated him as a child.


    Chiding him more than fighting.


    It spooked Gellert badly.


    Even when we fought, it was clear there was a ghost still in his heart from the encounter.


    He didn''t say much after that, but it was enough to worry me.


    The subsequent revtions were more to add. We sealed some of the more...vtile information from the public, but some things still were spread around. Yes, it was impossible to hide everything about the most wanted man in the Magical World being defeated and who had done it.


    Traces back to before the Calendar updated. And various instances of his presence over the centuries with no seeming rhyme or reason. It was not even particrly noteworthy events that he revealed himself. And I was sure there were many more that were simply unrecorded.


    They called him a Dark Lord once things became known, but I wasn''t even sure that was the case. Was there ever an instance of his recorded performing evil deeds? I would never condone the killing of others, but I was also not foolish enough to not recognize that it wasn''t something inherently evil.


    Abhorrent as it was.


    "Albus, what did the letter say?" Minerva asked.


    "Someone of the Schweinorg name wishes to have a discussion and meeting regarding sending their child to Hogwarts this year..." I responded absentmindedly.


    Minerva blinked. "That is....not quite the response I expected from your tone, Albus."


    "His Daughter is apparently a Princess of some sort from a Magical Creaturemunity in Japan."


    "...oh." Minerva softly replied. "We''re not going to ept, right Albus?"


    "Minerva ¨C"


    "Don''t Minerva me, Albus. I grew up during the Blitz, I know the name Schweinorg. Dark Wizard if there ever was one.!


    "We can''t judge children by their parentage." I countered, keeping my tone grandfatherly.


    Minerva stumbled, unable to retort that statement. "Are we even sure this person is rted to the one you''re thinking of?"


    "Truthfully, there is no evidence given. Nothing noting it in the letter but....I find myself believing it unlikely that there is no link."


    I hardly believed the name to bemon. In fact, I don''t recall there being anyone with that family name when we looked into the man all those years ago.


    "Will the Ministry kick up a fuss, Albus?" Flitwick asked. "Merlin knows they will take any reason to stomp around after the debacle of this past year."


    "I see no reason. It''s not as if this family is wanted for any crimes. And the letter exined that his Daughter is Half-Human." I hummed. "I believe every child deserves the same chances, regardless of their origins. Hogwarts is not only a school, but a home for any who seek knowledge and education within these halls. We shelter and protect, nurture and raise. Something I think we often forget while focusing on the aspect of learning."


    "Well said, Albus." Flitwick agreed, as I knew he would. Being a Half Goblin gave him a certain perspective.


    "You''re right, Albus." Minerva sighed. "I was being judgmental. Any children whoe to our school deserve the same chances and nurturing as anyone else."


    "It''s alright, Minerva. Your heart was in the right ce, it only shows your concern for your students." I reassured her.


    She brightened up, epting my praise.


    I decidedly did not mention that the letter also heavily implied a significant ''donation'' should wee to terms of enrollment.


    Yes....I have not lived this long to not know when it''s wise to keep my mouth shut.


    Now....I have cated my staff, but I am still unsure of how to proceed. I suppose I should send a letter in return....


    I only hope that I''m not making a mistake.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m


    Late chapter again because the p.a.t.r.e.o.n chapter was about 9k words.

 Chapter 459 - 417

    <h4>Chapter 459: Chapter 417</h4>


    I was more or less wrapping up my little foray into this world.


    I didn''t want to extend my time here to more than a day, or thereabouts.


    Frankly, this was just me keeping busy without forcing myself to deal with the truly stressful and important matters. It certainly helped with how high-strung I''d been recently, a nice rxing shopping evening.


    That was until I found all that was unholy in this world.Th


    Racist assholes? I could deal with that.


    Hell, give me petnt Gods back home.


    This, however, was too damn far.


    I felt my pyromantic tendencies re up. No one would ever know, a little bit of fire, and this ce would burn down. I''d honestly be doing the world a favor.


    I''m not usually someone who takes shots at other cultures. I honestly believe it''s the height of ignorance and the domain of the uneducated to dismiss another''s societal differences out of hand. That isn''t to say, you should blindly ept everything about someone else''s home. If you go to another country and they perform ritual sacrifice, you wouldn''t be xenophobic to say something bad about that. But to simply point at andbel it backwards or barbaric because it''s different is where a line should be drawn.


    And I found myself stepping over that line.


    Because this is uneptable.


    What is God''s name was this monstrosity?


    I was curious, and decided to take a look over at one of the fashionable clothing stores. And staring at one of the window disys, it nearly made me throw up in my mouth.


    I don''t mind Robes. They''re not for me personally, but they''re a staple in many Magical societies. But this....I had no words.


    Why would any living creature want to wear something like this? It''s like they took all the worst parts about Victorian Era clothing, and stitched it together with the clich¨¦ Wizard attire, then thought they could do worse by adding some mboyant feathers, fur, andce.


    And if that didn''t make it bad enough, there were genuinely people pressed against the window admiring it.


    [It''s just clothing.] Ddraig snorted within my head. [Honestly don''t know why you''re so obsessed about it.]


    Imagine if instead of clothing, it was the equivalent of scales.


    [.....burn it down.] Ddraig spoke after a beat.


    I knew you understood me best, Ddraig.


    I could feel my Magical Energy rise to the surface.


    Fire is the answer to every problem. If you im it doesn''t solve the problem, you''re just not using enough! Or you can just burn any dissidents. If there''s no one to tell you it''s not working, then no one can prove otherwise!


    {Am I really going to have to be a voice of reason here?} My Zanpakut¨­ chimed in.


    [Burn it!]


    {Don''t take advice from the Dragon about burning things}


    Oh fine.


    [Party pooper]


    {You have other things you''d rather be doing anyways. Don''t waste your time caring about something that won''t overly concern you.}


    Yeah yeah.


    The only reason I was checking out this ce was because it was near where I actually wanted to go.


    ''Flourish & Blotts''.


    A bookseller.


    Color me interested.


    I hummed as I pushed the door open, the insides being vastlyrger than the building would appear from the outside.


    At this point, it seems like a standard magical effect to increase the space of facilities. Perhaps a necessity that came from hiding in modern times? Diagon Alley wasn''t that big to amodate what was thousands of Witches and Wizards, it made sense that they needed to add more.


    However, I felt my eye twitch as I saw the state of this ce.


    Stacks and stacks of books, which was good....if they weren''t haphazardly thrown all over the ce.


    Literally towering stacks of books that were tilting back and forth because they were about to fall over. There were more, on the staircase leading to the second floor, a hazard for anyone trying to walk. There were archways made from books barely held together by friction.


    What the fuck was wrong with this world?


    Ignored it, Wilhelm, you had other things you wanted to do before going back home.


    Instead of being supremely bothered by theyout of this ce, I walked to the front desk.


    "Can I help you, Dearie?" A kindly old woman looked up from the counter.


    "Yes, I was wanting to make a rather..rge purchase. I figured it would be more appropriate to ask rather than find everything myself. Would it be possible to get two sets ofpulsory texts for Hogwarts students?"


    "For which years?'' She responded.


    "Every year?" I blinked.


    "The Texts sometimes change from year to year." She gently exined. "Do you have someone attending?"


    "Possibly my Daughter. Just came over from out of Country and wanted to take a look at everything before making a decision." I casually exined.


    "Oh wonderful!" She happily pped. "You''ll find that Hogwarts is the foremost Magical School in the entire world."


    "So I''ve heard." I had yet to form a thorough opinion.


    "It makes sense then." She nodded in understanding. "Especially with the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher changing every year, the books needed also change."


    "Pardon?" I frowned. "What do you mean that a Teacher is changing every year."


    "Oh forgive me." She ced her hand lightly on her chest. "You just told me and I already forgot." She leaned, looking around. "You-Know-Who did something, a curse or what-have-you, and no Teacher can persist for more than a year in the position."


    "A teacher dies every year!?" I was now very concerned.


    "Oh Merlin, no!" Sheughed. "Just some reason or another that they leave or are.....forced to leave."


    I.....am finding it difficult to understand. "Why don''t they just remove this Curse?"


    "You-Know-Who was a very powerful Wizard, not even the Great Dumbledore was able to remove it. Who would you expect could do so?" She said as if it were obvious.


    "You-Know-Who?"


    "Indeed." She nodded.


    "Who is that?"


    "It''s you-know-who"


    "Yes, I don''t know who."


    "The Dark Lord"


    "Grindelwald?" That was the only Dark Lord I''ve heard about.


    "Grindelwald? What does he have to do with anything?" She looked confused now. "Grindelwald was defeated by Dumbledore during the War."


    "Yes, and who is this Dark Lord then?"


    "It''s You-Know-Who!"


    "I don''t know who!"


    "How do you not know!?"


    "I was living in Japan my entire life." I fought off a sigh.


    She hesitated, looking around again before once more leaning in. "His name was....Voldemort." She whispered, a tinge of fear present in her voice.


    ...that''s a stupid name.


    "And this Dark Lord did something after Grindelwald?"


    She looked clearly ufortable with the line of questioning. "It was a Dark Time, you shouldn''t ask about it. But it doesn''t matter any longer, he was defeated by the Boy-Who-Lived."


    "....."


    She looked at me again. "Don''t tell me you don''t know about that either?"


    "I have no idea."


    Her expression changed drastically. "Why, Harry Potter of course!"


    "Oh, is Harry Potter some kind of powerful Wizard like Dumbledore?"


    She let out augh. "He''s just a child. Bought his books right from me just thisst year for his first year of schooling!" She puffed up proudly.


    "Pardon, are you saying that a School Student defeated this....Dark Lord?"


    "Yes, it was just about ten years ago." She looked off into the distance. "If not For Harry Potter, who knows what would have happened?"


    "Ten Years...and you said he just bought books. Wouldn''t he have been an infant?"


    "Why, of course." She nodded.


    "....an infant defeated this scary Dark Lord of yours?"


    She nodded as if it weren''t the most ridiculous thing I''ve heard in a long while.


    "....how?"


    "Well....I don''t know. All we know is that he survived the killing curse! And destroyed that monster for good!"


    "....an infant?"


    What the hell was this ''killing curse''.


    I felt it should be even something a foreigner should know, so I kept my mouth shut.


    "He''s destined for Great Things!"


    Alright then.


    There seems to be a Dark Lord problem here if there were two in such a time frame. Then again, if we were to toss thebel around back home, half the clock Tower would get the title.


    I decidedly chose not toment further on the topic. If he was killed, then I didn''t care anymore. I would have simply gone to kill him myself so Kunou''s schooling wouldn''t be interrupted by any stupidity.


    If we ended up deciding on this ce.


    It was looking good so far though. Despite my current misgivings, which were admittedly my own personal hang ups. It was shaping up to be something that I think Kunou would enjoy.


    Of course, I needed to look into the actual learning material to form a better opinion.


    Thus, here we were.


    If their problems could be solved by literal babies, I''m sure it''s nothing important.


    "Back on topic, books." I shifted back to the reason I was here.


    "Oh yes." She snapped back as well. "What books would you like?"


    "How about..st year''s material? Otherwise, the standard sets for each year for each major subject would be appreciated. Two sets, that is. And....honestly, throw in anything you think would be helpful for a parent wanting to see what the education is like over here. I can pay very well. So please, don''t hold back."


    The twinkle in her eyes told me that she would be more than happy to add anything she thinks I would need.


    [***]


    Finding a nice quiet ce had actually been....a test in futility for the most part. This ce was fairly packed full of people, but I was lucky enough to find a little rotunda with a tree and some benches with a little grassy garden a tiny bit out of the way.


    No one around, I took out one of the books I acquired, starting from the beginning.


    ''The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)''.


    Apulsory text for every first year it seems.


    Good, they streamlined their education enough to have something like this, which gave me hope. Even back in the Clock Tower, they had standardized books for new students.


    I opened it up to read the first page to get an idea of what I was getting into.


    "An Introduction to Charms." I hummed to myself. "Through this text you will be learning the basic Charms any Proper Wizard and Witch will utilize in their lifetimes. These range from Kitchen Cantrips to Deceptively Dreadful Defensive Measures for the quick thinking. However, this text will not include the Dark Arts, that is to say, there will be no learning of Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses. This text does not deal with Dark Charms."


    There was a bit more, but I skimmed over the introduction.


    Interesting that they broadlybeled a bunch of things simply as ''Charms''.


    [Baby Magic then?]


    "So it would seem." I mentally shrugged. "It''s fine though, this is what Kunou can use as a springboard. Magic is Magic, even if it differs wildly from one ce to another, it all has somemon ground to work from."


    {Once she understands basics from here, she can learn the moreplicated matters that we are familiar with. I believe the Magic possessed in Skyrim would be a good route for the equivalent of higher education before stepping into the Magecraft you are more familiar with.} Mus¨± Tengai also noted.


    "Agreed, it''s a good first step on thedder from what Gramps said." Something basic and easy to understand with minimal danger. What more could I ask for with my Daughter''s education?


    I went to the first page of spell work.


    The Very First spell the kids would be learning.


    "Lumos." I read aloud. "The Wand-lightning Charm. A Charm that illuminates the tip of the Caster''s wand, allowing for the Caster to see in the dark. The Counter Charm, provided below, is known as ''Nox'', which is used to extinguish the light from the Caster''s Wand. This Charm can also be sometimes used to reveal magically hidden things."


    It went on a bit more but I skimmed through that. Instead, I focused on a Magically moving picture that showed a wand movement and the effect in ck and white. While not as noticeable since it was dealing with light, the shades did change and I could make out what happened.


    "Reveals Magically Hidden things? That implies it''s not simply light but more of a revtion, which supports the banishment of Darkness due to the inherent concepts behind the two ideas. Light lets you see in the dark, ergo, a revtion spell would push away any darkness around you." I was just thinking out loud at this point.


    [Don''t idently exorcise yourself]


    I....was about to retort something snarky, but that is genuinely a curious idea.


    Regardless, shall we test it?


    It specifies Wand-Lightning, but I doubted I actually needed one.


    The only issue is that it doesn''t really go into depth on how the Spell operates only....follow the outline and it works.


    I guess they don''t cover the mechanism this early. But that did earn an eyebrow raise either way because simple Spell Words and Motions shouldn''t actualize a spell like this unless it was a manner of ritual that was engraved in the world.


    Well, let''s test.


    I held a finger out and followed the motions described in the book. "Lumos!"


    .....


    Nothing happened.


    "Lumos."


    "Lumos!"


    "Lumos"


    My Magical Energy didn''t....respond properly. Something was off and I didn''t know what it was.


    Realistically, I didn''t churn my Magical Energy like I would with a normal spell from my end because this was supposed to work for utter beginners. That is to say, they shouldn''t have the same control that I have, therefore it''s not a leap to guess that it would work by itself without the user needing further control of their Magical Energy.


    Wand Movements in general were something I was iffy on. Why were they needed? Was it simr to the creation of a Rune in that the ''character'' was a representation of itself? In that case, why would a Spell World be mandatory too?


    Further on that train of thought, is ''Wandless'' and ''Wordless'' Magic even possible here?


    "Lumos!"


    Again, nothing.


    [So this is the first spell?]


    "Yes, Ddraig."


    [The ones that literal children learn for their first spell?]


    "Yes, Ddraig." I groaned.


    [Like, they hand the kids their sticks, and this is just something that is easy for kids who probably still wet the bed?]


    "Yes, Ddraig."


    [Just checking!]


    Fuck you, Ddraig!


    "Lumos!"


    Again, nothing. And I was starting to get annoyed.


    I could produce light at the tip of my finger without a second thought required. But why wasn''t this working?


    What was I doing wrong? Was a Wand literally required? It was in the name, but I was 90% sure that was a misnomer. And how did people practice magic without Wands if this was the case? I doubt Magic suddenly popped up because someone thought ''hey, let me say some magic words and wave my stick around this specific way''.


    I''m missing something.


    I recalled what Gramps said, and it was obvious that he thought this would be an exercise for me to figure out.


    Meaning, there is something to figure out on my end.


    "Lumos!" I concentrated on the Mana in the air, and I noted a faint ripple. Like it failed to take hold of my spell.


    As if....the world assisted with the spell casting?


    That was absurd, this was no Grand Ritual.


    And there were certainly no Gods here to facilitate this kind of thing.


    What was I missing?


    "Lumos!" I watched again, and it reacted nearly exactly the same way.


    "Lumos!" I tried totch onto the Mana in the air with my own Magical Energy. I felt something, but nothing Actualized.


    I held up my other hand, and cast a simr spell, allowing a small light to appear above my finger. Nothing happened, the Mana didn''t react at all, but my own Spell came out without any issue.


    "Lumos!" I cast in my free hand.


    Once more, the same happened.


    [Maybe you can ask that baby to teach you? He''s apparently beating Dark Lords while in a Diaper.]


    "Shut up, Ddraig." I grumbled.


    [Just saying, it makes me depressed to see my user not be able to use even the most basic of baby spells. You think if we get Kunou she could figure it out before you?]


    "I''m ignoring you."


    [It''s alright to admit.]


    "....admit what?" I was annoyed that he got an answer from me even after I said what I did before.


    {Don''t ¨C }


    [That it''s too difficult for you.]


    Caution to the wind then.


    I took out the Staff of Magnus.


    "LUMOS!"


    A second sun appeared overhead.


    [***]


    Canon-Omake, Date with Venna.


    I had my chin resting on the table, and across from me Venna was doing the same.


    I don''t know how long we''d been like this, but we were staring at each other for a good while at this point.


    "You blinked, I win," Venna suddenly smiled.


    "Dammit, I got lost in thought!" I huffed.


    "No being a sore loser~" She giggled.


    "I''ll make you sore."


    "I''m sure you will." She smiled. "We can do that now if you want."


    "Oh?" I perked up, but forced myself to settle down. "Jeez, I thought I was the horny one. Is there even an off switch for you?"


    "Sweetie." She reached over, yfully patting my cheek. "I''m almost always horny."


    That exined a lot.


    And I could rte.


    "It''s not that don''t want to take a tumble in the bed sheets ¨C"


    "Or anywhere, I don''t mind getting adventurous." She interjected.


    Jesus Christ, this woman was going to be the end of me.


    "But! I wanted to spend some time with you too." I took her hand into mine, giving her a smile.


    "And I enjoy this about you immensely." She returned the warm smile. "What did you have in mind?


    I''m up for just about anything."


    "Impromptu date?" I hummed. "Uh...."


    "Would you like some suggestions?" She offered.


    "Please, I''m floundering here."


    She giggled, and touched the Bracelet I gave her before, taking out a piece of paper. "Here you go. This is my bucket list this decade."


    I took it, but looked at her first. "Bucket list for this decade? What''s that supposed to mean."


    "Oh, I just make a list of things that pique my interest every decade or so that I want to do. Not all of them pan out, but it is what it is." She shrugged.


    I read the first on the list. "Fly to the Moon?" I furrowed my brow.


    "Humansnded on the Moon some years ago, I thought they would have hadmercial flights within a few years back when I made this list. Unfortunately, it looks like I''ll have to put that one off."


    "I could take you there myself...?" It would take ample preparation, but it was....possible.


    "Part of the fun would be the flying. I wanted the whole experience, breaking through the Earth''s gravity well. The st off, thending. All of that good stuff."


    "Understandable." I didn''t bring it up again. "That sounds like fun. It''s something we can do together in the future."


    "Then we can have sex on the way back. It would be exciting to do it without any gravity~"


    I couldn''t even say anything because I had that same exact thought.


    I skimmed the list, most of it were things that would require a bit of setup or weren''t really possible on short notice, but I didnd on one that did make me pause. I flipped the page over and held my finger to it. "Really?"


    "What?" She chuckled. "I saw it on T.V. some years ago and I''ve been wanting to do it since. But everyone I''ve asked didn''t really seem interested. And I wouldn''t want to go alone, that would be weird."


    "Fuck it, let''s do it. I''ve never done it before either."


    She smiled brightly, like a genuine excitement. "Oh, this is going to be fun!" She shot up out of her seat. "But I should probably change." She looked down at the dress she was wearing. "Unless you want me to sh my ass at people when I run."


    I reached over, and lifted her dress up to get a good look. "Nope, that''s mine." I shook my head, giving her a little pat on her butt for emphasis.


    "I should put on some panties too." She noted. "Give me ten minutes, and I''ll be right back!"


    Who''d have thought she''d want to y Paintball of all things? I wasn''tining, it sounded like a fun time!


    [***]


    Venna and I sat there in silence.


    We were sweaty and covered in Paint.


    "Here are your participation Trophies." The owner handed us these two little stic gold-colored cups. "If youe back, we will call the police."


    Neither Venna nor I said anything as he walked away.


    "Wow...."


    "Yes." She agreed.


    "Those kids were ruthless."


    "I am surprised myself." She rubbed her boob. "I got shot in the tit several times."


    "I don''t think it was an ident..."


    "Oh, it definitely wasn''t. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have gotten so worked up and shot those kids in the mouth every time they opened them."


    "I confess to nothing."


    I expected a fun little outing, shooting each other and some other people with some little balls of paint. We both intentionally kept our standards to that of a normal human, otherwise there would be no point.


    But Jesus Christ, those Kids were monsters.


    "And we''re banned now." She mused. "Do you think we did something wrong?"


    "No, I''m sure it wasn''t that you went on a rampage screaming ''My Dick'' when I got shot in said dick." I deadpanned. "Didn''t you say you were a Child Psychiatrist? Cause some of those kids are going to need some rmendations."


    "I did indeed."


    "Well, a little trauma probably never hurt anyone...." Those kids are going to need a therapistter.


    "It builds character." She defended.


    "I don''t think kicking some teen down to the ground and unloading everything you had into their groin is ''character building''. But then again, I''m not a licensed Psychiatrist."


    "Trust me, I went to school."


    "That response probably wouldn''t make me this speechless if I wasn''t technically a high school dropout."


    She patted my leg. "There there."


    "Well....what now?" I asked.


    "I don''t know. I didn''t expect us to get kicked out so soon."


    "So soon?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "There were only two ways this could have gone." She shrugged. "Believe me when I say, this is pretty normal for my family and I''m used to it."


    Wow, that was something I didn''t think was worth unpacking here.


    Regardless.


    ".....wanna go find another one to get kicked out of?"


    She smiled brightly. "I would love to."


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 460 - 418

    <h4>Chapter 460: Chapter 418</h4>


    I walked along the street past the shops.


    Not with a care in the world.


    There was a giant ball of light in the sky, but what could that have to do with me?


    So, I just very calmly walked down the street. Perhaps a tad briskly, but I kept my calm. Because I was certainly not responsible for the utter chaos that was unfolding all around me.


    People were definitely not running in panic and other Magic Users suddenly teleported into the streets to throw their spells at the giant ball of light that was totally not my fault.


    [Good job.]


    I me you, Ddraig.


    [I bet you can''t do it again.]


    I''m not falling for that again.


    [Whatever. I knew it was too much for you.]


    I felt a small twitch of my eye.


    {Don''t make me pull you into your soul.} Mus¨± Tengai interrupted. {Ddraig, stop trying to bait him into causing problems}


    Yeah, fuck off Ddraig.


    {And Wilhelm, stop falling for his obvious baits.}


    I chose not toment.


    But I did find a nice spot to watch what was going on. A few dozen Magic Users began casting spells in unison, and my own spell gradually faded away.


    Granted, it was just a ball of light that revealed hidden truths...on top of a secretly hidden enve in the middle of London....


    I''m sure it''ll be fine.


    But I digressed, it was interesting to see them undo my magic. Reminded me of the spell that Ollivander used when I was getting tested for a Wand.


    Perhaps there were a few spells to pick up here or there. Just the cursory nce at the first year book of spells, it showed they adopted a lot of magical ways to manage mundane tasks. Which did admittedly pique my interest in many ways.


    Did I have anything else I needed to do here? I Commissioned a Sword to be made. A Wand was a no go for now, but that''s something I still want to do after picking out some pieces. I doubt I''ll use it for anything meaningful, but I am sufficiently interested in owning one. Sent the letter to the Headmaster of Hogwarts. And I picked up a bunch of good stuff.


    That seems to be about it. I suppose I''ll just meander for another couple hours or so and just do whatever popped into my mind...


    [Cast some magic again.]


    Mus¨± Tengai let out a sigh but I ignored him.


    I could figure it out if I wanted to.


    [I''m sure you could.]


    I fucking hate you.


    But I couldn''t deny that it wasn''t bothering me with how the Magic was behaving.


    It didn''t make sense!


    Well, the logic was off. The Lumos spell only worked once I had a foci for it to ping off of. Which....was stupid in the simplest terms. That shouldn''t dictate if a spell was operable or not! It''s not as if it was weighing the conceptual significance of the Foci as a symbol simr to my Yggdrasil.


    No, it was....just a foci in the eyes of the ''spell''. Granted, I put more oomph in it than I should have...but that''s neither here nor there.


    Frankly, it shouldn''t have been a problem.


    It didn''t make sense.


    I literally changed nothing other than holding the staff. Yet, it seemingly worked properly then. And I was almost 100% sure that the Staff of Magnus was not the reason it actualized. I''m pretty sure any old Magical Foci would have sufficed there.


    So we loop back around to the original question, why wasn''t it working until I wielded a foci?


    Was that purely because the spell actualized at the tip of a presumed Wand? But that doesn''t make sense considering that when I put my Staff away, it lingered in the air for a long while.


    My only clue was that the Mana around me acted strangely when I attempted casting initially.


    Like it was stirred up and wanted to do something, but fizzled out halfway.


    Okay my Academic Curiosity got the better of me. I whipped out the book whilst taking a peaceful stroll down the now vacant street and flipped a few pages until Inded on one spell that shouldn''t cause a problem.


    "Levitation charm." I hummed.


    I used my finger again, pointing at a leaf on the ground. A simple movement that was more of a flick than anything and then I chanted. "Wingardium Leviosa."


    It fluttered but didn''t move. I quirked an eyebrow because that was vastly different from the initial response with the previous spell. Despite my own self-proimed mastery of certain Magics, I would not presume to master a spell on the first try. However, this was a tad more than I had expected afterst time.


    A stark contrast that did give me pause for concern.


    The Mana around me acted simrly, enough to know that something was wrong inparison, but it was obvious I was missing some important facet of spellcasting here.


    After having an increased sample size, I realized that the movement I did actually disturbed the Mana in the air. No, that wasn''t quite right either. The word too, they had meaning, the Mana moved ording to them. Both the movement and words both meant something.


    "Wingardium Leviosa" I cast again, pointing at the same leaf. It jerked slightly but I lost any hold on it fairly quickly.


    There was still a sort of disconnect happening between me and the spell.


    Why?


    I was doing everything ''right''. I could easily analyze such a simplistic spell if I looked into it, so I didn''t believe it was something beyond my means.


    "Wingardium Leviosa" I cast again.


    Nothing changed as the leaf only sputtered before falling back to the ground.


    This doesn''t make any sense.


    The spell wasn''t properly actualizing. A Wand shouldn''t be the deciding factor, that''s just ridiculous. Thest spell notwithstanding....but even that is confusing me.


    None of this makes sense.


    I jerked my head to see a lightning bolt streak through the sky. Sir Wigglesnded on my shoulder, and with a gust of wind he was joined with his apparent paramour.


    "Did you deliver the letter?" I rubbed them both on the head.


    The faint ''affirmative'' confirmation through our link was all I needed.


    I let out a tired sigh.


    This mystery was going to annoy me until I solved it.


    Dammit Gramps.


    Well, I need to see how the locals cast their spells, thankfully there was onest ce I wanted to go before heading home.


    [***]


    I pushed open the ragged door, quite a few gazes greeted me but they were less inquisitive thanst time.


    "Afternoon, Tom." I pulled up a chair at the bar.


    "I expected you some other day,d." He looked me over with a nod. "Suppose you buying that drink now?"


    "Looks like it." I rubbed Sir Wiggles again. "Don''t suppose you got any fresh veggies either?"


    "Got some carrots." He waved his Wand, they floated over and he cut them off with another motion. No words spoken. He had a te float over and set the food down as both the Rabbits happily jumped down to their meal.


    Funny how he didn''t even bat an eye at my bunnies.


    But honestly, I was more interested in his apparent silent casting.


    "What''cha want then,ddy?" He asked.


    "I honestly have no idea. What''s the most popr drink around these parts?" I leaned back.


    "If you want somethin smooth and easy on the throat, the young''uns prefer some ButterBeer. If you want something stronger, our other best seller is some good ol'' Fire Whiskey. Got a few different proofs if ya want too."


    "Never had either of those, hit me with a bottle of both."


    "I''ll start ya off simple then." He nodded gruffly, moving around his bar.


    The Butterbeer was basically what one would expect in a beer, even though it looked rather simple on the outside. I didn''t know how to feel about something called a ButterBeer, but....first sip of it and it was rather smooth and easy to drink. Could understand where he wasing from then.


    An interesting taste, but not in a bad way.


    "Not bad." I admitted.


    "Try this one then." He chuckled, uncorking a more traditional bottle for what I assumed was the whiskey he mentioned. He poured it into a small ss. "This''ll put some hair on your chest."


    "Bottoms up." I looked at it a moment before downing it in one go. It certainly did burn going down, but in a good way. And surprisingly, it hit me hard. Much harder than something of this amount had any right to. It took a lot to get me drunk, but this was...something that could cut down on that amount significantly.


    There was a spark of Magical Energy in it too.


    Magic Whiskey, how quaint.


    "Not bad I suppose. But why is it called ¨C " Before I could finish, a small me spewed out of my mouth. I blinked, taking a moment to reboot. "I retract my question."


    Tom smacked his leg with a deepugh. "Never gets old!"


    "Yeah, yeah,ugh at the foreigner." I rolled my eyes, taking the bottle myself and pouring it into the ss. "So what was the deal with that big ball of light earlier?"


    He scratched his head. "Blimey if I know. I did hear some of the Aurors that came through though, said that about half the Wards around the alley fizzled out. Lots of muggles caught sight of us, they had to go obliviate a few hundred if what the Auror said was right. They be saying that it was a terrorist attack, or something or another. I don''t buy it though, no one was hurt, probably some prank gone wrong, I say." He gruffed.


    ....woops.


    Oh well, it seems like it worked out fine.


    "Got another question if you don''t mind. Something I noticed about the way you all do Magic around here. We don''t use Wands back home, so I was wondering. Do you lot not learn to cast spells without your Wands?"


    "You mean some Wandless magic?" He furrowed his brow. "That some advance stuffd. Even Dumbledore was said to only know a bit of Wandless Magic."


    So it is possible.


    The....why?


    What was I doing wrong?


    "What about silent casting? I saw you doing that a moment ago."


    "Oh that?" He shrugged. "Just some tricks. Most Wizards and Witches pick up a few spells they can do silently after a few years. For the moreplicated stuff, still gotta say the words."


    Hmm.


    Well, let''s find some volunteers to experiment with.


    There weren''t too many people here, and it wasn''t a tavern like back in Skyrim. Ordering a round of drinks for everyone probably wasn''t going to go the same way as it would here. Honestly, they''d probably think I was weird.


    There was someone else at the bar, a few seats down. Looked a few years older than me, and his own Fire Whiskey looked empty as he got thest few drops out of it into his ss.


    So, I slid my bottle down to him.


    He was surprised at my sudden action, looking at me for a moment before topping off his ss proper. "Thanks." He nodded.


    I got up and sat a bit closer. "No problem, got more than enough to share."


    "Can I help you, Mr...?"


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself.


    He looked thoughtful for a moment. "That name sounds familiar. Some Pureblood family?" His tone was riddled with distaste.


    "Hopped over here from Japan, actually. Just checking things out since my Daughter will probably be going to be attending Hogwartsing this year." I replied.


    "Hogwarts?" His eyebrows raised, a nostalgic look about him. "I miss my Hogwarts days. Best days they were. Merlin, what I wouldn''t give to go back to then." He paused, holding a hand out. "Name''s Robert Troft."


    "Nice to meet you, Robert." I said politely. "Good things to say about Hogwarts?"


    "Mostly good, but you know, it is a school. I was a right prat when I was younger, but I still miss it." He grinned. "Doing lines in detention beats the desk job I got at the Ministry. When I was told I was a Wizard, I didn''t think my life would end up with basically doing the same my dad does, but with my Wand."


    "The more things change, the more they stay the same." I mused.


    "Ain''t that the truth." He took a drink. "Tell your Daughter to actually do good on her work. I was too caught up on everything else, barely passed my OWLS and NEWTS, couldn''t get a better job. Best advice I never got, those grades matter far more than I was told in my schooling."


    "That bad?" I could guess that this OWL and NEWT was some sort of acronym for their testing.


    "Had to start in the mail room grabbing parcels off the owls before I was allowed a promotion to desk jockey." He snorted. "Have a mate, same year, Muggle Born just like me, but only a bit better grades. Guess where he is now?"


    "Where?"


    "He works in the Department of Magical Creatures!" He grumbled. "Might be able to swing something like that myself, in a decade or two."


    "Why not look for something else?"


    "Whatcha mean?" He frowned. "Not many ces want to hire a Muggleborn as is, much less one who barely passed Hogwarts."


    "You have Magic, get creative. You don''t have to do a desk job for a living. Hell, I was reading the first year book of spells an hour ago, use those to restore cars or something." There was a spell meant to repair things. I didn''t look into it deeply, but it was there. "Shit, go steal from some drug dealing cartels in South America."


    "Anyone ever tell you that you''re a bit mental, mate?"


    I shrugged. "All I''m saying is, I wouldn''t feel bad about robbing rich criminals."


    He didn''t say it wasn''t a good idea.


    He could fucking do Magic, why was he sitting behind a desk for a living?


    If you want to forgo any sense of ethics, he could rob people out on the street and get away with it without a problem. I obviously don''t condone that, but it seems like he hasn''t even considered any other avenue.


    But I was going off on a mental tangent.


    "Got an offer for you." I nced his way.


    "Buddy, if you''re gonna ask for what you think you are, I''m gonna slug you in the mouth."


    "Hey, I have standards."


    "What, am I not good enough for you?" He frowned, though his lips quivered for a second before heughed. "Alright, whatcha want. But seriously, if you''re trying to proposition me like some kind of rentboy, I''ll seriously deck you."


    I rolled my eyes. "Right, just let me be brief then. Not from around here, back home, we don''t use Wands. Just wanted to see some Wand Magic used from a different perspective, see how it works."


    "Alright, how does that work, and what are you gonna pay me?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "A simple Diagnostic Spell, it''ll basically let me look at what your Magic is doing while you cast. I just need physical contact. And I''ll give you a hundred Galleons." I just threw out the first total that came to mind.


    "That''s it? What do you want me to do? What''s the catch."


    "I promise, that''s all I want. Maybe see you cast a Lumos and a Levitation Charm. Nothing else, and I promise not to do anything else either."


    "Sounds sketchy as fuck mate."


    "Yeah, it probably does from your perspective. Would it help if I said I inherited a literal mountain of gold from my Gramps?"


    "Funny, I think I don''t have any moral quandaries anymore." He smiled happily. "How are you gonna do this?"


    I just put my hand on his shoulder and cast, holding a Structural grasp on him. His Magic Resistance was...ckingpared to a normal Magus. That was the first thing I noticed, probably about a tenth as effective in that department.


    Strange.


    "Alright, can you cast a Lumos for me?"


    He shrugged, and took out his Wand, holding it up. "Lumos."


    It actualized without any problems whatsoever.


    And I watched his Magic.


    I was genuinely surprised at what I was seeing. From what I could tell, he had no.....Magical Organ that I was familiar with. There was no Core, no Circuits, and no visible...Container, to hold and mold Magical energy.


    How strange.


    Gramps was telling the truth there.


    "Can you cast that one a few more times?"


    "Sure." He said simply. "Nox. Lumos. Nox. Lumos. Nox. Lumos. Nox."


    I watched each time as the Mana round him moved, how it swirled and shaped to hismand.


    The more I watched, the more confused I got. Every idea that popped into my head was quickly squashed due to inconsistencies of each casting.


    What was going on?


    It was like....the spell just worked.


    It felt like he, as the caster, was wholly irrelevant.


    He was somehow pulling Magical Energy into himself, but his body wasn''t shaping it.


    No, from what I could gather, the Wand was....the Wand was acting the part.


    "Cast the other one, please."


    He held his Wand to his ss. "Wingardium Leviosa." The ss levitated with a flick of his wrist it moved through the air, following his Wand movement. "That enough, or keep going?"


    "That''s fine." I breathed out, moving my hand away. "Thanks."


    "Whatever, mate." He set his Wand down. "You good for it?"


    "Yeah..." I said absentmindedly, fishing through my ring to find the pouch that was connected to my vault and put the money on the counter. Was it 100 Galleons? I think it was a bit more than that, but I wasn''t really paying attention.


    "Cheer, mate." He finished off his ss. "Gonna head out, appreciate the coin." He patted my shoulder, and grabbed his stuff, heading out.


    I didn''t really care. I was stuck, staring at the wall because I was currently processing what I had just witnessed.


    Wizards and Witches ¨C presumedly, the same, I haven''t checked a Female version of their Magical society. Wizards and Witches...they don''t have a proper Magical Organ.


    A contradiction. Their Wand acted as the recement ... .sort of.


    It''s like their Wand was a hand-held Magic Circuit, without a betterparison.


    Maybe that wasn''t even correct, but it was the closest approximation.


    I think I understood now. The Mana wasn''t refined by them, like a Magus. As a Magus, we use our Circuits tobine both our own Magical Energy ¨C Od, and the Magical Energy of the World ¨C Mana. There are many terms for it, amon one being Prana, but most just call it Magical Energy for simplicity''s sake unless a differentiation is needed.


    Wizards..they don''t have that. They don''tbine it with their own reserves. They had a sort of.....container in the form of their body, but it didn''t actually hold any Magical Energy. No, it felt more like it directed it. I almost wanted to call it like a Core, but that was wrong too.


    If Artoria''s Magic Core was a solid ball, then a Wizard had a sort of....wiffle ball? That kind of practice stic ball that had a bunch of holes in it.


    Mana constantly flows through them, non-stop. A Wand, it seems, is how they overcame this deficit. A Wand forcibly directs the Mana that flows into a Wizard''s body.


    A Wizard can never run out of Magical Energy. But they can also harm themselves by forcing themselves to push past a certain limit. And their output seems to have a very hard cap.


    A low floor, but a low ceiling as well....


    Equivalent exchange in that regard.


    It would exin why Wandless Magic was so difficult. It took extreme mastery to force the chaotic Mana running through your body into a certain shape without a Foci.


    It''s kind of ridiculous now that I think about it.


    However, that still left some questions to be answered, like....why was the Mana acting in certain ways.


    It responded to his casting in a way that was....unnatural.


    Mana shouldn''t be moved to fill a certain shape without a proper Ritual. A Ritual was a connection with the Greater World, a resonance. So why was it acting like that every time a spell was cast?


    The idea was absurd. A Ritual cast over the entire world that dictated the rules of their Magic? No, not even a Magic God could aplish such a thing. Meridia might be able to, but it would require a constant eye on things as the nature of Mana was nebulous and chaotic.


    You couldn''t just snap your fingers, andy down thews, so to speak. The nature of Magic ¨C spellcasting, was an ever changing field.


    Back home, there is something like that because of the nature of theary Wills. Gaia and ya strike down the disy and persistence of Magecraft because it goes against their will. Magecraft was afterall, a product of a bygone era, and the ruthless Will of Humanity only looks towards the future. And Magecraft is doomed to fall in time.


    The rules, if they can be called that, are set. Magi work to get around the rules as best as they can, but they''re all aware of them.


    So.....what is enforcing the ''rules'' here?


    There are no Gods, Gramps already said that....


    Why does moving a Wand in a certain way cause the ambient Mana to resonate so vividly. Why do non-Divine Words cause the same phenomenon?


    Because....that''s the rules set. But who set it....


    "You alright there,d?" Tom was standing across from me on his side of the bar. "You''ve been sitting there standing for a while."


    "...yeah, I''m fine." I strained a smile. "Can I get some... no, .all of your Alcohol?"


    "....huh?"


    "I can pay."


    I wanted a drink right now.


    He just shook his head weirdly and fetched me another bottle.


    At least I sort of figured out how to y around with the Magic here. I was fairly sure I could cast a spell sessfully if I wanted to at this point after seeing how Robert''s spells actualized. I had to connect my internal Magical Energy with the ambient Mana to produce the proper phenomenon rather than use my Circuits to take in the Mana and mold it that way.


    Annoying, but not too difficult to ovee.


    Kunou shouldn''t have an issue, a Wand would do that automatically. And it can trante well enough even after leaving here, the same underlying concepts of how the spells work will remain the same.


    It just didn''t make sense!


    I don''t know why it was working this way. Only that it did for some reason!


    I was about to pour myself a ss, but the space in front of me seemed to spontaneouslybust. Rather than fire bursting everywhere, a creature appeared, wreathed in mes that took a moment to dissipate.


    Still, itnded upon the bar in front of me, fire seemed to dance between its feathers.


    .....a Phoenix.


    "The Headmaster''s Phoenix." Tom eximed, many other moring around the ce. While there was a bit of excitement, it wasn''t to the point where I would expect when a Phoenix suddenly appears.


    It seems that it''s well known at this point.


    "You are the most beautiful Bird I''ve ever seen in my life." I couldn''t help but praise it. It wasn''t just its physical appearance, it was utterly brimming with such a warm and epassing life energy.


    It set down a letter it was holding in its mouth. It stared at me for a good long while, as if to judge me. Originally, I would think it''d hate me, being a Devil and all. I was objectively a Dark aligned being, and a Phoenix stood firmly in the light side. But I also was blessed by Izzy and Meridia, the two sides that a Phoenix represents, life and death.


    After a good long moment, it pushed its head into my hand and I gently rubbed the back of its head.


    Seeing it frill happily did bring a smile onto my face. But it also nudged at the letter with its talon.


    "I presume this is for me?"


    It didn''t respond, but the look it gave me was like ''Are you an idiot''?


    I took the letter, seeing an unfamiliar wax seal. I broke it to read the letter.


    ''Dear Mr. Schweinorg,


    I am admittedly surprised to receive a letter from you. We do not often receive correspondence regarding transfers from most Eastern Countries. I have read your letter and I do believe we cane to some kind of arrangement. Hogwarts is a most wonderful school and I do think we can amodate a foreign student should we hash out the details. Should you find it satisfactory, I am avable Two Weeks from today for a sit down if you would be inclined. I invite you to bring along your daughter as well. We would be thrilled to give you a tour of our illustrious School. My schedule is often busy these few weeks before a new semester, but if you have any questions or concerns, please owl me ¨C or send your wonderful Rabbits ¨C and I will respond with due haste.


    Sincerely,


    Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.''


    "Huh." I set the letter down. "Is that really his full name?" I asked the bird.


    He let out a soft squawk of confirmation.


    "Who has 5 names?"


    The Phoenix made a noise, I think It was the equivalent of a chuckle. It then nudged me.


    "What?"


    It nudged me again, jerking its head towards the letter. "Are you asking me for a response?''


    It nodded.


    "Jeez, fine." I took out some paper from my ring and penned a response with confirmation on the date. "Here you go, you demanding bird."


    The Phoenix squawked happily, but it didn''t disappear.


    "What?" I blinked.


    It just continued to stare at me.


    What do you want from me? Can''t you see I''m trying to drink my current troubles away?


    "Hey..." I nudged the mythical Bird. "Want a drink?" I offered.


    The Bird did the equivalent of a shrug. So...I poured him a ss. And I watched the legendary Bird grab the ss of Fire Whisky with its beak and down it all in one go.


    It looked at me.


    I looked at it.


    I then poured myself a ss, and threw my head back to drink it all, mming the ss down.


    I looked at it.


    It looked at me.


    Then it gestured to its own ss.


    Why was I feelingpetitive against this Bird? Well It didn''t matter, I find it highly unlikely that a Phoenix can out drink me.


    What''s the worst that could happen?


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.eo.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 461 - 419

    <h4>Chapter 461: Chapter 419</h4>


    "Fuck." I muttered as I rolled over, letting the moon shine down on me. I had the sudden urge to curse at the moon, as if it was the source of my pounding headache. Which, I probably could have done had my body not started sliding down something.


    Something...metallic?


    I pondered the question as I fell off the edge,nding on a grate-like scaffolding.


    "Ow." I intoned.


    I shifted slightly, because there was a now-shattered ss bottle under me.


    If the dozens of other bottles scattered about around me were any indication, it was a bottle of Fire Whisky.


    Tilting my head back, I found a rather peculiar bird sprawled out.


    ....why was it half blue?


    I''m pretty sure he was mostly red when....we started drinking. My memories were a bit fuzzy at this point, but I think that was correct.


    I don''t think there was such a thing as a blue phoenix, especially not a half blue one. But maybe it was a half-Phoenix? I could hardly throw stones in that department.


    With a groan, I rolled myself over onto my stomach,pletely forgetting that there was broken ss under me. And despite what one may think, even with how durable I was, getting broken ss rubbed on me was not pleasant.


    I decided to push myself up onto my feet. I almost fell over and grabbed on to the near by railing on this ledge I found myself on.


    I gave myself a moment to catch my breath, and then it became rather obvious where I was.


    The giant bronze statue was a dead give away.


    I was on the Statue of Liberty. Specifically, I had fallen asleep on its torch, and fell off the tip onto the surrounding tform.


    Well, ain''t this some shit?


    When was thest time I got drunk? God damn, that must have been back in Skyrim soon after I got together with Meridia. It''s super hard for me to even get past a little buzzed these days. Then again, I don''t normally drink Magical Alcohol. And my Magic Resistance doesn''t work against things I consumed.


    On the flip side, my body seemed to burn through it rather quickly, because it was still the same evening...it looked like it was about one or two in the morning if I had to guess.


    I leaned over the railing, catching my proverbial breath. Taking this moment, I checked myself to make sure nothing was wrong.


    [You had a fun night.] Ddraigmented.


    "Anything bad?"


    [Bad? Nothing too bad.]


    "Did I make a fool of myself?" I swear, drunk Wilhelm was not a smart person. But it''s arguable that sober Wilhelm wasn''t either.


    {Everything you did was....within eptable limits.} Mus¨± Tengai spoke up.


    "Do I even want to know?" I decided to ask.


    [...probably not.]


    I left it at that then. I''m sure it''s not very important.


    [Who knows.]


    "God dammit." I sighed. "Fine, tell me."


    [Do you want an abridged version or the y by y?]


    "just....keep it short."


    [Magical Britain has a new Vignte.]


    I resisted the urge to face palm. "Go on."


    [Fighting crime with his trusty sidekick, some Blue Bird.]


    That exins why....actually. "But why is he half blue?"


    [Frankly, I''m surprised you could still walk, let alone attempt to paint a Phoenix blue.]


    Yeah, that sounds about right.


    "Anything else I should know?"


    [You should probably hold off on beating up people with a brick around here.]


    ".....I have so many questions."


    [I expect other people do too.]


    You know what? I wasn''t going to care.


    Instead, I walked over to the sleeping bird and nudged it with my foot. "Wake up." The way it was sprawled out, if its chest wasn''t contracting, I would have thought it was dead....ignoring the fact that it''s a mythical immortal bird.


    "Come on, wake up." I nudged it a bit more. I really had no patience right now. I picked up the limp bird and shook it a little with no response. "I have tried everything I could think of, time for the nuclear option."


    [You just nudged it a little.]


    "Out of options." I held up the Legendary creature and noted the wind resistance from this high up and eyed the world below. I performed many delicate andplicated equations in my head to verify the correct distance.


    And by that, I mean I eyeballed the distance to the water and threw the bird as hard as I could.


    [Oh wow, you got some distance there.] Ddraig sounded surprised.


    I held my hand up to keep the wind from blowing my hair in my face as I squinted to watch. "Birds are naturally very aerodynamic." I could vaguely make out the plop as it hit the water.


    I was about to cheer until a burst of mes manifested right next to me, a very upset and confused Phoenixnded on the railing.


    It stared at me.


    "Would you believe me if I said it was the only way I knew to wake you up?"


    It didn''t respond, but for some reason, I don''t think it believed me. "In any case, at least it washed some of the paint off." I pointed out. "Either that or your little...ming thing did."


    The Bird, with its bird expressions seemed confused once more then turned its head to see a good portion of its body covered in the tackiest blue paint. It kept looking at it then back to me, then back to the paint.


    It let out a squawk, as if demanding an exnation.


    "I think it was an attempt at a disguise." I responded, but that didn''t appear to soothe the bird one bit. Were Phoenix''s able to sigh? Because I''m fairly sure it just sighed in resignation. "We should probably head home..."


    It made a noise of agreement, but it was a rather awkward moment.


    "....would it be rude if I asked you for a feather?"


    The Bird''s tired gaze met mine. It didn''t need to speak for me to understand the ''what the fuck'' it was sending my way.


    "Not for me, for my daughter. She''s most likely going to be attending Hogwarts this year." I quickly exined. "And if it was just convenient, like if you''re molting a feather or something."


    The Phoenix was silent for a beat before spreading out its non-blue wing and used its beak to pull out a feather.


    "Thank you." I said with full sincerity, taking the offered gift.


    Despite the situation, the Legendary Bird nodded sagely in return. It frilled, puffing up its feathers, returning to its rather majestic visage....minus the blue paint still stuck to its feathers.


    "See youter?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    The Phoenix made a noise of confirmation, a hint of amusement I picked up on despite not speaking bird.


    "Bitchin." I nodded and he gave me a goodbye, or some kind of secret Bird insulting gesture with its wing before taking flight and disappearing in a burst of mes. Could have been either, to be honest.


    I was kind of curious to figure out what actually happened during my little...escapade. But I''m sure it wasn''t too bad, and I can ask around when Ie back.


    Well, time for me to leave too. I''m pretty sure I took care of everything I needed to while here, and grabbed some goodies too. I''lle back again with Yasaka and Kunou for the meeting and see if there''s anything else required.


    I straightened myself up and waved my hand to open a portal. I nearly fell over on my first step, but I made it through.


    [***]


    I took haggard steps.


    Each one was agony.


    But Heaven awaited me, so I persisted. I didn''t know how many times I nearly failed, but I only focused on the prize that awaited me.


    I don''t know how long It took, how long this torturested me, but after an eternity of torment, I finally arrived.


    I copsed to my knees, and let my head fall to its resting ce. No cold hard stone met my cheeks this day, instead, something warm and soft propped me up.


    "Are you okay?" Meridia asked.


    "Mmpfh."


    "If you''re going to talk, don''t do it while pushing your face into my thighs."


    "Soft." I rolled my head over, resting it upon herp.


    "That is not a proper response to my question." She pinched my cheek.


    "You should know what I''ve been up to." I mumbled, squeezing her wonderful legs.


    "Yes, which is why I am concerned. Even without speaking to your other lovers, I am aware of what you have gone through." She tugged on my hair tie.


    "I''m not okay, but I''m getting there." I let myself rx. "The small vacation helped."


    "I was under the impression that mortals drink to help relieve stress. Did that provide you somefort and relief?"


    "It was nice letting loose for an evening. But it''s not going to make all my problems just up and disappear." But still, it was nice to take a small break. "Did Venna talk to you yet?"


    "Yes, she revealed to me what she requires."


    "Are you....okay with it?" I asked.


    "It is a small matter." She said dismissively. "Why do you sound hesitant when you ask?"


    "Well, I just don''t want to assume."


    "You may ask me if you require assistance." She responded.


    "I don''t want to rely on you."


    "....."


    "...."


    "Um...that came out wrong, can I try again?" I winced as soon as it set in what I said and how I said it.


    "You may." She said curtly.


    I was choosing my words carefully. "I guess I don''t want to ask for your help on things because I''m worried that I''m taking advantage of you."


    "You believe you are capable of taking advantage of me?" She raised an eyebrow.


    ".....when you say it like that, it makes it sound silly."


    She let out a breath. "I should not dismiss your concerns outright. You must have a reason for feeling this way."


    "It''s no secret the difference between us. There''s a gap in our existence that will never be bridged. I just...want you to know that I care about Meridia, not just the Daedric Prince, Lady of Light."


    "I see, the difference in status gives you concern, which is why you withhold asking for assistance, even for minor things?" She asked.


    "Again, it sounds stupid when you say it out loud. I guess I''m just being a bit self-conscious." I let out a long sigh.


    "If you were my peer, we would not be together." She said bluntly. "I would never be able to trust you. I would always have thoughts, concerns about how and when I would be betrayed as that is the only rtionship I can have with the others. I admit, I never imagined in my many years of existence that I would allow myself to be bonded with a mortal. I have had my own share of concerns about everything thus far. However, to hear you are worried about taking advantage of me....." She gave a very rare warm smile. "Strangely, it makes me very happy."


    "I ¨C"


    "However." She cut me off. "It also makes me angry that you have neglected to ask me for aid when I could have rendered it." She said with a re.


    "....sorry." I apologized meekly.


    "I ept your apology because it was well intentioned." Her expression softened. "Do not be mistaken, I have been aware of this for some time now, but I have waited for the right moment for us to speak about it. One of the things I love about you is your concern for taking advantage of me." Her tone implied amusement. "But I expect a partner even if we will never truly be equal in all aspects."


    "I''ll try to be more open minded about it."


    "Good." Her fingers began to run through my hand. "I will never be upset with you merely asking. And I amfortable enough with our rtionship to believe you would not step beyond what I believe to be appropriate. At least, intentionally. Thus, I will always hear what you ask and give you the benefit of the doubt on matters such as that. This I promise, so you need not be concerned about taking advantage of me."


    "Really? Anything I ask."


    "....is there something you require?"


    "Can you make me super powerful and able to beat up Solomon?" I asked, though it was more tongue in cheek.


    "You jest....but there are some things we can discuss if you...desire it."


    I paused in my rubbing her thigh. "What do you mean?"


    "You have yet explored the intricacies of this Universe. There are....ways for mortals to reach beyond their birth to acquire power not inferior to my own." Her tone was...hesitant. It was rare enough for me to pick up on how reluctant she was to speak about this. "It is dangerous, and the path very treacherous, but if you''re willing ¨C" She stopped, looking down at me. "Did you just lick my thigh?"


    "Yes." I admitted without shame.


    "I am revealing to you the secrets of creation, secrets that would make mortals go insane with desire. And instead, you ignore me to... lick my thigh." She sounded exasperated.


    "You sounded reluctant."


    ".....I will not deny it."


    "If you''re worried, then I won''t bother. You call me out for doing dangerous things, but there''s a difference between dangerous and ''dangerous''. I can read between the lines here."


    "Many wouldmit the most heinous of acts for even the chance to receive this knowledge." She pointed out.


    In response, I squeezed her leg.


    "....why did I expect any different?" she shook her head. "...but I suppose this is what I love about you."


    "I love you too." I smiled.


    She let out a sigh, but the twitching of the corners of her lips revealed her true feelings.


    "In all seriousness, I do have something I could use your help with. Outside of Venna''s thing, which I would appreciate you helping with as well."


    "I already said I would assist her."


    "I know, I just wanted to express my thanks."


    "Very well, I will not deny your gratitude. Tell me what you need."


    I stood up, and took out the Spear, holding it in front of me. "Need I exin any more?"


    Meridia looked at it. "If you are hoping I can fix it, you may be disappointed."


    "Well, I can''t say I wasn''t hoping. But are not able to?" I felt oddly confused at that.


    "Let me properly exin. Yes, I canpletely fix that item, and it would require....not an insignificant amount of power to do so. And do not take that as me being dismissive. I am willing to assist you with this." She pointed out. "But for me to fully repair this item, it would destroy the presence contained within."


    "Can you exin it to me?" I asked.


    "I would have to overwrite the presence to fully repair this item. Which I believe to be the opposite of what you desire. The presence inside is a flickering me, my light would douse it and rece it with my own even without that being my intent." She exined more.


    "Ah....it''s too weak to handle any significant power from you?"


    "That is not incorrect." She nodded.


    "Unfortunate." I frowned.


    It makes sense, regardless of how strong she was, if the presence inside was too brittle to handle the strain, she can''t repair it properly.


    "Do not be discouraged. I said I cannot repair it fully, I did not say I was unable to assist." She spoke. "I can make sure that it does not deteriorate any further." She ced a hand on the spear, her eyes glowed a beautiful golden, a gentle light seeped out and covered the spear.


    The outside cracks, well, they didn''t disappear, but they....shrunk, somewhat. And no longer was there Holy Power leaking from various parts of the spear.


    "This is the most I canfortably do without risking overwriting the remnants within." She dered, removing her hand.


    Good, with this, I had one less thing to worry about until we can get a Holy Relic to mend the true damage.


    "Thank you." I put the spear away and wrapped her up in a hug.


    "You are wee." She rxed into my arms. "I do like helping you, Wilhelm," She said softly.


    Yeah...I''ve just been an idiot.


    "I have some time avable. I will send a message to Venna, and we can finish the task she requested." Meridia stated.


    "I''m actually really interested to see how this will work. I can''t say I care for those Evil Pieces, but academically, I am intrigued."


    "I agree with you, I do not particrly like the idea of changing someone to be something dark. But....it is not within my realm of influence, so I am keeping how the mortals say, an open mind." She took the initiative to grab my arm. "Let us go home, my lover."


    "With pleasure."


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 462 - 420

    <h4>Chapter 462: Chapter 420</h4>


    Meridia and I arrived without dy, and there were plenty of people waiting for us. I could barely even register their existence before I had someone throw themselves at me.


    "Will!" Jinn was already upon me.


    I caught her quickly, my Blue Genie giggling to herself. "Did you miss me?"


    "Un." She nodded happily.


    I quickly kissed her forehead, making her smile brightly.


    "How was your day off?" Yasaka askeding up and also stealing her own hug.


    "It was...interesting." I strained a smile.


    "Oh dear, it wasn''t bad I hope?"


    "I don''t even know where to start. There''s nothing that jumped out that made me vehemently reject the idea, but there were a few things I didn''t quite like."


    "We can''t expect everywhere to be perfect." She responded.


    "True, and it''s not like she''d be living there beyond school. Apparently they have a sort of racist inclination for their magical society. I was told it wasn''t as bad in school, as one of the teachers is apparently a half-goblin. But it exists, rather openly at that."


    Yasaka scrunched her nose.


    "I can remedy that." Meridia offered.


    "I''m inclined to take you up on that offer."


    "Please don''t strip people of their opinions." I poked my Eldritch Goddess. Specifically, on the butt.


    Squishy.


    She swatted my hand away with a huff.


    "They would never know the difference." She crossed her arms. She was...somewhat joking. But she knows how I feel about individual choice.


    "And don''t get me started on the actual system of Magic." I let out a sigh.


    "Please, get started, I want to hear this." Medea poked her head out of the kitchen. "New Magic, what do?"


    I blinked, she''s apparently adapted to modern society quite well. "I couldn''t figure it out in that small time frame."


    Medea quirked an eyebrow. "And now I''m genuinely interested."


    "Would Kunou have trouble then? The whole purpose was for her to learn Magic." Yasaka stated.


    "No, no." I waved it off. "I figured out how to actualize the spellcrafting, but the underlying mechanics escape me for now. It''s transferable from the basic spell books I''ve read thus far, but it''s just extremely vague on how it operates."


    "What, so you''re able to cast the spells without knowing how they work?"


    "Basically." I shrugged, taking out one of the first year spell books. "They literally teach first years just how to move their wands and articte the spell words."


    Medea frowned. "That doesn''t make sense. How do they know what they''re doing then?"


    "Exactly my point." I agreed immediately. "But theter stuff seems to delve into actual understanding of what they''re doing. I just didn''t really have the time to read too deeply into it. You''re wee to read the books, I got two copies of everything, one for Jinn and one for Salem."


    "You''re the best~" Jinn squeed. "And it''s sweet that you got some for Salem too. She''s going to be thrilled."


    "I''ll take you up on that offer then." Medea nodded.


    I turned to look at the others in the room who were waiting patiently. "Venna." I smiled.


    "Hello dear." She smiled, holding her arms open as if it were her turn, which it was.


    I happily epted the hug from the voluptuous woman. "You seem to be in a good mood."


    "Of course, I''m going to finally fill my Queen." She beamed.


    I raised an eyebrow at Mozart who was also sitting at her side.


    "I admit I am equally excited." He matched her expression.


    "Oh." I pped my hands. "Got a couple other things." I flipped my hand over, and produced a certain radiant feather. "Got this from a Phoenix." I held it up from them to see.


    Before I could even say anything else, Medea was in my face. "I want it."


    "No way, get your own."


    "Please, do you have any idea how rare Phoenix feathers are?"


    "Yes, there''s literally amon saying that refers to things that are rare as being equivalent to Phoenix Feathers."


    "....shut up I want it." She pouted cutely.


    "No way, I was going to give it to Kunou."


    She stiffened before sighing. "Ugh, fine. I can''t really deny that then. How about I turn it into a Mystic Code for her?"


    I mulled that over. "I don''t have a problem with that, I was probably going to do something simr. It has very strong protective properties."


    "Yoink." She practically ripped it from my hands and already put it away before I could offer any means of protest. "How''d you even get one? Phoenix''s aren''t exactlymon, even during my Era. They''re technically Divine Beasts."


    "Apparently the Headmaster of the School there has a Phoenix as a Familiar."


    "....huh."


    "My thoughts exactly. But it speaks to his character at least. Phoenix are creatures that prefer the lighter side of the spectrum. Not to the same extent as a Unicorn, but a Phoenix wouldn''t be a familiar of a bad person...probably."


    "So he just gave you one?" Yasaka asked. "And does this imply you met with him to set up a meeting?"


    "I sent a letter...which is apparently facilitated through owls....or in his case, his Phoenix. But I actually got it after challenging the bird to a drinking contest, or something like that. It''s a bit of a blurr..."


    "You said words, they had meanings individually, but when you put them all together, I find myself unable toprehend them." Medea responded.


    "....As long as you had a good time." Yasaka shook her head, giving me a light pat on the cheek. "And didn''t cause any trouble.....right?"


    "Nothing that can be proven." I said immediately.


    ".....good enough I suppose."


    "Anyways, shall we get this show on the road?" I pped my hands. "I''m sure Meridia doesn''t like being held up like this as we just chat."


    "I do not mind." Meridia said simply. "I made sure to procure enough time in my schedule to be here. I enjoy these moments."


    "Aww~" Jinn quickly wrapped up the Eldritch Goddess in a big hug.


    Meridia, still stiffened despite the normal urrence, but quickly epted the Genie''s affection. And didn''t even bat an eye when Jinn didn''t release her.


    "Did you guys start already?" Mordred pushed open the front door, hollering to everyone inside.


    "Nope, you''re right on time!" Jinn answered back.


    "Awesome." Mordred hoped in, followed by Artoria and Jeanne.


    "Not that I''m against it, but why is everyone here?"


    "You think I''m gonna miss seeing someone turn into a Devil?" Mordred asked.


    "....I was curious." Jeanne said quietly.


    Cute.


    "I admit my interest is piqued." Artoria said simply.


    "Same with me in all honesty." Medea spoke up. "I want to see these things that can overwrite someone''s soul."


    "You are the new one, yes?" Meridia looked at Jeanne.


    "Um....Wilhelm just brought me here?" Jeanne looked confused. "H-hello?"


    Meridia inspected her for a long moment. "You have a beautiful soul. It makes me envious that it is imed by another."


    "T-thank you?" Jeanne awkwardly replied.


    She turned back to me. "I approve."


    "W-what does that mean?" Jeanne looked around, confused by what was happening.


    I just patted her head. "Do you want me to spell it out for you?" I couldn''t help but grin.


    She puffed up cutely, looking like she was about to swing her little fists at me as she tended to do.


    "Anyone else then? Are we waiting for any more people toe?"


    "we have one more." Yasaka responded, her tail brushing against my arm while she held her own Kaleidophone in her hand, presumedly messaging someone. "Otherwise, everyone else is preupied with other things."


    "Thank you for waiting." Another familiar voice quickly opened the door. Izzy strode in like she rushed over here.


    "I didn''t think you would be interested." I was mildly surprised to see Izzy hurriedlye over. "Happy to see you regardless though." I stole a quick kiss on her cheek as she came over.


    "Normally, it isn''t something that would interest me. But this isn''t a normal urrence." She pointed out.


    "True." I couldn''t deny that.


    "If we''re going to begin..." Venna stood up from her seat, she was holding a rather ornate looking box. She opened it to reveal a set of chess pieces, they were a color of a baleful red and I could practically taste the demonic nature pulsing from them.


    Meridia''s nose scrunched in obvious disgust.


    I quickly took her hand in reassurance. Not that she was feeling unwell due to their presence, but that they were just something she despised at her core. She had expressed on multiple asions that she didn''t voice her thoughts on some things purely because they existed outside her home, but that didn''t mean she liked them.


    I looked at the full set, not a single one of them used yet. "I don''t know the...social rules ording to these things. Would it be rude if I asked to look at one?" I asked Venna.


    She let out a smallugh. "They''re considered something very personal. But not in the sense that you''re not allowed to touch them or anything like that." She held it up to me. "Feel free to take a look."


    Well, with permission granted I poked a few before taking out a pawn. Medea was also practically pushing her face against mine as she too looked at it closely.


    "What do you think, a total sublimation of the soul by cannibalizing part of the existing Saint Graph then filling in the pieces with ''Devil'' Data?" I asked.


    "The Devil Data, as you say, acting as a sort of virus that then spreads and reces every other part, working its way through their entire Saint Graph until their Origin changes?" Medea hummed.


    Jinn pushed her head next to ours as well. "That would make the actual ''Evil Piece'' unnecessary. From what I understand, the Evil Piece acts as the focal point. It''s not a sublimation, but a mutation."


    "That''s true." Medea pursed her lips. "It would be significantly more difficult if the ''Evil Piece'' attempted sublimation. But for mutation to ur, that would imply that Devilhood is a direct path from the concept of ''human''."


    "Devils apparently were birthed from one of the first humans of the Abrahamic Mythos." Jinn pointed out.


    "That would exin how other species can be turned into devils. Off the top of my head I don''t think that there isn''t any other ''race'' on the that doesn''t have a direct link to Humanity, other than Deities. And it''s well known that Deities can''t be turned." I voiced my thoughts as well.


    "Amusing, so an Evil Piece requires there be some link to humanity to work? That''s kind of ironic if you think about it." Medea chuckled.


    "Isn''t there a dragon that was turned into a Devil?" Jinn asked.


    Me and Medea shared a look.


    She frowned. "There goes that theory then."


    I shrugged. "We''re just making casual guesses." I had forgotten about dragons, but then I realized my mistake elsewhere too. Hell, we were just talking about Phoenix''s and that was another one. "But it''s undeniable that the Devilhood acts as a sort of invasive data virus that overtakes the original Saint Graph."


    "That''s obvious, it''s not like this process is natural by any means." Jinn nodded. "It exins some of the things I''ve read. Apparently Newly Reincarnated Devils need to be close to their ''King''. My guess is that the ''King'' acts as a sort of control beacon to the ''Virus'' that consumes the original host''s soul and uses it as a ''reference'' on how the new Devil should look. If they''re away for too long, the ''virus'' goes out of control or it moves in ways it''s not supposed to, causing unintentional mutations." Jinn summarized.


    Medea took the piece into her hand and held it up to her eye. "Regardless, it can''t be denied that this is an extremely elegant and beautiful piece of magic."


    High praiseing from one of the greatest Magic Users ever.


    "Did you just analyze the mechanics of the Evil Piece, which is supposed to be a secret?" Venna asked.


    Medea shrugged, putting the piece back into the box. "It''s not like it''s difficult. I doubt that it''s actually a secret outside of your Devil Society. Don''t get me wrong, it''s veryplicated. Just looking at the surface of the spells interwoven in that little thing....it would take me probably months to actually fully unravel the full spell sequence."


    "I have noment. Magic was never my area of expertise." Venna just shrugged too.


    "Did you notice that it wasn''t whittled down into the shape of a chess piece but it was devised as a chess piece first?" I asked.


    "I thought I was mistaken." Jinn giggled.


    "I wasn''t going to say anything. But that''s weird that they would design the container purposely as a Chess piece and it wasn''t just something they were like ''Hey let''s do a chess theme''." Medea snorted. "Which, sort of makes it more impressive."


    Oh well, I kind of stopped caring about the thing. I wasn''t going to waste my time delving into it when I actively disliked the things.


    "Are you done?" Meridia asked. Not in an impatient way, but more like she just wanted to get it over with.


    "All yours." I got out of her way.


    The others, well, they were just standing quietly, watching the show.


    "I want it to be known that I dislike these." Meridia grumbled. "I do not like the idea of turning something like a Heroic Spirit into a Devil." Her lips pursed. "But this is neither my home, nor my business."


    The silent acknowledgment being that something like this wouldn''t fly with her if it was based on stuff from her home.


    Which....was a fair boundary to have.


    "I am truly grateful." Venna expressed.


    Meridia''s expression softened. "Yes, I would not help if one of you did not ask." She replied simply. Her way of saying that she was trying to be caring towards her ''mortal'' Harem Sisters.


    "I had a random thought." Yasaka spoke up. "Are you technically able to get your own Evil Pieces? I know you don''t want any and particrly don''t like them, I''m just curious." She said while directing the question to me.


    "I....have no idea."


    "Technically?" Venna looked thoughtful. "You could probably get them just due to how high profile you are."


    "It''s not like I would use them for anything ¨C" I paused because I had a sudden....idea. I nced at the chess-shaped objects and then at Jinn. "ow." I suddenly jerked because someone pinched me.


    "You deserved that." Izzy said, not apologizing for pinching me.


    "I didn''t do anything."


    "It''s obvious what you were thinking." She rolled her eyes.


    "...I admit to nothing." I said quietly.


    But in the safety of my own mind, I''ll still y with the idea of getting a set of Evil Pieces and treating them like I did Jinn''smp, but for everyone else.


    "I would give you my Queen piece." I whispered to Izzy.


    She flushed slightly, having trouble keeping her expression even.


    "Alright!" I pped my hands. "Let''s do this. I wanna see a Heroic Spirit get turned into a Devil."


    "Wonderful!" Mozart stood up with an exmation. "Madam." He bowed to Meridia. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this opportunity."


    Meridia didn''t respond, merely nodding briefly his way.


    "I will be using this." Venna said, taking the Queen piece ¨C a Mutated one at that ¨C out of her box before closing it. "How do you want to do this?" She asked, looking at Meridia.


    "Proceed normally, I will make sure the process operates as you would desire."


    Venna looked nervous butplied. Mozart quickly joined her at the side and she pressed the Evil Piece into his chest. A red light suddenly enveloped him as she inserted the piece into his body.


    There were a few moments as we all watching quietly, waiting for something to happen.


    "...did it work?"Mozart was the first to ask.


    "No." Meridia said bluntly. "I have not acted yet, I was watching it. Your....you call it a ''Saint Graph''...it is rejecting this Evil Piece, thus it cannot turn you normally."


    "Not surprising, it''s the expression of humanities'' worship and collective acknowledgement that crystallizes their vessel in the first ce. A Servant''s Saint Graph is naturally resistant to modification, it takes quite a bit to modify one." Gramps only feltfortable using the Grail. Sc¨¢thach did mention that it was technically possible to alter a Saint Graph through the use of Primordial Runes, but she said she didn''t wish to experiment with it for various reasons.


    "Very well, I shall assist." Meridia grunted. She merely ced a hand on his shoulder, and he was consumed with a red light.


    Horns sprouted from his head, a maleficent tail shot out from behind. Large, bat-like wings sprang out of his back and his eyes glowed an evil red. His hands turned into ws, and his legs turned into cloven hoofs and ¨C


    "Stop ying around." Meridia pped my shoulder. "Dismiss your illusion."


    "Party pooper." But I relented and released the illusion I cast the moment the room lit up. Honestly, it was significantly more mundane.


    There was actually no outer change to his appearance.


    However... "Our Master Servant contract just broke." I revealed.


    "I felt it as well." Mozart looked at his hands. "I.....I feel alive."


    "You are now a living being proper." Meridia released him from her grip. "Everything should work fine now, it was not too difficult."


    "Wait, that''s it?" Mordred asked. "Shit, I was getting excited until you said it was just an illusion and....nothing freakin changed." She huffed in annoyance.


    "....It was sort of anticlimactic." Medea noted.


    "The only physical difference from humans are our wings...mostly." Venna exined.


    Just as she said that, bat-like wings sprang out from behind Mozart. "Oh my." He blinked, inspecting himself. "That is an odd sensation."


    "Ah, I remember my first time." I nodded with a hint of nostalgia.


    "If that is all ¨C "


    Before Meridia could finish, Venna nearly threw herself at the Eldritch Goddess. Simr to how Jinn did it, Meridia stiffened slightly, perhaps even surprised, more so than when it''s Jinn. "Thank you." Venna whispered.


    Meridia had a hint of a smile appear. "You are wee."


    "Welp, this was a waste of time." Mordred grumbled.


    "Mordred." Artoria sighed.


    "Don''t act like you''re not thinking the same thing." She snorted. "Anyways, I''m gonna bounce. Wannae Frenchie, or stay here?


    "Um...well, I would like to stay...if that is alright?" Jeanne stumbled a little.


    "Aight,ter then." She flicked her hand, and didn''t look back as she walked out the door.


    "Wee to Devilhood." I offered to Mozart. "That''s all I got cause I''ve never actually been to Hell so I have no idea what you''re going to encounter."


    "It''s strangely a rather nice ce." He replied. "My King was kind enough to give me a tour of some rather interesting ces while we were away."


    "Speaking of, we still need to register you." Venna had already released Meridia.


    "Register?" I tilted my head.


    "Yes? Don''t you recall from the Peace meeting. My Son said he would start recording the use of Evil Pieces better."


    "Ah."


    "You forgot?" Yasaka looked at me.


    "No, I just thought they were going to bullshit until everyone forgot in a few centuries."


    "I can''t say that isn''t something that was probably considered. But in this case, they are....somewhat taking action to do what they said. They recently implemented thews that you have to register any new Peerage members within a month of gaining them, bar extenuating circumstances."


    "I find myself oddly skeptical." Yasaka said softly.


    "Well, there isn''t any actual punishment for not doing so. At least none of the books so...do with that what you will." Venna shrugged.


    "Yup, there it is." Yasaka snorted.


    "Well...that is going to open up some interesting questions when you''re asked." I mused.


    "I thought it would be entertaining." Mozart looked amused. I could guess that he wasn''t going to be entirely truthful.


    Venna nestled herself against me. "Thank you as well." She looked up at me warmly. "This has turned into one of the best days I''ve had in a long time."


    "As long as you''re happy." I smiled back. Then I realized something else I forgot to mention. "I almost forgot!"


    "Is there something wrong, Wilhelm?" Artoria asked.


    "I have an announcement to make. We have a new member of our strange....family."


    "Oh my, did you add another woman to your harem?"


    "Oh Hestia, this train wreck is better than T.V." Medea cackled off to the side.


    Due to Venna''sment, my girls were looking at me with a mix of concern and a hint of perhaps anger at the thought.


    Of course I wouldn''t just push a new lover onto them so suddenly.


    "Not me." I took out Sir Wiggles from my storage. Much less entertaining than pulling him out of my hat, but what could I do when Olga was still using it?


    "I forgot you had a bunny." Jeanne cooed.


    "Hey, show some respect to your king!" I scoffed.


    "P-pardon?"


    "You stand before, Sir Wigglesbottom Fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, Crown Prince of the Emerald Kingdom, Duke of Carrot Ind, General of the northern Armies, Lightning born, The Devil yer. Head of Chaldean department of Phantasmal Beasts. And the newly ascended to the throne, King of France!" I held him up as I eximed his many glorious titles.


    There was a pause that Jeanne just blinked at me.


    "I am not kidding by the way."


    "What...?"


    "I asked Marie in the singrity. She anointed him the actual King of France."


    "I-it doesn''t work like that...."


    "The Royal Family of France was dead. Marie, as the former Queen had the highest im to the throne, thus Sir Wiggles is the proper King of France."


    "That''s not how it works!" She quickly tried to deny.


    "Let''s ask an expect. Artoria, is Sir Wiggles the rightful King of France?"


    "It sounds correct to me." She replied, not missing a beat.


    "There you have it, bow before your new king!" I smooshed him into her face.


    "Neh!" She made one of her strange noises, despite giving Sir Wiggles lots of little rubs.


    I will hold this over her head forever.


    "Ignore him, dear." Yasaka hugged the Penniless Saintess. "He likes to y around with his familiar."


    "It''s real, I''ll even get Marie to confirm it." I argued. "But that''s not what I was going for. A side benefit, but not my purpose. She''s a little shy, so please be patient." I said as one more little bunny joined our group. "Meet Lady Wiggles, Sir Wiggles'' girlfriend."


    She floated up into the air,nding next to Sir Wiggles and they began moving around the room as all the girls cooed at them. It was hard to not be immediately taken by the adorable pair.


    "As pleased as I am to see you have a mate for your familiar...I must return." Meridia bit her lip, watching the two. Even an Eldritch Goddess was not immune to the floof.


    "Kiss?" I asked.


    She leaned over, sharing a quick and intimate moment with me. "I will be avable if you require my assistance." And by that she meant, that I better go to her for help if I needed it.


    I nodded and she disappeared from the living room.


    "Well, this has turned into a strange day." Yasaka noted, watching as everyone yed with the two bunnies. Jinn was on the floor with the two of them nearly immediately.


    "You''re telling me. I''m still nursing a bit of a hangover. Drank too much Magic Alcohol from that world, not used to that sort of thing."


    "Magic Alcohol?" Venna perked up. "I want to know more, but I also want to go register...."


    "I brought a lot back with me. Go do your thing, I''m not going anywhere."


    She looked at me with a beautiful smile. "You''re so good to me." She shifted her gaze to Mozart. "Ready to go, my dear Queen?"


    Mozart cackled. "Yes, my king."


    I felt like they were just enjoying ying the whole ''peerage'' thing like a game.


    Venna lit up a Magic Circle and the both of them disappeared, going to wherever they needed to go.


    "So you handled everything in that world that you needed to do?"


    "Yup, we got a meeting set for two weeks from yesterday. Which is.....some amount of time for us, I''m not sure what the time corrtion is. I''ll calcte it tomorrow."


    "Good. And what are your thoughts about it?"


    "Eh, not bad I don''t think. The Magic there is actually somewhat interesting, but it looks rather lower tiered than what I''m used to. But since It''s just for Kunou to build a foundation, then it''s eptable. Did you know they use wands there? Like....all of them. It''s the norm."


    "Wands?" Medea peeked over to our side of the room. "How trite. A good staff is usually better."


    "It''s not a matter of like....social etiquette or any kind of fashionable statement. Like, they literally need to use wands. Well, most of them probably do. They don''t actually have a type of Magic Container, instead the wand acts as a pseudo one that connects the Magical Energy in their body to the Mana of the world to actualize spells."


    "Huh, that seems odd."


    "Tell me about it. Took me forever to cast one of their most basic spells until I found out."


    "I could imagine. A simple fix, you just need to connect with the outside Mana directly."


    "Exactly." She figured it out with a few words. "That reminds me, I tried to get a wand made, but I didn''t really resonate with any of the wands there so I was going to get some custom pieces for the guy to make me one."


    "....any reason you need one?"


    "Nah, just want one to have it."


    She shrugged. "As good a reason as any."


    "Got a bunch of goodies. But....I''ll say I''m not against that ce, but It''s not something I''m thrilled about."


    "Is that because of how you perceive the ce or because you''re worried about Kunou?" Yasaka questioned.


    "...admittedly, about 90% of my reservations are thetter."


    Yasaka just chuckled, wrapping her tail around my waist. "We can talk about it more after seeing this ''school''. I''m sure Kunou would enjoy a trip there to see it."


    "Yup, it''ll be fun."


    "That reminds me, I received a letter myself."


    "Oh, a secret admirer?" I teased.


    She rolled her eyes. "I have my people burn those these days."


    "Wait, you still get some?" I blinked.


    "Oh you''re cute." She pinched my cheek. "Do you think it stops just because I have a man now?"


    "I would assume..."


    "No dear. If anything, they increased. Lots of offers for subtle meetings that no one needs to know about." She let out a sigh.


    "I have no words..."


    "Believe me, I know. I''ve had to get a bit more firm with the senders, but that''s really only slowed it down since. Otherwise, I have my people just burn them all, like I said." She shrugged. "But I''m going off topic, I received a letter from the Devils! And I should have probably brought this up while Venna was here, but it slipped my mind in the excitement of everything happening."


    "Should I preemptively scowl in annoyance?"


    "You know, I''m actually not sure. It''s a rather...strange request...they are requesting your presence. Something about putting a team together to fight the Khaos Brigade?" She sounded confused about even speaking.


    "Dammit Odin." I let out a sigh.


    He worked damn fast though. That was like....a day or so ago he proposed the idea? And now they were already sending out invitations.


    "Wee to my life." Izzy looked across the room. I don''t even think she knew what we were talking about but as soon as I said that, she immediately registered it with sympathy.


    "Right, he said he was going to do some stupid thing like this. Partly for his amusement, partly because he thought it would be a good idea to keep most eyes away from everything else."


    "....that''s not a horrible train of thought."


    "....are you suggesting I....join?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Oh, not at all. I mean if you want, I wouldn''t say anything. But don''t treat this as me trying to push you that way."


    "Yeah, I gotcha." I found myself sighing again. "It soundspletely....ugh."


    "Ugh?" She repeated.


    "I didn''t have any proper words to describe the feeling I was experiencing."


    She giggled. "I think that''s a perfect way to respond. I''ll dly send them a rejection. I just hope they don''t keep bothering me."


    ".....it won''t hurt you any if you reject on my behalf, would it?"


    "Well, not in any meaningful way."


    "Would it be better if I rejected in person? Like....more politically polite?"


    "It would give them some face." She admitted. "Like if you showed up, rejected the thing and left after the meeting or what have you."


    "I''m....trying to be more cautious of the political state I put you in. I don''t want someone to be able to take jabs at you because I told them to fuck off." I still felt bad about dropping the Indra mess into herp.


    "Oh Wilhelm." Her expression softened. "I am extremely grateful that this is your main consideration. But....you don''t have to join anything. Frankly, it would be worse for our position if you did join in the long run. But if you want to just go over there and put in a token appearance and then decline any offers...that would probably be the best case scenario."


    I was d she was being honest and not trying to just spare my own distaste for the whole thing.


    Part of being a partner to someone was helping with burdens when possible.


    "I''m surprised though. You would normally vehemently reject any possibility of associating with the Devils. Bar Venna, of course."


    "I.....don''t want to just keep pretending that they don''t exist, you know? Don''t get me wrong, I''m never going to be on good terms with their faction or society, or whatever. But burying my head in the sand whenever anything devil rted pops up isn''t a good mental state to have."


    "I''m proud of you." She said softly. "If you want an actual reason to go, I can give you one if it makes you feel better."


    "Oh?"


    "Kunou is a huge fan of Magical Girl Levi-tan."


    I scrunched my nose. "I did remember that, but I think I sort of repress the whole concept whenever it''s mentioned."


    One of the four leaders of Hell dresses up as a Magical Girl and has her own t.v. show....which Kunou absolutely adores.


    I admit, it''s a special kind of hell for me that only a real devil could cook up. I could make Kunou a better magical girl than that woman ever could.


    "And as the head of foreign affairs, it stands to reason that she would be managing this ''event''."


    "Yeah...I get where you''re going with this. Her birthday ising up really soon...may as well get started on the gifts."


    I was definitely not going to get caught up in any ''super team'' bullshit ideas they had going on, but I guess I could drop in and politely reject their stupid invitation.


    "And Venna has been bothering me about a ''dinner''.... that''s rude, let me rephrase. I don''t want it to sound like she''s annoying me or anything like that. She''s brought up the idea of meeting some people, which...I''m not entirely against. I suppose since I''m going to be in Hell, I may as well....bite the bullet so to speak."


    Yasaka just looked at me. "Yes, I''m sure a family dinner with the Gremory family will go splendidly."


    Why did she sound sarcastic?


    [***]


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone

 Chapter 463 - 421

    <h4>Chapter 463: Chapter 421</h4>


    "So this is the canvas you''re giving me to work with?" Medea eyed her newest victim.


    "....why do I feel scared?" Jeanne looked at me.


    I gently patted her head. "It''s called survival instincts."


    "Meep." Jeanne slowly inched behind me.


    "What exactly do you want me to do?" Medea asked.


    "Eh, going to some gathering of a bunch of factions or what have you. I''m dragging Jeanne along with me. From the letter Yasaka received, some Angels are going to be there." That and no one else really cared about interacting with the other factions.


    Hell, I was basically going just to politely decline their request.


    It was a bit bigger than I had thought it was going to be. Honestly, I was thinking something along the lines of each group kicking their youngest together and telling them to start punching suspected enemies.


    Especially since Odin was the one who technically set everything up.


    Come to find out, it''s a bit more intricate than that.


    Reminded me of the whole Peace Meeting, honestly.


    Not only were a bunch of other Factions gathering in Hell, but they''re bringing their ''newest generation'' as Odin put it.


    Yasaka obviously wanted nothing to do with it. Doubly so since we''re preparing to invade the Fae Lands, which was understandable in our position to decline any invitations. So, I want to do my part as her man to smooth over the rejection with at least my presence. As she said, it would give them face and wouldn''te off as us just snubbing them, even if we had proper reasons.


    It was rather abrupt, all things considered, but I supposed it was something that was weighing on the minds of other factions. We sort of wiped our hands of the issue and dropped the problem in theirps, they don''t have the luxury of ignoring everything and continuing as was.


    I could imagine it was a pleasant reprieve to be able totch onto any united agreement or talks about further how to handle this looming threat beyond some vague ''we''ll work together'' that came about from the Peace Meeting.


    "Hmm, anything specific you want?" Medea asked, poking and prodding Jeanne.


    "Erm....I-I don''t know?" Jeanne looked unsure of what to say. "I''ve never really worn nice clothes before?"


    Medea paused, looking at her. "Now that is a travesty."


    "Actually, I don''t think she has any actual clothes right now either, let''s just get started on a bunch of outfits."


    "Definitely, we''re going to have to fix this." Medea nodded.


    "I have some clothes..." Jeanne said quietly.


    "You have your Servant Armaments, dear. That''s significantly different than actual clothes. And the fact that you don''t have anything to show off that delectable body of yours is a sin." Medea purred.


    I ignored Jeanne''s squawk. "Actually, she does have one outfit."


    "Neeeh." She nudged me.


    "Oh?" Medea quirked an eyebrow. " Show me."


    "D-do I have to?"


    "I need a reference." Medea said with apletely straight face.


    Jeanne pouted, and she glowed slightly as her Servant attire was dismissed, showing that School Uniform that she was wearing from behind.


    "Bold choice for a Saintess." Medea blinked.


    "I-it''s not that bad!"


    "It certainly shows off that butt of yours..."


    "Neh!?"


    "That''s what I''ve been saying." I swear, Medea and I were on the same wavelength. "Just not her butt either, for some reason that School Uniform shows off her legs amazingly too."


    "D-Don''t say something like that out loud!!!"


    "Honestly, I''m not surprised that the Saintess is a deviant..."


    "You should have seen Saint Martha. I swear, what she wore was more lewd than if she was just naked...."


    "T-There was nothing wrong with Marth''s clothes!"


    At this point, Jeanne was doing her best impression of a tomato.


    "Big G has good tastes." I nodded to myself.


    "It''s not odd for Gods to lean on the side of certain.....interests." Medea agreed.


    "Nooo, it has nothing to do with him!"


    "Face it my little Bondage Saint, Big G gave you booty shorts as your default clothing." I patted her head. "It''s basically a divine promation ¨C The Saintess must be lewd."


    "Neeeh!" She swung her hands at me wildly.


    "Wait, you didn''t dress her up like this?" Medea questioned, a genuine look of surprise about her.


    "No?" I blinked. "Why do you think I''ve been giving her a hard time about it?"


    "I thought you just bullied her into it so you could tease her." Medea responded.


    "That''s.....probably something I would do." Jeanne responded to my statement by hitting my shoulder, repeatedly. "But that''s all Big G. He apparently believes his Saintesses should show off what they got."


    Medea ignored the iling Saintess as she continued her inspection. "Well, I certainly have quite a bit to work with. But I''m going to have to work from the ground up, how about ¨C" She paused. "Oh my, is this a G-String."


    Medea reached for something and Jeanne made a high squeak as she stiffened.


    "You really are a bold Saintess." Medeaughed.


    I nced over Jeanne''s shoulder. "I''m not even surprised."


    "It''s not me!" Jeanne squeaked again. "I-i-it''s what Laeticia was wearing!"


    "Uh huh." I didn''t believe her.


    "It''s true!"


    "Ipletely believe you."


    "S-stop!"


    "Lewd Saintess is Lewd."


    "No!" Jeanne squawked with a red flush spreading all over her face. She looked for the easiest ce to bury her face, which just happened to be my chest.


    I just gently pat her head. "I think it''s cute."


    "R-really?" She looked up at me. ".....it''sfortable." She then looked away.


    Jeez, she''s so adorable.


    "You heard her, make her more panties like this."


    "Neh!?"


    "I was thinking whitece, it aligns better with her natural charm~"


    "Neeeh!"


    "She is just precious~" Medea cooed. "Don''t worry, I''m going to make her several sets of lingerie."


    "W-why would I need that!?"


    "I''m surprised she even knows what that is." I said with full honesty.


    "The Grail!"


    "The Grail only provides pertinent information." I countered.


    "It''s not what you think!" She quickly iled around in embarrassment.


    "Even a Saintess can''t ovee her debauched French heritage..."


    "Suddenly a lot of things make sense." Medeamented.


    "Stopppp." Jeanne whined.


    "She''s really too easy" Medea looked my way.


    "I know, and I can''t help myself. It''s too fun to get a reaction out of her for everything." I said helplessly.


    "You''re a meanie." Jeanne puffed up with a pout.


    I couldn''t help but pinch her cheek. "But seriously, we''re going to get you a bunch of clothes you actually like. So feel free to add anything you want."


    Jeanne''s expression softened considerably. "Thank you, Wilhelm." She finished with a warm smile.


    "Alright, you can flirtter." Medea interrupted. "Let me do my thing and stop disturbing me." She physically started pushing me towards the door.


    "F-flirt!?" The Saintess flustered.


    "Alright, alright, stop being so aggressive. I liked the version I met in the Singrity better." I grumbled.


    "Didn''t she ask you to marry her?" Jeanne asked.


    "Excuse me!?" Medea''s voice was raised a few pitches.


    "What can I say, it''s difficult being this handsome and charming." I sighed in mock exasperation, but quickly decided to make myself scarce before her brain could reboot.


    "Get back here you brat!" She screeched, but I was already out the door and fleeing at a very brisk pace.


    [***]


    I looked out upon the horizon. It was odd seeing it within my inner world. It felt real, and I guess in sense, that it was. It was my own memories used to facilitate the feelings and sensations that came about through the physical.


    "Staff." I held my hand out, and the Staff of Magnus appeared.


    "I will say nothing else, prepare yourself." Mus¨± Tengai replied.


    The same thing happened asst time. Arge mirror appeared, a reflection of myself but one that wasn''t me. He pushed through, as if truly entering my inner world.


    "We meet again." He smiled.


    I raised an eyebrow, and waved my staff. "Shatter."


    Like ss, the surroundings shattered. It wasn''t so much a spell I had cast, but an expellment of my force around us. There was the beginning of an illusion that had begun to intertwine with the environment that I disrupted before it could properly settle.


    "Worth a shot." My counterpart shrugged. Holding his own Staff of Magnus, he swung it over his shoulder. "So, what do you wanna do for round two? Some witty banter before we begin? Oh, oh! Can I y the ''Clich¨¦ Evil viin?" His eyes brightened. "I swear I''ve fought so many, I think I can get the lines down."


    "You know, I''m inclined to let you." I revealed an amused smile. I knew what he was doing, he knew that I knew, and at this point, we were just ying a small game. With a mental thought, spell sequences began in the background.


    My counterpart cleared his throat. "YOU DARE STAND BEFORE ME!? MORTAL, YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!!"


    "Eh, 4 out of 10, you were trying too hard. The douchiness needs toe naturally."


    He shrugged helplessly. "What can you do? I''m far too charming and likable to pull it off."


    "I can''t argue with you there."


    "Just fuck already!" We both heard Ddraig shout from somewhere.


    We both shared a small chuckle, but there was a hint of tension underneath.


    Without another word, as if a reflection of one another, we both raised our staves.


    "Order of Lightning!" He shouted.


    "Lightning Runes!" I countered.


    My Runic Circles appeared all around me, actualizing into existence. Dozens upon dozens that utterly filled the space behind me.


    In return, he did something slightly simr. Rather than facilitating the Elemental effect through Runes, the sky above us darkened and the clouds deformed into the shape of Spell Circles.


    My Lightning Ascended to the sky, while his fell down upon the earth.


    The collision of the two elements did not react how one would expect. It wasn''t natural by any means, it didn''t quite follow the predefined behavior of Lightning.


    The two sides met in a collision of explosive power. As soon as the two opposing sides met, it erupted in a torrent of lightning that was discharged in every direction. Hundreds of simr explosions filled the sky where the two sides met.


    "Interesting, you created a redundant Runic form to facilitate the continued casting sequence." My copy stated. "The simplicity is rather elegant."


    "And you went the opposite route. You summoned a natural phenomena and bent it into the casting of your own spell, creating a casting loop that doesn''t need further input from yourself other than direction." I admired his as well. "Using the clouds themselves as the Spell Circles was inspiring. In a prolonged fight, I would lose just from my spell fizzling first."


    "You''re too kind, I ¨C" My Copies'' eyes widened and I noticed what he did as well. My Lightning was oveing his, which shouldn''t have been such an obvious conclusion, unless.... "Divinity!?"


    His phrasing of that opened up a lot of questions, but instead of broaching the subject, I pushed through. I overloaded my Runic Circles. Instead of them continuously casting a basic Lightning Bolt in session, I put everything into a single discharge.


    Immediately, I overwhelmed his opposition, and shot through to his Spell sequences, utterly destroying it at the source.


    "Well, that''s unfortunate." My copymented, though he didn''t stand still, he moved quickly. It wasn''t Shunpo. However, that didn''t mean he was slow.


    "Air Elementals you silently summoned under your feet?" I furrowed my brow.


    "Yup! Good guess, but there''s no prize!" He shouted, holding his staff up to his other hand, and arge Spell Circle formed. A Golden light emerged firing at me.


    I mmed the Staff to the ground, casting my Shield of Asgard.


    My shield held firm, but immediately, I was beset by extremely thin projectiles numbering in the thousands. The unrelenting bombardment of those needle like constructs, while none of them even came close to prating it, but after a few moments my shield shuddered.


    "Shield of Asgard, nice spell! I have one too, so I know the weakness of it!" He shouted. "A good shielding spell, but it''s meant to stand against powerful strikes, not a continuous bombardment, I guess you haven''t fixed that w yet!"


    My Shield shattered. And I was genuinely surprised.


    "Dragon''s Maw!" An eastern-like Dragon made of fire opened its massive maw, flying at me.


    "Had¨­ # 58, Tenran." I moved my hand in a circr motion, producing a whirlwind that collided with the Fire Dragon.


    The wind and fire dispersed one another, sending a cascade of mes in all directions.


    "Unseen de." He held his staff pointing right at me.


    The image of a de shot right at me.


    "Greater Ward." I cast in all directions.


    The de in front of me blurred and disappeared. In ce of it, my ward was hit in three other ces simultaneously. Behind me and on both sides. "Really?" I shot him an annoyed look.


    "What? It''s a fun spell." He smiled. "Why do you think I would name it something like that if it''s so obviously seen? Not to mention speaking the incantation aloud like that?"


    I was about to respond, but I felt a tingling sensation on the back of my neck and quickly leaned back.


    The original de from earlier reappeared and narrowly missed me.


    "Okay, that''s just a dick move."


    "It''s called unseen de for a reason!"


    "Gather!" Imanded, calling forth an inordinate amount of Lightning around my staff. "Thunder Bolt!"


    A discharge of umted Lightning fired off. Big enough to utterly consume him whole.


    "Earth Wall in one hand." He raised up a wall of Earth. "Immovable Object in the other." The Wall glowed a brilliant light and my Lightning collided with it.


    Itsted but a brief moment but my lightning dispersed, leaving a weathered and brittle earthen wall still standing defiantly.


    A spell like Reinforcement?


    The wall crumbled quickly, and then I saw him stab his staff into the ground. He pped his hands together and pulled them apart. However, it wasn''t as simple as one may think, it looked like he pulled apart the seams of reality. "Distortion."


    Feeling the sense of danger, I decided that standing still was perhaps a foolish idea.


    I fired off a plethora of spells, mere cantrips to annoy him as I gathered my Reiatsu and moved. Out of the corner of my eye, the spells I fired....they bent and twisted in an unnatural way. They didn''t evene close to hitting him.


    Not only that, as soon as I moved, the world turned upside down. I found myself crashing face first into the ground.


    Out of panic, I attempted to roll to the side and push myself up, but once more, I plummeted to the ground. Jerking to the side, I stumbled over myself going the opposite direction.


    Between his hands, there was a vague shape, shifting and changing. It resembled a Rubik''s Cube as it continuously twisted.


    "And let''s end this." My counterpart spoke. "Cloud of Daggers."


    A misty Haze surrounded me, like an illusion but not. It changed, warping its appearance. Merely a blink, and I was now surrounded by hundreds of razor sharp daggers.


    I reacted as quickly as I could, grabbing my own Staff of Magnus and mmed it on the ground, an invisible force descended, causing everything around us to shudder.


    Even my counterpart nearly stumbled in ce, he gritted his teeth and the cube-like projection between his hands dispersed. "Clever, altering the Gravity. That''ll do it."


    Even the misty-like daggers fell to the ground forcibly and the spell unraveled.


    I took a deep breath, standing up properly. "You altered my sense of direction..."


    "Well, that isn''t incorrect. But not quite. Close enough, I''d say." He mused. "Good counter, You just brute forced through it with a torrent of Gravity. However, there is one detriment to that. As soon as you relent, I''ll recast my spell, so you''re forced to hold the gravitational increase."


    I cracked my neck. "Not used to the extra force?" I mocked.


    "Not everything requires brute force." He did look like he was having a tad bit of trouble standingpletely straight,paratively to me who was more or less used to the increased force pressing down. "But I can''t deny it''s a valid approach to most issues. However, you don''t always need to push against the world in order to make it move in your favor." He gently tapped the staff against the ground. "Sunder."


    I found myself falling.


    The earth below me had split open, massive walls on either side of me as I descended down into the depths of the earth.


    Well....I do believe I''ve yed myself.


    I would have been able to react if my own spell didn''t hamper me.


    He saluted me once and I simply closed my eyes as the two halves of the earth closed with me at the center.


    I opened my eyes again, and I was on my back, staring up at the ceiling.


    Looking down at me, Salem had a nk look on her face. "Are you okay?"


    "Define, ''okay''?" I asked.


    "You were sitting there in a meditative position. Then your aura shifted and it became hard to approach you for some time. Now, you are like this."


    I let out a sigh. "Yeah, I''m good. Just lost a fight so I''m moping."


    [You did better this time.] Ddraig spoke.


    Yeah. It was a good fight, I learned a lot.


    Didn''t know my Shield of Asgard had such a weakness. It''s never had to sustain such a number of attacks in session like that before.


    Among other things, I''m....okay with losing there. I saw where I could improve in my spellcrafting. Seeing a reflection of me that took such a different approach to things....it was interesting.


    {I''m pleased you are treating it as a proper learning experience.} My Zanpakut¨­ added. {Keep trying your best.}


    I''m more inclined to forceful resolutions to my problems. His responses were more....not necessarily smaller, but more focused. I was far more used to throwing aroundrge amounts of power to answer any problems that cropped up.


    Something to consider more as I went forward.


    "Hey." I said, looking up at Salem who was still staring at me while I was on the ground.


    "Are youfortable?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Well, I would be if you took a step forward."


    "Yes, I''m sure that would help if you could peer up my dress." Her eye roll was noticeable. "My Subordinates were concerned, they could feel you."


    "Whoops." I scratched my head. "Didn''t think it would be that noticeable."


    "They were surprised." She shrugged. "What were you even doing?"


    "Training inside my inner world. I came over to see you, but you were busy with your thing and I didn''t want to interrupt, so I figured I would get some training in" I exined.


    She was having a meeting or something with her people, so....no time like the present to start my training in earnest.


    "Do you require something from me?"


    "No, I just got back home after the thing I told you before. It''s been a bit stressful and I missed you." I smiled.


    "Hmph." She crossed her arms. "You still have your glib tongue."


    "You didn''t miss me too?" I asked.


    She twitched slightly. ".....I did not speak those words."


    I sat up. "Cute."


    "Be quiet." She hissed.


    "Well, I was about to tell you about the gift I brought, but if you don''t want to hear about it..."


    She grumbled. "You know what I meant."


    Cute.


    I held my hand out, letting the second copy of all the books I got in that weird world drop onto the floor in a few stacks.


    Her eyes shed as she realized what these books contained. "This is....a significant gift...." She muttered while touching the book on top. "....what do you wish in return?"


    "Pardon?" I tilted my head


    "What boon do you desire in return for this gift?" She reiterated


    "Salem, not everything between us needs to be a transaction."


    She huffed again, crossing her arms again. ".....It''s easier." She said softly. "I don''t know how to reciprocate otherwise."


    "Would it make you feel better if I asked for something?"


    "I would not dislike it." She responded. "However, if you ask for something perverted, I will be most upset."


    "Am I really someone who would ask something like that?"


    She swung her hand, lightly pping my shoulder. "I suppose that is urate however. You wouldn''t ask. I am more than aware of how careful I must be of your wandering hands."


    "I admit nothing."


    "Hmph." She grunted again. "Tell me what you want."


    "What I want...." I tapped my chin. "Offered such a wonderful boon by the Grimm Queen? What could I possibly ask for?"


    "....as long as it is something within reason, I do not mind retracting my previous words." She whispered.


    I was admittedly tempted, but it didn''t feel like the right circumstances. Rather...


    "I want this." I grabbed her hand, slipping my fingers between hers.


    ".....this?" She looked confused.


    "Just this." I smiled.


    "....I do not understand you sometimes." She sighed. "However....I am not upset."


    "Hmm, is it toote to ask you to do something lewd?"


    "Yes." She snorted.


    "I guess I''ll just have to seduce you the old fashioned way."


    "Oh? Then by all means seduce me."


    "Are you sure you''re ready for this level of wooing? I don''t know if your heart will be able to take it."


    "Yes, I''m sure I''ll be swept off my feet." She drawled.


    I cleared my throat. "Girl, as long as I have a face, you''ll have somewhere to sit."


    "....."


    "Now that I''m holding your hand, I can tell everyone that I''ve been touched by an Angel."


    "....."


    "If it''s true that we are what we eat, then ¨C"


    "Please, do not finish that one." She groaned.


    "I see, you don''t even need any more. You''re now head over heels." I sniffed haughtily.


    "Of course, how could I ever resist such romantic callings." She said dryly. "Truly, you are a master of sensual word y."


    "I knew it, you are now seduced."


    She rolled her eyes. "I find it inconceivable how I am romantically involved with you at this moment."


    "Hey, I can be romantic."


    "Before this moment, I might have agreed with you."


    "Alright, give me another chance."


    "Do what you want." She sighed.


    I squeezed her hand and looked her into the eyes. "Do you remember how I told you how I learned about you?"


    "Yes, you said that you used the Relic of Knowledge." She responded.


    "That''s right, I wanted to see everything about this supposed ''Grimm queen''. And as soon as Iid my eyes on her, she took my breath away. This woman I had never interacted with before, never seen until that moment, she left me utterly breathless. You don''t have to steal my heart,, it already belonged to you from the beginning."


    It felt like she unintentionally squeezed my hand because she had a strange expression. She seemed to settle on looking away because a small flush appeared on her pale cheeks. "Don''t spout that ridiculous trite around me. I''m annoyed, as soon as you''re finished, leave."


    "Well....I may not be finished for a while."


    "Do what you want." She huffed.


    "How about I tell you what I''ve been up to recently?" I offered.


    "Very well." She tried to sound uninterested, but it wasn''t quite working out too well. "If I am forced to bear your presence, I may as well understand what you were doing while you were gone."


    Cute.


    [***]


    I yawned and stretched, popping back out at home.


    It was nice, visiting Salem for a few hours. And I even got some training in while I was over there.


    I walked over and knocked on the door that Medea was holding Jeanne hostage in. "You guys still in there?"


    "Almost done!" Medea shouted back.


    I waited patiently outside of the door. We weren''t on the strictest time schedule, but it was sorta getting there.


    "Wait, wait, don''t touch there!" Jeanne squawked.


    "Hush, this is important."


    "How is it important for you to touch my chest!?"


    "Measurements."


    "You already measured!!"


    I was...tempted to go inside.


    "Alright,e in." Medea called out.


    "Wait! I''m not mentally prepared, I need ¨C"


    I pushed the door open. Medea was standing to the side but my eyesnded solely onto Jeanne. She was wearing a slender, shoulderless, blue dress. It hugged her curves perfectly, but it was also very tasteful and elegant.


    Frankly, there was only one word to describe it.


    "Beautiful."


    "Heeh!?" Jeanne squeaked, turning bright red. "T-thank you." She covered her face.


    "As always, I do good work." Medea stated.


    "Thanks for the hard work, Medea." She wasn''t only skilled, but she was extremely fast.


    "Thank me after you see what she''s wearing underneath." She began to cackle.


    "Don''t tell him that!!!" Jeanne''s high pitch voice was drowned out by Medea''sughing.


    "I''ll leave you two to your little date~" Medea ignored her, throwing up her hand as she walked out of the room.


    "It''s not a Date!" Jeanne whined. "N-not that I would hate it, b-but it''s not!"


    I''m getting a cute overload today.


    "You look wonderful." I said with full sincerity."


    "Do....you really think so?" She asked, bashfully. "I''ve never worn anything this...pretty before. I don''t really feel right....I''m just a in farm girl and this is so....."


    "Jeanne..." I took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "The dress isn''t what''s making you beautiful, you''re the one that''s making the dress stunning."


    She made a strange noise, and refused to look me in the eyes. "W-we can go now, right?"


    Iughed, gently tugging at her hand. "Sure, let''s get this over with. Are you ready to go to Hell, Saintess?"


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 464 - 422

    <h4>Chapter 464: Chapter 422</h4>


    "So, is this what you expected?"


    "I did not expect to take a literal train to Hell, no." Jeanne said without much emotion. "It is surprisingly pleasant, however."


    It was nice.


    I could have easily popped over there with Venna''s help, one of their Teleportation Circles could have handled it fairly easily. But....I kind of wanted to go through the ''traditional'' channels.


    Hell wasn''tpletely cut off from the Human World. Even without Devils existing, there were paths that could be taken to end up in Hell by ident, let alone the intentional doors. It was a space that existed since time innumerable.


    And for those in the know, it wasn''t umon for various races and people to visit Hell. As weird as that is to actually think about. But apparently, hell had a thriving tourism economy.


    Though, Venna did warn us about the trip. She didn''t specify anything, only that it was a bit difficult the first time for Humans.


    Thankfully, we had this little trainpartment to ourselves. Devils were nothing if not ostentatious. They had such extravagant train cars meant for ''VIPs''. Literally a single word from Venna, and the car, along with the surrounding ones, were reserved for us.


    "The train has been on a slope now, are we actually going down?" Jeanne asked, sounding a little incredulous. "I didn''t think to enter Hell, we would literally have to go downward."


    "Yes and no." I answered. "If you want to be pedantic about it, Hell is literally below the world. In a metaphysical sense, that is. But the concept of Hell is tied to a downward descent. It''s not so much that we''re going down more that Hell is ''below'' wherever we are."


    "....I only understood some of that." She whispered.


    I just chuckled, patting her head. "We''re getting ready to cross the threshold." I told her, sensing the spatial turbulence ahead.


    Actually, it reminded me of my trip down into Gringotts. The way the Cart ride connected two points seamlessly.


    It wasn''t until the Train pushed through the boundary between the two spaces that I realized what Venna meant.


    Looking out the window, it was almost like a cavern, but the rocks had all been carved.


    No, it wasn''t right to call them carved. Despite the exquisite detail, these were.....natural and I felt my heartrate pick up.


    My humanity was stimted.


    They were depictions of events, of past grievances and sins. Of every possible evilmitted and those damned to this ce. The suffering and guilt, the righteous indignations and hollow vengeances that marked every soul that passed on.


    They weren''t mere pictures, they were alive, in a sense. Every so often, you could see a slight movement. And even rarer, was when one of the figures depicted looked back at us.


    The experience was....hard to put into words.


    I almost wanted to call it nostalgic, but in a mncholic way.


    It felt like I was remembering every one of these events or actions that were taken in the course of Human History. A vague recollection of feelings that threatened to burrow deep into my heart.


    It''s odd, I felt like my Magic Resistance or other facets of my being should have rejected this....invasion, but it still affected me.


    But the answer made sense after a moment of rity.


    It was my Human Nature that allowed this to transpire. It was no true....attack, nor magical phenomena, but a feeling left behind in my human blood that wouldn''t vanish regardless of how much I changed.


    If I had to guess, this cavern has existed ever since the advent of Humanity, ever since the first Sin wasmitted.


    A recollection.


    ....As expected for the entrance to Hell.


    I reached for Jeanne''s hand, noticing she was also feeling it heavily. There were faint shadows of tears at the corners of her eyes. She was much more empathetic than I was, she was certainly feeling more emotions than me.


    "Its true name is lost to time, we call it the Cavern of Reflection."


    Both Jeanne and I turned to look towards the source of the voice.


    "Okita Souji." I said curtly.


    The Former Samurai looked at me with an awkward smile. "Lord Schweinorg." He bowed his head, not trying to be familiar with me. I suppose ourst....talk left a bit of an impression on him. "And his date?"


    Jeanne, seemingly having broken from her stupor a moment prior, flushed slightly. "Jeanne D''Arc" She said softly.


    He blinked, looking as if he wanted to say something, but held back and instead focused on what was happening outside of the train. "It had the same effect on me, as it does for all Reincarnated Devils from a Human lineage. I asked my King about it once, he said it had existed before Devils were created by our progenitor. He said that it dates back to the creation of Heaven, by the Biblical God." He winced slightly, apparently intentionally inciting the ''name''. "It makes you wonder if Hell was ever supposed to be a ce of suffering that it turned into by the hands of the first Fallen and depicted in the minds of Humans."


    It''s funny, I''ve been to several different ''underworlds'' at this point but I''ve never entered in such a way. Even when going through the ''normal'' route in Hades, it was...pathed for me. At this moment, I felt like I was experiencing it from the perspective of a deceased soul.


    I wasn''t one to get lost in this kind of thing. I would probably remember this feeling for a long time, but it was far from enough to lead me astray.


    I quickly shook off the heavy emotions that were weighing me down.


    "It''s expanding, isn''t it?" I asked.


    He stiffened for a moment, but regained hisposure. "That''s right." He didn''t try to hide it. "It''s notmon knowledge, but neither is it a secret. A thousand years ago, it was only half asrge as it is now."


    How strange...


    If I had time to spare, I may have wanted to look into it, but at this point, I didn''t care too much.


    "I assume you''re here to fetch us?" I asked again.


    "Lady Gremory requested me to lead the Lord and Lady to the destination." He bowed his head again.


    "That was nice of her." Jeanne beamed.


    I held back augh seeing him twitch slightly. It wasn''t hard to guess from his perspective that Jeanne was clueless about everything.


    Venna probably did it to express her displeasure, but also a way to wipe the te clean, so to speak. Well, if he was lowering his head like this, I wouldn''t hold a grudge.


    I was already here in Hell, I may as well let some things in the past rest.


    "Lady Gremory is waiting excitedly for you to arrive for dinner after the event, Lord Schweinorg." Okita Souji stated.


    "Only Venna?" I questioned.


    He twitched slightly again. "Lord Gremory too is waiting with anticipation."


    "just them then?" I raised an eyebrow.


    ".....The Gremory Family is...thrilled to host you, Lord Schweinorg."


    Alright, I wouldn''t poke him too much.


    Mostly because the Train wasing to an obvious stop because the cities of the Underworld came into view.


    They were....much different than theyout of human cities. From what I recall, this ce was about the same size as Earth, yet the poption was a tiny fraction inparison. Their cities were spaced out with huge open spaces between them, it was interesting to see in all honesty.


    It didn''t take long for the train toe to aplete stop. In fact, the whole train ride was rather quick to begin with.


    "Would you please follow me, I have a car waiting to take you to the gathering." Okita Souji spoke, gesturing to the door of the train.


    Jeanne was still holding my hand tight, but I chose not toment. I gently led her forward as we disembarked


    @***@


    Jeanne was pretty much glued to the car window as she took in the sights. While she had popped up in a somewhat modern era during the Grail War, she hadn''t properly seen a modern city in all its glory.


    That is to say, the day to day happenings as we drove through it weren''t much different than what you would find topside.


    Frankly, without the asional Wings from the Devils walking around, you would never know this wasn''t a human city.


    Okita Souji just looked amused as we both silently watched Jeanne marvel at the sights.


    It''s almost like shepletely forgot we were in Hell.


    But I did warn her it wasn''t going to be what she expected.


    "What can we expect when we arrive?" I broke the silence, addressing our ''guide'' who sat opposite us in this limousine.


    "There are many different forces present. More Factions than appeared in the Peace Conference have answered the call of cooperation." He responded.


    "Oh?" I was surprised. The Devils were the most hated faction in the world, it was already odd that so many attended the Peace Conference in the first ce. "So everyone''s onboard for making this ''super kiddy squad'' to hunt down the Khaos Brigade?"


    "That is....partial the reason they are present." He twitched again. "Lord Odin was the voice that gathered most of the factions attending. No one disagreed with the concept, but the major concern is to speak about the mutual enemy in more detail."


    Well, that''s to be expected.


    "Who are the Devils putting forward?" I could probably guess, but I may as well ask.


    "That is undecided." Okita Souji responded. "However, the younger generation of the Underworld''s elite will be present."


    "Of course." I rolled my eyes. "Don''t want to lose out on an opportunity to show off." Or something like that.


    Well, I suppose it''s their boon for hosting the event in the first ce, they get to push their younger generation to the forefront, even if most of them probably weren''t qualified to brush shoulders with the actual strongest of the generation.


    Then again, I don''t actually know where the standard power level is for what is considered the ''younger generation''. I wouldn''t exactly be the best measuring stick in this regard and I don''t really hang out with people my age...


    I guess it doesn''t matter, it''s not like I''m going to stick around for long. Go in, make an appearance, politely decline recruitment attempts, make sure Jeanne has fun and meet the Angels presumedly attending and get some free food before leaving.


    Simple and easy.


    Obviously I''m doing the whole dinner thing with Venna afterwards.


    Honestly, it''s surprising how this whole thing unfolded. A few words and a random idea form Odin, and then a few dayster, here we are with several factions all descended upon hell.


    "Will, I just realized, why is there a Sun in the sky?" Jeanne suddenly asked.


    "It''s fake." I replied.


    "Really?" Jeanne sounded surprised. "How did they make a fake sun?"


    "It was a joint effort between the Fallen Angels and the current Leaders of the Devils to provide a more suitable environment for newly Reincarnated Devils. Before they created this fake sky to mirror the Human World, there was a constantly purplish hue that permeated every corner of the sky." Okita Souji exined.


    "Amazing..." Jeanne whispered.


    Seeing her happy like this, without anything else, made this trip worth it.


    "We''re here." Okita Souji stated as the car came to a stop.


    I didn''t know exactly what type of building this was meant to be, but it wasrge and ostentatious like most things the Devils do when trying to project their wealth and status.


    I quickly got out of the car and opened Jeanne''s side, offering her a hand. She happily took it and I gently guided her out of the seat.


    "....Is it toote to turn back?" Jeanne asked, whispering in my ear.


    "Are you getting cold feet?" I chuckled.


    "I.....I don''t know what I''m supposed to do or what I''m doing at all." She admitted nervously. "I''ve never done these kinds of parties or anything before. What if I mess up? Won''t I make you look bad?"


    "Jeanne, you could never make me look bad. Besides, do you think I know what I''m doing most of the time?"


    "Yes. You always look like you know what you''re doing."


    "I''ll let you in on a secret. I usually make it all up as I go along." I said without a hint of shame. "We can pretend together. Don''t you also want to see the Angels?"


    "Yes..." She dipped her head.


    "I''ll be here with you." I offered my arm.


    She smiled brightly. "Thank you, Wilhelm." She replied, taking it.


    Okita disappeared, but we didn''t really need his guidance anymore.


    Instead, we began walking to the front doors. The Guards there bowed and opened it up for us, we didn''t even need to produce an invitation.


    But as soon as we walked in, it was like a whole different world.


    I think extravagant was too light of a word to describe what was inside.


    From the golden decorations to the marble statues, to the decadent art that filled the walls...I think they even surpassed the Clock Tower in this regard.


    I didn''t have much time to dwell on it because immediately, we were beset by numerous gazes as soon as we entered.


    The whole area was filled with people of all shapes and sizes, and I would say a good majority of them were currently staring at myself and Jeanne.


    "I didn''t think you woulde."


    Both Jeanne and I turned towards the source. A young woman with short ck hair and a matching pair of sses wearing a light blue dress sauntered over.


    Sona Sitri.


    I admit it took an inordinate amount of my self control not to react to her presence.


    Huh....I didn''t realize I even still had these feelings. What do you know?


    Good to know I guess, even if it was annoying.


    I like to pretend that I''m all grown up and mature sometimes, but honestly, I still appreciated acting like a young kid every now and then.


    Just like now.


    "Sorry, have we met before?" I looked at her.


    Whatever she wanted to say, it died the minute she opened her mouth without any proper words to respond. She just stared at me in shock like she didn''t know how to respond to what I said.


    I took the opportunity to lightly nudge Jeanne to keep going.


    Was it petty?


    Yes.


    Was I feeling good about myself right now?


    Also yes.


    "That was mean." Jeanne puffed up as soon as we cleared some distance.


    "Oh look, Angels." I pointed in some random direction.


    "Where!?" She perked up. "Wait, don''t try to distract me!"


    "No idea what you''re talking about."


    "Neh!" She lightly hit my shoulder. "Don''t be mean." She told me again.


    "I am the epitome of grace and elegance." I countered. "But honestly, It''s not like I''m going to go around picking fights. I hardly ¨C"


    A thunderous snort carried its way across the entire room. Of the probably hundreds of people of varying backgrounds, they all stopped to look at the source because it carried with it an unnatural pressure.


    I was familiar with the hint of power contained within the simple gesture. I had fought with the source not too long ago.


    I neatly pivoted, turning around to mee the gaze of Indra who stood at the entrance with his own retinue.


    He wore that gaudy Hawaiian shit again, with some cargo shorts and flip flops. As well as a pair of sunsses, very simr to what he wore previously.


    "I should have expected them to invite some trash here too." His words weren''t actually very loud, but they carried a hint of thunder to them, making them be heard by everyone present. And the way he was staring at me, it was obvious who those words were meant for.


    "Nice sses, are they new?" I smiled innocently at his provocation.


    That was apparently not the correct thing to say, because the whole building began to shake.


    Whatever could have set him off like that I wonder?


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    Also, Happy Christmas everyone! And Happy Holidays.

 Chapter 465 - 423

    <h4>Chapter 465: Chapter 423</h4>


    For some inexplicable reason, it couldn''t be anything I said/did, Indra seemed upset.


    Well, I was assuming based on the fact that his Divinity was soaked in anger and pressing down on everything.


    Jeanne was doing fine. With a nce, I could tell this was enough not to bother her too much. She was a Heroic Spirit, she was a being that could stand in front of Gods, even if she herself was not capable of defeating them.


    However, a lot of the other people in the hall seemed to be struggling.


    I admit I am someone who does things on a whim sometimes, but I like to think I take responsibility for my actions. I intentionally riled him up in a room full of people, I may as well lend a hand.


    My Spiritual Pressure seeped out, offsetting Indra''s own presence that was bearing down on everyone else.


    I met his gaze and tilted my head with a smile.


    He certainly got even more frustrated.


    I took a few steps forward, and he jerked his sunsses off, scowling deeply as his long strides matched mine.


    My Divinity came bubbling up.


    Sparks began to dance between his fingers.


    However, I felt my desire to fight suddenly vanish as soon as Indra came to an abrupt halt. Not for any reason on his part, but because there was an ordinary looking walking stick barring his path.


    "All-Father." Indra red at Odin out of the corner of his eye. The Norse God was holding up his seemingly mundane stick to block the path of Indra. "I hope you have a good exnation for this." His tone was even, though the underlying threat indicative of how he felt.


    "Did you forget where you are?" Odin snorted. "But if you want a fight, I don''t mind going a few rounds." As soon as she said that, the ''ordinary'' walking stick shed briefly, revealing its true form briefly. It was merely a flicker, but the existence of the Divine Weapon was enough to show how serious he was.


    Even Indra hesitated for a moment.


    A nce towards the others he arrived with showed that they weren''t exactly in the best position themselves.


    I didn''t recognize everyone present; Hindu Mythology was not my forte. But there was a distinct difference in attire between the Hindu Gods he brought along and the Norse Gods who were standing right next to them, basically daring them to move.


    Indra frowned and redirected his attention to Odin.


    Odin didn''t look perturbed, and his own power descended upon Indra in response.


    The whole building began to shake even more, and it honestly looked like a fight was about to break out.


    "Now boys, do you really have to do that here?" An enchanting voice carried over the room, immediately dispersing the umted power that was colliding between the two Gods.


    And it was not because she asked them to stop nicely.


    Both Indra and Odin looked at who spoke.


    A woman wearing a traditional Chinese Hanfu, light green robes that looked elegant and hid most of her curves. She had long? ck hair with a hint of matching green within her bangs, and a few marks beneath her eyes almost like tattoos but much more natural.


    Her eyes, as well, were not normal but almost serpentine, which made sense considering that there was a snake-like tail dancing behind her.


    nked on either side were two women wearing clothes also traditional to the Mythological portion of China.


    Swords hung at their wastes and veils covered their faces. They both emitted an icy aura, ready to fight if it came down to it.


    They were by no means weak. Granted, they paled inparison to the woman they looked to be protecting by their movements, but that wasn''t much of an insult considering the woman herself had an Aura that wasn''t inferior to either Odin or Indra.


    Indra snorted, withdrawing his power.


    Odin also rxed, lowering his stick.


    The All-Father harrumphed, turning away from the Hindu God.


    The two groups seemingly took that as cue to separate.


    The silence that permeated the room was deafening. It seems like everyone was holding their breaths at the breakout of a fight, only for it to be suddenly dashed twice over.


    It made it all the more interesting, because the mystery woman turned her gaze to me and casually strode over.


    She didn''t initially speak, but she gave me a scrutinizing gaze.


    The context clues were enough, I knew who this Goddess was.


    I sped my hands and performed the proper greeting from her homnd. "Greetings, Mother Nuwa."


    The corners of her lips curled and her eyes nearly sparkled in amusement. "You were able to guess my identity?"


    "It would be strange if I couldn''t based on everything."


    Goddess Nuwa, the mythological stories differ from ce to ce, but they all seem to agree on one fact. Nuwa was the Chinese Goddess who created Humanity. Frankly, I can''t think of a single story that paints her in a bad light.


    If there was ever an ideal Goddess to worship, perhaps it would be her.


    What made it doubly funny is that she''s actually a Demon.


    A Demon in the Chinese sense, not like the Christianity version. The difference being that a ''Demon'' there wasn''t immediatelybeled ''evil'' but merely a different form of existence. Granted, most stories paint Eastern Demons in a bad light for good reason, but that only shows her own character.


    Both a Demon and a Goddess, and a Mother of humanity. Not to mention, she was one of the strongest beings on the and had no hostility towards me.


    Regardless of anything else, I felt she deserved respect.


    She took a fan out of her sleeve and unfurled it, holding it up in front of her face, but her eyes were still visible, shing in amusement. "I''ve heard of you too."


    "Only good things I hope." I put on my most charming smile.


    "When one hears only good things about a person, they tend to be propagated lies." She responded.


    "Oh? And what if they truly live up to their supposed reputation?" I asked.


    "When such a thing urs, I will have to reevaluate my thoughts on the matter."


    "Then what are your new thoughts?" I grinned.


    She giggled, snapping her fan shut. "Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, this is not one of those situations."


    "I immediately deny any bad rumors you''ve heard about me." I said with apletely serious face. "But what are they, for the record?"


    "The usual." She waved her hand flippantly, almost like she was sighing. "An upstart Mortal that treads upon the Heavens. A Devil that doesn''t know its ce. An Abomination that should be put down." Her words were a tad sharp on thatst bit, and her eyes turned heavy, as if she was looking for my reaction.


    "Neat." I replied rather dismissively.


    She merely looked humored by my response. There wasn''t an ounce of hostilitying from her, it was clear she was just trying to take my measure and had no ill will against me. "Many are keeping their eyes on you. Be wary of any invitations you receive."


    "I will keep your words to heart." I politely lowered my head in thanks.


    She smiled rather warmly. Like a Mother looking at their child. "And who is this young woman?" She asked as Jeanne clung to my side.


    "Hello, Goddess Nuwa." Jeanne politely introduced herself. "I''m Jeanne D''Arc."


    Nuwa''s eyes narrowed at her, looking rather contemtive. "Do you want to follow me back to my Immortal Pce? I can guarantee that you will reach the same level as these two in a few centuries." She gestured to the two women on either side of her. "You have such a pure heart, your cultivation would soar with some guidance."


    "C-Cultivation?" Jeanne blinked. ''I, um....thank you for your offer, but I don''t think that''s something for me?" Jeanne managed to force out, looking a bit awkward.


    "Trying to steal one of Yahweh''s chosen, Nuwa?" Sun Wukong casually strode up. "You should know better than that." He chuckled. "Don''t feign ignorance either, it''s pretty obvious which marks are his or not."


    "Tsk." Nuwa pped the fan into the palm of her hand. "Monkey King."


    "Goddess." Sun Wukong greeted back.


    It was...curt, but there wasn''t really any true hostility.


    "I''m surprised you showed up. I thought the Emperor would send one of his Generals at a minimum, if noting himself." Sun Wukong stated.


    "I volunteered." She said simply.


    Sun Wukong nodded and turned to me. "Couldn''t help yourself, could you?"


    "He started it." I crossed my arms.


    The Monkey King justughed. "I can''t me you; I was the same way back when I was younger."


    "That''s an understatement." Nuwa snorted, turning away. "I''ll see you inside, Monkey King. And child..." She cast onest look my way. "Take care not to bite off more than you can chew. It''s human nature to seek Immortality, but Immortals don''t like it when Mortals act outside of their control."


    We watched her walk off and head towards the entrance to another room followed by her two ''guards''.


    Sun Wukong patted my shoulder. "I would love to talk about a few things, but Indra won''t like it if he sees us being chummy for too long."


    "Always a pleasure." I smiled.


    The Old Monkey grinned and he nced at Jeanne. "Be careful."


    I nodded, knowing what he was implying. He didn''t know about my matters, but at the same time, it was obvious from his perspective whoJeanne was.


    He also went towards that separate room.


    "Drink?" I asked towards Jeanne.


    She nodded absentmindedly.


    I managed to g down one of the waiters going around with a tray of drinks on it. I was surprised how quickly everyone recovered from the little....incident, but then again, these weren''t regr ''people''.


    I grabbed two sses of champagne and handed one to Jeanne.


    Taking a sip, It wasn''t bad. Not the best thing I''ve ever had, but certainly above average.


    And I watched Jeanne curiously as she took a sip.


    "What?" She looked at me after tasting it.


    "I didn''t know if you ever drank or not."


    "I''ve had alcohol before!" She puffed up cutely.


    "Really?"


    "Of course!"


    "Am I allowed to find that strange?"


    "What''s strange about it? It wasmon for people to drink in my time."


    "I guess I just pictured my Jeanne as being so pure and naive that she''s never even tasted Alcohol before." I shrugged.


    "D-don''t make it sound like I''m a child." She pouted. "I''ve had drinks before...." She huffed, taking another sip. "Its not bad...."


    "What''s your favorite?"


    "Favorite?" She repeated, looking deep in thought. "um...I actually don''t know. I never really cared...I didn''t mind anything offered to me, but I never really made an effort to intentionally try different wines."


    "Hmm, we''ll have to experiment in the future." I wonder if I can get the Saintess drunk? That might be fun to do. "But enough of that for now, let''s go mingle."


    "What do you have in mind?" She tilted her head.


    It was clear that people were still arriving, and the ones in particr that Jeanne wanted to meet weren''t quite here yet.


    So..


    "Wanna go meet the All-father?"


    Jeanne lit up and smiled. "He seemed nice!"


    Honestly....he was pretty cool.


    I held my arm out again and she happily epted it.


    Odin turned around as we approached. And it was rather easy since, while everyone else seemed to recover from multiple Gods flexing their power, they were still wary and keeping their distance.


    "All-Father." I greeted politely. It was both public and a more ''formal'' event, thus, I was keeping to standard greetings even if we were more familiar with each other.


    "Brat." He grunted, ignoring all of the formalities. "And who''s this?" His eyes lit up. "Nice wide hips, long legs....good full chest too. Not bad, a solid 9.5 out of 10."


    "W-what!?" Jeanne squeaked out.


    "Father..." A man adorned in armor slumped his shoulders and sighed, but I ignored him for now.


    "Excuse me?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "What, do you have something to say?" Odin narrowed his eyes.


    "Jeanne is mypanion, I will have to defend her honor." I met his gaze. "She''s easily a 10/10, I demand you correct yourself."


    "Neeeeh!?" Jeanne''s face flushed quickly. "Why is that what you focus on!"


    "I stand by what I said." Odin crossed his arms.


    "I will fight you on this." I said withplete seriousness.


    "Hooh, you want a piece of me brat?" Odin held his arms out.


    "Well, I don''t make it a habit of beating up the elderly, but I suppose I can make an exception this time." I was ready to throw hands, but a soft little hand suddenly pulled on my cheek. "Oww, oww."


    "Stop picking fights!" Jeanne chastised me.


    "Father, please stop causing trouble." The armored man put a rather tight grip on Odin''s shoulder.


    "Bah." He pped the hand away, but settled down. "Hey brat, wanna trade with me? If I have a wet nket, I''d rather it be with boobs."


    "Get your own." I grabbed Jeanne protectively, ignoring the squeak she made.


    "Hmph." Odin huffed. "Anyways, introduction? Brat, this is my son, Vidar." He gestured towards the one who was able to calm Odin down.


    "I have heard many tales about you." He held his hand out.


    I took it, and immediately his Divinity pulsed out. I allowed mine to meet it as we had a small little ''battle'' for a brief moment.


    The God clicked his tongue and retracted his hand. "Father, I will be leaving to join the others. Please do not dwell here for long."


    "Yeah, yeah." Odin waved it off. "Take Tyr with you as well." He poked the other God who was silently standing at the side with his ''stick''.


    Odin''s son, nodded, and waved his hand, the two Norse Gods followed where Nuwa and Sun Wukong disappeared too.


    "Did I do something to piss him off?" I looked at Odin?"


    "Nah, that means he likes you." Odin shook his head.


    "Sorry if I don''t believe you." I said dryly.


    "He''s just pissed that you aren''t one of ours." Odin chuckled. "Believe me, you''d be able to pick up the fake smile and insincere small talk if he really didn''t like you."


    "Huh..." I just mentally shrugged. "That''s who you left the Throne to then? I''m surprised, it''s not like I didn''t know who Vidar was, but his name isn''t as...renowned as your other Sons."


    Odin grumbled. "He''s the best for the spot. Despite some of the idiots around, he has a head for sitting on the throne. He knows how to bnce action and passiveness, which I can''t stay the same about Thor."


    "Let me guess, Thor is the epitome of every problem is a Nail and he has a literal Hammer for the job?"


    Odin let out a long sigh. "I hate that you guessed right."


    I felt myself sympathizing with him.


    "Good head, good heart, but my boy takes the simplest solutions to every problem." Odin said, shaking his head. "It''s not that he can''t be smart, but he chooses to take the blunt and direct method to every problem."


    "What about Baldur?" I asked.


    Almost as soon as I did, I sort of regretted it because Odin''s expression changed. "Ah..." He let out a long breath. "Aye, Baldur would have taken the throne, but after he lost his wife...he doesn''t have the will for such things anymore." He quickly shifted back. "But enough about that, let''s talk about this lovely woman you brought along with you."


    "Me?" Jeanne''s eyes widened.


    "You realize what''s going to happen, right?" Odin looked back up to me. "It''s not hard to do the math here, brat."


    I shrugged. "Jeanne wanted to meet some Angels, I was hardly going to interfere with that."


    "Wait....am I causing you problems?" Jeanne looked up at me in concern.


    "Nope."


    "Wilhelm." Jeanne''s tone became more strict. "Don''t lie to me. Am I going to cause you problems?"


    "Jeanne, I brought you here knowing full well what might happen. You''re not going to cause me any problems, because I don''t think it''s a problem." I reassured her.


    Was it going to open me up for some potentially ufortable questions? Sure.


    Was it also going to make Jeanne happy? Almost certainly, which was much higher up on my priorities list right now.


    "Will...."


    "Now, kiss." Odin said, observing from the side.


    "Neh!?" Jeanne squeaked, turning a bright shade of red again.


    "And you ruined the mood."


    Odin just cackled. "Sorry brat, sometimes I can''t read the atmosphere, me being elderly and all."


    "Touche." I acknowledged. "You know, I''m honestly impressed with how quickly you threw this all together. How many days had it been since we talked about it?"


    "Eh, I can''t take all the credit. I''m good atworking, don''t get me wrong, but everyone was pretty much waiting for an opportunity like this." Odin replied.


    "Really? Most Factions don''t like interacting."


    "They aren''t stupid either." Odin grunted. "Especially with the crap we pulled on Indra ¨C which is why he''s here too, if you were wondering. Indra got attacked in his home, that made some people scared."


    "I''m assuming that more people areing?"


    "Mmm, a few." He nodded. "You met Nuwa already. Besides them and the ones from the Peace conference, there might be a few others."


    "Honestly was surprised to meet her." I replied absentmindedly.


    "She doesn''t pop up often. Kind of surprised she''s here too, if I''m being honest."


    "Didn''t expect any representation from the Celestial Bureaucracy?"


    "Hmm? No, not that. If Indra showed up, it was a given that they would pop up too. They have a sort of rivalry with each other. The Buddhists act as a neutral party between them so they never escte too much. But since their Pantheons are so intertwined, it often causes problems."


    Right, with all the myths between them, it''s a right mess isn''t it?


    "Nuwa herself doesn''t usually appear." Odin spoke again, rifying. "It makes sense though. If the Jade Emperor, or one of his Generals came, they''d be butting heads with the Old Monkey or Indra the entire time."


    Made sense, but I didn''t really have ament.


    "I thought this was supposed to be about the ''younger generation''. Seems like a lot of Gods popping up for that.


    "It is, and it isn''t. The brats are around here too. Got some from our side of the fence too, don''t know where they went, but you should see them pop up at some point tonight. But the grown ups are having our own talks while the kids get to know each other."


    "So...throwing the kids into the kiddie pool to have their own p fights while the adults have the adult pool to fight?"


    "Sounds about right." He didn''t deny it. "Which pool you gonna join, brat?"


    "Oh, I get a choice?" I snorted.


    "You''re in a weird spot. Everyone knows that you''re strong, strong enough to sit at the adult table. But you''re also what....20-something?"


    "Fair." I didn''t disagree with his assessment. "Considering that I''m not actually going to participate, and I''m just here to decline further invitations, I may as well stick around here and let you handle everything up top."


    "Figured it would be something like that. A shame, It''d be fun to watch Indra seethe the entire time." Odin didn''t seem to care either way. "Then watch over the kids, make sure they don''t get into too much trouble. Don''t really bother if people start fighting, heck , it''s expected, but just make sure it doesn''t go too far."


    "Will do." I nodded.


    Guess I was on babysitting duty.


    "Alright, I''ll let ya get back to your date."


    "I-it''s not a date!" Jeanne squeaked.


    Odin ignored her, justughing as he walked away.


    I looked around, and things basically returned to normal. There was a bit of soft music ying, with people chatting andworking, hell there were even some people dancing which made me perk up.


    I held my arm out to Jeanne. "Would you like to dance?"


    She smiled, about to take my hand, but her eyes widened and she went stiff, nearly trembling. I followed her gaze, and realized what was making her act this way.


    Bright white wings that seemed to illuminate the building as they entered.


    Two Archangels stood at the entrance with various other people apanying them, but that seemed irrelevant at the moment.


    Because just as Jeanne was looking at them, the two stared back, their gazes locked firmly onto Jeanne.


    ....I guess we didn''t have to worry about her finally meeting the Angels, because they wereing right for her.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 466 - 424 Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 466: Chapter 424 Part 1</h4>


    Azazel POV


    "Where''s Michael?" I frowned, tapping my foot very impatiently.


    "He said he''ll be here, and he''s not known for lying." Sirzechs responded. "And it''s not like we set a particrly specific time."


    "True..."


    "And why are you in a rush? You''re the one who wanted all of us to show up together. A united front you said."


    "You said you liked my idea."


    "I''m not saying I am against it."


    Not all of us were freaks of nature. Gods are actually scary to two thirds of the Abrahamic Faction.


    Well, he knew why I wanted us all together when we headed over. Even if things were still super tense, it made it look like we were united.


    Heaven needed that. The Grigori needed that. And as much as they wouldn''t admit it, even the Devils needed the breathing room.


    Despite the freak standing next to me, him and Ajuka weren''t enough to dissuade the other Factions if they honestly decided to ept the casualties to destroy the Devils.


    Sure, they had two beat sticks that could match the top end of any Faction reasonably well, but they werecking arge number of heavy hitters above High-ss. On the opposite side, Heaven had a lot of Angels at the peak of High-ss and above, but theycked a true powerhouse now that Father was gone. Not only that, they couldn''t replenish their numbers just yet.


    I wasn''t part of the whole ''Angel Evil Pieces'' project they were working on, but from what I understand, it''s slow going.


    Lastly, we were sort of in the middle. Shit, I was the strongest in the Grigori, and we didn''t have nearly the number of decently powerful members like Heaven. But we had our own strengths that would let us stand toe to toe with them if things got nasty.


    "By the way, who did you bring with you? I haven''t seen anyone else." Lucifer asked.


    "I just brought Vali." I shrugged. "We''re still dealing with a lot of shit after what Kokabiel did, so I didn''t wanna bother my subordinates for something like this. And it''s not like they could do much here. And as for Odin''s suggestion about this whole thing....Vali was pretty much the only choice."


    Well, that or sh Dog team but....they''re dealing with their own shit at the moment and this wasn''t a huge priority.


    Another huge w of the Grigori, we don''t have many kids to rece the old when they''re gone. It''s unfortunate, but that''s just how it was. Most of our numbers came from other Angels that fell and random people we recruited over the years.


    We didn''t exactly have the best reputation, so most kids didn''t want to get involved with us, and finding a kid with talent without someone behind him was frickin impossible these days. Most of the kids we find with Sacred Gears don''t want anything to do with fighting which...was fine, I''m not going toin about being able to research Sacred Gears, but we''re floundering at that point and it showed.


    Which is why I wasn''t really against Michael doing the whole Angel Conversion thing. Well, I guess I am against it just on principle cause it seemed to not be what Dad envisioned. Which was funny considering that I basically jumped off the highest cloud while flipping Dad the bird, but some things just don''t go away even with time.


    But on the bright side, this meant more potential recruits for us in the long run. I don''t think Michael realized how many new Angels were going to fall. Humans don''t have the same mindset as Angels, it''s going to take a bit for them to work out the kinks and I know for sure he''s going to go straight for the big shots to boost their power.


    I''m just d I''m not the one who has to deal with that mess. But even if I''m no longer in the best graces of my brothers and sisters, I couldn''t help but feel a little bad about what''s toe.


    "What about you guys? We didn''t really have a chance to coordinate too well. Odin basically hopped over and dropped this whole thing in ourps and we jumped on the opportunity." I asked, continue our small chit chat.


    Kind of weird that the Devils were hosting, considering they''re not exactly on everyone''s Christmas list here...but the logic was hard to argue with. The Grigori didn''t really have anywhere to call our ''headquarters'' except, well....down here with them but much less....everything inparison.


    Heaven was Dad''s turf, which was the same reason they didn''t want to gather anywhere else. No one could agree on which Faction to hold it, or rather, which ce would have the least ''home field advantage''.


    Seemed an easy agreement on their end to just ''let the Devils host it'' since they looked down on them enough and Hell wasn''t technically any Divine Being''s turf.


    Well, I''m notining. Saved us the hassle of dealing with the pretentious Godly Domains and dancing around their weird rules.


    "We just let everyone go." Lucy shrugged nonchntly.


    "How arrogant."


    He just smirked. "Benefits of dealing with all the big heads butting. But it''s good for them. I''m d they haven''t had to fight in any wars, but the world isn''t always safe. It''s nice for them to have something to work towards."


    "Right, and you''re not directing thatment towards your sister, right?"


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about." He hummed.


    "Please, I bet you''re letting all of them be there just so your Sister has a reason to show up."


    "Hey, Rias could easily match those Geniuses of other factions."


    "Dude, no offense, but your sister isn''t anywhere close to being strong enough." I shook my head. "Not saying this to be mean, but I think we''ve been friendly enough. I wouldn''t suggest forcing it."


    "Rias has a lot of talent." He frowned.


    "Talent isn''t the same as strength." I pointed out. "She didn''t stand a chance against Kokabiel." I reminded me as well. "You know I originally sent Vali to deal with him in my stead, right? Like, I trusted him to, if not at least defeat Kokabiel, to be able to force him to retreat."


    It''s not like there aren''t any Devils up there, I knew of a few off the top of my head, but damn his little sister definitely wasn''t one of them.


    Nothing good was going toe about trying to push his sister into any ''team'' that gets created.


    Right, Red didn''t like that. He didn''t have anything to argue with me with, but he obviously was annoyed I pointed out the obvious.


    "Just let things take their course." I finally said. "It''s already good that your brats can see some of the stronger kids their age."


    "Where is Vali?"


    "Eh, I let him wander off. Just told him to be there soon." Not like he''ll get into much trouble. Besides, I told him that his rival was invited. Fat chance he''ll show up, but Vali didn''t know that, so he won''t go off and get into trouble. "Anyways, how about ¨C"


    I quickly dodged out of the way as a Phone soared through the air, narrowly missing me and smacking Ol'' Red in the face.


    "Serafall..." Red groaned, covering his nose where it just hit him. "Was that really necessary?"


    "Fuck you, Sirzechs." She huffed.


    "Ouch, who pissed in your cheerios?" I winced.


    "His bastard son." Serafall stomped.


    .....well fuck.


    "I thought he wasn''t going to show up?" I questioned.


    I mean, that''s good news. If Red''s kid joined up, it''d help things significantly. How old was he and he was already strong enough to sit at the Adult''s table. Shit, he treated Vali with kid''s gloves and there was nothing he could do in response.


    I just didn''t think he''d go for it. I think we all expected a blunt reply from the Busty Fox that they weren''t going to involve themselves.


    "Well look at that, so did we!" She threw her hands up.


    "Sheesh, why are you so upset about it? Shouldn''t it be a good thing?"


    "I''d be ecstatic if he didn''t nearly start a fight with Indra in the middle of the ballroom!"


    Oof, yeah, that''ll do it.


    "And he had the nerve to insult my Sona! That bastard, I''ll scratch his eyes out!"


    ....okay part of me thinks she''s more pissed about that.


    "Well, you''re not running there in a panic, so all good?" I asked.


    "It was dealt with." She grumbled. "But we should probably get going otherwise who knows what''s going to happen. I don''t trust Baldie and Idiot to hold down the fort for too long."


    Yeah....Falbium and Ajuka weren''t the best at keeping things peaceful with a bunch of Gods.


    "Wait, Sona''s there too?" I blinked, realizing what she said a moment ago.


    "Of course, my Sona-tan is participating!" Sona squeed.


    Father damn it.


    I had to resist the urge to sigh. I knew that they were just shoving all the kiddies over there but jeez, don''t make it so obvious with the nepotism.


    Well, at least if this thing takes off, it''s not going to be hijacked by the Devils just to show off or anything like that. All those Gods won''t let it happen.


    They can spout nonsense about their kids being ''High-ss'' all they want, but everyone knew they just grant those ''titles'' to anyone of their ''Noble Families'' thate of age. Everyone else in the world actually used those as a measuring stick of strength.


    At the end of the Day, their siblings are pretty solid in the ''Mid-ss''.


    I''m obviously not going to say that out loud though, I preferred living.


    "Wait...did they also bring their peerages?" I suddenly had the realization.


    "Of course." Red instantly replied.


    ....I think he missed the whole point of this.


    Maybe we shouldn''t have jumped the gun so quickly. It''s just.....everyone was feeling anxious and wanted to get the ball rolling on how to deal with the Khaos Brigade.


    I thought about having one of my people infiltrate them. Maybe even have Vali ''Betray'' me or something stupid like that, but I squashed that thought in the end. I didn''t like the thought of any of my close confidants in such a dangerous spot.


    Not to mention, it would be pretty suspicious at this point and they''d probably be kept at arm''s length by whoever ran the Khaos Brigade.


    "What''s the attendance looking like so far, Serafall?" I tapped my foot, still patiently waiting for Michael to get his holy rear down here.


    She picked up her phone off the ground from where she threw it. "Not bad. Indra came, that''s a surprise. Or maybe it''s not."


    "Well, he did get attacked as well." I mused. "Nice to see him get a ck eye for once, you know, other than Red''s Bastard doing it literally."


    "Damn straight!" Serafall cheered.


    We did a high-five while Red just scowled at the mention of his Bastard Son.


    Nobody liked Indra.


    Even if Red got into a mood as soon as his Bastard was mentioned, it was obvious he was on the screw Indra train as well.


    Shit, I think there was even a look of pride when I mentioned it briefly.


    But yeah, it wasn''t a secret that Indra got attacked in his home from the Khaos Brigade. Word on the street was that he was the reason their existence was revealed, albeit not directly by the big guy but that didn''t matter to them any.


    Combined with how pissed some people are at Indra for his little stunt with his whole ''invasion'' of Japan, yeah....he had to y nice.


    "Who else?"


    "We got a rep from the Heavenly Court." Serafall held up a finger. "Got the Monkey too, which should keep Indra cated mostly. Odin''s here too...obviously. He actually stepped up once Indra started acting up." She held three fingers up, adding a fourth. "Lugh should being with some people....and there''s a good chance we might get a rep from Olympus."


    "Olympus?" I raised an eyebrow. "Zeus seriously went for something like this?"


    "Hey, don''t look at me. Odin was the one who swung this with most groups, I''m taking a back seat here." Serafall shrugged. "I''m just as surprised, honestly. Everyone knows how paranoid and reclusive Zeus is. He gets all pissy if his faction interacts with other Pantheons."


    "Think it has something to do with Hades?" I thought out loud. The Greek God of the Underworld did appear recently to the benefit of Red''s Bastard....


    "Who knows what he thinks." Serafall sighed. "I just hope we can deal with this without it exploding in our faces."


    "Yeah....it might not be a smart idea to gather all those strong Egos into one room..." I acknowledged.


    But, we may not have much of a choice.


    If we just wait and bury our heads into the sand, who''s to say we wouldn''t be picked off one by one? The Khaos Brigade, ording to the list we received, has quite a few Gods within their ranks....more than we''re honestly capable of dealing with.


    "Oh finally." Serafall threw her hands up because a Teleportation Circle activated next to us, one obviously tinted with Holy Power.


    Pretty easy to guess who it belonged to.


    They appeared in a sh of light, making Serafall and Red wince. Not that they were affected all that much, but it''s hard to avoid that sort of intrinsic reaction to Holy Power.


    Michael appeared with Gabriel at his side. I may have questioned his choice of bringing Gabriel here among all these aggressive personalities, but Father Murder was also standing protectively at her side.


    The massive Priest would deter most anyone from attempting anything.


    As much as I would love Gabriel to fall....I also kinda didn''t want to see it. Despite everything she was my sister and I know it would seriously mess with her to lose her white wings.


    I normally would spend quite a bit of time admiring Gabriel, I was this time focused on who she brought with her.


    I only recognized one of them.


    "Michael, Gabriel." I greeted.


    My brother smiled politely. "Azazel, how are you doing?"


    "Hanging in there, it''s been chaotic recently." I said honestly.


    "Yes, we''ve been experiencing something simr." He nodded in understanding. "Lucifer, Leviathan. Thank you for hosting us." He also was pointedly polite as he greeted his ''supposed'' greatest enemies.


    "No problem!" Serafall cheerfully ignored the tension. "So, which kids did you bring?"


    I too was curious to see which ''talents'' they scraped up from the Church.


    "Hello, I''m Dulio Gesualdo!" A rather gentle looking young man casually introduced himself.


    Yes you are...


    "The wielder of Zenith Tempest, I should have guessed you''d bring the strongest Exorcist with you here today." I nodded.


    The second Strongest Longinus right behind Dad''s Spear. One I''d never been able to get my hands on to research...


    I wanted it....


    Not only that, he''s considered the Strongest Exorcist too. Granted, everyone''s probably ignoring Father rippling Muscles here, but that kind of title still holds weight.


    He might be stronger than Vali. Father knew that Vali has talked about wanting to fight him since forever.


    And now they''re going to be in the same room....


    I''m sort of regretting bringing Vali now.


    "This is Mirana Shatrova!" Gabriel introduced the shy girl basically clinging to her side. Almost as voluptuous as Gabriel with simrly blonde hair, but honestly, the sheer amount of Holy Power she was radiating kind of took my attention the most.


    Easy to see why she''s here...Shit, I think she has more Holy Power than most of my subordinates.


    "And this is Xenovia Quarta." Michael gestured to the blue-haired girl. "She''s the current wielder of Durandal."


    "Finally passed on the torch, Big guy?" I raised an eyebrow towards Father Violence.


    He just smiled good naturedly.


    But someone able to wield Durandal naturally wasn''t someone to ignore.


    That Sword was extremely powerful, on the same level as Caliburn and Excalibur.


    She didn''t say anything, besides the hint of pride at Michael''s words, there was sort of a permanent scowl on her face. Something told me she didn''t like being here.


    And I vaguely recall a scary Nun with the samest name....


    "Well, if that''s everything, we should get going. A bunch of others have already set up and are getting antsy." Serafall pped her hands.


    Yeah, better get in and out as soon as possible. This was a pretty vtile situation all around.


    "I can Teleport us." Red offered.


    "Thank you, that would be appreciated." Michael smiled with a nod.


    Red held his hand up and the Teleportation circle appeared below us. Within a breath, we appeared at the entrance to the venue.


    "Let''s go~" Serafall happily cheered, only to stop once she realized we were rooted in ce.


    I think she said something, but I was utterly distracted, the same as Michael and Gabriel. I''m pretty sure we all had the same confused look on our faces.


    "...Michael, do you feel that too?" I whispered.


    He nodded absentmindedly.


    "It feels like....Father." Gabriel whispered.


    "What''s wrong?" Serafall asked in concern.


    "Why....is Father''s presence shining so brightly inside, Serafall?" I hesitantly asked, a bit...concerned about what we may find inside.


    "I...don''t know what you''re talking about." She tilted her head.


    "Would you please exin to me what''s going on?" Red asked.


    "If I didn''t know any better, I would almost mistake it for one of the Archangels sitting inside...but it feels more like Father''s blessing than an Angel. Which is strange, considering, you know." I didn''t say thest bit out loud. I didn''t know if the kids around us were in the know about Dad being Dead, and I didn''t want Michael being mad at me.


    But Father damn, why did it feel like he pped his Blessing on someone so tantly that we could feel it this far away? Something that should be impossible. Sure, Michael could use the System to sort of ''bless'' people and all that, but that was basically smacking them with Concentrated Holy Power not....Father''s Presence.


    And it''s obvious my siblings felt the same way I did. There''s no way they would be oblivious to such a significant Holy Presence.


    Before we could even discuss it, Gabriel basically shot forward, going for the door.


    "Sister ¨C " Michael tried to stop her but realized the futility in it. Instead, we all hurriedly followed behind her.


    The insides were exactly what I would expect, extravagance thrown around without a care. Tons of Devils up and about, because why not.


    But the presence seemed to drown out all else.


    And it wasn''t hard to lock onto the source.


    Gabriel and Michael seemingly didn''t care that they made a scene. Frankly, I wasn''t caring much myself at the moment.


    But all our eyesnded on the source.


    I almost wanted to groan once I saw Red''s Bastard, but it wasn''t him this time. Or rather, not him in particr.


    There was a woman by his side, a blue dress, long blonde hair done up in a braid, and gentle blue eyes.


    Yet....she just radiated a Holy Presence.


    It was like....staring at a living Saint. Someone blessed by Father directly.


    Just looking at her was enough to tell how much of a pure soul she was. You don''t have that kind of presence and have hidden depths. What you saw was exactly what you got, in a good way.


    Gentle, protective, weing.


    It''s been a very long time since I felt that not from one of my Siblings.


    Maybe since it wasing from a Human that it was magnified?


    Gabriel and Michael wasted no time, they were already marching right towards her without a single care in the world.


    I clicked my tongue, following along.


    "Well, hello to you too." Red''s Bastard curtly spoke as they came over with the grace of a stampeding Rhino.


    The girl in question looked...nervous and she was basically clinging to Red-Junior.


    I almost wanted tough at the idea of someone so Holy being with literally Satan''s kid, but honestly, I was much too preupied with her entire existence.


    Being this close to her, it became even more obvious.


    She was directly touched by Father.


    I had so many questions right now, but I found myself having trouble even speaking due to the confusion. Frankly, even Gabriel and Michael looked simr to me, we sort of just stared at the Young Girl not knowing what to make of her.


    Who was she, why wasn''t she with Heaven or the Church? Why was this the first time we''ve met her? She should have been found immediately.


    Someone somewhere fucked up hard.


    This awkward moment was enough for the others to catch up. Serafall came running up in a huff. However, instead of the young woman, she focused on Lucifer Jr.


    Red Senior was smartly keeping his distance....


    "You!" Serafall, despite the awkward atmosphere, once more decided to ignore it. "I have a bone to pick with you!" She said, pointing right at Lucifer JR.


    "That''s nice." Lucifer Jr seemingly ignored her indignation, making her get even more huffy.


    "Well, al teast you''re here." She harumphed. "Everyone thought you were going to reject it."


    "Oh, I am." He said bluntly.


    "...what?" She blinked.


    "I''m not joining.....whatever it is you all decide on."


    "....then why are you here?"


    "It''s called manners." Lucifer Jr snorted. "I am here to politely decline your invitation."


    ".....right because you''re the most courteous person ever..."


    "If you have anyints about my conduct, you''re free to go find my parents and scold them for how I was raised." He casually took a sip of his drink.


    Oof.


    It''s actually kind of funny when I''m not on the receiving end.


    Serafall was twitching a little.


    "But there was actually one more reason I was here."


    "Hmm?"


    "My Daughter''s birthday ising up, she''s apparently a fan of Magical Girl Levi-tan." He sounded....defeated when he said that.


    Suddenly, Serafall had the smuggest look on her face. "Well well, look who''sing to me with a request. Maybe I might be too busy to do anything, hmm? Maybe if someone were to stick around and help with some things, I might have some time?"


    "Well, I guess I''ll tell my daughter that her idol didn''t ''have time'' for her."


    Serafall''s lips thinned and she frowned. "Hmph, you''re not going to trick me! Everyone knows I love my fans anyways. You''re just going to be lying to your daughter!"


    "Well, I think little white lies are part of parenting. Humans telling their children about Santa, things like that. For example, I let my daughter have fun watching some woman y around as a Magical Girl and lie by omission by not exining to her what a Mid-life Crisis is." He countered.


    ....ouch.


    Don''t think you''re going toe back from that one, Serafall.


    "Y-y-y-y-you!" She turned red.


    I quickly put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.


    Despite this little exchange, Michael or Gabriel didn''t even react. No, they were instead staring at the girl by his side who was also sort of hiding behind Jr.


    "Oh, Father swole!" Lucifer Jr perked up seeing the Violence of Heaven walk over as if he wasn''t a hulking monster of muscle with a smile on his face.


    "Hello, Young Man." He was genuinely warm in his greeting.


    "I think your Angels are broken." He pointed at the two of them staring nkly at the woman.


    Vasco Strada looked at the two Archangels, then at who they were staring at. "Hello Miss."


    "H-hello." She replied back, a little awkwardly.


    "I''m Father Vasco Strade, may I have the pleasure of your name?"


    "I''m.....Jeanne D''Arc."


    .....ah.


    I wondered if there''s a word for it, when your confusion is resolved, but that in of itself makes you further confused with more questions?


    Credit where it was due, Father Strada barely missed a beat. "I thought you looked familiar. I had the pleasure of meeting the Spirit Inheritor of the Saintess previously. I wonder, are you perhaps rted to her?"


    Huh, that would make sense. Was the Spirit of the Saintess inherited by sisters or something as opposed to a singr person?


    Wait....that still doesn''t make sense, a Spirit Inheritor doesn''t inherit...this.


    Maybe if Adam''s soul popped up, it might still have Father''s touch...but even that was a big maybe. This was like....it felt like Father was literally watching over her right now.


    "Well...um, not really?" The now named Jeanne D''Arc looked a bit confused and uncertain.


    "What, so you just named yourself after the Saintess?" The Blue-haired Exorcist scoffed from behind father Strada. "Just what I''d expect from someone hanging around Devils. Trampling all over the names of our Saints."


    Vasco Strade shot her a look and she shrunk back slightly. Not a hostile one, mind you. But a chiding look that any kid could understanding from a figure of authority.


    "Wow, the Church throwing stones from their ss House, what a surprise." Lucifer Jr rolled his eyes. "Remind me again how the story of the Saintess of Orleans went? Which organization was it that killed her?"


    "Hmph, she was canonized after her death, so it doesn''t matter." Xenovia Quarta crossed her arms. "Just burn all the fake saints, saves us Exorcist the trouble of hunting them down ourselves."


    Almost as soon as she said that, some sort of pressure descended down on all of us.


    I nearly stumbled because I wasn''t prepared for it, but it wasn''t focused on me, that much I knew. No, it was directed at the girl who ran her mouth when she obviously should have read the room.


    The source of it, obviously it wasing from Jr over there.


    The Blue-haired Exorcist buckled under the pressure, falling to her knees.


    "Including the Gods not far away, and everyone present. Do you think there is anyone capable of stopping me from killing you at this moment?" Lucifer Junior said rather ominously.


    I thought Father Strada was going to step in, but actually, it was the other Priest ¨C Exorcist that came along.


    The owner of Zenith Tempest put his hand on Xenovia''s shoulder, and a visible wind swept up around them. The pressure that enveloped her seemed to diminish a bit with his help.


    "Will...." The woman tugged on Jr''s shirt. "Don''t fight."


    Jr seemed to grumble and dismiss whatever it was he was going. "Fine."


    "Xenovia, we''re going to have a long talk about your actions after." Gabriel seemed to break from her stupor as she wagged her finger at the young Exorcist.


    Honestly, it came off more cute than stern.


    Xenovia''s legs trembled as she stood back up, a flush of anger appeared on her face, but she backed down at Gabriel''s ''scolding''.


    If Sister didn''t say anything, I''d be surprised if she didn''t leap back at him regardless of the fact that he downed her with just a look.


    .....I wouldn''t be surprised if Durandal had a new owner in a few years.


    "Right, anyway!" I pped my hands. "Introductions for the beautiful young woman?" I smiled putting on the ol'' Azazel Charm. "You''ve probably heard of me, the great Scapegoat of Heaven, second to Fall, Leader of the Grigori, Azazel!" I introduced myself splendidly.


    ".....um, Hello." She awkwardly said in return.


    ...not what I was hoping for. But I can work with this. "But that''s not very important. What is important is that I have an offer for you ¨C"


    "You''re barking up the wrong tree, she doesn''t have a driver''s license."


    "What''s a Driver''s License?" Jeanne looked at me.


    "Legal document saying that you''re verified to know how to drive a car." He exined.


    "Why do I need that?" She tilted her head.


    "For some reason, I feel like he''s about to try and sell us some used cars."


    ...ouch.


    "pfft!" Serafall barely held back augh.


    I''m not that bad! .....am I?


    "It''s nice to meet you, I''m Archangel Michael."


    "And I''m Archangel Gabriel."


    My siblings just ignored me and introduced themselves.


    "Eee." The woman practically vibrated in ce. Definitely a believer then, that''s a pretty normal reaction when meeting the big wigs for the first time. I admit, I kind of miss seeing that from their side. "I-I''m Jeanne D''Arc!" She quickly said again, looking rather flustered as she did.


    Both of them took it in stride, this wasn''t their first rodeo.


    "If you don''t mind, we had a question for you."


    "A-anything!"


    Michael and Gabriel shared a look. "Why....do you have Father''s blessing?" He finally asked. No pussyfooting around, just straight to the heart of the matter.


    "Blessing?" Jeanne tilted her head.


    "That''s right, we noticed it as soon as we got close." Michael smiled again. "Being the Spirit Inheritor of the Saintess of Orleans shouldn''t have such a prevalent blessing....which is why we''re a bit surprised."


    Was he thinking she''s some type of inheritor? I mean, it''s the most obvious answer...but she didn''t even know what that was, but that also wasn''t an immediate denial either....


    "A-and a new Spirit Inheritor shouldn''t havee about so soon! Actually, thest tone, um..." Gabriel nced at Lucifer JR.


    "Ah..." The youngdy looked a little bashful. "I think there is a misunderstanding. I''m not this.....Spirit Inheritor nor someone who was....named after her."


    "What..."


    "I am Jeanne D''Arc."


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    Welp, there it was.


    This was already going back and forth too much that I was about to step in, but she finally said it.


    Just silence now filled our little area.


    I admit, it was a little bit funny watching those two Archangels stumble over themselves. Also interesting to know that Jeanne was apparently ''blessed'' by Big G. Obvious in hindsight, but when pointed out, it made sense why they''re getting worked up. Considering that there shouldn''t be any of his blessings still around considering he''s, well, dead.


    "Wait, wait wait!" The Fallen Angel threw his hands up. "You''re saying, and please correct me if I''m misunderstanding, that you''re literally Jeanne D''Arc, the Saintess, the woman who fought in the 100 year war for France."


    "Uh huh." Jeanne nodded.


    "That''s impossible." Azazel immediately rejected her assertion.


    Jeanne held her hands out and summoned her banner.


    Azazel stared at it for a long moment. "I retract my previous statement."


    Was it because of the pure holy feeling that her banner gave off that he immediately believed her, or was the banner itself recognizable to him?


    I''m not quite sure any of them were expecting this answer because there was no...formted response to her statement.


    Jeanne, just happily stood there waiting for someone to say something.


    "Ah!" The Archangel Gabriel finally let out a noise, pointing at Jeanne.


    "Eh!?" Jeanne blinked, pointing at herself.


    "Aaah!" The Angel threw herself at the Saintess.


    "Neh!?" Jeanne, not knowing what to do, could only ept that the Angel seemed to subsume her into her impressive cleavage.


    "Aaaah!" The Archangel then began to weep as she held Jeanne tight.


    "....Um." I looked around.


    Michael coughed awkwardly. "Just....please let her have this. Gabriel always regretted what happened to her and carried it in her heart all this time. I don''t know what''s happening but...."


    "Say no more." I relented. "Jeanne wanted toe to specifically meet Angels anyways."


    I watched for a moment as Jeanne''s face was pushed between thoserge mounds.


    She could thank meter.


    "Michael."


    "Yes, Azazel?"


    "Correct me if I''m wrong but....Jeanne D''Arc willingly let herself enter into the System after spending some time in Heaven so her spirit would pop up every now and then, right?"


    "That is correct, yes." The Archangel nodded.


    "Alright, then I have a question."


    "Please." He gestured for him to continue.


    "The fuck." He pointed at Jeanne.


    "Azazel, please mind your Language."


    "I''m with the used Car Salesman on this one." The woman dressing up like a Magical Girl added in.


    "I would normally have something witty to retort with, but right now, I''m seriously stuck on the issue at hand." The Fallen stared at his sibling.


    "You''re asking a question I have no answer to." Michael responded, ncing at me.


    I cleared my throat. "Something something, Will of God."


    "Do you seriously think that''s going to work." Azazel deadpanned.


    "Something something, Mysterious ways."


    "Cute." He said dryly. "But you know the Church is going to be on your ass, right? A living Saint with Father''s blessing? You bet your ass they''re going to do everything they can to get a hold of her. Especially because she''s apparently hanging around with a Devil."


    I knew he didn''t mean that in an insulting way, but more of a statement of fact.


    "Aren''t you all no longer at war or whatever?" I questioned.


    "Not fighting doesn''t mean we''re close." He corrected.


    "True." I couldn''t deny that.


    "There''s also the pertinent question of how this is at all possible." Azazel eyed me.


    "Anything is possible through God." I said sagely. "Right, Father Swole?"


    "That is something we preach." He couldn''t disagree with me.


    Those three little kids he brought with him were....sort of confused and bewildered by what was happening.


    That blue haired girl that I released a little bit of my Spiritual Pressure on just had a nk look on her face.


    "We can''t force you to answer." The other Archangels poke up. "However, if we have a sufficient answer, we will have to do what we can to understand it ourselves."


    "Is that a threat?" I narrowed my eyes at him, bringing back the tense atmosphere from before.


    "Hold up there, Junior." Azazel interjected. "No one''s threatening anyone here." He quickly corrected. "But what do you think is going to happen when this gets out? The Church, if they can''t have her, they''re going to denounce her as a Witch."


    I felt myself getting angry at that.


    "I don''t mind." Jeanne''s voice was the only thing to calm me down. She seemed to wrestle free from Gabriel''s bosom. "Truthfully, I never really considered myself a Saintess. I just did the best that I could under the Lord''s directions." She smiled beautifully. "I like where I am right now and don''t want to change that."


    Well, that sort of shut them right up.


    "And she was already touched by the Devil, so it''s kind of moot at this point." I added.


    "D-don''t say that! They''re going to misunderstand!" She squeaked, hitting my shoulder.


    "You don''t have to worry." Michael smiled warmly. "Azazel was merely speaking hypothetically. The Church will not take such actions against you. I''ll be sure to keep a very close eye to make sure."


    That sounded ominous.


    "Right, purely hypothetically." Azazel rolled his eyes.


    Hmm, was he trying to build up some good will?


    It''s obvious they had no idea what was going on, only that their apparent Saintess was right here, right now when she really shouldn''t be.


    "There is another option avable as well. You would make a wonderful Angel." Michael offered.


    Jeanne''s eyes widened. "A-Angel? Me!?"


    "That''s right." Michael smiled. "We will soon have a way to reincarnate humans into Angels. If you are willing, I believe a spot would be reserved for you especially."


    Jeanne flushed, smiled and looked utterly ecstatic. "Will!" She ran at me. "He invited me to be an Angel! I could be an Angel!"


    "You would be the best Angel." I couldn''t help but smile at her happiness.


    "Do you really think so?"


    "I know so." I nodded.


    If that is the path she wanted to take, I would support her with everything I had.


    She beamed happily.


    Happy Jeanne was best Jeanne.


    It didn''t take a genius to see that they wanted to pull Jeanne over to their side. The simplest way is often the best way to go about it.


    "Whatever you want, I''ll support you."


    She grabbed my arm, looking up at me. "Thank you."


    "Ahem." Azazel coughed awkwardly. "Do you really have to flirt right in front of everyone."


    "F-flirt!?" Jeanne turned red rather quickly. "That''s not what we were doing!"


    "Wow, she is easy, isn''t she?" Azazel looked at me.


    I nodded.


    Jeanne puffed up but didn''t respond to me. Instead, she turned to face the expecting Archangel. "I...I''m happy. It feels like a dream to be asked this question. To be an Angel in Heaven and.....I''m sorry but I don''t think it''s right for me. I''m a Human, I don''t think I should be an Angel."


    Michael''s smile didn''t falter. "It''s unfortunate."


    "I-I am honored by the offer!" She quickly added. "I didn''t mean to ¨C"


    "Quite the opposite, I believe the honor would have been all ours." He interjected. "But do not take myment as distaste for your decision. Father desired for Humans to choose their own Paths, wherever that may take them."


    Jeanne continued to squeeze my arm in clear excitement.


    "What about the Grigori?" Azazel suddenly chimed in.


    "....I would like to politely decline." Jeanne looked away in embarrassment.


    Azazel clicked his tongue. "We don''t have all the rules like Heaven. We don''t care if you have a Devil Boyfriend, in fact, we wee it! We''ll teach you all the good stuff. Lots of leather, lots of ropes, maybe some whips~"


    "Bwah!?"


    "She doesn''t need help learning about ropes, trust me."


    "Will!"


    "Ah, always the most pure ones, isn''t it?" He gave me a knowing smirk.


    "Neh!!!"


    "Azazel, you''re not allowed to bully her!" Gabriel came to Jeanne''s defense. "I-if anyone bullies her I''m going to get mad!" The Archangel puffed up simrly to how Jeanne does.


    Cute.


    "I was surprised when my Mother appeared with a new Queen." A voice I was familiar with carried a bit. It wasn''t too loud, but it was enough for us to hear. I met his gaze, a man I particrly did not care to meet. "Mozart. I wasn''t quite sure what to think. But he proved his identity fairly quickly. His talent is something I could only envy. The ones before, and now a Saintess that shouldn''t be alive."


    My biological Father stood next to his fellow Satan.


    I think this was the first time we''ve ever directly spoken.


    "It makes us wonder where and how they areing from." He finished.


    And he wasn''t the only one having those questions. It was fairly obvious that everyone around us wanted an answer as well.


    I had to be careful with how I responded.


    While I wasn''t going to go to great lengths to hide myself and the others at this point, I also wasn''t going to tantly reveal my secrets. If they wanted to jump to their own conclusions, then so be it.


    But I should at least be smart about it.


    A response that was enough to side step the question.


    I needed to put forth all of my intellectual capability.


    "I had sex with your mom."


    [Nailed it.] Ddraigplimented me.


    {Well done.} Even my Zanpakut¨­ agreed. {The first actual conversation you''ve had with him.}


    Seeing him utter speechlessness, I knew that I did a good job.


    I don''t know why Jeanne was hitting my shoulder, however.


    [***]


    "That was easier than I thought it would be." I mused, watching both the Angels and the Satan''s finally leave. Oh, and the used Car Salesman.


    It seemed like no one had anything else to say to me after that.


    Jeanne whined, burying her head into my shoulder. "Now the Angels are going to think I''m weird."


    "Jeanne, you realize that they''ve seen every single moment of your life right?"


    "Yes?" She tilted her head.


    "No, I mean Big G has literally seen and cataloged every single moment of your life. Think about it, every time you used the restroom ¨C"


    "No! Stop, I forbid you from continuing!" She quickly shushed me.


    "All I''m trying to say is.....they already know you''re weird."


    She dropped her head. "You know how to cheer me up." One of the rare times she used sarcasm.


    "It''s okay, we''re all weird." I gave her a little pat on the head.


    "I hope I didn''t cause any problems for you though." She whispered. "I just wanted to meet the Angels....I...it turned into something bigger."


    "It is what it is. Don''t think about it too much." I reassured her again. "Don''t worry, I can avoid any annoying questions."


    "Yes, I noticed." She looked at me with a dry expression.


    "It''s not like I lied." I pointed out.


    "That isn''t the issue with what you said!"


    "Mmm, I see no issue with it." I said without a hint of shame. "I don''t know why those Church kids ran off, am I that scary?"


    "...a little." She admitted. "I think you scared them with what you did."


    "Well, I don''t regret it."


    "I wasn''t offended..."


    "That''s because you''re a nice person. Don''t worry, I''ll be offended on your behalf from now on."


    "Don''t just assume positions like that." She puffed up. "...don''t get into fights on my behalf."


    "Oh you adorable girl." I couldn''t help but pat her head.


    You don''t know what I would do to protect you.


    "Neh." She pouted.


    But yeah, Angels and Devils and what have you seemed to have disappeared to their little meeting, leaving us all on our lonesome. The Church kids they brought basically retreated to a corner and no one wanted to go near them.


    Well, no one seemed to want toe near us either...


    I couldn''t imagine why.


    {I can''t tell if it was a genius move or not. To just....be so bluntly shameless that it makes any further talks awkward.}


    It''s what I do.


    "Wilhelm!" A booming voice carried over the room.


    And perhaps I perked up a little hearing it and saw the person practically charging towards me.


    "Sairaorg, it''s good to see you again." I held my hand out and he took it, squeezing with a bit of strength. "Your aura feels a bit more aggressive."


    "Haha.." He scratched his cheek. "Sorry I was training before I came over. I guess I''m still feeling kind of pumped."


    Well, I did like his earnestness.


    "Oh, Sairaorg, this is Jeanne. Jeanne, this is my cousin once removed, Sairaorg." I gestured between them.


    "It''s a pleasure." Jeanne smiled happily.


    "Nice to meet you!" He held out a hand and Jeanne took it.


    Simrly he did the thing again and he looked surprised.


    "You''re strong." Hemented.


    "Ah...? Um, thank you." She giggled.


    "Where''s your peerage? It seems like every Devil here has theirs hovering around them?" It wasn''t lost on me that there were quite a few Devils being waited on by their ''peerages''.


    "Around." He shrugged. "I don''t really need them for anything so I figured they could go do what they wanted!" He grinned.


    Well, his simplicity was refreshing.


    "Are you wanting to join this.....team or whatever it is?"


    "Erm...." He put his hands on his hips, giving it a good thought. "I wouldn''t be against it. I want to fight some strong opponents. But..." He looked around. "Not feeling too good about it."


    "Worried that it''s just for show." And I also didn''t miss that most of the Devils here were....weak.


    He nodded. "I would rather spend my time training then." He paused. "But if you''re here, that means it should be great!"


    "I''m actually not participating." I quickly said.


    "Darn." He snapped his fingers. "I don''t know who all is worth it." He turned to look at the room. "There''s some guys from the Norse Pantheon over there." He held his finger up, pointing to some viking-looking guys. "They seem pretty strong, but eh. I want to fight that...oh."


    I looked to see where he was looking and that it was the Church people who had retreated from before.


    The shy looking girl was now holding what looked like a .50 Caliber Sniper rifle made of Holy Power, pointing it right at a Devil doing an obscene gesture her way.


    The Devil in question''s expression quickly changed.


    But the Women didn''t look like she was going to hold back.


    ....I told Odin I would keep things to a moderate level. I''m fairly sure that something like that would kill that Devil.


    I raised a hand to intercept, but the explosive power of the gun and propelling Holy Power was caught by someone else.


    That one Exorcist from before. The one who warded off my Spiritual Pressure...


    A wind enveloped the bullet, smothering it out before it could do any harm. Then, an almost gentle gust of wind swept that mocking Devil away, sending him to the other side of the room.


    Huh.


    The Exorcist turned my way.


    He smiled and waved.


    Cheeky bugger.


    "Sacred Gear?" Sairaorg asked.


    "I''m fairly sure, yes." Because it felt...divine what he was doing. And I''m pretty sure they wouldn''t let any of their Exorcists use any ''Pagan'' Divine power unless it came from one of Big G''s creations.


    "He seemed nice." Jeanne added.


    Which, I then believed to be true. If Jeanne thought so, I was inclined to not even think otherwise.


    And I may have responded, if I didn''t feel a tingle of somethinging my way.


    My Aura enveloped me as I caught something.


    It was heavy, and powerful.


    Just the density of Power it contained was enough to send me sliding back several feet. Immediately, the weight of the object set in too.


    As I came to a stop, I could get a good look at what just hit me.


    A rod with Golden Hoops on both ends.


    It retracted back to the source.


    I clenched my fist a couple times and then met his gaze.


    A rather cocky looking smile appeared on a man not too far off from my own age it seemed. He was wearing some traditional looking Chinese armor with a golden band around his head, reminiscent of a certain Monkey King.


    And considering what I just got hit by, I''m fairly sure I knew who he was.


    I walked back and he walked forward. He had someone by his side, but I was focused basically on him.


    "You''re right, he is strong." The one who attacked me mentioned to hispanion. He held his hand out to me. "Heyo, I''m Bikou, the new Monkey King."


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I greeted him. "No wonder I felt a tingling in my hand." I nced at his weapon. "I''m surprised you can wield that so well."


    "Hah, Gramps wouldn''t let me go around calling myself the new Monkey King if I couldn''t at least use Ruyi Jingu Bang." He dered, mming the butt of it onto the ground, sending cracks in every direction on the floor.


    A Divine Weapon of that caliber was not to be taken lightly.


    "Hey, you seem pretty strong..." Sairaorg was basically at my side now, his aura was ring something fierce as he pointed at Bikou.


    "The strongest." Bikou grinned.


    "Stronger than him?" Sairaorg pointed at me.


    "....second strongest." He said awkwardly with a cough.


    "Third strongest." Hispanion grumbled.


    "Still second strongest." Bikou argued.


    "You wanna fight!?"


    "Anytime." Heughed.


    "Hey, have we met before?" I looked at Bikou''spanion.


    "Wait, did you seriously forget about me?"


    "Hmm, let''s see." I rubbed my chin. "White hair, leather on leather clothing, constant pout. Are you in a boy band?"


    "I''ll fucking kill you." He growled.


    "Doesn''t ring a bell then." I shrugged helplessly.


    "Be nice." Jeanne was already on me, pinching my arm.


    "Fine." I grumbled.


    "Pfft, listen to the girl." The Boy-band wannabe chuckled.


    "How was the desert?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    He twitched like he wanted to throw a punch. Instead, he crossed his arms with a huff. "You took me by surprise."


    "What happened?" Bikou asked. "There''s a story there."


    "This dumbass came flying into a fight I was having with Kokabiel. Well....fight might be too strong of a word. But hees in all high and mighty telling me to hand over Kokabiel after he tried to kill my woman. Obviously, I''m not having any of that. So I punted him to the Sahara Desert."


    Bikou turned to the Boy Band member with the biggest shit-eating-grin. "Funny, you never told me this story."


    "Screw off!" He growled. "And call me by my name! I''m Vali Lucifer! Or you can call me the White Dragon Emperor." He smirked.


    "Sounds so fucking edgy when you word it like that."


    "It really does." Bikou nodded.


    "Eh, I kind of like it."


    "Devils have weird naming conventions." I nced Sairaorg.


    "That''s....fair." Sairaorg rubbed his head.


    "I like it!" Jeanne smiled.


    "Stop! I''m supposed to be your Rival!"


    "Yeah...sure." I rolled my eyes.


    "Dammit, Albion, you tell him!" Vali scowled, and white draconic wings emerged from behind him.


    "So you''re the wielder of Ddraig this time around." A voice came from his Sacred Gear.


    "Sup." We technically already met, but that wasn''t in....normal conditions.


    "A cocky one this time." He mused.


    [Let me out.]


    I shrugged, and summoned the boosted Gear.


    "[Albion.]"


    "Ddraig."


    "[Albion!]"


    "Ddraig!"


    "Oh my God, I''m not going to be in the middle of your murder crush, Ddraig."


    "[Screw you, brat!]"


    "What he said!" Albion agreed.


    "Is this weird for everyone else too?" I looked around, seeing nods.


    "Vali, don''t agree with him!" Albion shouted from within his Sacred Gear.


    "Albion, stop making it weird. I just wanna fight him." Vali looked embarrassed.


    "[Good luck with that. My wielder doesn''t even need to use me to kick your boy-band ass.]"


    "Like hell!" Albion snorted. "Vali is my strongest wielder, ever."


    "[Strongest piece of shit is still a piece of shit!]"


    "Nice Ddraig." I nodded.


    "Dammit, Vali do something!" Albion quickly called for his user. "Use Juggernaut drive and just kill him already."


    "Oh, you can use Juggernaut Drive?" I was actually surprised by that.


    "Heh, you scared?" Vali grinned.


    "Yup, so scared that I''ll immediately surrender before even fighting. You win, oh great White Dragon Emperor."


    "Wait, Ddraig he can''t do that." Albion protested. "Why aren''t you getting upset? Even if he''s kidding, you''ve always been keen on our battles."


    "[I''ve had....an interesting time with the Brat as my wielder. I''ve seen things that made me question a lot about myself. I''ve experienced things that I couldn''t even have dreamed of before. Powerful enemies that would have easily killed me back during our prime....]"


    "....Ddraig." Albion whispered.


    "[So It''s made me reflect on my past and all our battles over the centuries. And I''vee to one conclusion...]"


    "...what?"


    "[Why am I wasting so much time on some weak bitch-ass lizard!]" Ddraig roared.


    ''Dammit Ddraig!"


    "[Hahahahah!]"


    Good one, Ddraig.


    But I felt like it was getting out of hand, so I put the Boosted Gear away. Even if hisughing didn''t stop even as he went back into my soul.


    "You see, Vali! He''s still the same bastard!"


    "Yeah, yeah." Boy Band rolled his eyes, dismissing his wings. "Great now Albion''s going to be ranting for hours."


    "When Gramps told me stories about the Two Heavenly Dragons, this is not what he prepared me for." Bikou had a nk look on his face.


    "Honestly, you don''t really know until you get one of them talking in your head." I shrugged helplessly.


    "Hah...should I be happy that my Regulus isn''t like that..?" Sairaorg awkwardlyughed.


    "I''m not going to marry you, Riser! Get away from me!" A shrill voice eclipsed all themotion in the room.


    I think everyone turned towards the source of it.


    Sairaorg had a scowl on his face as he stared at them. "Damn Bird. I should have torn his wings off."


    "What''s going on over there?" I asked him.


    "Rias and her Fiance, Riser Phenex. She hates him and he''s a dick." He said bluntly. "I should go over there and teach him another lesson."


    Sairaorg was about to make a move but I held up my hand to block him.


    "She''s Venna''s daughter, I may as well do something." I let out a small sigh. I didn''t really want anything to do with her, recognizing her as my Aunt that went to the same School as me. But....for Venna''s sake, I wouldn''t watch as her daughter gets harassed.


    Analyzing the structure of the tiled floor.


    Four unidentified minerals.


    Simting theirposition.


    Adjusting spell sequences to amodate for new materials.


    Casting spell.


    A stone pir shot out of the ground between this Riser''s legs. It shot right into his groin, and faster than one could blink, it retracted back into the ground as if it was never there in the first ce.


    I think most people who were watching the scene questioned if it even happened. If their eyes were ying tricks on them.


    But then Riser fell to the ground, clutching his groin in pain.


    "....Wilhelm."


    "Hmm?" I looked at Sairaorg.


    "For now on, you''re my new brother." He put a hand on my shoulder.


    I felt like arguing with him would prove fruitless, so I just epted it.


    "Nice shot." Bikou whispered.


    "Eh, weakling deserved it." Vali shrugged.


    I looked at Jeanne.


    "What?" She questioned, looking back.


    "Aren''t you going to chide me?"


    "I saw nothing..." She looked away.


    Cute.


    "So, what''s up with the Marriage?" I only vaguely knew the details, Venna only mentioned it offhand once or twice.


    "I''m not too sure about the specifics. But there''s a Marriage contract between them and Rias is going to fight him in a Rating Game to decide her future." Sairaorg replied.


    "Rating games?" I couldn''t help but mentally roll my eyes. "I don''t understand the obsession you all have with it."


    "They look fun." Bikou chimed in.


    "What are Rating Games?" Jeanne asked.


    "y fighting." I answered.


    "That doesn''t sound too bad." She responded.


    "He''s over simplifying it. It''s apetition that can get pretty intense. Fighting is the main point though." Bikou strangely corrected me.


    "Do other factions watch the Rating games?" I blinked.


    "Of course. What else do you think people like us watch?" He snorted. "Watching some Devils beat each other up can pass the time."


    Huh.


    "Are arranged marriages umon for...Devils?" Jeanne asked.


    "Not really." Sairaorg shrugged. "But Riser''s too focused on his Harem and adding Rias as a ''trophy'' so they don''t get along. I don''t think she would be upset if she had a better partner arranged."


    Well there''s your first mistake. You can''t forcibly add someone to your harem. That''s just going topletely throw off the whole dynamic, even ignoring the fact that she doesn''t want to be there.


    He would be miserable if he actually seeded.


    "Speak of the Devil." Bikou grinned at his own pun.


    And I noticed what he was speaking about.


    I let out a sigh as I noticed that not only was my Aunt walking over towards us, but so was her sses wearing best friend.


    I could practically feel the headacheing on.


    [***]


    A/N


    Happy new years for everyone today and tomorrow!


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone


    Had some russian fans tell me they can''t use the P-word website. So I created a h tt p s :// bo osty. to/ astoryforone

 Chapter 467 - 424 Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 467: Chapter 424 Part 2</h4>


    Serafall POV


    Midlife crisis!?


    Who''s having a Midlife crisis!


    Everyone loves me! I''m Magical Girl Lev-tan!


    Who does he think he is!?


    "Azazel! I''m still cute and lovable, right!?" I grabbed him to double check.


    "S-Serafall, you''re choking me...."


    "Serafall....don''t kill him..." Red tried to get him out of answering.


    "It was rhetorical anyways!" The answer was obvious. I don''t know what I was getting worked up towards.


    He obviously just didn''t have any taste.


    Besides, my ratings were already up 2.7% fromst year. That''s steady growth! Which meant that I''m not only still popr, but even more people were watching me!


    Midlife Crisis my perfect little ass!


    He just wanted to get under my skin. Not that it worked at all, I can see through his lies. But I should retaliate. Hmph, I''ll just seduce him and then finally reject him once he''s fallen for me. I could always ask Momma Gremory for some tips there.


    And I''ll do it dressed up as Magical Girl Levi-Tan, that''ll show him.


    "Alright it''s decided. Sirzechs, I''m going to seduce your son!" I dered.


    "Serafall....what the hell are you going on about?" He looked at me strangely.


    "Don''t worry about it!" I smiled happily.


    Actually, I wondered if I can get in with Momma Gremory if I did it. Might be worth it just for that....


    "Are we just going to ignore the Saintess standing by Lucifer Jr''s side?" Azazel finally brought up.


    Might have been more awkward to bring up if Michael and Gabriel were with us. We were supposed to go ''together'' as a show of unity or whatever crap Azazel was spouting, but that sort of went to the wayside after what happened.


    They apparently needed a few minutes to themselves.


    Couldn''t me them honestly, one of their most famous Saintess suddenly popped up next to Red''s Bastard.


    "Please don''t call him that." Red sighed.


    "No." Azazel immediately rejected. "But seriously, Saintess, yeah? Questions, concerns, what the fuck?"


    "What do you want us to say, Azazel?" I sighed. "It''s not like he''s our problem!!"


    ".....Father damn it." Azazel groaned. "I just....why does this shit keep getting thrown at us at the worst possible moments?"


    "He probably does it on purpose." The little shit. "But was she seriously a Saintess? Not like...a Spirit Inheritor, I know you guys were all freaking out, but she didn''t really seem much different than some normal Holy Powered human."


    Azazel shook his head. "You wouldn''t understand. She had Father''s direct blessing. Like direct blessing, not just something Michael did to anoint some Holy Maiden or whatever he gets up to these days."


    "...oh." I blinked. "But isn''t he Dead?"


    "Yes, Serafall." Azazel groaned. "Father is dead, kicked the bucket, went to the farm in the countryside." Azazel waved his hand flippantly. "So yeah, that''s why we were all freaking out, cause Father''s Direct blessing was on her and that shouldn''t be possible."


    "I mean....resurrected Saintess." I pointed out. "Shouldn''t two and two equal four here?"


    "She only stayed in Heaven for a little while. Went back to the ''cycle'' via the System because she felt like she could still help." Azazel exined. "Which is why her ''Spirit Inheritor'' pops up so frequently. It''s not just like an echo left behind, but her actual Spirit that someone inherits."


    I guess that made sense. I was about to question why some people who are still alive, still got ''Spirit Inheritors'' popping up. I think the list that Momma Fox gave said that the ''Hero Faction'' that attacked him had a Hercules Spirit Inheritor. Which....was weird in hindsight because Hercules was still alive on Mount Olympus.


    Though, he did technically die once. I guess that''s what Azazel meant by an ''Echo''?


    Whatever, I didn''t really want to think about it too hard.


    "You sure his Blessing just didn''t stay with her?" I asked.


    "Considering that it''s never appeared before? Yeah, pretty sure. Not to mention, the previous ''Inheritor'' died...what, a few months ago?" Azazel muttered.


    "Maybe she''s just bluffing and got lucky? Super charged Spirit and this Saintess got all the good juice from the first one?"


    "The Spirit goes back into Heaven''s System, it shouldn''t even have been sent back to Earth at this point. And even if it did, it would be with an unborn soul." Azazel rified.


    "So something is fishy."


    "Serafall, we''ve been pped with the fish repeatedly in the face. At this point, it''s a whole damn Fish Market." Azazel deadpanned.


    Yeah yeah, I''m not dumb.


    He had those other people too...doesn''t take Ajuka''s smarty pants to see the picture being painted.


    "Let''s just focus on the important thing for now." Sirzechs finally interjected. "I''d rather they not see us so...distracted."


    "Agreed." Azazel sighed. "This is already going to be a headache."


    "Fine." I''d ignore the stupid head for now.


    MidLife crisis my perfectly round bottom.


    Clearly, he''s just acting out because he was intimidated by me. How many other women of such caliber have the confidence to dress up like a damn Magical Girl and rock it for the world to see?


    I have nothing to be ashamed of.


    Besides, I''m the most looked up search on the Devil for Devils aged 14 to 23, and that''s not because of my show.


    But maybe I should make some adjustments anyways. Maybe a few inches off the length of my skirt? I could even wear some sexier panties every now and again and ''idently'' sh them. Mmm, I''ll go borrow some of Sona''s skimpy lingerie.


    It''s a shame she doesn''t wear it outside of her room.


    "Look alive boys and girls." Azazel muttered as we got close to the entrance to the meeting.


    I lightly pat my cheeks, getting into a good character. "Alright, let''s go make some friends." I put on my best smile.


    Because we were going to need it...


    Red nodded and silently pushed open the doors.


    He''s lucky, his whole ''character'' was basically the stoic hammer that we wave around to keep all the others off our backs.


    I actually had to do work.


    The room was ratherrge, big enough for a few hundred people in total, but even that probably wasn''t enough for the sheer egobined from the current residents.


    Arge round table situated in the middle with everyone taking up seats as they desired.


    The Heaven peeps were already sitting. Big ol'' Father Swole ¨C as Lucifer Jr called him ¨C was easy to pick out. Nex to him were Gabriel and Michael. A little further down was Baldie and Ajuka. They were holding down the fort well enough.


    Azazel quickly took his seat between us and Sirzechs and I joined our fellow Satans.


    "How gracious of you to join us." A drawl apanied a hint of thunder to it.


    I was still surprised that Zeus came here.


    He hates us. Well, he hated any other Pantheon or Faction not under his control.


    "Apologies, Lord Zeus. We did not anticipate how excited you would be toe so quickly, otherwise we would have arrived as early as you did." Red immediately went to work acting as our deterrent.


    The Olympian God''s nostrils red as if he was about to go to blows. He obviously didn''t have many people telling him off to his face if that was enough to elicit a reaction.


    "Come now, can we at least get through one meeting without fighting?" Nuwa''s gentle voice seemed to calm the tension. "It''s rare for so many of us to cross borders toe together."


    "There''s a good reason for that." Zeus snorted.


    "I don''t disagree, but there is also a good reason for us to break that tradition in this circumstance." Nuwa retorted.


    Zeus grumbled, but didn''t dispute her im.


    "I suppose I will begin then since it appears we''re all here?" She looked around and no one stopped her so she continued. "I am Nuwa, representing the Heavenly Courts. I have with me two of my disciples." She gestured to the two girls wearing veils behind her. "Their Daoist names are Jade Lilly and Sky Dance. They are my two youngest, and I brought them to broaden their horizons. Please be gentle with them."


    The two girls cupped their hands and bowed to everyone else without saying a word.


    "Hoh, already achieved Immortality then?" Sun Wukong eyed them with a warm smile. "Must be talented to do so at their age."


    "Yes, I''m quite proud, not even five hundred and they were already invited into the Heavenly Court." Nuwa said with clear pride in her tone.


    Their method of power was already interesting. It was systematic with clear paths. Even if you had mediocre talent, you could get strong eventually. The flip side was that it was a long and arduous process, so not many people wanted to use it.


    Big reason why Devils didn''t practice their Cultivation. Devils needed immediate results to keep them interested. It''s already an issue getting younger Devils to train, if you told them it would take them 10 years to get to ''Mid-ss'' from ''Low-ss'' then they wouldn''t even bother. Even if it meant that they could eventually achieve ''Ultimate ss'' that they normally wouldn''t be able to on their own.


    And it''s toote if you get high enough and realize you can''t go any further by yourself.


    You need to use their ''cultivation'' from the start or it doesn''t work.


    Every Faction had their good points and bad points.


    "Guess we''re doing this then." Sun Wukong went next. "I am here representing the collective Buddhist Societies ¨C the Victorious Fighting Buddha, Sun Wukong." He introduced himself. "I won''t say they have much interest here, so I''m mostly here on my own merit and reporting back if anything important happens."


    He sat between Nuwa and Indra, thetter of which let out a grunt once he finished.


    "I will be settling all matters of the Hindu Pantheon." Indra said bluntly. "If you don''t know who I am, you shouldn''t even be here."


    It was obvious he didn''t want to be here himself.


    Most of us just rolled our eyes at his way of addressing everyone. He didn''t even introduce the Gods he brought with him, but whatever.


    "I''m Lugh, God of Light. I''m here on behalf of the Celtic Pantheon. With me, I have brought The Morrigan ¨C" he gestured to a woman with a cowl covering her face, but it was difficult to hide those curves of her. She also had arge pair of Raven wingsing from her back. "And Cernunnos" He gestured to thest.


    The second God standing behind Lugh wore some kind of tunic covered in leaves that made him look a bit bigger than he actually was. It was woven with straw and other natural resources and two eyes glowing from the piece that covered his face. His most notable feature were the tworge Antlers that sprung from his head.


    We just continued going around the table.


    "I am Vidar, King of Asgard." The Norse Head mmed his closed fist onto the table. No one called him out on it, that''s more like a greeting for these guys. "I have brought Tyr and my Father, Odin."


    Simple and to the point.


    Then, it was the big guy''s turn.


    "I am Zeus!" The Greek God mmed his fist down, not unlike Vidar, but intentionally to cause amotion. "I have brought Athena and Ares with me."


    Right, as if that wasn''t intentionally to send a statement that he was ''prepared for war''.


    The two War Gods of the Greeks were asymmetric/ mirrors/night and day/on different ends of the spectrum of each other. Area had vicious Greek Armor with lots of pointy bits and glowing red eyes. Athena on the other hand, while still looking militaristic, had a certain decorum about her with a well kept ''uniform'' and a stern but gentle nature.


    Our turn then?


    "Hello Everyone, I''m the Archangel Michael along with the Archangel Gabriel and Father Vasco Strada here on behalf of Heaven." Michael politely started for our little group.


    The Big Birds brought along Vasco Strada so they wouldn''t look weak. It''s funny to consider that by themselves even Michael and Gabriel would lose to one of the Humans under theirmand. Obviously, that was without considering how they could use the Power of Heaven. But even the Gods here were respectful of Father Swole''s strength.


    "And I''m Azazel, representing the Grigori." Azazel cheerfully continued after his siblings.


    Despite not bringing anyone, I don''t think anyone was going to underestimate him.


    Azazel was....the most crafty out of all of us in our three factions. Definitely not the strongest, nor did he have the most support, but it was impossible to guess what he''s thinking or nning at the best of times.


    And that wasn''t to say he doesn''t have his own trump cards. His adoptive son was apparently the White Dragon Emperor, and he also has another known Longinus User under hismand that was fairly powerful himself.


    Not to mention he''d been collecting Sacred Gears for centuries.


    There''s honestly no telling what he''s hiding in his sleeves if the situation turned fubar.


    "And as the super host for everyone, I''m Serafall Leviathan!" I smiled brightly. "We have all four Satans gathered here. Me, Ajuka Beelzebub, Falbium Asmodeus, and Sirzechs Lucifer!" I finished on our biggest stick for emphasis because this was definitely going to be a stick measuring contest.


    Now, basic pleasantries are out of the way....


    "Let''s cut to the chase." King Vidar was the first to speak. "We all know why we''re here and what we want. Let''s just agree to work together for ourbined interests."


    "Bah, why would we need your help?" Zeus was the first to rebuke him. "I was handling the many enemies of Olympus before you were even born, why would we need help now?"


    "And how many times have your enemiese from foreign borders, Zeus?" Lugh asked.


    "It doesn''t matter." He harrumphed.


    "Then why are you here, thunder crotch?" Odin snorted.


    "What did you call me!?"


    "Did I stutter?" Odin''s eye glowed in response to Zeus''s sparking with Lightning.


    Zeus mmed his fist on the table, cracking it.


    Odin stood up, but instead of escting, he instead pulled down his shirt, ripping it to show a freshly healed cut. Or...mostly healed, there was a strange energy lingering, and it made Zeus falter.


    Zeus visibly released his annoyance and anger, slowly falling back into his seat.


    "Lord Zeus, we are not pointing any me." Vidar spoke again. "Right now, everyone''s been having problems, and we''re also not here to revel in each other''s losses. I was not alive during the great wars that marked History, but I know that everyone willingly put down their swords for the peace we have today. That peace is now threatened by abination of beings that are linked to us all. There has been an uprising of Jotun in ournds. Asgard has been probed many times in the past months and even our people have suffered attacks in what used to be safe borders."


    "The Fomorians move the same." Lugh quickly added on. "The timing is too much to be a coincidence, the obvious hand that moves behind the curtain has been revealed and we know their name."


    "Our Old Satan Faction had be far too confident in recent years and even dared to kidnap our families." I also spoke up, recalling how Momma Gremory and Millicas were originally taken leading to this downhill snowball in the first ce.


    "As annoyed as I am to admit it, it''s not a secret that some trash attacked me as well." Indra grumbled. "They were dealt with swiftly, but the fact that they even had the gall in the first ce means there is something giving them that confidence."


    Well, despite how much I disliked Indra, he wasn''t wrong. Not many would throw the first punch his way unless they were able to back it up.


    Or they were Sirzech''s Bastard.


    Still wrapping my mind around the fact that Lucifer Jr threw down with Indra and came out intact.


    Zeus looked uncharacteristically tired. "Fine." His voice boomed, but without the normal presence to it. "I relent that there is a valid reason for us to gather." He paused for a moment, looking very conflicted before seemingly relenting. "My Father and one of his Generals escaped from Tartarus. I do not believe I need to say who was behind it."


    That.....wasn''t good.


    Then realization dawned on most of us here as we looked at Odin.


    Two and Two wasn''t hard to add here.


    "Damn bastards ambushed me while I was traveling the branches of Yggdrasil." He grunted.


    Also not good if they were hiding out there of all ces.


    So that''s even more than the Khaos Brigade presumably had at their disposal...


    "Wait, wasn''t Hades listed as one of the members of Khaos Brigade, did he ¨C"


    "Do not presume to question my brother!" Zeus roared in fury.


    Before I could do anything, Sirzechs responded by releasing his own pressure. "Zeus." He said in a warning tone.


    "It''s a valid question, Zeus." Odin agreed.


    Zeus snapped his head towards Odin. "You dare to assume ¨C"


    "I know the Underworld brat didn''t have anything to do with it, but they don''t know so stop getting all angry and just answer them properly." Odin huffed in annoyance.


    Zeus scowled and pulled his pressure away. "I do not know what nonsense about Hades being part of this ''Khaos Brigade'' but I do know for a fact that he would not be part of anything that allowed our Father to escape Tartarus."


    "We''re willing to believe you." Sirzechs said calmly. "If you simply exin it, we don''t need to do this every time."


    "I don''t need to exin myself to you." He snorted.


    Vidar let out a long sigh. "Can we skip the posturing? I did note here to hear petty banter. I already have my hands full ruling Asgard. If this continues, I will go home."


    "I am in agreement with the King of Asgard." Nuwa added in. "I would rather my Disciples not see such esteemed beings throw petty insults and the like."


    "Let''s keep to the point" Lugh took the opportunity to continue. "We were talking about the points where we''ve been hit recently. It paints a rather dire picture if it''s all to be assumed to be from the same source. And I am doubtful that we''ve noticed all their movements."


    "I should mention that the Vampires have been attacked." I raised my hand.


    There was a beat of silence as I waited for everyone to respond.


    "Who cares about those disgusting blood suckers?" Indra was the first to be dismissive.


    "Look, I''m not going to defend them. We barely have anymunication as it is, but I felt it appropriate to just point it out, considering." I rified.


    "I do not have a good impression of those creatures, but you are correct. To know is better than to not." Nuwa nodded. "Are you sure it was ourmon enemy?"


    "Evidence points to yes, but frankly, I have no idea what their purpose was. They just went in, killed about half the vampire poption, and left. The Tepes faction ¨C the one dominated by their male members, was hit especially hard. Their leaders are all dead and it''s a bit chaotic figuring out who is in charge."


    Not that we were going to stick our hands over there. There was literally nothing worth the effort in this case.


    The Devils may be the most disliked faction, but the Vampires were the faction that people cared the least about. You might feel a tiny bit sad if you heard that some random faction got ughtered. As for vampires....well, it''s mostly indifference.


    Probably because of their overwhelming arrogance about their own species, so much that they look down on anything else.


    "Unfortunate, but unimportant." Azazel hummed. "We need to share everything we have, together. Piece any kind of track record across all our borders."


    "Agreed." Lugh was the first to respond. "We have been trying to backtrack the current movements of the Fomorians, but it''s been difficult at the best of times. I can say with some certainty, that the list that was given to everyone at the Peace meeting, was not the entirety of their members, or that many took the opportunity to join after the fact."


    Oof, someone''s house wasn''t as clean as he thought it was.


    And by the looks on everyone''s faces, it was a shared sentiment. Not that we could throw stones over here, we''ve been dealing with the Old Satan Faction for far too long. And now, they''ve basically gone to ground. Well, their main people were still up and about. We didn''t actually have any ''evidence'' to throw them down into a pit and it would kick up far too much of a fuss if we did anyways.


    Still dealt them a massive blow, but not enough to kill them just yet.


    "The Jade Emperor has confided in me that a few members of the Court have been...considering other pastures, as it were. Some were forting, some were not. However, we have yet to experience the same upheaval that has been urring elsewhere." Nuwa added on. "Their reach is too far and it is worrisome. Are we sure that The Serpent God is not still with them?" She looked around.


    "I can vouch for it." Odin surprisingly spoke up. "Talked to the brat a few times, yeah Ophis isn''t in cahoots with them anymore."


    "And by that you mean...?"


    "Wilhelm, yeah." Odin said bluntly. "The kid who gave Indra a ck eye not too long ago." Odin jerked his thumb to Indra.


    "Odin." Indra''s eyes narrowed.


    "Anyways, no Ophis, so they must still be feeling pretty confident because of something else. It''s obvious they know we''re all banding together, so they have to have a game n since they haven''t disappeared yet." Odin tapped on the table.


    "So far, it seems they have merely been shoring up their forces." Michael frowned. "As if they are preparing for a conflict."


    Well, he said what everyone was thinking.


    "As my father stated. The only question now is what goal would align with so many different ideologies?" Vidar finished. "Zeus, your insight would help."


    "Speak, King of Asgard." The King of Olympus replied.


    "Do you believe you can decipher your Father''s desires after awakening into this era? What would he do, what would his goals be?"


    Zeus frowned, crossing his arms. Perhaps not really upset at the question, but more so the topic of it. It wasn''t hard to guess that Kronos was a sore topic for the King of Gods. "I admit...I do not know what my father will think, nor what actions he will take. He is an arrogant, vindictive, and paranoid creature. I am surprised that his first notion was to not immediately beset Olympus and attempt to retake his throne. However, beyond this...this era must be far too different for him to understand. He.....is many things I could say, but he is not a fool. He fought against his own Father, which needs no introduction. In that Primordial era, he faced off against other Pantheons ¨C" Zeus swept his gaze around the table.


    "The tales of Kronos are known throughout the world. His prowess cannot be denied." Nuwa acknowledged.


    "Yes, if my Father did not immediately act on impulse. His goal....would be to retake what he believes is his." Which didn''t need further exnation. "What would tie him to another ideology, I do not know. Perhaps a debt for freeing him would earn his temporary allegiance, but he is not one to follow orders without due reason."


    "So our only lead right now is the fact that he popped up in Norse Territory." I stated.


    "Which opens up the other main reason why we''re gathered." Odin grinned.


    "Yes your....idea about forming some sort of team with our youngest?" Lugh raised an eyebrow. "I admit the idea is not without merit but....I find myself skeptical."


    "I''m getting tired of this, let''s justy all our junk on the table." Odin stood up.


    "I would not use thatnguage, but I agree." Sun Wukong stood up too, stretching his back like an old man. "Let''s not pretend like any of us would want each other running around our backyards."


    A shared sentiment again, everyone seemed to nod in agreement.


    "It''s already chaotic out there without a bunch of foreign Gods waging war in ces that don''t belong to them. But, if it was a bunch of ''kids'' it''s a different story." Odin chuckled. "It''s easy to be dismissive if it''s one of our young''uns causing some problems. A quick talk and somepensation for any ''damage'' and any public perception is easily swept away. No one worth their salt is gonna kick up a fuss about some kids running around without them looking like old cunts to everyone else."


    "Crude, but not incorrect." Lugh mused. "But do you really want to throw our ''kids'', as you put it, into this battlefield?"


    "Well, better they get their toes wet first rather than being kicked in if everything goes to shitter." Odin shrugged. " Besides, some of the Young''uns out there are already getting up to that level."


    "You''re talking about abined strike force that can operate across all of our ''borders'' with impunity?" Ajuka spoke up for the first time at this meeting.


    "Eh, we can work out the details after agreeing to the overall picture." Odin remarked. "But it kills several dragons with one spear. I want my kids to get some actual experience, and I know you probably feel the same."


    "A flower that blooms in a greenhouse will not survive the winter." Nuwa closed her eyes with a small sigh. "I am to assume that this group that you propose, would still operate within the confines of the ''rules'' set forth by the territory they enter?"


    "Within reason." Odin nodded. "Can''t expect the kids to adhere to all the proper ''etiquette'' in an emergency and all that."


    "A fair acknowledgement. One that will be considered." Nuwa seemed to ept that.


    "And it would allow us all to spy on one another in the open." Zeus breathed out. "You would set it up so that we would be forced to share prevalent information. As soon as something is discovered, it would be known by everyone."


    "Keeps everyone honest." Odin didn''t deny it. "Bribing is pointless, hiding information is nearly impossible if they''re all involved. No need to be wary of each other, we can just focus on the problem at hand. And you don''t have to be overly concerned because of their own strength."


    "Whatever border they''re within, we would need an agreement toe to their aid if something happens." Lugh pointed out. "We can''t expect them to deal with the likes of Kronos if he decides they''re an eyesore."


    "Obviously, the home field would provide reinforcements. And maybe we agree to some skirting of the normal boundaries in an emergency." Odin offered. "If one of us pops up in the other''s yard don''t assume the worst, yeah?"


    Gods really hated it when another just suddenly turned up on their turf. Some got away with it more than most. Odin bounced around but he''s....sort of retired and people generally leave him alone because he sticks to the Human parts of the world. Sun Wukong too, but he''s friendly with many different Pantheons and they didn''t kick up a fuss about him passing through and such.


    "Alright." Azazel pped his hands. "Does anyone have anything against the idea for starters? And we can work from there."


    "We should choose a leader." Indra said offhandedly.


    "Good point, I nominate Vali, he''s the White Dragon Emperor, and he''s already strong enough to challenge me." Azazel immediately replied.


    "Not an impressive feat." Indra said dryly. "But I brought my own. Karna''s reincarnation is perfect for this team. He will be the leader."


    Nuwa held up a sleeve in front of her face and giggled. "What a coincidence, I also brought along a Reincarnation. I believe our Lu Bu will be the perfect leader."


    "Hmph." Vidar grunted. "Magni''s newest son is barely into his twentieth summer; he has a good head on his shoulders and a strong arm. He would be suitable for the leader position as well."


    "Ridiculous." Zeus''s voice boomed. "To argue over something so miniscule." His gaze swept the tabl0,e silencing everyone. "Obviously my Grandson will be the leader."


    The bickering started back up immediately.


    Jeez.....here we go.


    [***]


    Rias Gremory POV


    "Look at his smug face." Sona seethed.


    "Are you really that mad he snubbed you again?" I asked.


    "I am not mad!" She growled.


    Righttttttttt.


    I don''t believe you.


    "Pretty interesting how the entire gathering sort of.....warped around him." I noticed, taking a nce around. "Everyone else is eyeing him too and keeping their distance."


    Who''s the blonde girl next to him? The Angels were freaking out for some reason, but we weren''t close enough to hear anything.


    Now Sai was talking to him too.....and those other two.


    I''m kind of annoyed that Sai didn''t evene to see me and immediately went over to him...


    "He looks familiar, who is he, President? Wait, isn''t he the guy who saved us from the Fallen Angel?" Sona''s newest pawn asked, standing at her side.


    "Wait, you didn''t tell him?" I was honestly shocked.


    "I didn''t have the time!" Sona grumbled. "This whole thing was sprung on usst minute and he''s only been my pawn for so long."


    Ah...that''s probably why you''re not letting him out of your sight.


    To be fair....


    I couldn''t help but nce at Issei who was munching on something that Akeno brought over to distract him.


    I really didn''t feel confident about letting Issei wander around either.


    "Heysh itd yud nahepw?" Issei made himself known there but trying to speak with his mouth full.


    Should I have just left him at home?


    Ugh.


    Brother said that it was a big opportunity for us and we should do our best to show off....but it just made me anxious because he didn''t say anything else, and now there''s so many other people here.


    "That, Saji is a former member of our school." Sona pushed up her sses with a huff.


    "Haah?" Saji sort ofzily yawned. "What''s so special about him? He like you and some Devil Royalty?"


    Wow, Sona really didn''t tell him anything. I''m not buying her excuse either, she intentionally kept him in the dark for some reason.


    Pretty weird considering that he was there for the whole Kokabiel thing...


    "....in a manner of speaking." Sona stifled a cough.


    "He''s.....my nephew." I said hesitantly.


    "Like....from your brother? The Satan?" Saji''s eyes widened.


    I felt awkward to even answer that properly.


    "Yes." Sona said simply. "And I am pleased that you remember that at least." She added thest bit under her breath.


    My guessed that her lessons were going about as well as mine to Issei in regards to teaching him about Devil Society.


    "Damn Handsome." Issei grumbled. "Look at those Oppai he has at his side. He already has so many! Why does he get more!?"


    "Issei." Akeno''s tone was biting and I could see her pinch him out of the corner of my eye. "What did we say beforeing?"


    "Um....no talking about Oppai?" He rubbed his arm.


    "And what did you do?"


    "....talk about Oppai?"


    "Good." Akeno nodded.


    "But why is everyone like....treating him that way?" Saji asked as apparently even he could tell how everyone was treating him. Either with a sort of reverence in their eyes, or hesitation.


    plicated." Sona squeezed out.


    "Is it because he beat up a God?" Issei asked.


    "....what?" Saji blinked.


    Sona let out a long sigh. "I haven''t really covered other Deities yet."


    "Wait, wait, other Gods exist?" Saji''s voice was...much louder than it should have been.


    A lot of confused looks were sent our way and I nearly wanted to shrink my head back.


    "Don''t shout." Sona hissed under her voice. "Remember that you''re representing our entire peerage with your actions. And yes, who do you think he almost fought with and shook the building! Not to mention the others that appeared."


    "S-sorry." He whispered, lowering his head.


    "But yes, other Pantheons and Factions exist." Sona pushed up her sses again. "He did something utterly absurd and fought multiple Gods. And that is by no means a small feat."


    "I mean....I knew he was strong. Saw him body Kokabiel like he did and all that....but how did he fight Gods. Like real Gods in myth and stuff?" Saji looked at his King in confusion. "I guess it''s weird to think about even if we technically saw them."


    I could understand, there was a difference about hearing a God exists and seeing them in person.


    Not to mention seeing two beings of that caliber about to start a fight in the middle of the room.


    That was.....intense.


    "That''s the question." She said quietly. "He was normal not even a year ago."


    "What do you mean?"


    "That....." I winced. "He didn''t even know he was a Devil ¨C Rather a Half-Devil until recently. He isn''t the son of brother''s.....wife."


    "...oh." Saji whispered. "Does he....erm...not like....us?" Saji at least had the presence of mind to not just blurt out everything so bluntly like...Issei probably would.


    "The only one of us that I know he speaks to is my.....mother."


    "Oh. That''s good, right?" He looked up.


    "Oppai." Issei whispered, loud enough for us to hear at least.


    Akeno immediately pinched him again.


    "What?" Saji blinked.


    "Nothing, ignore him!" I quickly changed the subject.


    "You can silence me, but you can''t silence the harem!" Issei struggled as Akeno forcibly tried to shut him up.


    "Dammit Issei!"


    "Rias''s Mom and him are in a rtionship." Sona said inly.


    "Sona, why!?"


    "What!?"


    "Oppai ¨C Ow that one hurt, Akeno!"


    "ufufufu."


    "Please don''t make a big deal out of it." I felt the urge to cover my face.


    "...respect."


    Sona took a long breath. "Tsubaki." She called out.


    "Yes, Sona?" Her queen appeared rather quickly at her side.


    "Please pinch Saji and continue to do so whenever he acts like a fool."


    "Yes." She saluted, eliciting an immediate yelp from the pawn of their group.


    "It''s not that big of a deal, Rias."


    "You''re just saying that because your Sister constantly tries to get into your skirt." I huffed.


    "Yes, well..." She pushed up her sses again with a scowl. "At least my mother isn''t having intercourse with my nephew."


    "Because you''ll never have a nephew unless Serafall finds a way to have a baby between you both!"


    "Don''t you dare put ideas into her head!"


    "She already put those into mine!"


    "Y-you ¨C"


    "Truce?" I offered.


    "Truce." She grumbled.


    ....Strangely enough...it''s nice to see mom in a good mood. I don''t ever want to think about why that was, but she''s been much happiertely.


    Nope.


    Going to do the same thing I did when she asked me for one of my old uniforms.


    Repress.


    Also what I did when Grayfia bribed me for one of my old uniforms too.


    Repress more.


    But I swear to the floating bearded guy in the sky if Father asks me for one, I''m going to lose it.


    "We should stop fooling around, this is a big opportunity for us." Sona finally said.


    "Did Serafall tell you what''s going on?"


    "No, only what your brother did. Show off a bit, make a good impression of the others. Something about a possible team-up or something." She whispered. "Over there, the Church''s people."


    "Yeah, we saw theme in with the Angels." I nodded. "Pretty weird for them to be here like this."


    "Just goes to show how odd this whole thing is." She nudged me again, subtly pointing in another direction. "Serafall gave me a little bit of a heads up. Over there is someone from the Chinese Pantheon."


    He was muscr with a....traditional Chinese Armor look with arge spear on his back. He looked pretty ferocious at first nce, but he was busy stuffing his face.


    "He gives off a dangerous feeling."


    I nodded silently.


    He was strong.


    "Over there are from the Norse." Sona then pointed towards another table stacked with drinks. "And they''re sharing a table with the Celtics that came along."


    "What about them?" I whispered, pointing to the opposite side. A few guys in some ostentatious looking clothes.


    "Hindu." She whispered back. "And I think those are Greeks a few tables to the right."


    I could see that.


    I could recognize Indra from earlier, so the Hindu people probably weren''t wrong. As for the Greeks, I thought they were more istionists? That''s what Brother said, but it''s not like I keep up with all of that.


    "Something''s going on that all these different Factions are here...." I said softly. "Is it really as simple as making some ''team'' or something that we heard about?"


    "Who knows." Sona bit her lip. "But I know someone who could probably answer that question."


    "Who ¨C are you serious?" I realized who she was looking at. "Do you really think he''ll talk to us? I''m pretty sure he hates us."


    "Apparently, he doesn''t even know who I am so how could he possibly hate me!?" Sona glowered.


    "You really need to let this grudge go."


    "I do not have a grudge!"


    "....right." I didn''t believe her.


    "Rias, my wife~"


    Oh Satans damn it.


    I could recognize that awful voice anywhere.


    "Go away Riser." I didn''t even want to waste time on him.


    "Don''t be like that, Rias. It''s only a matter of time before we''re married." He grinned. "We should mingle some more, introduce our peerages together. Besides, I''m going to get intimately acquainted with them eventually, so it''s a good idea that they start getting along with my other harem members."


    "Akeno, I threw up in my mouth."


    "Unfortunately, the Phoenix Tear we have doesn''t help with disgust so horrible it physically harms someone." My Queen shot back.


    "I''ll look forward to taming you." Riser eyed her up and down, as his peerage gathered around him.


    "I would literally kill myself first." Akeno replied without missing a beat.


    If I didn''t know she was being serious, I would haveughed at Riser''s reaction.


    "Why is this fried chicken here? I thought you said this party was supposed to be for the ''talented'' people?" Issei asked.


    ....he butchered what I told himpletely, but I can''t say I''m unhappy with what he said.


    "What did you call me, you peasant?" Riser''s temper red.


    "What? Shit, or fried chicken? Which one do you hate more so I know for the future?"


    Damn Issei, I take back....a few things I said in private about you.


    "The first thing I''m going to do is put down this trash. I can''t have my wife walking around with this thing around her." Riser sneered.


    You know what? Screw the Rating game.


    No one threatens my peerage like that! For better or worse, Issei was part of my peerage, that means he''s my family.


    "I''m NEVER, going to marry you, Riser!" I raised my voice because I wanted to make a scene.


    "Hmph, you don''t get to decide. I''ll ¨C "


    It happened so fast.


    I almost thought my eyes were ying a trick on me.


    Suddenly, the tiles below him distorted, then they shot up between his legs, then retracted back like they were normal...


    I just....stared for a moment as Riser fell to the ground with a high-pitched whine.


    "....what just happened?" Issei asked.


    His peerage started fussing over him, but I don''t think really anyone knew.


    "What...?" I was confused, looking around and weirdly, I caught Wilhelm turning away at that moment and those others with him were smirking at Riser''s current misfortune.


    "Akeno, grab the peerage, I think It''s time to speak with my Nephew." I gathered up all my courage.


    "Are you sure?" Sona raised an eyebrow.


    "Yup! It''ll be fine." I ignored him for so long and everything went bad....I''m not going to be a coward.


    "...alright, I''ll go with you."


    Well, my Peerage wasn''t far away. They were ready to act in case Riser did anything.


    I threw my hair back, and walked towards him.


    And he noticed meing over.


    I smiled.


    I tried to make myself as open as possible, I didn''t want to make it look like I was going to do something wrong or anything like that.


    "I ¨C"


    "I had sex with your mom." He spoke before I could even get a second word out.


    "What!?"


    "Damn, that workedst time."


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    Shit, I thought that would work again.


    It got me out of talking to one person I didn''t want to, I thought for sure it would work again.


    I''m going to need to try harder next time.


    I nced at Jeanne. "If you keep hitting me, I''m going to start hitting you back. Exclusively on your butt."


    "Neeh!" She hit me more. "Be nice!"


    Alright, so how do I just disappear from right here without causing a scene?


    Or, well, fuck it. I don''t mind causing a scene.


    "Shimoda." Another annoying person showed up right behind the red head. "We meet again."


    "Yes we do...you." I scrunch my nose.


    "Don''t pretend like you don''t know me!"


    "Oh no I.....totally know who you are...."


    "You blew me up!"


    "Right, right good times." I smiled.


    "So you admit it!"


    "Admit what?"


    "Blowing me up!"


    "That doesn''t sound like something I''d do."


    She made some very aggressive growls and was pulled back by another girl in sses.


    Weird.


    "Ufufufu, you sure love riling Sona up, don''t you? Makes someone wonder if it''s intentional teasing~" The ck haired girl next to the mirror image of Venna was smiling lewdly.


    "I''m sorry, who are you?" I didn''t actually remember her name.


    She was some popr girl back at school, busty and with good curves, which is why 90% of the school''s poption lusted after her, but that was basically it.


    "I''m Akeno, Rias''s Queen." She introduced herself. "I handle all the strenuous and hard tasks for her." She had a sultry tone in her voice.


    "Right, so you''re definitely a Virgin." I said dryly.


    "W-what?"


    "You''re trying way too hard. I give it a 4/10, you need to work on your delivery better."


    "How dare ¨C"


    "You''re giving off major stripper energy. Just thought you should know that. I wouldn''t be surprised if your next words were like ''I''m only doing this to pay my way through college.''"


    She was gaping at me for some odd reason I couldn''t put my finger on.


    "Hey, don''t talk to her like that!" The familiar fluctuation of Aura shimmered with his words.


    Well, now that''s interesting.


    In a bad way, I mean.


    I flicked towards him, letting his Aura take a tiny invisible hit. "Christ, have you even trained your Aura?"


    "My what?" He blinked.


    I raised my hand and slowly pushed it against my face.


    .....why did I even bother?


    There was also a smol girl looking up at me....menacingly. "And what''s your deal?" I looked at her more closely. "A Youkai? You seem familiar....oh right, you''re what''s-her-names sister. The other Cat Youkai."


    "Y-you know my sister?"


    "Hmm? Oh somewhat, Yasaka took her in recently." I waved my hand flippantly. "And how''s your Senjutsuing along? I vaguely recall your species being exceptionally good at it?" Something I could report back to Yasaka. She may or may not want to know.


    "I don''t practice that!" The smol cat''s eyes narrowed. "Dangerous. Bad."


    ".....you don''t....practice what your species is predisposed to learning...?"


    "Bad!" She hissed.


    I found myself unable to formte a response.


    ".....okay then." I found myself just pushed that thought to the side. "And what''s wrong with you?" I looked at thest member of this little ''peerage''.


    "Hello." He tilted his head, "I don''t think we ever met before, I''m Kiba Yuuto."


    "Ah, I think I remember you. You helped me once with cleaning up the Theatre room after a particrly nasty spill." I recalled.


    "Oh." He blinked. "I forgot about that."


    "How do you remember him but not me!" The sses girl practically screamed indignantly.


    I ignored her. "How are you doing?"


    "Alright..." He said a little awkwardly.


    "And what''s your thing?" I asked.


    "Uh...I make swords?"


    "Sacred Gear?"


    "Sword Birth." He nodded.


    "Neat, what does it do?"


    "Makes....swords?"


    "...and?"


    "That''s....it"


    "Just in ol swords?"


    "Well, they''re Demonic Swords." He rified.


    "Alright, that''s something. What can you do with them?"


    "Um...I make some that hit harder, some that make me faster, some that are sharper....Oh, and I recently made one that shoots smaller swords." He smiled.


    "....that''s it?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "Do you have any imagination at all?" I sighed. "You can make swords with esoteric effects and you''re settling for....being faster? Am I understanding that right?"


    "...what else should I be doing?"


    I held my hand up, pointing to Bikou. "Him."


    "Me?" Bikou pointed at himself. "Hey, I''m just having fun watching you verbally tear through them, don''t bring me into this."


    "He has Ruyi Jingu Bang, make a fucking sword that copies it. Gets longer, gets bigger, weighs a metric shit-ton."


    "....huh, that sounds neat." Bikou mused.


    Then I pointed at Boy band. "Divine Diving."


    "I''ll kill you if you copy me." He scowled.


    I pointed at myself. "Boosted Gear. If you can make yourself fucking faster for some inane reason, increase all of your stats not just your speed you idiot. Make bomb swords! Make heat seeking swords ¨C Arrows are just different shaped swords. Make swords that slow down time, or speed it up. Make swords that curse wounds to not heal. Make swords that can reverse causality ¨C"


    "You''re bullshitting on thatst one." Bikou snorted.


    "You''d be surprised." Iughed.


    "....I never thought about any of those." Kiba muttered.


    "How long have you known about your Sacred Gear for?" I raised an eyebrow.


    He...looked down onto the ground awkwardly.


    Shit....


    I....really didn''t mean to kind ofsh out like that. I honestly don''t know where it came from, it sort of just spilled or so suddenly and I didn''t stop. I can''t say I don''t have a temper sometimes, but I usually don''t lose my cool like that.


    ....I should apologize, that was uncalled for.


    "None of what he said was wrong." Sairaorg crossed his arms, grunting.


    "He called me a stripper!" Akeno growled.


    "You heard the man." I shot back.


    Okay, that was just me being petty. But I don''t take back...half ot he things I said about her. Seriously, pick ane, go full seductress or don''t do it at all.


    "Um.....I didn''t mean ¨C "


    "We know what you meant, Sai." Venna''s daughter smiled towards him. "And what about me?" She looked at me with a huff.


    "Pass."


    "What?"


    "Pass." I said again. "I would rather Venna not be mad at me."


    I was already anticipating a wonderful few nights together, I didn''t want to sour that any.


    "You were the one who hit Riser, right?" She suddenly asked.


    "Nope." I denied immediately.


    "He was." Jeanne replied.


    I looked at her in utter betrayal, and she just smiled.


    But why was the red-headed Venna clone smiling so happily at me?


    "You were the one who hit Riser!?"


    I scrunched my nose. "What smells like cheap cologne?"


    Said annoyance was walking right towards us.


    "I thought you were just making a joke, but I smell it too." Bikou held his nose.


    "I don''t smell anything?" Sairaorg looked around.


    "My nose is sensitive." Bikou grumbled.


    "Hey this is random, but do you ever shrink the staff and use it for anything weird? Like a chopstick?" I suddenly asked because I wanted to ask this before, but I got distracted and I would rather ignore the idiot who was approaching.


    "Oh all the time. It''s strangely handy." He grinned. "I was hanging up some stuff in my apartment, and I couldn''t reach high enough, so I used it as adder too. I forgot to buy a shower rod so.....it fit perfectly."


    "Don''t ignore Riser!"


    I let out a long sigh. "What do you want?"


    "An apology." He demanded.


    ".....no."


    "You attacked ¨C"


    "Bakud¨­ # 61, Rikuj¨­k¨­r¨­." Izily held a finger, pointing at him as six beams of light mmed into his midsection, preventing any movement as he fell to the ground. I quickly followed it up with a Talisman, throwing it at his face. It covered his mouth perfectly, not allowing him to speak. With another sigh, I grabbed him by the foot, picking him up. With a bit of aim, I tossed him towards therge and intricately decorated window nearby.


    Yeet.


    It shattered quite easily, and the annoying kid went sailing through to the outside.


    "I swear, some people have absolutely no survival instincts." I wiped my hands clean.


    "...is he going to be okay?" Jeanne asked softly.


    "I think he''s a Pheonix or something, lots of regeneration. You could probably lop his head off and he''d be right as rain a few secondster."


    "Yeah, it''s kind of annoying. Nice practice target, but most of his family use it to wear down their opponents." Sairaorg answered.


    "Oh....okay then." Jeanne seemed pleased with that answer.


    I looked at the ming idiot''s...peerage as they stared in shock. "Go, shoo shoo" I gestured for them to disperse and it seemed like they regained their senses as they ran for the door after their presumed king.


    "Can they regenerate from anything?" Bikou asked.


    Sairaorg shrugged. "I''ve seen his older brothere back after getting chopped up in all sorts of ways. Blown up by magic...lots of stuff."


    "Dang, that sounds cool. Makes me want to take a crack at one of them." Bikou rubbed his chin.


    "You said his brother is strong?" Boy band looked interested.


    "One of the strongest." Sairaorg nodded.


    "How....how did you get so strong?" Red Venna looked at me with a mix of awe and envy.


    "The normal way." I said dismissively.


    "B-but I train! I train every day..." She whispered. "There has to be some secret, right? Some method you used to get so strong so quicky?"


    "When was thest time you''ve been in a real fight?" I frowned.


    "I train with ¨C "


    "No, not training. When was thest time you''ve been in a fight with someone who wanted you dead, and had the capability to kill you? When''s thest time you''ve gotten into a fight and there was a very real possibility you could be killed? When was thest time you fought something that you absolutely had no chance of winning against? When was thest time you thought you were going to die?"


    I can''t deny I''ve experienced my fair share of luck on my ascent to my current level. I can''t say that everything I''ve gotten had been earned through blood sweat and tears. But I''ll be damned if I let anyone say that I used some shortcut to reach here. I put in my effort to reach this point, and I have most assuredly bled along the way.


    It felt insulting for her to imply otherwise.


    I was being...polite before by not telling her to fuck off.


    I....didn''t want to speak with her and I was already annoyed. Jeez, why was I being so overly emotional?


    I was being polite for Venna''s sake because something inside of me really wanted to be more rude.


    "I¡ª" She was about to say something, but the building shook.


    It startled everyone, but more so something was very much amiss.


    On a fundamental level.....something changed around us.


    I experienced something like this before, and I was having trouble cing it. However, I felt my instincts re up, and realization dawned on me.


    Without a second thought, Mirage appeared in my hand and I flicked it, producing several of my Sword Phantoms. The Birds were sent flying in several directions, but most notably I swiped Mirage to the side deflecting something hidden that was aiming for the neck of Venna''s daughter, and sses Girl.


    Simultaneously, my Birds collided with something very firm, producing a loud ''ng'' noise that hung through the air.


    They were aimed at other people, some of other factions that were around, some that weren''t.


    And I realized where the familiar feeling came from.


    It was simr to when Jinn took us outside the immediate time-line for answering her questions via Relic of Knowledge.


    "Mortals are really fierce these days." A strange voice reverberated throughout the surroundings.


    Someone appeared, stepping into the middle of the floor.


    He was...big. Easily 9 feet tall, perhaps a little more than that. He had ck hair, and wore something reminiscent of Greek clothes. And his facial features were.....off. It was as if his head was slightly elongated, his nose was a tad toorge, and his eyes too wide.


    Something distinctly inhuman, but still reminiscent of them. Almost like if a human waspared to their predecessors on the evolutionary chain.


    But the weapon he held was a dead give away given the other clues.


    Arge scythe held at his side, the edge of which seemed to bleed against the fabric of reality.


    Kronos.


    Welp, things just got much moreplicated.


    [***]


    A/N


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 Chapter 468 - 425

    <h4>Chapter 468: Chapter 425</h4>


    His presence alone, without even broadcasting himself was....immense.


    Kronos, the Titan of Time.


    Realistically, he represented the waning of the seasons, the inevitability of the harvest, the falling of the leaves, the falling of the snow, and finally the melting of the snow. In a more practical sense, he embodied the rebirth of every new season and the withering of the previous. Two ends of a spectrum that merged into the Authority of Time.


    Beyond this....my knowledge of the Titan was minimal.


    I never really thought I''d have to know important information on a Godly Entity that was supposed to be long dead.


    Time was not a domain one could lightly touch.


    Just to understand this, you could look at all the major Pantheons of the world and point out how many Gods there are with such a domain.


    How many fingers on a single hand would be left over?


    Time was a nebulous concept. It wasn''t like looking up to the Sun and feeling its warmth. It wasn''t like hearing the thundering of the sky and roaring of the oceans. Time was...much more immaterial.


    Which was why I was on guard.


    Not to mention, the weapon in his hand gave me a very bad feeling.


    Frankly, it didn''t even look like it was properly forged. Almost....amateurish in its design and form. Like someone just took a b of metal and hammered it vaguely into the correct form without doing much else and then sharpened it.


    But that did nothing to dissuade from the archaic aura it exuded. It was something personally crafted by one of the Greek''s Primordials. Something on the same level as Nyx.


    Which was where his own Authority was inherited from.


    All in all, he was dangerous.


    Just from the feeling of danger....I would ce him in that ranking floating around as the ''top 10'' for how much that bracket was really worth.


    He looked at me with a rather casual smile. There wasn''t a wisp of killing intent in his gaze. It was as if he was watching something utterly fascinating.


    He hefted hisrge Scythe up. A single swing of it, and it could easily cut this building in half. Instead, he put it upside down, letting the massive metal head drop into the floor, shattering and cracking it in dozens of feet. He then leaned onto the handle. "So fierce." He repeated his words from earlier. "I almost didn''t believe them when they told me how powerful Mortals have be."


    I could feel Sairaorg''s Touki ignite silently.


    His was the most obvious, but everyone around me looked like they were ready for battle. Well, most of the people around me.


    I nced at Bikou and Boy Band, they had enough survival instincts to realize the situation, but there was a hint of trepidation there.


    As for Venna''s Daughter and sses, along with most of the other Devils....they seemed frozen in ce.


    I remembered what I said to them only moments prior and....I may have went a bit too far. It wasn''t fair how I bit into them maliciously like that.


    I should apologizeter.


    I was d that I already had Mirage in my hand, because I began running some calctions secretly.


    There was a beat of silence as everything remained still. Only for Kronos to slightly shift in ce. That seemed to be the catalyst for Boy Band to draw upon his Divine Dividing.


    Wings sprouted from his back.


    "Div¡ª"


    Before he could finish, I pushed his head down, mming him into the ground.


    An invisible ripple passed right over where he had been.


    A gesture from Kronos, and the tip of his scythe emerged from nothingness, slicing across the air. He was still standing there, leaning upon his weapon, yet he managed to attack so bizarrely.


    Kronos merely raised an inquisitive eyebrow.


    With an annoyed growl, I used a burst of Shunpo to appear right in front of him. He was.... genuinely startled by my sudden burst of speed.


    I gathered enough Magical Energy through the Dimensional Refraction Phenomena.


    Spell Circles reached peak efficiency.


    At this moment, it was all I could bring to bear with so little setup.


    "Ether Cannon!"


    The Multi-Colored light shot out at the Titan, enveloping himpletely. He was hit, and I could sense his body suffering from the st, as for how much damage he took, well....I wasn''t too optimistic.


    His massive body went rocketing back, mming into a space devoid of people, demolishing the furniture and further the wall.


    "You bastard!" Boy Band forced himself up. "I had him!"


    "Don''t be stupid." I didn''t retract my gaze from Kronos as he pulled himself out of the rubble. "No one came to help. Despite there being dozens of Gods, and any number of actual guards set up for this event, no one is here helping. Think about why that is for a second."


    I nced at Bikou and Sairaorg both, silently letting them know that went for them as well. They both seemed like the type of people to jump head first into the fight without proper consideration.


    "He''s right." Kronos grunted, getting back up to his feet. He cracked his neck looking none the worse for wear. "That was interesting."


    "Never encountered Ether before?" I smiled lightly, holding Mirage gently to the side.


    "Can''t say that I have." He admitted.


    Despite this World not operating the same as back home, there were still certain truths. Ether was a concept introduced with the rise of Humanity. It should be something utterly foreign to him, which was why it took him by surprise.


    But mostly, I just wanted some space between him and everyone else.


    "When did you notice?" He asked, almost cheerfully.


    "Almost immediately." I answered.


    "Hah." He pped his knee. "Maybe I lost my touch?"


    "Oi, what''s he talking about?" Bikou was tense even with his Divine Weapon in his hands.


    "We''re outside of the Time-Line." I briefly exined. "The reason why no one hase yet. A few hours could pass in here and it might only be a few seconds outside." I wasn''t entirely sure, but best to err on the side of caution.


    "Correct!" Kronos smiled and his body fizzled away into nothingness. Simultaneously, he appeared in the back at the table holding all the snacks. "Mmm, this is some good stuff. It doesn''tpare to Nectar or Ambrosia, but that''s not a fairparison. Back then, we''d be happy with some meat roasted over a fire and some salt sprinkled on it was decadent. Look at this? I can''t even recognize all these things, but they''re delicious." He said, holding a tray up of appetizers and letting them slide into his mouth.


    "I think those are crab cakes." I pointed out, keeping him preupied rather than the alternative.


    "Ah." He crewed very crudely. "Those little sea creatures? They had a nice crunchy shell, but the meat wasn''t that appetizing. Maybe I just never bothered to cook them properly."


    Why was I humoring him with this nonsense? Well....I wasn''t worried about myself in this situation. I could leave anytime I wanted, taking Jeanne and fleeing if the situation called for it. Or I could even fight him if I really wanted to as well. I wasn''t scared by any means even if I considered him a strong opponent.


    But....I couldn''t exactly take everyone with me in time if he decided to initiate a blood bath. Nor could I reasonably protect them if we got into a real fight.


    So at this particr moment, I was treading carefully because they were more or less hostages.


    It ical in a way. A whole room of Devils and others watching the Titan of Time just munch on some snacks as he eximed their deliciousness.


    "I heard Devils were some sort of evil and disgusting race. At least that''s what those other busybodies said. Compared you lot to cockroaches. But I like to see things with my own eyes. And I have to say, I''m very disappointed." He swallowed a mouthful. "You, with the big chest and the red hair." He pointed to Venna''s daughter. "Where are the Human snacks?"


    "Ah?" Rias made a sound in both confusion and a bit of intimidation.


    Kronos let out a disgruntled noise. "I heard your predecessors were better. I would have wanted topare my cooking methods. Do you have any idea how hard it is to cook a human perfectly for their bones to still be crunchy and their skin to be nice and crisp while the meat stays juicy?" He shook his head.


    There was a hint of killing intenting from the corner of the room.


    Unsurprisingly, it was the kid from the Church that I had a weird feeling from.


    Kronos noticed him too. "Well, that one has some fight in him." He chuckled, seemingly not caring. "You were...ah, one second." He wiped his hands on his clothes and took out a small piece of parchment. Well, small for his size, but he held it up close to his eye to take a look. "Members of the...Church. Oh, you''re the ones who worship Yahweh in this era." He nodded in understanding. "Sorry about that, I''m still not used to everything that''s changed. I have some things written down as reminders. You can''t imagine how surprising it was for me to see what became of the world in my absence."


    Actually, his carefree attitude was...disconcerting.


    "But look at me, acting like some old geezer." He chuckled. "I have no quarrel with your Church. Actually, I support it whole heartedly. A human''s ce is to worship their Gods." He nodded sagely. "Even if he is dead, it shows your dedication. I may not have even eaten you if you were my worshiper with that much dedication."


    Well....there goes that secret.


    The looks on the Church people''s faces were...hard to discern. Were they already aware or did thise as a surprise? I couldn''t quite tell considering that they were still pretty frightened by his appearance in the first ce.


    I was content to let him just bber on with nothing else happening.


    "Your Church." He hummed. "Devils....something that didn''t exist in my era. But you''re all basically just humans." He grunted. And I knew that wouldn''t sit well with most of the Devils here. "Lets see...Oh White and Red are here too! Those are some old Faces. Well....not really faces..."


    "Screw you too." Albion''s voice came out from the Sacred Gear.


    "You know, if I was younger, I would have killed your wielder because of that, Whitey." Kronos chuckled, grabbing another full tter of food and eating it nearly whole. "But I''ll let it go this time, I''m in a nostalgic mood after seeing some of my old friends."


    "You don''t have friends." Albion immediately replied.


    Kronos paused, and frowned. "That''s not true, I have a few left." He said softly, yet it still was loud and booming as it was before. His expression returned quickly. "And one of those.....eastern things. I forget what your race is called, I didn''t have much interaction with you all. But I heard your ancestor was a bit of an ornery thing." He was looking at Bikou.


    "Youkai?" Bikou answered.


    "That''s it." Kronos snapped. "Not bad at all, kid."


    "...thanks?" Bikou said awkwardly.


    "Mmm, and I can feel that weapon of yours is dangerous. Maybe in a few years you could have actually been a threat!"


    "...Bitch you wanna go?" Bikou barked out, raising Ruyi Jingu Bang.


    "Hahah!" Kronos pped his knee. "The audacity! I love it." Heughed a bit before at Sairaorg next. "And you''re probably the strongest Full Blooded Devil here. Nice aura there, I can tell your fists have been honed pretty well. What do you think? Wanna go a few rounds too?"


    "Any time, old man." Sairaorg punched his fist to his palm.


    "Not bad, not bad." Kronos just grinned with a carefree look about him. "And some others too.....some Demi-Gods from various ces that mostly fills up the other Pantheons present. Some mortals with souls that are far too old for their bodies....how boring. But overall...just.....mortals...." Then his gazended on me. "And then there''s you...."


    "Me?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Mmm, Dragon, Devil, Human, God. There are so many things inside of you, it''s hard to tell. And something...." He stopped, furrowing his brow. "What is that?" He whispered. "Something dangerous is hiding inside of you. What is it." He grabbed his Scythe, staring at me before calming. "Whoops, almost slipped back into old habits. I''m trying to be calmer. Reining in my temper. It got me into far too much trouble in my younger days, I don''t want to repeat past mistakes." However, his eyes narrowed towards me. "Why is your personal time so...wrong."


    "Maybe it has something to do with my handsomeness?" I offered as a very usible exnation.


    He blinked. "I don''t think I''ve ever had a Mortal talk to me so cheekily before. What a novel experience." He looked around the room. "You protected those....Church Mortals even though you''re supposed to be enemies if I recall." He let out a sigh. "I lied before, I''m sorry it''s a terrible habit. Truthfully, I despise the worshippers of other deities." He punctuated the sentence with a sharp jerk of his Scythe.


    It wasn''t me who moved this time, because there was someone else who could predict certain oues much more efficiently than me.


    "My Banner, protect my brethren ¨C Luminosite Eternelle!"


    Jeanne was quick to intercept the attack. The invisible shes of his that would have severed a few heads.


    Jeanne''s Golden Shield emerged from her Banner, enveloping the Church people and herself in an nearly imprable barrier.


    There was the distinct sound of something scraping. It wasn''t metal against metal in this case, but more like, the collision of two opposing forces, both unyielding, that sent ripples out across most notable spectrums.


    It was enough that even Kronos came to a stop to stare in confusion.


    He raised a finger up to point at Jeanne as her shield came down. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it a momentter before opening again. "What are you?" He questioned in clear confusion. "You arepletely different your....existence is outside of my domain." His tone shifted. "I will see for myself!"


    He disappeared from where he was again, appearing not far from where Jeanne was.


    His Scythe held up, pointing at Jeanne.


    Streams of condensed temporal energy flowed and attached to her.


    I felt a fury bubble up in my chest and pushed off with another burst of Shunpo. Mirage shined brightly and I pulled upon the Kaleidoscope to slice through the strings.


    Time and Space were always interconnected.


    One could not exist without the other, and the other would have no meaning without the former.


    The strings of his were severed as I slid to a stop in front of her protectively. She didn''t look harmed but I was a bit concerned now. I was ready to fight in earnest and damn the consequences.


    "Heroic...Spirit?" He tilted his head. "That''s all I got." He frowned.


    "What''s your game?" I demanded, shifting away from that. "You could have easily started a ughter, how many people here could actually stop you?" Bar me of course, but even so. "You''ve basically been just casually chatting ever since kidnapping everyone with the half-assed attempt at murder."


    "You demand answers from me?" He stood up straighter with a sh of anger appearing on his face. "Do you know what it was like to appear in this world after so long and see what your Mortals did to this? My mother and I have had our disagreements, but I am still the Son of Gaia. I used to know those Gods in the far west. Back in my era, they repelled our own attempts to conquer theirnds. Before everyone decided on their borders. And yet....I hear that all the Gods of thosends were Murdered by Mortals." He spat out. "I nearly killed the fool who reported that nonsense to me. But I don''t believe others lightly. I wanted to see with my own eyes, the heights that those pathetic things have somehow reached in my absence."


    His body was nearly vibrating with his innate divinity. His hands gripped around his Scythe so tightly that his knuckles turned white.


    "So, why not attend a gathering with a bunch of powerful mortal kids to see what''s true or not?" He raised his finger pointing at the Church guy behind Jeanne. "That weapon inside of him full of mutted Gods is just a perfect example."


    I nced at the Church kid, realizing now why he gave me a strange feeling.


    The little maniption of wind he did was a piece of a Divine Authority....


    "You''re angry that Mortals no longer roll around in the mud?" I snorted.


    The arrogance and ruthlessness of a deity shined through despite his casual demeanor. "The only ce a mortal should be is on the ground in prostration or in our stomachs."


    Right, despite how he was being humorous before, he was always cited as a vindictive and arrogant entity. To the point where the other Titans rarely wanted to even be near him. It would be like if Zeus was actively malicious rather than being selfish and egotistical.


    "It seems like a fight is inevitable then." I was ready to call upon my power to fight him properly. It would not be in the best circumstances with all these people around, but I would do the best I could.


    Maybe I should sneak them away during the fight?


    Jeanne was here to back me up in that regard. She hadn''t said anything, but I knew she didn''t need any orders from me on how to act.


    And there were a few people here I could possibly rely on.


    "How about we y a game instead?" He offered, the tension sort of dissipating.


    "...what?" I blinked, surprised at how things shifted so easily.


    He dropped his Scythe to the ground. "I heard these Devils were obsessed with a Game ¨C Chess was it? Dreadfully boring, but I can admit it had its own unique charm. Let''s do something like that, but a bit more fun."


    I frowned, considering the alternative. Well, it was a matter of time before the people outside came barging in.


    I honestly didn''t want to fight in these circumstances.


    "You''re stalling for some reason, aren''t you?" I questioned.


    He grinned. "How about the stakes? If I win...I''ll just kill everyone here. If you Win..well, that should be obvious."


    "Fine, I''m on board." I agreed. "But what ¨C"


    Kronos let out a shout, pping his hands. His eyes lit up with a blinding light, and I felt something connected. It felt like he just bound me to a Geass, but through my divinity.


    ...Clever dick.


    I''ve never encountered that trick before. I''ll need to talk to Izzy about it and see how to not let it happen in the future, because he basically just touched my Divinity with his own and made our agreement binding.


    Something appeared between us.


    It was like....


    "There we are, I created a miniature world for us." He dered. "It has its own rules, and I bound it to us through our agreement."


    "...did you just create a miniature Reality Marble?" I looked in a bit of awe.


    He tilted his head. "Is that one of this era''s terms?"


    "Forget it." I bit my tongue. I looked down, as it was like a...bubble. Inside, it appeared a smaller version of me, and a smaller version of him...rtively speaking. "Exin the rules." I crossed my arms.


    "I mentioned that Chess, but it''s not really the same. Just a small idea I came up with after ying it a few times. We eachmand a copy of ourselves to fight." He said that like it was extremely simple.


    "How does it work?"


    "It operates on absolute truth. Thew within this small world dictates that your copy can only move and act how you could possibly do so normally. Don''t try to cheat now, the oath I bound you to also assures the truth."


    The Geass he put me under is basically reading me then? It''s basically that this miniature version of me was a genuine projection within this small world.


    And it''s not as if it''s actually copying my abilities, but mimicking the cause and effect. If it summoned the Gauntlet, there would be no Ddraig, but it would still have the abilities because that''s within my memory and verified through my own acknowledgement and thus is channeled through the Geass.


    "Only verbalmands?" I asked.


    "Correct." He answered.


    "Interesting." I found myself amused by this...game that he went through the effort of creating.


    I didn''t know what his purpose here was, even if his earlier anger was real. I had no doubt that he would casually ughter everyone here in a heartbeat, but his entire purpose foring was....suspect.


    There was certainly a higher purpose, not just ranting about the ''kids these days''.


    But, it''s better this than him deciding that they would look better with less body parts. And the moment I try to open a portal, he''s probably going to abandon this charade and start making heads roll, so I may as well y along for now.


    "Jump once." Imanded.


    My little projection jumped into the air once.


    "Well? What do you think?"


    "I''m intrigued." I answered in all honesty.


    "Why don''t I show you another one of the rules." He smiled happily before quickly turning it into something more malicious. "Stab his arm."


    Before I could properly react, my miniature''s Aura red to life. Kronos''s Scythe skipped and twisted through space, like a serpent it came at me at a strange angle. My Aura collided with it, dispersing a significant portion of the blow, but even still, his Divine Weapon tore into the flesh of my Minature''s arm.


    Simultaneously, my own sleeve was torn in the same spot, and a gash opened up, blood dripping down my skin.


    "Will!" Jeanne eximed running towards me, but an invisible barrier shunted her off.


    Kronos wagged his finger. "No interfering. If you try to help him, he will suffer a bacsh."


    "All of this is based on a single agreement." I frowned, looking at my arm. "I''m amazed you could force this onto me."


    "I am Kronos, Titan King, Son of Gaia." His eyes narrowed. "You insult me by thinking so little of me, Mortal."


    If this was all fake...in a sense, then I had plenty of things I was more than willing to throw out without a second thought.


    "Well then, let''s y." If this was how he wanted to do this, I was more than happy to oblige, after all it gave me several options.


    [***]


    A/N


    Wanted to try something a little different than a normal fight this time around. Kronos''s purpose here isn''t so obvious, but he''s not really there to get into a real fight either.


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a h tt p s: // b oo sty .t o/ astoryforone for people who can''t use the forbidden P-Word.

 Chapter 469 - 426

    <h4>Chapter 469: Chapter 426</h4>


    Vali Lucifer POV


    [What''s wrong, Vali? You''re not usually this reserved.]


    Oh screw off.


    [You know it''s true] Albion replied.


    Just because I love fighting doesn''t mean I''m an idiot. There''s a difference between rushing into a losing battle and actively trying to get myself killed.


    [.....I didn''t think I''d see the day. My little Vali havingmon sense? It must be my birthday.]


    Shut up.


    [But it''s not usually like you to admit defeat so easily.]


    Because it''s not usually so damn tant.


    Kronos? The Titan of Time? I wasn''t oblivious to how strong he was. Shit, if that annoying bastard hadn''t pushed me down in time, I wouldn''t have been able to dodgepletely. I didn''t....I didn''t even see the attack. I felt the hairs stand up on my neck, but I couldn''t even tell where it came from.


    I''m sure I could adjust to it in time but....he wasn''t someone that would let me just sit there and randomly dodge his attacks if he really wanted to kill me.


    [Time is a powerful Domain. It has a lot of nuances that you would be unfamiliar with. It''s not surprising that he can suppress you so easily, you''ve never encountered something like this before.]


    ....then why can the annoying bastard handle it?


    [That....I don''t know.]


    Really?


    [What, do you think I''m all knowing, brat? I only know things based on my own experiences. I''ve lived a very long time. But Ddraig''s host is barely, what, two decades? I have no idea how he''s already so familiar with the concept of Time that he can casually stand in front of Kronos. Even at my Peak, I would have to be wary of him to a degree.]


    You''re saying he''s stronger than you?


    [I''m saying, his strength deserves respect. Not everything can be broken down into ''stronger or weaker''. If you''re not careful, someone who is objectively ''weaker'' than you can take your life.] Albion snorted. [Gods are....not something that you can think so linearly about. A God''s strength requires certain facets to consider.]


    You''ve never told me this before.


    Were you holding out on me?


    [Did you think I would give you instructions on how to fight Gods just so you to run off and get yourself killed a momentter?] Albion grumbled. [You''re an overconfident little shit. The second you think you could stand a chance; you would challenge anyone.]


    Fuck you!


    [Fuck you!]


    Just tell me, you white bastard.


    [Fine!] Albion huffed. [The Degree of Worship is the first. This is more...abstract than the others. If a God''s domain was something stupid like twigs, but half the worshiped them, then even I would be no match at my strongest.]


    Alright, that''s pretty simple.


    [I''m keeping it simple for you because I know you wouldn''t understand otherwise.] Albion retorted.


    So Kronos should be a lot weaker now, right? It''s not like he''s worshiped.


    [There''s two misconceptions about that. First, he''s part of the Greek Pantheon, and by association, he receives some blessings there even if he isn''t directly worshiped.]


    ....alright, that sorta makes sense.


    [Don''t get me wrong, a God that isn''t worshiped is barely given scraps inparison. But it''s enough that it...sustains them from slowly obscuring. Which is a form of Death to a God.]


    Whatever. So Kronos was still fine because the Greeks are still around.


    [The second misconception. I was saying that as if Kronos was a God. He is not a God, he is a Titan.]


    What''s the difference? I thought it was just a reference to his size.


    [Well, yes. This isn''t nearly as small as he actually is.] Ddraig replied. [But why is there the difference between Titans and Gods? Some other ces have them too. Surtr is a Divine Being, yet he is a Giant.]


    Why the hell am I supposed to care?


    [Because if you don''t learn, you''re going to stay an idiot and not know how to fight opponents in that league when you get there.]


    Asshole.


    [Ignoring that.] Albion continued. [Titans do not change with worship. Titans are static existences. Their strength onlyes from their purpose. That is why there is a difference between Titans and Gods. Simr to Surtr as I said before. He is different from a Titan, but his existence isn''t too dissimr. His poweres from his purpose to bring about destruction.]


    So he''s basically a God that doesn''t need worship to be strong.


    [...if that''s what you take away from this, then sure, you can consider it like that.]


    That means he''s still in his prime then?


    [Well, he looks heavily weakened at the moment due to other circumstances, but that''s mostly correct.]


    Okay, and thest thing?


    [Thest thing is the God''s Domain.] Albion replied. [You must be wary of a God''s Domain because it can be used in ways you might not expect. Some are strong, some are weak, and some are tricky. Time is extremely strong, and it''s very tricky to navigate.]


    I listened to Albion even as I watched the bastard and Kronos standing in front of each other while the ''game'' unfolded.


    [He isn''t serious.]


    What?


    [Kronos.] Albion replied. [Kronos is very meticulous and arrogant. He isn''t someone who does things like this on a whim. He''s ying around on purpose, you don''t need to overly worry.]


    Does the Bastard know?


    [Probably. Ddraig is many things, among them being stupid. But he isn''t ''stupid''. If you get me.]


    So he''s like you.


    [Normally, I''d argue. But after so many years, it''s easy to see the simrities between us.] Albion paused. [Now that I think about it, even our wielders are very simr this time around. Both Half-Devils, Sons of Lucifer....]


    Yeah, whatever.


    It made me roll my eyes.


    Like that was at all important.


    [I was just pointing it out.] Albion mentally shrugged. [And we both probably have our strongest Wielders ever.]


    ....so he''s Ddraig''s strongest?


    [Do you think he isn''t?] Albionughed. [He probably doesn''t even need Ddraig. To be honest, you''re pretty far behind him at the moment. He wasn''t lying when he said he wouldn''t need the Boosted Gear to beat you.]


    ...


    [Oh, don''t get mopey. We still have a lot of time. You both are still kids, keep training and you can catch up.]


    Really?


    [Well, I''m being optimistic.]


    ....Thanks for the support.


    [Well, you better train hard to catch up. Ddraig isn''t going to hold back with this wielder of his. It''s been awhile since I''ve seen him so happy with one.]


    What do you mean?


    [Ddraig has always been an ass, but his attitude shifts with how much he likes his user. If he doesn''t like them all that much, he''s usually quieter and more reserved. If he really likes them...well, he acts like he did back in the day. As you obviously saw.]


    "Vali, you alright?"


    I blinked, looking at Bikou. "Was talking to Albion." I grunted.


    "You thinking about taking a shot at him?" Bikou asked, pointing at Kronos as him and the bastard were about to y their little game. "We might be able to do something if we all work together."


    "There''s no point. Albion said that he''s just ying." I grumbled.


    "Yeah, figured that out."


    "Can still take a shot at him." The Devil, Sairaorg offered. "I wanna see how far away that mountain peak is."


    Didn''t really interact with many full blooded devils but....I kind of liked him.


    I wanna fight himter.


    "I got a Talisman from my Gramps, it has a full powered strike from him." Bikou offered.


    A full powered strike from the Monkey King?


    [Don''t even think about it. He hit me with one of those back in the day and I lost plenty of my scales.]


    "It''d give him a heads up that you were in trouble too, right?" I asked.


    "Yeah." He nodded.


    "Hmm." I let out a sigh. "Whatever, don''t waste it, this''ll probably be over soon anyways."


    Besides, I''m sure that almost everyone here had some way to save their lives that was given to them.


    Well...mostly everyone. Don''t know if most of the Devils here had anything like that.


    But most of the people from the other Pantheons? That''s a given if they entered into foreign territory like this. It''d look really bad if the kids they brought came to harm while they were busy.


    Shit, even that Feathered Bastard gave me a way to protect myself if I was going to die. Don''t know how reliable it was, but he told me it might save my life if someone really strong wanted to kill me.


    So who knows.


    He also said not to take it out of the Divine Dividing because it might cause problems.


    [.....really, don''t take it out unless it''s ast resort.] Albion quickly reminded me. [Seriously, I''m only guessing at what it is, but your dad is crazy for making something like this.]


    ....alright now I''m curious.


    [I refuse to let you have it unless you''re about to die.]


    Screw you.


    [Stop acting like a brat and focus. This is a good opportunity to see what your Rival can do.] Albion knew exactly how to distract me. [And I''m interested too. I want to see what Ddraig is so smug about.]


    To be honest, there wasn''t anyone here who wasn''t aware of who that prick was.


    I don''t think he even realized though. He waltzed in without a second thought and didn''t even talk or look at anyone.


    I knew most of the faces around here, Azazel kept me up to date on who''s who of around my age. And they were all looking at him, watching silently to see what he was capable of.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    I was a little rxed.


    Despite the situation, I felt like most of the danger had passed.


    Did he take me by surprise? Yup, I would admit that. I never experienced a Divine binding like this. I agreed to the game, but I didn''t realize that meant I was entering a Divine Geass. And I''m fairly sure he yed a trick on that anyways and it wasn''t a normal thing that could happen.


    Regardless, I wasn''t too worried about it. Worst case scenario, I was pretty sure my Authority could sever it easily enough.


    So there wasn''t a hidden danger with what was happening.


    My biggest concern was everyone else here.


    And if he was content to just y a game and leave them alone, then sure, I''d y along.


    But that did open up other questions.


    I found it unlikely he was here just for this haphazard reason.


    There was obviously a bigger scheme going on.


    "You look deep in thought." Kronos''s voice rumbled. "Care to share?"


    "I was just considering why you''re here." I answered, nonplussed about being honest.


    "What do you think?" He asked.


    "I considered it and I think there''s really only one obvious reason." I replied casually. "Summon Swords." I ordered my reflection.


    All of my swords shot out, surrounding him.


    This was also a test to see how much it mimicked me. I looked at Dawnbreaker and Ascalon to realize immediately that it was all a charade. It had no actual essence to them, only pulled upon memories of my own on how they were supposed to react.


    Some sort of causality was linking us to this small world to facilitate the events.


    "Interesting." He grinned, focusing on the game as well. "What''s the reason?"


    "Distraction is the most probable reason." I answered first.


    "You think that I, Kronos, am a mere distraction?" His eyes narrowed.


    "Yup." I ignored his intense gaze.


    "....." He was silent for a moment before grinning. "You''re a smart Mortal." He didn''t borate more.


    Hmm, I figured. He didn''t even bother to deny it. When you look at it objectively, he was ready to flee at a moment''s notice. The fluctuations from his body, well, I didn''t think he was at 100% right now. Honestly, he had a sort of exhaustion about him.


    Recently reviving and getting his heart gouged out by Odin? That''s probably left him in a not so good state.


    And something....else.


    It felt like he was continuously using his Authority beyond the obvious means of keeping us contained here.


    "Something I realized about chess when I was taught it." He started. "Wither." His words were directed at the game. "Is that certain moves have more than one meaning."


    Emanating out from Kronos''s figure, everything began withering away into death.


    "Use Bakud¨­ #44." Imanded.


    My copy had the ethereal Spiritual Barrier spring up in front of him.


    The withering effect mmed into it, not allowing it to pass further. Oh, it certainly began to drain away on my Kido, but it held far longer than a normal spell would have.


    "Interesting." Kronos rubbed his chin.


    "Spiritual Matter can weather several seasons." I said simply. "Counter with Lightning Runes."


    The Runic Circles appeared overhead and discharged down at the Titan of Time.


    He rolled his eyes. "Swipe it away."


    With a swipe of his Scythe, the copy tore through them without much effort.


    "You didn''t like my greeting?" I asked.


    "I like my meals to have more meat." He retorted.


    Hmm,mands required verbal confirmation, but how far did that extend.


    "Let''s go with some prestidigitation." I looked at my projection. "Staff out. Swords to position. Bindings of Gaia into a Niflheim, into Thor''s Hammer."


    Kronos blinked, perhaps at my naming conventions, but my projection moved immediately.


    My swords all shot out.


    It seems my short hand was effective.


    They all shot at him with the intent to pierce him.


    "Small tricks again." Kronos grunted. "Disperse them."


    He merely waved the scythe and it deflected my swords despite theming at all angles. I mentally forced them to fall at certain spots, impaling themselves at specific locations. It seems my intent meant a lot with each word I spoke inmand.


    Roots then sprung out of the ground,shing out at him, wrapping him up.


    "You dare to use Mother''s gift against me?" Heughed. He didn''t even need to speak and the aura of time responded to his miniature and the Roots froze, struggling to continue. Rather, they began to wither at a quick speed.


    My copy followed up with casting a Freezing Winds of Niflheim.


    Ayer of Ice appeared on him, only very briefly before it shattered.


    "Is that it?" Kronos looked at me, unfazed.


    "Just needed you stationary for a second." I replied as a pentagram lit up under his copies'' feet.


    The Swords acting as the points of the star.


    "Five Elements Mutual Generation." I called out.


    My copy took out five Talismans, each representing the 5 Eastern elements. They burned away, linking with the pentagram that my swords formed with Kronos at the center.


    Thunder rumbled overhead.


    Clouds nketed the sky.


    I didn''t even need to call it out because I already did.


    Kronos looked up, with eyes widening. "Impressive." He breathed out.


    The Massive Lightning construct broke through the clouds.


    "Magic from those Norse, how Nostalgic." Kronos''s gaze turned soft for a moment, but an eerie aura burst out of him. "¦¯?????????????????? ?????????????????????¦ª??????????????????????¦Ñ???????????????????????????¦Í????????¦Ï???????????????????????? ???????????????¦Õ?????????????????????????????????????¦Ñ????????????????¦Í?????????????????¦Å???????????????¦É??????????????????? ??????????????????????????¦Ó????????¦Ï????? ????????????????¦È??????????????????????????????????????¦Í??????????????¦Á???????????¦Ó???????????????????????????¦Ï??????????????????" Words left his mouth, but I felt a screeching in my ears, enough that I almost instinctively covered them.


    A shadow loomed above the world.


    My massive Lightning construct was dwarfed.


    It was as if a shadow had fused with the stars in the sky, forming a corporeal body. It held a massive scythe in its hand, like a farmer about to reap a harvest.


    A motion of its Scythe sliced through my Thor''s Hammer. While my spell was impressive, it paled inparison to the sheer divinity that this attack held.


    Like an aspect of the world given physical form.


    The Reaper''s scythe cleaved towards me.


    I didn''t panic, however.


    "Activate the Sword of Destruction." Imanded.


    The Sword of Destruction flew to my copies'' hand. Technically, there was only one use left this century, but this wasn''t an actual use.


    Size didn''t matter.


    The Sword gleamed with a baleful hue. A swing of it and destruction awoke. The Concept of Destruction was applied to the massive shadow.


    It seared through the shadowy image, from end to end, it burned away into nothingness. The true power of the Sword of Destruction showing itself properly.


    The first time I used it against that Daedric Prince, it was enough to do the equivalent of punching his clone in the face. Which...was a feat in itself when you consider what a Daedric Prince is. When I used it again against the Demon, he was destroyed to the point he was nearly removed from existence, only the intervention of Solomon saved him.


    This time, there was not a point of contention. It fulfilled its objectivepletely as even though the Shadow was an abilityposed of Divinity, it wasn''t connected truly to a God and thus could consume it whole without suffering a blockage.


    Kronos stood there, unmoving. "I sense the touch of a God I don''t recognize."


    "Using anothernguage, smart." I ignored him.


    He seemed to snap out of his stupor. "I never said we have to speak in mortalnguage. Apologies if thenguage my Mother bestowed to her children is difficult on your mortal ears." He grinned again.


    "Flip him off." I ordered, and my Copy did so immediately.


    "¦¤¦É¦Á¦Ê¦Ô¦Ì?¦Í¦Ò¦Å¦É?" Something much more normal rolled off his lips. But it was still iprehensible to me. It sounded more like Medea''s Divine Words.


    The Scythe in Kronos''s hands blurred and I felt a cage appear around me.


    "Ascalon." I called out.


    My copy summoned forth my noble Phantasm, activating it to block every attack.


    "Hmm, you did see through it." He muttered.


    "You''re extending a moment of time across space, like a thread. Multiple times. All you have to do is basically press your weapon against it, and it attacks from the extended moment regardless of where you are." I exined.


    His eyes lit up and he flicked his scythe again.


    "Block and Ether canon."


    Mirage flew into my copy''s hand and heplied.


    "Divide the Time stream."


    My attack was split, soaring around him.


    "You''re saying it in anguage I can understand?"


    "You earned this much from me." He replied without much expression. "Thanks to you, I believee to an answer."


    "Shunpo to his back, sh at his neck." I responded. "Answer to what?"


    "Block it." He said casually. "To treat you mortals as beasts or not."


    "Swallow Returns." I frowned.


    My copy activated the technique, two of him attacking the front and back simultaneously.


    "What?!" Kronos was confused. "Distill!"


    The Two of my copies stopped in ce, their swords not able to move an inch.


    "Other Swords."


    As soon as I said that the other swords flew in, but almost like hitting an immovable barrier, they froze in ce as well before they could hit him.


    "Interesting trick." He said, looking right at me. "I''ve never felt something like that before. It''s almost like ¨C " The building shook. The ''cage'' around us fluctuated as it began to unravel. "It seems like we''re out of time."


    "....did you just make a pun?" I asked.


    He smiled, very proud of himself. "I''ve been on that mortal thing, the ''web''. I very much like all the jokes."


    ....I didn''t know how to respond to that.


    The idea that the Titan Kronos awoke and decided to surf the web was....hrious and scary at the same time.


    "Why don''t we leave it here?" Kronos offered. "We''re at a bit of a stalemate as it is. Well, you can''t really hurt me, at least. You did good though."


    I raised an eyebrow. "Power of Destruction."


    He furrowed his brow, perhaps it might sound odd what I just said to him, but what happened spoke for itself. While not as excessivepared to when I use the Hogyoku, my ''normal'' Power of Destruction had also been furthered after some time. It was enough that it began tosh out in retaliation.


    It began to eat away at the static Time Field surrounding Kronos.


    The building shook again.


    "....Zeus." He whispered, apparently recognizing something. "Between Life and Death, there is only ¦ª¦Å¦Í?¦Ó¦Ç¦Ó¦Á."


    The miniature world seemed to lose its light as he spoke.


    "Retreat away." Imanded.


    My copy did so with a burst of Shunpo.


    "Good judgment, but futile. Reap." This strange aura enveloped him and he waved his scythe, a gouge opening up across the earth towards my copy.


    It wasn''t destruction, or physical force that ate away at everything, it was like.... everything was simply turned to ash through the passage of time. Aged away at such an obscene rate that there was not visible withering, but simply the acknowledgement that it no longer existed.


    The time period between it existing and when it would have normally turned to dust naturally was...removed.


    His Scythe bent strangely, and it seemed to circle around the world, hanging over my copies'' head like an executioner''s de.


    "I offered you a way out, but you didn''t take it." He looked...sad, for some reason. "Your time is limited. As a Mortal, you are a candle wafting in the wind. I wanted to y again, but I suppose this is the nature of Mortals. Reap."


    I felt danger.


    Time was extremely dangerous. And he was right, I was not an Immortal. Taking away my lifespan was dangerous. Even if I would live for thousands of years, even tens of thousand or hundreds of thousands, that was a finite amount of time inparison to a true God.


    Still though, I was rxed.


    A warmness filled my chest because I knew I had something to protect me here. I wasn''t without options regardless, but this was one thing I felt confident in relying on.


    "Avalon."


    The Sheath in my copies'' chest burst out, enveloping him in the Everdistant Utopia.


    Kronos''s attempt to strip away my lifespan was halted by an imprable barrier.


    He wasn''t immediately surprised. He expected some resistance, but as soon as he realized his weapon gained no figurative ground his eyes began to widen.


    "Why....why can I not prate that." He whispered, even if it sounded more like a low rumble. "Why does that thing reject my domain? Everything ends, that is an undeniablew! Even Immortals would suffer to some extent from this, yet that remains unmoving!"


    His attacks shattered upon the invible utopia.


    He stood silently, eyes widened in confusion.


    The effects ended, but I didn''t sit still.


    "Shunpo."


    My copy moved.


    "Myriad sh."


    "Foolish ¨C"


    Mirage shed horizontally. That thick and dangerous aura still covered him.


    Mirage touched it and struggled, it began to grow darker, losing all of its luster. Eventually, it formed cracks and shattered.


    Kronos seemed pleased with himself until he realized his folly.


    Mirage continued to sh at him.


    It followed the same pattern, slowly losing its luster and forming cracks before shattering again.


    And once more, my sh continued.


    An uncountable number of ovepped strikes.


    His ''Time'' began to eat away at them, but they continued without fault.


    Kronos''s expression turned from one of confusion into utter disbelief and he quickly took a step back, a ssh of blood falling to the ground.


    I looked up at the actual kronos across from me.


    A cut appeared on his chest, blood flowing down onto the floor.


    It wasn''t extremely deep, but my de severed the flesh of the Titan King.


    He even brought his hand up to touch his wound. "A mortal wounded me."


    Divine Might filled his eyes. Rage shed across his face.


    "Do you think I''m done?" I raised an eyebrow, ignoring his indignation.


    His head quickly looked back down at our little game.


    "Prestidigitation." I said softly, mimicking the actions of the copy of myself I fought previously. "Ochd Deug Odin."


    My Copy actualized the spell it had prepared over this course of time. The initial words I told it had enough meaning that it knew what I wanted to do.


    Like a box, massive Spell Circles containing Primordial Runes shimmered into existence all around Kronos.


    And by the look on his face, even he sensed the danger.


    "Destroy it!" Kronos roared.


    His copy threw his Scythe at one of the Magic Circles, Magical Energy discharged off it like lightning, forming cracks in it. And he threw himself at another, his fist carried with them an oppressive aura as he mmed them into another, shattering parts of it.


    But there was enough that some of the spell still went off.


    I didn''t know how it would affect a Titan like this.


    His Fate was measured and attacked.


    His Casualty was outlined and attacked.


    His spot on the Time-Line was attacked.


    His Spatial Coordinates were attacked.


    Andstly, his physical existence was attacked.


    That was the Great God Garved Seal.


    It attacked every aspect of one''s existence.


    Kronos, not his copy, quickly swung his Scythe, destroying the miniature world. But even so, he hunkered down, spilling arge amount of blood from his mouth and panting heavily. He used his Scythe to hold himself up.


    "Your name..." He gritted through his teeth.


    He already knew it, but it was also a form of respect.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg."


    "I will remember you." His killing intent was palpable at this point. "Next time we meet, it will not be a game. Nor will I be handicapped." His eyes shed as the room shuddered again and the stasis around us shattered. Seemingly, he began to dissipate and drift away with the falling of his ''cage''.


    Well, if he wanted to run, I wasn''t sure I was in the mood to even try and stop him.


    He wasn''t at 100%, that was clear, but he still wasn''t someone I was going to go half cocked against in a life or death fight.


    I breathed out a sigh of relief once the people outside finally arrived.


    There was a thunderous boom as a very notable God mmed into the floor, ready to fight with Lightning crackling from his eyes.


    The others appeared rather quickly too, looking concerned and ready to fight.


    I simply took Mirage and stabbed it into the ground, leaning on it. "What''s the hurry, did something happen?" I looked at them cheekily.


    [***]


    Loki POV (DxD)


    I bnced one of my favorite daggers on my finger while taking a bite into an apple. "You know, when we asked you to cause a distraction, we didn''t mean like that."


    "I decided to do things my way." The Titan of Time rumbled.


    "Clearly." I said dryly. "...you''re hurt." I nced at him. "Run into your dear old son? yed a bit of catch with him? Took him to a ball game?"


    "You''re speaking things I don''t understand and you know it." The Titan''s tone was...tired. "Trickster, I have no patience right now."


    "Very well." I dismissed my dagger and took a seat. "Apple?" I offered.


    He stared at me for a moment. "Sure." He shrugged, catching the piece of fruit I threw at him. He tossed it into hisrge mouth with a single bite and swallowed it. "You were right. Mortals have be much stronger."


    "Did you do all of that just to verify it for yourself?" I found myself sighing. "You remind me of my brother."


    "Do you expect me to trust you?" He countered.


    "Point." I acknowledged. "But still, it''smon knowledge."


    "I do not trust other people to form my opinions for me." He red.


    "Well...I take back what I said. It seems there''s some wisdom in that noggin of yours after all these years." I could respect that point of view. "And what''s your opinion?"


    "They are not beasts." He said simply.


    "....Well, I think some of our number would disagree."


    "And they would be wrong." He growled.


    "My, my. Does the great Titan King sympathize with the Mortals?" I chuckled.


    "Hardly." He rolled hisrge eyes. "There is a difference that must be acknowledged."


    "And what''s that?"


    "Beasts do not get the benefit of struggling for their survival. The mortals have earned that blessing." He sat down, shaking the ground with it. "I didn''t give you an answer before, but I will now. I will work together with you all. This...Khaos Brigade, of yours. The world went down the wrong path, and it must be corrected. Started over. But I will respect their right to struggle to survive against what is toe."


    "...I''m questioning how you were even overthrown by your oaf of a son." I spoke softly. "Why is it that you seem much more wise than the current leader of the Greeks?"


    "Don''t speak ill of my son." He snapped his head.


    "Is that familial love I feel?" I felt myself grinning. "Even after everything?"


    "I will make them all suffer the same torment that I have these past millenia." His eyes narrowed. "But I will not deny that I am proud of them for defeating me. I am Kronos, King of the Titans, and they seeded in overthrowing me. As their Father, I can be nothing but proud."


    "What a contradictory existence you are."


    "I am a Titan, contradictions are for Mortals. I am what I am and the world must amodate me, not the other way around." He snorted.


    Well, this was a pleasant surprise. I had assumed I would be dealing with another Zeus, but instead, it''s almost as if I had another Odin here with me.


    Perhaps if Fate didn''t dictate his fall, the world would have been a much different ce.


    "Did you at least do what we asked?"


    "I do not repay debts with ingratitude, Trickster. But do not presume to order me around in the future." He flicked his hand, and Pandora''s box went skirting across the ground. "Take your box, I have done what you have asked."


    "How, wonderful~" I picked it up with gentleness.


    "You do not know what you y with, trickster."


    "Believe me, I know exactly what I''m ying with here." I chuckled.


    "Then I am even more concerned that I have chosen to apany your group." He sighed. "I have also retrieved this." He held out his hand, showing arge eye.


    "Ah, Balor''s eye, right from the apanying Sacred Gear. There was no problem extracting it without leaving evidence?" I asked.


    "Do you take me for a child?" He threw it at me and I caught it. "I left a remnant of my own power inside of that mortal creature the.....what was he again?"


    "A dhampir. A Half-Vampire, Half-Human." I replied.


    "Yes, that thing." He didn''t seem to care much. "As you requested, there is a wisp of my power inside of him that will not diminish for many months so as to not cause problems for you and not be discovered."


    "Wonderful." I smiled.


    This will help us next with the Fomorians.


    "You should be thankful, I had thoughts of consuming it for my own Gain. Only my gratitude for freeing myself and my General stopped me. As it stands, the effort required to exist in many ces at once will extend the time I need to recover my full power."


    "I am very Thankful, oh Lord Kronos!"


    "Stop." He groaned. "Your false titudes are worse than none. Just bring me some things to speed up my recovery."


    "And the Wall?" I smiled.


    "I said Ipleted it. You wished me to drain away the power hidden in that strange Cavern of the Devils with the box, I did so and used my Domain to keep it from crumbling." He waved it off. "It left me exhausted, but it will not be discovered that it is all but destroyed for another year or two."


    "Wonderful." I pped my hands happily.


    It seemed that our little operation went off without a hitch. Despite him taking his own alterations to the n and seemingly kidnapping all those kids right under the God''s noses. Which, I can''t say I''m against, but it was a risk I wouldn''t have taken.


    But all''s well that ends well.


    It was annoying to set up simultaneous attacks at every entrance to Hell so as to not draw attention to the Titan draining away the vitality of that Cavern, but it was well worth it.


    A seal, or well, more like a small band-aid, was undone.


    Every little bit helps.


    One of many that the Biblical God created in the world.


    And our main purpose to kill a few infuriating gnats went off without a hitch~


    Some of those pesky Old-Satan Devils that kept ahold of information that they really shouldn''t have. Thankfully, they didn''t know what they had, neither did their captors, the New Satans didn''t put together what it was yet, so we''re good for now.


    It was all conveniently destroyed, and all the prisoners mysteriouslymitted suicide by stabbing themselves in the throat!


    How unfortunate.


    I''ll need to have words with some of those among our illustrious group about not sticking their noses where they don''t belong.


    "I also brought onest gift." Kronos held up his hand, the Time around it flowed erratically, and a small orbpressed into images. "You said you were interested in a certain Mortal."


    I watched the face of the Lucifer''s Half-Bastard Son sh across it.


    "Well Kronos, I do believe this is the start of a beautiful rtionship." I happily took the gift.


    Well, he wasn''t entirely right. Yes, I was interested in the Mortal for a plethora of reasons, it was Rizevim that suddenly developed a particr interest in our young friend. I could probably get a favor out of this quite handily.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 470 - 427

    <h4>Chapter 470: Chapter 427</h4>


    Rias Gremory POV


    That was....


    It was weird, despite being so far away, we could see what was happening clearly, almost like we were standing right beside them.


    I''ve watched pretty much all the videos I could find about him ever since they appeared online. Ever since he abruptly showed back up and caused a scene everywhere he went. And I knew he was strong, that was obvious, and I don''t think anyone would say otherwise, but to actually see it in person was an entirely different experience.


    What....was I even supposed to say at this point?


    I felt like I had gotten a lot stronger recently. Even Sai had been helping with my training and I couldn''t believe how much stronger I was than even a few weeks ago but.....it felt like the gap didn''t even close at all.


    He...


    He doesn''t even think about me, does he? Like I''m not even a consideration in his head or ns. It''s so obvious in hindsight, and evident by how disdainfully he treated us.


    We weren''t even worth noticing in his eyes, were we?


    Here I was, not even able to speak when that thing looked at me. It was like some immense pressure weighing down on me when he barely even acknowledged me. Yet, Wilhelm barely even blinked and casually fought him....through an odd way, but even so!


    They were just chatting while casually throwing out more power than I could bring out even with tons of prep time!


    They were doing things I couldn''t even understand.


    And Wilhelm was keeping up with a literal God...erm, Titan? Was there even a difference?


    Like something happened, and he just casually responded and exined them as they went and a God was treating him like an equal.


    I had no idea what was going on half the time, only that they were throwing attacks back and forth. Kronos did a big stupid thing that blocked out the sky, something that was really scary, and Wilhelm just countered it without even a second thought.


    What did he call it ¨C Sword of Destruction?


    Did it have something to do with out Bloodline power? Could I do something like that too?


    It justpletely destroyed that towering look-alike that Kronos made that could probably destroy an entire city with ease.


    It seemed more ridiculous than watching the few videos of when Wilhelm fought Indra not that long ago. Maybe just because we were watching it all unfold.


    That....game they were ying.


    Was that even the right word?


    A fight that didn''t really seem to be a fight, but it could still hurt you. Everyone saw what happened, if their ''pieces'' were hurt, they were hurt too.


    I was definitely relieved they weren''t going to fight in here. I saw how destructive his fight with Indra got, I doubted it would be any less than that.


    But that didn''t mean there was no danger for him.


    I was....a little worried.


    But that proved to be pointless.


    He handled himself so well that it really made me wonder how much experience he had.


    Thatment about how many times he fought with his life on the line. What.....had happened to him since he left?


    Has he really had such a terrible life that he''s had to fight to the death so many times that this is pretty much a normal thing for him that he doesn''t even bat an eye?


    Maybe....I should ask Mother?


    I hated to even think about what was going on between them, but maybe I should stop pretending nothing was happening. I would be able to talk to her about certain things then....


    Even so, I just...didn''t know what to think anymore.


    Brother always told me about Gods when he dealt with them. How they were super arrogant and powerful and they looked down on every other race. But here Wilhelm was being treated with actual respect.


    Why was it that I''m stuck at this point while my nephew was already towering over me with barely any actual time spent in the supernatural!?


    It''s not fair!


    ...is what I want to say.


    Even Riser.


    Someone I was nning to fight. Someone who I was wracking my brain on how to beat, making ns with my Peerage.....Wilhelm barely cast him a nce and neutralized him with a single spell like it was the easiest thing in the world.


    Then he just....literally threw him out of the building like he was nothing.


    I....hadn''t even considered sealing him like that. I was so focused on beating his Regeneration, that the thought of just trapping him or making him not able to fight didn''t cross my mind.


    Super obvious in hindsight, but I justpletely ignored it.


    What was I even doing up to this point? I''ve just been focusing entirely on my own Power of Destruction and not much else. Sure, I''ve been doing some physical exercises but...It''s not like I was going to fight on the front line.


    I was a backline fighter and was proud of myself for where I was at.


    It''sughable.


    What was Wilhelm? I saw him fight in close tons of times, yet he also could hang back and throw around spells that dwarfed what I could do...


    Was I being stupid and holding myself back by thinking of myself in only one way?


    Satans, I feel like such an idiot.


    I don''t know why, but I just started giggling, and I couldn''t hold it back.


    "Rias, what''s wrong?" Sona looked at me in concern.


    Though it was pretty obvious she was also shaken.


    "I just realized how insignificant Riser was and how stupid of me it was to spend so much time worrying about him." I wiped away a tear that was forming at the corner of my eye.


    "....not the reaction I was expecting." She muttered.


    "That''s the spirit, cousin!" Sai pped my shoulder...kind of hard.


    No, I was just weak.


    "Hey Sona."


    "What?"


    "Can you teach me Magicter." I asked.


    "....what brought this on, Rias?" She furrowed her brow.


    "Just realized I was being silly about some things. It would be stupid of me not to learn Magic properly if I''m not a physical fighter." Why was I only relying on my Power of Destruction again? Obviously it was my bread and butter, and I needed to train it better, but it''s stupid of me not to pick up some Magic topliment my fighting style.


    I can''t just be throwing around big sts of energy all the time.


    I alwayspared myself to Brother, even if I didn''t say it out loud, there was a bit of jealousy there. He was so strong and he only used his Power of Destruction, so I felt like I had to copy him to get the same results.


    Stupid.


    "What about Akeno?" Sona nced at my Queen at my side who was silently watching us.


    "She''s good at what she does, but she specializes in only a couple things." I shrugged. "You''re more familiar with a bunch of stuff."


    "Fair enough." She nodded.


    Why did it feel like there was a big weight off my shoulders?


    I felt....calm, despite everything.


    Maybe it was because Brother and everyone else finally arrived and the oppressive feeling disappeared. Or maybe it was because I felt like I had a new lease on life.


    After seeing how so far ahead someone my own age was, everything else I''ve been dealing with felt like a fight on the yground.


    Not worth mentioning.


    "Hey Sai, if you fought Wilhelm, how would you have done?" I kind of knew how strong Sai was, and he was probably closer to me than he was to Wilhelm..


    "I would have lost." My cousin chuckled without a second thought. "It would have been a good fight though!"


    "You''re not annoyed or upset?"


    "Why would I be?" He blinked. "Just means I need to get stronger because there are stronger opponents out there!"


    "Heh, you should stop caring about everyone else and worry about yourself, Princess." The supposed new Monkey King offered his own two cents. "Gramps told me that if you''re only focused on keeping up with other people, you''re going to trip and fall down eventually."


    "Hmph, I could have taken him."


    "Sure you could, Vali." Bikou answered sarcastically. "Did you see that spell at the end? Hoh boy, that set off rms in my head. I''d have been turned to minced meat if I tried to take that. How would you have handled that, Vali?"


    "Fuck off." The silvered-haired guy snorted.


    He was the White-Dragon Emperor of this Generation, wasn''t he?


    And even he was saying he wouldn''t have been much use there...


    Maybe I am being a bit too hard on myself over all of this.


    "Hey Sona, are you still going to get revenge on Wilhelm for blowing you up?" I suddenly asked.


    "Shut up, Rias." Sona scowled.


    Hehe.


    [***]


    Zeus POV


    At many points, I questioned why I even decided to deem this ''meeting'' a priority.


    Those others squabbled amongst themselves and I cared not for their bickering. If not for my brother''s suggestion, and that of my daughter, I would not have evene.


    Olympus did not need outside help.


    But at the same time, the tides were shifting, as Poseidon would say.


    After the fiasco with Indra causing amotion, many others were thrown into the spotlight and many had begun to forget about me.


    That was uneptable, I was the King of Olympus and it was important to remind everyone of this fact.


    It would be imperative that they all be reminded who stood atop Olympus and looked down at them.


    Especially after the incident in Tartarus with Father being freed.


    I did not believe any trite about Hades being responsible. Whether he joined that ridiculous ''Khaos Brigade'' or not, I didn''t care. But despite all the arguments and fighting between my brother and I, I knew without a doubt in my heart that he would never willingly release our father.


    There were others scheming against Olympus, and that would not stand. So I swallowed my annoyance and joined up with these others.


    Some annoying arguing led to some sort of agreement I didn''t care much about. Putting together a team of our younger generation?


    It...wasn''t a bad idea.


    Our battle with the Giants in the Gigantomachia was proof that there were obstacles that required....additional resources to handle. To treat this as a simr situation would not be incorrect.


    And It''s true that there haven''t been many reasons for us to train our newest Demi-Gods recently. They''ve be fat and content with whatever privileges we''ve given them.


    I suppose it''s time for them to earn their keep for all we''ve done for them.


    And as long as I do not have to deal with other Pantheons invading our territory, I had not much to say. A meager few brats from different ces barely entered my eyes.


    I had thought this was to be the end of it. We had reached....an agreement of sorts which I found surprisingly tolerable.


    For some reason, the others were more open to epting these concessions.


    Indra had been quiet, far too quiet.


    Of course, he had suffered rather recently.


    Not defeating a Mortal?


    Amusing as it was concerning.


    But I would take pleasure in his failures regardless. He had be far too arrogant over the years just because faith in Olympus had waned.


    He shrunk his head back now, like a coward.


    This Khaos Brigade also seemed to strike at the core of his home as well. A second strike that certainly felled his confidence.


    The others were more concerning, however.


    Nuwa was not someone I had interacted with much. But her charm and insight were undoubtedly brilliant in how she navigated these talks.


    The Devils, ignorable.


    We had no reason to deal with them normally.


    Same for those feathered ones


    Leftovers of a long dead God.


    Lugh....no need to concern myself with him and his ilk. His people kept to themselves, and they were now preupied with their own old foes returning.


    No, the one I cared most about was Odin.


    There was something that gave me pause about him, more so than usual.


    It was as if he knew more than he was saying and we were walking down the path he already devised.


    That Old God was not to be trifled with lightly.


    However, all of that seemed immaterial in the moment.


    How none of us noticed, I cannot im to know the answer. Perhaps the subtlety of it took everyone equally by surprise.


    How my Father managed to sneak beneath our notice and ''kidnap'' a room full of our younger members set a fury in everyone''s eyes.


    Once it was noticed, it became rather obvious. But had it not been discovered; how long would it have taken before one of us had seen?


    As much as I desired to immediately confront my Father, however, despite the many years since that fateful battle to determine the rulership of Olympus, I still recalled it vividly. I stayed my hand for now, and decided to watch.


    It took myself and my brothers to confront our Father, I was not foolish enough to ignore that memory just because I was now King.


    "Should we just destroy this....barrier and rush in?" The Fallen Angel leader asked. "I doubt it could take all of us if we just brute force the thing."


    "It''s not a barrier." The Devil with the Green Hair stated. "Well, it is by extension, but not by design. It''s cutting off everything underneath from the normal flow of time. Copsing it forcibly could be detrimental to everyone inside."


    Intelligent.


    Yes, they say he''s one of their ''Super Devils'' or some other nonsense word. However, intelligence was a strength on its own. My Daughter was not the strongest Goddess among ours, but her Wisdom made her a formidable enemy for any who underestimate her. I would see this as a simr situation.


    Despite my dislike for the Devils, their leaders were not to be underestimated.


    It seemed as though they took a simr approach. The Red one was their strongest, while the Green one was his aid.


    "Do we have anyone inside that can help?" Lugh asked.


    "We didn''t want anyone to so obviously look over their shoulders....so while we kept people nearby, they were....also locked out." dThe only woman among the Devils answered.


    "I''m assuming that just teleporting wouldn''t work." The Fallen Angel said sarcastically. "Anyone have any ideas? I''m getting a little antsy knowing that Vali is there...."


    "Calm yourself, bird-boy." Odin spoke and I found myself paying more attention. "I asked the brat to look after the other kids."


    "Hmm, if he''s there then it should be alright." The Monkey king rubbed his beard.


    "Hmph." Indra snorted, but didn''t dispute it.


    "Our wards are not defenseless either." Goddess Nuwa reminded. "I''m sure many of us gave them some way to defend themselves in the worst case."


    "That''s true, Bikou has a Talisman with a blow from me. He could probably take down this barrier with it." Sun Wukong nodded.


    There were nods around the room.


    .....we should probably give our own wards/demi-gods/younger generation some methods in the future....


    It would look poor on us if our own descendants did not have such things if others gave theirs some.


    "Why don''t we take a peek inside first before deciding to go in guns zing?" Odin suggested.


    I found myself agreeing with his statement.


    I did not care too much if the ones inside were sacrificed. More Demi-Gods could be made, and they were not particrly noteworthy inparison to the rest of their brethren, thus, gathering information on Father was a far greater goal for me.


    "I agree." I stated, throwing my weight behind the Norse Sky-Father.


    "We can all pull our strength to look inside without an issue." Goddess Nuwa nodded.


    Odin got up and made a spectacle of stretching his back. "I got this." The All-Father''s eye glowed and he used the mystical symbols from his origin. "Alright, give me some of your juice, people."


    Everyone casually raised a hand up, sending a bit of their Godly Power towards what Odin was doing. I too followed suit, being careful with how much I sent, measured against the others.


    "Oh yeah, I still got it." He pped as images came into view.


    There did not appear to be any deaths quite yet, but I focused mostly on my Father.


    I felt a flurry of emotions after seeing him again.


    There he stood, facing off against the Mortal.


    The same for which my fellow Gods ced some semnce of confidence. The same which Indra fought not long ago.


    I did not hold him in much regard even after hearing certain feats he performed. A mortal was still a mortal in the end. A hundred years, a thousand years, would it matter? However....seeing my Father look at him with such patience caused me to start reevaluating my earlier perceptions.


    My father was not one who opted for subtle or passive approaches. That was not to say he was incapable of them. But the Titan king was arrogant and aggressive in nearly all his actions. If he was angry, he would not scheme, he would stomp to whoever made him angry and deal with them in the simplest and most brutal way.


    He was loud and bombastic.


    Not....this.


    We couldn''t hear anything, but it was enough to watch. And it was as if they were having a casual conversation between equals.


    "Hey, Thunder Crotch, anyment?"


    "...Odin." I red at him, not rising to his provocation. "What do you expect me to say?"


    "Don''t know, maybe somementary? How''s the brat doing?"


    I nced back at the image, Father and the Mortal doing some....mock battle through some odd means.


    It looked as if they were battling through avatars.


    It was amusing, but required no further consideration.


    "Father is ying." I said bluntly.


    The Mortal casted his spells, and Father defended against them with ease. Was there anything else that needed to be said?


    There was....no need to step in. And I was more interested in gauging Father''s actions. What was his purpose? What did he hope to achieve? Perhaps some kind of clue as to what he was nning, as odd as it was to consider.


    Mother told me stories about his guile in the primal past, but I never experienced it myself. By the time we rebelled, he had be overconfident and blinded to his own ws. But it would be folly to dismiss those tales now, especially considering that he too overthrew his own Father.


    That was my intent, until something changed. Father became.....more serious.


    His true power shined through the miniature avatar, if briefly.


    "We should intervene." I found myself frowning.


    "Hoh, Lightning boy you''re worried are you?" Odinughed. "I didn''t take you for caring about all the brat."


    "I care not for the Mortal." I scowled. "However, Father has deemed him a threat to warrant his true power. If he intends to finish his games, he may escape before we can remove this disruption."


    "While I don''t agree with what he said entirely, he''s correct. We should bring this thing down now." The one who sat on the Dead God''s throne agreed with me. "I don''t like sitting here watching while our wards are potentially in danger. Even if there is someone there protecting them. If the Titan decides to stop doing what it is they are doing, a true fight would induce casualties by proximity."


    "Well, hard to argue with that." The Monkey King tapped the pipe in his hand to the table, putting it away. "Can''t go too hard, let''s try something easy first."


    His power seeped out and he moved quickly, throwing a fist at the barrier back with the vague phantom of a Buddha behind him.


    It shook vigorously, but still held.


    It seemed that Father also noticed as well.


    "Put your back into it next time, yeah?" Odin mocked.


    "Come now, All-Father, he obviously was being gentle." Nuwa stepped forward. "I''m also afraid of being over zealous." She held her hand out, condensing her Godly Power into the form of a needle. A simple throw of it and it stabbed into the temporal barrier, causing it to shudder once more.


    "Hmm, looks like they''re finishing up regardless." Odin rubbed his beard, and then, he seemed to freeze in ce. "...what is that?" He muttered, catching all of our attention.


    The Mortal, he did something.


    I narrowed my eyes to get a better look and it seemed to be magic filled with Odin''s touch. Strange, that he would be caught off guard by something he should be familiar with. But I also watched as Father panicked.


    Father panicked.


    The Mortal did something that caused Father to stop whatever game it was they were ying.


    Father was hurt.


    The Mortal wounded the Great Titan King.


    "Odin, what magic did that mortal invoke from your part of the world?" My words rumbled.


    "Who knows." The Norse God shrugged.


    "I''m also curious." The Green-haired Devil looked at the All-father. "I wasn''t able to analyze it properly."


    "Even through a visual technique, and from avatars, the danger it posed was noticeable." Goddess Nuwa made ament as well.


    "You seem awfully close with the mortal, Odin." Indra cast a sideways nce towards him.


    "Do you have something to say, Indra?" The Asgardian King stepped up. He was still but a child in most of our eyes, but he held himself well for his position.


    "I said what I wanted to say, boy." The Hindu God responded with a scoff.


    "Daughter, you keep track of all of Olympus''s potential enemies." I nced towards Athena, not allowing any other Gods outside of our Pantheon to hear us speaking. A small parlor trick, but one that hade in handy. "Report on him."


    She lowered her head. "Birth Name, Takao Shimoda. Current name, Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. Age ¨C unknown, presumably, early twenties. He is the son of the current Lucifer, and a normal human woman. Currently living within the territory of Takamagahara, specifically the Eastern Youkai under Amaterasu''s Priestess ¨C Yasaka. Verified Rtionships include known lovers ¨C Yasaka, Izanami-no-Mikoto, Sc¨¢thach ¨C"


    I held up my hand to silence her. I didn''t care about who the mortal was having sex with. "Recent events surrounding him."


    "Since the gathering of the factions to broker peace, I have done extensive research. His most recent appearances include defeating a monster simr to the Hydra offspring in nature. Defeating the subordinate of Lucifer ¨C Okita Souji. Defeating the Fallen Angel ¨C Kokabiel. Defeating the God of Storm ¨C Susanoo. Fighting the God of Lightning ¨C Indra."


    "Father, give themand and we can kill him before he bes a problem for us." My son offered, killing intent spilling off of him.


    "Son, do you think I am unaware of your desires towards that woman of his is the source of your offer?" I red towards him.


    Foolish boy.


    He had been very vocal about the reappearance of a past love of his. An unrequited one at that.


    If you are going to do something idiotic, don''t do it right in front of me and other Gods where they can all see for themselves.


    Sometimes I consider forcing the two aspects of war into a single entity to save me the trouble of them both missing valuable pieces of wisdom.


    Those feats were...admirable.


    He was not one of mine, so I could look from the side to admire his growth. I obviously would not have allowed him to grow so fast under my own watch without a good cor, but I don''t know what those Eastern Gods are thinking sometimes.


    But there was no point in considering it. He was not one of mine, and that was both a blessing and a curse. I would not have to worry about any ill intentions, but I also had no control over this variable.


    Mortal whims were much more difficult to predict. Often making foolish decisions for ridiculous reasons. And with such power at his disposal, he could unintentionally cause disturbances anywhere he went.


    "Enough." I said with lightning filling my voice. I gave them no heed as I shot forward, destroying the barrier.


    Father disappeared immediately once he realized we were approaching.


    Not that I should have expected any different.


    Instead, Inded onto the ground of the room, staring at the Mortal.


    I required answers.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    I leaned on my sword, looking at the God for whom I could guess their identity. Granted, I didn''te out and say it, more so just said something a little cheeky instead.


    "Will!" A Saintess mmed into my back, wrapping her arms around me. Obviously, she was sounding worried.


    "Hey, hey." I quickly went to sooth the Saintess. "It''s fine, I''m fine. There was no real danger."


    Sad Jeanne was bad Jeanne.


    For real, I think it''s on the same level as when Jinn was sad. It just felt so wrong. Other people could experience a wide array of emotions, but those two are not allowed to be sad.


    The other Godly figures and higher-ups arrived quickly as well.


    They checked on their own wards specifically, which was understandable.


    More like a cursory look over to make sure they were alive before they all regathered with me as the sort of...center.


    Still, Jeanne got pats was my priority.


    Jeanne did get a little nervous and hid behind me.


    It was honestly rather cute. The same Jeanne who rode into battle hundreds of times andmanded thousands of soldiers was also shy when people stared at her in other settings. I didn''t even think it was because of the Godly gazes, she wouldn''t back down under them if it came to it.


    She was just adorable.


    But I digress.


    "Well, howdy. Wonderful evening it''s been, huh?" I finally decided to break the awkward silence. "If there''s nothing else, I''ll probably be hitting the road."


    "Oh stop being a smartass." Odin snorted. "What happened?"


    Ah, right to it then. "Big guy showed up, we chatted, and then yed a game in lieu of fighting it out. But I''m guessing you already know that." I eyed them skeptically. I wasn''t one hundred percent sure they were watching, but I had a feeling so.


    "Mortal."


    "God." I responded, not liking his rude tone.


    He looked unamused.


    "Come on, let''s not fight." Sun Wukong casually produced a chair to sit down on. I don''t know where he was keeping it, but who was I to tell the Monkey King that he couldn''t magically produce furniture. "He probably doesn''t know who you are, Zeus."


    Well, the two deities that nked his side were big giveaways. And to be honest, artists'' depictions of him were pretty spot on. Sure some minor details were off, but overall, I had confidence in picking him out in a room.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service." I introduced myself.


    "I am Zues, Master of Olympus." He grumphed. It came off as halfhearted and merely pleasantries. "You also have the honor of meeting my children, Ares, and Athena." He wasn''t quite frowning, but it was easy to tell he didn''t want to do a whole introduction and was probably annoyed that he had to go through this rather than just demand something of me.


    "Charmed." I said curtly, ncing at both of them. "So, what can I do for you all?"


    "What did my Father speak to you about?" Zeus ignored everything else and immediately spoke up. There was a sort of demand in his tone that irked me.


    I don''t even think it was intentional. Just like....a normalcy of his everyday way of speaking.


    Zeus spoke, and everyone under him fell over themselves to answer.


    "We talked about a lot of things." I felt myself frowning. "Be more specific."


    "Come on, kiddo." Azazel stepped in. "This isn''t just for him. We need to know what happened. A big guy like Kronosing to cause problems for all of us is a big deal."


    "Well, first off, you may want to check in with your people because he all but admitted that he was a distraction." I said that much at least.


    Azazel blinked. "Crap, Serafall ¨C"


    "On it." She was already pulling out a phone. "Baldie, idiot, you two check things out."


    The Two other Satans immediately departed at the speed of Teleportation.


    "Besides, you could ask anyone else here what they heard. There''s a room full of people here to act as witnesses." I shrugged. "Otherwise, if you need me, I''ll ¨C"


    "I will reward you in rtion to the insight you offer." Zeus suddenly spoke up, making my stop in my tracks.


    "Come again?" I blinked.


    "I''m with the brat there. Since when are you so charitable, Thunder Crotch?"


    "Call me that again, All-father and you will see first hand my temper." Zeus growled. "And it''smon sense to pay for a service, or are you too out of touch with mortal affairs." He scoffed.


    "A reward?" I perked up.


    Odin continued to stare at Zeus. "I''m skeptical about your identity right now."


    "You are testing my patience." Zeus issued another low growl.


    "It''s just odd, is all."


    "What is odd about me paying for information? Do the nuances of rulership escape you in your old age?" Zeus scowled. "You pay a mercenary for their sword, that is knowledge since time innumerable. He is not under myself, thus he is treated as such. My father bestowed some amount of respect upon him, thus I will offer the same respect. His insight is more valuable than any other who witnessed."


    You know, that sounded rather logical, yet still carried arge amount of arrogance in it.


    I''m impressed.


    "Yes, Olympus rewards those who perform meritorious services to the Gods." The Goddess Athena smiled. "Protecting our wards, and providing information about amon enemy are admirable deeds."


    And herees the scheming.


    I wasn''t oblivious to it, even if I didn''t care to think too hard about it at the moment.


    But I was keen on receiving a reward.


    I like to receive things.


    "Ohe off it." Odin huffed. "Dammit, self-righteous asshole, making everyone else look bad."


    "Oh neat, can I have a Golden Apple?" I just took a shot in the dark.


    Zeus twitched slightly, but it wasn''t an outright rejection. "Rarely has one been rewarded to a mortal." He said.


    Ah, I can read between the lines here.


    He needs something decent otherwise it''s a no go.


    Hmm.


    "Well." I tapped my chin. "Kronos was just here as a distraction. At most, he took a pot shot at some people without much care. It seems he was mostly interested in just taking a look at the ''mortals'' inparison to his time. Secondly, he''s obviously working with people other than his own. A few of his choice of words implied some people supporting him or such. The Khaos Brigade is almost a certainty, but I can''t say for 100%. He did also let slip something, but it''s just my conjecture. I''ll just point out the obvious for the sake of it, you should probably keep an eye on As if he''s still stuck holding up the ''world'' and all that. Perhaps Prometheus too if he''s still sore about the centuries of torture. But otherwise, there was a slip up from him briefly mentioning some friends. Could mean his oldrades, could mean new ones. Might want to check out the ''lesser Gods'' who aren''t too happy with your lot right now. Hmm, it''s also worth pointing out that he''s not at full power, make of that what you will."


    I just rambled out everything I had thought of.


    Zeus frowned after hearing what I had to say.


    Well, it''s not like most of that wouldn''t be obvious from hearing any reports about what happened from other people, but what could you do?


    "Ah." I blinked.


    "Speak." Zeus noticed my expression.


    "Well, the first thing I would do in his situation.....um....did him and your mom ever officially separate?" Perhaps I could have chosen my words more carefully but it is what it is.


    Zues''s eyes shed briefly. "I will send a Golden Apple at ater date."


    Hmm, well bully for me.


    Sometimes, you just need someone else to point out he obvious when you''re caught up in your own head.


    He''d been surprisingly amicable.


    Well, for a Greek God.


    There didn''t seem to be any other issues. Thus, I found myself about to say my final goodbyes until the doors mmed open.


    Venna came in with Mozart at her side, and apanying her was also Raikou and Sc¨¢thach.


    Did she call them out of concern?


    I wasn''t really in any danger...but I supposed she didn''t know that.


    Wait, how did she even know I was ''in trouble'' in the first ce if these Gods only barely found out moments ago?


    "Mother?" A certain red-headed devil eximed, not particrly loud.


    "...daughter?" Indra stared at Raikou.


    "My love." Thest one made me do a double check. A...surprisingly soft, if sharp tone came out from under the horned helmet of Area as he stared at my Sc¨¢thach.


    ....The Greeks don''t need two Gods of War, right?


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 471 - 428

    <h4>Chapter 471: Chapter 428</h4>


    I was genuinely curious as to why they were here.


    Not that I was against them showing up for any reason.


    But still the timing was odd.


    Venna immediately ran to not me, but her daughter who was a little ways behind me. A mother''s instinct that was able to ignore the Godly eyes that fell upon her and my other girls.


    Frankly, it just made me all the more attracted to her.


    ....maybe I had a certain type.


    [Nooooooooooooooo, really?]


    Hmm, strange noises in here.


    But hey, awkward reunions, or something.


    Technically, they''d never met before, but for some reason, Ares nearly fell to the ground in front of my Sc¨¢thach, holding a bouquet of flowers up to her having professed his love.


    Where he got the flowers? I honestly couldn''t even say.


    Normally, I would have already started a fight with him.


    I''m selfish and greedy. No one is allowed to im my girls.


    However, I would also respect their own situations. Sc¨¢thach didn''t need my overbearing ''protection'', unless she was in the mood for it. There had been a few asions where she enjoyed me acting out that role. But it''s obvious to tell when she''s in the mood for such things.


    And at this moment, well....


    The silent stare and quick kick of hers that sent the Greek War God sliding across the room was enough of an answer to his confession.


    Sc¨¢thach beating people up was always enjoyable. Even when it was me.


    I think everyone was staring at them now. Which, to be fair, they were a sight that not many ever got to witness.


    The War god stood up, his helmet long having been knocked off. His red hair was wild, matching a sharp face. The only unnaturalness was the warm smile he had as he stared at Sc¨¢thach. "You''re still the same." He said like a love struck puppy.


    "Don''t speak to me." Sc¨¢thach replied with a look of disgust.


    "Come on, don''t be like that." The War God got back onto his feet. "Remember all the times we spent together?"


    "No."


    "I can help you remember~"


    "My Spear will be your onlypanion." She replied, her infamous spear appearing, coating in her bloodlust.


    "Ah, how nostalgic. You always took your spear out and tried to stab me." He sighed.


    ....


    "Who knew that Ares, the God of War, was a Simp." I wasn''t very loud, but then again, there was not much noise as everyone just sort of stared, dumbstruck at what was happening.


    "....what''s a simp?" Jeanne whispered.


    "Well, there''s an actual definition from an older vocabry, but it''s mostly used for it''s ng terminology. Basically, it''s someone who''s overly submissive and too attentive out of a failed hope of winning affection from someone." I answeredpletely seriously.


    Ares was now looking at me with eyes glowing and his own bloodlust wafting off of him.


    I merely raised an eyebrow.


    But Sc¨¢thach took that personally it seemed. She kicked him, again, and much harder as he went flying through the wall.


    "Don''t look at my man like that." She scowled.


    Huh.


    Was this what it''s like being on the opposite end of this kind of encounter?


    Zeus let out a long sigh. "Please fetch your brother and make sure he returns to Olympus."


    Athena grimaced, probably at what she just saw, and nodded to him, disappearing rather quickly.


    Well.....Surprisingly, I had a good impression of Zeus of all people.


    What a strange day this was turning out to be.


    However, the Greek God suddenly turned towards Sc¨¢thach. My teacher met his gaze, unwavering. "I will not say anything about what just happened. But there will not be a next time, less you suffer my wrath."


    And it''s gone.


    I know that as the King of Gods, he has to project strength pretty much at all times, and I understand his position.


    But at the same time, that''s my woman.


    I let my own pressure seep out, locking onto him.


    Fuck a Golden Apple if it meant my Sc¨¢thach was treated like that.


    His shitty God was clearly in the wrong.


    Zeus, surprisingly, didn''t rise to provocation.


    His gaze was hard and unmoving under both myself and Sc¨¢thach basically daring him to do anything.


    "Then I will return those words to you. Keep your dog away from me or, likewise, I will put it down." She snorted, dismissing her spear.


    Zeus didn''t react, but there was a hint of....respect?


    Instead, he turned to the Devils. "Is this gathering finished?"


    "Um....well...." Serafall was caught off guard.


    I ignored her for now as Raikou followed Sc¨¢thach and came over to me.


    Another person stepped out, nearly pushing past Lugh and another God that looked covered in pines and leaves with two branch-like horns sticking out of his head.


    She had a dark purple dress on with a simr veil covering her face. But her most notable feature were the two Raven-like wings protruding from her back. If it wasn''t obvious she was a God, perhaps she might have been mistaken for a Fallen Angel at first nce.


    "It''s been awhile, witch." The woman hissed, directing it at Sc¨¢thach.


    Sc¨¢thach looked at her. "Do I know you?" She replied simply, and kept on walking.


    ....I fucking loved that woman.


    Almost instantly, Lugh and the other God with him grabbed the woman who looked like she was about to pounce on Sc¨¢thach.


    The God covered in different foliage seemed to summon a tree out of the ground, covering both himself and the woman, disappearing from the venue.


    Lugh looked like he had a weight suddenly lifted off his shoulders and sighed in exasperation. Odin cast him a sympathizing look, making me wonder who that woman was, and why she apparently hated Sc¨¢thach.


    And almost immediately, a slender pair of arms wrapped me up from behind and I felt a pair of lips nting a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you." Venna whispered into my ear.


    "Always." I smiled, squeezing her hand.


    I knew what she was thanking me for. Kronos took a random shot at her daughter for whatever reason, he probably didn''t even care too much about her identity and I ended up protecting her.


    "Not that I''m not happy to see you all." I said as Raikou also runs up and gave me a hug. Pulling Jeanne in for a double hug, making the Saintess squeak rather cutely. "But why are you guys here?"


    I was tempted to give Sc¨¢thach a big kiss and make some teasingments. It''s one of the few times I can get her to blush and get embarrassed. Showering her with affection in front of other people like this was one of the few ways.


    But, I also knew she would probably kick me just as much as Ares.


    The only difference being that she would be much more gentle afterwards, in private.


    "You worried your Grandmother, student." Sc¨¢thach said bluntly.


    "Perhaps I can shed some light on this matter?" Mozart popped up.


    "Jesus, Ipletely forgot you were there." I blinked.


    "I am hurt, but I cannot fault you for being focused on others." He chuckled. "But s, my poor Master was so beset with worry."


    "Alright, alright. What''s going on?"


    "I was the one to discover this little intrusion onto the children''s soiree" He responded. "I offered my services as a guard for the evening. Rather, I was sharing stories with that Okita Souji gentleman. But I digress. I ryed my findings to my Master and the illustrious Devil Leaders."


    "Ah....and you couldn''t reach me because our linkmunication doesn''t work across realms." I nced at Raikou.


    Servant telepathicmunication was good, but it wasn''t that good.


    My Servant nodded. "Mommy was worried." She pouted.


    "Why didn''t you just call...?"


    "We tried." Venna replied. "It wouldn''t go through."


    I furrowed my brow at that. Why didn''t it go through, that doesn''t make sense.... "Ah..." I dropped my fist into my palm. "No wonder. We never ounted for being in a stationary bubble of separated time." I nodded to myself in understanding.


    Why would we? It''s something so unlikely to happen that it wasn''t even worth consideration. It''s like trying to call someone when I activate Jinn''s ability to answer questions where she ''freezes time''.


    "So you understand our concern, student?" Sc¨¢thach asked.


    "Yeah, I can see the picture that was painted." I nodded. Venna discovers that the ce is sealed off. Can''t reach me through the Kaleidophone, and she panics, calls for help. I couldn''t fault her in the slightest. "Sorry for making you worry."


    "You''re forgiven." Venna smiled, this time, turning my head for a much deeper kiss.


    "Hey Red, that''s your mom, right?" I recognized Odin''s voice even while I tried to phase it out to enjoy Venna''s aggressive tongue.


    "Sure is." The Fallen Angel answered.


    "Nice."


    "Are we still on for dinner?" She asked, after pulling away.


    "Wouldn''t miss it." I smiled.


    "Good." She smiled back. "but....we''re probably going to have to dy it until tomorrow...probably."


    "...that''s fine." Yeah, it would be awkward to head over there at this point.


    Huh, she just kissed me intimately in front of everyone. I didn''t know how much of public knowledge it was that she was my woman now, but I guess everyone''s going to know in the Underworld at this point.


    Oh well, I didn''t really care.


    Not like I was ashamed of anything.


    "Mother...." Another voice I didn''t particrly like sounded out.


    "Sirzechs." Venna smiled, walking over to her son. "Sorry for intruding, I was worried."


    "Oh, it''s no problem, Mama Gremory." Azazel quickly replied.


    "Yeah, no problem Mama Gremory." Odin repeated with a shit eating grin.


    "Father, please don''t start." His son sighed in an attempt to rein in the All-Father.


    "Oh, and who''s this charming young woman?" Nuwa was now sauntering over, noticeably swaying her hips a little bit as she eyed Venna.


    Holy shit, did Nuwa swing that way?


    This was a weird day so far.


    "Mother, why don''t I walk you out." Lucifer strained a smile, interrupting everything and he aggressively, but not forcibly, led Venna away.


    She just giggled, waving goodbye to me.


    Behind him, Nuwa and some of the Gods were sharing a smallugh between themselves.


    Huh, it was weird seeing Gods being so....teasing? Comical? Just being...normal, I suppose. It''s not like they were degrading their images in any way amongst the crowd, but they were still finding the humor in the situation.


    A nice contrast to the atmosphere from but a few minutes ago when Kronos appeared.


    It wasn''t like there was anything to immediately jump on because of that, so they were taking it easy. That, and Gods don''t really move with haste most of the time. They are beings that perceive time much differently than even someone like me.


    "We should go." Sc¨¢thach spoke. "We came with a different motive than this gathering intended. Let us depart lest our presence cause other problems."


    "If you have to." I relented. "Love you." I sneaked in.


    She wasn''t really focused on me, but her head snapped to me with her full attention. And ever so slightly, a little bit of pink crept up onto her cheeks. "....I love you as well." She huffed, barely more than whisper.


    So cute.


    "Be careful." Raikou kissed my cheek. "If you are in trouble, please call for help."


    "If I encounter any real trouble, I''ll make sure to reach out." I reassured her.


    Just as Raikou was about to break her hand away from mine, someone I didn''t expect was nearly looming over us. Granted, he was still several feet away, but the way he moved and crossed the distance from where he was standing, I can''t believe I didn''t even notice him.


    Raikou seemed to have noticed him only now as well.


    "...Father." She said softly.


    Indra trembled. He sort of reached out to her, but stopped himself mid way.


    I honestly didn''t know much about Indra beyond the most basic myths and legends. Hindu Mythology was not something I ever delved too strongly into.


    But despite any myths that depicted him negatively, and my own dislike for him, I believed he was someone who truly cared about his children.


    Confusion was evident by his expression.


    Hearing about an ''unknown'' daughter of his running around and seeing ¨C feeling her was an entirely different matter.


    Her Divinity was no doubt a beacon to his own. She may as well be holding up a big neon sign dering herself the Daughter of Indra.


    "What is your name?" His tone almost sounded....fatherly.


    "Minamoto-no-Raikou." My Servant replied.


    He looked at her, mouth open, and the Hindu God found himself unable to respond properly. Frankly, she was one of the major reasons Indra even appeared in Japan. Sure, he probably used the excuse of that soul or whatever when he went to Yomi, and probably even intended to do whatever it was he was there for. But he made it clear that his anger and attention was due to someone running around with ''his'' Divine power.


    That is to say, a Demi-God of his.


    His Child, that he had no idea about until that moment.


    "Come home with me." He suddenly said, "There is a spot in Svarga for you. You have many siblings that will wee you with open arms."


    Raikou shook her head, squeezing my hand tightly.


    Raikou craved familial affection. It was one of the driving points of what warped her personality so heavily. So....that must have hit her deeply, to be offered something like that without any strings attached.


    Indra looked at her, following her hand in mine, and finally to me.


    In any other situation, I may have verbally shot at Indra. Because it''s rare for a chance to be in a situation where it''s possible. But this was Raikou''s moment, and I wasn''t going to ruin it.


    "....does he treat you well?"


    "Yes." Raikou smiled beautifully.


    I could see Indra clench his jaw as he looked at me again. To say he was biting his tongue would be an understatement. But as our eyes met, there seemed to be an understanding that whatever issues we had would be put aside when around her.


    Indra just silently nodded, opting not to say anything else.


    Instead, he raised his hand up, and the two Gods he brought with him were at his side with haste. He turned to look at the others. "I made my stance clear, and what I require. The specifics can be sent to us and I will review themter."


    "Later, Purple Rain." Odin said his own goodbyes.


    Indra nearly stumbled over himself, and it was obvious that it took immense self-control for him to not react to Odin.


    He gathered up his younger minions, and with a burst of lightning, he left. Thest moment before he departed, his gazended on Raikou one more time.


    Raikou was squeezing my hand tightly throughout.


    "Are you okay?" I whispered.


    "Yes." She continued to smile. "I am very happy right now." She said as she pulled away. "I will go join Sc¨¢thach and Venna." She nced at Jeanne who was silently at my side. "Sorry for intruding on your time. Please enjoy the remainder of your date."


    "D-date!? It''s not a date." She squeaked out. An easy button for people to press with her it seems.


    Well, it looks like we aren''t needed.


    I grabbed her arm yfully. "Come on, I got one more thing I gotta do and then I wanna take you somewhere else."


    "Wha ¨C " Jeanne paused. "L-Lady Gabriel!" She looked at an adorable Angel bashfully inching towards her.


    "T-this is for you." The Archangel said, handing over a little letter. "Please read itter!" She quickly ran back over to the other Archangel.


    ....that just happened?


    [You know, it''s funny.]


    What?


    [That Archangel has a higher kill count than probably most of the Gods in this room.] Ddraig stated.


    .....well then.


    Jeanne looked at the letter in her hand, then to me. She held it up, and made a pitiful noise.


    "Why don''t I hold onto it for now?" I offered.


    She nodded, and I put it away in my ring so she didn''t need to be carrying it with her at the moment.


    And thenter.....I would help her read it.


    "Hey, we''re going to be heading out." I threw a heads up towards Odin.


    Odin shooed me away as he was talking with Nuwa.


    I shrugged as they saw me, but they knew my stance already. I wasn''t going to join whatever it is they were doing, so they probably stopped caring about me.


    "When you have time,e visit my pce." I felt Nuwa''s voice tickle my ears.


    I looked up to see her smile lightly out of the corner of my eyes as she nced my way.


    "Huh, can you hear me?" I said very softly.


    "A small spell." Her giggle was rather beautiful. And it was despite her carrying on a conversation with others. "You can bring some of those women by your side too if you want."


    "Yeah, I think I''m keeping my girls far away from you." I deadpanned.


    Her giggle continued.


    "Will?" Jeanne tugged on my sleeve.


    "Sorry, was having a small talk with Nuwa." I waived it off. "Come on." I held my arm out and she happily epted.


    [***]


    Jeanne D'' Arc POV


    This was...amazing.


    I didn''t know how else to describe it.


    I mean, it was so chaotic for a while. Then things happened! And so many different people.


    And I met Angels!


    I wanted to tell everyone back home, it was so amazing! And the Archangel gave me a letter, me!


    .....but I can''t read it.


    But I knew that Will can help me! Maybe after his relentless teasing, but he''s a good person, so he wouldn''t reject if I asked!


    I happily followed Wilhelm as he led me back towards that group of people around his age. His....Aunt? I think it was.


    The woman with the Red hair, and her friends that he was...not so nice to.


    I didn''t know all the details, but Wilhelm wasn''t normally so aggressive like that. He can be mean with his words sometimes, but it''s usually more...yful? Without actual hate, but this time, it sounded like he really didn''t like them.


    I didn''t say anything, because he did say some things that sounded like advice? But also I didn''t feel like it was proper since I didn''t know all the details.


    Her and her friends didn''t look all too happy to see us....and I couldn''t really me them.


    "Miss us already?" The ck-haired girl with the long ponytail stared down Wilhelm. "And here I thought you didn''t like us~"


    "I''m sorry." Wilhelm apologized.


    I was surprised and happy that this is what he was doing.


    e again?"


    Wilhelm took a deep breath. "You all didn''t deserve....most of what I said."


    "Most?" Was her name Rias?


    "It''s the best you''re getting from me."


    "I''ll take it." Rias said dryly. "Does that mean we''re.....good?"


    Wilhelm paused. "No."


    "....oh." She looked down.


    ".....Maybe....some time in the future, down the road."


    She slowly brightened up, smiling lightly. "That''s better than I hoped."


    Wilhelm let out another sigh. "Issei Hyoudou."


    "What do you want, damn handsome?" He scoffed.


    ....why was he calling Wilhelm Handsome?


    It....was urate....erm...objectively.


    Not because I thought he was handsome!


    Regardless of the thoughts Mother tried to fill my head with!


    "Your Aura is like a muscle. Work it out, break it down from getting hit, learn to utilize it efficiently. It can also be molded in certain ways to be a powerful tool inbat."


    "....oh?" The boy blinked. "Thank...you?"


    Wilhelm nodded. "And your name is...."


    "Koneko." The small, white-haired girl hissed....almost like a cat.


    "I don''t know why you dislike training Senjutsu, and it''s not really my ce to say anything, but your species was practically built for it. If there''s some sort of hangup about it, you can always reach out to some experts to teach you or learn more about it beforehand. Not just Youkai either. Druids from Ennd utilize Senjutsu, albeit in a different way. Many different societies have their own forms."


    The small girl just stared at Wilhelm nkly, and he looked back, making it seem kind of awkward before he shook his head and turned to thest boy.


    "Kiba." Wilhelm stated. "If you have trouble thinking of good usages for your Sacred Gear, just copy everyone else. I''m not quite sure what the limit of it is, but I''m positive that you haven''t evene close to it yet. So....push the boundary as much as possible. Divine Weapons? Copy them until you have an arsenal that will make a God jealous."


    "Thank you for your advice." The boy smiled in return.


    Wilhelm nodded his head.


    "Any advice for me?" The ck-haired girl put her hands on her hips with an amused grin.


    "Pick a good stripper name?" He replied without missing a beat. "Oww." He let out as I hit him on the shoulder. "Fine. I have no idea what your deal is honestly. But You''re supposed to be her ¨C " He pointed to Rias. "General? You need to lead. Or be able to takemand in her absence. Your group is a mess, and I say that after apologizing and trying to be more polite."


    She stared at Wilhelm for a long moment. "You couldn''t handle me." She finally said.


    "Probably because I don''t carry enough singles on me." Wilhelm shot back.


    Her lips twitched into a feral-like grin. "I''m going to step on you some day."


    "I have no response to that." Wilhelm somehow said without looking foolish.


    "And do you have anything to say to me, Schweinorg?" The other ck-haired girl with sses was ring at him.


    "....who are you?"


    She looked like she was about to explode before Wilhelm grabbed me and pulled me through an abrupt portal.


    I nearly stumbled as my heel touched the pavement, but Wilhelm caught me before I fell.


    "That was mean." I looked at him.


    "She''ll get over it." Wilhelm sounded dismissive. "Whoever she is."


    I hit his shoulder again.


    "Oww." He whined.


    "I didn''t hit you hard." I puffed up and hit his shoulder again. "But you did a good thing by apologizing. I''m proud of you. It takes a lot of effort to admit when you did something wrong and make amends." I told him. ".....even if it could use some work."


    "Mmm."


    "Hey, I''m serious!"


    "Meh."


    "Stoppppp"


    "Cute."


    "Neh!?" Why would you suddenly say that!!! Meanie! I looked around and noticed we were in some kind of neighborhood. "Where did you take me?"


    "Some dark alley, so I can do naughty things with you~"


    "D-don''t say something like that!" I hit him many more times.


    ....Mother said I''m not allowed to do naughty things secretly in public until after I''m married....


    Ah! I can''t tell him that!


    "But seriously, we visited your childhood homest time, I thought we''d visit mine this time." He said, and I looked to see where he was staring.


    It was....a burned down house that looked abandoned for quite a white now.


    "Ah.....I''m sorry." I quickly said, realizing that something was wrong.


    "Mmm." Wilhelm looked...sad.


    I....should try to cheer him up?


    "Well...I guess we''re both of our homes went up in mes?" I smiled.


    "....did you just make a joke about the fact that my childhood home was burned down?"


    "N-no, I didn''t mean it like that! I...that''s ¨C "


    He suddenly burst out intoughter. "I was the one who burned it down."


    "Y-you meanie!" I hit him a bunch more times. "I thought I said something to make you feel bad!!"


    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry! Stop hitting me." He tried to shield himself, but I kept hitting him.


    "I''m mad at you!"


    "Please don''t be mad, I don''t like seeing mad Jeanne."


    "No!"


    "Please?"


    ".....well, alright." I relented. "But I''m not happy."


    "How about a hug?"


    "....okay." I wanted a hug.


    It felt...nice, to have his arms around me.


    Hugs are nice.


    "Hey, Will.....why did you burn your house down?" I asked.


    "That''s...a long story." He sighed, releasing me. "I guess I was angry. Still am, probably. I hated this ce, it was where I lived for arge part of my life, but it was never my home. And I burned it down on one of the happiest days of my life."


    "....if no one got hurt, I guess I can''t say it''s wrong for you to be so happy that you burned the house down...."


    "No, burning it was just something I did on a whim and in the moment." He shook his head. "What happened was the start of my adventure. It was because of this that I found Meridia, the first person after my mom that I ever loved." He looked nostalgic. "It was the start of each step I took as I met everyone important in my life. And even as I ended up here with you."


    "I''m....someone important?''


    "Of course." He answered without a second thought.


    "Hehe." I felt something warm creeping up my cheeks. "Thank you...for everything. I had a lot of fun tonight."


    "Even if it wasn''t as intended?"


    "Well....that''s not entirely your fault."


    "Are you seriously cing me with me!?"


    "I''ll subtract 30% of it."


    "You''re saying I''m 70% responsible for everything that happened?" He stared.


    "Sounds about right." I nodded happily.


    "Bullshit!"


    "We can ask the others!"


    ".....that''s not fair."


    Hah! I know how to win now! I just have to use your H-harem against you!


    Gah!


    I can''t believe he''s with so many women! It should be immoral and....and bad, but....everyone''s so happy!


    .....and they''re so nice to me.


    "Hey, Will..." scooted closer to him.


    "Hmm?"


    "Can you....please read the letter to me? I really want to see what the Angel wrote to me." I hesitantly asked, knowing he was going to tease me.


    "I have a theory."


    "Eh?"


    "Hear me out." He lightly poked my nose. "I have a theory that once you pick up a singlenguage, your innate servant abilities will kick in and you will be able to handle everynguage like a normal servant."


    "What...are you saying?" I looked at him.


    "What I''m saying is." He took out the letter. "How about I teach you?"


    "You would really do that" Why was my heart beating faster?


    "Of course."


    "Ah..." I didn''t know what to say and I felt my face bing hot, so I just buried it into his shoulder. "...thank you."


    "Of course." I felt his arm go around me, and for some reason, I didn''t want it to leave.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 472: Interlude 33

    <h4>Chapter 472: Interlude 33</h4>


    Azazel POV


    "Whew, I''m d that''s over!" I practically copsed onto the couch. "We should celebrate a job well done! Celebration orgy!"


    "No." Serafall deadpanned.


    "Azazel, stop fooling around." Michael looked the same.


    Gabriel just looked aloof.


    "What about you, Red?" I asked.


    "I''m happily married, thank you." Red rolled his eyes.


    "You guys suck." I huffed. "But seriously, I think everything went well!"


    "Before or after we were attacked by a God and both my Sister and Serafall''s sister were nearly killed along with a bunch of other people that came as guests?" Lucy said dryly.


    "We will have to thank the Youkai officially." Michael mused. "I did not realize the extent of the help provided until I talked to my people in depth."


    "Yeah..." I let out a sigh, slumping further in my seat. "Heard he saved Vali''s head, literally. I need to have a talk with him, he''s too ready to jump into a fight." I shook my head. "How''s damage going on your guys'' end, Michael. Actually, I never asked about what was happening after the whole ''peace'' thing was brokered either."


    Michael grimaced. "Not everyone was happy about a peace agreement between our factions."


    "Us either." Serafall snorted. "But I could imagine your end got it worse."


    Michael nodded. "A significant portion of our established Exorcists were close to rebelling. I sent Uriel down to quell their anger."


    "....Michael, I don''t wanna tell you how to leader your faction..."


    "Brother, I''m not a fool." Michael deadpanned. Which...was more expressive than I''ve seen him in awhile. It''s good to get him off Dad''s chair every now and then. "Uriel was the best choice because he finally agreed with our decision, and he shared the same sentiments with those who desired continued hostilities."


    "So we shouldn''t expect a random invasion of Exorcists that broke off from the Church?" Serafall eyed him.


    "I....admit that such a thing is a possibility, but the majority of it has been...stymied. Uriel did well to keep them held to the same beliefs while also epting a peaceful coexistence."


    Well, we can''t really fault him for some fanatics breaking off and doing their own things. Shit, we all have to do deal with that crap. The instant the Devils want to throw stones, we can just point at the Old Devil Faction.


    Not to mention my own little group that nearly caused another Great War not too long ago.


    What a mess.


    "How''d Uriel convince them? His Charisma basically starts and ends at skewering the enemies of Heaven on his ming sword." I pointed out.


    "Ah....well..." Michael scratched his head. "He worded it in an interesting way."


    "...I''m hesitantly curious."


    "He said, and I''ll paraphrase ¨C ''We do not have to live together with the Hell-Spawn. They are and will always be our enemies, but we now need not fear their invasions into our homes as they did before. But make no mistake, this is merely empty titudes on the surface. The only change now is that we no longer kill any hellspawn on sight. Keep your swords sharp, and your spear close at hand, for there will stille a day in the near future you will need them.''"


    "...Not as bad as I thought." Serafall admitted. "And that''s basically all we really wanted."


    Right, no more kill first, ask questions never. Instead, they''ll beat the shit out of any Devils thate into Church and Heaven territory, then interrogate them before figuring out where to go from there.


    Which.....is admittedly a huge step up.


    Obviously, borders are still strict, there''s just not an open killing anymore on either side.


    Mostly.


    I think only my people were happy across the board. Sure, there were some idiots who whined andined about not being able to kill Devils anymore, but....we weren''t really doing that in the first ce? And obviously no more tempting Angels and Church people so tantly.


    Which opens up the problem of recruitment.


    We''re going to need to make a think-tank to figure out where to go from here.


    But that''s forter.


    "And what about Kronos announcing that Father kicked the bucket?" I finally asked.


    Michael winced. "The ones we brought already knew...."


    "Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "That''s weird, the Church is usually really bad at forcing secrets to be kept."


    Michael frowned, but didn''t deny it. "We told them beforehand. Father Strada did well to speak to them and help them ovee their own difficulties."


    "You should just make him the pope." I said offhandedly.


    "....That''s not how it works." Michael sighed.


    I shrugged. "I could make it happen if you wanted. Just a little dab of something something into the current pope''s wine ss, and whispering into some ears when they choose the next one~"


    "Azazel." Gabriel''s tone was...oddly stern. "If you hurt Grandpa, I''m going to get very upset."


    Did she still call him Grandpa?


    Jeez, I still remember when he was still a kid trying his best not to ogle her boobs, and now he''s like a Grandfather to her...


    "I was joking." I put my hands up. "You could always have the literal living Saintess be the first female pope."


    Well, my joke was met with nk faces from both Michael and Gabriel.


    Holy shit, were they considering it?


    No....


    "Uh....so what''s the deal with that?" Serafall asked. "I didn''t want to y 20 questions in the middle of...everything, but yeah."


    "We...don''t know." Michael admitted. "It was without a doubt her, but It''s too strange."


    "Starting to be a pattern here..." I tapped my chin. "First off, why didn''t you tell me that your mom had Mozart as her Queen, Red?"


    "It was supposed to be a secret for now..." the new Lucifer sighed.


    "Well, it''s atleast taking a back seat to the fact that your mom nted a big sloppy one on your son." Serafall mused.


    "Hah, is that going viral?" I chuckled.


    "Oh yeah, there are pictures of it everywhere. Someone was recording, or a few people were, inside." Serafall grinned.


    Nice!


    I''ll need to check out the Devilter.


    Frankly, I didn''t really think it was that big of a deal. So what if Mama Gremory was banging his son. But ittled Red, so I kept bringing it up every time I could. I don''t know why, but seeing him squirm whenever we mentioned how his mom was spreading her legs for his bastard was just so satisfying.


    "Can we focus on the issue at hand?" Red sighed in exasperation.


    "I would like to stop hearing about certain proclivities, please." Michael smiled awkwardly.


    "I don''t understand." Gabriel tilted her head. "What''s wrong?"


    "Um..." Serafall mored.


    "Red''s son, and mom are doing the horizontal tango." I replied.


    "....." Gabriel still looked at me nkly.


    "They''re having sex and in a romantic rtionship." I spelled it out more clearly.


    "Oh." Her eyes lit up in understanding, but she immediately lost interest.


    A lot of people seem to think Gabriel is some pure and naive woman, which isn''t entirely the case. Sure, euphemisms go way over her head 99% of the time, but she''s more than aware of what sex is. She just has almost zero interest in that kind of thing, so it''s pointless to bring it up with her.


    She''s older than dirt and has watched humans fuck each other over the generations. It''s barely going to faze her at this point.


    Not to say she can''t get flustered, but there''s sort of a detachment from it normally. It needs a more personal touch to get past her initial boundaries.


    Shit, there was someone who unintentionally did her a favor some years ago and she went to reward them. He asked her for her panties, she just took them off then and there and handed them to him with a smile.


    "But yeah, we''re getting off track." I waved my hand. As much as I loved to make Red ufortable over there, and I never thought I would have to consider this, we had bigger problems than Mama Gremory''s boobs. "Right, Mozart, what the hell? You know I''m a huge fan, why didn''t you tell me!?"


    "What were we supposed to do, Azzy? Just announce it to the world?" Serafall rolled her eyes. "It''s already being whispered behind closed doors because we set up that thing to register new peerage members. But Momma Gremory having a long dead musician as her Queen? That''s not going to go over smoothly."


    "Fair." I acknowledged her point. "But is it really him? I mean, I don''t want to sound insulting, just want to double check."


    "Believe me, I checked." Lucy grumbled.


    "Oh right, didn''t you try to recruit him back when he was alive?" I blinked in realization.


    Hah, no wonder he was salty.


    If I remembered, his family were big music aficionados.


    "Yes." Sirzechs looked like he wanted to stomp on the ground and say it wasn''t fair. "So trust me when I say, that I verified that it''s him."


    "Shit." Was all I could say.


    "I remember him. I recall he was a believer, but he never appeared in Heaven. I went to one of his performances before and I admired his talent." Michael smiled wistfully.


    "He said he sold his soul to Music." Serafall snorted.


    Hah, that''s funny.


    Michael seemed like he forced himself not to chuckle too.


    But fuck!


    "Alright, so can we do a head count?" I held a hand up. "We got the big titty Japanese woman, The big titty Scottish woman, Mozart, and now the big titty Saintess."


    "Azazel, must you say it like that?" Michael sighed.


    "Azazel, be nice." Gabriel pouted. "Jeanne is a nice girl, and I don''t want you to speak about her like that."


    "Alright, jeez." I huffed. "You sound protective. Well, oddly, more protective."


    Michael''s expression softened. "She always admired Jeanne D''Arc greatly. In fact, she handed her a letter right before ¨C


    "Ah, don''t say it!" Gabriel quickly went to shut her brother up, and she was looking adorably bashful.


    "Wait, what''s going on?" I needed to hear this.


    "Hnn." Gabriel whined with another pout. "I just...asked her if she wanted to be friends..." She whispered.


    Father''s empty throne....that''s way too cute and I don''t even want to tease her.


    Alright, Curvy Saintess is off the table in front of Gabriel.


    Gabby needs more friends that won''t hurt her.


    "So we got four people who should be dead popping up around Lucifer Jr." I switched back to the topic. "Anyone else think there''s something going on there." I was guessing that Mozart had something to do with him considering the obvious there.


    "None of us are stupid, Azzy." Serafall replied. "Ajuka already brought this up before the whole Saintess thing. We''ve been looking into it ourselves."


    "...and?"


    "Well, it''s not like we have much to go on. We had some people check out where they were supposedly buried, which doesn''t really tell us much in of itself..."


    Yeah, that wasn''t really any evidence or anything like that.


    Ugh.


    They were all confirmed too. Sc¨¢thach by Lugh, the Saintess by Michael and Gabriel and, well...I couldn''t doubt her existence either. She had far too much of Father''s blessing, which raised even more questions. But that wasn''t something the Devils needed to concern themselves about. Especially with her apparently calling upon Father''s power to protect the Church people from Kronos''s attack.


    That was something that we''re scratching our heads about.


    It''s almost like....she tapped into Father''s system somehow.


    Regardless, thoughts forter.


    Mozart was now confirmed by them, which I didn''t have any reason to doubt.


    Andstly, the busty Japanese woman was confirmed by Indra himself. Right in the middle of the hall he dered her his daughter.


    Shit, he even invited her back to his home without even a second thought.


    Seems like there are a lot of vtile things popping up all of the sudden.


    "So we got nothing then." I frowned.


    Well, that isn''t entirely urate. I haven''t spent much thought on it, but.....I may have a few ideas worth looking into. Some of them sound crazy to even mention, but too many odd things are happening around Red''s bastard to stick with just the usible at this point.


    It''s time to start looking into it properly.


    "I''m guessing that Momma Gremory is being tight lipped?"


    Serafall scowled. "She definitely knows, but she isn''t saying anything. And apparently she got pissed at Red when he tried to push it."


    Sirzechs didn''t say anything, but his expression did more than enough to confirm what she said.


    "There may be an opportunity..." Sirzechs said lightly. "Mother invited me to a dinner...and she''s bringing him along."


    "Oh wow." I blinked. "I can feel the awkwardness from here."


    "You''re telling me." Serafall snorted.


    Well, let''s see if he finds out anything of value.


    My money is on him just scowling silently the whole time. That''s basically been his default every time his Bastard is around.


    Huh, I wonder how Grayfia will react. She''s been.....distant too. Not that I spend much time paying attention to her other than to see if her skirt flips up high enough.


    The more I think about it, the more I want to be a fly on the wall as I listen in on them.


    "Can you record it?"


    "Azazel, don''t make me hit you." Red looked at me.


    "Fine, fine." I rolled my eyes. "So, how''s the situation on your end? Ajuka and the Baldie haven''te back yet, yeah?"


    "We got an update a few minutes ago." Serafall nodded, and everyone got a bit more serious for the main topic. "From what we''ve discovered, every major entrance to the underworld was attacked except for the ones under the Fallen Angels. It was brief and already over by the time we even left the building, and the damage itself was minimal."


    "I''m going to jump the gun here and say that we absolutely had no hand in this. If I was going to pull something like this off, I would attack our own as well to throw you guys off." I quickly defended ourselves.


    "Rx, we know you aren''t involved." Serafall huffed.


    "And what was the objective?" Michael interlocked his fingers, looking deeply contemtive. "This whole situation is odd. Kronos was....is a Tyrant of legendary proportions. I do not see him as being someone who is whimsical in his actions."


    Serafall and Sirzechs looked at each other silently.


    "Alright, we''ll talk about a few things." Red relented. "We had some information we hadn''t shared yet. Stuff we got from....interrogating some of the Old Satan Faction people."


    "....and?" I asked.


    "We don''t know." Sirzechs frowned. "We hadpiled all the pertinent information, and held the prisoners and.....they''re now dead and the stuff we gained was destroyed. They hit where we kept them and where we stored a bunch of the evidence we gathered."


    "Guys..." I let out a long groan. "Did you really hold back important stuff like that?"


    "Hey, we didn''t know it was important. We barely even got anything valuable enough that led to leads." Serafall defended themselves. "It''s not like you all send over every scrap of information you uncover about mutual enemies."


    ....true.


    Buttely, you guys have been dropping the ball heavily.


    Not that I''m really one to throw stones with Kokabiel, but the point still stands.


    "So there was something you had that you didn''t perceive as important, but that the Khaos Brigade thought important enough to initiate an operation of this scale to silence?" Michael summarized.


    "So it would seem." Sirzechs nodded.


    I pushed my annoyance to the side. "That opens up the possibility that they''re working on more levels than we realize. If something slipped through your notice, we need to double our efforts to look into even smaller scale incidents."


    Which was disconcerting in of itself. We already know they infiltrated probably every major Faction on the, but to know that even holding some smoking gun wasn''t enough to point a finger was.....it was bad.


    I guess it''s entirely possible that this was a false g and we''re still missing the main point, but what are we supposed to do?


    We''re so far into the dark that we''re grasping at anything we can.


    "Well, let''s look at the bright side." Serafall pped her hands. "The fact that Kronos attacked us sort of united everyone, right? Even Zeus was being amicable. Not to mention Indra...."


    Miracles can still apparently happen even after Dad retired to the farm.


    "So....how about we talk about who to send to this team." I leaned in. "And I''m vetoing both Rias and Sona, those two are far from being ready."


    We hadn''t really decided on who was going to participate from all sides, only that we agreed that it was going to happen. They still need to represent our factions as a whole, and frankly, those two girls were nowhere near up to the task.


    "Dick."


    "Dick."


    They both said nearly instantaneously.


    "I''ll tell you what, if either of them canst against Vali for 5 minutes, I''ll retract my words." I offered.


    They both huffed and turned away.


    Thought so.


    Still, this was going to be a long talk now. We had to be united even more than before.


    I just hope I can get the juicy details about this whole ''Dinner'' thingter from someone.


    [***]


    Loki POV


    Oh what a wonderful day!


    The sun is shining.


    Well, the moon is.


    But it''s the thought that counts.


    And a few annoying Devils are bleeding at my feet.


    For some reason, they came down with a terrible case of knives in the back of their heads.


    It seems to be rather contagious. And oddly enough, all reported cases have the same source of infection, running their mouths when they really shouldn''t.


    Odd thing that is.


    I hummed as I cleaned off my dagger of the blood it had somehow umted.


    "Apologies, what were you saying?" I nced back up at one of the few Devils I actually had a smidgen of respect for.


    Good old Rizevim didn''t even bat an eye as I mutted some of his annoying subordinates.


    To be fair, they were just nameless nobodies. Not even of their sacred ''Pir families'' or such other nonsense.


    "I asked if you had acquired the eye." He sounded bored.


    "Why, my dear friend, I certainly have." I happily tossed it onto the table between us. "The Titan King was more than willing to lend his aid."


    "Hmm." Was his casual reply. "No trouble from him?"


    "Mildly, but it''s to be expected." I waived it off. "He doesn''t trust us ¨C for good reason ¨C but he''s willing to lend a hand. Aligning motivations and all that."


    "As long as he doesn''t cause problems."


    Well, chaotic pieces are useful in their own ways. Even I can''t predict how he will always act, let alone our enemies~


    "By the way, I think I cracked that research you asked me to look into." I have to admit, his former subordinate....what was his name? Euclide..? Whatever it was. He was a very intelligent man. "We just need one of those Sacred Gears with something tangible inside to test it with."


    His research into copying Sacred Gears was innovative, I must say.


    Obviously there were significant ws with his logic and skills, but it saved me a lot of time if I were to do it myself.


    "I will find a suitable one." He responded emotionlessly.


    "And how goes the Holy Grail?" I slid into a seat, propping my chin up. "I''ve always been oh so curious about that little trinket."


    To think that the Biblical God would imbue an object with his own Divine Authority and willingly allow mortals to wield it.


    "The Vampire girl is weak." Rizevim frowned. "It will take some time to reach the state we need."


    "Why not just take it from her?" I was surprised he didn''t do so already.


    "More convenient." He said simply.


    I shrugged.


    If he said so, I would believe it. He wouldn''t be squeamish about ripping out a little girl''s soul in the slightest.


    "I''ll be starting on the next n." I tapped my fingers. "Pandora''s Box has enough malice now."


    "Do you still intend to elerate the decline of the World Tree?" His eyes shed briefly.


    "Of course." I smiled happily. "Ragnarok has been held off for far too long."


    "I will watch the show then."


    "I hope you enjoy it."


    It''s always nice to find like minded people.


    It''s funny, I knew I could trust himpletely. Someone who wouldn''t even think twice about killing their own sibling if it meant they got a step closer to any goal they desired.


    Simply because, we wanted the same thing and we wouldn''t step on each others toes. His goals and mine didn''t perfectly align, but at the end of the day, either was fine with us.


    "How are you going to use the eye if the Grail isn''t up to par yet?"


    "I will use mother." He replied, once more without much expression.


    Hmm, how diabolical.


    Even I wouldn''t use my mother in such a way. Yet this Devil would use his mother''s mutated and disgusting body to resurrect a long Dead God.


    What a pitiful woman.


    I wasn''t even sure her consciousnesspletely disappeared.


    She''s probably still trapped in endless torment inside her own mind if she hadn''t broken yet.


    And he simply doesn''t care.


    Maybe he''s more ruthless than even I am? Because I still love my mother dearly.


    "Oh, before I forget." I snapped my fingers, producing the orb that good old Kronos gave me. "The Titan king was kind enough to give me this. I know you''ve been interested in that Half-Devil recently."


    For the first time, he visibly reacted. Actually smiling, and expressing eagerness. "Thank you."


    ....weird.


    But who am I to judge someone''s tastes?


    He''s a thorn in my side, so if Rizevim wants to y some games with him, by all means. I was about to bring up the details of the whole ''team'' thing that those allied factions seemed keen on, but I decided to ignore it.


    A bunch of children were beneath our notice.


    Perhaps I''ll have a use for them in the future, but for now, I wouldn''t put much thought into it.


    Odin definitely had a hand in things, and I had no idea what he was nning, so I wouldn''t make toorge a move on an obvious piece of his.


    I would just keep an eye on them for now and see what they get up to.


    Well, let''s see what Odin''s next move is.


    Because if he doesn''t have anything, Yggdrasil is going to burn.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    We also have a Boosty under the same name for those who can''t use the above website.

 Chapter 473 - 429

    <h4>Chapter 473: Chapter 429</h4>


    "What are you doing?" Rin sat down next to me.


    "Hmm, what?" I blinked her way.


    "You''ve been like, staring off into space for a while now."


    "Just thinking."


    "Did ya hurt yourself?" It was Mordred this time who plopped down on my other side, casually leaning back.


    "Funny."


    "Yeah, I''m a fucking riot." She rolled her eyes.


    "I was just taking the time to think." I replied. "It''s been a while since I''ve sat down and just enjoyed this."


    "And by this, you mean...?"


    "The fact that I have a harem." I saidpletely seriously.


    I was watching as the majority of my girls were hanging around, not really doing anything in particr, but just being friendly with one another. Salem and Meridia were absent, but that wasn''t really surprising.


    Meridia, obviously, was for the obvious reason. But Salem was much more anti-social, and it would take time to break her out of her shell. But even then, she probably wasn''t someone who would have ever been bubbly.


    "God, you''re such a cunt." Mordred snorted.


    "You jealous, MoeMoe?" I grinned.


    "I will fucking stab you if you call me that again." She growled.


    I reached over and patted her on the head. She swiped at my hand a few times, but eventually she reluctantly gave in.


    "What''s wrong Rin? You also Jealous?" I elbowed her slightly because she looked like she sucked a lemon.


    She was more or less like a sister figure to me, if I didn''t tease her, what was the point? Gramps''s student, Artoria''s closest friend.....should I call her sister-inw?


    "Fuck off, Schweinorg." She crossed her arms with a huff. "Not everyone is a horndog like you."


    "Don''t be like that Rin. Find anyone that catches your eye? Do you want help? There''s no need to rush into anything, you have your entire life ahead of you, but I can set you up with some people if you''re interested. Boy, or Girls, whatever you prefer." I was...half teasing her.


    "S-shut up." She flushed slightly.


    Hah.


    "What about you, MoeMoe? You looking for a partner? Boys? Girls? Interested in anyone?"


    "You really have a death wish, don''t you?" She red.


    I made a bring it on gesture.


    She scoffed, crossing her arms like Rin was. "Well if ya backed down from a threat, I''d kick your ass. Father deserves better than some pussy bitch."


    "Mhmm." She was changing the subject.


    "Fuck, I don''t know." She huffed, cutely breaking eye contact. "I ain''t never thought about that sort of thing."


    I shifted gears. "You don''t have to. You''re free to do whatever you want, however you want." I patted her head again, much to her chagrin. "If you ever start considering it, I''ll help you however I can." I smiled.


    I was teasing her, but I wouldn''t actually push beyond certain lines. I didn''t want to make her ufortable after all. If she was seriously struggling with the idea of any kind of romantic rtionship, I wouldn''t dwell on it just to get a reaction out of her.


    Her life wasplicated enough without me forcing my own perspective onto her.


    Let her figure it out herself in her own time.


    She did rx slightly.


    "How has Skyrim been treating you both?" I asked.


    "I like it." Mordred perked up with a casual grin. "The Necromancer Bastard''s been liking it too. That thing you gave him that lets him teleport is bullshit."


    "The what, oh the Sacred Gear?" I forgot about that in all honesty. The one I got from that Magician when I rescued Venna. I didn''t even know its name and it was one of the lowest tiers without any directbat ability. Though, the ability to teleport in line of sight was significant to any proper battle hardened Magus like Mordred''s Master.


    "Yeah, that thing." She nodded. "Fuck, you should see him. He makes these bomb things out of Hearts he gets from things he kills, right? Well, we killed one of those nasty trolls and he cut the heart out and made it into a bomb. Shit blew up like half a forest we were in!" She threw her hands up excitedly. "He almost died, but it was fucking awesome!"


    It''s easy to forget that Mordred was actually very young mentally. Her growth was forced, and she was technically less than 10 years old. She was forced to mature at a rapid rate by her mother, so that left some imprints on her mentality.


    She slipped into this kid-like state sometimes, and I couldn''t help but indulge her when she did.


    It also showed that she wasfortable enough around us too.


    "So he''s just teleporting around dropping bombs on things?" I asked.


    "It''s hrious!" Sheughed. "And then he''ll just pop some assholes in the face with his shotgun and they have no idea what''s happening!"


    Even Rin was smiling a bit.


    "Find anything big enough to give you trouble?"


    "I wish." Mordred huffed. "We mostly just go into some old tomb or something. I like getting all the Gold and shit. It means I can buy more food and stuff. But I want a challenge! It''s not fair that those other bastards got to fight Dragons!"


    "You haven''t found a single dragon?" I responded.


    "Well..." She looked downtrodden. "We found one that was attacking some town. But It tried to run as soon as it saw me running over. The assholes." She pouted, and it was adorable.


    "Well, If I was that dragon, I''d probably run away too if you came over screaming in excitement while waving around rent." I pointed out.


    "....I wasn''t screaming in excitement." She flushed a tiny bit.


    Righttttt.


    "But you did good, you saved that vige, right?"


    "Of course." She puffed her chest up. "I''m just pissed that I only managed to knick the edge of its wing!" She looked down. "I wanted to give the corpse to Father."


    Jesus Christ, this girl was way too cute.


    "Have you told her yet?"


    "Of course not, why would I tell Father about my failure?" She scoffed.


    "I think, that Artoria would be thrilled to hear about how you chased away a dragon and saved a bunch of people."


    "Hmph." Mordred huffed. "...I guess I''ll tell Fatherter."


    I pat her head one more time before standing up. "Speaking of your Father, I should go say hi."


    "Oh God, are you gonna go flirt." Mordred bleched.


    "Do you even have to ask?" Rin rolled her eyes.


    I just chuckled, and walked over to where my girls were standing around.


    They noticed me, but they were still focused on their own things. So, I just walked up, and swept Artoria up into my arms.


    She made a cute little sound of surprise, but settled in my arms. "Did you do something to Mordred and Rin?" She looked at me.


    "Maybe." I kissed her head.


    "Don''t tease them too much." She smiled lightly.


    "No promises." I put my chin on top of her head. "What''re you girls talking about?"


    "This and that." Yasaka said cryptically.


    "We were talking about you." Jinn smiled.


    "It''s all bad things, of course." Izzy added.


    "Of course." I nodded. "Raikou, were they talking about me behind my back?"


    "Yes, Master." Raikou smiled happily.


    "Jeez, you even corrupted her?" I was mildly surprised.


    "Fear not, Student. If we have something bad to say, you will know it." Sc¨¢thach lightly patted my cheek.


    It sounded ominous when she said it.


    "Oh stop fussing." Venna giggled. "I was just telling them about what''s been going on since the whole fiasco you were a part of."


    "Ah." That''s understandable. "We''re still on for Dinner, right?"


    "We are!" Venna''s eyes brightened. "I''m d you''re stilling. I''ve wanted you to meet Zeo for so long~"


    You know, in hindsight, it''s still a little bit awkward to meet her Husband ¨C Ex Husband, with him knowing full well that we''re together....


    Oh well.


    I''m not going to think about it too much, Devils are weird.


    "Will!" Artoria suddenly squeaked. "D-don''t squeeze my rear while Mordred and Rin are watching!"


    "Actually, they left moments ago." I replied, having noticed out of the corner of my eye.


    "Ah?" Artoria''s face turned a hint of red. "T-then it''s okay I suppose."


    I think I needed to take a few more breaks sometimes and just enjoy that I have a Harem. None of them even batted an eye at the fact that I was molesting Artoria''s perky butt.


    I was lucky that they were sofortable in front of each other.


    Speaking of each other, I nced towards Izzy.


    "Izzy~"


    "Are you not satisfied with just her?" She huffed.


    I held a free arm open and she begrudgingly walked closer. Artoria in one arm, Izzy in the other.


    At this moment, I am happy.


    "By the way, what''s your take on Nuwa?" I asked while my hand slid down her waste.


    She trembled slightly, but didn''t outright reject me. "She is....old fashioned."


    "Mmm, she seemed amicable from what was revealed." Yasaka mused. "Perhaps we should look more into the Celestial Bureaucracy in the future?"


    "It''s shown that we are at odds with Indra, that is enough for her to show good will. While on the surface, the Jade Emperor and Indra treat each other as equals, there is an undeniable hostility that is not openly spoken about." Izzy exined. "Not to mentionnnnn ¨C" She let out her own little squeak as I squeezed her rear just like I was doing to Artoria.


    She slowly turned her head to me. "You are unrepentantly lecherous."


    "Well, who told you to be so desirable?" I shot back.


    "Hmph." Izzy huffed in response.


    I leaned over and kissed her cheek.


    She tried to hide it, but she was smiling happily. "Do you want information, or are you just using this opportunity to feel me up?"


    "Both?"


    She pinched me.


    "Alright, I was just curious because she invited me to her home." I replied.


    "Should we be worried about a new sister?" Jinn curled an eyebrow.


    "Hey, I''m not going around looking." I quickly defended myself.


    Sc¨¢thach chuckled, and pulled the Genie into a hug. "You need not worry, silly girl. Our man knows how to act now."


    "Well, I wouldn''t mind." Jinn settled into the hug happily. "I just want to know them beforehand."


    "You need not worry." Izzy interjected. "Nuwa''s preferences, while not public, are known within certain circles."


    "What do you mean?" Artoria asked, tilting her head. At this point, she waspletely used to my touch.


    "I think she''s saying that the Goddess Nuwa likes women." Venna responded to her. "She made a move on me that I thought was just in good fun, but now I''m wondering if it wasn''t."


    "Probably both." Izzy just shrugged. "I don''t really hear any rumors of her being lecherous." She paused, looking at me.


    I gave her a little spank.


    She stiffened and red, a tiny bit of redness adorning her cheeks. "I will remember this forter." She grumbled. "I have only met her a handful of times in my years, and we were never on speaking terms, so my knowledge is limited. However, she is known as a kind and gentle Goddess, so you do not need to overly worry. Her invitation was most likely to offer a reward."


    "A reward?" My eyes lit up. "That reminds me, Zeus owes me a Golden Apple!"


    "Good luck actually getting that." Izzy snorted. "But yes, a reward. She practices the concept of Karma, along with most in that part of the world. You protected her wards, thus she owes you a favor."


    Ah, that made sense.


    I guess I''ll find the time to head over there and check it out. A reward from one of the most powerful Deities in the world couldn''t be something simple.


    "Interesting, but in all honesty. I''m more interested in hearing about this dinner you''re going to~" Yasaka''s eyes were filled with a mischievous gleam. "Venna was sparse on the details. But I could just feel the awkwardness from the outside."


    "It won''t be that bad." Venna yfully swatted at one of Yasaka''s tails that was swaying around.


    "I am happy that you are doing this." Artoria looked up at me. "I know better than most that confronting certain things can be difficult..."


    Right, she would know, wouldn''t she? It seemed like just yesterday that she awkwardly navigated the reunion between herself and Mordred.


    Fuck, they literally killed one another.


    It made me feel guilty that I was being hesitant over something so mundane inparison.


    But It also made me feel warm knowing I have support like this.


    "Should I take the opportunity to ask for some Evil Pieces?" I mused.


    "You could probably get them if you wanted." Venna answered.


    "Why do you even want them in the first ce? You haven''t been silent about your dislike." Yasaka asked.


    "Because he wants to give us the same treatment as Jinn." Izzy red.


    At the same time, everyone looked at me with different expressions.


    "Woo!" Jinn threw her arms up in a cheer.


    "Do you have anything to say in your defense, my student?" Sc¨¢thach raised an eyebrow.


    "I''m not gonna deny it." I said shamelessly.


    "How bold." Yasaka grinned. "But if we get the Jinn Treatment, then I think it''s only fair that you do as well~"


    "Ara, I think that sounds fair." Venna smiled.


    "Ah?" Artoria didn''t look like she knew what to say. "T-that sounds like an even trade." She covered her face.


    "Hmph, dare you ept that deal." Izzy crossed her arms, looking at me.


    "Mommy would like to see it too." Raikou flushed.


    Well now. It seems like I''vee to the crossroads of choice. I was...somewhat joking, but here I am present with a decision.


    "Say yes, say yes!" Jinn practically threw herself at me. "Look!" She reached over and pulled up Artoria''s skirt. "Don''t you want to put something in her little tushy?"


    "J-Jinn!" Artoria squeaked in embarrassment.


    .....Well, I certainly did.


    But, at the same time.....


    "How about a wager?" I offered. "Loser gets the Jinn plug."


    "Us vs you, Student?" Sc¨¢thach rified. "That does not seem to be in your favor."


    "Well, we''ll just do something to make it fair." I replied.


    They all looked around as what started with a joke was now being something considered.


    "Of course, only if you want to participate. I don''t want to force anyone." I made sure to rify.


    "...if they ept, I will as well." Izzy said simply.


    "Awesome, we ept!" Jinn seemingly answered for everyone. "I''ll go talk to Salem too, see if she wants to join!"


    You know what?


    Fuck it, let''s ball.


    We can figure out the detailster.


    [***]


    "My, you look handsome." Venna adjusted my cor.


    "And you look beautiful, as always." I returned.


    "You charmer~" She smiled, putting a kiss on my cheek. "How are you feeling?"


    "Uh....a lot of things." I answered honestly, not quite sure the direct answer to that question. It helped that I had time to just rx today after everything that happened yesterday at the gathering.


    "It''s not toote to back out." She told me. "You don''t have to force yourself to do this."


    "I want to do this." I took her hand, bringing it up to my face for a kiss. "You''ve been meeting me halfway while I haven''t even taken steps to meet you as well. I can''t promise anything, but I will try."


    "That''s all I want." She smiled beautifully. "Would you like to know who''s going to be there, or just let it be a surprise?"


    "A surprise?" I blinked, frowning. "Would that be better or worse?"


    "Well, it might make you feel less anxious if you didn''t know ahead of time."


    I let out a sigh. "It''s fine, just tell me."


    "Zeo, of course. Rias will also be there. As will my son and his wife."


    I closed my eyes briefly, letting myself rx. "Not your Grandson?"


    "Well...." She drew out. "I figured it would be best to not let your first meeting be....in this kind of situation."


    "Ah." I nodded in understanding. "Do you expect this to go pear shaped?"


    "I am prepared for it to do so. I''m not oblivious to all the tension that''s going on and the turbulent feelings." She replied.


    "That reminds me, I need to confess something."


    "Are you cheating on me? Is there another woman I need to be aware of?" She quirked an amused smile.


    "Sorry, there are actually several others." I admitted.


    She let out a faux gasp, putting a hand on her chest. "I''ll forgive you if you bring them to bed with us."


    I snorted, nudging her. "For real though."


    "You can tell me anything."


    "I....said some hurtful things to your daughter and her friends."


    She frowned. "I see..."


    "I apologized already, but I didn''t want to hide it from you. I know one of the cornerstones of our rtionship is that I don''t make you have to choose. I don''t think I quite reached that point, but I crossed a line I shouldn''t have."


    I was expecting her to be upset. But instead, she tugged a little bit on my shit to pull me down enough that she nted a kiss on my lips. "I knew already." She stated. "And I know you handled it appropriately in the end. I can''t say I''m pleased when someone attacks my daughter, verbally or otherwise, but I''m not stupid, Wilhelm. I know that you don''t like them and my Daughter sometimes has the grace of a camel when ites to certain delicate matters."


    "Still, I''m sorry."


    "I know you are." Her expression softened considerably. "Which is why I didn''t feel the need to say anything. Besides, you did save her, didn''t you?"


    "I''m not going to use that as leverage when I mess up somewhere else."


    "And that makes you all the more sweet in my eyes." Her beautiful smile was captivating.


    I was lucky to have her.


    "Shall we get this over with?" I asked.


    "You sound like you''re walking to your execution." She giggled.


    "I mean...we''re literally going to hell." I pointed out.


    "Oh shush, those jokes are so overused." She rolled her eyes.


    "Oh alright." I relented. "Do you have the coordinates?"


    "Of course." She threw down a Teleportation Circle.


    It wouldn''t work on me, due to my Campione Magic Resistance, but I just needed a few looks to see where it was connected to for my own methods.


    Taking out Mirage, I casually swiped it through the air, opening up a Portal.


    "After you." I held out my arm.


    "Oh what a Gentleman." She happily stepped through.


    I followed suit, stepping onto a bricked pathway.


    "This is beautiful." I couldn''t help but admire.


    "Thank you, I spent a lot of effort cultivating this garden." She grinned.


    I looked around a bit more, it was a singr path that broke into a circle about halfway, beforebining again towards arge manor not too far away.


    All around, however, were various nts and flowers all carefully managed to create a vibrant and elegant appearance.


    "Come here, let me show you my favorite." She gently pulled on my arm, situating us in front of a bush full of purple flowers.


    "These are Starlight Roses. It took me decades to get this color, but they''re called that because when it''s night time, they release a pollen that looks like little glowing stars." She excitedly exined. "They also have a nice taste when extracted and added to tea or alcohol."


    "What about this tree?" I pointed to the side. "The leaves are almost perfectly round."


    I loved how her eyes were lighting up while pulling me around. "This is one of mine! I cultivated an offspring between a Devil Lemon and an Underworld Apple."


    I....questioned the feasibility of those two fruits being crossbred, but then again, this is literally Hell. "...Devil Lemon and Underworld Apple?"


    "I didn''t name them, alright?" She seemed a little bashful at thement. "The older Devils weren''t exactly the most talented when ites to naming things. They originally started from the normal variants you would find topside, but became contaminated by Hell''s aura and mutated."


    Huh, that''s actually interesting.


    "So this tree produces an unholybination of a Lemon and an Apple? Lapple? Aemon? Appon? Should I add a suffix depicting Hell to it?"


    She yfully smacked my shoulder. "I just call it a Circle Fruit, due to its shape. Less sour than a lemon, but sweeter than a normal apple."


    "Let me guess, good for Alcohol?"


    She giggled.


    "I''m starting to see a pattern." Not that I was at all against it.


    A shame that it didn''t seem to be the season for it to produce fruit.


    "Come on, we can see all thister." She grabbed my hand again, leading me towards the house. It was...odd, seeing her with such a vivid look of excitement. Not in a bad way, just noticeably different.


    I liked it.


    "A random question."


    "A random answer." She responded.


    She was definitely in a yful mood. "Do you guys have Camels?"


    "We do in fact have Camels." Sheughed. "Do you want to see them?"


    "Yes." I found myself curious. "But that can wait untilter."


    From the Ars Goetia, the Demon Gremory was known for its Camels, or something like that.


    We walked up to the front door, and there was an older gentleman waiting for us. He didn''t speak, but his aura was rather impressive. He silently bowed his head and opened the door for us to enter.


    I was expecting the ostentatious, but there is a difference between expecting it and experiencing it.


    I can''t really throw stones in regards to hoarding treasure, but I never really showed it off in the same way.


    It wasn''t even really the Gold intertwined with the decorations, there were materials used to craft the furniture and decorations that went beyond mere Gold.


    "Wow." I simply said.


    "If there''s one thing you should know about Devils, it''s that they like to show off." She grabbed my arm. "Come on, Zeo is waiting in the study before dinner starts. He wanted to meet you."


    "Lead the way." I didn''t resist as she continued to cheerfully pull me throughout the mansion.


    It was...more of the same, in all honesty. I was aware she lived in an borate and expensive Mansion, and this was just about what I imagined.


    I was peeking at every room we passed by, just to get a feel for the ce, and I was impressed.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll show you my room after dinner~" She whispered.


    Calm down, little Wilhelm.


    But that distracted me long enough that we came to the right room.


    She pushed it open without a second thought, and dragged me inside.


    There was one person there, sitting down in a ridiculously/extravagantly plush couch/chair as he casually read a book. A small smile on his face as he snapped it shut once we entered.


    Getting a good look at him, we did look extremely simr.


    Venna did make ament about how she had a certain type, and I couldn''t deny it here. Not that I was put off by that, it''s not like I too don''t have a certain type.


    The main difference was that his long red hair was in a ponytail, and he had a small beard, which gave him a bit more maturity in my opinion.


    Honestly, he gave off a rather gentle aura, simr to Venna.


    He immediately stood up and offered his hand. "You must be my Grandson. It''s good to finally meet you, I''m the Head of the Gremory Family, Zeoticus Gremory."


    I epted it politely enough. "I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, it''s a pleasure."


    "Let me go make sure dinner is getting sorted, and I''ll give you two a moment to talk." Venna kissed me on the cheek.


    "Thank you, Vene." Zeoticus Smiled.


    She quickly left the room, but I wasn''t sure it was entirely to check up on dinner.


    "She''s quite the woman, isn''t she?" My Grandfather,ughed.


    "That she is." I couldn''t help but agree.


    "I''m sad to see her go."


    ....now I felt awkward.


    He tilted his head. "Is it strange?"


    "Was I that obvious?" I responded.


    "You had a certain look. I can''t say that I''m familiar with your expressions, but you were not raised under our customs and society, so I can understand that the whole situation must feel rather strange." He gestured to an open seat across from him and I took it as he retook his own seat.


    It was...odd, I didn''t really feel any negative feelings as I talked to him. I guess, deep down, I never really attributed anything to him as he was never a person involved.


    "I guess I''m just wondering if there''s any bad blood." To say I was skeptical about him willingly stepping away from her was still something that I wanted rification on.


    Because I was definitely no homewrecker. I didn''t want there to be a situation where he was still pining for Venna and I was causing problems.


    "Hmm." He tapped his cheek. "If you''re wondering if I''m jealous? The answer isplicated. From the perspective of a man, I would say yes, simply because she''s a one in a million woman who can''t be reced. From the perspective of a Husband and a dear friend, I''m happy that she''s found someone else."


    "....that still feels awkward to hear so bluntly." But also rather sweet.


    He let out a chuckle. "I''m sure it is. You''re still young, you won''t understand it yet. We''ve been together for over a thousand years. Sometimes, you simply drift apart and those feelings of love slowly fade away. Perhaps it will happen to you eventually, or perhaps not. But while I may no longer be Venna''s Husband in that sense, I will always be her family and friend and wish her happiness."


    "I see." I...admired him for that, I think.


    I don''t know if I could ever willingly let go of someone I loved. Just remembering what happened with Sc¨¢thach hurt me enough that I had to push those memories down.


    "Vene probably set this up before dinner to clear the air." He smiled. "I assure you, that I have no hard feelings nor am I harboring resentment. I too was curious to gauge you myself. But seeing Vene with that excitement and spark in her eyes, that''s all I need to know. You have my full blessing, and I hope you take good care of her."


    I nodded. "I still think it''s weird to be told that so bluntly."


    "Haha!" He chuckled loudly. "My kids are the same, they get so hung up on such things. It''s not as strange as you would think, should I tell you about when Vene and I were....what do the humans call it, swingers? Yes, we paired up with other couples some centuries ago for a bit of fun for a few years before we got bored of it. Why, we even ¨C"


    "Please don''t" I mentally cringed. "I don''t like to think about my woman and hear about how she was sleeping with other people."


    He just chuckled again. "Kids these days, so restrained and prude. By the time I was your age, I had already been with the wife''s of all my friends and even their mothers!"


    "....I find myself oddly respecting you right now, while also being horrified."


    Oh my god, I thought only Venna liked to do things to mentally scar those around her, but he''s the same, wasn''t he?


    "Would you like some advice? I know Vene''s preferences." He offered withplete sincerity.


    "Huh, I guess I do have some shame hidden deep down...." I came to the immediate realization after I processed what he said.


    .....fucking Christ, this dinner was going to go horribly, wasn''t it? And not just for me.


    He stood up from his chair, before I had time to digest everything he just told me even with how little it actually was.


    "Come on, my boy." He patted my shoulder. "Everyone should be ready. I want to know my Grandson better, I have many questions for you."


    "Yeah...okay." I just stood up nkly.


    I followed him a few rooms away, and I could smell the food as we got close.


    The Dining room itself was as expected. Arge table with many ces set about. But the people there are what caught my attention.


    Venna was sitting at one end, and a little look let me know that I was to sit beside her.


    But the others, well. I had mixed feelings, but I wasn''t going to stick my head into the sand at this point. I knew they were here, and I came here anyway.


    Venna''s Daughter, Rias was sitting down with a hesitant smile as our eyes met.


    Nothing more than a nce sent her way.


    But opposite of her was....him.


    My Biological Father.


    He had an expressionless look about him, but our eyes met. And then there was ''that'' woman at his side. I nearly scowled just seeing her. She was still wearing her maid attire, and it took significant self-restraint for me to not run my mouth immediately.


    I simply took a deep breath.


    My Grandfather, took the seat at the head of the table, nked on both sides with his children while I went to the opposite end, next to Venna.


    "I hope he didn''t drill you about anything too hard." She took my hand into hers as soon as I sat down, basically making a deration.


    "Nope, he was just regaling me of stories about how you two used to swap partners with other families. And how he slept with all of his friends, and their moms too." I replied.


    Venna, well, she just smiled humorously.


    But everyone else at the table, there were mixed reactions of shock, disgust, and utter awkwardness.


    Fuck, I wasn''t going to be the only one that had to suffer through those images in my head.


    But I had a strange feeling that this wasn''t nearly the extent of the awkwardness I was going to experience by the end of the night.


    [***]


    A/N


    Just a nice family dinner, nothing bad will happen.


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a Boosty under the same name for those who can''t ess the above.


    Lewd based on the wager mentioned in the chapter will being up soon.

 Chapter 474 - 430

    <h4>Chapter 474: Chapter 430</h4>


    Well, I think we were off to a good and productive start!


    Silence was better than the alternative, I supposed.


    "You have a lovely home." I decided to break the silence.


    Zeoticus smiled,pletely unconcerned about the awkwardness that was obviously shared by most of us at the table. "Thank you, but I can''t take any credit. My parents were the ones who had it built, and Vene was the one who updated it over the years."


    "I''ll make sure to give you the full tour after." She smiled happily.


    "I believe it''s customary to give a gift in a situation like this?" I mused for a moment. I should have handed it to him right away, but I had been...understandably focused on other things. With a thought, I produced a bottle of Firewhiskey. I was thankful that I managed to snag enough that I didn''t waste it all when I got drunk.


    I simply floated the bottle over to him.


    He happily epted it. "I don''t believe I''ve ever seen this brand before?"


    "It''s Fire Whiskey, it has a bit of Magic in it, so it has a certain kick." I exined briefly.


    Nothing extravagant, but it should be a novel gift.


    Without even a word, the butler from before was behind him holding a tray of sses with ice in them as he set them about the table.


    My Grandfather poured himself a ss of it and he eyed it curiously. He went through the basic motions of investigating the foreign alcohol. Not in the sense that he was skeptical about my gift, like poison or anything, but from the perspective of a connoisseur, testing the aroma, opacity, smell, and the color.


    He finally took a sip and finished with a satisfied smile. "What a unique taste. I can also feel some strange force swelling inside of me."


    "First time most people drink it, they idently burp a bit of fire, hence the name." I replied.


    "Haha." He chuckled. "What a wonderful gift, thank you."


    And now that''s out of the way, I had no idea what else I''m supposed to say.


    Thankfully, the butler returned with tes of food prepared.


    And it smelled wonderful.


    The meat....was not beef, but it seemed simr? Some kind of Prime rib of a creature almost indistinguishable from a cow at first nce. Only a few more moments of inspection could I see the small differences.


    "What animal is this from?" I whispered to Venna.


    "Minotaur." She said simply.


    "...." I...didn''t know what to say to that. I was not against eating creatures with intelligence. Give me a giant crab that could talk? If we ended up fighting to the death, I''d happily eat it. But a more humanoid creature....it made me feel queasy.


    "Don''t worry, they''re barely more intelligent than cows." She said again.


    Alright. That made it somewhat better.


    I cut a piece off and put it into my mouth and it was fucking delicious, which just made me more conflicted.


    I just decided not to think too hard about it.


    "So, tell me." Zeoticus took the reins. "I''m curious how you reached the spot you''re in now. I only have the faintest idea of what you''ve been up to since you''ve left."


    The question was obviously directed at me. And it wasn''t really....probing? It didn''t feel like he had a malicious or secondary reason for asking just....almost like small talk.


    Well, everyone else seemed interested enough, but I didn''t particrly care too much.


    "I went up north, met some good people and joined the College of Winterhold." I said casually. "Learned a bit of Magic there. Then met with my Grandfather and joined the Mage''s Association ¨C"


    "I''ve never heard of those ces." My biological Father interrupted.


    "What a surprise, you''re ignorant about something." I replied without missing a beat and meeting his gaze.


    "oof." Venna''s daughter whispered.


    His eye twitched a little. "As Lucifer of the Devil Faction, there are very few things I am unaware of."


    "It''s a good thing I wasn''t needed then. Yes, it was certainly a good thing I didn''t need to move twice to rescue my woman."


    "My Mother would have been rescued regardless."


    "I suppose you were simply unlucky that twice in a rownded upon the ''few things'' you were unaware of?" I snorted. "But I guess, I shouldn''tin, otherwise, I wouldn''t have met such a wonderful woman and have a child on the way."


    There was a beat of silence as they processed what I said.


    "EH!?" Rias blurted.


    "Mother!?" Followed her brother.


    "Lady Gremory!?" Lastly, the maid.


    "Oh stop, I''m not pregnant." Venna rolled her eyes and yfully swatted at my shoulder. "Don''t say that to them just to get a reaction."


    "You''re not pregnant...mom?" Rias hesitantly asked.


    "I assure you Rias, I''m not pregnant. Yet."


    "Mom!?"


    "And that''s not for ack of trying, mind you."


    "Mother, please stop!" Her son pleaded.


    "Do you want to use the wine cer?" Zeoticus offered, confusing the lot of us.


    "Oh, that''s a good idea." Venna''s eyes lit up and turned to me. "That''s where Rias and Sirzechs were conceived. We could never prove it, but that room has to have something special about it."


    ".....please stop." Rias whined.


    "Don''t forget little Sona too." Zeoticus added.


    "Of course, how could I forget about her?" Venna nodded.


    "....mom, please don''t tell me that''s how..."


    "It was a relief that Sona inherited the Sitri bloodline..."


    "...kill me now." Rias''s head pped onto the table.


    "....is that why there''s a bed in the wine cer, Lady Gremory!?" The Maid squawked in realization. ".....now I know why it was always unkempt in the past...."


    "Well, we certainly aren''t going to do it on the cobble floor." Venna shrugged.


    One of the few times in my life I was utterly speechless.


    "My children are such prudes." Zeoticus shook his head. "I''ll have you know that my parents loved to tell the story of how they conceived me. It was the early days of spring,te into the 6th century ¨C"


    "Oh Zeo, they''ve heard this story more than enough times now." Venna giggled while her children looked scared for life.


    "They are Devils, they should be ustomed to a bit of Debauchery." He harrumphed. "Back in my day, our fathers would offer us one of his mistresses for our first learning experience! But do you know what happened when I attempted to do the same for Sirzechs?" Zeoticus looked at me. "He ran away crying!"


    "The woman I thought of as an Aunt ambushed me and took her clothes off!" The Lucifer squawked himself. "What was I supposed to do? I was a kid back then!"


    "You were twenty years old!" His Dad shot back.


    "Dammit Dad, you promised not to mention that again." The Lucifer dropped his face into his palms.


    ....I take back everything I said, I love it here and this was one of the best days of my life.


    [I agree, this has been entirely worth it just for this.] Ddraig also seemed to be enjoying himself.


    "At least my grandson doesn''t have the same hang ups! Look at him, he already has a Harem!" Zeoticus gestured to me. "And he even managed tond your mother! You should take a page out of his book."


    "Actually, she seduced me." I pointed out, adding a little bit of fuel to this wonderful fire. "She practically tore her clothes off and pinned me down."


    All their eyes snapped to me.


    "He''s not wrong~" Venna cooed.


    "See? That''s how you handle it! He didn''t run away crying!" Zeoticus pped the table. "He manned up, and gave your mother what she needed!"


    "Why are you like this!?"


    "I''m a Devil!"


    "...is this normal?" I whispered to Venna.


    "Oh yes, don''t worry, this is normally how our dinners go." Venna reassured me.


    Well, okay then.


    "What about Rias!?"


    "Sirzechs." Zeoticus''s voice got a little firm. "I told you years ago that your little sister was off limits."


    "That''s not what I meant, dad!"


    "Hmm, Rias already started on her own Harem." Zeoticus nodded to himself.


    "I what!?" The Red-headed Girl blurted out.


    "Of course, we all know what you get up to with your Queen." Zeoticus actually sounded proud. "You''re well on your way. Be sure to ask your mother for advice if you need it. She knows how to handle a Harem from the perspective of a woman."


    Rias''s face turned brighter than her hair, and her head fell back onto the table as she began to whimper.


    "Dad, this is why we don''te back for dinner often." The Lucifer sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.


    "Well, the truth can hurt." His dad snorted.


    "Dammit Dad." He groaned. "Do you really have to embarrass us now of all times?"


    "Alright Zeo, I think their fragile sense of decency can''t handle anymore." Venna finally spoke up. "We should probably ept that this generation of Devils doesn''t have the same views as us."


    "Bah, I''ll never ept it. I don''t care about that other nonsense that the Old Bloods spouted, but a Devil should be free to indulge in harmless fun!"


    "I think your daughter started bleeding from hitting her head on the table." The Maid pointed out the red-headed girl that was still whimpering with her head smashed against it.


    "It builds character." Zeoticus was dismissive.


    "This is a really sturdy table." I randomly mentioned.


    "We finally splurged on something a bit tougher. You wouldn''t believe how many tables we''ve gone through in the past." Venna replied.


    Yeah....I can''t imagine why.


    I just calmly cut apart my meal and took bites.


    "Hmph." Zeoticus snorted, seemingly dropping the whole argument. "Continue where you left off, my dear Grandson. Tell me of your adventures. How did you meet your harem members?"


    "There''s not much to say." I said casually. "I met Meridia during my time at the College. I met Artoria when I went to the Mage''s Association. Then I went to the Land of Shadows where I met Sc¨¢thach."


    "The woman presumed dead." The Lucifer narrowed his eyes. "Curious how there seems to be many people like that around you."


    "Maybe they''re ghosts?" I hummed.


    He scoffed.


    "Well, I trained there for a few years. Time difference and all that. Wandered over to Kyoto for a bit, and that''s when I met Yasaka and my Daughter." I continued. "I also met Izzy ¨C Izanami. Jinn came soon, then I met Salem and Raikou. Last was Venna here." I smiled towards her.


    She leaned over and we shared a quick kiss.


    "But....how did you get so strong?" Rias rejoined the conversation with a bruise forming on her forehead. "That can''t be all of it?"


    I shrugged. "I fought a lot. Learned a lot. Trained a lot."


    "That''s it....? That sounds so...normal." She said softly.


    "I almost died fighting a dragon when I joined the College. That was....a month or so into my trip."


    "...oh."


    "The Heaven Faction were kicking up a fuss about the Saintess you brought with you." My Biological Father did his best to look uninterested as he barely looked my way. "They''re wondering where she came from."


    Was he really trying to needle information out of me?


    "Presumably her Parents." I said without missing a beat. "Assuming you didn''t also run away from the talk, it should be an obvious answer."


    "You would be the expert on running away, wouldn''t you?" His tone was sharp.


    Ah, so he decided to press that button, did he?


    Well then.


    "You can call me Dad if you want." I didn''t react outwardly much. "My own Dad was a shitty deadbeat, so I think I can at least do better than him."


    The fork in his hand bent sharply as he tried his best to keep a neutral expression.


    "Boys." Venna''s voice carried over and I think we both sort of stiffened at her warning.


    Ah...stern Venna.


    That''s sexy.


    But I would relent. If she spoke up, it meant that we were getting close to the line.


    "Hmm, I noticed that all the women in your harem fit the mature category." Zeoticus possibly decided to change the subject due to the awkward atmosphere.


    "I like older women." I said simply.


    "It''s refreshing too because they''ve been so weing." Venna chimed in. "I''ve never seen any fighting or anything like that and they''ve weed me with open arms."


    "How wonderful." Zeoticus had a big smile as she said that. "We''ll have to get Mother and Father to meet as well."


    "You sure that''s a good idea? Next thing we know, Grandma might be screwing him too." Red-Haired Lucifer snorted.


    Venna gave him a look.


    "You know, I noticed that other than a butler, there are no other people working around the Mansion? Especially no Maids. I wonder why that is?" I red his way.


    "What are you trying to say?" He narrowed his eyes.


    "Maid Fetish." I spelled it out for him.


    He twitched again.


    "Better than an old woman fetish." He snorted.


    "So your mom is an old woman?" I shot back.


    That made him stiffen again and not respond. Realizing he just insulted his mom, which I''m currently in a rtionship with.


    "So....um Wilhelm, what have you been up to recently?" Rias very subtly tried to change the subject from our bickering.


    "I was scoping out schools to send Kunou to. Trying to find ones that would fit her well enough. Other than that, I got into a drinking contest with a Phoenix." Which was pretty much my past week.


    "Someone from the Phenex family?" She blinked.


    "No, I mean the bird." I rified.


    "....like the actual mythological bird?"


    "Yup." I popped.


    "....." She seemingly didn''t know what to say to that.


    A for Effort, however. She tried well enough.


    "Oh, speaking of drinking, the thing you asked me about is almost done~" Venna pped her hands.


    "Thing? What thing?" Rias lost a lot of her earlier shyness.


    "Wilhelm here gave me some interesting and exceedingly rare ingredients. I''ve been making them into wine." She leaned onto my arm with a big smile.


    "Really, it''s almost done already?" I was surprised.


    "I cheated a little with some time variance." She casually replied. "But that''s not really too difficult. It''s looking good."


    "Interesting, and what''s in this wine?" Zeoticus''s eyes lit up.


    "I gave her a Peach of Immortality, and some water from the River Styx topliment it." Was there really a reason to hide it? It was a better topic to talk about than whatever was happening before.


    "....where did you even get those things?" Rias asked quietly.


    "I know people." I shrugged. "Met Sun Wukong a few times. Izzy knows Hades, so that wasn''t hard to ask for."


    "....yeah, you know a lot of powerful people." She muttered, soundly oddly defeated for some reason.


    "I''m curious about something." Zeoticus suddenly spoke up again. "What made you get together with Vene?"


    Ah, the others were preemptively cringing at the inevitable answer.


    "Besides the obvious?" I raised an eyebrow.


    Zeoticus let out augh. "I''m just a little curious about what captured you at first. She has enough good qualities that it would take a long time to go over all of them. Just satisfy an old man''s curiosity."


    "So, what immediately swept me off my feet, as it were?" I summarized. "Well..." I nced at her ratherrge boobs.


    "Good choice." Zeoticus nodded sagely. "Vene''s chest is hard to match!"


    "Dad, please don''t talk about mom that way!" The Red-Headed Lucifer threw his hands up in frustration.


    "There''s nothing wrong with thepliment~" Venna giggled, intentionally bouncing her chest for everyone to see. "Believe me, I know the looks I get for my boobs, and I don''t shy away from them~"


    Why did I enjoy her tormenting her children so much? Their groans were just....so much fun to hear.


    Honestly though. I love her boobs, I won''t deny that. Physically, she was everything I wanted in a woman. But...


    "Jokes aside, I think what really tugged at me at first were her stunning eyes." I turned to her, happily taking her hand. "It might sound a bit clich¨¦ to say, but they were so calm and gentle that I couldn''t help but stare at them when we first met."


    Out of all my girls, she definitely wins with the most vivid and hypnotizing eyes.


    "It also helped that my clothes were torn and I was practically half naked at the time." Venna added.


    That may have also helped with her seduction.


    Most of the questions seemed to revolve around Venna and myself, but that was to be expected. This little....dinner was mostly for them to get used to us together, or something along those lines. Among other things of course. The half-assed attempts from him to try and poke at me for certain knowledge was not missed, but it''s whatever.


    But even the way we were seated, it was obvious that She and I were sort of on the outside in a sense.


    "A good answer." Zeoticus nodded, seemingly pleased. "Venna certainly has been much happier in recent weeks. Why, she even used one of her Evil Pieces! I was sure they would be left to collect dust forever. I assume that you have a hand in her new Queen?"


    "Mozart." I mused. "How is he handling being a Devil?"


    "Oh, he''s adapted well. It almost makes me question if he wasn''t a Devil beforehand. He took to it like a fish in water." Venna replied.


    "Someone else that should be dead." Lucifer snorted. "Care to exin that one?"


    "Isn''t Okita Souji listed as dead?" I rolled my eyes.


    "That''s not the same thing!"


    "How so?"


    "I used an Evil Piece on him!"


    "Well, so did Venna." I crossed my arms.


    "That...." He scowled. "Sophistry. Mozart died hundreds of years ago. He has a grave. I attempted to recruit him myself and he rejected." His expression hardened.


    "Well, that sounds like it would be inconvenient for me to answer. So, I''ll just do what you do when something is inconvenient and ignore it." I just rolled my eyes at his attempt to force me to answer his obvious prodding question.


    He shot up to his feet and mmed his hands on the table. It seems like his temper finally red. "I didn''t want you!"


    I felt an old wound reopen, one that I thought had scarred over a long time ago. I found myself mimicking him as I was on my feet and my hands mmed into the table as well. "Well look at that, neither did I! But I was the one who got fucked over because you''re a fucking idiot!"


    "You weren''t my responsibility!" He shouted.


    "No shit!" I shouted in return. "That''s why I lost my fucking childhood, because you couldn''t be assed to take the bare minimum effort!"


    "You had everything provided for!"


    "I was a fucking kid who was grieving their dead mom and I had no one, you cunt."


    "...that wasn''t my fault." He seemed to verbally stagger there.


    "No, but you failed every step of the way to do something about it." My voice lowered back to normal.


    I didn''t back down as we stared at one another.


    Finally, he pulled away, turning around and marching out of the room.


    The Maid also stood up.


    She had been...mostly silent this evening, she looked like she was having an awkward time throughout.


    But at this moment, she looked at me and I was ready for her to say something.


    "Thank you for saving my son." She bowed her head with the feeling of genuine thanks in her tone.


    Why.....did that make me feel good to hear?


    I....didn''t know how to reply to her. I was uncharacteristically angry, but I felt weird about the idea of snapping at her in this particr moment despite my dislike for her.


    Quickly, she seemed to follow after her husband.


    "Come on." Venna stood up, tugging at my arm. She didn''t look too upset, almost sympathetic if anything. "Let''s go for a walk." She smiled gently.


    I let out a sigh and allowed her to drag me off.


    Some fresh air would do me good.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone.


    I have a boosty for the same name for people who can''t ess the above.

 Chapter 475 - 431

    <h4>Chapter 475: Chapter 431</h4>


    "Is there really no setting sun here?" I stared up at the sky where a facsimile of the sun hung overhead. A fake sun that they created through various means to light up Hell to seem simr to the topside. "It should be in the process of setting based on the time."


    "Oh, it''s a quick process. It only takes a few minutes for the thing to switch to night time." Venna exined. I felt her hand run through my hair and I closed my eyes, letting out a breath.


    I guessed that made sense, it''s not a natural phenomenon, and it''s already a marvel of magical engineering to be what it is. What point was there to get every nuance perfect when the result wouldn''t change by a significant margin?


    "Hmm." I just hummed as I continued to watch the purple sky from atop Venna''sp.


    "How are you doing?" She asked after a few silent moments.


    "Weirdly, a bit better." I said absentmindedly. "I think I''ve been keeping that in for a long time and I never had a chance to let it out until now."


    She nodded in understanding.


    "Oddly.....I miss my mom a lot right now." I don''t know why this feeling suddenly sprang up. It''s not like there were times that I found myself missing her, but right now, it was stronger than it had been in a long while.


    "There''s nothing odd about that." She smiled warmly. "And it''s good that you finally got that out. Is it a relief?"


    "Yeah, a small one, but I feel like a knot in my stomach is gone that I didn''t know was there before." I could acknowledge that much.


    "And how do you feel about everything?" She asked.


    "What, do you mean what he said to me?" I questioned.


    "It''s not an easy thing to hear."


    I let out a snort. "I don''t give a shit about that." I gave it a thought and I really didn''t care so much about him admitting that didn''t want me. It was obvious, and I had no fantasies about that changing. "I was just pissed more than anything else, mostly at the way he handled things after mom died."


    "Are you still holding a grudge about losing your Childhood?"


    "Of course." I think anyone would feel the same in my situation.


    "And what do you want to do about it?" She continued to run her fingers through my hair.


    "Realistically? Nothing." It''s not like I was going to go into some kind of murderous rage after being poked like that. Sure, it still pissed me off, but.... "I''ve lived a good life so far."


    "What do you mean?" She asked.


    "Yeah, my childhood sucked. In hindsight, I was a depressed kid struggling through his formative years and that fucked me up in some particr ways. But, right at this moment, I''m pretty happy. Obviously, discounting the previous hour or so. But I think I turned out decent enough." Despite the stress involved with all the things I have been juggling....I''m happy. "Look, I''mying my head down in thep of a wonderful woman. I have a harem of equally amazing women who for some reason reciprocate my affections. I must be doing something right, yeah?"


    "Are you using us as validation?" She responded. "Do you mean to say that your worthes from the fact that people you perceive as ''amazing'' see value in you?"


    "Well.....isn''t that true?" I returned.


    "You shouldn''t use others to validate your own worthiness." She lightly chided while yfully pinching my cheek. "You''re missing a step in the logic. You think that because I am Amazing ¨C" She said with a little bit of humor in her tone. "That this in turn means you''re somehow validated in life. Your logic has a small w. Do you think I would be with someone who isn''t also Amazing?" She gave me a rather beautiful smile. "You need to ept that just as you see us as Amazing, we in turn, see you the same way, otherwise we would have never been together. Don''t derive self-worth from those around you. You''re not Amazing in turn because we all care about you, we care about you because you are Amazing."


    "Wow." I don''t know why that hit as hard as it did. Shit, was I acting like Artoria? Was this how it felt from her perspective?.


    "Alright, I''ll try to be better."


    "The important thing is to acknowledge it in the first ce." She nodded happily.


    Well, it''s not like that''s the reason I have a Harem. That would be just so many shades of inappropriate and I''m sure they would be able to see through that easily enough.


    "But yeah....I think, I''m living a good life right now, and I''m happy. You know everything about me, for the most part. I''ve had my ups and downs, I''ve experienced things that nearly broke me, but also things that I would cherish regardless of how long I live." But for some reason, I found myself frowning.


    "You''re feeling guilty, aren''t you?"


    "Guilty?" I repeated. "Exin."


    "Like, you don''t feel like you''re allowed to be upset about what happened, because it led to where you are now. If you were raised properly, had a good childhood, would you be in this same spot?"


    "....I wouldn''t be." I admitted. "Things would be different. I....probably wouldn''t have you, at a minimum. Am I really allowed to be upset if, right at this moment, I wouldn''t trade what I had for a good childhood?"


    "Of course you''re allowed to be upset. You can mourn something you never were allowed to have while also being happy with what the consequences led to." She immediately replied. "You''re a person with feelings, they''replicated, and contradictory at points, but no less relevant and important to you. You were wronged, that is objectively true. But you built something good for yourself anyways, that is something you should be proud of. One doesn''t have to conflict with the other."


    "...I sometimes forget that you''re a certified Psychologist."


    "Well, not really ''certified'' anymore." She giggled. "But I''m always happy to help you out when you need to talk. I admit, I don''t see eye to eye with a lot of human concepts. But I''ll always have an ear for you to talk into."


    "I''m pretty sure this isn''t the normal procedure for seeing a psychologist." I found myself smiling. "But I won''tin." I may have squeezed her thigh a little bit.


    "Hey now, Mister." She lightly chided me again. "Wait untilter. We can roley with this tonight if you want~"


    Well, if there was ever a way to suddenly pick my spirits up.


    "Do you by chance have any nun outfits?" I asked.


    "Sweetie." She cupped my cheek. "I''m a Devil, of course I do. I''ll show you the closet where I keep all my outfits for roleyter."


    Alrighty then. I guess it was a stupid question to ask.


    "I''m sorry for ruining dinner." I just blurted out without any build up. Maybe it was the wrong moment to say it, but I felt like I needed to. "I shouldn''t have let myself get upset like that."


    She didn''t even pause with what she was doing. "You''re forgiven."


    "Just like that?" I pursed my lips.


    "Sweetie, did you think that anyone in that room didn''t expect it to end up in a simr fashion?" She looked at me with one of those looks.


    "....really?"


    "It was expected, don''t worry about it." She reassured me.


    "And you still want us together in the same room, when you expected this to happen?"


    "It was important for you." She said casually. "I won''t deny that it was important for my son as well."


    "Still, I don''t like putting you in that position." Jeez, I felt like shit even so. "I insulted your daughter, then your son...."


    "Extenuating circumstances." She waved it off easily. "Believe me, I will tell you if I think you''re about to step over a line."


    "God, the thought of you being upset with me makes me physically queasy." Like the thought if I actually did harm to her family and she looked at me with anger. It was the same with any of my girls, just the idea that they would ever look at me like that made my wrech.


    "It''s very hard for me to reach that point, don''t worry." She patted my cheek again. "And you are a good person, I know you would never intentionally do anything to harm my family." She paused for a second. "Well, rtively speaking."


    "What? What does that mean?"


    "Lets just say....I owe Zeo some money for a wager."


    I groaned. "Did you bet if we would physically fight?"


    "Yes." She said without an ounce of shame. "Don''t get me wrong, I didn''t expect you to try and kill one another. But....I''m a little surprised a punch or two wasn''t thrown."


    "Seriously?" I gaped.


    "Boys sometimes fight to resolve problems." She shrugged. "I''m not going to kick up too much of a fuss if you just beat each other up. Sure, I would be upset that two people I care about hurt one another. But I wouldn''t be upset, if you understand."


    "I wouldn''t ¨C"


    "Izanami and Susanoo." She cut me off.


    The words then died in my mouth. "Okay, good point."


    She nodded smugly. "As I said, I wouldn''t have held it against you. I even talked about the possibility with Izanami and asked her advice. She simply said to let it y out as long as it didn''t escte too far."


    "Huh..."


    "I would have punished you, of course." She also stated.


    "Punished, or punished?" I raised my eyebrows.


    "You wouldn''t be getting between Grandma''s legs if it happened." She revealed with a sultry smile.


    I realized how much of a Devil I actually am in situations like this, because her referring to herself as my Grandma really tickled me a certain way.


    "Speaking of the others, I should probably give them a heads up that we''re good here." They probably expected something to happen as well.


    "Don''t worry, I already took care of it." She replied.


    "....really?"


    Venna nodded. "I made sure to keep them up to date, and answer the questions they have. If you want, I can tell you what they''re all up to right now and all of that. But you don''t need to worry, they know you''re alright."


    "Huh, you''re on the ball."


    "It''s almost like I''ve done this before." Her eyes sparkled with amusement.


    "Right, you managed Zeoticus'' harem, didn''t you?"


    "Oh yes, I made sure everything ran as smoothly as possible. You wouldn''t believe everything that went on in the background that he never saw."


    "....now I''m tempted to ask for myself."


    She patted my cheek again. "Secret~"


    I knew they had their own ''secret'' chat between themselves, but maybe I didn''t know everything that went on that I didn''t see. But if they didn''t say anything, I wasn''t going to stick my nose into it. It was just as important that they got along together, especially when I wasn''t there, as I got along with them.


    "Want to hear something funny?" She suddenly asked.


    "Hmm?"


    "My son is probably in his room doing this with his Wife too."


    I don''t know why, but I started cracking up. Maybe it was just the ridiculousness of the situation and the way she delivered it. But for some reason, the picture of a man I despised doing exactly the same as me sent me into a giggle fit.


    I felt much better than only a few minutes ago.


    However, Venna suddenly got a very serious look on her face. "Want to go have sex?"


    ".....yes."


    I was feeling significantly better, and She did promise me the entire weekend, so I was going to make good use of it.


    [***]


    Grayfia Lucifuge POV


    Well, this evening could have gone worse.


    My big oaf of a Husband was just silentlyying his head down in myp as I ran my fingers through his hair.


    "I messed up again, didn''t I?" He eventually opened his mouth.


    "Do you need me to really answer that?" I questioned back.


    He let out a groan and pushed his face into my thighs. "I didn''t mean to."


    "You didn''t mean to tell your abandoned child that you never wanted them right to their face?" I asked evenly.


    "I...It didn''te out right. It''s not what I meant." He said softly. "I don''t...." He became quiet. "I can''t say it''s not how I felt, but It''s not how I wanted to say it."


    "A poor choice of words then."


    "Yeah...a poor choice of words." He agreed.


    Well, I can''t fault him for feeling that way. But we can both agree that he chose poorly in how to express himself. It was understandable, but not excusable. He is far too old tosh out like he did.


    "You don''t usually get riled up so easily." I continued to sooth him.


    "I don''t know what happened." He turned his head over. "I just felt it boiling up so quickly. The way he was just...taking shots at me, then the way mother was hanging off him. I just finally reached the point where I lost my temper."


    "It was hardly the first time that Venna''s rtionship with him was thrown in your face."


    I was keeping a straight face, but I wasn''t entirely happy with it either. It''s not as if it was....strange for our people, I suppose, but it made me feel even more awkward than normal. And it didn''t help that Venna seemed to enjoy perpetuating that awkwardness.


    Maybe that was her way of subtlety punishing us?


    He scrunched his nose. "I never had to see it so close before."


    "Are you sure it isn''t because you can''t deny it''s happening now?"


    He pouted. I loved my husband, but he can be childish at times. "I thought it was just to get back at me, so I was bearing with it, thinking she would eventually stop ying around."


    "And now it''s obvious this isn''t the case and you''re going to have to deal with it." I was blunt.


    He nodded. "I hate it."


    "You''re allowed to hate it, but you have no say in it." I reminded him.


    For all his power, he sometimes thought he could dictate certain things he really had no right to. He''s always had a bit of a habit for needing to control certain things around him.


    He scowled when I reminded him of his position. "I could do something..."


    "No." I rejected.


    "But ¨C"


    "Sirzechs." I said sternly. "You''ve already done a lot. Leave it."


    He let out a long sigh. "Fine."


    "Good." I was happy he epted so easily.


    "I messed up, huh?"


    "You did." I nodded again as he calmed down a bit. "It was good that we decided not to bring Millicas."


    "So he wouldn''t see his idol taking shots at his dad or screwing his grandmother?"


    "So he wouldn''t see his father act like a child." I replied.


    As much as he admired his brother at the moment, it would neverpare to his father.


    "....fair." He epted again. "....should I apologize?"


    "For what exactly?" I raised an eyebrow. "For abandoning him for years and leaving him to fend for himself with me asionally checking up on him to make sure he wasn''t dead. Or anything specific in that period of time you want to point out. Or just for thement about him being unwanted to his face?"


    "Since when are you defending him? Did you suddenly turn over a new leaf?"


    "Sirzechs." I said pointedly. "He saved our son."


    That made him release any anger or annoyance that came from our conflicting views at the moment.


    "yeah...he did." Sirzechs''s tension visibly eased. "I never apologized to you properly for making you handle that, did I?"


    "No." I replied without much expression.


    "I''m sorry, dear." There was a genuineness in his tone. Granted, I had forgiven him a long time ago even if I was still upset. But hearing a genuine apology, well. I found myself smiling slightly.


    "I forgive you." I continued to rub his head. "I''m not without sin here either. I handled it poorly and I could have done a much better job. We''re both to me."


    Was it jealously?


    I don''t even think it was that.


    I didn''t care if Sirzechs had a harem. The reason he didn''t was because of the political ramifications, so those old bastards made it a rule that the Satans can''t have a Harem. Or, at least, that''s what he likes to say, but everyone knew he wouldn''t give any credence to that if he didn''t want to.


    He just....for some reason, only cared about me.


    Maybe that''s why I treated that scared boy with such disdain. It''s funny, if he had brought in a mistress and they happened to have a child, I think I would have been overjoyed.


    What a mess this entire situation was.


    We both were at fault.


    But that bridge had long since been burnt. "Don''t apologize." I finally said.


    "Really?" He looked up at me incredulously. "You really think I shouldn''t?"


    "It''s not that you shouldn''t, but that at this point, it would probably do more harm than good." I exined. "I think the best we can do now is to just.....keep our distance." Any apology now...it woulde off as insincere and just....forced, regardless of how we tried.


    How exactly did one apologize for abandoning a child for so many years?


    Besides, we owed him far too much now to try and force any kind of reconciliation.


    "We should ¨C" Sirzechs stopped because there was a banging somewhere. "What''s that noise?"


    I also heard the thumping. "It sounds like it''sing from next ¨C"


    "Oooh." The moan was audible through the walls.


    Both Sirzechs and I froze up upon realizing what the sound was.


    "....they''re next door, aren''t they." Sirzechs whispered.


    "It appears so." I replied, amidst the constant thumping.


    ....that was the room Venna was staying in since she and Zeoticus stopped sharing a bed upon her being with Wilhelm....


    "Grayfia?"


    "Yes, Dear?''


    "What is the mature and reasonable response to hearing my son fuck my mother in the next room over?" He asked.


    "When I figure that out, I will tell you."


    "Grayfia."


    "Yes Dear?"


    "What happens if they have a kid?"


    ".....we try our best to behave well with your new Grandson¡ªSibling."


    Based on the sounds, I suppose he was correct. It certainly wasn''t for theck of trying on their part.


    "By the way, your punishment is going to be exining to our son the fact that his Grandmother is now having sexual rtions with his brother." I was not touching that with a ten-foot pole and we''ve sessfully kept it from him to this point. However, it was going to get out eventually and I was certainly not going to be the one dealing with it this time.


    ".....yes dear."


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: Through the looking ss. Part 1.


    It''s odd, you would think that falling through the infinite void would be something I''m used to at this point.


    You would be incorrect.


    While hurling through both nothingness and everything after a bout of trouble and a bit hurt, I was still screaming where no sound existed.


    It made me feel better even if no one would hear, maybe because no one would hear it.


    Regardless, I pushed through and tore open a path using the Kaleidoscope. My calctions were pretty much non-existent, so I sort of...eyeballed it.


    Like trying to throw a baseball from an airne to hit a target on the ground.


    I tried to force myself into the direction of home, and I pulled myself through. Sunlight greeted me, so I realized I partially seeded at least, but my facended squarely into some dirt and grass.


    I rolled myself over with a grunt, the ground was sunken and deformed into a bit of a hole at my descent.


    Nothing I couldn''t walk off, even if it felt like I got kicked in the balls, multiple times.


    After a moment, I pushed myself up off the ground and dusted myself off.


    I was about to leave until I realized where I was, making me scrunch my face. I was in the backyard of that house. It seemed like they rebuilt it so I''m guessing I was home, rtively speaking. I was in Kuoh, and at the house I grew up in.


    Hmm, should I burn it down again? It would certainly make me feel a tad better.


    Wait, why are there a stupid amount of Magical Protections around the ce?


    .....Ones I just crashed right through.


    While the question conflicted me, the back door was pushed open.


    Before I could understand what, or rather, who was looking at me, my body reacted first. I felt my arms trembling almost uncontrobly.


    I quickly turned around.


    "Well, this is the first time I had someone drop in so literally." Her voice made me stiffen.


    "Apologies, this isn''t my home, I must have taken the wrong turn somewhere." I cleared my throat. "I''ll just get out of your hair ¨C"


    "Stop." She said, and I felt myself instinctivelye to an abrupt halt as I attempted to walk away. "You''re familiar, turn around."


    "There''s no need for that, I''ll just leave and we can pretend this never happened." Well, this obviously wasn''t a mundane home, so I flicked my wrist and was about to Portal way, but...


    "Takao Shimoda, you will stop this instant.."


    I froze.


    "....I think you''re confusing me with someone else."


    "Turn Around."


    My body refused to listen to me as I turned around towards her.


    "Silly boy, do you think there would ever be a time I wouldn''t recognize you?"


    I looked at the face of a woman I hadn''t seen in many years. "....mama."


    Tears began falling uncontrobly.


    [***]


    This was...not what I expected.


    It was an ident, I shouldn''t be doing this.


    I found myself fidgeting because I couldn''t look her in the eyes.


    "Is it time travel?" She suddenly blurted out.


    "Pardon?"


    "Why you look older, and your hair is longer." She reached over, flipping my pony tail. "You look good with long hair." She smiled. "Look at you, so grown up. How old are you now?" She put a hand on my cheek.


    "....I don''t know."


    "....did you fail math that bad?" She looked at me incredulously.


    "It''splicated." I huffed. "Time is....wait, why did you assume time travel? Why are there Magic Protections here? Why are you living in this house?"


    "Sweetie, are you okay?" She frowned. "Did you hit your head in the fall?" She stopped for a minute. "It''s not time travel, is it?"


    "...no." I admitted, very quietly.


    "Exin it to me."


    I took a deep breath. "There''s this concept of Parallel worlds, where slight differences can ¨C"


    "I understand." She cut me off.


    "Ah..." Well she was always really smart. I guess I didn''t need to go in depth for her to get the picture. "I''m sorry....I''m not your son. This must be awkward for you, let me just leave so that ¨C "


    A pair of arms wrapped around me tightly. "You will always be my son." She whispered, grabbing me for a big hug. "I don''t care about the circumstances. You are my Takao, that won''t ever change."


    "Mama..."


    "Hush, your mama is here." She didn''t ask me why I was crying, I guess she didn''t need to. "I just have two big boys now. One of them a little bigger than the other." She released me after a few moments, looking me over. "You''ve been through a lot, haven''t you?"


    "What makes you say that?" I wiped away some of the errant tears.


    "Your eyes are much older now." She gently used her thumb to help. "My poor boy, what happened to you?"


    "It''s not all bad." I found myself smiling.


    "Tell me about it. Tell me all about your life, I want to hear everything."


    "Well...it''s a long story." My heart felt more at peace than I have for a very long time. "I have a daughter."


    My mom let out the loudest squeal I''ve ever heard. "I''M A GRANDMA!"


    "Mom...." I felt heat rise up in my cheeks.


    "Gah! I can''t believe it, I''m finally a Grandma! It''s about time you and Sona gave me a grandbaby!"


    The warmness abruptly faded away as I processed what she said.


    "Excuse me?"


    "Huh?" She tilted her head. "Did I say something wrong?"


    "...what did you say about me and Sona?"


    "Is....are you two not together?" She looked at me for validation. "My Takao and Sona have been so cute together. They grew up together, as you probably know. But they''ve always had this little crush between them and he finally asked her out this past year, and they''ve been dating for a few months now. It''s so cute! I have so many pictures, and I know Serafall has just as many!"


    She continued to say words, but it was just white noise at this point.


    Me and her?


    I was pretty sure that fall killed me.


    Because this was a special kind of hell.


    It was enough that I didn''t even care to parse the Teleportation Magics ring up around us.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty for people who can''t use the above, under the same name.

 Chapter 476 - 432

    <h4>Chapter 476: Chapter 432</h4>


    I nearly kicked the door to the house off its hinges.


    "I''m home!" I shouted for anyone that was here.


    "Wee home~" Yasaka responded from where she waszing around on the couch.


    "Thank you." It was Venna who answered for me, as her head peeked over my shoulder because I was carrying her on my back.


    "Rough weekend?" Yasaka raised an eyebrow at us.


    "Oh, definitely~" Venna and she shared a knowing smile.


    "I''m d you''re back." Yasaka got up, and gave me a quick kiss.


    "Do I get one of those?" Venna giggled, obviously joking, but Yasaka quickly moved and ced her lips against Venna''s, initiating a rather deep kiss.


    I sort of just stood there, silently watching them for a few moments before they broke apart.


    "Well, that''s a wee surprise." Venna''s expression didn''t change much, and not a hint of displeasure.


    Yasaka just had a smug look about her as she noticed my expression. She grinned mischievously, patting my cheek.


    My girls were the best.


    "I heard you had a fun dinner." She finally said.


    I walked over, letting Venna slide off onto the couch. "That''s one way to put it."


    Well, I was one hundred percent sure she knew the details, so I didn''t really feel the need to recap.


    "At least you had a fun weekend." Her eyes lit up with amusement.


    "Tired." Venna practically fell over. "Been awhile since I''ve been this exhausted."


    She wasn''t the only one. I can honestly say that after spending nearly the entire weekend with Venna, I was also tapped out for the moment.


    The funny thing was, despite all the ridiculousness that''s inside of me, that really should elevate me to levels beyond her ability to handle in such a way, she kept up without much issue.


    But damn if that wasn''t a good problem to have.


    Yasaka just giggled at her response. Her tail wrapped around me happily. "I almost thought I would have to drag you back home. You were cutting it close, time-wise."


    "Oh,e on." I nudged her with my shoulder. "You know I wouldn''t miss something so important."


    "Is it time to go meet the people at Kunou''s new school?" Venna perked up. "With everything else happening, I nearly forgot."


    "That''s a lie." Yasaka rolled her eyes, looking at me. "You should see the messages she''s been sending. Pretty much hourly updates so our schedules wouldn''t conflict."


    "Don''t give away my secrets~"


    Maybe I should just let Venna run my Harem? She seemed to be really good at it? Though it seemed to run itself already.


    "Mmm, when you get back, how about we talk about setting up a ydate?" Venna offered. "I think Milicas would love to have a friend. He''s sort of stuck in the same situation Kunou is, it''s hard for him to make friends when his dad is a Satan and the others don''t have kids his age."


    I was certainly not against Kunou having more friends.


    And....after the fiasco of that dinner, I suppose it wouldn''t hurt to try and mend bridges in some parts outside of the ones I couldn''t bring myself to actually like. My Half-Brother was by no means guilty of any negative feelings I had for much of his family.


    "Alright, we can talk about that after." I nodded.


    Nearly as soon as I said that the door opened and a fluffy missile shot right at me.


    "Daddy!"


    I caught my little fox in a big hug with Raikou right behind her.


    "Can you tell she''s excited?" Yasaka smiled.


    I guess after the knee jerk ''abandonment'' reaction wore off, she hyped it up a bit in her head? If I were in her shoes, it would certainly also be an exciting thing to me as well.


    I rubbed her head and gestured for Raikou. My Servant epted the side hug since Kunou was wrapped around me. Followed by a quick kiss, she smiled happily and sat on the couch next to Venna.


    "Was she hard to deal with today?" I asked.


    "I was good!" Kunou immediately denied. "Right, Auntie Raikou?"


    "She is always wonderful." Raikou chuckled.


    "No burned down building?"


    "Dadddd, that was only one time!"


    "Only one time so far." Venna snorted with a bit ofughter.


    "Auntie Venna...." Kunou pouted.


    I don''t know how it happened, but she started calling Venna Auntie as well. Honestly, I think Kunou was a lot like me in that aspect, she really loved having a big family. She''s happy to take it in any form it came in.


    A new Auntie? Sign her the hell up. Just another person to dote on her.


    She had them wrapped around her finger and everyone knew it.


    But I digress.


    "How about breakfast? Then maybe we can do some paperwork? Also, I have some errands to run...."


    "Noooo, Dad!" Kunou started pulling on me.


    "What?"


    "I wanna go look!" She whined.


    "Really? Do you wanna see it that bad?"


    "Yes!!!"


    "Alright, stop teasing our poor daughter." Yasaka nudged me. "We already nned to head over right away after your Auntie Venna decided she was done with your Father."


    Venna''s smug smile didn''t disappear even as Yasaka shot her a little grin.


    "We, I suppose." I said with mock reluctance.


    The Little Fox all but bounced around the room with another burst of excitement.


    There''s no way this school was going to be still standing by the time she graduates.


    "But seriously, anything we should take care of before we go?" I looked towards Yasaka.


    She held up her hand, then started lowering fingers. "Artoria is handling that.....Sc¨¢thach is handling some other things. Oh, then there''s the personing from ¨C"


    "I''ll handle that." Raikou suddenly spoke.


    "I appreciate you so much." Yasaka''s expression softened. "Thank you."


    "It''s no trouble." Raikou dismissed.


    "But I still need to send someone to investigate the ¨C"


    "I already talked to Jinn, she''s handling that." Venna interjected with her phone in her hands as shezed on the sofa. "I saw what you said a few hours ago and started arranging things. Don''t worry about it, go ahead."


    .....a few hours ago she was very much preupied, so I''m genuinely confused as to how she was keeping up with Yasaka''s schedule and arranging things. Not that I''mining at all, but I am very much impressed.


    "Then I guess I have nothing but free time for the next few hours." She finished with a smile.


    "Let''s go, Daddy!"


    "Yes Daddy, let''s go." Yasaka giggled.


    Well, a nice rxing outing with my two fluffy girls would be a nice reprieve inparison to thest few days.


    [***]


    "Kunou, I want you to be on your best behavior." Yasaka said rather sternly as we walked out of a portal. "I know you''re excited, but we''ll have time to look around and have fun. Promise me that you won''t run off."


    "I''ll be good, momma." Kunou nodded.


    I let them have a moment but we were getting quite a few looks. Perhaps our method of arrival, or their unique lookspared to the people around, but we were clearly the center of attention.


    Well, fuck''em.


    I didn''t really care to hide myself that much. And I refused to tell my two beautiful foxes to hide themselves either.


    Especially if Kunou was going to be attending the school here for several years. There''s no way I would force her to hide her features for that long a period of time.


    Yasaka briefly mentioned before that it''s not difficult to appear more human, hiding her ears and tails. But that it be exceedingly ufortable the longer it''s held for. After a few hours, it''s an annoyance, a few days it would be unbearable. Given the years that Kunou would be learning here that wasn''t really an option, especially in a boarding school.


    Nope, either everyone here deals with it or we find an alternative.


    If anyone wanted to give her shit, well, I was more than happy to teach them a lesson.


    Once they had a little hug, I led them inside. Rather, we were at the entrance to Diagon Alley from the inside, and we were walking back out to the little tavern.


    And again, the people only seemed to stare for a few moments. I guess the magical people here were used to a bit of stranger sights, so Yasaka and Kunou didn''t elicit too great a response, but there were obviously people looking longer than they politely should have.


    But there was one person who got up and approached us.


    "You must be Mr. Wilhelm Schweinorg and Miss..Yasaka?" The older woman seemed to slightly stumble on the name, it wasn''t difficult by non-eastern standards, but then again, they''re a very insr society. "I am Deputy Headmistress for Hogwarts ¨C Minvera McGonagall." She introduced rather bluntly.


    There was also a certain...sternness to her. Tense, maybe? But she didn''t particrly look enthused by our presence for some reason.


    Before we could speak, Kunou poked out from between us. "Hi, I''m Kunou." She smiled brightly.


    Ever so slightly, that cold exterior of the Deputy Headmistress cracked as she looked at the fluffy fox. I don''t know what misconceptions she began with, but at this moment, those seemed to be thrown out the window in front of the strategically deployed Fox.


    "Yes." She seemingly settled on, a touch of softness was now found in her tone. "We were expecting you three. If you don''t mind, we can proceed immediately to Hogwarts."


    "That would be lovely, thank you." Yasaka answered.


    "Normally, we would use the Floo to directly go to the Headmaster''s office, but in this circumstance, I believe you wished to see the school?"


    I...had no idea what this Floo was, my investigation into this ce was not horribly conclusive yet, but I just nodded my head.


    "Very well, would you like to Side-Along Apparate, or follow along?"


    "We''ll follow along." I nodded, having only a vague idea of what she was talking about now. I was aware to a certain extent that Wizards and Witches here had a method of teleportation, as some of the books barely touched on the topic, but I had yet to investigate it.


    The Deputy Head-mistress nodded again. "Very well. Hogwarts has Anti-Apparition words throughout the castle, we will need to appear some distance away. Please wait a moment and follow along."


    With that, she disappeared with a strange mixture of a pop and a crack.


    I couldn''t help but scrunch my face as I watched what she did.


    "What?" Yasaka looked at me. "Is something wrong?"


    "Imagine being a cksmith, working on your craft for decades. You tirelessly honed your skill and after many long years, you consider yourself a master and take pride in every work thates out of your forge. Then, you see someone swinging around a piece of bent and rusted metal that was grinded down so it has an edge, and they im it''s a good sword." I did my best to articte my current feelings. "That''s what I''m feeling right now after seeing how she teleported."


    Yasaka rolled her eyes and swatted at my shoulder. "Let''s go."


    I sighed, opening a portal by following the traces she left. And by traces, it was basically a big neon lit sign that said ''This is where I went!''.


    I''ll have to fix that shit if Kunou ever wanted to learn it.


    Unfortunately, learning the Kaleidoscope wasn''t just a matter of effort, but a certain inherent talent that can''t be replicated without some absurd circumstances.


    Ignoring the patrons in the bar, my family and I appeared on a cobblestone road, right in front of a long brick bridge that led to a rather impressive castle that stood over a body of water.


    I admit, I was left a bit breathless by the scenery.


    If nothing else, I would praise the first impression I had of this ce.


    "...that was not Apparition." The Deputy Headmistress spoke as we were suddenly jerked back to her presence.


    "Pardon?" I blinked.


    "....nothing." She thinned her lips with an indiscernible look in her eyes. She cleared her throat and put back on a natural expression. "Wee to Hogwarts." She said with a hint of pride.


    "Daddy, it''s so big!" Kunou eximed. "This is really the school!?"


    "It certainly is impressive." Yasaka spoke with a bit of awe. "I''m a little jealous that you can go to school in a castle like this."


    I let out a whistle myself. "And the Magical Protections here are equally impressive." I wasn''t just blowing hot air either. I would genuinely be hard pressed to break through the many Bounded Fields that I could just catch with a nce without resorting to....certain destructive means. "Let''s see, an intent based recognition. Another one that parses for certain unknown parameters, but...oh, is that for throwing out rms for non-students and faculty? Neat. And a ¨C"


    "Dear." Yasaka gently nudged me.


    I awkwardly cleared my throat. "Apologizes, I get carried away sometimes."


    The Deputy Head-Mistress pursed her lips as she looked at with a strange look again. ".....Yes, Hogwarts has a long and proud history with many impressive Witches and Wizards who have graced these halls. It seems that with every new generation of Headmaster, the safety of Hogwarts is further enhanced."


    Why was there a sharpness to her tone?


    I had the distinct feeling she was not particrly fond of me?


    Though, she seemed to quickly change gear. "This is the South Entrance, if you look off to your left you can barely see the North one along with the Quidditch field a bit further beyond." She pointed off. "We have a very good Quidditch program here, and professional teams often scout uing talent from the House teams." She preened as she said that, but got a little more serious as she looked down at Kunou. "However, only second years and above are allowed to attend try-outs for the team. We want first years to limate themselves to Hogwarts first before branching off into various hobbies and extracurricr activities."


    Kunou''s tails swayed and she had that same big smile on her face. "What''s Quidditch?"


    The woman nearly stumbled over herself as she heard what my daughter said. With slight wide-eyed she looked as if she was making sure she wasn''t the butt of a joke.


    And honestly, I wanted to know what Quidditch was too.


    I mean, I heard about it offhand when I was walking around and assumed it was some kind of sport. But details would go a long way here.


    Then, she looked at both Yasaka and myself as if to gleam anything from us, but we both had nk expressions in return.


    "....it is the most popr sport in the wizarding world." She said with a strange tone, like she couldn''t believe she had to exin this to us.


    "Oh, I wanna y!" Kunou''s eyes lit up. "Can I y too, daddy?"


    "Yes, can she y too?" Yasaka giggled, looking at me.


    "Once you''re eligible, you can make decisions like that yourself, sweetie. While you''re here, you''re also responsible for yourself in things like this." I put a hand on her head.


    Maybe she''s just been told how and where to walk most of her life that decision making was something she left to others?


    No matter, some independence will be good for her.


    "And beyond we have a small town that older students are allowed to visit on the weekends called Hogsmead." The Teacher continued. "It''s less than a 30 minutes'' walk from the castle."


    Sounded almost like a College and apanying College town.


    Honestly, impressed so far. The Facilities looked very good on the surface, we''ll see how they hold up under a bit more scrutiny.


    "And how far does the School''s property extend? You said that Kids aren''t allowed to go to this town, right? Are they also not allowed to leave the Castle itself?" I asked.


    "The School grounds extend to the forest you can see in the distance." She pointed. "However, that Forest is forbidden, and your daughter will learn more about thatter. And it is obvious where the grounds end on the other sides as they are marked by a pathway. We do not allow younger students to venture beyond these points without being apanied by a teacher, and without a reason. As for venturing beyond even Hogsmead itself, without a proper reason, students are not allowed to leave without express approval by the administration."


    I nodded, not perturbed by her words. It was a boarding school, kids were supposed to stay at the school. Randomly going home whenever they wanted went against the whole concept.


    Exceptions were made for obvious reasons. But we wouldn''t be able to simply pull her out for a weekend to visit or what have you.


    It was both an experience for them and a ce of learning.


    "Let us not tally." She said promptly, pivoting on her heels. "Please follow me."


    Silently, we paced along across the brick bridge. Kunou marveled as she quickly ran to look over the edge and nearly jumped around to get a good look at the massive castle.


    We couldn''t see most of it from this angle, but it was a marvel of engineering if nothing else.


    Coming up to somerge wooden and metal doors, they seemed to open by themselves.


    A person waited beyond for our arrival as the Deputy Head-Mistress came to a stop for them.


    An older gentleman sporting some rather colorful ¨C and painful to look at ¨C robes. He also had a remarkable beard that went down to his waist.


    "Albus, I thought you would be waiting in your office."


    "I found myself fancying a walk." The Older man chuckled and his attention turned to us. "Greetings, I''m the Headmaster of Hogwarts. I am Albus Dumbledore."


    He held his hand out and Yasaka took it first. "I am Yasaka, Leader of the West Kyoto Youkai." She introduced professionally. "Thank you for allowing us to visit."


    "Oh, it''s certainly no trouble!" The Headmaster quickly eximed. "I admit I am excited. Rarely do we get visitors from your side of the world." His eyes twinkled for some reason. "Wee to Hogwarts, I hope that regardless of any discussions, you enjoy your time here."


    Well, he seemed nice.


    He then looked at me and I took his hand.


    But before I could speak, there was a sh of mes, and a very familiar looking bird appeared and perched gently on his shoulder.


    "Birdie." Kunou''s eyes shed.


    The Headmaster chuckled awkwardly. "Apologies, Fawkes here likes toe and go as he pleases."


    The Bird in question let out a soft squawk at him.


    "It''s nice to meet you, Headmaster." I shook his hand politely. "I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself with a very well-practiced ease. "You have a wonderful School here."


    "Yes, I''ve heard your name in recent days." His eyes twinkled again.


    "Good things I hope." I smiled.


    ".....that depends on the perspective, I suppose." He said with a strained smile. "And who is this wonderful littledy?" He his tone shifted to a bit more grandfatherly as he hunched over slightly to address Kunou.


    "Hi, I''m Kunou." Kunou introduced herself. "You have a pretty bird."


    "Why thank you." He smiled good-naturedly. "Fawkes here has been mypanion for many years. And he loves when peoplepliment him. Don''t you?" He gently rubbed the mythological bird.


    "....can I pet him?" Kunou asked, a little bashfully.


    "Well, that depends on Fawkes. While he may seem almost like my pet, he is actually my familiar and a partner. He is no less intelligent than you or me, so you need to respect his opinion on the matter."


    As if to answer, the Bird pped his wings and almost dropped to the ground to get more level with my daughter.


    "It appears that he said yes." The Headmaster chuckled.


    Fawkes tilted his head slightly and Kunou silently, but excitedly, began to rub him gently.


    I mouthed a thank you to the bird that looked at me from the corner of his eye.


    Well, so far, I wasn''t getting any bad vibes, and my instinct was spot on for most things. Thus, I was being skeptically optimistic so far.


    "Well, this is wonderful." Dumbledore pped his hands. "I have been looking forward to this meeting for several days now." He turned his gaze to me. "I had the most interesting news arrive not long after I received your original letter. My good friend Ollivander regaled me with an interesting tale about a rather particr customer of his."


    "....I paid for all the damages."


    The corners of his lips curled up. "Yes, yes. He had to reassure the Auroras that there was no malicious intent regardless of the substantial damage to his shop."


    Yasaka stared at me.


    "And then there was an incident that urred that brought the entirety of Diagon Alley into a chaotic hazard. Seemingly, there was a strange spell cast that disrupted a significant amount of wards that hid the Alley from the Muggles. The Auroras scrambled to fix the issue without rming the poption."


    "...how peculiar." I forced out.


    "Yes, quite." His eyes twinkled again. "After investigation, they said that it was a simple Lumos spell amplified to a degree unheard of. Quite the conundrum."


    Yasaka''s eyes drilled into me.


    "I can only hope that the proper authorities handle the issue with haste and do diligence." I said with apletely straight face.


    "Indeed." The Headmaster stroked his rather impressive beard. "Then, I heard onest piece of interesting information."


    "Oh?"


    "Yes, And I find myself confused." He stated. "I have some good friends in the lovely Aurors from the ministry that are working on a rather strange case. You see, a masked man and a....bird, reports say a Phoenix, were seen osting a rather prominent member of themunity."


    He looked at me, then down at Fawkes.


    Fawkes squawked and disappeared in a sh of mes.


    "They say that the bird in question was.....oh yes, painted blue for some odd reason." The Headmaster informed me. "And that the masked stranger bludgeoned several people."


    "It sounds like a strange tale indeed." I was an expert in keeping my cool.


    The headmaster continued to stroke his beard. "You wouldn''t happen to know anything about this, would you?"


    "I have never met a phoenix before in my life." I responded with my expert lying ability. Fawkes already reappeared with a sh of mes,nding up my head and nodding to confirm my statement.


    I could tell by the look on his face that I sessfully fooled him.


    In apletely unrted matter.


    "How about we talk about that sizable donation we wished to make towards Hogwarts?" I definitely wasn''t changing the subject.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name for people who can''t use the above.

 Chapter 477 - 433

    <h4>Chapter 477: Chapter 433</h4>


    "Albus." The Deputy Headmistress leveled a rather intimidating re. The kind that only a teacher could do.


    "Minerva ¨C" The headmaster seemed to want to say something but he quickly shrunk down under her intense gaze.


    Funny enough, I felt Yasaka''s tail tightened around me quite a bit and she was looking at me with a simr kind of look.


    I wisely kept my mouth shut.


    "Oh, if it isn''t our Groundskeeper!" The Headmaster suddenly dered as another figure came into view, seemingly having nothing to do with us as it looked like they were going about their business. "Hagrid, why don''t youe on over here!"


    It was enough that the Deputy Headmistress stopped looking like she was about to shave his admittedly impressive beard off.


    Well yed Headmaster.


    The neer himself was...rge.


    To put it politely.


    No way he was fully human.


    Therge man awkwardly trotted over at the Headmaster''smand. "Headmaster." He greeted back with a jovial tone and a big grin on his face.


    Now that I got a better look, he was definitelyrge. Shit, I looked like a child next to him. Even his clothes looked handmade because there was certainly no way he was shopping off the rack. Big and tall sections had their limits.


    Oddly enough, he had this really....gentle vibe to him.


    I would almostpare it to Jeanne, if to a lesser extent. Whereas Jeanne was bright, warm and weing, he felt more of a duller gentle, but still enough that I almost instinctively felt at ease around him and felt no threat whatsoever.


    "Hagrid my boy,e,e." The Headmaster held up his arm. "Introduce yourself to our guests. We have a potential studenting from afar."


    "Ah, I''m just the groundskeeper. The names'' Rubeus Hagrid." He smiled happily.


    "You''re big." Kunou blurted out.


    "Ah, that I am." He chuckled in amusement. "And you''re a wee littless, ain''t ya?"


    "I''m not small!" Kunou puffed up. "I''ll be as big as momma when I get older."


    "That you will." He humored her.


    He obviously noticed her features, but there wasn''t any change in his expression it seemed, so...points to him so far, it was looking good.


    Not that I would be upset that someone was surprised or perhaps even startled to a certain extent. But for him to not even bat an eye made a really good impression.


    "I have a bold suggestion." The Headmaster rubbed his beard. "How about letting our Groundskeeper give your daughter a tour while we talk about the finer details of enrollment?" He offered. "Hagrid here knows all the best spots around Hogwarts."


    Let Kunou y around the castle instead of being forced into a small room while we negotiated for her to attended? Well....that wasn''t a bad idea on the surface.


    Yasaka looked at me and then at Kunou before her eyes fell on Hagrid there.


    "I''m okay with this, she''s been a bundle of barely contained energy ever since we came over, I''m fine with letting her explore a little bit." Yasaka smiled lightly. "Dear, can you let your familiars out to keep herpany?"


    That''s a good idea.


    With a thought, I held out my hands and let Sir Wiggles and Lady Wiggles pop out onto them before handing them over to Kunou.


    Sir Wiggles already knew what to do, the dutiful Bunny that he was.


    Kunou, of course, let out a happy cry, hugging both of them happily.


    "Well, I was on my way to feed the owls....I ''ppose I we can go see them first." Hagrid didn''t seem to mind.


    "Owls?" Kunou''s eyes lit up. "Can we pet them?"


    "I''m sure there will be a few that don''t mind." Hagrid assured her.


    Right, let''s send my two rabbit familiars into a ce that normally treats small rodents as food.


    Well, with our blessing she followed the big guy off. And no one had a word ofint, so I kept my mouth shut as well.


    "Well then." The Headmaster pped his hands happily. "Shall we?" He gestured to therge doors leading into the castle.


    Yasaka and I both epted his invitation to enter. And immediately, we were greeted with a rather immacte sight. Beautiful stonework meeting an elegant and well crafted tile flooring up to arge staircase.


    Hundreds of paintings littered the walls, each one unique enough that there seemed to be no actual theme to them, however.....there was movement.


    I would say in about 90% of them, there were images moving. Which....might not sound weird, but they greeted us politely or acted indifferent. There were ''people'' walking from one of the painting''s edges and appearing in another. People were having a feast in one painting, and a battle in one on the opposite side. A snake slithering across a branch that fell down to a lower painting and nearly got attacked by an startled elephant.


    It was obviously magic, but that didn''t detract from the whimsical scene that unfolded before our eyes.


    They were probably just animated through magical means and repeated certain actions and phrases based on input, but still, it did elicit a sense of fantasy that a School built around Magic should have.


    "Wee, to Hogwarts!" The headmaster said with a bit of ir, arms spread out. "As you can see, Hogwarts is not like most schools, even at first nce."


    "That''s an understatement." Yasaka noted.


    "indeed." The Headmaster agreed with that same amused look of his. "Come, let us go to my office to continue our chat. Minerva, if you would be so kind, perhaps a brief history of our school?"


    "Of course." The Deputy Headmistress nodded as we walked up the stairs amidst the constant looks and whispers of the paintings. "It all begins just before the turn of the 11th century. Four powerful Witches and Wizards had an idea, to gather the Magical Children of the country and build a school to teach them and house them from the growing unrest around muggles."


    "You''re talking about the advent of the Church in thends and their growing presence?" I hazarded a guess.


    Her lips tinned, not quite at me or my questions, but more the circumstances. "Quite." She said curtly. "Some people like to cite the Witch burnings, but that was merely one of many extreme examples that pushed Magicals'' away from their muggle cousins."


    I nodded in understanding.


    It seemed like they weren''t separated at this point in time, which was about the same back home. The Mages Association got started only a bit prior to that themselves and they still mingled with regr folk and the concept of Magic, while mythical and ethereal, was still something that most considered to exist in the right ces.


    "The Four founders gathered upon this very spot, finding it the most magically abundant spot in the isles."


    "Ah, that makes sense. To support the amount of Magical Protections and sheer amount of Magical Power that''s infused even in the air here, this spot must have rather abundant Leylines." I mused.


    "Pardon?" The Deputy Headmistress looked at me strangely.


    "Did I say something wrong?" I blinked, and even Yasaka was confused.


    The Headmaster even looked at me with a strange look, but different from her. "You speak of something not many know about."


    "Albus?"


    "It''s alright, Minerva, it''s nothing bad. Nor is it much of a secret. Simply one of those things the Ministry is happy to not talk about nor propagate willingly." He waved it off. "Leylines are old magic, something we don''t much use these days. I''m curious, however, how you know so much about the subject to immediately see through it?"


    Was....it not obvious?


    Were Leylines such a nebulous concept here that people don''t know about them? I''m honestly surprised, and while they aren''t much used by the average person back home, they were still a consideration and something taught by all....


    "Part of my duties is to watch over the Leylines of Kyoto." Yasaka answered for us. Which was true, but it wasn''t the whole truth.


    "Ah, how interesting." He simply said with a smile.


    Okay then.


    There''s always going to be some kind of disconnect between World normal logic. Leylines seem obvious and rudimentary to someone such as myself, but to them, it''s something old and unknown.


    Oh well, I wouldn''t dwell on it too much.


    "As I was saying." The Headmistress awkwardly cleared her throat. "The Four Founders ¨C Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenw, Szar Slytherin, and Godric Gryffindor." She introduced. "They created this school to protect and educate the Magical Children of Britain. Along with the school, they each created a house that embodies one of their ideals. Gryffindor for the courageous, Hufflepuff for the loyal, Ravenw for the knowledge seeking, and Slytherin for the ambitious. Each student will go through a ceremony to be sorted into one of the houses for which ¨C bar extenuating circumstances ¨C they will remain for their entire time at Hogwarts."


    "And what significance do these'' Houses'' have?" Yasaka asked.


    "They dictate your house mates, of course." She began. "Also your schedules, and for whom you will share amon room and dormitories with. There are....rivalries, as to be expected, as well. And as well as which teams you will be a part of should you be interested in certain extracurricr activities."


    That sounded...odd.


    Not the idea of helping kids form their own groups to help integrate into the school, but the segregation seemed a bit systematic. I couldn''t help but feel that would foster certain insr social groups within each house and the school atrge.


    But as long as it didn''t reach a certain point, it was Kunou''s job to navigate all of that. One of the major points was for her to handle things like this on her own and experience some semnce of independence.


    We barely turned another corner as something whipped by.


    Perhaps it was instinct that everyone made way for it, but I was honestly surprised enough that I sort of paused and didn''t immediately do something as it nearly ran into me as well.


    There was a ghost floating in the air.


    I wasn''t unfamiliar with Ghosts, but to see one so tantly was....odd.


    He sort of reminded me of a jester with his attire.


    "Peeves, what mischief are you up to?" The Headmaster looked at the floating specter.


    "Peeve isn''t doing anything." The Ghost did a little flip in the air with a smile that seemed to contradict his words. And his grin grew wider as he inspected us. "Oooh, new icky visitors, I''ll be on my best behavior." He floated down, flying around us rather haphazardly.


    "Where do you think you''re trying to touch?" Yasaka''s hand shot out as the ghost''s own fingers were about to make for one of her tails.


    The Deputy Headmistress let out a small gasp for some reason.


    "Y-you''re touching me?" The Ghost spoke in confusion as Yasaka''s hand wrapped tightly around his ethereal wrist.


    Yasaka tilted her head at this surprise. "Where Ie from, we have been exorcizing spirits and demons for thousands of years." She narrowed her eyes and released his hand with a harumph.


    The Ghost metaphorically backpaddled far away from her into the air.


    "Ahem." The Headmaster cleared his throat. "Peeves, you know the rules. Don''t disturb our Guests, your behavior this time was not eptable. We will be having a conversationter and I will give you a suitable punishment. Now, begone." He waved his hand and an invisible force pushed the Ghost through the ways away with a small cry from the specter.


    Hmm.


    It seemed like the Magical Energy of the Castle moved at hismand. Well, it made sense that the Headmaster would have all butplete control of a ce that had so many Magical effects woven into its foundation.


    I wouldn''t be surprised if he could activate all the nasty defense mechanisms I detected by just walking inside with but a thought.


    "Why do you allow a Ghost to run rampant?" Yasaka asked. "Surely you could properly exorcize it?"


    "Ah that is....an interesting dilemma." Headmaster let out a small sigh. "You see, Peeves isn''t a normal Ghost, he is a Poltergeist. I''m making this distinction on behalf of our true Ghost residents. We have a few hundred Ghosts that roam the castle as the Castle''s Magic sustains their existence. They are just as much a part of the school as any of the staff. They have been here far longer than any of us, and this is their home just as much as theirs. Who am I to tell them they must leave for they will be here far after I''m gone."


    That....made an odd amount of sense.


    It''s an interesting take on Ghosts, however.


    I''ll just make sure to keep Meridia far away from here because just her presence alone might idently force them to move on.


    In any case, this probably will only excite Kunou even more.


    "And here we are." He finished as we approached a statue of a Gargoyle. "Gum Drop." He seemed to randomly speak, but the statue shook and trembled before a screeching sound arose and it began moving across the tiled floor, revealing another staircase.


    It was only a short walk up the stairs until we arrived at his office.


    A desk sat at the front with two angled staircases behind up to an observation deck that looked over something, but I couldn''t quite see from here. And it was worth mentioning the plethora of books that decorated the bookshelves all around. And I suppose the few portraits that hung on the walls that silently observed us even if they didn''t move overtly, their eyes didn''t stay still.


    "Please, have a seat." He gestured to the two chairs on the other side of his desk while he took his obvious seat and his deputy Headmistress stood at this side. "I believe it''s time to get down to business. Fawkes, how much longer are you going to stand there?"


    I looked up at the bird that had been on my head the entire time.


    He let out a low noise and sort of leapt off my head and glided to the perch on the side of the room.


    Well, where to start?


    "You have a beautiful school." Yasaka began with the pleasantries.


    "Thank you, I take great pride in the school. Out of my many positions, I believe my office of Headmaster is the one I am most proud of." The Headmaster smiled.


    He didn''t seem like a bad person at all.


    "I suppose we should cut to the chase then." Yasaka relented quickly. "I ¨C we," She corrected, looking my way. "Have the desire to enroll Kunou into your school as we''ve already informed you."


    "Yes." He stroked his beard. "As I ryed to Mister Schweinorg here, I admit this situation isn''t normal. Not to say we don''t get foreign students, but none so...."


    "Politically vtile?" Yasaka offered in a bit of self-deprecation.


    "Ah, I was going to say unique." He chuckled. "My knowledge of your culture is minimal, so please correct me if I am wrong. She is....akin to what we would consider a Princess in standing among your people?"


    "That''s a good enough approximation." Yasaka nodded.


    "We have hosted members of the Royal Family in the past centuries, so we are not unwilling to concede certain requests due to her status, but you must know that we treat all of our students fairly."


    "I assure you, that is exactly what I''m hoping for our daughter." Yasaka quickly replied. "We want her to experience a rather normal time at school. For her to learn Magic and make friends without the weight of my position scaring away or mudding the waters, so to speak."


    Normal for what a Magic School would offer anyway.


    "If I may, is Mahoutokoro not an option? I couldn''t imagine that she would have a hard time at the Japanese Wizarding school even so. I have not had much contact with the Headmistress over there in some years, but she runs a very tight ship and would handle all matters professionally."


    I had no idea what that was, and neither did Yasaka, but the context clues were rather obvious.


    Yasaka shook her head. "There are circumstances that we would prefer Kunou not be in Japan for a while for our peace of mind. A safe ce for her to go to school, make friends, and have a bit of independence are what we need."


    "I see." He said, though I doubted he actually did. But I could imagine he was making some wild guesses in his head.


    It''s not like we had to overly lie here.


    A bit of truth in our vague answers would go a long ways.


    "If you are set on your choice, then there should be something you are aware of. While Hogwarts is perhaps the best Magical School in the world, at this moment, we are a bit...short handed." He frowned slightly. "Due to a series of unconnected circumstances, we are down a handful of teachers for this uing year and we will do our best to fill the roles, there is every possibility that we will have to stretch ourselves a bit thin to amodate."


    Hmm, he was being rather forting.


    "Since you''re being frank, so will I. While I care about Kunou''s education, it''s not the primary reason for her attending here. I can''t im to know much about your human society, but there''s every possibility she stops caring about Magic down the road. Or even if she does not, she will live much longer than a human would."


    "We want her to enjoy her childhood properly." I joined in. "And I can say with some confidence that anything she''s missing in terms of education, we can quite easily fill the gaps if she pursues this path further."


    "An odd perspective, but not one I can argue. I will also value our students'' education foremost, but I agree that the lessons learned in these halls do not alwayse from the ssroom." The Headmaster smiled. "If you view our current predicament without a problem, then I will not speak of it further. However, there are certain requirements for one to attend Hogwarts. Some I agree with, and others are out of my hands. The Ministry is very particr on the ''heritage'' of our students." He said with no small amount of disgust in his tone.


    "You''re talking about if she''s human or not." Yasaka said dryly.


    "Unfortunately, the Ministry ces arge emphasis on such things." The Headmaster nodded. "Regardless of my will, I cannot change those facts."


    "Technically speaking, Kunou''s father was a human." Yasaka responded, the same thing I said before to the Goblin. "I believe they allow half humans, by that definition, yes?"


    "That is the case." He smiled, not rejecting her. "And how old is she?"


    "She will be turning 11 in a little over a week." I answered this time.


    "Just in time for the new school year." He looked contemtive. "As for the other regtions, everything would appear to be in order. There are nows or rules that prevent your daughter from attending, I merely need to register her with the proper paperwork for a foreign student. With that settled, what do you want."


    He did say they could amodate certain situations.


    "Speaking of heritage." Yasaka emphasized with the same tone he used. "I am led to believe that your society here is very racially motivated. How much can I expect my daughter to be bullied?" For emphasis Yasaka swished her tails for the obvious insinuation.


    "We do not allow discrimination." He also emphasized. "However, children will be children sometimes and we cannot police them every moment of every day. They are mostly left to their own devices outside of ss. I will not lie and say that there isn''t a portion of the students that agree with the Ministries'' policies."


    "We want Kunou to be able to learn how to deal with bullies herself." I continued where she left off. "As much as it goes against my instincts as a parent, she needs to be able to deal with difficult people in life. That being said, Children can be cruel. Kunou can protect herself, and she will do so if she is threatened, Headmaster. However, if someone crosses a line that shouldn''t be crossed, it won''t be a matter of some disciplinary action on the school''s part."


    There was a hint of something as I said that, like a tense moment where he almost rose to show off his hardened side.


    Was it a threat on my part? Perhaps. But it wasn''t meant to be a ''threat'', in that regard.


    I was acting in the capacity of a parent warning that if their child was harmed, there would be hell to pay, and I doubt any other parents would fault me for my protectiveness.


    "I will make sure to express to the students what should and should not be done at school." Was the Headmaster''s vague answer.


    "Speaking of non-humans, I would like to make it clear that certain aspects of our biology are not there for random people to touch." Yasaka immediately stated. "No more should a person touch another on their rear or privates should anyone be grabbing at her tails or ears."


    The Deputy Headmistress looked the most startled by what she said. Perhaps startled might be wrong, but she sort of had a realization as Yasaka said that. "I will take personal care to remind the students about boundaries of personal nature." She just as quickly reassured her. "It has been a very long time since we have had an incident that involved ''unwanted advances''. And they will be dealt with as harshly as possible."


    I''m d that Yasaka brought it up because that''s something that would have slipped my mind. But I''m d they take a very firm stance against any kind of physical harassment.


    And I think there were unspoken things there that could only be understood between women.


    "May I ask, how strict are the punishments here?" Yasaka didn''t speak up again, so I was assuming that the delicate topic was settled. "Kunou is a good girl but....she can be a bit of a hellion when she''s in the mood. She won''t have any malicious intent, I can promise that, but I can''t say for sure that some chaos might not ensue."


    The somewhat awkward atmosphere that developed only a moment prior evaporated quite quickly.


    "We have had our fair sure of chaos, Mister Schweinorg." Dumbledore''s eyes twinkled in amusement. "It seems that every generation we have some pranksters that liven up the school years at their own discretion. As long as no maliciousness is involved and no serious harm is conducted, we will handle things lightly and properly. Detentions are the mostmon form of punishment, but we also have a system of points dedicated to each house. If one of the house''s members causes a problem, we can deduct points before attempting further disciplinary actions."


    "And what''s the purpose of these house points?" Yasaka asked for rification.


    "The winner at the end of the year wins the House Cup."


    "And what''s that?"


    "A trophy."


    "That''s it?"


    "Quite."


    "So you use peer pressure to keep the students in line?" I blinked. "That''s...devious and oddly impressive."


    "Thank you." The Headmaster took thepliment quite happily.


    I was starting to like him.


    "With that being said, I would like to have a guard apany Kunou."


    "A guard?" Dumbledore furrowed his brow.


    "Yes, I can''t feel at ease unless someone is here just in case."


    "I''m afraid that won''t be a viable option. This is a school for children. The parents would be in an uproar if they found out that there was a guard following her around and skulking themon rooms and dormitories." He rejected.


    "What about outside? She shouldn''t be in trouble while she''s in her room. But simply to have him on hand around the castle?"


    "It would cause a simr problem. If I allowed it once, many others would desire the same thing. I assure you, Hogwarts is a safe environment and no harm wille to her within these halls."


    "You have to understand, Headmaster. Kunou isn''t a normal student, as much as I want her to have that experience, she needs someone close by at the very least." Yasaka was standing firm.


    "I''m sorry but we cannot ept such a thing. It would be protection for your daughter, yes, but for everyone else, it would be a strange person in the school that''s not tied to our staff."


    "I..may have a solution." I interjected into their argument. "If you wouldn''t mind, what exactly were the positions that needed filling for the school year?"


    The Headmaster looked at me. "Care for Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, Magical Theory, And Defense Against the Dark Arts. We have a potential teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but we are still considering the others."


    "A second question, are familiars allowed in school?" I asked as well.


    "They are allowed under school rules as long as they are not a danger to the students and do not cause a distraction." He nodded.


    "So here is my thought, I have some people I know that might be able to fill a couple of your positions." I nced at Yasaka and she realized who I was talking about. "A friend of mine, a very aplished Witch. And she has a mundane ¨C muggle Fianc¨¦ who is a History Teacher with years of experience and the proper degrees outside."


    ".....a Muggle to teach...muggle studies?" The Headmaster mused.


    "That''s....not a bad idea, Albus." The Deputy Headmistress chimed in. "We can''t deny that the ss itself has fallen to the wayside in thest couple decades and we usually have to resort to finding a muggleborn that may not even be a proper teacher. Merlin knows the Magical Born Children need to know what''s going on outside of our society." She muttered something under her breath about an ''Arthur Weasley''.


    "And he knows about our Wizarding world?" The Headmaster asked.


    "He''s aware." I nodded.


    For what it counts as being aware.


    The Headmaster looked thoughtful. "I can''t say I''m against the idea. A family friend, you say, would be within eptable parameters for acting as a ''guardian'' for your daughter. And if they are trulypetent in their job, I would have no reason to reject them. However, I can''t merely ept them based solely on your word, if they are willing we can arrange an interview."


    Yasaka then tugged on my slightly. "Do you think she''ll agree?"


    "Maybe, worst case, it falls through." I said openly for the Headmaster to hear as well. "I haven''t talked to her yet, so I can''t promise anything, this is mostly hypothetical. So, worse case as I said, she declines. Then we''re back where we started, everything is sorted but we want someone to watch over Kunou. We could always have someone stationed off school grounds ¨C they said there''s a small vige or town nearby? Let someone stay there, and Kunou can carry Sir Wiggles and Lady Wiggles with her just in case."


    "I''m sorry, did you say Sir Wiggles?" The Headmaster asked.


    "Yes, is there a problem?"


    "No, please continue." He said with a very big smile for some reason.


    Yasaka bit her lip, and she looked like she was struggling with herself. "Maybe I''m just being too protective." She finally relented. "We can make ample preparations even if we can''t have a guard nearby inside the school for every moment of the day."


    It''s not like she wouldn''t have a vast amount of protection on her. Combined with Sir Wiggles, and someone stationed that can arrive in a timely manner, well, I think it''d be fine.


    I''ll ask Meridia to lend a hand there as well. A little surprise in case anyone tried to actually harm her and somehow gets past everything else.


    "Wonderful." The Headmaster pped. "Now that the matter of enrollment is sorted, let''s talk about the situation that arose some nights ago. Fawkes has been very tight lipped; I would like to know the finer details."


    "So, is a million Galleons a good starting point?" I immediately offered with a straight face. As even that wasn''t much to me in all honesty.


    "You know what? Our illustrious Aurors can handle it, I''m sure."


    "Albus!" The Deputy Headmistress squawked.


    "Don''t worry, Minerva, there''s finally a budget for the Transfiguration club you wanted!"


    "D-don''t try to bribe me!" Though, it seemed to work fine.


    "Now, Mister Schweinorg." He expertly diverted her attention away from the donation I promised. "What is the name of this Witch you want to refer?"


    "Medea." I said simply. "Of Colchis."


    He went oddly silent.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


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 Chapter 478 - 434

    <h4>Chapter 478: Chapter 434</h4>


    Albus Dumbledore POV


    It''s an odd feeling. Having questions answered and finding myself with even more than when I started.


    Oh, I wasn''t unfamiliar with not knowing things. It''s the concept that drove human innovation, to see the unknown and question it rather than simply epting. I always relished questions and happily sought answers by my own hands. But at the moment, I was unsure of how to proceed because I usually found my answers after having the source of them sitting in front of me.


    I expected....


    Well, I''m not quite sure what I expected in hindsight.


    Perhaps a more subtle game of wits. A polite conversation on the surface as we attempted to glean each other''s motives and navigate a negotiation. It would not be the first time, nor would it be thest when it came to handling the more predominant members of the Wizardingmunity.


    The Older Malfoy always preferred such methods when we engage in any kind of discussion even as mundane as his son''s recent schooling.


    But s, I was thrown off initially by the forting and forthright answers and questions I received.


    The name Schweinorg was an enigma, one I wished to unravel and hoped to understand more in this encounter, but instead I entertained a concerned pair of parents who wanted to enroll their daughter into our school.


    I admit, it''s hard for me to corrte the rumors and facts surrounding the apparent grandson to the almost mythical figure of his grandfather.


    Was he dangerous? My many years of life led me to answer yes to that question. An undeniable yes that made me cautious even at the mundane topics of our discussion.


    Not just him either, his.....wife?


    Odd, I don''t believe I asked if they were married, nor did they rify their rtionship beyond the nature of lovers if the intimacy they disyed wasn''t obvious.


    The woman herself was also dangerous, even if it had a different vor.


    I had not spent much time in the East and my knowledge of their culture was minimal, but I''m surprised that such a person was unknown until now.


    I would need to have correspondence with the Headmistress of Mahoutokoro and ask her opinion.


    But despite this, despite all the concerns and hesitation I had, I.....found myself with significantly less worry than when I began.


    There didn''t appear to be any deception, no underlining scheme. Simply....two parents who wished the best for their daughter.


    It was a lovely thought.


    "Albus?"


    "Yes, Minerva, did you say something?" My attention was snapped back into ce.


    "You were quiet and staring off for a few moments." She informed me.


    "Ah, Apologies, it seems old age catches up with me in some unfortunate ways. My mind tends to wander these days." I hummed, collecting my thoughts. "What did you think of our guests, Minerva?"


    They had merely departed a handful of minutes ago, so I wished to hear her fresh opinion.


    My former student pursed her lips, looking unsure of herself. "I''m not sure."


    "Yes, quite the conundrum." I stroked my beard with a small smile. "I find myself reminded of a certain child of the ck family when he first entered our school."


    Minerva immediately scowled, even if there was a softness now present. "I hardly think thatparing them to Sirius ck is proper." She huffed indignantly. "Especially after what he did."


    "Perhaps, but I remember the boy that caused mischief with his friends fondly despite what happenedter on."


    An unfortunate thing, truly. I thought that Sirius was well and truly on the side of light and he loved and cared for his friends.


    I don''t know where it went wrong, because that same boy who ran around these halls was not a Death Eater. Unfortunately, I was proven wrong as he admitted to it to the Aurors at the scene of the crime.


    "Still, Albus..."


    "Minerva." I looked at her the same way she did with her own students. One never forgets that I''m disappointed in you look that you cultivate while teaching. "Don''t hold onto prejudices based on circumstantial rumors."


    I couldn''t wholeheartedly me her however. She, along with many others, experienced two Dark Lords that started significant wars nearly back-to-back. Her generation were skeptical, understandably so, of anything that didn''t fall in line with what they knew.


    I was not one to propagate the Dark Arts and even dissuaded people from delving into them, but I was not too blinded to know that there was Dark and then there was Evil. I did not agree with the former, but I would fight against thetter with everything I had.


    A nuance that many in our insr society seemed to forget.


    The current divide in racial and pureblood ideology did nothing to help those assumptions either.


    "He named his Rabbit Sir Wiggles." I added. The corners of her lips curled ever so slightly. "Truly the most nefarious Wizard to ever grace our halls, wouldn''t you say?"


    "Oh, stop patronizing me, Albus." She rolled her eyes with another huff. "Fine, I admit it. I was holding onto a cultivated image in my head, are you happy?" She said with some exhaustion in her tone. "Despite my misgivings." She said pointedly. "They did not appear to be the bad sort." She sniffed.


    I''ll take the wins where I can.


    "And don''t think I forgot that you epted a bribe right in front of me!" She pointed her finger.


    "You let me." I countered.


    She stuttered to form some manner of rebuttal, but failed much to my continued amusement. "Albus, just because I ept that I was judging them inappropriately, that does not mean there are no concerns to be had."


    "Yes, I agree. I only hope that this mysterious Vignte can be brought to justice." I found myself smiling.


    "Albus." She said in a warning tone.


    "Come, Minerva, It''s not so much of a problem that the Daily Prophet is making it out to be."


    "He bludgeoned several innocent people with a brick!" She eximed. "It doesn''t matter how amicable they were moments ago, how can you turn a blind eye?"


    "Fawkes seems to like him." I looked at my familiar who was looking rather cheerful for some odd reason.


    He let out a noise in confirmation.


    "See?" I offered to soothe her anger.


    Her eyes narrowed at the Phoenix. "I have not yet started with you."


    Fawkes wisely departed with a sh from the room.


    And certainly it was a big mark in their favor that Fawkes seemed to adore the young man for some reason. He would not tell me why, but through our Familiar Bond, I could feel that he was happy around him.


    "Would it help if I told you that the ones that suffered under this mysterious person''s wrath were not the nicest Wizards in our society?"


    "Albus, we can''t just dictate ¨C "


    "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Goyle, Lord Nott ¨C"


    "However, it isn''t our duty to assert thew." She quickly changed her tone. "Our Aurors can handle the investigation."


    "Ipletely agree." I smiled.


    I would never suggest violence as the immediate answer to any problem, but I will say that it was much easier to reject the vile legition proposed under the Pureblood faction in the Wizengamot because a good portion of the supporters were sent to the hospital for head injuries the night before voting.


    "Albus." Minerva''s tone turned quite a bit more serious. "You know what concerns I''m speaking about."


    Yes, she only had a passing interest in the supposed brickening that seemed to happen to some of the illustrious members of our society.


    Matters outside of the concern of the school usually did not phase her.


    "I know, Minerva, I know." I let out a tired sigh, standing up from my chair. It''s getting harder and harder to sit for long periods of time now without my back aching. "Not the least of which is how they were able to ignore the School''s Wards."


    "How is that possible, Albus?" She asked, clearly concerned. "These Wards are probably the best in Europe, maybe even most of the world."


    By modern standards, I would agree. It''s hard to argue the point, however, when there are ancient tombs discovered in Egypt that are uncrackable even after years of dedicated study and attempts.


    But I digress.


    "I can honestly say I have no idea." I answered truthfully. Our discussions ended on a rather cheerful note and I personally handed the prepared letter to their young Daughter. I didn''t follow, but that doesn''t mean I didn''t watch. They left from within the wards. Not even I can Apparate from within the Castle, but what they did was clearly not Apparition. I had never seen nor heard of such a method of travel before, and clearly, none of my predecessors had either because not a single Ward triggered to block them on departure.


    Oh, the Wards certainly registered something, I could tell that much. But it was merely to say that someone left, rather than stop them.


    Not even the House Elves had an idea of what urred, as I broached the idea that they somehow used a simr method that the House Elves used to pop into ces.


    It was certainly a concerning line of thought.


    But....would it not be more concerning if they hid it for malicious use?


    Once more, the enigma of their family name reasserted itself.


    What''s more, the woman ¨C Yasaka, was able to casually grab hold of a Poltergeist without any of the noticeable signs of Necromancy.


    Was that simply the methods of the East that I was familiar with, or did it indicate something else that should further concern me?


    I would be true to my word when their Daughter attended but.... I would also keep a certain eye out for anything else that may appear.


    Who knew, with the return of Voldemort maybe we might have an unconventional ally if I yed my cards right?


    "I will reach out to my contacts and ask around." I told her in an attempt to reassure her worry. Granted, I did not believe anything would turn up. Without blowing hot air up my robes, I was one of the foremost experts on spellcraft in the country and I was utterly ignorant, thus my confidence was nonexistent.


    "I guess there''s nothing left to do but prepare for theing school year." Minerva let out a sigh of her own. "I will make a small speech concerning our newest student and respecting different cultures during the opening feast."


    "That would be best." I nodded, thankful.


    It would be very bad if something unsavory happened due to ignorance and an apparent Princess of another Race was.....harmed on our watch.


    I am not aware of the power wielded by them, but the way they talked about our Ministry was....irrelevance bordering contempt.


    One more thing I will need to reach out to my fellow Headmistress to ascertain. She should surely be able to shed some light on these Youkai and their influence for me.


    "Before I go, Albus. Why were you so surprised at the name they mentioned, the witch for teaching Magical Theory/Studies?"


    "Ah you don''t recognize it?"


    "Should I?" Minerva''s lips thinned.


    "Maybe, maybe not. The name originates from the same era as your own namesake." I walked to the bookshelf, looking for a certain tome. "Here we are." I took it off the shelf and put it on the desk.


    "Ancient Tales of Sorcerers?" Minerva read the title. "Albus, I''m not ignorant of the name. when he mentioned her I thought it was something more relevant than old legends."


    "Minerva, Colchis hasn''t existed for nearly two thousand years."


    "....oh." She said softly.


    Yes, oh.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    "We''re home." I announced after entering the house.


    Immediately, several heads turned towards us.


    "How was your trip?" Medea sat at the dining room table with her Fianc¨¦e. I told her we were on our way home and asked her to meet us here.


    "Aunty Medea, look!" Kunou ran up and showed her the letter. "I''m going to a Magic School."


    It wasn''t just Medea that was curious, Artoria and Rin were both here as well and looked over the Witch''s shoulder to see it.


    "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" Medea began to read. "Dear Miss. Schweinorg." She stopped looking at me as were the others.


    "What?" I asked. "It''s weird for them not to havest names over there. Why can''t my Daughter have myst name?" Not that I didn''t ask beforehand, I didn''t want to assume, but both Yasaka and Kunou were both more than willing for it to happen.


    So as far as that ce was concerned, she''s Kunou Schweinorg.


    A funnybination of Japanese and German naming conventions, but who cared.


    Yasaka, for some reason, wrapped her tail very tightly around my waist with a big smile on her face.


    "Dear Miss Schweinorg, we are pleased to inform you that you have been epted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. h h, starting date." Medea finished and went to another page enclosed. "Dragon Hide gloves!?" She suddenly eximed.


    "No idea." I shrugged.


    "I''m gonna be a Witch just like you, Aunty!" The little fox grinned.


    Medea was conflicted at that statement it seems. She didn''t like being called a Witch, but at the same time...


    "You sure are." She quickly hugged the little fox as it was obvious which side won over there.


    No one can defeat the little fluffy fox.


    "Dang, you''re really going through with this, huh?" Rin looked at me.


    "She seems to like the idea." Yasaka responded.


    "I take it the meeting went well." Artoria asked.


    "Despite the circumstances." Yasaka sent me a look. "Yes, things went about as well as expected. Only one small hup, which is why we wanted to talk to Medea and Kuzuki about something."


    "Not just me but hubby too?" Medea looked at us as Kunou climbed into herp and the Greek Woman was more than happy to rub her head and spoil her.


    "If he wants, it''s more an opportunity if you''re willing." I responded.


    "Hmm, consider my interest piqued." She nced at the stoic man sitting at her side. "What do you think dear?"


    "I am interested as well." He said inly.


    "Talking to the Headmaster, there seems to be a few openings at the school for teachers. I didn''t want to presume anything, so I merely floated the idea as a possibility, and emphasized I haven''t asked your opinions first. If you would be interested, they would have you interview for some teaching positions." I cut right to the chase.


    Medea and Kuzuki both nked for a second. And I can understand, it was a sudden thing I just tossed in theirps.


    "Let me get this straight, boyo. You''re offering us jobs?" Medea asked.


    "Not me, just ran into the opportunities and wanted to inform you of them. And please don''t misunderstand, I''m not trying to pressure you into anything nor coerce you. I''ll be upfront and say that it would be super helpful to us because we would want someone to watch Kunou from afar in case of anything happening."


    Honesty was the main thing with Medea. She would rather you tell her to her face anything bad and be blunt about it rather than try and scheme or make ns around her. If you wanted her for something, just straight tell her and you would have significantly more of a chance than otherwise.


    So, I was honest and told her the purpose of us telling them about it, about how it would be beneficial to us in the long run.


    "What position?" Kuzuki asked, still keeping a straight and expressionless face.


    "Muggles Studies which trantes to Mundane History and basically covers their non-magical counterparts. The Magical Culture there is very insr, and they''re ignorant about a lot of modern conveniences while keeping to an era several decades behind." I briefly exined.


    "Books?"


    "I have plenty if you''re interested." I nodded as he was mostly wanting an idea of what he was supposed to teach from the source material.


    He nodded as well, but without confirming yes or no.


    It was right in his wheelhouse, mostly. He was a History teacher, so it''s not something foreign to him.


    "What about me?" Medea asked.


    "Magical Theory." I answered, not needing to go into detail.


    "And you know I''m unfamiliar with their Magic, right?"


    "I have enough books and you''ll be a master in a week." I rolled my eyes.


    "True." She said smugly. "That''s a big thing to suddenly throw into ourps."


    "I know, but we literally just found out too and the idea was worth bringing up. You mentioned a ce you wanted to live previously; this ticks all of your boxes."


    "And I would like to say that this isn''t contingent on you bing Kunou''s guardians while she''s living over there." Yasaka chimed in. "We have a backup n and while we would be thrilled with your help, this is also an opportunity for you both. A ce you can build a true home and live if you desire."


    Medea and her fianc¨¦ shared a simr look with one another.


    "How long do we have to think it over?" She asked.


    "We''re going back in a few days to shop for Kunou''s school supplies, and that''s when we told the headmaster either he''ll receive you both for an interview or we''ll send a letter with a rejection." I replied.


    "We will discuss it. However, we will require the material to form an answer." Kuzuki answered for them both.


    "No problem, Jinn already sorted the stuff in the library, you can go there whenever you want or ask her for help." Which covered everything they''d probably want to know. And I would also answer any questions they had, but they were probably a bit overwhelmed at this moment and suddenly going in depth on the details might not go over so well.


    Best to give them a little bit to settle down before delving deeper.


    I perked up suddenly, because someone was approaching.


    A knock on the door indicating I was correct, which was odd because I don''t think we''ve ever had a stranger knock on the door ever since setting up the house.


    The Bounded Fields actively dissuaded people from approaching.


    I got up and went to open it because the presence felt familiar.


    "Odin." I greeted with a bit of surprise at him being here.


    "Heya Brat." He walked right past me and through the threshold without any offering of him toe in.


    If I didn''t already know his whole attitude, I may have taken offense.


    And he wasn''t alone.


    A woman in a suit was apologetically standing outside still.


    I gestured for her toe in and she looked very thankful.


    "Hope, I''m not interrupting anything." He said, looking at all the faces in the room.


    "You were." I answered.


    "Well, that sucks." He didn''t seem to care all too much. "Anyways, how you doing kiddos?" He inspected the ce. "Nice home, lots of defenses, not bad. Might have been able to stall me for a couple moments. Anyways...." He stopped, looking at Kazuki of all people. He tilted his head in contemtion, and sort of moved his whole body to follow suit. "Hey, you ever consider being a viking?"


    The stoic Japanese man merely raised an eyebrow in surprise but otherwise, barely reacted to the All-Father''s sudden question.


    "Hmm." He rubbed his beard. "It''s rare to see a warrior like this out of nowhere. I don''t sense any Magic, nor any Touki or anything on you. What''s your game?"


    "I apologize, I am merely a teacher." He responded bluntly.


    "Yeah, and I''m merely a handsome and charming grandpa." He snorted. "Anyways, that''s not why I''m here. But introductions for you kiddos, I''m Odin, All-Father, h h. Since you''re the brat''s people, you probably know everything already so I won''t exin more."


    "Thank you for that wonderful introduction, Odin." I said dryly.


    "I need to call in that favor, brat." He pped his hands. "Oh right, my babysitter." He pointed at the silent woman who looked like she wanted to hide in a corner. "Introduce yourself." He said almost dismissively.


    "I-I''m Rossweisse, Lord Odin''s Valkyrie." She awkwardly stated.


    Well, may as well go around the room.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I tried to smile politely because it must be super difficult being under Odin, I didn''t want to make it harder for her.


    "Hello dear, I''m Yasaka." Yasaka picked up on it too.


    "R-Rin." Our resident Magus suddenly blurted out next. "I mean, I''m Rin." She corrected. "Rin Tohsaka. It''s nice to meet you."


    "O-oh, it''s nice to meet you too." The Valkyrie smiled.


    ....was Rin blushing?


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty with the same name for people who can''t use the above.

 Chapter 479 - 435

    <h4>Chapter 479: Chapter 435</h4>


    I found myself utterly still. Almost like, if I moved too suddenly, I would identally do something to disturb the unusual scene unfolding in front of me.


    Had I ever seen Rin act like this with someone before?


    The Valkyrie was, objectively, extremely beautiful. She had long, silver hair. She was tall and with generous proportions, and also, she had a certain gentleness to her.


    For some reason, she elicited almost a subconscious desire to pat her head and tell her she was doing a good job.


    Maybe it was just the result of the perceived hardships I imagined came with working with Odin on a full-time basis? I certainly had sympathy for that alone.


    Regardless.


    "You''re a Valkyrie?" Rin asked, even after hearing her introduction, but I guess small talk had to start somewhere.


    "Yes, I''ve passed all of my exams and graduated Valkyrie School." The woman nodded. And I was surprised they had a streamlined process like a school. "I''ve been serving Lord Odin for a few years now."


    "That''s pretty impressive. I''m a Magus myself." Rin puffed up, and she snuck a hand up, pushing her hair behind her ear.


    The Valkyrie flushed ever so slightly. "Oh, is that like a human Magician!?" Her eyes lit up in excitement.


    "That''s right." Rin smiled. "I inherited my family crest and everything." She proudly said even though that''s something that the Valkyrie probably had no context for, but I wasn''t going to interrupt.


    "A crest?" The Valkyrie tilted her head and her eyes widened. "I didn''t know humans had crests too!" She eximed excitedly. "What magic do you specialize in!?"


    "My family has specialized in Jewelcraft for centuries." She put her hands on her hips with a little smirk.


    "Jewelcraft?" The Valkyrie said in confusion. "What''s that?"


    "It''s a form of Magecraft that let''s someone imbue spells into the geometric structure of jewels, and they don''t require the user''s Magical Energy to activate." She gave a very brief description which was about what everyone knew on the subject back home that didn''t practice Jewelcraft.


    "That sounds wasteful, why not just use a Magic Circle?"


    I looked at Odin and he noticed my gaze and he looked back at me with a strange look as well. I think he was also kind of taken back by what was happening before his eyes. Because it certainly didn''te off as a simple exchange.


    Secondly, I looked towards Medea who had a growing grin on her face, and she also noticed me looking her way. Her smile grew into something a bit more mischievous.


    I quickly and subtly shook my head.


    She frowned and nodded.


    I again shook my head impassively.


    She let out a silent sigh and rolled her eyes, relenting.


    It was obvious she nned on doing something to mess with Rin, and I wanted to nip that in the bud.


    Rin was having a moment and I didn''t want it to be ruined.


    "Because Jewels hold Spells far better than a Magic Circle can." Rin answered. "And using a Magic Circle still requires the caster to tap into their own reserves. With enough time and preparation, as long as I never run out of jewels, I can theoretically cast spells forever."


    The Valkyrie looked utterly star struck for some reason. "Because jewelse from the!!" She blurted out. "They''re untouched and uncontaminated by any kind of outside influence normally. They''re basically a natural Magic Circle!"


    "T-that''s exactly right." Rin stumbled for a second as the Valkyrie hit the nail on the head.


    Well, back home we consider them as a simplified Magic Crest, but the concept was close enough.


    "That''s amazing! Who thought of such a fantastical idea? I need to find some jewels now andpare them to my own Spell Circles and figure out if I can''t modify mine to match the natural constitution! Maybe if ¨C"


    "Stop being a nerd." Odin smacked the Valkyrie on the head with his hand.


    "L-lord Odin!?" The Valkyrie whined, rubbing the spot where she was hit.


    "Go do something else, the grown-ups need to have a chat." He huffed her way.


    "Wah!?"


    Odin nced my way, and I could take the hint.


    "Hey Rin, why don''t you take her to see the Library, I''m sure you should find some things there she might find interesting to keep you guys preupied." I offered.


    It seemed like at that moment, Rin''s awareness of where she was, and who was around here came falling back into ce.


    She looked at me once with a strange look, and an adorably embarrassing pink hue on her cheeks. "Right, why don''t I show you the library here, while they deal with their own crap?"


    "I would like that." The Valkyrie smiled rather beautifully.


    "Y-yeah." Rin swallowed noticeably, and she quickly led the other woman down the hall, disappearing from sight.


    "Well, that was interesting." Yasakamented.


    "That was nice of you." Artoria was swiftly at my side, putting a quick kiss on my cheek.


    "Ooooh, you''re so wonderful~ Why don''t I give the big hero a kiss too~" Odin made little kissy faces at me.


    "Can you act your age?" I rolled my eyes.


    "Never!"


    "We''re leaving, boyo." Medea stood up along with her fianc¨¦ as Kunou climbed out of herp. "If you''re not going to let me tease that brat, then I don''t care to stay."


    Well, I couldn''t me her for her abrupt departure. She really was ufortable around Gods. She was a little bit better around Izzy and even Meridia because I think she trusted me, but with Odin suddenly popping in she was definitely feeling antsy. Especially with how Odin was fawning over her Fianc¨¦.


    Odin, to his benefit, didn''t say anything to her. Nor did he go out of his way to antagonize her like he seemed to enjoy doing to most people in his proximity.


    After she left, Odin took a seat on the couch as we all settled in.


    "Thanks for not poking her." I said.


    "Bah, I''m not stupid." Odin Harrumphed. "I could see her fidgeting as soon as I entered the room. Who is she? She''s like this one." He jerked his thumb towards Artoria.


    "Medea of Colchis."


    Odin stroked his beard for a moment as if trying to recall. "Ah." Was all he said in response, and it was enough for him to understand.


    One did not be a God of Knowledge without being able to put two and two together.


    "Momma, I want my candy." Kunou grabbed at Yasaka''s sleeve.


    "What candy do you want? You only get a little bit."


    "I want the candy beans."


    Yasaka took out a ratherrge bag of candy beans. Rather, it was a random assortment of vors that imed to have every vor in the world.


    Every vor.


    Even the bad ones.


    We couldn''t leave that ce without stopping and letting Kunou pick out some treats in Diagon alley. We only stayed for a few minutes, with the promise ofing back in a few days to do her real shopping for school.


    She cheerfully took one out and handed them all around. "This one is for you, Mama." She handed her a brown one.


    Yasaka forced herself to keep her smile. "Thank you, sweetie."


    "Daddy." She handed me a green one. "And Aunty Artoria." She handed her an orange one.


    "Make sure to give one to your guest too." I poked one of her tails.


    "Here you go, Grandpa." She casually said, handing the Great God Odin a piece of candy.


    "What a magnificent offering, I am thrilled to ept it." He yed along. He threw it into his mouth and began to chew and, almost in slow motion, his chewing ground to a halt and he just had a nk look on his face.


    "Something wrong, Odin?" I asked and Kunou looked at him too.


    "....nothing." He forced a smile even worse than Yasaka. "It''s delicious, thank you." The God slowly swallowed what was in his mouth.


    Was I going to tell him the specifics about the candy?


    Nope.


    I tossed my own into my mouth and began chewing it.


    Ick.


    Seaweed.


    It could have been worse, I suppose. Strangely, it had a smidge of a salty vor to apany it.


    "So, what do you need, Odin?" I finally asked.


    Kunou settled down next to Yasaka and seemingly didn''t care about the conversation, she was happily munching on her candy.


    "I need you to help me go hunting." He replied.


    "You mentioned that before, you want me to go with you through Yggdrasil?" I can''t say the idea didn''t appeal to me. I would love to explore the branches of Yggdrasil properly.


    "Mmm." He grunted. "It''s about time I do some pest control."


    "Got any leads?"


    "One or two."


    "You don''t sound too confident."


    "Do you think they put up a sign?" He snorted. "We''re dealing with Loki''s tricks, we will be lucky if these leads don''t turn out to be false and meant to mislead us by him."


    True.


    And I had a score to settle with the Trickster God.


    "It''s going to have to wait for a few days." I leaned back, putting an arm around Artoria. "I have a few things I need to settle." Basically, I nned on visiting Nuwa, then I needed to finish Kunou''s school shopping. "Unless, there''s a pressing time concern?"


    Odin leaned forward, interlocking his fingers. He was silent for a moment. "Immediately, no." He answered. "But it needs to happen soon. If It''s only a few days or a week, it''s fine. But any longer and I don''t know what things will be like."


    "Have things escted over there?"


    "What had been probing attacks by Jotunheim and Muspelheim have taken the first step beyond. My son finally ordered a state of war barely a day after the meeting."


    "A wise move then, to use the initial excitement and morale to lessen any voiced opposition in regards to cooperation." Artoria chimed in, clearly keeping up with the happenings going around.


    Odin smiled happily. "My son has a good head on his shoulders." He said with clear pride.


    "I''ll make it a priority after I''m done. I just need to go visit Nuwa then take Kunou to shop for her school supplies in another ce, then I''m free."


    "Nuwa?" Odin ran a hand through his beard. "Hmm, that makes sense. She''s probably going to give you a nice gift as thanks and to build a rapport."


    "That''s what Izzy told me." I nodded.


    "Don''t take the Cougar with you if you go."


    "Pardon?" I ignored his nickname for her.


    "If you bring her, it will escte things outside of visiting the Goddess. You''re a hotmodity right now, it''s unlikely that the Jade Emperor isn''t aware of who you are and your sudden presence will alert him. If you bring a God from another Faction, it will give him an excuse to force an audience. If that''s what you want, do whatever. But you''re going to get caught up in all that Divine Court crap for a while."


    Honestly, I hadn''t considered that.


    Truthfully, I would rather not get involved with the Celestial Bureaucracy at this point if it meant being tangled up with Divine Red Tape.


    That''s unfortunate because I wanted to take Izzy with me.


    "Fine, thanks for the heads up." I responded.


    "Yeah, yeah." He waved it off. "I''m going to walk around Kyoto for a bit, tell my Valkyrie when shees out to find me."


    What went unsaid was that he was sticking around nearby so his Valkyrie would have time to spend with Rin, for whatever happens.


    "Ah, one more thing." He stood up, stretching his back. "I''ll give you the teleport coordinates to one of their cities that gets a lot of foreign traffic. It should be a good ce to hitch a ride from there to Nuwa''s ce without too big of amotion."


    Once more, Odin definitelyes through.


    Now I just need to figure out who''sing with me.


    [***]


    "Are you both ready?"


    "Yes." Artoria nodded.


    "I have nothing else to concern myself with." Sc¨¢thach replied.


    Basically, mostly everyone else was busy, and Artoria and Sc¨¢thach were more than happy to apany me.


    "Where''s Jeanne?" I also intended to ask her, but she''s been noticeably absent.


    "Mordred took her to y somewhere." Artoria answered.


    ...that''s cute.


    Oh well, if she''s enjoying herself, I won''t bother her.


    "No Rin?" I asked.


    "She''s...busy." Artoria said carefully.


    "Uh huh." I couldn''t help but grin. "Busy with any one in particr?"


    Artoria pursed her lips. "Please don''t tease her if you see her. And no, Rossweisse has not reappeared after the time Rin and her spent together."


    "Don''t worry, I''ll wait until something is firmer before I give her a hard time." I wasn''t going to potentiallypromise any rtionship of hers just for augh. "If there''s anything." I rified. "I''m not going to overtly stick my nose into it and all that, and I don''t want to presume. But I haven''t seen Rin act like that before."


    Artoria couldn''t help but smile. "Yes, it is nice to see Rin take an interest in someone else in such a way. She was noticeably a bit more cheerful afterwards."


    "Just tell me when she''s ready for double dates."


    Artoria ever so slightly flushed. "I believe Rin does not yet recognize any extra feelings herself, so you will wait for some time."


    If anything developed was unspoken again.


    It just means we needed to help out in the background when we can.


    Operation Valkyrie seduction was a go.


    I''ll ask Odin to drop by randomly and bring the Valkyrie with him.


    "I suppose it''ll just be us three then." I smiled.


    I would never be upset about going out with two women I dearly loved.


    "Do you have any knowledge about the culture we are going to experience?" Artoria asked. "I admit that the knowledge I possess does not seem applicable here."


    "I have read many books when I was younger." I said proudly.


    "Student, for some reason, I have the urge to pinch you." Sc¨¢thach narrowed her eyes.


    "....They were fiction." I coughed. "But I''m sure there''s not much difference."


    I may or may not have read many novels about certain fantastical elements of Chinese mythology.


    I felt prepared enough.


    "Anyways, let''s head over." I pped my hands and mentally filled in the Calctions that Odin gave me. A portal opened up and we quickly stepped through, an entire new world greeting us.


    There was sort of a hub, a space for people toe and go without any fanfare, which was why we didn''t need any significant notice or anything like that.


    Around us, plenty of other people ¨C many of which weren''t human ¨C were teleporting in and out of the area.


    But we were more taken with the entire change of scenery.


    The hub itself was a floating pagoda.


    Seeing out the many windows, and there were oceans of clouds, along with literal oceans nketing the horizon.


    There were also mountains floating in the sky, and I was assuming we were on one such mountain at the moment.


    Further above, there were floating inds with waterfalls that spilled over the edge, yet didn''t fall on top of our heads. There were bridges that connected them, and wonderful buildings that decorated each one.


    It gave off a very ethereal vibe.


    And it was undeniably a beautiful scene.


    And every so often, we could see people flying above. Some one some strange beasts, others on some sort of vehicles without any discernible method of proper movement, and rarely, someone flew on a sword.


    I would admit, my inner teen was smiling big right now.


    "What should we do first?" I looked at mypanions who were also silently marveling at the surroundings. "Go straight to our destination, or maybe get some proper clothing, maybe some food and explore for a little bit before going over?"


    Artoria, she immediately twitched a little at the thought of food, while Sc¨¢thach was seemingly interested in exploring.


    I may or may not have intentionally touched on things that would interest them specifically.


    "Excuse me, My Lord and Ladies, may I have a moment of your time." A youngish man stopped us, sping his hands and bowing rather submissively. "I dare not presume, but If you are new to the city, I have lived here my entire life. For a small fee, I can take you anywhere you desire."


    Huh, was it that obvious we were new here?


    I guess we did gawk a bit as we first arrived. And taking a quick look around, he wasn''t the only one that looked like they were waiting for neers to propose their business to.


    Everyone needed to make a living.


    I nced at Artoria and Sc¨¢thach and they didn''t seem put off by the idea.


    "We don''t have any local currency." I replied.


    "Any currency of value can be exchanged." He put on a polite smile.


    I held a handful of gold out. And his eyes shed as he very quickly made it disappear into his sleeve. "You are wise, my Lord. I dare not say that I am the best guide, but you would find it difficult to find one better than I. This one''s name is Ren Song, please call me Guide Ren, I will lead you anywhere you desire and help you to the best of my ability during your stay."


    "My girls and I want to explore for a bit. Specifically, we want somewhere nice to eat, to buy some local clothing, and anything else of interest. Lastly, we heard that there''s some sort of transportation that''s used to fly to other ces? I''m not quite sure about the conventions used here."


    The young man sped his hands again. "If you wish to move from one city to another, the Teleportation Pagoda can be used." He gestured around us. "If you wish to go somewhere...else, then you will need to move from normal means, my Lord. Certain Sects and ns don''t allow Teleportation onto their territory, so regr means must be used."


    That makes sense I suppose.


    "Just out of curiosity, what if I wanted to go to the Heavenly Court?"


    The young man froze briefly before recovering. "My Lord, you must be joking, very few are allowed to venture into the Heavenly Courts. If anyone dares to trespass, they will be executed on the spot. No manager will allow their mounts to fly anywhere near such a forbidden Zone."


    "Amusing, let''s go anyways." Sc¨¢thach suddenly spoke up.


    "We are not here to cause trouble." Artoria rejected.


    And I think Sc¨¢thach pouted a little. "Then I will make do with mundane. Child, tell me, are there any interesting things in this city?"


    "Yes, Fairy, I know every interesting point in this city. If it''s for entertainment, I know the best ces for those who wish to fight. If you want to test your luck, we house many Casinos. If you desire the Arts, we have performances that even the Court Officials will descend for." He answered rather fluidly.


    Sc¨¢thach nodded.


    Well, we can''t waste too long, but we can hit the best ces before leaving.


    "Do you know about Nuwa''s Pce?" I asked.


    Again he looked taken back.


    "Everyone knows about Goddess Nuwa''s Pce, my Lord." He replied quickly. "However, if you are thinking about visiting, you will be disappointed. It is not listed such as a forbidden Zone like the Heavenly Courts, but it is off limits to outsiders and no one dares to trespass."


    "It''s fine, we''re invited." I waved it off.


    "....my Lord, may I ask your name?"


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself. "But...." I may or may not have felt giddy saying this. "Call me Young Master."


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: Learning a new spell.


    "Why are you all standing around?" I was apparently thest to enter the room, because all my girls were just standing around looking at a box on the table.


    "You have a box from your grandfather." Izzy was kind enough to say.


    "....and?"


    She shrugged.


    "We had nothing else to do." Jinn helpfully added.


    Well, boredom can strike everyone.


    "Why not just open it?" I asked.


    "It would be rude to open a package addressed to you." Artoria stated.


    That''s sweet, but honestly, what''s mine is also all of yours too.


    But, I guess sometimes it''s more ufortable for other people even if I wouldn''t care, so I didn''t make a big deal out of it.


    Without any fanfare, I ripped open the box.


    "To my dear grandson, have fun." I read the note that came along. Then I pulled out an odd-looking piece of parchment. As soon as I took it into my hands, it disintegrated and foreign knowledge entered my brain.


    "Student, what happened?" Sc¨¢thach spoke the cumtive concern for everyone else.


    "Uh....Just had a new spell download into my brain." I did my best to describe the sensation.


    "Come." Meridia held out her arms, more like she quickly grabbed hold of me and I felt her warm presence. "You are well, there are no problems. Other than what you already had."


    "Funny." I deadpanned.


    Though, seeing her smile was always pleasant.


    "What spell did you learn?" Jinn eagerly asked. "Show me!"


    "Uh..." I looked around and had the idea to pull a gold coin out of my ring and I tossed it to Artoria. "Hold that please."


    "Very well, do you need me to do anything else?"


    "No, just stand there. The spell is called ''steal'' and it''s exactly as you would expect." I held my hand up. "You focus on an object someone else possesses, and you simply steal it away from a distance."


    "I can see many uses for such a spell. Perhaps ¨C"


    "Steal." I didn''t wait for her to finish.


    And she went deathly silent, as did everyone else.


    The Gold Coin was still in her hand, but the spell was apparently still a sess. Because, a pair of white panties with a cute little blue bow fell into my hand.


    "....I do not believe the spell worked correctly." Artoria said softly, a cute red hue creeping up on her cheeks.


    "Yeah." I agreed.


    "....may I have my panties returned, please?"


    ".....no."


    "W-will!" She squeaked, tumbling over the edge of what was bearable before she finally reacted.


    "Well....that is certainly an interesting spell." Yasaka grinned.


    "I think it was just an ident. Let''s try again."


    "No ¨C "


    "Steal."


    Oddly enough, another pair of pantiesnded into my hands. ck and frilly, I held them up for everyone to see.


    A very red Izzy quickly swiped them from my grasp. She spoke no words, but her face said everything she needed to.


    For some reason, I felt myself growing a ratherrge smile.


    "Student." Sc¨¢thach''s eyes narrowed.


    Was she could to give me a beating?


    Yes.


    Was I still going to do it?


    Also yes.


    I held my hands up. "Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal. Steal."


    I had no idea why the spell was working this way, but I didn''t care. Clothes went flying and life was beautiful.


    [***]


    So begins Wilhelm''s very short Xianxia adventure. Don''t worry, it''ll only be like three chapters he''s in Xianxiand.


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a Boosty if you can''t use the above with the same name.

 Chapter 480 - 436

    <h4>Chapter 480: Chapter 436</h4>


    Sc¨¢thach dragged Artoria off somewhere.


    Apparently, they weren''t as interested in clothes shopping as I was. But, it''s their loss, because I looked fabulous. I wasn''t upset, we would reconvene in a couple hours or so, and I wasn''t going to tell them they weren''t allowed to go have fun without me.


    Besides, the main point was a brief visit Nuwa''s Pce, this was just a small side stop for a bit of fun.


    I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn''t help but smile.


    "How do I look?"


    "Young Master, you''re like a Dragon amongst Mortals." The Guide praised.


    Did I know it was fake?


    Yes.


    Did I care?


    Not at all.


    I had some white robes which...I wasn''t quite sure the name of. They were based on traditional Chinese garb ¨C Hanfu, but I wasn''t sure if there was a specific name for these in particr. Basically Loose fitting and elegant Daoist Robes.


    And of course, there was one piece of my ensemble missing.


    My guide handed to me thest piece.


    A decorate fan.


    I was sufficiently ready to court death. Now, I just needed to get into situations that caused this to ur. But I''m sure that won''t be too hard, I already had some things in mind.


    Regardless, I handed the Guide another handful of gold.


    As a proper Young Master, I have to be generous with gifts to my subordinates.


    Maybe I should find a fatty to follow me around and praise me for everyone to hear? And when they inevitably get beaten up, I could go take revenge.


    I''m sad that I didn''t have more time avable, thus I had to make do with what I got.


    "What''s on the agenda?" I adjusted the cor of my robes a little to make itfortable.


    "Young Master, I know the best restaurant in town, if you''re interested." He offered.


    Well, that''s what Artoria wanted, but Sc¨¢thach pulled her away for God knows what. May as well check it out, might even find Artoria there.


    "Anything fun on the way?"


    "We can pass through the market to see if anything catches your fancy, Young Master." He stated.


    Oh, that sounded fun.


    "Lead the way." I gestured, making sure to leave a sizable tip for the shop owner.


    As a proper Young Master, I needed to unt my wealth.


    As soon as we stepped outside, however, I had a question that popped into my head.


    "Guide." I asked, making sure to use his title because that''s how a Young Master would. "I''m curious about where this city is located. Regr Humans can''t ess this ce, what''s this realm called?"


    Honestly, it seemed simr to Kyoto in a sense. Like, a pocket dimension pped ontop of the regr world. I would almost call it something like the Underworld as well, but it''s not that shut off.


    "We simply call this the Immortal Realm, Young Master." He answered helpfully. "The Heavenly Courts sit atop in the Heavens, we, the Immortal Realm are below, then the Mortal world is below us. Long ago, when Immortals and Gods retreated from the world, they cut off a section for us to continue to live."


    Ah, sounded about what I guessed.


    They made their own pocket dimension not dissimr to Kyoto, but on a far wider scale. I could imagine that the Nine Realms I''ll be visiting were something in the same breath as well.


    "Are the people that were born and live here...do they know about the mortal world?"


    My guide pulled out a phone, holding it up for me to see.


    Way to ruin my immersion.


    "....are you just ying a character?" I had the sudden realization.


    He coughed awkwardly. "Of course not, Young Master. Just as you are the brightest star in the sky, I am but a humble Guide."


    Right, he''s just fucking around to earn money.


    You know what? Who cared?


    "Here we are, Young Master." He said as we walked through the crowded street, opening up to a wide bazaar full of many different shops and street stalls. "Many strange and interesting trinkets can be purchased here. All that matters is your own luck."


    Almost immediately I bumped into someone.


    And honestly, it wasn''t on purpose, this ce was just packed to all hell and I was gawking every which way because it was honestly fun to see.


    My head snapped to the person who I bumped into, and it was a man, perhaps a few years older than me with rather sharp features and cold eyes.


    Next to him was two people with covered faces and ck robes that looked a lot like bodyguards, and they were giving off a hint of killing intent as the Younger Man in the front stared at me.


    I may have felt some semnce of excitement in my heart.


    My first encounter!


    I snapped my fan closed and stared at him, waiting for him to say something provocative so I could respond.


    After a moment, he suddenly rxed, and his expression softened. "I''m sorry, I wasn''t looking where I was going." He offered an apology with a genuine smile.


    And like that, I deted along with all of my excitement.


    "No, no, it''s fine. With how many people are walking around, it''s inevitably going to happen." I waved off with a small sigh in my heart.


    There was nothing else and they went on their way.


    "How lucky, Young Master. It''s rare to meet the son of the Mayor on the street. It''s said that he''s one of the most kind and approachable masters in the city. He often volunteers at the Academies to teach younger children in his free time." My Guide spoke excitedly.


    "Yeah....lucky." My lips thinned.


    Of course I would run into the saint amongst the cities'' poption. But I''m not distressed, this was a big city, I''m sure there are plenty of people who will make me court death here.


    "Mr. Guide, point me at somethingvish to spend my money on."


    He wasn''t befuddled by my abrupt request, instead he pointed at a stall. The owner of which, immediately noticed.


    He quickly pushed his more expensive goods out as I came close.


    "My Lord, look at these ¨C" The Stall owner began to speak, but I held a hand up to stop him.


    "Ahem." The Guide cleared his throat. "My Young Master, would like to see your wares."


    The owner looked at me nkly, but quickly recovered. "Of course, Young Master, I have rare and exquisite ¨C"


    "Don''t care, I''ll buy it all." I let out a bunch of Gold onto the counter, enough that it began to spill over and roll across the ground.


    Without another word, I swiped everything on the counter of his stall into my ring without another look.


    "My Lo ¨C young Master, look what I have!" A woman nearly fell over herself running towards me with some vases in her arms.


    "I''ll take it." I didn''t even look again.


    A Young Master must be prodigal with their money.


    As if the flood gates opened, dozens of people now rushed over.


    "I have a rare thousand-year-old Ginseng!"


    I''ll take it.


    "Young Master, that one looked barely a decade old...."


    I ignored my Guide.


    "Look, Young Master, this Ancient Bronze Bow was once wielded by an Immortal!"


    "Nice, I''ll take it!"


    "Young Master, it was rusted from sitting out in the rain too long...."


    "How about my Jade Imperial Seal! It''s been in my family for generations, and legends say that it was once used by the cousin of an uncle of an acquaintance of someone in the Heavenly Courts!"


    "Ooh, Pretty. I''ll take it."


    "....It has a ''Made in China'' Mark half scratched off...."


    "This Million-year-old Immortal Spirit Herb, gathered form the peak of Kun Lun, where Immortal Fairies sung under the moonlight for 10,000 years, wearing nothing but ¨C "


    "Too long, I''ll take it."


    "...that was a weed he pulled from the side of the road seconds ago...."


    I just went around and grabbed whatever was in everyone''s hand, giving them a modest sum for. Finally, I threw my arms up, letting a bit of gold hit the ground as they scrambled to im it, giving me an opportunity to step out of the crowd.


    My trusty Guide followed behind me dutifully.


    "Well, that was fun." I said wistfully. "Truly, I am a generous Young Master."


    "That is certainly a word that can be used in some circumstances." My Guide said dryly.


    "Hey everyone, some idiot is buying any random crap!" I heard a shout from the other side of the crowd.


    "Huh, I wonder who they''re talking about. Looks like someone is going to get scammed." I hummed.


    ".....Unfortunately, they will never be as wise and intelligent as you, Young Master."


    Ah, I lovedpliments.


    "Oh, that shop looks nice." A new thing grabbed my attention.


    "This shop is rather famous, Young Master. Please be careful, they have the backing of ¨C"


    I didn''t need to hear anything else!


    I ignored the guards standing outside and pushed the door open.


    And once more, a Shop Owner greeted me immediately upon entering. "Wee, Young Master." He said with a glint in his eyes. "Please, browse at your leisure, if you desire anything in particr, I will do anything I can to provide."


    My inner Young Master instincts red up as I wanted to immediately buy everything, but I was actually taken back by the quality of stuff here.


    Walking towards the immediate selection, I picked up a piece of jewelry that caught my eye. "This is beautiful." I held it up to the light. It was a ne with a purple Amethyst in the center with two birds ¨C presumedly Phoenix''s wrapped around it, both a light red¡ªOrange that offset the center Amethyst surprisingly well.


    Honestly, the color reminded me of my mom''s eyes.


    Now that I thought about it, I think Venna''s eyes caught my attention so much because my mom had a simr eye color.


    I was honestly so caught up in my own head that I didn''t even realize that someone entered the shop as well until I heard a surprised shout.


    "It''s perfect!" A younger girl eximed, pointing right at me, rather the piece of jewelry I held in my hand.


    "Shop keep, wrap it up, I''ll buy it right now." She said, still pointing at the ne in my hand.


    "I''m Sorry, Young Miss." The Shop Keep politely bowed. "But this Young Master has picked it first."


    The Young Lady frowned, the intimidating looking burly man behind her reminded me to quickly slip back into my Young Master Persona.


    "You, state your price." She demanded, obviously addressing me.


    "No thanks, I''m buying it." I denied her.


    "Do you know who I am!?"


    "Nope." I found my excitement building back up again.


    "Hand it over, or else!"


    "Or else, what?" I said, challengingly.


    "I''ll....I''ll!!!!" She built herself up, but the bodyguard put a gentle hand on her shoulder and all the tension immediately deted.


    "Young Miss, you know better than to use your status to bully someone to give you what you want." He said gently.


    "I know..." She relented. "It would have been perfect for mom''s birthday..." She let out a sigh. "Fine, I''m sorry." She said softly towards me, presumably at her borderline harassment. "Let''s go somewhere else, maybe we can still find something good."


    "The Madam would be thrilled with anything you find, Young Miss." He attempted to soothe her.


    "Guide." I whispered. "Is she another paragon of virtue in the city that I should be aware of?"


    "The Bai n is known for being generous and virtuous. Rumors say that the Young Miss is cold, but secretly warm to those in need. They say that many people she crossed paths with that were down on their luck mysteriously received help from unknown sources."


    .....god dammit.


    What''s with my shitty luck?


    I let out a long sigh of my own.


    "Wait.....you can have it." I held up the ne.


    [***]


    "Young Master, why do you seem to be in a bad mood? The Bai n''s promise of a favor owed is not a small matter, even if it''s from the Young Miss of the n."


    I sighed even harder.


    "Just.....is there something fun around here that attracts a lot of people?"


    "The Arena ¨C"


    "Pass." I rejected.


    Sc¨¢thach was probably having fun there, I didn''t want to intrude. At most, I would check up on herter.


    "There is a Jade stone cutting gambling den nearby?" He said almost uncertainly.


    But I found a new burst of motivation. "Excellent!"


    The Guide, for some reason, wasn''t as enthusiastic about it. But another handful of Gold did light a fire under his butt.


    He quickly led me through a few alleys into....I didn''t want to call it unsavory, but certainly a step or two off the beaten path.


    The people around definitely had a rougher look about them. More were carrying weapons openly, not that it was dissuaded anywhere. But it was more predominant around here.


    I, of course, flung my fan open once many gazesnded upon me.


    As a Young Master, I must present myself properly at all times.


    "Here we are, young Master." My Guide said as we approached a...I almost wanted to call it a shop, but it was a bit more open. Not quite a stall either, but perhaps a mix between them?


    Lots of tables, lots of rocks strewn about.


    Stone Gambling was weird. Interesting, but undeniably a weird pastime that people get into for some reason.


    Essentially, you have a bunch of rocks that may or may not have Jade inside of them. You pay for the rock and gamble on that by cutting it open.


    Simple and easy to understand.


    "Young Master, please don''t buy all the rocks. While the owners will allow it, you would be unwee back and cause annoyances to others."


    "Do you really think I would stoop to such means?" I harrumphed, pped my fan closed. "This Young Master was born with innate luck! I choose that rock." I pointed at a random rock.


    My Guide, for some reason, didn''t look like he believed me. He walked up, paid for the rock on my behalf and practically plopped it into my hand.


    "This is going to be worth a fortune, just watch." I said proudly.


    "Do you care to wager, friend?" A voice I didn''t recognize approached.


    A man with a small ensemble came forward. He had very delicate features and practically screamed Young Master vibes.


    "You dare bet with this Younger Master?" I held my head up high.


    The Young guy sort of nked for a moment. ".....yes?" He looked confused and then looked at my Guide who gave him a shrug for some reason. "We each open our stones, loser pays the winner twice the stone''s price."


    "Very well, I ept your wager." I gestured for him.


    The Young man carefully used a knife to cut open his stone, splitting it open, he revealed a small jade core. "Not bad." He held it up for everyone to see. "Do you need to use my knife?" He held it out.


    I took it hesitantly.


    Because I realized in this moment, that I had no idea how I was supposed to do this.


    I stared at the knife and at my rock, and did the most logical thing. I threw my stone at the ground, shattering it.


    They were stunned by my resourcefulness.


    But probably also the fist sized Jade that was also broken along with the stone. It was about three times the size of his own Jade.


    "Well, looks like I''m the winner." I said smugly.


    The guy looked at the stone on the ground and frowned, looking back up at me.


    "Something wrong?" I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to inevitably renege on his bet.


    Oddly, he did not. Instead, he let out a small sigh, squatting down and scooping up the pieces of Jade that shattered. "How unfortunate, that was a nice piece of Jade. It would have made a wonderful carving. If you didn''t know how to open it, all you had to do was ask. If you want I can show you?" He offered, rather politely in all honesty. "Oh, let''s calcte how much I owe you first."


    .....With how easily he just epted the loss, once more, I felt all my bubbling excitement die down. "I was just ying, you can keep the jade if you want. Sorry for making a mess." I couldn''t help but apologize, essentially calling off the wager after the fact.


    Was I just meant not to have my own Xianxia adventure?


    "I won''t take your jade for nothing." Heughed. "Keep my knife, it''s a little less than the Jade, even shattered as is, but hopefully my friendship can even them out."


    Well, he seemed nice.


    As the saying goes, don''t p a smiling face.


    Or something like that, I don''t really remember and my Chinese idioms aren''t really up to par.


    "I was about to go to a restaurant, um...."


    "Immortal Cloud Restaurant." My Guide stated for me.


    "Yeah, that." I nodded.


    If all else failed, I was one hundred percent sure that I would have a Restaurant Encounter. There was absolutely no way in hell that I wouldn''t run into someone there that wouldn''t start something so I could court death.


    And the food would probably be delicious.


    I was no Artoria, but I was still a bit of a glutton.


    "Did you not hear?" He tilted his head.


    "Hmm?" I blinked.


    "The Immortal Cloud Restaurant was nearly destroyed not hours ago. Rumors are that some unsavory people started a fight with a young woman and caused the destruction of the Restaurant." My new friend informed me.


    ....great.


    Just...fuck my luck.


    With another long sigh, I sagged my shoulder. "Just forget it then. I need to go to the Arena to see ¨C"


    "The Arena is closed." My New friend also informed me. "I heard that someone destroyed it earlier as well."


    ...


    "Just....take me to the mount rentals."


    I''m done.


    I''m just going to wait for Artoria and Sc¨¢thach to finish up whatever it is they''re doing.


    [***]


    The rental ce wasn''t that far away, and I didn''t care to y around anymore. My disappointment was immeasurable and my day was ruined.


    Why did not a single person ost me!?


    Was it so much to ask that some asshole Young Master start a fight, then lose, then call his many times great grandpa to get revenge for some tiny slight that escted into some ridiculous scenario so that I''m fighting ten immortal sects!?


    Apparently!


    Bright side, Apparently Artoria and Sc¨¢thach were already here and waiting for me.


    "Thanks for putting up with me." I tossed my Guide a big bag of gold.


    "Shit, for this much money, I would call you my grandfather." His tone and character immediately dropped after I basically told him his job was done.


    Even so, I couldn''t help butugh at the ridiculousness of it from his perspective.


    Regardless.


    I ignored the sights, the various beasts and devices that stimted flight and just went straight for my head into Sc¨¢thach''s chest.


    "Student, did you have a pleasant evening?" She asked, epting me withoutint.


    "No." I didn''t whine. "Did you two have fun at least?"


    Artoria and Sc¨¢thach looked at each other.


    "It was.....interesting." Artoria said cryptically.


    "What did you two do?"


    "We separated early on." Artoria informed me. "I sought out a meal. It was strange, a young man approached me and continuously tried to dine with me. I rejected him, but he further brought people over to attempt to persuade me."


    "....did he eventually try to force you?"


    "Yes?" Artoria tiled her head. "How did you know?"


    ".....lucky guess." I forced out.


    "I was unfortunately forced to fight. They were no threat, but they brought about much destruction to the restaurant. Ipensated the owner, of course. But it was a most confusing experience."


    And suddenly, some things made sense.


    "What about you?" I looked up from between Sc¨¢thach''s bosom.


    "I separated from thess to go explore this Arena of theirs." She replied. "It left much to be desired, but I allowed myself to fight equal to any opponents I came across to make it more enjoyable."


    "I heard the Arena was destroyed." I pointed out.


    She smiled wistfully. "Yes, some brat came to me and demanded that I throw a fight due to some passing of money."


    "And you rejected, I assume."


    "No, I epted but still won." She grinned.


    Hah.


    "How''d that end?"


    "The brat attempted to send one of his bodyguards to attack me, I felled him easily and taught the boy a harsh lesson, but allowed him to leave with his life. He did not take my warnings to heart and gathered a greater force some timeter. I once more dispatched them, but he called for his father."


    "Let me guess, he was part of some big n?"


    Sc¨¢thach tilted her head simrly to Artoria. "Yes. He would not stop speaking about it as well, and using their name to try and threaten me. Truthfully, it only made me hit him harder."


    "And that''s how the Arena got destroyed?"


    "Yes." She nodded.


    "And it didn''t end there, did it?"


    She shook her head. "They would not leave me be, so I sought out their home and had words with some ''Ancestor'' of theirs until they relented. It was not an unpleasant afternoon." She said simply.


    "...yeah it sounds like it."


    "Is something wrong, Wilhelm?" Artoria looked at me. "You seem depressed about something."


    "It''s nothing." I waved it off. "So, you guys already get a ride or...?"


    "Yes we procured a mode of transportation." Sc¨¢thach informed me. "Come, it is waiting for us." She grabbed my hand and led me to the side.


    There was no one really guarding or waiting, only arge kite-like wooden contraption floating above the clouds below.


    They both stepped onto it without any fanfare, and I followed suit.


    "Come, it is a mild ride to our destination." Sc¨¢thach said, patting the surface as she sat down on it. "Tell us of your day. What mischief did you get up to?"


    I sat down between both of them as our thing started flying away from the city. It was going fairly fast, all things considered.


    And the more I looked at it, the more it looked like an oversized kite.


    "Surprisingly, nothing happened."


    "Why do you sound disappointed, student?" Sc¨¢thach quirked an eyebrow.


    "I may have had certain expectations that were dashed. It''s fine, it was just a stupid thing." In all honesty, I was being a bit silly to expect things to unfold like some bad novel.


    "Come, student, ce your head upon this Sc¨¢thach''s thigh." She patted her leg.


    Well, I certainly wouldn''t say no.


    It would be a bit of a flight, so I could rx until then. Only, as soon as I put my head down, she grabbed hold of me.


    "What are you ¨C"


    "Lass, you take off his bottoms, and we will switch halfway."


    "Very well." Artoria smiled.


    And I was about to question what she was talking about until she started pulling off my Robes.


    I guess today wasn''t so bad afterall.


    [***]


    I quickly fixed my clothes. As the destination was getting close, both of them started fixing theirs as well. It would be kind of awkward if we arrived promising positions.


    The destination, if it could be called that, was a mountain.


    Again.


    The people here really liked their mountains.


    I can''t say it didn''t look majestic from a distance. Because holy shit did it look like something out of a fairy tale. There were literal dragons flying at the summit. Or.....members of the Dragon Race. I think those were Flood Dragons, so wherever thosend on the hierarchy.


    But it was quite the sight.


    Even with what we''ve seen already, this ce had more of an ethereal vibe to it.


    Sacred, if you will.


    The clouds parted a bit more and we got a better view of why it was called Nuwa''s Pce.


    The Mountain was apparently more of a decoration inparison. Because the Pce itself, while looking somewhat rudimentary and basic at a distance, it still held a sort of regal and archaic feeling to it that made someone unconsciously give it a certain respect.


    Regardless, I wanted something good to make up for this trip!


    Not that thest two hours with Artoria and Sc¨¢thach didn''t make up for my disappointment thus far...but I wanted something new and shiny.


    My inner Dragon Demanded it.


    [Yo.]


    Huh.


    Hey Ddraig, did you ever have a big hoard?


    [Yeah, but that White asshole spat his poison all over it way way long ago. One of the reasons we fought...I think, maybe we started fighting before that. It''s been a long ass time.]


    Huh.


    Neat.


    Great Dragon that lives in my head, what advice do you have for me?


    [Eh, never heard much about Nuwa. Probably shouldn''t try to flirt with her though.]


    Thank you, oh Great Dragon.


    The Giant flying kitended at a...tform? Some dedicated ce tond I would presume considering that everyone has to fly here.


    As soon as we stepped off, the kite turned around and flew away.


    How convenient.


    "Do you have any expectations here?" Artoria asked. "We came in a much more casual manner than I would expect."


    "Expectations?" I repeated, pursing my lips. "Well, she already knew we were on our way. It was an opening invitation, which around here was basically a e when you have time'' type deal. It was expected that wee within a certain time frame to not be rude. As for my own expectations.....she seemed nice. I doubt anything will happen."


    Even when I tried to look for trouble, it didn''t find me. I doubt we will have any problems here.


    Right, easy matter.


    Pop in, say our pleasantries, she gives me something to absolve her of any perceived debt, and we go our separate ways, maybe to cross paths again in the future.


    Well, it was nice scenery if nothing else.


    I was tempted to start taking pictures to share back home but....I didn''t want to be rude in someone else''s house. By how the Guide reacted when I mentioned Nuwa, she was revered pretty heavily, so I didn''t want to be disrespectful here.


    There was a winding path up to her manner with a gate blocking.


    As well as a single person blocking said gate.


    "Halt, this ce is forbidden, return from whence you came!" A feminine but cold voice resounded,ing from the woman who blocked the path.


    She wore white robes and a veil covering her face with a sword at her hip.


    "I thought you said we were expected?" Artoria looked at me with an eyebrow raised.


    "We are." I furrowed my own. "Nuwa is expecting us." I directed towards the woman.


    The woman was about to respond, with something presumably the same as before, but a little paper crane came flying through the air, handing on her shoulder. She looked at it, as if it was rying a message.


    I couldn''t see her expressions behind her veil, but I could vaguely tell she didn''t look pleased.


    "The Goddess is expecting your arrival." She suddenly changed demeanor, bowing politely. The Gate behind her opened. "Please enter."


    As we all walked forward, her sword shed out and it was held up in front of me. "You, are not weed."


    "Pardon?" I looked at her.


    "Men are not allowed inside." She sniffed. "You will wait outside. The other two may enter."


    "....are you being serious?"


    I was honestly at a loss for words. For a culture that ces such a huge emphasis on face and respect, this was a gigantic p in the face for a supposed Guest.


    "Fuck it, I''m not dealing with any of this nonsense, let''s go home." I decided.


    Whatever games were being yed, I wanted no part of it.


    "How dare you!" The Woman''s voice was raised. "You were summoned as Guests" She said, directed towards Artoria and Sc¨¢thach who weren''t really giving her the attention she probably wanted. "And you, will wait outside!"


    I looked her dead in the presumed eyes, and flicked my hand, producing a portal. "I''m going home."


    "You will wait here!" She growled with a strange anger in her tone.


    Right, this wasn''t fucking suspicious at all. And I''m fairly sure she was used to being able to boss people around due to her position.


    "Or what?" I narrowed my eyes. "Are you going to kill someone that Nuwa invited as a Guest?" I rolled my eyes. I instead turned around and began to walk to my portal.


    Almost as if on cue, another person came flying over at extreme speeds.


    One of the women that I recalled was at Nuwa''s side at the meeting.


    "Junior Sister, you overstep." She called out, intentionally loud as to probably halt my attempts at leaving.


    "Senior Sister, I ¨C"


    "Return to the Pce for punishment, I will escort our guests." She said sternly.


    The Woman who held her sword up trembled slightly, before sheathing it and bowing her head in eptance. She rose up into the air, flying back to the pce on her own.


    "I apologize on my Junior Sister''s behalf." The woman, I don''t even know her name, bowed politely to us.


    "Give me a reason why we shouldn''t leave." I cut right to the chase.


    The woman seemed surprised by my bluntness. Which, wasn''t that surprising in hindsight, their culture emphasizes polite overtures even when insulted and insulting others. "The Goddess will give you a suitable exnation."


    I waved my hand, dismissing the portal.


    "Fine, let''s see what your Goddess has to say." Artoria and Sc¨¢thach would follow my lead.


    I was insulted on her doorstep, so I better be given a proper exnation.


    Nuwa didn''t seem like the type of person to burn a bridge like this for no reason, so we''ll see.


    "The Goddess prepared a Banquet for your arrival." She spoke, notmenting on my words, instead, politely leading us up the path to her Pce.


    Normally, I would be all for the sightseeing some more, but at the moment, I was understandably peeved.


    She led us through the front door, but obviously no one was in a chatting mood, so she didn''t stop or narrate our walk.


    Instead, she directly brought us to this supposed Banquet Hall


    There were many women lined up on either side. Along with the Goddess herself center back, elevated to a higher position.


    Some looked at us curiously, some disdainfully, some uncaring. But the Goddess herself looked...amused?


    There was no grand entrance or introductions, instead our guide led us to seats next to Nuwa in a ce of honor by their standards.


    I didn''t immediately cause a scene, and instead knelt down at my spot like everyone. As per tradition, there were no chairs, and the tables were small, one-person tables in front of each spot. It was very simr to Japanese tradition in this regard.


    Without a chance to speak, everyone had a bowl of rice put in front of them.


    It may have seemed odd, for something as grandiose as Nuwa''s Pce, but even from this distance, I could feel the aura this mere rice radiated.


    Looking at the people in the hall, they were eating the Rice grain by grain.


    Curiously, I took my chopsticks and ate a grain.


    As soon as I swallowed it, I felt something flow inside of me. It wasn''t a lot, but something permeated my inners, something warm and weing.


    Artoria and Sc¨¢thach also casually ate, obviously noticing as well, but they were also not perturbed because it was entirely beneficial.


    If a regr human ate this bowl of rice, if they didn''t die, they would probably be superhuman.


    "You certainly are not one that acts ording to customs." Nuwa''s voice reached my ears. It was...not quiet, but it was obvious she did something to make sure others couldn''t hear other than us and my girls.


    "Do you mean when you had someone intentionally sit at the gate to greet us that would be disrespectful?" I replied casually.


    "....and you are certainly blunt." She giggled.


    "Customs indicate a simr standard of social values. I am not from your part of the world, I don''t hold what you hold in values. My perspective and experience are vastly different from what you''re used to dealing with." I exined calmly. "Did you expect me to fight her?"


    "I did." She didn''t deny it.


    "You wanted me to humble her then." I could put two and two together.


    "It was my intent." She once more didn''t deny it. "I would have sent my dear disciple to arrive in time to save her Junior Sister after a sufficient ''humbling''." She seemed amused by my wording. "Then I would have offered you a proper apology as per our ways."


    "But then I was just going to up and leave without you being able to correct the offense you gave me." I mused.


    "As I said, you do not act how one would expect." She again spoke openly about her intentions.


    "The quickest way to be my enemy is to attempt to manipte me." I put my chopsticks down. "I despise when others attempt to secretly dictate my actions or subtly manipte me. If you had simply asked, I would have helped you happily."


    I caught her amused expression shift ever so slightly. Her snake-like tail that was swaying behind her came to a stop. "It seems I have erred. I apologize."


    I nodded, epting it.


    It was...a mimunication based on differing cultures. And I would leave it at that.


    "You specifically wanted me to do it. Does it have anything to do with me being a man?" I asked.


    "You are perceptive." She answered. "Little Wei Xiaoling is very talented, perhaps the most talented disciple I''ve taken in the past several centuries. Unfortunately....her life was not an easy one and her views mirror it."


    "Ah, I can see where this is going." It''s not hard to guess what a woman who has a hatred towards the opposite sex had to experience.


    She didn''t quite borate, so I didn''t ask. Even if I didn''t like that icy girl, I wasn''t going to pry into that kind of thing. "There are two factions within my Pce. I''ve taken in only Women, it originally wasn''t intentional, but it simply turned out this way. One side is....open, knowing of the world, and not caring about divisions. The others are like Little Ling''er who see our segregation as just and proper. By extension, they also do not wish to join the gathering of other factions. I intended to have her join with the younger generation of children as per the meeting, but there has been push back."


    "So you wanted me to fight the supposed Genius Disciple you were raising, humble her, have her look beyond this little corner of the world?"


    "That isn''t wrong." She nodded.


    Made sense, multiple birds with one stone with my arrival.


    "Why me?" I asked. "Besides the obvious of me being here. I''m sure you could have found someone who practices simr cultivation. Or hell, ask Odin to send someone. You barely know me."


    "You are young, extremely so. Even Ling''er approaches her third decade, but you vastly outstrip her in power. I do not know if I would be able to defeat you in battle. I wanted her to understand that there are taller mountains that she can climb, but she refuses to see past this one." She paused for a moment. "And you were chosen because you have a very interesting ability."


    I was betting there was more to it than that. Some interpce politics that she was settling in ce. Sure, she could order all her people how she wished, but that only built resentment. And she seemed to genuinely care about everyone under her, so she was trying to be soft in her approach.


    "And what ability of mine caught your fancy?"


    "I noticed it from the gathering. You have a very impressive ability to infuriate anyone you desire." She responded with the same bluntness returned to me.


    "Thank you." I took it as apliment.


    "You''re wee." She returned to her previous humor.


    "He''s not that bad." Artoria frowned.


    "I am on the fence." Sc¨¢thach noted.


    "Goddess Nuwa, are you sure this is the.....wisest method?" The woman who had led us here, she was at Nuwa''s side and was apparently one of her confidants because she was listening in this entire time.


    "I believe he is up to the task." Nuwa stated.


    "But ¨C"


    "Can I get a fork to eat my rice?" I interjected randomly.


    You could just see the slowly built disgust form on her face as she registered what I said.


    "I retract my words." She relented.


    Nuwa just nodded with a hint of smugness. "One of them will bring up the issue, and it will inevitably devolve into a contest of strength. I will have little Ling''er represent them as she is the closest to your age."


    "Any restrictions?" I asked.


    "Please do not maim or kill." She replied. "And I will offer a suitable reward to you afterwards, along with an additional gift as an apology."


    Well, it seemed that Young Master Schweinorg wasn''t quite done yet.


    [***]


    A/N


    As I said, it''s not a Xianxia Arc, it''s like two chapters then back to the main stuff.


    Anyways, if you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty for people who can''t use the above with the same name.

 Chapter 481 - 437

    <h4>Chapter 481: Chapter 437</h4>


    Artoria Pendragon POV


    This had been an interesting experience thus far.


    The Grail, upon my summoning, provided me with the barest context for the culture I found myself in. Thankfully, I was not the center of attention, and I was content to stay quiet and observe as Wilhelm navigated the situation.


    For better or worse.


    Thetter was far more likely.


    For a being of this Goddess'' caliber, she was very calm and soft when speaking. Despite the awkwardness of our entrance, and my own opinions on such schemes around us, she treated us well as guests.


    Specifically, it felt as though she treated Wilhelm as an equal.


    Perhaps one much younger and less experienced, understandably so, but an equal all the same.


    And I believe this is the first time I have ever seen someone ask Wilhelm to cause trouble. I didn''t know if I shouldugh or prepare for the worst.


    Wilhelm has always been a trouble ma.


    I love him dearly, but where he went, trouble will follow, by his hand or not. At least this time, it did not entail a being of the Goddess'' caliber in conflict.


    Hisst conflict with a God of such strength caused amotion that was hard to manage. I could not fault him for the situation, and even respect his decision to intercede on behalf of Izanami. He liked to say he was not a good person, but he has a very specific sense of honor that I can sympathize with. And I cannot say I would not have acted the same if I were present.


    Izanami was ... .reclusive and perhaps introverted. However, I considered her a friend and I enjoyed herpany. I did not allow anyone to cause her problems in my presence.


    However, that did not dismiss the situation that resulted from Wilhelm''s actions.


    It was the reason Sc¨¢thach and I decided toe along.


    We decided the two of us were the correct choice when meeting another being on the same level with unknown intentions.


    Even so, this was a particrly strange situation.


    The Goddess stood up from her seat and everyone in the room quieted down. A solemn reverence that they all carried. A single word, a simple gesture, and they would dly die for her. I could see it the same way I could all the years ago with my own people.


    "Everyone, I believe it''s time to address the issue of our gathering." She turned, gesturing to us. "We wee Guests from afar to preside over our discussions. We have Scathach, Hailing from Irnd far to the west. We have Artoria Pendragon from a neighboring country of Ennd, and we have Wilhelm Schweinorg from our own neighbor, Japan." She introduced us to everyone. "The topic of this debate is whether to join with outsiders. You all know the contents, so I will not borate on that. I will listen to arguments and decide."


    An interesting stance to take.


    Even though a simple word of hers would settle any debates, she allowed them to argue for their own views.


    I found myself agreeing with her position.


    It would be easy to simply force her own opinion, perhaps she would do so in any other situation. However, this matter pertained to their own situation, thus she was allowing them some autonomy. This would soften the inevitable dissatisfaction of the ''losing side''.


    It shows her care for her people by taking this measure.


    It was easy to order and dictate. It was harder to listen to one''s subjects and move their hearts in ordance with your desires.


    Her opinion was, however, obvious from what she asked of Wilhelm.


    It was easy to see the divide.


    One side was looking at us with disdain and annoyance, mayhaps bordering hatred.


    The other, indifference or even interest and curiosity.


    "I Shi Ning will speak against it." A woman from one side stood up, the opposition.


    The woman standing near Nuwa who spoke before looked at someone on the opposite side. As if rehearsed, she stood up as well.


    "And I Xia Xiaohui will speak in support."


    They were wearing identical garb as far as I could discern with little difference. Perhaps a uniform for those who practice within this pce?


    It was hard to say and they both gave off a chilly atmosphere. Not merely the unspoken tension between them, as I akin it to a genuine coldness that permeated them both.


    I do not know what methods they utilize, but I could guess it involved Coldness to some expect, perhaps Magic based on that?


    No, they had Swords at their sides.


    I was unsure of how they would fight and found myself curious.


    "Why must we support some barbaric outsiders?" The one named Shi Ning coldly snorted with disdain.


    "How ignorant, did you not even bother to read the parchments provided?" Xia Xiaohui countered. "If you can''t even understand the most simplistic reasoning, why even stand up at all?" She harrumphed. "We lend aid, because aid is needed. We stand on the side of righteousness, and to protect the Mortal Realm."


    "Equivocation." The other denied. "You try to muddle everyone''s head with words such as Righteousness. What Righteousness? What ''protecting'' of the Mortal Word? Is the Mortal World threatened? Is there some great Demon that is wreaking havoc that we are unaware of? Why does the Heavenly Courts not settle it? Why must we get involved?"


    The one in favor smiled. "They are involved." She paused looking around. "The Heavenly Courts have even be involved in Mortal affairs for the first time in a millennia. They ally with outsiders, theybine resources and gather heroes. Does this not speak of the direness of the situation?"


    "If the Heavenly Courts are involved, then we are unneeded."


    "Are you saying that Nuwa''s Pce is irrelevant?"


    "You put words into my mouth." Another cold snort echoed out. "We are not the Golden Armored Soldiers of the Jade Emperor, we do not March Off into War. Why do you want to sacrifice our sisters for some conflict that does not epass our borders?"


    "Sacrifice? Do you believe our Sisters so weak?"


    "Weak? Perhaps not. But I do not trust outsiders to not scheme and sacrifice our Sisters for their own gain!"


    "So you want us to bury our heads in the sand like cowards!?"


    "Cowards!? A Dragon is not a coward for ignoring the stirring of ants!"


    "You believe that outside of this Pce are ants?"


    "Hmph, Barbarians and Mortals. Why care for them? No one dares to cause trouble for The Goddess." She said dismissively.


    "I see, so you believe the guests that the Goddess personally invited here are Barbarians and Ants?"


    The one in opposition narrowed her eyes realizing the trap she walked into. "We Cultivators of Nuwa''s Pce need not get involved. You do not use a rock to smash an Egg, why send our sisters?"


    "Do you dare back up your words?"


    "Why would I not!?


    "Then let us settle it properly! You think that we are above them? Then I invite one of our Guests to fight any of our Sisters. Words are empty, let strength speak for us now. If what you said is true, then you should have no trouble defeating one of our barbaric guests without trouble."


    "Y-you dare to disrupt the peace of The Goddess'' Banquet, you ¨C"


    "I approve." The Goddess interrupted. "My disciples have stayed within these halls for many years, they have be ignorant of the outside world. It is a good opportunity to broaden your horizons and to see what exists beyond our own borders."


    The opposition frowned.


    I believe it is obvious to everyone where the Goddess leaned at this point.


    A verbal argument was never going to settle a matter such as this. The opposition stands aloof, considering of nothing outside of this ce. They look down on us outsiders, and refuse to acknowledge us.


    I was tempted to offer myself up to teach them a lesson, but I knew this battle belonged to Wilhelm.


    Despite not outwardly showing much expression, I have known him enough to see the hidden excitement in his eyes.


    I would not take that away from him, especially if it led to no trouble.


    "Let the youngest fight." Goddess Nuwa stated. "Ling''er, where are you?"


    "I am here, Goddess." A familiar voice sounded from the back of the opposition. The same woman who barred our path and insulted Wilhelm so tantly.


    "Wilhelm, would you be inclined to join her for a spar?" The Goddess Asked.


    "This Young Master will apany her." Wilhelm stood up.


    I resisted the urge to palm my face.


    Thankfully, the Goddess only found amusement in it.


    The center of the hall was wide and open, and it was easy for them to spar without problems. However, even so, The Goddess moved her hand and a barrier was erected over them.


    Wilhelm decided to take out his staff it seemed, focusing more on Magic.


    "Do you believe this is a good idea?" I asked.


    "Let him have his fun." Sc¨¢thach replied. "He is young, he is allowed to y around like this."


    For some reason, I was recalling the spars I had with Kay when we were younger. Despite Kay always losing the spar, he would make up reasons and argue that he actually in fact won due to some strange reasoning and yet, I could never beat him in an argument.


    Wilhelm was giving me the same feeling right now.


    I didn''t....dislike seeing Wilhelm having fun like this. I was not against him finding trouble the majority of the time either. It would be very hypocritical of me to say that he should never get involved in matters with how often my own Knights found themselves in the strangest of situations.


    No, in fact, it was a good contrast to how downtrodden he was from earlier. I really did not like seeing Wilhelm being sad for any reason, even if it was something as nonsensical as not finding trouble during his evening.


    "He has far too many burdens for someone his age. Let him have his fun when ites."


    "Yes." I agreed.


    "Come, I will allow you to have the first ten thousand moves!" Wilhelm dered.


    And I found myself sighing in my heart.


    I loved him dearly, but he needed a smack upside the head every now and then.


    "Ignorant." The girl hissed, already getting upset and he barely started.


    Sc¨¢thach was smiling and giggling under her breath.


    Was it him having fun or was it you?


    Truly, you both are far too simr in certain aspects.


    "You court death!" She drew her de.


    "Yes I did!" He said proudly.


    The girl was confused and didn''t get it and I could guess he was referring to Izanami in this situation because he was looking much too pleased with himself.


    "Do they really not know Wilhelm? He should be rather famous at this point. And even so, does this girl not recognize she is outmatched?" I shook my head.


    "Most of my Disciples do not care about the outside world. Even within the Immortal World, they are isted, let alone the Mortal World. And as for measuring her opponents strength.....she is far too used to using her own Cultivation as a method of measurement. She has never experienced someone who does not utilize the same system of power as her." The Goddess answered my question.


    Ah, the reasoning does make sense.


    She is hesitant due to the situation, and perhaps an instinctual regard for her opponent, but no threshold to measure Wilhelm''s strength that she is familiar with.


    Yes, they have grown up too isted and being unable to measure her opponent properly will lead to her death if she is not careful.


    The woman started off, propelling herself forward with a good speed, stabbing towards Wilhelm.


    He of course erected a barrier as her sword shed with it, unmoving.


    "You have eyes, yet you are unable to recognize Mount Tai!" Wilhelm dered.


    And....I have no idea what that meant but for some reason, the girl tensed up in what appeared to be a hint of anger.


    "Blooming Lotus!" The Girl shouted, and ice gathered around her de, forming sharp figures of flows. She shed at him, they expanded outward, increasing the power behind her strike exponentially.


    Wilhelm''s shield shattered, but he didn''t move.


    "Zun Haal Viik." Wilhelm casually spoke. The Draconic Words recognizable to me at this point.


    The Girl''s sword when flying away.


    Her eyes widened in surprise, but to her credit, she threw out a palm strike. "Lotus Blooms twice!"


    Another Icy Lotus appeared within her palm and it exploded outward, enveloping the entire area.


    "Feim zii Gron." Wilhelm''s words were not loud, but still audible above everything.


    He turned intangible and the attack simply passed him through.


    The Girl took the opportunity to grab her weapon again, taking a defensive stance a fair distance away.


    "Petty tricks!" She dered, swinging her sword, producing an attack simr to Wilhelm''s. The shes carried a distance towards him.


    So this is where he learned it from?


    Interesting.


    "Feim Zii Gron." Wilhelm said again, once more turning intangible and the attacks passed him helplessly.


    The girl almost stumbled at him using it again. Perhaps she believed it was not something he could use continuously?


    "Do you dare use any other moves!?" She tried to goad him.


    "Zun Haal Viik." He answered her with the earlier words, her sword went flying out of her grasp once more.


    "Y-you...!!" She found herself at a loss of words momentarily. Mayhaps, I felt the tiniest bit of sympathy for her. But she also insulted the man I loved, so I found myself leaning more towards a deserving lesson. "I will whip you a thousand times after I defeat you!"


    "....kinky." Wilhelm replied.


    "S-shameless!" The girl''s tinged red face was clear even behind the veil she wore.


    "You''re the one who said it." Wilhelm harrumphed. "A mere toad wanting to eat swan meat!" He used.


    For some reason, Goddess Nuwa was stifling augh and looking like she was trying her best to not show it.


    "Ah!" The girl shouted, retrieving her sword again. "Jade Ice Dragon!" She shouted again, and an ethereal Dragon appeared behind the girl, enveloping her and her sword. Her aura magnified several degrees. "Take this!" She shouted.


    "Boop." Wilhelm tapped his staff against the ground, and the stone beneath the girl turned to stand, making her feet sink as she was about to move, so she instead fumbled and fell down, her attack, as it were, shot off awkwardly into the side of the barrier.


    ....it was certainly majestic.


    "You''re courting Death!" She all but screamed, repositioning herself upward from the slight embarrassment.


    "You already said that one, try something else." Wilhelm hummed, putting his staff over his shoulder. "What about ''you don''t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth!?'' Or ''The Path of Heaven was before you, but you chose hell!"


    For some reason, I do not believe Wilhelm''s advice was taken to heart.


    The Girl suddenly exploded outward with more power.


    "Oh dear." The Goddess sighed. "She''s really going to use something like that in a fight with no stakes?" The Goddess didn''t stop her, nor exin, but she looked dissatisfied.


    The Girl raised her sword up, and the hall changed.


    A Blue Moon appeared overhead along with a starry sky.


    "Azure Moon Reflecting the Winter''s Radiance!" She shouted, and a deathly cold permeated the surroundings. The original Barrier of Nuwa''s was apparently not enough and she redoubled her efforts to contain it.


    I noticed why The Goddess was displeased as blood seeped from the girl''s mouth and nose.


    Did she harm herself to use that?


    It was not worth it for a spar.


    "You''re a Frog in a well!" She sneered.


    "Hmph, the Mantis Stalks the Cicada, unaware of the Oriole Behind!" Wilhelm shouted.


    "....does he know what that phrase means?" The Goddess Looked at us.


    "Most likely, but I believe he is just saying random things to annoy your disciple." Sc¨¢thach answered.


    That does sound like something Wilhelm would do.


    "Ahh!" The Girl yelled, swinging her sword, bringing a with it an avnche of snow and ice. "I''ll teach you how to write the word Death!"


    "Jokes on you, I dropped out of school!"


    Wilhelm, don''t gloat about that....


    "Our shared Lover is certainly talented." Sc¨¢thach noted from the Goddess''s earlierment about him being talented in angering people.


    "Do you reject your allowance?"


    "No." Sc¨¢thach shook her head. "He is enjoying himself, so I do not. However, I will give him a thorough beatingter."


    "As deserved." I nodded.


    "It turns out you were actually pretending to be a Tiger to eat the Pig!" Wilhelm held his staff up.


    "That''s not how it goes!" The Girl''s screech was audible over the oing torrent of cold.


    Still, the Goddess hid herughing at her Disciples'' increasing anger.


    "Do you dare take this attack head on!?" The Girl challenged.


    "This Young Master will take your challenge!" Wilhelm dered. "If I take a half step back or avoid your attack, I will write my name backwards!"


    "Then die!"


    "...Feim Zii Gron." He became ethereal again, the attack passing right through him.


    Should I have expected anything different?


    "Shameless!" The Girl yelled in indignation.


    "Zun Haal Viik."


    Her sword went flying out of her grasp again.


    Her anger was palpable at this point.


    "I don''t need my sword!" She raised her hands up. "Let''s see how long you can avoid me!" The Ice and Cold swirled around like a storm.


    "Actually, I don''t like the cold. Let''s change the weather." Wilhelm''s rxed appearance was certainly sending rms to the girl.


    "What...?"


    "Lok Vah Koor." Wilhelm spoke again, an invisible ripple shook the surroundings, forcibly dispersing the strange sky that appeared, returning everything to normal as the Girl''s control of the cold diminished significantly.


    The Girl...well, all her fighting spirit nearly copsed. "Shameless, Dishonorable! You rely on small tricks and don''t dare to fight me! All of you are the same!"


    Wilhelm tilted his head, then nced at the Goddess.


    "I believe it''s a good time to stop ying. Please show your true strength." The Goddess spoke.


    Silently, Wilhelm''s demeanor shifted and a new weight descended down onto the room. I was aware of what he did, shifting his source of power to his Spiritual aspect, pushing it down on everyone so they could physically gauge how strong Wilhelm was.


    A good portion of the room faltered, falling if not outright passing out from the pressure.


    There were a few that barely even reacted.


    Perhaps only the ones closest to the Goddess.


    As Nuwa herself did nothing to dissuade the pressure.


    The Girl he fought, she turned pale and pressed to the ground. To her credit, she did not immediately lose consciousness.


    He took slow steps as he approached her. Taking out his original sword, he stabbed it into the ground next to her head.


    "That''s right, I was just ying." He said simply, releasing the pressure from the room.


    "Do you see?" Nuwa spoke once everyone had a breath to regain theirposure. "What did she say? Petty tricks? That''s right, Ling''er was defeated by petty tricks. Things that those outside our home can do with ease. And you fell for them so easily."


    "Goddess, that''s not fair." The woman who argued against from earlier spoke up. "He''s ¨C"


    "He''s younger than Ling''er." Nuwa spoke, shutting up the other woman. "He''s younger than Ling''er yet, he has fought the likes of Susanoo-no-Mikoto from our neighbors to the east. The Storm God of Japan, for those of you unaware. He emerged victorious."


    There was....silence. They stared at the Goddess with a mix of shock and confusion.


    "Later, and most recently, he fought along with the Storm God against Indra." Nuwa emphasized the name of the Hindu deity, and they seemed much more receptive to his name over the Japanese God. "Even the Jade Emperor would respectfully Greet him and treat him as an Honored Guest."


    She stood up, walking to the girl Wilhelm fought. She ced a hand on her, and her paleplexion alleviated slightly. "A few words and you were foolish enough to harm yourself for what? A friendly spar?" Nuwa shook her head, addressing the room again. "I will give you all the evening to contemte what you''ve learned. We will reconvene and properly discuss the next course of action."


    With that, another word and she gestured for us to follow her out of the room.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "That was certainly something." Nuwa mused as we walked through her Pce.


    "Thanks, I try my best."


    The Goddess snorted. "Yes, I''m sure."


    Well, it didn''t go as expected, but I''m satisfied!


    "Ah..."


    "What?" Artoria asked.


    "I never got to finish my Rice." I realized.


    "Unfortunate, it was very tasty." My adorable Knight smiled brightly.


    It might seem odd to call a simple bowl of rice a Banquet, but I was sure that bowl was worth more than what a normal person in this realm could afford after saving for years.


    "I was hoping that one of those would interfere in your fight so I would have an excuse to join in." My teacher let out a small sigh.


    "Your group seems fun." The Goddess just watched us out of the corner of her eye as we walked.


    "There will not be a problem with Wilhelm humiliating your Disciples, will there?" Artoria asked.


    "No, it was within what I expected. Even if I did not anticipate his enthusiasm." She pursed her lips. "But it will do them good. They''ve be arrogant and content."


    Odin mentioned something simr with his own.


    Artoria nodded in understanding.


    "....perhaps you should keep far away from Ling''er though." The Goddess added. "After what happened, I believe she''s going to tie her weapon to her hand and look for ways to cut immaterial things after she recovers."


    Heh.


    It''s unfortunate that Disarming my opponents isn''t something that works all the time. The strong you be, the more difficult it is. It''s a great Shout to create an opening, but rarely does it just.....disable an opponent of mine so easily.


    It''s been a long time since I''ve fought someone on her level.


    She was what? A High ss by the majority of the world''s standards.


    But she had very little truebat experience.


    I would bet she''s spent most of her time training.


    But it didn''t really matter to me, I washed my hands of the mess here.


    "For thanks from the gathering, I wanted to offer you a reward." Nuwa spoke again. "My Treasure Pavilion is not the greatest, but I have collected quite a bit over the years. So I will give you an option, it has three floors. The First floor has the lowest level of treasures, and the third floor is where I keep the more exquisite and powerful pieces. You may either pick three treasures on the first floor, two on the second, or one on the third. And as an additional Apology, you may pick one additional treasure on the First floor regardless of what you choose."


    "Generous." I mused.


    "Maybe, maybe not." The Goddess replied. "I have seen the quality of your own treasures. You also wield the Spear of the Biblical God, and the Great Welsh himself. The treasures of that quality are far and few, most of which I possess are in my personal collection. There is nothing within that can match them."


    Eh, that''s to be expected. As far as weapons go, they''re at the peak of the world.


    "Where would you like to go first?"


    "Let''s start on the Third Floor." I may as well see what she considered the best of this ce.


    Nuwa merely gestured and the walls around us reconfigured. They opened up revealing a wide array of tables with all sorts of valuables presented. Weapons that glittered and shined, artifacts that radiated power, and odd trinkets that could give off strange feelings.


    The first thing to grab my attention was an Arrow on a podium.


    "Not bad." I looked it over.


    "It is impressive." Sc¨¢thach agreed.


    "It does give off a dangerous feeling."


    "Ah, an arrow crafted personally by Hou Yi." Nuwa replied. "It has the ability to contain Fire and suppress the Sun and kill Immortals. Unfortunately, half of its power is sealed without the Bow."


    "You wouldn''t happen to have the bow?" I asked.


    Nuwaughed. "If I had the bow, it would not be up here for anyone to take. And the Arrow would be retained by me."


    Fair.


    That Bow would be on the level of the spear, easily.


    There were more weapons, many powerful and wonderful ones. But....they were all inferior to my own. Even my worst sword was barely equaled by what I had nced over so far.


    "Wilhelm." Artoria called out to me and I followed.


    Two swords sat side by side. At merely a nce, I could tell that these swords were of a high quality and on par with what I''m used to.


    "Gan Jiang and Mo Ye." Nuwa introduced.


    "The swords of love?" I vaguely recalled the story of the cksmith who''s wife threw herself into the forge so he couldplete themission to the emperor and not be executed.


    "The very same." Nuwa nodded.


    I was tempted, they were...good swords.


    "May I?" I asked.


    "Go ahead."


    I picked one of them up, and immediately, I realized that I had to hold the other one, otherwise it would reject me. I held both of them within my hands, feeling their weight. "They''re good swords, but they''re not for me."


    I''m not much of a Dual wielder, and having to wield both of them simultaneously was a big downside to someone like me who switches between weapons depending on the situation.


    There were certainly plenty of treasures I wanted, but there was only really one more that drew my attention.


    It was a sword, or what remained of one.


    I ran a finger along the hilt up to where the de was shattered.


    "Xuan Yuan." Nuwa introduced again. "The Sword of the Yellow Emperor." She spoke and there was an odd....nostalgic and loving tone in her words. I would almost liken it to a proud mother.


    Even broken, I was tempted to take this.


    A broken sword could always be reforged and even if it was a degree less than its original form, it would still be a sword worth wielding next to my other ones. I could only guess what it was originally like before it broke.


    But, I decided against it.


    "Let''s see the second floor."


    With another wave of her hand, another wall opened revealing what I assume was the second floor. It''s funny, I''m pretty sure they were actually separate floors, but Nuwa probably couldn''t be bothered to walk up and down whatever stairs existed, so she was doing this for us.


    There are significantly more things on this ''floor''.


    Also, I noticed the rows of scrolls and.....were those Jade Slips?


    Basically, what Cultivators used instead of books.


    But there were many.


    Nuwa seemed to noticed my gaze. "This is where we keep the majority of our techniques and Spells as well."


    Makes sense.


    Third floor was for the really spicy things. Second floor was more of the main storage while first floor was probably more of an introduction or less impressive stuff or important stuff.


    The quality noticeably dipped, but that didn''t curb my enthusiasm.


    But there was a lot.


    "Would it be improper of me to ask for a suggestion?" I wondered what she thought I might want.


    Nuwa didn''t look perturbed. "Do you practice Onmyoji?"


    "Somewhat." I can''t say It''s ever been my main focus. "I know a few spells, but it''s something I use when a sealing spell is needed. But most of what I know is....well, it can''t really keep up with the opponents I fight these days."


    Really, the spell I use most there is the Five Elements Mutual Generation to amplify my other stuff.


    Nuwa tapped her chin in thought. "The third shelf, middle section, I think there may be some things there that will interest you. They are not exactly the same, but they have a simr history and origin so it would not be too difficult for you to learn."


    Artoria and Sc¨¢thach had wandered to the sides, looking at things, so I went to look at her suggestion.


    Third Shelf, Middle section, there were scrolls, parchments, and Jade Slips littering it.


    "Twelve Flood Dragons?" I muttered the name of one particr scroll and pushed it back. "Heavenly Cicada''s Evening Song. One Dragon soaring the Heavens. Five Elements Sealing the Heavens. Fire Dragon''s Fury..."


    I was starting to see a pattern here....


    I know you shouldn''t judge a book by its cover, but, well.


    I atleast took a look at the Five Elements Sealing the Heavens. It was.....at its basic it was simr to my Five Elements Mutual Generator at first nce, but instead of amplifying a spell, it instead reversed it to seal away the immaterial.


    Interesting, but not something I particrly needed.


    I nced to the side to see Sc¨¢thach join me out of curiosity. "Too Delicate." She pushed a scroll away. "Too mboyant." She said to another. "Fancy and hollow. Interesting.....but tooplicated. Weak...." She kept dismissing them. "Here, student, this one only requires that you sever your manhood, but it is rather interesting."


    "I want to be petty and do it just to spite you."


    "Hmph, as if I would ever allow you to take your cock away from me." My Sc¨¢thach snorted with augh. She looking through several more until she stopped. "This one." She said,reading over it. "It fills a spot in your repertoire." She handed it to me unceremoniously.


    I trusted her judgment and immediately began reading it.


    Mountain Sealing Incantation.


    A sealing spell? I skimmed it over. It wasn''t tooplicated at first nce either, and while it used principals I did not practice, I was sure I could substitute them for other things.


    Well, color me intrigued.


    "I''ll hold onto this and see if we can''t find anything better."


    Sc¨¢thach hummed and didn''t respond, merely a nod as she continued to look through.


    I went the opposite direction, finding some rather odd things thrown about on the shelves. Funny enough, I found a dusty tome on Western Magic.


    Out of curiosity I flipped through it, it was rather basic, perhaps even intermediate at some points. Maybe I was being too harsh, it would suffice for someone to practice for a good portion of their life.


    If they learned everything in it well enough, I could see a Magician bing High ss in Strength, at the higher end of the spectrum.


    Pushing it away, I noticed something peculiar.


    A strange aura nearby, a few feet down. A thinyer of dust, and nearly hidden by other things. I pushed them to the side to reveal a rather thick rolled parchment made of unknown material, but.....it was strange.


    As soon as I touched it, I realized it wasn''t created by Mortal Hands.


    There was power here, a significant power, but it was muted...depleted even.


    There was nothing on it from the outside.


    I unfurled it, and the first words written in an archaic text made my breathing nearlye to a stop. It was worn, barely eligible, but I could recognize the words and the feeling it gave didn''t make me question its authenticity.


    "....why do you have this?" My voice wasn''t particrly loud, but it was enough that Nuwa, who wasn''t taking much of an interest, suddenly looked over.


    "Oh, I forgot that was here. It was given to me for something that happened many years ago, but at that point, well, you can feel it yourself. Its purpose was fulfilled, and it lost all of its power, so it''s just a decoration at this point." Nuwa replied nonchntly.


    "Student, what did you find?" Sc¨¢thach was peering over my shoulder.


    "Did you find something valuable?" Artoria asked.


    "Can I take this?" I asked Nuwa.


    "If you want that old thing, fine." She waved her hand dismissively. "I only kept it because of the sentimental aspect. It''s not even worth putting on the top floor."


    I took onest nce at the first words on it.


    God''s Investiture List.


    I''m taking this, I don''t know why, but I feel like it could be extremely useful in the future.


    "Right, then I''ll take this and the Mountain Sealing Incantation." I said.


    "Hmm, good choice. That''s a good spell, and if it''s cultivated to its highest level, it''s quite powerful." Nuwa Nodded. "Now, shall we take a look at the first floor?"


    Sc¨¢thach and Artoria didn''t question me. I would exin moreter when we had more time.


    I nodded to her and she did the same thing as before, opening a path to the first floor from where we stood.


    Once again, it opened up to a much wider area containing a wide array of misceneous objects. And about what you would expect. This floor, I wouldn''t call it trash by any means, but this was probably where they stored everything they found that could be considered a ''treasure'' that couldn''t make it to higher floors.


    The quality was about what the majority of the ''things'' I kept as my own ''treasures'' in my storage. Good enchanted swords that I found in Skyrim? That was basically the same quality as what could be found here.


    It may have taken a long time to find something worth it in here. If it weren''t for the fact that my eyes immediatelynded on what I wanted.


    It was Magic, in that, It was the variety I was familiar with.


    I analyzed it from sight alone, its enchantments and engravings I could decipher with my eyes closed. Flight capabilities, enhanced durability. Offensive spells. Lots of more misceneous things for it to work, but I saw it all. Oh, the spellcraft was utter shit, but that could be fixedter.


    I ran up and immediately hugged it. "It''s beautiful."


    "....Wilhelm, are you serious?" Artoria asked me.


    "I want it."


    "There are....other things that may catch your eyes."


    "Please, I want this."


    "....what are you going to even use it for?"


    "....I''ll think of something." I pleaded. "Please let me have this, I want it."


    Artoria let out a sigh. "If it truly makes you happy, then I will not object."


    I happily hugged my new boat.


    Rather, it was not just a boat.


    It was a Pirate Ship. A....medium sized one...I didn''t know the specific term or model of it. But it was like straight out of a movie. Sure, it was a bit damaged and weathered from the ages, but it even had a Jolly Roger!


    A Flying Magical Pirate ship!


    I took Sir Wiggles out, cing him on Artoria''s head, much to her chagrin. "First Mate Sir Wiggles."


    "This is what you chose?" Nuwa asked.


    "Yes." I said happily.


    Nuwa let out augh. "I didn''t think this would ever get taken out of here. It appeared some centuries ago off the coast of China, causing some trouble for the Mortals. One of my Disciples at the time happened across them and took care of the people involved. I believe this ship is the source of the legends in the west....what was its name again....the Flying Dutchman?"


    It took all of my self-control not to Squee.


    Today was a good day.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name for people who can''t use the above.

 Chapter 482 - 438

    <h4>Chapter 482: Chapter 438</h4>


    Izanami POV


    I arrived at Wilhelm''s home to see him running out the door to the backyard carrying all sorts of materials in his arms. I don''t think he even registered my presence.


    "Izzy!" Jinn excitedly called out, running at me with arms wide open.


    The girl was always eager to give everyone a hug.


    I epted, of course. "Helly, dear." I replied back.


    A good portion of us were here at the moment, even Meridia despite her circumstances. The only ones absent were Raikou, Salem, and Venna.


    We were interrupted again as Wilhelm burst through the door, running to some far corner of the house. There were crashing sounds and sounds of things hitting walls when he bolted out again, holding more materials.


    "....is he okay?" I finally asked.


    "He is fine." Sc¨¢thach reassured me.


    Just as she finished that, he stomped into the room again, eyes sweeping around. Theynded on Jinn and he quickly grabbed the girl, threw her over his shoulder and ran away.


    Jinn of course didn''t mind and wasughing the entire time.


    "Very well." I pursed my lips.


    "He ran away with Medea earlier." Yasakamented.


    "You need not worry, he is merely being...." Artoria paused.


    "A boy?" Sc¨¢thach offered.


    "Yes, that is an apt way to exin it." She nodded.


    "I feel out of the loop." I spoke.


    "They just got back from Nuwa''s Pce." Yasaka informed me.


    "Yes?" I looked at her. "And I assume that is why we gathered? Nothing went wrong I hope? He has a record of getting into fights against powerful entities he meets."


    "Surprisingly, nothing happened." Meridia gave a small snort.


    "Our lover even brought back a few new toys." Yasaka stated. "One of which happened to be a magical flying pirate ship. Hence..." She swept her arm, gesturing to the surroundings.


    Ah, that would certainly do it. "I can fill in the rest."


    "Should we interrupt him?" Yasaka asked.


    "No." Sc¨¢thach shook her head. "I enjoy seeing him having fun like this."


    That''s true....there was something pleasant about seeing just his genuine enthusiasm and joy he was expressing.


    He came and went again, still utterly ignoring everyone and focusing single mindedly on whatever it is he was doing.


    "I bet I can sh my tits and he won''t even notice." Yasaka suddenly said.


    Sc¨¢thach raised her eyebrow. "I will take that wager."


    "Terms?"


    "What do you desire?"


    "Threesome."


    Sc¨¢thach tilted her head. "Agreeable. However, If I win, you can only watch." She grinned.


    "Oh, you bitch." Yasaka shared a simr amused look.


    Two perverts....


    Wilhelm came stomping up again, and quickly, Yasaka pulled down the hem of her kimono, letting her impressive bosom bounce free for everyone to see.


    No one spoke any words, and Wilhelm just continued onwards.


    "That boy is going to receive a beating." Sc¨¢thach said under her breath as he left the house again.


    "I am....surprised." Artoria said softly, stealing nces at Yasaka''s chest, flushing slightly.


    I couldn''t me her, they were impressive and I found myself taking a nce or two as well.


    "I''m happy I won, but I''m kind of conflicted that he didn''t stop." Yasaka admitted. "Who''s next? Izanami, how about you sh your tits, see if he''ll stop?"


    "Don''t bring me into your perverted games." I huffed, making her justugh.


    "Meridia~" She said melodiously, looking at the unfathomable woman. "Do you think you can get him to stop?"


    Meridia raised an eyebrow simrly to Sc¨¢thach. "Do you dare wager something with me?"


    "If I win...." Yasaka considered. "I want to dress you up for a day."


    Meridia seemingly did not expect that. Honestly, I expected something perverted once more.


    "And If I win?" She asked.


    "Well, I could always spend a day between your legs~"


    "Hmph, so you wish to be rewarded for losing?"


    "Oh~ You''re funny." Yasaka grinned mischievously.


    "The same as the previous bet." Meridia crossed her arms. "You are only allowed to watch and nothing else."


    "You both are mean." Yasaka''s ears ttened. "Fine, fine." She huffed.


    "Very well, we have an ord." Meridia acknowledged. As Wilhelm approached again, she pulled up the hem of her dress, revealing her.....very beautiful legs.


    And.....hepletely ignored what was happening and went further into the back of the house.


    Yasaka''s smug grin was only equaled by the scowl shown by Meridia.


    Before he could return, she put her leg up onto the side of the couch, pulling her dress up until there was very little left to the imagination.


    Wilhelm walked back, almost to the door, until he stopped, turning around to look at us and his eyesnded on Meridia. He basically dropped what he was doing and ran to her.


    "Oh, I see how it is, you ignore my boobs, but her legs are what gets your attention?" Yasaka said in mock offense.


    "Huh, what?" Wilhelm looked around, holding Meridia tightly. "Is something wrong? Meridia suddenly shouted something into my head and I ran over."


    Everyone stopped and looked at her.


    Yasaka in particr narrowed her eyes. "You cheating bitch!"


    Meridia, with all her splendor and immense power, looked away with an embarrassed flush.


    Despite the wide spectrum of origins, and how different we all were....it felt very warm here.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    "I''m confused at what''s happening."


    "Nothing." Meridia huffed.


    "Just look forward to tonight." Yasaka shot a grin towards Sc¨¢thach.


    I didn''t know what was happening still, but whatever.


    I let go of Meridia and then went to my other Goddess. "Izzy." I quickly hugged her.


    "Hello." She said simply, but there was that hint of happiness to it. Even when she wasn''t being very expressive, I''vee to be able to glean her emotions. "Did you have fun at Nuwa''s pce?"


    "I did." I nodded. "I got some neat stuff."


    "....so I''ve heard." Her lips thinned. "What dare I ask what will you do with a flying pirate ship?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" I questioned. "Plunder some booty." I may or may not have put my hands on her plump rear.


    "Cute." She said tly, but she didn''t get upset, so I took that as eptance.


    Not as cute as you.


    "But I got some other things too." I said, reluctantly releasing her butt. "Got a cool spell that I''ll need to figure out." I held up the scroll.


    Izzy looked at it, taking it from my hands. She unfurled it, adjusting it from side to side as she read it. "I see, that should be decent."


    Yup, it looked pretty good to me too. Even Sc¨¢thach thought it was a good pick.


    Seemed like it had a high ceiling as well. In that, it was something I could use even against Gods if I practiced it correctly.


    "And I got this." I handed over the other thing I picked up.


    Izzy casually took it again, unfurled it but she immediately went stiff. ".....why do you have this?"


    I may have let out augh at her response. "That''s exactly the same response I gave Nuwa."


    "What is it?" Yasaka asked, peeking over her shoulder.


    "What an odd object." Meridia joined in, curiously looking at it up close.


    "It''s the God''s Investiture List." I revealed.


    Yasaka went silent for a second. "By that, do you mean the actual List, the one from the legends? The actual List that was hung in the Heavenly Courts and was used to appoint the Gods there? The same thing that defined an era of a whole region known as the Investiture of the Gods? That thing?"


    "Yup."


    "Okay, just checking." Yasaka sat down on the couch.


    "I am unfamiliar with this object, even the knowledge bestowed upon me, I only know the name in passing." Artoria furrowed her brow. "What is the significance?"


    "Its...." Izzy even stopped. "It''s difficult to exin because it requires further going into details about how the workings of the Chinese Heavens and territory operate."


    "I would also like to know, I''m not particrly knowledgeable about this world." Meridia stated. "I can feel something strange from it. Like, a powerful object that lost its....spark? As if it no longer has a purpose to it. I don''t quite know how to exin it."


    "That actually hits the nail right on the head." Should I even be surprised that Meridia could see through its essence? "Okay, I''ll do my best to exin."


    Oh jeez, where to even start?


    "Alright, let''s start at the very beginning. China had its own...Primordial, forck of a better term." That''s the best way to describe it for people more familiar with Western Cosmologies. "You have Pangu, the Giant God that was born in the Chaos, just like the Greek Primordials, and even the ones who came before Izzy. Speaking of..." I nced at her.


    "They returned to their origins." Izzy said cryptically. "It is taboo to speak too deeply of their existence."


    ...ominous.


    "Even if they are your parents?" Artoria tilted her head.


    "They are not...." Izzy frowned. "We do not have that kind of rtionship. I do not know how to exin it in mortal terms. They were not expressive like people, they were more....extensions of the primordialws of the world. They had no emotions." She let out a breath. "Which, by extension, makes Pangu far different, but with a simr origin."


    They looked back at me and I continued. "Pangu existed by himself. He became lonely." Or so the legends went. "I can''t im to know what happened, but ording to the stories, he split the chaos, and separated Heaven from Earth, creating what is the basis for the Chinese Cosmology. In doing this, he sacrificed himself to breathe life into this new ce. His body parts actually pop up in different forms, creating new entities and such. Particrly, one aspect of his will became known as the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao is.....you can think of it as an autonomous system that oversees the Chinese Cosmology. It''s the reason why they have their own unique method of power even if it''s derived from the same sources that are known across the world. This System rewards good, and punishes evil. It gives trials to those trying to ascend, and punishes those who fail. It treats everyone fairly within the rules it operates under. If a Godmits heinous deeds, it will invoke a tribtion of punishment and provoke bad luck, that sort of thing. It''s not omnipotent, but it''s fairly close."


    "That''s being extremely broad in its exnation." Izzy interjected. "But it''s also not incorrect. All the Gods, everything there is beneath the Heavenly Dao."


    "How strong was this Primordial Deity?" Sc¨¢thach asked. "If you im that merely his left behind will supports the modern Gods and sits above them."


    That...was actually an interesting question.


    "Don''t know." I shrugged. "If I had to guess, at the very least, on par with Shiva." I think that was a fair estimate to say at a minimum he would exist at that level. "But we''re getting off topic. So you have the Heavenly Dao, and thousands of years ago, many powerful people sprang up. Immortals became moremon, and everyone still interacted with the mortals and the Mortal world. It wasn''t even long after Humanity in the region sprang up and carved out their own foothold. Around this point, the Heavenly Court came into existence, and the Jade Emperor rose to his position. That''s a whole other thing I''m not going to get into. But suffice to say, there were very few Gods during this point and the Courts were nearly empty."


    "Things started to go...wrong. You see, the Immortals and Demons and what-have-you started to fight. Things began to escte, and chaos took hold. Innocents were suffering and dying every day and finally, it reached a point where the Heavenly Dao interceded. It sent down a tribtion as punishment for the wanton chaos and ughtering of Mortals caused by the conflicts of Immortals. The Heavenly Dao created the God''s Investiture List, giving it to the Jade Emperor at the height of the conflict. Both as punishment and for meritorious services, it forced the ones fighting into the positions of Godhood in the Heavenly court, suppressing them in part, but also filling in the missing spots to bring peace and stability to the ce."


    There was so much to cover, I don''t think for a second I was doing it justice. It''s like saying, Oh, the Second World War happened because of Hitler, and it was resolved because the Americans dropped a bomb on Japan, then add no other context.


    "I can glean an understanding." Artoria nodded. "It was an object that facilitated the Positions of Godhood at its roots."


    "That''s a fair statement." Even if the Godly Positions there were a bit different than other ces. They''re more like....government positions, while still retaining the whole Godly Authority aspect.


    But it doesn''t matter, this information means very little to them than to just give some context.


    "And why did you choose it?" Artoria asked. "You seemed intent the moment you saw it."


    "I honestly can''t answer that question." I said, looking at the list. "I just felt like it was something I should have."


    "As interesting as this is, I am here to drop off the thing you asked of me." Meridia shifted topics. It wasn''t her being impatient, but she''s someone who can be very blunt about her intentions sometimes.


    "You found something I could use?" I felt my eyes light up.


    "I believe this will help you." She flipped her hand over, producing a tree branch with nothing particrly noteworthy about it on the surface. But I could feel the lifeforce of the thing from here. "It''s from the Gildergreen Tree in Whiterun. Which in turn was born from a branch of an Eldergleam tree that is blessed by Kynareth. It''s one of the oldest things still living in Tamriel."


    "You....didn''t have any trouble getting this did you?" I hesitantly took it into my hand. It was very.... neutral, I think the right word was. It didn''t lean towards any end of the spectrum in regards to light or ''dark''. Basically, exactly what I asked for.


    "No, I made a small deal with Kynareth to infuse the tree with a speck of my power to breathe life back into it. It was dying and rotting while sitting in the mortal city for so long. Her priestesses were being foolish and were not allowing it to properly die and they did many things to attempt to preserve it and instead tainted it away from its proper path. It''s supposed to die and be rebirthed in time as is natural. I merely cleansed it of all the nonsense they infused into it and let it proceed back to how it should be while giving it another lifetime." She shrugged as if it were the simplest thing possible.


    "Thank you." I quickly enveloped her into a big hug.


    "It is no trouble." She smiled lightly. "You may rely upon me for such matters."


    And I knew she meant it in a heartfelt way.


    "Would it be rude if I asked you for another favor?"


    "You may ask anything of me, always." She said softly.


    "Can I have a strand of your hair? Diluted to the level that a....mortal could process and handle it?"


    Meridia looked thoughtful for a moment. "You intend to use my hair for crafting?"


    "That''s my intention." I didn''t hide it from her.


    She, without reservation, plucked a thin strand of hair from her head. "As long as the final item remains in your possession, I do not mind." She offered it up.


    It may seem.....infantile on the surface, but she was literally giving me a piece of herself. Everything about her was carefully crafted from her own Divine Power.


    "It should be....weak enough, for a mortal to handle with care." She exined.


    "Izzy." I turned my head to my other Goddess. "Would you mind if I asked for a strand of your hair as well?"


    "A small thing." She dismissed, unceremoniously plucking a strand from her own head. "It should be equal to hers, if I had guessed your intentions."


    "Thank you." I said wholeheartedly.


    "There is no need for thanks. It is far from the limit of what I would give you if you asked." Izzy was being cute.


    I now had the materials I needed to make a wand. Did I actually need the wand intentionally for anything? No. But I also don''t like to do things by halves. I could probably find a proper use for itter, and I had an idea off the top of my head, but I would need to experiment.


    "What''s Medea''s stance?" Yasaka asked, realizing what I was prepared for. "We should head out...tomorrow I want to say. Is Medea going to take you up on the offer?"


    "I talked to her a little bit when I was showing her my new boat, she''s....hesitantly on board." I ryed.


    "She has trouble epting good will." Artoria said quietly. "I do not im to know her thoughts, but if she is even partially interested, then I believe she truly does want to give it a try."


    That''s a good analysis. Medea did better when we worked off of transactions. Just blunt generosity without any expectation of reciprocation threw her for a loop.


    She''s certainly gotten better though from what I recalled of her during the Grail War.


    "We can head out tomorrow, I''ll give Medea a heads up so she can have one more night to talk it over with her Fianc¨¦e."


    [***]


    Floofy floof.


    I was keeping myself upied with one of Yasaka''s tails. Kunou was ying with both Sir Wiggles and Lady Wiggles as she loves to do.


    It didn''t take long for Medea and Kazuki to finally arrive.


    Both of them were wearing their normal attire, Kazuki with his suit, and Medea d in her Servant stuff. Which would oddly make her fit in more than her Fianc¨¦ and even myself in all honesty.


    Immediately, I could see there was a smidge of excitement in her eyes, even if she wasn''t being very emotive about it.


    Kazuki carried with him a briefcase which made me think that they were fully on board.


    "Can I take it that you both are epting the interview?" I questioned.


    "We''ll give it a shot." Medea nodded. "Worse case, we can just leave at any moment."


    That''s entirely true. I was making a big enough donation that losing a couple teacher mid school year wouldn''t be too horrendous.


    "Do you mind..." I nced at Kunou.


    Medea''s expression softened. "I will dly look after her while we''re there." She agreed.


    It was genuinely hard to dislike Kunou. Even the Witch of Betrayal had a soft spot for the fluffy little fox.


    "Well, first stop, we''re going to the Bank. It should be a good opportunity for you guys to open an ount and vault. You can probably exchange other Gold for their specific coinage. And it helps with other matters. While we''re there, I''ll send a letter to the Headmaster to give him a small heads up about your impending arrival."


    Which he knew about.


    It was one of those things, where they expected their arrival for an interview today, or a letter of rejection. Set up ahead of time to not be rude either way, obviously.


    "Sounds good, boyo." Medea said, clearly on board now. I think the idea of her watching Kunou made her feel better because she was ''paying us back'' or some other nonsense. I wouldn''t poke at her because of it, people handle their own issues in their own ways.


    "Ready to go, Kunou?" Yasaka asked.


    "I''m ready, momma." Kunou hopped over, both Bunnies on her shoulders.


    "Then, without further ado." I opened a portal right outside the bank, making sure to calcte for any organic matter as to just not walk on top of someone. And a slight trick to not allow anyone from the other side to see into our side. "Ladies?" I offered.


    "Yes, you''re such a gentleman." Medea rolled her eyes, grabbing her Fiance''s arm and happily walking through with Yasaka and Kunou right behind.


    Andstly, I went throughst, shutting it behind me.


    The sun annoyed me for the most miniscule of moments, going from indoors to outdoors without a buffer, but I quickly ignored it.


    People were staring, surprised and what-not, but I ignored them. It wasn''t umon for people to teleport here, it''s just our method was something utterly different than what they''re used to.


    I gave Medea and Kazuki a moment to take in the new sights before gently pointing them towards the Bank Building.


    The two goblin Guards standing outside were a dead giveaway as they had been warned about the residents here.


    I picked up Sir Wiggles and Lady Wiggles, giving them the letter intended for Dumbledore, and let them fly off to deliver it.


    "Come on." I gently nudged the Witch of betrayal.


    "How strange." She muttered, but they all followed along as I pushed open the doors.


    Bank first, then let Medea and Kuzuki go to their interview, and then we could do some shopping with Kunou. It was going to be a wonderful day.


    The Goblins were keen on our arrival, some light whispers as if they were expecting us and some messages were passed as the Teller behind the counter jumped down, ran around the back door to the front to meet us.


    "Mr. Schweinorg." He paused, looking at everyone else. "And Guests. The Bank Manager is expecting you." He was quick to usher us away from the main floor.


    I shrugged, not caring.


    The faster the better.


    He led us right to the Manager''s office that I remembered from my first visit. He knocked once, and didn''t wait for a response before pushing the door open.


    The Goblin behind the desk looked initially annoyed but brightened up a smidge seeing us enter.


    "Mr. Schweinorg, you''ve returned." Ragnok greeted, shooing away the other Goblin out of the room. "And you brought others with you." His lips thinned, pushing himself off the chair. He almost became...diplomatic in his mannerism as he approached Yasaka. "On Behalf of the Goblin Nation, we wee you into our borders." He did a slight, but polite bow.


    Yasaka perked up a tiny bit. "On behalf of the Kyoto Youkai, I thank you for your hospitality."


    Well, certain niceties needed to be observed for first time meetings. Yasaka, as I told them previously, was a Ruler, and the Goblins consider this their own nation.


    "And this little one, I assume she is going to be attending Hogwarts?" Ragnok asked.


    And I was genuinely surprised at the tone and demeanor of his. Previously, he was crude, blunt but now it''s like aplete 180.


    Then again, he did say they loath Wizards and Witches, which.....Yasaka and Kunou certainly were not. A sort ofradery that is reserved for non-humans around these parts?''


    "Hi, I''m Kunou." My daughter introduced herself.


    "Hello, Kunou. I am Ragnok, Manager for this branch of Gringotts. I will be taking care of any of your banking needs during your stay at Hogwarts." He did something resembling a smile, I think.


    It was hard to tell. But he was noticeably more gentle with her than even Yasaka.


    "I have a couple friends here as well." I gestured to the others. "They''re potentially going to be teachers for Hogwarts this year, and potentially more."


    Ragnok paused, looking at Kazuki, sizing him up. "You have the stance of a killer."


    "I was an Assassin." Kazuki bluntly replied.


    Ragnok didn''t even blink, just nodded with a smidge of....respect? "A muggle, how rare." He said under his breath. "And you have the stench of old Magic. Very old Magic." He said, looking at Medea.


    Medea pulled down her hood. "Is there a problem?" She narrowed her eyes.


    Ragnok recoiled ever so slightly under her gaze. "Gringotts doesn''t care about the matters of Wizards and Witches." He quickly reaffirmed. "As long as you abide by our rules within our nation."


    "Hmph." Medea crossed her arms. "I will open a Vault after you are done with..." She waved her hand flippantly. "This."


    He looked unsure of how to respond to her and just nodded. He cleared his throat moving to a shelf behind his desk. "I assume you are here to retrieve your sword?"


    "If it''s ready?" Which, considering the shape and size of the box it was more rhetorical.


    "It was finished a few days prior." He gently took it down and walked over to me. "It''s one of my finer works, I am very proud of it."


    He opened it up, revealing a glint that shined under the lights within the room.


    It was certainly not the color of steel. It had that lighter tone associated with Silver, but even then, it didn''t quite look like normal Silver either. Perhaps a tiny bit almost like Pearl in its coloring and sheen over normal Silver.


    The guard looked to be made of a Bronze I didn''t recognize, but certainly not normal Bronze either. The handle was wrapped in a ck leather strap, for which I didn''t know which animal it came from as well.


    "A Han Jian style sword?" Yasaka looked at me. "I''m surprised you wanted this style."


    I picked it up, gently taking it from the box. "I have a Katana in my Zanpakut¨­, and I have several ''western'' style swords, I like variety." I replied. It''s funny, it''s almost bing a pattern now that I left China, yet I alsomissioned a Chinese-type sword.


    Completely happenstance, but regardless, I was more than happy with how it turned out.


    "It''s pretty." Kunou gave her opinion on it.


    "I think it''s pretty as well." I chuckled, giving her a quick pat on the head.


    I took a step to the side, away from everyone to give it a few swings followed by a thrust, and Ibined several movements in quick session to get a feel for it. "The bnce is impable. The weight feels perfect as well. This is a very well forged de." I was utterly sincere with my praise, it was more than earned.


    "It''s a nice sword." Medea inspected. "May I?"


    I offered it up for her to hold. She was someone I trusted enough to hold my important treasures.


    She took it in her hand, and nearly expertly swung it a few times. A Witch she may be, but you did not survive in her time period without knowing your way around a sword or other weapons atleast to a modest degree.


    "It has a strange principle about it." She looked at the de itself after another couple swings.


    "Goblin Steel." I replied. "From what I''ve been told, it has an impressive Greed infused concept that takes in stronger things to make itself stronger."


    Medea raised an eyebrow, handing it back to me. "And what''s your n with this thing? You already have plenty of weapons as is."


    That''s true, but I would never turn down more treasures.


    But this in particr, well.


    The image of the Mage King popped into my head. How he effortlessly dispelled my own Magecraft and countered with his own.


    The teacher of even Gramps.


    I was going to find any and all anti-magic materials I could and let the sword eat them all up. By the time I was finished, I was going to make it the natural predator to any and all things magic.


    But even so, even if it could ignore magic, a pointy metal de wouldn''t do much against the King of Magecraft.


    And after bing so heavily anti-magic, obviously, I couldn''t enchant it further nor use my own magic to enhance it, thus I needed a different way to increase its lethality.


    If it can take in things to make it stronger, well, then I would feed it all the most heinous and vile Poisons and Venoms I could get my hands on.


    A de that can ignore magic and contains some of the most dangerous poisons ever conceived.


    "I''m going to turn it into the ultimate Mage-Killer."


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: Through the looking ss, Part 2.


    Teleportation Circles lit up in the room as a bunch of familiar faces appeared. Some I''ve seen from the outside, one I ''ve only seen in the mirror.


    "Mom!"


    "Miss Shimoda!"


    "Big Sis!"


    They all filled into the room, ready for battle. Noticing the non threatening situation they sort of fumbled, but then immediately noticed me, the stranger, and were about to charge in for a fight again.


    I admit, it was odd seeing myself like this. I mean, I''ve fought my copies through my Zanpakut¨­ and Bankai Training, but this just felt...different.


    Especially because it was a younger me.


    "Mom, who is that!?" My younger self pointed at me.


    God, I forgot how short I used to have my hair.


    "I''m your long-lost twin brother." I just randomly blurted out the first thing that popped into my head.


    "Wah!?"


    "Stop making things confusing." My mom pped my arm.


    "The truth is, I''m actually you from the future. I''vee back in time to warn you about ¨C"


    "Stop it." Mom pped my again. "One more time." She warned me with that look.


    "....he does look a lot like you." Venna''s daughter said skeptically.


    "That''s stupid, there''s no way he''s me from the future." My younger self rolled his eyes.


    "Wanna know where he keeps his stash of porn?" I looked towards my mom. "It''s in his closet, under the ¨C"


    "Shut up!" My younger self turned red and his voice cracked slightly.


    "Oh stop." My mom rolled her own eyes. "And besides, I already knew about the hiding spot under that loose floorboard in your closet."


    "Mom!?" He squeaked out.


    "Miss Shimoda." Sona Sitri pushed up her sses. "Perhaps we should discuss the pertinent subject. Like how a stranger bypassed your houses'' defenses."


    "That was like, hours ago. Where have you been?"


    "Don''t ¨C" Mom was about to chastise me, then she paused, her expression nking for a second. "Wait, that was awhile ago, why are you just getting here now?"


    "What? They only went off a few minutes ago." Sona looked confused.


    Mom looked at her then at me.


    "Yeah, I fucked with them." I shrugged.


    "Language." She pped my arm.


    "Mom, stop hitting me." I huffed.


    "Wait, mom?" My Alternate self repeated.


    "Woops." I realized my slip up. "Guess that cats'' out of the bag."


    "Wait, is he actually my long lost brother!?"


    "Takao, don''t be silly." Sona interjected. "There has to be some reasonable exnation. He''s not your long lost brother, he''s not a time traveler. That''s just absurd."


    "I''m him from an Alternate Reality." I just ripped the band aid right off.


    Everyone looked at me, then at my mom.


    "What? He''s telling the truth this time." My mom defended.


    "That''s ridiculous!" My younger self proimed.


    "Honestly, I''m feeling pretty simrly right now." I agreed.


    "This is new to you too?" Rias questioned.


    "Oh no, I do this all the time." I shook my head. "I''m talking about the fact that my other self is apparently dating that thing." I pointed at Sona.


    "What is that supposed to mean!?" Said girl all but growled.


    "I''m d you asked ¨C"


    Mom pped my arm again. "Takao." She warned.


    "Ugh, fine." I stopped, on behalf of my mom. But....I couldn''t help myself. "By the way, all his porn is about girls with big boobs." I shot once more towards her.


    Mom hit me again.


    Sona''s eyes widened, and she turned towards her apparent boyfriend.


    "He''s lying!"


    "Actually, he''s not."


    "Mom!!!"


    "We''ll talk about itter." Sona huffed, pushing up her sses again then turned to me. "Honestly, it just sounds like overt jealously." She turned up her nose.


    I covered my mouth.


    "Takao, is something wrong?" My mom looked at me in concern.


    "Sorry, just threw up a little when she insinuated that I was jealous."


    "Why do you keep insulting my girlfriend?" My alternate self was seemingly getting upset.


    "Sorry, threw up a little more in my mouth."


    "Takao Shimoda!" My mom raised her voice.


    "What?"


    "Not you, the other Takao!" She corrected after my alternate self blurted out.


    "This is confusing." Rias grumbled.


    "Well, to make things easier, I don''t go by Takao." I replied, because it was getting annoying. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service." I properly introduced myself.


    "Why do you have a German name?" Sona asked.


    "What''s wrong with my name?" I frowned. "It''s from my Grandfather." Sorta, kinda.


    "Grandpa Zeo?" Takao spoke up.


    "What does he have to do with anything?"


    "Duh, who else? Mom''s dad is dead." He snorted.


    "My Grandfather." I shrugged. "Adopted."


    "Well, I think it''s a lovely name!" Mom interrupted, and being the best mom ever, she easily epted and didn''t question my choices. "Now, tell me more about my grandbabies!"


    "Wait, what?"


    "You''re pregnant!?" Rias screeched, looking at Sona.


    "I''m still a virgin!" Sona squeaked back.


    "Oh wow, younger me, you can''t do anything right, can you?" Mom decided that I deserved my cheek to be pinched.


    "I wasn''t talking about Sona." Mom rified.


    "Thank God for that." I muttered, even at the expense of further mom cheek pulls.


    "Wait, what?" Sona did a near about face.


    "I was expressing my gratitude at the mercies of the universe that my children didn''te from you." I rified.


    "That''s not what I was talking about!" She hissed. "I''m talking about how you can invoke that name without any problems! Even if you''re a half-devil....Takao still can''t do that!"


    "...oh, she''s right. You Devils get hurt from saying God, right?" Mom look confused now too. "Are you not a Half-Devil?"


    "I am." I shrugged.


    "Then how are you ignoring it?" Rias asked.


    "Have you tried praying?" I offered. "Maybe if you ask nicely it''ll go away?"


    "Oww." My other self suddenly held his head in pain.


    "Wait, did you really just fucking try to pray?"


    "Language!" Mom pinched me again. "And Takao, don''t listen to obviously misleading things."


    "How was I supposed to know he was lying!? He''s me!?"


    "And if he tried to sell you drugs, would you take them?" Mom huffed then looked at me with eyes narrowed. "Don''t even start."


    "I was not going to say anything."


    "I know that face." She held a finger up at me. "And be honest."


    "Once you get strong enough, it won''t matter." I said simply.


    ".....brother can say it too." Rias muttered.


    "How strong are you?" My Alternate Self looked wide eyed. "I''ve been training in Magic, but I''m still having trouble getting the hang of it. Sona''s a Genius, but even so, I''m pretty average..."


    "Right, Genius." I rolled my eyes.


    "I''m one of the most talented in the Pir Families." Sona defended herself.


    "....and?" I asked.


    She twitched a bit aggressively.


    "Wait, if you''re not together with Sona, who are you with?" My other Self asked. "It''s Akeno, isn''t it?"


    "The stripper?"


    "The what!?" Rias eximed.


    "Then who?"


    "Why does it matter?" I shrugged.


    "Don''t listen to him, He''s obviously making it up." Sona harumphed.


    "Whatever."


    "Seriously, who did you end up with? If you''re like...a future me or whatever." Takao kept pushing.


    "What''s wrong, are you embarrassed to tell Momma about your little sweetheart?" Even my mom was nudging me.


    "Harem."


    "Huh?" My mom tilted her head.


    "I said, I have a Harem." I rified.


    "Wait, like a real Harem?" My other self went wide-eyed. "Like with multiple girls."


    "Yup."


    "....bullshit."


    "Takao, Language!" Mom chastised. "But I agree, in less abrasive terms and with more motherly affection."


    I took my phone out and flicked it a few times to get to the pictures and slid it over to them. The all seemed to crowd around Takao as he picked It up and started swiping.


    "Wait, stop." Sona said. "Isn''t that the Youkai Leader."


    "Yasaka." I nodded as that was probably one of the only faces they would recognize immediately.


    They continued to flip through the pictures until Rias made a very strange noise. Besides that, they all went deathly silent.


    "Mom!?" Rias then blurted out.


    "...son." Mom''s tone had a fearful sternness. "Why is there a picture of your Grandmother here with the others?"


    "Oh wow, look at the time." I stood up. "I think I should head home now. I don''t want to disturb you any longer ¨C"


    "Sit down."


    "Yes mom." My butt became glued to the seat.


    "Rias."


    "Yes Big Sis?" Rias stiffened.


    "Go call your brother. And your mother. I think we have something important to talk about."


    "Y-you.... Our Grandmother!?" Takao blurted out.


    "Don''t look at me like that, I''m not fucking ashamed." I crossed my arms, only realizing secondster that I said the wrong thing. ".....please don''t take off your sandal, mom."


    [***]


    A/N


    Next up, we get to see Medea and her Fiance interview with Dumbledore. It will obviously be a very boring and normal interview, I''m sure :V.


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I have a boosty for people who can''t use the above, same name.

 Chapter 483: Interlude 34

    <h4>Chapter 483: Interlude 34</h4>


    Dumbledore POV


    I found myself surprisingly excited.


    Enough so that I even put on my nicest robes!


    Yes, when that letter arrived not long ago, I knew that I had made the correct choice. I was rather hopeful that these individuals would being for a proper interview. I knew that my lucky socks would not fail me.


    Sure, our coffers were now flush with gold, but that couldn''t immediately solve the problem ofpetent teachers.


    I begrudgingly epted Gilderoy Lockhart, mostly because I couldn''t retract the eptance so close to the start of the school year. It would reflect very poorly if we dumped him once another windfall came our way. And it certainly didn''t have anything to do with the fact that he had a rabid following and a few words from him could cause quite the headache from a certain age group of witches.


    Yes, certainly not for that reason.


    Unfortunately, he would have to leave after the year.


    That pesky curse on the Defense of the Dark Arts position.


    Thankfully, Professor Flitwick agreed to start up the Dueling Club again this year. Now that we suddenly have the funding to support all the necessities.


    And wouldn''t you have it, they will be reviewing the same material from the standard textbooks each lesson.


    On an additional andpletely unrted mental note, I will need to change the charter to amend the portion about teachers having free rein to decide their teaching material.


    With all these new responsibilities, I''m d I could finally give our staff an increase in their wages.


    And it helped that Professor Hooch and Madam Poppey would no longer nag me about our older brooms. Personally, I felt like they built character. The riding ss was only needed for mostly Muggleborns, as all the children that came from magical backgrounds had their parents teach them from early ages. And there''s nothing that instills more respect for your broom than using one of those old things.


    Perhaps I could add some enchantments to randomly throw the children off their broom with an additional spell that catches them right before they hit the ground?


    I could always me it on the Weasley twins.


    Maybe add a word activation? Some of the....not so pleasant racist terms that seem to be circted amongst the most esteemed members of our illustrious society.


    It worked so well with the moving staircases, perhaps it''s something I should look into?


    But I digressed.


    I found myself excited and my mind tended to wander when I didn''t have an immediate avenue to express it.


    Fawkes gave me a side eye nce as I merrily tapped away on my desk, but he tended to do that anytime I initiated any kind of musical tone. Who knew that Phoenix''s were disdainful of any other melodies other than their own songs? Yes, the less people remember about the time I took Fawkes to the opera the better....


    I adjusted myself in my seat as I felt the Statue in front of my office move as I finally had my guests arrive. Well, arrive at my office that is. I was immediately aware of their presence as soon as they stepped upon Hogwarts ground.


    It took a great deal of restraint not to peep. I wanted an honest first impression for a potential new hire in such an unorthodox situation.


    Minerva politely knocked once she got up to my door.


    "Come in,e in." I quickly answered, even though she didn''t even wait for a response to open the door.


    "Headmaster, your guests have arrived." Minerva stated.


    Yes, yes they had.


    My eyes took in every detail I could.


    The woman was my first priority. She practically radiated, Magic. It was as if the Magic of the world moved ording to her will. She had an odd color to her hair, a very light blue, perhaps bordering purple in the right light. Though the primary thought was how natural it appeared, as I did not believe it was dyed or changed via any Magical Effects. And almost immediately, her ears were the new focus of mine. Particrly, the fact that they were pointed, denoting an ancestry that was not entirely human.


    I was not one to care for such trifles, but it was important to at least note.


    Overall, I had one important summarization for this woman.


    She was exceedingly dangerous.


    And I did not need Fawkes all but yelling through the link we shared to give me that warning. Sure, he was quiet and unmoving on the surface, but he was doing the equivalent of smacking me upside the head with a proverbial hand through our intimate bond.


    But, it was...restrained, unintentional, I believe. I do not think Minerva even noticed, she was not as keen on such things. As great a Witch as she was, she never fought in the Wars and against the true Monsters of the world like what I had.


    As for the man.....


    He wore normal, if not standard, Muggle clothes. A well kept suit, a well trimmed haircut, and overall a well kept appearance. There was nothing.....unique about him at first nce, a Japanese man without any noticeable features you could pick out of a crowd.


    However, there was something unsettling about him and I just couldn''t quite put my finger on it. The way he held himself....everything looked too normal so I simply dismissed the feeling.


    I gave a warm smile. "Wee." I said with as polite a tone as I could, gesturing to the seats in front of my desk.


    I was waiting for Minerva to excuse herself, but it seems she decided she was going to sit in on the interview as she stood behind me.


    "Shall we begin with introductions?" I asked, more rhetorical than a true question. "I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."


    "Thank you for having us." The woman, surprisingly, had a sort of....chipper tone. Excitement? How curious. "I''m Medea and this ¨C "


    "Kuzuki Souichirou." The man introduced himself expressionlessly.


    "Pardon me for asking, but what is your family name?" I looked at the woman who introduced herself as Medea.


    "I don''t have one." She immediately replied, shifting through a couple looks, as if trying to keep a pleasant smile on her face.


    Was she.... nervous?


    "You don''t have one?" I stroked my beard.


    "It wasn''tmon in my time." She paused. "I mean, it wasn''tmon where I''m from." She awkwardly corrected herself. "At least until I marry hubby!" She practically swooned over him, a stark contrast to his expressionless face.


    "I see..." Very well then, some small talk before we begin? "How did you like the walk through the Castle?" It''s always fun to hear the first impressions of adults when theye here. And it''s a good ice breaker to begin with.


    "The Bounded Fields are impressive. Some of them looked to be centuries old yet they still operate without any degradation. The outermost Bounded Fields, however, were showing signs of weathering, and there were spots I could have snuck through without casting any spells. They did not appear to be localized onto the same location as the majority, an addition that was added in recent years? A simple touch up would fix that issue. I also noticed that there were no defenses preventing animals and familiars from infiltrating the castle. A consideration since any Magus worth their salt can create a deniable Familiar form a basic animal nearby even without much talent in the field. I was impressed by the Anti-Scrying, however. Using an Astrology Tower to act as a conduit for a Thaumaturgical resonance and parsing index to navigate the rotation of the world''s axis in corrtion to the Stars to counter any attempts to Scry or predict the Castle and its upants. Rather ingenious, since Astrology is the oldest method of prediction and Scrying in the world, any other methods would still find itself at odds with the defenses due to inherited deficiencies. But I don''t need to get into that, you probably know more about the setup than I do with just a look." She chuckled.


    ".....yes" I blinked, having been lost about half way through what she said. I cleared my throat. "Apologies, I meant your impressions on the castle itself not the....Wards."


    "Oh." She said in a tinge of embarrassment. "Ahem. It''s...very beautiful." She awkwardly pushed out. "I like.....the scenery?"


    "....thank you, Miss Medea." I looked at the Muggle. "What about you, Mister....Souichirou?" I paused for a moment. Oh dear, I didn''t even think about trying to pronounce his name, I hope I got it correct, or atleast close enough without appearing rude.


    "The Castle appearedrge enough to house an equallyrge number of students." He stated.


    "....yes it''s arge castle." My lips thinned.


    "I have concerns about the travel time between sses. Such arge Castle means that there is potential for Students to bete. However, I am impressed by the size ofnd avable for recreational activities by the students. There have been many case studies done that indicate a healthy learning environment includes physical exertion through a normalized routine. Equally important are the social interactions between students, arge Castle provides a means for Students an allowance of freedom while retaining a firm institutional standard of barriers and rules. As a Boarding School, there must be a foundation of a home in addition to the strictness of a ssroom, yet a separation of both to provide the healthiest and most productive environment to teach. My first impression is that this school achieves this, in part, due to its inordinate size." He finished.


    .....well then.


    I was at a loss for words. I quite honestly did not know what to say in response. Normally, Muggles would be in awe at the paintings, the Ghosts, the structure itself. But here he.....analyzed our school''s academic foundation based on its size.


    It sounded like apliment as well.


    "You have a keen eye, Mr. Souchirou." Minerva praised.


    I almost did a double take because she looked genuinely impressed.


    He nodded. "In a personal opinion, I found the Ghosts interesting."


    Ah, there it is.


    "Me too!" Medea suddenly added as well. "It''s a good idea, enving a group of Spirits to act as the School''s familiars."


    ...what?


    "Did you kill them yourself or did you bring them from somewhere else? To have such vivid apparitions, I would assume that you had to personally facilitate their grudges so they would appear upon their deaths?" She rubbed her chin. "Now that I think about it, they did not appear to be malevolent. Ah, a contract then? I heard that there is a nearby town connected to the school, do you collect their souls after death as payment? Quite the interesting method, it would exin theck of a noticeable grudge and malevolence. There is enough Magical Energy in the castle to sustain a half-corporeal form that they appeared with. Maybe ¨C"


    "Miss Medea." I interrupted, because I had a strange feeling I would not like where this went to next. "We do not....harvest Souls nor kill people for their.....ghosts."


    "Oh, right." She sounded...insincere as if she thought I was simply being coy.


    "Let''s move on." I would review these memoriester. "Before we begin with the intricacies of teaching here, I would like you both to be aware of the proclivities of the school. Beyond being educators, every teacher here had a duty to the students. Between sses, we offer guidance, and outside of studies, we supervise and counsel."


    "I love kids!"


    "I have much experience operating outside the definitions of a History Teacher. The standard for Japanese Schooling emphasizes an approachable position even during non-ss hours."


    ...could be worse answers.


    "And, while I hate to say it, there maye a time where the safety of the students is paramount."


    "I''ll kill anyone who tries to harm my students." Medea spoke with an oddly chilly tone to apany it.


    ".....we try our best not to resort to killing as the first response."


    "Don''t worry, I''m skilled at keeping prisoners alive despite what wounds they''ve suffered."


    "....wonderful."


    I nced at Mr. Souichirou and he....looked proud of her? It was hard to tell because he didn''t express himself much on the surface.


    "Let''s talk about the positions." I put my hands together. "Miss Medea, you want to be hired for the position of Magical Theory, yes?" I already knew the answer. "May I ask what your experience is with teaching, and overall with the concept?"


    "Oh, I''ve taught a few times over the years. Never anything standardized, mostly just a random person here or there that I found interesting. As for my own experience with Magical Theory, the basics I''ve read about mostly line up with Spell Creation, I believe. I''ve created hundreds of spells myself over my life and have a thorough understanding of the intricacies of spell crafting." She puffed up, seemingly proud of herself.


    I admit, it was.....somewhat endearing to see her like thatpared to just a moment prior.


    "And where did you learn from?" A question I felt I needed to ask.


    "I learned from Circe, and had some lessons from Hecate." She revealed without any hesitation.


    "And by Circe you mean..."


    "My Aunt." She rified, or not really. "She lived on the Ind of Aeaea."


    "....I see."


    What.....was I supposed to say in response to that nugget of information? I would need to put out some feelers to verifyter....If that was possible.


    But it didn''t feel like she was lying to me.


    I had no idea how to feel at the moment.


    "And you, Mr. Souichirou?" I needed a pallet cleanser.


    In response, the stoic man reached to the side of the chair, and lifted up the briefcase he brought with him. With a few clicks it opened up, and he began to retrieve papers from it. "Here is my resume." He stated, cing it on the table. "Here are the documents verifying my education background. My Achievements in College. My Graduation records. Mymunity service records ¨C"


    "Community Service records...?" I blurted out as he ced all this stuff in front of me.


    "A well-rounded educator should have experience serving theirmunity." He pushed up his sses with a stern look. "A copy of my Diploma. Here are my des I received upon Graduation."


    There was a neat stack of papers now piled up. "Thank you, Mr. Souichirou, I will dly pour through all of this."


    I suppose it''s a nice alternative to the usual methods we used to employ new teachers. I would never be upset that our staff were too qualified. Even if I''m going to spend the evening trying to make sense of this muggle paperwork.


    "I am not fished."


    "It''s quite alright we ¨C "


    "Here is my proof of former employment. My proof of residency in Japan. My family registry. My Tax documents for the past 5 years. My employment contract. My quarterly reviews for the past 5 years. And my rmendations with background notes for each signature."


    "....thank you, Mr. Souchirou this is....detailed." I looked at the now several stacks of paperwork I was going to have to dedicate a few evenings to sort through. "With regards to the position itself, do you have any questions or concerns?"


    "I am pleased that you asked." He said, pushing his sses up again and I felt a strange sense of foreboding in my chest. He took out a textbook from his briefcase. "I have obtained the teaching material from a previous year and I have found it undesirable. With the assumption that the current curriculum mirrors the lessons taught within this book, I have taken the liberty of drafting my own curriculum." He replied, taking out a very thick stack of paper bound together and putting it on my desk.


    My Desk shook from him dropping it onto it.


    ".....wonderful." I forced out, staring at the additional stack of papers I was no doubt going to be forced to look through after the whole debacle with Lockhart. "Well, I can certainly say you havee prepared." I only took his resume to nce over. I wasn''t entirely unfamiliar with the muggles method of interviews, and a brief summary of his achievements and work history was an excellent document to have. "If I may ask, what did you do before teaching? There appears to be a period of years into your adulthood from before your college days." I noted after skimming his resume.


    I admit, even with the additional work this was going to put me through, it was certainly a relief to have an educator with a solid background in teaching. For once, in quite a few years, we wouldn''t be scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill any new positions.


    Yes, he certainly had the demeanor of a teacher and I could see a potential where we would ept Muggles into this position in the future. There are just some things you can''t fake, and some things that bridge barriers such as magical and Muggle. A Teacher is a Teacher, and that''s all that matters.


    "I was an Assassin."


    ".....wonderful."


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: Chaldea Sponsored Master and Servant Rtionship Seminar.


    Romani Archaman POV


    "Alright everyone, thank you foring ¨C" I blinked, looking around the room. "This is for Masters only.....Caster, Caster, and...Berserker... Rider, and Mash, why are you five here?"


    "I won''t leave my Anchin even for a second~"


    Ritsuka Fujimaru looked rather.....stressed by that statement.


    "....I felt like I should be here to protect Master." Mash said softly, ncing at Kiyohime.


    I....had no argument against that.


    "Miss Tamamo?" I looked at the other Servant hanging off of Samuel''s arm.


    "Master needs his Foxy Wifey~"


    He mouthed something to me, but I didn''t quite get it.


    It probably wasn''t important.


    "Cu Chinn?" I looked at the odd one out of the bunch.


    "Like hell I''m missing this dumpster fire."


    ".....okay then." My self esteem took arge hit. "And, um...Marie?"


    "I was curious!" The happy and expressive French Queen eximed. "Who knows, it mighte in handy~"


    "Alright." That was much easier to deal with. And frankly, it''s the whole reason I was holding this per the directors orders. "Before we begin ¨C"


    The Door was literally blown open.


    Saber came marching in with the Director screaming behind her.


    "WHY CAN''T YOU USE THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!?"


    Saber ignored her, her gazending on me. "Am I in the correct ce?"


    "....how would I know?" I whispered.


    Her eyes narrowed as she read what words I wrote on the white board behind me. "I have a question for you, pathetic man."


    "Hey, there''s no need to be mean¡ª"


    "Does this knowledge you bestow only correspond to the bond between a Servant and Master or does it work....elsewhere."


    "Well..." I scratched my head. "I guess it doesn''t only rte to ¨C"


    She ignored me and took a seat. "You have my permission to continue."


    "Very subtle." Cu snorted.


    "Be quiet." She hissed back.


    I let out a sigh. "Is there anyone elseing?"


    Miss Hinako peeked her head through the door.


    e in." I sighed again.


    I was being sarcastic!


    "Just for the record, I don''t actually need this. But my Servant wouldn''t stop bugging me." Hinako strolled in with a Certain Avenger right behind.


    "Bitch, I never said anything like that!" The former Dragon Witch scowled, stomping in as well.


    She seethed, but took a seat in the corner, pretending to look put off by this whole thing.


    Well...this was certainly more people than I anticipated...makes it feel a bit awkward too.


    "Then, let us begin ¨C"


    "Am Ite!?" Medea practically slid into the room. "I almost lost track of time!"


    "Why are you here?" Pierre grumbled.


    "Master, don''t you want to deepen our bond?" Sheughed.


    "No."


    "Good, cause I''m just here to watch the fun." She chuckled, taking a seat too.


    "Alright, is there anyone else? Da Vinci, are you going to being too?" I asked, to no one in particr.


    "I''m watching from my Workshop." Her voice sounded from the intes.


    .....why am I the one forced to do this?


    "We''re starting." I dered, taking up the marker.


    May as well get this over with.


    Alright, let''s begin.


    "Today, we''re going to be talking about Harems." Since well....with how many Servants have been summoned already, we should tackle this issue before problems arise. "Now, to start off, many people think the emphasis is on sexual rtions, but that couldn''t be further from the truth. You see, the inclusion of many members of what is termed a ''Harem'' provides a structured and consistent method of emotional and instrumental support. Outside of the intimate nature of a rtionship built upon more than two members, there bes a cross-emotional bonding that does not always indicate a reciprocation of sexual or romantic feelings. Usually, like with most groups, one person bes dominant outside of the ''owner'' of the Harem. But this doesn''t mean you have to foster a type of ''leadership'' within the Harem. On the flip side, this can lead to the development of a strong undercurrent of sub-political influence among the members vying for a perceived notion of power over the other members. We''ll cover this portionter and discuss how to properly manage inter-Harem politics that crop up. And you also must understand that this does imply that all within the group must like one another. However, there needs to be a form of mutual respect among every person involved. Trust andmunication are the most important facet of a well maintained Harem. You must understand that Comfort is not universal!" I emphasized. "You need to make sure that every single person involved has their own individual preferences met! Without the concept offort being met within the Harem, it turns intopetition. And don''t think this can be avoided by sex! It doesn''t matter how good you are in Bed, trust me. That''s why you need to foster a positive rtionship between everyone involved." I wrote some more things on the board, circling them for them to see properly. "That brings us to the next part, what constitutes fort''? Well, the main points will be, Emotional Support, Security and ¨C"


    I stopped, looking at the room as it was oddly quiet, which differed heavily from earlier.


    "....why are you all looking at me like that?" I asked.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 484 - 439

    <h4>Chapter 484: Chapter 439</h4>


    "Where to first, dear?" Yasaka''s tail found its way around my waist, as per usual.


    "Well, first off, we should go get her a wand...." I may have winced a little after recalling myst foray into wand procurement.


    "A wand? Can I choose it!?" Kunou''s eyes lit up. "I want a pretty one."


    "Erm...." Oh jeez, I always hated to rain on her parade. "From what I''ve been told, the Wand chooses the person."


    "Oh." Her ears ttened a tiny bit.


    "It''s okay, there are some made from Dragons. And Unicorns, and even Phoenix." I reassured her.


    Immediately, it was as if she forgot she was sad. "I want one made from all of them!"


    "We''ll see." I just pat her head, not wanting to ruin her excitement anymore.


    Kind of sad that Medea and Kuzuki went off for their interview already, I think she would have loved to see this for herself. Not that she can''t take a look any other time, but I was curious about her insights from her first impressions.


    But s, more important things for them to take care of.


    I was genuinely rooting for them.


    Thankfully, Ollivander''s Wand Shop wasn''t too far away. And it didn''t have any holes in the building!


    It saved me from answering some awkward questions and giving Kunou ideas.


    Regardless, it''s not like I felt guilty. The amount of gold I paid inpensation dwarfed the actual damages that spontaneously appeared,pletely without my prompt.


    Kunou apparently didn''t wait at all and pushed the door right open.


    The little bell was still there as we went in.


    My eyesnded on Ollivander as he was about to address Kunou, but he then looked at me and his expression turned very sour. "Oh, it''s you."


    "What could he possibly mean by that?" Yasaka raised an eyebrow, looking at me.


    "I''ve never met this man before in my life." I quickly defended myself. "Speaking of, I have the materials to make the wand we talked about."


    "Clearly, you are strangers." Yasaka drawled.


    He perked up, but nced at Kunou and seemingly pushed that to the side. "Important matters first. I assume you are here for your first wand, Young Lady?" His tone shifted noticeably as he addressed Kunou. Not to mention, he didn''t even bat an eye at her features.


    That won him some major points in my book.


    "Yu huh." Kunou nodded. "Can I have a Dragon Wand? Also I want it to be a Unicorn. And make it red like a firebird."


    Ollivander let out a chuckle. "I''m afraid that''s not how wands work. You see, wands are peculiar things, they are. They have a special bit of magic in them, and they choose the witch or wizard just as they are chosen in turn."


    "But I want my wand to be special." Kunou pouted.


    "It will be special my dear, do you know why?"


    "Why?"


    "Because it will be your wand." He smiled, rather grandfatherly. "Because just like you, the wand is one of a kind. And it''s been waiting a very long time to meet you."


    "Really?" Kunou''s eyes widened.


    "Most certainly." He nodded. "Would you like to help me find it?"


    "Yes!"


    Alright, I officially liked this guy. Anyone who treated Kunou so kindly and genuinely will receive my good will. Woe be to anyone who tries anything against him.


    "Now, let''s just hope you are not like your father." He said quietly.


    "Nuh, I''m gonna be like daddy."


    ".....oh dear." His smile became rather strained.


    "....I''ll pay?" I said awkwardly.


    "Yes, I''m sure you will." His lips thinned. "Let us get started. What''s your wand hand, my dear?"


    "Uh right?" Kunou held up her right hand.


    "Left." Yasaka corrected. "Her left hand is her dominant hand, but she''s fairly decent at using her right as well."


    Ollivander nodded and went to the shelves that were stacked with wand cases. "Dare we start with a Dragon core...?"


    "Dragon, Dragon!" Kunou demanded.


    "....Dragon it is." He smiled despite his previous reluctance. I could tell there was a genuine care and enthusiasm he had about his work. "Made with a good solid Oak wood from a 4,000 year old Grandfather Oak." He took it out, holding it up for her. "Go ahead, give it a nice flick."


    Kunou grabbed it. "Look Daddy, I have my own wand now!" She casually swung it around, and a ball of fire molded into the shape of a fox burst out through the nearby window. ".....um....that wasn''t me."


    "....is that good or bad?" Yasaka asked.


    "That''s normal." I responded.


    "....normal is subjective in this case." Ollivander quickly took the wand back from Kunou''s grasp. "There was something here, but it was a tad too vtile, it was a good first try." He put it away in its case. "Lets try another wood, how about Dragon Heart String and Ebony." He produced another beautifully crafted wand. "A wand for someone steadfast in their beliefs and willing to ze their own path."


    "Do I do the thing again?" Kunou held it up hesitantly.


    "Go ahead, give it another flick." Ollivander smiled calmly, despite ducking behind shelter.


    Kunou flicked it again, rather than Fire, a torrent of water shot at the shelf, soaking everything in the vicinity before the magical water receded.


    "Joy, more water damage." He said dryly.


    "I''m sorry." Kunou''s ears ttened.


    "Oh, my dear, it is most certainly not your fault." He quickly reassured her, despite retrieving the wand from her possession. "This is...entirely normal." Both Yasaka and I could tell he wasn''t being entirely truthful there.


    Despite that, we were thankful.


    "However, I believe we are close. Dragon Heart String is a good match, and the wand was almost a match." He hummed. "It might have even epted you if push came to shove. But regardless, there is a better wand amongst these present." He paused, snapping his fingers. "What is your birthday, my dear?"


    "My Birthday?" Kunou tilted her head. "It''s in 9 days!"


    Ollivander''s eyes lit up and he quickly searched through the small pile of boxes, fishing out another wand. "Then let me be the first to wish you a happy birthday with your new wand." He presented it to her. "Go ahead, I have a feeling this one will be a bit different."


    Kunou took it into her hand, and a colorful array of lights enveloped her. They swirled around a few moments before settling it. "It''s happy." Kunou looked down at her wand. "Daddy, I have a wand!"


    "You sure do." So that''s what it looked like when a wand epted an owner.


    "Dragon Heart String Core with Rowan wood. Fierce, yet kind. Protective, but that doesn''t always mean defensive. For all the years that my family has made wands, I can boast that not a single one of my Rowan wands has gone on to do devil in the world. This Wand will serve your daughter well."


    "Thank you." I said with full sincerity.


    "It''s always a pleasure to help young ones find theirpanions, Mr. Schweinorg."


    "I noticed you said young ones." I pointed out.


    "Indeed I did." His expression turned sour again. "That will be 7 Galleons for the Wand. Do you want anything else? A wand cleaning kit?"


    "There are kits to clean your wand?" Yasaka blinked.


    "Oh my, let me add a book on wand maintenance as well.....I feel as though it will be needed."


    "Give us everything you think she''ll need, don''t worry about the cost." Yasaka agreed.


    "Wonderful." He pped his hands. "And I believe you have materials for me?"


    Wordlessly, I pulled out the two strands of hair, one from Izzy, and one from Meridia, as well as the piece of wood that Meridia got for me.


    Ollivander looked at what I handed him, then sighed.


    "What?" I questioned. "What did I do wrong?"


    "You did not do anything wrong, Mr. Schweinorg, I am justmenting my workshop in its final moments. Ordinary materials can be extremely vtile. And while I do not recognize what you hold, I have been crafting wands for many years, I can recognize powerful reagents when I see them." He carefully, took them from my hands, as if they were the most dangerous of weapons. "I can''t promise this will be done soon..."


    "We''ll be in town next when dropping Kunou off for school."


    "That should suffice." He nodded. "Let me ring everything up and.....store away any potential hazardous materials."


    [***]


    "That was fun, where to next?" Yasaka asked as we walked back out onto the street. Many more people were gawking at us as they walked by. While the ce wasn''t particrly crowded, there were a good number of peopleing and going.


    I held up her letter. "Let''s see, we need to get some stuff for potions ss. I''m a bit curious about their Alchemy practices myself, so let''s go to the potion shop next."


    "That''s boring, let''s go see the magic animals". Kunou tugged at my sleeve. "Dad, I want a familiar like you."


    "How about we finish everything we need, then we can shop around?" Yasaka gently nudged her forward between us. "And then, after we''re done, we can get some Ice Cream. I heard they have a lot more vors than we''re used to back home. But, that''s if you''re a good girl."


    "I''ll be good." Kunou quickly affirmed.


    Despite how much I loved seeing my Daughter act like a sweet little girl, it also strained my heart knowing she was going to have to grow up a tad during her stay at Hogwarts.


    Yasaka and I have talked about her at length. It''s not a secret that she was.....a bit immature at times. Not that she can''t be, she''s nearing only Eleven years old. But shegged behind a little bit for other people her age it seems.


    Yasaka said that older species tended to grow at different rates, which reassured me. And apparently my presence also did something to have her acting a bit younger than her age would imply. But we''ve been watching it closely, making sure there''s nothing wrong.


    In hindsight, it made sense for her wanting to be childish more often than not. She''s also had plenty of responsibilities thrust on her throughout her short life. Being the child of the literal ruler of her people can do that to someone.


    Apparently, it''s not much of a problem back at school when Raikou was looking after her there. Just her prerogative to be our little girl whenever we''re around.


    Thus, we''re both happy she''s going to have the chance to mature organically among people her own age.


    Overall, this will be a very good experience for her.


    "Dad, teach me some magic!" Kunou eximed, holding her want up. "I want to shoot lightning like you do! Pew pew!" She started waving her wand around.


    I think Yasaka and I both sort of jerked at her sudden movements, recalling what she did before. But surprisingly, there was no errant Magic being shot off idently.


    "How about I teach you the first spell you''re going to learn in school?" I offered.


    Her eyes lit up. "Teach me!"


    "Hold your wand up and say Lumos."


    "Lumos?" Kunou said, and a tiny flickering light appeared and disappeared just as quickly. The visible excitement overtook her. "Lumos, Lumos, Lumos, Lumos Lumos!" She started saying without a second thought.


    Yasaka looked at me, a growing grin as her tail found my waist again. "Well done."


    "Thank you."


    There were tiny little flickers appearing over and over as she tried to cast. But Yasaka was praising me for my ability to distract her from wanting to shoot lightning.


    Thankfully, it was a short walk to the closest potion shop.


    Slug and Jigger''s Apothecary.


    It sounded like names, in which case, who named their child ''slug''?


    That''s even weird by my own standards and I visited a world where people thought hard on how to give their children unique names based on colors.


    Kunou curiously poked her head inside and we had to gently nudge her forward.


    The letter itself rmended this shop as they basically catered to new students preparing for Hogwarts for the first year.


    There weren''t many people inside, which was nice.


    "Wee, wee." Someone was quick to greet us with that patented Sales Person fake smile. His eyes also lingered on both Yasaka and Kunou, no doubt their unique features. "Here to browse or do you have something particr in mind?"


    "Our Daughter is going to be attending Hogwarts for her first year." Yasaka smiled, looking down at Kunou.


    "Congrattions!" He pped his hands. "We''re having a sale on all the first year supplies as it were. We can get that all packed up neatly, no trouble at all."


    "That would be wonderful."


    "Do you mind if we look around?" I asked.


    "No at all, feel free to peruse at your leisure, I''ll have your supplies ready at the counter in a few minutes. Since we get new students the most, we keep a sample of each potion we have in stock with a description and effect next to them. If you see anything that catches your eye, just give us a holler and we''ll add it to your costs."


    Simple enough.


    Yasaka quickly grabbed onto Kunou. "Why don''t we look together."


    Best to nip any mischief in the bud in such a situation.


    Well, I also began to peruse as he said.


    I admit, my desire here wasn''t entirely set on Kunou''s errands. My Mage Killer needed the right juice to get it started. I couldn''t just find hydra Venom and dip my new sword into it. It needed to build up to something that powerful. Right now, it was probably the weakest sword I had, but it could grow.


    Let''s see..... a Beautification Potion, meh.


    It was only temporary.


    A Befuddlement Draught, that''s interesting. If the user drinks it, they be confused and reckless. I wonder if we could alter it to turn it into a vapor if it touches air? Make it a throwable weapon...


    Bulgeye Potion....makes the user''s eyes swell...?


    Okay, that''s strange.


    Bundimum Secreation....oh, a magical cleaner, that''s actually very convenient, I''ll need to get a good supply of that to experiment with. Many people wouldn''t understand how difficult it is to clean up after certain experiments involving magical materials. If it works out well, we could make a mint back at the Mage''s Association.


    Uh, they were ordered Alphabetically.


    I turned the next isle.


    Madame Glossy''s Silver Polish ¨C Another Magical Cleaner.


    I''m making another note.


    Memory potion, enhanced the user''s memory for a spell. Now that sounds extremely useful and worth picking up.


    I skipped a few isles because I wasn''t finding anything particrly useful. I decided just to start at the first and work my way down instead of randomly bouncing around.


    My eyes skimmed the first few of the ''A'' Section and I came to a screeching halt.


    Amortentia, otherwise known as the world''s strongest Love Potion.


    Just mentally reading the words made my nostrils re up.


    It doesn''t create real love, just a powerful obsession.


    ...and they''re just selling it openly.


    What the fuck.


    Note to self, enhance Kunou''s protections to ount for ingested mental alterations. Especially Love Potions.


    I''m going to need to tell Medea about this shit, and she is most definitely not going to be happy.


    "Dear, find anything interesting?" I didn''t even realize Yasaka was poking her head over my shoulder. "....oh dear." She realized what I was staring at.


    "Already on it." I reassured her.


    "Good." She gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I would rather not burn down this country."


    And that wasn''t hyperbole.


    "What?" Kunou pushed between us.


    "Nothing sweetie, just some icky potions. Did you know they add live frogs to some of these?" I grinned at her.


    "Eww, dad." She made gagging noises, and walked away.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle. "I''ll go pay for everything." I gave one of Yasaka''s tails a little squeeze as I walked towards the front counter. The same guy from before was sorting things out, putting them on the counter, I presumed they were what we needed, but my eyes were drawn to something else.


    Simr as the lines of potions from behind me, there was another potion sitting on the counter, but it was locked away with noticeable enchantments to protect it.


    A very thin vial containing a golden liquid.


    Felix Felicis, also called ''Liquid Luck''. A potion that made the drinker lucky for a period of time.


    That sounded likeplete bullshit. Luck was.... A nebulous concept. It was hard to conceptualize, not to mention measure and alter in the form of a potion.


    "Ah, Liquid Luck caught your eye?" The salesperson grinned from behind the counter. "Not many people have actually seen it properly brewed. We only get a tiny bit every now and then, and it''s bloody expensive."


    "How much?" I asked.


    "For that right there, that be costing about 5,000 Galleons." He responded.


    "I''ll buy all of it that you have." Honestly, I really wanted to investigate the ims.


    "Sorry mate, no can do. One of the Ministries'' regted substances, not allowed to sell more than that to a person. It''s toxic inrge quantities, and banned in almost everything." He shrugged.


    Well, that''s unfortunate. Slowly, I put my hand on the counter, producing a small stack of gold. "And there''s nothing you can do?"


    The guy, he paused, looking at the gold for a long moment. He stretched his hand out, sliding it over to himself and putting it into his pocket. "Unfortunately, the Ministry is thorough in their checks of our supplies. However, I did hear rumors that certain shops in Knockturn Alley are not as closely monitored." He replied.


    Interesting.


    "By happenstance, do these shops you''ve heard rumors of, do they also have other potions, such as poisons and the like?"


    "My good sir, I could notment on what they sell and do not sell. Only that for some reason they remain open, catering to arge audience even though we sell everything anyone could want with a clear conscious."


    Well, if I couldn''t understand the hidden subtext there, I didn''t deserve it.


    I wouldn''t be surprised if the owners of this ce didn''t own a shop over there as well, and they sell the less savory things out of prying eyes.


    "Thank you for your exnations." I added another tip.


    "It''s my pleasure sir. And here are the items you requested, A beginner''s set of Crystal Vials. A Brass Scale for measuring ingredients. One basic potions ingredients'' kit,plete with everything you will need for the first year. We also included the books needed, if you haven''t already purchased them. One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, and Magical Drafts and Potions. Will there be anything else, sir?"


    "Can you add in a few different Cleaning potions? The kind for removing magical stains, and the like. I don''t care about cost or whatever, just give me your best. Also, give me a bottle of Amortentia." I want to see how it works so I can make a counter, just in case.


    "Coming right up." He didn''t even bat an eye when I said I want to buy a Love Potion that induces obsession.


    Yet, the other thing is regted.


    The more I learn about this ce, the more I find it confusing to my morals and sensibilities.


    @***@


    "That was certainly interesting." Yasakamented as we left the shop. "I saw a potion that apparently turned your tongue into a snakes."


    "Oh?" I looked her way. "Does it give you ideas?"


    A wide grin slowly tugged its way up her face. "It''s certainly something we''ll have to y with."


    "Eww, why would you want a snake tongue?" Kunou made an ick noise. "I liked the one that turned your head into a pumpkin. Can we get thatter?"


    "Well, you''ll be getting your own allowance while you''re at school, so if that''s something you want to get, you''re allowed to." Yasaka forced a smile.


    One of the things we agreed on was to not limit Kunou''s spending. That is to say, she had a limit on the amount, but what she purchased was up to her. Teach her a bit of responsible spending by her own hand. Obviously all her needs would be taken care of, and if something came up, Medea was there for certain things.


    We were almost positive she was going to blow her first allowance ¨C we were doing it twice a year ¨C within the first week, and would have to wait nearly 6 months for a refill.


    "Let''s see, next should be getting outfitted for robes." And that''s probably going to be just as fun as it sounds.


    "Robes." Yasaka scrunched her nose. Despite the continuous stares the people were giving us, we didn''t really dwell on it all too much. But in the same vein, we could see what robes really entailed while looking at the normal attire here.


    "I like them!" Kunou eximed


    "I suppose that''s all that matters." Yasaka pursed her lips.


    It was basically right across the street from where we were. "Do you mind if I step away for a few minutes while you get started?"


    "Hmm, got something you want to do?" Yasaka asked.


    "Yeah, there''s apparently the more unsavory parts of this ce that sell some things I need, and I didn''t want to disrupt anything, nor, well..." I nced at Kunou who was staring into the window of the clothing ce.


    "Go take care of it, bute back soon." She gave me another kiss on the cheek.


    Will do.


    "Come on sweetie, daddy needs to run a quick errand, so we''re going to find some nice clothes that you can model for him when hees back." Yasaka took her hand.


    "Okay, Momma." Kunou epted it and she was led into the clothing store.


    I waited a moment before making sure they were fine, then cast a quick illusion over myself to gradually blend into the surroundings. Once I noticed no one noticed me, I used Shunpo to move quickly across the Alley, as I vaguely recalled where the entrance to Knockturn alley was.


    For some reason it was spooky looking.


    Very few people were nearby at this point, and I just shrugged, walking down it.


    It was definitely less kept than Diagon Alley, that was for certain. Even the cobblestone road was...uneven, pieces of stock sticking out, cracked and shattered in other ces. There were some destroyed buildings that were slowly rotting and falling apart, while others showed exuberance that came from lots of traffic and use.


    There was also graffiti, which was something I didn''t expect from a Magical ce.


    There seemed to be more people as I went deeper. Lots of people with covered faces, and hoods. And not everyone was human either.


    I think I saw a Hag walking on the other side of the street.


    Turning the corner, I stopped because someone was pressing a wand to my throat. Did I notice them there? Yes, I did.


    Did I care?


    No, I did not.


    "Why don''t you ¨C"


    I jabbed him in the throat and grabbed his wand, snapping it in half before tossing it onto his prone body after he fell to the ground.


    It was enough that the other people who had been eyeing me turned away and went about their own business.


    Yeah, I knew how ces like this operated. I could guess what they thought, that I was some rich kid in their eyes with more money than brains. Once I showed that I was more than able to deal with problems that came up, they stopped caring too much.


    But regardless, I eyed what I came here for. There were no names present, but a wooden sign overhead with the picture of a cauldron told me all that I needed to know.


    I wasted no time entering, but I took a moment to take in my surroundings once I stepped foot inside.


    There was the peculiar scent of death inside. Perhaps that was from the hanging dead animals that were decorating one side of the wall.


    "Wee." A rather smooth voice brushed against my ears.


    I saw the person sitting behind the counter, he looked probably about thirty years old, a bit pale. Atleast, that would be for a normal person, I would assume.


    I could see through his magical disguise.


    The red eyes, the elongated teeth when he opened his mouth.


    "A vampire, huh." I idlymented.


    He stiffened, surprised that I said it. I think I momentarily put him at a loss for words. Well, I suppose his disguise worked the vast majority of the time.


    "I can''t smell any blood on your hands, so I''m guessing you don''t go around freely for your meals." It''s rather easy to tell when someone kills frivolously once you reach a certain point. "I don''t care as long as you''re not causing problems."


    While I can''t im to have any love for Vampires as a whole, it would be very hypocritical of me to deny him his life because of simply what he was.


    Objectively, I believe the fact that I''m a Half-Devil trumped him being a Vampire.


    He seemed to ease up a tad. I don''t think he''s been a vampire for very long. Rtively speaking of course, Vampires are very long lived, a couple centuries is basically a baby in the eyes of the really old ones.


    Well, since the charade was dropped, and he realized I wasn''t here to do anything, a slowly forming smile grew on his face. "Wee to Night-Time Tonics. We have a wide selection of potions and herbs for any asion. And I ept payment in many forms. Blood, if you would be so inclined, is one of my favorites."


    "You''re not getting my blood." I immediately denied that avenue.


    "A shame, I can smell it from here, and it''s intoxicating."


    "You can always try taking it forcibly." I raised an eyebrow.


    "I much prefer my life, thank you." He quickly responded.


    Well, don''t let it be said that Vampires can''t have good instincts.


    Well, let''s get down to business. "You wouldn''t happen to have some Felix Felicis, would you?"


    "A curious choice." He hummed. "I do have half a sk of it remaining. It''s going to be twice as expensive than if you purchased it elsewhere." He emphasized.


    I casually waved it off. "Money isn''t an issue."


    "Ah, my favorite sort of customer." He perked up. "And what else can I do for you?"


    I began to wander between the shelves he had stocked. "Poisons?"


    "I have arge variety."


    "I want them all."


    ".....all of them?"


    "A sk of each." I rified. "Do you have any particrly potent ones?''


    "I just happened to get a small vial of Basilisk Venom." He revealed.


    "Basilisk Venom?"


    "One of the most potent Venoms in the world. However, it is very expensive. And highly illegal to possess without the proper documents and Ministry oversight."


    "Well, good thing I don''t live here under the Ministry." I shrugged. "Price isn''t an issue. Feel free to throw in anything else in that same vein."


    "Allow me a moment, I will prepare your purchase." He was moving all around behind the counter, and into a small back room, taking things out, setting them on the counter as they piled up.


    "I have a question if you don''t mind." I leaned against the counter.


    "Informationes with a price." He casually responded.


    "For a Vampire, you sure care a lot about money."


    "Being a Vampire does not absolve me of needing to make a living."


    "Huh." I pondered that. "What was it like? Bing a Vampire, then realizing that you still needed to work?"


    "One of the worst days of my existence." He snorted. "Do you know what the worst part about finding work as a Vampire is?"


    "Discrimination?"


    "No, well yes." He tilted his head. "You get used to the looks and such after awhile. But no, it''s that you''re expected to work overtime without additional pay. Just because I''m a nocturnal being does not mean I don''t have a life." He sniffed.


    "That''s a shame." I said with full sincerity. "But that wasn''t the only question I wanted to ask. I was curious about your opinion on Felix Felicis."


    "My opinion?" He questioned.


    "I''m mostly just buying it just to see if I can''t understand it better. Do a bit of research, that whole thing."


    "Many people have attempted to decipher the potion over the years. Even the original creator ¨C Zygmunt Budge, couldn''t im that the potion was entirely his doing."


    "What, like it was an ident?''


    "Perhaps. Or maybe that the potion wished to be created?" He said cryptically.


    "Well, if luck is an actual measurable and quantifiable factor, that means that it''s possible for it to retroactively activate and give birth to its own existence. Such that he would obviously test his own creation, thus the first time he used it, it was in fact, the potion itself that let him idently create it previously." I just spoke my thoughts aloud.


    "You would not be the first to have that theory." He set another sk and vial onto the counter.


    Huh, I guess there are proper researchers in this world then.


    "So, what can I expect if I drink this?" I held up the vial I purchased from the other ce.


    He paused, looking at the vial. "12 hours of unmitigated good luck." He said evenly. "Give or take 15 minutes. If you merely wish to test the initial effects, I suggest only drinking half of it. Any less and the effects be drastically reduced."


    I was admittedly skeptical about this.


    I would need to do some thorough testing before I used it in a more dubious situation.


    And there was the consideration if the ''luck'' it bestowed could stand up to things that were, let''s just say, higher up on the food chain than the run of the mill Wizard or Witch that prances around here.


    Probability maniption wasn''t exactly an umon concept used among my cohorts.


    "So it''s assuredly good luck?"


    "Most assuredly." He nodded. "Even if the situation appears to be detrimental, you can be assured that it is to your overall benefit. I once heard a story of a wizard who drank a phial, then was stabbed by a non-magical mugger. He quickly apparated to the nearest hospital, and they found out the vial he drank contained poison. He would have never found out had he not been stabbed."


    Huh....


    "Speaking of poison."


    "You will have enough to put down several giants." He swept his arms around at the many containers littering his counter.


    I merely waved my hand, and an equal number of bags of gold dropped onto the free space left.


    His eyes sparkled. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."


    "I''ll be back if I need anything else." I quickly collected my new stuff and left. I admit I was a little anxious to get started on my new Sword. Heck, I haven''t even thought of a proper name yet! Maybe something like Greed, since it continuously takes in things to strengthen itself?


    Was that too on the nose? Considering that it contained a purer concept of greed itself?


    I admit I liked a more simple naming convention.


    Whisper, Mirage, etc.


    I would need to ask my girls for their opinions, I don''t think I''m really the best at naming things.


    With a burst of Shunpo, I was back at the entrance to Knockturn Alley, ready to head back.


    I stopped though, and looked at the vial of Felix Felicis in my hand.


    He said it was purely good luck, so, how about we give it a shot?


    I popped the lid off and downed half of it in one god.


    Tasted like a mix between apple and strawberry.


    I waited for something to happen, for something in me to change. I felt nothing, and nothing around me was out of ce.


    I gave it a second, looking around curiously, but there didn''t appear to be any response.


    With a shrug, I took a step back into Diagon alley, and immediately? I heard an explosion in the direction of where Yasaka and Kunou were.


    [Well done.] Ddraig noted.


    How the hell is that in any way my fault?


    [Let''s be honest, something was bound to blow up around you with or without a magical luck potion to facilitate it.]


    ...fuck you.


    I quickly used another burst of Shunpo to check up on my girls.


    This wasn''t my fault this time.


    [Sureee.]


    It wasn''t!


    [I totally believe you.]


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty for if you can''t use the above, under the same name.

 Chapter 485 - 440

    <h4>Chapter 485: Chapter 440</h4>


    It didn''t take me long to find the source of the noise.


    Lo and behold It let me right to where I had left Yasaka and Kunou beforehand. It hadn''t even been that long, what, like twenty minutes or so? I caught the tail end of some people running in the opposite directions but ignored them.


    I now stood out in the middle of the street, where several buildings had holes in them, walls were broken, windows were shattered, and some craters littered the cobblestone walkway.


    There was a person covered in a ck hood and weird skull-like mask that was nted firmly in a stone wall not far away. He looked to be in particrly bad shape.


    Another looked like he got thrown through a different wall, the stone around him shattered and half his limp body hung over the remaining blocks.


    And perhaps a handful more scattered around, mostly unmoving if not slightly twitching with some groans barely audible amongst the ensuing chaos.


    But most eye-catching of all was Yasaka, holding one struggling man up by his neck as he gasped for breath while pinning another under her foot, whining and begging as he sunk further into the ground.


    She noticed me as I arrived and I gave her a curious look.


    There was no anxiety on her face, so it was safe to say Kunou was in no way harmed or in danger.


    "Did something happen?" I casually strode over.


    "Oh, just taking out some trash." She said equally unceremoniously.


    I nced at the under beneath her foot that was trying very desperately to crawl away. "You know, I think there''s a lot of people back home that would pay a lot of money for that privilege." I pointed out.


    "Oh hush." She snorted.


    "So, what happened?"


    "We were just shopping, and these people suddenly burst through the door, magic started flying and they tried to ¨C"


    Before she could finish there were numerous popping sounds as the space around us became turbulent and the infamous nature of this ce''s method of teleportation reared its ugly head by the dozens


    A good amount of people appeared quickly, wands drawn and ready for battle.


    "Release them, drop your wand, and put your hands up!" The shout quickly followed.


    Did they not realize she had no wand, or was it just a sort of automated response and assumption?


    "Friendlies" I held my hands up as the Magical Popo treated us like criminals right off the bat.


    Yasaka, for her part, did drop the person she was holding, rather abruptly. And she released the person she was pinning down with her foot.


    She basically shrugged, taking a few steps back as what I assume were the Aurors took the two people into custody...protection? One or both of those. I doubt they''re going to just let them run away, they need to figure out what happened.


    Still, they were hesitantly still holding their wands up, pointed at Yasaka.


    For good reason, mind you. She was certainly one of the most dangerous beings in the vicinity, and ignoring the side of virtue she stood on, they had to treat the situation properly.


    "What are you doing, they''re clearly unarmed and not making any threatening gestures." A woman pushed through. "Secure the area, take everyone that has their faces covered into custody and treat their wounds, prioritize any civilians that were hurt. Shacklebolt, you''re in charge of the perimeter, I don''t want anyone from the news sneaking inside or it''s your wand! Williamson, you''re on witness round up, hop to it."


    I didn''t know who this woman was, but she was obviously high up enough to immediately take charge.


    "Auntie!" Came a shout from the Clothing store, perhaps the only store still rtively whole. A little head poked out, and followed was a girl, perhaps only a year older than Kunou, she ran out to one of the people in the lead.


    "Susan!?" The woman replied as she dly epted a hug. "What happened, are you okay?!"


    Kunou followed right after, running up to us. "Momma, did you beat up all the bad guys?"


    "I sure did." Yasaka waspletely unfazed by the looks and went back to doting parent mode. "Isn''t your Momma strong?"


    "Momma is the strongest." Kunou said with a big grin.


    I kept a side eye on the supposed Aurors, because I wasn''t entirely trusting of them to not do something stupid, but they sort of began working around us to settle everything. Obvious skepticism and hesitance thrown our way, and a look or two of disdain as well that was hard to hide. However, it didn''t seem like someone was going to randomly throw out spells.


    Well, d Kunou wasn''t scared at all. Frankly, she was treating it as a fun show to watch.


    Finally, it seemed like we were important enough for someone to approach us.


    A man came up, noticeably weary still, but he had a hand on his wand and a notebook out. "I''m going to need to get your statement. And I''m going to need your registration numbers." He held up his wand like he was about to use it as a pen.


    "Pardon, registration numbers?" Yasaka blinked.


    He didn''t answer her and instead looked at me. "The Registration numbers for the Magical Beasts you''re keeping with you. I need to see all the papers regarding your authorization to bring them into the country."


    "....Magical Beasts." I repeated, dropping my usual tone for something a bit more sharp. "Are you referring to my daughter, or her mother, the woman I''m in a rtionship with?"


    There was a sh of something resembling disgust across his face as I said that. "If you don''t have the proper registration, we''re going to have to confiscate your Magical Beasts for further investigation. They will be assigned a danger level, processed and if found to not be a danger to Wizarding society, they will be released back into your custody after a thorough examination."


    ".....wilhelm." Yasaka said with a nk face.


    "Yes?"


    "Deal with him, otherwise I''m going to do something I regret." She grit out.


    "No need." The woman from before stepped forward. "Mr. Robards, I will take their statements. You are dismissed."


    "But, they''re an unregistered Dangerous Beast, ording to ¨C "


    "You are dismissed." She hissed.


    The guy shuddered and quickly bailed away from her vicinity.


    "I deeply apologize for that. He was very out of line, and he does not represent the DMLE."


    "Oh, so I''m not a dangerous beast that needs to be caged?" Yasaka snorted, crossing her arms.


    "I''m guessing by your ent and the fact that your lips aren''t moving in ordance with your words, that you''re not speaking English. In addition to your clothes, I can summarize that you''re not from around here?"


    "We''re from Japan." She answered, still unenthused.


    The woman nodded. "Let me introduce myself, I''m Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The correct interpretation of thews he was trying to leverage were in the case of Magical Beasts that did not possess intelligence to understand their actions." She muttered something that sounded like ''Pureblood ponce'' under her breath in reference to him. "Again, I apologize for the treatment you received. But, if you would be so kind, I need to ask you some questions."


    "Very well." Yasaka let out a sigh. "I understand the necessity of your job." She added with a flippant hand wave.


    "I would like to first ask your identities and what you''re doing in the country. I can''t say we regte every individual that passes through, but I''m almost certain I would have heard...rumors about your peculiarities."


    Yasaka rxed a little, perhaps epting the apology. I was letting her take the lead here as it seemed appropriate. "I''m Yasaka, I''m the ruler of half of Japan''s Youkai Poption. This is Kunou." She said, gesturing to the little fox. "Our Daughter, she''s going to be enrolling in Hogwarts for this uing year, we were here to shop for her."


    Amelia Bones was taking in that information but she sort of froze. "Pardon, can you repeat what you said?"


    "Hmm, about what?"


    "You said you''re the ruler of...?"


    "I rule over half the Japanese Youkai." Yasaka said with a growing smile. "I''m sorry was that not clear? By your interpretation, you can consider me a Queen. But we''re just a small group, only numbering in the millions. We can''t reallypete with humans."


    Yeah, she knew exactly what she was doing.


    I''m pretty sure that the entirety of the English Wizard and Witchmunity doesn''t break a hundred thousand.


    "...is there a reason you didn''t go through the proper channels when visiting. The Ministry would have treated a foreign leader very well." The Woman got over her initial stupor and donned back her more authoritative look.


    "I didn''t think there was a need, I''m here as a Mother, not as a Queen." Yasaka emphasized again, using terminology that would resonate more with her. "Though, if it matters, I can call upon my armies to make a proper showing of myself. We wouldn''t want anyone to think I''m a dangerous beast? What better way than for everyone in this country to know who I am?" Yasaka smiled kindly, contradicting her statements very much.


    Amelia Bones cleared her throat. "There is no Law restricting foreign leaders from.....vacationing within Magical Britain." She settled on. And she once more muttered something under her breath something about ''strangling that old goat for not giving her a heads up about a new student he''s getting''.


    It''s funny, I don''t think she even knew what Youkai were, only that they were apparently strong by Yasaka''s obvious actions, and that they weren''t human.


    But atleast she had a good head on her shoulders and took the matter seriously.


    She then looked at me. "And....you''re name, Mr...?"


    "Schweinorg. Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself.


    She blinked for a moment. "Why does that name sound familiar?"


    "Who knows." I shrugged.


    "Once again, I thank you for your help and apologize for the rudeness of my Auror. I assure you that these incidents do not represent Magical Britian as a whole."


    "Well, we''ll see about that, won''t we?" Yasaka didn''t sound to convinced.


    The Department Head smiled awkward, she held her hand out and that same younger girl from before awkwardly shuddled over into her grasp. "And I would like to thank you as the Lady of House Bones. Susan here is my Niece and I''m her Guardian, she''s the only family I have left. She tells me you were protecting her? Would you mind giving me the details?"


    Yasaka, properly rxed a little at that. A shared sentiment there that even let her release the frustration she had from the earlier encounter. "I was taking my Daughter to get some custom Robes made, considering the obvious." Yeah, it must be hard to get clothes made specifically for their tails. "And this sweet little girl here came up,plimenting our Tails." Yasaka''s tone turned a genuine warmness as she smiled at Susan.


    The younger girl blushed a tiny bit. "They''re pretty." She muttered.


    Kunou also peeked out from behind Yasaka. "Hi, I''m Kunou."


    "I''m Susan." The other girl responded, a tiny bit of awkwardness there. "I like your tails and ears."


    Said ears on Kunou''s head twitched excitedly. "T-thank you." Kunou hurriedly replied, tinged with a speck of embarrassment and shyness. "I like your hair too."


    Funny enough, none of us ¨C the adults that is ¨C interrupted them despite the situation not being appropriate for them to, well....this.


    "Are you a first year?" Susan asked.


    "Uh huh." Kunou nodded.


    "I''m going to be a second year." Susan said proudly. "But...if you need anything, you cane to me. I''m in Hufflepuff and....erm, well, you''ll be sorted into a house when you get to Hogwarts. It''s great, you''re going to love it!" Once the initial nervousness wore of, she was quick to open up. "We''re getting a new D.A.D.A teacher this year, Gilderoy Lockhart, you''ve read his books, right? They''re amazing, he''s amazing, I can''t wait! Well, we might be in different years, but that doesn''t mean we can''t hang out at school. I''ll show you around everywhere, it''ll be great!"


    "Susan." Amelia put a light hand on her hand. "Time and ce, dear."


    "Oh." She shrunk back a tad. "Sorry, Auntie."


    Did...Kunou just make a friend?


    "Back on topic." Amelia Bones spoke. "Can you tell me what happened specifically?"


    "Well, it was so sudden. Almost right after that happened, a bunch of people just burst in through the door, wearing costumes that screamed ''I''m not a good person''." Yasaka replied. "Not to mention they reek of Alcohol, I wouldn''t be surprised if half of them won''t even remember what happened by tomorrow."


    "Death Eaters." Her lips thinned.


    "Pardon?"


    "Right, you probably wouldn''t know. They''re...terrorists." She seemingly chose her words carefully. "They were all ck with the skull masks."


    "How droll." Yasaka said dryly. "But yes, they swept in, started throwing around some spells, mostly to cause chaos and confusion, but they seemed eager to abduct Susan over there, however it seemed like a spur of the moment thing by their reactions. I wasn''t going to stand by and watch a child be harmed, so I intervened. And, well....you can see the result."


    The woman let out a short sigh. "I should have anticipated something like this."


    "Piss someone off?" Yasaka hummed.


    Amelia bones grunted in frustration. "Politics. We were able to push through some reformations that a certain faction of our society doesn''t approve of. And this is what happens when they can''t bribe or intimidate their way to legite their views."


    "Bold of them to go after the niece of the Magical Police chief, isn''t it?" I questioned.


    "You say bold, I say stupid." She snorted herself. "As much as I don''t want to give them credit, they wouldn''t have had the stones to do anything to Susan. Not that this makes it better." She frowned. "But they would have just used her as leverage to get me to vote a certain way for matters ofw, then probably released her. Otherwise, the Ministry would havee down on them with the might of Merlin himself."


    Makes sense, I suppose


    Then again, I don''t really know nor care much about their politics.


    "You seem familiar." She changed thoughts quickly. "Not just your name, I could have sworn I''ve seen your face before?"


    "In your dreams, maybe?" I smiled.


    The DMLE direction barked out augh. "Aren''t you a smooth one? You should keep him on a short leash."


    "Believe me, you have no idea." Yasaka shared a smallugh.


    "Well, that''s all I need. I''ll make a note that you cooperated fully and you actedpletely in self defense and in the defense of others. There shouldn''t be an issue, but just in case, If anything happens, you''re more than wee to contact me."


    Well, hint taken then


    She was basically saying that she would be behind us then as thanks. I wouldn''t say no to having the head of the Magical PoPo in our back pockets, so to speak.


    "I''m sure there won''t be any other problems. Honestly, I''m more concerned about our little Kunou and to make sure nothinges her way that she shouldn''t have to deal with." Yasaka replied.


    Amelia nced down at our little fox, a warm smiling appearing on her face. "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure to keep an eye on things throughout the year."


    Huh, maybe that potion wasn''t bullshit?


    [***]


    I waved my hand as two familiar people entered the building.


    Medea and Kuzuki saw us and came over quickly, joining us at our table.


    "So, how''d it go?" I asked, almost instantly upon them sitting down.


    "Just straight to it, huh?" Medea huffed. "Not even going to let us get our own Ice Cream?" She said, watching Kunou go to town on her four scoop monstrosity she was no doubt going to eat in its entirety.


    "I''m sorry, you''re right. You were very good today, Medea. Do you want some Ice cream too?" I rolled my eyes.


    "Yes, I would, actually." Medea didn''t rise to my teasing.


    "Oh stop you two." Yasaka interrupted. "Seriously, how did it go?"


    "It went well!" Medea happily eximed.


    "There were points I believe we could have performed better." Kuzuki pushed up his sses. "However, despite the irregrities, we were offered the positions at the end of the interview. We have epted."


    "Well done."


    "You''re looking at the new teachers for Magical Theory and Muggle Studies!" She paused for a second. "Why is it called ''Muggles studies?"


    "They call non magical people ''Muggles'' here for some reason." I shrugged.


    "That''s strange." Medea pursed her lips. "I thought it was an underhanded insult at first when the Headmaster said it to Hubby. I was ready to rip his beard out."


    "Right, I can''t imagine why I had any doubts about you getting the position." I said rather sarcastically.


    "Hmph, he would be a fool not to hire me! But the school itself was interesting, I''m going to have fun exploring it. I was only able to get a few cursory nces to see how it works. And did you notice how many leylines intersect right below it!?"


    "I know, I noticed that too!"


    "It''s better than the temple! I''m going to make an amazing workshop in some far corner and tap into those babies."


    "We should celebrate though. This is wonderful news, I''m happy for you, Medea." I said with full sincerity an without the previous mocking or teasing.


    "...thanks." She muttered with a tinge of happiness mixed in. She''s not good at this sort of genuine praise.


    "Auntie Medea is going to school with me then?" Kunou asked.


    "We both are, you adorable cutie!" Medea cooed, reaching over to rub her head. "We''ll need to settle all the logistics though."


    "I can find a spot to connect the house, but I don''t want to put it too close to the school." I want Kunou to have her sense of independence without us being in her proverbial back yard. "Just make a list of things you think you need help with, I''ll help you wherever I can."


    "We both will." Yasaka added, her tail finding my waist again. "Whatever you need, we''re here to help."


    "Your assistance is greatly appreciated." Kuzuki lightly bowed his head.


    "We''re going to need to learn more about this ce." Medea said licking an ice cream cone which...


    "Where did you get that?" I looked at her.


    She just grinned evilly and pulled her hood down over her face, not bothering to answer.


    "Make sure to pay before we leave."


    "Yes hubby~"


    She scares me sometimes.


    "Our day was a bit uneventful." Yasaka hummed. "I had to step on a few people, but it wasn''t too difficult."


    "I bought a lot of good things too." I remembered the very important thing too. "Also, have you finished a certain item you told me you were going to create with a certain feather?"


    "I haven''tpleted it yet. Someone disturbed me and had me start helping with their stupid boat." Medea huffed.


    "Shut up, you were just as excited to y with the ship as I was."


    "Hmph." She didn''t bother to deny it. "But what do you need?"


    "We''ll talk about itter, found something unsavory here that needs to be ounted for." I didn''t want to spring that kind of thing on her with her being so happy right now. "Oh, but I also found something neat." I said, taking out the vial of golden liquid. "Look at this, they call it Felix Felicis, or Liquid Luck. It''s supposed to make you lucky for a period of time."


    "How absurd." Medea immediatelymented. But she grabbed it off the table to inspect closely. "That''s....no, that''s strange."


    "I should mention that I drank a little bit."


    "Of course you did. The first thing you do when you find something you don''t know, is to put it inside your body." She scoffed. "But it doesn''t look harmful at least."


    "Wait, you drank a luck potion?" Yasaka looked at me. "Why haven''t you been getting lucky then? I haven''t noticed anything out of the ordinary."


    I shrugged. "Maybe that whole thing from before counted as me being lucky? I mean....it didn''t directly involve me, but Kunou meeting a possibly new friend, and us bing acquainted with the head of the DMLE and her being indebted to us can''t be said to be a bad thing."


    "So it was your fault."


    "It was not my fault!"


    "It was definitely your fault." Medea chimed in. "Partly because most things are your fault, and I don''t think this potion is entirely fake either."


    "What''s wrong with the potion?"


    "Well, there doesn''t seem to be anything wrong with it, I cast a few spells to see if it''s twisting Fate and Casualty, but that''s not really what''s happening. Such potions and things aren''t unheard of, but they''re usually very scarce and valuable. The fact that you can buy a potion like this means there''s some downside to it."


    "What are your thoughts?"


    "My first thought is that it''s borrowing against your future luck, if that makes sense." She put it back down. "Your ''luck'' as vague as that is, isn''t something that can be inherently measured by that." She pointed at the potion. "To facilitate events around you that manipte the fundamentalws of the world would require....well, that isn''t capable of it at least."


    "Yes...?" I felt there was a ''but''ing.


    "If I had to make a guess, like I said, it borrows from your ''future luck'' forck of a better term. Imagine your basic luck is measured on a scale of 1 to 10. Luck...fluctuates, isn''t never set, and it can go up and down based on a plethora of events that can''t be ounted for. Basically, say tomorrow, your luck was going to be a 10, it was going to be the luckiest day of your life. The following day, it was going to be semi-lucky as well, an 8, then followed by a 9. But today, when you drank the potion, your luck was a 4. This potion, is essentially, trading your future luck for your current luck, by taking a point or two off and adding them to the current you. Your ''5 luck'' bes a 10 by borrowing from the future. The follow days would be be 7, 7, and 7 instead. This is how it gets around the recoil that a significant shift in the normal flow of worldly events would cause."


    "Equivalent exchange." I understood. "It was simply shifting my luck around, it wasn''t changing anything too overtly.


    "Right." She nodded. "But there''s still a downside, your future luck is hit more detrimentally than the benefit of your current luck. There has to be a further price. The equivalence of your luck being shifted, then the actual price that is to be paid is siphoned off, perhaps a ''fee'' if you want to consider it that, for an ''early withdrawal''."


    "And that''s your first assumption?"


    She shrugged this time. "Without experimenting with it and what-not. I wouldn''t suggest using this often. Your fate might be muddled and certain things that should have ended favorably for you in the future will be uncertain. Or you might be unlucky as punishment for something happening when it shouldn''t. Things should unfold naturally. And frankly, it''s not difficult to interrupt from the outside. And It probably doesn''t innately work too well on something like you. I doubt it would work at all on Me or another Servant. It''s something meant for humans, and even that is debatable."


    Well, It did sound too good to be true.


    "Yeah, I haven''t really felt lucky all that much since drinking it." And I personally didn''t notice any shift around or inside of me.


    Well, it''s not a big deal. I don''t want to rely too much on the concept of luck if it came down to me needing to drink that kind of potion in an emergency.


    "Regardless, you all ready to go home? We already got all the things we needed for Kunou''s school years, bar the robes that need to be made for her tails." It''s unfortunate that we couldn''t go look at the magical animals, they were closed after the whole fight.


    "Sure, I want to get home and start packing. The School year starts soon and we need to move into our quarters and begin preparations a bit before the kids starting." Medea stood up.


    "And you also want to get back to the ship."


    "Shut up." She huffed, once more not denying it.


    I couldn''t me her, I was excited to get to work fixing up my new ship too. As a man, a magical flying ship is something we all dream about.


    "You ready to go, sweetie?" I leaned down, kissing Kunou''s forehead.


    "Mhmphm." She nodded, cheeks literally bulging from being stuff with ice cream.


    Well, even if I wasn''t super lucky, it was a good day. I got some good stuff, Kunou made a friend, and we both probably feel morefortable about Kunou going to Hogwarts now.


    We just need to wrap everything up, and n her birthday and then she''s off on her own little adventure.


    [***]


    "Daddy, I wanna see the boat." Kunou tugged at my sleeve as soon as we walked through the portal, appearing right outside the door to the house.


    "Actually, I want to see it too." Yasaka spoke up.


    "I have some things I want to wrap up over there, I''ll show you around." Medea perked up. "What about you, hubby?"


    "I would like to see it." He nodded.


    He kept his usual stoic demeanor but as a fellow man, I could see the desire in his eyes.


    "Let me grab a few things from inside and I''lle join you all." Right, there were some more resources stored inside that we needed to fix the ship up properly.


    It wasn''t in bad condition, but a lot of it was amateurish inparison to our usual quality. It wouldn''t hold up against an attack of sufficient strength. The cannons on the ship, obviously magical in nature, also didn''t pack enough of a punch. The speed wasn''t as fast as we needed, and there were a plethora of other details that we wanted to add.


    Updated facilities andforts haven''t even been considered yet.


    I pushed the door open to see Jinn sitting down. She wasn''t exactly surprised to see me, but she seemed a little startled.


    "Jinn, I can''t wear this, it''s.....it''s too lewd and revealing!" I heard Jeann''s voice as she came walking down the stairs. "If anyone sees me in this, I don''t think ¨C"


    Jeanne stopped, staring at me.


    Jinn stared at me too.


    And I stared at Jeanne.


    Because, she wasn''t most certainly not wearing her normal clothes.


    No, she was wearing a string bikini, a very revealing string bikini that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. And by that, I mean literally strips hiding both her nipples and below.


    Hell, I could see that the curtains match the drapes due to how skimpy it was.


    Was....Jinn getting Jeanne to try on clothes?


    It took a moment for Jeanne to react as she let out a rather adorable squawk, her face turning very red and she quickly put a hand up to cover her chest and lower parts, turning away to run back up stairs.


    But even then, I was left with the amazing sight of her bubbly rear bounce as she ran away.


    Huh, so that''s where all my luck went.


    Worth it.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above, under the same name.

 Chapter 486 - 441

    <h4>Chapter 486: Chapter 441</h4>


    I rolled the ship''s wheel back and forth.


    Sometimes, I just need to take a moment to enjoy how weird and fun my life is. I mean, I had a pirate ship ¨C a Magical Flying Pirate ship. The little kid in me was wanting to shout in joy at the mere idea.


    So, I was humming to myself as I just moved the ship''s wheel back and forth. It did absolutely nothing but move the rudder and stuff since it was still sitting in my backyard but I was enjoying myself


    Shit, if I had any less self-control I would probably be making sound effects as I yed around more.


    I had a smidge of free time at the moment, and realistically I should be doing some training, mostly Bankai training and learning my new spell. But.... I just wanted a moment to rx and enjoy myself.


    {It''s alright, we will train plenty soon. You need not force yourself when your will points in another direction.} My Zanpakut¨­ sounded in my ear. {Half-hearted training can do more harm than good sometimes.}


    I didn''t argue with him, he was right, my heart wouldn''t be into any training I did at the moment.


    But who cared about that!


    I had a ship!


    It truthfully made me really giddy. It was fairly.....average in size, I want to say for the kind of vessel that it was. But to be honest, I didn''t actually know what type of ship it was ssified as. My knowledge of maritime vessels hundreds of years ago is minimal at best.


    I can name all the parts of the ship fluidly, but that''s about it.


    Obviously, I''ll need to educate myself on various things, but I wasn''tpletely ignorant about the various responsibilities that came with operating something of this size.


    And I''m cheating. I can actually operate everything by myself.


    "Ahoy, permission toe aboard, captain!" I heard a shout from the side.


    Why did the idea of being called Captain make me feel all excited?


    I curiously went to the railing and peeked over to see a cast of familiar faces. "Odin?" I was surprised, mildly, to see him here. I was going to contact him eitherter today or the following day to invite him over so we could prepare in advance.


    It wasn''t just him either, Sc¨¢thach and Jinn both were standing next to him.


    "Are you gonna invite us up or not?" Odin grunted.


    ".....permission denied."


    He shouted some things in a very oldnguage, and they were most certainly not polite words.


    "But the girls cane up."


    He returned with a certain finger fully visible and pointed up in my direction.


    With a chuckle, I walked to the deck and kicked the center railing where it parts for docking. There was a sort of shifting of an underbelly mechanism, and a wooden ramp was pushed out, sliding until it hit the ground, creating a perfect ramp up.


    Immediately, I held my arms out and Jinn happily threw herself into them.


    "Are you still pleased with your choice, student?" Sc¨¢thach asked, walking around us and giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Do you still fancy this boat?"


    "It''s a ship!" I corrected. "And yes, I''m very happy with it."


    She just smiled, lightly patting my cheek where she kissed me.


    "Hmm, so you got this thing from Nuwa''s ce" Odin grunted, taking it in.


    I shrugged. "I got other things too, butpared to what I could get equivalently to the ship in particr, this seemed like the best choice."


    Well, even if there was something a little better on that floor of her treasure house, I probably would have still picked the boat.


    "It ain''t muchpared to the Sk¨ªeenir."


    "I''m sorry that my boat doesn''tpare to something made by Godly hands." I snorted.


    "You''re forgiven."


    "Get off my boat."


    He apparently ignored me and kept looking around. "Wood isn''t very good."


    I dropped the faux offense I was holding against him. "Yeah the wood is pretty mundane." I couldn''t deny that. "Can''t really change that, but wood isn''t the worst material for enchantments. Besides, the creator did do something rather clever."


    "Hmm?"


    "Look at the nails."


    Curiously, Odin crouched down and looked at the nearest nail, barely noticeable inside the wooden board. "Brass? No, that''s something else."


    "No idea what it is, but it''s a very good conductor for Magical Energy and each one of them is heavily enchanting to basically keep the ship together." Some kind ofposite metal.


    But they reinforced the entire ship acting as the magical anchor. While the Wood was somewhatmon material, the Nails themselves turned them into something that could withstand cannon fire without any damage. And they sort of created an arraywork that acted as a Magic Circle that reinforced the entire vessel.


    Of course, we strengthened it a bit up to our standards.


    "Even Medea was surprised at their quality." Jinn pointed out. "Everything else is mediocre, but that facet is enough to work off of."


    Odin nodded slowly. "Touched up the Magic?"


    "All of us did." I answered. "Jinn and Medea though, they probably did the brunt of the work." I smiled at my Genie, seeing her happy for the acknowledgement. "The previous Enchants weren''t bad, per say, but they weren''t really good either. Enough to get by, probably done by some average Magicians in the past." Hell, it was used by Pirates, it''s unlikely anyone of stature had a hand in this thing.


    "Weapons?" He asked.


    "28 Cannons, 13 on either side and two on the front. They originally fired explosive fireballs, but they were now modified a tad."


    "Seems awfully big without people to help."


    "I can control nearly everything as the Captain." Well, being the ''captain'' didn''t really matter. I just had to take control of the Magics inside for it to recognize my input as the highest authority.


    To emphasize my point, I held my hand up to a rope nearby and it shot over, wrapping up Jinn and pulling her up the mast.


    "Weeeeee." She didn''t fight it one bit.


    I also nced at Sc¨¢thach who gave me a ''I dare you'' look.


    ....I was tempted.


    "But I''m sure you didn''te here to talk about my awesome boat?" I walked up the stairs to the wheel, leaning on it. "What can Captain Wilhelm Schweinorg do for you, All-Father?"


    "You finished your matters?" He cut straight to the chase.


    "More or less. I do have some free time." The next date would be Kunou''s birthday, which was only a little bit before we dropped her off at Hogwarts, but that was still some distance away. More than enough time to settle what he needed.


    Odin stroked his beard in contemtion. "Interested in taking look at my side of the fence?"


    "I already said I''d help out, didn''t I?" I responded.


    "Mmm." He acknowledged it with a hum. "It might be dangerous."


    "We''re hunting a Titan, that''s to be expected." I said, while Sc¨¢thach perked up, with Jinn floating back down besides me.


    "Do you require help?" Sc¨¢thach asked.


    I tilted my head, frankly, I didn''t know. "Do we?"


    Odin frowned a bit, not at the question itself, but more so at the circumstances if I had to guess. "Things have be chaotic. The voices that side with Loki have be louder. It''s bing more difficult for Vidar to suppress that side."


    "Simply kicking them out won''t work either." I spoke mostly in rhetoric.


    I hate politics. Most of the time that is. In true conflicts, I would take it all day over something like a war. But I really hated being involved in this kind of thing.


    If they just kicked out Loki''s people, well, they''d just resort to less words and more action at that point. It was better to have dissidents within arms reach so you could monitor them. Especially when they were godly in nature.


    "I also tried to convince everyone to send the kids to Asgard for a field trip." He cracked a grin.


    "Wouldn''t that draw unwanted attention?" I furrowed my brow.


    He shook his head. "We''re already going to get unwanted attention, brat. I stay the hell away from that crap, and you''re right in the spotlight for a lot of people right now. No matter what we did, they were going to be watching us. But having those kids show up? That''s a nice little smokescreen we can use."


    "....are you using them as bait?"


    Odin scoffed. "What do you take me for?"


    "The wise and ruthless War God, Odin." I shot back.


    He paused, turning around to look off the bow of the ship. "Alright, I''ll give you that one." He said with a soft tone. There was a lot of age underlining what he said, like he was almost nostalgic. "I promise I''m not using them as bait or any other ns other than just to distract everyone else while they prance around Asgard."


    Alright, I''ll take that.


    "Just know, if you''re lying..." I pointed at Sc¨¢thach.


    Sc¨¢thach had her spear out, holding it aloft.


    Odin looked at her and snorted in mild amusement.


    I was joking, I would take him at his word.


    "If you bring a lot of people of her caliber ¨C" He pointed at Sc¨¢thach. "They may just hide in some hole and we won''t be able to smoke them out."


    That''s certainly a concern. With both me and Odin rolling up, it would either make them hide, or they would want to take a swing if they had the chance. Thetter is probably what Odin is hoping for.


    "What about people who aren''t....known?" I tried.


    "You got some heavy hitters you''re hiding?" Odin raised an eyebrow.


    "Maybe?" I wouldn''t speak for them, but... "I know a few people."


    "I''ming too." Jinn stepped in.


    "You wannae?"


    "Yup!"


    I actually haven''t gone on an adventure or anything with Jinn yet..., but at the same time, I was hesitant. "It''s going to be dangerous."


    Jinn, technically didn''t hit the same marks as my other girls. Perhaps Artoria could be grabbed too, but even that was iffy due to whispers of her sword. Jinn though, Jinn while ''known'', wasn''t anyone of renown.


    "It''s fine, I can handle it." She reassured me.


    "Jinn, we''re hunting Godly beings, we ¨C"


    "Will." She cut me off, her tone shifting a bit away from her yfulness. "I''m not made of ss. And I know what I''ll be getting into. I can take care of myself."


    "Take thess." Sc¨¢thach agreed. "Remember what we spoke about coddling." She reminded me.


    Right, we had a talk a long time ago about not being over protective and hovering, that sort of thing. It was more a prefatory talk, and it was focused on herself, but it still applies.


    "....alright." I relented. I can''t tell her she''s not allowed to.


    "Good, I''ll make some preparations before we go. I''ll also might be able to test a spell I created. I think it should be able to kill Gods." Jinn said proudly.


    That sort of got a double take from all of us. Because Jinn wasn''t someone that would boast without something to back it up.


    "If she wants toe, let here." Odin snorted. "She can handle herself. But let me take a look at the others you want to bring. If they aren''t up to it, don''t me me for rejecting them."


    I could give him the finer details, but, why not just have him meet them.


    "Say, Odin."


    "Hmm?"


    "Have you ever flown on a magical pirate ship to another world before?"


    "Yes." He answered me with what felt likeplete honesty.


    I felt myself deted at his answer.


    [***]


    I think I had the biggest grin on my face ever as the wind blew through my hair.


    I turned the wheel of the ship, and the whole vessel jerked, changing course.


    Flying in a pirate ship was amazing.


    Sure, it wasn''tpletely up to the level I wanted it at, but with Medea''s help and everyone else, it was at a point where it was usable. Hell, it was technically usable as soon as I got it.


    It could go pretty darn fast too. I''ll need to see about stealing the designs for Chaldea''s Mana Reactor and see if I can''t install a smaller version inside though. At the moment, there was a primitive sort of Magical Energy Gathering effect throughout the ship that slowly siphoned the upants'' Magical Energy and stored it.


    I was powering it basically by myself, but it would be annoying if this was stuck this way. Sure, it wasn''t much to me to keep up, but there was a degree of fail there if I was never present or I was forced away.


    But I ignore that for now, because this was one of the best experiences of my life.


    Even if Skyrim''s cold air was a bit snippy, it was more refreshing in this moment.


    Odin was.....he was taking in the sights. When I offered to bring him to another world, another true world, not just a secondary Realm like one of the Norse Realms, he was honestly shocked at my offer.


    I don''t think the idea crossed his mind for one reason or another. Hell, even Izzy wasn''t really moring for it before I offered. For Gods, I think there''s just something instinctive about staying in your ''home'', so to speak.


    And I may or may not have intentionally entered Skyrim a fair distance away just so I could have an excuse to fly the ship.


    No, I fully admit it, there''s no point in ying coy.


    Everyone here also knew I did that.


    "Alright, Old Man. Time to walk the nk." I walked up to Odin as he was peering over the edge.


    "What? What did I do!?"


    "Remember thatment about Jeanne?"


    "I stand by what I said." He harumphed.


    Considering I saw her in one of the most skimpy string-like bikinis I''ve ever seen, I''m going to reject your rejection!


    "Ooh, Dragons." Jinnmented from the bow of the ship.


    I gave him a stay of execution for now, and joined Jinn up front. We saw them as we got closer to White Run.


    Specifically, I could see someone fighting them a bit out into the fields away from the city. And Three guesses who that would be.


    I nced and saw Sc¨¢thach looking at them very intently.


    The desire was basically radiating off her.


    Or atleast the bloodlust was. Which was the same thing in her book.


    She noticed my gaze, locking eyes with me for a long while. With a small sigh, her bloodlust dissipated. "Very well, they are yours, my student."


    She knew what I wanted.


    "You can fire the cannons if you want."


    She perked up, the corners of her lips curled. "eptable." She made her way down below.


    "This is nostalgic." Odin mused, watching the scene. "Everything about this ce that I''ve seen so far, it seems so familiar. Even the architecture is the same."


    Yeah, it''s not surprising that he could see the city from this distance. Even with One Eye, he can see better than even the vast majority of Gods.


    Two Dragons in Total. Thorum looked like he had it well in hand. Shit, I could feel his aura from here, he''s even stronger thanst time.


    What a big cheat.


    If he wasn''t such a lovable guy, I''d want to beat him up.


    Regardless, we got close enough that they noticed us.


    The Ship turned Starboard; the cannon doors opened with thump.


    "Can I call it?" Jinn asked.


    .....Dammit I really wanted to, but the look she gave me killed any attempt at rejection.


    "Fi ¨C"


    "Wait." I stopped her.


    "What''s wrong?" Jinn asked.


    I immediately called upon the mightiest of Wiggles to my side. My Familiar answered happily, appearing on my shoulder.


    And I did what any self-respecting Pirate Captain would do.


    I put a tiny little pirate hat on his head.


    "Okay, you can do it now."


    Jinn shrugged. "Fire the Cannons!!" She shouted.


    There was the tiniest of dys, presumably because Sc¨¢thach was figuring out how to fire them. But the Ship shook as a red-like beam of fire shot out of the first cannon, colliding with one of the Dragons.


    That immediately got his attention. Thorum was fighting the other one in a closerbat. This second Dragon, though, turned to face us. That''s when the second cannon fired, and the third, and so on.


    The line of Fire Lasers collided with the massive beast.


    The Damage would be minimal in this circumstance, but a couple lucky hits got the wings, sending it falling to the ground in a sudden frenzy.


    What a beautiful scene.


    Good first test.


    Cannons need a bigger oomph. And Fire-based weaponry has obvious setbacks, but we just hadn''t had time to tweak that too much.


    "Mine!" Odin shouted excitedly, the walking stick in his had shed, transforming into a Golden Spear. I didn''t even have time to take a good look before it was thrown by him, zigzagging through the air before it found the chest of the fallen dragon, both pinning it into the ground, and wiping the life out of hits eyes. "Ah, it''s been so long since I''ve killed a Dragon. Always a good feeling!"


    [Dick.] Ddraig huffed within my soul.


    I let out a sigh.


    The whole point of Sc¨¢thach not killing it herself was so we could thoroughly test the ship''s abilities!


    Thorum, seeing what happened, quickly finished off the Dragon he was fighting as well. His trust Gram cleaved off one of its wings before he drove it into the neck of the beast.


    Thorum waited there with that signature big goofy smile of his, he could presumably see me peeking over the edge as the Ship started to descend.


    And that same phenomenon urred as the dragon corpse he was next to began to dissolve and swirl with a golden light, shooting into his body.


    With the ramp to the shiping down, I quickly debarked with a harpy Nord greeting me.


    "My friend!" He didn''t even ask about anything else, rather, he was just happy to see me and grabbed me into a big hug.


    "Hey Thorum." I found myself smiling to match him, epting that he was now hugging me and I wasn''t going anywhere.


    "Dear Norns, boy! Did you just eat that Dragon''s soul?" Odin asked in astonishment.


    "Uh.....yes?" Thorum answered the abrupt questions in both an affirmative, but with a healthy amount of confusion at it.


    "....was it tasty?" He asked with full sincerity.


    Thorum looked at me, and we both started cracking up.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a Boosty with the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 487 - 442

    <h4>Chapter 487: Chapter 442</h4>


    Odin looked Thorum up and down with an inquisitive eye. Slowly, his lips curled up in a clear look of satisfaction as the second Dragon was absorbed by Thorum.


    He walked up to the confused Nord and pped his arms. "You''re a big one, ain''t ya?"


    "Aye?" Thorum blinked.


    The All-Father let out augh. "What''s your name,d?"


    "Thorum, um....sir." Thorum said, respectfully. Was it instinctual, or was it just something he did towards someone he perceived as an ''elder''?"


    "Hmm, polite one." Odin nodded. "You remind me of my son. Name too, which is funny. You don''t wield a hammer by chance, do you?"


    "Nay." Thorum shook his head. "I never had the mind for it, Elder. I prefer a Sword in hand, but I can make do with an Axe."


    "Nothing wrong with that." Odin stroked his bear. "That''s a nice sword you got there." He admired the glowing red sword held to the side of Thorum.


    Thorum smiled happily. "Thank you, Elder." He held it up for Odin to see. "Tis a mighty fine de and has served me well."


    "I''m d you like it, I spent a lot of effort to make it."


    "Yes, it''s ¨C" Thorum came to a halt. "Pardon, Elder, but you im to have crafted this weapon?"


    "I im nothing, boy!" Odin''s spear had long be a walking stick again and he was using it to smack Thorum''s shoulder. "I made that sword and that is a fact!"


    "Ah, Apologies!" Thorum awkwardly tried to cover himself. It wasn''t particrly hard, so it''s not like he was being hurt.


    "Hmph." Odin huffed. "An odd thing that a sword with such a hatred for Dragons ended up in the hands of a Man with a Dragon Soul. It wouldn''t be wrong to call you a Dragon at this point, huh? Yet it lets you wield it."


    Thorum took the inquisitive words of Odin good-naturedly. "Wilhelm spoke simr words. He believes that the sword is willing to be mypanion since it is my duty to hunt down the Dragons that menace Skyrim." He said proudly.


    Odin moved his head back and forth. "Yeah, that sounds like that bastard." He said, with an apanying swat of his stick at Gram. "It''d be willing to do anything to kill the most amount of Dragons." He muttered something like ''stupid sword'' under his breath.


    You know, I didn''t know that Odin actually crafted Gram. I knew that he was the source of it being impaled into that tree in legends, along with shattering in the hands of Sigurd''s Father, andter reforged via Sigurd. But I would have assumed that Odin just had it crafted by dwarves or something like a lot of weapons from Norse myth.


    "I approve of you." Odin finally said. "Just send it back after you enter your final sleep."


    "Aye, Elder." Thorum nodded. "I promise this sword will return to its forefathers upon my Death."


    "You''re a good kid." Odin''s expression softened. "I wish we had more brats like you back home." He added on softly.


    "Does he get your seal of approval?" I finally interjected into Odin''s inspection.


    "He''s good enough." Odin nodded. "Hard to find someone of his caliber back home with his age. Less than 30 Winters?" He looked at Thorum.


    "Aye." Thorum confirmed.


    "Hmm, if I had to guess, you get stronger every time you devour the soul of a Dragon?" Odin looked at him in a different light at this point. "Your soul''s fire flickered brightly for a moment and it''s a tad bigger now too. Give it another few decades, and he''d be a powerhouse acknowledged by everyone back home."


    High Praise.


    "...thank you?" Thorum was obviously lost on what was going on.


    "It''s apliment." I lightly patted his shoulder. "I wanted your help with something, we''ll talk about it after settling downter."


    "Okay." Thorum was unconcerned, and he shifted over to the others. "Lady Jinn, Lady Sc¨¢thach." He greeted my two girls as well.


    "Thorum!" Jinn threw herself at him for a hug.


    The giggling Genie and the Dragonborn with the big goofy smile were both happy to ept each other''s hugs.


    "You have be stronger." Sc¨¢thach nodded in approval.


    "Yes, I have had many good teachers help me." Thorum agreed.


    Sc¨¢thach kept a wistful smile about her as she studied him for a moment. "In a different time and ce." She said softly while shaking her head.


    "My friend, you truly bring the most curious things with you!" Thorum recovered from meeting everyone and threw an arm over my shoulder. "A flying ship? You do not do things quietly." Heughed. "You will take me for a ride, yes?"


    "dy." I couldn''t help but smile at his infectious attitude. "But let''s hold off for now, got some things I wanted to talk about. How about we head inside? It''s been awhile since I''ve seen everyone."


    "Wonderful!" Thorum beamed. "It has been far too long since we''ve shared a drink!"


    "This really is just like home." Odin muttered to himself.


    "Elder, and Ladies, you are all wee. Those that know Wilhelm are wee friends!"


    "Well, I won''t say no to a drink." Odin agreed.


    "Actually, I need to go drop off the shipment from Yasaka to the Jarl." Jinn raised her hand.


    "I will go with her." Sc¨¢thach added.


    Good, I didn''t want Jinn to be osted by any unsavory people around these parts. Jinn could handle herself, I didn''t doubt that, but she didn''t deserve that kind of interaction.


    "Come, the Jorrvaskr is on the way! I will speak of the time we have been apart." Thorum held his arms open, spinning back towards the entrance to Whiterun where we had started pulling a bit of a crowd.


    "Dragon Born." One of the Guards greeted.


    "Red Dragon Emperor." Another said in acknowledgement.


    Odin let out a snort. "That lizard is probably insufferably smug, isn''t he?" Odin said just enough for me to hear.


    "You have no idea." I let out a small sigh.


    I stopped at one of the Guards as we entered. They weren''t surprised by our unique appearances anymore, but that obviously didn''t take into ount the flying magical ship. Atleast, they were used to Jinn and our own style of dress.


    I held my hand out, producing a small satchel of Septims, giving it a little weigh before tossing it to him. "Mind watching my ship?"


    The Guard caught it, looked down and weighed it himself and quickly put it away. "I''ll call some of the boys to keep away the folks." He nodded with a happy tone.


    That''s why I loved Nords, they''re so direct.


    I turned back around to see Odin standing nearby a female smith, hammering away on a sword.


    He watched her curiously for a moment or two, not that she minded all that much. Her forge was outside for everyone to see, she was probably used to it.


    Odin just silently ran a hand through his beard before he nodded to himself and walked to another sight. A stall that was set up nearby, selling all kinds of fruit and such.


    He perused, but didn''t buy or speak, merely taking it in.


    He was...I think he was enjoying himself. And I didn''t want to disturb him at the moment.


    "So how have you been, Thorum? Besides those two Dragons, have they been attacking a lot?" I asked.


    "The attacks have slowed down. You saw the fields of Wheat outside?"


    "I did." There were farms that had recovered from when Ist saw them.


    Thorum nodded. "Thest attack was well over a fortnight. And all the Dragons that have attacked were not...."


    "Strong?" I offered because Thorum wasn''t really struggling with the two when we arrived. He would have handled them easily enough, just a bit awkwardly since they can, you know, fly.


    "Aye." Thorum agreed. "It worries me that they speak of their stronger brethren yet I have not met them."


    That is worrying.


    "And what of the big Dragon himself?"


    "Alduin." Thorum spoke the name with some trepidation. "Rumors have spoken of his appearance as if a Ghost. He appears in some ces north for a brief moment,ying fire down upon any he gazes. But I have heard contradictions of the mighty ck Dragon appearing far south, much of the same."


    "Have you considered that they''re both correct?" Alduin was supposedly the strongest Dragon, and Dragons have some bullshit Magical Abilities. "Who''s to say that he doesn''t have some method to travel that far in moments?"


    Thorum frowned. "It seems my worries increase. But your words speak true, it is a possibility even if I do not understand."


    "I''m always here if you need help." I made sure to remind him.


    "Aye, I know I can count on you, my friend." Thorum smiled. "I fear the final battle with Alduin is yet determined, the mighty Dragon schemes and we will have to wait for it to appear."


    I was about to respond but I noticed a certain group of people and scrunched my nose in annoyance. "Are they seriously still around?"


    "Ah...." Thorum scratched his head. "Tis unfortunate." My friend let out a sigh. "After thest incident, the Jarl was more firm with their allowances. We have since barred them from entering the Jorrvaskr, but now they simply stand outside."


    "And there''s nothing you can really do about it without causing an incident that would be disfavorable for you." I could summarize the situation.


    "Yes." Thorum nodded. "They are free to ost anyoneing and going from the Jorrvaskr."


    "Let me guess, they''re intentionally trying to start something just so they can point fingers and escte it?"


    "You are wise, my friend. The Jarl sent one of his to warn us of their ploys. They warned us to keep our fists away from their faces, lest we trouble ourselves further." Thorum let out a smallugh. "However, they can be a mite aggravating."


    "Hoh." Odin took this opportunity to pop up between us. "They causing you trouble, boy?"


    "It is merely an inconvenience, Elder." Thorum replied evenly. "They will bore themselves eventually and return from whence they came."


    Unlikely.


    They''re intentionally trying to start things ¨C obviously nonviolently on their side ¨C just for Thorum or one of the Companions to throw a punch and then they can cry foul and push for something they want or perhaps ''arrest'' one of them for assaulting a Thalmor Emissary. We got away with what we didst time because ''how did we know they were Thalmor''s or some other stupid shit they couldn''t dispute.


    But now, it''s probably been sorted and they''re using it to their advantage.


    Kind of clever, in an annoying way. Nords are the type of people who will most certainly throw a punch without much provocation. Mostly for good reasons, but that doesn''t really matter in this circumstance.


    Obviously, they want some kind of control over Thorum as he''s a very hotmodity right now with the return of the Dragons.


    "I can handle them." I thought up an idea. "When ites to being shameless, they have no idea who they''re messing with."


    "Don''t boast about that." Sc¨¢thach pinched my side.


    "Brat, listen to your woman." Odin chuckled. "Besides, when ites to shamelessness, you''re thousands of years too early topare with me." He puffed up. "Watch a master at work."


    "Elder, you need not interfere, it''s ¨C"


    "Hush, boy." Odin shushed him. "Let a master show his craft." He grabbed his walking stick at a different position, and he started adjusting his posture. "Oof, that''s going to be a doozy to fixter." He let out a groan as he looked naturally hunched over. He then took his hat off, tossing it into me. He ran a hand through his hair, making it look a bit more scraggly. "You say they mess with anyoneing and going?" Odin asked.


    "Aye." Thorum nodded.


    "Hmph." Odin snorted, hobbling towards the Jorrvaskr.


    We were out of sight from them, but close enough that we could hear.


    "Hold it, state your business." One of the Thalmor Elves held a hand up in front of Odin.


    "Haaaah!?" Thorum had a particr drawl to his tone that really hit a certain trigger with his act.


    "I said, state your business!" The Elf reiterated.


    "HAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?"


    "I said, state your business!"


    "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?"


    "I SAID, STATE YOUR BUSINESS!" The Elf raised his voice to match Odin.


    "WHY DO YOU WANNA KNOW ABOUT MY FISHES!?" Odin was being intentionally loud. It was enough that many eyes in the surroundings turned to look.


    "I said ¨C " The Elf frowned. "Why are you here?" He enunciated it pretty clearly with additional effort.


    "OF COURSE I WANT A BEER, WHY ELSE AM I COMING HERE YOU IDIOT!?"


    "This ce is off limits, Old Timer." The Elf took a more direct stance in front of him.


    "WHY WOULD I KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS? DO I LOOK LIKE A CLOCK YOU BRAT? BACK IN MY DAY, YOUNG''UNS HAD RESPECT FOR THE ELDERLY! WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS? I''M GOING TO GO HAVE A TALK WITH YOUR MOM ABOUT HOW YOU WERE RAISED! AFTER I''M DONE PLOWING HER OF COURSE." He let out an exaggeratedugh and wheeze as if he was having trouble breathing.


    The Elf put a hand on Odin''s shoulder. "That''s enough ¨C "


    "AHHHHH!" Odin let out a blood curdling scream as he fell to the ground. "HELP, MURDER, ASSAULT! I CAN''T FEEL MY ARM!"


    "What, I didn''t!? This is ¨C"


    "I''VE FALLEN AND I CAN''T GET UP!"


    At this point, a bunch of people were now circling them.


    "It wasn''t enough that you don''t let us worship Talos, now you''re attacking the elderly!?"


    "Why don''t you pick on someone that can fight back, elf!"


    "Aye, they''ve gone too far now!"


    "I did not do anything!" The Elf quickly tried to defend himself. "I merely touched him and he ¨C"


    Odin then threw up a mouthful of blood. "Wife, I''ming to meet you! Let it be known, that this old man may be bloodied, but his head is not bowed!"


    That only seemed to further intensify the crowd around him.


    ".....I admit defeat." I said quietly.


    "That is certainly....impressive." Thorum settled on.


    "We do not know him." Sc¨¢thach decided. "Let us part ways here."


    "Alrighty, we''ll be backter~" Jinn said happily.


    "Let''s go inside." I pat Thorum''s shoulder as the crowd were focused on Odin and the Thalmor, we easily walked into the Jorrvaskr.


    @***@


    "Oi, Milk Drinker, you''re back!" I recognized the woman sitting down with the others as we walked inside.


    Before I could respond, Odin also pushed the door open, trotting inside, looking very proud of himself. "You all missed the best parts! Those Pointy eared brats went running."


    "Huh, you got those Thalmor to run away?" Farkas intoned. "How''d you manage that?"


    Thorum cleared his throat. "The Elder is....persuasive."


    "Hahaha, I threw myself onto the ground when they touched me!" Odin said without an ounce of shame. "Now everyone''s saying they beat up a poor old man."


    Everyone just stared at him..


    "Fuck, I''ll drink to that." A broke the silence.


    "Why don''t I buy you a drink, my lovelydy." Odin slid onto the table right next to her. "You can show me your thankster~


    A snorted. "Can you even get it up anymore, old man?"


    "Hah, they don''t call me virile Odin for nothing!"


    "Nobody calls him that." I rified.


    "Brat, why you gotta block me like this? I''ve never had a werewolf girl before." Odin slumped.


    "What did you say?" On an opposite table, another member of their Companions stood up. He was bald and wore heavy armor. I vaguely remembered his name was Skjor, one of the highest ranking members of their group.


    Everyone looked at Odin, then at Thorum. And when Thorum looked confused and looked my way, I realized the issue.


    "Don''t look at me, I didn''t tell him."


    "Tell me what? That you''re werewolves? Isn''t it obvious?" Odin said it as a matter of factly. "I could smell the wet fur even before I entered the building."


    ".....that''s a tightly kept secret within the Companions, Old Man." A warned.


    "Question, what are the ''Companions''?" Odin asked, ignoring the intense gazes he was getting.


    "Are ya serious?" A looked at him dumbstruck.


    "What kind of Nord are you?" Vilkas spat.


    "Watch your tone, boy. I''m older than anyone here." Odin''s eye narrowed and Vilkas shuddered slightly.


    "The Companions are a group of battle bonded that take missions for ying monsters and protecting Skyrim." Skjor answered.


    "Mercenaries."


    "That isn''t incorrect, but we do not put coin above our honor." Skjor answered.


    "Admirable then." Odin stroked his beard. "Who''s in charge?"


    "...that would be Kok Whitemane, the Harbinger." Farkas answered.


    "Where''s he?" Odin looked around.


    "He''s downstairs." Thorum said softly. "I''m afraid he won''t be able to meet you, Elder. Sovngarde calls for him."


    Odin looked at him, then at me.


    "Valha." I stated.


    It was enough for Odin to understand the situation.


    "Interesting." Odin was stroking his beard again. "Can I meet him? I''m curious about the caliber of warrior that created the Companions." I guess he could gleam that the title they carried meant something for the people around here.


    Thorum frowned again. "Elder, it''s not so simple. plicated."


    "I thought Kok would have passed far sooner." I remember helping him extend his life for a brief period, but even that had limits. I was being polite, but he should have died awhile ago.


    "The Archmage visited." Thorum stated. "He used his Magics to keep the Harbinger in a state between life and death as he said. It will notst much longer, we are preparing a ritual to...erm."


    "You said you guys were looking for a method to remove his Lycanthropy, have you still not figured anything out?" I realized why they were waiting.


    "We have been searching for the ingredients. We''re only missing the head of a Witch of Glenmoril. They are Hags, monstrous beasts, but specifically, they must be of this order and we cannot find one."


    I could see the sadness on Thorum''s face and the tone that carried it. I didn''t really care all that much, but.... "Take me to see him, I might be able to help. I can''t promise anything, but it can''t hurt."


    "If you think you can help, we would appreciate anything." Skjor was quick to agree, and as sort of the defacto highest authority here, everyone else seemed to ept that.


    And It''s not like I was a stranger at this point, I knew them well enough being Thorum''s friend and helping out by my own hand.


    "Come on." Skjor got up, going towards the back as everyone followed behind.


    It didn''t take long for us to go downstairs where they had beds for all the Companions who stayed at the Jorrvaskr. It wasn''t much, sort of looked like the seating arranged for the ''crew'' of my own ship. Small areas without doors, but enough room for a bed and a bit of leg room with some small dividers between them.


    But furthest into the corner, there was the man in question.


    "Hoh, that''s pretty decent spell work." Odin admired as we both set eyes on The Harbinger, enveloped with a golden light as his body was in a sort of magical stasis.


    "Elder, are you knowledgeable about Magic?" Thorum asked.


    "I know a thing or two." Odin said rather cryptically.


    I mean, Thorum saw Odin 1-shot that Dragon, so it''s obvious that Odin was far from ordinary, but I suppose that doesn''t equate to Magical Knowledge from his perspective.


    "My friend, can you do anything?" Thorum asked. "If we only had a bit more time, I''m sure we can find the things we need."


    "It''s toote." Odin answered for me. "Even with this, he won''tst much longer. As soon as the spells wear off, he''s going to die in minutes. His spirit is all but dry and his soul is withering under the strain."


    I didn''t deny it.


    "What does this ritual do, boy?" Odin poked Thorum.


    "It....it is supposed to remove the inner wolf they say. To allow The Harbinger into Sovngarde."


    "Why can''t he get in as a werewolf?" Odin asked.


    "Werewolves belong to Hircine in the Eternal Hunt. Even if they are a Nord, they will never reach Sovngarde." He exined.


    "Then why didn''t he remove it sooner?" Odin snorted. "I can tell by the age of his soul, that he has been a werewolf for decades. Why did he wait for so long?" The All-Father looked around.


    "It''s a useful tool." Farkas crossed his arms. "It allows us to be stronger, faster, more durable. It lets us be strong enough to match the monsters around here."


    Odin studied him for a few moments and ended up frowning before turning to me. "Boy, do you got something to give him a small oomph? I can remove that ''inner wolf'' of his, but it''s pointless if he dies as soon as we remove him from the stasis."


    With a sigh, I searched my ring for something in particr. It was a very small vial, with only about three drops of liquid inside of it.


    "That''ll do it." Odin mused.


    It contained a few drops of juice from the Peach of Immortality. I gave the entire thing to Venna to make some Wine, but I wasn''t going to forgo everything about it. I did take a few drops of the juices for an emergency if the situation called for it.


    Odin, unceremoniously destroyed the stasis spells around the Old Nord. His eyes shot open and he was about to talk, but the All-Father grabbed his mouth, holding it open.


    I held it over the Harbinger''s mouth and let a single drop fall past his lips. The effects were almost instantaneous, the weathered and aged look in his eyes disappeared and he suddenly looked full of vigor. Sure, he didn''t actually change, but this was enough energy to get him up and moving for at least the rest of the day.


    "Who are you?" Kok Whitemane looked at Odin.


    "Doesn''t matter." Odin harrumphed. "I got a few questions for you, answer me and I''ll remove that ''wolf'' inside of you so you can go to Sovngarde."


    Kok''s eyes shed in realization of what Odin said. The situation lent itself to confirm his words as he swept his gaze around and saw the unconcerned look of people he recognized as friends and family.


    "What might you ask of me?"


    "You willingly became a Werewolf, did you?" Odin asked.


    "Aye." Whiteman didn''t deny it.


    "And now, at the end of your life, you''re trying to remove the ''wolf'' inside of you."


    He nodded again. "Yes."


    "So you''re a coward." Odin summarized.


    "Oi, you old bastard. Just because ¨C"


    Odin''s walking stick jerked back, mming into Farkas''s stomach, sending therge Nord flying backwards into the wall far behind us. He was groaning from where hended, so it was safe to assume he was only in pain and nothing was seriously harmed.


    Everyone became very still and quiet after that little disy.


    "You know that taking the Werewolf curse would bar you from Sovngarde."


    "I knew." He once more didn''t deny.


    "You''re a coward that took the easy way out." Odin scowled. "Instead of bettering yourself, you decided to be a Werewolf."


    "There were no options ¨C"


    "No options!?" Odin raised his voice and his hand pointed at Thorum. "That boy there is filled with Magic, is that something you''re not capable of!?"


    "A Nord doesn''t ¨C"


    "Are you gonna tell me that a ''Nord doesn''t use Magic''?" Odin cut him off, but the Older Nord''s look basically confirmed it. "Fool, idiotic, stupid." Odin threw his hands up. "You.....sold your souls, as opposed to learning some simple magic?"


    "Oi, it was the only choice we had! No one would take us seriously if we went around throwing fireballs! A Nord is only as good as their sword hand. And good steel can''t do much about the monsters out there. There are Dragons, Old Man, what are we supposed to do against that kind of monster?!" A lost herposure and began to argue.


    "Hmph, do you think Magic is only about throwing around fancy fire and lightning? There are more magics to make you stronger than you can imagine! Make your swords cut better, make your armor harder! But instead, you all took the easy way out." Odin scoffed. "Selling your souls for quick and easy power, and when the bell finally tolls, and the price needs to be paid, you try to run away. I name you cowards!"


    I didn''t interrupt, partly because I was surprised that Odin worked himself up into such a huff.


    But I suppose it''s not that strange. Odin was a God of Warriors, he respected strength, conviction, honor, and valor. He would not dismiss a Werewolf for being a Werewolf. He would not dismiss a man for being a man.


    But a man who bes a Werewolf because it''s an easy way to get stronger, and then tries to squeeze out of ''paying his dues'' would piss Odin off.


    "You have no right ¨C "


    "It''s alright, A." The Harbinger held up a hand to stop her as he held a mncholic smile. "I wanted strength, so I willingly epted the curse of the Werewolf knowing that Sovngarde would be lost to me. And here I am now, wanting to escape the consequences of my own actions after reaping the rewards it brought. I am a coward."


    "Harbinger..."


    "My only regret is that we allowed you all to follow in our footsteps. You are now cursed and at the end of my days, I see that we were foolish to seek this path. I will ept my fate, let myst moments of cowardice motivate you to cast off the curse. You are all splendid warriors who will brighten Sovngarde when your timees, don''t waste it like I did."


    Odin snorted, then shot his hand forward, it pierced into the Harbinger''s chest. He retracted his hand and the Harbinger fell to the side,pletely lifeless.


    It took a moment before the roars started.


    Weapons were drawn, and shouts were had, all directed at Odin.


    The All-Father snorted again in annoyance as everyone around him became frozen in ce. He waved his hand, and gradually an outline formed, a silhouette that looked exactly like the Harbinger, a specter, his soul form appeared standing next to his corpse.


    They didn''t notice that the body of the Harbinger didn''t have a single physical wound on it. There was no blood on the floor, and no hole in his chest.


    Once more, silence permeated the room.


    The Spirit looked at himself, then at his own body, a strange expression on his ethereal face.


    Odin, opening his hand, the cry of a wolf resounded, muffled, but howling with pain and fury. With a flex, he crushed it.


    It didn''t take a genius to realize what he did.


    "Thank you." The Harbinger''s spirit spoke.


    "Humility and honor in the face of death." Odin spoke. "Those are the traits of a true Warrior. I, Odin, All-Father and God of Asgard deem you fit for Sovngarde, if anyone disputes my words, they may speak now." His words weren''t very loud, but they carried with them a weight.


    As soon as he finished, the specter of the Harbinger turned gold, and it began to disappear. Vaguely, we could just make out the outline of gates opening for him in another ne of existence.


    It took several moments for everyone to snap back to their senses as the Harbinger''s death was still extremely fresh on their minds.


    "Wait." A''s expression turned strange. "Did you say God?!?"


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10, yup we''re up to 10, chapters ahead, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a Boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 488 - 443

    <h4>Chapter 488: Chapter 443</h4>


    I raised a ss as Sc¨¢thach and Jinn rejoined us in the Jorrvaskr. They happily joined Thorum and myself at the table.


    "No, then my son lost his mighty hammer! The Giant tricked it from him! And of course, his brother ¨C my brother, Loki offered a suggestion. They would sneak in and take it back without alerting anyone and to avoid theughter of others." Odin was mid-story.


    "Sneak in to take back his weapon then fight them? Not a bad n." Farkas nodded. "If my foe stole my weapon through trickery, I would not feel ashamed to use trickery to get it back."


    There were a round of nods from everyone.


    "If that was it, then it wouldn''t have turned into a story." Odin was grinning. "Loki convinced him, the best way to sneak in was to dress up as my wife ¨C the most beautiful woman in all thend! And she woulde and admit her love for the Giant."


    "....did he wear a dress?" A asked.


    "Yup!"


    That was when they all broke out inughter.


    "Your son sounds a wee touched in the head, old man." A snorted, unable to hold it in himself.


    "No, no, it gets better." Odin cut them off. "You see, he did it too well. The Giant invited everyone to the wedding. My Son didn''t know how to escape the situation, so lo and behold, I arrive because I was wondering, why was someone apparently marrying my wife who was by my side? And I see my son, my very obvious son, dressed up as a bride. I did what any good father would do, and I offered my congrattions and blessing to the bride and groom, hahaha!"


    The alcohol was flowing pretty fast at this point.


    "That reminds me of the time that the Harbinger needed us to sneak in through the back of a vampire den when we were young." Skjor said, looking nostalgic. "Aye, we went through some tunnels and came out through a secret passage into the bedroom of the Jarl of Markarth! We didn''t know at the time, but one of the vampires was the Jarl''s mistress. My shield brother and I panicked, and being the foolish youth we were, we did the only sensible thing we could think at the time, we stole some dresses from the Jarl''s wife and tried to pass off as maids. We thought ourselves clever, deceiving the whole ce with our disguise."


    He took arge swag of his drink, mming it to the table as he finished. "Eventually, the Harbinger finds us, after having finished off the vampires himself after we got lost. We try to defend ourselves, exin our disguises. The Harbinger admonishes us ''Of course no ones going to call you out you daft brats! There are tworge Nords with hairy arms and legs wearing dressing that barely cover their balls with weapons on their backs, do you think everyone''s a stupid as you two are!?''" Skjor let out augh. "Aye, he made us walk back home with the dresses on."


    Sc¨¢thach looked at us then at the rest of the room. "Did we miss something important?"


    "They''re celebrating." I nced at A and the others. "And also drinking themselves into a stupor." I guess it was a tad awkward after what happened.


    "This tastes like piss, what is this!?" Odin mmed a bottle onto the table."


    "Norde Mead." Thorum replied.


    "I like it, I want another."


    "Dare I assume the cause of everything." She looked at Odin.


    "Hey, I didn''t do nothin." Odin harumphed.


    "Yeah, he decided to tell everyone that he''s a God." I nodded. "That was while he snubbed a Daedric Lord and sent a soul on the way to the Nordic afterlife."


    "Ah." Sc¨¢thach simply nodded.


    Well, it''s not like they didn''t know I wasn''t from around here. They already knew I was a ''Daedra'', which in their terminology was basically someone from outside of Nirn. And I wasn''t going to fill in the details there.


    And I''ve heard Meridia in passing saying that there were more Gods than just the Divines and Daedra that people worship too.


    And they were mourning, sh celebrating, the Harbinger''s ascent to Sovngarde. Apparently, it''s tradition for their friends and family to hold a sort of wake type celebration to tell stories and just remember the deceased. There will of course be a bigger event once it bes public knowledge, but that didn''t really matter to me all too much.


    "Hey Thorum, I forgot to ask, but were''s Serana?" I looked at my friend.


    "She is with her mother, they have been repairing that old castle of her father''s, cleaning it out and turning it into a proper home." Thorum replied casually.


    "She''s not being distant, is she?"


    "Nay." Thorum shook his head, perhaps with the tiniest tinge of a blush. "She was here some days ago, but I go and visit when I can." He said with a smile.


    Ah.


    "Old Man, you really a God?" A swayed a little in her spot, having put down several bottles at this point.


    "Damn right! I''m the best God." Odin said proudly. "Worship me and I''ll let you into Valha if you die in battle! It''s like, 100 times better than Sovngarde! We got Valkyries with big boobs that will serve you Alcohol until the end of days." Odin held his hands out infront of his chest to emphasize this point.


    Nords are pretty easy going people.


    "Pft, alright. Why don''t you ¨C " Her words abruptly ceased and she stopped moving. In fact, everyone but our group and Thorum essentially froze in ce as a subtle power washed over the building.


    Odin grabbed his stick and a powerful aura emanated off of him.


    I wasn''t too concerned, because I recognized the touch of it. Turning my head, I saw Meridia standing near the entrance. I got up from my seat and walked over to her, and as much as I wanted to do my normal hug and kiss, in this particr instance, I merely took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss on the back.


    Meridia smiled softly at me.


    I wouldn''t embarrass her infront of other people. If it was just us and the girls and what-not, I would be fine with making her get all huffy, but infront of other people I knew her perception was very important to her.


    "Meridia!" Jinn smiled and waved.


    Sc¨¢thach gave a polite nod towards her with she reciprocated.


    "Lady Meridia." Thorum bowed his head respectfully as well.


    "Child of Akatosh." Meridia acknowledged his presence.


    She didn''t even mention the ''mortals'' in the room beyond him. Frankly, I think she froze them because she just doesn''t deal with Mortals in a casual way and didn''t want to put in the effort.


    Odin watched her wearily.


    Meridia also cast her gaze at him before her eyesnded back on me. "You bring troublesome people here again."


    "Sorry?" I offered. "Did something bad happen?" In regards to Odin''s actions, but I don''t think I needed to rify that.


    Meridia lightly snorted again before looking back at Odin. "You announced yourself when there are many eyes on this one." Her finger pointed at Thorum.


    "Ah, Sorry?" Thorum also took the same stance as me apparently.


    "Hmph, it is in my nature." Odin merely said.


    Surprisingly, Meridia didn''t admonish him for that kind of flippant statement. It''s actually a valid exnation for entities like Odin and Meridia.


    "Is it bad?" I asked.


    "It depends on your perspective. Hircine is aware of him now." She pursed her lips.


    "I don''t know much about him." I said with honesty.


    "He is perhaps not the worst of the others to encounter. His ideals align with the instincts and impulses of the wild and animals. He is not inherently malevolent, but he is ruthless and aggressive. You should not expect any manner of retaliation from him, as he considers that curse of his as a ''gift'', but he is now aware." She looked back at Odin.


    Odin nodded. "I did what I did, let the cards fall where they may." He shrugged. "My Lady, I am Odin, All-Father, God of Asgard." He introduced himself because this was the first time they''ve met face to face.


    "I am Meridia, Lady of Light." She held herself sort of in a way that was above him in her manner of speaking, and Odin had nothing to say in response to that.


    He was clear in their level, and Meridia was giving him respect as a God.


    "Is my presence here going to cause concern, Lady of Light? It was merely a whim that I arrived in thesends, I shall depart would I prove an annoyance that cannot be overlooked." It was odd seeing Odin being so.....obedient.


    "What''s done is done." She said simply. "Just know that you now garner the attention of the Gods of thesends."


    "So we won''t expect one of the Divines toe down and try to smite him?" I said with a bit of tongue in cheek.


    While it was half joking, Meridia shook her head seriously. "It is not impossible, but it is unlikely as long as he doesn''t cause too many problems. The effort they can spare is minimal in most situations, and they are but fragments of what they once were. They lent their powers in the creation of Nirn, and as a consequence, they have deteriorated substantially from their peak. That one ¨C" She referred to Odin. "¡ª Should be about equal to them in strength as they stand now."


    Well, that gives some perspective then.


    If Odin''s about on par with the deteriorated Divines of Nirn, then they aren''t going to sacrifice to ''remove'' him unless he bes a true menace, which he won''t.


    It''s lucky that Nirn itself rejects the ''outsiders'' of Meridia''s nature, otherwise this ce would have been burned down a long time ago. It''s a delicate bnce, Daedra can''t project their full power inside of Nirn, but the Divines that protect the world also are substantially weaker than them at this point.


    "Perhaps not Akatosh." Meridia idly mused as a follow up. "I believe he is still powerful enough to thwart even myself if I was reckless enough to abandon everything and make an attempt here. However, that is regarding the one you know as Talos. He is not to be trifled with even by my standard."


    Huh.


    Makes sense, he is their ''Chief God'' or whatever.


    "Did you juste here to warn us, Meridia." Jinn asked.


    "Yes." Meridia didn''t deny it. "I do not casually walk the mortal world." She pursed her lips once more. "Be wary of attempts at probing. Many will want to see what this ''new God'' is. I suggest leaving this ce soon."


    "We probably won''t be here more than a couple days at the most." I replied.


    Meridia nodded.


    "Quick question, do you think that the big Dragon upstairs would cause a ruckus if we took Thorum back home for awhile?"


    "...I do not know." Meridia responded after a moment. "You may ask him if you are concerned."


    "Ask...?'' Thorum''s eyes widened. "How..."


    "Do you not have a statue of Talos outside of this building and down the road? Go pray and ask for a response. In a matter of this in particr, he will respond." Meridia waved it off flippantly.


    Well...I guess we could do that.


    "That works?" Thorum muttered.


    "Do you think that Temples, Statues, and idols are just for aesthetics? They are links to the God you worship." Meridia huffed. "Any of us can use them as a means to connect with the world."


    "Sounds good, let me go ask if I can borrow his baby dragon!" Odin nodded.


    Why did I have the feeling that this wasn''t going to go as expected?


    [***]


    As expected, everyone else within the Jorrvaskr returned to normal as Meridia left. And we simply told them we were going on a bit of an adventure and they didn''t care to know more.


    As I thought from before, Nords as a whole are very easy going people. They don''t pry into your personal matters, they don''t try to dictate anything massively about your life. They are a very live and let live sort of folk. Obviously there is a bit of a contradiction with their Nordic Pride and subsequent hostility ¨C even if it settled down in recent times ¨C towards other races living in Skyrim.


    But I digress.


    They didn''t care overly much and didn''t ask for details.


    Regardless, Odin stood in front of the Giant statue that was erected next to the stairs that led up to the Jarl''s keep.


    Usually, there would be some more people walking around, but Odin easily erected his own Bounded Fields ¨C or his equivalent ¨C to shunt off this area from other people.


    "Do you think he''ll answer?" Jinn asked.


    "I do not know." Thorum watched. "Talos has not publicly answered in many years. It is to the point where many Nords are uncaring about thews against his worship."


    "He is a Hero-God, actions must be earned." Sc¨¢thach said simply. She apparently had some knowledge of him. "Why would he answer the fools who ask for blessings for the mundane?"


    That makes sense I suppose. He would answer those who prove themselves capable, rather than blessing people who want to be capable by extension of his help.


    "Well, Odin, do you want to ask, or should I?" I stood next to the All-Father as we both stared at the statue.


    "Let me handle this." He stood up straighter. "From one God to another, this is a matter I should handle."


    Alright then.


    When Odin is in proper ''God'' Mode, he is a respectable and Wise person.


    Odin, held his walking stick up, and a certain presence enveloped him. He was All-Father, King of the Aesir, and God of Asgard.


    It was hard to deny his presence.


    I was curious what he was going to do to reach out to Talos.


    "Wake up you bastard!" He started smacking therge statue with his stick.


    ...Yeah, I don''t know what I expected.


    "Stop sleeping! I know you''re watching and you can hear me!" Odin continued as we all sort of silently watched him.


    ".....my Friend, I do not believe this will work. Perhaps we should attempt a more ¨C" Thorum didn''t even get to finish what he was saying as another presence descended upon the area.


    It was heavy. It was enough that I felt it weigh down on myself.


    And looking at the statue, I sort of felt like something was watching me back.


    "It''s about time!" Odin grunted. "I wanna take the brat with me, you got any objections?" He jerked his thumb towards Thorum.


    It''s strange, there were no visible changes in the statue, but once more, I felt like it turned its gaze towards Thorum.


    Thorum, shuddered as well. I saw his eyes widen and he nearly prostrated himself onto the ground out of instinct.


    "A?????c??????k??????n???????o???????w??????l???????e??????d?????g??????e???????d?????"


    The words that were not words.


    It was more like intentions and feelings conveyed through abination of Sound and Divine Power. I wouldn''t even call them Divine Words as that was meant more towards altering the world through speech.


    No, this was simply a non-human beingmunicating without lowering themselves down for a human to understand.


    Just from that single ''word'', I understood a lot. It was screeching almost, and I felt a small throb in my head.


    The gist was that, Thorum was ''allowed'' toe along with us, but he must return within a certain time frame, and in the worst case, his soul is to return to Nirn.


    He specified Nirn.


    I guess that cat is out of the bag.


    Yeah, Meridia did say that I was known to certain entities here, but I suppose I didn''t appreciate what she truly meant by that earlier.


    I was fairly sure I didn''t understand everything that was conveyed in that singr ''word'' either, as it wasn''t meant for me.


    "Fine." Odin grumbled. "And talk like a normal person next time!" Odin continued to smack the statue with his stick, despite the presence still present within it.


    The statue ignored Odin, but I felt its ''gaze'' turn back towards me.


    Something shot out of it, a light, almost as if the presence was using it to reach out and touch something of mine. Rather, it targeted my storage Ring. Normally, I would have done something to stop such tant osting of my stuff, but this was an odd situation, and I was willing to see how it yed out.


    It found an item I didn''t expect, one I hadn''t yet used since acquiring it.


    The Scroll that Jinn made me, the map, that she took the effort to transcribe with all the locations she discovered and their apanying coordinates so we weren''t blind jumping or I didn''t have to waste time calcting while in Skyrim.


    It was forced out of my Ring and unfurled in the air in front of me.


    On one particr spot, an emblem was seared up near the top in the shape of a Bow, located up Northwest by Solitude.


    Just as quickly as the presence descended, it also disappeared back from where it came from.


    The Map fell and I quickly caught it in my hands as everyone else sort of crowed around me.


    "....Rin and Artoria spent weeks trekking through the mountains and delving into Tombs looking for clues regarding Auriel''s Bow." Jinnmented.


    "Yup." I said simply.


    "And that''s most likely its location." Jinn said again.


    "Yup." I responded.


    I guess this is literal Divine Providence then? It''s fairly obvious I''m being told to go grab the Bow. I don''t know what they''re thinking, being fine with me taking it, as obviously they know I''m going to probably hold onto it If the Staff and other things are to go by. Not that I wouldn''t let Thorum use it whenever he wanted, thus fulfilling any needs for it here in Nirn, but it''s clear if they didn''t want me to have it, they would have simply given Thorum the means to go after it earlier.


    Regardless.


    "Rin is going to pissed." I looked up at Odin. "Mind making a small detour?"


    [***]


    A/N


    Divine Bow get!


    Will probably wrap up this little Skyrim foray in a few chapters, so don''t worry. Then we''re off into Yggdrasil for some shenanigans.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name for those who can''t use the above.A

 Chapter 489 - 444

    <h4>Chapter 489: Chapter 444</h4>


    I stood still for a few minutes, watching Odin go back and forth in a sort of dance as he sang sea shanties. I don''t want to say that it was odd considering we were on a literal ship, but it did feel a tad out of ce since we weren''t actually on the sea.


    I merely shook my head and nced at Thorum who was ''driving'' the boat.


    He had that signature goofy smile of his as he happily steered us in the right direction. I suppose it doesn''t matter the time, ce, or origins, people are the same.


    Jinn was ying around in the Crow''s nest, just watching the scenery it seems. And Sc¨¢thach was at the bow of the ship, staring off towards the mountains we were approaching.


    Sc¨¢thach noticed me walking up and didn''t fuss as I wrapped my arms around her from the back. "you''ve been quiet since we''vee. Are you bored? You don''t have to stay here if you don''t."


    She cocked her head, adopting a smile. "I am enjoying myself, student." She responded with a light tone. "If I did not wish to be here, I would not."


    "Just making sure."


    "Your concern is pleasing to me. However, do not mistake my quiet and reclusion as an indication of unhappiness. One of my greatest joys is to undergo new experiences, they need not be exciting nor thrilling."


    That''s good then. She can be hard to read sometimes, so I just wanted to double check. Goodmunication is one of the cornerstones of any rtionship.


    "My friend, this is amazing, but I am confused about something." Thorum hollered from the back where he was steering.


    "What''s up?" I shot back.


    "This ship flies through magic, yes?"


    "Yup."


    "Then....why are there sails?"


    "Because they''re cool." I said with the most serious expression. Odin who stopped his ying also gave a simr nod of approval.


    "Aye." Thorum agreed to my logic easily.


    "Boys...." Sc¨¢thach shook her head.


    "Lady Sc¨¢thach, would you like a turn?" Thorum offered.


    ".....yes." She said with the slightest hint of embarrassment.


    I reluctantly let her escape from my grasp as she made her way to the back and traded off with Thorum.


    "What a wonderful view." Thorum smiled happily as he joined me up front. "I have never seen Skyrim from the sky, this is amazing."


    "Cold as balls." Odin grumbled.


    "Aye."


    "Yet you''re still standing there smiling."


    "I believe my face froze." Thorum said casually.


    Odin chuckled, smacking him on the back. "You''re a fun kid."


    "If I may ask, Elder, what need do you have for my assistance? I am happy to help Wilhelm with anything, but I''m not sure what I''m volunteering for." Thorum asked.


    "Right, we didn''t actually cover that..." I hummed. "The short of it is that we''re going to be hunting some Gods."


    ".....oh." Thorum said quietly. "Are....are you sure that it is wise to enlist my help? I do not know if I am strong enough to assist you"


    "You''re not weak, brat." Odin rebutted. "I may not know what''s all going on with you, but strength is universal! Besides, your view on Godhood Is skewed from only living here. There are Gods far weaker than you, and those far stronger. It''s not a perfect inclination of strength."


    "Truly?" Thorum didn''t sound convinced.


    "My home, the country Ie from in our world, just it has millions of Gods." I replied to him.


    Thorum nked for a moment. "How do you worship them all?"


    I let out a snort. "I don''t worship any Gods. Not that I don''t have some I respect and will treat appropriately, but I don''t put any faith in them. And it''s not like their worship is universal either. There are Gods of certain Rivers, certain Mountains, certain viges, etc. As Odin said, your views are narrow, and it''s not your fault, you''re used to those being called ''Gods'' as the peak of the term. To put it into perspective, Meridia handled one of the strongest ''Gods'' back home like she was a naughty child and put her in a time-out."


    "Jesus Christ, is that what happened to Ophis!?" Odin blurted out.


    "Yup." I paused. "Wait, did you just swear to Jesus?"


    "Yup!" He mimicked me.


    ".....why?"


    "Take a guess what happens when someone like me invokes his name while the Feathered-brat is shifting through prayers on his old-man''s chair."


    I could imagine in a sea of whispers, Odin suddenly ''praying'' in some manner would be like a fog horn in Michael''s ears.


    "You''re such an asshole." I shook my head. "But also Thorum, don''t take this as meaning you can be cocky either. They''re likely strong enough to kill both me and Odin."


    "If you need my assistance, my Friend, then I will fight any foe." Thorum pat his chest.


    ".....you have a good friend, brat." Odin said quietly, directed at me of course.


    "Besides, Odin''s right, you''re a lot stronger than thest time we met." I pat his shoulder. "Honestly, It feels like cheating how fast you''re getting this strong..."


    "Like you have any room to talk." Odin started swatting at me with his ''stick''. "Mister, ''oh, I''m just a 20-something year old kid and I threw down with Indra for shits n'' giggles''."


    Thorum justughed at Odin''s antics. "I am excited to see your home, my friend. Are you gathering any other allies?"


    "Yeah, we''re looking for the ones I dropped off here before."


    "Ah, they are a good choice." Thorum nodded. "I have heard quite a few stories since they arrived in Skyrim. They are worthy of being yourrades, they are honorable and strong as well."


    "We''ll see if they want to join in. I don''t want to force something dangerous on them, they have the right to enjoy their lives free of crap like this." If there was one thing I despised, it was forcing people that didn''t want to be involved in situations like this.


    "I originally wished to spar with you, my friend. To show you what I have learned, but perhaps it will be more pleasing to keep it a secret until we fight a strong foe." Thorum grinned, punching my shoulder. "Ah, I should prepare a gift for your daughter! What does she like? I need time to find something appropriate!"


    Jeez, Kunou is absolutely spoiled at this point. How many different people dote on her?


    "Land Hooo!" Jinn shouted from up above. "Also, catch me~"


    I instinctively held my arms out as a certain Blue Genie dropped into my arms. "That''s a mountain." I deadpanned.


    "Mountain, ho?" Sheughed, kicking her legs happily. "Also, you forgot to mention that I''ming too~"


    "Aye, Lady Jinn, your wisdom is a wee addition to any quest." Thorum was quick with the appreciation.


    I bit my tongue, not wanting to say something I shouldn''t. My overprotective side was trying to rear its ugly head. It was her decision, and I was going to respect it. She wasn''t a child I needed to coddle.


    "Don''t worry, I have my own secret weapons~" She smiled brightly, though I know for a fact she said that to reassure me again.


    I flipped my hand over, bringing the map out of my ring. "Right, it was noted as being here, thereabouts. But we don''t'' have an exact coordinate. What exactly are we ¨C" I barely even finished the words as they be irrelevant.


    High up above thend, between the crags of several mountains, and nearly covered by the peaks themselves, there is a barely visible structure of some sort. It would be impossible to see from the ground, and even from the air, it wouldn''t be visible until you got extremely close due to how the mountains covered it.


    "I think that''s it." Odin stated.


    "Thanks, I didn''t get that until you pointed it out." I responded dryly. "Takes us down there." I shouted, adopting my captain persona.


    Well, it was halfhearted. I didn''t take Sir Wiggles out because he wasn''t a big fan of this kind of cold.


    I waited several moments, only to realize that we were neither slowing down, nor were we attempting tond.


    I looked back at Sc¨¢thach who had a nk look on her face.


    "....I do not know how tond this vessel."


    I didn''t even have time to respond to her as the ship collided with one of the mountain peaks. Full speed, we rammed right into it. Everyone had a moment or two to prepare for the obvious collision, and it''s not like we would be hurt in any way. But even still, it was abrupt and disorientating.


    It immediately caused a minor avnche, but mostly, the Bowsprit, the horizontal-like mast piece that protruded from the front, impaled itself into the mountain, causing the ship toe to aplete halt, idly sitting dozens of feet above the strange structure below.


    "Well done." Iplimented her.


    Sc¨¢thach showed a very uncharacteristic flush of embarrassment. "This is my one to your many." She tried her best to scowl, but it only made her look rather cute.


    "I''m proud of you."


    "You''re asking for a beating." She threatened, but itcked the usual sharpness to it.


    Well, the ship isn''t damaged, and I wouldn''t expect it to be. It was so heavily reinforced; it would take something much more than a collision with a mountain to do any real damage.


    Still holding Jinn in my hands, I walked to the edge of the ship and jumped off,nding gently onto the ground.


    The others followed rather quickly.


    "Good news is that we don''t have to worry about anyone stealing the ship while we''re gone."


    Sc¨¢thach made a threatening gesture towards me.


    "My friend, you are truly a brave man." Thorum eyed from the side.


    Well, it''s part of her charm so I didn''t mind.


    "Dragon Boy, do you recognize this ce?" Odin stepped forward, putting his hand on one of the stone pirs that connected to a stone bridge that led to arge monastery-like building built into the side of the mountain.


    "This does not look like any ce I have visit so far. I do not believe it to be Nordic...my kin use a different and more...simple style." Thorum noted.


    "Yeah, thises off as more...elegant." I paused. "No offense."


    "Aye, it is the truth. We do not care for decadence." Thorum seemed unphased. "Unless it is a temple, but that is rare as well." Thorum looked thoughtful.


    I wasn''t just being cheeky, the stonework was obviously different than anything Nordic I''ve seen thus far. And I''ve been into quite a few crypts and seen quite a bit of Nordic Architecture. Their styles hadn''t changed much in the past centuries.


    Hell, even the College had a certain....roughness to it.


    This, on the other hand, was much cleaner and crisper.


    "Atleast we can guess that this is where we''re supposed to be." Jinn stated.


    "True." I would give her that.


    Walking across the stone bridge, we got a much better look at the ce.


    Arge statue stood in front, and on either side two staircases led up to the entrance to the building.


    "Definitely a Temple." I noted.


    "Aye, tis most certainly a Temple. We must be respectful here, no looting." Thorum stated.


    Unfortunate, but what can you do.


    "Which God is this?" Odin asked, walking up to the statue, and he was staring at a strange basin at the base of it.


    "Considering the Bow that we''reing here for, and the person who mostly likely pointed us in this direction?" I looked at Thorum.


    Thorum nodded. "I can guess the origins of this temple as well. Auri-El, it is the name of Akatosh as worshiped by the ancient Snow Elves." His eyes trailed up to the tip of the statue that had a bronze-colored sun above its head. "And a Sun God. This is an ancient Snow-Elf Temple. Please tread carefully, the Snow Elves have long departed from Nirn, this may likely be one of the few remaining temples of theirs, I would like it to be treasured for future generations."


    "Don''t worry, we''re in someone else''s house, we''ll be polite guests." I pat his shoulder.


    I don''t think I needed to tell Odin, he surely heard even if he was more focused on the statue in front. And Jinn and Sc¨¢thach were also people who wouldn''t be reckless about this sort of thing.


    "Shall we go?" I offered.


    "Aye, let us see what hide inside." Thorum smiled, walking up the stairs.


    Insofar, there was....nothing particrly noteworthy about this ce bar the history. No deliberate traps, no guardians...nothing.


    Even the front entrance looked mundane. However, Thorum put his hands on it, trying to open it but it didn''t budge one iota.


    He put more strength into it, but it still didn''t move.


    "How about I give it a try?" I offered.


    "Don''t bother, it''s sealed." Odin interjected. "It''s connected to the statue down below, you need some kind of Ritual to open the way."


    "You figured that you from merely seeing the statue, Elder?" Thorum''s eyes widened.


    "I am a God of Magic and Wisdom, not many things can escape my eyes." Odin had a hint of pride to his tone.


    "Eye." Jinn corrected.


    Odin nearly fell over. "No respect for the elderly." He huffed, walking up to the door, putting a hand on it.


    "What do you think?" I hummed, scanning it for any obvious signs of entry points.


    "We could be forceful." Sc¨¢thach stated. "However, It would go against the goodwill we wish to express. The owner pointed us here, thus we should treat this ce with the respect it deserves." Her words basically mirrored Thorum''s.


    "Yeah, yeah." Odin grumbled. "Hospitality is one of the oldest traditions in existence, I''m not going to break it." He straightened his back, closing his eyes.


    Watching him for a moment, I put my hand on the opposite side, casting a structural Grasp. "Oh, you''re right." I could see the pathways feeding a flux of Magical Energy back towards the statue. "That''s some rejection too. As soon as I try to probe deeper into the mechanisms, it gets very aggressive."


    "Interesting Spell." Odin hummed, duplicating it at a nce. "A more detailed picture, huh. I don''t know why I never thought of that before, guess I never really needed it." He moreso was talking to himself. "Let''s see, there are severalponents that need to be met. The ritual seems to exist in several stages, we''re going to need to trick it."


    "There are four spots that need to be ''tricked'' as you put it, and we have more than enough people adept at Magic here. Maybe we could reverse the criteria? Make it think that the ''spots'' that need filled need to be emptied and let it open that way...?"


    "Maybe we could overload it..."


    "Substitute the Ritualistic effect...?"


    "Maybe ¨C"


    "Lig Bex!" Thorum suddenly shouted, and by that I mean shouted. It wasn''t particrly loud, but Dragon Shouts didn''t have to be.


    The invisible force washed over everything and suddenly the doors shuddered, snow that had been packed around them was shaken off and the grinding of mechanisms was heard as a very loud metal ng indicated that it had be unlocked.


    "....or that works." Odin blinked.


    "Ah, well..." Thorum scratched his cheek. "Auri-El is Akatosh, and I am a Dragonborn....I thought it would make sense to ask it to open in Dovahzul..."


    "....right." I pursed my lips.


    "Good job, Thorum!" Jinn cheered happily.


    "Thank you, Lady Jinn!" Thorum answered back with that big grin of his.


    I can''t even be upset, he''s too nice of a person.


    "My friend, why did you not just use that method of traveling to take us to the other side?" Thorum tilted his head.


    "I was being polite. I didn''t want to just ''teleport'' inside of the temple." Not that I wouldn''t have used that as a st resort''. And I admit I am a little hesitant about doing so when it involves deities around these parts.


    I did learn my lesson after Meridia...


    Odin and I shared a look, and also shared the same sentiment right now.


    Simply shaking my head, I pushed the doors open, and we walked inside.


    "H''s frozen tits, why is it colder in here than outside!?" Odin blurted out, and we all sort of froze in ce because we weren''t alone here.


    It was arge open room with a shrine in the form of a sun standing in the middle, but that wasn''t the most particr thing.


    There was a person standing there, looking just as confused by us as we were apparently by him.


    "Hello!" Jinn waved at the stranger.


    That seemed to snap his thoughts back. The most notable features of his were his white hair and his pointy ears. He was most certainly an elf. But in addition to that he had a particr bow strapped to his back that gave me the most ominous feeling. It wasn''t over ornate, and if anything, it was very simple in design. From this distance I could see some muralistic carvings along it, but not much else. "Who are you!? How did you get in here?"


    "I''m Jinn, and I walked through the front door." She smiled.


    "...."


    "....we''re....adventurers?" Was that the correct terminology they use here? "We simply found this ce and it looked abandoned, so we wanted to explore. Who are you?"


    The person ¨C Elf, stiffened, studying us for a good few moments. "....I am Arch-Curate Vyrthur, I am tasked with watching over this temple of Auri-El."


    "A worthy goal." Thorum spoke up. "May I ask....are you a Snow Elf?"


    The Elf clenched his hands. "I am one of the few remaining Snow Elves, Nord." His practically hissed under his breath. But, maybe my eyes were ying tricks on me, it looked like his own eyes shed bright yellow for a moment.


    Right, the history was that Nords practically genocided the Snow Elves.


    "This ce is forbidden to outsiders!" He swiped his hand through the air. "Leave!"


    "Actually....we''re here on orders of, um. Auri-El." May as well try the peaceful approach. "You see, Thorum here ¨C" I pointed to my friend. "¨C is the Dragonborn, a son of Akatosh? also known as Auri-El."


    The newly revealed Snow Elf looked at Thorum in surprise before settling down. "Hmph, of course. The call of the World-Eater was heard even here. As it was prophesied, so too does a Dragonborn stand to face it." Slowly a smile crept up. "I wonder, what would ur if the son of Akatosh, failed?"


    "Aye, that is what we are trying to prevent. We had received guidance that a powerful weapon rests here, the Bow of Auri-El, and we were tasked to retrieve it."


    The Snow Elf stiffened again. "The Bow of Auri-El?" He reached behind himself, pulling out the Bow that I noticed a moment prior.


    Odin nudged me, but I didn''t need to understand the situation.


    "This isn''t what I had nned, but I wonder how Auri-El would react to find his child felled by his own weapon!" He was about to pull the bow string back, and I felt an immediate sense of danger as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.


    Without thinking, one of my swords shot out, stabbing right into him.


    Before he could even blink, he burst into dust with a shimmer of golden light as Dawnbreaker fell to the ground next to everything else he had on him along with a pile of dust that used to be his body.


    "Well that was anticlimactic." Odin said dryly.


    "I am confused." Thorum tilted his head.


    "He was a vampire, I noticed the eyes." I shrugged. "And he was about to attack, with that Bow, which felt very dangerous, so I just thought fuck it, andunched Dawnbreaker." Frankly, it wasn''t even a measure of his strength or how powerful he was, no one really expects swords to shoot at them.


    "Ah." Thorum nodded in understanding.


    I carefully approached the ''corpse'' of his and very carefully picked up the bow. "So....mission aplished?"


    "I feel like this should have been harder." Jinn came up right besides me. "Oh a journal!" She pped, fishing a worn book from under the fallen armor. She flipped through it quickly,nding a few pages. "Huh, good thing we killed him, he was apparently nning on trying to kidnap Thorum''s girlfriend or something to do some ritual to darken the sun or something."


    "...that sounds stupid." I blinked.


    "Yeah, his n wasn''t very good." Jinn shrugged, tossing the Journal into her own storage.


    "Well, it is good we triumphed then!" Thorum said proudly, before slightly slumping. "even if...it was a particrly uneventful experience."


    "Can we alteast loot his stuff?" Odin asked.


    "Aye."


    Odin wasted no time rummaging through his belongings, taking random things that the Snow-Elf had on him.


    "That Bow feels dangerous, be careful student." Sc¨¢thach warned me.


    "Yes, my friend, that Bow also made me feel a great sense of danger before he even drew it! We must see what it is capable of!"


    "Shit, I''m down" I held it carefully as we walked back outside. "It doesn''t seem like it needs arrows by the way that elf tried to use it....so do I just..." I slowly drew back the string, and the sky darkened around us, sunlight condensed into the form of an arrow. I hadn''t even pulled it halfway back and I was immediately regretting this decision. There was an obscene amount of power gathered at this point. I quickly pointed it upward in a panic, and let it go.


    One moment, the mountain peak was there, the next, it waspletely gone and a bright light shot to the horizon.


    "Jesus Christ!" Odin shouted.


    Everyone looked at me and the Bow in my hand. I very carefully put it away into my Ring. "Right, we''re going to mark this as a ''use only in dangerous situations''."


    Sc¨¢thach look at me. "Well done, Student."


    "Hey, how was I supposed to know how it worked!?"


    She merely raised an eyebrow at me.


    ".....point." She didn''t even need to say it to me.


    My ship chose that moment to fall to the ground infront of us.


    Thorum pat me on the shoulder.


    "...Alright, let''s go find the others and head back." I got the Bow I wanted, now let''s go see the others because it''s been far too long.


    Then, it''s off to visit the Nine Realms!


    [***]


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 490 - 445

    <h4>Chapter 490: Chapter 445</h4>


    Thorum PO


    What a beautiful sight!


    I never would have imagined even a year prior that I could have seen Skyrim like an Eagle flying through the sky. It was truly a marvelous and beautiful sight to behold and it only made me more resolved to protect it from the World-Eater and his Dragons.


    This should be cherished and preserved for future generations.


    It was amazing, I was on a flying ship.


    I was even allowed to control it!


    Truly, I have one of the greatest friends to allow me such an experience.


    Truthfully, I do not know what it would have been like had Wilhelm and I not crossed paths. The happenstance of him and I appearing on that same wagon, doomed to the block. It seems like so long ago when I think about it.


    Then time and time again, he came and helped when I needed it. The sword I wield was one such gift he gave. A de that assisted me in defeating the Dragons that gued thesends. Not to mention the help he''s given to themon folk.


    It is a strange thing, to think that so many changes happened so quickly and most of them can be traced back to him.


    Even the College of Mages has be amon stay amongst the Nords here and their presence no longer ridiculed. Aye, the Companions dislike the use of Magic, but I have not heard a word spoken of distaste to a Mage we happen upon.


    No, if anything, they are weed with open arms. The help the College has provided has been too valuable and it has changed many a Nord''s mind about the arcane arts. No more were Mages a mysterious bunch practicing ''unnatural things'' in their secluded castle, but they were normal folk who just knew a thing or two about the mystical arts.


    I would not be surprised that the number of Mages in Skyrim increased in theing years. Many small children seeing the Mages perform openly and with support of the older folk and it has opened the path for them.


    Yet, the changes by his hand, he had not much of a presence here. Not many really knew what he had achieved.


    I would help him with anything he asked. After everything he''s done for myself and my home, I would stand beside him no matter the enemy we fought.


    I admit I was nervous about fighting what Wilhelm described as Gods. The Elder spoke that my view was too narrow and perhaps I was being hard on myself, but I still was not sure I would be of assistance.


    I tried to keep my mind off of it, but seeing Wilhelm rxed helped.


    He sat there, cross legged on the deck of the ship with a sword I have never seen beforeid across hisp.


    There was something happening with him, I felt something strange fluctuation from him at moments, only to settle down the next. He would frown, and some sweat dripped from his brow. It looked as if he was meditating, but with how Lady Sc¨¢thach hovered near him very protectively, I was unsure that this was the case.


    I couldn''t help but smile seeing Lady Sc¨¢thach act protectively of him. Their rtionship was amusing to witness from the side. Threats from Lady Sc¨¢thach and the unrepentant teasing that Wilhelm delivers despite the imminent violence that wille. It is contradicted by the moments of gentleness they show one another, mostly when they are not directly being watched by others.


    "Mother fucker." Wilhelm suddenly opened his mouth, falling backwards with a groan.


    "Are you alright, my friend?" I immediately became worried.


    "Yeah, yeah." He sighed, staring up at the sky. "Sorry, didn''t mean to surprise you like that."


    "You lost again." Lady Sc¨¢thach stated.


    "Yup."


    "Hmm, we will review what you did wrong."


    "....did you fight someone?" I was confused.


    "Oh, right." Wilhelm looked down at the sword in hisp. "I was doing a meditation thing where I was fighting someone in my inner world."


    ....I only understood parts of that. But it sounds like he had a very convenient method of training! I am surprised and impressed that he still manages such things. And even in situations like this, he still finds time to keep training!


    It makes me wish to take out my sword and start swinging it.


    But it is also concerning to hear that he lost to someone.


    What foe could defeat him like this? And it sounds as if this is amon urrence.


    "I need to create some more Talismans and practice my Onmyoji more. I need to make more preparations; he''s beating me on that front." He sat up properly, stretching his arms. "Are we almost there?"


    "Still a bit away, my friend." I answered.


    "Hey Thorum?"


    "Yes?"


    "How many new Shouts have you learned? When you absorb a Dragon Soul, you inherit some things that way, you must know quite a few now? In fact, how many dragons have you beaten since west met?"


    "Not too many." I replied. "If you want, my friend, you can find out first hand what I have learned." I cracked a smile.


    "Oho, that sounds like a challenge."


    "Aye." I felt the desire to draw my de and test myself against him. I have always wanted to fight him, I know I would lose, but my desire would not wane.


    "As tempted as I am.....I don''t think my boat would survive."


    "Aye, that is true." I acknowledged. "It would be a shame to ruin such a fine ship for a poor reason such as that. We can fight some other time."


    "Hmm, tell me about what''s been going on with Skyrim. What about you and Serana too? How are you doing with her mom?" He quirked a mischievous grin.


    Lady Sc¨¢thach quickly hit him over the head with her spear. "Don''t corrupt him with your perversions." She warned. "He has a pure heart, he does not need you to whisper those kinds of things into his ear."


    I awkwardly cleared my throat. "You need not worry, such things are merely a jest."


    "He wasn''t joking." She deadpanned.


    "I wasn''t joking." He agreed immediately, adding another hit of her spear.


    .....for some reason, I found it unwise of me to mention the strange situations I found myself in around Lady Valerica.....the odd timings where one of us would walk in on the other changing. The happenstance of when she traveled with us and some battle inflicted damage upon her clothing....and other strange situations.


    I was sure Wilhelm would take it the wrong way.


    "If you want to hear rumors, my friend, I have heard many that have happened around Skyrim." I certainly did not change the subject. "I have heard that the Dark Brotherhood was defeated by a Khajit and a man with a spear near Falkreath. And there are whispers of two strange warriors among the Riften people that we are now headed, one with foreign clothing and another in a full set of dark armor."


    "Wonder who those people could be." He rolled his eyes with an amused look.


    "Yes, we can probably guess." I nodded. "There have also been stories of a traveling Knight and a Mage that have helped plenty of people across Skyrim."


    "Mordred and Kairi probably."


    "Aye." I once more agreed. "They also say that a particrly powerful Sorceress has been seen around the College as well."


    "....Medea." Wilhelm snorted. "Jeez, did anyone just take a quiet vacation?"


    "The amount of incidents have decreased as the rumors and stories propagated. Dragon attacks have be less frequent as well. However, there are signs of Alduin appearing almost randomly...it is almost as if he is searching for something."


    "Well, that doesn''t sound ominous at all."


    "I agree. Unfortunately, I do not believe the Dragon would be willing to reveal any ns, such that we are clueless."


    "Have you tried asking?


    "I have not." I admitted. "Do you think that would work?"


    "Who knows." Wilhelm shrugged. "Maybe we could just have a polite conversation with the titled World-Eater, and ask him to politely stop his world-eating?"


    "I will be sure to ask the first time we meet!" I smiled as he chuckled.


    "Hey, I forgot to ask, and forgot to check the markets. Do you happen to have any poisons on you?" He asked me.


    "Poison?" I was surprised by the sudden question. "Aye, I have many Poisons."


    "Awesome, what....wait, why do you have a bunch of poisons?" He said while picking through the bottles.


    "Are you upset?" I tilted my head.


    "No, I''m not surprised that you have ''many''. It didn''t seem like something you would have, I was basically shooting in the dark here."


    I touched the magical artifact that Wilhelm gave me that allowed me to store a great many things in a secret spot and let the bottles fall gently onto the deck. "Pick whichever you need." I didn''t mind sharing.


    ".....why do you have so many?"


    "I have gained many on my adventures." It wasn''t umon toe across certain things while traveling and delving into tombs and such.


    "Do you just hoard everything you find in the slim chance that it''ll be useful?" He hesitantly asked.


    ".....I perhaps do something of the sort." I awkwardly answered.


    "Huh..."


    "Is something wrong?"


    "No, I was just surprised that you do it too." He confessed.


    "Aye." I grinned. "You never know what may be useful!"


    "Exactly! Everyone gives me crap about everything I keep stored in my Ring, but whoes asking me for the random thing I kept from months ago, Hmm!?!"


    "I understand you, my friend." I put a hand on his shoulder in solidarity.


    He pushed himself up to his feet, wiping off any dust or dirt. "I''m going to check on the others."


    I nodded to him as he went to the deck below.


    I was nervous about the future, but for some reason, I felt confident knowing I would have my friend at my side when things turned bad.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    I''ve made a very important realization.


    Picking the boat was one of the best decisions I ever made. I don''t know why I never realized I needed a mode of transportation like this. I mean, sure, I can technically teleport anywhere, but this is too much fun.


    More practically, It''s nice to have a mobile ''home'' so to speak. Perhaps I can connect it with the house and turn it more into a home than it already is. We need to do some massive renovations still, upgrade it a bit as well, but it''ll be something awesome when we''re done.


    Speaking of.


    I had walked below deck and I saw Odin fiddling with some of the Magical stuff. "What are you doing?"


    "Adding something to your boat." He said nonchntly.


    ".....why and what?"


    "To answer your second question, I made it so the boat can create a thick fog onmand. And to answer your first part, because it''s cool." He nodded sagely to himself.


    Shit, that is cool.


    "Carry on." I decided not to care any longer. "I had a few questions though, if you don''t mind."


    "Yeah, no problem, not like this is taking much effort." Odin hummed. "Whatcha need, brat?"


    "Well, I was about to ask about some important stuff, but I just had a thought too. Where''s that Valkyrie you bring around with you?"


    "I dropped her in Kyoto." He said without any care. "She''ll be going to Hades'' ce while we''re taking care of business."


    Hmm, well, Odin isn''t blind either. I hope Rin is having a good time then.


    "What should we expect when we get to Asgard?"


    "You''re going to be judged. Don''t expect the ponce and circumstances thate with a ''Godly Court'' immediately. Half of the ones there are not going to like you, the other half are going to be hesitant about epting any help. Can''t do anything about it, it''s just the way we are." He stopped for a moment, frowning to himself. "Expect to see Loki walking around unabated."


    I felt my hands clench in a bit of anger. "I''m going to kill him."


    Odin also looked equally annoyed, but there was a visible look of capittion as his shoulders slumped. "I know I can''t talk you out of that. If ites down to it, do what you need to. However, don''t think you can get away with that in the middle of Asgard. Despite everything, Loki is a God of Asgard, and he has enough support behind him to start a war if you somehow kill him so easily."


    "I really don''t understand." I let go of my built up anger, letting out a sigh. "You all know that he''s the cause of Ragnar?k, you all know that he''s an asshole of the highest order, and you all know he''s actively trying to get Asgard destroyed yet he''s treated well still!?"


    "The bonds that tie us together are often nooses." Odin in this moment looked very tired. "Love isplicated. He is my brother, my son, my friend. I would give my life for his without a second thought. But at the same time, I know that he must be killed and if need be, I will do so with my own hands." He took off the monocle he seemed to like to wear to cover his lost eye, wiping it off. "It''s funny, I''m trying my best to save our world, our way of life, something that can be written and woven into stories and epics, but at this moment, I have never felt less like a God."


    How very....human.


    "I have never worshiped a God. But at this moment, the you I see right now, if I were to worship a God, you would be a God worth worshiping."


    Odin turned to look at me with an indiscernible expression before turning away again. "That is one of the kindest things anyone has ever said to me."


    I guess even a God needed to be told they were doing a good job every now and thing. I couldn''t imagine how hard Odin has had it over the years, dealing with all this crap himself.


    Odin had been good to me. He''s given me advice plenty of times, and willingly kept secrets that he had no responsibility to keep. I found that I wanted to help him as much as I could.


    "Willll, we''re almost there!" I heard Jinn shout from near the stairs to the deck.


    "Please make sure that Sc¨¢thach isn''t driving!" I shot back.


    "I heard that, student!"


    "I said it loud enough for you to hear!"


    "She''s going to kick your ass." Odin snorted.


    "Probably." I agreed. But it''s rare for me to be able to poke at her in this way. That and whenever she ''kicks my ass'' it involves actual training. Which is just one of her ways of showing her affection, so I really didn''t mind.


    I walked back up, letting the sun hit my face. "Let''s set down a bit away from the city. We can get away with causing a spectacle at Whiterun, but they don''t really know us here."


    "Aye, that is wise." Thorum nodded. "And Riften is the city of Thieves, it is best that we do not give them any ideas."


    "Well, it''s not like any of them would be able to steal my ship....but I would also be annoyed at them for trying." Or just invading my personal space.


    Hmm, that was something I didn''t realize gave me a sudden onset of anger just by picturing it. Someone sneaking into my home.


    Even if the Boat wasn''t really an extension of my home just yet.


    Kind of wanted another Dragon to appear just so I could open fire on it again to test the cannons. I needed more data to tweak them. It wasn''t really one of the biggest priorities, considering that most of us on the ship could level mountains and all....but still, I want my boat to be strong.


    But I digress.


    Jinn maneuvered the Boat tond on the ground easily enough.


    I threw my hands behind my head as we walked down the ramp. "Hey Thorum, what''s Riften like?"


    "Dirty." Thorum said in an uncharacteristically demeaning tone. "The Guards are corrupt, the Jarl looks the other way if you have enough coins and the Thieves Guild runs rampant. The only benefit is that Murders are less here than the other Holds."


    "That''s odd." I noted.


    "Aye, but the Thieves guild does not wish to run afoul the Dark Brotherhood. They have shed once in the past, and the Guild did note out on top. I heard whispers that they made a deal to stay away from matters of killing for coin."


    "Huh." What an odd situation. "I heard that Riften suffered from Aluduin''s reemergence?"


    Thorum nodded again. "The city was burned down, but travelersing to Whiterun have brought word that it has been rebuilding."


    As he said that, we got close enough to see the outline of the town.


    Arge wooden wall stretched out from the side of a cliff to the edge of the ocean behind it. Parts of it looked like it was being removed and reced with stone, which showed that they were indeed slowly rebuilding.


    Of course, there were still marks from the original destruction. Scorch marks that still didn''t allow anything to grow on the ground as we got closer.


    As we approached the gate, a blue shadow emerged from above. A very familiar face appeared,nding in front of the gate. "Apologies, but if you wish to pass through this point, you must go through me."


    "Are you going to block us, Samurai?" I looked at the Assassin Servant, ying along.


    He put a hand on the de sheathed on his back. "I am duty bound to protect this path." Sasaki Kojiro unsheathed his sword, and it was different than I expected.


    Contrary to the memory I had of his sword, his waspletely ck.


    I recognized the metal of course, I had some of it myself and It was a damn strong metal.


    "I see you upgraded." I noted.


    He smiled. "I felt it was about time to get a weapon that wouldn''t break against a stronger sort of enemy." He rested his sword against his shoulder.


    "I also have a new sword." I held my hand out, calling upon my Reiatsu as Mus¨± Tengai appeared in my hand.


    "Hooh." The Assassin servant eyed me curiously.


    "Hi Sasaki!" Jinn waved from behind.


    "Hello Lady Jinn." He smiled back, essentially killing the built up tension.


    "Is this one of the ones you want, brat?" Odin asked with a gruff tone.


    "Sasaki Kojiro, one of the greatest swordsmen I''ve ever met." I introduced.


    "With such apliment, I don''t think I have it in me to deny you entry anymore." Heughed. "But I''m simply a swordsman with too much time on his hands, I''m afraid I can''tpare to many others out there."


    Odin stepped forward, he was still acting like an old man, using his stick to steady himself.


    Sasaki looked at him strangely.


    Without a single warning, the stick in Odin''s hand shot out, and Sasaki responded, raising his de up to block it. The resulting collision sent the Assassin Servant sliding back across the cobblestone pathway several feet.


    He blinked in surprise, and looked at Odin in a new light. Slowly a grin crept up onto his face.


    There didn''t need to be any words exchanged between them. Odin stood up straight and twirled his stick into something resembling a loose stance and Sasaki lifted his Ebony sword up to his side.


    Both moved nearly the same time, and a flurry of blows followed. Every swing of the Ebony Sword was met with an expert parry or deflect by Odin''s stick. I could see Odin be genuinely surprised as he was being matched in a contest of skill as neither were losing ground.


    Was Odin holding back? Of course, but that didn''t mean that it was any less impressive of a feat.


    "Your movements are sharp and precise." Sasaki noted, deflecting a rather particr thrust that seemed to emerge in his blind spot, yet he still was able to escape unscratched by retreating a smidge.


    "And your technique is fluid and ever changing, yet has no conformed style." Odin noted. "I can see why the Brat gave you such high praise, you''repletely self trained, aren''t you?"


    "Haha, that''s one way to describe it. I simply wanted to cut an annoying bird." Heughed.


    "Must have been some bird. Do you ¨C" Odin frowned as he spun his stick again, and two arrows collided with it, falling to the ground.


    Another few soared through the air, but it was Sasaki moving to slice them away.


    "One of yours?'' Odin gruffed.


    "Apologies, I think there is a misunderstanding here." Sasaki Kojiro. "Karliah, they''re friends." He didn''t quite shout, but his voice echoed.


    A woman, who seemed to blend in with the world, enough so that I had trouble perceiving her, jumped down from another portion of the wall. Rather, I was guessing it was a women by the outline of the strange ck armor she was wearing. It looked to be made of leather, apanied by a hood and cloak.


    "I told you not to just say my name." The woman hissed under her breath.


    Sasaki justughed. "Apologies for the misunderstanding. These are friends from afar, we were merely ying."


    The woman grumbled something in annoyance. "If you''re going to y around, don''t do it infront of the gate! People thought we were under attack again."


    "Ah....my apologies." The Assassin Servant scratched his head.


    "Atleast that brute d in Ebony Armor didn''te running over." She snorted.


    "Seems like you''ve been making friends, Samurai." I spoke up.


    He sheathed his sword as the moment had passed. "A few." He nodded with a small smile. "This is Karliah, she''s the leader of the Thieves Guild here in Riften. She''s been trying to get me to join some organization of hers, the .... What did you call them? Nightingales?"


    The woman quickly did a palm to her face. "That was supposed to be a secret." You could practically hear the irritation in her tone. "But in this instance, I suppose it doesn''t matter as my Mistress beckoned me to extend an invitation to her sanctuary for your friends."


    "Oh?" I tilted my head.


    She stiffened for a moment and almost looked polite in her bodynguage. "Dragonborn." She looked at Thorum. "Blessed of Meridia." She looked at me. "And....God of Asgard." She seemed to almost stumble over herself as she said thatst bit, looking at Odin in confusion and surprise. "The Night Mistress extends an invitation to her personal Sanctuary."


    "....Uh, Thorum, Trantion please." I looked at my friend.


    "The Night Mistress refers to the Daedric Lord ¨C Nocturnal." He replied.


    Oh....


    That means she''s personally looking at us right now, doesn''t it?


    Meridia, help, Daedric Lord stranger danger!


    [***]


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you cant'' use the above.

 Chapter 491 - 446

    <h4>Chapter 491: Chapter 446</h4>


    All things considered; it was actually a very polite ''invitation''. Granted, the tone of it didn''t sound like it was optional, but still, I''ve heard much worse in this regard. And considering it was from an entity that could blink me out of existence with a thought, well, I think I should be a smidgen appreciative that this was how they were handling it.


    That being said, I had a tiny bit of panic.


    "Meridia..." I said very quietly under my breath.


    I considered taking out Dawnbreaker and waving it around to get her attention.


    ''You may go.'' I felt her words brush against my ears.


    Well...okay then.


    I know she wouldn''t do anything to harm me, intentionally, but I also know how fervent she was against me consorting with other Daedric Lords.


    And my little group were looking at me, as if waiting for me to make a decision when I was utterly unsure of what to do. Meridia gave the okay, but I wasn''t all too happy about personally meeting another one of Meridia''s level.


    "You said your name was Karliah?" I looked at the woman covered in her admittedly cool looking armor.


    "No, he said I am." She was probably ring at Sasaki through the face covering. "But yes."


    "Just out of curiosity, what is the rtionship between Meridia and Nocturnal?"


    "I''ve never heard anything about an antagonistic rtionship." She informed me rather quickly. "But you don''t need to be too concerned, my Mistress is fair and reasonable. As long as you don''t do anything to overly insult her or steal from her ¨C" There was a big emphasis on thatst part. "¡ªthen you should be fine."


    "Theoretically, what if I rejected this invitation?" I asked purely out of curiosity.


    "Theoretically, she would be most displeased, but you would not suffer any meaningful consequences. But I don''t suggest crossing a God without a very good reason."


    I unconsciously nced at Odin who shrugged as if to say she''s right.


    "Lead the way then." I finally relented.


    She didn''t immediately lead the way. "The Invitation was specific." She nced at the others with us.


    It didn''t take a genius to know what she was insinuating.


    "We will wait for you to return." Sc¨¢thach said simply. "And if you do not, I will know who to kill."


    Karliah looked at her silently, and while I couldn''t see her face, I''m pretty sure she would be gaping.


    "It''s fine, we''ll go check out the town why you guys do your thing." Jinn didn''t seem to care, and frankly, I think she preferred staying out of it. She wasn''t particrly enthused by meeting Godly entities, bearing certain exceptions. She wasn''t quite like Medea who almost recoiled at the idea but it was honestly not an interest of hers.


    I couldn''t really me her in that regard, she probably has some reservations due to her own creators.


    "I''ll keep thempany." Sasaki smiled.


    That settles it then.


    "Fine then, let''s get this settled." I let out a sigh. "Please, lead the way."


    [***]


    It wasn''t actually that far away. A couple hours of trekking to find it away from Riften, and up the side of a mountain, but not bad overall.


    "Here we are, the secret temple of Nocturnal and home to the Nightingales, the Twilight Sepulcher." She introduced, and she didn''t sound quite that enthused, almost sarcastic in a way. Well, she did emphasize that it was supposed to be a secret ce known only to her people, but here we were.


    "How is this secret?" Odin asked.


    "Pardon?" The woman questioned.


    "Well, not to be rude, but it is a steel door built into the side of the cliff." Thorum pointed out.


    "It''s ¨C"


    "And there was a footpath leading up to it." I added.


    "That''s ¨C"


    "Aye, and there were stone pirs outlining the path. And as we got close, there were braziers alight with fire." Thorum continued.


    "....no onees here."


    "We''re about 30 minutes from a predominant town." Odin helpfully contributed. "Look, someone carved their name into that stone obelisk. ''Odvr was here''.


    "Just.....just follow me." She let out a long sigh.


    "Oh hey, the door has the same symbol as your armor." I noted.


    It''s weird how you can''t see someone''s face, but you can just feel the look they''re giving you.


    "Also, I just remembered something I was curious about. You''re part of the Thieves guild, right?" I asked our guide.


    "I suppose that isn''t much of a secret anymore either. Yes, I am. I am the current leader of the Thieves Guild." She nodded.


    "I vaguely recall I put out amission some time ago, something about a Blue ss sword, and it ended up being you guys who fulfilled it." The material that was used to make Mirage. Damn, that felt like years ago. And....I guess it technically was? Considering how long I spent in the Land of Shadows.


    She paused in her steps. "That was you?" She turned to face me with a bit of surprise in her tone.


    "....is there something wrong?"


    "No, I''m just surprised I''m meeting the person who overpaid so much for that sword." She snorted. "But.....I suppose I should thank you. It was a very difficult time, and the sudden influx of gold helped more than you could imagine." Her previous irritation seemed to dissipate a bit. "Let''s go inside." She said, walking up to the door. "It''s protected against entry to any non-Nightingale. You need to ¨C"


    "Boop." Odin pressed his stick against the door and it lit up in various ways, creaking and grinding as it began to open up.


    She didn''tment, rather, she took a deep breath and walked inside without another word.


    It was....about what one would expect honestly. I wasn''t really impressed when she called this ce a temple for a Goddess. Out of all the Tombs I''ve been to in Skyrim, this just seemed like more of the same.


    "I will take you to the inner sanctum." She said without much emotion in her tone, pivoting and turning to the side and she didn''t give time for a response, pushing open a wooden door and carrying on.


    "It is a lotrger inside than I imagined." Thorum said quietly.


    As we went deeper, the air started to change. And I wasn''t the only one who noticed either. While Thorum and a visible reaction, Odin immediately became on guard.


    I was also familiar with the feeling, it was as if we were walking into a God''s personal domain.


    The fires of the braziers flickered, they were no longer red and orange, but purple and ck.


    An unnatural dark energy drifted above our heads along the ceiling.


    And I felt a rather eerie chill go down my spine.


    I felt it before we arrived. It was but a simple door that separated us from the other side. And what existed on the other side was not something mortals should be exposed to. And I came to a realization why this particr spot was dedicated as a ''secret temple'' to such a powerful Entity.


    Beyond that door, it was no longer Nirn.


    I was fairly sure Meridia wasn''t unaware of what was going on, and as she had not dissuaded me at all, I didn''t say anything.


    Even if every fiber of my being told me not to go there, I grit my teeth and pushed forward.


    Karliah, seeminglypletely unperturbed, pushed the door open and the foreign air brushed past our faces.


    There was a strange type of altar, at the center was a bastion of some dark liquid-like substance, and in a triangr formation, there were three tforms representing different phases of the moon. And that same liquid-like substance flowed through crevices in certain formations around the floor.


    "Night Mistress, your loyal Servant beckons you." Karliah immediately prostrated herself in front of the strange altar. "I have fulfilled your order and brought the ones you sought into your inner chamber."


    The air in the room stilled and then, as if vibrating, it swirled around the altar, the liquid inside shining brightly in contradiction to the dark colors it wasposed of. A figure appeared hovering above it, d in dark robes, with a raver on either side of her shoulder.


    Her features were hard to discern, and even her lower half was hazy at best, as if I was looking at a mirage. Barely, I could see the hair behind her hood, the color reminded me of Nyx.


    Her eyes were like gxies, swirling with power.


    Overall, ignoring her immediate impression of power, she had a very....stern temperament about her. I would almost equate it to a schoolteacher looking expectantly at her students.


    "Well done, Karliah." Her voice was somewhat simr to Meridia. It was slightly t, but with a hint of authoritativeness. "I can see that you''re able to handle such burdensome tasks." The sarcasm was clear for everyone.


    The woman in question wisely didn''t respond.


    I don''t know what was going on, but it sounded like she wasn''t all too pleased with her subordinate at the moment.


    "Hmm." The Goddess turned her attention towards us. "Yes, the child of prophecy, the Dragonborn." She looked Thorum over.


    "Greetings, Lady Nocturnal." Thorum bowed his head.


    "A polite one." Her tone carried that same uninterested undertone to it. "This should not have been our first meeting, but it seems the tapestry of Fate can be overturned." Her eyes bore into me when she said that I felt a tingle go down my spine, but she didn''t settle on me. "And the Foreign God."


    "I am Odin, God of Asgard. It is my pleasure to meet a Goddess such as yourself." Odin delivered smoothy.


    Nocturnal raised a singr eyebrow. "And tell me, God of Asgard. What matter brings you to our domain?"


    "Curiosity." Odin said simply.


    "Ah, the most simple yetplicated reasoning that moves even us." The Goddess hummed, and finally, her attention turned towards me. "And then there''s you."


    "Greetings, Lady Nocturnal." I politely greeted her.


    Unlike them both, she didn''t acknowledge my greeting.


    The Goddess crossed her arms, staring at me and I decided it was best not to run my mouth at this particr moment. Eventually, the Goddess frowned and raised her finger, the shadows around the room swirled and consumed us.


    I didn''t fight it, nor move to escape whatever it is she was doing. If she wanted to harm me, it was fairly easy for her to do so anyways, I didn''t think she would go through this kind of trouble if she simply wanted me gone.


    Everything turned dark, utterly andpletely dark without a single source of light.


    Slowly, something peek through, and as if the shadows began to recede, I was no longer standing within the temple.


    All around me were stars, like I suddenly found myself in the further depths of space. Comets streaking across the starry sky, constetions seemed to almost vibrate within their spots amongst the infinite specks of lights. The pulsing of quasars that dotted the Gxies, and the abundant Nebs that added color to the night.


    One Neb in particr, it was shaped rather familiarly....and I realized what it was as soon as it blinked.


    Well then, I feel wholly insignificant right at this moment.


    Quickly, I could see the vague outline of her figure that made up of the night sky. And it began to shrink, slowly forming into the silhouette of a ''person'' as opposed to an entity that could treat stars like marbles.


    She reappeared, standing upon the void of space as if it were solid ground.


    I could get a much clearer picture of her now.


    And I certainly did not stare at her legs, despite the fact that the ''dress'' she was wearing revealed all the way up to her arms and down her legs on the sides.


    "We''re not in Nirn anymore." I stated.


    "Wee to the Evergloam." She stated emotionlessly.


    Well then.


    I found myself looking downwards and I could see a.....world, forck of a better term. Like how Meridia''s Colored rooms hadnd masses, it was like we were standing above another '' in space.


    "Thank you?"


    She looked at me with an indiscernible expression which slowly grew into something resembling frustration. "No matter how I look, I cannot fathom it."


    "Fathom what?"


    "Where these rumors I have heard originate from. You are but a mortal creature, born in different circumstances. It is likeparing the Sun to a candle but a candle is a candle and it will still burn away in time." The goddess crossed her arms, tapping her a finger against her skin. "How long are you going to watch, M???????e?????????r?????i??????d????????-???????N????????u????????n????d?????a?????????."


    She said something and it made my head hurt, like when Odin was smacking the statue of Talos.


    Very quickly, a familiar and warm light enveloped me, but particrly, something deep inside me came bursting to the surface, forming a silhouette I knew intimately.


    "U?????r???-?????D????r???????a?????" Meridia responded in kind. Making me flinch again in mild pain.


    The two Goddesses stared at one of each other silently. Or atleast, I think they were silent, they could be having a conversation or fight in such a higher state of existence that I couldn''t fathom it. Though, considering how Meridia emphasizes how powerful one of their numbers are within their own realms, I''m pretty sure she isn''t here but more like a small projection.


    Nocturnal nced at me, then focused back on Meridia. "You are very protective of your pet Mortal. I''ve never seen someone with so much of your blessings."


    "What do you want?" Meridia narrowed her eyes.


    "My curiosity sated." The twitching of her lips led to a smile and she looked at me. "Tell me mortal, how does it feel knowing that your every move is watched by her? That your every action is monitored and calcted. That even in the depths of your soul, her grasp ¨C"


    "Oh, I already knew." I interjected.


    "You.....knew?" That, for some reason, seemed to take her off guard. "You know that with a single thought, she can remove your free will. She can erase your very essence and turn you into one of her puppets."


    "Yup." I nodded. "I don''t mind. I know it makes her feel morefortable, and I trust her. Realistically, if she wanted to do anything to me, there are simpler ways. Also, if she was going to do anything, she would have already done it because she lets me get away with far too much. Frankly, if I want to ¨C " I blinked, looking down at myself in confusion because I was about to say something very personal that I wouldn''t in order to protect Meridia''s image in the minds of others. "Why am I speaking so forwardly?"


    "How long do you intend to keep up your tricks." Meridia frowned.


    "Do you think I would allow falsehoods to be spoken to me in my realm?" Nocturnal red at Meridia.


    "Ah, am I under some kind of effect where I can only speak the truth? That''s strange, what constitutes the variables for ''truth''? Do I have to acknowledge what I''m saying as truth? Can It be a partial truth? Could I lie to myself and get around it? What if I suddenly removed my own memories, would it constitute truth if I unknowingly lied?" I forced myself to stop again. "...sorry about that, I don''t know what came over me."


    "It is not your fault." Meridia emphasized. "You are inclined to speak truthfully and fully at this moment."


    Right.


    "And I am having trouble understanding what the purpose of this conversation is." Meridia''s tone turned sour. "Why do you, of all of us, care about my matters with him?"


    "Because I never thought you would be one to indulge in the affairs of mortals." Nocturnal practically scoffed. "I want to know why."


    "Is it really that important to you?" I said quietly.


    Meridia looked at me and pursed her lips. "Secrets are part of her domain."


    "Is it really a secret?" I blinked. "It''s a rather simple answer."


    Nocturnal clicked her tongue. "And it is one I cannot ept. Do you understand that what takes us time to simply blink would be eons for mortals? That we can patiently wait for moments, and for Mortals tens of thousands of years passed? She is the sun, and you are a flickering candle, with but a simple breeze to snuff you out."


    "So?" I questioned.


    "...so?" The goddess repeated in confusion at my response.


    "I am well aware of the differences between us. And it would be a lie to say that there aren''t moments where we have trouble understanding one another. We arepletely different in scope and in extension, we think differently and feel differently. And it''s true that it will eventually end. A thousand years, ten thousand years a million years, it doesn''t matter. My time wille eventually, and to her, it will be merely a moment inparison to her entire existence." I looked at Meridia and smiled. "But one day far into the future, when I''ve already turned to dust in the sands of time, if she can look back and smile at the time we spent together knowing she was loved, then I''m satisfied."


    Nocturnal looked at me with the most human-like expression I''ve seen so far. Was it confusion mixed with speechlessness?


    "To answer your question, it is because I knew all of this without resorting to means of forcing answers." Meridia glowered.


    The Goddess quickly shifted back to her usual demeanor. "It was simply my curiosity that I asked." She dismissed and apparently didn''t want to acknowledge the questioning anymore. "My true purpose is in regards to the strings of fate that have been cut due to his presence."


    "Don''t act like you care." Meridia crossed her arms.


    "It matters when my own interests are interfered with!" Nocturnal shot back. "The Dragonborn would have happened upon my Key by his own hand."


    "Thorum?" I furrowed my brow.


    "Hmph, that is merely a possibility." Meridia nced at me. "Do not believe her words. We are all aware of the convergence of fate around him long before he was even born. We have all cast our strings in an attempt to intertwine with his own, yours is just one of many."


    "I wonder, is this a side effect of you indulging in mortal whimsy?" Nocturnal scoffed. "Does he not even know the consequences of his actions? The tapestry of fate has been upended, and it barely holds together on the premise of the World-Eater''s resolution. If any more strings are undone...I believe the mortals call it a Dragon Break? How fitting."


    "Out of the loop here." I found myself blurting out, mostly because I was still under the effects of truthfully speaking my mind without much reservation.


    They both looked at me at the same time, and I felt awkward interrupting them, but they knew that I wasn''t fully in control of myself at the moment.


    "My Artifact was stolen by one of my previous Nightingales. The child of prophecy would have been entangled with it by fate and I would have taken him as mine. Your presence upended that scenariopletely." Nocturnal seemed displeased.


    "Potentially." Meridia rified, making Nocturnal scoff again. "Do not try toy a debt at his feet for which he is not at fault."


    "Does this mean you''re wanting to im Thorum as one of your own?" Because I knew that meant much more than simply hiring him as an employee.


    "His soul belongs to Time, it would never be mine to im. But while he lived, he would do my bidding." She didn''t hide her intentions.


    Well....if Thorum chose that route, it would be his decision. And I didn''t have a particrly bad feeling towards her so far. I mean, she scared the shit out of me, but I think that''s normal.


    And so far, Nocturnal didn''t seem like the worse option. I was one hundred percent sure she was only humoring my presence because of Meridia, otherwise she would never be treating me this well, but even so, she was much more amicable than I initially thought.


    "What do you want?" Meridia finally asked. "Your question has already been answered."


    "It was a coincidence that he appeared within my reach, I merely desired answers and to see the source of chaos in person." Nocturnal looked me over again. "However, I now sense something on you that I desire. Let me see it."


    Before I could give an answer, she reached out towards me and I felt a presence rummage through my storage ring.


    In her hand appeared a very familiar vial of golden liquid. "This is curious, I want it."


    "Liquid luck."


    "Hmm, this name is eptable." The Goddess looked at it. "It is made from things not found here, I presume. Do you have the ingredients it is made of?"


    "I do...."


    "I will offer you a trade."


    I nced at Meridia.


    "Luck is also her domain." Meridia revealed. "Ask for something if you wish, it is not a significant transaction, so do not expect much."


    I wanted to make a joke about the reward I asked from Meridia initially, but I felt like as soon as that left my mouth, I wouldn''t be able to stop myself from revealing several embarrassing things. And while I do enjoy teasing Meridia, I don''t do it infront of other people.


    "Can you give better terms to Thorum for recruitment?" I honestly didn''t really know what else to ask for and I was a bit intimidated to ask for anything valuable. If Thorum was potentially going to be ''employed'' under her, well, better terms would be a good thing, right? Worse case, he rejects her, and I wouldn''t really mind losing out on something I could easily get more of.


    "Your request is for me to offer better terms to the child?" Nocturnal looked at me strangely.


    "....yes?" I answered unsure. "Is that a problem?"


    She was silent for a moment. "I am speaking to him now, and he has not yet rejected my terms." She went silent. "Very well, I will allow this as payment. I originally was to allow him to be my key bearer, but I will bestow upon him a second of my Artifacts. His reluctance annoys me, however, I will allow him to have a taste of the power he will wield should he ept for a period beforehand. This is the grace I bestow, is it eptable?"


    "Yes, thank you." I didn''t expect much, but I would happily take it.


    Giving Thorum a trial run? Sure, why not.


    It seems like she genuinely wants him for some reason, and that other girl spoke well of Nocturnal, and Meridia was.....not hostile.


    "Can I ask a question?"


    "You have this allowance due to the nature of this meeting." Her look towards Meridia was all the exnation that was needed. Once more, I was given face due to her presence.


    "Really, it''s two questions. First, you''re talking to all of us simultaneously, so what''s going on with Odin?"


    "The Foreign God." The Goddess frowned. "He vexes me."


    ".....he''s flirting with you, isn''t he?"


    She didn''t confirm it, but the look on her face said it all.


    "And you were wanting to induct Sasaki Kojiro into your order, right? Make him a Nightingale?"


    "That being is inordinately qualified for my blessing."


    "Presence Concealment..."


    "Quite." The Goddess apparently already saw through his nature.


    "Thank you, that''s all." I didn''t want to push my luck here. I searched my ring for some of the ingredients needed to make the Liquid Luck potion. "I don''t actually know how to craft it, and I don''t know if it matters to you, but I have a copy of the book with the instructions if you want." I offered.


    "I will ept." Nocturnal said passively, sweeping up everything I presented as it disappeared to ces I don''t know. "The transaction isplete, your presence here is no longer required. I will return you from whence you came."


    I barely had time to blink before I was swept back to where I was originally, standing in the middle of that ''temple'' of hers.


    Besides me were both Thorum and Odin.


    However, Thorum took most of my immediate attention because he was now sporting armor that looked very simr to Karliahs''.


    "Nice threads!" Odin shot him a thumbs up.


    "I.....do not know why I am clothed in this, I did not ept the offer." Thorum seemed confused.


    Karliah stood up from where she was kneeling, and I''m fairly sure that the ''meeting'' only took a few moments from her perspective. "The mistress rys that you may make use of her Blessings for a months'' time to decide. You should be honored for this unprecedented leniency and good will."


    "....aye." Thorum didn''t sound too sure. "How do I....change out of it?"


    "Merely it, the Armor of the Nightingale will hide within your soul."


    Thorum looked down at himself, and his armor shed and he returned to his normal attire. "Oh, that is convenient."


    "If that is now settled, I will lead you out of the temple." She wasted no time ushering us out.


    It''s almost like she didn''t want us here.


    [***]


    The trek here from Riften was annoying, but it was fairly easy to go back. After knowing where we needed to go, I merely had to open a portal.


    Karliah departed from us rather quickly and went off to who knows where, not that we really cared too much.


    "I didn''t want to say anything in her presence, but what''s up with the offer?" I asked Thorum.


    "Uh, Lady Nocturnal asked me if I wished to be her Champion. I.....admit my hesitance due to the nature of such a deal."


    "Hmm, it isn''t a decision to be made lightly." Odin stroked his beard.


    "Your soul wouldn''t belong to her, if that''s what you''re worried about." I remembered what she said initially. "And actually, I may have had something to do with your new armor. I had something she wanted, and she made ament about recruiting you, so I figured I would see if I couldn''t get you better terms. Don''t take this as me trying to coerce you into epting, I just didn''t know what to ask for and she was rather intimidating, so I wanted to get it over with quickly."


    "Aye, it now makes more sense. I did not speak in front of Karliah either, but it is not just the Armor I have...erm, inside my soul?"


    "She did say she was going to let you wield two of her Artifacts." I nodded. "But don''t'' take them out now, you don''t know who''s watching."


    "As you say, my friend. I admit I am not against it entirely. Out of all the Daedric Lords, Nocturnal is a very honorable one. I have not ever heard a bad word about her. I will consider the role carefully." He replied as we approached the gates of Riften, pushing them open easily as no one seemed to bother with us at this point.


    "Meridia seemed.....alright around her, for what it''s worth." I gave my two cents. "And she didn''t really threaten me in any way." Although she was obviously towering over me and only acknowledged me as a ''Mortal''. But that''s neither here nor there. "Anyways, the girls and Sasaki should be up ahead. Looks like a Tavern."


    Odin looked cheerful at that, and he stepped forward, pushing the tavern doors open. It was very hard to miss Jinn''s explicit figure, but the people she was sitting with stood out pretty handedly.


    "And there they are." Sasaki raised a mug of something at us.


    "Well this definitely saves us some time, I was wondering how we were gong to go about finding you two. Archer, Rider, it''s good to see you two again."


    "Been awhile." Rider grinned. "Heard that Ruler''s back now, eh?"


    "She is." I couldn''t help but smile.


    "It''ll be nice to see her again." Archer nodded.


    "These are thest two then, brat?" Odin sat down at the table along with Thorum.


    "A God?" Rider furrowed his brow.


    "Hmph, you can tell right away, a Demi-God, huh?" Odin inspected Rider. "Not from my neck of the words, Greek?"


    "I''m Achilles, son of the hero Peleus, and the Goddess Thetis." Achilles taped his chest.


    "Hoh, now that is a famous name." Odin grinned. "And what about you, my beautiful felinedy?"


    "Atnta, Huntress of Artemis." Atnta nearly growled at his naming.


    "Interesting." He stroked his beard, nonplussed about her behavior. "You can call me Odin. Want toe with us to save the world?"


    "Sure."


    "Okay."


    Odin''s face dropped. "Well that was a lot easier than I would have thought."


    "Got bored of Skyrim?" I asked.


    "Well, not so much bored..." Achilles scratched his head.


    "We had been getting annoyed by a bunch of the local leaders and even the Emperor....we didn''t really want to get involved with them.....It''s not like we''re unused to being treated as heros, but we really didn''t want to delve into the politics here." Atnta exined.


    "Ah, say no more." Ipletely understood. "So, what exactly did you two do to get the attention of the Emperor?"


    Atnta scowled. "It all started when we found this vampire masquerading as a child."


    [***]


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty for those who can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 492 - 447

    <h4>Chapter 492: Chapter 447</h4>


    Well, it was fun to visit Skyrim again when it wasn''t for something too serious. However, I had a feeling that the conclusion to Alduin was going to be arriving soon and I would be pulled into it. Not forcefully, but I would not allow Thorum to face that kind of thing alone.


    Even Meridia expressed Caution when dealing with the World-Eater, citing that it is an existence integral to the world.


    I felt a little bad that I didn''t go visit the College, but it''s not like I wouldn''t being back soon anyways. Unfortunately, we are on a bit of a time schedule here, and perhaps we were pushing it a tad with our small little adventure.


    Odin didn''t say anything, but at points there was a tiny amount of anxiousness he showed every now and then.


    He was being surprisingly forting with himself at various points, which could point to a concern of itself.


    "I''m sort of annoyed at how convenient it would have been if the Argo could fly so easily." Atnta looked off the edge.


    "Wait, easily?" I blinked at that. "The Argo could fly?"


    "Of course it could." Atnta answered. "Though, we had to go through a lot of effort to appease Zeus to allow it." She let out a sigh. "It would often make Poseidon angry and we then needed to appease him as well. He did not like the idea of a ''ship'' not attached to the water."


    "Sounds shitty." I couldn''t imagine having to y nice with so many God''s egos while just living my life in Ancient Greece.


    "You have no idea." She leaned on the railing. "It was smaller too. But the ships back then were designed differently. Lots more room toze about here."


    "My friend, I have discovered something incredible!" Thorum practically came running out from below deck. He was holding a certain object in his hand that gave me a really strange feeling. It had a round orb on the bottom, almost like a hilt. It even had something resembling a handle and a guard, but it then further extended into the vague shape of a key.


    "...what''s that you got?"


    "Oh, it''s the Key that I am being allowed to use!"


    "The.....Daedric Artifact of Nocturnal?"


    "Aye."


    "It''s not dangerous?"


    Thorum shrugged. "I was warned about using it on people."


    "Alright then. What''s up?"


    Thorum held the key out, and pointed it at my chest, turning it.


    I looked down and one of my buttons popped out of the hole. "Did you just....?"


    Thorum had the biggest shit-eating grin I''ve ever seen.


    "....do it again." I said.


    Thorum proceeded to magically pop off the buttons on my vest with his Divine Key.


    I don''t know why, but both of us started giggling about halfway through.


    "You two are so stupid." Atnta shook her head with an exasperated sigh, wandering off to some other corner of the ship.


    "So how does it work?" I ended up just tossing my vest to the side, not bothering to button it back up.


    "I do not know. I was told that it can unlock anything and nothing more. That also aligns with the legends about such an artifact." Thorum replied.


    I took a moment to wrap my mind around that. "A conceptual unlocking ability? And there''s no limit on what it can unlock? Like, you could theoretically use it on people?"


    "Aye." He nodded happily.


    "That is horrifyingly powerful and I can''t even begin to contemte its usefulness. But that warning you got sounds about right....I can see why it would be dangerous to use on people."


    "Aye, but Lady Nocturnal was specific that she merely did not wish for me to use it on people without her permission." Thorum rified. "The Legends say that it can unlock a person''s potential."


    "Oh..." Well, that sounds reasonable as well. If it can conceptually unlock things, well, that could have tremendous effects on people and could easily cause chaos if misused. I had a much more sudden realization though. I summoned forth the mighty Wiggles. "....did she mention rabbits?"


    Thorum looked down at the key in his hand then at Sir Wiggles. "She did not."


    I held up Sir Wiggles, and he aimed with his Key.


    He nearly booped him on the forehead before Thorum came to an abrupt stop. His eyes looked up, seemingly at me, but it only took me a moment to realize it was behind me.


    "Someone is behind me."


    Thorum nodded.


    "Is it Sc¨¢thach?"


    Thorum shook his head.


    ".....Please don''t tell me it''s the owner of the key."


    Thorum shook his head again.


    "...It''s Meridia, isn''t it?"


    Thorum nodded and I heard Meridia distinctly clear her throat. "What are you doing?"


    "Nothing....."


    "Oh, because it looks as if you''re about to use that device on your familiar." Meridia cocked a challenging eyebrow.


    "Nope." I expertly denied the truth.


    Meridia grabbed hold of my cheek, pulling it. "That is not a toy to y with. For mortals, it is an extremely powerful object and should be used sparingly."


    "It''s Thorum''s fault." I tried to defend myself.


    "Do you think I was born yesterday?" She pulled harder. "And don''t throw your friend under the dragon to save yourself."


    "It''s okay, he''s the Dragonborn." I smiled.


    She didn''t find it as amusing as I did. "Do not y around with that with living beings again unless the situation calls for it." She finally released me with a huff. "It''s not so simple as ''unlocking ones potential'' as you believe. It can have unforeseen side effects."


    "So no using it on Sir Wiggles?" Well, I don''t want to actually harm him, and it''s not like I was doing it without precautions. I had Avalon with me in the case that something happened.


    She pursed her lips and looked at the amazing Rabbit as I held it up. "Fine, one time." She sighed.


    "Didn''t you say that it would be dangerous?" I questioned.


    "A Rabbit is much lessplicated than a person." She rified. "Even your ridiculous Rabbit. But I stand by my previous words, do not misuse it. I''m of half a mind that the only reason she allowed it to be used so tantly is to give me a headache." She grumbled.


    "Speaking of, what''s your opinion on Nocturnal?" I nced at Thorum. "And hypothetically speaking, is it beneficial for Thorum to throw his lot in with her?"


    Meridia frowned. "She is not.....bad." It seemed like she forced the words out. "For him, it would not be an unwise choice. It would provide some protection against the others from outright interfering. She is believed by Mortals to be the strongest of us for a reason. And she treats her Champions well inparison." Meridia seemed to be genuinely giving a proper response. "Her orders will be few as she does not intervene often."


    "It sounds like there are very few downsides." Thorum muttered.


    Meridia looked at Thorum crossing her arms. "In your case, that would be true. You belong to Akatosh, and she would not challenge him on that matter. If you perform your duties properly, there will be no problems and mostly benefits."


    "Thank you for your insight, Lady Meridia." Thorum bowed his head.


    "You are a surprisingly amicable Mortal." Meridia sniffed. She....doesn''t really consort with ''mortals'' as she perceives them. If it weren''t for being my Harem, she wouldn''t have deemed it a worthwhile endeavor to even converse with the others. Not that this meant she disliked them at all. A happenstance of different positions.


    And that was Meridia''s way of giving apliment.


    "Did youe just to give us a scolding?"


    "No, I wished to see you off. You are about to return, yes?"


    "We''re flying back to the house." I nodded.


    "Hmm, I merely wished to say my goodbyes." She said rather bluntly, but there was that hidden gentleness to it that is basically only reserved for me.


    It took all of my self restraint not to sweep her up into a big hug, but I know she doesn''t like me doing that in front of ''outsiders''. Thorum would constitute in this circumstance.


    "Proceed with your matter." She suddenly waved her hand dismissively. "I will make sure your Rabbit is safe."


    I shrugged holding up Sir Wiggles. "Thorum?"


    "Aye." Thorum seemed eager as well as he pushed the Key towards my Familiar. It seemed to enter him metaphysically, simrly to how Avalon does to people. He then turned it, and almost immediately the Divine Power that Sir Wiggles had hidden within him burst out, blowing us both back.


    I hit the railing of the ship as Sir Wiggles became the focal point of a hurricane of Magical Power and Divinity.


    It was enough that everyone came running from the parts of the ship they were in.


    "Why is your Rabbit now a Godling!?" Odin was the first to speak.


    I looked back to see that Meridia was now gone.


    "Exin." Sc¨¢thach demanded.


    "Uh....Magic key that conceptually unlocks things." I pointed to the Key Thorum was holding. "And abination of Sir Wiggles being my familiar when I obtained Divinity alongside his very distant rtion to a God himself led to an actualized state of ascension?"


    "Makes sense to me." Odin nodded along.


    "Really?"


    "I''m throwing you a bone here, brat." Odin admitted. "Frankly, this is absurd. Your Rabbit is now technically a God, but itcks a Domain. It''s like a newborn and I have no idea what''s going on with it because I''ve never seen a God born this way."


    Huh.


    That means I can''t add another name until he gets his own domain.


    [Of course that''s what you take away from this.] Ddraig snorted.


    Fuck it.


    I picked up Sir Wiggles and held him up high. "Bow before your new God!"


    [***]


    The Boat passed through the part where the House was Anchored and we arrived back home, sorta. The Boat slowly descended onto thewn infront of the house. And I was thankful that I went ahead and made sure I had arge property.


    My Boat parked neatly right next to my Godzi knock-off spike I got from when Izzy and I went on a not-Date to America and participated in a Kaiju battle.


    After Sir Wiggles ascended, everything changed.


    And by that, I mean nothing changed at all.


    I think everyone was desensitized to how amazing Sir Wiggles is at this point.


    And from what Odin exined, it was more like taking a step forward rather than suddenly being deified. Apparently, there are plenty of Gods that don''t have Authorities. Some even have artificial domains or something along those lines. He referenced Mountain and River Gods that are prevalent in the East with that. And he mentioned that Asgard has tons of Gods thatck Authorities, as those make up the majority of the Gods there.


    I hadn''t thought about it before, but Asgard isposed of more than just the big named Gods of the Norse Pantheon.


    "Wee to our home, Thorum." I nudged him as he took in the surroundings. For him, I could imagine seeing the city around us was an utterly foreign sight.


    "It is big." He said simply.


    "You get used to it, big guy." Achilles patted his shoulder.


    Several familiar facese out to join us.


    "Yo!" Mordred waved.


    "Saber." Atnta greeted back.


    "Rider, Archer and Assassin." She looked them over with a nod. "Heard you got up to some shit back in that cold as hell ce."


    "Mordred,nguage." Artoria lightly chided. "Wee back." She politely greeted.


    "Hoho, the little Lion with her cub." Sasaki joked while watching the two.


    "Hello Sasaki Kojiro." Artoria smiled, taking the small tease with stride. "Did you enjoy Skyrim?"


    "I did enjoy it quite a bit! I even killed a Dragon." He said proudly. "And I will await a rematch between us, my new de needs to be tested." He unsheathed it slightly for her to see the new dark gleam of it.


    Artoria''s expression changed to one of apetitive nature. "And you shall have it."


    "s, there is no time for it at the moment." He sighed helplessly.


    "That''s right kids, you got three hours, make anyst minute preparations you need to!" Odin hollered.


    "Three hours?" I questioned.


    "As soon as we got back I had a strange feeling." He grumbled.


    Noted.


    "On another note, it''s unfortunate that Siegfried never got to kill a Dragon."


    "Fuck off." Achilles scowled.


    Hehe.


    "And Wee Thorum, I hope you enjoy your stay with us." Artoriastly greeted my friend.


    "Thank you, Lady Artoria! I look forward to seeing your home!" Heughed happily. "For as long as I am here anyways..."


    "You are wee here whenever you want." She replied good naturedly.


    "What about me!?" Jinn skipped over.


    Artoria merely held her arms open and Jinn dove into a hug.


    I swear, that girl loves to be doted on and everyone loves to do so.


    I pped my hands. "Alright, you heard the old man,st minute preparations. We can have fun afterwards, but we got a job to do." Serious mode time.


    This was honestly going to be something that was dangerous, and we had to treat it as thus.


    That being said, onest person walked out.


    Jeanne shyly walked over and I quickly went to greet her. And by greet her, I mean I picked her up into a big hug.


    "Neh!?" She blurted out a surprised noise. "Wilhelm!"


    "Hey there, Penniless Saintess." I smiled.


    "Don''t call me that!" She pouted, lightly hitting my shoulder.


    "That dress looks good on you." She was wearing something different today, it was just a basic sundress, but she looked extremely cute.


    "Really?" She asked quietly.


    "Of course." I immediately reassured her. "Admittedly, I prefer what you were wearing before..."


    The memory of her in that super revealing bikini that was basically a few strings covering her important bits.....


    I would cherish it always.


    "No!" She rejected in a high pitched voice. "Y-you''re not allowed to remember that!" She quickly covered her reddening face.


    "Not at all?" I said with mock aghast.


    "W-well....." She turned real quiet. "Maybe a tiny bit....." She whispered.


    "Lewd Saintess."


    "Neh!"


    "Unfortunately, we don''t have all day to talk about how lewd of a Saintess you are." I set her down, and let her peek around me to see the others. "There are some familiar faces here."


    "Rider, Archer!" Jeanne''s eyes immediately lit up.


    "Ruler." Atnta smiled lightly.


    "Hey there." Rider greeted her as well.


    "I''m so d I can see you two again! With Saber here, we have our own small reunion! I even saw Saber of ck before too and he remembered me! And there was also Lancer of ck, but he was a Berserker!"


    "Wait, what? They''re both here too?" Rider looked confused.


    "Erm, well...It''s a long story."


    "There isn''t much we have to do to prepare, why don''t you tell us?" Atnta offered.


    "I''d love to!"


    That was sweet.


    I liked seeing Jeanne having friends.


    "Hey Thorum, let me show you around." Jinn grabbed onto the Dragonborn''s arm.


    "I would like that very much, Lady Jinn!"


    I was curious as to what she was dragging him off for, until I noticed both Artoria and Sc¨¢thach giving me a look.


    "Come with us." Sc¨¢thach stated, sort of pulling me away too. Rather, they led me into the house, and through the hallways until we got to the Library sh storage area for basically everything I stockpile that''s not in my ring.


    "If I didn''t notice the serious look you two had, I would have thought you were dragging me off for something else." I said in a bit of a teasing manner.


    "There will be plenty of time for thatter, Student." Sc¨¢thach responded. "We wish to speak about Jinn. And it is not merely us two, it just happens that we are the ones present before you leave to assist the All-Father."


    "We''re worried about her."


    "I''m fairly sure that I was given a talking to about not coddling her?" I looked at both of them.


    "They are not mutually exclusive."


    "Right." I let out a sigh. "I get it, I''m worried too. It''s going to be Dangerous and Jinn.....she really isn''t much of a fighter."


    Not that she wasn''t ''strong'' in her own right, but she didn''t like to fight.


    "We just want to make sure she will be taken care of." Artoria stated.


    "I would die before I let anything happen to her." I said with utter seriousness.


    "Don''t speak of dying so easily." Sc¨¢thach pinched me. "I dislike it."


    "Sorry." I took her hand, giving it a kiss. "And I''m worried too, but you were right before, I can''t coddle her. It''s going to be dangerous, it''s likely that we''ll be hurt in the process, but I will not let her die or anything like that. Speaking of, I''m more than happy to let Jinn hold onto Avalon." I touched my chest, producing the Sheath in question.


    "I am conflicted. I do not wish to see either of youe to harm, yet only one of you may hold it at a time." Artoria frowned.


    "I have more trump cards avable, and I can take a hit better, let her have it." I waved it off. "Besides, I grabbed the others just for this situation. I''ll ask them to keep an eye on Jinn too."


    "What are your thoughts on this expedition?" Artoria asked.


    "I keep saying it, but I really do think it''s going to be dangerous. It''s not really something I can stay away from either."


    "Let us assist you. What do you require?" Sc¨¢thach asked.


    I held up a finger. "Let''s fill up on Dust, Potions, Scrolls ¨C" I began to list off everything I could possibly need.


    Three hours was more than enough time to finish up.


    [***]


    Despite the sense of urgency, I allowed myself to enjoy thesest few minutes of rtive peace before I departed.


    I got everything I needed, and I felt good on that front.


    Nothing more needed to be said between myself and the others, it''s not like I was getting up to trouble. The pir I stood on now came with certain responsibilities, and everyone understood that.


    So, Artoria and I were just silently enjoying each other''spany.


    Was she worried? Most probably, but it''s a default reaction that I think anyone would have in her situation. And It''s not like I''m walking to my death or anything absurd like that.


    Regardless, I always enjoyed quality time with any of my girls.


    "Rin has returned." Artoria informed me before the door even opened.


    The door swung open to a very confused Rin. "So I just came home and there''s a giant Boat in the frontwn. Is that going to be a normal thing now?"


    "Probably."


    "Alright." She epted it very quickly. "Heard you were in Skyrim for a bit, did you just get back?"


    "Mmm, yup. About to leave again, going to the Norse Realms for some stuff." I nodded. "That reminds me, how long did you spend in Skyrim?"


    "Ugh, a few weeks, why?"


    "No reason." I hummed. "What did you do again?"


    She plopped down on the couch opposite of us. "Went exploring a bunch of tombs and crap. Lots of undead, and those spiders." She shuddered. "But yeah, we were tracking down the legends on that Bow."


    "Did you find any clues?"


    "A few." Rin sounded proud. "We''ll hit it again soon, it''s just.....needed a break from that."


    "I get it."


    "Yeah." She paused. "Why are you asking?" Her eyes narrowed. "Are you going to try and find it too? Good luck, Saber and I turned over way too many ces so we''re far ahead of you if you want to jump on this train."


    "Uh huh."


    She looked at me, her expression slowly shifting to a scowl. "You did something."


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about." I smiled happily.


    "Spill it, Schweinorg!"


    "Oh hey, is that Valkyrie around?"


    "Oh, I was walking around the city with her earlier until her boss popped up." She answered with a strange tone before quickly snapping back to her annoyance. "Don''t distract me!"


    "Anyways, I got this cool new toy in Skyrim. Wanna see it?" I offered.


    "....no." A small smidge of realization dawned on her.


    "You sure? It''s pretty cool."


    "You did not!"


    "It''s a Bow. Bit of a coincidence, don''t you think?"


    "I swear to God, Schweinorg!"


    "Here, take a look." I took out the Bow of Auriel and put it on the table between us.


    "Is that....?"


    "Is it what?" I asked with faux ignorance. "Oh, this is the Bow of Auriel. Have you heard of it before?"


    Rin started to vibrate in ce. "I hate you so much."


    "What''s that? I didn''t quite hear you."


    "How!?" Rin shouted. "We searched forever! We went through so many tombs, spiders!!!!"


    "Well, it''s quite the story. We traveled to the ends of the world, confronted an Evil God. We yed several Dragons, and saved millions of people. Fulfilled an ancient prophecy even, and nearly died many times along the way."


    "Really?" Rin''s eyes widened.


    "Pfft, no. The original owner told us where it was and we just flew there and picked it up from some stupid Vampire that was holding it."


    "Raaaaaaaah!"


    Worth it.


    [***]


    Boarding the ship again felt a lot different this time.


    It was more....solemn.


    I felt like I was marching off to war to be honest. And the thought of the Fae War that was looming overhead didn''t make me feel better either. At Least that was a bit of time away as it were.


    There wasn''t need for another goodbye, we already covered that.


    I gave Artoria, Sc¨¢thach and Jeanne onest smile as the Ship slowly ascended to the sky.


    "Old Man, where are we going? I need to make some pre-calctions if it''s somewhere far away."


    "Can you take us to Norway?" Odin stared off into the distance.


    "Does the exact spot matter?"


    "Just get us close enough."


    I shrugged, doing some quick calctions before opening a portal big enough for the Ship to fit through.


    The cold air hit us quickly as we were among a mountainous region once more.


    "Give me a moment, I''ll call up a ride." Odin sat down cross legged, closing his eyes.


    I turned around to face everyone else. "Quick rundown of what we''re walking into. I fought Kronos, he was strong, and without trying to be mean, none of you can take him by yourself."


    Achilles let out a sigh. "Yeah, I''m not going to argue with you on that. Maybe if I wasn''t a Servant, but as I am, I''m pretty sure I wouldn''t die, but I don''t have much confidence otherwise."


    I was d he wasn''t being stubborn on my first words.


    "I didn''t just randomly grab you all. And while this wasn''t my original teamposition, it fills out pretty well. Atnta, you''re the best tracker I know. Not even talking about how strong you are. Achilles, ignoring your strength too, you''re fast. And that sounds idiotic to say, but at your top speed, you''re faster than I am, and that is saying something. Sasaki, you''re honestly probably the most skilled person here. Jinn, you surpass me in Magical Theory and your knowledge is only hampered by noting into contact with some things I have. And Thorum, you have a particr set of skills and strength that make you exceedinglypetent in this trip."


    Because if Loki was going to be our enemy, most assuredly his children will be present.


    Atnta flicked the string of her bow, and Achilles twirled his spear. Thorum nodded along while Sasaki and Jinn silently listened.


    "Now this is Nostalgic." Atnta mused. "Sailing off into obvious danger."


    "Haha, I always fantasized about those stories when I was a kid." Achillesughed along. "So, Bossman, what''s the n?"


    "Our goal is to find the ones hiding within the 9 Realms that don''t belong there and do what we can to prevent Ragnar?k. Realistically, we''re going to roll with any punches thate because there''s no way this doesn''t go pear shaped at some point."


    "Unfortunately, that sounds way too familiar." Atnta sighed nostalgically.


    "You don''t gotta wait, brat." Odin stood up. "Heimdall isn''t responding to me, but the Bifr?st ising."


    A vivid Rainbow pierced through the horizon, it was much too solid and material for it to be mistaken for an actual rainbow.


    "Get on it, quickly!" Odin suddenly shouted.


    I called upon the ship to fly to it at its greatest speed, itnded upon the Rainbow bridge and I felt something strange take hold.


    "Just move it forward now, the Bifr?st will do the rest." Odin stated as the boat jerked and it suddenly elerated at insane speeds.


    If I had topare it to something, I would say it was simr to those old T.V. Shows that had space ships enter hyperspace.


    Everything shed and stretched for a moment or two before it settled back down.


    I admit that I nearly fell over, and the others weren''t much better.


    But even with my jumbled senses, I could make out the breaching of Dimensions.


    We weren''t in Kansas anymore.


    Looking up, the stars were different, and the sky itself had changed.


    Taking up most of the view was one thing in particr. A tree extended to the heavens, and its roots extended far down, far enough that they disappeared from view. The Tree itself, if it were not sorge in size and ced amongst a forest, you would think it ordinary.


    But I couldn''t help but feel awed as I looked at it.


    The World Tree.


    And among its branches, you could vaguely see the Realms it supported.


    And it wasn''t as if the Tree literally held up these self contained ''worlds''. No, everything here existed between what was material and immaterial. What was real, and what was imaginary.


    The Realms themselves, with this kind of view, they were utterly massive, but they weren''t worlds in the proper sense. They weren''t round, but more like continents or country sized.


    I didn''t have much time to admire the view before we were pulled forward again.


    And ncing backwards, Midgard, or rather Earth appeared significantly different inparison to the other Realms.


    The World Tree seemed to twist and grow with Midgard at the center, while the others were merely extensions of its branches and roots.


    It was utterly breathtaking.


    "We''re not heading directly to Asgard." Odin looked serious. "Get ready, I don''t know what''s waiting for us, but Heimdall wouldn''t send us somewhere else unless it was important"


    Well, that didn''t sound good.


    The Bifr?st shot us out again, over a vast forest area. Rather, what remained of a vast forest area because a significant amount of it had turned into a winterndscape, and it was clearly unnatural.


    We could see Warriors d in golden armors, Valkyries up in the sky, and all manner of magics being disyed. They were the warriors of Asgard and opposite them were an army of Frost Giants, warping and changing the weather by merely existing.


    Getting right into the thick of it then?


    "Prepare for battle."


    [***]


    A/N


    So begins the Yggdrasil arc, it won''t be that long.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


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    Also, I have a Snippet thread with a new snippet on Questionable Questing! Check it out if you''re interested, it''s where I''ll be putting all my story ideas and such.

 Chapter 493:

    Chapter 493:


    After getting a better look at therge amount of people down there, I realized the opposition wasn''t only Jotuns  Giants, on the other side. Granted, they were thepredominantbatant amongst the thousands fighting. But among their numbers, there were some grotesque creatures that I was guessing were Trolls.


    And these certainly weren''t like the Trolls in Skyrim. These things were about the size of a one story, two story, house give or take. At the very least, every one of them was twice as big as arge person.


    Trolls existed among the Norse, and in addition to the fact that Elves existed here too..I wanted to question their rtion to the Fae.


    But that was a thought forter.


    Primarily, I was focused on the immediate issue of the fighting going on. And in addition to those two groups, there was a third that made up arge portion of the enemy''s forces. Undead swarmed between the gaps of the Jotun and the Trolls that were fighting Asgard''s forces.


    So much for us quietlying here to look around, things had clearly taken an obvious turn for the worse. But if this was how it''s going to happen, we''d just have to roll with the punches.


    "Fire the Cannons." I ordered, not so much as it required my verbal input, but giving a fair warning to everyone on board.


    Funnily enough, the fact that the cannons were fire-orientated here was a boon despite my previous wish to change their element.


    The Spell Circles lit up within the Cannons of the ship, and the condensed beams rained down upon the unsuspecting forces below.


    Perhaps only a few of them noticed us immediately before the bombardment, but now, they were assuredly aware of our presence as a few swathes of enemies were eviscerated.


    Dozens of Undead  Draugr, perhaps. They were turned to ash on impact. A few Trolls suffered wounds, and I was fairly sure they had a weakness to fire, but it didn''t quite matter.


    I noticed one Giant in particr take a shot to the head that nearly made it stumble, but it quickly recovered, head jerking up a roar escaping from his lips.


    It held its hand up and a massive Ice Spear formed, shooting up at us.


    "So, they can use Magic." I noted.


    I was honestly not very well versed in the background of Jotun beyond the basics.


    "Mine." Achilles jumped off the ship, his spear appearing in his hand as he used his descending momentum to shoot right through the Ice Spear to thend below to the Giant''s head.


    "That idiot." Atnta sighed. "Let''s go." Atnta jumped off after him.


    "Aye!" Thorum smiled.


    "Let''s see who can take more heads." Sasaki drew his de and leapt after them quickly.


    "Odin?" I nced at the All Father.


    Odin was staring at the ce below us, gripping his ''stick'' rather tightly, almost looking lost. "It''s wrong." He whispered. "Go, I need a moment."


    I just nodded. "Jinn, staying here oring?"


    She answered me by jumping off the edge of the boat. Granted, she more so floated than the others'' more direct descent.


    I just shook my head and leapt after them, letting Gravity carry me to the ground.


    I cracked the freshly frozen ice that had appeared presumedly since the Giant''s arrival, shattering it in several cez.


    Right away, A massive wooden and spiked club came swinging at my body. The owner of it snarled with a wart-covered face.


    I nearly recoiled in disgust at this Troll''s looks.


    "Zun Haal Viik." I spoke the Dragon words, and the weapon in his hand flew off in the other direction.


    It had a stupid look on its face, utterly confused as to what happened.


    With a burst of Shunpo, I appeared a few feet up in the air, in front of its face and held my palm out, forming a Spell Circle. "Thunder Bolt."


    The condensed bolt of lightning tore through the Troll''s head, disintegrating it entirely as its body fell to the ground like a puppet without strings.


    Inded back down without much effort and took in my surroundings.


    A battlefield was definitely a chaotic thing.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Thorum barreling through tons of undead like a Juggernaut,pletely unperturbed by their numbers.


    And on the opposite side, Atnta just ced a handful of arrows into the eyes of a Giant, making it fall over in rage.


    I stepped to the side quickly and something came flying my way.


    At second nce, it was a Valkyrie that hit the ground and tumbled a few times beforeing to a rest. One of her wings looked mangled and she barely held herself up.


    It took a moment for her to notice me. "Leave, he''sing  " She abruptly stopped and looked confused. "Who are  "


    "Geigrun!" A voice reverberated over the battlefield. And the biggest silhouette that towered over the others came stomping our way.


    Each of its steps felt like it would cause a small earthquake.


    The massive Jotun, probably twenty or so meters tall and a hulking mass of muscle and fat with some furs barely covering its pale blue skin and modesty.


    "Why do you run!?" He bellowed once more. "After we destroy Asgard, I''ll take you as my wife! There''s no need to flee!" Heughed.


    I looked at the Giant then at her.


    The size didn''t really add up there.


    "Do Giants really have dicks that small?" I asked. And I assume that my question invoked such intellectual curiosity because the Valkyrie just stared at me in dumbfoundedness.


    And I believe that the Giant also heard me, because a massive shadow now blocked out the sun, and I believed that to be his fist.


    @***@


    Valkyrie Geigrun POV


    Well, that fool was dead.


    His courage would be remembered.


    .if I survived.


    He probably came from that strange ship floating in the sky if his strange clothes were anything to go by. I barely had time to acknowledge them before I had to fend off this Giant''s attacks.


    His massive fist mmed into the ground, and I winced at the thought. Unfortunately, he would have no mercy for me, and to answer that strange man''s question, I would not like to experience it for myself.


    The Giant was silent for some reason, and there was an indescribable look on his face. That arm that was bigger than even a cow trembled and slowly it was seemingly forced away.


    The strange man was not so dead after all, and with a feat of strength worthy of Thor himself, he held back the Giant''s fist.


    "Oh boy, I actually felt that!" The man eximed.


    I found myself sharing an expression with the Giant because I was having trouble believing my eyes.


    "What else you got?"


    "Tiny insect!" The Giant roared. "I am Fegrog, Mountain shaper! I have in Valkyries and Einherjar alike, do you dare fight me!?"


    "No."


    "Foolish courage, you are " The Giant then nearly stumbled over himself. "What?"


    "But he looks like he wants a fight." The strange man pointed to the side with both of our gazes following.


    "Sup, I''m Rider." Another man with green hair appeared, his armor looked utterly foreign, but at least he was wearing armor to begin with.


    "I don''t care how many insectse! No mere ant can hope to defeat me!" He bellowed, swinging his massive arm across the air towards the neer.


    Just the force of it was enough to nearly blow me away. The first man to appear seemingly caught me, and I almost jumped in surprise as I didn''t see him move from where he was standing previously.


    But I grew more concerned about the Green haired one named Rider.


    However, he moved much quicker than I anticipated as he dodged the attack handedly. Fegrog didn''t relent, and even for his size, his fists eclipsed the sun with their size and speed. Each one of them sent shockwaves throughout the battlefield as he attempted to kill the neer.


    Yet, the green haired man danced between them as if he were dealing with a child.


    "A coward! Do you dare take my fist!?"


    Did he truly thing that would work


    "Alright."


    I stood corrected.


    The Giantughed as if he won some prize, he reeled his arm back and his muscles bulged. I felt a magical barrier appear in front of us, the source of iting from the red-haired stranger at my side.


    The fist that could punch through a mountain arrived at the normal-sized person.


    He stood there and merely put up a guard as if it were a normal punch.


    If there was no barrier in front of us, I was sure that this fist would have killed me even though I was not the recipient.


    However, amongst the whipping of wind, and the destruction of the earth that followed in its wake, the green-haired Rider stood unmoving.


    The Fist of the Mountain Shaper met an immovable object.


    The Giant, recovering from his attack, pulled back a full step with eyes widening. "H-How "


    "My turn." The Rider said calmly, and a Shield appeared on his arm, invoking a strange sense of danger within myself that has been honed over the centuries. He moved faster than my eyes could follow, and that of the Giant''s as well.


    Thest thing I saw was the Rider Servant swinging the shield from underneath the Giant''s chin. The resounding thunderp made me believe that Lord Thor had arrived, but I was brought back to realization to see the Giant,rge even among his kind, lifted up off his feet and sent hurling through the air until hended upon his back dozens of meters away.


    It wasn''t until a warm and soothing feeling filled my body that I came back to my senses. I looked at the red-haired one that was using magic to mend my wounds.


    I was grateful, of course, even if I had no idea what was going on. But clearly, they were allies.


    "I don''t know who you are, but you must assist the other sides! With your strengths, we can easily win this battle!"


    "It''s fine, just focus on the healing." The Red-haired one replied.


    "You don''t understand, while Fegrog may have been the strongest on this battlefield, there are many who can "


    "He means, that it''s being handled." The Rider person stepped next to us, with only the sound of air to apany his abrupt arrival.


    I was confused to what he meant and forced myself to fully stand up and survey the battlefield.


    On the left nk, Hjlfr was leading the Einherjar. I expected them to struggle, as this battle was not one in our favor in any aspect. We were outnumbered, and Fegrog was stronger than myself, and I was the strongest present.


    However, the situation was not one I anticipated. They were pushing back the evil creatures, and it merely took a continued look to see why.


    Arrows shot between the Einherjar. If one of the warriors looked as if he were to be overwhelmed, arrows appeared and prevented harm by pushing back the foes.


    A Troll had an arrow pierce its eye as it was about to swing its club at a prone Shield Maiden.


    A Draugr''s axe was shot out of its hand as itspanions attempted to swarm arge warrior holding the front line.


    And a Frost Giant let out a painful roar as a woman with the ears and tail of a feline jumped off its head, releasing arrows from a bowstring, arrows that matched the ones that appeared throughout that part of the battlefield.


    She evaded the Jotun''s attacks, sending her own arrows to pierce its thick skin, while also taking time to protect the warriors around her. Slowly, they pushed back the enemies without suffering any significant casualties.


    My head snapped to the opposite side where my fellow Valkyrie Hjrgmanded the warriors.


    Faintly, I could hear strange words upon the winds that spoke of magics.


    "Fus Ro Dah!"


    Ripples of invisible power sweptrge portions of undead off their feet and destroyed what remained of their undead bodies. It was only then that I noticed the baleful energy that enveloped hisrge sword.


    Was that the Demonic Sword Gram!?


    The man wielding the Demonic Sword swept through the front line, turning into a literal whirlwind with more undecipherable words that were barely audible over the noise that filled this battlefield.


    And he was not alone.


    Another strange man dressed in purple cloth wielded a sword much toorge and thing to be practical, yet!!! Yet, with a skill and expertise I could only admire from the depth of my soul, he struck down Trolls and Undeads by an uncountable degree without so much as a single blownding upon the tassels of his absurd clothes. It did not matter how many surrounded him, his long sword found the edge of any de that bid him harm and refused them entry upon his person.


    They were all warriors that could force the battlefield to change to their presence, and they all appeared here simultaneously.


    "Who..who are you people?" I finally asked.


    "We "


    My head jerked up because even I could feel the egregious amount of Magic that appeared and formed into a Magic Circle. Magic was never my point of mastery, as I preferred my spear in hand over the mystic arts. But even I could admire the sheer impressiveness of the Magic Circle that was overhead.


    I found the one casting it easily as they did nothing to mask their presence.


    It came from behind us, behind the warriors that fought on the front lines.


    A blue woman in a dress held her hands up and the spell finished at her beckoning.


    A light not unlike the one that was healing me now fell upon the battlefield for the most part, enveloping the warriors of Asgard with a protective light, their wounds mending at visible speeds.


    I.why did this feel like a dream? I thought I was going to die soon..


    The only thing that would make this more absurd is if


    "Hey brat, I got some questions for you."


    "Lord Odin!?"


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Well, the Valkyrie just passed out. Good job." I said, looking down at the fainted Valkyrie.


    "Bah, kids these days." Odin huffed, poking her with his stick. "Wake up brat. Wake up or I''m gonna touch your boobs."


    The Valkyrie immediately sprang up, looking as if she was ready to get back into a fight.


    "Why is that a thing that works!?" I called out, pointing at Odin.


    "Lord Odin!?"


    "You''re Geigrun, right? Haven''t seen you in years." Odin''s expression softened.


    "Y-yes, Lord Odin." She nodded excitedly.


    "I need to know what''s going on."


    The Valkyrie stood up properly and patted her breastte in a form of salute. "Reporting to Lord Odin. Valkyrie Geigrun was assigned to this battlefield. Until you and your subordinates arrived, we were overwhelmed and on the verge of copse."


    "Yes, yes, I know that. I want to know what''s happened since I''ve been gone. Why is there a front line here! And where are the others? My stupid son wouldn''t miss an opportunity to smack a Giant of Fegrog''s size!"


    "Lord Odin, this is the most recently opened battlefield, we...we didn''t expect a higher level Giant to appear. Other than this one, there are twelve other battlefields currently and Lord Thor is assigned at the border of Jotunheim."


    Odin exhaled through his nose. "Tell me all the important things since I''ve been gone."


    "All of Asgard''s enemies have moved at the same time, it was a coordinated attack. Lady Freya, King Vidar, and Lord Heimdall organized the defense lines. Lord Heimdall and Lady Freya are holding off the forces of Muspelheim while Lord Thor is holding the line at Jotunheim, keeping the Jotun King at bay. The Light Elves have joined our side, but the Dark Elves have rebelled. The Dwarves of Nidavellir were hit by a surprise attack and half of Nidavellir has turned to mes or Ice. They say that the Fire King appeared, but no one can be sure."


    "What of Vanaheim?"


    "Vanaheim answered our call to arms, they are pressuring Muspelheim from their side and sent reinforcements to Nidavellir. And."


    "What, spit it out, girl!"


    "The Goddess Hel has betrayed Asgard, her undead soldiers now bolster the forces of Asgard''s enemies."


    "Bullshit!" Odin scowled. "Hel was loyal to a fault! She would never betray Asgard."


    "It''s true, Lord Odin. Even here, these Draugr are filled with the powers of Hel and they listen to themands of the Giants!"


    "Izzy is friends with her." I found myself frowning. "I can check with her."


    "Do it." Odin grumbled. "There''s no way that girl would do something like this, something is wrong."


    "There is one more thing, Lord Odin."


    "Speak."


    "The World Wolf is no longer bound, and it stalks the Nine Realms."


    Odin''s grip on his stick made his knuckles white and for the first time, I think there was a hint of fear that shed across his face.


    Only a single word was needed by him to exin how the situation devolved so heavily.


    "Loki."


    [***]


    A/N


    Driving up to my Dad''s a few states away, so next chapter will probably be dyed a day.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m /astoryforone

 Chapter 494:

    Chapter 494:


    I tweaked my Kaleidophone for about the tenth time, altering some of the intrinsic spell sequences before snapping it all back together.


    For some reason, it wasn''t working properly. Thest time this happened, supposedly, was when I was fighting Kronos, but that was for presumably a specific reason that wasn''t applicable here. But it did give me some idea as to what was going on.


    In general, I was a bit hampered with my use of the Kaleidoscope here.


    I was fairly sure that the Norse realms in general interfered with my normal use of it. There were some variables that weren''t ounted for in my normal calctions that were screwing everything up. Which was odd considering that I went in and out of the Colored Rooms and Yomi with rtive ease, yet sitting here, I couldn''t even ''connect'' to another Kaleidophone without some effort on my part.


    Finally, after some time, a hazy image of Izzy appeared on the other end of it.


    "Wilhelm, is that you? Why does it look like you have a bad signal? Is it even possible to get a bad signal with these things?" Izzy asked.


    "Some kind of interference on my end, I haven''t quite figured out the cause yet. But I noticed as soon as we entered the Norse Realms, my Magic got a little screwy."


    "Hmm, it might "


    The screen went fuzzy and I smacked it a few times before she reappeared. "Sorry, can you repeat that?"


    "I said, it''s probably the Tree."


    "Yggdrasil?" I questioned. "That.is probable." I agreed.


    "Wilhelm, the Tree is the same as a Primordial. What do you think would happen if you went inside of Tartarus and tried this?" She responded.


    "That''s..a very good point." I did not consider it from that perspective. We''re literally standing upon the back of a Primordial Entity that existed in several differentyers of the perceivable ''world''. The Branches of Yggdrasil were both solid and illusionary, many of them didn''t even exist within our perceivable view, but extended through different dimensions, both higher and lower. It''s entirely possible that we''repletely covered by the Branches of Yggdrasil and we can''t even see them, which would lend itself as to why my use of the Kaleidoscope was hampered. "We ran into an immediate issue that needed your input. What do you know about Hel?"


    "Hel is a good person." Izzy frowned. "I hope nothing happened to her, I would be.upset." Her tone was sharp, and obviously not directed at me.


    "Apparently, we were told she betrayed Asgard. Everything went to shit here before we even arrived, it''s full on War. Draugr are bolstering the enemies'' armies by the thousands." I gave her a very brief overview.


    "Draugr? Those undead zombies?"


    "Basically, yeah."


    "That''s not something she would do. Why would she...that doesn''t make sense. It''s fairly easy for us to raise dead minions like that, but most of us find it extremely distasteful. Hel, even if she for some reason went that route  which she wouldn''t, her realm in particr houses things much better than simple zombies. The Wraiths and Aberrations that fill her realm are enough to be a significant army in and of themselves and they are far superior to mere zombies."


    "Zombies are bad, but ghosts are A-okay?"


    "It''s not like that." She huffed. "That''s how she receives them. She houses not only the old, but also those that died dishonorably and all that. They aren''t going to be happy little spirits existing in paradise."


    "Noted." Yeah, that still didn''t make sense when she exined it that way.


    "I can try to reach out.but it''s not like she has one of these things and ourmunications are usually reserved for once every century or so.." Izzy trailed off.


    "I''ll tell Odin your thoughts."


    "Please be safe."


    "I am confident in my ability to run away." I smiled.


    Izzy snorted. "Come back safe and sound and I''ll let you do what you want with my legs."


    She was half joking, but that was certainly a way to motivate me.


    "I''ll be safe." I reassured her without adding humor.


    Her beautiful smile was honestly all the motivation I needed to keep my idiotic ass alive.


    I shut the phone off after we said our goodbyes, putting it away.


    I pushed myself up back to my feet and stretched my back, looking up at the giant fucking tree branch I was standing on.


    It was hard to honestlyprehend how massive this Tree actually was. It was awe inspiring just being able to put a hand on it like this.


    My idle thought faded, and I began to walk back to where the others were.


    Odin was moving left to right, almost as if dancing, and he was making sounds akin to music. There were no words, but it felt sincere, so no one was interrupting him.


    "You''re back, any news?" Jinn perked up.


    "Izzy agrees that it''s probably bullshit." I simplified. "And has he been doing this the entire time?"


    "Mhmm." Atnta grunted. "His movements are too systematic for it to be random. No idea why he''s doing it though."


    Yeah, well, Odin did a lot of things without exining them to the rest of the ss.


    Other than telling us he was taking us to see Mimir and taking us to this branch of Yggdrasil in particr, he didn''t exin anything else.


    We left the Valkyrie and the Einherjarrpretty quickly, and by now, word definitely got back to Asgard about our presence. Odin was intentionally staying away from Asgard at the moment, that was certain. But I had no idea what he was doing.


    He just started basically dancing and singing.


    "There is meaning in his actions." Thorum nodded. "The Elder would not do this if it was not important. Song and Dance are used in my home as a way to honor the dead and the Ancestors as well as to celebrate."


    It only took a few more moments before the Tree Branch started trembling and Odin finally stopped what he was doing. The portion of the Tree where the branch connected to also vibrated in ce before parts of it receded like vines being cut away.


    It then revealed a passage, a connection between two points as on the other side, the entrance was filled with a bright light that shined through.


    "Oof, too old for this shit. One of my best and worst ideas was to have Bragi seal this entrance with his Song and Dance." Odin cracked his back. "Sorry about that, I sealed all the major entrances to the Mmisbrunnr, the Well."


    "The Well where you performed the Ritual and hung yourself?"


    "Mmm." Odin confirmed with a hum. "It''s also where the Head of my old friend is." He nced at the others as he casually strode through. As soon as we all passed the entrance, the vine-like appendages of the World-tree slowly began to reim the doorway, sealing it shut once again. "Mimir was the God of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Logic. He was my greatest Counselor and one of my oldest friends. There was a mishap many years ago, and he.lost his head. I couldn''t bear to part with him, so I preserved his head and attached it to the well and Yggdrasil itself. It preserved him and provided an unforeseen side effect. Like one of Apollo''s Oracles, he can give a Prophecy under the right conditions and see the future."


    "My friend." Thorum leaned in. "Does he mean a literal head?"


    I nodded to Thorum who took it in stride. This was new stuff to him, but most of us here were aware of the legends in some regard.


    "Anyways, this is a special ce, I took great effort to seal off any major passage after my son wandered here once and nearly bludgeoned poor Mimir to death with his hammer thinking some asshole reanimated his head." Odin let out augh as he jumped off a Branch of the World Tree,nding upon another. "Careful, the Tree here is more solid than other ces, but some of the branches are illusionary, and it changes depending on the season. Follow my footsteps." He warned.


    We went left, yet we came out from above where we were a moment ago. Top became bottom, and direction appeared to be immaterial in this ce.


    Yet, following Odin, he seemed to know the proper path to take. Eventually, we reached a somewhat open area with the World Tree spiraling upwards, and a small pool of water at the base of a piece ofnd.


    Odin came to a stop, unmoving.


    Thorum lowered his head and muttered a small prayer in respect.


    The others shared simr looks at him and no one spoke as silently stared at what was before us.


    Mimir''s head was intertwined with the Roots of the World Tree, hanging just above the pool of water. However, there was no light in its eyes, no life to be found anywhere in his decapitated head.


    A dagger protruded from his forehead.


    And a message was etched into the trunk of the World Tree that the Head rested against.


    ''First to the finish line.''


    "Mimir." Odin said softly.


    And for the first time, I saw the Wise and Ruthless War God shed tears.


    There was no need to say who was responsible.


    Odin trudged over to him, putting a gentle hand onto the head of his fallen friend. "Thank you for staying with me all these years, my friend." He finally slumped down against the tree, falling to his butt.


    It was strange and ufortable to see Odin like this. In my mind, he was always the one who pretty much knew the most in the room. Despite his antics and the mischief he probably got up to, he was intelligent and reliable.


    But, I couldn''t exactly fault him either. I was much worse than him when I lost someone important. Being a God did not protect one from the pain of loss.


    What was I supposed to say?


    Odin closed his eye, taking a deep breath. He slowly pushed himself up off the ground. "Forgive me for the unsightly appearance. My fellow Gods, they know me as ruthless. To my children, they know me as their parent, to Asgard, they know me as All-Father. For my oldest confidant, this is the final act of mourning I can send you off with as no one else was allowed to see the all-mighty God of War vulnerable. You who knew the Old Odin at his best and his worst. May we meet again in the next life." He smiled nostalgically.


    I walked up and put a hand on his shoulder. "What''s the n? You brought us here to hear from him, yeah?" As much as I wanted to be polite, we were on a timetable here and he knew that just as much as I did.


    "I should have expected this." Odin said softly. "Loki truly intends to end everything. Perhaps I held onto some small hope that things could have ended up differently." He looked up to the message carved into the trunk without blinking. He then grabbed onto the dagger sticking out of the head and ripped it free in one motion. Once more, without his expression changing one iota, he pried open the head''s mouth and used the dagger to cut out the tongue.


    Then, he dropped it into the pool of water.


    I wanted to question what was going on, but the pool shimmered as a rainbow-like mirage appeared above it. And a faint image of the same head formed a vague reflection.


    I looked down into the pool and there were strings of tiny runes running up and down the length of the tongue. They didn''t appear until his tongue touched the water.


    "Loki is good, but he isn''t all knowing." Odin snorted. "Mimir would have left a message and all he could do was speak and drink."


    "You always were as cunning as you were cruel, Odin." The faint image replied. "I swear, cutting out the tongue of my head? Do you have no shame?" It said rather humorously.


    "Mimir." Odin''s expression softened.


    "I''m sorry, my old friend. It seems that I''m heading off before you. You probably guessed who was responsible."


    "Yes."


    "I don''t have much time, my Magics won''tst long and I need everything I have left to give you myst words."


    "Tell me what wisdom you have onest time, Mimir."


    The projection''s eyes glowed a brilliant color and he began to speak.


    "The fire of the end falls from the skies."


    "From the deepest pit, corruption spreads, and the Mother Tree dies."


    "The Queen of Death bound in chains."


    "The Wolf stalks the worlds, yet the Old King Remains."


    "The Serpent of the three answers his call."


    "With friends and enemies alike,ing from afar."


    "Fate has been unraveled, and the end is uncertain."


    "A box long forgotten is revealed, and a False Beast is stirred from behind its curtain."


    The image became even more blurry after speaking those lines. "I leave the rest to you, old friend." It slowly faded away into nothingness and the ambient Magics dispersed.


    "I hate prophecies." Atnta sighed. "They''re always cryptic."


    "It''s an unfortunate side effect of peering into fate and the future." Odin breathed out. "But it was hisst Prophecy, so much if it is a lot more clear than usual. Most of what he says is usually dribble that I can''t make heads or tails of, but he did good this time." He spoke with a hint of pride.


    "What''s the n, Odin?" I asked.


    "n." Odin stroked his beard and a wide grin appeared on his face. "The n is that I''m not going to make a n."


    "Pardon?"


    "Loki knows me all too well. He knew I woulde here right away, and he took out one of my closest advisors." He swept his arm around. "He anticipated what moves I''m going to make."


    "A difficult opponent then." Sasaki Kojiro nodded. "Forced into a game of chess, yet your opponent made several moves before you could even see the board and remove some of your pieces beforehand."


    "Exactly." Odin confirmed. "That''s why, you''re going to make the n." He pointed at me. "Loki can predict what I''ll do, he can''t predict what you''ll do."


    "That''s..either smart or utterly stupid."


    "Why not both?" Odin offered. "If Loki wants to be smart, let''s be stupid." Heughed, making me think he lost his mind in grief. "So, brat, call it. What''s the n for everything."


    I let out a long sigh. I could understand his logic, if it could be called that. "This doesn''t mean you''re not helping. I can''t do this all by myself."


    "Well no shit, I''m not going to leave the fate of everything in your 20-something year old hands." He deadpanned.


    I had the urge to kick him now.


    "Asgard is being pulled every which way if I understood what the Valkyrie from before said." I stated.


    "Yup." Odin continued to stroke his beard. "It seems as though all our forces are forced to certain positions and our enemies are numerous. Not to mention she didn''t mention anything about those we were here to look for originally, so it''s safe to assume they''re doing something else."


    Jeez, everyone was seriously looking at me to make a n


    I rubbed my temples. "We need more allies. Would calling in other Gods be bad?"


    "It''s unlikely to work. Let me ask you something, when you called your cougar, did she offer toe herself?"


    "No." Now that I thought about it, she never offered. Which.it''s not like I expect my girls to drop everything toe with me for something, but it was more so the situation? Like, it''s a normal thing to offer help when things are dangerous or what have you.


    "Don''t take it the wrong way, it''s just not something other Gods can really interfere with lightly. Ragnark is our twilight, if theye.it could turn into theirs as well. It''s not a simple matter of them ''dying'' either. Just." Odin trailed off. "It''splicated."


    "Noted." I could somewhat understand where he wasing from. "My Norse Mythology is a little rusty, but isn''t there the Eagle King sitting at the highest Branch?"


    "Hrsvelgr" Jinn added.


    "Thank you, Jinn." I smiled. "Right, Hrsvelgr, why isn''t he helping? He should be against Ragnark."


    "Arrogant assholes." Odin harrumphed. "And there may be some minor bad blood between them and Asgard." He looked away. "Regardless, they won''t move away from the highest branch of Yggdrasil unless it''s literally on fire."


    "And what about Ratatoskr?"


    Odin scowled. "Like Hel that thing is going to help. It''s a cowardly little bitch who would happily watch someone burn to death and mock them the entire time. Sure, it won''t piss on your remains afterwards, nor would it set you on fire, but it would love to watch the world burn for its own amusement."


    "Would it be useful?"


    Odin begrudgingly nodded. There are three beings born from the World Tree when it first appeared. The Jotun of the highest branch, The Eagle, Hrsvelgr. The Squirrel who can run anywhere amongst the Branches, Ratatoskr, and the Serpent that feeds upon the roots at the furthest end, Nhggr. Honestly, any one of them would be helpful in their own way."


    I took a breath and rubbed my temples again. "Achilles and Atnta, you both are going to head to the highest Branch and try to convince Hrsvelgr to aid Asgard."


    "Sounds good." Achilles nodded.


    "We don''t have anyone to lead you.but Anta, think you can navigate it?"


    "I am one of Artemis''s Huntresses, I can reach the top of a tree." She snorted.


    "Any advice for them, Odin?"


    "Hrsvelgr is arrogant in regards to his speed. If he were a God, he would be the God of Wind as he controls the Winds of the Nine Realms, and he is the fastest being within these realms."


    Achilles''s grin grew wider. "I think I can manage something."


    "Jinn, Thorum, and Sasaki, you three are going to head to Hel to rescue Hel." Jeez that sounded awkward to say. "It''s clear she''s doing this against her will and or is a prisoner."


    "You can easily get there by just heading down. No matter where you are within these realms, if you keep heading down, you will eventually reach Hel." Odin stated.


    "Aye, we shall do so with haste!" Thorum pat his chest.


    "A worthwhile endeavor." Sasaki smiled.


    "Oh, I can''t wait to meet one of Izzy''s friends!" Jinn said excitedly.


    "Odin, we have two goals. Convince Ratatoskr to help, and then head down to the roots of Yggdrasil."


    "Ah, you realized too?"


    I nodded. "The oracle mentioned the ''Deepest pit'', that''s probably where Loki set up one of his nasty surprises."


    "We''ll need to find Ratatoskr first." Odin hummed. "Otherwise, I only know one other route to the Roots and it takes awhile to navigate. And we don''t have that time. Not to mention, Loki is sure to realize what we''re up to if we do that."


    Our advantage right now is that he doesn''t know we got an Oracle about the situation.


    We probably would have never ventured down into the Roots of the World Tree otherwise, so it''s a good ce to set up shop for something bad.


    And going to Asgard was a bad idea unless we want to lose this one advantage we have at the moment.


    "Thorum, take this." I handed him a specially prepared Talisman. "Rip that and it should open a path long enough for you to call our Dragon Friend with your shout if needed." Otherwise, it wouldn''t be able to reach Meridia''s realm.


    "Aye." Thorum nodded with thanks.


    "Achilles, Atnta." I reached out, and touched their own storage items. "I restocked you, don''t worry about wasting anything, use whatever you need to."


    I looked over and Sasaki held his hand out and I did the same for him.


    "Jinn" I looked at my woman. Someone whom I was sending off into a dangerous situation and my heart ached. I held my hand out and produced one of my treasures. I held Dawnbreaker up for her. "Take it, please."


    "Will." Jinn whispered. "Fine, I know you''re not going to let me say no."


    I knew that Meridia wouldn''t mind. Meridia, despite never explicitly saying it, cared about Jinn. She wouldn''t mind if I lent Dawnbreaker to Jinn to protect her. And she was going to somewhere where there are probably millions of Undead entities.


    Lastly, I gave it a thought, and let Sir Wiggles and Lady Wigglese out, putting them both into Jinn''s arms. "Them too."


    Jinn rolled her eyes. "Alright, but that''s it." She pouted a little. "Thank you."


    "Stay safe." I leaned over, giving her a quick kiss.


    Looking at the others, I pped my hands. "Odin, how long should it take to traverse up and down the Tree?"


    "Either way should take no more than a day and night, thereabouts."


    It would be much easier if we had armies on our side when finally arriving at Asgard, especially if Loki''s people were amongst the ones running things.


    "In three Days, reconvene at Asgard." I stated.


    [***]


    I hated leaving Jinn alone, that was the main thought running through my head as Odin led me across several more branches of the World Tree.


    I forcibly pushed those thoughts away by fiddling with a few Talismans. Scribbling away some things on them, modifying them for my purpose.


    "What''re you doing?" Odin finally asked.


    "Picked up a new spell recently, Haven''t had much time to practice it. But I can sort of cheat it with some Talismans." I replied. "Might need itter, and we weren''t doing much else at the moment."


    I had a strange feeling about the next few days, and it was best to be prepared just in case.


    "Well, we''re almost there."


    "Well, that didn''t take long."


    "It''s not like he was hiding." Odin shrugged.


    Jumping off the branch we were on, wended on another, and there was arge hole in the trunk of the tree, like almost a traditional hidey hole for any critter that wanted to make a nest inside.


    "He''s in here?"


    "Maybe." Odin shrugged. "He has dozens of nests, and he can go anywhere within the Nine Realms at his leisure. Even Loki can''t navigate as easily as he can and Heimdal constantly gets annoyed about how Loki escapes his eyes with his secret paths."


    "So.what should I expect?"


    Odin slowly frowned. "If I told you, you probably wouldn''t believe me. I''ll let you get your own first impression." He took his walking stick and started banging the tree branch. "Get out here you stupid squirrel!"


    "I don''t think he''s here "


    That was until a roar that almost sounded like that fake Godzi that Izzy and I beat up shook the surroundings.


    Okay..that didn''t bode well.


    "Odin!" It roared again.


    "Shut up and get out here you stupid rodent!" He roared back.


    Two glowing eyes appeared in the shadows of the nest. The creature stepped out and the tree branch shook.


    It wasn''t because he was a massive monster like the Giants from before.


    Frankly, he was only probably two to three times the size of a normal person. At least in length and height.


    The most notable thing was that he was obscenely obese.


    "What.the.fuck." I stared.


    "Yeah, told you."


    "Did he eat a Giant?"


    "He didn''t always used to be this fat." Odin sighed. "It''s kind of concerning actually."


    "Hey, I only put on a few pounds!" The obese Squirrel hissed. "Odin, what do you want you tiny-dicked asshole?"


    "Says the one who can''t even see their dick!"


    The Squirrel let out a rabid scream in response. "Screw you, I''m leaving. Have fun getting an enema by Surtr''s ming sword."


    "Wait, we actually have something to ask you "


    "Fuck you, and fuck your Asgard. I''m gonnaugh as Loki dry fucks your asses!" The Squirrel actually began to sink into the Branch of the World Tree, and I now understood why it could traverse anywhere it wanted.


    It could literally move within the Tree itself.


    "Wait!" I kicked Odin to the side. "At least hear what we have to say."


    The Squirrel actually stopped, its eyes still above the branch. And slowly, it started rising back up. "Hey wait, you look familiar." Suddenly his eyes widened, and he let out a gasp. "You''re Lucifer Junior!" It eximed.


    "..what?"


    The Obese Squirrel popped out of the Tree branch and literally threw itself forward until itnded mere feet from me.


    Let me tell you, it looked just as bad up close.


    Its body jiggled as it sat back up and reached into its..sack. It had a sack like a kangaroo on its stomach. And it started pulling things out and throwing them to the side until it found arge piece of paper and a pen.


    "I''m a huge fan, can I get your Autograph?" He held them up.


    "..what?"


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m


    I also have a boosty for those who can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 495:

    Chapter 495:


    Once more, it''s one of these moments where I questioned what the fuck my life was.


    Not only were my expectations at the Mythological Creature Ratatoskrpletely dashed, but now this obese squirrel was asking me for an Autograph.


    "..sure." I forced a smile, taking the paper and pen from him before signing my name.


    I never thought someone would ask me for my autograph. And I certainly never thought the first person to ask for my autograph would be an obese squirrel.


    Regardless, I wanted to keep on the good side of this thing since we were here seeking its help. Being able to literally travel anywhere within the Norse Realms by its hand would be..indispensable.


    The Squirrel held up the paper happily in its hands before shoving it back into its..pouch.


    Why did a squirrel have a Kangaroo pouch?


    And how was it not bulging from whatever it was keeping inside? Because it pulled out a bunch of random things and tossed them to the side while looking through it.


    There was a toasterying on the branch of the World Tree now.


    Of which, the Squirrel quickly grabbed all its shit and promptly shoved them back inside his..pouch.


    [I have a thought.]


    Regarding the squirrel?


    [Yeah, about his pouch. Just wanted you to consider something.]


    What''s that?


    [Do you think it''s moist inside the pouch?]


    ..Fuck you for putting that thought in my head.


    [Have fun with that]


    Dick.


    "So, Odin and I had a request for you." I pped my hands, forcing myself to move on to the pressing topic.


    "You need.my help?" Ratatoskr looked excited for some reason.


    ".quick question, how do you know me, exactly?" I really needed an answer for this.


    "How could I not!? I loved how you shit on Indra! And then with everything else, you''re amazing!" He squealed excitedly. "It''s one thing to shit talk someone online, but you just run your mouth in person to anyone and you give no shits."


    Oh..well then. "Wait, Online? You''re online?"


    The Squirrel snorted disdainfully. "What, do you think just because I''m a squirrel I don''t have a phone and inte!?"


    "No, I mean" I paused, looking at Odin. "Odin, what the fuck?"


    "What?" The Old God grunted.


    "How did that Valkyrie not know who we were, nor the literal army of Einherjar and various people?"


    "Do you think everyone wastes their time on that crap like the obese Squirrel?" Odin scoffed. "Besides, only a small portion of people in Asgard ever pays attention to stuff outside of the Nine Realms."


    Actually, that lines up with what I learned over in the Heavenly Realm when visiting Nuwa.


    "Fuck you, Odin."


    "Fuck you, fat squirrel!"


    "Don''t call me fat, you cyclops!"


    "I only have one eye and It''s not enough to see how fat you are!"


    "Stop it!" I kicked Odin off the Branch, letting him hit the one below.


    "Hah!" The Squirrelughed. "Eat shit, Odin."


    "Right, ignore him. He''s a bit ornery because a friend of his passed."


    "Huh, that talking Head, right?" Ratatoskr muttered.


    "How''d you know?" Odin was quick to rejoin us, and his expression turned serious.


    Ratatoskr trembled as Odin''s singr eye narrowed onto him. "Do you think there''s anything that happens around here that I don''t know about?" He snorted. "Yggdrasil is my home, All-Father. Just as Asgard is your home." He grumbled. "You all seem to forget that."


    "Sorry for intruding on your home then." I politely apologized.


    The Obese Squirrel gave me an odd look. "You''re nicer than I thought you''d be."


    "Thank you?"


    "What do you want?" He finally asked.


    "Ragnark is here." I stated.


    The squirrel rolled its eyes. "It''s been here for a long time. Everyone else finally caught up to that fact. What''s your point?"


    "We''re trying to stop it, we need your help. Loki already took the initiative and we''re far behind him. With your help, we can move around without him noticing. Will you join our side?"


    "You want me to ally with you?" He made some Squirrely sounds, almost like a chittering. He then looked at Odin. "Obviously it''s your idea, because that old bastard would never suggest it."


    "You''re damn right! I already told him, you''re a damn coward, you''ll just hide away as everything burns down around you!"


    "I''m not a coward, I just have a healthy fear of dying and bodily harm!" He shot back. "And you''re still just mad that I snuck into Frigga''s wardrobe and stole her panties!"


    "I should have skewered you to the damn tree, you perverted Rat!"


    "Look who''s talking, you old pervert!" He roared in return. "Besides, you did throw your spear at me, you just missed. Unavoidable spear my furry fat ass!"


    "You want to try it again!?"


    I wanted to question many things here, but first and foremost. "Wait, you escaped his spear? Like he actually tried to kill you and missed with it?"


    "Yup." Ratatoskr looked smug.


    "He can sink into the Branches of Yggdrasil!" Odin tried to defend himself.


    That''s...actually very impressive.


    "Anyways, Are you in? We could really use your help."


    "Why bother, it''s not like "


    "Alright." Ratatoskr agreed.


    ".he''s going to agree." Odin scowled. "He''s doing it just to spite me."


    "No, that''s just a side benefit." The Squirrel admitted. "Frankly, if it was just you, One-Eye, and Asgard trying to fight it, I wouldn''t have bothered. And that''s not even considering the friends that Loki brought with him. Heh, even if you brought outside help, I''d probably just watch from the side still."


    "And you trust me that much?" I felt honestly ttered now.


    "I trust you to fuck up whatever ns Loki has."


    ..less ttered now. "That''s what you''re hedging your bets on?"


    "I followed you a lot when you popped up, and every time you make the news, it''s because you''re fucking up someone''s day. Doesn''t take a genius to see a pattern there. And it''s not like I want Loki to burn everything down. Sure, I''dugh as Asgard went up in mes, but it''d still suck for everything to go away."


    "You are a strange creature." I muttered.


    "I get that a lot." He didn''t seem to care one bit. "But I want payment." His little ws tapped together.


    "I''ll give you a pair of Freyja''s Panties." Odin offered.


    "Deal."


    I let out a sigh, palming my face. I should be happy that it was this easy, but at the same time, I''m just embarrassed by proxy.


    "Also, I''m not actually fighting anyone." He stated. "I''m not a fighter. I don''t like getting hurt." He said without a hint of shame. "I''m just your guide, or whatever. If that''s fine, then we got a deal. Otherwise, I''m gonna go Hibernate until everything is over."


    "That''s fine, I didn''t expect you to start brawling." It would be a fun sight. "But.not to be offensive, can you still move around well enough?"


    Ratatoskr looked down at himself and pondered for a moment. "Give me a second." He dragged his jiggling body back into his nest, disappearing from sight.


    Without prompt, the most gut-wrenching sounds emanated out. It sounded like a cat was throwing up another cat while a third cat screamed.


    After about ten minutes of this, Ratatoskr reemerged from his nest, only, there was something off about him.


    Primarily, it was the fact that he looked normal now.


    Well, normal for a Squirrel that was bigger than a person. But normal in the sense that he wasn''t a jiggling mass of fat any longer.


    "What.the.fuck." I looked at Odin, and he had the exact same look as me.


    "I thought I knew a lot. But it''s times like this that I realize my knowledge iscking in many areas." Odin whispered.


    "What are you staring at me like that for?" The Squirrel in question seemed confused.


    "Were you hiding a Giant in your stomach, and you decided to throw him up?" I blinked.


    The Squirrel scoffed. "Did you think I was fat because I wanted to be?"


    "Yes." Odin said without a second thought.


    "Fuck you, I said I was getting ready to Hibernate, the fuck you think that meant?"


    "Normal Squirrels hide nuts for the winter." I pointed out.


    "Do I look like a normal fucking Squirrel?" He huffed. "No, I was getting ready to Hibernate until the next Epoch, you dunce. That means I needed to store all my stuff otherwise it''d be destroyed when everything burned down! Where do you think I would do that when I would have to wait for the next World Tree to grow!?"


    Eww.


    "That makes sense, but at the same time, that''s absurd." I said. "Are you saying that you would survive Yggdrasil dying and being reborn with the next iteration of the Nine Realms?"


    The thing about Norse Cosmology is that it works in a cycle. Everything would end here, the Gods would die, the Tree would burn down, and then the next Yggdrasil would be born with a new host of Gods.


    "The Tree is my mother, do you think she would leave me hanging?" He scoffed. "I''m her favorite son, Y''know?"


    "So you normally go inside your mom?"


    "Really, the person fucking their Grandmother is going to make a joke about that?'' He deadpanned.


    "Touche." I epted. "Shall we get going?"


    "Wait, I need one more thing!" He held a little w of his up to stop me, he then reached into hispouch and rummaged again, pulling out ck color tie of all things. As in, the article of clothing. He fumbled with it before getting it loosely around his head. "Now I''m good to go!" He threw a thumbs up my way.


    "..wonderful." I squeezed out.


    Odin had a shit-eating grin on his face as he looked my way. "If you''re done fan-boying, we got work to do. I need you to take us to the lowest roots, below even Hel."


    "Where Nhggr is?" Ratatoskr asked. "I feel bad. Since I was getting ready to Hibernate, I sort of neglected my duties."


    "Duties? You have duties?" This was the first I heard of this.


    He nodded. "I usually go down there to insult and piss off Nhggr at least once a week."


    "..."


    Why did I expect anything else?


    "Let''s go, we wasted enough time." Odin turned serious. "We don''t know what Loki''s nning, but we need to be quick to counter it."


    "If you''re talking about the Roots, he definitely did something there. I was too scared to get close, but I can feel it through the branches, there''s something bad going on down there. It was one of the reasons I was about to bail." Ratatoskr informed us. "I''ll take you down, but no way I''m actually going down into the roots themselves."


    "Fine, you coward. Just take us there." Odin grumbled.


    "I''m not a coward!"


    "Ignore him, let''s head out."


    "Whatever, follow me. And keep up!" He bolted down the side of the Tree. And he was surprisingly fast, or not so surprisingly. He was literally a giant Squirrel, so I suppose he had the same characteristics.


    I actually had to use a Burst of Shunpo to get back on his heels as he started moving.


    Odin wasn''t far behind, catching up rather quickly.


    "Jump forward on my mark." He said, not giving room for an argument. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, Jump!"


    I barely had time to register it before I took a leap forward, matching his pace, we should have merelynded upon the trunk of the Tree, but instead, we sunk into it, almost simr to what he does.


    It felt sort of simr to taking the Bifrost from before, it was as if we were pulled to another section of the World Tree, nearly instantaneously.


    It was certainly a trippy experience.


    And it popped us right out on another end only a moment or twoter. Ratatoskr hit the ground running so to speak, but Odin and Myself stumbled to get back up.


    I looked up and the Sun was now gone.


    As a matter of fact, I wondered what the Sun even was within the Norse Cosmology. It was as if we were in a whole other Universe, was it a reflection of our Sun, or was it simply the concept of the Norse''s sun superimposed onto their Cosmology and hung in the sky?


    "Over here!" Ratatoskr shouted, after sniffing around. "Quick."


    Once more, we followed up along arge branch, and as it should have ended, instead, another branch seemed to swing down just in time for us to run across, and it kept moving as we held onto it, afraid to fall off.


    "Get ready to let go.now."


    We fell down what felt like hundreds of feet, hitting a soft cushion of leaves, rolling off onto another Branch that swayed gently in an invisible breeze. The Sun had returned at this point, making me realize we had crossed over several thresholds and perhaps different realms entirely.


    "Whew, we almost didn''t make it! Saved us probably an hour or so." Ratatoskr chirped happily. "That branch won''t swing around again for a while."


    "That wascertainly something."


    "Vanaheim, through Niflheim, and now we should be near Jotunheim." Odin muttered. "It annoys me that he''s actually so skilled. If we took the paths I knew, it would have taken at least half a day to get this far."


    "That''s right, I''m good." The Squirrel threw up his hands, praising himself smugly.


    "Why all the.." I swept my hands around. "Is this normally how you travel? I thought you just go anywhere you want."


    "Do you think you can copy what I do?" Ratatoskr snorted. "I''m just helping you both get through passages that won''t kill you."


    I suppose that made sense.


    His head suddenly jerked and he started sniffing again. "Alright, got another one about to open, get ready."


    Well, let''s go.


    [***]


    The three of us practically slid out of a hole in the World Tree, nearly falling off the edge. A massive tentacle reached through after us, but the passage we went through suddenly snapped shut, and the appendage fell to the ground and started wiggling as the thing''s blood spat everywhere.


    We both looked at Ratatoskr.


    "What? Even I don''t know everything about these pathways, I had no idea it would open up in the ocean." He defended himself.


    "I was wondering why you were giggling right before we went in thatst one." Odin took his hat off, squeezing the water out of it.


    I cast a few spells, drying myself off.


    "Yeah, yeah anyways, we''re here. And this is where I leave cause there''s no way I''m getting involved with what''s happening down there."


    "We''re here?" I looked around. It was definitely dark and murky, the Sun was not shining one bit, only the faintest ambient lighting from high above, but otherwise, a thick shroud of gloom hung over everything.


    "Yeah, just keep going that way." He pointed with one of his hands. "But Ratatoskr out." He threw up his w. "And it was fun,e visit if you wanna hang out or something. I don''t really have any friendsing to visit."


    "Thanks for your help, Ratatoskr." I offered my sincere thanks.


    "Haha, that''s right, the great Ratatoskr helped you. I hope you remember this, Odin. I''m going to hold this over your head forever." The squirrel cackled as it disappeared back into the World Tree.


    "d that''s over." Odin grunted.


    "Nice work."


    "Thanks, I was worried I yed it up too much." Odin grinned.


    "I think that sold it pretty well." I offered mypliments. "How much of it was bullshit and how much of it was actually hating Ratatoskr?"


    "Eh, 50/50. How''d you realize I was leaning into it?"


    "I don''t think you''d go that hard if there were important stakes. Any other time, sure. But when your home is in danger and Ratatoskr can help, I think you''d be the kind of person to swallow your pride in a heartbeat. So, if you intentionally riled him up and argued with him, it''s obvious you were doing it on purpose to skew his decision in my favor." Sort of like a y on good cop, bad cop.


    Get Ratatoskr to spite Odin and help me.


    Odin just hummed, looking down. The Tree Trunk now splintered off into various thick roots and plunged into the abyss.


    "So, I didn''t ask before, but didn''t we kill Nhggr? You mentioned him several times like he''s still alive. And you also mentioned that hees back every now and then, so I just wanted to understand."


    "Right, you probably don''t know. Thing is, I thought we managed to kill him for goodst time, but obviously that wasn''t true. Nhggr was born amongst these roots, and then it turned around and parasitized itself to the World Tree itself. To make it short, the Nhggr you fought, while being Nhggr, wasn''t the entirety of the thing. The trade off for its sort of ''immortality'' is that it''s.connected to the Tree, literally. It splits off a good portion of itself to escape and do what it wants, but it has to leave the majority of itself behind to continue to rebirth."


    "How strong is it normally?"


    "Mmm, less than the Heavenly Dragons, around the same as Tiamat I would guess." Odin stroked his beard. "But it can''t bring that kind of strength to bear unless it wants to give up its immortality. So you don''t need to worry there."


    "That''s still strong."


    "It is." Odin nodded. "There''s a reason the Dragon is so feared."


    A Dragon King, and among the strongest of their numbers, that was a level that most Gods didn''t even reach.


    We began to descend further downwards into the roots, and very quickly a subtle miasma began to set amidst the surroundings.


    It felt wrong, out of ce.


    "Odin"


    "Yeah, I feel it too brat. This..this isn''t something that belongs." His voice was soft, but his expression hardened. The grip on his stick tightened as we continued to venture forth.


    Ten, maybe twenty minutes as we walked, faintly we could hear the roars and cries of a Dragon vibrate throughout the gloomy mists.


    "What is this" Odin put a hand on one of the roots. There were ck spots, permeating various spots. "This..is this what you spoke of, Old Friend?" He whispered. "Something is poisoning the World Tree."


    "Could it be Nhggr? He''s a Poison Dragon"


    "No." Odin shook his head. "Besides being utterly idiotic to destroy his own means of revival, he is a part of the World Tree, it would go against his instincts to harm it, even in his most crazed and destructive state. Something malicious is at work here."


    The roars were more frequent as we got closer, and their intensity was increasing at certain intervals.


    The miasmic mists pushed away as we got just a bit further in, a bit of a clearing opening up.


    Immediately, we could see what themotion was.


    Odin wasn''t lying when he said that Nhggr was rebirthed from the World Tree. I just didn''t think he meant it literally. The Dragon was half pushed out of one of the ends of a Root.it was like the Root was giving birth to it.


    Part of it was still sort of.attached and looked like an extension of the root itself. I don''t think the Dragon was fully aware thus yet, but that was probably for the best, as the others present were doing.something.


    It was not just Nhggr down here.


    As soon as we saw, so too did the people down here notice our intrusion.


    The two massive figures, one of which was pushing a strange object into the forehead of the half-birthed Nhggr.


    They froze at our sudden arrival, as we also did upon seeing them.


    I recognized the first. Large and imposing, a particrly dangerous Scythe sitting nearby. The faint waft of Divinity that pulsated with is every action.


    Kronos, the Titan King, was doing something to the semi-birthed Nhggr.


    There was another gigantic figure at his side, perhaps a tad shorter than him, but still befitting the title of titan.


    He wore simmering armor that was seemingly made of sunlight, bright enough that I could barely make out his physical features. And at his side was an equally bright sword that also appeared to be condensed from the sun''s rays.


    And based on what Hades said about who escaped Tartarus, I could guess who it was as well.


    Hyperion, the Titan of Light. Father of Helios, the Sun Titan.


    Kronos stopped what he was doing, allowing me to get a better look at the object he was trying to force into Nhggr. It was a box of some design, and it gave off an extremely eerie feeling. It was already half-merged with the beast.


    And I was reminded of the words that Mimir spoke referring to a Box long forgotten.


    {You must destroy that Box or stop what they''re doing.} My Zanpakut spoke within my soul. {It is of utmost importance.} Even as he spoke, I felt something I hadn''t for a long time as the Spear within my ring vibrated in ce as if to agree with him.


    ..why did it suddenly give me an ominous feeling.


    "That Trickster God is going to be upset. He thought you would have been to Asgard by now." Kronos spoke with augh.


    "Well, I just missed you so much, I couldn''t help bute and visit." I forced a smile.


    "Haha, Hyperion, see? This is the Mortal I spoke about." Kronos chuckled. "Bold and courageous even in front of us!"


    "I see." Hyperion eyed me warily. "I suggest we remove him as quickly as possible."


    "What a time to be alive! Even my trusted General recognizes a mere Mortal as a threat!" Kronos continued tough, pping his knee. "And you as well, Odin. I hope our previous encounter did not sour you to our presence."


    "Cheap shotting bitch, let''s see how you handle me without jumping me with your jailbait cellmate." Odin mmed his walking stick onto the ground, and it transformed into the Divine and Golden Spear. "Two on Two, I''m going to teach you a lesson your Daddy should have gone with his belt a long time ago."


    Kronos frowned, looking at us both. "I''m sorry, All-Father, but I''ll have to reject your offer. For you see, it is not two on two."


    As he spoke, the ground shook with a looming presence approaching.


    The Miasmic Mists began to part as two glowing eyes emerged from behind them.


    "You shouldn''t havee here, All-Father. You may have lived a little bit longer." The Titan spoke again.


    Out from the mists it appeared in all its terrible glory.


    Odin tensed up, and his one eye widened in realization. Perhaps the strange miasma that filled this ce obscured its presence until now. And there was no longer the question of where it was hiding since we learned of its escape.


    The Monstrous Wolf Fenrir finally made its appearance.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a Boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 496: Part 1

    Chapter 496: Part 1


    This was certainly not an ideal situation.


    Truthfully, any of these opponents would require me going all out to realistically defeat. And against the likes of Fenrir..seeing that monster in person, I felt very wary of it. I felt it was in about the same realm of strength as Indra, give or take.


    So yeah, three opponents that would require my full effort to neutralize one practically, and they''re all here together.


    If Odin weren''t with me, and if the matter wasn''t pressing, I would have already ran away.


    A quick nce at the Nhggr in its semi-birthed state, wellthere was a particr corruptiveness that was creeping upwards through the roots, and the cause was fairly obvious.


    I undid my tie, tossing it to the side. "So, how about we all sit down and talk things out like responsible adults?" I offered, rolling up my sleeves.


    "I''m going to miss your audacity, Mortal." Kronos snorted.


    "Look, I know some of us said things." I nced at Odin.


    "I regret nothing except that I didn''t say more." Odin immediately replied.


    "Worth a shot." I shrugged, as it seemed like they were giving us a moment to prepare, and I didn''t know why.


    Honestly, I think Kronos had his own sense of Honor.


    Regardless, this wasn''t exactly a fight we could avoid at this point.


    "If I asked you what that is  " I pointed at the box half-fused with Nhggr. "Would you tell me?"


    "Pandora''s Box." Kronos answered casually.


    I felt my eyes widen at the sudden admission. I did not expect him to answer at all, secondly, that was also not the answer I anticipated, and it did not make me feel any better.


    "You''re being very truthful, it makes me wonder if you have a hidden agenda."


    "You can consider it a prize. The Trickster was so sure of himself, he set many traps along the way, and yet here you are, the one ce he didn''t expect anyone toe." Kronosughed. "Truthfully, he expected the first counterattack to be in Hel."


    "Hah, that''s actually what I would have done!" Odinughed, despite the situation. "Probably return to Asgard first, reorganize the front lines, and probably send Thor on down there."


    Based on the looks Kronos had, that was exactly what Loki thought as well.


    "Hey Odin, what''s the n?" I whispered, though I was pretty sure they could still hear me.


    "Don''t think I gotta say it out loud." Odin harumphed. "Leave the Wolf to me." Despite his jovial tone a moment prior, he was deadly serious right now.


    "Are you sure?"


    "It has to be me." He answered stoically. "We''re connected by Fate, if I run away, if I don''t fight, I will lose. If I fight, I have a chance to ovee my fate."


    I let out a sigh, focusing on the two Titans. "Then I guess you both are my dance partners."


    "It isn''t the worst way to go." Kronos smiled. "Not many mortals can say that two Titans fought to kill them."


    Hyperion was noticeably silent.


    "True." I would acknowledge that much. "Granted, I have no intention of dying."


    "People never do, but Thanatos has a way of creeping up on you unexpectedly." Kronos chuckled.


    "You know, I''m curious about something." I summoned my swords, and they stabbed into the ground around me. Bar Dawnbreaker and my newest acquisition, they were here, waiting. "Why are you teaming up with Loki? Shouldn''t you be getting your own band back together?"


    "Do you mean to ask why I am not surrounded by my formerrades?" Kronos stroked his chin. "That is a difficult question to answer. To put it bluntly..Hyperion here is the only friend I have left it seems." He smiled wryly. "Rhea told me to leave when I tried to talk to her..and I did not argue. As..As did not wish to fight again. He was willing to ept his ''punishment'' and hopeful togo free sometime in the future. The othersthey are much the same." He sounded.old in this moment.


    "Thank you for answering." I honestly didn''t know how to feel about this person. Half of me hated him, and the other half, well, I could sympathize.


    "You''ve earned this much respect from me." He pulled up his Scythe, putting it over his shoulder. "Perhaps I know the answer, but I will ask regardless. If you surrender and submit, I would let you live. Yourself and those close to you, I don''t care about a few more. Even for whates muchter, you would be safe from the destruction."


    "I will decline."


    "I expected nothing less." He grinned. "I knew after our first meeting that one of us would die to the other."


    I took a deep breath.


    My Aura red up around me, Reinforcement filled my body.


    The Boosted Gear appeared on my arm.


    And I held my free hand up, my Divinity bubbling to the surface as my Magical Energy soared around me.


    "It was here, at this ce, that Susanoo led a thousand unruly Deities in Rebellion! A thousand swords standing upon the earth, used as city walls to defend against the enemies. Here! Namely, the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi! The Steel that breaks a thousand des!" A bolt of lightning fell from the sky,nding within my grasp.


    My Divine Authority appeared.


    Kronos and Hyperion both had their eyes widened.


    "You were holding back before." Kronos''s tone changed.


    "I''m not done." I interrupted. "Welsh Dragon, Bnce Breaker!"


    The Draconic Aura exploded off of me. The Red Armor enveloped my body and I felt the wellspring of strength cate my nervousness.


    "Red Dragon Emperor." Kronos greeted.


    "[Titan King]" Ddraig answered back through the Boosted Gear.


    In any other circumstance, I may have made a joke about this not even being my final form. Odin and I knew what the priority was in this fight, even if we didn''t say it out loud.


    My Zanpakut appeared in the hand opposite my Divine Sword.


    My other des, they were pulled out of the ground with a thought, and shot towards the Titan King.


    He raised his Scythe while Hyperion Raised his own sunlight sword.


    "Reflect  Mus Tengai" I released my Zanpakut, my Reiatsu soaring in response.


    The easily deflected swords shed into the bodies of the two Titans, much to their utter surprise. And I shot forward with a burst of Shunpo, both my swords swinging down upon the Titan King.


    I felt Odin move behind me just as well.


    The World Wolf, it was a beast, a monster, but it wasn''t stupid by any means. It was capable of responding and acting in ordance with its ''allies''.


    But I had my own fight to focus on.


    My other swords did nothing more than some minor flesh wounds, but Kronos was forced to block my weapons with his scythe.


    "Boost!" I called out, pressing down on him with my sudden surge of strength, the Titan King, pushed down onto his knee suddenly.


    "Die!" Hyperion shouted, his sunlight sword swinging towards me from the side. He was extremely fast, his sh was barely registered within my perception, but I was expecting him. My Zanpakut already left my hand, and a different sword entered it. "Ascalon!" I activated my Noble Phantasm, blocking his attack from an angle he couldn''t expect, forcing my whole body to shift towards him.


    I used hisrge size to my advantage, sliding under his arms, and shing at his mid-section with my Divine Sword, drawing the first blood of the battle.


    Imanded Whisper to fly towards me, bringing to life dozens of Runes in a particr sentence to actualize in a spell that blocked the sudden edge of the Titan King''s Scythe piercing through the void at me.


    "Boost, Boost Boost." I filled up more as my strength swelled, dodging a st of light from the recovered Hyperion, his sword swing had burnt the entirety of the spot I previously upied to nothing but ash. The parts of the World Tree that were nearby got reduced to smoldering cinders.


    I all but rolled to the side with the haphazard movement, but quicklynded upon my feet, calling back my Zanpakut "Reflect  Mus Tengai." I didn''t waste a moment because that damned Scythe was about to reap my neck. I used the barest effort needed to avoid it with my Zanpakut, then swung my Divine Sword back at him, discharging Lightning from the edge, hitting the Titan King head on.


    With a burst of Shunpo, I moved as fast as I could to follow up, however, at my side, the other Titan kept pace with me, he turned into streaks of light, elerating to the point where I couldn''t im to have the speed advantage even with all my tricks.


    He swung his sword, forcing me to stop my follow up attack to instead block. The force sent me tumbling away, smacking against the side of arge root.


    "Bakud # 44, Sekisho!" I quickly cast as the hairs on my neck stood up. A massive projection of that Scythe bore down on me, cleaving away a chunk of Yggdrasil''s roots, my barrier only gave me a moment to bring up my Divine Sword to fully block the blow.


    "Come at get it, you mutt!" Odin roared not thirty feet from me. The Massive Wolf howled at him, opening its massive jaw. Odin, had moved very quickly from the spot he was in, because everything that was within that area, within several hundred feet in all directions, was just gone.


    The World Wolf chomped and spat out a culmination of everything that it had just nearly devoured.


    I tore my eyes way to flick my sword up to deflect that Sunlight sword from Hyperion, I countered with swinging My Zanpakut and it pushed into his body, but my instincts told me that this was not a sound hit.


    Rather, his body turned to streaks of light again, disappearing off the edge of my de, and infront of me came Kronos''s Scythe swinging down from high above.


    "Zun Haal Viik!" I shouted, "Transfer"


    My Boosts enhanced the shout, amplifying its power. The Scythe that wasing towards me was instead flung from the Titan''s grip, flying off to the side.


    "Wuld Nah Kest." I turned into a whirlwind and rammed right into him while he was weaponless.


    The Titan, he resisted me with his physical body. He held firm against my attack with nothing but his own strength while Hyperion appeared again, shing at me. I raised my arm up to block, and even through my Scale Mail armor and Aura, his de sunk into my flesh. I quickly activated my Semnce to negate the worst of it, and he almost stumbled forward as the resistance he expected suddenly disappeared.


    "Fus Ro Dah!" I used the Unrelenting Force shout to blow myself back from the engagement, rolling to my feel and springing up quickly.


    Hyperion and Kronos stood side by side. The Titan king merely had to hold back out his hand to retrieve his trusty weapon.


    I took a deep breath and all my weapons also returned to my side.


    My arm hurt a little, but my Aura was quickly healing the wound. Otherwise, only a little beaten up form a few tumbles.


    About the same for both of them, they had some minor wounds at best.


    It was difficult to gain the advantage with both of them hounding me.


    "Strun Bah Qo!" I shouted, forcing Storm Clouds to manifest in this area, the rolling clouds thundering and crackling with lighting rather quickly when intertwined with my Divinity.


    Odin was faring about was I expected in this situation.


    I lifted up my Zanpakut, waiting for them to make a move.


    The Two titans walked towards me, a few steps taken before they disappeared from their spots. One turned into streaks of light, the other merged into a different time stream.


    "Reflect -- Mus Tengai!" I swung my sword, blocking an attack that hit me from my blind spot. Kronos''s scythe winding around different string of times, the same trick he used in our little game from before, except they were a bit harder to manage in this situation.


    I was forced to dash to the side, and Shunpo again a few times, before Hyperion was in the sky, his sword pointed down and a ran of Fire heeded hismand, falling down upon me.


    I could barely dodge the flurry of attacks, much less counterattack in this situation.


    My Divine Sword and my Zanpakut were raised up simultaneously to block both the Sunlight sword from Hyperion and the Scythe from Kronos. They were able to cover the length of the battle field far too quickly.


    "Impressive, mortal." Hyperionmented. "I did not believe my King when he spoke of you in such a way, but you have my respect being able to withstand us like this."


    "Boost." Was my response. "Boost Boost Boost Boost!"I pushed their weapons away, but they were immediately on me again.


    "Coming through!" Odin shouted, running right at me with a very angry Wolf on his ass.


    He turned around, and threw his Divine Spear at the World Wolf''s snout impaling it, but that merely angered it even more.


    The Wolf opened its massive maw and was ready to devour everything infront of us, which was us.


    "Reflect -- Mus Tengai" I was more than happy to make sure of this situation as the two Titans noticed the danger and went to move, only for them to collide together, almost dazed for a moment as the World''s maw came down.


    I, myself, barely had time to Shunpo out of the way.


    I felt blood seep from my eyes and a headache start up from forcing that conclusion.


    I slid to a stop after a few more bursts of Shunpo, and Odin was breathing a little heavily at my side.


    He recalled his spear without me even noticing, or did it never leave his hand? Some Divine Weapon bullshit that I didn''t have time to contemte.


    "Damn Wolf, it''s suppressing me." Odin grumbled. "I can''t bring out my full power against it head on."


    The Titans were nowhere close to death from that little mishap with the World Wolf.


    The two of them were quick to defend themselves, and the World Wolf realized the folly of its own actions as well. They escaped rtively unscathed, some additional wounds but nothing serious other than a subtle anger now directed at the Wolf.


    Fenrir itself, it didn''t appear to overly care. Its eyes focused entirely on Odin.


    "Yeah, and trying to use the proximity of the two Titans together isn''t going to work much longer." I breathed out. It worked fairly well when I fought a bunch of Servants together so long ago. But in this situation, they were used to fight side by side, I could only narrowly avoid overly dangerous attacks by positioning myself between them and so close together.


    "The damn Wolf, it can devour things in arge area, and its saliva eats through Magic and Divinity." Odin huffed, pushing himself back up straight.


    "Joy." I said dryly, sneakily letting Whisper shoot up into the clouds to begin casting.


    But I didn''t forget the goal here.


    The roars of Nhggr made sure of that.


    Odin threw his spear abruptly, giving absolutely no indication of his desire to reengage. It collided with the side of the World Wolf, sending the beast rolling onto the ground. Odin himself was already upon it, pushing the spear deeper into the side of the Beast.


    I held my Divine Sword up, and gathered the umted Lightning that was brewing above, condensing it.


    Hyperion seemed to realize what wasing, and it was as if his entire body turned into a miniature sun as I swung down my sword. The entirety of my Storm and Lightning discharged at the edge, firing off at both the Titans.


    It collided with the miniature Sun that was Hyperion, a burst of sunlight and lightning enveloped everything in the surroundings.


    I touched upon my Hogyoku, and shifted into Aura.


    My Aura exploded outward as Kronos merged with the starry sky, shing down at me with his Gigantic Scythe.


    With all my Aura, I focused it onto a single point, the tip of his scythe and roared as I pushed against it, sessfully warding off the attack, despite a massive gouge now opening up upon the trunk of Yggdrasil.


    "Dragon Shot!" I fired back, the Boosted Gear''s attack mming into Kronos, the Titan king snarled with his feet skidding across the ground and blood spat out from his mouth.


    "Odin!" I shouted, as this was probably the best opening we would get. I held my hand up to the sky, Runic Circles appearing above my head.


    The World Wolf''s w swiped against him, and he merely took it to get away from the grasp of the beast,pletely ignoring the wed mark on his chest.


    "I see what you''re doing!" The All-Fatherughed, Runes appearing with his own rhythmic movements.


    Whisper casting Thor''s hammer above the clouds, a favored action of mine.


    "This is your n?" Kronos looked up, climbing to his feet. "I expected something more."


    There was one more part to the spell that was actualized. "Magic''s Blessing, Vanaheim." I cast one of my Nine Realms spells, it was mostlyplete, but it was still missing something.


    And Odin, well, he said it earlier.


    He inserted his own Runes into my spell,pleting it.


    The sky above us rumbled, expectantly. However, it intensified many folds. One Lightning Thor Appeared. Then another, then another, and another. A hundred or so copies of my spell manifested above.


    I would be the first to admit that the spell itself wouldn''t do much to a God these days. But what about a dozen, two dozen, a hundred.


    Vanaheim spell works by modifying a singr spell, simr to my Five Element Mutual generation, except it alters other facets of it than just pure power. A single target spell can be made into a wide range one. A single attack, can be made into multiple attacks.


    A Single Thor''s Hammer, can be made into a Hundred Thor''s Hammers.


    Atleast with Odin''s help, the spell was amplified to this extent.


    A Hundred Lightning Hammers came down upon us.


    Both Odin and I cast our strongest shielding spells together, and the world turned white.


    It was hard to say what happened under the attack, and I didn''t care to look. Instead, I shot towards Nhggr once I could finally move again, ignoring the pain I was feeling all throughout my body. Sure, we shielded ourselves, but we were by no means unscathed.


    However, my instinct red up as a massive maw broke through the dust, a wounded and bleeding Fenrir ignored everything else and still sought out Odin.


    Odin quickly jumped forward, blocking its mouth with Gungnir. "Go brat, I''ll hold it off!"


    Without a second thought, I used Shunpo to shoot towards Nhggr, and I summoned Ascalon to my hand as it would be the safest best in what I was about to do.


    "Do you think it would be that easy?" Kronos growled, part of his body was charred, and he wasn''t looking too good. "Wither." Hemanded, mming his Scythe onto the ground.


    That same Monochromatic aura spread out from him as the epicenter, turning everything around him to dust from elerated aging.


    I barely had time to register what happened as a golden streak passed by me, Odin''s spear mmed into Kronos''s chest, lifting the Titan up off his massive feet and sending him flying into the Roots of Yggdrasil. Suffice to say, his Authority was canceled.


    It was apanied by a roar and a pained shout. I moved forward, but my heart dropped when I looked back.


    The World Wolf had Odin between its teeth.


    "Great Welsh!" A familiar roar forced me back to acknowledge our objective. Nhggr was apparently much more aware than I thought. "Free me from this torment!"


    Odin, despite his situation, held a defiant look in his eyes and I shot towards the Poisonous dragon, Ascalon in hand, I swung it down, cleaving away the portion that Pandora''s Box was attached to, and I scooped it up into my Ring.


    I let go of everything also, and slid to a stop, spinning my body around and holding a familiar Bow in my hands.


    The Bow of Auriel.


    I pulled back the stringpletely, the power was much more than when I identally used it before. And I aimed it squarely at the World Wolf.


    I was about to let loose my arrow, from out of the corner of my eye, I saw that same sunlight de cleaving down at my neck.


    If I moved, Odin would probably die. If I didn''t move, I would probably die.


    With a roar, a ck w shot out from behind me, mming into Hyperion. "My debt is repaid." The voice of Nhggr hissed from behind me, and my arrow was fired.


    Everything went dark inparison.


    The arrow itself seemed to suck away all sources of light, turning into a single streak. The surroundings mists were dispersed at the mere presence of the arrow. The World Wolf saw it just as well, and it had a decision to make with Odin fighting within its grasp.


    It released the All-Father, and did what it could to protect itself, but it was still hit head on by the Arrow that when only partially pulled back before had seared away mountain tops and had enough power to clear the horizon.


    It was swept away with the damning light.


    I wasted no more time, with a thought, I collected everything around me and moved at my fastest speed towards Odin.


    Odin''s hair was disheveled, and there were holes throughout his body from where the Wolf bit down on him.


    He was in bad shape.


    And the two Titans, they were still in fighting condition.


    I called upon my Staff of Magus and mmed it into the ground. "Shield of Asgard!" I cast, just in time for both Titans to m into my barrier, furious looks on their faces.


    A familiar screech resounded, and I recognized the source.


    "Ratatoskr?" I blurted out in surprise as the Squirrel poked its head out from the Roots of the World Tree.


    "Come with me if you want to live!" It cried out.


    "I refuse!" Kronos rejected his attempt to rescue us, his scythe pierced through my barrier, carrying with it the weathering of time. It hit my Aura, and it burned through it at such an astonishing rate that I felt a shock to my soul. My Scale Mail was likewise pushed through with enough effort, and his Scythe found my flesh, piercing into my side.


    I felt blood building up in my throat.


    It hurt.


    But I didn''t scream out in pain.


    I grabbed his de instead with my hand to keep it away as best as I could, forcing myself to drop Odin in the process. I began to draw the Runes required, as quickly as possible. And despite the situation, Odin caught on rather quickly. He saw the spell I used before, and he was not a God of Magic for nothing.


    Kronos recognized the spell as well, and a flicker of panic shed across his face.


    "Destroy it!" Kronos ordered as the Great God Carved Seal actualized in ce.


    He pulled out his scythepletely and threw it at one of the Spell Circles, and attacked another like he did in our little game.


    Hyperion as well, he shot forward and destroyed several of the Spell Circles quickly.


    It was enough to copse the spellcastingpletely.


    But that''s fine, I never expected it to get off properly.


    I flicked my hand, producing a handful of Talismans.


    I had prepared this beforehand, but I didn''t think I would actually be using it here like this. I threw them to the five corners, invoking the elements.


    Combined, theypleted a spell circle themselves, and I held up my hand toplete a few hand signs that actualize the spell altogether.


    "Mountain Sealing Incantation!"


    From above, an ethereal mountain appeared, facing upside down. Several momentous peaks, connected by chains, pressed downwards towards the two Titans. The strongest Sealing spell I had avable, and my first time casting it.


    As much as I wanted to see the spell fully, I grabbed Odin into my arms, and used Shunpo to move to where Ratatoskr was and dashed inside, letting it close behind us.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above with the same name

 Chapter 497: part 2

    Chapter 497: part 2


    Atnta POV


    "I''m starting to think we made the wrong choice."


    "Quiet." I shushed Achilles, putting my hand against the branch of the tree.


    "Seriously, we have no idea where we''re going."


    "Shush, I need to concentrate." I finally put my ear to it, the rhythmic thumping reverberated faintly. "Move two feet back."


    "What?''


    "Shut up and just listen to my direction, move two feet back." I hissed.


    Achilles silently moved two feet back and silently waited. The branches'' rhythm changed slightly.


    "Turn clockwise 30 degrees."


    "Half a step to the right."


    "Kneel down with one knee pressing against the branch, and put your right hand eight inches to the right of it."


    "Alright, you''re just fucking with me now." Achilles snorted. "What''re you even doing? This makes no sense."


    "Obviously it doesn''t make sense, this is a Magic Tree that''s equivalent to Tartarus in existence, what sense do you expect it to make?" I scoffed.


    "Then what''re you doing?"


    "An Ancient and Primordial being it may be, but it is wild and filled with nature. I met and was blessed by Pan when I was younger, it was one of the reasons I survived the wilds as a child before meeting Artemis." I answered, listening intently to the changes happening. "This ce has its own rules, and the rules change as often as we breath. We must adapt, not the other way around." I was about to say something more, but then I felt something importanting. "Stab your spear backwards, now!"


    Achilles, thankfully, didn''t argue and summoned his spear, stabbing it behind himself.


    What should have been empty space now forced his spear to stop as it was sticking from a Branch of the tree that was not there a moment prior.


    It was not only that branch either, there were now quite a few that appeared, and they seemed to be leading upwards, almost like stairs.


    "Okay, how." Achilles balked. "No way that some random blessing by Pan let you understand that."


    "Don''t look down on my skills." I snorted again, pointing at several spots of the branch we were standing on. "See those, the bark there is lighter."


    "Sis, I''m looking right at it, and even after you pointed it out, I can barely tell the difference."


    I rolled my eyes, lightly kicking his butt. "That means it''s recently grown, as in, there has been enough traffic here that it needed to be regrown. Obviously this is a path that something or someone often takes. It was just a matter of finding the correct path from this spot."


    "I''ll stick to stabbing things with my spear." He grunted. "But why couldn''t we see the Branches before?" He asked, hesitantly stepping up on the newly appeared one.


    "It was always there, we just weren''t in the right ''spot''." I shrugged. It was hard to understand the wild nature to someone who didn''t experience it for themselves. The Old Nature''s rules didn''t coincide with regr Logic.


    Both Achilles and I quickly ascended the Branches. They weren''t always perfectlyid out, and it was fairly obvious they weren''t intentionally a sort of staircase, but I noticed continued signs of use as many things came and went from this path.


    Regardless, it wasn''t worth worrying about as it was the only path ''forward'' that we had at the moment.


    Achilles was first to reach the ''top'' so to speak, or rather where these specific branches ended. He disappeared upon stepping on thest Branch and in a small bit of worry, I moved quickly to catch up.


    However, I met him standing there dumbfounded but whatid out in front of us.


    It was a meadow, seemingly an entirely different world we had just stepped onto.


    Clouds hung high above, and towering Branches jutted each and every way. The meadow itself stretched out far beyond what we could actually see. I would almost akin it to the Garden of Hesperides from the stories that Herakles told me.


    It was..inordinately peaceful.


    However, our sudden intrusion caught the attention of the current residents.


    There were dozens of Deers and Does'' with the most striking red fur that I''ve ever seen on such animals. They had all varying sizes, some ranging from something ''normal'' to the size of houses. They all looked at us with clear suspicion and wariness, even if they didn''t immediately run away.


    I guessed that they weren''t used to ''visitors''.


    "Oi, Sis"


    "I see them, Rider. Just.don''t make any exaggerated moves and make yourself look as small as possible." I whispered.


    I was unaware of what these animals actually were. The Knowledge of the Grail did not fill in every detail of the Norse part of the world.


    I would not like a situation like Odysseus where I anger a God by harming or annoying one of their sacred animals.


    After a few moments, a tiny Doe slowly made its way towards us, only stopping a few feet away.


    I was thankful in this moment for the gift that Berserker''s Master gave us, being able to store all sorts of items away so we did not have to carry them.


    I produced an apple in my hand, and slowly knelt down to offer it.


    The Doe, once more, slowly approached to the point where I could reach out and touch it if I so desired. It licked the apply once, looking up at me as if to ask for permission.


    "Go ahead." I offered a smile.


    It nipped off a piece and happily ate it, its bodynguage changed drastically, and it was must less on guard now. Perhaps due to its perceived youth it didn''t quite register the potential danger as even the others did not yet let down their guards.


    But taking the opportunity, I lightly rubbed its head to show I meant no harm. I nced to the others around and they began to slightly ease up. A predator would have taken the opportunity it was given and happily been satisfied with this bounty. The fact that I was not harming the young Doe meant I was not nning them harm to begin with.


    Achilles joined me and we gently pet the young animal as it feasted upon its prize.


    "Hello, little one." I greeted as it finished up, looking at me curiously. It had far too much intelligence in its eye to be treated as a ''normal'' animal. It pushed its little head into me yfully.


    It continued to push its head into me yfully.


    "She desires another apple, if you would be so kind."


    Achilles and I both stilled. We had no idea where the voice wasing from as we didn''t sense the kind of presence that spoke.


    "We apologize for intruding, Elder." I immediately knelt down, offering an apology, and Achilles followed suit.


    There was a small chuckle, and it seemed like the world shook. "It''s quite alright, child of the Wilds. If you were unwee, you would not have been able toe. Not even Ratatoskr cane here without my permission."


    "Thank you for your benevolence" I quickly offered thanks as well. I had learned very early on in life that anything of this kind of status you needed to pay upmost respects to and stay on their good side. "Do you require anything of us, Elder?"


    "No, merely my own curiosity as you approached. Forgive me, I listened in to your conversation, and it answered the questions I had. Blessed by Pan, wee to the hidden Grove. The Wilds wee those who respect them. Find peace and tranquility among my Children. I am Duneyrr,st of my siblings. I apologize for not showing myself, but it would be difficult in this situation."


    "We are honored to be weed here, Elder." I answered back. "Unfortunately, we cannot indulge in your hospitality for too long, we are on a quest by the All-Father to seek the Highest Branch the King who sits upon it."


    "Ah Odin." The Voice rumbled and the meadow shook one more. "All themotion I could hear, and the painful cries that whispered upon the leaves.it seems the end is upon us. Do you seek the King above to aid you? I fear your quest will end in failure, young Wildling."


    "Even so, we must see it through to the end."


    "Hrsvelgr dislikes Asgard and will most likely deny any request for aid. His is arrogant, looking down upon the Nine Realms as though the conflicts below are beneath his notice. I can feel it, the Fires thate from Muspelheim move with a purpose, and the Colds of Jotunheim follow suit. Something evil creeps up from the Roots, and Death openly walks amongst the living as their enemies. Tread carefully wildling."


    "Elder..would you lend your aid as well?" I hesitantly asked.


    An amused sound erupted from the surroundings, something akin to augh but it was hard to hear as the ground shook. "I am old. I am neither God nor Jotun. Tell me, what is my spot in this conflict?"


    "This is your home."


    ".home" The Voice said wistfully. "I am thest of my siblings. They were hunted for sport and for pleasure. My Children are in danger once they leave my protection and will suffer the same fate. Why must I align myself with those who would do them harm?" It let out a sigh. "Go, fullfill your quest then return to thends of Gods and Jotuns to fight your battles, I will await whatever conclusion thates. Either way, our ends will be the same."


    "Coward." Achilles spat out.


    My eyes widened and the ground trembled.


    "What did you say.?"


    "I called you a coward!" Achilles stood up, shouting.


    Dammit Achilles!


    We both felt the looming presence bare down on us. It''s clear this thing..whatever it was, it wasn''t a God, perhaps some sort of Divine Beast?


    It was not to be trifled with, that was for certain.


    Apparently, Achilles did not take that to heed.


    All of the Deers and Does looked at us rather.angrily at this point, all except the little Doe pushingme.


    "What would you know!?" The voice rumbled.


    Achilles pped his chest te. "I willingly walked to my death in the hopes of Glory and Honor, so that my name wouldst for thousands of years. You..you won''t even fight for your home? I call you a coward." He spat out again.


    "You don''t know what you''re talking about." The Voice said dismissively.


    "This isn''t even my home. I''m Greek." Achilles snorted. "But I was asked to help. Make any excuses you want, deny it, it doesn''t matter. I''ll be going to save your home in your stead while you cower away here and everything you know turns to ash."


    "This is all we have left!"


    "Then fight for it!" Achilles shouted back, throwing his arm out angrily. "You''re sitting here while your entire world is being destroyed when you can do something! And instead, you''re whining that you''re the only one left? What''s the point in evensting this long if you''re just going to sit here and die because you''re too much of a coward to fight for your right to live?!"


    The entity, whatever it was, it roared something intelligible, the ground beneath us shook more violently than ever, yet Achilles stood impassibly with his words.


    It quieted down a few momentster.


    Achilles snorted disdainfully. "Come on, Sis. Let''s go and do actually something useful. We have a job to do that involves saving this ce."


    I let out a sigh. It''s not like I didn''t understand Achilles'' standpoint, but I supposed it just struck his nerves more than it did myself. I couldn''t understand sitting and watching as my whole world came burning down around me.


    This person just seemed..defeated and waiting for death. Perhaps that''s why Achilles'' was pissed off, he hated when other people give up before they even try.


    "Leave, this grove no longer wees you." The Voice rumbled.


    "I apologize for mypanion." I bowed my head towards where I believe the voice originated. There was no need to be additionally rude. As I was about to leave, the young Doe grabbed onto my skirt with her mouth. "Child, I must leave. Here, you may have one more." I handed over another apple to satiate it, but it didn''t even look at the treat and continued to pull on my skirt.


    It made some sounds, and I could not understand what it wanted.


    "..you are young, you know not what you are speaking."


    The Doe held its head up, and made more of its immature noises, almost defiantly.


    The voice let out a tired sign, vibrating throughout the ground. "Very well. Child of the wilds, I will make a path for you towards the Top Branch, my youngest will also be your guide. The King above will atleast not be hostile if he sees you with my child. This is the only aid I will give you."


    "Thank you for your assistance, Elder." I bowed my head once more. "Any help you provide is greatly appreciated." Because frankly, it was going to be a headache to keep moving upwards if this was the kind of thing we had to constantly do.


    I questioned what It meant by opening a path, I thought, perhaps he would create a literal pathway from this grove of his.but no.


    The Branches, the towering Branches that looked to be great trees themselves that pierced the very clouds, they trembled and moved.


    Moss and Bark shook off, ancient vines that wrapped around them fell off as they slowly began to move to the side. And from underneath the foliage, a white hue shined through.


    ..the reason we couldn''t sense nor find the being speaking to us.we were standing on its body. The towering trees and branches, they were its horns.


    I could picture it from another view, this was it tilting its head to allow us to move upwards.


    Achilles also swallowed as he realized who he was chastising only moments prior.


    The little Doe didn''t seem to mind whatsoever and impatiently tugged on my skirt. I decided it was a wise decision to leave as quickly as possible.


    [***]


    The red Doe galloped across the tree branches, and I would almost mistake it for a mount goat the way it hoped from one branch to another.


    It was able to keep a speed that required us to be mindful of.


    The further we went, the more I realized what was meant by the ''highest branch''.


    The sky was no longer an indication of height. We had long passed the clouds and still continued upwards. It was as if we were ascending Olympus itself with the Constetions lighting our way amongst the stars.


    I realized we were close when one a stray bird flocked away, leaving behind a feather in its haste.


    It was the first time I had seen a bird during our ascension.


    The Doe did not bother with it and continued on, moving quickly through the brush and branches. Leaves became more apparent and thicker with each passing moment.


    More and more birds began to appear. There was no defining type either, it seems like Birds from every corner of the world were represented here.


    Most of them looked..normal and without that hint of intelligence to them that the Doe had, but every so often there was one or two that looked startled and surprised to see us and not just an instinctual reaction.


    "Intruders, Invaders!" A squawk resounded from within the thicket.


    "Intruders!"


    "Invaders!"


    "Intruders!"


    "Invaders!"


    The myriad of voices echoed the words.


    The Doe besides us let out its own noises as if to speak in our defense, but it was drowned out in the shouts of the Birds above our heads.


    "Alert the King!"


    "Alert the King!"


    "Alert the King!"


    "Stop the Invaders!"


    "Stop the Invaders!"


    "Stop the Invaders!"


    The Birds all flew away, except arge shadow loomed overhead. The starlight that illuminated the area was blocked byrge wings.


    "Trespassers will be dealt with swift!" The Bird''s voice boomed, and Feathers shot down from the sky. They were like arrows, piercing into the ground as I grabbed the Doe to dodge out of the way.


    "Oi, we''re not invaders!" Achilles shouted back. "I''m gonna get mad real soon!"


    "The King''s Orders, Invaders are dealt with swiftly!" I barely got a look at it now, it was definitely a Large Eagle overhead, and many more of its kind joined in.


    They all pped their wings, the winds carried upon their wings wewaponizing their own feathers, shooting down towards us.


    I set the Doe down and summoned upon my bow, pulling back the Bowstring.


    I met each of theirs with an arrow of mine.


    I leapt up the branches until I was above the immediate canopy. Pulling my bow string back, I pushed more Magical Energy into my next Arrows. They soared through the air, destroying any obstacles in their way and struck their targets true.


    The wings of the Eagles were pierced, and they fell to the ground.


    It wouldn''t be something they couldn''t heal from, but I was with Achilles and annoyed that they immediately struck first.


    Achilles was alright upon them, spear pressed against what appeared to be the leader''s neck.


    "Right, how about we do this again." Achilles said in clear annoyance. "Hey, how''s it going. We were here to talk to your King. We didn''t invade, we simply walked up here and didn''t have a chance to say anything before you started attacking."


    "It doesn''t matter, all trespassers are to be killed." The Eagle didn''t back down despite the spear to its neck.


    It wasn''t until the Doe came running out that the tension eased a little and the Eagle looked at it in confusion.


    "One of Duneyrr''s?" The Eagle looked in confusion. "What are you doing up here?" There was a certain.amicableness when associated with the Doe.


    "That''s what I would like to know." A Voice carried upon the winds, and it felt simr to the one below when he spoke. Rather than being on top of him and shaking the ground, this time, it seemed like the very air vibrated with the words.


    The stars in the sky were blotted out as a shadow filled the sky.


    We were told that the King of the Highest Branch wasrge.


    That description did not do him justice.


    A single one of its talons could have rended the ship we flew here on asunder. Its body wasrger than the Giant we met in the previous battle. And its wingspan was easily three to four times that in length.


    Hrsvelgr was here.


    [***]


    Thorum POV


    "Lady Jinn, are you sure this is the correct way!?" I held onto the mast of the ship as we were on hurled downwards into a ck abyss.


    "Nope!" She answered back with a cackle.


    "It was kind of Wilhelm to leave us the Ship." Sasaki Kojiro stood there with a smile on his face. How he did not fear for his safety, I did not know.


    "Aye, I only wish he was here to..control it." I forced a smile. Lady Jinn was a magnificent woman and I enjoyed herpany, but..I do not believe she should be left in control of such things.


    "I''m not controlling it!" Jinn shouted. "When the Captain is gone, the First Mate is in charge!" She pointed to Wilhelm''s Rabbit sitting on the front of the ship along with his mate.


    "..I am questioning my decisions."


    "Don''t think about it too much." He pat my shoulder. "Instead, we should worry about those things." He pointed up in the distance.


    The light wascking here, but there was enough to vaguely make out the red hue of a group of creatures approaching.


    "They look like bats?" I tilted my head.


    "Yup, big ol bats." Jinn agreed.


    "Hoh" Sasaki unsheathed his sword and jumped to the bow of the ship, holding it up. His de shed out with such skill that the flying creatures had their wings cut clean off, and their bodiesnded upon the deck.


    "Eww." Jinn poked one of the twitching bodies. "They''re big though. Fully organic,cking any noticeable reproductive organs. A metaphysical container to facilitate the cirction of Magical Energy within the environment. Calcting the degree of organ failure through blood loss, biological make up indicates a short life span of roughly three months." Jinn spoke with a nk look on her face. "Hmm, they''re artificially created and disposable." She kicked it off the ship. "We''re detected, they''re scouts."


    "Ah?" I turned to Sasaki. "What happened?"


    "Don''t worry about it." Heughed. "Get ready for a fight though."


    Many red dots nketed the pit we were descending into. Hundreds if not thousands of them appeared in the distance, their eyes glowing in the dark.


    "Front cannons, fire!" Jinn ordered, the magics within them umted and intense fires spewed forth, colliding with the oing wave.


    She was having fun.


    Even Wilhelm''s mighty partner began to release Lightning Magics in their direction, disintegratingrge swathes of them with ease.


    I joined Sasaki up front, Gram entered my hands and I swung to cut one in half. It was not too difficult, they were not strong, but there were many more of them and I feared they would simply drown us in numbers.


    Regardless, I swung and swung, sending many of their number to the bottom of the abyss with each passing moment.


    My fellow swordsman was making quick work of them just as much if not superior than myself. For every one I felled, two or three were cleaved in twain by his Ebony Sword.


    "Softer movements." He nced my way. "You''re putting too much energy in your swings, you''re going to tire yourself out. Use your body for each swing, but let the momentum carry you. You''re not hacking through a tree, your sword is merely gliding through the air."


    I was surprised by his sudden advice, but I knew when to listen to my betters.


    I tried it his way, instead of forcibly chopping down, I simply swung through the air, predicting their movements. It was true, they were quite easy to fell, and I did not need to put overly much effort into each new carcass that piled up.


    "Haha, that''s it!" The armorless manughed, picking up his pace. "But, this doesn''t look too good, they''re surrounding us quite easily."


    "Lady Jinn!" I looked back as Wilhelm''s Lady was doing well to hold off any that approached her with swirling Magic Circles, showing such an amazing mastery of Magic that I was left in awe. "Do you believe these creatures to be of low intelligence?"


    I cast my own magics, letting Gram be set alight with fire, and waving it around to push them away somewhat as their numbers made it difficult to continue shing.


    "Yup, dumb minions!" She shouted back. "You wanna take care of them or I can, I just didn''t want to do something too big."


    "Allow me." I took a deep breath. I have never used this Shout on such arge number of enemies before, and I particrly did not like using it, but this situation, I found myself with a clear conscious. "Raan Mir Tah!" I bellowed out as loud as I could as the Draconic Words reverberated through the air.


    The Shout of forcing Animal Allegiance.


    The hundreds and hundreds of bat-like creatures all simultaneously made a screech, forcing us to cover our ears amidst their noise. However, they slowly began to regain their earlier energy, but no long swarmed the ship, but rather flew around it as if waiting for orders.


    I let out a breath of tiredness, I had not ever used the Thu''um to effect such arge number of entities before, It was not a pleasant experience.


    "Good job, Thorum!" Jinn cheered for me.


    Ah, her cheerfulness was always contagious and never failed to make me smile.


    "You honor me, Lady Jinn, you could have just as easily dealt with such creatures on your own." I scratched my head embarrassingly.


    "Are you controlling them?" Sasaki Kojiro asked.


    "Aye, they listen to my orders." I looked up. "Follow us into battle!" I held up Gram pointing forward.


    The Bat-like creatures screeched in acknowledgement and the Ship continued forward.


    "Looks like we''re about to hit some kind of threshold." Jinn warned, looking a mite more serious. "Those were just to dissuade intruders, as well as act as outer scouts I believe. We''re about to enter Hel, if I''m not mistaken."


    Wilhelm''s Familiar zipped through the air,nding upon Lady Jinn''s shoulder with his mate joining him quickly.


    "You heard the Rabbit, full speed ahead!" She shouted.


    As we got deeper, strangely, it began to get brighter, a light at the end of the tunnel.


    Very quickly, it became clear what we were flying down into. It almost looked like.water in aspect, but more murky and hard to see into.


    The Ship collided with it without stopping, the threshold of some manner fought against us, the ship pushed forward, and once more like water, it pushed past the surface, breaking free. I expected us to be submerged in some way, prepared to cast my own spells to make breathing possible, however, once we were past, and the strange grip on us disappeared, we were no longer descending downwards, rather, we were now in the sky above a vast ins bereft of any life.


    Towering rock spirals that pierced the sky, chasms below that had a simr water-like substance that flowed through them. And there was a mncholic feeling that hung in the air with strange emerald and sapphire colors dancing amongst the stars.


    It reminded me of the domain of the Soul Cairn but.it did not feelwrong in the way that ce made your soul feel. Aye, it felt like I was not supposed to be here, but this was not a ce against my own feelings.


    It was truly a realm of the Dead, I believe such feelings were normal for a living person.


    "Careful of Ghosts and Wraiths, we have no idea what''s going on here." Jinn warned us.


    I looked around and it seemed like a strange mist began to sort ofgather at our presence. I could hear whispers, voices speaking to me from within. They beckoned me, telling me to join them, to ept my ce among their kin.


    This was not Sovngarde, this was not where my end was to be had.


    I respected the Dead thatid here, but this was not where I would take my eternal rest.


    "I am by no means a master of Magic and such, but is this mist supposed to be doing this?" Sasaki Kojiro asked and I too was taken by surprise by the sudden ''assault'' this effect had upon us.


    The Mists swirled around us aggressively, blocking any vision we had beyond the ship an the surrounding creatures that flew at our side.


    "Lok Vah Koor!" I shouted, my words reverberated out.


    The Mist dispersed, as all weather phenomena was cleared by my hand.


    With us at the center, the Mist was pushed away with a sudden boom. In the sky, and upon thends, everything became clear as the day.


    And that is when we saw whaty below in true. A sprawling castle with its own towers and defenses. The home of the person we sought, for better or worse. But with our sight now clear, it showed the enemies that too waited for us.


    Sprawling formations of undead. Hundreds of thousands, and I could not begin to count them all. The Necromantic Magics that held them together made them light up amongst the decrepit stone earths they stood upon.


    "That is a lot of Draugr." I noted.


    "Sure is." Jinn agreed.


    "Are we flying right in?" I asked, perhaps knowing the answer to my own question.


    "No point in being cautious, we''re already seen." Jinn smiled. "Full steam ahead!" The flying creatures around us became erratic and acknowledged the undead as their own enemies just as well due to my connection.


    Just as we made the decision to fly forth, a protective barrier began to manifest around the Castle.


    The sprawling towers also lit up with their own great Magics, and a hail of Magical Fire wasunched towards us.


    It was perhaps the first time we felt a sense of danger.


    The first one hit the Ship, and our own protective Magics fended it off, but the ship shook something fierce.


    Jinn quickly jumped to the front, and Magic Circles appeared by the dozens with her movements, many differentyers of shields protecting us from the onught of the enemies'' attack.


    "Keep going, I''ll hold off their Magic Attacks, we need to push through. If we get stuck fighting so many undead in this open field, we''re going to be in for a bad time."


    "Aye." I nodded, her words had sound logic to them. I would find it unweed to be struck by such destructive magics if Undead swarmed us in such numbers. "Go!" Imand the creatures under my thrall.


    Hundreds inparison to hundreds of Thousands below, but we merely needed an opening.


    "The Gate." Jinn''s eyes glowed. "It''s both the entrance and the weak spot in the barrier."


    "On it." I moved my hand, and the Bats swarmed forwards, as if to make us a path.


    Numerous they may be, but Undead were not intelligent, nor were they strong individually. Some unknownmand forced them to close ranks, to position themselves infront of our approach, but that was the extent of their team work.


    The Bat-like creatures collided with the first line of Draugr, shattering their initial formation and delving deep into their numbers.


    Unfortunately, Undead also do not feel fear nor weariness. Despite their kin falling by the hundreds, they did not waver one bit.


    The Cannons at the bow of the ship continued to fire as well. I cast my own Magics, as pitiful inparison they may be, and the ship burst through the front lines with the opening our fallenrades had created.


    Jinn walked towards the front, and in her hand, was a familiar glowing sword. "I''ve always wanted to do this." She said lightly with a smile, holding up the Sacred sword. "Dawnbreaker!" She called out, swinging it down, and a blinding wave of light followed.


    It destroyed any Undead in its path, it treated them as a mere hindrance and collided with the gate of the castle. The Magics holding it together wavered and shuddered under the strain. Perhaps if she used it once more, it would not hold up, but the st only could do so much inparison to the tens of thousands of enemies it yed and the strain it put forth onto the barrier.


    There was now an open path forward, however, and the ship did not stop, but further increased it speed


    I grabbed onto the railing, because I knew what wasing next.


    The ship collided with the castle, bursting through the front gate and shattering the Magics preventing our entrance. The Ship suffered some minor damage, but the castle gate shattered, stone and splinters flew in every which way upon our arrival.


    The ship came to an abrupt stop as well, it hit the ground rather hard, digging itself into the dirt.


    I was not quite sure what I was looking at once I caught my bearings.


    There were Ghosts, many  many Ghosts of varying degrees, but they seemed to be shackled in some way. And there were Giants, some big, some..less big, but still ratherrge. And there were bones and flesh in arge pile while the Giants were stuffing the Ghosts into corpses.


    They stopped for the most part once we entered, but it did not take one long to understand the process.


    Sasaki Kojiro jumped off the Ship, sword drawn. "My turn to have a bit of fun."


    Aye, I would let him handle it, he was not able to provide much support for thest battle.


    Instead, I looked elsewhere, a strange feeling calling to me.


    "Oh, I think that''s her!" Jinn held up a hand above her eyes, looking only a bit further away as a woman was bound and chained to a chair. "Are you Hel!?" Jinn shouted, running over to her.


    The woman herself, she had long white hair, and two hornsing from the side of her head. Her ears also were pointed like an elf''s, but her eyes drew my attention the most. One was pink in color, the other was yellow, both equally.striking. They contrasted herplexion quite well, as half of her body seemed darker than the other.


    "Greetings, we are here to rescue you, Lady Hel! We hail from a quest by the God, Odin!" I greeted.


    They looked up at us in bewilderment. "Save me?" She blinked. "Someone actually came to save me?"


    "Aye, I apologize for thete arrival, we only just learned of your imprisonment!" I nodded.


    "It''s nice to finally meet you! I''m Izzy''s Harem sister, and I''m happy to meet one of her friends!" Jinn cheerfully added.


    "Izzy?" She looked confused. "Do you mean Izanami?" She looked surprised. "Right, she got a boyfriend." The Goddess chuckled to herself. "Aren''t you a sweet thing."


    "Izzy knew that you wouldn''t ''betray Asgard'' or whatever." Lady Jinn spoke. "Let''s see, how do we get you out?" She looked over the chains.


    Lady Hel snorted in annoyance. "Betray Asgard?" She rolled her eyes. "No, my father tricked and bound me here after I refused his ridiculous scheme. As you can see, he''s been using my subjects to fuel an army." Her voice drawled. "I don''t know why anyone would think I would willingly use Undead Zombies. It''s so clich that it physically pains me to even acknowledge. But unfortunately, it''s a rather simple and productive solution. With myself bound, he can force my residents into a false body and control them that way."


    "It''s okay, our friend is cleaning up your jailers, then we can get you out swiftly, Lady Hel. We can apany you back to Asgard and seek retribution and clear your name." I affirmed.


    She looked at me. "I''m sorry, who are you? I don''t recognize you, even if I know her." She meant Jinn.


    "I apologize for myte introduction, I am Thorum. Wilhelm is my friend, and I am here to assist him in saving your home." I smiled. "Do not worry, I will not allow any harm to be you."


    She lifted an eyebrow. "You have a strange soul."


    I met her gaze and looked away unconsciously.


    She let out augh. "Does my appearance disturb you? I can take on a more seemly appearance once I''m free, unfortunately, I am unable to use my power in this state."


    "N-no, Lady Hel, I was merely taken back. You have very beautiful eyes." I awkwardly answered. "Fear not, your jailers will be no problem. Lady Jinn, how do we remove these chains, even I can feel the Magics around them, and I fear doing something harmful."


    She tilted her head and a smile slowly grew. "You won''t be able to undo these Chains. Father decided to get particrly creative. These are the chains forged by Hephaestus to chain Zues to his throne, hence" She looked down at herself. "He also wanted to torture me by making me watch my realm be used for his war machine in person. Which is why I''m sitting here rather than inside my pce. But I digress, it is not possible for Mortals to unlock these chains. And Father decided to take an extra and particrly malevolent step to curse the actual key. Any God who uses it to open these chains will trade their life for my freedom. But that is not important, my ''jailers'' as you put it, were mere riffraff. My true Jailer has not appeared."


    "Oh, are these Giants not important?" Sasaki Kojiro walked up, the corpse of a Giant hitting the ground.


    "You are a spirit." She blinked, shaking her head. "As impressive as it is to y them with such ease.I fear you do not know what you walked into. This was a trapid to bring Odin despair." She looked off to the side. "He should already know you''re here."


    "Is he hiding within those mountains?" I looked over yonder.


    "No." The mountains moved. It was then that I understood, that it was not a mountain, but a beast that uncoiled from its rest. Two eyes glowing amidst the sweeping mists of this death realm. The Two yellow eyes, each one that could be counted the size the our vessel. "That is my Jailer. Jrmungandr, the world Serpent. "


    It was a serpent, vaster than any I have everid my eyes upon.


    And I also felt a strange sensation within my chest, and a desire from within mine sword.


    "Fear not, Lady Hel." I drew Gram within my hands. "Tis a mighty beast andrger than any I have seen, but it is a Dragon. And if there is one thing I am confident in, it is ying Dragons."


    [***]


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


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 Chapter 498:

    Chapter 498:


    Achilles POV


    That was one big fucker.


    How many times would I have to stab him to take him down? He didn''t feel like the strongest thing I''ve ever stood before, but yeahthat''s something I would have to go all out to fight. Probably have to use my Shield to really take him down cause I wouldn''t have enough power otherwise.


    "We greet you, King of the Highest Branch." Sis always was better at this stuff than I was. Kinda funny considering she grew up in the wild.


    The Giant Eagle seemed to nod at her atleast. "I require..an exnation."


    Well, not immediately attacking, that''s a good thing I supposed.


    The little deer that came with us started jumping around and making more noise infront of the giant bird. Frankly, I had no idea what was going on there, but Big Bird seemed to be listening intently.


    "Is this true?" Therge Bird asked. He swept his gaze around when no one answered.


    I raised my hand. "Uh, we don''t speak..thatnguage." Almost said something I probably shouldn''t have.


    Therge bird narrowed his eyes. "This Child of Duneyrr speaks in your defense. She says that my own had attacked without warning and attempted to harm herself and you both."


    "That is correct." Sis said firmly.


    "My king!"


    "Your orders "


    "Intruders  "


    The Large bird threw up one of its wings, silencing them. "Go back, we will discuss your actionster."


    The otherrge eagles, well,paratively smaller..the arrows sis hit them with didn''t do any real harm aside from their pride. They looked hurt, at best. But they removed them and were able to get back up in the air and flew away to who knows where.


    "You did not kill any of my people even under their foolishness, thus you have my favor. You have a child of Duneyrr with you, thus you have my attention. And for the mistake of my subordinates, I will give you a proper response. I did not order them to kill anyone who approaches, but it seems that my order was taken out of context. The child speaks of you favorably, now I will hear what you have to say as an extension of an apology."


    Well, made sense I guess.


    "Great King, we arrived here with a request for aid from the All-Father, Odin." Atnta bowed her head. "Ragnark has started, your might is needed to defend all living beings of the Nine Realms. All around you, the enemies of  "


    "I am aware." He interrupted.


    "Then you will answer?"


    "Report back to Odin that he and his can settle their own matters." The Large bird swung its wing dismissively.


    "You can''t be serious." I replied.


    Sis looked at me with annoyance, but I couldn''t help it.


    "Silence." The winds around us whipped about. "I knew what you were here to ask already. I only allowed this audience due to my subordinate''s folly. We do not concern ourselves with what happens below. If any dare approach, they will suffer my wrath." He swept his wings, producing a near hurricane of winds that both Sis and I had to brace ourselves against.


    "Please reconsider, we  "


    "I have given my response, return to the ground."


    Sis looked at me and let out a sigh.


    "So you''re just going to bury your head in the sound? Should I call you an Ostrich rather than an Eagle?" I snorted.


    The look she gave me told me that it was my turn. Sometimes being nice and polite works, sometimes you gotta provoke them.


    I''m good at one, Sis was good at the other.


    The Massive Bird stopped its wings pping and its eyes bore down on me. "My good will has run its course. Return from whence you came, tell Odin that he can fight and lose his battles on his own."


    "So you know that he''s going to lose, so you''re just waiting for your own deaths, huh?" I threw my hands up behind my head. "I get it, you know you''re fucked either way, so you may as well watch from a good spot, eh? Like that coward below, you''re just waiting for your death toe all the same."


    "Your attempts at angering me into action are futile." He snorted. "You are not worth my time nor attention."


    Well shit.


    I thought a big guy like that would have an equallyrge ego to match. If I ran my mouth to one of our Gods..


    "Alright, then let''s make a bet." n B then.


    Therge Bird looked at me for awhile thenughed, pping its wings, and rising up into the air. "Return while your antics still amuse me. There is nothing you could offer and nothing you could pete'' with me in to be worthy of my notice."


    It didn''t even give me time to respond before it shot off into the distance.


    I looked at sis, and she looked back at me.


    She let out a sigh. "My way failed, handle it how you see fit. If we fail, we fail."


    That''s all I needed to hear.


    I did a few leg stretches back to back, then took a runner''s stance. "Don''t worry, I know exactly what I''m doing."


    "That''s what I''m worried about." She said dryly.


    No faith.


    I shot off after Big Bird.


    He was fast, very fast. I can say that as the Fastest Hero alive, he was impressive. However, I am Achilles.


    It took me a few moments to catch up, how far I ran, I don''t really know. But the look on the Bird''s face when I caught up, that was something special.


    I summoned my shield, and threw it.


    The massive bird got smacked right in the face, the satisfying ng of it was music to my ears. And it knocked the thing right out of the sky.


    I had to slide to a quick stop at the earthquake that rumbled out as it hit the ground.


    The Bird was no worse of wear, but I didn''t expect much, I just wanted its attention.


    My shield came flying back into my hand, and I mmed it into the ground, making the entirety of the High Branches shake. "My name is Achilles, son of the Goddess Thetis, son of the Hero Peleus!" I smacked my chest. "The fastest Hero ever. Do you dare to take my challenge, King of the Highest Branch?"


    The bird looked at me differently. "What are your terms?"


    "We race, if I win, you and yours fight with Odin. If you win." I looked down at my shield. "This is yours."


    The Bird looked down at my Shield with a certain greed in its eyes. Yeah, my Shield was a treasure that anyone would want.


    "Very well, I will ept this challenge."


    "Achilles." Atnta hissed, clearly seeing the end of our little wager. That little deer of hers was running at her side "What''re you doing!? You''re wagering your Noble Phantasm, are you crazy!?"


    "What''s wrong?"


    "What do you mean, what''s wrong? We barely have anything to do with these people, why are you going so far?"


    "Really, isn''t it obvious?"


    "Then exin it to me!"


    "How many people are gonna die down below?"


    She was silent, and I didn''t really expect an honest answer there, because frankly, I didn''t know myself.


    "You forgot something important, Sis."


    "What''s that?"


    "I''m a Hero." I smiled.


    "Idiot." She whispered. "Do what you want." She grumbled.


    "If you''re done squabbling, I will prepare our stage." The bird lifted its head up and let out a thunderous cry. As if a hurricane was created and swept to every corner of the earth.


    Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of Birds nketed the skies a its called. Some of them were ordinary, some of them were bigger than horses, and some of them were bigger than houses.


    "My subjects, your King has been challenged!" He cried, and the ensuing cries from all the other Birds was loud. Big bird swept his wings, and the hurricane-like wings gathered, condensed into a long path that seemed to extend into the starry sky.


    I walked onto the path he created, it was made of wind, but it was solid. I kicked it a few times to get a feel for it.


    I took my spot at the starting line.


    The Big Bird himself pped his wings, and visibly shrunk in size, just about matching my size as itnded next to me.


    Well, let the best Hero win.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. My immediate instinct was to grab my weapon at the foreign surroundings, but.the aching on my side stopped me dead in my tracks.


    I looked down to see my clothes were off, mostly. But my stomach was wrapped up tight with blood having seeped through some of the wrappings.


    My Aura was still there and working, but closing my eyes, I could feel the wound I got. It was on a level more than something physical.


    {Be at ease, you are not in danger.} Mus Tengai''s voice rang out in my head.


    It was reassuring to hear, and I let my body fall back down onto the bed I was stationed on.


    My head hurt something fierce as well.


    Using the Shikai ability of Mus Tengai in such a blunt way in that situation met with arge bacsh. It was stupid, but it was a decision I couldn''t give me thought of at the time.


    I took this moment to look around the room I was in, it was small, a bed, a wooden table with a bunch of books and what looked like a primitive Alchemy station set up and a couple of wooden chairs.


    "Should I be happy that I''m alive atleast?"


    [Don''t be melodramatic.] Ddraig grunted. [You did good for fighting two opponents that you would have a hard time winning against a single one. And besides, you won.]


    Right.we won.


    As in, we stopped their ns, whatever those were.


    The Box  Pandora''s Box, was inside my Ring.


    It felt utterly disgusting and I wanted nothing to do with it. If it weren''t such a vtile thing, I''d have tossed it away already.


    I wonder if Mama Pandora would want it?


    I hadn''t seen her in a while, I needed to stop by.


    Or would that be offensive if I gave it to her?


    I didn''t have time to ponder that question, because the thin fabric that acted like a door was swept to the side and someone walked inside.


    It was a manif going by human standards, someone who just entered theirter years. Wrinkles showing up on their face, hair shifting to white form blonde, a weathered look about them, even if they still appeared to be in pretty good shape.


    But that was by human standards.


    This person had long pointy Ears.


    "Please don''t tell me Inded in the Fae Realms after some convoluted Bullshit." I groaned, despite the pain at doing such.


    "I find that offensive." The Older man said dryly. "We don''t like to be talked in the same breath with our..cousins." His lips thinned.


    "Sorry, you''re right, that was rude of me to do."


    He nodded with a small smile. "It''s fortunate to see that you''re awake."


    "Was I in that bad of shape?" My eyes widened at the insinuation.


    "No, I''m just happy to have my bed back tonight."


    ".oh."


    He chuckled, finding the wooden chair and plopping down. He let out a tired breath, leaning back. "Do you remember how you arrived?"


    "It''s mostly a haze after Ratatoskr." I muttered.


    "Mmm, that darn Squirrel is going to be the death of me, I just know it." He grumbled. "I found him some five hundred years ago, he''d mouthed off to something he shouldn''t and got pummeled for it, rightfully so." He harumphed. "But I couldn''t let him just be, so I nursed him back to health. Now, it seems like I''m his personal healer whenever he needs."


    {Don''t let his tone fool you, he put in a lot of effort to treat you as best as he could.} Mus Tengai replied.


    "Thank you for your help, Elder." I bowed my head and offered my heartfelt thanks. "Honestly, after getting saved by Ratatoskr, I don''t recall much, I felt in a daze and things went fuzzy."


    "You got a nasty cut on you." He pointed at my bandages. "And your soul took quite the shock. I''m not surprised you went out cold as soon as the adrenaline went away. Unfortunately, I could only heal you physically."


    "Which means.?"


    "Hmm" He rubbed his chin. "I had to use some magics to analyze the state of your soul, and based on what I found, you lost about 700 years of your lifespan. The residual energy on that cut seems to devour vitality. It took me awhile to clean that away."


    {Don''t worry, I did not allow him to dig too deeply. But he speaks the truth, that attack by Kronos was with a very condensed application of his Authority over Time. You lost 719 years of your lifespan.} Mus Tengai stated. {The shock of that happening all at once,bined with your Aura taking a significant blow, you went into....I do not know what to call it except the equivalent of a soul-based Heart Attack and you passed out.}


    That.


    700 years? Just gone like that?


    I knew I was going to live a very long time, but that was still.significant, and it was hard to wrap my mind around.


    {Was it worth it?} Mus Tengai asked.


    Was what worth what?


    {Sacrificing 700 years for people you don''t even know? For a cause that you have no stake, and for something you had no business being involved with.}


    ...I didn''t know how to answer that because I felt something in my heart waver at his words.


    "I came with someone else, is he?"


    "Odin is already up and about." The Elf stood up, stretching his back. "He''s outside." He walked over, pulling the curtain open so I could see a bit of sunlight.


    With a long breath, I moved over to let my legs fall off the side of the bed and then pushed myself up off the bed.


    Definitely sore, but it was far from the worst I''ve had.


    I nodded politely to the Elf and walked outside to see Odin not far away sitting on a tree stump.


    I admired what he was looking at, a small stream, as if untouched by civilization, some of the most pure water I''ve ever seen in my life.


    Odin himself..he wasn''t looking good.


    He was wrapped in far more bandages than I was, and even then, he looked bad.


    "Don''t stare at me like that, I''m not going to shatter like ss." He harumphed.


    "I''m sorry I couldn''t grab your spear in time." I noticed his particrck of walking stick.


    Odin merely grunted in response. "Did you get the box?"


    "Yeah, I got it. I''m kind of scared taking It out, so just believe me for now."


    He nodded. "We won, that''s good."


    "Good is fairly subjective at the moment. You''re not in good shape."


    "Hah, you should have seen the other guy!"


    I gave him a dry look. "I was there."


    His smile gradually faded into something mncholic. "To be honest, I didn''t expect to live."


    "I didn''t say anything before, but you were getting weaker as the fight went on." Because the All-Father should have been able to bring much more strength to bare than that.


    "Ah, you noticed." He merely said. "When I said that mutt was suppressing me, I meant it literally. We''re connected by fate. When we''re close to one another, fate will conspire for us to fight, and it will lean everything into the Wolf''s favor. My strength waned because I was supposed to die."


    "That''s bullshit."


    "You think I want to be a feeble old man when I finally kick it!?" He grumbled. "But I didn''t retreat, and I survived, I should thank you. I also said that I had a sliver of hope to overturn fate, it increased a bit because I survived our first encounter."


    "Why not just kill it earlier?" I probably knew the answer, but it was better to double check.


    "Brat, I would have loved nothing more than to grab my sons and jump it while it was chained up and beat it to death. But there is a price for so tantly messing with Prophecy and Fate, it was very likely that a worse situation would have urred. So, I did the most logical thing and tied it up so it couldn''t escape."


    "We walked into a bad situation. Not just the Wolf, Kronos, and Hyperion, they were prepared for me. Not like they were expecting me there and then, but the way they fought."


    "Brat, how old do you think they are? They have more experience than you could imagine, you''re twenty something years old to their thousands."


    "That''s not what I meant. I can admit that yed a role in it, but it was more. They knew more about me, they fought in a way that didn''t let me make use of my abilities to their fullest. Kronos never utilized his Authority except in modest and constrained ways so I couldn''t use my own to turn the tide by sealing or overturning his. And they never opened themselves up for a situation where I could gain the advantage with my Zanpakut. It felt like they studied me for awhile." Frankly, my fight with Indra showed off a lot of my cards


    "Is this the first time you''ve fought someone that knew all your tricks?" Odin looked at me.


    "I..I think when you say it like that, it''s a yes." Granted, I had one or two things still up my sleeve, but they weren''t applicable in that situation. "I''ve always had something to surprise my opponents with. Susanoo, Indra, etc. They didn''t expect me to wield an Authority of my Zanpakut and had no context for it. I think I was relying on that too much."


    "It''s a good learning experience."


    "Yeah, it''s good to realize that now." I admitted as well. "Thanks for finishing my spell too, I was having trouble altering the Spell sequence properly, and now it''spleted."


    He waived it off. "It''s a good spell. You called it Vanaheim?"


    "Mmm, I have a set of spells corrting to the Nine Realms and Yggdrasil. I have a feeling you''ll be seeing them soon."


    He nodded. "I have this for you." He reached into his pocket and took out a vial. "The Elf scraped this out of my wounds, it''s saliva from the mutt. Figured you might have some use for it."


    "This is very valuable to me, thank you." One more thing to add to my newest Sword. I need to make a n first, because it can''t absorb something like this right away or it''ll probably break. It needed some time to build up to something this strong. "Wait.the Elf fixed you up, rtively speaking, Fenrir''s anti-Divine, Anti-Magic saliva and all. He fixed me up, citing that he removed Kronos''s residual power. Who the hell is he?"


    "Hmm? Oh, that''s Folen."


    "Thanks, that answers everything." I deadpanned.


    "He''s the former Elf King."


    There it is.


    "Probably one of the best healers in the Nine Realms too." Odin nodded to himself.


    Alrighty then, putting that aside. "Where''s Ratatoskr?"


    "The Elf said he left before I woke up. I wasn''t faring any better when we arrived." Odin let out a sigh. "I''ll need to apologize to the rodent; I owe him big time."


    "What, are you going to give him two pairs of Freya''s panties?" I rolled my eyes.


    "Hey, don''t knock it. Do you have any idea how rare those are?"


    "What, are you going to tell me they''re circted like some kind of currency?" If so, I was going to lose a lot of respect for Asgard.


    "No, I meant they''re rare because she barely wears any!" He pped his knee,ughing.


    Well, it''s good he''s in a mood like this. Looking through my ring, I took out the vial from back in Skyrim. The one that contained thest two drops from the Peach of Immortality, and I handed them over to the All-Father. "Drink up."


    Odin looked at it and me for a long moment. "Fine, I won''t hold back." He took it and downed it quickly.


    "Are you going to be back up to full strength?" And I wasn''t talking about his wounds.


    "Full? Probably not. But give me a little bit and I''ll be back up into fighting shape. But as long as that Wolf is still alive and while Ragnark is going on, I''m not going to recover to my peak."


    Annoying, but better than I anticipated.


    "So, what''s the n?" I finally asked. "I don''t think we''ll survive a n I make at this point."


    Odin snorted. "It''s time to head to Asgard. We stopped Loki''s scheme, but it''s unlikely this is his only winning card. That Titan bastard gave away a lot, so we know that Loki didn''t expect us there, and he expected us at Asgard right away. I say, let''s go pay him a visit."


    "Well, I hope the others are having better luck than us. Where are we anyways?" I think that was a pertinent question.


    "You are in Alfheim. Atleast at the very edge of it." A certain Elf strode over.


    Odin looked at him with eyes narrowed. "You have your Bow, what''s wrong?"


    The Old Elf did in fact have a bow strapped to his back. "The Nearby vige was attacked, you''re going to help me."


    "Uppity Elf." Odin snorted but he stood up and didn''t reject it. "Forcing an old wounded man into war."


    The Old Elf rolled his eyes. "You''re fine enough to wave around a spear. Just don''t over do it."


    "Bah, get me a spear first."


    "I got you." I took out Gae Bolg, handing it over. "This should serve you well."


    "Oh?" Odin happily took it, spinning it around a few times. "Yes, this will work perfectly.


    Well, no rest for the wicked.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    Yggdrasil ARc just ended over here, and we''re getting a PHO chapter next!

 Chapter 499: Interlude 35

    Chapter 499: Interlude 35


    Thorum POV


    This would be a hard battle, but I felt that victory was attainable.


    "I hope, you''re not expecting me to stay out of this fight." Sasaki Kojiro walked forward, eyeing the monstrous Dragon that loomed overhead.


    "Nay, I would not be so discourteous." I grinned in response. "This foul Dragon isrge enough for us to share. Come, let us see who can y this beast first!"


    "Um.I should probably point out that the Dragon, is in fact, my Brother." Lady Hel awkwardly interrupted us.


    "..oh. I.apologize for my words then." I sheepishly did my best to apologize for the crude words I spoke against her sibling. "I must look like a fool now."


    "No, no, I''m still swooning from before, you''re fine."


    "That''s good  " I blinked. "Pardon, what did you say?"


    "Nothing! Anyways, It''s fine, I''m pissed off at him too. Feel free to cut him up a bit, beating him up until our mother doesn''t recognize him anymore. But.well..he did prevent our Father''s minions from doing anything to me while I was chained up."


    Why was Lady Jinn looking at me and giggling?


    But it sounds as though this mighty Dragon had an honorable side, thus we must give it the proper respect it deserves.


    "I feel like I should at least ask, is it possible to reason with him?" Lady Jinn asked.


    Lady Hel pursed her lips annoyingly. "He''s entirely intelligent, and he can hear us talking right now!" She raised her voice as therge serpent''s eyes glowed brightly. The Goddess shook her chains in annoyance. "What say you, brother?"


    The Large serpent lowered its head, making it someone on level with us. "Do not mistake my actions for willingness, sister. Just because you cannot see my chains does not mean they are nonexistent." His voice seemed to be sent outward despite his size making it difficult. It was not nearly as ufortable to listen despite what I would assume.


    "Hmph, you''re just like our eldest."


    "Don''tpare me to him." The Dragon seemed togrumble. "My mind is not controlled by bloodlust and rage."


    "No, it''s clouded by stupidity!" She shook her chains again.


    Therge Dragon sighed. "I am forced to listen to Father''s orders. I can turn a blind eye to their arrival, send them way, Sister. They are not the ones meant for me to fight regardless."


    "You''re seriously just going to wait patiently for Thor or someone else toe down here and kill you?" Lady Hel growled.


    "What do you expect me to do?"


    "You could try being a good brother for once!"


    ".I''m sorry." It was odd hearing a Dragon Apologize.


    "It appears we are at an impasse, Lady Hel." I remarked. "It seems we must take forceful action."


    "He''s right, you can just leave. There''s no point considering that someone needs to die to free me."


    "Nay, I will not abandon you in your time of need." I shook my head.


    "Jrmungandr is one of the strongest Dragons in the world."


    "It matters not, I will fight." I did not know the significance of what she said, however. "I will not leave unless you are free from your imprisonment."


    Lady Hel looked at Lady Jinn.


    "Hey, don''t look at me like that, I''m with him." Lady Jinn crossed her arms. "We''re not going to abandon Izzy''s friend."


    The Goddess closed her eyes and sighed to herself. "He''s not the strongest of the Dragonkings, in fact, he''s one of the weaker ones. His strengthes from hisrge body, and his extremely deadly venom. Most important of all, he''s azy bastard, so he doesn''t have much fighting experience."


    That is helpful information.


    "You boys can go y, I''ll protect Hel!" Jinn offered, quickly setting up a many spells around them both.


    "Thank you, littledy." Sasaki nodded his head. "I can fight without fear then."


    "Aye, and a fine battle it shall be."


    "If this is your choice, then I will be forced to act ordingly." The Large Beast''s head lifted back up into the sky and it roared, seemingly shaking the entire world.


    "Admittedly, I have not yet considered how to y it due to its size." Sasaki rubbed his chin.


    "Hit it until it cannot fight any longer?" I offered.


    "Oh, that''s a good strategy!"


    "Lady Hel said that it has a powerful Venom, and I wish to take to heed such a warning. Would you be against me casting a spell of protection?"


    "I would be honored, my good fellow. My own spellcasting ability is nonexistent, but that does not mean I am against such things."


    I was not my Friend, but I was able to cast some things. "Ebony Armor." I cast over him.


    Should he receive this ''venom'' perhaps the armor spell would ward off the worst of it?


    Gram felt heavy in my hand, I could feel its desire to fight the Dragon infront of us.


    "Do you wish to coordinate together?" I asked.


    "I don''t think our styles mesh very well." He hummed. "I can keep up, do your own thing."


    Very well then.


    I called upon my Aura.


    I felt the scales of a Dragon cover my body, and wings appear on my back. With a thought, I flew up into the sky at incredible speeds until I was staring at the Jrmungandr, face to face.


    It was surprised by my appearance.


    "Dragon?!"


    "Fus Ro Dah!" I bellowed with all my might.


    The Unrelenting Force hit the might Beast head on. Its whole body whipped back words as if an equallyrge entity punched it across the face.


    The Dragon let out a roar of fury and confusion.


    Sasaki Kojiro took that opportunity to make a move as well, below the Dragon''s head, the Swordsman sunk his Ebony de into the creature''s scales, slicing far down its body before it flung him away.


    The Serpent swept around its whole body, quickly freeing itself from the pain of his de. And very quickly as well, the looming shadow of its tail came from behind me.


    "Feim Zii Gron!" I quickly called out as I would have no time to dodge. I certainly did not expect something so big to be so quick!


    The tail went through my ethereal body and hit the ground, causing an earthquake and creating a new valley.


    "Wuld Nah Kest!" I turned into a Whirlwind, and with Gram in my hand, I focused it forward onto the massive beast, once more, hitting it hard enough to move its gigantic body.


    Gram pushed into its scales, blood spraying at its touch.


    However, I looked up to see its face looming over me as well.


    My attack did not much but a mosquito bite onto a normal person.


    This will probably hurt.


    The Beast flexed its long body and the force sent me hurling across the air. My Aura protected me from the worse of it, but I felt my head spin as I tumbled a few times upon the ground beforeing to a stop.


    The glowing eyes as big as buildings looked directly at me. And the Serpent opened its mouth, a third light appeared amongst the dreary air of this realm.


    I took a deep breath. "Yol Toor Shul!" I shouted, a torrent of fire burst out from my throat through the Thu''um.


    The Large serpent breathed its fire at me, and I retaliated with my own.


    I was on the losing end, I could feel it quite readily. And it was by no means an unfair situation for myself, it was expected due to the size difference.


    Just as I was to find myself wanting, arge, Green Shield Spell appeared infront of me, blocking the fiery breath as mine was defeated.


    I was surprised, and the mighty Dragon was as well. It turned its head towards Lady Jinn, and I too was confused as to why she interfered when she said she would stay back. Only for Lady Hel to be...holding up her middle finger to her Dragon brother.


    Yes, it did not take much thought to realize who cast the spell.


    "I can''t use my Divine Powers, but I was able to gather a certain amount of Magic, youzy worm!"


    "Should you be looking away?" Sasaki Kojiro was standing upon the beast''s head, and neither myself nor the Dragon realized he was there until he made himself known. "Hiken  Tsubame Gaeshi." Blood spurt out from the Dragon''s left eye and it roared.


    The Serpent iled around in fury, the swordsman falling through the air as the Dragon Rampaged wantonly with its eye closed in pain.


    My Aura Wings pped and I shot up into the sky, to catch mypanion before he could hit the ground.


    "Whew, that would have hurt." The Swordsmanughed. "I don''t think that''s going to work again. This Swallow may be just a tad too big for me to cut down so easily."


    "Aye, it isrge, to our advantage, but simrly it is difficult to harm sufficiently."


    "That''s  Watch out."


    I did not have time to react as the Serpent''s tail hit me head on.


    My head nked for a moment or two, and I found myself amongst the dirt and rocks on the ground. I felt dizzy, nearly falling over as I tried to stand up, and the shadow overhead came down again. I gathered my Magicka. "Greater Ward!"


    It cracked and shattered nearly instantly.


    And the shadow came down again.


    Once more I cast it, and felt it shatter my spell just as easily and the force shaking my body. My Aura flickered and threatened to disappear on the third hit.


    My eyes became blurry from blood seeping down my forehead.


    I felt something tug on me, realizing that it was my Companion pulling me out of harms away of another smack from the overgrown Dragon''s tail.


    "Strun Bah Qo!" I used this brief moment to call upon something I believed to be helpful.


    Overhead, many dense storm clouds appeared, darkening even this ce.


    The Lightning began to fall upon therge Dragon, distracting it enough that it couldn''t keep its assault up.


    "You okay there, big guy?" The Swordsman asked in concern.


    I called upon my treasures and flicked open a Healing Potion, drinking it quickly. "Aye, I will survive."


    Thankfully, my Companion seemed to be mostly unharmed.


    "You got anything you were holding back?"


    "Yes, I have a couple things." I nodded. "One of which I wished to surprise Wilhelm with in a spar, but I suppose this situation calls for it. Secondly" I took out the parchment that Wilhelm provided me before. I knew we were impossibly far away from my home, and this should be able to help me call out. I tore the paper as per his instructions. "I require your aid, Dur Neh Viir!"


    I felt something different than thest time I used this Thu''um.


    It felt likeit was struggling against something.


    But eventually, it relented, and a swirling vortex of colors appeared, my ally roaring as it appeared.


    "Dovahkiin?" Durnehviir looked at me. "Thdro..Where is this ce? What is that!?"


    "No time to exin, Durnehviir, we need aid, that Dragon is our foe!"


    "Dovah.?" It whispered. "I am far from home!"


    It was a smart creature, it could understand the situation quickly.


    But it seemed Jrmungandr noticed us too, and looked particrly upset at the appearance of our new ally.


    It opened its massive mouth again, but it was not mes that lit up the realm.


    "Mount me!" Durnehviir called out.


    "Mypanion as well"! I called out.


    The Dragon looked at Sasaki Kojiro and didn''t argue as we both jumped upon Durnehviir.


    "Su" It spoke, and I recognized the word that embodied the idea of ''Air''.


    We were high up in the sky and we were able to get a good look as a baleful liquid spewed from therge Dragon''s mouth,nding upon where we were but a moment prior.


    It corroded everything it touched, melting and searing away the very terrain. Rocks, stone, metals, nothing would be safe from that.


    I was unsure if my Aura would protect me from such a vile substance.


    "Well done, Durnehviir, I did not know that word could be used in such a way!" I pat its scales.


    "Dovahkiin, your use of our Thu''um is still rough, you have much to understand yet!" Itughed despite the situation.


    "Not to interrupt" Sasaki Kojiro pointed down. "But we''re noticed.


    Durnehviir quickly tucked its wings in and rolled with both myself and Sasaki Kojiro grabbed hold tightly, narrowly did another torrent of venom miss us.


    Only when a Lightning boltnded upon the Serpent''s head did it briefly stop.


    "Running is unwise, youngest. Let us confront the.Dovah by fang and w!"


    Yes, it was only a matter of time before we were merely touched by that venom.


    "Get me close, and I can give it a significant blow." The Swordsman stated. "I''ve been gathering my Magical Energy for a nice big cut since from before."


    I did not know what that meant, but I would trust him!


    "Allow me to assist you, Zii kendov." Durnehviir spoke. "Su Grah Dun!"


    Sasaki Kojiro''s de was enveloped in a furious gale. "Oh, that''s perfect."


    "Youngest, let usbine our words. Fire and Ice!"


    "Aye!"


    "Yol Toor Shul!"


    "Fo Krah Diin!"


    We both shouted, our elemental breaths collided with one another between us and the Mighty Dragon. A blizzard met an Inferno, and what was left was a thick mist that filled the sky.


    "Huhu, big attacks are not always best, remember this, youngest." Durnehviirughed, but the mighty Dragon''s eyes still glow from behind the mists, and they still stared at us. "Zul Mey Gut." It was but a whisper for us, but I felt a thunderous voice opposite side of the dragon, and Jrmungandr turned its head back to the perceived noise. "Wuld!"


    Durnheviir shot forward like an arrow being let loose, using its own body to ram into the mighty serpent, knocking it backwards.


    However, the mighty Beast was nearly unphased. I think even Durnheviir was unused to fighting an opponent with such size and it was taken back by how it was able to withstand such a thing.


    Durnheviir wasrge, but inparison..it appeared like a small child to a giant.


    Jrmungandr opened its mouth once more.


    "Tiid Klo UI!" I wasted no time, and did not hold back my hidden card.


    Everything came to a near stop except for us three.


    "Impressive, Youngest!" Durnheviir roared, moving out of the way before normal time resumed. And the Venom shot past us once more, enveloping a mountain on the horizon, and it quickly melted down.


    Jrmungandr was confused.


    Even more so when Sasaki Kojiro was no longer atop Durnheviir and instead held his sword back in a stance, falling through the air.


    I found myself holding my breath.


    The Swordsman didn''t speak, he didn''t dere his intentions, merely, he shed out with his de.


    Blood sprayed from one end of Jrmungandr''s body to the other. Its scales were cut apart, and its insides were visible.


    The Massive dragon fell to the ground with a pained roar.


    Durnheviir swooped down, catching Sasaki before he could hit the ground. We made way for another attack, the Serpent pushed itself back up, and Gram sung happily with each p of Durnheviir''s wings, more wounds appeared by its hands upon the Dragon.


    It seemed to no longer have much energy to focus on us.


    Sasaki Kojiro as well joined in, finding spots it was not paying attention to, and cutting apart its scales and hide.


    "Do you yield, Jrmungandr!?" I shouted, Gram swiftly opening another wound upon its long body, and Durnheviir quickly flying out of reach as its bloodied tail swung down.


    "I cannot!" It roared in response. "As long as Hel is bound by her chains, I am bound by Oath to act as her warden!"


    "Halt!" I called out, causing the fighting toe to an abrupt stop. Jrmungandr looked upon me in confusion. "Do you mean to say, you have spoken an oath, or you are oathbound?"


    "Do you think I would merely give my word for something like this?" The massive Dragon growled, the realm rumbled with its annoyance.


    "An that is to say.as long as Lady Hel is freed, you no longer have to be our enemies."


    The Dragonughed. "Do you dare to free her, Godling? I can smell the waft of Divinity from you, perhaps you can fullfill the conditions of the curse that Father left? Would you sacrifice yourself to free her?"


    The Dragon spout out something. It was impossibly small inparison to its body, but it was heavily enchanted even to someone as untalented as myself.


    A key fell to the ground and Durnheviir brought me down to it.


    "I merely need to unlock her chains?" I picked up the key.


    "I won''t even stop you." The Dragon snorted.


    I held the key up, and rejoined Lady Hel and Lady Jinn.


    "Don''t do anything stupid." Lady Hel quickly spoke. "Even if you do fullfill the conditions."


    "Fear not, Lady Hel, I have a means to free you without sacrifice!" I called upon the Skeleton Key that Lady Nocturnal allowed me to wield.


    Lady Hel looked upon it and shook her head. "My Father, he wouldn''t allow anything to ovee his "


    I pushed the Skeleton Key into the Lock and turned it, clicking it open and letting the chains fall to the ground.


    "..could you have done that this entire time?" Lady Hel finally asked.


    "Erm.yes?"


    "And why didn''t you free me before fighting?"


    "I.did not understand the conditions for Jrmungandr to be our enemy. I did..not wish to see youe to harm" I awkwardly scratched my head.


    Lady Hel looked at me strangely then at Lady Jinn. "Is he doing this on purpose?"


    "Nope." Lady Jinn shook her head.


    I did not understand what she meant.


    "My hero~" Lady Hel, before I could respond, pulled upon my armor and kissed my cheek.


    "Ah? Erm..uh!?"


    She merely pat my cheek, getting up from her chair, stretching a few times.


    There were still the hundreds of Thousands of Undead waiting outside. They were.without a master tomand them since all of her Father''s minions had been killed.


    Thus, they waited there, patiently, despite the battle we fought.


    She approached them and held her hands up. The Necromantic energies that held them together evaporated instantaneously, and the bodies, the flesh, and the bones bonded together all fell to the ground.


    Left were only the souls, the ghosts and wraiths.


    Quickly, a certain ''life'' returned to them.


    "Hmph." She snorted in annoyance. "He dares to use my subjects to fuel his army!? Let''s see how he likes it when Ie to the Aid of Asgard then!" She turned her head. "Brother."


    The Large Dragon wasying on the ground, looking our way. "What do you want?"


    "Are you going to sit there andze about, or are you going toe with me to take revenge?"


    "Just leave me to heal and then I''ll disappear from this ce. I never wanted to fight, I never wanted to be involved with Father''s schemes." The Large dragon sighed. "Just.let me leave and you''ll never have to see me again."


    "Lazy Idiot, when did I ever say I didn''t want to see you again?" Lady Hel huffed. "You''re still my brother." But she didn''t press it. Rather, she held her hands up, and the flesh and bones that were previously used to house the souls of her realm''s inhabitants were swept up and rearranged intorge ships. "It is time for my Father to experience the consequences of his actions."


    The Hundreds of thousands of ghosts looked up and roared in fury as if to agree with their Queen.


    We have seeded, it was now time to rejoin Wilhelm.


    I only hope that everything is well elsewhere.


    [***]


    A/n


    Didn''t originally intend for an interlude here, but had to split it from thest chapter due to length back when I wrote it.


    Anyways, Yggdrasil arc is over on Patreon, PHO chapter is up and everything and I''m getting ready to write the next Looking ss omake part, so head over if you''re interesting.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m./ astoryforone


    I have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 500 - 453

    <h4>Chapter 500: Chapter 453</h4>


    Hr?svelgr POV


    It was almost novel.


    I had not been challenged to a ''race'' since I was but fledgling. Very quickly, it was obvious that none were my match, andpetitions and the like became more ofbat and battle before I finally stood upon the Highest Branch as King uncontested.


    All avians bowed to me as the King of Birds.


    And yet, here a lowly Mortal challenges me to a contest of speed.


    I, who wielded the very Winds of the Nine Realms.


    I would have been offended had I not sensed the genuineness behind his challenge. The prize of which.....it tempted me away from my inaction.


    I required no weapon, for the Winds and the Sky were my domain. However....I was not without my own desire upon seeing the Shield he offered as a prize. It did not require one to be a Dwarf of Nidavellir to immediately understand the craftsmanship and power it held within.


    It would be a worthy trophy for a King such as I.


    "Be aware, this road I created will loop back onto itself, to win, you must return to this spot before I do." It would be proper etiquette to exin the rules even if they were self-exnatory.


    "As long as you''re not a sore loser and mess with it, then that''s fine." He began stretching.


    "Arrogant." I snorted.


    As if I would have to resort to such means. And I would never do such a dishonorable action. My subjects raised their own objections to his words, but I merely raised my wing to hush them.


    It was not their ce to fight my battles.


    I was the King of the Highest Branch, I would fight, and I would protect them instead.


    Even if it was for something as mundane as a race.


    "It''s not arrogance, it''s confidence." He took a running stance.


    I felt something strange within my chest. Perhaps it was the desire to win that swelled up within me? I have not been properly challenged in many centuries, and now this.....this small mortal showed me such ''confidence''?


    I waved my wings again, altering the road. "Then let us test that confidence! This Road now prates the Realms themselves!" The winds, I let them fly freely. "Not even I know to where the four winds shall lead us."


    Ratatoskr may have absolute authority over the traveling of Yggdrasil itself, but the Winds were my domain, and there was no where that the Winds could not reach!


    The Mortal, rather than being annoyed or surprised,ughed heartedly.


    Good!


    That is how it should be!


    "Got a bell or something to start this?"


    "No need, you may go when you are ready. I will simply catch up." I said dismissively.


    I had my own Pride, mortal.


    Struggle as you may, it would do nothing to ¨C


    The thought abruptly came to a halt as the Mortal shot off, leaving a hurricane in his wake as he turned into not but a streak of light and began down the Wind Road.


    No, he called himself the child of a Goddess.


    A Demi-God.


    Perhaps that was even insufficient.


    A Hero then?


    I pped my wings and called upon the winds to catch after him.


    He was fast. I was able to admit that much.


    But it would be far from enough to match me!


    Despite pushing myself, it took me far longer than I would have liked to catch up to him at an even pace.


    The highest Branch was no longer in full view, and the Wind Road took us through the Starry Sky.


    "Oh hey, didn''t think I''d see you again!" The Mortal cheekily waved at me while running.


    "Hmph, a casual breeze is enough to keep pace with you."


    "Oh, maybe I should kick it up a notch then?" Heughed, elerating further.


    I too went faster, matching his speed once again.


    The Road ahead began to change. "Take heed, this will be my only warning. We are about to enter another Realm, if you slow down, you might fall off."


    The Stars disappeared and I recognized the gorges and crags of Nidavellir. However, the pristine mountains and the sharp and beautiful peaks were nowhere to been seen.


    The majority of the realm from what we could see had turned barren. The Realm of the Dwarfs had always beencking life on the surface as they lived in the caverns below. However, it had its own majesty, the Winds sung between the cliffs uncontested by civilization.


    Now, they were but molten g upon the Semi-Frozen Tundra.


    Parts were burned away, others were frozen solid.


    Destruction wrought the surface.


    Mypetitor noticed it too, and perhaps we both slowed down a notch to take it in.


    ".....there used to be a mountain here that I came to perch on in my youth." I said softly.


    "Good thing it''s not your problem, right?" Mypetitor looked at me.


    "The matters of the creatures of the earth are not our concern." I snorted, flying faster towards the next destination that was approaching.


    The Winds guided us to our next destination, harsh winds swept through my wings.


    The Fires of Muspelheim greeted us next.


    The Temperatures enough that even my own eyes began to dry in the vicinity of this harsh environment.


    "Do you give up, Mortal? The Fires of Muspelheim are not something the weak can endure."


    "Then I''ll ept your surrender." Heughed despite the sweat pouring down his brow.


    "Your stubbornness is praiseworthy." I would admit that he has thus surprised me so far.


    There were many monsters and creatures of Muspelheim that were reared by the Fire Giants native to this realm. My distant Kin that epted the destructive forces meant to burn down the world.


    Serpents that spewed fire and whose scales were made of moltenva. Gremlins and Trolls, Imps and all manner of Fire Demons. They were all coated in the destructive mes.


    They looked up into the sky, roaring in fury, their desire to rip both us to shreds was noticeable even from this distance.


    "Hr?svelgr." An Ancient voice called out, reverberating through the Realm of Muspelheim. Within the many towering infernos that nketed this realm, two eyes opened, piercing the veil of destruction before closing again. "Leave here, Little Bird, your time has not yete."


    "Hmph, I can go where I wish, King of Muspelheim. Don''t forget that Wind fuels your Fires, but it can snuff them out just as easily!"


    A dismissive snort was his only reply, but the Fires around us zed, intensifying, however they did not target us but the Wind Road upon which mypetitor ran.


    Rather, it didn''t destroy it, but shifted it slightly, forcing it to exit the Realm quicker than it should.


    I did nothing to counteract this as it would be unfair of my Competitor toe into conflict with the Giant King while ourpetition still held.


    Very quickly, the intense heat was reced by an intense Cold


    Hurricane winds apanied by thick snow and ice nketed our sights.


    "I appreciate the cool down, but this is getting ridiculous." My Competitor chuckled, the coldness bing apparent on his body, for we had entered Jotunheim.


    I too felt the cold between my feathers, however, I was beyond mere concepts such as hot and cold.


    I could travel down the depths of Hel, and to the highest peaks. Mere cold would do nothing to bar my way.


    "If you give up, I will take pity and allow you an escort back to my branch." I taunted him, and I found it odd myself. However, for some reason, I seemed to be enjoying myself.


    I expected another arrogant retort, but instead, I felt a looming presence.


    The shadows around us, believed to be mountains due to the whipping snow storms, quickly shifted. Glowing eyes opened up all around us and new shadows appeared overhead,rge hands mming down from above.


    I furled my wings and rolled out of the way, flying between the slow attacks.


    I eyed mypetitor, expecting him to have trouble, but instead, he abandoned the Wind Road and ran up therge arm of one of the Giants that sieged us.


    A spear appeared in his head, and he turned into a meteor, spear mming into the Giant''s eye. The Giant wailed in pain and fury, stumbling over and falling to the ground.


    The Mortal leapt from the fallen Giant to another, that Shield of his reappeared, and he used it to swing at an oing fist big enough to punch through a mountain.


    The Frost Giant''s arm cracked and shattered at the force.


    Expertly, my Competitor used the Giant''srge size as a springboard to leap back onto the Wind Road.


    There were a few Giants of equal size and stature, however, most of them backed off upon seeing the Mortal fell two in quick session.


    They were not the strongest of my distant kin that inherited the harsh Colds of Jotunheim, and the wickedness that came with such power. But they wererge and not something a mere Mortal should have been able to handle.


    The ones that remained, it was because they were not intelligent enough to understand the situation, but rather than fight, he wove through their assaults with ease and grace, regaining the lost distance between us, leaving behind his foes.


    "....an impressive showing." As a King, I should distribute praise where it is warranted.


    "Hah, don''t go sucking up to me, I''m not going to let you win!" Heughed, despite the ice sticking to his skin.


    "As if I would need such pity!"


    "Just don''t cry when I win, Big Bird."


    "The Audacity!"


    "Hey, kinda curious about something, do you recognize flightless birds as your cousins?"


    "Those are no kin of mine! If you can''t take to the sky, you are unworthy of my lordship!"


    "Wow, really?"


    I snorted. "Of course not, do you think I practice such Mortal trifles such as discrimination based on flight? All birds are my subjects, their circumstances of birth are irrelevant."


    "Haha, Bird racism."


    For some reason, I felt amusement swell up in my chest. "Haha." I found myselfughing at the incredulity of the situation.


    However, I also noticed my Competitor was breathing rather heavily at this point.


    This was not only a showing of speed, but endurance, and I could tell that he would be reaching his limit soon.


    Tost this long, it was worth acknowledging. Below myself, I would name him the fastest I have ever encountered.


    My call upon the winds sensed that we were approaching ourst leg of this race.


    The Winds shifted and the Cold began to disappear as we entered thest Realm before reaching back to my Kingdom.


    The Large Trees and the gentle breeze under the warm sunlight indicated where we were.


    Alfheim greeted us on thisst leg.


    Many of my Kin enjoyed to perch upon the trees of Alfheim, this realm was known more to me than any other.


    I was taken back, however, at seeing swathes of the expansive forests burned down.


    Smoke rose in the distance, and the cries of battle carried upon all the winds of this Realm.


    This one beautiful realm was now consumed by war and death.


    "Disgusting" I didn''t hold back my condemnation upon seeing the source. The Elves of Alfheim and the Elves of Svartalfheim were always at odds, but to see what were basically brothers and sisters killing and ughtering each other was utterly despicable.


    The Dark Elves and Light Elves shed both openly and discreetly.


    Army of tens of thousands and small ambushes within the forest.


    Cities and Forests burned in their wake.


    I decided not to focus on it and instead turned back towards the road. "Be aware, we are approaching the end. Once we leave this realm, we were be moving towards my throne! If you have anything left to give ¨C "


    It took but a moment for me to realize, mypetitor was gone.


    I called upon my winds to find him, his unique presence was not hard to discover through everything happening below.


    A female elf was being dragged out of her home, a Troll gripping her hair tightly, her clothes ripped and torn.


    Many more in her vige were dead, half eaten or worse.


    My Competitor, without a second thought, abandoned thepetition and rammed his spear through the Troll''s head.


    My wings slowed down as I watched him defeat the creatures that gued the vige, single handedly ying hundreds of monsters within the span of a few breaths.


    Before I knew it, I stopped all together.


    He took the time to help up the woman and sooth her crying. He pulled the rubble of a hut away, helping a father and his children escape. He put out the fires on their fields, and made sure that all the monsters around them were truly dead. He grabbed what supplies he could, mending wounds that needed attention.


    His actions were quick, practiced, without a shred of anxiety to them.


    He had truly given up our race just for.....this.


    I wanted to be offended, but I could not bring myself to work up the anger. The cries of mourning, the exmations of exhration, and the relief of escaping death, I heard them all whisper upon the Winds.


    However, more creatures were running over the hill, thousands more like the ones he had in.


    The Vigers despaired, but the Mortal simply held his spear out, awaiting their approach.


    "Don''t worry, I''m a Hero." I heard his words despite the distance.


    I had no doubt in my mind that he would sessfully y every monster there and protect that vige. I do not know where this confidence in him came from, but I was absolutely sure of it.


    I closed my eyes and focused upon the Winds of Alfheim.


    I called to them, and they answered.


    They swept through the forest floors, and high above the forest canopies. Between each de of grass, and among each leaf of the towering trees. Every wind upon thesends that craved retribution upon those who bled the children of the forests.


    Upon my heed, they gathered around my wings, and Imanded them down to the Earth.


    They hit the ground and spread far beyond what eyes could perceive.


    The army of monsters that approached, they were swept up before they coulde closer and they were sliced apart. The Winds continued outwards, finding any enemy to Alfheim and enacting their fury.


    Beyond the horizons they traveled, and I stopped watching.


    The Mortal stared at me, and I looked down below at him.


    He whistled, and summoned forth a flying chariot pulled by three horses that stepped upon the winds as if they were its domain.


    I once more wanted to be offended at the affront to my domain, but any rebukes died before they could be uttered.


    He flew back up onto the Wind Road, dismissing his chariot into non-existence.


    "Sorry about that, didn''t meant to keep you waiting." He stretched his arms again. "How about I give you a head start as thanks for the assist?" His cheekiness still ever present.


    "Hmph, I merely did not wish for your continued distraction." I scoffed in annoyance. "Do not dare to look down upon me."


    "Alright, fine" He held his hands up in surrender. "Thanks for the help though, appreciate it."


    "....your thanks is unneeded."


    "Ready?"


    "You may restart when you are ready."


    He did not wait for my confirmation any longer, and he shot off once more, reaching his previous top speed very quickly.


    I called upon the winds under my wings and elerated to match him as we left Alfheim and appeared back upon the starry sky. In the distance, the highest branches of Yggdrasil appeared as we approached our destination.


    His breathing was ragged, but his legs carried him still at speeds I could only admire in a being such as him.


    "You will lose if you continue like this, I can go faster and I have more energy to give" I don''t know why I told him this rather than push past him and win this contest.


    He stillughed. Despite being winded, tired, exhausted, he slowly went faster. Each step, increased his speed, I had to push myself to keep pace, but still, he continued to elerate.


    It was then I noticed something strange. I felt like he was....leaking, forck of a better word. It was like his aura was a fire that someone poured more fuel on. It would burn brighter and hotter, but it would quickly burn out if continued.


    "What did you do!?"


    The Hero''s power burst out and he smiled as blood trickled out of his nose.


    His speed doubled, and my eyes widened.


    I had to call upon nearly all of my power to reach back to his side. His eyes turned red and they became bloodshot, his muscled tensed and threatened to tear at the strain he put himself under.


    Within another blink, he double his speed again.


    I could see the Highest Branch, I could see the thousands of my kin awaiting for my glorious return.


    I had enough to match him still.....but my wings did not beat faster. My Winds did note for I did notmand them to.


    I closed my eyes and sighed in my heart.


    The roars of my kin erupted, and mypetitor fell to his knees, victorious.


    "You idiot, did you burn your Spirit Origin!?" The Hero''spanion began to chastise him.


    I did not understand what he did, but whatever it was, he harmed himself substantially to win.


    "You let him win." Duneyrr''s voice reached upon me, hidden to all but myself.


    "He earned his victory." My response equally hidden.


    "Are you really going to do as he asked?"


    "My word is beyond reproach. As the loser, I will fulfill my obligation."


    "Your people will die for those who are undeserving."


    "Perhaps it is time we remind them that we are not to be trifled with." I cast my gaze beyond the Highest Branch.


    "The mighty and arrogant Hr?svelgr was truly swayed by that small creature?" Duneyrr''s voice was full of mockery.


    "As a king, I will acknowledge his will."


    "His arrogance you mean?" The old Deer snorted. ".....his words still echo in my head."


    "We have known each other for a long time. Ever since you fused with the World Tree to be a safe haven for your children, we have been neighbors."


    "Are you going to convince me to join you?"


    "Do I need to convince you?"


    "....no." He admitted. "That annoying brat said what needed to be said. I don''t like him, but he''s not wrong. I would rather die on my feet, fighting for a chance for my children rather than waiting for death."


    I threw my wings up, silencing all the voices around me. "My Subjects, prepare yourselves, we fly to war!"


    Asgard called for Aid, then they will remember why I am the King of the highest Branch.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Hey, Odin, I had a question." The trek to the vige was filled with silence. It wasn''t far away from what they said, but Odin and myself weren''t in the best condition even if we hurried.


    Particrly Odin, he had several holes in him from getting chomped on by Fenrir.


    Despite being a God, and his spite holding him together, he honestly shouldn''t be in any position to do any sort ofbat, but he was a stubborn ass.


    "Hmm?"


    "I was thinking about what I''ve learned sinceing here. And decided, I didn''t want to run into any surprises that I should have anticipated, so I figured I would ask for rification. You spoke about Baldur before, but in the myths wasn''t the death of Baldur one of the major triggers for Ragnar?k?"


    Odin let out a sigh. "Baldur should have died, but instead, his wife ¨C Nanna, the Goddess of Joy and Peace died in his ce."


    "That can happen?" I knew he was talking in a more fate-defying sense. Baldur was destined to die, the fact that Ragnar?k had kicked off and he''s still alive was a big red g.


    "There are very few things more powerful in this world than the willing and unconditional sacrifice of another." Odin spoke softly. "It was deemed enough to save my son from his fated death."


    I felt like I shouldn''t ask for more details, that was enough to understand the current situation.


    "You drag him to this ce and he doesn''t even know this much?" The Old Elf grumbled. "What did you even tell him?"


    "We were preupied! I didn''t expect Loki ¨C "


    "You didn''t expect Loki to pull some underhanded shit that flipped your ns on their head?"


    "Alright, that''s fair." Odin quickly acknowledged. "We''ve been on the back foot sinceing here, I didn''t think about the smaller details."


    "Hmph."


    "Don''t hmph, me."


    "Hmph!"


    "Hmph!"


    "...you guys sure are good friends." I strained a smile.


    "Hel no!"


    "I would rather die."


    They both quickly disagreed.


    "Right, I''m just imagining things." I rolled my eyes.


    "He''s just mad that I slept with his wife." Odin pursed his lips.


    "You did not! Don''t you dare tell him that, he might believe you." The Former Elf King red. "He tried, and my wife rebuked him harshly. He''s been annoyed ever since."


    "Someone pissed in your cheerios." Odin huffed.


    "If it wasn''t a matter of survival, I wouldn''t be helping you." The Elf King red. "You''re lucky I healed you at all."


    ".....what did he do?" I hesitantly asked.


    "I did nothing wrong." Odin defended himself.


    "He helped my son depose me off my throne." The Elf''s nostrils red.


    "Odin, what the fuck?"


    Odin was silent. "It was important at the time." He was....more serious than a moment before and it didn''t sound like he was taking the piss out of the Elf when he said this.


    The Elf king let out a sigh. "Don''t misunderstand, we buried the hatchet years ago. I don''t hold a grudge. I would have eventually stepped down for my son anyways." He waved it off.


    "Not holding a grudge, my ass, you shot me in the balls with your arrows."


    "Good times." The Elf smiled. "But you owe me big for this, I missed my shows to take care of your wrinkly ass."


    "Pardon, did you say shows?" I looked at him skeptically.


    "What, did you think I''m uncivilized?"


    "Your home..."


    "That''s just where I go to take a break from everything and tend to a few patients. Do you think we don''t have ess to the outside world? How do you think I knew who you were? I do have a phone and ess to the Devil Net."


    ....alrighty then.


    "Well, In all honesty, can''t really me you for assuming. Not many people in these parts care about that sort of thing." He shrugged. "But my payment for saving you guys is that you''re going to help me here."


    The rising smoke became much clearer as we got closer, even through therge trees that nketed thendscape.


    It was enough that we stopped the chit chat and went faster despite the unpleasantness we were experiencing.


    As soon as the trees were cleared and the vige opened up, we could see the fire raging on the roofs, and the corpses that littered the streets.


    The Old Elf was fast, he wasted no time and pulled back the string of his mundane looking bow. I almost wanted topare it to my Bow of Auriel in how it produced Light arrows even if it was substantially different in power.


    His arrows were let loose and several figures fell out of the shadows, arrows through their hearts.


    They looked simr to the Old Elf, but with darker skin and red eyes.


    A rather picture perfect depiction if someone described Dark Elves to me.


    "These bastards!" The Old Elf Hissed. "This vige was supposed to be off limits!"


    I shared a look with Odin and we both shot off quickly.


    Mirage was in my hand before I knew it and I came upon a Dark Elf holding a cleaver-like knife above the head of a cowering woman.


    It really didn''t take any consideration on my part to lop his head off.


    If the situation weren''t dire, I would have taken more effort not to make a messy scene on the otherwise traumatized woman, but I couldn''t really dwell on it for the moment.


    I quickly moved up my sword to block a thrown knifeing for my head, deflecting it along with several others to the side.


    My appearance obviously did not go unnoticed. I drew a quick Runic Sequence to shield the woman next to me, then called upon my other swords, having them shoot towards my attackers.


    They were a bit better I would assume than the idiot I beheaded, because they dodged my initial attack, but even without burdening myself, they were not much for me to ovee with my basic speed.


    A quick movement, and I stabbed Mirage into the leg of one and cut off the arm of another.


    Ignoring the pained shouts, I called upon my Wings as I shot up two stories, catching a child that was hanging from the roof of the house nearby.


    It was high enough to give me a good view, and my swords followed my mentalmands, sweeping down the streets, finding any Dark Elves causing wanton ughter and destruction.


    There weren''t solely Dark Elves either, there appeared to be other creatures. I recognized the Trolls, but the others, they were new.


    Regardless, they were the lowest of cannon fodder and were cut into pieces by my swords.


    I could see the sh of Gae Bolg from Odin a few streets over, and the arrows that miraculously turned 90 degree corners and seemed to seek out the surrounding enemies regardless of where they hid.


    Floating to the ground, I let the girl out of my arms, and two elderly Elves ran out of the building behind me and quickly snatched her up, giving me a silent thanks before hiding somewhere else.


    It was more of the same, find a Dark Elf, kill a Dark Elf.


    Particrly, I had no mercy for one I saw on the ground, gasping for breath.


    I flipped mirage upside down, and was about to stab him in a particrly painful ce to let him bleed out in the worst way, but a firm hand grabbed my arm, stopping me.


    The Old Elf King stopped me from killing him, and instead, helped the Dark Elf up.


    "This vige isn''t just for us Light Elves. The Old, the Young, those who wanted to retire. It was an unspoken agreement that it wouldn''t be touched by either side in the conflicts that erupted every few years." The Old King spoke solemnly. "There were many Dark Elves that lived here peacefully as well, but I saw their corpses were particrly desecrated by their kin." He spat out.


    "Those old agreements won''t hold anymore." Odin came trotting over, a group of people following behind him.


    Very quickly, heads peeked out from behind closed doors and their hiding ces.


    Two dark shadows shed across the sky, and instantly, two Ravens perched on Odin''s shoulders.


    I had forgotten about them. They were nearly as iconic as his Divine Spear.


    Huginn and Muninn, Thought and Memory, the familiars of the All-Father. They were his eyes and ears throughout the Nine Realms.


    He looked at them, and it wasn''t hard to guess he was silentlymunicating with them.


    If they weren''t worried, then it seems like all the enemies were dealt with.


    I walked over to the nearest person and began casting the Healing Spells I knew. They weren''t much for both Odin and myself anymore, but it was still significant for these people.


    I saw the Old Elf take out a few leaves of something, crush them in his hand, and put it against the stump of another Elf''s arm, and then push the severed arm onto it, binding them together.


    Very quickly, the fingers moved again.


    Impressive.


    "We''re not far from the front Lines." Odin walked over. "If you want to move them, it''s better we do it sooner rather thanter. They can take refuge in Asgard."


    The Old Elf King looked at Odin. "Thank you."


    Odin smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We should be quick, it''s best not to involve more fighting around them."


    Yeah, I wouldn''t be surprised if more raiding parties came after them after realizing that their allies had disappeared and aren''t reporting back through whatever means.


    "I know a safe path, we''re not far from the border of Asgard." Odin tapped his spear against the ground, and everyone around us lit up. I realized instantly that he was copying my healing spell and casting it on everyone.


    Show off.


    [***]


    When he said we were close to the border, I didn''t realize how close we were.


    The Realms, while separate ''Continents'' that sat upon the branches of Yggdrasil, they were also linked onto one another through less than physical means. It wasn''t quite as literal as walking to the edge of one and appearing to the other, but there were actual bridges that conjoined them.


    The Elves, they followed behind Odin and myself. They kept their distance a little bit, a little more than would be considered polite, but I couldn''t me them. They were frightened and then they saw use in and ughter the people who hurt them, and it was probably traumatizing.


    Not to mention that they were aware they were before The All-Father.


    "Odin, why didn''t they leave here earlier themselves?" We were far enough away for them not to hear.


    The Old Elf king as well was staying with them in their group to provide them with somefort.


    "Why do people not simply walk up Olympus into Zeus''s house?" Odin responded back.


    "oh..." The rather obvious hit me.


    "It''s understandable in your situation, you''re not used to respecting Gods the same way most Mortals are." He didn''t mean it as an insult either, I just didn''t have the same perceptions. "Mortals don''t lightly tread upon the Realm of Asgard."


    I understood.


    They had to be invited, regardless of the situation.


    Gods were Gods.


    We crossed the threshold without issue.


    Odin only mentioned it passing, but we were lucky that both the nearby front lines were sort of on opposite sides of us, so we didn''t have to run into the fiercer battles and retreated ''backwards'' into Asgard.


    Both of Odin''s Ravens were now gone, presumably, they went off to warn Asgard that they wereing.


    The sprawling city of Asgard came into view.


    The Walls out front were littered with cracks and holes, the fields were stained by the signs of battle, but even so, the Golden City couldn''t hide its opulence and majesty.


    There was a thunderous boom, the sky thundered as a figure flew out from behind the walls.


    With a thunderp, theynded into a newly formed crater, Hammer in hand that crackled with lightning.


    "Father, you''ve returned!" Thor Odinson appeared,ughing happily at Odin''s return.


    He was arge man, perhaps a head taller than Thorum. Mostly of muscle and, well, he had a bit of a belly, a beer gut if I''m honest. But it didn''t really detract much from his overall presence.


    I''m fairly sure he could punch Giants into submission.


    "Shouldn''t you be holding the line?" Odin looked at his son emotionlessly.


    "Aye, but it has quieted down. If there is a problem, I will return immediately."


    Odin just nodded. "See to our guests."


    Thor nodded, gesturing for the Elves. "Come this way, friends from Alfheim. We have room and food prepared after your journey." He put on a good natured smile as the gates of Asgard opened up.


    Thor spared me a nce, but he didn''t say anything. Whatever it is he was holding back, it would probably be said at ater time.


    Regardless, I had an initial good impression of the Thunder God. He honestly reminded me a lot of Thorum at first thought.


    But we''d see.


    Odin nudged my shoulder to follow him.


    While the Elves went towards the....lower districts? I don''t know how tobel it. Asgard was separated intoyers it seemed.


    The ones around us, they seemed like....peasants? The Godly equivalent?


    A random person walking down the road, he immediately made way for us and bowed his head. Odin didn''t pay him a single mind, but I noticed a very faint Divinity inside of him.


    I remember what Odin said, Gods without a Domain.


    The lowest threshold, simr to the Millions of supposed Gods popting Japan.


    Strength wise, probably High ss at least.


    Not all of the people here were ''Gods'', but there were a noticeable amount.


    "Brat, do you remember what I told you initially, about making an entrance?" Odin asked.


    I nodded, and mentally touched upon the Hogyoku.


    Everything shifted into Spiritual Power.


    And my Reiatsu exploded outward.


    Odin as well, his Godly Power rose up and became unrestrained, announcing his presence for everyone to feel.


    We walked to the ''edge'' of the district, anotherrge gate separating them.


    Odin didn''t stop, he walked up to it, and kicked it as hard as he could, the Gates flew open.


    Did he need to do that? No.


    But it certainly left an impression.


    We werepletely unimpeded as we pressed further.


    The upper District that led to the Pce looming over everything else.


    Many Godly eyes were upon us at this point, and the ones guarding the doors to the Pce very quickly opened them up on our arrival without saying a word.


    I recognized the one sitting on the Throne straight away.


    Vidar, Odin''s youngest Son was there along with a plethora of Gods.


    Most particrly, a tall man with gray hair and white clothes stood nearby.


    "If it isn''t the All-Father." Loki pped his hands with a mocking smile. "And I see you broughtpany. Well, betterte than never I suppose. While you were gone, I was leading the defenses of Asgard."


    I have to admit, it took a substantial amount of self-control not to act out. Seemingly, it was the same on Odin''s part.


    Vidar, the King of Asgard, had a sour look on his face, because I''m fairly sure he couldn''t dispute the words that Loki spoke.


    The Valkyrie we initially met already told us about how Loki was basically ying both sides.


    The God of Mischief had his hands behind his back, and confidently strode forward. He looked at me with that cocky grin of his. "This should be our first meeting." He held his hand out to me.


    I forced my most natural smile, grabbing his hand tightly. "That''s right, it''s our ''first'' meeting. I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." Despite putting ample strength into it, he just seemed to take inordinate pleasure in my anger. "But I''ve certainly heard much about you!"


    "Oh, do tell?" His lips curled up.


    "The Norse God of mischief. The God of Magic, of Fire and Frost. The Lie-Smith. The Sly-God, The Shape-Changer, The Wizard of Lies." With each title, for some reason, he became more gleeful. He was practically begging me to do something and cause an incident. "And Loki, The Horse Fucker."


    You could hear a pin drop.


    [***]


    A/N


    Part 3 of the Looking ss omake is up on P.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m /astoryforone


    I also have a boosty for those who can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 500:

    Chapter 500:


    Hrsvelgr POV


    It was almost novel.


    I had not been challenged to a ''race'' since I was but fledgling. Very quickly, it was obvious that none were my match, andpetitions and the like became more ofbat and battle before I finally stood upon the Highest Branch as King uncontested.


    All avians bowed to me as the King of Birds.


    And yet, here a lowly Mortal challenges me to a contest of speed.


    I, who wielded the very Winds of the Nine Realms.


    I would have been offended had I not sensed the genuineness behind his challenge. The prize of which..it tempted me away from my inaction.


    I required no weapon, for the Winds and the Sky were my domain. However.I was not without my own desire upon seeing the Shield he offered as a prize. It did not require one to be a Dwarf of Nidavellir to immediately understand the craftsmanship and power it held within.


    It would be a worthy trophy for a King such as I.


    "Be aware, this road I created will loop back onto itself, to win, you must return to this spot before I do." It would be proper etiquette to exin the rules even if they were self-exnatory.


    "As long as you''re not a sore loser and mess with it, then that''s fine." He began stretching.


    "Arrogant." I snorted.


    As if I would have to resort to such means. And I would never do such a dishonorable action. My subjects raised their own objections to his words, but I merely raised my wing to hush them.


    It was not their ce to fight my battles.


    I was the King of the Highest Branch, I would fight, and I would protect them instead.


    Even if it was for something as mundane as a race.


    "It''s not arrogance, it''s confidence." He took a running stance.


    I felt something strange within my chest. Perhaps it was the desire to win that swelled up within me? I have not been properly challenged in many centuries, and now this..this small mortal showed me such ''confidence''?


    I waved my wings again, altering the road. "Then let us test that confidence! This Road now prates the Realms themselves!" The winds, I let them fly freely. "Not even I know to where the four winds shall lead us."


    Ratatoskr may have absolute authority over the traveling of Yggdrasil itself, but the Winds were my domain, and there was no where that the Winds could not reach!


    The Mortal, rather than being annoyed or surprised,ughed heartedly.


    Good!


    That is how it should be!


    "Got a bell or something to start this?"


    "No need, you may go when you are ready. I will simply catch up." I said dismissively.


    I had my own Pride, mortal.


    Struggle as you may, it would do nothing to


    The thought abruptly came to a halt as the Mortal shot off, leaving a hurricane in his wake as he turned into not but a streak of light and began down the Wind Road.


    No, he called himself the child of a Goddess.


    A Demi-God.


    Perhaps that was even insufficient.


    A Hero then?


    I pped my wings and called upon the winds to catch after him.


    He was fast. I was able to admit that much.


    But it would be far from enough to match me!


    Despite pushing myself, it took me far longer than I would have liked to catch up to him at an even pace.


    The highest Branch was no longer in full view, and the Wind Road took us through the Starry Sky.


    "Oh hey, didn''t think I''d see you again!" The Mortal cheekily waved at me while running.


    "Hmph, a casual breeze is enough to keep pace with you."


    "Oh, maybe I should kick it up a notch then?" Heughed, elerating further.


    I too went faster, matching his speed once again.


    The Road ahead began to change. "Take heed, this will be my only warning. We are about to enter another Realm, if you slow down, you might fall off."


    The Stars disappeared and I recognized the gorges and crags of Nidavellir. However, the pristine mountains and the sharp and beautiful peaks were nowhere to been seen.


    The majority of the realm from what we could see had turned barren. The Realm of the Dwarfs had always beencking life on the surface as they lived in the caverns below. However, it had its own majesty, the Winds sung between the cliffs uncontested by civilization.


    Now, they were but molten g upon the Semi-Frozen Tundra.


    Parts were burned away, others were frozen solid.


    Destruction wrought the surface.


    Mypetitor noticed it too, and perhaps we both slowed down a notch to take it in.


    "..there used to be a mountain here that I came to perch on in my youth." I said softly.


    "Good thing it''s not your problem, right?" Mypetitor looked at me.


    "The matters of the creatures of the earth are not our concern." I snorted, flying faster towards the next destination that was approaching.


    The Winds guided us to our next destination, harsh winds swept through my wings.


    The Fires of Muspelheim greeted us next.


    The Temperatures enough that even my own eyes began to dry in the vicinity of this harsh environment.


    "Do you give up, Mortal? The Fires of Muspelheim are not something the weak can endure."


    "Then I''ll ept your surrender." Heughed despite the sweat pouring down his brow.


    "Your stubbornness is praiseworthy." I would admit that he has thus surprised me so far.


    There were many monsters and creatures of Muspelheim that were reared by the Fire Giants native to this realm. My distant Kin that epted the destructive forces meant to burn down the world.


    Serpents that spewed fire and whose scales were made of moltenva. Gremlins and Trolls, Imps and all manner of Fire Demons. They were all coated in the destructive mes.


    They looked up into the sky, roaring in fury, their desire to rip both us to shreds was noticeable even from this distance.


    "Hrsvelgr." An Ancient voice called out, reverberating through the Realm of Muspelheim. Within the many towering infernos that nketed this realm, two eyes opened, piercing the veil of destruction before closing again. "Leave here, Little Bird, your time has not yete."


    "Hmph, I can go where I wish, King of Muspelheim. Don''t forget that Wind fuels your Fires, but it can snuff them out just as easily!"


    A dismissive snort was his only reply, but the Fires around us zed, intensifying, however they did not target us but the Wind Road upon which mypetitor ran.


    Rather, it didn''t destroy it, but shifted it slightly, forcing it to exit the Realm quicker than it should.


    I did nothing to counteract this as it would be unfair of my Competitor toe into conflict with the Giant King while ourpetition still held.


    Very quickly, the intense heat was reced by an intense Cold


    Hurricane winds apanied by thick snow and ice nketed our sights.


    "I appreciate the cool down, but this is getting ridiculous." My Competitor chuckled, the coldness bing apparent on his body, for we had entered Jotunheim.


    I too felt the cold between my feathers, however, I was beyond mere concepts such as hot and cold.


    I could travel down the depths of Hel, and to the highest peaks. Mere cold would do nothing to bar my way.


    "If you give up, I will take pity and allow you an escort back to my branch." I taunted him, and I found it odd myself. However, for some reason, I seemed to be enjoying myself.


    I expected another arrogant retort, but instead, I felt a looming presence.


    The shadows around us, believed to be mountains due to the whipping snow storms, quickly shifted. Glowing eyes opened up all around us and new shadows appeared overhead,rge hands mming down from above.


    I furled my wings and rolled out of the way, flying between the slow attacks.


    I eyed mypetitor, expecting him to have trouble, but instead, he abandoned the Wind Road and ran up therge arm of one of the Giants that sieged us.


    A spear appeared in his head, and he turned into a meteor, spear mming into the Giant''s eye. The Giant wailed in pain and fury, stumbling over and falling to the ground.


    The Mortal leapt from the fallen Giant to another, that Shield of his reappeared, and he used it to swing at an oing fist big enough to punch through a mountain.


    The Frost Giant''s arm cracked and shattered at the force.


    Expertly, my Competitor used the Giant''srge size as a springboard to leap back onto the Wind Road.


    There were a few Giants of equal size and stature, however, most of them backed off upon seeing the Mortal fell two in quick session.


    They were not the strongest of my distant kin that inherited the harsh Colds of Jotunheim, and the wickedness that came with such power. But they wererge and not something a mere Mortal should have been able to handle.


    The ones that remained, it was because they were not intelligent enough to understand the situation, but rather than fight, he wove through their assaults with ease and grace, regaining the lost distance between us, leaving behind his foes.


    ".an impressive showing." As a King, I should distribute praise where it is warranted.


    "Hah, don''t go sucking up to me, I''m not going to let you win!" Heughed, despite the ice sticking to his skin.


    "As if I would need such pity!"


    "Just don''t cry when I win, Big Bird."


    "The Audacity!"


    "Hey, kinda curious about something, do you recognize flightless birds as your cousins?"


    "Those are no kin of mine! If you can''t take to the sky, you are unworthy of my lordship!"


    "Wow, really?"


    I snorted. "Of course not, do you think I practice such Mortal trifles such as discrimination based on flight? All birds are my subjects, their circumstances of birth are irrelevant."


    "Haha, Bird racism."


    For some reason, I felt amusement swell up in my chest. "Haha." I found myselfughing at the incredulity of the situation.


    However, I also noticed my Competitor was breathing rather heavily at this point.


    This was not only a showing of speed, but endurance, and I could tell that he would be reaching his limit soon.


    Tost this long, it was worth acknowledging. Below myself, I would name him the fastest I have ever encountered.


    My call upon the winds sensed that we were approaching ourst leg of this race.


    The Winds shifted and the Cold began to disappear as we entered thest Realm before reaching back to my Kingdom.


    The Large Trees and the gentle breeze under the warm sunlight indicated where we were.


    Alfheim greeted us on thisst leg.


    Many of my Kin enjoyed to perch upon the trees of Alfheim, this realm was known more to me than any other.


    I was taken back, however, at seeing swathes of the expansive forests burned down.


    Smoke rose in the distance, and the cries of battle carried upon all the winds of this Realm.


    This one beautiful realm was now consumed by war and death.


    "Disgusting" I didn''t hold back my condemnation upon seeing the source. The Elves of Alfheim and the Elves of Svartalfheim were always at odds, but to see what were basically brothers and sisters killing and ughtering each other was utterly despicable.


    The Dark Elves and Light Elves shed both openly and discreetly.


    Army of tens of thousands and small ambushes within the forest.


    Cities and Forests burned in their wake.


    I decided not to focus on it and instead turned back towards the road. "Be aware, we are approaching the end. Once we leave this realm, we were be moving towards my throne! If you have anything left to give  "


    It took but a moment for me to realize, mypetitor was gone.


    I called upon my winds to find him, his unique presence was not hard to discover through everything happening below.


    A female elf was being dragged out of her home, a Troll gripping her hair tightly, her clothes ripped and torn.


    Many more in her vige were dead, half eaten or worse.


    My Competitor, without a second thought, abandoned thepetition and rammed his spear through the Troll''s head.


    My wings slowed down as I watched him defeat the creatures that gued the vige, single handedly ying hundreds of monsters within the span of a few breaths.


    Before I knew it, I stopped all together.


    He took the time to help up the woman and sooth her crying. He pulled the rubble of a hut away, helping a father and his children escape. He put out the fires on their fields, and made sure that all the monsters around them were truly dead. He grabbed what supplies he could, mending wounds that needed attention.


    His actions were quick, practiced, without a shred of anxiety to them.


    He had truly given up our race just for..this.


    I wanted to be offended, but I could not bring myself to work up the anger. The cries of mourning, the exmations of exhration, and the relief of escaping death, I heard them all whisper upon the Winds.


    However, more creatures were running over the hill, thousands more like the ones he had in.


    The Vigers despaired, but the Mortal simply held his spear out, awaiting their approach.


    "Don''t worry, I''m a Hero." I heard his words despite the distance.


    I had no doubt in my mind that he would sessfully y every monster there and protect that vige. I do not know where this confidence in him came from, but I was absolutely sure of it.


    I closed my eyes and focused upon the Winds of Alfheim.


    I called to them, and they answered.


    They swept through the forest floors, and high above the forest canopies. Between each de of grass, and among each leaf of the towering trees. Every wind upon thesends that craved retribution upon those who bled the children of the forests.


    Upon my heed, they gathered around my wings, and Imanded them down to the Earth.


    They hit the ground and spread far beyond what eyes could perceive.


    The army of monsters that approached, they were swept up before they coulde closer and they were sliced apart. The Winds continued outwards, finding any enemy to Alfheim and enacting their fury.


    Beyond the horizons they traveled, and I stopped watching.


    The Mortal stared at me, and I looked down below at him.


    He whistled, and summoned forth a flying chariot pulled by three horses that stepped upon the winds as if they were its domain.


    I once more wanted to be offended at the affront to my domain, but any rebukes died before they could be uttered.


    He flew back up onto the Wind Road, dismissing his chariot into non-existence.


    "Sorry about that, didn''t meant to keep you waiting." He stretched his arms again. "How about I give you a head start as thanks for the assist?" His cheekiness still ever present.


    "Hmph, I merely did not wish for your continued distraction." I scoffed in annoyance. "Do not dare to look down upon me."


    "Alright, fine" He held his hands up in surrender. "Thanks for the help though, appreciate it."


    ".your thanks is unneeded."


    "Ready?"


    "You may restart when you are ready."


    He did not wait for my confirmation any longer, and he shot off once more, reaching his previous top speed very quickly.


    I called upon the winds under my wings and elerated to match him as we left Alfheim and appeared back upon the starry sky. In the distance, the highest branches of Yggdrasil appeared as we approached our destination.


    His breathing was ragged, but his legs carried him still at speeds I could only admire in a being such as him.


    "You will lose if you continue like this, I can go faster and I have more energy to give" I don''t know why I told him this rather than push past him and win this contest.


    He stillughed. Despite being winded, tired, exhausted, he slowly went faster. Each step, increased his speed, I had to push myself to keep pace, but still, he continued to elerate.


    It was then I noticed something strange. I felt like he was.leaking, forck of a better word. It was like his aura was a fire that someone poured more fuel on. It would burn brighter and hotter, but it would quickly burn out if continued.


    "What did you do!?"


    The Hero''s power burst out and he smiled as blood trickled out of his nose.


    His speed doubled, and my eyes widened.


    I had to call upon nearly all of my power to reach back to his side. His eyes turned red and they became bloodshot, his muscled tensed and threatened to tear at the strain he put himself under.


    Within another blink, he double his speed again.


    I could see the Highest Branch, I could see the thousands of my kin awaiting for my glorious return.


    I had enough to match him still..but my wings did not beat faster. My Winds did note for I did notmand them to.


    I closed my eyesand sighed in my heart.


    The roars of my kin erupted, and mypetitor fell to his knees, victorious.


    "You idiot, did you burn your Spirit Origin!?" The Hero''spanion began to chastise him.


    I did not understand what he did, but whatever it was, he harmed himself substantially to win.


    "You let him win." Duneyrr''s voice reached upon me, hidden to all but myself.


    "He earned his victory." My response equally hidden.


    "Are you really going to do as he asked?"


    "My word is beyond reproach. As the loser, I will fulfill my obligation."


    "Your people will die for those who are undeserving."


    "Perhaps it is time we remind them that we are not to be trifled with." I cast my gaze beyond the Highest Branch.


    "The mighty and arrogant Hrsvelgr was truly swayed by that small creature?" Duneyrr''s voice was full of mockery.


    "As a king, I will acknowledge his will."


    "His arrogance you mean?" The old Deer snorted. "..his words still echo in my head."


    "We have known each other for a long time. Ever since you fused with the World Tree to be a safe haven for your children, we have been neighbors."


    "Are you going to convince me to join you?"


    "Do I need to convince you?"


    ".no." He admitted. "That annoying brat said what needed to be said. I don''t like him, but he''s not wrong. I would rather die on my feet, fighting for a chance for my children rather than waiting for death."


    I threw my wings up, silencing all the voices around me. "My Subjects, prepare yourselves, we fly to war!"


    Asgard called for Aid, then they will remember why I am the King of the highest Branch.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Hey, Odin, I had a question." The trek to the vige was filled with silence. It wasn''t far away from what they said, but Odin and myself weren''t in the best condition even if we hurried.


    Particrly Odin, he had several holes in him from getting chomped on by Fenrir.


    Despite being a God, and his spite holding him together, he honestly shouldn''t be in any position to do any sort ofbat, but he was a stubborn ass.


    "Hmm?"


    "I was thinking about what I''ve learned sinceing here. And decided, I didn''t want to run into any surprises that I should have anticipated, so I figured I would ask for rification. You spoke about Baldur before, but in the myths wasn''t the death of Baldur one of the major triggers for Ragnark?"


    Odin let out a sigh. "Baldur should have died, but instead, his wife  Nanna, the Goddess of Joy and Peace died in his ce."


    "That can happen?" I knew he was talking in a more fate-defying sense. Baldur was destined to die, the fact that Ragnark had kicked off and he''s still alive was a big red g.


    "There are very few things more powerful in this world than the willing and unconditional sacrifice of another." Odin spoke softly. "It was deemed enough to save my son from his fated death."


    I felt like I shouldn''t ask for more details, that was enough to understand the current situation.


    "You drag him to this ce and he doesn''t even know this much?" The Old Elf grumbled. "What did you even tell him?"


    "We were preupied! I didn''t expect Loki  "


    "You didn''t expect Loki to pull some underhanded shit that flipped your ns on their head?"


    "Alright, that''s fair." Odin quickly acknowledged. "We''ve been on the back foot sinceing here, I didn''t think about the smaller details."


    "Hmph."


    "Don''t hmph, me."


    "Hmph!"


    "Hmph!"


    "you guys sure are good friends." I strained a smile.


    "Hel no!"


    "I would rather die."


    They both quickly disagreed.


    "Right, I''m just imagining things." I rolled my eyes.


    "He''s just mad that I slept with his wife." Odin pursed his lips.


    "You did not! Don''t you dare tell him that, he might believe you." The Former Elf King red. "He tried, and my wife rebuked him harshly. He''s been annoyed ever since."


    "Someone pissed in your cheerios." Odin huffed.


    "If it wasn''t a matter of survival, I wouldn''t be helping you." The Elf King red. "You''re lucky I healed you at all."


    "..what did he do?" I hesitantly asked.


    "I did nothing wrong." Odin defended himself.


    "He helped my son depose me off my throne." The Elf''s nostrils red.


    "Odin, what the fuck?"


    Odin was silent. "It was important at the time." He was.more serious than a moment before and it didn''t sound like he was taking the piss out of the Elf when he said this.


    The Elf king let out a sigh. "Don''t misunderstand, we buried the hatchet years ago. I don''t hold a grudge. I would have eventually stepped down for my son anyways." He waved it off.


    "Not holding a grudge, my ass, you shot me in the balls with your arrows."


    "Good times." The Elf smiled. "But you owe me big for this, I missed my shows to take care of your wrinkly ass."


    "Pardon, did you say shows?" I looked at him skeptically.


    "What, did you think I''m uncivilized?"


    "Your home"


    "That''s just where I go to take a break from everything and tend to a few patients. Do you think we don''t have ess to the outside world? How do you think I knew who you were? I do have a phone and ess to the Devil Net."


    .alrighty then.


    "Well, In all honesty, can''t really me you for assuming. Not many people in these parts care about that sort of thing." He shrugged. "But my payment for saving you guys is that you''re going to help me here."


    The rising smoke became much clearer as we got closer, even through therge trees that nketed thendscape.


    It was enough that we stopped the chit chat and went faster despite the unpleasantness we were experiencing.


    As soon as the trees were cleared and the vige opened up, we could see the fire raging on the roofs, and the corpses that littered the streets.


    The Old Elf was fast, he wasted no time and pulled back the string of his mundane looking bow. I almost wanted topare it to my Bow of Auriel in how it produced Light arrows even if it was substantially different in power.


    His arrows were let loose and several figures fell out of the shadows, arrows through their hearts.


    They looked simr to the Old Elf, but with darker skin and red eyes.


    A rather picture perfect depiction if someone described Dark Elves to me.


    "These bastards!" The Old Elf Hissed. "This vige was supposed to be off limits!"


    I shared a look with Odin and we both shot off quickly.


    Mirage was in my hand before I knew it and I came upon a Dark Elf holding a cleaver-like knife above the head of a cowering woman.


    It really didn''t take any consideration on my part to lop his head off.


    If the situation weren''t dire, I would have taken more effort not to make a messy scene on the otherwise traumatized woman, but I couldn''t really dwell on it for the moment.


    I quickly moved up my sword to block a thrown knifeing for my head, deflecting it along with several others to the side.


    My appearance obviously did not go unnoticed. I drew a quick Runic Sequence to shield the woman next to me, then called upon my other swords, having them shoot towards my attackers.


    They were a bit better I would assume than the idiot I beheaded, because they dodged my initial attack, but even without burdening myself, they were not much for me to ovee with my basic speed.


    A quick movement, and I stabbed Mirage into the leg of one and cut off the arm of another.


    Ignoring the pained shouts, I called upon my Wings as I shot up two stories, catching a child that was hanging from the roof of the house nearby.


    It was high enough to give me a good view, and my swords followed my mentalmands, sweeping down the streets, finding any Dark Elves causing wanton ughter and destruction.


    There weren''t solely Dark Elves either, there appeared to be other creatures. I recognized the Trolls, but the others, they were new.


    Regardless, they were the lowest of cannon fodder and were cut into pieces by my swords.


    I could see the sh of Gae Bolg from Odin a few streets over, and the arrows that miraculously turned 90 degree corners and seemed to seek out the surrounding enemies regardless of where they hid.


    Floating to the ground, I let the girl out of my arms, and two elderly Elves ran out of the building behind me and quickly snatched her up, giving me a silent thanks before hiding somewhere else.


    It was more of the same, find a Dark Elf, kill a Dark Elf.


    Particrly, I had no mercy for one I saw on the ground, gasping for breath.


    I flipped mirage upside down, and was about to stab him in a particrly painful ce to let him bleed out in the worst way, but a firm hand grabbed my arm, stopping me.


    The Old Elf King stopped me from killing him, and instead, helped the Dark Elf up.


    "This vige isn''t just for us Light Elves. The Old, the Young, those who wanted to retire. It was an unspoken agreement that it wouldn''t be touched by either side in the conflicts that erupted every few years." The Old King spoke solemnly. "There were many Dark Elves that lived here peacefully as well, but I saw their corpses were particrly desecrated by their kin." He spat out.


    "Those old agreements won''t hold anymore." Odin came trotting over, a group of people following behind him.


    Very quickly, heads peeked out from behind closed doors and their hiding ces.


    Two dark shadows shed across the sky, and instantly, two Ravens perched on Odin''s shoulders.


    I had forgotten about them. They were nearly as iconic as his Divine Spear.


    Huginn and Muninn, Thought and Memory, the familiars of the All-Father. They were his eyes and ears throughout the Nine Realms.


    He looked at them, and it wasn''t hard to guess he was silentlymunicating with them.


    If they weren''t worried, then it seems like all the enemies were dealt with.


    I walked over to the nearest person and began casting the Healing Spells I knew. They weren''t much for both Odin and myself anymore, but it was still significant for these people.


    I saw the Old Elf take out a few leaves of something, crush them in his hand, and put it against the stump of another Elf''s arm, and then push the severed arm onto it, binding them together.


    Very quickly, the fingers moved again.


    Impressive.


    "We''re not far from the front Lines." Odin walked over. "If you want to move them, it''s better we do it sooner rather thanter. They can take refuge in Asgard."


    The Old Elf King looked at Odin. "Thank you."


    Odin smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We should be quick, it''s best not to involve more fighting around them."


    Yeah, I wouldn''t be surprised if more raiding parties came after them after realizing that their allies had disappeared and aren''t reporting back through whatever means.


    "I know a safe path, we''re not far from the border of Asgard." Odin tapped his spear against the ground, and everyone around us lit up. I realized instantly that he was copying my healing spell and casting it on everyone.


    Show off.


    [***]


    When he said we were close to the border, I didn''t realize how close we were.


    The Realms, while separate ''Continents'' that sat upon the branches of Yggdrasil, they were also linked onto one another through less than physical means. It wasn''t quite as literal as walking to the edge of one and appearing to the other, but there were actual bridges that conjoined them.


    The Elves, they followed behind Odin and myself. They kept their distance a little bit, a little more than would be considered polite, but I couldn''t me them. They were frightened and then they saw use in and ughter the people who hurt them, and it was probably traumatizing.


    Not to mention that they were aware they were before The All-Father.


    "Odin, why didn''t they leave here earlier themselves?" We were far enough away for them not to hear.


    The Old Elf king as well was staying with them in their group to provide them with somefort.


    "Why do people not simply walk up Olympus into Zeus''s house?" Odin responded back.


    "oh" The rather obvious hit me.


    "It''s understandable in your situation, you''re not used to respecting Gods the same way most Mortals are." He didn''t mean it as an insult either, I just didn''t have the same perceptions. "Mortals don''t lightly tread upon the Realm of Asgard."


    I understood.


    They had to be invited, regardless of the situation.


    Gods were Gods.


    We crossed the threshold without issue.


    Odin only mentioned it passing, but we were lucky that both the nearby front lines were sort of on opposite sides of us, so we didn''t have to run into the fiercer battles and retreated ''backwards'' into Asgard.


    Both of Odin''s Ravens were now gone, presumably, they went off to warn Asgard that they wereing.


    The sprawling city of Asgard came into view.


    The Walls out front were littered with cracks and holes, the fields were stained by the signs of battle, but even so, the Golden City couldn''t hide its opulence and majesty.


    There was a thunderous boom, the sky thundered as a figure flew out from behind the walls.


    With a thunderp, theynded into a newly formed crater, Hammer in hand that crackled with lightning.


    "Father, you''ve returned!" Thor Odinson appeared,ughing happily at Odin''s return.


    He was arge man, perhaps a head taller than Thorum. Mostly of muscle and, well, he had a bit of a belly, a beer gut if I''m honest. But it didn''t really detract much from his overall presence.


    I''m fairly sure he could punch Giants into submission.


    "Shouldn''t you be holding the line?" Odin looked at his son emotionlessly.


    "Aye, but it has quieted down. If there is a problem, I will return immediately."


    Odin just nodded. "See to our guests."


    Thor nodded, gesturing for the Elves. "Come this way, friends from Alfheim. We have room and food prepared after your journey." He put on a good natured smile as the gates of Asgard opened up.


    Thor spared me a nce, but he didn''t say anything. Whatever it is he was holding back, it would probably be said at ater time.


    Regardless, I had an initial good impression of the Thunder God. He honestly reminded me a lot of Thorum at first thought.


    But we''d see.


    Odin nudged my shoulder to follow him.


    While the Elves went towards the.lower districts? I don''t know how tobel it. Asgard was separated intoyers it seemed.


    The ones around us, they seemed like.peasants? The Godly equivalent?


    A random person walking down the road, he immediately made way for us and bowed his head. Odin didn''t pay him a single mind, but I noticed a very faint Divinity inside of him.


    I remember what Odin said, Gods without a Domain.


    The lowest threshold, simr to the Millions of supposed Gods popting Japan.


    Strength wise, probably High ss at least.


    Not all of the people here were ''Gods'', but there were a noticeable amount.


    "Brat, do you remember what I told you initially, about making an entrance?" Odin asked.


    I nodded, and mentally touched upon the Hogyoku.


    Everything shifted into Spiritual Power.


    And my Reiatsu exploded outward.


    Odin as well, his Godly Power rose up and became unrestrained, announcing his presence for everyone to feel.


    We walked to the ''edge'' of the district, anotherrge gate separating them.


    Odin didn''t stop, he walked up to it, and kicked it as hard as he could, the Gates flew open.


    Did he need to do that? No.


    But it certainly left an impression.


    We werepletely unimpeded as we pressed further.


    The upper District that led to the Pce looming over everything else.


    Many Godly eyes were upon us at this point, and the ones guarding the doors to the Pce very quickly opened them up on our arrival without saying a word.


    I recognized the one sitting on the Throne straight away.


    Vidar, Odin''s youngest Son was there along with a plethora of Gods.


    Most particrly, a tall man with gray hair and white clothes stood nearby.


    "If it isn''t the All-Father." Loki pped his hands with a mocking smile. "And I see you broughtpany. Well, betterte than never I suppose. While you were gone, I was leading the defenses of Asgard."


    I have to admit, it took a substantial amount of self-control not to act out. Seemingly, it was the same on Odin''s part.


    Vidar, the King of Asgard, had a sour look on his face, because I''m fairly sure he couldn''t dispute the words that Loki spoke.


    The Valkyrie we initially met already told us about how Loki was basically ying both sides.


    The God of Mischief had his hands behind his back, and confidently strode forward. He looked at me with that cocky grin of his. "This should be our first meeting." He held his hand out to me.


    I forced my most natural smile, grabbing his hand tightly. "That''s right, it''s our ''first'' meeting. I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." Despite putting ample strength into it, he just seemed to take inordinate pleasure in my anger. "But I''ve certainly heard much about you!"


    "Oh, do tell?" His lips curled up.


    "The Norse God of mischief. The God of Magic, of Fire and Frost. The Lie-Smith. The Sly-God, The Shape-Changer, The Wizard of Lies." With each title, for some reason, he became more gleeful. He was practically begging me to do something and cause an incident. "And Loki, The Horse Fucker."


    You could hear a pin drop.


    [***]


    A/N


    Part 3 of the Looking ss omake is up on P.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m /astoryforone


    I also have a boosty for those who can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 501:

    Chapter 501:


    I almost wanted to say that everything up to this point was worth it purely for the look on Loki''s face.


    I would be lying, of course, but it certainly made me feel better.


    Funny enough, my words had silenced the entire room. I''m guessing that title was one of those things that they simply did not talk about openly.


    Well, fuck him.


    I felt his grip tighten and his smile strained.


    "Careful, Mortal. Less you say something you shouldn''t."


    "You''re right, I''m sorry." I put my other hand over my chest. "It seems I made a mistake!" I raised my voice, pausing for a moment. I think the tense atmosphere eased a little as they suspected I was going to apologize, and they could gloss over this whole thing. "Calling you The Horse Fucker would imply you were doing the fucking, wouldn''t it? But you were the one getting fucked by another horse."


    He twitched slightly.


    "Do you visit the stables if you want a good time?" I asked. "Is looking at a Pegasus for you the same as if I looked at an Angel or Valkyrie? I''m genuinely curious, was it when the Horse was inside of you that you thought, ''Hey, I''m getting fucked by a Horse, maybe my decisions up to this point were wrong'' or did you just double down, ''Well, I''m already getting fucked by the Horse, I may as well keep going?''


    A glimmer of steel wasing right for my eye. Loki held a dagger in his hand and I grabbed it before it could reach me.


    "To be honest, it is far from the worst decision you''ve made in your life." I kept my innocent smile. "And I''m not talking about your stupid hair."


    "You forget your ce." He hissed.


    "Oh wow, point to me. I honestly didn''t think that would piss you off as much as it did. Was it the Horse fuckingments I made, or was it about your stupid hair? Because honestly, I feel like you''re the type of person who wouldn''t get upset at being called a horse fucker." I hummed. "Is this how Asgard treats their guests?" I looked up towards Vidar.


    "Loki." Vidar''s voice carried across the room, making the Trickster God nearly snarl, but pull away his dagger.


    "Was merely a greeting." The Trickster made his dagger disappear in a burst of magic. As if he did nothing wrong, he let go of my hand and put his hands behind his back, keeping a calm smile on his face as he looked towards everyone else.


    "Yeah, it''s all good. We were just horsing around."God, seeing Loki getting annoyed was my new favorite thing now.


    The not so subtle re he was leveling against me was just icing on the cake.


    "..did the horse have to pay Child Support?"


    His hands burst out with fire and Ice.


    The thing was, I didn''t think I pissed him off that much. I like to think myself witty and intelligent, but I would admit that Loki was someone who would beat me in that department. He was more than capable of keeping up with my insults and poking my sore spots if the situation called for it, but he was holding himself back.


    He wanted it to turn into a ''fight''.


    He was goading me into responding with force in turn. Honestly, his shown anger is probably only about 10% of what it actually is.


    It didn''t matter that he would have started it because he could probably justify it in the eyes of the Gods around him.


    "Enough!" Vidar mmed his hand onto his throne, forcing Loki''s magic to cancel. "Loki, your assistance was not asked in treating with our guest, stand to the side." The Trickster harrumphed, tossing his hands up as he stood by a few other Gods. "And yes, this is not how we treat guests, however, this is not how we expect Guests to act." The King''s hard gaze turned to me.


    I nced at Odin, who was not making anyment or moving to interfere.


    I wasn''t obtuse, I could gleam that he was intentionally letting me run my mouth and kick up a fuss on my own.


    I have no idea what his n was at this moment, so I would just keep going at my own pace and do what I wanted to in the moment.


    The Gods around Loki were also giving me looks, and they were quite different from the others as well.


    Odin said that Loki had allies within the Court, I guess it had be this tant.


    "Bring everyone else in, Thor is about to arrive." Vidar said in a tired voice.


    When he said that everyone else, I expected the other Gods they had on hand that weren''t holding down the fort.


    What I did not expect was to see familiar faces.


    "Sairaorg?" I furrowed my brow.


    The Devil grinned, waving at me. He was wearing armor with a significant amount of blood sttered across it.


    It wasn''t just him either.


    The Boy Band member was here, Sun Wukong''s descendant, The Exorcist woman from the gathering that could apparently make Holy Firearms, the girl that I beat from Nuwa''s Pce from when I was ying around. There were others that I somewhat recognized from the party but never got to meet first hand, such as with guy in Greek style armor,plete with a Xiphos at his side.


    All of them looked like they had been fighting very recently.


    "Hmm, so you''re acquainted." Loki''s eyes glimmered and a sly smile appeared on his face.


    I frowned at his words because it was obvious he was subtly threatening me.


    I recalled Odin''s original n, to have the ''Kids''e here and make a name for themselves, fight a few battles, grab the attention and all that.


    Obviously, our original ns wentpletely out the window after arriving, so Ipletely forgot about this tidbit until now.


    Thor entered a momentter, looking rather jovial. "Father, I have settled the Elves as you ordered." His presence was rather hard to ignore.


    Honestly, I''ve interacted with him all of two times now, if we count merely hearing his words, and I found myself easing in his presence simrly to how I do with Artoria.


    Charisma is going to Charisma.


    "Brother." Vidar said sternly, and the Thunder God adopted an awkward smile, scuttling over to Odin''s side. "First, I will give my thanks to our Guests who have fought by our sides. Young they may be, they have fought bravely and admirably." He gestured to the ''kids''. "Awards will be meted once the war is finished."


    They shouldn''t have been sent somewhere too dangerous, so I wasn''t going to be worried for their safety.


    "The assault by our enemies has eased upon the arrival of the previous dawn. This has allowed us a momentary respite and time to n. Heimdal holds the Line at the boundary of Muspelheim along with Freyja. Njord pressures them opposite from Vanaheim along with our Vanir brethren. Skadi remained behind at the line of Jotunheim as the Eight Frost Giant Warlords retreated. Otherwise, the Front Lines havee to a lull with minor fighting. I will hear everyone''s thoughts."


    "Clearly they retreated after hearing the return of Father." Thorughed. "Father, tell us of what battle left you in this state."


    The others looked particrly interested.


    To them, wounds and such weren''t a big deal if one''s life wasn''t in danger. If you survived, then that just meant it was a good battle worth a story.


    Even Loki looked as if he was earnestly wanting to hear the answer.


    Did.he not know yet?


    .It''d been what, a bit over a day? It would probably take him a day or two to travel down to the Roots himself without suspicion of his absence. Combined with the fact that the ones down there probably couldn''t navigate their way up meant that there was ack of information exchange considering even my Kaleidophone was having trouble here, It was safe to assume all methods of information exchange were halted!


    Loki originally expected Odin toe straight to Asgard, probably after finding out about Mimir, the dy must have caused some concern in him. He wasn''t too surprised by my own appearance, and there''s no doubt he knows about the others due to the reports from the Front Line by the Valkyrie.


    I think hepletely ignored the others because they were insignificant in his eyes.


    But most important!


    He didn''t know yet.


    He didn''t know we just came back from the Roots.


    Odin and I realized this simultaneously and shared a look.


    The All-Father''s expression quickly changed as he donned a prideful smirk. "Let it be known to all the Realms, I have fought the World Wolf and emerged Victorious!" He proudly mmed the spear onto the ground.


    I held back augh because technically, he was correct.


    I ignored the abrupt cheers around the court and focused on Loki, and just barely, I noticed his eyes dte.


    "Preposterous!" Loki spat out, everyone snapping their heads back to him. He cleared his throat. "We know how powerful my unfortunate child is. All-Father, are you to say you overcame fate itself? That is abold im."


    "What''s wrong, Loki, you don''t sound worried, do you?" I said mockingly.


    Loki frowned my way. "I would be thrilled that one of Asgard''s great enemies was defeated." I knew he absolutely despised having to say that out loud. "However, I am simply skeptical."


    Well, how does it feel to have your well thought out ns fucked up? Of course, he didn''t know the truth, but I relished his immediate confusion and assumptions.


    Odin patted his chest. "I carry with me the wounds of its jaws, but I am alive and it is defeated." He raised his hand up, pointing at me. "And it''s thanks to the brat."


    And that was my que. "Forgive me for my earlier discourtesy, I was in a sour mood after having to fight both Kronos and Hyperion and aid Odin with Fenrir. Both the Titans for whom were very vocal about being there under a certain someone''s orders." I held my hands up, producing Pandora''s Box, just to put the final nail in the coffin of Loki''s current thoughts.


    A sudden hush befell the room, because I''m fairly sure everyone could feel the malice radiating from this thing.


    "What is that?" Vidar, King of Asgard demanded an answer.


    "Yes, Loki, what is this?" I turned to the Trickster God.


    Everyone else looked at him.


    "How would I possibly know?" His tone carried a breath of nonchnce, but there was something there that tickled everyone that looked at him the wrong way.


    "Answer him, Loki." Odin addressed him for the first time since returning.


    "Well, it appears to be a box." He said flippantly. "Do you need me to point out the obvious?"


    "My King, how long are we going to suffer this outsider''s disrespect?" Someone stepped up in Loki''s defense.


    "Meili." Odin''s eye narrowed.


    Meili, if I recalled was a God of.travel? I believe he was Thor''s half brother as another child of Jr.


    But then again, most Norse Gods had familial rtions in some way or another, so I don''t know if what I recall about the myths is entirely urate when considering family lines.


    "I agree." Another stepped up. A bigger fellow, a build simr to Thor.


    "Modi, what foolishness are you speaking?" The Thunder God looked confused.


    The Thunder God, he came off as a bit.whimsical, If I were to be honest, but I didn''t doubt for a second that he wasn''t aware of what was going on.


    Sides were finally being drawn in the sand, which is what Odin and by extension, Vidar seemed to want right at this moment. A sword in the open is much better to face than a dagger hidden in the dark.


    "Father, he disrespected Asgard the moment he arrived. No showed no respect for our Court and insulted one of us openly!" Modi, the God of Courage, pointed at me in usation.


    "I disagree." I crossed my arms.


    "Disagree!? We all heard what you spoke to Loki. Loki has done nothing but defend Asgard against our Enemies. We have seen him bleed upon the battlefields, lead our armies and ughter our foes." He swiped his hand through the air. "If it were not for Loki, the Defense Lines bordering Jotunheim would not be the strongest we hold! Compared to him, this outsider merely ims a feat that cannot be verified."


    "You insult me, I demand a duel to the death." I delivered quite pointedly.


    The God of Courage nearly stumbled in ce.


    He expected me to argue, to defend myself, and I said fuck it let''s decide who''s right by a duel.


    As a God of Courage, well, he would be expected to fight me as well, which I''m pretty sure went against their current ns. If not, well, killing one of the Gods siding with Loki would be preferable.


    Really, the only consideration at the moment was Thor''s feeling as it was his son. And I would most certainly not want to fight the Thunder God at this point in time nor make him an enemy.


    I had options either way.


    "There will be no Duels to the Death while we fight Ragnark!" Vidar mmed his fist against the throne, his gaze sweeping over the gathered. "Who here agrees with Modi?"


    Several more deities joined Loki''s side silently.


    "Sl, Sga, Dagr, Dellingr, Be, Gerr." Odin named them off intentionally.


    Sl, The Sun Goddess of Norse Myth.


    Sga, Goddess of Wisdom, often mistaken for Frigga.


    Dagr, God of Day.


    Dellingr, God of Dawn.


    Be, Goddess of Agriculture.


    Gerr, Goddess of Earth and Fertility.


    It seems like the group was associated with one another with regards to their Domains.


    It was enough to show how much sway Loki currently had and why Vidar or Odin simply couldn''t remove him outright without causing significant problems. The issue was, how many were on the fence? And if Odin or Vidar yed it badly, they could decide that Loki''s team was looking brighter.


    "Brother, are you sure you are making a wise choice?" A God next to Thor, someone evenrger than the Norse God of Thunder spoke. And the way he was addressing Modi, I could guess it was Magni, the God of Strength.


    "I was always the wiser one between us, brother." The God of Courage snorted.


    "Modi" Thor lookedhurt.


    The God of courage didn''t answer his father.


    "It''s a simple matter then." Odin stroked his beard. "The Brat uses you, Lokiand you im innocence. We can simply ask a third, neutral party."


    "And who do you im as Neutral?" Loki''s lips curled up.


    "Why don''t we ask Ratatoskr?" Odin smiled himself. "It''s well known our mutual distaste for one another. There should be no reason for him to lie."


    Loki was silent, looking like his mind was running a mile a mile a minute. Ever since we got to Asgard, he''d been on the back foot.


    Loki moved his fingers back and forth as if he was weaving a spell, even if no magic was being cast, I could tell something was happening. I found it hard to believe that he hadn''t pulled some tricks the moment he realized he was on the back foot.


    The door to the great hall was pushed open with haste.


    A man nearly fell over,ing to a stop.


    "Hermr." Loki looked over at the man, appearing agape and surprised at his entrance. Credit where it''s due, I honestly couldn''t tell he was faking his reaction. "What''s wrong?"


    I vaguely recall that being the Messenger of the Gods simr to Hermes from the Greek side as he was also one of the fastest Gods in the Nine Realms.


    "My King, I bring reports from the Lines around Jotunheim, they''ve been breached! The Giants of Frost march towards Asgard." The Messenger God quickly ryed.


    How convenient.


    "What of Skadi?" Loki sounded ''concerned''.


    "I know not, only that she ordered a retreat and stayed behind to buy time." The Messenger shook his head.


    Well, it certainly presented a situation dire enough that everyone was forced to act.


    "It seems we must put this matter to the side for now." Thor held his hammer firm. "Brother, I will rally the armies and meet them head on."


    "No." Vidar told them inly. "This matter will be settled."


    "I suppose we can wait until we manage to find the elusive Ratatoskr, however long that takes." Loki rolled his eyes. "It''s not as if the Squirrel is one of the most difficult beings to track down within the Nine Realms. And surely, we are not pressed for time, such as an enemy army marching upon us."


    "Brother, he speaks the truth." Thor seemed to reluctantly agree with him.


    "Mmm." Loki yed with his nails looking disinterested in anything further.


    "No need." Another person quickly walked into the hall. "Ratatoskr wille if I call, he owes me a favor." The Old Elf King strode in with both Huginn and Muninn on his shoulders. He looked towards the All-Father who gave a nod his way.


    "You" Loki realized his identity it seemed.


    "Me. Though, we never really interacted much." The Old Elf King smiled. "It has been a long time, Silver-tongued. Still up to your old games?"


    "Are you going to meddle in affairs that don''t concern you, Elf?" Loki''s tone was clearly threatening.


    "Hoh, that sounds exactly like what I''m doing, Horse Fucker."


    I nearly choked trying to hold back augh.


    I loved this Old Elf.


    For the first time, Loki appeared.I wouldn''t call it concerned, nor even flustered, but slightly hesitant.


    There was a certain reluctance that he visibly overcame and let out a sigh. "I intended to y this game a bit longer. Let the story y out into a wonderful and epic tale. But if you want to jump right to the end, then have it your way."


    Loki barely finished speaking as Odin made a move. Gae Bolg in his hand shed out, a red blur that pierced right towards Loki''s throat, only for it to be blocked by a sword.


    Odin''s eye widened, bing speechless.


    "Baldur!" Vidar roared in fury,unching off his throne at his brother, and son of Odin. The two of them shed once with swords, both pushing the other back before everyone else seemed to regain their wits.


    I myself was about to make a move as Loki''s head belonged to me, however, the look on Odin''s face stopped me.


    "Don''t bother, they already retreated." He sounded.tired. The forms of the Gods that sided with Loki flickered with Magic. The All-Father stared at his son. "Why?"


    Baldur looked away. "I''m sorry." And his figure flickered away with a burst of fire.


    The only one that remained was Loki himself, but that was also false, it was an illusion. He was an absolute master of Illusions, to the point where I don''t think there was an equal across the entire world.


    "How does it feel, Odin?" The Illusion grinned at him. "Knowing that even Baldur came to my side after a bit of persuasion? Really, I only had to dangle the promise of his dead wife in front of his eyes and he practically begged to join me."


    Odin justughed. A full belliedugh.


    "What''s so funny." Loki''s expression did a sharp turn.


    Odin ignored him. I could tell that it was hurting him inside, but the Old God pushed it very far down. "You did a good job, Vidar."


    "Thank you, Father." The Asgardian King nodded.


    "What are you talking about?" Loki narrowed his eyes.


    Odin stretched his back. "The fact that we had traitors among us was probably the most difficult point to deal with. Vidar picked it up quickly, but you seemed too oblivious, Loki. Why do you think Heimdal and Freyja were kept back on the front lines? Did you just think it a stroke of luck? It made you far too confident."


    Loki paused. "You nned this."


    "Oh, nothing so grandiose. When dealing with you, ns seem to have a habit of failing spectacrly. No, we just made it up as we went along. Vidar looked like he nned on cleaning up on his own, and that coincided with what I thought on the fly as well. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, your mutt should be nursing his wounds down in the Roots. He''s not dead if you didn''t catch that." The All-Father said mockingly. "But hey, it was enough to get you off your game for a few minutes. I''d call that a win."


    "All this effort and you only forced me out in the open." The Trickster scoffed. "Fenrir still lives. Ragnark will still resolve the same." He turned to me. "Is this who you put your faith in, Mortal? He put in so much effort, and what did he aplish?"


    Actually, he aplished a lot from my perspective. Asgard should be almost nearly free of insurgents at this point so they can rally proper defenses. Loki is now out in the open where he didn''t want to be at this point in time.


    Any good leader knows that you need your people to be unified if you want to win a war.


    Frankly, why he was still around, they couldn''t actually do anything because anything significant would be ruined by Loki while he pretends to be on the side of angels.


    "How does it feel to know that no one likes you?" I said offhandedly.


    The Trickster God just rolled his eyes. "Spare me your dribble."


    "No, no." I cut him off. "I mean that for real. How does it feel to know that there is not a single living entity in existence that genuinely cares for you. No friends left after this stunt, as few as those were. Every single member of your family probably despises you bar, what, a Wolf that''s more beast than Jotun? Does that count?"


    And there it was.


    The first real disy of true emotion I''ve seen from him this entire time.


    Anger.


    "Actually, I probably lied. Maybe that horse still likes you." I smiled politely.


    "Is there a point to this?" Loki''s tone was without much emotion.


    "Point?" I hummed. "I suppose there is. Essentially, I want you to think about this. When I lop your head off, I want you to think about how pathetic and worthless your life actually was in yourst moments."


    I gave him no time to respond as I sliced through his illusion, dissipating the remaining magics.


    Asshole.


    "Vidar, call a full retreat to Asgard. Loki will send everything he has straight at us." Odinmanded. "Since Loki wants to end things for good, then It''s time for the final Battle of Ragnark."


    Right, now we also gotta deal with all this. And also.Sairaorg and everyone else was here. I felt like this is going to get very messy very quickly.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: Salem takes a peek inside Wilhelm''s head.


    Salem POV


    "Run this by me again."


    "Right, so you made these Grimm that forces people to dream.." He held up one of my Nightmare Grimm. "I wanted to see what it was like."


    ".you are aware it is called a Nightmare Grimm?"


    "Well, I figured you could tell it to be nice?"


    That wasn''t.incorrect to assume. "You are aware that I would be able to invade your Dreams through the Grimm, yes?"


    "I don''t mind." He smiled warmly.


    foolish.


    "So you have nothing to fear then?" I raised an eyebrow. "You have nothing you wish to hide from me that maye about through your subconscious desires?"


    "Let''s be honest, you know exactly what you would see."


    I let out a sigh. "Why would I expect any different from you?"


    Sometimes, I wish he truly did have some ulterior motive for me to discover. But no, these situations usually end with him either molesting my rear or showering me with affection.


    Sometimes both.


    "Very well." I relented. "I admit I am somewhat curious myself." I took the Nightmare Grimm into my hand.


    "So how do we do this?" He asked, rubbing his hands together.


    "Open your mouth, and say Ah." I held the Grimm up.


    "Uh.I''m suddenly having second thought "


    I smacked the Grimm against the side of his head and his eyes rolled back as he fell face first into the ground with my Grimmtched onto him.


    I nudged him once to see if he was asleep.


    My Nightmare Grimm works fast.


    "That was for smacking my bottom this morning." I snorted, nudging him again just in case. I was skeptical if he was truly sleeping now or he was faking. I lifted my dress up just enough to entice him, and he did not react whatsoever, thus I was confident that it worked.


    Well, let us attempt this experiment.


    I ced my hand upon my Nightmare Grimm and allowed my consciousness to invade his own.


    Very quickly I discovered my surroundings change, I was in a white room with many different doors.


    With no other thought, I moved towards the top most.


    I pushed it open and I was soon assault with sounds I knew all too well.


    "I really should not have expected any different." I sighed, watching the dream version of him and myself have intercourse.


    I turned my nose up and walked out of that ''room'' back to the main hallway.


    I went to the next door, opening it up, and once more, it was of Wilhelm and myself engaging in carnal activities. Particrly, in this instance, the variety that involved my behind.


    I would not moan that pathetically.


    Shaking my head, I left the room and went to the next one.


    My expression didn''t even change to see myself and him engaging in the same activities. "Why are there multiple dreams of yours involving the same thing!" I resisted the urge to go over there and strangle his dream self. I only paused as I noticed a not-so-small discrepancy.


    I am well aware of how the mind conjures many different dreams, and my Nightmare Grimm amplifies that, but this will get ridiculous very quickly if this is all I experience.


    "And my bum is not thatrge!" I huffed in indignation. "And you are certainly not thatrge either!" It seems that boys lie about their sizes even in dreams. I shook my head but felt a strange sense of annoyance as I looked at my fake dream self he created.


    My rear was really not that big..was it?


    I felt embarrassed as I looked around, even knowing that there was no one else here.


    I walked up to the two of them engaging in such activities upon the bed and I positioned myself next to my dream self as she exaggeratedly enjoyed such a thing.


    I lifted my dress up andpared myself to her.


    Well, atleast I was not mistaken, thankfully


    I felt a quick sting upon my buttocks as my eyes widened. The Dream Wilhelm smacked my behind again!


    I scowled, quickly leaving this room in a huff.


    Stupid.


    The Next room, more of the same.


    The next room after that? Well atleast it was normal intercourse.


    The next room...why was I sitting on his face?


    The Same for the next.


    The third, as well.


    The fourth.


    The Fifth.


    I felt my embarrassment rising up and I had to resist the urge to pull myself out of his dream and hit him a few times.


    One more door I opened and...okay I was tied up and held over a table. As far as proclivities go, I cannot say that I am against this sort of entertainment. However, I prefer the positions to be reversed.


    ..I am thankful that at least it is not


    Nevermind, he pushed his face into my rear.


    I knew that he had a one track mind, but why is his subconscious filled with nothing but these thoughts!?


    I was about to return from this ''trip'' to his subconscious dream state, but looking around, I realized that this corridor, this room went deeper.


    And further down, the rooms changed somewhat. The doors were more decorated, more intricate.


    Hmm, was I experiencing his surface desires and Dreams perhaps? That would exin the redundancy and consistency.


    I swear to the Brother Gods, if this door is of me sitting on your face again, I will


    Pushing It open, I went silent.


    He was on a knee infront of me, holding out a small box with a ring inside.


    "Will you marry me?" He asked.


    Before I realized what happened, I had already mmed the door shut and my breathing had picked up.


    I felt my heart beating rapidly.


    "Foolish, idiot, stupid!" I cursed angrily. I couldn''t help but snarl in annoyance. I was ready to push that door back open, but as soon as I grabbed the doorknob.I couldn''t find the strength to push it open again.


    NoI would pretend I never saw that.


    Next door, lets see what he hides further inside.


    There was another ornate door not far away.


    I pushed it open and..flowers fell through the air. There were many faces I recognized all of his lovers and friends sitting together.


    He stood there, dressed in ck, at the end of the long carpet.


    And I approached, in a wedding dress.


    He looked at me with nothing but affection and happiness in his eyes.


    I can''t.


    I can''t watch that y out, it would.it would ruin me.


    The way he looked at the fake me, I couldn''t bear to see it any longer and I retreated from that dream.


    There was one more ornate in session. After the first two, I understood they were intertwined.


    I hesitated, I put my hand on it, but I dreaded what I would see. But I also knew that I would regret it if I did not look.


    Forcing myself to calm down, I slowly pushed the door open.


    There was nothing particrly noteworthy about this one. His dream self and my fake self stood upon the edge of the castle roof as we had done many times in the past.


    The memories.they brought a small smile to my face that I allowed myself to indulge in since I was alone.


    But why was this together with the others?


    I walked closer to them and froze on the spot.


    Dream Wilhelm put his hand on my fake self''s stomach.


    Her veryrge and round stomach.


    And I felt an ache in my heart.


    I quickly turned around, leaving this room and exiting his dreamscape, returning to my own conscious body.


    Without another thought, I pulled the Nightmare Grimm off of his head and nearly instantaneously, his eyes shot open and he was wide awake.


    "Wow, that was trippy. I sort of felt it but at the same time, I was totally out of it. Almost like a lucid fever dream." He shook his head, standing up. "Did you go inside my noggin?"


    "I did." I confirmed.


    "Find anything fun?"


    "You seem to have quite a few fantasies that involve me using your face as a seat." I said dryly.


    "You didn''t need to go into my head to find that out." He grinned. "But nothing else?"


    "No, nothing else. You are a very simple-minded person." I rolled my eyes.


    "That''s a shame."


    "Yes.a shame."


    "Are you okay?" He asked. "You''re not upset, are you?"


    "Of course not." I scoffed. "I am well aware that you cannot control what you dream of. And I suppose it is.ttering that your immediate dreams were so full of me." I deadpanned. "There is nothing wrong." I reiterated.


    Without warning, he took hold of me, arms wrapped tightly around my body, my head pushed into his chest. "What do you think you''re doing?" I huffed in annoyance.


    "Hugging you. I just had the urge to do it for some reason." He hummed. "Do you want me to stop?"


    "...you may continue." For some reason, only when I was like this did the aching in my chest alleviate.


    And that was the only reason I allowed him to continue until he was satisfied.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you don''t have the above, under the same name.

 Chapter 502:

    Chapter 502:


    I just couldn''t understand it.


    On some level, I could understand the idea that after living for so long, one might just be tired. If I lived for long enough, I was sure it would happen eventually to me. And I could admit I had much more at my fingertips to keep myself entertained and living a good life.


    It''s why I never spoke out about people who held views that since the end wasing, they would quietly await it. I think a part of understanding people was to know that you won''t be able to understand <em>everything</em> about them and have to ept that you have differing views.


    However, the idea that someone would just want to not only die, but to make sure everyone else died along with them?


    That genuinely pissed me off and I absolutely could not ept it.


    The idea of hurting my friends or family filled me with utter revulsion and pain.


    [You are not looking at it from their perspective.] Mus Tengai spoke from within my soul. [You understand it as life and death in absolute terms. To them, it would be a new beginning. A new story can''t start unless the current one ends. And many of them have grown tired of the current story.]


    I still scowled at the thought.


    The atmosphere within Asgard''s Throne room was mncholic.


    I think nearly everyone that remained had someone close to them walking out. And it would be something else entirely if they just walked away, but instead, they were standing on the opposite side.


    Though, everyone knew the situation and pulled themselves together rather quickly.


    Vidar walked up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "As both the King of Asgard and one of its Children, I thank you for your help."


    "I''m d I could be of some help." I tried to be as polite as I could due to the situation.


    "You deserved a better ceremony and arrival. I am dishonored for your treatment "


    I quickly cut him off. "We can handle all of that nonsense after everything is settled." I pat his armor. "As an apology, I wouldn''t mind trying some Asgardian Meadter."


    The King of Asgard, who looked like he had aged hundreds of years in thest several minutes showed a content smile. "It will be done."


    "Aye! It will be a wonderful celebration!" Thorughed but.well, it didn''t feel right. Even if I didn''t know him well, it felt like he was forcing it. But there was not much else he could do in this situation.


    He walked up to me, holding his hand out.


    I took it good-naturedly.


    "I have heard a great many things about you. And I was astonished by your fight with Indra. I had hoped we would meet under different circumstances." Thor was polite.


    There was a hint of challenge there despite his wordsing off as polite. However, they didn''t feel <em>antagonistic</em> in the slightest. "Another time and ce, I''m sure we wouldn''t be doing our greetings through words."


    He had a big grin at that, allowing himself a moment of humor.


    There was still another important matter to handle however.


    The <em>kids</em> were still here.


    Thor must have noticed my gaze because he too adopted aplicated look.


    Vidar too seemed to realize the small oversight. The ''sudden betrayal'' and all that, but he was also ying host to a group of younger generations from other Pantheons and Factions.


    The King of Asgard showed that he was more than worthy to sit upon that throne.


    His expression didn''t waver even after seeing his brother betray them.


    He walked up and sat back down, a stern look on his face and he cast his gaze over to the others. "The situation has changed. The promise was to provide opportunities for our friends from far away to experience blood and war. However, we can no longer guarantee your safety."


    "If you''re about to tell us to go home, you can save it." Bikou spoke up quickly. "Gramps told me toe here to earn some experience, I ain''t leaving until I get to smack a God in the face with my rod."


    Sairaorg punched his hand into his fist. "I came for a fight, it doesn''t matter against who."


    Boy Band and the others didn''t voice their thoughts, but they seemed to agree with them.


    "Very well." Vidar acknowledged them. "You will have the gratitude of Asgard upon the conclusion of this war."


    He looked a tad hesitant, but I could understand his position. Asking ''kids'' of other factions to help out was shitty, especially when they realistically can''t afford to lose <em>any</em> help offered at the moment.


    While not quite up to the level of Kronos and such, they''re easily at the level where they could strengthen the battlefield with their presence.


    He then turned to the Old Elf. "Thank you, King  "


    "Bah, none of that." The Old Elf snorted. "If my son wants to sit on the throne, then <em>he</em> gets all the ass kissing thates with the crown. It''s just Folen now."


    Vidar just smiled awkwardly. "Elder Folen then." He still tried to be respectful. "Thank you foring to our aid."


    "It was nothing big. I should be thanking you for allowing my people safe refuge. For as safe can mean during these times. Speaking of,e out you big rodent."


    A certain pair of beady eyes appeared from the crevices of the Throne Room. The chirping sound made it obvious who it was. "How did you know I was there!?"


    "I didn''t." The Old Elf Shrugged with a grin.


    Heh.


    Ratatoskr lookedshy almost. It felt like he didn''t enjoy being the center of attention. Many curious eyes were now on him and he was literally back into a corner.


    Odin tapped the spear against the ground, immediately grabbing the attention of everyone. "Ratatoskr lent us aid while we fought The World Wolf and the Titans down in the roots. Without him, I may not have lived to see the sun rise."


    It was only a few words but they suddenly all looked at the big squirrel in a new light.


    "On behalf of Asgard, thank you, Mighty Ratatoskr." Vidar proimed. "Know that as long as Asgard''s walls exist, refuge is here for any of its allies."


    "Yeah.right." The Squirrel seemingly didn''t know how to respond to that. He scampered up to the Old Elf, sort of hiding behind him and looking around to me briefly as if to check that we''re okay.


    "What''re your ns?" I asked him.


    "My ns?" He sniffed.


    "Do you n to <em>hibernate</em>, or stay around?"


    "Do..you want me to stay around?" He hesitantly asked.


    "Well, your help is always weed. You saved our asses back there and having a friend that can travel through Yggdrasil as easily as I can breathe is always weed. But, it''s not really your fight in a way. You''re able to sleep through it and can avoid the fighting."


    "I''m not a fighter!"


    "That''s fine, not everyone is." I smiled.


    ".then what do you expect me to help with?"


    "Whatever you think is best."


    His ws tapped against the tiled floor a few times and began to sink into the ground. "You''re the first person to call me a friend." He said disappearing.


    Well, that was strange.


    But I suppose Ratatoskr wasn''t exactly normal either.


    "Await the return of our armies. Then we will call a council to await Loki''s attack." Vidar ordered.


    It would take a few hours at a minimum for the front lines to properly retreat and return to Asgard. And then immediately we had to prepare for an uing siege.


    It was going to be a long next few days.


    His words were basically the indication that the court was dismissed.


    Thus, I walked over to greet the others.


    "Wilhelm!" Sairaorg greeted.


    I happily took his hand. "It''s been awhile. I didn''t expect to see you up here."


    "You as well!" He grinned. "How long have you been up here?"


    Obviously, he meant the Norse realms in general. "A couple days at this point. We intended to quietly deal with the Titans taking up refuge around here, but that went to the wayside after full on war broke out. Unfortunately, we ran into them down in the Roots, but Fenrir was there too and he was just as much of a monster as the legends say."


    "I see, it must have been a tough fight. I admit, I''m kind of confused as to what happened just now" He scratched his cheek.


    "That" Where to begin? "Loki had a scheme going on down in the Roots. The Box is Pandora''s Box, and he was sort of using Nhggr as a vector to corrupt Yggdrasil." I was about to go into more detail, but I guess it didn''t really matter. "Anyways, we realized that Loki didn''t know we had been down there by the time we came to Asgard, so Odin used the opportunity to force everything out in the open and make everyone draw their lines in the sand."


    Which didn''t really change much on our end and only benefited us. Our enemies would have been our enemies regardless.


    "I understand." He nodded.


    I pat his shoulders. "Looks like you had a hard time?"


    He shrugged. "I''ve never fought in a war. It''s a different experience." The armor around him shimmered, and another familiar face appeared at his side.


    "Yo." The Nemean lion raised his hand casually.


    "The others in your peerage here too?"


    "Nah, only Neme here cause he''s technically my Sacred Gear." Sairaorg said casually.


    I understood. The whole concept of this get together for them was to supplement each faction with abined group of the younger generation. Lop siding it with Sairaorg''s entire peerage would make things awkward.


    "Bikou." I greeted the new Monkey King.


    "Sup." He put his Divine Staff up against his shoulder. "Didn''t think you''d be here, should have guessed."


    I flicked my hand up in acknowledgement.


    "Boy band!"


    "Fuck off." Vali scowled.


    I just grinned, moving on to the next. "And I don''t think we''ve met?" I looked at the kid dressed in Greek style armor.


    And as far as ''kids'' go, he looked to be the youngest of the group.


    "I-I''m Achilles!" He quickly introduced himself, stumbling slightly.


    "Are you now?" I raised an eyebrow. ".spirit inheritor?"


    "Umyes sir!" He nodded. "Andum, my Great Grandmother is Thetis."


    Wow, that''s not going to be awkward at all.


    But I suppose that''s Greeks for you.


    Achilles was going to have fun when he finds out he had a mini-me running around here.


    Lastly, was the <em>''Jade-Beauty''</em> and the Church Girl, both of which, well, I didn''t really have a positive rtionship with.


    The girl I pissed off while I was ying around as a young master in Nuwa''s pce.


    I waved, she scowled and turned away.


    Yup.


    As for Church girl, well, I was basically the ''enemy'' of her face, I just gave her a polite nod and she seemed to slightly do so in return even if her expression didn''t change.


    "You guys sure you want to stick around? I can easily give you a ride home." Well, <em>easily</em> was me being prideful. This whole ce was fucking with my normal usage of my Magic. Even with Mirage, it''s all fucky and I''m still figuring it out.


    Not that I And <em>couldn''t</em> open a portal, but it''s significantly more difficult while on Yggdrasil.


    "It''s fine, Gramps didn''t raise no coward." Bikou shrugged. "Besides, it''s not like we can''t run away if the worst happens."


    That was very true.


    "If you''re here, then I can handle it too." Vali huffed indignantly.


    The others, well, I didn''t know the two others very well. "I thought there was more of your little group? I don''t feel like everyone''s represented here."


    "There''s another group that are helping the Celtic Pantheon." Bikou exined.


    Huh, imagine that.


    Well, I wouldn''t talk them out of staying. I would be a hypocrite if I started spouting nonsense about it being dangerous and all that.


    I would do my best to keep an eye on them at the very least.


    "Oi, brat." Odin hollered. "Come with me, I wanna show you something."


    I said my goodbyes to them, and quickly caught up as Odin didn''t even wait for me before he left.


    [***]


    "So, what do you want to show me?" We had walked out of the Pce and sort of back around it to some secluded area.


    "Well, nothing really important. I just wanted an excuse to get a little bit of time away." Odin admitted openly.


    Jeez, I didn''t even know what to say tofort him.


    Odin looked up at the sky. "He''s not a brat any longer. He''s a man, a <em>God</em>. He will have to take responsibility for his actions."


    It was clear who he was talking about.


    "It''s hard to me him. I went to some lengths myself because of Scthach." He wasn''t so lucky as me to have a means to bring back the woman he loved.


    "I don''t know what I would do if given the offer of bringing back Frigga." Odin sympathized as well. "However, before I am a Husband, a Father, and an Old man, I am a God. The needs of Asgarde before my heart."


    "I couldn''t handle being responsible for so many people all the time." I respected him for it honestly.


    "Well, there is a specific kind of courage to openly admit that sort of thing." Odin chuckled. "Come here, there''s something good." He led me through a sort of garden, and I came to the realization of where we were.


    Before I could speak, a small head peeked over a bush at her arrival. "Grandpa!" A young voice called out, flying to Odin to give him a hug.


    "Oof, you''re getting so big." He smiled, returning the gesture.


    A small girl, perhaps a year or two younger than Kunou based on her stature and with a head of blonde hair.


    "Come now, introduce yourself to Grandpa''s friend."


    She broke away from Odin and did a cute little curtsey. "I''m the Goddess of Youth, Iunn." She beamed.


    I looked at Odin and he gave me a short look and I ignored my question for now. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Iunn<em>. </em>I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, you can call me Wilhelm." I adopted the same mannerisms when I was handling Kunou.


    Odin whistled and his two Familiars came flying down. Iunn Looked <em>ecstatic</em> and she immediately started ying with them.


    Honestly, it''s almost exactly what I did with Kunou sometimes to distract her.


    I guess some things are universal.


    Odin silently led me a little further to the side to a bench. He let out a grunt sitting down and I joined him.


    In front of us was an innocuous tree, but the aura it exuded could not be hidden.


    "Is that?"


    "Mmm, it''s the Golden Apple Tree." Odin nodded. "Figured you''d like to see it since we have a small amount of time before everyone arrives."


    The Golden Apples were pretty much the same as the Greek Variety. And they are equivalent to the Peaches of Immortality.


    I nced at the adorable child running around with the two Ravens. "Is she really Iunn?"


    "Yes and no." Odin let out a tired sigh. "She is the child of Iunn and Bragi. Bragi died and Iunn suffered mortal wounds. I suspected Loki, but I had no evidence to support it. I believe he wanted to cut off our ess to the Golden Apples that grow here. Iunn was as stubborn as she was kind and despite suffering pain that would make any God wish for death, she made it back home and gave birthin a manner of speaking."


    "Shegave birth to herself?"


    Odin shook his head. "Her child was also hurt, so she did the only thing she could. With her connection to the Golden Apple Tree, one of the most powerful expressions of <em>life</em> within the Nine Realms, she bound her Daughter to the Tree and offered up her own Godhood. Iunn passed away, but Iunn was saved." Odin stretched his body. "It took a long time for her to be ''properly'' born as she had to ''ripen'' before she could be ''picked'' from the tree. She''s technically 471 years old, but realistically, she''s closer to 40 years after being separated from the Tree."


    "As a Goddess of youth, does she grow slower?"


    "That, and the fact that she''s even more connected to the Golden Apple Tree than her mother. It''ll probably be a few thousand years before she''s properly an adult." Odin smiled, watching her y.


    "Grandpa!" Iunn came running over. "The Birdies told me what happened!"


    "Did they now?" Odin leveled a re at the two Ravens, both of whom squawked and looked like they wanted to run away.


    "I can help!"


    "Can you?" Odin hummed, humoring her.


    "I can fight too! I''m a Goddess!" She reached into a small pouch she had at her side, her arm <em>disappearing</em> into it, making me realize it was bigger on the inside like my Ring. Very quickly she pulled out something veryrge.


    A hammer, a hammer that was <emically</em> big inparison to her. The ''head'' of it was probably four times her size. She held it up easily, waving it around. "I can fight, see!?"


    "I do see, that''s why you have a very important job. Your job is to protect the Golden Apple Tree. It''s a very important Job and I can''t trust it to anyone else but you."


    "Is it really important?" Iunn asked skeptically.


    "Really really." He nodded.


    The little girl pursed her lips, and dropped the hammer on the ground.


    I honestly expected it to be a toy. The <em>quake</em> it generated as it hit the earth, and the way it sunk down into the ground made me rethink that.


    For some reason, that just made her more adorable.


    Maybe Kunou and her would get along?


    I was about to bridge the topic with Odin, but a horn reverberated throughout the surroundings. Frankly, I think everyone within Asgard could hear it.


    "The Gjarhorn." Odin stood up. "They''ve returned."


    "I''ming too!" Iunn dered. "I''m a Goddess."


    Odin stared at her for a moment and seemingly relented. "Come, our time grows short."


    [***]


    The short respite was weed, but it ended fairly quickly. I expected it to take a few more hours in all honesty, but then again, Vidar also prepared on his end before he realized Odin had returned, so maybe not.


    We quickly returned to the pce, where many new faces greeted us.


    "Let''s skip the pleasantries. "Brat, Meet Freyja, Heimdall, Ullr, Sif, and Tyr. They''re the ones who were mostly holding the lines that just came back." Odin quickly introduced.


    I silently nodded to them, and they did the same.


    "Odin, you didn''t say he was so <em>handsome</em>." The woman, I''m presuming Freyja, sauntered over rather seductively.


    "Keep it in your pants, Thot." Odin grumbled.


    I nearly choked at hearing the way he spoke to her.


    "Bite me, old man." She scoffed. "I''ve been covered in dirt, snow and blood for over a week straight, forgive me for wanting to be pampered a little and treated as a proper Goddess of Beauty!"


    "You''re forgiven."


    The Goddess rolled her eyes.


    "Ignore her, she just likes people drooling over her every step. But she''s one hell of a Sorceress." Odin stated.


    "We do not have much time." A deep voice carried over. "I can hear the drums of war intensify." He breathed out, cold air dissipating into the air. "And the Temperature falls."


    Pretty sure that''s Tyr, the God of War.


    "I see them, they march upon us in uncountable numbers. The Rulers of Jotunheim lead." Heimdall, I presumed, looked off into the distance. "They will be upon us shortly."


    "I''ve already started ordering our defenses." The Woman wearing full armor among them interjected. The Goddess Sif, Wife of Thor. "My husband, along with our Children set out to buy us a few more minutes to prepare."


    Thor and Magni at a minimum might be able to cause them to slow down a bit without fear of dying.


    As if to answer, a thunderous boom shook the keep. Thornded upon the entrance, letting out a breath. "I apologize for my poor timing, however, my attempts to stall did not fare too well."


    "It''s unfortunate, but not unexpected." Odin shook his head. "Vidar."


    "Yes, Father." Vidar nodded, something between them. "The Barrier around Asgard is being raised as we speak."


    I could sense an overwhelming amount of Magic thrum through the air. I closed my eyes and focused on it, and I could <em>feel</em> it taking shape around the entirety of Asgard.


    "I should be thankful we made it back in time, but this timing is annoying." Freyja grumbled. "Out of one fight, into another."


    "A final round of drinks for myself and my brothers." Thor grinned.


    "We say goodbye to our fathers and mothers." Odin followed suit.


    "For Valha calls, and it will wait no longer." Vidar joined in.


    Despite the somber atmosphere, they all pushed away their inner feelings and current turmoil, focusing on the issue.


    "Heimdall, you will be in charge of moving around our troops. Father, you''re still hurt, preserve most of your strength for now. Thor, focus everything you can on killing the Warlords that dared to cast their greedy hands towards Asgard. Freyja, you''re handling our Magical Defenses." Vidar began ordering about. "Wilhelm." He looked at me.


    "I can handle some Jotuns."


    He smiled. "You have the same duty as my brother. If their leadership copses, we will have a chance. However, be on guard for our traitors and their allies."


    Kronos, Hyperion, and the plethora of Gods along with Loki who will be present.


    And that''s not considering all the God-like Giants running around and other powerful foes.


    "The others have already taken their posts, let us join them."


    [***]


    We, very quickly, made our way through the streets of Asgard that had be both chaotic and rather orderly.


    Weapons and Food were being carted to the front, and civilians were being ushered to the back.


    All along the walls of Asgard, I could see thousands of Soldiers. Gods in some part, spirits in another.


    Einherjar, the spirits of the fallen that fought for Asgard.


    Among them, there were also women in particr positions. Wings on their backs, and identical armor upon them.


    Valkyries flew high overhead.


    Since the armies of Asgard pulled back, I could see them for their true worth.


    Hundreds of thousands they numbered. It really put into perspective how strong each Major Faction truly was.


    They would roll over anything the Youkai could potentially do to mount a resistance if they fought in a simr manner.


    By using the standards poprized by the Devils, I think every Einherjar was at a minimum, Middle-ss in strength.


    I found myself a spot upon the Walls rather quickly, and on the ground in front of us sprawled many more formations of Asgardian warriors.


    "A magnificent sight."


    I looked to the side to see the Old Elfe up to me "It really is."


    "Makes me wish I grabbed my good bow beforeing over." He grumbled.


    That made me pause and think. "How good are you with your bow?"


    "I''m alright." He said casually.


    "No, seriously. <em>How good are you</em>?"


    He looked at me with a more serious expression. "Outside of Ullr on the other wand maybe him included." He looked thoughtful. "I could probably be in the top Three."


    It <em>pained</em> me, like almost physically, but I looked into my ring and took out Auriel''s Bow and held it out to him.


    Letting my friend or family use one of my treasures was one thing, and even though the Elf helped me out when I was hurt, I just.it was something I didn''t like to do. It went against my draconic nature to part with anything from my horde.


    "What the Hel is that thing?" The Elf''s eyes widened.


    "Think you can handle it?"


    He hesitantly took it from my hand and flicked the bow string. "Yeah, I think I can do pretty alright."He cracked a smile.


    It was better in the hand of someone who can fully make use of the bow''s abilities right now. If the situation wasn''t rather dire, I would not be lending out my Treasures.


    Tyr wasn''t lying when he said the temperature was dropping.


    Approaching us was a fog, a thick cold air that blew past the forests and the mountains. Rumblings hiding within, eyes glowing balefully behind the frigid winds.


    The first one to step out was a giant 30 or 40 meters tall. It was easy to tell they were a woman, but they looked to bepletely made of Ice.


    She let out a roar, and the cold windsshed out, carrying with them even more under the cover of the chilling colds. Jotuns of smaller sizes and bigger sizes came stomping forward. And along with them came a plethora of other creatures and nasty enemies. The majority of their forces seemed to beposed of Draugr, but the Trolls were noted inrge numbers, filling in the gaps so to speak.


    "I take it that''s an important one?" I asked, pointing at the Jotun who appeared to be made of Ice.


    "That would be Thiassi, one of the Eight Warlords of Jotunheim. Her name means <em>Ice</em>. Among her siblings are, Kari - Tempest; Beli - Storm; Thrym - Frost; Johul -cier; Frosti - Cold; Snoer - Snow; and Orifta - Snowdrift. Each of their names represents the harsh environment of Jotunheim." He exined briefly.


    So far, it appeared to be something of a standoff.


    The tension was palpable, and no one made the first move.


    "Want to boost our morale?" I asked.


    "What do you have in mind?" He looked at me.


    "Take a shot with that bow at the Jotun." I pointed to the Ice one.


    The Old Elf looked at me, then down at the bow. He shrugged, putting his own bow onto his back and holding up Auriel''s Bow.


    Ever so slightly, he pulled the string back, and the light around us dimmed.


    As if all the light in the world swirled around him, converging, and condensing into the form of an arrow as he continued to pull the string back.


    At this point, I think everyone noticed the phenomenon urring, at the very least, everyone important did.


    Even the Jotun he was aiming at, she looked<em>confused</em>, shocked? And that quickly turned into fear as the arrow fully formed.


    From this far away, I could see her eyes widen.


    There were no words as the arrow was let loose.


    The Fog <em>dispersed</em> almostpletely, a bright light soaring to the horizon.


    And with that, one of the ''Rulers'' of Jotunheim was missing an arm.


    Honestly, I thought it would have an immediate effect like our side cheering with a big morale boost, but instead, everyone was just sort of staring our way.


    "What the hell did you give me!?" The Old elf eximed.


    [***]


    A/N


    Battle for Asgard beings, and we''re approaching the end of the Yggdrasil arc.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty for those who can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 503:

    Chapter 503:


    The hush that came over the battlefield was not my intention. I think literally every set of eyes was staring in our direction at this point.


    Well, at least we can say that the initial momentum of the enemy had stalled.


    The Frost Giant  The Jotun, Thiassi, held their missing arm. I was sure they could regenerate it somehow, considering their body seemed to be <em>made</em> of ice, but maybe I was overthinking things.


    I looked around myself to sear the overall image of the battlefield into my head, that''s when I met the eyes of Thor who was looking right at me, and realization dawned on me.


    I didn''t know Thor very well, but I think at this moment, there were no words needed to be spoken, <em>this was a chance</em>.


    My muscles flexed, and my leg pushed back, my Lightning crackled, and I shot off at Thiassi with my highest speed using Shunpo.


    Almost exactly the same time, <em>another</em>, ''<em>booom''</em> shook the air, a thunderp following me.


    Two streaks of Lights mmed into the wounded Jotun Queen.


    A hammer covered in lightning collided with the side of her head, and my Sword of Destruction erupted in my Bloodline as it cleaved into her leg.


    The Jotun nearly fell over, but credit where it was due. It was one of the Warlords of Jotunheim for a reason and quickly responded. A barrier sprang up, pushing us away, it looked delicate as if arge snowke. However, the amount of Magic woven into it was praiseworthy.


    It was enough to rebuff us, Thor slid across the ground, using his Hammer to halt his momentum, and I quickly moved out from underneath its legs as the Jotun clenched its remaining hand, uttering somethingpletely foreign to my ears, and the snowke-like shield shattered.


    The pieces didn''t simply fall to the ground, rather, the shards floated and took aim at both of us, shooting through the air at breakneck speeds.


    Both Thor and I moved quickly to deflect them, the ''shards'' of the shield shattering upon colliding with our weapons, but that didn''t diminish their lethality. My Aura could probably hold without issue, but they would probably be able to pierce my skin without it.


    It didn''t take long for the enemies to regain their wits. The ground shook as another Jotun stomped over, and this neer was <emrge</em>.


    Easily twice as ''big'' as Thiassi, part of which was actually muscle, in addition to arge and bouncing belly.


    Each step turned the ground to ice, and he reeled his arm back with a roar, punching forward at Thor. "Thunderer!"


    "Johul!" The Thunder God swung his hammer to meet it, the cataclysmic collision caused the entire area turned to ice with sharp icicles protruding from the ground.


    The Jotun let out a pained shout as he stumbled backwards, however, Thor too was about evenly matched by the strike and his Hammer was deflected.


    I took that chance to call upon my wings, and I shot forward again, Sword in hand, I stabbed towards the eye of Thiassi. The Female Jotun held her remaining hand up, as if she were wing at the air, hundreds of ice shards manifested in the form of razor sharp des, surrounding me.


    My Aura fluttered and my Semnce activated.


    The des merely went through my body that crackled with the Element that made its home in my soul.


    The Jotun did not expect this whatsoever, the confusion obvious as it shed across her face. She attempted to dodge, to block, to move out of the way, but my Sword of Destruction, surrounded by my Power of Destruction, shed across her face.


    She let out a heart wrenching screech of pain, her hand swatting me out of the air in a panic, but the damage was already done.


    Thor''s Hammer sailed across my vision, colliding with a shadow that loomed overhead as the other Giant attempted to m his fist down on top of me after I hit the ground.


    I was about to thank the Thunder God, but a gigantic serpent made entirely of poison emerged from a Spell Circle that was cast <em>far too quickly</em> and escaped my perception.


    "  "


    A shield simr to the one that epassed all of Asgard appeared in front of me in a different state. The Poisonous Serpent sshed against it harmlessly, even if the poison seemed to eat away at the spell itself gradually.


    I recognized the voice too, even if I only met her once. Odin did im that Freyja was one of the greatest Sorcerers in the Nine Realms.


    Many more attacks came at me from various angles, Thor was standing at my side, Hammer in hand, ready to defend and I was on my feet as well.


    I could see three different Divinities mixed in, and probably eight different spells in addition to that alling our way.


    However, all I heard next was a barely audible ''<em>flick''</em> of a string, and light pierced through all of them.


    Unconsciously, my head jerked back to the Old Elf that was holding my bow.


    With just a tiny flick, he was able to produce a much more toned-down version of the attack used previously, but it was still devastating.


    I wanted to call bullshit, but the chaotic nature of this battlefield was forcing my attention elsewhere.


    "  " Freyja''s voice carried again.


    It was in Ancient Norse, and I could barely understand the meaning of it.


    Something roughly about, <em>falling sky rock</em>.


    I grabbed Thor by the arm and used Shunpo to get as far away as possible, and with just enough time to notice the shadow overhead bing <emrger</em>.


    On both ends, <em>everyone</em> threw up <em>all the shields</em>.


    However, over all the shouts and panic, the mad cackling of a certain woman was heard over all of it.


    A meteor fell from the sky,nding right on top of the hurt Jotun from before.


    The shield she erected in panic, it was like trying to stop a speeding car with a ss wall.


    Thankfully, the sheer <em>amount</em> of magical shielding that pervaded the battlefield was enough to stop it from bing a wastnd at the impact, and contained it <em>somewhat</em>.


    There were only a few pieces of the Jotun remaining, but they were now scattered, and it could be assumed that one of the Eight Jotun Warlords was <em>dead</em>.


    The Jotun Thor tangled with, he got a bit of the payload to the face, mostly unharmed, but that''s not something you can immediately walk off even for a God or rather Jotun in this case. He stumbled slightly, falling to a knee, but remained active.


    "You crazy bitch!" The Jotun roared. "You used a spell like that right in the middle of the battlefield!?"


    "And I''ll do it again!" She shot back, arge Spell Circle I wasn''t able to see before appeared, and a massive amount of Magical Energy fluctuated around her.


    The Jotun''s eyes widened. "You''re insane!"


    "Then screw off, this is my home!"


    A second Meteor came falling down from the sky.


    "My dear, Freyja, let''s not resort to such brutish means." Loki appeared next to the Jotun with a shimmer of Green Fire.


    He held his hands up, and an equallyrge Magic Circle appeared, no in fact, it was <em>exactly</em> the same in all aspects, except, it was opposite.


    Like a <em>reflection</em>.


    A simr meteor appeared from his Magic Circle, but instead of falling to the ground, it went <em>up</em>, right towards the Meteor falling from the sky.


    They both collided, sending molten rocks falling from the sky.


    "Come up here and I''ll show you <em>brutish</em>." Freyja practically snarled.


    "Now, now "


    A bright light pierced through the silhouette, causing a small explosion of mes as it hit the ground he was standing on.


    I nced at the Old Elf who had just fired an arrow at him.


    "What?" He asked. "Did you really want to hear him run his mouth?"


    I just threw a thumbs up his way.


    The falling rocks hit the Shields that remained and didn''t cause much damage overall, and after all of that, it was a victory on our end.


    Thor and I hoped back up to the wall, The Thunder God patted my shoulder and went back to his spot, cheers erupting in his wake.


    There wasn''t time to relish the small victory, the main fighting hadn''t even started yet, but we grabbed a small lead.


    "Hold back now." The Old Elf stated, surveying the battlefield. "Your job is over for the moment."


    "I might be able to drag another one out into the open." I offered.


    He shook his head. "Save your stamina for now. In a fight like this, if you don''t pace yourself, you''re going to end up dead. Look at the others, do you see Thor running out?"


    The first waves of Asgard''s Warriors shed with thebined forces of our enemies. Yet, the Thunder Thor stood still, watching.


    "Things swung in our favor ever so slightly, and you did a good job. But don''t take that as a reason to push yourself too hard. Our true enemies haven''t yet appeared, and we know they''re lurking around."


    I relented, even though everything inside me told me to go out and help.


    Loki made a small appearance only and I couldn''t see him anywhere. The others, yeah, they weren''t popping up. Other than the <em>leaders</em> of Jotunheim who were springing up gradually at the edge of the battlefield, a lot of the heavy hitters on their side were still hidden.


    "As much as it''s a shit thing to say, the lower end warriors, in a situation like this, they''re not going to be doing much. They have their own pride, their own desires for Glory, but it would take far too many to hold back the likes of even Thiassi that was in, and she''s one of the weakest of the lot. Understand, that in conflicts of this scale, they are more like arrows than des. A resource that will be spent, not a carefully prepared weapon at your side."


    "Does that mean I should stand back and do nothing?" I admit fully that a battle of this scale was something I didn''t have any experience in. One where my actions influenced the battlefield and could ruin the ns of my allies if I acted rashly.


    The Old Elf put Auriel''s bow onto his back and took out his normal one. "Know when tomit and when not to. The moment you start throwing around your power, it''s going to force them to act. The way Odin is acting right now, it''s not what he wants. So, take a more subtle approach. Small advantages are barely seen, but they can stack up. But if an opportunity presents itself, don''t hesitate."


    He started firing arrows, along with the lines of Warriors across the walls that had their own bows and magics.


    I held out a finger, pointing at a Troll that was being ganged up on several Einherjar and was particrlyrge by their standards.


    "Had #4, Byakurai." A bolt of lightning shot out, ripping across the distance, and prating its chest.


    The Troll stumbled, and those Warriors took the opportunity toy into it, weapons stabbing deep into its body and defeating the Troll.


    Kid was probably a good bet right now considering it was somethingpletely foreign to all of them.


    And as effort went, the ones on the lower end of the scale were not particrly difficult or draining to cast.


    "Bakud #4, Hainawa!" I cast another, a rape made of Spiritual Energy shot off, wrapping around the legs of a Giant, forcing him to fall over before it dispersed. The Warriors around him were quick to capitalize on the opportunity.


    "O Lord, Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter wings, you who bears the name of man, Inferno and Pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march onto to the south." I held my palm up facing a particrly grotesque Troll even by their standards. It was running around with four arms, one of which was significantly smaller and its stomach that protruded out very far from its belly. "Had #31, Shakakah" The Red ball of Spiritual Energy shot at him, like a cannonball, and blew a hole right through its stomach.


    My other swords flew out of my Ring and joined into the fray, with a thought, they pierced through the air, finding their own targets.


    Draugr were decapitated, other monsters were sliced up, and plenty of trolls had their vitals stabbed, allowing the Warriors of Asgard ample opportunity to finish them off.


    I was getting into the Rhythm of it. The Staff of Magnus quickly entered my grip, and my Spell Circles appeared.


    There were plenty of ''smaller'' spells I was capable of that had fallen to the wayside once my opponents became Godly in nature.


    Just from Skyrim, I had a plethora of spells in my repertoire.


    "Chain Lightning." The Lighting arced across dozens of undead, zapping them and finding a Giant about to stomp on a Valkyrie, shocking him to a pause that allowed her to escape unharmed.


    "Lightning Cloak. me Cloak. Whirlwind Cloak." Weapon enhancement spells that I haven''t used in ages, they enchanted various Einherjar and Valkyrie I eyed across the battlefield, temporarily enchanting their weapons with the corresponding element.


    "Wall of mes!" I noticed the left side of the fighting directly in front of me was slowly losing ground, I conjured a wall of fire, allowing them to group and reform their lines. "Fire Thorns." Followed up, many smaller fire projectiles about the size of fireballsunched at the furthest back lines I could see to avoid friendly fire.


    Lastly, Two simultaneous Spell Circles swirled around above my staff as I cast them at the same time.


    "Fire Storm, Lightning Storm." Two different spots erupted in hellfire and Thunder, burning and disintegrating anything caught within.


    It seemed like they were the ones who couldn''t wait anymore, because arge anchor-like object connected by a chain flew across the battlefield, aiming right at me and the section of the wall I was on.


    "Bakud #44 Sekisho." A fast-forming wall of Spiritual Power sprang up, blocking the bow, but even so it <em>shuddered</em> at the impact.


    The Anchor was retracted quickly, following the descent of a Jotun who stomped forward, cracking the earth.


    It was the first Jotun I''ve seen that wore true Armor.


    The Anchor was used like a mace, and the chain wrapped all the way up his arm as he swung it around.


    As if a signal, the remainder appeared.


    I jumped off the wall, realizing that it was time for me to step forward.


    "Oooh, Thor!"


    "That''s not Thor, you idiot!"


    "Valha, I''ming!"


    "We already came to Valha!"


    The various warriors seemedpletely fearless despite the situation.


    "Warriors of Asgard, Shields up!" The Valkyriemanding them shouted and they obeyed her orders without hesitation.


    Their Shields were quickly deployed, and Magic shimmered around them as a wave of frost mmed into their front, hitting an immovable formation.


    They were fine, my target was elsewhere.


    Thunder pped overhead, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Thor hit that Jotun from before  Johul, across the face with his hammer as they restarted their fight.


    I eyed the Jotun with the oversized Anchor as a weapon, and his eyes bore into me.


    My staff was put away, and I grabbed hold of Mirage, calling upon my Magic to facilitate the Dimensional Refraction Phenomena.


    With a flick of my wrist, an Ether Cannon shot out, deflecting a swing of his weapon.


    It came around again, and another Ether Cannon shot at it before it could tear into the formations around me. I jumped up into the air, my wings springing out of my back and I shot forth another quick Ether Cannon, sending his Anchor sailing off to the side.


    The Jotun roared and charged at me, twisting his body to use his momentum to swing the chained weapon my way again.


    I held Mirage up high, gathering significantly more Magical Energy. "Ether Cannon!" I roared in return, mming into the Giant''s mid-section, sending him falling backwards onto his ass. And his weapon harmlesslynded at the side after he lost his grip.


    Landing on the ground, I met his eyes as he got up, snarling.


    He wasn''t the enemy I was prepared for, but for now, he would do.


    [***]


    Odin POV


    "Damn bastard." Freyja cursed under her breath towards Loki, and I didn''t say anything to rile her up in this instance.


    "You did your job well." I surveyed the battlefield.


    Three sides of engagements. Our backs to the World Tree.


    And not much here could escape my eye.


    "Focus on the ones with Gold Sticking out of their heads, it''s a sign of their higher positions. The more gold and crown-shaped, the higher the Trolls are up." I whispered, my words reaching the ear of that young woman sent over from the church. Her ability to make <em>Firearms</em> out of Holy Power was interesting and quite practical as she sniped from atop the walls.


    Disgusting creatures those things.


    A pest and vermin that would have been eradicated many years ago if they didn''t reproduce so quickly with nearly any species of female able to survive their lusts.


    They mutted themselves by shoving gold into their heads. The Troll King had the fullest andrgest gold ''crown'' sticking out of their head.


    But they were excellent fodder for this kind of situation. It wouldn''t have been difficult for Loki to persuade their king if he promised the women of Asgard as their trophies, along with whatever Gold they could carry.


    "Father, the left side is showing signs of faltering." Vidar''s voice echoed out from Huginn upon my shoulder.


    That''s the side with the brat.


    I rubbed my beard and cast my gaze over there.


    Very quickly, the situation changed as he began to make a move. Various spells hitting spots precisely where they needed to. And he was able to give them ample time to regain their formation to fill in the gaps that had formed from the first sh.


    "It''s fine, focus on the center." I replied.


    "You have a lot of faith in him." Freyja grunted, her own Spells being weaves even if it looked like she was casually chatting with me.


    "It''s well earned." I said simply. "And because of him, we gained the early advantage."


    She flipped her hair back. "I guess I get no credit then?" She rolled her eyes. "But I can''t deny it either. That <em>Bow</em> certainly made an impression. We may as well have another God over there with the Former Elf King wielding that thing."


    If only she knew.


    "But as beneficial as it is to remove one of the Jotun''s Warlords early on, it''s still far from enough."


    Far at the right side, the other kids were fighting too. The Devil wielding the Nemean Lion was a fantastic Warrior, holding off a Giant that he had no right to be fighting at his age.


    The Grandson of the Old Monkey joined him, showing skill that could only be admired even by many warriors hundreds of times his age.


    The wielder of Divine Dividing had his own fight, learning very quickly that his weapon had a w when dealing with multiple opponents of a certain level simultaneously, but quickly gaining the advantage.


    The namesake of the Greek Hero didn''t do his ancestor injustice as he swept through the back line of the battlefield with light steps, iming kills before the slow witted Draugr and Monsters could properly react.


    Lastly, the young woman that came from Nuwa''s side of the world showed excellent skill and tactical prowess by not holding back and using her attacks precisely where they would do the most damage and cause the greatest disruption.


    Still, it was not enough to turn the tide.


    Numbers were powerful in their own right, and we were outnumbered Twenty to One overall. It was unfortunate, but we had no opportunity to call up our allies. The Light Elves were busy warring with their Dark Elf Cousins. And if we called upon them, Loki would usher in the Dark Elves to his side, making the situation unchanging. The Dwarves were too few in number and not focused fighters. Their additions would be minimal and not worth the effort to gather them from their caverns.


    Lastly was Vanaheim, but they were keeping pressure on Muspelheim from the rear.


    This was all we were able to bring to bear at the moment.


    "Another time, far into the past, you would have used those children as sacrifices to draw out Loki or someone of significance." Freyja eyed me. "Now, you''re keeping them at probably the safest spot, far away from the focus. What happened to the Ruthless War God?"


    I let out a chuckle, not losing my focus on the battle. "Do you hate me for not using every means at our disposal to ensure victory?"


    She gave me a long look, but a genuine smile slowly appeared. "I like this you that I see right now."


    There were some things more important than ''winning''.


    If we won, what was the point if we had to sacrifice everything we considered worthwhile about ourselves in the process?


    It was something I didn''t understand when I was younger.


    "All-Father, requesting reinforcements." Heimdall''s voice came through Muninn on my other shoulder.


    "What do you see, Heimdall?"


    "They attempt to nk us then divide us through the middle."


    Freyja frowned. "Guohildr."


    "Yes, Lady Freyja." A Valkyrie withrge boobs knelt down, waiting for orders.


    "Take twenty of your sisters and ten thousand reserve troops to fortify Heimdall''s location." She stilled. "Wait, order another Fifty of your sisters to do a fly by attack through the middle and round to the right. Don''t linger, attack and leave."


    "As youmand, my Lady." She quickly departed.


    "Vidar, send twenty thousand of your warriors to the right side." She continued. "If they want to push through the middle, let''s wee them."


    We only have Three Hundred Thousand Warriors in reserve.


    It''s not enough and we all knew it.


    "Send three thousand of those to the left side." Heimdall quickly ordered.


    "Will do." Vidar responded. "Middle is slowly losing ground. Proceed or push out?"


    "Let it copse naturally."Freyja stated. "We can''t keep this kind of battle going forever, and we''ll be at a disadvantage."


    "Father, Johul has returned to the fray, do I engage?" Thor''s voice came through Muninn''s beak.


    "Take him." I ordered.


    "Kari, the Tempest has appeared on the left side." Heimdall added.


    I cast my gaze over there and saw the Brat immediately respond before I could even say anything.


    "Kari is handled." I told him.


    Worse case scenario, Tyr was there to provide support to the brat. But he will not move unless the situation bes dire or the traitors make their appearance.


    "Orifta the Snowdrift appeared in front of our allies from outside." Heimdall continued. "I am in a position to assist, but Frosti has also appeared near me and has yet to join the fight."


    "Orifta is the weakest of their kin, let the kids handle it. But keep an eye on them, and if they can''t handle it, force their retreat." My gazended upon the kids, but I had a feeling they would surprise me.


    "Odin, this is unlike you to put so much faith in outsiders."


    I didn''t need to look to see Loki''s Illusion leaning against the side of the wall nearby.


    "Hello Pot, this is Kettle. I fucked your mom." I deadpanned.


    Loki merely rolled his eyes. "True, I suppose. I did break that taboo first. Which is why I''m not targeting those children specifically. I do have some manner of pride and honor. However, unlike you, I didn''t put my faith in them. I have contingencies and backup ns. Which proved to be <em>wise</em>."


    "Feel free to target the brat over there currently handing that butt buddy his frosty white ass." I pointed to the left.


    Seeing him frown, I took far too much joy in it.


    "He will get what''sing to him soon."


    "Ominous!"


    "Father, are you speaking with Loki?" Thor''s voice came through Muninn.


    "Hello Thor." Loki casually greeted.


    "Brother! Why don''t youe visit me down here, I have a great many things I wish to discuss with you."


    "Yes, I''m sure they involve that Hammer of yours." Loki snorted. "Don''t worry, <em>brother</em>, I am in goodpany here with your other brother!"


    Thor did not respond, but the wail of Johul from this distance was enough to express his anger.


    "But All-Father, I''m surprised you haven''t joined the fight. Surely a battle hungry War God like you isn''t <em>afraid</em>, hmm?" Loki began to taunt us.


    "You''re wee toe up here like Freyja said. I would <em>dly</em> show you my battle prowess."


    Loki shrugged. "Oh well, I can''t fault you. You probably felt that cold sensation of Death, huh?"


    "Hmph."


    He wasn''t lying, I could feel it just as vividly as I did in the Roots.


    That Mutt of his was around, and it would appear the moment I made a move.


    "Freyja, drop some more meteors."


    "More meteors?"


    "More meteors." I nodded.


    "Really?" Loki rolled his eyes again. "We could y this song and dance some more, but remember, you''re the one who wants to skip to the end of this story." He put his fingers into his mouth and whistled.


    It wasn''t particrly loud, but it carried a certain weight to it.


    Two howls shook the battlefield.


    Very quickly, two wolves that looked frighteningly simr to his Mutt of a child took to the skies, running upon the air.


    Hati and Skll, the two children of Fenrir, destined to devour the Sun and the Moon.


    "Freyja!"


    "On it!" She began casting one of her strongest spells, targeting the two offspring of the World Wolf.


    "Come now, did you really think I would allow that?" Loki chuckled, and a Runic Circle appeared overhead, wrapped in Loki''s aura and Divine Power.


    Both Freyja and I had to cancel our original actions and move to support Asgard''s Shield as Fire burst out onto the barrier.


    With another Howl up in the sky, the two wolves turned into shadows, merging with the very cosmos and they opened their maws around the two celestial objects.


    Skll mped down, and sunlight disappeared from the world with a cry from somewhere behind the enemies'' line. I recognized Sl''s voice, but I had no sympathy for her. The shadow of the Child of Fenrir copsed onto itself, disappearing along with the Sun.


    Hati too, opened its jaw, about to mp down, but a new source of light appeared, moving across the sky.


    It came from the direction of the left battlefield, as an arrow made of Sunlight collided with the shadow of Hati about to devour the Moon.


    A howl and a whimper echoed across the Nine Realms as the second of Fenrir''s children fell from the sky, wounded.


    Loki''s eyes widened and his head snapped at the Old bastard.


    The Old Elven King raised up his middle finger with a mocking smile.


    "Hahaha!" I smacked my knee. "Looks like one of your grandkids is a fuck up, eh?"


    Loki''s expression twisted back in a silent rage. "Again, that <em>mortal</em>."


    It was obvious he was talking about the Brat as everyone knew who gave the Old King that Bow.


    "Even after all your ns, you just keep getting L''s, huh Loki? It''s like a reflection of your entire life represented in a few days."


    I could tell he was fuming at this point, even if he didn''t overly react.


    Loki was vindictive and vengeful, even if his anger simmered coldly and he was willing to wait for his revenge.


    Even with purely Starlight and Moonlight filling the Nine Realms at this point, it was a win for us.


    It was possible to mend the Sun after Ragnark.


    "Let''s begin the next stage then." Loki sounded casually, but he couldn''t escape my sight.


    From wherever he was, new orders were issued, and the enemies'' troops all around shifted slightly.


    From Vidar''s frontline, Baldur appeared.


    On the Left a titanic figure stepped out of the void. The brat that had been fighting the Jotun and winning, stopped to look at Kronos in his full Titanic form that loomed over even the Jotuns already on the battlefield.


    On the right side, Thor encountered the remainder of the Jotun Warlords, along with Heimdall.


    And the various traitors appeared throughout, forcing Tyr and the others to finally step forward.


    The Middle finally copsed, and the enemies pushed at Asgard''s barrier.


    A streak of light weaved between them, and mmed not it, cracking the shield.


    Hyperion stood at the forefront,nding blows upon Asgard''s defenses.


    "Magni!" Freyja yelled, and the God of Strength came from behind where he was with the reserve troops.


    He would not win in a fight against the Titan, but he could stall long enough. He charged with reckless abandon, a Berserker if there ever was one, and collided head first into the Titan.


    However, there was a problem, we were undermanned.


    Sl, who had cried out earlier, she appeared, calling upon her sunlight, as destitute as it was and as winded and haggard as she was after having the Sun <em>devoured</em>, she used her Divine Powers to attack the Barrier as well, forming cracks on another end of it.


    Mni, the Moon God, moved to intercept, using his Moonlight to counter her sunlight. Normally, he would be much weaker than her, but the fact that the Moon remained allowed him to equal her in this moment.


    Sl wasn''t the only God on their side, or perhaps even ours, that was lessened by the loss of the Sun, but they were still Gods.


    Dagr, The God of the Day joined in with her, pushing back the Moon God.


    Be made herself known as vines sprouted all over the battlefield, sweeping up our Warriors and disrupting the carefullyid out formation. Valkyries were pulled from the skies, and shields were ripped from the hands of the Einherjar. Small actions that were having a cascading effect.


    Gerr appeared and the earth rumbled, causing quakes to shake at our foundations, and the walls began to tremble and waver.


    Ullr began to fight Sga.


    Tyr took over the Jotun while the Brat squared up against Kronos.


    And Modi was preupied with his other brothers.


    There were still enemies that needed devoted attention that were free to attack at their leisure, and Asgard''s barrier was quickly failing.


    "Are you going to join, Odin? How about I make your choice for you." As soon as Loki said that, another howl carried across the battlefield. This one contained far too much bloodlust and rage to be mistaken for thest two wolves.


    Fenrir appeared amidst the various monsters.


    It still looked wounded from ourst encounter, a bloody hole in its side was hard topletely recover from, but it had healed a certain amount and I unconsciously tightened my grip around my spear.


    "It would be a mercy to just give up now, Odin. I''ll let this be thest act of our previous rtionship. I''ll make it quick and painless, you have my word."


    It''s funny, Loki was being both mocking and genuine. Oh, he was relishing in his perceived victory, but at the same time, he truly believed what he had just spoken.


    I peered off into the distance, despite the thumping of my heart at my mortal enemy appearing, I couldn''t help but smile.


    Loki narrowed his eyes. "What are you nning, Odin?"


    "Me?" Iughed. "Nothing. The thing is, I knew you would ount for me. We spent far too much time together, you knew how I would think, how I would respond, what I would do. I admit I failed in my duties; I wallowed in my own self depreciation for so long and stayed around, giving you all this time to scheme and n. So, I let the brate up with the ns. Honestly, I thought some of them were farfetched, but I guess I''ve been proven wrong."


    A mist started appearing from far away.


    It was thick, unnatural, and full of magic.


    I was right, it was a cool addition.


    It started with a Dragon''s roar.


    A Dragon like the ones I saw from Skyrim appeared, riding atop of it was the brat''s Dragon friend.


    Quickly following, The Brat''s ship broke through the mist, cannons starting to rain magical fire down upon the hundreds of thousands of enemies still marching towards Asgard''s walls.


    The Blue skinned Spirit of his, and the Samurai stood proudly at the front..the Rabbit of his was apparently <em>steering</em>.


    More ships appeared from the mists.


    These ones looked to be made of flesh and bones. Ominous but numerous, ghosts filled every spot upon the vessel with their ghastly weapons raised up, roars of fury upon the winds.


    And at the forefront, Hel stood at the helm, looking a mite pissed off.


    The way Loki''s eyes widened, It wasn''t hard to guess the source of her <em>annoyance</em>.


    "How  " Loki stilled. "You.she should not be free! Jormungandr.and" He looked at me. "How did you ovee the trap I nted?"


    "Who do you think I am?" I looked at him unphased.


    Truthfully, I had no idea what he was talking about at all.


    But I would dly take credit for when things went my way.


    "I underestimated you." Loki''s expression darkened. "It is my mistake, I was caught up in my own arrogance. I can admit this much. However, Hel''s assistance is far from enough to sway this battle."


    "Is that so?"


    Loki looked concerned for the very first time.


    There was another <em>roar</em> that sounded the arrival of something amongst the fighting.


    It was no Dragon, it was no Jotun, and it was certainly no God.


    Loki''s head turned, and many other eyes followed.


    A pathway opened up on the Trunk of the World Tree, a certain squirrel came running down.


    It would have been funny in any other situation, the way he ran and panicked but.right at this moment, I couldn''t help but admire his courage.


    Ratatoskr appeared, and very quickly the source of the roar came as well.


    A massive Deer came barreling out of the passage.


    It was big enough to match any Jotun on the Battlefield, Truthfully, I didn''t realize it was still alive, I had thought all the Great Red Deers of the higher leaves were all gone.


    Like many things I''ve found these past few days, I was wrong. I had heard that thest of them, Duneyrr, had disappeared centuries ago and never bothered to check up on this.


    Along with it came many more Deers of a simr descent and of varying degrees of size and strength, but it was a stampede that couldn''t be ignored.


    And just barely, I could make out the figure of the Cat-Eared huntress that the brat brought along with him, she was riding upon one of therge Stags.


    Duneyrr charged with his children, plowing through the side of the enemies lines, cutting a bloody swathe through one end of the battlefield to the other. Its massive horns lowered as all manner of monsters were impaled upon its sharp antlers.


    And it didn''t stop, charging right towards the World Wolf itself, ramming right into it, sending it rolling across the ground with a yelp of pain.


    The surprises didn''t end.


    A shrill cry heard high above our heads, followed by an uncountable number of shadows that blotted out the sky.


    The winds swept up around us, some violent, some subtle. Some specifically targeting the enemies of Asgard and turning into des between them.


    Two massive wings that could cover Jotuns in their entirety pped and hurricanes followed in its wake.


    "Gods of Asgard, Hrsvelgr and the Highest Branches answers your plea for aid!" The King of the Highest branch descended with his army.


    At the side of the King, and among the many birds that filled the sky, a Chariot pulled by Three horses flew through the air and sitting upon it was the other Greek Hero that came along for this adventure.


    Loki turned to me.


    He then looked down as my spear pushed into his side.


    "..when did you figure it out?" He whispered, blood dripping down the edge of the spear.


    "Loki, just as you know me too well, I know you just as well." I flicked the spear away, and I knew following up was pointless as he already reced himself with an illusion. Only Loki would be cocky enough to sit up here and talk shit like this so openly.


    "Let me speak some words to you that were given to me not long ago. <em>First to the finish line</em>." I cut apart his illusion.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 504: Part 1

    Chapter 504: Part 1


    The others'' arrival was a weed sight.


    Though theck of a sun was <em>very</em> disconcerting, I tried not to focus on it.


    Jinn, Thorum and Sasaki pulled through. The arrival of those bone and flesh ships that rode over the mists like waves was quite a sight to behold.


    How theynded upon the ground, and swathes of Ghosts and Wraiths began to charge through the enemies'' lines. The thing about immaterial enemies such as those was that they required a little more <em>oomph</em> to properly fight.


    You can''t just swing a basic sword at one and expect it to do much. Being able to coat your weapon in Magical Energy, or something simr, would be about the bare minimum needed, and the Draugr, while caked in Necrotic Magics, were very<em> basic</em>.


    They were nothing more than cannon fodder.


    And the Tide of angry apparitions washed over them.


    Thorum rode upon Durheviir and therge Dragon bombarded the battlefield with fire breaths. As expected, he probably couldn''t <em>unsummon</em> the Dragon at this particr point.


    The Talisman I gave him, I hadn''t been100% sure it would work, but it was only meant to bridge the gap for an instant to allow the summoning. Far easier than most applications of the Kaleidoscope.


    Seemed it paid off well.


    Jinn and Sasaki stood aboard the ship,ying down aerial bombardments without much recourse from the enemies now that their main yers were upied.


    On the other side, Atnta and Achilles pulled through as well. Even to a greater degree than I had hoped. I admit, I was not confident in their ability to sway the Bird King, considering I knew absolutely nothing about him but vague stories.


    But here we are, with a literal army of Birds of varying size and distinction as they cast uncountable shadows over the whole of Asgard.


    The King himself was <emrge</em>.


    He swooped down and sent the World Wolf rolling across the ground. That was, <em>after</em> a Giant Red Deer crashed into it with its massive Antlers.


    I had no idea where the Deers came from, but they stampeded through the battlefield like calvary, splitting enemy lines and disrupting their assault.


    But considering that Atnta was riding upon one of them, I believed it''s safe to assume who was responsible for their presence.


    Tyr came out and hit the Giant I was fighting like a Whirlwind, and I was extremely thankful, because I had someone else to deal with.


    For the first time, I saw Kronos at his truest.


    And <em>why</em> his people were called <em>Titans</em>.


    Despite his gargantuan size, he treated me with equal reverence. I who looked like an ant inparison, he was staring at me as if I were a great enemy.


    "I don''t know if I shouldugh or get angry that the Trickster failed so spectacrly." Kronos rumbled.


    "How about both?" I offered.


    Kronos seemed to genuinely consider that. "I will mock him and let him know my displeasureter." He nodded sagely.


    "Pretty confident that either of you will have a ter''."


    Kronos quirked a smile. "I will truly miss your audacity. I can say that you, as a mortal, have the sole honor of being remembered by me after your death."


    I forced myself to get serious. Things swung far enough our way that I felt like I could leave everything else to the people behind me. "This will be ourst fight."


    Kronos''s grin quickly turned to a frown, but he nodded "This will be our third battle. Two times I have faced you, and two times you have emerged victorious."


    Just as he said that he dropped his weapon to the ground with a loud <em>thump</em>. He raised his hands to the sky, and everything around us distorted.


    "I wouldn''t exactly call them victories. And you got me pretty good on thatst one." I unconsciously put a hand on my side where I had been stabbed. I was mostly back to full fighting shape as it hadn''t been too serious, but therewas lingering soreness still there.


    Like a Bounded Field on a Divine level, walls emerged around us woven from his Divinity and the essence of <em>Time</em> until we werepletely enveloped.


    "No, every time we engage, and you survive, it is a victory in your favor regardless of the oue. By all reasoning, it should not be possible, you should not be able to stand against me, yet here you stand for the third and final time." He stated. "You have earned the right to stand here as my equal. I feel no shame in admitting that I require my full effort to take your life, mortal. However, it will shame me beyond eptance if our conflict is not settled here."


    My swords were summoned forth. "It''s strange, out of all the enemies I''ve fought to the death, I think I don''t actually hate you."


    Gradually, his size shrank back down to the same as when we foughtst time, his weapon following suit.


    I did not think he was weaker in any waypared to hisrger size. Simply, a <em>shift</em> in direction for his power. Sizes of that magnitude can be both a blessing and a curse depending on the circumstance.


    There would be no interruptions this time.


    Just me and him to the end.


    There seemed to be a genuine smile spread across his face. "Let all grudges be settled here. Let death wash away all resentment."


    "Easy for an Immortal being like you to say. Death is more an inconvenience for you than a true end." I pointed out.


    He chuckled. "Then I will make you this promise to express my respect to you as an opponent. I will not seek out those you cherish after I kill you. And should I fall, when I return some time into the future, I will hold no grudge nor seek vengeance. So says the King of the Titans."


    That wasI think I gained a significant amount of respect for him in this moment.


    "I had a question, if you don''t mind me asking."


    "Speak."


    "You were prepared for me in ourst fight, weren''t you?"


    He tilted his head. "Of course. Why do you ask?"


    "Just surprised that someone of your stature would ''lower themselves'' to ''study'' a mortal like me is all." I shrugged.


    Kronos snorted disdainfully. "Only the foolish would not gather information on their enemies when so readily avable. I do not understand those mortal devices, but they have recorded many valuable things."


    Right, I figured as much.


    My past fights against Susanoo and Indra were seen by plenty and I''m sure there was enough to piece together quite a bit about me.


    I shouldn''t be surprised that he anticipated my trump cards after seeing them once or twice.


    "Yet, even then, I am surprised by you. Not one, but <em>two</em> attacks with Origins in Hecates'' influence that would bring me to my knees." He shook his head, letting out a tired breath. "The world has changed far too much, and I don''t recognize it any longer."


    I see, he was talking about my Great God Carved Seal and my Mountain Sealing Incantation. Both of which had been able to <em>pin him down</em> more or less and could have caused some damage. Though, thetter was a Sealing Spell, so damage wasn''t its primary directive.


    "Mortal  <em>no</em>." He stopped himself. "State your name."


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." Boosted Gear appeared on my arm, and my Zanpakut in the other.


    "It is a name I will remember." He picked his Scythe back up. "I am Kronos, the Titan King!" He let out a roar. "Let this be a good fight!" He wasted no more time and charged at me.


    Each step of his shook the ground, and the swing of his Scythe severed the world around the edge of its de.


    I grabbed Ascalon and blocked the blow. The Time withering began to pulse outward, but Ascalon was a Noble Phantasm, <em>Time held no authority over it!</em>


    Despite holding firm in the force of his Authority, my feet sunk into the ground and I pushed hard against the blow.


    "Boost!" I swept Ascalon out, knocking the Scythe away. My other swords flew at him, stabbing through the air.


    The Titan King swept his Scythe, deflecting them out of the way harmlessly, but it was a small opening that I shot forward with a burst of Shunpo, Ascalon aiming at his heart.


    "Fus!" I bellowed, aiming right at his leg. His scythe was about toe down again, but he stumbled, nearly falling to his knee due to the sudden and invisible force that collided with him.


    He brought his left arm up, the muscles of his forearm tensing as Ascalon pushed into the flesh of it.


    Before I could follow up, my vision was filled with the pole of his Scythe sweeping across my face.


    My Aura red up protectively, however, the blow was enough to knock me down and I felt the force of it despite not taking any meaningful damage.


    I had let go of Ascalon, still lodged into his arm and rolled to the side, narrowly dodging his Scythe that mmed into the earth, rendering everything around it <em>dead</em> by merely a touch.


    I jerked my hand and my other Swords flew back to me. The Titan King let out an annoyed grunt as Mirage nicked his shoulder, drawing a thin line of blood and returning to my hand as I bounced back up to my feet.


    He yanked Ascalon out of his arm and tossed it to the side. A quick nce nced showed that it did not pierce very deep into his arm, but a wound was a wound in a fight like this.


    Mirage met his Scythe in a flurry of strikes, each one producing enough force to make the Earth shake on impact.


    The Titan King stilled between sweeps, and I felt myself surrounded.


    I called upon Ascalon, but his Scytheshed out, hitting the Noble Phantasm, causing it to impale itself deep into the ground.


    "Did you think I would forget your trick with that thing!?" The Titan King bellowed.


    Images of his Scythe filled my vision. From every perceivable angle around me, I felt them sh at me from different points in Time, all converging onto this single moment.


    I focused everything I had through the Hogyoku and shifted it all to my Aura.


    My Aura burst out of me in full force, the Kaleidoscopic colors swirled around me, shielding me from harm as the Titan King''s Divine Scythe came down to reap me. It was a far cry from the near absolute Defense that Ascalon provided though.


    My Aura was strong, but it was not imprable. The Titan King''s Scythe shed through my Aura in part. Some of his attacks were stopped at the surface, some managed to tear through it part way, and some of them, while much of their strength was lost in the process, managed to cut into me.


    "Welsh Dragon Bnce Breaker!" I ignored the blood dripping from the cuts around my body and shot forward at him. <em>"Boost, Boost, Boost!</em>" I used my entire body to m into him at full speed, hurling him straight to the ground.


    I flipped my Zanpakut around in my hand and stabbed down at him. He threw his head up, ramming into mine, dazing me for a brief moment through both my Armor and my Aura, with a punch thrown at me as well. I rolled off of him and my other Swords fell down from the sky.


    He let out a snarl and roared furiously, my Swords pushed into his body, but at his size, it was like being stabbed by needles.


    He pulled them out and tossed them to the side like merely minor inconveniences. His Divinity gathered around his weapon and his presence was <em>amplified</em> to a dangerous degree.


    "Wither!" He called out, sweeping his Scythe outward, and the world answered his call.


    An invisible force swept out with it, like a ripple across a stillke, the world churned and groaned as his scythe cut through the ''time'' of everything in its path.


    "Reflect  Mus Tengai!" My Zanpakut was released for the first time this fight. I could feel the blood drip from my eyes, but I pushed through it with the Kaleidoscope opening up before me and I saw the path forward.


    Everywhere around us, every de of grass, every insect, every living organism was turned to dust, except for me at the spot I was standing.


    I stabbed my Zanpakut into the ground to keep my bnce, looking at the Titan King who dropped his Scythe to his side.


    "You are increasingly both impressive and annoying simultaneously." The Titan king noted.


    "I get that a lot." I forced a smile. "But it seems you were still anticipating it."


    "It''s hard to ignore the ability to alter aspects of the world." His face darkened.


    So he noticed.


    My Swords returned to my side, all but Whisper.


    Whisper was needed elsewhere and began forming the Spell Circles needed.


    Touching on my Hogyoku again, my Demonic Power burst outwards. Horns pushed up out of my forehead, my eyes split into slits, and a tail came out from behind.


    Kronos tilted his head and grinned, holding his Scythe pointed at me.


    I reached for the Sword of Destruction, and casually swung it downwards.


    It released a de of Destruction that ate away at everything in its path, including the ground beneath the wave.


    Kronos swung his Scythe to meet it. The concepts of Time errant Withering met with a pure form of Destruction. One meant to facilitate the natural cycle of Death and Rebirth, the other that brought about nothing but annihtion.


    It seemed at the collision of power, they canceled each other out.


    Both Kronos and myself looked at the scene curiously.


    I held The Sword of Destruction up again.


    I didn''t <em>need</em> Mirage to facilitate the use of the Kaleidoscope. Every spell, every ability I used it for, it merely made it <em>easy</em>. Especially in an instance like this where Time was disordered, and the World Tree disrupted Space within its vicinity.


    With the Sword of Destruction coated in my Power of Destruction, I swung at Kronos. <em>"Ten-Thousand Birds!"</em>


    My Sword phantoms that originally were the product of Mirage due to the ease of use, they were released from the Sword of Destruction and <em>Made</em> from my Power of Destruction, filling the space between uspletely with their might.


    The Titan King did not stand still, he could sense the threat aimed at him.


    Rather than set up some kind of defense, to block or shield himself, <em>he charged forward</em>, roaring in defiance.


    One of my <em>Birds</em> hit him. He coated himself in his Authority, fending off the worst of it, but the Power of Destruction sshed across his shoulder, searing away a small bit of flesh.


    His Scythe swept out with every step he took, cleaving many in twain, but for every ten that he destroyed, one or two managed tond upon him. Some sshed harmlessly, some were wrought with a Divine power that snuffed out the Demonic Power at its core, but every so often, like the first, theynded.


    However, the Titan King didn''t falter one bit and pushed through the torrent of attacks.


    If I had time to contemte it, I would have found it utterly terrifying how a Titan''s roars shook the very air as he charged at me, parts of his body seared away on the surface and not one gleam of retreat noticeable in his eyes.


    He leapt up into the air, and mmed his scythe into the ground, shattering the earth beneath our feet.


    I flew up into the air to avoid the disruption of the terrain, but Kronos held his hand up, clenching his fist.


    I felt a force <em>pull</em> me to the ground against my will.


    "Rewind!" He shouted again, from where I was on the newly destroyed and rocky terrain, everything <em>shifted</em> back to where it was before he had utterly destroyed it, and I was now kneeling right in front of him. "Reap!"


    His Scythe didn''t need to move, instead an image of it came to my head.


    <em>"Swallow Returns!"</em>


    My Sword of Destruction moved to stab into his back while the false ''me'' in front of him was decapitated.


    However, two eyes bore down at me.


    Kronos, who had his back facing me <em>another, ethereal, </em>reflection of himself seemed toe alive from his body. The ''extra'' version of him was barely material, sprouting from his back and swinging his ''scythe'' down at me.


    <em>He was able to project himself on multiple time-lines simultaneously</em>.


    I had no time to acknowledge how absurd it was!


    "Bakud #8, Seki!" I cast a quick Kid, the spell collided with his projection''s Scythe, it was barely enough to avoid a dire blow, deflecting it only a breath away from its intended target, but his scythe still shed down my chest.


    I grit my teeth and push my Sword of Destruction into his back down to the hilt!


    The Titan king let out a bellow, and pivoted, swinging his Scythe around fully as his true body followed.


    Bakud #44, Sekisho!" I cast the quickest Shield spell to strength I could manage off the top of my head.


    The wall of solidified Spiritual Matter was like paper in front of his Primordial Scythe. It only held it off for a fraction of a second.


    I raised my hand up, focusing on my Sword of Destruction still sticking out of his back, especially the Power of Destruction that was wafting off of it. <em>"Transfer!</em>"


    The Power of Destruction on my de magnified several folds in an instant.


    I could <em>see</em> the pain sh across his face, the ring of his nostril, and the near slump of his legs as it hit him. I held my arms up to brace myself as he swung his Scythe at me, some of the power dissipated from my actions, but he still sent me fly, especially after I let go of my Boosts.


    I hit and bounced across the ground a few times before I could force myself to a stop and pushed up onto my knee as quickly as possible, aiming my palm at him.


    "Scattered Beast Bones! Spire, Crimson Crystal, Steel Wheels! The wind if it not moves, the sky if it not stops, the tone of the spear striking fills the lone castle!" My Divinity intertwined with my Spiritual Power. "Had #88, Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!"


    The Lightning erupted from my palm, like arge dragon that opened its maw, it pounced on the Titan King.


    The Titan King, he too <em>let out an earth shaking shout</em>, and his size inted in magnitudes. I had seen this from him before, the very skies supported him as his body enveloped the stars themselves.


    A heavenly judgment, his Scythe,rger than mountains came down from the Heavens, slicing through my spells, sundering the world within this small area he sealed off.


    I pushed against the ground, using Shunpo to disappear from the spot I was in, only to realize that I <em>hadn''t moved</em>.


    Again, I moved fast, as fast as I could, <em>feeling myself moving</em>, yet covering no ground whatsoever.


    I realized I had been put in a loop and I didn''t have any time to think about breaking it properly.


    My Semnce Activated.


    <em>"Feim Zii Gron!"</em> I shouted the Ethereal Thu''um on top of it.


    And my Aura pushed outward while I held my arms, d in Ddraig''s Scale mail, taking his hit head on.


    My eyes, still enhanced by my Shikai, looked at the possibilities. <em>"Reflect -- Mus Tengai!</em>" The pain in my head intensified as I altered the world around me.


    I took the hit head on.


    My Aura shuddered and I felt a shockwave through my soul. The Scale Mail cracked and shattered in parts, but held its shape, if barely. My Semnce and the Thu''um only held off a miniscule amount of the damage as immaterial things were not something avoidable in front of a Titan''s Authority.


    The world seemed to flip upside down and I had trouble standing back up once I regained my bnce.


    I was not in the ce I was previously, and I wobbled in ce slightly.


    I looked down at my left arm and It wouldn''t budge as itid limp at my side, mangled badly.


    The Titan King returned to normal, his Scythe propping himself up as well, his breathing heavy and blood seeping from his own wounds.


    My Sword was still lodged into his back, however, the Power of Destruction was no longer flowing out from it. But it left him in rough shape from what damage it had done.


    My inside felt like they were on fire after taking that hit, and my Aura retreated as it had be too low to manifest properly.


    But I didn''t feel dejected, nor did I feel a sense of defeat just yet.


    Whisper returned to my side.


    I dropped Mus Tengai, letting it impale itself into the ground and called out my Staff of Magnus.


    "You know my tricks well at this point, but there''s something you haven''t seen yet." I forced out through haggard breaths. Spell circles began appearing all around me. Carefully carved into the air by Whisper while we had been fighting.


    Roots began to emerge from the ground.


    "Behold, recreated and appearing once more in the world. Blessings of the World Tree  Yggdrasil!"


    They climbed upwards, building upon each other until a newly formed World Tree was recreated through my Spell.


    "You.you had something like this?" Kronos''s eyes widened at the sight of my spell fully emerging.


    I wanted tough, but I only ended up spitting out blood caught in my throat. "Against someone like you, I had to wear you down a bit first." Honestly, he would probably be one of the worst targets to use this Spell against. But at this point, we were both pushing on empty, which meant it was the perfect time to break out thest Trump Card he''d never seen so far.


    I contemted bringing out my Authority, but he would just render the battle back down to something tight and closed off. No opportunity to create an advantage by sealing away his Authority temporarily, and it''s not like it''s <em>easy</em> to maintain my Authority in a state like this.


    I chose which Realms to utilize and called out to them.


    "Asgard, Muspelheim, Vanaheim!"


    I had no symbols to utilize at this moment for either Asgard or Muspelheim. Odin had my spear, and my Sword of Destruction was currently stuck in his back. As for VanaheimI tossed my staff up into the air and the Spell took hold of it, epting it into the Spell Form quite easily.


    No longer in the shape of a staff, Vanaheim''s true form took hold and wrapped itself around it.


    Vanaheim was basically the origin of Magic in Norse Mythology. Asgard had warriors, but Vanaheim had <em>Magic Users</em>.


    Thus, Vanaheim took the form of an ever changing <em>Magic Circle</em>.


    A Magic Circle that could amplify, alter, and otherwise change Spells as needed in real time.


    "Strike with Absolution  Gungnir!" A golden light emerged from where Asgard was ''located'' upon my Tree.


    The Spear of the All-father, a hollow copy that it was, jutted off and collided with Kronos.


    He of course raised his Scythe to block, but the force of it sent him pushed backwards several feet as his heels dug into the dirt.


    Kronos growled, taking a step forward, his size increased, each step he took, he further turned to his ''normal'' size, a towering Giant capable of cutting down my tree with but a swing of his Scythe.


    I held up a finger, pointing at him. "Bakud #4, Hainawa." A simple Kid that produced a Spiritual Rope to wrap around the target.


    Vanaheim <em>shined</em>. "Breath of Magic, <em>Vanaheim</em>."


    The ever-changing Magic Circle shifted and churned in response, it <em>ate</em> my spell forck of a better word, and then it recast it ordingly.


    Massive Spiritual Chains were cast down upon the Titan King from the <em>Realm of Magic</em>.


    They wrapped around his body, stifling his movements until he was forced to a crawl, each step of his shattering chains, but for every one that was shattered, several more took its ce.


    "<strong>I AM KRONOS</strong><strong><em>"</em></strong>


    Despite being nearly covered head to toe in the Spiritual Chains, they began shattering at breakneck speeds.


    No, they were being unmade, undone, <em>reverted</em>.


    A Monochromatic aura enveloped the Titan King, and all my Spiritual Chains were destroyed.


    He reeled his arms back, both gripping his weapon tightly, intent on fully cutting my spell in half, and as blocking it went, I had nothing left in me but to take the blow head on.


    "Even Gods Die." I held my hand up. "<em>Twilight of the Gods Laevatein</em>."


    The Realm of Muspelheim shifted into its intended form.


    The de of the Fire Giant  Surtr.


    The sword which brought about Ragnark.


    It was but a hollow copy without the added shape of the Sword of Destruction, but it was still molded from the concepts of the Norse Cosmology and given form through the Primordial Runes passed down from Odin Himself.


    Kronos once more showed concern on his face. His emotions were not hidden at the end of our fight, and he pushed forward regardless.


    Gungnir returned and shot out again, hitting him in the chest.


    The Titan stumbled, but still moved forward.


    Laevatein followed, burning the very sky and space in its wake.


    Where Laevatein went, everything <em>disappeared</em>. And his right hand that held his Scythe, <em>flung up into the air</em>,pletely severed from his arm.


    The Titan King Clenched his jaw tight, the muscles on his gigantic left arm bulged, and he still swung his Scythe out.


    I was blown back by the sheer force, and the Bounded Field epassing this area <em>vibrated</em> as his Scythe cleaved through my tree.


    The top half of Yggdrasil began falling over.


    "VANAHEIM!" I shouted, pointing at him before it disappeared. And I had no time for anythingplicated. "Had #4, Byakurai!"


    A single bolt of lightning, intertwined with my Divinity, but Vanaheim <em>amplified</em> that to an obscene degree.


    Thousands of simr bolts of lightning rained down directly upon the Titan King.


    He <em>shrunk</em> himself again to avoid a good amount of them, but plenty still collided with his body, charring significant parts of him ck, crackling and thundering across his body as he clenched his teeth and persisted.


    Vanaheim shattered as the Tree began to dissipate.


    I jerked my hand to the side, and what remained of Gungnir mmed into him,sting only a moment both because the spell was ending,but the Authority of his was still coated on his body and dissolved the spell without any means to sustain it., but enough to knock him on his ass.


    I wanted to call upon Laevatein too, but it quickly disappeared as the spell fizzled out.


    My legs felt heavy, but I put everything I had into a Shunpo and called upon Mirage.


    <em>"Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost</em>." I pushed way past my limits and I went faster than I ever had before.


    I barely registered Mirage in my grip, and swung down.


    <em>Myriad sh</em>!


    Kronos jerked back, but it was toote, his left arm went flying along with his Scythe.


    I fell to the ground with the momentum of the swing, having used up the remainder of my stamina and strength on that.


    Kronos, however, roared defiantly. His head jerked forward<em>, and he grabbed his Scythe with his mouth from the air</em>, using his head to aim it down at me.


    With a twitch of my finger, I called back Ascalon that had been abandoned much earlier in the fight.


    It arrived just in time to stop his Scythe from going through my heart, deflecting it to the ground next to me, and the Titan King didn''t have the strength to fight it.


    My other Swords came to my mental call too.


    shing through the air, the remainder of the Titan King''s limbs were cut from his body and finally he fell to the ground.


    I barely pushed myself up onto my feet, everything aching in my body, but I wanted to see him.


    I wobbled the few steps over to where his limbs were scattered and his bodyid, bleeding out.


    His Authority suddenly burst outwards, threatening to consume me, but my swords didn''t need a physical indication from me as they came down from above, stabbing into him.


    The Titan King''sst attack dissipated as quickly as it came, and his Divine Powerpletely receded.


    The Titan king began tough, quickly changing to coughing blood. "Worth a shot."


    "I win." I breathed out.


    "Well fought." He acknowledged. "The victory is yours."


    "Was it worth it?" I asked. "Allying yourself with Loki? Doing all of this?"


    The Titan king looked up, the barrier around us began to disappear gradually. The sky peeked through, and despite the sun missing, it wasn''t a bad sight to see in one''s final moments.


    "I just..wanted things back to how they used to be. Was that so wrong?"


    "No, it isn''t." I shook my head.


    I couldn''t agree with the consequences of his actions if he won, of the destruction he wrought, but simply wanting the life you once had.I couldn''t fault him for yearning for it.


    The Titan King breathed out, and I could feel a hint of his Divinity. I was on guard, until I realized what was happening. Odin''s spear appeared, apparently it was sealed away in a moment of time.


    Itnded next to him and he smiled awkwardly. "Can you look after my Scythe for me? Frankly, I don''t want Zeus to get his grubby hands on it. Give it..give it to Rhea if you can. I know it won''t make up for anything, but.I want her to know that I''m sorry."


    "I''ll do so."


    "Hah." He coughed some more. "It''s funny, in a different set of circumstances, maybe we could have been friends." He closed his eyes, and his primordial spirit went to sleep.


    Goodbye, Titan King.


    I wanted to sit down and rest, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.


    I looked to the side where the feeling wasing from, and the barrier barely receded at this point, and all I could see were mes that reminded me far too much of Laevatein.


    [***]


    A/N


    The conclusion to Wilhelm''s rivalry with Kronoses to an end, but Asgard isn''t doing very good.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 505: Part 2

    Chapter 505: Part 2


    Achilles POV


    Been awhile since I''ve been in a battle like this! It reminded me of how chaotic Troy really was even with all the effort it took to siege those stupidly big walls of theirs.


    The difference being that the Gods weren''t just sitting high up and acting like puppet masters. Rather, they were down there on the fields, bleeding and fighting with everyone else.


    Big Bird''s reinforcements were not being handled too well by these guys. Didn''t seem like they had any air support, but I guess that''s not something to mention. Magic and stuff can make up for that easily and the powerful ones won''t be put down by a few thousand birds  admittedly strong ones among their number  attacking them.


    I looked for my own ''spot'' to set down and help out. Didn''t wanna interfere in anyone else''s fight and regardless of how confident I was, I may be a little bit weakened here from burning some of my Spirit Origin.


    Should recover enough with some time, and maybe the dick can lend a hand, but I should probably take it a little easy. Sis is gonna shoot my ass with arrows if I push myself too much here.


    Found a good spot and I noticed a kid using something really familiar. Something I didn''t expect to see out in this part of the world.


    Were those Greek weapons and Armor?


    Damn, gotta check that out.


    I jumped off my chariot and hit the ground with a big shockwave, immediately my spear shot out and pierced through one of those trolls.


    Ugly bastards, it was doing the world a favor to put them down.


    Inded a little ways away from the kid I saw,but it was still close enough that I just had to run. Everything between me and him was swept up in the whirlwind that I kicked up in my wake.


    Bodies of Trolls, Undead and other nasty things went flying and shattering on impact.


    I stood in front of the kid who froze as I appeared in front of him.


    He had a Xiphos in one hand and a shield in another. A familiar shield, it reminded me of the ones my Myrmidons used. In fact, that was exactly what it was, not a fake or recreation, I could tell at a nce.


    That thing was the real deal.


    Huh, ain''t that something surprising?


    There was blood on his de, and scratches on his shield. Both fresh, so I wasn''t gonna get mad about him using something like that. If he puts them to proper use, then that''s all the respect that''s needed.


    Though, something was missing.


    "Where''s your spear, brat?" I looked at him.


    "Wah?"


    "Your spear!" I turned my own spear sideways and lightly smacked his helmet. "A Myrmidon carries three weapons, their Spear, their sword, and their shields!"


    "H-how did you know that I was a Myrmidon?"


    "Heh, ain''t it obvious?" I chuckled. "The sword is the secondary weapon, your spear is your best friend, it''s your lover, it''s your mother. You take care of her, she may leave you during a battle, but until that time, she''s your most treasured possession. The only time you should lose your spear is when It breaks or it''s in the heart of an enemy worthy of it! Did no one teach you that?"


    "No." He shook his head.


    "Jeez, what''s the worlding too?" I sighed. "What''s your name, kid?" I looked to the side and let my spear strike out at a few of those Undead that were running towards us.


    "A-Achilles."


    I stopped dead in my tracks. "Say that again?"


    "My name is Achilles!" He repeated himself.


    "..that''s a lofty name to use, kid."


    "I know." Hmm, he was a bit self-conscious about it?


    "Who gave you that name?"


    "It was my Great Grandma, the Goddess Thetis I-I''m the spirit Inheritor of him, and she wanted me to live up to his legend." He awkwardly stood up straighter.


    "Thetis..the Goddess, she''s still around and kicking?" I know it was a taboo thing to do, but Ipletely lost focus on the fightin around me.


    "Yes." He nodded. "She was the one who taught me how to use a sword. Grandma..erm"


    Shit, I don''t know if I have good or bad luck anymore


    "If you''re gonna call yourself Achilles, then you need more confidence." I smacked his shoulder. "Stand up straight, talk properly. Look a man in the eye when you speak to him. And for the God''s sake, pick up a spear! My friends would be rolling in their graves if they knew you were running around without a spear!"


    I turned my back to him, evaluating the battlefield around me until I found a suitable target. A big guy, a Giant that was throwing around a bunch of those Norse folks and a Valkyrie or two along with them.


    "Achilles was known for two things, his speed and his skill. But I''ll tell you a secret, skill-wise, he''d lose out to a few people. Not to say he wasn''t one of the most skilled warriors to ever live." If I do say so for myself. "And while his speed was his ace, most people overlooked his uracy. His spear was known as the Hero-Killer for a reason, kid."I reeled back my arm and threw my spear.


    It turned into a streak of light, coating in my Magical Energy as it pierced through the chaotic battlefield. Barely missing bodies, soaring under des, narrowly passing by friendlies until a certain Giant noticed and turned his head in a panic only for his body to jerk backwards and my spear piercing right through his heart and out the back of his body.


    I held my hand out and my spear returned to me from where it hadnded, before I mmed the base of it into the ground.


    "That''s why Myrmidons all use spears."


    "who are you?" He looked at me in amazement.


    I gave him a proper Greek greeting as I pat my chest with my fist. "Son of the Hero Peleus and Goddess Thetis, the Great Hero Achilles."


    [***]


    Odin POV


    How the tables turn.


    Well, not entirely, we''re still in a pretty crappy situation, but it''s more equal now.


    The Brat disappeared with the Titan asshole, but I felt like he could handle himself. Or at the very least, he should survive. Seemed like he had a dog in that fight and I wasn''t gonna tell him no when he was already helping by taking him out of the game this early.


    The only issue was that I felt like that''s where my Spear was. It wouldn''te when I called, I could feel it close by, yet utterly out of reach, and it wouldn''t budge. The only thing off the top of my head that would give me this kind of sensation is if that Titan Bastard sealed It away with his Control over Time.


    Annoying.


    I looked at the spear I was currently holding, and the bit of blood on the spear tip, the blood of Loki, my smile slowly widening.


    It was a very good spear even if I prefer my own.


    I dipped my finger into the blood and wrote a string of Runes down the shaft.


    Whipping it back, the muscles in my arm bulged, and I threw it as hard as I could. "   "


    It went right for the World Wolf.


    The Beast was snarling with rage at Big Bird and Red Deer over there, it barely had time to notice the spear approach. Though, I don''t think it ever stopped keeping me in its vision.


    It was about to react, until the spear turned 90 Degrees, and continued to maneuver around the battlefield at unnatural angles until it found an unsuspecting Giant. A bit on the smaller side, but its eyes widened as the spear approached.


    It stopped what it was doing, throwing up far too many spells with far too much skill for a mere Giant grunt.


    The Spear of the Rune Witch collided with the Spells cast by a being equivalent to a God of Magic.


    They shuddered and shattered one by one, and finally, the Giant roared with an explosion of Magic at the center. The Giant fell to a knee, and as if unraveling, the Giant''s skin peeled away, revealing only to be an illusion expertly woven that could even fool my eye on the surface.


    Loki red my way, panting a mite, and with a bit of blood flowing down his forehead.


    The Spear returned to my hand the same way it left it.


    "Clever." Loki''s nostrils red, his voice reaching me, and I could tell that the link between the blood I had on the spear and himself was severed.


    Oh well, I didn''t expect much. And that wasn''t my main purpose for doing this.


    Loki was now preupied and a hammer wreathed in lightning came right for his face.


    All ording to n! Or something, I was flying by the seat of my pants right now to be honest.


    "Send out our reserves." I ordered.


    "Are you sure?'' Freyja looked at me.


    I studied the battlefield again, pursing my lips. "This will be our only opportunity to clench a victory, we can''t hold anything back."


    Freyja nodded, holding her hands up and dozens of Valkyries flew across the skies, the roars of another few hundred thousand Warriors was heard as they charged through the Gates towards the front lines.


    "Heimdal, prepare for the n, The Wall Falls." I ordered.


    Freyja snapped her head at me. "You want to abandon our defenses!?"


    "All in baby!" I merelyughed.


    Though, it was probably our only opportunity. We would, without a doubt, lose a prolonged fight. They would exhaust our Warriors through sheer numbers with theirrger reserves of fodder. Our chance is to gain the advantage on the quality side of things, that is, to have more big hitters by the end of the day than they do.


    "Tyr, pull in. Heimdall, send half your soldiers to reinforce the brats further to the right. Thor, don''t let them notice, call upon your warriors and charge forward. Vidar, hold the line just as you''re doing. Ullr, You''re doing the same as Thor on the left."


    It hurt my heart to sacrifice a significant number of warriors under Thor and Ullr, but in war, sacrifices had to be made. It was no time to be emotional, I would mourn them after we won this fight.


    "Sif, tell Big Bird to use his flying rodents to only attack the furthest lines away from the walls." I swept my gaze around, looking for Loki, only to see him ying tag with Thor as Thor expertly followed my orders despite keeping his brother preupied.


    My son may be a simple boy, but that didn''t mean he didn''t know how to walk a battlefield!


    The Battlefield was swiftly moving as I envisioned.


    "Hey Old Bastard Elf."


    "What do you want, Odin? Some of us are actually busy with important stuff." The Old Elf''s voice came out through Muninn.


    "And here I was going to ask you to take pot shots at Loki."


    "Orders received, All-Father." He sounded very happy.


    He somehow managed to get those shots from the bow down to something moderate, and I would use that term loosely. But while they still lit up the battlefield everywhere they passed, it was a far cry from the first shot that urred originally.


    And Loki was starting to get pissed, I could just tell.


    As much as Loki liked to poke at other beings about being less intelligent than he was, he also had bouts of blind arrogance, mostly when you angered him enough. He had a bit of a temper even if it didn''t normally re hot.


    Thor sitting on his ass and the Old Elf using that absurd Bow to take shots at him? Loki was going to be seething far too much to notice the shifts happening around him.


    I knew that it would soon be my time to join the fight, thus,st-minute preparations were a must.


    Hel was fine where she was, and everyone else was in good enough positions.


    Thankfully, I never discussed this with Loki around. It was a small thing, but small things often turn the side of battle.


    Loki knew, too, the basics, but I''m sure he never thought much about it. Why it was, that with such a powerful ''shield'' around Asgard, that those living inside cane and go throughout the battle. Of course, it ''registers'' them upon activation and Freyja here was controlling it so she could ''manually'' add people on the fly.


    "For Asgard." She whispered, throwing her hands up.


    The Barrier started churning with different colors. If you looked very closely, you could see all the Runes that flowed down its ethereal borders.


    It was truly a work of art as far as Magics went. Something we created centuries ago and held all this time.


    The Barrier that shimmered gold turned red and began to expand outwards.


    The first to touch it was one of those stupid Trolls.


    The idiotic thing looked confused and happy that it could finally reach Asgard''s border and start attacking it.


    It raised its wooden club up, intent on mming it down, but the Barrier swept over it, and where it passed, dust drifted off into the wind.


    Many more suffered simr fates.


    Draugr, Trolls, all the little creatures and monsters that Loki managed to sway out of the holes they belonged in.


    Of course, our warriors were safe. It sshed harmlessly across them and continued onwards, not even tickling the hairs on their skin.


    Even lesser Giants weren''t safe.


    One in particr, the first of its kind to test its mettle against Asgard''s Sorcery, lost its arm as it attempted to punch the barrier into pieces.


    It did not work out as it had hoped.


    Perhaps the Giant''s roar of pain and confusion was what prompted the secondary shift in the battlefield as our foes realized the immediate threat.


    It kept going until arge pir of ice mmed down on the side, halting its advance. On another side, A second deathly frost emerged, holding it from advancing further.


    Several more appearances by the remaining Warlords allowed it to gain no further ground and it began to crack.


    There was no use crying over spilled milk.


    The barrier wouldn''t havested much longer anyways, we had to overload it for this little maneuver.


    Even as it cracked and shattered across the battlefield, leaving everyone feeling a sense of loss, I didn''t let my expression change.


    I was about to open my mouth, but someone beat me to it.


    "For Asgard!" Thor let out a thunderous roar, hitting the nearest Giant across the face. He further raised his hammer up to the sky, summoning the Thunder as per his title. The Dark clouds answered his call and lightning began to descend upon every enemy in his vicinity.


    I couldn''t help but feel pride.


    That''s my boy.


    Only the arrival of arge Green Serpent that dipped in and out of the clouds made entirely of Magic did it abate and refocus on the Magic God that was his enemy.


    Heimdall raised his sword and charged out. "For Asgard!"


    Tyr pulled his sword free from Kari  The Tempest that had been swinging around that Anchor of his. "For Asgard!"


    Vidar who nted his foot firmly into the ground to deflect a swing of his Brother  Baldur''s de. He abandoned his sword mid strike, and his fistnded upon his brother''s cheek, sending my stupid son dozens of feet back with a swollen lip. "For Asgard!" He called out just as the others had.


    It was enough to initiate a Third Wind on top of the Second Wind that the reinforcements brought.


    Along with perhaps a third of the enemies'' forces being annihted from sacrificing our Barrier, things swung heavily into our favor.


    There wouldn''t be another one after this, it was all or nothing.


    "For Asgard." I said softly, focusing my gaze solely on my fated foe.


    Hrsvelgr was doing well to give the World Wolf everything it deserved, but despite the Big Bird''s arrogance, he wouldn''t be winning the fight.


    If not for the fact that Big Bird had the aerial advantage, it would be significantly more one sided.


    The Wolf opened itsrge maw, and my chance came.


    I gathered everything I had. All my Divine Power, all my Strength, my Runes that were etched into my very being shined brightly.


    "Odin!" I heard Freyja shout in surprise.


    And I thrusted.


    I pierced through the Battlefield, through the bloodlust that littered the fallen corpses of my brethren and foes alike.


    Through the winds summoned by the Bird King, and through the Frosts summoned by Jotunheim.


    I allowed myself to be carried along.


    Closer and closer, the World Wolf also noticed my approach until I was but a mere breath away, my eye staring into his bloodshot irises.


    The Wolf redirected its attempt to devour the Bird onto me, and it met my spear head on.


    I felt my clothing getting ripped around my arms, my hair blown back, and its fangs scraping against my skin, but it would not find me this easily!


    I would be defiant to myst breath. While my children fought for their survival, for the survival of our home, I put my soul into this strike. Everything I had to let this beast know that it would not find anything but defeat upon this battlefield.


    Words to know that before it stood not its prey, but its doom!


    "I AM ODIN!"


    Its maw that could devour the world was found wanting.


    And the mighty World Wolf was pushed back.


    Its sharp ws dug into the ground, tearing up the very earth as it was pushed back dozens of yards.


    It growled at me from the distance that appeared.


    I mmed my spear upon earth sending out a shockwave. "You are my opponent!"


    I ripped the tattered clothes covering my chest and threw them to the side. I stood up straighter than I had in a very long time. I felt my muscles tense in anticipation and worry.


    Never before had I been weaker.


    But right at this moment, I felt the strongest I have since Frigga stood by my side.


    If today is my day, my children will see their father stand unwavering.


    "Odin!"


    "Odin!"


    "Odin!"


    "Odin!"


    "Is that the best you can do, you mutt!?" I roared. "Freyja can swallow better than you, hahaha!"


    "Why are you like this!?" One single feminine screech amongst the cheers that raised my fighting spirit.


    Because when death stares you in the face, justugh!


    Hrsvelgr Swept up the winds around us. "All-Father, let us fight together!"


    "I would be honored." I grinned savagely.


    Despite my pride, I was in no position to deny help from him. And for some reason I felt that ever so slightly, fate was smiling upon me.


    One man, One spear.


    Gae Bolg was a beautiful instrument of killing, and I would have to thank the Rune Witch after this.


    For while its tip was not unmissing, but it had an uncanny ability to properly find its target.


    And with a thrust, the World Wolf roared, its foul blood dripped down the spear tip!


    It charged at me, and I ran at it with a furious howl that dwarfed its own.


    It did not matter that its ws tore the earth asunder with each step and left me debilitated as I tried my best to block. It did not matter that I barely escaped its maw after it devoured a thousand Warriors with but a gesture.


    My spear still found its flesh!


    Even as its paw pped me to the ground, forcing me to vomit a mouthful of blood with my innards shaking, I stood back up. It was about to pounce on me, but Hrsvelgr''s razor sharp Talons kept the Wolf from continuing a follow up, giving me an opportunity to rejoin the fray after every blow.


    A dive by the Eagle, and fur and flesh of the wolf on its back was rended.


    A thrust of my spear, and the Wolf was forced to jump back lest it lose an eye.


    However, just as we took from it, it too abandoned all sense of self preservation.


    It spit out feathers from the Eagle King''s, taking out arge chunk of one of its wings. The Eagle King fell from the skies and hit the ground.


    My Muscles bulged on my right arm, and I gathered my Godly strength,nding a punch upon the Wolf''s cheek.


    One of its sharp teeth went flying, but its bloodshot eyes only shined with a continued fury and madness as it whipped back around and tried to devour me once more. A mountain-size gorge opened up, nearly taking me whole as I narrowly cast a spell to push myself out of the way.


    A hurricane-like wind mmed into the World Wolf, knocking it t on its ass and I stabbed it in its leg before haggardly dodging a stomp that created an earthquake as it got back up.


    The Bird king was far from defeated with just that, but I was worried it did not have any real experience fighting powerful foes such as this.


    "Give me a moment!" I shouted.


    The Eagle King didn''t argue, and it forced itself up into the sky and dive bombed the wolf. It tucked its massive wings in,and used its winds to elerate and rotate itself like a tornado as it shot at the Wolf


    I took my own blood and drew the Runes in the Air.


    The Brat called these Primordial Runes.


    Heh, to me, they were just Runes.


    But even I couldn''t use them casually and constantly to do what I was about to do.


    "Upon my Authority, I call upon a moment across Time. By my name of Odin the World is called upon to answer my will! Beyond Fate, beyond Cause and Effect, let what happened in my memories be the truth before my eyes."


    I offered upon it my Essence.


    A Ritual of offering using my own self. The older form of Magic in existence, even to someone like me. To gain, one has to sacrifice in return.


    The Bird King forced the Wolf to dodge, even if it still got swept up and suffered a wound. Likewise, the Wolf Wolf''s w raked across the Bird''s body, equalizing the damage done, but the Bird King hit the ground hard and struggled to stand back up properly.


    My Magic, My Divinity, My Essence went in to fuel this spell.


    I threw my hand up. "!"


    Four Runic Circles appeared under the Wolf King''s feet, forcing it to the ground.


    It roared and raged against the constraints, but it was merely a temporary spell to follow up on the remainder.


    One of its paws broke free, shattering the additional spell I cast to hold it still.


    However! A bright light overcame our sight, a familiar arrow of light came soaring for the World Wolf''s head.


    The Wolf knew that light, it feared that light.


    It couldn''t move from its spot in time, so it pushed its body to the ground to avoid it, letting it soar harmlessly over its head, but that was more than enough time.


    I would kiss that Old Elf after this was done!


    "   ,   "


    My Magic, My Divinity, My Essence went in to fuel this spell.


    I pulled from a moment of time many centuries ago. A singr moment to appear atop the Wolf.


    At a moment where it was still bound by the Chains it could not escape. Where the Truth of yesteryear reced the truth of today, where Casualty was reworked, where Time was shifted, and Fate had stepped to the side.


    That is to say, The World Wolf was forced to abide by a moment I had called upon.


    I felt like my eye were going to melt in my own damn head.


    If I was in my prime, this would have still been difficult! But this damn Wolf was suppressing much of my strength.


    I bit my tongue and spat out more blood, fueling the spell with more of my Divine Power, more of my Essence.


    It manifested, oveying atop of the wolf and I had to forsake the optimal effect and with the struggling of the world, I forced it instead totch onto its front left leg, rather than a cor around its neck.


    It roared furiously, recognizing the chains that once held it since its birth. The chains that it only escaped because Loki aided it through some unknown means.


    It was bound!


    But that didn''t mean it was defeated!


    I used more of my ever-decreasing strength to yank the Divine Chains down through the spell that linked across time and space, and it forced the World Wolf to the ground!


    My Spear then shot out, finding its target true.


    The Deathly edge of Gae Bolg took the left Eye of the World Wolf!


    Its blood curdling howl caused the weakest across the battlefield to faint.


    I felt it reverberate through my soul.


    "Father!"


    My head jerked to the side, and I saw Loki''s daggering for my own eye.


    I spun the spear in my hand, deflecting it with thousands more surrounding me. Some illusionary, some true, and some neither.


    I pulled my leg back and thrust the spear forward, destroying plenty of them, but a couple found my sides.


    With a grunt, I forced them out, ignoring the blood of mine that sshed across the ground.


    Loki didn''t have time to pay much to me while Thor hounded him. That little antic of his caused Thor to force him to abandon arge spell he was casting that may have allowed him to hold my son at bay.


    I felt something on my nape, after removing my gaze from the World Wolf for but a moment, knowing it was bound, death whispered in my ear.


    It was the instinct as a God of War that allowed me to thrust my spear up to catch the maw of the World Wolf as it tried to devour me, stopping its jaws from closing properly.


    My eyes turned to where it should have been chains, only to see a bloody stump in ce of its left leg.


    It had devoured its own leg to escape.


    The Spear stopped me from being devoured, but its fangs still pushed into my flesh again. It hurt like a bastard the first time, and it hurt like a bastard the second!


    "Elder!" I recognized the tone and words, but I didn''t have an ounce of attention to pay it in my current situation.


    But the following words were ones that were like music to my ears.


    "Fus Ro Dah!" It wasn''t one, but two iterations of those words that oveid upon each other, and I felt the world bending to amodate.


    An invisible ripple mmed into the World Wolf from far away.


    It was enough to free me from my impending death and I could cast my gaze at the source. That Brat with a simr name to my son''s, and that Dragon he was riding on did a drive by to smack the Wolf off my ass.


    The World wolf was furious, it wanted to nearly abandon me to eat them quickly, but the brat was smart enough to stay the hell away from the thing.


    However, my legs felt weak.


    It was hurt badly, but so was I.


    "Old man!" A Green blur appeared between us as the Wolf was about to devour me again, its maw that could negate my Divine Power and Magic.


    The Hero from Greece charged in like a whirlwind and used his Divine Shield to stop the beast in its tracks.


    Good kid!


    The resounding ngs of their mutual engagement nearly knocked me off my feet. I noticed the particrs of his shield the first time Iid my eye on it. A shield that contained a literal world inside of it.


    The Wolf that could devour Gods met an object that contained a world.


    The conclusion to the age-old question of what would happen when an immovable Object met an unstoppable Force.


    And the Answer?


    Odin wins!


    My spear shot up into its mouth again, stabbing into its upper jaw and stopping it from closing!


    It was just in time, because even if his shield was stupidly powerful, the brat was still not able to contend with the World Wolf!


    I kicked him away, and I would apologizeter, but this wasn''t the stage for him.


    "Hammer!" I roared, holding my hand up.


    "Hammer!" Thor answered, and Lightning crackled loudly, thunder ringing in my ears as the weapon flew through the air.


    Thor wasn''t in a position to disengage with Loki, same as the others, but that didn''t mean I couldn''t call on him for help.


    "One of us is going to die!" I looked the Wolf right in the eye, catching the ridiculously heavy Hammer. My arms felt like they were going to fall off after merely catching it. My hand began to char from the lighting that crackled off it. I didn''t have the protection of my son''s powerful gloves either.


    "And It wont " My muscles bulged, and I used the momentum of Thor''s throw to swing it up into its lower jaw, feeling its bones crack. "BE " I swung my entire body to carry the force of its weight to hit it in the side of the Wolf''s head again. It left an indent on the Wolf''s head where itnded, showing how it was the most powerful weapon of our faction. I nearly fell to the ground as I lost the momentum I had, and this fucker was far too damn heavy. But still, I gathered all my strength, everyst bit of it and I forced his hammer up one more time, swinging it up below the Wolf''s head. " ME!"


    With a thunderous crack, the Wolf was lifted up off its feet, teeth shattering and its one eye rolling backwards, and the spear that was stuck in its mouth was forced all the way upwards through the top of its mouth.


    I fell to the ground, dropping the hammer, nothing left in me, but the Wolf, though breath was still left in its belly, it fell to the ground unmoving.


    I looked down and saw a Magic Circle appear from Freyja, and it was just in time to see another Meteor falling from the sky.


    "Kill stealing bitch!"


    Though, I couldn''t help but smile as I was able to view the scene from back atop Asgard''s walls.


    "You stupid old man!" Freyja huffed, casting some Healing spells on me. "I''m taking full credit for the kill."


    With all my strength left, I held up my middle finger.


    I nearly slumped on the way in a way that let me view the battlefield.


    Thor had a dagger sticking out of his side, probably from throwing his hammer my way, but still he was winning against Loki, and what happened to his mutt looked like it hit him harder than he would like to admit.


    Everywhere else was going about as I expected.


    Just when I thought things were going our way, I realized something was wrong.


    The Frost on the ground was melting.


    And I looked back towards Loki and he met my gaze. A cocky smile reappeared on his face, and he used his Magic to disappear amidst his fight with Thor.


    It started slowly, as if out of the void, the tip of a fiery sword pierced through at the center of the battlefield.


    It burned everything it touched into oblivion, including the very space that barred its edge from moving forward.


    It tore apart time and space, opening a hole that connected to a far away realm.


    A single step caused the temperature to rise tens of degrees. The ground underneath its foot caused the rocks and stones to turn to molten g.


    A Giantrger than any other on the battlefield appeared, wreathed in mes and fires that even set a primordial fear down my spine.


    "Asgard!" A voice bellowed, containing a fury that demanded attention. "Your reckoning has arrived!"


    The Fire King Surtr had arrived, and with him, the armies of mes poured out from the portal he seared open from Muspelheim.


    He didn''t immediately move, instead, the numerous shapes and sizes of the monsters that inhabited that death world charged outwards. They cared not for ally or foe, even the Draugr and Trolls were trampled as they burned away everything in their path.


    He took a step forward and the world quaked at his step.


    Thor was the first to reach, his Thunder aimed at the Fire Giant.


    And for the first time in a very long time, I found my Son''s strength insufficient.


    His Hammer met the ming sword of Surtr, and despite the sheer force behind its blow, the Giant didn''t move a single step and instead, swept his de out sending Thor hurling to the ground.


    Just as quickly as we had gained the advantage, it was lost again.


    "Wasn''t Vanaheim supposed to be keeping him away!?" Freyja nearly screamed as many spells of hers appeared around the battlefield, doing what she could to keep things from copsing.


    As if to hear us, the Giant King looked our way and the fire that rolled off his body parted to reveal his facial features. "Destruction is what I seek." His voice bellowed. "Do you think I care if theyy siege to Muspelheim?"


    .he abandoned his own home to forgo having to do with them and instead sent everything our way.


    As expected of the instruments of Asgard''s Destruction.


    The Giant King took his equallyrge sword and raised it high up into the sky.


    Everyone knew what wasing and their eyes widened.


    I had not much in my, but I threw my hands up, casting all the Defensives spells I could muster.


    Freyja too, despite hurling spells all over the battlefield this entire time, casted countless spells in but a few moments.


    The Giant swung his sword down, and a wave of fire followed, searing through the lines of both our enemies and our warriors hitting the front walls of Asgard, our spells were like paper in front of his attack, and it continued forward until the walls were breached, and parts of the inner city were turned tova.


    The Giant didn''t even look at anything else but Asgard.


    Specifically, he eyed the Castle that sat against the World Tree.


    And then I realized I realized his goal.


    I mmed my fist onto the wall. "HEAR MY ORDER, GODS OF ASGARD, ABANDON THE FRONT LINES, FOCUS EVERYTHING ON THE GIANT."


    "Odin!?" Freyja was startled by my order.


    "He''s aiming for the Heart of the World Tree!"


    We didn''t set Asgard up here just because it was a nice location! It was the Seat of the Gods because it sat upon the literal heart of the World Tree!


    If that''s destroyed, the Tree will soon follow and everything else just as quickly.


    The Giant was unconcerned and continued walking forward.


    Ullr was the first, arrows raining down on him, followed by the Old Elf following up with arrows made of light. The Fire Giant didn''t even nce at them, the mes around him pulsed and they consumed the arrows before they could reach his body.


    That was until a particrly power arrow turning the twilight we existed under into day from the Old Elf


    It was enough that Surtr''s attention changed.


    There was the momentary pause of his that he recognized the threat.


    "Fire King, your foe is me!" Thor rejoined the fray, Lightning summoned that bombarded the Giant, forcing him half a step back for the first time.


    Tyr joined in as well, a sword strike that could cleave a mountain twain shed towards his neck.


    The Giant King was forced to block it lest he suffered a wound.


    The glow of the arrow reached its precipice, but another source of light appeared.


    Smaller than the Fire Giant, the Titan of light assumed his full size and he reached for the arrow that was shot.


    The two collided and the Titan, while grunting in difort, held.


    A Titan of Light was not going to be overly harmed by an arrow made of light. Maybe if the true owner of that ridiculous bow wielded it, but a mortal couldn''t bring out its full power.


    Surtr looked at the Titan, and the Titan looked at Surtr as if measuring each other.


    Surtr let out a bellowingugh and focused on the ones around him.


    He raised his sword up again, but rather than pointing it to the sky, he pointed it downward.


    The Sword entered the Earth and everything I could see turned to mes.


    Like geysers, the fires of destruction sprang from below, melting and consuming everything around him for hundreds of yards in all directions.


    My Sons were caught up in the attack, as were Ullr and Tyr.


    Thor was breathing a little heavy, but he stood firm, however, I couldn''t see where Ullr and Tyr were.


    I closed my eye and felt the faint flicker of their Divine Power from this distance, indicating they were alive.


    Thor stood in front of him, an ant in front of a mountain.


    The Giant King swung his sword, searing away everything in its path, but Thor blocked it with his Hammer, causing a cataclysmic shockwave that destroyed a portion of Asgard that had yet to be reduced to ash.


    The same massive de continued to swing down, and Thor''s hammer met each one. But with each swing, he was losing.


    Green tendrils of Magic emerged from the ground and wrapped around the Giant King.


    Hel appeared, with an army of Ghosts swarming behind her, ignoring the other battles going on, and they charged at the Giant King


    A movement of his, and her magic snapped and burned away. He swept his sword and thousands of ghosts disappeared into ashes.


    "Ghosts, Gods, it''s all the same." The Giant King chortled, at her attempts to stall him. He raised his sword up casually, blocking a thunderous blow from my son.


    "I will handle this one." The Titan''s tone was just as loud, but carried lighter. He reached for Hel and I gripped my nonexistent spear.


    She summoned several impressive barriers to ward off the Titan, but she was not a fighter mainly.


    "Don''t touch her you bastard!" Freyja jumped off the wall, Spell Circles swirled around her by the dozens,nding upon the Titan, forcing him to let out a pained grunt.


    Several more Jotun shook the grounds as they walked forward, the remaining Warlords of Jotunheim soon joined in.


    "Leave Freyja for me." A heartyugh followed. "I want to enjoy her a bit after we are victorious." I recognized it as Frosti, the Cold."


    "Disgusting." Surtr cast his gaze towards the Jotun, his sword swiping out at the unsuspecting Frost Giant, and it seared him in half.


    The Jotun just looked confused as the top part of his body slid off the bottom half and the light died in its eyes.


    The Fire Giant snorted in disdain. "Dishonorable creature, you have no ce witnessing my Destruction."


    Even his Allies, the traitorous Gods, the Jotuns, they unconsciously took a step backwards.


    "Now, my friend!" Thorum''s voice carried upon the silent battlefield.


    The Samurai jumped up in front of the Titan''s eyes, shing at them in quick session.


    The Titan was forced to cover his eyes with his hand, stumbling backwards.


    "Tiid Klo Ul" The Dragon bellowed out, and as if disappearing, he was then in front of the Titan.


    No, it wasn''t teleportation or anything like that.


    "Kronos?" The Titan blurted out in confusion as the particr taste of Time Maniption was clear to all of us.


    "Ven Gaar Nos!" The Youngun shouted quickly as wall, producing a tornado big enough to smack right into the Titan''s head.


    And as it hit him, another source of Winds gathered around it. My head snapped back as the injured bird King summoned forth the Wings of the Nine Realms to enhance it, sweeping up the Titan and tearing into him, destroying the Armor of light he surrounded himself in.


    He wasn''t much harmed, cuts and scrapes if anything, but it was impressive for the ones who did it!


    But he didn''t appear to be done.


    The Brat on the dragon pulled out something that gave me the same feeling as the Bowin the Old Elf''s hands.


    The Titan stood up, and he too noticed as did everyone in Asgard because the Sky turned unnaturally dark.


    It was as if pure darkness was wreathed into the form of a Bow, held by Thorum. His body was visibly strained, his muscles bulged and it seemed like his own skin tore at merely pulling the string back the extent that he did.


    ..he said that the Goddess from that ce gave him two Artifacts and there was no doubt in my mind that this was the second.


    Just as the Elf''s Bow turned the world bright, this one turned everything dark.


    An arrow produced from shadows, formed as the string was pulled back and the Titan seemed to sense the danger as light exploded from his entire body, but it was drowned in the darkness.


    Silence followed as the arrow was loose, not because there was no noise, but because it was consumed.


    It burst into his chest, and the world was cast in ck.


    I couldn''t see a foot in front of me, all light disappeared.


    It wasn''t until a familiar sword of fire cut through the darkness that everything returned to normal.


    The Titan let out a painful roar. One of actual pain and another I would assume due to his pride suffering a significant blow after being dealt such a wound by someone far below his level.


    "Mortal  " He looked to the side to see the Fire King''s sword swinging for his head.


    The Titan swung his own de made of light to deflect it. Despite my hair whipping about and the force nearly knocking me off my feet, I didn''t pull away from it and made sure to watch closely.


    "What are you doing?" The Titan demanded.


    "Outsider, leave. This is my Destruction. If you interfere, I will end you just as I do Asgard and the nine Realms." The Fire Giant stated.


    The Titan frowned. "Loki promised"


    "What does the promises of the Trickster have to do with me?" He said expressionlessly, though the threatening tone was clear.


    The Titan stared him down for a moment before backing off, leaving the Giant to his business.


    I had hoped they woulde to blows.


    Surtr looked upon Thorum with that Shadow bow in his hand and waved his sword.


    It was far too fast for the size of the bastard, and I could foresee death.


    However, I felt something familiar in the back of my mind.


    My fingers twitched as I called upon my old friend.


    A golden string of light short across the battlefield, smacking into his sword, giving time for Thorum and his Dragon to fly down to Hel and Freyja to swoop them away.


    The golden light continued to fly and Surtr''s eyes followed as it arrived in my hand.


    Gungnir.


    The Wolf was Dead, my Spear returned, and I felt my belly fill with strength.


    With a sh of air, I knew who was standing next to me. "Did you decide to take a nap?" I snorted.


    "Sorry, looked like you could handle it." The brat cheekily replied. "Just wanted to make sure you got your turn."


    A single nce and I could tell he was far from being able to stand up to this Giant right now. Damn, the fact that he''s standing at all was probably a miracle. He was covered in more blood than I probably was and his left arm lookedpletely useless.


    Kid was running on empty and probably had nothing left in him to fight.


    And unfortunately, I was barely doing better.


    "n?" He asked.


    "Do you have something to kill him that you can pull out of your ass?"


    ".nope."


    "Then I got nothing either." I let out a sigh, forcing out a smile.


    The Giant raised his massive sword, pointing it right at us. Fire erupted from the tip, consuming everything in front of us.


    He raised his only good arm up, still clutching that soul sword of his, and I mmed my spear onto the ground.


    "Shield!" He called out.


    "Of!"


    "Asgard!" We both cast.


    I had seen this spell of his enough to know how to copy it and sync up with him!


    The Golden shield sprang up from us and pushed out.


    The fires of his mmed into our barrier and it almost immediately shattered. With a roar, we both pushed more of our Magic into it, mending the cracks. The stone beneath us began to melt, and the fires cascaded off in all directions. It was as if we were the center of Muspelheim itself with how the Fires danced all around!


    The brat was the first to drop to his knees.


    The Fact that he had been able to cast a single spell in his condition did nothing but make me admire him more than I did.


    The small reservoir of strength I had left, I put it all into the spell, pushing it outward, fighting against the mes until the torrent slowly began to die down and the normal world returned from underneath the onught of fiery destruction.


    I could barely breathe, falling to my knees as well. Only my spear stopped me from face nting.


    The Shield, it cracked and burned away, slowly receding once the attack ended, but it held.


    I had nothing left as the shadow of his de was cast overhead, and it came down for us.


    "R-Reflect  Mus Tengai." The brat forced out, and blood began to run more freely from the orifices on his head and his eyes rolled back, his body going limp and he copsed onto the ground.


    But the de, the executioner''s de above us that would have turned us to ash, it missed.


    Itnded close enough that I felt my skin burn just by proximity, where it touched, a gorge was cleaved all the way through Asgard, erupting with fire andva, but it missed.


    The Giant King seemed confused just as well.


    "Interesting, outsider" The Giant rumbled in amusement. "However, it does not change anything." He paused though, because someone new slowly touched down in front of us.


    From her hair and skin to her clothes, she was d in blue from head to toe.


    The brat''s women, the Spirit of Knowledge, Jinn.


    She stood in front of us.


    The Giant gave her a look but seemed dismissive after a moment. "Girl, run!" I spat out a mouthful of blood to get the words out of my throat.


    Despite everything, I know the Brat would absolutely not want her here right now!


    Surtr swung his sword withckluster intent towards us. But it was enough to uplevel Asgard as a whole should no one defend.


    All around the girl, pieces of paper appeared. I didn''t need my thousands of years of Magical Knowledge to see through them to understand their essence.


    Hundreds of papers, each one of them had a spell inscribed.


    They all lit up, firing off at the same time.


    Each one was a spell that a normal Mortal would be proud to cast after effort and time, and they allbined onto a singr point.


    They collided with Surtr''s sword with enough force that the blow was deflected from sheerbined quantity.


    The Giant King redoubled his gaze as it bore down into the small girl.


    She stood defiantly in front of him, meeting it head on. "I''ll be your opponent."


    [***]


    A/N


    Fourth part of the Looking ss omake is up on my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m/ astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name

 Chapter 506:

    Chapter 506:


    Jinn POV


    This was a very bad situation.


    And this thing wasn''t the only problem. There were still millions of things outside the walls that were still being fought on by their armies while everyone else had to pull back and take care of him.


    Pressing my hand against my chest, I took out Artoria''s Sheath. I nced at Odin and he recognized it, that was good. "Use it on Wilhelm." I tossed it to the God.


    "Girl "


    "It''s fine, I came prepared." I smiled despite my nervousness.


    Odin didn''t argue and he pulled Wilhelm a bit further away.


    That''s fine, he couldn''t help in his state.


    "Another outsider." The veryrge and dangerous God Killing Giant leaned forward, looking down at me and ignoring Odin and Wilhelm for now. "Are you going to fight me, little one?" His voice rumbled, blowing my hair back.


    "Are you going to fight me!?" I shot back.


    Hisugh literally shook the ground I was standing on.


    This feeling standing in front of him, it was no less than the few times I''ve stood in front of my creators.


    Just the heat radiating off of him was burning my throat.


    I didn''t know where the others were, and I only had one priority at the moment.


    I took a deep breath.


    <em>Beginning parallel thought partition.</em>


    Second Thought Stream sess/Begin secondary split.


    One of the best things I picked up from Wilhelm''s home that Grandpa taught me. Being able to partition off your thought process into multiple thought streams for multitasking.


    Atleast, that was for a normal person.


    I was not a <em>normal person</em>.


    Quad Thought Streams sessful.


    <em>Split again</em>.


    Eight Thought Streams sessful.


    <em>Split again</em>.


    Sixteen Thought Streams sessful.


    <em>Split again</em>.


    Thirty-two Thought Streams sessful.


    Diagnostics/Medical analysis/Magic flow Examination/Brain Structural Integrity


    Condition optimal/No detrimental Health signs/No Anomalies detected/Brain activity within 97.83% of normal parameters.


    eptable.


    <em>Split</em>.


    Sixty-Four Thought Streams Sessfully deployed.


    Noticeable strain detected/Casting speed slowed by previous iteration by .073%/Pain receptors triggers within the cranial region.


    Within eptable parameters still.


    <em>Split</em>.


    One-hundred Twenty-Eight Thought Streams sessfully deployed.


    Internal Brain Hemorrhage detected/Swollen Brian locations analysis/Deploying minute Healing spells to designated locations.


    It hurt.


    Damage repressed/Pain receding/Activity realigned to 94.89% of normal parameters.


    eptable.


    Analyze current situation.


    <em>Likelihood of victory 2.89%.</em>


    <em>Likelihood of Death  29.85%</em>


    <em>Reevaluated after loss of Sheath  79.75%</em>


    I don''t want to die.


    <em>Conclusion.. Retain the sheath/Retrieve the sheath/Use the Sheath/Take back the sheath/Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it//Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it//Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it//Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it//Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it//Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it//Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it//Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it//Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it//Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it//Keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it/keep it</em>


    But Wilhelm needs it.


    <em>Parameters evaluated and deemed eptable.</em>


    Setting aside Sixty-Four Thought Streams to begin casting spell, <em>Temporary Designation  God Killer</em>.


    Begin Analysis of Target: Surtr.


    Begin Analysis of Target: Five Elements.


    Begin Analysis of Target: Holy Power.


    Begin Analysis of Target: Demonic Energy.


    Begin Analysis of Target: Divine Power.


    Begin Analysis of Target: Spiritual Power


    Tracing back the origins of esoteric energies and concepts.


    I blinked and resumed my stare down with the Fire Giant, a mere second having passed.


    "Not even a living being." He rumbled. "A thing that stands before me, you are not of Asgard, you are not of the Nine Realms. Insignificant." He stated. "The Thunder God was brought down by my de and hides in cowardice. The All-Father is on hisst legs. What Other Gods exist seemingly ran away. And this is what stands before me? Tell me, what are you, little thing? Are you a great Warrior? Are you a God? Are you capable of <em>fighting me</em>?" Heughed again as if it was some great joke.


    Twenty Thought streams dedicated to the analysis of Target: Surtr''s physical features.


    Size: Measured.


    Weight: Estimated.


    Heat generated:.incalcble.


    Length of Sword: Measured.


    Arm Length: Measured.


    Muscle contractions: Noted.


    Facial Contortions: Noted.


    "You''re right, I''m more <em>thing</em> than person. I''m no Warrior, I''m no God, I''m not even a fighter." I smiled despite the situation. "I''m Jinn, Spirit of Knowledge, and there''s one thing I can do better than anyone else."


    "And what''s that, little spirit?" He looked at me.


    <em>All Avable Thought Streams in sync.</em>


    <em>Target: Surtr.</em>


    <em>Response: </em>Statement.


    I held my hands out, calling out a Thousand different Scrolls. Each one of them were carefully crafted by my own hand, each once written to perfection to record and contain a singr spell.


    All of them actualized simultaneously, and all of them hit the Giant''s chest. Storms of Ice, Bolts of Lightning, Bullets of Air, Dragons made of Water, pirs of Earth. Even Fire spells were used to collect data.


    The Giant was forced to step back.


    "I''m the best at Recording."


    The air <em>shifted</em> around him. The way he looked at me changed too.


    "I underestimated you." He stated, and he didn''t wait for me to respond, his sword swept out at me.


    <em>Laevatein, the Sword of Surtr</em>.


    One hit of that and I would die.


    It didn''t even need to touch things with it for them to be destroyed. The houses, the buildings that had yet to be destroyed, were incinerated by proximity as his sword swept right at me.


    <em>Calcting force based on muscle movement, body direction, and resistances.</em>


    <em>Strike is 22% stronger than previous.</em>


    <em>Preparing response.</em>


    One-Thousand, Two-Hundred, and Fifty-Three Scrolls appeared around me. They all lit up and fired at the sword in his hand.


    The Impact was <em>explosive</em>.


    If I didn''t set several strands of thought to anticipate the blow back, I would have been swept up and blown far away at the ensuing collision.


    However, <em>his de was deflected backwards</em>.


    He stumbled back a step before reorienting himself.


    The Giant stopped again, looking at me. "I admit my mistake, little one. But how many times can you keep this up?"


    "I''ve been making these ever since Wilhelm took me in and I discovered their existence. I''m not good at creating new Spells, I''m not good at imagining new things. So, this was all I could do to feel like I was useful. Copying what other people have done, over and over. But you''re right, the amount I have is limited."


    The Giant Chuckled.


    "I only have 407,397 remaining."


    ".."


    His expression quickly turned as another Five Thousand scrolls appeared, and the world was overtaken with a myriad of colors and effects that mmed into the Fire Giant.


    The Giant roared and charged at me.


    <em>Heat intensified by 73%.</em>


    His sword swung down from overhead.


    <em>Physical force estimated increase by 389%.</em>


    <em>Weak Points noted, deploying countermeasures.</em>


    3,089 Scrolls of the Air Element appeared on the right.


    <em>Fire element noted with 98% decrease is magical power due to conceptual origin. Conclusion, Fire Spells useless other than Concussive force.</em>


    1,058 Scrolls of the Fire Element appeared underneath.


    775 Scrolls of the Ice Element appeared to the left.


    8349 Scrolls of the Water Element appeared above.


    <em>Designated Targets, Left foot, Right Shoulder, Right hand, Both Eyes.</em>


    <em>Fire element noted with 98% decrease is magical power due to conceptual origin. Analysis, Fire Spells useless other than Concussive force.</em>


    The numerous Ice Spells allnded upon his Right shoulder.


    <em>Fire Origin calctions indicate an 89% reduction in Ice Element efficiency. Establish an additional 10% margin for error.</em>


    His Shoulder froze from the sheer quantity that managed to prate the passive mes around his body. It shattered nearly instantly, but the desired effect was already achieved.


    The Water Spells shot at his face.


    <em>Prative power minimal, desire effect, established</em>.


    <em>Vision obscured by steam</em>.


    The Wind Spells aimed at his Left foot.


    <em>Analysis, Wind Spells show decreased efficiency by 23% on Target:Surtr.</em>


    <em>Conclusion: Wind Spells are optimal over Previous Elements thus far.</em>


    His footing, however, was disrupted, nearly tripping him up.


    Lastly, the Fire Spellsnded upon his sword-wielding hand. Sshing nearly harmlessly upon his fingers.


    <em>Desired effect, partial sess. Muscle notation indicated grip strength lessened by 7%, reevaluate Concussive force provided.</em>


    <em>Notion: 18% of Spell Scroll Reserves contain fire element.</em>


    Unfortunate.


    His sword still swung down overhead.


    <em>Overall strength of attack, estimated reduction to less than 19% of previous attack.</em>


    <em>Conclusion: Counterattack</em>.


    <em>Calcting required number of Scrolls based on gathered Data.</em>


    <em>Calctions finished.</em>


    <em>Simtions project a 0.47% Margin for error.</em>


    I immediately summoned 10,478 Earth Element Scrolls, they all lit up and actualized as his sword was about tond, calcted to the exact second.


    A massive pir of Earth shot out of the ground in front of me, hitting his sword from the bottom with enough force to swing it back up over his head and send him stumbling back and falling down onto his behind.


    <em>Optimal situation to continue pressure.</em>


    <em>Readjusting calctions for offensive measures</em>.


    <em>Searching Mental Library for Spell to utilize.</em>


    <em>Object of copy acquired, Target: Medea.</em>


    <em>Spell: Rain of Light.</em>


    <em>Error, No Knowledge of High-Speed Divine Words.</em>


    <em>Readjusting topensate.</em>


    <em>Additional Parameters, Target: Wilhelm.</em>


    <em>"Five Elements, Mutual Generation." </em>I cast immediately, substituting Talismans with 1000 of Each Element in the form of Spell Scrolls.


    <em>Spell sequence failed.</em>


    <em>Adjusting.</em>


    <em>Spell sequence Failed.</em>


    <em>Adjusting.</em>


    <em>Spell sequence Failed.</em>


    <em>Alternate viable path established. Mental Library contains memorized works of target: Medea''s Magecraft.</em>


    <em>Analyzing notated Enchantments on object: Boat.</em>


    <em>Analyzing notated Enchantments on object: Medea''s Secret Project.</em>


    <em>Analyzing notated Enchantments on object: Kunou''s Birthday Present.</em>


    <em>Begin simtions.</em>


    <em>Spell Sequence sess.</em>


    <em>Projecting Magic Circle.</em>


    <em>Noted loss of Magical Energy coefficient in casting by 45%.</em>


    <em>eptable parameters.</em>


    <em>Utilizing Spell Scrolls topensate for missing pieces.</em>


    <em>67,957 Spell Scrolls consumed.</em>


    <em>Alter Magic Circle, insert custom Spell Sequence, size adjusted to target: Surtr.</em>


    A gigantic Magic Circle appeared in front of me, the iridescent Purple Light made it reminiscent of Medea''s own spell, even after all my alterations to mimic the effects.


    Surtr stood back up, furious at what had happened, only to see the equallyrge Magic Circle staring him down.


    <em>"Rain of Light</em>."


    The world vibrated as the beam of light fired off, colliding with the Giant.


    He raised his sword up to block, and the Beam of Light began to cascade off in all directions, causing a purple aurora to fill the sky.


    However, the Giant King <em>began to get pushed back</em>.


    His Molten feet pushed into the ground, turning it into sludge andva, but gradually, he continued back.


    The Fire Giant Surtr was forced back to the Entrance of Asgard before my spell ceased.


    The Giant King looked at me from behind his sword as it slowly lowered. "Little one..feel honored that you have managed this much. However, I will no longer consider you an insect in my way, but an enemy."


    I held my hand up and smiled again. "Come at me."


    He didn''t get mad, instead heughed loudly. "You have courage!" He roared, and he began his charge at me again.


    He swung his sword before closing the distance, a wave of fire sent my way.


    <em>Begin Calctions.</em>


    20,478 Scrolls were used to block it.


    Another 7589 Scrolls were used on the follow up swing.


    57,377 Scrolls fired to halt his advance.


    8584 Scrolls to stall him for several seconds.


    <em>Initial Spellcasting nearingpletion</em>.


    <em>God-Killer beginning simtion.</em>


    Surtr roared and brought down a fiery rath. "Let''s see if you can keep it up!"


    I had to consume 4984 Scrolls dedicated to Barriers to block the blow and even then, it nearly overcame them.


    <em>Target:Surtr''s output has exceeding original calctions, reevaluating.</em>


    "Good, good!" Heughed more. "Show me everything you have, little one. Fight for your survival!"


    The Waves of Fire didn''t abate, and I refused to move from this spot.


    <em>Nothing would get past for so long as Wilhelm was still behind me</em>.


    <em>Opening another Thirty Parallel Thought Steams to handle increased Calctions.</em>


    I ignored the blood that began to seep out from my eyes, nose, and ears.


    <em>Blood is merely the physical manifestation of my Spiritual Form leaking Magical Energy</em>.


    The throbbing of my head was inconsequential as well.


    <em>Deploying 50,000 Spell Scrolls, Five Elements converging as one</em>.<em> Estimated resonance effect to increase effects by 200%</em>.


    Surtr''s de cleaved apart a portion of Asgard''sndmass as the spells Iunched sent it veering off to the right.


    If that hadnded, the Castle behind me would have been incinerated.


    "Show me your will to survive! Ovee me, and Asgard may not yet fall! Can you achieve what even the Gods failed to do, little one?" He didn''t seem to care at all that I was keeping him at bay.


    Was I truly holding him back?


    <em>Calcting Surtr''s full strength.</em>


    <em>Results: Inconclusive.</em>


    It didn''t matter, I just had to hold him off by whatever means for as long as possible.


    "Then I''ll show you everything I " I felt a strange sensation in my back.


    Pain?


    It hurt..


    I looked back to see someone standing behind me with long silver hair and a dagger sticking out of me.


    "I''m sorry, but this was just getting ridiculous. I mean, I could understand <em>Thor</em>, <em>Odin,</em> or even the <em>Mongrel</em>. But this." He pulled it free and my blood flowed freely. "Well, I do admit<em>, I take an inordinate amount of pleasure from this anticipating his face when he sees you</em>."


    "Ah?" I lost control of the spells, and they shot off randomly.


    All my Parallel thought Streams copsed.


    Pain?


    It hurt.


    It hurt more than anything I''ve ever felt.


    Was this what it was like to get stabbed?


    I didn''t like it.


    "Trickster!" The Giant roared and I couldn''t even register the mes that shot past me.


    Only the scream of the one who stabbed me seemed to indicate that something happened. "You buffoon, I was helping you!" He hissed back, clutching his arm that looked burnt to cinders.


    "You dishonor me!"


    "Dishonor, are you mad!? You''re the destroyer, the end of everything! What <em>honor</em> do you have!?"


    Another wave of heat passed by my head and the same voice let out another shout of pain and rage.


    Owie


    I looked up at the Giant, and he was looking down at me.


    "I do not know what to do, little one. My purposemands me to burn away all that stands in my way, but <em>not like this</em>." He paused as if fighting himself internally. "Leave, I will show this one mercy. You do not belong to Asgard or the Nine Realms, this is your reward for your efforts."


    I summoned 400 Spell Scrolls and shot them at him.


    He raised his hand up to block them from hitting his face.


    "I have never offered this mercy to anyone else before, little one. Why are you rejecting it?"


    "I won''t let you past me." I said defiantly.


    "Why do you still fight? There is no purpose in my ying you."


    "Because the man I love is behind me and he can''t fight right now, so I won''t let you pass."


    Even if I had to sacrifice myself.


    "You.." He again didn''t move for several moments. "I misspoke before, calling you a nonliving thing."


    It made me feel strangely happy for him to say that. "I''ll be nice and let you surrender."


    He barked outughter. "Your courage ismendable. No one has ever spoken to me so brazenly before. I''m afraid that nothing can stop me from fulfilling my purpose. Asgard will fall to mes, as too will the Nine Realms."


    "You could just.not?" I offered.


    For some reason, he seemed sort ofgentle in this moment. "Something is only beautiful because it ends, little one. <em>I am the end of this story</em>."


    "I won''t let you."


    "Then stand defiantly in the face of destruction, little one." He took a step back. "I acknowledge your will, let it be known that Surtr acknowledges <em>you</em>. Come, face your death head on!"


    I stood up straight, ignoring the pain in my back.


    <em>Resuming Parallel Thought Streams</em>.


    Reigniting all of them at once was <em>painful</em>, but I pushed past it.


    <em>Resuming previous calctions.</em>


    I held out my hands and <em>all of my remaining Spell Scrolls appeared</em>.


    They nketed the sky from their numbers, all 178,118 that remained.


    But they were only a distraction.


    <em>Reverse engineered originspleted.</em>


    <em>Tracing back the basics of esoteric Energies and Concepts.</em>


    <em>Conclusion: Simr variable detected.</em>


    The Spell rained down upon the Giant, barely dying him for the precious seconds I needed.


    <em>Variable noted: Ether.</em>


    <em>Retrieving examples of Ether, Subject: Wilhelm.</em>


    <em>Parsing through numerous examples, noted fight with target: Kronos.</em>


    <em>Spell depicted: Ether Cannon.</em>


    <em>Conclusion: Divine Beings susceptible to Fifth Imaginary Element.</em>


    <em>Begin formting Spell Sequence.</em>


    <em>Simtion concluded: Insufficient power to threaten Target: Surtr.</em>


    <em>Fifth Imaginary Element will create the structure.</em>


    <em>Applying additional concepts, targeting: Immortality.</em>


    <em>Formte Concept: Limitation.</em>


    <em>Simtion sessful, begin casting.</em>


    It started out gray, as if other colors were rejecting evening near it.


    The Spell Circle hovered parallel to the ground in front of me, and slowly lowered, the structure of the spelling to fruition as it slowly passed through the air.


    In the shape of a spear to make it easier to handle.


    I grabbed hold of it as thest of my Spell Scrolls were used up. The cold and detached feeling in my hand seemed to seep into the rest of my body, but I paid it no mind.


    Instead, I used all my remaining strength to throw it.


    The Spear shot through the air and Surtr himself saw it.


    It was so small inparison, so <em>tiny</em>.


    Compared to the barrage of spells I just released; it was <em>miniscule</em>.


    Something deemed <em>unthreatening.</em>.


    His mes <em>made way</em> as it touched them.


    And his body jerked back as it pushed through the flesh of his chest, flying out the other side, leaving a hole through his body.


    The Giant fell to a knee and for the first time, <em>he bled</em>.


    The conclusion I arrived at after analyzing things from other people, <em>A Spear made of Ether that imposes Limited Lifespan </em>on whatever it hits.


    ckish-gray veins pulsed out from the admittedly small wound on his chest inparison to the rest of his body, but even as I felt backwards in exhaustion, I couldn''t help but smile.


    Maybe it was because I felt like I aplished something amazing, or maybe it was the big ck Dragon that came flying and roaring overhead as it mmed into the Giant.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    Ddraig roared with a fury that I hadn''t ever witnessed before as he collided with the Surtr.


    I could understand, <em>I was also furious</em>, but my main priorityy elsewhere.


    "You silly girl."


    "Hehe." Jinn giggled despite bleeding out in my arms. "Did I do good?"


    "You did <em>amazing</em>." I kissed her forehead. "Go ahead and rest, we''ll handle the rest."


    "Mmm."


    I needed someone.who was around? I had woken up not but a few moments ago and I was still confused at everything that happened previously, only that Jinn <em>fought Surtr and wounded him</em>.


    Odin was doing something, and I was too out of it a moment ago to process it.


    Where


    "Ratatoskr." I called out.


    Luckily the ground shimmered and the Squirrel popped out. "What!?"


    "Please take her to safety."


    He looked at me and at Jinn and chittered something before scampering over. I gentlyid her on his back, and he nodded at me before running in the opposite direction of the fight.


    I wouldn''t get angry at Odin for now, I know that rationally, he didn''t have much choice but to let Jinn handle things. And as for where he ran off to, it had to be important enough during this time period.


    But whatever it is, he better have made use of the time Jinn gave.


    "Great Welsh, what a form you took!" Surtr''s voice boomed.


    Ddraig didn''t say anything audible, his roar was enough to express his current anger.


    Ddraig liked Jinn.


    Ddraig wasn''t incapable of <em>feeling</em> while in this form, while wearing the ''concept'' of Nhggr around him. However, he didn''t care, the mes of Surtrshed around him, but he just bit down onto the massive Giant.


    It pissed me off, but I was still nowhere near back to my best.


    Avalon worked overtime to get me back up on my feet, but there was a limit to what it could mend in a short time, not to mention, I was exhausted and drained in every other aspect.


    But this gave time for Surtr to not properly deal with his own wound that Jinn inflicted.


    I wasn''t quite sure what she did, but I could <em>see</em> it visibly pulse and reject <em>healing</em> from the Fire Giant.


    The Hole that went through his chest, the grayish-ck veins that jutted out from it.


    The remnants of the buildings next to me were crushed by Ddraig''s fake body. The Fire Giant threw him off and he went sliding across the ground.


    Surtr, however, still looked to be in decent shape.


    Everything about him screamed Danger.


    Compared to Kronos, I would thoroughly ce him as <em>stronger</em>.


    The bestparison.actually, at this moment, I think he was above Indra as well.


    Was..was he getting <em>stronger</em>?


    That


    <em>"With my bow and arrows, I respectfully ask for the Divine Protection of the Moon Goddess Artemis, and the Sun God Apollo. I offer thee this Cmity  Phoebus Catastrophe."</em>


    A myriad array of lights appeared overhead.


    Thousands of arrows, like beams of lights, fell down from the sky. The first one caused the Giant to stumble, thebination of the impact and the suddenness of it. He quickly regained his footing, but the uncountable number of arrows arrived just as quickly.


    An attack meant to route an army all targeting a being the size of a mountain.


    Just as quick as it came, it disappeared.


    The Fire Giant looked annoyed, but nonplussed.


    However, a streak of green light crossed over from where the arrows originated. Like a whirlwind, Achilles appeared on the shoulder of the Giant, seemingly <em>ignoring</em> the mes pulsing around his body, his spear turned into a meteor as it stabbed towards the Giant''s face.


    Surtr of course noticed out of the corner of his eye, but it was too fast for him to react in time as the green blur mmed into the side of his head.


    The Giant King snarled something unintelligible, ring up his fires and forcing Achilles to jump off. He twisted his massive sword around, the tip of his searing de pointing right at the falling Greek Hero.


    <em>"It was here, at this ce, that Susanoo led a thousand unruly Deities in rebellion! A Thousand Swords standing upon the Earth, used as city walls to defend against the enemies. Here! Namely, the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi! The Steel that breaks a thousand des!"</em>


    My Wings sprouted from my back and I shot up, my Divine Power poured into my de. The Lightning cracked around its length as the edge of my Divine de at the sword of mes.


    "Haaaaah!" I let out a roar, putting all my current strength into deflecting the de away from Achilles, giving him a chance to call his Chariot and fly out of the way.


    The force of the strike was enough to send me mming into the ground.


    I pushed the rubble off of me and coughed a couple times, but I stood up once more.


    Ddraig was back up, hovering around me protectively and I saw several more people now appeared.


    Fucking hell, I couldn''t believe Jinn handle <em>this monster</em> for so long.


    "Strun Bah Qo!" A familiar shout rang out, <em>and it wasn''t mine</em>.


    Thunder clouds gathered quickly overhead, umting Lighting as it crackled, ready to be used.


    "My Friend!" Thorum flew upon Durnehviir.


    With him was who I assumed to be Hel based on what I saw before.


    "This is a tricky situation." Sasaki Kojiro slipped out of his method of Presence Concealment, standing nearby.


    He wasn''t unscathed from previous battles. Despite his skill, he was perhaps the most vulnerable of Servants I knew in pure stats.


    "More outsiders." Surtr breathed out, and the temperature further increased around us. "If you seek doom, then face me!"


    I held my Divine Sword up and took control of the overhead storm. I gathered all the Lightning, it cascaded downwards onto the time of my de, taking the shape of my sword.


    The de of Lightning broke the sky in half as it even surpassed the Giant in scale.


    I let out a shout as I brought it down. The Giant Also roared and swung his Fiery Sword at my oing strike.


    mes and Lightning spewed forth every which way upon impact. The ensuing shockwave cleared away the lower section of Asgard in its entirety and dispersed the Storm Clouds from above.


    I was thankful that they evacuated the nonbatants early on.


    "It''s not enough!" Surtr shouted defiantly, dispersing my Lightning de after expending a noticeable amount of effort.


    His mes, however, <em>flickered</em> ever so briefly.


    "Fus Ro Dah!"


    The Shout rippled out, mming into Surtr, but he barely budged.


    "Pests!" His sword swept out at Thorum, but they managed to dodge it with some effort.


    "Don''t forget me!" Ddraig again collided with the Giant. He opened up his jaw and sprayed out his poisonous breath.


    "Gah!" The Giant finally reacted after taking Ddraig''s poison <em>right to his face</em>.


    His mes were burning it away quickly.


    "You''re open." Sasaki appeared right in front of his face as the poison dissipated, de reeled back, and the point aimed right at his eye.


    Surtr looked at him, cheeks inted and he breathed out a stream of fire.


    "Bakud #44, Sekisho!" It was the fastest and easiest barrier I could cast.


    It barely held on a moment before it shattered, but it was enough. A green sh and Achilles was in front of him his own Divine Shield held up as Surtr''s mes bellowed into it.


    Green Tendrils of Magic snuck up, wrapping around them within the blink of an eye, and jerked them out of the way.


    They hit the ground hard, but they avoided the brunt of his mes that turned the ground they touched intova.


    Hel''s fingers were alight with a green hue, her Magics found them well as she had glided to the ground to save them as she did.


    I felt my body ache as I called upon my Spiritual Pressure through the Hogyoku. I was in absolutely no condition to do this, but I pressed on.


    It scaled to the sky, and it was noted by Surtr immediately. And after myst attack, he seemed to be paying special attention to me.


    "Buy me a few seconds!"


    I needed time to properly mold my Spiritual Power in my condition.


    "Annoying!" He pulled Ddraig off of him again. Ddraig fought, but his fake body was.weak inparison, a fraction of his true power. He roared furiously, as the Giant''s flowing hand <em>seared</em> away a chunk of Ddraig''s body and one of his wings, tossing him to the ground.


    "Red Dragon Emperor!" Durnehviir roared.


    "Tiid Klo Ui!" Thorum shouted, and something <em>shifted</em>.


    Thorum and Durnehviir disappeared, no rather <em>they moved faster than one could perceive for but a moment</em>.


    Did..he just manipte time!?


    "The Crest of Turbidity, seeping out." I raised my hand up, and the familiar ck hue overtook around me.


    "Wuld Nah Kest!" Durnheviir shouted, using its entire body to hit into the Fire Giant.


    "Ven Gaar Nos!" Thorum followed up with summoning a Cyclone right into his face.


    The Fire Giant shuddered and roared again, sweeping his hand out, hitting the Dragon away, leaving scorch marks all over its body.


    Thorum''s body flickered with his own special Aura, and Dragon Wings appeared, letting him hit the ground much more softly than if he fell from that height.


    "An Insolent Vessel of Madness. Boiling up, Denying, numbness, blinking, obstructing slumber."


    Surtr went to swing his de down on the Dragon and Thorum, but Tendrils of Magic grabbed hold of his sword arm.


    "You will not!" The Goddess of Niflheim dered, her Magic poured out and she held him firmly for a few moments.


    The mes around Surtr burst out, burning away her magical bindings, but a dozen Runic Circles materialized overhead, each one casting a spear of Necrotic Energies that mmed into the Fire Giant.


    He grunted in annoyance and swiped his hand through the air, dispersing them all.


    My Reiatsu continued to climb as I poured all of my reserves into this. "The Steel Princess who creeps. The mud doll, ever disintegrating. Unit! Oppose! Filling the Earth, know your own impotence!"


    Surtr too turned to look at me and ignored the Arrows thatnded into him, the spells that were cast and hit his body, only to be snuffed out by his passive mes.


    "Whatever it is you are doing, I have seen what you outsiders are capable of and I will not allow it!" He ignored everything else and his sword swept horizontally at me.


    "Haaaah!" Sasaki shot forward, mming into it with his own de, using all his strength to block it.


    Another de joined as Thorum and Gram shot forward to hold it back as they were pushed across the ground.


    "Me too!" Achilles shouted, his Shield making a resounding <em>ng</em> as the sword in Surtr''s hand vibrated and his sword swing came to a <em>halt</em> before it could reach me.


    I could practically <em>taste</em> the mes from the distance it had stopped.


    "Had #90, Kurohitsugi!"


    It started small,ckluster even. Enough that it bewildered the Giant, but very quickly, the sky changed colors, and the surroundings <em>shifted</em>.


    At the perimeter, a ck line emerged, a square that began to build upon itself.


    Within the blink of an eye, it had sprang up covering half of his gigantic body and it had no intent on stopping.


    I nearly dropped to my knees after the amount of Reiatsu that was sucked out from merely casting it.


    He pulled back his sword and swung it at the spell, destroying a portion of the walls that began to surround him, but they quickly mended and kept going.


    Rather, he pulled his sword up and was about to shove it into the ground again, releasing a gigantic burst in all directions. Which.I didn''t know if my spell would hold out against that.


    Several powerful arrows collided with the side of his head. Atnta off to the side had released a substantial amount of Magical Energy, and each of her arrows hit the same exact spot in session.


    Surtr stumbled ever so slightly, groaning at the impact.


    And on thepletely opposite side, familiar <em>LightArrows</em> collided with the other side of his head!


    Far off across Asgard itself, I could barely make out the Old Elf, bloodied and heaving for breath, but his arrows stuck true.


    The Giant had to raise his hand up to stop the Light Arrows that came from the Divine Bow of Auriel!


    The Coffin built up in the momentarypse, his mes disappearing from view, and his eyes looking down at me defiantly as thest thing before it sealed itselfpletely.


    Then, hundreds, thousands of cross shaped ck spears impaled themselves upon the box, sealing it tightly.


    Everything was utterly silent as we all watched.


    I had to use my Divine Sword to keep my body steady, and I felt a nervous sweat drip down my neck.


    It started with a crack down the middle.


    Then more and more appeared with the tiniest bit of mes seeping out.


    And without any more warning it utterly shattered with a flurry of mes spewing off in all directions.


    I mmed my Divine Sword into the ground and pumped my Divine Power to shield those around me.


    The ground all around us was nothing but molten magma at this point with no building or living foliage in sight.


    Surtr reappeared, halfway slumped, breathing looking noticeably more difficult, but standing. However, his mes were merely flickering, and for the first time, we could see his true body without the distortion of the fires around him.


    It was as if he were made of magma and rock. Despite this, he had <em>visible wounds</em> across his body. Gashes, cuts, parts of his skin that were yed off.


    The others forced themselves to stand back up, but we were all pretty much at our limits.


    "Fine, you want death, so be it." His voice was sharp and killing intent seemed to pulse off of him. He raised his sword to the sky, and the tip of it blurred as the very space was burned away, revealing orange and red skies from the tear he opened.


    mes began to fall down, hitting all over Asgard.


    All of us had to immediately move to dodge. I swung my sword at one of them and noted how just the errant fire caused my hand to vibrate from dispersing it.


    The mes around him rekindled, perhaps even more intensely than before.


    Was that a link to Muspelheim and he was siphoning off the mes?


    He snorted, standing back up full and swept his gaze around disdainfully.


    It was destructive what he did, but that was seemingly not his true purpose. The fires of Muspelhiem continued to flow out and his sword <em>took them all in</em>. The burning hit sword became even <em>hotter</em>.


    The intensity of the mes magnified by an absurd degree to the point where the de itself turned bright white.


    The space around it started vibrating as it was having trouble amodating the heat being output.


    A swing of that.would Asgard even have anything remaining? Let alone us in the aftermath.


    "Stop him!" I shouted quickly.


    "Foolish." He merely <em>twitched</em> the sword and a burst of mes exploded outwards, repelling any attempts to attack before we could truly begin.


    With using my Divine Sword to block, my body went flying back and I felt parts of my skin <em>burn</em>.


    He lifted his sword up over his head. I truly felt death breathing down the nape of my neck. I could use Avalon, but that would only save me, everything else in Asgard would be utterly annihted.


    "This strike of mine will destroy the world!" Surtr let loose a shout that could be heard across the Nine Realm.


    "It''s a good thing I have a world then!" A familiar green blur shot up as Surtr brought his sword down. <em>"Akhilleus Kosmos!"</em> His Noble Phantasm was activated.


    It intruded upon the normal world. Expanding outwards, Greek Architecture manifested, sprawling cities, rivers, oceans. Murals were depicted, epic fights, the life of one person in particr. Standing firmly at the center of it all was a statue of Achilles.


    "Your shield contains a world!?" Surtr spoke out in astonishment and disbelief as his de was fended off with the destruction of Achilles''s Azure Sky.


    Despite the explosive power, the heat that radiated outwards and certain death that hung above, <em>Asgard was safe</em>.


    The Greek Hero dropped to the ground, barely able to stand back up and his shield nowhere to be seen.


    "The little one and now you, whywhy are you outsiders so..<em>outstanding</em>." It was not the words I expected to hear from the Fire Giant intent on destroying everything. "It makes my heart heavy to know that even after this, you will fail." His sword raised up again.


    "Zun Haal Viik!" I shouted out of instinct.


    The sword in his hand vibrated and he looked at me, but his expression didn''t change.


    "Zun Hall Viik!" Thorum added on.


    It budged slightly more.


    "Zun Haal Viik!" Durnehviir''s voice sounded through and the grasp of his sword loosed noticeably.


    <em>"Zun Haal Viik, you bastard!</em>"


    I snapped my head back to see Ddraig''s fake body barely holding together, and basically broke down after shouting as well, his soul returning to within the Boosted gear inside of me.


    But.the sword of his <em>went sailing through the air</em>.


    Before another word could be spoken the ground <em>shook</em>. A red mountain seemed to be <em>moving towards us</em>. That was until I realized what I was seeing.


    It was that Deer from before, the massive creature that could almost match the Giant in size.


    It leapt over what remained of the walls, causing a near earthquake with but its step.


    Surtr''s eyes widened as he braced himself, therge Deer lowered its head and its antlers collided with the Fire Giant.


    He had to grab onto the Antlers of the giant Deer, but he was immediately pushed back. His massive feet dug gorges out of the ground, but the Deer didn''t stop its charge and continued pushing him back fully until his antlers dug into the chest of the Fire Giant.


    The Deer let out an indecipherable shout as the Antlers on its head started <em>steaming</em>. Surtr''s hands gripped them tightly and the Antlers bubbled and charred ck before they were seared throughpletely.


    "You should have waited for your death upon the tree, beast!" Surtr grabbed hold of the big Deer and <em>threw it</em> outside of Asgard''s remaining walls.


    I could <em>feel</em> the impact from all the way over here.


    As Surtr turned his head back this way, a gust of wind <em>punched him in the gut</em>.


    The Fire Giant bent over at the sudden impact, and two massive wings covered the Starlight.


    The Bird King from before appeared as well, he was looking not very good and realistically, I could not understand <em>how</em> he was flying when one of his wings was mangled so badly.


    "Bird" Surtr growled.


    "I told you before, <em>Fire King</em>. Wind can snuff out mes just as it can fan them."


    Surtr took a deep breath and blew out a torrent of mes towards us and the Big Bird.


    Hrsvelgr in return pped his wings and an equallyrge gale of wind mmed into it, holding it at bay.


    Like an invisible wall, the mes of Surtrshed out against an imprable barrier, unable to advance past the gales that the Bird King called upon.


    I stood up and pointed my sword at the battle. "Storm and Gale, answer my call!" I added my own divine might to the Bird''s side.


    My Divine Power <em>intertwined</em> with it and pushed back the mes.


    It was loud like a thunderp. The Winds fully pushed back his mes and mmed into the Giant, knocking him off his feet.


    "Watch out!" It was Hel who shouted as the ground beneath the Bird bubbled slightly.


    It was only a moment before a geyser of magma shot up to the sky, Hrsvelgr let out a screech of pain and fell to the earth, covered in mes.


    Surtr pushed himself back up and grunted. "Nave."


    His steps were slow as he retrieved his sword, and frankly, there wasn''t much we could do to stop him.


    "I intended to simply destroy the core and be done with it, but you have earned my <em>attention</em>. Fight for your survival and throw yourself upon my mes in despair, for Surtres for you <em>personally</em>."


    "Odin, I really hope this was enough time!" I hissed under my breath.


    <em>"It was, you did good</em>." I heard Odin''s whisper in my ears. <em>"We needed some time to set up the proper ritual.</em>"


    Ritual, for what?


    A pir of light ascended to the sky from the castle behind us.


    "I approve!" Freyja''s voice resounded throughout the realm.


    "I approve!" Heimdall''s voice added.


    "I approve!" Came Tyr.


    "I approve!"


    "I approve!"


    "I approve!"


    "I approve!" Odin''s voice was distinguishable as well.


    Lastly,


    <em>"I approve</em>." It was Vidar''s voice and as soon as he spoke, the world <em>trembled</em>. "Wee our new king, <em>Thor</em>."


    Surtr looked towards the direction, and with a thunderp, a particr Hammer shot out and forced the Giant to block, pushing him back a few steps.


    Following it up, a golden light shot out, hitting the Giant in the shoulder,before returning to the hands of the All-Father.


    Odin, still looking utterly unkempt and barely standing,ughed. "The Throne of Asgard is more than just a chair!"


    Olympus, Asgard, Takamagahara, etc.


    I would be more surprised if there <em>wasn''t</em> something substantial about holding the Throne, but at this moment, I hadn''t put any thought into it until now.


    Thornded upon the ground in front of the Fire Giant. And while he was far from his peak and fully healthy, he was doing better than we were.


    He looked <em>empowered</em>.


    Surtr looked down at him with eyes narrowed. "How bold, to use Asgard''s remaining vitality for this."


    "Hmph, does it matter? If Asgard falls anyways, then who cares. But if we can take down your big ming ass, then it''s worth it!"


    "Come then, Surtr, taste the might of my hHammer!" Thor swung <em>up</em>, cracking the Giant up below his chin. It was <em>loud</em>, a <em>thunderous blow!</em>


    Despite the size difference, the two of them met in an exchange of blows as equals. The Thunder God''s hammer didn''t lose out to the Fire Giant''s deathly sword.


    It truly showed why Thor was one of the strongest Gods in the world.


    With every swing, the very air crackled and boomed in response. Every swing forced Surtr to respond lest he suffer damage!


    I noticed Thorum to my side and I wanted to question what he was doing, but particrly, I noticed he felt <em>off</em>.


    [He doesn''t smell like a Dragon!] Ddraig shouted within my soul.


    My eyes widened and very quickly I swung my Divine Sword with everything I had.


    The ''Thorum'' turned towards me and simrly had his eyes widen as his illusion peeled back and Magics exploded out to block my blow.


    Loki''s true form appeared, and he went flying across the ground before skidding to a stop. "Insolent mortal!" He hissed.


    "Loki!" Thor roared.


    "You dare look away from me!?" Surtr shouted, his sword hitting the Thunder God, sending him flying off into the side of Asgard''s wall.


    He looked at Loki and for some reason seemed like he wanted to rend him apart. But the God of Mischief <em>very quickly</em> disappeared.


    Rather, he turned his attention towards the castle. "Do you think I didn''t notice, All father?" The Giantughed and he started moving towards it. "To use Asgard''s power on the Thunderer, that means the Heart is unprotected!"


    "Do you take me for a decoration!?" Odin roared, mming his spear onto the ground and it shot off, aimed at the Fire Giant.


    Surtr used his arm to p it to the side. "You are weak, All-Father. Watch silently at the side as Asgard burns around you!"


    I pulled on thest remnants of the strength I''d regained after waking up and used a Shunpo to appear in front of the charging Fire Giant.


    Lighting was summoned upon my de and I was ready to sh at him again to keep him at bay, only for several spells to surround me. I was forced to swing my sword to clear them away, but even multiple illusions nketed my vision, some of them sshed against my Magic Resistance, but others still affected me.


    They all shattered as a molten leg kicked me away and I felt several of my ribs crack.


    The sky spun a few times before I realized I wasying on my back and that Loki interfered.


    The sky thundered as Thor returned, but Surtr seemed utterly intent on not fighting.


    Despite the Thunder God hitting him hard enough to crack bones, the Giant pushed forward.


    A massive Spell Circle appeared, green in color, as a Skeletal construct stepped out and grabbed hold of the Giant.


    Two more appeared, and three and four.


    Hel was standing in front of him, casting her magics as shields manifested and Chains wrapped around him.


    One of the Skeletal Constructs grabbed onto Surtr''s arm but he merely swung it away and shattered the others with a gesture.


    The Magics around him likewise were broken by force.


    "Hel!" Thor called out, sliding to the ground next to her, pivoting and flying up to hit the Giant in the head with his Hammer.


    Blood shot out of the Giant''s mouth, but he again <em>ignored</em> the Thunder God.


    "Begone pests!" He grabbed his sword with both hands.


    "Nay!" I heard Thorum yell defiantly, colliding with the Giant''s chest using his body and Gram piercing into his flesh.


    I pushed myself up and forced myself to Shunpo again despite my body screaming at me.


    I caught the swing of the de with my Divine Sword and felt like I was going to break. Despite being a faction of its size, I held it off!


    A shadow loomed over head, and the palm of the Fire Giant, pushing down towards us.


    "Oh God dammit, why me!"


    Was that Ratatoskr?


    I could barely formte the question as the Squirrel ran up between us and something gold-colored sailed through the air right at his palm.


    Was that.an Acorn?


    A Golden Acorn bigger than I was.


    It barely <em>touched</em> Surtr''s hand when a release of various energy''s smacked his arm backwards and the Acorn fell to the ground with a <em>thump</em>, and sinking into far more than it should have.


    Surtr looked down at the Golden Acorn in clear shock. "Squirrel, you dare to use that here? You would sphemy against your purpose!?"


    Purpose?


    Wait.


    <em>"Is that the seed for the next World Tree!?"</em>


    ".no." Ratatoskr replied. And in that moment he took the opportunity that his sheer audacity that gave Surtr pause allowed him to escape. "Don''t look down!" He shouted as he ran away.


    Surtr, despite the words, <em>looked down</em>.


    And below the earth, something <em>rumbled</em>.


    The Ground cracked and burst as a towering, scaly figure shot to the sky.


    A Serpent no smaller than the Fire Giant himself towered overhead, hissing in fury.


    Fuck was that the World Serpent!?


    "Don''t touch my sister!" It''s voice rang out and it swept around the Fire Giant, wrapping him up tight before its fangs sunk down into his shoulder.


    Surtr let out one of the most genuine painful roars I''ve thus heard from him.


    From what I recalled, Jormungandr''s poison was <em>deadly</em>.


    "I don''t know what''s going on, but if you be friend, then let us fight together!" Thor came flying in and his hammer collided with the left side of Surtr''s head, <em>destroying it.</em>


    Like a rock that had part of it shattered, the Fire Giant stumbled backwards.


    "Another one that betrays their role!" He was <em>furious</em> at this point. And with a shout from the Fire Giant, fire burst out from his position, we were all forced to take cover, even Thor.


    Jormungandr wasn''t so lucky.


    His scales and skin began to burn. He was forced to release his bite on the Fire Giant and his painful wails echoed across the Nine Realms.


    Even his constriction around Surtr loosened, giving the Fire Giant the Opportunity to pull him off. And Rather than toss him aside, the Fire Grant grabbed both ends of it and <em>pulled</em>.


    Blood sttered everywhere, droplets raining from the sky.


    "No!" Hel screamed as two halves of the World Serpent fell to the ground.


    Thor''s hammer sung with lightning, enough that I had to genuinely question <em>how he umted it so fast</em>.


    If it was any other situation, I would be taking notes.


    Surtr raised his arm up and <em>caught the blow</em>. The momentous blow that shook Asgard as a whole was stopped by his hand. Even as his palm was caved in, and his bones snapped, he didn''t <em>let go</em>.


    In his other hand, Surtr gripped his sword, and reversed his grip, <em>holding it up like a spear</em> and he took aim.


    I heard a <em>ng</em>, the same one from Odin mming down his spear, and a shield sprang up around the castle.


    Almost instantly, dozens more Shields were cast all around in anticipation.


    The Fires of Surtr flickered, and they seemed to dance across his body, gathering and merging with his Sword.


    "Destruction is all I seek, everything else does not matter!" The Fire Giant threw his sword and it collided with the first shield, breaking it fully, and the second, the third, and it continued until every shield was seared away and the sword burnt a path through the castle.


    But the Castle wasn''t the target, <em>it merely stood in the way</em>.


    It continued on towards behind, where Asgard rested against the World Tree.


    Once the Castle''s walls were no longer there, it was easy to get a proper look.


    The way the tree opened up, vines sprawled outward, and the truck of the World Tree was exposed with a <em>literal beating, Wooden Heart</em> thumped.


    The Divine Sword of Surtr pierced into it and the World Tree <em>wailed</em>.


    There were no words, no proper ''sounds'' yet every living being existing within the Nine Realms could <em>feel it</em>.


    The fires of the sword began to climb up and down the tree consuming it.


    I felt the sword in my hand ck and Odin who was nearby, his spear fell out of his hand, nking against the ground.


    Thor, who had been fighting Surtr so valiantly, dropped to the ground as if all his momentum disappeared.


    Even Surtr just looked at it silently.


    Everyone simply stared as all fighting ceased.


    Even..even if Surtr was defeated at precisely this point, did it matter?


    "Hey Surtr, remember me?" A familiar blue hue hovered near the sword of Surtr''s


    Jinn?


    "..Little one." Surtr spoke for the first time after achieving his goal, but for some reason, his tone carried with it a hint of.hesitation?


    Jinn held her hands up, and took out something I knew all too well, but at this point in time, I hadn''t really thought about it in a while.


    "Is that an Elder Scroll?" Thorum blurted out.


    Jinn held the Scroll up, pointing at the Sword. "Thanks for abandoning your Sword, <em>it''s mine now</em>." She dered and unfurled it. I had to look away, just <em>glimpsing</em> at it caused me to unconsciously start trying to analyze it and it hurt to even view. As someone who had glimpsed into <em>Infinity</em> that was the Kaleidoscope, those <em>Elder Scrolls</em> were dangerous to <em>me</em>.


    "Little one!" Surtr roared, but he could do nothing.


    The Sword of his, his mighty weapon that everyone within the Nine Realms feared, it was <em>sucked up into the Scroll</em>.


    "Girl, from this day forth, Asgard will forever be your ally!" Odin shouted.


    Frankly, no one had time to process what happened, but another thunderous <em>boom</em> rang out and Thor cracked Surtr across the face with his hammer again, sending the Giant crashing to the ground.


    "It does not matter, my goal was aplished." Surtr rumbled despite himself getting quickly pummeled.


    He wasn''t lying, the literal ''heart'' of Yggdrasil had been stabbed, and cracks were forming in the tree even if the mes were starting to die out.


    Yggdrasil was dying.


    However, my eyesnded on the Golden Acorn and I then looked back up to the Tree.


    I took out my Staff of Magnus and took hold of the seed.


    It was <em>significantly</em> heavier than I imagined.


    My actions did not go unnoticed, but no one moved to stop me. The Magic Circles appeared underneath with the Acorn as the basis, and it was the <em>easiest</em> time I ever had casting this spell. "Blessing of the world tree  Yggdrasil."


    It started small, the Acorn<em> sprouted</em>. And then, the winding roots shot up out of my Magic Circle. They began to grow until a strange phenomenon urred.


    A <em>resonance</em>.


    It was as if Yggdrasil was <em>reaching out</em> at the strange ''thing'' that just appeared.


    I felt it through the link of the spell, the vague ''feelings'' the Tree gave off. I knew that Yggdrasil was alive, but until this moment, I truly did not understand what that meant.


    I forced the spell to redirect to the World Tree, the roots twisted and turned, wrapping around the <em>True Yggdrasil</em>, keeping it from being damaged any further, it began to climb upwards and disappeared far behind even my sight.


    ".father, how long will that hold?" Thor asked.


    "Few days if we''re lucky." Odin spoke bluntly. He looked around and it seemed as if he aged several years all of the sudden.


    I looked at Jinn, then I looked at Thor and my mind raced.


    Lastly, my eyes fell on Thorum, and I felt my eyes widen.


    "I.have a n."


    Odin snapped his head at me. "What do you need."


    "Make me the King of Asgard." I said without hesitation.


    [***]


    I wobbled forward, plopping myself onto the chair  the Throne of Asgard.


    Despite the fact that most of the Castle was literally in ashes, and the stars were shining down on top of us, it felt <em>significant</em>.


    All who could were here, the court of Asgard that remained.


    There was a reason that many of the Gods did not participate in the battle with Surtr after a point, as they were <em>physically unable</em>.


    Missing limbs were <emmon</em> from just a nce.


    Luckily, the <em>Ritual</em> to hand over the ''reins'' so to speak was still avable.


    The thing was, the fighting <em>hadn''t stopped</em>.


    Outside the walls, the armies were still going at it. In Vanaheim, they were still fighting off the armies that poured over from Muspelheim. In Alfheim, both Elf races were still warring. And Jotunheim was still here, waiting for their opportunities, as were the traitorous Gods.


    I could see it, I could feel it.


    "Wee our new king, <em>Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg.</em>" Odin dered.


    And I could see <em>everything</em>.


    Asgard was the Home of the Gods, and it ''overlooked'' the entirety of the Nine Realms.


    It was almost overwhelming to suddenly have so much information flood into my head.


    But the theoretical conditions had been met.


    <em>The Reenactment of Myth</em>.


    It was one of the most powerful forces I''ve run into only a few times thus far. If your actions aligned with the act of a Myth, an event that engrained itself into the collective of Humanity, your actions would be <em>amplified</em> if they could resonate.


    The pieces seemingly fell into ce, but it was a gamble on if it would work at this point.


    I put my hands on the arm rest and called upon my Authority as the King of Asgard.


    "The Nine Realms are in chaos." My voice reached every corner of the Realms. "The mortals suffer, the Gods traitorous, and invaders from outside conspire with those who would bring destruction. Henceforth, <em>I am putting you all on notice</em>!" I mmed my hand down and a particr piece of parchment appeared above my head.


    I didn''t think I would be using this so soon, but I didn''t hesitate to do so!


    "God''s Investiture list <em> Open</em>."


    [***]


    A/N


    Herees the conclusion of the Ragnarok Arc.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 507:

    Chapter 507:


    From Zeus to Indra, Yahweh to Amaterasu. I could finally understand their desire for their ''thrones''. They all had different reasons for sitting at the head of their Pantheons, each respective ''King of Gods'' even if titles and circumstances differed.


    Right now, in this particr moment, I had the power of <em>Asgard</em> at my fingertips.


    It was like a Lake that was on the verge of drying up, but even so, it was <em>intoxicating</em> how I could call upon that wellspring for myself.


    It was the Foundation of the Norse Gods, the Vitality of Asgard itself, their umted Faith and Worship. A significant portion of it naturally flowed to every God that existed amongst their number. <em>That</em> was something I couldn''t interfere with even if I wanted to. But the remainder was pooled into the concept of Asgard itself, and it was left to the whims of the one who sat upon the Throne as the King of Gods.


    Maybe this was why the Kings across various Pantheons were usually so paranoid and protective of their spots? Why even Kronos sought to regain his spot upon Olympus even in his situation.


    I could understand why too that Surtr madements about them using it for something so <em>benign</em> as boosting up Thor.


    This <em>power</em> was so much more. It supported their literal existence as Gods of Asgard.


    It was the same reason that Heaven could remain unmolested by the myriad of Pantheons and Gods in the world and retain a semnce of peace.


    The sheer reservoir that Heaven must have inparison due to being the most worshiped religion in the world was iprehensible.


    I was entirely convinced that they could utterly do the equivalent of a nuke to another Pantheon and wipe them outpletely if the situation called for it. Whether they themselves would be able to stand afterwards was an entirely different matter. But that is why mutually assured destruction was su


    All this power even with Asgard being in the rough shape it was


    And yet, Odin willingly stepped down and passed it over to Vidar.


    <em>Vidar</em> stepped down and passed it to Thor.


    And now, Thor stepped down and passed it to me, aplete outsider.


    My respect for them grew.


    With my Deration, the God''s Investiture List appeared in front of me.


    The ancient and weathered parchment unfurled for the court to see.


    Ever so slightly, it flickered with power, but like a fire that refused to start, it didn''t activate.


    There were still things missing.


    When the Chinese Cosmology was in Chaos, when Mortals were killed alongside Immortals and Demons, the Heavenly Dao sent down the God''s Investiture List to the Jade Emperor to impose Rule and Order upon the realm.


    Gods and Demons were forced intopliance. Mortals rose to the level of Gods. And the Heavenly courts were filled by those who were likewise punished and those who were rewarded.


    One could even argue that it was an <em>apocalyptic event</em>.


    Now, It was just a matter of lining up the pieces in the correct way to invoke the List once more.


    "Thorum." I spoke my words reverberated through Asgard and the Nine Realms. "Wake up the World Tree."


    I could see it from where I was sitting. Just as I could cast my view to nearly anywhere within the Nine Realms, I could see Thorum as he stood in front of the withered and charred heart of the World Tree.


    Holding within his hand was the same Key we had yed around with before.


    Without hesitation, he pushed the key <em>into</em> the decrepit heart, <em>and turned it</em>.


    There was a shrill cry that resounded throughout the branches of the World Tree. It was as if a million voices called out simultaneously across the winds of the Nine Realms.


    The Tree itself began to <em>sway</em> almost uncontrobly.


    Thorum was forced backwards as the Tree itself seemingly moved to keep anyone away from its own heart.


    I would call it a subconscious action, but that''s only reserved for <em>living beings</em>.


    The Heavenly Dao was neutral. It treated all living beings equally regardless of Immortal or Mortal. But that wasn''t to say that the Heavenly Dao was without <em>intelligence</em>, it was its own autonomous system not dissimr to the concepts of Gaia and ya back home. It''s the remnants of the Great God Pangu, the Primordial Giant God who split the Heavens and the Earth during the Genesis of the Chinese Myth.


    To fill that role, <em>we had our own Primordials</em>.


    Ymir, the original Primordial Giant of the Norse, and Audhu, the Primordial Cow that existed along with it.


    Ymir''s body and Will were formed into various aspects that eventually gave birth to the World Tree. His Rage and Fury were engraved and formed Muspelheim, which was inherited by Surtr who sought to end everything at its behest. Along with his destructive and other negative tendencies that were taken by Jotunheim and the <em>Evil Jotun</em>.


    However, the World Tree itself inherited the will of Audhu, the being responsible for creating the original God, of which was Odin''s Grandfather.


    But unlike the Heavenly Dao, the World Tree didn''t have a firm <em>intelligence.</em> What itcked and needed <em>unlocking</em> was a <em>desire to live</em>.


    From the highest most branches and leaves to the lowest most Roots, the tree <em>Screamed</em>. It screamed like a newborn greeting the world for the first time, but there was an underlying confusion and pain within its ''voice''.


    It suddenly gained a semnce of <em>awareness</em> at the moment of its dying.


    It was scared and confused.


    It was only because of my connection to Asgard that I could <em>feel</em> the raw emotions that were emanating out from the ancient tree.


    My words to Odin before weren''t false. What I offered wasan opportunity, a chance at saving Asgard and subverting the end.


    It wasn''t entirely up to <em>us</em>.


    I had to call upon Asgard''s might for my words to reach out.


    The Being that towered over even the Gods here, I needed a loud voice to reach it over all the new noise it had to process.


    <em>"Do you want to live!?"</em>


    My words echoed out across the Nine Realms.


    I felt it even if no words could be spoken. The <em>Attention</em> of the Primordial Being metaphorically turned and bore down on me.


    Another spark.


    The list flickered with a Golden Aura but it didn''t linger long.


    I took out something I didn''t think I would ever use.


    The promise I spoke before still held, butI don''t think he would be upset if I used it here. I held up the Scythe of the Titan King and pointed it at the list.


    The aura of <em>Time</em> began to wash over it, and the List began to flicker with a golden aura.


    I was not adept at using this thing, I had no clue how to truly make use of its powers, I was doing what I could, but it seemed like the barest minimum was being drawn out.


    I could see them watching around me with bated breaths, they were not too confident. Sure, they hoped, it was obvious in their eyes, but many of them looked resigned to their fates. To the inevitable end of their homes.


    I mmed my hand onto the throne and called upon more power from Asgard''s reserves. It hurt, I was in no shape at the moment to be channeling this kind of power when I couldn''t evenfortably activate my Circuits without them nearly burning me from the inside from overuse.


    It wasn''t until a set of arms wrapped around me from behind that I rxed. Jinn rested her head on my shoulder. "I''m here too, let me help you."


    She held her hand up.


    The <em>Second Elder Scroll</em> made its appearance.


    It unfurled in front of us, and I used Asgard''s power to shield myself and everyone else in the room from its effects.


    The aura of <em>Time</em> intensified by magnitudes. It was as if I could hear a faint chanting, a murmur of secrets I shouldn''t hear. The Elder Scrolls was not a Prophecy. It was not a written approximation of what might ur, nor a peek at the future. An Elder Scroll was a piece of literal time manifested into the material world.


    I held up Harpe, Kronos''s Scythe and used its Ancient might to direct all that Time-based power <em>onto</em> the God''s Investiture List.


    "Be the will of the Nine Realms." I whispered.


    There was no need to speak loudly, right at this moment, I had the full attention of the newly awoken Yggdrasil.


    It was at that moment that the Spell I was holding  my own <em>Yggdrasil</em>, began to escape my control.


    The World Tree began to cannibalize it. Even if I <em>wanted</em> to resist, I couldn''t. Even If I was at my absolute most powerful, I would be unable to resist what was happening.


    It retraced the spell''s origins and found the root.


    The Golden Acorn that Ratatoskr should be safe keeping. <em>His job</em> was to nt the next World Tree after the fall of this one.


    And Yggdrasil did what any conscious living being would, it sought its own survival and began to absorb what should have been the next iteration into itself.


    A burst of vigor shot through the trunk of the World Tree, all the up to the Leaves that began to glow with a vibrant hue.


    The Golden Acorn shrunk in response, getting smaller and smaller as it was used to renew the World Tree with its life energies.


    And with all that power, all that <em>life</em> and <em>energy</em> running through it at this moment, it <em>reached out and touched the List</em>.


    I held my hand up towards it andmanded it once more.


    Abination of many different ovepping coincidences came together to bring about what could be called a miracle.


    Something that should no longer ''exist'' that had lost its power and its authority. Something long forgotten and gathering dust on the shelf in the far corner of Nuwa''s Treasure house.


    This Ancient Relic once more was invoked.


    <em>"Open!</em>"


    The hall was filled with a Golden Light and the List shot out to the sky above.


    It began to grow and dye the sunless sky in its own bright light. From every corner of Asgard to the furthest reaches of Niflheim, any being within the Nine Realms could see it regardless of distance or where they sat.


    Once more, the God''s Investiture List greeted the world with its full power.


    And I was ying the role of the Jade Emperor.


    "Loki Laufeyson." The List was <em>invoked</em>. Amongst the residents of Asgard, the ones hiding away, there existed one person in the corner, he sat away from the others looking very distraught and angry. His eyes widened as ethereal chains shot down from the sky. No barrier could obstruct them, magics were summoned by mere gesture from his hand, but their advance was not halted. They grabbed hold of him, peeling off his illusions and pulled him back up to the sky, hanging him up for everyone to see. "It''s time for your judgment."


    "What is this?" The Trickster let out a shout, trying to free himself, to struggle out of his confines. But it wasn''t just me who was using my power to keep him there, I had the backing of the World Tree. "Judge me!? Who do you think you are? A mere mortal who just happens to sit upon that seat? Laughable!"


    I ignored him, as angry as I was, as utterly <em>furious</em> at his actions. As much as I wanted to <em>personally</em> tear him apart for what he did to Jinn, I was just as much bound to my Role right now as I was empowered by it.


    "You conspired with outsiders and you brought <em>corruption</em> to the Roots of Yggdrasil." Thatst one in particr got a very distinct feeling of anger from the World Tree. I was about to open my mouth and condemn him for the chaos he wrought, but I was forced to stop. <em>His role was to initiate Ragnark, I couldn''t punish him for that, The List wouldn''t let me.</em>


    But the other sins of his were enough.


    "You are stripped of your Godhood!" I dered, and the List itself, backed by the Will of Yggdrasil, <em>heeded mymand</em>. The God of Mischief was surely to question <em>what</em> I meant by that, but his body jerked and he couldn''t formte words in response at the suddenness of the ''chains'' piercing into his body.


    They delved to the deepest parts of his essence, and <em>ripped</em> <em>out</em> his Divinity.


    Loki let out a blood curdling scream.


    "You are stripped of your Magic!"


    Once more, parts of Loki''s essence were utterly torn away.


    "You have lost the right to <em>arms</em>." An invisible de descended and severed both of his arms from his body.


    "You have lost the right to <em>legs</em>!"


    "You have lost the right to <em>eyesight!</em>


    "Andstly, that silver tongue of yours that you are so proud of, is severed!"


    "You are hereby condemned to eternal imprisonment to the deepest and darkest pit avable where you will spend the remainder of time contemting your <em>many</em> failures. And you will know that your presence will never be missed by any living being!"


    I felt a stream of blood trickle down my nose and a sharp pain within my head.


    A smidge of bacsh from the God''s Investiture List. I nearly overstepped my position for personal revenge.


    It was still in line with a punishment in corrtion to the weight of his sins so I didn''t suffer too badly.


    I severely disliked leaving him alive. The mere idea that he could potentially free himself in the future was enough for me to want to lop his head off and be done with it. In particr, I didn''t make a habit of letting my enemies live when given the opportunity. But in this particr case, Loki earned a very special punishment from me.


    I wanted him to exist in the worst state possible and forever know that he lost and that no one will care about him ever again.


    <em>That was his punishment</em>.


    What was left of him was sucked into the God''s Investiture Lis, and his imprisonment would be carried out when next possible.


    Just as I finished with him, thousands more chains shot out. The Traitorous Gods of Asgard were all caught, none of them could run away.


    Most of them, I didn''t even bother announcing them. While Loki was without a doubt the highest sinner among the bunch, their betrayal was the biggest gut punch to their kin.


    Their punishments.they would be significantly less than Loki, but still somewhat strict. While pure executions were unlikely in all their cases, none of them were getting off free.


    At least for the small fries.


    Baldur appeared hanging up above the skies of Asgard as all eyes turned to him.


    All except Odin.


    Odin turned to look at me and I could understand what he wanted.


    "Baldur Odinson." I addressed him. "Do you know your crimes?"


    The God looked at me then at his father and I didn''t feel an ounce of resistanceing from him. "I ept my punishment."


    "Baldur, God of Asgard.you betrayed your home, your siblings and your father. You sided with the traitor Loki against allmon decency. Do you dispute your sins?"


    "No."


    I let out a silent sigh. "Your punishment will be to guard the Nine Realms for One-Thousand Years. You will not know the merriment of celebration. You will not know a peaceful rest, food will taste like ash and Alcohol will not quench your thirst. You will not know the kinship with your siblings, you will not be greeted by the smile of your father, and the warmth of your home will be denied until you finish your punishment."


    The List <em>branded</em> him upon his soul to invoke my punishment. A punishment I was forced to add beyond the One-Thousand year guard duty as I had to reach a certain threshold or the List would reject me.


    It was the most lenient sentence I could give.


    Baldur too was sucked into the God''s Investiture List.


    I turned my gaze to the Frost Giants that participated, and I couldn''t even utter the words to condemn them.


    It was not a crime to wage war as odd as that was to think about. It was in the nature of Jotuns and Gods to war with each other.


    It was enough that this little disy caused all fighting to cease and for what remained of their number to essentially back off.


    My eyes turned to Hyperion, and I knew he could sense me as well.


    He had..stood to the side after his little collision with Surtr. At no point did he attempt to rejoin the fight, nor did it particrly seem like he <em>wanted</em> to fight.


    Rather, he was watching over the corpse of his King a distance away from Asgard.


    Yggdrasil all but <em>demanded</em> his punishment for what he and Kronos were doing in the Roots.


    The thing was Kronos was a Titan, he was <em>immortal</em>. Even death for him was only temporary.


    "Kronos, King of the Titans, appear and ept your punishment!" I ordered and the God''s Investiture List <em>vibrated</em>.


    The Chains shot down right into the corpse of the Titan and pulled free his ''soul'' before Hyperion could even utter a word.


    The soul of the Titan King just stared nkly without the hint of ''life'' in its eyes.


    "As an outsider, you invaded the Nine Realms and attempted to Poison the World Tree." With the amount of traitorous Gods, there were openings and holes within the roles of Asgard, things that needed to be filled. "Your punishment, for 5,000 years, you will facilitate the changing of the seasons and watch over the harvest for the entirety of the Nine Realms. Your body will be held prisoner until youplete your sentence, and you will be regted down to a Divine Spirit!" I swept my hand out and he was pulled into the List along with the parts of his body I had personally severed.


    The Greek Gods were not going to be happy with me.


    At this point Hyperion was on guard and his eyes filled with an indecipherable emotion.


    Realization dawned on me.


    "You only participated because your King was." My words weren''t loud, but they reached every corner of the realm, and they were directed right at Hyperion. He only was involved because of his loyalty to Kronos. In a way, it was admirable, otherwise he had absolutely no investment in this conflict. No rewards to be expected, no goals to achieve but to serve Kronos at his side. "Hyperion, Titan of Light, as Punishment, you will be the new sun for the Nine Realms for the next 5000 years!"


    Oddly, or maybe not, but the Titan didn''t fight or argue with me.


    The God''s Investiture List took hold of him too, and as soon as he was taken into it, the missing Sun in the sky began to reappear, and sunlight once more filled the sky.


    There was the distinct taste of the Titan''s power that radiated off of it.


    Last, I turned to look at Surtr.


    Surtr was an odd existence.


    Thor remained behind in case Surtr decided to start fighting again, but the Fire Giant just seemed content to watch.


    "Surtr, King of Muspelheim, Giant King." I invoked his name and his eyes lit up in a concerning way. "You " I felt the words die in my mouth. I tried to grasp at anything I could, but.<em>there were no sins</em>. The Fire Giant <em>did nothing wrong</em>. It was his role, his entire purpose to bring about Ragnark and destroy Asgard.


    Surtr, knowing my gaze was on him, <em>started tough</em>. "Foolish. Kill me, imprison me, it matters not. My existence is tied to Muspelheim, to the Nine Realms itself. For so long as the Nine Realms exist, so too will I be inevitable."


    Still, I had to do something. Justletting him live or to potentially revive some time in the near future, that would be horrendous.


    "One thousand  " I spat out a mouthful of blood as I tried to force it to go through. My eyes started bleeding as I grit my teeth and mmed my hand on the throne. "One-Hundred" I felt another jolt go through my body as the God''s Investiture List was rejecting me and I was starting to fall out of my position as the administrator. "One Year!" I forced out and it <em>barely</em> acquiesced to my demand. I could <em>feel</em> Yggdrasil was not particrly happy with me doing this. But even so, even with forcing it to abide, the List wouldn''t imprison him for a year, nor would it help here. "By <em>Jinn</em>." I squeezed out.


    A single, almost infantile chain, shot out of the List andnded upon the Fire Giant.


    I could tell that he could easily escape it. That the God''s Investiture List <em>barely</em> put any power into this and that I was grasping at straws.


    However, the Fire Giant didn''t struggle one bit.


    He had aplicated look on his face and seemingly resigned. "A debt is owed." Was all he said and closed his eyes.


    Jinn grabbed hold of her Elder Scroll and the Giant was forcibly taken inside of it.


    One year.


    Well, a lot can change in a year.


    "Ratatoskr." I called out a particr name that caused everyone to look confused.


    "What!? Why are you calling me, I didn''t do shit!?" I could hear his chattering and vaguely sense his presence as he hid around the Throne room.


    I couldn''t help but smile. "You provided meritorious service to Asgard and the Nine Realms."


    "Eh?" The Squirrel looked confused just as everyone else did. They didn''t seem to quite understand what I was doing.


    Well, all but Odin.


    His one eye widened in realization.


    God''s Investiture List was named so for a <em>reason</em>.


    It was used to end a conflict, and to punish evil, but it was also used to fill Godly positions!


    "In recognition of your service, You will be the God of Travels, of Rest, and of <em>Courage</em>." A golden light enveloped the Squirrel as he was forced out of his hidey-hole. "You are weed at every corner of the Nine Realms and none may bar your path! Mortals may pray to you when they need courage in their lives, or a rightful rest for their weariness."


    There was silence across Asgard.


    Even Ratatoskr himself stood there trembling, a new Divinity pulsing inside his body.


    The silence onlysted a beat before the cheers erupted.


    The other Gods actually went up and threw their praise and congrattion on him. And the Squirrel perhaps had the most genuine smile I''ve ever seen him with thus far.


    However, I wasn''t done.


    "Hrsvelgr, you have provided a meritorious service for Asgard and the Nine Realms." The Eagle King was not in great condition, but the light of Asgard shined upon him and Divinity began to seep into his soul. His body, as a result, was mending itself back together properly. "Rise, God of the Skies." A distinct upgrade over his control of the Winds.


    The new Bird God simply lowered his head slightly in acknowledgement.


    I didn''t have much of an impression of him, but I could recount what urred through my connection with Yggdrasil and Asgard while performing my duties.


    "Duneyrr, you have provided a meritorious service for Asgard and the Nine Realms." I cast my gaze upon the Giant Red Deer that was nursing its own wounds. Thest of its siblings. It had fused itself with the World Tree to open up and provide a safe haven for its children so they wouldn''t be hunted to death. "For your service, you will be given the position of God of Nature and Preservation. Your kin will henceforth be treated as Sacred across the Nine Realms. The first attack by any being against your kin, regardless of the source will be <em>negated</em>. The Second will be punished, and the third will bring about the condemnation of the entirety of the Nine Realms!"


    Backed up by my deration, Yggdrasil vibrated. Duneyrr had to give up that grove of theirs toe fight. But Yggdrasil still remembered when Duneyrr was a part of itself and felt kinship towards the Red Deer.


    It heartily approved of my words.


    The Red Deer itself, the new Divinity inside of it began to mend its wound. Its antlers that had been seared off by Surtr started to regrow and the Deer stood up and bowed its head in my direction.


    "Folen." I turned to look at the Old Elf that was sitting by himself far onto the walls of Asgard. He turned to look my way and there was a scowl that quickly appeared on his face. He raised his middle finger up, knowing clearly what I was about to do, but voiced no words of discontent. "You have provided meritorious service to Asgard and the Nine Realms."


    "Damn right I did!"


    "As a reward, you will be bestowed with Godhood. Everyone, please wee the First Elven God within the Nine Realms. Folen  God of Medicine, of Archery, and of Mercy."


    The Old Elf had a strange look in his eyes as his Divinity set in as bestowed by the List. He merely harrumphed and continued to scowl like the grumpy old man he wanted people to view him as, despite his wrinkles and white hair disappearing.


    Hel  I couldn''t provide her with a reward despite her service. For some reason, it felt like there was a sort of contradiction there.


    I suppose it couldn''t be helped, the List itself wasn''t supposed to work on another Cosmology like I was using it for. The List bestowed Godly positions, the Jade Emperor was the one who <em>raised their ranks</em>.


    Thorum, it treated him the same due to his innate nature that connected him to Akatosh.


    Achilles, Atnta, Sasaki, it absolutely refused to even initiate anything on them. Again, it made sense, they were <em>imed</em> by the Throne of Heroes,pletely outside its proverbial jurisdiction, despite how I was using it in an entirely different faction right now.


    And even for myself, I couldn''t use it.


    Ignoring my Divinity, it absolutely would not allow me to promote myself. I was acting as the King already, what higher position was there?


    There was only one real person left.


    "Jinn, you have provided a meritorious service to Asgard and the Nine Realms." I looked up at her.


    Her eyes widened as she understood what I was doing as well. There was a clear look of hesitation, but I took her hand to soothe her.


    She smiled warmly. "Are you sure it''s okay?"


    "You will forever be weed among Asgard." Odin was the first to speak up.


    "Lady Jinn, we would be honored."


    "We need more girls around here!"


    "Aye, Lady Jinn!"


    Many more shouts came out across the various Gods that filled the hall.


    Odin stomped his spear onto the ground. "Let it be known, here and now, that anyone who bes your enemy, <em>will be the enemy of every God of Asgard</em>."


    A resounding round of agreements followed suit.


    If it weren''t for Jinn, Surtr would have burned everything away before they could pump up Thor. If it weren''t for Jinn, Surtr''s sword would still be impaled inside the World Tree.


    The Golden light seeped out of The God''s Investiture List and slowly wrapped around her.


    "Jinn, spirit of Knowledge no more. Everyone please wee the newest Goddess of the Nine Realms  Jinn, the Goddess of Knowledge, of Magic, and.of the Homestead." I smiled warmly as I watched her Divinity form.


    My eyelids felt heavy as if I were drained of thest bit of energy I had.


    I felt Jinn''s arm wrap around me amidst the cheering and the gleeful shouts around the throne room.


    And thest thing I saw before my exhaustion finally overtook me was a Golden Acorn about the size of my fingernail that was gently pushed into my soul by the World Tree.


    [****]


    And this is the ending to the overall Asgard Arc with some cleaning up the next couple chapters and a PHO chapter right around the corner.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty for anyone who can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 508: + Looking Glass omake Part 3

    Chapter 508: + Looking ss omake Part 3


    Usually, my dreams weren''t this vivid.


    Nor was I normally so lucid within my dreams. Evern for a Magus, Dreams were a domain that one did not tread lightly, less they potentially lost themselves.


    Stars surrounded me and each step I took sent out ripples amongst the cosmos as if I were moving across the surface of a body of water.


    Up ahead, there sat a single tree, utterly mundane in appearance, but it gave off a very familiar feeling.


    It wasn''t until I approached and put a hand upon the trunk that I could guess what this Tree represented.


    "What a magnificent creature."


    I turned to the side to see Mus Tengai standing next to me. "Did you pull me into a dream for this?"


    It wasn''t the first time my Zanpakut had done something like this."This is neither a Dream, nor is it by my hand." My Zanpakut spirit replied. "At this moment, we exist between Dream and Reality, Fantasy and Material."


    I frowned at his admittance and felt weary.


    "You need not be rmed, the one who brought us here has no ill intentions." He replied.


    "The spirit is correct." The shadows around us swirled, forming the outline and shape of an entity I had met not long ago.


    "Lady Nyx." I greeted her with respect and politeness.


    She nodded slightly at me, but for some reason, she stared at Mus Tengai for several moments.


    Mus Tengai stared back and I was confused about what was happening. It was as if they had met before, or Nyx found something interesting?


    It was hard to tell, Nyx was utterly unreadable to me, and Mus Tengai was good at keeping himself constrained in his mannerisms, even if he was a part of me.


    Eventually, Nyx turned around and put a hand on the Tree.


    The Tree rustled slightly at her touch.


    "I never thought I would witness something like this. Imagine my surprise when I have a sibling that half wakes up all of the sudden?" She smiled lightly.


    "Did.I do something wrong?" I hesitantly asked because I was worried that this drew the attention of another Primordial.


    "Wrong?" She tilted her head. "Your view of ''right'' and ''wrong'' is so narrow that I have a hard time understanding it. It''s simply a matter of what has happened, and what will happen as a result."


    "And the consequences, do you foresee anything overly detrimental for the residents here?" I still kept my tone utterly respectful as I evenly asked my question since it appeared she was in the mood to talk.


    "You have the taste of Pangu''s remnant will on you." She suddenly stated.


    "The Heavenly Dao?" I furrowed my brow. "I visited the Heavenly Realm recently." I nodded.


    "Mmm." She smiled as she continued to gently ce her hand on the trunk of the tree. "It''s simr, but different. Considering what you did to achieve this, you should already know that much. If I had to speak to your understanding, perhaps this one leans slightly more towards my own standing. It will never be able to descend like I do as that goes against its fundamental existence, but what you did instilled the basic concept of life into its being beyond instinctual inclinations. If you want to know the consequences, I simply do not know. This is a new situation for me and I look forward to seeing what happens. It is exciting in a way." She sounded happy.


    "At the very least, should I expect nothing detrimental to happen in the short term?" I tried to parse her thoughts.


    "For your mortal existences, and the Gods that dwell upon its Branches, you can expect no hostility from my Sibling unless you bring it about yourselves. My existence here can attest to this fact. If not for what happened, my Sibling''s Branches would have never allowed me to appear within this Domain."


    "You couldn''t appear beforehand? Does that also apply to other.erm, beings such as yourself? Are you all constrained in such a way and should we worry that someone else maye by to.pay a visit?"


    She turned to look at me with an amused look on her face. "Constrained? I suppose that is not an incorrect way to view it from your perspective." She hummed nonmittedly. "I asked nicely, and I was allowed toe visit. Previously, my Sibling was not able to ept such inclinations beforehand. However, there is another matter that allowed me to cross over without problems arising."


    "What''s that?"


    She raised her hand, pointed a finger up above us.


    My eyes fell onto the Sun in the distance.


    "Oh." Right, I used Hyperion to create their sun, I suppose in a way that gives her a tiny foothold she could theoretically exploit?


    "Don''t overthink things, it will only cause you unnecessary worry about things you can''t control." She stated as if it weren''t important whatsoever. "Lines remained distinct for a reason until recent times."


    "Was I wrong then? Is it bad for other factions to get involved in situations like these?"


    "Right, wrong, you mortals are too concerned about these things. As a living creature, you have the right to dictate what is right, and what is wrong. Only the cause and effect are of noteing. I''m not going to tell you what you should or should not do, simply a warning to allow you a moment of thought before you take action. What you do is up to you."


    "Thank you for your wisdom." I bowed my head slightly.


    She looked up to the sky with that little smile of hers. "As the Night, I cannot understand nor care about such small things like preventing the Cycle of this corner of existence. The lines have be blurred as time passes, however causing me a small amount of concern as I believe it is intentional on arger scale. Just as I do not believe the existence of Sacred Gears should propagate unabated along the world''s souls, I too think that lines should remain to a degree."


    "I understand." It was a small warning.


    "However, as the only one of my Siblings that has spent many moments among Mortals and has developed a certain amount of understanding towards those who sleep beneath my embrace.peaceful nights are among my favorite."


    Was she.telling me she thought I did a good job?


    I have a hard time understanding beings of her nature and it''s just going to keep throwing me for a loop the longer I consider it.


    "But this is not the reason I appeared. I find myself more talkative than usual this night, perhaps because of the excitement." She turned back to look at me and all but told me that she was only speaking so much because she was amused by my actions. I could take the hint to not expect her to be doing a Q&A again. "I told you that if you found the one who obscured those who slipped beneath my notice, I would reward you."


    "I apologize, I "


    She put a hand up. "It was a whim, I did not expect much. Being able to defeat the Titan King was already a feat worth praising for one so young. The reason I am here is because you came into possession of something that I believe holds the clue. The Box of the ones beneath my night."


    "Pandora''s Box."


    "Yes, the trinket of that child." She nodded. "It holds a wisp of something I cannot ce." She showed more expression in this moment than I have ever seen thus far. Perhaps, annoyance? "The feeling is of something I encountered before I descended, and my memories from that period arecking in detail. However, it is malevolent and destructive. This is my warning to you, child from beyond the stars. It is Dangerous."


    "Thank you for your warning." I once more thanked her politely.


    She chuckled lightly. "Onest piece of advice, consider it a reward for amusing me. You should consider how you will approach Hades. He has since learned what you have done with the Two Titans, and he is not happy." She reached over before I could respond and put a finger on my forehead. "The Devil and the Holy Sword Wielder are waiting at your side, Wake Up."


    [***]


    "See I told you that it would work." I recognized Venna''s voice, and the owner of the legs that my face was firmly pressed between.


    "I do not know what I expected." I heard Artoria sigh.


    I forced myself to roll over despite every part of me wanting to remain in this position for the rest of my life. "Good morning."


    Venna reached down and pinched my cheek. "It''s afternoon."


    "how long?"


    "A little over a day." Artoria informed me. "We arrivedtest night once everything settled down."


    "Who else is here?"


    "Scthach and Izanami have arrived. We have been switching off every few hours." Venna replied. "But we''ve been keeping in touch with everyone to make sure they know you''re fine."


    "How upset are they?" I hesitantly asked.


    Venna pinched my cheek again. "Don''t mistake worry for anger." Despite her chastising me, her tone was very gentle. "It''s a natural response to worry about someone we care about greatly in a situation where they were in danger and suffered harm."


    Artoria ttened her skirt and slid onto the bed next to us. "I have sent many of my Knights and Friends into battle with no guarantee of survival. I am no stranger to danger and the weight of responsibility. That does not mean I am without concern and worry myself. I know I am strict with you on certain matters, but I will never be angry at you for putting yourself in harm''s way for a righteous cause. I am very proud of you, Wilhelm." She smiled beautifully and it made the aches I felt and the pain I suffered somehow seem worth it.


    "The important thing right now is how you''re doing." Venna ran a hand through my hair.


    "Everything aches."


    Artoria nodded. "Avalon can heal injuries, but it is not omnipotent. You will feel sore at the very least, but there should be no lingering damage to yourself. But the damage was extensive, I was required to arrive to renew its supply of Magical Energy."


    "Yeah, it was basically empty by the end of the fight." I sighed.


    Artoria just nodded in understanding. "Jinn informed us of the finer details. You did well to protect her."


    "Even if she got hurt?"


    "It''s a matter of inevitability that she was going to get hurt at some point. Life is not so nice as to allow her to remain unharmed forever." Venna added.


    "She is whole and happy, there is not much more I could ask for." Artoria stated. "She has been very smug about her new status."


    "Is she abusing being a Goddess?"


    "Without a doubt." Venna nodded. "Many demands for hugs, and lots of spoiling her."


    That''s my Jinn.


    They hadn''t asked me about the heavier stuff, which was nice, I wasn''t really in the right mindset to have an in-depth discussion on the details of what happened. And frankly, I was flying by the seat of my pants most of the time back there.


    "Well, I suppose the King of Asgard should go greet his subjects." I forced myself up right.


    "You''re going to abuse it as well, aren''t you?" Artoria deadpanned.


    "There may be a distinct possibility." I would neither confirm nor deny.


    But fuck, I felt sore and stiff getting to my feet.


    "Hmm, before you start asserting your royal authority, I had something I wanted to give you, and I would normally wait until you were in a better mindset, but it may be beneficial." Venna interjected.


    "What "


    She retrieved a y jar and ced it in front of me, she uncorked it and I was hit immediately by a whiff of something utterly heavenly.


    Even Artoria was unconsciously drooling as soon as she smelled it and her eyes zeroed in like a vulture.


    I knew exactly what she was holding.


    "I would say it''s a sess. I only brought one Jar with me in a hurry, but I figured you wouldn''t need more."


    I hesitantly took it from her and brought it up to my nose and I could just feel my body rx at the mere smell.


    I was oh so tempted to throw my hand back and gulp it down, but I want to savor it properly. I put my lips to the jar  bad etiquette, but I was already being very reserved by not chugging it.


    Not even a mouthful passed my lips before I pulled back and allowed it to fill me with a warm sensation.


    It was so vorful and as soon as it hit my belly, I felt the warm sensation permeate every corner of my body. A significant amount of my aches and residual pains were washed away as the Peach Wine created from both the Peach of Immortality and the water from the River Styx was absorbed.


    "That''s probably the most delicious thing I''ve ever drank." It took even more self-control not to let the intrusive thoughts win and chug it still.


    Venna leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Don''t worry, everyone else already had a taste, so enjoy it as you please. There''s much more on the wayter anyways."


    "Thank you."


    "Of course~"


    [***]


    I walked out of the room I had apparently been put up in after I passed out. Artoria and Venna at my side as they made sure I wasn''t going to push myself after getting back up on my feet so soon.


    I could hear the celebration that was happening not far away. The hallway I walked down opened up to arge hall with plenty of tables all lined up and lots of noise filling the room.


    Maybe calling it a room was an exaggeration, because it wascking half its walls and its roof.


    Even the World Serpent was chilling nearby with Hel happily chatting with it and Thorum next to her. Which I''m surprised to see up and running around. I had honestly thought it was deador dying?


    [Look at its size, it gave up a significant portion of its body to retain its life. It''s going to be much weaker until it can regain that. It''s a dragon, but it''s also a Serpent, it can survive being torn in half more than other things.] Ddraigmented.


    Makes sense.


    The kids seemed to be joining in as well and the ones I brought were intermingling.


    Even Ratatoskr was joining in and having fun.


    Overall, everyone was ounted for and despite what happened, there was an air of peacefulness.


    Though, everyone seemed to go quiet once I entered.


    All except one person, a blue blur flew across the room andnded right into my arm.


    "Will~" Jinn squealed happily.


    "Is everyone treating you well?" I noticed Scthach and Izzy a little back and they were giving me smiles so I knew that nothing bad happened.


    "Everyone is so nice and look what I got!" She swung around a mug of obviously mead and nearly fell over herself if I wasn''t there to catch her.


    I looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. "Alright, who gave Jinn Alcohol?"


    "Teehee~"


    "It was Odin!"


    "Oh you bitch!" He shouted at who I believe was Freyja who sold him out immediately.


    "My first decree as king of Asgard, Odin''s only allowed to drink Apple Juice for now on."


    "Rebellion!" The All-Father jumped up on the table and roared in defiance.


    "Come at me, old man." I made the gesture his way. And to my surprise, he leapt off the table at me. I of course did the only recourse avable to me and suplexed the old man.


    "K.O!" Freyja stood up and for some reason, the majority of the hall began to cheer at the All-Father''s head pushed firmly into the flooring.


    The Celebration seemed to continue like nothing happened. This was.about par for the course when they were celebrating. It wasn''t just drinking, it was about letting loose in all honesty. The stressful situations, the dead, the near destruction of Asgard, they needed this.


    And I guess fights were a prettymon thing among the Norse Pantheon.


    Izzy and Scthach finally approached me and I was about to exin myself, but rather, they both showed a surprising amount of public affection from their ends and hugged me together.


    "Hugs are nice." Jinn joined in.


    "You are cut off." Scthach scolded the new Goddess, lightly chastising her.


    Speaking of, I wonder how many barrels of Asgardian Mead I could steal before anyone noticed?


    "Should we let her indulge in this instance? I believe a reward should be administered considering." Izzy spoke up.


    "Hmm, it is a consideration." Scthach seemed to acknowledge.


    "A reward?" Jinn perked up. "Hrm"


    "Is something wrong?" I poked my adorable Genie.


    "I want a reward.but I want to be punished too." She said with full sincerity. "Did I do good though?"


    "You did amazing." I hugged her tightly. Just as Artoria said with me "I''m so proud of you."


    She looked up at me, smiling brightly. "And mymp didn''t evene loose!" She said very proudly and threw her arms up. "Praise me for fighting with mymp still in my butt!"


    .Drunk Jinn was drunk.


    Or maybe this was something Jinn would do even without drinking.


    "Ayo?" Odin''s tone sort of caused the celebration toe to a screeching halt, and I may or may not have spaced out, forgetting that we were surrounded by a bunch of people.


    I guess that cat is out of its bag.


    Frankly, I wasn''t sure how to respond to the many  many eyes staring at us.


    "Uneptable!" Freyja mmed his fist on the table. "I refuse to be out done, someone go grab me something big for me to put up my ass!"


    "There''s the Thot everyone knows!" Odin cackled. "I''ll volunteer as tribute."


    "I said something big, you old crotchety pervert!"


    And like that, another fight started.


    I just rubbed Jinn''s head and she didn''t care in the slightest about the awkward situation she caused.


    Eventually, I pulled up my own chair, sitting down at the sort ofhead of the table that was empty. I was pretty sure it was reserved for me considering my current status.


    A mug of mead hit the table not far away and people seemed to quiet down. "Our King has words." Vidar spoke and everyone listened.


    The funny thing was, I felt he was truly sincere when addressing me as King.


    Once attention was back on me and the mood got serious, I started. "I think it''s best we settle all the important bits and get them out of the way, then go back to celebrating."


    "Aye!" A round of agreements shook the table.


    "I couldn''t reward everyone, and I hope that Asgard will do them right." I don''t think it was a secret that I wasn''t going to remain the King for long.


    "For those who fought for Asgard, they will be properly rewarded." Odin''s tone was much different than a moment prior, his voice full of authority and sternness.


    "It would look bad upon us to let ourrade''s assistance go without reward." Thor nodded too.


    "I have kept track of the merits for this war." Heimdall added. "Once we have stabilized, we can meet our rewards properly."


    "Good." They would not go back on their words, nor did it feel like I needed to remind them, but it was something that had to be spoken openly for everyone to hear.


    "I have a concern." Thor raised his hand, and it was kind of funny seeing one of the Strongest Gods in the world act like a school boy.


    He got up from his seat and walked over to Jormungandr, which wasn''t hard because the snake was massive. "How are we supposed to handle our inevitable battle? The fates dictated that the Mighty World Serpent and I will do battle and I will be swallowed whole."


    "What are you saying?" Hel narrowed her eyes.


    "Peace, Lady Hel. I mean it in no disrespectful way." He looked at the World Serpent. "He has fought to protect Asgard, regardless of his reasons. I will not raise my hammer to dishonor myself out of paranoia."


    "It''s a touchy subject, but he has a point." Odin stroked his beard.


    "You''re not touching him." Hel voiced her protectiveness outright.


    "Keep your panties on, we''re not gonna hurt your oversized noodle." Odin rolled his eyes then turned to me. "What''s your thought, brat?"


    "Well "


    The Massive Serpent mmed his mouth down on top of where Thor was standing, then quickly threw its head back and swallowed.


    It became quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop as everyone just stared dumbfounded at Thor being eaten in front of us.


    "I am victorious. Huzzah." The World Serpent spoke with the most deadpan voice I''ve ever heard, then with a bulge, its body jerked, and he spat Thor back out onto the ground.


    Thor sat in a pile of saliva, unmoving.


    ".Grandfather.doesthat count?" Magni looked towards Odin.


    "Fuck if I know. I have no idea what''s going on since a while ago." Odin outright admitted.


    "I am willing to ept my defeat. Can we please never speak of this again?" Thor asked.


    "Agreed." Odin epted.


    Let''s just roll with it. "Alright, from what I understand, you just want peace and quiet, Jormungandr?"


    Getting another look at him, I could see what happened after he was ripped apart by Surtr. He was distinctly half as big as he was previously. And his ''new'' loser end waswell, his scales were obviously new. His overall presence was heavily deteriorated from the few moments I saw him initially.


    I imagined that he would regrow to his previous size as Ddraig said.


    He was still gigantic, however.


    The Big Serpent looked my way and nodded. "I wouldn''t have helped Father if I wasn''t forced to."


    "Alright, as the King of Asgard, I decree, you are a friend of Asgard, and any attack on you is an attack of Asgard. You''re free toe and go as you please. If you do end up in conflict with anyone here, I hope that you cane and settle it peacefully with whoever is sitting on the Throne at the time."


    The Big Snake seemed very pleased with that arrangement.


    And Hel also looked happy for her brother.


    Thorum looked like he wanted to thank me in private as well.


    Honestly, I didn''t really have any other big issues I had to cover. But regardless I mmed my hand on my chair. "Now it''s time to talk about the new rules that I''m going to implement. Miniskirts!"


    "I''ll follow you to the ends of the Earth, your Majesty!" Odin shouted.


    "Miniskirts!"


    "Miniskirts!"


    Scthach was quick to start tugging on my cheek. "Are you sure you did not misspeak, student."


    "Kick his ass!" Freyja called out, and dozens of other feminine voices followed suit.


    "I never said it was only women." I pointed out.


    They went silent until Odin pped the table again. "Fuck it, my legs are beautiful, miniskirts!"


    "Miniskirts!"


    "Miniskirts!"


    This ce was fun.


    "Alright, alright." I held my hands up. "On to the serious matter. It''s time to hand the Throne over."


    "You''re a good man." Vidar nodded in approval. "If you desired to continue sitting there, no one would speak out against it. You and yourrades have proven yourselves honorable folk and friends of Asgard for all time."


    I smiled at thepliment. "Which is why I''m handing the throne over to the one who will handle it properly." I waited a beat, mostly because he had yet to arrive. But a small zap of lightning shot through the air, followed by a little gust of wind as two adorable rabbitsnded on myp.


    I held up Sir Wiggles. "Behold, Sir Wigglesbottom Fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, Crown Prince of the Emerald Kingdom, Duke of Carrot Ind, General of the northern Armies, Lightning born, The Devil yer. Head of Chaldean department of Phantasmal Beast, King of France. And now, the King of Asgard."


    I quickly vacated the seat, and let Sir Wiggles take front and center as I put a tiny little crown I had prepared long ago on top of his head.


    And of course, everyone was stunned into silence by his majesty.


    "You know what? I don''t even care anymore. If he wants his Rabbit to be king, then have at it. To our new King!" Odin raised a mug up into the air, and everyone else quickly followed.


    This ce quickly grew on me.


    "And that''s enough for me today." Freyja dered, standing up from her spot. She walked over, and grabbed Ratatoskr by the tail. "You''reing with me."


    "Mommy?" The Squirrel looked panicked as Freyja lifted it over her head.


    "You can call me mommy." She grinned.


    Ratatoskr looked my way and I gave him a thumbs up and a silent prayer.


    He was going to need it.


    [***]


    The celebration continued for a while, but I noticed Odin sneak away and followed after him.


    He was sitting on a balcony, or what was left of it, as he oversaw what remained of Asgard.


    "It''s going to take awhile to rebuild." Imented.


    "That it is." Odin agreed. "But we can only rebuild because we remain standing. Thanks to you and your lot. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, truly, thank you."


    I put a hand on his shoulder silently, and sat down next to him. "How are you doing?"


    "I''ll heal eventually." Odin grumbled. "Thatss of yours.we owe her a great debt."


    "Jinn?"


    "No, but her as well." Odin smiled peacefully. "Everyone saw what that girl of yours did. Standing up to Surtr allowed us the time to push forward with making Thor King. Even if she wasn''t now a Goddess of ours by name, she would forever be under our protection. Don''t take it lightly the degree of protectiveness that my kin will provide for her. If they hear she has been wronged, Asgard will go to war."


    "You won''t need to. If anyone dares to hurt her, I would have destroyed them before you could make a move."


    Odin let out a snort ofughter. "But I was talking about that other girl of yours. She went around healing quite a few of us while you were out of it."


    "Artoria." I nodded. "She would do that."


    "Speaking of when I was out, what happened?" I looked up to the sky and the God''s Investiture List was noticeably gone.


    "At first, we reorganized as best as we could in case our enemies that remained wanted to take the opportunity to attack while we were weakened, but what you did scared them off enough that we didn''t suffer an attack. After about a day, we decided to slowly loosen our guards and with how weary and tired everyone was, we decided to throw the party you walked into." He briefly exined.


    "And the List?"


    Odin pursed his lips. "I honestly still find it hard to believe what happened and the bullshit you pulled off. But that List, and I am well aware of its origins, no longer exists. It began to crumble yesterday, and the World Tree swept it up and.ate it?"


    Hmm, it probably wanted to use the remnants as a basis for how to proceed forward. A tiny wisp of the Heavenly Dao must have been inside of it, enough for Yggdrasil to sort of.learn? To understand how to act as the Will of the Nine Realms.


    At least that''s my initial thought.


    "Nyx paid me a visit, basically told me I made a lot of noise, but nothing overly concerning."


    "I am way too fucking tired to acknowledge half of that to the degree it deserves." Odin let out a sigh. "The Skele boy is going to be pissed."


    "Nyx said he was." I let out my own sigh. "Speaking of our Titan friends"


    "They''re behaving." Odin went straight to the point. "Hyperion is pulling the sun properly. And Kronos..he''s up and about, but doing his job. You wanna go see him?"


    I considered it, I really did. "It''s best to leave things how they ended."


    I felt like it would be insulting if I went there. Like rubbing salt in the wound. Atleast, I would give it time if I ever did want to go visit for whatever reason.


    "And our Old Elf?"


    "He''s not one for celebrations like this. Nor was I going to force him to remain in Asgard''s court. He''s fit to be a God, but he''s better left to roam the Nine Realms at his leisure and do what he wants."


    "I hope he''s not pissed at me."


    "Bah, let that old Elf throw a tantrum, there''s no one who wants to willingly die and he didn''t have much longer left as a Mortal anyways." Odin snorted before his expression changed to one of quiet contemtion.


    "Have you seen Baldur?"


    Odin shook his head. "I refused to see him after he left to fulfill his new duty. One-Thousand Years. Then, I will wee him back home myself."


    "Sorry for not being able to do more."


    He bopped me over the head with Gungnir, or rather its walking stick form. "It was already a light sentence, and everyone knows it. He acted not out of maliciousness, but from a dark ce that I should have helped him out of long ago. As for the others.they will get their punishments. Some will return, some will not. We simply have to keep moving forward now that the path is no longer dark."


    "And you should be more concerned about yourself." He continued. "It''s already spread out what happened. No way in Hel that we''re going to be able to keep a lid on everything that happened, especially with the brats that came along."


    I let out a groan. "Yeah, it is what it is. But I have a solution.


    "Oh? What''s that?"


    I took out the jar of the Peach wine. "If I drink enough, the problem will go away."


    "I don''t think it works that way, but I''m more than happy to try along with you." He perked up. "You better be sharing a cup if you''re holding that in front of my face or we''re going to be throwing hands."


    I rolled my eyes and found two sses inside my storage to pour into.


    "Mmm, just from the smell I can tell that''s good stuff. Be careful about giving this to mortals, or do it in very small amounts."


    "Yeah, yeah, I''m not an idiot." I was about to drink my ss, but Odin stopped me.


    I was going to question what he was doing, but he transformed his stick into its spear form and pricked his finger on it, letting drops of his blood fall into his cup as he met my gaze.


    "Are you serious?" I was surprised in all honesty.


    He nodded without a hint of a joking overturn to his mannerisms.


    I took out my own de and pricked my finger, letting my own blood drip into my cup.


    Without a word, we exchanged them and downed them in one go.


    I suppose there were worse things than bing a blood brother to Odin.


    "You''re not going to leave your rabbit as King, are you?" Odin finally asked.


    "Nah, let him do it for a day or so." I said nonchntly. "But I want a portrait of him to hang up alongside the others somewhere where people can see it."


    "Thousands of years from now, people are going to be really damn confused when they learn one of Asgard''s previous Kings was a literal Rabbit."


    "That makes it even funnier." I grinned.


    Odin justughed along as well.


    I could worry about the heavy stuffter, I just needed some time to rx after everything that happened.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: Through the looking ss part 3.


    You know, it''s funny.


    I''ve fought Gods, killed Titans, and stood up to beings such as Surtr when I was not but on myst legs.


    But this  mom holding her sandal up towards me  this frightened me.


    "It''s really  "


    "Sit." Mom told me.


    "Seriously it''s really  "


    "Sit."


    "Yes, Mom." I couldn''t even get a word in.


    Mom just crossed her arms, tapping her finger, menacingly.


    Frankly, the others just stared at me.


    Especially my Alternate self and Venna''s Alternate Daughter.


    "That''s our Grandma!" Takao suddenly blurted out with quite a bit of emotion.


    "That''s my mom!" Rias added.


    "I''m not apologizing." I snorted.


    "Of course your other self would be a deviant." sses Girl rolled her eyes.


    I looked at my other self in pity. "You''re like someone who walks into an ice cream shop, with hundreds of vors avable to you, and you ask for an empty ice cream cone instead."


    "What''s that supposed to mean!?" sses girl''s voice raised slightly.


    "Stop insulting my girlfriend!"


    "Get a better girlfriend!" I shot back.


    Mom decided that deserved another smack upside the head.


    "Wilhelm, stop insulting your other self and Sona. Takao and Sona, stop taking shots at him if you can''t handle anything being said in return." Mom quickly settled everyone down. I may have had something more to say, but another knock at the door had everyone quieting down. "Come in, it''s open." Mom shouted.


    "Sorry for intruding, Miss Shimoda, but Rias and the others left in a hurry and hadn''te back so we just wanted to check in." I recognized the voice as Rias''s Stripper Queen.


    [Oh my God.] Ddraig groaned from within my soul.


    I couldn''t help but have my lips curl upwards.


    "Yeah, sorry miss Shimoda." Another, distinctly male voice followed up.


    It was Ddraig''s alternate Wielder, the one I originally took the Boosted Gear from in my own world.


    They both entered and stopped to stare at me.


    "Hey, Takao, why does that guy look almost exactly like you." Issei Hyoudou raised a finger, pointing at me.


    "Long lost twin brother."


    "He''s not!" My other self denied.


    "My name is Better Takao."


    "That''s not his name!"


    "It really is." I took out my wallet, and tossed my ID onto the table. "See?"


    My Alternate self picked it up first and his eyes widened. "Why does it say ''Better Takao''!" He pped it back onto the table.


    "Let me see that." Mom took it quickly and eyed me suspiciously. "Why does it say that?" She seemed confused.


    "It''s just an illusion." Sona huffed, taking it herself. The nced at me, looking far too smug. "Watch, I''ll break it easily enough."


    I felt her cast her magics and internally shrugged.


    Pride, thy name is Sona.


    She preened like a peacock as she put it back onto the table. "It was simple enough to remove." She dered.


    ".it still says ''Better Takao''." My other self noted.


    Sona froze and looked at it then at me, her smug look fading.


    "Truly, the Magical Genius of a Generator." I deadpanned.


    It was in fact an illusion, one I justyered dozens of times.


    "Shut up!" She grumbled.


    "The next Merlin in the making."


    "It''s just a small trick!" She tried again an the only thing that changed was my picture, that was now giving her the bird.


    "I am awed by your Magical Talent."


    "Wilhelm, stop bullying your Alternate Self''s girlfriend." Mom paused. "And make one morement about throwing up in your mouth and see what happens." She warned.


    I held a hand over my mouth, with my cheeks bulging. "I will spare her feelings and definitely not say how the thought of that makes me nauseous."


    Mom just gave me another smack upside the head.


    "Uh, I''m confused." Issei raised his hand.


    "Meet Takao''s Older and Alternate world self." Mom quickly answered without me getting a word in.


    "Sup." I waved. "I was just about to head out."


    "You were not."


    "I was not." I agreed with my mom immediately. "Mom, it''s not that big of a deal."


    "You''re screwing your Grandma!" She eximed. "That deserves some questions asked at a minimum!"


    "Ayo?" Issei questioned.


    "Ara Ara?" Stripper girl blinked, looking at Rias.


    "Oh my God." Rias jolted even as she said it but otherwise didn''t react.


    "Do you really want to know about my sex life, mom?" I shot back.


    "Stopppppppp" Rias whined.


    "Yes!" She pped the table.


    "Fine!" I mimicked her hitting the table just as hard. "I''m fucking my Grandma, are you happy!"


    "I am conflicted!" She hit the table again. "I want Grandbabies!"


    "I''m trying, mom!"


    "Kill me!" The red head let her head hit the table rather hard.


    "Why is this my life?" My Alternate self covered his face.


    "Miss Shimoda, can we please stop discussing the sexual rtionship between Takao''s deviant self and Rias''s mother." Sona pushed her sses up.


    "I hate you." Rias whined.


    "Why.why out of everyone did you choose Grandma? She would bake me cookies, she would read me stories, she would babysit me"


    "I actually didn''t meet her until recently." I shrugged. "I have no familial emotions attached to her. And besides, she''s the one who seduced me."


    "My mom would not do that!" Rias immediately argued.


    "Literally threw her dress off and offered me sex." I deadpanned. "This was with herpletely knowing that I was her Grandson, by the way. Your mom is the horniest person I''ve ever met in my life."


    Not that I''mining.


    "Stop making up lies!" Rias turned to Mom. "Miss Shimoda, tell your son to stop lying about my mom!"


    "Well." Mom looked away. "Your mom has certain. proclivities."


    "Wah?"


    "I just didn''t think she''d go after her own Grandson." Mom whispered to herself. "I''m going to need to have a very stern talk with her so she knows that Takao is off limits."


    "But what about all the Grandbabies?" I pointed out.


    Mom shuddered and froze.


    "Mom." Takao narrowed his eyes. "Stop considering it."


    "Grandbabies." I whispered again.


    "Don''t listen to him!"


    "Miss Shimoda" Sona joined in.


    "Well, Miss Gremory does have amazing Oppai." Issei put a hand on his chin in deep contemtion.


    "Issei!" Rias whined. "Akeno, shock him!"


    "Oww!" Issei jumped as the Stripper send a small shock his way.


    "Ufufu." She giggled rather darkly.


    "Issei, don''t take his side! You''re supposed to be my best friend." My alternate Self was having the same reaction as Rias apparently, but something else threw me for a loop.


    "Did you say ''best friend?"


    "Yeah?"


    "Jesus, when I thought I couldn''t be more disappointed."


    "What''s that supposed to mean!?" My other self was quick to defend Issei it seems.


    And despite my feelings, I suppose it''s good that he''s willing to stand up for his friends. Maybe I would respect that in any other situation.


    "Really? You want me to list out everything wrong here? Should we talk about the fact that in any other developed first world country that he would either have been arrested or expelled at minimum for the shit he pulls on a daily basis?" Iid out my distaste for the kid.


    "That''s not  " Rias was about to defend him too, but my Mom was quicker on the draw.


    "Exin that." Mom''s mom sense was tingling.


    "Do.you not know?" I was genuinely surprised. "He literally peeps on underaged girls changing every day with his friends." I gestured towards Issei.


    Mom slowly turned towards Issei and the boy stiffened, visible sweat pouring down his face. "I''m going to be speaking with your motherter, Issei."


    "All Oppai deserve to be treasured and loved!" He shouted defiantly.


    "What was that!?" Mom held up her sandal his way.


    "Y-yes Ma''am." Issei just nodded, shrinking his head back.


    "And why am I just now hearing about this. Sona, Rias, Takao." She narrowed her eyes at them.


    "Wellum." Rias mmed up.


    Sona looked away and so too did Takao.


    Well, as Devils Sona and Rias simply don''t think it''s that big of a deal. Not that I''m justifying the behavior, but to them, it''s really just something small and harmless.


    "W-why aren''t you calling out Akeno?" Rias quickly tried to deflect the angry mom stare.


    "Don''t try to wiggle out of the me." Mom wagged her finger. "Besides, Akeno is a sadist, she''s probably thrilled by you throwing her under the bus even now."


    The gradual growing smile on her face basically confirmed it.


    "Anyways, this was a nice talk, it''s gettingte, I should head out." I stood up and a sandal flew past my head.


    "Do you really think that would be enough to distract me?" My mom raised a challenging eyebrow.


    "I had hoped."


    "Sit down."


    "Yes, mom." My butt was glued right back onto the seat.


    "Hey, um" Issei spoke up.


    "Are you going to say something in your defense?" Mom turned her sharp gaze to him.


    "No, umit''s" He scratched his head. "Ddraig wants toe out and say something." Without any other word of warning, the familiar Gauntlet appeared on his arm


    The Green Gem on it lit up. "How long are you going to stay silent?"


    God dammit.


    "I could sense it the moment I walked into the room. Stop hiding and show yourself." The Gauntlet spoke again.


    "Ddraig, what are you talking about?" Issei seemed confused.


    "Hmph, are you scared to show yourself?" Ddraig ignored Issei and continued as everyone else seemed confused as well.


    I felt it within my soul and internally sighed, producing my own Boosted Gear on my arm. Several gasps were enough to understand their surprise at its sudden appearance.


    "[Who''s hiding?]" My Ddraig snorted.


    "You''re the Red Dragon Emperor too?" Rias eximed.


    "Hmph, I guess that''s where your bravadoes from." Sona looked less than enthused.


    "That''s so not fair." My Alternative self pouted.


    "Oh wow, what are the odds that the Boosted Gear ended up with your other self, Takao?" Issei chuckled.


    "Yes, what are the odds." Mom looked at me.


    I may have averted my gaze.


    "How odd to see myself like this." Issei''s Ddraig spoke up again.


    "[Meh, when traveling with the Brat, this doesn''t even register on the top 10 weirdest things I''ve experienced.]" My Ddraig returned.


    "Really?" His other self said in disbelief.


    "[Demons, Gods, Titans, all sorts of fun things.]"I could practically feel Ddraig nod to himself. "[It keeps things interesting atleast. And I''ve gotten to fight a lot of powerful opponents that I would have never had the opportunity to if I was left with your brat.]"


    "Wait, what was that?" Rias was quick to notice what my Ddraig said.


    "Takao Shimoda. Did you steal that from the Issei of your world!?" Mom used my full name out of habit.


    "Did he steal Ddraig from me!?" Issei shouted.


    "I may or may not have acquired the Boosted Gear through dubious means." I coughed into my fist. "Besides, I have a perfectly valid reason for doing so."


    "And what''s that?" My mom asked calmly.


    "Fuck him."


    Mom smacked me again.


    "Y-you bastard!" Issei pointed at me. "Then what about the me over there, he''s never going to fullfill his Harem dream!"


    "So I did a good deed then." I nodded sagely to myself.


    Issei looked like he was about to jump at me, but Rias put a hand up.


    "So if Issei didn''t have the Boosted Gear..did I still recruit him?"


    ".yes." I kept my expression neutral.


    "Huh" Rias just blinked.


    "Oh, then he still has a chance." Issei clenched his fist in solemnity with his alternate self.


    "I thought you couldn''t take out Sacred Gears without killing the user." My Alternate Self pointed out. "Wasn''t that the whole thing with Asia?"


    I rolled my eyes. "Maybe if an amateur or someone ipetent tried to do so. Honestly, you only need a bit of knowledge and experience in manipting souls. Maybe in a few specific cases and certain Sacred Gears like Dimension Lost." That was a whole mess, but the kid who had it already had a death sentence.


    "And how would you have this ''knowledge'' and ''experience''?" Sona snorted.


    "Probably from not fetishizeing the Japanese School system and actually doing something productive with my life." I shot back.


    "I do not Fetishize it!"


    "Correct me if I''m wrong " And Imight be, it''s not like I spend any meaningful time contemting her goals or existence. "But don''t you want to open a Devil School based around Rating Games and use the Japanese School System as the basis?"


    She frowned. "And?"


    "I rest my case."


    "You didn''t say anything!"


    "You truly are a Devil, forcing other Devils into Japanese schooling. I''m honestly impressed. The original Demons could learn a thing or two from you." I gave her my first heartfeltpliment.


    "Don''t mock my dream!" She seethed.


    "I''m not mocking your dream. Honestly, I don''t find anything wrong with helping the less privileged Devils move up in your society. Devil Society is its own parade of fuck ups that I''m thankful I have absolutely nothing to do with it. However, dedicating your time and effort to fix that, in any small way is respectable."


    ".."


    "What?" I looked at her speechlessness.


    "I''m just surprised you said something genuinely nice to me." She pushed her sses up.


    "Well, it would take me literal hours to go over all the stupid decisions you''re making regarding it, and I have neither the time nor energy to do that." I shrugged.


    "And there it is." She scowled.


    "If you''re done flirting, I have a few questions I want to ask." Issei''s Ddraig spoke up.


    Sona scoffed, crossing her arms. "I was certainly not flirting with him."


    "Yeah, what she said." My other self-defending her as well.


    As for me, I leaned over the side of the table and threw up onto the ground.


    After a moment, mom smacked me upside the head again. "Don''t force yourself to throw up just to spite someone."


    "It was an involuntary reaction." I defended myself.


    "Go die." Sona scowled deeper.


    "You''re cleaning that upter, young man." Mom didn''t give any room for argument.


    Well, atleast, I didn''t have the opportunity because a Teleportation Circle lit up not far away.


    Three more people joined rather quickly.


    "Dear!" Mom grew a big smile and threw her arms around a man in particr that I did not wish to say.


    "Meiko." My biological Alternate father wrapped her up in a big hug.


    "And Fia!" Mom greeted the maid just as happily and she returned the greeting with just as much enthusiasm.


    Lastly, Venna was standing behind them waiting her turn as my mom greeted her. "Momma Gremory, we have a lot of things we need to talk about."


    "It sure sounds like it." The Lucifer smiled, sweeping his gaze around the room until itnded on me. In fact, there wasn''t a hint of anger or dislike within it which really made me feel weird. "It''s strange but exciting to see my own boy all grown up like this. Don''t worry, your mom filled us in on the details."


    "wonderful." I forced a thin smile.


    "Look at you, Takao, you grew up into a handsome man." He teased my alternate self, ruffling his hair.


    "Dadstop." My other self huffed.


    I knew it, this was some sort of special hell just designed for me.


    At this point, I had everyone looking my way and I was very much not emotionally capable of handling this on my own at the moment.


    I needed reinforcements.


    And one person in particr came to mind as I created a portal.


    [***]


    A/N


    Part 4 of the omake is up on the p.a.t.r.e.o.n. And part 5 is being written soon.


    Also, next chapter is the PHO interlude, so expect that.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 509: Interlude 36

    Chapter 509: Interlude 36


    Wee to the Supernatural Online Message Boards


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    Topic: Interfaction Party


    In: Boards News  International News  Interfaction Party


    Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on August 7, 2009:


    Your favorite muffin is back! Everyone knows the deal, lots of insr factions, lots of small things, or big things, happening in the remote corners of the world that the majority of us squishy mortals don''t have the slightest clue about. That''s why I do what I do, Reporter Muffin is here to bring you the biggest scroops  or if it''s been slowtely, the smaller scoops  but we got a nice bit here.


    You guys know the deal, I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy. And what I found out from my sources is pretty much what''s been discussed in several ces, so I''d figured I''d verify it along with the happenings.


    Just to confirm for people who don''t have the backing of arge faction to keep up with the recent events, a good handful of powerful factions got together after the incidents regarding the terrorist organization  Khaos Brigade  and joined hands in some manner. Obviously, we have no idea what was talked about behind closed door, even my muffiny hands don''t reach that far. But what do know is pretty juicy as well.


    The Devils hosted a join celebration  Gathering  soiree, or whatever you want to call it. Who''s who of the younger generation was there apparently. And by that, I mean, the talented and the strongest of the younger kids.


    I say younger, but it''s all rtive, I think there were a few pushing thirty. But when the average age including the <em>Gods</em> that attended reaches into the thousands, I guess that''s still considered young.


    And why were the ''young'' kids gathered? Well, from what we''ve been able to tell, the Big Heads didn''t like the idea of other Big Heads stomping around their turf, so they thought it''d be a good idea to get their best new up anders to team up with the authority to cross Faction lines without causing problems.


    Either tobat the Khaos Brigade, or a as a show of continued support across the board. Regardless, If you didn''t get an invitation, then that means you''re a mook! But don''t fret, I also didn''t get an invitation, so you''re sitting here with the majority of us. Just to name off some representations that I could get my hands, we had people from the Celtic Faction, the Hindu Faction, the Norse Faction, The Celestial Bureaucracy, The Greeks, The Devils  obviously since it was hosted in the Underworld, and surprisingly, both the Grigori and the Church all ying nice together. If you want the names of the kids they brought along, well that was a bit harder to get my hands on, and there are plenty of rumors flying around so feel free to discuss it yourselves!


    Andstly, we even have an appearance from Lucifer Jr to add to this chaotic mess.


    And what do I mean by Chaotic mess? Well.


    [Link][Link][Link][Link][Link]


    Those are just <em>some</em> of the pictures and videos floating around. Good thing about having a room full of ''younger people'' is that they apparently record <em>everything</em> going on around them.


    To summarize, Big Heads arrive with their kids, they go discuss stuff in the back and let the kidswork and what have you. Shortly after, they get a surprise visitor from a name that <em>really</em> shouldn''t be around. And if you guessed it was the <em>Titan King  Kronos</em>, then Jesus you must be psychic or crazy, but that is the confirmed person who crashed the party.


    I have more to say, but honestly, it would take up way more space than I would like to really go over everything, but you can find much more information [Here].


    Thoughts, concerns? Because I have quite a few here.


    (Showing Page 1 of 3429)


    Jason_Wu (Verified AI)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Thanks.


    EnglishMuffinMcgruffin


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Jason_Wu


    What the hell, how are you always first?


    UzuRyu (Unverified Dragon)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    I''m slowly working my way through everything, and I just had to stop and ask right away. Did...that woman just confirm herself to be the <em>literal</em> Jeanne D''Arc?


    Unexpected_Magic_Truck


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @UzuRyu


    Yeah, I''m still yback that part of the video I found. So.how many seemingly dead people is that now popping up around Lucifer Jr? Also, should we be questioning why an actual Saint was the date of the son of the Devil in the underworld?


    Edit: To rify because I''m getting messages, obviously I noticed the Church people there, they were the ones harassing Lucifer Jr and the Saintess in the first ce, but obviously they were just as surprised to see her there. And when the actual Archangel Michael is at a loss of her existence, then something funky is up.


    fophis (Verified Tentacle Monster)(No, seriously. Don''t ask.)


    As an expert Magician and respected around all parts of the Magical Community, I say  What the fuck.


    Replied on August 7, 2009:


    @Unexpected_Magic_Truck


    Not part of the Abrahamic Factions, but knowing who they both were, yeah it''s kinda weird. But at the same time, they way they were interacting was pretty damn cute.


    Seras (Verified Shipper)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    I officiallybel this ship  Unholy_X_Union. OR UxU for short.


    I''m going to get a head start on the fanfiction of this.


    Idle_Hands24 (Verified Devil)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    On one hand, I''m proud that the son of Satan is corrupting a literal Saintess (Which I''m still honestly shocked that she''s alive apparently).


    On the other hand, <em>she''s French</em>.


    Thus, I am conflicted.


    Church_Of_Swole (Verified Exorcist)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Are we seriously supposed to believe that one of our most iconic Saintesses just.randomly came back from the dead to go on a Date with the literal son of Satan?


    Rein_Shaker_II (Verified Muppet)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Church_of_Swole


    Nah, It''s obviously fake. You can tell by the way that your Archangels fall over themselves, outright dering that she''s blessed by the literal God of your religion. But it''s prettymon for you lot to ignore the actual teachings of your idols of worship, so believe whatever you want, like you have been doing all these years.


    The_Knees_Bees.


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Rein_Shaker_II (Verified Muppet)


    Ooof, shots fired.


    Pirate_of_the_Moon (Verified Pirate)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Holy shit, Indra and Lucifer Jr were about to throw down. I could <em>taste</em> the tension in the room through the video.


    michaelfriede


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @seras


    Back! Back you vile shipper! Back to the depths of the shipping forums with you!


    Immortal_Penguin (Verified Banned from Club Penguin)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Interster_Taco (Verified Taco)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Heyo, did Lucifer JR just call out Serafall?


    Don''t think a Phoenix Tear is gonna heal those burns.


    AnonymousDevil24


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Interster_Taco


    I was there, and yeah, the temperature dropped like 20 degree for a few seconds. Honestly, I think I was more scared than when Lucifer''s bastard was about to fight Indra.


    On a side note, he isn''t really <em>wrong</em>. Looking at it form another angle, it does seem like a mid-life crisis.


    Secret_MagicalGirl (Verified Mid-life Crisis)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @AnonymousDevil24


    You were there, huh!? You must be someone important then, I would <em>love</em> to know who you are so we can discuss your <em>opinion</em> at length.


    Edit: Who gave me this verification!!!?!???


    Possible_Walrus


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    I like how Lucifer Jr just tossed out that one Devil idiot like he was a sack of potatoes and no one even bat an eye.


    Red_Princess


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Possible_Walrus


    It''s Riser Phenex, <em>no one cares.</em>


    But I was there too, and things got crazy. It''s..ridiculous seeing it in person. I saw him, you know, someone my age, fighting some Gods and stuff on some videos or the pictures, but to <em>feel</em> his power explode out was another thing entirely.


    Honestly, I don''t even know what to say. I thought I was strong for my age, that there weren''t many people stronger than me, then I meet a bunch of people  him included that I don''t think I wouldst even a minute against.


    I can''t even be mad, because if it wasn''t for him, I wouldn''t even have my head anymore.


    Dark_Idiot_God


    Posted on August 7, 2009.


    @Red_Princess


    Holy shit, are you Rias Gremory?


    Tobe (Verified Wamen)


    @Dark_Idiot_God


    Girls don''t use the inte.


    Dark_Idiot_God (Temp Banned)


    [Deleted]


    Edit: [Deleted]


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): How many times do we have to have this talk? <em>Don''t petition users for pictures of their feet</em>. And <em>yes</em> that includes asking users for pictures of their mom''s <em>feet</em>.


    Edit 2: She_Who_Invites (Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): Calling her mom <em>''Better Rias''</em> does not make it okay. I''m increasing your ban to a week.


    Poopin_Backwards


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    We''ve literally just watched a historical moment, and people here are fucking around like the guy asking for feet pics above me. Seriously?


    We''v had a historic gathering between Factions, something never seen in our lifetimes. And not only that, we had a figure lost to Legends and Myths  the Literal Titan King show up to crash the party and fight with Lucifer Jr.


    To keep on the <em>Important topics</em>, let''s talk about that fight or w/e it was between the Titan King and Lucifer Jr.


    X3driz (Verified Magician)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Poopin_Backwards.


    It says a lot when someone named Poopin Backwards is the voice of reason.


    But on a serious note,yeah anyone got insight into what the fuck Kronos and Lucy Jr did? It looks like they were ying a game in the middle of everything?


    Lazyckberry(Verified Dumbass)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    So we have a room full of Gods and other stupidly powerful beings a room over and the Titan King just waltzes in and attempts to kill a bunch of people right under their noses?


    And the one who had to step up was Lucifer Jr, who proimed very openly, that he wasn''t there to support them but merely politely decline their inevitable requests?


    What''s the point if their so utterly ipetent?


    Once_You_Go_ck (Verified Governor General)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Lazyckberry


    Figured I could borate on some of the details. If the name doesn''t give it away, I''m Azazel, Governor General of the Grigori. I like to keep up with things like this online, so don''t mind me. And while I was there, I was <em>locked outside</em>, forck of a ten paragraph exnation. Essentially, what we could decipher, the Titan King was able to splice off a piece of time around the building so we didn''t notice until a bit of time already passed inside.


    Understandably, it was something we couldn''t entirely predict as Godly Powers based around time are far and few between. And most of us had no idea that the Titan King was even <em>alive</em> at that point in time as a certain few people who won''t be mentioned kept that secret to themselves.


    But yeah, big thanks to Lucifer Jr, honestly we owe him there for protecting the kids. It didn''t look like Kronos was wanting to brawl really, but he took pot shots at kids that had no way to defend themselves even from his casual attacks.


    As for the little ''game'' they yed, I mulled over it a bit myself. And it looks like Kronos opened up a small world with its own defined rules based around the participant''s own acknowledgement serving as affirmation of what is allowed and what is not allowed.


    I.e. Those miniature versions of themselves could only work based on what the two fighting could actually do, which was supported by Godly bullshit to facilitate the whole thing.


    As for the actual details, that''s a <em>whole other matter</em>.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 10,293 , 10,294, 10,295


    (Showing Page 1227 of 10295)


    Nicks_Uncaged


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    All I''m saying is that it''s fucking stupid to think that a kid barely active for a year now was fighting <em>Kronos</em> on equal ground. You know, the Titan king, the dude that took the Big Greek Godsbined effort to dethrone?


    Soup (Verified Magician)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Enthusiastic_Melon.


    I''mte to the party, are we talking about the Magic that Lucifer Jr used at the end that force the Titan King to retreat? I recognize the Norse Runes, but there were <em>a lot</em> of Magic Circles there and tons of concepts I couldn''t understand at a nce.


    If I didn''t read one incorrectly, I think one of them targeted the soul?


    Enthusiastic_Melon


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Soup


    That aligns with my own interpretations. However, there are various Runes that I could not understand nor do I have a reference for. I have seem them before in the past, but I paid them no heed at the time.


    [Link][Link][Link]


    My calctions are having problems trying to decipher them.


    soup


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Enthusiastic_Melon


    I think I''ve seen those before? I feel like I''ve seen Odin use them once in the past when I had the honor of witnessing him give a lesson Rune Magic.


    I tried drawing them myself just now, but nothing happened.


    Udaeus.


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Lucifer Jr has Lady Gremorye in and stick her tongue down his throat right in the middle of everything after the fight.


    Based.


    @Red_Princess.


    Is this what your Gremory family means when you say that you treat your family well?


    21_And_Still_Hits


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    So, Ares is a simp, huh?


    Well, I can''t really me him either. Scthach gives off the heavy <em>step on me mommy</em> vibes.


    emis


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @21_And_Still_Hits


    Agreed.


    I would ask her to step on me.


    Red_Princess (Verified Gremory)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Udaeus


    That''s not what we mean!


    Faithful_Follower83 (Verified Priest)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    I''ve been having a crisis of faith recently with the Church willingly epting an alliance with both the Fallen and the Devils but..for some reason, seeing the Saintess as she was, I felt at peace.


    We have the Saintess of Orleans friendly with the Son of Satan. And there wasn''t a hint of animosity or dislike between them. It''s like their respective origins, their beliefs, and their races didn''t matter in the slightest.


    If our revered Saintess can be friends with a Devil and be happy as she was, then what was I even upset about?


    As Archangel Uriel said, my spear will be sharpened and ready, but I''m not going to be going out looking for fights anymore.


    I''ll follow the lead of our incarnated Saintess.


    Edit: I was confused about something and I asked others, is she still a Saintess if she''s alive? I thought Saints and Saintess'' could only be ordained after their deaths?


    Edit 2: I decided it doesn''t matter, in my heart, she is a Saintess and I wish to follow her lead for now on.


    Hiding_My_Acorn (Verified Troll) (Verified Highest Infraction amount)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Red_Princess.


    How''s it feel knowing that your nephew is banging your mom? What''s your brother''s take on it?


    Lucifer Jr: <em>You fucked my mom, it''s only fair that I fuck yours!</em>


    Am I close? I can''t wait for the chaos when she gets pregnant. Are you going to call the kid your niece/nephew, or your bother/sister?


    Enquiring minds need to know!


    @Indra''s_Faithful


    Hey, it''s a valid question<em>, did Indra get a new pair of sse</em>s<em>?</em> Though, I can imagine he keeps a good stock of them so he doesn''t have to visit the douchey sses store everytime he gets his ass handed to him by a kid barely in his twenties.


    You can take your time to respond, I know it must be hard to respond to everyment when you''re busy sucking Indra''s dick all the time.


    Maybe he should just call Shiva to save him sooner?


    @Phanx_Phallus


    It''s literally the <em>definition</em> of a simp.


    Face it, Ares is a Simp and Lucifer Jr called it like it was. Even <em>Zues</em> was embarrassed by him. Think about that for a second, the God that likes to turn into a Swan to fuck girls was <em>embarrassed</em> by Ares simping after someone elses'' girl.


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Verified Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): You are dangerously close to getting another Ban. Since you haven''t received a warning <em>this week</em>, I will reward your seemingly outstanding behavior in your specific case and make this your only warning.


    Cypher


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    So, uh, what about the whole special team thing by the younger guys? What''s happening about that?


    MenaceWithAPineCone


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Cypher


    Do you really care?


    Cypher


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @MenaceWithAPineCone


    You know, now that you actually pointed it out, I really don''t.


    Seras (Verified Shipper) (Banned)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    [Deleted]


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Verified Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): This is neither the time nor the ce to post your <em>explicit</em> fanfiction, even if it involves the topic of discussion. Three day ban.


    Melon_Overlord (Verified Magician)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Just saw everything and jeez, talk about Devil Nepotism. The majority of the Devils there are absolute trash and only got to be in the limelight, so to speak, because they hosted things down there. That one Devil got literally tossed out the window and couldn''t do shit.


    On a side note, I''m contracted with a Pir family, not going to name any names. But my ''master'' was throwing a lot of shade at Lucifer for dropping the ball on his bastard like this.


    LandLord


    Replied on April 3, 2009:


    @Melon_Overlord


    Not much of a secret. I even joined the Lucifer Jr Fanclub, and yes it''s <em>actually</em> named that. There are several forums that follow what he does and everything. Lots of us are pissed that our prestigious leaders kicked away one of the strongest Devils in existence. I''m not one to jump blindly on the ''strength'' wanking aspect of our society, but even I feel like it was utterly idiotic how the son of Lucifer has no ties with the Devil faction in anyways.


    You know, other than plowing Lucifer''s mom. Which, seeing Lady Gremory, honestly can''t me him there.


    I would also call her mommy if given the chance.


    Seekvaira_Agares (Verified Agares)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    I was made aware of this topic if discussion and I wished to express my thanks towards Wilhelm Schweinorg at behest of the Agares family. While I was not targeted by the Titan in his indiscriminate attack, a close friend of mine was and he moved to protect her without a motive ofpensation.


    I was present at the party, but I did not desire to overly mingle as I was going to participate in the cross-faction team and instead focused on my personal pursuits. However, I was able to witness what urred and I can only express my praise for the man who is but a few years younger than myself and has far less in terms of time and resources to reach the heights he currently sits.


    As many people know, my family trait resolves around the maniption of <em>Time</em>. I can say without a shred of embarrassment, that I am far inferior to the Titan and have learned a substantial amount from the short battle. However, I can provide a small amount of insight into what I witnessed.


    The Titan was able to attack from multiple elongated Time-Streams. As Mr. Schweinorg so aptly described, you can think of them like strings. These ''Time-Strings'' were let loose as they flew through the air(Time) and the Titan merely had to press his weapon against one of them, and it would <em>carry</em> the edge of his weapon to the designated point.


    I cannot express howplicated and delicate such an expression of abilities this requires, yet Mr. Schweinorg was able to not only <em>deflect</em> these attacks, but protect everyone else that were the targets. I was not aware of what urred until it already happened, and I would like to emphasize again that my family''s trait it Time.


    To continue would require me to spend possibly hours deciphering and articting what happenings. Suffice to say, it was a phenomenal disy of both skill and knowledge that allowed Mr. Schweinorg to best the Titan King at his own Game.


    My own thoughts now are on why such a powerful Devil  Half-Devil or not  is not part of our faction.


    ChurchGirl48


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Xenovia, was that you there!!!?


    I can''t believe that was actually Jeanne D''Arc!!!


    Did anyone else see that Holy Light she called out for? I don''t doubt for a second that she''s a Saintess, she''s truly blessed by our lord!


    CM_ (Verified Magician)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Anyone know what he meant by Ether? I see some references to it, but it''s not really something I can find much information about.


    He had a spell named ''Ether Cannon''?


    Fire_And_Ice


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Cm_


    To put it bluntly, Ether is an element notmonly spoken about. You have your basics, Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, etc. And then you get into the more umon ones, Lightning, Ice etc. Ether is <em>imaginary</em> forck of a better term. In that, it''s not something material in the same you can point to Ice, Fire, Lightning to picture. You can consider it the between and the former state of anyposite Element. Frankly, it''s not used for anything meaningful on the front, but<em> Lucifer Jr</em> is correct in that it is a phenomenon not discovered until recently, that being within thest couple thousand years. Debate is that it didn''t exist until around this time period. In fact, on the rear end, it makes up the basis of the standardized Human Magical System that merlin created, though he did not include the phenomenon in detail, only citing the existence of the ''artificial'' Magic that he discovered and incorporated into copying the ability of Devils.


    CM_ (Verified Magician)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Fire_And_Ice


    Thanks for taking the time to give me this information! You sure are knowledgeable.


    Fire_And_ICe


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @CM_


    It''s a small matter. Magical discourse is one of my hobbies and few reasons I even waste my time with this whole forums thing.


    Other than watching buffoons ruin carefullyid out ns, it seems.


    Morgan.Morgan_377


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    So we have the Titan King joined up with the Khaos Brigade from what he talked about? And it sounds like they were the ones who sprung him from his prison.


    How much power does the Khaos Brigade actually have if they can jailbreak <em>Kronos</em>, then pull off something like this right under the noses of so many Faction Heads?


    AmethystEspeon


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    So, uh, Lucifer JR fought Kronos and arguably won. Granted, it was obvious they were ying around, but where exactly does Lucifer Jr stand now? He fought Indra, he fought Susanoo, and even Nuwa who appeared seemed to be respectful to him.


    Should we be updating the Top 10 list?


    dondondon


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @AmethystEspeon


    God, don''t start this crap again. Every time the ''top 10'' is mentioned it turns into a Versus argument. We don''t even know how strong Kronos is so just leave it for now.


    Dalivan_The_Mailman (Banned)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    [Deleted]


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Verified Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): I understand that Kronos is mutually disliked and a ''criminal'' by all ounts, but threatening to mail people Pipebombs is <em>still</em> against our terms of use, for what good they would do against him. 24 hour ban.


    Edit 2: She_Who_Invites (Verified Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): Exining that they''re <em>magical Pipebombs</em> is not a valid argument against your temporary ban.


    Edit 3: She_Who_Invites (Verified Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): <em>Threatening</em> to mail me pipebombs is also not a method of overturning your ban as well. <em>One Week ban</em>.


    Eineus


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Red_Princess.


    Swiggity swooty, Lucifer Junior getting that big Mama Gremory booty.


    Red_Princess


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    For the love of the Satans, will people please stop tagging me when they''re talking about my mom!


    Eineus


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Red_Princess


    No.


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Verified Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): Yes, or I''m going to start banning.


    Little_Bird (Verified Devil)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Wow, he tore apart The Gremory Heiress'' peerage. Honestly, I didn''t realize how much of an utter cock up her peerage was. And she''s the sister of the Lucifer? Why exactly are we supposed to bend over backwards for these fuck ups again?


    FangsforBrains (Verified Devil)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Little_Bird


    Wee to reality, where it''s almost entirely nepotism running Devil Society. Do you think they''re <em>really</em> better than the rest of us? No, it''s because they get handed their peerages on a silver tter. They don''t even have to do anything to get Evil Pieces as literal children. I had to <em>prove</em> I was High-ss by taking some stupid tests and showing my strength. Little Miss Princess over there was handed everything she wanted.


    And I''m not just shooting the shit here, I looked into it. Her queen the so called ''Lightning Queen'' or whatever stupid title they pped on her to make her seem better than she is, was ''found'' after she ''just so happened'' to be kicked out of her family. She''s a half-Fallen member of a prestigious Onmyoji Family in Japan. Her Rook was slotted to be executed for helping her sister kill their king and other peerage members. Bullshit situation from what I read up on it, but she ''just so happened'' to be spared her fate and ''just so happened'' to end up in the peerage of Lucifer''s little sister. You know, the Nekoshou, one of the most rare and powerful Youkai species in existence. Then you have her Knight and her Bishop, <em>both</em> of which have powerful Sacred Gear that she ''just so happened'' to stumble upon.


    I don''t doubt she can throw around her <em>Power of Destruction</em> and destroy shit on a big scale, but she''s a freaking child with a machine gun when everyone else is given rocks. Nothing of hers is earned, and anyone else in her situation would have <em>excelled</em>.


    Her Nephew didn''t get shit, and look at him. A yearter and he eclipses her in every facet.


    Just proof that everything is about who you know and where you''re born in our Society.


    If you want further proof, look at that trash Riser that got tossed out the window.


    Rising_Of_The_Phenex (Verified Devil) (Banned)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    [Deleted]


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Verified Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): This stepped far over the line in what is eptable, have a Five Year ban.


    Little_Druid_Big_Stick (Verified Druid)


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    Holy shit, a Five Year Ban? I didn''t even see what he said and I''ve never seen anyone get banned for that long.


    What did he do?


    Seahorse_Jousting


    Posted on August 7, 2009


    @Little_Druid_Big_Stick


    Uh, he talked some shit about Lucifer Jr? Honestly, I don''t really understand why he got banned that long either.


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Verified Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): Don''t question Moderator decisions.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 1293 , 1294, 1295


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    Threads you have replied to AND Threads that have new replies OR private message conversations with new replies Thread OP is disyed Last ten messages in private message history. Threads and private messages are ordered by user custom preference.


    Topic: The Apocalypse is Cancelled!


    In: Boards News  International News The Apocalypse is Cancelled!


    Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    You heard it here folks, the Apocalypse is Cancelled!


    And jokes aside, apparently Ragnark happened, was happening, <em>had been happening</em> for some time, and everyone was just now finding that out.


    To rify, I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy and apparently, Ragnark had been averted by the skin of the teeth of those up in the Norse parts of the world. We just learned that Ragnark, through some unverified means, had been triggered <em>centuries</em> ago and was somehow put on hold. But apparently, Loki kickstarted it in full not only a few days prior and all hell broke loose.


    Edit: Lucifer Jr confirmed to be there along with other unidentified people.


    Edit 2: Lucifer Jr kills Kronos! I got a heads up from a friend after the dust settled, Lucifer JR killed Kronos! First reported Godly Death from a Longinus User killing a God!


    Edit 3: Surtr Defeated? My information is sketchy but apparently The Fire Giant was defeated by abined effort of a blue girl and everyone else?


    Edit 4: Blue Girl''s name is <em>Jinn</em>. It''s the women who has appeared at the side of Lucifer Jr various times and one of his Harem members.


    Edit 5: Achilles, Atnta, Sasaki Kojiro are there too?


    Edit 6: Lucifer Jr bes the King of Asgard and does some shit I have no idea what''s happening anymore, I''m done with updates and throwing my hands up.


    Edit 7: Onest update, here are some pictures, some short video clips and everything I could get my hands on. [Link][Link][Link][Link] [Link][Link][Link][Link] [Link][Link][Link][Link] [Link][Link][Link][Link] [Link][Link][Link][Link] [Link][Link][Link][Link]


    (Showing Page 1 of 15,848)


    Jason_Wu (Verified AI)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Thanks.


    Soup


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    WTF.


    Michaelfriede


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Soup


    My thoughts exactly.


    Edit: Did someone drop fucking meteors on the giant dog?


    Chocte_Macaroon


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Why is the sun missing?


    Floppy_Tengu


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Chocte_Macaroon


    Isn''t one of Fenrir''s sons suppose to eat it in the myths?


    Chocte_Macaroon


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Floppy_Tengu


    Like, <em>literally</em>?


    Landlord


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Going over some of the pictures and various videos. Did that blue chick just square up against motherfucking <em>Surtr</em> and be like ''Come at me, bro'' then proceed to hand him his molten ass?


    SirBigBoy


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    I know a Valkyrie, we used to date. I got some info from her after the dust apparently settled and yeah things got fucking crazy and even she''s confused at what''s happened.


    Something about a ''God''s Investiture List''? Anyone got any idea about that? It''s apparently sitting over Asgard and it turned a bunch of people into Gods while punishing everyone who betrayed or went against Asgard.


    fophis (Verified Tentacle Monster)(No, seriously. Don''t ask.)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @SirBigBoy


    You mean likethe Chinese thing from the story?


    Edit: Holy shit, he <em>does</em> mean the fucking God''s Investiture List from the story. The thing apparently used by the Jade Emperor to punish and assign Gods to the Heavenly Court. How the hell did that end up in Asgard!?


    Contract_With_A_Devil (Verified Magician)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Oh my that is some <em>magnificent</em> magic being tossed around. Especially thatst bit I glimpsed at the end. I can''t even begin to contemte how the young Schweinorg went about creating an image of Yggdrasil that was so vibrant and life-like.


    Tobe (Verified Wamen)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Surtr: Destroys most of Asgard, smacks away Thor, tosses around Asgardian Gods like naughty children.


    Blue girl: Nah, I''d win.


    Respect for blue girl. She just overwhelmed him sheer fucking amount of Magic and held him off. And then whatever she did at the end?


    Contract_With_A_Devil (Verified Magician)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Tobe


    I am also quite curious about thatst spell she pulled off. As for her barrage of spells she released, it appears those scrolls she showed each contained a singr spell. An interesting conferment of spell casting, to contain the spell sequence and Magic required to cast within a parchment. Something I will most certainly have to look into.


    However, thatst spell of hers was something <em>spectacr</em>.


    If you look closely at the picture  as blurry as it is  you see that the Fire Giant was <em>unable</em> to heal at all from the damage. Something actively prevented him from healing even naturally.


    Something that can do that to a being of such stature is not normal by any means.


    Once_You_Go_ck (Verified Governor General)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Hooded_One


    Old man, wtf is going on over there? Are the kids okay? We literally can''t reach over at the moment. We''re going to be heading over and this was thest ditch effort.


    Great_Daoist_Silver_Moon


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Where did this Mortal acquire the sacred list? Surely it should be in possession of the Heavenly Courts?


    Chosen_One5


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    God damn, that looked fucking intense. Even the still pictures showed how ruthless the fight was. No one walked away without being covered in blood there.


    Just_A_Mongoose548


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Can someone TLDR what''s going on because I''m super confused. There''s fighting, then the big fuck-off tree starts burning, then Lucifer Jr wags his finger at everyone and things are settled?


    Dark_Idiot_God


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Normally, I would point out theck of shoes on the blue girl. Maybe even direct people to send simr pics to my email [Redacted]. Or hit me up on [Redacted] or [Redacted], and my [Redacted] and [Redacted] for pics. But damn, nothing but respect for me at the moment.


    Blue Girl stood up when no one else could and told Surtr <em>no</em>.


    How Strong is Surtr? The way he fought not just Thor, but <em>all</em> of those people is insane. He has to be atleast in the top end of the Top 10. Jesus christ, even at the end there, a swing of his sword was destroying Asgard.


    Edit: She_Who_invites (Verified moderator) (Verified Not Izanami): Only a warning this time and redacting your shameless plugs.


    Red_Princess (Verified Gremory)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    What the hell is happening over there? Did Wilhelm be the King of Asgard!?


    I_Like_Swords


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Uh.anyone else notice the horns and tail on Wilhelm?


    True_Leviathan


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    What!?


    Why does that mongrel have the touch of the Great Mother and Lucifer on him! Only the Great Old Demons have proper Horns and Tails!


    Undercover_Monkey


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Hmm, seems like there''s going to be some annoying things to deal with soon.


    I recognize the spell from the Young Man''s fight with Lord Indra previously. There was glimpses of a veryrge Spell Formation under the waves that was dismissed as others arrived. The spell that summoned forth a copy of the World Tree seems to be the conclusion.


    Any spell that brings about such a phenomenon is not something to take lightly.


    And some people out East are going to be kicking up a fuss about that List being used. Last I heard, Nuwa picked it up and threw it into her treasure house a few hundred years ago.


    Though from the look of things, it took a bit of effort on the Young Man''s part to get it to activate, which is a feat in of itself.


    SPG (Verified Magician)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Undercover_Monkey


    What do you mean? I sorta understand the significance of the List, I know the vaguest details about the history and everything. But wouldn''t he just use it normally like it was before?


    CM_ (Verified Magician)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    I''m still wondering what the hell is even happening. Like, I read the words in the OP, I understood what they mean individually, but when put together, I''m still wondering <em>what the hell</em>.


    Undercover_Monkey


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @SPG


    Well, to answer your question, it was used up. It served its purpose and lost its original power. Frankly, it wasn''t even worth anything other than for its historical of cultural value, like a painting or a sculpture. The fact that it <em>somehow</em> activated means that certain criteria not only was met, but he did <em>something </em>to reignite the original intent which is something very impressive. Frankly, I don''t know what he could have done to do so off the top of my head.


    Regardless, the God''s Investiture List was activated for a second time,and put to use.


    Rein_Shaker_II


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Someone just uploaded a whole bunch more shit!


    [Link][Link][Link]


    Like, really close in videos of what was happening.


    First one Odin and Lucifer Jr apparently barely holding of Surtr before Blue Girles and saves them.


    Also, whos'' that guy wielding Gram? I recognized the sword easily, but I don''t know who it is and he''s using that same voice magic as Lucifer Junior. And he''s riding a Dragon, which is metal as fuck.


    Secret_MagicalGirl (Verified Mid-life Crisis)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Dammit you big red bastard! When I get my hands on you, I''m going to strangle you for being such a gigantic idiot! We could have had <em>them</em> with us forever!


    Husky_Magician (Verified husky)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Rein_Shaker_II


    Jesus Christ, Surtr just took everything they threw at him <em>and kept going</em>. And what the fuck was up with that Golden Acorn that the Giant Squirrel threw at him?


    Trap_Card (Verified Recluse)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Uh, why did people suddenly be Gods?


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    XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Why is no one listening to me!? Obviously, he''s using things from outside our world, otherwise how could you exin the God''s Investiture List activating like it did? Those scrolls, those bows, why has no one heard of them before until now?


    We should be concerned with the other things he''s brought with him, who knows what he has!


    40_04


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @XxVoid_SamuraixX


    Okay void, whatever you say.


    Just_A_Muffin (Original Poster) (Verified Muffin) (Veteran Member)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    I don''t usually post in my own OP, but god damn, just looked over the new shit and it''s insane. Where would Surtr even rank at this point? Easily top 10 I''d imagine.


    But regardless, we have a bunch of new things appearing.


    The named <em>Achilles</em>, as in the actual Greek Hero, appeared and use his shield to protect Asgard. And from what Surtr dered, his shield somehow contained a ''world?'' whatever that means.


    We have Atnta too, who looks like a cat girl for some reason, but those bow skills are nothing tough about.


    And Sasaki Kojiro as well, and if his sword skills are anything to go by, I don''t think we can question him either.


    SendMeToTheMoon


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    What the fuck are those bows? One of them looked like it was made of light, and the other shadows,and did you see how Surtr fucking <em>panicked</em>? Why have I never heard about those things until now?


    AmethystEspeon


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @SendMeToTheMoon


    Same, I''m looking through wikis and stuff and I can''t find any mention of where thosee from.


    Fists_Over_Bloodline (Verified Devil)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    I was there! Along with myrades, we fought an epic battle against a Jotun Lord! We barely managed to y the mighty Giant even while this significant battle happened nearby. Truly a shame, but there was not much we could do.


    Red_Princess


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    No seriously, how is he just.able to make people into Gods? Like he pointed at the Elf, the blue girl, the Squirrel, the Deer and the Bird and now they''re ''just Gods''?


    MelonOverlord


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Red_Princess


    Seriously, how many times do I have to say it, it''s the God''s Investiture List, it''s literally made to turn people into Gods.


    Red_Princess


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @MelonOverlord


    But that doesn''t make sense!


    Dubios_But_Legit_Rumor_Mill


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    So Lucifer Jr is a confirmed God yer now? I mean, we already knew beforehand, but to hear it happen in the open is another thing.


    Jesus, what a fuster cluck.


    And Damn, Loki got fucked over. Couldn''t happen to a worse person, but holy shit was that metal as hell. Make a note everything, <em>don''t fuck with Lucifer Jr''s woman</em>.


    So, Lucifer JR top 10 powerhouse now?


    Youngest to be up there, how hold is he, 20 something?


    Enthusiastic_Melon


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Contract_With_A_Devil


    I''m running my calctions but they''re turning up weirdly.


    From what I''ve been able to grasp, the spell to summon that mirror of Yggdrasil is made up of not just Runes from the Norse, but parts of Eastern Magic, and Demonic Power to facilitate the working rtionship between the two Magic System. Along with the Runes I can''t analyze, for some reason. But otherwise, just the sequence itself is rather ingenious in how it operates.


    Hellhound_The_Chaotic_Magical_Girl (Verified Magical Girl)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Damn Loki got it.


    Arms, legs, eye, Tongue. He lost his Magic and Divinity?


    Is that even a thing, is he able to take away a God''s Divinity on a whim?


    Standard_Kitsune


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    "What''s that scroll thing that the blue girl used to steal that gigantic fire sword?


    I_Cast_Gun


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Standard_Kitsune.


    I don''t know, but it gave me a headache to even look at in the video.


    Standard_Kitsune


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @I_Cast_Gun


    Oh good, it wasn''t only me.


    War_And_Death


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    That Scroll had the distinct aura of Time about it. Whatever it was, it had enough power in it to not only seal away that Sword capable of killing gods on swing, but also the Fire Giant himself. A ridiculous feat that the fact that I''ve never heard of such a thing until now is <em>concerning </em>as it is unlikely.


    But it was a wonderful battle and I felt my blood pumping even from here.


    Half_Fish_Top_Part


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    All hail our new Blue Goddess of Magic, knowledge, and Homestead? Seems like a weirdbination considering thest one, but it also sounds kinda nice. Frankly, from the few clips we were able to dredge up, she seems like a nice person with how she spoke to the Fire Giant.


    Voltic_Ranger


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Does this mean Lucifer Jr is a God now too? Like, he''s King of Asgard, and he turned others into Gods?


    trudny1


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Is no one going to talk about the literal resurrected heroes that keep popping up around him? Like, do we even have a list at this point?


    Minamoto-no-Raikou, Scthach, Mozart, Jeanne D''Arc, Sasaki Kojiro, Achilles, Atnta.


    Anyone else seeing the pattern? This is something I think we should be concerned about!


    Jessy_004


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @trudny1


    You''re wee to go as the <em>King of Asgard</em> yourself.


    Wrath_of_God5747


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    A heathen giving birth to sphemous Gods! That blue abomination should be destroyed before it can pollute the world further with its presence and lead thembs away from the rightful God.


    Ride_Of_The_Valkyries95


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Wrath_of_God5747


    Goddess Jinn has the love and admiration of <em>everyone</em> of Asgard. Anyone who dares to raise a hand to her will bring down the wrath of Asgard upon them.


    <em>So says the All-Father</em>.


    If it isn''t clear, you fuck with Goddess Jinn, The Great God Odin said that it''s open season.


    Wrath_of_God5747 (Banned)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    [Deleted]


    Edit: She_Who_Invites (Verified Moderator) (Verified Not Izanami) Enjoy your 20 year ban.


    War_And_Death


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    The way she fought the Fire Giant, it makes my hands itchy.


    Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @War_And_Death


    Goddess Jinn is <em>untouchable</em>, boy.


    War_And_Death


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Hooded_One


    Noted.


    IkoG


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Anyone elseugh when the Light Titan just like picked up his toys and went home after Surtr told him to fuck off?


    A_White_Dragon


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Figures that the bastard would steal all the spotlight. Don''t mind us, we were just over there fighting in the war happening and stopping the armies from getting inside.


    SharkNado_ButonFire


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Damn, looking at the info that got posted, Baldur betrayed them?


    Shit, that must sting.


    Also, did Kronos get resurrected? What was that about?


    Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @sharkNado_ButOnFire


    A Titan is immortal but a punishment must be carried out. Regted down to a Spirit with Divine nature, he will watch over the Seasons of the Nine Realm for 5,000 years as per his punishment.


    Basilisk (Verified Magician)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    So big doggy nommed the sun, then Lucifer Jr threw the Light Titan back up into the sky and fixed it.


    Even by our standard, that sounds ridiculous.


    Once_You_Go_ck (Verified Governor General)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Hooded_One


    How did you guys heal the Tree? Honestly, it should have been on itsst legs after getting hit that bad by Surtr. But not only did you settle everything, but somehow the kid healed the tree?


    Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    A string of coincidences and Miracles.


    Once_You_Go_ck (Verified Governor General)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    So Ragnark was averted then.


    Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @One_You_Go_ck


    Fuck if I know.


    Once_You_Go_ck (Verified Governor General)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Hooded_One


    What the hell is that supposed to mean? It''s an easy yes or no question!


    Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @One_You_Go_ck


    I stopped understanding what was happening awhile ago.


    MelonOverlord


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Just rewatched some parts and picked up a couple things. Hel and Jormungandr apparently helping Asgard? Aren''t they supposed to be enemies of Asgard?


    Possible_Walrus


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @MelonOverlord


    Yeah, even they go MVP mode there at the end. Goddess Hel tries to hold him back and Jormungandr gets ripped in half.


    Shows how powerful Surtr is when he tears apart one of the strongest Dragons in the world.


    Hooded_One (Verified Pervert)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Hel and Jormungandr are friends of Asgard, now and forever.


    ArcaneToilet (Verified Magician)


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    What spell was that big ck box thing? Like that was a full chant I couldn''t make heads or tails of, but god damn it <em>wounded</em> Surtr of all things! He was definitely chanting in Japanese, and I was only able too trante part of it.


    Damn, I want that spell! If anyone has any ideas, please DM me!


    Orange_Pineapple


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @ArcaneToilet


    I''ll trante it fully for you, give or take.


    <em>The Crest of Turbidity, seeping out. An insolent vessel of Madness. Boiling up, denying, numbness, blinking, obstructing slumber. The Steel Princess who creeps. The mud doll, ever disintegrating. Unit. Oppose. Filling the earth, know your own powerlessness. Way of Destruction #90, ck Coffin</em>.


    Some of it can be interpreted slightly differently. But there appears to be Buddhist overtones form what I was able to gleam, so no idea what''s going on there.


    9_Lives


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    I want his baby.


    Dark_Idiot_God


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @9_Lives


    Which one?


    9_Lives


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    @Dark_Idiot_God


    I''m not picky.


    Mother_Dragon


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    Was that Ddraig that took the form of Nhggr? I thought it wouldn''t be possible for the Great Welsh to escape the confines of his Sacred Gear, but apparently, he was able to temporarily leave through some Magical Means.


    Interesting, I will have to see this for myself.


    Bored_Devil


    Posted on September 20, 2009


    What a splendid disy.


    Not only did he somehow inherit the original aspect of Devilhood with his Horns and Tail, but he demonstrates what it truly means to be a Devil.


    Simply doing what he wants and forcing everyone else to follow along. How amusing that I find one of the closest examples of True Devilhood when used to <em>save</em> Asgard from destruction. A contradiction yet not so, for who is allowed to tell a proper Devil what they are and are not allowed to do?


    A bit rough around the edges, but perhaps he merely needs a guiding hand to show him how to achieve his full potential.


    Trickster, your sacrifice will be remembered, and you have my genuine thanks for this show you put on.


    End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 15,895, 15,896, 15,897


    @***@


    A/N


    Just finished Part 5 of the Looking ss omake over on p.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 510:

    Chapter 510:


    Serafall POV


    I gathered my ice into my hand, sculpting and building it.


    "Serafall."


    It became long and cylindrical. I gave it a good swing before adding more ice onto it, making it bigger.


    "Serafall."


    At this point, it was about twice as big as I was.


    Needed to be bigger.


    "Serafall."


    More ice.


    I wanted it to be about the size of a small house as I waved it around.


    Perfect!


    "Serafall!"


    "Huh, did you say something Sirzechs?" I turned to look at my fellow Satan.


    ".are you going to hit me with your club?" He asked.


    "Don''t be silly." I reassured him.


    ".alright, I just thought  "


    "It''s not a club!"


    ".pardon?"


    "It''s an enema!"


    ".."


    "<em>Get over here, Sirzechs</em>."


    "Uh.Ajuka?" He looked towards our other fellow Satan.


    "Yeah, in a minute." Ajuka didn''t even look up from his phone, obviously caught up in whatever it was he was looking at.


    "The entire Norse Faction, Sirzechs!"


    "Serafall, I get it"


    "Sirzechs!" I mmed the not a club into the ground next to him. "<em>The Entire Norse Faction would forever have been our allies</em>. <em>Do you understand what I''m saying?"</em>


    "I get it, it would have been great for us, for you."


    "Ignoring the <em>political ramifications of having the Norse Faction as our undeniable allies, you''re forgetting everything else</em>." I turned to Ajuka. "Smelly Ajuka, how beneficial would it be to have Asgard in our back pockets?"


    "Don''t call me that." He said emotionlessly. "Preliminary calctions, based on this simtion, showed an overall growth of Devil Poption by 17% over the next three years. It''s estimated that we would have an increase in High-ss level devils by 12%, and an increase in Ultimate ss Devils by 2%. These are the conservative numbers."


    "How "


    "The entirety of the Norse Realms would have been open to recruitment. Not only that, but their entire Magical Systems would be avable for mass distribution along with actual and willing teachers and tutors in <em>high numbers</em>. We would have been able to open Magic Schools and hire Valkyries, Elves, and any number of individuals among their number to teach. Over the next Century, our Faction would have had a<em> significant</em> increase in strength." Ajuka didn''t even pull his head up from his phone as he exined. "That is assuming we didn''t end up absorbing them in part or entirely considering the damage they sustained. Many likely would have sought refuge in Hell even if they did not be devils."


    "And that''s not even considering the economic booms we would have received. Imports from the Norse ount for 6% of our spending, that would have not only been reduced significantly, but we would have been able to increase the unique resources we received from them at a pittance." I added in as well. "Baldy could tell you more, <em>if he was here</em>."


    "You know why he''s not here, Serafall." Ajuka grunted.


    "You know, it''s funny. People are actually starting to wonder if Falbium even exists. And it''s not even wild conspiracy theorists, there is legitimate evidence that rational people were throwing around online that actually almost convinced me that he wasn''t real either." I plopped my pert tushy on my own giant icicle that was now stuck in the ground.


    Ajuka looked up from his phone. "Huh."


    "Wait, really?" Sirzechs blinked.


    I shrugged. "Think about it, we''re only the ones that ever appear in public."


    Red frowned and conceded that. "It can''t really be helped, his powers are entirely defensive based. He''s basically a fortress in and of himself, and it''s not worth the hassle to get him to move all the time. He''s been sitting at the border with the Fallen territory acting as a deterrent since the whole fiasco with Kokabiel."


    Honestly, I think he developed his powers that way just so he could ck off. His Absolute Defense lived up to its name, something that even Red over there would have trouble getting through. But once Baldy actually dug in and became immobile, his defense increased by several fold to the point that Red would not be able to break it without serious effort and time. And it grew to epass <em>huge</em> areas when he''s fully deployed.


    Normally, he''s set up in the middle of our biggest city and home of our families, but the issue at the time demanded certain responses.


    The only downside was that it took time for him to ''set up'' on a location, and it''s annoying to constantly move him around.


    Either way, his status as a Satan was earned, just not something easily movable nor visible.


    "And to top it all off, this whole thing interrupted my yuri-yuri bonding time with Sona!"


    "So that''s what you''re actually mad about." Red rolled his eyes. "You can sexually harass your sister any time, Serafall."


    "Hey, it''s not sexual harassment if it''s voluntary!" Sure, she offered it as a ''price'' for certain favors in return that I normally wouldn''t be able to do because of political crap.


    Of course I would do any favors she asked normally even ignoring that kind of thing. It''s not like anyone would find out if I didn''t run my mouth. But hey, I''m not going to say no to special kissing and touching time with my Sona.


    Ajuka put his phone away and stood up. "I have an appointment soon, can we get to the point of this meeting?"


    "Fine." I wanted to get back to Sona too. "Once again, we''re going to have to talk about Lucifer Jr. Wait, what are you even looking at?


    "Why does everyone insist on calling him that?" Red sighed.


    "Because it''s funny and urate." I pointed out. "Regardless, Little Red did a big thing up in Asgard. And now, the Gods there are without a doubt in his corner so we need to be extra careful when dealing with him." Even more so than before.


    Dealing with a kid with too much power in his hands was one thing, even if he could fight <em>Indra</em> as ridiculous as that was.


    But an entire Faction behind him that had Gods that matched or surpassed Red, well, that was a whole other can of worms.


    "To answer your question, I was looking over the magic employed during the events of the Asgardian Battle. It has caused quite a stir within the Magicalmunity about certain things documented. The new arisen Goddess of Magic disyed a very interesting means of Spell deployment, as well as utilizing a spell that was able to wound a being such as Surtr and not heal. Likewise, Sirzechs'' Bastard deployed a Spell that also wounded the Fire Giant by means which I can''t seem to properly trante. And a secondary spell which somehow replicated the image of Yggdrasil by means which I don''t yet fully understand."


    "Well okay then." I''d leave all the magical techo-babble to him. It wasn''t really up my alley. All I know was that it''s seriously impressive and lots of people were going crazy over the stuff that was shown.


    "What do you anticipate will be the immediate repercussions? Do you think our trade agreements will be cut due to our current rtions to.him." Red asked a surprisingly good question.


    "No." I shook my head. "Vidar knows how to keep personal and political matters separate. However, we can expect a sharp decline in our imports considering the fact that Asgard is barely standing at the moment. I suggest we provide some relief to get on their good side."


    Red pursed his lips. "Our coffers aren''t exactly overflowing."


    Ajuka held his hands up, Magic Circles swirled as he performed Calctions that only he knew. "Let''s create a new trade agreement in regards to food-stuffs from them and cut down on Wheat and Grain imports we''re receiving from the Americas and Central Europe."


    "Since when is the Norse an Agricultural Powerhouse?" I furrowed my brow.


    "Since Sirzechs'' Bastard Killed the Titan King then bound him to facilitate the Seasons and Harvests of the Norse Realms." Ajuka said rather bluntly.


    "Right.that."


    "We will be making a loss, but it won''t be significant. I assume the good will is worth it?" He looked my way.


    "Yeah, get me the numberster and I''ll swing something." Better than my original n anyways. "Righto, so Lucifer Jr stocks are through the roof, publicly confirmed God-Killer now. That''s been making the rounds everywhere."


    "It was only a matter of time." Ajuka said simply. "Not only that, but it seems he''s recognized as one of the top powerhouses of the world from what I''ve gathered in my free time."


    "Oh jeez, do you seriously go on those ''Top 10'' argument Forums in your free time?" I couldn''t help but snort.


    "They''re a valid way to gather information about public perception." He defended himself.


    Yeah, his job was to monitor the Devil Det, but I could tell when he was lying out his ass. I wouldn''t be surprised if he gets into heated arguments with people online about his rankings.


    Actually, now that I think about it, I think the publicly most agreed upon list was <em>by his hand</em>.


    "In that same vein, are we going to do anything about the growing dissension regarding the fact that Lucifer Jr isn''t part of our faction?" I breathed out, looking at Big Red.


    "How bad is it?" He asked.


    "Manageable, but it''s growing by the day. He has his own fan club, and quite a big following despite not being active within the circles. I have no doubt that the Old Satan Faction is actively fanning the mes as well to make it worse. And I believe that Zekram is also helping build up your Bastard." Ajuka stated. "I suspect it has something to do with the features that he exhibited in the pictures and videos taken from the fights."


    "You mean the fact that he had Horns and a Tail and other featureslike our Ancestors?" I asked.


    "Yes." Ajuka nodded. "I am unsure of <em>how</em>. Not even the Zekram inherited those traits. They''re something only given to the firstwell, our predecessors and no other Devils. It''s only serving to further intensify the praise and worship being built up."


    Big Red, tapped his finger against his arm. "Squashing it will just make it explode more. Divert attention away from him and onto the team that was sent over to Asgard. Sairaorg was representing us in Asgard, I heard he fought a Giant along with that other Half Devil of Azazel''s..prop them up on our end that they defeated a God-level opponent."


    I tilted my head and couldn''t find an argument against what he said. "We need to make a showing soon, to remind everyone why we''re the Satans. Maybe we should inquire  <em>politely</em> about the origins of his Demonic Features?" Because if there was a way to ''unlock'' that sort of thingit would be arge boon for us if we could get our hands on it.


    "That''s..probably not a good idea for now." Red winced. "The dinner didn''t go as well as I had hoped."


    ".how bad was it?" I closed my eyes and calmed myself.


    "Not as bad as it could have been, but not good." He shook his head. "I think we reached..a mutual understanding, however." He smiled wryly. "Grayfia gave me advice that I should just stay in myne and out of his way. Maybe there might be a situation in the future where something can happen, but for now, I''m going to follow her advice."


    "Ajuka, quick go check with Michael to see if Big G returned, because I think I just witnessed a miracle!"


    "Dammit Serafall" Big Red sighed.


    "Either that or Momma Gremory is pulling extra duty riding your Bastard."


    I don''t think I''d ever get tired of making that joke. Honestly, I don''t get why he''s so prude about it. If his Bastard wanted to rail my mom for the good of the Devil Faction, she would happily spread her legs with my support. The fact that Mamma Gremory and him were rted just made it spicier.


    "Why are you like this?" He face palmed.


    "Because you''re 30% of my current problems and I have no other avenue to release my stress right now because it''s someone''s fault I''m not having Yuri-Yuri time with Sona!"


    Ajuka tapped on his phone a few more times. "Azazel is trying to get a full meeting with us and Michael together to go over what happened."


    I don''t me him, this was going to have far reaching consequences and we''re still trying to pick apart what actually happened.


    Honestly, the reports and evidence were insane and my head was spinning at thest bit.


    Apparently Sirzechs'' Bastard became King of Asgard for all of one day?


    And then he made a bunch of new Gods, one of which was in his Harem and <em>fought mother freaking Surtr</em> to a standstill for a while.


    I let out a long sigh. "Lucifer Jr killing Kronos, bing King of Asgard, the whole thing with making Gods, and now Asgard is in his corner. Yeah, it''s safe to say we <em>need</em> to get on the same page with both of them so we don''t fumble a coordinated response." I looked at Red. "Especially because of him."


    "Hey, I didn''t do anything! Don''t assume I''m going to be the cause of all our problems either!" He quickly defended himself.


    "She''s right, but I assume she is speaking about your Rook in particr." Ajuka rified.


    Red frowned. "Junior was being more mncholic the past couple days than normal. I thought something was wrong, and frankly, I don''t even know if he realizes why he was feeling this way. But after finding out everything, it makes sense."


    It''s still ridiculous to think about how Red had a literal Clone of Surtr as his Rook.


    Just..the amount of bullshit that culminated into that happening was so stupid it made it hard to fully contemte.


    The Norse Gods had the bright idea of <em>making a clone</em> of Surtr to fight the original, or siphon his strength or something like that.


    I''m not exactly privy on the details, but it apparently worked in some way. Though the Clone was much weaker than the Original, it''s still utterly God ss in power and strength.


    After confirming it as a failure, they kicked it out and no one  not even the original Surtr wanted anything to do with it. Frankly, no other Faction wanted that hot potato either. For one, they would then be on the bad side of the Norse because, well, it''s <em>Surtr</em> regardless of it being a clone. As well as no other Godly Faction wanting a being that''s literally meant to bring about the end of the Pantheon.


    Red had the bright idea to turn him into a Devil!


    Actually, it was rather smart. By bing a Devil, his connection to the Norse was all but severed with how tenuous it was, and we gained a very powerful ally under our banner. Sure, Odin kicked up a fuss, but that was about it considering that they were the ones who threw him out and there was no reason for them to stay angry.


    Overall, it was a big score for us.


    So now we have our own little Surtr Jr.


    "I can foresee that the Norse may look at us cautiously despite the fact that Junior wasn''t associated with the Norse any longer." Red looked thoughtful. "But that just means we have to use this opportunity to smooth over any bad blood and help them while they need help."


    "Right, let''s get something on the books then." I waved my hand. "Ajuka tell him to get Michael''s agreement, then we can set a time and ce."


    "Got it."


    "Let''s talk about the other important piece of news." I felt myself already scowling. "Rizevim appeared in public for the first time in a very long time. And he visited Old Man Bael."


    As much as Red''s Bastard was a headache inducing mess to consider along with what was happening in the Norse Realms, our immediate concern was our own messes to clean up.


    And the Original Lucifer''s Super Devil Son was right at the top of that list.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "You are taking advantage of me."


    I looked at Izzy. "I''m hurt and tired, I can barely stand, I need support."


    "Yes, I''m sure that''s why your arm is wrapped around me." She rolled her eyes.


    "Alright, I''m taking advantage of you." I fully admitted.


    She pursed her lips and poked my cheek. "You''re not supposed to admit it."


    "I just want to be close to my Izzy." I smiled.


    ".idiot." She huffed. "Do you intend to stay longer?"


    Realistically, I should be leaving soon before I get pulled into any more things. I made sure to get all my stuff back safe and sound. They needed to rebuild, and I didn''t want people to assume that I was.getting involved in all that. Odin was my blood brother now, I''m friends with Asgard, and Jinn is literally a God of Asgard, but we are not <em>of Asgard</em>.


    They needed to deal with their own matters in their own way. Odin understood this, which was why he didn''t say anything. But I didn''t want others to start speaking up about us being involved as I had already rocked the boat pretty hard. While it had been to save them, once the euphoria of the world not ending wore off, some would look back at it with wounded pride of having an outsider solve their problem.


    "I want to go talk to a few people before heading out. Honestly, I''m on my feet, but I really shouldn''t be right now. I don''t feel like turning on my Circuits either because I feel like they''re going to burn me from the inside out. My Soul..actually, is it possible for mySoul to be sore? Because I''m fairly sure it is. And even if my body physically is healed thanks to Avalon, I still feel everything that happened."


    "It seems you will be too tired to receive the reward I promised then."


    "Wow, I suddenly feel so much better!"


    Izzy rolled her eyes again. "It is open ended. Please do not push yourself."


    "Can I take advantage of you just a smidge more.?" I held my hand up with two fingers slightly apart from one another.


    "You are the most audacious person I''ve ever met to so tantly ask someone like that." She let out a breath. "But I suppose as a merciful Goddess, I will <em>allow</em> you to do so."


    I leaned in and put a hand gently on her cheek so she was facing me and I imed her lips. I didn''t care who was watching at the moment as I took her in for a deep kiss.


    "Hmph." She pursed her lips once we broke apart. "Far too bold."


    "Well, Izzy is my woman, how am I supposed to hold back after not seeing you for so long?"


    "It''s been a few mere days."


    "An agonizing eternity for me."


    "Oh stop." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, but there was the faintest red hue she was trying her best to hide. "Behave yourself or I will call Jinn over to scold you."


    I felt my lips twitch upwards. "I feel like that''ll be worse for you. Is she still going around and ordering people around just due to the fact that ''They have to listen to her because she''s a Goddess'' as her argument?''"


    "I would be concerned if she were not abusing her authority for the most wholesome and mundane things." Izzy snorted. "I admit that I was worried her new Godhood would.change her, go to her head, make her arrogant. Rather, she''s just using it as an excuse to behave how she normally does. We will need to have a better talkter once everything is settled down. Suddenly bing a God could not have been a simple matter even for an entity she once was"


    "I know." I nodded in understanding. "Jinn''s safety, and mental health are of utmost concern. As for now.it''s fine, let her have her fun. Everyone is happy to let her run around as she is regardless."


    Everyone here treated her like a literal Goddess. <em>Everyone</em> was aware that she stood up to Surtr and held him off to give everyone a chance. Before Jinn was. insignificant in their eyes, someone not worth mentioning. It was their <em>wrong opinion</em>, but it was the onemonly held, until she went up against one of the strongest monsters this world could produce.


    I think I saw her running around with Thor''s Belt and Gloves earlier too. Which, she could have no way to have gotten unless the Thunder God allowed it.


    It''s hard not to love her.


    "Regardless, let''s go meet your friend! I need to embarrass you."


    "Behave." She huffed.


    "I am behaving. If I wasn''t, do you really think you would be wearing pants right now?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "pervert." She turned away with a renewed sh of red across her cheeks before it disappeared.


    "Seriously, I haven''t gotten to meet Hel yet, and I want to know your friends." I said with genuineness.


    "Welle along then, it will be good to see Hel. My main concern was your wellbeing when I arrived and I barely spoke a few words to make sure she was well. I would feel bad if she was not hanging off your friend since I arrived."


    "Hah, you noticed it too?"


    She gave me a deadpanned look. "I would have to be utterly blind not to notice. Or being your friend, because he seems rather obtuse." She paused. "I think I understand why you both are such good friends now."


    "Hey, I''m not that bad!"


    "At one point, I gave serious thought if I should just take my clothes off in front of you before I confessed to get my point across."


    "Yes, you should have done that." I nodded.


    She rolled her eyes again, and began pulling me towards a certain direction. "Come along, <em>dear</em>."


    It wasn''t particrly difficult to find Hel. Mostly because, I could feel Thorum nearby and his Dragon-like presence


    Well, there was also the big fuck-off dragon that was Jormungandr and Durnehviir. Thetter of whom looked like he was enjoying his bout of freedom, eating many different foods and chatting with therge Serpent.


    I wasn''t going to interrupt them, but Durnheviir seemed to notice me and gave me a look of admiration and thankfulness.


    I would have to tell Meridia that he did a good job and see if he couldn''t get a reward.


    But Thorum was right by as well, and Hel was <em>very close</em>.


    They both noticed right away.


    "My friend!" Thorum came up and greeted me with a big hug. "You seem to be healed?"


    "Physicallymostly." I winced. "But only Izzy can heal my weary soul~"


    "Is that so?" Hel''s tone was filled with amusement as she looked at Izzy. "Do you heal his weary soul, Izanami?"


    Izzy was covering her face with her hand. "Hel, it''s good to see you. Properly, that is. I''m d you are okay."


    Hel''s expression softened. "Thank you, I know you had something to do with it."


    "I just offered some words." Izzy shook her head.


    "She threatened everyone involved if you were hurt." I added.


    Izzy huffed cutely.


    And Hel, well the Goddess of Death looked at Izzy with a big smile. "I can''t wait until we have another get together. You''ll have to bring your <em>man</em> with you."


    "I''m never going to have a break, am I?" She sighed.


    "You know how gossip is among us. You can''t have him iming you as his woman in front of the whole world and have us not talk about it." Helughed. "ButI''m happy that you found someone. You look much happier than I''ve seen in the past centuries."


    Izzy''s mask broke slightly and she smiled beautifully. "I am."


    "And you must be her Boyfriend, huh?" Hel put her hands on her hips, sizing me up. "I can see why she decided to rob the cradle."


    "Oh you bitch." Izzy grumbled. "You wanna talk about robbing the cradle?"


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about" Hel hummed, but the slight blush wasn''t doing her any favors.


    "So, Thorum, you and Hel seem to be getting along well." I found myself smiling. "Oh, right, this should be the first time you and Izzy are meeting in person."


    "It is! But Wilhelm has told me a great many things about you, Lady Izanami!" Thorum had that signature big goofy smile of his.


    "Just as well, Wilhelm speaks very highly of you as well." Izzy was warm and polite in return.


    "Funny enough, Thorum here has been vague on where he''s from. I''m assuming Midgard, possibly the north? But I can''t seem to get a straight answer." Hel looked around.


    "Erm well" Thorum scratched his head awkwardly.


    "Thorum, just say it''s a secret." I hit his shoulder. "If you can''t talk about something due to personal or secretive reasons, it''s better just to be forward about that than stumbling around. Especially for someone who can''t lie to save their lives."


    Izzy looked at Hel. "It''s a sensitive matter."


    "I figured, but I just wanted rification. I''m not so crass like my father that I would do anything to satiate my curiosity." Hel rolled her eyes.


    I felt myself wince. "I''m sorry about your Father."


    "..seriously?" Hel looked at me nkly.


    "I know, it felt just as awkward to say right now as it probably was to hear. But you deserved to hear it in case that I am mistaken about anything." I confessed.


    "..he wasn''t exactly in my good graces."


    "I don''t presume to know the rtionship you had with him. And my own disputes and hate aside, I figured I would err on the side of caution."


    Sometimes, a word of condolences could go a long way. I absolutely despised Loki with every fiber of my being, but I had no idea if he was a good father to her or not. It wasn''t out of pity for Loki that I expressed my condolences, but for Hel.


    Hel seemed to study me for a long while before letting out a sigh. "He wasn''t so bad when I was younger. There were some points where I might have even called him a good father. But those parts died and they were buried in the depths of my heart never to return. I mourn the man my Father was, and could have been. But I have no love for the man that got his rightful punishment." She let out a long breath before her gentle smile returned. "But thank you, I appreciate the gesture."


    I fumbled around in my ring, pulling out a Kaleidophone. "I wasn''t able to reward you with anything at the time, there were limitations, some of them being that you were already a Goddess. However, I can personally give you something I think you would like."


    "A phone?" She questioned.


    "It''sspecial. You''ll be able to talk to Thorum with this one in particr." I exined.


    After sitting on the Throne of Asgard and everything that happened during my tenure on the Throne, I was able to see Yggdrasil in its entirety. Yggdrasil epassed <em>everything</em> here. Its invisible roots and branches literally surrounded the entirety of the Nine Realms.


    We were <em>inside</em> Yggdrasil at every point in time regardless of where we stood within the Nine Realms.


    It''s no wonder my Magic was acting up. And I assumed this was the case in some capacity before, and with Izzy''s exnation, but to see it for myself.it''s like trying to get cell reception in a lead lined sealed room.


    However, my time being able to see everything did allow me to understand how to adjust for such a thing. It wouldn''t be too much of a hassle in the future. And Yggdrasil itself wouldn''t try to move to ''block'' me or my Magic in any case anymore.


    I think it linked my Magic ''feeling'' to me now.


    "I see." Her eyes lit up with clear understanding. "<em>Thank you</em>."


    I nodded, and cast a very quick and subtle spell to project my voice slightly to only her. "Word of advice, be extremely blunt. Also, he already has a girlfriend, but that may not be a barrier, but that is between you and them."


    Hel blinked and looked at me then at Thorum.


    She didn''t say anything, obviously she noticed the small act of magic, but her look expressed all the thanks she wanted to say.


    Everything else between them was their own business and I wouldn''t meddle.


    "Why don''t we go have some <em>girl talk</em>." Izzy suggested.


    Hel just silently nodded because it seemed like she had a lot of things she wanted to ask.


    Thorum just stared at them then at me. "Did something happen?"


    I pat his shoulder. "Don''t worry about it."


    "Alright." He smiled.


    I perked up because I saw someone else I knew and he noticed too because he happily came strolling over.


    "Wilhelm!" Sairaorg greeted me happily.


    "Hey Sairaorg." I smiled.


    He reached his hand out and I happily took it. "I''m d you''re doing well. You were in rough shape there, but that''s to be expected, you fought a hard battle!"


    "Well, we managed to pull through."


    He nodded. "And who is this?"


    "Hello, I''m Thorum, Wilhelm''s friend!"


    "Hey, I''m Sairaorg, his Cousin!"


    Jesus, there''s two of them.


    "You were the one with the dragon?" Sairaorg asked.


    "Aye, that''s Durnehviir, he is a mightypanion to have to battle with. What manner of battle did you fight? To be a cousin of my friend, you must be a fearsome warrior as well!"


    Sairaorgughed somewhat bashfully. "Hahaha, well, I hope so. I don''t have much more than my own fists, but we were able to fight one of those powerful Jotuns. With help from my friends, we were able to defeat it."


    "That is a feat worthy of a story!" Thorumughed along with him. "Those Giants are powerful, to fight and defeat one with the aid of yourrades, you are mighty indeed!"


    And just like that, they''re best friends.


    "One of the Warlords from Jotunheim, right?"


    "That''s what I heard." Sai nodded. "If not for Vali and Bikou along with the othersI would not be confident in winning even with Regulus'' help. I was able to finally achieve Bnce Breaker during the fight and we somehow beat him."


    "Congrattions, that''s not an easy thing to do." I was sincere in my praise. "Most people go their whole lives without achieving Bnce Breaker."


    "Haha, well I can''tpare to you, <em>yet</em>." He pped my shoulder, which actually hurt in my current state. "I will catch up soon!


    I smiled then looked at Thorum. "And you, don''t think I didn''t notice you manipting <em>time</em> with your shout. We''re going to have to y around with thatter."


    "Aye, it was a surprise I wished to show in a duel with you, but s, the situation was dire." Thorum sighed.


    "And I appreciate you helping. Don''t worry, it''s powerful and I''m not sure how I''m going to even counter it just yet."


    Sairaorg perked up. "Why don''t we fight?"


    Thorum''s eyes widened. "Yes, that will be quite the battle!"


    Seriously, there''s really two of them.


    But fuck, I wanted to join in but my body would probably cry if I even tried.


    "Hey Sairaorg, where''s everyone else?"


    "Hmm? Oh, they''re busy with their stuff. A lot of them had to check in with their Factions and report what happened."


    "And you don''t?" I tilted my head.


    He shrugged.


    Right, fuck it then.


    Well, who cared. And who''s gonna give him shit? He along with the others fought a God-level opponent. I can''t say it was even on the level of Susanoo, but God-level is still God-level.


    "I''ll probably be heading out soon too. Do you n on sticking around?"


    Sairaorg shook his head. "I was just waiting until everything was settled. Regulus wanted to sit around for a couple of days too andze around since we were getting good treatment. He worked hard so I didn''t wanna tell him no."


    Well, azy cat is gonna be azy cat.


    As for me.with a quick look inside my ring, I looked at the Scythe that was weighing a bit on me right now, figuratively speaking.


    It was then that I had the realization that I had no idea <em>where</em> Rhea actually was.


    And in particr, I knew exactly one Greek Deity that could answer that question. I just wasn''t too keen on meeting Hades when I knew he was probably pissed at me. And that''s not something I could put off, I would have to do that before heading back home.


    Maybe I should bring someone to act as a shield?


    Odin would work, but he''s probably needed here at the moment.


    .Ratatoskr?


    Actually, where is that squirrel?


    "Have you guys seen Ratatoskr?"


    "Nay." Thorum shook his head.


    "The Squirrel?" Sairaorg asked.


    "That''s the one."


    Sairaorg actually blushed and coughed. "He..has not left his room along with Lady Freyja."


    ".."


    "You can check for yourself..erm..you only need to go <em>near their room to hear</em>."


    "Respect."


    Thorum nodded and even Sairaorg followed suit.


    Speaking of furry animals, I felt Sir Wiggles approaching quickly.


    He zipped through the air and I caught the King of Asgard happily. His little crown was still on his head.


    Quickly, Lady Wiggles alsonded on my shoulder.


    Oddly, Sir Wiggles was acting strange, he kept nudging me and sending me strange feelings through our Familiar link.


    Like.usually I can decipher them, but he felt anxious and excited. He kept nudging me towards Lady Wiggles until I looked at her, tilting my head and picked her up.


    I felt a bump on her little tummy and my eyes widened in realization.


    "You''re Pregnant!?"


    [***]<strong></strong>


    A/N<strong></strong>


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    Fifth part of the Looking ss omake is up on P a tr e o n, Sixth part should be up in the next few days as well.

 Chapter 511:

    Chapter 511:


    "Thanks foring with me."


    "Do you really think I would leave this for you to deal with on your own?" Izzy nced at me.


    I shrugged. "Probably not, but I just wanted you to know that I appreciate you." I finished with a smile.


    Surprisingly, she grabbed my hand, taking it in hers. "Something weighs on you?"


    "Other than everything?" I responded with a hint of sarcasm.


    She lightly nudged me. "You know what I''m talking about."


    "I feel a little bad about leaving while they have to clean up their mess." I admitted.


    "You realize that they were thrilled to have a mess to clean up, right?" Izzy looked at me. "You have done <em>far more</em> than what would be expected of you considering the circumstances. They are no fools, Wilhelm. Despite what they project, their attitudes, and their <em>preferences</em>, they are Gods that are older than most civilizations in the world. They are aware of what you want and they are happy to not push anymore responsibilities onto your te. Besides, they have their own pride too. As thankful as they are, and trust me they are <em>extremely thankful</em>, you are barely an adult by human standards, and you seeded where they would have failed."


    "Logically, I understand. Emotionally, I feel like I just left a huge mess in their arms and walked away."


    "That''s because you''re a good person." She leaned over and kissed my cheek.


    I pursed my lips. "I''m incredibly selfish and greedy."


    "So?"


    "What do you mean, so?"


    "Why do those things stop you from being a good person?"


    "Vengeful." I added. "Lustful. Prideful. Lots more that I could keep adding."


    "What''s gotten into you?" She stopped in her tracks, forcing me to stop along with her.


    My immediate reaction was to deny the issue but I relented. "Mus Tengai said something to me before. I didn''t have time to think about it, but now that the adrenaline wore off and that my mind isn''t racing or we''re in danger.I''ve been thinking about it and it''s been bothering me."


    "What did your spirit say to you?"


    "He asked me if it was worth losing over 700 years of my lifespan for people I don''t know, and for a conflict I had no stakes in."


    "I wouldn''t call it a significant number. For someone like me, it isn''t particrly relevant. Even for Devils, I believe it''s said that a newborn Devil can expect to live at a minimum of 10,000 years or so if nothing changes? But you are far from ordinary."


    "I know, rtively speaking, it''s not very long in terms of my entire lifespan considering the future." I put a hand on my chest. "My Dragon Heart for one will have some effect on that. Bing a Campione as well has increased it significantly. My Spiritual Power has an effect on my overall lifespan to a certain degree. My Aura has a slight boon to it as well."


    "However, you''re barely into your twenties. That''s nearing 35 times the life you''ve currently lived. It''s not wrong to be contemting such a thing in your shoes."


    "But I couldn''t answer his question when he asked." I admitted. "I still don''t know the right answer. What does that say about me?"


    She put a gentle hand on my cheek. "That just says you''re human." She said with the most kind and gentle smile.


    I don''t know why,but I felt something weird inside of me.


    Under my Divinity, under my Draconic nature, under my Aura, my Spiritual Powers, my Magic, and even under my Devilhood.


    I think I forgot. With all the changes I''ve gone through, the world stage I stepped on, the opponents I fight, the conflicts I''m involved with. There''s one truth I''ve held onto since the beginning, even if it fell to the back of my mind in recent times.


    I couldn''t help but smile in return. "I guess I forgot, that at my core, I''m still human."


    As if something clicked, I felt something stir within my soul. I unconsciously looked inward and my ''eyes''nded upon the Golden Acorn that the World Tree gave me for my services rendered.


    It vibrated in ce and ever so slightly, it cracked.


    And the tiniest speck of green peeked out, greeting the world.


    "Is something wrong?" Izzy looked at me in concern. "You just went nk for a moment."


    "Sorry, I just turned my sight inwards. I''m good." I felt a lot of exhaustion sort of wash off me. "Thank you for reminding me, I don''t want to forget my roots and it''s easy to lose my perspective with everything that''s been happening."


    She leaned over and kissed my cheek again. "Any of us would have done so. The you that has a human heart is the man we''ve all fallen for."


    I wanted to jump into my soul and figure out what was happening, but since Mus Tengai didn''t speak up, it was safe to assume that there was nothing bad happening.


    I had something important to do at the moment, so I would shelve that for when I had free timeter.


    Which, I was going to have a lot of free time in the foreseeable future because I <em>deserve</em> a vacation.


    Both Izzy and I stepped onto the sands beyond the River Styx and immediately I felt the weight of the Underworld bear down on me.


    "Hades, stop being rude." Izzy said casually.


    The weight then receded quickly and listening very closely, I believe I heard the chastisement of Persephone.


    The ground shook and the familiar form of a three-headed dog trotted over, tongues hanging out of its mouths as it looked at us excitedly.


    "Hello Cerberus, have you been a good boy?" Izzy was quick to give him lots of pats on the snoot.


    Cerberus barked, and nearly sent a tidal wave down the River Styx.


    I was about to do something to fix it, thinking that was perhaps not a good thing, but the ''waves'' upon it unnaturally came to the still and abated.


    Gradually my head turned to see a certain ck haired petite girl sitting on the edge of the river, her bare feet resting within it.


    Nyx simply sat there, not even bothering to look our way.


    Cerberus looked her way, but paid her no heed. Instead all three of his heads looked at me and he fell to the ground, letting out a low whine in my direction.


    I <em>think</em> I knew what he wanted?


    I called upon the wiggliest of Rabbits and let my Familiare out to y. Cerberus immediately started bouncing around, causing the ground to rumble in his happiness.


    Sir Wigglesnded on his head and it seemed like they were silentlymunicating before Cerberus looked at me again and Sir Wigglesnded on my head this time.


    I let Lady Wiggles out to join them.


    Cerberus, curiously, did not show that same energy as before. Rather, the Three headed Dog was <em>very</em> calm and seemingly polite as Lady Wiggles greeted the Divine Beast and him in turn.


    She slowly floated up tond upon Cerberus'' head and my Familiar joined her. The Three Headed Dog just trotted off with a strange gentleness to it.


    "Well, that just happened." Izzy deadpanned.


    I shrugged.


    "Hades, are you going to greet us, or should we go home?" Izzy threw her hands up on her hips.


    A very disgruntled grumble echoed out as the God stepped through the shadows, standing in front of him. He had his arms crossed and frowning with a cheerful Persephone by his side.


    "Hello Izanami, how are you?" The Goddess greeted her.


    "I''m doing well, Persephone. As much as I can be." Izzy said casually, apparently ignoring the grump God next to her object of conversation. "After Wilhelm''s <em>adventure</em>, I''m debating on if I should chain him up in Yomi so he doesn''t get into trouble any longer."


    "You can borrow some of our chains if you want." Persephone''s lips curled.


    "<em>Dear</em>." Hades''s voice was <em>oddly</em> high as he swung her head to her.


    "Oh stop being a prude, they probably assume we do much worse than things like that." The Goddess rolled her eyes.


    "I''m more than aware that my brother has ruined any semnce of reputation for us in that department, but It''s the principal of the issue." Hades pointed out.


    "I wasn''t going to judge you for what Zeus gets up to." I decided to interject.


    Hades looked at me and let out a sigh. "Oddly, that is more kind to hear than you could imagine." Hades held his hand up. "Let us continue this in private." He paused and looked towards the River Styx. "Lady Nyx, you have been much more active in recent times."


    "There have been much more interesting things happening in recent times." She said emotionlessly, not even bothering to turn around.


    Hades politely nodded her way and snapped his fingers, bringing us all to the secret room we used before.


    Simply a stone chamber with a table and seats inside. However, it was so heavily guarded, that I was silently pondering how difficult it would be to escape even with my Magic.


    I guess after Nyx''s previous warning, Hades took things more seriously.


    Without wasting time, I took out the Scythe I received from Kronos and set it on the table.


    Hades didn''t speak, rather he lifted his hand to pick it up. He ran a hand down its edge and wooden handle. "I have not seen this since it was turned against me during our rebellion. It disappeared very quickly afterwards."


    He let out a sigh, putting it back down on the table. "My father...did he fight well?"


    "It was the best fight I''ve ever had." I admitted with full genuineness.


    "Good, that''s good." Hades had aplicated look on his face. "I would be angry if he lost without putting forth his best and being a bigger shame than he was before."


    He said that, but I could tell there were other emotions hiding underneath.


    "I''m sorry for what I had to do, but I''m not apologizing for doing it." I jumped straight to the meat of the issue.


    Hades'' aura red up for a moment before settling down. "Devils, always so infuriating. You had no right."


    "He invaded the Nine Realms, and I was the acting King of Asgard, <em>I had all the right</em>."


    "He should be imprisoned here!"


    "He broke free once."


    "With outside help!"


    "And look at that, Loki initiated Ragnark, <em>using his outside help as well</em>."


    "He should have been handed over after his defeat." Hades frowned.


    "Tell that to Yggdrasil. He did something that couldn''t be ignored, and the World Tree demanded punishment."


    "the World Tree?" He said quietly.


    I took out the Box and set it on the table for them to see.


    Both Persephone and Hades nearly reeled back at the baleful Aura. "Why do you have <em>that</em>?"


    "Kronos and Hyperion were, <em>presumably</em>, under Loki''s orders to use Nhggr as a vector to infect Yggdrasil with that thing." I pointed to the box. "As you can clearly see, it''s Pandora''s Box."


    Hades let out another tired sigh, rubbing his eyes. "Dammit Zeus, why didn''t you notice this was stolen from right under your nose!?"


    "Odin''s rightfully angry, you know."


    "As he should be." Hades admitted. "The All-Father is many things, but he is practical. I assume he left you to express his annoyance for this particr situation."


    I nodded. "He''s not going to hold it over your head. Odin isn''t an idiot.most of the time. Obviously no fault can be thrown at your feet, and it''s even minimal for Zeus. Every side was yed heavily by them, we''re just trying to pick up the pieces as we try and catch up."


    "That Box gives off a disgusting Aura and it angers every fiber of my being that it simply exists." Hades scowled looking at it further. "What do you intend to do with it?"


    "I haven''t figured it out. I was going to ask Pandora for her thoughts."


    Hades groaned. "I forgot that you are her.adoptive son." His words were carefully chosen. "Keep it on you for now, I trust no one with it for the feeling it''s giving me."


    "Nyx made ament about it reminding her of something bad."


    "Of course." Hades groaned. "I will attempt to investigate, but don''t expect much."


    "Not to team up, but that''s not the end of it, Hades." Izzy spoke up. "Hel was chained by her Father using the same Chains that were used to tie up Zeus to his throne."


    At this point, I had a feeling that Hades was going to teleport up to Olympus and start a brawl with his brother.


    "This is valuable information, thank you. When next I go up to discuss what happened in the Norse Realms and Zeus inevitably throws his tantrum regarding our father, I will reveal this to him and it should make him paranoid enough to be quiet."


    And the fact that if he tried anything Odin and them just have to point to that and ask them for an exnation.


    Frankly, there wasn''t much ground for the Greek Gods to stand on.


    But that hasn''t always stopped them in the past.


    "Is Hel alright?" Hades finally asked.


    Persephone happily squeezed his hand. "I was worried about her too after hearing the brief report on what happened."


    "She is doing well enough." Izzy nodded. "I''m sure you can imagine what she''s experiencing right now considering it was her father."


    Hades didn''t need to reply to that, the look on his face said it all. "Are you presenting my Father''s Scythe as a gesture of good will?"


    "Sorry, that isn''t for you."


    "By your tone, it doesn''t sound like you are keeping it. Admittedly, I am not shameless enough to demand it as you are the one who defeated him. What are you intentions?"


    "I promised him that I would give it to your mother with a message."


    Hades became quiet and contemtive. "Very well, I will show you where she is living after we finish. I will not begrudge an oath you made to my Father."


    "You want a full rundown of what happened?" I asked.


    He put a hand up. "I have the general idea, I will speak with Odinter about the finer details as I have to ask him other questions. I will be making use of our ''alliance'' to get a leg up on my siblings through this so there is no need for you to waste your time. No, I am talking about the <em>other</em> matter we discussed."


    "The matter of the Holy Relics?"


    "Precisely." Hades confirmed. "Withdraw the Spear."


    I didn''t hesitate to put the Spear of Longinus onto the table. It was still wrapped up tightly without much Holy Power leaking out, but its cracks and battered appearance were still obvious.


    Hades put his hand on the table and the shadows swirled around him until a golden crown appeared next to it.


    "The Iron Crown of Lombardy, you found it." I marveled at the sheer Holy Power the thing was radiating. It was almost like I was standing in front of an Archangel. "Did you run into any problems."


    "Funny you mention, <em>problems</em>. It seems that I havepletely cut ties with Khaos Brigade through this action."


    ".what happened?"


    "It was owned by a young women named Meredith Ordinton. A budding Magician born to amoner and a member of the British Royal Family. She was ostracized and they pushed her out. She was distraught and angry at the actions of the Royal Family, which made it easy for a certain <em>entity</em> to possess her in some capacity. It seemed that it was not apleted Possess as I was able to separate the <em>Entity</em> and the human. But if it had urred even monthster, there would have been far more issues."


    "Who?"


    "Aka Manah, a Godly Entity, but more a Demon than a God. It is subordinate to Angra Mainyu." Hades stated.


    I felt myself fill with disgust as the name Angra Mainyu was spoken. "Did you have any trouble?"


    "Both myself and Thanatos were able to handle it easily. Its strengths do not lie in battle, but subterfuge and maniption. However, killing a God that wishes to flee is no easy task, especially for a cowardly entity like Aka Manah. At this point, I am fairly sure it has revealed what I had done and I will no longer be falsely considered an ''ally'' to the Organization of Evil Gods."


    "It''s unfortunate, but it would have happened eventually."


    Hades shrugged. "It is what it is. They will not outright be hostile to me, but the semnce of trust they seemed to ce in me will now be gone and I wouldn''t be surprised if they attempted to ''test'' me with some matter or another. Frankly, I will weigh how much I can gain by continuing this faade or not."


    I hesitantly reached over and picked up the crown. It did not react violently to me, perhaps because the spear began to <em>tremble</em>.


    Almost like an unconscious movement, I pushed the crown against the spear.


    One of the oldest insignias of the faith. It even contained one of the Holy Nails that were used to pin Jesus to the Cross.


    Holy Power cascaded off in every direction as the wardings around the room fluctuated. The Grown gradually began to be sucked into the Spear until it disappeared entirely.


    The cracks along the spear also began to mend at visible speeds. They lit up in a golden light and like flesh, it was mended back as if it never urred.


    The spear itself shined with a renewed luster and all the bindings I had on it shattered at once, revealing its full glory once more.


    "I do not suggest doing what you did before. I am not sure if providing it with another Relic will <em>restore</em> it if it bes as damaged as it once was." Hades spoke.


    I picked it up, happy to have my Spear back again. "Believe me, I hope to never have to use that again."


    "Come, I will take you to see mother."


    [***]


    Persephone held Izzy back so they could chat for a while, but honestly, I think Hades just didn''t want a ''crowd''.


    I did not expect our destination either.


    Hades teleported us to a quaint little hamlet in New Hampshire, in the United States.


    "America?" I raised a questioning eyebrow.


    Hades, who''s powers fluctuated enough to alter his clothing to something less mboyant, simply shrugged. "Where do you think people go to retire? There are plenty of Gods, or Ancient beings that live within thesends because they have be disillusioned with the world."


    "And no one bothers them there?" I mean, I knew that no one really caused trouble in the States, but It seemed odd that even Gods live here undisturbed.


    "There is an unspoken agreement that thesends are protected by most Factions in the world. Any God who deems to cause trouble here would find themselves in a world of trouble themselves by <em>many</em>. My mother is not the only one who treats this ce like her retirement home."


    Right, even Gods have parents. Many of which have probably stepped back from their responsibilities. The easiest way to piss off a bunch of Gods is to kick up a fuss around their Parents who are just trying to live peacefully.


    And considering that, I guess that''s where the whole ''America is neutral'' concept emerged in the wider Supernaturalmunity.


    "I will need to make a trip to give thanks to the local God that still persists here." He mumbled something about ''providing a bit of divine power as payment''.


    "I thought the Local Gods were.gone."


    Hades looked distant for a moment. "Less than a handful remain. Far too few in consideration for how many once walked thesends before settlers arrived some centuries ago. It was the quickest anyone has ever seen a pantheon of Gods disappear from the world and nearly entirely by Human hands."


    I.didn''t feel like it was right to ask for an boration. Almost felt like a taboo subject among the Gods to speak about, so I held my tongue.


    Hades walked up to one of the very normal looking houses. Honestly, I could detect absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, this whole ce had not a lick of supernatural inclination anywhere.


    With a knock on the door, it was opened quickly.


    A tall woman with bright green hair and a few flowers in it answered. She had perhaps the most significant ''mother'' feeling I''ve ever felt from someone bar my own mother. "Hades!" She practically screamed, throwing her arms around the God.


    "Hello, Mother." He just epted the big hug despite his stoic appearance.


    "Look at you. Have you been eating well? Is Persephone treating you okay? You''re not fighting right? I have a guest room if you were kicked out! Are Zeus and Poseidon fighting again?"


    "Mother." The God of the Underworld huffed indignantly.


    "Well,e on in. I haven''t seen you in ages!"


    "I was herest month for dinner, mother." Hades grumbled.


    She ignored him and walked inside. "You can bring the mortal that smells like my Husband as well."


    I looked at Hades and he just nodded.


    As soon as I stepped past the threshold, I could <em>feel</em> the divine power that permeated the house. It wasn''t an ''intentional'' exuberance, but just the passive absorption from a God living within this building for a long period.


    Or rather Titan in this case.


    Frankly, it was surprising that I couldn''t feel anything out of the ordinary until I got inside.


    Then again, she was unfathomably older than I am, so it shouldn''t be a surprise that she knows a few tricks I''m not privy to.


    But it was a very warm ce.


    It felt like a true <em>home</em>.


    "Do you want something to eat or drink? I didn''t expect you otherwise I would have baked something yummy!"


    "We''re here on business, mother."


    "Hmph, you should juste to visit because you love me!"


    "I do, rather often." Hades sat down at the table, propping his head up in exasperation. "And you are wee toe to the Underworld whenever you want."


    "You know your brothers would throw a fit if I showed any favoritism."


    "Then visit them too. Even Zeus wouldn''t say anything if you dropped in on him when you felt like it."


    "I don''t want to ruin their images, you know their egos would get bruised if their mother came into their ''kingdoms'' and started mothering them." She smiled sadly.


    "And I''m different?" The God of the Underworld huffed in annoyance again.


    "You''re much more insr and everyone there is already used to your wife pulling your leash." She patted her son on the cheek.


    "Mother, must you infront of the mortal?" Hades groaned.


    "You''re the one who brought him here for me to meet, that means it''s fair game." She giggled.


    "Hello, Lady Rhea." I found it the best opportunity to properly greet her.


    The Titan in question seemingly cleaned her hands on the apron she was wearing. I was momentarily stunned because she was honestly one of the most beautiful women I''ve ever seen. "And you''re the mortal who killed my Husband are you?"


    I looked at Hades.


    "My Mother keeps abreast of events that happen in the world." He said simply.


    "He''s..alive, sorta."


    "You fought him all by yourself?" She gave me a scrutinizing look.


    "Yes, Ma''am." I nodded.


    "Yes, I can see what all the fuss is about. Really, Mortals these days are so fierce."


    ".he said the same thing to me at one point."


    Rhea just chuckled. "I''m sure he would. He must have been utterly confused at the state of the world once he escaped his prison."


    "Apparently, he got his hands on a phone and yed around with it."


    The Titaness just let out a beautifulugh. "I can''t picture it at all. Hades, can you imagine your father trying to work a phone or handling being insulted by some anonymous mortal across the world?"


    Hades, for his part, found amusement as well.


    Rhea quickly settled down and looked up. "If he hade to ask forgiveness and wanted to settle down, I would have taken him. If he just gave up on all the foolishness and wanted to live with me, I would have put everything in the past."


    "Mother."


    "Tell me, Mortal. What message did he trick you in rying?" Rhea''s expression shifted and she looked at me. "He wants me to know he''s sorry, right?"


    "Yes, Ma''am." I nodded.


    "Of course he wouldn''t say it in person." She scoffed. "He told me he was sorry every time he devoured one of our children. He promised me he would be better, but the madness and paranoia always won over. Always telling me he was sorry, not once has he ever given me a reason to believe him."


    I took out the Scythe and put it on the table. "He also wanted you to have this."


    Rhea froze when she saw it.


    "That.stupid man." She huffed. "Thank you for passing along his message."


    "It''s what I should do." I said simply. "I''ll head out."


    I felt like I shouldn''t stick around at this point and that I was intruding.


    Hades acknowledged it and I felt like we would have another chat in the near future, but he had family things to worry about right at this moment.


    I took out my phone as I left the house and messaged Izzy, because I was finally heading home.


    I barely opened a portal and set foot in my home before I heard a loud ''Daddy'' and a floofy torpedo hit my chest.


    I hugged my daughter tightly and I felt all the remainder of my anxiousness, regrets, exhaustion and other negative emotions slip away.


    Not only Kunou, but the others were here too. Yasaka joined her daughter in a family hug.


    "Wee home." She whispered.


    Quick to not let me room to breathe as the two foxes finally released me, Raikou pushed my head between her bountiful bosom and hugged me tightly. "Mommy was worried!"


    "We all were." Venna grabbed me from behind. "Though, I already knew you were okay at this point." She giggled.


    Surprisingly, Salem was here too and she went up right into my personal space with a scowl on her face. She grabbed me by the cor and seemed to look me over. "Are you hurt?"


    "Nothing too serious." I reassured her.


    "Hmph." She let go and turned away, but.I felt the concern she was trying to hide.


    "Will!" Jeanne threw herself at me almost like Kunou did. She was pouting as she looked up at me from our hug. "You''re okay, right?"


    "I''m fine, don''t worry."


    "Everyone else is alright too?"


    "They''re all doing well." I confirmed. "It was a hard fight and it was touch and go for awhile, but we all pulled through."


    "I''m d." Jeanne smiled beautifully.


    Lastly, was my first love.


    Jeanne seemed reluctant to pull away, but she let me walk towards Meridia.


    Meridia was being standoffish with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face like Salem. "Jinn is not with you."


    "She''s still hanging out there, she made a lot of friends."


    "Yes, I''m sure she has. It seems she is no longer a ''spirit'' now."


    "So you heard?"


    "She messaged us continuously, along with the reports we received from your other paramours who were present. She has made it a point that we are now ''officially sisters'' because we''re both ''Goddesses'', and I have to refer to her as such." Her lips twitched slightly as she tried her best to keep the scowl going, but I could vaguely see the amusement present. "I will have to give her an earfulter and make sure there are no residual problems with her new ascension. Her original existence was already something odd and remarkable in a way. I fear there may be some problems with her now that her existence has changed."


    "Izzy expressed some concern as well."


    "Good, she is wise." Meridia nodded in approval. "But that is a matter forter."


    "Ah, is this the part where I get an earful?" I prepared myself.


    Rather, she ced a gentle kiss on my lips against my expectations. "Wee home, my love."


    "I''m home." I wrapped her up in a big hug.


    Yeah, I really need a vacation.


    Actually, wasn''t Kunou''s Birthdaying up? Well, that''s going to be rather interesting.


    [***]


    Part 6 of Looking ss Omake will be upter today on p.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 512:

    Chapter 512:


    Hades POV


    Devils, always causing me so many problems.


    Even when I called one an ally, it''s nothing but additional work dropped in myp. Did they think that running the most utilized/popted Afterlife in the world is easy? No, they only thought of themselves regardless!


    Izanami needed to smack some sense into her new lover, let him understand how demanding my job was!


    Of course it was Mother who asked this of me, but it was the Devil brat who initiated it all.


    I''m the one who had to exin to the others of my family what happened over on the Norse side of the world. I''m also the one who needed to cate them, to warn them off from doing something inevitably stupid on their parts. I''m the one who has to soothe both my siblings who will want to go and kill off Father properly and take back his remains.


    Hmph, at least he was a reliable ally.


    That was more than I can say for the All-Father.


    And it was better than dealing with my Siblings, admittedly. He offered me the proper respect, and he was easy to get along with.


    Izanami clearly loved him to put up with him, Cerberus liked him, and even Persephone liked him. There really is not much more I could ask there.


    I stepped through a Teleportation Circle, and only destruction met my eyes. "All-Father." I greeted the person there to meet me.


    "Skull and Bones." He grinned at my arrival.


    I ignored the nickname he gave to me. "This ce is utterly wrecked."


    "Yup, it was quite the raging party!" Heughed happily, but there was a look of mncholy to him. "It could have been worse though."


    I have been to Asgard a handful of times in my existence, and it was a magnificent City befitting of Gods. I could not im that Olympus was superior in any meaningful way and seeing it in this state, it made me ponder how I would feel to see Olympus brought to a simr state as well.


    "I find myself disgusted by this wee." I scoffed in annoyance. "You should have at least had the decency to clean up."


    "Well excuseeeee me, your majesty." He did an exaggerated bow. "Do you want me to roll out a red carpet, maybe have Freyja fondle your balls while I''m at it?"


    "Hmph."


    "Hmph!"


    I looked at him then back at the surroundings. In the distance, I could see the residents of Asgard cleaning up and beginning to rebuild. "I will send some materials after I return home."


    "Thank you." The All-Father politely returned.


    I waved it off. "You have my gratitude for allowing my sudden intrusion. I can understand that my presence would be off putting considering who was partly responsible for the state of your home."


    "We''re smart enough to know who to me, brat." Odin grunted. "But I''m still keeping this on the down low. Go take care of your matters and leave on your own."


    "Even so, I apologize, All-Father. They were under my watch and escaped."


    "And from what the brat told me, even the Primordial Night was caught off guard. What could you have done that she couldn''t?"


    "There''s no need to make an excuse for me." I shook my head. "Regardless of the circumstances, I failed in my duty."


    "Fine, fine. Even though you originally offered to help, and I declined you." All-Father let out a sigh. "Just send some stuff to help us rebuild and we''ll call it even."


    He says that knowing that the Underworld''s riches are beyond measure and I already offered such unconditionally.


    It''s times like this that made it difficult to dislike him.


    It would be insulting to him if I pushed further.


    "How is he doing?"


    Odin silently looked off onto the horizon, I had no doubt his gaze reached where I asked about. "He is behaving."


    "Well, there are miracles left in this world then." I snorted.


    "It might not be what you expect." He stated.


    "My expectations are low." I said with a dry tone.


    Odin shook his head. "It''s not for me to say, but if you want to hear the words of an old man like me. Perhaps, you should keep an open mind. Whatever you decide, what your opinions are, they are yours to hold regardless."


    I found myself frowning. "An open mind? Did you forget, All-Father, I am Greek. We are indignant, small-minded, and vindictive."


    "Do what you want, Skeletor." Odin simply waved it off and began to walk away. Though, not before leaving a Teleportation Circle on the ground.


    I had a great many things to speak to the All-Father about, but I was grateful he was allowing me my personal business unabated.


    Stepping onto the Teleportation Circle, I found myself whisked away across the Norse Realms.


    I did not quite know where I was, but I had no fear of a betrayal from the All-Father.


    All around me was wheat.


    The golden tide of grain spread out as far as I could see. With all but a simple path leading through the fields.


    I ran my hand through the many strands that stood tall and pointed towards the sky.


    It waspeaceful.


    I couldn''t help but look upwards at the sun and feel the faint familiar feeling as I did throughout this same field.


    My feet carried me across the fields up to a small cabin that looked newly built and still somewhat under construction. It wasrge, befitting someone of bigger stature, especially for the person sitting on the front steps, whittling away on a wooden branch with a knife.


    He paused when he saw me.


    He was lessened to a degree that I couldn''t have imagined even from what I was told. Just his outward aura was but a fraction of his true terror.


    We stared at one another for a long period, neither of us initiating words.


    That was until another familiar figure joined us. The Titan of light, beret of his namesake approached with severalrge species of fish hanging off a stick over his shoulder.


    "..Hades." The Titan of Light acknowledged my presence.


    "Uncle." I acknowledged him back. "You abandoned your power to manifest down here?" I nced upwards again, realizing what he had done.


    Not to say it''s anything drastic. He could retrieve his power at any moment, but as he stood here in front of me, he was significantly weaker than he was normally.


    The Titan of light walked over to a wooden table, setting down his freshly caught fish. "I was told to power the sun, that is what I am doing." He said simply.


    I couldn''t argue with his logic. And I''m sure the All-Father didn''t care if he does this as long as he didn''t go around causing problems.


    With the current situation, I felt myself at ease.


    I was not in danger as they were now.


    "Hades."


    "Father."


    We finally spoke to one another after thousands of years.


    "I didn''t expect to see you here." He stated.


    "I didn''t expect to find myself here." I admitted.


    "I see, you''re acquainted with the mortal who defeated me, aren''t you?"


    I found myself frowning. "You were able to deduce this?"


    "It''s not hard to put together." He shrugged. "Neither you nor your brothers, if you decided toe, would have approached so quickly. You all are far too cautious for something like that. Perhaps that''s something you inherited from me."


    "I believe you mean paranoid." I corrected.


    "The distinction is often proven immaterial." Father appearedpeaceful, and it was strange to witness. "I am surprised you trust the mortal so much to approach me like you are."


    "I''m surprised with how highly you speak of him. Just from your tone, I can glean the respect in your voice."


    "Hahaha, well, I can''t not respect a Mortal that defeated me. My ego is only so fragile, if I don''t put him up on a pedestal, what else am I supposed to do?" Heughed so naturally before settling back down. "The world is so much different now. Mortals rule it for good reason it seems."


    "He''s not exactly the norm."


    "Where there is one, there will be two, and four, and eight. They produce in such vast numbers and already popte all corners of Mother''s blessing. Maybe it''s time for us to step to the side."


    "Careful, you''re almost sounding wise." I rolled my eyes.


    "A long life of regrets can open the most hard headed person''s eyes with enough time." He smiled wistfully.


    "And do you mean it?"


    "Mean what?"


    "That you feel it''s time for you to step aside?" I narrowed my eyes.


    He reached up and scratched his head. "You''re probing my intentions, huh? I guess I can''t me you." He let out a sigh. "How many from my time are still active across the world? Why did they all retreat and let the mortals take center stage? Maybe they saw something I''ve yet to see fully and I want to know. Even the cruel War God of thesends stepped off his throne and willingly handed it to his son. Am I worse than him?" He looked up to the skies.


    "Yes."


    Father didn''t argue nor get angry. The Kronos I knew, he would have gotten angry at the slightest insult levied against him.


    "You''re right. Odin changed much from the past, and it makes me feel like a relic out of time. I feel irrelevant, outdated and unneeded."


    "You should know better than anyone, Father. Time waits for no one, not even us." I felt a strange twinge within my old heart.


    "A truth that I should have pondered a long time ago."


    I let out a sigh as this talk did not go the way I had envisioned. "Who aided you in your escape?"


    "I can''t say."


    "Someone still loyal to you then?" I narrowed my eyes, clenching my fists. "Perhaps a traitor, maybe  "


    "Don''t overthink it." Father interrupted me. "The only one loyal to me is at my side." He nced at the Titan of Light who was quietly descaling the fish at the table. "You need not be worried about any traps or traitors I hid within your court. Not even my old Generals andrades answered my call to arms."


    "We had no reports of you approaching the other Titans we had under surveince."


    Kronos chuckled heartily. "I approached As openly, arrogantly even. You know, one of yours stood there at the side, just watching as I did."


    "Ares." I seethed in mild annoyance. "He was employed to watch over As. That brat" I hissed under my breath.


    "Zeus'' son certainly inherited his inted ego. Don''t mistake it for joining my cause, my Grandson was most certainly not on my side. He expressed openly that he only wanted a conflict to erupt and not to expect his aid."


    "Of course he would. He''s been getting annoying over the years with theck ofrge wars for him to y around in." Stupid War Gods who can''t live without bloodshed and Death.


    "Don''t take him lightly, he was hiding a secret that I didn''t delve into at the time."


    "Oh?" I raised an eyebrow.


    For him to give that kind of warning.what are you hiding, Ares?


    Father merely waved his hand through the air. "As denied me as well. He said he wanted to finish his punishment and walk free without needing to look over his shoulder for his life."


    I could feel the slight tinge of pain in his voice.


    I closed my eyes and let out another sigh. "I''ll talk to Zeus about ending his punishment soon."


    "Thank you."


    "I''m not doing it for you." I snorted, looking away. "His punishment hassted long enough."


    And certain behaviors should be rewarded.


    "The one who freed us was not part of your world." Father said simply.


    "Not our Faction?"


    "Yes."


    "Then who?"


    "I cannot say." He shook his head. "I was unable to pay back the favor in doing so, I cannot reveal their identity at the very least."


    How frustratingly honorable.


    Trying to pry it out of him was pointless, Father was nothing if not a stubborn fool.


    "I''ll tell you something good though." He grinned. "A secret I found out by chance when I was snooping around their little group."


    "And why would you do that?"


    Father just smiled. "It''s a gift for my defeat to the Mortal."


    "And what secret do you have, Father?"


    "Have you heard of something called the Sephiroth Grail?" He asked and I clenched my hands. "I admit I had to look into what it was myself. But it''s an interesting little trinket that could cause a lot of problems, and it''s in their hands."


    "That is.valuable information."


    "I''m d it''s helpful to you." His expression softened and it made me feel strange.


    "What do you intend to do from this point forward, father?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" He stood up, stretching his back. "I got a harvest to look after."


    "You intend to ept the ''punishment''?"


    "A loser has no right to argue." He said simply.


    "..you really changed a lot."


    His expression shifted and he smiled wryly. "Maybe, I don''t know. I think that I can just think more clearly than before." He turned to look at me. "Would it change things if I said I was sorry?"


    "No."


    "I didn''t think so either, but I felt like it should be done anyways."


    "I''m only here as a favor to Mother."


    He paused and shifted emotions again. "The Mortal delivered on his promise. That''s good."


    "He did." I called forth the Scythe in question and let it hit the ground. "Mother told me to tell you that you are a coward for not doing it yourself."


    He looked at the Scythe then up to me. "What "


    "5,000 years, not a second sooner orter." I made sure to repeat what she said exactly. "She will be waiting."


    "I don''t know what to say" For the first time, I saw Father speechless.


    "Then don''t, I don''t care about whatever it is you want to say at this point." I grumbled.


    "How about ''would you like to stay for dinner''?" He smiled towards me.


    ".are you serious?"


    He shrugged. "It couldn''t hurt to ask. I wouldn''t mind hearing stories about my children and grandchildren."


    "We are far from epting of you as our proper Father and Grandfather." I frowned.


    "That''s true." He didn''t argue with me and seemed to ept my stance.


    ".however, I am already here, I may as well stay for a short time longer."


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    The crashing of the waves on the beach was one of the most soothing things to listen to.


    Especially with no other people around, particrly because I was within my soul and this was merely a ''memory'' of mine.


    Well, other people don''t include both Ddraig and Mus Tengai who were enjoying it too.


    Ddraig in particr, he was diving in and out of the ocean further along the horizon and looked like he was having a st.


    It didn''t take long for Ddraig toe flying over, and he shrunk down to a much more manageable size, even if he intentionally hit the sand hard and kicked it up all over the ce.


    "This is fun, I can see why humans like ying at the beach. I''m sad I never did this when I was still around and kicking."


    I brushed the sand off me. "I should get everyone to do a beach day." Ddraig''s words suddenly gave me inspiration. Kunou would love it for sure, but everyone else, well, a nice little vacation would do wonders.


    "That would be fun." Ddraig added.


    "It would be a good avenue to keep a peaceful recuperation." Mus Tengai seemed to agree. "Constant battles and a strained perception in the midst of danger will have negative effects if it''s not nurtured with a healthy rest."


    "Just rx, brat. You earned a good break."


    I turned to look at Ddraig. "You''re in a good mood."


    "Why not? Albion now knows that my wielder killed a ''God'' in ''view'' of everyone! He has to live with that now that I''m the only rightly named Longinus right now." His smug was off the charts. "It was a good fight."


    "It was a good fight." I agreed. "I''m d to have the Spear back in working condition again. Might have been a bit easier if I had it against the Titan."


    "Regardless, your victory was well earned." Mus Tengai stated. "Well done, you havee a long way from that boy who first stepped into the Land of Shadows."


    It felt nice to be told that.


    I fell backwards into the sand, looking upwards towards Mus Tengai. "Sowhat''s the deal with the Acorn that decided to take up refuge in my soul?"


    "Why don''t I show you?" He offered, though he wasn''t actually asking considering the scenery around uspletely changed.


    We were then in arge and endless field, a circle of dirt in the middle with the particr golden Acorn right in the middle, with a tiny hint of green budding from it.


    I forced myself up to look at it. I didn''t really have much time or energy to consider it until this point, and it obviously wasn''t dangerous at the very least.


    "What''s the big deal?" Ddraig asked.


    "It''s an acorn, inside my soul, I think it''s noteworthy enough to understand better."


    "Watermelons have seeds, I don''t see the big deal."


    I slowly turned to look at Ddraig with the driest expression I could muster, and he had the biggest shit-eating-grin I''ve ever seen.


    Mus Tengai seemed to ignore us entirely as he stepped towards it. "If you want a thorough exnation, I''m afraid you will be left wanting."


    "Even you don''t know?"


    "I''m not all knowing, as ttering as it is to be thought of so highly, I''m mostly in the dark here as well." He hummed.


    "At the very least, it''s not dangerous." I spoke mostly rhetorically.


    "Of course, otherwise I wouldn''t have left it alone. Your soul is under my protection, I will never knowingly allow something to intrude that will cause you harm." My Zanpakut spirit reassured me.


    "Except for Ddraig."


    "Hey!"


    "s, he predates my arrival." Mus Tengai sighed.


    "Fuck you both, Imma eat the acorn."


    "Don''t eat the magical acorn!"


    "Imma eat it."


    "Hush." Mus Tengai quickly shushed us.


    The Acorn vibrated slightly, and the little bud grew a fraction of an inch, barely perceivable even if I was watching closely.


    "Curious." He rubbed his chin. "I see now, it''s reacting to you for its growth."


    "Reacting to me?" I raised a questioning eyebrow. "Why would my thoughts and feelings have a bearing on its growth? It sprouted before  the reminder that I''m human. Yeah, I can admit that it was something I was slowly losing track of with everything going on, but it wasn''t some heavenly enlightenment for me to realize and regain that bearing."


    Mus Tengai held up a finger, cutting me off. "Enlightenment doesn''t need to be arge phenomenon or something ethereal and philosophical that one grasps. Only the further understanding of oneself to reach greater heights. It''s something important to your intrinsic being that you realized and corrected for yourself. The seed of the World Tree reacted to it because it was something that had substance to yourself."


    "So what, it''s going to grow every time I realize something important about myself?" That sounded odd.


    "No, it was simply a coincidence that this urred right after you obtained it. If I had to guess, you are the vector for it to grow, everything you do will influence it. The original Yggdrasil grew in response to everything around it, the Nine Realms formed, and it continued to grow to what it is today. This seed does not have anything else but you to focus on. As you grow, it will also grow in response to what it needs to be."


    "And what is that exactly?" What was it ''supposed to be''?


    "That is an interesting question, and I look forward to seeing the answer." Mus Tengai smiled.


    "So I now have a Tree growing inside of me along with everything else."


    "Well, you certainly have a lot of room here." Mus Tengai chuckled and his eyes flickered strangely, like he was looking off into the distance and seeing things I couldn''t. "But I have a feeling that whatever it will be, it will be invaluable to your goals."


    I took another look at the Acorn and had a strange sense of attachment to it alright. I couldn''t help but smile and reached down to lightly rub it with my finger.


    Keep growing, little guy, we''ll see what you turn into.


    "Imma eat it."


    "Dammit Ddraig, don''t eat my baby tree!"


    "Alright, that''s enough." Mus Tengai pped his hands. "You spent enough time in here, go back outside and rest properly. Everything else can wait until you had some time to rx."


    He didn''t even give me time to argue before he pushed my focus outwards and I returned to the forefront of my mind.


    I shuddered slightly from the position I was sitting on the ground with Mus Tengai sitting across my legs and simply put it away, and pushed up to my feet.


    I looked around, noticing theck of noise and presence around me. Not that I expected anyone to keep watch over me. I spent hours catching up with everyone, but I didn''t want to put off checking on myself as well, and they understood.


    There was only one person nearby, and I walked down the stairs to find them in the kitchen.


    "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" I leaned up against the threshold of the kitchen


    Izzy nced back at me as she was apparently cooking. "Yes, and I''m fairly sure it''s because you have a certain fetish and get off on mothering."


    "....how did you find out?"


    She stopped what she was doing and stared at me. "Stop fooling around." She huffed, throwing the nearby dish towel at me.


    I walked up behind her, arms easily wrapping her up tightly. "I''m not ashamed."


    "Of course you aren''t." She snorted. "A person with shame wouldn''t be rubbing up on my rear with a very obvious bulge."


    "Mmm."


    "Don''t just ignore it!" She huffed, but didn''t stop me. "Are you finished with what you were doing? I wanted to have something ready for you to eat when you got up, I expected you to take longer."


    "I''m all good, checked up on my soul and despite the weirdness, I got a clean bill of health by Mus Tengai and told to rest for awhile before he kicked me out."


    "I find it strange how your inner spirit is somehow more mature and responsible than you are."


    "It just means I can focus on more important things."


    "Like molesting me while I cook?"


    "Yes."


    "Don''t say it so bluntly." She turned around and lightly pulled on my cheek.


    "me yourself for making me like this. Honestly, what am I supposed to do when the Goddess of Hips swings them around right in front of my eyes? I can''t keep my hands off you." I gave her a cheeky smile.


    She covered her slightly flushed face. "Did you seriously call me the Goddess of Hips. That damn Odin, I know he''s been a bad influence on you."


    "Oh no, I wasn''t joking when I said you''re entirely to me." I looked at her with a widening smile. "Someone made a certain promise to me." I whispered into her ear. "And I think It''s time I collect."


    She quivered slightly, and her flush deepened a tad, eyes darting away. "You are far too perverted."


    "It''s a good thing I have a beautiful woman to satiate myself on, isn''t it?"


    "Idiot" She huffed and started to undo the buttons on her pants. "I will not be called a liar."


    Well, it''s about time I corrected a cosmic mistake.


    The fact that Izzy''s legs have remained unloved this long is an absolute crime, one I intend to very thoroughly correct.


    [***]


    A/N


    Part 6 of the Looking ss omake is up on p.a..t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name

 Chapter 513:

    Chapter 513:


    Meridia POV


    This realm was strange.


    Interconnected by a higher being in the form of a Tree. Its ''roots'' and ''branches'' prated every corner of this space. They were simple enough to perceive for me, even if a portion of its existence was but energy that operated in a higher dimension.


    It wasn''t too dissimr from my own Colored Rooms. Obviously it couldn''tpare to Oblivion in its entirety, but I had not much else topare to as I was still new to seeing the sights outside from my own corner of existence.


    Oddly enough, the inbetween, the Dimension Gap that everyone referred to it to that all these realms are connected to, it was almost like a smaller Oblivion in scope and scale.


    It was odd to see things so simr yet different.


    Regardless, the Tree itself noticed my approach even when I hid myself from even the Gods of this world.


    I could not find annoyance with this fact as it was something much older and more powerful than a ''mere'' God.


    It was peculiar, it reached out to probe me. Like a child wanting to touch something it didn''t quite understand.


    There seemed to be a hesitance to its actions, unspoken feelings mixed with its metaphorical vines that reached for me, but otherwise, it was more excited and curious than anything.


    I reached out and allowed it to inspect me.


    It would do me no good if I was rude to a child, I had much more decorum than that.


    Once it was satisfied, I could vaguely sense it wanted to know why I was there. It seemed unable tomunicate properly, even for beings of our caliber, perhaps it''s still learning that aspect?


    Wilhelm did state that it was ''newly awoken'' using the Night''s artifact.


    And now that I could see it in person, so to speak, I could understand what he meant by such words. Truly, it had a smidge of a ''will'' that was more than something instinctual. Despite this, it would not grow to something beyond that. That small spark, it was just that. I could see into the essence of this being and knew that full will was something that went counter to its purpose and existence.


    What it has now was already a miracle of some capacity.


    It seemed to move out of my way as I did my best to ry my intentions. Or perhaps it didn''t care about what I wanted to do and simply deemed it a nonissue in its perceptions.


    Regardless, I passed through the ''branches'' and entered these Realms fully.


    I had a small desire to explore, but I pushed it to the back of my mind for my main purpose of appearing this far away from my love and his home.


    One of two reasons in this instance, but thetter was not something so urgent that I was required to travel this far.


    I came upon the main ''body'' of the Tree that was centered around this Realm.


    Its truck opened up for me with but a thought and I ventured into its depths. At the darkest and deepest point of this Tree, at the very end of these realms where no true light shined, and no living being could go without arduous effort, I arrived.


    There was one living being that persisted here, one that was damned to live its immortal life forever in darkness. And the being that caused a strange and unfamiliar fury to swell up inside of me.


    Even all the new experiences that came with taking a Mortal lover, this was a new feeling. Anger at someone else for causing harm to someone I cared about. I have been upset in the past when Wilhelm hade to harm, but I have never had it so.directed.


    In this dark pit, I allowed light to shine.


    I put a finger to the person''s head, and even under his sudden and muffled noises I forced the ''light'' back into his empty eye sockets.


    I restored his vision and his words.


    "Who "


    My finger twitched and his newly restored speech was.taken away again.


    I surprised myself, I was not usually so rash nor harsh but merely hearing his voice caused my anger to reach its tipping point.


    Although, it was just as grating to hear his unintelligible screams of pain after losing his tongue.


    "Your name is Loki." I narrowed my eyes. "Nod if what I said is correct."


    His eyes widened as my power washed over him.


    He nodded.


    I put a finger to his head and restored his ability to speak once more. "If you speak again without prompt, it will be much more agonizing for you."


    He nodded his head promptly.


    There was something else there, was it hope? Did he think I was there to rescue him or perhaps enlist his aid in return for his freedom? I could understand his viewpoint, why else would anyone else visit him in this particr situation?


    "Loki." I reiterated. "I find myself in an odd situation and I am unsure of how to act. I don''t consider myself a particrly vengeful person. If someone wrongs me, they receive a suitable punishment and I don''t dwell on it further. Yet at this moment, someone has wronged me to a degree that I find myself believing that a simple punishment is not enough. What do you think?"


    The Not-God licked his lips as if to test his ''new'' tongue. "I would be more than happy to assist you in any vengeance, my wonderful Lady."


    I ignored his attempts to gain my ''affection'' and attention. "This world is, oh so small."


    "That it is. So small and insignificant. Why, it wouldn''t take much for one to.crush it." The Not-God smiled despite his condition.


    "Yes, it would not be difficult for me to crush it between my fingers if I chose." It was strange, I usually did not speak this much, I was not this open. "I have seen many worldse into existence since the dawn of the Universe. This is but one of many, yet it has earned my particr attention. Do you know why?"


    His eyes widened for a brief moment. "N-no."


    "Because, againstmon sense and perhaps even logical thinking, I allowed myself to fall in love with a Mortal man. And you harmed him."


    "I can "


    I grabbed him, not allowing him to speak as my hand mped over his face. He assuredly was going to attempt to talk his way out of the situation, I was aware of his peculiarities from Wilhelm.


    "I was ancient before the space dust that became your world was even born." I pulled him up so he could meet my eyes. "Your supreme beings, your Dragon Gods are but children in my eyes. You are to the insects in the earth as I am to you. So, I invite you to contemte how utterly insignificant I find your existence right now."


    I threw him to the ground because this close proximity was grating to me. I removed his ability to speak again because I no longer wished to hear his words, his attempts to weasel out of any punishment. "700 years. It is a small number, insignificant in the scope of the universe, of creation. I could blink in that time frame and not notice the passing of the years. Yet, those 700 years belong to my Mortal lover. My Mortal Lover who has no desire to live eternity, and one day he shall pass on as all Mortals do. It is a small number, but those were precious years that you stole from me."


    Admittedly, he was not the one who harmed Wilhelm and stole away part of his lifespan, but Wilhelm seemed to have a good impression of the one he fought. I did not wish Wilhelm to get annoyed with me, and one does not punish the sword for cutting, but the one who swung it.


    This Not-God was the mastermind so he will receive my full ire.


    "There is not much I could add to your punishment, but toe here and not do anything, my anger would not be abated. You have something within you, something precious you also hold dear, and I will take that way. There was a spark of hope in your eyes at my arrival, I will squash that forever." I held my hand up and reached for him again. He just tried to crawl away, squirming and doing his best to attempt and flee.


    It was futile.


    "You will never escape this prison, because it now extends to your own mind." Just a tap on his forehead, and his body went limp. "Watch for eternity, trapped within your own mind, that should by some miracle that you even leave this prison, you will never escape it, for it would require someone far beyond a God to undo what I have done."


    What remained of his body went limp and he fell to the ground, yet I knew he could hear and understand everything I said.


    Disgusting creature.


    I did not wish to look upon him any further and left the pit he dwelled in.


    I cast my gaze towards the realm of Gods to find the second object of my intentions for arriving here.


    She was not difficult to find, I was more than familiar with her aura, even after it changed so drastically.


    With a thought, I was in a library full of different texts, scrolls and books.


    "Big Sis!" Jinn practically leapt out of her seat and grabbed hold of me.


    I was not unused to her shows of affections and perhaps.I enjoyed them. "Hello, Jinn."


    "Did youe all the way here to see me?" She looked up happily.


    "Yes."


    "Liar~" She pursed her lips. "Why did you reallye here?"


    I huffed in annoyance. "You are annoying perceptive when you wish to be."


    "Hmmm, is it a secret?" She tried to probe me, not so subtly. "Does Wilhelm know~?"


    "He does not need to know." I crossed my arms. "Besides, he is too busy right now having his way with the Death Goddess"


    "Uh huh." Her eyes brightened up. "He''s doing lewd things with Izzy!?"


    "So it would seem."


    "Aww, I wanted to watch." She hummed. "Are you sure you don''t want him to know you''re here?"


    "Perhaps we should tell him about you." I narrowed my eyes. "Why have you not spoken up about what''s wrong with you?"


    She looked down at the ground. "I didn''t want to worry anyone."


    ".silly girl." I sighed, rubbing her head. "Come." I pulled her to a ce to sit down. "I will help you. Exin to me what''s wrong."


    "Ah, well, Grandpa taught me how to split my thoughts into parallel streams."


    "How many." I immediately knew what she had done.


    ".only a few."


    "How Many."


    "A little under 200."


    I flicked her forehead.


    "Owie." She pouted.


    "You are lucky you did not overly harm yourself. Even I do not have that many of my iterations out at a single time." Not that I couldn''t, but having that much out gets annoying to operate properly. And a projection with a stream of my thought was no different in practice than multiplying her internal thoughts to process in parallel.


    "I needed them to fight." She pouted again and I wanted to give her another flicker, but my hand seemingly had a mind of its own and instead began to run through her hair.


    "Open yourself, and I will make sure you are not in any danger."


    "Okay~" She happily opened up her mind to my touch, not a single ounce of distrust within her.


    I could see her new changes, her Divinity in the depths of her soul and how it permeated her whole being. It helped stave off the consequences of straining her ''mind'' so much. "You couldn''t ''turn them all off'', correct?"


    "Yeah." She admitted. "Please don''t tell Wilhelm."


    Silly girl. "We will keep this just between us."


    "Okay, thanks big sis." She yawned as adjusted herself toy her head upon myp.


    "Sleep, you will be well once you wake." I soothed her into a slumber.


    It would not be too difficult to shift those altered thoughts back into a singr focus. Simple, if tedious to perform. But a thorough check of her new status would not be remiss either.


    I would not allow her to be in any danger as long as I can help it.


    @***@


    WARNING!!!! Izzy Lewd ahead.


    Blowjob, Thighjob.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    Izzy faced me and undid the front button on her jeans, unzipping them slightly, just enough for a ck color to peek through.


    My hands slowly moved down her back until I found her nice round butt and promptly mped down.


    "You just can''t help yourself, can you?" She shook her head with a little smile. "Well, I suppose it falls onto me to indulge your lustful nature."


    Well, that was all I needed to hear. I pulled her close, hearing a small yelp of surprise from her as my head pushed against her chest. And my hands didn''t waste any time appreciating her amazing ass.


    It was no Salem, but she certainly had a nice jiggle every time she walked, and I would admittedly get a bit hypnotized when I had the chance to stare.


    "Are you just going to fondle my ass?" She asked in disbelief as moments turned into minutes.


    "Don''t worry, we have plenty of time for me to appreciate you everywhere." I said cheekily.


    yfully, she pulled on my cheek. "Hmph, such a perverse man." Her own hand crept down my stomach until it was between my legs, and she gripped onto my manhood through my own pants. "Looks at this, you''re already raring to go, and I offered you nothing but to rub against me." She continued to outline my full length with each movement.


    "I think you underestimate what I would do to have your legs avable to me." I looked up at her, and without warning my hands slipped into her back pockets and I yanked down her pants, revealing her nice round ass for me to fully see.


    She was wearing a pair ofcy ck panties that seemed to barely stretch enough to amodate her ample rear.


    Despite her teasing tone from before, she held a faint flush at my sudden action. "How impatient, do I really entice you so much?"


    "You can feel me and you have to ask?" I leaned in to kiss her, not stopping my appreciation of her behind. "I want my Izzy."


    She huffed lightly, eyes darting away. "I''m afraid if I don''t satisfy your urges, you would mercilessly attack one of the others. I may as well follow through to protect them from your lustful advances."


    She abruptly grabbed my arms, and I was reluctantly forced away from her butt before she gave me a very strange look before dropping to her knees in front of me. She wasted no time pulling my belt off and had she been any less gentle, I''m afraid my clothes would have beenpletely torn away.


    With a final gesture, she yanked down my zipper after unbuttoning my pants and was greeted with my full erection springing out and nearly hitting her in the face before she grabbed it.


    "So, this is where all your confidencees from?" She eyed me, fingers gripped on my member tightly, just shy of being ufortable.


    "Is it an offering fit for a Goddess?"


    She pursed her lips, her hand slowly moving along my length. "How arrogant." Gradually, her lips moved closer and I felt a shiver go down my spine the same time her tongue slowly moved up and down on my cock. "Don''t misunderstand..mmmm.." She took my tip into her mouth, her tongue exploring every inch of me, and with a light pop, released my cock. "I''m only doing the minimum necessary for this."


    Though she said that, there was a certain enthusiasm as she continuously ran her tongue up and down.


    Well, she could continue as long as she wanted.


    Maybe I was about to say something cheeky, but all words died in my throat as her fingers wrapped around a very sensitive part of me.


    "Hmph, you were thinking something cheeky again." Her fingers lightly squeezed my balls.


    "Izzyyy!" My voice wasa squeak at this point.


    "Rather than a reward, you deserve a punishment for all the times you have teased me. Is this sensitive, hmm?" Her head lowered, her tongue working down my full length until she reached the base and in one quick motion, she began to suck on my balls with just enough force to make my toes curl up.


    I had to grab her shoulders to stop myself from stumbling over, and her hand never left my shaft as her speed picked up in how she continued to stroke my cock.


    Unintentional groans from me only seemed to further exuberate her and the speed and force she used intensified ever so gradually that I really couldn''t hold myself back anymore.


    "Look at you now." She released my balls, pulling herself back until I was twitching infront of her face. "I thought you wanted to enjoy my legs?" She said coyly with ascivious smile. "But it seems you can''t hold it in. I will take pity on you, you may deface this Goddess."


    It was as if it was amand from her that brought me over the edge. She never stopped, her hand continuously squeezed me with each pump until the first spurt of my cumnded on her face, quickly followed by several more streams until very soon, she was literally dripping and nothing more came out.


    Still, she didn''t stop stroking my cock even as she stared into my eyes with my seed running down her face. "No one has ever sullied me like this. You better take responsibility."


    I gave her a warm and genuine smile. "Don''t worry, this is far from thest time."


    "Cocky bastard." She huffed. "How arrogant you became just because I let you finish once on my face." She finally let go and stood up. "I should have squeezed your balls until there was nothing left, look at you still rearing to go like a dog in heat." She turned around and put her hands on the counter, positioning herself so her ass was facing me. "Well, have at it. You wanted to enjoy my legs. As a Goddess, I will bestow this blessing upon you, be grateful, because it is not one I have ever given before."


    It took a significant amount of self-restraint to not just dive into my ''meal''.


    Rather, I pushed myself up against her back and slowly slid my hands down her rear until I got to her wonderful legs and made sure to inspect each and every corner. I spent far more time than I probably should have squeezing and rubbing these amazing legs, enough that Izzy began huffing indignantly.


    "Must you tease me so much?" She said softly, lowering her head so I couldn''t see. "It''s already hard enough for me to keep myselfposed in this situation." She muttered.


    "Where did my strong and aggressive Izzy from a moment ago disappear to, hmm?" I leaned in, pressing my cock against her butt. "You were so sure of yourself when you had me in your grasp."


    "Shut up." She huffed cutely with a tinge of red nketing her cheeks, mixed with the evidence of my first ejaction of the night.


    My hands crept up her stomach until they found the buttons on her blowse, and one by one, I began to undo them.


    "Unrepented lecher." Her breathing quickened just ever so slightly. Despite her demeanor form before, well, I knew it had been a very long time for her.


    It didn''t take but a moment before I yanked her bra down and her soft mounds were being gently yed with between my fingers.


    "Hnn." She let out a very faint, but noticeable noise once my fingers brushed up against her nipples. "..shut up." She managed to get out rather quickly, not even giving me a chance to tease her.


    "My Izzy is cute."


    "You''re the only one who thinks so." She was doing her best to bury her head in her arms, leaving the rest of her body at my mercy. "If I couldn''t feel you rubbing against my ass with that big cock of yours, I wouldn''t have believed it." She groaned as I lightly yed with her breasts more. "Just.get on with it."


    "Get on with what?" I asked, rolling her nipples between my fingers.


    "Y-you, hnn." She huffed, a little moan having escaped before she could catch herself. "You''re going to make me say it? You are a perverted man. Fine. Fuck my legs already!"


    Music to my ears.


    I already positioned myself so my cock was between her legs, and I gently nudged them shut so she was squeezing me with those wide hips of hers. Slowly, I began to move, rubbing up between her thighs.


    "Ah" She let out a soft moan.


    It wasn''t only me getting pleasure out of this, her hips were moving on their own as I pressed up underneath her as well, the only thing separating our bits was the thin fabric of her panties.


    "Hnnn.I can''t believe y-you''re getting off on doing something like this to an old woman like  MeEee." Her breath hitched slightly.


    "It''s you''re fault!" I groaned, grabbing her hips. "Telling me to take responsibility? You need to take responsibility. This is because of you, throwing these legs and hips infront of my face every day. Do you think I can hold myself back forever? I''m going to fuck these legs for the rest of our lives."


    "D-don''t say something so ridiculous!" She cried out, her cheeks utterly red from my shamelessness.


    "Foolish, idiotic!" She huffed, turning into a moan as she noticeably pressed further down with her thighs, rocking back and forth rhythmically along with me. "How do you make my heart beat faster by saying something so perverted!"


    Having Izzy squeeze me with her thigh, throwing her hips back and forth with her chest bouncing up and down, well I didn''tst long at all.


    "Izzy" I groaned.


    "Just go ahead and let it out." She said softly, a contrast to her indignant hisses from before. She didn''t stop and continued to rock back and forth, her legs pressing down on me, and it was enough that I let out another groan and released for the second time.


    She held her hands in front, catching it from making too much of a mess, but I quickly coated her legs with my seed just as well.


    Both of us came to a stop, breathing heavier. Eventually, she released my cock from between her legs, a noticeable sticky mess hitting the ground as she turned around to face me.


    "Look at this, I''mpletely covered is your cum." She breathed out. "Are you satisfied now? My legs have been thoroughly fucked." She drawled.


    I pushed my face into her boobs and grabbed hold of her nice soft butt, pushing myself back between her legs. "I''m far from done. You said until I''m satisfied."


    She made a cute noise, whether one ofint or bashfulness, I don''t know. "And how long will that be!?" She let out another of her adorable huffs.


    "Don''t know, let''s find out!"


    I had no idea where my limit was at the moment, but I was sure I was going to figure it out with the help of her delicious legs, and I had plenty of time to devote to this most important task.


    @***@


    Lewd Over


    @***@


    There was nothing like having a good time with one of my girls to put a pep in my step.


    "Ladies." I greeted Salem, Venna, and Yasaka were all sitting around in Yasaka''s Garden, drinking tea it seemed.


    A tea party?


    Also, I was surprised Salem was still here. She''s usually a lot less sociable than the others.


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka smiled, answering first, gesturing to the open seat next to her.


    "Am I interrupting?" I wasn''t being facetious either. I looked at the others. "Seriously,if I am, tell me to go away, I don''t want to interrupt any kind of bonding time you''re having."


    "We were wrapping up." Venna spoke.


    Salem didn''t say anything, so I assumed it was fine to sit down and join them.


    Yasaka looked at me, her nose twitching and slowly, a knowing smile grew on her face as her tail found my waist. "Someone''s in a good mood~"


    "Oh my." Venna covered her mouth. "Who was it?"


    "Sorry, I don''t want to hurt Salem''s virgin ears."


    "Oh, please." Salem snorted, rolling her eyes. "I am well aware of the perverse acts you get up to. You have a harem, I am not oblivious to what that means."


    "Does that mean you want to hear all the intimate details?" I raised an eyebrow.


    Salem let out one of her adorable huffs. "I don''t need to hear about your intimate encounters."


    I reached over and squeezed her hand briefly. It was enough to see the phantom of a smile appear on her face. At least it let her stop being ''annoyed'' with me so overtly.


    "How are you doing, dear?" Venna asked.


    "I''m good. Made sure nothing was wrong going on inside. Just going to rx for the next few days." I leaned back feeling oddly at peace in this moment.


    "Some rest will do you well." Salem seemed to approve.


    "I haven''t seen Achilles and Atnta, are they still at Asgard?" Yasaka questioned.


    "Yeah, they wanted to stay there a bit longer along with Sasaki and Thorum. I can''t me them, it''s a pretty cool ce. They know how to reach out if they want an express ticket back. Otherwise, they can leave whenever they want by other means."


    "Jinn too." Venna pointed out.


    "Jinn too." I nodded. "She''s probably raiding their library at the moment."


    "Some things never change." Yasaka chuckled.


    "So, what was I not interrupting?" I looked around. "What were you saying behind my back?"


    "How arrogant, you think we only speak of you?" Salem rolled her eyes. "We have other interests."


    "And what interests are these, hmm?" I looked at her with a smile.


    "Hmph." She crossed her arms. "If you must know, we were discussing a cooperative agreement."


    I blinked, not expecting that. "Pardon?"


    Yasaka looked at the others then at me. "Venna here had a wonderful idea she broached to both of us, and we''ve been negotiating. Essentially, Salem is going to be using her Grimm to dig uprge quantities of Dust, and I will be purchasing it for a steep discount."


    "That.is a good idea." I just didn''t think Salem would.well, get involved like this.


    I was d she was making an effort.


    "What are you trading, exactly?"


    "This and that." Yasaka shrugged. "Honestly, whatever she wants. But since she''s just herself and maybe a handful of people"


    "I do not require much." Salem simply. "And Dust is not worth much to me. Labor is also an irrelevant aspect, thus you need not be concerned."


    "It will be extremely helpful to the uing war." Yasaka nodded in thanks.


    "Speaking of, how''s that going?" It felt awkward to ask, as I was both involved, and not really involved.


    "Well." She said pointedly. "Honestly, I was considering moving up the time table. I originally wanted the ''Six Months'' prep time to let the initial fervor to die down. It would be no good for them to march into battle in a hysterical state. And that seeded to a good extent, and preparations are nearing a state that I could be content with."


    "It''s your call, it won''t take me long to start my calctions and research. I can get started on that so you know what kindof time table you have to work with."


    "I won''t tell you to get started this minute, but let''s approach that again in a week or so." Yasaka replied. "Frankly, at this point, it''s just getting our people trained a bit better and umting a nice nest egg in case things go badly and we have to sustain the resources needed for a prolonged conflict."


    "Well, speaking of a nest egg, I have something I wanted to mention before, but Wilhelm was preupied." Venna interjected.


    "Oh?" I looked her way. "What''s up?"


    "I don''t know if you knew, but you''re rather popr in the Underworld at the moment."


    "I heard that from Zekram, but I admit I didn''t really care to look into it."


    "It''s exploded since what happened a few days ago. Especially since your Devil Features made an appearance in pictures and videos."


    I scratched my head. "Is it really that big of a deal?"


    "Sweetie, you basically looked the part and filled it as one of the original Satans. Not only do Devils worship power, but they have an almost reverent respect for the original Satans. I despise them in all honesty, but there''s almost an inherent respect for them inside of me that I can''t shake off."


    "I actually saw a few things when I was taking a break the other day." Yasaka added. "You''re exceedingly popr amongst the lower caste of Devil Society. Sort of a poster boy for those born to lesser means to grow into status."


    "They are aware that I both want nothing to do with Devil Society as a whole, and I''m technically born into a Pir family, right?" I asked.


    Venna shrugged. "The first is a hotly debated subject. The Second, well, your sess can be objectively pointed out as your own efforts and not merely a bloodline like my son, that many argue."


    "Honestly, I have no idea how to feel about the idea of people putting me up on a pedestal like this." I admitted frankly.


    "I know, which is why I didn''t bring it up before, but it''s a little relevant now. You see, after your poprity boomed, a lot of people started selling. merchandise."


    ".you''re kidding me."


    "I''m afraid not." She giggled. "Toys, pictures, other products."


    "Other products?" Salem raised a questioning eyebrow.


    "Well, I was being polite. There was more than one brand of sex toy with his face attached to them." She replied.


    "..I am unsure of how to feel about your society."


    Venna justughed at that.


    "On one hand, I don''t really care what they think. On the other, I''m a bit annoyed that my likeness is being used without my consent." I tapped the table.


    "Well, you have two options from what I see." Venna held up two fingers. "The first is that you can personallye down and take action. We do have our ownws, and other Factions sort of have influence on some aspects. For instance, if we use the likeness of any other popr deities or such, we usually pay a portion of the profits towards the faction in question."


    "Seriously?" I was honestly surprised.


    "You would be surprised. While Gods in general don''t usually have much use for mundane money and such, it''s more the principal of the matter. You can think of it sort of as a tribute or a tithe." Yasaka exined.


    I suppose that makes more sense.


    "What''s the other option?"


    "I could handle it for you." She smiled. "Give me a couple days and I would bring them all under heel. The only question would be if you wanted it to stop or rake in the profit."


    My default reaction was almost to immediately tell her to squash it all. But at the mention of profit, well, I was very forting about being rather greedy. "How much profit are we talking?"


    "Well, I honestly couldn''t say. But it wouldn''t be something insignificant. Of course there would be costs to properly manage and distribute everything, but you would be looking at a very hefty ie source."


    "Could you funnel everything into Yasaka''s ounts?" I asked.


    "That wouldn''t be difficult."


    "You sweet man." Yasaka leaned over, kissing my cheek. "You know you don''t have to. You''ve already done so much"


    "I know, but I want to." I gave her a smile.


    Yasaka let out a reluctant sigh. "I won''t turn down any help that''s offered. You know our gardens have started producing the alchemy ingredients. We can start mass producing the same potions soon."


    "Oh, that''s good news." I need to check up on the Yggdmillennia faction. They probably have a good amount of potions for me to pick up.


    "It''s very good news." Yasaka smiled brightly. "Not just for the war, but afterwards, we''ll have a significant source of ie and our faction will flourish quite quickly."


    "There''s also one other matter I wanted to talk to you about." Venna spoke, flipping her hand over, producing a letter with a particr wax seal on it. I hesitantly took it from her hands as I opened it up and began reading it. "Zekram asked me to give it to you, he expressed that it was of high importance that you meet him at your earliest convenience."


    I skimmed over the letter.


    h h, niceties, flowery words, lots of unnecessary stuff before he basically reiterated what Venna summarized in a single sentence over the course of several paragraphs.


    I tossed the letter on the table."How can someone use so many words to not say anything at all?"


    "It''s a well-honed gift." Venna mused. "But basically, he deems it prudent enough to be overt like this, which is somewhat out of character for him, so I would say that he isn''t just being facetious with his statement."


    "Annoying, but I guess it couldn''t hurt." I mulled it over for a moment before deciding. He was oddly polite with me, I suppose I could return that good will he gave me. "On an unrted note, I had a thought and I figured I would ask. Would everyone be interested in a beach day?"


    "Oh?" Yasaka perked up. "That sounds like a wonderful way to rx. I''ve been needing to take a break myself with how busy I''ve been. I can squeeze in a day soon so that I can push all my work aside."


    "That sounds like fun." Venna smiled.


    I nced at Salem who returned a nk look.


    "Do I seem like the type of person who lounges around on the ''beach''?"


    Well, a little bit of wind was taken from my sails. "If you don''t want toe, I wouldn''t want to force you."


    She rolled her eyes. "I suppose I can attend if it is merely a day."


    And just like that, I''m picturing Salem in a bikini. I would pay untolds about of money to see Salem try and squeeze that butt of hers into a bikini.


    Butthe others as well.


    Jeanne too.


    Bikinis for everyone!


    I should go find Izzy again because clearly, it wasn''t enough.


    Well, I had a sudden thought that seemed to squash all the lewd thoughts that were filling my head a moment prior. "Maybe..if you want to invite other people?" I looked up at Venna. "I wouldn''t be against meeting my Half-Brother."


    Venna''s eyes widened, and a bright smile filled her face. "I think he would like that very much; I will talk to my son and his wife about the particrs."


    Technically, I already met my Half-Brother, but then again, we hadn''t exchange a single word of dialogue.


    "If there is nothing else, I will be returning home." Salem stood up from her seat.


    "Do you mind if Ie along?" I asked.


    She quirked an eyebrow. "Any particr reason or do you simply wish to annoy me?"


    "Well, I always want to annoy you. But in particr, I thought we could work on a project together. You know about the Poison and Anti-Magic sword I''m doing, right? I got enough materials and stuff that I feel confident in finally getting started on the actual process. Figured you would find it interesting."


    "I do find myself curious about such an endeavor. Very well, let us depart to my castle."


    "Have fun~" Venna waved.


    "When youe back, we need to talk about our ns for Kunou''s birthday. But don''t rush, go have fun and rx." Yasaka waved me off too.


    I wasted no time opening a portal to her castle like I''ve done in the past. We simply walked through and left my birth world behind.


    "I will never get used to how convenient this magic of yours is to travel." Salem said simply. "How do you wish to get started?"


    "It''splicated, so we have to do it step by step."


    "Very well, what is the first step?"


    "Well, first thing first, we have to kiss, passionately, and for several minutes at a minimum."


    Salem crossed her arms and gave me a very deadpanned look. "Did you believe that would work?"


    "No, but I had a small bit of hope." I smiled innocently.


    She rolled her eyes again. "Wait until we are done." She huffed, looking away slightly.


    I just straightened my tie because I felt myself getting overly excited. "For real though, we should probably just find a suitable spot because some of this stuff is highly vtile. Like.I don''t know if you can survive it even."


    She seemed surprised by that but acknowledged it all the same. "I have a few ces in mind that I don''t care if they are rendered uninhabitable."


    "I " I paused because I sensed something vibrating within my storage ring. I took out my scroll and realized that I had several missed messages. Which was to be expected, I should visit Pyrrha while I was here. She knew that I wouldn''t be receiving messages in real time and everything would be dyed. But she still sent me updates and not just from the surface level ones I read. I couldn''t help but smile at some of them and made the mental promise to definitely go visit her when I was done.


    Though I had a video sent from an unknown number.


    "Something wrong?" Salem looked at me.


    "No, just someone randomly sent me a video and not many people should know this number. Do youmind if I..?"


    "I am in no hurry." She shrugged.


    I yed the video and the image of a man I sorta recognized appeared was thatthe person next to Ozpin that time I visited, what was his name again?"


    "Hey, this is Qrow." The person in the video introduced, kind of slurring thest bit and nearly following over himself.


    He was drunk, very clearly and obviously drunk.


    And I guessed that answered my question on his name.


    He was quiet for several moments and I wondered if something was wrong before he started again. "Oh, right. I was wondering if you could ask your Grimm Booty call if she could give back the part of Amber''s soul she stole, I''d ''preciate it." And the video shut off.


    .what?


    [***]


    A/N


    Next chapter should have part 4 of the Looking ss Omake, otherwise, Part 6 is up on p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.nc..o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 514: + TTLG Omake Part 4

    Chapter 514: + TTLG Omake Part 4


    I was in all honesty, unsure on how to react.


    "Salem?" I turned to look at her after receiving the message that she clearly heard as well. "Any idea what this is about?"


    Salem''s expression shifted slightly. "Where do you think Cinder got her magic from?"


    "Waityou just ripped out another girl''s soul just to give Cinder Magic?" I was left speechless.


    "I did nothing of the sort, it was Cinder''s prerogative, I merely gave her the tools." Salem replied.


    "And that makes it okay!?" I forced myself to calm down. "Salem, this is not something I''m okay with." The frustration immediately set in. "How am I supposed to react to this? This is exactly something I''d kill people for without batting an eye."


    Salem crossed her arms and scowled. "It was before."


    "What?"


    "It was before, you fool" She huffed.


    "Salem."


    "What do you think I did before we met? You know about my past from the Spirit, you are well aware of what I''ve done." She turned away. "This is the kind of person I''ve been throughout the years. Does it disgust you? Seeing what I''ve had a hand in with your own eyes?"


    "I never made it a secret that I don''t like what you used to do." I admitted.


    ".I have held to the promise I made." She said softly. "I have not engaged in such activities."


    I let out a breath, forcibly calming myself down. "I shouldn''t have started with an usatory tone, I''m sorry." At the very least, that was wrong of me.


    "Hmph." She scowled deeper, refusing to look my way with a clear hint of displeasure on her face. "Your assumption was not without merit."


    "Maybe we both could have handled that better."


    "Perhaps." She epted. "However, that does not negate what has urred. Does it fill you with hatred for me? Due to my actions some random person had parts of their soul ripped away."


    "Do you want me to hate you?" I questioned.


    "It''s the default reaction to witnessing the acts of a monster." She snorted. "This is merely one act among an uncountable that I have had a hand in throughout my existence."


    "I can''t do anything about what''s happened before. I can''t say that you suddenly ''turning good'' " I added air quotation marks around thatst bit. "  somehow makes it okay. I won''t lie and say that your past hasn''t weighed on me. But if you really are intent on this, then I''ll do everything I can to support you. If you caused some harm previously, then I''ll do what I can to correct it."


    "Many would call you a hypocrite."


    "I never said anything to the contrary." I admitted fully. "I''ll fix this."


    ".what do you need from me?"


    The fact that she was willing to help, was enough for me for now. This was a shitty situation to navigate that cropped up between us, but I would do what I could.


    "Is Cinder around? I need to get an idea of what I''m looking at."


    "One of my Grimm calls for her." Salem stated.


    Now, there was just an awkward silence between us. I think this is the first time I''ve ever had a fight with one of my girls.


    I did not like this feeling.


    Slowly, without even looking at me, Salem reached over and grabbed my hand. Without saying another word we simply waited until there was a knock on the door.


    "Come in." Salem stated, slipping back to her previous cold demeanor and crossed her arms.


    Cinder walked in. "You asked for me, Mistress."


    Salem looked at me, then I stepped forward. "I asked for you, Cinder."


    "Y-yes?" Cinder looked confused but quickly centered herself. "If I can be of assistance.."


    "There''s no easy or simple way to ask this, but I want your permission to look at your soul. I''ll promise payment, and I''ll make a promise not to harm you in any way."


    "Ah?" Confusion was clear on her face.


    "He desires to see how the Magic from the Maiden became yours." Salem exined it briefly. "You will experience no harm, and he offered you proper rpose."


    "I.ept?" She seemed to reluctantly ept my probing.


    I guess I couldn''t fault her, she was somewhat press ganged into it. And despite the sourness of how she received her Magic, well..I was trying my best to work with Salem to be better, as this technically came before, it wasn''t something I wanted to be overly aggressive on.


    I put my hand on Cinder''s shoulder and let my perception push inward. She shook as she felt my probe, but she didn''t hinder me.


    I got a good look at her soul and I nearly scoffed at what I saw. "Did you really just graft a piece of someone else''s soul onto hers?"


    I looked at Salem and she merely shrugged. "It was the most simplistic solution."


    God if she wasn''t right, this would have looked even worse.


    "And why is there a Grimm in her arm?"


    "That is how it was achieved." Salem replied.


    "It''s decaying her flesh slowly, her Magic is slowing it down, but the more she uses her Magic it''s going to elerate the rate the Grimm consumes her." I pointed out and Cinder tried to unconsciously push me out due to her startlement.


    Cinder looked up at her wanting an answer.


    "I intended to remove it once she got her Magic under control." Salem frowned. "It would be difficult when her Magic is so disorderly."


    "I wasn''t using you." I made sure to iterate.


    Her expression softened slightly. "I am aware."


    I looked down at Cinder. "Don''t panic about what I said, it''s within the realm of manageability. That''s more long term consequences. You''d probably be fine for a fewmonths without any intervention before any real damage urred."


    ".thank you." Cinder forced out, still kind ofout of it from a few sudden revtions.


    "She will master her control within the week at the rate she is going. She is surprisingly talented for only having just received Magic." Salem stated.


    Cinder seemed to straighten up slightly and her mood lifted. "Thank you, mistress."


    I let out a sigh, thinking about what I was going to do next. "The girl you stole it from, she''s still alive, correct?"


    Cinder''s lips thinned, but she quickly shifted back to something resembling politeness. "The Maiden was saved before I could fully take her Magic. One of Ozpin''s pawns interfered at a crucial moment."


    I couldn''t help but rub my temples. "I''m going to be healing the ''Maiden''."


    Cinder blinked, her confusion reappeared quickly.


    I searched through my ring and found a plethora of things that would be valuable to her. Beginner items, magic books, reagents, practice items, that sort of thing and I ced them all on the ground next to her. "It seems like you and Salem need to have a talk."


    Salem didn''t look too happy, but there was a sort of understanding there. I don''t think she''s been entirely upfront about her new. perspective. "It seems that we do. Come along Cinder, collect your rewards and we will have a discussion while we tend to your lessons today."


    Salem ushered the hands-full Cinder out of the room. She paused at the threshold of the door, turning around to look at me before giving me a faint smile and leaving.


    This is not what I expected to be doing today.


    Honestly, I really just wanted to hit something until it stopped breathing at this point.


    With a thought, I opened a portal and walked through.


    [***]


    Beacon Academy was always a magnificent sight to see. Honestly, I wish I went to a school that looked this incredible.


    But aesthetics aside, I was here on a particr mission. I even forwent seeking out Pyrrha because I wanted to quickly get this done and out of the way.


    Also, I didn''t want to just.walk into a school in the middle of the day, especially if I was technically trespassing on campus at the moment.


    It was one thing for me to be on the periphery, it was another for me to be wandering a hall with the students. Especially when I didn''t have the most ster reputation among the poption of Remnant


    God, what a fucking mess this was.


    Was it worth it? I would say yes without a shadow of a doubt. I cared about Salem, I wanted her to be better, I wanted us to work out. But God fucking damn it, this was some horrendous shit that I would honestly kill thousands for doing and have a clear conscious at the end.


    She was getting better though.


    I wasn''t..blinded by my own emotions. As much as it would hurt, I would cut it off if she didn''t change her ways.


    I could justify it every which way. I could point out how others in my Harem had done pretty horrific shit in their lives. How many of them have rivers of blood left in their wake, but at the end of the day, I''m just a hypocrite.


    It didn''t take long for my presence to get noticed, and the Deputy Head Mistress came pushing out the doors with a haste in her step. "Mr. Schweinorg, we were not expecting you."


    She not so subtly hinted that my appearance was certainly not appreciated in this way "I''m sorry, but it''s sort of a pressing matter."


    She pushed her sses up. "And what matter presses you so, Mr. Schweinorg."


    "I believe it involves a certain Maiden of yours missing a chunk of her soul."


    She twitched slightly and settled on a frown. "I believe the Headmaster is more appropriate to continue this matter, follow along."


    And she didn''t sound too happy either.


    She didn''t say another word before turning on her heels and heading back inside. And I knew a cue to follow when I saw it. Just the way her heels hit the tiles of the school, anyone nearby made way.


    Some curious nces were thrown my way, ones that obviously recognized me, but again, no one wanted to get in her way.


    She took me straight to the elevator leading up to the Headmaster''s tower.


    "Mr. Schweinorg, what an unexpected surprise." The Headmaster had a steaming mug of coffee or tea in his hand as he greeted me upon leaving the elevator.


    "Headmaster Ozpin." I greeted.


    The Deputy Headmistress walked up to Ozpin and whispered some things into his ear. His expression changed a few times before she finished and proceeded to silently stand at his side.


    Ozpin put his mug down and interlocked his fingers, letting his elbows rest on his desk. "You seemed to have some desire to meet this supposed ''Maiden'' yes?"


    I let out a sigh I was forcing back previously. "Qrow left me a message about ''returning the soul of Amber'' some weeks ago, I just got it recently."


    Ozpin twitched slightly, and Miss Goodwitch pped her palm against her face.


    "Presumably speaking  "


    "I heard the details from the ones involved." I cut him off.


    Ozpin frowned. "And you believe we would let you around a person who was almost murdered by people you admit are associates?"


    "I''ll heal her." I said bluntly.


    Ozpin blinked. "Forgive me if I''m skeptical, Mr. Schweinorg. Why would someone associates with my sworn enemy wish to heal the person they tried to kill and desire her death still? If you are aware of what transpired, I need not exin the full details of how the Maiden''s powers transfer."


    "You''re worried I''m going to finish the job?"


    "Would you be in my shoes?"


    "That''s.fair." I could see it from his perspective. "What if I said I could find her myself and do it anyways?"


    "Is that supposed to endear you to me, Mr. Schweinorg? Giving me a tant threat?"


    I winced and let out another sigh. "You''re right, I''m beingbative when I don''t need to be. Would it help if I said please?" I tried to give my most charming and disarming smile.


    "No." He took a sip out of his mug. "Perhaps I might be inclined if you could give me a proper reason."


    "Goodness for the sake of goodness?"


    "You are associated with the woman who controls the ck Tide of Remnant." He pointed out.


    "Would you believe me if I said that Salem isn''t going to be evil anymore?" God it sounded fucking childish to even say that out loud in this sort of context.


    ''Well, she promised she wouldn''t be evil!''


    "No." He didn''t even bat an eyelid. Right, I didn''t expect it. "However, I will believe you believe that. But I will never believe that Salem can turn over a new leaf." He got up from his seat. "Glynda, please hold any of my calls while I go down to the basement with Mr. Schweinorg."


    "You can''t be serious" Her eyes widened. "You''re going to take her to see Amber after that?"


    "I''m actually with her on this." I found myself agreeing with her despite it counter to my own interests.


    Ozpin just took another sip, smiling lightly. "I am very old, Mr. Schweinorg. One thing you discover when you reach my age is how to read people. For selfish reasons or not, I feel you are being genuine. I can''t im to read your mind, but if you can heal Amber without any negative consequences, then I am inclined to allow it."


    "Oh.."


    "Come, I''ll show you where we''re keeping Amber while we try to figure out what to do." Ozpin beckoned me towards the Elevator with an annoyed Deputy Headmistress seething behind.


    What I didn''t expect was for him to press a bunch of buttons in presumed intentional sequences,because they lit up and the Elevator began to drop much further than the ground floor I came up in.


    Secret Elevator Entrance, neat.


    "So.uh, it''s not awkward that I''m dating your Ex, is it?"


    "It was not until you just mentioned it."


    ".my bad."


    "Personally, I''m more concerned that she is the embodiment of all Evil on this." He hummed almost nonchntly despite the topic. "Here we are." The elevator dinged and it opened up into a dark area.


    Ozpin walked a few steps and flipped a switch, the lights around using on to reveal a rather intricate and high scale system on full disy.


    Front and foremost, there was a woman in a pod full of liquid with many different medical devices plugged in to monitor her.


    She was not looking good and appeared to be on herst legs. Damage to the soul can have quite adverse effects to the physical body.


    "Just like this?" I looked at Ozpin.


    "Did you expect some sort of test?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Well, this is a school. I suppose I can whip something up."


    "No I meantYou''re being very trusting even after what you said."


    "I am very old, Mr. Schweinorg -"


    "I got that part." I interrupted him. "Sorry, just been a crappy day as of about an hour ago when I learned this happened."


    Ozpin looked me over for a moment before turning to the women in the capsule. "I am assuming you need direct ess?"


    "That would be preferable, yes." I nodded.


    "The time she can spend outside is limited, these machines are keeping her soul from copsing onto itself." Ozpins stated.


    "Normally, I would love to talk shop with you on how you rigged up these machines to facilitate the life support system of her soul, but priorities." I stood in front of the capsule as Ozpin hit a few buttons and with a waft of smoke, it drained then began to open. I quickly put my hand on her shoulder to get a better look at what was going on. "Fucking hell, she''s barely hanging on."


    "Indeed." Ozpin just calmly sipped his drink he took from upstairs. "And you are sure you can heal her?"


    "Nope, this is outside my pay grade." I denied without a second thought. I was confident in certain maniptions of the soul. Like removing a Sacred Gear without problems, that''s not too difficult. Healing a soul that had nearly copsed? That was outside my area of expertise. "But thankfully, I know an expert in the area."


    "You wish to bring someone else here?" Ozpin didn''t outright deny me, even sounding curious. "Very well, if you have confidence in this ''expert'', by all means."


    "I''ll..be right back." I held up a finger and quickly opened a portal to a third world I was visiting today.


    This was making me mentally exhausted from constantly running around.


    Thankfully, I was on good terms with someone who was an expert in soul-based healing. The person who originally taught me Kid and the basics of Kaido in the first ce.


    Tessai seemed amicable enough to lend a hand, and I could pay properly for his services.


    The rich air filled with Reishi hit me immediately and I couldn''t help but take arge and filling breath. The Hogyoku refilled my Reiatsu reserves, but there was just a difference between taking it in the ''normal'' way that was somewhat refreshing.


    However, my brief respite on this shit day was cut short because an explosion rocked the surroundings, filled with a burst of Reiatsu and a red light that covered the city line.


    Why were there humanoid Hollows flying in the sky above Karakura town?


    You know what, I didn''t care for the reason. Because my day took another unexpected turn, but at least this time, I had something I could punch.


    [***}


    Non-Canon Omake: Through the Looking ss Part 4


    I kind of just rolled the roulette on who I grabbed.


    And hey, I got a two-for-one.


    Whether it was a good or bad thing, that had yet to be decided, but Scthach and my own Venna joined me at my side. Truthfully, I was aiming for Venna, mostly because I didn''t want to be the only one having to experience the awkwardness here. And secondly, no that was the only real reason.


    Scthach probably followed along due to one whim or another. She does things because she''s bored fairly often.


    It was funny, two Vennas just sort of stared each other down, giving each a through visual inspection.


    I admit, that the idea of two Vennas within arms reach made my mind race.


    "I half thought I was hallucinating this whole thing." My mom finally spoke up, breaking the awkward silence, staring at both my Venna and hers.


    "Student, an exnation is required." Scthach spoke up, eyeing the room sort of warily.


    "Thisis my mom." I sort of half gestured to her.


    Normally, I think Scthach would give me a little notice of annoyance with my suboptimal ''exnation'', but for some reason, her expression shifted considerably.


    "I see."


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you. Wilhelm speaks of you often and highly." Venna took it gracefully.


    Mom smiled brilliantly. "Does he?" Sheughed lightly. "So yours is just as big a momma''s boy as mine is?"


    "Of most definitely." Venna covered her mouth andughed politely. "By the looks around the room, I am to assume you were not expecting us?"


    "No, it was rather..sudden." The other Venna spoke up.


    Both of mine looked towards me. "It was a kneejerk reaction."


    "Well, I can''t say I dislike thepany." My Venna gave the other Venna a little smirk. "I certainly do like how I look from the front."


    "Oh, you." The other Venna waved her hand cutely at her. "Though, you do bring up a good point." She straightened her dress sort of sizing herself up against her mirrored self. "It really is nice to see myself from this angle."


    Was she flirting with herself?


    God that makes me feel things I''m having trouble articting.


    "If you are done flirting with yourself." Scthach spoke up.


    Oh good, I wasn''t the only one picking up on that.


    "We can catch upter~"


    Scthach rolled her eyes. "Greetings, I am this foolish man''s teacher. I am Scthach." She introduced herself to my mother.


    "You''re..his girlfriend?" My other self hesitantly asked.


    Scthach looked at my younger self and her lips slowly curled up. "My student, look how young and innocent you used to be. Where did that boy who first sought my tutge go? Before the cocksure and shamelessness took over. How nostalgic." She looked at my other self with a reminiscent gaze. "To answer your question, it is an aptparison. I am his woman for now and forever."


    "Daughter!" Mom mmed her hands on the table. "I have a daughter!"


    "Mom.." I covered my face.


    "Call me mom!" She looked at Scthach.


    "I am very old"


    "Mom!"


    "Well over two-thousand.."


    "Mom!!"


    "I am  "


    "Mom!!!!"


    Scthach turned to me in exasperation. "Is this where you learned such things from?" With a sigh, she seemed to know a losing battle when she fought one. ".mother."


    Mom let out a happy scream.


    "Wait, did you say over two-thousand years old?" Alternate Takao looked confused.


    Sona smacked him lightly on the head. "Don''t ask ady about their age, it''s just as much a faux pass in the supernatural world as it is among humans."


    "sorry."


    "Yeah, she''s old." I nodded.


    Scthach smacked me, not so lightly upside the head. "Learn from the mistakes of yourself."


    "Do I call you mom too?" Venna grinned, looking at my mom.


    "You!" Mom leveled a finger pointing at her, then at the other Venna. "I have so many things I want to say but I have no idea where to start! Sirzechs, tag in."


    "Wah?" My alternate Biological Father looked around confused. "Mom?"


    "Yes, Dear?" Both Vennas answered simultaneously.


    "Bwah?"


    "I think he''s a bit confused." My Venna pointed out.


    Well, I suppose it was one thing to hear it and another to witness it. Compared to me and my younger self, there was a bit of a disconnect. But both Vennas were literally mirrors of each other.


    The Maid at his side let out a long sigh. "Mother, please don''t tell me you''re actually having sexual rtions with your Grandson?"


    "Do you want me to lie?" My Venna offered.


    The maid groaned, face palming. "How?"


    "I would like to know too." The other Venna spoke up. "Not that he isn''t a handsome young man, and hitting a lot of my buttons. But he''s my Grandson, I honestly couldn''t see him as anything but that. I changed his Diapers, helped him with his homework." She trailed off.


    "Exactly!" Takao blurted out.


    "She seduced me." I reiterated.


    "That''s not an exnation!" He shot back.


    "Well, that''s pretty urate." My Venna hummed.


    "Mother!" Several voices all ovepped, among them were my alternate father, my own mom, the Maid, and even Venna''s daughter.


    Scthach turned to me. "Did you not tell them?"


    "What? Do you expect me to just tell my life story to anyone willing to listen" I grumbled.


    "Wilhelm." Venna wrapped her arms around me, and her ratherrge bosom rested on top of my head. "It''s not the same thing and you know it. We''ve talked about this, don''t be obtuse because you''re ufortable with the topic. Either reject answering, or speak truthfully."


    I grumbled again and relented. "It seems our paths diverged much earlier on. My mom died when I was about 7 years old."


    "Oh." My other self looked like he sucked a lemon. "I''m.sorry?"


    Honestly, it was appreciated because I know he was being genuine. "Anyways, she died when I was young, and I was moved here for until I left to do my own thing."


    "How does that..turn into this." Sona gestured at Venna. "Wouldn''t she "


    "I met him for the first time some months ago when I was rescued after being kidnapped. Well, myself and Milicas."


    "What?" My Alternate Father''s hand seared through the table as his Power of Destruction obliterated it on contact. It took him a moment before a sheepish look overcame the flicker of rage that appeared. "Mother, please exin that in detail."


    The Maid at his side didn''t say anything, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.


    "Oh, the Old Satan faction thought it would be a good idea to hold both myself and Milicas over your heads and I assume an opportunity presented itself." She hummed. "Wilhelm rescued us. And he was so dashing, that I couldn''t help myself~. I may have offered him a proper reward."


    "Oh my." The other Venna covered her mouth with a peculiar look about her.


    "Lucky bastard." Issei muttered.


    "Issei, that''s my Grandma!" Takao squawked."


    "I know!"


    "Ah!"


    "Mother, please." The other Lucifer let out a strained sigh. "Important parts, kidnapping, please. I can have nightmares about my mom and son having sexter!"


    "I swear, no matter the world, my children are such prudes." My Venna shrugged helplessly.


    "Yours too?" The Other Venna looked at mine.


    "It seems to be a constant." She nodded. "But I digress. I''m not quite sure what else I can say, I don''t even know the date here."


    "It might not even matter, a butterfly ps its wings, and on the other side of the world, a storm is created." I tapped the table. "With a divergence wide enough, things could bepletely different."


    "Are you suggesting that you would cause such arge ''divergence''?" Sona asked, skeptically.


    I shrugged. "Who knows."


    "Okay, let''s set a time line." Mom raised her hands up. "Wilhelm, go back to...where I died and your Father and Grayfia raised you." She paused and I guess she noticed the look all of us on my side had. "What?"


    I could feel Venna''s hand sneak down and grab mine. "I lived by myself."


    "What?" Mom furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"


    "I did not have a Father. I did not have a family." I said very pointedly. "Up until I was just about an adult, I was by myself."


    "What." Mom''s tone changed quickly.


    "What do you mean you didn''t have a family. I''m here, she was there, right?" Rias spoke up again for the first time in awhile. "Brother.and  "


    "Rias, dear." My Venna had a calm smile as she gently guided her daughter to stop speaking. "Listen fully."


    I let out a breath and the fact that I had to exin this infront of their happy family, it made me feel things I thought I had forgotten a long time ago. "I was unwanted and just put here to make sure I wouldn''t die in a ditch somewhere. I was checked up on every few months or so to make sure I was still alive. It wasn''t the shortest end of the stick I could have gotten. I had all my needs taken care of, admittedly, Kuoh Academy is a very prestigious school, and even "


    Mom pped the table again. "Sirzechs Lucifer." She forced out.


    "It wasn''t me, Meiko!" My alternate Father defended himself. "You know I would never abandon my kid like that, right?"


    And if that wasn''t one of the biggest spears into my heart that I''ve ever felt. It''s times like this that I think I''m over something and then I realize that I''m just an idiot. It took an incredible amount of self-control to keep a straight face at what he said.


    "I know, I know." Mom grit her teeth, rubbing her temples. "I''m just exceedingly pissed off right now and I have no outlet." She turned back at me. "You were 7! I just died, and you were..shoved in a corner and ignored!?" She sounded almost like she was going to scream. "Venna, what the hell!?" She obviously directed thatst bit to my Venna.


    "Believe me, I am also thoroughly upset with my own son in how he handled things. To give a bit of perspective, we were under the impression that Wilhelm was living a ''normal'' human life. He had given a rather convincing argument that since Wilhelm had no knowledge of Devil culture in addition to being.wellnot so talented in our aspects, that it would be best for him to live a normal human life."


    Mom took a deep breath. "That sounds rather convincing when put that way. But I''m going to rip his balls off!"


    "Meiko." The Lucifer coughed awkwardly.


    "Actually, you know what? You have my blessing!" She looked at Venna. "Make lots of babies with my boy, Venna."


    "Ara?" Venna blinked.


    Oh wow, I didn''t know mom could make her speechless like that. Frankly, I was unsure of how to verbally address her blessing either. I mean, It''s not like I''m oblivious to the taboo nature of our rtionship, I just never thought my mom would give me the go ahead.


    "It makes him ufortable, I assume?"


    "Quite a bit."


    "Lots of babies." Mom stated.


    I think there''s a hidden agenda there.


    "Mom!?" Takao squawked again.


    "Miss Shimoda!?"


    "Dear.please don''t give mom permission to bear her own great grandchildren." My Alternate father groaned.


    "Takao is still off limits." She pointed to her own Venna. "He''s much too young, Venna. If you must, wait until he''s an adult and has some experience so he can make a proper decision."


    "Oh?" The other Venna just seemed humored by the whole thing.


    "Mom, I''m not going to make a harem with Grandma!"


    "Miss Shimoda, we''re dating." Sona pushed up her sses.


    "Oh please, like I don''t know that Serafall is trying to get between you both. Literally, I mean, not figuratively trying to break you up." Mom just snorted.


    "Ah!?" Sona let out her own weird noise as her face went bright red and she oddly went quiet.


    Okay other me, maybe I was too quick to dismiss you.


    Sisters? Well, that''s something I could acknowledge.


    "Meiko, perhaps you should calm yourself." The Maid stepped in. "This kind of rtionship would  "


    "She was the one who checked on me." I decided to blurt out then and there.


    Mom''s fury was then directed at the Maid, and she quickly shrunk back under the intense re. "Grayfia."


    Did I take inordinate pleasure in this? Yes, yes I did.


    "Stop fanning the mes." Scthach pulled on my cheek. "This will take longer because you are knowingly causing problems. Speak properly, student."


    Mom just stared for a moment and cracked a smile. "I see, you''re the one who keeps him in line then?"


    "I try, but it is a difficult task." Scthach sighed. "I am lucky to have others assist in this endeavor."


    "Thank you for taking care of my son." Mom bowed her head politely.


    "It is most certainly my pleasure." Scthach smiled.


    "What about me?" Venna asked.


    "I know you probably take care of him, but I''m stilling to terms with my mother-inw seducing my son." Mom pursed her lips.


    "She does..she helps me a lot." I felt protective of Venna, even if it was mom being dismissive. "She''s helped me work through a lot of my.problems." I somehow forced myself to admit.


    Mom blinked and went silent for a moment, perhaps understanding fully what I meant by that.


    "But why our Grandma!" My other self seemed to have yet to learn the ability to read the room.


    "Sorry for not liking in girls." I said dryly.


    "Don''t turn it around on me!"


    "You''re not denying it then?"


    "Don''t put words in my mouth!"


    "Takao."


    "Student."


    Both of our minders seemed to interrupt our little spat at the same time.


    "Fine, to make matters short. I grew up alone, left when I could and fucked off to other ces so things went much different." I crossed my arms.


    "That still doesn''t exin anyrge divergences." Sona stated.


    "Has Youkai Kyoto been attacked yet?" I asked.


    "No, I do not believe so." Sona answered. And without a confirmation elsewhere, it was safe to believe her.


    "Any news on the Khaos Brigade?"


    "The what?"


    "Has Kokabiel attacked you all yet?"


    "What?"


    "Perhaps it is best to line up events that have urred?" Scthach offered. "What has happened in recent times that is noteworthy?"


    "I mean.not much?" Takao looked around. "It''s been sort of quiet. Unless you want to count Rias''s marriage thing"


    "Marriage thing?" My Venna tilted her head. "Did she get married already?"


    Rias scoffed crossing her own arms. "He wishes. No, I got out of it, thankfully."


    "Oh did you win your rating game?" Venna smiled happily. "I''m happy you were able to resolve it to your liking, Rias."


    "She did not." The other Venna said simply. "Though, it somehow resolved, however, the Phenex family are not too pleased with certain people''s actions." She looked at her son.


    "Oh, let me guess, you lost the Rating Game but still got out of it due to nepotism?" I raised my hand.


    The fact that I was not admonished by anyone pretty much meant my words stuck true.


    "Hey, I was the one who beat that Chicken bastard!" Issei spoke up.


    "How''d you do that?"


    "Well, I just challenged him during the wedding." Issei said. "I beat him up pretty good."


    "After the Rating Game?" I asked.


    "Yeah." Issei nodded.


    "So, let me get this straight. The Rating game, for which the stakes were marriageyou lost, meaning you had to fulfill your end of the bargain." I looked at Rias.


    "Y-yes"


    "And then this idiot" I pointed to Issei.


    "Hey!"


    "Justbarges in during the ceremony, and fights with your husband-to-be and somehow beats him, which somehow settles everything?"


    "Yes!" Rias said firmly.


    "Sonepotism." I deadpanned.


    "But I won!" Issei countered.


    "Then what was the fucking point of the Rating Game?" I asked.


    "Well.um." Issei didn''t have an answer for that.


    "Ara Ara, Wilhelm-kun, it sounds like you might be a bit jealous." The stripper put a hand on her hips.


    ".of what?"


    "Our Issei is strong enough to beat Riser. Both of you are wielders of the Boosted Gear, but it seems like Issei here is a step ahead of you."


    I opened my mouth and closed it again.


    "Yeah, what she said!" Issei nodded happily.


    "Maybe she has a point." Sona said with a slight smile.


    "Oh God, what has my lifee to that the fuck ups that are this peerage are trying to take the high ground from?" I looked at myself and seriously considered my life choices.


    "Hey, don''t talk about my peerage like that!" Rias was quick to defend them. "My peerage is amazing, I''m lucky to have them."


    "Your peerage needs therapy. Like, all the therapy." I raised a hand, pointing at Issei. "The kid who literally shouts about how much he loves boobs and watches underaged girls undress is the most well-rounded individual in your peerage. Please, consider that for a moment."


    "That''s not  "


    I cut off Rias''s Stripper Queen. "How''s your Fallen Half doing?" She mmed up immediately. "Or should we talk about Holy Swords infront of your knight." I looked at Rias. "Maybe Senjutsu infront of your Rook? Or maybe we should ask your Bishop toe out and y?"


    Rias was pretty much silent at that.


    "And what about your peerage?" Takao asked. "You should have one, right?"


    "Why the hell would I have one?"


    "You mean you aren''t even high-ss at this point?" Myother self grunted.


    "No, I mean what makes you think I''m part of the Devil Faction?"


    "Wha?"


    "I fucked off from this ce years ago, I live over in Youkai territory. I don''t need to enve people to have friends and family."


    "They''re not ves!"


    "Rias, dear. You should understand, that as your parents, we''re not supposed to interfere with your running of your peerage as your spot as ''king'' is very literal in that sense. But since I''m not technically your mother here,but please take this with all the love I intend for it to have, he''s very much correct." My Venna seemed to back me up. "And this is with my very own and willing Queen."


    In fact the other Venna looked like she was thankful that someone was being very blunt with her.


    "You have a Queen?" The Other Venna''s eyes shined. "Who?"


    "Mozart." My Venna looked rather smug as she said that.


    "The real one?"


    She nodded.


    "I''m jealous~"


    "You can thank my wonderful lover for that~" She looked at me.


    "Ah?" Rias seemed to ignore thest back and forth between her mirrored mothers and was still stuck on Venna backing me as I maybe tore into her a bit too hard.


    Well, it could be considered a kindness in some perspective.


    Honestly, I don''t know why she sets me off so easily. Maybe because I''m annoyed with how she seemingly had everything handed to her, fucked up bad, and still came out in her favor.


    "Hey, don''t put Rias down like that!" Issei shot up to his feet, the Boosted gear pointed at me. "Let''s fight, if I win, you have to apologize to her!"


    Slowly, I turned to Scthach, and she must have noticed my widening smile because she merely sighed and visibly relented.


    "No fighting!" Mom quickly interjected.


    Surprisingly, it was my alternate Father who stopped her. "Come dear, it''smon in our culture to fight to settle our differences. I promise you that no one will be overly hurt." He calmed her down. "Besides, I want to see how much my son grew in a few years, I''m sure he''s be a powerful Devil."


    .the fact that he sounded proud just made things even more difficult for me.


    "I ept!" I focused on the ''fight'' rather than the strange emotions I was feeling.


    "I can''t wait to punch your face, handsome bastard! Taking all the oppai and leaving none for the rest of us! My Harem dreams aren''t going to lose to yours!"


    What the fuck are you talking about?


    "Well, I look forward to someone getting their just deserts." Sona harumphed.


    I felt a little twitch and my pettiness was rearing its head. "What do you think, honey?'' I looked up at Scthach. "Do you think I''m going to get my just deserts."


    Scthach raised an eyebrow. "If you lose, my effort in training you would have been wasted."


    "Oh sorry, I forgot to properly introduce her to you all. This is Scthach, perhaps you don''t know her all too well. She''s more prolific in Celtic Legends. She''s the one who trained the Irish Hercules, the Queen of the Land of Shadows, the God yer. And most important, my Teacher."


    I stood up, casually stretching while they mulled over that little tidbit of information. Honestly, I''m not surprised if they didn''t immediately jump up in recognition of her name. Compared to Artoria, she''s much less renown outside of her home country.


    "Now then, where do you want to fight?" I was going to take far too much pleasure in this.


    [***]


    A/N


    Part 6 of the omake is up on the p.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 515:

    Chapter 515:


    Part of me just wanted to rush head first at the first thing I could conveniently punch. Actually that was a lie, probably about 95% of me wanted to do that right now. And that''s acknowledged the fact that I really shouldn''t be fighting at the moment because my body was still recovering from the whole Asgard debacle. Sure, I wasn''t significantly <em>weakened</em>, but putting undue strain on myself would not be the most wise decision.


    On the flip side, <em>I really neededto punch something</em>.


    Ipromised with myself and gave myself a moment to survey the surroundings.


    The one thing I noticed was theck of humans around. Which was odd considering we were somewhere in the middle of the city.


    I''m assuming that Yoruichi and the rest of Soul Society had something to do with that? I suspected if they were expecting an attack and set up in the middle of a poption dense area, they would have means to make sure humans didn''t get caught up in whatever they were doing.


    However, I could feel perhaps a couple dozen impressive Reiatsu signatures throughout the city, about half of them were from Hollows it felt like, and the others either Shinigami or the kids I was familiar with.


    What to do, what to do.


    I noticed one of the human hollows, err¡­.I think they were called Arrancars? He was sitting atop a building not participating in the battles.


    That wouldn''t do, everyone needed to earn their participation trophy!I didn''t really hide my presence as I used a burst of Shunpo to appear on the same rooftop as him.


    The big Hollow guy slowly turned his head to face me. And he was most certainly big, at least twice my size overall. Big bulky muscles, half his head shaved and ck, while the other side was wild and red, going past his shoulders. His Hollow Mask was thin and went across his nose with his Hollow Hole was right in the center of his chest. Honestly, despite all this, the most striking of his features were his eyebrows that seemed to extend across the side of his head¡­.and they were bright red like half his hair.


    "Good day." I was nothing if not polite.


    "A human?" He looked at me with disinterest.


    Well, I suppose that would be his first assumption as while I was not hiding, I was also not broadcasting myself, and I wouldn''t feel like a Shinigami. They were probably only able to differentiate between ''living person'' and ''Shinigami''.


    "Yup." It was technically true, the best kind of true.


    I walked up to him and put a hand on his arm. "Damn big guy, what workouts do you do because you are <em>ripped</em>."


    He swung his arm sideways through the air, and credit where it''s due, that was probably enough to turn a building into rubble.


    "Do Hollows workout? Can you gain muscle mass?" I appeared on his other side after moving in with Shunpo. "Can hollows get fat!?" These questions needed answering.


    "Annoying." He turned to face me and threw a solid punch right in my direction, obliterating the corner of the building directly behind me.


    "That was close." I hummed, using Shunpo to appear on the other side again.


    He frowned. "You''re not as weak as you look."


    "Is that apliment or an insult?"


    He tilted his head. "Yes."


    "I like you, big guy. Do you mind answering a question for me?"


    "Hmph, ask your question, it will be yourst before I turn you into a meat paste." He cracked his knuckles.


    "Awesome, so, I just wanted to know what hair care routines you employ to get your eyebrows to behave like that." I pointed at them specifically.


    His eye twitched slightly and a good amount of Reiatsu gathered around his right fist and he threw it right at the spot I was in.


    His fist missed, but it hit the floor ¨C the base of the roof of the building we were on and the force was sent downwards, destroying every floor of this multi-floor building as they copsed inward.


    "Rude." I shed in front of him and cracked him across the face with my fist sending him hurling to the ground.


    It''s weird, it''s only one punch, but I feel like a lot of stress just washed away!


    I floated to the ground where he pulled himself out of the crater he had created in the street.


    He wiped away a trickle of blood from his nose, not looking too worse for wear. And to be honest, I forgot that Hollow seemingly had this sort of innate physical protection about them. Sort of like Reinforcement, but only focused on defense.


    It was interesting if nothing else.


    I hadn''t thought about Hollows in awhile until this moment, and I recalled that I wasn''t entirely informed on everything about them.


    I would have to do more experimentation in the future.


    On other subjects, of course. This one in particr I was wanting to beat into a pulp for stress relief.


    "You were hiding your strength. Being able to hit me, I''ll take you seriously as an opponent. You can consider yourself lucky, human."


    "Okay."


    "I am Edrad Liones!" He hit his fists together and pulled free his sword from his waist. "Erupt ¨C Volc¨¢nica" Arge pir of fire and Reiatsu erupted with him as the epicenter. The mes were admittedly intense and melted away the surroundings as they ascended to the sky and even pierced through the clouds above.


    Hmm.


    Was this the average strength of those Arrancar? I recall that there were the ''elites'', Espada or something? He was noticeably weaker than those I fought, but that wasn''t really a goodparison when they had no idea what they were dealing with before.


    Actually, now that I thought about it, <em>why doesn''t he recognize me</em>? They''re supposed to be subordinates of Aizen, and I''m fairly sure he hated me at this point. I''m almost positive that he would want all his subordinates to know exactly who I was.


    "Tell me your name, human." He spoke, pointing one of his new and utterly massive arms at me.


    He didn''t change overly much, maybe he got a tad bigger? But his arms and shoulders were now utterly covered in that white bone-like material Hollow masks were made of. From his shoulders, the bone-like material protruded from him like crags and his hands were now almost the size of my entire body.


    At this point, he felt stronger than most Jotun I noticed during the fighting in Asgard. Not at the level of the Warlords I fought, but impressive all the same.


    Unfortunately, still not close enough to actually be a threat to me.


    "¡­..Kurosaki Ichigo."


    "Someone on the list, that''s good." He smiled happily. "....didn''t it say you had orange hair?" He scratched his head. "Doesn''t matter, I''ll be rewarded for removing you."


    "List? There''s a list? Who''s at the top of this list?"


    "If that''s thest question you want to ask, then fine. Some human or something by the name of Wilhelm Schweinorg." He shrugged.


    I feel proud of myself.


    "Actually, I have onest question." I held up a hand.


    "What?" He seemed annoyed, but still answered.


    "Why is it in Spanish?"


    "What?" His expression shifted to confusion.


    "Your release, <em>why Spanish?</em> You were using a Katana, that''s Japanese. And Aizen is¡­well, I think he''s of Japanese descent? The entirety of Soul Society seems to mirror Japanese Society. They''re called <em>Shinigami</em>. So...why Spanish?"


    "..."


    "..."


    "Burst." A searing hot me shot out from his fist soaring down the empty street.


    "Cultural Appropriation!" I shouted, dodging out of the way.


    The big guy, who was deceptively fast apparently, appeared above me with his own movement technique.


    Was it Sonido as they called it? Made me remember first hand that the people here are all extremely fast and not to underestimate them in this regard in the future if I ran into someone around my level.


    I pondered a question as his fists rained down from above, hitting me into the ground.


    Why was it Spanish again?


    My Aura red up as his molten fists continued to m downward into me.


    Did that mean the names were justpletely irrelevant? Or was there some secret conflict between the origins of Japanese and Spanish that Hollows were for some reason based around Spanish and the Shinigami are Japanese?


    So many questions that no one''s answering for me.


    Though it was hard to give them proper thought over his shouts and fists hitting me.


    Eventually his fists came to a stop and the mes around him simmered down and he let out a breath, looking at the massive crater he created and by extension myself who wasying down at the furthest point.


    "What¡­?" He expressed obvious confusion at my being whole and healthy it seemed.


    I did touch on the Hogyoku to let my Aura act more protectively. Granted, It wouldn''t havested much longer without breaking if I had let him keep going. My Aura was strong and a great defense, but it''s not without its limits under constant bombardment of that level.


    "Thank you sir, may I have another?" I met his gaze.


    "Who are you? No human should have been able to withstand my power!" His voice raised in usation.


    I pushed myself up, wiping away the dust and concrete bits that seemed to get stuck in my clothes.


    Oof, I did feel that a little bit. Not a smart idea for me to just take that while in this condition. Not the stupidest thing I''ve ever done, but I rarely had opportunities to just be nonchnt like this.


    "Funny you should ask." I tilted my head, looking at him and my Hogyoku shifted into Demonic Power. My horns sprouted, my tail appeared and all my demonic features quickly overtook my normal self.


    His eyes widened and his mes reignited. "Burst!" He yelled, throwing his fist in my direction with another pir of fire following.


    My Power of Destruction swelled up and took it head on. The inky ck energy began to devour the mes of the Hollow.


    The waves of fire quickly began to dissipate as my Power of Destruction washed over it. My Power of Destruction was potent enough to contend with <em>Karna''s</em> Divine mes, his were a far cry from the Demi-God son of Surya.


    As his mes died around him, his fist was filled with a red light that seemed to vibrate the air around it, making it much heavier than normal as the Reiatsu responded strangely.


    "Cero!" He called out and a beam of condensed Hollow Reiatsu seemed to take on a new form and came my way like aser.


    My Power of Destruction flowed out and I braced myself, curious about the power of this attack and took it head on.


    It actually managed to push me back a few feet before my Power of Destruction tore it away.


    "Interesting, I see how it works! Due to the nature of Hollow Reiatsu being ''heavier'' than that of the opposite side of the spectrum, it''s able to be condensed down to a fine point then <em>released</em> as a directional attack. The condensed nature is unraveled at the point of release, acting as a sort of vacuum that causes destruction in its wake."


    What a neat and simplistic attack that makes use of the very basics of a Hollow''s Spiritual Powers.


    And its strength should only be limited by the amount of Reiatsu you can feed into the condensation along with your ability to contain it.


    Fascinating.


    "Let me try!"


    I called upon my Power of Destruction and began to condense it into a ball shape at the point of my finger.


    The air vibrated simrly, but it was much different than what the Hollow just did. I was talking a big game, but I realized almost immediately that it was pointless to mimic it. I couldn''t copy a Cero because my Reiatsu was that of a living person''s. A minor but significant difference in application here. Well, maybe I could with further testing, but I didn''t really have the time at the moment.


    Regardless, my Power of Destruction reached its precipice after a moment.


    Condense, condense, condense. It was simr to the attack I copied from Venna but more directed into a singr point.


    What should I call it?


    Eh, fuck it.


    "Cero."


    It wasn''t as <em>wide</em> nor destructive inparison, but the beam of pure Destruction shot off and the Hollow jerked out of the way, but one of his arms was immediately eviscerated, along with a chunk off the side of his stomach.


    I might have underestimated the power because it shot through dozens of buildings, and I lost sight of it¡­.


    Woops.


    I really did need to practice my Power of Destruction more, I relied on it to brute force more than anything. Granted, that''s been helpful to me thus far, I need to expand it more.


    The Hollow though, even after getting hurt like that, he used his movement technique to counter attack.


    His remaining arm zed with his fire and Reiatsu as he swung it at me point nk.


    ¡­.shit, I feel bad now about ying around with him.


    Respect where it was due.


    I let out a breath as his fist approached my Power of Destruction that wafted off me. My hand to hand wasn''t amazing, but I had some training in the area. Sc¨¢thach wouldn''t let me run around with a sword if I couldn''t defend myself without one.


    I raised my hand up and pped his fist to the side, narrowly missing me and sending another wave of fire off to destroy a few more empty buildings. My legshed out, hitting his own right leg, disrupting his center of gravity. I grabbed onto his kimono, jerking it forward, then I gathered my Power of Destruction into my palm and mmed it down right onto his chest.


    His body hit the ground, sending a shockwave throughout the surroundings and my Power of Destruction burst through his body.


    The Hollow coughed up blood and his body went limp.


    The light quickly died in his eyes and I silently put my hands together for a quick prayer. The Willpower he showed deserved an equal amount of respect even as an opponent. Not many people can counter attack after losing their arm and suffering a hole in their side.


    I didn''t have time to dwell on it any longer because my attention was immediately taken elsewhere.


    Storms overhead manifested far too quickly, and I could <em>feel</em> and <em>taste</em> the lightning that surged in the air. But more specifically, I felt a Godly Authority activate, <em>My Authority</em>.


    I then remembered that I gave the kids a lesser application of my Authority like I did Kunou thest time I was here and they never ended up using theirs when they stupidly invaded Soul Society.


    Almost subconsciously, my Lightning gathered around me and I pushed forward with Shunpo at my fastest speed. I covered quite a bit of distance within the city, maneuvering around the sharp corners and blocks to find an apartment that was half destroyed with the very explicit feeling of my Authority around it.


    Not to mention the storms overhead centered around it and the sparks that seemed to jump down sides of the building itself.


    Inded on the edge of the opened side, the part where the wall was utterly obliterated.


    Inoue Orihime.


    She was on the ground, sitting on her butt like she had just fallen down, and all around her was utterly scorched and ckened by my Lightning with her entire apartment barely held together.


    Across from her were a few faces I recognized. Two of them were hollow, a big guy with a Hollow mask jawbone. The other had a very empty look about him with piercing teal eyes and a half-helmet on his head.


    Thetter of them actually gave me worrisome vibes. I recalled crossing des with him before, he was pretty strong, but even that, from what I recall, didn''t seem to be his peak.


    Andstly¡­


    "Ichimaru Gin."


    "Heyo." The former Shinigami smiled despite half his clothes being charred and burned away with some scorched marks on his left arm. The clothes in particr for them were some trench coats or something strange.


    As for the others, the big guy was missing about half his body and seemed to be the main recipient of the defensive Talisman I gave to Orihime.


    The other, he suffered minor and ignorable wounds just like Gin.


    It wasn''t hard to put two and two together. For one, I couldn''t sense their Reiatsu, it almost felt like those ''senses'' were almost being washed away by those strange clothes they were wearing.


    Something that hides you from Spiritual Perception? Something to note.


    The Big guy probably was the one who was aggressive towards Orihime so my Talisman triggered.


    The former Shinigami still made me wary and I wouldn''t want to fight with Orihime right next to me.


    "I''ll give you the opportunity to run away." I stated.


    "Appreciate it." Gin just kept that wide smile of his.


    The half-masked Hollow looked over to him. "Our orders were to retrieve the girl."


    "You''re wee to fight the pissed off demon, ya?" The Former Shinigami didn''t react. "I''ll tell Aizen myself that it was a bad idea."


    "Kill the bitch!" The big guy who was kneeling from his wounds roared furiously between them.


    I narrowed my eyes, shifting everything I had into Spiritual Pressure, then I let it out towards them.


    I could see their eyes widen and Gin gripped his de as if he were about to attack, but very quickly he instead did something to tear a hole in space as Hollows do and pulled the big idiot in the middle along with him.


    Only the second Hollow, the expressionless one lingered for a moment. I think he considered pushing me, but it seemed he relented and left along with Gin.


    Well, that was certainly something.


    "You okay?" I went to help up Orihime.


    She recovered rather quickly from the presumedly traumatic ordeal. "Y-yeah, I''m fine!" She adopted a carefree smile but I wasn''t sure it wasn''t just an act.


    I just patted her on the head. "Seems like you''re going to need a new ce to live."


    "My home¡­." She slumped.


    Oof.


    "Now the others won''t have a ce to live either."


    "Pardon?" I then took in the surroundings a tad more and noticed something very much out of ce. "Why is there a giant¡­.<em>organic</em> TV taking up half of your living room." I pointed at the strange monstrosity of a TV


    "Oh, that''s the thingy that Grandpa uses to talk to everyone!" She smiled.


    "And by everyone, you mean¡­.?"


    "Rukia''s friends."


    "Shinigami?"


    "Uh huh." She nodded.


    "They''re¡­.staying here with you?"


    "There were¡­." She pouted.


    "This is a¡­.uh¡­one bedroom apartment?"


    She looked at the hole that used to be a wall. "I don''t think it is anymore?"


    "Right." I patted her on the head ahead and she seemed to smile at that. "Do you mind if I call my friend toe over? You met her from before."


    "Okay, she was really nice." Orihime smiled again.


    Frankly, I didn''t even give Izzy a heads up before opening a portal right to her.


    "I swear, Wilhelm, my legs are sore! If you''reing to me for a second round ¨C" She stopped mid-sentence and realized where I was. She stepped through a momentter and realized immediately what had happened. "You poor thing." She went to give Orihime a hug.


    The younger girl seemed to quite enjoy that, it seemed.


    "It''s alright, it''s just my home. It could have been worse." Orihime smiled despite the situation.


    "Wilhelm." Izzy looked at me.


    "My Authority activated and protected her ¨C one of the Talismans from before. Apparently the Hollows wanted to¡­capture her? I''m vague on the details."


    Izzy frowned but focused on giving Orihime attention.


    Thankfully, her couch still existed, and Izzy guided her to sit down as she continued to give affection to the younger woman.


    I went to what remained of her kitchen and tried to find some cups and maybe some tea or something.


    "Wilhelm, I thought you were going to see Salem. How did you end up here?"


    I let out a sigh as I shifted through her apparently empty cabs. "We had a small fight, I was trying to fix something she did ''before''. It involves a young woman missing part of her soul, and I figured Tessai could help in that regard."


    "How do you always find trouble even when doing something so¡­.mundane." Izzy shook her head. "Really, I don''t know if you count as lucky or unlucky."


    "Story of my life." I hummed. "Uh, Orihime¡­..don''t take this the wrong way¡­" I was a bit worried so I opened her fridge finding nearly nothing. "Do¡­.you not stock up on groceries?"


    "I have groceries. Are you hungry? I''m a good cook, though I don''t know if everything is working. Oh! I can make you a sandwich, my Tuna-Peanut Butter-Leek sandwich I made for dinner yesterday was great! Do you want one?" Orihime offered.


    Me and Izzy shared a look.


    "Dear, you live by yourself?" Izzy asked.


    "Yeah¡­.um¡­ever since my brother¡­passed." She said quietly.


    "Who¡­.provides for you?" Izzy asked again.


    "Oh, the government and my Aunt helps a little bit!. I get money every month. Most of it was to pay for the apartment¡­.uh, do you think they''re going to be upset?"


    "I assure you, <em>no one</em> is going to be upset with you." Izzy reassured her and that was a statement of fact.


    "That''s great!" Orihime eximed.


    "Do the Shinigami who stay with you¡­. are they paying rent?" I raised an inquisitive eyebrow. And I asked because her current living conditions were¡­..well, not very good. And the fact that a group of ''adults'' were imposing themselves on her like I assumed they were, well it didn''t put them in a good light.


    "No?" Orihime tilted her head.


    Izzy frowned and I was sure someone was going to get a scoldingter.


    And considering the fast approaching Spiritual presences, I could take a guess. First was a certain ck cat that arrived in a haste. I sensed a few minutes ago that the Hollow presences around the city seemed to disappear in a haste, a retreat I would assume.


    Yoruichi saw me, Orihime, then Izzy and her eyes widened briefly, and it seemed like anything she wanted to say died right now.


    "Orihime!" A certain orange haired kid was the next one and he too came to a quick pause as soon as he realized the situation.


    Half a dozen more arrived, the distinct sound of disced air as many used Shunpo to appear within the somewhat confined space.


    Some faces I recognized, some I didn''t. Though, their Shinigami uniforms were an easy indicator of who they actually were.


    But nearly instantly, all the Shinigami from Soul Society <em>prostrated</em> themselves on the ground towards Izzy.


    Izzy didn''t even really ''force'' it. Rather, they took the initiative themselves. But before anyone could speak, Izzy expressed herself.


    "I am <em>displeased</em>."


    [***]


    A/N


    Izzy is displeased and various Shinigami shit bricks.Just a reminder, Part 6 of the omake is up on P.a.t.r..e..o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you cant use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 516:

    Chapter 516:


    Despite the situation and the whole¡­..well situation involving this entire world, I think Izzy as a Goddess, really does enjoy people showing her acknowledgement and respect.


    That''s not to say people disrespect her back home. But very few people genuine worship that these Shinigami were doing by prostrating to her without any prompt or inclination. Just as soon as they saw her, they immediately hit the ground.


    "Kurosaki-kun." Orihime waved at the Orange haired kid.


    "Orihime, are you alright?" The kid ignored the tension in the room and was fairly direct in his worry about her.


    Funny enough Izzy didn''t seem to mind, probably purely for the fact that it was his care for Orihime.


    "I''m fine!" She smiled happily.


    "Idiot." Yoruichi hissed, grabbed the back of his Kimono with her teeth and pulling him down until he hit the ground. "Read the mood."


    There were several faces among the crowd of Shinigami that I recognized. Though they weren''t all in great condition, several of them looked like they went through the ringer just recently. Obviously considering what had just happened minutes earlier with the Hollows and the fighting around the city.


    The only Captain was a kid, more literally than I would have thought, with white hair, which I''m fairly sure I never actually met in person. At his immediate side was a woman I was sure I never met because I would certainly never forget certain¡­..assets of hers.She had veryrge boobs and seemingly had them almost on full disy. She also had some very luscious bright orange hair and I almost asked what hair care products she used.


    But I recognized Rukia, Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika.


    Izzy''s small amount of humor towards the kid seemed to fade as she looked back down at the prostrated Shinigami.


    Oh, I found Orihime''s stash of Tea!


    Why was it under the sink?


    ¡­.it''s soaked because the pipes under her sink are leaking something fierce.


    Well, isn''t this just a mess? I quickly used a bit of Magecraft to force together the small and noticeable break in the pipes, but honestly, it was a Band-Aid on a stab wound. This ce needed a thorough look through to fix back up.


    Despite the awkward silence, I just withdrew my own Kettle and my own tea leaves and began to boil some water to make my own.


    It wasn''t until my kettle started whistling that Izzy spoke up again.


    "Is no one going to speak?" Izzy frowned.


    "We ¨C " The white haired kid was about to say something, but the strange TV set up against the other wall, the half-organic mechanical monstrosity lit up and seemed to shimmer until a picture became visible.


    Once more, another familiar face appeared. On the screen, and presumably,ing from Soul Society, Shunsui was showing.


    From the other side his figure was rather vivid, he was standing there with his Lieutenant, and they seemingly also noticed everything going on because they saw theirrades still prostrating, and then they noticed Izzy sitting there next to Orihime.


    Both Shunsui and his Lieutenant immediately prostrated just as the other Shinigami did.


    "Lady Izanami, you grace us with your presence." Shunsui was oddly polite and respectful in his tone. Well, not that odd considering how Izzy was perceived, but more so because I had not seen this side of him.


    "Hmm." Izzy''s response wasckluster. "I am displeased."


    Shunsui visibly swallowed. "We would be happy to rectify any displeasure you currently have."


    Well, can''t say he can''t adapt well.


    It''s easy for me to forget that others don''t look at Gods the same way that I do.


    A God is a very lofty existence. It''s something revered, exalted, worshiped.


    One of their primary Gods from Myths and Legends was literally sitting infront of them. I can''t really fault them for acting like this. As far as they were concerned, she literally Created Japan and predated humanity and themselves by eons.


    How would anyone of Christian, Muslim, or Judaism origin react to seeing Big G in person?


    "How good to hear. Tell me, is it the normal measures that you all take to impose yourself on a 15-year-old girl in her home that is just big enough to amodate herself? In a situation where all her mary expenses are barely enough for herself as well?"


    "Pardon?" Shunsui blinked.


    "Wilhelm." Izzy turned to me. "Retrieve him."


    "Ah?" Shunsui seemed confused.


    The background of his, it looked like his barracks that I was atst time. So, my Calctions weren''t too difficult to trace back.


    I snapped my fingers, connecting a portal in his approximation. The portal itself appeared on the screen and Shunsui looked over at it, peering through seeing us.


    "Come here." Izzy spoke very sternly.


    Shunsui awkwardly shuffled through my portal, stepping out into Orihime''s apartment. He looked around noticing me in person, there was a small sh of relief, but as his gaze swept over everyone else and then back on Izzy, it turned back to hesitation.


    "Tell me, is this how you handle your matters?" She gestured to the Shinigami on the ground, the giant TV-device-thing that was taking up probably about a fourth of her apartment. "Because she is too kind to deny the intrusion of several people centuries her senior." Izzy snorted in disdain.


    Shunsui didn''t really have anything to say in response.


    "I expect her to be properlypensated." Izzy finally stated.


    "Of course." Shunsui strained a smile. "It will take some time. To acquire ¨C"


    "If you are going to tell me that you don''t have mundane equivalent currency on hand when your peoplee out to mingle among the mortals, then I am going to be very disappointed."


    "I will immediately send word to the budgetmittee." Shunsui said quickly.


    "Hmph." Izzy stood up. "I will be sending people over to repair this ce, I expect no one to annoy them. In the meantime, we will be spending time elsewhere."


    "We?" Orihime tilted her head.


    Izzy smiled at her. "Come along, many of your things were destroyed, I will take you shopping while your home is repaired."


    "But I don''t have any money?" Orihime replied.


    "You don''t have to worry." Izzy pat her gently on the head. "I have plenty, it will be my treat. Have you ever been to Kyoto?"


    Orihime shook her head. "I''ve never left Karakura."


    "Then you will be in for a treat. We will go visit where the Youkai have made their home in Kyoto."


    Orihime''s eyes lit up. "That sounds fun!"


    Izzy smiled and turned to me. "Wilhelm, if you would be so kind."


    I silently opened another portal right to Kyoto for them, specifically Yasaka''s Kyoto if what she said was any indication.


    Izzy and Orihime happily went through, and I closed it right behind them.


    Almost instantly, the tension in the room disappeared.


    I calmly sipped my tea as it seemed everyone else regained theirposure. "Good to see you again, Shunsui." I raised my cup up to greet him properly.


    Shunsui smiled awkwardly, letting out a sigh. "I don''t suppose you have something stronger to drink on you?"


    "You''re lucky." I rummaged through my Ring and took out a jar of Peach Wine. I got quite a few from Venna, so I didn''t mind wasting a little bit. I poured him a small ss and pushed it towards him.


    Shunsui was mostly joking from his expression, but he happily took it and drank the small ss. His eyes widened and he nearly fell over, coughing hectically. "W-what did you just give me?!"


    "You''d probably faint if I told you what''s in it."


    Shunsui closed his eyes and sipped the remainder. "I think you''ve ruined all other sake for me."


    "What the hell just happened!" The Orange Haired kid suddenly blurted out.


    "Izzy and your friend just went on a shopping trip." I took a sip of my tea.


    "Apparently Youkai exist, and they went there." Shunsui helpfully added. "Exins a lot about Captain Komamura¡­.."


    "Is¡­..she in danger?" Ichigo looked concerned.


    "My daughter lives there, she''s fine." I reassured him.


    "¡­.alright." He didn''t sound too convinced.


    "Oi, you got some of that to share." Ikkaku came up. "Could use a drink."


    I shrugged, remembering how nice they were with our little field trip to Soul Society and poured him a small cup.


    He had almost the same reaction as Shunsui.


    "Yumichiki, it''s been awhile." I raised my mug up as he stood next to Ikkaku. "Your hair looks good, new product?"


    He smiled happily. "I tried the stuff you mentioned, it really does work well." He fluffed his ends.


    That''s good.


    "Ichigo, and Rukia. How''s my favorite miss-matched couple?"


    "We''re not dating!" They both nearly shouted at the same time.


    "Ara?" Shunsui smiled. "There''s nothing in the rules against it, Kuchiki!"


    "Well, it might be looked down on after what that dastardly viin Kurosaki Ichigo did in Soul Society."


    "Screw you!"


    Yoruichi began tough wildly. "There''s tons of people who still think it''s Ichigo."


    The Orange Haired kid just crossed his arms and scowled.


    "Rukia! You didn''t tell me you had a boyfriend!" The Orange Haired woman from before scooped up the smaller Shinigami in a big hug. "Tell me all about it~"


    "It'' not ¨C mph." Rukia was pressed firmly into her cleavage and unable to speak any further.


    "Wilhelm Schweinorg." The Captain among them finally spoke up.


    I had a sudden realization. Right, we did meet ever so briefly before. "Apologies, but can I have your name again?"


    "Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, 10th Division." He said without much emotion in his words.


    "Oh shit, that isn''t the division Izzy and I drew graffiti in, is it?"


    "¡­..that was the 6th division." Captain Hitsugaya twitched slightly. "I do not suggest spending time around Captain Kuchiki."


    "Ah, I remember now." I nodded. "Rukia''s asshole older brother."


    "Don''t talk about him like that!" Rukia forced herself free.


    "Nah, it''s pretty urate. He''s gotten better since though." Renji chimed in.


    "Renji!"


    "Well, tell him not to execute his sister." I deadpanned.


    "I''m with him." Ichigo looked at Rukia as well. "He''s a dick."


    Rukia''s sandal went flying and smacked into Ichigo''s face as she struggled in the other woman''s grasp.


    Heh, they''re cute together.


    "Ara ara, and I''m Rangiku Matsumoto, Lieutenant of the 10th Division." The woman also introduced herself.


    "Well, it is an absolute pleasure." I smiled.


    "Alright, don''t start flirting." Yoruichi jumped onto my head. "Bad enough that you did it with Captain Unohana. That''s all they''ve been talking about at the weekly Shinigami Women''s Association."


    "Wait, there''s a women''s association?" Ichigo asked.


    "For the Shinigami specifically?" I added on.


    "What?" Yoruichi questioned. "It''s a male dominated field, of course we''d have get togethers."


    "She''s right, it''s hard to get the amount of representation we need as female Shinigami." Lieutenant Matsumoto nodded.


    Huh.


    "What was with the bowing from before? Laying it on a bit thick there, weren''t you? Izzy would be fine with a simple acknowledgement." I asked curiously.


    The Shinigami looked between themselves as if a secret only known by them.


    Shunsui cleared his throat. "We are under orders to treat Lady Izanami with the highest of respects."


    "Oh? The Old Man ordered that?" I took a sip of my tea.


    "No, it came from above him. Directly from Zero Division." Shunsui rified. "The Goddess Izanami will be shown the same respect that we do for the Soul King."


    Oh¡­..


    "Well then."


    "Who''s the Soul King?" Ichigo bluntly asked.


    "Later." Yoruichi interrupted. "It''s not really something we''re supposed to talk about in public."


    Ichigo just shrugged. "Well, he must be as scary as her then if ya''ll acting like that."


    Yoruichi hopped over to his head. "Seriously, even as a joke, don''t say shit like that around Soul Society or the Shinigami." The others tensed up a little. "One of the first things Shinigami learn when they''re taught our history, the Soul King is beyond reproach. If you say something you shouldn''t, immediate execution. So everyone just doesn''t mention him publicly."


    "That seems intense, even for you lot." Ichigo grunted. "And you''re supposed to treat her the same way?"


    "And now you understand why everyone bowed when they immediately saw her." Yoruichi smacked her paw on his head.


    "Orihime''s going to be fine, right?" Ichigo asked again.


    "She''s in good hands." I smiled good-naturedly.


    "Alright." Ichigo nodded.


    Well, can''t fault him for being careful of his friend even if I already answered once. Thisst one seemed to remove any hesitation on his part.


    The subject sort of made the others uneasy.


    "So¡­.anyone care to mention why you all are camping out in a 15 year old girl''s one bedroom tiny apartment?" I looked around.


    Well, a few of them looked sheepish.


    "I''m living with Ichigo." Rukia huffed, looking away.


    "Make sure to wear protection, you don''t want a kid at your age." I pat Ichigo''s shoulder, feeling oddly proud of the young man.


    "Not like that!" The petite Shinigami squawked while Ichigo went bright red. "I''m sleeping in his sister''s room!"


    "It was an urgent assignment and we didn''t have many options." Captain Hitsugaya defended.


    "Doesn''t Urahara have a literal basement the size of a mountain range?" I asked, making the small Shinigami nearly stumble. "Yoruichi?"


    "They didn''t ask." She shrugged, as a cat.


    "Why didn''t you offer?"


    "Eh, we''re still pissed at them."


    "Fair enough." I looked back at the group. "Still not okay with you guys taking advantage of Orihime. But Izzy already expressed her dissatisfaction."


    "¡­..we''ll take care of it." Shunsui swallowed.


    Wow, they really do treat her with that much reverence and fear.


    "Anyways, care to get me up to speed? Why did I walk in on Hollows attacking Karakura so openly?"


    "It''s a sorta new thing for us too." Yoruichi jumped back to me. "Happened a couple weeks ago, few Arrancar popped up, seemed to be looking through the city under cover. We took of them easily enough, then a few more popped up and they were much more aggressive. At that point, we called Soul Society and they sent some reinforcements to watch over the ce. This third time, they escted more and you saw what happened."


    "Why were they looking through the city?" I took another sip of my drink.


    "Are you serious?" Yoruichi looked at me.


    "Hmm?"


    "They were looking for your location." Shunsui replied. "After you left, no one could find where you had disappeared to. We had started to scour the human world¡­.even with some hints you dropped over in Ennd, we couldn''t find anything. The only thing we knew was that you were seen in Karakura beforehand¡­.and well¡­.guess they decided it was good a ce as any."


    Ah, that makes some amount of sense. "I guess Aizen is still angry. But why were you guys looking for me?" Yoruichi had a way to contact me, but she was explicitly not mentioning that, so I assume she didn''t want it known?


    Shunsui awkwardly rubbed his cheek. "There may or may not have been an ordering from the Central 46 that we were to.... reacquire possession of the object that the Traitor Aizen so desperately wants."


    "Am I to assume that order is still in effect?" I frowned.


    "No, the Zero Division overrode them." Shunsui smiled happily. "However, the Zero Division did express an open invitation as there were things they wanted to discuss with both yourself and Goddess Izanami."


    Not touching that with a ten-foot pole.


    "Hmm, so the attempt to kidnap Orihime was a new thing for you guys too, huh?"


    "What!?" Ichigo shouted.


    "What, do you think they sent those powerful people just to kill her?" I flicked his forehead to calm him down.


    "We hurried over as soon as we could after sensing the Traitor Ichimaru Gin and the two powerful Hollow Reiatsu at his side." Captain Hitsugaya stated.


    Shunsui nodded in approval. "I''ll need your full reports. Especially considering now who''s involved." He let out a sigh. "Atleast the funding request won''t be denied¡­.considering."


    "Of course." Captain Hitsugaya replied firmly.


    "Why would they want to kidnap that girl?" Ikkaku asked. "Nothing really special about her."


    Yoruichi and I shared a look.


    "Her powers aren''t¡­..as mundane as they seem on the surface. Frankly, if she wasn''t as kind hearted as she was¡­.there would be a genuine fear of what she could do with them." I briefly touched on it.


    Shunsui strained a smile. "That''s going to be fun to exin my reports. I don''t suppose I could get more than that?"


    "You can always direct them to Izzy."


    "Suddenly, I look forward to reporting this!" Shunsui grinned happily.


    "Wait, what can she do? I thought she could make shields and heal." Ichigo crossed his arms. "Well, she could do a cutting shield thing too¡­"


    "She can reject phenomena." I kept it vague.


    Well most of them didn''t really understand what that truly meant.


    But Shunsui his eyes seemed to darken as he possibly thought of the worse interpretation of what I just said.


    "Keep in mind, if Soul Society tries any on her, Izzy will be pissed." I made sure to rify bluntly.


    Izzy liked Orihime, she doesn''t take to people often.


    Protective mother instincts perhaps?


    "Nice to get caught up and all, but why are you here?" Yoruichi was back on my head, lightly pping me with her paw. "You disappear for awhile, then suddenly reappear when things suddenly go to shit? Pretty convenient."


    "Convenient for other people. Honestly, with my luck, this is about par for the course. I''ve been having a pretty shit day and I came here to ask for Tessai''s help and saw what was happening so I lent a hand."


    Could probably get Orihime''s help instead, but this seemed like something particrly more delicate than ''normal'' healing that she does. I''d rather have an expert in the area even if it''s harder and takes longer.


    "Well, he''s back at the shop." Yoruichi replied.


    I looked at Shunsui. "Need me to give you a hand back home?"


    He waived it off. "It''s best that I use the¡­.proper methods of entering Soul Society. Less scolding I''ll have to deal with."


    "¡­.we should probably start on our reports too." Renji''s shoulders slumped. "They''re actually going to read them because of who we met¡­"


    The other Shinigami shared a simr sentiment.


    "¡­.I''ll leave you to it!" Paper work, it seems to be the enemy of everyone from Gods to Shinigami and even Humans. "Don''t forget what she said, or Izzy is going to be angry. And don''t be surprised if Orihime sleeps over for a night or so and doesn''te back immediately."


    Best to cover all our bases.


    Shunsui twitched and slumped. "I''ll need to get that rolling as soon as possible too."


    I picked up the Jar of Peach wine and tossed it to him. "Make sure to share with the Old Man."


    Shunsui lit up happily. "You''re the light of my life!"


    "Come on, I''ll take you to see Tessai." Yoruichi hopped off my head.


    "I''ming too." Ichigo stated.


    "Me too!" Rukia was quick to escape from the other women and join up with Ichigo.


    Well, whatever, not like I was going to tell them no.


    [***]


    "Your Shunpo has gotten a lot better." Yoruichi noted as we touched down infront of Urahara''s Candy shop. "You can actually keep up with me now without many wasted movements, I''m impressed."


    Rukia and Ichigo were quick to join us as well.


    "It''s talent." I said haughtily.


    "More like you had a great teacher." She preened instead.


    "Meh."


    "Screw you, I''m the best. sh Queen!"


    "Because you sh people."


    "That''s only part of it." She cackled.


    "Why do you stay as a Cat most of the time?" I asked.


    "Why wouldn''t I? Being a cat is awesome. Did you know people give me free fish as a cat!?" She eximed. "Free fish!"


    I just shook my head as we approached the entrance only for the door to slide open with a loud ''bang''.


    A certain bucket-hat wearing man in wooden clogs held a fan up infront of his face. "Well, it''s certainly a surprise, Schweinorg-kun. What can this humble shop owner do for you?"


    "Hey there, candy man. Can Tessaie out to y?"


    A shadow loomed over Urahara as Tessai stepped out from being him. "Schweinorg-Dono."


    "Hey Tessai, how have you been?"


    "Busy." He said inly and I noticed the blood stains on his apron.


    Hollow blood I''m assuming.


    "Why don''t we discuss things inside? The kids are here too, I''m sure they''d like to see you again." Urahara snapped his fan shut with a wide grin. "They''re in the basement!"


    "Even if you didn''t specify the basement, that''s where I assume you would keep kids."


    "Pfft." Yoruichi muffled augh.


    "Ara, Schweinorg-Kun, always so hurtful." Urahara let out an exaggerated sigh. "Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-kun, I assume that everything was resolved well enough?"


    "They tried to kidnap Orihime, Hat-n-Clogs." Ichigo crossed his arms. "Didn''t even notice them until it was almost toote."


    "¡­oh?" There was a hint of seriousness to Urahara as Ichigo said that. "I admit, I didn''t sense them either, so it''s not your poor control issues that you missed it¡­."


    "They were wearing these cloaks that made my perception just slide right off." I exined.


    Urahara''s expression shifted slightly. "That would be my fault...It seems Aizen helped himself to the remnants of myb after we had to leave Soul Society in a haste."


    "Should we be more worried, Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked. "Not being able to sense them until that point, that''s pretty serious."


    "They were damaged, I assume?"


    "More or less."


    Urahara nodded. "They took a lot of effort and materials to make. They''re harder to repair than to create new, and they''re quite difficult to make in the first ce. I would say that I doubt Aizen cares enough about his subordinates to spend days ¨C maybe weeks remaking them."


    That''s good to hear then. I don''t want another Orihime kidnapping attempt to happen.


    Urahara led us down into his massive basement, the one that contained a training room that was basically a small mountain range inside.


    Honestly, it was somewhat impressive and a neat idea.


    It alsocked the ufortable weather conditions that this sort of terrain would normally contain.


    "Chad!" I walked up to the big guy who was waiting patiently. "You''re looking good."


    He smiled. "Hello."


    "And Ury¨±." I was a bit less forward with him, he was more reserved. "Have you been well? You''re still wearing that glove." I noticed it in particr.


    Ury¨± pushed up his sses. "I''m fine." He explicitly did not say anything about the Glove he was wearing.


    I wouldn''t push it.


    "Is Inoue okay?" He asked. "Those Reiatsu near her were¡­.powerful."


    "She''s as fine as can be. Home got wrecked a bit, but she''s having a shopping day with Izzy right now."


    "¡­.Izzy?"


    "Izanami."


    Ury¨± stilled, perhaps recalling that was what I called her rather than her full name.


    I was d I could check in on them. They''re good kids, even Ichigo, and I''d be upset if they weren''t doing well after everything that happened.


    I would need to keep a closer eye on what''s going on here for now on.


    "I didn''t ask, but are there no Quincy sightings since everything that happened?" I looked at Yoruichi, but it was Urahara who answered.


    "Unfortunately, we have been unable to verify the intent of the Quincy." Urahara unfolded his fan again. "Our attempts at reaching them have been¡­..unsessful."


    "Well, they expect it, so I assume they have their own countermeasures." I tapped my chin.


    "Indeed."


    "Speaking of, did you guys do something to the humans living here? I didn''t see a single one when we were up and about¡­"


    I could just tell that Urahara grinned wide behind his fan. "That would be my newest creation!" He threw his hands up, and out of his sleeve was a ck cube-like item. "Knowing that Karakura might be a battlefield, I created this little contraption and ced them around the city. In the event of Spiritual Pressure rising beyond a certain level, it grabs all the Humans in its vicinity, puts them in stasis, then holds them in a pocket dimension!"


    "That''s¡­.smart, well done." Praise where it was due.


    Urahara just chuckled. "I doubt you came all the way here to talk about my genius, Schweinorg-kun." He walked over and pat Tessai on the shoulder.


    "Right, sorry. Uh, I have a little bit of a problem that involves a young women missing part of her soul. You would be¡­.should be a Kaido expect, right, Tessai?"


    Tessai smiled helpfully. "Indeed I am, Schweinorg-Dono! I may not be as skilled as Captain Unohana, but I am confident in my skills."


    "I would like to ask a favor then and see if you can''t help her."


    "Hmm, I would be more than willing to lend my aid. However, at the moment, my attention is elsewhere. I require¡­.an hour before I can leave." He looked thoughtful.


    An hour? Well, that''s not too bad.


    I can maybe time things so Ozpin isn''t waiting too long. And it''s not like he would leave Amber just outside of her pod while he waits a couple hours.


    "It seems you have some time to spare then, Schweinorg-kun!" Urahara was at my side with his fan poking my shoulder. "I have the perfect way to spend this time!"


    "¡­.and what would that be?" I pursed my lips.


    "Why, I was oh so curious about your fight against the Hollow I felt from far away. Unfortunately, I wasn''t able to see it for myself, but you seem to be in good condition." He walked over and hit Ichigo with his fan on the shoulder. "Why don''t you have a friendly spar with Kurosaki-kun here."


    "What?" Ichigo''s head snapped towards Urahara.


    "I got a can of tuna on Ichigo getting his ass kicked." Yoruichi spoke up.


    "Screw you!"


    You know, I actually wouldn''t be against that. And as far as probing actions go, this was about as subtle as a freight train. Well, I already knew what kind of person Urahara was, and he obviously wanted to know more about me, and he could probably guess I wouldn''t willingly give away much.


    Thus, this proposition.


    Who said that rxation had to be forgoing physical exertion? I think beating up a strawberry can be fairly rxing!


    "I don''t know, I heard that Ichigo here caused substantial damage to Soul Society and that doesn''t fill me with confidence¡­"


    "Alright, we''re fighting!" Ichigo scowled. "Get out your Zanpakut¨­, I''m gonna kick your ass."


    Well, If I''m stuck here for an hour or so, there are worse ways to spend it.


    [***]


    A/N


    Unbeta''d chapter, so probably has more mistakes than normal.


    On a side note, I''m taking a few days off, don''t expect a chapter until about Thursday at a minimum. Also, part 6 of the omake is up on p.a.t.r.e.o.n


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 517:

    Chapter 517:


    Izanami POV


    "Wow, this is amazing!" The excitable young girl looked out in wonder at seeing the streets of the Youkai home for the first time.


    All manner of creatures, from things that looked like fairies, to entities that were but heads covered in mes moved down the streets. Humans even weaved through the masses along with Oni and Kappa. Yet, there were no fights happening, no conflicts or slights against each other.


    It was rather harmonious.


    "There''s so many people! Is that a Kappa? His head is so shiny!" She pointed out.


    "Thank you!" The Kappa smiled, apparently hearing her as he passed by and waved.


    "You''re wee!" Orihime waved back.


    Atleast he didn''t get upset. Kappa seem to fit into two departments, those that are self-conscious about their bald heads, and those who take pride in them.


    I was about to ask her where she wanted to go first, there were plenty of things in immediate view that I thought would pique her interest, but I noticed her staring at a food stall and practically drooling."Why don''t we have a small snack before we shop? We can have a good dinner somewhere after we''re done?" I offered.


    Considering the state of her home, theck of food she had, It wasn''t hard to guess that she wasn''t able to treat herself...at all really.


    Orihime''s eyes lit up. "Can we have Takoyaki?"


    "Of course." Specifically the one she was going to eat with her eyes.


    One might assume that it was odd that an Octopus Youkai was selling Takoyaki, but that was about how things were around here.


    "What can I get for you wonderfuldies?" The Octopus Youkai at the stall asked in fluent speech despite being a literal Octopoda in shape and form if a bit bigger and wearing proper clothing.


    "Hello mister Octopus, is it hard finding clothing for all your arms?" Orihime asked with clear innocence.


    The Octopus smiled with his eyes. "First time in Shin-Kyoto?" He looked at me


    "It is her first time, yes." I nodded.


    Most people won''t ask questions like, <em>how he had clothing</em> specifically for an Octopus as it''s answered fairly easily to the inhabitants here. Clothing stores that cater to all shapes and sizes aremonce in addition to the more mundane and human-sized variety.


    "There are plenty of stores for Youkai like me." He held up all of his arms and wiggled them beneath his chef-like attire. "Now, what can I get for you wonderful Ladies? We have Takoyaki and we have¡­.." He leaned in towards Orihime. <em>"Special Takoyaki</em>."


    "Special Takoyaki?" Orihime repeated. "What is that? Can we try it?"


    The Octopus nodded solemnly. He reached beneath the counter and pulled out a cleaver, then he ced his own tentacle on the chopping board. "Haaaaaah!" He shouted and mmed it down, splitting the tentacle.


    "AH!?" Orihime screamed.


    "AH!" The Octopus screamed back.


    "AH!"


    "AH!"


    The poor girl nearly fell out of the seat she was in until the Octopus started cackling madly, pulling down the long sleeve of his shirt to reveal that it was a ''fake'' tentacle ¨C rather one of the ingredients and not his actual body part.


    "You''re horrible." I rolled my eyes, though I found myself smiling.


    "I couldn''t resist." The way he smiled with his eyes just added to it.


    "You¡­.don''t serve up your own arms?"


    "Huehuehue." He lifted up all of his appendages. "And harm my beautiful arms? My wife would be <em>livid</em>."


    "Okay then!" Orihime recovered fast, smiling happily.


    "Here you are dear." He reached over and lightly pat her head. "I added a few extra, eat up." He said rather warmly.


    "Thank you, Mister Octopus!"


    "You can thank me by visiting again next time you''re around." He chuckled. "And don''t visit any of those dastardly <em>Squids</em>."


    "Squids?" Orihime tilted her head.


    "Beware the <em>squids</em>." He leaned in. "They can''t be trusted, ever since the great <em>Octopus and Squid</em> wars of the past."


    Orihime''s eyes widened.


    "Stop it, she''s going to believe you." I swat at one of his arms, merely making him chuckle.


    "Okay okay." He wiggled his free arms,ughing a bit more.


    I put a hand on Orihime''s head. "Enjoy your snack."


    "Mmm!" She quickly pushed a few into her mouth, making her cheeks bulge.


    She''s a sweet girl, she deserves better than she had.


    "It''s delicious! I haven''t had Takoyaki since¡­.." She smiled sadly. "My brother."


    "You can have as much as you want." I reassured her.


    "Thank you, you''re really nice!" She smiled.


    ¡­.not many people would say that to me.


    "If you don''t mind me asking¡­.what about your parents?"


    The girl seemed to tilt her head back and forth like she was trying to remember something. "My brother said they were bad and hurt us so he took me away when I was younger. I talk to my Aunt every few months though! She sends me money sometimes."


    "Is that so?" I made a mental note to <em>find</em> her parents when I had the time. "And what about your Aunt, why don''t you live with her?"


    "Oh¡­.um¡­.I don''t think she likes me very much." Orihime looked down. "She said she didn''t want the daughter of a¡­.to live with her."


    Filling in the nks wasn''t difficult. She would be ostracized if her mother was a prostitute or something simr. Wilhelm could attest to that much even if he had a much different rtionship with his own mother.


    "Do you like where you live right now?" I asked.


    "Yes!" Orhime nodded happily. "I have a lot of friends!"


    "That''s good." My lips curled up. "Only friends though? Any boys you''re interested in?"


    "Ah!?" She immediately went bright red. "N-no¡­" She looked away bashfully.


    "Mhmm, no young men that share a simr hair color?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "K-kurosaki-kun and I are just friends!" The slight squeak to her voice didn''t do much to convince me.


    "He seems like a good boy." I decided not to tease her too much.


    Orihime smiled a bit differently, warmly and nostalgically. "He''s always been protecting me. I used to get bullied a lot when I was younger. I didn''t like to get angry or upset at people so I didn''t do anything¡­.Kurosaki-kun stood up for me and ever since then. Him and Tatsuki are the people I care about most."


    "And who''s Tatsuki?"


    "She''s my best friend!" Orihime said proudly. "She even taught me Karate!" She put her hands up in a sort ofical mimic of Karate forms. "She brings me food too, sometimes." Orihime said quietly. "She''s the best."


    Children are often more perceptive than adults tend to assume. I wouldn''t be surprised if this Tatsuki was fully aware of Orihime''s situation and does what she can to help.


    "And what about school? Are you doing well in your sses?"


    "I''m third in our year." She puffed up.


    "That is impressive." I fully acknowledged. "And what do you wish to do after you graduate?"


    "Um¡­.I don''t know." She smiled nkly.


    "That''s fine, you have plenty of time to decide." I gave her a small pat. "What did you want to be when you were younger?"


    She looked thoughtful. "My brother asked me that one time too! He took me to the beach for the first time and it was so exciting and fun!"


    "Oh? And what did you decide then."


    "I said I wanted to be a mermaid!"


    ¡­..well then.


    "Did¡­..your desire <em>change</em> since then?"


    Orihimeughed awkwardly. "I still love the ocean, so I don''t know. I thought it would be fun to travel around it. But that''s hard, I would need to save up money, get my Passport. And there''s so many ces to visit, I don''t even know where to start."


    "Many people travel to find themselves after graduating." I pointed out.


    "Well¡­.I''d be scared to leave all my friends too." Sheughed lightly.


    I was about to respond, but I heard a couple familiar voices behind us.


    "Oh look, that''s cute!"


    "Ugh, too girly."


    I nced over and saw both Jeanne and Mordred walking down the street. They seemed to notice me as well as Jeanne nearly dragged the shorter girl with her.


    "Iza¡ª"


    "Izzy." I quickly finished for the young Saintess. "In public, please."


    "Oh, sorry." Jeanne sheepishly apologizes.


    She is also a sweet girl. And considering how things were going, she was going to be close to us soon. "Hello, Jeanne and Mordred. Are you two enjoying the day together?"


    "Just bored and walking around." Artoria''s child shrugged.


    "Mordred wasing to go shopping with me." Jeanne smiled happily. "What are you ¨C" She paused as Orihime seemed to be peeking over me to see who it was I was talking to. "Hello." She greeted.


    "Hi." Orihime smiled and waved.


    "I''m, Jeanne, this is Modred." She introduced them both.


    "Sup."


    "I''m Inoue Orihime¡­or you''re foreigners." She lightly tapped her head with her fist. "You can just call me Orihime!"


    I looked at the two of them then as Orihime and had a wonderful idea. "Unfortunately, Orihime''s apartment was damaged by some unsavory individuals. Wilhelm is dealing with the situation right now, but I brought her <em>here</em> to do some shopping. Would you both like to join us?"


    Mordred shrugged again. "Sure, I aint got nothin better to do."


    "That would be great!" Jeanne agreed quickly. "You know Wilhelm too?"


    "Yeah, he helped us when we went to go save Rukia! She''s¡­.erm, a friend of mine!"


    Jeanne nodded in seemingly understanding. "He helped me too."


    I had a feeling they were going to get along well.


    I should call Yasaka and ask for her help in fixing up Orihime''s apartment while we''re here.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    This isn''t how I expected things to go, but I''m not upset.


    A consequence free spar? Sign me up. Was it smart to do this when I should be resting? Probably not, but I''ll make sure to have a proper rest after.


    Ichigo was standing with his big cleaver pointed at me.


    I took out my own Zanpakut¨­ in response.


    "You''re talking big for someone who''s ovepensating there." I teased.


    "Nah, he can back it up. I saw him naked." Yoruichi spoke up.


    "Dammit, don''t say that to everyone!" The Orange Haired kid flushed red.


    "Yoruichi!" Rukia seemingly was reacting the same.


    "Meow."


    "Don''t pretend to be a cat when it suits you!"


    "Now, now. Why don''t we leave the ying forter. Tessai is going to handle some cleanup from the recent attack. Schweinorg-kun here doesn''t have much time to stand around." Urahara chimed in.


    "I will get started." Tessei sped his hands and headed back upstairs.


    "Alright, let''s do this for real." I nodded.


    "Fine by me." Ichigo huffed, looking serious.


    "Quick question though, since I''m a Magus, Am I allowed to use my familiar?"


    "A¡­familiar?" Ichigo blinked.


    "Go." Imanded and a streak of lightning covered the distance between us, a rabbitnding on his face.


    Ichigo''s body slumped back, bewildered, as a Rabbit just kicked him and sent him tumbling across the ground.


    "Victory." I said with an even tone.


    "What the hell was that!?" Ichigo threw his hand up, pointing at me angrily.


    Sir Wigglesnded on my head. "Have you never seen a Rabbit before?"


    "That''s not what I mean and you know it!"


    "I ¨C"


    "Kyah!!!"


    I paused looking at the sudden noise that stopped me in my tracks, only to see Rukia blushing slightly in sudden embarrassment.


    "Anyways, I win." I dered.


    "Bullshit!"


    "Don''t hate the yer, hate the game."


    "Screw you, that doesn''t count!"


    I turned to Ury¨± and Chad. "Judges?"


    "Kurosaki clearly lost." Ury¨± stated, not missing a beat.


    "You wanna go next, four-eyes?" Ichigo leveled his sword.


    "Anytime." The Quincy didn''t back down.


    Yoruichi hopped up onto my shoulder. "Since when did you have a rabbit like this?" She poked Sir Wiggles with her paw.


    Sir Wiggles, in turn, began to swat at her from atop my head. It reminded me of when Sir Wiggles would ''fight'' with that monster back at Chaldea as the two of them were taking shots at each other.


    "Since forever." I said casually. "He was keeping a friendpany before.


    "Ara Ara, Schweinorg-Kun." Urahara unfolded his fan. "I''ll dly hold onto your pet rabbit while you continue your fight with Kurosaki-kun."


    I rolled my eyes at his not-so-subtle urging to keep fighting.


    Secondly, I didn''t trust him to hold onto Sir Wiggles. "Rukia do you mind holding onto him for me?


    The noises she made were a yes, I was assuming. My valiant familiar shot over andnded into the petite Shinigami''s arms and she squealed excitedly. "What''s his name?"


    "His name is Sir Wigglesbottom Fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, Crown Prince of the Emerald Kingdom, Duke of Carrot Ind, General of the northern Armies, Lightning born, The Devil yer. Head of Chaldean department of Phantasmal Beasts. King of France, and King of Asgard.!" I dered for everyone to hear his majestic name.


    "¡­that''s a stupid name." Ichigo deadpanned.


    "It is not a stupid name!" Rukia argued.


    "Is that really his name?" Yoruichi poked me. "You''re a lot cuter than you let on." Sheughed.


    "What''s wrong with his name?" I questioned.


    "Nothing, I just think it''s cute that you made up a bunch of titles for him."


    "You''re assuming they''re <em>made up</em>." I responded.


    "¡­.they are¡­.<em>right</em>?" She looked at me blinking. "<em>Right?"</em>


    "Some of them are, and not the ones you probably think."


    "Holy shit I''m way too sober for this." Yoruichi bounced off my shoulder.


    "Alright Strawberry, real fight time." I was done ying around, well, ying around so tantly.


    Ichigo stopped arguing with Ury¨± and looked back at me and gripped his sword tightly.


    I was honestly curious to see how strong he was because I hadn''t seen him fight fully. Just the sheer amount of Reiatsu that was flowing off him was enough to indicate that he was pretty damn strong and would only get stronger with age.


    Hell, he <em>feels</em> stronger than several Shinigami Captains I''ve met.


    Though the way he controls his Reiatsu is so chaoticpared to the likes of Yoruichi or Urahara who barely have any presence inparison.


    The two of them, their Reiatsu is like a small trickle as it escapes from their bodies, while Ichigo is like a rampant river as it flows out.


    Experience is certainly a factor here. He was what, a normal kind some months ago? Super impressive that he''s at this level of strength right now. He''s strong even by the standards back home.


    Heunched himself at me with a burst of Shunpo. I had to both marvel and scowl at how easily he picked it up. He learned eventer than I did but he was using it pretty damn good at first nce.


    Sure he was no Yoruichi, but neither was I.


    I was just taking in these first few strikes. The power behind him, the way he moved to swing at me, the speed at which his de mmed into mine.


    I blocked the first one head on to get a feel for his power, he <em>tried</em> to overwhelm me in brute force straight away and as soon as he realized that wouldn''t work, he shifted to throw out a flurry of swings at me, picking up speed with each movement, yet he was still going full strength each blow.


    I met each one, deflecting or parrying them using the most minimal amount of power necessary while he seemed to be exerting himself on each swing of his sword.


    "Your technique could use work." I said, deflecting his de down to the side as he exerted quite a bit of Spiritual Power into that swing, causing the ground to gouge out as it connected.


    "What?" He stepped back, holding his de up again, looking confused.


    "It seems like your main method of attack is to try and overpower someone head on, be it brute force or speed." I pointed out. "Did you notice that you were using more than double the amount of Reiatsu I was in each sh but you weren''t gaining any ground?"


    Ichigo frowned. "Yeah, you were deflecting everything easily."


    "Minimal effort used in both physical and spiritual aspects. As I said, right away, I noticed that youck a lot of technique in your movements." I gave my honest advice just for our short sh. "Keep in mind, when I say technique, I don''t necessarily mean <em>sword mastery,</em> but that certainly helps."


    Ichigo held his sword up defensively. "Show me."


    He asked genuinely, so I wouldn''t mind at all. I sort of mimicked his first actions, using Shunpo to close the distance and swung down my Zanpakut¨­ with full force. My foot hit the ground hard and I followed up with another full strength swing from the side.


    He did the same thing I did before and brought up his sword to deflect it, and I let him. I pivoted, and swung at his other side, this time, I didn''t use my full force, it was much lighter. He seemed surprised and I kept going in that same threshold with a flurry of strikes until all of the sudden I increased it several fold and what would have been a normal block on his end sent him fumbling backwards, nearly losing his footing.


    I casually held my Zanpakut¨­ pointed at him and shot it forward in a stabbing motion, he barely twisted his body to somewhat dodge as my de tore through some of his clothing and he had to catch himself from falling over.


    "Rhythm is important in sword fights. Likewise disrupting someone''s Rhythm can create openings." I stabbed my Zanpakut¨­ into the ground and leaned on it as he got back up. "It''s not the deciding factor, just one of them. You''re going 100%, 100% of the time so you be very predictable if you can''t overwhelm your opponent immediately. Though, what you''re doing isn''t necessarily wrong either, it''s a method that some people use. I''ve used it myself plenty of times, but youck a bag of tricks to go along with it. In a fist fight, you don''t always need to throw haymakers, jabs are important, feints as well. Mix it up, keep your opponent on their toes. Sure cleaving them in half with a full sh would be great, but death by a thousand cuts is equally a victory."


    I''m not going to tell him he''s wrong for how he fights, against Kronos, I wasn''t throwing outckadaisical ''jabs'' with my des, but that situation doesn''t really apply to him right at this moment.


    He has a lot of room to grow.


    "I get it." He nodded. "Thanks."


    "No problem." I couldn''t help but smile. "I suggest reeling in your Reiatsu as well, it''s honestly very wasteful and it would do you a lot of good."


    "Yeah, yeah." He huffed. "Yoruichi and them told me the same thing, it''s hard to control it."


    "Are you trying to just¡­.shunt it all off at once?"


    "Kinda? Like put a lid on it?" He tilted his head. "That''s what Yoruichi told me." He pointed out.


    "Maybe you should try the opposite direction if you''re having trouble. If I had to guess, they started out with their Reiatsu and molded it as they grew you sort of just¡­.<em>got it all at once</em>, in a way. Right now, you''re like a raging river and you''re trying to throw Logs in front of it and dam it all up at once while it rampages. Rather, start slowly pulling in the edges, narrow the river, and work backwards."


    "I''ll try it, but I don''t know if it''ll work. Not that big of a deal anyways." He shrugged.


    Well, kid certainly has a <em>lot</em> to work with, so I can see why he thinks that.


    I''m not going to push him, he needs to learn to stand on his own two feet with things. I''ll happily give him advice, but whether he takes it is all on him.


    "Alright." I pulled my Zanpakut¨­ out of the ground. "That was a nice warm up, why don''t you show me what you <em>really</em> got."


    Ichigo grinned. "Alright, don''t say I didn''t warn ya." His Reiatsu spiked astronomically. A pir of it reaching to the ceiling of this underground training area. It was powerful enough that it could nearly push me back if I wasn''t paying attention. He held his sword out, pointing it at me then used his other hand, and ced it on his forearm while the cloth on the hilt of his de wrapped around his arm.


    <em>''Bankai</em>."


    I couldn''t help but grin seeing a Bankai released up close like this.


    The Reiatsu around him became significantly heavier and disrupted any vision of him I had due to the whirlwind of dust and Reiatsu that swirled around him.


    It all was pushed to the side with the rattling of a chain to apany it.


    No more was he wielding that oversize de, but he had almost a normal, if pitch de, Katana in his hand with a chain extending from the hilt. And over his normal Shinigami uniform, he was wearing a ck coat.


    "Tensa Zangetsu." He breathed out.


    "¡­.did you mess up?"


    "What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" He seemingly didn''t expect my question.


    "What the fuck is that." I pointed.


    "This is my Bankai!"


    "You changed your clothes and you''re wielding a normal sized sword now." I deadpanned.


    "S-stop talking shit about my Bankai!"


    "Yoruichi!" I looked at the cat. "Aren''t Bankai supposed to be like¡­.big expressions of power?"


    Yoruichi looked at me and did a cat shrug. "Meow."


    Oh fuck off.


    "Why does it matter if it works?" Ichigo huffed.


    "True." It was hard to argue with that logic. "Alright Strawberry, show me what you got."


    He moved and I felt a tingle on the back of my neck. My whole body spun, because out of the corner of my eyes, he was swinging down at me and I had to jerk my body out of the way to dodge.


    I brought my sword up to block another of his shes on the opposite side of me. I had to lean far as his de pierced through the air right at me from behind.


    This continued for a few moments as his speed began to <em>increase</em>. Every few steps, he left an afterimage after I deflected a blow or dodged a sh. It got to a point where he was moving so quickly that dozens of him appeared around me simultaneously.


    Though, I couldn''t help but smile happily as we yed this little game. Instead of sitting there <em>waiting for him</em>, I began to move as well.


    It was almost absurd that his Shunpo was <em>faster</em> than mine at this point.


    But we yed this little game of tag, only with deadly weapons.


    The shing of steel resounded everywhere, even if normal eyes could no longer detect us. I moved a hundred yards away with a step, and he was on me, swinging his sword down overhead for me to block. I let it nce off my sword and moved to sh at him, and it passed harmlessly through his body and I had to follow after because he moved dozens of feet away at that moment.


    It wasn''t just speed, though that received a <em>significant</em> boost under his Bankai, I could <em>feel</em> the weight of his blow magnify by 10 fold at least.


    I actually strained to take them as I was right now.


    No, without any additional boosts from any other source, he was overpowering me on a physical level.


    "Alright, I take back what I said before." I slid to a stop, narrowly moving to the side to step out of the way of a sh of his. I think I was eking out a stalemate here because I simply had much more experience fighting at this level and beyond than he did.


    "What was that, I didn''t hear you?" He appeared not far away looking way too smug.


    "Ohe off it." I rolled my eyes. "Is that your special ability of your Bankai? Is it small because it puts everything in speed?"


    A normal Bankai, from what I recall, increases your physical abilities by a factor of 5-10 across the board. In <em>addition to that</em>, it seems that his speed was further increased.


    "Something like that." He smiled cockily. "You jealous?"


    "Hardly." I snorted.


    He was still unrefined. God¡­.give him five more years, maybe less, and he would be an absolute monster.


    No, that''s not right, we were just ying around in all honesty, he''s already a monster for his age. He would easily match up with the kids who formed that ''team'' or whatever from before. Sairaorg might beat him as he stands at this moment, but he''s growing at an obscene rate if we go by how he was merely months ago.


    He still has a lot of room for improvement. Hell, once he figures out how to control his Reiatsu, that will be anotherrge increase in his own strength. Right now, he''s wasting so much of it and it''s unfocused, even in his Bankai.


    "You know, there''s something you need correcting on."


    "What''s that?" Ichigo still had that cocky grin on his face.


    "Making assumptions in battle. Who told you that I don''t know my Zanpakut¨­''s name?"


    His expression shifted and he looked mildly wary. "Alright, show it to me."


    "Why don''t you make me?" I gestured for him toe at me.


    That grin of his returned and it grew until it covered his face. I could <em>feel</em> him enjoying this just as I was. Underneath that teenage angst and cockiness, there was someone who seemed to genuinely enjoy fighting.


    He held his sword up with both hands, and his rampant Reiatsu soared again until a ck aura consumed everything around him, wrapping around his de, swirling and condensing.


    <em>"Getsuga Tenshou</em>." He swung it down and it shot at me like a wave of darkness, consuming everything in its path.


    My eyes widened and I swung my de out. "Reflect ¨C Mus¨± Tengai!"


    The wave of darkness washed over me, utterly annihting the fake mountainous region that was behind me and mming into the ''walls'' of this underground arena.


    The space of it <em>fluctuated</em> and shuddered as if its bindings were under strain from the power.


    I stood in my small spot,pletely untouched due to the effects of my Zanpakut¨­. It wasn''t too rough on me, I could handle this much strain at least. His attack, while absolutely praiseworthy, had quite a few ws in it that it wasn''t on the same level as the likes of Kronos or Indra even if the sheer destructive power was something simr in certain circumstances.


    "You missed." I called out.


    "Screw you!" He shot back.


    I could only chuckle as I stepped back over towards him, I felt rxed despite physically exerting myself the past¡­how many minutes we were sparring.


    It was a nice stress relief.


    "That your sword?" Ichigo dismissed his own Bankai, his Reiatsu settling back down to whatever could be called ''normal'' for him.


    I held it up for him to see. "Mus¨± Tengai, meaning Infinite Horizons."


    "How in the hell did you get your Shikai already." Yoruichi was back on my shoulder, looking at me.


    "It''s called talent."


    She swatted at my head. "No seriously, <em>how</em>."


    "Eh, things happened." I didn''t really want to reveal it so openly.


    "How''d you dodge his attack?"


    "You want to know the power of my Zanpakut¨­?" I raised an eyebrow and I could see both Rukia and Urahara looking at me expectantly, along with the others, like they were all wanting to hear what my Shikai''s ability was.


    "It lets me¡­..be immune to gingers."


    "Fuck you!" Ichigo swung his oversized sword at me in a huff. "That''s not what it does!"


    "Then how do you exin it?"


    "Bullshit, that''s how!" He threw his arms up with a scowl.


    "And what did you do?" Yoruichi jumped onto Ichigo, pping his head. "Your Reiatsu spiked way too high when you used that Getsuga Tenshou!"


    "Eh, whaddya mean?"


    "You know what I mean! It spiked at least five times over in that instant."


    Ichigo shrugged. "My Hollow wanted to pump it up, said something about wiping that smug look off the asshole''s face."


    I let my Zanpakut¨­ settle down back to its sealed state. "You getting on with your edgy twin?"


    Ichigo scowled deeper. "You start shit like that and I''m the one who has to hear him shouting in my head. But yeah, we get on alright. Old Man Zangetsu and him won''t tell me anything though, but I fight him every now and then and if I win, he lets me have some more of his power."


    "Huh."


    "Why the hell didn''t you tell us anything, you idiot?!" Yoruichi started pping his head. "That''s not something to keep to yourself. Hollows are dangerous, you got one in your soul and he''s just ''happily'' giving you his ''power''?"


    "What''s the big deal?" Ichigo didn''t react much at her hitting him continuously.


    Yoruichi let out a long groan. "Just¡­be careful, alright? We''ll¡­.call up some friends who might have a better clue as to what''s going on. Sooner than we had expected too¡­" She added on quietly.


    "Well, keep working at it, you''re getting fairly strong. I think you''d be about in the middlepared to all the Captains I met, maybe higher."


    "Only the middle?" Ichigo frowned.


    "That''s not something to look down on, you idiot." Rukia walked over. "Do you have any idea how strong the Captains are? They''re <em>centuries</em> older than you and you''re almost on their level."


    "I beat Byakuya." Ichigo pointed out.


    "He''s neglected his training." Yoruichi countered. "Honestly, he''s not much stronger than when we left Soul Society originally. You can be sure he''s going to train much harder now, especially with everything happening. He still has a lot of room for improvement."


    "¡­how strong are you?" Ichigo looked at Yoruichi.


    Sheughed. "Five of you couldn''t match me as you are right now. But some of the Captains I''m not sure I can beat."


    "That Captain Commander of yours is a Monster too." Even after fighting Kronos and winning, well, I wasn''t confident about my chances.


    Hard to really gauge it, it''s not like I can just point to some arbitrary number and see if I ranked higher.


    Simply, one of us would die if we fought and it''s up in the air who.


    "Bringing up the Captain Commander isn''t fair." Yoruichi grumbled. "The only reason he hasn''t retired in over a thousand years of working is because no one''s strong enough to take his ce."


    Well damn, isn''t that a scary thought? Honestly, quite a few of these Shinigami were monsters in one way or another.


    It seems that enough time passed because Tessai was seen climbing down the stairs to rejoin us.


    "I havepleted my job, Schweinorg-Dono." Tessai stated, raising his hand bluntly in greeting.


    "You missed a fun little fight, Tessi." Urahara closed his fan with a snap. "Schweinorg-kun here was getting ready to exin how his Zanpakut¨­ works for us."


    You know, props where it''s due, he delivered that rather smoothly. But I wasn''t going to take the bait. "It gives me protection against gingers."


    "That''s not how it works!" Ichigo went into a huff again.


    God, it''s fun riling him up.


    He reminds me of Godou, I need to visit my step-brother at some point. And Pandora, I need to introduce her to her Granddaughter.


    Maybe that''s where I can head next after cleaning up this mess with that Amber Girl?


    Sir Wiggles plopped himself onto my head from Rukia''s arms, earning a disgruntled pout from the petite girl.


    "If you''re ready, Tessai?" He already agreed pretty much, and while it wasn''t an <em>urgent</em> time table, I did waste quite a bit of time here already.


    "I am ready to depart with you, Schweinorg-Dono." He nodded.


    "Thanks for having me over." I waved at Urahara. Despite his¡­probing, he was amicable, I suppose. I do prefer people being above board with me, so I wasn''t going to get upset with what he was doing.


    "It was my pleasure." He smiled brightly. "You''re wee any time!"


    "Yoruichi." I looked at her. "Behave."


    "Meow."


    "And you know how to reach me. If an emergencyes up, don''t hesitate."


    "Alright." She hopped off my shoulder. "Is your¡­..<em>friend</em> going to being back with Orihime soon?"


    "No idea, as I said, don''t freak out if she''s gone for a couple days. And she did say that she would send people over to fix Orihime''s apartment so¡­.don''t freak out about anything weird?" I offered her a vague estimation of what I would expect.


    Honestly, she''s probably going to conscript some of Yasaka''s people to fix it up quickly. I expect to receive a message providing transportation services rtively soon.


    "Oh, and Ichigo, I have something for you." I walked up to him.


    "¡­huh, what?" He looked confused.


    "Well, it''s just something you should have. You have a lot of talent, and you''re a good kid." I put a hand on his shoulder.


    "¡­.you''re making me feel weird."


    "Just, look after this for me, would you? It''s sentimental, I once beat up a clown with it."


    "What are you ¨C "


    I dropped a brick into his hands.


    "¡­.I hate you. I hate you so much."


    "Be good, don''t get into trouble, I''ll see youter!" I quickly grabbed Tessai and opened a portal back up to Remnant before he could do anything.


    The legacy of the Brick shall live on.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: A Very Foxy Summons.


    AN: Apparently I forgot to post this outside of one website when I wrote it likest year? So here you guys go.


    ¡ª-


    "So¡­.this is the mechanism designed to summon these¡­.Servants?" Izzy looked around the Chaldea summoning chamber. The ced used to facilitating the summoning of Servants through the FATE system.


    I was giving Izzy a tour of Chaldea. No one else minded, after all the help I''ve given, they were more than willing to let me give her a tour. Not to mention, they would be happy to be on good terms with another Goddess.


    "Yup." I followed her gaze as she inspected everything. "Among other things. Their system, while more beneficial in some aspectspared to the traditional Ritual used in the past, is also worse off in others. It can summon...other things by ident."


    "What do you mean ''other things?" Izzy asked.


    "For some reason, it seems intent on summoning Mapo Tofu and ck Keys."


    "What are ¨C"


    "A type of Holy Sword, dagger, thing. Hates things the church hates so it does a lot of damage to them. Think Holy Sword but less Star-wars."


    "Oh." She just nodded. "And Mapo Tofu, really?"


    I just shrugged. "I have no idea. Honestly, this whole facility is held together with duct tape and prayers. I''m scared that if I even look at the FATE system the wrong way, it''s going to explode."


    "¡­..and yet you use it to summon exalted figures through history."


    "Never said we were smart."


    "....which I already knew." She rolled her eyes with a small smile. "Would it be too much to ask if I could see it in action?"


    "I already nned for a few uses, don''t worry."


    "Are you sure? I recall you saying that they had limited amounts of the resources required."


    "They nned on using it anyways, I''m just letting you do the whole ''button press'' of it."


    "Oh, well then, I suppose I shall partake." Izzy perked up. "How do I do this, exactly?"


    "First, you need to take a very specific stance, then yell at the top of your lungs ¨C"


    "I will smack you." She deadpanned.


    "Fine, fine." I huffed. "Just feed your Magical Energy into the device at the center here. Once it hits the threshold, the system facilitates the rest."


    She ced her hand on it then pause. "Perhaps I shouldn''t ask at this point, but is my identity as a Goddess an issue?"


    I shrugged.


    "What wonderful insights you provide." She said dryly. "Very well, let''s continue."


    I felt the power from Izzy begin to flow into the device, FATE was powering up as the systems started activating.


    "Oh, this is interesting. I can feel the fluctuations of space and time being bent." Izzy eximed.


    Huh, I guess she would be sensitive to that kind of thing.


    The room lit up with Magical Energy, a pir of light mmed into the ground as a new figure was coalesced.


    Pink hair, Fox ears on her head twitching excitedly, a single tail swaying behind her. "Husband, I have arrived! Your Foxy Wife, Tamamo-no-Mae hase to ¨C" The Servant paused, looking at us, but slowly turning her head to focus entirely on Izzy.


    "...daughter." Izzy spoke up to break the awkward silence that ensued.


    "¡­."


    "¡­."


    "¡­nope!" The Servant did an about-face, took a step forward, and dissipated back into motes of Magical Energy.


    "¡­.uh, did she just¡­..?" I found trouble saying the correct word.


    "She did." Izzy said nkly. "And she has Three seconds to get back here before I get upset."


    "Um, you know she can''t just ¨C"


    "One."


    I blinked, apparently being ignored. "You could try summoning her back or ¨C"


    "Two."


    "Izzy, that isn''t going to work¡­"


    "Three¡ª"


    Suddenly, the room exploded in Magical Energy again. "Wait, I''m here, I''m here!" The Pink-Haired Fox apparently decided the Grand Ritual thatposes the summoning of Servants was irrelevantpared to Izzy giving her a count down.


    "Yeah, okay." I just decided not to question it, I think it was better for my sanity.


    [***]


    A/N Back from my little ''vacation'', and here''s the chapter.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 518: + Looking Glass Omake Part 5

    Chapter 518: + Looking ss Omake Part 5


    Yoruichi Pov


    Well that was interesting.


    Seemed like every time he came by, he found a new way to shatter my world view. Can I even call it out as bullshit like the time he took to learn his Zanpakut¨­''s name? I mean¡­.Ichigo here pretty much learned it right away?


    Sorta¡­.he didn''t even know that Zanpakut¨­ had names until far into his tenure as a Substitute, but almost as soon as he was told, he released his sword for the first time. But he''s also not a normal case in any sense of the imagination.


    Wilhelm though he''s¡­.well, not human. But¡­.half human he said? Does the fact that he''s a Devil have any bearing on it?


    Normally, I''d ask Kisuke, but he obviously didn''t know Devils existed until recently too! Hell, no one knew they existed until recently.


    It was only for a few moments, but his Reiatsu spiked high. No idea what he even did, his sword looked kinda in too, so it''s not like it''s a physical attribute. Somehow, he managed to dodge out of the way of Ichigo''s Getsuga Tenshou without moving?


    And isn''t that something nice to learn about all of the sudden! This idiot over there was messing with his Hollow without telling anyone.


    We were already talking with Shinji and the others about helping Ichigo, and he stressed many times that inner Hollows are very dangerous and they needed to be defeated and ''sealed'' to ess their powers.


    Gonna need to call him in earlier than nned. Originally, I wanted Ichigo to refine himself a bit before getting a big powerup like ess to his Hollow''s powers, but it doesn''t seem like that''s gonna work.


    It''s nice that he got a bit of an eye opener.


    Sure, neither of them were running at 100% in their friendly spar, but Ichigo should have more or less seen the distance between them. Which was fine, kid has a lot of room to grow so he''s not gonna throw a fit for getting ''beaten''.


    But even still¡­.


    I jumped onto his head and gave him an encouraging p. "That was a good attack at the end."


    "¡­.what are you doing?" He asked skeptically.


    "I''m praising you, idiot."


    "¡­..why?"


    "Am I not allowed to praise my student!?"


    "No. That''s not something you do. Ever."


    "Just for that, I''m gonna tell Byakuya you and Rukia are dating the next time I''m in Soul Society."


    "Yoruichi!" Rukia let out an exhausted sigh. "Please don''t tell brother that, he''ll believe you."


    "I know." I smiled.


    "You''d do that anyways." Ichgio just huffed.


    Well, that wasn''t untrue.


    "But serious, you''ve grown a lot, Ichigo. I''m proud of you." I gave him another p on the forehead.


    "Okay you''re seriously weirding me out." He shook me off, making mend on the ground. "What do you want?"


    "Why do you think I want anything?"


    "Because you''re acting really out of character. So spill it, whad''ya want?" He scowled.


    "Well, if you''re offering, I wouldn''t mind hearing the details from Orihime when she gets back." I happily responded to his generous offer.


    "I''m not pumping her for information." He crossed his arms, scowling deeper. "As long as she''s fine, then it''s all good."


    "You''re not the just teeniest bit curious? Who knows what''s happening over there. I mean, Youkai, that''s probably not a good thing." I tried to egg him on a bit.


    "The bastard said she was fine."


    "Wow, you really just trust him at face value like that?" I blinked in surprise. I mean, I did in all honesty, I felt like he was a good guy and I was rarely wrong ''bout that sort of thing. But Ichigo was still a kid so¡­I expected more concern?


    Ichigo just shrugged. "He''s an ass but he''s not an asshole."


    Strangely, I knew exactly what I meant by that. Maybe that''s why we got along so well in just a few days?


    "Nice brick."


    "Screw you!" He tried to throw it at me, but I easily dodged.


    "I knew it, the dastardly Kurosaki Ichigo is at it again! Shinigami beware, he has a brick!" I immediately ran away, letting him stew in his own anger.


    Still can''t believe Wilhelm bricked Mayuri in the face.


    Just the continued thought of that gets me all riled up in a bad way.


    Hopefully seeing Ichigo push himself like that would get the others to take their training seriously. Ury¨± had his own problems right now, but Chad had sort of been neglecting his Spiritual Training since he got back from Soul Society.


    Orihime almost getting kidnapped should be a wake up call for them. The world wasn''t going to ignore everything going on even if they wanted it to.


    "You''re being uncharacteristically quiet, Kisuke." I trotted over to my long-time friend as he just quietly looked at the kids arguing off where I was a moment before.


    "Am I?" He smiled lightly.


    "Well, normally, you would be doing anything you could to get the answer you wanted. You know, like manipting the kid, or some shady shit, or maybe pushing boundaries that you really shouldn''t." I listed off things he''s done in the past.


    At least he hadn''t outright threatened people to get what he wants. Well, not like physically or maliciously or anything like that. But ckmailing hasn''t been off the table. Kisuke isn''t the most morally resolute person in the world, but there are lines he won''t cross.


    Sometimes I gotta remind him of them, or just point out how he''s acting like Mayuri to stop him in his tracks.


    He tries to be decent, so he''s already leagues ahead of that psycho clown.


    "You obviously had a lot of things you wanted to say, why didn''t you?" I jumped up onto his head.


    He hummed, ying with the fan in his hand. "I guess the time didn''t feel right." He nced at me. "I''m trying to be¡­.nice."


    "Well, miracles do happen." I snorted. "The angry Goddess doesn''t have anything to do with it I presume?"


    He nearly stumbled but quickly corrected himself. "Ara, I''m both enthused and horrified at the idea of this self-proimed Goddess."


    "Please don''t get yourself killed."


    "I know how to act when the situation calls for it." He smiled good-naturedly. "I did survive as a Captain without everyone hating me."


    That was true¡­.. Kisuke somehow was on the good side of nearly everyone during his tenure.


    "What''d you think of his Zanpakut¨­?"


    Kisuke frowned slightly. "I would need to see it a few more times, but I have some¡­theories."


    "Oh? And what kind of theories are those?"


    "The kind that make me realize that Schweinorg-kun is not a normal person."


    Coulda told you that myself. A normal ''person'' doesn''t learn Shunpo to that degree he did in a manner of weeks.


    A ''normal'' person doesn''t develop their Zanpakut¨­ to that degree in equal time.


    A ''normal'' person doesn''t have such expert control of their Reiatsu after learning how to handle it in less than a couple months.


    "Honestly, feels like you''re sulking." I poked at him.


    "Sulking? Me?" He chuckled.


    "Well, you do like being the smartest person around. Now that there''s things going on that you''repletely in the dark about, it must be eating away at you. How''s your research been going?"


    "Admittedly, not very well." He sighed. "Yoruichi, I looked into everything I could. All the records I could get my hands on, and even started reading children''s books to see if there were any ring ''hints'' that I might have missed. Nowhere does it imply that the Goddess Izanami should exist. Much less a plethora of other Gods that would also exist by extension."


    "Well, we know the Soul King exists, it isn''t that big a leap." I pointed out.


    "If I hadn''t seen him with my own eyes, I would be having a hard time believing any of this." He sighed again.


    "Still can''t believe you took a peek at him."


    He chuckled awkwardly. "I was young and foolish."


    "It wasn''t that long ago."


    "It wasn''t." He agreed.


    "Sorta thought you''d ask him about your Hogyoku too. But you didn''t even broach the subject with him while he was here."


    "I was tempted." He fidget with his Fan some more. "I tried to find him, you know?"


    "Kisuke." I frowned.


    "I wasn''t going to go looking, or anything like that." He waved it off. "If Mayuri couldn''t find him through his own methods, I certainly wasn''t going to give him any help either."


    "Fine, I believe you." I knew Kisuke did things often just because he wants to know if he can.


    "I couldn''t find him. Anywhere."


    "He''s good at hiding."


    "Yoruichi, I don''t think he was in the Human World."


    "¡­..when you point it out, it makes sense. I mean¡­he''s a Devil or something, right? Stands to reason that there was a ce we didn''t know about, where he was hiding? I mean¡­" I paused for a second. "¡­.did you check Hell?"


    A slow grin crept up on his face. "Yoruichi, are you asking me if I broke one of the biggest Taboos and went around poking at Hell?" He sounded ''aghast''.


    "Stop being an idiot." I smacked his head.


    "I did a preliminary¡­.poke. Even I don''t want to start ying around with Hell. But Schweinorg-kun has no resemnce to the Hell we know. His Reiatsu is all wrong in both feeling and effect. You know just as I do that Hell''s aura erodes living things."


    "Yeah, just figured I''d ask." I nodded.


    The two biggest Taboos that every member of the Great ns and even higher-up Shinigami learn very early on.


    Treat the Soul King with absolute reverence.


    And do not inquire about Hell.


    Both of these can get you executed very quickly. If Kisuke started poking around Hell and Soul Society found out, they would disregard our ''working rtionship'' and any attempts to reconcile to execute him as quickly as possible even considering Aizen and the Quincies breathing down their necks.


    "So you couldn''t find him, not that big of a deal? Are you getting upset that he escaped with your marble somewhere without you being able to keep an eye on him?" I teased him a little.


    "After looking, I could pinpoint Aizen''s location due to the unique signature his Hogyoku gave off." He stated. "It''s irrelevant because we know he''s in Hueco Mundo, but I just used that as a reference. And Schweinorg-kun was found nowhere."


    "Maybe he used some Magic or something?" I offered. "Seems like there''s a much wider world we didn''t know about until now. I guess it makes sense considering we didn''t really leave Japan much when dealing with Spiritual stuff." I thought it over myself.


    Japan was the Spiritual capital of the Human World. There were some spots elsewhere, but Japan as a whole was where 90%+ of all Hollow attacks ur.


    In the rare urrence that a Hollow had enough Reiatsu to form elsewhere in the Human World, they almost instinctively go to Hueco Mundo, thene to Japan to hunt due to the density of Reishi.


    "I''m annoyed that there is the possibility of such a thing slipping under my nose. But I''m also d that there''s so many new things I''m learning about. As a scientist, I wee opportunities to learn new things." He grinned.


    "So your pride is stung." I summarized, hopping off his head. "Anyways, you may want to check on Ichigo."


    "I heard." He nodded. "I''ll give Shinji a call to get his opinion."


    "Alright, I''m gonna head out and check on our friends from Soul Society."


    "Are you worried about them?" He raised a questioning eyebrow.


    "I''m worried about what may happen if they''re stupid enough to¡­.interrupt the people the Goddess apparently said she would send to fix Orihime''s apartment."


    Kisuke blinked. "I believe it''s best that you keep an eye on things."


    "I thought so too." d we were on the same page there. "Tell me when Tessaies back, I wanna hear about what he got up to."


    Kisuke gave me a silent wave as I ran out of the underground basement of his.


    While I was out and about I also checked up on the Humans to make sure everything went well with Kisuke''s little ''toy''.


    Tessei did good work too. He made sure that no humans appeared within the destroyed buildings or under rubble when they reappeared in the city. Had to give Kisuke credit, the humans were confused, but that was better than being dead.


    He did a good job from what I could see at a nce.


    He added a light mental impulse to not treat the disappearance for several hours with much concern, which seemed to be helping. Left a bad taste in my mouth, but again, better than the alternative.


    It only took a few minutes to get over to where Orihime lived, and thankfully the Shinigami weren''t around causing problems by sitting around inside.


    Found them nearby, able to keep an eye on things, but not close enough to interfere.


    "Nothing yet?" I asked, arriving with a gust of wind.


    "No response as of yet." Captain Hitsugaya replied. "But we will keep watch."


    Well, I guess I shouldn''t be too worried, Hitsugaya was a no-nonsense kind of kid.


    "Hey¡­.Yoruichi." Renji sort of shuffled up in a hushed tone. "Can I ask you something?"


    "What''s up?"


    "Are Rukia and Ichigo really¡­.together?" He whispered.


    "¡­..yes." I''m sorry Ichigo, I couldn''t help myself. But to be fair, they both need to getid. "Make sure to tell Byakuya too."


    Well, the look on his face made me think he wasn''t asking because of the older Kuchiki.


    The others just looked bored, even if they were still sort of doing their jobs properly. It wasn''t anything new for a Shinigami to stand around for hours at a time while they watched over a ce or did patrols.


    I remember my early training days where I was up for over two weeks straight in the human world hunting a particrly annoying hollow.


    "Something''s happening." Captain Hitsugaya pushed himself up from where he was sitting/leaning.


    At the same time everyone else immediately zoned in on what he was referring to. Simr to that magic or whatever it was that Wilhelm used, a portal opened up in the middle of Orihime''s apartment and tons of different¡­..people walked out.


    And none of them were human.


    They felt¡­.strange, their Reiatsu was¡­..I don''t even know how to describe it. It was extremely faint, but on top of it was this entirely different ''feeling''.


    Particrly, at the front, there was a man with two horns on his hand, a big guy, probably bigger than Tessei and wider too.


    There were others, some very much not humanoid in shape. Some with elongated features, others with animal features.


    "Alright, you know the job, barrier up to avoid the humans. Get the measurements ready, I want someone to check on gas lines and electricity!" The¡­.was that an Oni? The Oni at the front started ordering people around with¡­actual precision it seemed.


    I never thought I would see an Oni with construction knowledge. Or an Oni in general for that matter.


    He was even wearing a hard hat, with holes so his horns peeked out from underneath.


    ¡­..today had been a strange day.


    I think all of us were a bit taken back. Sure we heard that Youkai existed, and even one of the Captains was a big humanoid dog/wolf or something, but to see it like this was another matter entirely.


    I used to think that Youkai were just stories from Spiritually perceptive humans who could see Hollows¡­


    But the Kappa with his big shiny head seemed to destroy those previous thoughts, along with the others.


    Was that a Tengu? He had a long nose and bird-like wings on his back too.


    "Nyah?" As if taking everyone off guard, a little ck cat with two tails stood right in front of us.


    I¡­admit a smallpse in my awareness, which I think was understandable in this situation. But I was also surprised that this very much not a normal cat snuck up on us.


    "Meow?"


    "Nyah."


    "Meow."


    "Nyah~!"


    "Meow!"


    "¡­..did you make a friend, Yoruichi?" Rengiku asked.


    "Hello." The foreign ck cat spoke perfectly.


    "Hello." I spoke back, never thinking I''d meet another talking cat before.


    Am I allowed to be surprised by this? I feel like it''s a sort of irony.


    We sort of just stared at each other. As a cat, it was easy to tell it was a ''she'' as well. But her two tails were a bit confusing.


    We began to circle around one another as if to size each other up.


    I could take her, easy.


    That''s what my gut told me.


    Though she''d probably smack around a couple of the ones behind me.


    "Name?" I asked.


    She had a mischievous grin on her face as that ''strangeness'' around her sort of shifted and a puff of smoke appeared, barely obscuring the form of a young woman,ying seductively on the ground with a ck kimono adjusted to barely cover certain parts of her body.


    "Kuroka~" She introduced with a grin.


    "Captain, cover your eyes!"


    "Rengiku, I''m not a kid!"


    "Hoh, what a niceplexion."


    "Are those cat ears real?"


    "Hoh, are you challenging me?" I raised a nonexistent eyebrow.


    "Nyah~" The girl¡­.cat¡­.Youkai? She seemed amused by this whole thing.


    I transformed as well, almost simr in every aspect of how it happened. Except, I wasn''t wearing a single piece of clothing.


    "You have got a long way to go little girl~" I matched her smile.


    Her eyes widened. "Nyah!?"


    I win.


    "Dammit Yoruichi, put some clothes on!" I heard Captain Hitsugaya scolded me and ncing back I could see his bright red face.


    "Prudes."


    "It''s cute." The newly named Kuroka giggled as she got up and sauntered over to the younger Captain.


    He tried to keep hisposure as the younger girl seductively walked towards him, clothing seeming like it was going to fall off her admittedly voluptuous body.


    "I-I''m Shinigami Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13, I ¨C "


    "Nyah." She moved rather fast and put a finger to his lips, silencing him. "Wanna help me make some Shinigami kittens?"


    Oh, I liked her.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "Oh hey, I think he''s back."


    "Thank you Qrow, I wouldn''t have noticed otherwise." The distinct voice of Headmaster Ozpin replied rather dryly.


    "No problem, Oz." I noticed Qrow from before sitting at his side, drinking from a certain sk of his.


    "Sorry for taking so long we had¡­..an unexpected situation arise." I expressed my apologies up front at my tardiness.


    "Is that blood on you guys?" Qrow blinked.


    Ozpin shot him a look then focused back on us. "Thank you, Mr. Schweinorg, but I understand that certain situations can dy someone. A mere two hours is a small matter to consider for Amber''s health."


    "I also came down to watch." Qrow waved.


    "I noticed." I pursed my lips. "By the way, I got your message."


    "Yeah¡­" Qrow sheepishly cleared his throat. "Oz gave me the heads up. But hey, all''s well that ends well. Hope Oz''s ex wife isn''t getting pissed at you. Less time you''re sleeping on the couch, less time she has to be Evil." He raised up his sk.


    "¡­thank you, Qrow, for your insight." Ozpin sighed.


    "Salem was¡­.forting." I said vaguely. "She''s aware of what I''m doing."


    "Color me surprised." Ozpin stated, still nursing a mug of tea it seems but he didn''t react visibly at all. "But that is another matter, I believe introductions are in order?"


    "Right." I stepped slightly to the side to allow Tessai to be seen without my obstruction. I cast a look over the man and he seemed¡­.out of it, surprised, confused in all manner of emotions.


    Right, Spiritual Energy here was¡­.well, there is a tiny bit from my presence, but it should feel utterly alien to him.


    Not that I would rethink my decision, but this did seem like the best option bar literal Divine Intervention which was its own can of worms.


    Tessai to his credit was immediately snapped back into focus on the immediate issue at hand.


    "Tessai Tsukabishi." He politely bowed with his introduction.


    Ozpin raised an eyebrow and merely smiled. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, I''m Headmaster Ozpin, of Beacon Academy."


    "Greetings, Ozpin-Dono."


    Ozpin nodded, seemingly unphased by his mannerisms.


    "Hey, I''m Qrow." Qrow just casually threw his hand up in greeting. "You''re a big guy, huh?"


    "Qrow, stop being rude." Ozpin lightly chided him. "And we have more pressing concerns. I believe you are the ''specialist'' that Mr. Schweinorg here told me about?"


    Tessai pushed up his sses with a hint of pride on his face. "In the matters of the spiritual, I dare say I am of a keen mind."


    "Wonderful, thank you foring on short notice. I would normally be much more weing as a proper host, but this is a rather odd situation."


    "I understand, Ozpin-Dono, I ept your graciousness for the intent." Tessai returned the niceties.


    Qrow pushed himself up from his chair. "So how''s this work? You a specialist on souls or something? You a wizard like the kid or a hunter or something?"


    Tessai blinked, looking at me and I gave him a shrug. "I believe there is a misunderstanding. I am a Spiritual Specialist, none of which you stated."


    "Huh, though that was just like a sort of specific title, didn''t know it was something else entirely." Qrow hummed, taking a drink of his sk.


    "It is rather¡­.interesting." Ozpin had a strange gleam in his eyes. "At the risk of sounding rude, I would like to verify your¡­credentials, in a manner of speaking."


    "I understand your skepticism." Tessai didn''t take offense. "You wish to see my expertise?"


    "I apologize for the assumption, but while I¡­..admit to not knowing Mr. Schweinorg too well, I do have some reassurances with him. I would not be doing my duty to leave Amber in the hands of someone I knew absolutely nothing about. Would it be remiss of me to ask for¡­.proof, of your capabilities?"


    "I would be more than willing to demonstrate if either of you would like to volunteer." Tessai offered.


    "Oh, me!" Qrow raised his hand.


    "It seems Qrow wishes to see your abilities first hand."


    "But if you ask me to bend over and cough¡­.I''ma need to be a bit more drunk."


    Tessai chuckled. "That can be arranged."


    "A doc with a sense of humor." Qrow grinned. "What do I need to do, big guy? I hope this doesn''t have anything to do with you having blood on your¡­.apron?"


    "Apologies, myst patient was¡­.uncooperative."


    "Uh¡­.having second thoughts now."


    "Now now, Qrow, be a good patient, we wouldn''t want anything bad to happen." Ozpin hummed.


    "Simply sit on the ground please." Tessai gestured.


    Qrow plopped himself onto the ground easily. "Like this?"


    "Yes." Tessai nodded, sitting down right behind him and putting a hand on his back. "Please do not be aggressive to what I''m about to do."


    "Aggressiveeee." Qrow''s voice jumped by a few octaves as his Aura red around Tessai''s glowing hand. "Ah!?"


    "¡­.did you forget to cough?" I asked.


    "¡­funny." He said dryly. "No that just¡­.that was weird? My Aura went all funky for a moment."


    "Yes, your Aura." Tessai paused. He knew about my Aura in the barest capacity from the time he was teaching me. But he hadn''t seen it on other people thus far. "If you could keep it under control, please?"


    "Yeah, no problem, now that I know what to expect¡­"


    And I think Tessai wouldpensate for it as well.


    Ozpin watched intently as Tessai''s hands lit up in a green spiritual hue as his Spiritual Power invaded Qrow''s body.


    "You have severe Liver swelling and inmmation. I also see very old scarring and cirrhosis from years of heavy drinking. If you don''t correct your habits, you will find yourself in trouble in about a decade." Tessaimented.


    "Mmm, probably. But everyone knows I''m a drunk Doc." Qrow held up his sk and shook it.


    "Quite." Ozpin agreed.


    "I merely wished to address the most portent find. Otherwise you are in very good health. You have some minor tearing in your right shoulder, did you perhaps strain yourself recently?"


    "I did¡­.fought a bad little Ursa a few days ago, got my shoulder sore."


    "You have experienced several broken bones in thest two decades. Your left leg seems to have suffered the most, I see four different times it was broken and healed. Further, your left arm has been broken twice, the second time it didn''t heal all the way properly. Did you perhaps remove a cast early?"


    Qrow winced. "I did¡­.how''d you know?"


    "This is far from my first time." Tessai chuckled. "Unfortunately, it healed back with that slight deformity, it shouldn''t cause you any undo strain if you don''t'' feel any pain normally. But I foresee it breaking again in the future."


    "Noted." Qrow groaned. "But Doc, I thought you were a Soul expert?"


    "I am curious as well. I admit your insight into his physical aspects, but this problem stems far beyond the physical." Ozpin stated.


    "An understandable assumption, but that is incorrect. The Body is a reflection of the soul. To heal the Soul, the Body must be considered as well. I propose to you to ask yourself this woman''s body, how has it responded to harm to her soul?"


    "That is a valid train of thought." Ozpin looked thoughtful. "It''s as you say, her body is undergoingplete shut down."


    Tessai just nodded as he expected it. "Without a proper ''patient'' to utilize, I''m afraid my experience in healing Spiritual problems will be impossible to prove. But in the vein of evidence, I could offer up my own insights in yourself, Headmaster-Dono."


    "Myself?" Ozpin raised a questioning eyebrow.


    "You have a very old soul. Layers uponyers all wrapped around one another." Tessai stated. "I was able to perceive as much as I saw you for the first time."


    Ozpin paused, then looked at me.


    I held my hands up. "I didn''t tell him anything."


    "I am very old." Ozpin said cryptically.


    Tessai just nodded and didn''t delve deeper.


    "Very well, you have proven your point. Thank you for assuaging my worries even though you were invited here on our own behalf."


    Tessai''s expression softened. "To care for someone else is no sin, Headmaster-dono."


    "Thank you for your kind words."


    I think they liked each other.


    "Amber is right over here." Ozpin casually walked over to the pod that Amber was inside. He had themon sense to close it after he realized we were taking more than a few minutes, so that''s good.


    "Exin to me how this machine works, please." Tessai responded, walking up to it.


    "Its purpose is to provide her physical needs as well as stimte her Aura around the clock to keep her Soul from copsing into itself."


    I put a hand on it because I didn''t get a good look before, much more concerned about the girl inside. "You''re doing the equivalent of shocking someone to keep them awake."


    "Crude, but not untrue." Ozpin didn''t deny it. "Her Aura is keeping her soul¡­..in shape, forck of a better word. If her Aura stopped being forced into action¡­well, the obvious as I said before."


    "It''s only a time-buying measure. And this is¡­.well, I don''t want to say barbaric, because you''re doing so to keep her alive. But this has its own problems if it continues for long. Which is to say, she doesn''t have long anyways." I let out a small sigh.


    "Options were limited. Unfortunately, I did not know anyone specialized in spiritual matters that I could call up." Ozpin stated.


    Eventually, it''s all going to just shut down at once. Like shocking someone to keep them awake, eventually their body will shut down by itself even with the ''shocking'' going on after enough time passes.


    "I will need a more thorough inspection." Tessai stated.


    Ozpin seemed to reluctantly agree. "I suppose this is our best hope regardless." He went over and pressed the button to train the container before it opened up.


    Tessai was quick to put a hand on the girl and his hand lit up as he began to use his Kaido once more.


    Tessai''s expression shifted several times as he presumably did his analysis.


    "I have questions."


    "Please." Ozpin gestured.


    "Why does this young woman seem to have something¡­parasitized to her soul?" Tessai''s tone was¡­oddly stern. "And why does it have the faint traces of your own soul, Headmaster?"


    Ozpin frowned. "So you could tell that. I guess that''s all the confirmation I need for your authenticity."


    "I require an answer before I proceed further." Tessai''s tone held no room for negotiation.


    Ozpin let out a tired sigh. "A long time ago, I wanted to gift a few young women a bit of magic from myself. Unfortunately, they inherited a particr curse of mine, and that magic was¡­passed down along with those ''traces'' you''re probably noticing."


    "I''ll vouch for him, Tessai." I spoke up. "Despite the idiocy of what he did, a long time ago, it wasn''t malicious nor anything like that." I could imagine how it must look to Tessai who deals with Hollows and Shinigami on a daily basis.


    "Very well." Tessai epted.


    "How is she?" I stepped up to peer over Tessai''s shoulder.


    "I can see the problem immediately. It is as you described, a piece of her soul is forever missing."


    "That''s bad." Qrow added his own thoughts to the mix.


    "Thank you, Qrow." Ozpin deadpanned.


    "Happy to help again."


    "Is this beyond your means, Mr. Tessai?" Ozpin asked.


    "Fortunately, it is not a particrly unsolvable problem. Other than a missing piece of her Soul, there are no lingering effects. No further damage, no corruption." Tessai listed out. "There will be some side effects, but the matter of healing is quite simple if time consuming."


    I suppose in simr situations, Tessai usually has to deal with Hollow corruption, or other soul-based damage from Spiritual Entities.


    The difference between an infected wound and a straight cut that''s been bleeding for too long.


    "Truly?" Ozpin had a tinge of hope in his voice.


    Tessai nodded. "It will require a few sessions of healing. However, I can solve the most pressing concern of her soul copsing. I will mend it ''back into shape'' and you will see a sharp improvement in her health. Expect some memory loss and physical therapy to be required. I cannot promise there will not be other unforeseen side effects. The Soul is strong, it''s malleable, but it is not unbreakable."


    "How long is long, Doc?" Qrow asked the pertinent question.


    "It will take no more longer than a few hours to mend her soul back to a simr shape as before. But that is only the first step, and there will need to be a period to let her settle down. She will wake up soon afterwards, but I will need to continue the treatment within the next month." Tessai stated.


    "Can''t do it all at once?" Qrow asked.


    Tessai shook his head. "Her soul has suffered extensive damage. It will need time to recuperate after each Healing as her Soul is the basis for her own recovery."


    "You have my thanks." Ozpin said with a genuine tone of grace.


    "It is my duty." Tessai epted it regardless. "I will begin immediately."


    I didn''t bother him despite being curious about the treatment myself. Tessai was down ying it, I''m sure. That''s the kind of person he was.


    Her soul was missing a chunk, and Tessai is all but guaranteeing that he can heal her mostly back to full health.


    "Thank you as well, Mr.Schweinorg." Ozpin addressed me. "I am aware that you did not have to go out of your way to put this all together. Despite the¡­.reasons for you doing so, I am thankful."


    "You probably won''t believe me that Salem is¡­.trying at least." I shook my head. "But I was just trying to right a wrong from her end. At the very least, we should be good between us, hmm? No lingering jealousy?" I may have had a teasing grin on my face.


    "Jealousy?" Ozpin chuckled. "Not at all, Mr. Torchwick."


    "¡­pardon?"


    "I apologize, do you prefer Watermelon?" He said, taking a sip of his tea.


    ¡­..god dammit Roman.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: Through the Looking ss Part 5.


    Honestly, after identallynding here and meeting my mom for the first time in years, this isn''t how I expected this to go.


    Kind of escted quickly there, but who am I to deny someone a very needed beating?


    And well, he was ogling Sc¨¢thach and Venna''s boobs very tantly. I''m not going to get pissed off whenever someone stares at my girls, I get it, they''re some of the most beautiful women to ever exist and very physically attractive, but he makes it weird.


    If you''re going to admire a woman, you can''t be a creep about it.


    Then again, he literally watches underaged girls undress at school without them knowing, or with them knowing, he did get beat up a lot there.


    And it''s also sorta personal for Ddraig.


    [Kick his ass!]


    Will do.


    [Curse him, make it so every time he even thinks about boobs, he gets cid!]


    ¡­that''s fucked up.


    [Kick him in the balls!]


    Very personal for Ddraig.


    "You know, I''m curious about something." I spoke up, taking a spot opposite of Issei in the back yard.


    Now that I think about it, why were they letting this happen?


    Did they really not think about how this was going to go? At the very least, I knew the Maid and my Biological Alternate Father weren''t¡­.well, these two didn''t seem stupid.


    [Isn''t it obvious?] Ddraig stated.


    How so?


    [They also want to see him get his ass kicked.]


    .....oddly, I don''t think they share your same hatred.


    "What, you damn handsome!?" Issei was¡­seething still.


    "Well first, are you trying to insult me by calling me handsome?" I honestly questioned this kid''s mental facilities.


    "It''s because you handsome bastards are stealing all the girls!" He threw his hand up in usation.


    "That''s a lie." I countered.


    "Bullshit, everyone at school are always talking about Kiba and you¡­him too!" He looked at my alternate self. "And all the handsome popr guys!"


    "¡­.do you think that maybe if you weren''t a sexual predator, girls might be interested?"


    "Screw you!"


    "So that''s a no." I rolled my eyes. "But as I was saying, you''re wrong. The fact of the matter is, we don''t ''steal'' girls or whatever it is you based your life around. To steal implies that something belonged to you or that it was yours. The fact of the matter is, if they never existed, do you really think you would have had a chance in the first ce?"


    [Nice, keep going.] Ddraig was goading me on.


    "Of course, without you handsome bastards, normal guys like me would have a chance!" He didn''t waste any time puffing up proudly at his deration.


    Just¡­..zero introspection, huh?


    I wish I had that kind of confidence. I''m always questioning if I''m doing the right thing, or if I fucked up somewhere.


    [Kill him!]


    Thank you, Ddraig.


    "Alrighty, how do you want to do this? Any rules, maybe just some good ol'' fisticuffs?"


    "I''m gonna punch you in the face!"


    "Noted." I guess no rules then. "Ddraig --- Other Ddraig, anything you want to add?"


    "On a scale of one to ten¡­.how much?" Other Ddraig asked.


    I was going to question him on that, but Ddraig answered for me. "[Minimum an Eight, probably closer to 9.]"


    "¡­..well shit." The Other Ddraig seemed to dete at that.


    "We got this, Ddraig!" Issei yelled, hold his Gauntlet up. "Boost!"


    "Why don''t you boost up a few more times? Here, we can y this game together. Boost." I let mine Boost up too, just for fun.


    "I don''t need your help!"


    "Issei, Boost up a few more times." His Ddraig was quick to correct him.


    "Ddraig, I don''t need his help!" Issei paused. "¡­.Boost."


    "So question, while we have time. Do you even know how to fight?" I asked.


    "Of course!" He said proudly. "I was trained by Rias and everyone else. I even fought in the Rating Game."


    You know, I''m questioning if he even bothered to pay attention to anything up to this point. So many clues as to how this was going to go, and I tantly pointed out that Sc¨¢thach ¨C The God yer, was my teacher. That alone should have given him some pause for consideration.


    But no, it''s just full steam ahead.


    [He was probably distracted staring at her boobs.]


    Shit, I can''t me him for that in all honesty, that happens to me too.


    [Yeah, but you''re not scream about it for everyone to hear.]


    Fair.


    "What martial arts are you learning? Any weapons? Magic? Touki?" I hummed. "Boost." I added another just for the hell of it.


    "Boost!" Issei genuinely shouted it at the top of his lungs, for some reason. "I only need Ddraig to beat you up, handsome bastard!"


    I nced towards his supposed ''king''. "Really, nothing?"


    "I was nning on stuffter!" The Alternate version of my aunt looked sheepish. "Besides, do you even know anything else? Our Takao just started learning Magic, how much could you possibly know at your point in time!?"


    She tried to do her best to deflect.


    I looked at Sc¨¢thach and she didn''t visibly react, but there was a certain look of hers that I knew all too well.


    It was the promise of a thorough beating, particrly, I could tell that it was if I lost. Which ,obviously wouldn''t happen, but I could tell that she was sort of annoyed. Thankfully it wasn''t directed at me for the most part.


    "Kick his ass, Issei!" My other self shouted for encouragement.


    "Yeah Issei, beat up Takao!" I also encouraged him.


    "Fuck you!"


    "Language!" Mom smacked him.


    Issei boosted a few more times while I was distracted, and I rounded it off with one more boost myself.


    Why was I boosting? Well, I had some thoughts in mind.


    "You can keep going or begin whenever you want." I casually waved at him to proceed.


    "Arrogant dick!" Issei let out a low growl. "Take this!" He ran up at me with his fist reeled back.


    ¡­.right, a brawler with no battle sense developed.


    I let out a sigh, watching his steps, as his right foot was about to hit the ground, I found my target. I looked at his shoe, and his shoces in particr. "Transfer."


    The tension within his shoeces was amplified by magnitudes, and as his foot hit the ground, they snapped, and he fell forward by the suddenness of losing the support on his foot where he put most of his weight and he went face first into the ground.


    Ddraig just cackled madly from within my soul.


    "Need a hand?" I offered.


    "Bastard!" Issei roared, pushing himself back up to his feet,ignoring hisck of a shoe on his right foot and tired to charge at me again.


    I lightly slid my foot out, shifting the earth beneath his feet so a small mount rose up as he tried to take a step and tripped again.


    Once more, he went face first into the ground.


    "It''s alright, take your time."


    "Raaah!" He shot back up and continued charging at me.


    This time, I let him charge unabated. His Gauntlet covered hand went flying at my face, and I could see him put all of his strength and weight behind the blow.


    I activated my semnce, and he went tumbling forward as his fist went right ''through'' me and he lost bnce.


    For the third time, he hit the ground.


    "So close that time!" I continued to offer my very genuine words of encouragement. "Want to try again?"


    "Fight me for real, you bastard!" Issei was starting to get seriously pissed off at this point. "Boost!" He shot at me again.


    Credit where it''s do, atleast he doesn''t give up when clearly outmatched I suppose.


    "Scatter." I said softly, a fairly basic Illusion Magic I learned a long time ago in Skyrim. It dropped off once my opponents could see through it at a nce, but this was a good situation to use it again.


    A few dozen copies of myself surrounded him and he just shouted and charged at the closest one.


    Well, have fun with that.


    I walked over to the others and quickly wrapped my arms around Sc¨¢thach.


    "Should you be ignoring a fight, Student?" She seemed to want to chide me, but there was a noticeableck of weight behind her wordspared to normal.


    "When a fight happens, I will be sure to focus on it."


    "Wait, this is the real you?" My other self pointed at me.


    "Yup." I rested my chin on Sc¨¢thach''s shoulder.


    "¡­..how does he not notice this?" Tako gestured to Issei ''fighting'' my illusions and to me.


    "Secondary illusion, he doesn''t see me over here and to him, you''re all standing around same as you were before."


    "Don''t bully people." Mom poked my cheek. "If he doesn''t figure it out, end it...after awhile."


    "Issei just isn''t good at magic yet!" Rias quickly defended her pawn. "He''s barely been introduced to everything as is! But he''s always pulled through."


    "He pulled through one time out of one?" Iblinked. "I guess yes, but that logic, he does always pull through?" I mean, he only had one instance of a fight¡­? "Wait, didn''t he lose the first time around in the Ratin Game? Technically, he would only pull through half the time by your logic."


    "Shut up!" Rias huffed. "He''ll win."


    I nced at the two Vennas who shared a look then at Mom and her¡­.lover? and the Maid. Still wrapping my head around thest bit there.


    They all seemed to see the writing on the wall even if Rias was in denial.


    "Why are there so many of you!?" Issei yelled amidst his imaginary fight.


    "¡­.right." I shook my head. "How about we have our Genius Magician give theirmentary." I gestured to the in girl at my other self''s side.


    Sona scowled, pushing up her sses. "It''s a basic spell that Issei would be able to break with any amount of Magical Training." She harumphed.


    "Well, you''re the expert in undoing illusions as seen earlier."


    She started fuming and refused to respond to my barb.


    Someone''s in denial, actually several of them were.


    I walked up between the Two Vennas, smiling happily at both of them. And if it weren''t for the bracelet mine was wearing, I would honestly not be able to tell them apart, they were wearing the same dress and everything.


    Issei at that moment screamed much louder and actually shot at one of my clones and punched it into nonexistence fairly decisevly.


    "What happened to him?" Akeno asked, blinking in surprise at his sudden increase in power.


    "I made one of my illusions tease him."


    "¡­.what did you say?"


    "I made ament about a Venna sandwich¡­."


    Both Vennas looked at me.


    "Well, I wouldn''t be against it." My Venna was unphased.


    The other Venna chimed in with a little smile herself. "Well, now I''m curious as well.


    "Mom!" Rias looked like she was going to let steam out with how red her face became.


    "Stop flirting with my Grandma!" Takao demanded.


    "That''s enough out of you, mister." Mom grabbed me by the ear and pulled me away from the two Vennas.


    "It was a joke!"


    "It was not." Sc¨¢thach revealed. "Pull harder."


    It wasn''t, that''s true.


    "Mother, please don''t joke about sexual rtions with my son." My alternate Father sighed, shaking his head.


    "I wasn''t joking." She said with apletely serious face.


    There were abination of groans among them.


    "It must be hard handling him, I apologize for my son." Mom spoke to scathach.


    "It can be trying at times, but I love him nheless." Sc¨¢thach smiled. "He just requires a beating every so often as a reminder."


    "Aww~" Mom cooed. "You have my blessing to beat him up as many times as needed."


    "Thank you, mother." Sc¨¢thach and her apparently were getting along.


    "You can thank me by giving me grandbabies! My own Takao is too slow!"


    "Mom, why are you so focused on that!? I''m not even an adult yet! Do you really want me to be a dad in highschool like some deliquent!?" Takao whined.


    "Takao, you''re a Devil, it''s hardly an equitable experience." Mom said with a very straight face.


    "Miss Takao, I must agree with Takao. I am not ready to have a child and our rtionship is very much not at that point."


    "Yeah mom, we aren''t even sleeping together yet." Takao defended, realizing what he said and Sona gave him a red-tinged re.


    "Huh, a Miracle. Is God not dead in this world?" I mused allowed.


    "Wilhelm, don''t ¨C " Mom stopped in her tracks. "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "That¡­.was supposed to be a secret." The Maid''s lips thinned.


    "Oops."


    My Alternate Father sighed again. "Don''t spread it around, that''s a fairly well kept secret. If it gets out, it would cause a bit of chaos even among our faction. There are plenty of Devils who would want to restart the war in full if they knew that the Biblical God was gone."


    "¡­..how is he dead?"


    "People die when they''re killed." I answered.


    "That''s not what I mean!" He scowled.


    "I''ll process the Implications of thatter¡­." Rias looked lost.


    "Wait, if he''s Dead, then¡­.why is the Heaven Faction still so powerful? Why is the Religion still predominant? Wouldn''t the other Factions start eating away at their influence?" Sona asked.


    "It''s¡­.difficult to exin." My Alternate father said.


    "They have the metaphysical equivalent of a Nuke pointed at everyone else due to thebination of worship and faith they have stored in their system. Theoretically, it''s enough to utterly remove another Faction. And no one wants to be the one''s to test it." I briefly exined.


    "¡­.or I guess it isn''t." He smiled awkwardly.


    "How do you know that?" My other self asked skeptically.


    "You figure out a lot of things when you move up in the world."


    "Bullshit."


    "Aaah!" Issei roared, destroying another of my ''illusions''.


    We all sorta¡­ignored it going on now, which was kind of amusing.


    "Let me ask you a question in return." I held up my finger. "I''ve invoked God and you''ve even pointed out that I''ve done so, and it''s exined that if you''re strong enough it''s a nonissue. Do you think I''m weak?"


    "That¡­." My other self went silent. "But you''re only a few years older than me."


    "We''ve livedpletely different lives." I crossed my arms feeling¡­annoyed for some reason. "Which makes me question, why this ''fight'' was even ''allowed''." I looked at my Alternate Father and the Maid because they obviously realized the chasm between us.


    "Wait, are you seriously saying you''re stronger than Issei? But¡­.he beat Riser, that''s huge!" Rias spoke up.


    "Is it? Is it really?"


    "Yeah, he''s one of the strongest of this generation''s Pir families!"


    Aren''t there only like a handul of kids her age from the pir families as well?


    "Riser admittedly is quite strong for our age group, even if I dislike him quite a bit." Sona added.


    ¡­.he got beaten by Issei, the kid I was literally ying with right now as we spoke. The kid who was having trouble fighting illusions that had nobat power!


    "You realize Sairaorg would wear him like a glove, right?" I asked with a deadpan.


    Mom lightly smacked my shoulder.


    "What''s Cousin Sai got to do with it?" Rias asked.


    "Wow you really¡­.just don''t have a clue do you?" I was in disbelief at this point. "Seriously what was the point is letting me ''fight'' Issei?" I gestured to the kid who still hadn''t beaten my Illusions, things that literally can''t fight back as they''re not real.


    "That''s not ¨C"


    "I thought it would be a good lesson for him." My Alternate Father spoke up. "Not being able to measure your opponent is fatal in most circumstances. He was blinded rather easily, and if he wants to be my Sister''s Pawn and live up to his potential, he really needs to be better."


    "¡­oh." Well that was actually a fairly decent reason. Personally, I didn''t like being used as a teaching tool¡­.actually that''s a lie, I did enjoy doing this!


    I twitched my foot and a pir of dirt condensed and shot out of the group, hitting Issei right between the legs. "I''m helping."


    [Good good, continue to ''help'' him.] Ddraig sounded rather¡­sinister.


    "I think my other self should join in." I looked at Takao.


    "Pass!" He quickly hid behind Sona.


    My Alternate Father cleared his throat. "I also wanted to see what my other son was capable off." He offered a genuinely warm smile and I found myself clenching my fists unconsciously. "And a bonus, it would help Takao here see where he stands and how to improve."


    "And a fight is a good way to get a measure of someone." Sc¨¢thach added.


    My Alternate father nodded. "That as well."


    "Well, should I end things?" I said half-heartedly. "I''ll let him see my ultimate technique!"


    "You have an ultimate Technique!?" Takao''s eyes widened.


    "My God killing Meteor impact gun!"


    I threw a brick at him.


    It sailed through the air, smacking him in the face and he fell over.


    "¡­.what was that?" Sona asked in disbelief.


    "My ultimate tech ¨C "


    "That is not what that is!" She hissed. "That was a brick!"


    "¡­.and?"


    She threw her hands up in clear defeat as she acknowledged my ultimate weapon.


    "Wilhelm, why did you throw a brick at him?" My mom asked rather calmly.


    "Well, I used it to beat up a clown once before, I figured it would give me the conceptual advantage against another clown."


    "No!" Rias raised her voice. "Issei won''t lose! Issei, if you win, I''ll let you touch my boobs!"


    It''s funny, despite everything, he shouldn''t have been able to hear her. My illusion was covering our voices as well as the physical appearance of the surroundings.


    Literally, he shouldn''t have been capable of it.


    Yet, his twitching body stilled.


    As if a dam breaking, his Draconic Aura exploded outwards, and a familiar Scale Mail enveloped his body as he rose to his feet.


    "Did¡­.he just use Bnce Breaker¡­.?" I was unsure if I was seeing things correctly at the absurdity of this situation.


    What kind of bullshit was that!?


    "Yeah, Issei, show him!" Rias cheered happily.


    "That''s how Issei beat Riser." Takao sounded in awe.


    "The famous Red Dragon Emperor''s Scale Mail. Seeing it a second time doesn''t take away from how suffocating it feels." Sona spoke as well.


    I looked at them, and perhaps they misunderstood it as they seemed rather smug all together now.


    My illusions all broke at the influx of power that exploded off him initially, so he turned and saw me properly.


    "I''ll win for the sake of Rias''s Oppai!" He dered loudly, as if it were some life defining moment for him.


    [Kill him. Then kill me. Then kill him a second time.] Ddraig sounded almost like he was in tears.


    I took a few steps forward to avoid everyone else caught up around me as he seemed particrly focused on me right now.


    "Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost." He boosted enough times that I lost count as he charged headfirst at me.


    His arm glowed brightly and rather than throw a punch, it gathered a different kind of power around it. "Take this!" He roared as his hand appeared right infront of my face and the energy reached its precipice. "Dragon Shot!"


    He fired a Dragon Shot at me point nk, right into my face.


    Well, he had balls atleast.


    I held my hand up, and blocked it.


    Not even my Gauntleted hand, but my normal one.


    The energy from his Dragon Shot Cascaded outwards all around us as my hand didn''t budge an inch.


    The Dragon Shot dissipated after a moment, and a Bnce Breaker Issei stood there in stunned silence.


    "Hey Issei, do you know what the Scale Mail means?" I asked, not expecting him to answer as my Elbow connected with his stomach, sending him hurling back across the yard. "It means you can take a beating."


    "Wha ¨C"


    He was quick to stand up, but with a burst of Shunpo, I was behind him, kicking him forward, forcing him to bounce on the ground across the ground a couple times before he came to a stop.


    Before he could get up, I grabbed his leg and threw him up in the air, and shot upwards, catching him before he began to fall and mmed down on him from above, elerating his descent exponentially, and making him hit the ground with a massive thump.


    I stood up, looking over his prone body and pped my hands, wiping them of dust and grime that I umted over that quick round.


    "Well, that was fun." I hummed, rejoining the others.


    "Oppai¡­.!" Issei groaned from the small crater he was in, slowly trying to crawl towards me.


    [Put him out of his misery.] Ddraig told me.


    And Iplied.


    A second brick went flying through the air and smacked him in the face again.


    His body went limp with no movement.


    "How¡­..how are you so strong?" Rias whispered.


    I looked at her without the mocking tone I had before. "The difference between me and him is that when my Boosted Gear is called a Longinus, it''s not hyperbole. I''ve actually fought and killed Gods."


    [***]


    A/N


    Yoruichi makes a new friend, Tessai learns a few new things, and Issei gets pped in the omake.


    Part 6 of the omake is up on p.a.t.r.e.o.n


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 519:

    Chapter 519:


    "She is going to require nutrition enough for several people to amodate the shifts in her body." Tessei released his hand from Amber''s body and the distinct hue of the Kaido dissipated rather quickly.


    Ozpin, who had been sitting quietly, stood up as if he had heard the greatest news in the world. "And her health?"


    "It is within expectations." Tessai adjusted his sses. "Do not be rmed if she has trouble moving any limbs when she first awakens, it will take some time for her body to also relimate to those instincts. About a day or two and she should be able to move at a minimum."


    "Thank you. Truly, thank you Mr. Tsukabishi." Ozpin was genuine in his thanks towards the former Shinigami.


    "Please, Tessai is fine." Tessai replied with a warm smile. "And I am more than happy to help a young woman recover."


    You could just <em>feel</em> that he truly believed that too. Tessai was perhaps one of the kindest people I''ve ever had the pleasure to meet. Don''t get me wrong, he could crunch a Hollow''s head into paste with his bare hands if the situation called for it, but he didn''t ask anything of me when I told him that someone needed his help.


    "If there is anything we can do ¨C "


    Tessai held up his hand. "I will not demand payment for saving a life."


    "You are a very kind person, Mr. Tessai." Ozpin smiled. "The world is a better ce knowing people like you exist."


    "Your words honor me." Tessai responded politely. "I will remind you that the treatment is not yetplete. I will return in two weeks time to do a follow-up on the patient. If all goes well, I will properly introduce myself to the young woman as well." He smiled.


    Ozpin returned the smile. "I''m sure that Amber will be thrilled to meet you. Would you like to stay for dinner, a drink? I truly hate to have you sent away without showing any hospitality."


    "I''m afraid that this was rather abrupt and I have duties to attend to, Headmaster-dono." He gestured to the dried blood still on his apron.


    Ozpin looked at it. Blinking and chuckling. "Far be it for me to make a nuisance of myself. Just know that the doors of Beacon academy are always open to you. I wouldn''t mind another great addition to my staff."


    Tessai and him shared a smallugh. "I am but a simple shop assistant these days."


    "A shop assistant, perhaps. But I would argue that there is nothing simple about you, my new friend."


    "You are too kind." Tessai had a coy expression, not disagreeing with Ozpin''s statement.


    Well, it seemed it turned out well.


    Understandably, Ozpin''s main concern was on Amber as he seemingly began to check her vitals, and the machines were reading back the information to him.


    Qrow had disappeared some time ago, I guess he didn''t want to wait here for three hours doing nothing, and I couldn''t me him.


    "You want to go home now, Tessia?" I asked.


    "If you would be so kind." He nodded. "Theck of Reishi here is¡­.stifling at first. I will require time to get used to it."


    "¡­.I''m sure." I forced a smile. "You''re not going to ask about that?"


    Tessai''s expression changed slightly. "If you do not wish to tell me, I will not pry. And I will not speak about what I do not know. But please do not assume me a fool, Schweinorg-dono."


    ¡­.right, I really shouldn''t.


    At this point, I basically lit up a neon sign for him.


    "Would you like to see something before you go?" I offered, openinga portal.


    He blinked, tilting his head. "I am intrigued by what you wish to show me.


    Without hesitation, perhaps true trust, he walked through before me and I quickly followed and closed the Portal behind me.


    He was rooted in ce as he looked around, and slowly, his eyes turned upwards.


    The night sky had already arrived some time ago, and the moon was very bright tonight.


    "The moon is broken."


    "Yeah."


    "It is oddly beautiful." He said softly.


    It really was in a way, if you didn''t consider the reason for its destruction.


    "Thank you for allowing me to see this." He stated.


    I knew he meant more than just looking at Remnant''s moon. It was the trust I gave him to show him a peek behind the curtain so to speak. He wasn''t a fool, as he said, he could put two and two together here after experiencing everything himself.


    I held my hand out and another Portal opened, right back home for him. "Thank you for your help, Tessai."


    "It was my pleasure, Schweinorg-dono."


    "If you need me for anything, Yoruichi can reach me. Seriously, if there''s <em>any</em> problem, call me."


    He nodded with a smile and left through the portal back home.


    Well, that settled that.


    I turned around and looked at Salem''s Castle a bit aways and began my walk towards it. It was a lovely night and I didn''t mind a peaceful walk, even if I was literally surrounded by Grimm by the time I crossed a small way.


    They kept their distance from me as they always did. I wouldn''t be surprised if Salem knew I had arrived by this point and was controlling them in particr.


    I barely walked across the bridge and to the gate before it opened up with Salem waiting there for me.


    Despite being tired at this point, and the feelings I was experiencing earlier today, I couldn''t help but smile when seeing her again.


    "Hey there, beautiful. Come here often?" I of course delivered this with the most charming smile imaginable.


    She was swooned as seen by the absolutely dry look she gave me.


    "No, this is my first time here." She deadpanned.


    I ignored her, humming. "I heard there''s a Queen that lives here."


    "Oh really?" She raised an eyebrow. "And what have you heard about this supposed queen?"


    "I heard that she has the most adorableugh." I smiled. "I heard that she had the most wonderful smile. I heard that she has the prettiest red eyes."


    And those red eyes of hers rolled at my flirting. "Those descriptions sound an awful like the <em>Evil</em> Queen that lives in this castle. Are you sure you''re at the right ce?"


    "There''s one way to check."


    "And what would that be?"


    "Well, the Queen here is supposedly my woman, so I don''t think she would mind me kissing her, would she?"


    Salem gave one of her cute little huffs, crossing her arms with her lips pursed. "You are continuously foolish."


    "That wasn''t a no~"


    She scowled, but reached over to grab meby the cor and pulled me in for a kiss. It was rare for her to initiate like this, so I let her take the lead in how long and deep she wanted to do it.


    Our lips stayed connected for several moments before she finally released me. "Well,e inside." She grunted, throwing the door fully open and walking inside.


    Funny thing was, Salem''s castle was starting to feel like a home away from home.


    But other than that, I just kept my eyes on her swaying hips. I can''t <em>not</em> walk behind Salem and not admire the way she bounces.


    "Sit." She approached a couch, plopping down herself and pointing to the seat next to her. "You were gone a long while."


    I happily took the seat next to her and let out a tired sigh. "It took awhile to resolve. Apparently Amber ¨C the ''Maiden'' was beyond my capabilities. It was as you said, part of her soul was missing."


    "¡­.you have blood on you." She reached for my cor. <em>"If Ozpin or his flunkies harmed you, I will end them</em>." She said in a low voice.


    I gently took her hand into mine and raised it up to give a small kiss. "Salem, do you really think they''re capable of hurting me?"


    Salem scowled with a huff. "You are correct, it is a foolish thought."


    "I''m happy that you''re worried about me though. However, it''s not my blood." I reassured her.


    She harrumphed. "Do not suggest that I am...uncaring about your welfare."


    "I''m sorry for making you think I was suggesting that. I was just happy to hear you say it." I smiled.


    "What took you so long?" She seemingly wanted to change the subject.


    "Well, after checking in with Ozpin so he would let me see Amber, I realized I was out of my depth and needed an expert. I went to the world with the Shinigami, since they''re experts in souls and my teacher and friend there is an expert in soul healing. When I arrived, the town they live in was under attack by Hollows, so I helped out. It took a bit of time to clean everything up, I called Izzy because there was a young girl there she was fond of being¡­.not treated as well as she should have been. I spent a little longer sparring with another kid there because Tessai was busy with something. Then I brought him to Beacon where he healed Amber, which took a handful of hours and here I am now."


    "¡­.it sounds as though you had a busy day." She said quietly.


    "Yeah, I''m tired." I found myself yawning. "Probably shouldn''t have been so active after everything that happened recently, but that''s how it is sometimes."


    "¡­.you did not need to go through so much effort." She whispered.


    "Salem, it wasn''t that much effort on my part. But that''s besides the point. This is far from the limit of what I would go through for you."


    "Stupid¡­" She huffed with some tinge of annoyance. "You make it difficult to remain¡­.detached."


    "I care a lot about you, Salem."


    Her lips twitched and her nostrils red as she seemingly wanted to say something but no words came out. Rather, she reached over and grabbed my head rather abruptly, and without an ounce of grace, and pulled it down until I was resting my head in herp.


    Well, actions often spoke louder than words.


    Even if she was my ''girlfriend'' by her own admission, some things just required time and I was patient enough to wait until Salem was ready and move at her own pace.


    But after the day I had, well, I found myself closing my eyes and falling fast asleep.


    [***]


    Dumbledore POV


    One of my favorite times of the year!


    Just behind Halloween, Christmas, and the first school day where I get to see all the wonderful and happy new faces that arrive at Hogwarts.


    It''s the first day that all my staff would be here before the beginning of the school year to start our own preparations!


    And our newest teachers would be arriving as well to meet everyone! It was an exciting time and I was¡­.interested to see how everyone would adapt to the new faces.


    Mr. Filch was here, with his pet cat, scowling in the corner. Poor boy, never did get over being born a squib and being abandoned by his Magical Parents. It must be difficult to see Magical Children every year and have to clean up after them.


    I offered him alternatives, but he seemed set on fulfilling his position regardless of the seeming hate he had towards the magical world


    Flitwick was here as well, he was busy helping Professor Babbling update the ceiling of the Great hall for some impressive spellwork to awe the new arrivals.


    Professor Sinistra was giving them advice and how to show the constetions on one particr showing of the starry sky that the ceiling would change into.


    Professor Binns¡­ well, he was a Ghost and he rarely left his ssroom. Perhaps we should finally look to rece him now that we actually had some real money in our coffers again? Specifically, money that the school board couldn''t touch or ''repurpose'' in an attempt to undermine my authority.


    Yes, with quite the extensive legalese to prevent the use of it other than certain very specific endeavors. One tiny itsy bitsy one being the Headmaster''s discretion.


    I was thankful that Mr. Schweinorg was willing to put in the effort to add that use after I spoke to him about¡­.certain individuals that would not be too keen on seeing the school funded to the extent I dreamed about.


    And thankfully, Mr. Schweinorg was a patron of learning as he expressed utter dissatisfaction about curbing learning for young boys and girls.


    Madam Pomfrey also arrived in quick session to Minerva. The first of whom brought in several tters floating behind her.


    "The House Elves provided us with a wonderful assortment of snacks." She announced, setting them on the head table just a tad out of my grasp.


    I was polite and didn''t rush up to¡­.acquire several portions for myself.


    These House Elves, I must go give them my gratitude before the year starts. They appreciate that so much and it''s the least I can do for the wonderful work they provide around Hogwarts.


    Despite the symbiotic nature of the rtionship between a House Elf and their ''owner'', you should always treat them with gratitude and respect. Otherwise, the bond of magic that flows to them gets¡­polluted.


    An example of emotions changing and adapting an established magic. House Elves thrive off the magic supplied by a Witch or Wizard through their bond, and if you are hateful and mean, well, the House Elf <em>learns </em>from that and tends to steer that way. Exceptions were present of course, but it''s just one of those things to keep in mind.


    The opposite is quite true as well.


    The House Elves at Hogwarts ¨C bound to the school itself ¨C retained that wonderful sense of wonder and childish joy in their eyes due to the abundance of childrening through these wonderful halls.


    Hagrid was also present, but he was being shy since this was his first time here as a ''teacher'' rather than the groundskeeper.


    Professor Trwney came in¡­..tipsy, muttering about her third eye.


    Well, she knew the rules, as long as it''s not during sses then I don''t care to police her adult usage of alcohol.


    Unless it bes an issue that I must address.


    But she''s usually very decent about not unting it in public.


    Yes, it''s one of those days that I simply appreciated being alive.


    "Hello my fellow educators!" With perfectly brushed hair and an admittedly charming smile, Giledroy Lockhart mmed open the doors, announcing his arrival for the first time.


    Well, <em>it was</em> a pleasant day.


    Curse my sense of propriety, I really should have made <em>any</em> excuse to hire someone else. But we well and truly were without options at the time.


    Perhaps a subtle threat to keep him inpliance? A slight <em>insinuation</em> regarding the authenticity of his books? And a subtle reminder to <em>follow the school rules</em>?


    No, that would never work.


    I fear subtlety would go right over young Lockhart''s head.


    Drat.


    "Professor Lockhart, so pleasant of you to finally join us." I announced, putting on my best smile. "I believe I speak for everyone when I say that you joining us for this year will be an¡­.experience."


    Yes, certainly the enthusiasm everyone disyed attested to that.


    Seemingly, Lockhart was unable to read the room because he just bowed graciously and never even lost a twinge of that wide smile of his. "Oh Headmaster, you''re too kind. Too kind indeed. As a greeting gift, I''ve taken the liberty of giving everyone here a signed copy of every one of my books. I already had the House Elves deliver them to everyone''s rooms. No need to thank me." He held his hands up, giving no room to rebuke him.


    I very casually tapped the table with my wand without anyone noticing to hide my voice.


    "Winky."


    "Yes Headmaster Dumbleydorey?" The House elf appeared, hiding from view to all by myself as I was able to perceive them since I was keyed into the specific Wards. "Did you put these¡­.books in our rooms?"


    "No, Headmaster Dumbleydorey." Twinky shook her head in a very exaggerated motion.


    "Good work, Winky." I praised her. "Out of curiosity¡­.where did you put the books?"


    "Twinky put them in the House Elves Latrines, she did." She smiled brightly.


    "Ah, a perfect solution. That is all, thank you, Twinky."


    The House Elf popped back over to whatever it was she was doing beforehand. Truly, I do have the best staff a Headmaster could ask for.


    Lockhart then went on to try and¡­work with the staff it seems. Unfortunately, his attempts to charm his fellow teachers were met with rather¡­blunt and dismissive replies.


    Yes, I was particrly amused when he tried to chat up Professor Snape of all people.


    I admit to hiding myugh when Lockhart offered his <em>hair sanitation</em> products.


    Many children here liked to make fun of the Potions Professor for his¡­..let''s say <em>messy</em> hair, but that is actually an unfortunate ident from his earlier years with certain potions explosions.


    There''s a reason that he''s so keen on safety when brewing potions, even to the point where students believe him to be a bully. Which¡­.well, he could use a few reminders to keep himself in the proper mentality as a teacher.


    But I digressed, Professor Snape deserved praise for the self-control he exhibited.


    I would send him a bottle of Fire Whiskey for the start of the year.


    Finally, thest of our teachers were arriving, and the ones my extended staff were the most excited to meet.


    Of course having a Muggle teach Muggle studies was¡­.novel to the Magical Staff, and they were very interested to see his Teaching philosophy and approach themselves. And perhaps it was unfair, but they were much more excited to meet a certain Witch whose name was being whispered around the halls by my staff after learning her identity.


    I can''t say I me them, <em>Medea</em> was a rather famous name among our society. Perhaps not to the degree of Merlin or Morgan le Fay, but in the more Eastern Europe parts of the world, her name was still spoken in the same reverence.


    Yes, the couple appeared within the room without the same fanfare as the <em>other</em> new teacher.


    A stark difference, that all the Teachers immediately stopped what they were doing to greet the two neers.


    Even the almost drunk Trwny was shot up from her seat.


    "Now now, everyone, don''t swarm them." I gently reminded them to treat our new associates with the proper courtesy. "I''m d to see you both within these halls." I smiled at our neers.


    "Headmaster Dumbledore."


    "Headmaster Dumbledore."


    They both politely greeted me back.


    Medea in particr, she held a stic container and opened it up as I approached. "I baked cookies for everyone?"


    I blinked and was surprised. Once more, I am taken back by the supposed ''Witch'' from legends as she smiled happily offering me a cookie.


    Well, far be it for me to refuse such a delectable and heartfelt treat.


    I took one from the container and took a bite, not expecting much, <em>but my tastebuds sang</em>. I didn''t even realize that I had scarfed down the entire cookie. I cleared my throat and savored thest bits. "That was¡­.a wonderful treat, Miss Medea. If you don''t mind me asking¡­.what was in that?"


    "Oh, just some ¨C " Her fianc¨¦ nudged her. <em>"¡ªlove</em>." She forced out. "Nothing but¡­..love." She forced an obviously innocent smile.


    ¡­..Call me skeptical. "Of course, the most potent of ingredients."


    "¡­yes." Sheughed very¡­artificially.


    Should I be concerned?


    "Miss Medea, Mr. Souichirou." Minerva greeted them with a certain tone that was not one I was overly familiar with.


    Honestly, she seemed confused on how to treat them.


    On one hand, she read certain¡­stories and Mr. Souichirou''s admittance to being an¡­..<em>Assassin</em>, well, that had Minerva in a mood. But at the same time, he also exined he was taken as an Orphan and forced into that life, only to leave it to pursue a higher path as an educator.


    Why, it was something out of a ssic tale. It was enough that Minerva herself was moved, and she had a hard time separating things outside of her ck and white mentality. An unfortunate happenstance of her generation''s upbringing it seems.


    And of course, Miss Medea had been nothing but sincere if¡­.a little entric. Who of us hasn''t experimented with some questionable magical practices?


    Well, most of my staff and I were not going to judge her based on some of my own¡­.indiscretions of youth.


    And I especially wasn''t going to let Minerva know.


    Minerva held herself appropriate as the deputy headmistress. "I look forward to seeing your revised ss ns, Mr. Souichirou."


    The Japanese Educator pushed up his sses. "I havepleted my initial ns, if you would like to look over them, I would be honored."


    "Oh?" She perked up. "I anticipate an excellent year in ordance with your enthusiasm towards teaching. Mr. Souichirou. I have revised my own ns in ordance with what we spoke about previously. I hope we canpare notes."


    "I will happily ept, Professor McGonagall. I usually do not have someone to look over my ss instructions. I have brought with me my daily schedule, mock exams, study guides, homework assignments, sswork assignments, and after learning about the culture here, I have devised an ''extra credit'' assignment for each quarter of the year." He responded. "That is of course in addition to the monthly reports to verify each student''s progress."


    "Well, you are certainly a model for everyone else to aspire to." Minerva looked impressed. "If all goes well, I will have everyone adopt your¡­.studious nature when ites to academic teaching."


    ¡­..wonderful.


    It was one of those moments where I was genuinely happy that I no longer taught other than the asional Alchemy ss.


    Oh dear¡­.she''s going to force me to do that regardless.


    "Cookie?" Medea said simply.


    Minerva seemingly smiled softly and happily epted one, entering nirvana herself after tasting it. "¡­..do you have a recipe?"


    "¡­..love¡­..lot''s of love." She smiled in a way that was making me question if I should delve further into what is inside her cookies.


    "As I live and breath!" Lockhart pushed through everyone else until he was in front of the couple. "If it isn''t the legendary Witch herself. Charmed." He smiled brightly.


    "¡­..cookie?" Medea blinked, offering.


    "How <em>generous</em>." He took a cookie from the container and didn''t even bother to eat it as he continued smiling at the Witch. "I''m sure this must be as surprising for you as it is for me. Two individuals of such renown, meeting in a small school like Hogwarts?" He chuckled.


    ¡­.small?


    It''s a literal castle.


    Quite arge one as well.


    I should really intervene¡­.


    "¡­.who are you?" Medea said nkly.


    On second thought¡­.let''s see how this ys.


    Lockhart twitched slightly, but his smile didn''t fade. "Haha, a good joke. Yes, I suppose it is proper etiquette to introduce oneself. Gilderoy Lockhart, at your service, <em>Madam</em>." He bowed, offering his hand to her. "You may have read about me in some of my books such as,<em> Holidays with Hags, Travels with Trolls, Voyages with Vampires, and Year of the Yeti. </em>But most recently, you''ve of course read <em>Magical Me</em>, aplete biography of my very exciting life, and best seller."


    Medea looked at him, and at his extended hand and there was an obvious nkness on her face. "I''ve never heard of you in my life." She ignored him and walked towards our resident half-giant. "Hagrid, I''m happy to see you again, would you like a cookie?"


    "Aww shucks, don''t mind if I do." Hagrid happily took one.


    However, my gaze rested on Lockhart who looked like someone just knocked over his cereal.


    I think I could pinpoint the exact moment when his pride was shattered.


    Perhaps this would be a tolerable school year after all.


    Yes, Medea seemed like a social butterfly...perhaps without as much grace. She very clearly was stumbling through the social interactions as she made her way through the teachers, offering each a cookie.


    I suppose that it wasn''t a bad idea to use when meeting colleagues for the first time.


    Finally, the couple stood in front of Severus, our esteemed Potions Professor.


    Severus didn''t speak, neither did Medea or Kuzuki.


    Rather, he looked down at the box of cookies with a frown, then back at the couple. Medea had a nk smile on her face and Severus seemed to meet Kuzuki''s gaze as they emotionlessly stared at one another.


    "Cookies?" Medea offered, the first words exchanged between them.


    The stare between Kuzuki and Severus continued for several moments until Severus apparently twitched and seemed resigned to taking a cookie from the container.


    I was sure he was going to throw it away, but for some reason, he took a <em>very</em> tiny bit of it, perhaps out of sheer courtesy if nothing else.


    And ever so slightly, the corners of his lips curled up.


    Okay, there is <em>certainly</em> something wrong with those cookies, because in the years we have worked together, the amount of times Severus has smiled can be counted on one hand.


    I should¡­.make sure that there is nothing vtile about those cookies.


    "Would you like another one, Headmaster?" Medea offered.


    "Yes, thank you very much." I took another one without thinking and bit into it.


    Well, I certainly folded quickly.


    Oh, I''m sure there''s no harm.


    I just quietly contemted life as I ate mypletely normal cookie and watched Lockhart try to pick up his pieces of shattered pride.


    I love days like this.


    This year will be one to remember for sure.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 520:

    Chapter 520:


    Nuwa POV


    It had been a long time since I wasst in the Heavenly Courts.


    Partly because of the bureaucratic nonsense I didn''t feel like putting up with, and partly because of the cut-throat politicalndscape every time the Jade Emperor held court. He did a wonderful job of keeping everything running efficiently without any major problems, but the day-to-day just wasn''t for me.


    Thankfully, I could sneak in through the back door, so to speak.


    Otherwise, I would have had to announce my arrival, attend a Banquet hosted by him, smile gracefully as everyone in court both performed the basic courtesy and greetings while simultaneously trying to ''win my favor'' in subtle or not-so-subtle ways.


    I knew how to y the games, I just grew tired of ying centuries/millennium ago.


    "Senior sister!"


    I recognized the voice immediately, even if I pulled my senses back in the courts as an act of courtesy. "Oh Great Queen Mother of the West." I smiled and bowed my head."Don''t tease me." She pouted.


    I couldn''t help but smile genuinely and reached out to rub her head. "I can''t help but tease my favorite Junior Sister."


    "Mou~, I''m your only Junior Sister."


    "That makes you the favorite by default." I giggled at her expression.


    And a second reason I didn''t want to do the normal theatrics, it made it hard to dote on my little Junior sister when the entirety of the Heavenly Courts was watching my every move. I very well can''t act like a doting older Sister and herself my Junior Sister due to our positions.


    At least in public.


    Despite her squeak of protest, I pulled her into a hug, ignoring all courtesy and basic etiquette.


    "You''re going to mess up my hair!" She protested as I finally released her. She huffed, fixing it slightly and I lent a hand to help. "It''s been a long time since you''vee to visit."


    "I was here not four centuries ago." I responded.


    "You missed my Peach Banquet!"


    "As delicious as your Peaches are, they do nothing for me anymore. It''s best to let the younger kids have their opportunities."


    "You''re not allowed to make excuses! You''reing to my next Peach Banquet after they ripen in a few thousand years. Otherwise¡­..otherwise I''m going to be upset!"


    "Yes, yes. Whatever you want." I couldn''t argue with her when she was like this.


    "Hmph." She threw her hair back and her expression turned more serious as she focused back at being the Queen Mother of the Heavenly Courts. "Our Guest has arrived, my Husband the Emperor is waiting."


    "Very well, it''s been a long time since I''ve seen my Junior Brother as well." After hearing what happened on the other side of the world, I knew this would be happening soon regardless.


    I wasn''t surprised to see who was waiting for us considering the topic of our little¡­.talk.


    In a private chamber in their personal quarters, the Jade Emperor sat down and across from him was Odin ¨C the All Father of the Norse Pantheon.


    "Goddess Nuwa, thank you foring." Little Tian smiled as I walked into the room.


    "Greetings, Jade Emperor." I bowed my head out of respect for his position considering that Odin was in the room.


    He nodded politely as to disperse with themon courtesy. "Senior Sister, thank you foring on short notice."


    "It''s no matter, this was something we needed to settle." I took a seat as he gestured.


    "I don''t see what the big deal is." Odin looked uncaring as he sat across from little Tian. "I know for a fact that one of my Valkyries has a sword made from this part of the world, do you want to throw a hissy fit that she killed some Giants with it too?"


    "That''s hardly of the same Magnitude, All-Father." The Jade Emperor retorted.


    "Apologies, can I please be caught up on where we''re at?" I knew the general outline, but to understand what has already been spoken would be helpful.


    "Bah, the Jade Brat is getting upset about the whole List thing. Demands to see the Brat who did it all." Odin waved his hand flippantly.


    Little Tian frowned, but this was far from the first time he dealt with Odin, so he was patient. "I expressed my own stance, and that of the most vocal voices in the Court. And I requested a meeting with the Mortal who facilitated the actions that have been causingmotion within my Court." Despite that, he twitched slightly.


    "Please, we both know you don''t do requests. Your ''request'' is a demand in all but name." Odin snorted.


    "Forgive me Odin, but why is the problem? Wilhelm visited me not long ago, I do not foresee him having thoughts about visiting the Heavenly Courts." I questioned, acting immediately as my role as ''mediator'' in this particr issue.


    "And I told the Jade Brat, if he wants something, he cane to me." Odin was being oddly obstinate about it. "I''m not going to let the Brat get swept up in all the problems thate afterwards. I owe it to him at least this much to clean up everything myself."


    "He doesn''t even know you''re here then?" I questioned.


    "Of course not." The All-Father huffed indignantly. "How much should I shame myself to make him have to go through this after all the help he gave? I''ll deal with all your crap by myself. Leave the mortal Brat alone."


    "One might consider that your intentions aren''t pure." The Jade Emperor gave him a skeptical look.


    "Yeah, because I want to also do this whole song and dance with the Greeks willingly as well." Odin retorted.


    The Jade Emperor''s expression changed. "I apologize, I made an assumption."


    "Hmph." Odin gruffed.


    As it stands, he would most likely have to go to Olympus soon as well to deal with matters pertaining to the Titan King persisting within the Nine Realms.


    ¡­.that was also an oddly valid argument to dismiss ims of scheming by keeping Wilhelm away.


    It is no secret that most of us do not¡­..enjoy thepany of the Olympians.


    "¡­..He''s my blood brother too." Odin spoke softly. "So let me handle all the annoying crap in his stead. He did enough already."


    "¡­.I apologize for using you, All-Father." Little Tian slightly bowed his head metaphorically. "But we still need to talk about how to handle this. We have been on friendly terms with your Pantheon for many years, I would hate for a rift to form between us."


    This type of meeting was a reflection of that friendliness in a sense. He was working with the All-Father behind closed doors to sooth over any negative feelings with his own Court rather than being overt and trying to ''demand'' an exnation.


    "You''re wee to use my name. I have nothing to hide here, I willingly gave the List to Wilhelm during his visit to my home." I offered.


    "There have been talks about how we should have held onto the List regardless." Little Tian spoke.


    "Hmm, I can see how that would be a particr problem." I tapped my finger on the table. "Someone is stirring up trouble it seems."


    "That''s right. Someone''s fanning the mes in the background." My Junior Sister nodded, making her Husband, the Jade Emperor frown slightly. "This isn''t the first sign of this happening recently either."


    "Wife¡­"


    "Husband, Odin may not be one of us, but he''s far from an ''outsider''." She sternly rebuked him.


    The Jade Emperor uncharacteristically sighed, relenting. "If this was in public, we would vehemently deny anything, All-Father."


    "Yeah, yeah, I know how this game is yed." Odin didn''t take it to heart.


    The Jade Emperor''s expression turned dark and he nodded in understanding. "If it was before, a token effort would have been made. But this is concerning with the flow of events outside our Domain. The Demons have been stirring after hiding away for a very long time. I fear that the reach of this¡­.Khaos Brigade has prated into the Heavenly Realm long ago."


    "Nothing can be assumed as coincidence any longer." Odin agreed. "With Loki gone, I have no avenues right now to investigate myself. And Ihave my hands full handling the fallout of our Ragnar?k." Odin had a mncholic expression. "Snake girl, don''t you have some sway over those ''Demons'', you know, considering you''re originally a Demon too?"


    I shook my head. "While I am still thought of highly among my people, I am not privy to their secrets any longer. I was never forgiven for how I helped Humans advance as they did and push Demons to the shadows."


    I still had a handful of confidants around the ce, so I would reach out on my end to see if they''ve heard any whispers.


    The Jade Emperor was lost in deep thought for a few moments. "I will dispatch a few trusted men of mine to start looking into things outside of the Heavenly Realm. But the point of contention still exists that needs to be addressed."


    "Some uppity brats making a fuss about using your list." Odin rolled his eyes.


    "It is a significant part of our History, All-Father." The Jade Emperor replied. "Imagine how yours would feel if they found someone not among your number wielding your son''s hammer?"


    "Honestly, they''d probably think it was awesome." Odin shrugged. "But I get it, I do. You got a bunch of annoying idiots to wrangle. What''s the specific issues being thrown around?"


    "There are talks of assigning the Mortal a position among the Court as¡­..reparation."


    "No." Odin didn''t even make a joke or light of the situation, he just outright denied it.


    "I share the sentiment." The Jade Emperor chuckled lightly. "The other arguments are as you would expect, but they have been getting heated. Many believe we have been slighted."


    "There is a simple solution." I offered my input. "Simply acknowledge it to silence the whispers."


    "Thates with its own issues." Odin pointed out. "I don''t mind if you use it to grandstand at our expense."


    "That is generous of you, All-Father."


    "Bah, we''re far too worried about our own shit to care about your political crap right now. Give your expression of sympathies to us, wish us well to the court. Then have one of your trusted people bring up how we were ''only'' to use the List in a limited capacity. Emphasize your own use of it and how much ''better'' you were at it, h h h, I don''t need to spell it out for you."


    "It would make you appear magnanimous and would imply that you were aware of what was happening while also soothing any ruffled feathers, Junior Brother." I added.


    "I suppose that is an adequate solution. Very well, I will take your suggestion. Thank you for being understanding, All-Father." He acquiesced.


    I did always appreciate how little Tian knew when to advance and when to retreat in matters such as this.


    You did not wrangle the Heavenly Courts without knowing when to take your wins even if they were minor.


    "I''m happy to see you pulled through, All-Father. The world would have been a strange ce without you in it." The Jade Emperor stated.


    Odin snorted. "Boring, is what you mean."


    "Yes, how could I survive without youing by every few centuries to harass our maidens." He said dryly.


    "Obviously they swoon over a real man, not you fem boys!" Odin puffed up his chest.


    Little Tian twitched slightly. "I''m sure the Greeks will appreciate a ''real man'' as well."


    Odin''s expression sank, and he scowled. "Great, I gotta go deal with those dicks now."


    I did not envy him.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    It was nice to spend the evening and night with Salem. It helped soothe a lot of the initial tension we had and I would always enjoy a good night''s sleep cuddling with her.


    That being said, any residual feelings about that seemed to fall to the wayside as soon as I appeared back home.


    Because what greeted me was a certain Saintess on her knees, with her nice round butt up in the air wiggling unconsciously it seems.


    And she was wearing those booty shorts of hers.


    "EH!?" Jeanne made a noise of surprise as she was apparently retrieving something from under the couch as she pulled back quickly with a pen in her hand, looking behind her to see me. "Will?"


    "Don''t mind me, just admiring the view." I smiled innocently.


    "Neh!?" She quickly adjusted herself once she realized what I meant by that. "Y-you meanie!" She stood up with a haste, puffing up cutely with a slight red dusting on her face.


    "Not as good as the bikini, but I do love those booty shorts of yours."


    "No, stop, stop! You''re not allowed to mention that again!" She whined, covering her face. "It''s too embarrassing."


    "Alright, but I''m going to keep thinking about it."


    She made some rather adorable if inaudible sounds, none of which were rejections. Well, she did ''give me permission'' to think about it previously.


    "Hug?" I offered, holding my arms out.


    "Yes." She lowered her hands, smiling warmly as she epted the physical affection. "I''m d you''re okay. I was worried when I heard what happened."


    "Mmm, worried about me?" I chuckled.


    "O-of course! You''re always getting into trouble." She pouted. "I don''t like hearing that you''re hurt."


    I found myself rubbing her head. "It''s alright. It''ll take more than that to put me down. Anything else I can heal from."


    "Hmph." She crossed her arms, pulling away. "Don''t talk about dying so easily!"


    Funny, Sc¨¢thach said the same thing to me. It made me feel happy to know that they cared so much.


    "Alright, I''m sorry." I couldn''t help but apologize seeing her ''upset''. "I promise to stop thinking about you in a Bikini for now on as an apology."


    "Well¡­..um¡­.you don''t need to go that far¡­" She quickly shifted gears and flushed deeply again.


    "That''s good, I didn''t know what I would do with all the pictures I took otherwise."


    "What!? No, no pictures!" She crossed her arms in an ''X''. "Y-you¡­..okay, but you''re not allowed to show anyone else." She looked away, quietly giving me permission.


    Jeez, why was she so cute?


    Alright, that''s enough teasing for now. "How have you enjoyed your time in Kyoto so far?"


    Her eyes lit up brightly. "It''s been great! Everyone''s so weing here! Mordred and I have been going out and doing things almost every day, it''s been really fun. And I even made a new friend yesterday!"


    "Oh?"


    Jeanne nodded happily. "Izzy brought her, you know her too. Orihime was really nice and we spent the day shopping!"


    Well, wasn''t that a coincidence? But Yeah, I can see it, they''d get along really well.


    "Question though."


    "Hmm?"


    "You''ve gone shopping and gotten plenty of necessities now, right? Plenty of clothes and all that?" Obviously I would love to spoil her as much as possible, but I don''t think Jeanne would be into that sort of thing. She seems more like the minimalist sort.


    "Yeah." She smiled happily.


    "Yet you chose to wear the booty shorts, huh?"


    "Ah?" Her lips quivered slightly and that flush of hers returned. "...you said you liked it." She replied,barely more audible than a whisper.


    Cute.


    I ended up putting my hand on her head again, much to her continued embarrassment. "So what''s got you weing me back home with such a wonderful view?"


    "D-don''t treat my butt like a scenic view!" She squeaked.


    "Denied."


    "Neh!?"


    "Jeanne, there will never be a day that your butt is not a treasure to behold." I said withplete seriousness.


    "P-pervert." She whispered bashfully.


    "So whatcha doing, hmm?" I peeked over her shoulder to see a bunch of papers on the coffee table.


    "No, you''re not allowed to look!" She shuffled over to block my view.


    "I''m not allowed to look?"


    She silently shook her head back and forth, seemingly not wanting to say anything.


    "That''s a shame, I thought that maybe it was something we could spend time together doing."


    "Hnnn" She bit her lip looking conflicted. "¡­.only if you promise not to tease me."


    She sounded sincere, so I relented. There was a time and ce to tease Jeanne. "I promise."


    "¡­.okay." She moved over to the papers. "I was¡­. practicing."


    I moved to her side to see what she meant by that, and the papers were¡­.well, she was practicing writing.


    They were her name, mostly.


    There seemed to be a reference up top, and she was trying to mimic it.


    I patted the couch as I sat down and gestured for her to join. "Why don''t I help you?"


    Jeanne, who was clearly embarrassed, smiled warmly once more. "I would like that." She quickly took the seat next to me and I adjusted the papers for her to practice some more.


    "You''ve been starting with your name?" I asked.


    Jeanne awkwardly nodded. "I still¡­.don''t know how to read, but I asked someone to write my name down and I was practicing copying it for the future."


    "In French?"


    "What''s wrong with French?" She immediately caught on to what I was going to say, puffing up again.


    "I could make a list, but you wouldn''t be able to read it."


    "Neh!!" She hit my shoulder a few times.


    "Alright, I''m sorry. That''s the only teasing I''ll do." I gently took her hand and moved it towards the pen. "Here, let me help you. It seems like you''re having trouble with the flourish in some of the characters."


    It''s times like this that I absolutely loved my Devil origins that allowed me to understand basic humannguages perfectly in both oral and written form.


    I guided her hand as she wrote it. "J" I enunciated the first letter.


    "J." She repeated.


    We continued through each of the letters of her name, until she both wrote them and pronounced each one, mentallybeling them each as we went through. It was slow going, but it was important to understand the basics when learning to read.


    "One more time, but you''re doing it on your own." I let go over her head and flipped the paper over, so she didn''t have a reference.


    "Like this?" She began to write her name again right under where we did before.


    "Make sure to spell it out as you go."


    Jeanne furrowed her brow. "J...E¡­..E ¨C"


    "A." I corrected. "They can sound simr."


    "A." She corrected herself. "J-E-A-N-N-E D-A-R-C" She spoke them allowed, filling her name out nearly perfectly. "Jeanne D''Arc!" She proimed with a big smile.


    "Perfect."


    "I did it!?"


    "Yup, that''s how you spell your name." I smiled back at her.


    She pped her hands excitedly and had the most genuine and enthusiastic grin on her face. "Thank you, thank you!" She threw her arms around me, like it was some momentous achievement on her part.


    I happily epted the hug of course, letting her enjoy her small sess.


    A child probably wouldn''t be able to pick it up after ''one try'' if they were learning for the first time, but Jeanne was far from a child. She was a very intelligent and resourceful woman. Honestly, learning to read and write would probably be easy for her.


    But even so, I was happy for her.


    I would get some proper things for teaching and helping her ''study''. First off, she was going to need a proper alphabet to go over. Maybe some educational videos to go along with it so she can do things on her own?


    Regardless, happy Jeanne was the best Jeanne.


    "Did Gabriel''s letter make you want to learn faster?"


    Jeanne nodded her head. "I wanted to reply to her¡­."


    "I''ll dly help you there, you know?"


    Jeanne smiled beautifully once more. "Thank you, Wilhelm!"


    "Though¡­that does bring about a question."


    "Hmm?"


    "How¡­.would you send a reply?"


    "I would mail¡­.." She stopped looking nkly in realization. "Ah?"


    "I''m fairly sure that Heaven doesn''t have an address to send the letter to." Unless you count the Pope¡­.but that mighte off badly if we went through that process.


    "I could pray?"


    "Can you send letters through prayer?" I mean, she could just reply to Gabriel through prayer, but it was polite to send a letter in return after receiving one like this.


    "um¡­what do I do?"


    "Why don''t we leave the letter with Father Vasco Strada?" Father Swole seemed to be on good terms with the Angels. "That way it isn''t awkward for any Angels toe here to retrieve it, and we don''t have to pop up to Heaven to deliver it?"


    "That''s something we can do?" She perked up.


    "Well, it would be a good opportunity to visit the Vatican. You''ve never been there have you?" And Father Swole did extend an open invitation. With the sort of ''peace'' and how the conference went¡­.we might be able to swing that if we go through the proper channels to ask.


    Her eyes lit up immediately. "You would go with me together!? Like ¨C like together?" She added on softly.


    "It''s a date." I smiled, and the noises she made were utterly adorable.


    Well, if I was going to go down to Hell to talk to Zekram, visiting the seat of power for the Church felt oddly appropriate as well.


    I''m sure nothing bad will happen, it''s not like I''m the son of Lucifer or anything.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 521: Interlude 37 + Looking Glass Omake Part 6

    Chapter 521: Interlude 37 + Looking ss Omake Part 6


    Rizevim Lucifer POV


    "Here are the documents you request, Lord Rizevim."


    "Thank you, Katerea." I said, taking them from her.


    "Y-yes, of course, Lord Rizevim." She seemed stunned for some reason.


    I merely held up a hand silently to dismiss her, quickly flipping through the papers she handed to me. Gradually, I found myself smiling and amused by what I was reading.


    "You seem to be in an oddly good mood."


    "Am I?" I contemted that, ncing towards Crom Cruach in his human form. "Perhaps I am. The Trickster put on quite the show, and I am very satisfied with his performance."


    "Even though he failed." The Evil Dragon questioned.


    "Failure is subject to perspective, I believe." I hummed lightly. "We achieved our main goal through his efforts by ident." And I also learned some interesting things and found someone that piqued my interest."Oh?" The Evil God seemed to perk up.


    "Is that why you called this meeting, Rizevim?" Angra Mainyu asked.


    "One of a few reasons." I confirmed to the Evil God of Zoroastrianism. "I believe it was time to advance our ns to the next stage."


    "The Dragon is right, you''re much more talkative and expressive than normal." The Evil God pointed out as well.


    Was it really noticeable?


    No matter.


    "And what goal did we achieve?" Chernobog tapped the table impatiently. "With the loss of Loki, our presence in the Norse Faction is all but gone. That is a substantial loss, in addition to losing the two Titans we spent a lot of effort to free from imprisonment. What could possibly make up for that kind of loss of forces?"


    "Calm yourself, Chernobog. Let them speak." Hanpa, one of thest Sumerian Gods calmly interjected.


    "Well, if you want to talk about losses, Hades seems to have betrayed us." Angra Mainyu added on rather flippantly.


    "What?" Chernobog''s fist hit the table. "I knew he wasn''t fully on board, but to betray us!? He is a fool and must have a death wish!"


    "Did he finally decide to leave us?" Izily asked. "A shame, I felt like we could have squeezed some things out of him before he finally decided to step away. I suppose he was still upset about freeing the Titans from their Cage?"


    "Is this a game to you?" Chernobog asked angrily.


    "Yes." I managed to put forth the effort to reply.


    Angra Mainyu chuckled, using his power to put up a barrier between us as the vic God''s power erupted out."Come now, friends." It was always strange to see him smile. "We all have the same goal. Evil Gods should stick together, through the power of friendship!"


    "¡­..never say that again and I''ll stop." Chernobog said with a look of disgust.


    "Deal."


    "Hmph." His power receded backwards. "I''m tired of being yanked around. Tell me what''s going on."


    He did join muchter than most of us, so he wasn''t privy to the sordid details of our little¡­.group. "I suppose it wouldn''t hurt."


    He has been¡­.loyal to our joined cause.


    "We''ve been searching for the location of the Beast of the Apocalypse." Angra Mainyu stated.


    It was amusing to see the vic God still at the mention. "Those old stories? They''re nothing more than legends, even to us Gods." He waved his hand dismissively.


    "Oh, they''re much more than stories." The Zoroastrian God countered. "It''s the reason that our Dear Abrahamic God is no longer around. It''s the reason that the original Devils were even capable of dealing any significant damage to him at all. And most amusingly, it''s the origin of Devils in the first ce."


    "What!?"


    "Isn''t that a surprise." Hanpa rubbed his chin.


    "What proof do you have?" Chernobog demanded.


    "Am I not proof enough?" I spoke up."However, he speaks the truth. I discovered my Father''s old notes some centuries ago where he mentions that the origins of his ''Demonic'' powerse from thebination of his Angel nature and a wisp of power from the Beast itself. Theybined into what you see today."


    Before either of them could speak, a Teleportation Circle lit up in the room, another familiar face joining us.


    "I apologize for beingte, I was held up and unable toe when I received the message to gather." Tezcatlipoca apologized, taking one of the many empty seats at the table.


    "It''s no problem." Angra Mainyu waived it off. "Would you like something to drink, some snacks?" He offered.


    "I''m alright, thank you." The Aztec God of Evil smiled and politely declined.


    Just because we''re Evil doesn''t mean we''re uncivilized.


    "Though, it seems as I''m not the only one runningte." He looked around at the rather empty gathering.


    "It is what it is." The Zoroastrian God shrugged. "It''s already hard enough to get this many of us to gather on short notice without causing amotion."


    "An unfortunate truth." Tezcatlipoca nodded. "Especially with our identities being revealed, we have many more eyes on us now."


    "Oh well, we couldn''t hide forever." Angra Mainyu replied casually. "It doesn''t change much. We were just filling in our friends here with our true ns."


    "The Beast of the Apocalypse?"


    "Correct."


    "Carry on."


    "Exin the Beast." Chernobog went back to tapping the table patiently, but there was a hint of hesitation in his tone.


    "It should be, at a minimum, on the same level as Ophis and Great Red." Angra Mainyu. "Without plications that either of them have."


    "You mean how both of them are absolute morons." Hanpa asked.


    "Well, I didn''t want to be rude." The Zoroastrian God chuckled.


    "¡­.and this won''t be like how we ''lost'' Ophis?" Chernobog asked.


    "To be fair¡­" Angra Mainyu raised up his finger. "The Ouroboros Dragon was never technically on our side. If it found out what we were really trying to do, it would have destroyed us without a second thought."


    "It does save us the trouble of having to deal with it to advance to thest stage of our ns." Tezcatlipoca agreed. "Though it is concerning how those¡­Youkai were able to remove it from the board as they revealed during that interesting meeting between factions."


    I would bet that the target of my newfound interest had a hand in such a thing.


    "I offered to go find out myself." Crom Cruach impatiently answered. "If someone or something over there is capable of defeating or ''removing'' the Dragon of Infinity, then I would want to fight it."


    "Peace, my friend, you will have enough battles to satisfy you in time. Let''s not ruin the main course for a simple hors d''oeuvres." Angra Mainyu was surprisingly talented at managing many conflicting and aggressive personalities.


    The Dragon just grunted, going back to being silent. He wasn''t a very talkative one, but his strength was indisputable, having reached the level of the Heavenly Dragons in their prime.


    "You said Loki achieved this objective despite his loss during Ragnar?k?" Chernobog raised his concerns.


    "The Biblical God sealed away the Beast of the Apocalypse at the cost of nearly all of his power." I began to exin. "In addition, there are 666 seals across the world, smaller in scope, but they serve to prevent the Beast from¡­ ''reaching out'' into the world. They contain malevolence and hatred and negativity from umting enough to give it a foothold. Hell had one at its entrance, and Loki used Pandora''s Box to contain everything umted there along with the small touch of the Beast that tried to reach out and then used it to try and corrupt the World Tree. He failed, in the end, but it was enough that it caused a stir that we were able to trace back."


    "So it exists." The vic God breathed out. "Where is it?"


    "The Ends of the World." Angra Mainyu stated. "The clever Abrahamic God sealed it at the Ends of the World, neutering it almostpletely. And until now, no one knew the sacrifice he made to protect the world. Amusing, isn''t it?"


    A ce that one cannot reach because it''s at the ''end''. What can an engine of destruction do when the ''end'' was already around it?


    The location itself was a significant part of the seal as well.


    "How do we release it?" Chernobog asked.


    Angra Mainyu pped his hands. "Now that''s the question to ask, my friend! See, we''re all on the same page here. To answer your question, well, we''re not entirely sure! At this moment, we''re going to focus on destroying the seals around the world. We''ve already destroyed 89 of them so far."


    "90." Tezcatlipoca corrected. "I found the one in Argentina."


    "Well done."


    "Thank you." He politely returned a smile.


    "Still, we''re down a substantial amount of manpower. The n was for Loki to destroy Asgard and the Norse Gods, then we could have used the remainder of his forces for our own use." Chernobog pointed out.


    "True, true." Angra Mainyu nodded. "I can''t disagree that it puts us in an awkward spot, and Loki being gone is a big loss to us as well. Especially since he was working on that project of yours that was left over from when your subordinate was taken¡­" He looked at me.


    "Ah yes, Euclid. It''s a shame, he was a good underling. Fortunately, Lokipleted his research before he left to begin his ns. We just need to find a worthwhile Sacred Gear and we should be able to mass produce copies of it. With some tests and experimentation of course." I replied, not caring about the value of this ''information''.


    "See, we''re doing alright still." Angra Mainyu gestured between us. "We still have plenty of allies and friends around the world. Just because they couldn''t make it here doesn''t mean they''re gone. I even managed to recently convince Eris to be one of our spies! I''m trying to work on Ares, I think I almost got him. Like Eris, he only cares about causing War while hers is about Discord. I think he''s just ying hard to get right now."


    "Eris?" Hanpa asked. "While she''s not the most beloved Goddesses, she''s far from being Evil."


    "Well, she''s treating it like a game." Angra Mainyu. "I may have misled her into believing we just wanted to cause some discord around the world."


    "Ah, that would do it."


    "And the research into resurrecting Balor?" Crom Cruach asked.


    "It''s a work in a progress." I replied. "You''re wee toe and see in person." I offered as well. It was only polite considering he was the one with a former rtionship with the Evil God Balor.


    "I still don''t know why you just don''t use the Holy grail." The dragon grumbled. "It would be much simpler."


    "The Young Vampire Girl is still learning to control it."


    "Since when do you care about her safety?"


    "A useful tool shouldn''t be cast aside so hastily, Crom Cruach." Angra Mainyu chimed in. "The young vampire girl has a much deeper connection to that object than us, it''s more optimal to turn her into a proper interface rather than just brute forcing it. Why, she even managed to mutate it into three separate Grails that perform the same purpose but remove many of the negative side effects! A boon we would have never discovered if we simply ripped it out of her like some primitive."


    "And she''s working with us willingly?" Chernobog asked.


    "A simple transaction, my friend. The original owner of Balor''s eye was another vampire that was her childhood friend. We agreed not to kill him when excavating old Balor''s eye, and she agreed to cooperate." The Evil God smiled warmly. "Believe me, my fellows, I am just an anxious as you all are, I very much wish for my old Dragon toe back again, I miss that Evil Bastard. It''ll be the perfect way to celebrate our reunion, by burning the world down."


    "You mentioned that Hades betrayed us?" Hanpa raised a question that I was also a little curious about.


    "Since when?" Tezcatlipoca looked surprised.


    "You know how it is." Angra Mainyu let out a sigh. "He was still upset about breaking out his old man. He even attacked poor Aka Manah and ruined one of my ns going on in Ennd."


    "Is that why he isn''t here with us?" Hanpa asked.


    "Unfortunately, Hades and his pet Thanatos did a number of my dear friend and he''s recovering at the moment."


    "Why did Hades attack Aka Manah. And what was he doing to attract Hades attention?" Tezcatlipoca questioned.


    "Those are certainly questions to ask. As for why, I honestly have no clue. I didn''t run afoul Hades whatsoever. I had Aka Manahpossessing the owner of a peculiar Sacred Gear that popped up, one of the Church''s Holy Relics it seems. It was able to brainwash people to a pleasant degree and I was using her to see if I could expand and take over the world merely through a human''s efforts. She wasn''t particrly hard to persuade after some¡­.motivation."


    "How was this going to advance our ns?" Chernobog asked.


    "Oh, it wasn''t. It was just a game I was ying when I wasn''t busy. I suppose she was a somewhat valuable piece herself, and I may have eventually pulled her further in. But it''s no substantial loss all things considered."


    "So it stands to reason that Hades targeted the Girl specifically, and not you." Crom Cruach mused out loud. "Interesting."


    "Who knows what that guy is thinking. As long as he isn''t targeting us specifically, I don''t really care what he gets up to. It would take too much effort and sacrifice to bring Hades under heel, so best ignore him unless he bes a problem." Hanpa perfectly voiced the thoughts of most of us present.


    "Agreed, best to let sleeping dogsy. Besides, we still have significant manpower all over. Our friends in the Celtic Part of the world are keeping the Tuatha De Danann busy. Indra and his are still cleaning up the mess around their own enemies acting up. We''ve recently reached an agreement with Kun Peng and his Demons to help with the Celestial Bureaucracy. The Norse aren''t capable of doing much for the foreseeable future. The Greeks¡­.well, we have several people among their number that''re able to keep them upied, and Typhon has yet to make a move there. The Devils have our dear Rizevim over there to keep them in check." Angra Mainyu listed off several key points.


    "What about the Shinto Gods¡­..and the Youkai." Chernoborg asked, causing the room to lose its casual overtone.


    "Them." Angra Maiynu pursed his nonexistent lips. He was able to emote very well for not having many physical features. "Truthfully, we don''t have anyone of significance over there. We originally had some small minions calling themselves the ''Cult of Tamamo-no-Mae'', but they were cleaned up fairly quickly after causing amotion."


    "Are we just going to ignore everything that''s been happening around them?" Chernobog asked. "How many times have they interfered with our ns at this point? Even indirectly."


    Angra Mainyu turned to me with a strange look on his face. "It''s not so much the Youkai is it? A wayward Devil is the primary cause for everything if we trace things backwards."


    "Ah, Ddraig''s new host." Crom Cruach sat up straighter. "I am intrigued. Not to mention he has that Witch by his side. I was saddened when I heard of her death, I would have loved to be the one to kill her."


    "I would like to know how he has so many individuals who should be dead reappearing by his side." Tezcatlipoca seemed annoyed. "It offends me, as a Death God."


    "Aren''t you helping us resurrect a bunch of dead things?" Hanpa asked.


    "Yes, but I''m giving permission. It''s different." He causally waived off the hypocrisy. "Hmm, but Izanami is close to him, so I guess I should retract that¡­..for now."


    "You Death Gods." Angra Mainyu rolled his eyes. "Your camaraderie is as touching as it is annoying sometimes. But it is a point worth discussing. Every major incident recently¡­.that Devil has been involved in some way. He is the reason that Loki was removed from our table. This strike against us, intentional or not, cannot go unanswered."


    "He''s strong." Crom Cruach offered.


    "It''s undeniable at this point." Hanpa agreed. "Loki almost certainly underestimated him for being a Devil and a Mortal. No offense, Rizevim."


    "It''s fine." I casually dismissed the slight. I was in far too good a mood to care about such a petty thing right now. "I admit, he also has my attention."


    "Ohoh?" Angra Maiynu chortled. "Ourzy Rizevim finally has something moving him? A fellow Devil that finally caught your eye? I''m surprised, even those Monsters ruling over the Underworld these days don''t even get a response from you."


    "I feel like I found a kindred soul." I smiled warmly. "So many of my kin, they''re obsessed with such¡­.petty and stupid things. But look at him, he does whatever he wants and takes whatever he wants, like a true Devil. I can''t help but feel a hint of pride."


    "He also prevented Ragnar?k, saving Asgard, and foiling our ns. I don''t believe hends on the same side of our fence." Hanpa pointed out.


    "He''s young still, he just needs someone to teach him properly. The most important thing is mentality, and he has the mentality of a true Devil."


    "Rare praise, Rizevim." Angra Maiynu hummed. "I take it you want to ''deal with him'' then? Our agreements do still hold even now, those from corrting factions get first dibs."


    "Thank you, I would prefer to handle him myself." I expressed my sincerity towards the Evil God that I hade to appreciate in our working rtionship.


    It''s pleasant to have suchpetent allies such as these. It truly makes me miss the Trickster, even if I will never forget hisst show.


    "What''s your n?" Crom Cruach asked.


    "You are surprisingly interested." I raised an eyebrow.


    "I could say the same thing." The Dragon snorted. "He is an anomaly. A Half-Devil wielder of the Boosted Gear, possessing Divinity, wielding Holy Power, a Magician of such caliber that he can match Gods with Magic alone. Anybination of those makes me interested. Most importantly, he is a Dragon, thus I wish to understand him."


    "He''s mine." I warned him.


    The Dragon''s aura seeped out. "What if I want him?"


    I cracked my neck and let my own powere out to match his. "I wouldn''t mind a new set of armor made from Dragon Scales."


    A massive ck hand smashed the tablepletely, leaving a ratherrge imprint. "FRiEnDs." A distorted voice caused us both to stop. "Let''s not fight, okay?" Angra Mainyu''s tone was still chipper. "Crom Cruach, you know the rules. You agreed and we all are letting you handle the Celtic Faction how you wanted."


    "And I offered up Balor''s Eye for our mutual goals despite the value it held." The Dragon retorted.


    "That''s true, that''s true." The Zoroastrian God stroked his chin. "But it''s still up to Rizevim. What are your ns, Rizevim?"


    I sat back down in my chair despite the table being gone. "I would not be against him participating as long as we do things my way."


    "See? No need for violence when we can just talk things out~"


    "What did you have in mind?" The Dragon fell back into his own seat.


    "I have not yet thought of a n." I became lost, deep in thought. "I''m still learning about him and have not decided how I want to handle it just yet."


    "I have an idea that you can both be involved in. Crom Cruach, your faction had the most interacted with the Fae and you should know a method to¡­.reach them." The Zoroastrian God had his grin threaten to split his face as it extended unnaturally wide. "The Youkai will be going to war with the Fae soon, why not¡­..pay the Fae a visit beforehand, extend a hand of friendship?"


    @***@


    Non-Canon Omake: Through the looking ss, Part 6


    Well, Issei was out cold.


    And weirdly, the mood improved tremendously!


    I was also feeling really good about myself right about now. It''s weird how that all suddenly happened for some inexplicable reason.


    "Truthfully, I think we should just put him out of his misery." I offered.


    Strangely, they were still just staring at me with mouths open. Maybe it was because I just beat up their friend?


    [It might have something to do with you admitting you''ve killed Gods.] Ddraig.


    You think?


    "Eeeeh!?" Several of them suddenly made a chorus of the same sounds in different pitches.


    [There is a slight possibility.]


    "¡­..what do you mean you''ve killed Gods?" sses Girl pointed at me, all but demanding an answer.


    "Killed, verb, past tense. To cause the Death of a ¨C"


    "I know what the word means!"


    "Then why did you ask?"


    She let out a low scream and threw her hands up.


    "But, but that''s impossible!" Rias squeaked out. "You''re lying!"


    "Kay."


    "What?!"


    "What?" I answered back.


    "Why aren''t you arguing!?"


    "Why should I care if you believe me?" I shot back.


    She sputtered out a nonsensical stream of sounds in an attempt to retort.


    "No seriously, what the hell!" My Other self eximed. "How does that make sense? He''s like¡­.a few years older than me? I can barely cast magic yet!"


    "Have you tried not sucking?"


    "Yes, I have!"


    Huh.


    "Welp, I''m out of ideas then."


    "Fuck you!" My other self seemed to finally lose his collective shit.


    "Takao, Language!" Mom grabbed him by the ear, pulling him over. "But your reaction is understandable."


    "I have a question." Sc¨¢thach spoke up amidst the confusion and surprise of everyone else. "Does my student get to ''touch your boobs'' for winning then?" He looked at Rias.


    "Bwah!?"


    "Ew." I scowled.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" She immediately red at me. "What''s eww!? You''re screwing my mother!"


    "Yeah, exactly. It''s like buying a cheap Chinese knock-off inparison." I exined, pointing to Venna.


    "Stop bullying your Aunt." Mom scolded. "And stop groping your Grandmother infront of everyone. Even if you both are¡­.togther." Mom''s lips twitched.


    I may or may not have my hand on her voluptuous behind.


    "I''m over here." My Venna raised her hand, standing a bit further away, revealing the bracelet I made for her.


    Mom blinked, as did the others.


    The other Venna just smiled. "I don''t mind."


    Operation Venna Sandwich is a go.


    "Mom!" Rias whined.


    "Rias, you just offered your boobs as a prize for your pawn to win." Her mom deadpanned.


    "Mother, please stop intentionally teasing Rias." My Alternate father sighed. "And if you''re going to do things like this, please don''t do it infront of us."


    "Oh, very well." The other Venna rolled her eyes, but relented, and I released her bottom.


    "And can we focus on the important things. Like the future version of my son strong enough to kill Gods." He stated. "That seems like something important we should figure out and n for."


    "¡­.perhaps we should speak inside." The Maid offered.


    "You''re right." My mom sighed. "I feel like I''m going to need to be sitting down for whates next."


    It''s funny, they sort of forgot about Issei''s unconscious body still in the crater in the back yard and started making their way back inside.


    Seeing both Vennas almost perfect mirrors of each other, even to what they were wearing, I was curious about something. And seeing as how the other Venna wasn''t against my¡­..advances, well.


    With no one else looking, I may have used the opportunity to lift up the back of both of their dresses, both of them seemingly uncaring that I did so.


    And they still matched.


    Nice.


    I was wrong, however, someone was still paying attention.


    Sc¨¢thach seemed to mimic my mom''s actions and grabbed my cheek with a huff and pulled me inside.


    "Sit." She stated, forcing my butt into the same chair from before as she hovered next to me.


    "Wilhelm, dear. What happened to you?" My mom finally asked the pertinent question.


    "You''re going to need to be more specific." I propped myself up with my elbow against the table and my head in my palm.


    "I just can''t imagine my Takao¡­..doing what you''ve imed." She smiled warmly at my alternate self and I felt a twinge of envy.


    "I''d rather know what happened here." I found myself ncing at the alternate version of my father who was just happily watching everyone without any of the tension from the time I met my own.


    "What do you mean? There''s nothing special about my life?" Other Takao looked confused.


    "How did....you two end up together." I forced the words out as I addressed my mom and alternate father.


    The both shared a warm look and my mom opened her mouth again. "Well¡­.we happened to meet each other by chance a long time ago, one thing led to another, I got pregnant and Sirzechs here found out and stepped up as the dad. Along the way¡­well, a spark of something grew into what we have now."


    "¡­..you''re glossing over a lot of details there, mom."


    "Wilhelm, what was your childhood like?" She questioned.


    "Poor, in a literal sense not an emotional one." I said casually. "You did your best to raise me with your¡­.job."


    "¡­..oh, you know about that." She whispered with a strange look on her face.


    "Wait, know what?" Takao looked at his mom.


    "Did¡­.you not tell him?"


    Mom bit her lip and shook her head. "I didn''t want him to think less of me."


    "Mom, everyone in my life knows and I told them happily because I''m proud of you. You did what you had to do to provide a life for me. I would never be ashamed of you, ever. You were the best mom I could ask for."


    Mom looked like she was about to cry. "You''re such a good boy."


    "What!? What''s being kept from me?" Takao raised his voice, once more showing that he really hasn''t developed the ability to read the room just yet.


    "Dear, it''s alright. Takao is old enough not to have any misconceptions." My Alternate Father ushered her.


    "It''s hardly a big deal considering I''m fucking their mom." I pointed out.


    Rias let out a sudden groan, and the twitch of my alternate father was¡­.satisfying.


    "What am I going to do with you?" Mom shook her head in exasperation. "Your younger self is going to be corrupted by you eventually."


    "You could always throw him into the deep end and just get a head start on the grandbabies. He just needs someone to¡­..teach him."I did nce at other Venna.


    Was I trying to set them up?


    Maybe.


    Half of it was just because I was enjoying their reactions.


    Mom, amusingly enough, seemed to consider that for the briefest of moments.


    "Miss Shimoda, don''t listen to this¡­.pervert. Takao does not need his head filled with only sexual thoughts. Anything he need sot be taught, I can do so myself!"


    "Virginsayswhat?"


    "What?" She blinked, realizing as soon as she said it and started seething.


    "Do devils even have sex education?" I wondered idly.


    "Of course, and it''s much more¡­hands on, so to speak. Devils generally have much higher libido and suchpared to humans, so we have to take that into consideration." My Venna exined. "Though considering it''s my son, I''m sure that he skipped over all that because he''s a prude."


    "Mom.." My Alternate father sighed. "I''m not a prude."


    "I volunteered to teach him everything he needed to know." The Maid spoke up.


    "¡­ayo?"


    "Wait, what?" My other self looked confused.


    The Maid shrugged.


    "¡­.wait, are you implying that you would ¨C"


    "No more sex talk!" Mom pped the table, cutting Rias off, leaving Takao looking stunned under the realization of what was being implied. "Wilhelm. Childhood. Now." She somehow had another slipper in her hand, using it to threaten everyone around the table.


    "...you were about to tell him what you did as a job." I pointed out under duress as she leveled her weapon at me.


    "Oh right." She slumped. "Well¡­.I didn''t have very many prospects. Which is why I push so hard for you to do well in school. But I¡­.was, well¡­."


    "Mom was an escort." I just pulled the bandaid off and she went silent.


    "Oh." Takao went silent. "¡­.that''s it?"


    "Ah?" Mom made a strange noise of surprise. "You''re¡­.not ashamed of your mother?"


    "Mom, you''re in a three way rtionship." He pointed out. "And I know for a fact that it''s not just with Dad." He gestured to the maid who had a small smile. "Grandpa has a rotating harem. Rias was in an arranged marriage to a guy with a harem that had a his little sister. And Serafall constantly tries to get into Sona''s skirt."


    "Takao!" Sona lit up bright red, but I was more focused on the important bit he mentioned.


    ¡­..I''m conflicted.


    On one hand, nice, on the other¡­it''s my mom.


    Welp, time to shove this way down and repress it for the remainder of my life.


    "Can we get back to the important part, like how he''s only a few years older than me and he''s already so strong." Takao seemingly wanted to quickly change the subject with Sona giving him a death re.


    "Right¡­.well, that''s about what my life was like until 7ish. We didn''t have much, mom did her best to support us, but it took a toll on her. That was about when she died and from what I understand, it got back to his human identity and I was just tossed here for the next decade or so." I summarized.


    "Dude¡­" Takao blinked. "That''s fucked up."


    I shrugged. "When did you¡­..this?"


    "Uh¡­mom?" He looked at mom.


    "¡­.after Takao was born, I tried to handle things on my own, but I was struggling." She said quietly, with a clear indication of shame in her tone. "It was by chance that I ran into someone who knew your father. He¡­..was the one who dragged him to the ce where I ''worked'' all those years ago."


    "Azazel." My alternate father sighed.


    "That stupid fallen angel¡­?" I blinked.


    "You''ve met him?" Mom tilted her head.


    "Unfortunately." I pursed my lips. "Continue."


    "Well, I remember him with your father from before. And considering the color of your hair, it wasn''t hard to put together who your father was...in contrast to my¡­.clients. I was honestly surprised at how seriously he took the fact that I said I had a child from your father¡­..it made sense now in hindsight."


    "And I owe Azazel greatly after that." My Alternate father smiled. "I won''t lie and say it wasn''t rough at first. Grayfia and I were trying hard for a kid for a number of years and to learn that I idently had one with another women¡­..but we worked it out."


    "Fia was scary the first time we met." Mom nkly stared at the Maid.


    "I apologize, and I will continue to do so." The Maid''s expression changed. "I was upset at Sirzechs and I took it out on you."


    "It''s alright, I''m just happy everything worked out."


    "¡­..and how did that happen?"


    The Maid looked at me then at Takao. "The first time I held him in my hands, any kind of resentment was let go."


    "Things changed a lot there, I moved here and set up in the house. They visited nearly every day and we got to know each other better¡­.and well, he can''t have another wife or harem¡­but there''s nothing against him having a mistress." Mom smiled happily towards my Alternate Father.


    "Well¡­.some did try to kick up a fuss." Alternate Venna stated. "But Grayfia shut them up rather well."


    "How''d you do that?" Takao asked.


    Grayfia flushed slightly, clearing her throat. "I am not disallowed from having a harem¡­.."


    "I didn''t need to hear this. I regret asking." Takao''s head hit the table.


    ¡­.I''m starting to think any family of mine, extension to my alternative or not, is going to be fucked up in one way or another regardless.


    "Who cares about that, how did you get so strong!" Rias raised her voice, pointing at me.


    "Training."


    "I train!"


    "Do you, do you really?" I looked at her.


    "Exin properly." Sc¨¢thach pinked my side. "Your mother asked you to recount your early years."


    "As expected of my daughter." Mom looked pleased.


    "Alright, what do you want to know?" I threw my hands up.


    "What happened to you that diverged so heavily." Mom asked. "I know that¡­we weren''t around, but how did that turn into something else?"


    "I guess it started when an exorcist stabbed me through the heart with his lightsaber."


    "What?" Mom''s expression changed drastically.


    "I don''t know, I was walking home one day and he just ambushes me and stabs me through the heart. Apparently he could tell I was a Half-Devil? I didn''t even know myself at that point."


    "How did you not know?" My other self asked.


    "I was living by myself since I was a child, who the fuck was I supposed to ask or get told by?" I deadpanned.


    "Sirzechs!"


    "It wasn''t me, Meiko!"


    "Which exorcist!?" Mom reached over the table, grabbing me by the color. "I swear to the God they believe in, I''m going to make him swallow his balls!"


    ¡­.mom is scary.


    "Some dumbass that''s dead, I didn''t bother to learn his name. By the time I met him again, he was an ant." I said truthfully.


    Mom reluctantly let go with a growl. "Sirzechs, make sure there are no exorcist in the city."


    "¡­..I will make some calls when we''re done and sweep the city myself."


    Mom nodded in approval.


    "Then the pertinent question is, how are you alive?" Sona stated.


    "I''m too handsome to die."


    "That''s not an exnation." She scowled.


    "Are you saying that I, Takao Shimoda, am not handsome?"


    "That''s not what I''m implying at all!" She quickly defended.


    "Huh, so you do think that I''m handsome?" I shot her a smirk and she just scowled deeper.


    "Student, exchange barbster." Sc¨¢thach warned.


    "Fine, fine." I huffed in annoyance. "It was the catalyst that unlocked my Magic and¡­.other things." Honestly, I wasn''t trying to be mysterious, I just¡­.didn''t know if I wanted to mention Gramps and all that.


    "What¡­.other things?" Takao asked.


    "Things."


    "What things!"


    "I fucked our Grandmother!"


    "Actually, that was muchter." Venna chimed in.


    "Aaah!" My other self-blurted out a scream of embarrassment.


    "You can speak the truth." Sc¨¢thach used a gentle tone to chide me. "There is no need to fear it being known."


    "¡­.what''s she talking about Wilhelm?" Mom looked at me.


    I took a deep breath and just relented. "Right, I''m a reincarnation."


    "You''re a spirit inheritor?" My Alternate father''s eyes widened.


    "¡­.something like that."


    "A what?" Takao looked at him.


    The others, Rias and Sona, and Akeno who was silently at her side were just as confused as he was it seems.


    "A spirit Inheritor is¡­..they inherit the spirits of famous individuals from the past. You can think of them as reincarnations that retain something from their previous lives. Usually, it''s their talents, sometimes it''s a bit of their memories." Alternate Father exined.


    "Does¡­that mean I''m a Spirit Inheritor too?" Takao asked.


    "Maybe, maybe not" I answered truthfully.


    "That''s not fair, I want it too!" Takao pouted. "Who then? You got the powers and stuff from some person in the past?"


    "You wouldn''t know him."


    "I''m very adept in mythological history." Sona pushed up her sses.


    "No seriously, you wouldn''t know him."


    "My student has crossed over from a parallel world, and he brought us over before your eyes. Consider this for a moment." Sc¨¢thach added on my behalf.


    "¡­..he''s not from our world?" Mom asked.


    I justnodded. "Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Old man of the Jewels, the Kaleidoscope."


    I impatiently tapped the table. "I remembered a lot of things at that point, including how to utilize the Magic to travel to other worlds. So the first thing I did was start the calctions needs to leave."


    "¡­.your first thought after everything was to leave." Mom repeated. "My poor boy, you had a hard life."


    "It wasn''t all bad, mom." I smiled at her. "Ihave a nice big family now. And besides, I was given a parting gift when I left."


    "A parting gift?" My other self looked at me. "What did you get?"


    "Well, it wasn''t a tangible gift. But it was a memory I''ll cherish. You see, this sses wearing girl from the school I went to, she had this goal to use Japanese Schooling to further torture the residents of Hell. She attempted to interfere and what-not at the time of my departure, so I threw a magical bomb at her right before I left." I smiled nostalgically.


    "¡­.your threw a bomb at me." Sona stated nkly. "You threw a bomb at me!?"


    "I never said it was you."


    "You threw a bomb at me!"


    "Wilhelm¡ª"


    "To be fair, she did try to mess with my head." I pointed out.


    Mom then went silent and seemed conflicted.


    "Anyways, that''s how I idently ended up in Skyrim."


    "¡­.what do you mean ''idently?" Rias asked.


    "I may or may not have taken into consideration an aspect of the world I was unfamiliar with which may or may not have been the equivalent of smacking into a tree while driving at 80 miles an hours." I coughed into my fist.


    "¡­.smooth." Takao deadpanned.


    "Grandmother." I pointed out again.


    "Stop bringing that up!"


    "Stop being a disappointment!"


    "Wilhelm, Takao, stop arguing with yourself." Mom interjected. "And what''s Skyrim?"


    "It''s a provenance in a world called Nirn. Very cold, a lot like the Norse culture. It''s where I met my first friend and my first love."


    "Aww, my baby boy''s first love!" Mom cooed, despite the weirdness of the picture I was painting. "Who did my little boy fall in love with first?"


    "¡­.her name is Meridia."


    Scatach and Venna looked like they were going tough at any second.


    "That''s a beautiful name! What''s she like, what does she do? Is she human?"


    "um¡­.not human."


    "¡­.what aren''t you telling me?" Mom''s eyes narrowed.


    I cleared my throat. "She''s¡­a Goddess."


    "Like¡­.a Goddess? Or are you being perverted again."


    "The former."


    "¡­.Oh." My seemed speechless at that. She then looked at Venna for assistance.


    "He''s telling the truth." My Venna answered. "And Meridia is nice, I''ve met her plenty of times."


    "You...you''re in a rtionship with a Goddess?" My other self asked. "How."


    "Well, it helps to be Charming." I listed off.


    "So luck?" Sona hazarded a guess.


    "Please, you wouldn''t know charming if it pped you in the face with a magical bomb." I rolled my eyes.


    "I''ve had plenty of suitors!"


    "You had arranged marriages." I pointed out. "That I''m fairly sure no one fought very hard to protect."


    "T-that''s not true! Any potential match had to beat me in chess, and I won every game!" She defended quickly.


    "Right, won every game." I said dryly. "How¡­.convenient."


    "What''s that supposed to mean!" She stood up squawking.


    "All I''m saying is, that if someone didn''t want to go through with the arranged marriage, well, chess isn''t a very hard game."


    Sona was about to retort, her mouth open, but it seemed like she just realized something and her eyes widened, no wordsing out.


    "Wilhelm stop bullying your other self''s girlfriend." Mom chided me for the umpteenth time. "And continue where you left off."


    "¡­.we just met and hit it off." I quickly exined.


    "Student." Sc¨¢thach had a very malicious grin on her face. "Speak the truth."


    "Oh? Something embarrassing about my son?" My alternate father smiled, chuckling a little.


    Strangely, I didn''t hate the tone he referred to me¡­.but it just made me annoyed in other aspects.


    Mom had a mom look too as her smile widened. "Wilhelm~ Tell your mother what happened~"


    "Nothing happened."


    "Something happened." My other self stated.


    "Something happened." My Venna confirmed.


    "If you don''t speak, student, I will happily inform them in your stead." Sc¨¢thach poked me.


    She was getting an inordinate amount of joy at seeing my like this.


    You know, it''s easy to be shameless when I wasn''t infront of my mom!


    "I cleared a temple of hers from undead¡­." I grumbled.


    "Like zombies?" Takao''s eyes widened. "That''s cool."


    "Pretty much." I shrugged. "She''s a Goddess of Life and hatesundead, so she was¡­.pleased with my efforts at killing them and the apanying Necromancer. She offered me a reward¡­." I covered my face.


    "¡­.Wilhelm, is this going where I think it''s going?" Mom asked, while everyone else seemed to lean in, anticipating what I was going to say.


    ¡­.. "Kunou, I choose you." I quickly opened a portal and snatched her from whatever it is she was doing and held her up infront of the table. "Kunou, meet your Grandma, Mom, meet your Granddaughter."


    There was a moment of silence as both Kunou took a second to realize what was going on, as did Mom before Mom literally jumped across the table, scooping up Kunou into her arms.


    "Granddaughter!!!!" She screamed, hugging the little floof tightly.


    Sc¨¢thach gave me a look, but I was far too proud of myself to bother with it.


    "Daddy!?" Kunou called out in confusion.


    "That''s my mom, don''t think too hard about it."


    "Grandma?"


    "Granddaughter!"


    "Grandma!?"


    "Granddaughter!!!!" Mom squealed. "So adorable, so fluffy!!"


    "Dear¡­I think you''re suffocating the poor girl." My Alternate Father tried to calm her down.


    Mom reluctantly released Kunou from her grasp, letting the little fox stand up by herself. Kunou, under the stares and what-not moved back to my side. "Sorry for the suddenness my l ittle fox, but this is my mom, she really wanted to meet you. It''s alright, she knows everything."


    Kunou took it in stride and smile happily. "Hi Grandma!"


    "Kya~" My mom looked like she was going to fall over. "Too cute."


    "She is¡­the daughter of the Youkai leader." Rias asked hesitantly.


    "My Momma is the leader of the Youkai." Kunou puffed up. "Daddy who¡­.is that¡­" She pointed at Takao.


    "That is my younger self, dear." I smiled, exin to her.


    "But¡­.why is he so weak? And small¡­." Kunou asked in confusion.


    If words could kill, my other self would be dead now. I felt like I could see the arrows piercing his heart as Kunou said that without any malice.


    "¡­I''m not weak." My other self pouted.


    "Kunou could beat you¡­." I probably shouldn''t have said that, but I did anyways.


    I think I broke his pridepletely.


    "Anyways, that''s my younger self and you met your Grandma, and you should more or less know everyone else except for the girl with the sses, that my younger self''s girlfriend." I did very quick introductions.


    "She''s not as pretty as my other Aunties." Kunou scrunched her nose.


    And just like Takao, Sona looked like she took a critical hit on the emotional spectrum.


    ¡­..I love you so much, my little fox.


    Kunou didn''t bother with that, but looked at my mom. "Grandma!" She ran over to my mom, with arms open.


    "Granddaughter"! Mom quickly took her into another big hug, likewise not seemingly carrying about the emotional damage those two sustained.


    Kunou was quick to ept the new familial affection, she was more or less used to it at this point with all her ''aunties''. Honestly, Kunou just wants a big family to dote on her, so she probably didn''t care.


    Kunou was happily sitting in Mom''sp as Mom rubbed her head with quite a bit of enthusiasm.


    "Well yed, Student." Sc¨¢thach noted.


    "Thank you." I epted her praise.


    "Daddy, what''re you doing here?" Kunou asked. "Is Grandmaing home with us?"


    "Uh¡­Grandma needs to stay here, sweetie." I felt a twinge of pain in my heart even saying that.


    "But you cane visit whenever you want!" Mom quickly interjected. "My beautiful Granddaughter and my baby boy are always wee." Mom reassured the little fox.


    And I felt something in my heart again at that, that feeling of just pure eptance that a mom gave.


    I missed her so much.


    "So you''re my daughter then?" My Alternate father asked, a warm smile on his face.


    "No!" Kunou shook her head. "You''re mean, I don''t like you."


    He seemingly didn''t know how to respond to that as he just stood there expressionless.


    [Wow, she is ruthless.] Ddraig noted.


    That''s my daughter.


    Was this the pride of a parent?


    "We were talking about how your Daddy met Meridia." Mom was running a hand through Kunou''s long hair.


    "Oh! Aunty Meridia!" Kunou''s eyes sparkled. "I know this story, Momma told me. Daddy met her after beating some bad guys and he fell in love at first sight! He told Aunty Meridia to be his woman!" Kunou happily revealed.


    Everyone turned and looked at me, understand the context with Kunou''s help.


    And I buried my head in my hands, the unfamiliar sensation of embarrassment revealing itself.


    [Ruthless.]


    Thank you, Ddraig.


    ...maybe bringing Kunou wasn''t the best idea.


    "Momma told me how he met all my aunties! Artoria, Izzy, Sc¨¢thach, Salem ¨C"


    Oh sweet merciful Christ.


    Did¡­.she know about Salem too!?


    ¡­..was I right, was this my own personal hell?


    @***@


    a/n


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 522:

    Chapter 522:


    "Well, it''s been an interestingst couple hours." Yasaka was shuffling through some papers. "This is not how I expected to spend my afternoon."


    "Sorry, I didn''t realize how this would affect you when I broached it with you."


    "Sorry, Yasaka." Jeanne said quietly.


    "None of that dear." Yasaka smiled despite looking tired. "I''m <em>happy</em> that you wanted to do it properly rather than just show up." She shot me a look knowing all too well that it was something I would totally do. "It''s just one of those things."


    "What''s the verdict?" I asked.


    "Well, they were oddly amicable...considering." She responded. "I have a feeling that Heaven has been mping down harder on the Church since the meeting."


    Well, it needed to happen sooner orter.


    "So, Jeanne and I are allowed to go to the Vatican?" I just asked directly.


    It was more so a question on <em>my</em> part. Could I sneak in without issue? Yeah, but I wanted Jeanne to enjoy herself as well."Surprisingly, they okayed your visit. Specifically citing you that you were allowed, <em>for the day</em>." Yasaka specified. "They even teleported over an official Document in case anyone causes problems." She held up a piece of parchment from her desk showing a seal I didn''t recognize, but I assume it was someone high up.


    "Huh, neat." That''s cool. "So, no problems then?"


    "That heavily depends on factors you have control over. Are you <em>sure</em> you want to head over there? I''m not particrly scared for your safety, but it''s not hard to guess what will happen."


    I nced at Jeanne and smiled. "To be honest, I''ve wanted to visit since I was younger. You know <em>before</em> I found out I was a devil. It sort of fell by the wayside, but I wanted to travel the world. I finally got to see Rome and the Coliseum once I got Sc¨¢thach back. And despite <em>what happened there</em>, I felt like I was fulfilling a cherished dream of mine. Even better if Jeanne feels the same way."


    It sounds kind of silly to say when I can travel literal worlds that I would be so excited for something so mundane, but I used to daydream about stuff like this when I was having hard times when I was younger and by myself.


    "I''ve always wanted to visit!" Jeanne smiled brightly. "Ever since I was a little girl and sat in church and they told us about it, I always wanted to visit the Vatican, see the Pope, see all the special ces!"


    And seeing Jeanne happy, <em>making her happy</em>, was something I would do whatever I could to achieve.


    "Well, how could I possibly dissuade you when you say something like that." Yasaka said with a warm expression. "I suppose I don''t need to tell you to behave?"


    "I''ll be good." I said immediately.


    "That''s what I''m worried about." Yasaka deadpanned.


    "I''ll make sure he doesn''t get into trouble"! Jeanne puffed up her chest confidently.


    "¡­.Well, it''s the thought that counts." Yasaka muttered. "But Vasco Strada is someone I have a certain amount of trust in. His character is well known to most factions and since he is involved, nothing bad should happen."


    Right, nothing bad at all.


    [Yup, absolutely nothing bad about the Son of the Devil visiting the capital of the Church.] Ddraig added.


    {Don''t encourage him, Ddraig} My Zanpakut¨­ chimed in.


    "They gave a list of¡­..<em>rules</em>, that they hoped you would abide by. Just skimming it, the most obvious is no using Magic or anything else flippantly even in front of people who know about that sort of thing. Or atleast keep it to a necessary minimum. They do utilize Teleportation Circles in some ces, so it''s not like they''re going to kick up <em>too</em> much of a fuss. Second, no¡­.well, to put it blunt, no advocating sin or other religions."


    "Damn, there goes my master n of converting everyone to worshiping Meridia''s legs." I snapped my fingers.


    Yasaka threw a balled up piece of paper at me. "You know darn well what I mean, <em>they mean</em>. Also they explicitly banned Evil Pieces from the entirety of the City and they are very forward about killing anyone who is revealed to have them on their person if found out. Not that this applies to you, but figured I''d give you a warning in case anyone questions you about it."


    "Well, we share the same sentiment then. I have no love for those things at all." Even if Venna found use for one to reincarnate Mozart, I still thought they''re an abomination.


    Yasaka held up the paper. "No stealing souls, no stealing¡­..oh my, they have specifically requested that after thest¡­.incident, that you will not attempt to steal the Sistine Chapel. There''s a note here indicating that this is <em>not</em> a joke and it was attempted once before¡­.."


    "W-who would want to steal the Sistine Chapel!?" Jeanne''s eyes widened.


    "Well, admittedly¡­" I raised my hand.


    I would totally steal it if I could.


    "No stealing the Sistine Chapel!" Jeanne pouted.


    "I promise I won''t steal the Sistine Chapel." Add that to the list of phrases I never thought I would say in seriousness.


    "Honestly, most of this is just to respect the culture there and havemon sense. Oh, and not revealing your Devil features even to the people who know about Devils. That''s a big one they requested." Yasaka stated.


    "Sounds easy enough." I chirped. "Do we have like¡­a time table, ces we should be, ces that are off limits?"


    "The obvious in the <em>off limits</em> aspect. But otherwise, Father Vasco Strada is giving a sermon in St. Peter''s Basilica while you''re there. You''re wee to drop in as long as you don''t cause amotion. The people there will be warned ahead of time, so you don''t have to worry."


    "St. Peter''s Basilica!" Jeanne''s eyes widened. "Will we go see it?"


    "Of course, whatever you want." I just chuckled. "I wouldn''t mind either, there is a lot of history and beautiful art all throughout the Vatican."


    I stood up, pping my hands. "Alright, anything else? Anyst minute foreboding warning?"


    "That about covers it." Yasaka stood up too, grabbing that particr parchment and basically pushed it into my hands. " Behave yourself." She kissed my forehead. "To a reasonable degree, no one''s allowed to run rough over you but us."


    "I honestly have no ns to cause any trouble."


    "And that worries me for some reason." She said humorously. "Jeanne, I hope you have fun."


    "I will, thank you so much!" Jeanne shot forward, wrapping up Yasaka in a big hug.


    My fluffy fox epted it with a chuckle. "Alright, go have fun on your date."


    "Neh!?" Jeanne immediately squeaked. "I-it''s not¡ª!"


    Cute.


    And the Parchment had the coordinates for the Teleportation Circle to connect to, well, a Teleportation circle won''t work on me, so Magic it was.


    "Let''s go!" I grabbed Jeanne''s hand and opened a portal without a second thought.


    [***]


    Jeanne and I both took in the immediate sight. A round cathedral-like building if the walls were any indication. There were beautiful white pirs supporting the ceiling, and there were numerous painted ss murals. The Stained ss windows depicted scenes from the Bible as they progressed around the top of the rotunda.


    Interesting enough, this ce was also <em>heavily</em> fortified. I knew that the Church had their own means ofbating things like Magic and Teleportation, but I hadn''t much delved into them.


    It seems like the Stained ss Windows were acting in ordance with a Ritual that made use of the entire building to suppress this area.


    There were about a Dozen different Teleportation Circles around us and I assumed this was the Hub to teleport to and from the Vatican in a public capacity.


    "Ahem." Someone very clearly cleared their throat to grab out attention.


    Both Jeanne and I were acting very much like tourists, just standing there and admiring the view. Honestly, I think both of us werepletely oblivious to the stares of the few dozen people in this massive building.


    A man wearing a priest uniform, older in age, full white hair and slightly hunched over, walked towards us slowly with measured steps. Though I didn''t doubt for a moment that he would throw a fist if the situation called for it.


    Ever so slightly, I could see the muscles he was hiding under his sleeve, and the years of training that it must have taken a man his age to retain that kind of shape.


    "Am I supposed to show you this?" I held up the paper that Yasaka gave me, which was basically acting as our supernatural Passport.


    The man eyed me for a moment, before taking out a pair of sses and reading over it.


    He was sort of aggressive as he pushed it back into my hands, adjusting his sses to clean them off with a handkerchief. "Everything is in order. Wee to the Vatican." He sounded, <em>not to pleased</em> when addressing me, but he then turned to Jeanne. "Please enjoy your time, Saintess of Orleans, we wee you with open arms." He smiled grandfatherly towards her.


    "Thank you very much, I will!" Jeanne smiled happily.


    Right, I wanted to say something snarky, but I didn''t want to ruin Jeanne''s¡­.was this a vacation?


    Well, regardless, I would keep my mouth shut for Jeanne''s sake.


    However, at the mention of Jeanne''s identity, the building was flooded with whispers as everything very clearly knew who she was.


    I guess news travels fast, especially when they have a <em>living Saintess</em> appear on their doorstep.


    The priest didn''t make things hard for us, probably because of Jeanne''s presence. Hell, I knew for a fact I wouldn''t have been so weed if Jeanne wasn''t apanying me, or the other way around.


    It was Jeanne who basically grabbed my arm now, leading me through the building to where the signs pointed to the exit.


    "Where to first!?" Jeanne asked excitedly.


    "If I say the Sistine Chapel, would you believe me if it was for innocent admiration?"


    "No stealing the Sistine Chapel!" She puffed up.


    "I promised I wouldn''t! But seriously, I want to see it in person, you can''te to the Vatican and <em>not</em> see it at least once in your life." Sure, it wasn''t the most magnificent art ever painted, but it was done by Michngelo and was worth a visit at a minimum if we were here.


    And I was nothing if not appreciative of the arts and famous artists.


    I made a mental note of where this little ''hub'' was located based on the surroundings as Jeanne pulled me towards the crowds of people.


    "Look, look, it''s St. Peter''s Basilica!" Jeanne tugged on me, pointing at a building across the city that we could barely make out.


    She was so excited and it was fun to watch, enough that I almost didn''t notice that we were immediately being followed.


    I mean, it was obvious in hindsight, but I didn''t particrly <em>like it</em>.


    Oh well, we were guests here despite my dislike of the ''owners''.


    Honestly, I didn''t overly care, I was here to enjoy the history of this ce. Lots to see, plenty of historical sights and museums to peruse.


    Thankfully, we were only a few blocks away from our first stop.


    There was a bit of a crowd lined up and I may or may not have cheated slightly to get us through via some magical means.


    It''s not like I was unting it openly, a little sleight of hand, and they didn''t even notice us pass through the entrance!


    Was it a beautiful sight? Absolutely, I would acknowledge the artistic value despite my own status as a Half-Devil.


    But Jeanne, she was in <em>awe</em>.


    "Wilhelm look, it''s depicting God creating the world. And the Sun and the moon¡­" She trailed off, pointing at one in particr. "And it''s Noah over there. And, and that one''s showing him creating the beginning!" She was smiling so brightly that I was honestly taken back by how genuine her glee was.


    "It''s beautiful." Jeanne said softly. "Don''t you think so?"


    "They''re wonderful works of art." I agreed.


    "You don''t sound like you like them." She pouted. "You don''t have to like them just because I do."


    I took her hand. "I admire the artwork, I truly do. They are genuine masterpieces and I can honestly say I have no regrets about spending the time and effort toe here to see them in person. I''m just not going to be moved when I have a wonderful woman next to me who''s smile eclipses them every time it appears."


    "Ah?" She blinked, turning a shade of red. "Neh!? D-don''t say something like that so seriously!" She puffed up cutely. "Meanie¡­" She said quietly.


    "What makes this asion special is that I get to spend it with you." I smiled towards her.


    "Neh!? Eh¡­.." Her eyes darted around. "Look, it''s the picture of God creating Adam!" She quickly changed the subject despite her reddening face.


    "Do you think God is buff?"


    "Wah!?"


    "Like, ripped. Jacked. Lots of muscles, you know?"


    "I never thought about it?" Jeanne tilted her head.


    "Considering it''s said that Humans were created in his image, yeah? Wouldn''t that imply that Big G is the ''perfect'' representation of the ideal ''human'' or something along those lines. Thus, jacked Big G." The Church of Swole was real.


    Jeanne nked for a moment. "Stop teasing me!" She pouted.


    Thankfully, there weren''t very many people in our immediate vicinity, most were happy to just look and move one.


    While no one was looking, and especially Jeanne, I magically levitated a big fake mustache to the ceiling and attached it to the picture of Big G as he was reaching out towards Adams.


    Obviously, I did so without harming the painting in any way. But someone''s going to notice, and then they''re going to question <em>how</em> it happened.


    Or maybe they''ll take it as divine providence to grow their own mustaches?


    [Now draw a dick on it.] Ddraig ordered.


    {Do not ruin the centuries old artistic masterpiece for a childish prank.} My Zanpakut¨­ retorted.


    I''m not going to ruin it, Ddraig.


    [You''re no fun.] I <em>felt</em> Ddraig pout in the back of my mind.


    Yeah, he wasn''t really happy with anything Heaven rted still.


    "Want to look a bit longer or do you want to go to the next ce?" I asked.


    Jeanne just had a gentle look about her as she took everything in. "I¡­..wish I could just look at it forever, but I feel like it would ruin the impact of it. I''m d I saw everything and maybe I''lle back and see it again, but we should go to the next thing!" She paused. "Um¡­.where to next?"


    "We could always knock out the reason we''re here in the first ce?" Might have been wiser to do that first, but I also wanted to see the Sistine Chapel in person as well. "St. Peter''s Basilica is also a worthwhile tour."


    "That sounds great!" Jeanne smiled. "Let''s go!"


    She grabbed me, pulling me towards the exit.


    With how excited she was, I didn''t have the heart to ask her if she knew where she was going.


    [***]


    "You know, we could have asked for directions." I pointed out.


    "Ah¡­..I thought I could find it." She blushed slightly, after taking a very roundabout way around the city and going the wrong way a few times, we finally found the Cathedral. "But it''s okay, we''re here now!"


    "It''s closed, it seems." I hummed.


    Usually, there would be lines of people to tour the ce, but at this moment, the outside was sort of empty bar with a few people trying to go in only to be blocked by some Vatican people.


    Wait, were those exorcists? I think I saw the hilt of one of their fake lightsabers when he pointed off into the distance.


    Yasaka did mention that they''re holding a sermon inside today, maybe it''s specifically for people aware of the supernatural?


    As a few tourists were turned away we approached and I immediately held up the paper I was given to them.


    It only took a moment for one of the Exorcists to realize what he was looking at as he looked at me, then at Jeanne and his expression turned to one of reverence.


    "Please enjoy the sermon, Saintess." He bowed politely to her, moving to the side and gesturing for her to go.


    And I waspletely ignored¡­..again par for the course.


    Better than them trying to swing those knock off light sabers at me I supposed.


    The halls were <em>massive</em> and ornate and ostentatious. They were wonderfully artistic in nature and just seeing them in person made the trip worth it again.


    So much detail into simple wall decorations and engravings.


    "This is actually the new Basilica." I spoke up as Jeanne wondered at the sights. "The original was built in the early 300''s by Emperor Constantine and it waster destroyed. This one was built ontop of it and if I''m not mistaken, St. Peter''s tomb was below it originally?" My knowledge was vague at best.


    "It''s so¡­.stunning. I can''t believe this could be created by people. I know it''s not the biggest building in the world, but it''s just so...epassing. I could never imagine something like this back home. Even the rare times I visited the French Pce¡­..it doesn''t evenpare." She gently touched one of the stone pirs, covered in engravings and decorations.


    Very quickly we could hear the echos of preachinging from further down as the sounds bounced around this massive building.


    Jeanne and I both poked our heads around the corner to see dozens of pews lined up, mostly full of kids. Perhaps just over Kunou''s age from a nce? But all of them seemed to be wearing that same exorcist attire, slightly different, perhaps to indicate they''re still in training?


    There were a few figures at the front. Most notably was Father Swole himself to the left, an older Priest in the center at the podium speaking, and another Priest to his right.


    I would imagine that they were all involved for whatever it was they were doing.


    Father Swole, however, seemed to notice us. Even as I cast a small illusion to obscure us as to not interrupt the sermon. I didn''t think they''d mind all too much since it was to be polite.


    Jeanne noticed and didn''t say anything, so that was a good indication that I was in the clear. We silently moved to the back with some open seats and slid into the pew.


    However,ically, Vasco Strada, with his towering frame, leaned over and whispered something into the ear of the Priest standing in the podium.


    The Priest seemed to nod. "Let us end today''s sermon here. Let us spend our evening in prayer and contemtion. A rtionship with God is not created from whims and fanciful readings of his scripture. When you all leave, I want you all to think of questions for God and pray on them before bed. As for me, I am but a Mortal Man but I will answer any questions to the best of my ability as well." He smiled warmly to the group of Exorcists in training.


    You know, there was something I was genuinely curious about, and it was the perfect time to ask.


    I raised my hand almost immediately.


    "Yes, you in the back." The Priest was¡­.well, he looked mostly normal, and it seemed like he didn''t see through the illusion like Father Swole did.


    "Can Angels have children?" I asked.


    The Priest seemed taken back by my sudden question but he recovered quickly. "Through the Lord''s blessings, even Angels may bring life into the world." He answered smoothly despite the perhaps awkward nature of the question.


    I raised my hand again. "I have a follow up question." I said, with most of the eyes turned on me at this point.


    "Yes, My child?"


    "Do Angelsy eggs?"


    The Priest opened his mouth, as if to respond then abruptly stopped as if unsure of how to respond.


    "They have wings like birds, right? Are they Mammals? Or are they Avian? Do theyy eggs?" I rified my question, perhaps he was confused so I wanted to be more specific.


    "Father Gerardo, do Angelsy eggs!?" Another kid asked, seeminglytching onto it.


    "No way, Angelsy eggs?"


    "Does it hurt?"


    "Do Angels poop?"


    Well, it seemed I opened the flood gate.


    Jeanne looked at me, puffing up silently.


    But I was proud of myself.


    "Children." Vasco Strada took over for the poor priest. "Let us keep the questions focused on the sermon. If you have any additional questions, I will dly answer themter."


    "A." Seemed to be the collective response.


    "We have guests, let us show them our best behavior as befitting the Lord''s follows." Father Swole smiled, gesturing to us and my illusion broke.


    Both Jeanne and I became the center of attention rather quickly.


    I admit, I didn''t expect Father Swole to reveal us like this, I''d have thought he would want to keep it a bit under wraps.


    "We have a rare treat for you all. Two guests from outside our Hallowed walls, but not strangers to our teachings, with both having their own unique circumstances. "If you would be willing, could you say a few words? These children have not left the city before, they are still ignorant of the world."


    "Are¡­.you sure?" I could understand Jeanne, but <em>me</em>?


    Father Swole nodded with a warm smile. "I believe there are many things that we can learn by being able tomunicate with each other."


    The other Priests with him seemed¡­hesitant? They most likely recognized myself and Jeanne almost immediately.


    "If that''s what you want¡­." Well I suppose it couldn''t hurt. "Jeanne?"


    She was a little more¡­shy but she nodded as I offered my hand to her and helped her up. They all looked at us as we walked up to the front where Father Swole was.


    "I''m happy that you came. Have you enjoyed your visit?" He asked, particr to us both.


    "I did, it was wonderful so far! I can''t wait to see everything else in the city." Jeanne beamed.


    Vasco Strada chuckled. "Thank you for taking the time to visit. Would you like to introduce yourself?"


    "A-alright." Jeanne nodded, standing at the podium. "Um¡­.hello everyone." The kids just stared silently at her. "I''m Jeanne D''Arc."


    One kid raised his hand. "Like the Saintess of Orleans? Are you named after her?"


    "Actually¡­.that is me." She smiled a little shyly, it was cute.


    "Are you an angel?"


    "I-I''m not an Angel." Jeanneughed lightly.


    "Did youe back like Jesus?"


    "Um¡­no, my situation is different." Jeanne shook her head.


    "Did God send you back? What''s heaven like? Did you meet him!?"


    "Ah, well, I shouldn''t talk about things like that." Jeanne shook her head, avoiding that question considering she was a Heroic Spirit. "Some questions, you should answer on your own." She smiled.


    "That''sme."


    "Ah?"


    "Can you eat the clouds in Heaven?"


    "W-why would you want to eat clouds?"


    "Are they made of cotton candy?"


    "W-well, it''s¡­Heaven?" Jeanne seemed unsure of what to say.


    "Awesome, Heaven is made of Cotton Candy!"


    "Eh?"


    "W-Will." Jeanne looked at me, pleading.


    She can handlemanding troops, fighting in wars, leading armies, but a bunch of modern kids ran over her.


    I swapped with her after the look she gave me. I cleared my throat to get a bit of quiet.


    Unlike Jeanne, I knew how to handle kids like these.


    "Hello everyone, my name is Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. I''m a Half-Devil."


    A bullet made of Holy Power whizzed by my face as the vast majority of the kids in the pews were up on their feet, holding those Holy Sword Light sabers of theirs, along with their Holy Guns pointed at me.


    [You were saying?]


    @***@


    Non-Canon Omake: Secret weapon.


    The final battle was upon us.


    Soul Society versus Aizen and his Hollows.


    The air was thick with killing intent as all side stared each other down.


    I of course was standing at the center.


    "Your tricks won''t work this time." Aizen stated, seemingly still miffed about ourst encounter.


    "Are you still mad that I stole your marble?"


    "It''s called <em>the Hogyoku</em>!" He hissed, his Reiatsu spiking and his eyes turned a familiar shade of ck and yellow for an instant.


    "¡­.so is that a yes?"


    He twitched. "I will enjoy pulling it out of you."


    "Well, I''ll enjoy you pulling it out of me!" Hah, take that.


    "¡­.."


    "You had to make it weird, didn''t you?" Yoruichi hopped up onto my head.


    Aizen just seethed further. "It''s a simple matter of ripping your tongue out, then I won''t be forced to listen to your nonsensical drabble any longer."


    "It''s okay, I know signnguage."


    He twitched a little again.


    He seemed really pissed off for some reason.


    "Hey Strawberry, Aizen seems really pissed off for some reason. Did you do something?" I shouted.


    "Fuck off!" He shouted back.


    Right, it was probably Ichigo''s fault.


    "Enough of this nonsense! I''ll take back what belongs to me, then take my rightful throne after dealing with the soul King." Aizen swiped his hand through the air all but growling. "I have an army of Arrancar, Hollows that vastly outsripe even your Captains! What do you have!?"


    "I¡­.have a secret weapon." I smiled.


    Aizen paused and his eyes narrowed. "Hmph, it matters not. Infront of absolute strength, all tricks are meaningless."


    "Then behold!" I dered, ignoring him, pulling out my most powerful and secretive of weapons.


    "¡­..seriously?" Yoruichi asked.


    "What?" I looked at her.


    "Is this a joke to you!?" Aizen roared.


    "No, I''m taking this very seriously" I said as the massive purple dildo in my hands flopped back and forth. "I once destroyed an aircraft with this thing. But you''re right, this calls for extreme measures!" I admit, that was only my second most powerful and secretive weapon. "Behold, my true secret weapon!"


    "¡­.a stic gun?" Yoruichi deadpanned.


    "Actually, it''s a genderbender gun." I stated.


    Azazel''s Gender Bender Gun to be precise.


    "¡­.I don''t believe you."


    I shot it at Aizen, who presumably also didn''t believe me as he didn''t bother to dodge.


    It hits him and his glowed and changed before our eyes as a collective silence permeated both side of the battlefield. Aizen''s Hollows were stunned to silence as their battle lust all but faded. The Shinigami stared wide-eyed and utterly confused at what they were seeing.


    "What ¨C" Aizen was about to say something then stopped, looking at at¡­himself? "My voice my hands my...what are these protrusions on my chest."


    "¡­.."


    "Oh god, he''s hot!" Was that Shunsui?


    "How the hell was that supposed to be a secret weapon?" Ichigo shouted. "Nothing changed except he has boobs now!"


    "I see your point, and let me offer a rebuttal." I looked at him and without warning, shot him as well.


    "¡­.how exactly is this supposed to defeat Aizen and his army of hollows?" Yoruichi asked/hissed.


    "Defeat who and what now?"


    "¡­..Shoot Mayuri next."


    I knew there was a reason we were friends.


    [***]


    A/N If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 523:

    Chapter 523:


    You know, I was honestly impressed.


    There was absolutely no hesitation on their part. Weapons drawn, and they were literally about to jump at me as soon as they knew I was a Half-Devil.


    Respect where it''s due, it''s hard to train that sort ofbat awareness and intuitiveness even if it was weird seeing it in Children.


    And I could better understand why Father Swole wanted me to talk to them. Because the world was changing rather quickly and this kind of behavior wouldn''t help them once they started working properly as Exorcists.


    What happened if theye across a Devil on vacation or something in more neutral territory?


    "Be seated!" A voice boomed over the crowd of murderous munchkins. Vasco Strada red at the group of kids. I hadn''t ever seen him visibly upset before. Sure, I could feel it back at the conference, but he was apparently keeping it in check due to the situation. But here, well, he let his anger show.


    Shit, I almost sat down.


    Well once more, when Father Swole spoke, people listened.


    "But Father Strada, he''s a Devil!" One of the braver kids tried to argue, literally with his Holy Gun waving in the air, mostly pointed at me."John 8:7-11." He cleared his throat. "So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." His gaze swept the room, quieting them down. "Which among us is without sin and would like to go first? I know for certain that it will not be me."


    I didn''t speak, letting Father Swole do his thing, I would have a chance to say things in a second.


    "Eliano?" His gaze fell on a younger kid who was sending out far more blood lust than a kid his age should. "Do you think I didn''t notice you being heavy handed in the spars this week because your pride was hurt after being rejected by a girl you liked?"


    He didn''t give him a chance to answer. "Marco? Perhaps between thefts of food from the kitchens you would like to go first?" A slightly rounder kid winced and lowered his head. "Savino and Fiore, would you like to give the first stone throw after youe back from sneaking away for some alone time." He raised an eyebrow at a boy and girl who blushed in embarrassment together and sunk down in their seats.


    Well, the actual desire to fight died down rather quickly, even if the kids didn''t speak in response. I don''t think any of them wanted Father Swole to single them out because clearly he knew what they were getting up to in secret.


    "I asked him to speak because this behavior is precisely what is uneptable. I have two jobs, children. One of them is to train you into the best Exorcists that I can and you have been doing wonderfully." He smiled warmly. "The second is to guide you to be the best people you can be, and I feel as though I have failed in that regard. I asked him to speak because I felt it would be beneficial to you all, to meet one of the supposed ''Devil Spawn'' that is toted around. To see for yourselves, for you to question for yourselves and to God what you should be fighting for and where your idealsy. Now, you will behave appropriately, and if one of you attacks our guests, you will all receive a very harsh punishment. Do I make myself clear?"


    "Yes, Father Strada!" They all chorused together,cking any bit of enthusiasm.


    He really was a nice guy.


    Yeah, his intentions are pure, and obvious. I didn''t mind lending a hand to his attempts since they were nice enough to let me bring Jeanne to tour the Vatican.


    The look from Father Swole basically told me that it was my turn.


    I leaned on the podium, taking out an apple and loudly biting into it. "What he left unsaid was that you all are a bunch of idiots." I would do what I did best, make them angry enough to stop being idiots. "You, the kid ring at me." I pointed at one in particr who had a finger on the trigger of his gun. "Where''d your gun go?"


    "What ¨C" He looked down and it was missing.


    Rather, I was spinning it on my finger. "Nice toy. Here''s a question for anyone who thinks they can answer. Why did you all think raising weapons at me was a good idea?"


    "You''re a Devil!" One of them shouted.


    "Half-Devil, but yes. And your point?" I bit into my apple again.


    "You¡­.you''re evil!"


    "Says who?"


    "T-the Bible, God!"


    "Really? Then why hasn''t the towering muscle mass that is Father Strada over there not smite me down in the name of God? Am I stronger than him?" I asked.


    It was about the age where they start developing critical thinking skills and think for themselves outside of simply being told what to do.


    "No way, Father Strada is the strongest!"


    "He could pop your head like a grape!"


    "Beat him up, Father Strada!"


    Well, to his benefit, Father Swole did look exasperated. It''s funny how such powerful people are so helpless in front of a bunch of clueless kids.


    "Then why didn''t he smite me, hmm?" I proposed the question. "I''ll give you your gun back if you answer." I looked at the kid who was visibly upset because I took his gun away.


    "Because¡­..he asked you to be here?"


    "Half credit." I tossed it back to him. "Yes, first off, right in front of you all, he very clearly asked me toe talk to you. Secondly ¨C " I looked at Jeanne. "I came here with a literal Saintess. Thirdly, I announced I was a Half-Devil, while standing in the middle of the Vatican. Fourthly, you can ignore all of that and consider how strong Father Strada over here is and the fact that he hasn''t made a single move to either smite me or protect you all."


    I gave them a moment to ponder these.


    Kids are fucking stupid, it takes effort to make them not fucking stupid. Something true for all kids, I was just as stupid as they were when I was their age. The difference was that I wouldn''t be going intobat with my life on the line and potentially lose it due to that stupidity, well at least I didn''t think I would when I was their age.


    "Consider all of those, and perhaps there is a reason I was standing here at this moment, hmm?" I looked around. "I''ve met the Archangel Michael before, and he offered to let me be an Angel."


    "Liar!" One girl was quick to threw her hand up, pointing at me in usation. "There''s no way a filthy Devil could be an Angel!"


    "Erica, he speaks the truth." Father Strada said softly. "Lord Michael offered the opportunity during the peace conference for various reasons. It could be said that Mr. Schweinorg here has the favor of God."


    [He''s technically right.] Ddraig agreed. [Hey, try shooting one of the priests with that Light Gun, I wanna see what it does.]


    {Ignore him, please. You are doing a good deed by speaking to these children that have had their world views skewed, don''t let Ddraig ruin it.} My Zanpakut¨­ interjected.


    Well, that certainly made them go quiet at the confirmation from Father Swole. Really went to show how much trust they have in the massive Priest.


    "I suppose it''s rare that you lot have a chance to just talk openly with one of my kind, so have at it. I''m a Half-Devil. I''m a Magic-user, I am a ''pagan'' that has rtions with ''pagan'' Gods. I''ve probably broken every rule of the Bible. So feel free to ask." I offered.


    This is what Father Swole wanted, so lets have at it.


    "You''re a witch!?"


    "He''s a guy, you idiot!"


    "Why can''t a guy be a witch? That''s sexist."


    I found myself smiling. Kids were kids despite everything. "A witch is something specific. Witchcraft is its own branch of ''Magic''. Like how you would consider Martial Arts to cover both Spears and Swords, yet Swords and Spears are different." I exined it well enough for them to understand.


    "Then why does the Bible say that Witches are bad and not everything else?"


    "Well, if I had to guess, it''s possible that the ones who wrote it only knew about Witches in particr. And to be frank Witchcraft usually deals with the nastier side of things. Curses, pain, blood rituals, those aremon in Witchcraft." I honestly exined.


    "¡­.can you show us some magic?" One kid shyly raised his hand.


    Others looked at him, but I think there was a hint of¡­agreement, even if they weren''t so bold to ask.


    I nced at Father Swole, and he gave me a small nod.


    I held my hand up to produce a Fireball. I clutched it, snuffing it out, and let my spell change into a ball of ice and floated it into the middle of the group for them to feel the cold of it themselves and let them touch it.


    They hid back their interest well enough as they gradually poked at it and tried to break it as they grew more confident.


    One kid swung his light sword, cutting it in half. "Hah, it''s no match for me!" He said proudly.


    "What''s it like being a Devil!?" Another kid blurted out after the tension disappeared. "Do you read the Bible backwards, do you go to Devil Church? Is hell filled with fire and screams?"


    I smiled at his enthusiasm. "Truth be told, I only found out that I was a Half-Devil recently. For the first 18 years of my life, I thought I was a normal human. I went to school normally, and my biggest concerns at the time were getting good grades. I''ve only been to Hell a couple of times and I''m not associated with them outside of one or two people."


    "How did you not know you were a devil?" One asked, raising their hand.


    "Well,pared to normal Devils, I was¡­untalented. Do you know what power that Devils hold?"


    "Don''t devils use Demonic power?"


    "That''s right." I nodded. "Mine was so small that you couldn''t tell me from a normal human."


    "¡­.that''s sad."


    "It wasn''t all bad, it led to me being where I am now. I have a family, I have a daughter, I have friends and people I love."


    "Devils can love people?"


    "Of course." I answered and I nearly made a noise because there was a woosh in the air and someone touched down on the tiled ground.


    Unbent to most of the people here, a woman draped in a cloak with blond bangs poking through appeared behind the pews.


    And if it wasn''t obvious based on the Holy Power I could feel, well¡­.. the size of her bosom led some credence to a few guesses.


    "Does that mean her too!?" The Not-Gabriel pointed at Jeanne.


    "Ah!?" Jeanne''s eyes widened as she too noticed Not-Gabriel hiding back there. "W-we''re not!!?"


    "Sorry, what''s your name?" I decided to y along.


    "Gab¡ª" The Not-Archangel went stiff. "¡­.Gabby."


    Even Father Swole twitched slightly.


    I chuckled. "To answer your question, her happiness is something I take very seriously."


    It was always fun to see Jeanne flush at being teased.


    The kids looked at the Not-Gabriel now identified as ''Gabby''. "Father Strada, is she an Angel?"


    ''Gabby'' nearly fell over. "I''m just a random person that came to visit!" She squeaked. "D-don''t mind me!"


    Father Swole coughed into his fist and I had a feeling that ''Gabby'' wasn''t ''supposed'' to be here at the moment. "Continue with your questions, children."


    The whole reason we came here in person was to observe themon courtesies between factions to deliver a ''response'' without causing any problems, and here she wss in person.


    "Do you have horns?" One person asked.


    "I do infact have horns, but most Devils don''t."


    "And a Tail?"


    "And a Tail." I nodded.


    "Can we see them?"


    Once more, I looked at Father Swole and he gave me an affirmative nod. I considered him the highest authority and obliged even though the ''rules'' we got stated otherwise.


    I touched on the Hogyoku and let my Devil Featurese out to y.


    "But if you didn''t know you were a Devil, then why do you have those?" One kid pointed out.


    "They''re a recent addition." I responded.


    "How''d you find out you were a Devil then?"


    "A wandering Exorcist stabbed me one night when I was out and about." Oddly, the memory wasn''t very traumatizing to me. I felt like¡­..I had outgrown it?


    Huh.


    "Ah!?" ''Gabby'' let out a squeaked of surprise. "Are you okay, do you need healing? I can look at the wound for you!"


    "It was a long time ago." I awkwardly answered, surprised at her sudden concern.


    "Did he kill you?"


    "He''s alive right now, you idiot!"


    "But Devils can bring people back with their things, right?"


    "I didn''t die, but it was a close thing."


    "Did you summon your pet monster to defend you? I heard that all devils get a pet monster when they turn 10!"


    "Do you mean a familiar?" I questioned. "In which, I do have a Familiar, but I didn''t get him until muchter."


    "Does it have 10 arms, lots of teeth and eyes?" One of them looked enthused as he rattled off. "Can we see it?"


    Well, I didn''t even ask permission for this one.


    I summoned Sir Wiggles to the podium "This is my familiar."


    "It''s a rabbit!"


    "It''s so cute!"


    "Can we pet him?"


    "His name is Sir Wiggles." I smiled. "He likes to be rubbed on the head." Sir Wiggles didn''t waste time hopping into the crowd of children, well to the ones who seemed intent on giving him some rubs.


    Sir Wiggles hopped around and oddly enough he seemed intent tond into ''not-gabriel''s'' arms much to the not-angel''s surprise.


    Though, she quickly became ecstatic and cooed happily.


    No one can resist the Wiggles.


    And it seems like their opinions flopped rather quickly and they no longer wanted to stab and shoot me anymore. I wasn''t going to get upset because of our first ''introduction'', they were just kids.


    Well, this turned out pretty well, all things considered.


    "Any more questions? Feel free to ask me anything." I looked around.


    "Who would win in a fight, a hamster the size of an elephant, or a thousand elephants the size of a hamster?"


    "¡­.."


    "What, he said anything."


    I used my tail to reach out and snag Jeane, forcing her to get closer. She let out a cute little yelp as she tumbled into me and I caught her. "Also any questions for Jeanne here."


    "Are you two dating?"


    "N-no." Jeanne awkwardly shook her head.


    "Is it because he''s a Devil?"


    "That''s not ¨C"


    "Is it because he''s a witch?"


    "I''m not a witch." I said dryly.


    "That''s what a witch would say!"


    Well shit, he''s not wrong.


    "It-it shouldn''t be bad even if he''s a Devil, if you wanted¡­" Not-Gabriel held up Sir Wiggles infront of her face as she spoke. "There are a lot of books and ¨C " You could see Gabriel flush behind Sir Wiggles.


    ¡­.what kinds of books did she read?


    "He''s tempting her to sell her soul!" One kid pointed out though it felt less¡­.malicious in tone?


    "He''s not!" Jeanne quickly denied.


    "Actually, she''s the one who tempts me." I pointed out.


    "Neh!?" Jeanne''s eyes widened. "Don''t say something like that, they''re going to believe you!" She started hitting my shoulder until she reached up and grabbed my horn, puffing up cutely as she did.


    "Gentle with my horn, woman." I felt a strange shiver down my spine. My horns were oddly very sensitive. "Look upon your Saintess as she bullies an innocent Devil."


    "Neh!" She grabbed both my horns and pulled on them. "Don''t mislead the children!"


    "If I''m lying, may God strike me ¨C"


    She pulled harder and I think she was getting a certain satisfaction out of discovering a ''weak spot'' of mine because I was quickly losing my strength while she grabbed my horns.


    "Hey, what''s that Box floating next to you?" One kid asked.


    "What Box ¨C?" I was about to answer when I nced to the side to see what he was talking about.


    Very quickly, Jeanne let go and I turned very serious. Not only myself, I could feel Vasco Strada''s gaze harden and even the Archangel Gabriel focus intently on it.


    Why was Pandora''s Box floating right next to me?


    Why did I not notice it leave my ring until now?


    And why was it emitting a malevolent aura like it was?


    It had taken mepletely off guard and I felt a strange sensation in my chest. A certain trepidation because it was pulsing with that same ''feeling'' and ''energy'' as it did back down in the Roots of the World Tree.


    I reached out to grab it and it was as if it fell through my fingers andnded on the ground between the kids in the pews and us up on the podium.


    I felt the silence that permeated the room as everyone stared at it for a brief moment. It was only until the tile cracked that I felt my instincts re up and we all seemed to move simultaneously.


    Before I could even register what happened, I had several kids between my arms as I moved far out of the way. Jeanne did so as well, as did Vasco Strada and Gabriel who had fully revealed herself, wings and all.


    I could feel something bubbling below before I saw it. But before this moment, I couldn''t notice anything at all. It was like the remnants of whatever was inside the Box reached out to something and resonated with it.


    But we were in the middle of the fucking Vatican, what could it possible be resonating with!?


    It came out all of the sudden, no warning other than just a moment ago as the cracks filled the ground and a malevolent and horrendous energy burst out of the ground shooting upwards and devouring everything in its path.


    My Aura burst out as I propped it up in front of me to ward off this disgusting energy. It was vile, repulsive and utterly destructive in nature.


    The Energy shot up to the sky and swirled around, turning day into night time.


    Vaguely, I could see the silhouette of eyes as it solidified slightly more into the ghostly outline of something.


    Seven Heads of differing shapes and sizes whipped around, and then they turned to look at me.


    It sent a shiver down my spine and I didn''t have time to contemte it before the swirling malevolent energies burst outwards, destroying the building all around us. Several Holy energies shined through, forcing it back and I recognized them even if vision was obscured.


    The ''outlines'' of the something I saw changed direction, pulling away from me and seemed to focus on something else.


    They moved and crashed down on a single location with a strange roar, followed by a distinct scream that pierced over all themotion around us.


    From one side Vasco Strada''s Holy Power erupted, blowing away the umted vile energies around us, letting us see what was going on.


    Gabriel was on her knees, hunched over, screaming in pain as the Malevolent power enveloped her.


    And ever so slightly, her wings began to flicker ck.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 524:

    Chapter 524:


    It all happened so suddenly, and to the point where I didn''t even notice. I felt many different ways about this, my pride being hurt was the least of my concerns right now however.


    I needed to consider carefully how this escaped my notice when I had time.


    At the moment, my focus was almost entirely on the Archangel that looked to be on the precipice of <em>falling</em>.


    I quickly moved next to Father Strada and dropped the kids off, Jeanne was nearly just as fast as we made sure they were immediately safe.


    "Will, what''s going on!?" Jeanne asked in panic.


    "I have no idea¡­." I looked around, truly confused about how this all happened. It was rare, and annoying where I waspletely and utterly in the dark about how a situation went so pear shaped. "Pandora''s Box just left my storage by itself!"


    Through Father Strada''s efforts, a <em>very</em> powerful barrier of Holy Power formed around the children with him at the center.


    At a nce, I could tell it wasn''t¡­detailed, <em>intricate</em>? It was someone brute forcing the method with just an obscene amount of strength.


    "Can you help her?" Father Strada asked. "We do not have much time. I have only ever seen an Angel fall in person once, and this is much different than that time. Whatever is happening, it appears that she is fighting against it.""I''ll help her!" Jeanne dered, standing up and shooting towards her.


    The malevolent energy around Gabriel swirled outward as she approached, like a barrier almost, perhaps not in function, but it wrapped around the area Gabriel was hunched over and swept Jeanne back, pushing her away.


    Her light protected her, but that seemed to only intensify the malevolent energies that were focused nearly entirely on the Archangel.


    They whipped around like a hurricane, Father Strada''s Holy Shield seemed to be slightly eaten away as the energies collided with it.


    The powerful Priest had to exert more Holy Power to keep the barrier from fading. At the same time, it was as if the Malevolence treated the Holy Power as its arch enemy, fighting with it in an almost¡­..intentional way.


    Jeanne''s banner entered her hand and her own Holy Light burst out, pushing back the waves of Malevolence and hateful energies, only for the source of it to burst out of Gabriel at the core.


    Her Wings grew darker by the moment, and the energies conglomerated again, hovering above her and once more, those Seven Heads reappeared, a bit more <em>solid</em> than before, each with its own horns and glowing eyes.


    It was by no means<em> weak</em>.


    It felt like a remnant, a wisp of <em>something</em>, and just that was enough that an Archangel was nearly <em>falling</em> as it was trying¡­. to possess her?


    That''s what was happening, that''s why it wasn''t like a normal falling. It was trying to override her, to bring her down to the point where it could take over.


    I reached out and touched the Malevolent energies that were crashing against us like a tidal wave.


    My Demonic Energy seemed to¡­.stir, oddly enough. It by no means <em>parted</em> for me, but it didn''t seem <em>as hostile</em> as when it collided with the Holy Power. The difference between a seemingly directed <em>hatred</em> and an unconscious desire to devour was how I felt whenparing them in that brief moment.


    {She will notst much longer. You need to act quickly.} My Zanpakut¨­ spirit spoke. {We can ponder the peculiarities of this situation <em>after</em>. The immediate concern is saving the Archangel.}


    As soon as he said that, I felt something else shift. It was something I hadn''t felt in a very long time, since I fought those disgusting creatures in the Soul Cairn and truly used the spear for the first time.


    It was faint, like a whisper in the back of my mind.


    The Spear, that was <em>barely</em> healed back to full after suffering so much damage, but an insignificant and dying will remaining within the powerful weapon, <em>it reached out to me</em>.


    <em>"Please¡­.save my daughter."</em>


    The voice sounded so utterly weak and decrepit, pained and broken.


    ¡­.how much effort did it take for what was left of the Biblical God within the spear to actually speak to me like that?


    My Demonic Energy erupted out of me, and I left the safety of the barrier.


    "Will!" Jeanne shouted in concern as I pressed against the wave of Malevolence.


    My own Demonic power fed into my bloodline, and my Power of Destruction began to rend apart the Malevolent energies that mmed against me.


    Oh it nearly swept me off my feet at first. Whatever the source of this was, <em>it was not something to be taken lightly</em> and that <em>scared me</em>.


    Like a literal wave, it crashed down and I had to push through. The few dozen steps to reach her were <em>slow</em>, and I couldn''t even think about using Shunpo as my entire body was impeded by this disgusting power.


    The Seven heads seemed to stare unblinkingly at me as if¡­.measuring me? Like I was some interesting toy it had just found.


    And the implications that there was an <em>intelligence</em> in there didn''t do anything to assuage my worries.


    I pushed through it, ignoring the feeling of many more powerful presences descending upon the area. I could feel many more Angelsing down <em>quickly</em>, but I focused on the priority at the moment.


    My Demonic Power was quick to clear away the immediate concerns around me as I closed in on the Archangel.


    She was crying in pain, clutching her own arms as her veins filled with an inky ckness that crept up her limbs. Her eyes were bloodshot themselves, and wisps of Malevolent energy spilled from the orifices on her face.


    If I wasn''t concerned about the side effects, my first instinct was to summon my Authority and disperse this malevolence. But right now, I had a feeling that Gabriel would be affected and <em>harmed</em>.


    I had no immediate thoughts, no clever ideas as this happened so suddenly. I liked to think I was quick on my feet when situations popped up, but I was caughtpletely off guard and I was turninga nk.


    The only option I had was the stupid one.


    Demonic Power and Holy Power <em>do not mix</em>.


    It took barely a nudge and the Holy Spear shot out of my ring between me and Gabriel.


    A burst of Holy Power pulsed out, faintly touching the Archangel and amidst the screams of pain one word stood out.


    <em>"Daddy?"</em>


    The Malevolence seemed to react in turn. The Malevolent energy collided against the Holy Spear''s own, causing a rippling effect to pulse through the entire area.


    It <em>really</em> did not like Holy Power for some reason.


    I could <em>taste</em> the hatred behind its instinctual response.


    The only thing keeping me from getting swept away amidst the torrent of energy was the fact that my Demonic Power and subsequent Power of Destruction were warding away the worst of it.


    "Grab it!" I shouted, not sure if she could hear me amidst the whipping winds underneath these two colliding forces.


    The Archangel Gabriel grabbed hold of the spear, but it didn''t do much other than seemingly push away the energy within that singr hand.


    I mentally sighed.


    Demonic Power and Holy Power <em>do not mix</em>.


    I reached out and grabbed the spear too.


    My Body began to fill with Holy Power as it normally did when wielding the Spear. Normally I would have the protection of the Spear itself to stop my Demonic Nature from causing problems.


    My Demonic Nature was running rampant due to utilizing the Hogyoku.


    I could feel my skin peeling away where I was grabbing the Spear. Burning it, <em>cleansing</em> it as the two opposing forces unintentionally waged war within my body. My Aura was doing what it could, but both these aspects were essentially a part of me right now.


    I ignored it and pushed on. The Holy Power I had ess to, I directed it towards Gabriel.


    Without action on my part, Wings sprouted from behind me, and a Halo appeared above my head.


    Even with injecting Holy Power into her, it wasn''t enough. This¡­.thing, this energy was violent and fought tooth and nail against any semnce of Holy Power it had to be used more than just a hose to wash the other energies out of her.


    It hurt, everywhere hurt as I was wrapping my head around my options. The wings on my back felt like they were searing away my flesh, the Holy Power in my body felt like it was thorns pushing through my internals, yet I found myself smiling.


    Perhaps it was the ridiculousness of what I was about to do.


    I knew a lot about the Church, but I wasn''t entirely privy to their secret methods. What they teach to the Burial Agency, the things passed down only to the most devoted.


    But there was one <em>Magical Miracle</em> that was freely taught to anyone by the Church back home. And I had the back door to the entire foundation of their Cosmology in my hands.


    I felt the presence within the spear align with me. Its intent bubbling up tobine with my own.


    So¡­.<em>I''ll pray</em>.


    "I kill, I give life. I injure, I heal. There are none who escape from my hands. There are none who escape from my eyes."


    As soon as I spoke the initial words, the spell began.


    The Baptism Rite.


    I, a Half-Devil, was going to perform a Baptism Rite on an Archangel.


    The Symbol unique to this spell appeared below us, glowing brightly as the Spear fed into it.


    The Malevolent energy around us <em>hissed</em> in fury as the line began to shine through the clouds of corrosive energy.


    "May it be so that you are shattered."


    "I Wee the Defeated, the aged. Surrender to me, learn from me, obey me."


    A returned light shed in Gabriel''s eyes as the Malevolent power around her rampaged and began to recede, being pushed back. Wisps of it were escaping from her body, from the pores of her skin.


    "May you be at rest."


    Gabriel reached out her hand and I took it warmly.


    "Do not forget song, do not forget prayer, do not forget me. I relieve you of all your burdens."


    "I am the light and relieve you of all your burdens."


    The Malevolent power was <em>furious</em> as it rampaged, but the light shining from the spear was¡­focused now. <em>Directed</em>, purely tobat this source of¡­.evil in the purest form I''ve ever felt.


    The Symbol of the Baptism Rite below us intensified, the brightest light filling the room even among the Angel inhabitants.


    The Evil power began to dissipate and was forced to retreat at a touch.


    It was like two sides of the same coin. They were both each other''s enemies and the Evil portion was slowly being pushed back.


    "Retaliation unto forgiveness, betrayal unto belief, despair unto hope, darkness unto light, death unto life.


    "May you rest in my hands. Let there be a mark of your sins. Eternal life is found only in death!"


    Gabriel stood up together with me, her hand gripping the spear tightly while I held her other as the Malevolent aura around her was visibly leaving her body at astonishing speeds. Like smoke drifting up to the sky, and dispersing once it drift too far away as the Cleansing light was making short work of it.


    The <em>Heads</em> of whatever wisp of ''will'' within it were roaring furious, each one of them making a distinct sound as it became thest hold out, clinging to Gabriel with everything it had.


    "Forgiveness is before you, and so my incarnation vows."


    Gabriel smiled warmly as her former radiance returned in full. Her wings the purest of white, and the Halo above her head shined golden.


    Thest vestiges of the malevolence were above her struggling as the light from the Baptism Rite surrounded it and pressed down.


    "Kyrie Eleison."


    "Amen." She finished and like a thousand des, the Light pressed down severing thest bits of the Malevolent powerpletely as it dispersed into nothingness.


    Comically, <em>I</em> was the one who nearly fell over once it was finished.


    I let go of the Spear and I couldn''t feel my hand. The Archangel caught me, not letting me fall overpletely.


    "You''re hurt!?" She eximed as a Fiery Sword entered my vision. "Uriel." Her head snapped towards the source with a re I never thought I''d see on a woman with such an innocent demeanor.


    "Gabriel, he ¨C"


    "Sword away." She intoned.


    Before he could utter another word, the ground below us began to crumble and break apart. Gabriel grabbed me and guided me off the point of copse over towards Jeanne who was quick to wrap me up in a big hug.


    "Will, you''re hurt! Are you okay? What happened? Let me help you." She panicked seeing the various burns on my body.


    "It''s alright, I can''t even feel it anymore." I gave her a smile.


    "That''s not a good thing!" She let out a squawk.


    "Wah, it''s my fault!" Gabriel also seemed to mimic her, and they both started panicking.


    I¡­.didn''t know how to react.


    Especially with dozens of Angels all standing around us, most of which were ring dangerously in my direction.


    Thankfully, the Holy Power finally receded, the Wings and Halo disappearing so they were no longer fighting against my Demonic Power. I also relieved my Demonic nature back to its original state to start healing properly.


    My Aura was working overtime, and I would need to visit Artoria to get a Sheath healing when this was over¡­


    The Kids were being taken care of by Father Swole, so that was one less thing to worry about.


    But my eyes narrowed in on the leader of the Heaven Faction as he walked over. My second time meeting him, the Archangel Michael.


    "Gabriel, are you okay?"


    "I''m fine, brother." Gabriel forced a smile. "I''m a bit weak right now, but I''ll recover, thanks to him."


    "And he is at fault in the first ce!" Uriel raised his de up, pointing at me.


    I guess Father Swole filled them in on what happened.


    "Gabriel, Saintess, remove yourselves from his person and I will smite this defiler while he is weakened."


    "You''re still far from my match." I let my Spiritual Pressure seep out to add to my words.


    It was one thing to take responsibility for what happened, but I would be damned if I let him actually move to kill me. It''s not like the kids where it was an instinctual response to their training and they didn''t really know much better.


    "Uriel, please." Michael raised his hand, pushing down Uriel''s sword. "Let''s figure out what happened first before we start finding me."


    "She nearly fell, Michael!" Uriel roared in response. "What more do you need to act? Does it require her wings to turn ckpletely before you realize the danger these things propose?"


    Gabriel''s aura¡­changed, and she was¡­ring, that''s not something I think I''ll ever get used to.


    "Hmph." The Archangel twitched slightly, and after a moment of Gabriel''s intense stare, he lowered his weapon with a scowl and took a step back.


    The other Angels, they seemed to start the beginnings of shielding the area most metaphorically and very literally.


    Michael put a hand on Gabriel and he frowned. "Gabriel, you''re much more than <em>weakened</em>." He said with a noticeable amount of concern.


    "Ah?" Jeanne voiced her concern much less pointedly.


    "I''ll be fine." She reassured him. "I just need to stay in Heaven for a few weeks and I should be back to full health soon enough."


    "That''s good." Jeanne let out a sigh of relief.


    Michael seemingly was about to argue with her but also wisely closed his mouth after noticing his own re from Gabriel.


    Right, I was the one who helped her, there was no way in hell ¨C Heaven, that she was going to recover so quickly. Whatever that was, it wrecked her insides pretty badly.


    ¡­.she didn''t want to worry Jeanne, did she?


    Michael seemed to reluctantly ept that and turned to me. "I need to know what happened. I don''t believe you intentionally did anything but¡­." He paused and nced at the surroundings then at me. "You''re hurt as well. This is a mess."


    "I''ll be fine." Oh it hurt like a bitch, Holy Power still fucking hurt like some people couldn''t understand, but I wasn''t in danger of dying.


    I''m fairly sure the Spear helped somehow, staving off the worse of it.


    Note for the future, <em>don''t use my Demonic Side and the Spear at the same time</em>.


    "The Box." I looked around, remembering the initial cause of everything.


    Michael held his hand up and it appeared in a burst of Holy Light. "Father Strada told me that this was the¡­.cause? I did not know what to do at first, so I sealed it immediately." There were Golden Chains wrapped tightly around it, allposed of Holy Power. "I admit, it gives off a very bad feeling, but I don''t know what it is."


    "It''s¡­.Pandora''s Box." I didn''t want to go into detail, but I was stuck between a rock and a hard ce here. This was a fucked up situation and I was pretty much forced to be truthful. "Loki used it and tried to corrupt the World Tree some time ago. There was something <em>inside</em> that he wanted to insert into the Tree, but I thought it was¡­.empty at this point."


    I was negligent.


    Michael frowned, floating the box back over to me. "That doesn''t exin what happened. From what Father Strada spoke, this was merely a catalyst for the events¡­."


    As if to answer his question, several more stone tiles broke off falling down the pit that appeared.


    We shared a look and I slowly pulled myself out of Jeanne''s arms as she was being very protective.


    "Will, you''re still hurt." She said softly.


    "It''s alright, trust me." I found myself kissing her forehead like I did with my girls and already finished before I caught myself.


    She made an awfully cute noise that seemed to heal my soul more than my body.


    "Uriel, you probably wish to join us?" Michael stated, rhetorically of course.


    The other Archangel had been ring at me without hiding his intent to lop my head off.


    "You are far too trusting of the Devil Spawn." He snorted, moving by himself and jumping into the pit that had formed.


    God, it fucking hurt still, but I pushed past the pain.


    I wanted, no I <em>needed</em> to know what happened. This was a fuck up that seemingly originated from me, and I would find out what happened to rectify it for the future.


    Seeing the state of St. Peter''s Basilica I sighed in my heart.


    I absolutely despised destroying historically significant things.


    I followed Michael and jumped down into the pit.


    Gabriel and Jeanne would be fine together. And I doubt Father Strada would be gone for long. Making sure the kids were fine, thening back was my guess.


    The pit was¡­. surprisingly deep.


    It took several moments for my feet to hit the ground.


    The light of the two Archangels illuminated the enclosed space.


    An old stone room, half caved in except¡­this looked much older than the original building, like it had been sitting here for a very long time.


    Centuries, thousands of years?


    However, the remnants of the Malevolent energy were¡­.obvious.


    At the center was a sarcophagus and I immediately guessed who''s.


    "This is Saint Peter''s tomb." I voiced aloud.


    Michael''s expression meant I hit the nail on the head. "Father oversaw his burial himself. The original Basilica was built on top of it, and when it was destroyed, it was rebuilt again into what it was¡­.earlier today."


    "Have¡­neither of you actually seen this before?" I looked at them in surprise because they seemed confused as I was currently.


    Actually, it made sense, why would they care about the burial of a Saint when he''s up in heaven manning the front doors?


    The only thing noticeable¡­.the Sarcophagus was slightly ajar as if something was pushed out.


    I took another moment to inspect things and there were carvings on the walls, words from anguage I didn''t recognize. They filled the room in minute proportions and even the Sarcophagus was iid with them.


    "It''s Enochian." Michael seemed to notice my gaze. "Much of it is destroyed, but it roughly trantes to suppressing Evil."


    "It''s a seal." I stated. "Whatever¡­.that was, it was sealed down here. The Biblical God used Saint Peter''s Tomb to act as a seal."


    "¡­.I didn''t know." Michael said softly. "Father merely said that this was an important location and I did not think to ask for details."


    I held my hand up, testing a few things on my end. "Space is sealed down here as well. Time isn''t moving properly. If I had to guess, our location would be obscured by Divination as well."


    {It was the Seal.} My Zanpakut¨­ stated. {An unintentional side effect. It was seemingly created intentionally to suppress this¡­.evil entity or this wisp of its power. The Box contained another fraction of it from somewhere else if I were to guess. The Seal itself was hiding its own existence as well through various measures. All in all, it did what it was supposed to, but there was no expectation that someone would bring this¡­.fragment from somewhere else.}


    And If we''re still going on that train of thought, the one I had resonated with this one and probably attacked from the top while the other attacked from inside. It wasn''t built to defend against the evil thinging from the opposite direction and basically poked a hole through it.


    I raised a hand up, covering my face in exhaustion.


    What a fucking mess.


    I retrieved a Healing Potion from my ring, drizzling it on my hand where probably the worse of my pain wasing from.


    "You''re hurt." Uriel stated, staring at me.


    "No, It''s normal for me to y my own flesh to pray away Evil." I snorted.


    On that note, whatever this entity was, it was enough that it could ovee my Magic Resistance. I didn''t think about it at the time, but it was able to ''touch me'' so to speak.


    This did not bode well.


    The Archangel scowled. "¡­.you have my thanks for protecting our sister." He grunted.


    I let out a long sigh. "It''s technically my fault in the first ce."


    Well, he didn''t argue with that, nor did he demand my head or rub it in my face.


    So¡­..progress there.


    I should have sealed the box.


    I should have immediately taken it to Pandora.


    I should ¨C


    {It was not a misguided assumption.} My Zanpakut¨­ interrupted my pity party. {You can im that you were negligent, but no one else around you showed further concern either.}


    ¡­.I just don''t like being taken off guard like this.


    "Do you have any idea what the source of this power was?" I finally asked.


    Uriel turned to Michael, and I was guessing that he didn''t know either and was wanting answers just as well.


    The Leader of the Heaven Faction shook his head. "I''m afraid that I am in the dark. We¡­.will need to investigate further. I waspletely unaware that this was down here other than the tomb itself¡­."


    He seemed lost.


    I pitied his position, leading a Faction and finding out that there was something like this under one of the major capitals of their faction?


    "I assume we''re being deported?" I said it humorously, but also with seriousness.


    Michaels smiled awkwardly. "I believe it would be for the best if you leave. It will be difficult to cate the masses after they learn what has urred and your presence here. However, your actions are undeniable, so I believe we will be able to salvage the situation."


    Right, sprouting Angel Wings and praying the Evil away would <em>probably</em> lend credence to my innocence here¡­


    "Many will demand answers." Uriel crossed his arm with a low growl. "Such as why a Devil was inside the Vatican in the first ce. The coincidences line up to make it appear as though it was a <em>timed</em> attacked." He turned to look at me.


    "¡­.if you don''t mind me asking, <em>why were you here</em>?" Michael also seemed to realize.


    "Did¡­.you not know I wasing? Yasaka sent requests through the proper channels and it was authorized."


    Michael''s lips twitched and his continuous smile seemed forced. "I did not receive any such missive. And while I do not police every action that urs within the Faith¡­such a <em>guest</em> should have reached my ears."


    "But it does not exin <em>why</em> you were here." Uriel reiterated.


    "Jeanne was responding to Gabriel''s letter, and we were being polite to observe the niceties that came with that. We can''t exactly send mail up to Heaven. And¡­.." I scratched my cheek awkwardly. "It was something like a date to see the sights."


    Uriel blinked in realization. Did he expect something much more nefarious? "¡­..why did you wait until this moment to respond? I recall Gabriel handing that parchment during the gathering."


    "Uh¡­it took Jeanne awhile¡­" Shit, I''m really going to have to tell them this, aren''t I? I groaned, relenting. "Jeanne doesn''t know how to read or write; I was helping her learn both and she wanted to do it by her own hand. Please don''t tell anyone, she doesn''t need to feel self-conscious about it."


    I teased her about it, but that was <em>mine</em>. I wouldn''t allow anyone else to make fun of her for something like that.


    Both of them seemingly had the same <em>look</em> about them after I exined that.


    Michael awkwardly coughed into his fist. "We will not speak a word. I believe we have enough information to sway public opinion away from immediate anger. However, the immediate concerns remain."


    "I''ll leave immediately." Even with the Holy Power searing my body hurt, telling Jeanne that we were kicked out, well, that was going to hurt much more.


    Can''t I just have a normal fucking day, is that really too much to ask for?


    One simple day where something doesn''t literally blow the fuck up in my face, that''s all I want!


    Maybe I should go back and visit Yoruichi, find some Hollows to beat up because I <em>really</em> needed to vent my frustration right now.


    God I''m tired.


    I was supposed to be rxing, but thest few days of mine had not been slowing down whatsoever.


    Well, better get this over with.


    I got what I needed below, I roughly know what happened even if the peculiarities of it are still unknown to me.


    Suffice to say, we''ve encountered <em>two</em> different instances of the ''thing'' so far, that means it stands to reason there are more.


    The Biblical God was apparently aware of it and thought highly of it enough that he <em>sealed</em> it away.


    Once more, this did not bode well.


    The circumstances of his Death are also a mystery, and I''m starting to wonder if it''s connected.


    "Will." Jeanne smiled happily as I flew up from the hole in the ground. She seemed to be happily chatting with Gabriel, which made it even worse. "Is everything alright?"


    "Yeah, we figured out what happened, I''ll tell youter." I just wanted to hug her and my arms seemed to unconsciously wrap around her tightly.


    "Ah?" She squeaked. "Is something wrong?"


    "I''m sorry."


    "Huh?"


    "We''re being kicked out."


    "From¡­the Vatican?"


    I nodded.


    "¡­oh."


    "I¡­.I''ll talk to Michael!" Gabriel interjected. "You helped me! That ¨C "


    "It''s alright." Jeanne interrupted her. "Thank you, Lady Gabriel, but¡­.I don''t want to cause any problems to stay."


    The Archangel <em>pouted</em>.


    "I''m sorry for ruining your trip." If I had been less of an idiot, maybe things would have been different.


    Jeanne though, she just smiled beautifully like she always did. "You said it earlier. It wasn''t enjoyable because I was here, it was enjoyable because <em>I was here with you</em>."


    <em>I wasn''t blushing</em>.


    There was a tug on my sleeve by Gabriel who looked at me with warm eyes. Before I realized what happened my face was pushed between her sizable bosom and her arms wrapped around me.


    "Thank you." She whispered. "I was scared, and you reached a hand out to me. I even felt like Father was there, it was a feeling I think I almost forgot."


    "¡­.I''m d to help." Better not mention anything.


    "If you make her sad, I won''t forgive you." She whispered very quietly, just enough for me to hear, in a tone I had never heard from her before.


    Did¡­.she just threaten me?


    I am conflicted because that felt like a genuine threat on her part, but I was also appreciating my face wedged between her boobs.


    Wasn''t she supposed to be the nicest one of the bunch?


    {Actually, the Archangel Gabriel has in more enemies than all the other Archangelsbined.} My Zanpakut¨­ helpfully informed me.


    ¡­wonderful.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 525:

    Chapter 525:


    Archangel Michael POV


    "How have our followers taken the news?" I asked once everyone had gathered. It was rare to have so many of us together on such short notice. "And how are you feeling, Gabriel?" Perhaps the most important point.


    "I''m doing better." She smiled.


    "To be able to overpower the protective light of Father innate to us and attempt possession, what wickedness did we discover?" Metatron spoke, loudly as usual, but that just so happened to be a quirk of his. It was a serious enough discussion that he was not keeping up the persona of the ''ninja'' y he liked to do.


    "I think I would have fared better if I knew what to expect." Gabriel admitted, not out of hurt pride or any such derivative. A statement of fact as she merely exined her circumstances. "I felt as though Father''s Light was both its antithesis but also its prey as it tried to invade my core."


    "A strange contradiction." Uriel grunted.


    Yes¡­.very strange.


    Even sitting upon Father''s Chair, I couldn''t help but feel lost about how to proceed. I had a few ideas of what to look into but I was hesitant to voice them. If even Father did not speak of this¡­..evil to us, then I felt as though I should investigate quietly just to be sure.


    I truly hoped my guess was wrong, otherwise I feared for the safety of mankind.However, it felt as if too many things have been moving ording to someone''s hands recently.


    As if we''re only hearing the music from a distance while the conductor waspletely unknown.


    The only sce I had right now was one of the final fail-safes thatFather left within the system that I''m able to ess. If all else failed and Heaven was unable to protect humanity, then we would all willingly sacrifice what little we had left.


    I only hoped I didn''t have to resort to ourst means.


    "The hate too." Gabriel shivered. "It was almost overwhelming. Pure hatred and Malice. It almost drowned me. All of us need to be careful from now on and be on guard."


    "I have begun to lead a prayer around the Basilica to remove any lingering presence. I have yet to notice anything abnormal on the surface, but I believe it pertinent to be careful." Raphael spoke.


    "Thank you, Raphael. I''m sure it also helps alleviate the concerns of our followers." I smiled towards my brother.


    Just his presence alone lifted the spirits of our believers, it was a good judgment on his part.


    "Father Strada is doing well to stem the tide of anger. <em>Rightful</em> anger, I might add." Uriel noted. "I acknowledge that the <em>Devil spawn</em> did not have intentional goals of chaos, but the consequences of his presence cannot be ignored."


    "Uriel." Gabriel frowned.


    "Do not look at me like that, sister. I have taken many steps back at your request, I am speaking the truth in this moment and nothing more."


    Yes, Uriel was being much less headstrong than normal at Gabriel''s ushering. I could understand both their standpoints so it was difficult to make a judgment.


    "I have yet to meet this young Devil." Metatron''s voice boomed despite the casual way he rubbed his chin in contemtion. "But even from your words, Uriel, I feel as though the me does not rest on his shoulders."


    "He should never have been allowed inside." Uriel pointed out.


    "Yet he went through the proper channels and did everything requested of him." Metatron countered. "Is that not all we can ask for? Is that not what Father would have wanted? Contemting it, my brother, a Half-Devil willingly wished to tour the Vatican. We have the human''s <em>''security footage''</em> that shows how happily they admired the sights. How are we to find fault with their actions when they clearly came without ill intentions and were <em>invited</em>?"


    "¡­..I had one of the children ask me if I <emid eggs</em>." Uriel growled.


    Admittedly, Metatron looked away because he had to stifle augh and even Gabriel held a hand up over her face.


    Yes, Father Strada was¡­. precise in his report of everything that happened from the moment the Young Half-Devil arrived.


    I wonder how Father would feel if he saw the Devils of today? Not the soul stealing, piging and raping monsters that killed and tortured for fun. Now, they convince children that Angelsy eggs and put fake facial hair on his depictions.


    I wonder if he saw this himself which was why he never removed them when our fallen brother first introduced their existence to the world.


    "It helps that he has a living Saintess at his side." Raphael noted. "I am saddened that I was unable to meet her myself. Both times now I have missed the opportunity. If Father wills it, I hope I will not miss a third."


    Yes, the Living Saintess, of which we were still unable to answer the question of her existence. But her presence, her <em>light</em> are utterly undeniable.


    "They''re cute together." Gabriel held her cheeks.


    Did you also see this, Father? The son of ''Lucifer'' and one of your Saintesses¡­..<em>together</em>?


    "Despite <em>her</em> existence, our followers are not happy." Uriel continued. "There are conflicting stories and stances. But a not insignificant number of the Church''s hierarchy are calling for a response."


    What a headache. "We need to be aggressive with calming any dissidents."


    "Surprisingly, we may not need to step in." Metatron hummed, looking far off into the distance.


    The Voice of God was able to perceive things that even I, who sat upon Father''s chair, was unable to.


    "Do you have something to add, brother?" Uriel asked.


    "There were enough witnesses that things seem to be spoken favorably among the rumors." Metatron exined. "The Children present were speaking highly of the young Half-Devil even without any guidance from Father Strada."


    A wee surprise then.


    "Remind me, what was the Half-Devil doing in the Vatican and why was he speaking to budding Exorcists under Father Strada''s watch?" Raphael asked.


    I don''t me him for his confusion, it would not be strange for the exact opposite to be urring per Uriel''s arguments.


    It was no secret that the majority of Exorcists are¡­..trained a certain way. Hardened hearts that require certain tough decisions to be taken for the greater good of humanity.


    We cannot safeguard humanity by locking them in a cage. They must be able to stand on their own feet, both shouldering the good and bad thate with that. Thus, we did not overly interfere with their in house¡­.teachings.


    "It took <em>far too much</em> effort to receive the¡­.letter from the Youkai leader regarding their intent." I made a verbal note and I did not need to borate further there for them to understand my current annoyance with how the procedure was handled. While we don''t police them every waking moment ¨C for good reason ¨C we should have been informed if such a high-profile individual intended to appear within the Vatican.


    Even Father Strada was under the assumption we were aware when things reached the point where he was allowed entry.


    A fair assumption and I did not fault him there.


    It seemed we needed to talk with the Pope and Cardinals about proper <em>management</em> in the future for certain situations.


    I only hoped it was ipetence and not maliciousness that set these chains of events.


    "The intent from what Father Strada verified and we did so as well, was for the two of them to ry a message proper from the one Gabriel had given at the meeting. I suppose they also had the intent on¡­..sightseeing."


    "I gave her a letter at the meeting and I was waiting for a response. I guess I forgot about how she would respond¡­." Gabriel looked down.


    Uriel grunted, crossing his arms. "At the very least, it is¡­..eptable the that they used the proper channels."


    Well, even Uriel cannot fault them for the actions they took. They did everything proper and ''by the books''.


    And even if we did, our hands were tied. Ignoring how the Youkai had seemingly risen in recent months to a ce at a minimum on our level, Asgard now stood at their side. And it would be foolish to believe Asgard was ''weak'' even after suffering through their Ragnar?k.


    "That was the most recent ss of Exorcists in training before we signed the peace agreement, if I''m not mistaken." Raphel spoke. "That the Half-Devil spoke in front of at Father Strada''s request?"


    "Yes." Uriel affirmed.


    "Ah, I believe I understand his intent." Raphael nodded. "Father Strada continues to show his wisdom. It''s good that the children aren''t forged into unthinking weapons that only know how to hate their enemies. To show them an object of ''hatred'' that they can sympathize andmunicate with should have given them the opportunity to question their own motivations."


    Yes, it is obvious what Father Strada hoped to achieve.


    "Thankfully they were able to witness the ''Devil'' praying to save our Sister in front of their eyes." He said humorously. "I wonder what our Fallen brother would say to this."


    It was an amusing thought to see the look on Lucifer''s face as one of his ''spawn'' saved our Sister through <em>prayer </em>of all things.


    There has been a noticeable shift in prayers I heard over the past few months and I''ve even heard many that reference our living Saintess. Was this the signal of the times changing?


    "What prayer did he use? I wasn''t able to get a good exnation." Raphael asked.


    Gabriel tilted her head. "Actually, I don''t know. I recognized the first line but¡­"


    "Baptism Rite." I answered unconsciously.


    I blinked myself, because it came out without any prompt on my part. Before I could ask myself where that knowledge came from, I felt it fill my mind. Sitting on Father''s chair, I had a connection to the entire System even if I had very constrained ess, and it was just <em>there</em>.


    I could see it, every aspect of it, how it worked, what its purpose was, how it got <em>stronger</em> the more faithful that believed in it.


    A Holy <em>Spell</em> forck of a better term that was able to be taught to anyone and everyone without reservation. No need to keep it guarded, no need to pick out only particr Exorcists to learn secrets that we didn''t want our enemies to uncover.


    Something¡­.open for anyone who was willing.


    It was perhaps one of the most practical and essible teachings I''d evere across. Purification, an <em>elevation</em> of sending wayward souls through the teachings of Father to their ''throne''.


    "¡­..Baptism Rite." I whispered.


    "Michael, are you alright?" Gabriel looked at me in concern.


    "I was just¡­surprised." I forced a smile because I didn''t want to concern her.


    Why was there a new ''prayer'' suddenly lodged in the System that was most certainly not there before?


    And why did ite from a Half-Devil of all ces!?


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    Returning home felt great. Despite how shitty I felt having gotten us kicked out and our little trip cut short, it was always nice to be home.


    The first thing I did, however, was grab Jeanne and wrap her up in a big hug. She was surprised for a moment, but she epted it all the same.


    "I''m sorry." I apologized again.


    "Will." She said softly. "You have nothing to apologize for. Any time we spend together is something I cherish." She smiled beautifully. "Besides, I was able to do what we set out to do in the first ce!"


    "You gave Gabriel your letter."


    Jeanne nodded happily. "So don''t worry, please."


    "You know, people say to ''not worry'' when you should in fact worry." I said so more with tongue in cheek than anything else.


    Jeanne puffed up and grabbed my arm. "No more beating yourself up."


    "Fine, fine." I held my hands up in surrender.


    "I can tell when you''re lying." She pouted.


    "Look, it''s not something I can just turn off." I sighed, relenting to her pressure. "Despite you saying so, I''m the one at fault, I ruined our time together. I ruined our¡­." I decided not to day the ''D Word''.


    "Close your eyes." She demanded, grabbing my arms.


    I was about to ask her why, but the seriousness she had on her face, well, I acquiesced to her request.


    I felt her hands still grabbing my arms.


    "You''re not allowed to peek!" She had a slight tone to her voice that really made me want to know what she was doing. "...please don''t peek." She added on very quietly.


    She pulled my hands down and through her guidance I felt something very soft between my fingers.


    It didn''t take a genius to know where she put my hands, and it wasn''t the first time I felt up her butt.


    Though I was genuinely surprised and kinda speechless.


    "Y-you like doing something like this right?" I was picturing her very red right now. "S-so be happy, please? I promise I''m not upset, so I don''t want to see you upset."


    "Well, it''s hard to be upset when I''m holding a piece of heaven in my hands." I squeezed very thoroughly.


    She made a cute noise. "Don''t say it like that!"


    "How should I voice my excitement about having your nice round butt in my hands, mmm?"


    "No! You''re not allowed to say it out loud!" She whined.


    While I was enjoying her very pronounced rear, I did feel something <em>interesting</em> as my fingers brushed passed.


    I grabbed hold of it and pulled without the slightest hesitation.


    "Eeeeeh!?" She let out a high-pitched squeak as I pulled on the thong, she was apparently wearing that peeked out above her shorts. "You bully!" She started hitting my shoulders as I opened my eyes.


    She was the brightest shade of red I''ve seen since the Bikini incident.


    Worth it.


    I pulled on it again.


    "Neh!?" Her eyes widened as another noise escaped her lips in surprise.


    Before she couldy another barrage on my poor shoulders, I leaned down and kissed her forehead like I did earlier today. That calmed her down, though her tomato impression was getting practice it seems.


    I also did, <em>very reluctantly,</em> let go.


    "Ah¡­.um¡­" She looked down. "M-mom said that when a boy¡­.when wee back I''m supposed to do something."


    I didn''t even have time to question what she was talking about as she very quickly stood up on her tip toes and put her own kiss on my cheek.


    "IhadfunIt''tesoI''mgoingtobed!" She quickly escaped from my arms and ran upstairs.


    ¡­.It''s still mid afternoon.


    [***]


    Artoria Pendragon POV


    I peeked my head out of the kitchen, not wanting to interrupt the moment Jeanne and Wilhelm were having.


    Wilhelm noticed me immediately and before I knew it, I was holding him in my arms with his face buried in my chest.


    He was hurt, the severity of which I could not guess based on first impressions, however the torn clothes of his spoke well enough to give me an idea. By his actions, it was safe to assume he was not in overt danger or harm.


    My first instinct was to seek answers but¡­..this attitude of his was not normal.


    I used Avalon to immediately start healing him as I ran a hand through his hair.


    Wilhelm, even when he was at his worst usually showed a confident side of him. It was rare to see him so¡­.tired and dispirited. Especially so when molesting the Saintess was not enough to raise his spirits, nor was he moving to do the same to me.


    In another situation, I may haveughed at the thought of measuring his mental well being based on the presumptuousness of his wandering hands, however, I was concerned.


    "You have had a difficult time." I said softly.


    "I''m tired, Artoria." What he said was simple but it truly conveyed his feelings.


    Yes, he <em>felt</em> tired.


    "Then let us rest. I will apany you for as long you require."


    "Can''t, still have something I gotta do." He muttered somewhat audible with his face still pushed into my bosom without the usual enthusiasm. "The Box, there was an issue while we were ¨C"


    "Hush." I cut him off. "We will speakter when you are feeling well. If it is not a pressing matter, then leave it for now."


    There was very clearly a <em>story</em> to apany his state, but it would wait. I will not have my man dwell in such a state without myself attending to his well being.


    He let out a small noise of acknowledgement.


    "Tell me what you require, I will assist."


    "I need to go see Momma Pandora."


    Ah, his ''adoptive mother''. I did not ask why, nor argue with him. "Very well, I will apany you. Let us proceed."


    "Yeah, let''s quickly deal with this. I don''t want to push it off and have something else happen that fucks everything up." He grumbled.


    I quickly took out my device and sent a message to Yasaka for her and the others to talk to Jeanne and ask her about the situation. If a situation arose where they had visited, it was perhaps important that Yasaka be the first to deal with it.


    Wilhelm was quick to use his Magic and connect us to where we needed to go as he uncharacteristically was very flippant with his use of it.


    He really did wear his heart on his sleeve, didn''t he?


    I followed him as he stepped through and the world changed.


    "Eh!?" A feminine voice sounded out along with a loud ''thump'' as I saw a body fall off a couch and hit the ground. "My son!"


    Wilhelm became enveloped in a hug from a petite woman, even shorter than myself, with long violet hair and a white dress.


    "Hi mom." Wilhelm seemed to force a smile.


    "Kyah, you called me mom!" She eximed, hugging him tighter.


    Wilhelm spoke a few words about this woman, but seeing her in person, her actions and enthusiasm were genuine so I felt relieved as Wilhelm rxed in her embrace.


    "Not going to sh me this time?"


    "Bad, bad!" She started pping his arm. "Don''t bring that up in front of guests! They''re going to think the worse of me."


    Her words cemented the acknowledgement of how much information she has obtained from Wilhelm thus far.


    If she knew Wilhelm''s full story, she would most certainly know that such a thing had bemonce for him.


    "You need not worry, I am well aware of Wilhelm''s sense of humor." I offered her an out.


    She smiled brightly, straightening her dress as she faced me. "I''m Pandora, the All Giving Mother." She held her arms open to express herself.


    "I am Artoria Pendragon, Wilhelm''s girlfriend. Though, perhaps you would know me better if I introduce myself as Arthur Pendragon?" I offered.


    She choked, nearly stumbling over. "W-what?"


    I looked at Wilhelm who was all but giggling to himself and shared a smile with him.


    I very much preferred his smile over his earlier self.


    "You already know about Raikou, is this so weird?" He asked.


    A valid point.


    "Well, I suppose¡­." She muttered. "Now that I think about it, the Heretic God running around as ''Lancelot'' is also a woman¡­."


    ¡­.that was a strange sequence of words to hear.


    And apparently Wilhelm also believed so if the nk expression he had was any indication.


    "Wait!" The Small goddess shouted. "You''re not a God!"


    "Yes, that is an astute observation." I quipped.


    "No, but my rabbit is." Wilhelm retrieved his familiar from where he kept it, holding up the mighty animal for her to see.


    "Why is your Rabbit a God!?" Pandora squawked.


    "Oh well, things happened. He got crowned the King of Asgard¡­"


    The Goddess fell over, looking dizzy.


    "I believe you should perhaps tell her the truth at this point." Even if he was enjoying it, and I did not wish to ruin the fun he was having while his mood seemed to improve a smidge. However, I was beginning to feel sorry for his adoptive mother.


    "Your mother can''t handle this!" Pandora grabbed onto Wilhelm''s shirt. "Next you''re going to tell me that you have a God in your pocket!"


    "¡­.Wilhelm." I looked at him.


    His lips quivered and it seems the intrusive thoughts won over as the Holy Spear of his was deposited onto the ground.


    "Nope, I''m going to rebel!" She threw her arms up, running towards what I assume was the metaphysical door of this strange room that existed not within the normal world.


    "Mom, alright I''ll exin properly!" He grabbed his adoptive mother before she could get too far. "I''m from a different world, we ¨C"


    "Oh, that makes sense." She stopped in her tracks. "I don''t know why I didn''t think of that earlier."


    "¡­.what?" Wilhelm blinked.


    I shared a simr sentiment.


    Pandoraughed. "Did you think I would be surprised by that? Oh my sweet child, you''re not the only one of my children that travels to Parallel worlds. Though that troublesome child of mine rips a hole through the multiverse every time she uses that Authority of hers." Pandora sighed in exasperation. "Wait, I haven''t heard of that happeningtely." She looked at Wilhelm. "¡­.you wouldn''t have an Authority like that either."


    It appears that Wilhelm was unaware of this just as I was. An interesting reflection of what normally ured when he revealed his origins.


    "Uh, it''splicated." Wilhelm scratched his head. "I use Magic."


    "There is no Magic powerful enough for that. It would have to be a Godly Authority." Pandora argued.


    "Capita ''M'' Magic." Wilhelm punctuated.


    "¡­I don''t believe we''re speaking of the same thing."


    "Like I said, It''splicated."


    "I apologize for interjecting, but Wilhelm came here with a purpose that seemed pressing." I gently guided him back on topic. It was no secret that he could be distracted quite easily.


    "Right, yeah." Wilhelm''s expression changed. "I found your box."


    "My what ¨C"


    Wilhelm merely took it out and I felt a strange and ufortable feeling. A strange box with many different iys and designs about it and it was wrapped in a powerful holy light in the form of chains.


    "¡­.where did you get that." Pandora''s expression changed drastically. "That shouldn''t exist."


    It appeared she recognized it immediately.


    "Not from around here." Wilhelm reiterated. "And I was in a conflict with¡­.Loki, and he was using it to try and poison the World Tree back home. I had it with me when I visited the Vatican and while I was touring, apparently it triggered something that caused a bigmotion. I was wondering if you could look into it, see if there''s anything you could find? Because I don''t want a repeat of that incident."


    Oh Wilhelm was that what happened? I could see why you''re in a sour mood if this was what caused your date to be ruined.


    An unfortunate turn of events that realistically, you had no hope of anticipating yet at the same time fault would default to your hand due to the circumstances.


    "This is not what I expected when you popped in again." Pandora stared at the box unmoving.


    "What did you expect?" Wilhelm asked.


    "I thought you were dropping in to stop the fight between your brothers." She sighed. "Godou was going to fight your eldest soon as he arrived in Japan recently looking for a fight."


    Wilhelm closed his eyes, sighing. "I guess I''m already here, I may as well go deal with that."


    "No." I interjected.


    "No?" Wilhelm blinked.


    "No." I said firmly. "It is not something that requires your immediate concern. You will rest after finishing up here."


    "But ¨C"


    "No." I said sternly. "You are more than capable of returning after a few days of rest." I would not budge on this, your welfare takes priority. "If need be, one of us can remedy this situation, but you will be resting. Are we clear?"


    It had only been a handful of days since the incident in Asgard!


    I gave him a very stern look to know that I was not wavering.


    "¡­fine."


    "Good." I gave him a smile.


    I love you far too much to see you suffer.


    As much as I loved him for his willingness to help those around him to the fullest extent of his ability, he also seemed to prioritize everyone else over himself at times as well. I knew if I did not stop him he would run over there and engage in a fight while being tired like he was.


    I would message the others after we leave. Wilhelm has done so much for all of us, I believe it was appropriate that we reciprocate. I believed he mentioned wanting to y around at the beach? That was something that could be arranged for tomorrow.


    "I''m d my son has someone to keep him in check." Pandora smiled brightly. "If only my other children had someone to keep them in line. Such troublemakers." She sighed in exasperation. "Let me see the box. I cannot guarantee anything, but I feel a¡­..connection to it."


    Wilhelm wordlessly handed it over to her and she hesitantly epted it. The light chains around it snapped at her discretion as she held the vile object within her grasp.


    "Let''s see what mysteries hide within the memories of the void." I could feel her Divine Power begin to seep out and her eyes glowed brightly. The room around us shook and the box began to vibrate, and I felt as though I could hear the faint cry of several different animals ovepping. It was a cry of anger and rage if I were to hazard a guess based on the tone. "A Lion, no a Leopard, no¡­it''s both, Also a Bear, a <em>Dragon</em>, A Goat, a Snake, and an Eagle? That didn''t make sense, there are too many contradictory characteristics. A snake and an Eagle are opposites in nearly every myth. Not to mention a Dragon and a Snake? A Dragon and a Snake cannot coexist. One is above the other and the other envies the former¡­"


    "What did you see, mom?" Wilhelm asked.


    "I saw a beast with 7 Heads, but it was too faint and distorted. The Memories held within the void couldn''t take hold of anything substantial to give me a proper vision." She looked pensive. "Give me a few days, I have a handful of tricks I can use. If you''re going to return to see your younger brother, then that should be enough time for me to figure things out."


    "Alright, I''ll be back in a few days." Wilhelm relented.


    Pandora nodded, setting the box down then threw herself at Wilhelm. "My son is going to visit again~!" She said excitedly.


    "Mom¡­" Wilhelm sighed.


    "Thank you for your assistance, Goddess Pandora." I expressed my thanks as well.


    "You can call me mom too!" She released him and I found myself having a smaller Goddess hugging me. "I''ve never been able to meet one of my son''s lovers before! This is the best day ever!"


    She was certainly excitable. I could see why Wilhelm epted her into his life in such a manner.


    I grabbed Wilhelm''s arm after being released by the Goddess. "Come, let us return home. I will have you rest your head upon myp."


    Seeing him smile was all the satisfaction I required.


    And it would give me plenty of time to coordinate with the others to surprise him tomorrow.


    @***@<strong></strong>


    A/N<strong></strong>


    To calm things down, we got beach episode for a couple chapters. Then we''re back into the thick of things.<strong></strong>


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 526: Part 1

    Chapter 526: Part 1


    ***


    Warning: Lewd ahead, scene will be marked if you want to skip.


    ***


    ****


    I woke up with the strangest feeling.


    Well, that wasn''t quite right. I knew what the feeling was, I just was surprised because of where and when it was happening.Eyes fully open, I looked down the bed and between my legs, Artoria''s eyes looked up at me.


    "Gulghk." She let out a noise with her throat bulging and slowly she pulled back as my cock reappeared. "Good morning." She said, retaining her elegant demeanor with saliva dripping down the corner of her lips and her petite hand skillfully working down my full length.


    She didn''t even let me respond to her as she licked her lips and went back down. "Gulghk Gulghk, Gulghk." She bobbed up and down, every inch of my manhood disappearingpletely.


    Jesus Christ,pared to when she did it the first time, she was a master now. My Noble and refined Artoria was deepthroating my cock like she had been doing it all her life and without any hesitation whatsoever. Granted, the amount of times she''s done this has easily entered triple digits at this point.


    Artoria seemed really keen on sucking my cock for some reason, but I wasn''t going to argue. What a glutton.


    She maintained eye contact with me the entire time too. Each time she impaled herself downward, she made sure that I was watching.


    She did stop after a few moments, pulling up silently and looking at me intently before her hands moved towards her blouse, unbuttoning it quickly and pulling her bra down so her breasts were freed.


    "Please look at my breasts while I provide you relief." She smiled beautifully despite the lewdness of her actions and immediately went back to suck on my dick.


    Modest they may be, they were more than big enough to have a bit of a bounce every time she moved and I most certainly enjoyed the view.


    If Artoria was one thing, it was diligent.


    Was it weird that I felt like she took pride in being able to swallow my cock so methodically? I didn''t care to dwell on it as my hand was gently ced on the back of her head and I just leaned back to enjoy the morning.


    She picked up the pace and I felt my toes curl up, maybe she heard my groans because I didn''t even need to tell her that I was getting close as she knew very well how to handle everything at this point.


    I only tensed slightly, and she tilted her head back and epted the warm sensation filling her mouth and more.


    She pulled back, my cock falling out of her mouth as her cheeks slightly bulged and she lifted her head up and swallowed everything I gave her, smiling at me once she finished. "Thank you for the meal."


    It was extremely tempting to push her down right at this moment.


    "No Fair!" Jinn pushed the door open, barging in. "You said you were going to share his first load this morning!"


    Artoria blushed slightly. "I apologize, I was¡­caught up in the moment." She looked away.


    "Liar, you just wanted it all to yourself." Jinn puffed up.


    "Something going on that I need to know about?" I questioned.


    "N-nothing." Artoria coughed.


    "She''s been stealing your cum every morning!" Jinn used.


    ¡­..Artoria had been blowing me nearly every morning right as I woke up.


    Jinn barely wasted a moment before she threw her dress off, not bothering to wear anything underneath. She reached behind herself and with a small moan, pulled hermp out of her butt and tossed it to the side. "I want your cock in my butt while she watches."


    "Ah?" Artoria squeaked.


    "Since I''m a Goddess now, I''m technically a Virgin Goddess since I haven''t had sex yet after bing one. So Artoria gets to watch me get fucked in the ass for the first time." Jinn slid up onto the bed, practically pushing me back down.


    "J-Jinn." Artoria was turning red. Despite the lewdness she had embraced, well, she was still a somewhat sheltered girl. "¡­if this is what you desire as an apology."


    "Help me." Jinn looked over her shoulder, positioning herself right above me.


    I waspletely hands off, willing to let them do the work if this was what they wanted.


    She faced me, her round blue ass lowered ever so slightly to rub against my still erect cock.


    I could see Artoria grabbed hold of me again and positioned it right at Jinn''s back entrance, helping push my cock inside.


    "Look at my poor butt, Artoria. Look at whatWilhelm did to me." She whined, lowering her hips, my cock slowly pushing into her. "He ruined my butt, I was a nice and innocent girl and he turned my butt into her personal cock sleeve. Ooooh, it''s going in, I''m taking it all inside me, look."


    Jinn most definitely got off on being watched.


    "¡­.I am watching." Artoria whispered, beat red. "You are¡­taking thisrge phallus inside you, it is very impressive." She bit her lip.


    It would be her first time seeing it in person, wouldn''t it?


    Despite her keeping hermp in her butt every moment of every day, she was still so tight and snug and quickly began to squeeze me with her ass.


    "Haaah, that''s every inch." Jinn shuddered with a veryscivious grin, nearly drooling. "Artoria, I can''t live without this cock in my ass anymore." Jinn spread her cheeks. "This is going to happen to you too, watching closely." She began to slowly swing her hips up and down, wasting no time to truly ride my cock with her perky blue ass.


    Artoria''s hand snuck down between her own legs and under her dress as her knees pushed together, silently watching as Jinn rode my cock inside her ass.


    "D-does it not hurt¡­?" Artoria whispered.


    "Only in the best ways, and I love it!" Jinn eximed, moaning outwards. "Hnnn."


    Absolutely no shame, she didn''t care and just hopped right on my cock because she was horny.


    Her ass swung nonstop for minutes, filling the room with her moans, only for her to abruptly pull up and she leaned over, spreading herself for Artoria to see. "Your butt is going to be stretched just like mine."


    Artoria didn''t speak, but she looked entranced and breathing a smidge heavy herself.


    Jinn swung her legs around, shifting position so that she was facing Artoria this time, and lowered her ass back down on my cock. I grabbed hold of her legs, spreading them out so Artoria got a clear view of everything.


    "I think Artoria needs to properly apologize, what do you think, Jinn?" I asked the Blue Genie currently wiggling her hips to enjoy every inch of my cock pushing up into her.


    "You''re not the only one who likes to swallow hisrge loads." Jinn pouted. "You need to make it up to me." Her hand moved and she spread her blue pussy open for Artoria to see. "Would you please lick me?" Jinn asked with the sincerest tone.


    Artoria''s eyes widened, and it looked like any words of rejection died in her throat as she slowly moved over between Jinn''s legs.


    Her tongue peeked out and gradually, she began to get a taste of Jinn.


    "Ooh." Jinn''s breath hitched and she stopped moving her hips. "That''s¡­..nice." She shuddered, giggling. "Wilhelm fully sheathed in my ass and Artoria licking my pussy, this is the best." She nearly went limp, moaning in my arms.


    Honestly, I was surprised that Artoria was willing to go this far. If she was ufortable she would have spoken up.


    But since she said nothing, I didn''t care to think about it and only focused on Jinn''s tight ass as I moved on my own, rocking my hips slowly back and forth while Artoria''s tongue was inside her front.


    The Genie grabbed hold of Artoria''s head to seemingly steady herself, or maybe it was to push her to put in more effort. Regardless, Jinn was getting loud, moaning as both her ass and pussy were assaulted from both of us.


    "Aaah~" Jinn let out the loudest moan of the morning, grabbing Artoria''s head tightly, and I could guess she finally was cumming because she squeezed down much more than normal.


    I was close myself and it was enough to push me over the edge and I made sure I forced every inch of myself deep inside her and let out my second load of the morning.


    Jinn stilled, mouth open, eyes wide as she got filled from behind and came from the front.


    She nearly went limp as I guided her body backwards into my arms, her breathing intense as she leaned against me and Artoria slowly pulling away, the evidence of Jinn''s orgasm showing on her face as Jinn always made a mess.


    She groaned in ecstasy as she seemed to reluctantly roll off my cock, her ass really not wanting to let me go. "Artoria¡­..mymp, please¡­."


    Artoria blinked as she was pulled back to reality as she seemed in a daze after what just happened. She quickly fumbled off the bed and grabbed Jinn''smp off the floor.


    Jinn lifted her butt in the air, spreading it. "Push it in."


    Artoria looked at Jinn''s freshly fucked ass and down a the plug in her hand, and with a bright redplexion, lined it up and pushed it back into the Genie''s rear.


    "Ooh, that''s the spot." Jinn rxed, copsing into the bed face down. "Now we both got a nice warm load of cum in our bellies." She giggled.


    I don''t know what happened, I don''t know why this happened, but damn if it wasn''t the best way to wake up after the shitty past couple days I''ve experienced.


    "I''ll repay the favor anytime you want Artoria~" Jinn giggled, muffled as her face was pressed into the sheets. "I''ll even eat your ass."


    "J-Jinn!" That was apparently the tipping point as Artoria''s already red hue deepened considerably and she covered her face in embarrassment.


    [***]


    Lewd Over


    [***]


    Well, waking up to Artoria then having Jinn join in, I can certainly say I felt refreshed.


    My beautiful Knight and my Beautiful Genie at my side as we walked downstairs.


    "You still molest my rear even after all that, Wilhelm¡­?" Artoria said quietly.


    "Oh sorry, that''s me." Jinn confessed.


    Artoria squeaked out a small noise of embarrassment. "Is my rear really such a novelty that cannot help yourselves?" She sighed in an exasperated way.


    I joined Jinn in squeezing Artoria''s perky butt. "Yes."


    "Yup." Jinn also nodded.


    It''s always fun to see Artoria''s mix of feeling embarrassment but enjoying the feeling of being wanted as a woman. She struggled with it for a long time, and she''s made a lot of progress on that front. She''s much less argumentative or rejectful ofpliments or acknowledgements of her own appeal.


    "Good morning, master~" Raikou greed us first as we walked in.


    With herculean effort, I released Artoria''s butt and swept up my Servant in a big hug, iming her lips for the first time in several days.


    With everything going on, I had just been gone for a while. "I missed you."


    "Mommy missed you too." Raikou smiled brightly. "Everyone should be joining us shortly.


    "So I''m guessing something is going on?" I asked.


    "Yes, we arranged the day." Artoria exined. "I felt you were in a poor state yesterday, so I asked everyone to contribute in making sure you are properly rested."


    "Do I need to do anything?"


    Artoria stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed me on the lips. "We have made all the arrangements." She smiled softly.


    ¡­.I was really lucky to have all of them in my life.


    "Oh, we should hurry and change! They''re going to be here soon." Jinn pped her hands.


    "Change?"


    "Let''s make it a surprise,e on!" Jinn grabbed Artoria and Raikou, practically dragging them upstairs.


    I was still at a loss of what was happening, only that they nned something for me.


    And if it was anything like earlier¡­well, I would be in for a wonderful day.


    ¡­..I was going to have them all bent over.


    Rarely did I take the time to truly appreciate the fact that I have a harem full of beautiful and sexy women which I could pretty much do anything I wanted with.


    I heard the door open as more than one person walked in. "Student, are you present?" Sc¨¢thach''s voice echoed through the house.


    I walked the few rooms over to the front and I immediately saw Sc¨¢thach and Izzy both walk in, but I was¡­.silent as I took in the sight.


    They were both wearing Bikinis, and I now knew immediately what Artoria was talking about from before.


    Sc¨¢thach''s was a dark purple with some lighter colors mixed in and a see through¡­skirt? Like a piece of cloth tied around her waist and a flower in her hair that brought it all together.


    Izzy in contrast wore a rather simple white Bikini, albeit with some interesting straps, with a wide brimmed hat and an open jacket.


    "I do believe he likes what he sees." Sc¨¢thach put a hand on her hips with a smirk.


    "Please, he stares that way at us regardless of what we''re wearing." Izzy huffed, but I think she appreciated that I was staring.


    "Noooo, I wanted him to see us first!" Jinn whined, hurrying down the stairs. She pouted once she saw both Sc¨¢thach and Izzy standing there. Jinn was wearing a strapless top with matching bottom, a darker blue than her skin tone, with gold ents.


    Raikou walked down next. "Ara Ara, Master. What do you think?"


    I think my dick just went doki doki.


    Raikou wore something a little simr to Jinn, without the straps over her shoulders, but with her rather¡­.massive boobs, well, it had apletely different effect. The purple pieces of cloth looked like they would snap by ident as her boobs bounced with each step she took. Raikou rarely wore such ''little'' clothing¡­.but I couldn''t help but admire her long legs just as well.


    Lastly Artoria shuffled down the stairs, I think there was a hint of shyness to her.


    Simr to Izzy, hers was in white, but it had some cute blue bows on either side. She wasn''t the biggest in any aspect, but she was unbelievably cute and I nearly couldn''t control myself.


    "Let''s just skip the beach and have an orgy." I breathed out, my eyes not moving away from Raikou''s long legs.


    "You wish." Izzy snorted, pulling on my cheek.


    "Control yourself, student. You will have opportunities to¡­..alleviate your stress today." Sc¨¢thach whispered in my ear.


    Down little Wilhelm, down.


    Actually? Screw it.


    I grabbed at the knots on their tops and pulled on them as quickly as I could.


    Boobs were meant to be free!


    "You brat!" Izzy squeaked, catching hers as I barely got to see the prize.


    Sc¨¢thach just snorted, not bothering to even catch hers, letting it drop to the ground. The only other one I got was Raikou who just giggled as herrge breasts bounced free.


    I had a good life.


    I looked at Jinn, but she would take hers off herself if she felt like it. My eyes thennded on Artoria and she puffed up indignantly, covered herself with a flush.


    "Control yourself, my student." Sc¨¢thach walked up behind me, her chest resting atop my head. "The others areing. You will have opportunitiester." She leaned down and kissed my forehead before retrieving her top and putting it back on.


    "What she means to say is that it isn''t merely your lovers." Izzy rified.


    "I feel as though Rin would find it awkward if we engaged in such¡­.activities so tantly." Artoria cleared her throat.


    "Alright, alright." I put my hands up in surrender. "No more open lewdness." And I guessed Kunou would certainly being so I didn''t want to do anything inappropriate right in front of her.


    As Sc¨¢thach said, plenty of timeter. I''m sure I would be in for a good night.


    "Speaking of Rin, she has returned." Artoria stated.


    And I too felt the distinctness of the Kaleidoscope being essed.


    "Woo, beach day, beach day!" The door flung open and a certain magical Wand floated through the threshold.


    "Dammit Ruby!" Rin hissed. "Get back here!" Rin came barreling in after her wearing a rather in Bikini simr to Artoria''s but a dark blue color.


    I hadn''t seen Ruby in a while. For¡­.good reason to be honest, Rin didn''t like taking her out. But she still needed Ruby''s help to use the Kaleidoscope.


    "Ruby!" Jinn threw her arms open.


    "Jinn!" Ruby did her best to ''hug'' the blue girl as the two¡­sentient magical objects embraced one another.


    Actually, did Jinn count as that anymore? I mean¡­hermp was still part of her, but she''s a Goddess now¡­?


    Questions forter, because thest thought was why Rin needed to use the Kaleidoscope.


    White hair and Red eyes answer that question immediately.


    It was almost jarring, in a way. Truthfully, I couldn''t picture Salem ever wearing a Bikini, yet here we were.


    It was ck, of course, and there wasn''t much to it, in mostly, but that had its own allure. It contrasted nicely to her pale skin and even the curse marks she had running up and down her body.


    While I admired her beauty as a whole, my eyes were understandably drawn to one feature in particr.


    "Damn, that is a dump truck." Jinn blurted out.


    "Jinn!"


    Salem, for one of the very rare times, turned the slightest shade red. She crossed her arms and scowled towards the Genie.


    "Silly girl." Sc¨¢thach quickly grabbed Jinn and yfully chided her.


    The funny thing was, Jinn wasn''t wrong.


    Salem had thergest rear out of all my girls, and I wanted to push my face into it.


    "You look beautiful." I made sure topliment Salem and stop staring at her Ass. I knew she was stepping out of herfort zone for this.


    Her lips twitched slightly. "Yes, now everyone can see the curse that envelops me." She said rather sarcastically.


    I could argue with her, but instead, I put both my hands on her cheeks and quickly moved in for a deep kiss, silencing any self-deprecating thoughts she might have added on.


    "¡­.idiot." She huffed indignantly after breaking away.


    Though truthfully, I thought Raikou''s top was straining to contain her boobs. Salem''s bottom part made that look tame inparison, and she wasn''t even wearing anything lewd in nature.


    "You promised, you promised!" Ruby shouted, flying out of reach of Rin. "Wilhelm, protect me!" Ruby flew over, basically ramming into my head. "Rin promised I could y with everyone if I helped."


    "Rin?" I raised an eyebrow.


    Rin scowled, crossing her arms. "¡­..Imight have said something¡­"


    "Rin, you made a promise." Artoria chided.


    "Ugh, fine!" She threw up her arms. "I won''t shut off Ruby."


    "Whew, Beach day!" Ruby cheered. "I''m going to have so much fun!"


    That was a foreboding warning.


    "I hope everyone''s decent~" Yasaka knocked on the door, opening it up without pause.


    "Daddy!" Kunou ran out from under her and into my expecting arms.


    "Hello my little fox." How much of my stress and annoyance washed away from simply holding my daughter in my arms?


    She was wearing a cute little Bikini herself, one appropriate for girls her age.


    Funny enough, it matched Yasaka, though Yasaka''s Bikini was¡­a bit more generous in how it handled her proportions. White red and gold, the colors went well with their fluffy tails and hair.


    If others weren''t around you could be damn sure her top was being pulled off and my face was being pressed into her chest.


    Two more faces joined followed Yasaka and Kunou


    Jeanne peaked her head shyly, skipping forward.


    She was¡­well, she had the most bashfulness about her wearing what she was. At least with Artoria, she had experience with things like this thus far, for Jeanne, well, back in her time, showing ankles was¡­.inappropriate.


    She had on a ck in bikini with a bow to tie the top on in the front. She also wore a light blue jacket to cover up a little bit more.


    "Jeanne." I smiled.


    Jeanne''s expression shifted to a bright smile. "Will! I can''t believe I''m finally going to get to see the beach!"


    "Aunty Jeanne never saw the beach?" Kunou looked aghast.


    "A-aunty?!?" Jeanne whispered, going nk.


    Welp, Kunou broke her rather quickly.


    I kissed Kunou on the forehead and let her go run after Ruby that was zipping around because one more person was with them and she was silently and patiently standing to the side.


    "You look lovely." Iplimented her.


    Like Salem, Meridia was someone I could never picture dressing this way.


    She crossed her arms just as Salem did and seemed to force herself to frown. "If it is pleasing to you, then it is a simple matter."


    "As long as you''re by my side, that''s all that really matters." I had her in my arms before I could even consciously realize it. "But I love that you''re wearing it."


    Simple and Elegant, a shade of yellow bordering gold with nothing to write home about, but it hugged her generously and showed off her otherworldly and divine legs.


    I wanted to lick them.


    "It seems like we''re just waiting on Venna now." Jinn bounced around between everyone andnded up against me and Meridia.


    "You appear to be in a good mood." Meridia raised an eyebrow.


    "Yup, Wilhelm stuffed me nice and good this morning!" She smiled brightly.


    Meridia blinked, mouth slowly open. I don''t think she would ever not react to Jinn''s sheer and utter disregard for shame.


    I imed to be shameless, but Jinn truly was someone without shame. Honestly, if it wasn''t for my own opinion on the matter, I''m fairly sure she would always run around naked.


    Meridia simply let out a sigh. "And you are a Goddess now."


    "Goddess of getting fu ¨C "


    I covered her mouth and pulled her away.


    Absolutely no filter when she doesn''t need to.


    "Love you." I quickly leaned over to give Meridia a kiss.


    "I love you as well." Meridia seemed thankful. Her delicate sensibilities could only take so much Jinn.


    Though truthfully, Meridia wouldn''t mind. She''de to adore Jinn just like everyone else.


    Jinn happily joined Kunou in ying with Ruby and I made my way to my fluffy fox.


    Yasaka''s tails waved as she noticed me and I quickly shifted through them and found my tail, rubbing it gently.


    "How do you do that?" Yasaka blinked, just sorta looking confused.


    "Do what?" I asked. "Floof your tail? Do you need instructions?"


    "Not that." She huffed, yfully pping my arm.


    "Raikou, I need your opinion." Yasaka called out.


    "Yes?" Raikou quickly came over. "I am happy to help."


    "Can you tell my tails apart?" She asked.


    Raikou tilted her head, shaking it. "I''m sorry, they all look the same to me."


    "Then how does this man know to grab the same tail every time?" She pursed her lips.


    "Because it''s mine." I answered. "I imed it a long time ago."


    Yasaka facepalmed.


    "What''s wrong?" Artoria came up, asking.


    "Our Man here imed one of my tails as his, a long time ago, and seemingly, he''s able to pick it out regardless of what''s happening. I swear, every single time, I can shuffle them around, I can try and trick him with the wrong one, but he always finds the same one! Always my Sixth Tail!"


    "Fluffy." I pressed it against my face.


    Yasaka let out a sigh. "I don''t know how he does it and it''s infuriating."


    Floofy Tail was floofy.


    This was going to be a great day. Laying out on the beach, ying with my daughter and everyone else.


    I felt a little ping on the periphery of the house''s boundary as a Teleportation happened.


    Thest person arrived and¡­.well, she wasn''t alone. It was that moment, I recalled what I said to her when I initially brought up the idea of the beach.


    The door opened quickly, Venna standing there in a tasteful red Bikini with a hat simr to Izzy''s if made of straw with a see through cloth jacket thing around her. I wasn''t actually sure what that type of article of clothing was called.


    I would more certainly admire the ''view'' in a normal situation as the Bikini she was wearing definitely showed off all her curves well enough.


    But my attention was taken almost entirely by the small head that peeked out from behind her.


    About Kunou''s size from first nce.


    The same Hair color as me, if much shorter.


    The same Eye color as me as well.


    He looked around curiously, but with a hint of shyness as well. And it seemed like everyone else in the room went quiet as they arrived.


    I offered this to Venna before, and I admit I was not nearly in such a bad headspace at the time, but that wasn''t really an excuse for the current me to deny this opportunity.


    I had many things to say about my childhood, many things that still weighed heavily in my heart, but I was no longer the same kid I was when I first left that house.


    He noticed everyone else in the room, but he then focused almost solely on me, running out from behind Venna until he stood a couple feet in front of me, anding to a stop, staring up silently.


    Was it his upbringing? He stood perfectly upright, his posture, his mannerisms, they all screamed of years of ''practice''.


    There was a small awkward silence before he opened his mouth. "Hi, I''m Millicas Gremory." He introduced himself with a genuine and happy smile.


    "Hello, Millicas Gremory. I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I felt oddly at peace.


    [***]


    A/N


    A nice vacation from thest bit of back to back events. Next chapter has quite a few lewds as well, and it isn''t wholly plot relevant.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m /astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 527: Part 2

    Chapter 527: Part 2


    It wasn''t the first time we''ve met, but I don''t think it counted while he was unconscious, nor while in the crossfire between myself and father. But seeing him right now looking at me like this, full of happiness and excitement, well¡­.a bit of trepidation like I originally had, all the anxiety and hesitation, it just vanished right here and now.


    I had a brother.


    It wasn''t a sudden revtion, but it was seemingly finally recognized in my mind.


    However¡­..I had no idea how to act.


    How was I supposed to act towards my ''Little Brother''? It was easier when I treated other people as siblings in the past since they weren''t connected to me by blood.


    Honestly, I don''t think he even realized the strain between myself and his parents. Oh kids weren''t stupid, he obviously knew that we didn''t get along and we were estranged, but the extent, he probably didn''t have the depth of experience to really understand.


    Perhaps my rtionship with Venna and my saving him beforehand also warped his perception a bit to make him think it also wasn''t nearly as bad as it actually was.


    That was, if he even knew about me and Venna.


    That was probably an awkward conversation that one of them had to have with their child. And perhaps the thought of them forced to go through with that conversation made me a <em>little</em> happy."Can I call you Big Brother?" Millicas asked after a moment of silence since our introductions.


    ¡­..that caught mepletely off guard.


    "Yes." I forced out.


    I wasn''t against it just¡­..it was sudden and I wasn''t prepared.


    I just had to remind myself that he was a Kid Kunou''s age and missed a lot of social nuance.


    Millicas brightened up immediately, like an invisible wall between us broke. "Big Brother, look!" He fiddled at a small pouch on his waste and his arm reached <em>deep</em> inside of it. It was obviously much bigger on the inside. And he pulled out a sword.


    It was a real sword at first nce, made of stern materials even by my minimal inspection, however it was missing an edge. "I got a sword too, and I was practicing!" He practically pushed it into my hands.


    I hesitantly grabbed hold of it and I was right, it was a fairly decent sword. It could take hits from my other swords and hold on for a while.


    The benefits of being raised by nobility.


    There was a twinge of¡­envy but it was squashed fairly quickly by just his genuineness he was showing.


    "It''s a good sword." I admitted, not sure what to say still.


    "I can make it fly too!" He grabbed it back without hesitation and seemingly cast a spell to make it levitate. "I can''t get it to move yet, but I''m practicing a lot so I can be like you." He smiled happily.


    "¡­.you''re practicing?"


    "Uncle Okita is training me." He nodded happily, taking his sword back and putting it away.


    Right, I hadn''t thought about him in awhile. I was mildly curious to see how strong he really was, because our ''fight'' wasn''t a good indication of that. Not only was he holding back, but he was a killer. The simple fact that he wasn''t ''allowed'' to kill me already severely hampered his strength to a high degree.


    "I can¡­.show you how to do that?" I offered. "Making it fly, I mean¡­"


    "Really?!" His eyes lit up.


    I looked at Venna and she just slightly nodded with a smile. "Yeah, It''s not too difficult."


    "Daddy¡­.." Kunou snuck up behind me, peeking out from behind while she grabbed hold of me.


    She was looking at Millicas strangely.


    Millicas seemed to stare at her in confusion and surprise for a moment before smiling. "Hi, I''m Millicas Gremory." He introduced himself politely, if stiffly. Sort of like he was copying the ''correct'' and ''noble'' way to greet someone, but somewhat stumbling because he''s still a kid.


    "I''m Kunou." Kunou''s tails lightly swayed. "¡­..He''s my daddy." She sounded sort of¡­.defensive with that statement.


    "It''s nice to meet you!" Millicas I guess didn''t catch the undertone and just continued. "I''m his brother, I hope we can be friends!"


    [It''s funny.] Ddraig sounded humored by this whole thing. [You can fight Gods, you will behead your enemies with a grin if you feel like they deserve it. You can destroy mountains with a flick of your wrist. But you''re out of your depth and fumbling when dealing with a child.]


    Fuck you, Ddraig.


    {Leave him alone, he''s doing fine.} My Zanpakut¨­ chimed in.


    Thankfully, Yasaka came up, scooping Kunou into her arms. "It''s a pleasure to have you join us, Millicas. I heard all about you, the little genius of the Gremory family." Yasaka navigated the situation immediately and much better than I did.


    "Ah¡­oh, um." Milicas sort of shifted. "I thank you for inviting me, Lady Yasaka." He awkwardly mimicked the actions that he was probably taught many times in his life.


    "You''re just adorable." Yasaka cooed. "Would you like to change into your swimming clothing?"


    "Yes Ma''am, I have it ready." He politely nodded.


    "Kunou dear, why don''t you show him the restroom where he can change." She sat Kunou back down on the ground.


    The little fox''s ears twitched. "Fine." She grumbled as the two moved off to the downstairs bathroom.


    Venna kissed me on the cheek. "You handled that well."


    "I was like a fish flopping out of the water." I deadpanned.


    "Don''t belittle yourself for taking a proper step." She lightly chided. "How are you feeling?"


    "Honestly? No idea, but I think¡­.I''m doing good." I found myself smiling.


    "We''ll talk about itter, alright?" She said.


    "Alright." I just nodded.


    "Don''t worry, small steps." She said with a warm and reassuring tone. "This isn''t something you should stress over. Rx, enjoy the time, just do whates naturally, you''re not going to cause any harm. Millicas is a smart boy, he isn''t oblivious to your feelings."


    Right, no need to treat this like the¡­.dinner from before.


    This was supposed to be about rxing and having fun.


    "So is this everyone, or¡­?" I looked around as everyone was ncing my way, obviously they were watching me meet my Half-Brother for the first time.


    "We have a few more arriving." Artoria stated. "But they are already prepared, we can depart once everyone here is ready and teleport them."


    Sounds good to me!


    Just a day of rxing, I was already starting to feel better.


    [***]


    Stepping out into the sun with the warm sand beneath my feet, it was one of those feelings you don''t really appreciate until it happens after a long time.


    Thest time I was at the beach¡­.that was my date with Jinn and we just yed around a bit. Actually, this seemed to be the same beach, which made sense considering I picked it out specificallyst time because they prepared it for supernatural races to use without worry of revealing themselves to the mundane.


    "I reserved this portion of the beach, so we don''t have to worry about other peopleing along." Yasaka informed us, and we saw that several umbres and chairs were already set up. She made a gesture with her hands and Soma appeared along with a few other Youkai who shot off to the sides and stood as guards a bit further away. She then turned to me and smiled. "Just let us handle everything and rx."


    This was fine by me. It felt weird to not have a hand in what was going on I felt¡­.ansy not immediately doing anything.


    Might need to talk to Venna about that when we sat down, I seemed to have trouble settling down for periods of time without feeling like this.


    I pushed those thoughts to the side and would just do what made me happy right now. Without a second thought, I pulled Jeanne''s long braid.


    "Neh!?" She yelped from her stupor falling back as I caught her. "Will!" she puffed up cutely.


    "Just to double check¡­..can you swim?"


    "Uh¡­..no." She said quietly, looking down.


    "Just be careful, alright?" I kissed her forehead again, something I had started doing quite recently and neither of us had addressed yet.


    "I will." She smiled brightly but her face quickly turned red because my hand was unrepentantly squeezing her butt. "Ah, I''ll be careful!" She squeaked out.


    "Oh stop teasing the poor girl." Yasaka yfully pped my shoulder.


    I relented, even though I wanted to keep going. Though she was right, didn''t want to make this all about me, Jeanne wanted to go to the beach too, this was a sort of lifelong desire of hers and I didn''t want to ruin it.


    "Aunt Jeanne, we have floaties." Kunou held up the innertube for Jeanne.


    Jeanne wasn''t offered in the slightest. "Thank you so much, I will use it well."


    Everyone else was setting up on their own. Venna was tending to Millicas, seemingly putting sunscreen on him.


    I didn''t realize Devils <em>needed</em> Sunscreen? Maybe it''s a mental thing, like they think they <em>should</em> get a tanned or sunburn and their body reacts unconsciously and the act of Sunscreen prevents that for children?


    Don''t know why but seeing Venna in her ''mothering'' mode was always enjoyable to see.


    [You know why.] Ddraig countered.


    I ignored the grumpy Dragon.


    Salem seemed to have imed one of the lounge chairs. She grumbled about going to the ''beach'' and well, I couldn''t me her all that much, it most certainly didn''t seem like her ''thing''. But she looked very content toy back and close her eyes, peacefullyying there.


    Meridia also silently joined her, neither even speaking, but the fact that both of them were fine enough like this, well, it made my heart happy.


    It seemed like Izzy was quick to join them as well. That trio of my girls who are more ''loners'' than the others.


    The others just started shuffling around, setting everything up, moving around. They were much more willing to ''socialize'' or y around. Not that either side was right or wrong in how they went about this, they all had their own preferences.


    I just took the moment to take a deep breath and let the salty air of the ocean hit my face and skin.


    "You should go without a shirt more often." Jinn pushed her head into my shoulder.


    I found myself giving her a head rub. "Maybe you should go without a shirt more often."


    "I will~"


    "She already runs around nude when possible." Sc¨¢thach snuck up on my other side, smiling warmly. "If practical, she would never wear clothing."


    "It''s nice to be back here. This is where Wilhelm took me on our first date." Jinn sighed happily.


    "Oh? It is a good choice. I missed the shores of Skye from when I was ass. I recall walking them for hours at sunset, looking out at the sea." She said wistfully. "Though the first date our man took me on was to fight some Gods." She said it rather bluntly, perhaps with a hint of humor, but there was not an iota of discontent in her tone. If anything, she looked very simr to Jinn right now.


    "Wooo, Beach!" Ruby flew around happily. "Rin what should we do first!?"


    "We need to get the others." She grumbled, snatching Ruby out of the air before she flew too far away.


    Right, Artoria did say ''others'' and I was guessing who that involved now.


    I watched as she pulled on the Kaleidoscope with Ruby''s help, creating her own portal and a bunch of familiar faces stepped through.


    "My friend!" Thorum heartily shouted, waving to me. It was¡­.odd seeing him in swim trunks considering his ''origins'' but that quickly passed.


    "Thorum!" He didn''t even waste a moment and I found myself in one of his big hugs while he gave me that big goofy smile of his.


    "Father, I brought the snacks you asked for." Mordred came through, wearing a bikini very simr to Artoria''s but with a surfboard under her arm and holding up a big cooler over her shoulder in the other.


    Her master, Kairi followed after her, carrying a bunch of fishing poles and fishing supplies.


    "Good choice." I gave him a thumbs up and he shot one back at me.


    "Been a while since I''ve seen the ocean." Achilles whistled.


    "Spend years sailing and it quickly loses its appeal." Atnta said dryly, but still, she looked happy to be there.


    "Hey, I sailed all the way to Troy, that was not fun. But I still love to feel the warm sands between my toes." He chuckled.


    "I do not believe I would ever find the waves to lose their charm." Sasaki hummed, likewise dressed appropriately as the others. He also was carrying quite a bit of fishing gear with him.


    I could guess what they were going to get up to for the most part.


    It''s so weird seeing all these ''figures'' from different points in time in things like Bikinis and swim trunks, but at the same time, it really is great to see them alle together.


    My family and friends.


    I only wish <em>everyone</em> could be here. Gramps and Lucretia, momma Pandora, even the others in time.


    Perhaps this was just the first of many ''beach days'' for the future.


    "Oh, Thorum. Meet my Half-Brother, Millicas. Millicas, this is Thorum, my best friend." I quickly introduced them as Millicas came to join.


    "Half Brother?" Thorum''s eyes widened, looking at him. "I did not prepare a gift! What do you like, little one, perhaps I have something on hand?"


    "You don''t ¨C"


    "I like swords." Milicas smiled.


    "Here, a proper Nord sword for you!" Thorum retrieved a steel sword, looking as if it was crafted with Skyforge steel at a nce.


    "Really!?"


    "I''ll take that." Venna stepped in, grabbing the sword. "He''s not allowed edged weapons yet. So I''ll just hold onto it for now."


    Thorum coughed awkwardly. "My apologies, Lady Venna."


    I justughed, patting Thorum''s shoulder. He meant well, and everyone knew it.


    "Did you not invite Hel?"


    "Erm, Lady Hel is¡­busy." Thorum looked away.


    "A shame you won''t be able to see her <em>dressed for the asion, </em>huh?" I nudged him


    "Ah the dress here is strange but¡­.."


    "I could imagine how it looks from your end. But it''s alright to¡­.appreciate the view." I put my arm on his shoulder, leaning on him as his eyes moved towards Jeanne and Atnta chatting happily.


    "Aye, it is a nice view." Thorum agreed.


    "You ever been to the beach before?"


    "I have, but not for purposes such as these. The waters of Skyrim are cold and harsh, it is warm andfortable here. To rx and¡­.seek enjoyment from lounging on the sands, it is an odd thing but one I find myself enjoying thus far."


    "There''s plenty of things to do too. We''ll y some games and hang out, so feel free to mingle and do whatever you want. It looks like Kairi and Sasaki brought enough Fishing poles if you''re into that."


    Thorum rubbed his chin. "I may indulge." He grinned.


    I pat his shoulder again as he moved towards the guys. It was far from the first time they''ve met, so I didn''t feel the need to introduce them.


    "Daddy, make a sand castle with me." Kunou pulled on my arm.Millicas was right next to us and while he didn''t say anything, you could <em>tell</em> he wanted to join in. "¡­.you can help too." Kunou added on begrudgingly.


    Moments like that are when I just felt an overwhelming sense of pride as a father. Kunou growing up to be a good person.


    "Let''s find a good spot. Don''t want to be too close to the water so it gets swept away. But the loose sand won''t work too well." I just smiled and let them lead on.


    Kunou took out a stic bucked and started scooping the damp sand out of the ground while Millicas joined her.


    "I''ll make a moat." Millicas said.


    "That''s a good idea." Kunou looked at him. "Make it big so we can have a big castle. Daddy, you get started on the towers."


    "How many towers do you want?" I hummed, getting right in there with them.


    "How many towers do you think we should have?" Kunou looked over at Millicas.


    "Uncle Ajuka''s castle has four towers."


    "Then let''s do five, it''ll be better that way." Kunou stated, using the logic that probably made sense to kids their age.


    "There''s the first tower." I finished my masterpiece.


    "Daddy, that looks like a fat panda." Kunouughed.


    "What, it looks perfect!"


    "No, it looks like a turtle. There''s even a head here." Millicas pointed out.


    "A two headed turtle." Kunou giggled.


    "It''s a perfect tower!" I defended myself.


    "Your turtle looks like it''s pooping." My Half-Brother pointed out.


    "It does!" Kunouughed.


    "Alright, let me see you both do a tower then." I challenged them.


    They quickly scooped up the sand and started shaping it into¡­.admittedly, good shaped towers. Perhaps they were slightly better than my own¡­


    [You have the artistic sense of a cactus.] Ddriag snorted.


    I am an artistic genius!


    [Yeah? Remember your painting of Kunou when you visited Soul Society?]


    ¡­..shut up.


    I''ll do a better one, just watch.


    I quickly gathered a pile of sand together and started sculpting my new masterpiece.


    "Daddy, it''s worse than your other one." Kunou pouted.


    Just¡­.an arrow right through the heart.


    They both seemed to ignore me and started ''fixing'' my works of arts. "I''ll do this one, you do the other one." Millicas spoke.


    "Alright, let''s meet around the next wall andbine them." Kunou smiled.


    I stood up and stepped back and they didn''t even notice me as they were ying.


    Well, I would leave them to it. I was happy that Kunou was ying with someone her own age.


    Instead, I found Jeanne sitting at the edge of the water, her toes basically dipping not it.


    "It''s not going to bite." I snuck up on her.


    "Ah?" She turned her head. "I know, I just¡­.was nervous." She admitted. "Are you not ying with them anymore?". She tilted her head, looking back towards Millicas and Kunou.


    "I was kicked out because I''m too good of a sand castle builder." I sighed.


    "¡­..I feel like that''s not the real reason."


    "It is, trust me." I said with a straight face. "Anyways¡­" I offered my arm. "Care for a swim?"


    Jeanne smiled, taking my arm as we ventured forth into the unknown. And by that, I mean we went to knee deep water, very slowly, because Jeanne was enjoying it.


    "It''s salty." She spat out, a wave sshing up and some getting in her mouth.


    "Yeah, don''t drink the salt water." I deadpanned.


    "I know that!" She puffed up. "It was an ident." She spoke, but another wave broke and sshed up into her mouth as she somewhat choked on it and spit it back out. She then looked up, noticing my grin, I would assume, and wordlessly started throwing her small fists at my shoulder.


    "You can keep hitting me, but just know that I will spank you."


    "Eep!"


    Well, not like I would need an excuse a this point.


    That round butt of hers was <em>mine</em>.


    "Want to go a bit deeper?" I offered.


    "Um¡­okay, but don''t let me go." She grabbed hold a bit tighter.


    "I promise I won''t let you go." I reassured her. There were times to tease her, but this was not one of them.


    We went deep enough that our feet no longer touched the ground and Jeanne started¡­well, not panicking but she visible became more anxious.


    "Just kick your feet, using your hands to push up." I gently guided her until she was able to properly keep her head above the water. "Don''t panic if you go under, we''re not too deep and I''m right here."


    "Please don''t let go!" She squeaked as a wave washed over, hitting us. "Bleh¡­"


    She swallowed a mouthful of salt water again¡­.


    "Watch out, herees another." I lifted her up so she wouldn''t get submerged under a ratherrge wave even if I got pushed under while lifting her up enough.


    Well, I had enough experience to keep my mouth closed, fortunately. Though I couldn''t me her, people usually learn the hard way when visiting the ocean for the first time.


    Jeanne giggled happily as we were pushed around by the waves. "Nooo, don''t let go!" She whined as I sat her back down. "Ah!" We got smacked with another wave again.


    "You forgot to bring your floaties." I teased lightly.


    "Neh!" She grabbed hold of me. "Let''s go back to ¨C"


    The biggest wave of the day it seemed hit us and knocked us back into the water. It took me a moment to reorientate myself and make sure Jeanne didn''t get disorientated herself, but she was back upughing just as she was before, flipping her hair back as it had covered her face.


    "This is so much fun!"


    "¡­uh huh." I just nodded absentmindedly, staring at her.


    "What?" She blinked, her eyes trailing downwards to see where I was staring dumbfounded out. It seemed to take her a moment to realize what was wrong.


    A certain piece of clothing was missing from around her chest.


    That is to say, her boobs were fully revealed.


    "¡­.today is a good day."


    Jeanne''s eyes widened and she let out a high pitched squeak and quickly covered her chest. "My top! Don''t look, noooo!"


    I looked around and found it floating next to use and casually handed it to her.


    She whined, taking it back and quickly putting it back on while trying her best to keep herself covered.


    "¡­..did you see?" She asked softly as we made our way back to more shallow waters.


    "Do you want me to say I didn''t?" I asked. "Because I will if it makes you feel better."


    She covered her beet red face."I didn''t do it on purpose! Please don''t think less of me."


    "Jeanne, I promise I won''t think less of you after seeing your magnificent breasts." I reassured her with the most genuine tone I could muster.


    "I''m happy to hear that but at the same time, I really want to hit you for some reason." She whispered. "¡­.take responsibility."


    "Okay."


    "Eh?" She seemed to panic. "Why did you answer so quickly!" She ran away.


    I don''t think she expected me to agree so readily and wasn''t prepared.


    Seeing an embarrassed Jeanne run away was very cute however. It seems she was going to where Mordred was, so it was fine.


    I let out a content sigh and walked back towards the chairs where the majority of my girls were sunbathing.


    They smiled as I approached and I happily copsed onto an empty seat between them.


    "Why did Jeanne go running away so suddenly?" Izzy asked.


    "Boobs." I closed my eyes and recalled the memory from only moments ago.


    "¡­.how are you both so perverted yet also so constrained about it?"


    "Constrained?" Salem snorted.


    "Well, he does not grab my rear where others are watching." Izzy noted. "Frankly, he makes sure anything perverted he does is in private or without outsiders watching. Most perverts I''ve met don''t care about that sort of thing."


    "Well of course. I fully admit I''m a pervert, but I am nothing if not a gentleman." I harrumphed.


    I liked to think I had enough ss to not be crass about appreciating the bodies of my girls. And I would obviously respect any words they said in dissatisfaction about my actions.


    "He knows what would happen if he pped my ass in public." Sc¨¢thach added her thoughts.


    "Pain?" I asked.


    "Pain." She nodded. "I made certain to curb his desires early on."


    "She did well to train him." Meridia chimed in.


    "Am I a dog?" I said dryly.


    "Well, you certainly hump anything with boobs." Izzy rolled her eyes.


    "Some bold words for someone in humping distance." I shot her a smile.


    "Don''t you dare, my legs are <em>still</em> sore!"


    "Oh?" Yasaka perked up. "I knew I <em>smelled</em> a little <em>something</em> the other day~"


    "Hours!" Izzy huffed. "with my legs."


    "Master''s stamina is difficult to manage." Raikou stated.


    "You''re telling me." Izzy huffed again.


    "Devils are notorious for it as well, but really, he''s gifted even by that metric." Venna added her own thoughts.


    "Half-Devil, Dragon, Divine¡­..other things." I listed off and realized it was pointless to keep going. "My life has been really weird now that I think about it."


    "If it wasn''t, so many of us from different parts of life wouldn''t have gathered together." Yasaka smiled. "And Jinn and Artoria are here."


    "Oh, are we getting ready to start?" Jinn asked excitedly.


    "Start?" I blinked. "Start what?"


    Meridia held up her hand and did <em>something</em> that was so far beyond my peripheral that I only caught the barest minimum of its effects. Like a Bounded Field appeared around us as everything ''outside'' came to a halt.


    Before I could question what was going on, a piece of purple fabric hit my face. I recognized it as the colors Raikou was wearing, and it only took me another second to realize that it was the not top portion of her bikini.


    @***@


    Lewd below, skip if you don''t want to read, it''s sectioned off.


    @****@


    Raikou put one leg up on the chair and used her fingers to spread herself for me to see. "Mommy is going to take you right here."


    "Oh¡­" Everything clicked. "You sealed off ¨C"


    "Hush." Yasaka put a finger to my lips, her boobs already free and pushed into my face, before I realized what I was doing, I already had my mouth sped over one of her nipples. "Oh, you don''t waste any time, do you~?" She giggled. "Don''t worry about anything else. No one can see inside, no one will realize what we''re doing."


    "We wished for you to have a rxing day but we also wished for everyone else to not be forced to endure the awkwardness of knowing what we were doing." Artoria added, she undid her top, letting it fall and putting it to the side. "With this method, we will be able to indulge your desires in privacy without disrupting the gathering or making it ufortable for them."


    I released Yasaka''s boob with a <em>pop</em> and looked at everyone. "¡­.indulge, huh? And everyone is¡­.okay with this?"


    "Don''t expect me to <em>engage</em> like they are." Salem scoffed. "¡­..however, I am aware of what was nned and I did not voice dissatisfaction."


    Jinn was already naked and pushed up on my other side. "Don''t think too hard about it, we''re all here willingly. Just <em>enjoy</em> yourself."


    "He is spoiled for choice" Sc¨¢thach dropped her top and moved towards my trunks. "Remove these, they are in the way." She didn''t waste any time practically ripping them off and letting my cock spring free infront of everyone.


    "Well, it''s not as if we all haven''t seen it at this point." Izzy muttered.


    "I wouldn''t mind a ride if no one else wants to go first~" Venna, like Jinn was already out of her Bikini.


    "I would like to go first." Raikou said oddly assertively.


    "Well, who am I to get between a mom and her son." Venna giggled. "Though, how about a mom and grandma tit fuck?" She offered, pushing her boobs up.


    Raikou grabbed hold of my member with a firm grip. "I think Master would enjoy that very much."


    Both of them knelt down together. Raikou opened her mouth, and her tongue began to run down my full length. "Mommy will take care of Master''s naughty penis."


    "I''ll handle his balls." Venna stated, immediately taking one into her mouth and she started sucking on it.


    Jesus fucking Christ, I had both Raikou and Venna working on me at the same time. I couldn''t see much of Venna, but Raikou looked me right in the eyes as she bobbed her head up and down, her tongue expertly massaging every part of my cock as it entered her mouth.


    Maybe it was the groan that escaped or maybe it was my hand unconsciously moving to atop Raikou''s head, but I felt Venna release me from below and stoppletely. "Careful, you don''t want to make him go off too soon." She joined Raikou, running her tongue down the opposite side only to meet up on my tip as both their tongues intertwined together.


    "Master has plenty of yummy seed for all of us." Raikou didn''t seem too concerned, pulling back and propping her massive breasts up.


    Venna did the same and without hesitation they both pushed them together and enveloped my cockpletely between. "How lucky you are, getting a double tit fuck from both your Grandma and your Mother, hmm? You know how rare it is to find another pair of boobs the same size as mine?"


    Their breasts together squeezed me tightly and in tandem they started pumping me up and down with them.


    "Mommy is happy. Master is always giving Mommy''srge breasts plenty of attention. But I''m also upset, Master. You''re supposed toe to mommy when you''re upset but you never did."


    "I''m sorry<em>yyy</em>." Her fingers squeezed around my balls and very quickly I knew she was <em>deadly serious</em> despite her teasing tone.


    "Mommy will need to reeducate you." She said sternly, using that tone that I recalled back during our time in the Grail War. And frankly, it just made me even harder to have it directed at me. "Master is going to release all his pent-up semen."


    It was a demand.


    "Don''t forget about me. Grandma wants to be covered in a nice hot load too." Venna added in. "Let it all out on Grandma''s fat tits."


    I didn''t even try to hold back, I just let out a big breath and let my head fall back as my first load of cum shot out between their breasts, sttering all over them.


    They didn''t even stop, their chests continued to move in tandem, squeezing and pumping everyst bit they could get out from me.


    "Master let out so much~"


    "Not the first load of the day because of a certain couple~ But it''s nice and thick and tasty." Venna agreed, licking her fingers. "You better hop on that dick because I can barely hold myself back."


    "Master I can''t hold back it." Raikou flushed, covering her face as she hovered above my still erect cock, her pussy noticeably wet even from this angle. "Mommy wants your seed inside her womb. Please impregnate your mother." She lowered herself down without a second thought, no warning no hesitation and my cock waspletely sheathed inside of her in one motion. "Aaaah~"


    I honestly felt my eyes roll back ever so slowly as she squeezed down <em>tightly</em> all around my cock.


    "Oh my all at once." Venna giggled, pressing on the lower end of Raikou''s stomach. "I can feel it right <em>here</em>."


    "Oooh." Raikou let out another soft moan. "Master is filling up mommy with his healthy and strong penis."


    My fingers inched towards her leg, even with her having me at her mercy and ''mothering me'', I wasn''t one to just take it without giving in return. I pulled her leg up and pushed her down on her side, letting her foot hang over my shoulder. "If Raikou wants a baby, then I''ll do just that. I''m going to fill your womb until there''s no room left, Raikou. I''m going to make sure you''re never without my cum inside of you for now on."


    "Ahh, master~" She whined as I began thoroughly plunging my cock into her properly. "So aggressive."


    "This is what you wanted, right?" I grunted, herrge boobs swinging with each thrust of mine. "You wanted every inch of me inside of you, impregnating you?"


    "Yes, mommy wants it!" Raikou let out a moan. "Please fill mommy with your warm seed!"


    I didn''t care that I had just cum a few minutes ago. I just picked up the pace and even as Raikou fell off the chair and whined as she was pushed into the sand with my thrusts, I just kept going strong.


    Her tight pussy squeezing me with each movement, and she was practically <em>begging</em> for it at this point.


    "Master is so hard and intense; Master is going to let it out~"


    She knew me all too well at this point and the second load of the evening erupted inside of her. I didn''t stop moving, letting her innards to the work of squeezing it out, but I made sure to pump every spurt of my cum into her awaiting womb just like she wanted.


    She slid off my cock and fell fully onto the sand, breathing heavily as it dripped out of her from below. She had a dazed look about her and just a content smile as she silently heaved from where shey.


    "Oh dear, I believe we''ve invited a monster." Venna cupped her cheek as she looked down at my erection.


    My girls, well, they were watching quite intently, some <em>more</em> intently than others. Jinn was just straight masturbating and gave me a little wave and spread her legs a little wider as I nced her way.


    "<em>Next</em>." I said.


    @***@


    "Oooh, oh~" Venna let out a moan as she moved in tandem with my own thrusts. I held her up and her legs wrapped around my waist as she dutifully bounced on my cock. "I love it, this cock just fits perfectly inside me!" She let out another moan.


    "You wanted it just like Raikou, I''m going to fill you up just as she is!"


    "Yes, fill up your Grandma with your seed. Get me pregnant too, I want to bear your child." Venna exhaled, moaning as her hands clutched around my back. "Let everyone see you give me a swollen belly."


    She knew exactly the right words to excite me.


    "Look at her having so much fun." Yasaka walked up behind. "Hogging it all to yourself."


    "Oooh?" Venna let out an odd noise, not quite a moan, but not dislike either. "If you''re going to put a finger in my butt, you bettermit to it."


    "You''re such a slut." Yasakaughed as she very clearly <em>helped</em> Venna from behind and Venna just threw her hips forward without hesitation.


    She just squeezed down even tighter with her alright supernaturally pleasurable pussy of hers.


    I really never stood a chance with her, did I? I can tell people that she seduced me, but in reality, she ruined me fairly quickly.


    I pulled her all the way down letting her getpletely filled with my cock before I came again, making sure she was just as full as Raikou was.


    I wanted her pregnant, no teasing, no hyperbole, no sex talk.


    <em>"You''re going to bare my child</em>."


    Venna simply let out a moan, clenching down just a tad tighter as an orgasm took her.


    @***@


    "I told you that you were going tomit~" Venna cooed, as she sat on Yasaka''s face with Yasaka''s hands spreading those impressive cheeks. "You better get your tongue all the way inside, dear."


    On my end, I held Yasaka''s legs open as I just thrust right into her awaiting and wet pussy of hers.


    "No fair, I want to sit on her face next." Jinn pouted.


    "Oh sweetie, don''t worry, if she won''t I would be more than happy to." Venna licked her lips.


    "Oh." Jinn''s eyes lit up excitedly. Then she looked around, eyesnding on Artoria. "Oh Artoria~"


    Artoria flushed, but didn''t escape once Jinn approached her.


    I pushed her legs back and simply let my cock sink into her pussy. "Fuck it, I''m alreadymitted Let''s give Kunou another sibling."


    "Mmfph." Yasaka''s response was muffled from beneath Venna''s voluptuous rear.


    "Oooh." Venna let out a moan, leaning back and spreading her own pussy as visibly shuttered and another orgasm dripped from her.


    I maybe paused for a second to watch because it was unbelievably arousing.


    Venna let out a content sigh. "I didn''t tell you to stop."


    Yasaka seemingly redoubled her efforts under Venna and I too took that as a cue to keep thrusting, it didn''t take long for me to be pushed over the edge, likewise filling her pussy with a healthy amount of my semen.


    My cock slipped free of her, a muffled moan and whine was all the response she gave.


    Venna just looked down at me, unmoving from atop Yasaka and I looked down at Yasaka''s quivering legs and shrugged, lining myself back up and pushing back in again.


    Venna threw her head back again with a soft moan in response to Yasaka''s own muffled whine.


    Another round wouldn''t hurt.


    I grabbed hold of her fluffy tails to stroke, much to her muffled protests, but there was no way I wasn''t going to enjoy every part of her in this situation.


    @***@


    "Look at him,ing here and expecting something from us." Izzy snorted.


    "Yes, he has that look on his face, does he not?" Meridia agreed. "As if we would drop to our knees at a moment''s notice for his pleasure."


    "He has his pick of women, of holes to use, and yet he sits here." Izzy nodded.


    "He is a foolish man." Meridia offered.


    "Foolish indeed." Izzy said.


    I sat between them as they both had a hand on my cock, pumping it rhythmically.


    It was a nice alternative to the fact that I basically had my cock inside one of the others for thest few hours nonstop.


    "I bet he expects to ejacte all over us." Izzy scoffed.


    "Yes that is something he would do, is it not? To debase a pair of Goddesses with his seed like we''re some sort of <em>toy</em> for his pleasure." Meridia drawled. "Perhaps this is not even enough to satiate his desires."


    "That''s right, off with your tops." I yed along.


    "Demanding something like that form us." Izzy scowled, not even hesitating to undo the top of her Bikini, letting her impressive bosom bounce free. "Are you satisfied now? I''m revealing myself opening for your pleasure."


    "Hmph." Meridia scoffed just as well, undoing hers and dropping it to the side. "Never has anyone ever treated me like this before."


    Yet their hands never once left my cock, vigorously pumping it non stop between them.


    "Because you''re both mine."


    "Yours?" Meridia raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that is correct. I have be <em>yours</em> it seems."


    "Yes, before I knew it, I fell into his clutches just as well. The only thing I can do now is to satiate his desires with my body. Very well, debase us even more, release your semen."


    "As a Goddess, I will receive your semen just as she will." Meridia intoned.


    I just rxed as they literally squeezed it out of me from the first spurt as itnded on their hands. Their machinations didn''t cease nor give me proper time to enjoy it as they continued to jerk my cock with the same speed and strength as before.


    Even as thest of my orgasm subsided, they continued, unspeaking, unmoving. "I''m done¡­.you can stop now."


    "Oh no, this is what you wanted, isn''t it?" Izzy had a mischievous grin grow on her face.


    "Agreed, it is best to truly <em>squeeze</em> out everyst drop of his perversion properly." Meridia''s re was <em>intense</em>.


    Meep.


    @***@


    "Student are you admitting defeat already?" Sc¨¢thach stood over me. "Your cock is looking frail and weak." Her finger slowly rubbed down my length.


    "The heart is willingly, but Izzy and Meridia were brutal¡­" Iid back on the chair.


    "A shame then, my student." Sc¨¢thach turned around, spreading her cheeks apart. "I was going to allow you into my anus."


    And just like that, little Wilhelm was raring to go once again.


    Sc¨¢thach justughed, positioning herself above me. "Sit well and rx, allow this Sc¨¢thach''s anus to pleasure your cock."


    She lowered her hips as my tip pressed against her tight rosebud, and she slowly pushed on.


    I felt it enter her ass for the first time, her walls immediately tightening around me. Sc¨¢thach''s breath hitched, and she made a very uncharacteristic and alluring <em>whimper</em> with a small moan as it pushed deeper inside of her.


    "There you go, my student. You are inside of your Teacher''s anus, be pleased with yourself, this is a path not many have traveled." She rxed as her hips touched against my legs, my member disappearing fully inside of her.


    She slowly moved up and down, getting used to the size of my cock invading her tight hole. However, I grabbed her hips and her head slowly turned back and she met my gaze.


    "Student ¨C "


    I pulled her down fully in one swift motion, my cock prating deep inside her ass all the way once more, but with a certain amount of force behind it.


    She didn''t speak, she trembled, her mouth hung open and her eyes lost focus. The only sound that followed was a ssh of liquid that shot out from her front that hit the sand below us.


    Sc¨¢thach just squirted.


    Still trembling, she turned back to me after regaining focus, but her lips still were quivering and her breathing uneven. "Student, you are going to release your semen inside this Sc¨¢thach''s anus until your balls empty. Then you will keep going." She stated with a low growl.


    ¡­.worth it.


    "Hmph" Salem let out a snort, sitting up from her chair. "You allow him too much and this is what happens."


    "Yes, I have allowed him perhaps too much. Student I believe you deserve a punishment." Sc¨¢thach''s earlier demeanor returned. "Will you assist me?" She looked up at Salem.


    Salem''s red eyes met mine and a small smile slowly grew. "I believe I can <em>assist</em>.


    Salem walked over sensually, her ass hypnotizing the way it jiggled with each step. She stopped until she was standing next to my head then quickly swung one leg over the other side of the chair until she was hovering above me.


    The sun was blotted out by the most beautiful rear I''ve everid my eyes on.


    And gradually it was lowered onto my face.


    Sc¨¢thach''s tight ass began to move again, her hips slowing picking up pace. But I had neither the presence of mind nor the actual visibility to appreciate it as Salem''s amazing ass suffocated me in the best ways possible.


    Well, if you insist~


    Salem, for the first time, let out a moan.


    "Who said you could put it in my rear!?" Her voice was <em>much</em> higher in tone than normal and despite her aggrieved shriek, she did nothing to move.


    @***@


    "I think you all ruined him." Jinn poked my side. "I didn''t even get to ride him yet!"


    "You had him this morning, you don''t get to whine." Yasaka looked like she twisted the plug in Jinn''s ass, making her yelp before going to the cooler and taking out a bunch of things. "But I wouldn''t mind getting a taste of you myself if he''s clocking out."


    "Hehe~"


    "Hmph, he has more than enough left in him." Salem huffed. "If he has the shamelessness to try and tongue my behind, he has more than enough to keep going."


    "I regret nothing." I shakily raised my tired arm.


    "An unrepentant pervert!" She snorted, a slight red hue adorning her cheeks and a noticeable wet spot on her bikini.


    "Now now, our man has shown he has more than enough in him to handle all of us properly." Venna stood up straight, despite her leaking very clearly from her pussy. "Maybe we should take a snack break? Replenish ourselves, as it were"


    Sc¨¢thach rubbed her bubbly behind. "I could use a break; my asshole is sore." She said, just as bluntly as she does most things, but I felt a twitch from my cock, nheless. "But his punishment is yet finished."


    "You just want him to keep fucking your ass." Jinn pouted.


    "The two are not mutually exclusive." Sc¨¢thach smiled.


    Raikou wobbled over. "A break would be lovely."


    "Perhaps a meal would not be remiss. The only thing I''ve had to eat today was what came out of him." Izzy huffed, jerking her thumb at me.


    "Simrly, but I do not require sustenance. However, I would not mind a treat. " Meridia joined in.


    "I could eat." Artoria said to the surprise of no one, but frankly, she had been <em>eating</em> already. Her ''meal'' just so happened to be blue and loved to get anal fucked.


    "Artoria, where are you going?" I spoke up, grabbing their attention.


    "¡­.food?" She questioned, in confusion.


    "Your meal is right here." I pointed down to my cock.


    Artoria''s cheeks flushed as she immediately understood my insinuation. "I see¡­" She shuddered.


    Artoria wasn''t quite at the point of actual sex yet, she had a great many hangups that we slowly navigated, much less infront of everyone with her first time.


    But she was most certainly not getting away from me.


    As she approached, I wasted no time pushing her down onto the lounge chair, earning a small yelp of surprise from her. Sheid on her back, face up to the sky with my full erection hovering over her.


    Artoria licked her lips. "Please allow me this meal."


    ¡­..you know, I think the fact that she''s always ''polite'' about swallowing my cock is what really sets me off.


    Her tongue was already out and licking me before I even initiated.


    "Don''t worry, I prepared this meal just for you." I lined up with her mouth and aggressively pushed it inside. I don''t know why, but I wanted to be really rough with her this time.


    "Gulghk." She made a choking noise as I pushed into her mouth and subsequently her throat opened up for me.


    Oh, she was great at giving blowjobs and working my cock at this point, but I wanted to fuck her, and this was the only avenue I had at the moment.


    I looked down at her petite body with her throat bulging from my cock and I had the most wonderful idea.


    Her eyes widened as I grabbed her sides and <em>lifted her up</em>, holding her upside down in the air. She was petite enough that it wasn''t a burden to hold this position.


    Her hands mped down around my back and she seemingly just epted her new role as I mercilessly swung my hips upwards into the depths of her throat.


    Her entire body jerked with each movement as she did her best to really suck my cock in the position she was in.


    "Here''s your snack Artoria, make sure not to waste it."


    "Gulghk!?" Her choke of surprise only intensified as I released another load for the day, right into her stomach. Despite the position, the fact that she was upside down, her throat mped down and like the glutton she was, she swallowed everything I gave her. "Gulgkhgl." She made another noise, her gaze rxing, and she seemingly was enjoying the ''after glow'' so to speak.


    I gently lowered her back onto the lounge chair and released my cock from her throat.


    Drool dripped from her mouth and a few tears swelled up in her eyes, but she held her regal expression just as well. "Thank you for the meal." She said with utter politeness and genuineness.


    My cock twitched again. "You''re not full yet, are you?"


    Artoria looked at me, then silently opened her mouth wide again and I didn''t waste a moment before plunging back in.


    Today was a good day.


    @***@


    Lewd Over


    @***@


    Everyone got cleaned up fairly quickly. They put their clothes back and after a little while, well, there was no evidence left of what happened.


    Except for a few limps among other things.


    I currently had Salem wrapped up in my arms. She was ''upset'' but not <em>upset</em>, if that made sense. I mean, she sits on my face, what did she expect to happen?


    She was huffing and scowling, but didn''t push me away or say anything overly negative.


    Venna let out a yawn and stretched. "Just what the doctor ordered."


    "I don''t understand how you''re not sore." Izzy snorted. "My legs¡­.<em>again</em>." She red my way.


    "Lots and lots of practice." Venna hummed.


    I nced over to Artoria who was eating a snack of some sort, I met her gaze and she paused what she was eating, flushed rather cutely and went back to it.


    Yup, today was most certainly a good day.


    "Student, are you feeling better?" Sc¨¢thach asked, a slight limp to her and she rubbed her butt once before she stood up.


    "I feel great." I smiled.


    Though I couldn''t say that for everyone.


    Raikou was stillying face down on the lounge chair, looking limp and exhausted.


    That one was my fault, I just couldn''t help myself.


    When she starts telling me to impregnate her, well....things just happen.


    Yasaka, while having been very haggard only a few minutes ago, cleaned herself up rather well. She walked up, kissing me on the cheek. "Remember that we''re here, okay? Don''t let things simmer like they did over the past few days."


    Yeah, things just stacked up at the worse times and hit me all at once.


    Made me really realize how much I was juggling right now across many different worlds, and I had no intention of stopping anytime soon.


    I just needed¡­.to make sure I stopped every now and then and smelled the proverbial roses and took a break.


    Luckily, I had <em>plenty</em> of reasons to take long breaks.


    As Meridia removed whatever it is she did, I realized that only moments passed outside. I wasn''t going to question he lengths they went to, I was frankly too exhausted ¨C pleasantly exhausted ¨C but exhausted all the same to truly care at the moment.


    I stretched my poor muscles and felt myself utterly at peace.


    "Daddy look, we''re almost done!" Kunou called me over.


    Their Sand Castle was looking¡­.good, rtively speaking. Without my artistic genius to assist them I <em>suppose</em> it was good enough.


    "It looks great." I smiled. "Why don''t I add a little finishing touch?" I put my hand on the sand nearby, and cast a few spells.


    Shaping things through sand like this was far from difficult, making the details mildly moreso. Altering the structure to preserve the form so it wouldn''t copse onto itself. And just like that the Castle was now mannedby a few dozen ''knights''.


    "Oh wow!" Millicas''s eyes widened.


    "Dad¡­" Kunou looked up at me. "Why didn''t you just do that before?"


    "¡­well, um." I coughed into my fist. "I didn''t want to spoil your fun." I quickly found the most convenient excuse as to why I didn''t think to do that earlier. "Hey look, watch this!" I put my hand back on the sand, but adding a bit of lightning this time, reshaping it, changing its structure until I literally pulled a sword from the earth and it maintained a solid and coherent form even without any additional input.


    "There''s actually a few ways to control it, the most pronounced and intricate way requires blood and refinement with a weapon. But there are telekinesis magics that allow you to do some tricks." I jerked my fingers and the ''sword'' went flying off.


    "Son of a bitch!" Achilles roared.


    My sword may or may not have stabbed him in the ass.


    "I use that though, and I can only make it float." Millicas pouted.


    "Your method is probably wrong. You''re mentally probably trying it like a hand, grabbing at it. What you need to do is wrap around it like a string and move it around like that."


    Millicas looked thoughtful. "So a kite?" He asked.


    I blinked in surprise. "That is a very aptparison." He was pretty smart. "It''s an okay method to start with but¡­" I let Miragee out and it flew around me in a circle. "It won''t be able to move like this. You need a proper weapon and to refine it with your own blood and magic to get it to listen to you like this."


    There was more to it, but he wasn''t quite ready for this I don''t think.


    "Thank you, big Brother!" He smiled happily.


    "¡­.no problem." I found myself smiling.


    "Daddy, what about me?" Kunou threw herself at me with a pout.


    "What does my little fox want?" I held her up.


    "I want something too." She said.


    "What ¨C "


    "Allow me to help!" Ruby flew over. "I sense the heart of a Magical Girl, do you want to join me and fight evil!?"


    "Yes!" Kunou responded before I even had to a chance to rebuke her.


    "Ruby, don''t you dare!"


    "Toote, Magical Girl Transformation sequence!" She shouted, colliding with Kunou.


    There was a bright light and Kunou was then floating in the plete with the same Magical Girl outfit that Rin usually wore when Ruby was being difficult.


    ....God dammit Ruby.


    I just sighed, throwing my arms up. "I guess it can''t cause too much harm."


    "That counts as agreement, let''s go Magical Girl Kaleido Kunou!" The Wand shouted.


    "What am I supposed to do?"


    "Spread the joy of love and justice to the world!"


    "How?"


    "Hmm¡­.that''s a difficult question."


    "Uh¡­..how about we turn everyone else into Magical Girls?" Kunou offered.


    "You¡­.I like the way you think." Ruby said rather¡­.ominously. "Let''s go spread the love and joy and justice of being a Magical Girl to everyone else!"


    Under Ruby''s ushering, Kunou began to zap other people with the same Magic that Ruby uses for her ''magical girl sequence''.


    I don''t think I ever needed to see Thorum in a skirt, but it happened.


    "It feels breezy between my legs and I don''t know how to feel about it."


    Poor Thorum.


    The shouts of confusion and surprise were fun, but I <em>definitely</em> didn''t need to see Kairi in a skirt either.


    A rather¡­.small skirt.


    You would think that a Servant''s Magical Resistance would stop the spell, but apparently Ruby wasn''t even hitting ''them'' but ''around'' them so it wasn''t touching them, so to speak.


    That''s how Mordred ended up in a Magical Girl outfit as well.


    Well, Jeanne looked excellent, I don''t know why she was flushed red and trying to pull it down to cover up more. It''s not like it was any more revealing than her booty shorts.


    "Dammit Ruby!" Rin Whined.


    "Get back here you damn stick, I''m going to break you in half!" Mordred roared.


    "Muwhahahah." Sheughed at them, floating higher up.


    She then went after my Girls, and I just sat back.


    I think it really peaked once Salem''s outfit turned bright pink with the apanying mini skirt.


    Was her massive ass hanging out of it? Most certainly.


    Was it also a wonderful sight? Absolutely.


    "¡­.is this normal?" Millicas asked.


    "Pretty much." I put a hand on his shoulder.


    "Oh." He was seemingly unphased.


    Today was a good day.


    @***@


    "Alright, you all should know the rules by now, yes?" Yasaka looked around.


    "Ball goes over the,nds in square, get point." I summarized.


    After the¡­ ''incident'' well, things calmed down.


    "Please let me go, I''ll be good!" Ruby whined, struggling while being tied to a post.


    Well specifically, it was one of two posts holding up a, a volleyball. We made a little area for it and drew out the required squares on each side.


    We made teams, well, duos.


    "My friend, we shall obtain victory." Thorum pped my shoulder.


    "We got this." I grinned.


    Of course I teamed up with Thorum.


    Mordred was with Kairi, Rin and Artoria were together, Achilles and Atnta, etc etc.


    "I will be the judge, no cheating or you will be disqualified." Sc¨¢thach stated.


    "Why are you looking at me?" I called out.


    "You know why, student."


    I feel attacked.


    "Go Daddy!" Kunou cheered, from atop Yasaka''sp because she was in ''time out'' for a little while after¡­what happened.


    Everyone agreed not to speak about it again.


    Salem was still flushed when I made eye contact with her, which was strange in of itself because she <em>rarely</em> got embarrassed like that.


    "Are you skilled in this game, Wilhelm?" Thorum asked.


    "Uh¡­sure?" I mean, how hard could it be? The rules were pretty straight forward.


    "I will follow your lead then." He nodded.


    "You may as well give up now, Schweinorg." Rin flipped her hair back. "Saber and I are going to crush you."


    "Rin, don''t be rude. Regardless of how true the statement is, we should respect our opponents."Artoria said with a straight face.


    I raised an eyebrow towards her and she was expressionless.


    Artoria was <em>very</em>petitive. "I will serve." She stated, taking her spot at the back of her field.


    Thankfully, the ball was not going to break, courtesy of several people using Magic on it, because it was going to need it.


    She thew the ball up and <em>leaped</em> into the air after it, the impact of her pping it created a shockwave as it barreled to our side of the field.


    I had to dive to smack it up, dispersing almost all of its momentum. "Thorum, set me up!" I called out.


    Thorum rushed to below it, and he adjusted its trajectory as it fell, pushing it back up into the air for me right in front of the.


    I jumped up to meet it and spun my body, doing an overhead kick with all of my strength and it createdan explosion of sand as it hit their side of the field, shooting past Rin''s head.


    "Well done my friend!" Thorum roared.


    "Hell yeah!" I shouted back as we chest bumped.


    "Disqualified." Sc¨¢thach deadpanned.


    "Wait, what?" I threw my arms up in protest. "That was clean!"


    "You can''t kick the ball." She said dryly.


    "¡­..woops." I blinked.


    "My friend, I thought you were experienced?"


    "Okay real talk, I''ve never yed this game before in my life." I freely admitted.


    "Get off the field, my stupid student." Sc¨¢thachmanded.


    I looked at her silently, she met my gaze, her face hardening and she raised a threatening eyebrow.


    My intrusive thoughts won out.


    She fell through a portal that opened up beneath her and hit the water some forty or so feet away into ocean.


    They all stared at me.


    "I regret nothing."


    "Are those your final words, my student?" Sc¨¢thach stood a few feet away from me, dripping wet now. "They are not the worse you could have chosen to write on your tombstone."


    A foot collided with my butt and I went tumbling through the sand.


    It was especially so when a worried Jeanne ran after me, making sure I was alright.


    My friends and family, we were a <em>very</em> dysfunctional bunch, but I wouldn''t trade them for anything.


    I just rxed and closed my eyes as I managed to get my head in Jeanne''sp.


    Today was a good day and I was happy.


    [***]


    A/N


    Second part to wrap up the beach episode as we move back onto the main stuff. A bit into Campione is next.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 528:

    Chapter 528:


    "Alright, I got 20 on Watermelon." Ddraig stated, holding one of his small ws up as he floated next to Mus¨± Tengai.


    "I''m going to drown you." I warned.


    Mus¨± Tengai ignored him and looked at me. "Are you sure this is where you want to fight?"


    I looked around at the same beach I spent the previous day on and found myself smiling. "Yeah, this is a good spot."


    "You don''t need to fight so soon either." He said calmly.


    "It''s fine, I feel recharged." It was only one day but I felt more rested than I had in a long time. My proverbial batteries were recharged.


    "Very well, we shall begin." Mus¨± Tengai stated, waving his hand and producing a mirror opposite of me.


    It cracked and shattered, my alternate stepping through to greet me once more.


    "Oh, nice location!" He shot me a thumbs up.I spun my Staff of Magnus around, tapping it on the ground, and leaned on it. "You think? I was just here yesterday with the Harem and some friends and family."


    "Sounds like a good time." He nodded in approval. "I doubt I could get Meridia in a Bikini."


    "You''d be surprised."


    "Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "That''s something I''ll have to askter then." He grinned. "Shall we get started? Let''s see who made the best preparations."


    That is to say, as soon as he arrived, we <em>both</em> started even as we ''chatted''.


    He swung his staff and the topyer of sand underneath him blew away revealing a massive Magic Circle.


    Simrly, I did the same, however my Magic Circle was a bit different.


    "Five Elements within a Runic Circle and a ¨C "


    "Talking isn''t a free action." I put a finger up to my lips, warning him as a Lightning Bolt dropped from the sky, mming into a quickly made shield of his.


    Heughed and tapped his staff against the ground, arcs of lightning danced across the sand.


    The sand around him distorted and formed into swords as they hovered from the ground, pointing at me.


    Once more, simrly as him, swords made of sand float up from around me, using Electromaism through a spell sequence to quickly create a numerable amount, just like his own.


    Without warning we both shot them off as they collided in mid-air. Each one was razor sharp, but as they collided, they were reduced back down to mere sand.


    However, his numbers began to overwhelm mine as my ''swords'' were slowly being pushed back.


    "Strun Bah Qo" I called out, calling for the Storm to appear overhead.


    "Lok Vah Koor!" He countered, clearing the skies and he jerked his hand. "Water Dragon." A second spell actualized, using the Ocean as a base, creating a construct made of water in the form of a dragon as it roared to life andunched towards me.


    I tapped one of the Elements I prepared and pumped it heavily full of power. "Freezing Winds of Jotunheim."


    The power behind my spell was easily magnitudes above his own water spell. The Freezing Winds burst out turning the beach into a winter wondend.


    His Dragon frozepletely and so did the ocean''s wavese to a stop hundreds of meters in all directions.


    A wall of fire rose up around him fending off the frost even as it crept in from all directions. He frowned, clicking his tongue. "Little overboard, don''t you think?"


    "Strun Bah Qo." I called out again.


    "Lok Vah Koor!" He shot back.


    "Bakud¨­ 61, Rikuj¨­k¨­r¨­." I held my hand up, pointing at me.


    "Kid¨­ now?" He held up his hand too. "Disintegrate, ck dog of Rondaniini, look upon your burning soul and sever your throat!" He chanted. "Bakud¨­ #9, Geki!"


    His Kid¨­ collided with mine and threw it off rather than block or force him to dodge.


    "Smokescreen." A ck puff of smoke exploded around him. Another roar resounded and a fully fleshed out Dragon emerged from the smoke and shot at me, itsrge maw opened wanting to devour me whole.


    The ck cloud of smoke also distorted and turned into chains as theyunched from around the Dragon,ing at different angles.


    "Fires of Muspelheim." I spoke without concern as the mes erupted outwards, burning away both the smoke and the <em>fake</em> illusionary dragon.


    "Sun Burst." My copy called out and my mes <em>parted</em> and I was forced to jerk my head to the side as what looked like a <emser</em>, but was perhaps a very condensed sun beam shot run past me.


    "Strun Bah Qo!"


    "Lok Vah Koor!" My copy sounded almost annoyed. "That''s not going to work! I already know your lightning is better than mine, I''m not going to let you have a storm at your call!"


    I held my staff up, nonplussed. "Blizzard." A harsh winter descended upon our battlefield, consuming everything in its path.


    "Firestorm!" He countered as fire rained from the sky, and the wind swirled into tornados made of fire, molten gnding everywhere as the two elements collided.


    <em>"Firestorm</em>." I cast in response, amplifying the already heated fight.


    "Blizzard!" He countered once more as the weather around us was changing drastically.


    "Chain Lightning"


    "Grounding!"


    "Wall of mes."


    "Wall of Frost!"


    "Strun Bah Qo."


    "Lok Vah Koor!"


    The errant lightning danced in the air, but the clouds were once more dispersed.


    "Hurricane."


    "Implosion!"


    "Firestorm, Hurricane, Blizzard, Lightning Storm." I cast quickly in session, my foot slid across the ground, and I positioned myself, pointing my palm at him. "Had¨­ # 63, Raikouhou!"


    "Ice ¨C <em>Shield of Asgard!</em>" He finally went fully on the defensive as all my spells collided with his most powerful barrier.


    I raised my hand upward and the air around him cracked and shattered, revealing the same trick he pulled on me the first time.


    The Six Massive Runic Circles boxed him in. "Great God Carved Seal."


    "Did you think I wouldn''t notice?" He scoffed, and equally, another copy of the spell appeared <em>in front</em> of mine, but <em>reversed</em> as he actualized it at the same time. "Great God Carved Seal!"


    They canceled each other out without my copying to harm.


    "No, I just needed to get rid of yours." I smiled, making a hand sign. "This is the end; it was a good fight."


    "What ¨C "


    "Mountain Sealing Incantation."


    His eyes widened as he looked up and arge mountain chain appeared upside down, pressing down on him.


    He thrust his Staff of Magnus up, dozens of Beautiful Spell Circles spinning around. "Singrity!"


    At the top of his staff, a ck hole appeared, holding off my Sealing Spell. My reflection was sweating as he trembled to do so, but credit where it was due, he was keeping my spell off.


    I was genuinely surprised he had something like that up his sleeve, it was a trump card on par with my own Mountain Sealing Incantation. That was something that managed to suppress Kronos and have him acknowledge it.


    "Strun Bah Qo"


    "L-Lok Vah koor!" He forced out while continuing to hold off my spell, well rather my Spell began to warp and break down at the point.


    My Arms became coated I Lightning and Iheld a hand up to the sky.


    My Copy looked at me, sweat dripping down his forehead then up at the sky and he chuckled in a self-deprecating manner. "The Dragon Words¡­.even if they didn''t summon the storm properly, it still left remnants lingering behind. Well done."


    It was as he said, the Storm Summoning words of power, well the storm failed to properly remain, but it was summoned filled with Lightning. The Lightning didn''t just <em>vanish</em>pletely with each disruption.


    I just needed enough of it and to call it together.


    In the most simplistic way, it all conglomerated above in an instance, like a whirlpool but entirely made of lightning.


    "Fall."


    A Bolt of Lightningrge enough to ss the beach fell down on top of my alternate.


    He attempted spells to shield, but they all shattered and crashed down onto him.


    The surroundings returned to normal at the beckoning of my Zanpakut¨­ spirit. "Well done." Heplimented me again.


    "Thanks." I smiled happily, finally defeating my copy.


    With another gesture my mirror appeared at his side, looking a little miffed.


    He crossed his arms with a huff. "Really, just throwing around copious amounts of firepower to put me on the back foot then dropping something big on me?"


    I shrugged. "I noticed that I can channel and bring about more Magical Energy in quicker session than you."


    He sighed. "Well, not much I can do about that. Still a squishy Human¡­ish body here. Not all of us have Divinity."


    Even if we both had ess to the Kaleidoscope ¨C I could presume I simply handled more and did so more efficiently.


    "You realized the purpose of this fight then?" My Zanpakut¨­ asked.


    "Yeah, it came to me after I had time to think about it." I nodded. "I was losing because I was continuously trying to follow in his steps." I pointed at my mirror. "I was trying to match him on his terms."


    "Do you think he took the wrong path then?" My Zanpakut¨­ asked.


    "There''s no right or wrong." I shook my head. "I learned a lot, and it was nice to have a purely magical battle, even if that''s not what I would do in a normal situation. People change every day, I''m different from the person I was yesterday, but that doesn''t mean I need to force myself to be someone else. Likewise, I didn''t need to try and copy him to beat him."


    Tricks, cantrips, small spells and the like, they would always have a spot in my repertoire. But overwhelming power was a must when fighting beings on the level of Kronos. I simply leveraged my power to push him onto the defensive and finish him off with something he couldn''t counter.


    It''s about leveraging your talents correctly.


    I had a significant amount of raw power avable to me, and to ignore that was just as facious to <em>only</em> rely on it.


    Why did I need to keep up with him, <em>he needed to keep up with me!</em>


    "Best two out of three?" My mirror smiled.


    "Fuck that."


    "Boo."


    I felt the small World Tree inside of me grow exponentially, to the point where it was several feet tall now.


    "You pass the first round." My Zanpakut¨­ dered.


    "So I was right then?" I asked though it was more rhetorical than anything.


    "As you said, there was no right or wrong. Simply, what you decided was best for yourself and to walk that path forward." He smiled warmly.


    "I''m proud of you, Watermelon, for beating another Watermelon. Truly Watermelon is the best Watermelon." Ddraig looked very sagely while he ''praised me''.


    "Dammit Ddraig¡­" I sighed.


    "Why is he calling us Watermelon?" My Mirror looked at me then at him.


    "You¡­don''t know?" I looked at him. "Right¡­.you must have lived a much different life than me."


    "Hmm, you figured it out then?" He tilted his head.


    "I''d have to be blind not to notice the peculiarities and verbiage used." I deadpanned.


    "True, true." He rubbed his chin.


    "Are you real?" It was the main question I wanted to ask. "I thought I was a unique existence."


    "Who knows." He grinned. "But we both know there''s no such thing as unique."


    "You know what I mean though." I rolled my eyes. "Obviously I would exist elsewhere, just from probability alone." An infinite number of possibilities means an infinite number of myself even when I wasn''t a ''constant'' like Zelretch.


    "I am a possible life that lived and has lived. I have my own dreams, my own wants, my own goals. However, I''m also a reflection of yourself."


    "I feel like you''re trying to be intentionally vague and mysterious."


    "Indeed." He just nodded.


    Granted, that''s what I would do as well. "How different are we? You mentioned Meridia, you''re with her as well?"


    "Of course, she''s my wife." He smiled happily.


    "Wife? Married?" I was surprised.


    "I found the woman I love, of course I''m going to put a ring on her finger.You''re running around with a harem, right? Probably why you''re slower in that department."


    "True¡­." I would admit that having multiple girls meant that things progress slower overall. But that doesn''t mean in any way I''m unhappy. "Legs." I simply said.


    "Legs." He agreed immediately.


    We both chuckled.


    "Who else for you?" He asked.


    "Artoria ¨C"


    "Ah, that shouldn''t surprise me. I had a bit of a crush on her for a while." He smiled wistfully.


    "Sc¨¢thach." I also added.


    "Hmm, that''s surprising. I don''t know a Sc¨¢thach."


    "You never went to thend of Shadows?" I asked, realizing that this was why we differed greatly in our fighting methods.


    He shook his head. "That sounds like an interesting idea. I can see how you would lean towards certain martial methods then if you were trained by the Immortal Witch."


    "Yasaka." I continued on.


    "Ah, that''s understandable." He seemingly agreed again.


    "Minamoto-no-Raikou."


    "An interesting choice, I don''t know this person however."


    "Jinn."


    "The Relic Spirit?" He blinked. "Actually, no, that''s understandable."


    I''m d we could agree there just from first appearances alone.


    "You went to Remnant too?"


    "I did indeed. Interesting ce, picked up some nice stuff. Too bad I couldn''t use my Aura in the fight and we could only really rely on ourselves and our Magic."He hummed.


    "¡­.Salem."


    He raised an eyebrow. "I''m starting to see a pattern."


    "Are you really going to call me out here?" I said dryly.


    "No, just realizing something about myself as well." He muttered.


    "Izanami."


    "Another Goddess? Interesting."


    I was sad that he didn''t apparently know Izzy in his potential existence.


    "Venna."


    "...Well then."


    "I''m not ashamed."


    "Well, I hope not if you''re me. If we''re going to fuck our Grandma, it better be with pride." He snorted. "But you skipped over why Ddraig was calling us Watermelon."


    I let out a groan. "In Remnant, do you know Roman Torchwick?"


    "The¡­.thief?" He looked at me oddly. "I think?"


    "Yeah, him." And it sounds like he didn''t really know him either. "He¡­..legally changed my name on Remnant to Watermelon Torchwick." I let out another long sigh.


    My copy looked at me for several moments before breaking out inughter.


    God Dammit Roman.


    [***]


    Odin POV


    I already was regretting this.


    I could be doing a million better things with my time, but here I was, going to talk to the petnt manchild himself while he tried to swagger around and pretend his dick was bigger than mine. It wasn''t but that wasn''t the point.


    "Are you ready, All-Father?" Skeleton-boy asked me.


    "Is it strange that I would literally rather stick a cactus up my ass than deal with your family?"


    "I often feel the same." Hades replied, not disturbed at all by myment. "You did not have toe, however."


    "Bah." I waved it off. "Same thing I told Nuwa when I went to deal with the Chinese kids. We owe far too much of a debt to the brat and his, at the very least, I can shoulder this annoyance in his ce."


    "I will go in first to announce your arrival." Hades spoke as he walked towards the ostentatious golden doors that led to the Throne Room of the Olympian Gods.


    I grunted in response, ignoring it as I looked down the Mountain.


    Honestly, it was a beautiful sight, almost as good as my Asgard. Despite my own distaste for this Faction, even I couldn''t deny that their architecture was elegant and tasteful. We were never as enlightened as them in the past.


    Their philosophers, their artists, their musicians, their <em>architects</em>.


    Our followers were too busy killing each other and raiding across the seas.


    "How long are you going to stare at me?" I swiped my hand through the air, pulling back a metaphysical curtain. "Ares."


    He stepped out from behind his hiding spot looking unconcerned. "You looked like you were deep in thought, I didn''t want to disturb you considering it was probably a rare urrence."


    I snorted in response. "I thought all the important kids were in the room over there? Well, I guess that''s still true."


    "Cute." He drawled. "Did youe here to beg in front of pops? He''s pretty pissed, might be my time to shine soon."


    "It would never be <em>your turn</em>, brat. There is a line and you''re too short to ride the Odin Coaster."


    "You''re probably right." He smiled oddly. "There''s plenty of other people that would be wanting to take your head far before I got a shot."


    ¡­..why was he giving me a weird feeling?


    I admit I didn''t pay him much attention at the meeting for the brief time we were there¡­.he barely even spoke. And I justughed at him when the brat''s women kicked his ass.


    But now that I''m looking at him¡­.


    Shit, when was thest time I saw him before that? A couple thousand years?


    Something''s off about him.


    I attempted to peer into whatever secret he was holding. Rude? Probably, but I wasn''t really here to y nice.


    Ares tilted his head as my vision was distorted and <em>rejected</em>.


    "Careful there, old man. Might see something you''re not supposed to."


    "¡­.what''s happened to you?" I narrowed my one eye, feeling the need to summon my spear.


    "Who knows." He shrugged, clearly not willing to throw down at the moment so I rxed.


    The fact that I had to be on guard near him was¡­.concerning.


    I remember what Hades told me about his talk with his old man and I was filled with a strange sense of trepidation. Many things seemed to be peeking out of the wood works now. And it felt like the world''s flow was all converging onto <em>something</em>.


    "All-Father." Hades stepped out. "And <em>Ares</em>."


    "Uncle." Area casually waved his hand. "I was just keeping our guestpany. You know how polite I am."


    "Right." Hades obviously didn''t believe him. "They''re waiting."


    "Let''s get this over with." I ignored the war brat for now. It would not do me good to worry about something beyond my control for now.


    We can worry about uncertain thingster.


    Area quickly joined his faction sitting on their massive thrones as they were <em>erged</em> and towered over me. Literally, they made themselves massive just so they could <em>look down </em>on me quite literally.


    Though, Hades was by my side and he looked unamused by their posturing.


    "Odin." Zues boomed.


    "What!?" I shouted, holding a hand to my ear. "You''re gonna need to speak up, I''m old and can''t hear that far away!"


    "Odin ¨C"


    "<em>Haaaah!?</em>"


    "Odin!" Zeus bellowed, mming his fist on his throne, lightning crackled from the sky.


    "That''s my name, don''t wear it out." I gave a cheeky grin.


    He was seething. "Enough of your nonsense, <em>All-Father</em>."


    "Brother, perhaps we should dispense with all this nonsense together." Hades snapped his fingers and the room returned normal as the ''Gods'' of Olympus and normal sized again even if they surrounded me and still held a ''higher position''.


    It was eptable, I was on their turf.


    "Hades." Zeus red towards his brother, lightning crackling from his eyes.


    "Feel free to continue as you were and try to argue with Odin. But my time is precious and if you continue to act childish, I will simply return home." He ignored Zeus.


    "You stand with him against your own ¨C "


    "Hey Bone Boy, where''s your chair?" I looked at him.


    "I don''t have one." Hades said dryly.


    Zeus very quickly shut his mouth with a scowl.


    Hard toe back from that.


    Trying to throw around the ''family'' card or whatever, but Hades didn''t even have a chair on Olympus, even if he was God of the Underworld, just a symbolic seat there with them would have gone a long way.


    But Zeus was too arrogant and paranoid to consider that.


    "Father, we should prioritize the important matters at hand." Athena counseled him.


    Zeus snorted. "Fine, let''s move on to the <em>important</em> matters. And we shall decide what punishment the Norse Faction will receive ¨C"


    I mmed Gungnir on the ground dispersing all the <em>lightning</em> overhead and I allowed my presence to engulf the room. <em>"Do you take me for a powerless mortal that you can pass judgment on? Do you forget who I am, Zeus</em>?"


    Oh, it was annoying that there were another dozen Gods here that all released their own pressure down on me as did Zeus in response, but I didn''t let up.


    I pointed my spear at every single one of them and I <em>dared them to make a move</em>.


    "Maybe I should remind you brats who I <em>am</em>!?"


    "I didn''te here to fight, count me out." Dionysus quickly pulled himself back. "I''m a lover not a fighter."


    Zeus snapped his head at his ''son'' with a barely hidden rage.


    "I was the one who invited Odin here, it would be my responsibility to ensure his safety." Hades said simply, ignoring the torrent of powers battling against one another invisibly in the room.


    "Brother, careful of what you say." Poseidon had a hand on his trident, and I admit, it wasn''t far off from my own Gungnir.


    "Would you tell me to let go of my pride because you all want to act like fools?" Hades drawled.


    "No, let him. If he wants a war, <em>let''s have a war.</em>" I dered.


    Zeus''s eyes widened.


    That''s the difference between us brat.


    I do what it takes to <em>win</em>.


    And the moment he just backed off in our ''fight'' here and now, well I just ''won''.


    The tense moment was disrupted by the sound of a lyre reverberating throughout the room. Apollo ran his hands along his musical instrument but somewhat shrunk his head as everyone stared at him.


    "What? Things were getting a bit too intense there." He awkwardlyughed. "Come on, we''re Gods. Let''s just talk this out like Gods."


    "Hmph." I withdrew my presence giving Zeus a chance to save face.


    Despite my provocations I really didn''t want a war, nor could we honestly handle a real war with another Pantheon right now.


    But Zeus and I both know he was pushed into a corner beforehand so he shouldn''t push too hard now knowing I would jump back to what I said before because he certainly doesn''t want a war either.


    To start things off, I dropped the chains used to bind Hel that Loki stole onto the ground.


    Zeus''s nostrils red. "Stolen from the armory¡­."


    "Used to chain one of mine!" I countered.


    "Stolen by one of yours!" He shouted. "You are at fault!"


    "Bah, Loki wasn''t on our side."


    "Your own internal conflicts are irrelevant. One of yours attacked and stole from us!"


    "Yeah, well two of yours aided him and nearly destroyed Asgard!"


    Zeus scowled because he knew he couldn''t argue against that.


    "After yours helped release our father and the other Titan from their prison. The fault is entirely on your faction, All-Father!"


    "Right, so you''re saying that Loki was strong enough to do all that huh? To force your Titans to work for him? You''re saying they didn''t do it from their own free will?"


    "Don''t try to twist my words, you know where the fault lies!"


    "And I''m saying that we''re not at fault!" I shot back. "You got no proof, but I do!" I pointed at the chains.


    "Why would we need proof for something so obvious!?" He mmed his fist again.


    "God of Justice, huh? Not even providing proof for his ims." I hummed. "How ridiculous."


    His lightning returned, crackling around him in anger.


    Brat had a really bad temper.


    "We would be more than happy to provide evidence to support our im All-Father, if you give us ess to the Trickster." Athena smiled.


    "Not gonna happen."


    "So you would deny us the chance to prove our ims? Now who is being ridiculous." She hummed, mocking me.


    Ugh, I hated the brainy types.


    "Let''s make a few assumptions then." I held a hand up. "Let''s say that Loki did steal from you lot."


    They went silent because they didn''t expect me to acknowledge it at all. They weren''t the type to take a step back so they could take three steps forward on the next. Well, Athena didn''t look too surprised, but most of them just didn''t have ''back down'' in their dictionary.


    "So this is where we''re at. Loki stole those chains right out from under your noses, embarrassing really. Also, <em>Pandora''s Box</em>."


    "We demand the Box back." Zeus said rather seriously.


    "I don''t'' got it, sorry." I put my hands up. "No idea where it''s at now."


    <em>Technically</em> the truth.


    The brat has it, but I have no idea where he''s currently running around.


    "But here''s the thing. Loki made fools of you all, that we can agree on." I worded it purposely to piss him off. "On the flip side, we have two of yours attacking us directly. Do you see theparison? Alright, we''re sorry that one of our criminals robbed you, we''ll pay reparations for that. But now, let''s talk about what you owe us for your two titans nearly destroying Asgard." I narrowed my eye.


    "They weren''t ¨C "


    "They were criminals, right? But consider Loki is also a criminal of our faction and you seemingly didn''t care about that, so <em>why would it matter then</em>?" I looked right at Zeus as I trapped him in his own logic.


    Athena twitched slightly, and it seemed she was annoyed with her Old Man for not letting her lead the talks.


    "Either we''re both at fault, but you lot are <em>more at fault</em>. Or neither of us are at fault and we shake hands and walk away." I smiled happily.


    Zeus had his pride, everyone knew it. He couldn''t so tantly contradict himself without harming his own pride.


    So it was a catch-22.


    I gave him an out, but it wentpletely against what he presumably originally wanted. Probably to flex over us, get us in their debt, or squeeze us of something he wanted.


    He couldn''t even demand Kronos or the other one back without looking like an idiot. He missed that opportunity entirely and now the wind was taken out of his sails.


    Zeus leaned back and looked at me intensely, he tapped his finger on his throne. "And what about the rumors I heard? Tell me, why was it that two of our greatest heroes were seen within yournds? Heroes that <em>should have been dead</em>?"


    "Well, maybe you should ask Skeleton-boy over there? He''s the one who deals with the dead." I pointed at Hades.


    Deflect, deflect, deflect.


    Hades looked at me and I could tell he was peeved at me pulling him in front of the bus.


    "The souls of Atnta and Achilles are still safe and within our hands." Hades said simply.


    Zeus looked at him for a long while, as if trying to peer into the truth of his words. While not good at me, Zeus was good at telling when people were lying.


    And, well, Hades was telling the truth.


    It seems like things didn''t go how you envisioned, Zeus!


    "We can ask the mortal to rify. Send a summons."


    I mmed my spear onto the ground and different from before, I put my true intent behind it. My bloodlust, my magic, my Godly might.


    I wasn''t simply postting this time.


    If he said the wrong words, I would let my spear loose.


    "Let me make one thing absolutely clear, Zeus. The brat and his are <em>off limits</em>."


    "Are you threatening me?" Zeus''s tone changed and it wasn''t his tantrums from before. This was Zeus at his ''most'', this was Zeus who was ready to start throwing hands.


    "They.Are.Off.Limits." I punctuated. "So says Odin, the All-Father. So says every single God of Asgard! If you even think about trying something, <em>we will march on Olympus</em>."


    "You''re insane." Zeus''s surprise snapped his expression back to normal. "Asgard barely stands, your faction was nearly destroyed! Utter nonsense! You wouldn''t sacrifice everything for some mortal! False Bravado! A bluff and nothing more."


    I reeled myself in, returning to normal.


    I turned around and headed towards the door.


    "That''s the difference between us, Zeus. <em>I don''t make empty threats</em>."


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 529:

    Chapter 529:


    "Is that coffee?" I asked as Iwalked into the kitchen. It was rhetorical, I knew it was coffee. My coffee senses had been tingling ever since I woke up.


    "I just made it." Sc¨¢thach nodded standing by the Coffee Machine.


    As much as I wanted the wonderful nectar to fill me up I instead wrapped my arms around my teacher.


    "You smell good." I pushed my head into her chest.


    I felt her lightly pinch me. "Don''t say strange things so early in the morning. student." She chided. "And remove your hand from my ass. I am still far too sore there for a repeat for now." She huffed cutely.


    Honestly, just a reminder of the time I spent together with my girls during my little vacation was enough to get me in a <em>mood</em>.


    She pinched me again. "I know that look, student." She used.


    "I don''t have a look." I defended.


    "You have a look."Maybe I had a look.


    I just settled for a kiss.


    "Want to go with me to see my adoptive brother?" I offered, knowing she was¡­well I wouldn''t say <em>upset</em> that she missed the Norse stuff. Disappointed, perhaps. But she was more than aware that there will be plenty of future battles to satiate her bloodlust.


    She perked up immediately and had a <em>very</em> bloodthirsty smile slowly growing on her face.


    "You''re beautiful." I found myself blurting out unintentionally.


    She quickly shifted to perhaps an almost bashful look, a hint of it at least. "Student, you say such foolish things so easily." She put a hand on my cheek, lightly fixing my messy bed hair. "But this is a part of why this Sc¨¢thach has been taken by you."


    "Every part of you is something I cherish." I smiled warmly.


    "As I said, a fool." She seemed pleased, however. "I will have to decline your offer as tempted as I am to find that Goddess from before."


    "That''s unfortunate." I sighed.


    "I apologize, I have a priormitment. I am returning to my homnd along with your Servant to hunt a handful of Faeries that have been causing trouble."


    "Oh?" I quirked an eyebrow.


    Well, I could see how that would take a certain precedence and also keep her attention even with the offer of potential Gods to fight.


    "Raikou''s going?" I asked.


    "I enjoy herpany and I wish to strengthen our bond." She nodded.


    I loved it when my girls got along with each other.


    "Are you positive you wish to depart so soon? Should you not be resting, my student?" She raised an eyebrow. "I believe the others will be upset if you leave so soon."


    "I''m good, I promise. I''m genuinely refreshed, and I feel like all the previous stress is gone. I''m not someone who can sit still for long periods. Look at me, I''m happy, I''m feeling good. <em>I''m confident</em>." I took her hands and lightly swung them yfully. "But if you''re offering to keep me <em>preupied</em>, I know a thing or two that might work."


    "My rear is still sore." She huffed again , rejecting me even though I wasn''t really serious. There wasn''t much actual heat in her rejection though. Truthfully, I was pretty sure I could get her out of the clothes she was wearing right now if I really wanted. "If you are well, then that is all that matters. Tend to your matters, but do not hesitate to call if you cannot handle yourself."


    "Oh shit, someone made coffee, nice." Mordred walked in, stretching her arms; she only paused when she looked at me and Sc¨¢thach. "God, are you two about to fuck or something?"


    "You need not worry, we were not." Sc¨¢thachughed.


    While they don''t ''hang out'' like she did with my other girls, Mordred and Sc¨¢thach were pretty simr in personalities and meshed pretty well when the situation presented itself.


    "Love you." I kissed her cheek.


    "I love you as well, my student." She said softly, returning the gesture. "Now, release this Sc¨¢thach, I have to procure a few supplies from your Youkai paramour before I depart."


    "Be safe. Have fun. Kill some Fairies for me."


    I was being facetious, but¡­..I think she liked it when I told her to be safe and such. A small joke between us, but she always smiled warmly when I said it.


    I don''t think she ever really had people tell her that before.


    Mordred made some exaggerated choking noises while she filled up her cup.


    It was enough that Sc¨¢thach justughed cutely before departing out of the house.


    "Sorry, didn''t hear youe in, I would have been less¡­." Well, I wouldn''t have thrown it in her face.


    "I slept over." Mordred grunted. "Father let me sleep with him."


    That''s cute.


    I tilted my head as I had an interesting idea. "Are you doing anything today?"


    "What?"


    "Are you busy? Training with the Pendragon Family? Does your Master need you for anything? Any ns, that sort of thing?" I rattled off.


    Mordred took a sip, looking thoughtful. "Nah, Father and I switched off. It''s Father''s turn to lead the training with the family. Master is cooped up in his workshop or whatever."


    "He has a workshop?" I mean, he was a Magus, but not really the traditional sort.


    Mordred shrugged. "He goes down there every now and then I guess. Doesn''t do it often, so I don''t like to bother him when he does."


    Neat.


    "Anything else? ns and all that."


    "No." Mordred grunted. "I looked for Ruler, but she''s following around the Fox, said something about wanting to see what she does every day and help out."


    God that''s fucking cute too. And totally something Jeanne would do.


    "Want toe with me to see my adoptive brother?"


    "¡­.why?"


    "Well, I wanted to spend time with you, I feel like we don''t do it often enough. Secondly, I think you''d enjoy it. Probably going to end up in a fight someway or another."


    "Oh?" She quirked an eyebrow, the corners of her lips slowly curling up. "I wouldn''t mind a good fight. They have those weird Gods over there, right?"


    "Yup. My Adoptive brother somehow stumbled into killing a God too, you can probably beat him up with a good enough excuse."


    "Well shit, that sounds like fun." She smiled. "Alright, I''m in."


    [***]


    "The air here smells cleaner." It was the first thing Mordred noted as we stepped out of a portal.


    "A side effect of what goes on here. Pretty easy for a Heretic God to rampage if their ocean ornd is polluted heavily." I shrugged.


    "Doesn''t look much different though."


    "What did you expect?"


    "Something less boring." She scoffed. "The kid lives around here?"


    "More or less, I mean, I didn''t want to just appear right on his front door." I didn''t think we were quite <em>that</em> close just yet.


    I vaguely remembered where he lived.


    Well, I was second guessing myself because the neighborhood was utterly mundane. Like¡­.I could <em>feel</em> his presence nearby but the building I pinpointed his location at was rather¡­.


    There was nothing special about it.


    Did he not have anyone put defenses on it? Even if he didn''t know magic very well, even if he ignored my advice and the books I gave him, he could have asked someone else to give his family at least basic protection.


    "No Bounded Fields or nothin?" Mordred spoke.


    "No and I was just thinking the same thing."


    "God I can fucking feel him this far away, is he an idiot?"


    "Probably." I paused my steps.


    "Yeah, I noticed it too." Mordred didn''t even ask me as she scrunched her brow. "You want it or me?"


    "Well, far be it for me to take away your fun." I gave her the go ahead.


    She had a wild smile on her face as she shot off down between two houses, her Lightning arced through the air as she hit <em>something</em>.


    There was a brief sound of struggle and then a loud <em>thump</em> as it quickly got quiet as Mordred casually walked back into view dragging something very peculiar behind her.


    "Is that a zombie¡­.?"


    "Yeah, feels like a fucking dead thing." She shrugged, throwing it in front of me. "Killed enough of those damn zombies and spent enough time around the necromancer to recognize it at this point."


    It was mostly in the shape of a person, but it was a shade of a human, I could easily tell that much. Hell, Dawnbringer inside my ring would probably eviscerate it just by being this close.


    This thing wasn''t even trying to hide what it is.


    "For a zombie it''s pretty well put together¡­" I kicked it. "No decaying flesh at first sight. Vessel is sturdy, flowing with Magical Energy. Full mimicry of life? No muscle atrophy either." I kicked its arm where it had decently developed muscles. "Did you knock it out?"


    "Yeah it tried to run so I smacked its head into the ground. Looked stronger than I thought." Mordred shrugged.


    "Huh."


    "Zombies ain''t normal for yah?" Mordred took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth, lighting it with an apanying lighter as well.


    "No, not really ¨C " I stopped. "Are you smoking?"


    "What?" She snorted. "Got a problem with it? You gonna get on my ass about it like Father?"


    "Mordred, you''re a Heroic Spirit, smoking won''t do shit to you. Even if you were human, there are so many of us around that could negate the negative side effects." I deadpanned. "Just took me by surprise."


    "Can you tell that to Father then? He''s always giving me <em>looks</em> when he sees me doing it."


    "Because she cares about you." I pointed out. "But I''ll talk to her." Kind of funny to think about it, but Artoria probably was unsure of how to handle things so she just defaulted to chiding Mordred when she saw it.


    Well, it just meant their rtionship has been going smoothly if Artoria voiced that kind of discontent.


    "¡­.thanks." She muttered.


    "I try not to meddle between you guys, but if you need help I''m here." I just gave her a smile.


    "Yeah, I get it¡­." She grunted. "Thanks though, I appreciate it."


    It was nice because I knew she meant it.


    As I said, I didn''t want to just interject myself into their budding connection, but I would happily stand at the side if either of them needed help for anything. Artoria talked to me all the time about it and while I can''t say I gave her the same kind of ''talks'' that Venna does with me, I think it helped her.


    "Come on, let''s go meet my adoptive brother." I nudged her.


    "Alright, show me this kid that apparently killed a God." She grinned, picking up the zombie and grabbing its leg, dragging it across the ground as we walked up to the house.


    I knocked politely of course.


    It took a moment before someone answered. "Who is it ¨C <em>Wilhelm?</em>" Godou appeared.


    "Little brother, how are you!" I pat his shoulder.


    "Godou who is it ¨C" The blonde girl I recall from before was also there. Her expression stiffened and she got down on a knee. "Your Majesty."


    There was a <em>second</em> girl, someone who looked like a Miko who''s eyes widened as well upon seeing me and followed the blonde onto her knee to pay respects.


    "Don''t inte his fucking ego." Mordred snorted.


    "What are you doing here!?" Godou eximed.


    "Visiting." I pushed past him. "It was easy to find you. Really, <em>it shouldn''t have been</em>. Do you know your presence is like a bright light in the middle of the night?"


    "Ah¡­.is that so?" Godou scratched his head.


    "Yeah, Godou, little brother of mine." I put an arm around him. "Why the hell are there no defenses around your home?" I smiled very politely


    "Uh¡­.what do you mean?" He nervously asked.


    "Did¡­.you not read any of the books I left with you? Did you just ignore my advicepletely?" I narrowed my eyes.


    "No! I mean, I read them and I was practicing¡­.I''m not very good, but I was making progress." Godou shook his head. "But uh¡­.you came at a bad time, maybe you should ¨C"


    "Thou!" A shriek practically shook the house as a petite girl walked down the stairs. "How dare thee appear before this one!"


    "Oh it''s you." I drawled.


    "Is that a Goddess?" Mordred asked. "She seems kind of pathetic in person."


    "I will rend your heart and retrieve what was stolen!" Athena dered.


    "...whad''ya do to her?" Mordred looked at me.


    "¡­..I never met this person before in my life."


    "Return mine Gorgoneion!" She eximed.


    Mordred looked at me. "Right, never met her huh?"


    "Sorry a Dragon ate it." I shrugged helplessly.


    The Goddess shrieked and looked like she was about to jump at me before Godou got infront of her nearly physically having to hold her back. "No fighting in my house, you promised!"


    Athena stiffened and scowled. "Mine oath still stands." She hissed. "I will not bring conflict into your homestead, so I swore on Hestia''s Hearth. However, I will have what was mine!"


    I ignored her. "Alright, stop your prostrating." I gestured to the two girls who were visibly nervous about everything. "I like my ego stroked, but it''s stepping into the territory of being ufortable. "Godou, I''m surprised you gathered a harem so quickly. I knew you were my brother." I patted his shoulder.


    "They''re not my harem!" Godou defended.


    "Watch thine words, I would not lower mineself to such a lowly position as to participate in a group affair! Such degradation and depravity is reserved for uncultured and promiscuous maidens." Athena scoffed.


    "You got a fucking problem with people being in a harem?" Mordred narrowed her eyes.


    "Doth the child dare speak to me?" Athena snorted. "Control thine dog, for I will defend myself against being bitten."


    "Right, I''m going to lop your head off, you shit excuse for a Goddess." Mordred growled, her lightning slowly arcing across her body.


    Athena paused for a moment, eyes widening at Mordred. "Thou¡­.are not mortal, but not God. Thou are the same as the one before!"


    "Alright, calm down." I put a hand on Mordred. "She''s just pissed because she got pped by Sc¨¢thachst time I was around."


    "That is a falsehood!"


    "Probably just a disappointment anyways." Mordred reeled herself back in. "She''s probably just pissed that no one likes her."


    "This Athena is adored by an uncountable number of humans and gods alike! The number of suitors after mine hand is higher than this one can count!"


    "One hand or two hands?" Mordred deadpanned.


    Oof.


    I''m d I brought Mordred along. We should spend time together more often.


    "Please stop fighting!" Godou crossed his arms standing between them.


    "Alright Mordred, don''t lower yourself to her level." I stated.


    "Would be kind of hard considering how tiny she is."


    Athena looked like she was about to w at Mordred''s face in all honesty.


    "Anyways." I pped my hands. "Godou, how have you been?"


    Godou looked at me and sighed, his shoulder drooping. "Did youe because of Voban?"


    "Eh, Momma Pandora told me something about him popping over, but I don''t really know the details."


    "Thou speaks with Pandora!?" Athena eximed.


    "Hush, the adults are speaking."


    "I will wear thy heart as a ne!"


    "Things just sort of happened." Godou smiled awkwardly. "Athena was being hunted by some people and I happened to find her. She said she wouldn''t do anything bad as long as she stays here."


    "Do not make light of mine oath, Campione! Thou hath provided me refuge from that despicable witch, her knight and her annoying trinket. Thou hath earned mine gratitude despite being mine enemy." Athena harrumphed.


    "Then Voban appeared and tried to take Yuri back with him." He stated, looking at the Miko.


    "And she is¡­?"


    "Uh, we go to school together."


    "Greetings 8th Campione, I am Yuri Mariya and I am a Hime-Miko and I work closely with the History Comption Committee. Lord Voban demanded my presence to perform a ritual to summon a Heretic God. Lord Godou stepped forward to protect me." The youngdy introduced herself.


    "Why you specifically?" I asked.


    "She''s one of the best Mikos in the world." The Blonde ¨C was her name Erica? Erica replied in her stead.


    "Alright, I got the gist of things." I pointed at Athena. "Saved from a bad fate." I pointed at Yuri. "Saved from a bad fate." Then I pointed at Erica. "And the Gold Digger."


    "What!?" Erica squawked. "I am not ¨C"


    "You threw yourself at him before because he was a Campione." I pointed out.


    She immediately shut up but still sort of red my way.


    "Thou knows how to state the obvious. Doth thou wish a congrattions?" Athena snorted. "And why does thou feel different once more!? There are many new sensations amidst thine body."


    I continued to ignore her, which probably just made her even more upset. "And what''s this about Voban?"


    Godou sighed. "I stood up for Yuri, but then he decided he wanted to y a game with me. He said if I can stop him from taking Yuri until sunrise tomorrow, he would leave Yuri and me alone for now."


    "¡­..and you''re just hanging around your house?"


    "What else am I supposed to do?" Godou frowned. "I had them take my family somewhere safe and evacuate the neighborhood, but I don''t know what he''s going to do."


    I pointed down at the zombie thing Mordred had behind her. "Is that Voban''s thing?"


    "¡­.that is one of Lord Voban''s vassals. He prefers to utilize undead as his servants so they can''t betray him." Yuri informed me.


    Right, I basically understood the situation.


    And as hrious as it would be to just take Godou andpany and make a trip to the opposite side of the world, I was warned that Campione are pretty fucking petty and he might just decide to level the city.


    I felt bad for Godou, he really seemed to be out of his depth.


    "Is this kid really a Godyer?" Mordred inspected him. "Fucking scrawny as hell. I feel like he would blow over at the smallest breeze."


    Godou deted very quickly.


    Damn Mordred was ruthless.


    "Don''t you dare insult my Godou you wench!" Erica quickly came to his defense.


    "¡­.wench, really?" Mordred rolled her eyes. "Why do you even care, as long as he has money a gold digger shouldn''t be bothered."


    "I am a Grand Knight of the Order of the Copper-ck Cross! I will not be insulted by some backwater hooligan!"


    She kindly didn''t mention that I was the one who originally called her that.


    Mordred looked at her and broke out in augh. "A knight? You!? That''s the biggest joke I''ve heard all day and the Goddess is still over there." She jerked her thumb at Athena.


    I have to admit, Mordred really had talent in pissing people off.


    I''m very impressed and proud of her at the same time.


    "Girl, you have my blessing to kill this one." Athena growled.


    "dly!" Erica announced.


    "You wanna step outside buttercup?" Mordred stomped towards the door. "Here let me get that for you, don''t want you to break a nail." She practically kicked it open, only for a very timid girl to stand there, the door barely missing her face as it abruptly mmed opened.


    The new arrival, a girl with long silver hair sheepishly stood there looking like she was about to knock only for all of us to stare at her now.


    "Liliana!?" Erica shouted.


    That seemed to break the girl out of her stupor. She cleared her throat and went down on a knee like the girls when I first arrived. "Greetings my Lords and Goddess. I bring tidings from Lord Voban. He is aware that the Mysterious 8th Campione has arrived at Godou''s abode and wishes to entreat. He stated that he will put the ''game'' on hold for a few hours to meet the newest of his fellow Campiones and invites Lord Godou along as well."


    "Mysterious?" I looked around.


    "Lord Schweinorg is noted as the most mysterious of the Campione. While Madame Aisha is known to travel through time and space, Lord Schweinorg disappearedpletely, and no one was able to discover his whereabouts. That also includes the two attendants of his that were imed to be Heretic Gods under his retinue." Yuri, the little Miko exined.


    She''s cute, I wanted to pat her head.


    Well, I guess I could see their point of view. I just up and vanished into thin air when they made it a priority to keep track of all Campione at all times. Not to mention I had both Raikou and Sc¨¢thach at my side and they were only known as Heretic Gods in status.


    I pped Godou''s shoulder again. "Let''s go meet our eldest brother! I''m sure we can just have a nice and civil conversation and end things politely."


    "¡­..I find that unlikely." Godou slumped his shoulders with a sigh.


    No faith, my little brother.


    Don''t worry, your elder brother will show you how to handle abrasive and arrogant people like Voban.


    You just need the right¡­..words to handle them.


    "Right, can''t wait to see how you cock this up." Mordred snorted.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 530:

    Chapter 530:


    It''s weird, if not for the fact that we were going to meet my probably very bloodthirsty adoptive elder brother, it would have been nice just to walk around the city.


    Granted, there was <em>no one</em> around which made it rather eerie.


    Well, I say <em>no one</em>, but I did notice the undead minions at various points as they watched us approach.


    Actually, I think I also saw a werewolf a time or two as well.


    Authorities were really something. I always had to treat Servants with respect at a minimum due to their Noble Phantasms. The weakest Servant I ever encountered ¨C Shakespeare ¨C was able to do something to me despite the fact that I could have <em>very</em> easily beaten him in a fight.


    Campiones were the same. I can''t im to be entirely too knowledgeable about Campiones, but at a minimum, I should treat them simrly. Authorities were something that deserved respect, they were stolen from literal Gods and who knew what they''re capable of?


    That''s not to say I''m trembling in my boots.


    I told Sc¨¢thach before I left that I felt <em>confident</em>, and I was feeling rather peaceful at the moment. My guard wasn''t dropped despite howckadaisical I was taking this whole thing.


    Though frankly, Mordred and I were the only ones who probably felt this way.She had her hands thrown up behind her head as she walked next to me, looking rather bored if anything.


    The others looked like they were marching off to war.


    Speaking of, another familiar face was approaching rather quickly.


    "Your Majesties!"


    "Holy shit he kinda looks like the Witch''s Master if he were a bean pole." Mordred eximed.


    ...God dammit now that she said that I couldn''t unsee it.


    He really did resemble Kuzuki if more¡­..<em>thin</em>.


    "Touma Amakasu¡­?" I only vaguely recalled his name.


    He brightened up, ignoring Mordred''s words. "I am honored that you remember me, your Majesty."


    Yeah, he was the liaison between the History Comption Committee, the group who managed the supernatural in Japan here.


    "Alright enough of that." I waved my hand at him. "You should be aware of what''s happening. I''m assuming you''re responsible for the evacuations?"


    "Yes, your Majesty." He stood up. "As soon as Lord Godou ryed to us the situation, we began to evacuate the City. It has been¡­..slow, but for the moment we have evacuated the majority of the people around where this ''meeting'' will take ce."


    You know, they are highlypetent, it''s rather refreshing.


    "We are happy you''re back, your Majesty. There are many situations that arose in your absence and Lord Godou has done a phenomenal Job of handling things on his own." He continued to speak, but the hidden meaning behind his words were clear.


    ''Godou did a good job, but please take over'' or something along those lines.


    Well, Godou was a kid that had nothing to do with this crap, so I can''t me any side really.


    "I won''t be staying for long." I said inly.


    I wasn''t going to hold their hands, so they best keep working well with Godou.


    His lips twitched and he just nodded. "Did you return just for Lord Voban, your Majesty? Or for the other reasons?"


    "Other reasons?" I hummed.


    "There were sightings of a Heretic God descending¡­"


    "Godou, what the fuck?" I bopped his head. "That''s something important to reveal when I asked what was going on."


    "No one was discovered!" He quickly defended himself. "Heretic Gods cause a big mess when theye around, right? After a small thing, there was nothing."


    "He is right, your Majesty. It is a strange urrence, and we couldn''t fully agree among ourselves if a Heretic God <em>truly</em> descended. But it is a possibility we couldn''t ignore and have thus been treating it with seriousness."


    Right, of course things were not simple.


    "Hmph, thy precautions are wise. Mine Kin appeared upon thesends. They have hidden themselves from even mine wisdom." The little Goddess spoke.


    "¡­.why are you even here?" Mordred deadpanned.


    "Mine oathpels cooperation with mine enemy, you brute!" Athena scowled.


    Huh, so she''s here to support Godou, that''s neat.


    "Just fucking say it if you want to protect your booty call." Mordred snorted.


    Athena''s eyes widened and seemingly was rendered speechless as she held her finger aloft with mouth open, pointing at Mordred with unreserved anger.


    [Holy shit she''s fucking ruthless.] Even Ddraigmented. [Shut that Goddess right the hell up. Can I im her? She technically has my blood in her.]


    The History Committee person politely coughed into his fist. "There is also the situation with the Divine Ancestor appearing within Japan when she normally operates in Europe."


    Athena''s expression quickly shifted. "Find that contemptuous whore and I will reward thee greatly!" She hissed furiously. "How dare she try to use me to fuel that chalice of hers! The audacity!"


    Right, wasn''t going to touch that for now.


    Sounded like they''re dealing with a lot right now.


    Well, I''m here for the moment, may as well see what I could do to help out.


    "Any suggestions with Voban?" I asked considering he probably had books written on each individual Campione at this point.


    "¡­..Please leave the city intact?" He offered.


    Oof.


    That bad, huh?


    "Lord Voban is the oldest and strongest Campione." Yuri, the Miko from before, spoke up. "That''s what we''re taught."


    Amakasu shot her a quick re and she promptly mmed her mouth shut.


    I let out a sigh. "Let me guess, saying ''strongest'' to another Campione you''re worried we would do something bad, huh?"


    "Wait, what?" Godou looked at them. "Why would they¡­.?"


    "Thy perspective of thine world is narrow, mine enemy. Imagine if you told one God to another that they were superior. With thine experience thus far, it should be a simple exercise to contemte."


    "¡­..oh." Godou swallowed.


    Na?ve but with a good heart.


    The blonde at Godou''s side threw her hair back. "My Godou can handle him!" She said sternly. "Even if Lord Voban supposedly has killed over Ten Heretic Gods. My Godou can match him with his Authorities."


    "I thought the brat only killed one God?" Mordred jerked her thumb at Godou.


    "Yeah, but his one Authority sort of gave like 50 mini Authorities that are pretty good." I exined, remembering the basics of what he had from previously.


    The Ten Incarnations of Verethragna or something. One entire Authority, but represented by Ten different ''Incarnations'' that required specific circumstances to utilize.


    "¡­..that''s some bullshit." Mordred snorted.


    Erica was looking really smug at that.


    "It''s ten!" Godou groaned.


    "Still some bullshit." Mordred scoffed.


    "It''s not ¨C"


    "You have a sword that can cut through Divinity." I interjected.


    "¡­.yeah alright." Godou relented.


    [***]


    It didn''t really take long to find Voban. In that, he was sitting in the open. Quite <em>literally</em> in fact as a table was set up right in the middle of the big metropolitan area, smack dab in the middle of the street.


    It''s like he just chose this spot on a whim.


    Thankfully there were no people around because it would have been...awkward.


    "Lord Voban, I have brought them as instructed." Or guide¡­Lilliana as I believed Erica named her? She bowed her head towards him.


    The Older man simply held his hand up and rather rudely sort of ushered her away.


    He looked over at me and had a rather creepy smile growing on his face.


    ...ignoring his physical features the most immediate thing to note was that he was <em>strong</em>.


    Silver hair, perhaps from his old age, perhaps not. But the wrinkles on his face definitely told a story of a long life. He wore a suit, but it was¡­.well, it wascking if I were to be honest. A step above something you would find on a rack in a chain store. He wore arge trench coat over it, overall, nice and tidy that betrayed the sheer amount of bloodlust he was exuding.


    "Sit." Hemanded.


    And make no mistake, he was <emmanding</em>.


    Godou seemingly unintentionally found himself sitting down quickly. I merely raised an eyebrow at him as his overall presence seemed to erge around us.


    Ah, he was testing me.


    Everything about him, physically, was basically just the appearance of an older man. Well, there was one feature of his worth noting above all else.


    "You have a big nose." I blurted out.


    "Couldn''t even make it 10 seconds, could ya?" Mordred looked at me.


    ¡­..why was everyone looking at me like that?


    Voban''s eye twitched slightly and he snorted in a mix of amusement and annoyance as his pressure decreased. "You have more of a bite at least."


    "Thank you!" I just smiled happily, taking my seat. "So what did you want to talk about? As new brothers, did you want to go see a ball game? Maybe go fishing?"


    Voban ignored me and his gaze swept across everyone else. He inspected Mordred for a moment.


    "Keep staring, you creep, see what happens." She hissed.


    The others, well they tensed and looked like they were ready to duck for cover.


    Voban, however, just chuckled. "This one can bare her teeth. Not a wolf, a Lion?" He smiled for some reason. "And you brought me a Goddess, Kusanagi?" He looked at Godou. "I''m disappointed, this one is <em>weak</em>. She would not be entertaining to <em>hunt</em>."


    "Consider thine words, <em>mortal</em>." Athena growled.


    Like he did with Lilliana earlier, he just dismissively waved his hand at her as if she wasn''t worth the effort.


    "I didn''t expect much." He took hold of a wine ss on the table, swirling it. The action was odd considering the vibe I was getting from him. Honestly, he felt more like the kind of guy that you would call when you wanted to break the legs of someone who owed you money. "Not even a cub. A domesticated puppy." He looked at Godou. "But still, he bared his fangs at me so I humored him."


    He then looked at me. "But you''re different. I can see it, that <em>hunger</em> that you''ve had to experience. The edge you have, the battle scars, the killing intent, the <em>savagery</em> that you keep buried underneath." His grin returned. "You''ve had to fight for where you stand now and that''s infinitely more interesting."


    "¡­..are youing on to me?" I asked hesitantly.


    Godou looked at me like I was an idiot.


    Voban just blinked, because I don''t think he expected such a blunt question.


    "I''m ttered, honestly. But ¨C "


    Voban mmed his fist on the table, shattering it. He didn''t express much, but I think I annoyed him <em>just</em> enough for him to react.


    "Rude" I held my hand out and let a new table drop out from my ring in front of us. I leaned my elbows on the new table. "So, what can I do for you?"


    To be honest, he was the type of person that I utterly despised. I would consider myself selfish, but he''s the type to fuck over an entire city of people just to amuse himself and not care about the consequences.


    So maybe I was being intentionally abrasive.


    "I''m a very simple man. I simply wanted a hunt. A fight, a <em>good fight</em>." He just smiled rather savagely and held his arms open. "A God, a Campione, It doesn''t matter. And I''m <em>more than willing to do what needs to be done to get it</em>."


    Ugh, he''s one of <em>those</em> kinds of people.


    "You need a hobby."


    "I do, <em>I kill Gods</em>." He quipped back.


    "¡­.touch¨¦." Can''t argue with that considering he''s killed far more Gods than I have. Respect where it''s due, he''s my senior in that department. "Then why y this game with Godou?"


    "I''m patient." He smiled calmly. "Even a feral dog can threaten a wolf if it''s starved and cornered."


    "Very well, you can fight Athena." I relented.


    "Fornicate thyself elsewhere!"


    ¡­..did she just tell me to go fuck myself?


    "I desire a fight, not a snack." Voban said dryly.


    "Infuriating mortals!"


    "Look, if I bring a Goddess here for you to fight would you leave in peace and leave Godou and them alone?" I offered, relenting to his demands.


    "Oh?" His interest seemed piqued. "Very well, I ept these terms."


    I took out my Kaleidophone and began sending messages to one person in particr. After a few moments, I waved my hand, opening a portal and Izzy stepped out.


    Everyone went still as she appeared.


    Izzy looked around and her eyesnded on Voban. "Is this the one?"


    Voban stood up <em>quickly</em>, looking very excited.


    He could <em>feel</em> it, same with Godou. Their instincts as Campione, even if Izzy wasn''t a <em>heretic God</em>.


    I was used to the sensation at this point, but to them, it didn''t matter.


    "I am Izanami-no-Mikoto!" Izzy dered. "Do you dare fight me!?"


    "Yes, finally!" Vobanughed maniacally. "A wonderful offering! I thank you from the bottom of my heart, youngster, for bringing me this opportunity!" His Magic power exploded outwards. "But I don''t fight alone, my pack will join me! <em>Like the star shining ¨C </em>".


    "I give up." Izzy''s own pressure dissipated immediately. "Honestly, your smile is off-putting. You win, congrattions." She simply walked back through the portal and left.


    There was a beat of silence as Voban stood there unmoving.


    "Huzzah!" I threw my hands up.


    Voban destroyed my table.


    Clearly, his excitement at <em>another</em> victory over a God overcame him, thus I would forgive him for the slight.


    <em>"Where did she go</em>?" He forced out.


    "Home, probably." I shrugged. "Anyways, good fight. Seems like everything is handled here." I looked at Mordred. "And you didn''t think I could settle everything with just words." I said rather smugly.


    "...right." She deadpanned. "Cause that isn''t happening." She pointed at Voban who was releasing a significant amount of Magical Energy.


    ck wisps of smoke began to seep out of the ground as many different undead figures appeared in the surroundings.


    Voban was expressionless, but the use of his Authority was all too clear even if it didn''t require an incantation. Actually, he''s probably had it activated this entire time considering the thing we found near Godou''s house.


    "Look, if it pisses you off so much I''ll bring out another God, okay?" I of course brought out the most mighty of wiggles. "Behold!"I held my rabbit up to the sky.


    "Why is thy rabbit a God!?" Athena practically shrieked.


    "You''re mocking me." Voban said evenly, a hidden fury under his tone. "You dare use that rodent as an offering!?"


    "How dare you!" I roared. "This is no mere Rabbit, behold. Sir Wigglesbottom Fluffytail Octavius Benedict III, Crown Prince of the Emerald Kingdom, Duke of Carrot Ind, General of the northern Armies, Lightning born, The Devil yer. Head of Chaldean department of Phantasmal Beasts. The King of France. The King of Asgard! And a real God, unlike Athena."


    "sphemous!" Athena shrieked


    "That Rabbit could kick your ass." Mordred added.


    The tiny Goddess truly looked like she wanted to kill Mordred at this point. Honestly, I don''t know who was getting more pissed off, her or Voban.


    Godou looked tense. "Uh¡­..can we just go back to the game?" He looked around at all the figures surrounding us. Hundreds of Undead filled the streets, plenty of them were pretty darn strong considering.


    I doubt this was the peak of his Authority, but it was certainly impressive.


    "I guess I can settle for the lessened one, and two Campione." There was a slight growl from Voban.


    "Alright, for real this time." I opened a portal right behind him, and a st of cold air burst out. "There''s someone for you to fight through there, I promise."


    Voban looked at it nkly then at me. "Do you take me for a fool?"


    "¡­.."


    "¡­.."


    "Fus."


    The invisible force rippled out and smacked into him, sending him flying back into the portal and I mmed it shut.


    [There is absolutely no reason that should have worked.] Ddraigmented.


    "Words huh?" Mordred looked at me.


    "It counts." I defended myself, summoning Dawnbreaker from my ring and mming it into the ground, a burst of holy light erupting outward, cleansing away the undead minions of Voban''s as it touched them.


    "¡­.where did you send him?" Godou blinked.


    "North Pole." I replied. "Or something, I wasn''t really that caring."


    "Why is thy Rabbit a God!" Athena demanded an answer.


    "He isn''t <em>just</em> a God." I corrected her.


    "This one refuses to humor thy ridiculous titles!"


    "Uh, Wilhelm, you missed one." Godou pointed at one figure still standing there.


    "¡­..perhaps this is a bad time to mention that Lord Voban has an Authority that lets him instantly travel back¡­.?" Lilliana stated.


    I was about to question her about that, but the figure Godou was pointing to grabbed my full attention.


    <em>Not undead</em>.


    An elderly man held himself upright with arge stick, covered in a cloak with two Ravens squawking nearby.


    I wasn''t the only one who noticed either, because Athena even got defensive.


    "You need not worry, little girl. He attempted to return with his Authority, but I intercepted it and looped him back from where he remained. However, that is only a temporary measure. That Godyer is powerful and he will figure out what I did rather quickly." The Old Man spoke and his tone, voice and everything about him painfully familiar.


    "You¡­." Athena''s eyes widened.


    "You were mistaken about one thing, Goddess of Wisdom." The old man hummed, taking slow and measured steps as if each one took considerable effort. "I can confirm that the ''titles'' as you say were not <em>entirely ridiculous</em>. How curious, I never recalled a Rabbit sitting upon the Throne of Asgard."


    He looked at mewith a singr eye, the other covered with a piece of cloth. "What say you, <em>brother</em>?"


    Well¡­.fuck.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    Next part of the Looking ss Omake is up there as well.


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 531:

    Chapter 531:


    Well, this was certainly an awkward turn of events.


    "Got nothing to say? Hmph." Odin just huffed, walking up to Godou and smacked him with his walking stick. "Just a brat still. How did you manage to defeat Victory, hmm?"


    "Uh¡­.luck?" Godou scratched his head.


    Odin ran a hand through his beard. "Don''t knock a lucky victory. Verethragna would be insulted if you acted like that. A Victory is a Victory, brat!" He smacked Godou a few more times for good measure.


    It was kind of surreal if I were to be honest. Oh his mannerisms were very normal to me having to deal with the Odin back home, but¡­.well, he was a Heretic God. I had yet to meet one that wasn''t immediately antagonistic.


    "Who''s the Geezer?" Mordred asked.


    Odin turned his head towards Mordred and looked at her strangely. "You''re a strange one." He hummed. "Not live, but Dead and yet¡­..no." Odin frowned. "I don''t like it." He raised his hand up in front of her like he was about to do something.


    "Watch yourself, Old Man." I narrowed my eyes, gripping Dawnbreaker I still had out.Odin paused, looking at me with an expressionless look.


    "Move yer hand if ya don''t want to lose it." Mordred chimed in with a low growl.


    Odin just let out a bark ofughter shaking his head.


    "State thy business here." Athena broke through the awkwardness.


    "You''re hardly in a position to demand anything from me, Serpent." Odin scoffed. "Barely more than a Divine Ancestor. How much more will it take for you to fall to that level, hmm?"


    "Once this one retrieves mine Gorgonian it will matter not!" Athena''s nostrils red.


    "Unlikely to happen."


    She whipped her head to me, ring rather aggressively.


    "Your pet ¨C " Odin began to speak again.


    "The All-Rabbit." I interjected.


    "¡­.." Odin stopped in his tracks, blinking.


    "¡­.."


    "You really just can''t help yourself can you?" Mordred looked at me.


    Well in actuality, I was on guard.


    Odin was the type of God that you had to respect, and I didn''t know what his thoughts on us were just yet. If he suddenly up and decided we were an eyesore, well¡­..it would be a difficult fight.


    "Don''t try to hide it from me." Odin''s one eye glowed. "I can feel it. The lingering traces, not just on your rodent but you as well, boy." His tone set a bit longer and firmer.


    A reminder that this wasn''t the Odin I knew.


    "Maybe you''re misremembering?" I offered casually.


    "I never forget things."


    I waved my hands. "It''s just a figment of your imagination."


    "Then I would question my whole existence." He snorted. "You''re far from being able to give me an existential crisis." He turned to look at Athena. "Don''t tell me you didn''t notice anything, Serpent?"


    "Do not presume to guess mine thoughts." Athena harrumphed, crossing her arms. I had the vaguest feeling that she didn''t like Odin. "Why hath thou descended. Thou hath mocked those that descended in the past ruthlessly."


    "And I still do." Odin grunted. "Heretic Gods!" He spat out. "Ridiculous that they im ''rebellion''. I have called it as I ever have, children throwing Tantrums! Let Pandora''s bastards give them the p upside the head they need."


    "Thou speakest from thy high throne." Athena scoffed.


    "Do not dare to say I did not earn my throne, serpent. Throw your tantrum that your history was rewritten, that your own throne was taken and you were regted down as the men stood atop you as a Mother Earth Goddess, but it is nothing but the whining of the loser. The winner is King, the Loser is the servant."


    Well, it certainly sounded like they had history there.


    "Thy hypocrisy shines through thy mocking words. Thou presents thyself here and now." Athena pointed out.


    "That''s right, I''m here and now." Odin ran a hand through his beard. "And you know the difference between us?"


    "You''re not ''Rebelling''" I interjected. "You''re a Heretic God, but even so, you''re not¡­.well, rampaging."


    "Hmm." Odin turned back to me. "Well, you got a good head on your shoulders. I would have skewered you if you couldn''t atleast see through that much as my brother."


    "You don''t have an iota of bloodlust or anything like that at the moment despite two Campione standing infront of you."


    Heretic Gods and Campione were mortal enemies, it was inevitable that they fought. Something buried deep into their instincts. If a Heretic God saw a Campione, even if they weren''t rted or had any conflict previously, they would fight to the death. That was simply how it was from what Pandora talked to me about.


    "To be a Heretic God, you have to ''rebel''." I added air quotes based on his previous opinion of the whole concept.


    "That''s right." Odin looked at me then jerked his thumb at Athena. "This one here is rebelling against the rewritten stories and legends where she was pulled down from her throne and the males stood atop here. Demoted to a mere Serpent, a daughter, a wife, a Monster. That''s all she''s known as to the Mortals. Did you know, she used to be the Queen of Gods."


    I looked at Athena and had the smallest amount of pity for her. I suppose the legends of Zues and such were built after she was pulled down and the Myths around her changed? Metis, Gaia, Medusa, Athena, they all had connections and if you traced them back further to their roots, you would have a Queen of Gods it seems.


    "You¡­.dare to speak mine past so openly." Athena''s eyes glowed.


    "Do you want to fight?!" Odin''s hard gaze met hers and she wordlessly snarled but backed down.


    "Rebellion. You''re rebelling against the idea of Rebellion. You''re able to sustain this because of your Hooded One aspect because it''s how you walked the mortal world hiding your identity in your myths." I connected the dots rather easily based on what I knew about Odin.


    He''s basically faking it.


    He''s faking his ''rebellion'' against his own myth so he could descend to the Mortal World.


    "Thou art ridiculous!" Athena quickly spoke. "Thy words are nonsense, such a conclusion is nothing but fanciful words."


    "You may be a Goddess of Wisdom, but youck shrewdness." Odin responded.


    Yeah, that sounds about right. Odin is also a God of Wisdom, but he''s much scarier than Athena would ever be in my opinion.


    Athena''s lips thinned, seemingly unable to retort. "Why hath thou appeared? Campione do not hold thy attention. Thou cares not for the rivalry."


    "Normally you would be right. Unless I had a reason to do so." He was obviously staring at me. "Or if someone gave me a reason. If someone I knew came down and appeared, maybe drawing my attention perhaps. What say you, Loki?"


    "Do¡­.you think I''m Loki?" I blinked.


    "It would fit." Odin rubbed his beard.


    "I''m a Campione¡­."


    "Aye and that would be something Loki would do for ark. Something expected like tricking everyone into thinking he was a Campione." Odin stated.


    That''s¡­well, I could actually see that.


    "I''m not that horse fucker." I deadpanned.


    Odin looked at me before letting out a bark ofughter. "Yes, the likelihood lowers every moment. The former protector of thesends would have noticed I believe and he would not have willingly yed along with Loki''s schemes to hand over his Authority."


    "Don''t listen to him, he''s Loki." Mordred spoke up. "He likes to fuck horses and all that."


    Dammit Mordred¡­..


    "Beat his ass, Old Man." Mordred continued.


    [I really do like her. If I ever gave a human my bloodline willingly, well, I can''t say I would be disappointed.] Ddraig chimed in as well.


    "This one agrees, kill him." Athena said dryly.


    You know, I just now noticed that the guy from the History Comption ce had disappeared. Those are some good survival instincts of his as the others¡­.well Godou''s budding harem were still around looking worried and confused by what was happening.


    Odin seemed to ignore them. "I originally descended because I noticed the Tree you used against the protector. Not to mention I noticed my blessing. But that pales inparison to what''s infront of my eyes right now. Tell me boy, why is it that you''re my blood brother?"


    "Maybe it''s a symbolic thing?" I offered. "Maybe we''re just so much alike that you''re mistaken."


    "Oh, and how alike are we?" Odin asked sounding very much like he didn''t believe me and was merely humoring me.


    "Yer both idiots." Mordred offered.


    "Thanks Mordred."


    "No problem."


    "Well, I''m handsome, charming¡­..hmm, wait I''m supposed to list the simrities. Well, I ate a lot of crayons when I was younger. That''s something we might have inmon."


    "I liked the blue ones." Godou spoke up.


    I think we all just paused and looked at him.


    "What?" He looked around.


    I gently pat Godou on the shoulder.


    "This one is surrounded by idiots." Athena sighed.


    "Let''s set that to the side for now. What exactly did you do to Voban?" It was probably the most pertinent question because Voban was¡­well, I won''t say I was scared, but I was cautious against him.


    "His Authority is straight forward, I simply looped it upon itself so he could not immediately return." Odin stroked his beard. "You should be thanking me. Though the more time you waste, the more opportunity he has to ovee my little trick."


    "Thou does not move from kindness." Athena scoffed.


    "As a Heretic God, I believe I''m allowed to act selfishly and arrogantly, Serpent. Thus, I''ve made my own preparations. It would have been nice to simply learn everything I wanted, but I would be a poor tactician if I assumed that would work."


    "Are you going to fight me?" I got serious.


    "It would be a good fight, I can feel it in my bones." Odin grinned. "One of us would walk away through blood and steel after giving everything to the other." Despite still appearing as a frail old man, Odin''s presence loomed above, the clouds began to circle overhead. "But I made other considerations." He hummed.


    "¡­.what did thou do." Athena''s eyes widened.


    "A simple transaction." Odin hummed, snapping his fingers. "Come out now, I held up my end of the bargain."


    It was followed by the cry of a horse and the crackle of thunder as space tore open and a horse stepped through. Riding upon it was a cloaked woman, donned in armor and holding ance. Behind her sat a smaller woman, blonde hair and wearing regal like clothing.


    The one holding the Lance was a God, the woman¡­. lessened, was she a Divine Ancestor? A Mother Earth Goddess that had fallen?


    Athena was the one to visibly react. "You despicable vile man!"


    "As we agreed, you can have the Goddess if you do what I asked." Odin ignored her, though seemed to treat her as a tool for bargaining. "But if you try to take your prize before, I will show you why I''m d-o-War."


    "A deal hath been struck." The Knight spoke.


    "Is this your game then, Old Man?" I frowned, looking at Odin. "You don''t even want to do your own dirty work?"


    His one eye shined. "Why should an Old Man like myself make a move when these spirited youngsters are more than enough to satisfy my needs? I seek answers, the means does not matter."


    "You best keep your words, All-Father." The royal looking woman on the back of the horse huffed.


    "Mine enemy, bring forth your Authority, I will bestow the wisdom needed for you to y this harlot!" Athena hissed.


    "Ah." Odin raised his hand to cut her off. "If the youngster over there moves, I will join in. So, choose wisely."


    Godou hesitated at Odin''s words as did Athena.


    "But don''t worry, I have a little something to keep you upied, Serpent." Odin put two fingers to his mouth and whistled.


    Like a shooting star, a chromatic light shot through the air and mmed into the ground next to him. tinum wings sprouted out behind the near figure as she knelt to him. "Valkyrie Brynhildres at your call, All-Father."


    Odin looked at Athena and the others. "You''re not allowed to Descend into the status of a Heretic God, Brynhildr otherwise go all out and keep the Goddess preupied. It should be about an even fight considering the circumstances."


    I barely had time to blink before the Valkyrie shot at Athena. Athena''s scythe fromst time grinded against the Valkyrie''s sword as they shed quickly and violently.


    "Godou, you can take him!" Erica blurted out.


    "Hoh, maybe she''s right. Want to try your luck, youngster?" Odin stared at Godou. "Of course, even if you managed to beat me, the other one would return rather quickly and I don''t think he would be happy."


    ¡­.he really just usurped the entire situation into his favor didn''t he?


    "Well yed, Odin." I had to acknowledge it at least.


    The Regal looking woman dismounted the horse and the Knight pointed hernce at me. "This one will be your opponent. Take up arms and fight with honor, Campione. For you Face Lancelot Du Lac."


    Every response and thought I had came screeching to a halt.


    Even Mordred stilled as I noticed her out of the corner of my eye.


    "¡­.you wanna repeat that?" I asked.


    "I am Lancelot Du Lac." She introduced herself again. "Ready yourself."


    "¡­.just for my own peace of mind¡­..who is she?" I pointed at the blonde-haired girl.


    Lancelot tilted her head. "You wish to know the name of my liege? You stand before the Witch Queen, Guinevere."


    Well then.


    "It seems you miscalcted, Old Man." I crossed my arms.


    Odin''s expression changed. He was good at reading people, I was only able to bullshit with him before because he was letting me basically. He knew I was just spouting nonsense, but he also knew that I wasn''t going to just tell him what he wanted.


    That being said, his expression changed because he could read me.


    Before he could question what I meant by that, Red Lightning exploded outward from next to me and shot forward at the Knight or rather at Lancelot.


    Lancelot''s eyes widened as a silver de shed down on her and her horse groaned from the weight of the blow and the Knight herself was forced to put a decent amount of strength into blocking.


    Mordred came to a screeching halt as their blows produced a burst of power and she had tond back on the ground to steady herself. Her armor donned, and her lightning arcing everywhere.


    Lancelot stared at Mordred almostpletely ignoring me. "I feel a foreignness in my heart. Why does your de caution me so."


    "What, don''t you recognize me!?" Mordredughed, her helmet nked, and it came apart, sliding down so her face was fully visible and she had a wide and maniacal grin. "Both of you together, this is great!"


    "I feel a connection to her, my Knight." Guinevere warned.


    "Name yourself!" Lancelot demanded.


    "I''m Mordred Pendragon, the rightful heir to Camelot."


    [****]


    A/N


    It''s Voban, wait, it''s Odin, wait, it''s actually Lancelot, or is it?


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 532:

    Chapter 532:


    Mordred''s introduction included a sh of steel as she wasted no time leaping back at Lancelot with a big grin on her face.


    Mordred was having fun.


    "What!?" Guinevere eximed. "Tis impossible, the descent of our hated enemy would have been noticed!"


    "Well¡­.this is an interesting turn of events." Odin hummed.


    The brief pause and nk stare towards Mordred by Erica was also rather amusing. I''m sure she would have had some sort of outward reaction if she wasn''t busy helping Athena deal with the Valkyrie that Odin called for.


    "All-Father!" The supposed Guinevere eximed. "Thy promise ¨C"


    "I''m fulfilling my promise." Odin casually stated, watching the two match blows. "I said I wouldn''t let any other Campione or Gods interfere."


    "She ¨C""Is neither." Odin''s one eye narrowed.


    "Sophistry!" She growled.


    "I am keeping two Campione preupied and one Goddess." He frowned. "And you''re demanding I do more?"


    The petite blonde girl''s face twisted back into a scowl, then seemingly she calmed herself down. "Tis a falsehood then. If neither be Campione nor God, then my Knight has nothing to fear!" She proimed.


    Well, I couldn''t fault her for thinking that way. But she also didn''t sound too convincing as she said it out loud.


    "What if I joined in." I stated.


    She nearly stumbled in ce, her re leveled at me. She was obviously hesitant about my presence since her ''Knight'' as she said was preupied with Mordred.


    I had a moment, so my gaze switched from the proimed Guinevere, someone mirrored after Artoria''s former wife, and looked to Odin, the source of my real trepidation.


    "Me and Godou could probably handle you without too much fuss." I noted.


    Godou, while not looking like he was too thrilled with the idea, didn''t really back down like I would have expected based on how he was before I came back. I guess he took my advice to heart somewhat because he looked like he was ready to throw down if the situation called for it.


    "By all means, let''s have a good fight." Odin chuckled. "Maybe I win, maybe I don''t. But it''s not a matter of me winning, it''s about you both losing, isn''t it?" He grinned arrogantly.


    God, I really hated being on the opposite side to Odin.


    I scowled because I knew he was right.


    "Regardless of what happens, Vobanes back and we have a pissed off Campione falling on top of us." I sighed.


    "Those are the facts, what you decide is entirely up to you." Odin didn''t even try to argue either way.


    "So the lesser of two evils then."


    "Hoh, I like the sound of that." He chuckled despite the situation.


    He was using someone else as a loaded gun and they didn''t even have to agree to it.


    Could I win both fights? Probably¡­..would the coteral damage be worth it? That was the question that needed asking. The detriment to having a certain set of morals and such was that unlike both Odin and Voban, I did care about those around me and couldn''t always just throw caution to the wind.


    "Fine I won''t punch you in the balls, Old Man."


    "That is very specific. This Old Man is appreciative." He replied without missing a beat.


    "But I want something in return." I crossed my arms.


    "Are you trying to ckmail med?" He raised his eyebrow, surprised by my statement.


    "You can take it that way."


    "And If I say no?"


    "Then I guess I''ll be in for multiple fights." I straightened my back and let my Magical Power seep out. "Don''t mistake my reluctance to fight as my inability, All-Father." I met his gaze.


    He stared at me for a long moment as if to gauge me. "And what is it you want?"


    "Prevent coteral damage. If you''re not going to be fighting anyone, that''s something that should be within our capabilities without overly exerting yourself." Already the fights going on had caused a bit of damage to the city.


    A coffee shop at the edge of the city square we were in was sliced in half by Athena as she tried to fend off the Valkyrie. The Valkyrie in question dodged it and kicked Eric into another building, shattering dozens of windows and causing it to shake.


    Athena''s scythe gouged out the streets with each swing, uncaring for the damage she caused.


    Mordred and Lancelot began to sh in earnest as well. Was there even a need to mention the destruction those two caused by fighting? Mordred in particr, well, she wasn''t the most gentle¡­..


    Each step of hers cracked the streets, the collision of their weapons sent out shockwaveseach sh, sundering the ground, and shattering the nearby buildings.


    "Very well." He held his hands up, his Magic Power gathered in the surroundings, and like a Bounded Field, it began to ovey as Runes appeared, sinking into the nearby buildings and the earth.


    I only caught a glimpse of it, but it really did show that he was a God of Magic.


    "Any damage will be undone once the spell is lifted." He said simply.


    Not even an Authority, just his magical prowess.


    Fine, if he was content to just be a watcher, I wouldn''t stop him. It was better than getting him as the ruthless God of War.


    I was wondering if I should interfere or just let Mordred have her fun. Win or lose, I think Mordred wouldn''t want me to butt in when it was her fight. But Guinevere answered that question for me as she raised her hand, pointing at Mordred and began casting a spell.


    She was apparently called the Witch Queen for a reason.


    I moved using a burst of Shunpo and grabbed her hand.


    The action caught her off guard as her spell sequence failed and dissipated.


    "Unhand me you brute!" She screeched as if she wasn''t trying to take a pot shot at Mordred.


    "How about ¨C " The words died in my throat because out of the corner of my eye, I found ance weaved in lightning aimed right at me a hair''s breadth away.


    Without letting go, I spun my body and threw the ''Witch'' at a nearby building and grabbed the tip of thence, stopping it from piercing my body.


    It allowed me to get a proper look as Lancelot charged at me, abandoning Mordred with her Lance intent on piercing through me.


    Her charge was fast and strong, her horse clearly of ''divine'' origins as its power was very much not to be underestimated. I lost my footing and was carried along as I held off hernce. She reached such extreme speeds that I couldn''t call it anything other than ''God Speed'' as she mmed me through several buildings before I threw myself off her charging path and rolled to the side to escape it.


    Very quickly, a streak of red lightning mmed into her and she let out a groan as Mordred''s de managed to dig into her armor for a moment before she slid to a stop, forcing Lancelot back.


    I pushed the rubble off myself and stood up rather annoyed at what happened.


    "To be fair, I intended to let you have the fight." I breathed out.


    "Yeah, I appreciate it." She acknowledged. "The bitch tried to do something then?"


    "Tried to take a shot at you with magic from the sidelines." I flipped my hand in annoyance.


    "¡­.did ya throw her at a building?''


    "I did."


    "Nice"


    I flexed my hand as it was feeling numb after that. Hell, the skin on my palm was charred and raw to the point where it was bleeding even as my Aura was working to protect it and heal it at this point.


    Gods were Gods.


    "You know, Artoria does like it when we get along." I shot her a small smile.


    Slowly a simr grin grew on her face. "Aight I guess I don''t mind sharing with you."


    To be honest, Lancelot was a God and Mordred well¡­she was strong, but she was no God.


    Guinevere stumbled out of the half-copsed shop looking a bit haggard as her clothing was torn in some ces and she had dirt and grime covering her face.


    Lancelot''s steed stepped onto the air and hovered near her protectively as she wobbled out.


    She looked rather pissed as Mordred and myself walked closer.


    "Her Lance is a Divine Weapon." I warned.


    "Yeah, figured that shit out myself." Mordred snorted. "Can keep up with my de, it can''t be normal."


    Right, I didn''t need to warn her about every detail. Mordred actually had more fighting experience than I did, she marched off to several wars before she went to the throne, she did also mortally wound Artoria.


    "Mine Knight, we cannot drag this fight on, show those brutes your power! I give you permission to unseal our liege''s sacred sword!" Guinevere held her hands open and a very particr chalice appeared between them.


    Was¡­.that the Holy Grail?


    "If it is yourmand, I shall follow." Lancelot dered, holding her free hand open. "I pay homage to the End. Let he who heralds theing of the era''s finale allow me to fulfill my oaths. With mine heart of steel, I ask for Salvation." She chanted the activation of an Authority.


    A tinum light burst out, covering the surroundings. It was enough that I nearly had to cover my eyes.


    A sword lightly hovered and moved to her hand.


    "Excalibur, let us defeat our enemies together!" She grabbed hold of it, pointing it our way.


    It was¡­a beautiful word, I could feel how powerful it was from this distance. Kronos''s scythe, Odin''s spear, My own Authority, I think it was stronger than all of them.


    However,pared to Artoria''s sword, well¡­


    "You call that pathetic piece of crap Excalibur!?" Mordred growled.


    Lancelot didn''t answer, merely raising her sword up and a massive amount of Lightning Bolts swirled around it.


    As someone with a Lightning God''s Authority, I could feel the danger it presented.


    "Thou dares to besmirch our Liege''s Sacred de! Mine Knight, remove this brute!" Guinevere shouted, pointing at Mordred.


    Mordred was expressionless as she stared, she merely held out her other hand, and another familiar de entered it.


    Guinevere''s head snapped to Lancelot as Lancelot''s umted lightning discharged into the sky and the shing of steel resonated out as the Witch Queen was somewhat pushed away at the force of the blow.


    Lancelot''s horse let out a groan as the ''Excalibur'' of hers was forced to defend.


    "How do you possess that sword¡­?" Lancelot whispered.


    ''Whosoever pulleth this sword from this stone is rightwise King of all Ennd.''


    It was engraved on the hilt, the beautifully ornate sword that returned to the shape that Artoria recalled from her memories, even if it was the version from my birth world.


    Caliburn, the sword in the stone.


    The one from my birth world was lesser in some aspects, but in others, it surpassed the one both Mordred and Artoria were familiar with.


    In this circumstance, it seems Mordred was able to use it to teleport as the de itself seemed to be able to ovee space.


    Lancelot wasn''t dazed for long as she used her Lance to thrust at Mordred while she held her off.


    I withdrew my own Spear from my ring as the True Longinus extended across the distance, colliding with Lancelot''s own Divine Lance. The collision of the two Divine Weapons forced Lancelot to retreat as Mordred''s own sword tried to sh at her.


    Lancelot jumped off her horse,nding on the ground as the Divine Steed turned into lightning and swept up Guinevere onto its back and carried her back behind her.


    Did she think we would target the Witch?


    Well, I can''t fault her for thinking that.


    Lancelot looked at us wearily.


    "What Authority is this..?" She spoke looking at my spear.


    "Authority? I haven''t used my Authority yet." I politely informed her. "But you should probably pay attention to yourself." I held up a finger, pointing behind her as Mordred teleported and swung rent at her neck.


    The Goddess moved Excalibur to deflect it but I shot forward with a burst of Shunpo and thrust the Longinus at her, forcing her onto the defensivepletely as hernce was used akin to a shield.


    "You adulterous bastard, I''m gonna shove my sword right up your ass!" Mordred roared, swinging her swords at her with an intense fury.


    Lancelot seemed offended by that.


    And I think Mordred was treating this very personally.


    Lancelot mmed Excalibur into the ground and Lightning erupted around her, forcing both of us back.


    She held her Lance up to the sky. "Imand you, essence of the Sky, heed my summons." Thunder clouds pulled in up above as she seemingly began to gather Lightning.


    "Lok Vah Koor." I shouted, dispersing thempletely.


    "What!?" The Goddess''s eyes widened.


    My Spear shot out and she twisted her body to dodge, only for Mordred to shoot out and swing rent down on her.


    The Goddess pulled Excalibur from the ground, deflecting the blow and Mordred teleported to the opposite side, covering her vision of me.


    My Spear retracted and extended again, narrowly missing Mordred''s own neck by the smallest of margins and Lancelot used hernce to deflect it, barely missing herself and Mordred took that opportunity to swing.


    Lancelot had no choice but to use her own arm to block the blow. Impressively enough, Caliburn broke her flesh, but it couldn''t get past her bones. The Divine blood flowed down the de, but it wouldn''t budge past.


    The Goddess''s eyes glowed brightly with Divine Power and she held up Excalibur despite Caliburn buried in her arm and swung it downward.


    Everything was filled with Lightning.


    I was a bit quicker than Mordred with my Shunpo and I grabbed her and moved out of the way as I don''t think she had too much practice being able to teleport with Caliburn.


    But behind us, and thankfully not in the line of the others, a significant chunk of the city was evisceratedpletely as arcs of lightning jumped across the now barrenndscape with but debris and only the smallest bits of foundations showing that buildings dozens of stories tall used to exist there.


    Lancelot wasn''t finished, she held the sword up aloft in the sky crackled with a tinum light as lightning bolts, like meteors, fell from the cloudless sky.


    Mordred and myself both moved quickly, avoiding them as best we could.


    Each one that hit the ground erupted in a cataclysmic impact that created a gorge with a burst of lightning that emanated outwards for dozens of feet, searing away anything it touched.


    "It''s still a cheap knockoff!" Mordred shouted, teleporting out of the way of one bolt that turned a skyscraper into dust.


    The speed at which they came down was getting faster and they were getting stronger. This wasn''t her ''authority'' it was clear she had borrowed it, so it stood to reason that she couldn''t control itpletely. Thus, it took her time to properly utilize this aspect?


    Regardless, it was dangerous.


    I put the True Longinus away.


    "It was here, at this ce, that Susanoo led a thousand unruly deities in rebellion! A thousand swords standing upon the earth, used as city walls to defend against the enemies. Here! Namely, the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi! The Steel that breaks a thousand des!" I summoned my own Authority and pointed it up to the sky.


    Unlike my fight against the Gods back home, I felt things click.


    "Seal!" I dered and the lightning in the sky ceased.


    Like an invisible binding around the Sword she held, it shuddered and the lightning it called upon immediately dried up. I was tempted to take hold of it and fling all that power back at her, but with everyone so close around me, it would have been a more omnidirectional attack. Well, it''s not like I didn''t have the option for a powerful burst from a sword.


    "Mordred!" I called upon Dawnbreaker and held it in my hand.


    Mordred look, and it only took her a second to realize what I had in might, with a maniacalugh, she teleported to the opposite side of Lancelot and let Caliburn sink into the ground as she grabbed rent with both hands, raising it up.


    Bloodlust and Magical power wrapped around it as a pir of energy ascended to the sky, all contained around the weapon itself.


    I held Dawnbreaker up on the opposite side as Lancelot stood between us.


    "rent Blood Arthur!"


    "Dawnbreaker!"


    We both swung down our swords and the two powers were released, a blinding wave of light, and the culmination of Mordred''s hate and Magical Energy turned into Red Lightning and sublimed into a Noble Phantasm.


    Lancelot was at the epicenter of the two powers colliding.


    The world was separated into red and gold as a massive discharge enveloped the city and upwards to the sky as well. The phenomenon, while not dangerous at the edges, was visible to anyone left remaining within the city.


    The stray energies began to dissipate and the dust itself settled as Lancelot''s figure came into view. Rather, she was¡­.murky, her body like a mirage¡­mist. She ''reformed'' at the center, while clearly not wholly unscathed, she was mostly fine.


    Was it annoying? Yes. Was it unexpected? No.


    Gods had plenty of strange Authorities, I wasn''t odd that they would have lifesaving ones. But they usually had some sort of limitation, I would be surprised if she could use it multiple times in such a short time.


    "Mine knight!" Guinevere''s voice sounded panicked and scared. "I will support you!" The Grail in her hands produced a ridiculous amount of Magical Power and it seemed to be given to Lancelot.


    "My Lady, any more than this and I will descendpletely." Lancelot pushed up onto her feet, sword in one hand,nce in the other.


    "Getting real tired of her shit." Mordred grumbled and she enveloped herself in her Red Lightning and charged.


    I followed suit, using Shunpo to appear at Lancelot''s side.


    Both Mordred and I swung our weapons at her simultaneously. Lancelot was able to block both of them with the mostly minimal effort required as her eyes darted left and right.


    I swung low, Mordred swung high, and Lancelot danced between the razor sharp edges of our weapons.


    It became fairly obvious that she was predicting our movements ahead of time and her sudden ''buff'' was letting her keep up.


    Mordred swung rent upwards, sending arcs of red lightning at Lancelot and I pointed my finger at her, matching her lightning with my own but the Goddess was still able to disperse both with barely moving a step or two.


    Mordred slid to the side with a low growl. "Alright, I think I got it figured out."


    "You too?" I cracked my neck. "Together then?"


    Lancelot silently raised up both weapons, one pointed at each of her on either side of her.


    Honestly, it reminded me of the time against Indra withSusanoo. It was a weirdly simr situation in some regards.


    Mordred didn''t speak, and without warning, she threw rent at Lancelot.


    The Goddess merely stepped to the side, it harmlessly passed her as Mordred charged with Caliburn, shing with Lancelot''s Excalibur.


    I opened a portal, letting it catch rent and deposit it right back to Mordred. She kicked it, redirecting its edge at Lancelot. At the same time, I threw Dawnbreaker forward like she had earlier.


    Lancelot''snce crackled with lighting as she used it to push Mordred away and her feet then left the ground as she arched her back and both weapons flew above and below her without touching her.


    Mordred Teleported back above Lancelot, Caliburn thrusting down. I opened two portals, each of them catching the discarded swords and redirecting them back at Lancelot and I followed up with a burst of Shunpo, my own sword aiming at Lancelot''s side.


    She let go of her Lance and summoned a shield.


    Caliburn collided with the shield, mming Lancelot to the ground. She jerked her head to the side as Dawnbreaker stabbed right down. She pushed Caliburn away, and rolled to the side as ren narrowly missed her. And she quickly shot to her feet and swept her sword to block my own Divine sword.


    I jerked my finger, and Dawnbreaker was pulled out of the ground and aimed at her back.


    Lancelot spun her body to the side to avoid it without even looking and I grabbed it from the air and swiped at her, it barely nicked her arm, drawing a small bit of blood.


    The Goddess was forced to swing her shield covered arm outwards as it collided with arge ''ng'' against Mordred''s Caliburn. And the most surprising thing, Mordred let go of Caliburn, something she hadn''t done since bringing it out.


    The full weight of Lancelot''s shield was keeping Caliburn at bay, and Mordred''s counter weight disappearing caused the Goddess to stumbly slightly.


    Mordred reached for rent that was within range, and pulled it free from the ground, ducking down and swinging upwards through her guard.


    I pushed Lancelot''s de down and held my hand up, pointing at her head as a Spell Circle formed. Behind her, Dawnbreaker flew at her, its edge threatening to pierce her from behind.


    Battle cognition was always an annoying thing to deal with, the most simplistic method was to prevent any means of escape and cage your opponent in.


    At this moment, Lancelot had no avenue to ''retreat'' or ''dodge'' without suffering a loss.


    She twisted her body in the most optimal way, but even so, Mordred''s lightning crackled around her sword and she let out a roar, pumping a significant amount of Magical Energy into her swing and the arm of the Goddess holding the shield went sailing through the air.


    "My knight!" Guinevere screamed in panic.


    Lancelot retreated dozens of feet back, blood seeping from her dismembered arm. "I cannot fight them unless I descend fully my Liege." She spoke.


    "Let us retreat, my knight." The Witch took a deep breath.


    "You think I''m gonna let ya?" Mordred scoffed. She was breathing a little heavy, but she wasn''t in too bad a shape. Some scrapes or small cuts along her armor and a little bit of blood at the corner of her mouth, but she was fine.


    Guinevere held out her hands and the Grail vibrated in ce. "I need you, myrade, for the sake of our liege''s return!"


    The Grail shined brightly and like before, the sheer amount of Magical Energy it released was palpable.


    The void cracked, and a new figure mmed into the ground.


    This wasn''t Odin who was ying a trick to keep his rationale. This wasn''t Athena who was so weakened that she barely posed a threat. Nor was this Lancelot that was holding herself back because she didn''t want to fully descend into the status as a Heretic God.


    Covered in bandages with a strange pointed mask and pieces of armor on its body.


    A Heretic God descended and with him, a hurricane quickly epassed the country.


    [***]


    A/N


    First part of Kunou''s Hogwarts adventure is up.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 533: + Chaldea Omake

    Chapter 533: + Chaldea Omake


    Guinevere POV


    I carefully began to coax the Grail to prepare for our retreat. With my liege''s faithful follower here, he should be able to keep our enemies at bay while we escaped.


    He did not speak upon his arrival, merely ncing upon us and looked at our despicable enemies and understood the situation.


    He was not mine to order, for all that we both served the same master, but mutual respect was all that was required.


    Nay, he was an honorable friend, and I knew I could trust upon him our safety.


    "Mine Knight, we shall retreat."


    Her mighty steed neighed as it stepped to her and she quickly climbed atop the Divine Beast.


    I cast onest nce at our foes. The infuriating Odin had a mocking smile upon his lips. That darned Goddess who looked smug at our failure. If only we were able to obtain her power, it might have been enough to revive our liege. Andstly, the <em>Campione</em> and¡­..<em>her</em>.


    The one who in the past had tried to usurp our Liege as the Strongest Steel! Except¡­..it was not him?Not Campione nor God¡­..


    I held upon the Grail and activated it using the immense amount of Magical Power to teleport us away. It churned my heart to waste it on something such as this, but it would be worse if we were to fall here and all our preparations of all these years were for naught.


    They did not try to stop us as ourrade barred their way.


    In my heart, I thanked him once more as we moved across the world to safety.


    The Lands of Briton sung to our arrival as I felt at home under the persona of this incarnation.


    We barely touched the ground of the old country before the mighty steed disappeared and mine knight fell to the ground.


    "Lancelot!" I carefully caught her.


    She smiled with her divine blood flowing. "I apologize my Lady, but I am at my limit. Lest you wish for me to descend as a Heretic God, I will need to depart and recover."


    "My friend, please return to the realm of Immortality, you forever have my greatest gratitude." I held the hand of my dear friend andpanion.


    Those sted children of Pandora! If she were at her strongest, she could have defeated them! It was merely a matter of being unable to produce her best otherwise thews would have forced her descent into the status of a Heretic God and she would be unable to answer my call for aid in the future.


    And that damnable fake one!


    <em>Mordred!</em>


    Once more you stepped in our way!


    Whatever you may be, whatever tricks you y, you would not seed. Our Liege will y thee once more and drive you into the deepest darkest pit where you belong!


    ¡­.it was lonely knowing mine Knight would need time to recover and I was alone.


    I could see the winds of the world converge once more upon the country I escaped from. My Liege''s trustedrade was doing battle and I prayed for his safety. He was a strong warrior, I prayed that his enemies fell before his might.


    I would need to prepare a ritual to look into the void to make sense of what I had learned. This newest Campione...the things he showed, I did not understand. The Spear he wielded could match mine Knight''s Divine Lance. The Sword he revealed was Divine, but I did not recognize the source.


    He called upon his Authority, which I knew as the defender of thatnd from before he was in, but everything else¡­..I was confused.


    He could move at such speeds without Divine Means?


    And that hateful Traitor.


    Yes, I would divine their weaknesses and prepare for the future!


    "Well well, isn''t this a surprise?"


    "You!" I red at the arrival of another hateful person. "Thief!"


    "Rude." Another bastard of Pandora appeared with his Divine Speed Authority, riding upon the crackle of Lightning. "We''re old friends, my dear Guinevere. Are you really that unhappy to see me?" He smiled annoyingly.


    "How did thou discover me!?"


    "Tut, tut, my dear Guinevere, you''re getting sloppy. You usually hide yourself so well, but you shined like a candle in the night when you came on over. Last I heard, you were in the East?"


    Hateful!


    I retreated in such haste that Icked my normal amodation!


    "You should be grateful, I let you have your warm farewell to that rather <em>annoying</em> Knight of yours."


    ¡­..this was an unfortunate position.


    "What matter does the dishonorable thief desire with me!?" I quickly put the Grail away where he could not swipe it with his dirty hands.


    Among all the children of Pandora, this <em>Alexander Gascoigne</em> was the most annoying! I despised most of them, but only he could get under my skin and anger me so easily!


    "Thief?" He mocked me with fake aghast as he fixed his cor. "I simply borrow some things from time to time."


    "Yes and the sun is merely a little bright." I responded dryly.


    He ignored me and hummed. "Well since you brought it up, <em>I would really like to borrow your Grail</em>. You wouldn''t mind, right? I know you rejected me <em>time and time again</em>, but I''m feeling pretty good about my chances. But feel free to call your <em>Knight</em>."


    Infuriating!


    "Hmph, you will never acquire my Grail. y me if you must, I will return and make you regret it." I was willing to die for my Liege. It would set our ns back, but my life was worth far less than his revival.


    He let out a sigh. "I guess it can''t be helped then. You are a rather stubborn woman."


    "Why do you sound annoyed? You must be used to every woman you''ve met rejecting you."


    He twitched slightly and I smiled.


    "You really ¨C"


    The void between worlds was ripped apart behind me as a shadow blocked the sun overhead.


    A massive bipedal wolf stood, looking down on me with bloodlust wafting off it in such droves that I fell to my rear upon the ground.


    The infuriating Thief''s eyes narrowed, and his body became surrounded with his Divine Lightning. "Who allowed you toe here, Voban?"


    The massive wolf turned its gaze to the Thief. "At what point did I require your permission to go anywhere, boy?" He spoke fully articte despite itsrge maw.


    "This is my territory!"


    "Then go y king elsewhere." He said dismissively.


    "You''re interfering in my matters?" He growled.


    "I am, what are you going to do about it? <em>Are you going to fight me, boy?"</em> The Wolf grinned wickedly. "That''s fine, I wouldn''t mind a little <em>appetizer</em> because my main course is being disagreeable."


    "You!" The Thief''s nostrils red. "¡­..I''ll remember this." He scowled, disappearing with his Divine Speed.


    I should be pleased that the Thief was driven away, mocking him all the while. However, I could only feel the intimidating presence of the oldest of Pandora''s of this era as he stared down at me.


    "H-how? You should have been kept away¡­."


    "Oh, that?" He chuckled. "I realized what was going on and just yed along." His massive werewolf form disappeared, and he returned to a semnce of a man, but his feral nature was still ever present. "I had half a mind to just go back to that small ind and have a nice fight to settle my anger. But¡­.I couldn''t help but admire that brat''s balls." He smiled faintly.


    ¡­..he had lived for centuries as a Child of Pandora for a reason.


    Did the All-Father know?


    Of course he knew, that despicable God!


    "I am a mere Divine Ancestor; I cannot provide you a fight nor an Authority." His desires were well known. He even dismissed the Goddess Athena because she was too weakened for his ''fight''.


    "You wouldn''t even fit between my teeth." He scoffed. "I have no desire for a tiny morsel like you, witch." His dismissal was both angering and relieving. "But I saw what you did. You were able to summon Heretic Gods? I can fight the brats any time, but if you died, then I would lose this opportunity. Summon a God for me, little Witch. And you may yet earn your freedom."


    "I¡­.I can''t." I panicked knowing that there were no otherrades I could summon without preparation.


    His hand snaked out, picking me up by the throat. "You''re testing my patience. I went through the trouble of abandoning my previous hunt for this. I''ll give you a chance to reconsider your words. <em>Choose carefully</em>."


    His grip loosened barely enough so that I could speak. "I can''t summon another God!" His eyes narrowed. "Without aid!" I quickly added.


    "¡­.I''m listening." He said, dropping me to the ground.


    "Mine Knight requires time to recover and the friend I summoned forth in thend of the East was not something I can recreate! However, it matters not! For my true purpose is the rival of my lord!"


    He raised an eyebrow. "Your Lord, hmm? Is he strong?"


    I finally smiled because I knew that he relented. "<em>He is the strongest</em> <em>steel</em>."


    "Hoh?" The Campione smiled and despite it sending a shiver down my spine, I realized that the arrival of my Lord was merely a matter of time.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    I let Guinevere and Lancelot go. I didn''t want to, but bigger concerns immediately arose.


    The Heretic God in front of us was a much bigger threat than they were at the moment. With my connection to the Storms, I could <em>feel</em> the Hurricane that was sweeping up around the country, and it all focused on him.


    This was a proper Heretic God and he was <em>strong</em>.


    "Hey Mordred, mind letting me have this one?" I spoke.


    "Yeah, sure." She could read the room, so to speak. "How about I go after the bitch and the adulterer while you handle bandage boy over there?"


    As soon as she said that the winds pushed down, almost like a torrent of gravity as Mordred shuddered slightly.


    I swung my Divine Sword upwards, cutting it in half and severing the use of it.


    "You will not." The Heretic God Dered. "I am your opponent." He held up his hand as if gesturing to fight him.


    I clicked my tongue because the location was annoying.


    This Heretic God was rted to them in some way, the only issue was finding out in what capacity. I couldn''t think of any of the Knight''s of the Round Table covered in Bandages and able tomand the Wind.


    Percival?


    No, he didn''t look like he wielded a weapon.


    It could be a red herring too because the Gods here were strange.


    "Hey Odin, does the promise still hold?" I asked without looking away.


    "I said I would be protecting the surroundings. But there''s a limit, I suggest you take the fight elsewhere." He looked at the Heretic God.


    And the Heretic God looked back at him with an unreadable expression due to the mask.


    "I would hate to get involved." Odin said softly.


    It was barely a whisper as the winds parted. The Heretic God seemed to be one with the very element as he moved. The faintest whistle as his foot nted on the ground in front of me, and his fist cut through the air and hit my chest.


    I felt myself arch forward and saliva push out of my throat as I was lifted up off my feet and the world turned.


    There were buildings, I faintly caught glimpses of as I went <em>through them</em>. A Mountain nearly <em>copsed</em> due to me shooting through it like a meteor, and I hit the water, skipping across the waves of Japan''s coast before finallying to a stop with a crash of water.


    My body floated up to the surface as I caught my breath, coughing up a mouthful of blood from the impact.


    My Aura had absorbed a good amount of it, and my body was fairly durable with my current Reinforcement running through it. But even so, <em>I just got the air knocked out of me</em> and sent flying with a single punch.


    I had to climb up and stand upon the waves to catch my bearings as I realized I had been thrown to the coast of Japan¡­.again.


    [Have we been here before? I feel like we''ve been here before.]


    I breathed out, feeling the pain in my chest.


    <em>That fucking hurt</em>.


    Speed and Strength of that magnitude, it was a deadlybination. He reminded me quite a bit of that Bird from the Norse Realms, but stronger.


    "At least it''s not another Lightning God¡­" I forced out a chuckle, wiping away the blood from the corners of my lips.


    Oof, I think a few of my Ribs cracked, that''s annoying and painful.


    The Heretic God reappeared, hovering up in the sky as his Hurricane followed him.


    It''s funny because he looks verynky¡­.thin with very long arms.


    He sped his hands and bowed. "To my opponent, I offer this bow."


    I raised an eyebrow at him curiously. "The honorable sort, huh? Very honorable with the sneak attack."


    "My honor and my pride are secondary to serving my Master." He stated.


    "And who exactly is your master?" I asked.


    "That is not for you to know." He rode upon the winds and moved again.


    I was prepared this time, and all of my swords were called out, shooting at him. He waved his hands and a shield of Winds around him became solid enough to ward them off as his fist reeled back and he mmed it down on me.


    "Boost!" I summoned the boosted Gear onto my arm and used it as a shield as his fist collided with the Gauntlet.


    I felt my arm shudder and the force sent me downwards, I hit a solid mass, realizing immediately that I was at the bottom of the ocean.


    <em>Obscenely strong</em>.


    Part of his legend had to epass the aspect of Strength. Like how Hercules had abnormal Strength even for Heroes/Gods.


    I pushed against the seafloor and shot back up, breaching the surface of the water. Faintly picking him up in my perception, I noticed him behind me, trying to swing his fast at me again.


    I touched the surface of the water and used a burst of Shunpo to get behind <em>him</em>.


    "Boost, Dragon Shot!" I released right at his back, sending him tumbling into an oing wave. I followed it up by stabbing my sword down at him.


    He quickly moved his hands in a circr motion,manding the winds to <em>grab</em> onto my de, like a hand, and forcing it to a stop right in front of his face.


    "Dragon?" He spoke in surprise.


    "Reset, Boost, <em>Transfer</em>." I called out in quick session, <em>targeting his wind maniption around my sword</em>.


    The ''invisible hands'' that he used to clutch my sword were engorged, and the sudden burst made him briefly lose control of it. With a <em>pop</em> it dispersed, and my sword came down.


    However, he showed an odd disy of agility and maneuverability as he twisted his body in a way I didn''t anticipate, rolling himself back and avoiding it as my de cleaved away the ocean underneath us.


    My other swords reappeared, shooting up from under the waves, but he dodged them with rtive ease, dancing around his if he could see theming.


    I raised my palm as his foot tapped against the surface of the way when myst de missed. "Had¨­ #63, Raikouhou!"


    Lightning erupted from my palm in a straight line right towards the Heretic God.


    He raised his arms up in a blocking motion and my Lightning washed over. It only took a moment for it to dissipate and he sat there with his bandages barely singed.


    I guessed Kido of that level wasn''t enough to harm a Heretic God. Or perhaps I should have put more strength into it.


    In return, he took a stance and pulled his fist back. Despite the distance between us, I could feel the hairs on my neck tingle. It seemed like all the winds produced by the Hurricane wrapped around his fist all together.


    "Boost!" I quickly called out. "Bakud¨­ #81, Danku!"


    The Ocean, for miles out parted at the sheer force of his punch. My Shield stood wavering for a few moments before it shattered under the strain and I pushed my Aura outward by touching upon the Hogyoku, protecting myself as best as I could.


    With a roar, I swung my Divine Sword, slicing his ''wind'' in half and shunting off the majority of the blow due to my Authority over the Storm.


    He appeared, slipping through my perception as his attack ended and I narrowly pulled my head back to avoid his fisting up from below. The errant wind around him sliced at my Aura from the proximity and I swung my sword as he turned into a gust.


    I used Shunpo to move a few feet over, and his fist mmed into the spot I was, making a new hole in the ocean, all the way down to the bottom as the waters tried to copse back in on themselves immediately.


    <em>Now</em>.


    "Welsh Dragon, Bnce Breaker!" I quickly activated my Sacred Gear to the next level. "Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost!" And I shot at him at top speed, my fist mming into the side of his mask, a clean hit for the first time.


    The collision created a shock wave, and admittedly, he withstood a significant portion of the blow by sheer strength.


    In sheer physical prowess¡­.I don''t know if I''d ever fought someone like this.


    That one punch was enough to destroy mountains, yet he barely stepped back a few times.


    Even if I was taken back by his show of strength, It wasn''t my intention to merely brawl as the punch was a means to an end, my de shed at him in that moment and I cut through the bandages on his chest, drawing blood.


    ¡­.white fur?


    Under his bandages, there was white fur mixed with the blood seeping from the wound.


    He held a hand to the wound and looked at me in surprise. "You have many strange things."


    "I get that a lot." I breathed out.


    He raised his hand to the sky,manding the Hurricane. There was a roar from above, animalistic in nature as a face appeared, fangs bared but the image was¡­vague in view. Massive hands faintly outlined by the intense winds plummeted down and it looked like the sky was falling.


    This was why Heretic Gods are so feared.


    A barrage of fists fell from the sky onto my location.


    "Imand the wind and the rain. The Storm is mine!" I pointed towards the hurricane above.


    My Authority wasn''t merely ''sealing'' other Authorities, sure it wasn''t as effective back home because Heretic Gods were¡­.different in existence. But here, my Authority worked fully how it was supposed to, and not only that, the domains <em>ovepped</em>.


    I stopped the winds that kicked up around me, the wrath that was unleashed and I took control of it.


    His Authority over Wind was usurped by my own Authority.


    The Winds bent to my will,bining with my own control over the Storm, and the Hurricane distorted, flowing downwards, wrapping around my de.


    All it took was one swing towards him and it was all unleashed.


    Once more, the ocean was split at the gesture, from the bottom of the sea, to the highest points in the sky, it was like the world was separated into two. The unnatural phenomena held the ocean within its grasp, otherwise every corner of the world would be experiencing tsunamis at this point.


    The Heretic God let out a roar and the shadow underneath him erged drastically, bing as big as a mountain as its two massive hands emerged and pressed down on the ''wind de'' I had unleashed at him.


    I swung my body, releasing my Authority and retrieving a different weapon as he was forced in ce.


    The light in the world began to disappear as I drew back the string of my bow.


    A single arrow was knocked and glowed like a second sun.


    "What!?" The Heretic god eximed, his calm demeanor breaking for the first time. "What is that!?"


    I released the arrow as it reached its precipice.


    The Heretic God''s Power exploded out as he roared in defiance. "Riding the wind of my father Vay, I Hanuman Steal the Sun!" The shadow distorted again and released the ''wind de'' and instead, it grabbed hold of the arrow and wrapped around it, pressing it downpletely.


    It was my turn to be astonished because his Authoritypletely sealed away the arrow shot from my bow.


    "Hanuman!?" His identity was now obvious. And there was a certain legend about him trying to eat the sun or something along those lines.


    Even still, his actions were astounding.


    However, while he sealed my arrow, the wind de containing the power of his own Authority within it still hit him.


    He had to bear it with his physical body, and he quickly got covered in wounds, his bandages torn and his fur bing distinct as his mask cracked and shattered. The Heretic God did not fall to the ground, his body bloodied from battle, his breathing heavy, he charged at me.


    He released a barrage of punches at me, each one as strong as his earlier ones. He seemed to enter a berserker state where he ignored his own wounds and only focused on killing me.


    I felt severalnd on my body before I could orient myself, however, I was prepared enough to withstand them.


    "Shield of Asgard!" I quickly cast without anything extra to help, but it onlysted a dozen or so hits that were released in the blink of an eye before it shattered.


    It was enough for me to situate myself and I could respond. My Semnce activated as his fist went for my face, and his body passed through me as he didn''t expect the action, he sort of stumbled for a brief moment. I used that opportunity to grab the back of his hand and m him downward into the ocean''s floor.


    Yet, his physical strength still overcame mine and he pped me away, each of his movements enough to keep the immense weight of the ocean from falling back onto us.


    I took another of his fists to my chest as I condensed lightning around my arms and retaliated with a fist to his cheek, discharging all of it and forcing him back a step.


    His durability was honestly ridiculous.


    He casually brushed his arm around my wrist, deflecting a sh of my sword, then stepped into me, pping his palm against my chest and I felt my ribs crack under the strain as my Aura seemed to disperse at his touch.


    "I see, a form of force distribution through that energy shield of yours." He muttered, despite his flurry of attacks that changed from hard punches to precise and pinpoint blows that carried the same amount of force.


    He stomped on the ground, sending out a massive shockwave and shot forward, fingers pointed outward, he jabbed at my shoulder, and I felt the pain through my entire arm even with my Aura and the Scale Mail blocking it.


    The force passed through and hit the walls of water behind us and pushed through, leaving a valley that went on for hundreds of yards.


    His body dipped low as the pain made me wince and swept my legs, he grabbed my leg before I could even fall and threw me over his shoulder into the ground.


    His leg came down like a sickle, carrying with it the weight of a mountain.


    I swiped my hand on the ground and rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the new gorge that opened up at the weight of the blow.


    Everywhere I ced my hand a Rune appeared, and I withdrew my Staff of Magnus and mmed it into the ground. "Bindings of Gaia!"


    His martial arts were beyond impressive and could be easily considered <em>Godly</em>. I couldn''tpete with him in an exchange of fists, but I was more than that. I wasn''t a Martial Artist, I was a Magus, a <em>Magician</em>.


    I felt the seed of theWorld Tree inside me thump in response, and the roots, while normally fairly decent, seemed to take on a life of their own as they flushed with vitality far beyond what I normally provided.


    Even at the bottom of the sea, life emerged from the earth. The massive roots shot out, each one bigger than several of me together.


    The God kicked off the ground and flew to the hair, narrowly dodging each one that shot at him as he skillfully avoided the dozens that chased after him.


    A God''s Magical Resistance was <em>annoying</em>. But that didn''t mean they were immune to Magic, even ''mortal'' magic. Types of Magic that affect natural phenomena, it could still reach them.


    I held up the Staff of Magnus and I recalled the spell my mirror self had used in our fights. Arge Spell circle appeared overhead, and I Engraved Primordial Runes into the sequence.


    "Reverse!" I dered, and Gravity <em>shifted</em>. A small trick I picked up from my Mirrored Self.


    The God that was flying upward suddenly found himself tumbling to the ''ground''. It was enough that the Roots managed to block all paths around him and copsed onto his person all at once


    With a gesture, my swords reappeared and moved towards him from every angle.


    The God didn''t try to escape as everything tried to connect, rather he took a deep and audible breath.


    And with a thunderp, the sound of wind bristled forth and it overtook the roaring of the unnatural phenomena of the ocean around us and my knocks were deflected, and the roots burst into pieces, falling from the sky.


    The God''s eyes met mine and with his speed that reached the level of his status, he appeared right in front of me, his arm reeled back and his palm ready tond on my face.


    I scoffed, and twisted my wrist. Out of the ground, a fist made of stone pushed out and mmed into him, sending him flying up into the air.


    My Wings pped against the air, and I shot up out of the chasm we had created at the bottom of the ocean.


    "Feim Zii Gron." I briefly turned intangible, and he moved right through me. I merely turned my Staff backwards and my Divinity intertwined with my Spell. "Thunderbolt." A massive bolt of thunder mmed into him.


    While it didn''t do much actual damage, it jolted him for a moment, even if he shook it off.


    If I hadn''t fought my mirror self, this fight would have been harder for me. I wasn''t a dedicated martial artist, it would be stupid for me to try and keep up with him in that way.


    "Strun Bah Qo." I shouted as the sky turned dark and Thunder Clouds rolled in.


    He shot at me again, ignoring the wounds that were umting on his body.


    "Bakud¨­ #61, Rikujokoro!" Six rods of light mmed into his midsection, halting his advance for just a moment before he grabbed hold of them and they shattered.


    "Bakud¨­ #44, Enkosen. Bakud¨­ #81, Danku. <em>Shield of Asgard"</em> I held my Staff up as he hit the first barrier, and it shattered with ease. The second, it took a bit of effort, but he still pushed through it then mmed into my strongest Shield.


    A proper Shield of Asgard, unlike the one from before.


    The flurry of strikes he delivered, however, did not do it any favors and it started to crack.


    Offense in one hand, defense in the other, that''s the strengths of a Magic user.


    With my other hand, I drew the required Runes, and created the needed Runic Circles. "Blessings of Magic ¨C Vanaheim!" The spell Circle that Odin helped meplete down in the Roots of Yggdrasil appeared overhead and a second spell cast simultaneously actualized to feed into it. "Water Dragon."


    The water around us swirled up like a cyclone until it properly shaped and forty Dragon Roars ovepped, causing the ocean to rumble for miles out.


    He looked at it for a split second and let out an animalistic roar, he pulled back his arm and his palm seemed coated in his fury as the Magical Power enough it became palpable. It flickered, but I think I could briefly see an ape''s fangs ovey on it as he hit my shield and shattered itpletely.


    Once more, I felt the wind get knocked out of me even if the blow did not directly hit me.


    Despite this, I smiled at him as his palm came down on me.


    With a flick of my wrist, a Portal opened up between us and one of the Water Dragons emerged from it, mming into him. It carried him away upwards and the dozens of others all converged on him.


    I quickly caught myself and pped my wings to steady my body as I thrust my Staff upwards.


    "Vanaheim ¨C "The Runs around me swirled. "Freezing Winds of Jotunheim!" I wasn''t done as I called upon one of my Nine-Realms spells. Oh the cold winds were beyond freezing as they began to cover the oceans in ice. "Boost, Boost, Boost, <em>Transfer</em>!"


    I overloaded my Vanaheim spell, the spell sequence couldn''t handle that kind of strain on itself. It wasn''t made to amplify spells taken into it multiple degrees, rather just alter the spell itself.


    Perhaps it would work in its true form with the full Yggdrasil deployed, but in this basic form, it unraveled, but it was <em>enough</em>. At the core, it was pure white, no rather, it was the absence of color and I had to turn my head away because of the intense cold.


    Raindrops that were falling from the sky instantly became icicles.


    What would have been able to freeze the ocean for <em>miles</em>, had been condensed into a smaller area via the spell sequence, then amplified several fold.


    And the Water Dragons that wrapped around the Heretic God, theypletely froze along with everything.


    Therge encasing of Ice slowly cracked as Wind howled around it. The Heretic God''s form trembled and the animalistic Roar returned as the much of the ice around him shattered into millions of pieces with his Magical Energy bursting out as he used a significant amount of strength to free himself.


    I looked at him, his panting breath revealed through the cold air that escaped his mouth. The Ice crept back onto him and he had to keep grabbing hold of it and shattering it even as his legs frozepletely and his Magical energy continuously expanded to ward it off.


    I held my arms out and weed the crackle of lightning and the roar of thunder up above.


    He looked up and I finished thest point. "Thor''s Hammer."


    Two gigantic Hands pulled the clouds apart, revealing a very distinct figure weaved from pure Lightning, intermixed with my own Divinity.


    He couldn''t even be considered the size of a nail inparison to the Hammer that came down, ironically like the Wrath of God. Nor could he properly dodge out of the way as part of his body was still freezing under the lingering effects of my spell.


    The Hammer fell down and a pir of Lightning connected the Sky and the Earth.


    "Hanuman, the Indian God. The prototype myth to Sun Wukong, and that also opens a weakness." I made a hand sign, and the preparations areplete.


    Even so, I didn''t think it was enough to keep him down. He was an absolute monster, he was the entity that spawned the myths of the Monkey King himself. But the Myths aligned in such a way that I felt confident that my next spell would borrow upon it and have an impressive effect.


    "Mountain Sealing Incantation!"


    My timing was perfect because he had just dragged his haggard and broken body out of the hole he had been shut off to.


    He was weakened enough.


    The Myth of Sun Wukong being suppressed under a mountain and even his legendary strength could do nothing.


    It just so happened that one of my strongest spells was thus.


    But I released my Bnce breaker with an exhale as I looked at the Heretic God pressed down and unable to move.


    He was brought low enough that it was aplete sealing.


    I had set up the series of Spells just tond this at the precise moment. If I didn''t pull out enough of his stamina and strength, I didn''t feel confident it would have worked and I didn''t want to reveal too much when I knew that <em>Odin</em> was watching.


    "Well fought, Godyer, take your prize. But know this, this will not be thest time we meet, and my Master will be your End." His body battered to a dangerous degree; his eyes still held unwavering defiance. His fangs bared as he delivered his threat.


    I frowned at his words, and didn''t waste a moment. There didn''t need to be words of goodbye between us, I used my Divine Sword and swung at his neck.


    I let out a sigh, wiping away more blood from my mouth. I would worry about that kind of thingter.


    More importantly, where''s my new Authority?


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: Summoned to Chaldea, Part 1


    I opened my eyes as information flooded into my mind.


    A small smile gradually pulling on my face.


    So, this is what it''s like to be a Servant? Though how many times I''ve had this though was up to debate because I''m sure I think the same thing every time I''m summoned.


    "By your summons, I''vee forth. Are you my master?" I asked upon the radiant Magical Energy dying down. I only blinked in realization of who I was staring at. "Ritsuka, Mash?"


    "Wee ¨C <em>what</em>?" Ritsuka questioned me as I apparently named them. "How do you know us?"


    "Well, this is awkward." I scratched my head. "I assume Da Vinci is around?"


    "I''m here, and curious. You know me as well, but I don''t recognize you?" She seemed confused.


    I tried to open my mouth, because I remembered the Grand Order, my time during Chaldea while I was alive, but as soon as I tried to grasp those thoughts, it was like they vanished.


    I was summoned without the knowledge, the details of what I went through, only recalling¡­well, myself and those around me sort of.


    My memories were¡­.vague to say the least.


    "Allow me to introduce myself. Servant Saber, Grandson of Zelretch, Magician, And Leader of B-Team in my world-line. Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service." I politely bowed at my own introduction.


    "Magician?"


    "B-Team Leader!?"


    "Grandson of the Kaleidoscope!?"


    They all seemed to speak at once. "Yes." I simply nodded with a grin.


    "T-that means you''re from a Parallel world! That means you know what''s going on right? If you were the B-team Leader ¨C" Mash started rambling.


    "Ah, I apologize my little cinnamon roll." I found myself patting her head like I did in the past. "But upon my summoning, I don''t recall the details of the Grand Order. I remember the people around me, what my role was¡­.but the singrities are nk, only that they exist and what-not."


    "Mash taught me a little bit about this stuff¡­.does that mean you knew me, <em>over there</em>?" Ritsuka asked.


    "Ritsuka Fujimaru." I smiled nostalgically. "You were directly under my purview. Olga also enjoyed getting on your case the most out of our team."


    "The Director?" Ritsuka said quietly.


    "¡­..where is Olga?"


    "The Director is gone." Da Vinci spoke through the systems. "She died during the initial attack. She appeared in the Fuyuki Singrity, but she was just a soul and was¡­.killed thoroughly by Lev."


    For the briefest moment, I lost control of my Reiatsu, and the building shook.


    Mash panicked and summoned her shield, standing protectively infront of Ritsuka.


    "I apologize, I let my temper get the better of me there for a moment." I strained a smile reeling myself back in. "So Olga didn''t make it here."


    "She¡­.was alright over there?" Ritsuka hazarded a guess.


    "Yeah, I suppose I managed to save her. You said <em>Lev</em> killed her? I vaguely remember that name and it makes me inordinately angry. Regardless, I am at yourmand, <em>Master</em>." I politely bowed again.


    "Wait, if you were the B-team leader, then shouldn''t you handle things?! I barely know what I''m doing, but if ¨C "


    I put a hand up, interrupting my new master. "The Dead can''t lead the living, Master. Perhaps it''s the reason I don''t remember all the details, I''m not <em>allowed to</em>. I am here to serve, but if you want help, if you need advice, that''s within my capacity to provide."


    Ritsuka sighed, slumping his shoulders before regaining hisposure. "Alright, I''m happy to have you on board, Saber!" Ritsuka smiled despite it.


    "We''ll need a detailed exnation on what you <em>do</em> know, Saber." Da Vinci chimed in. "Anything you could provide us would help."


    "Of course. If I may ask, what Singrities have been resolved thus far?"


    "We havepleted the first four and we''re preparing for the fifth as we speak." Da Vinci informed me.


    "Ah¡­that should be¡­." I rubbed my temples recalling the information as it apparently wasn''t a secret. "North America."


    "I guess I shouldn''t be surprised. We should talkter, I''ve never spoken to a Magician before." Da Vinci sounded amused. "But I need to get back to work, settle our new servant, Ritsuka."


    "Haha, knowing all this, well, it''s probably familiar with you. I guess I''ll show you which room is yours?" He chuckled awkwardly.


    I couldn''t fault him, it was going to be a little awkward for awhile and they were taking the news fairly well.


    "Where are the others?" I asked.


    "Others?" Ritsuka questioned.


    "Other members of B-Team."


    "¡­.there is no one else."


    "¡­.oh." I felt my anger boiling over but I kept a lid on it and balled my fists. "And I assume A-Team¡­?"


    Ristuka just smiled awkwardly, and he didn''t need to answer.


    "What about Servants, who all have you summoned so far?" I asked, changing the subject.


    Ritsuka seemed thankful that he did because his expression brightened. "That''s a bit hard to answer because we have <em>a lot</em> so far. If you''re looking for anyone specific¡­?"


    "It''s fine, I can mingle on my own and figure out what''s going on." I waived it off. It would give me the opportunity to get my head on straight because even for me, this situation was¡­. unfortunate.


    "Well, we usually start with the main areas¡­the cafeteria is the closest." Ritsuka said as we walked up to it. "It''s probably not new, but here we are, Chaldea''s Cafeteria." He pushed open the doors and a whole big group of Servants and Staff were inside, chatting or going about their business.


    I didn''t mind the little tour; it helps ease the awkwardness and it was rather nostalgic just as well.


    Of course, as a neer, I drew a lot of attention. I could vaguely remember it being the same back home, a new Servant was inspected and evaluated by the others. However, there was one Servant among the bunch in particr that <em>red</em> <em>intensely at me</em> as soon as I appeared.


    She sat among among a group of other Servants I could identify. They were, of course, Knights and such from Camelot. Mordred being a particrly noteworthy inclusion there.


    But this re was intense enough that <em>everyone</em> seemed to notice it and hushed, even Ritsuka looked¡­concerned?


    "Um¡­.Alter, is something wrong?" Ritsuka questioned.


    I crossed my arms, looking back at the petite woman ring at me and I smiled because I knew she recognized me. "I''m not going over there."


    She scowled, her nostrils red, and she pushed herself up with a huff and stomped towards me.


    "Father?" Mordred confusedly called out to her.


    "It took you long enough." She was inches away from me, Artoria Alter stood there in her ck dress, arms crossed and scowling deeply.


    I silently held my arms open as an invitation.


    She stomped her foot. "As infuriating as always." She scoffed, but threw her arms around me for a hug. "¡­..husband."


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 534:

    Chapter 534:


    Mordred Pendragon POV


    Sucked that the Adulterer and the Bitch ran away, but at least they left behind some neat things. And I took her arm, that felt great.


    Would have been more annoying to fight if Father''s¡­..person wasn''t helping.


    I''m keeping the arm.


    The Lance and Shield were mine too. I can''t wait to show father my spoils when things are done.


    I hope he isn''t pissed though, I don''t'' know how he''d feel if we tried to beat up the Adulterer and his former wife...or whatever she was. The Gods here were fucking confusing and I was just happy to cut up the assholes if they were wearing the names of people I knew.


    Dammit, I didn''t get the chance to make any French jokes.


    The Adulterer always got pissed when we threw those at him back in the day.But this Lance and Shield are pretty fucking cool. I should find a good horse now that I got proper equipment for it. Don''t even know if I could be summoned as a Rider, but I miss my horse. It wasn''t really famous enough like Father''s, so it''s unlikely that it could happen.


    Shame I couldn''t grab that fake Excalibur, even if it was a paleparison, it was a pretty good sword. I could just rename it and no one would have to know.


    I looked up to the sky and shit was probably getting serious because the hurricane went away but thunder clouds started rolling in and I could practically taste the magic being thrown around from wherever the bastard was.


    He got punched pretty hard, should be pretty far. But he''s Father''s lover, so he should be fine.


    Said he wanted to handle it himself, so he gets it.


    Today was a good day.


    I can''t wait to tell Father about it.


    "Are thou going to simply stand there!?" The small Goddess yelled, and I think she was talking to me?


    Ah, right, she was fighting the Valkyrie.


    Well, her and the annoying blonde.


    Huh, she wasn''t all talk afterall.


    The Blonde girl was using her rapier properly to attack the gaps that the Goddess was opening while they both fought the Valkyrie. Even if she was noticeably weaker than them, she didn''t get in the way at all.


    Guess she had some experience and wasn''t just full of crap. But still, pretty damn far away from some grandiose title like ''Great knight''. I give her credit cause she''s obviously some noble, she''s got the steel to not hide behind a real knight in her dress.


    Actually, her dress was gone.


    Huh.


    Don''t know where the sword came from either, and it looked pretty good. I mean, Rapiers were trash, but it still looked pretty strong. Probably some kind of magical sword.


    "Nah, you got it." I stabbed rent into the ground and leaned on it as I watched.


    "Insufferable!" She shrieked, shing that scythe of hers and cutting a building in half after she missed the Valkyrie.


    "Well, I guess I could help yaa bit. How about some advice, yeah? A scythe is a farming tool, try using a real weapon ya bint."


    She just shrieked louder.


    Seriously, who the hell uses a scythe as a real weapon?


    "Hey, you good?" I looked at probably the weirdest one out of the bunch and that was saying something considering who was around. Well, one of two actually, but the second girl was apparently an underling of the old dude we wereing to meet originally, so I didn''t really care about her that much.


    The poor girl who seemed to be very far out of her depth.


    "Y-yes?"


    What was her name, Yuri or something? I was barely listening when it was said before. First impression is that she kinda reminded me of that other girl that the Death Goddess brought around the other day.


    She was what, a priestess or something? Even Mother said to be respectful to holders of religious positions. Never know when a Divine Spirit would get pissed off, so best leave them be if you could help it.


    "I am fine, thank you¡­.S-sir Mordred¡­?" She stammered out.


    "What did you call me?"


    "Uh¡­.S-sir Mordred?"


    "Well alright then." I smiled happily. Been awhile since I got the proper respect I deserve. "Just stick around me, girl, I''ll keep ya safe, alright?" It was a knight''s duty to protect maidens afterall.


    Actually¡­


    "Hey ya daft, idiot, why aint ya protecting her like yer supposed to?" I called out to thenky boy who apparently killed a God.


    "Huh, what? Me?"


    "Who else would I be talkin to ya cunt?" Moron. "You call yourself a man? Get over here and protect the Maiden like ya supposed to!"


    Jeez, why are people in this era so stupid?


    "But I can''t¡­!?" He looked at the one-eyed bastard.


    "He said you can''t fight." I deadpanned. "Not that you couldn''t fuckin walk over here and keep this chick that has nobat ability safe."


    "That is true." The God nodded.


    "I swear, it''s like I need to fucking write him instructions on how to woo maidens." I sighed.


    "Aye, the kids these days. Back in my time, men would fight to the death just so a beautiful girl would look there way." The God shook his head.


    "Are ya sure he''s a Godkiller?" I asked the Old Man.


    "As I can be."


    "Fucking ridiculous." I threw my hands up.


    The Witch, she was a real one. She would fucking smile while dripping head to toe in blood. And even the Bastard, he knows how to shut up and throw down when he needs to. I''ve seen him get serious and really fight. I respect that about him even if I wanna kick him between the legs every now and then.


    But this kid?


    Ugh, I hate even looking at him.


    "Hey old man, why are they still fighting? Seems kind of pointless now?" I jerked my thumb at the small Goddess and the Valkyrie and the noble girl.


    Didn''t take a genius to know that things were practically over. Don''t think the fight with the Bastard was gonna be much longer.


    "They looked like they were enjoying themselves, so I wanted to let them have their fun."


    "All of mine hate!" The tiny Goddess yelled.


    "Um¡­Sir Mordred, aren''t you worried about His Majesty?" The Priestess asked.


    "Pfft, I can''t even take it seriously with that title." It nearly made meugh every time someone called him ''his Majesty''. "But nah, the Bastard''s got it covered. Believe me, you would know if he was struggling."


    I don''t doubt the asshole is gonna have to put work into winning, but I''m confident he''s gonna win.


    "But I suppose you are right. The Campione is finished and should be returning soon, so I believe it''s time to finish here." The Old Man tapped his cane against the ground. "That''s enough Brynhildr."


    "Yes, Lord Odin." She ignored the scythe scraping her shoulder in order to return to his side, kneeling down infront of him.


    "Go ahead and return back to Asgard."


    "As youmand." She shot up into the air and disappeared from view.


    "Thou art one of the most vile and despicable men this one has ever had the displeasure of meeting!" The Small Goddess growled, pointing her weapon at the Old Man.


    "Hoh, rare praise indeed." He stroked his beard. "I do believe this is where we should part ways. Little Goddess¡­" He looked at the scrawny kid. "Campione. And¡­." He looked at me. "The interestingss. I''m sure we''ll meet again at some point."


    "Wait, what about Voban!?" The scrawny kid called out.


    "Oh, him? He got around my trick awhile ago and decided not toe back. Goodbye!" He turned and walked a few steps, but a hand reached out from nothingness and grabbed him.


    "And where do you think you''re going?" The Bastard said, reappearing, hand on his shoulder.


    [***]


    Wilhelm POV


    "You wouldn''t hurt an old man, would you?" Odin looked up at me.


    "Yes, yes I would."


    "He would. He''s done it before." Mordred added.


    "¡­thanks Mordred." I internally groaned. "I think you''re forgetting something, hmm?"


    "Ah, you''re right." He snapped his fingers and the city returned to normal as the Runic Spells shined and enveloped the city, its pristine state revealed once more. "Well, I shall be on my way." He tipped his hat.


    "Yeah, no." I said dryly. "So, where''s Voban?"


    "Hmm, tricky fellow decided not toe back it seems."


    "Right."


    "Alrighty, Godou, it''s your turn. Since I took thest fight, you get to beat up the old man." I gestured.


    "Wah!?"


    "Bring it on boy." Odin swung his stick around.


    "Wait, why do I have to fight!?"


    "Actually, I think the blonde over there still owes you a fight, Mordred."


    "Oh right, she does." Mordred grinned maliciously towards Erica.


    "Meep!" She quickly hid behind Godou.


    "Come on, you were talking that good shit earlier. What was this about a ''Great Knight''? Come on, show me what that means."


    Odin turned and was about to step away but I quickly snapped my fingers and had a bolt of lightning drop infront of him. "I''m rather pissed right now, Old Man. I just got punched quite a few times by that God and my ribs are probably cracked, and my Shoulder most likely dislocated. Not to mention the bruises I''m going to have."


    Truthful, it was mostly my fault. Was it smart to fight a god so martially focused inbat like I did initially? No it was not, but I can''t deny it was a good learning experience. He was far from the strongest I''ve fought, even if I had to put in the work to win. It really did remind me of how far I''vee. If it was months ago, well, a few of his punches would have had me on the floor crying for Avalon.


    Now? Now, I can just say ''ow'' and move on after winning.


    "Well, I suppose you want some answers then." He casually stroked his beard. "Unfortunately, I already left." He smiled humorously.


    I just stared at him for a moment.


    Mordred, however, knelt down and picked up a rock, tossing it at Odin.


    It hit him with a small thump.


    Odin looked at it then back at us.


    "¡­.."


    "¡­..ya didn''t really leave, huh Old Man?" Mordred looked at him.


    "I had thought that would work." He replied.


    I let out a sigh. "Give me a reason."


    As much as I was willing to look the other way, he did set me up quite readily for his own goals. Even if he believed I would 100% win the fights he tossed my way, I hated people using me like that.


    "Why don''t I stick around and teach the boy a thing or two, eh?" He pointed at Godou.


    "Absolutely not." Athena refused.


    "Does this really matter to you that much?" I crossed my arms, really looking at him.


    Odin''s jovial expression changed and his lips thinned. "Do not underestimate what I would do to obtain more wisdom, boy. The short one there is content to wallow in mediocrity thinking she is beyond the masses. But I refuse to let my questions go unanswered."


    I narrowed my eyes at his tone, letting my power seep out. "I suppose it''s inevitable then."


    Very quickly, Odin''s serious expression dissipated and hisckadaisical tone reappeared. "But I''d rather not descend as a Heretic God proper. It''d make me look like a right fool for how much I mocked the others. I''m content right now to just sit on the sidelines and watch from afar. I am patient."


    But what went left unsaid was how long his patience wouldst.


    He wanted answers to quite a few questions he undeniably has. Most of them rting to me I would assume.


    And he''s basically telling me that right at this moment, he doesn''t want to fight so it puts me in an awkward spot.


    I would much rather fight multiple Hanumans than one Odin.


    "No, do not ept! I do not allow this!" Athena immediately protested again.


    "¡­.swear on your name that you''ll bring no harm to them."


    "I''ll swear as your Brother." He stated and oddly, I felt my blood stir as it wasced with his Divine intent.


    It was enough to send a shudder through my body.


    "So¡­..training him?"


    "Aye." Odin nodded. "Seems like the brat could use some help."


    "No!"


    "Wait, don''t I get a say in this?" Godou whined.


    "No."


    "Nope."


    "Nay!"


    We all seemed to agree with that much. Truthfully, I felt and continued to feel bad for Godou, but I would rather he keep living. He needs a bit of a kick in the rear to get going. He''s¡­.better than when I left, but I would honestly hate for him to die, he doesn''t deserve that kind of fate.


    "If you want, I could always call Brynhildr back, she''s quite the looker." Odin grinned, looking at Godou.


    "W-what!? Why would that matter!"


    "How treacherous, exploiting thy host''s uncontroble lusts for thy own gain." Athena snorted.


    Well, this is a motley crew gathered around Godou.


    At the very least, I trusted Odin to keep his word. If need be¡­..I would remove him if he became a threat¡­.a bigger threat that is.


    Bit of a messy situation, but at least it was¡­.somewhat resolved to a satisfaction. I would keep an eye on things, but for now¡­.well, I think it was time to leave.


    Mostly because I didn''t want to deal with the clean up!


    Without saying a word, I grabbed Mordred and pushed her through a Portal, giving us quite a bit of distance from them as it deposited us on the other side of Japan.


    "The fuck was that far?" Mordred huffed in annoyance.


    "Sorry wanted to ask you a question and I didn''t want to say it infront of them." And I wanted to sneak away.


    "Whatcha want?"


    "Do you want to go back home or do you want to go see Pandora with me?" I asked.


    "The Goddess Chick that Father saw, right?"


    "That''s the one. Though technically, she may be your Grandmother in the future, considering¡­."


    "What do you mean ''may''?" Mordred narrowed her eyes with an underlying growl. "Are you saying you''re not going to Marry Father? Cause if that''s what you''re saying, I''m gonna cut off your dick right here."


    "I think¡­.you''re making a few assumptions here." I quickly put my hands up backing away. "Artoria and I aren''t really at that point yet ¨C"


    Mordred scoffed. "Of course you ain''t. A proper Maiden needs time to court and my Father is the best so you have to put more effort into it! I''m not stupid." She huffed again. "But you better not talk like you ain''t gonna treat Father properly." She warned me onest time.


    Actually, it was kind of cute how protective she was of Artoria even if she was¡­.misunderstanding some things. I couldn''tpletely fault her, her knowledge on this sort of thing was probably severelycking.


    "Just out of curiosity¡­..you wouldn''t be against me marrying Artoria?" Not that this is anywhere close to being a reality at the moment, our lives are simply too chaotic to settle down like that.


    "¡­..you make Father happy, so It''s fine." She said quietly, crossing her arms, pursing her lips. "Could be worse I guess. Atleast you try to do right by Father, I can appreciate that."


    ¡­..I didn''t know how to respond to that but I felt a warm sensation in my chest.


    "Speaking of appreciating things, so¡­.what happened to the loot, hmm?" I changed the subject because I think it was just a tad awkward for both of us.


    "Uh¡­.I don''t know what you''re talking about." She looked away. "They''re mine¡­." She whispered under her breath.


    [It''s her first hoard.] Ddraig sounded¡­proud. [Let her keep them!]


    Ugh, fine, whatever.


    I knew Lancelot dropped some stuff in her haste, but whatever. If it makes Mordred happy, she can keep them.


    "Come on, let''s go meet Pandora. I have some technical support questions regarding my Authority."


    I happily opened a portal to Momma Pandora''s ce but as soon as we entered, I caught a breath of that same aura that I felt multiple times at this point. It wasn''t¡­.dense like with Gabriel, but it was enough that it floated around in what should have been her Divine Abode.


    Nearly immediately, I found Pandora lying on her couch, unconscious. But most drastically, were three numbers haphazardly and ruggedly carved into the wall right next to her.


    ''666''.


    And then I heard her snoring.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 535: + HSR omake

    Chapter 535: + HSR omake


    I admit, I immediately assumed the worst. And I don''t think anyone would fault me either. Pandoraid there unmoving, the Box was opened right by her, and there was literally something carved menacingly in the wall.


    My knee jerk reaction was to immediately call up Artoria so I could get my hands on Avalon or something, but all that came screeching to a halt when I heard her <em>snore</em>.


    Mordred gave me the most deadpanned look and I felt very simr.


    I walked over and poked her once and she barely budged.


    I searched through my ring for a bucket and made sure it was filled with water before I dumped it on her.


    "AHHH!?" She shot up screaming, throwing her hands into the air and tumbling off the couch in a panic. "What''s going on, why am I wet, where did youe from!"


    There was a little bit of water left so I sshed it on her again.


    "Ah!? Stop throwing water at me!" She whined.


    "It''s what you get for making me worry!" I found a water bottle unopened in my ring thrown to some corner and started swinging it at her, sshing more at her.At this point she was soaked and throwing her small fists at me with a fury. "Don''t bully your mother!"


    I finally stopped and instead pulled on her small cheeks. "I brought someone with me. And since you''re <em>apparently</em> okay, introductions." I gestured to Mordred.


    "I''m Mordred, sup." Mordred casually introduced herself.


    Pandora, despite dripping wet smiled happily towards Mordred, walking up to her and getting a good look at her. "You''re just like my new daughter, aren''t you?" Almost immediately, there was nothing but affection in her gaze.


    "Y-yeah." Mordred seemed stunned just as well and looked away at Pandora gently putting a hand on her cheek.


    Mordred always liked beingpared to Artoria so that hit her right in her weak spot.


    "I''m Pandora, theAll Giving Mother. You must be her child, so you can call me Grandmother if you want, or whatever isfortable with you." She smiled.


    "Alright, now that introductions are out of the way, why this!?" I pointed to, well, the fact that there was something carved into her wall.


    And I purposely did it to give Mordred an out. I noticed the nk look and her uncertainty of how to properly reply to Pandora, so I didn''t want her to feel like she was put on the spot.


    "Oh that, teheh~"


    "Don''t justugh it off." I pulled on her two pigtails, gently of course. She was my momma Pandora, so I wasn''t going to hurt her.


    "I panicked!" She whined.


    "What happened?" I let her go because that sounded <em>concerning</em>.


    Pandora huffed cutely, fixing her hair. "I looked into the¡­.box." Her tone shifted. "Well¡­.I probably shouldn''t have looked as deep as I did. I notice the anomalous additions considering its¡­.origin and connection that I seemingly had to it. I tried to use my power to divine it and I delved too deep." She said sheepishly.


    "Are you okay?" I jumped to the most important question.


    She let out a breath. "I''ll be fine." She casually waived her hand. "It''s just¡­..I didn''t expect to get that kind of feedback. I got hit by a surge of bacsh for delving into ''essence'' too deeply. It wasn''t pleasant by any means, and my head went all dizzy and I wasn''t thinking straight. I think I did <em>that..</em>" She pointed to the wall. "Because I was afraid I was going to forget what I learned."


    "Then you passed out?"


    "More or less."


    "Even though you''re a <em>True Goddess</em> right now in the middle of what could be called yourDivine Domain."


    Her smile stiffened. Not embarrassment but more¡­concern. "That''s right."


    "If that isn''t the biggest hint." I snorted, looking at the big <em>666</em> still etched into her wall. "But¡­..?"


    Pandora flipped her hand and the wall mended itself. With a sigh, her eyes glowed and she picked up the box. "<strong><em>And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is 666</em></strong><strong>."</strong>


    The passage of the bible was not unfamiliar with me, nor was the number 666 something unknown to even mundane people.


    But confirmation from Pandora was appreciated with her divination.


    I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Thank you for your help."


    "It''s dangerous." Pandora said softly. "It was just a tiny spark of the <em>thing</em> inside. I squashed it easily enough so the Box is¡­.safe now. But I could <em>see</em> it for a brief moment, you know? It looked back at me, <em>and I felt frightened</em>."


    That sounds <em>bad</em> that a True Goddess like Pandora felt <em>scared</em>.


    "Anything else you learned?"


    Pandora shook her head. "Be happy that I know this much considering the origin."


    Right, it was from a different world, I really am thankful she was able to help me this much.


    "But as I said, the box should be safe now." She pushed it towards me. "Truthfully, it''s not <em>mine,</em> but I can feel the bad memories it holds for <em>someone else</em>. Would you please take it away from here?"


    I just nodded, making sure to <em>properly</em> seal it regardless and putting it back inside my storage. Even though Ipletely trusted Pandora, I was not going to take any chances with that thing.


    Settling that inside my Ring, I quickly grabbed Pandora, wrapping her up in a big hug. "Thank you."


    "Aww~ I''m happy to help." Pandora happily epted the hug.


    "Good, then give me my Authority!"


    "Bwah!?"


    "I killed a God." I huffed. " I want my Authority!"


    Pandora looked confused and surprised, she then took out arge circr object with the picture of a dragon on it. There were symbols on it, swords and letters of unknown origin.


    The Divine power on it was <em>palpable</em>.


    The sheer divine <em>power</em> of it eclipsed almost every other Divine Item I''ve evere in contact with. I think only the Bow of Auriel or the Spear couldpete or surpass it, atleast at its full state.


    "You did!? Ah, I didn''t notice¡­." Pandora squawked. "There''s a God''s Authority held here and it does show you beat him fair and square¡­."


    Well, it makes sense I suppose, she was indisposed which was not a normal urrence considering what happened.


    Pandora paused and she looked at me and Modred. "Oh, you''ve never seen this in person, huh? This is my Circle of Usurpation. It''s what lets me reproduce and distribute the Authority of Gods to Campione. Of course it requires a sacrifice in order to activate ¨C that of a God''s soul."


    "It looks like a golden frisbee." Mordred snorted.


    "yoink." I snatched it.


    "Wah!?" Pandora''s eyes widened. "No, give it back!"


    "What happens if I use it?" I flipped it over, inspecting it closely.


    "You can''t!" She practically climbed on top of me as I held it in the air out of her reach. "Only I can use it or give permission to other people¡­ Wait! Don''t lick it, no!" I eventually stopped teasing her and let her reim her frisbee.


    She held it protectively in her arms, not letting me anywhere near it at this point.


    "What happened while you were out? I thought my children were going to start fighting, but here you killed a Heretic God?" Pandora looked like she was cleaning her frisbee<em> for some reason</em>.


    "Funny story actually. I popped in on Godou while Voban was ying games with him. We went to confront Voban together, I may or may not have sent Voban to the other side of the world. Then Odin appeared, making things moreplicated. He brought with him Guinevere and Lancelot ¨C do you know them?"


    Pandora''s face scrunched up. "I am <em>aware of them</em>."


    "And I cut off the Adulterer''s arm." Mordred said rather proudly.


    "Good job!" Pandora beamed happily.


    "Mordred also stole her Lance and Shield. That shouldn''t be a problem, right?"


    Pandora blinked. "Can I see them real quick?"


    "¡­.alright, but they''re mine." Mordred took them out for her to see.


    Pandora hummed looking over them. "Theoretically, Lancelot should be able to retrieve them if she''s nearby¡­."


    Mordred, rather cutely, hugged her new toys. "I''ll just keep them at home then."


    Yeah, good luck getting them back then, Lancelot.


    "Right, so yeah. Me and Mordred double teamed Lancelot ¨C Mordred cut her arm off like she said. They ran away, but not before Guinevere used her¡­.<em>Grail</em>?"


    Pandora''s expression shifted ever so slightly.


    "You know something." I stopped, looking at her.


    "I can''t say! It''s against the rules." She pouted. "No matter how much I want to strangle that trumpet."


    ¡­.odd.


    "Does it have anything to do this with mysterious ''master'' that both Guinevere and Hanuman spoke about?"


    "So you figured out the Heretic God was Hanuman?" She seemed happy that I knew that tidbit, particrly so.


    "Hard to miss it when his Authority named himself."


    In the Myths, Hanuman was friends and or servant to Rama, but how does that tie in with King Arthur?


    I swear, the myths and legends here are so freakingplicated.


    Pandora letout a sigh. "I really can''t say anything. Honestly, you being here is¡­..not against the ''rules'' but walking a very fine line. If I do anything, even brush against the line myself, <em>they</em> wouldn''t sit still."


    Ominous.


    "Hanuman was pretty strong. Strong enough to hurt me, I feel like my ribs are cracked¡­.and other things." My shoulder in particr, I wanted to get Artoria for some healing even if I was rtively fine otherwise.


    "Yes, yes, I can take your hint." Pandora rolled her eyes. "This isn''t <em>usually</em> how I give Authorities, but then again, there''s nothing normal about you."


    "I feel like there was a hidden insult in there."


    "You''re imagining things. Now, what''s that on your face?"


    "What''s what ¨C "


    "My Circle."


    My vision filled with gold as the world around me spun and I found myself staring up at the ceiling, dizzy and disorientated.


    It didn''t <em>hurt</em>, oddly enough, but at the same time, I tried to push myself up and found my legs weak and fell back over.


    Eventually, I justid sprawled on the ground as my head wound back into ce and the world stopped existing in a perpetual state of upside-down.


    "¡­.did you hit me with your divine artifact?''


    "That''s for dumping water on me!" Pandora pursed her lips. "You should have your new Authority now."


    I sat up slightly, still sitting on the ground but new information flooded my mind and I felt a new strength fill my body. Somewhat literally in thetter case as physically, <em>I could feel</em> my strength increase.


    It wasn''t a drastic amount, I wasn''t going to be throwing punches like Hanuman was, but it was a noticeable and passive improvement, so I wasn''t be upset about it.


    I''ll need to test with this Sc¨¢thach to figure out where my new ''base'' was at for future reference.


    The bit of strength increase however, was only a minor aspect of it.


    Nearly giggling to myself, I realized I <em>definitely</em> needed to get some sparring in because this Authority was quite interesting.


    The happiness did offset the foreboding feeling from finding out <em>what</em> it was I was doing with regards to the ''thing'' that was hiding inside the box.


    Frankly, I am not looking forward to that at all. I would need to put some feelers out and see what others know about that thing.


    Thankfully, I have a few Godly rtionships I can leverage for just this.


    [***]


    Sc¨¢thach POV


    "This is your homnd?"


    "Yes." I looked out at the sea.The nostalgic way the waves crashed against the cliffs. Despite being worlds apart, and centuriester, this was a ce I found familiar with very few changes. "The Isle of Skye was not far enough. I visited this spot, these shores when I was still alive."


    "It is¡­charming." My Student''s Servant replied.


    I let out a bark ofughter. "The weather here is shite. It''s murky and damp, and it rains nearly every day. Thend is full of rocks that make for poor farming, and nothing is t. But¡­.it is home."


    Perhaps my old home, I should say.


    Now my new home is wherever my lover resides.


    "I don''t dislike it."


    "I suppose it has its own charm." I found myself agreeing.


    Every true born Scottish man and woman would say thends of their forefathers were utter shite, but they''d all still call it home with a warm smile.


    "We should proceed. I have a feeling our mutual lover will return after causing some sort of problems and I wish to be there when he does." I turned around, letting the nostalgia fade.


    "You would have gone with him. I wouldn''t have minded doing this on my own." Raikou stated.


    "It''s alright." I shook my head. I admit I was tempted, I do so love fighting opponents of that level. A world full of Gods and Godyers did spark apetitive spirit inside of me. However, this new perspective of life¡­.it allowed me to view it through the lens of patience. "There will be many fights in the future, I feel no regret for missing a few that our lover inevitably causes."


    Sheughed. "Yes, that is most certain."


    "Just as well, I wished to share this time together."


    "That makes me happy to hear." She smiled.


    "I am curious as to why you did not ask our lover to join you. It is something he would have no qualms about participating in."


    "Ah¡­.I did not wish for Master to see me doing work such as this." She said softly.


    "He has seen you fight before. I would reckon he would find it enticing if anything." I snorted, thinking about how he acts normally. "What difference does it make?"


    "Yes, Master knows me when I fight. However, he has never seen me during an <em>extermination</em>."


    I merely shook my head and offered no argument, as it was not my ce. Even though I knew for certain that our lover would not think any different from her.


    But I understood her sentiment. Perhaps my student wouldn''t or doesn''t understand the implications of our past merely from stories and legends. Myself, the warrior next to me, the small knight¡­..we have a great deal of blood on our hands, and the source of it is not always pleasant to speak about.


    We both walked for a few minutes back to where we were earlier.


    "I do not know the customs of thesends. Would it be impolite for me to offer my condolences and say a silent prayer?" She asked.


    I looked down into therge pit, bodies peeking through, half buried and somewhat decayed as we recently dug up this several days old mass grave to verify certain information.


    "I believe they would appreciate the sentiment." I cast a quick spell to push the dirt back over, burning the faces of the corpses into my mind. The Old Ways mostly died out, I believe thesends worship the Biblical God now, thus I fashioned a wooden Cross and nted it at the side.


    My student''s Servant knelt one a knee, giving her silent prayers and I didn''t speak as she finished, pushing herself back up with a frown.


    No more words needed to be spoken here as we turned on our heals and walked away. There was a vige not far, a genuine vige in this modern world.


    Perhaps not but a fifteen minute walk.


    It appeared to have modern conveniences, but they still worked off thend as vigers looked up at our arrival. I saw familiar crops being tended to, farm animals making noise and even the same smells that came from such.


    The houses, while made of stone and cobble, they had modern ss fixtures and those lines above that supplied electricity for light and heat.


    Maybe two dozen houses in total, with some form of storefronts, a bakery I could notice, a butcher not far away as well. I even saw a woodworker practicing his craft at such a time.


    It was serene and almost peaceful.


    The vigers looked at us curiously, as one would assume. We did not exactly fit into the area and we were outsiders.


    One child in particr walked up at us.


    Before he could utter a word, my student''s Servant summoned her de and beheaded him. Blood sshed across her face as the head rolled across the ground.


    She had quite the bloodthirsty and malicious smile on her face and I then understood her words from earlier.


    For me, my spear sailed through the air, pinning a man to the side of a house and I matched her own smile. It was oddly pleasant to know that my Harem Sister shared¡­..peculiarities such as this with me.


    I picked up the severed head of the child just in, inspecting it before tossing it away. For it matched exactly to the face of the child we had just found in the grave outside.


    All around us, feral screams resounded, inhumannguage erupted and bodies transformed.


    I called back my spear into my hand and mmed the butt of it onto the ground, casting arge spell to seal off the vige and revealing the true forms of the residents.


    Wings, non-human appendages, fur or animalistic features.


    Not a single Human resides within these streets any longer.


    The Fae were something abhorred even in my time. I have killed many myself and regret not a single one of their deaths by my hand.


    Yes, I believe she was correct in her naming.


    <em>Extermination</em> is the proper description.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: The Foolish Genius (Honkai Star Rail) Part 1


    I looked out the window as the stars passed by.


    I was riding a train through space, I don''t think I would ever forget this memory despite the fantastical sights I''ve witnessed in my long life.


    "Thank you again. Honestly, when I asked, I really wasn''t expecting much." I looked at the other ''riders'' of the train.


    "Did you think we don''t backtrack?" The Red-head, <em>Himeko</em>, the Astral Express''s navigator looked at me and chuckled.


    "Well, I always hear how the Astral Express never stops going forward in the tales. Always pushing forward, trailzing the paths that no one else will."


    That merely got a chuckle from them. "It''s hard to keep Trailzing without supplies. We were getting ready to move on to our next Trailze as it were with a stop to Penacony. But we wanted to stock up before making a proper jump forward. Herta''s Space Station just so happened to be our destination for that, so it was no trouble taking a passenger along."


    "The money helps too." The one named March nodded sagely.


    "March!" Himeko covered her face.


    "Well, one is expected to pay a fare when chartering a ride on a train." I didn''t take offense. "Honestly, I''m grateful. This is a wonderful experience, and I''ve heard much about the Nameless and their recent journey through the stars."


    "Really, you''ve heard of me too?" The Silver haired girl looked intrigued.


    "Of course. The tales of bludgeoned individuals and scoured trash cans are well known." I nodded.


    "Sweet!" She held up a peace sign while the others groaned and sighed. "Then you can call me by my official title, the Gctic Baseballer."


    "That''s not her title, ignore her." Himeko sighed, running her hand down her face. "However, I suppose we should properly introduce ourselves. "I''m Himeko, here we have Stelle, March, Dan Heng and Welt. And of course Pom-Pom is the conductor, but they''re busy at the moment."


    They all gave a polite nod my way.


    "Charmed." I politely bowed my head. "I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, though you probably already knew that after doing a background check."


    "Actually, there was very little information I could find even with the services of Luofu. I only was able to retrieve some passing mentions of you working with the Genius Society." Welt stated. "If you don''t mind me asking, where are you from, Mr. Schweinorg?"


    "Oh, I''m from a small you probably never heard of. Funny enough people look at me and are like ''you named your dirt'', but it was named <em>Earth</em> and ¨C"


    Welt''s cane scraped across the floor. "Come again?"


    "Did I say something wrong?" Everyone was looking at me strangely.


    "Your home¡­.Earth?" Himeko repeated. "That is surprising to hear."


    "Why ¨C "


    "I am from Earth." Welt stated bluntly.


    "Oh?" I was genuinely surprised because¡­well, I didn''t really take the simple way to this universe. "Color me surprised, a fellow countryman. Though, I was born in Japan, where were you from?"


    Welt mped up clearing my throat. "Excuse me, I apologize. I was skeptical for a moment, but unless you have knowledge of Earth, you wouldn''t know the term ''Japanese'' without prompt. This is¡­.odd for me, I never thought I would mean someone from my home. Do¡­.do you have the coordinates?"


    "I apologize, I didn''t leave through¡­.traditional methods. I have no idea how to get there through the paths." I said helplessly.


    I wasn''t even sure there was an Earth in this universe until now.


    Apparently, Welt here didn''t leave through traditional methods either.


    "I see¡­..I thank you regardless. Knowing that there is someone else from my home here among us¡­.it fills me with a sense of happiness." He smiled rather grandfatherly. "If you don''t mind, I would like to speakter about home, it has been a long time since I have had someone to share those memories with."


    "I would be delighted." Well, as a fellow Earther, I felt sympathy, so It wasn''t difficult for me to ept his request. "I''m curious about that ck Hole You''re carrying around in the form of a Cane just as well." I chuckled.


    He raised an eyebrow. "¡­not many people are able to see through it. Curious."


    Well, the atmosphere got a little awkward.


    "So you''re with the Genius Society?" Himeko seemingly changed the subject.


    "Well, it''s a little nuanced. The Genius Society is only the main members that are rather well known¡­.but some of them have quite a few people working directly under them that while aren''t ''members'' are ... .co-workers?"


    "That''s impressive. We''ve met Madam Herta, Screwllum, Ruan Mei!" Ste excitedly ryed. "They''re all¡­."


    "Anti-social,ckingmon sense, a bit crazy?" I offered.


    "¡­.unique." She snorted.


    "What was your job then?" March asked. "Madam Herta has a lot of people under her in the space station, but they''re always doing abunch of other stuff."


    "Oh, I was a retrieval specialist. Basically, I went out and obtained precious or difficult to acquire resources that they requested." I summarized.


    It was fun, if a lot less morous than they probably thought.


    "That sounds interesting! I bet you''ve gone to and seen a lot of ces! Is that why you''re going to Herta''s Space Station, to drop something off for her?" March asked.


    "¡­.something like that."


    "Should we give them a heads up about your arrival then?" Welt asked.


    "Uh, there''s no need." I quickly waved it off. "I''ll just¡­.surprise them with my visit." I forced a smile.


    "oh¡­..was I not supposed to say anything?" Stelle went nk and I noticed she was holding up her phone¡­and it started vibrating like crazy. "¡­.why is Herta getting mad at me? And¡­.why is she saying you''re not allowed within 100 quadrants of her space station?"


    They all stared at me and I awkwardly cleared my throat. "Well¡­.it''splicated."


    Himeko let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Please don''t tell me we let a wanted criminal onto the Astral Express, or that you intended to use us to <em>smuggle</em> you aboard her space station."


    They all looked like they were about to restrain me.


    "It''splicated!"


    "Unplicate it."


    "Technically, I''m not banned from her space station."


    Stelle held up her phone with quite a few¡­..interesting choice of words directed her way by Herta for which she described me. None of which were pleasant.


    "I was never <em>officially banned</em>. While Herta founded it, named it, and well¡­everyone acknowledges it as <em>hers</em>, it''s actually Asta''s since she paid for it and continues to pay for everything." I quickly stated.


    "Sophistry won''t help you, Mr.Schweinorg." Welt replied. "We are more than willing to listen to your exnation, but we are friends with Madam Herta and the Space Station as a whole. Not only that, but they provide us with significant donations and resources to continue our Trailzing mission. We can''t turn a blind eye to something like this. So please give us a reason to not lock you up for the continuation of our journey and alert the security at the Space Station upon our arrival."


    I let out a sigh knowing I was backed into a corner here. I really didn''t want to be hostile with either the Astral Express crew or the Space Station considering the reason I''m going there.


    "Herta and I...are married."


    That was apparently enough because the overt tension dissipated immediately as they merely looked at me with bewilderment and confusion.


    ¡­.this was going to be a long train ride.


    [***]


    A/N


    Random HSR Omake that popped into my head, starts simr to the Chaldea omake, but goes in a different direction.


    Second part of this omake, Kunou''s first part Side Story, and next part of the Looking ss Omake are all up on the p.a.t.r.e.o.n


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 536:

    Chapter 536:


    It was nice seeing Mama Pandora again, even if I had a new set of worries weighing on me, but that was nothing strange. I kind of epted that my life was going to be a chaotic mess for the foreseeable future. But I atleast had a lot of people at my side to handle whatever is thrown my way.


    "And you have toe back and visit."


    "I promise I''ll be back." I reassured her. "Here¡­" I fished out a Kaleidophone. "You can use this to keep in touch. It should work even here¡­." I paused for a moment. "Actually, you could <em>probably</em> stop it from working since this is your Divine Domain."


    "I''ll pretend I didn''t hear thatst part because it could be construed as me actively breaking the <em>rules</em>." She hummed. "What a good son, giving your mother a way to bypass the restrictions and talk to you whenever I want without any input from my end!"


    Right, y along then.


    "Yup, I''m just that good."


    Sheughed and threw her arms around me for a hug. "And please be nice to your siblings, as much as you can. I know a few of them are¡­..aggressive."


    "I won''t¡­..kill any of them unless I''m utterly forced to." That was as much as I could give her.


    "I''ll take it." She just still smiled. "I know it''s asking a lot considering how all my foolish children are." She let out a sigh. "My foolish sons and daughters who think fighting a God is a good decision. They''re never destined for quiet or peaceful lives, but as a mother, I can''t help but hope they''re at least smiling at the end. Maybe I''m just as foolish considering I''m the one who helps them along."I just smiled and hugged her one more time. "I''ll make sure to visit more in the future. I''m going to say goodbye to Godou before heading home, got some¡­..stuff I now need to take care of."


    Pandora frowned, not at me, but she knew what I was talking about. "Be careful, I said whatever that was is dangerous, but I don''t think that''s enough of a description. Even¡­..well, I can''t mention him." She huffed. "Make sure you tell my youngest that his mother is watching him!"


    "I''ll be sure to do that."


    "Later, shorty." Mordred waved.


    "Bwah!? Shorty!?" Pandora puffed up, stomping her foot. "You''re lucky you''re so cute." Before Mordred could blink, Pandora was standing on her toes, patting her on the head.


    "Hey!" Mordred huffed, grumbling.


    "Take care of yourself, both of you." Pandora smiled warmly.


    With onest goodbye, I opened a portal up, dragging Mordred through back to Japan. We were away for several hours, which should have been long enough to get things sorted over here. I admit I was throwing things on Godou''s te, but at the same time, this is his home. Just like before, I wouldn''t always be around to solve all the problems.


    I stepped in here but next time, it might not be so.


    "Thanks for being nice with Pandora." I said towards Mordred.


    "Hmm? Yeah, it was no big deal. She''s nice." Mordred shrugged.


    I was in a good mood. "This was nice, we should do more things together."


    Mordred smiled just as well. "It was fun. Tell me when you go out and want to piss some people off, I''lle with ya."


    The walk back to Godou''s this time was a lot less¡­.interesting. Actually, we were able to see people walking the streets again.


    I don''t have much of an impression of that History Comption Committee, but they really do good work it seems. How much effort did it take them to evacuate the city to the degree that we saw on short notice?


    Credit where it''s due.


    Surprisingly enough, there <em>was</em> a magical barrier around his house this time so his innate Magical Energy didn''t act like a fucking beacon to anyone with the right senses.


    I also tasted the distinct vor of Norse Magic.


    Barely walking up to the door and I heard shouting with the breaking of ss.


    "And I''m telling you, it''s perfectly fit for someone without talent!"


    "Thou art a blind fool! One eye? It is merely for show!"


    Pushing open the door, the two deities were arguing very¡­..aggressive in Godou''s house.


    Godou was sitting on the couch with the two Gods basically arguing on either side of him.


    My control of my Spiritual Pressure was pretty good, because when I released it, I was able to direct it towards the two Gods that had turned up half his living room.


    They both flinched and immediately went silent before I let off.


    "I feel like I''m an easy going person. And I like to take the piss out of Godou myself on asion. But this is getting out of hand I believe. I would like to make it clear, Godou''s home is a <em>safe ce</em>." I looked around the living room where half his furniture was broken and there were actually cracks in the walls just from the two Heretic Gods ''arguing''.


    Godou silently whispered to me a ''thank you''.


    Right, better set things straight. Yes, I dropped things in hisp for ark, but at the same time, I didn''t do it just to torture him.


    We needed to have a talk.


    "Mordred, could you please watch the two idiots while I talk to my younger brother?"


    "Aight." She summoned her sword and casually swung it over her shoulder. "Give me a reason, midget."


    I ignored Athena''s retort and led Godou outside as I sat on the porch with him and cast a quick spell to silence the background noise.


    "So how long were you just going to let them run roughshod in your house?"


    "What was I supposed to do?"


    "Tell them to <em>stop</em>." I said directly.


    "¡­.it''s easy for you to say." He grumbled.


    "Godou." I grabbed his shoulder. "I''m going to give you some advice. Not as a fellow Campione, not as a fellow adoptive child of Pandora, not as someone who dabbles in the Mystic Side of the world. This is advice from one man to another." I apparently had this attention. "There is a fine line between listening to others, and letting them walk all over you. It''s never wrong to acknowledge when you''re in over your head, but you need to be able to make your own decisions."


    "I have no idea what I''m supposed to do!" He threw his hands up. "I tried, I read those books you gave me. I even cast a bit of magic which¡­.it was awesome, but¡­.even Odin says I don''t have much talent there."


    Well,rge magical reserves don''t equate to magical talent. Nor can talent be substituted for just raw <em>power</em>.


    "Is that what they were fighting about?" I questioned.


    He let out a sigh. "Odin was talking about what he wanted to teach me, then Athena joined in and they started fighting."


    "Fire and water between them, huh?"


    "And you dropped him in myp." Godou deadpanned.


    "To be fair, it was for your own good."


    "¡­I guess."


    I pped his shoulder. "Does it piss you off? That I made that decision for you?"


    " I just ¨C "


    "Yes or no, Godou. I decided that <em>another</em> God was going to be in your life without your input. Now, I''m going to be walking away and you have to deal with it all by yourself. Your home, the one ce you felt safe is just a chaotic mess now.


    "Yes!" He finally shouted, his fist hitting the stone beneath use and actually causing it to crack. "I hate it, alright!? I just¡­.didn''t want any of this."


    I lightly pped his shoulder. "Gotta stop being so passive."


    He let out another sigh. "I get it though, the Odin thing. I know <em>why</em> you did it, so I''m not really upset with you. It''s better than just fighting some more."


    "You know, it was brave of you what you did for Yuri. Standing up to Voban, even I admit he''s a bit of a monster."


    ''I-it was nothing, I just didn''t want to see her get hurt is all." He looked at the ground


    "Honestly, I think the Godou I met when I first came here wouldn''t have so confidently strode to meet Voban either." He''s definitely making progress. "


    And Momma Pandora did ask me before to take care of him a bit.


    He''s a good kid, he has a good heart.


    "How did you do it? Were you like Erica, a knight or magician or something before?" He asked.


    I let out a bark ofughter. "I was only a couple years older than you in school when I found out everything. Up until that point in time, my biggest concerns were getting decent grades and not beingte to school. Hell, I was in the Theatre club."


    "Is it weird if I would have guessed the Theatre club thing even if you didn''t tell me?" He gave a small grin.


    "Oi, what''s that supposed to mean?"


    "I''m just saying¡­.they have a reputation even at my school."


    I yfully smacked his shoulder. "I was normal until one evening; a lunatic stabbed me through the heart with a magic sword. I barely survived, and I fully entered the supernatural world. Oh I stumbled, I was cocksure and in hindsight, I nearly died quite a few times because of my arrogance. I''ve made a lot of mistakes along the way, some I regret, others that I don''t but I''m happy where I am right now."


    "¡­.I idently killed a God."


    "Didn''t you technically run at him at the time?"


    "I¡­.my legs moved by themselves!"


    "Are you sure it wasn''t because a beautiful girl was in danger? Wait, isn''t that why you moved again this time?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "It''s not like that!"


    "Hmm, are they off making their respective reports?"


    "Yeah, they''re handling all that stuff." Godou waived his hand dismissively. "As soon as I said I didn''t want to take part, they went to do it."


    "More like that Godou. You gotta be more assertive." I had to remember that he was still a teenager with all this responsibility thrust upon him. His attitude isn''t <em>that</em> strange considering his circumstances.


    "That''s it?" He looked at me. "That''s all it takes?"


    "Well, it''s a step. Don''t get me wrong, you''re a fish out of water still, you have no idea what''s going on in the greater world and you''re aplete amateur with any supernatural stuff, so listening to advice will do you good. Just remember what I said." I pat his shoulder.


    He took a deep breath. "You know, I don''t actually¡­.like things like this. I didn''t like them arguing around me. I didn''t like Erica basically forcing me to do things thest time you were here."


    "How''s that by the way?"


    He smiled a little bashfully. "It''s fine, she''s¡­..rough around the edges, I think it''s just her personality. But she''s been helpful." He exhaled. "I''ll try what you said. Odin''s supposed to¡­help?"


    "He offered to help train you, so take advantage of it, it''s a rare opportunity. But at the same time, he is bound by a promise, you can hold that over his head if he gets uppity."


    "And you''re leaving again you said? Can I be assertive and tell you to handle all this Campione business instead of me?" He gave a wry smile.


    "Nice try." I chuckled, but I''m d he was shooting the shit at least and just not reeling back and taking what I said without any retorts. "But here¡­" I took out another Kaleidophone, and just like Pandora, I handed it to him. "Magic Phone, don''t let others get their hands on it. You can call me in an emergency¡ª" I held a finger up. "If there''s genuinely something you can''t handle, I wille. Or¡­if you just want advice or to talk. I can''t babysit you forever, Godou, please keep that in mind."


    He nodded and took it without any fanfare.


    Good stood up, his back looking much straighter than it was before.


    Some people, well, they just needed a kick in the butt a few times before they got on the right path. Godou was one of those people it seems.


    It''s funny, he reminds me a lot of Ichigo even if they''re worlds apart in personality. And just like the ginger, I feel like Godou has the potential to be an absolute powerhouse with some time and effort.


    The cynical side of me does hope that he turns into such so I have another ally with that kind of strength I could call on.


    An investment, if you will, even if I''m helping out for not so selfish reasons.


    I snapped my fingers, dismissing the spell that let us have a talk in peace and he went back inside.


    "Stop shouting!" He shouted himself, silencing the two bickering Gods. "You promised me that you wouldn''t make a mess of things. Either keep your promise or leave. And clean the mess you made."


    "¡­..very well."


    "And you, you promised to behave too. Help her clean up."


    "Hmph, telling an old man like me to <em>clean</em>. No respect for the elderly."


    Well, that certainly went better than expected.


    I nced up at the Raven standing on the nearby perch. "Are you just going to stare at me, or do you want to say something?"


    The Raven flew next to me and morphed into a silhouette of Odin, even though Odin was still inside.


    "That was a good pep talk." He ran a hand through his beard. "The Boy needed it. I could tell immediately that he has yet to develop the mentality of a warrior. He was bound for death if he didn''t change."


    "It''s a good step in the right direction. I hope you treat him properly."


    "Ohoh, you don''t need to worry. I''m curious myself to see what he will turn into. I''ve never thought about teaching a Campione before, it''s amusing as it is interesting."


    No, I felt like I had to worry. "No threat of you going Heretic God?"


    "Well, there''s always the chance." He fully admitted. "If you want topare it, I''m like the Knight of the Witch you fought. If I push too far against my bounds, I will descend fully even if It''s not my intention. And I''ll give you a fair warning as a brother. If I do descend, I will require it to be worth the humiliation."


    Well, a warning received. And It wasn''t so much a threat as a consequence of actions. Heretic Gods weren''t¡­..from what I understand, you can''t often talk them down.


    Campione and Heretic Gods are mortal enemies, it''s instinctual that they fight to the death.


    He did say he liked to make fun of Heretic Gods, if he was going to be called a hypocrite, yeah, Odin would want the experience to be worth it, for whatever he deems that is up in the air.


    "You''re an enigma." Odin''s tone shifted. "Many things I don''t understand, others that are impossible. You carry on you the touch of the World Tree, the Throne of Asgard as well. Not only that, but you <em>have my blessing</em>." He scratched his head. "I''m wondering if I descended at some point in the past and was just to ashamed so I somehow made myself forget. It would make it simpler if you happened to kill me and usurp my Authority, but I know for a fact for which Gods you have in. And then there''s the Magic you used to y Susanoo. That was not something that was missed by many of us."


    "Don''t forget Sir Wiggles."


    "Yes¡­how could I let your pet escape me." He said rather dryly.


    "And what do you think after knowing all of that?"


    "I think¡­.I would like to stay around for a little while." He hummed softly. "I was truthful, and my promise is without subversive intentions. Perhaps there may be a day where we are enemies, but that is not today." He looked out across the city. "I am no guardian of thisnd like the first God you yed, but my presence still demands a certain respect. I dare not say I will dissuade any Gods from foolishly descending, but in the short term, it should not be overly concerning."


    I nodded as I understood his meaning.


    The Raven distorted, changing back into the shape of a bird, but a few final words were left. "Odin is patient, brother. But be it now or in the future, secrets are not withheld from the One-Eyed God."


    I really hate dealing with Odin.


    Well, this world became significantly more vtile in a short amount of time. Looks like I''ll need to check back inter. I should also make the time to have an extended stay rather than popping in. The thing with Hanuman and his supposed Master, and also Odin very bluntly telling me that he''s a potential ticking time bomb to my face¡­.


    I am extremely happy I listened to Artoria and didn''t deal with this crap until now. I''m afraid I would have been much less enthused about everything happening if it was before I had my mini vacation.


    The trip was actually rather sessful¡­.if for reasons I''m stressed about.


    But it was time to head home.


    [***]


    "Father, you''re here!" Mordred happily eximed as we ported back to the house.


    Artoria was there conveniently as Mordred greeted her.


    "Did you enjoy yourself, Mordred?"


    "I cut off Lancelot''s arm!" She beamed.


    "¡­.I fear I will require further exnation."


    "He was a chick."


    "¡­.I see."


    "I also brought back spoils!" She immediately took out the Shield and the Lance. "Look Father, aren''t they good?"


    "Yes, they are wonderful armaments, Mordred. I''m very proud of you." Artoria smiled, seemingly following Mordred''s pace even as Mordred skipped over lots of details.


    "Hehe."


    Artoria peeked at me and her eyes narrowed. "Wilhelm, are you hurt?"


    "Only a little." I forced a smile. My Aura and natural healing had done a good job. It went from painful from before to throbbing and sore at this point. A far cry from the whole incident with my Spear and Demonic Power.


    "Come here." She spoke, and it wasn''t a request.


    I let her put her hands on me as Avalon filled me with its warmth. "Do I need to bind Avalon to you every time you leave my sight?" She sighed, shaking her head. "Mordred, are you harmed as well?"


    "I''m good." She shook her head.


    "It''s only a few cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder."


    Artoria''s look was rather deadpanned. "The quality of opponent that can cause that sort of injury to you is not something to brush off."


    "True, the God was powerful." I fully acknowledged his strength and skill. Despite being stronger, it''s never a case of automatically winning without effort. "Got a new Authority though."


    "Did you now, Student?" Sc¨¢thach walked down the stairs, Raikou following behind her. "I will experience it for myself."


    "Later, I got some stuff to take care of. But I do want to show you it. And I need to get used to my new strength. In addition to my new Authority, It sort of gave me a little bit of a strength increase."


    Sc¨¢thach walked up, kissing me on the cheek. "Look for me when you finish what you need to finish."


    "Master~" Raikou came up for a hug.


    For some reason, I felt the inclination to kiss her forehead more so than normal. "Did you both have fun?"


    "It was¡­interesting." Raikou smiled. "We only just returned. Yasaka and Venna are arriving shortly. They both had matters they wished to discuss."


    "What new Authority did you acquire? And what God did you do battle with?" Artoria asked.


    "I fought Hanuman, but¡­.jeez, actually Mordred would probably like to tell you the full story." Give her the chance, I think she''d appreciate it. "As for what it is¡­.hmm, let''s keep it a secret for now."


    "Careful student, you are making me excited." Sc¨¢thach grinned.


    "Hello, anyone home~?" Yasaka walked through the door, Venna following behind her. "Wilhelm!" She practically threw herself dramatically into my arms.


    "Is there something wrong?" I was worried about her attitude.


    "Nope." She smiled happily. "But before you run off to do something else, I need you to take out Kunou tomorrow so we can set up for her party."


    "Can do." I was wondering how Yasaka was handling it. "Do you need my help with anything?"


    "Just keep our little fox distracted." Her tail grabbed hold of me like it usually does.


    Should be easy enough. Once Kunou''s birthday is over¡­well, we''re basically sending her right off to Hogwarts after.


    Thankfully, Medea and I both worked on her present, and I also had an additional little thing as well. Speaking of her, she should be there as well as the school year hadn''t started properly so she would have time.


    Yasaka moved to the side and it gave me a chance to grab Venna into a big hug too.


    "While we''re on the topic of things that need to be done. I was getting quite a few requests from Zekram''s people about his ''urgent'' offer for a meeting." Venna spoke. "Don''t take this as me pushing you either way, I''m just the messenger and I''m fine with whatever decision you make."


    "What exactly did he want to talk about again?" Did I ask her before? I feel like it slipped my mindpletely due to everything else that was happening.


    "Well, it''s not so much a secret. My son even said it around me, but apparently the Original Lucifer''s son paid him a visit. The first sighting of Rizevim Lucifer in the underworld in <em>many</em> years."


    I stilled at her answer because it seemed rather¡­coincidental. That is, Rizevim Lucifer was a name I knew because he was part of the Khaos Brigade. And from what I recently learned, well¡­..they may have a hand in the thing regarding the Box.


    "What''s wrong?" Venna''s expression changed.


    "You have that face, student." Sc¨¢thach added.


    "I found out about the Box it''s just¡­.I''m still trying to think about the proper way to go about this." I rubbed my temples. I needed information, I needed to start putting out feelers. But not Yasaka, I do not want anyone to know she''s the one that''s trying to gather information.


    ¡­.considering who is involved, could Zekram know something, is that why he''s desperate to talk to me?


    "Let me talk to Zekram and see what he wants, it''ll give me some time to settle my thoughts and I''ll tell you all when I get back." Guess I''m pushing this right to the top of my to-do list. "How quickly can you set up this meeting?" I looked at Venna.


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if I called him up now and he told me to bring you over."


    Well, guess that''s where I''m going next.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above. Under the same name.

 Chapter 537 - 486

    <h4>Chapter 537: Chapter 486</h4>


    "You''ve just been staring at it for a few moments, what are you thinking?" Venna''s arm interlocked with mine as we stood outside the Bael residence.


    "I was thinking that I regret not taking the Train down even if it would have taken longer." I liked the train. "Also, this house is.....oddly not as ostentatious as I expected."


    The Bael Family, and the Ancestor Zekram Bael. I intended toe down here at some point, just not under this kind of condition.


    Truthfully, my mind was still dealing with the newfound information regarding the Apocalypse Beast and the hints that Pandora gave me. It answered A lot of questions, but it also opened up significantly more.


    Even knowing the ''source'' didn''t let me know how to approach this whole issue and resolve it.


    The most obvious answer was to seek out help, which I was going to do. A few hours was not going to harm anything, and while I pushed the thoughts aside while in the other world, I wanted to use this time to catch my proverbial breath and figure out what Zekram knows, if anything.


    "Lord Bael''s tastes are more....defensive." Venna decided on.


    I could understand what she meant by that. While one would expect mor and such when looking at the Bael Manor, instead, it looked....fortified.


    Oh, it was by no means pedestrian looking, it oozed wealth, but in a different way. The Magical defenses in general were...well, they were impressive. But the decorations, the building materials, there was nothing wasted. Everything here should be here for a reason, nothing to show off simply for the fact.


    Honestly, it felt oddly appropriate considering what little I knew of the man.


    Oh Zekram Bael was an arrogant bastard, but he didn''t need to necessarily unt it. His home represented that rather well. It was solid, unmoving, but still retaining its regal undertone.


    To Zekram Bael, he already ''won'', why did he have to show it at every opportunity?


    "It''s also home, in a way." Venna sighed.


    "Wistful or reluctant to go inside?" I asked.


    "Both? I don''t mind visiting my family over here, in fact I was herest month, but I prefer it under less official situations. Zekram Bael is one for proper etiquette, so it''s going to be less of a warm reception to me. Right now, I''m Lady Gremory, despite any other rtionships."


    I let out my own sigh knowing this was probably going to grate on me. I really did not like getting involved in nonsense like this.


    I hate politics.


    "Well, look on the bright side."


    "What''s the bright side?" I asked.


    "There''s a chance I could show you the room I grew up in~"


    ...that is a bright side.


    "Anything I should know before we go in?"


    "That depends, what do you know about the Bael n?"


    I shrugged. "Power of Destruction is their bloodline trait?"


    "Funny enough, we actually have a second bloodline trait, but it''s not so....elevated in status." She looked amused for some reason.


    "Really?" I furrowed my brow.


    "Every Bael Woman has arge chest."


    ".....you''re fucking with me."


    "I''m really not." Sheughed. "Every single Bael woman has arge chest. We don''t know why, and Lord Bael never said anything about it." She simply held her hands up.


    Not that I''m unhappy with this trait, it just.....took me by surprise.


    "We actually used to think the same with Purple Eyes, but that was disproved once the Bael family started having children with other pir families." She also added.


    Huh, maybe I should learn a bit more about my heritage at another point.


    "But if you want advice, as someone who''s had to y these games for a very long time....you can simply choose not to y. Remember that your attachments here are severely limited."


    I suppose that does make the situation less annoying.


    We walked down the cobblestone path as we passed through a dozen barriers harmlessly before reaching the door.


    Venna didn''t even need to knock before it opened.


    "Venna, it''s always a pleasure for you to make a visit home, sister." A man that didn''t look too dissimr to her answered.


    Venna kept her expression even. "Lord Bael, thank you for taking the time to personally greet us."


    He just nodded and turned to look at me, frowning. "I see you brought the half-breed. Why our Ancestor wants to speak to him I don''t understand." He scowled. "I heard some concerning rumors about a certain....illicit rtionship. If you wanted some excitement, you could do better than a half-breed, sister."


    I wasn''t one for taking verbal abuse without returning it at least in equal measure. However, before I could utter a word, Venna''s fist flew out, crashing right into his face, sending him flying through a wall inside the interior of the house, his body twitching on the ground.


    I just blinked, looking at the unconscious body of the apparent Lord Bael, and then at Venna as I processed what happened.


    "Huh, those training sessions must havee in handy." It was the first thing that came to mind.


    She just smiled calmly. "They certainly did help."


    "So...should we dispose of the body now?" Because the situation already seemed to be fubar.


    "Oh no, it''s fine."


    "The Lord of the Bael family is currently twitching under some wood and stone." I gestured.


    Venna''s grin widened a bit. "Oh sweetie." She put an amused hand on my cheek. "The first lesson we learned in the world of devil politics is to know when you can and cannot punch someone. And my brother dearest here practically wrote me an open invitation."


    "It seems you took that lesson to heart at least." A familiar voice reverberated off the walls. I noticed a door open and Zekram Bael barely nced at the Lord Bael as he stepped over his unconscious body. "Lady Gremory, Lord Schweinorg, thank you for epting my invitation. I apologize for the.....greeting. Rest assured; it will be remedied in the future."


    "Oh, it''s no trouble, Lord Bael." Venna dismissed it immediately. "Thank you for the invitation, we are honored to be weed into your illustrious ancestral manor."


    The Old Bael smiled with a hint of warmness. "Come long, let''s go inside before the neighbors start spreading rumors."


    There were no neighbors, I realized after the door closed behind us. Zekram Bael owned thend for hundreds of miles in every direction and no other person lived within eyesight.


    Surprisingly as well, there was no staff around.


    "Lady Gremory, if you don''t mind, I wished to discuss with Lord Schweinorg in private."


    "I already anticipated this, Lord Bael. Don''t worry, I was merely here to escort him. If I''m unneeded, I was simply going to pick up some items from my old room." She smiled, keeping the formalities despite her basically saying she was going to her room.


    Zekram nodded at her and I didn''t speak as he gestured for me to follow. We had to step over the unconscious body of .... Lord Bael, and I was confused as to why they were both addressed that way.


    "Please take a seat." He spoke, opening the door leading to what looked like his personal office.


    I admit, I was tempted to take the seat behind his desk, but I was going to be polite. I waited a few moments for him to sit down. "Rather quiet for such arge mansion."


    "I dismissed my workers for the day." He waived his hand flippantly. "And you can cease with the formalities, I am aware from ourst talks that you dislike them."


    Well, I wouldn''t say no.


    "I''m curious about something. Venna called two people Lord Bael. You offered me the position of family headst time, and I''m assuming that''s who Venna was addressing before she knocked him out."


    Zekram rubbed his chin with a weird smile. "She has quite the hook. But yes that was her Half-Brother, one of my descendants, and the current head of the Bael family."


    "So....you''re both Lord Bael?"


    "He is Lord Bael as the title of Head of the House." Zekram replied. "I am Lord Bael."


    Well then.


    "I assume Venna won''t be in trouble for doing what she did?"


    The ancient Devil in front of me, his facial expression shifted slightly. "You need not worry. He was not supposed to act in such a manner. However, his upbringing leaves much to be desired. His political aspirationsy in the beliefs of an older ideology."


    "Ah, Old Satan Faction?"


    Zekram grunted once in confirmation. "If only Venna was still with the Bael name, I would have made her the family head. Instead I am forced to deal with.....this."


    He was being surprisingly open, probably an attempt to broach a sympathetic bond? It seems like something he would do in an attempt to get me to lower my guard and perhaps think of him more warmly.


    Zekram, having just sat down a moment ago, sat up and looked out the window behind him. "If you had epted my offer, I wouldn''t have to act like a master pulling on the strings of my puppet." His hand raised up and he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I am not unfamiliar with politicking and groveling at others. I did not live this long without knowing how to swallow my pride. But that boy can''t make a single decision without running to me first." He finished with a shake of his head. "My only hope is that one of his sons will quickly take the reins so I don''t have to babysit a devil that''s centuries old."


    "Does that include Sairaorg?" It wasn''t lost on me that the man Venna punched out was Sairaorg''s father.


    "I would be delighted if he took over." Zekram spoke without any hesitation.


    I raised an eyebrow. "Wasn''t he ostracized and basically banished from the family?"


    Zekram rolled his eyes. "He carries the Bael Bloodline, he will always be a Bael. Our bloodline is sacrosanct, but that does not mean I''m unwilling to acknowledge strength where it is due. If he wishes to punch his way to the position of Satan, I will sit at the side and silently cheer him on." He turned to me. "Do you find my stance odd?"


    "It seems....contradictory from what I imagined."


    "Hmph, I have two goals in my existence. To elevate my bloodline to the absolute pinnacle. And to further Devil society to reach as far as possible. If one of my bloodline desires to punch their way upward, I have no qualms and even support them. However, I ce an emphasis on my own bloodline ability. If he desires to reach the peak through another method, it is his duty to prove his worth, I will not hold his hand."


    A rather spartan mindset.


    ''I don''t hate him, but he has to prove himself for me to care outside of my normal goals''.


    "I did hear that he performed exceptionally during the battles that took ce in the Norse Realms." He shifted. "Make no mistake, I take pride in any of my bloodline seeding."


    ...he was an odd man and I wondered if I would ever truly understand him.


    "So hypothetically speaking, you wouldn''t be against Sairaorg taking over the Bael family if he proved himself capable of doing so?" Call it mild curiosity on my part which is why I was asking.


    "Other than him being an idiot, I have nothing to say."


    I raised an eyebrow.


    "Don''t look at me like that, do you think I don''t keep tabs on a young devil of my bloodline with such capabilities? He has an impressively strong will, the charisma of a leader, but he would sooner punch someone than open up any kind of negotiations. Thankfully, he at least had the sense to pick worthwhile peerage members to cover for his weaknesses. This can also be attributed to his leader potential."


    Well, I honestly couldn''t argue there because it was rather spot on.


    He looked back towards me. "I heard you met young Millicas properly. What did you think of the boy?"


    Was he gauging me now? "He seemed like a good kid. Surprisingly strong for his age. He....was copying me a bit, learning magic and swords." I didn''t realize it at first, but I was smiling as I said it.


    Zekram Bael let out a shortugh. "He is a good descendant of mine. He is intelligent and gifted with his bloodline. I enjoy the times I watch over him. He will make a good head of the Gremory Family."


    "What about Venna''s daughter?" I''m pretty sure she''s the heir.


    "Bah, that girl, I love her like my own grandchildren, but she is as much an idiot as the punching fool. A different vor of idiot, but one all the same." He paused as if he just had an epiphany. "Why are there so many idiots in my bloodline, certainly that must be a coincidence?" He shook his head. "Regardless, she will be a Phenex because her head is stuck in the human world."


    I decided not to poke at that bear because it involved a great many things I didn''t know the full details of.


    "Should we cut to the chase now?" We had a polite conversation about random things, I didn''t want this to drag on much longer. "What was so critical that you requested a meeting like this?"


    "Very well." He sat back down at his desk. "Tell me, do you know of Rizevim Lucifer?"


    "I am aware of who he is, but I have never met him."


    Zekram frowned. "He is the son of the original Lucifer. A ''weapon'' that my lord and our mother created together. She carried him for six years, six months, and six days before giving birth. A sort of ritual, for which the details I am not privy to. He surpassed the originals in every way. However, hecked any drive, any desires. He supported the Old Satan Faction during the Civil War simply for the fact that he felt like he should because of his father. He disappeared for the longest time and only reappeared in the underworld several days ago whereupon he visited me."


    "It was also noted that he was a member of the Khaos Brigade." I pointed out.


    "Quite, and you would know more about that than me it seems." He cast his gaze at me oddly. "I''m not surprised to hear he was a member. His mindset....even by my own history, I would call him a particrly Evil individual, even if he does not often dirty his hands with such things."


    "The son of Lucifer is evil? Color me shocked." I snorted.


    "Yes, it shouldn''t be a surprise. I honor my former liege, but I am not blind to the atrocities that urred. My respect and adoration is not the same as blind obedience. I supported the New Satans for a reason."


    "Alright, I''m neither questioning your stance, nor do I particrly care where you fell on the spectrum." It was clear where he was right now, and that was enough for me considering how distant we were.


    "He came to speak to me, as I said. However, the topic of our conversation was you." Zekram Bael stated, looking at me intensely. "He asked me about your details, how you grew up, your acquaintances, your desires, your goals, your life."


    That made me....give pause for consideration. "So he''s looking into me?" I suppose I should have expected to attract their direct attention sooner orter in this manner.


    "I believe it was a personal interest on his part. He mentioned feeling kinship to you and wanted to know more."


    "....I don''t know what to say to that."


    "I am of the same mind." Zekram admitted, shaking his head. "My intention was to invite you here and give you a warning while also properly providing you insight into what you were potentially getting involved with."


    "I...thank you for the good will then." I could appreciate the sentiment when it was given. He was being genuinely helpful and I Would be an asshole if I didn''t acknowledge that.


    He smiled rather...grandfatherly. "Even if it''s the child of my former liege, I will not allow them to harm a Bael." He spoke with sure pride. "Truthfully, I feel this is merely the prelude to something else. Something is building up, and I believe this Khaos Brigade is a part of it at the center ¨C " He stopped looking at me in a scrutinizing gaze. "You know."


    "Pardon?" Do I have a tell I don''t know about?


    "You have knowledge then? Hmm, I shouldn''t be surprised. Those Youkai were the ones who revealed them to the world." He tapped his desk. "You have a source of knowledge I''m unaware of, that is obvious. Venna is obviously out, those brats on the thrones are running around like headless chickens. Odin? No, from the reports, Loki was a member of the Khaos brigade and was hostile to you both. The Youkai, despite the show, are too low on thedder." His eyes were strange as they narrowed as if he was looking at something in the air and then they widened. "The Death Goddess. I see, that makes sense then." He rubbed his chin. "Curious."


    Did he just.....sniff out who I was in contact with by only the few clues left behind?


    He stopped, dropping it as if it were unimportant. "Would you be willing to tell me what this Khaos Brigade is nning? I can offer payment, and I''m even willing to sign a contract."


    This is the reason I hate dealing with old monsters.


    I grumbled under my breath and closed my eyes for a moment or two. I haven''t even told my girls or anyone else yet because I didn''t know much myself. Could I even trust him? I mean....I barely knew him, but so far, all our interactions were...positive.


    And the goodwill he showed already wasn''t something I was going to ignore.


    {I believe we can trust him.} My Zanpakut¨­ spoke up. {Having more allies may prove beneficial. Zekram Bael is very old and has reach and connections that may prove beneficial.}


    I was on the fence, but if my Zanpakut¨­ thought it was worth a shot.


    I guess in the worst case scenario, everyone finds out about this, which....it just means everyone is aware? It also alerts out enemies that we know and could muddy the waters,...


    "Have you ever heard of the Apocalypse Beast mentioned in the bible? 666?"


    Zekram''s demeanor immediately changed. He usually kept his emotions in check, only softly expressing himself. But in this instance, the armrests of his were shattered by his hands, and his aura exploded outward.


    "That arrogant son of a bastard!" Zekram let out a furious roar and the windows shattered. "That''s his n!?"


    "Wait, you know about it?" It was a turn of phrase, I didn''t actually expect him to know about it in detail when I was even in the dark about things.


    Zekram''s eyes red up and his temper slowly reined back in. I could still tell he was furious. "I am bound by an oath; I cannot speak about it." He grit his teeth. "How do you know about it!?" He gaze bore down on me.


    "I''ve run into its power a few times at this point. I visited the Vatican and there was an incident with the ''power'' of the thing appearing." I briefly described my ordeal.


    He blinked. "Why were you in the Vatican?" He stopped. "It doesn''t matter. You must have run into a seal there are....many of them. And before you ask, I do not have knowledge on where or what they are." He didn''t rify, and It wasn''t hard to guess that this ''oath'' of his was more than an honor thing. "but that doesn''t exin¡ª"


    "I know quite a few Gods."


    He mped his mouth shut as if that answered everything. "That stupid boy!" He growled again before calming down. He reached a hand down his shirt, pulling out a strange metal object connected to a leather strap, a ne.


    Though, looking at the thing he was holding, after giving it another nce, it looked....like half a key? It was oddly shaped and white in color, but I didn''t notice anything particr about it otherwise.


    "I met the Biblical God once. Rather than from afar, I mean." He seemingly changed the subject. "He appeared in my home, right in front of me. I thought I was going to die."


    "What did you do?"


    "I offered him tea." Zekram said with a rather self-mocking smile. "He epted. I admit, it was one of the strangest experiences of my long life. We simply....chatted. He asked me questions, asked my opinion on certain things and when it was over, he departed." Zekram looked up. "It wasn''t muchter that he perished."


    "Are you happy he''s gone?" My goal of reviving Big G was still a priority but....I was curious as to his thoughts.


    "It''s an odd thought to consider. If everything remained the same, and right at this moment, he sat upon his throne in Heaven, I believe it would be preferable. It is exhausting trying to wrangle the direction of Devilhood where I desire. Having him alive would mean that Devils would be much lesszy and seek to better themselves without me having to forcibly exert myself." He let out an annoyed huff. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to bnce Devil politics so they don''t kill themselves? But I digress, we are moving away from the elephant that you introduced to the room."


    "The Beast of the Apocalypse"


    "Trihexa." Zekram Bael spoke. "Very well, I will assist."


    "What?"


    "Whoever you are involved in, whatever you are doing, you are obviously on the opposite side of the Khaos Brigade and that idiotic bastard, so I will lend you my support. Speak to whoever you need to, but I wish to join."


    Right, he deduced I had a group with me beyond what the public knew about.


    Hades is going to be pissed with me, isn''t he?


    This is not what I expected when I came here earlier.


    I let out a sigh because I was already getting a headache from this. "I have no idea what I''m doing at the moment, but I will.....talk to a few people. That being said, perhaps we shouldn''t make it obvious regardless of what happens, that we are on polite terms?"


    "Yes yes, do what you want." Zekram waived his hand. "Make a show of it, storm out, I''ll sell it afterwards." He looked off. "I will begin making my own preparations. The underworld is not without its own failsafes."


    Well, this meeting ended rather abruptly, but neither of us could be med, we were both....focused on other things at the moment.


    Well, if Zekram was going to offer his full support, then I wasn''t going to turn it down.


    @***@


    Zekram Bael POV


    "Zonvas, get in here."


    "Yes, Lord Bael?" He was kneeling on the ground already.


    "I hope your sister didn''t give you any permanent damage." I said dryly looking him over. He shook under my gaze and I dismissed him. "The mansion stopped shaking, can I assume that our guests left?"


    "The Half bree ¨C"


    "Careful, Zonvas, with but a word from the Half-Breed, and I would dly give him your position." How dare he speak down at a Bael that I acknowledge? Hmph, if it weren''t for his talent in sniffing out profit, he wouldn''t havested this long as the Bael Head.


    "He left, Lord Bael. As did my Sister." He quickly corrected himself.


    I''m sure if I held my foot out, he would be kissing it right now. I had plenty of bad memories being forced to literally do so with Lucifer in the past, not something umon with my kin as the man was sadistic. But this is hardly aparable situation. I made sure to always keep the proverbial dagger sharp for when I needed to stab it into his back.


    This one, he would probably wet his pants at the mere idea. And while I would despise treachery, I abhor such pathetess.


    Why wouldn''t he have just epted my offer to be the Bael Head? I thought it was a good enough offer, but I suppose I simply don''t know enough about my descendant to truly entice him.


    He is an enigma of epic proportions.


    "I assume by the house shaking previously that Lord Schweinorg left in a foul mood?" I barely trust him to tie his shoes without begging me for my input, much less important information that should remain secret.


    "Yes, Lord Bael. He blew a hole through the front door while leaving.....and..."


    "...and what?" I raised an eyebrow.


    Zonvas coughed awkwardly. "He....used magic to draw arge phallus on the front of the mansion."


    I silently looked at Zonvas, oddly having trouble providing a response.


    "....no matter what I do, it will note off."


    Before I realized it, I found myselfughing, a heartyugh that I have not had in a long time. Something I truly needed after having my anger rising up at the stupidity of Lucifer''s progeny wanting to awaken the Beast!


    That fool, he wants to doom us all, for what purpose? Atleast one of my descendants has proved themselvespetent and is already aware and actively going against the maniacs.


    The Key half around my neck felt heavy.


    "Lord Bael, what should we do? The Staff won''t return until tomorrow, should I demand they return earlier?"


    I waved my hand. "Leave it be, let everyone see what happened."


    "I see." He grinned evilly. "Yes, let everyone see what that bastard did. We''ll tarnish his reputation first before demanding satisfaction."


    ....fool, he cares not for the underworld.


    ''Tarnish his reputation'' all that you want.


    And you can enjoy fighting against his growing fans among the reincarnated devils. But of course, you don''t even deem to think about them in your arrogance. The only reason I do not quite literally whip the stupid out of him is because one of his children is bound to take over soon and I simply don''t want to waste my effort on such a task.


    The Key Half was clenched between my fingers as I gazed towards the territory of my old friend.


    The ancient Oaths still hold.


    The underworld is threatened.


    It''s time to rally the old guard once more, Runeas.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 538 - 487

    <h4>Chapter 538: Chapter 487</h4>


    I moved Mirage up to deflect a blow from Sc¨¢thach''s spear as it narrowly missed me. She followed up by swiping its bottom at my side and I was forced to bring my sword down to block it, but the force sent me sliding across the ground a few feet beforeing to a stop.


    She took steady steps towards me, each one measured as her spear leveled towards my eyes and thrust it with enough speed that I had to jerk my body and twist in an awkward way to dodge.


    A flurry of spears continued to assault me, each one slowly increasing in speed that I continued to block and deflect.


    Finally, she managed to hook my de with her spear and force it from my hand, sending it sailing off to the side and gently, the bottom of her spear poked my chest. "If this was a real fight, I would have taken your heart, student."


    I let out a sigh, admitting defeat. "You can''t take what already belongs to you." I shot a cheeky grin her way.


    She rolled her eyes with an amused smile but reached over and lightly pulled on my cheek. "You mind is elsewhere."


    "Is it that obvious?"


    "Who do you think I am?" She raised an eyebrow, fetching my sword and tossing it back at me. "How do you feel?"


    "Hmm, not bad" I stretched my arms. I always enjoyed our little workouts, even if they weren''t always the most intense. Specifically, this time, I wasn''t using anything beyond my basic physical strength. "I think I got the hang of my new strength though." I said flexing my hands.


    "Mmm, it is noticeable but not something unusual. You have a firmer foundation to build upon now at the very least."


    Yeah, an increase in my base self was an upward multiplicative increase across the board with the other things I had going on. I would never say no to a costless strength boost as it were.


    "I appreciate you helping though. I wanted to see where I stood with just that little bit added on."


    "I am always here to assist student." She spun her spear, stabbing it into the ground. "However, that is not all you have for a showing, is it not?" She quirked a smile.


    I scratched my head and relented. "My new Authority, its true power requires certain conditions, but there is something I can do without them being met.


    From my shadow, a gigantic hand emerged and grabbed hold of Her, lifting her up off the ground.


    She looked down at me from a dozen or so feet in the air with a chuckle she pried herself free and touched the dirt below. "Interesting, student. That is a very practical and beneficial ability. I assume it is not limited to a mere hand."


    "I can generate a shadow avatar of the God I defeated. It''s not.....unprecedently strong, but it''s a good tool to add to my arsenal." And that wasn''t getting into the effect that I required certain conditions to meet to utilize.


    Though it had an extreme counter towards fire and sun rted abilities. Which is why Hanuman was able to stop the arrow released from the Bow as the origin is the authority of a sun god.


    "I look forward to seeing it truly unveiled in battle." She spoke happily. "For now, a continued spar is pointless. If your mind is focused elsewhere, then you will not gain anything."


    "I''m sorry." I apologized with a small smile.


    "Your worries are understandable." She quickly closed the distance between us and grabbed my cheeks before cing her lips on mine for a quick kiss. "Our time has ended regardless. You have other duties to attend to."


    Izzy hade by and was waiting at the side, and she wasn''t the only one.


    "Daddy!" Kunou came running over to me and I quickly opened my arms to ept her into a hug.


    "And here''s the Birthday girl." I swung her around. "How old are you now? 5? 6?"


    She puffed up cutely. "I''m 11, I''m not a baby anymore."


    "You''ll always be my little fox." I kissed her forehead.


    "Did you get me a present?" She asked so bluntly.


    I chuckled and rubbed her head. "A present, what for?"


    "My birthday!"


    "You''re supposed to give presents on birthdays?" I faked surprise.


    "Don''t make her cry." Sc¨¢thach quickly came in, pinching my cheek again. "Don''t worryss, I have a present you will enjoy."


    "Auntie is better than daddy." Kunou pouted.


    "Yes, I am much better, aren''t I?" Sc¨¢thachughed. "Now, off you go. We must prepare for your celebration."


    Well, it wasn''t much of a surprise, rather obvious as well.


    "Are you ready to go?" Izzy asked. "It was abrupt, but I managed to convince him of the importance."


    "Yeah, let''s quickly do this. I feel anxious enough that I don''t want to put it off if I can help it." Well, mixing business and pleasure did leave a sour taste in my mouth, but it''s not like Kunou would just be sitting in a corner somewhere.


    "We will be prepared for your return." Sc¨¢thach said again with a rare hint of gentleness as she gazed at us.


    "Bye Auntie Sc¨¢thach." Kunou waived as I created a portal at Izzy''s beckoning.


    The air around us shifted quickly as the harsh, deathly air of the Underworld took over.


    I staved off the oppressive feeling from Kunou rather easily and our hosts were there upon our arrival.


    "Hades." I greeted.


    "Mr. Schweinorg." He politely returned. "I believe I don''t need to introduce my associate, but considering it''s our first meeting, I will do so anyways. Thanatos wanted to meet you." He gestured to the second ''person'' at his side.


    Thanatos, the Primordial of Death, son of Nyx, the night itself.


    He was a good two feet above Hades in height with a rather slim build. His body was ck, almost like it was partly made of fabric, and his face was covered in a strange pale mask with only his eyes and mouth visible. And from his back sprouted two wings that at first nce seemed to be made of feathers, but that seemed to not be urate as if they were solid extensions and not a culmination of many feathers together. Almost like they were crystalline in shape.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service." I was also polite.


    Manners cost you nothing and they can gain you everything.


    The Primordial tilted his head and seemed to smile lightly.


    "Don''t mind him, he rarely speaks." Hades was quick to answer for him.


    "I like your wings." Kunou spoke up, looking at therge being.


    Thanatos looked at Kunou strangely and his smile spread. Truthfully, I may have been concerned in any other situation but....well, I felt a rather gentle aura from him.


    He slowly and gently reached out his hand and patted Kunou on the head.


    Many people don''t seem to understand that Death isn''t a destructive or evil force.


    At its core, it''s a gentle embrace.


    "Hello Thanatos, it''s been a while." Izzy also spoke up and Thanatos nodded in her direction. "And Hades, it feels like I''ve seen you more in this past year than thest few centuriesbined."


    "Yesh, I wonder why that is." He drawled, looking at me.


    I set Kunou down. "Thank you for agreeing with everything. I know this is an odd request and abrupt meeting..."


    Hades let out a sigh. "I understand that mortals feel the need to rush." He flipped his hand through the air. "I merely hope that it''s worth having to force an opening in my schedule." He then pped his hands and the ground shook as a three headed dog came barking over the horizon.


    Cerberus looked ecstatic to greet everyone as Hades rubbed his snoot. "Cerberus, would you be so kind as to watch over the youngdy? I heard that she''s particrly fond of giving good boys lots of attention."


    The three headed dog looked across us and all its eyesnded on Kunou and lowered its heads to match her height.


    "So big!" Kunou threw her arms open at the first head and they seemed to ept her rather quickly.


    I had Izzy message Hades and ask him permission to bring Kunou so she can y with Cerberus for a little bit while we have a quick meeting.


    Figure she would enjoy it and it would give us an hour or two to cover the important stuff.


    I let Sir Wiggles and Lady Wiggles out to join them.


    Hades had a rare smile as he looked at them. "Come, Thanatos will watch over them and make sure she does not go where she''s not supposed to." He put a passing hand on my shoulder. "He is good with children, he often watched over mine when they were still young."


    I quickly grabbed at Kunou''s tail to get her attention. "Behave yourself while Daddy has a quick chat with his friend, alright? Thanatos is in charge."


    "I''ll be good." She promised.


    I looked up and Thanatos silently met my gaze, I gave him a thankful nod and I followed along with Hades and Izzy to our secret location as Hades forced our arrival through his Divine Power.


    In our secretive room where we plot, Odin was already there, waiting. "So, the gang''s all gathered."


    "Odin."


    "Brat." Odin returned. "And the cougar."


    Izzy''s lips twitched. "I heard you went to Olympus."


    Odin''s grin immediately fell, and he let out a groan. Funny enough, Hades also raised a hand, covering his face.


    "Please don''t mention that it was a headache for me as well." The God of the Underworld sighed.


    "How bad was it?"


    "Could have been worse." Odin shrugged. "You know how the song and dance goes, Zeus puffs his chest, I call his bluff. We make threats at each other."


    "Atleast for now, he is.... cated." Hades forced out. "Though, I fear it is only a temporary measure. Zeus is very paranoid; he simply won''t ept other''s words or threats. Especially with Father now walking ''free'' upon the Norse Realms, he is even more on edge."


    "Any issue with Atnta and Achilles?"


    Hades'' lips thinned. "I told him that their souls were still safe and sound in Elysium, which is not a lie."


    They both expressed wanting to visit their ''home''....and I wasn''t in a position to deny their request. It was going toe out eventually, and they more than deserved the chance to meet certain people they missed.


    I guess we''ll cross that bridge when we get to it.


    "How''s Asgard doing?"


    "About the same. It''s only been a few days." Odin snorted, stretching his back. "Though the way I''ve been bouncing around various factions trying to calm people down, it sure feels longer."


    "I share the sentiment." I''ve bounced around a few worlds now and it really does feel like Asgard was...months ago.


    "Enough of the pleasantries, I''m very busy and I did not anticipate this meeting, so I was forced to push some of my work off. I want to know what was so important that both yourself and Izanami were adamant about this gathering." Hades finally cut straight to the point.


    "Did you hear any news form the Vatican?" I asked.


    Hades, while not upset or in a mood, visibly calmed down. "Merely some words that there was a disturbance."


    "That was me, or rather, an extension of my presence there. And before you ask, I was invited. But to make matters short, I idently tripped a....seal that was under Saint Peter''s Basilica. The Presence in Pandora''s Box resonated with it and broke the seal, releasing a wisp of power from the same source. It nearly caused the Archangel Gabriel to fall. But that''s beside the point, I hurried over to visit Pandora to see if she could gleam anything from it." I paused for a moment catching my breath and letting my words settle in. "Have you heard of the Apocalypse Beast ¨C Trihexa?"


    Hades''s expression stiffened and even Odin seemed to tense up.


    "Are you positive about this?" Odin asked.


    "I agree with the All-Father, that is not a name to throw around unless you''re absolutely certain."


    "I take it you''re both familiar?"


    "Familiar, I suppose you could say that. The name isn''t new, it''s been called many things based on the region of the world. But the thing is.....no one thought it was real until now. "


    "What do you mean no one ''thought it was real''?" I was finding out about this for the first time now. I mean sure, the whole idea of the Beast was in the bible, and I knew the story, but.....that was an entirely different thing. They would be the ones to know these types of things.


    "It is spected..." Hades held up his hand. "That the prophecies of destruction. The inevitable ends, the stories of each faction''s death can be traced back to a singr source. It was merely a rumor and there had been no indication of its truth. Think about it this way, in the myths and stories of mortals when talking about various factions, can you name a single one that has a ''happily ever after''?"


    Now that he said that I couldn''t.


    Sure, there were plenty that didn''t outright mention an end like the Norse''s Ragnar?k, like the Greeks that was more vague such as the prophecy of Zeus being overthrown or the Gigantomachia and things like that.


    I pursed my lips and really thought about it. "Not directly responsible for destruction, not Surtr carrying out his prophesized role, you''re talking about the concept of civilization destruction. Something seeped into the core of the world that no Faction can escape an ''apocalypse''."


    "In a manner of speaking." Hades nodded. "As I said, it was merely a whimsical spection."


    "This is assuming that we are to believe the source." Odin also added. "I am likely to ept it out of goodwill, but this is something that needs...verification."


    "Agreed." Hades'' eyes glowed briefly. "This is no longer a matter about resurrecting the Biblical God, this has escted far beyond. Tracing back the origins of the Box, it was in Loki''s hands and my Father''s hands and the connection there is the Khaos Brigade. Is that their true goal then? To....unleash this monstrosity on the world?"


    "Did you not know anything while you were there?"


    Hades shook his head. "They were...careful about the dissemination of information. I also did not care about their overt goals as it did not seem substantial at the time. Izanami, what are your thoughts?"


    "I can understand your reservations, even hearing it myself I am...concerned. And I know you are not one to take things so easily even from myself. Wilhelm also has someone else that can verify the information if you are willing."


    Hades tapped the table infront of us. "Adding a new person to our group, that''s what you''re suggesting in this."


    "To be honest, he was able to guess the existence of this ''group'' from a short meeting I had with him." I smiled wryly.


    Hades frowned. "You''re not one to reveal things, so I can only assume it was done through logical deduction. The clues are there, even if they''re not easily alignable to the vast majority of people."


    "Alright, just pull off the bandage. Who had the big brains to deduce our little secret get togethers, hmm?"


    "Zekram Bael." I just blurted it out. "He invited me down to talk because Rizevim Lucifer paid him a visit, having been oddly interested in me. He wanted to warn me, of course, but he was able to gleam some things from my reactions and was able to guess about our association."


    Hades let out a long groan. "Devils. Always the Devils, isn''t it? Atleast it isn''t one of the annoying ones."


    "There are non-annoying Devils to you?" Izzy snorted.


    "Yes, I much prefer the ones who are quiet and have no need to be uppity brats. I am aware of who Zekram Bael is, I have folders of documents and information on him like most entities in the world." Hades tapped the table with increased fervor as he clearly was thinking deeply. "A long time ago while the war still raged, I met the origin of your bloodline. Him and his cohorts found themselves on my wrong side as they wound up in my Underworld. I was not involved in their petty squabbles, so it was obviously an error that they appeared in my territory. The first thing that Devil did upon seeing me was admit the fault was only his own and offered his head as rpose and asked for his followers'' survival."


    "Did you kill him?" Odin asked.


    Hades gave him a rather dry look. "I admit it took me by surprise at that point in time. Even with my hatred of Devils, the Devils back then were significantly worse. I asked him why he was willing to sacrifice himself for his fellow devils. He simply told me that it was his pride as a King."


    I think I understood Zekram a little more at this point.


    He was ruthless and pragmatic, but he wasn''t without his own pride or honor. He would, without hesitation, send his family and friends, those who trusted and even those he cherished to their deaths if it was a worthy cause in his eyes. But at the same time, if he fucked up, he would also willingly pay the price just as he expected from everyone else around him.


    "I of course found it utterly hrious that this pathetic Devil was before me iming with full seriousness that he had the Pride of a King. I spared him and his, as they were not there intentionally. Though, I had to punish them, I let Cerberus chase them out." Hades had a little smile on his face. "I don''t trust the devils in their promises, but I will trust in their arrogance. I assume you are waiting for my permission, bring him."


    Well, Hades was right, I was waiting for permission and was already in contact with Zekram.


    A portal opened up next to me and the Devil walked out.


    "Ah, so it was rather close to what I anticipated." Zekram Bael noted upon seeing the room. "I admit, I was on the fence if it was the Greeks or the Hindus."


    "Do you really think Indra and I would willingly work together like this?" I raised an eyebrow.


    The Bael progenitor shrugged. "It would have been a rather devilish red herring if it turned out true." He had a little smirk. "Lord Odin, Lord Hades, and Lady Izanami." He greeted around the room.


    "Zekram Bael." Hade''s voice had a subtle air of authority to it and a certain pressure weighed down. "Tell me, do you still have the Pride of a King."


    "That question is the same as if asking if I am still alive, Lord Hades." Zekram merely smiled.


    "Still arrogant." Hades snorted, releasing the pressure. "If Ites to light that you reveal things you should not, your Satans will not stop me from taking your soul."


    "Your stance is noted."


    Well balls on Zekram, not many people can stand so nonplussed under the intense gaze of Hades.


    "Alright, if you''re done waiving your dicks at each other, back to the important bits." Odin interrupted them. "The brat says that you''re in his corner regarding the Trihexa. I would very much like to know what you know."


    "What I can say is limited I am....under an oath that doesn''t allow much information to pass my lips. I can verify that it does exist, and I believe that the bratty son of my former Liege is intent on releasing it from its seal."


    "Its seal?" Hades questioned.


    "Do you truly believe the Biblical God would die to the original Satans?" Zekram Bael raised an eyebrow. "Just food for thought."


    Hades frowned and we all seemed to consider what he said.


    "There are a lot of things we''re still in the dark about." I crossed my arms. "We''re ying catch up and the Khaos Brigade is several steps ahead of us."


    "More than you possibly know. One thing I can say is that there are plenty of seals around the world. Their locations and numbers are unknown to me." Zekram stated.


    "Yes....he mentioned the Vatican." Hades rubbed his chin. "That makes sense. The Biblical God must have known much more than us. He created Seals to prevent the beast from expanding its influence directly into the world, that is the only certainty thates to my mind when mentioning something as small as you experienced in the Vatican."


    "We have to be careful about how we investigate." Odin spoke up after a moment of silence. "Our advantage right now is that they don''t know that we know."


    "Well, one of our advantages." I whispered.


    "We must prepare for the worse case scenario." Hades said solemnly. "It''s making sense now; the flow of the world has changed drastically in recent times. It''s as if war was going to erupt."


    "You''re not the first one I heard that from in recent days." Odin frowned. "I have a few people I can reach out to and tell them to subtly start preparing. Asgard can amass without concern under the guise of rebuilding."


    "I have already begun. The Underworld is not as defenseless as many may assume." Zekram Bael stated.


    "Our original goal now takes precedence." Hades stated.


    He''s right, if the Biblical God has a hand in containing the beast originally, then it''s very important that we elerate the timetable for his revival.


    "Original goal?" Zekram asked.


    "Do you remember when I asked you how you would feel if the Biblical God was still alive?" I responded.


    It only took Zekram a moment to contemte what I meant by that, and then he startedughing.


    [***]


    A stark contrast to the tense discussion I was having with the others just a bit prior with adding Zekram to our little ''group''.


    I had Kunou on my shoulders while she was finishing off an ice cream cone at a ce we stopped at to kill a bit more time.


    I was stressed...not overburdened like I was previously, but this kind of pressure wasn''t something that was going to disappear for a little while.


    Just another thing to add onto the pile of stuff to worry about.


    But I had reliable allies that were all working towards the same goal. We had to be careful and quiet about our movements, if our enemies found out what we were doing, they may decide that it''s better for them to just tip their handspletely and not give us time to properly set up.


    From the sharing of information, it''s rather obvious that the Khaos Brigade has nts in every faction to a substantial degree. To the point where every faction would be enveloped in their own war just like how the Norse were with Ragnar?k.


    Our little ''ploy'' with shifting the me onto Indra way back when is just evidence of that with how quickly the dissidents in the Hindu faction were quick to throw a punch at Indra when given the opportunity.


    There wasn''t much I could personally do at this time, and besides, I was about to be enveloped in my own War along with Yasaka and the Youkai.


    Once we send off Kunou to Hogwarts, a mere few days after her birthday, we were going to announce that the timetable had moved up and we were preparing our assault.


    Oh, the rage had died down, which was Yasaka''s intention, but instead of a raging me, it was a simmer that could reignite with the right fuel.


    But that was in the future.


    I forced those thoughts away for thest time we would be together as a family for quite awhile as I approached our home.


    "Happy birthday!" A Chorus of voices rang out as we opened the first door.


    Kunou happily jumped off my shoulders and squealed happily. Everyone was here, from my girls to Rin to Medea and her Fianc¨¦. Even Thorum was present along with the Servants from the Grail War. And not far from us, even Gramps was standing there with Lucretia.


    Oh dear, Sc¨¢thach was holding Gae Bolg. It was not her Gae Bolg and it certainly wasn''t mine.


    It also had a bow wrapped around it.


    .....this was going to be an interesting birthday party.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.

 Chapter 539:

    Chapter 539:


    Seeing Kunou smile so excitedly and bounce around¡­. regardless of what I was dealing with right now, I was happy and peaceful.


    I nced at Sc¨¢thach, she noticed my gaze and then I raised an eyebrow towards her ''gift''. One of the rare times that she visibly flushed and hid it behind her body away from me.


    Well, I wouldn''t tell her <em>no</em>.


    I was just confused where she got another Gae Bolg. I suppose the materials here would be perceivably obtainable, considering that Gods and such still roamed the world.


    Still, it took me by surprise. And a Spear isn''t really any more dangerous than the Magic she''s going to be learning.


    I walked up to Medea, the first time seeing her since she got her new job. "You got the thing?"


    She scoffed. "Who do you think I am?" I flipped her hand, revealing the present. "I made sure to note it was from both of us, even if I did most of the work."


    "Please, you stole it and <em>wanted</em> to do the ''work'' as you say, yourself." I rolled my eyes. "And it''s not like I wasn''t doing anything else." I technically had two presents for Kunou counting this one. "And Kuzuki, it''s a pleasure. Thank you for attending with your busy schedule."


    "There was time avable to attend." He said simply.But at this point, I learned that was his way of saying he was happy to be here.


    "What about <em>my</em> busy schedule?" Medea asked.


    "That''s a funny joke." I smiled.


    Medea huffed crossing her arms. "You''re insufferable."


    "For real though, how''s it over there? No one treating you badly? Work okay?"


    Medea''s face brightened significantly. "It''s honestly¡­..it''s amazing. Well, the magic leaves much to be desired, and it''s not like I''m teaching anything <emplicated</em>. And don''t get me started on all the nonsensical rules the government has about what is ''allowed'' and what-not. But¡­.they''re nice and I don''t think there was a day that went by while I was preparing ahead of time that I regret taking the offer. Of course, I''ve yet to have to deal with a bunch of brats."


    It sounds like she found a ce to settle down.


    I was happy for her.


    "I have the cake!" Raikou came in from the kitchen, carrying the item in question. A ratherrge cake and clearly handmade if the little bits of frosting on Raikou''s hands and arms was anything to go by.


    "It''s wonderful!" Yasaka cooed. "Kunou, make sure to thank your auntie Raikou for making it, she was in the kitchen all day."


    "I love it, thank you Auntie Raikou!" Kunou threw her hands up happily.


    "I''m happy to help~" Raikou smiled brightly.


    We all gathered around her as she blew out her candles.


    Of course, she immediately wanted to start opening presents, but I don''t think anyone had the will to deny her at this point.


    "Mom, Dad!" She grabbed at both me and Yasaka. "You both first!"


    Both Yasaka and I shared a look.


    "Why don''t we waitst for what your dad and I are going to give you." She smiled.


    Well, our ''gift'' was something a bit less tangible inparison to most things here.


    "Why don''t I go first?" A new voice entered the room, a rather familiar one. Wearing a kimono and elongated head, Nurarihyon popped inside underneath¡­well some of the people here noticed.


    Particrly Gramps and Meridia and Izzy didn''t look too surprised. I was truthfully not paying much attention.


    "I wasn''t aware you were invited." Yasaka rolled her eyes.


    "Our little Princess is having a birthday! Tell me one birthday of hers I missed?" The Old Youkai hummed.


    He probably wasn''t invited because she knew he would show up anyways.


    "Grandpa." Kunou smiled happily.


    "Alright little princess, I heard you''re going off to school in another country, so I got you something good." He held out his hand producing a Gourd of all things. A traditional¡­.<em>Sake Gourd</em>, that is. Granted, it was beautifully etched with Sakura flowers and other imagery, but it was still something used for alcohol.


    "If there is saki in there, we''re going to have a <em>talk</em>." Yasaka intoned.


    The Old youkai just chuckled. "Come on, I''m not <em>that </em>bad." He tossed it to the little fox. "Got that special made. There''s nothing in it yet, but it''ll refill itself with anything you leave inside until it''s full. And of course, nothing inside will go bad." He winked towards Yasaka.


    By anything, I''m sure he means mundane stuff. Regardless, it was a well thought out and good gift.


    Yasaka covered her face. "Kunou, remember you''re too young to drink alcohol."


    "Sake is icky anyways." Kunou held out her tongue. "I can fill it with Juice, right?"


    "Of course." Nurarihyon smiled warmly to her.


    "¡­.wait, Kunou sweetie. <em>Why do you know that Sake is icky</em>?"


    Kunou''s eyes dted for a brief moment. "Thank you Grandpa!" She threw her arms around the old Youkai.


    Yasaka just sighed.


    "Ah, what''s wrong? Do young ones not drink at this age here?" Thorum looked around.


    I managed to squeeze through the crowd and offer Thorum a sympathetic pat on the shoulder when people chuckled at his genuine question.


    "Alright." I pped my hands. "Let''s keep this train rolling, she''s already spoiled senseless, no need to stop now."


    "Then I shall go first." Sc¨¢thach said with some confidence as she held out her Gae Bolg. "Here little one, I have created a spear just for you."


    Yasaka once more, covered her face with her hand and sighed. "I have so many questions."


    Sc¨¢thach tilted her head. "I can create replicas using Ash Trees and Runes. It is inferior to my true spear, but it is still a powerful weapon."


    "That''s not what I meant." Yasaka''s lips thinned.


    Well, that answered my question at least. From what I recall, Ash Trees are descendants from Yggdrasil,bined with her mastery of Runes, it should be possible to make replicas.


    "You need not worry; I added an enchantment so she is unable to idently harm another person." She put her hands on her hips, standing rather proud of herself.


    "idently?" I repeated. "Meaning that if it''s intentional, she can still stab people?"


    "My stupid student, what use is a spear that cannot stab what you intend to stab?" She looked at me like I was an idiot.


    I just held up my hands and acknowledged my defeat there because she wasn''t wrong.


    "I love it, thank you Auntie Sc¨¢thach!" Kunou of course didn''t care about any of that and excitedly took the spear and started swinging it around.


    "My present goes along with this one." Raikou spoke up next. She held out her hands and a purple sheen reflecting the light from overhead. "I am not much of a smith, so I had help in forging these. However, they were made from the knowledge and techniques of my n." They were arm guards,yered ting that covered the back of the hands down the arms. "They are very durable so they should serve as good protection on the most vulnerable part of her body when wielding a weapon."


    "They''re pretty too." Kunou took them, sliding them onto her arms. "Thank you, Auntie Raikou."


    "You''re most wee, dear." Raikou hugged the little fox.


    "A wise decision." Artoria nodded in approval it seemed. "I cannot count how many times in my life that the armor covering my arms prevented debilitating wounds."


    Right, now that I think about it, they all had some sort of protection on their arms. Even Sc¨¢thach''s body suit is <em>thicker</em> on her arms and her body suit is basically armor in of itself.


    Huh¡­.I''m the odd one out here it seems, unless I bring out the Boosted Gear.


    Speaking of boosted gear¡­


    [Give her my present!] The Dragon inside my soul demanded.


    "Ddraig is demanding that I give you his present now." Even though I went through all the effort to get it. "Here you go, my little fox." I handed over to her a Twice Critical Sacred Gear.


    It was not the one we acquired from the idiot who invaded Kyoto all that time ago. It was a¡­..basic version. Perhaps on the lower end, but she didn''t <em>need</em> something monstrous at the moment.


    I would help her store it in her soulter.


    "Thank you uncle Ddraig!"


    [Damn right!] Ddraig huffed happily. [Now she''s a little dragon too.]


    "Really Schweinorg?" Rin looked at me. "How did you get your hands on that?"


    "Honestly, it wasn''t very difficult. Annoying for sure, but not difficult." There are apparently plenty of them circting around the world and the Grigori had quite a few.


    I joked before about her being spoiled but¡­..well, a little part of me was envious, but it was overshowedpletely for my happiness for her.


    We should probably make sure Kunou knows not to bully the other kids with this stuff¡­.


    "May I go next?" Venna stood up.


    Artoria was the one to gesture as it seemed she was about to step up herself. "By all means."


    "Well, I can''t say mine is as excited." She was holding an envelope and a properly wrapped present. "One is a genuine gift the other¡­.well, I just thought it was cute and funny."


    Kunou took both and opened the envelope, taking out what looked like a ticket. "What''s this?"


    "It''s a ticket for use of the Familiar Forest down in the Underworld. The Familiar Forest is thergest singr spot for making Familiar contracts in any ce connected to Earth. The Forest itself has an effect on the creatures inside that makes them keener on forming contracts. Of course, if you don''t want to use the ticket, it can be sold for <em>quite</em> a bit of money." Venna winked.


    "Aww, that''s sweet. Is there a time limit?" Yasaka asked on her behalf.


    "Nope, it''s good forever. Don''t feel pressured to use it now, or even in the next few years. Of course you don''t have to use it at all either. And plenty of Devils don''t get familiars until they''re much older." Venna smiled. "But open your big box, I think you''ll like it."


    Kunou ripped off the wrapping paper quickly and her eyes <em>sparkled</em>, pulling out what was inside. "Look Daddy!" She giggled.


    I found myself mirroring Yasaka''s actions from before and my hand was already covering my face. Everyone was now looking at it then at me.


    It was an action figure, <em>of me</em>.


    Venna held a hand up in front of her mouth, hiding a giggle. "I did tell you that people were making merchandise off your image."


    "It''s one thing seeing it in person opposed to hearing about it."


    "Hmm, there seems to be a mistake, this caricature of you is far too handsome, my student." Sc¨¢thach noted, causing several others tough at my expense.


    "Thank you so much, Auntie Grandma." Kunou hugged her.


    "You''re very wee, dear." Venna epted it with glee.


    "Is it safe to assume there are <em>more</em> of him?" Rin asked, looking at Venna.


    "Oh, <em>plenty</em>."


    "You don''t say?" Rin''s lips curled up shooting me a grin.


    God dammit.


    "Alright Birthday girl, let me and Saber go up next." Rin took over. "We atleast got you something <em>normal</em>. I heard the ce you''re going to has an¡­.interesting take on fashion, so I made sure Saber and I stocked you up on <em>proper</em> and cute clothes tost you."


    Artoria smiled. "Along with other necessities. As someone who lived in thends you''re seeking schooling, we made sure you were prepared for the weather."


    There were plenty of outfits that appeared at their behest, shoes, essories, and other things. Basically, everything Kunou would need to be settled in that department.


    She quickly started sorting through things. "Oh, these shoes are so cute! Momma look at this jacket!"


    "We can look through it allter, my sweet girl." Yasaka chuckled, rubbing her cheek. "Thank your Aunties."


    "Thank you, Auntie Rin and Artoria." Kunou grabbed them both at the same time for a hug.


    I think Yasaka and I both were happy they got her something¡­.normal because our little group was <em>far</em> from that definition.


    "Um¡­.I made something too." Jeanne awkwardly spoke up. "My Momma used to make my siblings and I these throughout the years and she taught me too when I was younger." She held up a white scarf, very clearly made by hand, but it had a certain warmness to it. "Ennd can be chilly like they said."


    Kunou, like a missile, was already wrapped around Jeanne in a big hug. "I love it, thank you Auntie Jeanne."


    Kids are more perceptive than a lot of adults like to give them credit for. Being able to see that Jeanne was nervous, well, she handled it perfectly.


    Jeanne mored up quickly but still had a big smile on her face.


    "It''s perfect for what we got her." Gramps went next with Lucretia at his side. "It''s been a long time since I stepped foot where you''re going, but Lucretia here was able to pick out something nifty and we spent a bit of time¡­..<em>modifying</em> it. And Miss Jeanne''s gift will be perfect to utilize together."


    "Happy birthday, dear." Lucretia smiled, holding up an very long shaped box wrapped up. Kunou tore into it rather quickly. "As a Witch, well, I couldn''t pass up the opportunity to make sure you had a <em>proper</em> broomstick." She giggled.


    Kunou helped up the broom, one of the things I remembered from the world she was going to be staying in.


    They used brooms to fly, for some reason.


    Kunou knew this of course which was why she was grinning from ear to ear.


    Gramps smiled. "I made sure to add safety features, but it is¡­..of higher performance than what you can find over there at the moment."


    Yasaka sighed. "What do you say, Kunou?"


    "Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!" Kunou gave each of them a big hug.


    Kuzuki, however, cleared his throat. "It''s against the rules for first year students to possess their own brooms."


    "Ah?" Kunou''s ears deted.


    "Is that so?" Gramps frowned as well.


    "¡­..however, there is no such rule about a Teacher holding onto it for the first year." He said without any expression.


    "Kyah, hubby~" Medea squealed towards her fianc¨¦.


    Gramps is right, it''s going to be damn cold the higher she flies up, so Jeanne''s scarf would be beneficial.


    I snuck around and when no one else was looking our way, I made sure to kiss Jeanne''s forward.


    The Saintess made a cute noise of embarrassment.


    The stern Japanese Teacher pushed up his sses and revealed arge box without much opulence. "I have taken the liberty of searching for the optimal school supplies that do not go against the rules but will create a smoother learning environment."


    Kunou just tilted her head.


    "He made sure to find you the best things to make schoolwork easier that are not banned by the school." I rified for her.


    Kuzuki merely nodded expressionlessly.


    "Me too!" Medea quickly shot forward. "It took me awhile to make this ¨C"


    I cleared my throat.


    "And your <em>Dad</em> helped." She rolled her eyes. "Partly, somewhat. Anyways, here you go." It was a small box that she handed over to Kunou.


    Kunou opened it, and the room became <em>brighter</em> as a soft song permeated the air.


    It was a bracelet created from the Feather that Fawkes gave me.


    "It''s so pretty." Kunou stared, almost mesmerized.


    "It''s a work of art, if I do say so myself." Medea puffed up proudly. "Not only does it have a space inside like what the brat does, but it also has an innate healing effect, dispels evils, protects against mind altering effects, and helps with tiredness!"


    It was honestly beautiful beyond words, Medea certainly outdid herself. And I made sure to iterate about the easability of <em>love potions</em> and the like over there, so this should sort that out.


    Kunou was quick to throw her arms around Medea for a big hug.


    "She didn''t let me help with it." Jinn pouted.


    "That is certainly an impressive Mystic Code you crafted." Even Gramps acknowledged the quality of the creation.


    "I am thankful this was a gift for her, it makes my own more¡­.manageable." Izzy whispered.


    "I feel simr." Meridia looked at Izzy and they seemed to share a secret between them. "Amusing that we procured¡­<em>simr</em> gifts. I shall go first. Come child, the son of Akatosh and I worked together to gather this for you."


    "Ah¡­.Lady Meridia speaks true, it is a amusing tale. We both were unsure of what to provide as a proper gift for a young woman such as yourself." Thorum cleared his throat. "It is difficult to take out as there is not enough room inside here¡­"


    "You two both worked together?" I looked at Thorum and Meridia. Meridia, well, I was surprised there. While she didn''t show disdain towards Thorum, there was a clear distance between them even when speaking to each other.


    Thorum smiled awkwardly. "My n was to obtain a sample of all the sweets of Skyrim!" Heughed. "My ns changed and with Lady Meridia''s help, we were able to obtain arge supply of sweets and confections from¡­<em>everywhere</em>."


    I can picture how that went. Meridia probably open up a path for him to quickly travel to every part of Nirn, simply to get snacks for Kunou¡­.


    I can''t say that''s a bad present at all.


    "We will deposit them into your Braceletter." Meridia nodded, seemingly pleased with herself by the way Kunou was reacting.


    Kunou of course was absolutely ecstatic at the concept.


    "I did something simr, though thankfully different enough that there is norge ovep." Izzy spoke. "The culture in Ennd is vastly different than here, and since it''s your first time away¡­..one of the primary causes of home sickness is the food. Thus, I made sure to prepare you a few hundred meals of your favorites to take with you. Your mother also helped with some of the cooking." Izzy smiled.


    That was¡­..extraordinarily sweet and thoughtful.


    ¡­..and how long did the ''few hundred'' meals take to cook?


    Despite the effort and time, I think it was all worth it in her eyes when Kunou gave her a warm hug.


    "Hey, don''t forget about me." Mordred was there besides Artoria as Kunou released Izzy. She pulled out a pair of sunsses not dissimr to what her Master wears and put them on Kunou''s face. "Looking good, squirt."


    They looked simr, but more¡­feminine,pared to Kairi''s sunsses. And If I recall, they could do things like thermal imaging, detect Magical Energy, night vision, that sort of thing.


    Right, she''s going to get into all sorts of trouble with those, isn''t she?


    "Us next, us next!" Jinn pped her hands. "It seems like a lot of us paired off together, Me and Salem did something too!"


    Salem was quiet, as per normal. Even when we got together, she wasn''t one for drawing attention to herself. However, she had a faint smile on her lips despite everyone turning to her.


    Jinn reached down <em>into</em> Salem''s shadow and pulled out a Grimm. I wasn''t surprised that she had Grimm in her Shadow, she started doing that awhile ago. What I was surprised about was Jinn held a rather small <em>Ursa</em> in her arms and it didn''t show the faintest signs of aggression.


    Actually¡­.looking at it, it was much different too. Hell, I may even call it cute as it was right now. It didn''t have bone spikes, the blood lust, nor the aggressive look about it.


    It looked around almost curiously, its bone mask was¡­.not as scary and kind of adorable.


    Salem ran a hand down its back. "It took significant effort to remove the¡­..hostile nature of this one. Without Jinn''s assistance, it would have been unlikely to seed without destroying it in the process due to their nature."


    "Yup yup! You wouldn''t believe how annoying it was to remove the aggressive in it. Now, it''ll listen to orders, and it won''t attack without prompt." Jinn added as the thing waived its pudgy little limbs in her arms. "But that''s not to say it''s weak." She let it go and it ran up to Kunou as if recognizing her as its <em>master</em>.


    Before anyone else could raise a word of eitherint or gratitude, Kunou was already hugging it squealing with joy. "Momma, look it''s so cute!"


    ¡­.if there was nothing negative about it, I wasn''t going to say <em>no</em>.


    "And it''s not a living being, so it <em>technically</em> isn''t against the rules for her to have it at school." Jinn quickly spoke, having apparently read the rulebook I brought back with me. "Also, watch this." Jinn snapped her fingers, and the tiny Ursa broke free from Kunou''s arms and delved into the little Fox''s shadow, hiding inside. "Why it''s a nice ''pet'' it''s meant to protect her. An autonomous construct that cane to her protection if needed."


    Yasaka seemed to relent due to the flurry of emotions that shed across her face. "What do you think, Kunou?"


    "I love it!" She squealed again as the Ursa popped back out.


    ¡­.it was kinda dopey.


    I''m assuming Jinn and Salem went through a lot of effort to make it less threatening in appearance just as well.


    "¡­.it will also get bigger." Salem looked away.


    "¡­what was that?" Yasaka raised an eyebrow.


    "Nothing!" Jinn whistled innocently.


    Regardless, it was clear they put a substantial amount of work into the ''present'' to make it presentable and useful, so we were all grateful.


    There was a plethora of other presents stacked up, things sent from outside the immediate family, from ns and close associates of Yasaka as it''s a form of etiquette, but frankly, Kunou didn''t seem too interested in those.


    "What about my present from mom and dad!?" Kunou looked at us both.


    Yasaka and I looked at each other and smiled, moving closer to our little fox.


    "Our present is a little¡­special, sweetie" Yasaka held her from behind while I wrapped her up from the front. "Rx and don''t fight against what''sing."


    "Your mother and I are going to release your Aura." Well, it was mostly me, but Yasaka''s Aura was going to be present as a more symbolic gesture. We talked about it and decided that she was old enough to be trusted with the ''power'' so to speak.


    It was an intimate experience, not so much that you had to do it privately, but we were literally bearing our souls to each other.


    I guided my Aura into Kunou and Yasaka did as well, I sort oftched onto hers and allowed it to swirl around mine as I reached for Kunou''s soul. "For it is through Freedom that we Achieve Immortality. Through this we be a Paragon of Liberation and Choice, to rise above Fate. Infinite in Possibilities and Unbound by Death, I release your Soul and by my hand, free thee."


    Kunou''s aura burst out a golden hue like Yasaka''s but a faint red shimmer on the edges.


    However, Kunou erupted in tears,plete sobbing as she grabbed hold of my shirt and buried her head into my chest.


    The bearing of souls to one another opens each up to their truest emotions, it was intense and vivid as the people involved felt it on a level that was hard to describe.


    While releasing her Soul, she could in turn feel both myself and Yasaka.


    And she knew she was loved.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 540: Interlude 38

    Chapter 540: Interlude 38


    Olga Marie Animusphere POV


    "Mash, immediately make contact with Chaldea." As soon as we appeared, I started giving out orders. "Hinako, do you sense any enemies nearby? Samuel, prepare defensive spells and obscure our presence."


    Small sprouts bloomed underneath us as flowers unfurled and vines arched outwards, a bounded field created from natural means separated us from the world.


    "I did my best to hide us, Director!" Samuel saluted.


    He hade a long way, I was honestly impressed. Druidism is basically a lost art, yet he took to it with unnatural talent. Or maybe it''s the fact that his teacher is a Demi-god, who knows.


    "I can''t sense the blood of any humans nearby, only animals." Hinako replied.


    "Connecting with Chaldea, connection established!" Mash dered as the magical screen appeared with Roman''s face.


    "Director, everything good on your end!?" Roman''s voice came on quickly enough."Rayshift sessful, Roman. Begin step two, run setup protocols so we can bring over the Servants." I told him.


    It was our first time doing this with a Grail acting as our energy source, we had to take all the precautions, so things didn''t metaphorically, and perhaps, literally blow up in our faces.


    "Alright! Mash, keep your shield anchored and don''t move it, this should only take a few minutes." Roman stated.


    "That might be a problem, we gotpany." Hinako replied and on the horizon, we could see dust clouds being kicked up as hundreds of mounted people charged our way on horses.


    Reinforcing my eyes, I could vaguely tell that they were armored and wielding weapons. They were moving¡­..unnaturally fast.


    <em>Wait</em>, were those guns they had!?


    The Bullets flying by our heads answered that question!


    "Are those guns!" Ritsuka squawked.


    Very quickly a thick foliage of roots sprang upbetween us, the thud of <em>bullets</em> hitting the makeshift wall was still very clear.


    "Sounds like .44-40." Samuel noted as another bullet thumped against the wooden barrier. "Wait, that was a 45"


    "¡­.Americans¡­" I sighed. "Less focus on their guns and more on the fact that we''re getting shot at!"


    "I thought this was supposed to be ancient Rome!?" Ritsuka shouted over the gunfire.


    "It is!" That''s what our readings showed!


    "Do you want me to take them out? If it''s just normal guns, I can handle that." Hinako volunteered.


    "Allow me, mademoiselle." Pierre spoke in his thick French ent.


    "Wait, what?" I looked at him as he reached into hisrge jack and pulled out¡­<em> "Is that Dynamite!?</em>"


    He looked at me, then at the Dynamite in question and lit them with a lighter he flicked open. It burned away a few moments, the wick of it getting smaller and smaller as the bullets thumped against the barricade. "No."


    He finally confirmed and tossed them over with <em>supernatural</em> force, a basic application of Reinforcement.The explosion was strong enough that we could hear nothing over the winds it kicked up, and even the ground beneath our feet trembled.


    "It''s Magic Dynamite." He replied.


    I just stared at him with my mouth open.


    I knew he was making things with Caster, and that he brought supplies with him and said they were ''explosives'', but not like <em>that</em>.


    The bullets stopped at least, even if my ears were ringing!


    The Elemental was the first to peek around the girl and she assured us that the coast was clear, even if the scene was <em>bloody</em>.


    "Next time, a little warning!" I huffed. "And how many of those things do you have?"


    "A few."


    "How many is a <em>few</em>."


    He pulled open his coat and I could see <em>more than a few</em> strapped to his body in every conceivable spot.


    ¡­..I suppose the situation calls for certain applications of destructive force.


    "Director, did something happen? You cut out for a few moments." Roman''s voice came back up.


    I blinked, forgetting about Roman in the chaos. "What do you mean? Mash did you move your shield?"


    "No, Director, the image just became¡­.distorted and then it cut out." The girls hook her head.


    "Director, I''m cutting in here. I detected a strange frequency that interfered with our signal." Da Vinci pushed her face past Roman. "It''s Magical in nature, and rather weak, so it should be nearby."


    My immediate thought was the people trying to gun us down.


    "Hinako can you bring the¡­..stuff those people were using over here? Anything intact please." I scrunched my nose merely ncing over. It was a very bloody scene.


    "Sure, let me handle everything." She rolled her eyes.


    "What happened, Director!?"


    "Some calvary started shooting guns at us." I threw my hands up. "Roman, why were there guns In the <em>first century</em>?"


    "Uh¡­..is that a trick question?"


    I groaned, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Please double check our location."


    "I already did, Director. The year is 60 AD during the reign of the Roman Empire, and you shouldn''t be too far away from the capital." Da Vinci replied.


    "Thank you, Caster. How much longer until we can summon our Servants?"


    "Give me another three minutes, unless you want to skip over the procedures and do it right now."


    "No, it''s fine, we may as well finish." I waived it off.


    At Least this nonsense would only need to happen once.


    "Here you go." Hinako unceremoniously dropped a bunch of stuff right at my feet, covered in blood with some body parts still attached.


    "Ah, I figured as much." Samuel reached over and picked up a gun. "Colt, Single Action Army, .45, model 1873." He fiddled with the gun that had some scorch marks on it from the explosion. He inspected it in various ces. "This was made recently, but there''s no serial number. Not filed off or nothin, just doesn''t have one."


    "¡­how can you tell?" I was oddly impressed.


    "My Uncle owned a Gun shop, I worked with a lot of guns when I was younger, he''d take me out shootin some of the old stuff and I always liked the Colt series. The patina here should be more worn down." He pointed to the cylinder. "And the grip has almost no wear like it should from sweaty hands and such."


    "Interesting, so that suggests there is someone capable of mass producing guns. Based on what I''m seeing, that''s Roman armor, and I see no officer decals, which implies these are normal scouts or calvary. So by that logic, if they had these kinds of weapons, that means they''re widespread. " Da Vinci analyzed.


    "Can''t tell much about the rifle unfortunately." Samuel dropped the remainder of the bigger gun onto the ground. "But should be about the same from the looks of it."


    "I think we can assume the reason for this singrity then." Ritsuka chuckled awkwardly.


    "Here ya go, Ritsuka." Samuel stuffed one of the pistols into his hand along with what looked like a leather strap filled with ammo. "Simple rules, don''t point it at nothin you don''t want dead, and also assume it''s loaded. If they got guns, it''s best to carry some ourselves, I reckon."


    I found no reason to disagree.


    I may be a Magus, but I could understand the practical applications of firearms. Why shoot a Gandr at someone if I can just pull the trigger of a gun?


    Unfortunately, only a few were operable by the looks of it.


    "Thanks." The Japanese boy awkwardly fumbled with it.


    "The aim is piss beyond 20 yards or so, so be careful." Samuel nodded.


    For the first time in my life, I''m grateful for having an American with gun fanatics in his family tree.


    "Hinako, did you find anything that could have disrupted the signal?" I looked at the non-human of our team.


    She shrugged. "Was probably destroyed in the explosion."


    I rubbed the bridge of my nose.


    I wanted to give Pierre a verbal reprimand, but in hindsight, I can''t find fault with what he did. It''s better to be more cautious since we just entered this singrity, who knows if there would be something that could have made Hinako <em>inoperable</em> if she tried to just run out in the hail of bullets?


    Looking up to the sky, I could see the ring that wrapped around the. It was the same ring we saw back in Orleans and we had a better idea of what was going on now.


    "Director, we''re ready for summons!" Mash informed me as I snapped out of my thoughts.


    "Each of you choose a Servant, we''ll start with one each and collect data on how our systems handle the strain for now."


    Though I was sure that Fujimaru could have had more rather easily. I wasn''t a Master, and despite being the Director, this fell under their purview to choose whom to bring.


    "I''ll take Saber." Ritsuka stated.


    She was probably the strongest individual Servant we had considering her Noble Phantasm.


    "Tamamo for me. Mighte in handy since she''s better at illusions and such than Cu." Samuel spoke next


    That was sound logic.


    "Avenger." Hinako grunted.


    "Caster for me as well." Pierre answeredst.


    I was¡­..finding myself proud of them. It was thebination of Servants I would have chosen as well. Perhaps the Casters under Samuel would depend on my mood, but his reasoning was sound. Medea could take to the skies, Saber as our frontline, Tamamo as our support, and Avenger could fill in where needed.


    "You heard them, Roman. Begin the Servant Rayshifting!" Imanded.


    "Rayshiftingmencing, bringing forth your Servants."


    They appeared quickly without much fanfare, our systems were running much more optimally than our time in Orleans.


    "Can finally stretch my legs." Avenger stretched her arms. "Alright, who do I gotta burn?" She sniffed. "Hmm, someone already beat me to it."


    "Hoh, my cute little <em>student</em>, did you get to try your toys out already?'' Medea chuckled, looking over the corpses with something resembling¡­.pride?


    Pierre shot her a thumbs up, making the witchugh even more.


    "Husband~" The Fox wrapped around Samuel rather quickly. "Don''t worry your foxy waifu is here to keep you safe."


    Saber looked around and her eyes spotted the corpses and then the armor. "Ah, Romans." She looked¡­nostalgic. "It has been a long time since I have in Romans." Was she¡­.smiling?


    ¡­.this is the group that was going to save the world.


    "Let''s get going, the capital should be to the west, we need to figure out what''s going on."


    At the very least, I felt like I could trust my back to them.


    [***]


    "So uh, I''m not a history specialist, but this doesn''t look right." Ritsuka was squatting down inspecting a brasswork of pipes.


    "That''s because it''s <em>not</em>." My lips thinned.


    "Yeah, I remember when plumbing like this was created." Hinako inspected it just as well. "You got a few more centuries before this bes a norm."


    The city was¡­.barely in distance, even with enhanced eyesight, it was a vague blurr, but it was obvious we were getting close.


    Not to mention we were seeing people as well. And it was normal things, carts being pulled by a horse or other beast of burden. Farmers pulling their harvests down the road to store or sell, and the random traveler who didn''t pay us any mind thanks to Caster''s illusions.


    "Excuse me, Saber Ma''am, could you please cut off the end of the pipe about¡­." Samuel held his hands apart. "This big, please?"


    Saber looked at him, same as us. And contrary to her usual demeanor, it seems like she was receptive to the polite request.


    Wordlessly, she swung her de cutting off the ends of one of therge pips and tossed it to the American.


    "Oof." He caught it, his knees nearly giving out. "Thank ya, ma''am." He replied.


    She just grunted.


    Was it actual receptiveness to him or was it a promise she made to a certain <em>someone</em>.


    "Yup, not seeing any hammer strikes." He huffed, tossing it to the dirt.


    "And you needed a piece of that to rify because¡­?" I looked at him.


    "Got a thought, but I don''t know if it sounds silly or not, Director."


    "We''re currently in 60AD with Roman soldiers wielding guns like it''s a bad western movie, I think we''re far past <em>silly</em>." I said dryly.


    "Well¡­." He scratched his head. "When boss was teaching us about Servants ¨C Heroic Spirits, he said that Modern Servants were near impossible toe about. But uh¡­." He took out the gun from earlier in his hands. "Why does this have a name to it, Ma''am?"


    I raised an eyebrow, realizing what his train of thought was. "You think there''s a Heroic Spirit ¨C the original creator of that?"


    It wasn''t¡­.the most absurd idea.


    "Boss told us that Mages disdain firearms, but the <em>Colt</em> is probably one of the most well known brands to ever exist. There''s a saying from back in the day ¨C <em>God made man, but Samuel Colt made them equal</em>."


    "And the pipe?"


    "Well, correct me if I''m wrong, but not all Heroic Spirits fitfortably into one of them sses, right? Like if there <em>was</em> a gunman, they''d be an Archer, as an example."


    "That''s a correction assumption." The logic was sound.


    "If a Gun Maker was given a ss, wouldn''t it be <em>Caster</em> that came with a workshop and all that? To make guns, you need a lot of special equipment that could be refitted to make <em>other</em> things."


    "My hubby is so smart~" The Caster Servant threw herself at him much to his chagrin.


    I ignored that and considered what he said.


    It was <em>usible</em>.


    "Boyo has a point. My Territory Creation also has some rather unique characteristics. I could imagine a modern Servant getting that kind of thing." Medea seemed to agree.


    Once more, I was thankful that I had an American on our team.


    Truthfully, I was so focused on ancient heroes that I probably would not have made the jumps he did until it was smack in my face. Most likely with a gun and bulleting for my head.


    The idea of a Modern Servant being able to <em>industrialize</em> the Roman Military was a frightening concept when I was still a squishy human. Though I did have my <em>Aura</em> courtesy of the literal Anti-Christ, but I have yet to have it properly tested against <em>firearms</em> of all things.


    Is it a quirk of a modern Servant? Theyck the Mystery, but they make up for it in the Modern conveniences and industrial fortitude?


    "We can work under this assumption, but be prepared for anything." As we saw in thest Singrity, things can happen that we can''t predict. "Let''s make our way to the city, Caster, please keep an illusion up on us."


    "Yeah yeah." The Caster servant dismissed me.


    I felt my eye twitch but ignored it. I wasn''t her <em>Master</em>, but I would remember this when it came time for her allocated <em>meals</em>.


    Hmph, better yet, I should ban her from the kitchen as she seems intent on <em>cooking</em> for Samuel.


    As we got closer, the walls of the capital became more predominant. Of course, the <em>outliers</em> were very noticeable.


    I wouldn''t quite call them modern, but early 1800s technology was a far cry from what was possible in the <em>first</em> century.


    Especially when the guards and soldiers had holsters and guns at their sides along with their shields and spears!


    Though what made us all stop in our tracks was something much more <em>significant</em> that stood out.


    There was arge white ''screen'' that hung down from the wall, and on it was the flickering of light as images shed across it.


    ck and white imagesing from a <em>projector</em>.


    A woman appeared on the screen looking <em>very</em> simr to our Saber.


    The words <em>''Nero udius Augustus Germanicus ¨C When Stars Align'' </em>inrge letters with directions to the nearest <em>theater.</em>


    "H-how indecent!" Our Saber made a really <em>strange</em> noise in contrast to her usual demeanor, and ncing her way there was a slight flush on her cheeks.


    She was staring at the <em>movie promotion</em>, as the presumed <em>Emperor Nero</em> was on ''screen'', a near reflection of our Saber except she wore a dress with a visible front so you could see all the way up her legs and her undergarments. Her chest was much more predominantly disyed just as well, and when the ''images'' of the <em>Emperor</em> spun around there was a <em>Butt Window</em> on her dress¡­..


    Right, I think we found the source of the singrity, because the ''Emperor'' was holding a certain <em>Chalice</em> in her hand so tantly.


    "Pfft!" The Avenger covered her mouth barely containing herughter. "I was going to ask if you knew her but considering that she actually has something on her chest, I''d say you''re not rted. Be careful, the idiot might trade up for the <em>superior</em> model."


    "CARE TO REPEAT THAT?!" Saber roared, swinging her sword down with reckless abandonment.


    The illusion around us shattered as the st collided with the wall.


    And suddenly hundreds of Soldiers swarmed out of the gate, pointing guns at us.


    Right¡­..these are the people that were going to save the world.


    [***]


    Non-Canon Omake: The Foolish Genius Part 2


    The reactions were mixed between the crew of the Astral Express. I''m not surprised, I think if anyone who interacted with Herta in any capacity had found out she was married, they would probably have simr reactions.


    Herta¡­.she is many things. Particrly, she isn''t good at navigating social niceties. She is very blunt and to the point. She was the kind of person who would tell you to immediatelye see her because she needed your help, and not borate or respond to any questions, basically ignoring youpletely until you came.


    And it wasn''t an act out of maliciousness or disdain. Simply, she ryed what she needed to and didn''t see the point in furthermunication.


    There were just things that didn''t make sense to her and she didn''t care to bother with them, which gave her a reputation for cold indifference. And it didn''t help that the <em>vast</em> majority of people interacted with her through her puppets, making it even more <em>detached</em> in feeling.


    She had hundreds of puppets, each one programmed to do specific tasks, but she could also bridge her consciousness to them if she wanted and control them more manually. It was partly intentional to help with her multitasking, but it was partly because of a situation that arose that didn''t allow her true body to operate properly.


    "¡­.when did?"


    "About a year ago." I answered.


    "Madam Herta is one of the most premiere researchers and, well¡­.geniuses in the universe, wouldn''t it have been public knowledge and a topic of conversation if she had gotten married?" Himeko asked.


    "It''splicated." I forced a smile because I''ve said this line how many times now?


    "Mr. Schweinorg, we''re going to need more than that if you want us to continue a friendly rtionship." Welt stated, pushing his sses up.


    "Yeah, tell us how you seduced Madam Herta!" Stelle demanded.


    "¡­not how I would have asked, but I''m honestly curious too." March pinched her.


    The one person who had been awfully silent, Dan Heng, leaned in looking interested too.


    I really wasn''t getting out of this, was I?


    "Do you know what Herta is most famous for among regr people?" I asked.


    "Well, she solved a lot of conjectures and put forth many more. The amount of scientific papers she wrote ¨C " Himeko went off.


    "Uh, didn''t she make that reverse aging Technology?" Stelle interjected.


    "Yeah. Herta, while being phenomenally intelligent, to the normal people they don''t care much about that kind of thing unless they see tangible results. So, the uproar caused by her reveal of <em>De-aging</em> technology was widespread."


    "It makes sense." Welt nodded. "The idea of biological immortality is an intriguing thought and something many people would do anything they could to get their hands on. However, now that you mentioned it, there has not been word about it since. It''s no secret that Madam Herta requires Asta to fund the majority of her research, but her addition was only recent in ordance with the advent of the Space Station. I find it strange that Madam Herta would not have utilized the technology for further funding."


    "There was a problem with it." Dan Heng crossed his arms, closing his eyes.


    "That''s right." They were rather quick on the uptake. "She couldn''t release it to the public or even private interests because there was an issue. She couldn''t stop her de-aging process."


    "That¡­." March''s eyes widened. "But that was years ago! Is she okay!?"


    "She''s fine now." I smiled.


    "That''s good then." March nodded happily.


    "I assume you were involved then?" Welt asked.


    "As I said, I worked as a retrieval specialist for a while. Basically, I used it as an excuse to travel to interesting and obscure ces using the Genius Society as a sort of badge to get around without much fuss."


    It wasn''t exactly umon for people to work for individuals from the Genius Society even if they weren''t the ''normal'' type of organization. Most of the Genius Society members were recluses or loners, but even they often needed outside assistance to acquire things. And being to sh a proverbial Badge that proved my association, it tended to open a lot of doors or let me move around as I pleased.


    "When it first happened, Herta was one of my biggest ''clients'' so to speak. She requested a lot of rare and hard to acquire things. I don''t mean to brag, but I am <em>very</em> good at what I do. And eventually, I was working with her rather closely."


    "Aww, it''s just like a fairytale!" March cooed. "You two worked so closely together, eventually you both fell in love and ¨C "


    I let out a snort and barely held backughter. "We hated each other for the longest time."


    "¡­.oh." March pouted.


    "There was a point where we were both doing things to intentionally piss the other off."


    "Forgive me, but the thought of Madam Herta¡­."


    "Getting into a pissing contest with someone?"


    "Quite." Welt nodded. "The thought goes against my own experiences interacting with her."


    "As I said, we worked a lot together for a long period of time. Eventually¡­..Well, I think she started to look forward to when I returned from my assignments. Very few people are willing to call out Herta on her bullshit. There was one assignment where the payment I demanded from her was that she had to start talking to me ''properly''. No hiding behind puppets or sending me a single text and expecting me to understand what she wanted, that kind of thing."


    "Huh, she does that a lot." Stelle scratched her cheek.


    Though it was always adorable when she would finally lose her temper and stomp her foot because I forced her to uphold basic niceties with me.


    ''How are you doing?''


    ''How was your trip?''


    ''Good morning.''


    Those simple things annoyed her so she forwent them almostpletely towards everyone.


    "What changed?" Himeko asked. "It sounds like you two got on together like fire and ice."


    "She needed a certain flower, it carried specific spores that she believed would bring a breakthrough, or at the very least, stall her de-aging process enough to keep searching for a solution."


    "That doesn''t sound too hard." March put her hands on her hips.


    "It was already an exceedingly rare nt on its native world, but the native world in question happened to be Sky Haven."


    Welt and Himeko both scrunched their faces while Stelle and March looked confused.


    "Sky Haven is a currently the source of a war between two other worlds. Both im it''s theirs and they have been fighting for roughly four Amber Eras so far." Dan Heng replied. "The fighting is intense enough that even the IPC and other organizations stay away from it. Both Empires vying for it are known to be aggressive and hostile to outsiders."


    "Dang, Herta must have been annoyed. So what did she n to do instead?" Stelle asked.


    "Don''t know because I went and got it anyways." I grinned.


    Welt raised an eyebrow. "That is <em>impressive</em>, Mr.Schweinorg."


    "As I said, I am <em>very</em> good at what I do."


    "And I take it this was the turning point?" Himeko stated.


    "I of course held it over her head, proverbially speaking. When she finally got over her own annoyance and asked me what I wanted for payment, well¡­..I told her she had toe out and have fun with me for a day."


    "You took her out on a date!" March giggled.


    "In hindsight¡­..I suppose it looks that way." I coughed. "Truthfully, I partially just wanted to poke at her more. But also, she was stressed and she hadn''t left herb in literal months with her main body at that point. There happened to be an amusement park on the her Main Body lives so¡­..I forced her to go there and y with me for the day. On a side note, next time you have the opportunity, ask her about the <em>Haunted house</em>, see how she reacts."


    Hearing Herta scream because she was spooked is a memory I really will cherish for my life.


    "I guess that was the catalyst for our rtionship¡­changing. We were no longer as snippy with one another. Well, that''s not entirely true, but it wasn''t really¡­..mean spirited anymore. Eventually, I helped her find a cure and all that. At that point, well, Herta was someone I was close to. And when the day came she no longer suffered under the stress of imminent death approaching, she asked me what I wanted as payment for my help. I rejected any form of payment for the end results. I was paid for my excursions, but at that point¡­.I didn''t feel right getting paid for helping someone I was close to."


    "A nk check like that is something not many would pass up." Welt stated.


    I forced a smile, looking down. With a sigh, I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "She demanded shepensate me. It was¡­.one of those things Herta had trouble acknowledging. Work = pay. Sess = reward. It was one of Herta''s quirks I didn''t notice, and I made a joke about how we were basically an old married couple, and that we may as well make it official at that point. She¡­..took it literally."


    "Oh no¡­." March whispered.


    I could even see Himeko cringe slightly at the insinuation.


    "She had the proper paperwork filed by the end of the day. She put all my information in without my knowledge because it wasn''t worth the hassle to ask me about it in her mind. I only learned what happened when Screwllum called to congratte us, but¡­.that wasn''t until a few weekster."


    In hindsight, I should have noticed something was¡­.different.


    It was small things that I didn''t ce much thought on. She would smile a bit more when I was around. When we ate our meals, she started sitting next to me rather than across from me. Not only that, but she started asking me questions about where I came from, my family, things of that nature. Of course it was very¡­.clerical, but she normally wouldn''t have cared unless it was important to something she was researching.


    "I mean, if it was a misunderstanding, I could understand she was mad and embarrassed, but is she really holding a grudge this long?" Stelle asked.


    "¡­She was happy." Himeko said softly in realization.


    "Yeah¡­." I sighed. "Screwllum said that he had never seen Herta express herself so overtly before when she informed him of our ''marriage''."


    "Oof." Stelle scrunched her face. "Yeah, that''ll do it. Never thought I''d hear about Herta getting her heart broken¡­."


    "It was a messy fight." I didn''t hide it, but I also didn''t expand on how bad it was. "She kicked me out and refused to ever speak to me again. Every attempt I made was rebuked."


    The few points of contact I had with Screwllum mentioned that she hadn''t stepped out of herb for months afterwards and even the direct use of her puppets was¡­..scarce outside of unavoidablemitments.


    "I can tell." Stelle looked at her phone. "Madam Herta is still blowing me up. I think I''ve gotten more messages from her in thest few minutes than the entire time I''ve known her. Ah, here she suggests that we kick you out of the Train while it''s still going. Personally, I like her suggestion that we tie you to the front of the train, she even said she would look the other way if we ''identally'' crashed into the space station."


    "¡­.oh wow, she''s angry." March blinked.


    "Assuming we believe you, Mr. Schweinorg. What are your ns?" Welt asked, getting right to it.


    "Well¡­.I originally intended to sneak in there without drawing attention to myself." I looked at Stelle.


    "Woops~" Stelle bashfully chuckled.


    "I suppose I''ll just have to make it up as I go along now." I sighed.


    "And what was your n after sessfully sneaking onto the Space Station? Frankly, it sounds odd that you just decided to not rectify the misunderstanding beforehand."


    I forced a smile because I could understand how he perceived it. "This is myst resort. I originally wanted to give her some space¡­.but she quickly disappeared. That is to say, she abandoned her oldb and took everything of value and I don''t know where she is. Those that do know, she forbid them from telling me. I''ve sought out some of her other Puppets that she uses in other ces¡­..but as soon as she noticed me, she made them self-destruct. I know for a fact that the puppets inside the Space Station don''t have that mechanism thanks to Screwllum, so here I am."


    Himeko crossed her arms. "Most people would take someone blowing themselves up as a hint to leave the person alone."


    "I know how it looks from the outside. Normally, I would absolutely take such an obvious hint, and I wouldn''t¡­.resort to something like this." God, I must sound like a creepy stalker to her.


    "But..?"


    "But¡­.I also have this feeling in my chest that I have to do this."


    "And what''s your n once you finally get to talk to her?"


    I set a small, unassuming box on the table infront of us.


    "Alright, we''re in! Operation to get Herta married is a go!" Stelle posed, putting her hands on her hips.


    "Ignore her." March sighed.


    "As much as I would like to assist, it seems unwise to intervene in¡­.personal matters." Welt replied.


    "I don''t need you all to interfere, I just would like that you don''t¡­.well <em>interfere</em> negatively." I chuckled a little. "I can promise that I won''t cause any real problems."


    Himeko and Welt shared a look before Himeko opened her mouth. "If it''s just a ride to the Space Station, I suppose that''s eptable. And she is aware you''re traveling with us, whatever happens afterwards, we can say we had no hand in."


    "I do appreciate it." I smiled. "I will owe you all a debt after this, regardless of what happens, if you ever need anything, you can call upon me."


    "I am merely happy that this was settled without resorting to violence, Mr. Schweinorg. As a fellow man from Earth, I would be saddened if something went wrong. Our arrival is imminent, and It is obvious you have much more pressing matters to attend to, so I hope we can have a proper conversation another time."


    "I would be delighted to reminisce about our home." I assured him.


    The Train ride, while not very long, felt like an eternity, that was until the Space Station came into view, and then it felt¡­.far too short.


    [***]


    "You got courage at least, standing right at the front when Madam Herta is this pissed." Stelle pat my shoulder as the train came to a stop and I stood at the door.


    "That''s one word for it I suppose."


    "What would you call it?"


    "Stupidity." I said tantly.


    Stelle snorted withughter. "I like you, I''ll make sure no one takes pictures when you pee yourself after getting tazed by the security."


    "Other than you, right?"


    She didn''t even hide it as she nodded. "Everyone should keep a record of memorable moments in their lives."


    ¡­.she''s oddly likable.


    "Like the pictures of you delving into trash cans?" There were a lot of those for some reason.


    "I''m not ashamed!" She threw out her chest with her hands on her hips again. "I will search every trash can for the treasure they hide within!"


    "What''s wrong with you!?" March covered her face.


    "No shame!"


    "No shame club!" I held my hand up.


    "Woo, no shame club!" She gave me a high-five.


    The Train jerked a little and the doors began to open, right away there were dozens of people waiting right infront of me.


    Herta was nowhere to be seen.


    "Asta, it''s been quite a while." I forced a smile, noticing the woman at the front. I had met her a few times when she was still coordinating with Herta in regards to setting up the Space Station.


    "I wish it was under better circumstances. But Madam Herta <em>requested</em> your immediate departure from the Space Station, and I''m aware that the Astral Express needs to resupply and refuel, so we will be putting you on the next ship out of here. In the meantime, you''re going to be confined to the cells. An here will make sure you''re taken care of, please don''t make a scene."


    "I looked up the information on the staff here before I came, you''re An, the head of the security then?"


    "Pleasee along, sir." He held out maic handcuffs with a couple dozen security guards all around him.


    I looked at Asta. "I promise not to hurt anyone on the space station." I smiled at her and without giving her a chance to respond, I used a burst of Shunpo to appear on the other side of the docking bay, quickly entering the main station.


    I didn''t know if there was going to be a lockdown or anything, and it''s not like I wanted to bulldoze my way through a literal space station, so I moved <em>very</em> quickly through the corridors, putting quite a bit of distance between myself and the security that were there to arrest me.


    In fact, I wouldn''t have stopped as I had the basicyout of the Space Station memorized, but I came to a screeching halt as I noticed one of Herta''s puppets standing at a monitor, messing with it for whatever reason.


    I was in its peripheral view, and ever so slightly, I could see a couple of twitches, the smallest indications of what happens when Herta''s true consciousness enters one of her puppets.


    However, she didn''t move, nor did she acknowledge my presence whatsoever, the ''puppet'' carried on with its assigned task.


    "Are you not going to say anything?" I finally spoke up.


    The puppet stilled for a moment. "There is nothing to say. Leave." The Puppet drooped like its strings were cut and it resumed activity with a mechanical precision.


    I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment then refocused on my direction. I moved towards the main deck of the space station where plenty of scientists and researchers were going about their work, not to mention the normal staff of the space station.


    No one seemed to pay me any heed, which I guess they didn''t want to cause a scene from before?


    I did hear that the space station got attacked by the Antimatter Legion, the followers of the Path of Destruction. Perhaps they didn''t want to cause panic after that major incident with something minor like me being here?


    But my eyesnded on another of Herta''s Puppets standing at the center of the flight deck and I could tell she noticed my approach even if she didn''t outwardly react.


    "Do you really hate me so much?" I asked, as I got within a few feet of her. "I missed you, Herta."


    The puppet drooped again without giving a reply.


    A couple people looked our way, apparently hearing the words I spoke, but I simply used another burst of Shunpo to move across the veryrge room towards my original target.


    I went to open the door and it wouldn''t budge as soon as I put my hand on it, the light indicating it was operable turned red.


    "¡­.Herta."


    I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Herta, please." I tried again, knowing she was listening or atleast watching.


    No response, I grabbed hold of the metal door and forced it open with the screeching of metal.


    It was her office, so to speak. Well, what she considered her office.


    Another Herta Puppet stood in the corner and it looked at me and I could tell immediately that Herta was watching through it.


    "The Simted Universe." I spoke, walking up to it and the machine she stood next to. "An attempt to simte the Aeons to better understand the god-like entities that roam the universe. I heard you managed toplete it, I never got to express my congrattions."


    The Herta Puppet remained motionless.


    "I spoke to Screwllum a time or two and I know a few things. How much emphasis you put on this. Every point of data is meticulously recorded. Especially when you have people enter the Simted Universe to perform tasks or move through certain scenarios. He told me that you have a simted puppet inside that after the end of every scenario, gathers the data from the participants."


    I went to the machine, standing on the proverbial switch. Of course it was moreplicated than that, but it wasn''t difficult to turn on as it was meant to be operable by¡­well, less than those of Herta''s intelligence.


    She had quite a few people that came and entered it to simte battles, experiments, or reenact historical moments to better gather data, her Consciousness always briefly pops over to go over any data retrieved that had importance.


    "I''ll make a situation where you have to talk to me." I gave her a warm smile.


    "Idiot." Her words barely reached me as I entered the simted universe.


    Though calling it a simted Universe wasn''t quite urate, as it wasn''t vast enough to contain a true universe. But regardless, it took the concepts of the World Simtion from Chaldea and went much further down the path.


    Regardless, I fell onto a barren earth.


    The sky was red, and there hung a cracked and shattered moon overhead with constetions I didn''t recognize.


    There was not a living thing on the beneath my feet as it was desert anywhere.


    A Herta puppet shimmered into existence not far from me.


    "Herta?" My face brightened.


    She crossed her arms and frowned. "Since you won''t leave me alone, then you can suffer through one of my experiments. I turned the senses filtration off. Every sense you experience is perfectly replicated, <em>including pain</em>. You''re wee to give up and run away." She had a little smirk on her face.


    "I''m just happy to see you and hear you talk to me again." I smiled.


    "Shut up!" She stomped her foot rather cutely, even if it was her puppet. She held her hand up, pointing her finger to the horizon. "If you don''t want to experience a pain worse than death, then go away and leave my space station!"


    Over the horizon they came. First it was the sound, then the thunderous steps.


    At first I thought they were mountains, but no.


    Insects that could <em>eat</em> the mountains I thought they were came slowly marching my way.


    Eight of them in total, each one so utterly massive that I''ve never seen a monster that matched them in sheer size.


    But the sound I heard wasn''ting from them.


    It was the specks that blotted out the starry sky. Millions upon millions of flying insects, they sort of looked like beetles, each one the rough size of a car.


    Lastly, flying above all of them, one member of the species in particr held an authority and aura above all of them.


    Even its color seemed to merge with the lights of the stars.


    "That''s an Emenator of Propagation." Herta informed me. "This scenario is not properly tested yet, it''s a recorded battle during the Swarm Disaster." She crossed her arms with a huff. "Just¡­.leave, otherwise you''re only going to get hurt."


    "If I leave, it will be a regret for the remainder of my life." I looked at her then nced back at the oing tide of monstrous insects.


    "They will devour you, quite literally. They will strip the flesh from your bones, and you will feel everything, every excruciating moment." Herta spoke, but there was a hint of¡­.warning rather than maliciousness.


    "Are you worried about me?" I shot her another smile. "How about we just sit down and talk properly? I have a lot of things I want to say."


    She scoffed, her virtual image fading away, even if her voice lingered. "I''ll consider it if youplete the scenario."


    Though, I think she meant that mockingly.


    Well¡­..if that''s what it takes.


    My Zanpakut¨­ fell into my hand as I looked at the millions of enemies that seemed to stretch on endlessly.


    <strong><em>"Bankai</em></strong><strong>."</strong>


    (A/N: Don''t expect it spoiled next part.)


    [***]


    A/N


    Was doing a time skip for until next chapter, thought it was a good spot to put in an interlude to show what Chaldea has been up to in the meantime. I won''t do these often cause I know they would wear out their wee rather quickly, but every now and then I post one just to show what''s going on in the background. Specifically, this singrity is really wonky because Lev wasn''t around to personally mess things up. Nero get her hands on the Grail, and things just went pear shaped from there.


    On a side note, the next two parts of Looking ss are up on p.a..t.r.e.o.n as are two parts of Kunou''s Hogwarts Adventure. Both of which have Partsing up released soon over for you guys.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 541:

    Chapter 541:


    After Kunou''s birthday, the days seemed to pass by quickly. It was rare that I wasn''t running around doing something, I mostly just stayed home making sure the time I spent together with Yasaka and Kunou was memorable before she went off to school.


    Yasaka was¡­..well, she put up a nice fa?ade infront of Kunou, but I caught her crying more than once in the interim. For the longest time, it was Yasaka and Kunou only, and now they were going to be separated.


    I couldn''t fault her for a small breakdown every now and then, but she held herself together rather well. To her credit as a wonderful parent, Kunou never noticed anything amiss and Yasaka never once even hinted at stopping Kunou from attending.


    But, the day finally arrived.


    Kunou was currently running around the house, doing herst minute ''packing''.


    That included trying to grab a lot of random things she thought she would need.


    We had to step in when she came up from the house storage holding a few <em>weapons</em>, trying to add them to the pile of stuff she wanted to bring.


    Admittedly, it was fun watching her go around in a rush trying to grab anything she could.


    I think the past week or so we''ve spent together did a lot to soothe the worry for both of them."I''m ready!" Kunou raised her hand up to the sky and shouted as loud as she could.


    "Are you marching off to battle?" Yasaka deadpanned because Kunou also summoned all of her <em>weapons</em>.


    That is to say, she was wearing the arm protectors from Raikou, the spear from Sc¨¢thach was in her hand, she had her magic sunsses on, and her aura was red up and even her twice critical was summoned. Among other random bits and ends she picked up.


    "Do you have your wand?" I asked.


    Kunou went still and her eyes widened as she frantically started searching, both physically and inside her storage bracelet.


    I still couldn''t help but admire the craftsmanship on that thing, Medea truly outdid herself there. Granted it was created from the feather of a literal Phoenix, a mythological beast that had some ims to divinity based on the origin and often fought with <em>Dragons</em> in legends, but still.


    "No! I can''t find it!" She dropped all her stuff.


    "Stop giving her a panic attack." Yasaka nudged me with a snort.


    I flipped my hand over, holding her wand. "You left it on the counter a couple hours ago." I held it out for her to take. "Remember not to lose it in the future, never let it leave your sight if you can help it. If it''s not in your hands, make sure it''s inside your bracelet." I gave her a little bit of advice.


    For a beginner Magus, Mystic Codes that assisted casting weren''t umon. In Rin''s instance, she has her Azoth Dagger and her Gems <em>always</em> within proverbial Reach, and that''s not considering Ruby.


    Especially where she''s going, Wands are treated as another limb for the Wizards and Witches there.


    I believe I heard the Ollivander mention that Wands were historically very personal. To the point where in the past, it wasn''t rare for spouses to not even let each other touch them.


    I could understand the sentiment, I get very protective of my treasures and only let those close to me touch them.


    Kunou started wildly swinging around her wand to show off her ''magic skills''. That is to say, she was casting <em>Lumos</em> on and off because that''s the only spell she learned so far. Well learned from this branch.


    She had a few random spells she picked up from school here but they don''t focus on real magical lessons here considering Youkai who use Magic are rather rare inparison.


    "Is it finally time?" Sc¨¢thach walked into the room, joined by Venna at her side. "Remember my lessons, little one."


    "Stab them in the heart!" Kunou jabbed her wand aggressively.


    Yasaka let out a sigh. "<em>As ast resort</em>." She rified. "Kunou, tell me the rules we discussed."


    "Uh¡­.no hurting other ssmates too bad?" She tilted her head.


    "¡­..and?"


    "No killing ssmates unless I have no other choice?" She added.


    "And we mean <em>no other choice</em>. We''re trusting you with a lot of dangerous things, Kunou. You''re growing up and you deserve to take on some responsibility, we only hope you realize what this means." Yasaka took a stern tone despite trusting her daughterpletely.


    Sc¨¢thach gave a warm smile. "She has a good heart, if someone ends up dead, it will be with a clear conscience. But remember, little one, taking a life is easy, living with the weight of such a decision is hard."


    Right, all of us here have so much blood on our hands that it''s easy to forget the first time we had to take a life. It was perhaps easiest for me considering my circumstances, I was disillusioned rather easily when I left home.


    I only hope that Kunou retains her innocence for as long as possible.


    "You specified ssmates, what about adults?" Venna asked.


    "Momma said that if an adult tries to kill me then I don''t have to hold back." Kunou replied.


    "And what else?" Yasaka coaxed her.


    "¡­..but go get Auntie Medea if I can run away."


    "Good girl." Yasaka''s tail swept out, grabbing Kunou, making the little girl giggle and whine simultaneously as she was pulled in for a big hug.


    "Dare I ask that you talked about things a girl her age should know as well?" Venna whispered.


    Yasaka''s expression darked. "We had that conversation. If something like <em>that</em> is in the cards, well, a dead body will be the least of that ces concerns."


    I think I did rather well to stop myself from letting my anger boil over at the thought of someone doing that to my daughter.


    "Oh, before I forget. A small dyed birthday present, it took me untilst night to finish it and I didn''t really think about it until afterwards." Venna''s eyes lit up. Without warning, she took out an older looking camera and quickly snapped a picture of all three of us together. Immediately, the Camera made some motorized noises and the pictures popped out of the bottom. "A picture before she leaves." Vennaughed, then took out a decorated book, opening it up to reveal all kinds of pictures and slid it into an empty slot. "I thought it might be nice to have pictures of everyone in case you''re home sick. Also, you can show off your home and family to any friends you make." She passed it over to Kunou.


    Kunou quickly opened it up, flipping through the pages that were filled with photos. It wasn''t just our rather extensive and dysfunctional family, it was views from all over Youkai Kyoto, various scenes with all different walks of life represented in our little corner of the world.


    "Thank you, Auntie Grandma." Kunou closed it and quickly dove into Venna for a hug. "I love it."


    "I can see why it took awhile to put together." Yasaka whispered. "You didn''t have to go through the trouble."


    "As long as she likes it, I don''t mind." Venna just smiled, epting the affection from our little fox.


    With all the fantastical elements of our lives, I honestly never considered something so simple as a photo album. Ironic considering one of the dates I took Raikou on was to make exactly that for us.


    "Why don''t you take the camera too, make sure to take lots of pictures so you can fill up the photo album and show your parents when youe back." She also gave it to Kunou without a second thought. "It''s magic, so it should work fine."


    She really is a wonderful ''auntie'' to Kunou.


    [Do you think the fact that she''s both the girl''s Aunt and Grandma means that she double dotes on the little dragon?] Ddraig asked.


    A question for the Sages.


    Funny enough, I think both Aristotle and Confucious are <em>alive</em> in some capacity in their respective Factions.


    Sc¨¢thach let out an uncharacteristic sigh. "I have nothing further to give you, little one. But if you require help or tutge, I will always be avable."


    I wonder how Cu would react knowing that our teacher was being so gentle. I knew for a fact that any ''teaching'' here would not involve the copious amounts of beatings that we had to endure.


    Unfortunately not everyone could be here, but everyone already said their goodbyesst night, this was just thest few moments before we headed over.


    Speaking of, I looked at my phone and realized our time hade.


    "If we want to cross over in the right time frame, we''re going to need to leave in the next few minutes." I spoke to the room.


    "Don''t let us hold you up." Venna was quick to answer.


    "Go along." Sc¨¢thach gave a little smirk to Kunou. "Go cause all the trouble you can while you''re still young."


    "Shall we?" I held my hands out to both Kunou and Yasaka.


    "I''m ready!"


    "Let''s go send our daughter off." Yasaka smiled warmly.


    I opened a portal and we walked through.


    [***]


    "Oooh?" Kunou looked around excitedly.


    "An actual Train Station, I''m surprised they set something like this up." Yasaka joined her as we walked out.


    "King''s Cross Station, a rather famous one in London, but they managed to section off a portion for their own school''s train." Otherwise we wouldn''t have just so tantly deposited ourselves here. "Well, we have a little bit of a walk to the part we need to go to."


    We were essentially in an empty waiting area.


    Rather quickly, people ¨C Wizards and Witches were popping in and out of space using that abhorrent method of teleportation.


    Some of them stared at us, mostly Kunou and Yasaka but not all of the looks were the negative ones.


    It''s a fact of life, they were exotic to the people here in Ennd, they were going to get stares.


    "Daddy, we need to find tform 9 and ?." Kunou held up her Hogwarts eptance letter.


    Of course there is no ''real'' tform 9 and ? there should be some kind of doorway there or something.


    "Is it okay for us to walk around like this?" Yasaka asked.


    "It''s fine, there is a subtle perception filter over this entire ce. Ratherrge, but not very powerful. If I had to guess, it just makes people ignore anything <em>out of the ordinary</em>." The size of it is a detriment to its power it seems. "As long as you don''t shout about your tails or ears, no one is going to pay it any head."


    Probably smart considering how many magical kidse through this ce when they want to hide themselves from mundane people. And from the peeks at the culture of the witches and wizards here, it''s probably needed since they would have trouble integrating into mundane norms easily.


    Kunou ignored all of that and pulled both of us along, counting the tform numbers until we came up to what appeared to be our destination.


    I could tell because there were spatial fluctuations. An illusion cast over an Archway that led to an adjacent space.


    However, it was <em>sealed</em> for some reason.


    And we weren''t the only ones trying to enter as there were a couple young boys fallen over with carts full of luggage. I would question their destination if it weren''t for the owl one of them was carrying in a cage.


    They seemed rather confused as they pushed against the spot that should be the entrance.


    "Excuse me, boys. This wouldn''t happen to be the entrance to tform 9 and ? would it?" I asked them, breaking them from their growing panic.


    A young orange haired boy, a proper ginger not like Ichigo. And another ck haired kid with an interesting scar on his forehead. For some reason, I vaguely recall something about a boy with a matching scar.


    Well, I''m sure it''s not important.


    "Blimey, they have tails." The Orange haired kid blurted out, seeing Yasaka and Kunou.


    "Ron!" The ck-haired one said under his breath. "I''m, erm, sorry sir. Yes this is the entrance to tform 9 and ? but¡­.huh, we can''t go in for some reason, it turned solid?"


    "Ah, thank you." I ignored the rude outburst, he was a young kid after all. And I walked up and put a hand on the brick archway. "Looks like someone sealed it up haphazardly. Let me give you a hand." I held out my index finger and pushed it into the brick. And like water, ripples pulsed out and I dragged my finger downwards, reopening the pathway. "There you are, it should be ready to go."


    "¡­wicked."


    I shot them a little grin and twisted my hand, making sure their carts were pulled upright and all their luggage was deposited back into their carts. Just a minor application of telekinesis.


    They looked Kunou''s age, or thereabouts, so I maybe wanted to show off a little for her potential ssmates.


    "Thank you, sir!" The ck haired kid said with a tone of genuineness.


    "Well, aren''t you a polite youngd." I paused taking another look at him and particr at his scar because I felt a <em>very</em> faint sensation from it. "I hope this isn''t rude of me, but your scar¡­..?"


    The ck haired kid seemed to slump and look nervous.


    "That''s right, he''s Harry Potter!" The Orange Haired kid said proudly, apparently on his behalf.


    I tilted my head and then I remembered. "Right, I heard there was a famous kid in this country." I nodded in understanding. Something about sttering a dark lord when he was an infant. Very impressive. "But, uh, that''s not what I meant. Your scar is cursed rather malevolently." At Least I think it was a curse, it''s rather old so it sort of merged with his normal ''aura'' so to speak. "You might want to get that checked out. You''re going to Hogwarts, right?"


    "Cursed?!" His eyes widened.


    "Wait, how do you know it''s Cursed? Dumbledore never said anything!" The Orange haired kid said rather bluntly.


    I simply shrugged, I have no idea what Dumbledore would be thinking. "Feel free to ask him about it. There''s even a new teacher there that could help you. Just mention that I sent you and she will sort you out." I said simply.


    Well, I could probably fix it as well, but if he was going to see Medea in the next few days, no need for me to waste the time here as it didn''t seem immediately life threatening.


    "Is that why it hurts sometimes¡­?" He put a hand to his scar and whispered.


    I stilled for a moment and my bleeding heart won over. I withdrew a Talisman and held it out. "Here, if it starts hurting, p that on it and it should help."


    He blinked, taking it with a hint of confusion and a mild thanks.


    Oh well, he probably doesn''t understand the intricacies of what''s going on.


    "Are you all done, dear?" Yasaka held Kunou''s hand as they finally joined, apparently giving me a moment.


    "Yup, just helping these two young men." I smiled, standing up straight, taking Kunou''s other hand. "Let''s go inside."


    The two young boys were still confused and standing there seemingly in their own stupor as we three went inside.


    Kunou shot them a look but didn''t say anything.


    It''s cute, she''s a little shy.


    "That was nice of you." Yasaka leaned over and kissed my cheek.


    "What can I say? I have a soft spot for kids." The area changed rather quickly. In fact, we were closer to the countryside now. And the Train was in full view.


    It was a nice looking train, the kind that puffed smoke.


    Made me remember that this world wasn''t even into the 21st century yet.


    "Ronald Weasley, I take my eyes off you for one minute and look at you! You nearly missed the train!And poor Harry, you nearly made him just aste!" A woman with a familiar shade of red hair ran up towards the entrance as the two boys entered a couple minutes after us.


    I just chuckled and didn''t pay it any mind.


    "Now they''re letting actual animals in." I heard a scoff as a man with blonde hair so light it looked nearly white walked by with a woman dressed nearly as elegantly as he was and a young boy that was nearly his mirror, if shorter hair.


    Ah, there''s the racism.


    Both the woman and young man also turned up their noses in disdain.


    Kunou''s ears ttened as she apparently was able to tell they were talking about both her and her mother.


    Yasaka had a smile on her face that never wavered, but she turned to look at me and I could understand the look despite her expression not changing.


    One of the purposes for Kunou going here was to learn to deal with some small hardships on her own. Racism thrown her way, while abhorrent was something she would have to experience unfortunately as many humans are not epting of non-humans.


    However, she wasn''t at school just yet.


    I slid my foot across the ground and cast a quick spell sequence to analyze the tiled flooring and then altered it ever so slightly.


    Right in front of the man''s foot, the tile rose up just enough that he tripped, pulling down both ¨C what I am assuming is his wife and child.


    There were quite a few families around and they all seemed to look the man''s way chuckling andughing at his expense.


    He seemed embarrassed enough to scowl and almost lose his temper under the attention of the ones gathered around.


    Asshole.


    "That was very impressive, I''ve never seen someone cast wandless magic with their feet before." I turned around to see a young girl looking up at me with a strange expression.


    I quirked an eyebrow. "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    Did she really notice? If so, that is rather impressive.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t tell." She just smiled happily. "Mr. Malfoy can be very vindictive if someone does something he doesn''t like. My daddy once wrote an article about him and he threatened to sue if we didn''t retract it."


    "A newspaper?" I hummed, processing this new information as I recognized the name from somewhere. "What did this article say?"


    "Oh, we were just revealing the truth that Mr.Malfoy is actually a woman and that Mrs. Malfoy was actually impregnated by Dragons, which is why they named their son Draco Malfoy and he''s really a Dragon, but his animagus form is a human."


    ¡­..well okay then.


    Those were certainly words said together.


    She seemed to lose interest in me rather suddenly. "Hello, I''m Luna Lovegood. I''m a first year student. My favorite color is purple and I think pineapple doesn''t belong on pizza. What about you?" She looked at Kunou.


    "Ah?" Kunou blinked. "Pineapple on pizza is icky." Kunou bleched once she regained her wits.


    "Wonderful, that means we can be friends." Luna just nodded.


    "Friends!?" Kunou''s ears twitched.


    "I had a fortune teller tell me that I was going to make a new friend today." She smiled. "They said that I just had to wait here."


    "And you think that''s me?" Kunou tilted her head.


    "Well, I don''t know honestly. It was actually just my dad in a wig reading fortune cookies, but I decided to try anyway. And I thought your tails were pretty so I wanted toe introduce myself."


    "You¡­.think my tails are pretty?" Kunou''s ears stood rather tall.


    "Very much, yes. I have this strange desire to grab them, but I think that would be quite rude." She just seemed to blurt out her thoughts without a filter.


    Kunou blushed ever so slightly. "I''m Kunou S-Schweinorg, I''m a first year too. And¡­.I would like it if we could be friends." She ended with a smile.


    "Okay, what do we do next? My daddy said that I''m supposed to ask people to be friends, but I''ve never made it this far before."


    "¡­.I don''t know either." Kunou said quietly.


    The Train whistled rather loudly, as if to quiet the area. <em>"All aboard!"</em> A loud voice echoed across the tform.


    "Oh, it looks like we should get on. Do you need help with your luggage?" Luna asked. "I hope it''s not invisible, that would be quite inconvenient."


    "No, um'' it''s already put away."


    "Okay then, shall we go?"


    Kunou looked back at me and Yasaka.


    Rather quickly and stepped up and gave us both a big hug.


    "Love you momma and daddy." She said softly.


    "Go, don''t bete." I rubbed her head as Yasaka was choking up.


    "Goodbye Mr. and Mrs. Kunou''s parents." Luna waved.


    She is¡­.quite the character.


    She looked back at us once more before boarding the train and disappeared into the crowd of students joining her in hopping on.


    Yasaka''s tail grabbed me tightly as we just stared at the train.


    The smokeing from it started puffing up even more and just as it started moving, a pair of fluffy ears appeared in one of the windows and Kunou waved at us with a big smile.


    Kunou was off on her own adventure, and who knows what she''s going to get up to.


    [***]


    A/N Next up, Kunou''s first adventure. Also, Fae War started in earnest over on the p.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    Sorry for the dy, I had to go to the urgent care yesterday for a medical issue, I''m on some medication that''s making me very drowsy so it was hard to finish up the chapter.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name

 Chapter 542: Canon Side Story: Kunous Adventures Part 1

    Chapter 542: Canon Side Story: Kunou''s Adventures Part 1


    Ginny Weasley POV


    "Do you have everything? Toothbrush, wand, fresh knickers ¨C "


    "Mum!" I squeaked.


    "I''m just asking." She sniffed. "Your brother forgot to bring clean underwear with him, and I had to owl him some."


    "Mum, please!" Ron even groaned as Harry chuckled next to him.


    "Alright, fine." Mum finally relented. "I''m just sad to see my baby girl leave!" She pouted.


    "I''ll be fine Mum." I wasn''t a baby!


    She was embarrassing me in front of Harry!


    "Since your older brothers snuck off, I''m counting on you to get Ginny situated, Ron." Mum looked at him and he just huffed and rolled his eyes. "And if I hear some ridiculous story about you wandering away and getting lost, I''ll tan your hide if something happens to Ginny.""Mum, I wasn''t lying! Even Harry said so." Ron whined.


    Mum pursed her lips looking at Harry but scowled when she looked at Ron. "Ron dear, people don''t have tails and ears. If something like what you saw happened, you were probably under some magic. Or Merlin forbid, the twins snuck some fire whiskey in your juice¡­.again."


    "Then howe we couldn''t get inside the tform!? And Harry as the thing the guy gave him!" He pointed at Harry.


    "It''s far from the first time you''ve ran headfirst into the wrong wall, Ron. And I already looked at that piece of paper, there''s nothing special about it." Mum deadpanned. "But enough of that, get going, the conductor gavest call. Help your sister find Luna so she can sit with a friend."


    Ugh, I didn''t want to sit with Luna, I wanted to sit with Harry. Or at least, find some¡­.normal people to sit with.


    Mum always made me y with Luna even when we were growing up!


    The train''s whistle blew again, and Mum started pushing us. "Hurry up, don''t bete or you''re staying home this year!"


    "We''re going Mum, sheesh!" Ron grumbled.


    "Have a good school year, Harry." Mum smiled.


    "Thank you, Ma''am." Harry smiled and waved back.


    "Come on Ginny, we''ll show you were the first-yearpartment is." Ron grumbled again as we walked to the train.


    "Well, well if it isn''t the youngest Weasley." Someone stepped in front of us. "I forgot about this one, but then again it''s hard to keep track of all the piglets in a litter."


    "Watch it Malfoy!" Ron shouted. "Don''t you have something better to do, like polishing your nails and adding more gel to your hair?"


    He scoffed. "As if you would understand proper grooming, Weasley. Do you even shower?" He covered his nose.


    "What do you want, Malfoy? Juste here to strut around like a peacock." Harry quickly defended. "I don''t see your two boyfriends with you anywhere."


    Malfoy scowled. "I just wanted to see the blood traitors and half-blood onest time." He added with a smirk.


    "What''s that supposed to mean, you slimy snake?" Ron huffed.


    "Of course you didn''t hear. It''s a privileged piece of information for the higher sort." He pulled on his cor, gloating. "You can pass the information onto the mudblood bucktooth friend of yours when you see her. A legendary Dark Witch is teaching at Hogwarts this year." Heughed, turning to walk away. "By the end of the year, there''s only going to be Purebloods as my father said."


    "¡­.what do you think he meant by that, Ron?" Harry asked in a whisper.


    "He''s probably just making up lies. Come on Harry, you know Dumbledore would never hire a dark witch or whatever." Ron shrugged. "Come on, Ginny, this is the first-yearpartment, let''s find Luna real quick."


    "It''s fine, I can find her." I didn''t want to embarrass me. But noticing Harry was looking at me, I pushed my hair behind my ear, giving him a smile.


    "Right, and then you''ll tell Mum and she''ll send a howler in the middle of dinner!" Ron grumbled. "There''s too manypartments." Ron took a deep breath. "Luna!" He shouted.


    "Ron!" I covered my face as almost all thepartments opened, and people peeked their heads out.


    "Ginny!" I heard Luna as I peeked through my fingers. "Over here Ginny!"


    "Come on Ginny." Run pulled my hand and I just groaned even more.


    Even Harry wasughing!


    "Hey Loon¡ª Luna, Mum said to drop Ginny off with you." Ron nearly shoved me inside herpartment, and he stopped for some reason. "It''s you!"


    "Hello." A voice I never heard answered back.


    I peeked over to see¡­.


    Were those tails and ears.


    "The girl with the tails and ears!"


    ¡­Ron don''t be mean.


    "Ron, stop shouting." Harry pushed him inside as I was already nearly shoved inside, and he closed the door behind us.


    At least someone hasmon sense!


    "It''s her, Harry!"


    "I can see that, Ron." Harry forced a smile. "Sorry he can be excitable."


    "Daddy said people would act weirdly." The girl shrugged.


    ¡­.what is she?


    "What are you?" Ron blurted out.


    Merlin, Ron, can''t you control what you say for a second?


    "Ronald Weasley, don''t be rude." Luna chastised. "I''m going to write your mother a letter if you can''t behave."


    Ron''s eye''s widened. "¡­I was just asking."


    "I''m a Youkai." She said simply.


    "A whatsit?"


    "A Youkai." She huffed. "Specifically, I''m a Kyuubi-no-kitsune, a Nine Tailed Fox."


    I had no idea what any of that meant.


    She then.....a big¡­.was that a sweet roll? It just suddenly appeared in her hand, and she nibbled on it before pulling half of it off and handing it to Luna.


    "Thank you, Kunou!" Luna said happily ignoring everyone in here staring at them both.


    "Friends share!" Kunou nodded as if she was reciting something she heard.


    "My dad said that too!" Luna smiled. "Ginny, aren''t you going to join us? And you must be Harry Potter." She looked at Harry. "I heard you once yed a dragon while you were still in diapers. My dad tried to get an interview with you, but Dumbledore disputed the truth of the books stating that ''An infant is in no way capable of ying a fire breathing dragon'', but when Daddy asked him how he defeated a Dark Lord that was said to have also killed dragons in the past, he couldn''t answer."


    "¡­.um, hello?" He answered.


    Yeah, that''s how you respond to Luna most of the time.


    "Hey, where did you get that?" Ron seemed to ignore everything and pointed at the snack in Kunou''s hands.


    Really, Ron?


    "Home." She answered and stuffed thest of it into her mouth, staring at him unblinking as she slowly chewed and swallowed it.


    Ron just stared at her with nearly the same look.


    She then took out a bottle of water from somewhere and drank it. "Do you want something to drink, Luna?"


    "Water would be lovely, Kunou."


    She took out another bottle of water and gave it to Luna.


    "How ¨C "


    "There you guys are, I''ve been looking everywhere. I feared the worse until I heard Ron''s shout from the next car over!" The door mmed open and Ron''s friend Hermione pushed inside. "I swear, you two always ¨C" She stopped and looked at the girl like everyone else. "¡­..hello?"


    "Hello." She answered back, taking out a napkin from somewhere again, and wiping her face before making it disappear.


    "How are you doing that?" Hermione looked at her with eyes narrowed.


    "Hmm?" Kunou tilted her head.


    "You''re just¡­.making things appear and disappear."


    "Magic."


    "That ¨C obviously, but how."


    "Magic."


    "That''s not an answer!"


    "Mione'',e on." Harry tried to calm her down. "This is a first year, uh¡­."


    "I''m Kunou." She said in monotone. "Kunou Schweinorg."


    Hermione tilted her head. "I think I''ve heard that name before."


    "She''s here from Japan." Luna spoke. "And I''m Luna Lovegood."


    Hermione opened her mouth but closed it again. "I''m Hermione Granger. What type of Magical creature are you? I thought they didn''t let Magical Creatures into Hogwarts? Is it a type of magic of your species that lets you make things appear and disappear?"


    "You''re very rude." Kunou frowned.


    "Ah¡­?" Hermione''s eyes widened. "I-I''m not rude, I was just asking some questions!" She huffed.


    "I thought I heard screeching; I would have thought the mudblood would be crying in the bathroom again."


    "Malfoy." Harry hissed.


    "Oh, don''t look at me like that, I was just passing by, it''s not like I wanted to be near the likes of you all for longer than I needed." He blinked and again, another person went quiet and looked at the strange girl. "It''s you again, they''re letting actual animals inside. Wait until I write to my father and tell him that I have to share a school with an animal. Are those even real?" He reached forward and tried to grab one of her tails.


    Though, very quickly, the strange girl''s hand shot out, grabbing his wrist and twisted. I barely saw what happened, only that Malfoy was up in the air, flipped upside down and mmed onto the ground outside the cabin.


    "Weak." She said sounding kinda bored.


    The strange girl, without any expression change, shut the door and locked it.


    "¡­..Merlin." Ron whispered.


    "Wicked." Harry grinned.


    "¡­.is he going to be alright?" I asked, quietly.


    The girl nodded. "I made sure not to break his wrist."


    "Y-you can''t just go around attack people like that¡­.?!" Hermione gaped.


    "Daddy said if someone tries to touch me inappropriately, I''m allowed to." She replied.


    "Well, it''s Malfoy¡­" She pursed her lips. "But how did you do that?"


    "With my hand." The girl said.


    "¡­.."


    "¡­.."


    "Do you want some Juice, Luna?" Kunou said, taking out¡­was that a gourd?


    "Oh, what kind of juice!?" Luna''s eyes sparkled.


    "How are you doing that!?" Hermione practically screamed.


    "Magic."


    The poor girl silently screamed this time.


    "Uh, why don''t we get going, Hermione." Harry awkwardly put himself between them. "Thispartment is for first years, let''s go find out own." The door opened, and thankfully Malfoy wasn''t there anymore.


    Hermione huffed, stomping her foot. "Fine!"


    "Yeah, Malfoy said something about a Dark Witch teaching this year!" Ron started wildly retelling how Malfoy stopped us when we first got on the train as they left thepartment.


    "Well, that was strange." Lunamented.


    "They''re weird." Kunou nodded.


    ¡­..I don''t think either of you should be calling other people weird.


    "Do you want some Juice?" Kunou offered.


    "Uh¡­..sure?" I hesitantly answered and before I could blink she took out a cup and was pouring¡­.oh it''s apple juice. "Thank you?"


    Kunou smiled. "You''re wee!"


    Luna also smiled. "Japanese people are very big on manners." She stated.


    Is that why she was being weird before?


    "Oh, um. I''m Ginny Weasley." I introduced myself.


    "I''m Kunou Schweinorg!" The girl was much more expressive than before. "Is it your first year too?"


    "Y-yes, this is my first year at Hogwarts."


    "Ginny and I lived next to each other." Luna stated. "All of her family have been in Gryffindor, what house do you think you''re going to be in, Kunou?"


    "How do they decide?" Kunou asked.


    "My brothers told me that they had to wrestle a troll." I said quietly. "But I don''t believe them."


    For some reason Kunou''s eyes lit up. "We get to fight trolls!?"


    "That''s strange, my daddy told me that we put a magic hat on our heads that reads our minds and tells us where we belong." Luna looked confused.


    "That seems silly." I pursed my lips.


    "Yeah, that''s silly." Kunouughed.


    "I should have known, my Dad was trying to trick me." Luna sighed. "I guess it makes more sense that we have to fight a troll to secure our spot in Hogwarts, it is the best school in the world. I''m not very confident in fighting a troll though."


    "You can use my spear." Kunou offered.


    "¡­.spear?" I looked at her weirdly until a red spear appeared in her hand and for some reason, I found it hard to breathe and the hairs on my neck stood up.


    "Oh, that''s a pretty shade of red!" Luna pped her hands. "But I''ve never held a spear before."


    ¡­.why do you have a spear?


    "Auntie Sc¨¢thach said that the spear is the best weapon or someone who doesn''t know how to use a weapon." Kunou nodded like she was proud of herself for rying that.


    "Hmm, do you think other students brought weapons if we''re going to fight a troll?" Luna asked.


    "If they didn''t, then they''re not very smart." Kunou shrugged.


    "I couldn''t disagree." Luna epted.


    What¡­.is wrong with these two?


    "Hey Ginny, what do you think your brother meant by a ''Dark Witch''?" Luna looked at me. "I heard that we have a handful of new teachers at Hogwarts this year."


    "Uh¡­Malfoy said that there''s a ''Legendary Dark Witch'' teaching this year?" I ryed. "I don''t know what that''s supposed to mean though. I think my parents would be more worried if something like that happens."


    "Oh, that''s Auntie Medea." Kunou answered. "Daddy helped her get a job teaching here."


    "Medea from the Argonaut?" Luna tilted her head.


    "Uh huh." Kunou nodded.


    "Oh, that''s neat." Luna said simply. "I didn''t know she was still alive."


    "Whats¡­.going on?" I looked between them.


    "You should really read more books, Ginny." Luna was chastising me for some reason. "Medea of Colchis is famous as being the wife of Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. In the stories, she sailed with a bunch of famous people like Hercules."


    "Auntie Medea doesn''t like people mentioning her ex-husband." Kunou responded.


    "How¡­do you even know something like that?"


    "I''ve read a lot of books trying to find references to Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. There are lot of Myths from muggles that reference magical things, so I thought maybe there would be a clue there." Luna sighed. "That''s how I know about Youkai too! I never did get to meet any when I went to Japan though."


    I don''t even know what''s going on anymore.


    "Huh, Ginny, you seem to have more Wrackspurts than normal."


    "What are Wrackspurts?" Kunou asked.


    "They''re these little invisible creatures that float into your ears and make your brain go fuzzy."


    "Yeah, she has a lot of wrackspurts." Kunou agreed.


    This was going to be a long train ride.


    "Do you want some snacks? I have a lot." She held her hands up and floating around her were all kinds of snacks and sweets, I''ve never seen before.


    Maybe it wouldn''t be so bad.


    [***]


    "First years ova here. First years, four to a boat!" Was that Hagrid?


    Everyone said Hagrid was a half-giant and he was really nice.


    "Hagrid!" Kunou threw her hands up and ran at the half- giant, jumping onto his shoulder.


    "Ohoh, hello there Kunou." He chuckled, patting her on the head before setting her back on the ground as everyone looked at her with strange looks. "Come along, four to a boat everyone."


    Luna just smiled and followed along with Kunou and I¡­..hesitantly followed too.


    There was another girl that was alone and we had an open spot so Hagrid ushered her to join us.


    "Wait there,ss." Hagrid looked at Luna. "Why are ya holding a spear?" He scratched his head.


    "¡­.it''s her wand." Kunou lied through her teeth.


    "Huh, really?" The Half-Giant looked at her for a moment then shrugged.


    The other girl in the boat looked at me as if she wanted an answer, but I had no idea what I was supposed to say.


    It didn''t take long for the boat to start moving across theke as they headed for Hogwarts. It wasn''t the first time I saw the school, so I wasn''t staring at it like all the other kids.


    Though theke was really pretty at night, the way it reflected the stars.


    "Is it a race?" Kunou asked as the boats were floating by themselves forward.


    Luna''s eyes widened. "That must be it, Kunou!" She pped her hands together. "It''s a race of course."


    "Luna, I don''t think It''s a race¡­" I said quietly.


    "Are we allowed to use Magic to win?" Kunou asked, her ears twitching.


    The other girl was just staring nkly at Kunou''s tails and ears so I felt like I wasn''t going to have any help here.


    "Well, it is a Magic School, so obviously." Luna replied.


    Kunou''s hands opened up and she was holding pieces of paper between them. They sort of looked like the one that Harry showed Mum earlier¡­


    She threw them out and they hit the water and¡­.the water immediately froze under the other boats.


    It wasn''t immediate, but very quickly the other kids panicked as they stopped moving.


    There were cries of confusion, panic and worry among them.


    A few of them had the bright idea to climb onto the ice, as awkward as it was, and their boats tipped over.


    More than a handful of people fell into the water.


    Thankfully the ice broke.


    Unfortunately, that was because massive tentacles shot up out of the water grabbing at people!!!!!


    "A monster!" Kunou stood up, the boat rocking from the waves the monster was making. "Let''s go save them!" She hopped off the boat andnded on the ice that was unbroken and started running at it.


    "Wait for me!" Luna was much more awkward, but she somehow stood up on the ice, almost falling down a few times before sliding gently along after her¡­..still holding that spear.


    I don''t know what I should have been surprised about. The giant monster, or the fact that a girl with fox ears and tails was throwing fire at it and Luna was trying to stab it with a spear.


    [***]


    Sorting Hat POV


    I was so excited, it was almost time, my favorite part of ever year! Those bright young facesing through Hogwart''s doors for the first time, the magical school opening up before their eyes and the sense of wonder they had!


    Oh, I felt it in every strand of magic that made up my being. It was my purpose to sort each and every one of them to the house that best fit them, but I so did enjoy my job.


    Of course, my second favorite day of the year was watching the graduation of the students who finally finished out their schooling here, seeing what wonderful Wizards and Witches they became.


    So exciting, I prepared my new song as well! I can''t wait for everyone to hear it, I spent quite a few months on it.


    Dumbledore stood up, silencing the crowd of former students and I knew the time wasing.


    "Students!" His voice carried across the whole room. "Before we begin with introducing our new staff or talking about the new year, you all know what time it is. Let''s wee our first years." He smiled gesturing to the door, and it flung wide open.


    His smile was met with a rather dreary atmosphere as Professor McGonagall strode in with a very annoyed look on her face and...why was she holding a spear?


    She strode up to Dumbledore and whispered into his ear.


    "Oh dear." He spoke, seemingly forgetting that he had cast a spell to let his voice reach everyone in the room. "Ahem, let''s wee our first years."


    Very quickly, I noticed Professor McGonagall passing the spear off to one of the new teachers¡­.for some reason as the new teacher had a sheepish look, taking it and putting it somewhere out of view.


    The atmosphere utterly ruined, the new students came through the door with nearly all of thempletely soaking wet, dripping everywhere onto the floor.


    "Students, line up and wait for your names to be called then you will sit here and be sorted." Professor McGonagall stepped next to me, announcing the hall.


    "What about my song?" I looked at her.


    "Sorry Sorting Hat, but unfortunately, we need to quickly finish this sorting due to¡­..extenuating circumstances."


    I heard her mention something about several students sent to the hospital wing under her breath.


    "Very well." I sighed in my nonexistent heart.


    I suppose such things happen from time to time.


    "Martha Fitzgerald." The Professor dered.


    A youngdy with a nice shade of orange hair and freckles nervously came up and sat down as the Professor put me on top of her head.


    Immediately, I saw the reason for every student being drenched.


    Oh dear, did someone mistake the Kraken as being a monster? Well, her memories were rather vague.


    Let''s get down to business.


    Ah, so innocent and expressive. A Muggle Born, that''s fine. Let''s see, very inquisitive, but it''s shut behind the door of social expectations. A stern mother and father, a rigorous home life,ck of friends.


    What she needs is¡­.


    "Hufflepuff!"


    The great hall broke out in ps as the girl stood up and was moved towards the Hufflepuff table.


    She''ll do good there, making lots of close friends without the weight of overt expectations bringing her down. She''ll do well on her own and for her own reasons.


    "Ernest Patrick!" The Professor called out.


    I Barely had to touch his head.


    "Gryffindor!"


    "Penelope Tidings!"


    "Ravenw!"


    "Ruben Hawkins!"


    "Slytherin"


    "Cole Bradley."


    "Slytherin!"


    "n Saunders."


    "Hufflepuff!"


    Several in a row were rather easy. Then again, rarely do I have a difficult child to sort. Most children aren''t so set into a certain mold that makes it difficult to decide where to ce them.


    "Luna Lovegood!"


    Ah, that''s a name I haven''t heard in a while. I remember her parents, the lovely people they were.


    The young girl sat on the seat and the professor ced me on her head.


    ¡­.well


    "Hello mister Hat." Luna spoke, in her mind of course.


    "Hello Miss Lovegood." I replied in her head just as well so no one else could hear. "It''s not often that students talk back to me." It''s always fun when I get a witty one.


    "I thought I was going to have to fight a troll." She pouted.


    I think it''s more concerning that you are disheartened that fighting a troll is not part of any test. "I''m afraid that your father had it right." Though it''s tradition not to spoil the sorting.


    But I guess it was fine in the end.


    I''m curious about her little friend that I''m seeing a lot of here.


    "Are you real?" She asked me.


    "Are you asking me if I am a real entity or if I''m a living being, Miss Lovegood?" I was good, but I wasn''t able to pull every thought from someone''s mind.


    "The first."


    "I am on your head, Miss Lovegood."


    "Hmm, but maybe you''re a figment of my imagination?"


    "¡­.well, you certainly have a very activate imagination." And I''m thankful that there are magical contingencies against me having an existential crisis. "In that case, the entire school would be a figment of your imagination, would it not?"


    "Hmm, I hadn''t considered that."


    Well, she''s still a youngdy, it''s fine to let her have her flights of fancy.


    "I think a better question is why you thought it was a good idea to run at a kraken with a spear, Miss Lovegood." Just for that I was very tempted to throw her right at Gryffindor.


    Complex thoughts are much harder to grasp than memories.


    "Of course I had to help my friend. Daddy said that friends help each other." She smiled.


    "Did he specifically say that if your friend fights a kraken, you should join her?"


    "Yes."


    ¡­..well, I''ll be, I can see the memory of him saying that nearly word for word.


    "Though daddy said that I have to do it properly with a harpoon. Do you think he''ll be mad that I used a spear instead?"


    "I see you have a rather inquisitive mind, Miss Lovegood." I ignored her question because I had no honest idea how to answer her. "Not much of a schemer though, even if you have a healthy ambition. Your courage mostly extends to jumping into danger with your friend, which is concerning in its own way. You certainly have a fierce protectiveness and love for friends and family, but your mind is something very unique. Despite everything else, the desire for knowledge ¨C "Albeit for odd reasons. " ¨C is a very predominant trait, therefore, I''m going to have to say ¨C "


    "Ravenw!"


    I came off her head and she skipped happily over to the Ravenw table.


    She would do good there¡­.I think.


    "Kunou Schweinorg!" The Professor seemed particrly annoyed here.


    About half the room hushed. Well, it certainly must be surprising for them, even for me, I''ve only ever sat on the head of one Youkai once before, and it wasn''t even a proper sorting, just a visitor from Japan who wanted to experience it.


    The youngdy with Nine Tails and two furry ears on top of her head strode up to me infront of everyone with a clear nervousness about her.


    Yes, a great many people were paying attention to her unique characteristics.


    The Professor ced me on her head and I felt like I hit a mental wall.


    Well, this is new.


    Was it a natural lumency?


    No, it was something else, it was as if there was a solid mental barrier protecting her from me being able to delve into her memories.


    "Well, this is certainly something." I could still speak into her mind at least.


    "Uh¡­.hello?"


    "Hello youngdy. Normally, I look into each student''s head and best sort them based on their characteristics and personality, but I seem to be unable to get into your head."


    "I don''t want you in my head!" She quickly defended herself.


    "You don''t need to worry, I''m very bound to secrecy. Not even the headmaster is able to get me to tell him what I see inside your head."


    "¡­.you promise?"


    "I give you a promise as the Sorting Hat, the name bestowed by my creators, the founding four of Hogwarts."


    She fidgeted, removing a bracelet from under he sleeve¡­.was that one of Fawkes''s feathers?


    Suddenly, the barrier around her mind vanished I was able to push inside.


    I looked through her memories, everything.


    ...oh my.


    I believe I just found God.


    Am I capable of having a religious experience? Because I very much believe that is happening.


    Do I have a soul?


    Gods exist and they will destroy anyone who harms this little girl.


    I am both frightened and unsure of how to handle this new information.


    "Mister Hat, am I supposed to do something?"


    Preferably throw me into the nearest fire.


    "¡­.I am unsure of how to sort you, why don''t you tell me which house you want to go to and give me a good enough reason." I rarely do this but it''s a rare urrence that I find myself speechless. "Gryffindor, for the brave, Hufflepuff, for the unity, Ravenw for the knowledge ¨C "


    "Slytherin!" She dered.


    "¡­.dare I ask why?"


    "Well, Snakes are almost like dragons, right?" She smiled.


    I am much too sober to handle this right now. Am I capable of drinking? I suppose I''ll be finding outter.


    So it better be..


    "Slytherin!"


    [***]


    A/N


    First part of Kunou''s Adventures. I thought it would be fun to do it from perspectives all around Kunou rather than her.


    These are canon side stories, so they take the spot of a normal chapter release. I''ll do them periodically. The second part is up on p.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

 Chapter 543:

    Chapter 543:


    "Please hold me."


    Well, I didn''t argue and took Yasaka into my arms. "It''s okay to be sad, even if it''s a happy asion." I noticed her conflicted expression.


    "Yes, but I mostly wanted someone to hold me back from chasing after the train." Yasaka quirked a mncholic smile with a forced bit of humor. " My ¨C our little fox is gone. It''s too soon, maybe we should wait a year."


    "You don''t really mean that." I ran a hand through one specific tail of hers.


    "I don''t." She pouted. "But saying it makes me feel better." She wiped away a few tears forming at the corner of his eyes. "After her father died, I never thought I would have something like this again." She looked up at me. "Even when we first met, the thought we would havee to this point was such a foreign thing that I never gave it any consideration. When my little fox came home and apparently found herself a ''daddy''."


    "To be honest, I didn''t think I would be adopted like that either." I said softly.


    She let out a little chuckle, sniffling her nose. "I''m being serious too. When I first said I wanted to pursue you, I was being somewhat flippant. On paper, you were everything I would want in a partner. And seeing how quickly Kunou became attached, I thought it was worth giving a shot."


    "And here we are." I smiled.


    She gently pulled on my cheek with a strange look. "I''m very emotional right now, so I wanted to get this fully off my chest without you thinking it was without care." I realized that she was building into something else. "At every point along the way, you proved yourself to be a wonderful partner and father for Kunou. So, for the second andst time in my life, I''m going to say this to another man." She reached over and pulled me in for a deep kiss.It wasn''t overly sensual, both it contained a flurry of emotions and affection.


    "I love you." She whispered, breaking the kiss.


    "I love you too." I rested my head against hers.


    I''m trying to remember thest time I saw her flush this deeply, and I''ming up nk. In any other circumstance, I probably would have teased her, but I didn''t want to ruin the moment.


    It was nice to feel like a real family.


    Yasaka let out a long breath, fanning her face as she calmed herself down. "Look at me, I''m a mess right now."


    I took her hand into mine. "Would you like me to take you to spend the day to take your mind off things?"


    Yasaka let out a sigh. "Honestly, I think I just need to get away from here for the time being. And as loath as I am to say it, probably throwing myself back into my work would be best to take my mind off things."


    While that doesn''t sound like a healthy way of dealing with the new ''distance'' between her and Kunou, I couldn''t exactly say I would do something dissimr.


    I throw myself into my own things when there''s something bothering me to take my mind off it.


    "Whatever you need, I''m here to help." I reassured her.


    She looked at me then looked away. "I feel like I''m going to ugly cry any minute and I don''t want you to see me like that."


    "It''s alright to cry as much as you want. But It''s impossible for any aspect of you to be called ugly." I gave her a little smile.


    Her lips twitched, and despite the tears swelling in her eyes, she was forcing herself not to smile. "Stop it, don''t make meugh when I''m like this!" She yfully smacked my shoulder.


    Unfortunately, I had a few errands I needed to run here. And secondly, it seems she wanted a little time to herself to deal with her turbulent emotions.


    I snapped my fingers, opening up a portal back home for her. She looked at it and quickly pulled me in for another kiss with a warm smile despite the red eyes she still had from the tears.


    I watched the mother of my daughter walk through.


    She said she never would have imagined this situation beforehand, and I could agree with her.


    I wonder what my younger self would have said if he could see where he would have ended up?


    But I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I''m happy with my life right now.


    I wanted to hurry up and finish my errands, so I quickly adjusted the portal and had it deposit me in Diagon Alley not far from my objective.


    I had a wand to acquire, and I was always giddy to get ahold of a new treasure. And not just any treasure, but a treasure personally forged just for me with things gathered by my girls.


    After walking for a few minutes, and only being about a block away from Ollivander''s, I felt my Kaleidophone buzzing and I quickly took it out to see that Artoria was calling me.


    "Wilhelm." She quickly spoke after I answered, her face appearing on the screen.


    "Hello Artoria, something wrong?"


    "Not in particr, I just wished to speak with you." She shook her head at me over the call. "Yasaka returned and she realized she forgot about a matter she was going to handle while she was over there. I offered to settle it in her stead."


    "A matter? I''m already here, unless it''s not something I should know about, I wouldn''t mind running any errands." I offered.


    "I am aware, but I also wished to spend some time with you." She pushed her hair behind her ear, smiling warmly. "I did not wish to intrude upon your time with Yasaka, but I admit I am curious about what it is like over there in my home."


    Ah, well, I couldn''t me her. She spends most of her time in Japan or Skyrim these days, was she feeling a little homesick?


    And I wouldn''t say no to spending time with Artoria when I was just doing some small things.


    "Where are you right now? I''ll open a portal right away."


    "Give me a moment, we are about to reach the house." She replied and I waited for a few moments as the scenes on her screen changed. "I am ready, please."


    I quickly dipped into an alley to avoid the few eyes around and opened a new portal as I turned the call off.


    Artoria walked out and I happily epted a hug from her. But I was mildly surprised to see she wasn''t alone, well rather the person for whom followed her.


    "Arthur Pendragon." I looked at the young man descended from Artoria''s bloodline from my birth world.


    It had been awhile since I''ve interacted with him as our paths didn''t cross verymuch. He was basically under Artoria''s purview while serving his ''punishment''.


    I can''t say I''m particrly enthused to see him as what his group tried to do to Kunou isn''t something I would forget anytime soon even if he didn''t directly have a hand in things.


    "Lord Schweinorg." He bowed.


    "Yasaka had a matter she needed taken care of. Do you know where this ''Gringotts'' Bank'' is?" Artoria asked me. "Arthur here will be handling the menial task."


    I walked out the alley and they followed and I looked back and forth to get my bearings. "Down that way a few blocks, it''s a white building, you won''t miss it." I pointed.


    Arthur bowed and silently went about his business.


    I didn''t question Artoria in front of him, but as soon as he was out of earshot, I raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. "Sending the unpaid intern in your ce, huh?"


    She smiled. "If there was one lesson I learned in my life, it is to delegate responsibilities."


    "Is that what we''re calling it?"


    "That is what Agravain always called it." She nodded to herself. "He required a break regardless. Mayhaps he would have overworked himself without orders to cease. I have been forcing him to perform less strenuous tasks."


    He basically already knew our ''secret'', considering how we didn''t really hide things in front of him, so I wasn''t going to point out his sudden appearance here.


    "What exactly is he doing? This is the first I''m hearing about Yasaka having something going on. Is it something I shouldn''t know about?"


    "Nay, it is merely something small not worth mentioning." She shook her head. "Yasaka requested Caster to send a letter on her behalf to these Goblins for amission. Arthur is merely retrieving the items."


    Ah, more stuff for the uing war.


    Makes sense, she''s been doing this all over the ce and across multiple worlds. I didn''t need to be kept in the loop for something of this level.


    She slid her arm around me, leaning up against me. "But that is another matter and I trust Arthur to handle it on his own. Do not allow me to interrupt what you were doing."


    "I only had a few errands, nothing important and we''re close by." I said as we began to walk to the wand store. Artoria took in the sights with a hint of amusement. "Did Mordred tell you about what happened?"


    Artoria let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes, Mordred was quite excited to regale me with his tales of victory. He was especially proud of himself for nearly killing Lancelot. I am conflicted on how to feel about this, but I am also pleased to see Mordred so happy."


    I suppose that''s what matters in the end.


    "What is your first task?" Artoria asked.


    "I''m going to pick up my wand."


    "I see." She responded. "I recall mention of such a thing. However, I do not view you as someone requiring the use of such an instrument."


    I shrugged. "The Magic here is essentially built around the use of a wand. Enough to the point where some spells need aplete rework to utilize without having one." Magic is Magic, it would be stupid that a spellpletely doesn''t work without a Wand. But the fact that everyone here used one, the spells were tailored made and derived from the utilization of one. "Speaking of, apparently Merlin had a hand in spreading this particr branch of Magic."


    "I am immediately filled with unease." She said dryly.


    "They pretty much worship him here. ''Merlin Damn it'' and such phrases are rathermon. I think I heard someone curse saying ''Merlin''s balls''."


    She let out the most authentic groan I''ve ever heard from her. "That sounds like something he would intentionally devise."


    The more I hear about him, the more I want to meet him.


    After I kick him in the balls, repeatedly, for his hand in what happened to Artoria. While she has said she doesn''t me him, I''m much more selfish and unforgiving.


    "Here we are, Ollivander''s Wand Shop." I briefly introduced as the store came into view. It was still in one piece, so that''s good. It looks like all the damage was fixed¡­..again.


    "I am intrigued at the idea of a store such as this so openly selling such magical items." She looked at it with clear interest.


    I held the door open for her as we went inside.


    "Wee ¨C oh, it''s you." Ollivander was quick to recognize me. "I suppose you are here to pick up your wand."


    "You would guess correct." No use ying coy.


    He looked at me sighing, but then he eyed Artoria with a strange look in his eye. "Are you here to get yourself a wand as well, young Lady?"


    "I may be a Lady, but I am far from young, Good Sir." Artoria replied.


    "Of course, my apologies, Miss¡­?"


    "Artoria Pendragon." Artoria introduced herself.


    "¡­.of course you are." He cleared his throat. "You should be careful about introducing yourself as such."


    "You''re not going to question it?" I asked. And considering how they view Merlin, well, I would think the Pendragon name would be¡­..held to a certain standard?


    Were there even any living Pendragons here?


    "If the little time I have spent in your presence, I have learned not to question things that appear in your vicinity, Mr. Schweinorg." He said with a nk look. "Well, it''s not every day I presumedly have someone from a very dead and royal bloodlinee into my shop. Miss. Pendragon, are you perhaps looking for a wand?"


    Huh, so the Pendragon bloodline was long gone here. I suppose his reaction makes sense then.


    "Nay, I am no Magus."


    "Witch." I corrected.


    "Witch." She repeated. "I am merely here to apany Wilhelm."


    "You call yourself no Witch, yet in all my years¡­.." He shook his head. "I doubt there is a wand in my shop that would not ept you as its owner."


    She did mention she tried to learn magic in the past. She also mentioned she is forever put off the subject due to her teacher being Merlin.


    "I suppose I will retrieve your wand then, Mr. Schweinorg, for I fear for my shop the longer you are here." He quickly disappeared into the back.


    "¡­.what did you do to this poor man that has him so defeated?" Artoria looked at me.


    "¡­.nothing."


    "He shattered my dreams and ambition." Ollivander rejoined us, holding a particr box in his hand.


    "Oh don''t be melodramatic." I rolled my eyes.


    "I was not." He replied without missing a beat, setting the box onto the counter. "I''m retiring."


    "¡­. congrattions?" I blinked.


    "I will be searching for a suitable apprentice to pass my craft onto." He let out a long sigh. "Do you know why, Mr. Schweinorg?"


    "I have a vague feeling I''m going to be med for something."


    "Because of this right here." He ran a finger across the box. "This is my greatest masterpiece. I can say without a shadow of a doubt, nothing I make will evere close to this. During the process of creating it, I don''t even remember half of what happened, it was as if the wand was using me to craft it rather than the other way around. And what I get is¡­..something I don''t believe should ever be wielded by mortal hands. I don''t know what items you gave me, Mr. Schweinorg, but this wand is not something that should exist. And I say this having held the fabled Elder Wand in my hands before."


    "The whatsit?"


    "The Elder Wand." He paused, blinking. "Oh yes, you''re not from around here. It''s a tale about how Death gave away a Wand it personally crafted from an Elder Tree." He waved his hand dismissively, clearly not wanting to repeat the story or legend or whatever it was. "But I digress, this is my finest work, and I will never be able to top it."


    "I don''t quite know what to say to that. I''m sorry?" I offered.


    He sighed again, sliding the top off the box. "Take it."


    Though he sounded flippant about it, there was the genuineness of anticipation clear on his face. He was not someone who made baubles to sit on shelves for admiration, he created tools that he expected to be used.


    Both Artoria and I looked down at it. It was a light pale in coloration, and almostpletely unassuming, but it had a certain¡­.aura to it.


    I also felt oddly drawn to it.


    Almost subconsciously, I reached for it and as soon as I held it in my hand, I felt the World Tree within me stir and grow.


    My hair blew up as Magical Energy swirled around me. It wasn''t like any of the other wands I held before it was¡­..it felt like an extension of myself oddly enough.


    Everything settled down rather quickly without any overt reactions.


    "Thank Merlin, I had thought for sure my shop would have been destroyed." Ollivander whispered. "I do not know what you gave me, but it''s 11 and ? inches, with the peculiar ability to be rigid or soft depending on the situation. However, I sternly warn against touching any Dark Magic such as Necromancy less this wand turns on you."


    "Trust me, I already knew that." But the warning was appreciated.


    Truthfully, I didn''t know what to expect about a Wand, or even really put much emphasis on wielding one, but¡­.it felt ratherfortable in my hand.


    "Thank you, it''s perfect." I held it up and cast my first spell. "Lumos."


    A bright light erupted at the tip and even though I barely put a spark of my Magical Energy into it, the room became too bright to see properly.


    "Nox." I quickly canceled it.


    At one end, there was life, at the other, there was death. And the wood used was from something nearly equivalent to the World Tree.


    It was aplete cycle contained within a Magical Focus.


    It was no wonder my budding World Tree was responding so openly or that I had such a resonance with it.


    "Are you satisfied, Mr. Schweinorg?" Ollivander asked me.


    "Completely." I nodded.


    The Old Wand Maker smiled warmly, his earlier words perhaps only being partly true as the time I spent with him, it was clear he had a certain sense of humor. "I take pride in my work, Mr. Schweinorg. I have said it before and I''ll say it again, I have never failed to match someone with a wand. If this is to be my greatest creation, then I can say without any doubt in my heart, I''m also satisfied."


    The pride of a crafter who achieved something bordering impossible. I wouldn''t call it a Divine Construct, but it''s not something a human should honestly be able to make.


    "Are you really going to retire?" I asked, feeling a tad guilty if I ended up ruining his motivation.


    "What? Don''t be ridiculous. Now get out of my shop and nevere back."


    [***]


    "I have a feeling that the wand maker did not like you." Artoria spoke as we walked won the street.


    "What gave you that idea?" I asked.


    "A hunch." Artoria replied, a rare amount of sarcasm in her tone. "You seem pleased with your new wand."


    Right, my eyes barely left it since I acquired it. "It''s a good treasure."


    Not as good as my Staff of Magnus, but it had its strengths in other areas that I was already imagining. Plus, it would be better suited for certain spells from this ce and I would put in some effort to pick up a few that I found useful.


    "I sometimes forget you are a Dragon in some aspects."


    "I could say the same to you." I gave her a little grin.


    "I do not hoard."


    "Say that the next time we have a meal."


    She puffed up cutely. "There is nothing wrong with how much I consume."


    I merely kissed her forehead, not answering.


    "Agree with me, Wilhelm." She demanded.


    "Oh look, there''s Gringotts, should we go check on Arthur?" I changed the subject.


    She huffed cutely, but still slipped her hand into mine. "Mayhaps it would not be remiss since we are here. I am curious about these Goblin creatures."


    "Huh¡­"


    "What concerns you?" She looked at me.


    "I could have sworn there were guards at the front entrance¡­" Oh well, they must be on break or something.


    It only took opening the door and stepping inside to figure out why there were no guards at the front.


    It was because they were on the ground, mostly.


    Some weren''t.


    The ones that weren''t were currently holding their weapons up, pointing at Arthur.


    Yup, that seems about right. I had a little headacheing on in anticipation for handling this mess.


    [Hey, look at the bright side.] Ddraig spoke in my mind.


    What''s the bright side?


    [It''s not your fault this time.]


    ¡­.Oddly enough, that does make me feel a little better.


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 544:

    Chapter 544:


    It didn''t look like Arthur was going for kills or shing off limbs, so we at least had that. Though I truly wonder how this even got started because I know for a fact he wouldn''t have initiated without a very good reason.


    There was a moment when we came in that no one really noticed us, understandably so because of what was going on.


    A handful of Goblins, well, I admit I was curious how they fought when I first met them. They had cold weapons but were rather short. But they were jumping around with an odd amount of grace and ease despite being fully covered in te armor and wielding Halberds.


    Arthur, however, dealt with them rather easily. He also had the mind to turn his de sideways when dealing a ''blow'' to take them out.


    Despite being able to cut the entire building in half if he desired, he was using the barest power needed to either deflect or attack with each movement.


    I hadn''t actually seen him fight in a long while, and this was certainly far from his peak strength, but I feel like his movements were sharper and more precise.


    Truthfully, Artoria and I just stared for a bit, I think she was genuinely confused and surprised at what was going on. Even with what Arthur was involved in, he never seemed like the type to get into a fight like this on a whim.


    Well, that was until the Goblins sitting at their desks in their suits started climbing up and about to jump at him.


    Artoria released her presence. "Enough!"The whole room came to a screeching stop.


    Well, except for Arthur who ignored the tension and knelt towards her with his sword stabbed into the ground, waiting for orders.


    "Would someone kindly exin to me what is happening." Artoria''s gaze cast over the crowd mostly consisting of Goblins. Thankfully, there were no other ''patrons'' here at the moment, perhaps due to most parents and such seeing their kids off at the Train to Hogwarts. "My ward is under siege by many of your guards. If he is at fault, then I will bear the consequences with a rightful apology. However, I demand an exnation."


    "I was attacked without provocation." Arthur spoke first. "I defended myself rightfully and even held my hand."


    Well, the fact that there were no serious wounds on the goblins he took down spoke to his sincerity.


    "You attacked first, human!" One Gobin, I think I recognized him as the bank teller from when I was herest.


    "You attempted to apprehend me for no crimemitted. I defended myself from unjust shackles."


    "That''s not ¨C"


    "Is this true?" Artoria looked at Arthur.


    "I swear on my honor, my Lady." He nodded.


    Her gaze flickered back to the Goblins who understandably flinched when she bore down into them. Odd that they were behind so¡­.pressured, even if Artoria''s Charisma was off the charts.


    They were being deferral to her when the Goblins were much more standoffish to me.


    "This is an attack on the goblin nation!" The bank teller got into a tizzy, nearly running up into Artoria''s face after he took a moment to recover. "We ¨C"


    I was quick to dissuade him as he came to a stop, staring down two barrels.


    "We can settle this matter with words ¨C" She did a double take, looking at me. "Wilhelm, why do you have a gun?"


    "Kairi gave it to me." I shrugged, still keeping it level at the Goblin.


    I just randomly asked if he had any more at some point in the past and he just threw an old double barrel of his at me and told me to keep it.


    Does she think I don''t keep random toys in my ring along with everything else?


    The funny thing is, they had so many magical defenses, that in a logical situation, a Gun would be superior here versus a wand for a ''regr'' wizard.


    Or that was how I was rationalizing it to myself. Honestly, I just had the random thought about firearms and the Magical society here and since it was on my mind when we came in, I just grabbed it.


    "As I was saying." She blinked once. "We can settle this matter with words, preferably."


    The Goblin audibly gulped.


    I should use guns more often, I rarely have a situation where they''re useful though.


    "What is going on here!?" The back door mmed open and Ragnuk, the bank manager stormed out along with a plethora of guards at his side, looking ready to fight.


    "I was asking the same question and I have yet to be given a suitable answer." Artoria responded, meeting his gaze.


    The other Goblins, they were submissive towards Ragnuk, but once again, for some reason, Ragnuk sort of¡­.cowled under her gaze.


    Well, this was certainly interesting, and something was more assuredly going on.


    Curious.


    "If we are not given a suitable answer, I will be pulling my family''s Gold from your bank." I backed her up.


    If Artoria''s gaze made him squirm a little, my threat made him pale.


    Goblins certainly loved gold.


    [***]


    "Ahem." Ragnuk cleared his throat as Artoria and I sat across from him at his desk. "I believe there was a¡­.misunderstanding."


    "So, you''re saying I won''t have to pull my obscenelyrge hoard of gold from your management?" I hummed.


    "Let''s not make any rash decisions." He coughed into his fist. "There was simply a misunderstanding, and I will acknowledge our part in it. And since no one on your side was hurt, I believe we can move on."


    "I disagree. If Arthur was not skilled, he would have been harmed. The intention is likewise of significance." Artoria interrupted.


    "¡­.and you are?" Ragnuk looked at her.


    "Artoria Pendragon. And he is Arthur Pendragon, my ward." Artoria said firmly.


    The Goblin twitched slightly, just barely enough that I almost missed it.


    "It was his name that set them off, wasn''t it?" I put the pieces together. "He must have introduced himself and for some reason or another, they took offense to his name." I pointed my thumb at Arthur.


    "The Goblin at the counter became belligerent once I introduced myself." Arthur nodded. "He was insulting and demanded that I stop wasting his time and provide my ''real name''. I of course took offense and ryed my truthfulness, but he refused to believe me. It escted until he demanded the guards detain me."


    "Ragnuk, I wasn''t being very serious with my threat, but if this is how one of ours is going to be treated, I don''t believe business will continue. Despite your obvious dislike for Wizards, and perhaps humans in general, you seemed to bepetent and somewhat objective in your business approaches. I would hate to have to go through the trouble of shifting everything around."


    Artoria didn''t speak, and I wasn''t one for speaking on her behalf, but I was also involved on the business side of things, so I left an opening for her to contribute either way. She chose to stay silent, so I also didn''t push any further.


    He looked at me silently, then at Arthur and Artoria. "Your names are truly Pendragon?"


    "That is correct." Artoria answered.


    Ragnuk furrowed his brow. "And I assume that is not just a naming convention that you decided to take up recently?" He asked, though that seemed rhetorical.


    "I invite you to contemte how old my Grandfather is based on when he opened the vault and know that he is older than that." I offered.


    Ragnuk frowned, seemingly deep in thought. "You used a sword¡­."


    "I am a Knight." Arthur spoke firmly.


    Ragnuk''s mouth opened slightly and it shut again, he apparently was finding himself having trouble responding.


    "I will listen to your exnation on the behavior of your subordinates. It is obvious that there is a reason. If the reason satisfies me enough, we will ept an apology and move on from this misunderstanding." Artoria stated.


    "Assuming, you are not weaving an borate tale, I will answer sincerely." Ragnuk clenched his jaw. "However, if I find out that this isn''t the case, understand that removing your gold will be the least of your concerns." He all but growled.


    "Speak." Artoria demanded.


    Ragnuk first let out a small sigh, removing his sses, and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What do you know about the history of Britain on the Magical side?"


    "Assume I know nothing and speak your matters." Artoria easily avoiding any pitfalls in herck of knowledge.


    "Very well." He grumbled. "You humans, you Wizards and Witches, you all hold Merlin up as your idol." He silently scoffed. "Oh yes, he was an impressive Wizard, even we acknowledge him as a genius never seen before. But it wasn''t Merlin who united thends, it wasn''t Merlin who stopped the fighting, who gathered together not just the human nations but the non-humans as well."


    Oh, I can see where this is going.


    "You speak of the tales of Camelot." Artoria said softly. "Of¡­..King Arthur uniting the realm under their banner."


    The Goblin seemed like he was about to scowl towards Artoria, but once he looked at her his expression stiffened and he adopted something a tad more polite, perhaps unconsciously."Yes, the fairy tale story that even muggles know." He waived his hand flippantly. "Back when the tribes of the Centaurs were united, when the Fae still wandered thends, and the Goblins lived above ground."He pursed his lips. "Before the line of Ragnuk, far into the past and with names lost to history, the Goblin King at the time swore fealty to King Arthur."


    Artoria raised an eyebrow. "I see."


    "Hmph." He nearly scoffed again, but Artoria''s expression seemed to somewhat cowl him once more. "It wasn''t merely bowing our heads. It was respect, earned that is. Our numbers were much fewer, we were all but ves to stronger races, forced to forge weapons and do menial tasks. It is a dark part of our history, much is lost but we know that the Human King extended a hand and fulfilled every promise he made to our king and people. It''s entirely possible our people would have died out if not for him."


    "It appears you held the King in high regard." Artoria noted.


    "Of course we did." Ragnuk smacked the table. "We are an honorable people, unlike you humans. And it wasn''t just us Goblins! Every major tribe on thesends swore the same oaths! We held true to the ancient agreements forged by our ancestors to the King until the humans broke it on their end! Tell me, do you know when the first Goblin Rebellion urred?"


    "I do not." She answered.


    The Goblin scowled again, not directed towards Artoria. "It was the precursor to the Statute of Secrecy. The ideals of it, the ws'' that the humans paraded around and came together for, they trampled upon the promises and the rewards given to our people. Until that point, even after the bloodline of the human that our people respected disappeared, we still acknowledged it."


    Artoria''s brow furrowed as she seemingly processed that. "It sounds as though you were loyal until the end. You believed that my ward was insulting a figure exalted in your people''s history that was owed a debt of gratitude."


    I could imagine that Artoria''s earlier anger had been rtively resolved after listening to his rant for several minutes.


    The Goblin pursed his lips. "Unlike you humans, we do not forget debts or gratitude."


    Well, I can''t deny that humans have a short memory when ites to things their ancestors did.


    I could see how the Goblins would be pissed.


    "I see, I can understand your viewpoint." Arthur seemed to ept it as well. "It must have sounded like a bad joke mixed with an insult when I introduced myself." He nodded in understanding.


    "¡­.yes." The Goblin seemed a bit taken back by Arthur''s genuine acknowledgement of the situation.


    Was he expecting it to be dragged out for some reason?


    "However, I am the insulted party. My Lady, if it is eptable, I will ept merely an apology for the misunderstanding. It is clear they hold my namesake in clear regard and as his descendant, I feel I must uphold his virtue." Arthur politely bowed his head.


    "If Arthur epts an apology, I will not bring it up again." Artoria closed her eyes.


    Ragnuk took a deep breath. "On behalf of Gringotts Bank, I apologize for the Misunderstanding. As forpensation ¨C"


    "There is no need forpensation." Arthur interrupted him.


    "¡­..pardon?" Ragnuk blinked.


    "I said an apology is enough, I stand firm on those words." Arthur denied. "Truthfully, it was a curious way your guards moved with such heavy equipment, it has given me inspiration." He put a thoughtful hand on his chin.


    "Just to rify, you do not wantpensation?" Ragnuk repeated again.


    "Nay, merely an apology is sufficient." Artoria chimed in this time.


    Ragnuk looked at both of them speechless. "¡­.you said your name was Arthur Pendragon¡­?"


    Arthur adopted an awkward smile. "It is not umon in my family for the new generation to be named after our ancestors."


    "Family?" Ragnuk repeated. "There are more of you? We¡­..I¡­..it has long been thought that the Pendragon family died out¡­..?"


    Ah, once the conflict settled, I guess it finally clicked and he''s acknowledging that they weren''t lying about their names.


    "Yes, there are quite a few." Arthur nodded. "My sister as well, though she is named after Le Fay."


    "We currently reside in Japan." Artoria said simply.


    Ragnuk took that answer and didn''t ask for rification, but I could see the gears in his head spinning as he processed that information. And considering I was here with her, and who visited with mest time, it wasn''t hard for him to put two and two together.


    "¡­.I do not know how the Ministry will react to knowing about your existence." He finally spoke up again. "Try to pull you in, dismiss you, condemn you, it could go any way. I suggest you do not make your names known unless you desire to deal with the consequences."


    "We thank you for your council, we have no desire to integrate with the Ministry for the moment, we will be returning home once our business is settled." Artoria smiled lightly his way.


    "¡­.have, we met before?" Ragnuk finally asked.


    "Pardon?" Artoria tiled her head.


    Ragnuk cleared his threat, his previous goblin demeanor from thest time I visited was¡­.cking. "I apologize, I don''t know what''se over me, I simply have this feeling of recognition every time I look at you."


    "Mayhaps, I have a familiar face." Artoria''s smile twitched slightly, a clear sign of her amusement.


    Ragnuk just shook his head like he was shaking away the confusion. "Before the incident urred, I believe you were here to settle the matter from the letter." He fumbled with his desk taking out a parchment. "The weapons are ready, but payment still needs to be rendered."


    "Take it from my vault." I chimed in.


    Don''t know what it costs, or what it''s for or even what''s involved, but I could at least pay for it.


    And I do love being rich enough that I don''t have to care.


    [***]


    "I believe that Goblin was thoroughly confused." I said to Artoria as we went Arthur on his merry way.


    We sort of vacated the bank as quickly as possible. Despite handling things amicably, it was obvious there was still tension.


    "It''s unfortunate, I did not wish to lie to him, but telling him the truth would have likewise been a problem."


    I shrugged. "You technically didn''t lie."


    "No, I merely mislead him with vague answers." She sighed to herself. "It was strange."


    "What was strange? His reactions to you?"


    "You noticed as well." She frowned slightly.


    "You feel responsible?" I asked, noticing her expression.


    She tilted her head back and forth in thought. "I know it is not logical for me to feel responsible for things that happen in worlds not my own."


    "Emotions aren''t always logical. Regrets pile up and we try to do what we can to bear them more easily."


    "A great many regrets." Artoria acknowledged. "They have be less burdensome in recent days."


    "Are you happy?"


    Artoria turned her head up to look at me, a warm smile slowly formed. "You asked me that question previously. I am happy."


    "Then keep doing what you''re doing." I said simply. "You''re cautious about meddling here like you did back home, yeah?"


    "Correct." She nodded.


    "Well, we have someone who''s lived here for longer than any of us who''s an expert in certain things. I could always give her a call?" I offered.


    Artoria pursed her lips. "Admittedly, she may have information to quell my concerns."


    I took out my kaleidophone and called up Medea.


    She was very quick to answer. "Saber~"


    "¡­.Caster." Artoria forced out.


    "I''m here too."


    "I noticed." She rolled her eyes through the screen. "I hope you''re not calling me because you need help, it''s literally the first day of school and the kids are going to be arriving in a few hours."


    "We just dropped Kunou off at the Train Station." I smiled.


    She also smiled warmly. "She''s going to love it here, I actually¡­..It''s nice here."


    "It certainly has its own charm." Despite the¡­weirdness I found with certain things, the Magicalmunity here is certainly interesting. "I even got my own wand." I was happy to show it off to her.


    "Huh, that was made then. I didn''t think there was anyone here capable of handling materials of that level, I''m genuinely impressed. I heard the person¡­..I forget his name, the Headmaster mentioned him, but he handles the wands for most of the students at the school."


    "Ollivander."


    "That''s it." She snapped her fingers. "I''ll have to visit him and talk shop at some point."


    Should I feel sorry for him? Should I warn him?


    I think he deserves a warning.


    "How much have you looked into things here?"


    She raised an eyebrow. "You''re going to need to be more specific."


    "I had a matter I wished to consult with you, Caster." Artoria spoke up. "I met with the Goblins at the Bank, and they had an odd reaction to me, a noticeable one that I am concerned about."


    "Oh." Medea''s expression changed.


    "Oh?" I repeated.


    "Well, it''s not like I expected this question. I need a moment." She went silent, and the images seemed to shuffle as if she was walking around. "Right, got somewhere quieter. I think I may have an idea, but I could be wrong. I''ve only been here like a week, so I haven''t delved too deep into the history and all that, but I did figure out a few¡­.interesting details."


    "And it is relevant to my situation?" Artoria questioned.


    "Maybe." She shrugged. "Boyo, what do you know about the Magic here?"


    "Uh¡­it''s¡­.interesting, I suppose."


    For some reason, my answer made her really smug.


    "So you don''t know?" Her lips curled up.


    "I don''t, but apparently, it''s something I should know by your look."


    "If it wasn''t Saber asking, I would have held this over your head and made more fun of you." She huffed. "But since she''s asking, I suppose I can be generous."


    "I appreciate any help, Caster." Artoria replied. "There is a rtionship, an old one, between the King Arthur here, and the Goblins from many years ago."


    "Kyah~ Alright. I''ll answer your question with some questions of my own. Goblins are Magical Creatures, right?"


    "¡­.yes?" I mean, they are, their existences are woven with magic from what I recall.


    "I also had an interesting conversation with Dumbledore, as I mentioned before involving wands. He told me a rather intriguing tidbit about Wands choosing their owners. It sounds rather nonsensical, doesn''t it?"


    "¡­where are you going with this?" I was confused.


    "You said that Goblins were involved with Saber''s true identity from this world, were there words used like ''Oath'' ''Agreement'' ''Treaty'', or such and such?"


    "Yes." Artoria nodded.


    "Well, Boyo, you im to be smart. You got enough hints here to figure it out." Medea chuckled.


    I thought about those three points, she made and everything I knew already. Granted, I didn''t research too much into this world as Gramps already assured me it was rather safe. Not to mention, in my preliminary searches myself, there wasn''t anything overtly dangerous.


    But then again, he mentioned something odd about this world, and I hadn''t figured it out.


    Wand chooses their wielder.


    Goblins being magical creatures, and old ''oaths'' being relevant?


    "Oh." My eyes widened.


    "Oh look, you figured it out." Medea grinned.


    "¡­..really?"


    "Yup, took me by surprise too. It''s rather interesting, don''t you think?"


    "That''s¡­.a way to describe it." I processed this new information and I was¡­. "Thank you, Medea."


    "No problem. I gotta go,st minute preparations. Bye Saber~" Medea ignored me and hung up, but my mind was elsewhere.


    I nkly put my kaleidophone away.


    "Wilhelm, what was Caster talking about?"


    I was silent for a moment as I chose the best way to say this.


    "The Magic here, in some capacity, has a will."


    [***]


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 545: + Looking Glass Part 7

    Chapter 545: + Looking ss Part 7


    It was a surprise to learn this newfound information. Perhaps though, it made sense in hindsight and I probably should have given it consideration previously.


    Right, as I looked back on all my previous thoughts about how the Magic here worked, and the strange inconsistencies, it really did make sense.


    <em>Wands choose their owner</em>.


    The average Wizards and Witches here don''t need to understand how their Spells work because there''s an underlying mechanism that shouldered part of the burden in spellcasting. Oh, I was sure without a shadow of a doubt that the truly great Wizards and Witches here knew how their Magic and Spells truly worked. But for the mediocre, they were content to simply wave their wands without asking any questions.


    "Wilhelm?" Artoria spoke, breaking me from my thoughts.


    "Hmm?"


    "You went silent and stared off nkly."


    "Sorry, got lost in thought, lots of things are clicking into ce now. Right, I said that the Magic here is alive." I tapped my chin."Would you please rify that? I assume you don''t mean that it operates in the domain of a Divine Spirit or God." She responded.


    "Oh no, nothing like that." I quickly waived off those concerns or thoughts. "It''s¡­.." Jeez, how do I phrase it? "I would say it''s closer to back home with the world."


    "The dual aspects of the world and humanity?" Artoria asked.


    "Yeah, something like that."


    "Are you concerned?"


    "Concerned?" I pondered her question. "No. Taken by surprise and with a mild amount of trepidation, perhaps. But I don''t have any overt concern. It''s simply the makeup of the world and how it operates. I never thought that Magic would have an unconscious will associated with it.


    Though, corrting it to Gaia or ya wouldn''t be a perfect fit either, I think.


    It''s more like¡­


    "It''s like Heaven''s System from back home. Maybe with less intelligence." Knowing what I do, that''s about the best approximation I could make. Maybe I was wrong, maybe I wasn''t.


    But as I said before, I wasn''t overly concerned. Especially since Medea didn''t seem concerned either when she in particr wanted nothing to do with ''higher powers'' if she could help it.


    "I see, and how does this corrte to the oddities I experienced?" She asked.


    "Ah, If I had to hazard a guess. A Magical Species swore Magical Oaths to King Arthur."


    She furrowed her brow, letting out a small sigh. "The World ¨C<em> no</em>, the <em>Magic</em> here recognizes me as King Arthur."


    As a <em>Servant</em>, she quite literally wears her history and legend around her. With Magic being <em>alive,</em> it would be more strange for things not to be this way.


    She caught on quick. "That''s my thought. <em>Magic</em> seems much more interwoven in the history of this world just as well. A more active user base across the centuries. I would say your existence, or rather your alternate''s existence held significance in a metaphysical sense for this country."


    She had several <em>prophecies</em> about her back home. That might mean a lot more here where Magic was <em>alive</em>.


    It''s utterly fascinating to truly think about.


    Magic ¨C Magical Energy at its core ¨C Mana, the lifeblood of a. Rather than the itself developing its <em>will</em>, the <em>Magic</em> did instead.


    It''s like¡­..if my hands were the ''brain'' of my body instead of, well, my brain.


    "If you feel no concern, I will not dwell on it. I do not intend to spend an overt amount of time here." She said simply. "Does the nature of this ce have any significance for you?"


    "Not¡­really?" I mean beyond the few people I care about living here for the time being, I didn''t really have any attachments. I had a few ideas about some experiments for here when I have time.


    I took out my wand and rolled it between my fingers.


    "You could always learn magic too if you wanted. The nature of it here makes it even better as a starting ce than I initially thought." I shot her a smile.


    She let out a smallugh. "I have no desire. If I require any Magical ability, I have both you and Rin to assist me." She finished with a smile.


    "I won''t try to convince you if you don''t want to. But I will say, you''re missing out on something particrly good."


    "Something good?" She repeated. "Beyond the convenience of spellcraft, I fail to see what I am missing."


    I pointed my wand at her, well, rather at her chest area. "Here''s one of the basic spells the kids here learn early on. <em>Alohomora!</em>"


    She stared at me, twitching slightly. "Wilhelm, did you just use magic to unhook my bra?"


    "Yes. Yes I did." I said proudly.


    One of the handful of spells I actually went over in my spare time, which I will rectify. But it''s a spell for ''unlocking'' things. Which can be interpreted and used rather¡­. subjectively.


    I love magic.


    She had to awkwardly pull her bra out from her sleeve, giving me a look before depositing it into her bracelet.


    "You are aware that simply asking me would result in the same oue, yes?" Artoria stated.


    "¡­..so if I asked you to take your shirt off."


    She started unbuttoning her shirt. "As long as you make it so no one else can see us."


    Yes Ma''am.


    I really love magic.


    [***]


    "Knock knock." I opened the door to Yasaka''s office with Artoria in tow. "Are we disturbing anything?"


    "Not at all,e in." My beautiful Fox smiled.


    "Hello Yasaka." Artoria greeted with an equally beautiful smile.


    "Hello Dear, did you have fun?"


    "It was an interesting experience. I have no desire towards Magic, but the culture there was refreshing in a way." She nodded.


    We both sat in the empty seats opposite of Yasaka.


    Yasaka looked at Artoria, her nose twitching and she shot her a knowing smile. My Artoria on the other hand, flushed slightly, avoiding her gaze.


    She does have quite the nose.


    "How are you doing?" I asked.


    Yasaka''s expression changed silently, but it never dipped back into the mncholy from earlier today. "I''m good. I''ll be good, I should say. I just needed some time to let it sink in that our little fox is gone for a while."


    I didn''t say anything, but truthfully, I thought both Yasaka and Kunou were a tad too dependent on one another. Which may sound odd considering they were mother and daughter, but Kunou needed the opportunity to leave the nest.


    "Did Arthur deliver the supplies you ordered?" Artoria asked.


    "Yes, he also told me what happened. I shouldn''t be surprised, It seems there''s always something." She lightly chuckled. "Thank you for helping with that, itpletely escaped me that I needed to pick that up when we were over there."


    "It''s no trouble, I am happy to help." Artoria said straightforwardly. "Have you decided then?"


    And just like that the atmosphere shifted and Yasaka''s expression hardened, borderline sharp even. "That''s right, if it''s all the same, I want to announce that the invasion will begin in a week."


    "I''ll finish up what''s needed on my end to make that work. I''ll need Avalon and the Harp that you won over from the Angels." I already had the preliminary stuff out of the way, it was only a matter of bridging the material world and the realm of the Fae.


    I was fairly confident in getting it finished in that time frame, but worst case, I could call in help from Gramps.


    Artoria without a second thought handed Avalon over to me.


    It always made my heart feel good knowing she trusted me with something so precious without any secondary thoughts.


    Yasaka also set the Harp on her desk, it was ratherrge to the point where it nearly fell over.


    "And what about preparations for the invasion?" I took both items and put them properly away.


    "You''re finally asking about that, hmm?" Yasaka chuckled.


    Yeah, I hadn''t had much of a hand in that besides a more logistics role of gathering resources or helping on the outside.


    I could freely admit thatmanding an army or being a general was not one of my talents nor something I had any real experience with. And I wasn''t going to interrupt the people who did know what they were doing.


    Yasaka got up from her desk, stretching her back. "Why don''t we go inspect things" She held out her hand. "Artoria''s Knights and my Soldiers are in about the same area. You''ve been to the training fields at the edge of the city."


    I knew what she was asking and opened a portal without any extra prompt.


    "Mordred should be leading the training today. She will be happy to have visitors." Artoria smiled as the three of us went through the portal, stepping out onto the training fields.


    Very quickly, the forces of the Youkai and allies came into view.


    Sprawling tents and newly established structures were seen methodically ced. And of course, the tens of thousands of different Youkai were all over the ce.


    Very quickly, a shadow appeared overhead andnded onto the ground in front of us.


    Soma was kneeling towards Yasaka, and dozens more Tengu joined him at impressive speed.


    "Lady Yasaka, you grace us with your presence." Soma led them in kneeling towards her.


    "Don''t mind me, I''m just taking Wilhelm to inspect our forces." Yasaka nodded to them, basically telling them to go about their business. "Return to what you were doing."


    "At your leave." The Tengu quickly dispersed on the winds and returned to the corners of the training fields.


    They were stronger than I remembered.


    "I''ve had Soma train with them for a while now." Yasaka hummed as she led us across the fields. "He''s gotten much stronger and really, the fervor has incited quite a bit of growth across everyone."


    "A structured and grouped training regime is often more beneficial to the average warrior or soldier." Artoria nodded. "I had many Knights under my care who had average talent and skill but were able to push themselves far beyond what they would have individually."


    "Are wecking anything? Resources, money, that sort of deal?" I couldn''t do anything about manpower, but for other things, there were options.


    "The order we just got from those Goblins was to fill the gap while the Norse get their matters sorted. They still owe us quite a bit of supplies ¨C primarily Iron Weaponry, but I wasn''t going to push them considering what happened recently."


    "Odin is probably grateful for that." I mused.


    She grinned. "We''re set on weapons for now, but obviously we''ll want a steady supply continuously. Our trade with Whiterun has been going on without a hitch. It''s been a continuous and <emrge</em> source of ie. Not to mention we''ve been able to buy surplus of other things from that region while filling them with things they''recking."


    "You mentioned a while ago that the attempts at nting the herbs and regents from Skyrim had proved sessful." I should check up on the Yggdamillennia family as well, I''m sure they have a significant amount waiting for me to retrieve.


    "We''ve started production and already have a turnout. We have a supply right now that shouldst us for the initial invasion, and with our own production, we will have a steady supply." Yasaka replied.


    "Is the Church still going to make due on their promises?" I was a little hesitant because of the¡­.incident.


    "I''ve been in contact with them, the promises still hold."


    Good because they were going to y a rather significant role if we wanted to make a foothold in a ce like the Fae Realms.


    "The Devils also finished their final delivery. Most of what they supplied was simply ''money'' but they also gave a not insignificant amount of raw materials."


    "No problems there?"


    "Well, they certainly <em>tried</em> to put their foot in the door for other things, but I was able to keep them out."


    That''s to be expected.


    "Overall, we''re in a rather good spot. I wouldn''t say <em>no</em> to getting more stuff, but we''re in no way hurting right now." Yasaka finished.


    "We''re here." Artoria stated, as we approached a sectioned off area.


    Well, I say sectioned off, but it''s not like someone couldn''t juste and go.


    Very quickly, we found the Pendragon family training.


    Roughly a thousand I could see from my initial estimate. All donned in full te Armor holding their weapons and swinging them in unison.


    At the front, Mordred stood there with rent out, watching them intently.


    I noticed a few other faces such as Arthur also weaved between the crowd, helping where he needed.


    "Father?" Mordred perked up noticing us.


    "Hello Mordred, we came to visit, I hope we aren''t disturbing you." She replied.


    "Not at all!" Mordred seemed rather happy.


    "Don''tmind us dear, we''re just taking Wilhelm to inspect things." Yasaka smiled.


    I waved to Mordred, but looked more towards the Knights.


    "So we got a time table then, huh?" She settled, leaning on rent as it stabbed into the ground.


    "You are perceptive as always." Artoria nodded and Mordred brightened considerably at the smallpliment. "You have done a wonderful job, Mordred. Could you please tell Wilhelm about the Knights under ourmand?"


    "Of course, Father!" she puffed up proudly. "We got 1014 Knights, and 102 Magicians ready to fight. At a minimum, we got every single one of them to what they call <em>Mid-ss</em> around here. About a third of them are <em>High-ss</em>."


    "That''s impressive." And I was being genuine with mypliment. I recalled when we invaded the Pendragon Castle that they barely had any High-ss people under their banner.


    Not to mention that at a minimum they''re all Mid-ss.


    I vaguely recall Venna telling me that in the standing armies for the Underworld, the average Devil is Low-ss.


    Obviously those ''rankings'' are rather vague. A baseline human is also ''low ss'' but at the same time, certain humans who stepped into the supernatural world and learned various things, while still being called ''low ss'' could kill hundreds of baseline humans without issue.


    It''s always been just a vague and general ''ranking''.


    "How did you manage to do that in such a short time?" It''d only been a few months.


    "Heh, just taught them to properly make themselves stronger mostly. Shit, people here can use their Magical Energy so much easier than back home, but they''re so wasteful about it. They aint gonna be doing anything like using a Mana Burst or whatever, but something closer to Reinforcement isn''t difficult." Mordred said proudly.


    She was heavily underselling the amount of effort they must have put in.


    They''ve been doing a lot of work that I haven''t seen until now.


    "I see that they all have two swords at their hips." I noticed, voicing my thoughts.


    "One''s the whole Iron thing, the other is a proper sword just in case." Mordred said simply.


    "By nature, the Iron Swords are not as sturdy, too brittlepared to steel, even if they are a weakness to our foes. We thought it appropriate to carry both. Even if a steel sword does not hold the same weakness it is still a sharp edge that can harm them." Artoria added.


    True, a sharp sword backed by a knight with that amount of strength can just as much cut off the head of a fairy. Iron simply is an innate weakness that the creatures of that realm hold.


    Technically, it''s not Iron exactly as Fae also have a certain aversion to Fire, if to a lesser extent. It''s a link to <em>civilization</em>, Iron was perhaps the biggest contributor to the building of human society. Though, that''s technically wrong too as it''s not quite Civilization that Fae have an aversion to, rather it''s <em>Order</em>.


    They''re chaotic beings, even back home because they''re aligned with Nature as Nature Spirits. Here, it''s different, but they''re still creatures that hold opposite existences to the idea of <em>Order</em> that permeates the human world.


    It''s why the Church''s methods are so effective against them. A structured and orderly form of worship backed by the belief of billions of Humans etched into the civilization of humanity itself.


    The Church''s Holy Power is poison to Devils. The Church''s <em>structure</em> and belief is poison to Fae.


    Kinda of amusing to think about.


    I''d hazard a guess it''s the reason that the Fae retreated almostpletely from the world, it became much too ''orderly'' for them to live here any longer. Or maybe, I''m wrong, who knows.


    "The Magicians are training with the Druids and some Youkai people who do simr things. You wanna go check them out too?" Mordred offered.


    I''m already here, I should familiarize myself with what''s going on now that there''s a countdown.


    [***]


    I let out a breath, stepping out of a portal onto a rooftop near the center of Youkai Kyoto.


    I just looked out and watched the city below and thousands upon thousands of faces walked down the streets for their daily lives. The vast majority of them were Youkai, but at the same time, they were all so different yet coexisted here without issue.


    I admit, I was worried about this ce being attacked in response to our invasion.


    This was my home and I would be damned if I saw it harmed without doing anything preemptively. With a short burst of Shunpo, I arrived at a familiar ''structure'' not far away.


    An Obelisk.


    I made this thing how long ago?


    An automated Magical Defense Terminal. It was originally just a proof of concept, but there were now hundreds scattered around Kyoto in preparation.


    I put a hand on it to make sure it was still operating correctly. It hadn''t been triggered just yet and it still housed hundreds of Talismans ready to deploy should the situation call for it.


    Jinn had taken up the job of implementing defenses for Kyoto in the interim. She copied my Obelisks and more. There were a crazy amount of Magical Defenses ready to be ''activated'' in the event of an invasion.


    Yasaka did mention that they had it under control when the Devils brought up ''protecting'' Kyoto as part of payment, and that Jinn said she would handle it, but to see it in person was an entirely different matter.


    Jinn was such a hard worker, I needed to do something special for her.


    [Brat!] Ddraig''s voice suddenly resounded in my head.


    "Hmm?"


    [Don''t talk! Listen to me, I need you to stand very still and don''t turn around.]


    ¡­.Ddraig, what''s wrong?


    [I didn''t notice her until now! She''s always been stupidly good at hiding her presence! Stay calm, don''t draw attention to yourself, hopefully she didn''t notice ¨C]


    "So this is your new host, Great Welsh."


    I heard a feminine voice and turned around, much to Ddraig''s panicking.


    Pale blue hair, with blue eyes and matching blue dress. I almost mistook her hair for flowing water at first nce.


    I was genuinely surprised I didn''t <em>notice</em> her until Ddraig said something and she was standing this close to me because my instincts immediately red up once she entered my ''perception''.


    Stronger than the Heretic God I recently fought.


    She stared at me, as if waiting for me to respond.


    [Do something!]


    What do you want me to do!?


    [Anything! Pull some of your bullshit!]


    Alright, I got something.


    "Sorry, you got the wrong person." I replied without missing a beat.


    [¡­..we''re dead.]


    "Really?" She tilted her head.


    "Yup."


    "Oh, my apologies. I''ll be on my way then."


    I did an about face and took a step to walk away, only for the same woman to be standing in front of me. But this time, her aura enveloped the area and the phantom image of a massive blue dragon looked down on me.


    "Did you think I would say that?" She narrowed her eyes. "I am Tiamat, and I am owed a Debt."


    [***]


    "Son¡­."


    "I was young and stupid, okay?" I sighed, covering my face after mom learned how Meridia and I first met. I don''t think I needed to mention how it would have only taken her a snap of her fingers to make me disappear if she were in a bad mood.


    It all worked out in the end, so chalk it up to a life lesson.


    "More like young and horny." Sc¨¢thach snorted.


    ¡­.well, she isn''t wrong.


    "I think it more erred on the side of young and stupid, personally. I think my situation was young and horny." Venna spoke.


    I groaned, letting my head hit the table.


    "Actually, I''m happy I''m here right now." My other self smiled happily. "I <em>really</em> want to hear more now."


    Mom had a rather pensive face and I had no idea what she was thinking. Eventually she shook her head with a sigh. "I''ll just me your father."


    "Hey!"


    "Not you, the bad version of you." Mom corrected.


    "Oh okay. Yeah I agree, he sounds like a dick." My alternate father nodded along.


    I forced myself from throwing out an insulting retort without thinking. I had to remind myself that this wasn''t my version of my father, thus it would have been needlessly rude.


    "And which one is she?" Mom asked, pointing at my phone that was still on the table.


    I grabbed it, flicking the screen to the side until itnded on Meridia and slid it back over to her.


    "She''s pretty."


    "Yeah, she is." I found myself smiling.


    The back door slid open as someone had rejoined us. "Why did everyone leave me out there!?" Issei whined, limping back inside.


    "Woops, sorry Issei, we forgot about you." Rias blushed a little, looking away.


    "I didn''t." I responded.


    "You threw a brick at me!" Issei pointed at me looking pissed off.


    "Nah, that wasn''t me." I said with apletely serious face.


    "Screw you, handsome bastard!" Issei whined some more. "I would have won if ¨C "


    Rias pped her hands, interrupting him. "Alright Issei, if you''re going to rejoin us, stop making a scene." She forced out, probably because of the re that mom was giving her. "We''ll talk about the ''fight''ter."


    Issei grumbled and sat down next to her. "Who''s the girl with the tails and ears?" He looked at Kunou.


    "That''s my daughter and if you make a singlement about her <em>body</em>, there is not a single person in this room that can stop me from ripping your head off." I narrowed my eyes.


    I may put up with it and be annoyed with the others,but that absolutely is not eptable towards my daughter.


    The message seemed to get across because he shrank back under my stare.


    "Why am I not surprised that you ventured to a world unknown and all you did was seek out women." sses girl scoffed.


    I rolled my eyes. "Yup."


    She just scoffed again.


    Well fuck you too.


    Mom only wanted to know about my girls, then so be it. "That was how I met Meridia. I then corrected the mistakes I made and went off to the world I intended. It was another Earth and I had memories of it from before, so it was easy to find the Mages Association over there and get inside. That''s when I met Artoria for the first time."


    "The blondess with the hair in the bun." Sc¨¢thach pointed out to my mom.


    "Aww, she''s adorable." Mom cooed.


    "That''s Auntie Artoria." Kunou smiled. "She''s really nice and she showed me how to use a sword. Oh Daddy, show your cool sword!"


    Oh, I forgot about my sword! Well, I do so love showing off my treasures.


    "Right, this is my sword I had made in Skyrim, it helps me cast my magic." I said proudly, putting Mirage onto the table. "And also Dawnbreaker, the sword I got from Meridia." I set it down together.


    Half the table recoiled at the sight of a ''holy weapon'', I think it took them a moment to realize they weren''t going to burst into mes.


    "That is¡­.a powerful sword." My Alternate father''s smile twitched.


    I liked when people praised my treasures.


    "Right, and that was when I met Artoria for the first time as I said. Gramp''s student was having a spar with someone else and she was sitting off to the side. I recognized her immediately and I admittedly admired her for a long time."


    "Didn''t you say you met her for the first time?" My mom tilted her head.


    "Oh right." I almost forgot. "Her name is Artoria Pendragon, but you would probably know her better by King Arthur."


    They went silent.


    "Like, from the stories?" My other self asked.


    "Yeah, except the King Arthur from there was a woman who hid her gender during her rule." I rified.


    "A reincarnation?" Rias asked.


    "Nope, the literal King Arthur" I reiterated.


    "Did she never die in that world then and lived that entire time!?"


    "Well, it''splicated." I pursed my lips thinking how best to briefly exin this. "Over there, when someone who is famous and was worshiped after their death, they ascend to the metaphysical realm known as the Throne of Heroes and be Heroic Spirits. In specific circumstances, it''s technically possible to summon a portion of the Heroic Spirit into a container known as a ''Servant''. Artoria is a <em>Saber ss</em> Servant and was summoned by Rin during something known as the Holy Grail War."


    "Holy Grail?!" My Alternate Father reacted more expressive than any other point.


    "Wah¡­brother?" Rias looked at him.


    Venna, the other Venna looked at rias. "His reaction is understandable, the Holy Grail is a...vtile Sacred Gear. Atleast over here it is, I don''t know anything about over there. But every time it''s wielder appears here, something happens that gets recorded in the annals of history."


    "I haven''t run into the one from here, but it''s a bit different. For one, it''s not <em>that</em> Holy Grail. A long time ago, a family of Mages came together and utilized an aspect of True Magic, were able to craft the Heaven''s Feel ritual. Essentially, it''s a battle royale between Seven <em>Servants</em> and their summoners ¨C called Masters. The Ritual ispleted once only one Servant remains, and the winners get to utilize the ''Holy Grail'' ¨C which was only named such after the Church started interfering with the Ritual ¨C and make a wish."


    "There is¡­a lot to unpack there." My other self said.


    "And what do you mean by a ''wish''? I''ve heard plenty of stories where that goes <em>wrong</em>." My mom asked.


    "Well, <em>normally</em>, it would be just that. A near omnipotent wish, but that isn''t to say it''s not without certain limitations. As for this particr circumstance, the ''Grail'' was corrupted by an Evil God trying to manifest into the world. Any wish would bring about cmity, so Rin and Artoria utilized her Noble Phantasm to destroy the Grail."


    "Noble Phantasm!?" Several of them repeated.


    "A Noble Phantasm is usually the armament of a Heroic Spirit ¨C They''re Crystallized Legends." I took that opportunity to put Ascalon onto the table. "This is a Noble Phantasm, I picked up ¨C Ascalon."


    <em>"What!?" </em>Issei''s Boosted Gear lit up as his Ddraig eximed in shock. "I can <em>feel</em> the Dragon ying power of that sword and it''s significantly stronger than the one I recall in the past."


    "Isn''t Ascalon supposed to be a Holy Sword, why can''t I feel anything Holy from it?" Rias asked.


    "It was wielded by Saint George, but it was more a Dragon yer sword back there." I shrugged.


    "If a <em>Noble Phantasm</em>, is the ''weapon'' of these ''Servants'' and you im that she is <em>King Arthur</em>, then that implies her weapon is the famous Excalibur, correct?" sses Girl asked. "So it never broke over there?"


    It was my turn to scoff. "Don''tpare the toy here with her sword. Excalibur over there, it''s the strongest weapon of the."


    Truthfully, I didn''t feel like sitting here exining every little detail of my home.


    "Well, I don''t understand much of that, but I suppose it gives me some sort of context." Mom just smiled while rubbing Kunou''s head. Kunou of course was just happily listening to the story without a care in the world. "Keep going, tell me about my daughter~"


    Despite it seeming like others wanted to ask me questions, I ignored their looks and continuing. "There''s not much to say. I met up with Zelretch ¨C"


    "Wait, the guy you reincarnated from!?" My other self eximed.


    "He did it at some point in the future, at that point in time, it was barely a theory so I made sure to catch up with him."


    "¡­.that sounds awkward."


    "It was, but I just called him gramps to make it easier." To be honest, despite being from Zelretch, I felt like my own person at this point.


    "Wait, you''re saying he did it <em>intentionally</em>?" sses girl''s eyes widened. "How is that possible!? If anyone could just ''reincarnate'' themselves, it would be more widespread."


    "Because it''s Zelretch and he doesn''t do things bymon sense."


    "That''s not an answer!"


    "Anyways, I met up with Gramps and got a bit closer to Artoria. But at that point, I was focused more on looking for a teacher." I looked up and smiled at Sc¨¢thach. "With Gramp''s help, I was able to open a path to the Land of Shadows where I met Sc¨¢thach." I snapped my fingers, remembering something else. "Oh yeah, almost forgot I also got my staff from Skyrim ¨C the Staff of Magnus ¨C a Divine Construct owned by the God of Magic from there." It was important to open the way, so I put it on the table.


    sses girl crossed her arms. "Did you steal this one too?"


    "Hey, yeah, you stole the Boosted Gear! You never said anything about that!" Issei stood up, pointing at me.


    "Yeah, what''s your point?" I rolled my eyes.


    "Give it back, my other self needs it to build his dream harem!"


    "So you''re saying you''re useless without Ddraig?"


    Mom''s hand was quickly pulling on my cheek. "Stop starting fights. And Issei, worry about yourself, you still have brick marks on your face."


    "I didn''t notice any difference." I managed to get out before mom pulled even harder.


    "You are preupied, shall I speak of our first encounter, student?" Sc¨¢thach put a hand on my shoulder.


    "Do what you want." I sighed.


    Did she know I didn''t really want to talk about it?


    "I remember that young boy approaching me through the harsh cold and hordes of undead monsters that popted my realm. He came upon me and asked me to be his teacher, I couldn''t deny his request due to the effort it took to reach me." She smiled in nostalgia. "It took much effort to beat out his arrogance."


    "Seems you failed in that regard." Sona snarked.


    "Yes, but thankfully I was able to teach him <em>taste</em> it seems." Sc¨¢thach replied, not missing a beat.


    Sona just had her mouth hang open, clearly not expecting a jab back like that.


    "I love you so much." I looked up at her with a big grin.


    "Hush." She snorted, pushing my head down. "He spent a few years under my tutge until he reached a point I was satisfied with." Her expression changed, a sad smile as she looked down at me. "However, I wronged him."


    "It''s fine¡­"


    "There is no need to defend me." I felt her hand run through my hair.


    "¡­.Wilhelm, what happened?" My mom asked, noticing the obvious tone.


    "I was tired and weary of life after being forced to remain within the Realm of Shadows for thousands of years. Due to the conditions of my existence, I was forever bound and unable to leave." She spoke softly. "Knowing that he felt strongly towards me, I still asked him to kill me so I could die in battle."


    "You''re one of those ''Servants'', aren''t you?" My Alternate Father spoke.


    "I am." She confirmed.


    "But how ¨C "


    "This student of mine¡­" She smiled a bit warmer. "He foolishly threw himself into another Grail War and fought his way to a victory just to bring me back."


    "¡­.because I didn''t want to live my life without you." I mumbled.


    "How could I not ept those kinds of feelings?"


    The atmosphere got a lot heavier at her admittance. "I also got a new sword." I changed the subject, putting Whisper onto the table. "And also, I have her old spear." I added Gae Bolg.


    Kunou pushed out of mom''s arms and came up to hug me.


    She really was a perceptive little girl.


    Venna also came over and wrapped her arms around me. "Why don''t we take a few minutes, hmm?"


    "That sounds like an excellent idea!" Mom pped her hands. "Why don''t I go make some snacks and get some drinks ready since we''re going to be here for awhile. Wilhelm dear, why don''t you show your daughter where you grew up?" Mom smiled.


    I know she was trying to give me a moment to collect myself, but genuinely, I had nothing good to say about this ce. But even so, I took the offer because I didn''t realize how much this whole thing still hit me.


    I don''t think I''ve ever shared the story with <em>other people</em> outside of my immediate group, it felt¡­..weird.


    "Come on sweetie, why don''t I show you around?" I took Kunou''s hand as I led her away, putting a little bit of distance between me and them.


    Really¡­.it''s almost a bit overwhelming in all honesty. Seeing the faces of people I have a lot of intense feelings towards, both good and bad, in one room like that in addition to everything else.


    "Daddy, you went to school around here right?" Kunou asked as we walked out the front door, as I intended to just go for a short walk with her around the neighborhood.


    I may have exaggerated even in my own head. I suppose not everything about this ce was bad, I had some decent memories of the general town. There was an arcade a few blocks away that I spent some time at. There was a nearby park that I enjoyed taking walks through. There was an aquarium that I also snuck into a time or two because I liked seeing the various sea creatures and it was a nice quiet ce for me to rx.


    "It''s¡­..not too far away." I measured the distance in my head.


    "Can we go see it? I wanna see where Dad went to school."


    Well, the school was certainly a ce I had mixed feelings about. "Alright, I suppose we could go check it out." It''s way after school hours so there shouldn''t be any students there. A short trip there wouldn''t be remiss. "Let''s go."


    [***]


    Kunou atleast enjoyed the short walk to the school. I don''t know what was so exciting about the walk, but she took it all in with wonder.


    And she kept asking me about everything I passed.


    Is it normal for kids to want to know about their parent''s history like this? I would ask Yasaka about itter? Or maybe Mom could answer that question. She probably has good parenting advice for me since I have no idea what I''m doing the vast majority of the time.


    "Here we are, Kuoh Academy." I can admit that seeing the front gate hit me with nostalgia.


    "Can we go inside!?" Kunou looked at me, pleading.


    I relented, and even though the gate was closed, I picked her up and hopped over.


    Well, the front doors weren''t locked, not surprising considering the Devils basicallye and go after school at their leisure.


    We walked right inside with Kunou looking left and right and she had a rather strange look on her face.


    "What''s wrong?" I finally asked.


    "I thought it would be different." She admitted.


    "You thought it would be more exciting?"


    "Everyone talked about Devils back home I thought if they ran the school, it would be different." She nodded.


    Ah.


    "Sorry to disappoint, it''s a rather normal school. But why don''t I show you one of my favorite spots?" I had a secret spot in the auditorium where the Theatre Club practiced every day after school. There was a half-room that was walled over that you could get into by removing an air vent. "It''s a secret room that no one knows about."


    "A secret room?" Her eyes widened and she smiled brightly.


    "Takao?" A voice called out and I snapped towards the source, recognizing it as one of Rias''s peerage that I met back home as well. "¡­..Takao?" He said again, his brow furrowing once he got closer.


    I looked at Kunou and she looked back at me and I slowly had a smile form on my face. "That''s right, it''s me Takao. What''s wrong, Kiba?" I''m fairly sure that was his name.


    Kunou held a hand over her mouth to stop herself fromughing.


    "¡­.why do you look¡­.?" He seemingly had trouble finding the right words.


    "Uh¡­.magic ident¡­?" It was the first thing I thought of off the top of my head.


    Kunou was giggling under her hands.


    He just blinked. "You''re taller¡­and your hair..?"


    "Yeah, don''t worry it''ll wear offter." I nodded, projecting confidence in my answer despite utterly bullshitting.


    "¡­..right." He clearly believed me. "And¡­.this is?"


    "Oh¡­um, this is Kunou I''m¡­..watching over her because everyone else was busy handling the magic ident that I mentioned a moment ago and since I''m basically useless, I figured I could babysit for a little while. She''s a Youkai, but don''t worry about that." I reassured him.


    "¡­..right."


    I just crossed my arms. "You''re wee to give them a call. Even¡­.<em>Dad</em> is there because of the <em>magic ident</em>." The funny thing is, technically, I wasn''t lying.


    That seemingly made him relent a bit. "How long is Rias going to be? Riser Phenex is going to be here any minute, she was supposed to be here. Not to mention Akeno and Issei ran off not long ago and she''s nowhere to be found either." He rubbed his head, letting out a sigh. "I actually tried calling, but they weren''t answering, I was about to run over there until I saw you."


    Holy crap, did they justpletely forget about something important in the wake of me appearing? Riser Phenex, wasn''t the guy she was supposed to marry, right? Was heing to talk about something important? Didn''t they already have a rating game or whatever to settle it in Rias''s favor, what was he popping over here for?


    Well, I could imagine there were a lot of things that needed to be settled in the aftermath of that kind of incident.


    Well, as their Elder, I should handle the situation in their ce.


    "Don''t worry, let me handle it!" I puffed up my chest.


    "e again?"


    "I mean, I can entertain them at least. You know, as the son of Lucifer, they would have to give me face." I threw out the quickest bullshit reason I could think of.


    "¡­..are you sure?" He sounded skeptical. "This sounds like a horrible idea."


    "Do you have a better suggestion?"


    "We could just tell him that there was an emergency and postpone the meeting." He replied with¡­.admittedly a logical response and probably the most reasonable one as well.


    However¡­..


    "Sona said doing something like that is bad."


    "Really?" He tilted his head.


    "Yup, that''s totally something my painfully in girlfriend would say." I nodded.


    "What?"


    "I said, that''s something my girlfriend said, at some point¡­.."


    ¡­probably.


    Maybe.


    He rubbed his chin. "I guess she would know better."


    "Wonderful, let''s go to the ult Club!" I have no doubt that''s where they would be meeting.


    "¡­.the ult <em>Research</em> Club." He corrected me, with a strange look shot my way.


    "That''s the one." I pat his shoulder. "Come along Kunou, we''re going to meet a Phenex!"


    [***]


    A/N


    Swiggity Swooty, Tiamating for Ddraig''s booty.


    Fae War starting very quickly, just settling the pre-war stuff. Next part of Looking ss and Kunou''s adventures are up on P.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 546:

    Chapter 546:


    "Nice to meet you, I''m Kurosaki Ichigo." I looked at her, unphased as her presence bore down on me. Despite doing so, she wasn''t disrupting the surroundings.


    She narrowed her eyes. "Do you think I wouldn''t know about Ddraig''s user for this era?"


    "Yes."


    "¡­.no wonder you are his wielder, you are just as shameless as the Great Welsh."


    "I''ve never met him before in my life." I crossed my arms.


    "There is something peculiar about you."


    "Is it my handsomeness?" I asked.


    She blinked again, looking at me as if she was trying to pry into my secrets. "¡­..When Mortals lie, there are signs. They are miniscule, but I''m able to detect them, increased heart rate, certain scents they let off. But you are utterly unphased despite the fact that you are lying to my face."


    "Do you have proof?" I raised an eyebrow.She pointed her finger at me and I felt something strange as the Boosted Gear appeared on my arm without my prompt. "Would you care to correct yourself?"


    "[I''ve never met this person before in my life.]" Ddraig defended me as the jewel on the Boosted Gear lit up.


    Ddraig, how the fuck did she force the Boosted Gear out of my soul?


    [She can sniff out any treasures! If she wanted, she could take things out of your ring too. There''s a reason she''s still pissed that I took some of her treasures <em>centuries</em> ago.]


    That would have been helpful to know beforehand.


    Some kind of treasure hunting ability? Not the strangest thing I''ve evere across.


    [I''m sorry, I was preupied with the powerful angry dragoness that won''t stop hunting me down every time I find a new host!]


    "This is clearly the Divine Dividing." I continued.


    "[My name is Albion, the stupid white dragon.]"


    "I''m quite literally looking at the Boosted Gear, Great Welsh." She deadpanned.


    "[I, Albion, realized that Ddraig is better than I''ll ever be and I changed my stupid wings into an awesome Red Gauntlet.]"


    "I am aware of who Albion''s host is." She said dryly. "I met with him by chance recently and he was more than happy to pass on your information."


    [That bitch!]


    "Nah, we switched the other day. He has the Boosted Gear now." I shot back without missing a beat.


    "Enough of your nonsense. I came for Ddraig." She frowned.


    "¡­..is this a booty call?"


    "¡­.I''m starting to sympathize with Indra." She just looked at me.


    "Considering how much of an asshole he is, that''s a rather impressive feat then." Iplimented myself. I decided to stop avoiding the point of contention. "What do you want?"


    "I want my treasures back." She said inly.


    "Ddraig, did you hear that? Time to cough up her treasures. Wait, you''re locked in a prison." I deadpanned.


    "Then the debt falls to you." She pursed her lips.


    "No."


    "No?" She repeated in confusion.


    "In what world would you think I have to pay that kind of ''debt''?" I answered back.


    "You''re his user ¨C "


    "¡­.And?" I interrupted her.


    She furrowed her brow and went silent. She went utterly still, unmoving and it was a bit unnerving for it to happen all of the sudden.


    "¡­..what''s wrong with her Ddraig?" She just silently stood there, and I was bing mildly concerned.


    "[Uh oh.]"


    ¡­what?


    "[She''s going to do that thing!]"


    I was going to question what he meant by that, but the Dragon Goddess in front of me, well, she sort of stopped reining in her ''presence''. Granted, she didn''t intentionally exude it, but that didn''t really matter when there was a fuck off powerful dragon standing right in the middle of Kyoto.


    I readied myself for a fight, I would have to lure her outside of ¨C


    She just plopped herself onto the ground, expressionless, lying there staring up at the sky.


    "¡­..Ddraig, what the fuck am I looking at."


    "[This is what she always does! Every time we had an argument, she would justy down silently until I gave in!]"


    "I thought she chased after your previous users!!?!" I gestured to the Dragon Goddessying on the literal street, staring up at the sky.


    "[She would follow them back home and make a nuisance of herself like this and not leave them alone!]"


    I wanted to say something, really anything, but no words could properly convey my thoughts. I just stared at the Dragon Goddess that reached a level of shamelessness I didn''t even know existed.


    "I have so many questions, like <em>what the fuck am I looking at</em>?" I emphasized again, but the first time I asked that didn''t help. It was rare that I found myself so genuinely speechless.


    I could gear Ddraig grumble. "[Despite being one of the strongest Dragons¡­..she doesn''t like fighting and is the most Gentle of our kind.]"


    I assume ''gentle'' had a different meaning when ites to Dragons, but that still has significance I suppose.


    "Why didn''t any of your previous users just force her away?" I sighed.


    Well, besides being too weak to do so. But that wasn''t a particr problem for me. She was strong, but I was stronger.


    "[...how could I ever hurt her?]" Ddraig said quietly.


    I sighed again because now that Ddraig said that, I couldn''t bring myself to harm her either. Someone that Ddraig cared about, after everything we''ve been through, I couldn''t raise a hand to the Dragon Goddess that wasying down in the middle of the road until she got her way.


    "You''re lucky that I''m here with you, Ddraig. Thankfully, I have a technique to counter hers."


    Ever so slightly, the Dragon Goddess twitched, as she was clearly listening to me and her eyes locked onto my own.


    I took out my Kaleidophone, making a call. "Izzy, I need an adult."


    Very quickly, and before I could even exin properly, a wooden scaffold pushed up out of the ground, rupturing the concrete as a vortex swirled underneath. It had been awhile since I''ve seen Izzy''s method of entering and leaving Yomi.


    Izzy strode out, looking at the scene, but before she would utter a word, someone peeked out from behind her.


    "Mother!?"


    Tiamat perked up, sitting up, but still on her butt. "Oh. Hello Ereshkigal."


    @***@


    This was turning into a rather odd day.


    What were the chances of meeting two Mesopotamian Deities like this back to back? I was fairly sure that there weren''t many of them around anymore.


    Tiamat, seemingly, wasn''t as shameless in front of another member of her pantheon.


    Izzy, rather sternly, made everyonee back to Yomi rather than cause amotion in the middle of Kyoto Youkai territory.


    Ereshkigal, she had long ck hair and wore quite a few ornate hair pieces but a simple white dress, seemingly made from cotton, but I wasn''t too sure. Other than the few ornaments, her appearance was¡­.simple, even if she was rather beautiful. A bit on the petite side, perhaps a couple inches taller than Artoria.


    Tiamat, walked to Izzy''s house, didn''t seem perturbed in the slightest. Rather, she took the Goddess into her arms, found a seat on the empty couch, sat down and put Ereshkigal into herp as she fawned over the other Goddess.


    "How many years has it been?" Tiamat hummed. And while she was acting the part of a doting mother, there was the feeling of¡­detachment. "A thousand years?"


    "Yes, Mother." Ereshkigal said softly.


    Tiamat''s nose twitched, and she looked down at the other Goddess. "You have a Treasure on you I don''t recognize, where is it?"


    "M-Mother!" Ereshkigal squawked as Tiamat''s hands started to inspect around her until she pulled out a string from around her neck and attached to it was some sort of pale looking key.


    I tilted my head because I had the feeling I''ve seen something like it before.


    "That''s strange, there''s nothing special about it." Tiamat shrugged, clearly losing interest and letting go of it as the other Goddess seemed to quickly stuff it back down her shirt.


    Izzy and I¡­.were kind of just silently watching them.


    "Ahem." Izzy, very unsubtly, cleared her throat.


    "Ah?" Ereshkigal made a small noise. "Erm¡­Mother¡­."


    "Hmm? Oh yes. Ddraig''s host still owes me a debt." Tiamat looked back at me.


    "I am <em>very</em> close to physically expelling you from Japan." Izzy narrowed her eyes. "I find it odd that one of the rare times I''m meeting with Ereshkigal, that you happen to appear."


    "She messaged me the other day and happened to mention that she was meeting you,, so I thought it was a good opportunity to seek out Ddraig''s host while you were preupied." Tiamat didn''t even hide it.


    "M-mother!?" Ereshkigal squeaked. "Don''t use me to distract Izanami!"


    Izzy let out a sigh, covering her face.


    "It''s not like I caused any disturbances with the mortals." Tiamat said offhandedly.


    Which¡­.was technically true.


    "I think a Dragon Goddess revealing herself fully in the middle of Kyoto is enough to be called a disturbance." I said dryly.


    Tiamat showed me a scowl, which followed Ereshkigal with a wince. "I am not a Goddess." Tiamat''s words were spoken with a faint but noticeable growl to them. <em>"Anymore</em>."


    Well, consider that nerve touched.


    "Um¡­.you''re Izanami''s¡­B-boyfriend?" Ereshkigal looked at me.


    I quickly switched gears, smiling politely back at her. "That I am." I said proudly, my Death Goddess adopting the faintest of red. Though she didn''t deny it. "It''s nice to meet one of Izzy''s friends."


    Ereshkigal''s demeanor shifted and she smiled brightly. "I heard a lot about you! Well, I think most people have at this point¡­..but it was so sweet the way you confessed about you both while so many people were watching!"


    I may have shot Izzy a wide grin, much to her chagrin.


    "Sorry for interrupting whatever it was you were both doing. I simply had an¡­..odd situation I found myself unable to handle without help." I nced at Tiamat who didn''t show an iota of regret over her actions.


    [Don''t hold your breath, she''s used that technique on me so many times, and I''ve lost to it every time.] Ddraig grumbled inside my soul.


    How frightening.


    Frankly, I pictured Jinn doing something simr, and I absolutely wouldn''t be able to beat it either, so I couldn''t find it in myself to joke at his expense.


    "We were simply having a chat about certain things." Izzy said dismissively. "Nothing overly important."


    "I''ve heard about Kur, it''s supposed to be a rather peaceful home for dead souls. I wouldn''t mind visiting it at some point." I continued, making polite small talk.


    "You¡­.would want to visit Kur!?" Ereshkigal''s eyes widened.


    "Uh¡­.yes?" Did I say something wrong?


    She held her cheeks. "¡­..no mortal has said that in a long time."


    "We wouldn''t mind visiting at any point, dear." Izzy''s expression turned warm and gentle when dealing with the other Goddess associated with Death.


    "It''s no Hades, but I can entertain guests!" She pumped her fist rather cutely. "My first guests in so long!"


    Why did that make me feel bad for her?


    "Before that, we should deal with the Dragon in the room." Izzy crossed her arms, her eyes focused on Tiamat.


    "I just want what I am owed. This one smells of treasures plenty." She held her hand up, pointing at me.


    "You''re no in the position to demand anything." Izzy scowled. "The fact that you showed up without any warning is already enough to throw you out without caring about politeness."


    Tiamat tilted her head. "I''m very persistent."


    [She''s not lying. I remember the first time she did that thing to me. Sheid in the same spot for over a decade until I finally caved.]


    ¡­.I don''t know if I should be impressed or not.


    You really still care about her, don''t you, Ddraig? I didn''t need him to answer, his attitude said it all.


    He was the type to hold a huge grudge, his rivalry with Albion evidence of that. Yet, despite Tiamat chasing after him over so many users, he never once thought about being forceful or harming her in any way.


    I could tell Izzy was having a headache on how to handle this situation as well. Tiamat was at the threshold of being powerful enough that you couldn''t simply <emmand</em> her to do something she didn''t want to do.


    And honestly, what could you even threaten her with? From what I recall, she lived in istion in the middle of the Familiar Forest in the Underworld.


    Her ''attachments'' to her Pantheon? Ereshkigal called her ''mother'' which made sense considering she''s their Primordial Mother, but Tiamat never once <em>returned</em> that kind of affection. There''s obviously a sort of invisible wall she keeps up between herself and her ''pantheon''.


    [Sorry for getting you wrapped up in my mess.] Ddraig uncharacteristically apologized.


    I wanted to point out his rivalry with Albion again but¡­..his attitude gave me pause.


    "You said Ddraig took your treasures, exin what you mean?" I sighed, realizing what the best way to handle this was.


    "He stole my treasures." She said with full seriousness.


    Ddraig¡­.


    [I only took a few!]


    <em>How many is a few?</em>


    [¡­.a few.]


    "How much did he take?"


    "Over half of my hoard." She scoffed in annoyance. "I managed to retrieve some of them over the years, but I''m still missing a lot. As his host, it''s your job to get them back."


    God dammit Ddraig. I have no idea how long that would take, and the fact that they''ve probably found new owners all over the world¡­.


    "¡­.what if I was willing to give you some of my treasures?"


    She perked up at that.


    @***@


    I pushed the door to my house open. "If you touch anything without permission, I won''t care about Ddraig''s affection towards you and I will not be polite. <em>This is my home</em>." I made it clear to the not-goddess Dragon.


    Tiamat didn''t speak to acknowledge my warning, just humming as she peeked inside, followed by Ereshkigal and Izzy. Izzy of course would supervise, and Ereshkigal was currently a guest so it would be rude to tell her to hang back.


    And I didn''t mind, she was Izzy''s friend so she was more than wee to visit my home. Truthfully, it was Izzy''s home as well, even if she had a home in Yomi just as well.


    Tiamat''s nose twitched excitedly. "I smell a lot of treasures." She preened and nearly shot off down the hallway.


    "What the hell!?" I heard Rin''s voice as I quickly followed after the Dragon.


    "What did I literally just say?" I grabbed the Dragon''s arm as she stood in the doorway of Rin''s Workshop.


    "Schweinorg, what the hell?" Rin was confused and perhaps a tad angry at the suddenness of what was happening.


    "Sorry, it wasn''t intentional. Rin, meet <em>Tiamat</em>." I briefly made introductions.


    Rin immediately recognized the name, staring at the Dragoness. "¡­.why is she trying to get into my workshop."


    "I smelled something good." Tiamat said simply.


    "¡­.thank you¡­?"


    "She can apparently sniff out ''treasures''." I sighed. "But that''s not where she <em>should</em> be going and is off limits. We''re going to where I keep the majority of my stuff."


    "¡­.right." Rin was probably still confused at what was happening.


    I was starting to think when you lived long enough, you developed some sort of odd quirk. Odin¡­Tiamat, others¡­.there was a pattern forming.


    Izzy quickly rejoined us, putting a not so gentle hand on the Dragon''s shoulder. Tiamat just had a yful smirk on her face despite the situation.


    [¡­I think she''s having fun. She rarelyes out and interacts with people anymore]


    That would¡­.exin a lot.


    "Ah?" Ereshkigal let out a noise, looking at Rin.


    "Eh?" Rin returned, in confusion as the Sumerian Goddess stared at her with wide eyes.


    "Be my priestess!" Ereshkigal blurted out.


    "¡­.what?" Rin blinked.


    "I second that." Izzy replied.


    "I¡­." Ereshkigal looked around awkwardly. "I didn''t mean to blurt that out! It''s just¡­..I was surprised. As soon as I saw you¡­.a Mortal, I¡­.I''ve never seen someone sopatible with me before."


    "Perhaps you should start off by introducing yourself." Izzy offered.


    "Right! I''m Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld!" She said proudly. "Be my Priestess!"


    "I''m Rin Tohsaka, and no."


    "Wah? Why not!? I''m a Goddess!"


    "I''m a Magu ¨C <em>Magician</em>, why would I care about those sorts of things."


    "I¡­..I can give you stuff¡­.?"


    Rin''s eyes began to sparkle. "I''m listening."


    Well, looks like Rin has this handled, I won''t meddle in it then. Though I am curious about what''s going on, so I''ll ask herter.


    "Where do you think you''re going?" Izzy hissed under her breath as Tiamat seemingly tried to sneak away. "It''s this way."


    Well, I was content to let Rin handle her own matters as Izzy very <em>gently</em> navigated Tiamat down the hallway to the correct room.


    Tiamat''s nose twitched again and her eyes lit up. "I smell a lot of good things here." She didn''t even wait for me to speak before pushing the door open.


    Technically, I called this my armory, because it sounded cool. Realistically, it''s just where I kept things that I don''t keep in my Ring.


    Magical and Enchanted weapons lined the walls. Magical ingredients of varying quality. There was also a good supply of potions set up on the shelves for emergencies when I wasn''t around. There were duplicates of Magical Tomes which were properly housed in the Library that Jinn took care of. And there was a plethora of other random things that I found some degree of value in.


    My inner dragon was happy being in here, despite the fact that I was giving some away.


    Tiamat''s hands were visibly twitching in excitement. "Can¡­..can I take what I want?" She hesitantly asked.


    It went against my nature, but I relented with a sigh. "Take what you want."


    I expected her to start scrambling around, but she was actually very meticulous as she walked up to arge shield, inspecting it thoroughly before pulling it off the wall and walking over near us, setting it down gently.


    On the opposite side, she stared at arge two-handed sword for a while before taking it off a weapon rack and once more, gently set it down next to the shield.


    She was making a little pile for herself.


    She wordlessly started to grow the pile, adding more and more things onto it.


    "What''s this?" She held up a vial.


    "Uh, crystallized Magical Energy ¨C Dust as it''s called." There was a bit of Dust stored here for emergencies as well.


    Tiamat''s eyes lit up and added it to the pile.


    "What''s her deal?" I asked quietly with Izzy by my side.


    "What do you mean?" Izzy looked at me.


    "She is¡­.odd."


    "She can hear you." Tiamat spoke from across the room.


    "You''re wee to leave." I quipped back.


    "Wilhelm, she is old. I don''t quite think you understand how old she is." Izzy was¡­well, she was a bit more polite in her tone. "She''s older than me."


    "I would have thought Ddraig told you already." She stole a nce at me as she added a few more items to the pile. "I thought you were intentionally insulting before, but I guess you really don''t know then."


    Does she mean when I called her a Goddess and she got upset? Well, in truth, I couldn''t feel an ounce of Divinity from her.


    She was purely a Dragon. And Ddraig once told me a very brief outline of what happened to her¡­


    "You lost your Godhood, right?" I asked.


    "Do you normally bring up a woman''s bad memories so bluntly?" Tiamat snorted.


    I rolled my eyes. "You threw yourself onto the ground like a child when you didn''t get your way."


    "And I''ll do it again." She said without an ounce of shame. If it wasn''t a threat towards me, I would be impressed at this point. "It''s not a secret. When my children mutted my body to create the Heavens and the Earth, a small part of my will was swept up in the newnds they created. Eventually, it reformed into that of a Dragon due to my connection with Dragons when I was still a Goddess. I''m no longer a Goddess, simply a Dragon."


    A Primordial Goddess reduced to this.


    Simply a Dragon, yet one of the strongest Dragons in the world. It made me genuinely curious how strong she would have been at her best.


    Eventually, Tiamat stopped adding things to the somewhatrge pile as if she were done. "You''re really letting me have these?"


    "I''m paying Ddraig''s debt." I admit I felt a little bit of an obligation due to my rtionship with Ddraig.


    Tiamat scrunched her nose. "It''s not equivalent. These are nice treasures, but it''s still a ways away from being what Ddraig stole from me."


    "Don''t push your luck." I rolled my eyes.


    "Why?"


    "What?" I replied back.


    "Why are you giving me your treasures? Despite iming you owe me a debt, I''m not stupid. I didn''t expect you to actually pay it off. Normally, I just annoy Ddraig and his host for a while before going back home." She freely admitted to her normal ns. "Though, normally his Hosts aren''t nearly at your level, both in strength and in hoard. His hosts are usually very poor. I''m just wondering why you''re doing this for me."


    "I''m doing it for Ddraig, not for you. Ddraig very clearly still cares about you, so I''m doing this in his stead."


    She didn''t respond to that immediately, her back was turned to me and I could barely see the edge of her face, but there was just a slight hint of something even if no words were spoken as she fiddled with the pile of stuff.


    "You have a good rtionship with the Great Welsh." She finally said.


    "Of course, he''s my partner. Eventually, I''ll figure out a way to free him properly from his Sacred Gear and reform his body."


    "Is that so?" She muttered to herself, waving her hand, the pile of stuff she picked out disappeared, swept up to wherever she stored it. "This ce is rather nice. Lots of different species, and it''s full of people. The perfect ce for a Dragon to vacation for a while."


    I felt a headacheing on.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name

 Chapter 547:

    Chapter 547:


    I don''t know how this happened. Well, I did know the sequence of events, but the <em>how</em> seemed rather improbable.


    I had to turn away and rub my temples because I was quickly getting a headache. A significant feat, because I don''t think I''ve ever had to deal with someone who was able to push my buttons like this. Well, specifically someone I couldn''t just punch and be done with.


    Tiamat was just silentlyying on my couch.


    She just <em>decided</em> to stay and thought that was the end of things. Don''t get me wrong, if a powerful Dragon wanted to ''vacation'' here for a bit, it would probably do nothing but help in the scenario that the Fae somehow counter attack.


    But at the same time, I was quickly approaching my limit.


    "Mother, you''re still here?" Ereshkigal and Rin walked out.


    "I like it here; I''m going to stay for a while." Tiamat said simply.


    "She''s not." I corrected.They ignored me. I looked to Izzy for help, and she looked away.


    Ddraig, your Ex is shameless.


    [There were times when she went out into the Human World and didn''t have the right coinage, so she wouldy down in front of a passing carriage and let it hit her so she could extort money from the humans.] Ddraig replied. [Actually, I think she did that even when she did have money¡­.]


    ¡­.was that supposed to make me think differently of her?


    [No, I just wanted you to know that you haven''t seen half of it yet.] Ddraig responded.


    And she''s your Ex.


    Something I felt the need to point out.


    [I regret nothing.]


    Fair enough.


    "Ereshkigal, she seems to have your blessing. Did something happen?" Izzy noted, looking at Rin and back to her.


    "Uh¡­.s-she''s now my Priestess, yes!" Why did she sound nervous and embarrassed?


    I looked at Rin who met my gaze, her lips slowly curling up and she made the universal sign for <em>money</em>.


    ¡­..did she extort a Goddess?


    Crestfallen Ereshkigal seemed to answer that question. I''m really going to need to get the details about this from herter.


    Today has been a really strange day.


    "I''ve never seen you so vexed before. Why don''t you let me handle things." Izzy grabbed my hand. "You were in the middle of something before the shameless dragon came."


    Well, she was in the middle of something too when I called her, but I epted the good will.


    I quickly kissed her and didn''t waste a single moment before very briskly walking out the door.


    "Eh?"


    I nearly ran right into Jeanne as I walked out.


    "Perfect, are you doing anything right now?"


    "N-no, I wasing to see if you were around¡­?" Jeanne shook her head.


    I took that as consent and threw her over my shoulder before opening a portal and taking her with me.


    @***@


    "I''m surprised you didn''t protest." I noted that Jeanne was being rather epting of her position.


    "Would you have let me down if I did?" She asked.


    "No."


    "Then there''s no point." She simply smiled. "¡­.how long are you going to have your hand on my butt?"


    "That depends, how long are you going to let me?" Because unless she was ufortable, I wasn''t going to stop.


    I made sure to give her nice round butt a good squeeze just in case.


    "Neh!" She puffed up cutely.


    Well, that wasn''t rejection.


    "Are we back in Romania?" She shifted around, looking at the surroundings.


    "Yup, I''m still in contact with the Yggdmillennia. I think I mentioned this?" I wasn''t too sure. "Basically, to summarize, I''m their patron. After what they pulled to separate themselves from the Mages Association, they were going to be destroyed so I stepped in. Basically, they handle some tasks for me like growing herbs and such."


    Jeanne just nodded along. "Can you let me down?" She finally asked. "Y-you can still touch my butt if you want¡­" She added with a growing tinge of red.


    "What a lewd Saintess." Iplied, setting her down.


    "I''m not lewd!"


    "Lewd Saintess is telling me to touch her."


    "T-that''s not what I meant!" She squeaked. "¡­.only because it''s you." She whispered.


    Despite giving explicit permission, I instead leaned over and kissed her forehead.


    She was far too cute.


    "Lewd Saintess."


    "Neh!" She hit my shoulder.


    The gates to the Yggdmillenia castle opened up as we approached, something I wasn''t surprised atby this point. I was curious if they constantly had someone on the look out for me just in case I stopped by.


    "Lord Schweinorg." Darnic greeted me.


    Well, he wasn''t nothing if not polite and a stickler for decorum from what I recall. It seems like despite what he was preupied with, he woulde to greet me if I showed.


    "Darnic, it''s good to see you again." I walked inside, with Jeanne. "I brought Ruler with me."


    "Hello Master of Lancer." Jeanne politely lowered her head for a brief moment in greeting.


    "Ruler. I am surprised to see you." Darnic didn''t hide it either.


    "Long story short, in a Parallel world, humanity has been incinerated and we''re working on restoring it. It involves a bunch of Holy Grails." I gave a very brief description.


    "I see." He furrowed his brow, probably confused even with that.


    "That does raise a question. Have you been interacting with the Clock Tower recently?" I asked.


    "As per our arrangement, we had been absorbed back into the Mages Association even if we remained our own entity." He cast a wry smile. "I have made a handful of trips for various meetings and summons."


    That made me pause for a moment. "Nothing go wrong I hope?" Because I was backing them with my name and status, even if they didn''t know me in this world-line, I wasn''t going to let a group I was supporting get bullied.


    "Only the usual urrences. It is by no means something I cannot handle as I did in the past." He said simply.


    Right, he was more than capable of handling the normal shenanigans.


    "Just remember that you have my backing and that very few entities in this world are capable of making you roll over." I reminded him just in case.


    "I will take your words to heart." He seemed pleased by that. "I do, however, carry a message from Lord Zelretch."


    "Oh?" Now that surprised me because he was more than capable of reaching me without any intermediary.


    "He said it in passing, such as I do not know the importance. It was merely a week ago and said if you came about that I should tell you to ''Check over at home because your Cousin woke up''." He repeated, probably verbatim, the way he spoke it rather than his normal tone.


    Well¡­.I suppose I should check back home then.


    Curious as to why Gramps from my world-line didn''t tell me that but the one here left that message.


    But I can say that the thought of meeting my ''cousin'', <em>A True Ancestor</em> does pique my interest.


    "Thank you for passing on the message. In the meantime, I would like to see the progress you all have made."


    "Right away, Lord Schweinorg." He gestured as we followed him inside the castle.


    Jeanne looked around happily. "I''m d that everything is repaired."


    "It''s thanks to Lord Schweinorg''s support that we had the funds and manpower to repair our home and persist until now." Darnic answered, not losing out on the opportunity to throw praise my way.


    "Oh wow, it''s so pretty." Jeanne''s eyes lit up as we walked into the underground Greenhouses.


    I shared her sentiment even if I didn''t voice. The ce had been expanded to an insane degree and it was vibrant and flush with life. Even the air inside carried a hint of sweetness to it as it felt like a small reprieve from the mundane world.


    There were very few ces like this that existed in this world anymore.


    "As you can see, we expanded our operations. We have three more Green Houses, but they''re of smaller scale for experiments. We experienced a time of exponential growth that caught us off guard." Dranic stated as we took a small walk around the various herbs nted inside.


    "Exponential growth? Exin that." I leaned down to check on a Blue Mountain Flower.


    "As you know, we''ve been using various methods to speed up production and growth rates of the various herbs you''ve brought. Once we reached a threshold and obtained sufficient experience in handling these materials, we were able to expand thirty times over in a short time frame. However, this had the unforeseen side effect of hitting a rather strange wall we didn''t anticipate."


    "Oh?"


    "The Mana around the castle was dropping rapidly to sustain the growth rate. It was to the point where within a few miles of our residence, there was a noticeable drop that could be observed even through mundane means. Normal nts began to wilt, humans became more sluggish. And isn''t to ount for more mystical side effects."


    Mana was the lifeblood of the world, while normal humans didn''t manipte it like Magus did, it still was an aspect that couldn''t be ignored. It would be one thing if it was a steady decline over a long period of time, but a sharp decrease within a short period would have obvious adverse effects.


    "If I had to guess, you were forced to destroy some of your extensions and manually restore the vitality to the area through Rituals." I hazarded a guess.


    "It''s as you say, Lord Schweinorg." He didn''t hide it. "The degree of Magical nts in this era was too much for the ambient Mana and we were forced to reduce our production until a better means would be established. We are at full capacity until we expand outside of our territory."


    That sounded about right then. The most obvious method for expansion is to start nting in other ces where it wouldn''t hurt the environment.


    This wasn''t something I considered, but makes sense in hindsight. It shouldn''t be an issue for the Youkai and Yasaka considering the density of Mana in the air was much more substantial there and replenished quicker.


    "Well it couldn''t be helped." I simply shrugged. "At least you should have been able to produce a significant amount of Potions if you weren''t sustaining the growth and had to cut down." He said ''destroyed'' but that was more so meant that rather than parsing a certain amount to expand, he could push all of that into production of Potions instead until they reduced back to a sustainable amount.


    "You are correct, Lord Schweinorg. We have your portion set aside if you would like to view it." He stated.


    "It''s mainly why I came. Lead the way."


    "It''s over here." He walked out the room and down the hall until there was arge and metal door encased in quite a few magical defenses. He merely put his hand on it and they receded and pushed the door open, holding out his hand for us to go in.


    Jeanne stilled and even I came to an abrupt stop.


    Darnic, when I nced at him, had a bit of a smirk on his face. "I will leave you to it, Lord Schweinorg."


    Competence and Intelligence is such a wonderful trait to have in subordinates.


    "I can''t count them all." Jeanne said softly.


    "Do we need to teach you to count as well?" I looked at her.


    "That''s not what I meant!" She puffed up again. "There''s¡­a lot."


    That was an understatement.


    Easily over ten thousand potions of varying colors lined up on shelves in a ratherrge storage room.


    This wasn''t even everything because the Yggdmillennia family got their share as did Gramps from this World-Line.


    These were all mine ¨C rtively speaking considering I was handing them over to Yasaka.


    Well, this day certainly just turned around. This would be a huge boon for what''s toe. And Yasaka should be announcing our invasion count down today.


    I watched as Jeanne bent over to look at a colorful potion of a bright purple.


    I raised an eyebrow as her thong peeked out of her booty shorts and I didn''t hesitate to pull on it.


    "D-don''t ¨C <em>Hng</em>?!" She let out a small moan, shuttering slightly.


    She looked at me with wide eyes, her face quickly turning red.


    It was the first time I''ve ever heard that from her.


    I didn''t stop.


    Today was a good day.


    @***@


    Serafall POV


    "Today is a shit day, Sirzechs!"


    "¡­..why is that, Serafall?"


    "Don''t be stupid, you know what." I huffed. "By the way, we just got some information that the Youkai are preparing for their invasion ahead of schedule. They should be starting by the end of the week."


    "Already?" He raised an eyebrow. "Even Ajuka said he would need a bit of time to breach into that ce."


    I shrugged. "What do you want me to say? That they''re liars? At this point, I''m inclined to believe them if they said they shit gold."


    "Crude, but I get your point."


    "Anyways, I''m bringing it up because a few of our Devil News outlets wanted permission to head over to Kyoto and ask the Youkai for permission to film some stuff about the invasion since it''s a somewhat hot topic among some of the younger Devils. Apparently they want to follow the Youkai and document what''s going to happen on that side." I told him, holding up some of the papers that were sent to me.


    "Shouldn''t I be handling the domestic stuff? Why did you get a request like that." He asked, taking it from me.


    "Since it involves your Bastard, they were at least smart enough to give it to me since you''ve dropped the ball so hard there. And technically, it does fall under foreign affairs."


    Big Red let out a groan. "I can''t really argue with either of those points."


    "Hmm, I''m surprised you aren''t throwing a fit."


    "I don''t <em>throw fits</em>." He deadpanned.


    "Alright, but you know what I mean. You usually sulk or pout whenever your bastard is mentioned."


    "I''ve been trying to do better, alright?" He grumbled.


    Well, miracles do happen. Better check to make sure Big G didn''te back suddenly.


    "I''m gonna give them the go ahead." I finally said.


    "Then why even ask me?" He snorted.


    "I just wanted your opinion and to keep you in the loop. Regardless, you would have allowed it as well. You''re an idiot, but you''re not stupid. Being able to record what''s going on with the Youkai War would be¡­.beneficial." If they agree of course, there''s no harm in letting them try to approach the Youkai.


    The only question is if I get involved. Would it help them or hurt them if I sent a letter ahead to that damn Fox?


    Maybe I should have Mama Gremory broach it?


    "Hey Red, where''s your mom at?"


    "I was just heading home to see her, she called me about something urgent?" He cracked his neck. Guess he''d been working for awhile at this point. "Why?"


    "Wanna ask her some stuff." I waived it off. "Might be easier for her to ask the Youkai Fox for permission."


    "It couldn''t hurt to ask." He epted. "It''s not like you''re an outsider, juste along with me. If something is wrong, then extra hands would be useful just as well."


    Teleportation Circle go!


    I threw it down and teleported the both of us to Gremory Manor.


    Immediately, I saw Rias and she was just standing there with a nk look on her face, and I trailed her eyes to see what she was looking at.


    "Ancestor?!" Sirzech''s eyes widened.


    "I told you to call me Runeas." The affirmed Ancestor of the Gremorys replied, <em>while she was fondling </em>Mama Gremory''s big boobs.


    How long has it been since we saw her? It should have been at the end of the Civil War as we took up our positions as the new Satans. She came to greet us as she ''woke up from her nap'' because of themotion.


    One of twost ''Demons'' that remain, her and Zekram.


    "¡­.why are you wearing the Kuoh School uniform?" I found myself asking.


    The petite ancestor released Mama Gremory and walked over to us. "I found it in Venna''s closet and thought it was cute. Apparently the fashion from a few centuries ago is far gone so I had to adjust."


    "Mom, why do you have a School Uniform?" Sirzechs asked.


    "Dear, why are you asking me a question you already know the answer to?" Mama Gremory shot back, making Sirzechs stiffen.


    I nearly jumped back because Runeas was now grabbing <em>my</em> boobs. Though after a few moments, I realized what she was doing. "Are you, feeling my bra?"


    "Is that what it''s called?" She tilted her head. "I saw it on Venna too, it''s much better than a corset, I was wondering what it was. Must be something rather recent."


    Ah¡­.that makes sense.


    She tends to sleep for centuries at a time¡­.I''m not surprised the idea of a Bra is novel to her.


    Jeez, I remember when I had to wear a Corset, those were dark times.


    "W-what''s going on?" Rias finally managed to sputter out.


    "Does she not know me?" Runeas let my boobs go, I didn''t really pay it any mind since it wasn''t sexual.


    Not that she wouldn''t, she''s by far one of the horniest Devils I''ve ever met in my life even if she doesn''t visibly show it.


    "I took her to see you while you were sleeping when she was little, she may have forgotten. Rias, meet your Ancestor, Runeas Gremory, the first Gremory."


    "She''s cute." Runeas smiled. "She takes after me too." The Old Devil said, pushing out her <em>ample</em> chest.


    Despite being shorter, Runeas had a <em>noticeably</em> bigger chest, which is a feat.


    I wasn''t jealous.


    "I-I remember now, I think I snuck into her room a few times when I was younger?" Rias blinked.


    "Oh? Did you do anything <em>naughty</em>?" Runeas grinned.


    "Bwah!?"


    Runeas seemed to lose interest. "You''re right, Devils now really are more prudish now."


    "Ancestor¡­.please don''t tease my younger sister." Sirzechs sighed.


    "Tease?" Runeas tilted her head. "I was being serious. I don''t mind, as long as you all clean up afterwards, you''re wee to have a bit of fun with Ol''Gremory while she sleeps." The little smirk made me uncertain if she was being serious or not.


    Rias seemed to need to reboot though.


    "Well, I don''t mind if I''m not sleeping either." She winked towards Rias.


    "I''m afraid you will be disappointed, Lady Runeas." Venna politely spoke up.


    "Oh well." The petite ancient devil sighed. She walked over to the couch, plopping onto it, uncaring that her legs were open and she was wearing a short skirt and apparently no panties. "Tell me what''s been going on. That old fuddy woke me up for some reason and he''s not even here to greet me. So I may as well catch up with current events."


    "Ancestor, I retrieved what you asked." Zeoticus walked into the room, holding a box full of random stuff. "These are all the keepsakes of yours that you asked us to hold onto." He didn''t seem perturbed in the slightest by our presence and set the box on the table infront of her.


    "Hmm." She started digging through it and pulled out a ne? It was nothing more than a bit of string with what looked like half a key on it¡­weird. "Oh goody, I thought I lost this. That old bastard would have been pissed if I did." She chuckled. "Anyways, what''s happened while I was sleeping?"


    "Mama Gremory is banging Sirzech''s son." I blurted out before anyone else and time to speak.


    Sirzechs looked at me with utter betrayal.


    I''m sorry Sirzechs, this is payback for all the crap I''ve had to deal with the past year because of you.


    Suffer.


    "Oooh~ Tell me more." The Gremory Ancestor had a big grin on her face.


    Suffer.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I aslo have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name

 Chapter 548:

    Chapter 548:


    I intertwined my fingers and pushed my arms out, stretching as I had been sitting down for a while. It''s funny, I remember before my memories flooded back in my youth, reading stories, watching shows, and how they made Magic look so wondrous and fantastical. Those settings seemed to skip over the rather¡­.boring parts.


    That is to say, I spent thest four or so hours doing nothing but calctions and a bit of research. And frankly, this isn''t even an umon urrence for the vast majority of Magi.


    In a lot of situations, I can put the backend calctions to Mirage to handle, but in this particr case, I''m forced to do the majority of them by hand.


    I had the Harp and Avalon on the floor, both of them surrounded by a ritual circle containing about nearly every origin of Magical Ability I had acquired in my life. And while Mirage wasn''t able to justpute everything without me, it was still handling a heavy workload that I could shunt off to it.


    Right now, I was basically just gathering the needed data on how these objects interact with my origins. From there, I was going to partition off the effects and trace back their origins to see if I can''t get a proverbial foot in the door to the Fae Realms. I admit, I wasn''t entirely optimistic about this n, but if it did work, it would save me a considerable amount of time over doing it the ''proper way''.


    Essentially, I was throwing things at what these objects connected with to see if I couldn''t find the ''door''. Otherwise, I would have to manually search for it.


    I basically just stabbed Mirage into the ground while it handled the rather mundane portions that didn''t require my specific input.


    Thankfully, I could multitask, and there was something I had been putting off because things just continued to pile up on me. I probably should have done this sooner, my tendency to continuously push things off is not something I want to indulge intentionally. That already bit me in the ass rather recently.


    I took out my Goblin made Sword.I''ve been mentally calling it Greed, which is a bit on the nose, but I think it fits considering what I was going to be doing.


    It was a beautiful sword, a Jian, made of Goblin Silver that had a rather elegant glint to it despite being a very simplistic design. Even without the purpose Imissioned it for, I would have loved to have this in my treasury because it''s a magnificent piece.


    I carefully set it to the side and let a barrel drop out of my ring with a thump.


    The inside of the barrel had been coated fully with Emerald. It was a waste, but a necessary one considering what it would be filled with.


    I waved my hand, letting dozens and dozens of bottles of varying size and shape deposit onto the table next to me.


    Andstly, I made sure to get a mask to cover my face as well as casting a few spells to protect me as well.


    I grabbed the first bottle, a small green container that fit into my palm, and I uncorked it, dumping the contents into the barrel.


    A mild paralysis poison.


    Of the same kind, I uncorked quite a few bottles and dumped them in as well until there was a little bit pooling at the bottom.


    Emerald was the best to use to contain Poison and Venom.


    The precious stone had the properties of being able to handle the type of corrosive substances without breaking down or losing potency.


    I may not overly utilize Jewelcraft in this life, but it doesn''t mean I didn''t retain a good amount of knowledge on the subject.


    I took Greed and gently put it de down into the barrel, letting it rest against the side.


    There was no effect, but I didn''t expect one to be in all honesty.


    Goblin Silver is greedy, the concept, while not overly powerful, is ingrained into the aspect of its existence. It takes in things that make it ''stronger'' or ''better''.


    A mere Paralysis Poison isn''t going to activate the effects.


    But on the flip side, I couldn''t immediately have it take in something like Jormungandr''s Poison, or Fenrir''s Saliva. It simply couldn''t handle the ''strength'' of those things, thus I had to carefully cultivate it upwards to that level.


    I took out a Fear Poison, that I obtained from Thorum and from extension, Skyrim. I poured it into the barrel with the Paralysis Poison.


    Next was a basic Poison without any magical properties, something thates from natural sources.


    A few more basic poisons still hadn''t elicited a reaction, but I was confident for the next one.


    I uncapped a powerful Magicka Poison. A Poison that attacks one''s Magical Energy.


    Nearly as soon as I poured it inside, the sword reacted, glowing as the liquid inside the barrel slowly receded a few inches as if the sword were drinking it up.


    Being able to attack someone''s Magic was certainly something that makes the sword stronger. And as a side effect, it drank in the whole concoction due to the ''Magicka Poison'' being part of it at that point.


    I was about to pour more ''Magicka Poison'' into the barrel until I heard a knock at the door, I could feel who it was so I wasn''t bothered. "Come in."


    Jinn happily barged right in, smiling brightly when she saw me, though it seems the waft of poison in the air hit her and any words died in her throat. "A little warning." She coughed, casting a few spells around her to take the lingering remnants away. She looked at me, then at the Ritual I was performing on the other side of the room. "I was about to ask if all that was going to interfere with the Ritual, but you put up a Bounded Field around it."


    "Do you think this is my first time?" I deadpanned.


    She shrugged. "You tend to miss the small things."


    "Fair." I couldn''t argue that point. "You need me for something?"


    Jinn shook her head. "Just wanted toe to see if you needed help. Yasaka officially announced the invasion date, so everyone''s running around and I wanted to be useful somewhere."


    "Hmm. Is that shameless Dragon outside still?" I basically avoided the area I thought she would be in when I got back.


    "Tiamat?.....well¡­.Yasaka said that they worked out a deal."


    I felt another headacheing on. "Proceed." I ushered her to continue exining.


    "The house next to us was bought."


    "¡­.joy." I groaned.


    "In return for letting her live ''here'' for the time being, Tiamat will defend the city if it''s attacked."


    "While that is good news and extremely beneficial, I still reserve the right to be annoyed." Having a Dragon of her power to protect in the case of a ''counter attack'', well, that''s pretty significant.


    Jinn shrugged. "I think she''s nice."


    "You met her?"


    "Uh huh."


    "¡­.you''re just saying that because she''s blue." Tiamat''s true form was very blue apparently.


    "Yup." She didn''t even deny it. "So whatcha doin?" She came over, looking at my sword in the barrel.


    "Finally getting around to upgrading my sword."


    "Hmm, do you have notes?" She asked, and I simply handed my notes on the subject over to her as she began flipping through them. "Oh that''s smart. It wouldn''t take in things weaker than it, but if you add something it would absolutely take into the vat, it''ll suck it all up because it considers the vat one ''entity''."


    "Got it in one." She''s always been a smart cookie, but that''s fairly obvious.


    "I''m not super knowledgeable on all the poisons here, but you made sure they wouldn''t conflict if they were mixed together, right?"


    "It was one of the first things I made sure to check. Well, I can''t say with one hundred percent certainty, but I went over the ingredients in each concoction to make sure there weren''t any obvious contradictions." I nodded.


    There wasn''t much of a difference between Poison and Medicine. One can easily counter the other, or even a poison can counteract another poison. About half of the various things I gathered haphazardly had to be shelved because they would be vtile.


    "The first part was giving the de the ability to attack someone''s Magical energy." I recited off, grabbing a few more vials, dumping them into the vat without a care. Most of them were just straight Poisons that attacked the body in one way or another. I then picked up a Red square vial. "At this point, the sword is still too ''weak'' and I''m just building up its ''reach'' rather than its ''strength''." I dumped thest vial in and the sword reacted once more, drinking up the ''new'' tonic''.


    It was a Poison that targeted one''s Vitality, the opposite of a ''Health Potion'' inparison.


    I wanted the Sword to be the ultimate Mage killer, that didn''t just mean anti-magic to inject powerful poison, I wanted it to have versatility. I wanted someone who got stabbed with this to suffer every possible affliction I could shove into it.


    Jinn started taking things off the table and casually dumping them into the vat of poison too. She read my notes, so there was no point in questioning her, she wouldn''t do anything to ruin this.


    "Stamina Poison going in." She said after a dozen more different things were added.


    Just as predicted, the Sword reacted and drank them in again.


    At this point, the Sword''s path was locked in ce. It was a Poison sword and probably couldn''t take in anything that went against the new concepts added into it if they were too far divorced from what it existed as now.


    "That should be the first step. Time for the second."


    She flipped through my notes. "Now you want to reinforce the Poison aspect, right?"


    "yup, get the¡­.green and red ones over there." I pointed behind her. "The tiny vial preferably and be careful with it."


    "Oh, what''s this?" Jinn held it up to her face. "It''s actually really potent and even I wouldn''t want this inside of me."


    "Basilisk Venom." I replied. "I got it from the world where the sword was made. Apparently, it''s one of the strongest in the world. Add the weaker ones first."


    She just hummed, pouring in a bunch of more things. "Frostbite Venom¡­..Necrotic Poison, that''s interesting. Hag Poison, I remember reading about this one. Don''t recognize these two, oh¡­is this Hydra Poison?"


    "Got it from Kairi, apparently, he had a baby Hydra encased in Amber and he gave me a bit. A far cry from an Adult Hydra, but it''ll build up into the Basilisk Venom nicely." I exined as she dumped it inside.


    She also unceremoniously uncorked the Basilisk Venom once those were added and just dumped them inside.


    The whole thing sizzled as the Sword greedily ate it up.


    "This reminds me of something, isn''t there a thing where people make a really powerful poison with a bunch of others added together?" She looked at me.


    "A Gu." I replied. "You put a bunch of really poisonous and venomous organisms inside a container, and eventually they kill each other, leaving only the strongest." Or thereabouts. But the idea was generally the same.


    The sizzling of the Basilisk Venom finally subsided, even if the concoction was bubbling at this point. I slowly pulled at the grip of Greed and gradually it slinked out of the barrel, the miasmic substance rolling off of the de.


    Not a drip of it remained as I held my sword up but that doesn''t mean there wasn''t evidence of what happened. If you looked very closely, there were vein-like patterns under the surface that pulsed a rather dark green. But they also began to slowly fade, bing invisible to the eye.


    I wasn''t done, but one thing was for sure, even I wouldn''t want to be stabbed with this at this point. I would survive without a huge problem, but it would be painful.


    With a flick of my wrist, a Portal opened, and a sky of illuminated lights appeared overhead on the opposite side.


    "Wilhelm?" Meridia''s voice reached me as she looked my way. "Is there something you require?"


    "Can you grab me a troll please? Bounded if possible."


    Meridia blinked and did something as a Frost Troll fell onto the floor in front of her and golden ethereal chains wrapped around it. "Is that all?" It floated over to me and I let it pass through the portal and touch onto the ground in my workshop.


    It struggled, but it couldn''t escape.


    "Thank you, love you." I blew her a kiss.


    She smiled lightly as I closed the portal.


    "She''s going to be happy for a while." Jinn hummed.


    "Hmm?"


    "Meridia, she likes when you ask her for small, innocuous things." Jinn poked at the troll. "I would feel sorry for this thing if Trolls weren''t bad for the environment and generally any ce they settled down. Did you pick a Troll because of their regenerative properties?"


    "Yup, figured it would be the best test subject." And as she said, absolutely no bad feelings about using one of these things as a test subject. They weren''t even natural creatures from what I recall, something created that propagated over Nirn.


    I wasted no more time and pushed the tip of my sword into the Troll''s chest.


    The effects were immediate and gruesome.


    A Troll that can regenerate missing limbs ended up a shriveled husk in moments. Its blood vessels popped, its veins ruptured, its skin became necrotic, and all of its organs failed quickly. Blood seeps from its pours before every part of it was eaten away and it became not but a husk.


    Despite how impressive the effects were, my intended target was far beyond a mere ''troll''.


    "Are you doing the next step?" Jinn inspected the corpse before flicking her hand, igniting it so its remains simply disappeared.


    "No time like the present." I nodded, taking out thest three ingredients. "Saliva from Fenrir, Jormungandr''s Poison¡­" And probably the most important thing. "Thest few drops of Felix Felicias." I was going to need a little bit of luck for this to work, but I wasn''t going to drink it.


    Rather, I dripped it onto my sword.


    There was a step between thest bit and bing Godly. I had nothing to bridge that point, so I was going to fudge it a little bit.


    The sword didn''t directly eat the ''luck'' like it did other things, I didn''t expect it to, that would be ridiculous. Luck was too nebulous a concept for it to make the sword ''stronger''.


    Rather, the drops on the sword, I took the vial holding Jormungandr''s poison and dropped it onto those spots, letting it mix together.


    The sword glowed and vibrated.


    Faintly, the roar of a Serpent could be heard as the phantom of the World Serpent coiled around the de, disappearing inside of it.


    Interesting.


    I could feel the Sword''s existence being elevated a step and it trembled in my grasp.


    It managed to take in the Poison of Jormungandr which was a feat in itself. By doing this, it stepped into the threshold of being able to harm Godly beings, a clear leap in its previous capabilities.


    This sword could now harm me sufficiently.


    The Sword still trembled in my hand like it was having trouble ''digesting'' what it just took in.


    I looked at Fenrir''s saliva on the table and decided to wait. It was ''stronger'' than Jormungandr''s Poison and I wasn''t sure if my Sword could handle it right now.


    Overall, I''m still happy with the progress made.


    It was good enough for now and I would make sure to experiment before going to the next part.


    "You done?" Jinn looked over my shoulder.


    "For now." I put the sword onto the table, letting it rest. Despite not touching it, it nked against the table, vibrating in ce. "Not a bad ce to stop."


    "How''s the other thing going?" She looked over at my Ritual.


    "Let''s see¡­" I walked over to Mirage to see if the basic Calctions I needed were done so I could begin the real experiments. "It needs a little bit more time unfortunately." Which meant I had some free time! "Wanna go visit Gramps for a few hours with me?"


    Jinn pursed her lips. "Normally, I''d be happy to, but I wanna keep busy. If you don''t need help, I''m going to go see if anyone else does." She walked up, kissing me on the cheek. "I''ll make sure to check back in a few hours in case you get caught up in something."


    "You''re the best."


    She smiled brightly, leaving the room.


    Well, Other Gramps said that Arcueid Brunestud was visiting my Gramps¡­.let''s see what that''s about.


    I left Mirage there and opened the Portal Manually, the Calctions needed for this long memorization so it was rather easy to pop over to the Clock Tower, specifical Gramps'' workshop.


    "Gramps, are you ¨C" I stopped, blinking because Gramps wasn''t anywhere to be seen, but Lucretia was there.


    And so was a certain blond-haired, Red-eyed girl.


    Or rather, should I say True Ancestor.


    She looked at me, I looked at her.


    The chair she was sitting on exploded.


    Why was there a wed hand going for my throat?


    @***@


    A/N


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 Chapter 549:

    Chapter 549:


    I was genuinely surprised; I didn''t expect someone to try and kill me as soon as I appeared. I saw who it was, the nearly expressionless face of my ''Cousin'', Arcueid Brunestud.


    Of course, I pped it away immediately, making her nearly halt in ce, blinking for a confused moment.


    She apparently didn''t expect me to react so quickly.


    She tried to grab at me again, and I pped her hand away again. This continued two more times before she finally frowned and her hand clenched like a w, and she swiped it at me instead.


    I used a burst of Shunpo to dodge it, but she cleaved out the side of Zelretch''s wall, opening it right up, tearing through the Bounded Fields he had around the ce.


    Now, anyone could just waltz right in if they wanted.


    She looked back at me with eyes that held no hesitation in them.


    Fuck me, she''s really was going to try and kill me wasn''t she?


    I looked at Lucretia who just shrugged with a ''what do you want me to do?''.Well, I couldn''t fault her, there were probably a handful of people who could talk down Arcueid Brunestud from doing something and at this point in time, I was not one of them.


    And honestly¡­.I couldn''t bring myself to hurt her. I wasn''t Zelretch, I stopped thinking of myself that way a long time ago, but I still held many of the memories. And the fondness he felt for her was something I still recalled vividly.


    Well, that was also under the assumption I <em>could</em> hurt her. Technically, I could do some damage, but I would notbe able to kill her as I am now.


    Not only would she regenerate and basically shrug off anything I used that did significant damage the second time, but she received reinforcement from the world. That was to say, if she fought a strong enough opponent, her status let her borrow power from the world to <em>always</em> be <em>just</em> strong enough to beat them.


    Though this rarely happened because her ''minimum'' threshold was usually <em>at least</em> Servant level if not approaching high tier Servant before that sort of thing kicked in.


    I really didn''t have time to contemte it anymore because her hand stabbed at me and I was eerily reminded of what happened with the Heretic God I fought except her hand felt more <em>sharp</em>.


    Thinking on my feet, I threw out a handful of Talismans. Each one of them carried a different binding spell that hit her as she wasn''t one to dodge often.


    They were basic spells, normally they would have just fizzled out on contact on a being of her level, but they caused her a momentary pause because she''d never experienced Eastern ''Magecraft'' before. From my memories, I could vaguely recall that she rarely spent time in the East and hadn''t run into anyone attacking her in this way.


    I took that momentary respite to Shunpo behind her and I gave her a light but <em>firm</em> kick on the backside.


    The first real disy of emotion from her was apanied by a small <em>yelp</em> as she fell over onto her face, sliding a few feet across the floor.


    All the Talismans I threw at her disintegrated by the sheer amount of power she was releasing as she slowly turned her head to give me a death stare, positioning herself upright.


    ¡­.welp, time to skedaddle.


    I turned around towards the hole in the wall leading out of Zelretch''s home and used it for my hasty escape with the fastest Shunpo possible without overtly disying my other powers.


    And holy shit she''s fast because she caught up to me with pure speed!


    I had to kick a random bystander to the side because she gouged out the cobblestone pathway with her hand where I was running by a second ago.


    A friendly reminder that Arcueid didn''t really care about bystanders at all, and it wasn''t even a malevolent inclination, she was just purely apathetic towards them.


    "Stop attacking me!" I finally shouted, ducking under another swipe as I rolled to the side from her fearsome ws. At this point, we had run through the hallways and were in the big open courtyard situation around the ssrooms for some of the lower end subjects.


    Thankfully, everyone who saw what was going on made themselves scarce <em>very</em> quickly.


    "Stop running." She demanded even if her expression didn''t show much prompt.


    "Will you stop attacking me if I do?"


    "No." She said with full truthfulness before she waved her hand through the air and all matter where I was just a moment prior was eviscerated. A massive hole in a circr shape appeared near where a small grass hill was previously.


    Right, Marble Phantasm, can basically control natural phenomena.


    She just created a Vacuum.


    I panic casted a spell to shoot up pirs of Earth between her and myself to obstruct her vision.


    She just bulldozed right through them without a single care and once more tried to decapitate me with her hands.


    Though one thing I noticed, I''m fairly sure she''s used to just straight overpowering her opponents in brute force and power.


    I nted my foot and deflected her w with the backside of my hand. She tried to rake her other hand down, but I stepped inside her wide motion and disrupted her center of bnce. She wasn''tpletely oblivious how to fight, because she did the obvious move and tried tosh her leg out and kick me away.


    I could <em>feel</em> her power magnify several folds in that instance as the air around her exploded from the force of her kick.


    I hastily summoned the Boosted Gear and used it as a shield along with my Aura. I still felt my body <em>shudder</em> from the weight of it, but I held firm and grabbed hold of her leg because there was a brief moment of surprise from her again that I didn''t go down or overtly react from her blow.


    She furrowed her brow and tried to pull her leg free from my grasp. "Let me go."


    "No."


    "Let me go!" She growled.


    "No!"


    Her eyes glowed brightly and her power increased more in an ominous way. "Let me go!"


    "Fine!" I threw her over my head.


    The True Ancestor went sailing through the air, perhaps a bitically as her body cartwheeled uncontrobly and she went face first into a small pond meant to enhance the aesthetic of this open courtyard.


    It was deep enough for her to ssh and disappear.


    I pointed my finger at the pond and a chilling air burst out, freezing itpletely.


    [Got a question for you.] Ddraigmented.


    "Is now really the best time?" I said under my breath.


    [It might be important.] He responded.


    Fine, what is it?


    [So, she basically is the equivalent of ''No I''m stronger'' in that she gets stronger than her opponent regardless? That is to say, the more power you reveal, the stronger she''ll get in response.]


    That''s basically right.


    [And you took me out, while trapped, I''m still a very powerful Dragon that was presented right in front of her eyes and most likely acknowledged as <em>hostile</em>.]


    ¡­..woops.


    The ice exploded, as did the surroundings for dozens of feet as the amount of Magical Energy she was exuding was higher than even the Heretic God I fought not too long ago.


    Every so briefly, a <em>Red Moon</em> ovepped across the sun and it turned to night, flickering slightly.


    Arcueid stood up, the pond no longer existing and reeled her hand back with enough power that I''m sure the surroundings would bepletely leveled so I resolved myself to remove her from the location.


    However, my fighting spirit evaporated rather quickly as I rxed as her hand stopped. Gramps stood there, grabbing her with a very displeased look on his face.


    It wasn''t just him either.


    It hadn''t been long since our little ''fight'' started, and a few more faces I recognized appeared. One predominant being the <em>Queen of the Clocktower</em> with a scowl on her face, ready to fight.


    And surprisingly enough, there was someone I didn''t expect to see here. A priest of the Burial Agency, more specifically, one of their pet <em>Dead Apostles</em>.


    Zelretch acknowledged them as if he knew, he looked at Arcueid who''s overall presence simmered down under his intense gaze, then he looked at me.


    "¡­she started it." I used, pointing at Arcueid who''s eyes briefly shed in realization.


    "He''s a daemon." She pointed at me, looking at gramps, with a tinge of pleading in her eyes.


    Gramps just slowly raised his hand to his face.


    @***@


    This was odd.


    Zelretch sat with Arcueid at his side and Lucretia at the other.


    I was across from him. And to my left was the Dead Apostle member of the Church. Well, them being a member of the Church was more from a technical standpoint, as he''s a Dead Apostle and member of the Burial Agency. Merem Solomon, his name is rather ironic in hindsight. From what I recall, he was originally something close to an Elemental in life, but the vige he was born into many centuries ago basically mutted him and used him for their own benefit until the Crimson Moon happened upon him. Suffice to say, he views the Crimson Moon as his savior and idol, and his respect extends to Arcueid Brunestud who inherited his name and potential status as Archetype- Earth.


    He took the appearance of a young man in perpetuity due to being turned into a Dead Apostle when he was young.


    And to my right was the Queen of the Clock Tower herself ¨C Lorelei Barthomeloi, and head of one of the most prestigious Magi families in the world. In fact, she was hailed as perhaps the most premiere genius of the generation. Her Magecraft was touted as being infinitely close to <em>True Magic</em> in application. Her title <em>Queen of the Clock Tower</em> came from the fact that she''s the Vice Director and handles most day-to-day affairs in lieu of the Director.


    And it''s worth noting that the Barthomeloi family <em>despises</em> Dead Apostles. Perhaps that''s even underselling it. Something in their blood called for them to hate Dead Apostles with every fiber of their being to an almost irrational degree.


    She goes on Dead Apostles hunts for fun.


    She had a tidy appearance, brown hair pulled back into a single ponytail. She wore a long white coat and brown pants with knee high boots. A particrlyrge red bow sat at the center of her chest, and the oddities of her attire included a Mithril Gauntlet on her right hand, and a riding crop in her left.


    She was actually rather pretty.


    And she was sitting across the table from not just a Dead Apostle, but a True Ancestor which can somewhat be categorized together with them in a vacuum.


    The fact that she wasn''t immediately going for heads only spoke well for her.


    "I leave for two hours." Zelretch held up two fingers. "Two hours."


    "Wasn''t my fault." I immediately defended myself. "I just popped in and she immediately attacked me."


    "He''s a Daemon." Arcueid crossed her arms, as if to mimic me.


    The two <em>guests</em> were silent as they watched the back and forth.


    "Wizard Marshal." The Queen of the Clock Tower spoke her tone tense and stern. "Exin."


    "He is not a Daemon." Gramps rified. "Besides, is that really a point of contention considering." He gestured to Merem Solomon opposite her.


    Merem Solomon who''s four limbs are <em>actual</em> Daemons that he brought into the world. His power as a quasi Elemental and terminal for the let him imagine Beasts into existence.


    "I would like to mention that my mom both gave birth to me and was human." I spoke in my defense which eased the tension slightly.


    "I can verify that he''s not a Daemon." The Dead Apostle next to me spoke with a polite smile. "I believe I can be considered an expert in the area."


    She seemed to silently ept that for now, but we entered an awkward silence.


    "Arcueid, did you attack him without warning?" Gramps finally asked?


    "Yes." Arcueid nodded without a single care.


    Zelretch sighed. "Apologize."


    "Why?"


    "Because you are at fault."


    "I''m sorry." She said in the most monotone and least sincere tone possible.


    Right, I shouldn''t expect much. Despite Gramp''s affection for her, and her status...she''s an idiot.


    Sheckedmon sense and was kind of air headed.


    Honestly, it''s the only time I can recall Zelretch taking the ''parenting'' tone is when he''s dealing with Arcueid.


    "Perhaps we should start with introductions, Wizard Marshall." Merem Solomon politely spoke.


    "Perhaps you are right. Wilhelm if you would please." Zelretch gestured to me.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, Grandson of Zelretch." I introduced myself to the table.


    Arcueid for some reason blinked in confusion. "He''s your grandson?" She pulled at Gramp''s sleeve.


    "Yes, Arcueid, he''s the reason you''re here in the first ce." Gramps forced a smile.


    "I''ve heard of your name, Grandson of the Kaleidoscope. Your presence was noted at the gathering of new blood as was yourpanion." Lorelei Barthomeloi spoke with an even tone. "For our second meeting being proper, I shall introduce myself per etiquette despite it being unnecessary. I am Barthomeloi Lorelei, Head of the Barthomeloi family and Vice Director of the Mages Association."


    "Merem Solomon, Fifth member of the Burial Agency." The young man in the priest''s clothing also spoke.


    Lorelei seemed to grit her teeth every time he opened his mouth.


    And for some reason, Arcueid was eyeing me quite differently now. I couldn''t detect a hint of hostility like before.


    "Let me make an educated guess." I held up my hand, then pointed at Arcueid. "Based on what I know now, she heard that you had a Grandson and wanted to meet me?" I looked at Gramps.


    "That''s correct." He nodded.


    I looked at Merem Solomon. "You''re probably the one who informed her. I suppose she woke up recently and you clued her in to what''s happened recently."


    "Yes." He answered.


    "And this idiot probably just waltzed right in ignoring any semnce ofmon sense." I pointed at Arcueid. "Causing the three of you to try and run damage control as quickly as possible due to her vtile status."


    Merem coughed lightly into his fist. "When the Princess awoke, I did not expect her to immediately set off to the Mages Association to seek you out. It was only dayster that I realized my folly and attempted to mitigate the damage."


    Right, so the situation can be summarized as, Arcueid wakes up, Merem tells her about me, she wants to meet the supposed Grandson of one of the few people she recognizes even through her odd interpretation as <em>family</em>. Thus, she ignores any decorum and waltzes right into the Clock Tower.


    From what I gathered, he takes responsibility for making sure she''s managed whenever she wakes up for random things. If she needs certain money, he gets it for her. If she needs to go somewhere, he gets her ne tickets.


    Merem realized his fuck up and ran over to try and smooth things over, both as being responsible and for the fact that he treats her as a legitimate princess due to his devotion to the Crimson Moon.


    Gramps got involved for obvious reasons. And the Queen also got involved for obvious reasons as representing the Clock Tower.


    Thus, you have three people that really shouldn''t be sitting down politely, doing so because none of them want to deal with an irate True Ancestor and they all hold rather formidable political positions.


    "That''s correct. And don''t call your cousin an Idiot." Zelretch added.


    I noticed how he didn''t deny it, however.


    "I expect properpensation to fix the damage caused." Lorelei finally spoke. "We reached an agreement where I would turn a blind eye due to the peaceful nature of the <em>True Ancestor''s</em> arrival. However, that does not extend to any damage it causes."


    "Please send the bill to me personally." Merem Solomon answered.


    The Queen frowned but didn''t reject it.


    She did however push up out of her seat, looking at the Dead Apostle again before snorting and turning away. "I expect <em>you</em> to be gone by the end of the day. This truce only extends until then, and if I find your presence here again, I will not tolerate it." She began to walk out, but paused, and nced at me out of the corner of her eye. "Grandson of the Kaleidoscope."


    "Yes?" I answered.


    "The Rail Zeppelin sent out invitations for the Mystic Eye Auction next month." That was all she said before departing.


    ¡­.alrighty then.


    "What was that about?" I looked at Gramps as she left.


    He seemed to ponder for a moment. "I often receive such invitations, this time is no exception. However, I don''t know why she brought it up, I don''t often pay attention to such things."


    "If I may." Merem spoke up. "I have heard chatter around the Church that a particr set of Mystic Eyes was being Auctioned. The temporary designation was <em>Mystic Eyes of Providence</em>. The Burial Agency will be attending." He said with that same soft smile. "Perhaps she is skeptical with the ims of the Princess regarding your Grandson and wishes for him to run afoul my less than sympatheticrades."


    Ah, political nonsense, I should have known.


    She wanted to use the Church people to probe me by getting me interested in the Mystic Eye Auction. She doesn''t lose anything by bringing it up, but could gain information she wanted by doing so.


    Well, I could understand her perspective as the Auction was something sought after by a great deal of Magi and not many people get invitations.


    Though I am actually tempted to attend now.


    "However, I should leave." Merem Solomon stood up. "I am grateful for your hospitality, Wizard Marshal. And Princess, I am here if you ever need assistance." He spoke to Arcueid before leaving.


    Despite his nonchnce, he did move in a hurry as I believe he took Lorelei''s threat quite seriously.


    "Well that was certainly interesting¡­"


    "Now imagine spending more than an hour between them." Gramps forced an annoyed smile.


    "Are you done talking about the boring stuff?" Arcueid asked, clearly uncaring about everything else happening around her.


    Gramps looked at her, sighed again and just relented. "Arcueid, meeting your cousin."


    "Hi!" She smiled, waving at me.


    "You tried to kill me."


    "Yup!"


    "¡­.isn''t it kinda hypocritical considering you often meet with a Dead Apostle who has Daemons for arms." I pointed out.


    "Eh, I thought you were a Daemon getting close to bing a <em>True</em> Daemon." She shrugged.


    I swallowed at that because what she said sorta made sense. Alright, fair enough, I could see her perspective on things even if I was still annoyed.


    If I knew that a <em>True Daemon</em> might be born in front of me, I would probably be asking far less questions just as well. That''s getting into Eldritch territory right there.


    "Where''s that Dragon you had? Why do you have a Dragon? Are you human? You don''t smell human. Howe you feel like a Daemon?" She threw out a barrage of questions.


    I pointedly ignored her.


    "I didn''t expect you to show up so suddenly." Gramps admitted.


    "More like you were hoping I didn''t?" I snorted. "By the way, the <em>other</em> you suggested I stop by and meet my cousin."


    "Of course he did. He probably thought it would be funny to see." Gramps freely admitted.


    I waved my hand, depositing all sorts of snacks onto the table in front of us and slowly picked at them because I was a little hungry. "By the way, it was the idiot over there that ripped a hole in your Workshop." I jabbed my thumb at Arcueid.


    "I''m not an idiot!" She seemed much more open and casual now. "¡­and I didn''t mean to."


    "Did you idently try to kill me then?" I said sarcastically.


    "No, that was on purpose." She shook her head, the sarcasmpletely flying past her.


    She''s the type of person who has high intelligence, but ignores her wisdom.


    Though truthfully, it''s not entirely her fault. She''s something like 700 years old, but she sleeps for the majority of that, and her existence is that of a weapon meant to hunt down other True Ancestors and Dead Apostles.


    "Let me see the dragon again!" She half iled her arms.


    I sighed, taking out the Boosted Gear.


    "[Hello!]" Ddraig happily greeted.


    "I haven''t seen a Dragon in a long time!" Arcueid eximed. "How did you get inside that thing?"


    "[The Biblical God put me here. At least in my world-line. The me of this world is actually below our feet right now!]" Ddraig chatted away.


    Arcueid smacked her lips. "The guardian of the Horizon? You''re that Albion?"


    "[Not Albion, Ddraig, <em>Y Ddraig Goch!</em> In my world, there are two of us, here it seems we''rebined. But my rival is Albion. Remember, I''m Ddraig, the better of the two!]"


    Honestly, half of that probably just went in one ear and out the other for her.


    Zelretch and Lucretia helped themselves to the food I prepared. Even Arcueid was grabbing things and pushing them into her mouth as she seemingly enjoyed it just as well. I eventually started taking things she reached for just before she could grab them.


    It culminated into a little game between us where she was getting increasingly huffy that I kept stealing her food.


    "I thought you would be too busy with the matters of the Fae Invasion. Not that I''m unhappy for my Grandson toe visit." Zelretch spoke, pushing his own te in front of Arcueid after she started pouting.


    "I''m running the basic calctions back home beforeI attempt to knock on the door to the Fae Realms. Quantifying the Space-Time coordinates is always a hassle when dealing with metaphysical realms." I said casually.


    "Why would you want to go to that ce? It''s all weird and dull and just a reflection of the outside world." Arcueid randomly answered, stuffing her mouth.


    I paused because something she said struck a chord with me. "Did you say <em>reflection</em>?"


    "Hmm? Yeah." She grunted.


    Reflection¡­


    Holy shit, I didn''t even think of that.


    All my calctions were going to fail. The Fae Realms are a <em>reflection</em>, I need to invert my calctions!


    I pushed up off the table. "I just realized something important, I should head back and deal with it." This right here made the trip worth it. How long would it have taken me trial and error to realize this?


    "You''re leaving?" Arcueid looked up at me with a strange expression.


    It''s hard to corrte this Arcueid and the expressionless killing machine that was trying to destroy me earlier.


    She looked like she wanted to say something else but¡­.Arcueid doesn''t really know how to express herself properly.


    She wasn''t human, she wasn''t <em>raised</em> human despite Gramp''s efforts.


    She was Arcueid Brunestud, thest True Ancestor, inheritor of the Crimson Moon, and the strongest creature born of the who can potentially be <em>Type-Earth</em>.


    Yet, despite all that, the inherited softness I had in my heart never dissipated.


    I don''t make a habit of ''forgiving'' people trying to kill me so tantly but¡­.this was one of the rare exceptions where I would brush it to the side without caring.


    I took out a bracelet like the ones I gave to my girls and friends. "Here, a gift for our first meeting. You can put stuff inside it, it''ll make things easier for you to move around."


    She curiously epted the trinket, smiling as she started ying with it.


    "Be sure toe and visit again soon, I''m sure Arcueid would love to spend time with her cousin." Zelretch smiled.


    Arcueid in return also looked up at me with a big smile.


    When you look at me like that, how can I refuse.


    "I''ll make sure toe back and visit once things are settled at home." I said my goodbyes as I wanted to hurry up and finish the preparations on my end.


    Hopefully, things won''t be difficult around Arcueid like this in the future.


    But for now, it was time to prepare for war.


    @***@


    A/N


    First meeting with Arcueid, brief but far from thest one. Setting some things up for the future.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 550: Canon Side Story: Kunous Hogwarts Adventures Part 2

    Chapter 550: Canon Side Story: Kunou''s Hogwarts Adventures Part 2


    Daphne Greengrass, 2nd Year Slytherin POV


    That girl had tails.


    Ears on top of her head too, but she had Nine tails swinging behind her. I counted them; there were nine.


    And the Hat called out <em>Slytherin</em>.


    Her name was Kunou Schweinorg? It sounded a tad Asian, but thest name... German? I feel like I''ve heard it before, but where? It''s possible if she was sorted to Slytherin that she must have a pedigree of some sort... I''m sure the Sorting Hat wouldn''t make that much of a mistake considering her... features.


    I''m not looking forward to how the House is going to treat her. I only hope that my younger sister isn''t caught up in it due to being a first-year just as well.


    When was thest time Hogwarts had such an obvious half-breed among the students?


    This girl is going to have a hard time.She trotted over, and the Slytherin table awkwardly pped to keep up appearances, but I could clearly see the majority of the older students react negatively.


    The strange girl, however, didn''t show any reaction as she trotted over to the table and plopped down near the other first years that had been sorted. However, the <em>other</em> first years also edged away from her.


    Curious.


    And why were they soaking wet?


    Did it start raining as soon as we went inside?


    I looked up, and <em>every</em> teacher was looking <em>her</em> way.


    There was something going on beyond her being a half breed that drew attention. Professor McGonagall was giving her the stink eye, more than normal for a Slytherin. Which could mean nothing as she''s the Head of Gryffindor, and it''s no secret she doesn''t particrly <em>like</em> our house.


    But even Dumbledore was looking at her with a strange expression. And Professor Snape also had his expressionless eyes locked onto the strange girl.


    And even...<em> she</em> was looking over this way.


    "Is that her?" My best friend whispered into my ear. "Daph, is that <em>you-know-who</em>?"


    I looked at Tracey. "Don''t use that <em>moniker</em>; you know who it belongs to. But my father sent me a letter, and I think that''s her." I straightened up as her eyes under her hood swept the Slytherin table.


    Even the older kids were too nervous to meet her gaze.


    However, fortune favors the bold.


    As she looked at us, I met her gaze and smiled politely.


    Just vaguely, I felt like she smiled back.


    It was hard to tell with the hood over her head.


    One of the Darkest Witches to ever live¡ªwho <em>shouldn''t</em> be living¡ªwas sitting in one of the teacher seats.


    It''s all any of the noteworthy families could talk about in the few weeks leading up to the new school year when the newest teachers were revealed.


    I was explicitly told to get into her good graces. Of course, I <em>willingly</em> signed up for her ss, but Father was very adamant about trying my best to earn her <em>attention</em>.


    And I''m sure that every predominant Witch of Wizard in the school received simr instructions.


    It would be the goal of this year. I already had a n, but I would need to keep watch on my fellow Slytherin members to see who I could trust to pull into my circle. One wrong move and any work I do this year could go up in mes.


    Surprisingly, even Father said he would provide more support than normal, so my performance was important.


    The animal girl is lucky that everyone will be more focused on the newest Teacher rather than <em>her</em>.


    The sorting went on as normal, but I stopped caring as soon as Astoria was called and joined Slytherin. It would be difficult to keep an eye on her while I was dealing with everything else this year. Perhaps I could use this excuse to ask my father for additional support?


    Though my lips thinned when I saw her hesitantly sit next to the animal girl, thetter of which smiled at my sister like they were old friends.


    I would need to nip that soon; I can''t have my sister sitting in any crossfire. At the very least, I will need to let everyone else know that my sister is off limits for any <em>hazing</em>.


    "By the way, I haven''t seen Draco. Usually, I hear him going off about his father by now." Tracey casually gossiped despite everyone being able to hear her. From a Pureblood family she is, butmon sense shecks some times.


    I don''t know how she ended up in Slytherin; it''s not like all Pureblood families end up here, but if it weren''t for me, she would have been eaten alive.


    But Greengrasses protect their friends and family.


    "You didn''t hear, Davis?" ise Zabini spoke up with a cocksure smile. "Word is that dear Draco got beat up and was sent to the hospital wing."


    "Beat up?" I turned to him because this was something not even I heard. This could be valuable information. "What do you know?"


    "Really Greengrass? You know the game, information for information." He swished whatever was in his goblet.


    I scowled, mulling it over. "Fine, what do you want?"


    "I want what you have on our <em>newest teacher</em>." He replied.


    "Fine." I huffed, but inwardly, I didn''t care. It''s alreadymon knowledge, and Father hadn''t sent me anything secretive. The only real <em>secret</em> I learned from him is that <em>nobody</em> knows anything. Perhaps it''s more than Zabini knows, as his mother doesn''t y much in Ennd these past few years. "Tell me about Draco."


    "Well, there isn''t much to tell. His two idiotic bodyguards let slip that some <em>First Year</em> beat him up, <em>like a muggle</em>." He leaned in, whispering. "They said he was crying to the nurse and wouldn''t stop talking about how his father was going to get revenge for him."


    I held a hand in front of my face to hide my smile at the thought. Tracey had less impulse control and let out a fullugh at his expense.


    It will be hard for Malfoy toe back from an embarrassment like this. It''s the perfect opportunity to usurp his spot as the ''head'' of our year politically.


    "I''llpile what I know and send a parchment to youter, Zabini."


    "A pleasure doing business as always, Greengrass." He smiled smoothly.


    "Hey Zabini, do you know anything about the new girl with the tails?" Tracey asked rather bluntly. "You seem to know everything important."


    Zabini raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I do; maybe I don''t. But why should I tell you, Davis?"


    "Oh, don''t be like that, ise." Tracey huffed. "I''ll owe you a small favor, okay?"


    I wanted to chide Tracey for offering a <em>favor</em> so easily, but I couldn''t do that without making her look bad in front of the whole table, so I kept my mouth shut.


    "Well, I don''t know much. It''s news to me, but it''s not like I keep up with first years. If you want my spection, I know a few random bits. Like, I <em>think</em> she''s some kind of ''demon'' from the east? I''m not very familiar with the magical creatures they have over there, so you''d have to look it up by yourself. And I think her family name is familiar? I feel like I''ve heard it somewhere."


    Him too?


    Then it must be something, but I decided not to voice that out loud.


    "Students!" Dumbledore''s voice boomed over all the gossip happening, silencing everyone. "With the sorting finished, let''s give a warm Hogwarts wee to our newest students." He gave a moment for everyone to politely p to wee them. "And now, we have a few new teachers this year, so let us begin with their introductions." He gestured to someone everyone was familiar with who had been here at least a year. "Due to some circumstances, Hagrid here is going to be taking over the Care for Magical Creatures ss this year."


    Gryffindor was the loudest in pping and weing him.


    He was¡­.nice.


    My fellow Slytherin didn''t particrly like that a <em>Half Breed</em> would be teaching, despite the fact that they all know and respected Flitwick as the Charms Professor, and he''s a Half Goblin.


    "Next, let''s wee our new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart!" Dumbledore announced. "He''s -"


    "Now now, Headmaster, why don''t you let me introduce myself?" The professor stood up.


    I recognized him; I think everyone recognized him.


    If it weren''t for <em>her</em> appearing, I think everyone would be talking about him. But inparison... well, his boots were popr, or so I''ve heard. Father said to not read the rubbish despite them being mandatory for Defense Against the Dark Arts this year.


    Gilderoy Lockhart walked up in front of everyone with an admittedly charming smile. I could see why quite a few of the girls, and a handful of boys, were swooning over him.


    Even Tracey sighed warmly at his appearance.


    "I don''t believe I have to introduce myself, but it''s only polite." He gave a smallugh. "As you may know, I''m Gilderoy Lockhart, and you may have read one of my <em>many</em> books about my adventures." He flourished his wand, turning it into a bouquet of flowers, and threw them up, letting them rain down on several girls that were only a hair''s breath away from running up at him for an autograph. "Of course I''m the great." His voice cut off, even though his mouth continued to move.


    Everyone started looking around because Lockhart didn''t seem to notice how his arms continued to waive about.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I think I briefly saw a sh of something purpleing from the side. <em>She</em> held a finger pointed down at the table and did something.


    I think she noticed me staring too because she looked back at me, and slowly, her lips curled up into a smile, and she raised her finger to her lips.


    I certainly wouldn''tin.


    No one seemed keen on telling Lockhart that we couldn''t hear him. And it was only until he stood there, as if waiting for everyone to react, that Dumbledore spoke up. "Yes, yes, wonderful speech from Professor Lockhart." He started a p that the students followed in.


    Lockhart performed a bow, oblivious to the fact that no one heard anything he said.


    "Now, let''s move on to your new Muggle Studies professor. I''m happy to introduce Mr. Kuzuki Souichirou,ing all the way from Japan. And as a special thanks, please wee him as our <em>first</em> Muggle teacher." Dumbledore started the p, but I think quite a few of us were taken off guard by the admission of his status.


    The Stern-looking man wearing a Muggle suit was in fact a <em>Muggle</em>.


    That''s never been done before, obviously. I wanted to rebuke it, but at the same time, it was <em>Muggle Studies</em>. That was...fine, I suppose? It made sense¡ªa Muggle teaching Muggle studies. Though I''m not sure how the others will react.


    Just looking around, they all seemed confused on how to handle this.


    I think even Dumbledore knew it was going to take time for everyone to warm up to the idea, if they ever did. Because I saw him looking around as everyone whispered among themselves.


    "I assure everyone that Mr. Souichirou is a <em>very</em> acimed teacher and has <em>years</em> of teaching experience." Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Lastly, I would like to introduce our new Magical Theory teacher, Miss Medea." He gestured to the one everyone was waiting for.


    The woman in question finally pulled down her hood, and everyone went silent.


    Was that shade of hair color <em>natural</em>?


    She was breathtakingly beautiful, but most importantly, my eyes were drawn to her <em>ears</em>.


    Was she not fully human?


    Those were <em>not</em> human ears.


    She gave a polite smile and wave but didn''t say anything.


    It wasn''t just me; everyone else was drinking in everything they saw. I would need to be quick to send this new information to my father so he doesn''t hear it from someone else first.


    "Now that this is out of the way, let''s talk about the new school year." Dumbledore continued on. "We have an updated list of banned items; you can find it on Filch''s door, and it''s subject to change throughout the year. I remind everyone that the Forbidden Forest is in fact <em>Forbidden</em>. If I hear the excuse that someone wasn''t <em>explicitly</em> told this one more time, I''m afraid that I will have to start assigning detentions. First a few of our professors have something to say, Professor Flitwick, you had an announcement." He handed over the proverbial floor.


    "Thank you, Headmaster." The Half-Goblin Professor hopped off his seat and made his way in front of everyone. "Hello students, and for our first years, I''m Professor Filius Flitwick, and I''m both the Charm Professor and Head of the Ravenw House. I''m excited to announce that the Dueling Club is making a return!" He paused, letting themotion peak and some cheering resound within the hall. "We will be reviewing DADA spells and Dark Creatures inbat situations, watching old duels and analyzing the fighters, and of course, I will be teaching everyone how to duel, and we will be holding our own duels with a tournament held in the second half of the school year with a prize in points and perhaps something special!"


    Interesting.


    Perhaps it''s worth joining. Professor Flitwick is a known figure in the dueling circuit, being a previous World Champion duelist himself.


    "Yes, yes. It''s exciting; I can''t wait to see all the many faces. But let me hand off to our Deputy Headmistress for some important announcements." Flitwick took his seat as Professor McGonagall walked forward.


    "Students. And for our first years, I am Deputy Head Mistress Minerva McGonagall, or Professor McGonagall if you prefer. I am also the Transfiguration Professor and Head of Gryffindor." She sternly looked out across the crowd, and her tone made everyone hush themselves. "I am going to speak about some very important things that I hope you all take to heart. You are all wonderful children of Hogwarts; you represent not just yourselves but the school, such that I expect <em>model</em> behavior. And no, I am not talking about the asional detention or <em>prank</em>." Her eyesnded on the Weasley twins, but they didn''t make a joke in the situation. "I am talking about the <em>foul</em> topics that usually aren''t discussed. I will speak inly; I want to remind every student that another person''s body is not for your own enjoyment. Something you believe benign could in fact be quite inappropriate in the worst ways. This is a reminder that just because a student is <em>different</em> than what you are used to, it does not give you the right to <em>touch them</em> because of your curiosity."


    I nced at the strange girl sitting with the other first-year Slytherins.


    Maybe the boys were too stupid to understand what the professor was insinuating, or the younger boys, but I think the majority of the girls knew based on the talks our own mums had with us over the years.


    "Inappropriate and <em>unwanted</em> touching will be met with the harshest punishments we can provide. Expulsion is <em>not</em> off the table, so I advise you to uphold the standard of Hogwarts in your hearts. That is all." She went back to her seat, leaving the room quiet.


    "Very good, thank you, Minerva." Dumbledore retook his spot at the podium. "Now that all of that is out of the way, let us <em>feast!</em>"


    Food appeared all throughout the table; one of the best times of the year was both the starting and ending feasts as the House Elves in the kitchens <em>really</em> out do themselves.


    @***@


    "Students, especially First Years, follow your Head of House to your rooms. I don''t want to catch anyone wandering the castle tonight." Professor McGonagall called out as the feast ended. There was some groaning, but the professor was quick to quell that. "None of that; you know the rules. First night, you go to your rooms early with the first years. Get to it; don''t you dare let me catch you out of your dorms; that goes double for you, George and Fred."


    I ignored them and filed behind the other Slytherin students as Snape silently led us all away.


    I made sure to keep an eye on Astoria the entire time as we made our way down into the Dungeons.


    "Watch and listen closely, because I will only be showing you all once. If you forget the password, pray that another member of your house will take pity." Our Head of House drawled as he approached the Portrait of the Serpent. "Pure-Blood." He spoke, and the serpent in the painting hissed as it clicked and swung open. "Come inside; I don''t have all night."


    I missed themon room; it had a certain charm to it.


    Everyone gathered around as Professor Snape looked at everyone, his eyes briefly scanning the strange girl, but he oddly didn''t sneer or say something meanspirited her way. "This is the Slytherin Common Room. You are <em>not</em> allowed to share the password with anyone outside of Slytherin. If you''re found out, you will be most harshly punished. As long as you are within themon room, I do not care what you get up to as long as no one is dead or dying or... <em>other</em> unseemly activities are involved. If I am forced toe in here, <em>someone</em> will be punished. I expect you all to behave like proper Slytherin Snakes. We show absolute unity outside, regardless of personal vendettas or hatred. If you have a problem with another Slytherin, it will be solved behind closed doors. A list of rules and the password¡ªif it is ever changed¡ªwill be noted on the board near the entrance. I do not baby you all, so I hand things over to your prefects. He swung his robe as it bellowed, and he stomped away.


    "Congrattions! I''m Prefect Gemma Farley, and I''m delighted to wee you to Slytherin House. Our emblem is the serpent, the wisest of creatures; our house colors are emerald green and silver, and ourmon room lies behind a concealed entrance down in the dungeons. As you all see, its windows look out into the depths of the Hogwartske. We often see the giant squid swooshing by¡ªand sometimes more interesting creatures. We like to feel that our hangout has the aura of a mysterious, underwater shipwreck." Farley started quickly with a smile.


    Though that smile wasn''t fooling anyone. He was already eyeing the first years for anyone suitable to take under his proverbial wing as he essentially ran the Slytherin House.


    Even his fellow Perfect, Mary Marbles, was silent because she wasn''t given <em>permission</em> to speak over him.


    He was a very staunch Pureblood supporter, so I was anxious about what he would pull.


    Why did the first years panic at the mention of a giant squid? I didn''t notice until I nced at Astoria.


    "First things first. Like our Head of House said, I expect all problems to not make it outside these walls or at least to be handled privately. If I hear about two Slytherins getting into it in front of the school, well, <em>you won''t like the consequences</em>."


    Despite his mild smile, there was a rather stern gaze held in his eyes. Father warned me that his own father was a Death Eater and he was more than willing to follow in his steps.


    Of course he never was overtly aggressive around me; the Greengrass name was strong enough to dissuade someone like him from a reputable but not noteworthy house like mine.


    However, I''m no longer a first-year. It''s an unspoken rule that first-year students are given a little bit of <em>leeway</em> as the older students don''t provoke them intentionally. This year will be different, but I''m prepared to carve out my own spot in the House.


    "Most of the rules can be found on the board. And normally, I would dismiss everyone to go to their assigned rooms¡ªgirls on the left, boys on the right." He said in practiced rehearsal. "But there''s one <em>oddity</em> I think we need to address. You, the <em>girl</em> with the tails."


    "Me?" She pointed at herself.


    "Who else has <em>Tails</em> but you?" He scoffed as everyone else pushed away from her, leaving room for Farley to walk up to her. "I don''t know what the teachers are thinking, letting actual animals here. And that wasn''t good enough, but into <em>Slytherin</em>? This house is supposed to mean something. Not even a mudblood, but some kind of half-breed animal."


    She tilted her head. "I''m a Youkai."


    Finley scrunched his nose. "I didn''t ask, nor do I care."


    "That''s rude." She spoke with a frown.


    Finley went silent, clearly displeased with her flippant attitude when he was trying to intimidate her.


    She was strange. But there must be some reason she''s acting this way. She''spletely unafraid; she must have backing of some kind. Just from her not reacting like a ''normal'' kid her age, she must have been prepared. I know Astoria would be cowering with an older boy hovering over her like what was happening here.


    Let''s see what she does and what tricks she has to get out of this situation. If she can navigate this minefield withing out unscathed, it might be worth approaching her, depending. Is she going to hide behind the school rules? That will make her look weak, but she won''t get hurt. Will she threaten him back? If she has powerful enough connections, Finley won''t be able to touch her. Maybe something else¡ªsome kind of dirt on him specifically¡ªis that why she''s not intimidated? Her response needs to be measured and precise to get out from under Finley''s palm right now.


    "You stupid animal, do you think¡ª<em>gughk!?</em>"


    I blink as I process what just happened. Finley fell to the ground.


    It was so fast that I almost didn''t catch it.


    Did... did she just punch him in the throat?


    @***@


    A/N


    Kunou''s side story adventurees again. Was doing a bit of a time skip here, so figured it was a good ce to put one.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 551:

    Chapter 551:


    POV ¨C Angelica Lathas, Reporter for Devil News Today.


    Okay, this is your big break, Angelica; don''t mess it up!


    Deep breaths in and out, in and out.


    "How''s my makeup?"


    "You look good." Greg, my cameraman, shot me a thumbs up. "Just like thest four times you asked."


    "J-Just make sure all the equipment is working!" I huffed.


    Greg just shrugged; he didn''t understand. He''s a great cameraman, but that''s all he really cared about. He doesn''t have to stand in front of the camera and broadcast not just to the Underworld but to whoever else was going to be watching!


    I can''t believe I''m here!I thought it was a longshot, and I never even asked my bosses for permission; they were <em>pissed</em> when Satan Leviathan popped over to have a chat with them, and they had no idea I even sent the letter to the Satans!


    It was a good gamble though; either they ignored mepletely or they epted, and the bigwigs wouldn''t be able to do anything because of my newfound importance.


    Even Satan Leviathan <emplimented</em> me on my shrewdness and offered me some advice on how to proceed.


    <em>The</em> Satan Leviathanplimented a little devil like me!?


    Sure, I may have used my good looks and my Pure Blood to my advantage when navigating the right circles to get to my current position as the most predominant reporter for the third most predominant newswork of the underworld, but I put my work in, and it was nice to be recognized!


    However, she was <em>quite</em> stern that I was to do my best to ask some specific questions and record some certain things. She even gave me permission to ept bribes from other factions asking for the same thing!


    Like she predicted, a member of the Old Satan Faction gave me a list they wanted me to ask about if possible, as did the Great King Faction and some other sub-political factions.


    Honestly, they almost all aligned with one another, so it''s not very difficult.


    Almost everyone was interested in what was going on. I couldn''t me them either; the moment we announced our full coverage of this <em>Youkai War</em>, our ratings <em>skyrocketed</em>.


    Everyone was watching for a certain someone with anticipation, and I admit I was nervous.


    It had been a long time since I''ve been out from the Underworld, mostly to take trips to see what my human counterparts were doing and see if I had anything I could steal to better my own position.


    But this? This was an entirely different trip. and it was obvious these <em>Youkai</em> weren''t too fond of Devils.


    But I would persist!


    Even if we had been waiting here for over an hour at this point, I wouldn''tin!


    Even if the clock was metaphorically and quite literally ticking.


    There was arge and antique clock in this room that made the most <em>obnoxious</em> sound ever second that passed.


    I started to wonder if that was intentional.


    A strange mist crept up from the floor, and I nearly jumped back until a Youkai appeared wearing the Guard Uniforms I noticed around Lady Yasaka when I saw her from a distance.


    "Greetings, you must be the Reporter from the Underworld." The Youkai started, barely paying me a nce. "I''m Soma, Lady Yasaka''s personal guard. For a few specific reasons, I will both be your escort and guard." He set his hand on the table in front of us, and twominated cards with strings on them were set down. "These are your press passes; if anyone gives you trouble and I happen to not be around, you may show them those. That being said, the situation would be <em>dire</em> if I were not nearby."


    "Wonderful, when can we begin?" I happily grabbed it and put it around my neck. This was far from my first rodeo.


    "Not quite; we must discuss a few <em>rules</em>." The Youkai ¨C I think he was a Tengu? He stopped me. "First and foremost, we are not responsible for your safety. My presence is a courtesy afforded to you, but you will be walking into an <em>active</em> and <em>unknown</em> warzone. A situation may arise where I am unable to protect you, or an ident urs beyond our scope of understanding. In any event, you are taking a risk, and the consequences are yours to bear."


    I gulped as heid it out for me. Taking a deep breath, I nodded my head. "I understand."


    "Very well. Please note that you have been given <em>some</em> leeway in how you desire to handle your <em>recordings</em>. However, if you attempt to meddle in affairs or privacy that does not concern you, we will treat it as an enemy action."


    .....Right, no sneaking around; you have to do things above board. That''s fine! I don''t need to do anything <em>ndestine</em>; I just need to record things properly! Any thoughts I had of sneaking into the home of <em>him</em> were squashed before they even began. "I understand!"


    "Very well, you may follow me." The Youkai epted and he finally led us out of the room.


    Almost immediately, we saw them marching.


    I quickly pped Greg, and he took the hint to start recording. I nced at the Youkai, and he noticed but didn''t say anything.


    Good.


    We could edit all this footage togetherter, but recording was the most important thing.


    I never cared or even heard about these Youkai until this past year. The small ind in the human world was worth so little notice, but now it was the center of attention for <em>so many people</em>.


    A type of military parade? We had those from time to time down in the Underworld when one of the Nobles wanted to show off their power in their cities.


    No¡­this felt different.


    "Follow." The Youkai, Soma, urged us as we walked parallel, but out of the way of the soldiers.


    Of course, Greg did a good job of capturing everything. Not just their military might, but the regr faces just as well. Those were important; they needed to set the atmosphere.


    Finally, we came to a stop where the soldiers marched too. All their unique and odd shapes, all lined up properly in a unified force.


    It would have been almost funny to look at had they not presented such an aura of power.


    Soma, the Youkai, didn''t usher us further.


    "Greg, let''s get our introductions." I quickly pulled out my Devil Phone and sent a message back to the studio that we were okay to do a quick live broadcast to pull in the viewers.


    "Ready when you are." He set up the camera quickly with the soldiers and military people behind me. I quickly made sure my clothes were smooth and that my hair wasn''t out of ce.


    Greg silently counted down with his fingers and gave me the ago ahead.


    "Hello Underworld! Angelica Lathas here with Devil News Today!" I smiled as I had learned in front of the camera, where no doubt millions upon millions would be watching me. "I''m standing here inside of Shin-Kyoto, the Youkai home in Japan. And as you can see, they''re preparing for <em>war</em>. I''m sure many of my viewers aren''t learning about this for the first time, but today is the day that the Youkai made a public announcement about their invasion. We''re not quite sure <em>what</em> is happening right now." I turned to look at what everyone was gathered for, but it was hard to see from here.


    But then I had a great idea!


    "Mr. Soma, do you have anyments on what''s happening right at this moment?" I tried to get our ''guard'' involved.


    He did say he was a guard for Lady Yasaka.


    Soma seemed... well, not happy, but he didn''t seem upset either.


    "The Young Lord is in the midst of preparing our entrance into the Fae Realms." Soma answered.


    "When you say <em>Young Lord</em>, what do you mean by that?" I held my microphone out for him.


    I knew the answer, of course, but I wanted him to say it. I could practically <em>taste</em> the ratings.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, the consort of Lady Yasaka. He is our Young Lord." The Youkai said simply.


    Perfect!


    "Do you think we could get a view of what''s happening for the people watching back home, Mr. Soma?"


    Please, please,please, please.


    "Very well."


    Yes!


    "We appreciate your help." I smiled gracefully.


    I gestured for Greg to keep rolling. Viewers eat all this in between stuff up; having to watch us walk around in real time gave them a sense of belief and immersion.


    Finally, after going a long way <em>around</em> everyone else, Soma led us to get a pretty good view of what was going on.


    I quickly set up in front of Greg. "As you can all see, the <em>Young Lord</em> of the Youkai appears to be setting up some kind of¡­.archway. And there are a few people providing assistance." I gestured for Greg to zoom in on them. "From what we know that should be <em>Sc¨¢thach</em> from Celtic Myths and Legends. And secondly, from what my sources tell me, the other woman helping him appears to be one <em>Jinn</em>, the newly arisen Goddess of Asgard."


    Of course I knew who they were already, but I had to make sure and introduce them to the audience.


    Lady Leviathan made sure to give me the rundown on everyone of importance that may be here!


    I let the audience have a moment to understand there. The new Goddess of Asgard¡ªwhat happened during the Norse <em>Ragnar?k</em>¡ªhad been the talk of the town since it happened a few weeks ago.


    Many news stations were <em>still</em> running programs talking about what happened in that part of the world. The fact that we''re getting actual footage of the rumored <em>New Goddess</em> was just a cherry on top of everything!


    "He appears to be... inserting some sort of what looks like a harp into the magical mechanism." I voiced what I was watching. I had utterly no idea what I was looking out for; I didn''t really learn magic all that much other than basic stuff. But even I could see that whatever this thing was, it was <em>profound</em> in construction.


    "The Young Lord is preparing our entry way into the Fae Realms." Soma spoke again as Greg turned the camera.


    Before I could question that, there was a <em>big</em>motion, cheering, rumbling sounds of people stomping and weapons hitting the ground.


    The archway red to life, and a <em>portal</em> appeared within it.


    Oh¡­that''s what you meant. "It seems that the <em>Red Dragon Emperor</em> is not only prodigal in strength but also in magical knowledge, for it appears that he was able to create a stable portal into a realm thought unassable until now."


    With how much of our viewer base was Reincarnated or Low ss Devils and <em>adored</em> him, it''s best to praise him as much as possible.


    "Hurry up, you damn virgin; we''re going to bete!"


    I snapped my head over at who was causing a newmotion. And I <em>immediately</em> recognized the face from the pictures that Lady Leviathan showed me.


    Dare I?


    Fortune favors the bold.


    While the Youkai were caught up in what was happening over there, I gave Greg a gesture to follow me with the camera as I snuck away and quickly ran towards the person stomping over.


    "Great God Odin, do you have anyment about the impending War of the Youkai and their invasion of the Fae Lands?" I admit, this was probably one of the stupidest things I''ve ever done in my life. Run up and shove my microphone into the face of a <em>god</em>.


    Thankfully, he didn''t smite me out of annoyance.


    He looked at me, then at the camera, and he slowly grinned. "Swiggity Swooty, they areing for that Fae Booty." He said before walking off.


    "¡­eh?" I looked at his back then at Greg, who shrugged from behind the camera.


    We were live!


    What was I supposed to say to that!?


    "We''re not taking any interviews right now!" Was she a Valkyrie? She ran up, blocking the camera''s view of the god.


    "Do you have anyment on Asgard''s rtionship with the Youkai? Is God Odin''s presence here an endorsement or <em>aid</em> to their allies?" I quickly shifted back to work mode as I would not let this opportunity slip by!


    "Asgard is not participating in this war! Lord Odin is just here for moral support towards his Blood Brother and fellow Goddess on behalf of Asgard to wish them good tidings in their fighting!" The Valkyrie waved her hands around.


    "Do you¡ª"


    "Get over here, you maidenless Valkyrie; I think I see your crush over there by the brat."


    "Wah!? Lord Odin!" She almost seemed to be in tears. "No morements!" She squeaked as she ran towards the God.


    Well then.


    Satan Leviathan did <em>request</em> I verify if Asgard wasing to their aid in the war; it seems I can scratch that off the list.


    We had to quickly pivot though!


    "Look, that should be the Pendragon family! The legendary descendants of King Arthur!" I quickly found something to change the subject.


    It was well known now that the Pendragon family was close to the Youkai, though not many were particrly aware of how it happened.


    They marched forward, much more unified-looking, but that was to be expected from a n of knights.


    Behind them, they were pulling some <em>massive</em> things covered in tarps, and we couldn''t get a good look.


    Some kind of siege weapon? Did they expect that sort of thing to be needed?


    And who was that in the front? "And at the front of the Pendragon Family, we have <em>Artoria Pendragon</em>, one of <em>Wilhelm Schweinorg''s</em> harem." Once more, I thanked Satan Leviathan for her documents that helped me identify people on sight.


    I nudged Greg, and his camera swerved to see some other <em>interesting</em> things. There were more carts being pulled up, wagons full of supplies. Weapons of all sorts, lots of arrows, and a <em>huge</em> amount of what looked like potions.


    I didn''tment, but I let Greg record it for a few moments. Another thing Satan Leviathan wanted me to get if I could, a look at their supplies.


    There had been rumors of some interesting Potions trickling out of the Youkai Faction for several months now...


    "And we have new arrivals, that''s ¨C <em>that''s the church!" </em>I blurted out in surprise as dozens of what looked like high-ranking members of the church teleported in, but that wasn''t all. "And the <em>Archangel Gabriel</em>." I said in a whisper as the Angel of War stood among her people.


    Well, she didn''t stand for long before she shot out into a certain ground, and with a strange sound, she was apparently hugging some young-looking woman.


    "Quick, record that!" I smacked Greg''s shoulder, not caring that we were still alive. "That''s the rumored <em>Saintess</em>, back from the dead!"


    That had also been the talk of the town¡ªa living saint, someone who should have been long dead, walking around with the <em>Son</em> of Lucifer.


    Not to mention there were rumors that she and him were <em>together</em>.


    If I could get some footage of that~


    I cleared my throat, pushing those thoughts to the side. "I can speak for everyone when I say that it''s certainly a surprise for the Church and Heaven Faction to appear here almost like... allies. The Archangel Gabriel, the <em>Violence of Heaven</em> "I noticed the strongest human among their number; it was hard not to when a single arm of his was wider than my body." And the rumored Saintess herself alle out in support of the Youkai."


    "Of course, the Youkai seem to be...weing their arrival." I noticed the Youkai Leader, Yasaka, walk up to the strongest human and chat with him amicably. Weren''t they supposed to be enemies!?


    My attention was snapped away when I noticed the camera jerk to the side as Greg focused on something else and my eyes trailed. <em>"Tiamat!?</em>"


    Who wouldn''t recognize her? The famous Dragon King that lived in the familiar forest and refereed the rating game tournamentst year!


    What was she doing in Kyoto!?


    She also seemed to <em>notice </em>us as she moved towards us in a blink of an eye. "Oh, some Devils? Are you recording? Hello everyone!" She moved in front of the camera, waving.


    "L-Lady Tiamat?" I didn''t know how to answer her.


    "Don''t mind me, I''m just watching the show like everyone else." She chuckled. "It was so noisy I just had toe out and see what themotion was."


    D-did she just swipe something out of the bag of camera parts that was hanging off Greg''s shoulder?


    "I didn''t realize this was causing such amotion to the familiar forest." I forced a smile. "It must be a..."


    "The Forest?" She tilted her head. "Oh no! I''m living here in Kyoto for the time being. Anyways, don''t mind me, you must be working right now." She didn''t give me a chance to respond before departing <em>somewhere</em>.


    I looked at the camera nkly. "You heard it here, folks; it seems like <em>Tiamat,</em> the Great Dragon King, is now... living with the Youkai. What an interesting turn of events." I wanted to face palm, but we were live, so I held it together.


    I didn''t know what sort of problems woulde out after hearing Tiamat <em>moved</em> from the Underworld, but I''m just happy I wasn''t the one that had to deal with them.


    Thankfully, I didn''t have to put much thought into it because our Youkaiminder appeared after we ''got separated'' earlier.


    "The initial assault will begin shortly. You have been <em>invited</em> to attend as our first members go through the portal." Soma stated.


    That was equally terrifying as it was exciting.


    I silently mouthed to Greg to not stop recording no matter what.


    Even the most benign thing here could rake in the views.


    We were still kept <em>separated</em> from the ''important'' people, but now... it felt like we were right in the middle of it.


    Not just them though; we were in shouting distance of the church people, and that made me worried.


    It looked like a few high-ups of the Pendragon Family passed us, followed up by some of the Youkai leaders? I wanted to stop one of them, any of them really, to get ament, but before I could even open my mouth, the res they sent my way made that hard to voice.


    "Ah, you must be the reporter I heard about."


    "L-Lady Yasaka." I quickly greeted her, making sure to be <em>extra</em> polite since she''s my meal ticket. "Thank you for letting use."


    "Well, it was a novel idea." She hummed with a contingent of Youkai at her back. "You lot, get ready; follow up with Wilhelm and Sc¨¢thach." She gestured as the Youkai following her went off to the side where the big portal was operating. "And you two." She looked at me and Greg. "Soma will be at your side, but you''ll be following in after me as the first <em>cleanup</em> takes ce."


    "Cleanup?" I questioned.


    "Ah, the first ones through will be making sure that there are <em>no living beings</em> in the vicinity." The Youkai leader smiled, and I felt a shiver go down my spine.


    "Lady Yasaka." I gathered my courage and calmed myself down. "If you don''t mind me asking, and for those watching, <em>what is your strategy here</em>? What do you hope to aplish?"


    "Well, our first priority is to establish a foothold, the logistics of which... well, you''ll see shortly. As for our priority, well, we are owed a debt we intend to take with interest."


    I gulped.


    "Get ready, we''re starting."


    "Already!? I thought... are you not going to prepare anything? No speech?" This felt¡­. I don''t know, so quick.


    "A speech?" Yasakaughed. "A speech is needed to raise morale, to give each of them a reason to <em>fight</em>. I assure you, they are very <em>eager</em> already; if anything, they''ve waited long enough for this."


    I was maybe starting to feel the smallest bit bad for whoever crossed them.


    "Look closely." Yasaka pointed. "Nurarihyon is leading the first forces inside. Along with Wilhelm, Raikou, and Sc¨¢thach and an assortment of our troops joining in."


    They unceremoniously walked through the portal as if it were an everyday urrence, no hesitation whatsoever.


    "Jeanne dear." Yasaka called out, and very quickly the <em>Living Saintess</em> came over with the... the Archangel in tow.


    Meep.


    The Archangel gave us a nce, and I felt years of my life disappear.


    "Lady Yasaka." The Archangel greeted her politely. "As per our agreement, we''re ready."


    It wasn''t just her; the Violence of Heaven Himself and the dozens of clergy were at her back.


    Were... were they going to fight alongside the Youkai?


    "Very well, that should have been enough time for them to clear out any annoyances." She snapped her fingers, and dozens more of her people were quickly lined up. "Second wave, bring supplies. Where are the druids? And get me the magicians over here!"


    Druids, Magicians?


    Two distinct groups lined up, and I now had no idea what was going on anymore!


    "Stay close." Soma''s voice came from behind me, and I didn''t even see him! He just kept disappearing and reappearing out of nowhere. "We''re entering."


    "See everyone on the other side." I forced a smile to the camera, as I had no idea if it would stay a live broadcast after going through. At the very least, we would record everything and send it inter.


    Thankfully, the <em>very scary</em> Archangel was <em>not</em> following us inside, and the other church people didn''t pay us any mind as we stayed near the back amongst groups of people I had no reference for as they entered.


    I may have closed my eyes as we walked through, bracing myself, but I felt nothing strange until a breeze hit my face and a strange smell held in the air.


    There were sounds of shouting and some magic being thrown around as I peeked through to see what was going on.


    Almost immediately, I felt a strange sense of vertigo as I looked at the surroundings.


    "Don''t fly up into the sky; it''s not connected to the earth!" Was that the Son of Lucifer who shouted? I think I recognized his voice, but it wasn''t directed at us.


    I took a moment to get my bearings.


    The ground was quite <em>literally</em> scorched to the dirt as mes danced around the foliage.


    It felt¡­wrong.


    The sky, there was a constant aurora of colors that flowed like clouds, there were celestial bodies that... didn''t seem real, but they hung in the air. At different points in the sky, it was day, and in others, it was night.


    I think at the edge of the horizon, if I squinted, it was a strange twilight.


    A root sprung out of the ground, nearly impaling me if it weren''t for the Youkai next to me shing it with his spear. "Apologies, thisnd is confusing."


    No wonder they were scorching everything around us.


    But very quickly, they pushed out, killing anything that moved.


    It was¡­..a scary sight.


    I didn''t know what to say as Greg swept the camera around, catching everything.


    "Jeanne, Father Swole, you guys are up!" Lucifer''s son called out.


    And very quickly, our Youkai Guard had a strange mist surrounding us, almost like a <em>barrier</em>. "This is for your safety. I have created a pocket dimension for you to stay within for the moment but made it so you can still peer outside as if you never left. I have also taken the liberty of sealing away their voices so they will not reach you; I did not know if it would be harmful by association."


    "Pocket Dimension?" I blurted out in confusion.


    "Ah, I am the owner of <em>Dimension Lost</em>." Soma rified.


    "D-Dimension Lost!?" I looked at him wide-eyed, then at the scene in front of me. "What are they doing out there?"


    The church people, the violence of heaven, the living Saintess, they all kneeled together in what looked like prayer. It only took a second before a <em>visible</em> amount of Holy Power pushed outward.


    "They''re sanctifying the area. It is a most powerful repulsion to the will of thesends and needed if we wish to establish a foothold." Soma exined.


    "Druids! You''re up." Yasaka called out.


    "Where did you get <em>druids</em>?" I whispered.


    "We had friends from the English Islese and teach many of our people." Soma smiled.


    Very quickly, <em>familiar</em>-looking nts and trees sprang up at the edge of the open area.


    "What''s the purpose of..."


    "<strong>You dare invade and conquer part of this realm!?" </strong>A chilling voice swept out, apanied by an ice-cold wind that snuffed out any mes and froze much of the surrounding area bar thend that was <em>sanctified</em>.


    Even inside this <em>pocket,</em> I felt my body stiffen and my blood turn <em>cold</em>.


    Like a tidal wave, across the horizon, a literal sea of frost and snow came rolling across the once green hills.


    "Hmph, Magicians, you''re up." Yasaka seemed to <em>scoff</em> at the presence thatmanded this ce.


    The Magicians, along with the Son of Lucifer and the notable Sc¨¢thach, walked forward, and barriers sprang up.


    Hundreds of different magical defenses arose around the area, and I was fairly sure I even saw some of the <em>church''s</em> own also ovep.


    The tidal wave of frost mmed into our little shelter but sshed helplessly against everything.


    <strong>"Titania, you owe me a favor. Destroy this </strong><strong><em>foothold,</em></strong> <strong>and I''ll consider it paid." </strong>The same chilling voice reverberated.


    Contrary to the ice cold chill that those words brought, a more subtle warmth permeated the area, but it still held with it a certain shivering sensation like I was standing too close to an open me. <strong>"I''ll attack properly once. Whatever happens after has nothing to do with me."</strong>


    <strong><em>"Fine!</em></strong><strong>"</strong>


    The warm and melodic giggle tickled my ears, and presumably against each and every person here as well. <strong>"I don''t intend to get involved in your little </strong><strong><em>dispute</em></strong><strong>; I simply owe a small debt."</strong>


    The errant frost and the frozenndscape immediately melted.


    High up in the sky, a vast distance away, a small me grew until a second sun appeared close to the earth.


    <strong>"Do your best to survive, mortals~" </strong>The soft voice giggled as the <em>sun</em> came soaring towards us.


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka said simply in response, barely acknowledging the <em>attack</em>.


    The shadows, the shadows under us, jerked and <em>moved</em>.


    "Riding on the winds of your father Vayu, Hanuman steal the sun!" The Son of Lucifer spoke words that <em>shook</em> the air around him; they felt <em>heavy</em> despite being shielded in this pocket.


    The shadows swirled and merged into a massive figure that stood up from the ground, almost like some kind of ape. It reached out and <em>grabbed</em> the sun that was barreling towards us and wrapped around it.


    I looked at Wilhelm Schweinorg, and he swept his hand out, and the <em>shadow</em> <em>threw the sun back where it came from</em>.


    A colossal firestorm erupted at the point of impact, and a shriek was heard, <em>very simr</em> to the voice of the one who <em>created</em> the sun in the first ce.


    I waited with bated breath, but nothing more happened, and everyone around us resumed their tasks as if a world-ending event didn''t nearly just wipe us all from existence.


    I reached over silently, fumbling a few times because it was hard to take my eyes away from the mes that still danced in the sky, and I finally found the off switch to the camera.


    "Is it off, Greg?"


    "It''s off." He said quietly.


    Good.


    Now I can have my mental breakdown without everyone seeing.


    @***@


    A/N


    Two more parts of the looking ss omake are up on p.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 552:

    Chapter 552:


    I looked up at the sky with a frown on my face.


    My Divine Sword was stabbed into the ground, a faint crackle and arcing of lightning that lightly danced down its edge and into the earth. My hand lightly caressed the hilt as I watched above, the booming of thunder and the thunderous crackle of lightning drowning out most sounds around me.


    My storm was currently propagating overhead, ever so slowly spreading outward with resistance.


    The Sky wasn''t connected to the Earth, I warned everyone as soon as we came in. I could feel it from my Authorities over the Storm.


    Flying up might not end with someone continuously going upwards. They may be lucky to not end up in some misbegotten corner of this strange realm.


    And not only that, but I was currently contesting the skies above our little foothold against the true owners.


    I could feel them, there were more than two, more than just the Queens of their courts.


    But I didn''t back down, I couldn''t see them properly, but through my Authority, I looked back at all of them and I could feel the emotions rolling across the metaphysical realm above.


    At the very least, I didn''t want them to be able to just hover over our breech and have that kind of top-down superiority.Admittedly, I could feel the edges of my storm ying as they ate away at its unnaturalness with their own control.


    The Sun thing.


    Presumably, that was the Summer Queen of the Summer Court, one of the major factions of this ce. She basically created a miniature sun and threw it at us.


    She had a hint of disdain in her tone over the air as she threw it, telling us to ''survive'' as if it were something casual. But after experiencing it, I could vaguely understand the sentiment.


    Did it piss me off? Completely.


    But what she did was basically the same as me making my storm above, perhaps on a slightly grander scale, but no less destructive and overbearing in application.


    I took her by surprise when I took it and threw it back at her using my newfound Authority.


    I couldn''t me her, I could be taken off guard if someone I barely acknowledged took control of my Storm and basically hurled it back at me with such fervor out of nowhere.


    Still, in that small exchange, I learned quite a bit.


    It wasn''t an Authority in the normal way when one spoke of Gods. No, it was much closer to something I experienced rather recently when fighting my cousin ¨C Arcueid.


    That was frighteningly close to a Marble Phantasm.


    Realistically, there wasn''t much a difference when looking at the oue, but it did produce some manner of hesitation on my part that needed further consideration.


    The same when the presumed Winter Queen basically sent a sea of Ice and Frost at us rather casually.


    It wasn''t Magic or spellcasting, it was the forceful application of natural phenomena on a grand scale overriding the current world.


    So far, these Fae were the closest approximation to Elementals and Nature Spiritspared to my home that I''ve evere across.


    And those were just probing actions at the end of the day.


    Just as they were doing right now bearing down on my storm while I continued to fend them off.


    Regardless, I let go of my sword, letting it stay impaled in the center of our camp as it could shoulder the storm on its own.


    My storm expanded a bit over a kilometer at this point which was good enough for now.


    And there hadn''t been another half-hearted attack, so at the moment I felt fine letting things progress on this end by themselves while I checked on other things.


    I was able to pull my focus away from my storms above to properly look around at what was being set up down below.


    I noticed Artoria with probably about a hundred Knights at her beck and call, they were situated around a table plopped in the dirt with some parchments spread out as she was throwing out orders.


    Mordred moved her lips and grabbed a few people and ran off in one direction.


    At the edges of our proverbial domain, the Druids that had cropped up among the Youkai were elerating the growth of Earth-sourced trees.


    That was an interesting concept I hadn''t thought of until it was brought up among the older Celtic Druids that taught many of the Youkai in the months leading up to this invasion.


    It was something passed down mostly in stories about the Faeing to the Old Countries and bringing with them nts and such from the Fae Lands that acted as sort of an anchor that allowed them toe and go from a specific spot.


    It was the same logic here.


    In other terms, we were forcing themon sense of our home as much as possible onto this small part of this world.


    It wasn''t Alien technically. This ce, these Fae realms were wild and untamed, which sounded odd considering there were living beings here that developed into some sort of society.


    But by their nature, the beings here were Chaotic. If Earth was that of an established Order, Gods and Humans creating civilization, then this was the reflection. But just as there are Chaotic elements on Earth, this ce too had Order within its establishedws.


    Chaos cannot exist without Order. If there was only Chaos within this realm, then Chaos would no longer exist because it would be the only order of existence.


    What we were doing was essentially bringing the idea of Order to this small area and emphasizing it.


    And despite Youkai being born from Human fears and imaginations, they were heavily tied to humanity thus existed on the other side of the fence inparison to the Fae.


    Besides the people specifically important to me, there were plenty of others running around setting things up.


    Thousands of Youkai poured in, walls were being erected, tents were set up, a whole outpost was quickly being assembled as orders barked from the higher ups.


    This had been meticulously nned for months and things were looking good.


    "Student, are you finished?" Sc¨¢thach approached me.


    I nced up one more time. "It should be enough, I don''t think they can spy downward now that my storm is blocking their ''view''." It didn''t need to be mentioned that my Storm would contend against any other weather based phenomenon they attempted to throw at us.


    Again, this was only really necessary because the Sky was so detached from the Earth that made it difficult to manually contend against such effects.


    "How''s the setup going?" I asked, knowing she was one of the first to im a kill as soon as we entered. I was more focused on setting up the perimeter while she joined others in clearing out bodies.


    "The Boundary has been erected, and Bounded Fields will be properly established momentarily." She replied, standing next to me as we watched the scene unfold. "I believe I need not go into detail how an established boundary can increase the effectiveness of a Boundary Field." She held a small smile, taking a light teasing tone.


    I rolled my eyes, Magecraft 101 there.


    The initial barriers and defenses were temporary, with a proper boundary set, we could turn this foothold into an actual camp. Whennd is imed through certain means, defenses generally are more powerful when erected as the ''owner''.


    "Young Lord." Soma appeared out of the corner of my eye, kneeling politely at my side.


    "Soma, I''ve said it before, you don''t have to do that." I let out a small sigh. Soma was perhaps Yasaka''s most loyal retainer and Guard. I knew he wouldn''t stop. "Weren''t you supposed to be watching over those¡­.reporters?"


    Yasaka let in a Devil Reporter which¡­.wasn''t the worst idea. Honestly, whatever they recorded wouldn''t be a secret and we could control the narrative to an extent. Hell, the purpose of this invasion was to send a message, so this did benefit them rather well.


    "They are in good hands, Young Lord. I bring a missive from Lady Yasaka. She ordered me to perform my secondary duties now that the Holy Power within thends has eased."


    Right, the sanctification that the Church people did. Honestly, without that, the whole idea of iming Fae Land would have been¡­.a fool''s errand at best.


    Religion was an antithesis to Fae''s beliefs. The Church as a doctrine was not only the most prevalent, but perhaps the most contrary to their existence by rtion to the fact that there is only One God they worship and thus belief is more centralized.


    "What did Yasaka ask you to do?" I wasn''t familiar with his ''role'' in this context.


    "After noticing that some of the foliage responded with hostility, she requested that I use my Sacred Gear to seep into the ground beneath us and create a space so nothing can approach from below." He responded.


    "Ah, I see. She came for you to ask if it would disrupt the portal. You''re good, go ahead." I waved him off.


    "At your leave." Soma bowed and disappeared through the use of his Sacred Gear.


    "I swear, some Sacred Gears are just cheats." I pursed my lips.


    "My student, that sounds like jealousy." Sc¨¢thach had a grin as she nudged me.


    "I would be lying if I said I wasn''t a tad envious of how some things are so easy with it even if I can ovee it with my Magic." How easily it can create Dimensions, hence its name, wasmendable and worthy of respect.


    Not to mention he had another role, which wasing up soon, to disrupt the space in the camp once everything was set up.


    Obviously, we couldn''t have people just teleporting on top of our heads.


    "What are the others doing?" I didn''t want to make a nuisance of myself. I went to find everyone as I didn''t have anything I specifically needed to do at the moment other than stay on guard.


    "Your Servant is acting with the Youkai of the East ¨C Nurarihyon, to scout the surroundings. The youngss is fortifying the area with her Knights, and your Youkai Lover is currently handling the logistics of moving her soldiers into this realm." Sc¨¢thach listed off. "Are you anxious?"


    "Perhaps." I admitted. "I''m not one for wars, so I''m a bit out of my depth here." I wouldn''t reallypare the week I spent in the Norse realms the same. Sure, that was a war, short as it was, but this was a whole other beast to tackle and I was not involved in the field battles. "Tell me about the things you killed when you first arrived."


    "Mindless beasts." She said simply. "A reflection of what you would expect in a forest, but magical in nature with a hint more intelligence. However, they are distinctly native to this realm thus are the same as its inhabitants."


    "Right, Fae is a ratherrge umbre term. It would be like calling both Yasaka and I Earthlings." I tapped my chin. "Anything worth noting?"


    "Arge type of cat I yed had its tail turned into a tentacle-like whip and tried to stab me with it. That was the oddest one I encountered thus far. Most Fae I have met in my life were Changelings, Earthen n, or those powerful enough to take on human-like appearances."


    "I admit my knowledge of Fae back home iscking. But from what I recall, the difference between the top of the Faedder and Divine Spirits is a very thin line."


    "That is correct. In my homnd, there were many Gods that were also Fae." Sc¨¢thach nodded. "Be wary, but do not waver. There is a fine line between hesitation and consideration, my student." She lightly cupped my cheek and sneaked in a kiss on it. "War is different than fighting."


    A strangemotion arose from the north side of the camp. It was enough that everyone shifted their attention that way even if they didn''t stop what they were supposed to be doing.


    Both Sc¨¢thach and I shared a look before we went over to check it out.


    There was a person¡­.well, a Fae.


    Why did we know it was a Fae? Well, it looked like a caricature of a Pimp and a caricature of a Leprechaun had a child, and it wore all navy blue with the mboyant clothing and adornments.


    He was also about three feet tall waving around a piece of white cloth, the universal sign of surrender or to basically say ''don''t shoot me I''m a messenger''.


    He also had a bit of a belly too that strained against the buttons on his shirt. He wheezed as he came to a stop right at the northernmost boundary of the camp.


    It wasn''t only Sc¨¢thach and I watching from a distance, but none of us made an immediate move. I think we all wanted to see what this random and intelligent Fairy was doing, or wanted to do.


    Not to mention attacking someone carrying a ''white g'' was a bad precedent to set.


    "Ie bearing great tidings!" He sprung to his feet, catching his breath, he pulled out arge, rolled parchment that unfurled and hit the ground. He cleared his throat and started reading. "Hark, tidings to thee trespassers from yonder realms, we ¨C"


    The Youkai, the Tengu in front of him, held the spear up in his hands, pointing at the Fae. "If you have a message, I will deliver it to our Lady."


    The Fae''s smile, bright, seemed¡­.odd. He began to roll back up the parchment. "Of course, of course my good sir. My name is Bubitybitybebupitty. If I may, could I perhaps have your name?"


    ¡­.that name was made up.


    "Umeda Taro, and I ¨C "


    I realized a moment toote. "Shit!" I cursed out loud moving quickly.


    The Fairy smirked and rolled his hand as the Tengu clutched his check. "Ah, a wonderful addition to my collection. Now, my rude fellow, be so kind as to fetch me your Queen, I bring tidings from my Lord."


    I quickly pped a Talisman onto the Tengu''s head, paralyzing him, and catching him before he could hit the ground.


    The Fairies'' eyes widened, and he took a step back, only to smack into Sc¨¢thach looking down on him.


    "A most discourteous reception!" He harrumphed, fixing his cor.


    "What is going on here!?" Yasaka rolled up, several of her Generals in tow.


    "He got his name stolen." I gave a brief exnation.


    "Ah, you must be the Queen from beyond the realm." His scroll unfurled again. "Hark, tidings to ¨C "


    "Execute him." Yasaka said expressionlessly.


    Was I a little shocked by the suddenness? Perhaps. But I also agreed with her words.


    The Fae blinked, looking admittedly confused. "I''m just a messenger!"


    "You attacked my Guard, that makes you an enemybatant." Yasaka looked at him.


    "But¡­..I didn''t break any rules! You can''t attack me, it''s against the rules!"


    "Execute." Yasaka said again.


    Very quickly, half a dozen spears pierced through the Fae''s body, the first meaningful Fae blood split in this campaign.


    Several other Tengu had appeared quickly to dispatch him with very pleased expressions on their faces as one of their own was harmed directly by him.


    The spears pulled free; the Fae fell to the ground lifeless.


    I retracted the talisman I put on the Youkai in my arms as he seemed to regain his bearing. "One way to cancel the effects is to kill the Fae in question." I snorted.


    Of course there were other ways to counteract having your ''name'' stolen.


    "Clean up here please, search the body for anything worthwhile, then burn it. And bring that scroll, I''ll read it in a moment." She said coldly, sweeping her gaze. "Wilhelm, Sc¨¢thach, with me I''m calling everyone together." She gestured as we followed her.


    Yasaka in leader mode was hot.


    I noticed Raikou was back and Nurarihyon was with her as was Artoria and Mordred with a bunch of older Youkai all surrounding a table.


    Hastily drawn mapsid across it.


    "I heard amotion." Artoria looked at me.


    "Our first visitor." Yasaka said dryly. "A messenger. He was executed." Artoria looked like she was about to raise aint. "He attacked one of my men."


    Artoria seemed content and nodded in understanding.


    "We should reiterate to everyone that Fae have the ability to steal names. It sounds rather flippant and whimsical out loud, but it''s genuinely a terrifying thing if you can''t defend against it. It''s basically a forced Geass ¨C a contract of servitude that you can''t disobey." I spoke.


    "I''ll make sure my boys know to keep their mouths shut." Nurarihyon grunted. "We have a general idea of the surroundings." He smacked the bottom of his cane on the drawn maps sitting on the table. "We found a castle in the distance here." He said, gesturing to the end of his cane.


    "A castle?'' I asked.


    "Reminiscent of architecture from our homnd." Artoria rified.


    I suppose that fits considering that the Fae were active during her time.


    "That''ll be our first target." Yasaka dered.


    "Are you being hasty?" Artoria furrowed her brow. "We do not know if they are friend or foe."


    "Unlikely to be friends, but more enemies may be unwise." Sc¨¢thach nodded. "However, it is likely they are our enemies."


    "Can you be sure?'' Nurarihyon looked at her.


    "The sun that was thrown our way came from the East. The Deathly cold came from the North. The messenger who initiated hostilities also arrived from the northern border. The Sun rises in the East, the Colds of our home are thought of asing from the North. It stands to reason this is where those two entities have made their domains if it was a reflection of our world." She spoke.


    Her reasoning was sound and I had no arguments against it.


    To be honest, I hadn''t considered that.


    The Winter Queen was most likely situated to the far North, and the Summer Queen is most likely situated to the Far East.


    "If that castle is our closest neighbor, it stands to reason this messenger came from there." Yasaka pped her hand on the table. "We''re not here to y nice, any attack on our people makes them an enemy. Clearly, they aren''t treating us like a threat, so let''s make a proper statement. Medea was kind enough to make us some rather interesting weapons. I believe it''s time to unveil them."


    @***@


    A/N


    For those of you that don''t know, I have a snippet thread over on Questionable Questing with several different story idea snippets. I also have one snippet in particr that''s reached 5 chapters at this point, and I felt like if I''m dedicating that amount of time to it, I may as well give a chapter ahead to the people over on my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    Also, two chapters of Looking ss Omake are up over there as well.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 553:

    Chapter 553:


    I waited patiently in front of one of my portals with Jinn at my side.


    It didn''t take long for someone to leave, and Jinn immediately ran up to her for a hug.


    "Medea!" She giggled.


    "Look at you, a goddess and so willful. Or is it because you became a goddess that you became more willful?" Medea epted it regardless.


    Medea didn''t like deities. She could be courteous and respectful, but there was a subtle ufortableness when she was around them. It was to the point where I was conscious of her when Izzy was around.


    However, that seemed to not apply to Jinn.


    Medea didn''t show even a miniscule of dislike towards my genie.


    Maybe it was because Jinn had no ulterior motives, and it was just so obvious to see.


    "Do I get a hug too?" I looked at Medea, holding my arms open.Medea scrunched her nose. "A hug? I should be kicking your ass. Do you have any idea what your daughter has been doing?"


    "Did Kunou already get in trouble?"


    Medea looked at me thenughed.


    "What happened?"


    "I''m not telling." She snorted. "You can find out from her when shees home for the holidays."


    Right, that should be a fun talk based on her words.


    "She''s doing okay though?" I asked.


    Medea''s expression softened. "She''s doing fine; don''t worry."


    Good, that''s good.


    "Come on, I wanna see the thing you made in action!" Jinn yfully tugged on Medea.


    "Alright, you silly girl." Medea huffed. "It''s the whole reason I took the day off anyways. Otherwise, I didn''t want to be anywhere near your little war."


    "Let me show you the portal we made!" Jinn continued to pull Medea away as they ran ahead.


    It''s good to know that Kunou is doing better, and it took everything in my power not to press Medea for more answers. But... I didn''t want to ''intrude'' on Kunou''s time, even if I wasn''t physically doing so. I would hear the stories from her when she came home, and things she wanted to keep to herself, they would stay to herself.


    Obviously, as long as they weren''t harmful or we didn''t need to know.


    The surroundings of the portal changed drastically in Kyoto.


    It took almost the entire day to move the vast majority of our troops through and secure the foothold in the Fae Lands.


    I underestimated the logistics of moving so many people in unison and keeping everything orderly. Just another reason I wouldn''t be good in amanding role like that.


    Now, the surroundings were set up as a defensive position.


    Hundreds of different magical and mundane defenses ovepped in this small area, with thousands of soldiers on standby at any given time.


    Not to mention it had be a forbidden zone for anyone not participating with arge distance from the city.


    I could have just popped Medea in on the other side, but I didn''t want to take any unnecessary risks.


    The way that realm operates is so alien to me in the brief time I''ve been there that I didn''t want to be flippant with my ability to jump to other worlds. Peace of mind only costs like an extra 30 minutes of traveling.


    "Not bad, not bad." Medea was looking over the portal, tapping her chin. "Not what I would have done, but it''s quality work."


    "Practicality trumps elegance in this case." I shrugged.


    "I helped!" Jinn raised her hand.


    "I''m sure you did most of the work." Medea smiled. "The boy over there probably hoisted the majority of the workload onto you and just wants to take credit."


    I rolled my eyes and ignored the short jab. It wasn''t anything new for Medea to take shots at people without much heat to them.


    Without hesitation, she trudged right through with Jinn at her side, and I quickly followed.


    She took a moment to take in the surroundings.


    At this point, walls had been erected, buildings were up with more on the way, and even ''roads'' had been carved out in the most basic manner.


    I quickly put a hand on Medea''s shoulder and scooted her to the side. She was about to say something to me, but she noticed the cart full of materials skirt by almost hitting her.


    "Careful, we''re in the middle of traffic." It wasn''t just using and going from the portal.


    Medea scrunched her nose. "I don''t like this ce; it feels foul on my blood. Tell me when you''re ready so I can watch my creations in action, then get out of here."


    "It''s going to be a little while." Jinn told her. "There are some neat things though! I found a few magic nts."


    "Oh? Alright, show me." Medea seemed content to go off with Jinn.


    I just shook my head and made my way towards the main¡­.well, what would it be called? It was one of the first buildings raised and where the bigwigs were gathered to talk about the fighting.


    Regardless, I nodded to the guards outside the door and pushed it open, entering.


    Several of Yasaka''s Youkai Generals were at her side as she leaned over a table, only adjusting herself as I entered.


    "Is Medea here?" She nced my way.


    "She''s with Jinn. She doesn''t want to be here any longer than necessary." I nodded, realizing there were a few faces I didn''t recognize.


    Opposite Yasaka was Artoria, along with Mordred and Arthur. And someone I hadn''t seen in awhile just as well.


    "Agravain." I named the man, giving him a nod in acknowledgement.


    He bowed his head more politely and stayed silent at Artoria''s side.


    Makes sense; he was one of the people running the Pendragon family and would have a hand in things happening.


    He also looked a lot better than when Ist saw him back at the Pendragon Castle when we invaded.


    Also at the table was Nurarihyon along with Aotab¨­, his third seat. But Nurarihyon had one other person, and their presence was rather...hard to ignore.


    In fact, standing this close to him, his body cast a shadow over me, and I had to tilt my head upwards to meet his eyes.


    "Hello, I don''t believe we''ve met." I greeted politely since we were all on the same side. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg."


    The big man¡ªno, the massive Kappa looked at me with a gentle smile. "You can call me Sadao. I''m the second seat." He held out his hand and gently took mine in a handshake, despite his hand being several times the size of mine.


    And when I said he was big, I meant he was almost as buff as Father Swole. Maybe a few inches smaller in scale.


    It was, frankly, an almostical sight to see a Kappa with muscles this size.


    "Am I going to meet this First Seat?" I could tell that Sadao here was several times stronger than Aotab¨­, which makes sense considering his higher ''position''.


    "Don''t expect it." Nurarihyon grunted. "Thatzy bum can''t move easily. He''s back home protecting the ce."


    I shrugged, a little curious but not enough to ask for too many details.


    Yasaka''s tail snuck up around my waist and pulled me to her side. "We''re getting prepared to march. It''s going to be our first campaign, so I wanted you to be there with us."


    The way she worded that sounded more than her asking for me to participate. "I assume you won''t want me to get overly involved in this instance."


    Yasaka smiled, as did her generals. "You catch on quickly. As I was telling Artoria, we need this. That is, us Youkai need this first fight, this first blood. Our desire for revenge isn''t going to cloud our judgments, but we can''t settle in his instance."


    "I do not object to your intentions. Morale is important, often conflicting with logical strategy. It is undeniable that my knights assisting would be the better move; however, the hearts of your warriors demand differently." Artoria replied, closing her eyes. "As long as the lives of my men do not get endangered from such types of orders, I see no reason to refuse. We will not participate in this first battle and continue to secure the area while your forces march."


    "If I may?" Agravain spoke softly as everyone acknowledged him. "To prevent any wedges from being ced between our forces, should we apany your warriors with a small contingent of our own, perhaps a small but elite force? While they would not participate openly, it would be a gesture of cooperation and moral support."


    Nurarihyon took out his pipe, biting onto it with a gruff hum to apany his agreement. "My boys would appreciate the gesture more than Yasaka''s."


    "That''s true." Yasaka looked thoughtful. "My people have seen your family demonstratively for months now. They''ve trained together, eaten together, and suffered together. Not to mention everyone knows that Artoria here helped during the rebellion. The Pendragon family has much more goodwill with mine than the East."


    "I will attend, and I will bring along a group of magicians to aid defensive measures." Artoria chipped in.


    "Sounds good." Nurarihyon agreed.


    "Did you make sure to remind everyone to keep their mouths shut when dealing with Fae?" Thest incident was still fresh in my mind.


    Yasaka let out a short groan. "We made sure to give everyone a refresher."


    "There''s always one idiot that needs to be an example for everyone else." Mordred snorted, crossing her arms.


    Well, there is a small bit of cultural sh here as well. Around these parts, when someone asks your name, it''s pretty much an unconscious action to give it.


    Still, he should have known better.


    They had tens of thousands of troops; there was bound to be one slip up eventually. At least it was in a situation where the damage was mitigated and could be a lesson for everyone else.


    "From what our scouts have told us, our target is a castle with some attachednd and an apanying wall. Magic was detected and expected. Though the number of enemies inside is unknown, there were a few hundred patrolling on the walls at any given time. Despite the small scale, we''re going to treat this as a true deployment. We''re going to convene at the North exit; make note of any logistic issues, and we''ll address them afterwards."


    Yasaka gave her orders, and everyone began moving.


    This was going to be the first ''fight'' of the invasion, and despite it being rather small, it was clear everyone was excited.


    @***@


    "You have a look, Wilhelm." Artoria nced my way as we apanied the thousands of Youkai marching north.


    It wasn''t too far away, enough that a straight but modest walk was enough to reach the castle within the hour.


    "Just thinking. I''m surprised at how...traditional this has been so far."


    Hell, we even had horses and stables erected back at the foothold.


    "Ah. Did you expect more fantastical elements to be involved in this conflict?" She asked.


    "Something like that."


    "We have yet reached the threshold for such things being required. I have familiarized myself with the elements of warfare here, and such things as mass teleporting is an important strategy to utilize." She responded.


    True, I do acknowledge that there was no point in throwing out those kinds of things when not needed.


    Well, I say that, but ncing backwards, hundreds of Youkai were pulling those massive carts with tarps draped over them.


    Medea''s little project.


    Should I be worried?


    She spent an awful lot of time creating them and a lot of resources. She spent only a few days equivalent to create Kunou''s birthday present, and that was an utter work of art.


    She spent months tinkering with this invention.


    She called it crude but practical.


    I guess we''ll see then.


    The marching came to a steady stop as the castle came into view.


    It was my first time seeing it, and it wouldn''t be out of ce in a movie. Artoria nudged me, and I followed her to the front after she gave the people with her a few orders, the Magicians spreading out defensively.


    I didn''t need to look to feel the magical barriers springing up all around the army.


    I looked up at the sky; we weren''t under my Storm any longer, but I was keeping an eye out in case any of our voyeurs would do anything. However, I think after my retaliation the first time, they were hesitant about overextending.


    High up in the sky, a warm and cold re could be easily felt due to my Authority.


    I took my ce up near Yasaka.


    Despite not wanting to steal the proverbial thunder, I was a part of this as Yasaka''s lover and as someone who was recognized by the Youkai as one of their own.


    I stepped past thousands of lines of Youkai, many of which nced at me as I passed before taking my spot in front.


    Yasaka looked at both sides of her. "Come, we''re going to give them a chance to surrender."


    Maybe I was skeptical, but the way she said that made me think it was a very slim chance of happening.


    Oh well.


    As we got closer, I started to notice some irregrities in the castle. The bricks weren''t uniform; actually, they looked... fake? Like someone just casually grabbed a bunch of different rocks, shaped them magically, then stacked them up in a way that resembled a castle.


    Actually, I think some of them weren''t even made of stone.


    The magical defenses were impressive, however.


    But that was to be expected. Fae were... well, they had a mastery of magic from what I recall. Though their particr brand of magic was different. But Magic it was all the same; they utilized Magical Energy even in their strange ways, and they were a type of magical being.


    We stopped not too far from the gate, but not too close either.


    It was just enough that the owner here could approach without feeling a threat from the army standing on his doorstep.


    It didn''t take long for the gate to be raised, and all the Fae visible on the walls stood up straighter.


    Three exited the gate, and normally, I would only say one person, but in this realm, I wasn''t too sure.


    It was... two horses and a person. The man, I presumed, looked like an elf of some sort, but with butterfly-like wings on his back. But once he got closer, I realized there was something wrong with the horse he was riding.


    Mostly the fact that the horse was a badly sown horse suit and there was clearly a person inside.


    The other horse seemed ''normal'' though.


    "Woah, my trusty steed." The Fae called out loud as the not-horse came to a stop a few yards in front of us.


    "Are you the Lord of this castle?" Yasaka addressed him.


    "Lord? Lord¡­Lord!" The Fae snapped his fingers. "I like that! My adviser, write that one down! I wish to be addressed as Lord for now on."


    The horse next to him fell on its bet and spit out a scroll and quill and awkwardly began to write that down using its hooves together. "Yes, my Lord." The horse replied in a monotone voice.


    "Ah, such a dutiful adviser! Not like myst one!"


    "What happened to yourst one?" I asked, not able to help myself. Normally, I probably wouldn''t have spoken while Yasaka was at the forefront, but honestly, this was a rather strange situation, and the more we learn about these Fae, the better.


    "Ipetent!" He shook his head. "Why you wouldn''t believe it. I told him I wanted a blue carpet for my menagerie, and do you know what he brought? Periwinkle. The nerve! I told him, Adviser, what did I tell him?" He looked at the horse.


    "You told him that your horse could do a better job, my Lord." The horse responded in the same monotone as it still tried its best to scribble on the parchment.


    "That''s right! So, I did just that!" He nodded to himself with a wide grin.


    Right, I''m guessing we know who''s inside the horse outfit under him then...


    "But enough of my ipetent former adviser!" He kicked the fake horse under him, and it neighed. The thing is, I don''t think it neighed on purpose; I think when he traded their ''roles'' his former adviser lost the ability to speak. "I assume you''re here to offer rpose for my herald that you killed unrightfully."


    "No."


    "Excellent, we..." He paused. "Come again?"


    "Your Herald, as you called, attacked one of my men. That removed his status as a messenger, and he was executed without hesitation." Yasaka said sternly before taking the''scroll'' that was brought along and tossed it to the ground in front of him.


    "Incredulous! Fabrication, Erroneous! My herald has even navigated the courts of Winter; he would never make such an error. You have trampled over the rules of hospitality!" He harumphed.


    Yasaka''s hand lit up with Foxfire, and she threw it at the scroll, setting it on fire under his gaze.


    Honestly, I don''t know what it said, but after seeing her read it the first time, she got pissed off, so I didn''t ask.


    "You seem to misunderstand. We''re not here to argue; you are being given the chance to surrender."


    "Surrender!? But I am not at war! I have received no deration, nor have I broken any promises, and I am most assuredly in no one''s debt! You have no right!" He seemed confused and slightly angry at Yasaka''s deration. "I withdraw my hospitality, and my threshold rejects you!" He turned his nose up, and I felt the simmer of the magic surrounding the castle re up.


    "Very well, if that''s your decision, then we''ll do things the hard way."


    The Fae scoffed even as he retained a lofty smile. "Away with you, trespassers! Lord Felmort bids you good night!" He kicked his fake horse, and it turned around, trotting back inside along with the very real horse that held the parchment in its mouth and followed after.


    I looked up at the bright sky overhead.


    It was still daytime.


    "Well, we tried." Yasaka didn''t seem to care; frankly, she preferred this course of action. However, wartime ''rules'' dictate giving your enemies the chance to surrender.


    "I am reminded of why I let Merlin deal with any WildFae that appeared within mynds if possible." Artoria muttered, furrowing her brow.


    Right, I understood her sentiment exactly.


    "Pull the weapons up!" Yasaka let out a shout as we got close, and instantly, the warriors in formations let out a roar of approval.


    Nurarihyon even had a smile as he silently trailed at our side, content with the course of actions, it seems.


    The warriors parted like a sea as the massive siege weapons were brought up to the front, and Medea was in tow along with Jinn.


    Medea unceremoniously pulled the tarps off of them with a flick of her hand.


    At the base, it was normal wood to support, then as it climbed high, pieces were made out of Magical metal found in Skyrim. It culminated in a veryrge ss orb at the top with a ce that could apparently open up. And there were four floating ss circles with Mithril wrapped around the edges. They each took up a side of the ''sphere'' forming a square shape around it.


    Upon closer look, the ss circles were engrained with beautifully woven spell circles. Not just the circles, but the orb itself had every inch of it covered in magical symbols and forms.


    If you wanted to be pedantic, they were scaled-up versions of what Medea devised for each warrior to wield, the ''wands'' that allowed for casting without any magical knowledge of energy to utilize.


    Medea cackled as she floated up and pulled off the ''lid'' on the ss orb and dropped in a massive chunk of dust. She then inserted several Soul Stones into various ces underneath, slotting them into intended spots.


    The whole thing hummed as it came to life, and I could taste the magical energy it was exuding.


    Medea then floated down, her job done as she shot a thumbs up to Yasaka while several Youkai, apparently having been trained in it, positioned it appropriately, aiming towards the castle.


    There didn''t need to be some grand speech or building up hype for the gathered Youkai.


    I looked at the castle not far enough; the Magical defenses were genuinely impressive, and some of them, well, they were foreign to me, and I couldn''t understand them at a nce.


    Suffice to say, I would have to expend some effort to bulldoze them using my power if I tried.


    The Magical Siege Engine vibrated in ce as everyone seemed to hold their breaths. The Dust inside¡ªthe Fire Dust slowly disintegrated, and with the ss ''Circle'' pointing towards the Castle at the front, the Spell Circle within it started to glow a very simr red tone.


    As soon as the entire Spell Circle lit up, another Spell Circle appeared in the air, projected right in front of it, then another,rger, then a third evenrger, about the size of the contraption itself.


    "Fire." Yasaka gave the order, and the air vibrated.


    A beam of condensed fire-aligned energy from the magical source shook everything as it shot out towards the castle.


    It mmed into the magical defenses of the castle and seared right through them. Therge gate that we approached earlier was reduced to g and ash as the beam tore through the walls, what was behind them, and continued onwards until we could no longer see.


    Reinforcing my eyes, I could see some of the Fae ying as guards or ''knights'' that escaped from other parts of the walls as they looked at the destruction in utter confusion and surprise.


    There was a silence as the attack ended, the Fire Dust seemingly running its course as it waspletely used up.


    This thing made the cannons on my ship look like toys.


    The ss circle that housed the magic circle sizzled as steam wafted from it. Then, the Four ss Circles rotated as a ''fresh'' one now pointed forward.


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka called out to me.


    "Yes?"


    "Do you see a white g or any signs of surrender?"


    "I do not." I told her.


    "Fire Again."


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    Looking ss Omake will be out with next chapter.

 Chapter 554: + Looking Glass Part 8

    Chapter 554: + Looking ss Part 8


    Artoria POV


    The destruction wrought was surprising, but not unexpected in hindsight. I stepped over a wooden beam that seemed to belong to a homestead that once existed within the walls of this castle.


    It was odd; everything about this ce was odd.


    I knew that beforehand. Merlin''s lessons involved the queerness of the Fairfolk. Along with the stories and lessons that even regr people in my time spread, I still felt the oddity rather bluntly.


    The handful of times that I was forced to deal with one of their kind in a personal capacity was... different. Of course, when I received my armaments from the Lady of the Lake, however, she was more...human-like, as Merlin said, and not to base my opinions on the outlier.


    If possible, I always let Merlin handle it, as he was able to navigate the situation properly without any major concerns. Of course, due to certain situations, the walls of Camelot were tended to by some of their people, but rarely did I, or my people, directly interact with them.


    However, there were times where Merlin wasn''t present, or it was abrupt, and I was forced to draw my de.


    Once such an asion where one of my knights turned out to be a Fae in disguise. They were loyal, studious, and honorable. Yet, once their identity was discovered, they transformed into something resembling a werewolf, yet not. They rampaged, killing several of their formerrades without hesitation before they could be killed by my own hand.


    To this day, I don''t know why they reacted that way. It was a surprise, one that needed words spoken, but their actions had proven themselves, and I would have dly kept them within my ranks.It was not as if there were no non-humans under my banner. I, myself, was perceived as more Dragon than human by many phantasmal species within thends.


    Merlin told me not to overthink it and that their minds simply worked differently.


    The wood was not wood of this ''home''. It magicked dirt into the form and shape of wood, but it would crumble if I exerted my magical energy to dispel the constraints.


    One of the walls that remained partially, there hung a painting... upside down. It appeared to be a painting of what the interior of the home looked like before it was destroyed.


    There were other things, small things, that spoke of the strange nature of this former residence. It was as if they merely mimicked the outeryer of a human''s cottage and were content with that.


    I put my hand into the firece where the firewood sat, and I couldn''t feel any residual heat nor see any ashes or coals. Not only that, but the chimney, or what remained, had no signs of smoke or fire upon the stones.


    I brushed my hands off and stood up as I noticed mypanions approaching. The sun peeked over the sheared top of the castle, and I squinted my eyes upon their arrival.


    "Mordred, Agravain, and Kairi, thank you foring." I greeted them each.


    "Of course, your Majesty." Agravain bowed his head.


    I was still not quitefortable with their reverence, but I epted the polite intentions regardless.


    "How was the fight, Father? Did you see any action?" Mordred kicked over the remains of a stone wall. "Doesn''t look like any actual fighting took ce."


    "Other than the demolished vige and castle." Kairi grunted.


    "Yeah, I meant like fighting, not blowing them the fuck up." Mordred huffed.


    "The weapons Caster created were impressive." I said simply.


    I had the chance to speak with the magicians I brought along to witness the ''fight''. They only had praise for her creations and were in awe of her crafting ability.


    When further questioned, they admitted that such ''siege weaponry'' does not exist in practice. When a group of magicians could aplish somewhat simr feats without the additional ''cost'' of creating such things, why would they use them? However, the benefits were rather obvious as they were operable by non-magicians and opened up the original magicians required for other purposes.


    They also spoke that it would require quite a few powerful and skilled magicians to match the feats that Caster''s work showed.


    Then there was the matter of quick output. The ''machines'' could be fired four times in quick session before it required a short rest.


    "Father, I brought two hundred knights with me like you asked." Mordred spoke up. "Doesn''t look like anything needs killing though."


    "Mordred, could you please secure the walls and sweep the entire stronghold? I spoke with Yasaka; we aremandeering this ''castle'' while the Youkai situate themselves at the portal."


    Mordred''s eyes lit up. "Nice, a proper castle! Even if it''s a bit torn up... but nothing we can''t fix!" He happily ran off to presumedly where the Knights were.


    "I do not mean to question your decisions, your Majesty. But is it wise to separate ourselves from our allies in such a way?" Agravain asked with clear concern.


    "I will not fault you for raising concerns over presumedly poor choices, Agravain. You have yet to hear the full breath of my reasoning and choice. For safety concerns, we did not wish to allow any teleportation near the portal. However, as our first ''conquest'' we believed this ce to be a rather good spot to set up a ''hub'' so to speak of any future teleportation''s required as the main stronghold is not far in distance." I exined to him. "Our magicians are much more experienced in such matters, which is why we are tasked with such."


    "I see. I retract my concerns, your Majesty." He bowed politely. "Would you like me to begin preparing our magicians for this endeavor?"


    "Nay, the fortress is not yet secure; such is pointless for such delicate work tomence if easily disrupted." I shook my head.


    "You purposely sent Mordred away." Kairi, who had silently been standing not far away, had one of those cigarettes that Mordred started using in his mouth.


    I felt the corners of my lips twitch at the sight, and I wanted to offer a brief rebuke, but I held my tongue. He was correct, even if I felt guilty being called out on it so openly. "You are perceptive." Mordred had a good master.


    "I had need of your expertise as a necromancer." I fully admitted. "If it''s not too much, there are... troubling things in the basement of the castle."


    He breathed out a breath of smoke. "Why didn''t you ask your ''boyfriend''?" He raised an eyebrow, those magic sses of his nowhere to be seen. "He''s not a necromancer, but I couldn''t reallypete with his wide range of knowledge considering who he is."


    I furrowed my brow, frowning slightly. "Despite... everything, Wilhelm is still young. If I can spare him such sights, I will do so."


    I am much more ustomed to viewing such horrors in personpared to him.


    "Alright, lead the way." He stomped his foot on the cigarette and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.


    I nodded in thanks for him not pushing the issue.


    We walked up to the entrance of the castle; part of it copsed, but there was enough room to duck under.


    Two Youkai stood guard, and they stepped out of the way as I nodded to them as well.


    It was... a typicalyout, perhaps rather in. Finding the stairs that led downward was not difficult, and I did not look forward to looking upon this scene again.


    Torches lit up the dark hallways as we got into the area with holding cells.


    "Jesus Christ." Kairi cursed upon witnessing the scene.


    Agravain just as well had the same reaction. "I believe I understand your request for assistance, and reluctance to let others down here, now."


    Opposite the cells, with what should be a stone wall, instead, it was iid with body parts.


    It was not a mere ''trophy disy'' of someone hanging various dismembered body parts onto the wall. If it were such, I would have destroyed it even if it fouled my mood.


    No, it was as if they were merged with the wall itself.


    A fleshed arm and hand twitched, clearly still alive.


    The back of a head could be seen up to the edge of an ear.


    Some other, non-human pieces as well decorated the wall. Some of which still showed clear life in them against all logic.


    However, the most horrific was the stomach of a pregnant woman that protruded from the wall.


    Inside the cells themselves, there were a handful of humans; many of them were missing body parts, and they were reced with various items or even stones from the very wall.


    Their eyes were dead, which is why I had not called for any healers.


    "Is there a way to undo this spell?" I finally asked. "And is it possible to save the unborn child within that mother''s stomach?"


    Kairi let out a sigh. "Fae Magic? I''ll tell you right now, there''s no undoing Fae magic like this, at least not from me. I''m not even sure it''s magic. I''ve heard the myths, however short, about what they can do, and it''s far out of my league. As for the baby..." He ced a hesitant hand on the stomach.


    The skin was clearly still ''alive'' as he pressed into it, and it was slightly indented like how skin does.


    He stared nkly for a moment, pulling his hand away then silently shaking his head.


    I did not ask him what he saw; I fear I would not like the answer.


    "I can give them a quick and painless death. The humans, that is, a curse I can use. I''m not messing with anything I don''t recognize." Kairi spoke again.


    "Please." I was thankful. "Agravain, take note. This... Lord of this castle, he had the ability to swap things by touching them." Perhaps it went past merely ''things'' and allowed him to swap the concepts of objects or people on a whim.


    "I will make sure that everyone knows to be careful in the future." He nodded. "The Lord that you mentioned, what was his fate?"


    Did it remind him of the unpleasantness that urred in the Pendragon castle? His gaze hardened, and there was a clear desire for blood that I would not find fault with.


    "He is currently being questioned, quite thoroughly, by Yasaka''s people." The corners of my lips curled up. "He seemed to be under the impression that as a ''prisoner'' he was to be treated as a guest."


    "Oh?"


    "He was quickly disabused by that notion."


    While it is proper to treat prisoners of war with a certain decorum, that was only for those that deserved such things. Just as Yasaka executed the ''messenger'' with proper cause, so too was the thorough interrogation of someone with such horrific practices ''allowed''.


    "If all goes well, we should have a map or the closest approximation of such about our current location. We know that we''re just barely in the domain of the Winter Court, such that luck was on our side in a way. After procuring a map, we can begin to push outwards."


    A proper campaign begins with terrain knowledge. An army that marches into the unknown is led by a foolish leader.


    It was always acknowledged that our spearhead would be a bit muddy upon movement; however, it was a known priority to ascertain our footing before pushing forward.


    The happenstance of being so close to an acknowledged foe was attributed to fortune.


    The bodies in the cell began to wither away; it looked painless even if their minds were gone; it was proper that they be dealt with in a respectful way.


    "Agravain, can you please call some people to take the bodies back home and bury them?" I did not know where they hailed from, but they should return and rest eternally among their own.


    "I will see to it." He bowed and moved to leave.


    Kairi also stood up, looking as if he wanted to leave. "Call me if you need me again. Or... if you need me to put a bullet in one of their brains." He said it in a low voice.


    I nodded to him as well.


    I had reservations about using my de against them, against the creators of it in the first ce, but all my reservations had been removed.


    Regardless, I let out a breath and kept my expression from faltering as I left the basement and made my way outside.


    It was only when I got back under the strange sun that I found myself smiling, seeing Wilhelm not far away.


    This war had just begun, but we already entered a short lull inbat. I was allowed a few dalliances while we prepared further.


    He noticed my approach, smiling back at me, and it never failed to make my heart flutter like a young maiden.


    "I thought you would have followed Yasaka back to camp." I moved to his side, noticing he had a book in one hand and a wand in the other.


    He mentioned his new wand; it was quite the artifact to see in person. Without being a Magus, I could recognize its quality at a nce.


    "They didn''t really need me. And after she told me that the Pendragon family was going to set up camp here, I figured I would help clean things up." He smiled still.


    "I will not reject assistance." I looked around at the clear mess we needed to clean before this ce resembled a proper stronghold again. "Those weapons destroyed most of the foundations; the castle barely stands, andrge gorges now split this vige."


    "We could always get those Fae we captured to clean it." He offered.


    "Despite my growing dislike for their kind, I do not condone very even in jest." I lightly chided him, even if he was joking.


    They did not put up a fight once several sts of those weapons were released.


    Of the few hundred that were assumed to live here, a small fraction remained after the bombardment.


    They are now being imprisoned back at the foothold and possibly taken back to Kyoto for proper holding.


    "Don''t worry, I can help quite a bit here; watch." He held his wand up and closed his eyes for a moment as his magical energy gathered. "Reparo."


    Dozens of stones swept up into the air and seemed to mend back together as they formed back into the shape of the castle wall... only for it to fall over a momentter because itcked support from either side.


    "Yes, I saw." I deadpanned.


    He coughed awkwardly. "Right, it''s a work in progress." He cast again, intoning the incantation. "Reparo!"


    This time, a bit more of it was gathered and shaped back together, but rather than falling over, it seemed enough of it was pulled back together to retain its sturdiness.


    "I am impressed." I fully admitted.


    "Right!?" Wilhelm also looked excited; I enjoyed seeing him like this. It happened often when ying around with various magics. "While the magic from the world Medea is in isn''t... well, it''s not the most powerful, it has an insane versatility that I''ve been reading about. This spell actually touches on the concept of time from what I understood from the texts. Basically, it forces the objects to ''remember'' a previous time that they existed in ''another form''. Obviously that requires quite a bit of finagling, but it works fairly well."


    "Are there limitations?" I asked.


    That may be beneficial for our magicians to learn.


    "Well¡­ Magical and sufficiently ''powerful'' things can''t be ''repaired'', which I think is obvious. But, uh, it''s not omnipotent. Maybe back where it originated from, you would receive a bit of a ''hand'' from the ''Magic'' there, but here I''m forced to do quite a few calctions to facilitate it. Even so, it''s saving an inordinate amount of time. Though, once I get it good enough, I can transcribe it into a magic circle and pass it over to anyone you want." He added with a smile.


    Magus rarely gives up their mysteries, yet he understood my question and offered it up without hesitation.


    I wonder if he knows how easily he makes my heart beat in such a way.


    It''s humorous.


    I stand in a position I would have reviled upon my original summoning to Rin. I wanted to give up my kingship; I wanted to throw it all away because I had fallen in despair.


    Now, I stand here willingly on a battlefield once more. I stand with knights who bear the names of my family and friends.


    It was a strange reflection of my life.


    And... I am happier than I ever was in life.


    "Wilhelm." I looked up at him as there was no one around, and I feltfortable being forward.


    "Hmm?"


    "I love ¨C "


    A ssh of water down poured, hitting us and preventing me from speaking further. Wilhelm''s wand jerked up, and I summoned my sword into my hands without thinking as we both looked at the source that slipped past our notice.


    It was as if... a small body of water just spontaneously appeared above us.


    Just as quickly, a person fell out of it, and my eyes widened because I recognized them.


    "L-Lady Vivian!?" I blurted out in shock as they bore a striking resemnce to the Faerie who bestowed both Avalon and Excalibur on me.


    "Waaah! Arthurrrrrr!"


    My body refused to move; mayhaps it was the surprise of it all. She collided with me and knocked me to the ground.


    I now had a ghost of my past clinging to me and crying uncontrobly into my chest.


    Regardless of how unlikely or improbable, I somehow felt it was Merlin''s fault.


    @***@


    Non-Canon Omake: Through the Looking ss Part 8


    "You smell weird." The small not-cat girl looked at me with her nose scrunched.


    I responded with the grace and sophistication of an elder. "No you."


    "Why do you smell like Issei?" The Little Nekoshou Youkai Devil asked.


    "Well, he''s my best friend, for some reason. Why is it weird if I smell like him? On that note, isn''t it weird that you''re smelling me so intently?" I proposed in response.


    "Like a Dragon." She spoke again, ignoring my retort.


    "What''s wrong with dragons?" Kunou frowned.


    "Yeah, what''s wrong with dragons? You make it sound like bad things. Don''t be racist." I followed up.


    "I''m not being racist!" She nearly hissed. "You ¨C "


    The teleportation circle in the club room lit up, and a familiar face appeared. The young Phenex boy that I recalled from the Underworld get-together appeared.


    Though he looked rather...different. And that wasn''t because myst memory of his face was him screaming as I threw him out a window.


    I think.


    But he looked haggard and lifeless.


    Like some oppai screaming idiot had somehow beat him up in front of the whole world.


    Is it weird that I sort of felt bad for him?


    "Where...who are you?" Riser Phenex looked at me, furrowing his brow. "Wait, are you the bast¡ªLucifer''s Son?"


    He caught himself; well, color me shocked. "I am indeed Takao Shimoda." I said without a hint of hesitation. "And this is Kunou."


    "Hello!" Kunou waved.


    "¡­okay." He didn''t seem to care overly much.


    "And these are the peerage members of my aunt Rias, Koneko, and Kiba." I made sure to introduce.


    "I know." He deadpanned.


    "Oh right, they did beat you in a rating game." I nodded.


    "They didn''t beat me; I won!" Rias seethed.


    "Then how did the marriage get called off?" I questioned.


    "Because¡­.." Riser slumped his shoulders and seemed to lose all will to defend himself.


    Right, I feel bad for him.


    "Maybe we should deal with the main concerns of why Riser Phenex is here." Kiba spoke.


    "Right, why are you here? If I got beat up by a kid who peeps on underaged girls changing and shouts about boobs every other word in front of the whole world, thest thing I''d want to do is show my face around here." I nodded along with Kiba.


    "Eww, he lost to that person?" Kunou scrunched her nose. "That''s sad¡­."


    [Huh.] Ddraig''s voice echoed in my mind.


    What''s up, Ddraig?


    [I think this is the first time a Phenex ever contemted if they could kill themselves.]


    Hmm.


    Kiba cleared his throat. "One of the issues was settling the dowry."


    Dowry? They still do stuff like that? Well, then again, it was an arranged marriage. It''s kind of weird how ass backwards Devils can be in some aspects, but super progressive in others.


    "You know what? Just keep the dowry; it''s fine." I waived it off. Honestly, with the bullshit the Gremory family pulled, I think he deserves to keep that.


    For some reason, Riser let out a sigh.


    Kiba coughed into his fist. "The Phenex family were the ones who paid a ratherrge dowry to the Gremory family." Kiba then slid a piece of paper in front of me that listed the dowry and approximate cost of everything.


    "¡­..oof."


    That has to be rather emascting.


    Kunou looked up at me. "Why did they have to pay so much for him to get married?"


    "Because some people are perceived as less desirable than the spouse to be." I responded.


    Funny enough, Koneko was nodding along.


    Riser Phenex had immacte control of his emotions, it seems. Or he''s just so heavily depressed right now that he couldn''t be bothered.


    It was certainly one of the two.


    "Since your side were the ones to unterally break the marriage agreement, we are requesting the dowry back." Riser grit out.


    I looked at the piece of paper that showed a few hundred Phoenix Tears listed as part of it. Don''t those take a lot of time and effort to produce and are super expensive?


    Yikes.


    He suddenly blinked, looking around. "Wait, where is Rias? Why isn''t she here talking about this with me?" His eyes darted everywhere, and he seemed to be experiencing an onset of fear. "Is the dragon around too?" He asked in a whisper.


    I think he might have somesting trauma.


    "¡­..oppai." I whispered, and he visibly shuddered, taking a step back.


    [Jeez, even I''m starting to feel bad.]


    Are you sympathizing with him, Ddraig?


    [I think I''m allowed to sympathize, considering.]


    "Hey look, it''s Issei." I pointed at the door, creating an illusion of the idiot for Riser to see.


    Riser turned to look, his eyes widening, his mouth opened and he let out a very high-pitched scream before his eyes rolled back and he flopped down the ground.


    "Pathetic." Koneko emotionlessly deadpanned as she nudged him with her foot.


    Well, if he wasn''t down for the count already, I think that would have been a K.O.


    "I feel bad for him." Kunou voiced.


    "He wanted to make all of us join his harem." Koneko hissed.


    "I feel less bad for him." Kunou responded.


    "Even the guys? There''s Issei, Kiba, and... isn''t there a dhampir?" I asked, trying to recall everyone who was in Rias''s Peerage.


    "He said that he wanted a ''femboy''." Koneko said dryly.


    "¡­.oh."


    "What''s a femboy?" Kunou looked at me.


    "...ask your mother." I awkwardly replied before pping my hands. "Alright, I know how to handle this."


    "How?" Kiba asked.


    I just smiled.


    @***@


    "What''s this? Where am I?" Riser nearly shot to his feet because I had to put him under a little spell to settle everything..


    "Calm down, Mr. Phenex." I tapped my pen against my notebook. "We''re just going to have a little talk."


    Riser shook his head like he was still muddled. "...where''s the dragon?" Where are the others?"


    "No one else here but you, me, and Ddraig." I assured him.


    "You, me, and Who?" He squeezed out.


    I gestured to Ddraig, rather, the Gauntlet sitting on the chair next to me.


    "[Hello!]" Ddraig greeted.


    Riser''s eyes widened in a silent scream, and he fell over again.


    I may have sent him a little jolt to wake him back up. His body twitched and his eyes snapped open again, and he immediately flew to the corner in panic.


    "Where is he, the dragon!?"


    "It''s just us here; don''t'' worry. Ddraig here is my assistant. Let''s start at the beginning. Where do you think everything went wrong in your life, Mr. Phenex?" I tapped my pen.


    He seemed to calm down once he realized the Gauntlet wasn''t moving.


    "What do you mean when everything went wrong in my life? My life is great!" He defended.


    "Is it? Is it really?" I think I''m supposed to ask questions.


    "What even is this? What are you doing?"


    "Therapy!"


    "¡­. Do you even have any idea what you''re doing?"


    "Mr. Phenex, I''ve done this plenty of times before." I reassured him. "Ddraig can back me up."


    "[Yup, the brat''s been doing this for a long time.]" Ddraig metaphorically nodded.


    "This is stupid." He stood up. "I''m leaving."


    "You''re wee to leave. It''s just... instead of me, you''re going to have to deal with Rias, and Issei will inevitably be at her side."


    He stilled and trembled with his hand reaching out towards the door.


    Wow, Issei really messed him up, didn''t he?


    Rather reluctantly, he moved to sit back down. "What do you want?" He breathed out.


    "It''s not about what I want. It''s about what you want."


    "I want to leave." He deadpanned.


    "Nonsense. Let''s start over. Where do you think your life took a nosedive and you became aughingstock among all Devil-kind, Mr. Phenex?" I questioned again.


    "My life is fine! I''m Riser Phenex! I''m the third son of the Noble Phenex house, do you have any idea how many Devils envy me?" He huffed.


    "And yet, you got beat up by a pathetic reincarnated Devil not even two months into his Devilhood without enough power to even Teleport on his own." I pointed out.


    "That''s¡ªwait, he can''t even Teleport?" Riser''s eye''s widened.


    "Nope."


    "But everyone can teleport! Even the most pathetically weak Devil can Teleport!"


    "That is correct." I agreed.


    Riser''s jaw just hung open as he seemed to contemte his life even more. "Jesus Christ, I lost to a Devil that couldn''t even Teleport." There was a visible jolt as he invoked the taboo name from his own mouth.


    "There there, it''s okay." I made sure to get up and pat his shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, he was thoroughly thrashed by a handsome and dashing rogue not an hour ago."


    "...."


    "Me. It was me."


    "...didn''t you say you were his best friend?"


    "That''s right, I¡ªTakao Shimoda¡ªam Issei''s best friend for some inexplicable reason." I made sure to reiterate to keep my perfect fake identity concealed.


    "And you kicked his ass?"


    "Yup!" I nodded.


    "I do feel better. Is this how therapy works?" He smiled for the first time since I''ve met him.


    I shrugged. "Anyways, let''s move on. You lost; you''re kind of aughingstock now."


    His shoulders slumped, and he let out a sigh. "I won the rating game!"


    "True. And everyone with sense knows that you were done dirty by the Satans. But that doesn''t take away from the fact that Oppai boy kicked your butt in front of everyone."


    "[It''s really pathetic too. Why did you even ept a ''fight'' from him? You already won; there was nothing to gain by it.]" Ddraig chimed in.


    Riser opened his mouth. "What are you!?" He pointed at Ddraig.


    "Listen, don''t mind the small stuff." I quickly waived off his question. "Actually, you''re looking at everything wrong. You should be thanking Issei."


    "Why would I do that?" He hesitantly asked. "You realize that I lost all the prestige I built up? My confidence is gone, my peerage is... they''re looking down on me now. My sister idolizes that idiot, and now my family is mad at me!"


    "It could be worse."


    "How could it possibly be worse?"


    "You would have gone through with the marriage." I replied.


    "...that was the whole point."


    "Yes, but let me paint you a picture. You have a wife who despises you, that is higher socially ranked, and will utterly control you."


    "But I''m stronger!"


    "How much older than Rias are you?''


    "A few years." He said.


    "And you barely beat her in the rating game."


    "I wouldn''t say barely."


    "Alright, true that you had a proper victory, but realistically, how much could things have turned around if given a different set of circumstances? Credit where it''s due; the Power of Destruction isn''t anything to scoff at, and you handled her tidily. But let me widen your perspective. First off, let me ask you a question: If you could describe Rias in a few words, what would they be?"


    "Spoiled Princess." He answered without missing a beat.


    "Right, that''s a fair assessment." I acknowledged it fully. "Tell me, as a spoiled princess, how much do you think she ''trains''?"


    "Minimally if that."


    "How much do you train?"


    "Less than I should, but more than her." He grunted.


    "Yet, you almost lost. You''re older, you trained more, and she had never participated in a rating game before when you had ample experience at that point." I spell it out for him.


    "¡­.oh." He quickly realized.


    "Socially, she''s above you. Strength wise, she would most likely have overtaken you." I held up two fingers. "Do you know what the third strike is?"


    "What?"


    "Her brother is the strongest devil to ever exist and would have erased you from existence if he could do so without causing any issues down the line because he''s a major siscon."


    "...isn''t he your dad?"


    "As my Father, don''t you think I would know best?" I returned.


    Riser''s expression changed after several moments of silence. "Did...did I dodge a bullet?"


    "You didn''t dodge a bullet, Riser Phenex; you dodged a goddamn nuclear missile." I pped my hands. "Look, now you can choose who you can marry, right? Rias was bitching and moaning about her arranged marriage, but you were the third sonpared to her being the heir to the Gremory family. Who here was forced?"


    "That''s right! I was the one forced into an arranged marriage!" Riser clenched his fist. "I''m the one that''s free, not her! I never wanted to marry her! Having to deal with a Satan siscon as a brother-inw!? And having to deal with her as a spoiled princess for the rest of my life!?"


    "There you go, see? Issei did you a favor."


    "You''re right!" He shot to his feet. "I need to do something... I need to thank him."


    "[That''s exactly what you should do. Go thank Issei for breaking the marriage arrangement publicly.]" Ddraig egged him on.


    "Well... maybe you shouldn''t quite do that."


    "That''s a good idea, Dragon!" Riser agreed.


    "[I have those from time to time.]"


    Well, I can say this isn''t my fault then.


    "Riser is going to go thank him personally!"


    "Don''t talk in the third person; it makes you look like a douche." I quickly chided.


    "Too much?" He looked at me.


    "Way too much." I nodded.


    "Hmm." He stroked his chin. "I admit, I was skeptical, but you really are a good therapist."


    "Oh, I''m not a therapist."


    He paused. "what?"


    "What?" I repeated, tilting my head.


    "You said you had a lot of experience doing this."


    "Yup."


    "But you''re not a therapist."


    "Nope!" I just smiled. "I just have a lot of issues that I have to work through."


    He blinked a few times and put his hands on my shoulders. "Takao Shimoda, you will forever be a friend to Riser Phenex. I''m free because of you, and I don''t need to worry about some dragon and his spoiled princess anymore."


    "What about the Dowry?"


    Riser snorted. "It''s a small price to pay for not having to marry her. Let them keep it." He said it nonchntly. "As for the other stuff, it''s not important. My parents gave me authority to deal with it myself, and I don''t care anymore."


    "I guess all''s well that ends well."


    Damn I''m good.


    You know, I considered getting a Law Degree in my free time, but maybe I should go with being a Therapist?


    "This human school... if I recall, it''s also a human college?" He asked.


    "¡­yes?" I vaguely recalled.


    "Wonderful. I will see about enrolling. I''m curious about human society, and if my new friend goes to school here, I want to spend time as well." He smiled. "It will also give me the opportunity to thank that Issei Hyoudou properly for his help!"


    ¡­.well then.


    I''m sure it''ll be fine.


    "Where is he!?" I heard the distinct shrill of my alternate aunt''s voice as the door was pushed open with almost all of her peerage in tow.


    Specifically, Issei was there as well. And surprisingly, Riser didn''t faint in fear at his sight like he did with a mere illusion just before.


    I quickly scooped up the Boosted Gear as Riser walked over with confidence towards them.


    "Riser, I don''t know what you think you''re doing." Rias was cut off as he ignored herpletely, putting his hands on Issei''s shoulders.


    Issei seemed taken aback by this, just like everyone else.


    "Issei Hyoudou, Thank you. Truly, I, Riser Phenex, thank you from the bottom of my heart for preventing my marriage to the Gremory. Know that this Phenex owes you a great favor that I will make sure to pay in the future."


    I spied Kunou behind the group and realized this was a very good time to leave.


    "What did you just say!?" Rias''s high-pitched tone was rather clear even with my back turned.


    A really good time to leave.


    @***@


    A/N


    500 chapters woo woo! Feels like just yesterday that I released my first chapter for this and wow things took off.


    There''s another Looking ss omake chapter up on P a t r e o n, if you''re interested.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 555:

    Chapter 555:


    Ah, so that''s Vivian.


    Well, I assumed so because that''s what Artoria basically screamed in confusion and shock and had yet to dislodge the presumably old acquaintance from her. Though, it shouldn''t be her Vivian, that should be just too fantastical.


    Despite how nonsensical the Fae are, especially back home, there''s no way she could have been tracked down and passed the world boundaries as a world terminal like she was supposed to be.


    Regardless, Artoria looked at me for help and I had no idea how to handle this.


    I just realized that I never ounted for there being a situation where I genuinely had hesitation about harming one of their kind. Sure, there would always be some that could be¡­..negotiated with, or amicable even. But even then, those were situations where my hand was merely stayed, notpletely neutered like in this case.


    I had to wave off a bunch of people who noticed and were about to approach. They instead stood a distance away, but ready to be involved if things went south.


    "L-Lady Vivian, could you please ¨C "


    "Arthurrrrr!" She whined again, continuing to bury her head in Artoria''s chest. "You let yourself go, why is your chest so bby!?"


    "¡­.those are my breasts." Artoria forced out with red cheeks."Wah? Did Merlin turn you into a woman again!?"


    I nearly choked once that little detail was revealed.


    "I am a woman." Artoria forcibly pried the Fairy off of her, despite the woman in question basically nuzzling up against her hands the entire time.


    Eventually, the strange woman seemed to calm down enough to let Artoria push her away. "Why did you get shorter?" Vivian inspected Artoria. "Or did I get taller? I don''t think I made myself taller recently. But maybe I forgot."


    She seemed a bit¡­.scatterbrained.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter! Arthur, I missed you so much!" Vivian genuinely looked¡­happy? Mncholic as well. "I was so happy when I found out you were back! I didn''t expect you toe here though!" She smiled.


    "Lady Vivian¡­"


    "Why do you keep calling me like that?" The Fae tilted her head with a small frown. "You¡­.." She furrowed her brow. "You''re not Arthur." She finally stood up straight, dusting off her dress and looking around. "No, that isn''t right either. Oh, you''re Arthur!" She pped her hands. "You''re just a different Arthur." She finished with a pleased nod of her head.


    Did she¡­.just work out Artoria''s origin like that?


    "Yes, I''m ¨C"


    "Arthur!" She threw herself at Artoria again.


    Artoria just sighed, epting it this time as she awkwardly consoled the strange Fae woman.


    "Ahem." I not so subtly cleared my throat.


    Vivian released Artoria and frowned, looking at me. "Why is there a devil here!?" She pointed at me. "Arthur, quickly y this thing!"


    "Half-Devil." I corrected.


    "Oh." She paused for a moment. "Okay, Arthur, kill half of him." She corrected as well.


    I felt my eye twitch because she said that without any sarcasm.


    "Lady Vivian, this is Wilhelm my¡­..boyfriend."


    "Friends." Vivan pursed her lips before tapping her balled fist into her other open palm with a look of realization. "Oh right, you humans have something strange like that."


    "No it''s¡­.." Artoria floundered slightly.


    "We''re lovers." I helped her.


    Vivian just looked at me slowly, then at Artoria, her mouth gaping in shock. "Arthur! I can''t believe you!"


    "Lady Vivian, just because of his Devil Heritage ¨C"


    "How is he supposed to be presentable in a wedding dress!?" She admonished Artoria. "I never liked that Guinevere, but at least she could wear pretty dresses."


    "¡­.that is what you''re concerned about?" Artoria nked.


    "Do you have any idea how long I worked on Guinevere''s wedding gown to make her stand out so radiantly at your wedding? What do you expect me to do with¡­.that?" She pointed at me.


    "Bitch, I would rock a wedding dress." I retorted.


    "Prove it." Vivian challenged.


    "Artoria, lend me one of your dresses."


    Artoria let out a sigh. "Wilhelm, don''t intentionally inme the situation."


    Fine, but it''s true.


    "And Lady Vivian, we''re not at the point of marriage yet." Artoria looked back at the Fae.


    Yet.


    Hearing that made me really happy.


    Vivian tilted her head again in confusion. "I forgot howplicated you humans were." She rubbed her temples. "Why is it so difficult? Just get married." She shrugged.


    Right, I think exining the nuance here would be an exercise in futility.


    "¡­.Mayhaps we continue this in private." Artoria regained herposure quickly. This was assuredly just as strange to her as it was for me.


    "Good idea! I ept!" Vivian beamed, throwing her hands up.


    "ept what ¨C"


    The Lake she manifested from, the one that appeared in the sky, it flowed down and enveloped us.


    Even with My Campione Magic Resistance, I felt myself transported.


    Not really teleportation¡­.more like, it basically dragged me over to where she wanted in a physical sense.


    I allowed it to happen because Artoria was right here beside me with another nk look as Vivian looked happy with herself.


    The surroundings disappeared, and in all directions, all we could see was water.


    That was until a cottage came into view, something that wouldn''t be out of ce in Artoria''s time. It was sitting at the bottom of this¡­..thiske, most likely, and the oddest thing was that smoke was puffing out of its chimney¡­.


    The Door opened and it sucked us in.


    Not a drop of water appeared on the floor despite everything.


    "Wee to my home!" Vivian said happily again, presenting a tter filled with cups of tea and some snacks. "Please help yourselves!"


    Artoria and I shared a look.


    There was a certain irond rule with Fae that I was familiar with. Essentially, she was offering us Guest Rites without verbally doing so. Something I would assume that all Fae would acknowledge without a second thought.


    For humans, they wouldn''t really perceive it correctly without an exnation.


    Artoria and I both took a cup of tea and took a single sip, and nothing else.


    The first bite, the first drink, those were protected by the Fae as a proper host. Now, if I took another sip, well, that was technically not part of the ''Rite'' and that was me indulging and therefore, they could do whatever they wanted to what I was drinking from thereon. And the same with food if offered.


    I knew this much at least.


    Despite Vivian apparently being ''close'' to Arthur, I don''t think Artoria or I would take any chances.


    Guest Rites were both a protection and a sword of Damocles in a sense.


    It''s one of the oldest traditions and Rites in the world and even extended beyond humanity.


    Many Magical and Mystical defenses would be amplified to an obscene degree if someone broke Guest Rites inside your home and they were ounted for in said protections.


    Hell, my home''s defenses made use of Guest Rites as a means of protection.


    Though, Vivian pouted. "Arthurrrr." She whined. "I already promised a long time ago that our interactions would use human standards, you don''t need to be wary of me."


    "I am not your Arthur." Artoria said unblinkingly.


    Vivian pursed her lips but she didn''t deny that either. "I should have turned my Arthur into a girl like Merlin did as a joke. You''re much more graceful than that brute." She hummed.


    "I must ask, why have you approached me, Lady Vivian." Artoria cut straight to the chase.


    "Why wouldn''t I?" She asked as if it were obvious, her brow furrowed before she rubbed her forehead. "You know, I even kept watch on your descendants! I was so annoyed when they started using your name too. But since they were your descendants, I let it be!"


    "Yes¡­..I''m grateful." Artoria said rather carefully, choosing her words.


    Vivian preened.


    It seemed she genuinely was happy that Artoria was here despite acknowledging that she wasn''t Arthur from this world.


    But then again, she was a Fae so I wasn''t going to trust her so easily.


    "How did you find her?" I think it was a pertinent question in case any others could track her simrly.


    "The First Dream told me!" She answered without hesitation.


    "The¡­first dream?" I repeated.


    "Yes!"


    ¡­.whatever that meant.


    "Enough of that, I want to see them." Vivian put her hands on her hips.


    "¡­.see what, Lady Vivian?"


    "The sword and sheath you''re cheating on me with!" She dered, pointing at Artoria in usation.


    Artoria looked at me, then seemingly had a conflicting moment of thought. Eventually, it seems she relented and withdrew both Excalibur and Avalon, setting them on the table.


    She must have strong emotions regarding Vivian if she was willing to do this, despite it being not her Vivian.


    Vivian stared at them for a while, a nk gaze without any expressive emotion on her face. "I feel conflicted. On one hand, I can''t help but marvel at these. On the other, I''m ovee by envy. Put them away, I don''t want to look at them anymore." She waved her hand at Artoria.


    Artoria quickly retrieved her Noble Phantasms at Vivian''s behest.


    "I now understand @????????????????????#???????????^?????????????????????????H??????????!?????????????$??????????????H??????????????????G??????????F??????????^???????????????$????????????????????????#????????????''s desire." She said wistfully.


    She named someone, but it felt more like a screeching in my ears.


    "Huh, you have his feeling about you." Vivian looked at me


    "His feeling? Who are you talking about?"


    "@????????????????????#???????????^?????????????????????????H??????????!?????????????$??????????????H??????????????????G??????????F??????????^???????????????$????????????????????????#????????????" She repeated. "Don''t you humans all know him? Last time I was in the human world, a lot of you all worshiped him."


    "Do you mean the Biblical God?" I asked.


    "Is that what you call him?" Vivian just shrugged. "Oh I remember he did have a book, a Bible. I think I have a copy around here somewhere." She looked around.


    "Pardon, Lady Vivian. Did you say you met him?" Artoria also seemed curious.


    "Of course!" Vivian answered again without hesitation. "Who do you think taught him how to forge Excalibur?"


    "Pardon¨C" I repeated same as Artoria "¨Cdid you say you''re the one who taught the Biblical God how to forge?" I asked incredulously.


    "No."


    "But you just said ¨C"


    "I taught him how to forge Excalibur. He already knew how to forge. He created Caliburn, which was a pretty good sword." She praised slightly.


    "Lady Vivian, could you please borate?"


    "I don''t know how much more clearer I can make it." Vivian furrowed her brow again, looking a mix between annoyed and confused herself.


    "What exactly did the Biblical Gode to you for?" I offered.


    "Oh." Vivian seemed to understand now. "Well, after he made Caliburn, he came to me because he wanted to make a sword purely from mortal means for a mortal to wield. And I''m one of the best weapon crafters in existence!" She praised herself.


    "I see." Artoria breathed out. "Caliburn was created by him as a Deity. Excalibur here was created by him through ''mortal'' methods. Did I understand that correctly."


    "Yes!" Vivian nodded. "He came to me and we struck a deal. I taught him as though he was a human. He said he wanted to create a weapon that held the human spirit, therefore he should be one while doing so. He even made sure to seal everything away while he was learning."


    Ah.


    That would exin why Excalibur was perceived as the ''lesser'' of the two swords here and even broke.


    "Part of the deal was that he left the Sword and Sheath to me, but I would pass them on to Arthur at his behest when the time came." She spoke once more. "He left something else to me for another promise¡­.where did I put that Key?"


    "I see, you have our gratitude for answering our questions, Lady Vivian." Artoria was polite as always.


    "Aww, I''m happy to help my Arthur!" Vivian beamed again. "You know you cane to me with your problems."


    "I however am required to ask a pertinent question. Are you associated with this Winter Court?" Artoria looked at her.


    "The Winter Court? Of course not, I''m from Avalon!" She quickly defended herself.


    "Pardon is Avalon not the name of the Fae Realm?"


    "No Avalon is Avalon." Vivian frowned. "Hmm, I suppose you humans wouldn''t know much about here¡­.The Winter Court is the Winter Court and I''m in Avalon, we''re separated."


    "Do you perhaps have a map?" I randomly asked.


    "Oh, that would be a good idea!" She quickly got up and went to rummage in another room before bringing out arge piece¡­.animal skin.


    Atleast, I hope it''s animal skin.


    She unfurled it on the table nearby that marked the Fairy Realm in almost its entirety.


    "See, this is the Winter Court. Avalon is over here." She pointed to separate ces.


    Artoria and I both quickly looked over her shoulder at the contents. Suffice to say, it was an utter mess, and I was saying that as someone who grew up with the human world map.


    Borders seemed¡­. nonsensical to my eyes.


    "Avalon is a separate entity?" Artoria asked again. "Different from these courts?"


    "Winter Court, Summer Court. They''re the two main Courts here. There is an Autumn Court and Spring Court, but¡­." She tapped her chin. "If Ipared it in your human terms, it''s like when you had Kings serving under you."


    "Ah, I believe I understand, I am grateful."


    From the looks of things, we''re just barely on the edge of the Winter Court''s territory. "What''s this to the left?" I pointed to a different colored and marked location.


    "That''s the Tir na n¨®g." She replied simply.


    "The Irish Land of Eternal Youth? I thought that was the ce where the Celtic Deities stayed?" I asked in confusion.


    "That was a misconception you humans had that I recall." Vivian tapped her chin. "The Celtic Gods, are you called them, their ce is called T¨ªr Tairngire, which seem to get mixed up for some reason."


    Well, I can''t say I''m an expert on Celtic Mythology, so I would take her word for it here.


    And it sort of felt she was rather unconcerned by Gods in general like¡­.they held no reverence in her eyes. She hadn''t even mentioned my divinity despite my belief that she noticed it near immediately.


    There also seemed to be plenty of other ces marked, not just those.


    "And what about these smaller ones near the location you found us, Lady Vivian?" Artoria asked.


    "Oh those? I think they''re some Fairy Kings that carved out their own territory." She said rather dismissively. "Why are you curious about the Courts and everyone?"


    "Do¡­you not know why we have entered thesends, Lady Vivian?" Artoria hesitantly asked.


    Vivan just shook her head.


    "We are at war with the Winter Court." Artoria said inly.


    Vivian''s mouth gaped slightly. "So that''s what themotion was about¡­.maybe I should leave myke a bit more." She muttered to herself. "How did you get involved in something like this!?"


    "They attacked our home, a retaliation is expected." Artoria replied simply.


    Vivian looked pensive. "I can''t help you."


    "I did not intend to request help."


    "Why not!?" Vivian pouted.


    Artoria nearly stumbled. "Lady Vivian, why are you upset?"


    "You''re my favorite human, you''re supposed to ask me for help! Whenever there were Fairy problems, I was the one who dealt with them!" She huffed.


    "But you said you can''t help."


    "But you still should have asked!" She crossed her arms. "Even if I couldn''t directly help, I''m still a Lady of the Lake!"


    "Pardon Lady Vivian, but that Title, you say it as if it has a certain meaning to it. I believed it to be a simple moniker to denote yourself." Artoria spoke in confusion.


    "Did your Merlin not teach you anything?" She huffed again. "Or the Me, there was a Me there, right?"


    "¡­.yes." Artoria said quietly.


    "What''s that," Vivian raised her finger pointing at Artoria. "You hesitated. I demand to know as payment for you asking me so many questions."


    Artoria sighed lightly. "The Vivian I know¡­..she was an aspect of my¡­.Sister."


    Vivian''s mouth opened and closed. "That Witch?"


    "Yes." Artoria said firmly.


    To be honest, it was a surprise to me as well.


    Morgan Le Fay was a pitiful existence. She existed in three states, Morgan the daughter of Uther and sister to Artoria, technically the rightful Queen. Second, there was Morgan Le Fay. This aspect of her was perhaps the ''evil'' one from a point of view. From what Artoria found out from Merlin muchter in life,the Le Fay aspect of her was a culmination of Britain''s fading Mysteries and Primeval ck power. The Last part, that was the ''good'' aspect, the reflection of the Le Fay, the Lady of the Lake, Vivian who helped Arthur in the legends.


    They were all her, but at the same time, they were all separate entities that existed in the same ''vessel''.


    Vivian tapped the table impatiently as she seemed to consider that new information. "My Lake is a bridge to the human world. One of the few ces that will forever bridge these two ces. For the vast majority of Fae, they must go through a Lady of the Lake if they wish to go to the human world."


    "There are exceptions, it would seem." I said, recalling how the Winter Queen quite literally reached over to Japan.


    "All others are temporary." She waived her hand dismissively. "Every so often, a pathway opens by itself, but it will eventually close. There are some more clever than others that can move between realms by themselves. And there are a select few who can force a pathway open."


    "But your Lake will exist forever." Artoria reiterated.


    "As long as both worlds exist, the bridge will exist." Vivian smiled. "I came into existence with the purpose of watching over the Lake. Myself, Nimue, and Ninianne are the three who exist in Avalon. There are a handful in other ces, but they are¡­..less essible and amicable. In the old days, I epted payment for passage, but we agreed to close the passageways not long after Arthur died." She looked sad after speaking thest part. "From your human perspective, I technically have equal standing to the Winter Queen, but I''m far from her match."


    Well, wasn''t that interesting? And I felt like it was kind of odd how she constantly thought of me as human despite how weird my existence was.


    "What is Avalon''s standing in the entire Fae Realm?"


    Vivian chuckled as if I just told a joke. "Humans are so funny. But I think I understand what you''re asking. We exist by ourselves and don''t involve ourselves with the constant cycle of Winter and Summer."


    "Cycle? I had the impression they''re constantly at war."


    Vivian had a little smile still. "Summer and Winter naturally chase after one another, it''s a simple fact of life." She said as if it were obvious.


    I looked at Artoria and it seems we both understood her meaning even if she didn''t really exin it well enough.


    It was simply in their nature to be at odds with one another.


    "Lady Vivian, if possible, could we trade for yourmap?" Artoria pointed at it.


    It was an invaluable item.


    "A Trade?" Vivian''s eyes sparkled. "Oh my dear Arthur, your lessons really arecking. You''re trying to initiate a trade with a Fae like me?"


    "I trust in the Vivian that I know in my heart." Artoria looked at her.


    She didn''t explicitly say she trusted Vivian, but she was more so hoping for a fair transaction while leaning on their semnce of familiarity.


    Vivian''s rather mischievous glint disappeared. "This is why I loved watching humans, you say and do so many unexpected and strange things. The Map isn''t very valuable to me, but to you, I could imagine it''s priceless. You wouldn''t want to run afoul some Fairy King or another kingdom, would you my precious Arthur? Very well, take the Map."


    "And what do you desire in return?" Artoria asked.


    Vivian smiled brightly. "I want toe along and watch!"


    Right, I couldn''t see how this was going to end badly.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 556:

    Chapter 556:


    The little <em>tea party</em> in Vivian''s house had been¡­..interesting.


    I was still unsure of what to make of the woman. One moment she was ditsy, the next, she showed frighteningpetence.


    "W-what did you do here?" The aforementioned woman finally blurted out as we approached the foothold.


    "We used the Church to sanctify thend here." I said simply as her mouth opened agape.


    "You killed it. Thend here is dead." She whispered.


    I raised an eyebrow at that, not realizing to the extent that we ''invaded'' this area. To use terms from back home, our <emmon sense</em> was overwriting this small area.


    However, both Artoria and Icked any care about it. They brought this upon themselves and in our minds, it was rightful reprisal.


    Maybe after we left thend would heal, but I didn''t care to check.She clutched the big rolled up map in her arms as she hesitantly stepped past the ''threshold'' that denoted our foothold. It was rather visible in application as the ground didn''t show an ounce of ''life''pared to mere inches away where wild grass and nts grew.


    She was clearly ufortable, more than just a mental thing.


    The actual entrance wasn''t far up either.


    The Two Youkai Guards nodded politely, opening it up as I twirled my finger in the air, eliciting a crackle of thunder to prove my identity.


    My Divine Sword was still pierced into the ground, keeping the storm above from dissipating.


    However, just as quickly as the difort appeared, it was reced with a curious gaze. "Oh, what''s that." She pointed at someone passing.


    "An Oni." I replied.


    The Oni in question nced our way and gave a gruff grunt in response. He carried a few dozen wooden boards on his shoulder as he was apparently part of the construction crew.


    "Oh, those ones have different wings than the bird ones!" She pointed at another Youkai, who I assume she wasparing to the normal Tengu.


    "I believe those are a different type of Bird Youkai, Lady Vivian." Artoria said pointedly.


    "It''s so colorful here!" She just smiled brightly. "The different ns here don''t really intermingle much." She hummed. "Oh, is that a Beast n!? Wait, that''s not one of my kind."


    "That''s a werewolf." I replied again. We honestly did have a wide array of different species and individuals. More than just Youkai lived in Kyoto, and more than Youkai joined the army.


    Hell, there were a few hundred humans mixed in with varying degrees of ability. I met one or two that were nearly mundane in physical capabilities without any magical knowledge, but they were helping with logistics.


    "Oh, right, I remember them now!" She nodded.


    I admit, it was a little¡­endearing. She acted very different from the majority of the Fae I''ve met so far.


    She seemed more¡­whimsical.


    Though, I knew for a fact that she was just as dangerous as any of her kind.


    "This way, Lady Vivian." Artoria urged her forward as we approached the main building where everyone else was. Artoria didn''t want to give Vivian the chance to run around and identally cause problems, it seemed, because she was very quick to throw open the door and gently nudge her inside.


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka greeted, her eyes falling on me then Artoria and then Vivian. "I was starting to get worried, you disappeared so suddenly. Is this the one who I should me for kidnapping you both."


    It wasn''t just her here, it was Nurarihyon and her Generals around a table.


    Well, that was a lie. I used my Kaleidophone to send her a message that we were fine after everything settled, but that was still something we wanted to keep secret.


    "I didn''t kidnap them!" Vivian immediately retorted. "They epted my invitation."


    "So you whisked them away without giving them the chance to leave behind a message, perhaps let anyone else know that they were fine considering we''re in the middle of a war?" Yasaka raised an eyebrow.


    Vivian pursed her lips. "I suppose I can understand your perspective."


    Neither Artoria nor I spoke up in her defense, Yasaka was in leader mode and it was important for her to establish her ''authority'' in front of Vivian.


    "The intricacies of our departure aside, we bring good tidings and an item of value." Artoria however moved the conversation along.


    Yasaka wasn''t truly trying to press Vivian about her ''mistake''.


    "That''s right!" Vivian perked up. "I brought a map of the realm with me, I heard it was something <em>valuable</em> to you all."


    "And what is the <em>price</em> of this <em>gift</em>?" Yasaka said evenly.


    "We discussedpensation. Lady Vivian merely wishes to apany us and watch from the side. She requested ess toe and go as she pleases and even venture into Kyoto." Artoria exined. "I made sure to iron out the details."


    Of course, Yasaka also knew this part.


    Vivian looked optimistically happy.


    Yasaka took a moment intentionally before letting out a sigh. "Very well, I''ll give her a copy of my seal so no one bars her path."


    Vivan pped the map on the table in front of everyone in her excitement. "I''m so excited! It''s been so long since I''ve been outside!"


    Yasaka pointedly ignored her and unfurled the map onto the table. "Let''s see what we''re working with here."


    Artoria quickly pointed to a marked spot. "We are here. As we suspected, we are just inside the <em>territory</em> of our foes. If we pushed any further south or east, we would have run a foul other forces."


    "And these borders all around¡­?"


    "From what Lady Vivian Described, they are to be considered other <em>Kingdoms</em> separate from these Summer and Winter Courts."


    "Yup." Vivian nodded. "You''re actually very close to Avalon over here." She pointed to the east side."


    "How far ind is their capital or their primary home." Nurarihyon leaned in.


    "It''s up here!" Vivian pointed and a small marker appeared on the map.


    "That''s a fair distance away." Yasaka muttered.


    "Can you tell us about the terrain?" One of Yasaka''s Generals spoke up.


    "And the enemy forces. What kind of resistance can we expect?"


    "Control yourselves, gentleman. She is considered a Guest." Yasaka interrupted them. "I''m not sure she isfortable giving this kind of information out."


    Vivian bit her lip. "Well, I don''t mind. It''s prettymon knowledge. I can''t tell you what her armies are like, only that they''rerge but they''re normally used to fight against the Summer Court. But¡­.uh¡­.I don''t know what you mean by ''terrain''?"


    They looked between themselves.


    "General Ogata." Yasaka spoke up as one of the previous ones, an older man with cat-like eyes and no other non-human features, stroked his beard at her side.


    "What we mean to say is¡­.if we were to march from our current location straight to the enemies'' seat of power, what natural obstacles would we encounter?"


    "Oh, that''s what you mean. Well, over here is the Enchanted Forest, which¡­.you should probably avoid." She pointed at a spot not far from us, and dragged her finger rather far along the ''border'' of the Winter Court''s territory.


    "Is this the same Enchanted Forest that was prevalent in legends in my homnd?" Artoria furrowed her brow.


    Now that she mentioned it, I know quite a few fairy tales involving a so-called ''Enchanted Forest''.


    "Yes! It''s actually in a lot of ces and it''s all connected. If you know how to navigate it, it''s a good way to travel to other parts of the realm in less time." Vivian hummed. "But¡­..the Hag Witch that lives there doesn''t like people wandering in. Either you pay for passage <em>for each person</em>, or you get lost wandering it forever."


    "And what sort of ''price'' would she require?" Yasaka asked.


    "Uh¡­well,st I heard, she''s quite <em>fond</em> of children."


    "We''re not handing over children for her to y dolls with." Yasaka snorted.


    "No, um, she''s fond of their <em>taste</em>." Vivian corrected.


    "Should we just burn the forest down?" Nurarihyon responded without a second thought.


    "It''lle back. It''s been destroyed a few times. But it''s not entirely set in the Winter Court''s territory, so you may anger someone else if their portion of the forest gets destroyed." Vivian responded.


    "As much as I''m willing to say fuck that witch and just trample through anything she does, we do have too many boots to properly look after everyone in case she tries anything funny while moving through it." I threw my own thoughts out.


    "There is plenty of room to ignore the forest. We simply go around it from the east." Artoria pointed out.


    "Well, the ocean there isn''t a bad ce to cross. Plenty of Fae use that way and it''s the normal method." Vivian agreed.


    "Pardon, did you say <em>ocean</em>?" I looked at her, then at the map.


    "Yes, the lighthouse right here is the start of it.'' She pointed at a map where there was a faint drawing vaguely resembling a human made lighthouse.


    "Lady Vivian, this map shows onlynd. Are you implying that there is a vast sea that separates thend here." Artoria questioned, pointing at the same spot.


    "Huh? Oh no, that''s just a small gorge." She cheerfully smiled and seemed toe to a realization. "I suppose you wouldn''t know." She tapped her chin. "Anyone who tries to cheat and cross that point ends up plummeting into the sea at a random spot, so I wouldn''t suggest it."


    ¡­.cheat?


    But I think all of us were confused.


    Not a river, not ake, no indication of anything on the map, but apparently, in that line running across the border up to this ''Enchanted Forest'' there was a whole ocean that separated the spot where you could just make a small jump to normally cross.


    "Why is this Ocean not shown on the map?" Artoria asked.


    "Why would it? The Ocean is in the sky." Vivian tilted her head, looking at us like we were strange.


    I already saw Yasaka rubbing her temples. "Could you please borate on this <em>ocean</em>?"


    "Hmm? Oh sure, it was identally created from the Winter Queen and the Summer Queen having a bit of a spat. It''s one of the spots for their constant battles. It''s technically not owned by anyone, so there are a lot of wild Fae that live there, or criminals or whatever that don''t want to associate with anyone else." She flipped her hand through the air nonmittedly.


    "It seems we are going to need to amend our ns to ount for nautical warfare." Artoria looked a tiny bit annoyed.


    "If you''re just wanting to cross, it''s not very long, I know the route. But you can''t fly over it, if you try, you''re going to fall off the edge of the ocean andnd somewhere else and even I couldn''t help you." She shrugged.


    "What about Teleportation?" Artoria asked.


    "The ocean doesn''t like when people cheat, so it''ll probably mess up your teleport if you try. It probably won''t care if you get everyone across at least once." Vivian said inly, despite the very ridiculous nature of that notion.


    This ce was way too weird.


    "We''re pulling the cart before the horse, Lady Yasaka." The named General Ogata spoke up again. "There is a fair distance to what she described, the <em>Light House</em> she mentioned as seemingly the entrance point. How many strongholds can we expect before we reach there? How many cities, fortifications, or towns do we pass through that belong to the Winter Court?"


    "Oh, there are a few dozen. I can mark them for you." Vivian said helpfully.


    "I have a suggestion." I opened my mouth looking down at the map. "If we''re going to have to sail across this sea the old fashioned way, then we''re going to need ships. Commissioning ships, or buying them, is going to take far longer than it''ll take for the armies to reach that spot through marching and conquering. So, why not have a group of people go in advance and¡­.<em>secure</em> some ships from the natives?"


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka looked at me.


    "Yes?"


    "Do you want to go be a pirate?"


    "I really do." I admitted without hesitation.


    "I''ll take my boys and go with him." Nurarihyon volunteered. "We''re not much cut out for traditional warfare, we''d do better in something like this."


    "I can''t say it''s a bad idea." Yasaka responded, looking deep in thought. "Very well, it makes sense to be prepared ahead of time. I don''t suspect we''ll <em>need</em> Wilhelm''s strength at this stage, but we''ll be careful."


    Well, it looks like <em>Captain</em> Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg was once more reporting for duty.


    @***@


    Rizevim Lucifer POV


    "Sorry I''mte everyone, I had a few things to hold me up." Angra Mainyu walked into the room, he nced around and at me as I looked up from my device. "Shit, what''s the score? I seriously got caught up."


    "You''re down, 2-0." I replied as I nced back at the humans ying their sport on the device.


    "Son of a bitch!" He huffed in annoyance. "I swear to myself, I''m going to make an example out of my goal keeper."


    "Are you both¡­..keeping up with human sports?" Hanpa asked.


    "Hmm? Not in particr, just a little¡­.wager we had."


    Chernobog rolled his eyes. "They kidnapped a group of human athletes and are making thempete. The losers die as it were."


    "How droll." Hanpa scoffed. "This seems childish, even for this group."


    "No, no it''s good." Angra Mainyu waved his hand. "You see, we grabbed a bunch of human athletes, we told them that they were going to y against another team, and the loser would die. Of course we did the whole song and dance of showing them that we meant it, Evil Gods, h h. Then we dumped them on an Ice Hockey Ring and told them to get to it." He smiled, really proud of himself.


    "¡­.and?"


    "Neither team ys hockey." I said inly.


    "I suppose that would be an amusing way to pass the time." Hanpa relented. "But is that really a productive use of yours and <em>our</em> time?"


    "It''s been slow." Angra Mainyu sighed, leaning back in his chair.


    "Did you call a meeting just to assuage your boredom?" Hanpa grumbled.


    "I''m not <em>that </em>bad." He harrumphed. "We have a new member, a big shot so I wanted enough people gathered to wee them. Though, it was rather short notice again, so I don''t expect anyone else to show up. What do you think, Crom Cruach?"


    "I almost didn''te myself." The Dragon said with a shrug.


    "We really need to work on attendance." Angra Mainyu frowned. "I know these past few meetings have been abrupt, but I''m starting to get the distinct impression that no one wants to be near me. <em>And that really makes me not so happy</em>."


    I felt a small fluctuation of his power as I nced up then looked back down before setting my device onto the table.


    "I don''t understand your fascination with human athletics." Chernobog shook his head, eyes still on the game we were ying it seems.


    "I have an appreciation forpetent people."


    "Even humans?"


    "Especially humans." Angra Mainyu mmed his fist on the table. "There are billions of humans in the world, do you know how many of them could be described as <empetent</em>? It''s a feat worth acknowledging."


    "I can''t tell if that''s an insult or praise." Chernobog snorted.


    "I''m a practical God. If it were all the same, I would happily usepetent humans as my subordinates. Unfortunately, they''re nothing more than ants the vast majority of the time."


    Speaking of subordinates and ants¡­


    I gestured, allowing a Magical Circle to appear, a Teleportation Circle behind me.


    "Lord Rizevim, I''ve aplished what you asked of me."


    Wonderful, that means everything is settled.


    "Oh, if it isn''t little Leviathan the lesser." Angra Mainyu''s eyes smiled in ce of his nonexistent mouth.


    He knew exactly the right words to make her angry, not that I cared.


    "What happened to your arm, little Leviathan?" The Evil God asked.


    I turned my head just enough to notice that she was missing her arm¡­<em>again</em>. "Did you pick a fight with the new Satan again, Katerea?" Because I would be the one annoyed after I went through the effort of getting her a new arm after her bout with the new Satan of her namesake.


    "¡­..your orders to be as amicable with the Fae as possible, Lord Rizevim, I¡­..made a mistake." She trembled slightly.


    "Oh that sounds interesting. Those Fae were always so fun. We even had many legends and myths appear among the humans due to them appearing in my mothend." Chernobog sat up. "Little Devil, tell me how you lost your arm, I want to be amused."


    I gestured for her to speak and closed my eyes tiredly.


    "¡­.I thought it was not but a child and it asked me to¡­.<em>y</em>. I did not wish to offend as their culture was strange to me. It ripped off my arm before I could utter a word and ran away." Her voice shook slightly.


    Several of themughed at her misfortune.


    The Dragon out of all of them let out a whimsical sigh. "That brings back memories. The Fair Folk did make things interesting back in the day."


    "Speaking of the Fair Folk, Crom Cruach, Rizevim, how goes your little <em>n</em>, hmm?" Angra Mainyu looked at us expectantly.


    "All preparations have beenpleted." I replied. "The <em>thing</em> has been given over and the Winter Queen epted our <em>help</em>."


    "Well, I hope it''s a good show, I did lend you help from my old bastard of a subordinate even if he was barely resurrected." He cheerfully chuckled. "Any news on that front, Crom Cruach? I know you''ve been watching the Devil News as they''ve covered that little war between the Youkai and the Winter Fae."


    "There''s nothing new yet." The Dragon also had a devil device and looked at it with uninterest for now.


    Angra Mainyu pped his hands. "Well, regardless, it seems our new member finally arrived!" A Teleportation circle lit up. "Everyone, please wee <em>Aphrodite</em> to our group!"


    The Greek Goddess appeared in all her beauty.


    Her allure and charm were enough that I was momentarily affected before I turned my interest away.


    "Hey there boys." She winked mischievously at everyone, her charm amplified several fold.


    I internally sighed, using my Demonic Power to shield myself. Everyone else performed simr actions at her ''greeting''. I was merciful enough to even shield Katerea, mostly because I didn''t want to be embarrassed second hand by her.


    "Is this a joke?" Hanpa asked, his hand mming on the table. "I was told we were getting a new member, not a <em>whore</em>."


    I peeked one eye open because I could feel the tension that appeared form his said that even as my lips curled up.


    Rather quickly, he was sted out of his seat and across the room, and through several walls.


    Aphrodite holding up her dainty hand in his direction with her Divine Power simmering down.


    Without another word she walked around the table and took his seat. "Offering your seat to ady, what a gentleman~."


    The Sumerian God quickly got back up on his feet, none the worse for wear perhaps aside from his pride as he ripped open the wall and walked back inside.


    He was ready to fight.


    "Come now everyone, we''re all <em>friends</em> here." Angra Mainyu released his own power down on everyone, causing Hanpa to momentarily pause. "Hanpa, you deserved that one, don''t argue. And Aphrodite, that was your one free shot."


    Both Deities seemed to scoff in unison, which only elicited further annoyance between them.


    With a gesture from the Evil Zoroastrian God, another chair appeared and Hanpa sat back down.


    "I don''t believe I need to introduce our new and illustrious colleague ¨C"


    "Oh, you''re too kind~" She cooed.


    "So how about I give a brief summary of why she''s here with us. I''ll give you a hint, guess who helped us free Kronos and his Titan friend from Tartarus under Hades'' nose."


    If I wasn''t aware, perhaps I would have shown a bit of surprise just as they did.


    The Greek Goddess was not known for being particrly scheming or¡­.<em>powerful</em>.


    "Of course, it took awhile to convince her to actually join us officially." Angra Mainyu chuckled.


    "You basically forced my hand. That Eris has no sense of self preservation, do you know she nearly walked right up to me all but blurted out her new ''friends''?" She looked around the room. "If I hadn''t taken action, she would have gotten Zeus and everyone else looking much closer to all the ''lesser Gods'' and they would have found out what <em>I''ve</em> been doing."


    Of course, only some of us knew the truth.


    The Goddess Aphrodite sat across from us.


    But the Goddess Aphrodite was most certainly not the one looking at us right now.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 557:

    Chapter 557:


    "If you break that barrel, you''re not drinking anything but sea water you idiot!" Nurarihyon was pping his cane against the back ¨C rather lightly ¨C of one of his men as they rolled up a barrel of water onto my parked ship.


    They were loading it up with everything we might need.


    Obviously, I could carry everything myself, but it would be foolish to not have multiple points of failure. What if I got whisked away for whatever reason and they were stuck for a while?


    We were being careful; I was being careful.


    I couldn''t throw caution to the wind like I did when I only had to care about myself. Behind me was the entirety of the Youkai army even if I wasn''t one of the ''generals''.


    I didn''t have much to do. Honestly, I didn''t have very many responsibilities in the first ce. I was not a...leader in this venture. I fumbled through it back in Chaldea, but I was not the type of person to be leadingrge groups.


    I knew what I was good at. I would let them all tell me where to go and what to do, and I could even handle curve balls thrown my way. Maybe that endeared me more to the Youkai around here as I never once tried to flex my ''authority'' over them as Yasaka''s lover.


    Funny enough, they all seemed to genuinely recognize my authority in that regard. If I asked for something, no one would question me, and it would get done.


    Maybe it was something I should talk to Venna about the next time I sat down with her. She''s always great when I felt like I need to speak about certain things and maybe my despise for leadership positions came from somewhere.Regardless, I didn''t dwell too much on it because this was neither the time nor the ce.


    While Nurarihyon and his lot were loading up the ship, I found my Raikou off to the side, watching other things and I walked up to her silently wrapping my arms around her waist.


    I didn''t need to see her face to know she was smiling, I could feel her shift in my arms and happily ept the affection.


    "You know you don''t have to do this." I spoke to her, not very loud, just enough for both of us to hear. "Being here in a war, fighting and killing enemies."


    Raikou didn''t like killing.


    Oh, she loved to fight. The rare times where she was arrogant were when it came to her martial prowess. Hell, she sparred with Artoria and Sc¨¢thach all the time. And honestly, she''s probably the most talented of the three, and they''re so ridiculous in that regard that I can only look up to them in terms of pure skill.


    Sure, Sc¨¢thach still was more skillful than her, but Sc¨¢thach also lived for thousands of years.


    And I''ve heard on more than one asion of Sc¨¢thach huffing about how talented Raikou truly was.


    "It''s alright, Master, I want to be here." She shifted around in my grasp so she was facing me and I could see her beautiful smile.


    "I just don''t want you to force yourself to do something you hate." Because that''s exactly what she would do, and I promised to make her happy.


    "Master, look at that Youkai over there." She directed me towards where she was pointing.


    "I see him." He was a sort of aquatic Youkai, I couldn''t tell at just a nce.


    "Itoh Yishio. His wife is a human and they own a sandwich restaurant. I look after their son at school." She then gently guided my head towards another. "Tada Rokuro, he adopted his deceased brother''s daughter twelve years ago and he works as one of Yasaka''s guards. Hora Kazuki, Goro, Masumi, Nagata Kin." She started pointing out a lot of people. "Master, this is my home as well." She finished, looking at me with that same beautiful smile.


    Right¡­.I suppose it was.


    I felt a familiar presence grab hold of my ponytail, pulling on it lightly. "Student, what is this I hear about you going off to cause some mischief?"


    I leaned my head back to look at her without letting Raikou out of my grasp. "I am going on a sanctioned mission from Yasaka." I defended myself.


    Sc¨¢thach snorted, pulling the piece of fabric binding my hair off, letting my hair fall out of ce. "Stand still, you were a mess, I will correct it." She grabbed my hair straightening it out properly before retying it herself.


    It felt nice being taken care of like this.


    "I''ll be gone for a few days at a minimum." I let out, letting my hand fall down into Raikou''s ample cleavage.


    "We will persist without you." Raikou reassured me.


    "Worry yourself not, student, everyone shall be looked after." Sc¨¢thach also had a warm and gentle tone.


    "Is Jeanne still around?" I had been busy as we immediately spearheaded into the Fae Realms that I hadn''t had time to check on her.


    "Those of her faith have departed bar a handful that remained to bear witness to the warring. However, the youngss has taken to providing assistance other thanbat. She tends to the wounded and handles other matters." Sc¨¢thach replied.


    Good, that''s good.


    Jeanne didn''t need to be fighting and killing. Despite the fact that she had fought in war all her life, I don''t feel like she belonged anyways near this kind of death. She was far too pure and bright to be dragged down by this kind of thing despite the reasoning or cause.


    "Jinn too?"


    "Aye, she is using her new status as a Goddess to reinforce the Magics that protect this ce. She has no stomach for killing unless it''s absolutely needed."


    I knew that already as well.


    Jinn wasn''t even one for sparring most of the time. She did so every now and then, to practice or keep in ''shape'' for whatever that term meant for her, but she did not like conflict in any real form.


    She was a very gentle girl, and I would prefer her to remain her way. Ironic considering that she''s technically a Norse goddess now and they''re a warlike culture.


    I knew I didn''t even need to ask for her to look after them, she would do so by her own hand.


    And it was about time to say goodbye based on the shouts I heard from Nurarihyon to his men.


    "That thing you did where you created a copy of Gae Bolg for Kunou, can you tell me in detail how you did it?"


    "Curious about that, my student?" Sc¨¢thach let out a chuckle. "It will be difficult for you to replicate as you never experienced crafting the original."


    I waved my hand through the air as if to deny her first thought. "I had an idea for a new spell, and I thought that would be a good ce to start."


    "Dy your departure by thirty minutes and I can prepare something in writing for you to read at your leisure." Her hand ran through my hair.


    I just pushed my head further into Raikou''s chest.


    I could certainly do that.


    @***@


    Ast wave goodbye to everyone on the ground and my ship took to the air. Granted, we didn''t go too high because of various¡­.problems with flying here.


    The Sky wasn''t connected to the Earth.


    I made sure to let everyone know that numerous times because many Youkai were just so used to taking to the air in their daily lives.


    Essentially, Space and Time in this realm was mangled in certain ces. What constituted physics in the normal world did not operate the same here.


    Going up didn''t always mean you go up.


    My Authority was negating any such effects over the encampment and my general Authority let me navigate things with a certain assurance if I was going to fly I would go up¡­.but just to be safe, I was keeping rather close to the ground.


    Vivian briefly said an offhandedment about how the ''Earth'' and the ''Sky'' were two separate domains.


    That was not at all a whimsical or romanticizedment.


    You could consider them two different ''worlds''.


    I set Sir Wiggles down on the wheel, with his proper Pirate''s hat on of course.


    Despite how I usually did it just to amuse myself, he could actually navigate the ship rather well.


    I walked down onto the main deck and looked over everything.


    Quite a few Youkai were peering over the edge watching the scenery pass by.


    "Bit cramped." Nurarihyon appeared at my side grunting as he looked off towards the horizon.


    Atleast, I think it was the horizon, I wasn''t taking anything for granted here.


    "My ship is decently sized, but it''s not meant to house nearly a hundred Youkai of varying size and shape." I gestured to Aotab¨­ who had to awkwardly crouch to get through the thresholding up from the deck.


    Space was¡­limited. He was right, it was extremely cramped. To the point where I would be sharing my ''captain''s cabin'' with the old man and his high seats.


    I didn''t like doing so, but I understood the necessity.


    We needed a lot of people because our purpose was to steal as many ships as possible for our army to sail over this odd sea we''ve heard about.


    "How are we supposed to call ourselves the Hyakki Yagy¨­ without a hundred of us!?" He huffed indignantly.


    Yes, who could argue with that logic.


    I merely rolled my eyes considering he brought far more than 100 to the Fae realms in general and that it hasn''t been only 100 in a very long time.


    I pulled out a copy of the map Vivian passed over, making sure to note that the terrain was as it showed, marking down when we passed by a mountain a fair distance to the east and various other forests andndscapes.


    I also made sure to mark down any structures or settlements that I could glimpse even if we didn''t directly pass by them.


    Better to err on the side of caution in case they get held back and we end up finishing way before they made it to us. That way they would have a more descriptive map when we got back.


    And I could very well send them a picture through the Kaleidophone, though the ''reception'' here was¡­.spotty.


    It couldn''t be helped, you can ount for temporal fluctuations, and special fluctuations, but it was hard to ount for a constant jumbled mess of those two that constantly shifts whenever it feels like.


    "Oi brat, what''s that?" Nurarihyon grabbed my attention, pointing ahead.


    He had great eyesight because I had to reinforce my eyes to see what he was talking about.


    I stared at it for a few moments and I was about to open my mouth to respond until my eyes widened and with quick reflexes, I already had Mirage in my hand, swinging through the air.


    There was the distinct ng of me hitting something, and with my Reinforced eyesight, I could track the movement and the ''projectile'' I just connected with.


    As if in slow motion, I watched a seed, not dissimr from an Acorn, as its shape distorted on the t of my sword from impact, deflected to the side, hitting the flooring of my ship.


    Everyone on the deck of the ship froze, looking at me, then at the spot there the wood had a small indentation and slowly, something green sprouted up.


    And by sprouted, Imean, it shot up out of the seed and grew into a foot tall nt with a very noticeable sharp toothed maw. It was eating into my ship to grow!


    It was feeding on the Magic and the Wood!


    I quickly shot a bolt of lightning at it, disintegrating it to pieces.


    "Prepare for battle." My voice boomed with a low growl to it as I stared at the source.


    There was a¡­ind? Smaller than an ind, but a decent chunk ofnd floating in the sky with arge nt on it, its roots even hanging out the bottom. I almost wanted to call it a tree, but it was probably not a tree if you were to be scientific about it.


    Regardless, It had a massive eye that opened up and many different appendages with mouths and razor sharp teeth.


    "You heard the brat, get ready for a fight!" Nurarihyon roared, treating the matter seriously.


    Roars and cheers resounded in equal measure. Sure, this wasn''t the first ''real'' fight, butst time, that was just them showing dominance. This time, they would be fighting.


    "Shield!" I roared out as the Magics of the ship activated and the innate Bounded Fields sprang into existence, hundreds, thousands of small projectiles collided with it.


    The same ''seeds'' as before, fast and strong enough to shatter concrete, they all mmed into my defenses.


    Many of them started trying to burrow into the Magical Shield.


    "Nurarihyon, how many Magic users did you bring?" I looked at him.


    "A handful, whatcha need?"


    "Layered shields, I need at least a few inches between each one, these things are eating Magical Power."


    "Yuna, get out here with your sisters!" Nurarihyon hollered over the sound of my barriers taking a barrage as the ship continued to fly fast towards the giant nt in the distance.


    Were those Yuuki Onna?


    "Boss whatcha need?" They came up from below deck amidst the running around, she blew out a puff of smoke from a long pipe she held in her hand, her kimono slightly ajar so you could almost make out her pale cleavage.


    "I need Magical barriers deployed, at least an inch apart,yered behind mine." I didn''t wait for Nurarihyon to exin and quickly blurted it out.


    "Do as the kid says."


    "Girls." A cold air swept up around them as I could see More Magical Barriers emerge just below me with a fair bit of distance between them.


    Were those Elemental Barriers ¨C obviously Ice in nature ¨C but still, those were more difficult to make than a non-elementally aligned Bounded Field.


    My initial Barrier was breached as the new sprouts dug through them, then they started to freeze upon touching the Yuuki Onna''s barriers.


    Granted, it only slowed them down as they whittled away on the Magical Energy.


    "You said they eat Magic? What about Youjutsu?" Aotab¨­ asked.


    "Let''s see, there''s another barrageing." I offered him.


    Aotab¨­ grunted and walked towards the front, his cursed power enveloped his body like mes and he reeled his fist back and threw a punch towards another barrage of ''seeds'' shooting at us.


    His mes consumed them, burning them to a crisp, well all but a few.


    A handful that made it through, he snatched one through the air and let his mes dance around it and the Seed in question couldn''t resist it at all.


    It made sense I suppose, Fae are Magical in nature, Youjutsu was an entirely different spectrum.


    "Well, I''m also not one to get fired upon and not retaliate." I pointed my sword towards the massive nt. "Fire front cannons!"


    It was more for everyone else''s benefit that I even said it out loud as the Cannons charged up and fired.


    Beams of Fire tore through the sky, searing away parts of the massive nt, leaving mes and broken vines in its wake.


    A shrill cry could be heard even from this distance as the nt furiously expanded in size, its appendages growing and replicating at insane speeds.


    "Hoh, looks like it isn''t going down so easily." Nurarihyon mused, clutching his cane sword.


    Something rose up from behind the nt, a bird, a ratherrge one.


    Another rose up, a different bird, this one had two heads. Then a Tiger of all things shot up inthe air and it had some type of wings on it. Various different animals and creatures all took to the sky around the massive nt.


    Though they all had one thing inmon, they had a peculiar nt growing out of their bodies in some ce.


    It was a parasite and the animals were hosts


    That''s¡­..troubling.


    There were easily over a thousand of those host animals that flew towards us with reckless abandon.


    The nt seemed to have some sort of intelligence because it realized just shooting those seeds at us wasn''t going to work anymore and I now realized why it was doing so.


    It was simply the easiest method to spread its parasites to other organisms.


    I really don''t want to know what the ground was like below us.


    I was ready to take out my Bow of Auriel, but Nurarihyon grabbed my arm, as if reading my intention.


    "Let me and my boys in on the action." He smiled.


    I relented immediately. "Why don''t I show you something neat about the ship?" He looked at me questionably, and I tapped on the flooring. Mist began to noticeably appear around us, shrouding us in itpletely.


    Nurarihyon pped my shoulder. "Alright brat, this is your first time running with the Hyakki Yagy¨­ despite joining awhile ago. What do you think boys? Let''s show our newest member how it''s done?"


    There were a bunch ofughs and cheers despite the situation.


    Nurarihyon just as well, he started to release a sort of¡­.mist. I had seen it before, and it was a phenomenon often associated with him and the Hyakki Yagy¨­.


    I found myself smiling. "Just don''t fly too far away from the ship, it''s sort of our anchor point. And I think the mist will obscure us as I''m fairly sure this thing tracks Magic." I said no more and simply followed with Nurarihyon as he jumped out into the mist.


    Dozens more jumped off the edge of the ship without hesitation.


    Nurarihyon seemed to have usurped the mist my ship produced, something that was just an aesthetic that Odin added for augh, it now turned into a weapon because we were not obstructed by it in the slightest.


    Despite perceiving the mist in front of me, I could see through it entirely.


    Nurarihyon''s sword shed, and the first creature that touched the mist was decapitated. But that didn''t deter the oing tide in the slightest as they held both a madness in their eyes and a look of death.


    Different members of the Hyakki Yagy¨­ popped out. A Tengu covered in scars, stabbed through the mists, piercing arge bird and tore its body apart with a feral grin on his face, blood sshing everywhere.


    The Yuuki Onna from before, they utilized their Youjutsu this time, and many different animals fell from the sky, frozen in chunks of ice or every inch of their body impaled with ice spikes.


    An Oni with a massive club mmed it down on what looked like a turtle with wings, demolishing its body.


    Aotab¨­ was at the front, his cursed mes spread out, turning dozens into ash in short moments.


    I joined into the fray, my sword swinging out as I fired off Sword Phantoms on the oing creatures.


    "There''s something wrong with them!" I heard a Youkai shout at my side.


    He held the wing of a bird in one hand and its main body in the other as vines emerged from its wounds, trying to push into the Youkai''s body, his Youjutsu holding it off.


    Nurarihyon was quick to his side, cutting up the creature''s vine parts into tiny pieces as they fell to the ground.


    It started to be obvious that this was simply a suicide tactic to try and parasitize more creatures from the nt''s part.


    Nurarihyon''s expression changed into a sneer and he got pissed. "This damn nt is trying to mess with my boys!?" His Youjutsu exploded out and curled around his sword, a simple swing of it and hundreds of those flying parasitized creatures were turned into thousands of pieces as blood rained from the sky.


    The Giant nt we were quickly approaching, the top of it unfurled, as if blooming. It''s single eye stared at us, words didn''t need to be spoken to know its feelings.


    It seemed to be struggling with something as the ground below shook, like an earthquake rippled through.


    The ground cracked and shattered, a chasm opening and an utterly massive hand pushed through, grabbing at the edges.


    The hand itself wasrge enough to grab the ship entirely and squeeze it into pulp.


    That thing was massive. Based on the size of just its hand, I would give it about the same size as Surtr, maybe evenrger.


    It slowly pulled itself out, its heading into view, or what remained of it. Part of it was made entirely of vines, other parts you could see the vines wiggling beneath the surface.


    My only thought was that a Giant somehow found itself in the Fae Realm by ident, and either died or got taken over by this nt and the nt parasitized it.


    It was enough that everyone stopped what they were doing to look at it.


    "Sadao!" Nurarihyon roared.


    Honestly, Ipletely forgot about his second chair.


    The super buff Kappa walked to the bow of the ship and jumped off right towards the giant.


    Sadao''s Touki and Youjutsu burst out and he reeled a single muscr arm back and it erged to the point where it could only be called small whenpared to a literal giant.


    I could feel the Youkai''s power from here.


    It all umted at his fist that he threw at the face of the Giant. A titanic shockwave burst out from the sheer force of the punch, sending the giant back down into the pit it was crawling out from with a force that a real earthquake spread out across the horizon.


    Suffice to say, the Giant didn''t appear again.


    Sadao looked a bit drained as a fellow Youkai swooped down and caught him, bringing him back up to the ship.


    He gave a shaky thumbs up to everyone amidst the cheers.


    "What the fuck did I just see." I whispered.


    Nurarihyonughed. "Let''s go deal with the big Vegetable."


    Said Vegetable, despite the momentary pause where I assume it was processing that its massive monster was defeated. Its vines, its other appendages with mouths themselves, they increased and grew again, hundreds of them whipping about as the ship approached.


    They shot out, colliding with the ship''s shields as I fired the cannons once more, eliciting another shrill cry from the nt.


    The Youkai took this opportunity to jump off again, stepping into either the floatingnd mass or the nt itself, running up itsrge vines.


    I joined in naturally. I used a burst of Shunpo to hop over to a vine about the size of my ship and began running across it.


    Dozens or so of those mouth-like appendages tried to chomp down on me, but a wave of my sword sent them sailing through the air. Unfortunately, they seemed to sprout more ''limbs'' and shot at me, needing a more thorough method of destruction.


    My Bloodline sparked to life and I disintegrated them as they got close, grabbing my Sword of Destruction quickly and alighting it with just well.


    I stabbed the sword into the vine, my Power of Destruction burst out and I pulled, dragging it upwards as I followed along with all the others as they all approached the ''head''.


    The ce where it bloomed, where that singr eye rested.


    It didn''t take a genius to guess that spot being its ''weakness'' or ''core''.


    Pieces of its body were severed, destroyed, burned and frozen.


    "Brat, Aotab¨­, with me! Everyone else, back to the ship!" Nurarihyon shouted, disappearing in a haze and reappearing near the top, narrowly avoiding a ratherrge mouth vine appendage, only for it to be sliced off just as quickly as it passed.


    Both Aotab¨­ and myself scaled the massive nt, the cannons from my ship firing off, pulverizing parts of its body that blocked the way with the asional bolt of lightning courtesy of Sir Wiggles.


    As we got up, Nurarihyon''s body turned hazy again, but rather than disappear, the wrinkles on his skin disappeared, and a full head of hair could be seen faintly.


    He looked young again, a rather cocky grin adorning his face.


    The same sword he held turned sideways and he gripped it with both hands, his Youjutsu swirled around it violently and he swung his sword.


    The Massive nt, it''s main body was thick, thicker than the Giant''s arm had been, yet in one clean motion, it was falling,pletely severed from its base.


    He didn''t need to tell us what to do.


    Aotab¨­''s cursed mes burst out in intensity enough to match my own Power of Destruction in sheer disy.


    Both destructive and corrosive forces collided into the main body of the nt monster, the shrill cry of it a call of death as its remains wafted away in the wind.


    However, there still remained a significant amount of appendages and vines it had created that didn''t just conveniently turn to ash upon what was supposed to be its main body getting destroyed.


    I grabbed Aotab¨­ and used Shunpo to slide back onto the deck of the ship with Nurarihyon''s graceful steps following closely behind as his hazy youth fading back into old age.


    He put a hand on his back like it was hurting, but he didn''t voice it.


    "It''s a good thing we went ahead, this would have been a nuisance if Yasaka marched with the army." Nurarihyon noted.


    The Vines that tried to hold onto the ship had long been destroyed as we were free to leave, however, it''s best not to leave a mess uncleaned.


    "I believe it''s only right to return the previous favor." I held a hand out, forming a Runic circle at the tip of my finger, dozens, hundreds more appeared above and around me.


    "Let me tell you our motto, brat." He put a hand on my shoulder as it seemed many faces I didn''t immediately recognize came out of the proverbial woodwork. Those who didn''t participate directly in battle but looked rather pissed off themselves. "Good or bad, Debts are returned tenfold! And never duel when you can gang up!" Heughed.


    There were many Youkai who were adept at ranged attacks, they stepped forward and all took aim at the floating ind and what remained of the nt.


    Along with my ship cannons, and my own Runic Circles that crackled with lightning, they all began firing.


    The floating ind began to crumble as fires shed across the various nts that remained, lightning tore through the earth, the elements rained down, and an uncountable number of curses seeped into the vitality of what remained, churning it from inside-out.


    It wasn''t until thest chunk of dirt fell from the sky that the attacks finally ceased.


    Nurarihyon raised his hand up and they cheered triumphantly. It was a satisfying victory for them that was sorely needed after holding back for months until this point.


    Yeah, it was a good thing we went ahead. This could have caused some catastrophic damage to the army if none of us caught it in time.


    No idea what it actually was, but it''s a good thing it''s dead.


    I eyed a few guys bringing up some barrels of what I assumed were Alcohol.


    Oh well, it''s their first true ''fight'' and ''victory'' since invading beyond the show of force form before.


    I wouldn''t tell them no.


    @***@


    The remainder of the¡­flight didn''t have nearly as much excitement. Beyond scaring away some unsavory things with a payload of cannon fire, nothing really stood in our way as we continued onwards.


    When Vivian spoke of a lighthouse, I didn''t really know what to expect.


    It was only until we reached this point that I understood now.


    It was a strange building, golden and ostentatious in design. From the topmost, there was a crystal that propelled a beam of light upwards and disappeared into the aurora that danced in the sky.


    I gestured to Sir Wiggles and we started to lower as we got closer.


    Eventually, the Shipnded around the¡­peripheral, and I could really see howrge this ''Lighthouse'' really was.


    Around the Lighthouse, well, there was a farm.


    I jumped off the ''docked'' ship, along with Nurarihyon as we walked towards the singr person present.


    Vivian said that you needed payment toe and go, and I wasn''t going to immediately just decapitate any Fae I ran into.


    It was an old man, very old.


    Eyebrows that would make the Captain Commander back in Soul Society jealous, along with a hefty white beard that went down to his waist. He wore a strange getup, what looked like a faded red jacket of some sort and a faded red hat.


    His most notable feature was the hook on his right hand as he used it to whittle at a piece of wood.


    Looking around, I made sure to take in everything I saw. Besides the Lighthouse, and the farm, there was a ratherrge¡­graveyard.


    I hesitated to honestly call it a graveyard because they were rather shallow graves¡­.freshly shallow graves.


    I could tell because body parts were poking out.


    "Are you ¨C " I was cut off due to a strange noise.


    An arm poking out of a shallow grave trembled. "Ahhhuhhhh." Something buried there groaned.


    The man, the old man slowly got up from the chair he was sitting in, he grabbed a shovel he had at this side and slowly walked over to the grave and earnestly began to p at whatever was there with the shovel until it quieted and went limp.


    As if nothing happened, he slowly walked back, setting the shovel back where it was before and sitting back down.


    "Ya want to pass through, ya gotta pay the toll¡­." His voice ¨Caged, wary, tired.


    "What''s the price?" I asked pointedly.


    "Whatever ya want." He pointed at a box ¨C a crate not far away. "Just put it in there and be on ya way."


    "¡­.what''s stopping someone from not paying?"


    Below his bear, and hisrge eyebrows, his eyes became visible as his eyebrows raised and a toothy grin showed through. "Who ya think also controls the lighthouse on the other side?"


    Noted.


    "And what happens if the price isn''t satisfactory?" I asked, skeptical about this whole thing.


    He shrugged. "Whatever I feel like."


    I narrowed my eyes because this felt¡­.odd. Well, Fae were odd, but his behavior felt odd inparison to the Fae I''ve met and then it dawned on me. "Are you¡­.human?"


    "Who knows anymore." He didn''t outright deny it, even basically confirmed it.


    A human controlled the Lighthouse?


    It seemed like a rather strategic point of interest.


    "Do you want to leave here?" I asked abruptly.


    He paused his whittling, his tired eyes looked up at me. "Leave?"


    "The Fae Realm, back to the human world." I offered. "No price, no bargains. Humans should live in the human world."


    "Are you human, son?"


    "Half." I said. "Not Fae though."


    His hand trembled as he slowly caressed his hook. After several moments, he simply shook his head. "What year is it on the outside?"


    "About a decade past 2000." I replied.


    He looked up and I think I saw a few tears in his eyes. "How the world must have changed. There''s probably no one outside that remembers my name. Your payment was received, you''re free to go inside. Follow up towards the sky, the sea you''re going to isn''t like the ones outside, son be wary. There be more than Fairies there." He was oddly more articte than before.


    He said payment was received, but I still walked over to his ''box'' and deposited all manner of things inside. Food, drinks, alcohol.


    I think he could see everything because heughed rather maniacally. I''m pretty sure he had a screw or two loose, but I couldn''t me him for how long he probably lived in this ce.


    "My name." He spoke up as I was about to turn and walk away. "Will ya remember it if I tell ya? I want someone to remember me."


    "I''ll remember it." I nodded to him.


    He had a strangely content smile. "I''m starting to forget a lot of things. Humans aint supposed to live this long, son. I don''t want my name to be forgotten, and I refuse to hand it over to some fairy." He spat onto the ground. "I used to be a Captain. Captain James Bartholomew Hook. Remember it¡­please."


    I paused because I recognized it.


    "I''ll remember it." I repeated again and turned to walk back to the ship.


    Nurarihyon silently walked at my side, not feeling the need to speak up until we reboarded and I took over the wheel from Sir Wiggles.


    The Ship floated upwards, as if caught in a current, it slid into the beam of light that pointed to the sky.


    "You recognized his name, I could see it on your face. Someone we should be wary of?"


    I shook my head. "Have you ever heard of the Peter Pan story?"


    "The Children''s tale?" He stroked his beard


    "Do you recall the name of the Antagonist?" I asked him.


    "¡­.oh." He blinked in realization, looking a mite somber in processing that.


    I pushed that thought to the side because the ship was pulled by the beam of light and rather quickly, the sky opened up and the stars moved aside as a massive Ocean came into view.


    Well, time to start pirating.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above.


    Next part of the looking ss omake is up over there.

 Chapter 558:

    Chapter 558:


    The ship was whisked away without so much as a warning once it settled upon the beam of light produced by the lighthouse.


    I barely had time to register the spatial anomaly before we were swept up in the proverbial current and pulled through time and space.


    Truthfully, I wanted to investigate things before just hopping over, but I was taken aback by the fact that I had just met <em>Captain Hook</em>.


    Regardless, we were unceremoniously deposited onto arge, watery surface; a ssh of water that nearly threatened to tip the boat over made that obvious.


    A few people ran over to the sides of the boat to throw up once the created waves subsided enough for us to regain our bearing and get a good look at what was going on.


    The boat had started floating away from the spot we originallynded on, but I focused on the beam of light, the same one that basically carried us here, as it came down from the ''sky''.


    The aurora that could be seen in the Fae Realm normally was gone, reced by bright stars that could be seen in the middle of the ''day''.Yet, no sun was visible either.


    I just chalked that up to the oddities of this ce.


    I reached out to the ocean, letting my Authority subtlety flow out. My Divine Power that had beenced with the Storm and Wind touched upon the Ocean around us, and I was rejected.


    I frowned but pulled my Divine Power back.


    Vivian mentioned that the ocean wouldn''t like it if we ''cheated''. I''m of the fairly confident mind that this ocean is more alive than I originally anticipated.


    Making an educated guess based on the few clues I have so far, the way this ''Lighthouse'' brought us here and the way Vivian talked about it, I think the Lighthouses are anchors to keep this ''Ocean'' both <em>sealed</em> and <em>in ce</em>.


    But who knows, I could be way off the mark.


    Still, it was nice to be on the open sea.


    Ignoring everything else, if I closed my eyes, I couldn''t tell anything was wrong. The salty air, the wind, the cool water that sshed up from the waves.


    It was oddly peaceful.


    "Alright, who wants to see what eldritch horrors are lurking under the surface?" I asked.


    Many Youkai around me stepped back rather quickly.


    "You bunch of cowards." Nurarihyon scoffed.


    "You volunteering, boss?" It felt oddly appropriate to call him that, considering I was a member as well.


    I may be the captain, but he was the boss.


    Nurarihyon looked at me with a firm gaze. "Sadao, get over here!"


    "Don''t wanna!"


    I blinked, surprised that the words from the big Kappa, usually soft spoken, had that kind of tone. "Actually, he''s perfect; a Kappa is an aquatic Youkai, and he''s strong enough to escape any dangerous situations." Probably.


    "I can''t swim." Sadao said with apletely straight face.


    "You''re a Kappa." I pointed out.


    "Just because I''m a Kappa, that means I''m a swimmer? That''s Racist."


    I felt my eye twitch. "Yup, it is." I grabbed his shoulder. "You wanna do this the hard way or the easy way?"


    Sadao crossed his arms with a resolute expression, but his toes dug into the wood of the deck.


    Nurarihyon shared my look as he ced a hand on Sadao''s other shoulder, his grip tightening.


    Rather quickly, Sadao''s aura seeped out, and Nurarihyon and I matched him as the boat started shaking.


    "Sadao~" The Yuuki Oni from before¡ªI think her name was Yuna¡ªsauntered over rather coquettishly, her hips swaying, her kimono nearly falling enough that her chest was almost visible. She was rather beautiful, and the rumors about the beauty of Yuuki Oni were well deserved.


    Sadao''s pressure decreased, and a faint blush crept up across his face as Yuna put her hands on his chest, running them up to the cor of his shirt. Her flirtatious smile quickly turned into something a bit more sadistic as her fingers dug into his shirt, and she quickly lifted him up and threw him over her shoulders and off the edge of the ship.


    It took until I heard the big ssh toe back to my senses.


    "Well done, Yuna." Nurarihyon said proudly.


    "Thanks, Boss." She took out a pipe, lighting it up happily.


    Many Youkai scooted over to the edge to see Sadao reemerge from the water, though surprisingly, he was sshing around in a panic, shouting for help.


    "...was he actually telling the truth?" I looked at Nurarihyon.


    "He''s a damn Kappa!" Nurarihyon grunted, though several more moments of Sadao struggling made his stern look disappear. "Dammit, please tell me he can swim. Someone, anyone?"


    "How do you not know this?!?"


    "Do you think I hold swimming lessons for all my boys!? And he''s a damn Kappa!"


    "Nah, he can''t swim." Yuna said rather casually.


    "..."


    "You''re waiting until now to say that? <em>After</em> you threw him overboard?" I asked incredulously.


    She blew out a puff of smoke. "He made me drop my lipstick overboard when he started rocking the ship."


    "You''re a cold bitch, Yuna." Nurarihyon snorted.


    She just smirked.


    I sighed, mentally reaching for a rope, and used a bit of telekinesis to throw it out to him.


    He took it quickly as several others dragged him back up.


    I might have felt a little bad if the massive and muscr Kappa didn''t keep flopping around on the deck like a fish despite being brought to safety.


    "You people are idiots." I looked at Nurarihyon.


    "Yeah, but they''re my idiots." Nurarihyon sighed just as I did. "There''s a reason I left the real ''formations'' and''soldiering'''' to Yasaka."


    Fair enough.


    Begrudgingly, I began to unbutton my vest and moved onto my shirt.


    "Wait!" Yuna stopped me in my tracks.


    "What''s wrong?" I blinked in surprise.


    "If you''re going to strip, let me call my sisters up."


    "Get out of here!" Nurarihyon gave her a firm kick on the rear.


    I simply shook my head before taking my socks and shoes off as well, setting them to the side. "Sir Wiggles is in charge while I''m away."


    "I''m not listening to a rabbit."


    "He''s technically a God." I retorted.


    "Just go already." Nurarihyon rubbed the bridge of his nose.


    I shot him a little smirk before diving off the ship, pushing past the initial water threshold without issue.


    My first thought was that the water felt heavier than it should be, but nothing I was overly concerned about.


    The water, in general, was very... clean. Pure? I wasn''t quite sure what to make of it. In general, there was a tinge of uneasiness I had just <em>feeling</em> it, like it belonged to someone else. Whereas back in the human world, despite being called Water Gods or thereof the variety such as my own, the Oceans of the Human World were much more <em>free</em>.


    My Divine Authority was still activated back at the Youkai camp, but even still, my <em>Authority</em> was part of me; even if I couldn''t use it, I still was someone who had Divine Authority over the Ocean.


    With a push of my Divinity, I shot downward, the light from above slowly muddling.


    I held my hand out in front of me, and I used a spell I hadn''t used in awhile. Magelight shined outwards, illuminating within a few dozen meters of me as I pumped the spell beyond what was probably intended for such a basic spell.


    It''s a bit less efficient than <em>Lumos</em> that I learned recently, but I didn''t really want to take my wand out underwater.


    Rather quickly, I jerked to the side as a row of sharp teeth narrowly missed me.


    I clenched my fist, and the water surrounding the vague silhouette of whatever attacked me froze into spikes.


    I swam a bit closer so my light shone on it; it was some kind of mix between an eel, a shark, and a person. Specifically, it had the legs of a person on its lower half.


    Wait, there was more. Was that the tail of a leopard on the side?


    What a strange thing. Does it develop traits of things it consumes? In that train of thought, where did it find a leopard? Well, considering the legs... the thought of something this disgusting running acrossnd after me would give me pause enough that it might get close.


    Lost in thought for a moment, I blink in realization that I was surrounded.


    Beyond the peripheral view of the light I was emitting, vaguely, I could see a set of small glowing eyes.


    And a second pair.


    And more.


    <em>A lot</em> more.


    Thousands easily.


    Well then.


    I wasn''t quite sure how the ecosystems here worked, but I think it would be bad if I suddenly removed a certain level of the food chain in such quantities. Hell, I''m not even sure if these things were... bad. I mean, can you call a shark bad if it kills a human every now and then? They''re animals, predators, who serve a purpose in the ocean.


    Oh well, I''ll just scare them off for now.


    I let my Reiatsu spread out, enough that it would press down on the thousands of souls present around me.


    Rather quickly, they all scattered. I could vaguely make out their hastily retreat, so I withdrew my spiritual pressure.


    The area around me began to be brighter.


    I looked at my Magelight, making sure it wasn''t the source. Then slowly, I turned around to see <em>why</em> it was suddenly bright and <em>why</em> those things actually ran away rather than the tiny amount of pressure I intentionally exuded.


    Two gigantic eyes shone unnaturally in the darkness of the bottom of the sea.


    Slowly, I moved My Magelight in front of me to get a better look.


    Tentacles.


    Lots and lots of tentacles.


    More tentacles than the creatures from before; they all wiggled through the darkness. They didn''t immediately close in on me; it was as if this thing was measuring me with curiosity. Clear intelligence in its utterly massive eyes.


    [I don''t want to rm you, but I think you should consider something].Ddraig spoke up in my mind.


    And what''s that, Ddraig?


    Though my eyes didn''t pull away from the <em>thing''s</em> eyes.


    [You''re Japanese.]


    ¡­..


    Nope!


    Nope, nope, nope!


    I felt... <em>a shockwave</em> through the water. It wasn''t an intentional act on the monster''s part; I just think it <em>stood up</em>.


    And gradually, its eyes rose higher and higher until they loomed over me.


    I could feel the water currents distort as something massive pushed outward and the vague outline of a <em>hand</em> came at me.


    Nope!


    I immediately took out the True Longinus, pointing it at the oing hand.


    Its holy light radiated outwards, and the monster''s hand paused. I quickly moved it, pointing at the monster itself, and I could see the hesitation in its eyes.


    There was a seeming moment of consideration on its end, as it didn''t move.


    It didn''t speak or make any real sound, but I <em>think</em> there was a silent agreement as its eyes ryed enough intent.


    I backed off and slowly moved away.


    The gigantic eyes in the darkness closed, and I could no longer see them. I took that opportunity to shoot back up to the surface, breaking past the top and flying up easily forty or fifty feet into the air.


    The ship wasn''t very far away, enough that I could use my wings to fly on over without much fuss and without causing any <em>problems</em>.


    "Something wrong?" Nurarihyon greeted me with an eyebrow raised.


    "Nope!"


    "Is it safe down there?"


    "Nope!"


    "Should we be worried?"


    "Yup!" I quickly started putting my clothes back on after dressing. "Don''t go too far down if you don''t want to find monsters."


    I think it''s best if I don''t mention the <em>thing</em> I saw down there.


    Easily God-level, probably around the strength of those Giant Warlords from Jotunheim that I met in the Norse Realms.


    <em>Except with Tentacles</em>.


    I was more than willing to throw down with gods and get in fist fights with Immortals and Demons. So I think it''s perfectly eptable; there are <em>some</em> things I absolutely refuse to engage in.


    Giant spiders are one of them.


    Eldritch Tentacle God Monsters are another.


    "Boss, ¡­uh, Captain!" A younger-looking Youkai ran up; he wasn''t humanoid but sort of round with the shape of a pyramid on top of his head, with only a singrrge eye.


    Youkai came in all shapes and sizes, so I didn''t really make note of it.


    "What''s wrong, Seta?" Nurarihyon asked.


    "I was up in the crow''s nest, and I saw a ship." He pointed.


    I reinforced my eyes, but I couldn''t see anything. "Are you sure?"


    Nurarihyon put a hand on my shoulder. "Seta can see for miles on out." He chuckled. "If he says he sees a ship, he sees a ship."


    "Well then, get ready for battle." I made the announcement, quickly moving towards the steering wheel, alleviating Sir Wiggles of his duty.


    I made sure to put his pirate''s hat on his head before taking my spot as captain.


    My ship wasn''t like the trash we would surely find around here.


    When it moved, <em>it moved</em>.


    Not to mention I could force the winds in the way I wanted.


    Rather quickly, on the horizon, I could see the ship that the Youkai told us about.


    Credit where it was due; <em>I couldn''t see this far</em>.


    And as we came into view, the other ship seemed to turn and starting towards us.


    "Hmm, I''m wondering about something." Nurarihyon appeared next to me, a gourd in his hand; no doubt it was full of sake.


    "What?"


    "I''m just wondering if we should immediately open fire on them."


    "Are you having second thoughts about robbing them?" I looked at the old Youkai.


    He snorted. "Brat, I''ve been stealing and sneaking into ces since before you were a twinkle in your father''s eye. I''m just wondering if we should give them the chance to surrender. I''m <em>trying</em> to be more reasonable since I gotta consider your Fox''s preferences, y''know."


    I pondered his suggestion.


    Cannon fire erupted from the enemy vessel as soon as we got close. Well, close was rtive here; those cannons fired much further than they should have.


    Actual cannon balls collided with the barriers of my ship.


    Well, my pondering has ended.


    "Fire the front cannons!" I shouted in response.


    Beams of fire erupted from the front, mming into the side of the enemy ship.


    "Don''t destroy it, you idiot!"


    "I know what I''m doing, old man! We just need to disable the ship enough so they can''t run away. Get ready to board everyone!" I could fix that amount of damage.


    As we got close, we got a better look at the crew of the enemy ship. Holy sh*t, was that a genuine Spanish galleon?


    <em>Where did they even get something like that</em>?


    And the crew were most assuredly not the original owners.


    They looked like some type of goblin? <em>Oh</em>, they''re Red Caps!


    Therge... red caps on their heads kind of gave it away.


    I vaguely recall them mentioned in Irish and Scottish legends. Their caps are supposedly drenched in the blood of those they''ve killed. A very malevolent type of Fae. Though... aren''t they supposed to inhabit things like castle ruins and such?


    The fuck were they doing, crewing a ship in suchrge numbers?


    They were really nasty with their gazes. The goblins I met in Diagon Alley were night and daypared to these things. I could practically taste their bloodlust.


    "Alright boys, don''t damage the ship, but take everything they got, <em>especially their lives</em>!" Nurarihyon grinned savagely himself.


    I was reminded that Youkai are just as much ''monsters''.


    They cheered happily, jumping across to the other ship as we got close enough, a melee breaking out.


    Just sweeping my gaze across the several dozen ''Red Caps'' that were present on the enemy ship and the initial fighting, I could ce their strength around mid-level. Mostly a sort of inborn physical level that let themnd there, but I caught a few magics being cast on their end. Crude as they were, they didn''t require things like magic circles, so it caught a few of ours off guard.


    Poison? I think I saw some poison spells primarily used.


    I cast a few healing spells of my own and a few enhancement spells to cover them, but I had my own target.


    I found the enemy captain.


    As the captain of my own ship, it was only proper that I engage the enemy captain in battle.


    I of course withdrew a cuss I had kept just in case and jumped over. "Have at you!" I shouted intentionally to get its attention.


    It sneered something unintelligible in anguage I couldn''t understand even with my status as a devil.


    Its rows of sharp teeth opened and its tongue salivated, pointed at me rather arrogantly as if I were simply a <em>meal</em> in its eyes.


    The other ''captains'' sword was... a sickle.


    Okay, so it wasn''t a proper weapon, a farming instrument, but still, it was my first fight as a proper pirate!


    Our epic sh!


    Except my sword broke nearly instantly.


    Even the goblin was surprised.


    Well, I suppose that makes sense. I could feel the magic from his weapon, despite it being a literal farming instrument, while mine was honestly not even a ''real'' sword, but a fake wall decoration I randomly found.


    The goblinughed and spoke something in itsnguage. I didn''t need to speak it to know it was insulting me.


    Fine, I should take you seriously.


    I gathered my power around my arm and reeled back my fist. "Take my secret technique!" I dered as the goblin instantly became on guard. However, he was focused entirely on my arm enough that he didn''t notice when I kicked him between the legs.


    He immediately fell over, clutching his presumed dangly bits with tears falling from his eyes.


    I picked up his weapon and held it up. "Victory!" I shouted as loud as I could.


    I heard the sounds of battle andughter behind me in response.


    "Brat...did you seriously kick him in the balls?" Nurarihyon appeared next to me.


    "Yes." I nodded.


    He stared at me for a long moment and put a hand on my shoulder, nodding wisely. "I knew you were one of us."


    I was about to say something, but I noticed something strange on the goblin captain. I immediately stopped joking and grabbed at him; despite his hissing, I waved my hand, severing his head. Though my eyes never left the <em>object</em> on his wrist.


    "Why does he have a wrist watch?" I voiced my thoughts out loud.


    Nurarihyon also zeroed in on it, inspecting it closely. "That''s not that old either."


    "Early 1900''s, maybete 1800''s." I eyed it.


    My watch proficiency isn''t <em>that</em> good despite having a certain proficiency for fashion of a certain variety.


    This made me frown because I thought back to Captain Hook.


    I pulled the watch from the goblin''s arm and tossed the remains of his body into the water. "No survivors; either burn the bodies or toss them overboard." I said softly.


    Nurarihyon put a silent shoulder on me and walked down to the main deck as the fighting finished up.


    I walked over to the wheel to see what I was working with, and I saw the most curious rolled-up piece of parchment wedged between the wheel and the mechanism that held it in ce.


    I pulled it out, realizing it wasn''t parchment but some kind of beast skin, woven with magics I was unfamiliar with. However, nearly immediately, it seemed to disy a picture of where we were and an ind not far away.


    Magical Fae GPS?


    "Hey boss," I called out.


    "Hmm?" He was at my side rather quickly again.


    "...up for a raid?" I held the map up, and he smiled.


    @***@


    Magical Fae GPS was in fact real.


    I was certainly going to study this and see how it worked, or maybe give it to Jinn; she would probably love it. But it would be a nifty thing to learn for our troops and whatnot.


    Unfortunately, these Red Caps didn''t have much below deck or stored away. It seems like their base of operations was close enough that they didn''t carry anything worthwhile.


    Sure, we grabbed their weapons, because, why not? But otherwise, nothing else worth mentioning other than the ship itself.


    Which was being sort of towed behind my ship.


    Funny enough, we didn''t actually have a good idea on what to do with the ship at the moment. We didn''t anticipate getting one so quickly before we set up a spot to... well... store them? umte them?


    We brought enough people to crew quite a few ships, but we had just set sail; we didn''t want to separate or start a big fleet just yet.


    But luckily, it seems our <em>donors</em> left us a means.


    And the Ind itself, it was close like I thought. Maybe an hour''s sail at a moderate speed and we could see it in view. They were probably on their way home after being away for awhile considering theirck of provisions.


    It seemed a tad on the smaller side, but more than enough to house thousands of people if they were so inclined with a bit of a jungle.


    The best thing about a magic ship like mine? I sailed it right into the sandy shore without a care in the world.


    It came to a harsh halt, unmoving. The ship we were towing was far enough out that it was still in deep enough waters, so it worked out perfectly.


    "How do you want to split up?" I asked the Old Man.


    "Sabao, you''re watching the ships." Nurarihyon called out. "Anyone who wants to stay can stay; anyone who wants toe cane."


    What a casual way of leading, but I guess that worked on these types of people. They weren''t ones for a rigid authority structure.


    It was probably split into 2/3 our favor, with the remaining not being as particrlybat-enthused as the rest.


    Oh well, I also left Sir Wiggles on the ship.


    As the first mate, it''s his job to monitor it in my absence.


    We nearly immediately found a well-walked path leading into the forest and took it without a second thought. Cocky? Maybe, but honestly, we felt rather confident at this moment, and it would hamper morale if we acted overly cautious against enemies; we just stomped rather easily.


    Though Nurarihyon held his hand up, everyone came to a stop because we found someone impaled on a spear.


    That someone was a goblin¡ªa Red Cap.


    "I smell smoke and resentment." Aotab¨­ said, sniffing the air.


    "Let''s pick up the pace." Nurarihyon shot forward at a speed where everyone could keep up but was significantly faster.


    We arrived at a vige, or what was left of one.


    It was artificially cleared out; wooden structures somewhat remained, but they were mostly piles of ash. No fires were visible, but there was still heat emanating off some of the remains.


    A few days at a minimum, someone was here.


    There were dead bodies, hundreds of those Red Caps, in in a gruesome way.


    "Fan out, search for anything worthwhile; if you see a living thing other than these goblins, bring it back." Nurarihyon ordered as everyone moved about. He eventually clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I hate when someone steals something before I do."


    "I''d give it two days at a maximum." I went and kneeled down next to a burned-down hut. house, something."At a nce, I see no other bodies other than Red Caps. Which leaves three options."


    "Either they were killing among themselves. The ones who killed them retrieved the dead bodies of theirrades, or they were much stronger, enough that they didn''t suffer any casualties." Nurarihyon spoke.


    "Boss, we found something!" Aotab¨­ hollered, waving from a bit further ahead.


    I let go of a handful of ash I had in my hands, pping to flick away the debris and dirt. We followed along to see what he was shouting about, and we both came to a stop.


    "Well, isn''t that curious?" Nurarihyon stroked his chin.


    There seemed to be about a dozen freshly made graves.


    And at the head of each one was a makeshift cross.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 559:

    Chapter 559:


    Jinn POV


    Naughty, naughty.


    I felt another probing attempt hit the barriers around the camp. I was getting used to the way these Fae used their magic. It was somewhat simr to the magic from my homnd, actually.


    More¡­.freeform, less rigid.


    Humans needed a more structured system to properly utilize and enact magic, but these creatures could do it almost instinctively.


    I of course rebuffed them each time.


    I am a Goddess of Magic! Who do they think they are trying to undermine <em>my</em> magical defenses?Though it was clear that this was the extent of''retaliation'' we''ve faced sinceing here after the first steps. After Wilhelm''s first disy, it seems like they''ve taken the approach of watching and waiting.


    But that wasn''t really my concern. I was just staying back and making sure we were defended while they all handled the fighting.


    Speaking of, I found the person I was looking for.


    She trotted into the medical tents, holding a bunch of medical supplies like bandages and healing Potions. I made sure she didn''t see me as I sneaked behind her.


    "Mr. Kitamura, I have the healing supplies." Jeanne smiled brightly as she walked up to a Tengu ¨C an older one ¨C on a cot with a leg wrapped up tightly and blood seeping through.


    "You''re an Angel." The Old Tengu smiled back. "But you don''t need to worry about this old man; I''ll heal fast enough."


    "Nope! You''re not allowed to leave until you get a clean bill of health!" Jeanne pursed her lips.


    The Old Tengu let out a tired sigh. "Being chided by a youngdy, I''ve grown too old. Maybe I should have just stayed home. Getting taken by surprise by a mere animal and almost losing my leg."


    "You''re far from the first person, Mr. Kitamura." She began to unfasten his bandages carefully before taking a Health Potion and dripping it onto his leg and rebandaging it up. "There have been plenty that have been caught off guard about this ce. You just need to be more careful in the future."


    "Ah, that''s already feeling better." He sighed happily, adjusting himself, about to get out of the cot.


    "No, you don''t." Jeanne quickly stopped him. "It''s still not healed. You''re walking around on crutches for at least two days, mister." she said sternly.


    "These old bones can handle just walking."


    "Nope, two days!" She didn''t relent, even grabbing the crutches for him. "The Healing Potion is great, but if you aggravate it, it could take more to heal, and you know that we have to conserve as much as possible."


    The Old Tengu grumbled. "Alright, alright, you win. You sound like my granddaughter, always after me about taking care of myself." He grabbed the crutches with a huff but smiled warmly towards her as he exited the tent.


    I made sure she finished up before running in and quickly grabbing her into a big hug.


    She made a cute squeal before realizing what was going on.


    "Hi Jeanne!"


    "Hello Jinn." Jeanne smiled brightly.


    "You''re really good at the whole nurse thing. Do you have experience with it?" Wilhelm asked me to make sure Jeanne wasfortable. I want to check to see if she was fitting in alright and how she was handling everything.


    "My mom taught me some things. She was the one in our vige that people came to when they got hurt or sick. Though... that mostly dealt with some basic herbs and such." She looked wistful. "And I often did things like this during the war. I only got hurt myself on the rare asion, so I spent a lot of time helping tend to the wounds of my soldiers."


    "Does it feel weird being back in a ce like this?" I hope she didn''t feel burdened.


    "To be honest, it feels... more normal." She looked down. "Everything else is... well, it''s great, but it''s hard to get used to."


    "Reassurance in familiarity." I hummed.


    "Yes, that''s it." She let out a little breath. "It feels like a dream, something I would have flights of fancy about when I had time to daydream during life."


    "Is it hard to ept?" I asked.


    "A little." She admitted it with a faint whisper. "I sometimes still think I''m dreaming. It feels strange not to have any responsibilities or duties to uphold."


    "Artoria said simr things, as did Raikou and Sc¨¢thach." Though Sc¨¢thach adapted the easiest. "Is there anything you dislike about being here..."


    "No! I''m so grateful; I love it here. And everyone is so nice to me! And...well, Wilhelm is here, and that''s...nice." She looked bashful, stiffening at thest bit. "I was able to go out and y only a few days ago. I did something as whimsical as... shopping for clothes and other things I didn''t actually need."


    She''s sweet; I can see why Wilhelm adores her. Even I feel the desire to protect her and make her happy.


    "No one is expecting you to be involved in our fight." I wanted to see her reaction.


    "I want to help!" She said it firmly. "Not out of any sense of responsibility, but... just because I want to. Even if it''s something as simple as helping injured, I can do that without any problems."


    Well, who could tell her no when she looks at you with eyes like that?


    "Not many patients yet, huh?" I changed the subject because she looked a bit panicky at the whole idea.


    Honestly, I think she feels too indebted and feels the need to repay it. But that''s something for Wilhelm to work on her with; I''ll just do my best to make herfortable with everyone, especially if she''s going to be my new little sister.


    "We''ve had a few dozen so far, but there hasn''t been anything bad besides one person who almost had their heart stabbed." She winced. "But magic healing supplies are wonderful."


    "Healing Potions are great and all, but you know what''s better? Healing Magic." I leaned in. "Have you ever considered learning healing magic?" As a goddess of magic, I could <em>feel</em> her potential with it and know she would be fantastic.


    "Me? Magic?" She whispered. "I''m not¡­..very smart or learned." Her brow furrowed. "Are you sure that''s something I could pick up?"


    Right, she did recently start learning how to read; I could imagine her confidence in that area isn''t very high.


    "I promise, you probably have amazing talent in the field. There''s just one thing you need to do."


    "What''s that?"


    I squeezed her in another big hug. "Call me big sister!"


    "Neh?!"


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    Things wereing along nicely.


    You know, it''s funny how simple things can slip your mind when they''re rather obvious in hindsight. Like, a group of Youkai were literally carrying the seized galleon onto the ind.


    The thing is, I was spending like an hour thinking about the best method to move it through Magic considering its size when Nurarihyon came up to me and called me an idiot and said that they''d just carry it in more ind.


    Kappa Bro practically carried it all by himself.


    But I digress.


    This would be the base we set up in this weird ocean.


    Not to mention it still had some resources for us to exploit left behind by the previous <em>residents</em>, but this strange map thing was rather convenient, and I didn''t want to take the time to figure out something simr.


    A Compass-like spell isn''t something beyond my capabilities, but this realm was far too strange for me to have confidence in making it reliable unless I did something a bit extreme. I highly doubt that my basic irvoyance spell is going to work on anything major here.


    Regardless, the big Spanish galleon was basically concealed as it was ced in the recently burned vige that was quickly getting rebuilt.


    "Who''s staying behind and who''s going out?" I asked Boss.


    "Aotab¨­ and Sadao will switch between them staying on the ind along with about thirty or so of my boys to man the ce and handle everything. Should turn this ce into a proper stronghold just in case."


    Made sense.


    "Why don''t I start putting up magical defenses around the ind?" I offered. "I think thedies can help." I nudged my head towards the handful of Yuuki Onni who seemed to be their magic specialists. Though the girl was just standing casually a bit further away, chatting about something else.


    "I had a thought about that." Nurarihyon rubbed his chin. "Everything here uses magic, and it seems our Youjutsu is more effective inparison."


    "They''re magical beings." I nodded along with his line of thinking. "You got something up your sleeve?"


    "I got something, more of a smaller Trump card, but I think it''s fine to show it; it''s not like you''re an outsider." He patted my shoulder with a warm smile. "Alright everyone, let''s show the new kid some of our brothers that don''te out very often."


    Everyone stopped what they were doing and seemed excited.


    Now I was rather interested in what I was going to see. I mostly just wanted to join the Night Parade for bragging rights and such, but they treated me so genuine, it was hard to feel like an outsider.


    Sadao and a few others came running over with... they looked like ceremonial urns. A bit on the big side, but otherwise, not much to describe. They had talismans around them as if to seal them...


    No, those weren''t <em>seals</em> to keep things in; it was to keep others from disturbing the things inside.


    There were probably about thirty in total.


    "All of them, boss?" Sadao asked.


    "Nah, we just need four for this." Nurarihyon grunted, and the Kappa ced four lined up and moved to have the others presumedly stored in the vige.


    Nurarihyon took his sheathed sword that looked like a cane and smacked on the urns. "Time to wake up youzy bastards; we got some work for you to do."


    The urns slowly started to shake, then the ground <em>rumbled</em>.


    The lids on the urns popped off, and the Talismans disintegrated as <em>huge</em> skeletal hands reached out.


    It was a bitical the distorted sizepared to the container that apparently held them. I could notice the spatial distortions without the obviousness of the size difference being thrown in my face.


    But the massive skeletal hands reached out, using thend as leverage, and seemed to pull themselves out.


    Four equallyrge and towering Skeletal Youkai loomed overhead.


    "Gashadokuro." I named them in honest surprise. "I''m fairly sure there aren''t any in Kyoto." Their bodies flickered with green fire.


    They were Skeletons, rather big ones, giant-sized. But they were formed from the resentment and bones of those who died on battlefields, if I recall correctly.


    They were among the more <em>nasty</em> of Youkai.


    "There''s a reason that my side of the fence can hold up to hers considering the difference in numbers and support, brat." He grinned.


    I do recall her saying that he often took in the more... difficult of their people.


    Each of those urns...


    These things were not easy to dismiss.


    A little tidbit I just recalled as well; I vaguely remember they were somewhat invulnerable and were <em>supernaturally</em> stealthy.


    The four giant skeletons spoke no words, but their mouths chittered.


    "He''s a new one of ours; don''t worry about his heritage." Nurarihyon replied, seemingly understanding them.


    I held a hand up, waving at them. "Hello."


    They looked between themselves, their teeth continuing to tter together before one of them kneeled down as if to inspect me.


    I furrowed my brow because I felt like it was mocking me based on the way it was acting.


    My instincts usually didn''t steer me wrong, so I let my Reiatsu loose, targeting the four Gashadokuro.


    It descended upon them like a mountain pressed firmly down, and they all shuddered, their chattering ceasingpletely as the mes in their eye sockets flicked in what I believe to be surprise.


    Funny enough, they withstood it. That was enough that... well, I''d say a newly advanced ''High ss'' entity would have been brought to their knees.


    I reeled it in a momentter after making my point.


    Something changed in them, and I think they seemed to acknowledge me after that.


    Oh well, some entities, you gotta show your strength to earn their respect. Boss mentioned my heritage; it could be any number of things they found unpleasingpared to their Youkai brethren.


    "Good." Nurarihyon nodded to me as if to tell me I did the right thing. "Alright, youzy bastards. You''ve slept for several <em>months</em> without working; it''s time to put those damn bones to the grinder. We''re on an ind in a weird ce; take to the four corners and set up a barrier."


    The four Gashadokuro seemed annoyed at the request, like employees grumbling when their boss had their back turned, but they each picked a direction and moved. They were big enough that regardless of where we were on the ind, <em>we could see them</em>.


    They took to each corner of the ind and put their arms up; their Youki burst out in impressive amounts. As if four pirs, their Youjutsu became a cohesive whole and formed into a rather malevolent feeling barrier around the entire ind.


    "Their kind can synch up with each other stupidly well. If one of them ''dies'' the others will consume what''s left of them. If they wanted, they could all merge together. We don''t even know if they''re all one entity or different ones." Nurarihyonmented.


    They''re basically a mass of bones and resentment, so that made sense.


    "Boss, Boss!" I recognized the Youkai iling his hands. It was the one with the single eyes and the weird pyramid shape on his head. The one with the <em>extremely</em> good eyesight.


    "Seta, what''s wrong?" Nurarihyon quickly turned to him.


    Seta held a diamond in his hand, carved with a basic runic circle on it. It was a gift from me because I was impressed with his previous ability.


    It basically just amplified the distance he would see and took into ount the curvature of the world if that yed as a factor.


    "Bunch of ships, at least 30. And a lot of them, I saw them flying a g with a snowke on them!" Seta eagerly revealed.


    Nurarihyon and I shared a look. "Aotab¨­!" The boss quickly shouted.


    "I can handle things here, Boss!" He shouted back.


    "No time for a head count or doing things neatly; everyone who''sing, get to the ship; we''ll sort it all outter!"


    No rest for the wicked.


    @***@


    My ship quickly took back to the waters rather easily.


    I double checked the strange animal skinpass magic as we started sailing away, and it was still working. I didn''t know <em>what</em> was anchoring the magical mechanism, but I''m fairly sure we could navigate back without it for now.


    As we got a little further away, it was hard to see it too. I think the barrier held a semnce of obscurity from a distance.


    At the very least, once we left it, the fuck-off big monster skeletons were no longer visible.


    Though maybe it would be a good deterrent if others could actually see them.


    An amusing thought.


    But I failed to ask just how far away these supposed ships were.


    I put a <em>lot</em> of power into propelling the ship forward without it bing obscene. At a few points, we skipped a few waves and I had to slow down a tad. But eventually, we could vaguely make out what he described.


    Though he seemed to miss a few key details, which I don''t me him for.


    It''s that there were a group of ships that presumably belonged to the Winter Court because of the ''winter'' motif or sigil.


    No, it was that a presumed group of Winter Court ships were engaged in a battle with a ragtag group of ships that didn''t have a matching symbol between them.


    I narrowed my eyes, reinforcing them to get a better look.


    Were those¡­.Greek? I saw at least two ancient Greek ships. Next to them... that was another Spanish galleon. An old <em>Japanese</em> ship as well. A couple <em>Viking</em> ships are among the bunch. I think there was an English ship there.? And there were <em>several</em> ships from origins I couldn''t immediately ce, but... <em>they flew a Catholic cross</em> on their g.


    Realization dawned on me.


    The crosses from the grave made much more sense now, as did many other things.


    "Prepare for battle; we got potential friends mixed with enemies." I dered. "If you see a Fae, put them down as quick as possible. If you see anything <em>other</em> than Fae, try not to hurt them."


    "You heard him, boys, weapons out! I want to see your Touki roaring before we even get close!" Nurarihyon shouted out orders as well.


    That ragtag group of ships, they were all crewed by <em>humans</em>.


    @***@


    A/N


    Sorry for the dyed chapter, I''m actually without power right now as I was on the edge of the Hurricane. Don''t know when it''ll be back up, and I only managed to get my Laptop charged earlier today so I could finish up the chapter.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    Got a new Kunou chapter up over here as well.


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 560:

    Chapter 560:


    Yasaka POV


    It really was a wonderful sight, seeing so many of my people gathered together for amon goal. So long that had been conflicts and infighting because we''re all so different. Only in the past few centuries had we... "calmed down, so to speak.


    As the world became more connected, it seems like every race in the world set down their weapons and opted for a more peaceful existence. Perhaps it was the flow of the world that none of us could go against.


    Now, she looked from side to side and saw tens of thousands of Youkai of all backgrounds and different looks and shapes, all donned in armor and carrying simr equipment as they waited patiently for orders.


    "Lady Yasaka."


    "Aki S¨­j¨­b¨­." I greeted one of my generals, a powerful and older Tengu from the n of their namesake.


    Next to him, a human in knightly armor politely bowed his head in greeting. "A messenger from the Pendragon family."


    "Tidings to you, Lady Yasaka, ruler of the Youkai." He spoke very politely and methodically. Was this the charm of a knight then? I admit I liked it a little; it had a different vorpared to the politeness that my own people threw upon me. "I bring word from her Majesty that we are to begin our campaign."


    "Ah, so Artoria decided to mount her attack then." I nodded in understanding as we discussed it beforehand. She said that she intended to begin tomorrow, but there must be a reason for her to start early. "Thank you for the heads up. Will you stay and watch so you can report back, or will you return immediately?""If possible, I wish to keep her Majesty abreast of the happenings on this side." The knight requested.


    I nodded, not needing to issue any orders. He was shown a good ce to spectate without getting involved, as that would be impolite from my position since he was a messenger.


    Thanks to Vivian''s help, we were able to pick out the perfect routes to begin our assault. This far out from the Winter Court''s seat of power, their authority waned ever so slightly, such that even the Winter''s chill couldn''t be easily seen.


    From what Vivian ryed, apparently, they use the areas around her as their proverbial breadbasket.


    Funny enough, they don''t need to eat.


    When asking Vivian about this, she said something along the lines of ''Of course you need tea and biscuits for a proper tea party!''.


    Reading between the lines there wasn''t difficult.


    Regardless, we would sweep this region and move north to meet back up with Wilhelm and Nurarihyon.


    Artoria had the pleasure of hitting their supplies while we... well, we currently surrounded a not-so-small forest area.


    A ce that seemingly was in perpetual Winter as it were.


    Not, but a few dozen feet in front of my armies was there a thickyer of snow on the ground despite the surrounding regions being rather warm.


    We were waiting.


    Truthfully, I didn''t agree with this course of action, but I couldn''t justpletely override the wills of my subordinates.


    We knew that there was a stronghold of enemies inside, yet they insisted on sending a scouting party and giving anyone inside the opportunity to surrender as we did before. Personally, I would have preferred just burning this cepletely down.


    Unfortunately, there was a way things should be done.


    However, all of that went right into the garbage when we all saw several objects fly out of the forest andnd onto the edge of the snow.


    They were heads, the heads of our people sent inside.


    The ground shook as a variety of monstrous roars resounded from the forest. Trees shook and were knocked down asrge hulking monstrosities pushed their way through the thick foliage.


    Trolls?


    At least some variety. I knew that Wilhelm encountered a type of troll in the Norse realms, and I recall seeing something simr to this creature when the East was attacked.


    Regardless, I was now pissed.


    These trolls looked chained, spikes in their bodies as if they were treated as domestic animals, with their ''owners'' following not far behind.


    Elves?


    They certainly looked like elves with very dark skin and white hair.


    Many of them were wearing clothing and armor very simr to the Wild Hunt that attacked us not long ago.


    "It seems we''re going with my first suggestion, General." I spoke calmly despite my anger.


    "So, it would seem, Lady Yasaka." He responded, clenching his jaw, obviously just as angry as I was. "Archers!" He shouted as the soldiers shifted; a row of archers stepped forward, wielding iron-tipped arrows. "Release!"


    Thousands of arrows covered the sky, the distance carefully measured as they fell upon the elves and trolls that stood out the furthest.


    There was obviously no more need formunication or ''waiting'' for them to make a move.


    It was the first time truly testing the effects of Iron inbat for us, and I have to say, the effects were pleasant.


    I saw one Elf snarl and hiss and cry out in an unknownnguage just from the arrow piercing his shoulder.


    The Trolls looked clearly distressed as the Elves tried their best to release them from their chains, presumedly to be properly utilized as war beasts.


    The several hundred monstrous beasts they somewhat charged in unison, a few falling rather quickly with dozens of arrows sticking from their bodies.


    The Elves stayed back, plenty of them raising up their own bows, arrows nocked and ready to fire.


    "Shields!" My general called out.


    "Shields! Shields!!" The cries repeated, revibrating down the lines of our soldiers.


    About half of the front line took out a particr little wand, courtesy of Medea and Wilhelm''s efforts these past months.


    I smiled faintly as translucent magical shielding enveloped everyone.


    The arrows from the elves collided with the shields, unable to prate. The monstrous trolls collided with them, the shields holding strong as my soldiers, trained for such fighting, used the opportunity to stab with spears through their end, felling the monsters before they could cause any substantial damage.


    The months spent training with the Ancient Greek heroes and conquerors paid off significantly as they adopted a rather useful fighting style.


    It wasn''t perfect; a few shields broke here or there, and I held back a sigh as I could see a handful of my people get hurt or die. But this was a war; I couldn''t let my heart be swayed in the midst of battle.


    I did thoroughly enjoy the expressions of quite a few of the elves that I could see from this distance.


    They retreated back to the tree line, using it as cover.


    "Oh, that''s adorable. They want us to charge in." I spoke openly. "What do you think, General?"


    My general smiled along with me. "Second line, forward. Prepare mes!"


    Once more, thousands upon thousands of wands ¨C this time tipped with a red glow ¨C pointed outwards towards the Elves and their forest.


    "Fire!" My General ordered.


    Fireballs of ratherrge size filled the sky, arcing towards the treeline. Oh, they didn''t hit the elves, no.


    It started slowly, the mes drifting up to the sky from further in. Gradually, the smoke increased, and the mes became more obvious as the forest ignited.


    The newfound cries and confusion from within the forest was music to my ears as the mes rampaged and the fireworks continued to rain down.


    Like ants, they flooded out of the forest in a panic, unsure of what to do, only knowing that between them and safety was a ratherrge army that dwarfed their numbers quite substantially.


    They were forced to charge outwards.


    "General, let''s let our men get their hands a bit dirty." I told him.


    "As youmand." The General nodded. "Wands away! Spears out!" The General roared, and the orders repeated throughout the thousands of Youkai as they met the haphazard and desperate charge of the Elves. The fairies threw themselves upon the lines of my soldiers, and they were found wanting as spears upon spears pierced through their bodies.


    Perhaps only a thousand of these elves in total, and it didn''t take much time for them to be corpses on the ground.


    A small but weed victory, merely a small ''outpost'' from what we knew about.


    Oh well, it was just a starting point.


    "Make sure the bodies are burned, take anything of value, and prepare to march within the hours." I gave the orders again.


    My General nodded.


    This was far from thest victory we were going to have today. It was simply a question of how much we could take before they began to retaliate ande at us with a true force.


    Atop the ashes of the forest that still raged with mes, a g with a Nine Fox Tails in front of a setting sun was nted.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    The ship moved fast, but by the time we got there, the fighting had already started, and it was rather intense.


    The ships flying the Winter motif were at the clear advantage in both number and quality, it seemed. A lot of the presumedly human ships didn''t even have things like cannons, while the Fae ships had means of attacking from a distance.


    Surprisingly, there were quite a few magicians among the humans with spells flying off.


    I can''t say I was adept at sea warfare despite how much I loved my ship, but even I knew that a''surprise attack'' was something rather hard to pull off. So it was no surprise when both sides noticed our approach.


    It''s funny because they both treated us like enemies by the way they moved.


    I made sure that the g Yasaka gave me flew upwards, announcing our status. Perhaps they would know, or maybe they wouldn''t.


    Regardless, they knew we were allies; at least the Fae decided so, and the few ships on the fringe of their formation turned towards us and their cannons fired.


    Not Cannon Balls, I noted.


    Cannonballs are historically made from iron, so obviously it''s not something they''d use.


    It fired magic not dissimr to my own ship, weaker though.


    The innate defenses triggered, the ship rocked heavily at the barrage they held firmly, and I waved my hand. "Return fire!"


    The ship turned, the side cannon hatches all opened, and the cannons poked through. I wasn''t handling it mentally this time below deck; dozens of Youkai lit the proverbial fuses, and our cannons returned fire.


    The sheer force caused my ship to rock even more upon the wave as fiery sts filled the space between our ships, mming into the Fae ships.


    The first few hit protective barriers once more simr to my own, but the barrage whittled away as the first ship took arge hit, the main mast exploding into splinters and falling to the side,nding on another one of their ships and nearly pulling down their own mast as well.


    It seems with that, we earned their full attention.


    The forward few ships retained their position, shing with the humans''s ships while many more began turning to face towards us.


    I actually didn''t know if my ship could handle that kind of attention without me focusing on defense. And I didn''t really want to damage my ship without a good reason.


    "We''re going to ram them." I suddenly decided.


    Nurarihyon looked at me nkly, thenughed. "I like that n! Get ready for a brawl, boys; you know the drill. And, eh, no hurting the humans if possible." He spoke, already knowing the situation at this point.


    I took out the Staff of Magnus and held it up, a powerful shield ovepping the ship as the wind was called up and propelled us faster towards the oing ships.


    The enemy ships began to fire on us in full. Hundreds of magical spells hit the barrier, making it difficult to see, and the shockwaves causedrge waves to start mming about, but we pushed forward.


    While the onught continued, I noticed that they began preppingrge-scale spells. It was different than what I was used to; they didn''t use magic circles, but something more... innate. However, the umtion of magical energy and the convergence of multiple casters were enough to notice for someone like me.


    I didn''t have my authority avable at the moment, but that didn''t mean I couldn''tmand the storm.


    "Strun Bah Qo!" I bellowed out, calling forth a storm to quickly converge. My dragon words¡ªa type of divine word¡ªstill manifested in this Fae realm and answered my calls.


    The ocean responded just as one would expect; rampant waves grew with the rolling of the storm clouds.


    There was something I wanted to try too; the idea quickly came to me.


    The Whirlwind Sprintprised three words. Wuld¡ªwhirlwind; Nah¡ªfury; Kest¡ªtempest. I''ve used them before, but they''ve fallen out of favor once I learned Shunpo.


    But why did I have to use them to increase my speed?


    I chose the third one.


    "Kest!" A tempest was called upon, and I focused on an area with thergest gathering of ships.


    Rather quickly, a whirlpool formed amidst the tides, pulling and jerking the Fae ships around aggressively.


    It caused their magic casting to abruptly cease as all their ships started uncontrobly mming into each other.


    It gave us enough time toe upon their formation, and my ship went full steam again, colliding with the Fae ship in the front.


    When two things collide, one side has to give, and it certainly wasn''t ours. The woods that made up the ship we rammed into it cracked and shattered even if our ship was forced to a stop, pushing into their own.


    But it was enough; half of us jumped onto theirs, immediately engaging them.


    Nurarihyon was first, and he practically growled because he noticed, just as we all did, they got up. The same bone-like, skeleton-like armors they were wearing.


    The Wild Hunt did more than just ride horses, it seems.


    Nurarihyon''s sword was quick, decapitating the first enemy before anyone could utter a word.


    "Kill!" The Old Youkai roared.


    Following suit, a thick bloodlust enveloped the area as all the other Youkai let loose.


    "Kill!"


    "Kill!"


    Many more shouts followed as a gruesome scene unfolded. Several times, I had to remind myself that myrades were not humans.


    Seeing a Youkai bite off the head of one of the Wild Hunt members and eat it was especially jarring for a moment.


    I resisted the urge to stop and ask him if it was tasty.


    Even one of the Yuuki Onni girls was covered in blood, a stark contrast to her fairplexion and white kimono, but it aligned rather well with the still beating heart she just ripped out of a chest and the malicious grin on her face.


    My own sword moved, and I wasted no time in cutting off heads and kicking them into the water.


    Maybe I wasn''t as ruthless as they were, but I held no hesitation in taking lives in this instance.


    However, I noticed something awry; looking up, I saw a ball of green fire falling down from above. I moved out of the way and realized it wasn''t an attack.


    The green ball of fire hit the deck of the ship, destroying the topmostyer and sinking into the cargo hold below.


    It was only a momentter that a figure jumped out, wreathed in the same mes with a malevolent and rather intimidating-looking skeletal armor.


    "Hunters, pick your marks!" The figure roared, his voice echoing across the many ships still struggling to remain floating.


    I looked down because something appeared on my chest; well, at least it tried to. Like a projection of some sort, a symbol I had no context for. It was magical in nature, and my innate magic resistance squashed it quickly.


    But for others, most of those around me each had a strange symbol appear on them somewhere; each symbol looked different.


    Balls of green fire mmed down by the dozens as many new figures joined the fray. I think they came from ships further away.


    But they were significantly stronger than the trash we had been dealing with thus far.


    Onended right next me, and it stared right my way, leveling a sword in my direction. "You have dispelled my mark. A worthy hunt indeed!"


    Ah¡­.


    They were marking their prey.


    He swung his sword in an arc, and something liquidly sprayed everywhere. It hit the deck, the railing, and various other ces, and it began to eat away at everything.


    Poison?


    The sword continued to swing in the air at me. My Aura red up, taking the sshes of poison that were flung everywhere, but it also began to eat away at my Aura.


    I used a quick burst of speed to step back a dozen or so feet and put Mirage away, taking out Greed.


    You want to y with poison in front of me?


    "...what monstrosity doth thou hold?" The Fae in front of me could apparently recognize the danger of my weapon.


    He took a slight step back.


    I just smiled at him and moved. Just fast enough that I thought he could respond, his de came up to block with a bit of effort on his part.


    I moved slightly faster; my de blocked again. A few more times, just ever so slightly picking up the pace until he slowly began to panic.


    Being treated like I''m an animal being hunted¡ªwho knew that was something to piss me off? I wanted him to feel cornered as death approached him.


    I could see it in each of his movements as they got more and more desperate until finally, Greed nicked his arm between his armor.


    His arm went limp quickly; it seemed as if he wanted to scream out, but he lost the ability to speak. The flesh holding the point where he got cut was corroded and became necrotic. From below the point, his arm just fell off his body.


    I take back what I said; I do have the same ability to be just as gruesome as them.


    I put Greed away, promising not to use it on riffraff anymore because that was certainly something that fell under the phrase ''fate worse than death''.


    ncing at the side, Nurarihyon was fighting their leader, I presumed. That Fae had the strongest aura to him, but he was losing handedly to the boss.


    Everyone else seemed to be doing well, and the human ships pushed into the Fae Ship''s formations, avoiding the whirlpools of mine.


    I removed my power, letting them start settling down, but they were rather close now.


    I hoped for the next closest ship, sting a few of the upants overboard before moving to the next one.


    Finally, I could get a proper look at the first ones.


    They were Greeks; their method of attack was ramming and boarding enemy ships, so it wasn''t strange they were the first to push forward.


    I didn''t know where they came from, but they were most assuredly from the wrong time periodpared to me.


    Quickly following them were the Vikings. It was very odd to see both groups fighting side by side like this, but they looked used to it.


    "Zeus watches over us!"


    "Odin blesses the brave!"


    Various war cries and shouts to their gods resounded. I heard Ares mentioned, I heard Thor mentioned, and I heard many others.


    I kneeled down and picked up a de from one of the Fae I killed and threw it, impaling another one of their numbers in the back of the head. He fell over, sword raised up, about to attack one of the Vikings.


    The Viking saw it, traced the origin back to me, and I cheerfully waved at him.


    With a burst of Shunpo, I was but a few feet away, much to his chagrin.


    "Be ye friend or foe?" The Viking raised his sword up.


    "My mom was human; does that answer your question?" I returned.


    He looked at me for a moment. "Aye."


    "That easily?" I looked at him in surprise.


    "Of course, these ones are motherless bastards!" He grinned, looking me over. "A boy still, hmm? A good sword arm, a witch then, from what look of things. Come, if you are human and a friend, you are a wee brother in arms! Fight next to Unnulf Eyjolfsson, the great!"


    "The great my hairy ass!" One of the other Vikings snorted, pulling his axe free from the head of a Fae.


    They were... unnaturally strong. In that, they seemed... normalish, but they still held strength far beyond a normal human.


    I saw one of their numbers cleave someone elsepletely in half. That kind of strength is neither something a normal human would have nor a feat replicable by them.


    "Boy, what''s your name, huh?" Unnulf hefted up his own sword, noticeable nicks and dings in it as it had clearly seen a lot of battle.


    Actually, almost all the weapons here were worn to the point where most would have abandoned them already.


    They quickly took the weapons of the Fae they killed, utilizing those as they pushed forward.


    I held my hands up, noting their positions, even the Greek ones who I hadn''t directly moved towards just yet.


    I calcted it properly, and I let weapons fall from the air, ones I kept stored in my ring. They allnded in front of the human warriors and not just any weapons, but iron specifically.


    Many were taken off guard, some didn''t care and happily epted, and there were a plethora more with a whole mix in-between.


    They were praying to Odin and the Norse Gods; that wasn''t something I could ignore.


    I may as well introduce myself.


    "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, former King of Asgard."


    @***@


    A/N


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 Chapter 561: Interlude 39 + Arachne Omake Part 1

    Chapter 561: Interlude 39 + Arachne Omake Part 1


    Venna POV


    It was slightly, perhaps a bit surreal. Walking out into the family room and seeing three of the current Satans sitting on my couch along with my Ancestor and my daughter as they were watching TV and eating snacks.


    Specifically, they were watching the news coverage of the war going on between the Youkai and the Fae.


    "Mom, why do you have a suitcase?" Rias looked up from her seat, and they all joined me.


    "I ¨C"


    "That''s a lot of Pheonix Tears." Ajuka chimed in, and then everyone looked at him.


    "How would you even know she had Pheonix Tears inside?" Serafall questioned."What? You know that Pheonix Tears need to be kept properly or they lose their potency over time. Who do you think streamlined the spatial storage mechanism for the Phenex family?" He huffed.


    "Nerd." Serafall snorted.


    "I am not a Nerd."


    "Mom, what''re you doing with a bunch of Pheonix tears?" Sirzechs asked.


    "Obviously she''s going to drop them off for her lover." Our ancestor smiled. "Venna has always been a dutiful partner."


    I honestly couldn''t even get a word in with all of them here. "I had some stored away, and I bought the ones avable on the market to help out. I can''t do much otherwise, but I figured they would appreciate a more potent healing method for emergencies, even if it''s only a few hundred."


    "Only a few hundred." Serafall snorted again. "I hope Lucy Jr. appreciates you doing this for him. A few hundred is a lot, even for us. He better at least spend a few hours on his knees between your legs, Mama Gremory."


    "Oh, don''t worry; from what Venna told me, he appreciates her plenty." Ancestor said coyly.


    Rias let out a squawk mixed with a pitiful cry.


    "Dammit Serafall, don''t start!" Sirzechs also whined, covering his face. "You promised you wouldn''t make lewdments about my mom."


    "Technically, I was making lewdments about your son." She corrected. "Your mom just happened to be screwing him." She grinned mischievously.


    "What''s wrong with you!?"


    "I''m sexually repressed, and your mom hits all my buttons!"


    They started fighting... or what ounted for it in this circumstance. They both tumbled to the ground, and Ajuka merely put his feet up on them, much to their chagrin.


    Though it did make me smile nostalgically. It feels like just yesterday that they were simply kids ying around like this, running around the house, going into all sorts of trouble.


    It made mee to a realization.


    I want another one.


    But I can wait.


    "Where''s Falbium?" I asked; their mischief wasn''t evenplete with their fourth.


    Serafall huffed, getting back up on the couch. "He finally got back to the capital. Since he''s missed so many of their important meetings and such, we decided to throw all our work on hisp and take a few days off."


    Ah, that sounds exactly like what they would do even without being Satans. And it certainly exins why they were much more social and rxed.


    Ancestor Runeas seemed to be having fun watching them as well.


    "And we''re back here live as the first battle during the war is about to unfold. As you can see, there''s some sort of castle ¨C a stronghold in the distance surrounded with tall walls, and from the information we received, there are quite a few powerful magical protections around it." The reported on the TV spoke up again, and everyone hushed themselves, eyes glued to it.


    The camera panned over to see some strange contraptions that I didn''t recognize by sight, but I recalled mention of them by Yasaka.


    "It looks like they''re about the start, these strange machines ¨C oh wow, I can feel the magic around them from here." Even as she reported, you could see them activate, and even the camera began shaking around them. "We ¨C"


    They fired off, all sound was cut off, and the camera, thankfully, wasn''t some mundane equipment, so it was able to capture the footage.


    A very powerful st of magic erupted, shooting at the castle, and the defensive barriers around it became visible for the briefest of moments, a fraction of a second because that''s how long theysted before being destroyed.


    We all stared at it silently, perhaps with a bit of awe. Was it something unreachable by the people in this room? Absolutely not. Was it a genuine surprise to see some kind of...siege weapon, operable by the lowest threshold, capable of something like this? Most certainly yes.


    "Wow, things changed a lot since I''ve been asleep. I wish we had things like that back in my day; maybe we''d have a lot more Devils around." Runeasmented, eating snacks without much reaction.


    "That''s rather¡­..new, Ancestor." Sirzechs forced out.


    "You mean we don''t have anything like that?" Runeas frowned. "What do we have then? I haven''t kept up with military stuff; I never really cared about it."


    "We have Sirzechs as a big beat stick to swing around at people." Serafall replied.


    "Ah, that would also work." Runeas nodded in understanding.


    Sirzechs let out a sigh. "It was never cost-efficient to do something like... We already have enough Devils capable of magic; gather a handful together, and they can releaserge-scale spells."


    "Hmm, but that doesn''t utilize the magic from a group of devils. There''s no preparation time, the scale of which would also require at least a dozenpetent Mid-ss Devils with a good understanding of magic. You would also need someone to lead them in casting, so one High-ss as well. And it can be easily interrupted by outside interference. And the training to aplish this would take years of them working together in harmony if you wanted it to be efficient. Andstly, they would be taken out of the fight after one, maybe two, uses of arge-scale magic." She listed off absentmindedly, everyone looking at her, blinking in surprise.


    It was easy to forget who she was when she was nearly falling off the couch in a sloven position, munching on some snacks with crumbs on her face and her skirt barely covering her because it was bunched up from the position she wasying.


    "What do you think, nerd?" Serafall looked at Ajuka.


    "Don''t call me that." He said it expressionlessly, staring at the screen without blinking. "The power source is the key." He reached for the remote, rewinding the images on the TV. "It''s a rather elegant design, if a bit simplistic. It''s like the magical equivalent of a catapult. It seems like everything about it was designed from the ground up to be used by people who don''t have the qualities of a magician. However, I can''tment further on it because I don''t recognize that crystal-like body that is ced inside the main sspartment. If I had to hazard a guess, it looked like some sort of solidified magical Power¡­.while that''s a naturally urring phenomenon, it''s highly irregr and rather rare, and I''ve never heard of it in such quantities and sizes. I would love to meet the person who made the whole device, as I can see the care they put into it even when it''s meant to be used by non-magical people."


    "You said these Youkai were a small faction?" Runeas looked at Serafall.


    I looked at Serafall and she coughed awkwardly. "Well, they are... technically. I mean, a year ago, they weren''t even worth mentioning."


    "What''s the measurement of a big faction these days?" Runeas looked at her.


    "Uh¡­well, that''s hard to say."


    "Is it not enough that they have someone capable of killing gods?"


    "Well¡­"


    "Actually, they have more than one." I pointed out.


    "Ah, my mistake." Runeas nodded. "Multiple individuals. And many more who are strong enough to make their names known... Oh, and you can''t forget that we lost the Dragon King that used to live in our borders."


    "Gugk." Serafall nearly choked.


    They all somewhat winced at that.


    No one would ever say it out loud, but they all considered Tiamat as ''theirs'' despite the fact that she never really left the familiar forest except for the few rare asions, such as when she was the referee of some rating games not long ago.


    "Lots of people have been questioning that online." Ajuka replied with the same expressionless tone. "We never really made it clear what our rtionship with Tiamat was for our own benefit. Now, it seems that''s biting us in the rear as we''re being called out for ''losing her''."


    "Aren''t they allied with the Norse faction now too?" Rias pointed out.


    "Good point, my cute little descendant~" Runeas cooed while Serafall just became more crestfallen. "It''s such a shame that they hate us so much; I would have loved to go on a trip and visit my descendant." She nced at Sirzechs, who refused to meet her gaze.


    "Miss Gremory.." Ajuka nced at me, his eyes strange. It took me a moment to notice that his pupils had be spell circles. "You can store that in your bracelet; there shouldn''t be a problem." He said it offhandedly.


    I was worried that the spells that kept the Pheonix Tears would be affected by storing them inside. I suppose I was overthinking things, but it was always best to act with caution when it cost you nothing.


    "Thank you, Ajuka." He was always a sweet boy; despite being foolish in his own right like the other kids, he was rather perceptive. I wasn''t surprised he noticed my bracelet either, as it was magical in origin and he was a master of nearly all things magic. "For you, sweetheart." I took out a dust crystal I had on me and dropped it into hisp.


    "!?" Ajuka''s eyes widened. "Miss Gremory, where did you get this?"


    "Oh, I got a few from Wilhelm." I smiled wistfully. Oddly, I was feeling a bit... lonely. Look at me, an old woman, and I''m missing my young lover only after about a week. "I wanted to see if it would effect some of my nts if I put them in my garden."


    Ajuka''s mouth opened, but he abruptly closed it, calming down. "Thank you, Miss Gremory."


    "Have fun, kids; I''m heading out." I said my goodbyes.


    "Where''re you going, Momma Gremory?" Serafall asked, and I could tell it wasn''t a question from Satan Leviathan, but someone who was close to a daughter for me.


    "I''m going to have lunch with a few other of my sisters." I smiled happily.


    Both Goddess Izanami and Salem were on the outside of this conflict as well, so it was important to make sure they''re doing fine and didn''t feel lonely without Wilhelm around. Maybe it was just all the years I spent running Zeo''s harem, but doing things like this had be second nature for me.


    I barely opened the door to go outside when I almost ran into someone.


    "Lord Bael?" I blinked, seeing the Bael Ancestor at our door looking a little annoyed, presumedly not at me.


    "Ah, Venna. How wonderful to run into you. How have you been, my dear granddaughter?" He smiled more than just a polite reciprocation.


    I found myself smiling back because he didn''t call me ''Lady Gremory'' which meant his visit was a social one and we didn''t need to stick to decorum. "I''m well, grandfather. I was just about to head out, but let me wee you inside."


    It''s simply easier for everyone to call him Grandfather instead of how many ''greats'' before it.


    "We have a guest." I announced, walking back inside, everyone turning to see me.


    Zekram was just surprised to see all of them, looking between them and the TV. "I am surprised; did you not acquire this footage before it was publicly released?" He furrowed his brow.


    The kids seemed to snap out of their surprise. "We already nned on taking the day off; there wasn''t much difference in watching earlier this morning or now." Sirzechs offered.


    It would be strange if they didn''t have it, I suppose. Anyone who is anyone already had the footage way before it was properly released on the Devil TV.


    Zekram just grunted in response, and the mood turned awkward.


    "I am more than willing to leave the political intrigue at the door." He finally spoke.


    "Oh, thank Big G, I was not in the right mind to y this game today." Serafall epted it rather easily, and the others just nodded in agreement.


    It was far from the first time we''ve gotten together with keeping those things out.


    "Runeas." Zekram Bael looked at the primary reason for his visit.


    Runeas sat up in her seat, looking at him nkly, not speaking.


    "Why did you note to see me? You''ve been up for days now."


    "I''m sorry, Lord Bael. I wasn''t aware I was supposed to answer to you, Lord Bael. I''ll do better next time, Lord Bael. Please ept my apology, Lord Bael."


    Zekram twitched slightly. "Stop that!"


    "I apologize again, Lord Bael. I''m just azy devil, Lord Bael. I''m afraid I can''t measure up to your expectations, Lord Bael. I''m just a pitiful Duke, Lord Bael. I can''t possibly measure up to a king such as yourself, Lord Bael."


    "You''re doing that on purpose; cease your childishness, Runeas!" Zekram clenched his jaw in annoyance.


    There was no one in existence that could get under the skin of Lord Bael. That would be true if Runeas didn''t exist.


    The kids were just looking back and forth between them, wondering if they were probably hallucinating.


    "What can this lowly Duke do for you, Lord Bael?" She smirked slightly as she did it again.


    Only she can make the title of Lord Bael sound like an insult to him.


    Zekram''s eye twitched violently. "Is it so wrong for me to visit my family?" He said with a rare huff.


    Runeas did smile slightly. "Your family? All I see are Gremorys and a few others."


    Zekram rolled his eyes. "Who cares whatst name they wear? They are Baels."


    "Uh huh." Runeas just answered nkly.


    "They are Baels!"


    "Weird, their names are Gremory? Rias dear, what''s your family name again?"


    "Bwah?"


    "Don''t bring her into this!" Zekram grumbled. "And they carry my bloodline! They wield the power of destruction!"


    "You mean my family wields the power of destruction?" The new Gremory Trait."


    "Don''t you dare!"


    "Say I''m wrong." Her smile grew wide.


    "I am the progenitor!"


    "Let''s do a roll call. You have Venna, a rather talented young woman, even if she doesn''t train as much as she should." Runeas shot me a look. "But she''s a lot better than when I was upst time."


    She noticed then, interesting.


    "You have Rias here, also hailed as a talent. You have Sirzechs; need I say anything about him? And you even have Millicas, his child, who is also a genius. Now here''s a question: What name do they have?"


    Zekram''s eye was twitching violently at this point.


    Runeas''s smile never disappeared; if anything, you could see the maliciousness in it. "Wilhelm."


    "That one is utter bullshit, and you know it!" He threw his finger out, using her.


    "Son of Sirzechs, lover of Venna, that sounds like a Gremory to me."


    "You are an infuriating sloven woman child!"


    "Thank you, Lord Bael."


    Zekram just let out a low growl, clearly annoyed beyond limits. "Enough, you know why I''m here."


    "Alright, fine." Runeas let out a small sigh. "Enough ying around I suppose;e on, let''s have that talk that needs to happen."


    Everyone just looked at them as they left the room.


    "What the fuck did I just watch?" Serafall blurted out after they disappeared.


    "That always happens when they''re in the same room. It''s not just well known because Runeas sleeps all the time." I happily informed them.


    Surprisingly though, they''re very much allies and would immediatelye to the other''s aid if the situation was dire.


    Oh well, I should head out; the show is over, it seems.


    "That little son of a bastard is trying to do what!?" Runeas'' voice blew out of the room they were in, the shattering of ss apparent as every window in the whole house broke, the release of a wisp of her power seeping out with her words.


    I should probably head out before I get caught up in something and get dyed further.


    Thankfully, they all seemed more concerned about the two old devils than me, giving me a good chance to make my escape.


    @***@


    Odin POV


    "Ah, it''s Lady Jinn!"


    "Jinn!"


    "Jinn!"


    "Show them Asgard''s might, Lady Jinn!"


    "She''s not fighting you idiot!"


    It was nice.


    Despite Asgard not being fully rebuilt as of yet, nor the Norse Realms returning to full peace and tranquility, there was a bit of a reprieve.


    The times were changing.


    Freya and I set up arge magical projection so everyone could watch what was going on with the other side of the world.


    Officially, we were allies of the Youkai, and that was a recognized fact by every God of Asgard and the Norse Realms.


    Unofficially, we would tear apart anyone that tried to meddle with them with a fervor that would make even Surtr take pause.


    Unfortunately, we couldn''t really help out with their current problem. Oh, we never shied away from a war, and in another situation, we would have stood shoulder to shoulder with the Easternrades of ours regardless of who the enemy was.


    But they needed to settle matters mostly by themselves. They were the ones given a ck eye, and to not appear weak, they had to return the favor and throw some punches of their own without someone holding their hand.


    However, that would all cease to be if our newest goddess suffered a single strand of her hair being harmed.


    The Brat, well, everyone respected him. If he called for aid, every god would answer his call without a second thought and willingly throw their lives away for his cause. He could have been King, and everyone would have epted it.


    For Jinn though¡­.Jinn¡­many here would willingly cut off their own arms if it meant they could beat the person who harmed her over the head with them.


    It didn''t take much being around her to get her measure, and while many of the gods here were idiots, rarely were they foolish as well.


    They all knew who Jinn was now¡ªthe kind and gentle goddess who didn''t like fighting and was happy to live peacefully without any conflict.


    Yet she stood up when no one else could and fended off the destroyer himself.


    Fear not the man who relishes in blood; be wary of the man who fights to protect.


    The sister? The daughter? It was hard to put a title to the feeling. We only knew that she was to be protected, and woe be to anyone who dares hurt her.


    Though that littless had her own means, so I wasn''t too worried. Not to mention the brat and his lovers were there, and they felt simrly, so it was unlikely for her toe to harm.


    I just enjoyed a drink, watching the festivities as the war started in earnest.


    "All-Father."


    "Elf." I greeted back as our other new God cam and sat next to me.


    He grunted, finding himself a drink too. "Thank to you and the brat, I''ve found myself drinking more than usual. I thought you were all drunkards, but apparently it''s something woven into the divinity here."


    "Hah, don''t act like you weren''t a drinker before you got old. Stop being a whiney old man and ept your new youth with dignity." I snorted.


    "Bah, I drank proper wine, not this¡­..slosh."


    "If you want something a little prissier, I think we can find some milk for you." I offered.


    "Hmph, it''d be better than this crap." He didn''t bat an eye at my insult.


    "What''s with that look on your face?" I noticed he was acting a little odd. "Even if you don''t'' like joining in the fun, you at least used to just sit at the side without looking all mopey and ruining the atmosphere."


    The Elf God tapped the table with a frown. "You''ve been doing something."


    I raised an eyebrow, taking a drink. "I do a lot of things."


    "You''ve been recruiting quite heavily. You''ve lowered the standards a bit for Valkyries to grab new souls. You''ve even taken to inviting people outside the normal methods. I heard you visit a few smaller Magician Circles in the Human World and recruit a good number of Magicians."


    "Maybe I have; maybe I haven''t."


    The Old Elf tapped his finger more. "You''re preparing for another war."


    I put my cup down, a little annoyed that the elf was always so perceptive. "And if I was, what would you have to say about that?"


    "How bad is it?"


    "Very bad." I didn''t hide my own feelings. "Ragnar?k might have been a mercy."


    The Old Elf, despite being somewhat youthful again as a God, let out a tired sigh reminiscent of his true age and mentality. "Is the kid involved?"


    "Smack in the middle of it." I nodded.


    "Why does it seem like he''s always in the middle of things that happen recently?"


    I let out a chuckle. "You know how it is, Elf. Heroes are always at the center of conflict."


    "I''ll go stir up a conflict with the Trolls; see if I can''t get them to start causing problems." The Old Elf grunted. "Should cover up what you''ve been doing in case anyone has been paying close attention. Maybe get the remains of the Jotun to do something too."


    "That''s probably for the best." I nodded.


    Maybe I was a tad too overt. But with hostility reignited, even on a small scale, it''s very usible deniability as a reason to recruitrge amounts. I''ve also been using our rebuilding and recruiting to recoup our losses as a reason to seek out Sacred Gears and search for those sted Holy Relics along with Bone Daddy down below.


    No one''s going to look twice at the Norse trying to get some powerful tools under our belt after the losses we suffered. And maybe the elf was being a bit too careful, but it wouldn''t hurt to take precautions.


    "Something else is bothering you; just spit it out."


    The Old Elf grumbled again. "You know our origins, right?"


    "So this is going to be one of those talks." I sighed, wishing I had something stronger to drink. I should steal one of the Brat''s jars of whine from before. "Alright, hit me."


    The Old Elf scowled. "It''s taboo, even among the Dark Elves. But it''s undeniable that our originsy in that realm." He pointed at the magical screen that showed the war between the Youkai and the Fair folk going on.


    "You don''t need to tell me; I was around when your lot happened upon the formation of the Nine Realms and migrated." Though I was much less of a ''person'' at that point in time. It took awhile for the concept of an ''Ego'' to form under everything.


    "I mentioned it offhand to the kid, but he probably didn''t pay it any mind when I called them our distant cousins." He continued to tap the table impatiently. "We''re not the same anymore; we no longer have any ties to that ce; we''re Elves of Alfheim down to our cores."


    "You worried about him?"


    "Is it odd?" He countered.


    "The kid is strong."


    "Strength isn''t everything. I just don''t like that some of ours is in that ce without us being there."


    "Oh, ''One of ours'', huh?" I smirked.


    The Old Elf let out a huff of annoyance. "How bad would it be if I went over there with them?"


    Huh, he was serious.


    Well, I couldn''t fault them; from what I recall, the origins of the Elves of Alfheim were that they were a banished tribe of Elves from the Faends in a time before time and stumbled upon Alfheim as it formed, bing the realm''s inhabitants in more than just name.


    They''re not Fae, despite being Elves.


    Their naturepletely changed.


    It seemed to be something weighing on him a lot due to his origins.''


    Was it the blood of his that couldn''t ept that ce and hated it, which was causing him to act up?


    "I''ll send a message over. While they shouldn''t immediately reject you, at the same time, it''s hard to insert yourself into what they''re doing. You''re going to need to wait for an excuse to get properly involved."


    "Thank you, All-Father." He responded with a rare politeness.


    "Anything for a friend." I returned it with a smile.


    @***@


    Non-Canon Omake: The Little Spider


    "Student, you cor is not straight." Sc¨¢thach grabbed Wilhelm, gently, and adjusted it with a small smile on her face. "There, you look presentable for your first day of schooling."


    It felt odd for him to be doted on in this regarded by her, but he couldn''t deny that he enjoyed it.


    Things calmed down a lot over the past two years. Less and less had Wilhelm been running off on an adventure that required his dedicated attention. Less and less were there foes that required him to put his life on the line to defeat.


    The Grand Order had beenpleted.


    Alduin had been in.


    And Trihexa had been defeated.


    Among other threats to the various worlds he travelled, things had be peaceful. Obviously, there would always be conflicts, and he was far from rusty at this point in time due an idiot here or there that wanted to destroy the hard gained peace. But at the end of the day, his life had be more rxing and normalized.


    And most importantly, he was happy.


    His family had grown in size over the years, though children was still something he and his lovers were working on, but there wasn''t any great rush there. Perhaps in a couple more years, they may start taking increasingly assertive measures to facilitate pregnancy. But once more, they were content to simply live their lives as they were.


    Amidst this peace, Wilhelm had been discovering more of himself. Taking time to smell the proverbial roses without a looming threat allowed him to evaluate himself in a different light.


    There were things he felt like he was missing, regrets he didn''t realize he had. When you don''t have to worry about a Demon God destroying all of human history, it''s amazing what you can understand about yourself.


    One such regret he found was that he wished he finished schooling.


    It was funny, in a way, for him. How quickly and happily he abandoned school in favor of adventure and freedom.


    But part of growing up was looking back and acknowledging that many of your decisions when you were younger came not from mature and levelheaded ces.


    Sure, he didn''t regret leaving that school. But he regrets that he abandoned school altogether.


    Maybe he was an odd one, but he didn''t dislike school even as a kid.


    Wilhelm liked to learn new things, to discover and explore.


    At his core, he was a researcher.


    So, he broached the idea of returning to ''school'' to his lovers and they had been exceedingly supportive.


    However, and surprisingly, Sc¨¢thach had been the most supportive. When it was merely an idea, she was the one who pushed him to do it, to not let him abandon the idea nor procrastinate.


    Even with all his girls around him now, about to see him off to college, it was Sc¨¢thach who looked at him with the most pride.


    Wilhelm was happy.


    It wasn''t just his own desire, his mom always told him how she wanted him to go to college. She even tried her best to save money when they have very little, even if that didn''t turn out well.


    Wilhelm also wanted to do this to honor the memory of his mother.


    And he wanted to do it properly.


    That is to say, at this moment in time, he was no different than how he was before that stray Exorcist stabbed him through the heart with a holy sword and awakened his past memories.


    To nearly everyone who wasn''t trying to peer deep inside of him, he looked like an average human.


    Well, there were a few things that were impossible to hide away. He was far more healthy and had a bit more strength and such than a normal human his size and shape should possess, but that wasn''t worth mentioning.


    He had sealed away all his powers and abilities and mythical items.


    "Take care of this for me." Wilhelm slid his storage ring off his finger and ced it into the hand of Sc¨¢thach.


    He would never allow anyone but someone he loves take care of that and all his treasures. It was his Devilish nature, he was far too greedy to allow others to touch his treasures without a good reason. The only thing that outweighed that was his love for his friends and family.


    Though, even with everything sealed, he felt a twinge of anxiousness as it was the first time that ring left his finger in years.


    That wasn''t to say he was without protection. However, there was just nothing he could facilitate on his end.


    He wanted to be truly ''human'' for awhile to experience it properly.


    Obviously, he made sure everything was set up beforehand.


    He chose a world that he hadn''t experienced yet. He didn''t want any ''distractions'', no people looking for him there even by ident. No world where he was already a known variable.


    Eventually, with the help of his Grandfather, they found a world-line not too dissimr from his home. Supernatural existed in modern day, Gods walked the Earth, but there was a strict divine between normal and abnormal. Some sort of Magical Mist that covered the world and hid the supernatural behind a guise.


    If a human saw something they weren''t supposed to, the Mist automatically made an illusion to cover it up, or obscured it in their subconscious.


    Wilhelm had no intentional to get involved in anything there, so it proved to be the best choice out of all the world-lines they looked at.


    He was no longer the Red Dragon Emperor, the Godyer, the Magician, etc.


    Simply, he was Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, College student who happened to take a few years longer than most kids there to enroll.


    The goodbyes were difficult as they always were.


    Not that he would be spending a ridiculous amount of time away. Atleast from the perspective of his girls, each semester would only be a couple weeks and he would evene back and visit quite often. But from his own subjective time, he would be going without seeing them for long periods.


    With thest portal he created still open and no longer having ess to his magic for the next few years, he walked through to begin a new, albeit temporary, life.


    @***@


    Wilhelm stepped out of the house he bought beforehand, one of the many preparations he made before diving off the proverbial cliff.


    Maybe someone might think him foolish for willingly discarding all his substantial power and umted wealth, even temporarily.


    However, this was important to him.


    It helped keep him ground, and it was a milestone in his life.


    He took a deep, still getting used to being basically ''human'' again.


    His reaction speed was sluggish, his senses were dimmed, and he honestly felt¡­.weak.


    It was a strange, but good weak.


    He took another deep breath, forcing himself to smile because he had one realization after leaving.


    "I forgot to get my wallet before handing over my ring."


    At the very least, he was thankful he set up mundane bank ounts and what-not to facilitate his mundane life. Not to mention, he had a bit of cash and other emergency necessities on hand in the house already until he sorted that out.


    He most certainly wasn''t ying the part of a poor college student, merely a human college student. He had a substantial amount of money avable to him by ordinary views.


    Thankfully, the house he purchased was within walking distance of the campus, somewhat.


    Harvard was big.


    Big enough that he needed some method of transportation to reach one side from the other.


    He momentarily contemted buying a bicycle. The thought was novel to him who used to fly around like it was nothing.


    He never had a bike when he was a kid, they were too expensive. And now¡­.well, perhaps it was time to explore other long forgotten dreams and desires of his.


    It was the start of the year, so the roads were packed with both students and other people. There were even some stalls set up, people looking to hawk whatever random crap they thought they could convince some naive kids to buy.


    Wilhelm basically ignored it until he found something that piqued his interest.


    He was quick to hand over an absurd Ten dors for a pack of ying cards.


    He knew it was overpriced by arge margin, but he didn''t even care to argue. He couldn''t help but smile with glee as he opened it up and flicked the cards between his fingers.


    It had been many years since he yed around with the street magic he picked up on a whim early on in his ''career'' as a runaway Magus.


    It actually helped him with utilizing his Talismans when he was still starting out. Finger dexterity was an important facet in many things¡­..not all of thembat.


    He absentmindedly shuffled the pack of cards in his hands as he walked across the Harvard Campus.


    sses hadn''t started yet, everyone was still moving in, thus he had free time. The first ce he decided to visit was of course the famous Harvard Library!


    There shouldn''t be very many people there this time yet, so he figured it would be enough for him to explore without gaining too much attention.


    He heard an old story that there''s a hidden secret room filled with a bunch of lost books that no one can find and it''s not on any maps or official schematics.


    Wilhelm honestly didn''t know if there was truth to that story or not, but he wanted to find out.


    Ascending the steps, he couldn''t help but admire the architecture either, he put a hand on it, inspecting it thoroughly. It was an elegant mix between some old Greek influence and a more modern interpretation. Of course modern is rtive when the building is about a century old.


    "It''s impressive, isn''t it?"


    Wilhelm turned to look at who was talking to him, a woman,and rather beautiful at that, perhaps around his age, with brown hair and interestingly gray eyes.


    "The library itself or are you referring to the Greek inspired columns?" He asked.


    "Well, I think any library is impressive inherently. But I do admire the way they stuck to a more traditional design. It doesn''t merely pay homage to the ancients, but it''s also a very convincing replication of early techniques." She spoke.


    "Ah, fake Greek designs. At a distance they look magnificent, but you only have to get into a few feet of it to see that it''s all appearance and no substance. You can easily tell the difference in the handiwork. Of course the time period makes it easy to differentiate. Even the attempts at replication deserve praise considering theycked the same scale of industrialization that trivializes the process and likewise removes the human element in sculpting and design. It''s the imperfections that give it character even if it''s notpletely adhering to its ancient counterparts."


    The Girl''s eyes shed in surprise, but a strange happiness in them. "You seem to be quite knowledgeable."


    "As much as one can be for simply visiting various historic sites still standing."


    "Well travelled then? That''s still impressive." She nodded, sounding oddly pleased. "Your ent, I can''t quite ce it, where do youe from?"


    "Japan, actually. I''m half Japanese from my mother''s side. Otherwise, I could be considering German as well." He politely swept his arm infront of himself. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service."


    She raised an eyebrow with a smile. "Sophia Pollis."


    "Pollis?" Wilhelm hummed. "Greek?"


    "A bit on the nose?" She chuckled. "My family has Greek ancestry dating back very long."


    Wilhelm understood, he was used to old families using certain naming conventions even when they branched off over the centuries.


    "Not many iing studentse to the library this quickly." She changed subjects easily.


    "I suppose my wide-eyed tourist-like behavior was a give away." He made a little fun of himself. "It''s their loss, I suppose. The library was one of my first stops as I recently moved into the area for school. I wanted to explore a bit, maybe see if I can find the fabled hidden room in the library."


    "That''s just a myth." The corners of her lips twitched as she brushed her hair behind her ear. "But it''s admirable to visit the library so soon. You wouldn''t believe how many people here don''t make full use of such a wonderful resource. What''s your major? By your insight before, it has to be something to do with architectural design, right? Or is that simply a passing hobby?"


    "My major? I''m sorry to say you wouldn''t be able to guess it."


    She quirked an eyebrow. "That sounds like a challenge."


    "Oh? Very well then, be my guest." I gestured for her to give it a go.


    Wilhelm was happy, it seemed like he already made a new friend here!


    She tapped her chin. "I''ll rule out Architecture based on what you said, the insinuation was obvious. Hmm, visiting the old world with an adept understanding¡­.guessing you''re a history major feels too easy."


    "Is that an answer? I''ll give you three guesses."


    "What do I get if I guess it right?" She seemed amused.


    "How about, I''ll show you my world famous magic trick?" He took out the deck of cards from his pocket, flicking one of the cards out of the middle and catching it with his other hand.


    "World famous?" She snorted. "That''s a bold im."


    "s, the world simply doesn''t know it yet." Wilhelm sighed exaggeratedly.


    "Okay, let''s use History as my first guess." She waved her hand flippantly.


    "That''s a good guess, and I genuinely considered that, but I''m afraid you''re wrong. I''ll even give you a handicap, if it''s my minor, I''ll call it your win."


    Sophia felt a little twinge inside if her, she waspetitive by nature, even in small unseeming contests, she didn''t like to lose.


    "Arrogance is often man''s downfall."


    "Arrogance is also the reason that humans can achieve sublimation."


    "An interesting thing to say. Do you believe humanity has achieved this sublimation?"


    "It''s a process. Can you say that a thousand years ago man would ever dream that humans could step onto the moon, the domain believed to belong solely to their gods?" He countered.


    "A valid point." She conceded, though she would normally have something to say about that specific example. "You have an interesting viewpoint. Very well, I''ll choose literature."


    "That''s a rather broad guess, isn''t it? Literature epasses a very wide spectrum. It''s like saying science when it both holds engineering and social sciences."


    "Do you want to give up?" Her eyes nearly twinkled in amusement.


    Wilhelm held his hands up. "Fine, fine. I''ll let you have this one, but be a little more specific in your next guess."


    "Not literature either?" She picked up that she was wrong even if he didn''t outright say it. "You''re not giving me much to go on. Why not give me a hint?" She said, yfully.


    "A hint?" Wilhelm hummed. "I''ll let you ask me a couple questions."


    Sophia originally didn''t intend to be wasting this time here, she approached the library for her own goal. However, seeing the strange man staring so intently at the column of the building, her curiosity was piqued.


    One thing led to another, and her attention had been thoroughly grabbed by him.


    It was¡­.rare for someone to grab her attention so thoroughly with such little effort. He had a strange¡­.charm about him.


    "Why did you enroll in Harvard?" She finally asked after a moment. "You said you''re Japanese. This is far from home for you."


    "That''s a good question. You see, Harvard had a resource I could make use of that I couldn''t anywhere else."


    Sophia was intrigued. "What resource?"


    "Nepotism."


    It took her many years of life experience to not immediately choke at that answer. "Nepotism?" She deadpanned.


    "The lifeblood of the world." Wilhelm nodded sagely.


    "I don''t think I''ve ever heard it be called that¡­." Which was a feat in her long life. "You enrolled in one of the most prestigious institutes in the world for¡­.nepotism?"


    She was now questioning any further interest.


    "You asked a question, I answered. If you want a more thorough exnation, use another question."


    Curiosity got the better of her.


    "Fine. Why nepotism." To her, he seemed quick witted and intelligent enough to seed in other ces.


    "I dropped out of highschool." He smiled, making her go wide-eyed. "I was in a bad ce when I was younger. In a sort of¡­rebellious phase, I forwent school and decided to travel. It took me awhile to find myself and one of my regrets was that didn''t finish a proper education, so here I am."


    Sophia mulled that over and found his decision to be somewhat admirable. It was praiseworthy for someone, in her eyes, to pursue higher education. But hearing what he said, she could ept that perhaps it was even more so for someone who so quickly abandoned education in the first ce to return.


    "How does Nepotism y here?"


    Wilhelm coughed awkwardly. "My transcripts were not exactly¡­. exemry."


    Sophia blinked in realization what he meant by that.


    "¡­.I had a family member graduate some time ago." He added.


    Nepotism indeed.


    It was, however, part of the backstory that Wilhelm fabricated to not draw attention to himself. It was true, in some regard. Zelretch had actually gone to Harvard for a few years for some personal matter. Here, however, before he sealed everything away, he made sure his identity wouldn''t raise any gs.


    Thus, somewhere in the archives, he had a grandfather alumni.


    It took some¡­.hypnosis and a lot of money to secure his enrollment considering everything.


    "One might say it''s wise to make use of any resources avable for you to get ahead in life."


    "I would thank whoever says that, but I''m not under any delusion as to how I''m here. Though, I''m fairly confident that I will excel regardless. The important point is what one does with the opportunities they''re given."


    Sophia could ept that logic and approved of it.


    "Art." She finally said after awhile. "That would cover a great many things you''ve said. It includes many branches such as criticism, and conservation."


    Wilhelm opened his mouth dramatically. "Nope."


    Sophia pursed her lips with a little huff. "Fine, tell me."


    "My major is in Theatre." Wilhelm chuckled. Well, technically, it wasn''t specifically Theatre. Is Theater Dance & media, but the point still stood.


    "That is¡­.surprising."


    "I said you would never guess." Wilhelm shrugged. "My minor is astrophysics though."


    Sophia blinked in surprise again. "That''s even stranger."


    She didn''t know what to make of him in all honesty. Who majors in theatre then minors in astrophysics!


    Not to mention she didn''t peg him as a theatre person. He didn''t seem to be the ¡­.type.


    Her brother cemented the ''type'' in her mind that made it hard to differentiate others from it.


    Wilhelm let out a dramatic sigh again. "It seems you''re forever doomed to never witness my magnificent magical performance."


    "I take back what I said, you''re very much a theatre boy." She snorted. "It all adds up now, you have that unearned confidence that they all seem to possess."


    "I''ll have you know it''s very much earned."


    "Oh yes, I''m sure.


    "You know what? I''ll prove it. How about I recite some poetry." He grinned.


    She rolled her eyes. "Please, woo me with your mastery of words."


    Wilhelm cleared his throat.


    "Roses of red, violets of blue."


    "You''re never going to see my card trick."


    "Let the envy consume you."


    "That''s the worst poem I''ve ever heard." She said dryly. "My brother could learn a thing or two from how bad that was."


    "You have my permission to be swooned."


    "Oh, I have your permission?" She snorted again. "How arrogant, are you about to fly to the moon now? I would hate for the moon to fall from the sky because it can''t handle the weight of your ego."


    "What''s that sound?" Wilhelm held a hand up to his ear.


    "What sound?" She furrowed her brow in confusion.


    "It''s the distinct sound of a sore loser."


    Sophia''s lips twitched uncontrobly. "Did you get beat up a lot in school? Is that why you dropped out? I have a feeling that a lot of people wanted to hit you."


    Wilhelm considered that, thetter half. A lot of people have said many things over the course of his life.


    "Alright, I''ll show you my magic trick." He finally relented.


    "Who wants to see your dumb magic trick?!" She was ready to stomp her foot, but she caught herself.


    It was strange, she had never met someone outside of her family that could poke her buttons so easily.


    "¡­.so you don''t want to see it?"


    She let out a sigh. "Fine, show me your magic trick."


    She would admit, not out loud, but he did expertly handle the cards with a strange precision as he shuffled them.


    "Alright, pick a card." He held it out for her.


    She rolled her eyes and grabbed one in the middle, looking at it.


    A King of Hearts.


    "Alright, put it back in and don''t tell me."


    She had seen this a million times, she didn''t even have to look to know what he was doing.


    He reshuffled and tapped the top. "This is your card!" He pulled it up.


    "No." She looked at the 7 of diamonds.


    "Woops, my mistake." He then pulled from the bottom. "This is your card."


    She shook her head at the 5 of hearts.


    "This one?"


    "no."


    "This one?"


    "No."


    "This one!"


    "Are you sure you''re world famous?" She found the turnabout rather enjoyable as she looked at him struggling. Truthfully, it didn''t ruin her perception of him in her eyes. It was rare that she found someone she genuinely enjoyed conversing with in this kind of way


    "This one for sure."


    "Do you want me to take pity on you?" She asked, looking at him and the several cards he tossed on the ground previously.


    "Alright, fine. I give up." He surrendered.


    "A wise man knows when to fold them." She said, pun intended.


    She didn''t care what the others said, she most certainly had a sense of humor. She looked at his defeated expression and did take a little bit of pity on him regardless. "Give me your contact information, we can study together sometime."


    He perked up immediately. "Got a pen?"


    She held one out for him to take and he grabbed a random card to write it for her and she casually epted it.


    He already waved her goodbye and started to walk off.


    She nced down at the card to memorize the information written on it then was about to toss it away before she did a double take.


    King of Hearts.


    "Arrogant bastard." She huffed, with a small smile ying at her lips.


    @***@


    The years passed by quickly.


    Wilhelm was enjoying his time in school even as the end was approaching. These years had done him a lot of good for him. He hadn''t needed to draw his sword against an enemy in so long that he was starting to feel a little antsy.


    He didn''t know if that was a good or bad thing.


    He promised himself that he would make sure to wipe off the dust afterwards, but for the present, he simply enjoyed living a mundane life.


    There were already ns in his head.


    First and foremost, he was going to visit his mother''s grave and leave her a copy of his diploma.


    That was going to be the very first thing he does after graduating.


    He just needed to graduate¡­.well, that wouldn''t actually be difficult for him. He was graduating near the top of his ss. He couldn''t im to be the best in a structured academic setting, sometimes he simply dislikes doing busy work and forgoes it. His flippant nature is a part of him just as everything else is, if he''s not forced to do something with minimal downside, he will sometimes not do it.


    But, he made sure that he was passing everything with flying marks.


    He was at one of the happiest points in his life.


    He even managed to make several friends over the course of his school years! Some more acquaintances, but they were friends regardless.


    He got to experience somewhat of a normal school life. His previous experiences, well, they made certain things about college life less exciting.


    Still, he would join with friends, go out and meet people, do random and perhaps unwise things under the influence of cheap beer.


    Speaking of friends, someone knocked on his door, he could barely see a reflection of his friend Sophia, but he was confused why she was here thiste.


    He was about to head to bed as it were.


    He opened the door without hesitation, he had gotten lose to her these past few years, she''s been in his house plenty of times at this point.


    "Sophia what''s ¨C " He looked at the sleeping baby in her arms. "That''s a baby."


    "How astute as always, Wilhelm." She deadpanned, walking inside. "It''s your child."


    "¡­.no it''s not." He immediately denied with a blink.


    "It''s your child." She reiterated again.


    He opened his mouth to deny it again, but mped up with confusion because the child had the same red colored hair that he did. "Sophia, I havn''t had sex with anyone sinceing to Harvard." Well, anyone in this world. "Do I need to tell you how babies are made?"


    She smiled patiently, not reacting to his verbal jab like normal.


    It was a back and forth between them usually, one of them trying to get a rise out of the other.


    "I''m going to miss your wit Wilhelm. Even if it was infuriating a lot of the time."


    "Sophia, exin clearly." His expression hardened.


    "This is the only expression of love I can give. This is the child between us, Wilhelm. I admired your intelligence for a long time now, you''re a good person even if you can be rather arrogant at times. I know you''ll raise her well, her name is Annabelle."


    "Sophia ¨C"


    "My name is not Sophia." She spoke and the world shifted unnaturally. Even her looks slightly altered, and a wave of power crashed over the house. "I am Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. I created this child bybining our essences. She is a Demi-God, your child and mine." Her whole demeanor changed moremanding.


    No physical proof needed to be given, it was as if the idea she wasn''t a Goddess was rejected from any thoughts.


    Wilhelm felt something inside of him as well.


    A flurry of emotions he hadn''t experienced in a long time.


    Rage was at the forefront.


    There were only two things that stopped him from destroying the apparent Goddess infront of him.


    One, that his powers were sealed at the moment.


    Secondly, ignoring everything else, he looked at the child the Goddess forced into his arms, and all the anger and desire to rampage dissipated.


    He was still utterly furious, but it was all reined in to a controble degree because he immediately fell in love with the little girl sleeping soundly in his arms.


    To Athena''s viewpoint, he was dumbstruck, understandably so.


    She didn''t treat his silence and surprise with any aggression. If anything, she found him keeping a level head proper and admired him for it.


    She didn''t just give her children to anyone.


    There were some, some she misjudged that she had to threaten a few monthster as they tried to abandon her children in some far off corner.


    But in this case, she didn''t feel like she would need to.


    "There is a camp for others like her. You will receive a messenger when she gets older, make sure she goes to the camp. And don''t tell her about her heritage. The more she knows about her heritage, the more danger she''ll be in. Monsters hunt Demi-Gods by a specific scent they give off. I know this may be a bit overwhelming to you, but I can''t stay for long. Certain ancientws don''t allow me as a Goddess to interfere with mortal affairs. Myths and legends are real, tread carefully and keep our daughter safe."


    Wilhelm didn''t even have the chance to utter a word before she disappeared from that spot.


    Nor did he find the will to rage at her still.


    He felt lost, unsure of what to do. There was a part of him that felt taken advantage of and it made a knot in his stomach.


    Regardless of how it happened, without his consent¡­.he had a daughter.


    Another Daughter.


    A baby.


    He was holding his infant daughter.


    A few tears began to swell up in his eyes because this was something he wanted to share with the women he loved, and it was stolen.


    He wasn''t thinking straight, his mind clouded. He made perhaps the best decision he could in that moment, and he went for one of the emergency backups in the house that upon activating, it pull him back to his home world.


    He abandoned his schooling and mundane life without hesitation.


    He copsed onto the couch of his true home.


    Immediately, everyone in the vicinity knew about. It only took moments before everyone nearby poured into the room, the sounds of a crying infant reached their ears.


    "Wilhelm!?" Yasaka was the first to look at him in confusion.


    "Student, who''s child is that." She was the first to notice the simrities.


    "It''s mine." Wilhelm said softly, rocking her in his arms. "She''s my daughter."


    @***@


    It took awhile for Wilhelm to fully exin.


    The others recognized how uncharacteristic his attitude was.


    "Kunou,e meet your little sister." Wilhelm said quietly as his other daughter finally entered the room at Yasaka''s side.


    Despite the strange situation, there was also an atmosphere of warmness as Kunou looked at her younger sister.


    The not-so-young fox smiled. "Hey there, I''m Kunou. I''m going to be your older sister." She stretched out a finger, letting the young girl who was wide awake now grab onto it.


    Wilhelm found himself smiling.


    She was so old now, his little Kunou was almost an adult.


    "Dad, what''s her name?" She didn''t ask about how she came to be, Yasaka already told her.


    No one wanted to mention it seeing Wilhelm''s expression. The anger wasn''t just with him either, they all were utterly furious and had their own ideas about finding that supposed Goddess.


    Meridia was present as well as Izanami, both of them had to be talked down from personally going to beat some sense into the supposed Goddess of Wisdom.


    "Student." Sc¨¢thach said softly, holding the young girl in her arms. "Come, there is something you should see."


    Wilhelm, not sure what she was talking about, stood up to inspect his newest daughter.


    Sc¨¢thach moved the beanie-like hat the infant was wearing to keep her head warm and then rubbed two particr spots on her forehead. "Feel here.


    Wilhelm silently did so and his eyes widened with tears forming again, this time, they were apanied by a different emotion than before. "She''s going to have little horns."


    They didn''t show just yet, but he could feel them beneath the surface.


    She inherited his Devil blood.


    That raised a great many questions that he didn''t care to find answers to just yet. The turbulent emotions were still running wild.


    "She''s adorable." Jinn cooed, ying with her while Sc¨¢thach still held the baby.


    "We should give her a new name." Venna looked on. "A Devil name?"


    "She has master''s hair color." Raikou equally was enthralled by the infant.


    It just made Wilhelm more angry, he wanted one of his girls to experience this first with him.


    "Wilhelm." Artoria out a hand on his shoulder.


    She recognized that his anger was ring up.


    "We should have her baptized." Jeanne eventually blurted out.


    Everyone paused, looking at her before the room erupted inughter, easily easing a lot of the tension in the room.


    Artoria Alter had been silent, not offering words of encouragement, but she was sitting at his side, tightly grabbing his hand.


    She knew part of what he was feeling, as did regr Artoria.


    Both of them went through the experience of giving life to a child against their will and knowledge. Despite the fact that both of them epted Mordred as their ''son'' albeit in different regards, it was an experience they didn''t like to recall.


    "Shall we hunt down this Goddess? We can write your daughter''s new name in her blood." Salem drawled.


    Despite the bloodthirsty manner in which she said that, Wilhelm found himself smiling a little again seeing how many people here agreed with her thoughts.


    "Arachne." Kunou blurted out. "Let''s call her Arachne."


    Wilhelm blinked snorting with barely held backughter at the thought.


    After a moment, he let out a sigh. "I never wanted one of my children to be without a parent. I wanted one of you to share this with me." He trembled slightly.


    "Student." Sc¨¢thach said again, seemingly monopolizing the infant for herself. "The mother of this child cannot be changed." She spoke smiling softly as she looked down at the child. "I will be her mom, I will adopt her."


    No one made an effort to refute her, nor did anyone believe the need to.


    Mostly, they were surprised with how quickly she came to this decision.


    Once more, Wilhelm felt tears swelling up in his eyes as the woman he loved said he would be the mother to his daughter. "Give her a name." He managed to get out.


    "I like the suggestion." Sc¨¢thach smiled. "It was in jest, but I believe it feels appropriate. Arachne, my little spider. It ismon for ''middle names'' these days? I also have a name I have wanted to give a daughter if I ever had one. In my own myths in various worlds, many Sc¨¢thach''s have birthed children and used the same name. Now, I wish to do so as well."


    It didn''t take long for the Immortal Witch toe to these decisions. She had long said she gave her everything to Wilhelm, she would have epted the child regardless of if it came from within their group or not. But to know that she was without a proper mother¡­..and casting her eyes upon the spitting image of her student, Sc¨¢thach as well fell in love with the child immediately.


    "She will be Arachne Uathach Schweinorg."


    @***@


    A/N


    An Omake I had been casually working on for most of the week, mostly on my phone. It was a random idea I had, then someone in my discord posted a small snippet of it on QQ and it gave me the motivation to write it out properly. I''ll most likely be doing follow up parts to it. I don''t know how many parts in the series it''ll have, but enough to constitute a numbering in the title.


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty under the same name if you can''t use the above.


    Also over here, I got the next part of Arachne Omake, the next chapter of Cultivation Cyclops, and the next Looking ss Omake.

 Chapter 562: + Looking Glass Part 9

    Chapter 562: + Looking ss Part 9


    For some strange reason the Viking didn''t believe me. He looked at me strangely for a moment, then let out augh and patted me on the shoulder.


    "Thank yad, been awhile since I''ve had someone get augh out of me like that." Unnulf replied.


    I just smiled wryly because I really couldn''t prove it to him, and maybe I even shouldn''t. For me, Gods weren''t some unreachable vestiges that I could only look up. Nor were they the subject of my worship and admiration like many people.


    To most ''mortals'' Gods were something spoke about, but not really as a <em>fact</em> that you could point to.


    They wouldn''t ever know if Odin just dropped in and stood next to them.


    Maybe I could have proven myself with an ample disy of might, however¡­..we didn''t actually want to destroy all the ships. All the damage we''ve done so far, well, it could be repaired without too much hassle.


    Regardless, the tide turned with our arrival rather quickly.


    "Hey Old Man, how long have you been fighting these Fae?" I ducked under a de, casually countering with a flick of my wrist and piercing ones neck.The Viking head butted one rather brutally, then bashed his head in with the hilt of his de. "We don''t really keep track of time these days,d." He replied good naturedly, despite being soaked in blood. "But we got enough experience. These ones aren''t their best, seems like they sent out a group for their own training."


    Ah, that makes sense. They seemed a <em>bit</em> less experienced than they probably should be.


    "I see." I frowned, catching his meaning. "They''re treating you like a whetstone then?"


    "Aye, that''s about right. Using us to sharpen their des, that''s a good way to put it." Though his face darkened. "Though they had a few of their stronger ones hiding."


    There was still enough fighting going on that it was going to take awhile to finish up even as the remainder of the ships came to assist and it became a much more chaotic fight.


    And despite helping, Unnulf still kept a weary guard up against me.


    I couldn''t fault him, how long had he been in the Fae Realm? It was only the smart thing to be cautious against anything and everything theye across.


    "Give me a moment, I''ll end things."


    Unnulf merely lifted an eyebrow from below his helmet, very clearly skeptical.


    My Reiatsu spread out, but I held back on using it to press down, which was more tiring and difficult than I imagined.


    I could almost verify that they were all in fact human, despite the oddities in their existence here, and their different seeming origins.


    But I didn''t focus on that, I felt every Fae in the vicinity when I focused. I can admit that my ability to sense people through my Spiritual Power was not up to parpared to the likes of Yoruichi and the Shinigami due to them basically living in these conditions, but when focusing for several moments, I could manage somewhat.


    Pinpointing their exact signatures, their location, their auras were remembered by me as I ran some mental calctions.


    And I took a deep breath.


    <strong>"Zun Haal Viik!"</strong>


    The words bellowed out, oveing all other noise, even shaking the boats, causing the waves we rested upon to kick up in response.


    However, <em>nearly</em> every Fae in the vicinity had their weapons flying from their hands with such force that the vast majoritynded into the ocean below.


    Easily one of my favorite Dragon Shouts.


    It was just so¡­. versatile.


    However, I noticed a trickle of blood down my nose, which I quickly wiped away. A smidgen of a headache wasing on from doing that just as well.


    Hmm, I never modified a Shout to that degree before, marking so many targets all at once with such precision.


    "Well¡­..that''ll do it I suppose." Unnulf muttered, sheathing his weapons.


    Not <em>every</em> Fae lost their weapon, some I didn''t notice, or my use of the Dragon Words didn''t reach a high enough realm to precisely hit every single target. But out of the thousands present, 99% were now without their weapons and they were quickly overrun by the humans who attacked without hesitation. Especially with the Iron Weapons I gave out, it was a ughter at this point.


    My own ship along with the Youkai cut a swathy swath through their end, slowly making their way towards where I was.


    Gradually, this spot became the center of the ensuing conclusion of the fight. I was thankful that even the other people here didn''t seem intent on sinking the enemies'' ships. Well, there were a couple that erupted in mes, and suffered enough damage that they copsed into themselves and slowly sank, but there were still about a dozen whole and healthy ships remaining.


    My ships approached, anchoring right next to the Fae ship I was standing on.


    It seemed like Unnulf was acting as an unofficial liaison as he stayed within reach of me as the ships from the human side approached, getting close enough that everyone could see each other.


    Nurarihyon silently stepped to meet me? along with a good handful of the Youkai while most remained on the ship.


    On the opposite end of the current ship we were standing on, many more humans joined at Unnulf''s side wearing all different sorts of clothes and armor.


    They were understandably weary, but doubly so because it became rather obvious to them that our group <em>wasn''t</em> human.


    Ancient Greeks, Europeans of various assortments, Japanese, Scandinavian. It was a whole small United Nations right here from different time periods.


    Though the awkward silence made things difficult.


    I gave them a once over and I revised my earlier assessment of them. They were far stronger than they realistically should be for ''normal'' humans.


    That was to say, yes Humans in earlier years were innately stronger, not just in my home, but in my birth world. But just <em>existing</em> did not bring about this degree of strength. The average seemed to be about Mid-ss in scope, but I noticed several High-ss among them.


    Both sides were sizing each other up.


    "At the risk of dragging this awkward atmosphere out, how about introductions?" I offered.


    No one immediately stepped forward, so Unnulf spoke up. "At the least, they helped."


    They looked between themselves, a silent agreement it seemed.


    "Aye, Unnulf speaks the truth." Another viking, he seemed to like their ''leader'', spoke up in Unnulf''s defense.


    "It''s not the first time they tried to gain our trust through despicable means. Let the Lord sort them out." A Knight wearing a cross on his armor harrumphed with a few nods of agreement.


    "English?" I spoke up, looking at him. "I was in London a few weeks ago." I smiled good naturedly, trying to ease the clear tension.


    The Knight blinked in surprise. "¡­..you know of my homnd?" He muttered.


    I also realized something, I perfectly understood them and it <em>wasn''t</em> because of my Devil Heritage. The way they spoke, they were all <em>magically</em> speaking fluently in a way that was understood.


    I looked at the others. "Forgive me for guessing, but¡­" I pointed to another. "Italian? And Spanish? You¡­.French?" Of course, there weren''t simply a handful of each nationality, and it took everything inside of me not to poke at the Frenchman.


    That seemed to genuinely surprise them.


    Ever so slightly, the weariness alleviated.


    "To my friends in the back." I looked at the handful of Samurai and few dozen soldiers wearing older style Japanese arms and armor. "I hail from Japan in the modern day, but I''m not quite sure what time period youe from. Perhaps you recognize Nippon, Nihon, Yamato?"


    A sh of realization dawned on the Japanese people''s faces.


    "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I politely bowed. "I understand your weariness, but we mean you no harm. These are mypanions." I gestured to Nurarihyon.


    "Surprised to see a group of humans in this ce." He grunted. "Especially some from our homnd." His eyes shed across the Japanese lot. "I''m Nurarihyon, I rule over half the Youkai of Japan." He gestured to the group.


    Realization dawned on the Japanese.


    "Youkai?" The Samurai at the front, the one wearing, well the most prestigious looking armor, he pushed forward. "You im to be <em>Youkai</em>?"


    "Brother Goro, what are these ''Youkai''?" One of the Greek''s asked, look at the Samurai.


    A surprising bit of camaraderie between them considering the social and cultural differences.


    "I don''t mind answering, we don''t have anything to hide." I volunteered as their gazes turned to me. "Some cultural differences, but you can vaguely consider Youkai to be a term for all ''Demons'' ''Monsters'' and ''Ghosts'' thate from Japan."


    The aforementioned ''Goro'' nodded as his fellows looked to him, not adding anything. Maybe he also felt it wasn''t worth going into further details.


    "Well, they ain''t the fuckers from this ce." Unnulf grunted. "If yer some kind of monsters or spirits, how''d youe to this ce?"


    Well, he took it in stride. I suppose it was easier when it was ''monsters'' from another part of the world you knew nothing about.


    "We were attacked, so in response, weunched an invasion of our own." Nurarihyon said bluntly. "We didn''t expect the need for a¡­.<em>naval presence</em>, so we''re rounding up some ships in anticipation of our people marching this far. We already established a foothold and they should be slowly pushing out from there."


    A few eyes widened, perhaps in disbelief. I''m pretty sure these were mostly <em>mundane</em> humans before whatever happened to them to end up here.


    "We received a little bit of help as well." I added, looking back at the knights of varying nationalities. "The Church helped us establish a foothold."


    "The Church still stands?" One of them asked, only to receive a smack upside the head from his fellow knight.


    "Of course it stands, the Lord''s might can''t be questioned by these heretical monsters!" He harrumphed.


    "Perhaps introductions?" I offered again, steering it back towardsing to a peaceful conclusion.


    Once more, they looked between themselves before starting. "I suppose we have you to thank for the help. And these weapons¡­" One of the Knights held up one of the Iron weapons I deposited. "You have questions, I assume, but we do as well. If the Church had assisted you, as you im, then regardless of your origins, you bring the work of the Lord. Sir Aiken Harforde." The English Knight seemed to be the leader of the ones bearing the cross. "Imand the <em>Lord''s Wrath</em> ¨C the Vessel over yonder and the group you see before you." He pointed back. "All of the Lord''s children are wee under my banner."


    Probably a bad idea to mention my heritage in front of them for the moment.


    The Samurai took off his helmet, revealing a weathered face, but one that seemed about middle aged. He performed an older and proper Japanese greeting. "Yoshimura Goro, third son of the Yoshimura n. It is not what I expected, but seeingrades from my home, it brings this old man happiness."


    "You''ve met Unnulf, one of my finest warriors. They all call me Chief, name''s Tok." The leader of the Viking gave a big grin, caring less about our ''origins.


    One of the Greek''s at the front also took off his helmet, his age appeared about the same as everyone else. Something I noticed, they all looked about middle age despiteing from obviously different eras.


    "I''m Kallon,mander of the ships and warriors here." He gestured to the other Greeks. "I thank you for your assistance, and I don''t care much about anything else if you''re not enemies."


    Straight and to the point.


    "Forgive me for being blunt, but how did you alle to be here?" I was honestly confused at their presence.


    "A freak storm¡­"


    "We got lost."


    "A strange creature dragged us off our ship¡­."


    "A mist suddenly surrounded us."


    "A damned witch!"


    "Woke up here randomly."


    Many different answers, pretty much all by happenstance and none intentionally.


    "You all are aware that youe from far different eras, right?" I didn''t feel the need to tip toe around the issue.


    "We''re not daft, boy." Tok snorted. "We each speak of ces and people we''ve never heard of before. Odin''s beard, these ones won''t shut up about their God that I''ve never heard in my life." He jerked his thumb at the Knights.


    "Hmph, heretics." One snorted in response, but it definitelycked the usual <em>heat</em> that one would say that with.


    "Bah." The Viking dismissed it.


    "You im toe here willingly, what year is it on the Lord''s Calendar?" Sir Harforde asked.


    The Gregorian Calendar, coined due to it being invented by Pope Greogry XIII.


    And it seemed like a question they all wanted an answer to, leaning in.


    "By the Calendar you''re familiar with, it should be about 2007." I wasn''t entirely sure their years matched up with ours, but it''s thereabouts anyways.


    My words were met with silence.


    "Ah, it''s been that long eh?" Unnulf looked wistful.


    "You know your time period based on that?" I asked.


    "Aye, we figured out enough to get an estimate." He nodded, crestfallen.


    Really, the only ones that were sort of¡­oblivious were the Japanese. Which made sense, they adopted the Gregorian Calendar around the start of the 1900s.


    "Would you perhaps know¡­.what period of time that corrtes to for us?" The Samurai asked rather respectfully, almost uncaring about our status.


    I was growing confused about a great more things as time went on.


    "Tell me what happened before you appeared here." Nurarihyon closed his eyes, letting out a breath. "Should be able to figure it out."


    "The Emperor dered the change of the capital from Nara to Heian-Kyo" The Samurai spoke after giving it a thought.


    "Ah, seems you disappeared right at the start of the Heian period." Nurarihyon nodded in understanding. "Using the Western Calendar, that''s around the start of the 800''s."


    "¡­.1200 years?" The Samurai muttered, taking up a look not dissimr from the others.


    "Young man¡­." Sir Harforde looked at me. "What''s the outside world like?"


    "I won''t lie, you wouldn''t recognize it. A person has the ability to travel anywhere in the world in about a day now. Everything has be interconnected, you can see people from <em>Japan</em> ¨C " I gestured to the Samurai. " ¨COver in London and no one bats an eye. Japan is doing well, its people don''t want for much, and it''s considered a world power. The Church is the most popr religious institution in the world, and all your countries still exist." I looked at the knights."


    It was a cold realization that even if they left this hell, the world they knew no longer existed. It would be like me waking up one day and suddenly, humanity was now extended towards the stars.


    What was I even supposed to say at this point?


    "No use crying over it." Kallon, the Greekmander grunted. "Knew for a while that my home wasn''t the same anymore. You all are too old to be moping around like a bunch of youngsters."


    That brought up a rather interesting and predominant question.


    "¡­.how are you people still alive?" I knew it was rather blunt of me to ask, but it seemed like something that needed answering. "And How long have you been here?"


    "How long we''ve been here? Hard to say." Tok answered. "You see, Goro over there, his lot came in after us, despite the one''s who won''t shut up about their Goding in first." He gestured to the Knights. "As for how old we are¡­.?" He rubbed his beard. "I think I passed my Three-Hundredth year awhile back, but most of us stopped counting."


    ¡­.what?


    <em>How?</em>


    Life extension, it wasn''t¡­.well, it wasn''t <em>hard</em> for humans once they reached a certain level. Yasaka even gave Arthur his punishment knowing that the kid would live far beyond a normal human lifespan.


    But we''re talking about hundreds of people here all presumably in their<em>centuries</em>.


    "This is all assuming that they speak the truth." Sir Harforde pointed out. "I trust in the Lord''s will, but we have been led astray before."


    Skepticism was something needed here for them, it was understandable.


    "There''s an easy way to check, let''s just take them to see mother." Kallon spoke with a shrug.


    "Aye, that''ll solve the issue of spies." Tok agreed.


    "Fine." Sir Harforde seemed a bit more reluctant. "Outsiders, we invite you back to our home."


    "Out of curiosity¡­.how many are there of you back ''home''?" Because obviously this couldn''t be <em>everyone</em>.


    "A few thousand, give or take." Unnulf answered as if it were a simple thing.


    Once more, I''m taken aback.


    A few <em>thousand</em> humans were disced and living here?


    Strangely, they didn''t ask us more questions, about the outside or ourselves or even the whole ''invasion'' thing, I suppose they''re waiting to <em>''verify''</em> with whatever means they had.


    I looked at Nurarihyon who gave me a look that basically read ''Do what you want''.


    Alright, I understood his standpoint.


    Frankly, I don''t think he cared overly much about the humans in general, at the end of the day he was selfish and only really cared about his own people. A sentiment that most shared in the world.


    However, there was something going on and I wanted to get to the bottom of it.


    "Lead the way." I agreed.


    Because I was genuinely confused at their existence.


    @***@


    Non-Canon Omake: Through the Looking ss Part 9


    A/N: Just a quick word, I tried something different for this part of the omake. The general consensus was that it was enjoyable, but it didn''t quite hit the same way as the other parts, so going forward, I''ll make sure to do them normally.


    @***@


    Takao Shimoda POV


    Well, this was a pretty fucked situation.


    "Fear not, friend of Riser. Riser shall defend you from harm." The Phenex member boasted proudly.


    "Will you?" Arge st of holy power sent him hurling into a wall.


    Riser hit the wall of the school, falling to the ground wincing in pain, but he got up, looking good as new. "Hah, as if a mere 10-winged Angel, the anti-thesis of Devil Kind could match Riser."


    "Oh, I like you, you got spirit." Kokabiel, the Fallen Angel and one of the Grigori leaders smiled, looking down at not just him but all of us. "Better than these other ones." He swept he arm, as Rias''s was on the ground, along with Sona.


    "Riser is stronger than them." He said proudly.


    "I beat you¡­." Issei forced out, pushing up on his feet.


    "Yeah, Issei beat you!" Rias pushed to her feet too. "Why are you even here?"


    "No, Riser lost to the Satan because he cheated." Riser raised a hand. "And Riser is here to protect his best friend."


    "Why do you keep calling me that!?" I told him that it wasn''t me!


    My bastard other self!


    "Riser will never forget the debt he owes."


    Dammit!


    "I thought you stopped referring to yourself in the third person." Sona huffed, breathing heavily, I quickly moved to her to help her up.


    I¡­.I couldn''t do anything else, I was too weak.


    "Riser did it before out of arrogance and a misguided sense of superiority."


    "And what changed." She deadpanned.


    "Riser realized that he must be shameless. Satan Lucifer shamelessly cheated. The Red Dragon Emperor shamelessly boasts about his fetishes and gets stronger because of them. Thus Riser must be more shameless." He said with confidence.


    "¡­..what the hell happened to you, Riser?" Rias looked at him in utter bewilderment despite the fact that we had a host of Fallen Angels hovering overhead, intent on killing us all.


    "Riser got therapy." He nodded to himself.


    Dammit Wilhelm!


    He even enrolled in our school! He keeps following me around and treats me like his best friend.


    Though I would really like for him to be here right now.


    Didn''t he warn us about this exact situation? Why wasn''t it handled already!


    "He''s not wrong. Devils are beings of desire, if you focus that desire you can go really far." The Ten winged Angel added rather helpfully.


    "Oi, Riser doesn''t want advice from someone who looks like a vampire movie reject." Riser said pointedly.


    There was a beat of silence before a light spear pierced him, impaling him to the side of the building.


    "Riser!?" I found myself blurting out in concern.


    "Don''t worry, friend of Riser, this is nothingpared to the power of a Phenex!" He spoke before throwing up a mouthful of blood. "Oh, that doesn''t look good¡­."


    "You realize that Holy Power is something that ovees your regeneration, right?" Kokabiel looked at him.


    "Riser rejects your reality!"


    "The reality that you''re bleeding to death, poisoned by my holy power¡­.?"


    Riser threw up another mouthful of blood. "Riser is just getting warmed up. Heh."


    "¡­..what is wrong with you devils?" Kokabiel finally lost that amused grin.


    "Now Issei!" Rias screamed.


    "Dragon Shot!" He roared.


    And Kokabiel dodged it rather easily. "¡­..did you really scream it out beforehand?"


    I looked at Sona who just face palmed.


    "Riser kick!" I looked up and Riser was somehow above Kokabiel, flying at him, and somehow managed to kick him. Granted, it didn''t do much, didn''t even knock him to the ground, sort of just¡­knocked him back a bit before the Fallen Angel grabbed him and threw him back at the ground, creating a new hole.


    "¡­.riser kick?" Kokabiel repeated.


    "Riser couldn''t think of a good name." He admitted, stumbling out of the hole on the ground. "Riser really wishes he brought his peerage with him."


    "That goes double for me¡­" Rias smiled awkwardly.


    "I''d like to add myself to that group." Sona grit her teeth, standing up by her own strength, Magic Circles appearing on her hands.


    "Riser questions when Satan Lucifer is going to cheat Kokabiel of his victory and save us."


    "Will you let that go!?" Rias huffed.


    "Never!"


    "Sorry kids, but he has no idea what''s going on right now. Don''t worry, we have a few more minutes that we can y around before I got to cut this babysitting short." Kokabiel chuckled. "I''ll tell you what, put up a good fight, and I won''t make it hurt when I put these Excalibur swords through your hearts for your family to find."


    "Do any of you have a good n?" Sona whispered.


    "Hit him as hard as possible?" Issei offered.


    "¡­.a better n?"


    "...Hit him as hard as possible with my Power of Destruction?" Rias hesitantly added.


    "I really don''t even question the fact that he''s your pawn, Rias." Sona said dryly. "Dare I ask, Riser, do you possibly have a n? You seemingly have morebat experience than us."


    "Riser has an idea."


    "¡­..I hesitate to ask for details."


    "Rias can challenge him to a Rating Game, therefore her Brother will inevitably interfere and cheat so she wins." He spoke.


    "Will you stop holding a grudge against me! I thought you were happy we weren''t getting married!?"


    "Riser is ecstatic he doesn''t have to be married to you. But Riser is also pissed he was cheated after winning his prize."


    "Satans¡­.I think I liked you more when you were trying to marry me." Rias''s mouth hung open.


    "Fine, Riser has a n." He spoke up with a serious look. "Kokabiel, Angel of the Stars. Dare you ept a duel!?"


    Everyone stared at him like he was an idiot.


    "Sure." Kokabiel shrugged. "What''s the rules?"


    How the hell did that work!?


    "One versus one, no interference, winner is decided when the other can''t fight anymore." Riser paused. "Against the Red Dragon Emperor." He stepped back, gesturing to Issei.


    "Deal." Kokabiel epted.


    "¡­.dick." Issei barely got the words out before Kokabiel was on the ground, his hand grabbing Issei''s face and throwing him through a wall.


    "Tally ho." Kokabiel casually jumped through the hole in the wall, and we heard the sounds of Issei getting his proverbial and very literal shit kicked in.


    I recognized the sounds enough from when he got beat up every day for peeing on the girls in the school.


    "This was your n?" Sona looked at him.


    "Yes, now Riser can die happy." He smiled.


    "You are just¡­..the worst kind of person." Rias replied.


    "No, if Riser was the worst kind of person, he would do this." Riser took a deep breath. "Red Dragon Emperor, if you don''t defeat Kokabiel, he''s going to pierce Rias''s breasts with his spears of light, destroying them."


    "¡­..what was that supposed to do?" Rias looked at him.


    "Wait for it." Riser held up a finger, then suddenly, the building Issei was in exploded.


    "Welsh Dragon Bnce Breaker!" He roared, sting Kokabiel away with the power of his Sacred Gear.


    It was always phenomenal to see it in person, and I couldn''t help but be jealous that he had something like that while I was sitting here¡­..worthless in a fight.


    Rias visibly rx and I found myself feeling like death wasn''t certain now.


    "¡­.I still fail to see ¨C "


    That was until Issei was mmed into the ground again with a maniacally grinning 10 winged fallen angel repeatedly punching him in the face.


    "Riser realized Kokabiel was holding back. Kokabiel wouldn''t hold back if Red Dragon Emperor used his Bnce Breaker, meaning he gets a more thorough beating." Riser exined.


    "¡­..I really am not fond of you." Rias said emotionlessly.


    And he promptly treated Issei like a rag doll and threw him around until he got bored, only dragging him back to us and tossing him at our feet, unconscious.


    "That was a nice little workout, he makes a wonderful punching bag." Kokabiel rotated his arm as if it were just him warming up. "Who''s next?"


    "Rias." Riser volunteered her.


    "Dick." Rias looked at him, barely time to even say that as she got sted by a burst of Holy Power.


    "Next." Kokabiel looked amused again.


    Riser''s fiery wings burst out from his back. "Worry not, Takao. Riser will protect you and yourme girlfriend."


    "I am notme!" Sona huffed, focusing on Rias who stumbled back towards us looking a bit beaten up.


    He charged at Kokabiel again, actually looking like he was able to put up a fight.


    Or maybe that was just because Riser could take a beater better than anyone else and keep going.


    Definitely thetter.


    It didn''t take long for him to hit the ground again, and for several light spear to pin him there, making him unable to move.


    "Well, that was certainly fun. A nice little workout to go with it. But we should end it, however, I admit I''m enjoying myself too much to simply make it so unsatisfying. How about we turn it into a little game?"


    "Riser is good at checkers." The Phenex raised his hand despite bleeding from all over and still impaled by light spear.


    Sona did her best to remove them, but it was hard enough to even be near them for a Devil. Her magic was able to destroy them with a bit of effort, and I moved to help Riser stand up on his feet.


    Kokabiel held his hands up, a big ball of Holy Power formed. "Alright, I''ll keep making it bigger and bigger, let''s see how long you canst." He threw it down on us.


    Sona cast a big Water spell, Rias threw her Destruction at it, and Riser''s mes burst out, all colliding with the big ball of Holy Power.


    Barely, just barely, they were able to destroy it, but all of them looked far too exhausted.


    "Good job! Round two!" A bigger ball of Holy Power appeared above.


    Useless, I was so useless!


    "Takao, make a run for it. We can stall long enough, maybe you can escape while they''re paying attention to us." Sona whispered.


    "No way, I ¨C "


    "I agree." Riser interjected. "Go my friend, we shall block them. Don''t worry, a Phenex can''t die."


    "¡­go Takao, it''s fine." Rias smiled bitterly. "Tell Sirzechs to pull off his wings for me." She added with a wink, as if to force herself to not react badly.


    Why couldn''t I be stronger?


    My other self, he was strong! Dad was strong, they''re all strong, but I''m weak, useless!


    They said run, but it was already not an option, that big ball of Holy Power was falling down and I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable.


    "Do you want power?"


    What?


    "Do you want power?" The same voice, it was as if time slowed and I heard a strange feminine voice in my head.


    "I want to be able to stand next to them, I want enough power to protect them!" I shouted in my mind.


    "Are you sure? There''s a price to be paid for everything."


    "Yes, whatever the price is, I ept it!" As a Devil, I felt like I was making a Devil with The Devil.


    But¡­what choice did I have? What was worse here than just dying? Then having the people I care about die? Having my momhave to find out what happened afterwards?


    No, I would give up my soul if it meant I would have enough power.


    "Very well, then it''s time¡­..to became a hero of love and justice."


    "Yes, I ¨C Wait what?"


    "Magical Girl Transformation Sequence, go!"


    I saw a bright light and my clothes disappeared and oh god, was I seriously going through a transformation sequence?


    What the fuck was happening!?


    I felt something on my chest, Is that a bra?!


    "Sorry, only done this with girls before, but eh, it''s fine."


    It''s not fine!


    A very tight and revealing shirt swept around me. Followed by¡­ I felt something ride up between my legs and I very much did not like it!"


    "Is that a thong!?" I squawked.


    "Listen, I said I''ve only done this for girls before, just let it happen."


    "I regret, I regret!"


    A very short skirt appeared around me, to the point where it barely came down past my butt. "Why is my skirt so short!"


    "What a weird question, obviously so people can get a glimpse up your skirt while you''re fighting, duh"


    "That''s not a valid reason!"


    "Get ready, you need to say the magical words to finish the transformation. Otherwise, you won''t have the power to defeat this viin."


    Fine!


    The weird lights around me disappeared, it was as if we returned to the world but I felt powerful.


    I grit my teeth and epted it.


    The words I needed to speak fresh in my mind as I felt a strange wand between my fingers, I flew up and held it pointing towards the big ball of holy powering down.


    "Bringing love and justice to the world, Magical Girl Kaleido Ruby!" It felt like something solidified and all that power was bubbling up inside of me. I wasted no time and swung my new wand, and a massive burst of power shot out, piercing through.


    "Oh what the fuck ¨C " Kokabiel''sst words as the beam of power shot through him, and lit up the night sky, continuing out towards space.


    And then, I just floated there.


    "¡­.Takao...why are you wearing a magical girl outfit." Sona asked.


    "¡­..I don''t know." I fully admitted.


    "Riser is confused. Riser can see up his friend''s skirt. Riser is wondering why his friend is wearing a thong." Riser spoke, making me realize that everyone could see up my skirt. "Riser is having some very unwise thoughts."


    As if I didn''t have enough problems, the other Fallen Angels seemingly had a moment to realize that their leader was dead. A good¡­.few hundred of them¡­..yeah, that''s not good.


    Though, and rather suddenly, they allpletely froze. Like icicles falling from the sky, they hit the ground and shattered. Winter appeared instantly, the temperature dropping to nearly freezing without warning.


    I looked down and Serafall was there, her eyes murderous, like a true demon with ice and cold air literally wafting out of her mouth.


    "Serafall!?" Sona blurted out.


    "Ah? Sona?" Whatever was happening to Serafall, she seemed to snap out of her weird state. "What''s this? Where am I? What''s going on?"


    "Did youe here to rescue us!?"


    "Uh¡­..?" Serafall looked around. "I just¡­.felt a Disturbance. Like someone was stealing something of mine and I acted without thinking." Her head turned unnaturally around as she looked up at me. "Takao~ I think you got some exining to do~"


    I gulped.


    "Oh wow, good luck that one looks crazy." My¡­wand just spoke.


    I really am not in any presence of mind to deal with this.


    As if the world was wanting to p me one more time, there was a slight¡­.twisting and burst of magic as a note fell through the air and I casually reached out for it.


    "Dear Takao, I was watching and it looked like you were having a rough time. So, I thought I''d lend a hand on your journey. No need to thank me, just take care of Ruby.


    Xoxo


    -Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg


    P.S. I took lots of pictures and sent them to mom.


    Am I allowed to hate myself?


    Because I really hate myself right now.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / Astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above.


    I have the next two parts of the Arachne Omake up over here.

 Chapter 563:

    Chapter 563:


    Surprisingly, the human group didn''t really pester them with questions. Not that Wilhelm would have minded, but it felt like they were clearly holding themselves back, at least for now.


    Context clues were easier to decipher. They had probably been infiltrated or tricked before if they were, as they imed, centuries old and lived here for that period. Living in this kind of ce, I couldn''t imagine what it was like and how it hardened them to anyone even remotely different from them.


    Their skepticism and weariness waspletely understandable.


    That being said, the distribution of the ships was rather easy. I guessed it came as no surprise that ships were a sought-aftermodity for them as well. Frankly, we just split them down the middle and each took half.


    Though, it did look kind of funny how my ship was towing a handful of other ships behind it rather awkwardly.


    We weren''t going back to our ''own base'' either. We followed the human groups as they had agreed to take us back to their base, and somehow, when there they would ''verify'' us that we weren''t Fae.


    They weren''t even that far away. If we hadn''t run into them by ident, we probably would have eventually discovered their home just from exploring.


    Maybe an hour or so away from where the battle took ce? The human group we fought alongside was apparently on their own sort of mini expedition to find resources and such when they came across the Fae Ships.After talking to them for a bit, it was clear that the Winter Court used this ce as a sort of training ground, which exined why they hadn''t run over the Humans yet.


    They didn''t see Humans as a threat to the Court, so why not use them to train up their younger members.


    The only thing was that the ''ride'' was a bit slower due to, well, dragging so many ships along with us.


    Still, I had a connection with the Ocean, so I found myself always enjoying the calm sailing. I also helped with ushering the winds to change direction towards where we were going.


    An hourter, maybe closer to two, the human ships made a bit more noise, a nce in their direction had them looking at us and pointing towards the horizon.


    Vaguely, even with my Reinforced eyesight, I could just make it out.


    Of course they made their home on an ind, I wasn''t expecting anything different. However, what I was not expecting was a gigantic tree with a canopy that spread far beyond the ind''snd.


    "That isn''t shifty whatsoever." Nurarihyonmented as we got closer.


    Right, my skepticism meter was off the charts atm.


    It didn''t help that the coloring of the leaves of the massive tree were blood red.


    "If it helps, I didn''t notice them being parasitized at least." I pointed it out because that was going to be something I thought about in my nightmares after seeing in person.


    "Well, we already cut down one giant nt already." The Old Youkai stroked his chin. "I ''ppose a second one wouldn''t hurt if ites to it."


    As we got closer, we could get a much better view of the ind.


    Immediately, I could tell that the ind itself was built upon the roots of the tree.


    Wonderful.


    I mentally considered which of my fire spells would be best when things inevitably turned sideways.


    But ignoring the rather domineering and honestly powerful tree ¨C I could feel its presence ¨C we were greeted with a well created wooden dock.


    I looked at Nurarihyon. "Separate a few of the Yokai onto the ships we gained. We''re dropping anchor and leaving them out here while we go inside."


    Nurarihyon nodded. "You heard him, boys. I want at least two on each ship, more if ya don''t want toe tond. Drop them anchors and stay out here until we turn back." He barked orders. Despite being basically Yakuza, they were rather well organized in their disorganization. "Don''t drop the anchors before you cut the towing lines, you morons!" He shouted with a burst of anger.


    Well, somewhat.


    What did Yasaka say about Nurarihyon''s people? They were a special breed of stupid that somehow reached around intopetence when it mattered.


    The port on the ind wasrge enough for them to fit all their manned ships, but they left all their newly acquired ones far enough out in the water like we had. There was also an open spot that we were ushered into with my own ship.


    There were¡­.a lot of humans here.


    It was the first thing I noted when stepping onto the pier and off the ship.


    They said a few thousand, but seeing it in person was a whole different story. Of course that was in the context of living in the Fae realms.


    One might question how so many humans made it here all at once, but seeing children running around¡­.well, it was obvious how the poption increased.


    Centuries old, how many children did they have over that time period?


    We became the immediate center of attention.


    The Humans that returned were weed back with open arms, but hushed whispers and gestures caused the others to hesitantly step back, making room for us.


    Unnulf was all smiles as he walked over, putting an arm over my shoulders. "Come ond, I''ll show you all around."


    I noticed the hint of tension in his movements as it seemed like everyone was staring at us intently as we stepped off the dock and onto the ind.


    There was a faint breeze, the leaves of the massive tree rustled and it was as if time came to a stop as a collective relief washed over everyone.


    Unnulf himself immediately let out a sigh of relief. "Wee to our home,d." His new smile felt a bit more genuine.


    "The Tree, right? That was the supposed test?" I looked at him, traffic picked up and the curiosity of our group only increased among the native poption.


    "Aye, Mother would have dealt with anyone sneaking in." He nodded. "Not the first time we had a few of those try to sneak into our home."


    "The Tree is your mother?" Nurarihyon raised an eyebrow, not even phased by the supposed ''test''.


    "What else should a man call the woman who nurtures and heals him" Unnulf chuckled. "Though not everyone calls her mother. The stuffy ones with the red crosses, they call her the Tree of Life. Some of my kin call her Yggdrasil." He added with a shrug.


    You know, that doesn''t make things less sketchy.


    But so far, I couldn''t pinpoint anything that immediately stood out, as weird as that sounded.


    "Hey Unnulf, do you guys have any Magic Users here?" I asked him, intent on probing.


    "Magic Users? Yeah, we got a few dozen. They''re too precious to send out though, so they usually stay here unless something bad happens." He nodded.


    Well, guess I was wrong there.


    The fact that there are Magic Users around made it even stranger because they''d be more keen in sniffing out oddities with this¡­..whole Tree.


    I nced at Nurarihyon who seemingly just shrugged and gestured for me to carry on as he disappeared in a haze.


    "How about a tour?" I asked.


    Unnulf smiled. "Haha, alright. I did promise that, now that we know you''re not one of those bastards, let me show you around." He put his arm around me good-naturedly again. "All the wood you seees from Mother or things we salvage." He gestured with his hand as we walked further ind and rows of houses appeared.


    "Lots of different architectural styles." I noted.


    "Theter ones that came along, they''re a bit more knowledgeable on how to build things. We used to be content with a hut to shield us from the sun and rain. But look at this now, it''s better than the Jarl used to live in back home, but it''s used to house a few peasants."


    "Hmm, it looks European." I noted. "Were you tasked with keeping me distracted?"


    "Ah¡­well." He scratched his head. "They wanted some time to report back to their leaders. Don''t mind them, it''s always an important event when neers join us."


    I wasn''t upset, I just asked to see his response.


    The fact that he was so forting was¡­it made me confused honestly about this whole thing. I kept trying to find the proverbial smoking gun to indicate that something is amiss, but I was just not seeing anything wrong.


    "What''s that over there?" I pointed off to the distance it looked..well, rather Greek in make.


    "That''s the Acropolis." Unnulf said.


    I admit I was taken aback by the wording out of his mouth. "I''m sorry, I wasn''t expecting that answer. Especially hearing it from a viking, it just surprised me."


    Unnulf let out augh. "Learned a thing or two over the years son. It''s where all our leaders gather to talk about important stuff. They should be there right about now." He stroked his beard.


    Acropolis literally meant ''highest point'', as it was the government building in Ancient Greek ¨C Athens I think.


    Right, keep forgetting how old they were here.


    "So many different people and cultures, I''m astonished that you all get along like you do." I looked at him.


    "It wasn''t easy. I remember when everyone met for the first time, swords were swung, fists were thrown. Even in the early days when we agreed to stop fighting, it was hard to trust one another."


    "What changed?"


    "Hmm, that''s hard to answer. Aye, probably when the first child came out naturally from this cursed ce. Them talking about their God and Hell. The ones talking about their Gods on their great Mountain. Even the stoic ones from your homnd held firm in their own beliefs. And of course, we all sought wisdom from Odin''s grace. They all were there for the first birth and it changed things, made all us old folk realize we were here for the long run."


    "And you all lived happily ever after." I snorted with a bit of a chuckle.


    "Ha, as if! Nay boy, we still fight, mostly with our fists! But¡­.it''s never passed a line. The Greeks were the ones who came up with the idea, each of us has a leader, and the leaders alle together when something important happens. Aint perfect, but what is?"


    "If you don''t mind me asking¡­..how do you all support yourselves? Food¡­.water is a bit more obvious. But you''re far older than you should be, Unnulf."


    Unnulf smiled good-naturedly, gesturing for me to follow. "Mother watches out for us." I followed him past the residential area as thend opened up a bit more. "We do got some crops growing, took awhile to set roots down, but we''ve got a supply for ''bout 70 years now. But that''s not what really sustains us."


    Was that corn? And I saw another field with wheat growing. I wasn''t an expert in agriculture, but did they grow at the same time and with the same methods?


    Strange.


    Past the fields we walked, earning a few looks, and hundreds of trees came into view.


    They were smaller, but they were like miniature versions of the Big Tree overhead.


    The same red leaves that reminded me of the Forever Fall forest back on Remnant. However, there was one big difference here. It was the fact that each of these smaller trees, almost reminiscent of Apple Trees, bore a strange red fruit.


    Like a mix between an orange and a dragon fruit in appearance.


    "What are those, Unnulf?" Because I could feel them from here and they were very unnatural.


    "We don''t really have a name, we''ve just called them life fruits. Mother gave them to us ever since we settled down here. They keep us young, if you eat one every few decades it''ll be enough." Unnulf replied.


    Sounded like a watered down version of Idunn''s Apples, but those were very much not divine.


    Surprisingly, they aren''t¡­..evil either. I didn''t feel anything malevolent about them, but they also were very much not natural to my senses.


    "Would it be possible for me to acquire one?" I asked.


    Unnulf frowned. "They''re preciousd, especially with how many of us there are now, we have to ount for every one of them."


    "What about a trade?"


    He paused. "It depends."


    "Food, supplies, weapons." I listed off, but he didn''t show much emotion. "¡­.alcohol." Before I could utter another word, he plucked one and held it up for me to take. "I didn''t even say how much¡­"


    "Lad, I haven''t had a proper drink in decades." Unnulf looked at me with full seriousness. "They won''t let us make mead with the crops."


    "¡­.you won''t get in trouble for this, will you?" I hesitantly took it in my hand.


    "Don''t worry, I''m entitled to a certain amount every few years as one of our strongest warriors." He patted his chest proudly. "Now, ya shouldn''t stand before a man and his drink,d."


    I dropped several barrels of alcohol onto the ground for him and I swear, I think I saw tears falling from his eyes.


    While he was distracted, I looked at the fruit in my hand, running every diagnostic Magic I knew off the top of my head.


    This thing was¡­.far beyond what I envisioned.


    I was genuinely shocked at what I was holding.


    Without hesitation, I bit into it, letting the juicy fruit flow down my throat and I quickly consumed the entire thing. I felt the power within it fill me, reaching every corner of my body.


    It was small, but I was strengthened.


    Much less than the extent that I got passively from ying Hanuman. Honestly, it might even be an overestimate to call it small, miniscule would be a better word. However, to even get a permanent boost in my physical capabilities from simply eating a fruit at my level¡­that was no small feat.


    It made a lot more sense now. Why these humans were so much stronger than they realistically should have been. Why they had such long lifespans, retaining their youth.


    These fruits were made of pure energy. Touki, Aura, Qi, Chi, it had many names, but simply, it was Life Energy. And these fruits were solidified Life Energy, concentrated in its purest form.


    If I were a normal human, my lifespan would have extended decades, like Unnulf said, it did however do that, butpared to my natural lifespan, it wasn''t worth mentioning, barely a droppared to what I gave up stopping Loki.


    This alone made the trip to this ind worth it. I resisted the urge to start plucking fruits, even if I could hide myself. They were treating me like a guest, and my own pride wouldn''t let me trample on that so easily.


    But now, I was left with many questions that I didn''t have answers to.


    This ce was turning into an even greater mystery than I originally thought.


    "Unnulf." I looked at the Viking who was trying his darndest to not spill a drop of mead as he tilted the barrel forward while awkwardly squatting under it.


    "Mmm?" He answered back with a mouthful.


    "Would it be possible to¡­.meet this Mother Tree of yours?" The way they spoke about it, it was clear it wasn''t simply a silent piece of foliage. And it was time to get to the bottom of things.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    We got two more Arachne chapters, one Cultivating Cyclops side story chapter, and the next Kunou Chapter up if you want to check them out!

 Chapter 564: + Arachne Omake Part 2

    Chapter 564: + Arachne Omake Part 2


    Arcueid Brunestud POV


    Bored.


    I should have gone back to sleep, there was nothing interesting going on. I can''t even go hunt a Dead Apostle because there aren''t any that have appeared in a while. Why do they always run and hide when I wake up? It made hunting them so annoying, they should just fight me and die properly.


    I thought I''d find something interesting with my cousin, but he left already and hadn''te back.


    Gramps got mad at me too, so he''s not letting me go out and find something fun unless it''s part of my duties.


    Should I just go back to sleep until one of those bastards crawled out and I can hunt them?


    I wish my new cousin stayed longer¡­.


    "Thanks for the help, Old Man."


    "It''s no trouble, Rin."Who''s that?


    A human girl with Gramps? She looked Asian, I think. It''s hard to tell sometimes, humans can be weird about that sort of thing too.


    I wondered if she knew Asian Magecraft like my cousin? I wanted to ask him about that, but I forgot before he left. I''ve never been hit with that kind of Magecraft before and it was really interesting!


    Huh, was that a Noble Phantasm on her back?


    It was a spear, it didn''t have much of a presence, probably not ranked very highly, but it was still a Noble Phantasm!


    "Hey, fight me!" I stood up, pointing at her.


    "Bwah!?


    "Arcueid, don''t initiate a fight with my student." Gramps did that thing where he chastised me for some reason.


    "Why?" Was it a human thing I didn''t know about?


    "She''s still young and learning."


    "Oh, nevermind then." I sat back down. No point, it''d be boring if even Gramps said she wasn''t good.


    "I feel like I was insulted." Gramp''s student frowned.


    "You''re wee to spar with someone that Wilhelm would lose against if things escted." Gramps said.


    Heh.


    Gramps knew how to say the right things.


    "¡­.suddenly, I''m rather happy with being insulted." She paused. "And she''s¡­.?"


    "Ah, introductions." Gramps pped his hands. "Rin Tohsaka, heir to the Tohsaka family and my precious student, she is already picking up the basics of the Kaleidoscope. And Arcueid Brunestud, the White Princess, andst True Ancestor." He gestured between us.


    Huh, she''s already learning Gramps'' Magic? Next time I wake up from a nap, I''ll see how much stronger she got.


    "Yeah, not touching that with a 10-foot pole without Saber with me." His student said dryly.


    "That reminds me, I wanted to see the interaction between your Servant and Arcueid due to her being the wielder of the Holy Sword."


    Holy Sword?


    That Holy Sword!


    "You have the wielder of the Holy Sword!" I stood up again.


    "Arcueid, control yourself." Gramps chastised again.


    I looked down, realizing I had cracked the table. "Sorry." He said I should apologize when I break things by ident.


    "As long as you''re more careful." He nodded. "And to answer your question, yes. Rin''s Servant is the wielder of the Holy Sword."


    "I want to meet her!"


    "No."


    Not fair!


    Even I knew about the Holy Sword! I''ve never gotten to see it in person before though, those stingy ones on the Reverse Side were so protective of it!


    "Right¡­.I should probably get going." Gramp''s student spoke. "Do you mind, Old Man?"


    "Oh not at all." He waved his hand, using his Magic to connect to the Realm outside the World. "Now, some words from your Teacher."


    She let out a huff with arms crossed. "Come on, I''m not some greenhorn anymore."


    "It''s my duty as your Teacher to remind you regardless. Be careful, listen to Saber when ites to matters of warfare. Don''t lose yourself in fighting, it''s much different than the smaller battles you''ve been a part of. Be observant, it''s important to always be aware of your surroundings. Most importantly, your safetyes first."


    "Alright, I''ll be careful." She nodded.


    If the Holy Sword user was there¡­..I wanted to go too. I thought it was something boring my Cousin was doing, but it sounds like it''s actually something good!


    "Gramps, I want to go too."


    "Absolutely not." He denied me again.


    Hmph!


    That''s weird, there''s a strange space around Gramp''s Student? Oh, it''s just some type of Magecraft that created a space attached to something she''s wearing.


    I looked inside and smiled. While they weren''t looking, I reached into the space and took something out, quickly hiding it.


    I pretended to stop caring as she left.


    "Gramps, I wanna go out!"


    "And do what?"


    Oh, what do I say? I need to say something convincing.


    "I want to eat more human food! I promise I won''t fight anyone while I''m here!" Perfect! There''s no way he would notice anyone wrong.


    "¡­.is that right?"


    "Yup!"


    He silently stared at me for some reason. It was always hard to trick Gramps, I''ve only been able to do it a few times. Like when I stole his metal thing with wheels and crashed it and med it on a Dead Apostle.


    He never suspected a thing.


    "I suppose you''ll need money."


    Oh right, humans use that whole thing. Putting value on a concept of equivalent exchange in the form of parchment with trust that it holds an intrinsic meaning. I liked it better when humans used gold, I liked the feeling of walking around with a pouch of clinking gold coins.


    "Give me money, gramps!"


    Gramps sighed for some reason. "That is the most Granddaughterly thing I think you''ve ever said to me before. Alright, but don''t cause trouble around here, okay? It was difficult enough soothing the egos of the Mages without another incident urring."


    "I won''t fight anyone here!" Does it count if I just kill them without fighting? That should be fine in case someone does something rude. I was always warned to be cautious around Mages.


    Gramps handed me the paper and I happily took it and ran out the door before he could take it back.


    I made sure that I was really far away and away from any Mages. I was extra careful and I traveled away from human civilization until I found an isted forest with a bit more Mystery still hiding deep in it.


    Hiding my presence using this wouldn''t be too hard, but Gramps was smart.


    I used my presence to stir up the Mystery, obscuring my presence here.


    Perfect!


    I reached up under my shirt, taking out what I stole. It was one of those toys that Gramps made a while ago.


    A red stick with a star on the top.


    How did I turn this on again?


    Here it is. I pumped my Mana into it and it sprung to like.


    "Magical Ruby is back!" The Wand jumped around, only stopping when it saw me. "¡­..Arcueid?"


    I smiled, grabbing it. "Take me to where my cousin is."


    "Eh!?"


    "Take me to where my cousin is! I know you can do that."


    "I need context!"


    "What''s so hard about this? I just want to go visit my cousin." I frowned, wondering if this wand was broken.


    "You mean¡­.Wilhelm?"


    "Yes." I nodded.


    "Alright, alright. I think I get it, you want me to take you over to where he is, that world-line."


    "Yup!" The toy was getting it now.


    "I refuse."


    "You''re not allowed to."


    "Hahaha, the Old Man will scrap me if I do this."


    "¡­..I could break you if you don''t?"


    "You bring up a valid and concerning point."


    "You also have to listen to me." I said, remembering how Gramps said they were made and who they were forced to listen to orders from.


    "¡­.technically, you''re right. Which puts me in quite the pickle. I''m programmed to listen to the orders of a certain umbre of people which you technically fall under¡­" The wand replied. "Why exactly do you want to go find him?"


    "I''m bored."


    "Honestly, I''d have folded before with a worse answer. Alright, but when we inevitably get found out and the Old Man gets mad at me, you have to protect me."


    "Deal." That was a fair trade.


    "You''re lucky, I''ve been there before, otherwise it would have been harder without Rin with me." The Wand floated out of my hand. "Speaking of, how did you even get a hold of me?"


    "I stole you from her space thing!"


    "¡­.well alrighty then. I have a feeling I''m going to immensely regret this, but now I''m too invested to give up." The Wand spun around and utilized Gramp''s magic like what happened earlier. "Let''s go Princess."


    It should be fine; I''m just going on a little trip and I''ll be back soon!


    @***@


    Weird.


    It was weird.


    So many non-humans, but not Dead Apostles. I haven''t seen something like this outside of the Reverse Side.


    But it was so interesting too!


    I felt weird being in the world as well. Something inside of me was telling me to go back home, but I''d only be gone for a little while, it wasn''t a problem.


    "Where is he?" I looked at the Wand.


    "How should I know? I''m not omnipotent, but this is where he generally lives, Kyoto Japan sub-dimension home to the majority of Japan''s Youkai poption." The wand replied.


    Hmm, I suppose that makes sense.


    Well, it was good enough, there were many fun things here!


    Immediately, I found more human food¡­..wait. Was it human food if it wasn''t made by a human?


    I wanted to try it though.


    "Wait, where are you going!?"


    "I want to eat that." I pointed at the good smelling thing.


    "Fine, just¡­..don''t run away, at the very least, we need to stick together." The Wand stated.


    Hmm, it made a good point, I may have use of itter.


    "Mister, I want one of these." I walked up to the wooden counter, putting some of the paper on it. The food was like some kind of breaded orb with things stuffed inside.


    I want it!


    "Coming right up ¨C" He stopped, looking at the money. "Um Miss, this is the wrong currency?"


    "What''s wrong with it?" I tilted my head because I knew that Gramps wouldn''t lie to me.


    "This looks English, I think?" The Strange creature, an Octopus thing, used its tentacle to rub its head. "We use Japanese Yen here. First time in Japan?"


    "There''s right and wrong money?" I frowned, confused. "Gramps never told me that."


    Why didn''t everyone just use the same money?


    "You can send the bill to Yasaka''s estate." The floating Wand spoke up. "She''s the cousin of her lover, they''ll handle it. Sorry, she''s never been here before, much less mingled with human concepts."


    "The Young Lord''s cousin?" The Octopus creature''s tentacles wiggled in the air. "No problem then! Have what you want."


    Oh, he''s nice!


    "No need, I''ll pay for them."


    What a strange feeling, I looked at who spoke and furrowed my brow trying to understand what I was feeling. "Oh, a Goddess, I haven''t seen one of you in a long time!"


    The Octopus creature froze for some reason.


    The Goddess walked up and looked at me weirdly too. "I didn''t intend to broadcast my identity¡­"


    "Lady Izanami, thank you for helping." The Wand spoke.


    "¡­.nor did I intend to reveal my name." The Goddess sighed, ncing at the Octopus who looked surprised.


    "That''s a familiar name!" I forget where I heard it before, there were so many names of Divine Spirits that I''d heard in passing over the years. "Hi, I''m Arcueid Brunestud."


    "I vaguely remember Wilhelm mentioning you before. As the wand mentioned, I''m Izanami and Japan''s Mother Goddess." She frowned slightly.


    "You know where he is!?" Perfect!


    "¡­in a manner of speaking. Did e here to see him?"


    "Yup! I was bored and wanted toe and see him." I nodded happily.


    "Does your Grandfather know you''re here?" She asked.


    Uh oh, did she know Gramps?


    "Of course!"


    "¡­..right."


    Hmph, who said that I was stupid? I''m good at fooling people, they never suspect a thing.


    "Why don''t youe along with me, I was meeting someone and they were wanting to seek out Wilhelm as well." The Goddess spoke.


    How convenient, I wouldn''t have to wander around then. And I took the not-human made food with me as well. "How do you know my Cousin?" I looked at her as she led me through the weird city.


    "We are¡­..dating." She replied.


    I tilted my head, looking at her. "What does that mean?"


    The Goddess looked at the Wand and at me.


    "It means she wants to have Wilhelm''s babies." The wand rified.


    "Oh, you want to make babies with him!" The desire to mate wasmon among not just mortal species but Divine Spirits as well due to their shared breath of conscious derivation. My cousin was part human at least, so as a mammal, it''s obvious he wants to reproduce, something ingrained in his inherited instincts.


    It made me a little curious what those instincts were like, but I would never experience them. I''ve watched humans mate before, but it felt the same as if watching two different animals reproducing.


    The Goddess sighed for some reason, rubbing her face.


    "There he is, that''s ¨C"


    "Oh, it''s another God!" I pointed


    "¡ªFolen, a newly ascended God of Asgard." She finished.


    "Greetings, Goddess Izanami. I apologize for my abrupt presence." He bowed politely to her.


    Hmm, he was much weaker than her.


    "Hey, what''s that thing around your neck? It smells like a snake." I looked at him.


    Snake, poisonous, strong.


    The Goddess looked at me, then at him. "What ¨C"


    A little snake poked out from under his shirt. "I''m just tagging along."


    "¡­..I wasn''t hiding it, I just didn''t have the chance to introduce him yet. Jormungandr is apanying me." The other God replied. He had pointy ears too, was he an Elf? "Due to concerns, I considered it more appropriate if I didn''t bring any other Gods with me."


    The Goddess nodded. "Your concerns hold merit. Even I am disinclined to step into that ce."


    "What are you?" The Snake spoke, pointing its little tail at me. "You smell like the Earth and the Moon."


    "Oh, you have a good nose. Aren''t you the snake that''s supposed to wrap around the world? Why are you so small?" I reached to grab him, but he smacked my hand.


    "I just shrunk myself to travel easier." The little snake huffed. "It''s just some simple Magic. That annoying Yu-Long showed me how to do it years ago."


    Oh! That made sense. "Can you turn big; I want to see how big you are."


    "Don''t turn full size in the middle of the city." The Goddess rebuked.


    "I wasn''t going to¡­." The snake hissed lightly, hiding back into the shirt of the Elf God.


    "Ahem." The Elf God cleared his throat. "Goddess Izanami¡­.who?" He looked at us.


    "Sorry, Folen. This is Wilhelm''s Cousin, I happened to stumble on her whileing to see you and she was¡­..new around here and felt it was appropriate to keep her within arms reach."


    "She''s a dunce." The Wand said.


    I didn''t know what that meant, but it felt like something mean.


    "I see." Folen nodded.


    "She''s also looking for Wilhelm, so it was convenient to settle things simultaneously. Regardless, we can wait here at the camp near the entrance of the portal while a messenger goes to Yasaka." The Goddess exined. "It may take a day or so, but we should hear a reply soon."


    "Are you looking for my cousin too, Old Man?" I asked the God.


    "Cousin huh?" He rubbed his chin. "I guess I am littledy. He''s in a dangerous ce, I wanted to give him a hand after everything he did for me and mine back in the Nine Realms."


    Oh, so he wanted to help my cousin, that meant he''s someone I can trust. Gramps always told me to treat others who are helping with respect.


    "Why can''t we just go in?" I pointed at the portal not too far away, I could feel a simr feeling to Avalon and the Reverse Sideing from it. It was a different vor, but I remembered what he said about invading that ce.


    "It''s not appropriate to barge in while they''re conducting a proper war." The Goddess replied. "And it''s their matter, it''s likewise not appropriate for Gods to meddle without consideration."


    "It''s a day, waiting isn''t a problem." The Elf God spoke, waving his hand dismissively.


    A whole day?


    That wasn''t that long, but¡­..I already came this far, why couldn''t I just go inside? They were talking about something I didn''t care about and not paying attention to me.


    I poked the Wand.


    "¡­.no."


    I poked it again.


    "I won''t!"


    I poked it a little bit harder with a sharp nail. "Fine! But don''t me me if anything goes wrong."


    "What ¨C" The Goddess was about to say something, but the Wand suddenly surged with its reserves of Magical Energy.


    "Piggy backing off the Established frequency. Calcting the distorted variables. Error: 47% chance of failure, aborting procedure ¨C"


    I poked it again.


    "Override confirmed, establishing connection matrix and bridging spatial coordinates. Creating pathway, countdown to discement ¨C 3 seconds."


    I felt the Magic of Gramps wrap around me.


    The Goddess looked at me confused, then I think she realized what was happening.


    I smiled and waved goodbye, since she was going to have my cousin''s babies, that meant I would see her again and she was rted to me as well!


    Before the Magic activated, I grabbed the Elf God. He said he wanted to help my cousin, I should bring him along too. My cousin would probably thank me for that.


    "What in the Hel ¨C"


    I didn''t hear what he said as we were teleported away


    @***@


    Cold.


    It was really cold, even colder when I visited the two poles of the.


    Unnatural Cold, like what''s in the Reverse Side of the world.


    "What happened, where are we? What''s going on!?" The Elf God spoke, confused.


    "Ah, I hate the cold! I''m a snake, I need warm weather!" The Snake wiggled under his cor.


    "Dammit Arcueid, my calctions were meant only for teleporting you! And even with that, it was a 50/50 chance of them working properly! I have no idea where we are now and my readings are all messed up!" The Wand angrily flew around.


    "It''s fine, we''re in the right ce." I could feel it, it had that vor I tasted from outside.


    "It''s not fine, this ce is massive, do you have any idea where Wilhelm actually is?!"


    "We can just find him, it can''t be that hard." I looked around, but the blizzard was making it difficult to see though¡­. "Oh look, a big ice castle. Why don''t we go over there?"


    "An Ice Castle?" The Elf God snapped his head towards me, his eyes widening for some reason. "¡­.we should leave."


    The ground rumbled, and big ice and snow giants lifted themselves out of the ground, looking down on us.


    "I don''t think we''re supposed to be here?"


    "What gave you that idea, Arcueid!?" The Wand asked.


    "Well, they feel hostile." I pointed out. "They''re probably going to attack us."


    "That was sarcasm, gah!"


    "I have a great deal many questions to be asking, but we have something that takes precedence it seems." The Elf God took out a bow, wrapped in his Divine Power. "I can pick out a few hundred of those things, and I can sense the presence of thousands of other thingsing our way from the direction of the Ice Castle."


    "Oh, I got an idea!" I quickly thought of a good way to deal with them all!


    "¡­.Dare I ask what good idea you have after teleporting us into the middle-adjacent of what I''m assuming is the Winter Court''s literal throne."


    "I need the snake to turn big." I pointed at him.


    "¡­.Jormungandr, you promised to help."


    "Fine." It hissed. "But you better keep your promise too. I could have been sleeping right now." The Snake jumped off of the Elf God and grew huge in the blink of an eye.


    Even bigger than those Elementals!


    "Alright, littledy. I can tell you''re Ridiculously strong at even a nce, and if you''re rted to the brat, it''s obvious you got some trump cards."


    I could do a lot of things¡­.but I was cut off from the World Will while being here¡­.well, I had a good idea anyways!


    I nodded to him and grabbed the tail of the Big Snake. "I''m going to hit them with the Big Snake."


    The Big Snaked paused, then looked down at me. "Wait, what ¨C"


    I swung the Big Snake at the big Elementals.


    @***@


    Non-Canon Omake: The Little Spider Part 2


    Wilhelm sat on a bench, smiling happily.


    The years had by in the blink of an eye. He always used to say that he didn''t know how to be a parent when being a Father to Kunou. He truly felt out of his depth when it came to raising an infant through childhood.


    Yasaka would of course tease him good naturedly about it.


    Yet, there was not a single day where he even remotely regrets her being ''born''.


    Wilhelm had loved her the moment heid his eyes on her for the first time.


    He felt so old now.


    Fourteen years.


    To long lived beings, it was merely a blink of an eye. To him, though he understood the long years from memory, it still felt like an eternity.


    He was over forty years old now. By human standards, he was middle aged and on his way to hister years.


    The anger he felt initially¡­.it dissipated in time. He was still furious as the Goddess for what urred, even if he wouldn''t change anything if it meant losing his little spider. There had been many times over the years where he nearly hopped back over there to give the Goddess a well deserved piece of his mind.


    But maybe it was the maturity he developed over time, or it was simply because of his daughter. But every time he nearly did so, he took a single look at his daughter and pushed all his turbulent feelings aside to focus on her.


    And gradually, over time, that desire flew away until it was nearly nonexistent.


    Simply, he never once returned there.


    He never did get to show his mom his diploma, but he felt that a copy of the first picture he took with his infant daughter was more than enough to make up for it.


    Yes, over these past years, there had been a lot of changes.


    Wilhelm reached over and rubbed a very swollen belly.


    The owner of which gave him a look and rolled her eyes with a huff.


    "Will you ever stop looking so proud of yourself?" Izanami pursed her lips.


    The Goddess of Death was pregnant.


    It was not intentional on either of their parts, but a happy surprise, nheless. It had plicated when it first was revealed. Godly politics even after everything that happened¡­well, Wilhelm had to have some stern words with quite a few Japanese Gods.


    Luckily, at this point in time, there were very few beings in this world willingly to get on Wilhelm''s bad side.


    The strange thing about her pregnancy, however, was that she had been pregnant for nearly two years at this point.


    ording to her, and many other people he asked for advice with, it wasn''t umon for deities to give birth unconventionally. Simply taking longer was the norm for many of them.


    The ringing of steel was heard in the background as Wilhelm silently provoked his Goddess lover.


    He didn''t say it, but she was correct.


    He was very proud of himself for getting her pregnant.


    Unfortunately, none of the others were quite pregnant yet. They had only recently started using extra methods for conception, so he expected it to start picking up soon.


    Wilhelm looked up because the shing of weapons stopped.


    There was one more important thing that urred in the past decade.


    "Husband." Sc¨¢thach came over. Very clearly, there was a ring on her finger just as there was with all his lovers.


    Sc¨¢thach stood there, spear pushed against the ground, giving a faint smile.


    Next to her, someone else walked up.


    She was younger, fourteen years of age to be exact. She held a simr spear to Sc¨¢thach and even wore a simr purple body suit, albeit with a bit more reservation in certain areas and some more protective means such as armor. If anything, she was almost like a mirror of the immortal witch, minus a handful of features.


    Most striking is that her hair was a brighter red. Second were her gray eyes that shined rather oddly in contrast to the normally chromatic color. Lastly, and just barely when the wind blew and her bangs swayed, there were two small nubby horns on her forehead, still not fully grown.


    Arachne had certainly taken after her mom.


    She nced at her mom, standing there and corrected her own posture and expression to match her.


    Wilhelm just found it utterly adorable.


    She was at that age where she picks a ''image'' so to speak and delves into it. For some, it''s not a conscious thing, as they would just go with the flow of their closest friends. To others, well, there were cliques of goth kids, sports kids, etc.


    It was the age where kids started finding themselves.


    Arachne just wanted to emte her mom, which also wasn''t something abnormal for children her age.


    Wilhelm held his arms open, looking at Arachne. The young girl looked at him and scowled, just like her mother.


    Wilhelm returned a hurt gaze and Arachne immediately folded, throwing herself into his arms. "That''s my little spider."


    "Da, I''m not a child." Arachne pouted.


    "Of course, you''re a big girl now. How old are you? Five, Six? Time sure does fly."


    Arachne huffed, pulling out of his grasp. "Da, I''m gonna call big sis if you keep teasing me."


    "Alright, alright." Wilhelm held his hands up in surrender. "Please don''t call Kunou toe bully your poor father."


    "Da, I want to go." Arachne immediately changed the subject.


    Wilhelm twitched slightly. "Why do you want to go there?"


    "I want to know where I came from." Arachne said softly. "You said I needed to be stronger when I was eight. I practiced with Aunt Grandma and Grandpa Zekram and I trained my Power of Destruction. I trained with mom and I''m a master with my spear. I trained with Uncle Achilles and Aunt Atnta, they taught me Pankration and how to hunt. I also went to train with Uncle Odin, Aunt Medea, Aunt Artoria, Aunt Raikou, Aunt Alter, Aunt jinn¡­." She began to list off. "And you even taught me stuff too, da! I''m strong enough now."


    Wilhelm pursed his lips as she listed all that off, unable to deny her ims there.


    Maybe it was just his parental instincts acting up. He wanted to hold Arachne close and never let her go. It was the same with Kunou back in the day when she went to school.


    Wilhelm would also admit that she was more talented than him in nearly every aspect. Wilhelm would also fully admit that he cheated a lot on his upwards path to power through various means.


    Arachne though, she was a genius. Of course there were some things she didn''t quite excel at, but there were many that she just took to like a fish in water.


    Though, one such thing is that she doesn''t have the mentality for practicing the Kaleidoscope.


    Practicing the Kaleidoscope wasn''t a means of Magical Talent, that Arachne had in spades. It required very specific things, certain mentality that if you didn''t possess, you simply wouldn''t be able to learn.


    Wilhelm let out a long sigh, holding his arms open again and his daughter gave him another hug.


    He remembered when she was still an infant and they were trying to discover any anomalies with her.


    Half God, Half Devil.


    She was the firstbination of those two things in history. Even him, as a Half Devil merely possessed Divinity, he was not Half God.


    As far as they could tell, the way that Athena ''creates'' her children, basically ites down to her recing half of the child with divine parts. And considering that it was intended for a purely human child, and she most likely didn''t delve deep into the matter at all, she essentially snipped away the half of humanity she would have originally inherited.


    It caused quite a stir when it became public knowledge.


    Zekram though was absolutely thrilled. There were rumors that he wasughing nonstop for days.


    And he doted on her non-stop.


    He gave her private lessons on her inherited bloodline ¨C which funnily enough, she had more ''talent'' in that area than Wilhelm as well. Perhaps a side effect of Wilhelm excavating his bloodline through means of the Hogyoku, she should have originally only gotten a small hint of the bloodline, but instead, she was on par with the likes of Venna, Rias, and even Milicas and other direct descendants.


    Zekram once said that her blood was about the same as first generation children of the original demons as she inherited some of the physical characteristics. That being, her horns were starting to protrude from her forehead.


    Yes, Zekram was quite pleased here, saying things like ''Of course my bloodline can even conquer gods!''.


    She was treated as a little princess in Hell even by other faction political factions down there.


    The unfortunate thing however was that Arachne didn''t inherit any of his other¡­.bloodlines due to the circumstances of his sealing at the time.


    That is to say, she has no Dragon characteristics, no Spiritual Power, no innate Aura like those born on Remnant ¨C even if that could be correct, and all the other things he had sloshing around his abomination-like existence.


    Though, from her Devil Side, it wasn''t merely the Power of Destruction and some physical traits she inherited.


    She was a rather greedy girl for certain things. And maybe it came from her Divine heritage, or maybe from her Devil side, but she could be rather prideful.


    Both of which needed a bit of correcting over the years.


    There were some negative aspects that came with her Divine Half. It seemed like she had some innate type of phobia rting to spiders. We carefully removed that considering it wasn''t something cultivated by her own psyche.


    It was rather ironic considering her name¡­


    Though, there were certainly upsides to her Divine half.


    She had frighteningbat perception, almost like abat irvoyance. Though, it was mostly the ability to read the flow of a fight and anticipate future actions. This came about due to having the ability to memorize anything she''s seen or heard once before.


    It was a cheat ability for someone practicing magic andbat techniques.


    Not that it was unbeatable, they had to show her that it could be tricked if discovered she was overly relying on it.


    There were other things, things that contributed to her gaining the status of ''genius'' in the eyes of Wilhelm and the others.


    When he asked his Greek friends, they just rolled their eyes and dismissed it as being a child of Athena. Though the thought of a child from the Virgin Goddess was rather foreign to them, they took it in stride.


    If anything, they were excited about the whole concept. To them, Wilhelm''s home wasn''t their home, it was like being on the outside looking in. However, by extension of being Wilhelm''s child, they felt more of a kinship with her.


    And speaking of Greeks, she was officially adopted by Pandora as her grandchild.


    It was¡­..interesting when the Heretic God Athena stumbled on baby Arachne when he was visiting¡­..


    One would think she would immediately be furious and hostile.


    That''s exactly what Wilhelm believed would happen.


    No, rather, she demanded he take responsibility, believing that she was formed from the Goddess''s lost Gorgonian.


    It was an interesting time.


    Arachne looked up at her dad, still in the hug. She pouted much deeper, losing the cool and aloofposure that she liked to copy from her mom. "Dad ye promisit me thon A coud gae whan A turnit fourteen!" She blurted out in a single breath.


    Following it, she was bopped on the head by Sc¨¢thach. The Immortal witch let out a sigh. "Don''t use that bumpkin dialect, daughter. One summer in the hignds, and you pick up the worse habits. Youe from nobility, why must you speak like the uneducated?"


    It was ratherical, she inherited the ability to speak any normalnguage fluidly, yet she sometimes defaults to a northern rural Scottish dialect due to spending a summer exploring the homnd of her mom.


    Sc¨¢thach corrects her every time. To her, it was inappropriate as she, and by extension her daughter, are nobles of the Isle of Skye, they are held to a higher standard.


    "Dad you promised me that I could go when I turned fourteen." She corrected.


    "You did promise, husband." Sc¨¢thach backed up her daughter, earning a bright smile from Arachne.


    "Did I? I don''t remember." Wilhelm turned to Izzy. "Do you remember that, Izzy?"


    "Yes you did, husband." Izzy snorted.


    "Ah! Betrayal!" Wilhelm clutched his heart. "You''re supposed to take my side."


    "Da, stop messing around." Arachne stomped her foot. "You promised."


    "I did promise." Wilhelm acknowledged. "But are you really sure you want to go there?" He asked again, the previous humor was gone.


    "I know it''s dangerous, da. But¡­.I want to know where I came from. Didn''t you do the same thing? Grand Da said you were nning on nevering back here." She said, gesturing to around them, indicating his birth world.


    "She makes a valid point." Sc¨¢thach backed her up again.


    "Imagine if you never came back, dear." Izzy looked at him, rubbing her belly. "Are you going to deny her the opportunity?"


    "I''m getting ganged up on all my girls." Wilhelm sighed.


    "And all of us will tell you the same thing, husband." Sc¨¢thach said softly. "None of us wish to see here to harm, but we cannot shield her forever. She is old enough to make some decisions on her own, such as wanting to know her heritage. It is not the same as experiencing it elsewhere. She has the right to venture to her homnd."


    "I know." Wilhelm reluctantly acknowledged and agreed in his heart. "I''m just scared for you, my little spider." He ced a kiss on her forehead.


    "You let big sis stay in another world for like 10 years." Arachne crossed her arms.


    "We specifically made sure there was nothing there that could harm her." Wilhelm pointed out. "But¡­.I''m not going to deny you either. It''s hypocritical for me to reject your request when you''re in a simr spot that I was all those years ago."


    "Then I can go!?"


    "Yes ¨C"


    "Thank you, da!"


    "¡ª but!" Wilhelm cut her off. "There are stiptions. We can talk about thoseter, but I''m going to make sure you''re safe."


    The truth of the matter was, Arachne wanted to go visit the world she came from. It was undeniably her right to experience her birthce and despite Wilhelm being stubborn, he had already epted her request in his heart.


    "I want to go right away!"


    "Tomorrow." Wilhelm held up a finger.


    "Da!"


    Wilhelm''s expression softened. "Give everyone a chance to say their goodbyes."


    Arachne wanted to grumble, but she thought about it and agreed. "Alright, I want to say goodbye to everyone."


    Well, it wasn''t like she was going to be gone long, nor was she going to be cut off. Truthfully, Wilhelm just needed some time to set up some things.


    @***@


    "And if anyone is disrespectful, write their names down, I will have words with them."


    "Okay, Aunt Alter." Arachne agreed.


    Artoria Alter nodded, pleased.


    Even Alter loved Arachne, truthfully, she was just as epted as Kunou despite the uniqueness and abruptness of her arrival.


    Everyone was saying their goodbyes, atleast thest and most intimate of Arachne''s family. She had gone around to others that were away and made sure to tell them she was about to head off.


    Salem stood there, stoically as she looked down at Arachne.


    Arachne looked up, an equally cold and distant look on her face.


    "You know what you must do." Salem said simply.


    "Stab any bastards through the heart!" Arachne replied.


    Salem nodded with a light smile.


    Wilhelm had denied them their wishes years ago to visit the world and have words with a certain Goddess over there. As some of the initial anger died down, it wasn''t forgotten.


    Salem was one of them that still held hatred in her heart and did not forgive the Goddess one bit.


    She was more¡­..detached than the others, but she as well cared for Arachne in her own way. Years of solitude and theck of emotional connections didn''t mend over a few decades. Yet, Salem couldn''t help but see her own children from so long again when she looked down at the young red-headed girl.


    She was less vocal about it, but she was more than willing to express any dissatisfaction to anyone who thought to harm the child.


    It took several hours to get through all the goodbyes.


    Last, though perhaps one of Arachne''s most anticipated, came bursting in through the door. "Sorry, I came as soon as I heard!" Kunou heaved a sigh, realizing she wasn''tte.


    "Big Sis!" Arachne smiled and nearly jumped on her.


    "Daww,e here." Kunou loved her little sister. She began pulling on the smaller girl''s cheeks. "Why are you always so serious? Your face is going to get stuck like that if you''re always scowling."


    Kunou was already approaching thirty years, while young for a Kitsune and Youkai in general, she was a far cry from her younger self that went off to Hogwarts so long ago.


    "Your big sis was almostte because she was preparing a gift for you." Kunou finally relented to Arachne''s constant struggling in the fox''s grasp.


    "Gift?" Arachne perked up.


    Greedy.


    It could be seen in her eyes, something she inherited from her father.


    She was already spoiled rotten. Heck, her birthday was less than a week ago and she had received hundreds of gifts.


    "Look at you, are you licking your lips?" Kunouughed.


    "I am not!" Arachne protested with a pout.


    Kunou shook her head, hold her hand out and Arachne''s eyes widened in anticipation. "Alright, I know what you want. You care about a gift more than your poor sister." She wasted no time tossing it to Arachne. "I got someone to turn my Twice Critical into a spear for you. It helped me a lot when I went off to school, I hope it''ll do the same for you."


    "I love it." Arachne whispered, clutching it tightly. "Thank you, big sis."


    Arachne''s greed came about in a rather familiar way.


    And she learned something very specific from her father. As a child of Athena, she had a sort of connection with weapons, able to control them with frighteningpetency.


    Just as Wilhelm had all sorts of Swords, Arachne collected Spears.


    She had dozens at this point and continued to collect more.


    She learned how to control them freely in the air like her Father.


    A Twice Critical Sacred Gear turned into a spear. Arachne gleefully added it to her growing collection that she was very proud of.


    Wilhelm walked up and gave Arachne onest hug. "We went over everything you should know. I gave you the house, my bank ounts and everything on the mundane end."


    At the very least, she wouldn''t have any mundane worries.


    "I''ll be fine, da!" Arachne said confidently.


    "It''s a parent''s job to worry about their child, daughter." Sc¨¢thach joined in on the hug.


    "Mom, I''ll be safe, I promise."


    "You are your father''s daughter, that gives me far more worry than you realize." She said yfully.


    "Mom!" Arachne huffed. "Da, tell her she''s wrong."


    "Well¡­.." Wilhelm thought back to his own life. He coughed awkwardly and waved his hand, creating a portal. "You have your Kaleidophone. You have a protective measures courtesy of several of us. You have a use of my Divine Authority as well that you can use whenever you want. We''re trusting you a lot, little spider."


    They had taken quite a few measures to ensure her safety without trampling on her ''independence''. Most of which, she had no control over, however Wilhelm specifically gave her a means to use his Authority offensively one time.


    She was obviously only 14, but she was much more intelligent than a normal girl her age. Not to mention, she was far from even a normal human on the supernatural side.


    They have trusted her to wander around the world for a couple years now.


    Wilhelm could recall when she went over to Asgard. He got a call from Odin some dayster saying that Kronos brought a pouting Arachne back after she challenged him to a fight in an attempt to win his scythe.


    Despite her having a bit of a mischievous streak, she was rather mature andpetent.


    And it was important for her. Children sometimes go through a phase where they want to know their heritage. For humans, that normally involves them asking their parents about their ancestors, where they came from and such. For Arachne, she wanted to atleast visit her birth world once.


    Oh, Arachne held no love for her mother. But it wasn''t about the Goddess of Wisdom as Arachne had always only considered Sc¨¢thach as her mom.


    "You''re to check in once every other day." Wilhelm said sternly. "If I don''t receive a call or message from you for more than 5 days, I''ming."


    "Fine." Arachne grumbled, but epted. "I''m just going to check out that dumb camp of theirs, da."


    Wilhelm, once more with reluctance, let his daughter venture forth into the unknown.


    The Portal closed behind her and after a moment, he looked over to Kunou.


    "Did you manage to do the thing in time?" He asked.


    "Yeah, I got Uncle Ddraig to hide inside the Twice Critical, she''s gong to be fine." Kunou smiled.


    "That''s my little fox."


    "Dad." Kunou rolled her eyes. "How old am I going to have to be before you stop calling me that?"


    "I''ll consider it after a thousand years." He kissed his other daughter on the forehead.


    @***@


    Arachne barely stepped out onto the tiled flooring of an unfamiliar house before she broke out in a small wiggle of happiness.


    She made sure to keep herself cool andposed like her mom when people were looking, but when she was alone, she could be a little bit of a dork.


    She was free!


    She absolutely loved her freedom, the thought of going wherever she wanted whenever she wanted! That was her main goal in life for now, and to get strong enough that no one could bar her way.


    There we so many choices now. Of course, she wanted to go to that supposed ''camp'' she heard about with various demi-gods.


    She hadn''t had a good fight with someone her age in forever. Most people her age couldn''t keep up and it was annoying.


    IF they''re demi-gods, they could be halfwaypetent, right?


    Her Da also said that monsters hunt demi-god children here! That would make things more exciting if they tried to attack her.


    She would need to get a few gifts to bring back for her aunties and uncles as well.


    Just as she was considering what she should do, she immediately summoned her Demonic Spear ¨C the Relica of Gae Bolg that her mom created for her because there was someone else in the house.


    Her father said that the house had been purchased and remained his despite not stepping there himself since he left.


    There shouldn''t be anyone there!


    She also noticed something strange, the magic of the area was trying to affect her, a misty haze attempting to cloud her mind.


    She was also warned about the ''mist'' that epassed everything supernatural here.


    Barely even touching it, she felt like she could influence it rather easily with her years of Magical Training from some of the most proficient magic users the world had ever seen.


    She mmed her spear against the ground and dispersed it, noticing a figure hiding, sheshed out and kicked the person through the window.


    With a cold harumph, she casually stepped over the broken threshold and past the broken ss to see the clouded figure be visible.


    Once revealed, she realized what it was. With the torso of a man and the legs of a goat, it was a Satyr.


    Why was a Satyr in her house?


    The Satyr groaned, pushing itself up.


    Arachne decided it didn''t matter, and she mmed the butt of her spear against its head, making it go limp and unconscious.


    Were Satyr''s considered monsters?


    She actually didn''t know the answer to that question. And despite gaining a bit of bloodlust from her mom over the years, she wasn''t an indiscriminate killer.


    Maybe the Satyr was just taking refuge in her presumedly abandoned home?


    Well, it didn''t actually try to harm her and she delivered punishment, so she considered the matter settled. She didn''t really care much for the house, it was just a temporary means, and perhaps even less than that.


    Now, it was time to find that camp she heard about!


    @***@/


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above.


    There is one, and soon to be two more Arachne chapters up over here as well as the next Kunou chapter and another Cyclops chapter.

 Chapter 565:

    Chapter 565:


    Just the fact that they had been rather¡­open and amodating to my presence raised a great many red gS in addition to all the ones I''d seen thus far.


    Sure, I devoured that fruit without hesitation, but I also thoroughly checked it before doing so and was absolutely positive it had no negative effects. Something able to give me ¨C even a marginal boost in strength ¨C without any drawbacks and without any effort on my end? That was significant enough that I felt I owed them a debt of gratitude, so my immediate response wasn''t anything hostile.


    That being said, I was highly skeptical of what was going on.


    What benefit did this tree gain from doing such a thing? Clearly, it was an entity born in this realm ¨C and by extension a Fae themselves, even if they''re in the form of a Tree. Perhaps you could call it an Elemental or Nature Spirit, but the fact remained. It held to the logics of this ce in its mind, it operated on nearly the same principles.


    What was the goal here?


    I had that entire thought as Unnulf led me to the base of the big tree that hung over our heads.


    No qualms about it, no hesitation and there was no ''security'' around it.


    Sure, people walked to and from around it, as the human city had extended rather far around it as the base.


    But no one gave a second look when I walked up and put my hand on the main truck.However, the fledgling World Tree inside me seemed to shudder, vibrating in response to a strange feeling emanating from the Tree.


    I wouldn''t quite call it a resonance, but it felt like the Fae Tree recognized the small World Tree I had growing inside of me, and I felt a pull.


    The surroundings around me changed, or rather, my mind was projected into a mental world.


    The Fae Tree stood tall, and behind me, my budding World Tree stood unwavering, smaller in stature, but its presence loomed over the Fae Tree regardless.


    However, looking at the Fae Tree, I noticed something odd about it.


    A few things started clicking into ce.


    The Fae tree vibrated and something pushed out, a humanoid shape, perhaps a mix between a person and a tree. Reminiscence of a Tree Nymph or some variation thereof.


    It was a reflection of the Tree''s will, it''s consciousness.


    And it was old.


    The Elderly Fae Tree''s projection looked like it would fall over and die at any moment.


    Yet, it looked at me then at Yggdrasil in awe and wonder. Despite its old age, it held an odd, almost child-like curiosity in its eyes.


    Yggdrasil behind me swayed gently despite no wind existing in this mental ne.


    "#@$%^#@$" The Fae Tree opened its mouth, saying something I couldn''tprehend. It looked at me showing a faint frown. "#&%&#@, !*$*%^*, @&%&#*" I could vaguely recognize that it was continuously speaking in differentnguages? I don''t know if I could ssify the sounds it was making as anguage. "Is this better?" A horse voice finally sounded that I recognized.


    "I can understand you now." It wasn''t hard to gleam its intent.


    "*$#*(%." Her brow furrowed. "#$%^, Words are hard. Not used to this way ofmunicating."


    "Do you notmunicate with the humans outside?" Unnulf was pretty clear that they did have some form ofmunication with the Tree at certain points.


    "Feelings, intent." The Fae Tree answered, smiling happily.


    That made more sense. It seemed like¡­.the tree was having a hard time even projecting a mental avatar in this ce.


    "Hello. Hello. Hello." The Tree spoke oddly, quickly and with a strange perkiness. "That''s what they say right? Things like how are you? Greetings. I watched them for so long, I never thought I would be saying them myself."


    I tilted my head,pletely taken aback by how the Fae Tree was acting. I decided to humor it for now. "That''s right. Humans generally introduce themselves in their first meeting. I''m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg."


    "Introductions?" The Tree seemed to understand, but still perceived it as a foreign concept. "I don''t have a name. A name¡­..some of them called me Yggdrasil but¡­" It stopped, looking at my Yggdrasil. "It would be strange for me to adopt that name. The others too are¡­.they belong to others. I suppose I do have one title that belongs to me alone, but it isn''t a name."


    The longer the Tree spoke, the more familiar it became with doing so.


    "Are you a god?" The Tree suddenly asked me, not even giving me a chance to respond. "They all talked about their gods. I don''t know what a god is, but I feel something from you, and the term came to me."


    "I''m not a god, but I possess divinity, a power possessed by gods." I didn''t lie, still trying to take this Tree''s measure.


    "How interesting." The Tree looked at me curiously. "And you have that young Elder inside of you."


    Young Elder? I suppose that''s a very apt description for a sapling from the World Tree.


    "I heard the whispers among them too." She abruptly changed subjects. "I can hear them even now. They''re talking about how they may finally have a chance to go back home. That you all have a way to take them back. Is that true?"


    I readied myself because if I affirmed her suspicions, I was fairly confident she might attack me. "That''s right, if they want to leave, we can take them all back to the Human World."


    The Fae Tree looked at me and smiled brightly. "That''s wonderful! Please, take them home. I''ll even give you a reward for doing so¡­.but I don''t have much left to give¡­"


    "You''re not upset?" I hesitantly asked.


    "Upset?" The Fae tilted its head. "Why would I be upset?"


    "What¡­.is your rtionship with them?" I decided to just be blunt.


    "Isn''t it obvious?" The Fae Tree said as a matter of fact. "They call me mother."


    Was¡­.it really that simple.


    I had a sudden realization.


    "Those fruits¡­.you''re using your own life force to nurture them."


    The Fae Tree looked at me. "Of course, how else would they grow? I have to feed my Children and keep them healthy." She once more spoke as if it were an obvious fact.


    It was literally expanding its eons of potential lifespan to keep the humans here living.


    "Why?" I asked.


    The Fae Tree smiled wistfully. "I remember before they came. When these waves were new and I started thinking for myself. Everything was so new and bright, so lively. But eventually, I realized that I was all alone. I couldn''t venture out, I didn''t have anyone else to talk to. The rare few times that someone came to this ind, they left in a hurry when I tried to reach out. I don''t know how long it was, until they came, I didn''t perceive the concept of ''time''."


    I closed my eyes letting out a long breath. "It was until they started aging, right?"


    "It was strange, watching one of my children age and die. I didn''t know what those words were until then and I decided I never wanted to experience them again." The Fae Tree spoke.


    "Even at the cost of your own life? It''s natural for humans to grow old and pass away. They''re mortals for a reason, everything eventually returns to the earth."


    The Fae Tree simply continued to smile. "My children, they speak of this word ''love''. I didn''t know what it meant until recently. They say it to each other, saying it to their mates, their own children, their parents." The Fae Tree looked up, touching her own trunk, the weathering of old age showed in obvious signs. "Against my instincts, I wanted to ensure their survival regardless of what cost I had to pay. They are my children, and I love them all dearly."


    Was I looking for an evil that simply wasn''t there? Upon arriving here, I never found anything wrong. Sure, many strange things for my sensibilities and my perception of the Fae Realm in general.


    But¡­.


    The Fae Tree''s words but exined everything properly and left me confused.


    In the end, it was just a Mother wanting to protect her children.


    "You ate one of my fruits, right? The first one is always the best, but consecutive ones aren''t as good as I''ve seen with my children. But I can give you a few dozen if you want as a reward." The Tree paused. "Oh, I also have this." She held her hand up and her true body in this mentalndscape trembled, a branch fell down. It looked much different than the others, still full of vitality and life. "This is one of the good branches I had left. You can have this too if you help my children go back home."


    It didn''t even give me a chance to refuse before I was whisked out of the mental world.


    My eyes opened, I was holding the branch and there were dozens of the fruits sitting on the ground around me.


    I let out a small sigh, feeling a strange twinge in my heart.


    I really did have a soft spot for loving mothers. Even if I didn''t n on already helping them, even if I didn''t receive a reward, I would have helped regardless.


    Regardless, wasting more time here was not something productive. Despite their plight, we had our own goals for being in the Fae Realm.


    Time to find their leaders and settle this ce properly.


    @***@


    POV Crom Cruach


    I calmly sipped my wine as I looked out one of the highest windows of the Winter Castle.


    Say what you will about the Fae ¨C especially the Winter Court ¨C but they had dreadfully pleasant wine.


    Even a dragon such as myself, I found it rather worthy of my pte. In truth, It made my foray into this dreadful ce somewhat bearable.


    I particrly did not like their species ¨C as broad as that term imed. They were just as insufferable and annoying as they were thousands of years ago before they retreated back into this realm at the behest of the wardens of the pathways.


    Particrly, they were prevalent in my homnd. The metaphorical walls that separated us are rather thin around that part of the world.


    And here I am again, mingling with the sort I utterly despised for my own goals. I can truthfully say that if I were a couple thousand years younger, I would not have the patience for this.


    "And the forty-third term of the contract ¨C which I don''t believe I need to exin is only valid during the 8th full moon of the ster cycle ¨C is operable on the conditions that both parties ¨C "


    It''s a strange thought that just entered my head. How amusing it was that the ones of this court have the same beauty standards as humans. There are of course the more rugged and ''monstrous'' members, but simply being outwardly and objectively ''beautiful'' seems to win you quite the merit here.


    How strange that this was a facet that seemed to carry over to not just the majority of species on Earth, but even to Dragon-kin such as myself.


    I created a humanoid form, and I did it to my own specifications, and I would objectively say that I am a handsome individual in the purpose of this thought experiment, even if such a thing was ignorable to me.


    A strange thought that I would need to considerter. If it was my unconscious decision ¨C why was it such with me being a Dragon?


    I will ask some other Dragons a simr question to see their opinions.


    "¡ªand the forty-seventh term of cooperation. The sub-divisions of regtions regarding the use of food items for weaponization purposes. The rules state that you can have no more than ¨C"


    Yes, it was a rather peaceful moment all things considered. As I stood at one of the highest points in the Winter Castle, watching a strange creature swing around Jormungandr ¨C who was only about half asrge as he normally was ¨C like a club, beating up quite a few of the Winter Queen''s forces.


    I didn''t know what that thing was, but I wanted to fight it.


    However, I had previous engagements of my own hand. If it were someone else''s matters, I would have simply ignored them. But one must take responsibility for one''s own actions. I am nothing if not true to my word and actions.


    "Sir Crom Cruach, are you listening to me?"


    I finally spared a nce towards the gnome who had a parchment unfurled, the majority of which was long enough that it touched the other side of the ratherrge room.


    I held out a finger of mine and flicked the ss window, shattering it.


    Casually, I then grabbed the little gnome and tossed him out the window.


    The sound of him hitting the ice below was pleasant as I continued to sip my wine in silence.


    One of the others in the room went over to look over the edge, confirming that the gnome was indeed sttered in a pile of blood and flesh.


    "A pity, he was good at his job." The other ¨C the Elf in bone armor bar his normal helmet spoke softly. "The Queen will not take kindly to you killing one of her better scribes. She will expect a proper exnation."


    "I am a Dragon." I responded, sipping my wine again.


    "I will pass on your words." The Elf wisely didn''t ask further.


    Thankfully ¨C for purposes of my continued mental health ¨C Strength still spoke the loudest even to these creatures.


    I am a Dragon was a proper response to a great many questions levied towards me that I didn''t feel like answering.


    Hmm, it seemed the strange creature , the newly ascended God apanying it, and Jormungandr were retreating.


    Perhaps a wise decision as the Winter Queen''s forces weren''t something ignorable. She had amassed a certain strength that couldn''t be ignored. It was enough that I was not dismissive of her either.


    "If I''m not mistaken, the forces that were sent to deal with the newest intruders, they were about to be deployed to stop the further expansion of the Youkai Invasion?" I nced at my ''minder'', before turning back at the thousands upon thousands of dead Fae thatid across the snowy and icy fields.


    "That is correct." The Elf continued to speak politely and pointedly without the normal ''mannerisms'' that his people often utilized.


    Well, I should hope so at this point.


    I''ve had to kill a great many of their people sinceing here that would just not take a hint.


    I am a Dragon.


    I did not y their games.


    "That is unfortunate." I sipped my wine again. "How much territory have they seized since their invasion started down south?"


    "The estimation is at 30%." The Elf replied.


    Hmm, that should only be 30% of the territory below the Great Sea ¨C as they call it. Some sort of distorted space ovepped in arge gorge that held an Ocean in the sky that required manual traversing.


    How annoying, it made it a tad difficult to reinforce down below, but likewise, it made it somewhat difficult tounch a proper invasion across it.


    Well, It''s not like I care about them. I just wanted to test the host of the Great Welsh. I wanted to see the decisions he made and his worth as a Dragon.


    It''s the first time that one of Ddraig''s hosts had ever in a God, it''s important to watch his movements carefully and note them down.


    There was a knock at the door, but I could already sense who it was, not that they waited for me to answer.


    "I brought him like you asked."


    "Thank you, A?i Dah¨¡ka." I looked at the recently resurrected Evil Dragon who just grunted.


    I should ask him about his choice in ''humanoid'' formter too. He took one because it was more convenient to do so while walking around indoors.


    Though, my eyes turned from him to the object of my request.


    "Leonardo, thank you foring." I spoke towards the young boy, the once former member of our illustrious ''hero faction''.


    The amusement from thatbeling was still present.


    The boy didn''t speak. I couldn''t me him, he was in a particrly awful situation.


    My many years of traveling the world allowed me to...emphasize with the ants that I normally stepped on. Oh, it doesn''t stop me from pursuing my goals and crushing everyone that gets in my way. But it was important ¨C I believed ¨C to understand beyond the reaches I had been born to.


    It was a novel experience in my earlier years of traveling while I wandered aimlessly in my pursuit of finding the true meaning of being a Dragon.


    Regardless, the boy was too useful for me to overtly care since he wasn''t being treated poorly.


    Ample threats, coercion, promises of boons. It took awhile to break him, but they always do in the end.


    Luckily for him, his purpose made it difficult to be overly aggressive in how mypatriots went about their recruitment.


    Leonardo Da Vinci, the boy named after his ancestor. The blessing or perhaps the curse of being born with one of the most interesting Sacred Gears in the world.


    His Sacred Gear required that he couldn''t be mentally controlled nor drugged to the point ofpliance. His¡­.imagination was required for the full breadth of his Sacred Gear to show its potential.


    The Annihtion Maker ¨C a device capable of creating monsters with the possibility of killing Gods.


    "Come along, Leonardo. We have some monsters to craft." I put a hand on the boy''s shoulder.


    Perhaps we can finish in time for me to catch up to Jormungandr and hispanions.


    @***@


    A/N


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    We got, a Kunou chapter, two Arachne chapters, and a Cyclops chapter ahead if you want to check it out!

 Chapter 566:

    Chapter 566:


    I held the branch of the Fae Tree in my hand as I walked towards the supposed ''Government'' building that the humans here created.


    The Branch was actually... well, it was of value to me right now because I was working out a new spell, and this filled a spot I wasn''t sure how to do so previously. Sc¨¢thach uses an Ash Tree''s branches to make duplicates ¨C lesser versions, admittedly¡ªof her spear.


    For the spell I''m devising, this branch would work perfectly since it has such an absurd vitality to it.


    The same tree that had been supplying its own vitality to ensure the longevity and health of thousands of humans for centuries.


    Without doing so, it could have probably lived for several hundred thousand years. Yet its branches were withering from what I could tell. It probably only has a few centuries left of life in it.


    It wasn''t a simple matter of giving away one point of vitality and letting a human absorb one point of vitality.


    To push it out into the form of fruits that contained such pure life energy... it probably had to sacrifice ten or twenty times the same amount of its own vitality to create those. And that was more of a conservative estimate because what it was doing was not something normal or natural.


    If it were possible to easily do what it was doing, the world would be a much different ce.Hell, the closest approximation are literal divine fruits.


    Regardless, I have a debt now to repay. I made a promise that I would take them back if they wanted to go, and I was going to uphold it.


    Unnulf walked next to me as we approached the amphitheater-like building. He didn''t ask me about the Fae Tree dropping me a bunch of fruits or the branch. Honestly, the amount of trust they had in the tree... well, I couldn''t even find it in myself to fault them for it at this point.


    It truly cared for them like a mother.


    There were no guards; frankly, there were no real guards anywhere.


    For the first time sinceing to this realm, this was the first time that I considered a ce a sort of ''paradise'' by any stretch of the imagination. Did the people want to be here? I would say absolutely not, but at the same time, it was extraordinarily peaceful on this little ind, and I genuinely questioned if there even was any crime or things of that sort.


    There were several dozen people inside as I walked in; a lot of arguing was going on.


    It took a few moments for them to notice my presence, but they gradually quieted down, looking at me.


    "Unnulf, why did you bring the outsider here? We''re not done discussing." A man, Greek in origin, had a bit of a belly, and he even wore a toga with noticeable sewed edges as if it were fixed many times over the years.


    "Eh, I just followed; he came here himself." Unnulf sat down, drinking a bit less aggressively, but he hadn''t stopped drinking since I''d given him the barrels of alcohol.


    "I''m leaving; we''re leaving. We can''t waste much time here; we have our own ns and objectives." I decided to cut right to the chase.


    The Greek one furrowed his brow. "We haven''t decided what to do with you all yet."


    "And you are..."


    "Kallipides." He said it with pride.


    "Right, Kallipides." I nodded. "Let me make something clear: we''re not beholden to you all. We came here out of good will, but that''s it. As someone who''s half-human and identifies with my human half, I sympathize with your situation. Thus, I''m offering you all a chance to leave this realm and return to the human world."


    Someone pushed past him, one of the Vikings it looked like based on their attire. "You do have a way out?"


    "And you are...?" I repeated it once more.


    "Chief Hrodi." He grunted, much less mboyant and self-gratifyingpared to the Greek. "You im toe from outside with a tale of invasion."


    Ah, they didn''t quite believe us.


    "A group of monsters." A derivative snorts from the back.


    "How do we know you''re telling the truth?"


    "Could be a trap."


    "Demons, the lot of them." Someone dressed like a cardinal huffed.


    I''m once more impressed by the breath of cultures represented that are somehow getting along.


    "I understand." I held my hands up to quiet down their arguing. "Your skepticism is warrant; it''s kept you all alive this long. Allow me to provide you all with some proof."


    They went silent, as if to wait for me to provide said proof.


    I release my spiritual pressure, pinning all of them to the ground, shaking the entire building and the ind.


    Even the tree above began to sway noticeably.


    "If I wanted to, I could kill you all right now without a problem." I spoke calmly as my spiritual pressure receded.


    I admit, I loved having learned this little trick; it''s rather handy and imposing.


    Some of them recovered better than others. Some of them were real warriors; others were their equivalent of politicians or leaders without anybat experience or strength to them. Other than what they''ve passively obtained over the years.


    For the older ones, of any on this ind, I don''t think there are any below a ''Mid-ss'' in status.


    "I can speak on behalf of all your gods." I segued into the next topic. "If you''re willing, the gods you worship will be waiting in some part for your return. Asgard will wee the warriors out of time. Olympus will ept those who have stayed loyal. Takamagahara will dly ept brave warriors from the past. And Heaven will ept all its believers back with open arms."


    It''s actually kind of funny that I¡ªsomeone who is still technically mortal¡ªhave that kind of connection.


    And truthfully, I think their ''faith'' is one of the few things that''s kept them going through these years.


    "sphemy!" the cardinal-looking figure breathed out.


    I flicked my hand, and the True Longinus mmed into the ground in front of the Cardinal. The Holy Power was radiant as it pulsed out, calm and weing to them.


    "I said this before; maybe it wasn''t quite understood. The world is a much different ce than your times. Heaven and Hell recently agreed to peace. The Youkai¡ªmy people that havee here¡ªparticipated in the peace meeting, and we have agreements with Heaven."


    The Cardinal was silent, gulping as he stared at the Spear along with the ones who seemed to be of the same faith or derivations thereof.


    "Ragnar?k recently urred." I continued as no one else was speaking.


    "Ragnar?k?" A faint whisper among the Vikings and Nords.


    "I participated." I revealed. "In order to overturn the destruction of Asgard, I sat upon the throne and was momentarily the King of Asgard. They''re currently rebuilding and will happily ept honorable warriors among them asrades. And... I''m also Blood Brothers with Odin."


    "Can you prove your words?"


    "I can only offer my pride as proof that I wouldn''t lie about such a thing. If you want to call me a liar, I will draw my de, and we can fight as warriors." I said pointedly.


    Sometimes, it was much easier to deal with these sorts. One''s de arm spoke louder than words in a lot of cases.


    The pride of a great warrior was usually enough to back up tall tales, even if they sounded ridiculous.


    No one stepped forward to call me a liar.


    However, there were a few whispers between them¡ªthe whispering of godly names.


    "The result of Ragnar?k is that there are new gods among the gods of Asgard. One of them is currently within this realm. You can pray to Jinn¡ªthe Goddess of Magic, Knowledge, and Homestead." I found myself smiling.


    "You are Japanese?" An older gentleman wearing regal-looking Japanese attire from an older period asked with a very polite tone. "I am Kiyabu Taro. But an old man without an ancestral home any longer. Can you speak for the Kami we pray to? Will I be able to meet my ancestors and beg forgiveness for not being able to rebuild our n? They may not know, but you ask of us to trust Youkai."


    "I was born Shimoda Takao. My mother was Japanese, and I lived and grew up in Japan until I became an adult. The Leader of the Youkai is Yasaka, A Kyuubi-no-Kitsune, and Miko for Amaterasu-no-Okami. I have a certain... rtionship with Susano-no-Mikoto. And if you''re willing to believe me, I''m currently... courting Izanami-no-Mikoto. I can guarantee your eptance by Takamagahara."


    Taro went quiet, clearly contemting what I just said.


    "What about us?" The Greek Kallipidies asked softly; his earlier bravado was diminished. My disy of power clearly has an effect on him.


    "I''ve met Hades on a few asions, and I can reach out to the Gods of Olympus. I have no reason to believe they''d reject you all." Of course, they might try to frame it as a favor towards us in doing so.


    However, there is no faction in the world that would reject humans that worship them with the strength they show.


    It''s easy for me to be dismissive of their strength earlier, but generally, they''re already far beyond the ''average'' strength of the supernatural world.


    Considering that the average military person in the Underworld for Devils is low ss, anyone above that is considered an asset big or small. It''s doubly so impressive for humans because they have such low ''starting points''.


    The humans here were silent.


    It was probably hard for them to ept the casualness in which I just spoke about the gods they worship.


    The unreachable thrones for their belief, yet for me, it''s usually a rather mundane experience. I''ve had dinner with Hades and his wife. Izzy, there''s not much that needs to be said there. Odin, I''ve literally kicked him off a building before.


    Still, while they were speechless, they weren''t normal humans any longer. Perhaps they''ve never met their objects of worship, but they''ve lived in this realm for years.


    "You will take us out of this realm?"


    I looked at the one who spoke, a younger man¡ªthough that might not be a case considering. "Immediately, no. We''re currently an advance party looking for the path to cross this ocean and to acquire ships. If you''re willing to wait, within a month, I''d say at a maximum."


    "I heard stories about our home." He said quietly.


    Ah, he was one of the ones born here, it seems.


    "I intend to gather our people and leave rather soon." I said, crossing my arms. "You need to make a decision quickly. However, we have set up base on a nearby ind. I can''t say I know the directions from here, but it should be easy for you all to find if you know these parts."


    "I''ll go with them." Unnulf spoke amid their silence. "We got a little bit of time; they''re doing their fighting; I can check things out and see if it''s true." He said, taking a swig of his drink.


    "Unnulf is trustworthy." One of them muttered.


    "Aye, Unnulf could have been Chief. His words will bring no doubt." The Viking chief nodded, and they seemed toe to a silent agreement. "Thank you, brother."


    "It''s my duty." Unnulf said shamelessly.


    Shamelessly, because I knew him for hours at this point, and I knew for a fact he volunteered because he knew we had more drinks.


    I didn''t reject it because it didn''t interfere with our goals in the slightest.


    If it set their minds at ease, so be it.


    I pat Unnulf on the shoulder. "I''m heading back to the ship; be there within the next quarter hour."


    He probably had some quick words that needed to be exchanged privately, and I left them to it as I left the building.


    "Nurarihyon." I said quietly.


    "I''m here." The Youkai leader entered my perception at my side.


    One of the few beings that, despite my strength, could go undetected by me. "Ready to head out?"


    "Not much for us here to keep us preupied." He grunted. "Give me one of those fruits."


    I shrugged, handing one over out of my ring. "I''m surprised you didn''t steal one... or a few."


    He happily epted it, munching down on it with vigor, licking his lips of the juices. The wrinkles on his face decreased noticeably. He still looked old, but there was a newfound energy to him, his back a little bit straighter. "Oh boy, that''s a rush. My Touki nearly burst out for a moment." He stretched his back for a moment. "I feel twenty years younger." He let out a breath, ncing at me. "I considered it, stealing a few. Probably was going to do so, but I snuck in on that little meeting you had with the tree. Lost my motivation after that."


    I felt my eye twitch after hearing that he snuck in on a mental meeting with the Fae Tree.


    I wanted to say plenty of things to that, but I decided it was better for my sanity to just ignore it for now.


    @***@


    "Watch the star there." Unnulf pointed up towards the sky. "It moves; we use it to track the time of day."


    "Fascinating." I replied, looking at the star in question. "And the one next to it is the point of reference."


    "Aye, that one never moves." Unnulf nodded.


    The ship of ours hit the waves quickly. We made a short trip back to the ind to drop off our acquired boats, then we immediately set sail again.


    "Human brat." Nurarihyon appeared next to us, startling Unnulf. "Got a question. Howe you all haven''t left yourselves? Surely you could have found a passage out of here. If so many of you identally stumbled into this ce, there has to be equally as many exits."


    "Ah¡­" Unnulf scratched his beard. "Elder, you speak the truth. However, this realm is not forgiving for humans. We live on these waters because they are the safest. But equally so, there are no known exits within them. Every group of ours that ventured out from these waters, they returned with heavy losses or not at all." He said quietly.


    "Have you left this ocean before?"


    "Aye, I was among a group that tried to push out, to raid some of those cursed things''s homes for revenge." He shook his head with a hint of mncholy. "Eventually, we lost all desire for revenge and only wanted to survive."


    Thankfully, Unnulf knew the location of the ''exit'' to the other side. The exit that put us right into the main territory of the Winter Court.


    A few hours of sailing, and the temperature started to drop, so I could feel we were getting close.


    "Tell me about the exit." I asked. "What kind of defense should we expect?" It was a good idea to either scout it now or secure the exit properly.


    "They have no people guarding it, but something much worse. We call it the ice mirror valley." Unnulf said taking a drink. "Large ciers of ice, crystal clear that you can see your reflection."


    "Dare I ask what''s wrong with it?"


    "Don''t know." He took another drink. "The only survivor died before being only to exin. Only said that death awaits us there. Every party that went to investigate never came back."


    I would have to see it for myself.


    But there''s surely a limit to what they can ''copy''.


    "Something we should be concerned about?" Nurarihyon looked at me.


    "I''m honestly not too concerned." I shook my head. We could handle what came our way.


    Before I could say something else, I felt a small tinge of cold as I looked up and saw snow falling from the sky.


    Less than a minute, and it picked up heavily, making me frown.


    "We''ve been discovered." I said, voicing my thoughts as I let a falling snowkend on my finger.


    It was made of pure magical energy.


    Every single one of the falling bits of snow was made of magical energy. I questioned the purpose of it until I realized it was drowning out my senses.


    Clever.


    Something I hadn''t considered before, but it made sense. If you sted your magical energy in front of someone, it was nearly impossible for them to sense a point of magical energy somewhere else.


    This aplished the same thing in that a snowstorm spawning on top of us was basically drowning out my perception.


    I could disrupt it, but the amount of magical energy... it would simply reform in moments.


    There was no point in using a dragon shout every breath for hours on end.


    "I see something ahead!" A shout came from above.


    The little Youkai with the single eye that could see even further than me was pointing forward.


    I summoned my sword and swung it forward, cleaving through the storm in front of us for just a moment so I could see clearly.


    Right, when he said ciers, he wasn''t lying. They were massive and numerous. Each one like a skyscraper. But beyond those, I could see the climbing pir of light from the lighthouse, it seems.


    Rather quickly, the snowstorm covered up my sight as it became difficult to see a few dozen feet in front of us.


    Still, it was somewhat peaceful, as nothing happened. It only took a few minutes for the ship to float up to them.


    There was no ''going around'' these ciers, it seemed, either; they surrounded the lighthouse protectively.


    As the ship slowly advanced forward, it nearly brushed up against the side of a cier, and I stepped towards the edge to get a good look.


    I put my hand on the side, the crystal-clear ice, my reflection doing the same, as you would expect from a reflection.


    However, as soon as I put my hand on it, my eyes widened in realization. "Uh oh."


    "What?" Nurarihyon was quick to snap his head to me.


    "These ciers are made of crystallized magical energy." Different from Dust, but functionally the same.


    And they''re massive and numerous...


    I couldn''t notice until we got this close because of the snowstorm.


    "Brat!" Nurarihyon raised his voice.


    I looked over, and the reflections of the crew were different.


    They pushed against their side of the ''ss'' so to speak, and like ice sculptures given form, they materialized and took shape,nding onto the ship, looking at their counterparts.


    Even one of Nurarihyon popped out, and its aura was no less than the old man''s.


    The ciers'' positions were intentionally arranged in a grand ritual, and the ciers themselves were made of magical energy.


    There were no guards here because this ce was one big trap.


    I looked back at the reflection of myself, and it was looking back at me, crossing its arms.


    The snowstorm distorted and dispersed abruptly, with an intense wind whipping around.


    Just as quickly, the vast majority of the ciers disappeared.


    ¡­as if they were consumed.


    My reflection stepped out.


    I could feel the sheer amount of magical energy it contained. And it was rather easy to put two and two together to know where the crystallized magical energy from a moment ago went.


    ciers of crystallized magical energy arranged in a grand ritual to fuel a doppelganger creation.


    I caught onest snow k and came to the realization that it wasn''t only used to obscure my perception but also used to investigate us thoroughly.


    I heard a faint but coldugh across the chilling winds.


    Well, it was far from the first time I''ve fought a mirrored version of myself.


    The fake me looked around, at me, then down at his arm as a very familiar Red Gauntlet appeared on it.


    [Alright, now it''s personal]. Ddraig chimed in. He''s just bluffing regardless. [I don''t feel any Dragon presence from that thing, so it''s a fake through and through.]


    I cracked my neck. "Alright, let''s see what half-assed copying you''ve got."


    My copy smiled smugly and spoke in the same voice as myself, holding the Gauntlet up. "I who am about to awaken..."


    ...suddenly, I don''t think he''s bluffing.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above.


    We got a Kunou chapter, a Cyclops chapter, and two Arachne chapters up there ahead of the normal releases.

 Chapter 567:

    Chapter 567:


    I''ll be honest, it happened so suddenly.


    Despite telling myself I was being cautious, perhaps I was arrogant from how easily things had been going so far. We can say we invaded the territory of the Winter Court, yet we did the equivalent of taking a bite out of the very edge.


    Ddraig said he sensed no Draconic Aura; well, I felt that was irrelevant at the moment because the sheer amount of magical energy this thing was putting off was insane.


    I almost wanted to call it a pale imitation of a Holy Grail in output.


    Did it fall short inparison? No doubt, it was still absurd that this amount of magical energy could be gathered and solidified into shape. Absolutely.


    How many millennia did it take those ''ciers'' to form from constant umtion?


    No wonder there were no ''guards'' around here. When enemies became their worst opponents from trying to breach deeper into the Winter Court''s territory, there was no need to station physical guards.


    Gods stayed away from the Fae Realms.And it wasn''t only because they were alien and hard to navigate and enter.


    This thing before me, in sheer power output, breached the realm of Gods by arge step.


    However, it didn''t feel like a living thing ¨C rather obvious if you look at the pieces forced together. But with this kind of power, it was still impressive to get some kind of ''construct'' to this level.


    And obviously, I wasn''t going to let it finish its chant to activate Juggernaut drive.


    Before it could utter another word, I used Shunpo to move behind it and stabbed forward with my sword.


    However, it also moved.


    It moved almost the same as my Shunpo except¡­ "You teleporting bastard." I huffed, chasing after him.


    It teleported to mimic my Shunpo.


    That answered one of my questions. Shunpo utilizes Reiatsu; it can''t ''copy'' my Reiatsu as it''s something so foreign to it; therefore,it copied the application in that it simply teleported to achieve the same results.


    "I am the Heavenly Dragon that has stolen the Principles of Domination from God¡ª" It continued with that annoying little smirk before thousands of illusions burst out of him, rather impressively cast.


    What made it annoying was that it had no differing aura about it. No Draconic, no Divinity, no Reiatsu, no Demonic.


    All of them were magical, so I couldn''t immediately pinpoint it.


    I had no time to pay attention to the Youkai who had engaged their own counterparts.


    Nurarihyon also seemed to be meeting his match somewhat.


    However, a familiar "Boost" resounded from the corner, and I snapped my head for a "Prate" to follow it up.


    I summoned my own Boosted Gear. "Boost, Prate!" And in quick session, I copied my copy, and the two conceptually prating abilities collided.


    What happens when two immovable objects collide¡­They cancelled each other out after running out of power.


    But I found my copy this time and moved with my fastest speed; my Divine Lightning wrapped around my legs, and I used my Shunpo to my max. It still was able to react, but not enough to escape as my sword cleaved through the arm that held its copied Boosted Gear.


    " ¨C Iugh at the Infinite, and I grieve for the Dream."


    The one whose arm I cut off, it dissipated, and I quickly turned around, dodging a st of lightning.


    Clever dick!


    Clearly, this thing wasn''t a mindless construct!


    It imbued one of the illusions with its copied power to trick me.


    All my swords shed out through the air, slicing through the thousands of illusions in the blink of an eye. The confirmation of the ''real'' one was when it had its own swords emerge and collide with my own.


    I became annoyed.


    It copied my swords ¨C albeit, I could tell at a nce they were hollow copies. But those were mine, and I detested the thought of someone else having them.


    I took out the Staff of Magnus, my ''copy'' following suit.


    We had covered enough distance that the ship was now a fair distance away, so I wasn''t concerned about coteral damage.


    Spell Circles appeared by the hundreds. My copy also mimicked my action as the world filled with lightning.


    However, my lightning was Divine.


    It couldn''t copy my Divine Power.


    "Shield of Asgard!" It changed tactics, mming its staff down on the snowy cier that remained.


    I rushed forward and held my palm out as the air crackled with lightning. "Had¨­ #88, Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiko!" I swung my palm forward right in front of his shield as the gigantic lightning dragon emerged with a roar of thunder, bursting through it and mming into the copy.


    "Bakud¨­ # 81, Danku!" My copy called out; without Reiatsu, a substantial amount of magical energy converged to create a shield, and my lightning crashed into it like an oing wave. "Boost, Transfer!" It copied further, enhancing the shield.


    I ignored everything else and pressed it; the important thing was to prevent it from finishing the chant. I admit I was concerned as to what would happen if it seeded, as that was its immediate goal.


    Not giving it an opening was a priority.


    "I shall be ¨C "


    I shunpo''d around the shield from the side, Mirage in hand, and magic circles swirled around the de. "Ether Cannon!"


    It raised the boosted gear up as a makeshift shield as its ''swords'' flew in front of it, also alleviating some of the damage.


    My ''copy'' took the brunt of the hit, getting sted down into the water.


    I grabbed my Sword of Destruction out of the air and pulled on my Demonic Side through the Hogyoku and released a powerful sh imbued with my Power of Destruction straight downwards to where it was sent, splitting the ocean, destroying everything in its path.


    The copy was forced to roll to the side haggardly, but still far from defeated. It, however, didn''t sit there and wait; within the blink of an eye, it had released countless spells in return.


    It seemed to be able to forgo some part of the normal casting procedure.


    Unfortunately for it, it didn''t inherit my Magic Resistance so I could ignore the vast majority of those spells, and I shot downward onto its body, my leg crushing into its chest.


    I was a fairly noticeable amount ''stronger'' physicallypared to a few weeks ago.


    The fruit gave me a small but noticeable boost. The ying of Hanuman also gave me a bit bigger, if still somewhat small, boost.


    Every bit helped and showed.


    The copy silently screamed; perhaps it doesn''t feel pain but still mimics the effects appropriately.


    I gathered my Power of Destruction around my hand and moved to m my palm down onto its head.


    "Fus Ro Dah!" My copy bellowed, and a magical mimicry of my Dragon Shout rippled out, and I moved to brace myself and forgo the attack.


    It was enough that the falling walls of water were blown away and my feet dug holes into the ocean''s floor after bracing myself from the blowback.


    "¨C The Red Dragon of Domination. And I shall sink you to the depths of¡ª


    I let go of the sword I was currently holding and let Mirage fall into my hand again, and I moved before he could regain his momentum.


    Swallow Returns!


    The copy jerked its body abruptly, trying to dodge, but it was futile. If it couldn''t properly copy things like my divinity or my spiritual powers, my usage of the kaleidoscope must have been aplete blind spot for it.


    The first de was dodged; the second pierced through his back.


    It still moved with my de through it, however. And I pulled Mirage free and used a burst of Shunpo to move out of the way as his haphazard attack missed me.


    Myriad sh.


    Its head fell down to the ground, and its body followed a momentter.


    I let out a breath, exerting my power a bit still so the walls of water around us didn''te crashing down just yet.


    [Something is wrong.] Ddraig spoke up, verbally acknowledging a strange feeling I also had in my gut.


    If it was copying me, shouldn''t it have been... stronger? Even if it could only mimic my stuff through a bastardized usage of magical energy, I didn''t have to push that hard.


    The power it held was easily God level, but... that was a rather easy ''fight.''.


    "¡ªCrimson Purgatory." My head snapped towards the source of the words; the fake Gauntlet on its arm lit up despite being a headless ''corpse.''.


    [We''ve been had.]


    I wasn''t the target of the copy.


    "Welsh Dragon, Juggernaut Drive."


    The world turned crimson.


    @***@


    POV ¨C Angelica Lathas, Reporter for Devil News Today


    "Quick, Greg, set up!" I waved at him to get the camera going.


    He got a lot quicker recently for obvious reasons.


    I quickly fixed my hair as best I could, but it was an effort in futility at this point. How long had we been in this ce? I hadn''t had a proper bath in what felt like an eternity.


    An alligator with the mouth of a chicken tried to bite me when I found a small river to bathe in!


    And that wasn''t even the weirdest thing that''s happened to me sinceing here!


    I felt like I''d aged a hundred years in the span of a few days.


    Even my clothes¡­. I was lucky that one of Lady Yasaka''s attendants took pity on me and patched up my attire; otherwise I''d be running around in rags!


    I did not prepare enough for this.


    Greg held up his fingers, counting down.


    "Hello everyone, it''s Angelica Lathas here with Devil News Today!" It wasn''t live, thankfully, in that regard. But all the unedited footage is basically shown as soon as it''s brought back.


    Despite any embarrassing moments.


    "For all of you tuning in now, here''s a quick recap. Lady Yasaka and her fellow Youkai have so far imed over forty miles of territory as per ourst airing. So far, twelve different ''lords'' as we''vee to know them have either surrendered or have been killed as her forces have pushed forward at unbelievable speed. However, it leaves this reporter questioning the thoughts of their enemies, as they have yet to show any real resistance to the invasion."


    I took a deep breath as shouting and the sounds of armor nking were heard not far away.


    "Right now, we''ve stepped away from Lady Yasaka''s primary army, as you can see behind me ¨C " I gestured to Greg to get a good view with the camera. "We''re currently situated with not the Youkai, but their surprising allies¡ªthe Pendragon Family. Yes, you heard me right: the one infamous enemy of all Devil-kind, dating back to the time of the legendary King Arthur, is currently preparing for battle."


    I subtly nudged my head to Greg to keep looking out towards the Knights.


    "While much smaller in numbers, I''ve been told that every Knight you see here ¨C "of which there were roughly a thousand." Is at leastparable to a Mid-ss Devil. That''s right, a thousand human Knights, all Mid-ss or above!"


    Wasn''t that surprising?


    I didn''t think humans could pull off that kind of thing.


    "As you can see, Lady Artoria Pendragon is meeting with a certain Fae ¨C some kind of Knight themselves?" I wasn''t really sure; a lot of them rode horses and wore armor. " ¨C as both sides are at a standoff. We''re lucky to be able to see the Pendragon family in action soon."


    Because it was a cold day in hell if one of these bastards actually surrendered without a fight.


    All the ones who ''surrendered'' previously did so after a thorough beating.


    They were still talking, no action going on. Better distract everyone with something.


    I gave Greg the signal for him to zoom in on the woman in charge.


    "As you can see, Artoria Pendragon has be a somewhat focal point for quite a few people since her appearance in the peace conference. There are rumors that despite being broken, she possesses theplete Excalibur, a weaponparable to an Archangel!" Of course I didn''t outright say that''s true, but those are the popr rumors. "And not only that, but it''s been confirmed that she''s part of a harem of our very own Wilhelm Schweinorg, the Devil that''s on everyone''s lips recently."


    Most people will eat that up; they want to know more about him. Sure they want to see the fighting, but you can''t always show just fighting.


    A good reporter knows how to keep the audience interested with different hooks!


    And anything about the son of Lucifer is going to get a lot of attention.


    Well, it also helped that she was simply beautiful. How many would-be nobility would want a chance to take her into their own harems? A harem was more than just a rtionship; it was a status symbol!


    However, the thing was, there was barely any information on Artoria Pendragon from the dossier that Lady Leviathan gave me.


    Just the barest details that honestly sounded more like rumors.


    In that case, let''s make her mysterious the focal point!


    "We know very little about Artoria Pendragon ourselves. Only that she appeared recently with aplete Excalibur, and every member of the Pendragon Family pledged their loyalty to her without fail."


    "There are ¨C "


    "What''s this, who are you?"


    "Eh?" I found myself cut off as a woman with blue water-like hair walked over, pushing herself in front of me.


    "Devils? You shouldn''t be here. Hmph, I''ll just kill you and save everyone the trouble." She raised her hands up, and while I was no magician, I could tell when magic was about to be cast.


    I felt my eyes widen until a mist emerged from the ground, eating the magic that was developing.


    "They have permission to be here from Lady Yasaka. Please refrain from causing them harm." Our savior arrived!


    Thank you, Soma!


    The strange woman frowned but stopped. "Fine, I guess it''s not my ce to say anything." She huffed.


    Soma nodded and disappeared again.


    "What''s this though?" She walked up, ignoring me, and pushed her face into the camera. "Oh, a crystal structure inside. Some kind of mechanism I don''t recognize. Ah, it''s recording images? Not just images, sound too! How novel I don''t remember anything like this back when I was more active in the human world."


    Greg looked at me, but I didn''t know what to say to the woman who so flippantly was ready to try and kill us.


    "Um... excuse me... miss?"


    "Oh!" She pulled away. "Devils, hmm. I guess you''re harmless."


    Why did that sound like an insult?


    "I don''t like Devils since they killed my Arthur. What are you doing with this, hmm? She grabbed the camera out of Greg''s hands, ying with it.


    "¡­That''s a camera; it''s¡­." Did she really not know? We were still recording too... "It''s recording everything, and it''s being sent back so the whole Underworld can watch the Invasion."


    "The whole Underworld?!" She eximed. "I take it back; that''s more than novel! I feel like I missed out on a lot of things!"


    "...thank you?"


    "Hmm." She dropped the camera, seemingly losing interest, and I winced.


    I quickly regained myposure. "And who might you be, miss¡­.?" I nced back as Greg picked the camera back up.


    "Oh, I''m Vivian, the Lady of the Lake!" She announced proudly.


    That, Vivian!?


    Who didn''t know that name if they knew absolutely anything about the legendary figure associated with it!?


    "What did I say about running off, you idiot!" A knight came stomping over; she looked rather simr to Artoria Pendragon, who was leading the Knights here. "Negotiations could end at any minute, and you''re making mee all the way over here to drag your ass back."


    "Wah, unhand me, you traitor! Hooligan, betrayer!" She whined as the female knight grabbed her by the arm.


    "Yeah, yeah,e on, Mom, we got work to do." The girl sighed.


    "M-mom!?" She squeaked. "W-who said you could call me that!? Even if you''re much cuterpared to him¡­"


    The female knight rolled her eyes. "Do you think I want to be rted to that French adulterer through you either?"


    "Don''t talk about Lancelot like that; he was a good child!"


    "He was a cunt." She replied expressionlessly before turning to us. "Sorry about this. Father said you wereing. Can''t say I care either way what you''re here for, but this one wasn''t supposed toe over and bother you."


    "T-thank you?" I said I was not sure how to react again, but once more, my expertise as a reporter shined through. "Miss, can you pleasement about what''s going on currently? And can you also introduce yourself for our viewers at home?"


    She looked annoyed but relented despite the struggling woman in her grasp. "Name? I''m Mordred Pendragon. Father is currently trying to negotiate a surrender of Fae you see over there. Not going to work obviously, but it''s how things go. Got to give them a chance to surrender before you ram a sword through their chest." She shrugged. Besides that, there isn''t much to say. Once we clear up this small force¡­" She paused, squinting her eyes. "About two thousand of them, if I''m not mistaken, then we''re pushing up the West while our allies are pushing up the East."


    "Thank you for your insight¡­ Sir Mordred." That was how you addressed a knight properly, wasn''t it? She looked pleased, so I think I did good.


    Mordred turned to the Lady of the Lake. "If you keep struggling, I''m gonna poke ya." She said, pulling out a¡­dangerous-looking and feelingnce.


    "K-keep your Divine Lance away from me!" She whined further.


    Divine Lance!?


    "Come on, Father is heading back." She dragged the woman off with her back to the formations of the Knights.


    Lots of things just happened; I have no context for any of them.


    Thankfully, we were recording most of it.


    "As you can see, it appears as though conflict is inevitable!" It didn''t take a genius to see both sides were prepared. The two from before rejoined everyone else, disappearing from view. That was until the side of the Knights moved forward, horses neighing and the sound of feet hitting the ground.


    However, at the forefront, I recognized the armor as the girl who had just been with us.


    Wreathed in lightning, at the proverbial spear tip, she charged into the lines of the enemy Fae.


    Like a car running over an ant, they couldn''t be stopped.


    Particrly in the case of that Mordred, she utterly decimated the front lines with her first hit; Red Lightning danced everywhere, and the other Knights quickly followed, tearing into them without hesitation.


    Hundreds fell quickly, but I don''t think I picked up a single knight that fell along with them. There were also several dozen magicians in the rear, providing support. It seemed like as soon as one of the knights was about to receive a decisive blow, there would be some sort of magical effect appearing to protect them, be it a st of magic at the enemy or a shield to protect the knight.


    I was by no means an authority on warfare, but wasn''t the side with the higher numbers supposed to have the advantage?


    Why did it seem like an adult handling a toddler?


    ...are they really humans?


    @***@


    A/N


    Hey guys, if you didn''t know, I was busy with a very stressful and difficult move the past week or so. It involved things like the service elevator at my apartment not working when I lived on the 7th floor. But we''re back to normal now, and I''ll try to have antoher Cyclops and Arachne chapter out this week.


    Also, Fae Arc is over as of this p.a.t.r.e.o.n chapter, finished with a chapter over 10k words. Next big arc is a new world! We also have 2 Arachne chapters ahead over here and another Cyclops chapter.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 568:

    Chapter 568:


    Folen, Norse God POV


    Damn bastards!


    Several of my arrows pierced the heads of some annoying gnats.


    And as satisfying as it was to put arrows through their skulls, there were far too many. Though despite the numerical advantage, that wasn''t the worry aspect.


    Especially when the thing iming to be the brat''s cousin was using the World Serpent as a bludgeoning tool. Granted, it was far from its ''real'' size after the wounds it suffered during the battle for Asgard.


    But still, the thing swung it around like it was made of paper.


    I admit to taking a small bit of pleasure when she smacked a bunch of those uppity gnats with the serpent.


    However, I was focused on the more powerful sources that were approaching, and the really powerful ones that were watching from a distance.


    Ones that made me ¨C a newly ascended god ¨C feel a touch of concern.There was a reason that despite this ce being so far out of reach of most, that it was untouched by even Gods in past ages.


    They had their own defenders.


    And that idiot swinging around poor Jormungandr just barged right in and ignored all of that!


    "You look familiar, have we met before?" A cold chill ran down my back as a shadowy figure emerged from the intensifying snow storm.


    I quickly put an arrow in it, but it wasn''t real.


    Truthfully, I hadn''t had long to get used to being a God now, despite being stronger, I wasn''t as strong as I could be.


    And I was old¡­.I hadn''t kept up with the times in my old age. I normally only grabbed my bow when the stray monster or beast needed to be put down. My hands were far too used to simply caring for the wounded.


    The sound of a tongue clicking became apparent over everything. "Now this is going to bother me for a while. I know that you''re familiar somehow, but I really can''t put my finger on it. Which n are you from?"


    I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, drawing upon the unfamiliar Divine Power inside of myself and I swiftly jerked my bow up, pointing to the sky and pulled back the bow string.


    A single Golden arrow shot up, piercing the cold wings, and burst out into a thousand more arrows, falling down like rain.


    That youngdy I recall during the battle did something simr.


    I''m no longer an old dog, learning new tricks is something I can do.


    My golden arrows swept away the surrounding cold, revealing the person stalking nearby.


    He let out a hiss of anger, pulling several shallow arrows from himself. "A God?" He spoke in disbelief. "How could¡­" He seemed toe to a realization. "Oh, you''re one of those exiled ns from a long time ago. How amusing, one of you became a God for the ones outside?" Heughed.


    "Great Fairy then?" I grunted.


    He tilted his armored head. "Good, you know my title. How fun,would you consider surrendering? I think you would make a great member of our hunt."


    "Not just a Great Fairy, but a leader of the hunt?" Annoying.


    Great Fairy was a status, like calling someone ''Ultimate ss'' or such that the kids do these days.


    A leader of the Hunt was another notch above that. Only exceedingly powerful or cunning ones among their number became a leader of the Hunt.


    I''m not surprised he feels about equal to me despite the fact that I recently ascended to Godhood. Perhaps if I had more time to temper myself, I would have been able to easily deal with him.


    "Even after killing so many of your people, you''re inviting me?" I questioned, flicking the string of my bow, killing a few dozen more under his gaze.


    He nonchntly nced at the deaths of his kin and shrugged. "The strong survive. None of those you killed were ones I found value in."


    "Ah." He turnedpletely away from me all of the sudden. "Well, you better quickly ept my offer. Our Queen seems to have lost her patience."


    The cold felt different.


    Sharper, deadly.


    Over the castle in the distance, I felt two chilling eyes appear, and the shadow of a mighty figure enveloping the entire area.


    I paid no attention to the Hunt Leader who departed.


    I leveled my bow and gathered all my Divine Power, releasing a barrage of arrows right towards the Queen Bitch herself.


    They didn''t reach, each one exploding in divine power before hitting, but it was enough that she had to pay it the briefest of attention and I ran towards the stupid girl, giving her a firm kick in the rear.


    "Hey!?" She looked at me, dropping poor Jormungandr to the ground.


    "We''re leaving. Now."


    She turned to look at the Queen as well, frowning. "Alright."


    She hesitated for a moment.


    She apparently considered fighting the Queen.


    I was old and wise enough to know when I was a tad out of my league.


    "I regret agreeing to this." Jormungandr whined. "You owe me for this, Elf." It said with a small huff looking at the girl with noticeable fear and hesitation.


    "I''ll pay it back, now turn up, and take us out of here." I jumped on his head, grabbing the girl too to make sure she didn''t run off.


    "Don''t forget me"! The strange flying object chimed in, floating up with us.


    I didn''t know what that was exactly, but I stopped caring awhile ago.


    Jormungandr was exceedingly fast, especially for his size. He was faster than we could run by ourself, and with some effort, he was able to put a bit of distance between us as the Castle.


    However, we were far from out of her reach.


    I flicked my bow, sending more arrows back, feeling my Divine Power draining rapidly.


    It just pissed me off more because that old one-eyed bastard offered to help me train and I kicked him away.


    Her gaze was ever present, but it seemed she wasn''t attacking us directly. My mind was going through the possibilities, but it was hard to guess what they were thinking.


    No, her gaze shifted.


    To where, that was answered rather quickly as well.


    A crimson hue set on the horizon, followed by a furious roar that shook the air around us.


    "Great Welsh!?" Jormungandr blurted out in surprise.


    Why does it seem like when ever something happens, it involves him or those close to him?


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    I could taste the amount of power being radiated.


    Which ismon for powerhouses of this level, but in this specific case, it felt like it was bleeding its Magical Energy without regard.


    Ddraig was right, we''ve been had.


    It''s not often that I''m led by the nose so thoroughly.


    We both thought it was a copy of me that happened to have a simcrum of the Boosted Gear. But it turned out to be the exact opposite in this case.


    The Spell Ritual created a copy of Ddraig with a simcrum of me ''around'' it so to speak. The reason why it simply stalled for time and didn''t properly engage me, why it felt so weak, It couldn''t have put more than 10% of its umted Magical Energy into the fake copy of myself.


    However, it was met with its own restrictions.


    The copied Ddraig was copied in its current state, chained within the Boosted Gear. It still had to go through the process of activating Juggernaut Drive.


    Of course, if it was able to trick me, it had the intelligence to know I wouldn''t just stand there and let it activate Juggernaut Drive unabated. Technically, you could bypass the chant with enough stress and willbined with the threat of death, albeit unintentionally. There was a reason why the Boosted Gear had the stigma associated with it regarding rampaging hosts.


    However, it''s highly likely this thing was capable of such ''emotions''.


    I watched as scales manifested all around it, building up into a moderatelyrge silhouette. It abandoned a ''humanoid'' form rather quickly, or rather, it never had designs for one.


    Its neck elongated, and its jaw opened up with razor sharp teeth. Spikes emerged down its back, and itsrge tail swept up a whirlwind with each movement.


    It let out a furious roar. The force of which nearly blew me back.


    [Tsk.] Ddraig sounded annoyed. [It''s barely reaching past half the amount of power I had in my prime]


    That''s what you''re mad about?


    [Well, if it''s going to copy me, it should do it properly!]


    Still, half a prime Ddraig was frightening.


    [Even if it has half my ''power'' inparison, it''ll be weaker than half my true strength. It''s too mindless to be able to utilize everything properly.]


    And truthfully, it''s highly doubtful it''s even a ''perfect'' copy to that extent.


    I could feel its Magical Energy leaking with every passing moment.


    It was an amalgamation of an amalgamation.


    I think it was having trouble maintaining a coherent form like this. It had assumed the realm that Gods stand in at its ''birth'', there''s no way that''s a naturally eptable urrence. It must be pulling apart at the seams, its Magical Energy simply monstrous enough to hold it together for now.


    Dragons, at their basic, were just giant clumps of Mana.


    This doppelganger was a giant clump of Mana.


    So, it made sense, in hindsight, why its target of copying was Ddraig over me. I was far harder to ''copy'' in any reasonable regardpared to Ddraig who had somewhat simr origins.


    Sir Wiggles was back on the Boat, so I wasn''t overly worried about everyone down there for now.


    And I knew I didn''t need to tell Nurarihyon that I was going to be preupied.


    I never used Juggernaut Drive before because I was never confident.


    The Gauntlet, the Boosted Gear let one utilize a portion of Ddraig''s power, a small taste of it.


    Bnce Breaker allowed you to ess his full power, limited by your own ability.


    Juggernaut Drive¡­


    Juggernaut Drive, you be Y Ddraig Goch.


    The concept of Ddraig would ovep with your own, which is one of the major reasons that the users were driven to madness.


    It wasn''t an intentional action by Ddraig, it was simply the price to pay. In return, you would be strengthened to an obscene level and be the Red Dragon Emperor.


    And I saw it activated for the first time.


    It wasn''t fully dragon sized, but likewise, it was farrger than a normal person.


    It threw its head back and roared again before settling on me unwaveringly.


    I could guess that the Spell Ritual to manifest the doppelganger had principles intertwined in it that forced the copy to focus on their ''source''.


    [I still don''t feel a genuine Draconic nature from that thing.] Ddraig sounded confused. [Yet, it''s almost like seeing a bit of myself.]


    Copying the outermostyer without copying the essence, it makes sense.


    The Dragon opened its mouth.


    [Dodge!]


    I barely reacted in time as a condensed beam of fire blew past me at frightening speeds.


    "Ddraig, what the fuck was that?" I was prepared again and I used Shunpo to dodge out of the way, but I felt the edges of my shirt get singed.


    [I wanted to make my breath attack faster, so I turned it into that. Where do you think your Dragon Shotes from? Well, that''s the basic form of it, hopefully it can''t use my real mes].


    Right, Ddraig decided to turn his breath attack into a fuckingser.


    The Dragon, however, seemed a bit more mindless than I anticipated. It shot another of itsser breaths up towards the sky, scattering what remained of the clouds.


    Despite its mindlessness, it still focused on me, itsrge wings stretched out, and with a single p of them, it shot at me with speeds that matched my own Shunpo.


    I brought up Mirage to block in time as its wed hand smashed into me, mming into the side of the lighthouse, which surprisingly didn''t break.


    Itsrge maw opened right infront of me, the split second that it used to charge itsser breath barely gave me an opening.


    "Fus." I blew out, smacking its head away so its breath attack shot off to the side. My swords from fighting my own copy beforehand, they emerged from the water and stabbed into the back of the dragon.


    The mindless fake Dragon released me, turning around and roaring in confusion as it seemingly didn''t understand it was attacked by ''nothing''. It flexed its body and my swords were forced out of the shallow wounds they caused.


    "Boost, Dragon Shot." I hit it point nk with my Dragon Shot then reached for Ascalon, as my Dragon ying sword entered my hand and I swung it at its head.


    The Dragon turned around quickly, eyes glowing and deflected my swing with its arm with a noticeable expert precision. My sword left another shallow cut, but that was ignore in favor of the dragon''s tail swinging up and pping at me in that small opening.


    My Aura red up protectively, but I still felt the sheer force of the casual movement from him as I was mmed back into the Lighthouse. Noticeably it still didn''t show any signs of damage.


    The Dragon let out a low and rumbling growl, a strange intelligence clearly visible in its eyes now.


    [Maybe you knocked some sense back into it?]


    Maybe¡­.


    It whipped its head towards me and I felt the danger creep down my spine, kicking off the Lighthouse and pushing myself out of the way.


    I nced back and a chunk of the lighthouse was missing and the dragon was chewing thoroughly.


    [My teeth were pretty strong. I am a Dragon, don''t forget that. Despite the abilities I developed over the years, my teeth, my ws, my scales, they are the weapons that every Dragon has since birth.]


    It pped its wings once more, and its speed was higher than previous, its ws raked across the air creating a deathly gale as I braced myself, taking it head on with my Aura ring to life.


    I found myself hitting the ground hard, with the sky above me covered in the red hue of numerous ''Breath'' attacks falling downwards.


    With a scowl, I whispered a few words under my breath. "Feim Zii Gron."


    The area around me erupted in a ze of fire, leaving only the Lighthouse standing where this smallndmass used to exist.


    The Dragon let out a challenging roar, so I responded in kind.


    "Welsh Dragon, Bnce Breaker!"


    My own Draconic Nature was released to match it.


    Was it pride? I had other options, I could have used the Spear, but I felt this was more appropriate.


    "Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost!" I let out a series of Boosts that surprisingly wasn''t my limit. The strengthening I received recently increased that threshold just a tad.


    My Dragon wings burst out of my back and with a casual swing of them, I shot into the air right at the fake Ddraig with my Divine Lightning crackling around me.


    However, it simply floated there, unmoving.


    "Reset."


    It wasn''t my voice, even if it sounded like Ddraig, it didn''te from him.


    Themand to reset the number of Boosts the user had umted.


    I found myself no longer flying, but rather, falling upwards due to the momentum I umted. It was like someone mmed on the breaks while going a hundred miles an hour on the freeway as I momentarily became disorientated.


    All I could see was a bright red light before the searing heat hit me and parts of my Scale Mail were burned away.


    It took me a moment to realize where I was now. Theva around me was sizzling against the salty water.


    [It was able to copy some mechanisms of the Boosted Gear. The Reset thing isn''t from me, it''s something built into the Gauntlet for my users.] Ddraig''s words reached me as I reorientated myself.


    It''s not like the Boosted gear is invible.


    Hell, I have a spell that jailbreaks it for a bit.


    But a Fake Ddraig with some copied mechanisms able to trick my own Boosted Gear? That''s not something I expected.


    Ow.


    I floated out of the water, finding solid ground.


    Standing up on my feet, I could feel thatst one.


    The fake Ddraig roared again, shooting off its breath upwards as if dering itself to the world.


    It took notice of me rather quickly and shot down at me, mouth wide open as if wanting to devour me.


    I released my Bnce Breaker.


    It was pointless if the thing had the ability to reset my Boosts on a whim.


    As it was about to reach me, I withdrew a certain staff.


    "Bex Zii Zoor Frul Lo!" We both roared out together as I mmed my staff onto the ground. "Disgyniad yr Ymerawdwr!"


    Before the fake Ddraig could touch me, arge Magic Circle appeared at the side, and a massive ck dragon''s mouth mped down on it tumbling forward.


    The Fake Ddraig was tossed to the side as my Ddraig coated in N¨ªeh?ggr''s form roared defiantly.


    I quickly put away that staff and pulled out my Staff of Magnus.


    "I have a n, Ddraig.. It''s not a real living entity, simply smashing our heads against it in a fight to the death is also foolish."


    If it were a living being, a life-and-death battle had a different meaning. But it would willingly sacrifice itself to inflict any kind of wounds on me, I could tell that much.


    Without giving Ddraig a moment to respond, I flicked the staff forward and released a very powerful bolt of Lightning right at the fake.


    It was a fake dragon, but it inherited quite a bit of Ddraig''s physiology.


    As Ddraig said before, the scales of a dragon aren''t to be underestimated.


    It barreled through my spell, flying right at us.


    Ddraig shot forward, tackling it as both began to w at each other with my Ddraig at a noticeable disadvantage.


    "The Lighthouse!" I shouted, as I began to cast a more powerful spell.


    Ddraig caught my mean and twisted its body so their fight went airborne and he forced it towards the ''exit''.


    I gathered all the broken pieces of earth out of the water, and they formed a gigantic stone and earth hand, and it pushed them both through the ''portal'' to the other side.


    Without hesitation, I sprouted my Devil Wings and followed after them.


    @***@


    I felt the same sensations as the first time entering the Lighthouse from the other side.


    The twisting of time and space threw me out in front of the Lighthouse with a nket of ice and snow falling from the sky.


    Dragon roars reverberated overhead and I nced to the side to see Captain Hook casually carving a piece of wood, sitting at a fire.


    I blinked at him once as his eyebrows raised and gave me a nod.


    Right, had no time to pay attention to him.


    "Gather!" I shouted, flying up into the air, not caring about the disorientation and disconnection between the earth and the sky. I wrested control of this small area, the skies became mine despite my Authority still activated over the original camp. "Fall!" Imanded and lightning began to drop from the skies.


    Ddraig disengaged as the rain of lightning mmed down on the fake, sending out monstrous roars from the copy.


    Ddraig also added his own miasmic breath, bellowing it out towards the copy.


    Unfortunately, the copy was just so damn crammed full of Magical Energy that my Lightning wasn''t doing much.


    Despite therge bolts of lightning raining down nonstop, it still opened its maw and its fieryser breath pierced through the miasma and collided with Ddraig, knocking him out of the sky.


    "Boost!" A thunderous roar resounded, and it didn''te from me.


    "What!?" I blurted out as the copy moved at ridiculous speeds. Its w raking down on me. "Bakud¨­ #44, Sekisho!"


    It gave me a fraction of a breath to push out my Aura defensively through the Hogyoku and pull up my arms to block. The wed hand of the Boosted fake Ddraig tore through it all until my Shadow emerged behind me and took a significant portion of the blow as well. Despite that, the fake''s w still reached me and several cuts across my chest opened up as I was sent hurling down to the ground.


    "Ven Gaar Nos!" Ddraig shouted, a cyclone emerged, colliding with the fake but I lost sight of it as Inded in a strange¡­.house?


    Blood flowed down my chest as I looked to the side to see a Fae, presumedly an adult and parent as it looked like another Fae, a smaller one.


    The Parent was holding the ''child'' by the leg over a pot of stew.


    They both silently stared at me.


    "Had¨­ #4, Byakurai" I pointed my finger at the eldest one, my bolt of lightning seared through its head and it fell over.


    The child however leapt over with a gaping maw full of sharp teeth as if to eat me.


    I pped it away with my staff with a huff.


    Fucking Fae.


    I downed a Health Potion I pulled from my Ring and shot out of the hole in the roof of this house I made.


    I nced downwards and saw that it seemed to be some kind of¡­.port city?


    ¡­..if there''s such a thing without it being directly on a body of water.


    There were literally docks on the ground.


    "Bastard!" Ddraig hit the ground not far from me either, demolishing a few houses.


    I didn''t care for the locals as I shunpo''d next to him. "I thought you said that you didn''t use Boost offensively when you were alive."


    "I didn''t! That''s stupid, it would heavily damage me if I tried to double my power and strength like that! It was only meant as a counter against Albion!" He grumbled, rolling over back onto his feet. "Look at it, it''s body can''t handle that kind of stress, it''s literally pulling apart."


    I reinforced my eyes as the fake seemingly was lost in its own mind again, releasing breath attacks every which way uncaringly.


    It was ying even more at the edges, scales were starting to burst.


    Still, a fake Ddraig able to boost at the cost of its nonexistent life, that was terrifying even if it wasn''t using its full power intelligently.


    Fucking Dragons.


    "Get its attention, I have a n." I waved my Staff around as a new Runic Circle Emerged.


    "On it." Ddraig roared again, pping its wings and soaring back into the air. "Wuld Nah Kest!" He bellowed out, turning into a whirlwind and mming back into the rampaging fake.


    He didn''t have much left in him before that form dissipated.


    Better act quickly.


    This will be my first time using this spell inbat, but it''s the perfect target.


    The ground and air around me becamepletely deathly. Not necrotic, not necromantic, it was the sum total of experience I had visiting realms of the dead that allowed me to craft this particr spell.


    Opposite of Life was Death.


    The chilling air made way for the deathly touch and a pale shimmering sword floated out of the Runic Circle.


    "Touch of Death ¨C Helheim!" The pale sword shot out and Ddraig jerked out of the way despite the copy''s ws tearing out part of its body.


    The Pale sword pierced the Dragon, but it caused no physical damage, as it waspletely immaterial.


    It wasn''t a physical attack, it was a Curse.


    A particrly powerful curse. It had a singr and direct effect, it took a living thing and moved them closer to the concept of ''death'' the longer they were exposed to it. For a normal living person, it would simply drain their lifeforce. It only became more interesting on moreplicated enemies.


    The fake Dragon didn''t even react, but the effects became apparent. The already straining body began to leak Magical Energy four times faster to sustain itself now.


    The Fake opened its mouth, ignoring its own self destructing, and released dozens of breaths down upon me.


    The Fae town ¨C city, habitation was annihted as I jumped on Ddraig''s head flying away in time.


    I looked back at the smoldering town and had a realization.


    "Huh." I looked into the distance and saw light. "I don''t think we should keep this little present to ourselves, what do you think, Ddraig?"


    Ddraig let out a bellowousugh. "You''re right, let''s let all these Fae see how magnificent my Juggernaut Drive is!"


    The fake followed after us quickly.


    The fact that it had Boosted, and it was cursed by me and it was merely an amalgamation and yet held together still, it was a testament to how much sheer Magical Energy the thing had inside of it right now.


    "Wuld!" Ddraig let out, shooting forward, but the fake behind us was catching up still.


    I turned my staff around. "Scatter!" I quickly made dozens of illusions of us like it had done before.


    It grabbed an illusion, popping it. Its tail whipped around, and it barreled through a good portion of them before something changed and it seemed to target us specifically, letting loose another breath.


    I cast a shield to block it, despite struggling, I was able to fend it off.


    But that just gave it time to catch up and I quickly jumped off Ddraig as it grabbed hold of him, tumbling through the air again.


    I looked down and saw something good.


    "Ethereal!" I shouted for Ddraig.


    "Feim Zii Gron!" Ddraig caught on quickly, making its false body go ethereal for the fake to fall through him.


    It saw me, which is what I wanted and it took a deep breath, followed by a breath that could easily destroy several mountains.


    Pushing my speed to its peak, lightning crackling around me, I used Shunpo to evade in time as it narrowly missed me.


    The explosion below happened to be just ontop of what looked like a Castle with a bunch of armed forces!


    How unfortunate.


    I activated my semnce to once more narrowly dodge a raking of its ws and quickly shot back towards Ddraig and jumped onto his head again as he flew away.


    The Fake let out a furious roar.


    "I think he''s mad." Also, it seemed like it was slowly weakening, not much yet, but it was noticeable.


    "You don''t need to be a dragon to be able to understand that." Ddraig snorted. "I see another town." He dive bombed towards it, the copy in tow.


    Ddraig, with the grace of a meteor, happily mmed into a random building, causing a bit of an earthquake at hisnding.


    "Shield of Asgard!" I mmed my staff down, putting a significant amount of power into it as another breath enveloped uspletely.


    As my shield vibrated and shuddered, and the fiery breath relented, all that remained around was us molten g and mes.


    "Bakud¨­ # 75, Gochu Tekkan!" Five tall pirs fell from the sky ontop of the Fake Ddraig, forcing it to the ground. "Leg it!"


    Ddraig and I flew away again as the spell only held it for a fraction of a second before its Draconic aura burst out, shattering the spell and it furiously gave chase once more.


    We went further ind, and the icy chill seemed to intensify.


    I felt it creep up rather quickly, and I felt a familiar feeling like when I was iming ownership of the sky above the camp.


    I felt like someone was looking right at me.


    Regardless.


    "Hey, that''s a big looking city." I pointed down at what probably houses tens of thousands of Fae."


    I had no time to analyze the architecture oryout, even if I was somewhat curious as to how these things lived in their own ''society''.


    "You dare?" A chilling voice sounded out across the icy tundra. It became incredibly hard to see even a few feet in front of myself, but I felt something push through the air.


    A gigantic ¨C female ¨C hand, made of ice and snow swept downward. Ddraig and myself had no time to dodge, bracing for it as we were quite literally pped out of the air and sent hurling to the ground again.


    The roar of a furious and fake dragon was not far away either.


    "Hmph." The faint voice echoed out again with a scoff.


    "Ddraig, buy me a few moments again." I said, throwing off the mischievousness from a few minutes prior.


    "I got a tiny bit left in the tank, this is myst sh." Ddraig said before flying towards the fake.


    I created another Runic Circle, not thinking I would use another spell like this so soon.


    Another of my Nine Realms Spells manifested.


    The heat of a furnace, the nging of a hammer.


    Arge ethereal Anvil appeared in front of me and I tossed out the Bow of Auriel onto it.


    "Crafting for the Gods ¨C Nidavellir"


    The faint outline of a dwarf holding a hammer appeared behind me. It raised its hammer up high and mmed it down onto the anvil and my bow.


    The Bow, which wasn''t releasing any significant power without a wielder, suddenly became blindingly bright.


    Nidavellir was a simple but powerful spell, it temporarily enhanced a weapon of my choosing.


    The surrounding snow storm was immediately burned away by holy mes.


    Without even pulling the bow string bow, a sun appeared overhead.


    Far away, very far away, I could feel the eyes of the person who spoke before.


    I lifted up my bow and pulled back the string.


    It felt like I was trying to move a mountain with my fingers, my muscles strained and I had to use all my strength.


    The Sun overhead, it swirled and distorted, the light and mes of it shimmering downward between my fingers. As the Sun above disappeared, a bright arrow formed on my bow.


    "What is that!?" A panicked cry was all I heard before I released it.


    The force of the arrow being shot knocked me back, nearly sweeping me up in its gale.


    My arms went numb, as if my muscles became taut all at once. The pain was followed rather quickly, and I was fairly sure I pulled several muscles in my arms.


    However, the arrow seared through the cold winds, evaporating the icy malevolence.


    It was too far away to see.


    Only the release of another Sun emerged briefly on the horizon, almost like it was setting, was an indication that it hit true.


    That and the shrill cry that echoed across the tundra.


    "Boost!"


    "Brat!" Ddraig shouted, getting my attention as a tail mmed into my side.


    The world flipped around several times as my body skipped across the ground beforeing to a stop.


    Dizzy.


    Disorientated and possibly a few ribs broken.


    Where was I? Wasn''t there a town right next to me?


    I stood up, wiping away the blood dripping from my mouth, refocusing myself as I measured the distance from where I was before.


    I then realized it was pointless because I was very far away from where I was standing and I just got the shit knocked out of me.


    Atleast I still had the bow in my hand. Actually, I was having trouble opening my fingers to even release it.


    Note to self, thebination of Nidavellir and Bow of Auriel is very powerful with repercussions.


    Two different roars echoed as I felt Ddraig return to me.


    [It boosted again, be careful.]


    Right¡­..


    It flew at me again with reckless abandon,


    This is exactly the situation I didn''t want, but I guess I had no choice.


    My Aura healed me enough that I felt a feeling return to my arms despite the pain, and I put the bow away, however, the spell appeared behind me once again.


    This time, Ascalon was ced on the anvil.


    The Fake Dragon came flying at me again, its Magical Energy depleting at increasingly rapid speeds, but its power amplified by several boosts at this point.


    I grabbed Ascalon off the forge.


    Swallow Returns.


    The ''me'' infront was ripped apart without hesitation by the monster, it didn''t notice the ''me'' behind it pierce its ''heart'' by an empowered Ascalon.


    "Boost!" It let out a monstrous roar again and swung its body around.


    I let go of Ascalon and tumbled across the ground a few times before sliding back onto my feet.


    "Hanuman!" I called out and my Shadow emerged, grabbing the Dragon briefly, but the empowered fake ripped it apart.


    I really didn''t want to reveal my Zanpakut¨­ so openly here. I learned from my fight with Kronos to not be so flippant with my trump cards, but I guess I had no choice.


    "Reflect¡ª"


    "Wah!" A strange and loud cry came barreling down a snowy mountain, a mix between what sounded like someone was trying to roar, but was more¡­.whining.


    [Jormungandr?] Ddraig answered the question of who.


    But that brought up more questions.


    Like, why the fuck was the World Serpent colliding head first into a fake copy of Ddraig.


    Why was Folen riding it.


    Why was Ruby floating next to him.


    "Hey cousin!''


    "Arcueid!?"


    "This was in no way my fault, whatsoever!" Ruby quickly hid from my very angry gaze.


    "I came to visit!" She happily smiled.


    "What in the Nine Realms is that thing!?" Folen, the Elf God pointed at the Fake Ddraig that quite literally threw Jormungandr to the side.


    "A copy of Ddraig." I said rather bluntly, still staring rather nky at the fact that Arcueid was right here.


    I had so many questions right now.


    Before I had a chance to voice them, the fake opened its mouth again. "Boost, Boost!" It boosted more and the scales on its body literally burst, the Magical Energy it exuded became visible.


    Arcueid waved her hand, and the surrounding space shattered and copsed onto itself.


    The fake''s body had many more of its scales crack and shatter under it. However, it seemed to ignore the damage and jumped at Arcueid.


    She seemed genuinely surprised as it grabbed her and it opened its mouth point nk in her face.


    I pushed everything I had into my Demonic Side again and called for my Sword of Destruction and shed down on the hand with all the Power of Destruction I could muster.


    It was severed, but the Fake didn''t care one iota, simply swinging itsrge head towards me instead and released its breath at me.


    It was more powerful than the ones I took before by many degrees.


    I even used my Power of Destruction protectively.


    Burns appeared across my body and my Aura nearly shattered. I fell to a knee as it abated coughing erratically.


    Jormungandr''s shadow loomed above and it grabbed the copy with its mouth, and using its snake body, it whipped away, flinging the copy far off into the distance.


    I stood back up with heavy breaths, using my sword to steady myself.


    "You alright?" Folen was on my quickly, and I felt his Divine Power seep into me, the Authority of his ¨C his healing was soothing.


    "I''ll live." I breathed out.


    "¡­.you protected me?" Arcueid walked up to me, looking at me strangely. "I would have been fine."


    I clenched my hands, feeling good enough as I stood up straighter. "Don''t be an idiot." I gave her a bop on the head. "You''re my cousin, obviously I would move to help you."


    "It''sing back." Jormungandr rumbled, looking at where it flung the copy.


    I looked at Arcueid with realization. "You don''t have reinforcements here?"


    She shook her head.


    "Idiot." I sighed.


    "I''m not an idiot!" She frowned. "You mean it, right? That we''re cousins for real? Altrouge told me that we were sisters once and I believed her. She tricked me and cut off my hair."


    I wanted to say something, but I just ended up patting her on the head.


    I would get mad at herter, we had something bigger to deal with.


    The rampaging fake Ddraig that was looking like it was on itsst legs, time-wise. But it still had enough to cause some serious damage.


    Arcueid stook up with a smile. "I''ll show it to you, my home." She held her hand up and the world changed.


    The fake Dragon came flying back over, my Ascalon still pierced through it, my Curse still draining its power and vitality.


    "Millennium Castle Brunestud!" She dered and the world was overwritten.


    Towering columns, gothic architecture. Arge castle, looking like it was made of crystal, appeared towering overhead.


    And hanging in the sky was a rather familiar and malevolent looking Crimson Moon.


    A Reality Marble manifested through the use of a Marble Phantasm.


    That was the Millennium Castle Brunestud.


    The home of the original Crimson Moon that only those who inherit the Brunestud name can manifest.


    The Dragon became confused for a moment, stopping, a few low growls as it looked around.


    Arcueid held her hand up with a smile. "Fall."


    The copy looked up, perhaps the flicker of intelligence returned because it seemed to just stare nkly.


    The others, they also looked up wide eyed.


    The Crimson Moon that hung up in the sky began to fall right towards the fake dragon.


    @***@


    Non-Canon Omake: The Little Spider Part 3


    Arachne was in a good mood.


    She discovered something interesting. Her father told her about the ''Mists'' and other nonsense around here, but she only half listened.


    She discovered that she could use the Mists to change how people perceive her clothing!


    Originally, she either had to choose to change into ''normal'' clothing or use her own magic to hide her appearance. Both of which annoyed her in some small measure. But the Mists, they did it automatically after ''activating'' the effect, and she didn''t need to keep a spell continuously cast!


    She hated not wearing herbat attire, so this was a most wee discovery, and she was very happy after discovering this.


    Not to mention she could even walk around with her spear in hand if she desired. Though her mom taught her to handle her weapon properly and not just show it off for no reason. Thus, she still stored away her favorite spear¡ªher Gae Bolg copy¡ªeven if she didn''t want to.


    If she remembered right, she should be around the school her dad went to, and the ''camp'' or whatever it was supposed to be was a couple hundred miles southwest.


    She just needed to figure out a way to get there quickly. The thought of riding a bus for around four hours, maybe five, did not sound too thrilling.


    Before she could decide on what to do, there was a vibration through the ground, almost like an earthquake.


    For the normal people around her, it must have felt like such, but she could see the mists swirl around and hide what was truly happening.


    Was that a Frost Giant?


    She fought a few before! And it was a dead ringer for one of them, a bit on the smaller side, but each of its steps shook the ground, a good 15 feet tall!


    It was walking towards the river.


    Her first instinct was to throw her spear at it and fight it to the death!


    But she was curious about what it was doing, so she followed it silently.


    It continued to walk towards therge river running through the city as she followed; fewer and fewer humans were around, which indicated that something was happening.


    That was when she saw it; there were many monsters all gathered around the edges and within the waters as if they were trying to catch something.


    Very quickly, as if a blur, something would shoot out of the water, narrowly avoiding capture, creating sshes of water.


    Arachne could see it clearly though¡ªa beautifulrge fish with glistening blue scales. The only oddity was that it had the head of a cow, but to her, she just found it more appealing!


    I want it.


    That was her only thought that pushed her feet forward.


    "It escaped again!" A monster she didn''t recognize hissed out.


    "It''s too fast in the water."


    "Where are thes?"


    "If we don''t hurry, we''re going to get the attention of something bad, and we won''t get any profit!"


    "What''s going on?" Arachne casually walked up.


    Perhaps due to her casual demeanor and rather arrogant way she ignored everything going on, the monster she spoke to barely spared her a second nce. "Don''t'' think about getting involved!" It hissed under its breath. "We''re the ones who found it first; there''s no one taking it from us."


    "Just here to watch the show." Arachne hummed.


    The monster pursed its lips, perhaps annoyed that it was on the proverbial sidelines. "A few of us found the Ophiotaurus, the legendary Bane of Olympus!" It sounded excited. "After we capture it, we can ask for almost anything from Olympus!"


    She felt that was a dumb name.


    Though the monster said that, the fish, every single time, ''narrowly'' escaped from capture.


    That was until two sides of the river froze solid andrge ice walls rose up.


    The Frost Giant from before made its move.


    "Wait, you''re not."


    Arachne wasted no time stabbing the monster through the heart before it could utter anymore words.


    Her Power of Destruction ignited in her hand. It wasn''t ''mutated'' like her fathers, as she took after her aunt grandmother in this regard.


    It raged in her hand, and she grabbed the head of another monster as it turned around to look at her, swiftly destroying it in one go.


    The others became alerted, and immediately, a sharp and spiked tail swept at Arachne.


    Arachne stabbed her spear into the ground and used it to push up, vaulting over it and mming her foot downwards on the owner''s head, knocking it to the ground.


    Some sort of lizard alligator creature she didn''t recognize.


    Her head tilted to the side as an arrow-like feather passed by. With a screech, a birdwoman¡ªmost likely a harpy¡ªtook to the sky, and razor-sharp feathers rained down.


    Arachne, however, just smiled viciously, and her spear swung at increasingly impressive speeds, blocking and deflecting each one.


    With a lull between the barrages, Arachne jumped backwards to fix her stance, her feet pushing into the ground as she pulled her arm back and threw her spear.


    The Haryp in the air barely had time to screech again before the spear pierced through her. To others, it would have only looked like a red beam of light that shot right through the monster.


    "Throwing away your weapon, foolish!" A roar bellowed as a shadow was cast overhead. Arge, icy hand came downwards. "Demigod!"


    Arachne perhaps got too caught up in the thrill that she allowed something like the Jotun to get this close to her.


    However, under the massive hand that threatened to squash her, she smirked.


    Her index finger twitched downwards.


    Barely noticeably, as the sun shined on it, an extremely thin thread was revealed, swaying in the wind before her movement caused it to be taunt as it extended from her finger.


    Before therge hand could m down on her, the Jotun let out a pained cry, and his body was knocked down by a familiar ''red light'' as her spear returned, impaled on his side.


    Ever so slightly, if you paid close attention, you could see that extremely thin thread connected to the base of the spear.


    Arachne then leaned back, cartwheeling backward to avoid ws swiping at her. Years of practicing elegant and dexterous movements allowed her to easily avoid such obvious attack patterns.


    She jerked her hand, and the thread connecting to her spear caused it to dislodge from the Jotun and return to her, but rather than catching it, she kicked it, sending it impaling through the head of a cat-like monster that had just tried to gouge her stomach.


    The ground shook, and the sunlight vanished again as this time the Jotun''srge fist was clenched, barreling down upon her.


    Arachne, with grace and skill, lightly tapped the side of its hand, pushing herself out of its way, and gathered her Power of Destruction at the tip of two fingers.


    Dodging the attack, she jabbed the two fingers forward, and a condensed beam of destruction opened a hole cleanly through its head.


    The Jotun dropped to the ground like a puppet having its strings cut before turning to dust like many other monsters in the area.


    There were about a dozen more monsters left, and they were all acutely aware of her now and preparing to attack.


    However, after the Jotun died, Arachne lost her motivation to fight as they were just small fry.


    Without even turning around, she waved her hand, and dozens of shadows shot out. Within the blink of an eye, the remaining monsters were skewered by spears, each of which was one of her treasures that she collected just like her father.


    Holy, Demonic, Magic, Divine¡ªall manner of legendary spears sunk into the ground as the bodies they impaled turned to dust.


    With a gesture, they all flew back to her, and she returned them to storage. Peace returned to the area.


    She did briefly question why a Jotun was participating in something that involved Greek monsters¡ªor whatever was happening, but she settled on not caring for the reason and tossing the thoughts away.


    All monsters were dead, bar one.


    A cow head popped out of the water.


    "Mooo~"


    Arachne smiled lightly, squatting down at the edge of the river. "Hello."


    "Moo." The strange fish cow greeted her back, jumping into the air very high, far higher than the walls of ice had been.


    "Ah." Arachne came to a realization. "You were ying. I apologize for interrupting your fun. I believed you to be in peril and wished to assist."


    The fish made another strange cow noise, like it was confused. The monster was by no means unintelligent, perhaps naive, whimsical, and innocent, but it had clear intelligence.


    It stared at her because it was the first time anyone had ''protected'' it. In its long life, it''s only ever been chased after as people tried to use it.


    "Cute." Arachne muttered, looking at the cowfish.


    The fish head butt her yfully.


    "My Da has a pet partner. Would you like to be my pet?" Arachne was never one to beat around the bush. If she wanted something, she was direct about it.


    The fish blink. "Moo."


    There was a beat as Arachne registered what seemed like an agreement from the fish. She had a beat of her stoic demeanor crumbling before she grabbed the fish from the water in a big hug, startling the fish at the speeds in which she moved and the strength in which she squeezed it.


    "A will call ya Mr. Blueberry, and a will love ya forever." She squeezed happily.


    "Moooo~" The now-named Mr. Blueberry didn''t know what was going on, but it was happy.


    "What can you do?" She asked her newest partner.


    "Moo." It wiggled around and escaped her grasp before jumping back in the water and jumping in and out. "Moooo~"


    She realized that her pet could only do cute things and had nobat ability.


    "That''s okay, A love you anyway." She grabbed him back into a hug as he swam back up to the edge of the water.


    It didn''t matter to her; she fell in love with Mr. Blueberry the moment she saw him and didn''t mind if he couldn''t fight.


    "I finally found you!" The words were followed by deep and tired breaths.


    Arachne turned around to see the satyr from earlier heaving in exhaustion with a big lump on its head.


    "You ¨C" It paused. "Is that the Ophiotaurus!?"


    "His name is Mr. Blueberry." Arachne corrected.


    "Mooo~"


    It was insulting; it was like calling him Satyr.


    Said Satyr stood there, mouth open.


    "Oh my gods." The Satyr breathed in and out. "The Ophiotaurus! This is huge; if we bring it back... my punishment."


    "His name is Mr. Blueberry." Arachne punctuated with her spear against the Satyr''s throat.


    The saint swallowed hard as sweat dripped down his brow. "¡­..Mr. Blueberry."


    "Hmph." She withdrew her spear. "Why are you following me?"


    "You¡­.." He hesitated because he had been beaten up already, and he found he was rather intimidated by the... probably rather young girl if he could guess her age to be in her early teens. "Are you Annabelle Schweinorg?"


    "No, my name is Arachne." She denied.


    The Satyr choked as soon as he heard that name.


    Did she want to be cursed!?


    Who would name their child that?


    "But you appeared in the house of Wilhelm Schweinorg!"


    "That''s my da. He gave me the house. It''s my house. That you were in without permission." She gave him a slight beating earlier, but that didn''t mean she forgave him. "Why were you in my house?" Her spear raised up again.


    "Wait!" The Satyr raised his arms up defensively. "I can exin; please don''t hit me with your spear again."


    "Exin from the beginning."


    The Satyr swallowed again as her spear didn''t lower. "I was told toe collect Annabelle Schweinorg to bring her to camp Half-Blood. I couldn''t find her anywhere, and Goddess¡ª" he stopped. "Her parent said that if I couldn''t find her, then I shouldn''te back... No one''s been able to find her for three years. Since I had no leads... that was the only ce I knew about, so I...bummed in the house for awhile."


    Arachne pondered what he said.


    If he were telling the truth, then technically, he was trying to ''help'' her.


    It didn''t sit well with her to harm him if he was being nothing but helpful and nice.


    "I''ll make it to the camp on my own; your mission is over." She nodded to herself.


    "Wait, so you are Annabelle Schweinorg?" He asked for rification.


    "My name is Arachne." She said it stubbornly.


    The Satyr looked at her with his mouth open again because he knew who her mother was. Of course, Satyrs weren''t supposed to reveal godly parentage, even if it wasn''t a secret. The less they get involved in godly matters, the longer their lives tend to be. And it''s often the whim of a god if they wanted their kids to know or not, so best leave it up in the air.


    Especially the gray eyes were a dead give-away.


    That just made it all the more absurd that her name was Arachne.


    The Satyr wisely decided not to say anything. Between a young demigod that could beat him up rather easily and a goddess that could smite him, he chose to keep his mouth shut.


    Otherwise, his eyes looked towards the legendary Ophiotaurus.


    It was called the Bane of Olympus.


    Legend had it that if you killed it and burned its entrails, you could even bring down the gods.


    Who wouldn''t be greedy for something like that?


    Not to mention there was a standing bounty on the thing from thousands of years ago that was never rescinded.


    The Satyr licked his lips.


    "Why don''t you let me take care of your... friend?" He cleared his throat. "I don''t think Camp Half-Blood lets fish inside. Besides, he can''t stay away from the water, right?" He smiled, putting on his most charming smile. She was a young girl; he was decades old; he felt like he could easily trick her. "Just let me take care of the ophiotaurus for you."


    Arachne frowned. "His name is Mr. Blueberry."


    The Satyr barely registered what she said before his eyes rolled back, her spear smacking upside the head once again.


    "Mooo." Mr. Blueberry just bobbed his head happily.


    Arachne was upset because he did bring up a point. He was a fish; fish needed to stay in the water.


    As if divining her thoughts, Mr. Blueberry swam out of the water, a thin, almost membrane-like wateryer clung tightly to him, and he continued to make little cow noises as he swam or rather flew around Arachne.


    Despite Mr. Blueberry being significantlyrger than her, she still grabbed him and held him up again with a big smile.


    "It''s okay, a will protect you." She cooed. She wasn''t stupid; she knew that Mr. Blueberry was apparently very famous, even if she didn''t know the specifics. But she didn''t care about that; he was Mr. Blueberry, and she wouldn''t let anyone harm her pet.


    She would kill anyone that tried.


    "Let''s get going. I need to figure out how to get to this camp though." She looked at him. "You wouldn''t happen to know the way?"


    "Mooo!" Mr. Blueberry seemed to nod.


    Arachne smiled and swung one leg over her new pet, sitting on its back. "Let''s go, Mr. Blueberry!"


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    War is done over there, and a new world will be revealed soon. I also have two Arachne omake chapters ahead, and a Cyclops snippet chapter ahead if you''re interested.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 569: Interlude 40: Kunous Hogwarts Adventures Part 3

    Chapter 569: Interlude 40: Kunou''s Hogwarts Adventures Part 3


    Dumbledore POV


    I waited patiently as the Floowork connected all the way across the world.


    It allowed me time to marvel at how our society had progressed in the years. Before the Second World War, we didn''t have Flooworks that could reach this distance. Not that it wasn''t possible, but many of our magical societies were a bit more insr.


    And that was saying something considering how we are still rather conservative in nearly every aspect.


    "Headmaster Dumbledore-san." The fiery image of Mahoutoko''s Headmistress appeared in my firece.


    "Headmistress Sumiko-san." I stood up and performed the proper bow of respect.


    Sumiko chuckled from her side. "It''s been far too long, Dumbledore-san. I appreciate the sentiment, but such things are unnecessary. I am adept enough at your western culture to navigate a conversation with an old friend."


    "Ah, I thank you, Sumiko. I admit, my knowledge of proper Japanese etiquette has reached its limits." I shared a smallugh. "I apologize for thete call.""It must be very early for you all the way over in Ennd, Dumbledore." She replied good-naturedly. "I was merely grading paperwork for my students. What can I assist you with, Headmaster?"


    "I found myself in an odd situation, Sumiko." I decided to cut right to the chase. "You see, I have a youngdy of Japanese origin who decided to enroll in Hogwarts this year."


    "Oh? That''s surprising but hardly worth the effort of reaching out. Not that I don''t enjoy talking to an old friend after so long. But if you''re wanting information, I have no knowledge of any potential students from Japan that opted to go to Hogwarts, Headmaster."


    Hmm, that''s interesting.


    Just as we have a method to discover potential magical children in Ennd, so too do they have a method in Japan. Yet, even if a child picked up by our method decides to go somewhere else, we still are sent to speak with them. Admittedly, it''s to potentially convince them to join Hogwarts instead. However, it''s also procedure to make sure every magical child is sorted and has an education per ministry guidelines, regardless of where.


    "I understand your point of view. But it''s a bit odd for me because she happens to be half-human, a Youkai in particr. A youngdy with fox-like features. You know me, Sumiko; I, of course, have no problem with non-humans. I am, however, rather unknowledgeable about certain things from your country. I simply wanted to sate my curiosity with a few questions if you don''t mind."


    "Please, Headmaster. You don''t need to defend yourself; I know your character very well and never assumed the worst. That being said, you are probably working under a false misconception if you did indeed enroll a Youkai."


    "Hmm? Please rify."


    "While not impossible, a half-human Youkai is exceedingly rare. They appear from time to time among such Oni tribes for some reason, as well as a few other species of Youkai." She replied.


    Curious.


    "Her mother had assured me that her father was human."


    She seemed to nod in understanding. "Further rification is required, it seems. It''s entirely possible and even likely that her father was human. But it''s a facet of their being that a Kitsune¡ªif you''re saying she has fox features¡ªis always a Kitsune, regardless of their human parentage. There is no ''half'' in this case."


    "How odd; I never considered such a thing possible." I understood her exnation, and it aligned with what her mother spoke about in our meeting. And conveniently, it avoided some of the ministry pitfalls, as by definition of the Ministries''ws, she technically is a half-human despite evidence to the contrary.


    Oh well, I highly doubt the Ministry will ever care to look beyond our borders for such information.


    And if they tried to pass any such legition, I was Chief Warlock of the Wizegamot for a reason. I rarely flexed them, but my political power was vast when I needed it to be.


    "Thank you for alleviating some of my questions, Sumiko. I do have a couple more if you don''t mind."


    "By all means, Headmaster. It''s rare that we get to have a chat."


    I found myself smiling. "I''m curious about her mother. She said she was one of the Youkai leaders in Japan; I assume you know plenty about her then? Her name was Yasaka."


    "Youkai Leaders?'' She repeated in seeming confusion.


    "Is there a problem?"


    "Headmaster, there are no Youkai Leaders in the context you''re speaking of so broadly. Youkai are...scattered. We employ quite a few here at our school, but there has been a steep decline in their numbers for a while. And of course what happened during the war¡­." She trailed off, and I didn''t need rification on that matter. We were all aware of what happened to end the second world war on the muggles side. "Suffice it to say, there are a few ''leaders'' in a smaller scope, but no Youkai Leaders, like you''re suggesting. Perhaps you misunderstood?"


    "Perhaps." I acknowledged that I should have asked a few more questions. "She said she ruled over half the Youkai of Japan. I don''t feel like she lied to me, and I tend to be a good judge of character."


    "Kitsune are known for their mischievous nature and deceit, Headmaster."


    Still...


    "Would you describe her to me? Name as well. I may know who you''re talking about if it''s any particr troublemaker from my side of the world."


    "Very well." I let out a small sigh, hoping I didn''t get taken advantage of. "Her name is Yasaka, as I said. No family name given. She has long blonde hair and¡­..generous assets." I cleared my throat, earning a smallugh from her. "And of course, two fox ears and nine fox tails. Oh yes, she also¡ª


    "Pardon me for interrupting, Dumbledore. But did you say Nine Tails?"


    "Yes, that''s correct." I nodded.


    "Headmaster¡­." She paused as if to consider her words. "That''s not possible. What you describe is a legend even for us. The Kyuubi-no-kitsune¡ªNine-Tailed Fox. They''re prevalent in quite a few myths and legends even among the non-magical poption. They''re often either the bringers of disaster on epic proportions or associated with Kami ¨C gods. Either messengers or worshiped as kami themselves. I could go into hours long discussion regarding the folklore. But suffice it to say, there has never been any evidence of such a mythical Youkai ever existing properly."


    Well, wasn''t that a concerning discovery?


    "Are you quite sure it''s such? I don''t mean to belittle your knowledge, but I can guarantee that both the mother and daughter ¨C whom currently is within these walls ¨C both have nine tails."


    I can''t im to be knowledgeable about Japanese folklore, but counting is something still capable of being done by me in theseter years.


    "Dumbledore¡­" She went quiet again. "I''m not calling you a liar, but this is a substantial im that I require evidence for. Imagine... what do you Westerners have...? Oh yes, imagine if I suddenly told them that I had an Angel enroll in my school."


    "Oh my." If that was the same corrtion, then I could understand her attitude. "Yes, I believe your position is perfectly reasonable. I can owl you a copy of my memories if you like. I seem to recall you also possess a Pensieve?" What a wonderful piece of magical technology nearly lost to the passages of time.


    How many could still make the memory viewing device?


    "I would appreciate it greatly, Dumbledore. And if it proves true... I must insist that I pay a visit in the near future."


    "Oh, what a wonderful idea! Did you know that many of my students don''t even know about the existence of other magical schools? It would be a perfect learning opportunity. Perhaps you can share a bit of your culture when you visit?"


    "...Yes, quite. I would love to." She seemed distracted by something else.


    "Very well, I will send them to you by the end of the day. Owls willing, you should receive it by the end of the week." Cross-country owling was still a bit slow, unfortunately.


    "Thank you, Dumbledore. I await expectantly for your delivery. I will leave you to your morning."


    "Have a good night!"


    "You as well, Dumbledore." She spoke before the Floo call ended.


    It was always nice to catch up with a fellow Headmaster. We don''tmunicate enough; perhaps we should schedule more interschool activities?


    Something to look into for the future.


    Now, the important bits!


    Breakfast.


    Those house-elf pancakes were waiting for me; I just knew it.


    "Hmm, Fawkes." I looked towards my faithfulpanion. He raised his head and ruffled his feathers as if to answer me. "It''s a new year; why don''t we make a nice entrance for the first years?" I held out my hand.


    He jumped off his perch and flew at me. I grabbed his tail and with a sh of mes, we teleported into the Great hall where many of the seats were full.


    There were many shouts of surprise and glee as they pointed my way.


    How joyous.


    I did so love showing the wonder of Magic to such young children when given the chance.


    I took my seat, and my breakfast appeared in front of me instantly.


    First week of a new year, it was my turn to chaperone the meal times. Fortunately or unfortunately, in some cases, I am the staff member with the least workload at the beginning of the school year. Thus, I always volunteer to give my fellow staff members a breather to make sure they''re prepared for sses.


    Most of them don''t even show up for the first few breakfasts of the week and take their meals in their offices.


    I didn''t mind; it was an enjoyable time for me.


    Looking at all the new faces with the old. My Gryffindor students being loud and boisterous with excitement.


    I had to raise a finger to cancel a spell that the two Weasley twins were about to cast. I didn''t recognize it outright, perhaps another of their creations.


    They looked wide-eyed and found me staring at them, then shrank their heads back.


    No doubt it would have caused all sorts of chaos in its wake if I hadn''t stopped it. Perhaps I would have pretended to see nothing if it were a bitter into the year. However, I didn''t want the new students to be too flustered in their first days.


    My Hufflepuffs were a bit less enthused in the morning. Was it a strange coincidence that they''re usually less morning people? Obviously there are exceptions, but it took them longer to wake up and start socializing. But the Hufflepuff unity kicked in, and they happily shared and passed around tes without any arguing or fighting.


    The Ravenws did what they do best. Books open, quills scraping against parchment, and mouths full of food as they tried to talk about thetest or uing assignments. Always the most studious bunch, though Miss Granger is giving them a run for their money.


    Lastly, I looked at the Slytherin.


    I nearly turned away noticing nothing abnormal until I had to do a double take.


    They were quiet, too quiet.


    They were always the more quiet ones. Reserved as Severus says. Yes, in public, they do like to pretend to be more reserved, even if they''re truly children. They whispered and kept their voices quiet normally, but this was different.


    They werepletely silent, and they kept ncing towards one student in particr.


    A specific youngdy that had been the topic of discussion earlier with my call to Sumiko.


    Young Kunou sat alone at the far end of the table.


    They were intentionally avoiding her like the gue!


    Was that fear in their eyes¡­?


    No, that would be silly.


    Of course, it''s probably their prejudice. It''s no secret that many of the more firm believers of blood purity and such fall into Slytherin. Having a youngdy who very clearly is not entirely human must be a strange experience for them.


    But it will do them good, I say.


    It''s important to experience other things outside one''s narrow view of the world.


    I just hope she''s not getting overly bullied. I should talk to Severus to make sure they all treat her gently and don''t harass her.


    She seemed like such a sweet and gentle girl; I hope that she can make plenty of friends in her house.


    @***@


    Ginny Weasley POV


    "This is so unfair!"


    "Ron, we had the same ss." Harry responded to my brother.


    "But ours waster in the day! They get to have flying lessons first thing in the morning!" My brother whined.


    "Ron, they just switched around the two sses due to a scheduling conflict from Madam Hooch. You know that; you were there." Hermione sighed.


    "I just think it''s not fair, y''know? We had to go through so many boring sses before we got to have our first flying lesson in our first year."


    I rolled my eyes; Ron always says stuff like that.


    "Ignore him. Go have fun, Ginny. The field is down the stairs here and out the main gate." Hermione smiled.


    "Bye, Hermione. Bye, Harry. Bye,Ron." I waved goodbyes, happy that they showed me the way.


    Ron just grunted.


    But even he was more than willing to show me the way so that ''I wouldn''t bete to the best ss.''.


    I was excited, though!


    Mom barely ever lets me fly around at home; she always calls it udylike.


    Ugh.


    She also used to use the excuse that I hadn''t learned properly; well, now she can''t say that anymore!


    "Ginny!" I heard a familiar voice call for me, waving


    "Oh, Kunou." I noticed her, not sure how to feel about the strange girl just yet.


    She was nice and friendly and did nothing but treat me well. I guess it wouldn''t be bad to say we were friends. It''s not like I have a lot of those yet.


    But she''s Slytherin, and Ron always goes on about how bad they are.


    "Are you excited? I can''t wait to fly; it''s going to be fun!" She beamed.


    "Have you flown a lot?"


    "Not on a broom."


    Not on a broom, what does that mean?


    I nced at the others in the ss, and I noticed that the other Slytherins were looking at her strangely. "...Are you okay?" I leaned in and whispered. "My brother said that Slytherins are mean and bullies."


    "I''m fine!" Kunou looked at them, and they flinched back. "Don''t worry, I get along well with them."


    ¡­okay.


    "Um, excuse me." A boy from her house came over, looking a bit nervous; I don''t remember his name. "Hi, I''m Colin Creevey, um... would you mind if I took your picture?" He was looking at Kunou holding a camera.


    "You want to take my picture?" Kunou asked.


    "Yeah, I just... never seen a girl with tails and ears on her head before. I thought it was neat, and I want to show my mum and dad when I went home." He didn''t look her in the eyes.


    "It''s rude to take pictures of people you don''t know." Kunou frowned.


    "Oh...sorry."


    Kunou held out her hand. "I''m Kunou Schweinorg." She smiled as the boy, confused and hesitantly, took her hand. "There, now we know each other. Do you want to take a picture together? And can I have one too? I have a scrapbook that my auntie made me; I want to add more pictures to it. I also have a camera." She held her hand out, and a camera¡ªat least I think it was a camera¡ªappeared in her hand.


    "Wow, how did you do that!?" He eximed.


    "Magic!" She giggled.


    "What kind of camera is that? It''s so small!?"


    "My auntie gave it to me; I don''t know." She shrugged. "But it''s magic, and it will print out pictures right away." She held it up and snapped a picture of me all of a sudden. The little thing did in fact print out a picture rather quickly. "See?"


    She held it up and it was just me looking like I sucked a lemon all of a sudden.


    "That''s amazing!" Colin eximed. "Do you mind if I also use my camera? It''s something my parents do with me; we have a room back home because Mum is a reporter, and we can develop them ourselves. It''s something we do together."


    "Sure! Let''s do both." She pulled him in, much to his surprise, and started snapping pictures. "Ginny,e take a picture of us!"


    "Alright." Honestly, it was fun seeing her get excited; I don''t know why. "Here, Colin, let me use your camera, and I can take a picture of you both."


    "Alright, just be careful; they paid a lot for that camera."


    I nodded, taking it from his hands as I snapped the picture.


    "Children, it''s time to begin!" A loud voice drowned out everything else. The teacher walked over, holding a broom in her hands with some broom riding gear on. "Put everything else away, please; it''s time to begin."


    Both Kunou and Colin put their cameras away. Well, Colin set his to the side in a safe spot. Kunou... hers just disappeared again.


    I don''t know how she keeps doing that, just making things appear and disappear.


    "You may or may not know, but I''m Madam Hooch, the flying instructor for Hogwarts. I also am a registered and official Quidditch referee, and I normally referee the games between each house. I take my flying instructions very seriously. If I see anyone goofing off or not following my instructions, you will not be touching a broom for your remainder of time at Hogwarts." She said sternly. "Now, normally we would be using the school''s brooms, but there is a slight change in the rules fromst year thanks to your deputy headmistress." She sounded sour towards her for some reason. "The long-standing tradition of first years not being able to use their brooms has been abolished. So, if you have brought your broom, you may use it."


    I looked around, and it seemed like only a few people even knew about this. Actually, I recognized some of the faces; they were all pureblood families or those with connections to them.


    Of course they would know something like this ahead of time.


    "Unfortunately, the new brooms we ordered haven''t arrived just yet, so those of you without one will have to make do with the ones we''ve been using for years." She said pensively. "Now¡ª"


    "Excuse me for interrupting, Madam Hooch."


    "Professor Kuzuki?" She looked at the maid walking over. He was also holding a broom. She adopted a rather amused smile. "I don''t suppose you''re here for lessons too?"


    "I apologize for interrupting. I have been asked to deliver this to Miss Kunou Schweinorg." The muggle walked over abruptly, handing it right to her.


    "Thank you, Mr. Kuzuki!" Kunou beamed.


    "You''re wee." He said with a firm nod.


    "I don''t believe you have ss just yet, Professor Kuzuki. And as a muggle, I don''t suppose you have much experience with this sort of thing. Would you like to stay and watch?" Madam Hooch offered politely.


    It was still so strange seeing a muggle walking around the school¡­


    "Very well." He said simply.


    "Wonderful." Madam Hooch smiled. "Alright students, if you have your brooms, take up a spot next to the ones set up. Otherwise, students who don''t have brooms stand at the left side of one on the groundid out here." She gestured towards rows of brooms on the ground separated by a few feet for each person. "Those of you with brooms already, set them on the ground like you see."


    "You have your own broom¡­?" I nced at Kunou as she stood next to me, her own broom on the ground.


    "Yup, my grandpa and grandma made it for me." She nodded.


    "Made it!?"


    I thought brooms were super hard to make, which is why there are only a few makers of them?!


    "Alright students, I want you to put your hand over your broom and say ''up!''" The teacher shouted.


    "Up!" I gave it a shot; the broom shot into my hand from the ground. ncing at Kunou, hers was already in her hand too.


    "Now, swing one leg over the other side of your broom and grip it tightly between your legs." I looked up to see the teacher giving a demonstration. "You''re going to grip it tightly about a foot away from your body towards the top. Then, you''re going to kick up off the ground and hover there. I don''t want to see anyone flying away; if I find out you''re intentionally trying to show off, you will regret it!"


    I''ve already flown before, so this wasn''t new to me. I easily lifted it up off the ground, holding it a few feet in the air. Though, the broom was really bad, evenpared to the ones we had back home.


    I know Ron never shut up about how bad they were sincest year.


    "You okay, Kunou?" I looked at her.


    "Just a little nervous." She gulped, slowly pushing up off the ground until she was about at my height, though she was rocking back and forth.


    It was clearly her first time doing this.


    "Alright, good job, everyone." Madam Hooch was already flying around, inspecting everyone. "Now, I''m going to give you a little bit of leeway. I will allow you to fly up and around the field. No racing, and no horsey! Get a feel for it and go at your own pace. But I want to see a little bit of speed once you get morefortable."


    I easily took to the skies, high above everyone else.


    "Well done, Miss Weasley. Let that be 5 points for Gryffindor!" Madam Hooch shouted. "Don''t be scared, children; get up there and fly around." She helped each person until she went to Kunou. "Are you having trouble, Miss Schweinorg?"


    "Uh... I''ve never flown like this before." She admitted.


    "It''s alright, dear, there''s a first time for everything. Grip your broom tightly, okay?"


    "Okay." She nodded.


    "Now, tilt it up a little bit, and then I want you to imagine yourself shooting off. Push it; let the broom respond and whisk you away. I''ll be right here; don''t worry."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Go ahead." She chuckled.


    "Okay." Kunou''s broom tilted up, and then a sound erupted, nearly knocking everyone off their brooms.


    It was like an explosion, and the ground below her was caved in.


    All I saw was Kunou shooting up through the clouds in the blink of an eye.


    "Crap, crap, crap ---!!" Madam Hooch followed after her very quickly, though not nearly as fast.


    What in Merlin''s name just happened...?


    "Ah, I can''t control it!?" That sounded like Collin.


    His broom was swaying back and forth, and pieces of it were falling off on the back. My eyes widened as the shaking increased and hepletely fell off.


    He was high up, really high up, and Madam Hooch was gone.


    I''ll have to¡ª


    "What the heck?" I stopped in my tracks as I saw Professor Kuzuki¡ªthe Muggle¡ªrunning up the side of the castle like it was t ground at surprising speeds. And he leapt off the edge, catching Colin andnding gracefully on his feet like nothing happened.


    He sat Colin down with a nk expression before wiping himself off. "Are you okay?"


    "Uh-huh." Colin nodded absentmindedly. "Are you Spider-Man?"


    Was I the only one who saw it?


    No, I looked back, and all the others were staring with their mouths wide open at the muggle professor.


    "Alright, I''m back." Madam Hooch came flying in with a hand on Kunou''s broomstick as if to keep it in ce. She dropped Kunou off and looked around. "What? Did something happen?"


    "Thank you for letting me spectate your ss, Madam Hooch. I should return to prepare for my ss." The Muggle Professor spoke.


    "Alright, thank you for watching the kids while I¡­retrieved our wayward student." She looked down at Kunou, who looked away awkwardly.


    What... did I just see?


    @***@


    A/N


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 570 - 514 + Arachne Omake Part 4

    <h4>Chapter 570: Chapter 514 + Arachne Omake Part 4</h4>


    Jormungandr POV


    I regret agreeing to the Elf''s request.


    <i>It''s just a quick trip, Jormungandr.</i>


    <i>You won''t have to fight, Jormungandr.</i>


    <i>It''ll be like a vacation, Jormungandr</i>.


    Why did I think I needed a vacation? I was in a good spot! Sure, I was getting annoyed a lot because some Asgardians wanted to <i>meet</i> the great World Serpent for themselves. But it was a far cry from being <i>hated and hunted</i> in the past.


    There used to always be one fool who wanted to prove themselves by ying the <i>World Serpent</i>. So simply wanted to meet me was....a nice change.


    And now I''m cold, I''m bruised, and I''m being chased!


    And I was used as a club!


    The other Dragons are never going to let me forget this. I could have hidden it, but Ddraig has such a big mouth, he''ll tell <i>everyone</i>.


    "Is he going to be alright!?"


    "Calm down, his life isn''t in danger."


    I moved quickly through this damn cold ce, putting a lot of distance between us and whatever it was behind us.


    Even I didn''t want to deal with what wasing.


    I did nce up on my head to see Ddraig''s host passed out.


    He seemed fine after the strange girl dropped the damn <i>moon</i> on a copy of the Great Welsh.


    How!?


    <i>Why!?</i>


    Who uses the <i>moon</i> as a weapon!


    Thankfully, it wasn''t <i>real</i> in a sense. Things flickered back to reality, and I was no Magician, but even I could tell that it was all sorts of <i>wrong</i>. Like we were in a different world for a moment there. I thought I was going to die, but it seems like the weird girl could keep us out of harms away while everything exploded spectacrly.


    And the fact that the moon, beyond being used as a bludgeoning tool, felt <i>scary</i>.


    "What''s wrong with him then?" She asked.


    "He''s hurt, obviously. His arms are a mess, some broken bones, ribs look bad. Some internal bleeding, bruising, cuts etc. But his life is far from danger. It just looks like all his stamina suddenly drainedpletely along with other energies in his body and he simply copsed from the rebound." The God exined.


    "Can you help him?" She looked worried.


    "I''m a God of Medicine, not healing. I''m elerating his natural healing abilities already with my Divine Power, but there''s a limit of what I can do without tools or supplies. Even with my domain of <i>Mercy</i>, I can alleviate his symptoms slightly, but that''s about it."


    "Do you have anything!?"


    "I didn''t think I would need to, considering the Youkai were <i>thoroughly stocked</i>. But <i>someone</i> decided to teleport me into the middle of this ce far away from the medical supplies." I could feel his re.


    ".....sorry." She looked down.


    "Actions have consequences,ss." I nced up and saw his expression soften slightly.


    "I''ll take the me too; I shouldn''t have let her talk me into this." The floating toy agreed. "The Old Man is going to be <i>pissed</i>."


    "Hmph."


    "But why not use Wilhelm''s stuff, I doubt he''d mind, especially if it''s used to help him." The talking toy asked.


    "I know he had a storage space filled with stuff, but I''m far from a God of Magic, I can''t exactly break into it."


    "Haah....and I can''t use very much magic without a proper Magus to wield me." The toy replied.


    "Oh, inside that space he has? I can get inside." The strange girl raised her hand. "What do you need?"


    Folen perked up. "Do you see any red potions? Actually, just grab anything that looks like it could be medicine."


    She reached forward and her hand disappeared from view as the space rippled around her, then suddenly hundreds of things fell onto my head around them.


    "....well okay then." Folen blinked. "I didn''t expect this much."


    "Do you need more, he as a lot more stuff in there." She reached inside and pulled out...


    "Is that a Troll''s head?" Folen furrowed his brow.


    She shrugged. "It smells weird." She threw it back inside. "Oh, what''s this?"


    A bright light shined out.


    "Odin''s beard, don''t suddenly take something like that out!"


    "That''s the True Longinus." I informed them. "Please don''t y with that on my head." Even <i>I</i> felt danger from that weapon."


    "Oh, that''s weird. There''s something inside of it, like a presence....." She held it up to her ear. "Hi, I''m Arcueid Brunestud."


    The Spear seemed to vibrate in her hand.


    "Okay, sorry." She put it back away and took something else out. "Why does he have a bunch of girl''s underwear in there?" She held up a very skimpy piece of fabric. "And why is it so small?"


    "Ask your Grandfatherter." The Toy wand seemed to skillfully avoid that question.


    It was obvious she was....child-like. I barely needed to interact with her much to be able to understand that.


    "This is enough, stop messing with the Brat''s stuff." Folen pped her hand before he started uncorking various things onto his hands and pressing them to Ddraig''s host.


    The girl atleast went quiet as she pulled up her legs next to him and watched.


    "Old Man, you''re really impressive." The Wand spoke.


    Steam was literally rising off the body of Ddraig''s host.


    "I was the best doctor in the Nine Realms before I became a god. Now, I can <i>cheat</i>." He said proudly. "You said that you can use some magic, can you analyze this stuff? I don''t recognize half of it."


    "Analyze? I can do a basic scan, what do you need?"


    "I need something to replenish his stamina, there''s too much for me to go through individually to find what I need. I''d rather not take too long to get him back up on his feet."


    "This red fruit here. And that big Green Potion, that''s good stuff." It floated to a strange looking fruit and a potionying next to it. "Oh, and this....is it wine? Yeah, give him a sip of this wine, that should help."


    He uncorked the wine and took a whiff. "That''s impressive." He poured a few drops into the mouth of the young host. "Hmm, this fruit." Folen''s eyes glowed. "What in the Hell? This is almost pure life force." He barely even took pause before breaking it up into small pieces and pushing it down the boy''s throat, coaxing him to swallow.


    I suddenly stopped as I looked into the distance.


    "Did you all feel that?" I asked.


    The Strange girl scrunched her brow. "Something just came into the world, and it''s being rejected."


    "....what does that mean?" Folen asked.


    "Something that shouldn''t exist. It''s facing rejection." She said cryptically again. "A True Daemon?"


    "Arc, <i>are you sure</i>?" The Wand flew up into her face.


    "No, it''s weird. It feels kind of simr, but it''s different. Like the <strong>First</strong>, an artificial Daemon? It''s going to appear, someone is going to give it a name and bind it to the world."


    "Right, we should leave." The Wand said with some urgency.


    "I have no idea what she''s talking about, but I still think that''s a great idea. Jormungandr, the brat said the bright light ¨C something about a lighthouse?" Folen pointed far into the distance where a bright light reached the sky, even through the blizzard around us, it was visible.


    "With pleasure." I moved as fast as I could towards it.


    It wasn''t that far away, but there was something scary behind us and I wanted to get away as far as I could.


    I didn''t have as good a danger sense as Yu-Long, but there''s a reason I survived so long! I''m the only Dragon King that''s never experienced death once even if it was a close shave by Surtr!


    As we got closer, I realized how big the thing was.


    I couldn''t even see the light that ended, it pierced the blizzardpletely, and the source of it was arge golden building that didn''t look like it belonged in this ce.


    "Oh, a human!" The strange girl pat the top of my head excitedly, jumping down as we all turned to look at where she was talking.


    There was a human, sitting on a chair, no snow around him in the slightest. In fact, the temperature around here was much warmer.


    He was old for a human, white hair, frail body, I didn''t sense any danger from him. Truthfully, I could probably kill him by just released my aura in his presence.


    "Hey Old Man, why are you in this ce? Humans shouldn''t be here." She got really close to him.


    The old human was whittling away on a piece of wood, barely even paying us any attention.


    He slowly stopped, his movements disying his old age. "I got lost once upon a time." Though, he took nces at Ddraig''s Host atop my head.


    "That''s not good." The Strange girl frowned. "Hey Mister Snake, let''s take him home. Humans shouldn''t be here."


    I was surprised she even cared. She was clearly not human, and I wouldn''t care about some random human.


    "I''m afraid I don''t have a home anymore, young miss." The old human stood up, his body wobbling from the strain. He looked far behind us as if his gaze could pierce the snowstorm. "But you all should leave."


    "Why don''t you have a home anymore?" She ignored what he said, squatting down with the tone that a child asks an adult with. "There are still plenty of humans outside."


    It was very strange.


    To see a being with such power, yet such naivety and innocence.


    "Home is where the heart is young miss. My heart died with my sister." He offered a sad smile under his long beard.


    "What happened to your sister?" She asked once more with the grace of a child ignoring social etiquette.


    "She was taken." He said with clear venom in his tone. "I devoted my life to revenge, chasing after the bastards responsible until I ended here." His fists clenched until he let out a sigh. "What am I saying? This old man is rambling in his old age." He looked at her. "Maybe it''s because you have that same look of hers. I don''t remember much; she had shining gold hair just like yours and such a kind and innocent smile. Sometimes when my mind returns, I think I can almost remember exactly how she used to look."


    He reached out and lightly pat the strange girl''s head.


    "You shouldn''t stay here and listen to me ramble." He held up a shaking hand towards Ddraig''s host. "That one was kind before, you don''t need to pay a crossing fee. Take him and enter the ocean. Something is happening and it''s getting closer."


    We all turned to look, and I could feel the vibrations in the ground.


    Something <irge</i> and <i>powerful</i> wasing.


    Even with my eyesight, I could only see its outline in the shadows of the snowstorm.


    Along with two glowing eyes. Wait, there were more, many ¨C many more.


    Maybe if I was full strength....but I''m not really in a good spot to fight anything overly strong right now.


    I wasn''t the first to react, it was the strange girl.


    She grabbed the old man rather gently just before something shot through the blizzard and part of the weird structure was destroyed.


    "Jormungandr, get us out of here!" Folen finally shouted.


    The Strange girl and the old man were on my head, I jumped into the beam of light and felt the world twist around us.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    I felt salty air hit my face and pushed myself up realizing I wasying on my back. The sshing of waves was clear to my ears even as I nearly fell over from the sudden movement.


    I felt groggy, like I had just been on a month-long bender.


    "You''re finally up."


    I looked towards the source and saw Folen sitting there. "What''s going on?" I looked around and we were surrounded by the ocean. "What happened, I was fine and then everything just went nk...?"


    "You tell me, you suddenly fainted and startled everyone."


    I put both hands on my head and let my jumbled brain settle down to think it through.


    "Ah, I forcibly used more power from the Bow than what I should have. Not a physical bacsh, but it significantly drained my stamina and what-not. In addition to practically having my Aura shattered and the beating I took, my body just copsed once everything was over." I summarized after thinking it through.


    Right, I made the mental note before to be careful with using Nidavellir and the Bow. I only recently theorized thepleted form of it rather than just a rough outline. Using it to battle for the first time, it was <i>very</i> powerful, surprisingly so.


    Unfortunately, my Helheim spell didn''t perform as well as expected. Not that it wasn''t what I had hoped, but that the opponent was just a poor choice. Oh, it certainly helped, it definitely elerated the count down for the fake Ddraig, but a drawn-out fight was doomed to fail from the start.


    The fact that it could just Boost ignoring its own damage was much deadlier than anticipated.


    Well, I should have taken more caution regardless.


    Opponents that ignore their own wellbeing seem to be the worst kind.


    Besides that, the Bow certainly needs to be handled with more caution as well. I don''t regret what I did, but having more knowledge on the consequences will be beneficial for the future.


    I shouldn''t be surprised that it knocked me on my ass like it did.


    It''s the primary weapon of a <i>God</i> in the same breath as Meridia. The fact that I could draw out more power from it than normal is already a feat worth praising.


    Shit, I couldn''t even pull the bowstring all the way back and my arms were destroyed in the process.


    Speaking of...


    "Did you heal me?" I looked at Folen.


    "I did." He nodded. "Luckily, you gave me Medicine as a domain. I had to use stuff from your storage ¨C" He pointed at my ring. " ¨C but I can amplify healing objects and medicines with my new divine Power."


    I was obviously still not fully recovered, but I was far from debilitated. Especially my arms, they were back to working condition, and while my chest still hurt from a few cracked ribs and what-not, It wasn''t nearly as bad as it should have been without something impressive to heal me like Avalon.


    Fascinating, I wonder what the scope of that entails? Would he be able to affect something like <i>Avalon</i>. Not directly, it''s beyond reproach as a physical object, but in application...


    Thoughts forter.


    "Last thing I remember, Arcueid dropped the moon on fake Ddraig and I was about to exin everything and ask questions and here I am."


    Arcueid dropped the Crimson Moon on fake Ddraig.


    She dropped the fucking moon.


    Thank Big G in my spear that she had the sense to not let us get caught up in everything. And the fact that it happened inside a Reality Marble means the world still exists afterwards as everything returns to ''normal''.


    That''s going to give me shivers for a long time.


    "Folen, how did you end up with my cousin." I finally asked.


    "Why don''t you ask those <i>two</i>." He pointed to Arc and...


    Was that Captain Hook!?


    I was about to ask about that, but priorities!


    Because <i>Ruby</i> was floating next to her, and she noticed my gaze because she immediately hid behind Arc.


    "Ruby." I said very sternly. "Would you like to exin <i>why</i> you and Arc are here?"


    "I''m not here!"


    "Ruby, I can deactivate you with a verbalmand." I reminded her.


    "It wasn''t my fault!"


    "I highly doubt it." I rolled my eyes. This had her mischief all over it.


    "It was me." Arcueid spoke up. "I forced her. I wanted toe and visit...."


    I looked at Arcueid then at Ruby before letting out a sigh. I could believe that as well, Arcueid isn''t one to think things through.


    A simple though like, <i>I wanted to visit</i> could easily turn into this because she''s very singrly focused when she gets a thought in her head.


    And she''s one of the few people that could actually ''force'' Ruby.


    "Captain." I greeted the Old man who was sitting at the edge of Jormungandr, which we were apparently riding as he swam through the sea.


    He didn''t answer me, nor even turn around but I knew he heard me.


    "Why is he with us...?" I pointed at him, then looked at the others.


    "I took him!" Arcueid smiled.


    I rubbed the bridge of my nose.


    Right, this has turned into a clusterfuck.


    I am thankful for the assist back there, however. I don''t believe I would have died, but Arc did save me ample effort when she dropped the damn moon on fake Ddraig.


    I felt a tremor, as it seems Jormungandr hit something, I looked over the side as he slithered up to a sand bar and stop, nearly flopping over.


    Quickly, I was about to grab Captain Hook before he could fall, but Arcueid beat me to it and helped him onto the sand bar.


    Odd.


    "I can''t go anymore, I''m too tired." The Snake let out groan.


    "....how long had you been swimming?" I asked.


    The World Serpent looked at me and for some reason I felt a lot of pity. "Hours."


    "You''ve had it hard."


    "She used me as a club." He whined. "I, the majestic World Serpent, was used as a club to bludgeon people."


    I looked at Arc and she looked away, pretending not to be guilty.


    "None of the other Dragons are ever going to let me live this down."


    "That''s....not true." I tried to reassure him.


    [No, he''s right.] Ddraig chimed in. [Next opportunity I get, I''m going to tell everyone.]


    "Ddraig actually thinks you were pretty cool back there." I forced a smile.


    "That''s a lie, the Great Welsh is a dick, everyone knows it."


    [Not untrue.] Ddraig didn''t deny.


    "No, seriously, Ddraig really thinks you did good."


    ".....really?" The World Serpent asked.


    "Yup."


    "He used to call me a dumb snake. He would taunt me, asking me why I was a Dragon King when I wasn''t even a ''real'' Dragon."


    [He is a dumb snake.]


    Dammit Ddraig.


    [But I take back what I said about him not being a real Dragon. It was ballsy of him to attack Surtr like he did, I''m honestly impressed.]


    "Ddraig says he recognizes you as a real dragon. He said, only a real and powerful dragon would dare to stand up to the Fire Giant King. Only a real dragon would rebel against destiny and fight against preordained fate. Ddraig said he greatly respects you for what you did." I told him.


    [That''s not at all what I said.]


    However, Jormungandr seemed to regain some life in his eyes. "Great Welsh said something like that?"


    [I did not.]


    "He most certainly did. I back up my words with my pride as the Red Dragon Emperor." I gave him a thumbs up.


    Ddraig, let him have this. He looks like he''s been having a really bad past few days...


    And we do kind of owe him for what happened back in Asgard.


    Jormungandr smiled, as best as a snake could. "But I''m still too tired to move. I can''t even bring out 30% of my full strength like I am right now because everything is going into healing my previous injuries. My stamina is pathetic too."


    Well, fuck.


    I could vaguely sense Sir Wiggles, and he was <i>far</i> away.


    I took out the map I took off killing those goblins awhile ago that pointed to the ind, and it was nk. It was easy to guess we were too far out of range from the established magics.


    "Hey Folen, you didn''t happen to see any Youkai after we entered the ocean, did you? Nurarihyon and some others should have been on my ship." I''m sure they''re fine, but how much damage is the question.


    "There was no one waiting when we came over." He shook his head.


    Well, this is a shitty spot we''ve ended up in. I need to meet back up with the others, but now I have to babysit Arcueid.


    And our ride is too tired.


    "Did you say ''Youkai'',d?" Captain Hook turned to me.


    "...I did?"


    "I had a few of theme over from the side you did." He spoke calmy. "''Bout an army or two crossed over."


    Did Yasaka and them catch up? That means they''re already marching or rather sailing for the main territory of the Winter Court.


    Nurarihyon must have met back up with them.


    "Well, we either have to wait for a ship to pass by andmandeer, or for Jormungandr to recover." Speaking of, I realized I had something that could probably help. "Hey big snake, try eating a couple of these."


    I toss two of the Red Fruits onto its tongue and he didn''t even bother to say anything as they were pulled into his mouth.


    It was as if he gained a burst of stamina and ''stood up''.


    "Oh, that''s nice." He hissed out.


    "Consider it a thanks. How much swimming do you think you can do?"


    "I''m going to need a few hundred of those if you want me to swim all the way back from where we came." He replied.


    Right, no point then.


    Should I just use my Magic and risk it? I didn''t trust my calctions in this ce where time and space could change on a whim.


    "If you need a ship, I may have a solution." Captain hook raised his hand, looking my way. "It depends if he can swim just a little bit further."


    ".....how far?" Jormungandr looked at him skeptically, and Captain hook gave a big grin.


    "Hate." Jormungandr spit out. "I hate all of you. None of you are good people and I will never help any of you ever again." Jormungandr whined as he swam for another two hours per Captain Hook''s instructions.


    "Ddraig say''s he admires you''re ¨C "


    "Do you think I''m an idiot?" Jormungandr hissed, eyes tilting up towards me as I stood on his head.


    "I was hoping."


    Jormungandr grumbled. "I am owed a debt."


    I relented. "I swear on my name, I recognize a debt owed." For this and the nonsense that Arcueid put him through. I wasn''t ying around with this one, I made a promise, and if he called in my debt, I would answer without hesitation.


    "Hmph, if Ddraig''s host owes me a debt, it barely makes this whole trip worth it."


    "We''re almost there. It should be that cave cove up ahead if I remember." Captain Hook stood there with the wind whipping his hair back and didn''t even stumble as he pointed forward on Jormungandr''s head.


    The World Serpent continued to grumble, but he shot forward.


    He entered the cave, it was ratherrge, enough to amodate his size.


    Though he paused. "There''s something here."


    The waters inside the cave trembled as something <irge</i> burst out ready to attack.


    "Tick-Tock!" Captain Hook blurted out, causing the monster to stop abruptly and Jormungandr who was nearly ready to bite into it stopped as well.


    There was a massive crocodile sitting there.


    It was very intelligent by the look in its eyes, seemingly recognizing Captain hook immediately.


    "My old friend." He had a few tears in his eyes. "You''re still protecting this ce after all these years...."


    Not far away, I could see it. On the stone ground of the cave there was a ship, it had some decay to it, but it was mostly intact.


    And specifically, there was a pirate''s g hanging down. The hook on it was a dead giveaway.


    Captain Hook nearly jumped down before Arcueid gave him a hand and he almost stumbled as his feet touched the ground.


    The massive crocodile that could probably eat the ship in a couple bites, looked towards him and rumbled like cat, purring as the old man put a hand on its snout.


    I vaguely recall a crocodile in the story, it swallowed an rm clock, which is how it had its name. In some iterations the crocodile is Captain Hook''s archnemesis, in others, it''s hispanion.


    It''s obvious which is real in this case.


    We all got off of Jormungandr as he finally shrunk down and coiled around Folen''s neck in exhaustion.


    We really did owe him a bit here.


    It seemed like Captain Hook stood up straighter.


    "Don''t worry about Tick-Tock, he''s a friend to the crew!" Captain Hookughed. "Without him.....without him, the ship would have been stolen long ago. He''s been here, protecting it faithfully for so long. A man with a turban sold him to me a long time ago! He imed that Tick-Tock here was descended from....from something, I don''t remember. From that ce with pyramids, the name escapes me, he said something from there."


    .....I do know of a certain <i>mythological</i> Crocodile from Egyptian Myths.


    "It''s in surprisingly good condition." I admired the boat since the big and most likely Divine-Descended crocodile made no motion of hostility.


    Of course, the <i>Jolly Roger</i> is second to none!" He seemed excited, a far cry from the past few times I''ve seen him. "She will serve you well." He sighed. "Take good care of her."


    He was handing his ship over without a second thought.


    "I''m afraid that there''s one problem."


    "Something wrong with the ship?" Captain hook looked concerned.


    "You see, I''m already a Captain. It would be the height of presumptuousness to assume the role of Captain on another man''s ship."


    "Ah?" He blinked.


    "Not to mention, I know nothing of these waters. We need someone experienced, <i>Captain</i>." I took out a bottle of my Peach Wine and one of the Red Fruits.


    Both of these were exceedingly rare materials, that I would hesitate to give out, but in this instance, I felt it was appropriate.


    He seemed confused, as if he was operating on instinct, he took the jar of wine and popped it open, downing a big gulp.


    His eyes widened and he grabbed the fruit, eating it very quickly.


    His white hair didn''t disappear, but perhaps he was standing a few inches taller, and his eyes were a bit less glossy.


    "Tick-Tock. Do you remember what I told you? We have onest adventure. The only adventure we have left." He smiled. "For onest time, let''s let these bastards fear the name of Captain Hook."


    He looked around.


    "Lad, you know your way around a ship. I need you to patch any holes."


    "On it, captain." I nodded, taking my shirt off because this was going to be some dirty work.


    "Little Lady, how is your sowing hand? The Sails need a touch up."


    "I can do that....I think." Arcueid sounded excited, like it was a fun new thing for her.


    "You, the elf." He pointed at Folen with eyes narrowed.


    "Not a Fae." He made sure to say bluntly.


    "Then you are wee on my ship. How''s your aim?"


    "I don''t miss." Folen snorted.


    "Check the cannons, make sure they''re primed."


    Folen smiled lightly and flicked his hand up in the image of a salute.


    It was as if he returned to the prime of his youth despite an elderly body and white hair. His hook ran through his mustache with a wide grin adorning his face.


    "In an hour, I want the Jolly Roger ready to set sail!"


    @***@


    Non-Canon Omake: The Little Spider Part 4


    Arachne traveled for several hours on the back of Mr. Blueberry.


    If any humans saw her, they would have probably seen a young girl riding a bike or a horse, but Arachne was having a fun time.


    Getting Mr. Blueberry for her already made this trip worth it. She even considered just heading home and bringing Mr. Blueberry with her, but since she was already here, she figured she''d set out to do what she came here originally for.


    The trip perhaps would have been a bit quicker if they had taken major roads and such, but she didn''t want to be bothered with traffic and humans.


    While she was by no means like her Aunt Rin and disdained modern technology, she preferred the wilderness and tranquility that came away from civilization.


    To an extent.


    She was happy in Youkai Kyoto where things were much less noisy and invasivepared to the human world, while also having all the modern conveniences.


    She enjoyed camping, hiking, or otherwise exploring remote locations and had no problem ''roughing it'' for her goals.


    But on the flip side, she would get onery if she couldn''t take a warm shower after a week. Nor if she couldn''t take breaks toze about and just watch mindless television for awhile.


    She had a few shows she desperately waited for each week.


    That being said, this trip had taken its toll on Mr. Blueberry.


    She noticed that he had slowed down a lot to the point where he found the shade of a tree near a small stream andid.


    "Are you tired, Mr. Blueberry?" She quickly got off less she make him ufortable and sat down next to him, moving his head to hisp as she rubbed his head. "It''s okay, a take care of you now, you can rest."


    "Moo~"


    She was by no means upset by this ''break'', in fact, she was proud of her Mr. Blueberry!


    Giving it some thought, it was probably much harder for him to ''swim'' onnd like he had been doing for so longpared to being in the water.


    It only further confirmed her original belief that he was the best pet.


    Arachne looked up at the sun, estimating that it was about mid afternoon.


    "Do ya want something ta eat, Mr. Blueberry?" She took out a handful of cookies. "....can you eat cookies? If not, a got some other stuff."


    Barely the words left her mouth before Mr. Blueberry''s mouth opened wide and snatched them out of her hand, munching on them happily.


    She wasn''t upset, simply smiled and continued to give him rubs on the head.


    She took some more snacks out of her storage bracelet and nibbled on them while sharing with Mr. Blueberry until a bit longer passed and he eventually fell asleep on herp.


    Arachne didn''t want to wake him up and decided that a small nap wasn''t bad. Sheid her head on his side and quickly fell asleep.


    With a yawn, Arachne opened her eyes. The sun had moved a bit in the sky, and she realized it would be getting dark soon.


    Mr. Blueberry woke up by her movements, looking a lot better as he wiggled free and swam around in a circle happily.


    He began to nudged her expectantly.


    "Are you hungry again?" She furrowed her brow. She did have more food, but most of that was admittedly....snacks. What ''real'' food she did have, well, she liked to treat it as emergency provisions.


    She gave it a thought and came to a decision. "It seems like ya can eat anything. We''re close to the city, we can find something good to eat there. Whateva ya want, you can choose." She reassured him.


    "Moo!"


    She happily hopped back on Mr. Blueberry and set off again.


    And she was right, mostly because she could smell the stench of the cities'' pollution, but it didn''t take long for them to reach the city limits.


    Funnily enough, Mr. Blueberry didn''t seem to mind the smell, or the crowds, or the noise. She questioned if he had been to human cities often, because he maneuvered around the crowds with hisrge body fairly easily and with obvious experience.


    She didn''t direct him, Mr. Blueberry looked like he was looking for something. Every so often, he would seemingly sniff the air ¨C surprising that a fish creature could do so, but she didn''t care to contradict ¨C and he would then turn another direction and keep moving.


    That was until they stopped out of a random restaurant that smelled good even to Arachne''s less sensitive nose.


    However, she had a feeling that this wasn''t the reason he stopped here due to who walked out just as they arrived.


    An Old man with one eye covered stood there, having just stepped outside. Half a sandwich was in his mouth, and he was mid bite as he stopped and stared at Arachne and Mr. Blueberry.


    Slowly, he began to chew without any other sounds as the two sides stared at one another in silence.


    "Moo~" Mr. Blueberry broke the silence, happily looking at the old man.


    The Old Man looked at Mr. Blueberry strangely then at Arachne. "Greek?"


    "Ya."


    "Parent?"


    "Some idiot."


    "That doesn''t narrow it down." He snorted. "But I could already guess."


    He took a bite of his sandwich, his one eye looking at her closely. After a couple more bites, he tossed it to Mr. Blueberry who without hesitation opened his mouth and swallowed it down, letting out a happy noise.


    Arachne blinked, looking at her pet as apparently they knew each other.


    "You know what you got there?" He pointed at Mr. Blueberry.


    "Mah pet." Arachne said. "His name is Mr. Blueberry."


    The Old Man blinked once. ".....okay."


    "Moo!"


    Arachne nodded as Mr. Blueberry agreed.


    "Do you know him?" Arachne asked.


    "Hees to our part of the world every now and then. My son is fond of him and likes to challenge him to swim races." The Old Man shrugged. "Why do you have mastery of Runes?" His eye narrowed.


    "Mom taught me." She said proudly.


    ".....Your Greek Parent?" He asked in confusion because he could guess who the girl''s ''mother'' was.


    "No, me mum! Not my Mother." Arachne said thetter with a more clinical detachment. As if it were just a statement of fact rather than any emotional ties.


    The Old Man understood her now. "Her name?" He was curious because not many people inscribed the Old Runes onto their children''s souls in an inheritance ritual.


    "Sc¨¢thach." Arache proudly said once again.


    The Old Man opened his mouth once then closed it. He decided to take out the second half of the sandwich from the container he was holding and take a bite of it, very slowly. "Not human. Who''s your other parent?"


    "Da''s name is Wilhelm."


    The Old Man ran through every figure he knew with that name and wasing up short. He was confused because he knew for certain that she had no human in her, which was strange for Greek Demigods. It was something he didn''t even recognize at first nce, which was especially strange for him.


    "Da is the son of Lucifer." She added, guessing what he wanted.


    Once more, the Old Man opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.


    "....are you going to camp?" The Old Man was familiar with what the Greeks got up to.


    "Ya."


    "Alright, have fun." He chose to turn and walk away.


    "Bye, Uncle Odin." She waved goodbye to him.


    The God Odin nearly stumbled at being so bluntly called out, but he quickly made his presence scarce. He didn''t know why she called him Uncle, he didn''t know why she seemingly had his Blessing. He didn''t know why he felt a familiar tug of his trusted Spear from her.


    But he was a God of Wisdom, thus he made the wise decision to not get involved with this trainwreck and just watch from the side as the Greeks have to deal with it.


    Though Arachne made the mental note to go visit Asgard at some point.


    Her and Mr. Blueberry went off on their merry way.


    @***@


    It had gotten dark as Arachne looked up at the sky.


    And it had started raining, a storm had descended, but she knew that it was unnatural. It didn''t seem to be focused on her, so she didn''t put much thought into it.


    They weren''t far away, she thought. She had a vague idea of where they were going and there was something strange further ahead, like arge Bounded Field.


    She had cast a small spell to keep the rain off herself, and Mr. Blueberry seemed happy to have the extra water falling down.


    However, something got her attention that diverted her thoughts away from the camp.


    Arge and intentional bolt of Lightning dropped from the sky.


    The Camp wasn''t going anywhere, she wanted to go see what was going on. Maybe she could find a good fight?


    "Mr. Blueberry, let''s go see what''s happening." She lightly pat his head.


    "Moo..." Mr. Blueberry looked hesitant.


    "Don''t worry, Mr. Blueberry, a said a would protect ya. A promise that no one will hurt ya." She reassured him.


    She would literally kill anyone who attempted to harm him.


    She came upon a strange scene.


    A minotaur?


    She recognized the monster immediately as it chased after a group of people. What looked like a mother, a son, and....a satyr?


    She pursed her lips at thest one due to her previous encounter with a satyr.


    But the mother broke off from the other two and tried to divert the attention of the monster away, however it managed to grab her.


    Arachne felt a twinge in her heart and already decided to make a move.


    However, she blinked as something else happened.


    It was phased out of normal space, but someone reached out through the void to attempt to grab her.


    Godly.


    Her instincts told her that it wasn''t a protective gesture and without a second thought, her spear was summoned and soared through the air.


    On the other side, Hades, God of the Underworld, attempt to grab hold of the mortal woman.


    He was sure that the son of hers was the one who stole something precious from him. The Monster currently grabbing her was originally sent by him to grab the boy, but taking his mom was good enough a bargaining tool to get back his precious treasure.


    However, just as he was about to pull her to the Underworld to hold onto her as a hostage, a red light soared through the air right at him!


    He pulled back for the briefest moments out of surprise and could clearly see a rather...peculiar spear nearly try and imaple him.


    He traced it back to where it came from and saw a young....girl? A Demigod if he guessed correctly, but his eyes widened as she noted what was at her side.


    Was that the Ophiotaurus!?


    It was enough of a shock that the great god momentarily forgot himself and lost the opportunity to grab the mortal woman.


    The Ancient Laws prohibit overt meddling in the affairs of mortals. Now that he had missed his chance, he couldn''t justify acting twice to grab the same mortal under a watchful gaze.


    With a furious scowl, he retreated back to the underworld.


    The Minotaur, however, waspletely oblivious as to what was happening, intending to squeeze the woman into a paste without a second thought as its main target was the delicious smelling Demigod boy it had been chasing.


    But before he could flex his strength, like a rocket, a knee was smashed into its nose, sending the Minotaur up off its feet, its grip loosened, and it nearly did a flip before nting back onto the ground.


    Arachne slid to a stop, catching the woman before she could hit the ground.


    "W-what?" The older woman looked around confused.


    "Are ya okay?" Arachne asked, impressed by the woman willing to sacrifice herself for the others.


    Like her da, she had a soft spot for good parents.


    "Y-yes?" The woman answered still confused.


    "Mooo~" Mr. Blueberry swam up, nudging them both happily.


    The woman just stood there as Arachne set her back on her feet, not sure what was going on all of the sudden. One moment, she thought she was going to die, the next, she was in the arms of a young girl with.....very pretty hair and eyes and now there was a fish with a bull''s head nudging her yfully.


    The Minotaur had recovered, filled with furry as it smelled the neer who had hurt it.


    Another Demigod.


    It felt like it would be eating well tonight.


    Arachne didn''t summon her spear back into her hand. She cracked her neck and held her hands up as the Minotaur stomped the ground menacingly before charging at them.


    She didn''t look back at the panicking woman, too focused on the monster with a growing feral grin on her face.


    She ran at him at full speed and jumped up from her lower position, her elbow swung up under its jaw, nearly making the Minotaur''s eyes roll back and stop its charge with a shockwave thundering through the surroundings.


    Arachne followed up but gracefullynding back onto the ground and dropping low, swinging her leg out and swiping at its own legs, knocking it off bnce.


    A quick jab snuck at its kidney made saliva shoot out of the monster''s mouth with a roar of pain.


    It managed to recover, a testament to its fortitude as it tried to swing its fist at her haphazardly.


    Arachne merely grinned as she danced around it and threw a palm at the side of its head and with quick speed, another palm at the opposite side of its head, dazing it as its brain became jumbled.


    She released a flurry of punches into its abdomen, its tough hide indented with each blow.


    She took her lessons in Pankration from her Uncle Achilles to heart. He always said, the primary goal was to take your opponent down through all means avable. Obviously, it was abat style meant for use without a weapon.


    Bite your opponent''s ear off if she could. Gouge their eyes out, Elbow them in the kidney, knee them in the face.


    He was very explicit and even Aunt Atnta agreed with his words!


    Like her first attack on the Minotaur, she mmed her knee forward, but it wasn''t his face this time.


    The Minotaur let out a silent scream, clutching its groin and falling to the ground.


    Thankfully, she didn''t have to see the mess because the monster was wearing white underwear for some reason.


    She decided it was wise not to question this.


    Arachne raised her leg up and mmed it down on the back of the Minotaur''s head, nting its face further into the dirt.


    Lastly, she reached forward and grabbed the two horns of his and ripped them off.


    She seemed to recall the legends that the Minotaur was originally killed with its own horns?


    She quickly stabbed them into the Minotaur''s head, pointy side down this time. The monster''s suffering finally ended, and it turned to dust, leaving the two horns behind.


    Arachne smiled at that; she knew that Monsters here turned to dust ¨C for some reason. But she was happy that it left its horns! She couldn''t wait to show her mom and da the prize she took from a legendary monster!


    ...even if it wasn''t very strong.


    She didn''t need to mention that though.


    She happily put them away as Mr. Blueberry mooed at her, swimming and nudging her in excitement.


    "All done!" She brushed her hands clean with a smile as her Spear returned to her hand from where it had been thrown earlier.


    The mortal woman stood there in shock, mouth open just staring at Arachne.


    "Any more monsters ya need dead?" Arachne asked.


    ".....no?"


    "Aww." Arachne pouted, she barely even got started!


    The woman had introduced herself to Arachne.


    One, Sally Jackson.


    A human woman who caught the attention of a God, a tale as literally old as humanity.


    Arachne didn''t care much about the backstory. But the boy from earlier was in fact her son, and the satyr was there to bring them to camp, so about what she expected when she first arrived.


    They walked up over the hill where Arachne fought to see if they could find her son and the Satyr. She did tell them to run, presumedly to the camp, so it was a good chance they had already made it there.


    After searching the nearby buildings, there was no sign of either, so Arachne just sand on an abandoned tractor nearby as Sally Jackson wandered around almost lost.


    "He''s probably gone already." She finally said, approaching Arachne again. "I suppose my job is.....done. I don''t know if I would even be allowed to see him now."


    Arachne blinked. "What crock of shite is that?"


    "P-pardon?"


    "If ya want to go see him, then we go see him. Yer his mum, of course you can see him." Arachne scoffed. "I''ll take ya there."


    Sally''s eyes widened. "Are humans... allowed?" She whispered.


    She didn''t know much, but she didn''t know that it was only a sanctuary for demigods from what her former lover said.


    She was always under the assumption that she was basically giving her son up with the potential to never see him again. She didn''t want that of course, but more than anything, she just wanted him to be safe.


    It was a sacrifice she would willingly make in a heartbeat if it meant her son was safe from the kind of monster that...


    Well, that this girl probably only a few years older than her son just beat the ever-loving crap out of.


    Was that what her son was going to be able to do in a few years?


    "Don''t know." Arachne shrugged.


    "You don''t know?" She looked confused. "Didn''t youe from there?"


    "Nah, I was on my way there for the first time. Saw something happening, came to take a look." She said without much care. "A will take you there, no big deal."


    Sally Jackson blinked because she was sure that this child was thoroughly trained...right?


    Maybe she was just too ignorant about the happenings of what happened in the world.


    Arachne didn''t care about any of that nonsense though. She was his mom, and Arachne thought it stupid that a mom wasn''t allowed to see her son, especially a very loving and sacrificial mom like Sally.


    Therefore, she decided it was her goal to reunite them, at least for her to say goodbye and to make sure they both know the other is safe.


    "Mr. Blueberry can carry both of us." She pat her pet''s head and he mooed in agreement.


    Sally Jackson looked at the now named Mr. Blueberry.


    She didn''t question it before but wasn''t that a monster?


    ...or not.


    She was finding out that she really didn''t know much about anything. She decided not to ask one of the many questions she had. Like, why was his name Mr. Blueberry...?


    She hesitantly mounted him simr to Arachne and found that it was actually somewhat pleasant as the strange creature started moving.


    Sally had ridden horses before, and it was a lot smoother than that.


    And she had thought she would have gotten wet as there seemed to be a bubble of water around the very noticeable fish monster, but she wasn''t getting wet at all.


    It didn''t take long for them to reach the Bounded Field that Arachne discovered previously.


    She put a hand on it when they got close and could make out some parameters of it. It seemed to allow Divinity and rejected anything else.


    That made sense, to protect against both humans and monsters.


    It was a nice barrier.


    Oh well.


    Her hand became enveloped with the Power of Destruction, and she rent a person-sized hole in the barrier.


    Somewhat flippant in approach, but she was sure the barrier would mend itself rather quickly from what she discovered with just a cursory nce.


    "Ma''am, this way." Arachne gestured.


    Sally Jackson looked, she couldn''t see the ''barrier'' before, but now that it had been apparently torn open by some ck mes the strange girl manifested, it was barely visible around the edges of the hole to her eyes.


    She hesitantly stepped in to follow after the young girl who seemed to keep marching forward with a charismatic confidence.


    The cow-fish thing was right next to her.


    They didn''t get in very far before rustling disturbed some of the foliage and arge figure jumped out with a haste.


    "Who ¨C Miss Jackson?"


    "...Hello, Mr. Brunner." She greeted back.


    Arachne just raised a discerning eyebrow as she inspected the centaur.


    "....It''s Chiron, actually." He coughed. "You don''t seem surprised....clear sighted?"


    "Yes." Sally answered pointedly.


    He recalled the times he had interacted with her when ying the part of her son''s teacher and hiding his true form as a Centaur.


    "Ah....I should have known that. You did a good job of hiding it during the parent-teacher conferences..." Chiron then paused as if realizing the situation. "How did you get in here?"


    "Um..."


    "A let her in." Arachne said.


    "And how did you let her in?" Chiron questioned.


    "A opened a hole." Arache said nonchntly.


    Chiron''s mouth gaped for a moment. "you...opened a hole?"


    "Yes."


    Chiron didn''t know what to make of this girl. "Sally, what''s.....can you exin what''s going on? We just received Percy, and he passed out from exhaustion and Grover gave a summary of events, but they both seemed confident that you...died."


    Sally looked at Arachne. "She saved me."


    "A saw her with the monster, figured I would help." Arachne smiled. "The Minotaur wasn''t very strong though."


    Chiron blinked at her blunt words, filling in the nks based on what he knew, but before he could question her next his eyesnded on the thing next to her.


    "Is that the Ophiotaurus!?" He blurted out in shock.


    "Moo~"


    "His name is Mr. Blueberry." Arachne said firmly. "And don''t you have any thoughts, I''ll kill anyone who tries to hurt him." She warned.


    Chiron was someone old, experienced. He had survived many ages, tutge under the gods, and often was brought up to Olympus to meet the exalted figures.


    And that being said, he was at this moment, bewildered and speechless.


    Arachne though was happy!


    Her uncle Achilles only had good things to say about his teacher. And even Aunt Atnta and Aunt Medea only praised him as good, honorable, and skilled!


    Chiron at this point realized with the apparent reveal of the Bane of Olympus that things were significantly beyond his pay grade.


    Despite the many questions he had, he decided to let their esteemed Count Director handle things.


    "Please...follow me then...I guess." He never had an uninvited Human enter the camp before, so there actually wasn''t any real precedence on how to handle her.


    Thankfully, they had more than enough room. And truthfully, he wasn''t so cold hearted as to send her out, especially with her son thinking she''s dead.


    The lives of Demigods were tragic enough, at the very least, small acts of kindness were not beyond him.


    Once they passed the tree line and the forestry area, it opened up to arge valley.


    Arachne drank the sight in with her eyes. Despite it being dark with a storm looming overhead, her eyes could see it clearly.


    They were standing at the precipice of arge cliff, and down below there were many buildings, obviously of Greek architecture from a nce. There was even a coliseum replica down there!


    And at the side, was that a volcano?


    She looked up and saw a Pegasus fly overhead.


    "This way, the Camp Director is in the Big House. We''ll give you a proper tour after meeting him."


    Arachne nodded even if she wanted to immediately get to the fun bits, it was important to be polite in someone else''s home.


    The Big House he mentioned was the only house on this cliff, overlooking everything else.


    Arge, several story and old-looking house.


    They walked right inside along with Mr. Blueberry to see a man sitting at a table, drinking a cup of coffee.


    He stopped mid sip to look at us.


    There was a beat of silence as he didn''t speak.


    Chiron cleared his throat. "Mr. D, this is....a new camper of ours." He gestured to Arachne, deducing she was a Demigod even if it wasn''t said outwardly.


    Not to mention, he recognized the color of her eyes, it was a rather dead giveaway 99.9% of the time.


    "Why is there a human here?" Mr. D suddenly asked.


    Arachne wasn''t fooled by his ''normal'' appearance. She knew a God when she saw one!


    "....Her name is Sally Jackson, she''s the mother of Percy whom I brought about an hour ago." Chiron exined.


    The God didn''t seem to really care, even if both Chiron and Sally swallowed nervously.


    "You know the rules, they get a three-day pass, no more. I don''t need pops breathing down my neck about showing any favoritism." He waved his hand flippantly. "If I see any humans here after three days, theke is getting new dolphins."


    Chiron didn''t really get a word in to properly exin her presence, but wisely chose not to borate.


    "Now." The god set down his mug with a strange gaze. He looked at Mr. Blueberry with a look of acknowledgement of its existence. He pointed at it as if he wanted to say something and then shook his head with a sigh. "And I''m already going to have a headache, and I don''t even know your name yet, wonderful. I think this might be a new record." He was clearly referring to Arachne. He took his coffee up and took a sip of it.


    "Mah name is Arachne Uathach Schweinorg." She introduced herself without reservation.


    Mr. D ¨C also known as the god Dionysus spit out his coffee as she said her name


    Like Chiron, he wasn''t stupid, he immediately noticed her eyes and the vast majority of demigods with that eye color belong to one specific goddess.


    It took only a brief moment but the God of Madness startedughing.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 Chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    We got 2 Chapters ahead of the Arachne Omake, and one Chapter ahead of the Cyclops snippet as well. Heading towards the next arc and a new world soon with the Fae War being over.

 Chapter 570: + Arachne Omake Part 4

    Chapter 570: + Arachne Omake Part 4


    Jormungandr POV


    I regret agreeing to the Elf''s request.


    <em>It''s just a quick trip, Jormungandr.</em>


    <em>You won''t have to fight, Jormungandr.</em>


    <em>It''ll be like a vacation, Jormungandr</em>.


    Why did I think I needed a vacation? I was in a good spot! Sure, I was getting annoyed a lot because some Asgardians wanted to<em>meet</em>the great World Serpent for themselves. But it was a far cry from being<em>hated and hunted</em>in the past.


    There used to always be one fool who wanted to prove themselves by ying the<em>World Serpent</em>. So simply wanted to meet me was¡­.a nice change.


    And now I''m cold, I''m bruised, and I''m being chased!


    And I was used as a club!The other Dragons are never going to let me forget this. I could have hidden it, but Ddraig has such a big mouth, he''ll tell<em>everyone</em>.


    "Is he going to be alright!?"


    "Calm down, his life isn''t in danger."


    I moved quickly through this damn cold ce, putting a lot of distance between us and whatever it was behind us.


    Even I didn''t want to deal with what wasing.


    I did nce up on my head to see Ddraig''s host passed out.


    He seemed fine after the strange girl dropped the damn<em>moon</em>on a copy of the Great Welsh.


    How!?


    <em>Why!?</em>


    Who uses the<em>moon</em>as a weapon!


    Thankfully, it wasn''t<em>real</em>in a sense. Things flickered back to reality, and I was no Magician, but even I could tell that it was all sorts of<em>wrong</em>. Like we were in a different world for a moment there. I thought I was going to die, but it seems like the weird girl could keep us out of harms away while everything exploded spectacrly.


    And the fact that the moon, beyond being used as a bludgeoning tool, felt<em>scary</em>.


    "What''s wrong with him then?" She asked.


    "He''s hurt, obviously. His arms are a mess, some broken bones, ribs look bad. Some internal bleeding, bruising, cuts etc. But his life is far from danger. It just looks like all his stamina suddenly drainedpletely along with other energies in his body and he simply copsed from the rebound." The God exined.


    "Can you help him?" She looked worried.


    "I''m a God of Medicine, not healing. I''m elerating his natural healing abilities already with my Divine Power, but there''s a limit of what I can do without tools or supplies. Even with my domain of<em>Mercy</em>, I can alleviate his symptoms slightly, but that''s about it."


    "Do you have anything!?"


    "I didn''t think I would need to, considering the Youkai were<em>thoroughly stocked</em>. But<em>someone</em>decided to teleport me into the middle of this ce far away from the medical supplies." I could feel his re.


    "¡­..sorry." She looked down.


    "Actions have consequences,ss." I nced up and saw his expression soften slightly.


    "I''ll take the me too; I shouldn''t have let her talk me into this." The floating toy agreed. "The Old Man is going to be<em>pissed</em>."


    "Hmph."


    "But why not use Wilhelm''s stuff, I doubt he''d mind, especially if it''s used to help him." The talking toy asked.


    "I know he had a storage space filled with stuff, but I''m far from a God of Magic, I can''t exactly break into it."


    "Haah¡­.and I can''t use very much magic without a proper Magus to wield me." The toy replied.


    "Oh, inside that space he has? I can get inside." The strange girl raised her hand. "What do you need?"


    Folen perked up. "Do you see any red potions? Actually, just grab anything that looks like it could be medicine."


    She reached forward and her hand disappeared from view as the space rippled around her, then suddenly hundreds of things fell onto my head around them.


    "¡­.well okay then." Folen blinked. "I didn''t expect this much."


    "Do you need more, he as a lot more stuff in there." She reached inside and pulled out¡­


    "Is that a Troll''s head?" Folen furrowed his brow.


    She shrugged. "It smells weird." She threw it back inside. "Oh, what''s this?"


    A bright light shined out.


    "Odin''s beard, don''t suddenly take something like that out!"


    "That''s the True Longinus." I informed them. "Please don''t y with that on my head." Even<em>I</em>felt danger from that weapon."


    "Oh, that''s weird. There''s something inside of it, like a presence¡­.." She held it up to her ear. "Hi, I''m Arcueid Brunestud."


    The Spear seemed to vibrate in her hand.


    "Okay, sorry." She put it back away and took something else out. "Why does he have a bunch of girl''s underwear in there?" She held up a very skimpy piece of fabric. "And why is it so small?"


    "Ask your Grandfatherter." The Toy wand seemed to skillfully avoid that question.


    It was obvious she was¡­.child-like. I barely needed to interact with her much to be able to understand that.


    "This is enough, stop messing with the Brat''s stuff." Folen pped her hand before he started uncorking various things onto his hands and pressing them to Ddraig''s host.


    The girl atleast went quiet as she pulled up her legs next to him and watched.


    "Old Man, you''re really impressive." The Wand spoke.


    Steam was literally rising off the body of Ddraig''s host.


    "I was the best doctor in the Nine Realms before I became a god. Now, I can<em>cheat</em>." He said proudly. "You said that you can use some magic, can you analyze this stuff? I don''t recognize half of it."


    "Analyze? I can do a basic scan, what do you need?"


    "I need something to replenish his stamina, there''s too much for me to go through individually to find what I need. I''d rather not take too long to get him back up on his feet."


    "This red fruit here. And that big Green Potion, that''s good stuff." It floated to a strange looking fruit and a potionying next to it. "Oh, and this¡­.is it wine? Yeah, give him a sip of this wine, that should help."


    He uncorked the wine and took a whiff. "That''s impressive." He poured a few drops into the mouth of the young host. "Hmm, this fruit." Folen''s eyes glowed. "What in the Hell? This is almost pure life force." He barely even took pause before breaking it up into small pieces and pushing it down the boy''s throat, coaxing him to swallow.


    I suddenly stopped as I looked into the distance.


    "Did you all feel that?" I asked.


    The Strange girl scrunched her brow. "Something just came into the world, and it''s being rejected."


    "¡­.what does that mean?" Folen asked.


    "Something that shouldn''t exist. It''s facing rejection." She said cryptically again. "A True Daemon?"


    "Arc,<em>are you sure</em>?" The Wand flew up into her face.


    "No, it''s weird. It feels kind of simr, but it''s different. Like the<strong>First</strong>, an artificial Daemon? It''s going to appear, someone is going to give it a name and bind it to the world."


    "Right, we should leave." The Wand said with some urgency.


    "I have no idea what she''s talking about, but I still think that''s a great idea. Jormungandr, the brat said the bright light ¨C something about a lighthouse?" Folen pointed far into the distance where a bright light reached the sky, even through the blizzard around us, it was visible.


    "With pleasure." I moved as fast as I could towards it.


    It wasn''t that far away, but there was something scary behind us and I wanted to get away as far as I could.


    I didn''t have as good a danger sense as Yu-Long, but there''s a reason I survived so long! I''m the only Dragon King that''s never experienced death once even if it was a close shave by Surtr!


    As we got closer, I realized how big the thing was.


    I couldn''t even see the light that ended, it pierced the blizzardpletely, and the source of it was arge golden building that didn''t look like it belonged in this ce.


    "Oh, a human!" The strange girl pat the top of my head excitedly, jumping down as we all turned to look at where she was talking.


    There was a human, sitting on a chair, no snow around him in the slightest. In fact, the temperature around here was much warmer.


    He was old for a human, white hair, frail body, I didn''t sense any danger from him. Truthfully, I could probably kill him by just released my aura in his presence.


    "Hey Old Man, why are you in this ce? Humans shouldn''t be here." She got really close to him.


    The old human was whittling away on a piece of wood, barely even paying us any attention.


    He slowly stopped, his movements disying his old age. "I got lost once upon a time." Though, he took nces at Ddraig''s Host atop my head.


    "That''s not good." The Strange girl frowned. "Hey Mister Snake, let''s take him home. Humans shouldn''t be here."


    I was surprised she even cared. She was clearly not human, and I wouldn''t care about some random human.


    "I''m afraid I don''t have a home anymore, young miss." The old human stood up, his body wobbling from the strain. He looked far behind us as if his gaze could pierce the snowstorm. "But you all should leave."


    "Why don''t you have a home anymore?" She ignored what he said, squatting down with the tone that a child asks an adult with. "There are still plenty of humans outside."


    It was very strange.


    To see a being with such power, yet such naivety and innocence.


    "Home is where the heart is young miss. My heart died with my sister." He offered a sad smile under his long beard.


    "What happened to your sister?" She asked once more with the grace of a child ignoring social etiquette.


    "She was taken." He said with clear venom in his tone. "I devoted my life to revenge, chasing after the bastards responsible until I ended here." His fists clenched until he let out a sigh. "What am I saying? This old man is rambling in his old age." He looked at her. "Maybe it''s because you have that same look of hers. I don''t remember much; she had shining gold hair just like yours and such a kind and innocent smile. Sometimes when my mind returns, I think I can almost remember exactly how she used to look."


    He reached out and lightly pat the strange girl''s head.


    "You shouldn''t stay here and listen to me ramble." He held up a shaking hand towards Ddraig''s host. "That one was kind before, you don''t need to pay a crossing fee. Take him and enter the ocean. Something is happening and it''s getting closer."


    We all turned to look, and I could feel the vibrations in the ground.


    Something<emrge</em>and<em>powerful</em>wasing.


    Even with my eyesight, I could only see its outline in the shadows of the snowstorm.


    Along with two glowing eyes. Wait, there were more, many ¨C many more.


    Maybe if I was full strength¡­.but I''m not really in a good spot to fight anything overly strong right now.


    I wasn''t the first to react, it was the strange girl.


    She grabbed the old man rather gently just before something shot through the blizzard and part of the weird structure was destroyed.


    "Jormungandr, get us out of here!" Folen finally shouted.


    The Strange girl and the old man were on my head, I jumped into the beam of light and felt the world twist around us.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    I felt salty air hit my face and pushed myself up realizing I wasying on my back. The sshing of waves was clear to my ears even as I nearly fell over from the sudden movement.


    I felt groggy, like I had just been on a month-long bender.


    "You''re finally up."


    I looked towards the source and saw Folen sitting there. "What''s going on?" I looked around and we were surrounded by the ocean. "What happened, I was fine and then everything just went nk¡­?"


    "You tell me, you suddenly fainted and startled everyone."


    I put both hands on my head and let my jumbled brain settle down to think it through.


    "Ah, I forcibly used more power from the Bow than what I should have. Not a physical bacsh, but it significantly drained my stamina and what-not. In addition to practically having my Aura shattered and the beating I took, my body just copsed once everything was over." I summarized after thinking it through.


    Right, I made the mental note before to be careful with using Nidavellir and the Bow. I only recently theorized thepleted form of it rather than just a rough outline. Using it to battle for the first time, it was<em>very</em>powerful, surprisingly so.


    Unfortunately, my Helheim spell didn''t perform as well as expected. Not that it wasn''t what I had hoped, but that the opponent was just a poor choice. Oh, it certainly helped, it definitely elerated the count down for the fake Ddraig, but a drawn-out fight was doomed to fail from the start.


    The fact that it could just Boost ignoring its own damage was much deadlier than anticipated.


    Well, I should have taken more caution regardless.


    Opponents that ignore their own wellbeing seem to be the worst kind.


    Besides that, the Bow certainly needs to be handled with more caution as well. I don''t regret what I did, but having more knowledge on the consequences will be beneficial for the future.


    I shouldn''t be surprised that it knocked me on my ass like it did.


    It''s the primary weapon of a<em>God</em>in the same breath as Meridia. The fact that I could draw out more power from it than normal is already a feat worth praising.


    Shit, I couldn''t even pull the bowstring all the way back and my arms were destroyed in the process.


    Speaking of¡­


    "Did you heal me?" I looked at Folen.


    "I did." He nodded. "Luckily, you gave me Medicine as a domain. I had to use stuff from your storage ¨C" He pointed at my ring. " ¨C but I can amplify healing objects and medicines with my new divine Power."


    I was obviously still not fully recovered, but I was far from debilitated. Especially my arms, they were back to working condition, and while my chest still hurt from a few cracked ribs and what-not, It wasn''t nearly as bad as it should have been without something impressive to heal me like Avalon.


    Fascinating, I wonder what the scope of that entails? Would he be able to affect something like<em>Avalon</em>. Not directly, it''s beyond reproach as a physical object, but in application¡­


    Thoughts forter.


    "Last thing I remember, Arcueid dropped the moon on fake Ddraig and I was about to exin everything and ask questions and here I am."


    Arcueid dropped the Crimson Moon on fake Ddraig.


    She dropped the fucking moon.


    Thank Big G in my spear that she had the sense to not let us get caught up in everything. And the fact that it happened inside a Reality Marble means the world still exists afterwards as everything returns to ''normal''.


    That''s going to give me shivers for a long time.


    "Folen, how did you end up with my cousin." I finally asked.


    "Why don''t you ask those<em>two</em>." He pointed to Arc and¡­


    Was that Captain Hook!?


    I was about to ask about that, but priorities!


    Because<em>Ruby</em>was floating next to her, and she noticed my gaze because she immediately hid behind Arc.


    "Ruby." I said very sternly. "Would you like to exin<em>why</em>you and Arc are here?"


    "I''m not here!"


    "Ruby, I can deactivate you with a verbalmand." I reminded her.


    "It wasn''t my fault!"


    "I highly doubt it." I rolled my eyes. This had her mischief all over it.


    "It was me." Arcueid spoke up. "I forced her. I wanted toe and visit¡­."


    I looked at Arcueid then at Ruby before letting out a sigh. I could believe that as well, Arcueid isn''t one to think things through.


    A simple though like,<em>I wanted to visit</em>could easily turn into this because she''s very singrly focused when she gets a thought in her head.


    And she''s one of the few people that could actually ''force'' Ruby.


    "Captain." I greeted the Old man who was sitting at the edge of Jormungandr, which we were apparently riding as he swam through the sea.


    He didn''t answer me, nor even turn around but I knew he heard me.


    "Why is he with us¡­?" I pointed at him, then looked at the others.


    "I took him!" Arcueid smiled.


    I rubbed the bridge of my nose.


    Right, this has turned into a clusterfuck.


    I am thankful for the assist back there, however. I don''t believe I would have died, but Arc did save me ample effort when she dropped the damn moon on fake Ddraig.


    I felt a tremor, as it seems Jormungandr hit something, I looked over the side as he slithered up to a sand bar and stop, nearly flopping over.


    Quickly, I was about to grab Captain Hook before he could fall, but Arcueid beat me to it and helped him onto the sand bar.


    Odd.


    "I can''t go anymore, I''m too tired." The Snake let out groan.


    "¡­.how long had you been swimming?" I asked.


    The World Serpent looked at me and for some reason I felt a lot of pity. "Hours."


    "You''ve had it hard."


    "She used me as a club." He whined. "I, the majestic World Serpent, was used as a club to bludgeon people."


    I looked at Arc and she looked away, pretending not to be guilty.


    "None of the other Dragons are ever going to let me live this down."


    "That''s¡­.not true." I tried to reassure him.


    [No, he''s right.] Ddraig chimed in. [Next opportunity I get, I''m going to tell everyone.]


    "Ddraig actually thinks you were pretty cool back there." I forced a smile.


    "That''s a lie, the Great Welsh is a dick, everyone knows it."


    [Not untrue.] Ddraig didn''t deny.


    "No, seriously, Ddraig really thinks you did good."


    "¡­..really?" The World Serpent asked.


    "Yup."


    "He used to call me a dumb snake. He would taunt me, asking me why I was a Dragon King when I wasn''t even a ''real'' Dragon."


    [He is a dumb snake.]


    Dammit Ddraig.


    [But I take back what I said about him not being a real Dragon. It was ballsy of him to attack Surtr like he did, I''m honestly impressed.]


    "Ddraig says he recognizes you as a real dragon. He said, only a real and powerful dragon would dare to stand up to the Fire Giant King. Only a real dragon would rebel against destiny and fight against preordained fate. Ddraig said he greatly respects you for what you did." I told him.


    [That''s not at all what I said.]


    However, Jormungandr seemed to regain some life in his eyes. "Great Welsh said something like that?"


    [I did not.]


    "He most certainly did. I back up my words with my pride as the Red Dragon Emperor." I gave him a thumbs up.


    Ddraig, let him have this. He looks like he''s been having a really bad past few days¡­


    And we do kind of owe him for what happened back in Asgard.


    Jormungandr smiled, as best as a snake could. "But I''m still too tired to move. I can''t even bring out 30% of my full strength like I am right now because everything is going into healing my previous injuries. My stamina is pathetic too."


    Well, fuck.


    I could vaguely sense Sir Wiggles, and he was<em>far</em>away.


    I took out the map I took off killing those goblins awhile ago that pointed to the ind, and it was nk. It was easy to guess we were too far out of range from the established magics.


    "Hey Folen, you didn''t happen to see any Youkai after we entered the ocean, did you? Nurarihyon and some others should have been on my ship." I''m sure they''re fine, but how much damage is the question.


    "There was no one waiting when we came over." He shook his head.


    Well, this is a shitty spot we''ve ended up in. I need to meet back up with the others, but now I have to babysit Arcueid.


    And our ride is too tired.


    "Did you say ''Youkai'',d?" Captain Hook turned to me.


    "¡­I did?"


    "I had a few of theme over from the side you did." He spoke calmy. "''Bout an army or two crossed over."


    Did Yasaka and them catch up? That means they''re already marching or rather sailing for the main territory of the Winter Court.


    Nurarihyon must have met back up with them.


    "Well, we either have to wait for a ship to pass by andmandeer, or for Jormungandr to recover." Speaking of, I realized I had something that could probably help. "Hey big snake, try eating a couple of these."


    I toss two of the Red Fruits onto its tongue and he didn''t even bother to say anything as they were pulled into his mouth.


    It was as if he gained a burst of stamina and ''stood up''.


    "Oh, that''s nice." He hissed out.


    "Consider it a thanks. How much swimming do you think you can do?"


    "I''m going to need a few hundred of those if you want me to swim all the way back from where we came." He replied.


    Right, no point then.


    Should I just use my Magic and risk it? I didn''t trust my calctions in this ce where time and space could change on a whim.


    "If you need a ship, I may have a solution." Captain hook raised his hand, looking my way. "It depends if he can swim just a little bit further."


    "¡­..how far?" Jormungandr looked at him skeptically, and Captain hook gave a big grin.


    "Hate." Jormungandr spit out. "I hate all of you. None of you are good people and I will never help any of you ever again." Jormungandr whined as he swam for another two hours per Captain Hook''s instructions.


    "Ddraig say''s he admires you''re ¨C "


    "Do you think I''m an idiot?" Jormungandr hissed, eyes tilting up towards me as I stood on his head.


    "I was hoping."


    Jormungandr grumbled. "I am owed a debt."


    I relented. "I swear on my name, I recognize a debt owed." For this and the nonsense that Arcueid put him through. I wasn''t ying around with this one, I made a promise, and if he called in my debt, I would answer without hesitation.


    "Hmph, if Ddraig''s host owes me a debt, it barely makes this whole trip worth it."


    "We''re almost there. It should be that cave cove up ahead if I remember." Captain Hook stood there with the wind whipping his hair back and didn''t even stumble as he pointed forward on Jormungandr''s head.


    The World Serpent continued to grumble, but he shot forward.


    He entered the cave, it was ratherrge, enough to amodate his size.


    Though he paused. "There''s something here."


    The waters inside the cave trembled as something<emrge</em>burst out ready to attack.


    "Tick-Tock!" Captain Hook blurted out, causing the monster to stop abruptly and Jormungandr who was nearly ready to bite into it stopped as well.


    There was a massive crocodile sitting there.


    It was very intelligent by the look in its eyes, seemingly recognizing Captain hook immediately.


    "My old friend." He had a few tears in his eyes. "You''re still protecting this ce after all these years¡­."


    Not far away, I could see it. On the stone ground of the cave there was a ship, it had some decay to it, but it was mostly intact.


    And specifically, there was a pirate''s g hanging down. The hook on it was a dead giveaway.


    Captain Hook nearly jumped down before Arcueid gave him a hand and he almost stumbled as his feet touched the ground.


    The massive crocodile that could probably eat the ship in a couple bites, looked towards him and rumbled like cat, purring as the old man put a hand on its snout.


    I vaguely recall a crocodile in the story, it swallowed an rm clock, which is how it had its name. In some iterations the crocodile is Captain Hook''s archnemesis, in others, it''s hispanion.


    It''s obvious which is real in this case.


    We all got off of Jormungandr as he finally shrunk down and coiled around Folen''s neck in exhaustion.


    We really did owe him a bit here.


    It seemed like Captain Hook stood up straighter.


    "Don''t worry about Tick-Tock, he''s a friend to the crew!" Captain Hookughed. "Without him¡­..without him, the ship would have been stolen long ago. He''s been here, protecting it faithfully for so long. A man with a turban sold him to me a long time ago! He imed that Tick-Tock here was descended from¡­.from something, I don''t remember. From that ce with pyramids, the name escapes me, he said something from there."


    ¡­..I do know of a certain<em>mythological</em>Crocodile from Egyptian Myths.


    "It''s in surprisingly good condition." I admired the boat since the big and most likely Divine-Descended crocodile made no motion of hostility.


    Of course, the<em>Jolly Roger</em>is second to none!" He seemed excited, a far cry from the past few times I''ve seen him. "She will serve you well." He sighed. "Take good care of her."


    He was handing his ship over without a second thought.


    "I''m afraid that there''s one problem."


    "Something wrong with the ship?" Captain hook looked concerned.


    "You see, I''m already a Captain. It would be the height of presumptuousness to assume the role of Captain on another man''s ship."


    "Ah?" He blinked.


    "Not to mention, I know nothing of these waters. We need someone experienced,<em>Captain</em>." I took out a bottle of my Peach Wine and one of the Red Fruits.


    Both of these were exceedingly rare materials, that I would hesitate to give out, but in this instance, I felt it was appropriate.


    He seemed confused, as if he was operating on instinct, he took the jar of wine and popped it open, downing a big gulp.


    His eyes widened and he grabbed the fruit, eating it very quickly.


    His white hair didn''t disappear, but perhaps he was standing a few inches taller, and his eyes were a bit less glossy.


    "Tick-Tock. Do you remember what I told you? We have onest adventure. The only adventure we have left." He smiled. "For onest time, let''s let these bastards fear the name of Captain Hook."


    He looked around.


    "Lad, you know your way around a ship. I need you to patch any holes."


    "On it, captain." I nodded, taking my shirt off because this was going to be some dirty work.


    "Little Lady, how is your sowing hand? The Sails need a touch up."


    "I can do that¡­.I think." Arcueid sounded excited, like it was a fun new thing for her.


    "You, the elf." He pointed at Folen with eyes narrowed.


    "Not a Fae." He made sure to say bluntly.


    "Then you are wee on my ship. How''s your aim?"


    "I don''t miss." Folen snorted.


    "Check the cannons, make sure they''re primed."


    Folen smiled lightly and flicked his hand up in the image of a salute.


    It was as if he returned to the prime of his youth despite an elderly body and white hair. His hook ran through his mustache with a wide grin adorning his face.


    "In an hour, I want the Jolly Roger ready to set sail!"


    @***@


    Non-Canon Omake: The Little Spider Part 4


    Arachne traveled for several hours on the back of Mr. Blueberry.


    If any humans saw her, they would have probably seen a young girl riding a bike or a horse, but Arachne was having a fun time.


    Getting Mr. Blueberry for her already made this trip worth it. She even considered just heading home and bringing Mr. Blueberry with her, but since she was already here, she figured she''d set out to do what she came here originally for.


    The trip perhaps would have been a bit quicker if they had taken major roads and such, but she didn''t want to be bothered with traffic and humans.


    While she was by no means like her Aunt Rin and disdained modern technology, she preferred the wilderness and tranquility that came away from civilization.


    To an extent.


    She was happy in Youkai Kyoto where things were much less noisy and invasivepared to the human world, while also having all the modern conveniences.


    She enjoyed camping, hiking, or otherwise exploring remote locations and had no problem ''roughing it'' for her goals.


    But on the flip side, she would get onery if she couldn''t take a warm shower after a week. Nor if she couldn''t take breaks toze about and just watch mindless television for awhile.


    She had a few shows she desperately waited for each week.


    That being said, this trip had taken its toll on Mr. Blueberry.


    She noticed that he had slowed down a lot to the point where he found the shade of a tree near a small stream andid.


    "Are you tired, Mr. Blueberry?" She quickly got off less she make him ufortable and sat down next to him, moving his head to hisp as she rubbed his head. "It''s okay, a take care of you now, you can rest."


    "Moo~"


    She was by no means upset by this ''break'', in fact, she was proud of her Mr. Blueberry!


    Giving it some thought, it was probably much harder for him to ''swim'' onnd like he had been doing for so longpared to being in the water.


    It only further confirmed her original belief that he was the best pet.


    Arachne looked up at the sun, estimating that it was about mid afternoon.


    "Do ya want something ta eat, Mr. Blueberry?" She took out a handful of cookies. "¡­.can you eat cookies? If not, a got some other stuff."


    Barely the words left her mouth before Mr. Blueberry''s mouth opened wide and snatched them out of her hand, munching on them happily.


    She wasn''t upset, simply smiled and continued to give him rubs on the head.


    She took some more snacks out of her storage bracelet and nibbled on them while sharing with Mr. Blueberry until a bit longer passed and he eventually fell asleep on herp.


    Arachne didn''t want to wake him up and decided that a small nap wasn''t bad. Sheid her head on his side and quickly fell asleep.


    With a yawn, Arachne opened her eyes. The sun had moved a bit in the sky, and she realized it would be getting dark soon.


    Mr. Blueberry woke up by her movements, looking a lot better as he wiggled free and swam around in a circle happily.


    He began to nudged her expectantly.


    "Are you hungry again?" She furrowed her brow. She did have more food, but most of that was admittedly¡­.snacks. What ''real'' food she did have, well, she liked to treat it as emergency provisions.


    She gave it a thought and came to a decision. "It seems like ya can eat anything. We''re close to the city, we can find something good to eat there. Whateva ya want, you can choose." She reassured him.


    "Moo!"


    She happily hopped back on Mr. Blueberry and set off again.


    And she was right, mostly because she could smell the stench of the cities'' pollution, but it didn''t take long for them to reach the city limits.


    Funnily enough, Mr. Blueberry didn''t seem to mind the smell, or the crowds, or the noise. She questioned if he had been to human cities often, because he maneuvered around the crowds with hisrge body fairly easily and with obvious experience.


    She didn''t direct him, Mr. Blueberry looked like he was looking for something. Every so often, he would seemingly sniff the air ¨C surprising that a fish creature could do so, but she didn''t care to contradict ¨C and he would then turn another direction and keep moving.


    That was until they stopped out of a random restaurant that smelled good even to Arachne''s less sensitive nose.


    However, she had a feeling that this wasn''t the reason he stopped here due to who walked out just as they arrived.


    An Old man with one eye covered stood there, having just stepped outside. Half a sandwich was in his mouth, and he was mid bite as he stopped and stared at Arachne and Mr. Blueberry.


    Slowly, he began to chew without any other sounds as the two sides stared at one another in silence.


    "Moo~" Mr. Blueberry broke the silence, happily looking at the old man.


    The Old Man looked at Mr. Blueberry strangely then at Arachne. "Greek?"


    "Ya."


    "Parent?"


    "Some idiot."


    "That doesn''t narrow it down." He snorted. "But I could already guess."


    He took a bite of his sandwich, his one eye looking at her closely. After a couple more bites, he tossed it to Mr. Blueberry who without hesitation opened his mouth and swallowed it down, letting out a happy noise.


    Arachne blinked, looking at her pet as apparently they knew each other.


    "You know what you got there?" He pointed at Mr. Blueberry.


    "Mah pet." Arachne said. "His name is Mr. Blueberry."


    The Old Man blinked once. "¡­..okay."


    "Moo!"


    Arachne nodded as Mr. Blueberry agreed.


    "Do you know him?" Arachne asked.


    "Hees to our part of the world every now and then. My son is fond of him and likes to challenge him to swim races." The Old Man shrugged. "Why do you have mastery of Runes?" His eye narrowed.


    "Mom taught me." She said proudly.


    "¡­..Your Greek Parent?" He asked in confusion because he could guess who the girl''s ''mother'' was.


    "No, me mum! Not my Mother." Arachne said thetter with a more clinical detachment. As if it were just a statement of fact rather than any emotional ties.


    The Old Man understood her now. "Her name?" He was curious because not many people inscribed the Old Runes onto their children''s souls in an inheritance ritual.


    "Sc¨¢thach." Arache proudly said once again.


    The Old Man opened his mouth once then closed it. He decided to take out the second half of the sandwich from the container he was holding and take a bite of it, very slowly. "Not human. Who''s your other parent?"


    "Da''s name is Wilhelm."


    The Old Man ran through every figure he knew with that name and wasing up short. He was confused because he knew for certain that she had no human in her, which was strange for Greek Demigods. It was something he didn''t even recognize at first nce, which was especially strange for him.


    "Da is the son of Lucifer." She added, guessing what he wanted.


    Once more, the Old Man opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.


    "¡­.are you going to camp?" The Old Man was familiar with what the Greeks got up to.


    "Ya."


    "Alright, have fun." He chose to turn and walk away.


    "Bye, Uncle Odin." She waved goodbye to him.


    The God Odin nearly stumbled at being so bluntly called out, but he quickly made his presence scarce. He didn''t know why she called him Uncle, he didn''t know why she seemingly had his Blessing. He didn''t know why he felt a familiar tug of his trusted Spear from her.


    But he was a God of Wisdom, thus he made the wise decision to not get involved with this trainwreck and just watch from the side as the Greeks have to deal with it.


    Though Arachne made the mental note to go visit Asgard at some point.


    Her and Mr. Blueberry went off on their merry way.


    @***@


    It had gotten dark as Arachne looked up at the sky.


    And it had started raining, a storm had descended, but she knew that it was unnatural. It didn''t seem to be focused on her, so she didn''t put much thought into it.


    They weren''t far away, she thought. She had a vague idea of where they were going and there was something strange further ahead, like arge Bounded Field.


    She had cast a small spell to keep the rain off herself, and Mr. Blueberry seemed happy to have the extra water falling down.


    However, something got her attention that diverted her thoughts away from the camp.


    Arge and intentional bolt of Lightning dropped from the sky.


    The Camp wasn''t going anywhere, she wanted to go see what was going on. Maybe she could find a good fight?


    "Mr. Blueberry, let''s go see what''s happening." She lightly pat his head.


    "Moo¡­" Mr. Blueberry looked hesitant.


    "Don''t worry, Mr. Blueberry, a said a would protect ya. A promise that no one will hurt ya." She reassured him.


    She would literally kill anyone who attempted to harm him.


    She came upon a strange scene.


    A minotaur?


    She recognized the monster immediately as it chased after a group of people. What looked like a mother, a son, and¡­.a satyr?


    She pursed her lips at thest one due to her previous encounter with a satyr.


    But the mother broke off from the other two and tried to divert the attention of the monster away, however it managed to grab her.


    Arachne felt a twinge in her heart and already decided to make a move.


    However, she blinked as something else happened.


    It was phased out of normal space, but someone reached out through the void to attempt to grab her.


    Godly.


    Her instincts told her that it wasn''t a protective gesture and without a second thought, her spear was summoned and soared through the air.


    On the other side, Hades, God of the Underworld, attempt to grab hold of the mortal woman.


    He was sure that the son of hers was the one who stole something precious from him. The Monster currently grabbing her was originally sent by him to grab the boy, but taking his mom was good enough a bargaining tool to get back his precious treasure.


    However, just as he was about to pull her to the Underworld to hold onto her as a hostage, a red light soared through the air right at him!


    He pulled back for the briefest moments out of surprise and could clearly see a rather¡­peculiar spear nearly try and imaple him.


    He traced it back to where it came from and saw a young¡­.girl? A Demigod if he guessed correctly, but his eyes widened as she noted what was at her side.


    Was that the Ophiotaurus!?


    It was enough of a shock that the great god momentarily forgot himself and lost the opportunity to grab the mortal woman.


    The Ancient Laws prohibit overt meddling in the affairs of mortals. Now that he had missed his chance, he couldn''t justify acting twice to grab the same mortal under a watchful gaze.


    With a furious scowl, he retreated back to the underworld.


    The Minotaur, however, waspletely oblivious as to what was happening, intending to squeeze the woman into a paste without a second thought as its main target was the delicious smelling Demigod boy it had been chasing.


    But before he could flex his strength, like a rocket, a knee was smashed into its nose, sending the Minotaur up off its feet, its grip loosened, and it nearly did a flip before nting back onto the ground.


    Arachne slid to a stop, catching the woman before she could hit the ground.


    "W-what?" The older woman looked around confused.


    "Are ya okay?" Arachne asked, impressed by the woman willing to sacrifice herself for the others.


    Like her da, she had a soft spot for good parents.


    "Y-yes?" The woman answered still confused.


    "Mooo~" Mr. Blueberry swam up, nudging them both happily.


    The woman just stood there as Arachne set her back on her feet, not sure what was going on all of the sudden. One moment, she thought she was going to die, the next, she was in the arms of a young girl with¡­..very pretty hair and eyes and now there was a fish with a bull''s head nudging her yfully.


    The Minotaur had recovered, filled with furry as it smelled the neer who had hurt it.


    Another Demigod.


    It felt like it would be eating well tonight.


    Arachne didn''t summon her spear back into her hand. She cracked her neck and held her hands up as the Minotaur stomped the ground menacingly before charging at them.


    She didn''t look back at the panicking woman, too focused on the monster with a growing feral grin on her face.


    She ran at him at full speed and jumped up from her lower position, her elbow swung up under its jaw, nearly making the Minotaur''s eyes roll back and stop its charge with a shockwave thundering through the surroundings.


    Arachne followed up but gracefullynding back onto the ground and dropping low, swinging her leg out and swiping at its own legs, knocking it off bnce.


    A quick jab snuck at its kidney made saliva shoot out of the monster''s mouth with a roar of pain.


    It managed to recover, a testament to its fortitude as it tried to swing its fist at her haphazardly.


    Arachne merely grinned as she danced around it and threw a palm at the side of its head and with quick speed, another palm at the opposite side of its head, dazing it as its brain became jumbled.


    She released a flurry of punches into its abdomen, its tough hide indented with each blow.


    She took her lessons in Pankration from her Uncle Achilles to heart. He always said, the primary goal was to take your opponent down through all means avable. Obviously, it was abat style meant for use without a weapon.


    Bite your opponent''s ear off if she could. Gouge their eyes out, Elbow them in the kidney, knee them in the face.


    He was very explicit and even Aunt Atnta agreed with his words!


    Like her first attack on the Minotaur, she mmed her knee forward, but it wasn''t his face this time.


    The Minotaur let out a silent scream, clutching its groin and falling to the ground.


    Thankfully, she didn''t have to see the mess because the monster was wearing white underwear for some reason.


    She decided it was wise not to question this.


    Arachne raised her leg up and mmed it down on the back of the Minotaur''s head, nting its face further into the dirt.


    Lastly, she reached forward and grabbed the two horns of his and ripped them off.


    She seemed to recall the legends that the Minotaur was originally killed with its own horns?


    She quickly stabbed them into the Minotaur''s head, pointy side down this time. The monster''s suffering finally ended, and it turned to dust, leaving the two horns behind.


    Arachne smiled at that; she knew that Monsters here turned to dust ¨C for some reason. But she was happy that it left its horns! She couldn''t wait to show her mom and da the prize she took from a legendary monster!


    ¡­even if it wasn''t very strong.


    She didn''t need to mention that though.


    She happily put them away as Mr. Blueberry mooed at her, swimming and nudging her in excitement.


    "All done!" She brushed her hands clean with a smile as her Spear returned to her hand from where it had been thrown earlier.


    The mortal woman stood there in shock, mouth open just staring at Arachne.


    "Any more monsters ya need dead?" Arachne asked.


    "¡­..no?"


    "Aww." Arachne pouted, she barely even got started!


    The woman had introduced herself to Arachne.


    One, Sally Jackson.


    A human woman who caught the attention of a God, a tale as literally old as humanity.


    Arachne didn''t care much about the backstory. But the boy from earlier was in fact her son, and the satyr was there to bring them to camp, so about what she expected when she first arrived.


    They walked up over the hill where Arachne fought to see if they could find her son and the Satyr. She did tell them to run, presumedly to the camp, so it was a good chance they had already made it there.


    After searching the nearby buildings, there was no sign of either, so Arachne just sand on an abandoned tractor nearby as Sally Jackson wandered around almost lost.


    "He''s probably gone already." She finally said, approaching Arachne again. "I suppose my job is¡­..done. I don''t know if I would even be allowed to see him now."


    Arachne blinked. "What crock of shite is that?"


    "P-pardon?"


    "If ya want to go see him, then we go see him. Yer his mum, of course you can see him." Arachne scoffed. "I''ll take ya there."


    Sally''s eyes widened. "Are humans¡­ allowed?" She whispered.


    She didn''t know much, but she didn''t know that it was only a sanctuary for demigods from what her former lover said.


    She was always under the assumption that she was basically giving her son up with the potential to never see him again. She didn''t want that of course, but more than anything, she just wanted him to be safe.


    It was a sacrifice she would willingly make in a heartbeat if it meant her son was safe from the kind of monster that¡­


    Well, that this girl probably only a few years older than her son just beat the ever-loving crap out of.


    Was that what her son was going to be able to do in a few years?


    "Don''t know." Arachne shrugged.


    "You don''t know?" She looked confused. "Didn''t youe from there?"


    "Nah, I was on my way there for the first time. Saw something happening, came to take a look." She said without much care. "A will take you there, no big deal."


    Sally Jackson blinked because she was sure that this child was thoroughly trained¡­right?


    Maybe she was just too ignorant about the happenings of what happened in the world.


    Arachne didn''t care about any of that nonsense though. She was his mom, and Arachne thought it stupid that a mom wasn''t allowed to see her son, especially a very loving and sacrificial mom like Sally.


    Therefore, she decided it was her goal to reunite them, at least for her to say goodbye and to make sure they both know the other is safe.


    "Mr. Blueberry can carry both of us." She pat her pet''s head and he mooed in agreement.


    Sally Jackson looked at the now named Mr. Blueberry.


    She didn''t question it before but wasn''t that a monster?


    ¡­or not.


    She was finding out that she really didn''t know much about anything. She decided not to ask one of the many questions she had. Like, why was his name Mr. Blueberry¡­?


    She hesitantly mounted him simr to Arachne and found that it was actually somewhat pleasant as the strange creature started moving.


    Sally had ridden horses before, and it was a lot smoother than that.


    And she had thought she would have gotten wet as there seemed to be a bubble of water around the very noticeable fish monster, but she wasn''t getting wet at all.


    It didn''t take long for them to reach the Bounded Field that Arachne discovered previously.


    She put a hand on it when they got close and could make out some parameters of it. It seemed to allow Divinity and rejected anything else.


    That made sense, to protect against both humans and monsters.


    It was a nice barrier.


    Oh well.


    Her hand became enveloped with the Power of Destruction, and she rent a person-sized hole in the barrier.


    Somewhat flippant in approach, but she was sure the barrier would mend itself rather quickly from what she discovered with just a cursory nce.


    "Ma''am, this way." Arachne gestured.


    Sally Jackson looked, she couldn''t see the ''barrier'' before, but now that it had been apparently torn open by some ck mes the strange girl manifested, it was barely visible around the edges of the hole to her eyes.


    She hesitantly stepped in to follow after the young girl who seemed to keep marching forward with a charismatic confidence.


    The cow-fish thing was right next to her.


    They didn''t get in very far before rustling disturbed some of the foliage and arge figure jumped out with a haste.


    "Who ¨C Miss Jackson?"


    "¡­Hello, Mr. Brunner." She greeted back.


    Arachne just raised a discerning eyebrow as she inspected the centaur.


    "¡­.It''s Chiron, actually." He coughed. "You don''t seem surprised¡­.clear sighted?"


    "Yes." Sally answered pointedly.


    He recalled the times he had interacted with her when ying the part of her son''s teacher and hiding his true form as a Centaur.


    "Ah¡­.I should have known that. You did a good job of hiding it during the parent-teacher conferences¡­" Chiron then paused as if realizing the situation. "How did you get in here?"


    "Um¡­"


    "A let her in." Arachne said.


    "And how did you let her in?" Chiron questioned.


    "A opened a hole." Arache said nonchntly.


    Chiron''s mouth gaped for a moment. "you¡­opened a hole?"


    "Yes."


    Chiron didn''t know what to make of this girl. "Sally, what''s¡­..can you exin what''s going on? We just received Percy, and he passed out from exhaustion and Grover gave a summary of events, but they both seemed confident that you¡­died."


    Sally looked at Arachne. "She saved me."


    "A saw her with the monster, figured I would help." Arachne smiled. "The Minotaur wasn''t very strong though."


    Chiron blinked at her blunt words, filling in the nks based on what he knew, but before he could question her next his eyesnded on the thing next to her.


    "Is that the Ophiotaurus!?" He blurted out in shock.


    "Moo~"


    "His name is Mr. Blueberry." Arachne said firmly. "And don''t you have any thoughts, I''ll kill anyone who tries to hurt him." She warned.


    Chiron was someone old, experienced. He had survived many ages, tutge under the gods, and often was brought up to Olympus to meet the exalted figures.


    And that being said, he was at this moment, bewildered and speechless.


    Arachne though was happy!


    Her uncle Achilles only had good things to say about his teacher. And even Aunt Atnta and Aunt Medea only praised him as good, honorable, and skilled!


    Chiron at this point realized with the apparent reveal of the Bane of Olympus that things were significantly beyond his pay grade.


    Despite the many questions he had, he decided to let their esteemed Count Director handle things.


    "Please¡­follow me then¡­I guess." He never had an uninvited Human enter the camp before, so there actually wasn''t any real precedence on how to handle her.


    Thankfully, they had more than enough room. And truthfully, he wasn''t so cold hearted as to send her out, especially with her son thinking she''s dead.


    The lives of Demigods were tragic enough, at the very least, small acts of kindness were not beyond him.


    Once they passed the tree line and the forestry area, it opened up to arge valley.


    Arachne drank the sight in with her eyes. Despite it being dark with a storm looming overhead, her eyes could see it clearly.


    They were standing at the precipice of arge cliff, and down below there were many buildings, obviously of Greek architecture from a nce. There was even a coliseum replica down there!


    And at the side, was that a volcano?


    She looked up and saw a Pegasus fly overhead.


    "This way, the Camp Director is in the Big House. We''ll give you a proper tour after meeting him."


    Arachne nodded even if she wanted to immediately get to the fun bits, it was important to be polite in someone else''s home.


    The Big House he mentioned was the only house on this cliff, overlooking everything else.


    Arge, several story and old-looking house.


    They walked right inside along with Mr. Blueberry to see a man sitting at a table, drinking a cup of coffee.


    He stopped mid sip to look at us.


    There was a beat of silence as he didn''t speak.


    Chiron cleared his throat. "Mr. D, this is¡­.a new camper of ours." He gestured to Arachne, deducing she was a Demigod even if it wasn''t said outwardly.


    Not to mention, he recognized the color of her eyes, it was a rather dead giveaway 99.9% of the time.


    "Why is there a human here?" Mr. D suddenly asked.


    Arachne wasn''t fooled by his ''normal'' appearance. She knew a God when she saw one!


    "¡­.Her name is Sally Jackson, she''s the mother of Percy whom I brought about an hour ago." Chiron exined.


    The God didn''t seem to really care, even if both Chiron and Sally swallowed nervously.


    "You know the rules, they get a three-day pass, no more. I don''t need pops breathing down my neck about showing any favoritism." He waved his hand flippantly. "If I see any humans here after three days, theke is getting new dolphins."


    Chiron didn''t really get a word in to properly exin her presence, but wisely chose not to borate.


    "Now." The god set down his mug with a strange gaze. He looked at Mr. Blueberry with a look of acknowledgement of its existence. He pointed at it as if he wanted to say something and then shook his head with a sigh. "And I''m already going to have a headache, and I don''t even know your name yet, wonderful. I think this might be a new record." He was clearly referring to Arachne. He took his coffee up and took a sip of it.


    "Mah name is Arachne Uathach Schweinorg." She introduced herself without reservation.


    Mr. D ¨C also known as the god Dionysus spit out his coffee as she said her name


    Like Chiron, he wasn''t stupid, he immediately noticed her eyes and the vast majority of demigods with that eye color belong to one specific goddess.


    It took only a brief moment but the God of Madness startedughing.


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    We got 2 chapters ahead of the Arachne Omake, and one chapter ahead of the Cyclops snippet as well. Heading towards the next arc and a new world soon with the Fae War being over.

 Chapter 571: + Arachne Omake 5

    Chapter 571: + Arachne Omake 5


    A/N


    Couple things before the chapter. I fucked up, this was supposed to be thest chapter, so it''s a little awkward. Second, I was trying something new with this chapter because I was having trouble writing it, I did a 3rdperson POV despite never doing that before. It was mostly just a little experiment, it wasn''t really received well, so I won''t be doing it again. As a bonus because these two things, I added an Arachne omake in addition.


    @***@


    POV ¨C Winter Queen''s Throne room, 3rdperson.A cool air filled the throne room, many whispers could be heard from nearly every corner.


    It was filled with the who''s who of the Winter Court, who the Queen favors, the rising stars and the ones who hold any semnce of power.


    "The ambience had been greatly increased." An elf in rather mboyant clothing held a ss of presumed whine in his hand.


    "Of course, of course" Another simrly dressed elf nodded. "It simply matches the decor of her highness. Why, I think this should have happened far sooner."


    Katerea Leviathan stood at the far end of the hall, listening to these Fae ramble on. It wasn''t just those two, the group gathered within the Winter Queen''s court was extensive and varied.


    She looked at them then at the gaping hole in the side of the building that let the snow storm blow inward.


    There were plenty of Fae literally covered in snow and ice that made no move to remove it, smiling as if it was all nned and normal.


    It wasn''t merely the throne room that needed repairs. A significant portion of the Winter Queen''s castle was destroyed in what only could be described as an arrow made of sunlight mming into it.


    Of course, the Winter Queen herself didn''t simply sit there and wait for it to happen.


    She was by no means weak. Despite some¡­.<em>whispers</em>around the court, her losing her arm many months ago in the human world was not a matter of her losing her strength.


    It was one matter to extend her reach beyond her seat of power and leave herself so vulnerable. It was another matter entirely for her when sitting at her strongest.


    Even still, she suffered a<em>wound</em>from blocking the vast majority of that attack.


    One might look at the destruction and think the attack seeded, they would be wrong.


    It contained enough power to annihte the castle and everything within miles, yet the damage<em>merely</em>equated to about half the castle ¨C albeit ratherrge in stature ¨C in ruins.


    "Is that a new dress?" One of the Fae women asked towards the other.


    "Oh, this old thing? I simply decided to match her highness with the new<em>fashion</em>." She smiled slyly, her dress covered in snow from outside and she also made no effort to clean herself off.


    Backhandedpliments, insulting directly without doing so with a smile on their faces. Even their Queen was not safe from this behavior as it was ingrained deep within them. A moment of weakness showed was an opening one needed to pull you down into the mud.


    It was the normal court for these Fae.


    The normal behavior continued despite the dpidated room until a screech caused the music and festivities to cease.


    The Winter Queen, high up on her throne, ran her nails against the arm rest of her chair.


    Everyone shivered and immediately went quiet. It was one matter to subtly insult her without actually doing so. It was another matter to be flippant with your tongue while she wasangry. ?¨¤??????


    And the many ¨C many years they had lived, they had to know<em>when</em>she was angry in order to survive in this court.


    "Where is my royal pixie!?" The Queen''s voice, like shattering ss resounded throughout the icy domain.


    With a sh of purple and pink dust, a small, two-foot ''person'' appeared within sight. "I am here as called, your majesty!" The man spoke with a cheerful tone and a strange wooden wand in hand.


    Pixies were a strange people even among the Fair Folk.


    It wouldn''t be wrong to call them the darlings of the world. While the vast majority of Fae were blocked from entering the Human World, the Pixies coulde and go if they wanted. However, most of the time, the thought never urred to them, or it wasn''t enticing.


    They had the mentalities of children often time, but that didn''t belittle their frightening intelligence and capability. They only seemed to move when something interested them or due to previousmitments.


    Perhaps the least malevolent of all Fae, but prone to mischief all the same.


    They were even capable of certain feats that the Summer or Winter Queen could only be envy towards despite their power being significantly higher.


    "I want you to divine the background and status of the one who dared attack me and my castle!" She demanded, killing intent palpable.


    The pixie began to move around in a circle, as if dancing awkwardly, fidgeting and twitching at certain intervals.


    If someone from the human world saw this, they may have assumed there was a problem with him.


    He raised his wand up as if casting a spell and his eyes widened. "Oh no!"


    Everyone around him seemed used to his actions, treating it all as normal. However, the Fae seemed<em>surprised</em>at his sudden exmation, even the Winter Queen paused in her angry tapping of her throne to stare at him.


    "I need to use my secret technique ¨C escaping punishment!" He shouted and ripped his own head off, tossing it far to the side.


    His headless body raised its ''wand'' up and caused a new head to grow just before a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and turned him into a smoking corpse.


    The original head twitched and gruesomely regrew its body.


    "Whew, that was close." The pixie hopped back up on his feet. "I was almost consumed by the causality bacsh. Thankfully, I was smart enough to kill myself before the bacsh could kill me." He said proudly.


    "Royal Pixie." The Queen said, her chilling tone still present. "What are the results."


    "No can do, Queenie. You''re on your own this time. I can''t touch the background of the one you want. A big Tree and the scary Night gave me a warning not to y around!" He winked at her before poofing out of existence.


    Katerea, who had been there this entire time on the behalf of Lord Rizevim was just staring at the scene in shock, wondering if she was hallucinating, or if she drank far too much.


    It took a moment, but the Winter Queen''s fury was made apparent even if she was silent and unmoving. The cold winds bashed against the castle, causing it to creak and groan with each passing tempest.


    It all started because one of the Queen''s stray children had decided to venture off on her own.


    She had several children, some of which had fallen out of her favor and she stopped paying attention to. One of which, ventured into the human world in an attempt to curry her favor or win her praise.


    Both Summer and Winter as well as all the realms knew about the upheaval that arrived not long ago.


    The Winter Queen was<em>forced</em>to acquiesce to the closing of the Realm to the Human World.


    The Lake dwellers had many favors to call upon, and when debts came due, they moved in a way that shook the realm all those years ago.


    Not to mention the First Dream silently supported their efforts.


    Not even Summer or Winter dared to have thoughts on matters regarding the First Dream.


    Neither Summer nor Winter were particrly thrilled at the closing off the Realm, but there was nothing they could do. So, both of them ruled over the Seasons, so too did the Lake Dwellers control the paths, and they had to begrudgingly ept the course of events.


    And as tensions escted as they tend to do between the two rotating Seasons, everyone felt it.


    A new path opened up, a<em>foreign path</em>, a path that didn''t exist before but suddenly revealed itself.


    It wasn''t impossible to send people out to the human realm, merely consuming time and effort that could be used elsewhere and with a certain cost.


    Her daughter snuck out among the ones meant to scout and infiltrate.


    As the Queen, once discovered, she of course had to provide a proper response. How dare some creatures outside take prisoner her daughter? It was only right that she shows them her wrath.


    Winter''s wrath had long been forgotten by the human world, she felt it appropriate to remind them.


    What she did not expect was for some¡­.<em>thing</em>wearing flesh and blood to sever her arm. She could admit that she overextended herself in a moment of fury seeing one of her trusted captains ¨C one of her<em>doted lovers</em>about to be killed.


    To extend her reach across realms like she did¡­.well, it wasn''t a surprise that her hand was severed so ''easily''.


    She could not immediately retaliate, her position was shaken, asical that was. She was<em>Winter</em>, who could dare im her position as the Winter Queen?


    Despite this, there were<em>whispers</em>, intentionally revealed to probe her.


    She had to squash all opposition quite thoroughly.


    And it was enough time for those creatures outside to do something soughable that she couldn''t even imagine it beforehand.


    <em>They invaded</em>.


    It was the first time in the history of the realm that things from the human world<em>invaded</em>and<em>conquered</em>.


    She could feel it, she knew that Summer could feel it.


    Part of the realm was<em>usurped</em>.


    Divine Authority?


    She knew about Gods. They mocked gods, depending on the sustenance of such fragile creatures like humans, despite how much amusement theirpatriots took in the lesser ones.


    To her, at best, they would be cute pets.


    Regardless of her feelings, the power couldn''t be denied, which is why deities were treated with a certain¡­respect.


    There was even a time where both her and Summer shared the same lover ¨C a God in the far past.


    Despite this invasion, her court was¡­..unconcerned.


    Even she only found it mildly amusing, a reprieve from the normal cycle of monotony.


    Sure, their farmnds were being taken over, but that only made themugh at the thought of animals thinking they''re superior for ruling over other animals.


    The mocking notions of the creatures outside thinking they achieved some great victory by conquering farnd.


    The only more ridiculous thing was the ''devils'' strutting around her domain.


    They were useful, so she<em>allowed</em>it.


    However, everything seemed to be turned upside down by what happened just recently.


    She felt rather clever about the defense she left at the entrance to her domain through the ocean. No need to put some of her people to guard, it would take care of itself.


    What she never envisioned was someone using<em>that</em>to destroy parts of her domain!


    Thousands of her warriors were dead.


    And her monthly offerings were destroyed!


    She normally didn''t care about the farnds, but now it would take far too long to restock her amenities.


    How was she supposed to offer tea when she had no tea to offer?


    Utterly ridiculous and an insult to her as the Winter Queen!


    Just this alone had her executing hundreds of people in her court that she didn''t like. They had no hand in it, but all the same, through clever word y, she easily had them confess to the crime.


    As for others, well, she gave them a light punishment.


    They would be bricks to repair her castle.


    And it was a short punishment! They simply had to tell her when they wanted to stop, and she would let them go.


    It didn''t matter, that as bricks, they couldn''t speak.


    That was their problem.


    But that was all irrelevant.


    She was going to intervene, to show that despicable creature her wrath for not only destroying part of her domain, but also for cutting off her arm!


    She recognized the feeling of the one responsible. Truthfully, she was content to sit back and watch the show previously as his reflection killed him in her stead.


    Yet, when she made the decision to involve herself directly, he retaliated in a way that she never could have imagined.


    Even now, after experiencing it, she couldn''t'' understand it.


    It was<em>wrong</em>.


    An object in the shape of a bow, so much power contained within it. The creature could only use a fraction of that power, but it was still enough to get the advantage on her.


    She hid it well, but she was wounded from taking the brunt of it.


    Even at this moment, she was using the power of Winter to crush the warmth that permeated her body against her will.


    Under her dress, her body cracked, light seeping through before quickly being snuffed out by the deathly cold.


    That should have been the end of it. The peak of her being mocked and shamed but a lowly thing.


    However, then<em>that</em>arrived.


    Oh, she noticed the<em>other</em>creature initially. She noticed the little god that ascended from a former resident of the realm. Therge snake that held impressive power. And even the sapient wand, of which piqued her interest.


    But that was all overshadowed by the fourth among their group.


    The Winter Queen initially thought it was one of her kind at first nce. Yet it only took a blink to not recognize the being that trespassed within her domain through unknown means.


    It was no Winter, no summer, no Autumn nor Fall. Yet, all the same, it felt wholly weed within the realm as if it belonged. IT was seemingly also a being of their caliber at least in existence.


    She was beyond themon Fae of the realm, a<em>higher</em>sort.


    So too was this thing<em>higher</em>in scope.


    Casually, with a wave of its hand, it was able to assert dominance over her domain!


    And then, it did something that nearly made her faint.


    It created its own realm.


    Arge castle that dwarfed hers, and a Red Moon that hung high up in the air that sent<em>fear</em>down her spine.


    Her, the cold and ruthless Winter, felt<em>fear</em>.


    The only grace she acknowledged was that the creature didn''t seem innately hostile. Because she questioned how she would defend against the creature dropping the<em>literal</em>moon ontop of her head.


    The answer was unsurprisingly concerning for the Winter Queen.


    Caution was needed, but no longer could she sit idly by.


    At the very least, the creatures that invaded the realm needed to be dealt with appropriately. She needed many more bricks to repair her castle and she was running out of dissenters.


    "We are at war." The Winter Queen spoke, hushing all murmurs. "The creatures have invaded the domain of Winter!"


    Katerea, the Devil still standing far in the back, she wanted to blurt out an ''obviously''. But to all the Fae in the room, they were surprised, shocked even.


    It was an acknowledgement.


    They acknowledged that the things they thought funny, the ''animals'' they considered taking as pets once captures ¨C they were something worthy of them going to war in that only the Queen considered the Summer Court her match so far.


    "Your Majesty, it''s merely some farnd. I will personally lead my warriors to capture them, is there a need to dere war?" One particr Fae took up, bright andrge butterfly-like wings on his back.


    "Wn." The Winter Queen called out and through a misty haze, a man donned in bone-like armor appeared and knelt at the feet of her throne.


    "Yes, your Majesty?"


    "Prepare the warriors, rally all our troops. And Spric here ¨C " She looked at the one who spoke up a moment prior. "¡ª has volunteered to be on the front lines."


    The Fae with the wing''s had his eyes widened as he realized he misspoke and basically volunteered to be cannon fodder.


    "We must know our new enemy that dares invade the Winter Domain!" She dered, leaving no room for retort, snapping her fingers and many images ¨C in real time, of the red-headed creature and his fellows appeared around the room.


    "How uncouth. We''re certainlycking new decorations; I hope this will revitalize the d¨¦cor. I could use a new human-skin rug, but we haven''t had any new onese in so long." One finely dressed Fae woman spoke.


    "Oh, most certainly. I feel like the ones I have currently are broken. One of my pets promised me that they would stop defecating on the floor. Yet, they continued to do so! I was so aghast that I had to unchain them from the wall and feed them to my hounds."


    "How unfortunate, I remember how well that human brought the whole room together."


    The Winter Queen looked around and there were no whispered words against her decree. They also knew what transpired not but hours ago, and even if they would not admit it, it stirred something inside of them.


    The Winter Queen cast her gaze towards the<em>Dragon</em>.


    The beast dared to ignore her summons time and time again, yet she didn''t get angry.


    He was a Dragon, so such behavior was expected.


    It was like telling her, Winter itself, to stop being cold and harsh.


    But the Dragon noticed her gaze, seemingly uncaring as he watched over the human with the interesting thing inside of him.


    If it weren''t for the Dragon protecting the human, she would have taken him for herself.


    The human fainted, but she didn''t pay attention to that. What she focused on was the<em>things</em>that he spawned out of nothingness.


    A cruel smile crept up on her lips.


    She had lost a great many of her hunters and warriors from the arrival of the<em>thing</em>before, but that was far from enough to neuter the Winter Court''s strength.


    Her gaze returned back to her court.


    "We must understand how these things think, how they act, and know best to hunt them." Her trusted General Wn was speaking to the court, rallying their enthusiasm.


    It was a novel thought, since when did they have to<em>understand</em>their lessers?


    But his words had merit.


    Yes, she looked at the picture of her most hated foe.


    The Red hair of his was too eye catching to ever miss.


    Even now, he did something she didn''t understand, and it only served to annoy her due to feeling<em>ignorant</em>.


    Why was it that every time she looked his way, he would raise his middle finger towards her gaze?


    Clearly, it must hold some significant since he continues to do it.


    She would discover its secrets and there was nowhere he could hide to escape her wrath.


    @***@


    NonCanon omake - The Little Spider Part 5


    It took a while for the God of Madness to finally calm down, wiping a tear from his eye as he still chuckled a few times.


    "Great, this is great. You''re officially my favorite little demigod now, kid."


    "...What about your children, Mr.D?" Chiron asked.


    "Hooh, I hadn''tughed like that since¡­ well before dear ol'' pops took away my booze." He looked at Arachne, ignoring Chiron''sment. "I may even be a little sad when you eventually get mauled and eaten by a monster for some stupid reason."


    "Why did you get your booze taken away?" Arachne seemed to focus on that tidbit.


    "Oh, you know, I went after a nymph that was ''off limits.''" He waved his hand flippantly through the air, underlining the sarcastic undertone of his words. "Thus, I have been tortured to not allow anything alcoholic past my lips for a hundred years."


    Arachne''s eyes widened. "I''m sorry for your loss." She said with full sincerity.


    "...you''re a strange one."


    Dionysus felt strange himself; he never had a good impression of a demigod that wasn''t his own before.


    Yes, he had the strange feeling swelling up inside of him; he didn''t want this one to die so horribly¡­at least immediately. Give it a few years, and he''d probablye to despise her like all the others.


    "Are we still allowed to drink here?" She asked.


    "Absolutely not." Chiron spoke up. "You''re only¡ª"


    "I''m being punished; I haven''t turned into a buzzkill." He deadpanned.


    "¡­Mr. D, please don''t encourage children to drink." Chiron sighed.


    "A am Scottish." Arachne defended. "Me mum gave me whiskey for the first time when I turned ten."


    Well, technically her mom let her try it on her tenth birthday after begging from the younger Arachne.


    She, of course, couldn''t hold it in. It''s not like Sc¨¢thach was a bad mother who let her 10-year-old daughter drink whiskey every day.


    It was only a recent development that her parents hadxed her alcohol usage, considering she wasn''t human and there technically wasn''t any real harm.


    "Ah, a people after my own heart." Dionysus sighed happily. "Wait, your mom?" He refocused.


    "Mom, not mother." Arachne rolled her eyes, knowing what he meant.


    "Right, right." He nodded in understanding. "So you know who your parent is? She usually doesn''t let the father tell the kid, preferring to do the whole ''reveal'' at camp."


    Arachne scoffed. "My Da does what he wants."


    Dionysus looked at her for a moment and shrugged.


    Not his clowns, not his circus.


    He was just happy to watch the show from the audience.


    "Be that as it may¡­" Chiron seemed to choose his words carefully. "It''s perhaps wise not to unt it until you''re imed by your godly parent. It''s a¡­ tradition and general rule that the parent has priority in¡ª


    "h h, Chiron, save it forter." Dionysus interrupted. "Let''s focus on the important thing. Like why you have the Bane of Olympus behind you, little girl." He pointed at Mr. Blueberry, who happily nudged against Arachne''s side.


    "His name is Mr. Blueberry." Arachne corrected.


    "Sure." The God of Madness didn''t even blink at the name. "Now, we have to deal with Mr. Blueberry before Pops starts throwing around lightning thinking we''re nning something nefarious."


    "We could take him up to Olympus immediately, Mr. D?" Chiron offered.


    "That''s probably the best bet."


    "No, he''s mine." Arachne interjected. "Yer not taking Mr. Blueberry anywhere."


    "Listen, kid¡ª"


    "I''ll stab ya in the balls." Arachne threatened, narrowing her eyes.


    For some reason, Dionysus felt like she wasn''t just making an empty threat.


    He considered his next course of action and put his hands up in surrender. "Well, looks like there''s nothing I can do."


    "Mr. D?!" Chiron blurted out in surprise.


    "You know the rules, Chiron. I can''t just steal the girl''s pet. Something something, ancientws!" He raised up a stic cup full of Diet Coke with a faux reluctant sigh. "My hands are tied."


    He had no desire to get entangled with what was going to happen.


    It''s not like it wouldn''t get found out; he would much rather someone else grab this hot potato.


    "Moo~" My Blueberry let out a happy sound.


    "Yes, yes, I am a merciful god." Dionysus nodded as if he understood Mr. Blueberry.


    Chiron just looked utterly tired.


    "I suppose I''ll be the one to ry the news to the gods." He spoke in resignation.


    "Don''t be silly, Chiron. I''m the camp director; of course I have to be the one to tell my dear sister to her face!" Dionysus spoke righteously.


    "¡­I meant the Ophiotaurus."


    "Right, that too, I suppose."


    "I''ll settle everyone in." Chiron finally settled. "Mrs. Jackson, if you would please follow me. And... Arachne, as well."


    Sally Jackson had been standing there silently the whole time, having no idea what was going on. She just nodded dumbly as Chiron led her out of the big house; Arachne hummed as she followed along with Mr. Blueberry.


    @***@


    "Here we are; your son should be staying in the Hermes Cabin. It''s where we have all the non-imed children stay until their parents im them. As the god of Travelers, he wees everyone. We can get you sorted with a bed as well, Miss Schweinorg." Chiron decided not to use her first name for now.


    "What?" Arachne blinked. "Why would I stay here? I know who my ''parent'' is."


    "Be that as it may, until you''re imed¡ª"


    "Nope." Arachne.


    "It''s the rules¡ª"


    "That''s dumb."


    "...let''s go inside."


    Arachne followed along, poking her head inside the log cabin with the picture of a Caduceus hanging over the threshold.


    It was about what she expected, only more cluttered and bigger on the inside than the outside.


    Lots of random things were thrown about.


    "Mom!?"


    "Percy!"


    The mother and son pair reunited quickly as they both hugged each other tightly. The other kids in the cabin quieted down, able to read the room rather well.


    Arachne felt like she did a good deed and was feeling proud of herself.


    Her mom and dad always told her that while she can be selfish and prioritize her own self-interests, it''s important to also bepassionate and kind when possible.


    "Mom, what happened!? I thought¡­"


    "I was saved." His mom smiled, ncing at Arachne.


    Percy''s head peeked out from behind her and looked at Arachne, thetter of whom waved.


    There was clearly a lot he wanted to say, but he was more focused on the fact that his mother was alive.


    "You did a good thing, Miss Schweinorg." Chiron praised Arachne. "It''s rare that I have a camper so¡­skillede into camp for the first time. You managed to y such a legendary monster like the Minotaur without proper training."


    "Proper training?" Arachne scoffed. "Of course I''ve been trained. My mum had trained me since I was old enough to hold a spear."


    Chiron coughed awkwardly. "Apologies, I meant training in the proper ways such as for one of your godly heritage."


    "¡­yes?" Arachne seemed confused. "It isn''t the first time Mom had trained a demigod."


    Chiron just looked at her, rather confused.


    "Chiron, you¡ª" A new girl walked in, pausing as she saw everyone, and then her eyesnded on Arachne.


    Her simrly grey eyes.


    "Ah, Annabeth, this is our new camper, Miss. Schweinorg." Chiron introduced.


    Both pairs of grey eyes blinked at one another.


    "Annabeth Chase." The girl smiled politely.


    "Arachne Uathach Schweinorg." Arachne said without much emotion.


    Annabeth, however, nearly choked once she heard the name.


    Annabeth was by no means stupid. Like the gods before, seeing the grey eyes was nearly a dead giveaway on who her parent was, in addition to some facial features that ran in the family.


    "Is that really your name!?"


    "Of course it is." Arachne said as a matter of fact.


    "You can''t be serious." Annabeth gaped. "You have to change it!"


    "Why would I do that?''


    "B-because it''s¡­ you can''t have that name!"


    "It''s mah name, and nothing can change it." Arachne huffed, crossing her arms.


    "...what''s wrong with the name?" Percy was the one who spoke up.


    "It''s a slight against my mother!" Annabeth squeaked out.


    "So?"


    "S-so!?" Annabeth repeated in astonishment. "You don''t care¡­?"


    "Why would I? Just cause she''s my ''mother''?" Arachne frowned.


    "Wait, you know that, and that''s still the name you''re calling yourself?" Annabeth was even more disturbed. She took a moment to organize her thoughts. "That can''t be the name she gave you¡­"


    "Of course not." Arachne rolled her eyes. "But it''s the name my da and mum gave me, so it''s the name I use."


    "...you can''t use that name." Annabeth said again.


    "Perhaps¡ª" Chiron took a small step between the two girls. "You should heed her advice, Miss Schweinorg? Annabeth is the Head Counselor of the Athena Cabin; her words hold weight."


    "¡­head counselor?" Arachne repeated.


    "That''s right!" Annabeth nodded, thankful that Chiron helped her there as her brain nearly short-circuited at the sheer absurdity of the situation.


    "That means you''re the strongest?" Arachne asked again.


    "...yes?" Annabeth blinked. She considered that, and she would be the ''strongest'' in such a narrow term, of her cabin.


    "...Why are you so weak?" Arachne blurted out.


    "What!?"


    "Why are you so weak?" Arachne said once more without an ounce of grace. "If you''re the ''head'' or whatever, then does that mean everyone else there is weaker?"


    Annabeth didn''t know how to respond to that, but she noticed something particr in Arachne''s gaze.


    Was that¡­disappointment?


    There was an awkward silence that filled the cabin, because it was more than just Arachne and Annabeth that had been involved. Besides Chiron, Percy, and Sally, there were campers of the Hermes cabin who just happened to be here at the time and who had silently been watching the scene unfold.


    "I am not weak!" Annabeth finally regained her thoughts, defending herself.


    "...barely middle ss?" Arachne mumbled. "Maybe...less. What can you do then, huh?"


    "What do you mean? I''m a daughter of Athena; I can wield any weapon expertly. I can fight and beat people twice my size. I''m the best strategist in the cabin and¡ª


    "Isn''t that something every one of our siblings gets by default?" Arachne interjected.


    "Well, duh. What else do you expect?"


    "...you haven''t learned any magic?"


    "Magic? I''m not a child of the Goddess of Magic." Annabeth said with a bit of sarcasm.


    "How...disappointing." Arachne lost interest.


    Annabeth just gaped at her with a mix of confusion and anger as silence once more returned to the room.


    "...So who''s my dad?" Percy broke the awkward silence, asking the question that''s been on his mind this whole time. He was told that he was in Hermes cabin until his dad imed him, but now that his mom was here, he just decided to ask it so bluntly.


    "Percy, you have to wait¡ª"


    "Poseidon." Arachne blurted it out, noticing the familiarities with her da''s authority.


    She could practically taste the storm on him.


    Her disappointment in her ''half-sister'' was pushed to the side in favor of the boy who seemed to exude more of a presence despite beingpletely ignorant about his innate bloodline.


    "Miss Schweinorg, you can''t just¡ª" Chiron''s words were abruptly cut off as a glowing trident appeared over Percy''s head.


    His eyes widened, and everyone but Arachne and Sally shot to the ground, kneeling towards the glowing symbol.


    "Poseidon. Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God." Chiron spoke reverently.


    "...so, that answers that question, huh?" Percy said amidst the awkward stares his way.


    "I...will show you to your new cabin, Percy." Chiron''s words were stiff.


    "Sweet." Percy beamed. "Come on, Mom!" He practically pulled her out.


    Arachne, however, found herself confused.


    Where was Mr. Blueberry!?


    While they left somewhere else, she went to find her pet, leaving a bewildered Annabeth and Hermes cabin behind.


    @***@


    Arachne searched all over, tracking Mr. Blueberry.


    He seemed to have wandered around a bit, leading her on a bit of a chase. However, after searching for a while, she eventually found Mr. Blueberry lying down in thep of a woman with a simmering fire nearby.


    No, it would be wrong to call it a simple fire, but more a hearth.


    The young-looking woman turned her head and gave Arachne a gentle smile as she rubbed Mr. Blueberry''s head.


    Arachne stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widened.


    "You''re ¨C"


    The words found silence before they could escape her mouth.


    The young-looking woman put a gentle finger to her lips. "Careful, I like to keep my identity a secret so I can tend to the hearth in the camp without causing amotion." Her voice was extremely gentle. "I''m curious how you noticed me so easily."


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Arachne tilted her head.


    The young woman¡ªor rather the goddess Hestia¡ªlooked at the demigod before her. "You must have much better sight than most demigods. Just be careful about blurting out the names of other gods so easily."


    "A wasn''t going to blurt out your name." Arachne stated.


    Hestia blinked. "You weren''t?"


    "A was going to say that you''re the prettiest girl I''ve ever seen before." She said a bit bashfully, contrasting deeply with her usual demeanor. "I like how the fire dances in your eyes."


    Hestia blinked again, finding a response hard to formte.


    Her first thought was surprise that a demigod could see the ''mes'' in her eyes, as she put it.


    The second... well, that was much more obvious. Never had a demigod so tantly flirted with her before.


    "...I assume you''re here for your...friend?" She decided to ignore it.


    "Mr. Blueberry."


    "Moooo." He made a content sound of happiness.


    Hestia found herself smiling. "He is a very pure and innocent creature. Not what I would expect from something called the ''Bane of Olympus.'' Be careful about who tries to capture him."


    "A will protect him properly." Arachne puffed up her chest. "Thank you for watching him." Mr. Blueberry got up from Hestia''sp and floated over to nudge Arachne.


    "I was no trouble; he''s wee toe back whenever he wants."


    Mr. Blueberry let out another noise of happiness.


    "Come along, Mr. Blueberry, we need to find where we''re going to sleep." She patted his head.


    "Moo~" He began to fly off rather quickly with a huffing Arachne following behind.


    @***@


    High up on mount Olympus, the gods gathered at the beckoning of one of their own.


    "Dionysus, why did you call a meeting?" Zeus''s voice, despite not shouting, boomed across the room. "If this is another attempt to get out of your punishment¡ª"


    "I''m sorry, if you don''t want to know where the Ophiotaurus is, we can call the meeting here." The God of Wine said rather evenly.


    Everyone stilled as they looked at him.


    Everyone knew the legends and the validity of them when it came to the Ophiotaurus. Zeus in particr went rigid when the creature was mentioned.


    It was only by the skin of his teethst time that he managed to prevent the Titans frompleting the ritual during the great Titanomachy.


    The fact that it reappeared now of all times... it just furthered the chaos.


    "Where is it!?" Zeus demanded.


    Dionysus picked his ear. "Hmm."


    Zeus narrowed his eyes. "Son."


    "It''s hard to speak with my mouth so dry."


    The sky above became thunderous; lightning threatened to drop down any moment.


    Dionysus looked up, admittedly frightened, but he kept a calm expression. "Come on, pops. You know I have no desire for that thing. But you also know there''s something I want. Reward and punishment should be meted out properly. Discovering the location of the Ophiotaurus should be more than enough to cancel out my punishment, right?"


    Zeus''s hand gripped the throne with arge frown.


    "Father, he doesn''t speak incorrectly." Athena spoke, one of his most trusted aides. He tended to listen to Athena more than anyone when it came to arguments. "If he truly knows where the Ophiotaurus is, then that''s arge merit to consider."


    Zeus calmed down slightly. "I will recognize the merit." He finally said. "But removing an established punishment would set a bad precedent." He tapped the armrest of his throne. "You will continue to serve your time as Camp Director, but I will lift your restriction on drinking."


    A middle ground that allowed Zeus to save face while also rewarding Dionysus for such a valuable merit.


    "I''ll take it." Dionysus could deal with being the camp director for a few more decades if he could at least get utterly drunk every day.


    "¡­and the location of the Ophiotaurus?" Poseidon asked, earning a re from Zeus.


    The two were still at each other''s throats. Zeus used Poseidon of stealing his Master Bolt while the Sea God vehemently denied it. It didn''t help that a new spawn of the Sea God just so happened to arrive at camp during these turbulent times.


    If it weren''t such an important matter, Zeus would be bellowing out his anger towards his brother for everyone to hear. However, he was keeping moderate decorum while they handled the primary issue at the moment.


    All the other gods leaned in with anticipation, ready to swoop in and secure it at all costs.


    "Oh, it''s down at the camp. One of Athena''s newest brats waltzed right in with it as her pet." He said cheerfully. "No takebacks."


    Zeus twitched with the desire to smack his son rather hard, but that was overshadowed by the fact that the Ophiotaurus was literally in their camp under their noses.


    And then, all eyes turned to Athena.


    "What do you mean, one of my children has it?" Athena asked in confusion.


    "One of your daughters just arrived at camp and saved the mom of the other brat from Poseidon''s loins while she was at it. And the Ophiotaurus was right at her side." Dionysus said without reservation.


    Zeus furrowed his brow because he knew who the demigod he was speaking about was. Of course Zeus knew about Poseidon''s breaking of the oath. Zeus even threw a lightning bolt at them in anger and watched as the boy safely made it to camp against his wishes.


    Though he didn''t pay attention to the mortal woman, why would he?


    It seems he missed something else in his anger.


    Likewise, Poseidon furrowed his brow because he knew about the girl. It drew his attention when he was called out so abruptly without the chance to im his son on his own terms.


    He obviously couldn''t ignore his son after being named his own; he just hadn''t gotten around to punishing the girl for daring to do so without regard for his wishes.


    And of course, it would be a child of Athena; he expected nothing different.


    He used that moment to turn his gaze down to the camp at his son and blinked when he realized that the girl was in the cabin with him and his mortal lover¡ªSally.


    Not only that, his eyes widened when he noticed that the Ophiotaurus was inside his cabin too!


    Was it drawn to his connection to the sea?


    "Percy, you can''t just... you can''t speak for your father in something like this." He heard Sally''s voice since the cabin was quite literally a temple of his.


    "Why not? I''m the only one in the cabin; doesn''t that make me¡­ what was it? Counselor or something? Yeah, I''m the head counselor of the Poseidon Cabin, so I can make the rules, right?"


    "That sounds logical to me." The daughter of Athena agreed with my son.


    "Moo~"


    "So it''s settled; she can sleep here!" Percy stated.


    Poseidon was conflicted.


    He absolutely despised Athena and her children, but at the same time, she did save a woman that Poseidon still loved.


    The Sea God''s gaze returned to the discussions taking ce among his kin.


    "Why are we even talking about this? Just go down there and take the damn thing." Ares grumbled.


    "It''s technically not allowed." Hermes replied. "It could be considered a ''spoil'' of hers, so as gods, we can''t just take something she ''earned'' without permission. Either she has to offer it to one of us, or it has to be a willing trade."


    "I could hunt it." Artemis offered. "It''s a beast, regardless of ''ownership,'' and I have permission to hunt beasts."


    "You''re forbidden to hunt within the confines of the camp." Aphrodite rebuked her just because she disliked the Goddess of the Moon.


    Artemis scowled in response but couldn''t argue as that had been a rather old rule at this point due to certain¡­ incidents in the past.


    "Why don''t I go down and speak with her?" Athena offered. "If she is in fact my daughter, she can be reasoned with. It should not take much effort; perhaps offering her a reward would be appropriate as well."


    Zeus let out a low hum. "Very well, I give you permission to descend into the camp discreetly."


    "Thank you, Lord Zeus." Athena smiled, then turned to Dionysus. "Which of my daughters is it, Dionysus?"


    "Do you have so many that you lost count?" The camp director snorted.


    "Watch yourself." Her eyes narrowed.


    "Yes, yes, I wouldn''t want to lose my drinking privileges after just getting them back." He rolled his own eyes, but a strange gleam appeared with a smirk. "But if you want to know your daughter''s name, I would be happy to tell you. Why, it''s none other than Arachne Uathach Schweinorg!"


    There was a beat of silence.


    "What did you just say?" Athena''s voice a noticeable pitch higher.


    As the name registered with everyone, it was Ares who startedughing.


    Poseidon almost followed along with him and decided in that moment that he wouldn''t oppose her staying in the cabin with Percy''s permission.


    Athena nearly jumped from her seat and waved her arms around, arge and visible tear in the air as they could all peer down towards the camp, almost like looking at a television screen as it found the target of discussion.


    "You can have this bed, since you get more privacy." Percy''s voice rang out for all the gods to hear.


    "I thank ya." The daughter of Athena replied gracefully as she apparently got settled into the cabin.


    "Poseidon, why is my daughter in your cabin!?" Athena let out a shrill cry.


    Before he could answer, something strange happened.


    "Quiet, we''re being watched." Arachne''s eyes shot up, and to all the Gods looking down, it was as if she were looking back at them.


    There was a sh of surprise amongst the gods that a young demigod could notice theirbined gaze. Different than when Poseidon utilized his connection to the cabin to check in due to it being a temple of his. The collective gazes of the Gods made for a much more...robust presence as it bore down. Despite this, it was genuinely surprising for them that a demigod was able to detect it.


    "Dad says you owe 14 years of child support." The daughter of Arachne said, looking right up at all the gods despite not being able to actually see them.


    There was another beat of silence before Ares burst out inughter again, this time joined by Dionysus and Aphrodite.


    @***@


    A/N


    Yeah, it was an attempt at something different. Don''t think I''ll be doing it again, a lesson learned and all that, but it is what it is.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    We have two Arachne chapters and a Cyclops snippet ahead as well. Also, the next world was revealed and we''re heading there next chapter(Maybe).


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 572:

    Chapter 572:


    Patching up the ship was quite literal in some aspects and, in others, not so much.


    The ship was old, and there was a lot of wear and tear, especially after sitting here for so long. For an extended period, this ship wouldn''tst, but for one more use, I could make it get by.


    Luckily, the ship was filled with magic. It had been coursing through various parts of the ship for so long that it let it weather the years while retaining its overall shape.


    Still, I had to use some creative fixes to make sure that it could even float without water pouring in through some holes.


    Though curiosity got the best of me because I had yet to see the mechanism by which this ship could actually fly.


    There was obviously some magical mechanism somewhere.


    After fixing a rather egregious hole the size of a head near the back of the underdeck, I did find the room it seems as Magical Energy seeped out of it noticeably.


    The door creaked and grinded, made of metal and rather strong at first touch. Dust and rust made way as I pulled it open, and immediately, I was left dumbstruck.It only took a moment to analyze by sight alone. I could trace the mechanism by which magical energy was produced along with the spell sequences melded into its overall application.


    Still, after understanding it, all I could think was, What the fuck was I looking at?


    "Did you find the furnace?"


    I looked to see Captain Hook walking over. I was d he seemed to have a bit more energy, but it was obvious his body was still in a bad shape. "This is how you get your ship to fly?" I said incredulously.


    "She has never failed me once before." He walked over, putting his hand on it.


    "How did youe by it?" Because he didn''t seem like someone overtly knowledgeable about magical means based on his life in the stories¡­.


    More like he stumbled into things.


    "I sold my soul for revenge." He said directly without a hint of remorse. "I asked for a means to venture anywhere and hunt down who I needed to."


    "Was it worth it?" I asked.


    "I have many regrets in my life." The old man''s aged eyes opened a bit more. "This will never be one of them."


    He walked to the side of the other machine¡ªif it could be called that.


    If my ship had the equivalent of a magical reactor to sustain its properties, this... well, this thing, the closest approximation I could call it was a st furnace, despite that not being a type of energy source. But that''s basically what it looked like and seemingly how it sort of operated on the surface.


    It was all kinds of strange, a product of its era.


    How old was this ship? He said he sold his soul for it; I don''t know if he meant literally or not, but this was made purely by ''mortal'' means, and it was easy to tell.


    He held up a torch and lit the top of it on fire; there was a hole big enough for the torch to fit into, as if to reignite the engines.


    "...you know this thing is only a hair''s breadth away from being a giant bomb, right?" I looked at him.


    Captain Hook looked back at me, lighted torch in hand with a growing smile, and he stuck it into the contraption.


    It was apanied by a loud explosion. The umted dust and grime were blown away as the thing began to groan and creak, turning on again for the first time in who knows how many years.


    Fire roared to life, and the magical energy in the ship began to increase with the churning of the machine.


    "She still holds strong." Captain Hook said affectionately.


    I gave onest concerned look at the ''engine'' churning out magical energy and decided it was best to ignore it for the sake of my sanity.


    Right, well, everything was fixed that I could manage below deck.


    "Cousin, look what I found!" Arc nearly knocked me over as I came up the stairs. She was holding a bright red hat with a big feather in it, very simr to Captain Hook''s more weathered hat.


    She seemed really excited about it for some reason, like it was some treasure.


    "My old hat." Captain Hook peeked out from around me.


    Arcueid just held it up for him with a smile.


    Captain Hook took it hesitantly, running his hand along the fabric before putting it on top of Arc''s head.


    "A young woman shouldn''t be forced to bear the hot sun for so long." He returned the warm smile and returned to the top of the deck.


    I nced at Arc, who was pulling on the hat like it was her new favorite toy but kept it on her head.


    She doesn''t really interact with many people, does she? I was still pissed at Arc for abruptly hopping over here, but¡­ she probably has no social awareness at all due to being isted for the vast majority of her life.


    And despite Gramp''s efforts, she is not human; her goals and purpose force her into certain lifestyle choices.


    The fact that she at all had the desire toe ''explore'' was¡­ well, it was surprising.


    "Did you patch up the sails?" I asked.


    "I fixed them good!" She said proudly.


    Walking up to the deck, I looked at her patch job.


    While the sails were in fact patched, I couldn''t help but stare at them. One of the holes was covered by what looked like the outline of a cat sewn into it. Another was an apple, another was a star¡­.


    "I did a good job, right!?" She was looking for praise.


    "You did a wonderful job!" Captain Hook praised before I could utter a word. "My ship looks more spectacr than I remember!"


    "Hehe~"


    I would let her have it.


    Actually, where did she even learn how to sew?


    There was a lot I seemingly had no clue about regarding her.


    "I''m finished." Folen came up as well. "Weapons should be good to go. More impressive than I thought they would be."


    Well, it would be odd for a magical ship to merely have mundane cannons.


    Jormungandr loomed over the side, lifting his massive body up, and, funny enough, arge, albeit significantly smaller Tick-Tock hopped onto the deck. Still a monster of a crocodile, but he was clearly smaller.


    "I taught the kid here how to shrink down." Jormungandr stated, himself shrinking down to the size of a small snake and coiling around Folen''s arm.


    "Tick-Tock, it''s like you''re a weed again!" Captain Hookughed happily, running up to hug the big crocodile.


    "We''re all ready, Captain." I informed him.


    It had taken a bit more than an hour, but the damage was also a bit more extensive than it appeared on the outside.


    Captain Hook stood up straight, hands trembling. He looked excited, happier than I''ve seen him thus far.


    "Then it''s time to set sail." He walked towards the wheel and put his hands on it; the ship creaked and moaned.


    Everyone braced themselves as the ship slowly pushed off the ground; the many years of sedentary stone and moss around it crumbled as it pulled away.


    There was a small jolt before it evened out, and the ship left the cavern, ascending to the air.


    I thought he was going to keep close to the waters, but the ship pointed upwards at an almost 50¡ã angle.


    "Uh, Captain¡­?" I looked at him because even I was concerned about flying too high in a realm like this where time and space were so mangled that it was hard to properly perceive it. "Is it wise to go this high?"


    Captain Hook let out a heartyugh. "I''ve long ago conquered these waters! There is nowhere that the Jolly Roger can''t sail!"


    The ship elerated, and it shot upwards, breaching a threshold as if entering a new world where the stars danced around us and the waters below disappeared.


    The ship trembled with each passing moment, the stars turning to strings of light as the ship went faster and faster.


    I grabbed the railing, questioning some of my choices up to this point.


    "This is so much fun!" Arcueid threw her hands up.


    "Haha!" Captain Hookughed along with her.


    "They''re both crazy." Folen grumbled, looking more worried than me. "Does this old coot know where he''s going? I''m pretty sure we''re far from where we need to be."


    "Don''t worry, I know a shortcut!" The captain spun the wheel aggressively as the ship jerked and drifted.


    I never in my life considered if a flying ship could drift, but apparently that question was answered for me.


    I blinked because I noticed a small rupture in space among the turbulent sky.


    "Don''t worry; he knows what he''s doing." I smiled along.


    "From the Waters to the Sky. From Horizon to Horizon, never and we cannot reach!"


    The ship sailed right into it.


    @***@


    Yasaka POV


    I felt like we made good progress.


    I nced back behind me, and tens of thousands of my people stood in formations, waiting for our next order.


    The stench of death and corpses hung in the air, but it was inevitable. How many did we have to march through to get to this point? I lost count, perhaps equal to the number we have, but they were never organized.


    It was clear that we had yet to face the full brunt of their forces.


    Yet, it could be said, for this stretch ofnd, we had fully conquered it. Perhaps it would have been more worthy of celebration had they not considered it farnd by Vivian''s words. Regardless, it was enough to motivate our people.


    "Lady Yasaka, shall we burn the bodies?" I looked at my general.


    "See to it." I nodded.


    They seemed to be putting up ast stand at this point.


    Piles of Fae stood tall between us and what remained of our enemies in this stretch ofnd.


    From what I understood, therge building in the distance with the beam of light was the supposed lighthouse that connected to another space that we needed to traverse to reach the realm of Winter.


    I have long lost any goodwill or sympathy for these people.


    Even in war, with enemies, you had to treat them with a certain respect. It was not my first time in a war, but I''ve never led armies so directly. Wars back home, they normally didn''tpose of marching armies of tens of thousands in open fields. Oh, we had shes of such number, but they were much more disorganized in the past.


    And in the past, our enemies likewise held a certain regard. There were... rules, unspoken ones. You don''t feign a surrender, lest your enemies never believe a true surrender going forward. You don''t torture prisoners, which was a bit less ''enforced,'' so to speak, because sometimes you needed to know something. But you didn''t want to be known for torturing prisoners, lest the enemies never surrender and willingly fight to thest man, causing more casualties on your side.


    And there were others, depending on the situation. Maybe lesser ones, such as not ying around with what humans would note as ''chemical warfare.''.Less impressive that sounds when everyone is robust as us, or magical and whatnot.But if you escte in that direction, so too will your enemies. And if someone thought that mundane chemical weapons were horrendous, they never considered what you could make with magic and a desire for revenge.


    Of course, you''re not supposed to kill non-fighters. idents happen; as unfortunate as it is to say, bombarding an area with magic tends to find casualties among the nonbatants. But you don''t intentionally target them or anything like that.


    It basically alles down to not wanting these things done back, which is why you don''t do them in the first ce.


    It''s never so cut and dry; things happen; war is bloody and relentless. However, in this instance, we had thrown all that away.


    We tried.


    We gave them a certain amount of undeserved respect, mostly because of our own pride, but that quickly whittled away.


    Now, there were piles of Fae bodies burning between us and the remainder of their forces that stood across thest fields.


    It was about sending a message.


    I sniffed the air, noticing something familiar, and I found myself smiling. "I''ll be joining the fight this time."


    "As you wish, Lady Yasaka." Myst general bowed and moved to handle things.


    How nice that I don''t even need to exin myself.


    I haven''t gotten to stretch my legs very much as I''ve been acting more in a leadership role. But I had a feeling I would be needed upfront going forward.


    "Raikou dear." I called out.


    "Yes?" My harem sister answered quickly.


    "It seems our other sister is approaching; let''s give her a nice wee." I didn''t know where Sc¨¢thach was, however. Only that she was nearby and tended to do her own things. Jinn was in the back behind the army, following along this time as she wanted to see where we were going. Lastly, Jeanne was back at camp, keeping up with the wounded.


    It was nice to know she was back there along with a good amount of our forces to keep the portal secure.


    Secondly, while stretching my legs, I had this strange tingling in the back of my mind.


    I felt like I was going to discover my Semnce soon, and I was rather curious.


    Well, I suppose I should introduce myself.


    I briefly considered transforming, but I pushed that thought aside. It wasn''t needed, and I didn''t want to hog everything for myself.


    I took a step forward, gathering my Youjutsu.


    Many people think that dragons have the most deadly mes.


    They were wrong.


    I took a deep breath and released everything I gathered; a wave of Fox Fire hit the front of the gathered Fae still standing in our opposition.


    Raikou was the next to act as purple lightning danced overhead and her de swept the heads of many Fae in a single breath.


    Combined with thousands of shouts, our own warriors charged forward; the Fae, on the other hand, missed the initiative and didn''t have the chance to meet it properly.


    The first of the warriors under me collided with them. Through the wisps of my mes that were near dissipation, burnt and seared bodies crushed under his feet. An oni of good stature wielding arge club.


    It sttered the head of one Fae with butterfly-like wings and a rather oversized head and some other odd features.


    Following it was a youngdy,pletely nude but with no genitals, easily mistaken for the more caricatured version of a fairy from certain societies. She flew on a ming wheel thatunched downwards, spinning through their numbers, burning and ramming all about.


    A n of Obake roared with katanas drawn, wearing proper Samurai armor. A type of Youkai known for shapeshifting, but over the years, took pride in maintaining a samurai-like lifestyle.


    I smiled as a spear sailed through the air, impaling a Fae that was firing arrows from a bow. Another of his brethren seemed intent on removing it, as the impaled Fae was not dead. Only for the spear to pull out on its own, a hazy silhouette formed around it, as if a ghost were wielding the spear. But that was incorrect; it was a Tsukumogami that used its own Youjutsu to create an image of a ''person'' to wield himself as; after reaching over a hundred years of age, it gained sentience and became a Youkai.


    And of course, the highest number of any singr Youkai were my own Tengu that served me for generations. They propagated quickly, and they were always so militaristic that they took to this kind of warfare rather easily.


    They stormed the front lines, as well as taking them from above, utilizing their excellent flying speed and maneuverability.


    Despite how different all of them were, all the different shapes and sizes and abilities, they all worked together coherently, fighting together without problems.


    With a ferocious grin, I leapt into the air, mming down near the middle of their numbers, burying one unlucky Fae into the ground from the impact.


    I swiped my w, turning bodies into chunks of flesh. Spears and swords were swung at me, but these ones were far too weak for me to take seriously. I easily danced around her weapons, rending them asunder with each wave of my sharp ws.


    "You are enjoying yourself."Raikou stepped onto the ground next to me, her de parrying another as she followed up, cleaving the owner in half.


    I wiped away some of the blood sttered across my face. "I am a Youkai as well," I replied.


    I was far from innocent even if I was content with my peaceful lifestyle these days.


    "A monster is always a monster, is that right?" She nced at me.


    "Exactly!" Iughed as she smiled. "Don''t hold back on my ount, Demon yer."


    Raikou imed she didn''t like showing this side of herself around Wilhelm; I don''t understand it either.


    Because as she tore through bodies with such skill and precision, with blood and limbs flung through the air, even I wanted to push her down right here in the middle of the fight. One thing was for sure: once everything was over, I was dragging both her and Wilhelm into bed with me.


    One of the most famous figures in Japanese legends stood at the side of her supposed enemy as we both ughtered with rather malicious grins on our faces.


    It was good to let loose every now and then.


    Surprisingly, the building we were trying to reach lit up¡ªeven more than it did previously. There was a sort of pulse through the pir of light; I didn''t quite understand what that meant until I saw a familiar ship push out of it.


    Flying through the air, a certain rabbit is sitting on the wheel. The cannons wasted no time before releasing a barrage down below onto the Fae''s back lines.


    I rxed a bit, Raikou shooting me a confused look amidst the chaotic battlefield as I merely pointed towards the side.


    It started with a bright golden light. A thousand horses racing across the ins and the Pendragon''s banners raised high.


    Theirnces leveled downwards, and they aimed for the center of the lines of the Fae still alive. Almost immediately, they almost copsed, and many started to run away, but they couldn''t escape as the entirety of Artoria''s Knights rode right into them. Shields were immediately shattered; what armor they possessed was demolished, and the mounted knights crushed hundreds beneath them as they continued charging through the middle lines, creating a clear divide and cutting off any kind of retreat from nearly half of what remained.


    If it wasn''t a foregone conclusion before, it was most certainly one now.


    They didn''t have anywhere to run.


    I had my fun, and Raikou as well didn''t pursue anymore. The bodies around us were already piled up.


    "Have you both been well?" Artoria trotted over on her horse; she also had enough blood drenched on thence she wielded.


    "About as well as we could have been. No major hindrances, I presume?" I asked.


    "Nay, if anything, the resistance had beenckluster. Thankfully, we have had very few losses and injuries." Artoria shook her head.


    "Is it okay for you to not apany them?" Raikou asked out of concern. "Your method of fighting is much different than ours."


    That''s true; it was rathermon for a knight leader like her to take to the front and lead the charge.


    "Mordred is leading, and they are doing a wonderful job." Artoria smiled, hopping off her horse.


    I nced to where they were, and I could see her armor stand out amongst all the Knights. That and the fact that hernce was crackling with lightning as she led the literal charge through an uncountable number of bodies. Not even attempts at magic or strange abilities could stop her.


    The ship came down,nding next to us, and Old Man Nurarihyon trotted down the ramp that unfolded.


    However, I noticed a distinctck of Wilhelm.


    "Lost the kid a couple days ago." He said rather abruptly. "Should be fine though."


    He looked, well, not good, but not bad. Like he had been in a good fight recently.


    "Details would be appreciated." I deadpanned.


    He waved at his people under him, and they jumped off and joined the fight, cleaning up what was left.


    "We paved the way mostly, with a few obstacles here or there. We have an ind we set up a base on, but we found the opposite... lighthouse; there was a weird thing around it. It started making copies of us that attacked us. They were pretty strong and somewhat identical. Couldn''t copy our Touki or Youjutsu, but used magic to mimic it." He exined.


    "Oh dear."


    "Wilhelm as well?" Artoria asked the question that seemed the most prevalent.


    Because if some sort of weird thing was copying them, well, a copy of Wilhelm would be scary.


    "It didn''t copy the brat; it copied the Great Welsh."


    At that, I blinked and realized that was probably worse.


    Wilhelm had a bunch of thing that couldn''t really be ''copied'' properly without substantial effort. But copying just a very powerful dragon?That was a whole other possibility that seemed much more dreadful.


    "He brought it away to their side, and after settling our own copies, we headed back to prepare for you all." Nurarihyon grunted.


    I held my arms out, noticing a bolt of lightning, and Wilhelm''s familiarnded in my arms affectionately. "He should be fine." I said as well, rubbing the top of the rabbit''s head. "If his familiar isn''t worried, then we shouldn''t be either."


    Something caught my attention as there was one person left on the ship, looking at things strangely.


    "Old Man, why do you have a human on your ship?" Because he most certainly didn''t have one when he left.


    "That''s a long story." He rubbed his head. "Would you believe me if I said there were thousands of powerful humans living on an ind in this ce?"


    Before I could answer, a blue blur shot past me.


    Jinn ran up from where she had been staying, ignoring everything else. All I could hear was her crying as she bolted towards the human and grabbed him into a hug.


    I don''t know who was more confused, us or the human.


    "Jinn, what are you doing?" Artoria was the first to show concern.


    The human just stood there, a middle-aged-looking...viking? Awkwardly epting the hug from Jinn. He looked like he was silently asking for assistance.


    "I can''t help it!" She cried. "As the Goddess of Homestead, I can feel that he hasn''t had a home in a long time!"


    I blinked, because I often forget she is an actual goddess now.


    "Are you perhaps the Goddess Jinn that was mentioned¡­?" The viking managed to squeeze out.


    "I''m Jinn!" She recovered quickly. "Asgardian Goddess of Magic, Knowledge, and Homestead." She finished with an enthusiastic nod. "I didn''t know there would be believers in a ce like this!"


    The human''s mouth hung open. "Asgard¡­?" He whispered.


    Well, whatever was going on, he seemed to have broken just now.


    Oh well, it was time to prepare to depart.


    "Old Man, how are preparations?"I asked.


    "We managed to get 49 ships. If you want to cram them, we could probably fit a hundred or so on average on each ship." He replied.


    Better than I thought.


    "It''s enough to make a spearhead and set up a proper anchor point." I nodded.


    Vivian said that as long as we ''crossed'' it normally, the ''rules'' would then allow us to teleport.


    So be it.


    The Fae around us were cleaned up handily, as thest remnants were barely putting up a fight.


    We weren''t taking prisoners anymore.


    It was time to assault them properly, right into thend of Winter.


    @***@


    A/N


    We just started the new world over on P.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. Also, we got two chapters of Arachne over here and another cyclops snippet chapter. Only a handful of chapters left of the current arc before moving on.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.

 Chapter 573:

    Chapter 573:


    Yasaka POV


    Even more than thends before, I did not like it here.


    I can say for certain that I possess no kind of sea legs. Even so, I''ve been on the ocean before, been on ships, and been in the water. While I can''t im to love the sea, I do enjoy the asional visit to the ocean, even if it''s annoying to properly clean the sand and salt from my fur.


    But this?


    It felt like my instincts were all thrown around, and nothing made sense. I couldn''t even tell up from down while the waves rocked gently against the boat.


    Though, it was a rather invigorating sight.


    Nearly fifty ships sailed side by side, a little under 7,000bined of my people, along with Artoria''s Pendragon family, filled the ships to the brim, but the difort was only momentary in the grand scheme of things.I caught her eye as she held onto the railing at the front of the ship she sailed on along with her own people.


    Not everyone on board was going toe with us to secure the next foothold. First, off, as it came into view, we had to stop at the ind that the Old Man took over.


    I could see the massive Gashadokuro looming at the shores, supporting a rather impressive barrier made of Youjutsu around it.


    Seems like the old man was bringing out all the stops. I genuinely didn''t think he would bring those old bones with him. They were a bit hard to control sometimes; even among our number, they were rather ruthless.


    Well, I suppose we all used to be. But they hadn''t really adjusted to the modern flow of the world. If left alone, they would continue to cause chaos and devastation to the human world.


    Still, they were wonderful allies when it came to ughter.


    "Jinn Dear." I called for my harem sister.


    "I''m here, sis!" She floated down from up in the crow''s nest. "Need help with something?"


    "I don''t want to waste the time boarding and unboarding the thousands we have on this ind. Is it possible to teleport people over from this distance?" I can say I don''t know much about Magic beyond the basics. I can teleport back home without any minor issues, but beyond knowing it''s bad to do here, I don''t understand it.


    "Sure! I just need a little help... hmm."She raised her hands, and a familiar teleportation circle appeared underneath us, and blinking once, I realized I was standing next to Artoria.


    "Should I wee you aboard?" Artoria said in amusement.


    "We need to borrow your magicians."Jinn said with a smile.


    "Very well." She looked up. "Le Fay, can you bring your magicians above deck, please?"She called out.


    Rather quickly a young girl with blond hair wearing a rather iconic witches hat came trotting up with a few dozen Magicians behind her.


    It was Arthur''s sister who came to live in my territory while he served his sentence.


    Speak of, he also followed up.


    "What can we help with, your Majesty?" She bowed her head politely.


    "Please assist Jinn with whatever she needs." Artoria handed them off to our mutual sister.


    "Le Fay!" Jinn greeted her just as happily, making the other girl smile brightly too. I hadn''t paid much attention, but they have apparently interacted much. "We''re going to teleport everyone over to the ind along with whatever needs to be brought. Let''s make sure we coordinate everything real quick."


    "B-but!?" The younger girl sputtered in confusion. "We need to calcte it? I hadn''t even started running diagnostics on the area¡­It''s all weird, and I''m not confident in being able to even teleport myself, much less thousands of people!"


    "Don''t worry, I''ve been running the calctions since we entered!" Jinn said rather nonchntly.


    "You too?" I nced to the side to see Rin joining us.


    She had joined up with Artoria at some point and had been helping on her end.


    "Mine aren''tplete, but I''m about 60% sure I could at least get myself over there."


    "That''s impressive." Jinn noted.


    Rin snorted. "I don''t want to hear that from the Magic Goddess that had been handling real-time calctions on the distorted space-time of this ce the moment we entered. How many parallel thoughts are you running right now?"


    "37!"


    Rin let out a sigh. "I''m not jealous; I''m not jealous."


    "I could teach you, y''know?"


    Rin waved her hand. "I have no talent in splitting my thought streams. Even the old man doesn''t do that. Apparently one of the aspects of being talented in his field of Magic is that one isn''t talented in that one."


    "Bwah!?" Le Fay just looked between them, confused as to what was being talked about.


    Rin put her hands on her hips. "You should probably teach her, though." She pointed at Le Fay. "She would probably have the talent for it. Regardless, set up the spell circle, and I can finish the rest here. If I could find Ruby, this would be so much easier, but she apparently ran off somewhere." She finished with a huff.


    "Okie dokie!"Jinn began to inscribe arge magic circle on the deck of the ship. It only took a couple of minutes before she wiped her brow and let out a breath. "That should do it. I think this one willst for... an hour? At least that is before I have to reverify certain parameters. I can set something more permanent up once we settle down somewhere properly."


    "Thank you, Jinn. You''re as wonderful as always." And I truly meant it.


    She was always so helpful and knowledgeable about anything Magic.


    Jinn started floating from ship to ship and casually teleporting a handful of people around to set them up.


    Well, except for a couple nearby, which were left alone. I would have questioned it had a teleportation circle not popped up over there with Sc¨¢thach leaning over the edge, giving a little wave.


    I just blew her a little kiss as sheughed in response.


    As expected, Jinn was phenomenal when it came to anything magic, and it was all set up in a matter of minutes. What probably would have taken hours to safely have everyone deboard and carry off supplies to and from the ind was now going to be aplished in minutes.


    The teleportation barely finished, and I took one quick nce around the ind.


    There were a few makeshift buildings and whatnot.But it''s clear this ce had only been used as a somewhat refuge for a few days at a maximum.


    "I want the supplies teleported in immediately. Tents set up and medical staff, you''re in charge of coordinating setup!" I started barking orders. "Remember, this isn''t our primary medical camp; focus on treating emergencies here only before we can teleport back to our base camp."


    They started moving quickly, thousands of people in a single area spread out like little ants following their queen.


    "Jinn, Le Fay, you both are in charge of coordinating the Magicians. I want the teleportation circles up and ready within an hour."


    "We need the field cleared." Jinn answered back.


    "You heard her,dies and gentlemen.Clear the field and get to work." I pped my hands, raising my voice.


    "I shall assist." Sc¨¢thach said softly, going with Jinn.


    I nodded, not deeming it needed to answer. "I want shelters up to house our siege weapons; they''reing with the third wave of teleportations!"I looked around. "You¡ª" I pointed at one of the Gashadokuro. "¡ªThere are some heavy supplies that weren''t teleported from the ships; go retrieve them."


    It looked at me, its teeth chattering.


    "Don''t throw those flimsy excuses at me. I know darn well that the barrier can hold with only three of you supporting it. Get to work." I narrowed my eyes.


    These ones in particr needed to be ordered with a firm hand.


    It sounded annoyed but dropped its arms and began walking out towards the ship; its size let it easily stand up in the depths of the water as it began to grab the supplies off the ship that were too heavy and awkward to teleport over with everyone.


    "Who''s in charge of the Dust?" I look around.


    "I am, Lady Yasaka." One of my generals knelt in front of me. "What are yourmands?"


    "The Realm of Winter is obviously going to be rather cold, detrimentally so." The name there should have obvious insinuations."I want half our Fire Dust brought with the vanguard." I paused for a moment. "Lightning Dust too."


    "Your will be done." He went to work.


    "Artoria Dear, do you all have enough, or do you need some from us?" I looked towards her as she was ordering around her own people.


    "Agravain, what are our stores of Dust like?" She asked.


    "Reporting to your Majesty, our stores of Dust are nearly full still. We used minimal in our campaign thus far." The Knight spoke quickly.


    "Good, follow Yasaka''s directive as well. Make sure we have sufficient to use. Assume the terrain will be hostile upon arrival." She nodded to her underling.


    "Arrows, Lady Yasaka?"


    I pondered that for a brief moment. "I want every archer to hold at least two full quivers of iron arrows! Remember, people, we must secure a proper foothold in their territory! Supplies will be limited; carry as much as you can without weighing yourself down."


    It was pointless to give a specific number across the board as strengths vary. But we can only carry so much inbination with needing as much as possible.


    But my people were working properly. I didn''t need to micromanage them; they knew what they needed to do, and that''s also why I hadpetent generals leading below me as well.


    I turned my attention to one of the rather strange outliers among everyone gathered.


    The human who hade along that was not one of our own.


    "I believe your name was Unnulf, yes?" I approached him.


    He stood a bit straighter as he realized I was talking to him. I hadn''t had a chance because we had been busy, and Jinn had been taking care of him.


    "Yes, Ma''am." He said politely, with a very thick ent, and surprisingly, he was speaking fluently in a way I could understand.


    I wasn''t like Wilhelm or the Devils, where I understood everynguage.


    "What are your ns? Your people should be nearby; it would hardly be remiss if we dropped you off." I asked.


    "I said I would follow along. Lady Jinn¡­." He stopped, swallowing slightly. "I will follow Lady Jinn."


    Ah, he seems to have epted her as a proper goddess, hasn''t he?


    He had been keeping a close eye on her, almost protectively.


    Jinn exined it briefly that as a Goddess of Asgard, she was able to notice his faith towards their pantheon. Combined with her being a goddess of the homestead, she could also feel certain things about them.


    He still seemed in a daze. Though I suppose finding definitive proof of your Gods'' existence would do that to someone.


    I had some sympathy for the humans here, but I had my own priorities towards my people.


    After we settled things, I didn''t mind lending them a helping hand at no cost. Though I knew it was going to be a bit of a headache trying to settle time-disced humans back into the human world.


    Most likely, I was going to have to reach out to various other Pantheons.


    Well, I didn''t need to worry about him; Jinn would keep taking care of him regardless.


    Shaking my head, I headed off to the Old Man. "Any thoughts?"


    "About anything in particr?" He asked in response.


    "You''re the one who has experience beyond this point. I just want to know if there are anyst-minute things we need to be wary of."


    "We cut a clear path to the next¡­ lighthouse, so to speak. But if you want information on what''s on the other side, we''re in the dark too. We didn''t follow the brat inside; the thought of getting in front of a rampaging Ddraig was not on my bucket list."


    "It''s been too easy up to this point." I said cautiously.


    "Agreed. Ignoring a few outliers¡­yeah, they haven''t really fought us yet. Didn''t want to say anything in public before; morale is good and whatnot."He nodded along.


    "Bring everything you got." I informed him. "This is probably the most important phase of our invasion. If this fails, our offensive will crumble. If it works, we can probably end this ''war'' in the next few days."


    Funny that a war was measured in days and weeks rather than months and years. But on our side of the fencepared to the mundane, things simply moved faster when individual power was such a battlefield-warping variable.


    "Soma." I breathed out as I walked away.


    "I''m here, Lady Yasaka." My most faithful follower appeared before me from the mists.


    "Are the ''reporters'' following us?" I hadn''t been keeping up with them much.


    "They expressed the desire." He nodded.


    "Tell them that we can''t guarantee their safety beyond this point. You are probably going to be needed elsewhere."


    "Does that mean you wish for them to not join us?"


    I shrugged. "I''m not a babysitter. If they still want toe even after being told the dangers, that''s on them. Let them do what they want otherwise." I waved my hand flippantly.


    "I will ry your words." He disappeared again.


    Good, everything was falling into ce. We should be able to move out soon because the remainder of our forces were still back on our side and waiting.


    -Break-


    The trip had been... uneventful.


    I was thankful, but I suppose I expected more. The Old Man wasn''t lying when he said that a path had basically been cleared.


    "It''s gotten cold." I let out a breath and could see the wisp of air.


    "It''s unnatural." Jinn hummed next to me. "Lots of magical energy in this area. I mean a lot. There used to be something here."


    "This is where the copies came out." Nurarihyon informed us. "The brat said the ciers that used to be here were made of magic."


    "Oh wow." Jinn''s eyes widened, and before I could utter a word, she jumped over the edge into the water.


    Well... she was a goddess; I couldn''t exactly tell her she wasn''t allowed to do that.


    It only took a moment before she came back out and floated back up onto the ship, dripping wet and shivering. "Yup, I just checked under the water, and there are still some remnants there. Crystallized Magical Energy¡ªsomewhat simr to our Dust, but more artificial. Thankfully, I couldn''t find any noticeable remnants of whatever it was that it was used for. Most likely, it''s gone."


    "Lady Jinn!" Unnulf ran up; the furred coat he had been wearing was pulled off and draped over here.


    "You''re so sweet~" Jinn cooed.


    The snow was falling, and it was making things rather hard to see. Well, the lighthouse was still visible; thatrge beam of light reached very high and seemed to pierce through the growing snowstorm.


    I held a hand out and let it fill with my Fox Fire.


    Even I was starting to feel the cold a little bit.


    "A thought: how many ships can take the ''path'' at one time?" I raised a concern that hadn''t been considered until this point.


    "Hmm, that''s a good question." Jinn pondered. "Should probably not do more than five just to double-check. I don''t'' really have a good grasp on how this thing works without spending a few days analyzing it."


    I nodded, and going towards the end, I saw Artoria, Sc¨¢thach, and Raikou all on their own ships along with one more with one of my generals.


    I threw my Fox Fire up into the air, making it explode to get their attention. I then gestured for the four of them to follow along and made everyone else know that we''re going five at a time.


    They all got in position as we approached.


    There was no need for hesitation or any real confirmation. We got swept up in the strange method of travel; the tugging and pulling was a far cry from our normal teleportation methods.


    I simply closed my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as an even colder wind smacked me in the face.


    I felt frost begin to form on my skin, indicating we had arrived.


    It was dark, cold, and a strange, chilling feeling hung around us, far beyond what a malevolent cold would give.


    Years of experience let me know that there was danger around.


    The most annoying thing was that the ships were deposited on solid ground, hitting it hard and indenting the earth enough that they didn''t fall over.


    Looking around, there wasn''t much I could see; the snowstorm had picked up exponentially, and vision had deteriorated to maybe twenty feet again.


    "Set up a perimeter!" I yelled, being the first to jump off onto solid ground.


    Rather quickly, the others followed.


    A fraction of the bit under 6,000 we had remaining after keeping a good amount back on the ind.


    There were strange soundsing from further ahead, barely audible over the whipping of the intense winds.


    It was deathly cold, making my perception even less precise.


    Everyone fanned out in a small circle, slowly pushing outwards to make room.


    "I want fires up! Get some heat going and start building it up. I want our magicians to start¡ª


    I jerked my head back as an arrow flew past my face, barely noticeable.


    A single beat passed as someone called out in my stead.


    "Ambush!"


    Hundreds of things jumped out of the dark.


    At first nce, they looked like hounds, only more unnatural.


    "Knights, to the front!" Artoria called out, running forward, cleaving one of the hounds in half with her invisible sword.


    A few of my people fell to the sudden attack; I couldn''t pay much attention to it, grabbing a hound out of the air and ripping it apart with my ws.


    More and more of those monsters poured out. While not individually strong, they were vicious and would climb over the corpses of their own to try and rip at one of ours.


    I wed back at them, their bodies piling up around me as Arthur seemed to join at my side, his de a wee reprieve as the numbers were getting annoying.


    I gave him a curt nod in thanks; he silently acknowledged it and kept going.


    Though I had a realization.


    An arrow had nearly hit me.


    "Shields up!" I let out a roar as something tickled my spine.


    Only a fraction of my warriors made it in time as they pulled out their wands without being hounded by the thousands of creatures that poured out of the darkness.


    Then came the rain of arrows.


    It only took a couple of breaths before our magicians had their spells fully cast and a proper shield loomed protectively overhead, but that couple of moments was enough that dozens, if not more, of our people died.


    The next arrival of reinforcements came; another five shipsnded nearby, and they were able to see us fighting, so they were a bit more prepared.


    Raikou''s purple lightning arced in front of me, and I heard a more human scream as she stepped further into the darkness perpetuated by the unending snowstorm around us.


    "Artoria, hold the line here!" I looked at her, then at Jinn. "Jinn, prepare the fire dust bombs!Raikou,e back!"


    It happened quickly as they appeared, the same ones who had attacked out territory in the first ce.


    The same armor, the same malevolence to them.


    I could barely see around me, but the eruption of fire and the heat of mes, along with the shaking of the ground, were enough indication to know that my orders were followed.


    That and the snowstorm was pulled back ever so slightly, letting us see a bit more vividly in every direction, but it wouldn''tst long.


    "We''ll take up the vanguard!" Mordred''s voice reached my ears. "Follow me!"


    She was the first to shoot forward, and hundreds of Knights followed with her.


    The shing of steel was immediate.


    "Regroup our lines and press forward!" I hollered as hundreds of my brethren stood at my side, fixing our formations.


    A red light flew over my head, impaling someone I could barely see through the chest. I recognized the spear as Sc¨¢thach followed it, ripping it free from a Fae covered in bone armor and riding a horse.


    She gave a little smirk before diving further in.


    That''s where she did best, in the midst of ughter rather than following orders.


    The old man and I took the front as we charged forward, our own Youkai right behind us.


    My ws raked against armor, and the one Ished out at didn''t immediately die. He raised his de up, shunting off most of the force, but I followed up with a kick, his chest copsing under the force.


    Nurarihyon as well had to exchange one or two blows before he sliced off the head of the one he was fighting.


    These ones were definitely stronger than the ones we had been fighting up to this point.


    Above my head, explosions rang out, and into the darkness, further explosions could be seen and heard. I traced the origin back to Wilhelm''s ship, the cannons firing and his familiar sitting on it with a nk look like always.


    I swear, Wilhelm has the strangest familiar.


    But it was most certainly wee.


    Fortunately, we prepared for this. We didn''t devise strategies and spend months gathering resources to simply run headfirst into powerful enemies. Sure, some of us fought best that way, and we acknowledged that as a hundred or so of my fellow Youkai joined me and the Old Man as we shed into their front lines.


    But for the remainder, I merely had to nce back to see my general barking orders.


    Shields were up as arrows continued to rain down to no avail. And we held off the front; those nasty hounds only managed to get a few through and were quickly dealt with.


    The area behind us became much brighter, and fireballs began to fall downwards onto the archers that had killed many of our people.


    The cries rang out as even the Fae expressed emotion at being burned to death.


    It also let us see rather far, to see their true numbers.


    There were a lot of them.


    The parting of the storm was only momentary, so we couldn''t see the true extent, but it was enough to know we were in for a long fight.


    Thankfully, more and more of our people began arriving, joining up to hold a proper defense.


    Though, I couldn''t stand there watching like a spectator as arge hand tried to grab me.


    One of those nasty trolls.


    It was quickly filled with a few dozen iron arrows, letting out roars of pain and fury, and I put it out of its misery by grabbing its head with a handful of Fox Fire.


    I stepped off itsrge body and leapt into the air, gathering my aura before mming my foot into the ground further ahead, destroying a ratherrge section of the area.


    It was enough that quite a few of those Wild Hunt individuals now focused solely on me.


    However, I just smiled as a bolt of purple lightning seared through the chest of one who tried to swing his de at me.


    I grabbed another and tossed him to the side before ducking under another blow; the head of the owner fell to the ground as Raikou joined me next to me.


    A handful more were quickly dealt with until my ws were finally blocked. It wasn''t chance either, as I put strength behind my hand and the owner held firm.


    "I shall be your end, beast!" The voice behind the helmet dered, his longsword pushed my w away.


    How cute.


    I looked at Raikou and gave her a smile before both my Touki and my Aura burst out.


    "I¡ª"


    He didn''t get to finish as I grabbed the side of his head and pushed him into the ground with my full strength, sending a small shockwave through the surroundings.


    I continued to hold onto him as I ran at the others, kicking one hard enough that he went flying back and knocked down a good dozen or so of his fellow Fae. I then used the one in my hand to bludgeon another until both stopped moving before I finally threw him away with arge ball of Fox Fire as a finisher.


    He was a little bit stronger, but still far from my match.


    I momentarily admired how much stronger I had gotten after getting my Aura. Oh, it would have been just as easy beforehand, but with my Aura, well, it was like night and day.


    I was deep enough that I couldn''t see much of my own, but I heard Sc¨¢thach''sughter followed by many pained cries and shouts behind it.


    Just as I was about to join her, I noticed something push away the snowstorm high up into the sky. It seemed like the sky broke apart as a ship I didn''t recognize flew out.


    I did notice who was standing at the front, however, and found myself smiling.


    Well, betterte than never.


    Not quite the heroic entrance as we had already started pushing them back, but I wouldn''t reject it.


    -Break-


    Wilhelm POV


    "You still think this is a good idea!?" Folen shouted, grabbing onto the railing of the ship for dear life.


    "I may have some small regrets!" I shouted back, mostly because it was hard to hear with the wind whipping about so loudly.


    The ship was currently moving at astonishing speeds through a copsing tunnel of broken space-time.


    Captain Hook was justughing.


    And Arc was throwing her hands upughing too.


    She was having the time of her life. For some reason, she was really taken with Captain Hook, and I didn''t really understand why.


    But I suppose that''s none of my business.


    The ship made it through unharmed, but we weren''t really out of the proverbial woods yet.


    On the port side, we saw a massive eyeball peering at us curiously.


    The eyeball was bigger than the ship.


    "Hi!" Arc waved unbashfully.


    The massive eye blinked a few times, then seemingly ignored us before we got swept up in a strange air current and propelled further. It pulled us right through another tear in space, like a spatial current taking us through different realms.


    Though we entered a new ce, and I recognized it rather quickly.


    We somehow made it into the Dimension Gap, the space between realms that are situated around this world.


    And holy shit, that''s a big fuck-off dragon.


    It was far away, but it was big enough that it was still monstrous.


    And powerful.


    Folen stared wide-eyed.


    Arc pointed at it in excitement.


    Captain Hook took his hat off, waving it in the air with equal excitement.


    The ship was about to enter another spatial crack, but just before it did, the dragon turned and looked at us.


    Jesus fucking Christ.


    [That would be great, Red.]Ddraig informed me.


    Yeah, I fucking got that.


    Thankfully, its gaze only lingered a single breath before we left the Dimensional Gap.


    I think I almost had a heart attack.


    It was like being stared down by Ophis, except not an idiot.


    That thing was terrifying.


    I fucking weed the familiar malevolent cold of the Fae Realm as it hit my face.


    The ship shot out of the spatial crack and was deposited right back into the Wintends.


    "Was that actually a shortcut?" Folen seemed genuinely surprised.


    "Who do you think I am?" Captain Hook smiled. "There''s nowhere I can''t go!"


    I''m starting to wonder if that isn''t hyperbole.


    However, I was immediately on guard because I felt something dangerous nearby. My attention was drawn to the fighting going on down below; I could make out Yasaka and everyone else fighting well against arge gathering of Fae, pushing them back.


    Though there were a great deal of corpses, many of which belonged to our side.


    I sighed in my heart and forced those dreadful thoughts away for now.


    Well, time for my heroic entrance, I''ll ¨C


    "Retreat!" A shout bellowed out, followed by war horns being blown as the Fae began to... retreat.


    Alrighty then.


    "I''m jumping down!" I called out before jumping overboard, receiving a nod from the captain.


    I purposelynded on one of those Fae, crushing him, but the others just ignored me and started running, the snowstorm covering their retreat.


    Annoying.


    But I smiled seeing that the captain started firing his own cannons at their retreat.


    "Will~!" Jinn quickly found me despite me being near the front of the action.


    I was always happy to see Jinn, but it wasn''t a hug that she threw at me.


    I blinked as I caught my sword.


    My authority, that is.


    Since this is back in my hand, I suppose I had a job to do. I admit I missed having my Authority with me properly, and it didn''t seem needed back at base camp if Jinn brought it with her.


    My Divine Power surged, and I swung it up towards the sky, splitting the snowstorm and dispersing it away from us.


    Everything became clear now; we could see on for miles.


    I suppose that''s why everyone suddenly stopped to stare rather than chase after the retreating Fae.


    Even I came to a stop and tried to understand what I was looking at.


    Giants, many of them, weirdly shaped. Almost... ape-like in appearance, but slightly more human-like. Sorta like Jotun, I suppose, with longer arms.


    There were hundreds, maybe thousands of them. They didn''t look to be made of flesh and blood... but like golems? They were dark, as if they were made of some kind of magic.


    But what stood out amongst all of them was one towering thing near the back.


    It was a thing, because its figure wasn''t visible. It was in a sort of... cocoon. It pulsed with an obscene amount of magical energy, and it was impaled all over the ce as if to seal it.


    Dangerous.


    Whatever that was, it set off my danger warnings.


    The Giants that had been stationary, unseeable until this moment, their eyes opened, a red malevolent light shined in them, and the ground began to quake with each of their movements as the Fae retreated to safety.


    I wasn''t the first to move; that honor belonged to Sc¨¢thach.


    With an eager face, she was up in the air, spear in head, as she went to stab one of the giants through the head.


    However, the unexpected happened.


    I wouldn''t have been surprised if the Giant blocked. If it counterattacked or if it used some strange magic to defend.


    It did none of that.


    It didn''t make a move on her at all; her spear simply couldn''t harm it as it was unable to pierce through its skin.


    Clearly, she was taken by surprise as well as shended back on the ground looking a mite confused.


    As they came closer, I could hear Yasaka start barking orders.


    Arrows rained down, all of which simply bounced off the strange giants.


    They used their magic wands, and while slightly different, it seemed like the hundreds of fireballs lobbed against them were brushed off.


    What the hell?


    I would have been thoroughly analyzing them had my attention not been forced back to the cocoon because the amount of magical energy it was putting off increased probably a hundredfold in an instant.


    It started with a single arm pushing through the cocoon, followed by an unintelligible roar. The arm itself was mangled, flesh was stitched together and overall it was grotesque. But the most confusing thing was that it was most certainly not an undead, as I felt an extremely potent life force from it.


    Beyond that, was that a hint of Divinity?


    It was muted, but it was there.


    The cocoon trembled; the ''seals'' or whatever were holding it down were torn away by its free hand before it reached up and tore away parts near the head.


    A single eye shined through.


    My own eyes widened, and I raised my sword up and braced myself because the world froze.


    It was only for a split second, but I had more than enough experience fighting a godly entity that could manipte time to recognize the same phenomena.


    [An eye like that which can freeze time?I only know one thing with that kind of description.] Ddraig spoke, and I realized immediately what we were dealing with.


    The Evil God Balor.


    It began pulling itself free, and I knew we were in for a rough time.


    -Break-


    A/N


    Only a few more chapters of this arc left, and we''re already into the next world over on p.a.t.r.e.o.n. We also have two Arachne chapters and a Cyclops snippet over here if you''re interesting.


    And if you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 574:

    Chapter 574:


    Arcueid Brunestud POV


    It was a lot different than the Reverse Side!


    I noticed it before, but I didn''t really pay attention before. Well, it was my first time being away from home, I guess not everything is the same.


    But this was the most fun I''ve ever had!


    "Captain Hook ¨C " Cousin was calling him that. "Look at all the people down there! They''re all different shapes and sizes and species¡­"


    "Yes, quite the wonderful array of individuals." He chuckled.


    It was neat, seeing so many non-humans that I didn''t have to kill on sight. My instinct wasn''t acting up and it was great!Even the inhabitants of this ce were different than the Terminals I was more ustomed to. It didn''t seem like they were extensions of the world at all! More like¡­.well, just regr creatures born in this environment.


    Obviously, they were far different from humans, I could see through their cores and even without being Terminals, they were still somewhat simr to the ones back home.


    It was an oddbination.


    It was like¡­.putting a Dragon''s head on a Horse in how it existed. Neither Dragon, nor Horse, and not even a properbination of the two. Simply something chaotic that somehow developed to this point through its own rules.


    I didn''t care too much.


    They were my cousin''s enemies, so I would help!


    I remembered something from when I was little, and I got excited.


    "Hey Old Man, can I be the First Mate!" Since he was a captain, the next best was the First Mate, right?


    "First Mate? You want to be the First Mate?"


    "Yes!"


    "Do you know the responsibilities of the First Mate?" He asked.


    "No." I shook my head. "Is it important?"


    "Is it important she says?" Heughed. "If you don''t know what it means, why do you want to be it?"


    "When I was little, Gramps taught me to read and my favorite book was about a ship with a Captain, a First Mate and¡­." I stopped for a minute trying to remember. "Oh, there was a bird too! And a dog¡­and someone up at the top who shouted ''Land Hoh''! when they spottednd."


    It''s been so long since I''ve thought about that.


    I wonder if Gramps kept that book somewhere.


    He looked at me though and I was hopeful.


    "Alright, you can be the First Mate." He smiled. "You''re the second most important person on the ship below myself. Everyone has to listen to your orders."


    "I don''t want to spoil your<em>fun</em>, but maybe we should lend a hand?" The Elf God person spoke up.


    He raised his bow and fired a few arrows down below.


    "Of course, the Cannons are prepped!" The Old Man spoke happily. "What do you say,<em>First Mate</em>? Give the order, eh?"


    "Can I?" I was excited!


    "Go ahead,ss."


    "Fire the cannons!"


    The boat shook a bit, but they fired off onto the Faeries below. They were magical too, so they did a lot of damage.


    Though, things didn''t stay simple.


    I could feel them in the distance even if I couldn''t see through the snowstorm.


    I could remove the snowstorm but...I used a lot of Magical Energy to force the manifestation of my Millennium Castle before. I had topletely shoulder the manifestation since it didn''t exist naturally in this world through my Marble Phantasm.


    There was a limit of what I would be able to do when my connection with the World was cut off due to the distance.


    Maybe one more manifestation, but I would have to go to sleep afterwards for a few decades. Forcibly drawing on the power of my blood without the support of the World would push me too close to assuming the mantle and I didn''t want that.


    Thankfully, it didn''t seem like I had to make a move.


    My Cousin did it instead and I could get a clear look at them.


    "What in Odin''s Beard are<em>those</em>?" The Elf God asked.


    "Daemons." I said softly.


    "What?"


    "I think¡­.no, they''re a little different, but sorta the same." I furrowed my brow, looking them over properly. I thought my Cousin was a Daemon at first, but that was wrong. But<em>these</em>are closer to how a Daemon feels when it''s given an initial designation and manifests into the world. "Though¡­..it''s as if their existence is temporary and they haven''t been given<em>true</em>names. Fake Daemons?" I questioned if that was a possibility.


    My knowledge on the things in this ce was limited.


    I felt a tinge of my instinct telling me to destroy them.


    "I have no idea what that means, but it sounds bad."


    "It''s not terrible." I raised my hand pointing at therge<em>thing</em>still wrapped up. "That is the more terrifying thing."


    True Daemon?


    No, there was a hint of Divinity in it.


    It was as if someone was trying to bring back a Divine Spirit by binding it to a Daemon''s designation.


    That has been attempted before and it never ended well. It just never happened after the Age of Gods ended.


    The Big thing final revealed itself.


    It was rather grotesque, and I had the desire to destroy it.


    It opened its eye and I quickly moved to the front of the ship, holding my hand out as its power washed over everything.


    "What''s going on? I felt my movements freeze up for a moment." The Elf Gods poke.


    "Me as well." The Snake popped out from his cor. "I lost control of myself for a brief second."


    "I''m detecting a Temporal Anomaly." Gramps'' toy floated up from below deck. "What''s going on and¡­.<em>Holy Shit</em>, what is<em>that</em>thing?"


    "Time?" The Elf God looked confused.


    "Divine Spirit with an Authority over Time." I said, crushing the wisp of its power that washed over the ship in my hand. "It''s focused on the Mystic Eye at the center of its head."


    It was still partially wrapped up and was seemingly having trouble freeing itself, so its Authority wasn''t fully unleashed.


    "Can you take that thing out, Arc?" The floating toy asked.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "¡­..hm." I scratched my cheek. "Let someone else handle it." I decided. "Let''s beat up the smaller ones."


    I didn''t want to fight that thing if I didn''t have to after giving it some thought.


    "Right, the<em>smaller</em>Giants." The Elf God snorted. "The Brat''s people down below don''t look like they''re having a good time."


    That''s true, they were stomping towards the non-humans and not stopping regardless of what was being thrown at him.


    "Conceptual Immunity?" I tilted my head. "It seems like they''re conceptually impervious to physical damage."


    "¡­..why does everything you say sound utterly terrifying?" The Elf God looked at me.


    The Ship suddenly jerked. "Look alive, boys and girls! We got a big one in our sights!" The Ship flew right towards one of the Daemons¡­.things. The Cannons fired, but they didn''t even make it slow down.


    "Old Man, that''s not going to work. They''re ¨C"


    "I heard ya,ss!" He swung the wheel of the boat quick, making the ship swing around to the other side. "I understood some of what you said, now sit back and watch how Captain Hook handles things."


    On the other side of the ship, the anchors shot out and wrapped around one of them and the ship turned and started to<em>pull</em>.


    I blinked realizing that it was working, the Daemon was slowing down to a near crawl.


    Smart.


    Though, he was struggling.


    "Tick-Tock, give me a hand!"


    The big Alligator bit down on the chains of the anchor and jerked its head, the big Daemon stumbled and fell.


    It was utterly unharmed, but a human brought down one of those Big Daemons.


    The Daemon had no footing to fight the pull, and he spun the wheel again, flying away before dropping the Daemon down arge cliff a bit far away from where the fighting was happening.


    Humans really are good and solving problems.


    I looked at the old human waiving his hat in the hair celebrating the ''victory'' of his. The weak and frail human that anyone here could kill with a flick of their wrist.


    "We work for many a thief, we plunder for many a cook. But there''s never a ''gent so elegant as the elegant Captain Hook!" He sang as the ship turned back and flew back towards the battlefield.


    Were Humans always so interesting?


    I wanted to stay here longer.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    Right, this wasn''t a particrly good situation.


    In addition to the many¡­. ''smaller'' giants, there was now the big one that seemed to be some sort of resurrection of Balor?


    Or was that even wrong?


    It<em>felt</em>wrong.


    It was grotesque to even look at.


    It was still partly held down, there were apparentlyyers that kept it ''sealed''. But it was tearing away at those rather quickly.


    The smaller giants though were marching right towards us unabated and even Sc¨¢thach''s spear bounced right off.


    Something was most certainly wrong there.


    "Wilhelm, do you have any suggestions?" Yasaka was quick to get to my side, sounding anxious.


    I clicked my tongue in annoyance. "Hit them with everything you have, let me see how they react."


    She nodded. "I want archers to keep firing! Wands up, I want fireballs raining down nonstop! If you have a ranged ability, hit these things with everything you have!" She started shouting.


    I gathered my own Power of Destruction at the tip of my fingers. The destructive power crackled as I condensed it then fired it off at the closest one to get a good look.


    My Bloodline power collided with one of the strange giant golems, but once more itpletely nullified it and kept its steady march forward.


    My Power of Destruction as well?


    That''s<em>strange</em>.


    I pulled out my Staff of Magnus and quickly began casting as arge Magic Circle appeared infront of me. Gathering a significant amount of Magical Energy, I released a st of Lightning right at the same one again.


    The force was powerful, the strength I put behind it wasn''t anything to ignore, yet it did just that.


    With a frown, I summoned all my swords and had them fly at it, they bounced off like it was made of rubber, not even my most impressive sword could pierce its body.


    I focused on the Hogyoku inside of me, and my Spiritual Power exploded out, turning into a pir of light that ascended to the sky.


    "The patient Lord of the West. Reverence from the Heavens, condemnation from the earth. Roar! Erupt! Descend from the sky and sing the hymn of destruction!" My palm pointed outwards as all the Reiatsu I was emitting condensed into a single point. "Had¨­ #88 Hiry¨± Gekizoku Shinten Raih¨­."


    The world filled with lightning, aimed solely at the singr Golem.


    It washed over it, shrouding itsrge bodypletely for the brief moment it was assaulted under my attack.


    The Lightning dissipated in the blink of an eye, leaving the strange creation kneeling on the ground, body smoking with parts of its ''flesh'' seared away.


    I furrowed my brow because it should have done<em>significantly</em>more damage if it was able to harm it. And if it wasn''t able to harm it, it should have done no damage at all.


    Why was the damage mitigated,but notpletely?


    I had a sudden realization. "Sc¨¢thach, they have selective conceptual immunity!"


    My Lightning was mitigated, but the spiritual aspect of my Kido was something it didn''t understand.


    They aren''t unstoppable juggernauts; they''re shifting between invulnerabilities based on what''s attacking them.


    My teacher didn''t need any other prompt, with quick speed, she was at Yasaka''s side. As Yasaka swung her ws at another one.


    It remainedpletely unharmed from her attack, but Sc¨¢thach''s hand was alight with a baleful looking me made of Magic and nearly simultaneously, mmed it against the side of the Golem, causing small but<em>noticeable</em>damage, basically confirming my thoughts.


    They are still<em>very</em>durable, which is why we didn''t notice the mass fireballs doing any real damage before despite them not being ''immune'' at the time.


    It must take a few moments to shift ordingly between each ''immunity''.


    Where the hell did these thingse from in suchrge numbers?


    Regardless, their threat went down substantially.


    "Old Man, let''s event he numbers!" Yasaka shouted over the fighting.


    I nced to where Nurarihyon was, and he started moving backwards and I saw what she meant.


    Those same urns from before.


    They unceremoniously just<em>threw</em>them out, letting them crack and shatter as the gigantic Skeletal Youkai jumped out


    Dozens and dozens of Gashadokuro loomed overhead. Roughly the same size as these Golem things, even if they were outnumbered, it was a good addition to our side.


    Raikou was with Artoria, the two of them slicing apart one of the Golems. Mordred was teaming up with the various Magicians as another was forced down.


    Gradually, we regained our footing and were holding them off as therge Skeletons joined the fray.


    "I''ll join in too!" Jinn floated past me.


    I wouldn''t tell her she wasn''t allowed, but she usually didn''t like to be part of this kind of thing. But any kind of words died as I just blinked confusedly as shended on the head of a Gashadokuro.


    Therge Skeleton''s mouth chittered as it sort of tilted its head to ask what she was doing.


    "Hey, let''s team up! I got something good you can use." She pat its head and strangely, the Skeleton seemed to just ept her. With held her hand out and ¨C<em>Was that the Elder Scroll</em>.


    A giant ming sword dropped down, impaled into the ground, burning away any remnants of snow in the area.


    The big Skeleton chittered happily and<em>lifted it up</em>without any problems as it began to swing it wildly at one of the weird golems.


    I even saw Captain Hook and the others drag one of the Golems away in the distance.


    Good job, Old Man!


    However, I couldn''t remain idle, it''s just that the thing I was focusing on still hasn''t made a move yet.


    However, that changed quickly.


    Balor ¨C or whatever this thing was ¨Cpletely broke free of its restraints and stepped out onto the battlefield proper.


    Like its arm, its flesh was mangled and woven together almost haphazardly. There were stitches all over its body as if it had been experimented on rather recently.


    It let out an unintelligible roar and stomped forward, it''s eye opened again and I jumped out with my Divine Sword in hand.


    A powerful wave of temporal alteration washed over everything. Its Mystic Eye carried its Divine Authority not too dissimr to Kronos as itshed out regardless of what was in its path.


    I used my own Authority to block it.


    I felt the weight of timee down on me and felt a jolt all the way down through my legs however, I held firm until it dissipated.


    It was manageable.


    There was something odd about it, like it was<em>reduced</em>, but looking at its body and its weird state of existence, it wasn''t too strange. However, taking it head on, I felt like Balor must have been about on par with Kronos in his prime. But that was just a random guess at this point.


    Its eye closed again even if it continued forward, shaking the ground with each stomp.


    My Wings sprouted from my back, and I shot forward at Balor. Even if he was technically a strong God in the past, he had been reduced significantly. If I could just destroy his Eye, that may make him unable to utilize his Authority.


    Even as it opened again, I braced myself and blocked the sweeping power from leaking behind me.


    My Divine Sword


    The invisible ripples collided with it and I gathered my own power to defend. So far, there seemed to be a sort of pattern, like it was unconsciously opening its eye every few moments.


    I withstood it again, and like I predicted its eye closed.


    Just as I was about to sh at it, something<em>shifted</em>.


    Veins bulged from every corner of its Mystic Eye and many of the stitches on its body popped off at the wiggling of its flesh.


    Some small, somerger, but<em>hundreds</em>of eyes were revealed all over its body. And they all shared the same look as the one on its head.


    The one on its head opened again, the power increased to a degree I could sense from just presence alone. Like the difference between being fully awakepared to someone being groggy in the morning.


    <em>Danger</em>.


    It was concentrated, not just a sweeping disy of power. Each of the eyes contained some application of the Authority ¨C mirrors of its true Mystic Eye and amplified to the extent of each one visible.


    I barely brought up my sword in time as the very<em>visible</em>phenomenon mmed into me, like a beam of monochromatic light, once more not dissimr to Kronos''s own use of Time offensively.


    The Eons passed in seconds, where each eye looked, the Monochromatic Light shot out. Grass withered instantly, any remnants of snow and ice couldn''t even get close before being evaporated.


    My Divine Sword was able to withstand it, but it wasn''t an easy feat. I found myself hitting the ground far away from the force behind the power if nothing else.


    I barely picked my head up in time to see a beam of Monochromatic Light pass through the lines of Youkai.


    A jutted line emerged from within the ranks of hundreds of Yasaka''s people. A line where no life existed, where within the blink of an eye, dozens of Youkai were turned to nothing but skeletons after aged eons in seconds, then drifted away as dust in the wind as their Skeletons couldn''t even remain.


    A Gashadokuro was also unlucky to get a sh of Monochromatic Light run across the ground atop of it.


    Itsted half a breath longer before it too utterly disappeared from existence along the passage of time.


    They weren''t the only ones, each of the eyes on Balor released a concentrated beam in whatever random direction or spot they deemed.


    The utilization of Time was one of the most troublesome abilities I''ve ever encountered.


    And the extra annoyance came from the fact that the Golem''s immunities seemed to extend to the Time Authority as well as it harmlessly washed over them, and they continued marching unabated while everyone else was forced to retreat.


    It was a bad situation because there were still thousands of Youkai behind me who couldn''t handle a single sh of that light.


    And the eyes wouldn''t close.


    I threw my Divine Sword far off to the side as another beam crashed down, it held firm. All throughout the battlefield, I let my sword shoot out and impaled the ground infront of various spot and used them as an anchoring.


    Balor''s attention, slowly seemed to focus as the eyes that were just looking off in random directions slowly focused on the front and I felt a particr shiver run down my spine.


    I didn''t hesitate.


    "Reflect ¨C Mus¨± Tengai!" I swung my manifested Zanpakut¨­ upwards, releasing it with a burst of Spiritual Pressure as the heavy weight of eons pressed down towards me.


    Immediately, I felt my head start to throb and my eyes burn. The warm blood rolled down my cheeks as my eyes strained to focus.


    I had used my Zanpakut¨­''s ability to Alter the World and deflect the focused Time Authority away from everyone, but it was a continuous onught, grinding away at the use of my Zanpakut¨­''s ability.


    There was a brief pause, a very brief moment of respite before the entire world was filled with that same Monochromatic Light.


    Hundreds of shes of light were released across the battlefield.


    Sc¨¢thach mmed her spear on the ground, creating a Shield at her spot, protecting as many as she could.


    The Gashadokuro holding Surtr''s sword used it as best as it could to ward off its own end with Jinn''s arms swinging wide and her own Divinity released to casting multitudes of spells to protect the area.


    Yasaka jumped forward on her own, her Aura shined brightly as she took it head on in lieu of her people.


    Artoria''s Noble Phantasm shined brightly as it was released from its invisible sheath and blocked a substantial part of the Godly Authority at her side. Mordred joined her with her own Divine Armaments holding firm as she did her best to shield anyone she could.


    Raikou''s Divine Lightning surged out to meet it head on, holding as best as she could against the assault from the Evil God.


    Despite holding off a chunk of its Authority myself, I began casting. Shields, hundreds of them, thousands of them thrown up across the battlefield, covering as many of ours as I could. I used my own Swords as anchor points wherever theynded, deploying the most powerful of my shields.


    I don''t know if I''ve ever cast so many spells at one time in my life. It was to the point that I could even feel the Magic Circuits in my body burn. Something I hadn''t felt in a very long time due to the sheer amount of Magical Energy I''m capable of outputting.


    I pushed through it; I clenched my teeth and continued casting.


    Hundreds of others joined, spells were cast, Youjutsu was released, Touki, Magic everything was thrown up, but under the weight of Time, not many could withstand it. It wasn''t a simple matter of a collision of two opposite forces. Time<em>withered</em>and<em>drained</em>everything it touched.


    Hundreds of Youkai and Humans were turned to dust, some quicker than others. Spells took a bit longer to shatter, Touki was drained, and Youjutsu failed under the onught.


    There were spots across the thousands of people gathered here that were now justpletely devoid of any signs of ever having life.


    Its main eye was focused on me, however. I held as best as I could with my Zanpakut¨­, and my other spells to shield as many as I could, but I could feel them shattering one by one. There were just too many spots I was trying to cover, too many Youkai behind me.


    It was nonstop, there was no opening. If I let up for even a moment to counterattack, how many behind me would die?


    This is why I hated being any kind of leader.


    "Go, Tick-Tock!" A faint shout was heard as the monochromatic light falling on me flickered for a moment.


    The massive Crocodile dove headfirst into the back of Balor causing it to tilt ever so slightly.


    The Jolly Roger was apparently out of its ''sight'' and started releasing its own payload.


    Folen''s Divine Arrows rained down and even Jormungandr jumped off, turning back to it''s ''true size'' for what that could be called at the moment, and sprayed a mouthful of its notorious venom onto the Evil God.


    For the first time, I felt like I saw a hint of true intelligence flicked in the Evil God''s eyes as it moved defensively to protect itself.


    It swung its body around, all the lights bearing down on us followed suit as they took aim at the ones who directly attacked him.


    It was enough of an opening we needed.


    My Zanpakut¨­ fell from my hand, I grabbed a different weapon without hesitation.


    "True Longinus ¨C Bnce Breaker" The twelve Holy Wings burst out from my back, a Halo appeared over my head and all the Holy Power I could gather in a single breath''s time gathered at the tip of my spear as I thrust it forward.


    It shot out, extending across the battlefield shooting right towards the Evil God and I wasn''t the only one who made use of this opening.


    "Stab and Prate, Pierce and Drill ¨C Gae Bolg Alternative!"


    "Ox-King Storm Call ¨C The Inescapable Net of Heaven!"


    The Evil God''s attention turned back to us for a moment, and it let out a chortle ¨C a mockingugh before raising its hand up and several of those Golems floated into the air right in the path of our attacks, intercepting them.


    Their conceptual Immunities proved strong enough that while damaged in their own ways, were able to withstand the blows before falling to the ground.


    The Evil God ripped Tick-Tock off its back and threw it onto the ground and stomped down before reaching for Jormungandr biting into its calf.


    The Dragon King seemed particrly experienced in what happens with arge being grabs hold of it, as it wisely shrunk down and avoided any attempts.


    He loomed over the Crocodile as its main eye gathered the Monochromatic Light and released it.


    Tick-Tock held on for a few moments, a testament to its heritage, but nothing could withstand the passing of time.


    "No, Tick-Tock!" A pained cry was felt from this far away.


    Balor looked up at the ship, but the Monochromatic Light was blocked, and I could make out Arc at the front, holding it back.


    The Evil God flicked his hand and several of those Golems sailed through the air and smacked into the ship, like thrown stones.


    The Ship was sent hurling down to the ground far off to the side and I saw Arc fall off. I couldn''t divert any attention to her, and I knew that kind of fall would mean nothing to her.


    My twelve wings surged with Holy Power and I shot forward as it turned right back at us with barely a moment between. All its eyes continuously releasing a deathly Authority and I stepped forward to take the majority of it to act as a proper shield.


    A wall of Holy Power rose up, colliding with the sweeping waves of hundreds of releasing of its Authority. It was like two different tidal waves colliding between us. It was inevitably that on both sides, there would be leaks.


    He was nowhere near the most powerful foe I''ve ever fought, but when ites to sheer annoyance, I don''t think I''ve met its match thus far.


    Through the curtain of Holy Power and cascading of errant Time, noticing a gap, my spear extended, piercing all the way past the cascading powers and finding the flesh of the Evil God.


    The spear tip buried itself into the Evil God, its God ying properties treating the Evil God''s defenses like paper. I switched my grip and let out a shout as I flicked it upwards, tearing arge gash out of its chest, slicing through over a dozen of its bodily eyes in one movement.


    The Evil God jolted, but there were no pained cries, or fury associated with it. Instead, the immediate pressure on me all but vanished, but that only served to make me panic as I saw its Authority turned towards everyone behind me, intentionally ignoring me.


    I couldn''t see, but I could hear the cries from the back as many more died from that brief moment.


    I had to throw myself into the path of the worst of it again, letting it hit me head on with worst preparation. It wasn''t like with Kronos where I lost years of my lifespan, but it was withering away my Aura and everything else seeping off of me. Hell, I could feel the Holy Power starting to drain from keeping it off me.


    However, just as the pressure increased, it suddenly evaporated once more, but this time, it was someone else.


    A Mist, the warping of Space apanied it.


    A screen of it was brought up at the front, taking the majority of the Evil God''s Authority.


    "Soma!?" Yasaka shouted out as the Tengu was hovering above, the Mist from his Sacred Gear pouring out.


    His eyes turned bloodshot as he forced his Sacred Gear beyond what he normally could sustain.


    "Y-young Lord, please tell me when you need. I will h-hold it off for several moments." Soma forced out.


    The Monochromatic Light mmed into the barrier created by warping space as well as the Golems began to swing their monstrous fists onto it, creating cracks in it.


    I looked at him, and he smiled through the strain and tearing of his body.


    "Dimension Lost ¨C Bnce Breaker!"


    The mists of the Sacred Gear surged out, all the Golems were Teleported away at random spots ¨C perhaps intentional, or maybe not ¨C but a silhouette of Soma condensed from the Mists of the Sacred Gear emerged, equal in size to Balor, a titan in its own right.


    And it reached out to the Evil God.


    Soma, a normal Youkai, forced back the Evil God.


    Space collided with Time, and the already chaotic space-time of this ce became even worse.


    Space cracks appeared overhead, and pockets of turbulent time surged outwards.


    <strong><em>"A Child</em>."</strong>A strange, distorted and mangled voice reverberated throughout the battlefield.


    The Monochromatic Light eventually pierced through the power of the Sacred Gear, and Soma fell from the sky bloodied and beaten.


    Yasaka was quick to catch him.


    "Well done, Soma." I whispered as I already made my preparations in the few moments of reprieve he won.


    I formed the correct hand signs, the proper Magic Circles were created, and the Runes had been etched into them. And with that, my Magical Energy surged.


    "Mountain Sealing Incantation!" One of my most powerful spells, able to suppress even the Titan king himself.


    The Large Mountains tore through the world, up-side down peaks linked by ancient and weathered chains pressed downwards ontop of the Evil God.


    The Evil God''s focus immediately shifted, and both of his monstrous hands shot upwards to contend against my spell in a contest of strength.


    When Ipared him to a Titan, it was not inurate.


    All the eyes on his body lit up again as the Monochromatic Light returned, pressing down on everyone so no one could approach him easily.


    However, his True Mystic Eye surged violently as the Divine Power and whatever held together its strange body gathered to the precipice, looking straight upwards at my spell. The flesh around its main eye even began to tear and pulse at the power output.


    Shit, that was probably enough to destroy my spell.


    I bit my lip considering the alternative and mmed my spear into the ground as I warded off wave after wave of rampant withering from its many eyes and reached for my Zanpakut¨­.


    This was going to hurt, but it was better than possible thousands more of our fellows dying.


    However, my hand paused as I noticed the Jolly Roger flying in at the distance.


    It was damaged, cracked and looked like it was about to fall apart at any moment.


    It started firing what remained of its cannons at the Evil God, but Balor just ignored it.


    Arc could ¨C


    Arc wasn''t on the ship; I could only see the ship''s Captain.


    It was as if he could feel my gaze, from a distance away his head turned and he met my eyes with a sad smile.


    <strong>"Gnat."</strong>The Evil God''s voice returned, just as grotesque to hear as before.


    "Haha, is that so?" The Captain Shouted with augh, barely audible even to my enhanced senses. "Then I will make you remember my name! I am Captain James Bartholomew Hook, the terror of Nevend!"


    The Jolly Roger sailed forth, right into the side of the Evil God''s head and exploded.


    It wasn''t veryrge, but the Evil God ever so slightly stumbled to the side, and his grip on my spell slipped.


    My Spell pressed down fully and the Monochromatic Light of his disappeared along with it.


    @***@


    A/N


    Merry Christmas everyone! Would you believe me if I said I forgot to post this several hours ago? :p.


    Anyways, if you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone.


    I also have a boosty if you can''t read the above under the same name.


    We''re on the next arc over here, new world and everything. Also, we got two chapters of Arachne ahead and one chapter of the cyclops snippet ahead.

 Chapter 575:

    Chapter 575:


    Artoria POV


    The primary concern had been taken care of, but it was far from a settled battle.


    I let out a breath as I no longer was needed to act as a shield for my knights. I admit that my limit was starting to approach soon. A Servant I may be, but I could only withstand the Authority of a god for so long.


    It was not just me.


    Mordred was having a bit of trouble but stood resolute. I was proud of Mordred for doing so well to hold off the assault from the God.


    The Majority of the defensive spells had crumbled, and a significant number of our forces had fallen.


    "Agravain, what are our losses?" I asked as everyone reorganized quickly.


    "179 and still counting, your Majesty." He spoke bluntly.A certain number of those was from the initialnding, but the majority were from the continuous onught by that Godly being.


    Wave after wave of power that relentlessly struck down. I knew that logically there was not much that could be aplished in such a situation. But regardless of that, I felt the loss in my heart.


    It had been quite a number of years since my arrival in this time period alongside Rin. Mayhaps, I thought that things would be different, but the loss of those who followed behind me never softened.


    Wilhelm''s spell looked like it was holding firm, so I focused my attention on the immediate threat still present.


    Thoserge things¡ªthose Giants that could be invulnerable to a means utilized against them¡ªthey were troublesome.


    However, their numbers are what made them truly a threat.


    My best Knights held the front, shing with them head-on to minimize casualties.


    And there were many of thoserge skeleton youkai that were directly keeping many at bay as well. Overall, the situation was much less dire than minutes prior.


    I don''t know who was flying in that ship, but they had my utmost thanks. Not to mention Yasaka''s own personal bodyguard showed utmost courage and strength as well.


    "Agravain, we''re shifting strategies." I called out, recalling how the same ship handled a giant so easily. "Don''t focus on ying them; bind them and drag them to the ground, sealing their movements."


    "Take the ropes from the ships! Magicians, if you''re not helping set up the teleportation circles, I want Earth Spells tripping them up!" He started throwing out orders.


    Their greatest strength was theirbination ofrge physical stature and ability to negate offensive means. However, it mattered not if they became invulnerable to damage if they were unable to move on the ground. And considering the nature of the bindings, if they were bombarded with magic, their resistance would focus on the aspect attempting to harm them.


    It was unfortunate that we could not bring our horses on this firstnding due tock of room, but we would make do.


    "Father!" Mordred called out as I joined, focusing on the first giant.


    "Mordred, attack it." I ordered, joining the others as many thick ropes were wrapped around its legs.


    Mordred''s attacks caused it to pause; thebination of her Magical Energy coating her Divine Weapon meant that the giant had to focus on the immediate threat.


    Compared to Mordred''s attempt to destroy it, what does a mindless creation care about us wrapping it in ropes?


    However, these things were still strong, sturdy, and veryrge.


    "Your Majesty!"


    "Your highness¡­"


    I gave them nods as I joined them, grabbing the end of the rope. There was no need for courtesy in a situation like this. "On three." I felt the ck of it, finding the right tension. "One, two, three."


    Myself and dozens of my knights pulled while Mordred stabbed her Divine Lance into its arm.


    The Giant blocked her blow, but its legs buckled, and we pulled it to the ground with arge thump.


    Carefully, everyone avoided its falling.


    I looked proudly at my Knights. They were but normal humans, yet all around us, more of the Giants were pulled down.


    One or two were truly ''killed'' by a skilledbination of magic and sword, but the majority of the ones assaulting my people were slowly being brought down.


    "Mordred, well done. Let''s focus on the next." I quickly called to him as we didn''t need to help them work around its known defenses at this point.


    They could handle it much easier now that its strengths were minimized.


    The second one fell much the same, as did the third and fourth. It was taking them a while to finally y one, even if it was brought low, but the casualties became near non-existent with this strategy.


    Of course, there were still many more that the majority of our forces were having to fight head-on.


    The strategy to bring down one took a couple dozen to coordinate; that couldn''t be aplished properly when hundreds of those Giants marched in unison and each of theirrge fists could create tremors with a swing.


    However, a loud horn in the distance made me turn my head and frown.


    The Icy Winds returned, and I felt the cold gaze behind it. A powerful entity, perhaps as strong as the God from before, its presence loomed over the world, as if a part of it.


    The snowstorm manifested again on the horizon, followed by the silhouettes of the faeries return.


    It seems the decisive battle wasing.


    If they prevented us from establishing this foothold, our offensive would be destroyed before it properly took off. And if we could establish ourselves here, they would be forced back behind their proverbial walls.


    The only problem was that there were at least a million of their numbers that I estimated.


    @***@


    Yasaka POV


    I was deeply thankful to Venelena at the moment; the delivery of Phoenix Tears a while ago was now proving invaluable.


    I quickly applied one to Soma as hisplexion turned for the better.


    Stupid boy, sacrificing his life force to forcibly utilize a Bnce Breaker. He would be getting the scolding of a lifetime after he recovers!


    Combined with the healing we had on hand, well, he wasn''t in any danger of dying at least.


    These little healing wands that everyone carried were beyond helpful. Sure, they basically stopped being useful beyond moderate wounds and bleeding, but using a few dozen of them all together helped stabilize Soma quickly. Of course, we had other supplies like healing potions and such, but those were less immediate, but still worthwhile.


    Very quickly, I had people from the back get him on a stretcher; the few healers we had on hand at this point were already overworked with the casualties we''ve thus suffered.


    Hundreds, well over a thousand, maybe more.


    Many of my people had quite literally been turned to dust due to the onught of that singr God.


    I was furious.


    I knew it was a fool''s dream to not lose anyone in a war, to invade an entire realm, and have every one of my peoplee back unscathed.


    But this was uneptable. I was highly doubtful that someone didn''t have a hand in what they did here.


    Once Soma was taken away, I felt my anger boil over. There was something else too, like something just clicked into ce that wasn''t there before.


    Jinn did say that it usually came about due to emotional response.


    My aura came up, golden and radiant, as I stepped past many of my people fighting against those giants.


    They were having a little bit better of a time than Artoria''s Knight, as we had more means at our disposal.


    It was by no means easy, but gradually, through the efforts of quite a few, a handful of the Giants were brought down, but many more still came knocking.


    Nurarihyon stepped out of the shadows, matching my stride with a simr look on his face. He also seemed tired, having to defend against the same thing I had before.


    I fully admit that I''m exhausted and stressed after that God popped up so suddenly, but I kept a strong front on for everyone who saw us.


    His de was engulfed in his Touki and Youjutsu while my ws were covered in my Fox Fire, and we both leapt at the nearest Giant.


    My ws raked over its body, his de doing the same; no cuts were had, but my foxfire shed over its flesh while snake-like shadows tore at the opposite side from the old man.


    As annoying as it was, our primary strengthsy in physical ability.


    I was a daft hand at using my Youjutsu, which effectively operated simrly to magic, but not forrge-scale fights or for such a blunt expression. My strengths were always in the more physical application.


    However, I had something else, and my Aura answered my call instead.


    I felt it again as I pulled on a second manifestation of my aura that I gained from Wilhelm.


    It started with a crown of fire that appeared on top of my head. Second was arge ring that appeared behind my back, almost like a chakram. It looked solid at first nce, but it too was made of Fire.


    I stepped into the air as little wisps of mes were left in my wake.


    Was it my connection to my Goddess that my Semnce manifested this way?


    Because it was no normal fire, it was Sunfire.


    Sunfire erupted in one hand, and Foxfire in the other.


    I looked down on one Giant and released both, obscuring itpletely in a torrent of mixed mes.


    One of its ck arms reached up through the torrent; presumably, it allowed itself to be immune to fire, but even so, its flesh was melting and charred despite still standing.


    Quickly, however, its head waspletely severed from its body as Nurarihyon finished it off.


    He gave me an inquisitive look, but he couldn''t invest much time to question me; I simply smiled at his re.


    "Right under three seconds, I measured. That''s how long it takes to switch to a different invulnerability." He grunted before disappearing again briefly, his de shing at the back of the neck of another giant that barely budged.


    I understood his intention, and instinctively, as if my soul knew what to do, I had an understanding of my Semnce and could utilize it properly.


    I held my hand out, and talismans appeared between my fingers. Though they weren''t made of solid matter, but made of my Sunfire.


    Jinn said that people name their Semnces.


    Would it be on the nose if I named mine Sun Priestess?


    I threw them out as they took up a formation under the legs of the Giant and snapped my fingers.


    A flower of fire bloomed under it, consuming it directly and turning it to cinders.


    As happy as I was that I finally had my Semnce, I couldn''t dwell on it too much. Noticeably, my Aura was draining to utilize it in such a manner, and I wouldn''t be able to sustain it indefinitely.


    I grabbed the ''Ring'' behind my back, a bitrger than I was, and I threw it down at another Giant that was having the advantage in a fight with several of my people.


    Three Tengu, a Kitsune, and a Kamaitachi were fighting it, doing an admirable job with just that few of them.


    The ring spun in the air, and with each rotation, mes were generated around it.


    It had no true edge, but it seared right through the Giant as if it were made of paper, the Sunfire melting the ground as it lodged itself deep into the earth from the force.


    They looked up at me, tired and weary of their battle with expressions of gratitude.


    That was until I heard a horn in the distance and the snowstorm that had ceased previously began again in earnest.


    Very quickly, I could see theming again, but in much greater numbers.


    Hundreds of thousands at a nce, some in the sky, some on the ground, but they were marching right towards us.


    "Jinn!" I immediately shouted. "We need the teleportation circle up!"


    "Working on it, I need a few minutes!" I could hear her.


    A few minutes¡­.


    "General Ogai!"


    "I''m here!" I heard the reply without even looking back.


    "Set up the best defense you can. Our priority is for the teleportation circles to be set up."


    "Fall in line, pull back, and set up the Turtle Shell!" He roared. "I don''t want a single person getting through, do you hear me!?"


    Everyone immediately began to shift at the arrival of so many Fae marching upon us.


    The sky above roared as well, thunder and lightning summoned, and I looked towards where Wilhelm was.


    He was the first to make a move, with full authority to act without anything in his way.


    The lightning began to fall; quite a few crashed into the distance and into the enemies'' lines. Even if I couldn''t make out the details from this distance, I could see that damage was being done.


    However, the thunderous booming ceased as a chilling wind swept through the sky, as if snuffing it out.


    The thunder resumed a momentter, but the snowstorm fought against it, and no more lightning fell down from overhead.


    She was strong enough to hold off Wilhelm''s Divine Lightning; that was impressive, but also understandable considering we were right in her domain.


    The Queen herself was acting directly, it seems.


    "Old Man." I looked around, noticing him hop over to my side at my call. "We need to buy a few minutes of time."


    Battles in our world were strange sometimes. A single individual would warp the battlefield due to their strength, but likewise, that many enemies could threaten individuals. Not to mention, they only had to destroy our foothold, and we would be forced to retreat with quite a few losses.


    I frowned because there were also plenty of strong individuals in that army.


    Nurarihyon was tired; it was obvious before, even more so now.


    The Golems hadn''t been cleaned up just yet; they were an annoyance that continued to persevere.


    "Whatever decision you make, I''lle along." He grunted. "My old bones can manage a bit more."


    I smiled knowing that despite our differences over the years, we were allies regardless.


    "Girls¡­"


    "We''re here as well." Raikou came to my side quickly.


    "It has been many years since I have fought so many enemies at once." Sc¨¢thach had a grin on her face.


    I wasn''t oblivious to the fact that my faction could even stand on this stage because I had them at my side.


    Once more, I needed their help.


    "Artoria!" She was far away; I wanted her attention quickly.


    She looked my way and nodded, standing next to Mordred.


    Did she know my ns without me even saying anything? Well, I supposed that''s as expected from someone like her. Despite being so old, I was less experienced in situations like thisparatively.


    The sound of a dragon roar reverberated, and the ck dragon that I was familiar with at this point emerged from Wilhelm''s position, and it dove right into the enemy''s formations.


    I suppose we didn''t need a signal.


    I threw caution away and transformed into my Fox Form, towering over everyone else.


    My semnce still activated, it seemed to erge with me as therge ring still hovered behind me protectively, as well as the strange crown of fire.


    With my Semnce came an instinctive usage of it, but that didn''t mean I had mastered every facet; I was sure there were some secrets about it that I still had to uncover.


    Regardless, the Sunfire enveloped my body, and I ran forward, stomping across the battlefield with my mouth full of Fox Fire. I released it in arge wave as I continued forward, crashing right into the uncountable number of Fae.


    Weapons shattered on my fur, and armor and steel melted as it tried to touch me. Each of my tails whipped around, sending the weaker of their numbers flying through the air.


    If it was time that Jinn needed, it was time she would get.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    Part of my attention was held by the Evil God still pressed under my sealing spell. It was fighting against my spell with everything it had, and I had to put a significant amount of my magical energy into sustaining it.


    Secondly, I was fighting with the Winter Queen in the sky as she continuously tried to snuff out my Thunderstorms with her own snowstorms.


    I felt her gaze and her presence looming overhead.


    Quite literally, we were inside her domain, and she had an advantage in this aspect.


    Ddraig asked me to be let free, and I had no reason to reject him. His fake body immediately belly flopped onto the nearest group of Fae. Hisrge body swung around and rampaged right in the middle of their numbers.


    I let out a tired sigh thinking about Captain Hook.


    It seems obvious in hindsight when he talked about ''onest adventure,'' but I could see it in his eyes; he never intended to make it out of here alive. I don''t know what kept him going for so long before.


    Spite?


    But after living so long, this was the moment he chose.


    He did good by me; the least I could do is let everyone know who he was afterwards.


    Yasaka quickly joined in as well, fully in her massive fox form, which was bigger than even Ddraig''s fake body.


    I admit, I wanted to push my face into her soft fur.


    Raikou''s signature Purple Lightningnded not far away as well, crashing down with a thunderous roar as his de swept out, decapitating dozens in a single fluid motion.


    Her movements were always so elegant and graceful; her swordsmanship was the definition of an art.


    With a flick of her sword, all oing weapons were diverted, deflected, and parried without the chance to recover, with fresh blood sprayed everywhere she passed.


    Nurarihyon, surprisingly, joined right next to her. The two of them, Youkai yer and Youkai, both fought back to back. Two swordsmen of unparalleled skill took on thousands upon thousands of enemies by themselves.


    Boss filled in a gap in Raikou''s defenses. She was overwhelmingly skilled to the point where I could only envy her in my heart, but she could be overwhelmed with enough fodder.


    Every time that threatened to happen, Nurarihyon was there, his sword appeared, skipping through their sight, their senses, their perception, and quickly giving Raikou a degree of freedom to move within this onught.


    Artoria and Mordred quickly joined as well.


    Mordred led, her new Divine Lance and Shield in each hand as she charged right in, shield blown away, defensive spells shattered, and any swords and spears blown away as she became a juggernaut.


    Artoria was much more graceful, the bright golden light of her sword revealed to the world once more.


    She didn''t hold it back as Excalibur shined brightly in this dreary weather. It was enough to momentarily cause everyone to pause to stare, but the edge bing covered in blood seemed to make them regain their senses regardless of the many questions they must have had.


    Unlike Mordred, who became a tornado wherever she went, Artoria was more like a gentle breeze.


    She wasn''t wild and untamed, but every swing of her sword was with purpose and as minimalistic as possible. She didn''t have the same ir as Raikou despite being someone in the same realm of skill, but every time she made a dedicated move, bodies were split, and blood was spilled.


    Lastly, I could see Sc¨¢thach far to the right side, a bit more distant than the others between each other.


    If needed, the others could easilye to the aid of each other if forced, but Sc¨¢thach seemed to take on an entire side far away by herself.


    If Raikou''s movements were like a dance, elegant and graceful¡ªartwork in all but name, then Sc¨¢thach''s methods of killing were the same.


    She held simr principles to Artoria; each of her movements was precise with the intention of killing with as minimal effort as needed.


    This wasn''t Sc¨¢thach lost in her battle, even if she had that wide grin filled with satisfaction as she began her ughter.


    Each of her actions was calcted and with meaning. As her spear shot through the head of one armored Fae, she retracted it with a swift jerk of her hand, the butt of her spear mming into the throat of one behind her who attempted to stab their side into her back.


    She stabbed her spear into the ground and used it to push herself up off the ground as dozens of spears and ded weapons had swung and stabbed at her spot previously.


    With a gentle twist of her body, shended forward, her spear flung up from the back, the tip of it slicing the jugr of the previous Fae, who she had smacked in the throat a moment prior as she continued to leave bodies in her wake.


    If anything, she was being much more reserved than normal, conserving her energy. The asional spell was actualized when needed, but she kept the fighting contained around her.


    I considered my own circumstances, with my attention pulled two ways at the moment, but I was more than capable of contributing as well.


    I let my devil nature take precedence through the Hogyoku; my wings sprouted behind my back, and I flew quickly towards the fighting,nding somewhere in the middle so as not to ovep with the others.


    The purpose was to stall for time, not overexert myself to exhaustion when I was busy keeping two powerful foes at bay.


    Likewise, my Power of Destruction was the best tool for this. It required little ''thought'' or proper coordination to handle.


    I simply grabbed the nearest Fae and disintegrated their head with the crackling of my Devil Bloodline.


    Activating my Semnce, my arms turnedpletely into the same destructive power, and I just started throwing it around haphazardly.


    If I werepletely surrounded by enemies, then I need not care about where I''m attacking!


    One particrly strong one barreled through itsrades, wielding a spear thrust at me in my blind spot.


    I could pick it up through my perception and dodged it quickly, but it was a very sharp and precise spear.


    Covered in the Wild Hunt''s armor, it wasn''t some cannon fodder, perhaps one of their leaders or something?


    He made no words, simply looking at me with glowing eyes.


    His spear thrust out at very quick speeds, but it was far from my level. With one hand, I pushed against the side of the spear tip; with the other, I mmed my palm against the wooden shaft, shattering the top end of the spear.


    I grabbed it before it fell to the ground and threw it back at the original owner.


    Credit where it was due, he had already dropped his spear and unsheathed a sword from his waist, deflecting the spearhead I had thrown and swiping down at me with quite a bit of strength.


    But I didn''t quite get the chance to finish him off; both he and I were still, as were the many around us, due to an overwhelming bloodlust that enveloped the area.


    Followed by it was a blonde blur that crashed down on the Fae, turning him into a puddle of blood.


    Arc came without a warning; her ws were waved, and hundreds were sliced into pieces.


    There was something primal about it, like a tickling in the back of your mind that told you there was a predator standing right in front of you.


    If even I felt like this, I could only imagine the weaker ones around me.


    I was expecting a roar of fury, a continued bloodlust to satiate her anger and rage, but when Arc turned around to look at me, instead, there were tears on her face.


    Despite being in the middle of a battle, with a literal army surrounding us, I took my Staff of Magnus out and mmed it onto the ground, creating a Bounded Field to keep everyone out and focused on Arc.


    She didn''t seem to care that her hands were covered in blood, nor the bodies around her, or really any of the other Fae that were more than willing to kill her.


    She just looked at me, almost like she wanted to cry, but it wasn''t something utterly foreign to her.


    She swung her head back and forth to answer. "Why does my heart hurt?"


    Jesus, what am I supposed to say to that?


    She wasn''t an idiot even if she were an idiot. She knew what Death was; she killed probably more than I have. Hell, she acknowledged her existence as a weapon to kill Dead Apostles.


    But throughout her entire life, she has never once had someone she liked die on her.


    She wasn''t human; she never pretended to be, and she didn''t understand humans the majority of the time.


    "I told him I would take him home. I told him about my favorite things in the human world when he said he hadn''t been home for a long time. I told him I would show him all the fun things I''ve found." She raised her palm to her face, rubbing her eyes a little. "I liked riding on his boat. I liked this big crocodile. I liked his hat."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It sounded infantile when spoken, but Arc didn''t know how to express what she was feeling properly.


    There was no hidden depth, simply¡­She liked him for various reasons, something Arc normally doesn''t express.


    She''s very detached from nearly everyone around her, bar one or two like Gramps.


    Because of this, she had never lost someone she cared about, nor ever had to consider that as a possibility.


    "...he made me the first mate."


    "What do you want to do?" I asked her.


    "I want¡­" Her ws were there, as inconspicuous as they were, ready tosh out. Violence she knew; she had shown her fury and anger in the past. She knew how to be angry, but she didn''t know how to mourn. "I want revenge."


    "You want to kill the ones responsible?"


    "Yes." She intoned. "I want to tear them apart... I... will it make this feeling go away?"


    "No." I was honest. "It might make you feel a little better, but it''s going to take a long time to grieve someone." I had Sc¨¢thach by my side, but even still, it hurts thinking about what happened.


    It would be stupid topare the situation, as I literally loved Sc¨¢thachpared to Arc simply liking him non-romantically, but it was still her first time feeling like this.


    "...Can you open a way back home for me, cousin?" She finally asked.


    "Are you going to do something stupid?"


    "Yes."


    Normally, she would deny it, from the interactions I''ve had with her thus far, but I didn''t have the heart to deny her.


    "I suppose it''s fine. Our family does stupid things regrly, especially when we''re grieving." Did I like the idea of opening a portal back home and connecting from the Fae Realm? Nope, but at this moment, I was throwing caution to the wind.


    As I said, our family is full of idiots.


    My calctions didn''t need to be precise; she wanted to connect back with the, presumably to get reinforcements or reinvigorate herself. Without her connection, her ''reserves'' were limited, even if she were still an absolute monster.


    The portal opened, and Arc stared at it expressionlessly, even as the thousands of Fae around us continuously roared and attacked the barrier I had erected.


    Something was happening to her even if I couldn''t perceive it.


    It wouldn''tst much longer, but it was enough.


    "Fine, I agree." She breathed out.


    "Arc?" I furrowed my brow, confused at what was happening.


    "I promised toe back home if I was given permission." She said with a simple smile.


    I am absolutely positive that what just transpired as she interfaced with the world was not that simple, even if that was probably an urate summarization.


    "...Permission for what?" I dared to ask.


    Arc''s hand raised up, her sharp ws still present as she pushed them into her own chest and, in one fluid motion, pulled her own heart out.


    I admit, I was takenpletely off guard as she seemingly ripped her own heart from her chest without so much as a scream.


    Truthfully, it was only an inconvenience for Arc. Her chest even began to heal quickly. At worst, she is weakened for a while and needs to sleep for a bit.


    Blood did pour from her mouth for a moment before she wiped it away, and she very clearly felt the pain from it even if she didn''t react as she should have.


    I let out a sigh because I knew what Arc was doing.


    "We really are a family of idiots, aren''t we?" I sighed again.


    "Hehe." She chuckled despite herself, holding the heart up as it slowly dissipated into motes of mana.


    Arc''s Heart, well, it wouldn''t be wrong to call it the equivalent of a Mini-Grail.


    Her blood was so astonishingly conductive of magical energy that if it didn''t have vampiric properties, it would be the most sought-after material for fields needing such.


    Hell, calling her Heart the equivalent to a Dragon''s Core in output wouldn''t be wrong.


    And she just sacrificed it without a second thought.


    There was a second meaning.


    She is the most important Terminal of the world. She who can mantle the Ultimate One of the Earth. The Last True Ancestor ¨C An Elemental of the highest creation that holds a higher ''authority'' in world ess than even the Gods of the past.


    Ignoring her power, ignoring the bullshit of her existence. Everything else aside, she is the terminal connected to Gaia and ya¡ªthe Counter Force in general, with the highest ess.


    That is to say, as a terminal of the world, the world also esses her as its ''sense.''.


    Things recorded by Arc are likewise recorded by the World.


    As thest bits of her heart faded, a bright light enveloped the area.


    There was no need for a ritual circle. No need for a Holy Grail.


    Arc''s hand lit up with Command Seals because she was supported by the world itself due to her status. And from the world, the ritual of summoning was derived, so it all came back around.


    "Our family really is bad about letting people go." I didn''t say anything to dissuade her.


    I had to shield my eyes as the bright light became too much. The umtion of magical energy could be felt for miles as the ether gathered into solid form. My shield shattered from the magical energy that pushed through, causing the spell sequence to fail.


    A few courageous Fae worked through the blinding light and the sound of metal swung through the air, some at me, some at Arc, but I didn''t need to make a move.


    Quicker than they could swing down, another de swept through the air, decapitating them with ease.


    A rapier with a golden guard.


    Arge red hat with an impressive feather swayed in the breeze. The owner of which took it off and bowed in front of Arc with grace and elegance, a hook where his left hand should be.


    And not a wrinkle or gray hair in sight on his clean-shaven face¡ªbar a well-kept mustache.


    "I have answered your summons¡ªServant Rider, Captain James Bartholomew Hook. From here to Nevend and everywhere in between, I am at your service."


    @***@


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    We got two chapters ahead of Arachne over here as well, and one chapter ahead of Cyclops which is getting its own thread/story across websites. It already has its own thread on QQ, so expect it to popup elsewhere soon.

 Chapter 576: Part 1

    Despite being surrounded by hundreds of thousands of enemies that exuded a bloodlust that indicated the desire to chop me into pieces, I couldn''t help but smile seeing Captain Hook again.


    Though there was one worry inside of me upon his summoning.


    Arc looked down at him and smiled as well.


    Captain Hook stood up properly, and without hesitation, he put his hat on Arcueid''s head, answering the question with his actions.


    It makes sense.


    Arcueid, as a terminal for the world, can record statuses for the Throne of Heroes.


    The story of Captain Hook back home is one of fairytales, which isn''t impossible to manifest a Heroic Spirit. There are plenty of stories inscribed into humanity''s collective unconscious that are given form despite being fictional. But now, a genuine and real Captain Hook was added to it, giving it a more solidified shape.


    Recorded by the highest authority among Gaia''s Terminals.


    "How may I serve you, Princess?" Captain Hook politely bowed again with a little grin.Arc looked at him silently for a moment. "Uh... I didn''t think this far ahead." She chuckled awkwardly.


    Well, I meant it before.


    Everyone in our family is an idiot.


    I called upon my Divine Lightning, coating my arms and legs, and I held my hand up into the air. I calcted the necessary parameters for therge-scale spell.


    "Lightning Rain."


    And like rain, lightning began to fall from the sky.


    Each one that hit the ground erupted into a violent explosion on impact, discharging into a crackling sphere, evaporating any unlucky enough to be within its range.


    Thousands fell.


    It wasn''t the most powerful of spells, enough that some were able to defend against it, but likewise, thousands all around us were killed.


    I just wanted some breathing room.


    I looked up at the sky, where my storm was nearly snuffed out under the firm grasp of the Winter Queen. Then, I nced back to where I was sealing the God and noticed my seal was starting to be destroyed despite me fueling it constantly.


    "Can you keep the one above busy for a little while?" I asked, looking at Hook, knowing that Arcueid wasn''t going to give him any meaningful orders.


    Captain Hook looked up at the sky with a hum, using his hook to twirl his mustache. "That shouldn''t be an issue if you simply want me to keep her attention. I have quite a few new <em>toys</em> to y with after gaining my new status." His eyes looked back down at me, twinkling with a certain amusement.


    "And I do say, a great many things make sense now." He added.


    Well, it is what it is.


    He, of course, would be summoned by Arc with proper knowledge.


    His magical energy surged.


    "From one horizon to another, we are crooks and pirates, but with elegance and honor." He held his hand up, and the moon turned an ethereal fullness as its light shined under the snowstorm. "Revenge for the taken, Jolly Roger." ??


    With a burst of light, it could be barely seen; a shadowy silhouette in front of the moon could be seen briefly as the ship shot down from the sky, piercing right through both my storm and the queen''s own malicious snowstorm that was fighting in the sky.


    His Noble Phantasm summoned, the signature of his Rider ss, I marveled as the flying shipnded onto the ground right next to us.


    It was faster than my own ship.


    "Come along, First Mate." The ramp to the ship fell down without prompt as he walked up it. "It''s time to set sail!"


    Arc looked at me onest time; I could see the pure happiness in her eyes. It didn''t matter that she weakened herself so severely for this period of time, literally ripping her heart out.


    She was just happy to have someone back that she unconsciously considered a friend.


    I don''t know if it''s a good or bad thing that Arc is showing such human emotions; only time will tell.


    She quickly ran up the ramp to join him on the deck.


    The ship lifted up off the ground and pointed at the sky, shooting up without any unscary warning, only a simple nod from the captain.


    I only heard the sound of hisughter once the ship disappeared high up into the clouds and conflicting storms.


    That and the mirage of colors and explosive ringing that came from magical cannon fire from a Noble Phantasm.


    The Winter Queen wasn''t literally above the clouds, but she exerted a ''presence'' that was something connected to her and could be attacked.


    My wings sprouted behind my back, and I took to the air, leaving the midst of the enemies'' forces as they regrouped.


    I had my own matter to attend to.


    My mountain sealing incantation was an excellent spell, one that I was very proud of. However, it was by no means absolute. Kronos escaped it with a bit of time on his side, and likewise this God was going to burst out with a bit more effort.


    Merely the fact that I could even temporarily seal a god just spoke volumes of the spell''s power.


    The God was still going to be a problem.


    The thing was, it was weaker than Kronos. I didn''t doubt it was on the same level as Kronos if he was at his best; a god like Balor <em>was</em> a leader of a pantheon in the same breath as the Titan King.


    And like how Zeus and his brothers overthrew Kronos, the Tuatha D¨¦ Danann waged war against the Fomorians with Balor as the Fomorian King, with Lugh ying Balor, his grandfather.


    Whatever means was used to bring him back, I could honestly say it wasn''t plete'' in a true sense.


    He was <em>off</em>, decrepit, and his body was obviously ''fake.''.


    That in and of itself weakened him substantially.


    However, the problem, as mentioned, was the fact that it just attacked indiscriminately without giving an opening.


    Inded at the site of my sealing and took out my Staff of Magnus.


    The spell circles for my Shield of Asgard were prepared, but I needed more. I recalled what Kronos did to seal the space around us, and I was going to somewhat mimic that.


    I simultaneously began to cast my Bindings of Gaia.


    The roots that sprang up weren''t used as bindings but rather to create a boundary and reinforce theyering of the shield spell.


    The roots themselves twisted and turned, forming a physical application of spell circles at four locations. At each of the four directions¡ªspecifically used, fourrge trees grew.


    They weren''t the utilization of Yggdrasil, but rather a threshold manifested, powered by the sapling of the World Tree that hid within my soul.


    "The Five Directions." I chanted, throwing out five talismans to separate this immediate area and amplify the spell. "Metal enriches water. Water nurtures wood. Wood feeds fire. Fire dries Earth. Earth refines metal."


    "Five Elements Mutual Generation."


    Arge pentagram shimmered underneath, oveying with my already established spell.


    Lastly, I picked up my staff and mmed it into the ground.


    "Shield of Asgard!"


    The Golden Shield was raised over everything, the Five Elements bolstered the spell further, andstly, the already bolstered Roots began to push up out of the ground and wrap around the shield itself, intertwining everything andpletely sealing off the area around us.


    It was just in time, because only a minute or soter, my Mountain Sealing Incantation began to shudder.


    I could have sustained it longer, but the drain was starting to be something of a burden.


    Therefore, I let it be destroyed.


    The Evil God''srge hand burst through the top of it; parts of my spell broke and shattered, turning into motes of magical energy as the structure of the spell was destroyed.


    The Evil God climbed out of the pit it had been sealed into, pulling free, and immediately, all its eyes opened, and the condensed streams of withering sprayed out unabated.


    I merely Shunpo''d to the side to avoid a few of them myself as they wildlyshed out at the surroundings.


    However, my spell held.


    Undoubtedly, the withering of time wreaked havoc on my spell, but simultaneously, it was derived from the life force of the earth beneath us. Emboldened by my own nascent World Tree, it could weather the passing of the years while being sustained by me.


    It only took a few moments for the Evil God to realize the situation he was in.


    All its eyes looked around, ceasing its onught, then they turned to the only other living thing inside¡ªme.


    I crossed my arms as I met its many gazes.


    "I don''t have to protect anyone this time." I said lightly, dropping my arms as my lightning condensed back over my limbs.


    That was where its annoyance came from. In its weakened state¡ªperhaps it''s even more weakened after utilizing so much to break free¡ªI had to submit to the role of a defender unconditionally, lest thousands of people die.


    Now, I had no one I had to protect; I was free to act without worry.


    And as it stood, this Evil God was a far cry from even the strength of Kronos that I defeated before.


    Honestly, I didn''t know how much of its intelligence was present. It spoke a few times, took a few actions, but that could have been more an unconscious effort¡ªa hazed state that it still hadn''t woken up from.


    Regardless, as all its eyes stared at me, I raised my hand high.


    Thousands of runic circles came into existence behind me, a proverbial wall of interlinked spell sequences.


    And with a drop of my hand, they all released unceasing bolts of lightning.


    All the gods'' eyes closed as the lightning mostly sshed harmlessly against him.


    Oh, it wasn''t meant to be some big turnabout.


    Frankly, I was just pissed at how it pinned me down earlier.


    Have a taste of it.


    Because the moment it opened one of its eyes, it would get a little lightning needle right into it.


    Be it god or man, no one wants to get poked in the eye.


    Of course it wouldn''t just stand there and let itself be ''poked.'' Itsrge limbs moved up to block everything from truly causing any harm.


    Between the gaps of its arms, its main eye opened, the strongest and source of its authority, and the powerful withering was released right at me.


    "Greater Ward. Aegis of Talos. Bakud¨­ # 44: Sekisho. Bakud¨­ # 39, Enkosen." I cast without moving, both spells I learned from Skyrim and Kid¨­ I learned from my time in Soul Society.


    The Evil God''s Authority mmed into the oveid shields.


    My hair whipped back as the first Greater Ward held for a moment before shattering. The Aegis of Talos was a bit stronger; it took a breath before it also shattered. Next my Enkosen held a bit longer but finally crumbled. Last, my Sekisho stood as thest wisps of its attack faded, the shield barely standing just as the Evil God closed his eye.


    It was calcted properly.


    It opened its eye again, but the Authority didn''t release; simply, it looked at me, and I still didn''t move one inch.


    Well, was it my turn then?


    The constant barrage of my lightning must have been annoying it, but I held my hand back and shattered my own runic circles, reforming them, converging them into a single point, a multiyered spell sequence to handle facilitating my divine lightning into shape.


    "Lightning Javelin." I cast, once more, another spell I picked up in Skyrim that was taken to a level never seen before.


    It wasn''t merely a bolt of lightning like many other spells; it held physical substance to it.


    And I then had a rather intriguing idea.


    "Crafting for the Gods ¨C Nidavellir" The ethereal form of a dwarf cksmith manifested behind me, its hammer swung down on my Lightning Javelin, giving it further shape and form.


    Feeling it in my hand, I threw it as hard as I could.


    With a thunderous boom, it covered the distance in a blink of an eye and mmed into the Evil God''s shoulder, sending him nearly stumbling backwards with a strange sound of surprise mixed with presumedly pain.


    A hole was seared into its flesh.


    Well, wasn''t that something?


    Is this how Zeus feels?


    A couple more Lightning Javelins were created, and once more, the dwarf swung his hammer down.


    Unsurprisingly, the Evil God wasn''t just going to stand there and let me throw them at him freely.


    All of its eyes opened once I stopped bombarding it with lightning, and its big arm swung down, smashing the earth and sending debris and dust everywhere. Though, through all of that, the same withering power was released.


    I used a burst of Shunpo to start dodging, easily avoiding several and nearly getting caught by a few more. Hundreds of eyes tracking you was not something particrly easy to avoid forever.


    But still, it didn''t seem to anticipate the speed I could put forth, and itsrge body was now a nuisance to it as opposed to how well it was utilized in our first encounter.


    I had to deflect a beam with the Lightning Javelin in my hand, but I avoided several more and shed at one of the eyes on its leg before turning into a streak of lightning and appearing on its other side, slicing into another two eyes and jumping up its body.


    Itsrge hand swung rather quickly at me like a person trying to swat at a fly buzzing around it.


    I''ve been hit by it before, and it was by no means a pleasant experience.


    I quickly stabbed one of the Javelins into the side of its thigh, eliciting another groan followed by a furious growl.


    Activating my Semnce, I turned into Lightning, letting hisrge hand swipe right through me, and continued my ascent up itsrge body, hopping around to avoid the withering authority of his that seemed impossibly unrelenting.


    I got to his shoulder and jumped once more, pulling my hand back with thest of my javelins and throwing it at its primary Mystic Eye.


    Balor''srge head turned right at me, and I could feel the Divine Might gathered in its Mystic Eye, and the world shook as a more powerful burst of Time shot out, evaporating my Javelinpletely before it could connect.


    I too was in the path, but I tilted my body up. "Fus!" And I used the force to push myself away in haste, avoiding the release of his authority that instead collided with the shield of mine around the area, causing it to visibly vibrate.


    Inded gracefully far back onto the ground, only to have to dodge as its foot stomped down, cratering the earth I had just been standing at, followed by his head looking down and anotherrge burst of his Authority fired out.


    The earth in the immediate path turned to sand and drifted away into dust.


    It was abundantly clear at this point that this God was severely limited in what it could do, only able to utilize a simple application of his Time Authority through the usage of many eyes with his Mystic Eye as the core.


    Compared to Kronos... well, there wasn''t a realparison.


    I held my hand out, and Mirage fell into my grasp.


    The familiar spell circles swirled around it as I gathered the required amount of magical energy and converted it into ether through the numerous spell sequences that worked in unison to actualize the spell.


    "Ether Cannon!"


    The burst of Ether¡ªa concept that Gods seemed somewhat susceptible to¡ªcollided with the God''s stitched and conjoined flesh, blowing right through the barely held-together tissue and muscle.


    The Evil God fell down haphazardly onto its now stump leg.


    I took the opportunity to swing up and sh through a handful more of its eyes that it utilized its Authority through.


    With a burst of Shunpo, I slid to a stop far in front of him and swung my sword properly at its haggard and prone silhouette.


    "Ten Thousand Birds!"


    Each one of theunched des of magical energy shot through the air, slicing into his flesh.


    With each new wound, it became more and more obvious yet that its body was not up to the standards of a ''true'' god, reinforcing my previous conceptions regarding its decrepit body.


    Oh, it certainly had Divinity in it, but this body was not a proper one.


    Many more of its eyes were shed through, destroying thempletely.


    It had less than half its remaining eyes that all opened, releasing many more frantic waves of withering time at me in what seemed like a panic.


    Running forward, I slid under quite a few more, running my hand along the ground, leaving several Magic Circles as I maneuvered under its legs.


    Pirs of Earth shot up, one under its chin, one into its other leg, and one right between its legs!


    It destroyed the one aiming for its chin with a wave of its hand, likewise with the one that attempted to destabilize his footing again, but the one between his legsnded.


    And while there was a visible reaction, it was less than one would expect.


    The Evil God bellowed out a series of unintelligible sounds, and it swept its body around awkwardly, its main eye looking downward as everything in the area turned to dust.


    I made sure to avoid it as best as I could with my greatest speed because getting hit by that would pin me down and even cause me harm.


    I called for my other swords; they shed through the air, impaling themselves into hisst good leg for a makeshift footing that I used to climb up his body again.


    Granted, I could fly, but it wasn''t nearly as fast as my running speed using Shunpo, something I''ll have to fix in the future.


    The Hogyoku shifted everything I had into Demonic Power again, and I called forth my Sword of Destruction. Gathering my Power of Destruction, I swung it at its right arm.


    A de of condensed Destructionunched off, severing the god''s arm with ease.


    Though, I looked up and noticed a shadow looming overhead.


    Its open palm swung down on me, smacking me hard into the ground below.


    And just as quickly, a monochromatic light invaded the world as it pressed down on me as well.


    I barely pushed up off my feet without a moment to contemte the surge of pain I felt from the p, calling upon my bloodline and using the technique that Venna taught me a while ago, pressing it together, condensing it into shape before holding it upwards.


    "Extinction Star!"


    The condensed andpressed Power of Destruction between my hands bloomed like a star, consuming everything in front of it.


    Could the Power of Destruction even destroy <em>time</em>?


    The two powers collided with a myriad array of lights¡ªa monochromatic gray split the world with a dark and foreboding ck.


    I pressed my hand to the ground; my Bindings of Gaia was still active in the area from the casting of the Shielded space around us.


    With a quick alteration to the original spell, arge root sprang up from the ground, wrapping around the remaining arm of the Evil God and pulling him down.


    The God''s head was flung around, its eye no longer pointing at me as its Authority rampaged, shooting every which way as he tumbled to the ground, only able to stop himself after a moment.


    Taking advantage of the momentarypse, I jumped up off the ground amidst the colorful wisps of power that still crackled and danced. My Destruction colliding with his Authority caused a strange flow of time to erupt in this ce.


    With Sword of Destruction in hand, I gathered my Power of Destruction and swung at its neck, severing it from itsrge body!


    Its head went flying through the air, but to my shock, it was caught by its own arm, ripped free from the root.


    Using its own severed head, its eye opened and pointed at me.


    I called upon the power of the Kaleidoscope as I felt that whatever remained of the God''s power was about to be utilized in onest attack.


    The world once more became divided as a God''s Authority over Time collided with the purest expression of Space.


    Momentarily bing blinded, I felt myself hit back into the ground, but I pushed myself up quickly only to notice the abrupt issue.


    ...Why was I in the Dimensional Gap?


    I had been here before; I recognized the ce.


    Was time and space disrupted that much that I got sent to another space from the collision?


    No... I would have felt that, sure, the two forces caused a distortion in both time and space at the epicenter, but that was... excepted, forck of a better word. Frankly, they should have just been cancelled out with some lingering remnants that needed time to heal.


    I looked up at the not-sky, feeling the same way I had when I first got here.


    With growing confusion, I turned around all around me, seeing nothing, only to return to the spot I had been looking before, and now there was a building there.


    ...why was there a biker bar sitting in the middle of the Dimensional Gap?


    I raised my leg up to take a step forward and decided to do an about-face and walk the other way, but I hit an invisible wall that I couldn''t sense previously.


    I felt myself twitch slightly as it was fairly obvious <em>someone</em> wanted me to go inside.


    One might be resigned to do so, but I never liked following the whims of others.


    I called upon the Kaleidoscope again.


    ...nothing happened.


    In fact, I couldn''t use magic, I couldn''t use my spiritual power, and I couldn''t use my demonic bloodline.


    I was...basically human in this moment.


    "Well... fuck." I blurted out because someone had me by the short and curlies. "God dammit." I resigned myself to walk inside.


    As one would expect, it was basically a clich¨¦ biker bar.


    Down to the smell, the bad music, and the cigarette smoke hanging overhead.


    No one was even smoking!


    Actually, there was only one other person inside.


    Wild red hair that fell down to his waist, dressed like... well, a biker.


    I took one look at him and decided to turn around and leave, but the door was gone.


    Right.


    Instead, I found a seat far away from him in the corner and went to sit down.


    The person at the bar never spared me a nce, but the drink he had in his hand hit the bar top. "You really are just a cocky little shit, aren''t you?"


    "¡­is that apliment?" I responded.


    He turned his head to face me, and his gaze made me feel a genuine primordial fear.


    He pointed his finger at the barstool next to him, and the next moment I realized I was sitting in it.


    "You know, my first instinct when I discovered you was to squash you like the little bug you were." He grabbed his beer off the counter and took a drink. "I''m starting to think I should have."


    I may have gulped.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "It wouldn''t have been the first time." He red at me. "Do you think you''re special? Do you think you''re the first <em>outsider</em> toe to this world? Do you have any idea how many I''ve killed?"


    I felt my eyes widen.


    "Do you know who I am now?" He asked.


    "...I sure hope I don''t."


    He snorted, less annoyed, perhaps with a mild amount of amusement. "The Night should have already told you."


    "Great Red." I named him.


    "Oh gee, maybe your constant boasting about how much of a genius you are isn''t just empty, huh?" He said rather sarcastically. "Well, now even if I wanted to squash you, I couldn''t. <em>Somehow</em>, you got the backing of something that even frightens me." He sounded annoyed again.


    Ah, Meridia, how much I love you.


    "Though, I might be able to do it and cut off any connection to <em>that ce</em> before something happens." He looked thoughtful. "What do you think? I wonder if I could kill you and m all doors shut quickly enough. Should we take that gamble?" A row of sharp teeth was revealed in his mouth.


    "I very much like living, thank you."


    "Right, and you need to take that <em>cousin</em> of yours home too. Just <em>another</em> annoyance you decided to drop here, right? She wouldn''t be easy to deal with even after the stunt she pulled."


    "So you were watching¡­."


    "I''m always watching." He red. "I''ve always been watching; I''ve watched everything you''ve done since you made yourself known. Do you know what my job is?"


    "I''ve been told that you protect the world from... outsiders."


    He nodded as if he expected me to answer that way. "That''s what she said, but that''s a rather abridged version. But yeah, I kill any bastards that set their eyes on our little spinning blue ball." He waved his hand flippantly.


    I had a realization as I contemted my presence here. "We''re in a dream."


    "Obviously, <em>I am the Dragon of Dream</em>s, dipshit."


    I didn''t even notice¡­.


    "I didn''t even notice." He said in a mocking voice. "I can read it on your face. Arrogant little shit, do you <em>think</em> you should be able to notice? Do I need to repeat the title again?"


    "Did I do something to anger you?" Because I was getting mixed signals, and the equal to Ophis ring at me was not something I wanted.


    "Surprisingly... no." He said with a strange look. "At least intentionally; otherwise, I would have pped you thest time we met. Yes, I did notice you flying through the Dimensional Gap, and yes, I could have easily dealt with you in the blink of an eye then."


    Well, good to know, I suppose.


    "Actually, I probably would have if you weren''t with that old man." He smiled lightly, taking a drink. "That Old Human was a badass; I had a good appreciation of him."


    "If you wanted to talk to me for some reason, why now? And why drag me into a dream like this?"


    "I''m doing you a favor." He took another drink. "Your little spat with that amalgamation of god and devil bent space and time enough that I could easily do a little magic. Unless you''re fine with standing there like an idiot as I pulled your consciousness into a dream while everything happens around you."


    "Thank you?" I mean, I guess I should be happy he didn''t make it bad for me? "But couldn''t you have done that without us shing?" I mean, he was one of the two strongest beings in this world.


    "Of course I could have." He scoffed. "But why should I waste so much effort on you?"


    "¡­fair." I acknowledged. "And what did you mean by amalgamation of god and devil?"


    "If you tell me you didn''t notice the anomalies with its body, I''m going to smack you." He said bluntly. "And no, I''m not going to give you an exnation; I''m not your cheat sheet. If you want answers, go figure it the fuck out for yourself."


    Well, there goes that idea.


    At least he''s more amicable than antagonistic.


    "Vivian mentioned you." I finally put the pieces together. "Is that how they refer to you, the First Dream?"


    He nced my way for another moment. "Alright, maybe you really aren''t a total moron. But that was like putting two and two together."


    "You talk to Vivian?" I ignored his insult.


    "Talk?" He snorted. "I say things sometimes to people, and they listen. Do you think I carry on conversations with every ant that walks across my path?"


    "Well, you''re talking to me." I pointed out.


    "Are you calling yourself an ant?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "Well, it''s all rtive, isn''t it?" I responded.


    He hummed at my answer. "You are one of the few exceptions that I care to acknowledge. As you''ve heard a bunch of times already, you''re an <em>infuriating</em> existence. By returning back to your ''home''¡ªand'' yes, I <em>know about that;</em> you created a causality loop that''s nearly untouchable due to how absurdly twisted it is."


    "The fact that I met my previous self, who had yet to devise the proper way to reincarnate himself into what I am now, which will happen in the future." It sounded honestly idiotic to even say it out loud.


    "There''s more to it, but that''s the gist of it. It wouldn''t have been the first time I''d reached backwards or forwards in time to snuff out something annoying, but I <em>couldn''t</em> in your case, to your benefit."


    Well, good to know I lived due to dumb luck at some point.


    "You don''t have to be on guard; you''re already intrinsically linked to this world just as any naturally born native is." He finally said. "You''re not considered an outsider by any other forces that know of your existence."


    I suppose I should be happy?


    "Can I ask, why are you called the First Dream by Vivian?" I was genuinely curious.


    "Because it''s <em>literal</em>." He answered. "I came into existence with the first dream."


    "It must have been one hell of a dream for them¡­." I had a thought. "Wait, <em>who</em> dreamed then if you came about before humanity or any real sapient beings? Nyx said you were nearly as old as she was."


    He grumbled something about the Night having loose lips. "Let me paint you a picture. Imagine you were just born, and you look out and see a dumb fucking dragon staring back at you, one that could eat you in a single gulp. What would your reaction be?"


    ...oh.


    <em>Oh</em>.


    Holy shit.


    "You''re the first dream of the world''s unconscious will?"


    "Not in the same way you''re thinking." He waved it off.


    "And you''re talking about Ophis. She existed before the world¡­."


    "As I said, a dumb fucking dragon staring at a newborn. Obviously, it would panic¡ªand, well, <em>nightmares</em> are also dreams. So poof, my magnificent self came into existence as a counter to the idiot who sits in the void."


    And I know for a fact it was far from this rudimentary and blunt.


    "Thanks for answering my question." There was no need to be impolite; he didn''t have to answer.


    He just grunted, not opting to acknowledge it with words.


    "Why did you call me here? I''m sure it wasn''t just to berate me; you could do that at any time." I finally asked.


    "Of course, do you think I wanted to lower myself to have a talk with you?" He rolled his eyes. "Despite what you may think, I''m very busy, and you''re not <em>that</em> important."


    "¡­don''t you make motorcycle noises while doing flips in the Dimensional Gap?"


    "You can''t fathom how dull and monotone my job normally is." He said with full seriousness.


    Well, that answers a great deal of questions I had about why he just fucks around in the Dimensional Gap.


    "Is that why you bullied Ophis into leaving the Dimensional Gap as well?"


    "Nah, I just like fucking with that idiot. It''s literally part of my nature." He said rather casually. "At least I don''t have to deal with that idiot now that you kicked her to <em>that ce</em>." Thest bit was apanied by a re.


    He seemed to not even want to acknowledge Meridia''s existence if he didn''t have to.


    Well, okay then.


    "Alright, I''ll be blunt because I''m getting tired of your annoying face. The bitch you call the Winter Queen, she can''t die."


    "...excuse me?" All my previous thoughts came to a screeching halt.


    "She. Can''t. Die." He said it slowly as if I were an idiot.


    "Yeah, I got that. But <em>why?</em>


    "Well, technically, she can. But I''m telling you not to." He corrected. "It''ll cause a bunch of problems, and I''m <em>loosely</em> connected to that Faerie Realm, so I''d have to fix them. Anyways, I''m telling you not to kill her."


    "After everything, you''re telling me we just have to... stop." I looked at him. "Maybe I should get Meridia''s opinion."


    The air around me turned cold.


    "Don''t threaten me." He said sternly. "I said don''t kill her; I didn''t say not to ''win'' that little squabble of yours. Mutte her, chain her to your bed, and turn her into a breeding pig. I literally couldn''t be forced to care as long as she''s still alive. Punish her however you want otherwise."


    That was significantly less annoying than I originally assumed.


    "She has a purpose?"


    He let out a tired sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Right, her title as ''Winter Queen'' is not just a title, ya hear? You''ve already loosely theorized the way the world works. If you consider the world a brain, the ''human world'' would be like the mind when it''s awake, and the Faerie Lands are basically the equivalent of the ''dreaming mind.'' He spoke in very simplistic terms. "What do you think will happen if the brain''s <em>concept of winter</em> is killed?"


    "Oh," I said in realization.


    That could have been¡­a significant mistake if we actually killed her.


    "Yes, <em>oh</em>." He repeated with a sarcastic undertone again. "So, if she dies, <em>we''re going to have a problem</em> because I have to then clean up the mess." He repeated. "And you do not want me to have a problem with you, ya hear?"


    "I understand." I nodded, knowing that he could literally smack me into nonexistence if I said something he didn''t like. Though I had one thought after being told. "Why did you call me here like this? Couldn''t you have simply told me another way without all the ''effort''?"


    He didn''t look directly at me, and he looked off as if staring at something else, and I saw him genuinely smile for the first time. "I liked the new dreams I got."


    His tone wasn''t belittling this time, nor sarcastic nor scolding.


    I didn''t have a chance to reply to him before I realized I was gone from that dream.


    I felt everything return to me as I opened my eyes, unconsciously standing back up on the ground with my Sword of Destruction back in my hand.


    Balor was still there, and without wasting any more time, I shot up and used my Power of Destruction to sever its remaining arm, its severed head falling to the ground proper now.


    My meeting with Great Red was weighing on me; I wanted a few moments to think it over and such, but I wasn''t going to sit here and let the Evil God simply live because of that.


    However, right as I was about to sever its eye, my barrier around us shattered, and it was not by my doing.


    Someone forced their way inside.


    I turned to look at the neer.


    A man, somewhat tall. He wore all ck with mixed ck and blonde hair. And his eyes were mismatched, one ck, one gold.


    Clearly not human; in fact, I could tell immediately.


    He was a dragon.


    I wish I had Ddraig with me at the moment.


    "Holy shit, did you intentionally make that body to be as edgy as possible, or was it just idental?" I couldn''t help myself.


    The cocky grin he had sort of fizzled for a moment. "Not the greeting I expected. But I suppose that''s what makes you so interesting."


    "Alright, who are you?"


    "I''m Crom¡ª"


    "Wait." I put my hand up, stopping him. "I don''t care."


    Between everything that''s been going on, Arc being here, losing a bunch of people, and then getting pulled into a meeting with someone who could breathe in my direction and kill me, I am so far out of patience.


    There was a beat of silence as he frowned.


    "I''m Crom Cruach." He said fully.


    There were many ways to handle this. I knew from Ddraig that he was a very powerful dragon; I could <em>feel</em> his power even when he was suppressing it. It was an opponent thatpletely eclipsed the Evil God I just took apart¡ªas reduced as it was.


    So, I responded in the most optimal way.


    I threw a brick at him.


    (Line Break)


    Non-Canon Omake: The Little Spider: Part 6


    "And this is the kitchen I guess?" Percy showed Arachne around the cabin despite it being new to him as well.


    His mom just looked at them with mild amusement as he led her around.


    "It has a stove, I would assume so." Arachne nodded.


    "Not much of a kitchen."


    "Better than cooking over an open fire."


    "I guess." He shrugged. "And there''s a bunch of random stuff all over the ce."


    Arachne reached over to a desk and picked up an antique looking spyss, holding it up to her eye to see. "It''s magic, it can see through about twenty feet of water." She looked out the window and down into theke, watching the fish.


    "Wait, really? Can I see?" Percy''s eyes lit up.


    She happily handed it to him and he swept it all out the window towards theke not far away.


    "Holy crap, mome try this out." He excitedly called her over. "It''s like the water isn''t even there."


    "Alright, alright." She humored him, taking it from him as she looked through it. "That''s really cool, Percy." She smiled.


    Percy looked around and his eyesnded back on Arachne. "How''d you know it was magic?"


    "A am a Magus, it''s easy to notice." Arachne said proudly, then pointed towards a weather sextant. "That one help ya with directions even if you don''t know where you''re going." She then pointed towards a globe in a box. "That one always marks its location on its map for ya."


    Percy''s eyes lit up even more. "That''s so cool." He whispered.


    For Arachne, these Mystic Codes were rather simplistic and easy to analyze at a nce.


    "You said that anyone can learn magic, right?" Percy asked, recalling the argument she had with her half-sister. "Is it possible for me to learn?"


    "Of course. It''s much easier for a Demi-god to learn than a normal human."


    "Regr humans can learn magic?!"


    "Yup, but it''s moreplicated. Lots of calctions." She waived her hand. "A don''t like it too much. I know a few things, but I just use what mah mom and da taught me."


    "¡­.would it be possible for you to teach me some things?" He hesitantly asked.


    Arachne gave him a scrutinizing look. Normally, she wasn''t one for just willfully teaching people things.


    Her mom once told her that bing a teacher was a responsibility that one had to take seriously, and Arachne wasn''t quite sure she knew how to be a teacher.


    But she also wanted to thank him for being so amodating. She had no desire to sleep in the <em>Athena</em> cabin after meeting her Half-sister. She may be blunt and honest with her opinions, but she wasn''t oblivious to the awkwardness that developed.


    Secondly, the Hermes cabin was packed, and she liked her space.


    "Okay, I''ll teach you some things." She agreed. "Just don''t call me teacher." She settled on a half measure. If it were simply a friendly exchange, then it wouldn''t count as being his teacher proper. "Since you''re a child of Poseidon, I can think of some stuff ta teach ya."


    Percy let out a woop in excitement, but it onlysted a minute.


    "Are you gonna be okay?" He looked at her in concern. "Mom gave me this whole speech that she apparently heard from my dad about how Gods have to be respected, h h." He especially was talking about how she made a jab at her mom while they were apparently being ''watched''.


    Percy didn''t know anything about that, he just assumed some godly magical mystic stuff he didn''t understand. And he didn''t feel like she would randomly make up something weird like that, so he was a little bit worried.


    Arachne let out a scoff. "It''s about circumstances. If it''s an official gathering ya know, ya should show proper etiquette, my parents taught me that." It was actually her dad that taught her that. When to read the mood and what-not. "But if they get uppity ''cause of somethin stupid, then they ain''t worth treating with respect."


    She had met many gods in her life so far, and she realized an important fact early on. The gods that treat themselves too seriously usually are the least worth respecting.


    "So, this isn''t new to you?" He looked at her, though he assumed and how she talked about magic, but that didn''t immediately mean god stuff.


    "Nah, I''ve met plenty of gods before. Got plenty of them in my family too." She shrugged.


    "Oh, that''s neat." Percy nodded along. "I just found out myself. Thought there was just something wrong with me most my life, turns out it''s because I got god juice in me."


    "Percy!" His mom interrupted with an exmation. "There was nothing wrong with you."


    "Mom, I got expelled from a bunch of schools for some unexinable things. What was I supposed to think?" He looked at her with a deadpan.


    "¡­.you got expelled too?" She looked at him. "What''d you do?"


    "Somehow fired a fake cannon at a school bus." He said evenly.


    "Ah, that''s impressive. How''d you do it?"


    "¡­." Percy blinked. "<em>How did I do it</em>? They said it was sealed and it wasn''t even loaded."


    "Percy, you already had the Mists exined to you." His mom responded carefully.


    "Oh right. Magical stuff that made me see things I didn''t see. Because that makes more sense than think I''m crazy." He snorted. "Wait, you said you were expelled too?"


    Arachne blushed slightly and looked away. "...I stabbed my teacher with my spear."


    "Oh." Percy blinked. "I mean¡­yeah, that''s pretty bad."


    "They were a vampire."


    "Oh!" His eyes widened. "That sucks, I guess everyone didn''t know that and ¨C "


    "No, it was a magic school, they specifically hired him knowing he was a vampire."


    "¡­.so evil school?"


    "No." Arachne said bluntly. "He was just an average worker who happened to be a vampire through some unfortunate events. Vampires have a time getting employment in many ces. Even other magical races discriminate against them, it''s actually very sad."


    "And you stabbed him?"


    "¡­.in my defense, I didn''t know he was properly hired." She flushed in embarrassment.


    There was an awkward silence that followed.


    There was a firm knock on the cabin door. Percy looked at me and to his mom, then realized that he should properly answer it considering that it''s ''his'' cabin.


    Arachne just walked over to Mr. Blueberry who was happily sleeping on one of the beds. It was a little funny for her to see him somehow fit his big body onto itfortably. But She just stroked his head between his horns where she knew he liked it while he slept peacefully.


    "Uh, Arachne, someone''s here for you?" Percy called to her.


    It was just far enough away that she couldn''t see out the door, so she got up as Percy seemingly gave a very wide berth.


    As Arachne got close, she noticed who was standing there.


    She didn''t need the depth of vision that her da had, to know who it was. The grey eyes shined, and the thinly veiled divinity was clear to someone as young as her.


    Arachne stood there, facing the Goddess who was her <em>mother</em>.


    "We finally meet after all this time." The Goddess was the first to speak. "I think this is the first time I''ve personallye to greet one of my children at camp. You must have been waiting a long time for this moment, and ¨C"


    "Who are you?" Arachne said bluntly.


    Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, abruptly went silent.


    She was the Goddess of Wisdom; she doesn''t make a visual fool of herself. Despite nearly stumbling with her words at the abrupt ''disrespect'' that she was highly unused to, she kept herselfposed.


    She forced a smile.


    Athena knew better than most when being aggressive and when taking a step back is a wise choice. She was dealing with a child, she knew how to handle children very well. She would let her daughter feel like she ''won'' before moving forward when her own ns.


    "I''m your mother."


    It was a simple and direct answer without much room to throw a verbal tantrum what-have-you.


    Of course, she knew her children were all witty and she expected a bit of a verbal sparring, even if it came in the form of underhanded insults. Athena was not like the other Olympian Gods, and while she demanded respect all the same, she genuinely appreciated an intelligent way to insult someone rather than just being a bore.


    So, she waited for her daughter''s response, preparing an assort of retorts to every scenario she envisioned.


    Would she insult theck of Athena in her life?


    Would she im some kind of debt owed for the absence of a parent?


    So many ways this could go, especially after the <em>incident</em> that urred not long ago where everyone watched.


    Or would she ¨C


    "I don''t know you." Arachne abruptly mmed the door in her face and walked back into the cabin.


    She saw Percy hunching over a book with his mother.


    "What''s that?" She asked curiously.


    Percy looked up. "Oh, did you deal with your¡­.thing?"


    "Yup." She said bluntly. "What''s that?" She pointed at the book.


    "Oh, just a random book about sailing, I just wanted to see if knowing I''m a Demigod now makes it so I''m not stupid anymore. But it turns out, I''m still stupid."


    "Percy, you''re not stupid. It''s called Dyslexia and you know that." His mother chided.


    "Shouldn''t being part god make it so I''m like, super smart and stuff? Not have trouble reading at a fourth-grade level?" Percy grumbled.


    "It''s cause gods don''t speak or read humannguages. You hear them, you think they''re speaking in English, but it''s just projected that way." Arachne replied to him, rummaging through some of the junk in the cabin until she found a pair of sses. "It messes up your brain cause a god isn''t physical, they''re metaphysical. Their concepts align with the Greek Cosmology, so your brain is partly <em>Greek</em> in makeup on a conceptual level, so everything you read wants to be Greek in yer mind making it hard to read properly."


    She remembered her parents talking to her about this a long time ago. She has had some issues, less than a ''regr'' Demigod due to her Devil Heritage, but they had to fix a few things.


    "I understood some of those words." Percy said after a moment.


    "Gods don''t mix well with humans." Arachne shrugged, tracing very small runes along the outer edge of the ss portion of the sses. "Put these one." She tossed them to him as she finished.


    Percy blinked. "I''m stupid, not blind."


    "Percy." His mom said sternly.


    Percy rolled his eyes.


    "It should help the words be clearer for you on paper." She spoke.


    Percy blinked again, and decided to put them on and looked down at the book. There was several moments of silence as he seemingly kept reading. "¡­I can read fine."


    The boy looked up at Arachne with an indiscernible expression.


    Arachne just smiled.


    It was a simple gesture for her, but for him, it was something he''d always struggled with and had low self-esteem with.


    "I also made them very durable."


    "How durable?" Percy asked.


    "Should be fine getting run over by a car." She estimated.


    Percy choked somewhat, but there was a small redness in his eyes and his mom quickly hugged him, mouthing a big <em>thank you</em> to Arachne.


    Again, Arachne smiled.


    It made her feel good, being a hero to someone.


    She understood why Uncle Achilles was always so prideful about being a hero.


    There was another loud and assertive knock on the cabin''s door.


    Percy was still being hugged tightly by his mom, so Arachne got up and went to check this time. She expected a certain <em>someone</em> but to her surprise, it wasn''t the Goddess.


    Truthfully, she expected the Goddess to throw a fit, but it never came.


    Regardless, she was looking at three other people about her age.


    A girl, with arge stature and noticeable muscles due to her torn off sleeves at the front with a couple of boys behind her.


    "You the shrimp with the fish that everyone''s talking about?" The girl in front called out to Arachne.


    "No." Arachne replied.


    "I can see it from here." She peered around Arachne to see Mr. Blueberry sleeping soundly on the bed.


    Arachne turned out, looking at Mr. Blueberry then back at the strange girl and mmed the door in her face.


    Before she could take a second step away, there was arge <em>thump</em> at the door behind her. She could just barely make out a fist indentation on the door from her side.


    Arachne frowned.


    She knew that Percy didn''t understand the significance when he allowed her to stay, but this ce was utterly enveloped in a certain Divine Aura.


    It was no different than being in a god''s temple, for which she was a guest. And now someone was causing amotion to the proverbial temple where she was staying.


    She marched back over, threw the door open, and before the girl could utter a word, Arachne threw out a punch, knocking the girl off her feet,nding on her butt.


    The two boys next to her looked on with eyes wide, not expecting sudden violence.


    The girl, to her credit, was barely dazed, merely surprised. "You got some balls!" She nearly snarled, pushing back up to her feet.


    "Then I guess that mean we both got a pair!" Arachne snorted, insulting the girl''s looks, insinuating that she looked like a man.


    The girl looked ready to rage and start throwing punches, which suited Arachne just fine.


    "Hand over the fish, or you''re in for a beating." She rubbed her nose where she had been punched.


    "His name is Mr. Blueberry, and no." Arachne crossed her arms.


    "That''s a stupid name." The girl snorted. "Hand over the fish, my dad even told me to get it, don''t make me go through you."


    "Fuck you." Arachne spat out. "If you darey a hand on Mr. Blueberry I''ll kill you."


    The girl blinked, even amidst her growing rage, because she could <em>feel</em> that Arachne was being serious.


    And despite being more than happy to punch her problems away, she knew that punching the door to the cabin was <em>much</em> different than forcing her way inside and ''stealing'' something from within.


    One was straddling the line, the other was pissing all over it.


    "Then let''s settle it with a fight!" The girl demanded. "If I win, the fish is mine."


    "No."


    "Are you a coward!?"


    "Then if I win, your mom is mine."


    <em>"What</em>!?" The girl was taken aback.


    "What, you can demand my family members as prizes, but I can''t do the same?" Arachne scoffed. "Are you a coward!?" She repeated in an obvious sarcastic and mocking tone.


    "It''s just a fish!"


    "And your mom is a cow, what''s your point?"


    The girl ¨C rather, the Daughter of Ares ¨C risse felt the anger rising up in her chest. Her dad snuck her a message telling her to get the fish from the weird girl and she would be rewarded <em>heavily</em>. But she very well couldn''t just barge in and now this girl wasn''t epting a fight.


    "You''re just a coward, hiding behind words like all the other idiots from the Athena Cabin." risse scoffed. "All of them are pansys, I''m not surprised you''re too scared to fight."


    "Then forget a wager." Arachne jumped out of the cabin. "Let''s have a duel to the death right here and now!"


    risse was once more taken aback, because she genuinely felt the sincerity in what Arachne said.


    She was ready to fight to the death right here and now, there was a subtle bloodlust that the Daughter of Ares could pick up.


    She was abruptly pulled back from her rage because although she knew she was a bully and tended to be physically oppressive to the other campers, she never actually tried to kill any of them.


    In fact, it was <em>heavily</em> against the rules to kill one another. Ignoring the fact that every kid there had a godly parent that would most certainly take revenge, anyone who killed another camper would be treated to the worst punishments.


    And the punishments were by ancient Greek standards.


    Arachne harumphed at risse''sck of words of action. "As expect from a Daughter of Ares, nothing but a coward." She recalled all the stories her mom told her about <em>The War God</em>.


    As soon as the words left her mouth, there was a strange thunderp in the clear sky.


    A blood-red spear shed above risse''s head. Normally, it''s a sign of a child being imed by their god, but that has long since urred for the girl. It was used for a different purpose this time.


    risse and the others instinctively kneeled.


    "Alright, little girl, you got my attention." The voice of the God of War could be heard from the symbol. "Since you insulted me so openly, I''m allowed to take action now. So, here''s what''s going to happen, you''re going to fight. No smart-ass words like your dear mother, no tricks to confused her, no getting out of it, no running away. Consider this your punishment. A proper duel. And of course, to the victor goes the spoils." There was no need to borate on that part. "I appoint risse as my champion, so sayeth Ares, the God of War."


    The Divine Power dissipated without a chance for Arachne to respond.


    She merely rolled her eyes with a sigh.


    It was all sophistry if anything.


    And ''Insult'' in the loosest definition of the word, it was obvious he had been watching and waiting for an opportunity.


    risse stood up with a big somewhat bloodthirsty grin on her face. She could admit that the girl threw her for a loop before, but all she needed to hear was the words ''duel'' and ''fight'' and she could just settle everything properly that way.


    Since her dad stepped in, she didn''t need to think about it any deeper.


    "Okay, but what do I get if I win?" Arachne realized it was better to just nip this in the bud. With a reluctant sigh, she relented with regards to a ''duel'' rather than a fight to the death.


    risse nked because she didn''t have an answer to that. "¡­..dad?"


    The symbol above her head shed again.


    "I guess I forgot about that." The God of War sounded bored. "Alright, what do you want if you win?" The way he spoke, it was clear he was just humoring her just for the sake of setting the stakes. Despite him forcing the issue, there had to be a ''fair'' stake.


    Arachne gave it some thought.


    They underestimated her.


    Not her strength, not her power.


    No, they underestimate who her da was and how petty she could be from learning from him.


    "I want the Ares Cabin."


    (Line Break)


    A/N


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    We also got 2 chapters of Arachne ahead and 1 cyclops chapter.

 Chapter 577: Part 2

    As my brick sailed through the air, the dragon lifted up his hand and casually smacked it away, shattering it into pieces.


    "¡­.."


    "¡­.."


    "...Did you just throw a brick at me?" The dragon asked.


    "No." I answered withplete honesty.


    He blinked, looking at me, then at the literal pieces of a brick on the ground next to him.


    Whatever bullshit it seemed he wanted to spew was lost in this moment.


    "I admit, I don''t know how to respond to this; it''s a first for me." He spoke again."You could apologize."


    "For what?"


    "Destroying a precious family heirloom. That brick has been passed down from generation to generation in my family for thousands of years."


    "¡­but I thought you said that you didn''t throw a brick at me."


    "Don''t dwell on the small things." I crossed my arms. "Take responsibility for destroying my brick."


    "And how would you like me to do that?"


    "You could kill yourself, save me the trouble." I offered a very reasonable form ofpensation.


    His eye twitched slightly. "I think I understand why you''re Ddraig''s destined user this generation."


    "Actually, I stole Ddraig." I replied.


    He opened his mouth and closed it again. "Is that so?"


    "So, what can I do for you, Chrome Conch?" I stabbed my sword into the ground, leaning on it.


    "Crom Cruach."


    "Are you sure?"


    "I''m fairly positive that''s my name, yes." He replied.


    "Chrome Conch sounds cooler. I''m going to call you Chrome Conch from now on." Actually, what would a Conch chromed over look like? "Anyways, what can I do for you, Chrome Conch?"


    His eye twitched again. "I wanted to introduce myself to Ddraig''s host."


    "Do you want an autograph? I mean, there''s a time and ce, but if you''re this much of a fan, I can''t really reject you." I looked around for something to write with. "I''ll make it out to Chrome Conch. To my biggest and edgiest fan¡ªgo fuck yourself. Sincerely, Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. How does that sound?" I looked at him.


    "I have the distinct feeling you''re going to be difficult to talk with." He replied rather evenly despite me constantly poking him.


    "No, no. I''m always amicable towards assholes who get involved with my matters and intentionally inte them, leading to problems I have to deal with." I looked towards the ''corpse'' of Balor. ??¦­???¨º?


    [Careful]. My Zanpakut¨­''s voice echoed in my ears. [Crom Cruach is not a foe to be taken lightly. He carries a unique desire for improvement among his own kind. Long ago, he was only around the power of a Dragon King and subordinate to the Evil God Balor. Now, he is at a minimum as strong as Ddraig was in his prime.]


    Right.


    Hearing confirmation was¡­..well, I wouldn''t say pleasant because I could feel his overwhelming presence since he arrived.


    I just didn''t know it was to that extent.


    And it wasn''t hard to put two and two together when he introduced himself as Crom Cruach when I had just ''killed'' Balor.


    I already assumed outside interference; I''m just putting a face to it at this point.


    "I admit, I had another purpose for appearing in front of you." He followed my gaze towards Balor''s body. "I''m here to retrieve his eye."


    "Hmmm, I''m going to have to say no on that one, Chrome Conch."


    Crom Cruach tilted his head with a strange smile growing. "Are you going to stop me?"


    I met his gaze head-on, feeling the weight of his presence; his eyes looked to the side suddenly as my Ascalon was inches away from impaling him through the head.


    However, it stopped midair as an iron grip held it firm.


    Barely giving it attention, the dragon had grabbed the de, and it refused to budge. His eyes widened ever so slightly as a drop or two of blood dripped down from his fingers and down the length of the de.


    "What a powerful dragon-ying sword." He spoke in genuine surprise. "It''s actually capable of harming me."


    "It''s actually a Dragon improvement sword. If you stab yourself in the heart with it, you get a power-up." I corrected him.


    He looked at me with that same grin. "Since you''re a dragon, does that mean you get stronger if I stab you in the heart with it?"


    "...that was a joke; don''t take it seriously."


    With a casual flick of his wrist, the sword shot off and was buried to the hilt into the abdomen of Balor''s corpse.


    It should be noted that the corpse of Balor was decrepit and haphazardly thrown together in appearance, but by no means was it weak.


    "You seem to care about the Youkai outside; I''m surprised you would stop me from taking it and leaving." He spoke up again.


    "And why is that?"


    "If we fight, how many of them do you think will die?" He said rather bluntly.


    "I don''t like being threatened." I found myself frowning.


    "Oh, there it is!" He smiled brightly. "I wanted to see that expression of yours, befitting of a true dragon. I don''t really care about those small creatures, but I''m not like our kin, who would belittle you for doing so. Personally, I think a dragon is allowed to care about anything, big or small. The only caveat is that they have to act like a proper dragon. If you want to protect little squishy creatures, then as a dragon, you better do so."


    "Are you okay in the head?" I asked him with full seriousness.


    He chuckled good-naturedly. "I''m just happy that you''re acting like a proper dragon. It''s my goal in life to seek out the purpose of dragons. For that, I''ve travelled the world for a long time, and I like to talk to other dragons and understand them. Not many have taken the role of protectors like you have, caring for such little creatures below them. It''s a rare and refreshing take in consideration of your strength."


    "...that''s your motivation? The purpose of dragons?" I asked in disbelief.


    "Is it so strange? Don''t humans universally want to understand their purpose in life? Why can''t I, as a dragon, wish to do the same?"


    Well shit, I couldn''t really find an argument against his logic. Is it not every sentient being''s desire to find their purpose in life?


    "You should ask Great Red; see what he thinks." I kept a straight face. "He''d probably love for you to drop in and spew an array of philosophical and nonsensical questions."


    "...I am more than aware that the Dragon of Dreams cares not for his fellow dragons." He looked a little awkward.


    I looked at him in realization after I recalled the story Ddraig told me about his encounter with Great Redbined with my own meeting with him. "...Did he spank you like Daddy Balor used to when you were naughty?"


    There was a beat of silence; his expression didn''t change, but sometimes, one''s inaction spoke louder.


    "I promised him that I wouldn''t kill you." He let out a breath.


    "Oh? Then how about¡ª


    "So please don''t die." He smiled politely, and my eyes widened this time.


    It was a fist.


    Something that should be simple, but there was absolutely nothing simple about it this time.


    He threw a fist at me, and for the briefest of moments, I wondered. If someone pulled a literal mountain out of the ground, condensed it into the shape of a fist, and threw it at someone, would it have less strength behind it than this fisting at my face right now?


    "Hanuman!" I called out as I focused on the Hogyoku and converted everything I had into Aura as it burst out in a myriad of colors around me.


    The Shadow of Hanuman rose up out of the ground, contrasting my colorful aura while the simply looking fist shattered both of them.


    That isn''t to say they were ineffective. They substantially reduced the strength behind his punch to push through both of them, yet I felt it hit me in the cheek, and I felt the force vibrate through my body with an apanying shockwave that followed behind.


    I took a few steps back but stayed on my feet.


    Crom Cruach looked at me in surprise again. "I put a lot of my strength into that punch."


    I couldn''t immediately respond because my mouth was filled with blood, forcing me to spit it out.


    "It should be my turn next, right?" I red.


    "Sure!" He smiled brightly. "I''ll tell you what: if you can force me back further, I''ll leave without fighting you or your allies." He held his arms open.


    There was definitely something wrong with this dragon''s head.


    Regardless, I was even further pissed now.


    My right arm turned to lightning.


    Hanuman reappeared; its shadow wrapped around my arm.


    My Reinforcement was pushed to the limit.


    Finally, my Aura regathered and swirled around my arm.


    Between eating the fruit and ying Hanuman, my base strength had increased by a noticeable margin, and it was the foundation by which everything else manifested.


    It started with a thunderp as I threw my fist out.


    The lightning discharged as my fistnded on his cheek, followed by the oveyed shadow of Hanuman. Then, I released all the aura I had wrapped around my arm, the aurora of colors cascading as my fist pushed into the flesh of his face.


    I frowned again because he barely reacted.


    I quickly took a few steps back, waiting for the proverbial dust to clear, only to see he had barely been forced back a step.


    ncing down at my fist, it trembled slightly.


    My hand was broken.


    Silently, he used his hand to rub his jaw. "Not bad; I even used a couple techniques to fortify myself there."


    "Do they have sufficiently long and edgy names? ck and Gold Ebony bright dragon''s ultimate negation field defense? My heart is darker than darkness. Golden shield of the primordial dragon''s twin evil eye shielding?" Was I still running my mouth? Yes, yes, I was.


    He chuckled again, seemingly finding the humor in my sarcasm. "No, just a couple martial arts I mastered a long time ago; I believe they''re called Iron Skin and Unmovable Mountain these days."


    "That sounds rather unremarkable."


    "Well, they are considered very basic martial arts. I had to start somewhere when I began learning. And of course, I am a dragon; I am built differently than humans." He smiled.


    Oh joy, a dragon that genuinely learned martial arts and whatever else he came across over the thousands of years longer he''d been alive than me.


    That isn''t a terrifying thought whenbined with his strength.


    "How would you like to join us?" He suddenly offered.


    "Pardon?"


    "The Khaos Brigade. I''m sure you managed to figure it out by now."


    "What, Khaos Brigade, no way!?"


    He twitched again slightly. "Would you be open to joining us?"


    "I''d be more likely to be celibate." I said dryly.


    "That''s unfortunate, but not unexpected. Regardless, if you have nothing else¡ª


    "Ultimate Technique, go!" I threw another brick at his face.


    He let out a small sigh as my brick soared through the air, much faster and harder than the previous one.


    With a casual motion, he swiped at it with his hand. However, the talisman I snuck on the back of it glowed, and the brick phased through his hand unabated before turning back solid and colliding with his face.


    The dragon stumbled backwards, perhaps from the sheer surprise of it more than anything.


    There was absolutely no visible damage, only a pained silence that followed as he stared at it then back at me without speaking a word.


    [I am honestly horrified at the thought of you applying this kind of resilience and intelligence to something productive.] My Zanpakut¨­ let out an exasperated sigh.


    "I believe that''s my win." I pointed out with a big grin.


    He clenched his jaw, and I had the vague feeling he wanted to beat me up. "I am a Dragon of my word." He finally forced out. "I''ll leave without fighting you or your allies outside." He turned around and walked towards Balor''s severed head.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" My other swords shed out and hovered in front of him before he could reach the corpse.


    His steps paused, and he turned to look back at me with a much more distinctive and impassive expression. "I said I wouldn''t fight you or them; I never said I would not retrieve the eye. If you try to stop me, that''s on you, and I can defend myself to the fullest extent without breaking my word." He warned. "But by all means, let''s have a nice rampage together. It''s not as if you''re in the middle of a war."


    I narrowed my eyes and was honestly annoyed because he wasn''t wrong.


    As much as it pained me to let him, I wasn''t really in a good position to stop him. I would have to use everything I had if I genuinely wanted to fight him, and that was a bad idea with everything else going on right at this moment.


    I gestured with my hand, and all my other swords flew back to my side, giving him silent acknowledgment.


    Crom Cruach thrust his arm into the Evil God''s massive eye, ripping out a much smaller eye that seemed to be hidden far beneath it. It was clearly the source of the Evil God''s powers he disyed up until this point.


    "We''ll meet again." The dragon warned.


    "No, we won''t."


    The dragon twitched slightly once more and didn''t opt to say anything else as he shot into the sky and disappeared.


    Asshole.


    @***@


    Jinn POV


    This was a bit harder than I initially thought!


    "Le Fay, can you stabilize the right side?"


    "I''m trying!" She called out, sweating dripping from her forehead.


    "Rin, how are you doing?" I asked her.


    "I''m holding on for now, but I don''t have much left in me." She answered.


    Several other magicians had copsed; a few more were heaving, trying to maintain their spellcasting.


    The spell sequences were bing veryplex even for me. I thought it would be a simple matter of connecting several turbulent points, but they''re constantly changing, and we''re having trouble locking them down.


    "Shields, shields!" I barely nced back to see one of Yasaka''s generals barking orders.


    Hundreds, if not thousands, of spells rained down on the troops we had around us. The Shields were barely managing to hold; some cracked and shattered, and several Youkai were hit.


    "Wounded, retreat to the rear and perform emergency healing. Next line, wands up, I want spell fire returned; prepare the next wave of shields!"


    The vast majority of Fae were still being held back by thebined efforts of a handful of ours far further north, but that didn''t mean they all ignored everything for a few individuals.


    Thousands still came marching down and collided with the few thousand of our own we had trying to hold a firm wall.


    Unfortunately, there were still some of those giants still stomping around, making things even more difficult.


    I sequestered off a few Parallel Thought Streams to give them a hand, casting some defensive spells asionally when I noticed the need, but my focus was on trying to establish this teleportation chain.


    "Big Skeleton!" I suddenly blurted out as the Big Skeleton Youkai, who I lent the sword to, was getting ganged up on by several giants, and he couldn''t even swing the sword around with them on him.


    I quickly opened several more thought streams to throw out some spells to help him out.


    There were others of his kind there, physically wrestling with some of the giants, while a few others were getting pulled down and somewhat swarmed by the numerous amount of Fae all around.


    I couldn''t really put much emphasis on the spellcasting, though, so I stuck to the most simplistic spells, the very basics.


    "Earth Wall, Fire Ball, Lightning Bolt, Wind Arrow," I cast in quick session, just to give him some room to push them off.


    The big giants were only mildly scratched or nudged away, but the big skeleton managed to wrest away and used his whole body to start swinging the sword wildly, the searing mes roaring every which way that the de passed.


    Sir Wiggles was also helping!


    The cannons on Wilhelm''s ship were firing nearly nonstop, but there were just so many of them!


    "Lady Jinn!"


    I turned my head, not noticing as something slipped through the world, and Unnulf leapt up to block a sword strike even as I quickly cast a defensive spell.


    A rather powerful faerie seemed to emerge from the falling snow as if it were a doorway, and Unnulf got knocked down into the cold ground.


    I was ready to fight myself, but Unnulf wasn''t the only one standing here protectively.


    "You will not!" Arthur joined quickly, crossing des with the Fae as well; the two seemed to be about evenly matched.


    The Fae fell to the ground after the first collision, steadying himself with ard broadsword lofted up.


    Unnulf stood up next to him as the two humans faced him.


    Without warning, they began fighting again.


    That one wasn''t the only one of their kind able to bypass everything and appear overhead. It came with the sound of horses letting out their cries as, through the snowstorm, hundreds of cavalry galloped through the icy weather.


    Plenty of our own took to the skies quickly, but they were far outnumbered.


    A fewrge skeletal hands swiped through the air at them, managing to knock a few down, but they still overcame our front lines easily enough, and our magicians were tired and stressed and focused on the matter at hand.


    The forefront was a really buff Kappa who barreled right into them; their sharp des, their spears, their steel shed at him, mostly minor wounds with a few concerning ones, but he began throwing out powerful punches and sting several away with every movement.


    Very quickly, it became extremely chaotic.


    I gathered what more effort I could to separate and cast a singr but powerful barrier around us magicians as the spells began to rain down along with thrown spears and arrows.


    Wait, why did the spell sequence formation suddenly slow down?


    I realized I overlooked just how exhausted the magicians around me were. At this point, it was only me, Rin, and Le Fay who were still standing.


    She was having trouble too, but it was almostplete.


    Mmm, we were outnumbered, and the barrier wasn''t going to hold. If I put more effort into protecting everyone, thepletion of the spell wouldpletely stall.


    "Hey Le Fay, want to see a spell that Big Sis Freyja taught me?!"


    "What ¨C "


    I threw my hands up. "??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????!"


    It took a moment, but everyone around us stopped fighting and looked up because the snowstorm was being pushed away by a gigantic ming meteor.


    "What the hell!?"


    "She''s crazy!"


    "Retreat, retreat!"


    "You are suicidal!"


    Even the Fae around us cried out in rm.


    "And I''ll do it again!" I cast it one more time. "??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????"


    "Lady Jinn!?!" Le Fay cried out.


    "I''ming home, mother." Unnulf looked up.


    The powerful Fae suffered a sh at his side from Arthur as the former tried to run away.


    I justughed maniacally; the first of the meteors came crashing down and... disappeared as it should have caused a massive explosion and destroyed everything.


    There seemed to be a moment of silence amidst the fighting as everyone realized that it was fake.


    "That was an illusion, but this wasn''t!" I pped my hands as the spell sequence finally finished, and it bloomed into an array of lights with hundreds of teleportation circles manifested all around us.


    Within the blink of an eye, tens of thousands more of our troops appeared, ready to fight.


    It only took a second for them to understand the situation, and the furious roars of theirs joined among our side, and quickly the tide turned.


    Thousands of Youkai, fresh and willing to fight, crashed into thousands of Fae who had been trying to push their way towards us to stop their arrival.


    The first collision was bloody and brutal, with death sweeping both ways unabated.


    With my connection to the Teleportation Circles, I could feel them activating again, and it wasn''t just more Youkai that arrived.


    First, it was Aotab¨­ who jumped out, wreathed in his corrosive mes as he turned into a malevolent spirit of fire and dived right into the thick of things.


    Second thought required a little bit of coordination.


    "Get those siege weapons prepped!"


    "Everything is good to go, general!"


    "We''ve practiced this for months, you louts. Right side, begin cone maneuver! Left side, follow suit!" He shouted out, and the ones directly under him in position repeated his orders as the entire battlefield slowly shifted.


    The fronts began to slowly pull to the side, opening arge gap in the middle where the enemies pushed in.


    The siege weapons were pulled up and were activated.


    It didn''t seem like they had someone directly ordering their every movement, so they either willingly or foolishly overextended.


    "Fire!"


    The air vibrated as all the siege weapons actualized simultaneously, and the fortress-destroying spells wereunched all together, cleaving through thousands of Fae all at once.


    It was¡­definitely a sight.


    "Shields up, press in, force them into the center!"


    The Youkai around the edges used their wands to create their shields again and slowly pushed more Fae back into the kill zone.


    It was either throw themselves into the meat grinder or throw themselves at very angry Youkai.


    Their lines began to fall apart quickly before the second volley was fired. A good number of them attempted to try and escape by retreating backwards, but the hundreds and thousands of their fellows were a hard wall to push through. Likewise, they tried to breach the sides, but theyers of shields made it exceedingly difficult.


    Even if they managed to wound one or two, the wounded were pulled back to be healed right there on the battlefield with their healing wands while ones in the back filled the spots.


    The months of training made them a well-honed machine in this regard.


    "Fire second volley!"


    Again, the air shook at the weight of the attack; the magical siege weapons shot again, iming thousands upon thousands of more lives as the steam drifted off their ss focuses.


    It was by no means the entirety of the Winter Court''s army, but a good number of them were being routed in this first collision.


    The teleportation circles lit up again as the next round of reinforcements emerged, and we began to push them back.


    @***@


    Ddraig POV


    Damn, it''s been a while.


    I crushed a bunch of armored ones into the ground with my w, then I used my tail to sweep a few dozen more.


    I took a big breath and spewed out my miasmic breath, melting and evaporating hundreds more.


    When was thest time I just rampaged without care?


    A de hit my side and bounced off my scales; a spear shot out, and I felt it prick me; a little bit of blood followed.


    It''s unfortunate; this body I''m using was so weak.


    Not that I would never expect to be unwounded from such ''simple'' things. Any kind of arrogance I had about humans or the like had beenpletely crushed after seeing the peaks that they could stand.


    I always held respect for Dragon yers and somewhat for famous heroes. Even before I got sealed, if someone asked me about Hercules, I had nothing bad to say about him and would treat him as a proper opponent if we fought.


    But now... I guess it''s thanks to the brat that my view widened even more.


    What was I supposed to think when it came to things like Heroic Spirits?


    It''s why I no longer look down on simplistic things like a small little faerie stabbing me with a spear.


    Maybe in the past, I would have been enraged, but now I simply made sure to stomp on him until he no longer had a solid body mass.


    But I still wished I had my real body.


    Hell, I''d even take N¨ªeh?ggr''s real body right now¡­My current ''body'' is basically a fake replica of that shitty dragon.


    Still, I''m happy to have this even if I want more.


    And now for my secret technique¡ªrolling on the ground!


    Iughed as I just plopped down and began to roll, crushing so many of them, and they had no idea how to stop me.


    What the hell were you supposed to do when a dragon just starts rolling across the ground at you?


    Nothing!


    Sure, I felt my scales getting shed and wounds building up, but it''s inevitable when I have thousands of them jumping at me at any one time.


    How many of them were there in total? Well over a million, I''d say, at first nce.


    "Foul beast, thou shalt be in by mine sword!" One in some fancy-looking armor galloped on a horse above the others. Some kind of leader or something was obvious. "Know that you shall be in by¡ª"


    There was one benefit of this fake body that came about.


    "Ven Gaar Nos." I let loose a roar as a tornado immediately manifested and swept him up along with an uncountable number of others, and it continued onwards as more were torn apart or swept away.


    Sure, I can''t use too many Dragon Words like this; otherwise, my fake body will break down faster. But it''s still something I can''t help but admire.


    A wholenguage for dragons, what''s not to love?


    I can''t wait until I show Albion how outssed he is next time.


    Even more than he probably thought already.


    But speaking of dragons, I smelled something¡­familiar, but I couldn''t quite ce it.


    It started with some distant roars.


    They multiplied until the world began to shake at their arrival, and hundreds of shadows loomed overhead.


    Dark scales that took on a purple hue in the right light, and each one with two heads.


    I would recognize them anywhere, and they seemed to recognize me too because a good number of them wereing right for me.


    I quickly pped my wings to push up to avoid a barrage of magic from them, clicking my tongue in annoyance, remembering how good this bastard was at using magic.


    They were not too strong individually, but their numbers were a bit worrisome.


    Fortunately, I wasn''t the only one here; the brat''s women were also fighting. Good or bad, it pulled their eyes away as well.


    I pped my wings again and took to the skies as fast as I could. The first one I came up to, it was basically brainless, and I chomped down hard on it, enough to break its scales even if it didn''t outright die.


    It fought in my grasp, wing at me, spewing magic from its own mouth. I used my own ws to tear at its wings and scales until it could no longer stay flying by itself and spit it out to fall down to the ground.


    Plenty of spell circles illuminated the darkened sky under this snowstorm.


    I did my best to avoid what magic attacks I could, but there were simply too many, and I took some hits, even if most of them couldn''t prate my scales.


    I mmed into the next one, but a powerful shield enveloped it, and it took me an extra few seconds to break through it, giving the dragon enough time to teleport away.


    Annoying bastards.


    And their numbers multiplied a hundredfold. But I wasn''t dumb enough to not notice that they were mostly illusions that just sprang up.


    Still, I wasn''t adept enough at magic to be able to pick them all out.


    So instead, I just took a deep breath and released another breath attack,pletely ignoring their own attacks on me.


    A bunch of the illusions disappeared, but I managed to knock another two real ones out of the sky.


    "If it isn''t Ddraig." A voice traveled over the distance, over the sounds of fighting everywhere. I jerked my head to the side to see a young-looking human riding on top of one of the two-headed dragons. "It''s been a while, Great Welsh. Let me give you a present to celebrate this reunion." He held up his hand. "Ahura b¨¡zang: D¨¡ru?n¨¡y X?¨¡yathiya"


    An ethereal skull appeared in the sky, dwarfing anything on the battlefield; it was wreathed in purple mes and opened its mouth, spewing them in a torrent right at me.


    I took a deep breath, realizing I couldn''t dodge.


    "Fus Ro Dah!"


    The invisible force rippled out, colliding with the torrent of purple mes, causing thetter to copse before reaching mepletely, but it was enough that the power behind the spell still tore at my scales and wings, sending me hurling to the ground.


    Thankfully, a bunch of those faeries broke my fall.


    Unfortunately, a bunch more of those two-headed dragons decided I looked tasty.


    And fuck, that hurt.


    Just as I was about to make a move, the ground rumbled.


    Arge silhouette burst out of the ground, mping down on one of the two-headed dragons, its cry echoing out for everyone to hear.


    The World Serpent let out a hiss and tossed it to the ground after it stopped moving, presumably after being injected with a substantial amount of lethal venom.


    "Jormungandr?" I called out to him in surprise.


    "Ddraig." He answered back.


    "...you helped me." I was surprised because I was always a dick to him.


    "Of course, what are friends for?" It looked like he was smiling.


    ¡­goddammit, brat.


    He spewed his own venom at the others like a fountain, and it even rained down on the small faeries underneath.


    I''ve never seen a literal poison rain before, but I guess there''s a first time for everything.


    "Hey, did you get bigger?" I gave him another once-over.


    "I ate those fruits, and I managed to recover a bit. It''s only a few hundred feet, but it''s good progress." Jormungandr seemed happy.


    I didn''t have it in me to say anything snarky.


    Though someone else joined us rather quickly.


    The same one as before hit the ground from above, though intentionally on his part, as hended a bit more gracefully than I did.


    "A?i Dah¨¡ka?" Jormungandr called out.


    The Evil Dragon from ancient Zoroastrianism. He''s pretty famous for creating those ''clones'' of his, those two-headed dragons that can basically be mass-produced at his leisure.


    "If it isn''t the World Serpent too, this is also a surprise."


    "Aren''t you supposed to be dead?" Jormungandr asked.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be bigger?" He retorted. "You also seem weaker, but maybe I''m just misremembering since you were always so weak."


    "Hey, don''t talk to the noodle like that." I interjected, defending him. "Why are you even in a human form? Where are your other heads when you turn into a human?"


    Because he''s a three-headed dragon, and he only has one head in his human form.


    "That''s an interesting question." A?i Dah¨¡ka spoke.


    "...and?"


    "Honestly, I actually don''t know where my other heads go when I transform." He admitted.


    "Have you tried looking up your ass?" Jormungandr offered. "You evil dragons seem to have a knack for inserting your heads deep inside there."


    "oof, burn."


    A?i Dah¨¡ka rolled his eyes. "Scathing. But I have something important to ask. What magic did you use to escape my forbidden spell, Ddraig? You always so arrogantly talked down to me for mastering magic, and yet you used it so openly, and I couldn''t even recognize it."


    "You want to know?"


    "Yes." His eyes glimmered.


    "You really want to know?"


    "Tell me about the damn magic, Ddraig, before I start tearing apart your friend." He pointed at Jormungandr.


    "Alright, I''ll tell you. But there''s a special process to unlock it."


    "Really?" He seemed to give that serious thought. "It was strange, like a forceful alteration of the world rather than a series of smaller and more intricate sequences¡­." He looked up. "Alright, tell me."


    "Alright, first¡­"


    "Yes?" He leaned in expectantly.


    "I fucked your mom." I said with full seriousness.


    "..."


    "Jormungandr joined me. We double-teamed her." I roared so everyone heard me.


    "What the hell, Ddraig!?" Jormungandr blurted out.


    "You''re mocking me." A?i Dah¨¡ka said evenly.


    "No shit, three heads." I said as sarcastically as possible.


    He looked at us silently before transforming into his true dragon shape. ckish purple scales, arge body, and all three heads growling.


    "Huh."


    "What?" Jormungandr looked at me.


    "I think he''s stronger than he used to be."


    The three heads looked up to the sky. "Fars¨¡y¨¥n¨¡ b¨¡z¨¡r: N¨©g¨¡r¨¡ b¨¡r¨¡z¨¡n¨­r n¨¡h¨©st¨¡"


    Tworge skeleton hands pulled open the sky, revealing a miasmic void. From inside the strange void, a skeleton head poked out, simr to the one from his previous spell with the same ominous purple mes.


    Instead of spewing the mes this time, it opened its mouth, and meteors were released, wrapped in the same purple mes as they fell down from the sky right at us.


    Well... fuck.


    @***@


    Yasaka POV


    Why are there suddenly a bunch of dragons?


    Why are there meteors falling from the sky!?


    I abandoned my Fox Form and quickly shifted back to my humanoid form. I jumped up, using the head of one of these Winter Court Fae as a springboard, and narrowly got out of range as one of the meteors hit the ground right by where I previously was.


    It erupted in an explosion of purple mes that seemed to burn and corrode everything they touched.


    And there were plenty more that were falling from the sky.


    Funnily enough, it was indiscriminate and was hitting right on top of the enemies'' army.


    So... win?


    I could see back, and the numbers of my people had increased significantly, indicating that we were sessful. Noticeably, they began pushing back the Fae that got past us with quite a fair number of corpses piling up.


    Though¡­not all of them our enemies.


    I managed to weave through them enough to find the others also retreating back.


    Good, I didn''t need to collect them; they knew what they were doing.


    Seeing an opportunity, I jumped into the air andnded on the back of one of those two-headed dragons. It seemed surprised at my sudden appearance, attempting to roll midair to fling me off, but I sunk my ws deep into its back and forced it forward.


    It eventually lost its momentum and fell at a good angle that I was able to jump off before it hit the ground, and I was right back where I should be.


    I kicked the nearest bone-armored menace between the legs, earning a satisfying crack as he fell over, and I smiled back at my own people whom I had rejoined.


    "What are you all dawdling for? Line up properly and march in formations." I started giving orders to reorganize our lines while the Fae they had been fighting retreated backwards towards their main troops.


    "You heard her; I want iron spears out and pointed forwards. Archers, arrows at the ready. Second lines, be prepared with shields!" The familiar voice of my general carried onwards.


    It''s so nice to havepetent help.


    Oh, they still outnumbered us by a good margin, but it felt like we were much better trained and prepared.


    Iron weapons.


    Magic wands of all sorts of variety.


    Siege weapons.


    And it seemed like our formations were more in unison and practiced. I don''t believe they''re used to these types of open field battles.


    Frankly, my people weren''t either beforehand, but we had significant help.


    "General, split into the three-by-three formation. Tengu aerial units take to the skies. If it flies, don''t let it get on top of us." I looked around. "Nurarihyon, are you here?"


    "Just got back." He said with clear exhaustion, stepping next to me.


    Raikou also joined him, blood sttered across her body and even on her face, yet she still gave the most gentle and innocent smile as I met her gaze.


    And if those weren''t the biggeste fuck me eyes I''ve ever seen in my life.


    "Take yours and harass their back lines. I want any major threshold of spellcasting interrupted."


    "Will do." He gave a casual and somewhat haphazard salute and went off to collect his people.


    "When are the siege weapons going to be refreshed?"


    "It still needs about ten minutes before they''re able to fire again."


    "Get them into position and prepare ordingly. Agravain!" I looked around.


    The head of the Pendragon Family under Artoria''s purview came over when he heard his name. "What do you require, Lady Yasaka?"


    "Artoria seems to still be preupied. Can you¡ª


    "I have returned." Artoria and Mordred came hurrying back, the clear signs of battle across both of them. "However, Agravain, follow Yasaka''smands."


    I smiled. "Take up position at the left side; I''ll let your people handle one of the siege weapons."


    Artoria nodded. "Mordred, I will leave you in charge; please protect it."


    "Yes, Father!" She patted her chest happily and quickly ran off with Agravain.


    Everyone quickly moved into position.


    There were six groups: one left, one middle, and one right, and each had a secondary group of equal measure somewhat behind them.


    It was to make use of our resources to rotate as needed and be able to apply pressure at any spot depending on the flow of battle. A lesson taught by those Greeks that came around.


    I stomped my foot down with a loud noise. "Weapons!"


    "Weapons!" a resounding shout echoed across the battlefield; steel and iron smacked the ground with a continuous thundering.


    Spears pointed at our enemies.


    "Forward!"


    In unison they all let out a shout, and the mass sound of marching began.


    The distance between us and them wasn''t veryrge; the chaos from before had somewhat normalized back to normal lines and formations, though theirs still weren''t quite uniform inparison.


    However, they did regain their earlier momentum and were ready to meet us head-on.


    The first of both sides shed once again in an array of steel and blood.


    I didn''t need to micromanage everything. I had generals, and my generals had their own subordinates. I wouldn''t say that the months we trained made us absolute experts, but we certainly were a step above them in this regard.


    Standing a bit back, I could see the degree to which our adaptability in formations was being used to our advantage.


    The back right group was ordered forward and up, funneling the side of their army inwards, bunching them up unknowingly. And the left side with the Pendragon family began to retreat back a bit. It created a forced path that, rather than pushing forward, they didn''t realize they were subtly maneuvered at an angle that significantly reduced their forward momentum as a unit.


    Just for a cursory nce, I could see that they were taking far more losses than we were.


    Though that didn''t mean we were without concerns.


    Looking up into the air, those dragons were still an issue.


    Ddraig and the World Serpent were currently fighting something far more deadly, but other than knowing it''s a dragon, I was in the dark.


    However, things shifted quickly as far above the snowstorm, something happened out of view, only for a momentter that flying ship toe flying back down through the clouds, looking not too good. Clear signs of battle and damage littered the vessel.


    The cannons on it continued to fire upwards, but a strange scoff emanated, and they were all turned to icicles before the shots could reach too high.


    Following it, arge frosty hand reached down through the clouds and swiped at the ship, hitting the back of it barely and sending it into a downward spiral, forced to make a rather abruptnding.


    Out of the clouds, a figure emerged, and I narrowed my eyes.


    It wasn''t a projection or some exertion of power over the domain this time.


    For the first time since arriving in this realm, I could see her clearly.


    The Winter Queen took casual steps downward in the sky, each one creating a frozen tform in the air, like stairs as she descended downwards.


    Seeing her finally appear, I found myself growing angry.


    All the pent-up frustration, all the anger I''ve had to deal with because of her, finally came bubbling to the surface after having to keep a steady mentality all these months.


    My Semnce ignited once more, and like how she was stepping down on icy steps, my mes hissed with each step up I took until she finally noticed me.


    It was excruciatingly cold the closer I got to her, but my mes managed to keep the worst of it off.


    "You are out of your depth, Fox." The Winter Queen''s voice carried over the distance, on the icy winds themselves.


    "Nice arm, is it new?" I mocked her.


    Her eyes narrowed dangerously as the cold intensified. In response, my mes zed even more, enveloping mepletely.


    "You will regret your choice ining here. You will die just as all the ones you brought. Regret as you watch all of them die before you are allowed to join." She harumphed.


    "Oh save me your spiel. You have no one to me for this situation but yourself. Your poor choices led to this oue, and now it''s time to reap what you''ve sown. No, Queen, you are going to regret your choices; you are going to regret attacking a peaceful people who never knew you or yours. You are going to regret ever thinking that you could invade our home on a whim without consequence." I growled back at her. "Did you think losing an arm was an insult? Do you think you''ve even begun to experience the definition of the word?


    "Your home." She scoffed with barely concealed anger. "I will show you what I think of your home." She reached out, and her power condensed, piercing through the world.


    A tear was created in space, and I could see through it.


    Was that Kyoto?


    @***@


    Archangel Gabriel POV


    "Lady Gabriel, for how much longer do you intend to stay here?"


    I nced at Pathiel. "Maybe a few more days; I don''t know." I sighed.


    "Lord Michael has requested you return."


    "Tell him I''lle back hometer." I just wanted to stay here for a little while longer. I looked up at the sky, seeing the moon above, realizing I had absentmindedly sat here for another night. "Maybe I should check back in soon."


    But Jeanne was on the other side!


    And... I was worried.


    I''ve been watching the Devils News about what''s been going on, but I can''t help but stay worried.


    Mou, I should convince Michael to let me go over.


    I wouldn''t get involved! I just...


    Why do things have to always be soplicated?


    "Lady Gabriel, you¡ª"


    I held my hand up, stopping her. Slowly, I moved my finger forward and caught a snowke that was about tond on her nose.


    It was not natural, if anything. It was also malevolent as it tried to drain my power.


    I looked up again, and more began to fall from the sky.


    Rather quickly, the world trembled, a crack opened up under the moonlight, and arge hand reached through, bringing with it a deathly cold.


    Frozen droplets of water fell off the hand, hitting the ground. Every spot they touched, some type of elemental creature emerged. Ones made of snow or ice grew to impressive sizes.


    "Did you think this small ce was beyond my reach?" A chilling voice reverberated from the other side of the crack. "Anywhere that Winter touches, so too can I reach." A coldugh followed.


    "Lady Gabriel, we must evacuate!" Pathiel seemed to sense the danger immediately.


    I understood the situation after a moment of time. It seems that ''person'' decided to reach back over here due to some misguided sense of arrogance.


    How unfortunate.


    "There''s no need." I didn''t get up from my seat or even move.


    I was more aware than most just what exactly exists in this city at the moment.


    All around the city, sirens rang, alerting the residents to the danger. But along with that, lights began to emerge all over the city, and magical shields emerged by the hundreds.


    Obelisk-like structures floated upwards.


    I always found the Eastern forms of magic fascinating in how they operated, and I watched as the obelisks began to release tiny little objects¡ªpieces of paper, to my eyes¡ªtalismans.


    All the monstrous elemental creatures that spawned were immediately swarmed by the thousands upon thousands of Talismans that were released by those Obelisks.


    Not to mention, the obelisks themselves were each a focal point that deployed a powerful magical barrier that the residents immediately took shelter under.


    Just from that alone, this was one of the most protected cities in the world.


    Unfortunately for the ''invader,'' that wasn''t all that existed here.


    "You dare!?" The voice of an angry goddess was unsurpassed within her own territory.


    A mass of ck ink-like tendrils shot up to the sky, wrapping around the distorted crack in the world.


    "W-what is that?" Pathel squeaked out.


    Ah, it''s her first time feeling it?


    "That would be a Goddess." I answered. "And she seems very upset."


    Following that, a dragon roar shook the city.


    Arge blue dragon shot up to the sky, in all its majesty, and ripped off the arm of the presumed Winter Queen.


    An ear-piercing scream resounded from the other side of the gap.


    ...and it flew away with it.


    "And that would be Tiamat." I looked at the flying-away dragon with the arm in its mouth.


    She used to live in the Underworld, but for some reason, she decided to start living in this city.


    The tear in space was forced closed by the Goddess; normality returned quickly, even if there still needed to be a bit of cleaning up to do.


    "Let''s go lend a hand, Pathiel." I smile towards her, a light spear manifesting in my hand.


    I don''t think Michael would be upset if I saved some innocent people that have nothing to do with the war on the other side.


    @***@


    Wilhelm POV


    The barrier I set up finally was released, and I was greeted with an interesting sight.


    Things certainly changed in the meantime.


    The fighting had intensified exponentially. And there were dragons all over the skies... and is that the Winter Queen squaring off with Yasaka?


    Is she missing an arm again?


    I quickly moved back towards Sir Wiggles, stepping onto my ship.


    "Master~" Raikou joined me, hopping on.


    Well, the more the merrier.


    The ship lifted up off the ground.


    "A fine vessel you have there." I turned to look at the familiar voice; the Jolly Roger slowly rose into the air below us, looking a bit worse for wear.


    Captain Hook wasn''t in perfect condition, but Arc seemed to be doing well, giving me a wave.


    "You must have held her off for a long time." I noted the damage he''s sustained.


    "Admittedly, I did more running than fighting." He chuckled. "But I wouldn''t reject a second bout." His eyes gleamed mischievously.


    "Think you can keep up, old man?"


    "Ohoho, I think you''ll find I have a few tricks up my sleeve." Both our ships, while ascending together, took to different sides.


    The cold air above intensified, but a bright light broke through it, a warmth that reached me.


    Yasaka started fighting the Winter Queen with something I didn''t recognize.


    Was that her semnce?


    Questions forter.


    Both our ships took a wide berth around the shing of fire and ice.


    There was no need for words as both the captain and I looked at each other.


    The cannons on our ships began to open fire.


    "Insolent!" The Winter Queen furiously swiped her hand out, pushing Yasaka away and sending waves of frost at both ships.


    Raikou jumped off the ship, turning into a streak of purple lightning, shing her sword at the Winter Queen.


    The Queen red angrily at Raikou, her movement not outside the Queen''s perception as a thick wall of ice blocked the way at thest moment.


    However, Raikou excels at a certain type of ying.


    Her de contacted the wall, and with a bit of effort, pushed through it and continued onwards.


    The Winter Queen''s eyes widened, and she jerked to the side; a small cut on her cheek dripped with blood as Raikou retreated to the other side on Captain Hook''s ship,nding gracefully.


    "Did you forget about me?!" Yasaka shouted, grabbing the¡­Was that a chakram made of fire? She grabbed the chakram behind her back and threw it at the Winter Queen.


    "A mere animal!" The Winter Queen shouted, using her one arm to press forward, waves of ice and colding to her aid to collide with the fiery Chakram that released noticeable waves of heat.


    The cannon fire continued nonstop; snowkes bloomed around her, each one acting like a shield to intercept the cannon fire.


    "Then what about this as well, Fox Fire!" A second and distinctly different type of me emerged from Yasaka as well, intertwining with the other one, pressing against the Winter Queen''s ice, but still didn''t budge her.


    Raikou as well wouldn''t miss the opportunity. With a sh, she was above the winter queen, her de poised to sever her head.


    "Enough!" The queen roared again, and everything seemed toe to a standstill.


    No, that wasn''t quite right.


    It was as if time became frozen, or at least slowed down to an absolute crawl immediately around her.


    She grabbed Raikou''s arm and threw her in the path of Yasaka''s mes, then swung her arm around in an arc; gigantic icicles came into existence, pointing them at the stilled ships.


    I mmed my foot forward, exerting my spiritual pressure, breaking free from the sort of frozen moment.


    I grabbed for one sword in particr.


    "Dawnbreaker!" I swung it down; the light and heat of it were the perfect weapon to use in this moment.


    The Winter Queen''s head jerked to my side, and I could see her in a moment of panic throw up whatever defenses she could in that moment as everything returned to normal.


    Yasaka''s mes were quickly dismissed as she caught the awkwardly thrown Raikou, and the Jolly Roger dodged therge ice cycles as best as it could with cannons firing at the ones that it couldn''t.


    Arc didn''t stand by idly; even if she were severely weakened at the moment, she could handle a few things on that level and easily cleave them apart with her ws if they were going to hit.


    The light of Dawnbreaker dissipated naturally as the Winter Queen stood there breathing heavily, not from exhaustion, but I think mostly from rage.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Dragon, where are you!?" She roared out.


    Threerge heads dipped down from the above clouds for a moment before they fully emerged.


    "I have a name, you know." The dragon snorted, looking around, and its eyesnded on me.


    "Fulfill your obligations!" She demanded.


    Shit, I don''t know who that Dragon is, and while it feels a little weaker than Crom Cruach, it''s definitely not something I could ignore.


    "Special delivery!"


    Above this dragon, I could see Ddraig''s fake and beaten body pping its wings and... was that Jormungandr on its back? Obviously, it was shrunk, and¡­ I realized what was going on.


    Jormungandr jumped off its back and returned to its full size.


    "Oh, you fucker¡ª"


    Just as quickly as the three-headed dragon appeared, it disappeared into the ground below.


    "Ddraig??"


    "No time to talk; the dragon is A?i Dah¨¡ka, really strong, really annoying. We''ll keep it upied." He flew back down after them.


    It seems like they had been fighting for a while.


    "Despicable, unreliable lizard!" The Winter Queen scowled. "My knight,e to my aid."


    The ice and snow hissed in the air, forming a solid mass as someone stepped through the world. Wrapped in armor adorned with frozen thorns and with an aura that seemed oddly simr to the Winter Queen.


    He was strong.


    "My Winter Knight." She smiled. "Bring me their heads."


    "By your will." He pulled free a de made of ice.


    I pointed Dawnbreaker at him, but a whisper reached my ear.


    "Student, allow me." Sc¨¢thach glided down onto the deck of my ship, taking graceful steps forward. "This Sc¨¢thach will be your opponent." She leveled her spear at the named Winter Knight.


    "Then have at you!" He charged forward.


    Sc¨¢thach, however, didn''t make a move; rather, her lips curled up mockingly.


    "Your cold is but a familiar friend to me. Let me show you the realm by which I have conquered." She held her hand up. "Open¡ªGate of Skye."


    Therge monolithic gate to the Realm of Shadow emerged from the shadows; its mighty stone door burst open, and a newfound chill erupted outwards, sucking in everything in front of it.


    The charging Winter Knight found himself awkward trying to change his direction and escape, but a well-timed shot of cannon fire from the Jolly Roger destroyed any semnce of resistance he could muster in that moment, and he went flying into it, the gates mming shut behind him.


    I looked over at Sc¨¢thach.


    "...it is foolish to expect a duel in the middle of a war." She scoffed, flipping her hair back. "I will fight himter."


    Ah... she was saving him forter, like a te of leftovers.


    The Winter Queen, she was trembling.


    She let out a high-pitched scream; if there had been ss nearby, I''m sure it would have shattered.


    Everything around her froze again.


    Yasaka''s mes began to freeze as she hastily helped Raikou over to the Jolly Roger since it was closer.


    Even my ship began to freeze over, and I felt my blood turning cold.


    The Winter Queen''s outward appearance changed. A woman normally somewhat human in appearance, albeit with a colder hue to her, like someone frostbitten, she now was coveredpletely in ice like armor.


    It made her look much less human, something more monstrous. Her missing arm was reced with apletely see-through icy alternativepared to her good one, both of which extended out like ws.


    The Jolly Roger acted first, and I immediately followed suit as cannon fire rained down on her.


    She didn''t move at all; the magical attacks froze and shattered before they could reach her.


    Without warning, she swiped her w-like hand downward, and the space above the Jolly Roger was torn apart; a gigantic hand emerged, made of pure ice, shing downward, following her motion.


    Raikou jumped up along with Yasaka as both threw their fire and lightning at it, barely managing to shatter it before it shed into the ship.


    Following it, she swung her hand towards us as well. Sc¨¢thach moved first, her spear shooting out as the giant ice hand attempted to w at the ship, piercing into it quickly.


    "Bakud¨­ # 61, Rikujokoro!" Six rods of light mmed into her from every angle.


    Surprisingly, my Kido began to also freeze, if at a slower rate.


    She can freeze spiritual power; that means she can freeze souls.


    Raikou''s de swung at her; a wall of ice emerged without warning, actually managing to hold her off this time. But she kicked against the newfound solid barrier, flipping back off it as a torrent of mes was released by Yasaka burning into the ice.


    The Kido froze and broke apart, freeing her quickly. She held one hand up, pointing at Yasaka, and an equally baleful torrent of cold air burst out to meet her mes, the two of them warring mid-air.


    I called on my Staff of Magnus and began casting.


    Sc¨¢thach noticed what I was doing and leapt forward without hesitation. Her spear turned into a streak of light as it collided with a hastily made barrier just inches from the Winter Queen, who had to put effort into blocking it.


    "Begone, you pests!" She roared furiously, knocking the spear to the side, and a more powerful wave of frost cascaded out in every direction, forcing Yasaka and Raikou to abandon their attack.


    The sky above thundered and boomed.


    She looked up because her snowstorm had been consumed.


    "Thor''s Hammer."


    The lightning silhouette pulled itself through the storm clouds that took over the sky, freeing itself. It raised its hammer high and swung it downwards.


    The Winter Queen threw her arms up, and an aurora of colors filled the sky as lightning collided with Ice.


    The immense cold that radiated off her was even able to start eating away at my magic resistance.


    The lightning that continued to crash down on her began to freeze over to my genuine surprise.


    One thing I noticed: she was not a warrior, yet she was able to put forth this amount of effort against all of us. She didn''t have much experience fighting powerful opponents like this, and it certainly showed.


    How many times in her long life did someone challenge her?


    "Hey bitch, do you know who I am?" Nurarihyon slipped through everyone''s perception, and despite being half covered in ice and frost, he smiled gleefully as her eyes looked down at him with shock and horror.


    His de shed out, and the ''armor'' of frost on her chest erupted with the spraying of blood.


    She lost focus, and Nurarihyon seemed to use that moment to escape just before my lightning broke through her defenses and enveloped herpletely.


    It was far from enough to take her down, though. Even if parts of her body were charred and some of her ice melted, she stood there breathing heavily with only the wound from Nurarihyon to speak of.


    But that wasn''t the end either.


    The world continued to crackle with lightning, but it wasn''t mine.


    The purple lightning of Raikou was released all over the ce as she held a certain Vajra in her hands, and it spun at increasing speeds.


    "?akra''s Vajra!" She threw her Noble Phantasm, the Divine Weapon, of her father, Indra.


    The Winter Queen''s power swirled onto a single point, right at the tip of the weaponing for her as she let out her own shout, keeping it at bay; the divine lightning discharged rapidly every second, sending bolts of lightning surging through the air.


    The fake ice hand of hers began to crack, and it shattered; her real hand, all the ice around it shattered, and her skin began to char. With another shout, she swung it to the side, and the Vajra went soaring off into the distance.


    With barely a breath, Sc¨¢thach was right in front of her, her spear stabbing out.


    The Winter Queen was not an easy opponent, though, and within the blink of an eye, Sc¨¢thach was entombed in a block of ice, unmoving. Despite this, Sc¨¢thach remainedpletely unharmed, runes shed around her protectively while momentarily frozen.


    Though, there was another spell cast in that split second before she froze. The Winter Queen realized it too a second toote as a string of runes appeared right before her eyes and actualized.


    It was a simple spell to produce an intense burst of light.


    The Winter Queen let out a strange noise of confusion and anger, shielding her eyes in a moment of blindness.


    I already left the ship with a burst of Shunpo, Mirage in my hand swinging at her neck.


    She had to jerk to the side and throw a st of frost at me to keep me off, her eyes half-lidded, with a constant barrage of ice and frost throwing everywhere haphazardly in her panic.


    But in that moment, the ice around Sc¨¢thach melted, Yasaka''s hands ignited as she freed her harem sister.


    The Winter Queen pushed herself back with a burst of cold air to avoid the oing mes, and a wall of ice blocked Sc¨¢thach''s spear again.


    She let out another furious and unintelligible noise as my de nicked her neck, with her barely managing to avoid it again.


    "I have had enough! Be frozen, be turned to ice. Let Winter consume your souls and be a distant memory. I am Medb, the Queen of Air and Darkness, the Winter Personified. And Imand a never-ending winter!"


    Again, time was frozen.


    She let out a madugh as if she had obtained victory. Her good arm swung widely, and the world filled with dangerously sharp shards of ice and pointed at everyone while the world came to a still.


    Though her gazended on me, and she leisurely moved to me.


    She ced a finger against my forehead with a wicked smile; with but a gesture, she could have prated my head with her power.


    However, I smiled back at her.


    "Reflect¡ªMus¨± Tengai." I swung my arm through the air as my Zanpakut¨­ manifested into the world.


    The world''s flow shifted, and the shock reflected her realization and understanding of that.


    The Winter Queen let out a scream of pain as Gae Bolg pierced her chest; an irate Sc¨¢thach looked her right in the eyes.


    The Winter Queen raised her hand right at Sc¨¢thach, but just as quickly, it went flying through the air, severed from her body; an arc of purple lightning followed along Raikou''s de along with a trail of blood.


    The Winter Queen opened her mouth, and an eruption of cold air sprayed outward, forcing her to abandon her spear.


    I was falling through the air at this point, having had the frozen time released. I called my wings and took out my own Gae Bolg and threw it towards Sc¨¢thach.


    She caught it, spun it around, andnded on a tform created from magical energy.


    "Stab and Prate, Pierce and Drill¡ªGae Bolg Alternative!"


    It stabbed into the Winter Queen''s chest along with the other Gae Bolg, sending her hurling down to the ground, impaled deeply into the earth.


    Still impaled into the ground, having lost both her arms, she tried to get back up, but I mmed down on one of the spears, pushing her further down into the ground.


    Sc¨¢thach was right behind me to add insult to injury, hitting the other spear.


    Yasakanded next to us along with Raikou.


    It was Yasaka who walked up to her, the Queen''s mouth full of blood, unable to express any words, but hate and anger filled her eyes along with a seemingly relentless defiance.


    Yasaka raised her foot up and smashed it down on the Winter Queen''s face, quickly stopping her struggling as finally, she went limp.


    She was still alive, so it was fine.


    I let out a breath and looked up, realizing Ddraig and Jormungandr weren''t far away, along with that other dragon they were fighting.


    I think everyone stopped as they looked our way, especially that trio.


    The three-headed dragon looked at me; I met its gaze and narrowed my eyes.


    There was a moment when it seemed to consider its next course of action, and to my surprise, it teleported away. Far enough that I had no idea where it went, so I stopped giving it thought.


    It was finally over.


    @***@


    A/N


    Sorry for the dy, my brand newputerblue screened as I was wrapping up the chapter and it got corrupted so I had to redo it. Fun times.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I aslo have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    We also got one chapter of cyclops ahead, that has its own thread/story on various websites. And we got two chapters ahead of the Arachne omake.

 Chapter 578:

    POV ¨C Taro Maniwa, Tengu Captain.


    "Hold!" I shouted.


    There were manying our way. Their numbers were beyond ours by arge margin, but it was not without hope.


    I could see the fear in my own men''s eyes. Just the three thousand that I had under mymand was already daunting, but looking downwards, there were tens of thousands of my brothers and sisters still ready to fight.


    I just needed to handle my portion. It felt odd to say, but I had my own men to look out for, and I had to trust the others with their own as well.


    We still had a few moments; they were marching towards us at a steady pace, but it would take a minute or two.


    I walked down the rows of my men, patting the asional one on the shoulder. When I noticed they were particrly nervous or scared, I made sure to silently reassure them.


    However, I was concerned and confused by the actions of our enemies.Why would they march so openly at us? They had the advantage of knowing the terrain, of fortresses, cities, and everything they needed to muster a proper defense. Yet, they so brazenly and willingly met us in open fieldbat?


    It was odd.


    I was never the strongest, but I believed that among my kin, I was one of the more strategic-minded. I thoroughly learned everything those human heroes from past ages taught when they came to Kyoto. Our kind never participated in wars on this scale in regard.


    In the past, we have participated in conflicts, and even the great war. But that was almost entirely a protracted defense effort. The few times we did go on the offensive, it was entirely by small but elite teams to quickly assault a location or person and retreat.


    Of course I wasn''t alive back then, but I had studied the past conflicts of ours extensively in preparation.


    There must be a goal, right?


    What is their purpose, and what''s their strategy?


    They wereing, and with a closer look, their formations were messy. No, to call it a formation would be an insult, it looked more like a tidal wave ¨C abined horse all moving in one direction.


    "Shields!" The shout reverberated from our side.


    "Shields!" I repeated to everyone around me. They knew to listen to my orders above all others, even if I was merely repeating the orders from even my superiors.


    My men took out their wands, holding them up andyering the magical shields in front of them.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The best part was that things could exit through our side even if nothing could enter through the front.


    With that, the next order was given.


    "Arrows at the read. Spears out!" I bellowed.


    Like a magical version of a phnx, thousands of spears pointed forwards.


    "Fire!"


    The volley of iron arrows was released, filling the sky.


    The Fae warriors seemedpletely unconcerned. Even as the first began to get hit and fall, their march didn''t cease. Hundreds to thousands of them hit the ground, only to be trampled by their own people to continue their march forward.


    There seemed to be a moment where all sounds ceased just before the first of them hit our front lines.


    Spears were shattered right away, many of which were stabbed into the flesh and armor of our enemies.


    The Shields vibrated and shook, but the initial collision was met with an unwavering defense.


    I stood along with my soldiers, spear in hand, and I led them. "Push!"


    "Push!"


    "Push!"


    They all shouted as one, and with a single step forward from my thousands of troops, the front line of the Fae stumbled and was disrupted, causing the ones behind them to lose their momentum.


    The equivalent of giving them a sudden disorienting p, followed by abined advance, it left thempletely at our mercy.


    The front line of theirs fell quickly.


    However, it was merely the beginning.


    The battle immediately became bloody. The fresh corpses at our feet didn''t magically disappear; the stench of blood lingered and sttered everywhere.


    The meaning of ''rivers of blood'' when describing bloody conflicts became more than just a metaphor as I experienced it firsthand.


    Each of my soldiers was stomping through literal pools of blood that began to gather on the ground.


    I looked up at the sky as something odd was happening, and I saw a zing sun emerge. Lady Yasaka began to fight someone whom I didn''t recognize, but if she personally took action, it must be someone important on the other side.


    Unfortunately, I didn''t have time to focus on the battle in the sky; however¡­


    "Dragons!" I shouted, pointing above the Fae army; many dragons with multiple heads came flying over among their other airborne numbers.


    Spell Circles appeared in front of their mouths, and my eyes widened in realization.


    Not simply mindless beasts.


    "Get your shields up now, everyone in the back lines, shields above. Shields above!" I shouted until my throat became hoarse.


    Trained as they were, the oddmand took a moment; many shields emerged above, but spells began to rain down.


    I steeled my heart, seeing many of my men hit the ground lifeless and many more who didn''t have any bodies to bury remaining.


    "Nyah~" A strange sound came from above, and a ck cat morphed into a youngdy. She punched the nearest dragon with such force that it sounded like a thunderp and sent its body straight down on top of the enemies'' numbers.


    Was that the legendary Nekoshou?


    I heard such a legendary Youkai existed and even heard rumors of one appearing at Lady Yasaka''s side, but I wasn''t privy to the details.


    The Devil Wings it sprouted from its back confirmed the rumor; it seems that Lady Yasaka managed to retrieve one of our Legendary bloodlines from the Devils.


    Many more of my kin joined the aerial fight. While I too could fight in the air, I unfortunately was not the most adept atbat.


    No, my talents were best served down here.


    I helped one of my brothers to his feet and pushed him to the back to be healed.


    The shouts and cries all around us began to blend together along with the shing of flesh and steel.


    If it bes a simple trade, we were on the losing end; they had too manypared to us.


    Even if we could pull back our wounded to receive quick healing for small wounds, certain things couldn''t be healed without returning to camp for a true medical reprieve.


    "Captain Maniawa, new orders havee in." One of my kinnded next to me, bloodied and bruised but carrying new orders. "Left side will retreat backwards, right side will advance. Your job in the middle is to pull them in and let them cascade downwards unaware."


    My mind raced as I considered the implications.


    They don''t have direct orders!!


    It made sense; they had no proper generals, no highermand. They were told to line up and just march forward.


    Even from where I was standing, I could see a non-insignificant number of their number attempting to cut off the heads of myrades that they killed. The most obvious reaction was utter fury that swelled up in me, to desecrate my fellow warriors. But I pushed it down to analyze the situation better.


    I grabbed the messenger by the cor, pulling him closer. "Report to the general. I believe they have no highermand structure; they''re preupied with individual glory and achievements. Allow me to lure them in fully, and I will filter them downwards to create a meat grinder."


    The general''s n was to create a unified and altered ''line'' formation, but a diagonal line. He must have noticed it too; they had no higher structure, so they would keep pushing ''forward'' and not realize that they were instead being pushed downwards. Essentially, it was like tilting your de slightly so that an enemy''s de would slide off yours rather than taking the full brunt of a true block.


    And while the proverbial ''de'' of the enemy was sliding, they were losing men while ours held the advantage in defense position.


    Of course, there needed to be a more thorough method to filter the front lines downward. The vast majority of people on the battlefield had no idea what was going on; simply, they pointed their weapons forward and followed the ones in front.


    "I''ll ry your words, Captain!" He nodded and took to the sky to fly back to where he came from.


    We had practiced these kinds of formations, for small-scale battle, but the deceased human heroes always reminded us of one facet when it came to warfare in this regard. The side that has the most adaptability is almost certainly the side that will win.


    "Warriors of the 4th division, listen to my orders!" I let my voice carry through the use of my Youjutsu, a small application that seemed to be proving itself in this situation. "Box formation!"


    They let out a mighty roar in acknowledgment and didn''t hesitate to follow the strange order.


    They forced open arge ''box'' right at the center, with lots of empty space in between.


    "Advance!" I shouted.


    With a thunderous stomp, they took a step forward, pushing back the Fae in front.


    "Advance!"


    Another step, spears met shields, and while some of mine died, in disproportionate measure, more of theirs fell to the iron tips of our spears.


    We pushed forward, pulling away from the army enough that it left a gap.


    "Center, copse inwards! Two Columns form on each side!" I shouted after we gained enough distance.


    The box formation shifted, and they rbined into two parallel lines.


    The center of the formation was the first to respond, copsing downward, and like a dam, the enemies pushed and followed.


    As if they achieved some great victory, they seemed to believe they passed some threshold and continued like a tidal wave.


    It created a concurrent effect, believing they had pierced our front lines and filtered through our two columns with reckless abandon.


    If they were so preupied with glory and such, they would all be wanting to take the heads of our ''leaders,'' and the leaders would be far into the back.


    And without anyone giving them orders, without someone to oversee each move, they were like a bunch of wild chickens rushing forward without knowing why, only intent on continuously pushing forward.


    The fighting high above became more intense; I could even feel the pressure from down here.


    Just barely, I could make out the scene of two ships flying around, and I believe I saw our Young Lord joined with Lady Yasaka.


    I didn''t need to worry; ever since the Young Lord joined with Yasaka, he has never let us down.


    I focused on my own objectives.


    Spear in hand, I stabbed it into another Fae, twisting it into their chest.


    The battle was far from over.


    (Line Break)


    POV¡ªAngelica Lathas, reporter for Devil News Today.


    "Angelica Lathas, here with ¨C"


    An explosion nearly knocked me off my feet, and my hair blew all over the ce as I covered my head.


    "Angelica Lathas, here with De ¨C "


    Another explosion rang out, a little further this time, but still enough to disrupt my introduction.


    "Angelica Lath ¨C"


    "For the Winter Queen!" Hundreds of people riding on horses that galloped through the air made everything vibrate and tremble as if they were on the ground. The thunderous sound of hooves hitting the ''ground'' despite being in the air still reverberated everywhere.


    Just as quickly as they tried to fly over, a bunch of Youkai also took to the skies and collided with them midair.


    It was utter chaos!


    Why did I decide toe this close to the front lines!?


    I nearly let out a scream as one of those bone-armored people on their horse fell to the ground right next to me.


    The Bone person stood up, looked around, and his eyesnded on me. He drew a dagger from his side. "I''ll mount your head on my wall."


    He walked towards me menacingly while everyone else was busy with the enemies in the front.


    It was like he was taking a stroll.


    Just as he got close, I threw the heaviest punch I could, knocking him t on his ass.


    I''m a pure-blooded Devil, you low-level errand boy.


    It made me mentally scoff.


    I may not be a fighter or train myself, but I''m still not someone you can just saunter up to like that!


    Hmph.


    "Anglica Lathas here with Devil News Today!" I adjusted my blouse and fixed my hair.


    Greg gave a thumbs up from behind the camera.


    Oh right, he was still recording this entire time.


    "The previous recording got cut off; allow me to fill everyone at home in on the details. The Youkai just received reinforcements through a teleportationwork, and just now the armies began to sh in earnest. As you can see, it''s be rather chaotic."


    The fact that I was attacked!


    "The strange giant from before ¨C I''ve received word that it was an evil god from antiquity. It''s gone now, and things take a strange turn. There are dragons all over the sky ¨C "


    I gestured for Greg to pan the camera upwards to get a good view of the many dragons in the sky where the fighting was equally chaotic.


    "¡ª and furthermore, there seems to be an intense fight happening between the leaders also high up in the sky." I gestured to Greg again, and the camera tilted to another side. "We can see the shing of fire and ice along with some figures fighting."


    I kept it vague because even with the camera and everything, we could just barely make out the figure of Wilhelm Schweinorg, Lady Yasaka, and a handful of other people.


    Honestly, there was so much going on, mymentary was not important. I made sure Greg was recording the important parts and vaguely naming and gesturing to what was happening to paint a picture.


    The ground suddenly shook ¨C no everything shook.


    There was a cataclysmic thunderp with a surge of purple lightning up in the sky that reverberated down below here, and we could see something shoot off in the distance.


    And there was so much more. Spells being tossed around, an array of lights that illuminated the snowstorm even if it wasn''t visible.


    And that was just what was happening up above.


    There were strange things happening below here as well.


    The camera panned down.


    "As you can see, it''s heated up exponentially; it seems like both sides have decided on a decisive battle rather than dragging out a prolonged war." I looked at a giant skeleton swinging around a ming sword that sent shivers down my spine.


    "Oh, it''s the magic recording Devil again!"


    I blinked, recognizing the voice as the Lady of the Lake we had met before.


    She walked up, pushing her face into the camera.


    "L-Lady Vivian." I managed to get out. "Do you have any thoughts on the current fighting?" Well, she should have some thoughts that might help rify things, right?


    "Oh! You want to know what''s going on?" Her eyes lit up. "Well¡­." She looked up. "The Winter Queen is fighting with some of your people. I can see the Fox, the Half-Devil, the Witch, and the Demi-God, along with the recently resurrected human and the thing."


    "Pardon? Did you say recently resurrected human?" I wanted rification because we caught some strange things on camera, but I had no idea what was going on.


    Vivian nodded. "I''ve never seen someone brought back like that! What an interesting sight it was."


    I had trouble finding the words. "And what do you mean by the ''thing''?" Because the context clues for the others were rather obvious considering I had a list of whose-who that Lady Leviathan had given me.


    Vivan frowned. "Don''t'' know, but it''s scary and has a connection to the moon. I thought it was a faerie like me, but it''s a bit different. Some kind of natural spirit close to a God." She shrugged.


    "I see¡­" I did not see, but I had to keep my professionalism! "But Lady Vivian, why aren''t you participating?"


    "Avalon has a peace agreement with the Winter Court. As long as I''m not attacked, I''m not allowed to help." She shrugged with a ''what-can-you-do'' kind of look. Rather quickly, she snapped her hand forward, deflecting an arrow that was about to hit my shoulder. "Like that!" She said cheerfully, her hands suddenly enveloped in power, and torrents of water suddenly washed over the direction of where the arrow was shot.


    "¡­Thank you?"


    "Hehe, don''t thank a faerie!" She chuckled bashfully. "But I won''t take advantage of you this time!"


    Oh dear¡­Ipletely forgot about that in the chaos¡­.


    Thank Lucifer.


    "But wait, I saw that same surge of water simr to what you just did before?" I looked at her, recognizing the same ''spells'' she had cast.


    Vivian pouted and stomped on the ground. "That brute was picking me up and using me as a shield! Every time I ''blocked'' an attack, I would ''have'' to retaliate! Brutish traitor!" She huffed.


    ...I have no words.


    However, I didn''t even have a chance regardless, because a meteor-like object fell from the sky with a red light enveloping it.


    It hit the ground with a loud thump, causing a shockwave that shook the ground.


    I had to cover my face to blow any kicked-up dirt and snow off the ground, but I noticed Lady Vivian created a barrier around us.


    Several more figures shot to the ground just as fast, and something happened for sure; there seemed to be a sort of pause that happened amidst the fighting.


    "The Winter Queen is defeated!" Lady Yasaka''s voice rang out.


    It took a moment, but cheers erupted from our side, loud enough that I felt like an earthquake was urring.


    And almost just as quickly the faeries began to scatter.


    It was like the queen of an ant colony getting squashed, and the ants became erratic.


    I''ve never seen so many people abruptly try to run away at once, and it was utter chaos even considering the fighting that was going on.


    Of course, there were many shouts and orders thrown out as the Youkai pursued.


    I''m d that we''re recording, because I would not be able to properly retell the events that have happened in any meaningful way.


    "So, she''s beaten." Vivan rxed with a strange look. "Now it''s time for the fun part!"


    "What''s that?" I looked at her.


    "Negotiations!"


    (Line Break)


    Wilhelm POV


    One thing became abundantly clear as the Winter Queen was defeated.


    They are not united.


    I knew some things about Fae, a bit about their society, so I can understand why that is so. They live very cutthroat lives. A very eat-or-be-eaten mindset, even if it''s less aggressive on the surface.


    They exploit any openings to eke out a small advantage.


    So, watching hundreds of thousands of Fae break away and start running, scattering in every direction, it wasn''t something that caught me off guard.


    Even their ''fighting'' hadn''t been organized.


    It was a very simplistic method of¡ªgo here, attack.


    Of course, we wouldn''t have let them run away for free.


    They had received the order to chase.


    The difference between organized and disorganized. Not to mention, we fought to our strengths while they arrogantly thought to try and match us without any considerations.


    Truly, they never had a proper enemy.


    It was like someone being powerful but not knowing how to properly wield their strength, resulting in only a fraction of it being utilized.


    Vivian spoke about how the Winter and Summer courts constantly wage war, but it''s safe to assume their methods of ''war'' differ heavily from ours.


    We faced almost no resistance marching towards the Winter Queen''s castle.


    The scattered remains¡ªwell, some brave souls wanted to put up a resistance, but at this point, we now outnumber any resistances by a significant margin, with the majority of their numbers scattered and running away.


    I hummed to myself as I stared at therge gate to the walls around the castle.


    It was rather magnificent, certainly a marvel of architecture and creation. One could almost call the whole thing a work of art.


    That''s what I would say if half the castle wasn''t destroyed for some reason.


    Oh right, I shot my bow this way.


    Whoops.


    "Shall I knock?" I asked, looking at Yasaka.


    "Oh please, my hands are full." She smiled back, literally having dragged the unconscious body of the Winter Queen with her this entire way.


    At our back, tens of thousands of Youkai stood there stoically, releasing a rather impressivebined aura together.


    I leveled a finger, pointing at the gate.


    I condensed my power of destruction at the tip of my finger. It was a rather interesting use of it that I copied from the Hollow before.


    Zero.


    I released the st, destroying the gate.


    Around us, thousands of Youkai immediately rushed in. There were some Fae present, guards, maybe even some loyalists and whatnot, but our soldier quickly engaged them, not giving them a chance to mount a proper defense.


    Yasaka and I were unconcerned by it, though.


    Despite the shes happening around us, we walked without much fanfare towards the main entrance to the castle. Raikou, Scathach, and Artoria joined us, as well as various higher-ups of the Youkai and Pendragon families. Of course, Nurarihyon was side by side with Yasaka as he kicked the door in and we entered the castle proper.


    I expected some magical defenses, but I''m guessing that my Bow may have destroyed the majority of them.


    I still shudder thinking about that enhanced attack.


    The fact that I felt such a significant rebound because of it, well, it speaks volumes of the power it held. And even then, I don''t think I utilized to the fullest extent that new ''threshold'' by which I could draw upon its power.


    Thoughts forter.


    Lots of neat artwork around the castle. Honestly, it was the most ''human'' looking ce of the Fae that I''ve walked inside.


    Well, besides Vivian''s house.


    There was nothing overly strange; it would not look out of ce in the Underworld among the devils.


    It seems that a lot of supernatural societies kept to this same sort of d¨¦cor and atmosphere.


    To the point where we didn''t even need to figure out where we were going, the throne room was easy to find.


    Yasaka took the lead this time. There were other Fae around the castle; they didn''t look likebatants, so we didn''t immediately attack them.


    Yasaka kicked open therge doors to the throne room, letting the sounds echo amongst the corridors.


    And as expected, we weren''t alone.


    Maybe a hundred or so Fae were inside. They were much different than the ones we''ve run into beforehand. These were¡­ well, if I had to give them a designation, I''d call them the Aristocrats of the Winter Court.


    Combat ability... well, they had auras above the average Fae, but they didn''t immediately scream warrior. But looks can be deceiving, but I felt pretty confident in my initial assessment.


    They stared silently as we entered the room.


    Their eyesnded on the Winter Queen, beaten and bloodied and missing both arms.


    Without warning, Yasaka tossed her into the center of the room, her body rolling a few times beforeing to a stop.


    Behind us, Raikou and Sc¨¢thach closed the big doors, standing in front of them protectively.


    You could practically taste the tension in the room. No words needed to be spoken to understand the situation.


    Yasaka''s wooden geta tapped against the tiled ground amidst the silence as she walked forward, even stepping over the Winter Queen''s unconscious body as she moved to the throne, sitting in it.


    She swung one leg over the other, leaning back.


    Nurarihyon was at her side, leaning against it, using his cane to support himself. He had been through the wringer; it looks like his old age is catching up to him somewhat.


    Overall, we were all tired and weary after everything that''s happened.


    "We are the¡ª"


    "Quiet." Yasaka held up a finger to shush the Fae that attempted to speak first.


    He shrank his head back, reading the situation well.


    She tapped the throne of hers impatiently as if thinking about something. Truthfully, she was just setting the tone, letting all the ''Nobles'' of this ce sweat a little.


    "The Winter Queen is defeated; by all rights, this kingdom is now under our rule." Yasaka finally spoke.


    There was a beat of silence as they heard those words.


    "I demand hospitality and¡ª"


    "Execute him." Yasaka didn''t let him finish.


    The particrly courageous Fae''s head went rolling on the ground, de dripping down Arthur''s de, and Yasaka sent him a nod.


    Yasaka pped her hands. "Thankfully, I came prepared. Artoria Dear, can you please put the list on the door?"


    Artoria nodded, taking out arge, rolled parchment; she unfurled it and stabbed it to the door with a random dagger she had on hand.


    "I understand a little bit of your people. You''re probably biding your time, waiting for negotiations. Even the side that surrenders usually gets a say, or at least a chance to make their pleas. However, that''s not going to happen. Please direct yourselves to the list now hung on the door over there." She pointed. "Read it thoroughly."


    All eyes in the room turned to it.


    "First, upon acknowledgment of these concessions, we will withdraw back to an area of 10 kilometers¡ªthe standard of measurement we use back home¡ªaround the portal we used to enter this realm. We will be retaining that as our exclusive territory and relinquishing any rights to any other conquered territory."


    The fact of the matter is, they don''t want to have to deal with everything here. Obviously, it''s important to retain authority over the portal area and keep a ''spot'' there. Of course I could cut it off at any time, but reopening it would be annoying, so it''s best to just keep the foothold as a military outpost of whatever they decide.


    "Second, the Winter Court¡ªnamely, the faction and members itprises¡ªwill provide reparations in the form of our choosing, namely precious metals and the like. The exact number of what is owed is on the list."


    I nced over to it and winced.


    That''s a lot of zeroes.


    "Third, any captive sentient species will be turned over to us to return back to our world if they belong there. Do not try to hide or be cute about it. If we discover that someone kept a ''pet'' human or some other species of simr regard, we will be back."


    The list was much more in-depth about it, hitting a lot more details that should realistically get the point across without them being able to argue their way out of it.


    "Fourth¡ªand this goes along with the third¡ªany type of very is henceforth banned within the territories of the Winter Court. Anyone involved in such will be receiving a visit from us. That means, when a human or what have you wanders in the Fae Realms, you will deliver them to us, and we will be taking them home."


    There were a lot of frowns and annoyed looks, but the still warm and severed head on the ground served as a ratherrge deterrent to any verbal denouncements.


    "Fifth, if¡ªand that is a very generous if¡ªyou find yourselves in the human world, you are beholden to thews of thend. Any ''deals'' or ''trades'' that you make will have to be submitted to the nearest non-human or supernaturally aware governing body, and they have the authority to reverse it without any argument from your end."


    This was, she abridged it heavily. There was much more to it, but she wasn''t going to wind herself up talking for an hour on the rules regarding this.


    Mostly, this was just to curb theming to cause chaos in the human world. At the very least, it acted as a sort of buffer, not some blind ideal that everything would be perfect from now on.


    "Sixth¡­" Yasaka paused. "This one concerns you; stop ying dead." She looked down at the Winter Queen.


    The Winter Queen''s limp body suddenly tensed, and she slowly leaned back up, a visible hatred and fury in her eyes.


    "You will be sealed for a thousand years. That is your punishment, as the majority of this esction rests solely on your shoulders."


    "You dare not kill me." The corners of her lips curled up. "Why should I agree to any of this?"


    "Wilhelm." Yasaka called out to me.


    I casually walked past the Winter Queen, and I may or may not have kicked her on the back, knocking her onto her face.


    Honestly, fuck her.


    I happily stood next to Yasaka, receiving a rather intense re from the Winter Queen. "I had a chat with the First Dream." I made sure to use the term they were familiar with. Immediately as I said that, her eyes widened and whispers broke out among the Fae around us. I guess he was even a bigger deal around these parts than back home. If I randomly told someone I had a chat with Great Red, they''d look at me in surprise but not make an overly big deal about it. "He was very specific in what we were allowed to do with you. You''re right; we don''t'' dare kill you, but don''t worry; I''m told there are plenty of fates worse than death that won''t cause any problems."


    The Winter Queen was silent, and then it felt like she paled slightly.


    Really, there was no other option.


    One, you refuse, still suffer the punishments, and get treated even worse. Two, you agree, and only get sealed with everything else.


    "...I surrender." She hissed out. Everyone in the room could tell it took significant effort for her to say those words. "I ept all your terms."


    "Wonderful." Yasaka pped her hands, smiling. "Now, Artoria, please take out the next three lists. We''re far from done."


    Ah, it was noticeable this time; she paled even more.


    But I let out a breath I felt like I was holding in since this war started. It was over with her defeat, but now, it truly felt like we were done.


    Some smaller things to wrap up, but I could see myself heading home by tomorrow.


    After this, I could use some vacation time.


    (Line Break)


    A/N


    New worlding up in a few chapters as everything settles down. Also, got two arachne chapters up, and a cyclops chapter up over on p.a.t.r.e.o.n.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 579:

    I let out a breath I didn''t know I was holding as I stepped back into Kyoto.


    Of course, I wasn''t alone in having just returned.


    When I walked out, about ten thousand Youkai followed behind me. The first ''wave,'' so to speak, of returning Youkai.


    Even if there were still some logistics and things to handle on the other side, the war was basically over.


    The immediatemotion was intense at our return back home. They were met with a lot of residents here weing them wholeheartedly. Lots of cheering and celebrations popped up without any ushering.


    It did make me smile seeing their faces.


    Though, I found myself frowning a secondter as I grabbed the cor of Arcueid.


    "Where do you think you''re going?" I gave her a look."Hehe~"


    "It''s time for you to go home."


    "Yeah, I know." She pouted despite acknowledging the fact. "I had fun, though."


    It was hard to be genuinely upset with her.


    I would leave that to Gramps.


    "I will make sure the princess returns home safely." Captain Hook was here as well, volunteering himself as her minder.


    I suppose it''s to be expected; she did summon him. She was technically his master despite the weirdness of the summoning.


    Well, at least I had someone I could trust there. However, I still had to take them ''home.'' Wordlessly, I opened a portal when no one was looking, and they followed me through.


    Arcueid stiffened because Zelretch was sitting there, calmly sipping a mug of what I assume was coffee.


    I don''t think I''ve ever seen him give the ''disappointed parent'' look to anyone before, but he certainly mastered it.


    Probably a skill I''ll need to pick up for when I start popping out my own little ones beyond just Kunou.


    There was an awkward silence as he swept his gaze around. He gave me a silent nod, knowing full well I was absolutely not responsible for this clusterfuck.


    "A Heroic Spirit?" His eyesnded on Captain Hook.


    "Captain James Bartholomew Hook." He took his hat off and swept it to the side in a bow.


    "Your name precedes you, good sir." Zelretch smiled politely. "Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg."


    "To be known by the Kaleidoscope, it''s my honor."


    Well, he certainly inherited enough information from the summoning then. As much as I was curious about the details involved there, honestly, it was just best to settle Arc properly.


    Finally his eyesnded on Arcueid.


    "I''m sorry." She spoke first.


    "Are you?" He asked. "Do you know what issues you could have caused by travelling away from the ''World''?"


    "Yeah." She nodded without much emotion expressed.


    Zelretch let out a sigh. "At the very least, there are ample preparations and considerations that need to be taken if you had done this <em>with</em> my help. But you stole Ruby and jumped away without a second thought. What if you got stranded?"


    Easy to forget that on one side, there''s the embodiment of the Kaleidoscope, and on the other, the Archetype-Earth.


    "Return to your home, Arcueid." Zelretch finally said amidst the silence. "You need to sleep anyway. I can tell just from looking at you that you did something foolish and now need to bear the consequences."


    "Alright, I''ll go home." She seemed crestfallen, despite the fact that she would have had to go back to sleep anyway.


    Sure, she would recover after literally ripping her own heart out, but even she needed to take some time to rest considering that her blood is the source of her power.


    "I will take her home if it''s permissible." Captain Hook looked at Zelretch. "Please allow me to guard her in her slumber."


    "Are you sure?" Zelretch asked. "That''s a thankless job, and rather monotonous. And she doesn''t require someone to look after her."


    Captain Hook took his hat off and put it on Arc''s head with a gentle smile. "I will protect the princess from now on."


    He mentioned it offhand before, but he must be projecting his sister on Arc. Well, she is basically a child in mentality still.


    Zelretch didn''t argue.


    "How are you going to follow? She doesn''t exactly live in an essible ce." Hell, even I don''t think I could follow along to find her if I wanted to. Maybe Gramps could, but the Reverse Side isn''t a ce I would lightly touch.


    Captain Hook shot me a grin. "I told you before, there''s nowhere I can''t sail."


    I raised an eyebrow as he put a hand on Arc''s hat-covered head.


    "Come along, First Mate. It''s time to go home." He gently ushered her outside as Gramps and I followed.


    Outside, it was nighttime, and the full moon hung in the air, illuminating the deserted courtyard.


    Captain Hook summoned his ship and guided Arc on board.


    She waved happily to Gramps and myself as it took off into the sky.


    Gradually, it became a faint outline with the moon shining behind it, and like a ripple on water, it disappeared from sight.


    "I have so many questions." Gramps finally said, staring at the sky for several moments in silence. "But I could also use a drink."


    "Rain check?" I offered. "I just hurried back to drop Arc off. I still have some things to take care of and to see some others."


    Zelretch let out a sigh and waved his hand flippantly through the air. "I would like to know the details when you have the chance. Go deal with your stuff for now.


    "I''ll tell you about everything when I get back." I quickly said my goodbyes and opened a new portal, hopping through.


    (Line Break)


    I stepped out into Yomi, specifically, right into Izzy''s living room. Surprisingly, she was not alone when I stepped into her living room.


    Though, despite other people being present, I focused almost entirely on Izzy because it''s been far too long since I saw her.


    Also, if she weren''t with guests, I would have already thrown myself around her.


    I couldn''t help but smile brightly seeing her after several weeks.


    After a brief moment, I quicklyposed myself and looked at the others in the room.


    Why was Orihime here?


    That was the oddest thing in the room, despite the Archangel Gabriel and Amaterasu sitting across from her with Izzy at her side.


    "Wilhelm." Izzy greeted me with a warm smile herself, getting up from her seat to greet me.


    Well, I wouldn''t embarrass her in front of others, so I held myself back and only kissed her on the cheek for now. Still, it earned a little look from her that was always so cute.


    She wordlessly pulled me to sit down on her other side.


    Orihime gave me a little wave that I returned.


    Such a sweet girl.


    "You know Gabriel and my daughter¡ª<em>Ammy</em>." Izzy stressed thetter''s introduction.


    That was definitely for Orihime''s benefit.


    I quirked an eyebrow, looking at the Goddess Amaterasu as she emotionlessly took a sip from her cup of tea.


    Getting a better look at her, she was dressed much less decadently. Clearly, she was hiding her identity, and it didn''t take a genius to see that.


    Izzy put her hand on Orihime''s head, and the younger girl''s eyes began to flutter and close before her head fell down onto Izzy''s shoulder.


    "Let me set her down on one of the guest beds." Izzy excused herself, gently lifting up Orihime.


    While she did so, the three of us that remained just stared at each other silently.


    Well, this is awkward for some reason.


    "Is Jeanne doing well?" Gabriel finally asked.


    "She''s doing good. She was helping take care of patients and the wounded." I nodded.


    "That''s good." Gabriel said softly. "I didn''t want her to have to be fighting anymore."


    "I have a simr sentiment." I responded.


    The archangel''s smile brightened.


    "I assume my Miko still remains within that realm?" Amaterasu opened her mouth and spoke as well.


    "Mmm, she still has a lot of matters to handle." I nodded, knowing full well that word has probably already gotten back about mostly what''s happened on the other side. "I had nothing left to do, so I came back first."


    My presence wasn''t needed when there was ack of things that required punching.


    "I have been watching whenever the Devils released videos on the happenings of the war," Amaterasu revealed.


    "You watch Devil TV too!?" Gabriel''s eyes lit up.


    "Hmph, if you can call that drivel entertainment. Beyond the coverage of the war, I would not degrade myself by watching that filth." Amaterasu said haughtily.


    "Isn''t a significant portion of their top shows just ripoffs of Japanese media?" I asked.


    "Of course!" She sniffed arrogantly. "They copied our culture and released such cheap knockoffs!"


    Ah, she''s not talking about the content itself being trash, just the Devil''s attempts to copy it.


    "My favorite is the Satan Rangers." Gabriel said casually and began to hum the theme song.


    "Is that not the one where they¡­" Amaterasu paused. "I do not know how to describe what they do to your faction without making an insult."


    "Turn Heaven into mustache-twirling ipetent viins for each monster of the week scenario?" I offered.


    "That is <em>urate</em>." Amaterasu nodded. "And they did not even copy it correctly! They copied the <em>Westernized</em> version!" She huffed indignantly.


    "I just liked the big robot fights." Gabriel seemedpletely unperturbed by the fact that one of her favorite shows directly turned Heaven into a joke and viins.


    The idle conversation seemed to end as Izzy came back and sat next to me.


    I may have sneakily slid my hand over to hers.


    "They came over to discuss some of the matters that became apparent due to the war. I happened to have Orihime with me when they arrived, so they have been kind enough to humor me." Izzy summarized the events that led to both Amaterasu and Gabriel being in her house.


    "That mortal has a strange soul." Amaterasu noted.


    "She seemed very sweet, though." Gabriel added.


    "Let''s just say she has a peculiar ability and leave it at that." I wasn''t going to go into the details. Honestly, her ability was bullshit enough that it might cause many higher-end beings in the world to move in response.


    Without knowing the specifics, they didn''t seem to care much.


    "I assume when you said ''matters,'' you were referring to therge group of humans?" Otherwise, I didn''t know what else would cause them to need to discuss anything.


    "Word got out about it. I made no effort to hide it, as it were, when I sent word around." Izzy revealed it, and it was just about what I expected.


    It''s not like we intended to use the humans as some sort of bargaining chip. If anything, getting them sorted quickly would be for the best.


    "I was already here, so I reached out to Takamagahara." Gabriel added in. "I was told that there are many believers traded within that realm. We would be very grateful for their safe return."


    "I intended to visit Mother anyway to discuss the matter in depth without requiring a formal meeting." Amaterasu revealed as well.


    "I met them personally, and I promised them that I would help theme back home." No point in hiding anything there. "It''s just a matter of logistics. It''s not just people from the church either. There were Vikings from centuries ago. Literal Samurai from the Heian period. People from ancient Greece. Hell, the Christians I met were from the crusading era."


    "And they all lived together?" Even Gabriel seemed surprised.


    Well, I couldn''t fault her. Even she knew the fervor that the Church''s believers operate under sometimes.


    "Necessity seems to somehow ovee cultural chasms. I didn''t stay with them long enough to know in depth how they got along, but it seemed that they peacefully coexisted despite different beliefs." Sometimes just knowing the other person is human is enough. "Though, the major problem has to be handled by all of you."


    "They are from far in the past." Gabriel said quietly.


    "And if the reports are to be believed, they are very strong for humans. Abination of ignorance of the current world and the strength to cause it harm means it requires a delicate approach." Amaterasu added.


    "I spoke on behalf of the Norse already, and once they are brought back, they can easily settle in Asgard as Einherjar." I really do appreciate how simple the ideology of the Norse belief system is. "The Greeks will probably have an easy time as well. They keep to themselves and have plenty of mortals or humans within their godly realm. As for the others, I''m not sure. There were plenty of random humans that had popped up there over the centuries, and they all need to be sorted."


    "I will have to extend invitations to many other factions." Amaterasu frowned. Even though it wasn''t directed at me, I did feel for her.


    It was going to be annoying to juggle so many strong personalities.


    "You can probably get some goodwill at least. I know Yasaka would be happy to just wipe her hands clean of the whole ordeal, so you don''t have to consider us in your ns."


    Amaterasu shot me a small smile even if she didn''t say it out loud.


    "Enough of that; it''s a headache I will deal withter." She said dismissively. And truthfully, it''s not something that will be dealt with immediately. Besides Yasaka dealing with a bunch of logistics and handling the aftermath of the war, it''s going to take a bit to get the humans transferred here. I expect it to happen within the month, but I wouldn''t be surprised if it took longer to coordinate everything.


    I, of course, would be helping when the time came.


    "The most recent recordings have not been released yet. Tell me, how did the Youkai of Japan fare at the end of the conflict? There was a sort of detachment for her, but the Youkai were still residents of Japan, her subjects.


    "Casualties were still being added up; I believe we had just passed 30,000 before I left." It was certainly not a bloodless battle. "I don''t know if you heard yet, but we had some interference from the Khaos Brigade."


    "They were informed." Izzy mentioned. "Yasaka had been sending some brief updates periodically."


    Good, I didn''t need to go on about that.


    An Evil God, Crom Cruach, and the Dragon that Ddraig Mentioned.


    Quite the lineup just right there.


    "Do you intend to keep the pathway open to the Faerie Realms?" Gabriel asked.


    "For now." I nodded. "Yasaka believes that they can generate a lot of new goods to sell worldwide to help bolster the economy after how much they invested."


    That wasn''t my area of expertise, so I didn''t know the details.


    "And what happened to the Queen?" Amaterasu asked.


    "That''s¡­ an interesting question. Before we ran headfirst into her, I received a sudden <em>invitation</em> to chat by a certain Big Red Dragon that lives in the Dimensional Gap."


    They all paused and stared at me.


    Big Red''s reputation was <em>not</em> exaggerated.


    People did not fuck with Big Red.


    At least with Ophis, she could somewhat be talked to.


    For Big Red? He didn''t talk to people; if you came to annoy him, he would eat you or something to that extent.


    "He warned against killing the Winter Queen since her existence is tied to some important aspects. So, we decided to seal her, quite literally, to her throne as punishment. For a thousand years, she is forced to sit there, and everyone in her court will know what happened to her."


    "Hmph, she''s getting off too easily. How dare she try to reach over here." Izzy scoffed.


    I did hear about what happened, and when I arrived, she was missing an arm.


    "What happened exactly?" I asked curiously.


    "She tried to make some power y. Tiamat also helped." Izzy said. "...she took the arm away with her, not that any of us would have said anything otherwise.


    "What do you mean, took it with her? Like a snack?" I blinked.


    "She mentioned something about how valuable it was... so I assume it was to add to her hoard...." Izzy said awkwardly.


    "She''s not wrong... I suppose."


    Why are dragons so strange?


    "Why only a thousand years?" Amaterasu asked curiously. "That''s not a very long time."


    "Yasaka isn''t even a thousand years old." I pointed out. "It''s highly unlikely that more than a handful of Youkai alive today will be alive in a thousand years."


    Amaterasu looked down at her teacup. "I sometimes forget how you mortals perceive the passing of the seasons. A thousand years is many lifetimes for you all."


    "In all honesty, it''s not a situation we wanted to draw out. We went, we fought, we won, and now we want it to be over and move on." I said pointedly. "Her punishment is the humiliation she has to suffer."


    Since we can''t kill her, realistically, we hit her where it hurt her the most, in her pride. And settling things at a thousand years means that she will ept the punishment without trying anything funny.


    Just as Amaterasu said, a thousand years wasn''t <em>that</em> long to someone like her and someone like the Winter Queen. It was eptable to wait it out in the long run.


    Now, I believe we did an extraordinarily good job of ''sealing'' her right to her throne. Sc¨¢thach, Jinn, and I put in so many magical sealing methods on top of her, along with everything else I had at my disposal, that I would be genuinely surprised if even Odin could undo it within a hundred years of continuous meddling. And to add on to that, Jinn happened to have those chains that bound Hel during Ragnar?k. Odin apparently took them back when he used them to chastise the Olympians, and they somehow ended up in Jinn''s hands.


    All that being said, it was impossible for us to ''permanently'' seal her. We could have chopped her into tiny pieces, put her in a box in some random ce, and done all of this on top of that, and yet, she would still probably return in a few thousand years at thetest.


    We just didn''t want to keep having to deal with them.


    Amaterasu stood up, straightening her dress. "Mother, it''s been nice to see you. I will go home and get started on some things."


    "I''m always happy when youe to visit." Izzy smiled.


    "I should too. Michael is going to want to talk to everyone to figure out a n." Gabriel seemed to agree.


    "I can take you back. I believe Mother would like to spend time catching up with her lover." Amaterasu shot her mom a look, making Izzy flush in embarrassment.


    Gabriel held a hand up, giggling as she followed Amaterasu out of the house, and I could feel them disappear from Yomi.


    Slowly, I turned to look at Izzy. Before she could say a word, I had already pushed her down on the couch and started kissing her.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    (Line Break)


    A/N


    Just a chapter to start bridging things over. Everything isn''t magically settled, but Wilhelm isn''t really needed over there anymore either. As I''ve mentioned before, a new world soon.


    If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone


    I also have a boosty if you can''t use the above under the same name.


    We have two Arachne chapters and 1 Cyclops chapter up over here as well.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!